Joel Julio Headlines Chicago ShoBox Card On Jan 6

15.12.05 – Dominic Pesoli’s 8 Count Productions, HOME OF THE BEST IN CHICAGO BOXING and Kathy Duva’s Main Events along with Miller Lite and TCF Bank team up on Friday, January 6, 2006 to present “SHOBOX” THE NEW GENERATION, another installment of terrific professional boxing at Cicero Stadium, 1909 S. Laramie Avenue in Cicero, IL..

Tickets are on sale now by calling 312-226-5800. Doors for this special event will open at 6pm with the first bell at 7pm.

Affectionately known as “Love Child” by ESPN.com’s boxing expert Dan Rafael, the 20 year old Joel Jar Julio, a native of Monteria, Columbia sports a jaw dropping record of 25-0 (22KO’s). He returns to Chicago to face Ugandan native Robert Kamya, 15-5 (4KO’s), now fighting out of West Palm Beach, Florida in a scheduled ten round welterweight bout. Julio overwhelmingly impressed the 11,000 Chicagoland fight fans attending the Fernando Vargas/Javier Castillejo “Return to Battle” event at the Allstate Arena by knocking out perennial contender Christopher Henry in the fourth round.

Says Rafael, “He’s the most intriguing and explosive prospect in boxing. He’s a massive puncher who oozes charisma in the ring. I’ve seen Julio fight three or four times and he reminds me of a young Acelino “Popo” Freitas because of his charisma and dynamic punching power. Another thing I love about Julio is that he looks like he’s truly having fun in the ring while destroying his opponents, and that’s something fans will appreciate. If Julio can take a shot, he’s got a chance to be an exciting world champion.”

Two weeks ago, Julio destroyed veteran Hicklet Lau with a fourth round technical knockout in North Bergen, New Jersey, the full bout of which can be viewed at Maxboxing.com. Lau had previously gone the distance with highly regarded boxers such as Kofi Jantuah, Marlon Thomas, Ray Olivera, Carlos Maussa, Emmanuel Clottey and Cosme Rivera.

Kamya also returns to the Windy City after his upset majority decision over
Alex Bunema on August 13th of this year. The win is part of a modest three fight streak Kamya has put together which includes victories over Alex Quiroga and Anthony Osbourne earlier this year.

The co-main event of the evening features a terrific eight round bantamweight bout between hot prospect Raul “The Cobra” Martinez, 12-0 (9KO’s) of San Antonio, TX and Andres Ledesma, 13-1-1 (8KO’s) of Arjona, Columbia.

Last weekend Martinez defeated Sheldon Wile, a first round knockout which can also be seen at Maxboxing.com. “The Cobra” makes his second visit to Chicago after knocking out Miguel Martinez on September 16th of this year, a bout internationally televised on SOLO BOXEO. Ledesma is currently riding a nine bout winning streak, five of which have come by knockout. This will be the first time he has fought in the United States.

Also featured on the undercard is Chicago middleweight “MACHO” Miguel Hernandez, 17-3 (9KO’s) in a scheduled eight rounder and lightweight prospect Mike Gonzalez, 4-0 (4KO’s) of Milwaukee, WI in a four round bout.

Rounding out the card in separate bouts are Chicagoland fan favorites, featherweight Omar Reyes, 1-2 and “Next Great Champ” finalist light heavyweight Dave Pareja, 6-1 (1KO) in scheduled six round bouts

Making his pro debut on the card is Chicago middleweight Reynaldo Reyes in a four round bout.

More information on this huge kickoff to the 2006 8 Count Productions’ boxing season will be announced shortly. To view the poster for this evening please visit the 8 Count Productions’ website at www.8countproductions.com

This event marks the first visit of SHOBOX to the Chicagoland area since the
start of the series in July 2001. Nick Charles will call the action from ringside, with Steve Farhood serving as expert analyst.