PROVIDENCE, R.I. (March 15, 2011) – This is the one show where you’ll actually want to be in your seat for the “Coming Attractions.” Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports, in association with Foxwoods Resort Casino, returns to Mashantucket, Conn., on Friday, April 1, 2011, as part of ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights” with “Coming Attractions,” a showcase of boxing’s best young talent at the spacious Fox Theater.
“Coming Attractions” will be headlined by the nationally-televised, 10-round main event between Philadelphia’s “Hammerin’” Hank Lundy (19-1-1, 10 KOs) and Venezuelan Patrick Lopez (20-3, 12 KOs) of Londonderry, N.H., for the vacant NABF lightweight title. Former University of Rhode Island football star Vladine Biosse (10-0, 5 KOs) of Providence, R.I., will battle St. Louis’ Tim Connors (10-2, 7 KOs) in ESPN2’s 10-round super middleweight co-feature.
“Vladine and Hank truly are the ‘Coming Attractions’ in professional boxing,” Burchfield said. “They’ve both fought on ESPN, dazzling 42 million homes worldwide in the process, and are next in line among the future world champions in their respective weight classes.
“We’re honored to bring this star-studded event to the beautiful Foxwoods Resort Casino, specifically the Fox Theater, where we brought boxing back to this casino last March when we sold out the venue with our ‘Brace For Impact’ show. It had been 11 months since Foxwoods hosted a boxing event, but we filled every seat in the Fox Theater that night and actually had to turn people away at the door. We will sell out the arena again on April 1st with an even better lineup of local talent.”
The undercard features some of the newest – along with several already-established – household names in professional boxing, including New Haven, Conn., veteran Elvin Ayala (21-5-1, 9 KOs) facing former world-title challenger Samson Onyango (20-7, 13 KOs) of Newark, N.J., in a six-round super middleweight bout. Fellow veteran “Machine” Mike Oliver (24-2, 8 KOs) of Hartford – a former super bantamweight world champion and winner of three consecutive fights – will take on Sande Otieno (16-2, 7 KOs) of Nairobi, Kenya in a six-round bout.
The remainder of the card will showcase a mix of young, rising stars in several weight classes. Middleweight Thomas Falowo (2-0, 2 KOs) of Pawtucket, R.I., who has turned heads with impressive knockouts in each of his first two professional fights, will put his perfect record on the line in a four-round bout against Antonio Sadler (1-0-1, 1 KO) of Columbia, S.C. New Haven super middleweight Greg McCoy (2-2-1, 1 KO) will look to rebound from a loss on Feb. 4 in a four-round bout against the dangerous Tafari Lawton (1-1-1) of Orlando, Fla., while Rick Dawson (2-0, 1 KO), also of New Haven, will face Fort Myers, Fla., veteran J.C. Peterson (1-9) in a four-round middleweight bout.
Christian Lao, a highly-touted lightweight prospect from New Haven, will make his pro-debut in a four-round bout against Joal Alarcon (0-1) of New Bedford, Mass., and CES’ newest acquisition, southpaw welterweight Dominic DeSanto (5-0, 5 KOs) of New Haven will attempt to keep his five-fight winning streak intact in a four-round bout against Kenny Gerald (1-1, 1 KO) of Marion, S.C.
The excitement on the undercard will help set the stage for the thunder looming in the nationally-televised portion of “Coming Attractions.” Both Biosse and Lundy have starred on ESPN within the last eight months; Biosse made his ESPN debut on July 9 with a dominant victory over “Irish” Joey McCreedy in Rhode Island, while Lundy scored a decisive win over Omri Lowther in Montreal in August. April 1 will be Lundy’s fourth consecutive fight on ESPN, a stretch that includes victories over Lowther and Tyrese Hendrix.
“Hank is one of the top 135-pound lightweights in the world,” Burchfield said. “This is a dangerous fight, and we respect Lopez, but Hank is ready to fight any and all of the 135-pound champions after this fight. Juan Manuel Marquez, Brandon Rios, Humberto Soto – we’re ready to fight any of them.”