This Saturday, January 26 inside The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Showtime Extreme will showcase two preliminary bouts before the main telecast hits the airwaves with a tripleheader featuring Lucas Matthysse vs. Mike Dallas Jr., Selcuk Aydin vs. Jesus Soto Karass and Jermell Charlo vs. Harry Joe Yorgey.
In the Showtime Extreme headliner scheduled for 10 rounds in the junior lightweight division, unbeaten 2008 Mexican Olympian Francisco Vargas battles Memphis veteran Ira Terry. Plus, Philadelphia junior middleweight Julian Williams risks his “0” against Virginia’s Jeremiah Wiggins in an eight round Showtime Extreme opening bout and, in a bout that will be aired time permitting, 2012 U.S. Olympian Errol Spence Jr. faces an opponent to be determined in a four round super welterweight matchup.
Mexico City’s Francisco Vargas (13-0-1, 10 KO’s) has impressed fight game insiders consistently since emerging from the 2008 Olympics and many believe that the 28-year-old is ready to make his move on the 130-pound elite in 2013. A knockout puncher with both hands, Vargas had a busy 2012, going 6-0 with five knockouts, and hopes to stay as active this year, beginning with Saturday’s fight against Terry.
Fighting out of Memphis, Tennessee, 25-year-old Ira Terry (26-10, 16 KO’s) has recently stopped Jered Johnson in less than two minutes and needed less than two rounds to do the same to respected fighter, Verquan Kimbrough, giving him plenty of positive energy heading into Las Vegas.
22-year-old Julian Williams (10-0-1, 5 KO’s) is Philadelphia’s latest promising rising star in the fight game and with wins over fellow prospects Hector Rosario (W8) and Jonel Tapia (TKO7) in his last two fights, he is clearly on the verge of big things in 2013. Also looking to make his move this year is Newport News, Virginia’s Jeremiah Wiggins (10-1-1, 5 KO’s). Fresh off of a near upset against highly touted prospect Daquan Arnett last November, the 31-year-old is ready for a battle with Williams this weekend.
A member of the 2012 United States Olympic team, Desoto, Texas’ Errol Spence Jr. (2-0, 2 KO’s) has put together two golden performances as a professional thus far, finishing off Jonathan Garcia and Richard Andrews, each in the third round. On Saturday, the versatile 23-year-old will meet an opponent to be determined in a four round bout.
In non-televised action, Los Angeles phenom Julian Ramirez (6-0, 5 KO’s) will fight for the second time this month, as he looks to follow up his January 11 stoppage of Sergio Najera with a win over San Bernardino’s Juan Sandoval (7-11-1, 4 KO’s) in a four round junior featherweight matchup.
The second half of the fighting Charlo brothers, junior middleweight Jermall Charlo (10-0-1, 5 KO’s) puts his unbeaten record on the line on the same show as his twin brother in an eight round battle against Westerly, Rhode Island’s Joshua Williams (8-4, 5 KO’s).
Also featured will be a 10 round super lightweight fight between Chad Bennett and Ben Ankrah. Fighting out of Newcastle, Australia, Chad “Hollywood” Bennett (30-4-3, 21 KO’s) has been on a tear as of late, winning six straight over the last two years, with five of those victories coming by knockout. The current WBO Asia Pacific 140 lb. champion, Bennett will return to fight in the United States for the first time since 2010 when he battles Accra, Ghana’s Ben Ankrah (17-11, 8 KO’s). A 12-year veteran of the sport Ankrah has won six of his last seven and considering that he has ended five of those victories by knockout, expect some explosive action when he squares off with Bennett.
In a four round welterweight opener, New South Wales, Australia’s Will Sands (3-0-1) faces San Juan, New Mexico’s Herb Begay (0-0-1).
The SHOWTIME tripleheader is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T with Matthysse vs. Dallas being presented in association with Arano Box Promotions and Goossen Tutor Promotions, Aydin vs. Soto Karass being presented in association with Arena-Box Promotion, Charlo vs. Yorgey being presented in association with Banner Promotions and Bennett vs. Ankrah being presented in association with Millennium Events. The SHOWTIMECHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins live at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) with preliminary fights live on SHOWTIME EXTREME beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).
Tickets priced at $150, $100, $75, $50 and $25, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, along with a limited number of VIP suite seats priced at $125, are on sale now and may be purchased at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 745-3000.
