Exciting Matchup Between Polish Light Heavyweight Contender Andrzej Fonfara & Former Three-Time World Champion Chad Dawson
Highlights Night of Undercard Action
Saturday, March 4 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn
Undefeated Prospect Mario Barrios Battles Mexico’s Yardley Suarez While Super Lightweight Contender
Sergey Lipinets Faces Clarence Booth
Plus! Undefeated Heather Hardy Faces Hungary’s Edina Kiss While Unbeaten Prospect Thomas Velasquez, Featherweight Rickey Lopez & 2016 Haitian Olympian Richardson Hitchins
Round Out Exciting Undercard
BROOKLYN (February 27, 2017) - - Exciting Polish contender Andrzej Fonfara (28-4, 16 KOs) will meet former world champion Chad Dawson (34-4, 19 KOs) in a 10-round light heavyweight attraction as part of an exciting night of non-televised undercard bouts on Saturday, March 4 from Barclays Center, the home of BROOKLYN BOXING™.
A pair of exciting matchups will also be featured as unbeaten prospect Mario Barrios (17-0, 9 KOs) takes on Mexico’s Yardley Suarez (20-6, 11 KOs) in a super lightweight bout while super lightweight contender Sergey Lipinets (11-0, 9 KOs) faces Clarence Booth (14-2, 7 KOs).
The March 4 event is headlined by the highly anticipated welterweight world title unification showdown between Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia that serves as the main event of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING on CBS, presented by Premier Boxing Champions. Broadcast coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT with undefeated rising star Erickson Lubin battling once-beaten knockout artist Jorge Cota in a super welterweight title eliminator bout.
Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by DiBella Entertainment, start at $50 (not including applicable fees) and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online by visiting www.ticketmaster.com, www.barclayscenter.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000. Tickets are also available at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center. Group discounts are available by calling 844-BKLYN-GP.
Additional undercard action will feature popular local star Heather Hardy (18-0, 4 KOs), who will now battle Hungary’s Edina Kiss (13-2, 8 KOs) in a 10-round featherweight bout, while Philadelphia-native Thomas Velasquez (6-0, 4 KOs) enters the ring in a six-round lightweight affair.
Rounding out the night of fights are Colorado’s Rickey Lopez (16-4, 6 KOs) in a six-round featherweight clash against Houston’s Pablo Cruz (14-1, 6 KOs) and 2016 Haitian Olympian Richardson Hitchins, who makes his pro debut in a four-round welterweight contest against Mexico’s Mario Perez (1-0).
A popular Polish-fighter who has fought out of Chicago for most of his career, Fonfara will make his New York debut in front of the many Polish fans in Brooklyn. Now training in Oakland with Virgil Hunter, Fonfara will look to bounce back from a defeat to Joe Smith Jr. and work his way towards a second world title opportunity, after he dropped Adonis Stevenson in a decision loss for his world title in 2014. The 29-year-old has impressive recent victories including becoming the first fighter to stop Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., when he blasted out the former champion in nine rounds in 2015, and a follow-up victory over current light heavyweight titlist Nathan Cleverly that was a 2015 Fight of the Year candidate and saw the fighters break Compubox records in the division for number of punches landed (936) and thrown (2524) in a fight.
A former world champion at light heavyweight, Dawson returns to the ring looking to earn another world title shot. The 33-year-old owns victories over former world champions Bernard Hopkins, Antonio Tarver and Tomasz Adamek and is coming off of victories over Shujaa El Amin last year. The New Haven, Connecticut-native has fought professionally since 2001 and was unbeaten in his first 21 pro fights on his way to becoming a two-time world champion. His victory over Hopkins in 2012 made him a three-time champion and he will now work his way towards a chance to become a four-time world champion.
A tall fighter for his division at more than six feet, the 21-year-old Barrios picked up seven victories in a jam-packed 2015 in which he stopped five opponents inside the distance. The San Antonio-native turned pro in 2013 and is on the fast track towards a world title shot as he defeated Devis Boschiero in a 12-round bout in July 2016 and followed it up with a second round knockout of Claudio Rosendo Tapia in December. He will be challenged by the 22-year-old Suarez of Sinaloa, Mexico who picked up five wins in 2016 and stopped Christian Valverde in the fifth-round of his last bout.
An accomplished amateur who was born in Kazakhstan but fights out of California, Lipinets turned pro in April of 2014 with a decision victory over Franklin Varela. The 27-year-old recorded six knockouts in a row before stepping up in competition and impressing with a victory over Haskell Lydell Rhodes in March 2015 and a knockout of Levan Ghvamichava in March. He kept the momentum going by stopping established contender Walter Castillo in July and knocking out Lenny Zappavigna in their 140-pound title eliminator in December. He will be challenge by the Keith Thurman stablemate Booth, who fights out of St. Petersburg, Florida and defeated Cesar Soriano in his last bout.
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ABOUT THURMAN vs. GARCIA
Keith Thurman vs. Danny Garcia is a welterweight world title showdown between undefeated 147-pound titlists. The 12-round bout headlines SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING on CBS, presented by Premier Boxing Champions, Saturday March 4 from Barclays Center, the home of BROOKLYN BOXING™. In the co-main event undefeated rising star Erickson Lubin battles once-beaten knockout artist Jorge Cota in a super welterweight title eliminator bout on CBS at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
For more information visit www.sho.com/sports follow on Twitter @SHOSports, @KeithFThurmanJr, @DannySwift, @LouDiBella, @BarclaysCenter and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SHOSports, www.Facebook.com/DiBellaEntertainment, www.Facebook.com/barclayscenter. PBC is sponsored by Corona, La Cerveza Mas Fina.
