Golden Boy Promotions has announced that Ryan Garcia vs. Luke Campbell is headed to American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas atop of a stacked card of international action.
The event will feature Nicaraguan twin brothers Rene and Felix Alvarado defending their world titles against internationally ranked contenders, along with the return of world champion Franchon Crews-Dezurn and a wide array of undefeated prospects.
The fights will take place on Saturday, Jan. 2 and will be streamed live worldwide exclusively on DAZN.
“Boxing is a sport that reaches all corners of the map; after nearly a year at home what better way to bring in 2021 than with a card full of champions, contenders and prospects from all over the world?” said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy. “They say that everything’s bigger in Texas, so I couldn’t think of a better place to welcome the newest superstar in boxing.”
In the co-main event, Rene “El Gemelo” Alvarado (32-8, 21 KOs) puts his WBA Super Featherweight World Title on the line against Roger “The Kid” Gutierrez (24-3-1, 20 KOs) in a 12-round fight.
Alvarado is a 31-year-old world champion of Managua, Nicaragua who has fought the likes of Robinson “Robin Hood Castellanos, Jayson “La Maravilla” Velez, Danis “Djingis Khan” Shafikov, Carlos “The Solution” Morales and Andrew “El Chango” Cancio, the man he beat to become a world champion. Alvarado hopes to retain his title in a rematch of his 2017 bout against Gutierrez.
“Despite many delays due to COVID-19, my desire to defend my world title on January 2 is much stronger than ever,” said Rene Alvarado. “At the same time, I am happy because I now know that my brother will be with my that night in Dallas, Texas defending his world title as well. It will be a historic night for Nicaraguan boxing to see a pair of twin brothers defending their championships at the highest levels of the sport. I will keep training hard as always, and we will do anything necessary to retain the title.”
Gutierrez is a Venezuelan contender who recently turned his career around by knockout out rising prospect Rocky Hernandez. After two additional wins, the 25-year-old earned his first world title shot against the man who handed him his first loss as a professional.
“Once again I want to thank God, the World Boxing Association and Golden Boy for this great opportunity,” said Roger Gutierrez. “While we have had many setbacks with this bout, I have used this additional time to fine-tune my skills to be as fit as ever to defeat Rene Alvarado in this rematch. It will be an honor to grant Venezuela a new world champion and avenge my first loss in Dallas, Texas.”
Felix “El Gemelo” Alvarado (35-2, 30 KOs) will defend his IBF Light Flyweight World Championship against DeeJay Kriel (16-1-1, 8 KOs) of Boksburg, South Africa in a 12-round battle. Felix, who is the twin brother of Rene, will fight for the first time after signing with Golden Boy.
“This year has been very difficult for the world,” said Felix Alvarado. “Personally, it’s been difficult because I haven’t been able to make my debut as an official Golden Boy fighter and defend my world title. But this January 2, I’ll have the opportunity to do so alongside my brother. This fills me with a lot of pride and joy. I hope to deliver to all a great fight to start a new year that will without a doubt be better for everyone.”
“I’m ready to become a two-time, two-division world champion after I beat Felix Alvarado,” said DeeJay Kriel. “This is my time to showcase my skills. 2020 was a difficult year for everyone, but I can’t wait to get 2021 started on the right foot. Make sure to catch the action live on DAZN!”
Unified super middleweight world champion Franchon “The Heavy-Hitting Diva” Crews-Dezurn (6-1, 2 KOs) of Baltimore, Md. will face Ashleigh Curry (8-13-4, 1 KO) of Saint Joseph, Mo. in an eight-round super middleweight bout.
2016 Olympian Raul “Cougar” Curiel (8-0, 6 KOs) of Tampico, Mexico and Ferdinand “Lucky Boy” Kerobyan (14-1, 9 KOs) of North Hollywood, Calif. will clash in a 10-round battle between two Golden Boy welterweights. This bout promises to deliver a winner who will make waves in the division.
Blair “The Flair” Cobbs (14-0-1, 9 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada will defend his NABF Welterweight Title in a scheduled 10-round fight against Issouf Kinda (18-5, 7 KOs) of the Bronx, N.Y.
Sean Garcia (5-0, 2 KOs), the native of Victorville, Calif. who is the younger brother of Ryan Garcia, will participate in a six-round lightweight fight.
Hawaiian prospect Asa Stevens will make his professional debut a four-round bantamweight fight.
–boxingscene.com
