HOLLYWOOD, FL. (April 29, 2016) – Undefeated lightweight world champion Rances “Kid Blast” Barthelemy (24-0, 13 KOs) will make his first title defense against former world champion Mickey “The Spirit” Bey (22-1-1, 10 KOs) in the main event of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Spike Friday, June 3 at the Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

Televised coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET/PT as unbeaten Puerto Rican prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez (14-0, 10 KOs) takes on hard-hitting Mexican Victor “Pitufo” Proa (28-1-2, 21 KOs) in a 10-round bantamweight affair.

“There were rumors that a fight between me and Mickey Bey was on the brink of happening prior to my fight against Denis Shafikov, so now that it is here, I know it was destined to happen,” said Barthelemy. “I’m not a rookie anymore. I’m not going into this worried or nervous about it being my first title defense at 135. I’m comfortable enough now to see every fight as just another challenge I need to execute my game plan the most effectively and with the least amount of errors.”

“Barthelemy won my title, I had to vacate it due to a hand injury, so all he is doing is keeping it warm for me,” said Bey. “Training camp is going great. I have been training hard for over a month. I have the best team in the business, with the most knowledgeable trainers. I’m looking forward to the challenge with him being undefeated and a two-time world champion. We both have a lot of skills, so it will make an entertaining fight for sure.”

“I want to challenge all of the bantamweight champions to fight me so they can see a real athlete in the ring,” said Rodriguez. “I have been training hard. This is a lifestyle for me. I have been training since December and on June 3, I am going to deliver a knockout.”

“I’m excited about this opportunity against a good young fighter,” said Proa. “I’ve been training hard and feel like this is my time. I’m going to come forward and see what this guy can do.”

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by Kings Promotions, Mayweather Promotions and Panther Promotions, are priced at $130, $80, $60 and $35 and are on sale now. All seats are reserved and available at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.myhrl.com,www.ticketmaster.com or charge by phone: 1-800-745-3000. Doors open at 5:30 pm, with the first fight set to begin at 6:30 p.m. *Additional fees may apply.

“This will be a tremendous night of boxing on Spike TV,” said Marshall Kauffman of King’s Promotions. “Barthelemy is an up-and-coming star in the sport and he is facing a former world champion who never lost his belt in the ring. This will be a great fight and there should be a great atmosphere with a lot of Cuban boxing fans there to support their world champion.”

“We’re looking forward to bringing a great night of boxing to the State of Florida. We’re giving the fans another treat come June 3rd. The card is stacked with matchups that will undoubtedly be crowd pleasers,” said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions. “Both Mickey Bey and Rances Barthelemy have world titles under their belts, so they will bring in the experience of being able to perform, and match it up against one another to see who will come out the best man standing at the end of the night.”

“We at Panther Promotions are very excited for this June 3rd card at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino,” said Elliot Alvarado, CEO, Panther Promotions. “We are proudly joining forces with both Mayweather and Kings Promotions, which are featuring PBC on Spike TV. This is going to be a sensational evening of boxing featuring Cuban Lightweight Champion Rances Barthelemy vs. Cleveland’s own former champion, Mickey Bey. Our goal is to bring back the classic fights to the Seminole Hard Rock Live in South Florida.”

A Cuban amateur national champion, 29-year-old Barthelemy has yet to taste defeat since turning pro in 2009. Born in Cuba but now fighting out of Las Vegas, he won a super featherweight world title in July 2014 by defeating Argenis Mendez in impressive fashion, and followed that up with a second round TKO victory over Angino Perez. After dominating former champion Antonio DeMarco in June, he won a world title in a second division when he impressively defeated Denis Shafikov in December.

Bey won his world title in 2014 with a decision victory over long reigning champion Miguel Vasquez. The 32-year-old vacated his title due to inactivity and injuries but returned in December to defeat previously unbeaten Naim Nelson by decision to earn himself a shot at the very title he vacated. Bey’s previous victories include defeats against Alan Herrera, Carlos Cardenas and Hector Velazquez.

At just 23-years-old, Rodriguez has been on a fast track towards a world title fight since turning pro in 2012. He made his U.S. debut in November by stopping Eliecer Aquino after previously taking down Gabor Molnar, Luis Hinojosa and Alex Rangel in 2015. The Manati, Puerto Rico-born fighter will bring his exciting style into the ring against another tough opponent on June 3.

Fighting out of Monterrey, Mexico, Proa will be fighting in the U.S. for the third time when he takes on Rodriguez on June 3. The 31-year-old was unbeaten in his first 28 pro starts and has won his last two bouts, including most recently a first round stoppage of Oswaldo Delgado in February.

Follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @RealKidBlast, @MickeyBeyTMT, @SpikeTV, @SpikeSports, @KingsBoxing, @MayweatherPromo, @PantherPromo and @Swanson_Comm and become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions and
www.facebook.com/MayweatherPromotions. Highlights available to embed at www.youtube.com/premierboxingchampions.

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (April 30, 2016) – Olympic Bronze Medalist Andre Dirrell (25-2, 16 KOs) defeated Australia’s Blake Caparello (22-2-1, 6 KOs) by unanimous decision (98-91 X 3) in a 10-round super middleweight attraction in the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Spike main event from the Taj Mahal Casino and Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

In a bout that started off with a lot of back and forth action, Caparello struck first with a left in the second round that sent Dirrell to the canvas.

“The knockdown I got in the second round felt good,” said Caparello. “I knew I had him hurt, but I wasn’t able to capitalize on it.”

Caparello again got Dirrell against the ropes and seemingly into a bit of trouble with a similar left in round three, but eventually Dirrell settled in and managed to gain control of the fight.

Dirrell said, “My focus, determination and my drive got me the win tonight. I know I’ve got more work to do, but I never stopped grinding in there tonight.”

Caparello continued to go to work and battle, but it was clear who the ring general was from the close of the third round and until the final bell rang.

Dirrell exclaimed, “I wanted to send the boxing world and this whole division a message. I’m coming for anyone with a belt. I’ll take on anyone who’s a champion. I know I’ll be a world champion. I have to be a champion. I don’t slow down for anyone. I’m going to keep pushing to get where I’m going.”

On his struggles in the later rounds, Caparello said, “I continued to look for the same left hand all night, it just didn’t come again. Andre has a lot of tricks, he is both good and fast. I am not happy with my performance.”

Dirrell concluded, “Tonight my brother and I were both able to display our talents in front of a national audience on Spike. Anthony is strong as an ox and got the win quickly tonight. I got the win on determination and heart. I had to use my toughness in this fight, and I pushed myself as hard as I could to get the win.”

In the second televised bout of the evening, former world champion Anthony “The Dog” Dirrell (29-1-1, 23 KOs) met former world title challenger Caleb “Golden” Truax (26-3-2, 16 KOs) in a 10-round super middleweight affair.

The former 168-pound titleholder Dirrell got off to a quick start, scoring two knockdowns in the first round, causing referee Harvey Dock to stop the fight at just 1:49 into the first round.

Dirrell said of the dominating performance, “What helped me tonight was landing my shots early. I was right on top of him with combinations and controlling my jab and that set the tone. I showed tonight that I work hard in the gym, and it paid off. If I work like I did this time leading up to the fight, then I know nobody can beat me.”

A stunned Truax said, “Everything was great leading up to the fight. I don’t know what happened tonight. He just caught me early. I think it was an overhand right.”

Reflecting on what the victory means for his struggling hometown, Dirrell said, “My work tonight inside the ring made a big statement for what my brother and I are doing outside of the ring. A lot of people were watching tonight, and now they know a little bit more about what’s going on with the Flint Water Crisis back home.”

The opening televised bout featured undefeated knockout artist Jonathan Guzman (21-0, 21 KOs) continuing his hot streak in a 12-round super bantamweight title eliminator against Mexico’s Daniel Rosas (20-3, 12 KOs).

Guzman, an unbeaten fighter out of the Dominican Republic and now training in Massachusetts, stabilized early and easily controlled the action in the second half of the fight.

Guzman said, “I used a lot of concentration early and let him make errors so I could see what he was planning to do. Once I saw the mistakes he was making I let my hands go.”

Rosas was stunned in the third round, but Guzman was unable to close on a wobbled Rosas. In the fifth round, Guzman landed a left that knocked Rosas back and followed it with another, dropping Rosas just before the bell.

“I wanted to let him throw some punches early. It helped me gain confidence and learn his tendencies,” said Guzman. “I saw him dropping that right hand, and I knew it would open up the opportunity for me to land my left.”

Rounds six and seven saw Rosas take a pummeling, but miraculously stay on his feet. At the end of the eighth frame, Guzman dropped Rosas for a second time, and again Rosas was saved by the bell.

However, referee Benjy Esteves had seen enough and stopped the fight following the close of round eight.

When asked about the stoppage, Rosas said, “The Ref stopped the fight. I thought the fight should have continued, but he decided to stop it.” Rosas continued, “(Guzman) knocked me down, but I kept on fighting. I was never hurt. Guzman is a strong fighter, but I felt I could have continued and come back in the rest of the rounds.”

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The fight card was promoted by King’s Promotions.

For more information visit www.premierboxingchampions.com and www.spike.com/shows/premier-boxing-champions. Follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @AndreDirrell, @BlakeCaparello, @AnthonyDirrell, @GoldenCalebT, @SpikeTV, @SpikeSports, @KingsBoxing_and @Swanson_Comm and become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions. Highlights available to embed at www.youtube.com/premierboxingchampions. PBC on Spike is sponsored by Corona Extra, La Cerveza Mas Fina.

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (April 29, 2016) – TONIGHT at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, a big night of boxing will take place at the Mark Etess Arena with three big televised fights that will be shown live on Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Spike TV.

Before the cameras roll, nine undercard fights will take place that will feature a variety of prospects and contenders ,which includes popular Atlantic City based welterweight, Anthony “Juice” Young.

Young, who has a record of 11-2 with five knockouts is coming off a loss to Skander Halili at Boardwalk Hall.

“I switched my trainer to “Chino” Rivas and I am happy to get back in there. I am a sore loser,”” said Young.

“it’s been a great training camp. I have known Chino since I started boxing, but this is my first time working with him. It;s great to be in the gym with fighter’s like Jason Sosa, Tevin Farmer, Thomas LaManna & Anthony Burgin.”

“I don’t know too much about my opponent other than he fought my trainer’s son.”

Ït’s always important to fight home. I gave them a sour tatse with my last performance, so I want to get back.”

Said Young’s manager, Rich Masini, “We are excited to get Anthony back in the ring at home so quickly after that loss. We still think the world of him and that was just a minor setback and with a great performance on Friday, we feel that he will be back on a good line to get some great opportunities.”

Video interview with Anthony “Juice” Young.

Anthony
Anthony “Juice”Young

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by King’s Promotions, are priced at $100, $75 and $50, are available at all Ticketmaster outlets and are on sale now.

Friday, April 29
6:00 p.m. TAJ MAHAL CASINO & HOTEL DOORS OPEN
1000 Virginia Avenue; Atlantic City, NJ 08401

6:30 p.m. FIRST FIGHT BEGINS

9:00 p.m. PBC ON SPIKE TELECAST BEGINS

CREDENTIAL DISTRIBUTION
Fight night credentials can be picked up on Friday, April 29 from 4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. ET at the VIP check-in. Proper personal photo identification (driver’s license or passport) is required for credential pick-up.

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For more information visit www.premierboxingchampions.com and www.spike.com/shows/premier-boxing-champions. Follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @AndreDirrell, @BlakeCaparello, @AnthonyDirrell, @GoldenCalebT, @SpikeTV, @SpikeSports, @KingsBoxing_and @Swanson_Comm and become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions. Highlights available to embed at www.youtube.com/premierboxingchampions. PBC on Spike is sponsored by Corona Extra, La Cerveza Mas Fina.