Barrera-Valera Added to Kovalev-Shabranskyy as HBO Co-Feature

*New York, NY: *The upcoming battle between former unified light
heavyweight world champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev and Vyacheslav “Lion
Heart” Shabranskyy already has fans buzzing. Now this much-anticipated
event onSaturday, November 25 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden will
also include another exciting bout in the light heavyweight division
between Cuban*Sullivan Barrera* (20-1, 14 KOs) and former WBA Interim Light
Heavyweight Champion *Felix “Mangu” Valera* (15-1, 13 KOs) of the Dominican
Republic. The bout will serve as the televised co-feature of HBO World
Championship Boxing telecast which begins at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. This bout is
presented by Main Events in association with Shuan Boxing Promotions, LLC.

Sullivan Barrera, 35, is ranked number one at light heavyweight by the WBA
and, if he can defeat Valera, will be first in line for Dmitry Bivol’s WBA
Light Heavyweight Championship belt as the mandatory challenger. A former
member of the Cuban National Team who defected from Cuba in 2009, Barrera
made his professional debut in 2009 in his adopted hometown of Miami,
Florida. He quickly made a name for himself in the light heavyweight
division winning his first 17 bouts, with 12 of those wins coming by way of
knockout.

Barrera’s only career loss was last year against the recently retired
former two-time super middleweight and unified light heavyweight world
champion Andre “S.O.G.” Ward. Despite the unanimous decision loss to Ward,
Sullivan stood toe-to-toe with the former pound-for-pound king for 12 full
rounds. In his most recent fight, Barrera came back from a first-round
knockdown to unanimously defeat Joe Smith Jr. and claim the WBC
International Light Heavyweight Title.
When asked about this match-up, Barrera responded, “I am happy to be back
in action, happy to be fighting in New York where boxing is big. Felix
Valera is a tricky and tough fighter. He is just another obstacle in my way
towards fighting for a world title.”

Valera, 29, from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic is a knockout artist
with 13 KOs in only 15 professional wins. He made his professional debut
back in 2012 and won his first 13 contests with 12 of those wins coming by
way of the stoppage. Last year, he travelled to Russian and upset Stanislav
Kashtanov to secure the WBA Interim Light Heavyweight Title. In his next
fight, also in Russia, he suffered his only career loss to the reigning WBA
Light Heavyweight Champion Dmitry Bivol in Bivol’s home country. Since the
Bivol bout, Valera is 2-0 with 1 KO. This will be his first professional
bout on US soil.

“I appreciate the opportunity offered to me by my promotional company,
Shuan Boxing Promotion, and Main Events,” said Valera. “But I am warning
Barrera right now that I am not going to New York for a vacation! I am
going to score that upset and get the win. After my win against Barrera, I
am then going to call out Sergey Kovalev because I want to fight the best
fighters in my weight class. I am going to put my country, the Dominican
Republic, back on the map and make them proud!”

Main Events CEO Kathy Duva said, “The light heavyweight division is wide
open right now! Within a few short months, we’ll probably have four
champions in the division. Sullivan Barrera and Felix Valera have both
worked very hard over the last couple years to stay in the mix while taking
on really tough fights. That experience will be an advantage for the winner
of this fight, who will almost certainly fight for a world title next. More
importantly for the fans, this is a great
sullivan-barrera_2.jpg

matchup that will deliver in the ring on November 25 at Madison Square
Garden.”

Valera’s promoter and CEO of Shuan Boxing Promotions, Bélgica Peña, added,
“We have been waiting for an opportunity of this magnitude in the United
States for a long time and we want to thank Felipe Gomez from El Matador
Management, who has been the person helping us find a fight like this and
he is the one who made this connection between us and Main Events. We know
that Valera is not going to disappoint anyone with this fight. My fighter
is a boxer with a lot of amateur experience and, with only 12 professional
fights, he gained a world title in Russia. We know that Barrera is a great
fighter, but he is in for a major surprise come November. In all, the fans
will be the true winner of this fight because Valera is coming to put on a
spectacular show!”

*Kovalev vs. Shabranskyy* is a 10-round light heavyweight fight promoted by
Main Events and Krusher Promotions in association with Golden Boy
Promotions.*Barrera vs. Valera *is a 10-round light heavyweight fight
promoted by Main Events in Association with Shaun Boxing Promotions. *Sosa
vs. Castellanos *is a 10-round super featherweight fight promoted by Golden
Boy Promotions in association with Peltz Boxing. The event will take place
at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and will be
televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET
/PT.