New York, NY / Miami, Okla. (
Sept. 23, 2016) – While Ivan Baranchyk (11-0, 10KO’s) was born in Russia, grew up in Belarus and now lives in New York, if you ask any boxing fan in Miami, OK, he is one of their own.
Tonight, the undefeated light welterweight terror, nicknamed “The Beast”, will look to once again impress when he makes his third straight appearance at Buffalo Run Casino. Baranchyk is set to square off against former Chinese amateur standout and fellow undefeated prospect Wang Zhimin (7-0, 3KO’s, 7-1 WSB) in the 10-round co-feature bout for the vacant USBA 140-pound title. Baranchyk is one of six undefeated fighters on
tonight’s ShoBox: The New Generation quadrupleheader where the eight combatants are sporting a combined record of 114-3-1. The quadrupleheader will be broadcast live on
SHOWTIME tonight, beginning at
10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast.
“Baranchyk is a beast and tonight he gets tested against another undefeated fighter,” said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. “Ivan has developed a big following at Buffalo Run Casino and fans should not miss his fight tonight as well as a ring entrance that will be memorable. Tonight, the beast roars.”
“Ivan Baranchyk has the type of style that is truly can’t-miss. As soon as the fans here saw him, they absolutely fell in love with him,” said promoter Tony Holden, who signed a co-promotional deal with DiBella Entertainment and Fight Promotions to make Baranchyk a member of his popular Four State Franchise stable earlier this year. “Ivan is a truly special fighter, he has that ‘it’ factor about him, so tonight we have planned something very special for his ring walk. I have been working in boxing 25 years and we have never done something like this before, and I can’t ever remember seeing anything like this. When Ivan steps in that ring, he is must see TV and we want to add to that, and give a special treat to our great fans here in Miami and all boxing fans watching around the globe on SHOWTIME. Trust me, you don’t want to miss this.”
The bout will be Baranchyk’s third fight on ShoBox in less than a year, and his fourth consecutive bout against an undefeated opponent. Throughout his first 11 professional fights, Baranchyk has more than lived up to his nickname, knocking out 10 of his 11 opponents, all in three rounds or less. Baranchyk has scored back-to-back sensational highlight reel first-round knockouts in his previous two ShoBox appearances and has knocked out his last eight opponents. For Baranchyk, the bout against former amateur standout Wang, who just missed out on making the 2012 Chinese Olympic team, will easily be his toughest to date. Wang is a highly skilled boxer who isn’t afraid to mix it up. The winner of the bout will seize the USBA championship and jump into the top 15 of the IBF junior welterweight world ratings.
Headlining the stacked card will be once-beaten light heavyweight contender Radivoje “Hot Rod” Kalajdzic (21-1, 14KO’s) facing off against unbeaten southpaw Travis “The Notorious” Peterkin (16-0-1, 7KO’s) in the 10-round main event.
Heavyweight Trey Lippe Morrison (11-0, 11 KOs), a local favorite and the son of late former world heavyweight champion Tommy “The Duke” Morrison, is making his highly anticipated television debut against fellow unbeaten Ed Latimore (13-0, 7 KOs), of Pittsburgh, PA, in a special-attraction six-round heavyweight showdown. Opening up the telecast will be former Ukrainian amateur standout and now unbeaten prospect Ivan “The Volk” Golub (12-0, 10 KOs, 5-0 WSB), of Brooklyn, taking on James “Keep’em Sleepin” Stevenson (23-2, 16 KOs), of Baltimore, MD, in an eight-round welterweight clash.
This is Kalajdzic’s first fight since losing a highly controversial eight-round split decision to top-rated unbeaten 2012 Olympian Marcus Browne on April 16 in Brooklyn. Kalajdzic felt that the he was outright robbed, as did many others ringside and viewers watching live on NBC, and the hard-hitting light heavyweight has been clamoring for a rematch with Browne ever since. For that to happen, Kalajdzic must first take care of business against the unbeaten and former New York Golden Gloves champion Peterkin. Peterkin, like Kalajdzic, will be making his ShoBox debut. The lone blemish on Peterkin’s record came in a hotly contested eight-round majority decision draw (Peterkin lost two points from accidental blows) to fellow undefeated prospect and 2008 Olympian Lenin Castillo back in August of last year. Peterkin knows that securing an impressive victory over Kalajdzic, something Browne couldn’t accomplish, will skyrocket him up the ratings of the light heavyweight division and put the loaded 175-pound division on notice.
The matchup between Morrison and Latimore is one of the most interesting of the four bouts on the card. Morrison, a knockout artist like his father, has absolute dynamite in his hands. A member of Holden’s Four State Franchise stable, Morrison is trained by Freddie Roach and has registered eight first-round knockouts, with not one opponent going the distance. Morrison, who was a college football player and never had any amateur bouts, has looked more impressive with each outing, but the bout against Latimore will be his first real test as a pro. In Latimore, Morrison will be facing a big, strong heavyweight, who, like Morrison, has yet to taste defeat as a pro. Unlike Morrison, Latimore did have an extensive amateur career, which saw him win both the 2011 Pennsylvanian Golden Gloves and the 2011 National PAL championship. Both fighters are aggressive, come-forward bangers, and you can expect fireworks early and often for as long as it lasts.
A stablemate of Baranchyk, the 27-year-old Golub was a sensational amateur, becoming a five-time Ukrainian National champion, winning a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships in 2006 and bronze at the World Championships in 2009, amassing a record of 270-32 in the process. Golub was a perfect 5-0 in the WSB before officially turning pro in June 2014. The southpaw Golub is a relentless pressure fighter and has knocked out his last six opponents in a row, including previously undefeated Marlon Aguas in his ShoBox debut in March. In Stevenson, Golub will face an experienced hard-hitting opponent who knows that this could be his last chance at making a name for himself and that he cannot afford another loss on his record if he is going to stay relevant in the 147-pound division.
The sold-out event is promoted by DiBella Entertainment and Tony Holden Productions in association with Fight Promotions Inc. and Roc Nation Sports.
Barry Tompkins will call the ShoBox action from ringside with Steve Farhood and former world champion Raul Marquez serving as expert analysts. The executive producer is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.
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About ShoBox: The New Generation
Since its inception in July 2001, the critically acclaimed SHOWTIME boxing series,ShoBox: The New Generation has featured young talent matched tough. The ShoBoxphilosophy is to televise exciting, crowd-pleasing and competitive matches while providing a proving ground for willing prospects determined to fight for a world title. Some of the growing list of the 67 fighters who have appeared on ShoBox and advanced to garner world titles includes: Andre Ward, Deontay Wilder, Erislandy Lara, Shawn Porter, Gary Russell Jr., Lamont Peterson, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Omar Figueroa, Nonito Donaire, Devon Alexander, Carl Froch, Robert Guerrero, Timothy Bradley, Jessie Vargas, Juan Manuel Lopez, Chad Dawson, Paulie Malignaggi, Ricky Hatton, Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams and more.
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