RAY ‘BOOM BOOM’ MANCINI TO BE SPECIAL VIP GUEST FOR MAY 17 EDITION

INDIO, CALIF. (May 2, 2018): *Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, *the explosive
former lightweight world champion of Youngstown, Ohio, will be the special
VIP guest for the May 17 edition of *Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN*at *Fantasy
Springs Resort Casino *in Indio, Calif. The main event will feature
*Romero “Ruthless” Duno* (16-1, 14 KOs) of General Santos City, and Mexico
City, Mexico’s *Gilberto “Flaco” Gonzalez* (27-4, 22 KOs) in a 10-round
lightweight fight that promises to end in a knockout. This bout will
headline a night of two back-to-back battles between Mexican and Filipino
fighters, along with an undercard full of rising prospects.

Doors to the Special Events Center will open at 4:00 p.m. PT and the first
fight begins at 4:30 pm PT.ESPN2 will air the fights beginning at 10:00
p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT, and stream live on ESPN3 starting at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30
p.m. PT. ESPN Deportes will air the fights on Friday, May 18 at 9:00 p.m. ET
/ 6:00 p.m. PT.

After a stellar amateur career, Mancini debut as a professional just before
turning 18 years old. This charismatic fighter then developed a long streak
of victories as he rose up the 135-pound rankings, most of ending them by
stunning knockout. In his first opportunity at a world title, he faced the
legendary *Alexis “El Flaco Explosivo”**Arguello *in a fight for the WBC
Lightweight World Title. Though he was unsuccessful in his first defense,
Mancini then defeated *Arturo “Art” Frias *a year later to win the WBA
Lightweight World Title, which began a series of defenses against fighters
such as *Orlando “Romerito” Romero *and *Bobby “Schoolboy” Chacon. *Mancini
will be in attendance for this event to meet fans, sign autographs and take
pictures inside the Fantasy Springs Special Events Center before the ESPN
transmission begins. The meet-and-greet is open to the public with the
purchase of a ticket to the event.

The co-main event will feature the second battle of the fight between
Mexican and Filipino fighters as *Oscar Duarte *(13-0-1, 9 KOs) of Parral,
Chihuahua Mexico will fight *Rey Perez* (22-9, 6 KOs) in a lightweight bout
scheduled for 10 rounds of action. Duarte’s last five fights have ended
before the final bell, and he’ll be tested against war-ready and dangerous
Perez.

*Francisco “El Alacran” Esparza *(7-0-1, 3 KOs) will return after his most
impressive victory yet when he takes on *Edgar Cantu *(7-3-2, 1 KO) of
Nuevo Laredo, Mexico in an eight-round featherweight clash. Esparza is
coming off an impressive technical knockout victory against then-undefeated
prospect *Tenochtitlan “T-Dog” Nava.*

In the night’s TV swing bout, Dallas TX’s *Alex Rincon* (3-0, 3 KOs) will
fight on the California fight scene for the first time when he faces a
soon-to-be-announced opponent in a four-round super welterweight affair.

*Maikol Lopez *(12-1, 6 KOs) of Mexicali, Mexico will participate in a
six-round super bantamweight fight, while *Jaba Khositashvili *(2-0, 1 KO),
a native of Akhalkalaki, Georgia and resident of Philadelphia, Pa. will
fight in a six-round battle in the 168-pound division.

*Raymond Muratalla *will make his professional debut in his home turf of
Indio, Calif. in a four-round lightweight battle.

Opponents for these four fighters will be announced shortly.

*Duno vs. Gonzalez *is a 10-round lightweight fight presented by Golden Boy
Promotions. The event is sponsored by Tecate, “*THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING*”
and Hennessy, “*Never Stop, Never Settle.”* The fights will take place
on Thursday,
May 17, 2018 at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino. Doors to the Special Events
Center will open at 4:00 p.m. PT and the first fight begins at 4:30 pm PT.ESPN2
will air the fights beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT, and stream
live on ESPN3 starting at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT. ESPN Deportes will air
the fights on Friday, May 18 at 9:00 p.m. ET/ 6:00 p.m. PT.

Tickets for the event are on sale and start at $25. Tickets will be
available at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino box office, by calling
1-800-827-2946, or by purchasing online at www.fantasyspringsresort.com.