ESPN’s Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra will originate from Temecula, Calif. June 24 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2, ESPN3D, ESPN Deportes and ESPN3.com. Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas will be ringside at the Pechanga Resort Casino describing the action, while studio host Jonathan Coachman will present all the latest boxing news and highlights. The card is presented by Goossen Tutor Promotions.
Friday’s telecast will mark boxing’s second telecast in 3D. ESPN 3D presented boxing for the first time in the U.S. Feb. 18 with ESPN’s Friday Night Fights telecast from Salisbury, Md. The show made it the first live ESPN telecast to be produced only in 3D, airing in 3D and 2D simultaneously. Friday’s show will be the first of five additional telecasts added to the network. The remaining schedule: July1, July 8, July 22, August 5.
“3D is most impactful when you have close proximity to the subject. Nothing offers closer proximity than boxing. It truly makes you feel like you have a ringside seat,” said Phil Orlins, Coordinating Producer for ESPN 3D. “TV is all about access and bringing the viewer close to the game. 3D is arguably the biggest step closer to the ultimate real life experience that TV has ever been able to take. Nothing makes you feel closer to the action than watching boxing in 3D.”
Matt Sandulli Senior Coordinating Producer for ESPN’s Friday Night Fights said, “We had known all along that boxing would be a home run in 3D and the Feb. 18 show proved that. I would say there may be no sport that could benefit more from 3D coverage then boxing because the wow moment can happen every second there is action in the ring.”
This Friday’s fights features “The Gladiator” John Molina Jr. (22-1, 18 KOs) and Mauricio “El Maestro” Herrera (17-1, 7 KOs) in co-main events.Covina Calif.’s Molina, will meet Denver’s “Red Hot” Rob Frankel (28-10-1, 5 KOs). Molina has won his last four fights all by knockout, including a third-round TKO over Alejandro Rodriguez in his last fight.
Riverside Calif.’s Herrera, will take on “The Silent Assassin” Mike Dallas Jr. (17-1-1, 7 KOs). Herrera has won his last four fights, including an eight-round decision win over Cristian Favela in his last fight. He scored one of his career-best wins in his previous fight on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights in January against Ruslan Provodnikov.
After that fight, ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael wrote, “In the first main event of the first card of the new season of ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights, we already have our first upset of the year, as Herrera took the competitive decision against Provodnikov, who was widely considered a top prospect. This is, by far, the biggest win of Herrera’s career and he earned it in a tough, grinding battle in which both men went past the 10th round for the first time and showed a lot of heart. This was a really good fight and a nice way to kick off the FNF season.”
