Former Light Heavyweight and Lightweight Titlists in Co-Main Events
Former Light Heavyweight titlists Glen “The Road Warrior” Johnson (51-16-2, 35 KOs) and Andrzej “The Polish Prince” Fonfara (21-2, 12 KOs) will meet in the 10-round main event July 13 on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra. Friday’s show will air at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2 HD, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN3 from Chicago. The card is presented by Warriors Boxing.
ESPN2 studio host Bernardo Osuna will be hosting Friday’s show from the United States Olympic training facility in Colorado Springs. The show will include interviews with members of the men’s and women’s Olympic boxing team as they prepare for the 2012 London games.
Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas will be ringside for ESPN2 HD and ESPN3 at the UIC Center describing the action. Diana Alvarado and Delvin Rodriguez will call the fights for ESPN Deportes’ Viernes de Combates (Friday Night Fights), with Alex Pombo and Robert Abromowitz in the studio.
Main Event:
Chicago’s Fonfara has won his last nine fights, all by knockout, including a third-round TKO win over former Super Middleweight titlist Byron Mitchell.
Fonfara said of Friday’s fight: “Glen Johnson is a very tough guy. He fights with the best guys – Roy Jones Jr., Antonio Tarver, Tavoris Cloud, Carl Froch, and Lucian Bute. He has very good experience. He’s a very good boxer, very smart. It’s a tough fight for me, but I’m prepared for this fight, and I want to win.”
Miami’s Johnson brings a wealth of experience into the ring with him, having fought former and current titlists Lucian Bute, Carl Froch, Tavoris Cloud, Chad Dawson, Montell Griffin, Clinton Woods, Antonio Tarver, Roy Jones Jr., Julio Gonzalez, Sven Ottke, and Bernard Hopkins. He will look to rebound from a 12-round decision loss to former Super Middleweight titilist Lucian Bute.
Co-Feature:
Friday’s 10-round Welterweight co-feature will pit former two-time Lightweight titlist Jose Luis “El Temible” Castillo (63-11-1, 54 KOs) against Ivan “El Marro” Popoca (15-1-1, 10 KOs). Mexico’s Castillo enters Friday’s card experienced, having fought former titlists Ricky Hatton, Diego Corrales , Julio Diaz, Joel Casamayor, Floyd Mayweather , Cesar Bazan, Stevie Johnston, Jorge Paez , Javier Jauregui , and Cesar Soto. He is coming off a second-round TKO win over Sammy Ventura, while Chicago’s Popoca will look to rebound from a fourth-round knockout loss to Ruslan Provodnikov.
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