TACOMA, Wash. – Brian Halquist Productions and the Puyallup Tribe of Indians are pleased to announce 10 dates for 2020 – beginning on Jan. 17 with the 125th installment of the Battle at the Boat professional boxing series.
“It’s hard to believe we’ve been doing this for 23 years now, but here we are getting ready for our 125th Battle at the Boat show,” promoter Brian Halquist said.
“We have had such an outstanding relationship with the Emerald Queen Casino since 1997 and are really looking forward to the new year. This should be an especially exciting year for combative sport fans in the Pacific Northwest as the new Emerald Queen Casino will open in 2020. We will continue to bring the very best combative sports to Washington, the Pacific Northwest and the West Coast like we have for the last two decades plus.”
The 10 shows at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Wash. will feature five boxing and five mixed martial arts events.
CageSport will kick off its 2020 season with CageSport 60 on Feb. 22.
Battle at the Boat is the nation’s longest-running professional boxing series. The inaugural installment of the event took place on July 9, 1997 when Emmett Linton fought Jose Flores for the IBA super welterweight world championship. The series celebrated its 20th anniversary on June 3, 2017 with Battle at the Boat 111.
The 2019 Battle at the Boat series was highlighted by Battle at the Boat 121, which was televised on SHOWTIME’s award-winning SHOBOX: The New Generation and featured a main event between world heavyweight title contenders Jermaine Franklin and Jerry Forrest and a semi-main event between super featherweights Giovanni Cabrera Mioletti and Luis Porozo.
Additional 2029 Battle at the Boat events will take place on March 21, May 30, August 29 and November 7, while additional CageSport events at the Emerald Queen Casino will be held on April 25, July 11, September 26 and December 12.
In addition to the 10 shows at the Emerald Queen Casino, Brian Halquist Productions will hold a special CageSport event at the Seven Feathers Casino Resort in Canyonville, Ore. on May 9.
“This will be our third year holding a CageSport show at the Seven Feathers Casino,” Halquist said. “The last two were very successful shows so it was an easy decision to head back down to Oregon. The Seven Feathers Casino is a first-rate venue and some of the world’s best MMA fighters are coming out of Oregon. We are very excited to be returning to the Seven Feathers Casino Resort in 2020 and expect a standing-room only crowd.”
Over its 23-year history, Battle at the Boat has hosted several world title bouts, including Vernon Forest’s victory over Carlos Baldomir for the WBC Super Welterweight championship on July 28, 2007, Vic Darchinyan defeating Dmitri Kirillov by knockout for the IBF Super Flyweight title on Aug. 2, 2008 and Showtime’s World Bantamweight semifinals on Dec. 11, 2010 where Abner Mares captured the WBC belt with a victory over Darchinyan, while Yonnhy Perez reclaimed the IBF crown with a victory over Joseph Agbeko.
The boxing series has garnered international exposure as events from the Emerald Queen Casino have been broadcast on Showtime, HBO, ESPN, ESPN2, Direct TV, Fox Sports Net, Telemundo, TeleFutura, Univision and Azteca.
Brian Halquist Productions added MMA to its resume in 2008 when it promoted StrikeForce at the Tacoma Dome. The record-setting event featured Bob Sapp, former UFC heavyweight champion Maurice Smith and multiple-time kickboxing world champion Rick Roufus.
StrikeForce at the Dome proved to be a huge success, breaking the states gross gate receipts record and drawing 7,500 fans – the most for an MMA event in state history – and served as the foundation for CageSport.
For more information please visit www.halquistproductions.com.
Tickets are available through the EQC box office and all Ticket Master Outlets.
Follow Battle at the Boat and CageSport MMA on Facebook and on Twitter.
Brian Halquist Productions 2020 Combative Sports Schedule
Jan. 17 Battle at the Boat 125 Emerald Queen Casino
Feb. 22 CageSport 60 Emerald Queen Casino
Mar. 21 Battle at the Boat 126 Emerald Queen Casino
Apr. 25 CageSport 61 Emerald Queen Casino
May 9 CageSport 62 Seven Feathers Casino Resort
May 30 Battle at the Boat 127 Emerald Queen Casino
July 11 CageSport 63 Emerald Queen Casino
Aug. 29 Battle at the Boat 128 Emerald Queen Casino
Sept. 26 CageSport 64 Emerald Queen Casino
Nov. 7 Battle at the Boat 129 Emerald Queen Casino
Dec. 12 CageSport 65 Emerald Queen Casino
