Keene on Brink of Dream Fight
Future WBA title fight vs.
Hill at stake against Williams
Roy Jones-Prince Badi
headlines July 29 PPV show
Idaho icon Kenny “The Emmett
Eliminator” Keene is on the verge of fighting in the
most significant boxing event in Idaho history if he can
defeat former International Boxing Federation champion
“King” Arthur Williams (42-14-1, 29 KOs) on July 29 in a
10-round Special Cruiserweight Attraction bout at the
Qwest Arena in Boise, Idaho.
Keene (51-3, 28 KOs),
fighting out of Emmett (ID), has a legitimate shot at a
title fight later this year against World Boxing
Association cruiserweight champion Virgil “Quicksilver”
Hill (50-5, 23 KOs), contingent upon Keene defeating
Williams in their chief supporting bout on the July 29
“Hold Nothing Back!” pay-per-view show, headlined by the
return of five-time world champion Roy Jones, Jr.
challenging North American Boxing Organization light
heavyweight champion Prince Badi “The Boxing Prince”
Ajamu. Five-time world title-holder Hill, who lives in
North Dakota, will be at ringside July 29 as a PPV
broadcast color commentator.
“Keene is poised to get his
dream match against Hill,” Director of Operations Ritch
Danner said, “but first he has to get past a tough
opponent July 29th in ‘King’ Arthur Williams. “Kenny
says he wants to fight his last fight against Hill in
Boise; Hill wants the fight at his home in North Dakota.
Hill-Keene, if Williams doesn’t become the spoiler, will
all come down to economics in terms of where it’ll be
held. We’ll find out July 29th if Boise, all of Idaho,
will support Hill-Keene based on the turnout.”
Keene, arguably Idaho’s
greatest boxer of all-time, has won 43 of his 44 fights
(25 KOs) in Idaho, including a 22-1 (12 KOs) record in
Boise, and his only loss there was nearly 10 years ago.
Kenny has been the WBF, IBC and IBA cruiserweight
title-holder during the course of his 15-year pro
career. He is riding an eight-year, 11-fight win streak.
His most notable victories have been against Rob
Calloway, Richie LaMontagne and Andrew Maynard.
Williams, who also owned the USBA and NABF cruiserweight
belts, captured the IBF cruiserweight title in 1998 with
a ninth-round knockout of Imamu Mayfield. He also has
beaten Dwight Mohammad Qawi and Adolfo Washington.
“Hold Nothing Back!” --
presented by Xyience, Inc. in association with Sports
and Entertainment Media, Inc. (SEMI) and Knockout
Promotions -- will be broadcast live in North America on
cable and satellite PPV beginning at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT.
The event is being produced and distributed for North
American Pay Per View by Integrated Sports and will be
available in more than 50-million homes in the United
States and Canada via InDemand, TVN, DirecTV & Dish
Network in the US and Viewer’s Choice & Bell ExpressVu
in Canada. The suggested retail price for the PPV
telecast is only $24.95.
Hall of Fame bound Jones
(49-4, 38 KOs) has been world champion in four different
weight classes, ranging from middleweight up to
heavyweight. His much-anticipated comeback after 10
months away from the ring is against Prince Badi
(25-2-1, 14 KOs), who is rated No. 6 by the World Boxing
Council and No. 7 by the World Boxing Organization.
Prince Badi has dedicated the fight to the memory of his
first cousin, the late Floyd Patterson, two-time world
heavyweight champion.
In other pay-per-view
fights former IBF light heavyweight champion William “KO
King” Guthrie (33-3-2, 26 KOs), fighting out of Palm
Beach Gardens (FL), takes on Luke Munsen (19-5, 13 KOs),
of Spokane (WA), in a 12-round title fight for the
vacant IBF International cruiserweight belt; unbeaten
Crow Creek Sioux cruiserweight Shawn Hawk (11-0, 8 KOs)
rated No. 19 by the North American Boxing Association,
squares off against Doug “The Kid” Kaluza (17-5-1, 10
KOs) in an eight-round match.
Also on the undercard is
veteran Frank Wood (26-3, 18 KOs), the reigning
Mid-South heavyweight title-holder, against New Yorker
Derrick Brown (12-2-1, 10 KOs), who is managed by one of
the greatest women boxers of all-time, Christy Martin,
in a 10-round Special Heavyweight Attraction. Boise
light welterweight Hilario Lopez (8-4, 6 KOs) fights
Steve Marquez (7-7-1, 6
KOs) in a six-round bout, while Marquez’ younger
brother, David Marquez (3-1-1), is matched against
Caldwell (ID) light middleweight Edgar Hernandez (3-0)
in a four-rounder. His nephew, lightweight Mario
Hernandez (3-0, 2 KOs), also from Caldwell (ID), is
scheduled against an opponent to be determined in a
four-round match.
Tickets, priced at $50,
$100, $150, $250 and $350 (plus handling fees), are on
sale and available exclusively at the Qwest Arena Box
Office. Call 208.331.TIXS (8947), toll free 888.330.TIXS
(8497), or go on line at
www.qwestarenaidaho.com.
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