Future Hill-Keene WBA title fight possibility at stake

BOISE, Idaho (June 26, 2006) – Much more than his 52nd victory may be on the line for Idaho icon Kenny “The Emmett Eliminator” Keene when he fights ex-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), reportedly is being considered for 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. Three-time world title-holder Hill, who lives in North Dakota, will be at ringside July 29 as a PPV broadcast color commentator.

At a Boise press conference last Friday, Hill said that he will be scouting Keene as a potential opponent for his next fight, providing Keene defeats Williams and secures a top 15 rating in the WBA. Hill mentioned that North Dakota would be more than accommodating in terms of hosting a Hill-Keene fight, but that it will be determined by economics, including site fee offers. Kenny has mentioned many times that he would like to end his career with a fight against Hill.

“Our July 29th pay-per-view show will serve as a test for a potential Hill-Keene fight in Boise,”  SEMI Director of Operations Rich Danner said. “We’ll see if Boise, all of Idaho, will support Hill-Keene based on the July 29th turnout.”

Keene 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 captured the IBF cruiserweight title in 1998 with a ninth-round knockout of Imamu Mayfield. He also has beaten Dwight Muhammad Qawi and Adolfo Washington.

“Hold Nothing Back!” -- presented by Xyience, Inc. in association with Sports and Entertainment Media, Inc. (SEMI) -- 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. 5 by the World Boxing Council and No. 8 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.

Former IBF light heavyweight champion William “Chocolate” Guthrie (33-3-2, 26 KOs), fighting out of Palm Beach Gardens (FL), has been added to the card. He’ll take 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), fighting out of Coeur d’Alene (ID), is on the undercard against Doug “The Kid” Kaluza (17-5-1, 10 KOs), of Lincoln (NE), in an eight round match. The exciting uncle and nephew combination of light middleweight Edgar Hernandez (3-0) and lightweight Mario Hernandez (3-0, 2 KOs), from Caldwell (ID), are scheduled to fight opponents to be determined.

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.