Champions Claressa Shields and Hanna Gabriels held a workout for the media in downtown Detroit Tuesday
Salita Promotions “It’s Our Time To Shine” event is just two days and a wake up away from fight night. Friday night at Detroit’s Masonic Temple two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and unified Super Middleweight champion Claressa Shields faces unified Super Welterweight champion Hanna Gabriels for the vacant IBF and WBA Middleweight titles. With a victory Shields captures her second pair of world titles in just her sixth professional fight. Costa Rica’s Gabriels – a one-loss two-division champion – won her first world championship in 2009.
Tuesday, June 19 the two women held a media workout in a downtown boxing gym as part of the scheduled fight week activity. The workout featured world champion trainer John David Jackson in his new role with Shields.
The un-televised undercard of the “Shields vs. Gabriels” event on Friday, June 22, at the Masonic Temple in Detroit, is stacked with great fights between local and international prospects.
Salita Promotions has put together several strong match-ups in addition to the nationally televised SHOWTIME BOXING: SPECIAL EDITION (10 p.m./7 p.m. ET/PT) portion of the show headlined by Shields vs. Gabriels.
Topping the off-TV action will be worldwide fan favorite Bakhtiyar “Bakha Bullet” Eyubov (13-0, 11 KOs) of Aktjubinsk, Kazakhstan, taking on Nicholas “King Beamen” Givhan (21-1-1, 11 KOs) of nearby Kalamazoo, Michigan, in a 10-rounder for the USBA Great Lakes Region Welterweight Championship
The action will further heat up with a 10-round light heavyweight showdown between Grozny, Russia’s Aslambek Idigov (12-0, 5 KOs) and Detroit’s own James “The Equalizer” Ballard (10-1, 3 KOs).
Detroit bantamweight favorite Ja’Rico “Great Lakes King” O’Quinn (8-0-1, 5 KOs) will bring his monstrous legion of fans in to watch him go eight rounds for the first time while taking on West Bloomfield, Michigan, veteran Yaqub Kareem (14-9-1, 8 KOs).
The sensational Franchon Crews Dezurn (3-1, 1 KO) of Baltimore will put on a six-round showcase against Ohio’s Crystal Byers; and in an eight-round heavyweight match-up, Kurchaloi, Russia’s Apti Davtaev (14-0-1, 13 KOs) will attempt to continue his tear through the big man’s division against Catlettsburg, Kentucky, veteran Cory Phelps (16-10-1, 8 KOs).
Appearing in match-ups that are still being made, “Lethal” Leon Lawson (6-0, 4 KOs) of Flint will fight in a super welterweight six-rounder with an opponent still to be determined. And Detroit’s undefeated Joseph Bonas (3-0, 3 KOs) will go four welterweight rounds with Michael Klekotta (1-2).
Also on Showtime, Unified Women’s Middleweight Champion Christina Hammer (22-0, 10 KOs) of Germany defends her WBC & WBO Titles in her U.S. debut against former world champion Tori Nelson (17-1-3, 2 KOs) and in the 10-round opener, Russia’s Umar Salamov (20-1, 15 KOs) will face Georgia’s Brian Howard (13-1, 10 KOs) for the IBF North American Light Heavyweight Championship.
Tickets for the event, which is promoted by Salita Promotions, are available at Ticketmaster.com or at the Masonic Temple Box Office at (313) 832-7100. VIP tickets are priced at $300, ringside tickets at $125, and remaining tickets at $75, $50 and $35.
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Header photo and gallery by Jeffery Finney/Catch N Shoot Media
This article originally appeared at RoundByRoundBoxing
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