Boxing News Boxing News
Two of the best young cruiserweights in the world, Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey and Shawn “The Sioux Warrior” Hawk, have been on a collision course and lead promoter Classic Entertainment and Sports, Inc. (CES) officially announced today that Godfrey-Hawk will headline the July 10th ESPN2 Friday Night Fights show.
Godfrey (18-1, 10 KOs), rated No. 6 by the WBC and No. 7 by the IBF, will defend his NABF and SNBC belts against unbeaten challenger Hawk (18-0-1, 16 KOs) in the 10-round main event.
“Both of these cruiserweights were highly successful amateurs and now they are two of the top young contenders in the division,” CES president Jimmy Burchfield said.
“Both are Native Americans, too. When Matt won the first Sovereign Nation Boxing Council (SNBC) belt, Shawn fought on the same card last November at 4 Bears Casino in North Dakota.
“This is the match-up American boxing fans want to see – two top fighters in against each other. Matt and Shawn have wanted to fight each other for a long time and now it’s finally going to happen.”
The Ring magazine’s No. 10-ranked Godfrey, who has Narragansett blood in his family, had a 194-23 amateur record, capturing six national championships, four open tournaments including the 2004 Everlast U.S. Championships, plus two in the Junior Olympics.
He was a Bronze medal winner at the 2001 Pan-American Games, Silver Medalist in all four of that year’s national major tournaments – National Golden Gloves, PAL (Police Athletic League), U.S. Championships and U.S. Challenge — and six-time New England Golden Gloves champion.
As a pro, three of the 28-year-old Godfrey’s most impressive performances have been knockouts of Emmanuel Nwodo, Felix Cora, Jr. and Shaun George on ESPN. His lone loss was by 12-round decision 15 months ago in a WBC title eliminator to Rudolf Kraj in Germany, in which, Godfrey came on strong down the stretch only to run out of rounds.
Hawk, 25, is a full-blooded Sioux who comes from Crow Creek Reservation, North Dakota, which is the poorest Native American reservation in the country. Shawn had a 108-12 amateur record, including victories in four national championships, highlighted by a gold-medal performance at the National PAL Tournament when he was 14.
For more information about CES, its shows and fighters, go on line to www.CESBoxing.com
