Olympic Boxing Sensation From Ghana Makes Pro Debut At “The Battle At York II”

Boxing fans in Central Pennsylvania will witness the unleashing of boxing’s hottest middleweight prospect this Saturday Night, November 8, 2008 as Ghanaian Olympian, Bastie “The Beast” Samir, makes his professional debut at the Valencia Ballroom.

Samir will be featured at “The Battle At York II”, a seven bout evening of world class professional boxing presented by Chet Koerner’s TKO BOXING Promotions. He will face Akron, Ohio’s Rodell Bolar in a scheduled four round bout.

The main event features local fan favorite Carney Bowman in an eight round featherweight bout against Puerto Rican banger Castulo Gonzalez. In the co-main event, 19 year old York native Stevie Weimer will battle Omaha’s Trenton Titsworth. Bowman and Weimer will both be looking to keep their undefeated records alive.

The 22 year old Samir, captain of the Ghana team, compiled a record of 96-7 as an amateur competing in numerous international tournaments including the World Championships in Chicago in 2007. He lost a heavily disputed second round bout to Brazilian, Washington Silva in the second round of the Beijing Games last month by a score of 9-7.

Said award winning manager Cameron Dunkin, “This is truly a special event for fight fans. Bastie was a world class amateur and has been highly regarded for many years with boxing writers in awe of his power and pro style. I’ve managed numerous world champions and believe Bastie has all the tools to become the middleweight world champion."

In 2008, The Boxing Writers Association of America voted Dunkin the Manager of the Year. Included in his outstanding stable of fighters are current world champions Kelly Pavlik, Nonito Donaire and Steven Luevano.

Full Bout Sheet
Carney Bowman vs. Castulo Gonzalez, eight rounds, featherweights
Stevie Weimer vs. Trenton Titsworth, four rounds, welterweights
Bastie Samir vs. Rodell Bolar, four rounds, middleweights
Andres Taylor vs. Kelsey Arnold, four rounds, heavyweights
Raul Tovar vs. Damone Antoine, four rounds, welterweights
Terrance Crawford vs. Michael Williams, four rounds, junior welterweights
James Countryman vs. Anthony Cannon, four rounds, super middleweights

The Valencia Ballroom is located at 142 N. George St in the downtown area of York , PA. Tickets, with a five dollar discount prior to fight night, are on sale in advance at www.tix.com or by calling 800-595-4849. Doors will open on the night of the event at 6:30pm with the first bell at 7:30pm.