“Star Power Friday” Lined Up As Mayweather vs. Ortiz Lead-In

The night before the biggest boxing event of 2011, the welterweight championship bout between Floyd “Money” Mayweather and “Vicious” Victor Ortiz, the “Star Power” weekend will get into gear during the September 16 edition of TeleFutura’s “Sólo Boxeo Tecate” which will also air live on Fox Sports Network from the Dallas Events Center in the Texas Station Casino in Las Vegas, Nev.

Fight fans will get to see top heavyweight contender Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell take on Hector Ferreryro in a 10-round main event that will be sure to get fight fans amped up for the big boxing weekend in Sin City.

The evening’s co-main event is also expected to be a memorable one, as 2008 Olympic Gold medalist Felix Diaz puts his perfect record on the line against Dallas’ Larry Smith in a welterweight matchup scheduled for eight rounds.

Plus, Las Vegas’ own Tyler Lawson will have the local crowd on his side as the Texas Station employee makes his professional debut in a four round junior welterweight fight against an opponent to be determined.

The unprecedented dual-network, bi-lingual broadcast, which will also contain exclusive “Star Power: Mayweather vs. Ortiz” preview material, will be available in over 63 million TeleFutura homes in Spanish and will be broadcast live to over 50 million homes on Fox Sports Net in English.

A former stand-out linebacker at Michigan State University, Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell (22-0-1, 16 KO’s) found his way to the boxing ring after injuries ended his gridiron career. Little did he know that he would become one of the heavyweight division’s top prospects, a devastating puncher who has 12 knockouts in two rounds or less.

Hailing from Brandywine, Maryland, 29-year-old Mitchell, who is considered by many to be the United States’ best prospect for heavyweight world champion, has stepped up his game since 2010, finishing off veterans Johnnie White, Derek Bryant and Taurus Sykes in short order. In his most recent win, he needed less than one round to knock out Evans Quinn on May 13 and looks forward to another tough test in Ferreyro on September 16.

Laredo, Texas’ “Hurricane” Hector Ferreyro (21-10-2, 12 KO’s) just celebrated his 10th year as a professional fighter and he can think of no better way to kick off his second decade in the sport than by taking the “0” from Seth Mitchell’s record. Winner of multiple regional titles over the years, the rugged veteran has gone the distance in championship contests four times and he knows that if he can survive Mitchell’s initial attack, he can bring the prospect into deep water on September 16.

A two-time Olympian for the Dominican Republic who struck Gold in 2008, Felix Diaz (9-0, 6 KO’s) became a national hero after the Beijing Games as the only athlete from his country to win a Gold Medal. In 2009, he turned professional with a first round technical knockout over Hugo Pacheco.

He has traveled the globe during his boxing career having fought in all over the world including the Dominican Republic, Germany, Russia and the United States. Most recently, the 27-year-old southpaw handed Andrey Berdyshev his first professional loss on March 26. Now, he’s looking forward to September 16 and thrilling fight fans in town for Mayweather-Ortiz.

Hard-hitting Larry Smith (10-5, 6 KO’s) has kept busy since his professional debut in 2009, building a solid reputation in the South as a hard-nosed competitor who always comes to fight. In 2011 alone, the Dallas native has already fought four times and in his last bout, on August 20, he scored a fifth round knockout over Calvin Pitts. Now he’ll look to keep that momentum going against a tough test in Olympic Gold Medalist Felix Diaz.

“Star Power Friday” is presented by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate and AT&T. The TeleFutura broadcast begins at 11:30pm ET / PT (10:30pm CT) and the Fox Sports Net broadcast will begin at 10:30pm ET / 7:30pm PT.

Fans at home can also be part of the action by participating in Cinturón Tecate and voting for the fighter in the main event who displayed the most character in the ring by sending a text message to 55333. Voting will be open through the end of the weekend.

Tickets, priced at $25 and $50, are on sale now and available for purchase at the Texas Station Rewards Center or online at www.stationcasinos.com/concerts

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