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ESPN and Tournament of Contenders today announced the date, venue and fight card for their third boxing special, “The Contender: Latin Warriors,” celebrating the Hispanic fighters of season one of “The Contender.” Launching Las Vegas into an exciting Cinco de Mayo weekend, “The Contender: Latin Warriors” will be held at the Aladdin Resort & Casino and aired live on ESPN Thursday, May 4 at 9:30 p.m. ET.
The action packed night of boxing will showcase “The Contender” champion, Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora, in a 10-round middleweight showdown against Archak “Shark Attack” TerMeliksetian. Alfonso S. Gomez will take on Jesse “El Rayo” Feliciano from Puerto Rico in an
eight-round super welterweight match up.
As “The Contender” champion, Mora is undefeated in his quest for greatness, boasting a 17-0-0 record. “The Latin Snake” will strike again in Las Vegas, returning to the city where he won the “Contender” belt.
“I feel like I’m coming full circle,” said Mora. “’The Contender’ was my launching pad to a better career, and I see this upcoming fight as another step towards greatness. I learned a lot from
boxing icon and host of “The Contender,’ Sugar Ray Leonard. The Shark’s bite won’t stop my venom.”
Armenian-born Archak TerMeliksetian was raised in Brazil but now resides in Los Angeles. TerMeliksetian holds a 15-3-0 record and has fought in the Boxing World Championships and the Pan American Games.
Alfonso Gomez fought his way into the hearts of “Contender” fans around the world. In October 2005, in front of a packed house at Staples Center, Gomez defeated Luciano Perez and improved his record to 14-3-1. On May 4, 2006, his fight against Jesse Feliciano will mark a rubber match between the two. Another victory would continue his journey toward becoming the next great Latino fighter, in the image of Julio Caesar Chavez.
The fight card also includes fellow “Contender” Latin hero, Miguel Espino against Gabriel Holguin from Laredo, Texas, and another “Contender” favorite, Jonathan Reid, fighting Ryan Davis from
Chicago.
“Contender” specials have been enormously successful. After selling out Caesar’s Palace for the May 2004 finale in slightly more than five minutes, they later drew a crowd of more than 10,000 in their first special event at Staples Center in October 2005. In February of this year, Tournament of Contenders and ESPN held “The Contender Special: East Coast Pride” in Providence, RI, featuring hometown hero Peter Manfredo Jr.
Despite a blizzard dropping 26 inches of snow, causing the event to be postponed one day, 9,000 loyal fans poured in to the Dunkin Donuts Center arena while the rest of America tuned in to watch Manfredo Jr., devastate Scott Pemberton in a third-round TKO. The two specials to date were the most-viewed boxing telecasts on ESPN since 1997, with the second special also being the highest-rated telecast since 1997.
Mark Burnett, executive producer of “The Contender’ and co-founder of Tournament of Contenders, LLC stated, “All of the ingredients are coming together in this recipe for success. ESPN and Tournament of Contenders continue to provide these brave young men with the platform to tell their story in and out of the ring. The attendance and the response of the fans at our live events show that people genuinely care about the sport and the popularity of
our fighters is growing.”
Ron Semiao, senior vice president, ESPN Original Entertainment, said, “Only Las Vegas can match the excitement and energy this bout will deliver to viewers and ticket holders alike. Boxing fans have an insatiable appetite for The Contender storyline and these fighters. As the company committed to giving fans what they want, when they want it, we’re more than happy to oblige them.”
Tickets for The Contender: Latin Warriors are available for purchase Saturday, April 1 at 10 a.m. through www.ticketmaster.com, all local Ticketmaster outlets and the Aladdin Resort & Casino Box Office or by calling 877-333-9474 or 702-785-5055.
For more information visit www.tournamentofcontenders.com or www.espn.com.
