Navarro – Torres Headline DiBella Boxing Show May 17

The Bantamweights will take center stage on Wednesday night, May 17th, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT when DiBella Entertainment presents an exciting main event featuring former Olympian Jose Navarro (21-2, 11 KO’s) squaring off against Phillipino star Vernie Torres (27-6, 15 KO’s) on ESPN2’s Wednesday Night Fights.

Navarro, the 2000 Olympian fighting out of Los Angeles, looks to get back on the winning track after two career losses on foreign turf in Japan. On February 27th, Navarro lost a close decision fight to Masamori Tokuyama for the WBC Super Flyweight Title. On January 3, 2005, Navarro was robbed of the WBC Super Flyweight Title against Katsushige Kawashima. One judge awarded eleven out of twelve rounds for Navarro, while the other two judges had Kawashima winning the fight by one point.

Torres, a Roy Jones, Jr. protege originally from Davao, The Philippines now fighting out of Los Angeles via Pensacola, Florida, is coming off of two consecutive wins following a set back to former World Title Challenger Angel Priolo. A win over Navarro could bring Torres the world title challenge he has sought for so long.

In the co-feature, one of boxing’s most exciting fighters and lovable characters, Emanuel Augustus will square off against top notch prospect Adrian Mora (15-0-1, 8 KO’s) in a ten round junior welterweight contest.

Augustus, fighting out of Brownsville, Texas, will look to continue his streak of memorable ESPN2 fights which includes his legendary war with Micky Ward in July of 2001. Augustus was last seen on ESPN2 on February 10th of this year scoring a TKO victory over the rugged Jaime Rangel.

Thornton, Colorado native Mora has yet to taste defeat during a six-year pro career and looks to add another victory to his resume in front of a national audience. A victory over Augustus will go a long way towards propelling Mora from the status of prospect to contender.

Another DBE Olympian, the undefeated Andre Berto (11-0, 9 KO’s) who participated in the 2004 Athens Games, will also be on the card fighting in a six round welterweight bout. The Winter Haven, Florida standout is on a big time roll in the pro ranks with 11 victories in a row, including nine scores by way of knockout. Berto’s “don’t blink or you’ll miss it” style has made him a fan favorite and caused the boxing world to take notice of his star potential.

Light heavyweight Anthony Russell (12-1-1, 2 KO’s) of Brockton, Massachusetts will see action in a six round bout. Two undefeated youngsters from Puerto Rico, junior middleweight Yukeno Andino (4-0, 1 KO) and junior welterweight Hector Sanchez (6-0, 2 KO’s), both fighting out of San Juan, will put their unbeaten records on the line in a six and a four round bout respectively.

Tickets for the event are priced at $50, $30 and $20, and are available through the Mohegan Sun Box Office, and Ticketmaster. To purchase tickets, log on to ticketmaster.com, call ticketmaster at 860.886.0070 or visit any Ticketmaster outlet.