WBC Regional Belt On Line For Imam vs. Maldonado

ByShowtime Boxing

The fight this Saturday between undefeated super lightweight Amir “Young Master” Imam (15-0, 13 KOs) and hard-hitting Fidel “The Atrisco Kid” Maldonado Jr. (19-2, 16 KOs) will now be for the WBC Continental Americas Super Lightweight Championship, it was announced today.

The 10-rounder, which will open the live Showtime tripleheader on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, will precede two world title bouts on a fight card at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas co-promoted by Don King Productions and Golden Boy Promotions.

In Saturday’s highly anticipated main event, hard-hitting WBC Heavyweight Champion Bermane “B.Ware” Stiverne (24-1-1, 21 KOs), of Las Vegas, will defend against unbeaten knockout specialist and mandatory challenger Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder (32-0, 32 KOs), of Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Crowd-pleasing unbeaten WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Leo “Terremoto” Santa Cruz (28-0-1, 16 KOs), of Los Angeles, will risk his belt against Jesus “Estrella” Ruiz (32-5-5, 22 KOs) in the co-feature.

Imam, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., by way of Albany, N.Y., was an amateur standout and silver medalist at the 2011 U.S. Olympic Trials. As a professional, the talented Imam, 24, has mostly had his way; 11 of his fights have ended in the first or second round.

The always-willing Maldonado Jr., 23, had won six straight bouts, five by knockout, before his last outing ended in a third round no contest on Dec. 20, 2014, in Cancun, Mexico.

“Return To Glory”: Stiverne vs. Wilder, a 12-round fight for Stiverne’s WBC Heavyweight Championship taking place Saturday, Jan. 17 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is co-promoted by Don King Productions and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona and Mexico – Live It To Believe It!.

In the 12-round co-feature, unbeaten WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Leo Santa Cruz defends against Jesus Ruiz and undefeated Amir Imam meets Fidel Maldonado Jr. in a 10-round super lightweight bout for the WBC Continental Americas Super Lightweight Title.

The event will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., and will air live on Showtime at 10:00 p.m. ET/ 7:00 p.m. PT. The telecast will also be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP). Preliminary bouts will be televised live on Showtime Extreme at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast.

Tickets for the event are on sale and priced at $500, $350, $250, $125 and $50, not including applicable service charges and taxes. Tickets are limited to eight (8) per person with a limit of four (4) at the $50 price range. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com. The first non-televised preliminary bout will begin at 3 p.m. PT.