“The Dragon” Ready To Breath Fire In Las Vegas April 16

ByBoxing Press

The April 16, ten round main event between Canadian welterweight Steve “The Dragon” Claggett and South Africa-native Chris “The Heat” Van Heerden embodies the “Knockout Night at the D” philosophy in terms of featuring action fighters in evenly matched, entertaining bouts.

The “Knockout Night at the D” series, presented by the D Las Vegas andDowntown Las Vegas Events Center (DLVEC), is promoted by Roy Jones Jr. (RJJ) Boxing Promotions.

The Apr. 16 “Knockout Night at the D” event will air Saturday night, April 16 (8 p.m. PT / 11 p.m. ET), live on CBS Sports Network from under the neon lights at the DLVEC outdoor venue.

The broadcast team includes Jim “JR” Ross, Sean Wheelock and former world champion Kevin “The Flushing Flash” Kelley. Joe Martinez is the ring announcer.

Claggett vs. Van Heerden is a crossroads fight for both boxers with critical consequences, especially for the winner who will use it as an invaluable springboard for his boxing career.

The 26-year-old Claggett (23-3-1, 16 KOs), who is the reigning Canadian Professional Boxing Council and Canadian welterweight champion, is thrilled to be fighting in Las Vegas for the first time.

“It’s a dream come true,” he explained. “I’ve trained in Las Vegas often but now it’s time to show what I can do there in a fight. A win will open many doors for me and could potentially lead to a path that will set up the rest of my boxing life. Needless to say, I am focused and prepared for the opportunity.”

Claggett, as well as Van Heerden, are known as high-action fighters, throwing punches in bunches, and something eventually has to give. Van Heerden (23-1-1, 12 KOs), fighting out of Santa Monica, CA, is a former IBO and IBF International welterweight champion.

“Van Heerden is a rangy, quick and active fighter,” Claggett said. “I have an action style but, for many years, I was strictly a pressure fighter with a good body shot. Nowadays, though, I have a couple of more tricks up my sleeve. His heart and durability have been shown and is to be respected.

This match-up is sure to produce some good exchanges. I expect this to be a high-action fight between two hungry fighters with him coming off a loss (to unbeaten rising star Errol Spence Jr. last September) and me coming off more than one fight falling through. This is a great match up. He is similar to the style of (Konstantin) Ponomarev (who Claggett lost an 8-round decision to last year) with range and movement. And that motivates me!”

Undefeated Lancaster, California welterweight Neeco “Rooster” Macias (11-0, 4 KOs) meets Limberth “Lightning” Ponce, Jr. (10-2, 8 KOs), of Rock Island, Illinois, in the 8-round co-feature. Unbeaten Baltimore welterweight prospect Malik “Iceman” Hawkins (6-0, 5 KOs) faces Errol Sidney (6-1-2, 2 KOs), of New Orleans, in a 6-round bout to open the television broadcast.

The undercard also features promising Las Vegas-based prospects in four-round bouts: welterweight Jeremy “J Flash” Nichols (2-0, 2 KOs), featherweight Sal Lopez (2-0) and junior featherweight Randy Moreno (1-0, 1 KO).

All fights and fighters are subject to change.

Tickets, priced at $149.99 VIP ringside, $119.00 ringside, $74.99 seated and $29.99 rear seated, are on sale at www.Ticketmaster.com or www.DLVEC.com. ; Taxes and fees apply to all sold tickets.

Doors open at 5:00 p.m. PT with the opening bout scheduled at 6:00 p.m. PT.