Better Late Than Never: Full Barclays Undercard Announced

One of the biggest events of 2013 just got even bigger with the announcement of the full undercard that leads up to the Showtime televised quadrupleheader at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, on Saturday, Dec. 7, an event headlined by the “Battle Oof Brooklyn” between Zab “Super” Judah and Paulie “The Magic Man” Malignaggi for the NABF welterweight title, which will be televised live on Showtime.

Featured on this stacked card will be a 10-round super welterweight clash between unbeaten Philadelphian Julian “J-Rock” Williams and Mexico’s Orlando “Latigo” Lora, a 10-round welterweight bout pitting 2008 U.S. Olympian Sadam “World Kid” Ali of Brooklyn against Arizona prospect Jesus “Chino” Selig.

In addition, there is an eight-round light heavyweight matchup between 2012 U.S. Olympian “Sir” Marcus Browne of Staten Island and St. Louis veteran Kevin “Hitman” Engel, and an eight-round battle of featherweight up and comers when Brooklyn’sJuan Dominguez takes on Puerto Rico’s Camilo Perez.

Despite having less than 20 professional fights, Philadelphia’s Julian Williams (13-0-1, 7 KO’s) appears to be on the verge of big things, considering his consistent success against top-level competition.

In 2013, Williams stopped unbeaten Jeremiah Wiggins and outpointed former world champion Joachim Alcine before a controversial no-contest against Hugo Centeno took place. On Saturday, the 23-year-old Williams wants to leave no doubts whatsoever.

Culiacan native Orlando Lora (29-4-2, 19 KO’s) is no stranger to tough competition, having recently squared off with the likes of Malignaggi, Keith Thurman and Jermall Charlo. Now he’ll look to push Williams further than he’s even been pushed before.

After a spectacular Barclays Center debut in September that saw him defeat Jay Krupp, Brooklyn’s own Sadam Ali (17-0, 10 KO’s) is back in the building in an effort to pick up his 18th professional win against Douglas, Arizona’s Jesus Selig (12-1-1, 6 KO’s).

The 25-year-old Ali represented the United States in the 2008 Olympics, and now with a mix of speed and power, he’s on the road to a world championship. The 31-year-old Selig, a native of Sonora, Mexico, is unbeaten in all but one of his bouts and brings a two-fight winning streak with him into Brooklyn.

Twenty-three-year-old Marcus Browne (7-0, 6 KO’s) ripped through his first six professional opponents by knockout, but in his seventh bout in September, he showed the will and skill to go the distance in a hard-fought victory over Lamont Williams.

On Saturday, the 2012 U.S. Olympian will make his fifth Barclays Center start against St. Louis’ Kevin Engel (20-8, 16 KO’s). Winner of two of his last four, including a 2012 win over 13-0 Anthony Smith, the 33-year-old Engel always shows up to fight, making it clear that his bout with Browne will be one to watch.

A native of the Dominican Republic, now making his home in Brooklyn, 27-year-old Juan Dominguez (15-0, 11 KO’s) is a rising star who made a huge impression on fans in his adopted hometown in June when he needed just 96 seconds to knock out Brad Patraw in his Barclays Center debut.

This weekend, he meets Carolina, Puerto Rico’s Camilo Perez (9-1, 4 KO’s), a 22-year-old prospect eager to put on a show in his New York debut.

Tickets priced at $250, $125, $75, $50 and $25, plus applicable taxes and service charges are available at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling 800-745-3000 and at the American Express Box Office. For group tickets, please call 800-GROUP-BK.