FORMER WORLD CHAMPION RAY MERCER TO BE SPECIAL VIP GUEST FOR ALBERTO ‘EXPLOSIVO’ MACHADO VS. ANDREW ‘EL CHANGO’ CANCIO BOXING EVENT

INDIO, CALIF. (Jan. 9, 2019): Former heavyweight world champion Ray Mercer will be the special VIP guest for the boxing event headlined by the 12-round battle between Alberto “Explosivo” Machado (21-0, 17 KOs) and Andrew “El Chango” Cancio (19-4-2, 14 KOs) for the WBA Super Featherweight World Title. The event will take place on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019 at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif. and will be streamed live on DAZN – which is just $9.99 per month after a one-month free trial.

Mercer is a native of Jacksonville, Florida who earned a gold medal at the 1988 in , South Korea. The following year Mercer began his professional career by fighting an impressive 12 times. Eventually, Mercer earned a world title opportunity and defeated for the WBO Heavyweight World Title. Mercer defended his title once against Tommy “The Duke” Morrison but lost the title in a tough fight against Larry “The Easton Assasin” Holmes. Mercer continued participating in fights against the likes of Lennox “The Lion” Lewis, Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield, Wladimir “Dr. Steelhammer” Klitschko and Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs in a professional career that lasted 20 years.

Mercer will be in attendance for this event to meet fans, sign autographs and take pictures inside the Fantasy Springs Special Events Center. The meet-and-greet is open to the public with the purchase of a ticket to the event.

In the night’s co-feature, Rey Vargas (32-0, 22 KOs) will put his WBC Super Bantamweight World Championship on the line against Franklin Manzanilla (18-4, 17 KOs) in a 12-round battle.

Joseph “JoJo” Diaz Jr. (27-1, 14 KOs) of South El Monte, Calif. will return in a 10-round super featherweight battle against Charles Huerta (20-5, 12 KOs) of Paramount, Calif.

Genaro “El Conde” Gamez (8-0, 5 KOs) will battle against Ivan “Striker” Delgado (13-1-2, 6 KOs) in an eight-round lightweight battle between a current Golden Boy prospect and an ex-Golden Boy fighter.

Oscar Duarte (15-0-1, 10 KOs) of Parral, Mexico will participate in a 10-round fight in the lightweight division.

Azat “Crazy A” Hovhannisyan (15-3, 12 KOs) of Los Angeles, Calif. will compete in a 10-round super bantamweight fight.

Ferdinand “Lucky Boy” Kerobyan (11-0, 6 KOs) of North Hollywood, Calif. will return in an eight-round super welterweight battle.

Hometown hero Rommel Caballero (4-0, 3 KOs) of Coachella, Calif. will open the night of action in a six-round super featherweight battle.

Opponents for the undercard fighters will be announced shortly.

Machado vs. Cancio is a 12-round fight for the WBA Super Featherweight World Title presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Miguel Cotto Promotions. Vargas vs. Manzanilla is a 12- round battle for the WBC Super Bantamweight World Championship presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Promociones del Pueblo. The event is sponsored by Tecate, “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING,” and Hennessy “Never Stop. Never Settle.” The event will take place Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019 at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif. and will be streamed live on DAZN.

About DAZN: Globally, DAZN is a live and on-demand sports streaming service created by fans, for fans, that is leading the charge to provide access to sports anytime, anywhere. DAZN guarantees no long-term contract, no bundles, just one affordable price for access to all the service’s sports on connected devices including smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, games consoles and PCs. DAZN is currently available in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan, Canada, Italy and now the U.S. at just $9.99 per month after a one-month free trial – where it is becoming a must-have service for sports fans, with a daily show featuring live look-ins to Major League Baseball games beginning in 2019 and more than 100 fight nights already lined up from Matchroom Boxing, Bellator MMA, the World Boxing Super Series, Combate Americas and the recently announced Golden Boy Promotions.

Tickets for the event are on sale and are priced at $35, $45 and $55. Tickets will be available at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino box office, by calling 1-800-827-2946, or by purchasing online at www.fantasyspringsresort.com.

Media interested in attending Golden Boy Boxing: Machado vs. Cancio must request credentials by emailing [email protected] by 5:00 p.m. PT on Friday, Feb. 1.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and DAZN.com. Follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing, @Canelo, and @DAZN_USA. Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and https://www.facebook.com/DAZNUSA/. Follow on Instagram @GoldenBoyBoxing, @Canelo, and @DAZN_USA. Follow the conversation using #MachadoCancio and #VargasManzanilla.

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