Weekend Boxing Marathon: Four International Shows Coming to ESPN+
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Weekend Boxing Marathon: Four International Shows Coming to ESPN+ (Nov. 13, 2019) — Get ready for a fistic marathon. Four fight cards from four nations spread across two days will stream live this weekend on ESPN+, the leading multi-sport streaming service. The previously announced card from Melbourne, Australia, featuring twin brothers Jason and Andrew Moloney, will kick off the weekend starting Friday at 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT. From England and Scotland to an interim world title bout in Germany, here’s what’s in store for fight fans. Rocky Fielding Returns on #MTKFightNight Card in Liverpool Friday, 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT Former WBA super middleweight world championRocky Fielding (27-2, 15 KOs) will fight for the first time since challenging Canelo Alvarez last December, returning in a 10- rounder against Tanzanian puncher Abdallah Paziwapazi (26-6-1, 23 KOs) at the Olympia. Fielding won the world title last July with a TKO over then-unbeaten Tyron Zeuge, but he fell short against Canelo via third-round stoppage at Madison Square Garden. Paziwapazi is unbeaten in 10 bouts dating back to 2017, having won a pair of regional belts to earn the shot at Fielding. In other bouts streaming from Liverpool: Four-time world title challenger Martin Murray (38-5-1, 17 KOs) will face Sladan Janjanin (27-4, 21 KOs) in an eight-rounder at super middleweight. Murray is best known for his controversial 2013 decision loss to middleweight world champion Sergio Martinez in Martinez’s home country of Argentina. Former lightweight world champion Terry Flanagan (35-2, 14 KOs) will face Jayro Duran (14-6, 13 KOs) in an eight-round super lightweight tilt. Lightweight prospect Ged Carroll (11-0, 0 KOs) will take a step up in class versus Jeff Ofori (9-1, 3 KOs) in an eight-rounder. Super flyweight Blane Hyland will make his long-awaited professional debut against Steven Maguire (0-18-1) in a four-rounder. Fornling and Bösel to Battle for Interim Light Heavyweight World Title Saturday, 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT Top Rank, in association with SES Boxing, will present a world championship afternoon of boxing from Messe Arena in Halle, Germany. In the main event, Dominic Bösel (29-1, 11 KOs) will face Swedish contender Sven Fornling (15-1, 7 KOs) for the interim WBA light heavyweight world title. Bösel most recently defended his European crown in April with an eighth-round knockout over Timy Shala. Fornling has won five in a row since the lone loss of his career, most recently winning a unanimous decision over former world title challenger Karo Murat. Said SES Boxing founder Ulf Steinforth: “I’m excited to give our fighters the opportunity to showcase their skills on the biggest sports platform in the world.” In other bouts streaming from Germany: The fighting pride of Morocco, 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Mohammed Rabii (9-0, 5 KOs) will make his ESPN debut against Mexican veteran Jesus Gurrola (27-14-3, 14 KOs) in an eight-round super welterweight contest. 2012 German Olympian Stefan Haertel (18-1, 2 KOs) will face David Zegarra (34-3, 21 KOs) in a 12-round showdown for the WBO Intercontinental super middleweight title. Top heavyweight prospect Peter Kadiru (5-0, 1 KO) will fight Venezuelan upstart Pedro Martinez (11-2, 5 KOs) in a six-rounder. All-Scottish Bantamweight Battle Headlines #MTKFightNight from Glasgow Saturday, 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT This is about more than titles. In one of the biggest all-Scottish clashes in a long time, Commonwealth bantamweight champion Lee McGregor will take on British champion Ukashir Farooq in a 12-round showdown from Emirates Arena in Farooq’s home city of Glasgow. McGregor, meanwhile, hails from Edinburgh, a roughly one-hour train ride away. The 22-year-old McGregor (7-0, 6 KOs) defended his Commonwealth title in June with an eighth-round TKO over Scott Allan in a bout that streamed live on ESPN+. Farooq (13-0, 6 KOs) last fought in August, making the third successful defense of his British title with a first-round blitzing of Duane Winters. Said McGregor: “This is the biggest fight in Scotland for a long, long time. You have to go back to Alex Arthur’s reign to find a comparison. It’s massive for me, for Kash and for all the Scottish boxing fans.” In other bouts streaming from Scotland: The unbeaten Kieran Smith (15-0, 7 KOs) will make the first defense of his WBC International silver super welterweight belt against Italian challenger Vincenzo Bevilacqua (16-0, 0 KOs) in a 10-rounder. In an eight-round light heavyweight tilt,Tommy Philbin (12-0, 4 KOs) will take on the 18-year- old Nicolas Holcapfel (11-1, 9 KOs). Former Irish amateur superstar Pierce O’Leary (1-0, 0 KOs) will fight the battle-tested Chris Adaway (9-61-4, 1 KO) in a four-round super lightweight bout. Top Rank-signed Irish welterweight sensation Paddy “Real Deal” Donovan (1-0, 1 KO), who turned pro last month with a first-round stoppage, will fightDanny Mendoza (6-5, 4 KOs) in a scheduled six-rounder. About ESPN+ ESPN+ is the leading direct-to-consumer sports streaming service from Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ grew quickly to 3.5 million subscribers in 18 months, offering fans thousands of live events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, as well as premium editorial content. Programming on ESPN+ includes exclusive UFC and Top Rank boxing events, thousands of college sports events (including football and basketball) from more than a dozen sports at 20 conferences, hundreds of MLB and NHL games, top domestic and international soccer (Serie A, MLS, FA Cup, Bundesliga – beginning in 2020, EFL Championship and Carabao Cup, Eredivisie), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby and cricket, exclusive ESPN+ Original series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) through the ESPN App, (on mobile and connected devices), ESPN.com or ESPNplus.com. It is also available as part of a bundle offer that gives subscribers access to Disney+, Hulu (ad-supported), and ESPN+ — all for just $12.99/month..