Shabazz To Kick Off Holm Fight Card
World Champ Trout To Attend Bouts
Las Cruces’ Siju Shabazz, a former Golden Gloves national champion and a longtime training partner of world champion Austin Trout, will make his professional boxing debut Friday night on the Holly Holm-Diana Prazak card at Route 66 Casino Hotel.
And Trout, fresh off his victory over Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden on Showtime, is expected to be at Route 66 in support of his friend.
Lenny Fresquez, Holm’s promoter, confirmed Tuesday that Shabazz will lead off Friday’s card in a four-round light heavyweight bout against Albuquerque’s Ricky Villafuerte (pro debut). Louie Burke, the trainer for Shabazz and Trout, confirmed that Trout will attend the card.
Shabazz, 27, isn’t your average pro-debut fighter.
After winning the Golden Gloves light heavyweight title in 2007, he remained an amateur to pursue an Olympic berth in 2008, then in 2012. He didn’t make it to Beijing or London, but often represented the United States in international competition while earning a financial stipend from USA Boxing.
Shabazz also participated in
the World Series of Boxing, in which the fighters earned prize money and fought without headgear while retaining their amateur status.
He often has served as a sparring partner for Trout, and vice versa.
With the Shabazz-Villafuerte fight, Friday’s card has six bouts scheduled for a total of 36 rounds.
FIGHT PURSES: According to multiple sources online, Trout was paid $240,000 for his successful WBA junior middleweight title defense Saturday. Cotto, the challenger, was paid $1 million.
ELSEWHERE: Albuquerque featherweight Willie Villanueva (10-4-1, two knockouts) is the scheduled opponent for Russian prospect Evgeny Gradovich (14-0, seven KOs) on Thursday at the Mirage in Las Vegas, Nev. The bout is part of an ESPN2 card promoted by Top Rank Inc. It’s not known whether Villanueva’s fight will make the telecast.
... The New Mexico Silver Gloves Tournament, for amateur boxers 10 to 15 years old, is scheduled Saturday through Monday at Crespin’s Boxing Gym in Las Vegas, N.M. For more information, call 505-429-4068.
MMA: New Mexicans Tim Means and Henry Martinez are scheduled to fight Saturday night on a UFC card at Seattle’s Key Arena.
Martinez (9-2), of Santa Fe, will face Detroit’s Darin Cruickshank (11-2). Means (183-1), from Moriarty, will take on Abel Trujillo (9-4) of Delray Beach, Fla. Both fights are at
the 155-pound lightweight limit.
Both fighters train in Albuquerque — Means at FIT-NHB and Martinez at Jackson-Winkeljohn.
Saturday’s card will be telecast on Fox, but it’s not guaranteed either of the New Mexicans’ fights will make the telecast.
... Moriarty’s Brenda Gonzales (4-0) successfully defended her King of the Cage women’s 125-pound title with a bloody, second-round TKO over Elsie Zwicker (6-5) at the Ute Mountain Casino near Cortez, Colo.