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Five Unbeaten Fighters Take Center Stage
In ShoBox Quadrupleheader Feb. 17
Exciting welterweight prospect Janelson Figueroa Bocachica
will meet fellow undefeated Mark Reyes, Jr., in a ShoBox:
The New Generation main event bout Wednesday, February 17
live on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/PT from Mohegan Sun Arena in
Uncasville, Conn. Bocachica vs. Reyes headlines a four-fight
card featuring eight compelling prospects with a combined
record of 119-4-1, five of whom are undefeated.
Detroit’s Figueroa Bocachica (16-0, 11 KOs) is following up
on his dominating performance in his ShoBox debut in October
when he faces the power-punching Reyes (14-0, 12 KOs) from
Tampa, Fla., in a 10-round welterweight bout. The co-main
event will feature unbeaten Russian and Detroit-trained
Vladimir Shishkin (11-0, 7 KOs) taking on Ghana’s Sena
Agbeko (23-1, 18 KOs) in a 10-round super middleweight
matchup. In addition, Alejandro Guerrero (12-0, 9 KOs) of
Irving, Texas, returns to ShoBox and faces Mexico’s Abraham
Montoya (19-2-1, 14 KOs) in an eight-round lightweight bout.
Another Russian-based in Detroit, Mich., Timur Kerefov (9-0,
4 KOs), will battle middleweight prospect Argenis Espana
(15-1, 14 KOs) of Venezuela in the eight-round telecast
opener.
The four-fight telecast is promoted by Salita Promotions.
“I am delighted to promote an exciting night of boxing,
featuring some of the best young talent in boxing in
opposing corners,” Salita said. “The February 17 card
features possibly the best new talent in four different
weight divisions in pick ‘em fights. Middleweight Timur
Kerefov, fighting with trainer SugarHill Steward in his
corner, is looking to quickly climb up the ladder. Super
featherweight Alejandro Guerrero is fighting his toughest
test against Abraham Montoya. Super middleweight Vladimir
Shishkin is looking for a breakout performance against the
hungry Sena Agbeko, who is looking to make a name for
himself. This show may also be the crowning of one of the
best new welterweights in the world with an exciting matchup
between undefeated prospects, Janelson Figueroa Bocachica
and Mark Reyes, Jr.”
Steward, who legally changed his name to SugarHill Steward
to honor his late uncle Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel
Steward, calls Kerefov, “One of the best middleweights in
the world right now,” and that there is no limit to how far
the 30-year-old can go. “We don’t have long conversations
because of the language barrier, but I’m impressed how Timur
is able to process the information I tell him, and quickly
get better in the short time we’ve worked together,” said
Steward, who is also training Anthony Dirrell at Big Time
Boxing and Fitness in Boca Raton, Fla. “The Russians who
come to Detroit are here to work and not run the streets,
which I like. They have families and know that boxing in the
United States is the mecca. So, they take it very
seriously.”
Bocachica vs. Reyes – 10-Round Welterweight Main Event Bout
Bocachica returns for his second consecutive ShoBox
appearance as the 22-year-old Detroit native overpowered
Puerto Rico’s Nicklaus Flaz from the start earning a
first-round TKO at 2:43 of round one in October. Bocachica
is a four-year pro who began boxing at age eight. He won
four consecutive Ringside Championships (2011-14), the
National PAL Championships and the 2015 Detroit Golden
Gloves. He boasts an amateur record of 55-5. He is trained
by his father, Nelson Figueroa.
"After the last appearance on ShoBox, I felt like that was
the performance that I needed,” Bochachia said. “I picked
Mark Reyes out myself because I wanted better competition
and he is 14-0. I want to put a statement out to all of the
fighters in the 147-pound division. A win gets me closer to
my dreams. I am fighting better opposition. It shows that
Janelson is the truth, and I am coming for everyone in the
welterweight division. I am not worrying about anything."
Reyes is coming off of a first-round knockout of Diego Perez
on November 21, in his hometown of Tampa. Reyes was a
successful amateur winning the PAL National Tournament in
2012, as well as the Junior Olympics and Ringside
Tournament. He also won two National tournaments competing
for Puerto Rico: the 2015 Frankie Larvae National
Championships and 2016 Cheo Aponte National Championships.
Overall, he accumulated a record of 45-5 before turning pro
in March 2016. He is now trained by Raul “Chino” Rivas, who
also coaches former world champion Tevin Farmer.
“I am excited to be in this position, fighting on ShoBox,
where a win will put my name on the boxing map,” Reyes said.
“Bocachica is a solid fighter, but I look forward to adding
the first loss to his record and showing the viewers why I
took this fight on short notice. Training camp has been
going great and I will be ready."
Shishkin vs. Agbeko – 10-Round Super Middleweight Bout
Shishkin has previously fought twice on ShoBox earning
impressive wins over Ulises Sierra and DeAndre Ware. Steward
worked Shishkin’s corner for the Sierra fight, but Steward’s
commitment to heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has not
allowed the two to train exclusively together. Shishkin has
recently been working with L.J. Harrison. In his last fight
on August 20, he recorded a ninth-round technical knockout
of Oscar Riojas. Shishkin is currently ranked No. 9 by the
WBC, No. 11 by the WBA and No. 12 by the IBF in the
168-pound division.
“I’m grateful, once again, to get the chance to showcase my
skills on SHOWTIME,” said Shishkin, 29. “I’m preparing in a
new gym called Superbad with a new coach. I’m curious how
that will affect me in the bout. I know this fight puts me
just one step closer to my goal of becoming a world
champion.”
Born and raised in Accra, Ghana, Agbeko was a member of the
Ghanaian National Team as a youth and had 69 amateur bouts.
Agbeko turned pro in 2011 at the age of 19 and had his first
15 bouts in Ghana before relocating to the United States in
2013 to pursue his dream of becoming a world champion.
Agbeko has fine-tuned his craft serving as a sparring
partner for Caleb Plant, Badou Jack and Brandon Adams.
Agbeko currently lives in Nashville, Tenn., with his wife.
“Training is going great and we’ve been training for a while
already, so we’re just doubling down on a few things and
fine-tuning as well for the fight,” Agbeko said. “I know my
opponent has an extensive amateur background and a style
that’s reflective of where he’s from in Russia. I expect an
aggressive, yet well-calculated fighter. I will win this
fight because I know I want it more and, as a result, have
put more effort into preparation. My superior boxing skills
coupled with desire and effort will get it done.”
Guerrero vs. Montoya – Eight-Round Lightweight Bout
Fighting out of Houston, Texas, Guerrero is a big-punching
prospect who won a closely contested slugfest via majority
decision over Jose Angulo in the last ShoBox telecast before
the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the sports world for several
months in March 2020. Prior to that win, Guerrero had
stopped three consecutive opponents including a second-round
TKO of Darnell Jiles, Jr. in January 2020. A celebrated
amateur who won two junior national titles, the 22-year-old
“Pork Chop” has sparred with the likes of world champions
Mikey Garcia and Brandon Rios at the famed Garcia Boxing
Academy in California.
“I know nothing about my opponent, but I’ve watched one clip
of him and that’s all I needed to see to know he will go
down,” Guerrero said. “This fight will mean a lot to me
because it will show the world I’m the real deal. I will win
this fight for my career and my family.”
The 26-year-old Montoya, of Baja California, Mexico, will be
making his United States debut on February 17 and will be
fighting outside of his native Mexico for just the second
time. After dropping his second professional contest,
Montoya rallied to go unbeaten in his next 18 bouts before
traveling to Russia in November 2019 to take on undefeated
prospect Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov, where he lost a 12-round
decision. Montoya rebounded to score a second-round TKO over
Reyes David Lopez his last time out in October, and also
owns an impressive victory over then-undefeated prospect
Luis Alberto Lopez Vargas.
“Fighting in the U.S. and on SHOWTIME has always been my
dream and I can’t wait for February 17 to show what I can
do,” Montoya said. “I’ve never worked or trained as hard for
a fight as I have for this one. I’ve seen my opponent and
know he will bring the action just like his last fight. He
will be tough, but I’m as ready for this as I’ve ever been.”
Kerefov vs. Espana – Eight-Round Middleweight Bout
Hailing from Shaluska, Russia, and now fighting out of
Detroit, Mich., Kerefov will make his ShoBox debut on
February 17. Kerefov, 30, amassed an impressive 298-12
amateur record in his home country during his nearly
decade-long reign at the elite level of international
amateur boxing. In 2019, Kerefov turned in five impressive
victories in Russia prior to his United States debut at the
famed Kronk Gym in Detroit in August 2020, where he turned
in a dominating unanimous decision victory over Calvin
Metcalf in a middleweight bout.
“I am in the middle of a great training camp with trainer
SugarHill Steward in Florida,” Kerefov said. “I look forward
to showing the boxing fans that I am the new face of the
middleweight division.”
The 31-year-old southpaw, Espana, will be fighting for the
first time in the United States as 14 of his 16 professional
bouts have taken place in Venezuela. The power-punching
Espana’s only career loss was to Dervin Colina in 2019 and
14 of his 15 victories have come via knockout. In December,
he TKO’d Leonard Carrillo in his last fight.
“This is a great opportunity for me to appear in the U.S.,”
Espana said. “I know very little about my opponent, but that
does not bother me at all. I am always training and ready to
go the distance or less. Victory will get me closer to a
world title.”
International Boxing Hall of Famer Barry Tompkins will call
the action from ringside with fellow Hall of Famer and
boxing historian Steve Farhood and former world champion
Raul Marquez serving as expert analysts. The executive
producer is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and
Rick Phillips directing.
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