Press Release: On the Birmingham, Alabama undercard of Deontay Wilder's WBC heavyweight title defense against Gerald Washington , Alantez Fox (21-0-1, 10 KOs) will meet Birmingham-native Kenneth McNeil (10-2, 7 KOs) in a ten-round middleweight bout. Fox is on a fourteen-bout winning streak.
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From Forestville, MD, Fox is trained by his father Troy out of Lloyd Irvin MMA/Boxing Gym. Following a 165-35 amateur career, highlighted by his gold-medal performances at the Ringside National and Under-19 tournaments, the 6'5" Fox turned pro in 2010. The only blemish on his record is a draw to then-undefeated Frank Galarza in September 2012, with the New York State title at stake. He has won 14 bouts since, including victories over 7-2 Julius Kennedy, 5-1 Zain Shah and former top-rated contender Eric Mitchell. In January 2015, Fox made his debut on ShoBox: The New Generation" series defeating 9-0 prospect Patrick Day via decision. Securing three victories in 2016, Fox knocked out 17-3 former Colombian champion Ronald Montes on national television, in his last bout on September 30.
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Before turning pro in September 2012, Birmingham's Kenneth McNeil was a four-time Title National champion and a six-time Alabama Golden Gloves champion as an amateur. Showing promise early on, McNeil defeated spoiler Lekan Byfield in his second pro bout. His only losses have come to the very tough Samuel Clarkson via split decision and to Ukrainian Olympian Ievgen Khytrov by decision in a competitive fight. McNeil bounced back from the Khytrov loss to score a second-round knockout over 6-1 Robert Burwell in his last bout on July 16th, underneath Deontay Wilder's world title defense against Chris Arreola in Birmingham.
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"Alantez Fox is a tremendous prospect and, with his size and style, is a danger to any of the top middleweights," said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. "On February 25th, Fox will be going into his opponent's hometown of Birmingham, where Kenneth McNeil will have a lot of local support in the crowd. This is the biggest opportunity of McNeil's career, so I know he will be ready for the challenge and I expect a great fight."
In the main event, Wilder (37-0, 36 KOs) will defend his title in his home state for the fourth time, as he faces Washington (18-0-1, 12 KOs) in the main event of Premier Boxing Champions on Fox and Fox Deportes, on Saturday, February 25th, from Legacy Arena at the BJCC in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Televised coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and will feature the only American heavyweight champion headlining his third primetime show on network television. Wilder most recently stopped Chris Arreola following eight rounds of action in July. The champion suffered hand and biceps injuries during the fight, but returns on February 25th fully healthy.Â
Tickets for the live Wilder-Washington event, which is promoted by DiBella Entertainment and TGB Promotions in association with Bruno Event Team, are available through Ticketmaster and by visiting www.AlabamaTitleFight.com.
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