On Saturday, July 11th at San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza, iVB Boxing, Sampson Boxing and Paco Presents will deliver an "inclusive" night of fights, headlined by WBO flyweight champion Anthony “Princesa” Olascuaga (pictured, 12-1, 9 KOs) of Los Angeles defending his crown against Andy Dominguez (13-1, 6 KOs), a Mexican who fights out of Las Vegas. The co-feature will highlight the event’s inclusivity, as openly gay Uruguayan Oscar Bonifacino (4-0, 3 KOs) faces Spain's Raul Escudero (4-0), in a featherweight six-rounder. Also in action that night will be active-duty Philippine Army soldier and #1-ranked junior lightweight Charly Suarez (18-0, 10 KOs) of Manila taking on Fairfield, California’s Manuel “Tino” Avila (25-2-1, 9 KOs) over ten rounds. A fourth featured bout on the show has New Jersey middleweight Vito Mielnicki Jr. (23-1, 13 KOs) in against Argentina’s Gerardo Luis Vergara (21-1, 14 KOs).
Rounding out the action will be an explosive ten-round battle of undefeated heavyweights between Gurgen Hovhannisyan (10-0, 9 KOs) of Gyumri, Armenia, and Uila Mauʻu (10-0, 9 KOs) of Auckland, New Zealand; and a four-round junior lightweight brawl between Blake Binskin (3-0) of Kent, England, and Dante Paris Ibarra Hernandez (3-1, 3 KOs) of Zapopan, Mexico.
Ed Pereira, CEO of iVB says he’s targeting a world record audience of more than 132,135 fans (record set by Tony Zale vs Billy Pryor at Juneau Park in Milwaukee in 1941), the largest crowd ever assembled for a boxing event. “This will be a show like the boxing world has never seen before,” said Pereira, “an event built for this city and its communities. San Francisco has always been a city that stands for something special, and on July 11th, it will stand at the center of the boxing world.”
Legendary promoter Sampson Lewkowicz, the man who saw the potential of then-unknown boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao before anyone else, says he now sees the potential of the innovative Pereira’s goal. “Ed has a vision for this sport that I believe in completely,” said Lewkowicz. “When he came to me with this event, I saw immediately what it could be - something the boxing world has never seen. Together we are going to give San Francisco and the world a night they will never forget. This is not just a fight card; this is a statement. I have spent my whole career backing things other people walked away from, and every time I have been proven right. This will be no different.”
A staple of Northern California boxing for decades, Paco Damian of Paco Presents will be lending his expertise to the event. Damian says he’s looking forward to giving the NorCal fans something truly groundbreaking. “I promoted my first boxing event in 2009 in the Bay Area, this area is my home,” said Paco Damian. “I am humbled to be part of this event, specially alongside my long-time dear friend and partner Sampson Lewkowicz and Ed Pereira and his incredible team.”
Two of boxing’s most famous ambassadors have thrown their support behind this ambitious endeavor, as all-time-female great champion Christy Martin and hall-of-fame ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr., have both agreed to serve as host and voice for the event.
“The Coal Miner’s Daughter,” Christy Martin is a trailblazing fighter who broke barriers and became one of the most recognisable figures in women’s boxing during the 1990s, both for her abilities inside the ring and her courageous fight outside of it. Hollywood superstar Sydney Sweeney played Christy in a recent full-length motion picture. Martin was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2020.
“I am over the top honored to be a part of this historic event with iVB, Sampson and Paco,” said Christy Martin. “I am here to support boxing all over the world, but I’m here lending huge support, especially to Oscar Bonafacino!”
A native of Santa Monica, California, “The Classy” Jimmy Lennon Jr., is widely hailed for his smooth delivery, finesse and flawless pronunciation of foreign fighters in their native tongue. Among many of Lennon’s memorable career highlights was working the Julio Cesar Chavez--Greg Haugen fight card in Mexico City with 135,000 excitable fans. Lennon announced Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield to the ring for the infamous “Bite Fight” and for Buster Douglas’ shocking upset KO of Tyson in Tokyo.
“I am fortunate to have been involved in some of the biggest boxing events in the history of the sport,” said Jimmy Lennon Jr. “I am thrilled to be a part of this great boxing card in the beautiful city of San Francisco.”
