(MAY 23) New York, NY
- On Saturday, June 3, DiBella Entertainment will return to the
Fox Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino, in Mashantucket, CT, for
the latest exciting installment of its popular Broadway Boxing
series, presented by Nissan of Queens, Azad Watches, OPTYX, and
Christos Steak House. The card will feature a bevy of New
England talent, including fan favorite Shelly "Shelito's Way"
Vincent in an eight-round special attraction featherweight bout,
as well as lightweight Matt Remillard on the comeback and
welterweight prospect Mykquan Williams on the rise.
"I am happy to bring another
great card back to Foxwoods, which continues to be a terrific
venue for Broadway Boxing," said Lou DiBella, President of
DiBella Entertainment. "Fans will not want to miss the
always-entertaining Shelly Vincent, who is a great ambassador
for women's boxing. The stacked undercard will include local New
England favorites Matt Remillard, Mykquan Williams, Jonathan
Figueroa, and Khiry Todd, as well as Russian future world
champion Radzhab Butaev and a battle between unbeaten
heavyweight prospects Ruslan Shamalov and George Arias."
One of the most popular fighters out of the New England area,
Shelly "Shelito's Way" Vincent (19-1, 1 KO), born in New London,
CT, but now residing in Providence, RI, will compete at Foxwoods
for the seventh time, in an eight-round featherweight bout. Last
August, Vincent entered enemy territory to challenge rival
Heather Hardy in her adversary's hometown of Brooklyn, NY. Their
highly publicized grudge match was nationally televised by NBC
Sports Net and was hailed by Ring Magazine as the "Female Fight
of the Year" for 2016. Vincent was also honored by the
Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame as their "Fighter of the Year"
for 2016, becoming the first female recipient of the award. She
rebounded from her only defeat with a unanimous decision victory
on December 2, back home in Rhode Island. Before turning pro in
October 2011, Vincent was a Connecticut State, Connecticut
Golden Gloves, and National Golden Gloves champion as an
amateur. Managed by Mike Criscio and trained by Peter Manfredo
Sr., Vincent signed with DiBella Entertainment in 2016.
Matt "Sharp Shooter" Remillard (24-1, 13 KOs), of Hartford, CT,
will continue his comeback, following a six-year ring absence,
in an eight-round lightweight bout. It will be his first fight
in his home state since November 2010. A pro since 2005,
Remillard is a former WBC Youth, WBC-USNBC, NABF and NABO
featherweight champion. His only loss came in March 2011 to the
unbeaten Mikey Garcia, now the WBC world lightweight champion.
He is trained by Paul Cichon, a local legend and community
leader, out of Manchester Ring of Champions Society boxing gym.
As an amateur, Remillard accumulated a record of 115-25, and was
a two-time Everlast Under-19 National amateur champion.
Highly touted East Hartford welterweight prospect Mykquan
Williams (6-0, 4 KOs) has kept a busy pace since turning pro
last April. Promoted by DiBella Entertainment and managed by
Jackie Kallen, the 19-year-old Williams will return to Foxwoods,
where he has built a strong following, for the sixth time, in
his first scheduled six-rounder. Williams is also trained by
Cichon, whom he's known since he was a child and looks upon as a
surrogate father. His biological father was murdered when
Mykquan was just a week old. Williams was a decorated amateur
with a 45-13 record, highlighted by three gold-medal
performances at the Ringside World Championships, in addition to
winning the PAL Tournament and Silver Gloves Championships.
Unbeaten New York-based heavyweights will collide in their
toughest tests to date, when Russian Ruslan Shamalov (4-0, 3
KOs) meets Dominican George Arias (6-0, 3 KOs) in a six-round
contest.
Born in Cherkessk, Russia, and now living in Brooklyn, the 6'5"
Shamalov was a two-time amateur MMA champion before switching to
boxing and engaging in 30 amateur bouts while participating on
the Russian National team. Shamalov turned pro in October 2016
and is trained by Eduard Kravtsov out of Wild Card Gym, in Los
Angeles, CA. In his last bout on April 5, Shamalov returned home
to Russia and registered a first-round knockout versus Oleksandr
Nesterenko in 43 seconds.
Arias was born in San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic,
then moved to New York City in 1996, at four years old. However,
it wasn't until graduating high school that Arias learned to box
at Morris Park Boxing Gym near his home in The Bronx. He won the
New York Golden Gloves tournament in 2014 then turned pro that
October. Arias recently returned from a 13-month ring hiatus
with a four-round unanimous decision versus Jamal Woods in
Lawrenceville, GA, on April 29.
Cuban cruiserweight Luis Garcia (14-0, 11 KOs), based out of
Peekskill, NY, will see action in a six-round bout. After being
denied a berth on the Cuban Olympic team, despite winning in the
Cuban Olympic qualifiers preparing for the Games in Beijing,
Garcia defected from his native land and settled in Cork,
Ireland, where he turned pro in September 2008. Having built his
record to a perfect 11-0 over the next 26 months, Garcia then
relocated to the United States to resume his career. On December
5, 2015, Garcia made his New York debut at Barclays Center, in
Brooklyn, earning a 63-second knockout versus Willie Williams.
Anther first-round knockout followed in his last bout on June
25, 2016, at Buffalo Run Casino, in Miami, OK.
Russian amateur prodigy Radzhab Butaev (5-0, 4 KOs), co-promoted
by DiBella Entertainment and Fight Promotions Inc. and managed
by Vadim Kornilov, will make his second appearance at Foxwoods
in an eight-round contest. On November 19, Butaev earned an
eight-round shutout victory versus experienced Hungarian Gabor
Gorbics to win the NABF junior middleweight title. In his last
bout, on April 5, Butaev returned to Russia to stop Baxrom
Payazov inside one round. The 22-year-old Butaev, born in Salsk,
Russia, and now living in Los Angeles, was a highly accomplished
amateur, having compiled an incredible 304-12 record, with 164
knockouts. He participated in the World Series of Boxing as
well, finishing at 9-1.
A native of the boxing rich city of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Jose
Roman (3-0, 3 KOs) will make his US debut in a four-round
welterweight contest. Roman began boxing at 13 years of age
amassing a stellar 124-17 amateur record along the way. He
joined the Puerto Rican National team in 2012, winning three
consecutive National championships from 2013-2015.
Junior welterweight Jonathan Figueroa (2-1, 1 KO), of Hartford,
CT, will fight in a four-round contest. Managed by Vinny
Scolpino, Figueroa turned pro on a Broadway Boxing card held at
Foxwoods on September 1 last year. Training out of Hartford PAL
gym, Figueroa was a 2012 Golden Gloves champion as an amateur.
Welterweight Khiry Todd (3-0, 3 KOs), from Lynn, MA, will make
his Connecticut debut in a four-round contest. The 25-year-old
Todd had 40 amateur bouts and won the New England Golden Gloves
tournament before turning pro last December with a 42-second
demolition of Patrick Leal.