BROOKLYN (April 24, 2014) – World Championship boxing returns to Barclays Center when the “The Siberian Rocky” RUSLAN PROVODNIKOV makes the first defense of his World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior welterweight title and his Brooklyn debut against undefeated world-rated contender and New York product CHRIS ALGIERI. Provodnikov vs. Algieri will take place Saturday, June 14 and will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark®, beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.
Promoted by Banner Promotions and Top Rank®, in association with Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing, tickets to the Provodnikov-Algieri world champion event are $31, $56, $86, $106 and $206. Tickets will go on sale beginning Today! Thursday, April 24 at 10:00 a.m. ET and can be purchased online via Ticketmaster by visiting www.barclayscenter.com or www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling 800-745-3000. Tickets are also available at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center beginning Friday, April 25 at noon. Group tickets are also available by calling 855-GROUP-BK. For information on individual suites, please call 718-BK-SUITE.
The co-main event will feature undefeated WBO junior middleweight champion DEMETRIUS “Boo Boo” ANDRADE making his first title defense, against No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger BRIAN “The Lion” ROSE.
These four gladiators boast a combined record of 87-3-1 (44 KOs)– a 96 percent winning ratio, with more than half of their total victories coming by way of knockout.
The action-packed undercard will feature undefeated World Boxing Council (WBC) Continental Americas champion, Top-Five contender and Long Beach, Long Island fan favorite “Irish” SEANIE MONAGHAN, and the debut of professional women’s boxing at Barclays Center with HEATHER “The Heat” HARDY of Brooklyn risking her undefeated record.
Provodnikov (23-2, 16 KOs), born and raised in Berezovo, Khanty-Mansi, Russia in Siberia, is trained by Hall of Famer Freddie Roach. He had an incredible year in 2013. On March 16, he was on the wrong end of a hotly-disputed unanimous decision loss to undefeated WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, Jr. Provodnikov, who moved up in weight for his first title shot, hurt Bradley numerous times during their slugfest, nearly knocking out the defending champion in the first and second rounds and scoring a knockdown in the final round. Two of the three scorecards had Bradley winning by only one point. It was voted the Fight of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America. Provodnikov moved down to his natural weight in his next fight and challenged WBO junior welterweight champion Mike Alvarado, scoring a dramatic 10th round stoppage to claim his world title, last October 19. Five of Provodnikov’s last six victories have been by knockout.
Algieri (19-0 8 KOs), hails from nearby Huntington, NY. Over the last 18 months Chris has elevated himself to a world-class contender after accumulating significant victories over top prospect Jose Alejo, former USBA champion Mike Arnaoutis, and most recently highly-rated contender Emmanuel Taylor in February. He’s as much a scholar as he is a brawler. He graduated from Stony Brook University with Honors in 2007 with a Bachelors of Science in Health Care Management and then went on to receive his Masters degree from the New York Institute of Technology. He aspires to attend Medical School.
Andrade (20-0, 13 KO), of Providence, RI, has been a mainstay on television since making his professional debut following his stint on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team. Co-promoted by Banner Promotions and Star Boxing, Andrade’s aggressive style has attracted and created fans on both coasts of the U.S. He captured the vacant world title on November 9, defeating fellow U.S. Olympian Vanes Martirosyan in a battle of undefeated top-rated contenders. One doesn’t have to look any further than his recent record where Andrade has stopped five of his last eight opponents. Career highlights include victories over former world title challengers Freddy Hernandez and Angel Hernandez as well as former Contender champion Grady Brewer.
Rose (25-1-1, 7 KOs), from Blackpool, Lancashire, England, will be fighting outside the United Kingdom for the first time. He enters his first world title tilt riding a four-year, 11-bout winning streak, which has included BBBofC British, BBBoC English and WBO Inter-Continental junior middleweight title victories. In his last fight, on October 26, he won a split decision over Javier Maciel in a title elimination bout which made Rose the WBO’s mandatory junior middleweight challenger and No. 1 contender. Career highlights include knockout victories over former world champions Joachim Alcine and Vivian Harris.
