MIAMI, Okla. – The eight fighters (combined record 114-3-1, 78 knockouts) featured on the ShoBox: The New Generation quadrupleheader live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 23, from the Buffalo Run Casino are set to go.
In the ShoBox main event, once-beaten Radivoje “Hot Rod” Kalajdzic (21-1, 14 KOs), of St. Petersburg, Fla. will be opposed by undefeated Travis Peterkin (16-0-1, 7 KOs), of Brooklyn, N.Y. in a 10-round light heavyweight scrap. Junior lightweight sensation Ivan “The Beast” Baranchyk (11-0, 10 KOs), of Brooklyn, N.Y., meets Wang Zhimin (7-0, 3 KOs, 7-1 WSB), of Nutley, N.J. by way of Ningbo, China, in the 10-round co-feature.
Heavyweight Trey Lippe Morrison (11-0, 11 KOs), of Grove, Okla., the son of the late former world heavyweight champion Tommy “The Duke” Morrison, will make his television debut against fellow unbeaten Roc Nation prospect Ed “Black Magic” Latimore (13-0, 7 KOs), of Pittsburgh, Pa, in a six-round bout and Ukrainian welterweight Ivan “The Volk” Golub (12-0, 10 KOs, 5-0 WSB), of Brooklyn, N.Y. faces James “Keep’em Sleepin” Stevenson (23-2, 16 KOs), of Baltimore, Md., in an eight-rounder that will open the telecast.
The Weights: Kalajdzic weighed 175½ pounds, Peterkin 174; Baranchyk tipped the scale at 139¾ pounds, Zhimin 139½, Morrison weighed 221½ pounds, Latimore 219; and Golub weighed 146½ pounds, Stevenson 146.
Tickets for the event promoted by DiBella Entertainment and Tony Holden Productions in association with Roc Nation Sports are priced at $35, $55 and $75 and are available at buffalorun.com and at stubwire.com.
Below is what the fighters had to say prior to Thursday’s weigh-in:
RADIVOJE KALAJDZIC
“This is my second 10-round fight and it is against another unbeaten southpaw from New York. I’m looking forward to this fight and I’m anxious to look ahead.
“I was very upset after my last fight [a controversial decision loss to unbeaten Marcus Browne]. I wasn’t really mad necessarily at myself or my team; it was mostly the referee. Then, afterward when I saw the reaction from the fans, who totally booed the decision, even took their Marcus Browne T-shirts off, I didn’t feel so badly.
“On Friday I want to come in and look great and hopefully stop this guy. I want to look better and cleaner than I did against Browne. I fought OK against Browne, but I should have used my jab more and not allowed him to grab and hold me so much.
“I was looking too much to land my right. I know I need to do better at setting it up by jabbing first. And by punching in bunches.
“A big win Friday won’t remove the overall sting of my last fight; nothing can erase the result. But since Browne doesn’t want to give me a rematch, I’m not going to just chase him. I have to move ahead.
“Against Peterkin, I want to keep it simple – jab, move and use the right hand. I need to keep him on the end of my punches. It looks like he comes at you but I’m going to come at him, too, in a smart way. I want to try and get inside, smother him. I never got that chance against Browne because of all the holding.
“Peterkin is undefeated, durable and coming to win. I expect a very tough fight. But everything is going according to plan. I had about sixth months of preparation. The errors I made in my last fight have been fixed. They won’t happen again. I have an opportunity in this fight to erase all the bitter memories of my last fight.’’
TRAVIS PETERKIN
“Making 175 pounds is OK. I can make the weight with no problem. So weight is no issue. If there was a weight class at 185, I’d probably be in it, but 175 is fine. I’m ready.
“I watched ‘Hot Rod’ closely against Browne. It was definitely a good fight. I feel Marcus could have won easily if he’d have finished the job in some of the rounds. If he stays outside he wins easily, but he wanted to make a point by going inside.
“Now ‘Hot Rod’ gets me, and this is a tremendous opportunity for me. He’s a good fighter and should have a zero there on his losses. He has power and is a decent counter-puncher. But we’ve prepared for him. We’re coming to win, box or brawl. This has been one of my best camps in a long time. I’m confident of a win.
“The key is controlling what goes on in the ring, be smart and listen to my corner. I feel this is definitely the toughest fight for me, and for him, too.
“’I’m looking forward to the fight and the opportunity to make a name for myself at 175. It’s been a long journey, but if I can be myself and do what I came here to do, I’ll be fine.’’
IVAN BARANCHYK
“This is like a second home for me, fighting in Miami. I like the people. They seem to like me. Friday should be an exciting night for everybody.
“My last two fights have ended quickly but I always train and plan to go 10 rounds. I never try for one-round knockouts. I look forward to the time when I can show off a little more of my boxing and overall skills. I do have patience.
“I think my opponent is very good and has a lot of experience. He’s better than the last two fighters I fought. I feel this fight could go some rounds. But I have power, so we’ll see.
“I work very hard in the gym. I spar 10 rounds every day. I got to spar a few rounds with Danny Garcia for this fight. Training with a world champion like him was a tremendous learning experience and it helped me a lot. I hope some of it shows on Friday.’’
WANG ZHIMIN
“I want to thank everyone for this chance to fight. I’m prepared for everything. My opponent is a very experienced boxer with a good reputation. This is definitely a step up and my biggest fight.
“I can promise you one thing: We’ll put on an exciting show for you.
“My goal is to ultimately be fighting for a world title. It takes a lot of time, patience and work inside the gym.
“I’m known for my aggressiveness but I’m constantly working on boxing more. I feel I’ve improved a lot since I was an amateur.
“So I’m ready for this fight. He may be a big puncher but I don’t look at his numbers. This is a solid matchup, a crossroads fight and a good opportunity for both of us.’’
TREY LIPPE MORRISON
“This is a real, significant step up for me but I have to approach it like I always do.
“Moving to Hollywood [Calif.] was a big change for me, but it meant I could train with Freddie Roach. He boosted my confidence just by the fact he agreed to take me on. So he must have seen something.
“There are so many things we work on: ring generalship, footwork, things to look for, stuff to avoid.
“This is a tough fight for both of us, a dangerous test. Latimore is definitely my toughest opponent so far.
“I know a lot of people are interested in watching me and seeing how I do because of my dad. But as I go on, they’ll see I’m my own person.
“Fighting here again at the Buffalo Run is always exciting but a ring is a ring; there is no home field advantage. I certainly appreciate the fans’ support but I can’t think about it.
“One of these days I’ll fight someone who can take my shots. It might be Latimore, but if it happens, I’ll be ready for it. As for me taking a shot, I’ve been rocked in sparring but not in a live fight.
“Hurting my right hand in my last fight was a real blessing. I knew I always had power in it but now I have speed and accuracy to go along with it. My hand hasn’t given me any problems at all in training. So I don’t think about it. If I hurt it again, I’ll just deal with it and fight on.’’
FREDDIE ROACH, Morrison’s Trainer
“I was supposed to be in the Philippines, but I’m very close with Manny Pacquiao and I told him, ‘Listen, Manny, I’m going to be a week late because I have a big fight with Trey coming up,’ and he said, ‘I’ll see you in a week. Get the win.’
“We are a 100 percent ready. We have great sparring partners. We’ve done great work and I know he’s coming from a broken hand and he hasn’t fought in a while, but his strengthening and conditioning is going really well. This is going to be a great fight and I expect him to be at his best. [Looking at Ed Latimore] You are going to feel his power.
“Trey has very good power and breaking his hand helped him. We got to develop both hands and now he has knockout power in both hands.
“Ed Latimore is a very difficult opponent, but I think Trey will beat him.’
ED LATIMORE
“My whole goal is to be totally calm, relaxed and in control. It’s not a physical or mental thing.
“I feel I’ve come a long way and I’m improving all the time. There were times when I was overthinking in the ring, but no more. I work on technique each and every day; my work ethic is impeccable.
“I’ve become such a better student of boxing. When I first started watching, I thought it was boring. Then I learned how to watch, and began to notice the subtle things going on. I now know what I’m looking at when I watch films and I see things totally different than I did before. Now I know what to do with what I learn.
“I may be small for a heavyweight but I’m never going to be one of those big guys so I do not put a lot of emphasis on size. If you can fight, you can fight. I work on developing skills. Punching power comes from technique and repetition, not always from size.
“I’m looking forward to a good fight. I have to stay composed. Morrison likes to come right out at you but I’m not planning to just let him come at me like he did his other opponents. I have something I plan to do that will give him something to think about.
“Fighting him is huge for me. His name means a lot. He’s the toughest guy I’ve fought. But I don’t think about my emotions and fighting in his hometown. We knew what we were getting into and there’s nothing we can do about it. There are things that are beyond your control.
“I’m still in school, majoring in physics, but I took a semester off. Then, this opportunity came along. No way I could do both right now. I enjoy how far I’ve come in boxing. I think the hard work is paying off.
“I’m confident I’ll win Friday. It’s going to be a great.’’
IVAN GOLUB
“I’ve been working mainly on my inside game and setting down on my punches lately. I know Stevenson is a good boxer, a slick guy who knows what do to. I have to try and stay patient, work the jab, work the body and put on pressure.
“In the amateurs it was more about points. Winning was OK with points but in the U.S. you need more than that.
“My mindset going into every fight is on going the distance. I’m looking forward to fighting Stevenson. Besides his boxing ability, he takes a good shot.
“This will be a real test for me, my toughest test. I’m a natural 160 but can make welterweight easily. It’s been a good camp for me.’’
JAMES STEVENSON
“I think my opponent is probably taking me lightly. But he’s going to see a different me. I’m looking at this as a must-win, can-win fight. The birth of my daughter recently totally woke me up. It made me realize it was time to straighten up, stop running the streets and totally focus on my job. I have to take care of her. The added responsibility made me change my ways.
“So this training camp has been totally different than any I’ve had before. I’m really prepared. I didn’t come here to run, I’m coming to win. I’m certainly not here to be anyone’s opponent.
“It’s been crazy in my hometown. The whole city of Baltimore is behind me, and that is very exciting. Friday is the most important fight ever for me and I am looking forward to it.
“I’m confident I can be the first to defeat Golub.’’
GORDON HALL, Senior Vice President of Production, SHOWTIME Sports & Executive Producer, ShoBox: The New Generation “Tomorrow night we have eight fighters with a total combined record of 114-3-1. We have undefeated fighters facing each other. We had 151 fighters fight on ShoBox, and lose that 0. Tomorrow night, on the second matchup of the night, we have two undefeated heavyweights. Trey Lippe Morrison’s father may have been Tommy, but we are not here because he’s Tommy’s son. We are here because we believe that Trey Lippe Morrison can fight and he’s taking a big step up in taking on Ed Latimore. It’s a big fight for both fighters and I credit them for taking the matchup.
“Ivan Golub had 300 amateur fights. He’s an accomplished fighter, we had him once before on ShoBox and he’s taking on James Stevenson, a veteran fighter, who’s not coming here to lose.
“Ivan Baranchyk, the adopted son of Buffalo Run Casino here in Miami. He’s one of the fighters you want to pay to see. He’s all action. His skill level is A-plus and Wang Zhimin knows that and he’s not afraid.
“The main event, Rod Kalajdzic vs. Travis Peterkin is the one to watch out for. Kalajdzic loss on his record against Marcus Browne is debatable to those who saw the fight. Travis Peterkin is undefeated, so for me this is a fight of two undefeated fighters in the light heavyweight division, which has Adonis Stevenson, Andre Ward, Sergey Kovalev. It’s a hot division and looking for new blood and hopefully we’ll see it here tomorrow night.” Barry Tompkins will call the ShoBox action from ringside with 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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