August Updates And Changes!

There are a few updates and changes to the August schedule.  Here's what we have:

Capitol Heights, MD bantamweight Antonio "Another" Russell has an opponent for his eight-round contest on Saturday, August 4th at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island, NY.  Russell (11-0, eight KO's) will take on Lucas Rafael Baez of Catamarca, Argentina.  Russell is coming off a fifth-round TKO over Jonathan Lecona Ramos on May 19th at the MGM National Harbor Casino in Oxon Hill, MD.  Baez (33-16-5, 17 KO's) makes his United States debut after fighting his bouts primarily in his native Argentina.  Baez last fought on May 18th and scored a second-round TKO over Guillermo Dejeas in Belen, Argentina.

Younger brother Antuanne "The Last" Russell (6-0, six KO's) will also be on this card in an eight-round super lightweight bout against Jose Arturo Esquivel (10-7, two KO's) of Ciudad Saucillo, Chihuahua, Mexico.  That bout is scheduled to be shown on FS2 and Fox Deportes.  Some bouts on the undercard will be shown at 5:30 PM ET.

According to Boxrec.com, Landover, MD featherweight Kevin "The Kraken" Rivers, Jr. is no longer on the Friday, August 10th card at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles, CA.  No word as to why Rivers (14-2, 10 KO's) is not appearing on this show.

"The Red Comet" Dante Cox has a change in opponent for his appearance on the Saturday, August 18th card Jeter Promotions card at Live! Casino in Hanover, MD.  Cox, a lightweight from Elkridge, MD (2-0, one KO), now faces Varon Webb of North Carolina by way of Hartford, CT (0-1) in a four-round encounter.  Cox comes off his first-round TKO victory over Tyshae Ferguson on June 16th in Laurel, MD.  Webb made his pro debut in Columbia, SC and lost a six-round majority decision to Fernando Bunch.

Then on Friday, August 24th, Richmond, VA middleweight "The Chosen One" Immanuwel Aleem will be in a 10-round main event contest against veteran and world title contender Willie "El Mongoose" Monroe, Jr. of Rochester, NY at the Minneapolis Armory in Minneapolis, MN.  The bout will be televised by FS1.

Aleem (18-1-1, 11 KO's) bounced back from suffering his first loss (a third-round knockout to Hugo Centeno, Jr. almost a year from this date [August 25, 2017]) by stopping Juan De Angel on May 19th in Oxon Hill, MD.

Two of Monroe's three losses (22-3, six KO's) came in world title bouts.  In May of 2015, Monroe challenged for the WBA and IBO Middleweight titles and was stopped by Gennady Golovkin in Inglewood, CA. Then in September of 2017, Monroe lost a 12-round unanimous decision to Billy Joe Saunders for Saunders's WBO Middleweight crown.  In his last outing, Monroe won an eight-round unanimous decision over Carlos Galvan on March 3rd in Brooklyn, NY.

Both boxers are ranked by the WBC in the middleweight division -- Monroe is sixth and Aleem is 12th.