Pllana Has First Eight-Round Bout; Bates Faces Veteran On August 23rd In Houston, TX!

Two Beltway Boxers will appear on a card at the Arabia Shrine Center in Houston, TX on Friday, August 23rd.

Undefeated Hagerstown, MD super middleweight "The Sexy Albanian" Genc Pllana is trying to make quick moves in his career.  After just five previous pro bouts, Pllana will move up to the scheduled eight-round level for the first time when he takes on Raphael "Trouble" Igbokwe of Fresno, TX.

Pllana (5-0, two KO's) is coming off a six-round unanimous decision win over Dennis Williams on June 29th in Laurel, MD.  Igbokwe (12-2, six KO's) last fought on June 1st at the Arabia Shrine Center and lost an eight-round split decision to Alexis Gaytan.

Also on the card will be Washington, DC super bantamweight Marcus "Dreamcrusher" Bates who will also be in an eight-rounder against Saul Eduardo "Bebe" Hernandez of Lakeside, CA by way of Tijuana, Mexico.

Bates (9-1-1, eight KO's) competed for the first time in more than a year on April 13th when he stopped Jesse Angel Hernandez in the third round in Atlantic City, NJ.   Hernandez (no relation, 13-13-1, eight KO's) will face a Beltway Boxer for the second straight time.  Hernandez lost by six-round technical decision to Antonio Russell on May 18th in Brooklyn, NY.