OPPONENT CHANGE FOR
JERMAIN TAYLOR
ON "TITLE NIGHT IN
LITTLE ROCK"
JERMAIN TAYLOR vs
FREDDY CUEVAS
HOMETOWN HERO TAYLOR
ATTEMPTS TO WIN
FIRST PROFESSIONAL TITLE
ON AUGUST 8
ESPN2 FRIDAY NIGHT
FIGHTS
New York, July 22 - There's been a change in plans for
middleweight Jermain Taylor, who returns to his hometown for
"Title Night in Little Rock" on August 8 at the Alltel Arena, but rest assured,
this change in opponent is not of the usual fare.
"We reviewed fight footage of Rene Arostegui (Taylor's
original opponent) and decided that he wasn't the level of fighter we want for
Jermain at this stage," said Lou DiBella, President of
DiBella Entertainment. "We wanted Jermain to be in a real
fight in which he would learn something. Freddy Cuevas will provide that
on August 8."
Taylor's new opponent, Alfredo "Freddy"
Cuevas, is a hard-hitting Chicagoan who expects to provide "Bad
Intentions" with his toughest test to date. With a 22-5-1 (16 KO's) record,
Cuevas has been in the ring with some of the top talent in the world, and among
his victories is a seventh round stoppage of highly regarded Wilfredo Rivera
last year. In 1999, Cuevas handed Sam Hill his first defeat as a pro via a
seventh round knockout. As you may remember, Hill went on to defeat former
World Champion David Reid before going the distance in a losing effort with
Jermain in August 2002.
In Cuevas' last bout on July 18th, he stopped Miguel
Aguila in a single round.
Taylor (16-0, 12 KO's), is widely regarded as the brightest
prospect from the Class of 2000. A boxer-puncher who has improved by leaps
and bounds with each fight, "Bad Intentions" has soared up the ranks in a little
over two years as a pro, and on August 8, he looks to cap the first phase of his
career with his first professional title. In his last outing on May 17,
2003, Taylor impressively stopped tough veteran Nicolas Cervera (33-4-1, 30
KO's) in just four rounds in a bout televised by HBO.
Taylor-Cuevas, a 12 round bout which will be fought for the
vacant WBC Continental Americas Middleweight Title, is part of an exciting night
of boxing presented by DiBella Entertainment, Inc., and will be televised live
on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights beginning at 8pm. Doors open at 5:30pm and
the first bout begins at 7pm.
Note: Taylor was originally expected to challenge
for the NABF middleweight title on August 8, but with the removal of Arostegui
from the card, there were no boxers in the NABF rankings willing to fight Taylor
on short notice. With the Continental Americas title vacant, the WBC stepped in
and sanctioned the bout.
Also on the "Title Night in Little Rock" card is exciting
junior middleweight contender Kofi Jantuah (23-1, 13 KO's), who
will face Robert Kamya (12-2, 4 KO's) in a ten rounder.
Four other bouts will be announced shortly.
Tickets for "Title Night in Little Rock", priced at
$152.00 (VIP seating - limited availability),
$92.00, $62.00, $37.00,
$27.00 & $17.00 (students and seniors
only), are on sale now at all Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com and the Alltel Arena
Box Office at 501-975-9000. You may also
call Ticketmaster at 501-975-7575.
For more information on DiBella
Entertainment, please visit our website at: www.dbe1.com
For more
information on DiBella Entertainment, please visit our
website at http://www.dbe1.com
