DEMARCO WINS NINTH STRAIGHT WITH SPLIT DECISION OVER REYES,
PEREZ REMAINS UNBEATEN WITH SIXTH-ROUND TKO OVER MARTINEZ

Friday, Sept. 5, 2008, at 11 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME

Star of the Desert Arena, Primm, Nevada

PRIMM, Nev. (Sept. 5, 2008) – On a night of sensational southpaw sluggers, Antonio Demarco and Yonnhy Perez turned in thrilling performances and scored wins over Jose Reyes and David Martinez, respectively, Friday on SHOWTIME’s ShoBox: The New Generation.

DeMarco (20-1-1,14 KOs), of Los Mochis, Mexico, recorded his third ShoBox victory in one year by tallying a 10-round split decision over World Boxing Latin American (WBO/LA) Lightweight Champion Reyes (23-5, eight KOs), of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico. Judges Patricia Morse Jarman and Robert Hoyle scored the main event bout 96-93 and 95-94, respectively, in favor of DeMarco, while Adalaide Byrd had it 96-93 for Reyes.

In the co-feature from the Star of the Desert Arena in Primm, Nev., Yonnhy Perez (18-0, 13 KOs) remained undefeated and continued to stake his claim for a world title shot by scoring a sixth-round TKO over late substitute David Martinez (18-5-1, three KOs).

Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, presented the exciting doubleheader, which aired on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).

In the action-packed, toe-to-toe slugfest that took place mostly at close range, DeMarco opened the third round in dramatic fashion. After the bell rang, Reyes charged his opponent and missed wildly with a right hand. DeMarco took advantage of the opening and landed a devastating right hook to Reyes’ chin that sent his opponent to the canvas.

Following the knockdown, Reyes rallied strongly to control much of the action for the latter part of the bout. In a tale of two fights, DeMarco won many of the early rounds on the scorecards, while Reyes captured a number of the latter stanzas. At the end, however, DeMarco took home his ninth consecutive victory.

“I caught Reyes squarely in the third round and did what I had to do to win this fight,” DeMarco said. “Reyes is a tough fighter.”

“ShoBox” expert analyst Steve Farhood said that every young fighter like DeMarco has an experience like the Reyes bout.

“Reyes is a cagey veteran who is a master at pace and style,” Farhood said. “The fact that DeMarco got the decision is secondary to the lessons that he learned.”

Perez, of Santa Fe Springs, Calif., by way of Cartagena, Colombia, pounded Martinez with a punishing left cross and caused his opponent’s left eye to swell early in the bout. Perez, a four-time Colombian national champion who is currently ranked in the top 10 by three of the four major boxing governing bodies, captured his 18th victory without a defeat when referee Joe Cortez stepped in and stopped the one-sided bout at 2:41 of the sixth round.

“My opponent was pretty strong,” Perez said. “I felt that I was fast enough and was able to overcome a sore left shoulder early in the fight. I am ready to fight for a world title.”

Farhood said that Perez beat a fighter who was too game for his own good.

“Perez is a fringe contender at this point. With world championships to shoot for, he may get a shot within one year.”

Nick Charles called the action from ringside with boxing historian Steve Farhood serving as expert analyst. The executive producer of “ShoBox” is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.

Friday’s bouts will re-air this week as follows:

DAY CHANNEL

Saturday, Sept 6, at 3 a.m. ET/PT SHOWTIME TOO

Thursday, Sept. 11, at 10 p.m. ET/PT SHOWTIME TOO

For more information on “ShoBox: The New Generation” and SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecasts, including complete fighter bios, records, related stories and more, please go to the SHOWTIME website at http://www.sho.com/boxing.

About ShoBox: The New Generation

Since its inception in July 2001, the critically-acclaimed SHOWTIME boxing series, ShoBox: The New Generation has featured young talent matched tough. The ShoBox philosophy is to televise exciting, crowd-pleasing and competitive matches while providing a proving ground for willing prospects determined to fight for a world title. The growing list of fighters who have appeared on ShoBox and advanced to garner world titles includes: Leonard Dorin, Scott Harrison, Juan Diaz, Jeff Lacy, Ricky Hatton, Joan Guzman, Juan Urango, David Diaz, Robert Guerrero, Kelly Pavlik, Paul Malignaggi, Kendall Holt and Timothy Bradley.

Photos by:Tom Casino/SHOWTIME