Posted on 09/16/2011

LOS ANGELES, September 16 – The biggest boxing event of 2011 is rapidly approaching, but before Floyd Mayweather and Victor Ortiz show off their “STAR POWER” to fans in Las Vegas and around the world, some of boxing’s top seasoned veterans and up-and-coming talents will step into the ring at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. to show off their skills. One could even call it “FUTURE STAR POWER.”

Kicking off the festivities in two bouts that will air just before the “STAR POWER: Mayweather vs. Ortiz” pay-per-view broadcast begins, Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions are proud to present a “Freeview” that will feature a 10-round welterweight bout between veterans Said Ouali and Carson Jones as well as an eight-round super middleweight battle pitting Dion Savage against Adonis Stevenson.

Also in action in intriguing undercard bouts will be British contender Anthony Crolla, Mexican sensation Marco Antonio Periban and Las Vegas debutants Kyrone Butler and Cassius Clay.

The “STAR POWER” “Freeview” broadcast will be available free of charge and shown by several satellite and cable providers, as well as online beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. The broadcast will be available online at www.goldenboypromotions.com, RingTV.com, Yahoo! Sports and Foxsports.com. Cable, satellite and phone customers should contact their local providers for channel information. DirecTV, Dish Network, AT&T U-verse and most cable systems will be showing the “Freeview.”

Las Vegas based “Prince” Said Ouali (28-3, 20 KO’s) has long been one of the most underrated fighters in the sport, but with a strong performance on September 17, he can show the world what he’s made of. Boasting a record of 14-1 since 2004, the 32-year-old Morocco native has done his part to earn a big fight opportunity, and now the light at the
end of the tunnel is getting brighter and brighter.

Twenty-five-year-old Oklahoma City product Carson Jones (31-8-2, 21 KO’s) shares a similar path to Ouali, as all he keeps doing is winning. Unbeaten in 15 of his last 16 bouts, Jones’ last six wins have come by knockout, and it’s evident that when he and Ouali meet in Las Vegas, there will be plenty of fireworks from these two hungry veterans.

While Ouali and Jones are established veterans, super middleweights Dion Savage and Adonis Stevenson are hungry to get their names out to the boxing public. Flint, Michigan’s Savage (10-1, 6 KO’s) bounced back in style from his lone loss to fellow prospect Marco Antonio Periban in February by shutting out Eddie Tigs over six rounds in August. Nicknamed “Superman,” Longueuil, Canada’s Adonis Stevenson (14-1, 11 KO’s) is a talented southpaw who is coming off of a third-round knockout of 25-1 Derek Edwards in April that netted him an NABA title.

A young man who has emerged in the last year as one of Mexico’s top prospects for future world title consideration is 26-year-old Marco Antonio Periban (14-0, 10 KO’s) who will introduce himself to fans and the media in the fight capital of the world on September 17 when he takes on tough Pennsylvania veteran Dhafir Smith (24-21-7, 4 KO’s) in a super middleweight bout scheduled for eight rounds. 4-0 in 2011 already, Periban took the “0” from Dion Savage’s perfect record in February and is looking to put on another stellar performance in his most important fight to date.

Former amateur star and current British Boxing Board of Control Lightweight Champion Anthony “Million Dollar” Crolla (21-2, 9 KO’s) has been waiting for an opportunity to fight in Las Vegas and on September 17, he will get his chance when he takes on Mexico City’s Juan Manuel Montiel (6-4-3, 1 KO) in an eight round matchup. The 24-year-old Manchester, England native has won eight in a row over the last two years. Crolla will face a still challenge in Montiel, a rugged battler who is guided by Hall of Fame trainer Nacho Beristain. Crolla vs. Montiel will be available on Primetime in the United Kingdom.

Opening the event will be a super lightweight four round bout pitting Kyrone Butler against Cassius Clay in a meeting of debuting Las Vegans.

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“STAR POWER: Mayweather vs. Ortiz” is a mega-event taking place Saturday, Sept. 17 from two world-class cities with three world titles at stake. Floyd Mayweather and Victor Ortiz will face off in a 12-round fight for Ortiz’s WBC Welterweight World Title from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. Canelo Alvarez and Alfonso Gomez will do battle in a 12-round fight for Alvarez’s WBC Super Welterweight World Title from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Calif. Also live in Las Vegas will be Erik Morales vs. Pablo Cesar Cano in a 12-round fight for the vacant WBC Super Lightweight World Title and an opening fight featuring undefeated rising star Jessie Vargas against top contender Josesito Lopez. The mega event is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate, DeWALT Tools, AT&T and Southwest Airlines. Alvarez vs. Gomez is presented in association with Canelo Promotions and Morales vs. Cano is presented in association with Box Latino Promotions and Arano Box Promotions. “STAR POWER: Mayweather vs. Ortiz” will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Fans in the United Kingdom can watch the fight live on Primetime, channel 480 on Sky, Virgin on Demand and streamed live via the website primetimelive.co.uk at 2:00 a.m. BST (Sunday, September 18).

The “STAR POWER” pay-per-view telecast, which begins at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 92 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View®, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For Mayweather vs. Ortiz fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com.

Fans in the United Kingdom can watch “STAR POWER: Mayweather vs. Ortiz” live on Primetime, channel 480 on Sky, Virgin on Demand and streamed live via the website www.primetimelive.co.uk. Existing Sky customers can buy through Box Office. New customers must register beforehand online at www.primetimelive.co.uk or by calling 0871 200 4444. Virgin customers Press home > More on Demand > Live Events. The fight will cost £14.95 and a small one-off registration fee will apply for customers new to Primetime.

Remaining tickets for Mayweather vs. Ortiz are priced at $1,250, $1,000 and $600, not including applicable service charges, with a total ticket limit of ten (10) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

Tickets for Alvarez vs. Gomez, priced at $300, $150, $75 and $50, are on sale now and available for purchase online at ticketmaster.com, via Ticketmaster charge-by-phone lines at (800)745-3000. Tickets are also available at STAPLES Center box office.

Seven of the MGM Resorts properties will host closed circuit viewing of “STAR POWER: Mayweather vs. Ortiz.” Tickets for the closed circuit telecasts at all venues are priced at $50, not including handling fees. All seats will be general admission and are on sale now at each individual property’s box office outlets or by phone with a major credit card at (866) 799-7711. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. Tickets for the viewings at MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay will also be available through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

NCM Fathom will broadcast “STAR POWER: Mayweather vs. Ortiz” in high definition LIVE to more than 380 movie theaters nationwide at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Tickets to see the fight on the big screen are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com

The finale of the all-access reality series “24/7 Mayweather/Ortiz” premieres Friday, Sept. 16 at 9:00 p.m. on HBO. Episodes #1-3 are available at HBO ON DEMAND® and HBO GO®. CNN will replay episodes #3 and #4 this Friday, Sept. 16 at 12 midnight. All four parts can be seen consecutively on HBO this Friday night at 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday at 8:00 a.m. All times are ET/PT.

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