Home Boxing News Ronald Cruz, Isaac Chilemba, Kermit Cintron all out on March 15th card

Ronald Cruz, Isaac Chilemba, Kermit Cintron all out on March 15th card

The Tomasz Adamek-Vyacheslav Glazkov battle for the IBF North American Heavyweight title on March 15th at the Sands Casino Resorts Bethlehem, PA will have some competition for the most exciting fight of the event.  The undercard is jam-packed with exciting match-ups that are sure to please the in-house audience at Sands.

The seven-fight card event will showcase Isaac “Golden Boy” Chilemba (21-2-2, 9 KO’s), of Johannesburg, South Africa, as he collides with Denis Grachev (13-2-1, 8 KO’s), a Russian living in San Diego, CA, in the ten round co-feature that will air as part of the NBCSN Fight Night broadcast beginning at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT.  Chilemba (#2) and Grachev (#7) both are rated in the top ten of the hot light heavyweight division by the WBC.

Another ten round match features welterweights Ronald Cruz (20-2, 15 KO’s), of Bethlehem, PA, against Kermit Cintron (34-5-2, 28 KO’s), of Reading, PA in a showdown for bragging rights across Southeastern Pennsylvania.  The 27-year-old Cruz is the most popular fighter in the area and has knocked out his last three opponents-Rodolfo Armenta, of Rio Rico, AZ; Alberto Morales, of Miami, FL; Hector Munoz, of Albuquerque, NM.

The 34-year-old Cintron turned pro in 2000 and won the vacant IBF world welterweight title in 2006 when he knocked out Mark Suarez, of Riverside, CA.  After successful defenses against Walter Matthysse, of Santa Fe, Argentina, and Jesse Feliciano, of Las Vegas, NV, Cintron lost the title to Antonio Margarito, of Tijuana, Mexico, in 2008.  In his last fight Aug. 2 in Miami, OK, Cintron earned a ten round decision over Jonathan Batista, of the Dominican Republic.

Lightweight prospect Karl “Dynamite” Dargan (14-0, 7 KO’s), of Philadelphia, PA, takes on Chazz McDowell (6-4-1, 1 KO), of Yonkers, NY, in an eight-round contest.  The 24-year-old Dargan is considered one of the best prospects in the country at 135 pounds.  In his last fight on Nov. 16th in the co-feature spot on a special afternoon edition of Fight Night on NBC, he out-pointed lefty Michael Brooks, of Nassau, LI, over ten rounds.  McDowell, also 24, is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Frank Santos De Alba in front of the crowd at Sands on January 25th and is looking to get himself back on track.  Including Dargan, the combined record of McDowell’s last five opponents is 50-2-2.

More up-and-comers appear on the rest of the card:  Jerome Rodriguez (6-0-2, 2 KOs), of Allentown, PA, vs. Brandon Williams (3-0), of Rochester, NY, six rounds, junior welterweights; Nathaniel Rivas (2-0), of Berlin, NJ, vs. Terrell James (1-1-1), of Philadelphia, four rounds, welterweights; Luis Acevedo (pro debut), of Bethlehem, PA vs. Josh Crespo (1-1-1, 1 K0), of Springfield, MA, four rounds, super bantamweights.

Co-promoter and Hall of Fame matchmaker J Russell Peltz feels this is a very diverse undercard; he said “There is something for everyone on this undercard.  The winner of Chilemba-Grachev will join the pool of potential world-title challengers at 175 pounds.  Cintron can resurrect his career by beating Cruz and Cruz, by winning, can move back into the world rankings at 147 pounds.  Dargan, one of the best youngsters at 135, cannot afford to stumble against McDowell, who has never been stopped and shown the ability to hang in there with the best at 130 and 135 pounds.

Main Events’ Matchmaker and VP of Operations Jolene Mizzone likes the competitive balance on this March 15th card; she said, “It is refreshing as a matchmaker to have a card with so many evenly matched pick ’em fights where anyone on the card has a chance to win.”

About March 15th:

The March 15th edition of NBCSN Fight Night at Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem features the twelve-round heavyweight match-up between Tomasz “Goral” Adamek and Vyacheslav “Czar” Glazkov for the IBF North American Heavyweight Title and IBF #2 Position Eliminator. The co-feature is a ten round light heavyweight match-up between Isaac “Golden Boy” Chilemba and Denis “The Pirate/Drago’s Son” Grachev.  Doors open at 6:00 PM ET. The co-feature and main event will be broadcast live on NBCSN Fight Night at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT. Tickets start at $55 and are available through TicketMaster.com (key word:  Peltz Boxing).  The card is presented by Main Events, Peltz Boxing, Ziggy Promotions, and Pushka Promotions in association with BAM Boxing and Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem.

NBC Sports Live Extra:

NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will live stream Fight Night at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT on March 15th. 

Coverage will be streamed via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.

All NBC Sports Network live events live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra, and to the digital platforms of participating cable, satellite, and telco services, via “TV Everywhere,” which is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating MVPDs.