Home Boxing News D’Mitirus “Big Meech” Ballard fighting on June 11th in in Salt Lake...

D’Mitirus “Big Meech” Ballard fighting on June 11th in in Salt Lake City

Golden Boy Promotions and CharityVision, a Utah-based non-profit providing medical equipment, clinics, vision screenings, eye surgeries, and training to doctors in poverty-stricken areas across the globe, have added top talent to round out an entertaining undercard for the second annual Fight Night fundraiser tomorrow, Saturday, June 11 in Salt Lake City, UT. The event is open to the press.

Boxing legend, ten-time world champion in six weight classes and Golden Boy Promotions Chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya and host of “Extra” and boxing enthusiast Mario Lopez will headline the 2016 event. Golden Boy Promotions top prospects D’Mitirus “Big Meech” Ballard (13-0, 9 KOs), Joshua “The Professor” Franco (5-0, 3 KOs) and David Mijares (1-0) will showcase their skills for the crowd in three entertaining undercard bouts that will precede the main event.

Washington, D.C.’s Ballard will participate in an eight-round light heavyweight bout against Ernesto “Gatti” Berrospe (11-8, 6 KOs) of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico; San Antonio, Texas resident Franco will face Sam Rodriguez (4-1, 3 KOs) of the Bronx, New York in a bantamweight bout scheduled for six-rounds; and California-native Mijares will make his second professional appearance in the ring to take on Cory “Vicious” Vom Baur (2-4) of Vancouver, Wash. in a four-round welterweight bout.

Ring TV will live stream the undercard bouts and main event and will be available for viewing on the LiveStream.com, www.RingTVLive.com, www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, and the Ring TV mobile and Roku apps starting at 6:30 p.m. MT.

Location:
The Rail Event Center
235 North 500 West
Salt Lake City, Utah 84116

Date: Saturday, June 11, 2016
Time: 6:30 p.m. MT; doors open to media at 6:00 p.m. MT

A professional since 2013, the 23 year-old undefeated Ballard has executed every opponent he has faced utilizing his powerful punches and heavy hits most recently facing Fabiano “Pitbull” Pena in December 2015 and Leosvy Mayedo in March 2016. On June 11, Ballard will make his first appearance in Utah and will be focused once again to secure the victory against his opponent Findley.

A professional since 2006, Ernesto “Gatti” Berrospe has slowly climbed the ranks in the light heavyweight division taking on tough opponents along the way. 2015 was a busy year for Berrospe as he fought three times in the U.S., and went up against Paul Mendez twice in January and April and Rob Brant in July. Berrospe was most recently seen in the ring against Gerrado Esquivel in January 2016, defeating the fighter in the fourth round via technical knockout. Berrospe will be looking to keep the momentum going when he takes on the tough prospect D’Mitrius Ballard on June 11.

Franco, who made his debut less than a year ago as a new Golden Boy fighter on the August 6 edition of the popular LA FIGHT CLUB series in Los Angeles, defeating Temoatzin Landeros via split decision, and quickly followed up with a victory over Saul “Bebe” Hernandez at the October installment. He ended 2015 on a high note, with a first round knockout victory over Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico’s Leonard Reyes in December. Franco has stayed active in 2016, having fought twice previously this year and obtained victories once by knockout and another via unanimous decision.

Having just fought less than one month ago, Sam Rodriguez and the pride of the Bronx, NY, is ready to get right back in on the action in an all-out bantamweight battle scheduled to go six rounds against San Antonio, TX’s Joshua Franco. At twenty-six years old, this fighter is on the heels of his biggest victory yet after defeating up and coming Ricardo Espinoza via unanimous decision last month and welcomes taking on Franco in the ring this Saturday.

Some fighters are made in the gym. The 19-year old David Mijares was seemingly born into the sport. As Mijares’ father worked with legendary musician Bob Dylan, his pregnant mother visited the boxing gym and her water broke. David wasn’t delivered in the gym, but as he grew up, it was his second home and he would even put on gloves and do drills as a toddler. By the age of 12, he began competing, going on to compile a 57-12 record as an amateur. Among his accomplishments were three National PAL Championships, a 2015 Golden Gloves title, and a Bronze medal in the 2015 USA National Championships. Even more impressively, he did it all while excelling in his studies and even playing the Euphonium for the nationally-ranked orchestra at Santa Monica High School. Mijares made his professional debut with a spectacular win on the Canelo-Khan undercard on May 7 defeating Omar Reyes via unanimous decision. He will return to the ring for the second time in his professional career on June 11 to face Cory Vom Baur.

Opening up the Charity Vision fight night, welterweight warrior Cory “Vicious” Vom Baur of Vancouver, Wash. will step back in the ring to take on David Mijares, newly signed to Golden Boy Promotions, in a four-round welterweight bout. With his first fight of 2016, fight fans can expect Vom Baur to be coming in hot and heavy to secure the night’s first victory by way of his fists and fury.

This year’s black-tie event, which is using the hashtag #givesight25, is expected to raise $1 million, allowing CharityVision to perform 40,000 sight-restoring surgeries. At an average cost of $25, one person’s sight can be restored with a simple procedure. For about the same cost as lunch with a friend, a mother can see her children for the first time, a family can be lifted out of poverty because sight brings new opportunities, and hope can be brought back to families and communities. With a $25 donation a commemorative Fight Night t-shirt is available www.givesight25.com. There, donations of any amount can also be made. All proceeds benefit CharityVision and its work to restore sight.

Last year’s Fight Night main event, headlined by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and five-time heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, raised $1 million. In 2015 Charity Vision saw almost 400,000 patients, donated over 70,000 pairs of glasses, and performed over 42,000 surgeries.

ABOUT CHARITYVISION: CharityVision is focused on empowering local physicians in 25 developing countries to overcome curable blindness and poor vision by providing eye exams, glasses, surgeries, and eye-care clinics. In 2015, doctors in CharityVision clinics around the globe restored the sight of more than 40,000 patients. www.charityvision.net

ABOUT GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS: Los Angeles-based Golden Boy Promotions was established in 2002 by 10-time world champion in six divisions Oscar De La Hoya, the first Hispanic to own a national boxing promotional company. Golden Boy Promotions is one of boxing’s most active and respected promoters, presenting shows in packed venues around the world and has worked with networks such as HBO, HBO Latino, Estrella TV, ESPN, TeleFutura, FOX Sports 1, FOX Deportes, Televisa and TV Azteca. The company has also promoted some of the top boxing events in the history of the sport including De La Hoya vs. Mayweather, Mayweather vs. Canelo and other notable pay-per-view fights featuring fan-favorites Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins, Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez, Miguel Cotto, Marco “Baby Faced Assassin” Antonio Barrera, Erik “El Terrible” Morales and Sugar Shane Mosley.