The addition of Sergio Martinez’s protégé, Jon “Jonfer” Fernandez, (12-0, 10 KOs), in a 130-pound scrap against Juan “Pochito” Reyes (14-3-3, 2 KO’s) upgrades the previously announced ShoBox to a tripleheader.
The card, which takes place during the 2017 Hall of Fame Weekend where longtime ShoBox analysts Barry Tompkins and Steve Farhood will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, features undefeated super lightweights Regis “Rougarou” Prograis (19-0, 16 KOs) and Joel Diaz Jr. (23-0, 19 KOs) in the 10-round main event. The winner will be thrust from talented prospect to legitimate contender. Both fighters have developed on the series—this will be Prograis’ fourth start and Diaz’s third.
In the co-feature, unbeaten Canadian super middleweight Steve Rolls (15-0, 9 KOs) makes his second start on ShoBox when he faces the dangerous Demond Nicholson (17-1-1, 16 KOs) in an eight-round bout.
Tickets for the event, co-promoted by DiBella Entertainment (DBE) and AASHA Record Breakers, are priced at $65 for ringside, $50, $40 and $30 (may be subject to additional fees) and are available at the Turning Stone Box Office, by calling 877-833-SHOW, or online at Ticketmaster.com. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., with the first bout scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
“This is another big opportunity for me to show everybody that I am one of the best super featherweights in the world,” said Fernandez, who will fight for just the third time in the United States. “The fight against Garza was an amazing experience and I was happy to give the audience in the U.S. such an exciting performance.
“In my last fight, I won the Spanish title, something that I am very proud to have achieved, now I will travel back to the U.S. to face anybody that my promoter puts in front of me. I am very confident in my skills and my team is doing great work with my career.”
“This is the opportunity I have been waiting for my entire career,” said Reyes. “I make real wars out of my fights because that is my style and it works for me. Jon Fernandez will have his hands full because I am coming to win.”
“I want to thank to Lou DiBella and SHOWTIME for another great opportunity for Jon Fernández,” said Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez, promoter and former unified middleweight world champion. “Jonfer is a talented and hard-working young man that will archive great things. He’s destined for greatness.”
“With his potential and work ethic, I have no doubt he’ll be a world champion one day. I will take it a step further and say that he will become next pound-for-pound champion. He is ready to win this fight by knockout and call out the top names in his weight class.”
The 21-year old Fernandez is coming off of a second-round TKO victory versus previously unbeaten Ismael Garcia to seize the Spanish 130-pound title in his hometown of Bilbao, País Vasco, Spain, on April 21. In his last stateside appearance on Feb.10 of this year, Fernandez made his ShoBox debut with an impressive third-round knockout against formerly once-beaten Ernesto Garza in Miami, Okla.
Reyes is a 27-year-old from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, now training out of Bell Gardens, Calif. He will be making his ShoBox and New York debut—he has never fought outside of Southern California. Reyes’ last two fights resulted in unanimous decision wins as he beat Miguel Angel Mendoza on March 3 of this year and Cesar Villarraga in October 2016.
