DiBella Entertainment will debut its acclaimed Broadway Boxing series north of the border on Tuesday, January 28 at the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto, Canada.
The 113th edition of Broadway Boxing will be live streamed exclusively on UFC FIGHT PASSĀ®, the world’s leading digital subscription service for combat sports, beginning at 9:00pm ET/6:0pm PT.
“I’m thrilled to work with Lee Baxter and debut the Broadway Boxing series abroad in Toronto,” said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. “Following a spirited challenge against Golovkin, Steve Rolls is determined to climb back into the world title picture at 168 pounds and will begin with an impressive victory on January 28, in front of his hometown fans and live on UFC FIGHT PASS.
On the undercard, Hershey Normatov continues his rise in the junior middleweight division and light heavyweight contender ‘Hot Rod’ Kalajdzic returns to the ring following his world title challenge last year. Lee will also feature two of his exciting Canadian fighters in the unbeaten welterweight contender Custio Claytan and amateur star Amanda Galle.”
Headlining the night’s action, hometown favorite “Mr.” Steve Rolls (19-1, 10 KOs), of Toronto, will battle Shady Gamhour (12-0, 9 KOs), of Pensacola, FL, over 10 rounds for the vacant IBF-USBA and WBA-NABA super middleweight titles. Rolls is returning to battle following his competitive challenge against pound-for-pound great Gennadiy Golovkin on June 8, 2019, at Madison Square Garden, losing the first bout of his nine years as a professional.
The 29-year-old Gamhour, a native of Brody, Sweden, trained by four-division world champion Roy Jones Jr., looks to kick off 2020 in style following two stoppage victories last year, which included a fourth-round knockout of Joshua Weems on October 18, 2019, in Columbus, OH.
Co-featured in a scheduled 10-rounder, Custio Clayton (17-0, 11 KOs), of Montreal, Canada, will defend his WBA-NABA welterweight title against Diego “El Chacarero” Ramirez (21-3, 6 KOs), of Santa Fe, Argentina. The 25-year-old Clayton is coming off a stellar 2019, which included a sixth-round stoppage of former world champion DeMarcus Corley and a 10-round decision versus Johan Perez on June 29.
Following a five-fight winning streak, the also 25-year-old, upset-minded Ramirez looks to rebound following a hard-fought 10-round decision loss to Maximiliano Veron on November 2, 2019, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This bout is promoted in association with Lee Baxter Promotions.
Junior middleweight prospect Hurshidbek “Hershey” Normatov (9-0, 3 KOs), of Brooklyn, NY, clashes with Uriel “El Muneco” Hernandez (13-5, 7 KOs) of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. A native of Uzbekistan where he had a stellar amateur career, accumulating a 190-40 record, the 27-year-old southpaw Normatov hits the ring following an eight-round decision against Walter Wright on August 29, 2019, at Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, CT. Hernandez has twice previously ventured up to Canada, taking local undefeated prospects, Jessie Wilcox and Jordan Balmir, the distance in close matches.
Opening the UFC FIGHT PASS broadcast, Amanda Gale (3-0), of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, faces off against Shelly Barnett (4-2-2), of Toronto, CA, in a scheduled eight-round junior featherweight bout. Gale, who was a three-time National champion as an amateur, won all three of her professional bouts in 2019 by four-round unanimous decision. Barnett, a former Canadian bantamweight champion, looks to stop the Gale train, coming off an eight-round split decision loss to Noemi Bosques on September 7, 2019, in Milwaukee, WI. This bout is promoted in association with Lee Baxter Promotions.
Light heavyweight contender and former world title challenger “Hot Rod” Radivoje Kalajdzic (24-2, 17 KOs), of St. Petersburg, FL, returns to the ring following his world title challenge against IBF light heavyweight world champion Artur Beterbiev on May 4, 2019, in Stockton, CA, in a bout telecast on ESPN. He will face Juan Carlos Raygosa (15-16-3, 6 KOs), of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, in a scheduled eight-round bout at cruiserweight.
Local Toronto favorite Nick Fantauzzi (9-0, 5 KOs) battles Aaron Crawley (6-3, 1KO), of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, in an eight-round light heavyweight clash.
Junior welterweights will see action as undefeated prospect Will Madera (14-0-3, 7 KOs), of Albany, NY, battles heavy-handed veteran Edgar Ramirez (17-15-1, 14 KOs), of Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico, in a scheduled six-rounder.
Rounding out the card in a four-round cruiserweight clash, the popular Salar Gholami (3-0, 2 KOs), of Toronto hits the ring against Mateusz Kubiszyn (3-2, 2 KOs), of Rzeszow, Poland.
Now in its 17th year, Broadway Boxing is presented by Nissan of Queens, Azad Watches, OPTYX, Christos Steak House and Gagliardi Insurance.
