Barthelemy Fights Sakkreerin on “Friday Night Fights”

Undefeated Junior Lightweight Barthelemy to Meet Sakkreerin in IBF No.1 Eliminator on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights

The June 21 edition of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra will feature undefeated Junior Lightweight Rances “Kid Blast” Barthelemy (18-0, 11 KOs) and Fahsai Sakkreerin (39-3-1, 21 KOs) in the 12-round main event. The fight will be an IBF Eliminator for No. 1 ranking. Friday’s show from the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minn., will air live at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2 HD, ESPN Deportes and WatchESPN. The card is promoted by Warriors Boxing.

Commentators:
Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas will be ringside describing the action for ESPN2 HD, while studio host Todd Grisham (@GrishamESPN) will provide the latest boxing news and highlights. Pablo Viruega and Delvin Rodriguez will call the fights for ESPN Deportes’ Viernes de Combates (Friday Night Fights) with Leopoldo Gonzalez and Claudia Trejos in the studio. Bilingual reporter Bernardo Osuna (@osunaespn) will present live interviews and reports for both shows.

Main Event:

Miami’s Barthelemy, brother of 2004 Olympic gold medalist Yan Barthelemy, is coming off a 12-round unanimous decision win over Arash Usmanee.

“He’s (Barthelemy) a good boxer and a good puncher,” Trainer Jon David Jackson said. “I’ve seen video of his opponent (Sakkreerin). Let’s see what he can do when Rances is putting pressure on him. Then we’ll see what he’s made of. The wraps are off – I think Rances is going to surprise a lot of people in this fight. Rances should be champion.”

Thailands Sakkreerin who is making his U.S. debut is looking to continue his winning ways after a second-round TKO win over Robert Rubillar in his last fight.

“I am proud to be a Karen boxer,” Sakkreerin said. “Karen is a hill-tribe peoples from north of Thailand. I want people to see a Karen boxer become the first world champion.”

Co-Feature:
Friday’s 10-round co-feature will pit Middleweights Don “Da Bomb” George (24-3-2, 21 KOs) of Chicago against Minnesota’s Caleb “Golden” Truax (21-1-1, 12 KOs). Truax scored a 10-round unanimous decision win over Matt Vanda in his last fight, while George will look to rebound from a 10-round draw against David Lopez.

Upcoming Schedule:

Date

Fri., June 28

Time (ET)

9 p.m.

Main Event

Grzegorz Proska (29-2, 21 KOs) vs. Sergio Mora (23-3-2, 7 KOs)—10-rounds, Middleweight

Location

Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Fla.

Networks

ESPN2, ESPN Deportes WatchESPN

Date

Fri., July 5

Time (ET)

9 p.m.

Main Event

Allen Green (32-4, 22 KOs) vs. Eleider Alvarez (12-0, 8 KOs)—10-rounds, Light Heavyweight

Location

Hartord Convention Center, Hartford, Conn.

Networks

ESPN2, ESPN Deportes WatchESPN

Date

Fri., July 12

Time (ET)

10 p.m.

Main Event

Drian Francisco (24-1-1, 19 KOs) vs. Chris Avalos (21-2, 16 KOs)—10-rounds, Super Bantamweight

Location

Texas Station Casino, Las Vegas, Nev.

Networks

ESPN2, ESPN Deportes WatchESPN

*Schedule subject to change *

Follow ESPN’s Friday Night Fights on Twitter @ESPNFNF or like it on Facebook. Follow ESPN Deportes’ Viernes de Combates on Twitter @ESPNBoxeo. Also score the fights round-by-round with the “Live Friday Night Fights Facebook Voting App,” an application on the ESPN FNF Facebook page that allows viewers to score the fight round-by-round.

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