MSG To Show Boxing Classics On Friday Nights

New York, NY (May 30, 2013) – Boxing is back on MSG Network every Friday night at 9:00 p.m. this summer with “Friday Night Fights.” Following tomorrow night’s presentation of two recent bouts from Russia, John Duddy and Mark Breland take center stage every Friday night with an all-new look at some classic fights.

“Friday Night Fights” gets started tomorrow night with a special presentation of “Don King Presents” featuring two recent title bouts from Moscow: Denis Lebedev vs. Guillermo Jones and Alexander Povetkin vs. Andrzej Wawrzyk. In the cruiserweight fight, Jones upset Lebedev and left the former title holder with a serious eye injury. Povetkin maintained his WBA heavyweight belt after defeating Wawrzyk in the third round, setting up a fight with Wladimir Klitschko this fall.

Starting Friday, June 7, Madison Square Garden favorite John Duddy and 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist and two-time world champion Mark Breland take over Friday Night Fights as they present classic bouts featuring some of the biggest names in boxing, including Lennox Lewis, “Sugar” Ray Leonard, Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe.

Below is the “Friday Night Fights” schedule through the July 4^th weekend. Additional fights will be announced at a later date.

June 7 – Alexis Arguello vs. Aaron Pryor II (9/9/83)

The rematch of the November 1982 fight, this bout ended in the same fashion, with Arguello falling to Pryor by KO, but four rounds earlier, this time in the 10^th.

June 14 – Evander Holyfield vs. Riddick Bowe I (11/13/92)

Considered one of the greatest heavyweight fights of all-time, the inaugural bout between Holyfield and Bowe went the full 12 rounds with the younger Bowe outlasting his opponent for the unanimous decision.

June 21 – Mark Breland vs. Harold Volbrecht (2/7/87)

One of the greatest amateur boxers ever, two-time world champion Breland defeated Volbrecht in Atlantic City, NJ for the WBA World Welterweight Title, his first professional world title.

June 28 – Kevin Kelley vs. Jesse Benavides (5/6/94)

With the WBC Featherweight Title at stake, Kelley defeated Benavides by unanimous decision.

July 5 – Zab Judah vs. Terron Millett (8/5/00), Zab Judah vs. Allan Vester (6/23/01)

Two IBF title defense fights by Zab Judah. In the first bout, Judah went down in the first round but regained his composure and knocked out Millett in the fourth with a series of punches. Eight months later, Judah knocked down Vester twice in the second round and finished him in the third with a left hand to the head.

MSG Networks is the exclusive local television home of the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, New York Liberty and New York Red Bulls, and the official regional sports networks of the New York Giants. MSG Networks also telecasts over 100 live college basketball games and over 40 live college football games from top national conferences (SEC, Big 12, Big East, Pac 12, Conference USA), as well as horse racing, boxing and award-winning original programming. In 2013, MSG Networks received 18 New York Emmy Awards, including 16 for MSG and one each for MSG+ and MSG.com. MSG’s 85 Emmys over the past six years are more than any single network or station in the region during that time.