On Thursday, September 13, two days before the highly anticipated rematch between Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez and Kazakh wrecking ball Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, another battle between Mexico and Kazakhstan will take place in the super lightweight division as Pablo “El Demoledor” Cesar Cano (30-7-1, 21 KOs) faces Ruslan Madiev (12-0, 5 KOs) in the 10-round main event of the Sept. 13 edition of Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas. ESPN2 will air the fights beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT. ESPN3 will live stream the fights beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m PT.
Cano is a 28-year-old puncher who has faced many names in the 140 and 147-pound division. The native of Tlalnepantla, Mexico has taken on the likes of Sugar Shane Mosley, Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi, Ashley Theophane, and Mauricio “El Maestro” Herrera in his career. Cano’s best victory was against Johan “El Terrible Perez, where he earned the interim WBA Super Lightweight Title. Cano is hungry to return to the top of the 140-pound rankings, but he’ll have to get past a tough fight against Madiev to do so.
“I am very happy to be back in an important main event on ESPN,” said Pablo Cesar Cano. “I’m going into this fight with hunger for the victory and a desire to vindicate myself against a good fighter like Ruslan Madiev. I have no doubts that our styles will mesh well to give a great fight.”
Madiev is a 25-year-old warrior who has maintained an impressive undefeated record since debuting in 2013. The native of Karaganda, Kazakhstan currently calls Big Bear, Calif. his home, where he trains under the experienced eye of renowned trainer Abel Sanchez. Madiev will look to become the next star to come out of Kazakhstan as he takes on a experience Mexican warrior in Cano.
“I’m very excited to fight in Las Vegas on such a massive weekend for boxing and look forward to testing myself about Pablo Cesar Cano,” said Ruslan Madiev. “I’ve been training hard in Big Bear and will be prepared for victory on September 13.”
Maricela “La Diva” Cornejo (12-2-, 5 KOs) will return in the 10-round co-main event against Franchon “Hard-Hitting Diva” Crews-Dezurn (3-1, 1 KO)in a battle for the Interim WBC Super Middleweight Title. Cornejo has been on an impressive run but will face her toughest test against a former amateur standout.
Raul “Cougar” Curiel (4-0, 3 KOs) will participate in a six-round welterweight battle against Ryan Pino (7-2, 3 KOs) of Bronx, N.Y.
Three members of the international training camp of Jose “Chepo” and Eddy Reynoso will return in separate bouts. Mexican contender Horacio “El Violento” Garcia (34-4, 25 KOs) will battle across eight rounds of action in the featherweight division. Bilal Akkawy (17-0-1, 14 KOs) of Sydney, Australia will fight in an eight-rounder in the super middleweight division. Jaba Khositashvili (3-0, 2 KOs) of Akhalkalki, Georgia will participate in a six-round super middleweight battle. These last two fighters are chief sparring partners for Canelo Alvarez.
Xu Chan (13-2, 1 KO) of Kunming, China will fight in an eight-round 126-pound battle.
Opponents for these fighters will be announced shortly.