By Ricardo Ibarra
Facing off with the most experienced opponent of his young career, Pacific Northwest cruiserweight Patrick Ferguson (7-0, 7 KOs) will take on seventy-seven fight veteran Zoltan Petranyi (55-22, 18 KOs) on Thursday, July 27th at the Boxing and Bulls Outdoor Grounds in Hays, Montana, headlining a nine bout pro/am card organized by Silver Wolf Fight Promotions.
Ferguson, a former USA National amateur heavyweight champion, has been on a successful run since turning pro last April, racking up a seven fight knockout streak and scoring six of those within two rounds, including a first round KO of former world title challenger Rubin Williams in August of last year. The Spokane, Washington fighter is currently ranked #16 in the NABF rankings and last fought in March, defeating journeyman Skylar Thompson by second round stoppage.
Petranyi, of Budapest, Hungary, has been a pro for over twenty-one years and faced some notable competition, including former heavyweight world champion Shannon Briggs (L KO 1 03-27-15) and one-time heavyweight title contender Danny Williams (L TKO 3 06-04-2005). The former Hungarian National and UBO European heavyweight title holder has been on an upswing since losing to Briggs in 2015, winning his last four fights, three of which took place this year. Most recently, he scored a second round TKO win over Istvan Lantos in his native Hungary in May.
Ferguson and Petranyi will meet in a scheduled ten round fight with four additional pro bouts and four amateur fights making up the entire line-up.
In the remaining pro contests, power punching Steven Villalobos (4-0, 4 KOs), of Federal Way, Washington, will look to keep his four fight knockout streak alive against Desmond Johnson (0-3), of Winnipeg, Canada, in a four round Jr. middleweight bout; Billings, Montana’s Melvin Weaselboy (1-0, 1 KO) will take on Billy Martin (0-1) in a four round heavyweight tilt; Eric Simonton (1-1, 1 KO), of Billings, will take on Houston, Texas’ Stephan Nava (0-5) in a super middleweight match-up scheduled for four; and finally in a six round welterweight scrap, Mike Tutt (10-3-1, 4 KOs), of Biloxi, Mississippi battles Houston’s Starr Johnson (5-27-1, 4 KOs).
Dubbed ‘Battle in the Little Rockies,’ the show will take place on the Fort Belknap Reservation the day before the kick-off of the annual Milk River Indian Days Powwow organized by the Aaniih and Nakoda tribes, who also run the tribal commission overseeing the boxing event. For ticket information visit Silver Wolf Fight Promotions’ Facebook page.