Lookin good :toney https://twitter.com/steveucnlive/status/698333381168214016?lang=en https://twitter.com/trboxing/status/698328520519356417?lang=en https://www.instagram.com/p/BBta-7KnKJI/?taken-by=steveucnlive https://www.instagram.com/p/BBtbR04nKJo/?taken-by=steveucnlive
'Arum wants to showcase Top Rank's Eastern Euro prospects on ShoBox Top Rank possesses arguably the best stable of prospects in boxing, and keeping each young man busy is no easy task. There's Felix Verdejo, the 22-year-old Puerto Rican who topped Willian Silva and is on the fast track. Then there's fellow Spanish-speaking fighters Gilberto Ramirez, Oscar Valdez and Jose Ramirez. Top Rank has a deal with UniMas, a Spanish-language network, and the boxing series has served as a valuable outlet to showcase prospects to fans. But what about the other prospects Top Rank promotes? Bob Arum's company quietly collected an impressive group of Eastern Europeans over the past couple of years, and off-TV undercards, for the most, part, served as the only way to give these fighters dates. But there's another possibility. Arum is willing to work with Showtime. The network last televised one of his fights in 2012. If he can indeed fix his relationship with Showtime, then he can pitch fights for their prospect series, ShoBox: The New Generation. "It would be another outlet to put good product (on)," Arum said. "Showtime is interested in good fights, this guy Gordon Hall, who does the ShoBox (fights) is a good boxing man, he understands boxing. "We have guys, particularly my Eastern Europeans. ... These Eastern European kids, they'll fight anybody, they don't even (expletive) care who you mention." There's Egidijus Kavaliauskas (12-0, 11 KOs), a big welterweight puncher from Lithuania that Top Rank is particularly high on. The 27-year old is trained by Robert Garcia and fights Deniz Ilbay on the off-TV undercard of Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley three. Then there is Oleksandr Gvodzdyk (9-0, 7 KOs), an Olympic bronze medalist from Ukraine who steps up with a bout against Nadjib Mohammedi on Saturday. Konstantin Ponomarev (29-0, 19 KOs), a 23-year-old welterweight, fights his best opposition yet with a bout vs. veteran Brad Solomon, also on Saturday. HBO simply doesn't have as many dates as it used to. Gaining ShoBox, especially with no more TruTV, would be a big help as Top Rank builds its stable of prospects.' Arum should've done this from the start of their careers.
