Ontario, California (May 20, 2016) - This Friday night at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California, undefeated welterweight and 2012 Olympic Bronze medal winner, Taras "Real Deal" Shelestyuk, will be back in action as he takes on Erick Martinez in a 10-round bout for the vacant WBA International title. At Thursday's weigh in, Shelestyuk was 147 pounds and Martinez was 145.7. Shelestyuk of Ukraine has a record of 13-0 with eight knockouts and is coming off a 10-round unanimous decision over Aslanbek Kozaev on November 6 in a nationally televised bout on ShoBox: The New Generation. With that win, Shelestyuk cracked the world rankings, as he is settled in at number-11 by the WBO. Martinez of Tijuana, Mexico has a record of 11-4-1 with five knockouts has wins over Jose Galvez (7-0-1) & Daniel Nava (7-1-2) will be looking for the most significant win of his career. Shelestyuk is co-promoted by Banner Promotions and Thompson Boxing. "We expect a great performance from Taras on Friday night," said Arthur Pelullo, President of Banner Promotions. "With a good win on Friday, we will bring him back in August in a bigger fight. We feel he is right on the cusp of a great opportunity." "Taras has become a fan favorite at the Doubletree Ontario," said Ken Thompson, President and Founder of Thompson Boxing. "He has a unique blend of power and style, and boxing fans respond to that. He'll have a tough fight against Erick Martinez, but we are confident he'll get the job done and take home the title.
