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SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING PRESENTS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLEHEADER
(MAR 7) The 20th anniversary celebration of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
continues on Cinco de Mayo weekend with a world championship
doubleheader Saturday, May 6, on SHOWTIME (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the
west coast) at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass.
In one of two world title fights promoted by Don King Productions,
hard-hitting Alejandro "Terra" Garcia (25-1, 23 KOs) will make his first
defense as WBA super welterweight champion when he faces enormously
popular local favorite and former WBA welterweight titleholder Jose
Antonio "El Gallo" Rivera (37-4-1, 24 KOs). In the co-feature, O'Neil
"Supernova" Bell (26-1-1, 24 KOs) makes the first defense of his
undisputed cruiserweight crown when he takes on undefeated Steve "USS"
Cunningham (19-0, 10 KOs).
Garcia, of Tijuana, Mexico, was recently reinstated by the WBA as its
154-pound champion when Travis Simms refused to give him a rematch. The
only defeat in Garcia's career came when he was dethroned by Simms on a
controversial, fluke fifth-round knockout in December 2003. Garcia
captured the WBA interim 154-pound crown with a ninth-round TKO over
Rhoshii Wells on May 21, 2005. In his last start, Garcia retained the
interim belt with a 12-round decision over Luca Mesi on Aug. 13, 2005.
Rivera, of Worcester, by way of Philadelphia, is the WBA No. 3 super
welterweight contender. He is stepping up a notch in weight and making
his first start since losing his WBA 147-pound crown to Luis Collazo in
a thrilling, give-and-take 12-round split decision on April 2, 2005, in
Worcester. Rivera, who came up short by the scores 115-113 twice and
113-115, was supposed to challenge the then-WBO 154-pound kingpin Daniel
Santos last September on SHOWTIME, but was forced to withdraw with an
elbow injury that required surgery.
Bell, of Atlanta, by way Montego Bay, Jamaica, became the cruiserweight
division's first undisputed champion since Evander Holyfield in 1988
when he scored an exciting, upset 10th-round knockout over Jean-Marc
Mormeck on Jan. 7 2006, on SHOWTIME. Bell, who entered the ring as the
IBF champion, was leading the WBC-WBA titleholder on two of the
scorecards at the time of the stoppage. Bell is unbeaten in his last 26
starts (25-0-1, 23 KO’s) dating to April 1998.
Cunningham, of Philadelphia, is ranked No. 1 in the IBF, No. 2 in the
WBC and WBO and No. 4 in the WBA. A talented boxer-puncher who was an
All-Navy Military champion is trained by the legendary Richie Giachetti.
Cunningham won a 10-round decision victory over Guillermo Jones, who
owns an upset win over former world champion Wayne Braithwaite, and a
12-round decision over former IBF cruiser champ Kelvin Davis. In his
most recent outing, Cunningham scored a fifth-round TKO over Lloyd Bryan
on Jan. 7, 2006, in New York.
