Paulie Malignaggi To Defend WBA Welterweight World Title Against Adrien …

BROOKLYN (April 25, 2013) – Since the beginning of their professional careers, Paulie “The Magic Man” Malignaggi and Adrien “The Problem” Broner, two of the biggest talkers in all of boxing, have never been afraid to speak up.  Now, the time has come to put up or shut up as Malignaggi will defend his WBA Welterweight World Championship against undefeated Two-Division World Champion Broner on Saturday, June 22 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn in a SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING^® main event.  Plus, theheavyweight rematch the world has been waiting for is set as Johnathon Banks will look to repeat his 2012 upset win over Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell in the co-feature for Banks’ NABO and WBC International Heavyweight titles.

Malignaggi vs. Broner, a 12-round fight for Malignaggi’s WBA Welterweight World Championship is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T with Banks vs. Mitchell being presented in association with K2 Promotions.  The SHOWTIME Championship Boxing telecast begins at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).  SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING^® is available in Spanish on secondary audio programming (SAP).  Preliminary fights will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets, priced at $250, $125, $75, $50 and $25, plus applicable taxes and service charges, go on sale Saturday, April 27 at 10:00 a.m. ET and will be available for purchase atwww.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling800-745-3000 and at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center beginning on Saturday, April 27 at noon ET.  For group tickets, please call 800-GROUP-BK.

“This fight was the main motivation for winning my second world championship last year,” said Malignaggi.  “I wanted be in a huge main event at Barclays Center.  This is a blockbuster event and I can’t wait to make a successful title defense in Brooklyn where my roots are.”

“Paulette better be in some shape,” said Broner.  “On June 22, I will be a three-time world champion in three weight classes at just 23-years-old.”

“I feel very good about this fight,” said Banks.  “I expect a more determined and a more powerful Seth Mitchell for the rematch and I look forward to the challenge on June 22nd.  I’m excited to be fighting and intend to put on a terrific performance for those in attendance at Barclays Center as well as those watching on SHOWTIME.”

“I’m excited about my opportunity to rematch Johnathon Banks on June 22 at Barclays Center,” said Mitchell.  “I was disappointed with my last performance against him and look forward to meeting him in the ring once again.  My team has been working extremely hard in preparation for this fight.  I’m confident that my performance on June 22nd will properly showcase my abilities and will reignite talks of me competing for the heavyweight championship of the world.”

“Once again, we’re lookingforward to bringing a blockbuster fight to Brooklyn at Barclays Center,” said Oscar De La Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions.  “Paulie Malignaggi is the type of fighter that is not going to let anyone take his belt from him on his home turf, but he has his work cut out for him against one of the most talented fighters in the sport in undefeated rising superstar Adrien ‘The Problem’ Broner.  Add in the rematch between Johnathon Banks and Seth Mitchell and it’s safe to say that the fireworks will be flying a few weeks before the Fourth of July.”

“All of us at the network are thrilled to have Adrien in his SHOWTIME debut, especially in a tough fight against the very smart and crafty world champion Paulie Malignaggi,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports. “When this fight first came available, I jumped at the chance to have it on SHOWTIME.  This fight was one of the most talked about match ups of the year before it was even announced.”

“All of us at the network are thrilled to have Adrien Broner in his SHOWTIME debut, especially in a tough fight against the very smart and crafty world champion Paulie Malignaggi,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports.  “When this fight first came available, I jumped at the chance to have it on SHOWTIME.  This fight was one of the most talked about match ups of the year before it was even announced.”

One of Brooklyn’s favorite fighting sons, Paulie Malignaggi (32-4, 7 KO’s) is a two-division world champion known for his lighting fast hands and even faster mouth. He first made his mark in the 140-pound weight class when he defeated Lovemore N’dou in 2007 for the IBF crown.  In 2010, Malignaggi made the move up to welterweight and in April 2012 he captured the WBA welterweight title, traveling to the Ukraine to stop Vyacheslav Senchenko in his hometown.  He has defended his belt once thus far, decisioning Pablo Cesar Cano at Barclays Center last October.  Also well known for his role as color commentator on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, the 32-year-old who has faced the likes of Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Amir Khan and Juan Diaz, will look to stop the rise of Adrien Broner a few miles from his home in Brooklyn.

At 23 years old, Adrien Broner (26-0, 22 KO’s) has captivated the boxing world with his work inside the ring and flashy charisma outside of it.  Unbeaten as a pro, with a skill set that allows him to box or bang, and possessing a warrior’s attitude and heart, Broner won the WBO junior lightweight title in 2011 with a third round knockout of Vicente Martin Rodriguez.  After knockouts of Eloy Perez and Vicente Escobedo, he moved up to 135 pounds, winning the WBC title with a thoroughly dominating eighth round technical knockout of Antonio DeMarco last November.  Most recently, Broner stopped Gavin Rees in five rounds in February, and on June 22, he will make the leap from 135 to 147 pounds to challenge “The Magic Man.”  Should he win, he will join Roberto Duran, Roy Jones Jr. and Robert Guerrero as the only fighters to win a world championship in their first fight after jumping a weight class.

The owner of one of boxing’s most inspirational stories, Johnathon Banks (29-1-1, 19 KO’s) captured the hearts of fight fans last fall.  Shortly after the death of his mentor and trainer, Emanuel Steward, Banks took over for the legendary Hall of Famer as the trainer of Heavyweight World Champion Wladimir Klitschko in his title defense win over Mariusz Wach in November.  A week later, the 30-year-old from Detroit stepped into the ring himself, and stunned the boxing world with his second round technical knockout win over Mitchell.  On June 22, he’ll look to do it again.

Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell (25-1-1, 19 KO’s) is eager for the opportunity to avenge his only pro loss when he faces Banks at the end of June.  A former standout Michigan State University linebacker, Mitchell tore through his opposition in the boxing ring for over four years, most notably beating Taurus Sykes, Timur Ibragimov, and Chazz Witherspoon, all by knockout.  Now he’ll have to show the resilience of a champion as he attempts to even the score on June 22.

A full undercard will be announced shortly.