Deontay Wilder’s brother and hard-hitting talent Marsellos added to the big O2 fight card

Photo courtesy of Premier Boxing Champions

London (24 January 2019) Poxon Sports and Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) are thrilled to announce that Marsellos Wilder, the younger brother of WBC World Heavyweight Champion Deontay, will make his UK debut on the blockbuster show at The O2 on Saturday 23rd February, exclusively LIVE on ITV Box Office.

The first big British boxing show of 2019 and PBC’s premiere event in the UK has set the standards high and Wilder joins a huge list of star names on the show headlined with the mouthwatering clash between grudge rivals James DeGale and Chris Eubank Jr., supported with the explosive showdown between Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion Joe Joyce and Former World Champion Bermane Stiverne, plus the return of Former IBF World Featherweight Champion Lee Selby.

With Deontay, the “Bronze Bomber”, holding the WBC crown and coming off a thrilling fight against Tyson Fury to defend his title, fast-rising star Marsellos is creating a name for himself in the division below at Cruiserweight where he’s undefeated in three fights with two knockouts.

The 29-year-old from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, first fights this Saturday night in Brooklyn, New York, when he faces Will Florentino on the PBC show headlined by the highly-anticipated return of WBA World Welterweight Champion Keith Thurman against battle-hardened contender Josesito Lopez, televised live in the UK on ITV4.

Photo courtesy of Premier Boxing Champions

Marsellos will then follow in the footsteps of Deontay, who stopped Olympic Champion Audley Harrison inside a round in Sheffield in April 2013, by having his first fight in the UK as he builds towards joining his older sibling in becoming a World Champion and Deontay will accompany Marsellos on his first excursion to the UK.

He said, “I feel super duper blessed. I’m grateful to get this ultimate experience to be able to go to another country and showcase my talents to another culture. I’m going to give it my all and give it my best for the fans in the UK and represent the U.S.”

“It’s going to be great to have my brother who is the Heavyweight Champion of the World to be able to watch me perform in the UK. It brings me a lot of motivation and pride to be able to perform in the UK and represent our last name. That’s amazing.”

Deontay beamed, “I think it’s a grand deal for him to be able to display his talent before the UK fans. Boxing is very popular there. It’s going to be fun to be able to root him on. It’s going to be good for him to get that experience outside of the U.S. I’m very excited for him. I’m looking forward to coming over there and being with the fans and to show support for that fact that we’re teamed with ITV and we’ll be doing PBC shows there.”

Marsellos was a highly talented football player with plans to enter the NFL, but was encouraged to enter boxing by Deontay who said he’d be perfect to fight in the Cruiserweight division with his size and athleticism.

He had a baptism of fire for the first time he ever went through the ropes when he had to spar against Deontay, then a World Champion, but it proved to be motivational moment for him and after only seven fights in the amateurs he quickly made the move to becoming a professional.

Tickets available from www.AXS.com and Inner Ringside/VIP Hospitality from www.sportandmusic.co.uk

This fight will be shown exclusively on ITV Box Office. For further information and updates, please go to www.itvboxoffice.com

NOTE TO EDITORS: Please clearly credit ITV Box Office in any published material

Late last year, ITV announced a ground-breaking new deal with Haymon Sports and Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) to bring exclusive coverage of exciting PBC world-class boxing events to ITV viewers and fight fans in the UK.

The unique collaboration is the first time that Haymon Sports and PBC has partnered with a UK broadcaster to stage boxing events regularly in the UK. The exclusive three-year deal will guarantee a minimum of 15 televised events each year, drawing from PBC’s unrivalled group of over 160 of the best boxers in the world, which includes more than 60 current and former world champions in matches staged both in the UK and the US. PBC, the sports’ pre-eminent boxing brand, is broadcast over cable and network television in the United States.

The world-class action from events for the next three years will include free-to-air broadcasts on ITV’s channels, including ITV main channel and ITV4 and ITV Hub, and will also include pay per views on ITV’s PPV channel, ITV Box Office.

This new deal for boxing adds to ITV Sport’s portfolio of first class events, which includes exclusive free to air coverage of the England football team’s qualifiers for both the European Championship and World Cup, the 6 Nations and exclusive coverage of the Rugby World Cup, UK horse racing, the Tour de France and the French Open.