Rustum Nagaev vows to impress against Hernandez on ESPN Friday Night Fights

NEW JERSEY – Gary Shaw Productions in association with Lucas Oil look to put on a stellar edition of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights, August 9th at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon, Calif. In action that night, rising lightweight Rustum Nugaev (24-6, 14 KOs) squares off against Jose Hernandez (14-6-1, 6 KOs) in the evening’s main event.

Nugaev is coming off of his two biggest wins in a row and ever since his return to the ring in 2013 he’s looked solid and stayed busy. In his last bout, Nugaev defeated veteran Daniel Attah in impressive fashion. The win was a barometer type victory over an opponent that has been beaten by many top fighters, but his win over Jonathan Maicelo was an impressive upset. That victory put Nugaev’s talent on full display.

The fact that Nugaev is putting himself out there again so quickly with very little downtime in between fights is a main factor in the title implications surrounding him. The kind of run Nugaev has been on is impressive, but he says it is only the beginning.

“I feel great right now, fighters always say these things but I can prove it on August 9th. I feel like for the first time in my career I’m going down the right path at the right time, I always believed in luck being a residue of hard work and my opponent is going to have to deal with both come fight night,” Nugaev said.

His opponent, Jose Hernandez, is coming off an impressive win in his own right, defeating Canadian prospect Tony Luis back in January of 2013 in a fairly significant upset. However, Nugaev knows what he has to do to be successful.

“He’s a worthy opponent and that is how I want it, make no mistake about my desire to fight the best out there. My opponent can feel good about his accolades, but those accolades only make my victory more impressive,” Nugaev said.

With the bout headlining Friday Night Fights, Nugaev is in prime position to become a fan favorite. A highly publicized win on ESPN could give Nugaev the attention he needs to get a major fight.

“ESPN is giving me the opportunity to be seen by more fans than ever before and I’m very appreciative of that. I would never overlook anyone and I know I have to get past this very difficult opponent first, but I have plans. I feel I matchup well with guys like Gamboa, Linares, and Demarco, just to name a few,” Nugaev said.

This is a significant bout in the 135lb division and Gary Shaw knows what a win could do for either fighter, but the fact that they are both crowd pleasing fighters is a bonus that ticket buyers and ESPN viewers will benefit from.

“When you have a style matchup like this you don’t worry about the entertainment factor of the fight, you just sit back and enjoy,” said Shaw. “These guys have had some really impressive outings of late and I know they will both bring in this Friday”.

Tickets priced $35 & $55 are on sale now and can be purchased at the Morongo Casino Box office or by calling the Box office hotline at (951) 755-5391. Tickets are also available by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745- 3000 or online at ticketmaster.com

The Morongo Casino Resort and Spa is located at 49500 Seminole Dr, Cabazon, CA, 92230. Doors open at 5:00 p.m , first fight starts at 5:30 p.m. ESPN “Friday Night Fights” telecast begins at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.