Samuel Clarkson in ‘the shape of his life’ for title challenge against Dmitry Bivol april 14 live on Showtime® from MGM National Harbor in Maryland
NEW YORK – Light heavyweight title challenger Samuel Clarksonsays he’s in the shape of his life for his shot at Interim WBA Light Heavyweight TitlistDmitry Bivol on Friday, April 14, live on SHOWTIME.
Clarkson (19-3, 12 KOs) will face the undefeated Bivol (9-0, 7 KOs, 2-0 WSB) in the 12-round main event of a ShoBox: The New Generation tripleheader (10 p.m. ET/PT) atMGM National Harbor in National Harbor, Md., just outside of Washington, D.C. In the co-feature, undefeated welterweight prospects Juan Ruiz (18-0, 11 KOs) and Malik Hawkins (10-0, 7 KOs) will square off in an eight-round bout.
NOTE: In a matchup that was confirmed on Wednesday as the opening bout of theShoBox telecast, Baltimore’s undefeated Glenn Dezurn (8-0, 6 KOs) will face unbeaten two-time national amateur champion Leroy Davila (5-0, 3 KOs), of New Brunswick, N.J., in an eight-round super bantamweight bout.
Tickets for the event, which is co-promoted by Greg Cohen Promotions and Banner Promotions in association with World of Boxing and Uprising Promotions, are priced at $103, $73 and $48 and can be purchased at www.TicketMaster.com.
“I upped intensity 1000 times for this camp,” said Clarkson. “I had better sparring, did more miles running and way more rounds doing bag work. Everything I’ve done has been intense and we added a lot more into it.”
Clarkson did half his training in his home state of Texas and the second half in Brooklyn, where he has sparred with some well-known names.
“I’ve been working with guys like Sean Monaghan and Joe Smith Jr. I’ve had over 110 rounds of sparring since coming to Brooklyn. I wanted to push my sparring to the max. I’m not saying there isn’t competition in Dallas, but I wanted different looks and to be out of my comfort zone. I got what I was looking for here.”
Clarkson says he can tell he’s in the shape of his life for this fight.
“I’m seeing new muscles,” said Clarkson, who has won nine straight fights. “The power was already there, but my speed is great now too. I will most definitely come in under weight. We’ve put a lot of focus on weight this time. The goal is to eat breakfast before weighing in. I have kept on a very strict diet – my dad cooks everything and we’re eating right.
“I’m ready for war. I’m not afraid of this guy. I’m ready to fight.”
Barry Tompkins will call the ShoBox action from ringside with Steve Farhood and former world champion Raul Marquez serving as expert analysts. The executive producer is Gordon Hall with Rich Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.
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