Premier Boxing Champions returns in primetime this Saturday, July 25 at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN, at The Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nev., featuring a cruiserweight bout between former world titleholder Beibut Shumenov (15-2, 10 KOs) and B.J. Flores (31-1-1, 20 KOs), a boxing analyst for NBC Sports Group.
Coverage begins with a cruiserweight bout between undefeated rising contenders Jordan Shimmell (19-0, 16 KOs) and Isiah Thomas (14-0, 6 KOs).
Kenny Albert makes his network TV boxing debut as blow-by-blow announcer, joined by analysts "Sugar" Ray Leonard and Steve Cunningham, with Kenny Rice reporting from ring-side.
"I am really looking forward to my maiden voyage with PBC this Saturday. It will be a thrill to work with a pair of world champions in Sugar Ray Leonard and Steve Cunningham," said Albert, who currently handles play-by-play for four sports on national TV (NFL, NHL, MLB and boxing). "Fortunately, I will be ringside - and not inside the ring - with Ray and Steve."
Former world titleholder Cunningham, currently 28-7 with 13 KOs, makes his debut as a network TV analyst during the telecast.
A LOOK AT THE MATCHUPS
A native of Kazakhstan fighting out of Las Vegas, Beibut Shumenov looks to make his mark in the cruiserweight division against B.J. Flores after winning a world title in the light heavyweight division by defeating Gabriel Campillo in 2010. The 2004 Olympian for Kazakhstan went on to defend his title five times, and will look for another win in the city he now calls home.
Twice a U.S. National Champion as an amateur, Flores has been ranked among the top 15 cruiserweights in the world since July 2007. Born in San Francisco but fighting out of Chandler, Arizona, Flores comes into the bout on a seven-fight winning streak, including his most recent effort, a third round TKO over Kevin Engel in Oct. 2014.
26-year-old Jordan Shimmell is a former amateur standout who became the first heavyweight to win four Michigan Golden Gloves titles. Undefeated as a pro, the Hudsonville, Mich., native has ended his last seven bouts inside of the distance including his most recent victory, an April stoppage of Carlos Reyes.
A product of Emanuel Steward's Kronk Gym in Detroit, Isiah Thomas was trained by the late famed trainer throughout an amateur career that included two Junior Olympic titles and a gold medal at the World Cadet Championships. Since turning pro in 2008, the 26-year-old is undefeated, including a recent victory over Brad Austin in February.
NBC Sports Group will present more than 50 hours of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) coverage in 2015, including cards on
NBC and NBCSN, and
NBCSN pre- and post-fight programming for
NBC telecasts. The Premier Boxing Champions series is created for television by Haymon Boxing. The PBC on
NBC will feature many of today's brightest stars, in their most compelling matches.
NBC Sports Live Extra -
NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs - will stream coverage on
NBC and
NBCSN via "TV Everywhere," giving consumers additional value to for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The
NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store and Apple TV. For desktops,
NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra.
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