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Three exciting showdowns featuring contenders and rising prospects will stream live on the SHOWTIME SPORTS YouTube channel and SHOWTIME Boxing Facebook page this Saturday, October 8 in a Premier Boxing Champions event from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif.
With action kicking off at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT, the COUNTDOWN show, hosted by Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell, features veteran welterweight contenders Egidijus “Mean Machine” Kavaliauskas and Mykal Fox squaring off in a 10-round bout. Featherweight contenders Viktor Slavinskyi and Edward Vazquez also meet in an eight-round duel, while unbeaten flyweight prospect Gabriela Fundora, the younger sister of unbeaten headliner Sebastian Fundora, kicks off the show battling Mexico’s Naomi Reyes in a 10-round fight.
The preliminary bouts will lead up to a SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING tripleheader beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT featuring Interim WBC Super Welterweight Champion Sebastian “The Towering Inferno” Fundora defending his belt against former title challenger Carlos Ocampo in the main event.
Tickets for the event, which is promoted by TGB Promotions and Sampson Boxing, are on sale now and can be purchased at axs.com.
The stacked non-televised undercard lineup also includes unbeaten lightweight prospects Justin Cardona (8-0, 6 KOs) and Angel Alejandro (10-0, 4 KOs) in a six-round matchup, Filipino Olympic bronze medalist Eumir Marcial (2-0, 1 KO) taking on Steven Pichardo (8-2-1, 2 KOs) in a four-round middleweight attraction and super welterweight Brandon Lynch (11-1-1, 8 KOs) facing Argentina’s Roque Junco (11-12-1, 6 KOs) for eight-rounds of action.
Rounding out the card will be unbeaten Phoenix-native Elijah Garcia (11-0, 9 KOs) battling Mexico’s Edgar Valenzuela (7-1, 6 KOs) in a six-round middleweight duel, unbeaten featherweight Shon Mondragon (7-0-1, 3 KOs) in a six-round bout and featherweight Jose Perez (10-1-2, 4 KOs) stepping into the ring for a six-round showdown.
A two-time Olympian for his native Lithuania, Kavaliauskas (22-2-1, 18 KOs) now fights out of California as he seeks a second shot at a 147-pound world title. The 34-year-old came up short in his first attempt, dropping a 2019 title bout against Terence Crawford before most recently losing to unbeaten Vergil Ortiz Jr. in August 2021. He will be opposed by Maryland’s Fox (22-3, 5 KOs), who returns to the ring after dropping a controversial decision to Gabriel Maestre in August 2021. Standing at nearly six-feet-four-inches tall, the 26-year-old has used his size and boxing acumen to establish himself as a crafty contender in a pro career that dates back to 2014.
Originally from Ukraine and residing in Los Angeles, Slavinskyi (13-1-1, 6 KOs) will look to bounce back from his first defeat on October 8, which came via majority decision against hard-hitting contender Claudio Marrero in February. The 32-year-old had previously ridden a six-bout winning streak into that fight, which included a decision triumph over Leduan Barthelemy in June 2021. He will face the 27-year-old Vazquez (12-1, 3 KOs), a Fort Worth, Texas-native who most recently defeated Jose Argel in July. Vazquez’s only blemish came via split-decision against the unbeaten Raymond Ford in February.
Trained by her father Freddy alongside her brother Sebastian, Fundora (8-0, 4 KOs) has impressed since turning pro in May 2021, dominating her competition on her way to eight early wins. The 20-year-old from Coachella, Calif., will return to Dignity Health Sports Park for the third time after earning her first two pro victories at the venue. She will battle Nayarit, Mexico’s Reyes (9-1, 5 KOs), who turned pro in 2016 and suffered her only loss via decision in 2018. Since then, Reyes has put together five-straight victories, with four coming by stoppage.