“This event will be a little less than four years since we promoted the Gennady Golovkin vs. Marco Antonio Rubio fight at The Stubhub Center, one of the most remarkable evenings in recent years that broke the boxing attendance record and we look forward to another memorable event on September 9.”
“I have to give a great deal of credit to the six promoters I worked with to put this event together; Teiken Promotions, Nakornloung Promotion, Ohashi Promotions, Salita Promotions, Promociones del Pueblo and Zanfer Promotions. The cooperative spirit of all parties was the key in putting together this outstanding, world-class international card.”
“Additionally I’d like to thank the team at the StubHub Center and Dan Beckerman of AEG for their help in presenting this event.”
Televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark beginning at 10:15 p.m. ET/PT, “SUPERFLY” is headlined by the WBC Super Flyweight World Champion SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI, (43-4-1, 39 KO’s), of Si Sa Ket, Thailand, defending his title against former champion “ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ (46-1-0, 38 KO’s), of Managua, Nicaragua, in a rematch of their epic battle this past March.
On March 18, 2017, ‘Chocolatito’, universally recognized at the time as The #1 Pound-for-Pound Fighter in the World and holder of the WBC Super Flyweight Title, battled Srisaket Sor Rungivisai in front of a massive crowd at ‘The Mecca of Boxing’, Madison Square Garden.
Despite being dropped in the first round, the valiant ‘Chocolatito’ battled back in a brutal war that included a tremendous amount of hard-hitting from both combatants along with a number of head butts due to the aggressive styles of the orthodox champion and southpaw challenger.
Sor Rungvisai was declared the winner by controversial majority decision, 114-112, 114-112 and 113-113 in a fight that many believe to be the leading candidate for this year’s “Fight of the Year.”
The World Boxing Council (WBC) ordered an immediate rematch so there would be no question who their champion would be.
Co-featured on the outstanding “SUPERFLY” card is the highly anticipated United States debut of NAOYA “THE MONSTER” INOUE, (13-0-0, 11 KO’s) of Yokohama, Japan defending his WBO Super Flyweight Title against top contender ANTONIO “CARITA” NIEVES, (17-1-2, 9 KO’s) of Cleveland, Ohio.
The 24-year-old Inoue is among the most popular fighters in Asia, having already made five defenses of his WBO Super Flyweight Title he earned following his second round knockout of Omar Narvaez on December 30, 2014 in Tokyo, Japan.
Earning his nickname, “The Monster” from his heavy handed knockouts, Inoue is seeking to grow his fan base from the huge Asian community of U.S. based boxing fans.
Inoue kicked off his 2017 campaign with a third round stoppage of Ricardo Rodriguez on May 21 in Tokyo, Japan.
Fighting out of Cleveland, Ohio, Nieves will be looking to join the long history of world champions of Puerto Rican heritage. Undefeated through the first six years of his professional career, Nieves suffered his first loss very controversially, losing a 10-round split decision to Nikolai Potapov on March 10 in Detroit, Michigan.
Opening the telecast, former WBC Super Flyweight World Champion CARLOS “PRINCIPE” CUADRAS, (36-1-1, 27 KO’s)) of Mexico City will battle fellow rival countrymen and former flyweight world champion JUAN FRANCISCO “EL GALLO” ESTRADA, (35-2-0, 25 KO’s) of Sonora, Mexico in a 12-round WBC Super Flyweight Title Eliminator.
In a 2016 ‘Fight of the Year’ contender, former WBC Super Flyweight Champion Cuadras would lose for the first time in his eight-year career on September 10, 2016 by unanimous decision to Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez. Fighting furiously over the course of the twelve epic rounds in front of a huge crowd at The Fabulous Forum, Cuadras would come up just short on the scorecards losing by unanimous decision.
Most recently, Cuadras won a hard fought 10-round unanimous decision over fellow Mexican David Carmona on March 18, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
A former unified flyweight world champion, Estrada is best known for his action packed 12-round battle with Roman Gonzalez on November 17, 2012 in Los Angeles, losing a very close decision. Estrada also holds wins over former world champions Brian Viloria, Giovani Segura and Hernan Marquez.
