DIBELLA ENTERTAINMENT’S BROADWAY BOXING SERIES HITS MELROSE BALLROOM IN ASTORIA, QUEENS, NY ON THURSDAY, JUNE 21
Tickets On Sale Now!
New York, NY (May 23, 2018) Celebrating its Fifteen Year Anniversary, DiBella Entertainment’s (DBE) acclaimed Broadway Boxing series returns on Thursday, June 21, at the beautiful Melrose Ballroom in Astoria, NY.
Tickets starting at $50 may be purchased online at www.MelroseBallroomNYC.com or by clicking HERE. The Melrose Ballroom is located at 36-08 33rd Street, Astoria, NY 11106. Doors on the night of the event will open at 6:00 PM with the first bell at 7:00 PM. Broadway Boxing is presented by Nissan of Queens, Azad Watches, OPTYX, Christos Steak House and Gagliardi Insurance.
Boxing fans can also catch all of the action on the new DiBella Entertainment streaming home, LIVE.DBE1.com, for a cost of $6.95.
“I’m thrilled to bring the Broadway Boxing series to Melrose Ballroom in Queens, right on the border of Astoria and Long Island City. It has a very intimate atmosphere and is easy to get to from Midtown Manhattan,” said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. “I am a strong supporter of women’s boxing and this card will showcase two excellent women’s bouts. Coming off her world title victory and a subsequent PR campaign which included multiple television appearances, Long Island’s WBA world super middleweight champion Alicia Napoleon will return to the ring. San Francisco’s unbeaten Raquel Miller, a Golden Gloves champion who fought Claressa Shields in a hotly contested battle as an amateur, will make her DBE debut. Highly touted Uzbekistan Olympian Bakhodir Jalolov, a massive heavyweight that will be a future threat to the top contenders, will look for another impressive knockout, and his teammate Elnur Abduraimov, also an amateur standout, will make his pro debut. Former lightweight world champion Dejan Zlaticanin, the first Montenegrin to win a world title, continues on the road back to the top of the division. Brooklyn will be well represented with Mikkel LesPierre matched very tough in a welterweight main event, and the popular heavy-hitting Jude Franklin will bring out his legion of fans. Puerto Rican brawler Jose Roman will also make his New York debut.”
In the main event, Brooklyn’s Mikkel “Slikk Mikk” LesPierre will compete in a scheduled 10-round welterweight bout. Sporting an undefeated record of 19-0-1, with eight knockouts, LesPierre won the WBC USNBC Super Lightweight title in his last start, a fantastic 10-round decision against then-undefeated Noel Murphy on February 7, in New York City.
Returning to action in a scheduled 10-round battle is former WBC Lightweight World Champion “Dynamite” Dejan Zlaticanin (23-1, 16 KOs), of Podgorica, Montenegro. Making his New York City debut, the hard-hitting southpaw turned heads with a first-round knockout of Hevinson Herrera on December 14, 2017.
WBA World Female Super Middleweight Champion Alicia “The Empress” Napoleon (9-1, 5 KOs), of Lindenhurst, Long Island, NY, will make her first start since winning her world title, in an eight-round bout. On March 3, at Barclays Center, Napoleon was victorious with a 10-round unanimous decision versus then-undefeated Femke Hermans, who now holds the WBO 168lb. title.
Fighting out of Brooklyn, NY, 23-year-old undefeated junior lightweight Jude “King Czar” Franklin (7-0, 6 KOs) will compete in a six-round bout. The heavy-handed Franklin is coming off his career-best victory; a second-round knockout of Floriano Pagliara on February 7, in New York City.
Newly signed to DiBella Entertainment, massive heavyweight Bakhodir Jalolov (1-0, 1 KO), of Sariosiyo, Uzbekistan, will be featured in a six-round clash. Jalolov represented Uzbekistan at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, and compiled an amateur record of 84-13, winning four National Championships from 2013 to 2016. Standing six-and-a-half feet tall, the 23-year-old Jalolov had the distinguished honor of being Uzbekistan’s flag-bearer at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2016 Olympic Games. He successfully turned pro on May 5, with a stunning third-round knockout of previously undefeated Hugo Trujillo at Foxwoods Resort Casino.
Making his professional debut in a four-round lightweight bout is Elnur Abduraimov, of Chirchiq, Uzbekistan. A standout amateur with a record of 195-20, the 23-year-old Abduraimov was a five-time National champion and a gold medalist at the 2015 World Championships.
Both Jalolov and Abduraimov are co-promoted by DiBella Entertainment and Fight Promotions Inc. and are trained by the renowned Pedro Diaz and Ravshan Khodjaev in Miami, FL.
Unbeaten female middleweight prospect Raquel Miller (5-0, 3 KOs), of San Francisco, CA, will make her DBE and New York debut in a scheduled six-round contest. Managed by David McWater’s Split-T Management, Miller turned pro in May 2016. As an amateur, Miller was a 2012 National champion, a silver medalist at the 2012 Women’s World Championships, and an Olympic Team Alternate, having competed in the 2012 Olympic Trials. She also won the Colorado Springs Golden Gloves tournament in 2013 and won gold at the National Police Athletic League tournament in 2014.
Rounding out the exciting card, all-action Puerto Rican native Jose “Cheito” Roman (5-0, 3 KOs) will make his New York City debut in a scheduled six-round junior middleweight bout. The 24-year-old hits the ring following a six-round decision against Jonathan Garcia on March 3, in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.
Further details on these bouts will be announced shortly.
