July 14 at 4 Bears Casino & Lodge in North Dakota
NEW TOWN, North Dakota (June 8, 2007) – Former IBF cruiserweight champion Vassiliy “The Tiger” Jirov, 1996 Olympic gold medal winner and Outstanding Boxer, headlines the “Pinnacle FiteNite” pro boxing show Saturday night, July 14 at 4 Bears Casino and Lodge in New Town, North Dakota.
Jirov (36-3-1, 30 KOs), born in Kazakhstan and now living in Arizona, is ranked No. 14 by the WBA. He captured the IBF cruiserweight title in 1999, stopping “King” Arthur Williams in the seventh round, and Vassiliy successfully defended his crown six times against Dale Brown (KO10), Saul Montana (TKO9), Alex Gonzales (KO1), Terry McGroom (KO1), Julian Letterlough (TKO8) and Jorge Fernando Castro (DEC12).
Jirov’s opponent in the 10-round main event is “Dangerous” Damon Reed (43-11, 30 KOs), former WBF Americas & Midwest cruiserweight champion, fighting out of Topeka, Kansas.
“Pinnacle FiteNight,” presented by 4 Bears Casino & Lodge in association with Sports and Entertainment Media, Inc., will be broadcast worldwide on a taped delay basis for free at dates and times to be announced.
Unbeaten Native American cruiserweight prospect Shawn “The Sioux Warrior” Hawk (14-0-1, 12 KOs), representing the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota, will be fighting in the co-feature. Hawk, 23, was 108-12 as an amateur and he fights in hope of attracting attention to and giving hope to the youngsters on his reservation.
Chief support on the undercard will be provided by undefeated New Jersey light heavyweight Chuck “The Professor” Mussachio (9-0, 5 KOs), the former two-time National Collegiate Boxing Association boxing champion from Lock Haven University.
Opponents for Hawk and Mussachio are being finalized. All bouts and fighters are subject to change.
“We’re real excited to have a worldwide show of this quality of professional boxing returning to 4 Bears Casino,” COO Patrick Packineau said. “We’ve done major boxing events here, the last on Showtime (featuring the Peterson brothers). We’re coming back with Vassilly Jirov, a world-class fighter, and up-and-comer Shawn Hawk, a real hard puncher who is 14-0-1 with 12 knockouts. The undercard is going to be good with Chuck Mussachio leading the way. This is a big fight card people will be able to watch at a world class casino in central North Dakota.”
The July 14th show at 4 Bears launches “Pinnacle FiteNite,” a monthly series broadcast all over the world from a wide variety of venues.
“‘Pinnacle FiteNite’ kicks-off July 14 with an exciting main event featuring former Olympic gold medal winner and former world cruiserweight champion Vassilly Jirov as he positions himself for a WBA title shot, hopefully against North Dakota’s own Virgil Hill this fall,” Pinnacle executive producer Ritch Danner explained. “Fight fans are going to love watching unbeaten cruiserweight and potential future champion Shawn Hawk, a real Sioux warrior. Implications are there for much bigger fights for both Jirov and Hawk if they win impressively. The undercard is being filled out but we know undefeated light heavyweight Chuck Mussachio is fighting on the show.”
Tickets, priced at $20.00 (bleachers), $30.00 (floor) and $40.00 (VIP ringside), are on sale and available exclusively at the 4 Bears Box Office. Call 800.294.5454 or go on line at www.4bearscasino.com. Doors open at 6 PM, first bout at 7 PM.