ShoBox: The New Generation will get its schedule kicked up a notch in September and October, as five cards are slated to come your way on Friday nights over the two months.
Kicking off the run will be a two-fight show on September 9 from the Grand Casino in Hinckley, Minn., a familiar ShoBox haunt. In the main event, Vincent Arroyo meets Hector Sanchez in a 143-pound catchweight bout, scheduled for 10 rounds. Arroyo (11-1, 7 KO) outclassed Ohio's Willie Nelson on ShoBox in April, just as Nelson was starting to get a little bit of hype.
He'll once again be facing a much taller opponent, as Sanchez (19-1, 9 KO) stands 6'1", compared to Nelson's lanky 6'3". Arroyo, 24, isn't worried about it.
"Height doesn't do anything. I'm a warrior," said Arroyo. "If I come to get you, height won't save you. I always want to test my will. They call me ‘Vinsanity' for a reason."
In the co-feature that night, Freddie Roach-trained cruiserweight Lateef Kayode (17-0, 14 KO) is looking to "graduate" from ShoBox with a fight against veteran Felix Cora Jr (22-5-2, 12 KO).
"I already believe I'm the best cruiserweight in the world. I'm just waiting for my chance to prove it,'' said Kayode, who will be appearing on ShoBox for the fifth time overall, and the third time this year. In 2011, he has beaten Nicholas Iannuzzi and Matt Godfrey on the program.
Here's a quick look at the rest of the shows coming up.
On September 30 at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, Calif., the WBC has sanctioned a 140-pound eliminator bout between France's Ali Chebah (35-1, 28 KO) and Nigeria's Ajose Olusegun (29-0, 14 KO). The tricky Olusegun, 31, has been based in the United Kingdom, and has held the Commonwealth junior welterweight title.
That night's co-feature will pit lightweights Darley Perez (22-0, 17 KO) of Colombia and Marvin Quintero (22-3, 18 KO) of Mexico. Quintero, 24, is a known young fighter who has had some chin issues over his career, stopped in all of his losses. But Perez, 27, is an unknown commodity making his ShoBox debut, and has faced about the normal slate of inferior competition familiar to Colombian fighters.
On October 7, Golden Boy lightweight prospect Sharif Bogere (20-0, 12 KO) returns to ShoBox after a gritty, close win in a hard-fought bout with Raymundo Beltran on May 13. He'll be facing Francisco Contreras (16-0, 13 KO), a Dominican fighter relocated to Irvington, N.J.
On October 21, Lou DiBella will present a card headlined by super middleweight prospect Edwin "La Bomba" Rodriguez (19-0, 14 KO), who recently started working with Ronnie Shields. The duo picked up their first win together on August 20. Rodriguez has no opponent yet.
And on October 28, Goossen Tutor has a guaranteed double-header the night before the Ward vs Froch Super Six final on Showtime Championship Boxing. Goossen Tutor wants to make that a triple-header and a "special" ShoBox featuring the IBF heavyweight eliminator between Eddie Chambers and Tony Thompson.