Floyd Mayweather Jr. birthday celebration card features Las Vegas boxers
Fists will fly and birthday cake possibly will be served for the “ShoBox: The New Generation” card Friday.
A tripleheader featuring two Las Vegas boxers will take place at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California, and it includes a 40th birthday celebration for retired superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. The card is hosted by Mayweather Promotions and will be televised on Showtime at 10 p.m.
Chris Pearson (14-1, 10 knockouts), who trains in Las Vegas, will headline the event against Justin DeLoach (16-1, 8 KOs) in a 10-round junior middleweight showdown. Both fighters are signed to Mayweather Promotions and are rising contenders in the 154-pound division.
Lightweight prospect Saul Rodriguez (20-0-1, 15 KOs) will face Oscar Bravo (22-6, 10 KOs) in the co-main event.
In the TV opener, Andrew Tabiti (13-0, 11 KOs), who attended Spring Valley High, faces Quantis Graves (11-0-2, 4 KOs) in a 10-round cruiserweight fight.
“Hopefully I can give Mayweather an early birthday gift,” Pearson said. “Give him another future champion to look forward to. First, I need to take care of Justin DeLoach.”
Pearson and DeLoach were set to meet in September at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, but Pearson received eight stitches two weeks before the bout because of an eye injury sustained during sparring.
“I was pissed because I was ready to go,” Pearson said. “But things happen for a reason. Now I get to be on Showtime for a main event. We weren’t getting that before.”
Pearson, 26, lives in Dayton, Ohio, but has training camps in Las Vegas.
Tabiti moved from Chicago to Las Vegas when he was 13 and has been trained by Floyd Mayweather Sr. since turning pro in 2013.
The 27-year-old Tabiti is ranked eighth in the WBC cruiserweight rankings and 15th by the WBO. A win against Graves could set him up for a title shot against established 200-pounders Tony Bellew and Beibut Shumenov.
“I’m staying patient for my shot, but if I get this win on Friday, it’s time to go for it,” Tabiti said. “I need to start calling out guys like Shumenov and Bellew. I’m getting older and need to take my shot at a title.”
Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow @gmanzano24 on Twitter.
