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Antonio Nieves and Nikolai Potapov to clash March 10, on ‘ShoBox’

ShoBox: The New Generation spawned numerous world titleholder and even a few hall of famers during its 22-year run.
Fighters Network
01
Mar

Bantamweight contenders Antonio Nieves and Nikolai Potapov will square off on March 10, Showtime’s Senior Vice President of Production Gordon Hall told RingTV Wednesday morning.

The 10-round bout will take place at the MGM Grand Detroit in Detroit, Michigan and will precede the six-round main event between two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields and Szilvia Szabados.

Both bouts will air live on Showtime, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

The bout between Nieves and Potapov is a competitive clash of unbeaten contenders, in which the winner could be in line for a world title bout.



“It is a solid match-up,” said Hall, who is also the executive producer of the popular “ShoBox” series that airs on Showtime. “Both are ShoBox returnees who are ranked in the (WBO’s) Top 10 (at 118 pounds) and have faced solid opposition, but not an A-level fighter. The stakes are high (for this bout) as they continue their rise from prospect to contender. The winner becomes a legit contender.”

Nieves (17-0-2, with 9 knockouts), who holds a draw against Stephon Young, stopped Szilveszter Ajtai in this most recent bout on Nov. 26.

Potapov (16-0-1, 8 KOs) also fought to a draw against Young. Originally from Russia and now living in Brooklyn, New York, Potapov, who is ranked No. 9 by the WBO and No. 10 by the WBA, has won his last two bouts.

An eight-round junior featherweight bout between James Smith (11-0, 6 KOs) and Joshua Greer Jr. (11-1-1, 4 KOs) will open the ShoBox broadcast. Smith compiled an amateur record of 110-9.

Rounding out the four-bout telecast will be unbeaten Wesley Tucker (13-0, 8 KOs) versus Edward Williams (12-1-1, 4 KOs) in an eight-round welterweight fight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV since October of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper, BoxingScene.com and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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