IT'S A TRIPLEHEADER OF HIGH-RISK, HIGH-REWARD FIGHTS, MAY 17
HBO's late-night boxing series presents a trio of emerging young stars in the toughest tests of their careers when HBO BOXING AFTER DARK: YURIORKIS GAMBOA VS. DARLING JIMENEZ, ALFREDO ANGULO VS. RICHARD GUTIERREZ AND JAMES KIRKLAND VS. EROMOSELE ALBERT is seen SATURDAY, MAY 17 at 9:45 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT), from Terrible's Primm Valley Casino Resort in Primm Valley, Nev., exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team of Bob Papa, Max Kellerman and Lennox Lewis will be ringside for the event, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.
Other HBO playdate: May 18 (9:00 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: May 18 (5:30 p.m.) and 20 (midnight)
The opening bout pits undefeated junior middleweight contender James Kirkland (21-0, 18 KOs), from Austin, Tex., against Eromosele Albert (21-1, 10 KOs), from Miami by way of Lagos, Nigeria, in a scheduled ten-round matchup. The heavy-handed Kirkland has quickly developed a reputation as a knockout artist, with 16 of his 18 knockouts coming in the first three rounds. Nearly a decade older, Albert has won his past 11 fights, losing only once in his seven-year professional career.
In the second bout, another undefeated junior middleweight banger, as Alfredo Angulo (12-0, 9 KOs), from Coachella, Cal., by way of Mexicali, Mexico, challenges tough-as-nails Richard Gutierrez (24-1, 14 KOs), from Miami by way of Arjona, Colombia, in a junior middleweight bout scheduled for 12 rounds. Like James Kirkland, the slugging Angulo seeks recognition as the top junior middleweight in the world. With twice as many victories as Angulo, seasoned veteran Gutierrez has run off three convincing wins following the only loss of his career, a majority decision setback to top welterweight Joshua Clottey.
The evening's final fight features fast-rising phenom Yuriorkis Gamboa (9-0, 8 KOs), from Miami by way of Guantanamo, Cuba, takes on Darling Jimenez (23-2-2, 14 KOs) of the Bronx in a junior lightweight bout scheduled for ten rounds. Gamboa, who won flyweight gold for Cuba at the 2004 Olympics, has earned widespread recognition as a powerful puncher after just one year of pro experience. Jimenez was a four-time Golden Gloves champion as an amateur and has KO'd eight of his last nine opponents.
