DETROIT, MI - With a potential
world title shot on the near horizon for the winner, undefeated
bantamweight contenders Antonio Nieves and Nikolay Potapov both
agree their NABO Bantamweight Championship showdown this Friday
is the most important of both their careers.
Defending champion Nieves (17-0-2, 9 KOs) of Cleveland and
Russia's Potapov (16-0-1, 8 KOs) will meet in the co-main event
this Friday, March 10, of Salita Promotions' history-making
quadrupleheader of fights entitled "Detroit City Gold" at MGM
Grand Detroit on ShoBox: The New Generation live on SHOWTIME (10
p.m. ET/PT).
In the night's main event, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist
Claressa Shields (1-0) of Flint, Mich., will face Hungary's
Szilvia "Sunset" Szabados (15-8, 6 KOs) in a six-round battle
for the Women's NABF Middleweight Championship. Their fight will
be the first women's boxing main event to be featured on premium
television in history.
In the eight-round televised bantamweight opener, Detroit-based
bantamweight prospect James Smith (11-0, 6 KOs) will take on
Chicago's Joshua Greer, Jr. (11-1-1, 4 KOs). In the other
eight-round televised bout of the exciting quadrupleheader,
welterweight Wesley Tucker (13-0, 8 KOs) Toledo, Ohio, faces
Detroit's Ed Williams (12-1-1, 4 KOs).
Tickets for "Detroit City Gold" are priced at $250, $150, $100
and $50, and are available at Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster
locations or by phone at 800.745.3000.
Here's what they both had to say:
Antonio Nieves
"Everything went well in training. Potapov is a solid fighter
but I believe giving him some movement and coming in from the
side is really going to help me get the victory in this fight.
I'm 100 percent ready. I've been focused on one guy the entire
camp and I'm ready to get in there and get the win.
"We tried to get sparring partners that imitate him as much as
possible, so when I get in there with him, there's no surprises,
but basically, I'm just going to stick to what I know.
"A victory means a lot. We're two undefeated fighters on the
verge of a world title shot. A victory over this guy would put
me to the stage of being in line to fight for a world title, so
this win means a lot."
Nikolay Potapov
"I had a great training camp in Detroit at Kronk gym with Javan
SugarHill Steward. It's been a great learning experience for me.
The training, intensity, sparring, living conditions have been
superb.
This is the most important fight of my career. Antonio Nieves is
a very skilled, high-level fighter. I am focused on making a
statement on March 10, and showing that I am one of the best
bantamweights in the world."
