The Nevada State Athletic Commission approved two dates Wednesday for promoter Top Rank to stage boxing shows in June at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The NSAC voted unanimously on a conference call to allow Top Rank to produce cards June 9 and June 11. The shows will take place without fans in attendance, which will be the standard for all sporting events in the United States until COVID-19 restrictions allow otherwise.
ESPN will televise those cards on a Tuesday night and a Thursday night, respectively.
“I’ve been working with the executives from Top Rank,” Bob Bennett, the NSAC’s executive director, said during the meeting. “I’ve reviewed their operations plan. They’re still in the process of completing it. It’s very comprehensive. We’re moving in the right direction. I’m pleased to see that we are all working in concert with a closed-system event, and I expect it to be very successful.”
The NSAC has five additional dates listed on its official calendar, but the events scheduled for June 16, June 18, June 23, June 25 and June 30 were not on the agenda for approval during Wednesday’s remote meeting.
Specific fights were not mentioned as part of the meeting, but BoxingScene.com previously reported the main events for the June 9 and June 11 events.
The June 9 card will be headlined by Shakur Stevenson (13-0, 7 KOs), a 2016 Olympic silver medalist from Newark, New Jersey. The unbeaten WBO featherweight champion is expected to oppose Puerto Rico’s Felix Caraballo (13-1-2, 9 KOs) in a 10-round, non-title fight that’ll be contested at the junior lightweight limit of 130 pounds.
In the main event of the June 11 show, Las Vegas’ Jessie Magdaleno (27-1, 18 KOs) and the Dominican Republic’s Yenifel Vicente (36-4-2, 28 KOs, 1 NC) are expected to square off in a 10-rounder at a catch weight of 128 pounds.
ESPN and Top Rank plan to announce all fights that’ll be part of the June 9 and June 11 cards next week.
Top Rank’s show on June 9 will be the first live boxing card in the United States since March 13, when Showtime televised a card from Grand Casino Hinckley in Hinckley, Minnesota.
The last card held in Nevada before the coronavirus crisis temporarily shut down the boxing business occurred February 28 at Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall in Las Vegas. Showtime also aired that card as part of its “ShoBox: The New Generation” series.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.