ShoBox weights and preview

Press Release: Undefeated southpaw James “Mandingo Warrior” Kirkland (17-0, 15 KOs) and unbeaten Timothy “Desert Storm’’ Bradley (17-0, 10 KOs) meet Billy Lyell (14-3, 2 KOs) and Manuel Garnica (22-6, 12  KOs), respectively, in the co-featured bouts Friday, Feb. 2, on “ShoBox: The New Generation.”  SHOWTIME will televise the action at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).  The promising, world-ranked Bradley will box Garnica, a very dangerous late replacement in an eight-round junior welterweight fight in the opening half of a doubleheader. Kirkland and Lyell each weighed 155 pounds at Thursday’s weigh-in; both Bradley and Garnica tipped scales at 140. Bradley was aware of the difficulty of his assignment. “This is going to be a very good fight; Garnica has a lot of experience and he is a good fighter. He beat (Juan) Lazcano although they gave it to Lazcano. I experienced some criticism after my last fight on “ShoBox” but I watched the tapes from that fight and learned from them. I was right back in the gym working on defense and counter-punching more. Garnica said,  “Bradley’s team thinks I am finished, but they do not know how dedicated I am. I still believe I can win a world title. Everybody knows I definitely beat Lazcano in his backyard. Even Juan said so. After the fight he came into my dressing room and said ‘if the fight would have been in Mexico, you would have won.’ This is a great opportunity for me and I plan to make the best of it.’’