Roman “Made in Hell’’ Karmazin (34-1-1, 1 ND, 21 KOs) will defend his IBF 154-pound title against former undisputed world welterweight champion Cory “The Next Generation” Spinks (34-3, 11 KOs) in Spinks’ hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, on Saturday, July 8, on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed in the west coast). In the second half of an excellent SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING twin bill promoted by Don King Productions, Steve "USS" Cunningham (19-0, 10 KOs) and Guillermo "El Felino" Jones (33-3-2, 26 KOs) will square off for the vacant IBF cruiserweight belt.

 

ROMAN KARMAZIN (34-1-1, 1 ND, 21 KOs)
 
“I feel great. I have prepared better for this fight than any other fight. This week is not as important to me as far as training. The hardest part is already done. This week I am focusing on regaining my strength.
 

“The fact that I am in Cory Spinks’ hometown gives me the extra push to better prepare. Spinks is a good fighter, I have respect for him, but I don’t fear him. If there were any fears, I would not be in this fight.

 

“This fight is what I worked for my entire life, step by step, opponent by opponent, to prove to people I am the best.

 

“There are a lot of big names in boxing. I want to become one of them and then get rid of the names in my division.’’

 

KARMAZIN TRAINER, BORIS ZYKANOV

 

“Roman is a good puncher and a smart fighter; I’m not worried about him taking on Spinks. Yes, Spinks is very fast, but Roman has great timing. He has worked very hard in his training. He looks better than he usually looks.

 

“The preparation has been different. We have worked a lot more on his stamina.’’