CKP staging night of heavyweights

PRESS RELEASE: The heat will be on in South Florida and across the national television airwaves on Friday night, August 26. Some of the biggest names in the heavyweight division will be in action when Warriors Boxing Promotions in association with Cedric Kushner Promotions presents Heavyweight Heat - featuring a long awaited showdown between "Merciless" Ray Mercer (34-5-1, 25 KO's) vs. Shannon Briggs (42-4-1, 36 KO's), and the ring returns of top contenders David Tua (43-3-1, 38 KO's), and Jameel McCline (31-5-3,19 KO's) live on pay per view at the brand new Hard Rock Live Arena which is located at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.  The announcement was made jointly today by Warriors Boxing Promotions and Cedric Kushner.

Showtime Pay Per View will distribute the pay per view heavyweight extravaganza and it will be priced at $29.95. Contact your pay per view provider to order.

Tua will step into the ring against  the 6-4 New York native Cisse Salif (17-4-2, 16 KO's) in a 10 round affair. McCline will battle Steve Pannell (34-8-0, 28 KO's), another strapping  6-4 righthander fighting out of  Salem, Virginia.

In another co-featured bout on August 26, IBF Cruiserweight champion O'Neil Bell (24-1-1,22 KO's) will defend his world title for the first time against South African strongman Sebastiaan Rothmann  (18-3-2,12 KO's).

On a fight card loaded full of action from start to finish, highly regarded junior welterweight contender Juan "Iron Twins" Urango (15-0-1, 12 KO's), will aim to keep his unbeaten record intact when he battles slick boxing New Yorker Andre Eason (15-3-0,6 KO's), in a bout scheduled for 10 rounds. 

In another heavyweight bout Lance Whitaker will also be featured in a contest scheduled for ten rounds.

In the heavyweight main event, scheduled for 10 rounds, longtime world title contender Briggs is again focused on the heavyweight crown when he squares off against granite-chinned warrior Mercer.  It's a match up of two fighters who both gave former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis major tussles, and have fought some of the best in the world during the past decade. Briggs has reeled off six straight victories on the heels of a hard-fought defeat to McCline at Madison Square Garden. The Brooklyn-born brawler has captured 10 of his last 11 fights. Mercer has scored in 11 of his last 12, the only loss to the highly-regarded Wladimir Klitschko.

Samoan strongman Tua is one of the most feared knockout artists in the game, as his 80 percent knockout ratio will attest. He has beaten top contenders such Fres Oquendo, Oleg Maskaev and Obed Sullivan.  He has turned back the challenges of some of the premiere heavyweights in the sport including former world champions Hasim Rahman, John Ruiz, Michael Moorer. Tua was denied at his chance for glory by then-champion Lennox Lewis in a hard fought decision.

New York bred McCline has faced both Chris Byrd (IBF) and Wladimir Klitschko (WBO) for the heavyweight championship, most recently just missing in a split decision for the IBF title against Byrd at the Garden. McCline emerged as a bona fide contender for the title in 2000 when he reeled off seven consecutive triumphs against the likes of Al Cole, Lance Whitaker, Michael Grant and Shannon Briggs.

"Boxing aficionados love the heavyweights and this show will not disappoint," said Kushner. "With Tua fighting for the first time in the states in over two and a half years and McCline returning to the ring in separate bouts, with Mercer slugging it out with Briggs in the main event, the card is sure to have an impact on the heavyweight landscape, and fight fans won't want to miss the first boxing show from the beautiful new Hard Rock Live Arena."