PRESS RELEASE: The 20th anniversary celebration of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING continues on Cinco de Mayo weekend with a world championship doubleheader Saturday, May 6, on SHOWTIME (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast) at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass.In one of two world title fights promoted by Don King Productions, hard-hitting Alejandro "Terra" Garcia (25-1, 23 KOs) will make his first defense as WBA super welterweight champion when he faces enormously popular local favorite and former WBA welterweight titleholder Jose Antonio "El Gallo" Rivera (37-4-1, 24 KOs). In the co-feature, O'Neil "Supernova" Bell (26-1-1, 24 KOs) makes the first defense of his undisputed cruiserweight crown when he takes on undefeated Steve "USS" Cunningham (19-0, 10 KOs).
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Garcia, of Tijuana, Mexico, was recently reinstated by the WBA as its 154-pound champion when Travis Simms refused to give him a rematch. The only defeat in Garcia's career came when he was dethroned by Simms on a controversial, fluke fifth-round knockout in December 2003. Garcia captured the WBA interim 154-pound crown with a ninth-round TKO over Rhoshii Wells on May 21, 2005. In his last start, Garcia retained the interim belt with a 12-round decision over Luca Messi on Aug. 13, 2005.
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Rivera, of Worcester, by way of Philadelphia, is the WBA No. 3 super welterweight contender. He is stepping up a notch in weight and making his first start since losing his WBA 147-pound crown to Luis Collazo in a thrilling, give-and-take 12-round split decision on April 2, 2005, in Worcester. Rivera, who came up short by the scores 115-113 twice and 113-115, was supposed to challenge the then-WBO 154-pound kingpin Daniel Santos last September on SHOWTIME, but was forced to withdraw with an elbow injury that required surgery.
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Bell, of Atlanta, by way Montego Bay, Jamaica, became the cruiserweight division's first undisputed champion since Evander Holyfield in 1988 when he scored an exciting, upset 10th-round knockout over Jean-Marc Mormeck on Jan. 7 2006, on SHOWTIME. Bell, who entered the ring as the IBF champion, was leading the WBC-WBA titleholder on two of the scorecards at the time of the stoppage. Bell is unbeaten in his last 26 starts (25-0-1, 23 KO’s) dating to April 1998.
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Cunningham, of Philadelphia, is ranked No. 1 in the IBF, No. 2 in the WBC and WBO and No. 4 in the WBA. A talented boxer-puncher who was an All-Navy Military champion is trained by the legendary Richie Giachetti. Cunningham won a 10-round decision victory over Guillermo Jones, who owns an upset win over former world champion Wayne Braithwaite, and a 12-round decision over former IBF cruiser champ Kelvin Davis. In his most recent outing, Cunningham scored a fifth-round TKO over Lloyd Bryan on Jan. 7, 2006, in New York.