CUNNINGHAM TO TEST HEAVYWEIGHT WATERS VS. GAVERN

Press Release: Tomasz Adamek vs. Travis Walker on Saturday afternoon, September 8th, will not be the only heavyweight fight at Newark, New Jersey's Prudential Center. Highlighting the undercard will be former two-time IBF cruiserweight champion Steve "USS" Cunningham, 24-4 with 12 KOs, who makes his heavyweight debut against Jason Gavern, of Harrisonburg, VA, 21-10-4 with 10 KOs. Cunningham, of Philadelphia, recently decided to make the move to the lucrative heavyweight division, looking for bigger challenges and the heavyweight paydays that come with them.  Cunningham (pictured) is currently working to add weight to his perfectly conditioned frame without sacrificing speed or mobility, as he steps up for the first time to face the larger opposition in boxing's glamour division.

In Gavern, Cunningham meets a fighter who holds wins over Darnell Wilson and Manuel Quezada, as well as a draw against Johnathon Banks. Gavern is expected to provide the kind of test that will answer any questions about whether Cunningham can compete at his new weight.

In an eight-round bout, Philadelphia heavyweight Bryant Jennings, 16-0 with 6 KOs, takes on Chris Koval of Youngstown, OH, 25-9 with 18 KOs. Koval, 30, will try to stop the streak that  Jennings has been riding since January. In his last three outings, Jennings has registered victories over Maurice Byarm, Sergei Liakhovich, and Steve Collins. 

In an eight-round battle of junior lightweights, Jerry Belmontes, 16-0 with 5 KOs, meets Dominican-born Joselito Collado, 13-1 with 3 KOs, of Jamaica, Queens, NY. A former amateur star, Belmontes will look to start making noise in the professional ranks with a victory over Collado, who is coming off a March decision win over Juan Carlos Contreras.

Three preliminary bouts round out the action-packed card: Jersey City's Jose Peralta, 9-1 with 5 KOs, is scheduled to appear in a six-round junior welterweight fight; Philadelphia's Karl Dargan puts his 10-0 record on the line in a six-round lightweight fight, and Brooklyn's Shem Pagan, 2-0, goes for win number three in a 4-round junior welterweight contest.
            
  
Tickets are available at Prudential Center's Box Office and www.prucenter.com.