PRESENTED BY SALITA PROMOTIONS ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2022, AT THE GARDEN THEATER IN MIDTOWN DETROIT, DETROIT BRAWL ALSO FEATURES TOP LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT ALI IZMAILOV IN STEREO MAIN EVENT, AFRICA’S PRINCE DZANIE, ICELAND’S ICE BEAR KRISTINSSON, GRAND RAPIDS-BASED PROSPECTS HICKS AND PAGAN, DETROIT’S OWN DA’VELLE SMITH, PLUS TWO MORE FIGHTS!
Closing in on a world-title shot, Detroit via Rakhmon, Uzbekistan’s IBF #6-, WBA #12-, WBO #8- and RING #8-ranked Shohjahon Ergashev (22-0, 19 KOs) says he’s aware of the danger and knows what’s on the line when he takes on his next foe, fellow knockout artist Angel “El Furioso” Martinez Hernandez (14-1-2, 14 KOs) from Baja California, Mexico.
The two knockout punchers will meet in a 10-round super lightweight shootout as one of two main events for Salita Promotions’ next Detroit Brawl event, on Wednesday, August 10, 2022, at the historic Garden Theater in Midtown Detroit. Unbeaten WBO #12-, IBF #11-, WBC #7-ranked light heavyweight Ali Izmailov (8-0, 6 KOs) and also undefeated Eric Murguia (14-0, 12 KOs) will be fighting for the USBA Light Heavyweight Championship in the other 10-round main event.
Tickets for “Detroit Brawl” start at $40 and can be purchased by clicking HERE. PLEASE NOTE: Tickets ordered online will be placed in will call at the box office for pick-up. A limited quantity of VIP tickets is also available by calling 313.529.7604.
Living and training in Detroit at the Kronk Gym under world-famous trainer SugarHill Steward, Ergashev says taking on such a dangerous foe so close to a world-title fight will benefit his career in the long run.
“I’m close to a title fight and I think this fight has a role for my experience,” said Ergashev during a break in training. “My father once told me to never underestimate the strength of any opponent. I am sure this is a worthy opponent, but that doesn’t mean he’s stronger than me.”
Ergashev says facing another puncher meant switching up in training at Kronk for this match.
“This time in training, we paid a little more attention to strength and physical preparation, rather than just boxing technique,” admitted Ergashev, “and I’m delighted with the result. To be back in an American boxing ring, I feel a surge of strength and thirst for battle. This is my second fight this year and I feel like I’m reborn in boxing. I am ready to put on a spectacular show.”
Ergashev, who says he loves his adopted home of Detroit and has a special feeling for the people, is a hero of national proportions in his native Uzbekistan with over two million Instagram followers alone. “Having so many followers, I can feel the power of my fans’ support,” he said. “But, at the same time, I am aware of the social significance of the content on my page, so I try to share my opinion and outlook on life with my subscribers. I like to motivate people.”
Also featured that night will be an eight-round super bantamweight battle between Accra, Ghana’s Prince Dzanie (22-0, 18 KOs) and Juan Gabriel Medina (14-11, 12 KOs) of La Romana, DOM, as well as undefeated Icelandic heavyweight Kolbeinn “The Ice Bear” Kristinsson taking on unpredictable Houstonian Rodney Moore (20-22-2, 9 KOs) in a six-round battle of big men.
Undefeated Grand Rapids, Michigan-based former amateur champions Joseph Hicks Jr. and Joshua Pagan will also see action that night, as Hicks (2-0, 2 KOs) will face experienced Dominican scrapper Jonathan Batista (19-16, 12 KOs) in a six-round middleweight struggle, while Pagan will take on Brazilian scrapper Maycon Oller Da Silva (1-5) over four super lightweight rounds. One of Detroit’s own, undefeated middleweight Da’Velle Smith (3-0, 3 KOs), already the winner of the WBC’s Big Belt Championship Tournament, will go four rounds or less with Wenatchee, Washington’s Devontae McDonald (2-1, 1 KO).
Rounding out the action will be undefeated Houston-based light heavyweight Darius “DFG” Fulghum (2-0, 2 KOs), who will take on Delaware’s David Murray (10-3-1, 6 KOs) in a lightweight six and lastly, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada’s Spencer Wilcox (3-0, 2 KOs) will face an opponent that is still TBA in a lightweight six-rounder.
