PHILADELPHIA’S DEMETRIUS HOPKINS STEPS IN TO FACE KENDALL HOLT FOR WBO Jr. WELTER TITLE

NEW YORK– Undefeated junior welterweight challenger Demetrius Hopkins (28-0-1, 11 KOs) will step in to face WBO 140-pound champion Kendall Holt (24-2, 13 KOs) in the main event of Saturday’s special edition of ShoBox: The New Generation, live from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ, (SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast).

Holt was originally slated to face former 140-pound champ Ricardo Torres in a rubber-match, but Torres withdrew from the fight on Monday.

“Torres really wanted to fight but he was ill during camp, missed some training and was not in the condition he needed to be in for a war like this,” said Bruce Trampler, chief matchmaker for Top Rank.

Now, Holt will have his hands full with the undefeated Hopkins, the nephew of former middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins. The 28-year-old Hopkins is in peak condition as he was originally scheduled to fight Germaine Sanders on the undercard of Saturday’s bout. When he learned Torres pulled out, he jumped at the opportunity to fight for his first world title.

According to manager Cameron Dunkin, Hopkins, upon accepting the fight, went immediately into an intense, all-day training session and was unavailable for comment.

Dunkin said, “Demetrius had been training hard for his fight with Germaine, and he has redoubled his efforts. He knows he needs to lose three more pounds but he will be on weight by Wednesday. He has completely devoted himself to being ready for this fight.

“This is a fight that he has wanted for a long time,” the manager continued. “His first world title fight; we have wanted this for a long time. I am excited and proud that he will get the chance on Saturday. This is what we’ve been waiting for.”

A top contender at 140-pounds, Hopkins holds key victories over Steve Forbes, Ernesto Zepeda and Jesse Feliciano. With Hopkins hailing from Philadelphia, and Holt from Paterson, N.J., it is essentially a home-game for both fighters.

Remaining tickets are on sale for the event, which is promoted by Top Rank, Inc., for Boardwalk Hall in. Tickets at $200, $100 and $50 are available on http://www.ticketmaster.com/, by phone at 1-800-736-1420, or at any Ticketmaster outlet nationwide.

Nick Charles will call the action from ringside with Steve Farhood serving as expert analyst and Al Bernstein as ringside reporter. The executive producer of ShoBox is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing. ShoBox recently celebrated seven outstanding years on the air.

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