The comeback of one of boxing’s most exciting fighters, former WBA World Super Featherweight Champion Javier “El Abejon” Fortuna, will begin on Friday, September 23, 2016. Fortuna (29-1-1, 21 KOs) of Braintree, Massachusetts, via La Romana, Dominican Republic, will take on fellow Dominican Marlyn “Maravilla” Cabrera (22-0, 10 KOs) of Santiago de los Caballeros in a 10-round super featherweight battle to top promoters Sampson Lewkowicz’s (Sampson Boxing) and Cesar Mercedes’ (Manguita Promotions) night of world-class boxing at the Sambil Ballroom in Sambil Plaza in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and live on Dominican TV RNN.
27-year-old southpaw Fortuna won the WBA World Super Featherweight Championship in May 2015 with a 12-round decision over Bryan Vasquez and made a successful defense in September 2015 against Carlos Ivan Velasquez (TKO 10). But then in June of this year, Fortuna suffered a surprise TKO 11 defeat at the Capital Gym in Beijing, China, to unheralded challenger Jason Sosa of New Jersey. Winning fairly easily on all three scorecards, a tiring Fortuna was surprised and dropped by a spirited late-fight rally.
Undefeated and untested 29-year-old Cabrera will be coming to the ring with pulling off an upset on his mind. In his six-year professional career, he has already held the WBA Fedecaribe and Universal Boxing Federation (UBF) InterContinental Featherweight Championships.
“I can’t wait to get back in the ring,” said Fortuna. “I lost my championship and I’m going to beat whoever I have to beat to get it back. Cabrera is my countryman and I wish him a long successful career, but right now he is in my way. He has to go.”
Someone’s undefeated “0” must go in the 10-round “All Dominican” junior middleweight co-main event, as Jeison “Banana” Rosario (11-0, 8 KOs) of Santo Domingo will take on Santiago de los Caballeros’ Carlos Jairo Cruz (17-0, 11 KOs).
Rosario was last seen destroying then-undefeated countryman Rafael Lorenzo in two rounds in April. Cruz will be making his first ring appearance this year.
In two other significant match-ups, 25-year-old southpaw Wellington Arias Romero (11-0-1, 5 KOs), of Newburgh, New York, USA via Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, will face 26-year-old Abrahan “El Indomable” Peralta (18-4, 13 KOs) of Nagua, Dominican Republic, in an eight-round super lightweight battle; and in an eight-round “All Dominican” lightweight showdown, undefeated Osvaldo Cabrera (11-0-1, 6 KOs) will take on power-punching Ramon De la Cruz (8-2-1, 7 KOs).
In the opening super featherweight four-rounder, future star Abraham “Super” Nova (2-0, 1 KO) of Braintree, Massachusetts, will look to continue his undefeated run in the professionals against Willy Morillo (2-2, 1 KO) of the Dominican Republic.
“It’s a great show with many ‘Dominican vs. Dominican’ fights. Dominican pride will be standing tall that night,” said promoter Lewkowicz. “Javier Fortuna is coming back strong after his first loss against an undefeated fighter. He is angry at himself for losing and wants the tough fights to get him back to the world championship. The other fights are all the top fighters the country has to offer against each other and we have my star of the future Abraham Nova, to open the show. I’m very proud to be part of this show and very happy to come back to the Dominican Republic with my long-time, loyal partner, Cesar Mercedez of Manguita Promotions.”