(MAY 13) Minneapolis, MN – Team Freedom Promotions and Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota announced yesterday that on Friday, June 24, two world-class fighters from completely different backgrounds, MATT “THE PREDATOR” VANDA and LUIS RAMON “YORY BOY” CAMPAS, will put their futures on the line in a classic 12 round match for the IBA Americas Junior Middleweight Title.
The Main Event
MATT VANDA (33-1, 21 KO’s) has been a star in the Twin Cities area since the beginning of his career, but now looks to challenge the world’s best in his division. When asked about the importance of this fight Vanda stated “It’s kind of a defining moment for me. I have to be able to beat this guy to move on. I gotta beat this guy to go on because if I lose, I’m going to have to hang it up and look for something else”.
Matt “The Predator” Vanda, a native of St. Paul, Minnesota, won his first 31 fights before being upset by Armando Velardez in August in a fight televised nationally by SHOWTIME. Since that loss, Vanda has won his last two fights against Patrick Thompson and Troy Lowry and is currently ranked #8 in the world by the WBO.
“YORY BOY” CAMPAS (86-7, 70 KO’s) has always fought the best in a long and illustrious career dating back to 1986 when he turned pro right before his 16th birthday. Yory Boy challenged for his first World Title in 1994 when he was stopped by Felix Trinidad. Campas knocked Trinidad down and almost out in the second round of that fight. After knocking out Tony Ayala Jr. in July of 2000 and winning 5 straight fights, Yory Boy challenged Daniel Santos in March of 2002 for the vacant WBO Junior Middleweight Title. In a very competitive fight, Campas was stopped in the 11th round.
Yory Boy’s most recent major fight was in May of 2003 when he lost to Oscar Dela Hoya in seven grueling rounds. Since the Dela Hoya fight, Campas has won 6 of his last 7 and is the reigning IBA Americas Junior Middleweight Champion. Typical of the heart and passion of all the great Mexican Champions, Yory Boy Campas has agreed to put his Title on the line against Vanda in front of The Predator’s hometown fans.
The Under Card
The under card at “The Battle for Pride” will feature a very intriguing 10 round fight between local Minnesota star TROY LOWRY (24-5, 14 KO’s) and undefeated Columbian star RICHARD GUTIERREZ (18-0, 11 KO’s).
Former WBA Junior Middleweight Champion of the World SANTIAGO SAMANIEGO (36-8-1, 29 KO’s) who is the first cousin of Roberto Duran will also be on the card, as well as former Heavyweight Title Challenger and current Heavyweight Contender MICHAEL GRANT (40-3, 31 KO’s).
Inside The Ropes
In addition, the event will feature a dinner party on the Target Center floor in honor of legendary boxing great and two time World Champion ROBERTO DURAN. The celebration commemorates the 25th anniversary of Duran’s winning the WBC Welterweight Championship of the World from the great Sugar Ray Leonard. Roberto Duran will be at Target Center on June 24 to celebrate ringside with the fans and reminisce about all the exciting nights he provided boxing fans around the world.
Duran who will always be remembered as the greatest Lightweight Champion of all time, is identified by his classic battles when he moved up in weight to beat Sugar Ray Leonard, Davey Moore and Iran Barkley while winning World Titles in 5 different weight classes. Roberto Duran is truly a legend and one of the greatest if not the greatest fighter in history. Among all the great Latin World Champions, Duran has no equal.
TONY OLIVA will also be honored at the event. Oliva won 3 batting titles while starring for the Minnesota Twins from 1962 to 1976 with a lifetime batting average of .304. Oliva is one of the greatest hitters of modern times. But for injuries that cut his career short, Tony Oliva would be a unanimous choice for the Hall of Fame. Oliva has always been a special fan of boxing and of Roberto Duran, and is excited to share this special evening with him at Target Center.
“The Battle for Pride” will be televised live on PAY PER VIEW distributed through IN DEMAND and DIRECT TV at a suggested retail price of $19.95.