The Ring’s second event in New York will be able to accommodate thousands more fans than its inaugural event in Times Square on May 2.
The July 12 show that will feature the
Edgar Berlanga-Hamzah Sheeraz and
Shakur Stevenson-William Zepeda fights will be held at Louis Armstrong Stadium, a tennis venue in Queens where the U.S. Open is played each summer. The stadium, which will host boxing for the first time since it opened in August 2018, has a retractable roof and can accommodate approximately 14,000 fans.
Only a few hundred invited guests were able to attend
The Ring’s five-fight “FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves” card in Manhattan’s Times Square. Tickets were not put on sale for the May 2 show, which featured
Rolly Romero’s upset of Ryan Garcia in the 12-round main event.
Ticket information will be released soon for the July 12 show.
The Brooklyn-born
Berlanga and
Stevenson, a three-weight world champion from nearby Newark, New Jersey, both have fan bases in the New York metropolitan area. Stevenson, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist, has helped attract announced crowds in excess of 10,000 to Prudential Center in downtown Newark twice in recent years.
England’s
Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs) accepted a difficult fight for his debut in the super middleweight division.
Berlanga (23-1, 18 KOs) has lost only a 12-round unanimous decision to undisputed super middleweight champ Canelo Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) last September 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Ring ranks Berlanga at No. 9 among its top 10 contenders in the 168-pound division, whereas Sheeraz is No. 3 in its 160-pound ratings.
Sheeraz fought to a debatable draw with WBC middleweight champ Carlos Adames (24-1-1, 18 KOs) in his last fight, a 12-rounder that took place February 22 at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) will make a mandated defense of his WBC lightweight title against Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs).
Mexico’s Zepeda, a strong southpaw, owns the WBC interim 135-pound championship and is ranked No. 4 by The Ring, one spot below Stevenson. The Ring’s lightweight title is vacant.
Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing.