STAMFORD, CT – OLN, in collaboration with leading boxing promoters Top Rank, today announced that a 12-round lightweight battle between Kid Diamond (22-1-1, 13 KOs) and Jairo Ramirez (20-2, 7 KOs) will headline the network’s third live boxing event on Thursday, September 14 at 9 p.m. ET. Fight Night’s live telecast will originate from The Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The network, which will be changing its name to VERSUS as of September 25, will also feature a middleweight rematch between Jose Luis Zertuche and Fulgencio Zuniga in a 10-round bout. The duo fought to a draw in 2005.
Diamond is 29-years-old and hails from Kyrgystan. He represented his native country in the 2000 Olympic Games and now resides in Las Vegas, NV. Diamond comes into the bout off a fourth round stoppage of Antonio Wong on July 26 on the under card of the first Fight Night card. He is best known for the 12-round draw he fought against former WBA super featherweight world champion Joel Casamayor in June 2005, a fight many observers thought he had won. His only loss came via TKO to Nate Campbell in October 2005. Ramirez, 25-years-old, from Oaxaca, Mexico is a strong contender in the 135-pound division. He defeated veteran Russell “Stoner” Jones in Las Vegas in April.
Zertuche (19-2-2, 14 KOs) from Guanajuato, Mexico, earned a draw against Fulgencio Zuniga (17-2-1, 16 KOs) in their first encounter in April 2005, dropping the Colombian middleweight with a left in the 10th round. Zuniga had taken an early lead on the judges scorecards but was penalized a point for a low blow in the 8th round and then was dropped by Zertuche.
OLN will also showcase the January 28, 1974 fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier on Thursday, September 7 at 9 p.m. ET as part of its classic fight series, Fight Night: Top Rank’s Legends of the Ring.
