By Jake Donovan
Top Rank is going all in with its new boxing series on truTV. The Las Vegas-based promotional outfit comes out swinging, with shows on each of the first three Fridays in May, beginning with a May 1 show topped by Raymundo Beltran and Takahiro Ao in Las Vegas, on the eve of the year's most anticipated event between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.
The truTV-televised series heads to the East Coast the following week, when Glen Tapia and Seanie Monaghan appear in separate bouts on the May 8 show live from Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Tapia—who hails from nearby Passaic, New Jersey—will take on France's Michael Soro (25-1-1, 15KOs) in a scheduled 10-round junior middleweight battle. Long Island's Monaghan will face Cleiton Conceição (20-6-2, 16KOs), a member of the 2000 Brazil Olympic boxing team. Their light heavyweight scrap is also scheduled for 10 rounds.
“It will be great to be in New Jersey fighting in front of my hometown fans,” said Tapia, who has fought several times before in New York and Atlantic City, but never before in Newark, barely 20 minutes from his Passaic hometown. “Freddie Roach and I have been working very hard in training camp to make May 8 a knockout of a homecoming.”
Tapia (23-1, 15KOs) has won three straight since joining forces with Roach, a move that immediately followed a savage knockout loss to James Kirkland in Dec. '13. His most recent win came in March, stopping Daniel Dawson in the 3rd round of their bout in March.
Like Tapia, Monaghan (23-0, 15KOs) has fought almost exclusively in New York and Atlantic City. The fighting pride of Long Beach—a beach town (duh!) along Nassau County's South Shore—has served as a prominent draw in the region, enhancing several undercards at Madison Square Garden as well as his debut at Brooklyn's Barclays Center last June.
“I am very excited to fight at Prudential Center and live on truTV,” said Monaghan. “I am defending my title and I am delighted to fight at a great venue where my army of fans can come support me. I want to fight for a world title this year so watch me bring it on May 8 and show the world why I really deserve a world title shot.”
Monaghan is coming off of a 3rd round knockout win over Daniel Regi last December in Las Vegas.
Tickets for the show go on sale Friday, April 10 at 10:00 a.m. local time. Ringside seats can be purchased for just $105, with remaining price points set at $60, 40 and $25. All tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster outlets, online at Ticketmaster.com or on-the-line at 1-800-745-3000.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox