MONTREAL -The Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM) are proud to officially announce that three of his athletes, Artur Beterbiev, Eleider Alvarez and Oscar Rivas, signed a long term agreement with the American adviser Al Haymon. They also have, at the same time, entered into a new long-term pact with GYM. These agreements confirm that three talented pugilists are settled in Montreal for many years. The President of GYM, Yvon Michel, welcomes these developments for his company.

"We are particularly proud of the trust and loyalty that these three super athletes demonstrate to GYM and for whom we expect a particularly ambitious agenda in the months to come"

On their side, Eleider Alvarez and Oscar Rivas also renewed their agreements with their manager Stéphane Lépine, who played a major role in their lives since they settled in Quebec in 2009.

Furthermore, the three boxers will fight for the first time in the United States in the next weeks.

Light heavyweights Artur Beterbiev and Eleider Alvarez will be in action on June 12 in Chicago, while the heavyweight Oscar Rivas will fight on June 26 in Shelton, in the state of Washington.

Beterbiev (8-0, 8 KOs) will face American southpaw Alexander "The Great" Johnson (16-2, 7 KOs) in a televised clash. That bout will be broadcast before the main event of the night between Erislandy Lara and Delvin Rodriguez, as part of the series of Premier Boxing Champions, live on Spike TV.

The world amateur champion and Russian Olympian Beterbiev was originally scheduled to be matched with Congo-born Frenchman Doudou Ngumbu, but Ngumbu was not able to have his passport in time for the fight.

"Artur will have an additional challenge, since Johnson is a southpaw and that he had no sparring with soutpaws during its preparation", argued the president of GYM, Yvon Michel.

"We know Johnson well and we adjusted quickly once we got the confirmation that he would be Artur’s opponent", added the trainer Marc Ramsay.

Johnson is known by Quebec boxing fans for having fought 10 rounds with Eleider Alvarez, 24 May 2014 at the Bell Centre. The American had then lost a decision.

In his last outing, "The Great" has achieved the most stunning performance of his career by crushing the veteran Henry Buchanan, a boxer that lasted 12 rounds with Andre Ward, in just 2:10.

With a win, Beterbiev could fight at the Bell Centre, October 2 or 3, in an elimination bout to become mandatory challenger for the IBF light heavyweight title.

As for Alvarez (16-0, 9 KOs), he will face the rangy Ukrainian Anatoliy Dudchenko (19-3, 13 KOs), a former Ukrainian amateur champion now established in Ukraine California.

"This is the best opponent Eleider has ever faced in the pro ranks, evaluated Marc Ramsay. Currently, he is going very well in training. I do not remember seeing him like that! "

"Storm" had to undergo surgery after his last fight to remove fragments of bone and cartilage in his left elbow. "The injury has particularly annoyed me since my last four or fight fights and I have not been able to be at my full potential. I have now fully recovered and my jab is edgier than ever, I look forward to Friday! ", said an enthusiastic Alvarez.

If all goes well, "Storm" could see some action at the end of July.

Beterbiev and Alvarez will fly to Chicago on June 9. They will be accompanied by trainer Marc Ramsay, his assistant Luc-Vincent Ouellet, cutman Russ Anber and by the President and the Vice President of GYM, Yvon Michel and Alexandra Croft.

As for Oscar "Kaboom" Rivas (16-0, 11 KOs), he will trade blows with American Jason Pettaway (17-2, 10 KOs) on June 26 in Shelton, in Washington state, in a televised Showtime card via ShoBox: The New Generation.

Pettaway is a 35 years old tough guy who notably faced Russian slugger Magomed Abdusalamov and the young New Zealand hope Joseph Parker during his career.

"Oscar is ready for this level. He traveled throughout his amateur career and he's ready for the step up", assured the trainer Marc Ramsay.

The final of this card will pit American Dominic Wade and Australian Sam Soliman in a middleweight confrontation.