One of boxing’s biggest names makes his 2013 debut and an emerging star returns to the HBO spotlight when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ JR. VS. BRYAN VERA AND ADONIS STEVENSON VS. TAVORIS CLOUD is seen SATURDAY, SEPT. 28 at 10:15 p.m. (ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.
The HBO Sports team will call all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino. Jim Lampley, Andre Ward and Steve Weisfeld will be at the StubHub Center in Carson, CA, while Max Kellerman, Roy Jones Jr. and Harold Lederman will be ringside in Montreal.
Other HBO playdates: Sept. 29 (9:00 a.m.) and 30 (11:45 p.m.)
HBO2 playdate: Oct. 1 (11:30 p.m.)
The main event features Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-1-1, 32 KOs) of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico and Bryan Vera (23-6, 14 KOs) of Austin, Tex. in a highly anticipated 12-round super middleweight clash, presented live ET/tape-delayed PT from the StubHub Center in Carson, Cal. Making his 2013 debut, Chavez Jr., 27, returns to the region where he dethroned middleweight champ Sebastian Zbik in 2011. Known for an aggressive, fan-friendly style, he proved his mettle with knockout wins over Peter Manfredo, Jr. and Andy Lee, and exhibited versatility as a 12-round fighter with a unanimous victory over battle-tested veteran Marco Antonio Rubio. Chavez Jr. closed out 2012 with a loss to pound-for-pound ace Sergio Martinez, but the heart and courage he displayed in the final round left the boxing community eagerly awaiting his return to the ring.
Vera, 31, enters the biggest event of his career seeking his seventh win in eight fights. The veteran challenger gained acclaim by knocking out the undefeated Andy Lee and edging out former welterweight titleholders Sergio Mora and Sergiy Dzinziruk. His latest win was a dominant effort over Donatas Bondorovas.
The opening bout, airing live from Bell Centre in Montreal, features a compelling light heavyweight title fight as Montreal’s fast-rising Adonis Stevenson (21-1-0, 18 KOs), 35, defends his crown against 31-year-old former champ Tavoris Cloud (24-1-0, 19 KOs) of Tallahassee, Fla. in a 12-round contest. Making his HBO debut last June, Stevenson KO’d reigning champ Chad Dawson just 76 seconds into the bout. Now he faces a fearless veteran who has battled many of the 175-pound division’s top performers.
The previously announced David Haye-Tyson Fury heavyweight fight was postponed due to injury.
Immediately following the boxing action, the all-access reality series “24/7 Bradley/Marquez” debuts with episode one on HBO.
Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.
All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.
The executive producer of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is Rick Bernstein; producers, Dave Harmon and Jon Crystal; directors, Marc Payton and Doug Getts.
® WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.
