Light-heavyweight contender Lionell “Lonnie B.” Thompson (15-2-0, 9 KOs) hopes to continue his climb into the world title picture when he boxes Radivoje Kalajdzic (14-0-0, 10 KOs) in a 10-round contest next Saturday evening, March 29, at Boardwalk Hall.
The Thompson-Kalajdzic match tops a stacked card in support of the scheduled 12-round main event between WBO Light Heavyweight Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (23-0-1, 21 KOs) and undefeated challenger Cedric “L.O.W.” Agnew (26-0-0, 13 KOs) in a HBO-televised contest.
Thompson, 28, of Buffalo, NY, gave his career a boost in 2013 with wins over Chuck Mussachio, of Wildwood, NJ (a second round RTD at Bally’s in Atlantic City, NJ); Yathomas Riley, Panama City, FL (an eight round unanimous decision at the Paramount Theatre in Huntington, NY) and Ryan Coyne, of St. Louis, MO (a ten round unanimous decision at Resorts International Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ).
A pro since 2009, Thompson is ranked No. 8 by the WBA. Thompson was a five-time Golden Gloves Champion in New York State. He has trained with world champions and top contenders including Chad Dawson, Carl Froch and Lucian Bute.
Kalajdzic, 22, is from Zenica, Bosnia, but now lives in St. Petersburg, FL. He has won all 14 of his pro fights, 10 by knockout, since turning pro in 2011. He has knocked out his last three opponents in the first round: Samson Onyango of Newark, NJ; Charles Hayward of Philadelphia, PA; and Otis Griffin of Sacramento, CA (all in Tampa, FL). All three were quality opponents with a combined record of 53-26-2 at fight time.
In an eight-round junior middleweight match, Wilky Campfort (16-1-0, 9 KOs) returns to Atlantic City for the second time this year when he takes on Khurshid Abdullaev (6-0-1, 3 KOs).
Campfort, 29, of Ft. Lauderale, FL, earned an eight-round split decision over Atlantic City’s DeCarlo Perez in a toe-to-toe brawl on Jan. 24 at Resorts International Casino and Hotel in Atlantic, City, NJ. Abdullaev, 24, is originally from Russia but now resides in Oxnard, CA. He is undefeated in six professional bouts with three knockouts (third round against Khalik Memminger May 11, 2013; third round against Alexey Kulikov on April 27, 2010; and first round against Dmytro Bolotskyy on February 27, 2010).
Local favorite Ismael Garcia (5-0-1, 3 KOs), of Vineland, NJ, and southpaw DuShane Crooks (6-0-0, 4 KOs), of Brooklyn, NY, meet over six rounds in a battle of undefeated junior middleweight prospects. Garcia has knocked out his last three opponents (Michael Sunkett in the second round on August 24, 2013; Alando Swain in the sixth round on June 1, 2013; and Kenneth Moody in the first round on July 27, 2012).
Crooks has a tendency to knockout is opponents early. In six professional bouts he has four knockouts. He knocked out Michael Taylor on November 12, 2011 in the first round, he finished Tyrone Braswell in the first round on August 12, 2011 and then took out his brother, Tyshone Braswell, in the first round a month later on September 17, 2011 in Tyshone’s professional debut. In his professional debut, Crooks also knocked out On’rey Towns on May 21, 2011 in the second round.
Wellington Romero (2-0-0, 1 KO), who represented the Dominican Republic in the 2012 Olympics, takes on Gerald Smith (3-0-0, 1 KO), of Philadelphia, PA, in a four-round junior welterweight match. The 23-year-old Romero is coming off a first round knockout of Ismael Serrano, of Bethlehem, PA on January 24th at Resorts International Casino and Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ.
Popular heavyweight Adam Kownacki (5-0-0, 5 KOs), of Brooklyn, NY, looks for his sixth knockout in six pro fights when he meets Excell Holmes (2-2-1, 1 KO), of Buffalo, NY, over four rounds.
Super middleweight Rafael Jastrzebski (4-7-1, 1 KO), 32, of Atlantic City, and Mike Mitchell (2-3-2), 36, of Paterson, NJ, collide in a four-rounder.
The total combined records for the entire event is 91-11, 64 KOs vs. 76-5, 42 KOs.
