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Lopez v Kambosos Is Out, Cletus Seldin In Oct. 16 at Barclays Center

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Lopez v Kambosos Is Out, Cletus Seldin In Oct. 16 at Barclays Center

The Teofimo Lopez IBF lightweight title defense against George Kambosos got booked for June 5, was shifted to June 19, then got punted to Oct. 4, and got ejected to Oct. 16. It was to move from Madison Square Garden Theatre to Barclays Center, but now, I’m not sure anyone knows where and when—or maybe if—it takes place.

Newbie promoter Triller announced on Monday night that yes, they will have a boxing card in Brooklyn on Oct. 16, but it will not feature Lopez versus Kambosos, nor will it feature Lopez at all. Or Kambosos.

Instead, Long Island slugger Cletus Seldin will face William Silva, as part of a two-fer, a Saturday night music n boxing session, and a Sunday night music only event, both at Barclays.

Seldin is a fan fave on the Island, but he’s been battling injuries, and hasn’t been too active of late. Silva is 34, and near the bottom of his slope, after a years long slide.


You can blame COVID, and also assign blame to other parties. Why, for instance, didn’t Kambosos get on a plane in Australia as planned last week, to cement his clash with Lopez?

But yeah, it’s fair to say the path to here has boasted more loopy twists and turns than I can recall in all my years covering this circus of a sport. It will come out, sooner or later, what happened here.. I think.

Here is the Triller release which went out Monday night:

BROOKLYN, NY (Oct 4, 2021) TRILLER has announced a weekend extravaganza, two-day event; TrillerVerz III on Saturday, October 16 and Sunday, October 17 at BARCLAYS CENTER featuring world class professional boxing and extraordinary iconic musical acts; an unforgettable weekend of incredible entertainment presented by TRILLER FIGHT CLUB and VERZUZ. TrillerVerz III is the third event in the TrillerVerz series with the first two events each garnering over 5,000,000 unique viewers. The series debuted on August 3, 2021 with the event selling out within 15 minutes of going on sale.

Promoted in association with DiBella Entertainment, separate tickets for each event starting at $27.50 will go on sale Tomorrow, October 5 at 10:00 a.m. ET through SeatGeek.com and TrillerFightClub.com.

The entire TrillerVerz two-day weekend event will be broadcast exclusively on TrillerFightClub.com and FITE through the TrillerVerz subscription package priced at $2.99 per month with a minimum of one TrillerVerz staged each month.

Saturday night will premiere the new concert series ICONZ presented by Verzuz, after the live boxing event, and will feature superstar iconic reggae artist SUPER CAT. Sunday night’s VERZUZ battle features hip-hop legends, BIG DADDY KANE vz. KRS-ONE. The boxing card will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday followed by SUPER CAT and 7:00 p.m. on Sunday with BIG DADDY KANE vz. KRS-ONE.

BARCLAYS CENTER is located at 620 Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11217. Per current government guidelines in New York City, individuals ages 12 and up will be required to show proof of at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose in order to enter the arena. Anyone 18 years or older must also present a valid photo ID with proof of vaccination.

Boxing will be at Barclays Center Oct 16.

TRILLERVERZ was created to bridge the worlds of boxing and music produced by TRILLER FIGHT CLUB, the company known for pairing world class boxing with iconic music legends. The entire weekend will be produced by NIGEL LYTHGOE, the Triller Fight Club visionary.

TRILLER FIGHT CLUB is additionally best known for turning the world of boxing upside down from bringing MIKE TYSON back to the ring to introducing and building JAKE PAUL into the professional boxing world, its events have set records while completely changing combat sports.

This is a really exciting moment in the TrillerVerz history where we have the first back-to- back VERZUZ events in the same venue. Having SUPER CAT and his SURPRISE GUESTS Saturday night followed by BIG DADDY KANE vz. KRS-ONE Sunday night. True, it will be a Brooklyn takeover and a moment in musical history not to be missed,” said acclaimed producer NIGEL LYTHGOE, creator and Executive Producer of American idol and ‘So, You Think You Can Dance. “SUPER CAT is an icon and a legend and the surprise guests are sure to be the talk of the music world.”

“TrillerVerz will be a major celebration for our city as we mark the first fight night at Barclays Center since March 2020,” said JOHN ABBAMONDI, CEO of BSE Global. “The two-day event will feature many local talents – a fitting representation of our borough’s rich heritage in both boxing and music. We are thrilled to partner with Triller to support the growth of this unique blend of entertainment.”

BIG DADDY KANE is widely regarded as one of the most influential and skilled rappers of the golden age. Raised in Brooklyn, NY, Rolling Stone magazine referred to him as a “master wordsmith and a huge influence on a generation of MC’s.” He has sold millions of records that have earned gold record status accolades and has also been awarded numerous Grammy awards for his recorded work.

KRS-ONE rose to prominence as part of the hip hop music group Boogie Down Productions in the mid 1980’s. Releasing records under his own name starting in 1993, he created a legacy that influenced many great hip hop artists including Tupac and Eminem. His work has earned numerous commendations including Lifetime Achievement Awards from BET, VH-1 and the Urban Music Awards.

SUPER CAT originally enjoyed worldwide acclaim during the 1990’s dancehall movement and is considered one of the greatest deejays within the Jamaican dance hall scene. He was an early collaborator with The Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Puff Daddy and Nas. Moving to New York City in 1990, he has continued to attain great success in the American market.

In the boxing main event on Saturday night, Brooklyn fan favorite, CLETUS ‘THE HEBREW HAMMER’ SELDIN, (25-1, 21 KOs), defends his NABA Super Lightweight Title in a scheduled ten-rounder against heavy-handed Brazilian WILLIAM ‘BABY FACE’ SILVA, (28-3, 16 KOs).

Seldin garnered the NABA Super Lightweight Title with an 11th round knockout of former world champion Zab Judah on June 7, 2019. His first defense of the title came on February 28, 2020 with a seventh-round stoppage of Luis Eduardo Florez.

Silva hits the ring following a second-round knockout of Erenilson Santos on July 24, 2021 in Brazil. The battle-tested Brazilian has faced numerous world champions and top contenders throughout his career including Teofimo Lopez, Arnold Barboza and Felix Verdejo.

Headlining the undercard, DANIEL ‘El GALLO’ GONZALEZ, (20-2-1, 7 KOs), of Woodhaven, NY clashes with Brooklyn’s PETROS ANANYAN, (15-2-2, 7 KOs), in a scheduled 10-round junior welterweight bout.

Gonzalez is currently riding a three-bout winning streak, most recently winning a unanimous decision over Evincii Dixon on April 24, 2021. Ananyan enters the fight with Gonzalez following his career best victory, a ten-round unanimous decision over world ranked Subriel Matias on February 22, 2020.

Undefeated junior middleweight prospects hit the ring in a scheduled eight-rounder as JOSE ‘CHEITO’ ROMAN, (11-0, 5 KOS), of Bayamon, Puerto Rico faces CESAR ‘RAINMAN’ FRANCIS, (8-0, 6 KOs), of Brooklyn, NY. Roman kicked off his 2021 campaign with an eight-round unanimous decision over Roque Junco on March 18, 2021 in Salinas, Puerto Rico. Francis started the year with a blistering first-round knockout of Gonzalo Dallera on February 20, 2021 in Orlando, FL.

Fighting in the junior welterweight division, WILL MADERA, (16-1-3, 9 KOs), of Albany, NY faces JAMSHIDBEK ‘THE CHAMPION’ NAJMITDINOV, (17-1, 14 KOs), of Tashkent, Uzbekistan in a scheduled eight rounder. Madera looks to stay in the win column after his second-round knockout of Iram Rodriguez on April 16, 2021 in Monterrey, Mexico. Making his United States debut, the heralded Najmitdinov has won his last seven fights, six by knockout.

In a six-round light heavyweight bout FREDERIC JULIAN, (12-0, 10 KOs), of Brooklyn, NY clashes with JEYSON MINDA, (14-5-1, 8 KOs), of Salem, MA. A native of Paris, France, Julian will be making his first start of 2021, succeeding a first-round knockout of Fidel Munoz on January 25, 2020 in Trenton, NJ. The upset minded Minda looks to jump back into the win column after losing an eight-round decision to Junior Younan on April 17, 2021.

More information on this memorable weekend will be announced shortly.

Founder/editor Michael Woods got addicted to boxing in 1990, when Buster Douglas shocked the world with his demolition of the then-impregnable Mike Tyson. The Brooklyn-based journalist has covered the sport since for ESPN The Magazine, ESPN.com, Bad Left Hook and RING. His journalism career started with NY Newsday in 1999. Michael Woods is also an accomplished blow by blow and color man, having done work for Top Rank, DiBella Entertainment, EPIX, and for Facebook Fightnight Live, since 2017.