BOXING: Ve Shawn Owens, Celso Ramirez Join Jamal James on Armory Card

Rising local stars Ve Shawn Owens and Celso Ramirez will show off their boxing talents on a national stage July 13 as they join world-ranked welterweight contender Jamal “Shango” James of Minneapolis on a big fight card at the Minneapolis Armory.

Owens and Ramirez will fight in separate bouts on the undercard of the nationally televised event headlined by local fan favorite James, who faces a tough test against former world lightweight titlist Antonio DeMarco.

Training alongside James out of the Circle of Discipline Gym in Minneapolis, Owens and Ramirez are no strangers to the Armory. Both boxers will step through the ropes at the historic downtown Minneapolis venue for the third time.

Owens (10-2) previously boxed at the Armory in April 2018 and April 2019. In his most recent fight, he outpointed Alexis Gayton of Texas. On July 13, he faces ring veteran Juan Jesus Rivera Garces of Mexico in a compelling super welterweight clash.

“I’m fighting a very durable brawler straight out of Mexico. He’s faced top-quality prospects, and I’m expecting him to be at his best in this matchup,” Owens said.

Owens said he has been working hard to prepare for the fight and that training has been “amazing.”

“Fighting in front of the home town on the big stage is a huge opportunity and it humbles me,” the Minneapolis boxer added. “Not many fighters get a chance to fight on television in their home town in consecutive years.”

A deep cut could not stop Ve Shawn Owens, pictured left, from pulling out a gutsy win last April at The Armory in Minneapolis.

 

Ramirez (7-1), who is 1-1 in his previous Armory bouts, will square off against an opponent to be named in a welterweight matchup.

“Man, it’s an amazing opportunity and I am blessed to get another chance to showcase my skills on the undercard of Jamal ‘Shango’ James and at a great venue,” Ramirez said. “I can’t wait to go out there and do what I do best.”

Celso Ramirez, left, returns to The Armory for the third time on July 13, 2019.

The night of undercard attractions will also see 2016 U.S. Olympian Gary Russell (9-0, 9 KOs) in an eight-round super lightweight matchup against Mexico’s Daniel Echeverria (21-8, 18 KOs) and unbeaten rising bantamweight Antonio Russell (14-0, 11 KOs) taking on Mexico’s Francisco Pedroza (12-8-2, 6 KOs) for a 10-round fight.

Also on the card, former heavyweight world champion Charles Martin will square off against Daniel Martz in a 10-round heavyweight attraction as part of FS1 PBC Fight Night action and on FOX Deportes Saturday, July 13 from The Armory in Minneapolis.

Born in St. Louis but now fighting and training out of Southern California, Martin (26-2-1, 23 KOs) showed heavy hands in racking up 20 knockouts in 23 fights before he captured a heavyweight world title with a victory over Vyacheslav Glazkov in January 2016. The 33-year-old has won three of his last four fights, most recently winning by DQ against Gregory Corbin in March on FS1. He will face West Virginia’s Martz (18-6-1, 15 KOs), who has scored back-to-back knockout victories since losing to Luis Ortiz on FS1 in December 2017.

The card also features a heavyweight clash between Robert “The Nordic Nightmare” Helenius and Gerald “El Gallo Negro” Washington, plus unbeaten prospect and 2016 U.S. Olympian Karlos Balderas against Joshuah Hernández.

FS1 PBC Fight Night Prelims will feature Bryant Perrella taking on Domonique Dolton in a 10-round welterweight duel beginning at 6 p.m. CT.

Rounding out the lineup are unbeaten prospect Money Powell IV in an eight-round super middleweight clash, exciting middleweight Marcos Hernandez stepping in for an eight-round fight against Mexico’s Francisco Javier Castro.

Tickets for the event, which is promoted by Warriors Boxing and TGB Promotions, are on sale now and can be purchased at the Armory at http://ArmoryMN.com/ and through Ticketmaster.