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Art Pelullo/Banner Promotions and Rodney Berman/Golden Gloves will present a sensational championship fight card on Friday, May 21, 2010, at the Laredo Energy Arena, located at 6700 Arena Boulevard in Laredo, Texas. The main event and co-featured fights will be televised live on ESPN2, ESPN Desportes, their Spanish-Language Network, and ESPN 360.com.



In the main event scheduled for 12 rounds – an elimination bout for the No. 1 spot in the IBF lightweight ratings – IBF No. 8-ranked Ji-Hoon “Volcano” Kim, 20-5 with 17 knockouts, of Goyang City, Korea, will face IBF No. 6-ranked Ameth “Cloroformo” Diaz, 27-9 with 10 knockouts, of Panama City, Panama.



Kim, just 23 years old, is fighting in the United States for the fourth time. With his high-pressure, hard-hitting style, he always makes exciting fights and has made quite an impression on American audiences. In his last fight in February, he TKO’d veteran Tyrone Harris in the fifth round. Fightnews.com’s Francisco Salazar reported from ringside: “Kim has started to turn heads in the boxing world with his hard-hitting and explosive power in his more recent fights.” Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com: “Kim...is one relentless dude.”



Diaz, 26 years old, is coming off a decision win against former WBC featherweight world champion Cesar Soto in his last fight in January, 2010. He is nicknamed Cloroformo – “chloroform” – for his habit of putting his opponents to sleep.



In the co-featured bout, also scheduled for 10 rounds, rising 140-pound prospect Ruslan Provodnikov, 15-0 with 10 knockouts, of Berezovo, Russia, will challenge Frankie “Gato” Figueroa, 20-3-1 with 13 knockouts, of New York, N.Y. for the WBO Intercontinental junior welterweight and NABA super lightweight titles.



Provodnikov, 26 years old, has also been very impressive in recent fights. Doug Fischer wrote on The Ring blog [excerpts]: “Siberian amateur standout Ruslan Prodnikov...had the look of a future titleholder....”



18 year-old heavyweight prospect Garret “Good Night” Simon, 3-0 with 2 knockouts, of Puyallup, Washington, will be featured in a four-round fight against an opponent to be announced. Simon, who made his pro debut in January, was the gold medalist at the 2008 National Junior Olympic Championships at 201 pounds.



Two Laredo boxers will also appear in separate bouts: Rodolfo Gomez Jr., 6-0 with 5 knockouts, will face an opponent to be announced, and Rene Javier Luna, who is managed by Hall of Famer Orlando Canizalez, will make his pro debut.