Sonny Fredrickson ready for ShoBox debut on Fri.

[philly]

New York, New York (January 10, 2018) -- Victory Sports & Entertainment's highly-touted Junior Welterweight fighter Sonny "Pretty Boy" Fredrickson (18-0,12 KOs) is slated to make his SHOWTIME debut on Friday, January 12 when he faces off against Shohjahon Ergashev in the telecast opener of ShoBox: The New Generation on Friday, Jan. 12 live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT) from Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, N.Y.

Fredrickson will square off against the Uzbekistani Ergashev (11-0, 11 KOs) in a telecast headlined by two-time Olympian Gold Medalist Claressa Shields (4-0, 2 KO's) as she defends her WBC and IBF Middleweight World Titles against Tori Nelson (17-0-3, 2 KO's).

Fredrickson, the WBA's No. 8 ranked fighter at 140 pounds, will take on power-puncher Ergashev in the former's first fight since claiming the WBA Fedebol Super Lightweight title on Nov. 1, 2017 in Medellin, Colombia. The highly anticipated fight is part of a tripleheader event promoted by Salita Promotions. And while Ergashev is with Salita Promotions, there is no doubt who the "A-Side" of this fight is as the fast rising Fredrickson looks to solidify his position as one of the top contenders at Junior Welterweight and make himself a television regular.

"I am excited to make my ShoBox debut, and look forward to putting on a good show for the fans at Turning Stone and everyone watching on TV, especially all my family and fans back in Toledo, Ohio" Fredrickson said. "I know Ergashev is tough and he will be coming to fight, but I've trained very hard. I had a great camp and I am looking to make a statement. I'm very appreciative of SHOWTIME for this platform." I had a number of television opportunities fall through because fighters pulled out so I'm happy my time has finally come. Hopefully, Ergashev doesn't get hurt before Friday, but once the fight starts I can't promise anything."

Rick Torres, President of Victory Sports, feels that this fight will give Fredrickson exposure to a wider audience that may not be familiar with him.

"We feel Sonny is one of the best kept secrets in all of boxing and we're excited that the rest of the world will get to see what we already know - that Sonny Fredrickson is the future of the 140-pound division," Torres said. "Sonny has not gotten the TV exposure of other fighters, but we know that, given the chance, he will not disappoint. We are very grateful to SHOWTIME and Gordon Hall for making this happen and for the support of Sonny's promoter Roc Nation Sports."

Mike Leanardi, COO of Victory Sports, sees an opportunity for Fredrickson to follow in the footsteps of another Victory Sports fighter that started on ShoBox.

"ShoBox is the premier platform today for showcasing and developing young fighters,"Leanardi said. "We've seen the impact ShoBox can have firsthand with [former Super Middleweight and Former Light Heavyweight World Champion] Badou Jack. We're confident that Sonny can achieve great success as well."


About Victory Sports & Entertainment

Founded by noted sports attorney Rick Torres and boxing trainer Mike Leanardi, Victory Sports & Entertainment is an athlete management company with offices in New York and Las Vegas.

[jewboypgh]

This kid Sonny can box. Like him and that team of his from Ohio. Seem like a respectable lot. Not like them Broners combing hair and what not. That's gotta go

[jamamb]

why does this guy claim to be 6'2' when hes like the same height as his 5'10 listed opponents. does he feel more confident in himself thinking hes taller than he is? i would have to seriosuly lol at anyone who exagerates there height by that much,

[jamamb]

well sonny got beaten around and stopped like a little kid just 3 rounds in. that uzbek dude looked good here. i wonder how easy sonny finds it to make 140.

[Perseus]

Very disappointed with this result.
I was hoping for a future Easter vs Fredrickson showdown at the Huntington Center here in Toledo but this result probably takes Fredrickson off the radar for a while.

[gilgamesh]

Very disappointed with this result.
I was hoping for a future Easter vs Fredrickson showdown at the Huntington Center here in Toledo but this result probably takes Fredrickson off the radar for a while.

Yeah it was a pretty lopsided loss. Not impossible to come back from a loss like that, but it'll be slow going definitely. The Uzbeki kid that beat him definitely proved more with this win than in all of his previous Pro wins combined though I'd say.

[Perseus]

Very disappointed with this result.
I was hoping for a future Easter vs Fredrickson showdown at the Huntington Center here in Toledo but this result probably takes Fredrickson off the radar for a while.

Yeah it was a pretty lopsided loss. Not impossible to come back from a loss like that, but it'll be slow going definitely. The Uzbeki kid that beat him definitely proved more with this win than in all of his previous Pro wins combined though I'd say.

He did and it will be interesting to see how far he goes in the future.

[candyslim]

I didn't think either of them looked particularly impressive but it should be interesting watching their progress / rehabilitation respectively.

[jamamb]

really? i thought ergashev looked hot stuff. what would impress you

and ya, pretty obvious sonny didnt impress with that son being beaten up by father showing

[candyslim]

Maybe I'd have been more impressed if I'd known a bit more about Frederickson but he just looked like a skinny kid against a man. Ergashov looked enthusiastic but lacking in finesse, clumsy even, and I found the showboating distasteful.

[jamamb]

he was off balance just a few times. no big deal imo. his sense of distance and quick feet to close the gap were very good. i loved the showboating. its a fun way to further mentally break an opponent

ergashevs just 2.5 yrs older

[candyslim]

Frederickson was getting a drubbing anyway No need to humiliate the kid Maybe I'm being inconsistent here but I loved Billy Joe's turning toward the crowd with his hand up as if to shield his eyes from the sun, so he could see better where LeMieux's wild right hand ended up.

Why was that a really funny moment and not an unnecessary humiliation of an already well outclassed opponent? I'm not sure I can answer that. Maybe it's because LeMieux is a seasoned campaigner, well established as a contender and world level tough guy, as opposed to a seemingly overmatched pretty-boy just starting out. Or maybe I just found it a whole lot wittier than the seen-it-a-million-times-before Matador with cape routine.

[jamamb]

floyd did the eyes follow the punch thing a lot. seen it just as much as the matador. yep, bit of double standards for the 1 to be distasteful and criticsm worthy but the other all good and fun. i liked both. ergashevs matador was more effective than most matadors ive seen. bjs was comic fun and showed the different levels

[candyslim]

Fair enough I guess.

[Cent0089]

I like these fights .... undefeated prospects fight each other.

[candyslim]

I doubt you'll hear much dissent about that thought Cent0089

[jewboypgh]

He really got beat bad. Sorry to see that.