Two

HBO Championship Boxing PPV

Joel Casamayor vs. Juan Manuel Marquez

September 13, 2008

MGM Grand

Las Vegas, Nevada

9PM ET \ 6 PM PT

Featured Bout:

Lightweight Title Bout (12 Rds)

Joel Casamayor (36-3-1, 22 KOs) vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (48-4-1, 35 KOs)

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Joel Casamayor Defends World Lightweight Championship Against

Former Two-Division World Champion Juan Manuel Marquez

Saturday, September 13 At MGM Grand Live On HBO Pay-Per-View

Tickets Now On Sale

LAS VEGAS – Mexico celebrated its independence from Spain on the historic date of September 16, 1810

and over the years this day has grown to become a special day of celebration, especially in the world of

sports and entertainment. This year, the boxing world will celebrate Mexico’s Independence Day when

reigning Ring Magazine World Lightweight Champion Joel “El Cepillo” Casamayor meets former two-division

world champion Juan Manuel Marquez Saturday, Sept. 13 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in a 12-round

championship bout.

In professional boxing, this day or the celebrated weekend has always been home to the largest boxing

events. Some of the most memorable Mexican Independence Day fights include Sept. 18, 1998 when

“Golden Boy” Oscar de la Hoya faced the Mexican icon, Julio Caesar Chavez, Sept. 18, 1999 when the

“Golden Boy” faced Puerto Rico’s Felix “Tito” Trinidad, and Sept. 14, 2002 when De La Hoya faced Fernando

“Ferocious” Vargas.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $125 and $75 are now on sale and may be purchased at any MGM Grand box

office outlet and all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, and Macy’s

West at the Fashion Show Mall). Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a

major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available for purchase at

www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

Casamayor vs. Marquez, for Casamayor’s Ring Magazine World Lightweight Championship, will headline a

night of world-class professional boxing presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Romanza

Boxing and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate and Cazadores Tequila. The world title bout will be produced and

distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9 p.m. EST/6 p.m. PST.

“I’m very excited for this great fight and I’m happy that Golden Boy gave me this opportunity,” said

Casamayor. “It is going to be a war between two legends but one of us will be finished after this and I know

I’m going to retire Juan Manuel Marquez on September 13.”

Marquez commented, “This is the most important fight of my life because I’m putting my career on the line to

go up in weight to fight Joel. He is the best at 135 and a very dangerous fighter. It’s a huge fight for me and

I’m very excited to fight in front of all of my loyal fans in Las Vegas on Mexican Independence Day weekend.”

De La Hoya, president of Golden Boy Promotions, said, “This match-up continues the great tradition in

boxing to hold a championship bout on Mexican Independence Day weekend. When Joel Casamayor, a

legendary Cuban fighter and an Olympic Gold Medalist, meets a very dangerous two-division future hall of

famer in Juan Manuel Marquez, the fans will get their money’s worth of skill, heart and action. This fight is an

exciting way to kick off the Fall boxing season and there is no doubt that this will be one of the best fights of

2008 as both fighters are looking to win after coming off dramatic battles.”

The greatest Cuban fighter of the last 30 years, 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist and current Ring Magazine

Lightweight World Champion Casamayor (36-3-1, 22 KOs) has unquestionably stamped himself as a future

Hall of Famer with world titles in two weight classes, along with a resume that many experts believe should

contain no losses. Owner of wins over Nate Campbell, Diego Corrales (twice) and Roberto Garcia,

Casamayor’s only defeats have come via highly disputed decisions against Acelino Freitas, Corrales and

Jose Luis Castillo, fights most believe “El Cepillo” deserved to win. In his last fight in March though,

Casamayor refused to leave things in the hands of the judges and knocked out the previously unbeaten

Australian warrior Michael Katsidis in the 10th round.

A wizard of the ring who mixes technical prowess with a warrior’s heart and a willingness to go to war,

Marquez (48-4-1, 35 KOs) already has secured his legacy as one of the greatest Mexican fighters of all-time.

However, he is not satisfied – thus his pursuit of a world title in a third weight class. A former Featherweight

and Super Featherweight World Champion, Marquez has fought the best of this era including Manny

Pacquiao (twice), Marco Antonio Barrera, Rocky Juarez and Manuel Medina. With his only loss in the last

two years being a controversial split decision at the hands of Pacquiao in their classic rematch in March, it

is clear that like a fine wine, the 34-year-old Marquez is getting better with age.

Richard Sturm, president of Sports and Entertainment for MGM MIRAGE, said, “The fans in the Grand

Garden Arena will be treated to a sensational event. We look forward to celebrating Mexican Independence

Day weekend with Golden Boy Promotions and HBO Pay-Per-View.”

HBO PPV’s Mark Taffet stated, “Casamayor vs. Marquez is a marquee match-up in a division that continues

to turn out one great fight after another. It’s the kind of ‘best vs. best’ battle that boxing fans love.”

The Casamayor vs. Marquez pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. EST/6 p.m. PST, will be produced

and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to 71 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast

will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier

of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For Casamayor vs. Marquez fight week updates, log on to

www.hbo.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com.

For room packages and availability and event ticket information about the MGM Grand, call (800) 929-1111

or (702) 891-7777 or log onto the World Wide Web at www.mgmgrand.com.

The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special

events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines and state-of-

the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. Prominent events to date have included world championship fights

between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather and George

Foreman vs. Michael Moorer; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen,

Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, Gloria Estefan, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins, Billy Joel, Backstreet Boys, ‘N

Sync, Sting, Jimmy Buffett and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert. The MGM Grand Garden Arena

also is home to the annual Academy of Country Music Awards (ACMA) and U.S. Open of Motocross.

- Press Release issued by the MGM Grand with a little editing from us (color, etc...)

Subject to change

(7/28/08)