Longtime Commentator Tessitore Fondly Looks Back at FNF in Special Video Essay

After 17 years, ESPN Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra will celebrate its final show on Friday, May 22, with the highly anticipated finals of Boxcino 2015. The single-elimination, two-weight class tournament featuring eight fighters in both the heavyweight and junior middleweight divisions began in February. The show from the Omega Products Center in Corona, Calif., will air live at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2. ESPN Deportes will also televise Friday’s fights on Noche de Combates presentado por Corona Extra. In addition, both shows will be available via WatchESPN. Friday’s card is presented by Banner Promotions.

ESPN will continue its long history of carrying world-class boxing events, beginning Saturday, July 11, at 9 p.m. on ESPN, with the Premier Boxing Champions on ESPN (PBC on ESPN) series. ESPN Deportes will also televise all PBC on ESPN fights as part of its Noche de Combates series.

Commentators:
This Friday, Joe Tessitore will be ringside with analyst Teddy Atlas describing the action for ESPN2, while studio host Todd Grisham will be on-site providing the latest boxing news and information. Pablo Viruega and Delvin Rodríguez will call the fights for Noche de Combates on ESPN Deportes, while Leopoldo González and Claudia Trejos will co-anchor the studio. Bilingual reporter Bernardo Osuna will provide live interviews and reports for both shows. Friday’s ESPN2 telecast will include a special video essay written and voiced by Tessitore in which he will put into perspective what Friday Night Fights has meant to the fan, and he summarizes what the brand has meant to the boxing community over the last 17 years.

Boxcino 2015 Heavyweight Final, 10 rounds:
Donovan Dennis (14-2, 11 KOs) vs. Andrey Fedosov (27-3, 22 KOs)

In the tournament’s opening round, California’s Fedosov scored a first-round TKO win over Nate Heaven before knocking out Lenroy Thomas (third-round) in the semifinals. Iowa’s Dennis, who opened the tournament with a fourth-round TKO win over previously undefeated southpaw Steve Vukosa, is looking to continue his winning ways following a one-punch knockout win (second-round) over Razvan Cojanu in the semifinals.

Boxcino 2015 Junior Middleweight Final, 10 rounds:
Brandon “The Cannon” Adams (17-1, 12 KOs) vs. John “Apollo Kid” Thompson (16-1, 5 KOs)

Los Angeles’ Adams, a finalist in last year’s Boxcino 2014 middleweight tournament, is coming off a seventh-round TKO win over Vito Gasparyan in this year’s semifinal round. Prior to that, he scored a fifth-round TKO victory over Alex Perez in the quarterfinals. Thompson, fighting out of New Jersey, opened the tournament with a six-round unanimous decision win over southpaw Ricardo Pinell and is looking for another victory following an eight-round split-decision win over Stanislav Skorokhod in the semifinals.

ESPN Boxing Social Media and Digital Content:

• Follow ESPN Friday Night Fights’ Nigel Collins on Twitter @ESPNFNF or like ESPN Friday Night Fights on Facebook.
• Score the fights round-by-round with the “Live Friday Night Fights Facebook Voting App,” an application on the ESPN FNF Facebook page that allows viewers to score the fight round-by-round.
• Follow ESPN Deportes’ Noche de Combates on Twitter @ESPNBoxeo.
• For the latest ESPN.com boxing news and analysis follow @ESPNBoxing.
• For ESPN boxing digital content, visit the newly re-designed boxing section on ESPN.com (http://espn.go.com/boxing/).

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