FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 13th, 2015

PREMIER BOXING CHAMPIONS LIVE FROM MONTREAL IN PRIMETIME THIS SAT., AUG 15, AT 9 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

Canadian Star Lucian Bute Faces Italy’s Andrea Di Luisa

Coverage Begins With a Bout Between Undefeated Light Heavyweights Eleider Alvarez & Isidro Ranoni Prieto

Coverage Streamed Live on NBC Sports Live Extra

STAMFORD, Conn. – August 13, 2015 – Premier Boxing Champions returns in primetime this Saturday, August 15 at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN, at Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, featuring a super middleweight bout between former world titleholder Lucian Bute (31-2, 24 KOs) and Italy’s Andrea Di Luisa (17-2, 13 KOs).

Coverage begins with a bout between undefeated light heavyweights 2008 Colombian Olympian Eleider Alvarez (17-0, 10 KOs) and Paraguayan knockout artist Isidro Ranoni Prieto (24-0-3, 20 KOs).

Kenny Albert handles blow-by-blow for the telecast, joined by analysts “Sugar” Ray Leonard and BJ Flores, with Kenny Rice reporting from ring-side.

A LOOK AT THE MATCHUPS

After an accomplished amateur career representing his native Romania, Lucian Bute moved to Montreal, Canada and began his pro career in 2003 with 30 straight victories. Among those victories, the 35-year-old won a super middleweight world title over Alejandro Berrio. Bute will be returning to the ring to face Andrea Di Luisa for the first time since Jan. 2014.

A professional since 2008, Di Luisa will be making his North American debut this Saturday. The 33-year-old racked up 12 wins to start his career including victories over previously unbeaten fighters Alessio Rondelli and Giuseppe Brischetto. Fighting out of Lazio, he enters this fight on a four-fight win streak, including his last two by knockout.

A 2008 Colombian Olympian fighting out of Montreal, Eleider Alvarez defeated Anatoliy Dudchenko by second round knockout on June 12. That fight marked the pro debut in America for the 31-year-old, after recording 15 victories in Canada and one in Monaco. The owner of victories over and Edison Miranda, Alexander Johnson and Ryno Liebenber, he looks to keep his perfect record intact against Isidro Ranoni Prieto on Saturday.

Born in Paraguay but making his home in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Prieto has never lost as a pro, and has won his last twelve fights. The 29-year-old will be making his North American debut and fighting as a pro outside of South America for the first time on Saturday. Prieto has recorded three straight knockouts entering the fight.

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NBC Sports Group will present more than 50 hours of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) coverage in 2015, including cards on NBC and NBCSN, and NBCSN pre- and post-fight programming for NBC telecasts. The Premier Boxing Champions series is created for television by Haymon Boxing.  The PBC on NBC will feature many of today’s brightest stars, in their most compelling matches.

NBC Sports Live Extra — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs — will stream coverage on NBC and NBCSN via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store and Apple TV. For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra.

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–