Lewiston, Maine (October 14, 2015) – New England Fights (NEF), America's number-one regional fight promotion, will hold its next event, "NEF XX: A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE" on Saturday, November 21, 2015 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, Maine. The event will feature a first for Maine - mixed-martial-arts (MMA) bouts and professional boxing bouts on the same event with an MMA cage and a boxing ring set up side-by-side. Earlier today, the promotion announced the main event of the boxing portion of the fight card. Reigning Northeast Junior Welterweight Champion Brandon "The Cannon" Berry (9-1, 6 KOs) will face Roberto "El Viejo" Valenzuela (73-69-2, 56 KOs) in an eight-round welterweight contest.
Berry won the Northeast Junior Welterweight Title one year ago in Lewiston with a unanimous decision victory over Eric Palmer (6-8-3, 1 KO). The title was the first in the professional career of the standout from West Forks, Maine. Berry would, just a month later, suffer his first loss in a bout in which he severely injured his shoulder early on. Following a successful surgery and months of rehab, Berry returned triumphantly to the ring this past summer with a second-round technical knockout (TKO) win in Skowhegan, Maine.
"I am very anxious as always to step back into the boxing ring on November 21st in Lewiston," stated Berry. "It's exciting to be fighting for my tenth professional victory. I'm honored to have been invited back to the Colisee to headline another Pro Boxing card. I want to thank NEF for making this possible for me, and hope to have another action packed, competitive fight like we had in October 2014. A lot has changed for me in my boxing career, and I look forward to showing all of my fans my improvements made. As far as my opponent, the most experienced one to date, Roberto Valenzuela, it will be a good test for me while giving up size and experience. We tried to make a fight with a couple of different guys from the area but were unable to. My job is to train hard and be ready for whoever they put on the other side of the ring, one round at a time."
Valenzuela is about as much of a veteran as one will find in a boxing ring. Having begun his professional career in early 1992, Valenzuela got off to an amazing 14-0 start, competing around his home state of Sonora, Mexico. Among the opponents Valenzuela has faced in his career are the likes of former world champions Andre Berto (30-4, 23 KOs) and Steve Forbes (35-14, 11 KOs) and current world champion Zahir Raheem (35-3, 21 KOs). Valenzuela fought former lightweight world champion Jose Luis Castillo (66-13-1, 57 KOs) on the undercard of a 1996 Joey Gamache (55-4, 38 KOs) and Julio Cesar Chavez (107-6-2, 86 KOs) bout in Anaheim, California. In addition, Valenzuela held the Mexican Pacific Coast Super Featherweight Title from 2003 to 2007. He has the strongest pedigree of any opponent Berry has faced to date.
"I've fought all over the United States, but never in Maine, so I'm excited to go somewhere I've never been," said Valenzuela through a translator. "I've been doing this since he was a pup. I've been told that he has VHS tapes of some of my fights from some cards he taped on TV when he was a kid (laughing). Thankfully, I've got video of him more recently on Youtube. He's nothing I haven't seen before in a fight or in sparring. I'll be ready."
"When Brandon signed on to the 'NEF XX' fight card, he was very clear that he wanted us to find him an opponent who's been in the ring with the best," recalled NEF co-owner and promoter Nick DiSalvo. "Roberto presents a challenge unlike any other Brandon has faced to date. He has actively competed as a professional for nearly a quarter of a century. He hasn't sat on a shelf either. He just fought this past spring and summer. Brandon Berry will be tested on November 21, make no mistake about it. But Brandon has recently been sparring several times a week all over New England with top-notch partners. He is coming into this bout as a whole new Brandon Berry, determined to make his mark in the boxing world."
New England Fights' next event, "NEF XX: A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE," takes place on November 21, 2015 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, Maine. The event will mark the first time in Maine history a mixed-martial-arts (MMA) event and a professional boxing event have taken place together on the same show. Tickets for "NEF XX" start at just $25 and are on sale now at www.TheColisee.com or by calling the Colisée box office at 207.783.2009 x 525. For more information on the event and fight card updates, please visit the promotion’s website at www.NewEnglandFights.com. In addition, you can watch NEF videos at www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, follow them on Twitter @nefights and join the official Facebook group “New England Fights.”