Crespo, Williams Hope to Kick Off 2015 in Style in Saturday at Mohegan

CES Boxing kicks off its 2015 Fight Series on Saturday, Jan. 17th, 2015 with a dynamic pro-am card at Mohegan Sun Arena, featuring two professional title bouts and six amateur bouts on the undercard.

After fighting to a draw twice in 2014, Hartford, Conn., super featherweight Joseph "Chip" Perez (10-3-2, 3 KOs) will battle Agustine Mauras (6-0-3, 3 KOs) of Lawrence, Mass., in an eight-round bout for the vacant N.E. title while Josh Crespo (3-1-2, 1 KO) of New Haven, Conn., faces Portland, Maine's Jorge Abiague (7-0-1, 1 KO) in an eight-round bout for the vacant N.E. super bantamweight crown.

Courtesy of Jay-Z's Roc Sports Nation, two former Chinese Olympians and a former Chinese international champion also headline the undercard, including southpaw heavyweight Zhang Zhilei (1-0, 1 KO), a silver medalist in the 2008 Beijing Olympics; light heavyweight southpaw and 2012 Olympian Meng Fanlong; and Wang Zhimin, who won gold in the 2011 World Series of Boxing. 

  Tickets for the event are priced at $40, $65 and $125 (VIP) and can be purchased by calling 401-724-2253/2254, online at www.cesboxing.com or www.ticketmaster.com, or at the Mohegan Sun Box Office. All fights and fighters are subject to change. 

Jan. 17th also features the return of New Haven super middleweight Elvin Ayala (26-6-1, 12 KOs), a former five-time title challenger and WBC U.S. National Boxing Council (USNBC) champion, who faces Philadelphia veteran Taneal Goyco (7-8-1, 3 KOs) in a six-round bout. New Bedford, Mass., lightweight Briam Granado makes his professional debut against Willie Carville (1-0) Khiary Gray-Pitts (3-0, 1 KO) returns to face hard-hitting veteran Emmanuel Medina (3-4-1, 3 KOs) of Tilton, N.H. 

 CES will kick off the countdown to fight night on Tuesday, Jan. 13th, 2015 at The Russian Lady on Temple Street in downtown New Haven with a dual pep rally and press conference beginning at 7 p.m. Listed below are quotes from the participants in Saturday's event:

---

More WBOB Sports

• Pats Rally Past Ravens, On to AFC Title Game
  NBA NoteBook: Fixing Problems
  Two and Out: Jameis Winston Leaving FSU for NFL
  It's Time to Buy into the Rams