March 3, 2011 – The IXFA just sent word of a HUGE change for the April 23rd IXFA show set for Nutty Jerry’s in Winnie, Texas as the originally-set co-main event welterweight title fight between current champion Antonio Flores and challenger Rashon Lewis is now OFF due the The Texas Boxing Commission stating they will not sanction the five-round affair due to “Sho Nuff” Lewis’ limited MMA record.
“This is a very unfortunate situation for Rashon, he may have not have the amount of fights, but we certainly feel he has the skill level to compete in this caliber of a fight, and so do the fight fans,” said IXFA promoter Chris Reed.
The IXFA has replaced Rashon in the title fight with none-other than his Paradigm teammate Mike Bronzoulis. “Our first reaction was to at least keep the opportunity with the same gym and to keep Rashon on the card,” said Reed.
As I wrote in an earlier article, both these guys have tiger blood so this matchup is interesting to say the least! This battle of the hard-hitting champion Antonio “King Kong” Flores versus Mike Bronzoulis now joins a card already co-headlight by an IXFA Flyweight tilt between Jimmy Flick and Humberto De Leon of Houston’s Bushi Ban Martial Arts.
Rashon Lewis also remains on the card and will do battle with Blake McDaniels from Denton BJJ.
With this news, area fans can turn a negative into a positive as this latest welterweight title development makes for a fight that is even BIGGER than the last as this Flores vs. Bronzoulis bout marks the first time any promotion has pitted a current IXFA champion versus a current Legacy champion from the same weight class.
This will also continue a busy month for Mike “The Greek” Bronzoulis as it was earlier announced on TCD that he has a new opponent for Shark Fights with Lucas Lopes of Florida taking over for the injured Todd Moore on the March 11th card, set to air from Lubbock on HDNet.
What do you guys think of this news?
