This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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NABA Title Fight March 31 in Buffalo
It was announced on Thursday that undefeated Buffalo light heavyweight Lionell “Lonnie B” Thompson will go up against 2008 Haitian Olympian Azea “The Haitian Hitman” Augustama in a 10-round main event bout. The March 31 homecoming show dubbed “March Badness” will be a fight for the vacant North American Boxing Association (“NABA”) title and will take place at the Buffalo-Niagara Convention Center in Buffalo.
“This is a thrilling matchup that promises to be a title fight to remember,” co-promoter Juan Santiago said. “Boxing is back in Buffalo with Lionell ‘Lonnie B’ Thompson fighting for his first championship title. I expect that this will be the first of many fights presented in Buffalo with Lionell at the helm. Strap on your seatbelts and come along for the ride. A champion will be crowned in Buffalo and ‘Lonnie B’ will make it look like easy work. Don’t miss it! I’m proud to share in this mutual vision to promote Lionell, as well as other local fighters from Canada and the United States, right here in Buffalo.”
“We’re excited to put on this great show featuring an NABA title fight in Buffalo featuring hometown favorite Lionell Thompson,” co-promoter Adam Harris added. “He is one of the most promising prospects in the 175-pound division. Lionell is a fan-friendly fighter with knockout power in both hands. Augustama will certainly be the toughest test of Lionell’s pro career in what promises to be an electric night of boxing and a very entertaining main event.”
Rated as high as No. 2 in his division as a U.S. amateur boxer, the 26-year-old Thompson (12-0, 8 KOs) was a five-time New York Golden Glove and three-time Empire State champion. “Lonnie B” will be fighting in his third different country in his last three fights having won in Canada and the United Kingdom, both by second round knockout.
Augustama (11-1, 6 KOs), who fights out of Hollywood, Florida, also was a decorated amateur boxer. He won a gold medal at the 2008 US National Golden Gloves Tournament, including a second-round decision victory against J’Leon Love, who today is a 10-0 pro middleweight prospect.
Also scheduled to fight on the Mar. 31 pro-am card, against opponents to be determined, are Canadian lightweight Steven Wilcox, popular Ontario middleweight Brandon “Bad Boy” Cook (4-0, 2 KOs), Derby, New York featherweight Michael “Action” Jackson, and Buffalo heavyweight Excell Holmes (2-0-1, 1 KO), plus four scheduled amateur matches.
The 21-year-old Wilcox, from Hamilton, Ontario, is scheduled to make his pro debut February 11 in Mississauga, Ontario. He is the oldest of five fighting Wilcox brothers and the first to turn pro. All of the boys are trained by their father at his gym in Hamilton, Steeltown Boxing Club.
Cook is a throwback fighter with a growing fan-base in Ajax, Ontario, who is also fighting on the Feb. 11 show in Canada. Brandon’s an aggressive, boxer-puncher who International Boxing Hall of Fame nominee announcer Al Bernstein, calling a Cook fight from ringside, referred to him as a bigger version of all-action lightweight Brandon Rios.
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