PHONETOOL

HBO’s hit late-night boxing franchise presents a night of hot action from the Jersey Shore, headlined by the comeback bout of one of the sport’s elite, when HBO BOXING AFTER DARK: PAUL WILLIAMS VS. ERISLANDY LARA AND AKIFUMI SHIMODA VS. RICO RAMOS is seen SATURDAY, JULY 9 at 10:15 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT), from the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team of Bob Papa, Max Kellerman and Roy Jones Jr. will be ringside for the event, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

Making his 2011 debut, Augusta, Ga. native Paul Williams (39-2, 27 KOs) meets undefeated challenger Erislandy Lara (15-0-1, 10 KOs) in a 12-round junior middleweight matchup. One of the sport’s elite in recent years, the 29-year-old Williams has displayed a willingness to take on challengers at various weight divisions. Splitting his two stirring bouts with pound-for-pound middleweight ace Sergio Martinez, he won their first encounter in Dec. 2009, but was stunned by a second-round KO in the Nov. 2010 rematch.

Lara, 28, who defected from his hometown of Guantanamo, Cuba and currently resides in Miami, Fla., turned pro in 2008 and has impressed boxing fans everywhere with his ferocious boxing. This 154-pound matchup of the two southpaws should make for an intriguing showdown.
In the opening bout, undefeated California-bred prospect Rico Ramos (19-0, 10 KOs) seeks to take the super bantamweight title from Tokyo native Akifumi Shimoda (23-2-1, 10 KOs). Making his first title defense – and his U.S. debut – the 26-year-old Shimoda will be out to hand the ring-savvy, 24-year old Ramos his first professional loss. This 122-pound bout is scheduled for 12 rounds.