SIX QUESTIONS WITH SHARIF ‘THE LION’ BOGERE

Posted on | October 4, 2011 | No Comments

Undefeated Ugandan Fighter Looking Forward to Some Hometown Fun

Against Fellow Unbeaten Francisco Contreras This Friday Night
On ShoBox: The New Generation

Jermell Charlo Takes On Francisco Santana In Co-Feature
Friday, Oct. 7, LIVE on SHOWTIME^® at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast)

NEW YORK (Oct. 4, 2011) – Already a star in his native land of Uganda, current NABO lightweight champion
Sharif “The Lion” Bogere is ready to make a name for himself in his adopted hometown of Las Vegas.

The 22-year-old Bogere (20-0, 12 KOs), who beat Ray Beltran on ShoBox last May 13, takes on young prospect Francisco Contreras(16-0, 13 KOs) of the Dominican Republic in defense of his belt in a 10-round affair at the Dallas Events Center at Texas Station Casino in Las Vegas on ShoBox: The New Generation, Friday, Oct. 7, LIVE on SHOWTIME (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).

“This is my hometown fight,” Bogere said. “I don’t have to travel and I get to sleep in my own bed. My friends and family with be there watching. I’m going to welcome (Contreras) to Las Vegas and then I’m going to send him packing with a knockout.”

Question: You were on your country’s national boxing team. What is the biggest difference between the amateur and professional games?

BOGERE: “I think in the pros it’s mostly about concentration and you can’t take anyone lightly in the pros like in the amateurs. Every one is going after the same goal in the pros. It’s all about getting that world title belt.”

Question: Why did you decide to leave your home country to live and train in the United States three years ago?

BOGERE: “I knew I had to make the move in order to reach my ultimate goal. I wasn’t getting the proper training in Uganda that I needed to become a world champion. Here in Vegas there are so many pro fighters. I don’t have to go far to get the work in that I need to be the best.”

Question: What was it like growing up in Uganda?

BOGERE: “I really grew up in a tough part of the country. Boxing was my way out. It literally saved my life. There were kidnappings on the streets when I was a kid, but they stayed away from me because they saw potential in me.”

Question: How did you learn to box?

BOGERE: “I was really self-taught and now that I’m working with a world-class trainer like Kenny (Adams), I see things differently in the ring. It has been a little difficult just listening to my trainers and trying to do what they tell me, but I know I have to listen and do what they say. It’s the only way I’m going to keep getting better and keep my perfect record.”

Question: What will the SHOWTIME boxing fans see from you come Friday night?

BOGERE: “I think they’ll be most impressed with my power and my speed. I can hurt you in so many ways. And then there’s the ring entrance.”

Question: You came in the ring in a cage last time you fought. What is your plan this time out?

BOGERE: “I’ve put a lot of thought into the ring entrance. I will be carried into the ring in a cage by actual African tribesman. I know that boxing is about entertaining and that people who pay to watch boxing want to be entertained. They want to have fun. I’ll have the lion’s head and skin brought in again. It’s all part of the show.”

Curt Menefee will call the ShoBox action from ringside with Steve Farhood and Antonio Tarver serving as the expert analysts. Gordon Hall is the executive producer of ShoBox with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.

Bogere vs. Contreras, a 10-round bout for the NABO lightweight championship and Charlo vs. Santana, an eight round junior middleweight bout, are presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate and AT&T. The doubleheader will be televised LIVE on ShoBox: The New Generation at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) on SHOWTIME.

Tickets, priced at $25 and $50, are on sale now and available for purchase at all Station Casinos and Fiesta Rewards Centers or through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

For information on SHOWTIME Sports Programming, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, please go the new SHOWTIME Sports website at http://sports.sho.com. For more information on Golden Boy Promotions and Texas Station Casino, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com orhttp://texasstation.com, follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/texasstation or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing or www.facebook.com/texasstation.

About ShoBox: The New Generation
Since its inception in July 2001, the critically acclaimed SHOWTIME boxing series, ShoBox: The New Generation has featured young talent matched tough. The ShoBox philosophy is to televise exciting, crowd-pleasing and competitive matches while providing a proving ground for willing prospects determined to fight for a world title. The growing list of fighters who have appeared on ShoBox and advanced to garner world titles includes: Leonard Dorin, Scott Harrison, Juan Diaz, Jeff Lacy, Ricky Hatton, Joan Guzman, Juan Urango, David Diaz, Robert Guerrero, Kelly Pavlik, Paul Malignaggi, Kendall Holt, Timothy Bradley, Bernard Dunne, Yonnhy Perez, Yuri Foreman, Andre Ward and Cornelius Bundrage.

About Showtime Networks Inc.
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD™, SHOWTIME 2 HD™, THE MOVIE CHANNEL HD™, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMAND™ and FLIX ON DEMAND®. SNI also manages Smithsonian Channel™, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

About Golden Boy Promotions
Los Angeles-based Golden Boy Promotions was established in 2002 by Oscar de la Hoya, the first Hispanic to own a national boxing promotional company. In 2007, in its fifth year of promoting, Golden Boy Promotions set a record by selling over 2.5 million in pay-per-view homes in a single night. Also in 2007, Golden Boy Promotions established the record for highest grossing pay-per-view homes in a single year with more than 4 million total. In 2009, the company broke records again by breaking the million mark in pay-per-view homes again with the return of Floyd Mayweather. Golden Boy Promotions is one of boxing’s most active and respected promoters, presenting shows in packed venues around the United States and the world on networks such as HBO, HBO Latino, HBO Plus, SHOWTIME, TeleFutura, Televisa, ESPN2 and Fox Sports Net. Golden Boy Promotions currently has over 70 fighters under contract, from future Hall of Famers Bernard Hopkins and Erik Morales to current world champions and superstars Devon Alexander, Saul Alvarez, Robert Guerrero, David Haye, Chris John, Amir Khan, Marcos Maidana, Abner Mares, Anselmo Moreno, Victor Ortiz and Humberto Soto. Also included on the company’s roster are top contenders Librado Andrade, Alfredo Angulo, Adrien Broner, Danny Garcia, Erislandy Lara, Daniel Ponce De Leon, Seth Mitchell and Peter Quillin as well as highly regarded prospects Randy Caballero, Eddie Gomez, Frankie Gomez, Antonio Orozco, Carlos Velasquez and Deontay Wilder.