LAS VEGAS (Jan. 18, 2012) – Tickets for Lion Fight Promotions: Battle In The Desert 5, Live from The Joint, WBC full rules Muay Thai fight card at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Sat., Feb. 25 will go on sale, beginning at 12 p.m. PT, on Fri., Jan. 20.
Priced from $25, tickets will be available for purchase at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino box office, at all Ticketmaster outlets (800-745-3000) and online at Ticketmaster.com.
In the main event, 27-year-old WBC Interim World Light Heavyweight (175 pounds) Champion Joe Schilling (12-1 (10 KO’s) of Los Angeles, Calif. will take on undefeated top contender Simon Marcus (22-0 (17 KO’s) of Toronto, Ontario Canada.
Streaking Las Vegas star and WBC International Middleweight Champion Chaz Mulkey (7-4, 3 KO’s), fresh off his fifth consecutive win at Lion Fight Promotions’ last event on Nov. 19, will face his toughest test to date in two-time world champion and WBC No. 5 ranked super middleweight (168 pounds) contender Gregory Choplin (50-9, 22 KO’s) of Miami, Fla. by way of Paris, France in the middleweight (160 pounds) co-main event.
Mulkey was victorious over British champion Simon Chu via unanimous decision in the main event of Battle In The Desert 4, Lion from The Joint, while Choplin, dropping down a weight class, is looking to return to the win column after two consecutive losses in Nov. and Dec 2011 in his native France.
Following his hard-fought, majority decision victory over Rami Ibrahim on Nov. 19, WBC national champion Phanuwat “Coke” Chunhawat (146-24-1, 24 KO’s) of Oakland, Calif. via Thailand will return to the squared circle an attempt to avenge a June 2011 defeat when he battles 21-year-old young gun Matt Embree (19-3, 9 KO’s) of Toronto, Ontario, Canada with the vacant WBC international lightweight (135 pounds) championship at stake.
The matchup between Chunhawat and Embree will serve as a rubber match. In Sept. 2010, Chunhawat edged out a split decision over Embree, who returned the favor by winning in the same fashion in the second meeting.
In other professional Muay Thai action, Vivian Leung (2-0, 1 KO) of Las Vegas via Saskatoon, Canada will face Tiffany Van Soest (1-0) of San Diego, Calif. in a super bantamweight (122 pounds) bout. Power striker Scotty Leffler (4-2, 3 KO’s) of Las Vegas will meet Sheldon Gaines (2-4, 1 KO) of Los Angeles, Calif. in a 142 pound catch weight fight and 21-year-old top prospect Anthony Castrejon (2-0, 1 KO) of Las Vegas will make the third start of his promising young career in a super bantamweight (122 pounds) fight with 28-year-old Francisco Barragan of Dallas, TX.
Lion Fight Promotions will announce the addition of a seventh professional bout to the card soon.