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Ex-World Champ ‘Bones’ Adams, ‘Kid Diamond’ top Boxing Card at The Pearl

Former world champion Clarence “Bones” Adams and title contender Almazbek “Kid Diamond” Raiymkulov headline a “Sterling Night of Fights” presented by Sterling Promotions of Las Vegas Friday, June 12, 2009 at The Pearl inside the Palms Casino Resort.

Adams, from Vero Beach, Fla., meets Anthony Napunyi of Kenya in a 10-round super featherweight co-main event and Raiymkulov of Las Vegas faces Joshua Allotey of Washington, D.C. in the other co-main, a 10-round lightweight bout.

Also on the six-bout card will be three Las Vegans: heavyweight Charles Shufford, undefeated super lightweight Sharif Bogere and super lightweight Renell Griffin.

Sterling Promotions is headed by Sterling McPherson, who, during his boxing career, was a world-ranked lightweight and super lightweight.

The 34-year-old Adams has a record of 43-6-4 with 19 knockouts and won the World Boxing Association super bantamweight champion during 2000. His last loss was during 2002, and with this win he well could crack the world rankings once again.

Napunyi, who is fighting outside of Kenya for the first time, has a record of 14-4 with seven knockouts and has seven straight wins.

The 32-year-old Raiymkulov, originally from Kyrgystan, has a record of 27-2-1 with 15 knockouts. His draw was against former WBA super featherweight and World Boxing Council lightweight champion Joel Casamayor. “Kid Diamond” also could break into the world rankings again with a win. His most recent bout, Feb. 2 in Anaheim, Calif., against Antonio DeMarco for the World Boxing Organization’s North American Boxing Organization lightweight championship, ended in a ninth-round technical decision loss.

While Raiymkulov is one of the most exciting fighters in the sport, Allotey is one of the most aggressive and one of the hardest hitting lightweights. The 29-year-old Allotey, originally from Ghana, has a record of 16-7 with 14 knockouts.

The 35-year-old Shufford has a record of 20-8-1 with nine knockouts and is fighting in Las Vegas for only the second time in more than five years. He has been in with two current or former world champions, reigning International Boxing Federation and WBO champ Wladimir Klitschko and ex-WBO king Lamon Brewster.

The 20-year-old Bogere, originally from Uganda, has a record of 6-0 with three knockouts and his quickness and technique make him one of the most highly regarded young lightweights/super lightweights in the world.

The 26-year-old Griffin has record of 3-1 with one knockout.

The sixth bout on this “Sterling Night of Fights” June 12 will be announced. The card will be televised domestically and internationally on a tape delay basis.