On the undercard of the Wilder-Washington world heavyweight championship, unbeaten middleweight contender Alantez Fox (21-0-1, 10 KOs) will meet Birmingham-native Kenneth McNeil (10-2, 7 KOs) in a 10-round bout for the vacant WBC-USNBC title.
Undefeated heavyweight world champion Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder (37-0, 36 KOs) will defend his title in his home state for the fourth time, as he faces challenger Gerald Washington (18-0-1, 12 KOs) in the main event of Premier Boxing Champions on FOX and FOX Deportes, on Saturday, February 25, from Legacy Arena at the BJCC in Birmingham, Alabama.
Televised coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and will feature the only American heavyweight world champion headlining his third primetime show on network television, after Wilder most recently stopped Chris Arreola following eight rounds of action on FOX in July. The champion suffered hand and biceps injuries during the fight, but returns on February 25 fully healthy.
From Forestville, MD, middleweight Alantez Fox is trained by his father Troy out of Lloyd Irvin MMA/Boxing Gym. Following a 165-35 amateur career, highlighted by his gold-medal performances at the Ringside National and Under-19 tournaments, the 6’5″ Fox turned pro in 2010. The only blemish on his record is a draw to then 7-0 prospect Frank Galarza in September 2012, in a war with the New York State title at stake. He has won 14 bouts since, including victories over 7-2 Julius Kennedy, 5-1 Zain Shah and former top-rated contender Eric Mitchell. In January 2015, Fox made his debut on SHOWTIME’s “SHOBOX: The New Generation” series defeating 9-0 prospect Patrick Day via decision. Securing three victories in 2016, Fox knocked out 17-3 former Colombian champion Ronald Montes on national television, in his last bout on September 30.
Before turning pro in September 2012, Birmingham’s Kenneth McNeil was a four-time Title National champion and a six-time Alabama Golden Gloves champion as an amateur. Showing promise early on, McNeil defeated spoiler Lekan Byfield in his second pro bout. His only losses have come to the very tough Samuel Clarkson via split decision and to Ukrainian Olympian Ievgen Khytrov by decision in a competitive fight for the NABF middleweight title. McNeil bounced back from the Khytrov loss to score a second-round knockout over 6-1 Robert Burwell in his last bout on July 16, underneath Deontay Wilder’s world title defense against Chris Arreola in Birmingham.
“Alantez Fox is a tremendous prospect and, with his size and style, is a danger to any of the top middleweights,” said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. “On February 25, Fox will be going into his opponent’s hometown of Birmingham, where Kenneth McNeil will have a lot of local support in the crowd. This is the biggest opportunity of McNeil’s career, so I know he will be ready for the challenge and I expect a great fight.”
Tickets for the live Wilder-Washington event, which is promoted by DiBella Entertainment and TGB Promotions in association with Bruno Event Team, start at $25 (not including applicable fees) and are on sale now. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and by visiting www.AlabamaTitleFight.com.
Televised coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and features a pair of exciting matchups as rising super welterweight contenders Tony Harrison and Jarrett Hurd meet in a 12-round world title eliminator, plus hard-hitting Dominic Breazeale battles undefeated Izuagbe Ugonoh in heavyweight action.