Baltimore, MD – Cruiserweight up and comer Venroy “Hardwork” July will step up in competition when he faces unbeaten Quantis Graves Saturday, April 12 over eight rounds at the Patapsco Arena in Baltimore.The card is promoted by Hardwork Promotions and tickets are available by going to Hardworkpromotions.com or calling 410-635-4754.
Born in St. Catherine, Jamaica, July has an outstanding professional record of 16-1-2 with 6 wins by knockout. Since his lone setback last February, July’s scored three straight victories, most recently outpointing Sevdail Sherifi in Atlantic City, NJ. Outside of the ring, the 31-year-old Suitland, MD resident is also extremely accomplished.
After getting his undergraduate from the University of North Carolina in 2004, July went onto earn a degree from Duke’s internationally ranked LawSchool. While many fighters moving up the rankings box full-time, July not only promotes himself under the Hardwork Promotions banner, he works 50-plus hours perk week as a corporate lawyer for Hogan Lovells.
Graves, who grew up in the fighting city New Orleans, LA and resides in Beaumont, TX, is 9-0-1 with 4 KO’s. The fellow 31-year-old is a three-time Golden Gloves champion and was an alternate on the 2008 US Olympic Team. Last September, Graves scored his best win to date, topping dangerous and hard hitting Joshua Harris.
“The whole point of this game is to challenge yourself,” July said of his willingness to face an unbeaten opponent. “I didn’t have a huge amateur background so I have to fight my way to the top. I’ve been fighting in every sense of the sport, fighting to get fights and fighting in the ring. That’s the whole reason I started my own promotional company, I just couldn’t get the chances I needed. This just gives me an opportunity to keep fighting.”
In addition to the July-Graves main event, fans will also see 2013 “Beltway Rookie of the Year” runner-up Demond “Dbestatit” Nicholson, heavyweight Dwayne “Big Ticket” McRae, unbeaten middleweight knockout artist Jeremy Trussell, cruiserweight Travis Reeves and Romanian import Alexandru Marin in separate bouts.
