WBC Silver Heavyweight Champion Bermane Stiverne Tuning Up for Vitali Klitschko

This Saturday, April 14, Don King Productions presents boxing at Casino Miami Jai-Alai. The card features Miami hometown appeal, as Joey Hernandez and Bermane Stiverne will be featured in separate bouts.

Joey Hernandez (20-1-1, 11 KOs), of Cuban descent and the current WBC U.S. Super Welterweight Champion, will be taking on Shakir Ashanti (16-12, 4 KOs) of New Bern, NC in the 10-round main-event matchup. 

The co-main event will feature Haitian-born WBC silver heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne (21-1-1, 20 KOs) against Willie Herring (13-10-3, 4 KOs) from Orlando, FL in a scheduled eight-round bout.

Stiverne, who grew up in Haiti and Miami before moving to Quebec, Canada when he was 12, will be making his first professional boxing appearance in Miami.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Stiverne after Wednesday's press conference, and he stated that he is looking forward to fighting in Miami, where lots of family and friends will be able to see him. He is also excited to get back in the ring after a long layoff. He last fought in June, where he defeated Ray Austin by TKO to win the vacant WBC silver title.

Stiverne has over 90 amateur fights and was a six-time Quebec Golden Gloves champion (1999-2005). He was also a member of the Canadian national boxing team from 2003-2005 and competed in several international boxing tournaments.

He turned pro and signed with Don King in 2005. The 33-year-old stands 6'2", 240, and has an impressive 20 knockouts in 23 fights. Other than beating Ray Austin last year, he has defeated notable heavyweights such as Robert Hawkins (2009) and Kertson Manswell (2011), and has a draw against Charles Davis (2009). The only other blemish on his record is a defeat to Demetrice King in '07.

Stiverne now lives and trains in Las Vegas, NV, and is currently the WBC's No.1-ranked contender at heavyweight. After Saturday's fight with Herring, the plan is for him to have another fight in July, then eventually fight WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko this fall.

(H/t to BoxRec.com and the Don King Productions Casino Miami press kit for helping contribute to the information in this article.)