New York, May - Promoter Dino Duva hopes to have another Nigerian superstar and future world champion on his hands. The promoter of WBC heavyweight champion Samuel Peter has signed Ola Afolabi, the NABO Cruiserweight Champion who also hails from Nigeria, to a promotional contract.

Afolabi will make his Duva Boxing debut on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights on June 13, when he steps into the ring for a 10 round affair against Francisco Palacios (14-0, 7 KO's) of Puerto Rico. Palacios is a former world amateur champion and is promoted by Don King Productions.

Afolabi gives Duva a potent knockout duo in his stable of fighters. Duva is tapping into the extraordinary Nigerian talent pool. "I love Nigeria! Ola is one of the best natural talents I've seen in many years. He has incredible natural moves and instincts."

Afolabi was born in Nigeria, but his parents moved to London, where the heavy-puncher was raised. He now lives in Los Angeles. The 28-year-old cruiserweight has a 12-1-3 ring record with 5 victories coming by way of knockout.

In his last fight two weeks ago, he destroyed one of the most talked-about prospects in the world, Eric Fields, to win the NABO Cruiserweight title. Despite taking the bout with only a month's notice, and fighting for the first time in over two years, Afolabi scored a convincing triumph.

"The most amazing thing about him is that for a man of his obvious tremendous skills, he never had an amateur fight!" related Duva. "I've never seen a fighter with these kinds of skills who had no amateur background. This is the most excited I've been about signing up a fighter since my last Nigerian signup, Sam Peter, and that was seven years ago."

Afolabi's first bout under the Duva banner will be on June 13 on ESPN2 when he faces Francisco Palacios. "Fight fans don't want to miss this one, because they will be seeing the first televised appearance of a true superstar in the making," said Duva. "Ola and Francisco are two of the top prospects in the Cruiserweight division and we will be treated to a tremendous fight when they square off. These two, great rising stars should be commended for being willing to fight each other and on June 13 on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights the fans will be the beneficiaries."

Ola Afolabi: "I'm very excited about joining Duva Boxing. I see what they have done with fellow Nigerian Samuel Peter, and would love to see those same things happen for me. I'm relieved that all I have to do now is focus on boxing."

Manager Victor Martinez: "I've known from the beginning that all Ola needed was an opportunity and he has that now with Duva Boxing. A prepared Ola Afolabi can beat any of the top cruiserweights."

The remaining details for the June 13 event will be announced shortly.