Editor's Note: A bit of confusion at Don King's office. Moments after BoxingScene.com posted the below press release, sent moments ago by King's office, we were informed by members of Ryan Coyne's camp that he suffered a bad cut in a sparring session with Yusaf Mack and already withdrew from the contest yesterday.

 

BROOKLYN, N.Y.—A World Boxing Association light heavyweight elimination bout featuring two undefeated fighters, Ryan “The Irish Outlaw” Coyne (21-0, 9 KOs), from St. Louis, and Marcus Oliveira (24-0-1, 19 KOs), from Lawrence, Kan., has been added to the March 9 card in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center headlined by future Hall of Famer Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins (52-6-2, 32 KOs), from Philadelphia, taking on undefeated International Boxing Federation light heavyweight champion Tavoris “Thunder” Cloud (24-0, 19 KOs), from Tallahassee, Fla.

The winner of Coyne vs. Oliveira, scheduled for 10 rounds, will become the No. 1-rated light heavyweight by the WBA and the mandatory challenger to its champion, Beibut Shumenov.

Coyne gained attention while campaigning as a cruiserweight when he was chosen to participate in the fourth season of the popular television series The Contender where he fought into the semi-finals before suffering an accidental headbutt that forced him to leave the competition.  In his final fight at cruiserweight, Coyne captured the World Boxing Council United States Championship after winning a unanimous decision over previously undefeated David McNemar on June 25, 2011.  Coyne has maintained his perfect record by notching three victories since moving down to the 175-pound limit.

Oliveira has shown considerable power by winning 19 of his 25 matches by knockout, achieving an 82% knockout ratio.  Oliveira scored a pair of third-round knockouts in fights against his most notable opponents: former cruiserweight world champion Kelvin “Concrete” Davis in 2008 and Antwun Echols on Jan. 28, 2012.

Tickets, priced at $200, $100, $80, $50 and $25, plus applicable taxes and service charges, are available for purchase at www.barclayscenter.com , www.ticketmaster.com , the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center, all Ticketmaster locations, or by calling 800-745-3000.