Granados, Barrionuevo sign promotional deals

Adrian Granados weighs in for his 2015 bout against Amir Imam in Canada. Amanda Westcott/Showtime

Dan Rafael
ESPN Senior Writer

Promoters Tom Brown of TGB Promotions and Sampson Lewkowicz of Sampson Boxing added experienced fighters with world title possibilities to their rosters on Monday. Brown announced the signing of junior welterweight contender Adrian Granados, and Lewkowicz signed welterweight Cesar Miguel Barrionuevo.

“We’re very excited to begin working with Adrian,” Brown said. “He’s one of the premier talents in the junior welterweight division and one of the true Mexican warriors in boxing. He has a very bright future, and we look forward to giving him fights with some of biggest names and on some of the biggest platforms possible.

“Having worked with numerous legendary Mexican fighters in my career, including Gabriel and Rafael Ruelas, Adrian is exactly the type of warrior that boxing fans love.”

Granados (18-4-2, 12 KOs), 27, of Chicago, is indeed a crowd-pleaser, but he has been inactive. Since back-to-back 10-round decision losses to contenders Felix Diaz (by majority decision in November 2014) and Brad Solomon (by split decision in May 2015), Granados has won five fights in a row, including the biggest win of his career. That was an upset eighth-round knockout loss to Amir Imam in a Showtime-televised bout in November 2015. Imam, a mandatory challenger for a world title, took on Granados in a supposed tune-up fight and got crushed.

However, Granados, whose four defeats have all been by split or majority decision, has only fought once since, an eight-round decision win against a 12-15-2 opponent on a small card. He has been unable to capitalize on his victory against Imam.

“I’m very excited to start this new chapter of my career,” Granados said. “Tom Brown has built numerous world champions, and I have faith that he will provide the right opportunities to me towards fulfilling my dream of becoming a world champion. I’ve been training diligently in Chicago all year long, and I’m ready to get back in the ring.”
Barrionuevo (30-3-2, 20 KOs), a 27-year-old southpaw from Argentina, opened some eyes in January, when he scored a crushing fifth-round knockout of Panama’s Azael Cosio.

“I am happy to be joining Sampson Lewkowicz and his company,” said Barrionuevo, who has fought all but one of his bouts in Argentina. “I am ready to fight anyone in the world at 147 pounds, and with him, I can get the fights I want. I have always said I just need the opportunities and I will do the rest.”

Lewkowicz was the driving force behind bringing Sergio Martinez from Argentina to the United States, where he became middleweight champion and one of the best fighters in the world. He hopes to do the same with Barrionuevo.

“He is 27 years old and still getting better with every fight. Cesar is a talent who is coming to the North American market to make trouble for a lot of fighters,” Lewkowicz said. “I am working on finding him a big fight to showcase his skills, whether against [Felix] Diaz or any other top-15 welterweight contender. He won’t be unknown for long once that happens.”