About Us | maineventsboxing

Kathy Duva, CEO

Photo Credit: Sylwek Wosko

Main Events Promotions

MAIN EVENTS is internationally recognized as one of the top boxing promotional firms in the world. Main Events has promoted boxing legends Evander Holyfield, Arturo Gatti, Lennox Lewis, Pernell Whitaker and many more. Main Events was founded in 1978 by Hall-of-Fame promoter Dan Duva, who passed away in 1996, and is now run by his widow Kathy Duva. Main Events is committed to promoting quality fights that boxing fans want to see.

Currently, Main Events promotes a stacked roster of international contenders, including former WBO, IBF and WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev, who in 2014 defeated legendary light heavyweight Bernard "The Alien" Hopkins and defeated former light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal first in 2015, and again in 2016.

Main Events gained a reputation throughout the 80’s and 90’s as the sport’s number one incubator for new talent. More than 35 years after the company’s birth, Main Events is still turning out boxing stars and future world champions. Among those whose careers were built under the Main Events’ banner and went on to win multiple world titles are quite a few recognizable names:

Five-time world heavyweight champion and Olympic bronze medalist Evander Holyfield
Undisputed world heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist Lennox Lewis
Two-time world champion and boxing legend Arturo Gatti
Six-time world champion, Olympic gold medalist and undisputed best pound-for-pound fighter in four weight classes, Pernell Sweetpea Whitaker
Two-time world junior middleweight champion Fernando Vargas
Two-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist Meldrick Taylor
Three-time world heavyweight champion Michael Moorer
Two-time world welterweight, Olympic gold medalist and NY Golden Gloves Champion Mark Breland
Two-time world champion Vinny Pazienza
World lightweight champion Livingstone Bramble
Four-time world champion in three weight classes Mike McCallum
World junior welterweight champion Zab Judah
World junior welterweight champion and NY Golden Gloves Champion Vivian Harris
Three-time world welterweight champion Vernon Forrest
Undisputed world lightweight champion Juan Diaz
World welterweight champion Kermit Cintron
World heavyweight champion Pinklon Thomas
World welterweight champion Ike Quartey
World light heavyweight champion and boxing commentator Bobby Czyz
World junior lightweight and world amateur champion John-John Molina
Two-time world champion Jesse James Leija
World junior welterweight champion and U.S. amateur champion Johnny Bumphus
Two-time world champion and world amateur champion Rocky Lockridge
Heavyweight contender and Olympic silver medalist David Tua
Heavyweight contender and Olympic bronze medalist Andrew Golota
Featherweight contender and Olympic silver medalist Rocky Juarez

Main Events has also been an innovator and leader in the sport of boxing. Main Events was the first major boxing promoter to share profits with boxers under promotional contracts. In 1991, Main Events partnered with HBO and Top Rank to create TVKO, which introduced pay-per-view in the United States. The company has been involved in three events that, at the time, were the highest grossing boxing events in history (Leonard-Hearns, Holyfield-Foreman, Lewis-Tyson). The company was also involved in three of Time Magazine’s Top 10 Boxing Matches of All Time (Chavez-Taylor, Gatti-Ward, Leonard-Hearns). In 2003, the company orchestrated the return of professional boxing to broadcast television. “The NBC Boxing Series” drew strong ratings and rave reviews in its May 2003 debut, and returned in April/May 2004. In 2005, Main Events joined forces with ESPN to bring pay-per-view boxing to the sports cable giant. The highly-acclaimed April 2005 event generated twice the number of buys than was predicted by many boxing insiders and television network executives. Building on its history and experience with pay-per-view, Main Events introduced pay-per-view to Poland in 2011 with the Vitali Klitschko vs. Tomasz Adamek world heavyweight title fight. In 2012, Main Events once again brought boxing back to broadcast television and introduced it on NBCSN with the NBC Sports Fight Night series. The debut of Fight Night on NBC on December 22, 2012 produced a record-setting most-viewed daytime broadcast.