Mightygloves - Boxing News, Women's Boxing

McCullough,from the Illies Golden Gloves club, was beaten 19-6 by the Azerbaijani puncher in sweltering hot conditions in Baku.

Lightweight Paddy Harkin will be in the ring tomorrow against an opponent to be announced.

Bernard Roe, Jason Quigley and Conrad Cummins, who make up the five strong Irish squad in Baku, will see last 16 action on Monday.


World Cadet Championships Results: August 31st (last sixteen)

Tyrone McCullough (Ireland) lost to Nadirov Bakhtiyar (Azerbaijan) 6-19


Irish Squad and Management for 2007 World Cadet Championships:

50Kg: Tyrone McCullough (Illies Golden Gloves)
60Kg: Paddy Harkin (St Brigids Clonmany)
63Kg: Jason Quigley (Finn Valley Donegal)
66Kg: Conrad Cummins (Clonoe)
70Kg: Bernard Roe (Dublin Docklands)

Team Manager: Sean Canavan
Coaches: Jim Moore and Jim Payne
R&J: Sadie Duffy
Physio: Mark Adams

Posted by mightygloves.com at 7:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

“Boxing is the toughest sport in the world. One punch can change a chapter. When I land my big punch on Golota’s chin it’s going to be the next chapter for me as I continue my dream of winning the biggest prize – the world heavyweight title. I will be the first Ireland-born heavyweight champion of the world. I accomplished my other two dreams in boxing: fighting in the Olympics and fighting Mike Tyson. My father told me if I believed in myself and worked hard I’d beat Tyson and I did. It was the greatest night of my life. I beat one legend, Tyson, and met the biggest of all, Muhammad Ali, who told me I was the latest and he was the greatest.

“I’m excited to be fighting in Madison Square Garden where all of the great heavyweights have fought like Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano. This is going to be like a modern day Cinderella Man story. I know I have what it takes to be champion of the world ad I’m going to make it there with the team ‘Mighty’ Quinn has put together. It’s going to be a great night, more exciting than the Tyson fight. Golota’s a big name, too. I’m stronger than I was in the Tyson fight, lifting 260 pounds back then and 460 now. You can see the difference.

“There will be a lot of Polish there for Golota, but I’m going to have a lot of Irish supporting me, waving the Irish flag high when I win. On October 6th I’m going to win and retire Andrew Golota the same way I retired Mike Tyson.”

Posted by mightygloves.com at 7:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jorge turned pro in 1968 in his native Argentina. In his home country he would meet future champion Victor Galindez four times. Jorge would win one by decision. On three occasions he was stopped by the great Galindez. They would meet again.
He split a pair of fights with the highly respected Avenamer Peralta. He also drew with the highly regarded Raul Loyola. When he decided to invade the US in the summer of 1973 he sported a 31-5-1 record. Little did he know the impact he would make when he hit New York City.
He made his his N.Y.C. debut in July when he halted the rugged Hal "TNT" Carroll in eight rounds. He followed that by stopping Ohio's smooth boxing Ray Anderson in eight. In September he outscored the always game and clever Jose Gonzalez. He ended 1973 by battering another tough Ohio battler, Billy "Kelly" Wagner in seven.
Jorge opened 1974 with an impressive stoppage of the highly regarded Bobby Cassidy. In the next three months Jorge defeated Vern McIntosh, Terry Lee and Angel Oquendo.
In June in Alberquerque, New Mexico Ahumada received his first crack at the crown facing the feared champion Bob Foster. It turned out to be a sloppy fight marred by low blows. The great Foster aged this night and many felt Jorge outhussled Foster. The bout was called a draw and Foster retained his crown.
Foster decided to retire and in of October of 1974 Ahumada was matched with John Conteh for the vacant W.B.C. version of the title.
John Conteh could have been an all time great. He was an outstanding boxer and a sharp hitter. He was also game to the core. His drawbacks, he was injury prone and he was no LaMotta in the whisker department. Against Ahumada he was at the top of his game and won the title with a well deserved decision.
In the hot summer of 1975 in N.Y.C. Jorge would get one more chance as he faced his nemisis Victor Galindez who had captured the W.B.A. version of the title.
Jorge hung tough but again Victor was the master and Galindez would retain his crown.
That was Jorge's swan song. In November he would travel to Hamburg, Germany and lose to a fighter he had once defeated, Ray Anderson. That was it.
Jorge retired with a 42-8-2 ledger. He scored 22 KO's. He received a lot of ink in the early 70's but came up a bit short. He truly falls into the catagory of "Almost A Champion" !

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 6:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by mightygloves.com at 3:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In addition, and as part of the promotional efforts, the fighters will travel from New York to Bristol, Connecticut on Friday, September 7 to be the live, in-studio guest analysts on the season ending edition of ESPN's Friday Night Fights, marking the first time the show has ever hosted opponents from the same fight. Miguel Cotto will then travel to Miami for a weekend of press activities that will include a live appearance on Univision's national sports show Republic Deportiva. The fighters will meet up again in Los Angeles on November 10 for the final press conference before heading to their respective training camps to begin preparations for their extremely competitive battle.

"Fast & Furious", the 12-round World Welterweight Championship will be promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank, in association with Madison Square Garden.

The Cotto vs. Mosley pay-per-view telecast, airing at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 61 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For your Cotto vs. Mosley fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com.
COTTO VS. MOSLEY TOUR DATES AND CITIES

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5—PUERTO RICO, Paseo de la Princesa in Old San Juan

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6— NEW YORK, Madison Square Garden (WaMu Theater)

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7—BRISTOL, CT, ESPN's Friday Night Fights

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10—LOS ANGELES, House of Blues (Sunset Blvd.)

Posted by mightygloves.com at 9:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Vitali should win but has the layoff hurt him ? McCline is no chump. If Jameel is right it could be a very long night for Vitali. This has the makings of an upset.

Taylor-Pavlik ? This has Fight Of The Year written all over it. Who's going to win ? I'm pulling for Kelly but this is a very difficult fight for both men. I can't wait to see this one. Berto and David Estrada on the undercard should be a competitive match. Berto's a great prospect but Estrada has faced tougher opposition. I'll go with Berto who is a rising star but Estrada is a very formidable foe.

Chad Dawson...Need I say more. He may be the best light heavyweight out there.

I'm picking Sam Peter over Maskaev in what should be a slugfest. Golota-McBride ...Who cares ?

I'm sorry but I just think Manny's got Barrera's number. Bad style match up for Barrera. I'm not a fan of Sultan but he is a fast starter and Evander seems to take a couple of rounds to warm up. I'm rooting for Holyfield and if he can take the fight into the later rounds, he's got a shot.

Juan vs Julio. Put your money on Diaz...Just kidding. I like Juan in this fight but Julio is a decent boxer who can bang a bit. This is no walk in the park for either guy. I don't think Alan Green is as good as everyone else does but I believe he's a notch above Manfredo.

Calzaghe-Kessler. I gotta go with Joe but Kessler is to be taken VERY seriously. I think Joe will just outwork him in a very entertaining fight.

Mosley-Cotto...Good God what a great match up. I look for Cotto to come from behind to pull out an exciting victory. I like both of these guys and I hate to see either one lose.

Mormeck-Haye. I want to see it. I can't make a call on this one because I'm not that familiar with Haye. A lot of people whose opinion I respect are very high on Haye.

Guzman-Soto ? Should be a good fight. Guzman impressed me when I watched him.

I like Ricky Hatton but I can't see him beating Floyd. Just for the record though, I hope Hatton wins.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 9:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

“I wanted to fight in the Olympics and I accomplished that. I fought my idol, Mike Tyson, and it was a great night beating a legend. Years before in my first pro fight I fought a draw – it should have been a win – and afterwards I told my father I wanted to fight Tyson someday. He said if I believed in myself and worked hard I would. It was the greatest night of my life. And I met Muhammad Ali, who shook my hand and said, ‘I’m the greatest, you’re the latest.’ I was supposed to get a world title fight but I didn’t get good advice or have structure. I took one fight that I barely won and I lost my last fight. Mike Mollo didn’t beat me; I beat me. Now, Jerry Quinn is 100-percent behind me with our new team.

“I’m looking forward to October 6th. I’m a man of action more than words. This is the toughest game in the world; unforgiving but it’s going to be an explosion. Andrew Golota is going to need all the Polish there; I’m going to have a lot of Irish there for me. I appreciate all of the Irish supporting me and they’ll witness a fairytale story that’s real. I’ve dreamed of fighting in Madison Square Garden and on October 6th I’m going to knockout Andrew Golota. It ain’t going the distance.”

Posted by mightygloves.com at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Under the watchful eye of Live Events President, Gary Shaw, EliteXC and SHOWTIME already have produced many significant accomplishments and has made MMA history on a couple of occasions; the most noteworthy of which: EliteXC is the first and only MMA organization on premium television.

On Saturday, Sept. 15, at Oahu, Hawaii, EliteXC will establish another first when it presents the most significant MMA event in Hawaiian history and the initial collaboration between EliteXC and Hawaii-based promoters and former rivals, ICON Sport and ROTR (Rumble On The Rock). The remarkable event will feature an explosive five-fight telecast airing live on SHOWTIME at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) followed by four fights streaming live at the premier mixed martial arts social networking and entertainment site, ProElite.com.

In an excellent championship main event, Murilo “Ninja” Rua will make his initial EliteXC title defense against always-dangerous ICON Sport titleholder, “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler.

One of the top pound-for-pound fighters in MMA, the well-regarded Nick Diaz will make his anxiously awaited EliteXC debut and first start in six months when he faces Hawaiian star Mike Aina in the “Uprising” semi-main event at Blaisdell Arena.
Diaz trains with Cesar Gracie’s camp in California. Aina is a member of BJ “The Prodigy’’ Penn’s camp in Hawaii. Their clash will be the second of two gripping Team Gracie vs. Team Penn matchups.
The other Gracie vs. Penn matchup will pit Gracie’s talented, streaking top-10 welterweight, Jake Shields, against Penn’s Renato “Charuto” Verissimo.
The Golden Girl of MMA, sexy Gina Carano will face tough-taking Tonya Evinger in a 140- pound fight while Joey Villasenor and fellow tough guy Riki Fukuda will collide at 185 pounds in the telecast’s other bouts.

With the exception of the championship bout, “Ninja” vs. Lawler, all of the televised bouts are slated for three, 5-minute rounds.
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SHOWTIME, ELITEXC PRESENTS BIGGEST MMA EVENT IN HAWAII HISTORY – SEPT. 15, 2007

The popular Ninja (14-7-1), who’s aggressive style makes for scintillating scraps, rallied from a first-round knockdown to capture the first EliteXC 185-pound crown with a second-round TKO over Villasenor on June 22, 2007, at San Jose, Calif.

After getting dropped in the opening round, Ninja landed a flurry of punches early in the second before decking Villasenor with a right hand counter. Rua rushed in on the downed opponent and landed several more unanswered blows before the referee halted matters at the 1:05 mark.

“I am really looking forward to fighting again and fighting for the second time with EliteXC,’’ said the crowd-pleasing ‘Ninja,’ whose strategy will be take the fight to the ground. Ninja possesses power and a good all around game, but he is weakest at standup, which is Lawler’s strength.

“We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses,’’ said ‘Ninja.’ “This will be a great fight.’’

Ninja is a jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai black belt. He and his brother, Mauricio (“Shogun’’), are members of the Brazilian Hall of Fame.

Long regarded as one of the world’s top middleweights, Lawler (14-4, 3-1 in ICON sport) is known for utterly destroying opponents with an aggressive, almost reckless style. Of his 14 victories, Lawler has recorded 11 knockouts with his machine-like power punches,

In an excellent performance, Lawler, of Davenport, Iowa, registered a fourth-round knockout over UFC and Pride veteran Frank Trigg to earn the ICON Sport middleweight belt on March 31, 2007.
A fan favorite who puts as much heart and bad intentions behind his punches and lethal flying knee attacks as anyone could expect, Lawler was supposed to defend on June 30, 2007, but he separated his shoulder and the fight was cancelled. This is his first fight since. “I am ready now,’’ he said. “Let’s go.’’
Highly revered by MMA fans, Diaz owns a win over Lawler and has challenged Frank Shamrock. “I watched his last fight and no disrespect intended, but I think I would whoop his butt,” Diaz said.

Diaz, of Stockton, Calif., will be making his EliteXC debut after fighting some of the sport's biggest names during a three-year stretch (2003-2006).

“We've kept our word about signing fighters and letting them fight in other organizations,’’ Shaw said. “I think this a great move for Nick. He wasn’t happy or doing well in the UFC; now he can be one of the top dogs.

“As everyone knows, EliteXC is getting better and better. Nick’s still young and a great fighter.’’

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Diaz will be entering the cage for the first time since an impressive gogoplata submission victory over Takanori Gomi in a Fight of the Year candidate that wound up going into the books as a no contest.

For his return, Diaz will compete as a lightweight. When he submitted Gomi in February 2007, he fought as a welterweight.
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SHOWTIME, ELITEXC PRESENTS BIGGEST MMA EVENT IN HAWAII HISTORY – SEPT. 15, 2007

Aina (8-5-1) specializes in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and kickboxing. He may not have a lot of name recognition, but he is better than his record indicates and owns victories over Rick Screeton, Rosco McClellan, Albert Rios and Kaleo Kwan.

Like Diaz, Aina has never turned down a fight and wants to brawl. “I’m tough," Aina said. “Standup is my strength, but over the years, I've become pretty well-rounded. I can do pretty much everything well, so I'm comfortable anywhere.’’

The Hawaiian trains at Penn's gym in the former oven room of a cracker factory, which has produced a multitude of up-and-coming fighters hoping to emulate the proprietor.

“It's opened things up for me,’’ said Aina, a mechanical technician by trade. “My skills have improved by leaps and bounds. I came here a few years ago, and I'm continuing to learn. Over the years, I've stayed pretty consistent and I'm looking to just keep going.’’

Shields, of San Francisco, is undefeated since December 2004. If triumphant against “Charuto,’’ Shields may get a shot at the first EliteXC welterweight championship in his next outing. In a division that worldwide is top-heavy in talent, Shields is considered one of the best at 170 pounds.

“Charuto is a tough veteran I've been looking forward to fighting,’’ said Shields, who has upended Yushin Okami, Hayato “Mach’’ Sakurai and WEC welterweight champ Carlos Condit and recently called out Frank Twigg. “I was supposed to fight Charuto about a year ago so I'm happy it's finally going to happen.

“This is the kind of fight true fans of ground fighting should really appreciate. We are two good grapplers. But I have been working on my stand up and I’m sure he’s been doing the same.”
Verissimo, a jiu-jitsu black belt, is considered one of the top Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitors in the world. Charuto, which means cigar in Portuguese, is hoping to smoke Shields.
A former world title contender, Verissimo has been in against the best, including Carlos Newton, Matt Hughes and Trigg. This will be his first start since March 2007 when he defeated Lars Haven by TKO. That fight was his first since returning from a self-imposed nine-month retirement.
“It was too important to me to stay away from fighting, especially in Hawaii,” said Verissimo, who is known for accepting bouts only against top-ranked opponents. “I wanted to come back in a good way and show everybody that I could still compete.’’
“Charuto’’ was raised in Rio de Janiero, but moved to Hawaii 10 years ago to become a blackbelt instructor. One of his students was BJ Penn. When Penn started competing in the Octagon, Renato also became involved in MMA. Ironically, Penn trained Verissimo during the latter stages of his retirement.
“I just kept training hard with BJ and then I felt like I wanted to compete again,’’ he said.
One would be hard pressed to find an athlete in any sport whose star has risen as far and as fast as the incredibly popular, personable Carano (4-0), who is signed to a multi-year contact with EliteXC.
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SHOWTIME, ELITEXC PRESENTS BIGGEST MMA EVENT IN HAWAII HISTORY – SEPT. 15, 2007
Since a breakthrough performance during EliteXC’s debut event on SHOWTIME in February--her epic victory over Julie Kedzie came in the first nationally televised women’s bout—Carano spent the following months pursuing various outside the ring ventures, including doing fight commentary, interviews, photo shoots and starring in Oxygen’s “Fight Girls” reality television series.
It’s apparent the moment you meet Gina that she’s the epitome of strength; a strong woman by any measure you elect to use: mentally, spiritually and physically. Yes, she is more than a pretty face.
Carano, 24, of Las Vegas, was slated to fight June 2 but contracted an intestinal virus while shooting the Oxygen show in Thailand. She was hospitalized a week for dehydration.
“I’m healthy now and feeling great,’’ said Carano, who trains at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. “I was feeling better a week before the June 2 fight, but that wasn’t enough time so I had to withdraw.’’
Carano, who got national notoriety for her quote -- “We're not hitting tennis balls. We're hitting people. Isn't that more exciting?” -- knows better than to underestimate the rugged Evinger.
“I don’t take anyone lightly,’’ Gina said. “I know I’ve got a big target on me, so I don’t care what a person’s record is, I’m going to train hard and be completely healthy for it.’’
Gina had better be fit.
Evinger (4-2, 4 KOs), of Oak Grove, Mo., is regarded as one of the meanest, roughest, toughest athletes in MMA. Her family owns a racetrack, but she doesn’t horse around in a cage.
The confident, fast-taking Evinger, a slammer and banger in the truest sense, doesn’t come to merely win, but to dominate and destroy. A nationally recognized former grappling champion who participated in the Pan American Games, she has been wrestling 13 years, training in jiu-jitsu for four years and kick-boxing for three.

“This fight could make my career, so I want to win bad.’’ said Evinger, who moonlights as a construction worker at a cement factory. “I can't tell you yet how she’ll take a loss because I don't know exactly how tough she is. I guess I will find out soon enough.

“Hopefully this will be an exciting fight all around with me winning. My wrestling is the stuff so all I have to worry about is beating my opponent’s standup. I can take her game away and I think that is the most important part. I want to throw and I know Gina will, so we'll see who has the heavier hands.

“I love to knock opponents out and that's what I'm going to do, but I will never risk a fight on a KO if I have a submission available. Either way, Carano had better take a good look in the mirror before the fight because she won’t be able to recognize her face when I am done with her.’’

A dedicated athlete, Villasenor lives, breathes and eats MMA. He is never in a dull fight, and will be looking to regain his winning ways against the often-avoided Fukuda.

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SHOWTIME, ELITEXC PRESENTS BIGGEST MMA EVENT IN HAWAII HISTORY – SEPT. 15, 2007

“Fukuda is a guy nobody wants to fight, but this is a fight I want and I am looking forward to,’’ said Villasenor, of Albuquerque, N.M., who impressively defeated David Loiseau on Feb. 10, 2007, on SHOWTIME, but lost to “Ninja” by TKO in his last start. “I am ready to prove that the result of my last EliteXC battle was a fluke.’’

A five-time King of the Cage champion and former IFC light heavyweight champion, Villasenor established a record for fastest knockout in an MMA fight, a four-second victory over Hank Weis in 2004. “On Sept. 15, I will prove I am back and show what I am really all about,’’ Villasenor said.

Fukuda does not speak English but his talent and skills speak volumes. Some feel, while still untested, he is legitimate championship material.

Up to now, a guy with a solid wrestling background has been his own worst enemy. Fukuda may be too good for his own good. The talented yet still unknown is too strong for the up and comers, and too risky a proposition for the established guys.

“All I can do is wait for the fights and beat the guys they put in front of me,’’ said Fukuda, who trains at the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose. “Eventually, my time will come and the top guys will have to fight me.’’

In his EliteXC and SHOWTIME debut last Feb. 10, Fukuda looked like a future star en route to dominating Chris Gates en route to a first-round submission due to strikes.

“We are very excited about EliteXC working together with ICON and Rumble On The Rock to bring this type of tremendous fight card to the islands on Sept. 15,” Shaw said. “Working together is works and we are going to prove that with a card aptly titled ‘Uprising.’

“This cage fight card from top to bottom could easily be a pay-per-view event. But EliteXC was committed to bringing its first fight card to the islands at no additional cost.”

“ICON was the originator of this sport in Hawaii, but there is no question that ROTR were the innovators,’’ ICON president Patrick Freitas said. “ROTR came in and definitely raised the bar. Now the two of us, Hawaii’s two largest arena organizations by far, are coming together for the first time.

“The collaboration of these two juggernauts has been a long time coming. At one point, for the longest time, we were our biggest rivals. But now, we are working together with EliteXC to put on what will be Hawaii’s biggest MMA extravaganza. Fans are in for a great night of fights on Sept. 15.’’

Offered JD Penn, who heads up ROTR: “This is a natural step up in the process of ROTR. We always had our eyes on the biggest prize. And, for now, this is it. With the expertise from both our groups, ROTR and ICON Sport, and EliteXC, we have the makings of becoming an unstoppable force in MMA.

“I am really looking forward to the first of our many collaborations, and I know fans on the island and viewers on SHOWTIME are, too.’’

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SHOWTIME, ELITEXC PRESENTS BIGGEST MMA EVENT IN HAWAII HISTORY – SEPT. 15, 2007
EliteXC announcer Mauro Ranallo will call the play-by-play with Stephen Quadros and Bill Goldberg serving as color analysts. The executive producer of the telecasts will be David Dinkins, Jr. with Bob Dunphy directing.
Immediately following the SHOWTIME telecast, ProElite.com, the premier mixed martial arts social networking and entertainment internet site, will once again be streaming additional live fights.
Immediately following the SHOWTIME telecast, ProElite.com, the premier mixed martial arts social networking and entertainment internet site, will once again be streaming additional live fights.
ProElite.com Live Streaming Fights
(Card Subject To Change)

Middleweight (185 pounds)
Kala Kolohe Hose vs. Jeff “Pee Wee” Cox

Middleweight (185 pounds)
Mark Kurano vs. Jose “Bomber” Diaz

Bantamweight (135 pounds)
Mark Oshiro vs. Nui Wheeler

Welterweight (170 pounds)
Brandon Wolfe vs. Chad Klingensmith

For more information on EliteXC, ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series and other MMA-related stories, including bios, videos, photos, stats and more, please visit www.SHO.com/Sports, ProElite.com, and EliteXC.com.
About Pro Elite, Inc.
ProElite Inc. [PELE.PK] delivers the most exciting entertainment experience in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) with live arena-based entertainment events, cable television programming on Showtime Networks and community-driven interactive broadband entertainment via the Internet. ProElite embraces MMA with the highest levels of honor, integrity, discipline and self-esteem all the while remaining inclusive for fighters, fans and schools. ProElite’s live fight division, EliteXC, delivers spectacular live MMA fight events that showcase the world’s top fighters. ProElite’s interactive business, ProElite.com, capitalizes on the growing popularity of the sport of mixed martial arts by building a community of mixed martial arts enthusiasts. In addition to streaming the most exciting live fights to the web, ProElite expands the fan base of the sport by providing a comprehensive set of online social networking tools for fans, fighters and organizations. ProElite.com – Empowering the Fight Community TM

About Showtime Networks Inc.
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME® TOO™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILYZONE® and TMC XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL HD™, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND™ and THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMAND™. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI is also an owner and manager of SUNDANCE CHANNEL, a venture of NBC Universal, Robert Redford and SNI. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME® PPV.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 9:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Juan Diaz: “I think this will turn out to be the fight of the year and maybe the fight of the century because both Julio Diaz and I want to win so bad. They will have to take me out of the ring on a stretcher for me to lose this fight.

“This is going to be a great, action fight. I’ve got a bull’s-eye on my head. Everybody wants what I have. Many consider me to be the best lightweight boxer out there so everybody wants to fight me.

“Both of us have the first name of Diaz. We had no choice when we were born. It’s just the name our parents gave us, no matter how much people want to make of all that.

“In February, Julio asked me to put my books down to fight after he became the IBF champion. In April, I picked up the WBO lightweight belt by defeating Acelino Freitas to go with the WBA championship I have held for a long time. Now is the time for a unification fight.

“We are getting very close to having an undisputed lightweight world champion. I give all my respect to Julio Diaz but on October 13, I will be the one leaving the ring with three of those world titles.

Julio Diaz: “I’ve been asking for Juan Diaz for a long time. This is something that has been important to me and I didn’t want to let it go. He is the biggest star in the lightweight division today. He’s undefeated, a unified world champion with the WBA and WBO belts.

“I’ve won some big fights. I am a two-time world champion and the current IBF champion but I haven’t gotten the attention that Juan has. I want what he has and I’m coming to get it. I want to be a unified world champion.

“Juan and I have a lot in common. We have the same last name and I see his parents cry when he goes in the ring just like mine do. We’re also both Mexican warriors. We will put on a great fight and the best man will win.”

Posted by mightygloves.com at 9:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tickets priced at $300, $150, $100, $75 and $35 go on sale today (Wednesday, Aug. 29) at 10 a.m. at the Sears Centre Box Office, select AMCORE Bank Outlets, by phone at 1-888-SEARSTIX, or on-line at www.searscentre.com.

“El Dia de Los Diaz” (“Day of the Diaz”) will also feature a full undercard of domestically non-televised attractions headlined by Chicago’s emerging heavyweight contender “Merciless” Mike Mollo (18-1, 11 KOs), taking on another Chicago fight-fan favorite Art “The Polish Warrior” Binkowski (16-1-3, 11 KOs). Mollo stunned Mike Tyson conqueror Kevin McBride with a second-round stoppage in Chicago on Oct. 7.

The event is being promoted by Don King Productions in association with Sycuan Ringside Promotions and Sears Centre. The main event will be telecast on HBO’s Boxing After Dark series beginning at
11 p.m. ET/11 p.m. PT (tape delayed on the West Coast).

“This Diaz vs. Diaz showdown is going to be one of the top fights of the year,” promoter Don King said. “Juan and Julio epitomize the spirit of the great Mexican warriors.”

Juan Diaz (32-0, 16, KOs), from Houston, earned his “Baby Bull” moniker by deploying a relentless, attacking, crowd-pleasing style reminiscent of the best Mexican champions that have come before him. He became the second-youngest boxer in history to become a world champion in 2004 when he defeated Lakva Sim in Houston to win the WBA lightweight title at the tender age of 20.

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El Dia de los Diaz lead press release – Page 2

He successfully defended that crown six times before stepping into the ring on April 28 at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut to take on Brazilian legend and WBO lightweight champion Acelino “Popo” Freitas. Juan pursued the only-once-beaten Freitas with a dogged zeal that led the Brazilian knockout artist to remain on his stool after the eighth round rather than continue.

Being one of the top boxers in the sport is apparently not enough of a challenge for Diaz. He is a junior pre-law major at the University of Houston-Downtown. He was also recently deputized as Volunteer Voter Registrar in Houston. The first voter he registered was his mother.

Standing in the 23-year-old’s way of becoming boxing’s next great superstar is Julio Diaz (34-3, 25 KOs), 27, born in Huiquilpan, Mexico, now living in Coachella, Calif. A two-time world champion, Julio became the IBF lightweight champion in 2004 by defeating Javier Jauregui.

Rather than face his IBF mandatory challenger, Julio vacated that title to pursue the WBC lightweight crown by facing then-champion Jose Luis Castillo at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on Feb. 5, 2005. Julio put up a spirited challenge before being stopped by the more experienced Castillo in round 10.

He rebounded quickly and won the IBF interim title by scoring a unanimous decision over Ricky Quiles at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., on May 18, 2006. This set up a Feb. 3 showdown in Kissimmmee, Fla. for the outright IBF belt against defending champion Jesus Chavez.

Many thought this fight would be an epic brawl, but Julio dominated Chavez from the outset, winning the first two rounds on all three judges’ scorecards before Chavez crumpled to the mat in round three with a knee injury that left him unable to continue.
● ● ●
The Sears Centre is an 11,000-seat multi-purpose arena that is home to the Chicago Storm (MISL Soccer), Chicago Shamrox (NLL Lacrosse), and Chicago Slaughter (CIFL Football) located just off I-90 and Rte. 59 in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Since opening in October of 2006, the Sears Centre has hosted concerts featuring The Who, Billy Joel, George Strait and others. For a list of upcoming events, please visit our website at www.searscentre.com.

Juan Diaz promoter Don King Productions has promoted over 500 world championship fights with nearly 100 individual boxers having been paid $1 million or more. DKP also holds the distinction of having promoted or co-promoted seven of the 10 largest pay-per-view events in history, as gauged by total buys, including three of the top five: Holyfield vs. Tyson II, 1.99 million buys, June 1997; Tyson vs. Holyfield I, 1.6 million buys, November 1996; and Tyson vs. McNeeley, 1.58 million buys, August 1995. DKP has promoted or co-promoted 11 of the top 15 highest-grossing live gates in the history of the state of Nevada including four of the top five: Holyfield vs. Lewis II, paid attendance: 17,078, gross: $16,860,300 (NOTE: Also second-highest live-gate gross for any event in history.), date: Nov. 13, 1999; Holyfield vs. Tyson II, paid attendance: 16,279, gross: $14,277,200, date: June 28, 1997; Holyfield vs. Tyson I, paid attendance: 16,103, gross: $14,150,700, date: Nov. 9, 1996; and Tyson vs. McNeeley, paid attendance: 16,113, gross: $13,965,600, date: Aug. 19, 1995.

Julio Diaz promoter Sycuan Ringside Promotions of San Diego is more than living up to its reputation as the fastest-growing and most dynamic promotional force in boxing; it’s redefining the boxing industry. Since making its promotional debut during 2004, Sycuan Ringside Promotions--the first Native American-owned boxing promotional company--already has three current world champions, two former world champs and promoted and presented world title bouts across the country on premium cable networks.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The five man Irish squad arrived in Baku on Monday last and are putting the finishing touches to their preparations ahead of the ten day tournament at the Heydar Aliyev Sports Hall by the shores of the Caspian Sea.

Russia will be strong favourites in Baku having already collected 46 medals from the five previous World Cadet Championships, including 23 gold.

The Ukraine are traditionally strong at this level also having claimed 29 medals up to this point, while Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have 26 medals each to their name.

The draw for the 2007 World Cadet Championships will be held this Friday, and Moore, speaking from Azerbaijan, is looking ahead to a tournament which will feature two hundred and thirty boxers representing thirty nine nations.

He said: "We will be keeping our fingers cross for a favourable draw on Friday as there are some very strong nations out here. It is also extremely warm and humid in Baku at the moment so that is something we will have to cope with also.

"The squad have prepared well for this tournament and we are quietly confident that we will do well"

The opening ceremony for the 2007 World Cadet Championships, which is reserved for boxers of fifteen and sixteen years of age, will be held in Baku this Friday.

The 2007 World Cadet Championships conclude on September 9th.



Irish Squad and Management for 2007 World Cadet Championships:

50Kg: Tyrone McCullagah (Illies Golden Gloves)
60Kg: Paddy Harkin (St Brigids Clonmany)
63Kg: Jason Quigley (Finn Valley Donegal)
66Kg: Conrad Cummins (Clonoe)
70Kg: Bernard Roe (Dublin Docklands)

Team Manager: Sean Canavan
Coaches: Jim Moore and Jim Payne
R&J: Sadie Duffy
Physio: Mark Adams

Bernard O'Neill
Public Relations Officer
Irish Amateur Boxing Association
Ph: 086 057 9558
Fax: 061 408627
bernard.oneill@oceanfree.net
www.iaba.ie

Posted by mightygloves.com at 4:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Scheduled fights include:

UFC Veteran Dan Lauzon vs. Wayne Harnois Ronnie Wuest vs. Jesse Peterson

Mike Varner vs. Randy Rowe Bobby Dias vs. JP Christini

Woody Weatherby vs. Chandler Holderness Mike Deleo vs. Greg Sterns

Phil Gizzi vs. Jarod Tirrel Sean Ratcliffe vs. Nick Tzimas

Seth Davis vs. Mike Curtis Jason Doloff vs Charlie Thomas

Jim Gonzales vs. Greg Croteau Jamie Campbell vs. Bobby Gallant

Jonas Fernandez vs. Adrian Fulk Aguilano Brandao vs. Joe Cushman

Belleton Frederic vs. Jerry Spiegel Dan Bonnell vs. Geo Sontay

*Fight card subject to change.*

Special Guests expected in Attendance: UFC Fighters
Marcus"The Irish Handgrenade"Davis; Kenny "KenFlo" Florian; Drew "The Master" Fickett; Sean "The Gladiator" Gannon; Jorge "El Conquistador" Rivera; Mark DellaGrotte"The Ultimate Fighter 4" Muay Thai Coach; Peter Welsh "The Ultimate Fighter 2" Boxing Coach

Posted by mightygloves.com at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Shaun George hoped to fight Glen Johnson on ESPN2 in July, only to see Johnson select Fred Moore. Hall of Fame Promotions' phone calls were repeatedly ignored by Team Johnson, depriving the fans' of an exciting main event.

"I respect him as a fighter, but I would put him down. Glen Johnson wouldn't last the whole distance. There are certain intangibles in his style, certain things that I've noticed. Everybody thinks he's aging like fine wine, but the dude is slipping. I want to expose that. If he steps in the ring with me, I would end his career."

Shaun George also mentioned undefeated Chris Henry, 21-0 (17 KO). "I heard Chris Henry is calling out everyone, well Daddy's home. He opened up his mouth, so I want him. He's a decent fighter, he can box and punch a little, but I'm willing to step in there with him. My motivation is that he has the NABF and NABA belts, and I want them."

Shaun George had words for Antonio Tarver too, a man he holds open disdain for.

"He has no heart. He lacks character. I don't like the way he acted after the fight with Elvir Muriqi when he tried to kick somebody out of the ring. He has no respect. He doesn't want to be a fighter anymore, he wants to be an actor. I don't consider him a fighter anymore. If he has a problem with what I'm saying, tell him to get in the ring, too."

While Glen Johnson and Chris Henry wait for the division's elder statesmen to give them money fights, remember Shaun George is here and ready.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 2:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tickets priced at $300, $150, $100, $75 and $35 can be purchased beginning at 10 a.m. on Wednesday at the Sears Centre Box Office, select AMCORE Bank Outlets, by phone at 1-888-SEARSTIX, or on-line at www.searscentre.com.

¡°El Dia de Los Diaz¡± (¡°Day of the Diaz¡±) will also feature a full undercard headlined by Chicago¡¯s emerging heavyweight contender ¡°Merciless¡± Mike Mollo (18-1, 11 KOs). Mollo stunned Mike Tyson conqueror Kevin McBride with a second-round stoppage in Chicago on Oct. 7.

The event is being promoted by Don King Productions in association with Sycuan Ringside Promotions and Sears Centre.
¡ñ ¡ñ ¡ñ
The Sears Centre is an 11,000-seat multi-purpose arena that is home to the Chicago Storm (MISL Soccer), Chicago Shamrox (NLL Lacrosse), and Chicago Slaughter (CIFL Football) located just off I-90 and Rte. 59 in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Since opening in October of 2006, the Sears Centre has hosted concerts featuring The Who, Billy Joel, George Strait and others. For a list of upcoming events, please visit our website at www.searscentre.com.

Juan Diaz promoter Don King Productions has promoted over 500 world championship fights with nearly 100 individual boxers having been paid $1 million or more. DKP also holds the distinction of having promoted or co-promoted seven of the 10 largest pay-per-view events in history, as gauged by total buys, including three of the top five: Holyfield vs. Tyson II, 1.99 million buys, June 1997; Tyson vs. Holyfield I, 1.6 million buys, November 1996; and Tyson vs. McNeeley, 1.58 million buys, August 1995. DKP has promoted or co-promoted 11 of the top 15 highest-grossing live gates in the history of the state of Nevada including four of the top five: Holyfield vs. Lewis II, paid attendance: 17,078, gross: $16,860,300 (NOTE: Also second-highest live-gate gross for any event in history.), date: Nov. 13, 1999; Holyfield vs. Tyson II, paid attendance: 16,279, gross: $14,277,200, date: June 28, 1997; Holyfield vs. Tyson I, paid attendance: 16,103, gross: $14,150,700, date: Nov. 9, 1996; and Tyson vs. McNeeley, paid attendance: 16,113, gross: $13,965,600, date: Aug. 19, 1995.

Julio Diaz promoter Sycuan Ringside Promotions of San Diego is more than living up to its reputation as the fastest-growing and most dynamic promotional force in boxing; it¡¯s redefining the boxing industry. Since making its promotional debut during 2004, Sycuan Ringside Promotions--the first Native American-owned boxing promotional company--already has three current world champions, two former world champs and promoted and presented world title bouts across the country on premium cable networks.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In November of 1970 enter Argentina's Carlos Monzon. A disputed draw against the feared Bennie Briscoe earned Carlos a rating. Still Carlos was not considered a serious challenge to Nino's crown. WRONG !!! Maybe Nino was on the downside of his fabulous career. Maybe a prime Benvenuti would have fared better against Monzon In my opinion Nino is lucky he met Monzon when he did. Any sooner would have resulted in the end of Nino' s title reign. Make no mistake about it folks, Carlos owned Nino.

Benvenuti could not intimidate Monzon. Carlos could have cared less about Nino's complaints to the referee. To Monzon it was a street fight with a few rules. He mugged Nino. Along the eighth, ninth and tenth rounds Nino realized his dilemma. He could not hurt Carlos and he could not deter his aggressiveness. He knew he was doomed. Give Nino his due. He was a proud champion and he would go out on his shield. That is just what he did in round twelve as a Monzon right left him in a heap. Nino's title was gone.

Again a case can be made that Nino was past his prime. In his next fight he lost a decision to Monzon's countryman Jose Chirino. Still Monzon-Benvenuti II took place. This was child's play for Carlos as he dominated Nino until the fight was stopped in the third round. There is no doubt in my mind that Nino would have lost to Carlos anytime they fought.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well as history shows us George lost the title to Muhammad Ali. As he attempted to come back he met Frazier again. Joe looked different ( Shaved head ) and he fought different ( he tried to box and move ). It did not help. It only prolonged the inevitable. George caught up to Joe in round five and destroyed him.

George proved then and forever that he was the superior fighter when facing Frazier.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 11:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lee also making his Irish professional debut received a rapturous welcome from 7,000 Irish boxing fans as he entered the ring to trade punches with the strong and durable Ciaran Healy from Belfast.

The Kronk fighter demonstrated his mature attitude in the ring by carefully picking his opponent off with crisp punches to the body and head. In control at all times throughout the fight Andy unleashed some powerful body shots at the end of the forth round to hurt Healy.

To stop Healy enduring further punishment in the fifth round his corner wisely retired their boxer from going out for the fifth round.

Andy commented ' I'm delighted to be home on Irish soil again and fighting as a professional this time, the crowd gave me a terrific reception which I appreciate and it made me feel very good. I put in a measured performance and was patient during the fight with my punches to importantly get the result I wanted and win the fight. I will now be spending some quality time with my family in Limerick before returning to America next week.'

Emanuel Steward commented ' I was delighted with Andy's performance, he is a true professional athlete and takes the job at hand very seriously. To be in Ireland with Andy gave me a real buzz, he is a rising star in America but I feel that it is important his Irish fan base get to see him as well.'

' My old friend, Brian Peters did a terrific job with the promotion and getting Andy the right exposure on RTE television, I believe an estimated 600,000 people from a population of 6 million in Ireland tuned in for the fight. That's a real good result for the sport of boxing.'

Scheduled fights in October for Andy Lee in Chicago and Detroit are presently being arranged.


Damian McCann
Andy Lee Boxing Team

Posted by mightygloves.com at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Vargas's doctor ordered him to not participate in the highly anticipated match and to take the necessary weeks of treatment to correct the problem.

Promoters of the event Don King Productions and Main Events in association with STAPLES Center will notify the public as soon as a rescheduled date can be confirmed.

Vargas (26-4, 22 KOs) is a two-time world champion and Mayorga (27-6-1, 22 KOs) is a three-time world champion. Their upcoming bout had been aptly dubbed ¡°The Brawl¡± after a highly contentious confrontation between the fighters erupted at the initial press conference announcing the event in Los Angeles and again at a subsequent press conference in New York.

Further information on the rescheduled date and refund policy will be made available in the coming days.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lee is trained and managed by Hall of Fame Trainer, Emanuel Steward and will be returning to the Poconos to train at Jermain Taylor's training camp. Taylor is also trained by Steward and will be fighting Kelly Pavlik on September 29 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 11:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Curtis who never had an amateur fight began his professional career in Midland, Texas on March 24, 1958 outscoring Manuel Gonzalez over six rounds. Curtis and Manuel would get to know each other a lot better in years to come.Curtis was born on June 15, 1937 in Dallas, Texas. He would go on to win his next ten fights including an eight rounder over Gonzalez. Finally in April of 1959, one year after turning pro Curtis suffered his first career loss to none other then Manuel Gonzalez. A no contest in a match with the talented Rip Randall set up a rematch. Curtis took out Randall in the first round. Later in the year Curtis would drop a six round duke to Frankie Davis.

Cokes won four fights in 1960. In 1961 he moved up the ladder with big wins over Joe Miceli and Charley " Tombstone " Smith. Cokes then dropped a decision in Mexico to Hilario Morales.He then fought a draw with the clever Kenny Lane in Dallas. Back in Dallas two months later Curtis scored a huge win with a split decision over the highly respected Luis Rodriguez. Cokes would then meet and again decision Manny Gonzalez but would lose a points call to Rodriguez in a return match.

Curtis would bounce back in 1962 with five straight wins including knockouts over Hilario Morales and the rugged Rudolph Bent. Another trip to Mexico cost him another defeat. This time a decision to Manuel Sixto Alvarez. Four more wins led to a 1963 clash at the Sunnyside Garden in New York against contender Jose Stable. Curtis lost a very close decision. Cokes would then outpoint the very tough Stan Harrington. On May 1, 1964 Curtis travelled to the Blue Horizon in Philadelphia to meet the dangerous Stan " Kitten " Hayward. He would suffer a major set back as Hayward stopped Cokes in round four.

It was back to the drawing board for Curtis. Two decision wins over Al Andrews got him back on track but he dropped a ten rounder to the slick Eddie Pace. On December 13, 1965 Curtis won the Southern Welterweight title with a twelve round decision over Billy Collins. On July 6, 1966 Cokes stopped Luis Rodriguez one minute in to the fifteenth and final round of an eliminination bout for the welterweight title vacated by Emile Griffith.

Seven weeks after his win over Rodriguez, Cokes met old rival Manuel Gonzalez for the WBA version of the welterweight title. The battle took place in New Orleans. Curtis floored Gonzalez on his way to a lopsided decision and a world's championship. In November Cokes outclassed Frenchman Jean Josselin to win universal recognition as welterweight champion. Still many felt that Cokes was the champ only because Griffith had vacated the division. Curtis would go on to prove himself a worthy champion.

In early 1967 Curtis would have three non title affairs. First he drew with Francious Pavilla. He knocked out Ted Whitfield but then Curtis was outpointed by the wily Gypsy Joe Harris. Finally Cokes defended his title halting Pavilla in a return bout. Next came a very impressive stoppage of sharp contender Charlie Shipes. Two non title wins in early 1968 over Josselin and Jimmy Lester led to a defense in Dallas against South African contender Willie Ludick. An inspired Cokes flattened Ludick in the fifth round. Three non title knockouts in South Africa followed including a repeat performance over Ludick. Then came a one sided title retaining verdict over Ramon La Cruz.

Jose Napoles, a Cuban who had migrated to Mexico years before had long been considered one of the best fighters in the business. Still he had never received a shot at a world title. Curtis Cokes was a proud man and a proud champion. He felt he was the best welterweight in the world. He also knew that Napoles was a very worthy contender and that he deserved a shot at the title. They met at the Forum in Inglewood, California on April 18, 1969. On that day Napoles proved to the world that he was a special fighter. Jose out fought and battered the game Cokes throughout using a remarkable jab and bone jarring combinations. Hopelessly behind on points Curtis did not answer the bell for round fourteen and his belt was awarded to Napoles.

Maybe it was just a bad night but Curtis had to know so he went down to Mexico two months later to attempt to reclaim his championship. Again Napoles proved to be too much for the game Cokes and the bout was ended after ten rounds. Curtis would return seven months later as a full fledged middleweight. Cokes had hoped that old rival Luis Rodriguez would defeat middleweight king Nino Benvenuti when they met on November 22, 1969. Curtis was confident that Rodriguez would give him a crack at the middleweight title. After ten rounds Rodriguez had Benvenuti bleeding and bewildered and it looked like Luis was going to take the crown and then just like that, it was over. A crashing left hook put Rodriguez flat on his back for the count as the bleeding Benvenuti retained his crown.

With little hope of a title shot Curtis still campaigned as a middleweight. He won four bouts but then drew with Akron's Fate Davis, a fighter he he defeated seven months earlier. Cokes then lost decisions to Rafael Gutierrez and Carlos Salinas on the West Coast. Then he lost to Elijah Makathini in South Africa. By now it was 1972 and Carlos Monzon was firmly entrenched as middleweight king. There would be little interest in a bout between the great Monzon and the aging Cokes. Curtis returned to South Africa and won decisions over Joseph Hali and Ezra Mzinyane and then retired.

In 80 bouts Curtis put together a fine 62-14-3 record with one no contest. He won thirty fights by knockout. He was stopped only three times. He met the best welterweights of his era other then Emile Griffith.Curtis was inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame in 2003 With the help of mutual friend Steve Canton, I was able to reach Mr. Cokes and have a very nice conversation with him. I contacted him at his gym where he trains boxers. Curtis once trained highly regarded heavyweights Ike Ibeabuchi and Kirk Johnson. He also guided Quincy Taylor to the middleweight title. He also appeared in the boxing movie classic " Fat City ".

Curtis was extremely courteous and giving with his time. He said even though he and Manny Gonzalez met in the ring numerous times, they were very good friends. Curtis had a tremendous amount of respect for Luis Rodriguez and despite their battles they always maintained a friendly relationship. I asked him if he regretted never meeting Emile Griffith in the ring. Curtis more or less said that he had no control on Emile's decision to move up in weight. Did he feel he could have defeated Emile ? In his low key, respectful manner Mr.Cokes just stated he felt that he was capable of beating any welterweight in the world during his prime but he had a great respect for Emile's talent and that they are friends. He said the knockout loss to Stan Hayward in 1964 took him by surprise but he just put it behind him and moved on. He called Napoles a great fighter who he was just unable to overcome. Curtis really felt that if Rodriguez would have defeated Benvenuti, they would have met again. This time for the middleweight championship of the world.

I would like to thank Curtis Cokes for taking the time to speak to me one on one. I'd also like to thank promoter, trainer, gym owner and jack of all trades Steve Canton for helping me to contact Curtis.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 10:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Florida resident is thrilled to appear in his biggest fight in the co-featured bout to the middleweight championship between Jermain Taylor (27-0-1, 17 KOs) and Kelly Pavlik (31-0, 28 KOs), which is being promoted by DiBella Entertainment in association with Top Rank Inc.

"It's going to be an action packed, throwback night of boxing. I am honored to be the co-feature on the Taylor/Pavlik fight card. As always, I will train my hardest and put on the best possible performance for my fans," said Andre Berto. Berto is coming off a unanimous 10-round decision over durable veteran Cosme Rivera on July 27. It was the first time he had gone the distance in 15 bouts, since a Feb. 24, 2005 four-round decision over David Neal. He had 14 consecutive knockouts after the Neal bout.

"Andre Berto has made the transition from prospect to contender. On September 29th he will be tested by one of the very best welterweights in the division, David Estrada. This is a sensational television opener to a sensational main event," said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment.

Berto's rise to the top will be challenged, though, by Estrada (21-3, 12 KOs), who has been in the ring with the likes of Sugar Shane Mosley and Kermit Cintron, the current IBF welterweight champion.
Estrada, who was a PAL national champion in 1997, was 50-10 as an amateur. "I'm excited about being the co-feature on the Taylor vs Pavlik fight, but what I'm very excited about doing is beating Andre Berto and getting my rematch with Cintron," said Estrada..

Tickets, priced at $400, $300, $200, $100 and $50, are now on sale and can be purchased at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-736-1420 or by visiting
www.ticketmaster.com .

Posted by mightygloves.com at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The highly anticipated bout is scheduled for 12 rounds at a catch weight of 162 pounds and will air live on Sept. 8 on pay-per-view (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.

“Countdown To The Brawl” takes viewers inside the training camps and into the homes of both men to reveal their motivation, strategies of intimidation and the root of their volatile and now infamous first fight—at the announcement press conference in Los Angeles on July 11.

In addition, in depth interviews with Vargas, Mayorga and members of their training camps uncover a never-before-seen duality in each. These former world champions always have been known for toughness, bravado and street mentality, but that is only half of their personality; half of their motivation. Countdown To The Brawl shows the people behind the boxers, and the tremendous impact they have had on these competitors—both in their formative years and still today.

Vargas reflects on his childhood, growing up without his father and why it is important for him to be a good father to his children. “I am lucky I found boxing,” said Vargas. “I was going nowhere quickly. I wanted so much to belong to something. If I was asked to join a gang, I probably would have.”

Mayorga, on the other hand, is looking to re-claim his ring status and shed his disappointment after a personally devastating knockout loss to Oscar De La Hoya. “I need to fight somebody and beat him,” said Mayorga. “I am going to hit Vargas as hard as I can, because I just want to let this out, to get this out of my system.”

Featuring expert analysts Al Bernstein and Steve Farhood, journalists Steve Kim and Doug Fischer and boxing historian Bert Sugar, “Countdown To The Brawl” breaks down how this fight got personal and why this match up will be, quite simply, a brawl.

"VARGAS vs. MAYORGA: COUNTDOWN TO THE BRAWL"

DAY DATE TIME CHANNEL
Saturday Aug. 25 1 a.m. SHO (premiere)
Sunday Aug. 26 1: 20 a.m. SHO
Monday Aug. 27 6:10 p.m. SHO
Weds. Aug. 29 3:10 p.m. SHO
11 p.m. SHO
Thursday Aug. 30 Midnight SHO
Friday Aug. 31 11:30 p.m. SHO
Saturday Sept. 1 11:45 a.m. SHO
Midnight SHO
Sunday Sept. 2 5:40 p.m. SHO
Monday Sept. 3 1:35 a.m. SHO
Tuesday Sept. 4 12:30 a.m. SHO
Weds. Sept. 5 11:35 p.m. SHO
Thursday Sept. 6 7:35 p.m. SHO
Friday Sept. 7 2 a.m. SHO
Saturday Sept 8 12:15 p.m. SHO

The Sept. 8 fight card at STAPLES Center is a joint promotion between Don King Productions and Main Events in association with AEG and STAPLES Center.

Tickets priced at $300, $150, $100 and $50 are on sale now online at ticketmaster.com, via Ticketmaster charge-by-phone lines at (213) 480-3232 or (714) 740-2000 and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers including Wherehouse Music, Robinsons-May, Tower Records and Ritmo Latino locations. Tickets are also available at the STAPLES Center box office and the box office at TEAM LA at Universal CityWalk.

The event will also be televised live domestically beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, at a suggested retail price of $44.95, distributed by SHOWTIME® PPV.

The Sports & Entertainment Center of the World, STAPLES Center is the downtown Los Angeles home of the most popular concerts, special events and five professional sports franchises: The NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers; the NHL's Los Angeles Kings; the AFL's Los Angeles Avengers; and the WNBA's Los Angeles Clippers as well as championship boxing, tennis, family shows and special events. Since its October 17, 1999, grand opening, STAPLES Center, twice named Arena of the Year, has welcomed over 25 million guests.

Main Events was founded in 1978 by Kathy Duva's late husband Dan Duva. In addition to the hundreds of world title bouts it has promoted, Main Events has promoted some of the biggest PPV events in history, such as "Showdown" the 1981 undisputed welterweight unification bout between “Sugar” Ray Leonard and Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns; “The Battle of the Ages” 1991 undisputed heavyweight championship between Evander Holyfield and George Foreman; the “Miss Howard Stern New Year's Eve” pageant, and the 2002 Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson heavyweight showdown which at the time set the record for the highest grossing PPV event of all-time.

Don King Productions has promoted over 500 world championship fights with nearly 100 individual boxers having been paid $1 million or more. DKP also holds the distinction of having promoted or co-promoted seven of the 10 largest pay-per-view events in history, as gauged by total buys, including three of the top five: Holyfield vs. Tyson II, 1.99 million buys, June 1997; Tyson vs. Holyfield I, 1.6 million buys, November 1996; and Tyson vs. McNeeley, 1.58 million buys, August 1995.

DKP has promoted or co-promoted 11 of the top 15 highest-grossing live gates in the history of the state of Nevada including three of the top five: Holyfield vs. Lewis II, paid attendance: 17,078, gross: $16,860,300 (NOTE: Also second-highest live-gate gross for any event in history.), date: Nov. 13, 1999; Holyfield vs. Tyson II, paid attendance: 16,279, gross: $14,277,200, date: June 28, 1997; Holyfield vs. Tyson I, paid attendance: 16,103, gross: $14,150,700, date: Nov. 9, 1996; and Tyson vs. McNeeley, paid attendance: 16,113, gross: $13,965,600, date: Aug. 19, 1995.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME® TOO™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILYZONE® and TMC XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL HD™, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND™ and THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMAND™. SNI is also an owner and manager of SUNDANCE CHANNEL, a venture of NBC Universal, Robert Redford and SNI. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME® PPV.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 9:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by mightygloves.com at 1:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Over the years the name of sportswriter Jim Murray kept coming to my
attention. He was basically a west coast writer so I was very unfamiliar
with his work. Then I saw his book "The Last Of The Best" and decided to
take a chance. Realizing that Mr. Murray had passed away I found this book
to be a compilation of his articles and essays.Guess what I found out ? They
did still make writers like that up until Murray's death. Again I read only
the subjects that interested me.

Jim Murray was old school. He traveled with the players. He played golf
with owners . He had a terrific understanding of what he was writing about.
He had a great gift of putting his words together like painting a picture.
He made you feel like you were right there with him as he covered an event.
He enlightened and educated his readers and he had a knack for humoring them
too.

Since I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio I was not really aware of Jim Murray's
work. I am now and I'm a much more knowledgeable person for reading it.
Jimmy Cannon and Jim Murray. I tip my hat to two of the best writers that
ever lived.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 11:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ismael Laguna was one of the best pure boxers the lightweight division
has seen in the last forty years. Only Pernell Whitaker, Howard Davis, and
Hall of Famer Ken Buchanan can compare. To win his first title Ismael out
boxed another Hall of Famer, Carlos Ortiz. Ortiz would then outmuscle Laguna
in winning two subsequent rematches. Five years later Ismael would regain
the title by beating the talented Mando Ramos. He would then lose twice to
Buchanan ending his long career. In 75 bouts against many of the worlds best
including Vincente Saldivar and Guts Suzuki, Ismael was never stopped. His
final record was 65-9-1 with 37 knockouts.

It is no secret the Alexis always had trouble with mobile boxers. Clever
but light hitting Vilomar Fernandez gave him fits. Laguna would give Alexis
a lot of angles. Arguello was usually a slow starter and Ismael was a very
good counter puncher. Laguna was not a hard hitter but he was a sharp and
accurate puncher. It is highly conceivable that Laguna would jump out to an
early lead. Laguna's jab would get in more often but Arguello's would carry
much more sting. Whenever possible Alexis would try to work the body. This
would probably be the key for an Arguello victory. As the bout progressed
Arguello's body attack would slow Laguna down. Remember this would be a
fifteen round fight. By the later rounds Alexis would begin to land some
telling head shots. Laguna would be hurt but he would smartly evade Arguello's
attempts to finish him. Occasionally Ismael would score with light but
flashy combinations but mostly he would be forced to box defensively. The
decision would be close but Arguello's power and his late surge would carry
him to a unanimous decision. Now I wonder how Alexis would have done against
the "other" champ from Panama, Roberto Duran.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 9:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 9:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

To celebrate the life of BOBBY CZYZ and to help raise funds for his ongoing and enormous medical expenses, BLISS LOUNGE in Clifton, New Jersey, is hosting “Bobby Czyz Night” on Friday, September 7th and will be donating 100% of its door and net-bar proceeds to CZYZ. This benefit is open-to-the-public (21-and-over) and will run from 8:00PM to 2:00AM. Admission: $20/person. The evening, dubbed “a celebration of life,” will be hosted by boxing legends: former Heavyweight Champion, LARRY HOLMES, and former Heavyweight Contender and inductee into the New Jersey Boxing Hall Of Fame, CHUCK WEPNER. New Jersey restaurant and nightclub impresario, JOEY HARRISON, will also co-host the evening. As part of the night’s festivities, WKTU Radio’s on-air personality, GOUMBA JOHNNY, will be master of ceremonies, and a sports memorabilia auction will cap-off the event. Boxing fans and sports fans of all stripes will be treated to a special video montage of CZYZ’s career, with highlights shown throughout the evening on oversized projection screens.

BOBBY CZYZ is a former IBF Light Heavyweight Champion (1986-87), a WBA Cruiserweight Champion (1991-93), and a WBU Supercruiserweight World Title-holder (1995-96). Of the many traits that set CZYZ apart, one of the most notable is that he’s a member of Mensa and boasts an exceptionally high I.Q. Of his life now, CZYZ says, “Nobody loves to live and party more than I do, and now that I’ve got a second-chance, I’m never going to quit!”

BLISS Lounge is located at 955 Allwood Road in Clifton, New Jersey, (973) 773-2110. For more information, contact Emily Tan by phone (917) 318-3758, e-fax (646) 619-4907, email EmilyEmilyTan@aol.com, or visit www.blisslounge.net.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 8:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sheahan, from the St Michael's Athy club, picked up an injury to a knuckle on his left hand in training and it was decided that with the World Championships under over months away that he would not travel to Germany.

The Irish squad will fly out to Heidelberg in Germany today (August 22nd) to compete against Germany and France in what will be their last competitive tournament before the 2007 World Championships in Chicago.

The Irish Amateur Boxing Association will name at least a six man squad for Chicago although there is a possibility there
could be one extra boxer included on the panel for the tournament.

Four of the places on the Irish squad for Chicago have already been filled meaning that at least two further berths are still up for grabs for the World Championships which also act as the first qualifying tournament for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.


The International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) announced yesterday that the 2007 World Championships would be the
biggest in world amateur boxing history.

A total of 114 nations and 623 boxers will be competing in Chicago between October 23rd and November 3rd.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 8:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

McBride (34-5-1, 29 KOs), now 34 and living in Boston, believed he’d get his world title shot after stopping 20-1 favorite Tyson in the sixth round of their June 11, 2005 fight. The 6-6, 280-pound Irishman thought he had fights lined-up against then world heavyweight champions John Ruiz and Lamon Brewster, but promotional problems and a series of questionable business decisions by his advisors cost McBride a chance to cash-in on the worldwide fame he had gained after beating Tyson.

Ten months after the Tyson fight, the now Don King-promoted McBride defeated Byron Polley and then, tapped out and desperate to get back in the ring, he took an ill advised fight against Mike Mollo, who knocked out McBride on national television in the second round, and Kevin’s once promising career suddenly was on the ropes.

“I beat my idol, Tyson, and by beating a name fighter like him, it got me in the picture,” McBride said. “I was supposed to get title fights but nothing materialized. I won my first fight (after the Tyson fight) but didn’t look good and then lost my last fight which I never really should have taken. Now, I have a new team and my manager, Jerry Quinn, is pulling no punches to get me my world title shot. I’m back with the strength-and-conditioning coach I had when I fought Tyson, Radovan Serbula. Jerry also hired a coach in the Boston area to work with me (Arsen Sarkisov), and then he brought in a world-class trainer to handle me, Buddy McGirt. I’m delighted with our whole new team that Jerry has put together.

“I have the ability to be world champion. I’m going to beat Golota and redeem myself. It will get me back in the picture for a world title fight. I’m not looking past Golota. I’m going in against him with one thing in mind – win at all cost. October 6th is going to open the door or shut it. One way or the other it’s going to be exciting. I started boxing at nine and that’s when I first dreamed of becoming the first Irish-born heavyweight champion
of the world. Now, thanks to Jerry, I have another chance to fulfill my dream.”

Quinn, a well known national philanthropist and successful businessman, who owns the Kells of Boston restaurant/bar, has been a good friend and sponsor of McBride’s for the past six years. Born and raised in Tuam, County Galway, Ireland, Jerry immigrated to the United States in 1972.
After his devastating loss to Mollo, McBride was left for dead, boxing wise, but Quinn put his money where his mouth is, becoming Kevin’s manager and undisputed leader of the New Team McBride.

“I always saw great potential in Kevin and believed he would be world champion after he defeated Tyson,” Quinn explained. “I still do. I made a proposal to him, a package that included a weekly salary, car, paying for his training, etc. But I wanted total control because it’s the only wait it could work. I knew that he wasn’t getting the proper training and guidance after the Tyson fight. I had a vision. I wanted to change his whole team, but Kevin wouldn’t accept it at the time, and he shot me down. He was committed to his old team and persuaded by them.

“Three weeks after his last fight, I made a similar presentation to Kevin, and he accepted. I make all of the business decisions now, working with my associate, Bob O’Guin. I sent Kevin back to Radovan and he works out with him six days a week. I hired a Russian trainer, Arsen Sarkisov, whose family has been in boxing for years. Kevin trains with him five nights a week in the Boston area. Back in April, I contacted Buddy McGirt and we went to his gym in Vero Beach (FL) for a week. Buddy was a great champion and he’s one of the best trainers in boxing today. There was immediate chemistry between Kevin and Buddy. He agreed to train Kevin, who heads back to Vero Beach around September 1 for a month of training camp. My job is to give Kevin the tools to become world champion; his is to train hard and fight. I still believe that he will be the heavyweight champion of the world.”

McBride represented Ireland in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona as the youngest super heavyweight ever. He was eliminated in what was only his sixth match and he then turned pro. Kevin fought a six-round draw in his pro debut against Gary Charlton in London, and then won his next 19 fights. In 1999, he relocated in Boston and his roller coaster like career has taken him to the heights of slaying Tyson to the depths of despair in his last bout.

With a new team in his corner, McBride continues his journey to become the first Irish-born heavyweight champion of the world. To get there, though, “The Clones Colossus” needs to get past Golota on Oct. 6 in a must win situation at the famed Madison Square Garden.

The green dream continues for Kevin McBride, thanks in large part to his new manager, Jerry Quinn. Winning the world title may be longshot for the likeable McBride but, then again, how many people honestly thought he’d beat Tyson?

Posted by mightygloves.com at 8:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

“Joel Casamayor is a brilliant boxer and one of the most underrated champions of the last 25 years,” said Oscar de la Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. “We are honored to have him on our team and with his talent and our promotional ability, we will get Joel the big fights he deserves and let the world see just how good he is.”

“Oscar and his company know what I can do in the ring and I know what they can do for me outside of it to get me to where I want to be in this sport,” said Casamayor. “I want to fight the best and be in the biggest events possible and I trust Golden Boy to get me there.”

A date and opponent for Casamayor’s return to the ring will be announced shortly.

A native of Guantanamo, Cuba and now resides in Miami, Florida, Joel “El Cepillo” Casamayor (34-3-1, 21 KO’s) was one of the greatest amateur fighters to ever lace up his gloves, claiming numerous titles and accolades to his name, including a Gold Medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.

On the eve of the 1996 Olympic Games, Casamayor defected to the United States and as a professional, continued his commitment to excellence, compiling a record of (34-3-1, 21 KO’s), and winning world titles at 130 and 135 pounds while defeating the likes of the late Diego Corrales, Nate Campbell and Roberto Garcia. Although he has three losses (Jose Luis Castillo, Diego Corrales and Acelino Freitas) and a draw on an otherwise stellar record, ask any true boxing observer about those fights and many will admit that the controversial decisions in each bout should have gone the Cuban’s way.

Now, the 36-year-old Casamayor is not focusing on the past, but instead concerned with his future and putting together the biggest fights possible as he looks to further solidify his Hall of Fame credentials.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 9:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pennsylvania based veteran Dhafir Smith 17-16-5 {4 KO’s} has stepped in to challenge Contender season 1 star Jonathan “Reid Dawg” Reid 34-6 {19 KO’s}. The fight which will be the co-main event at the New Alhambra in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania will be fought at catch weight of 165 lbs. Smith is stepping in for Rasheem Brown who pulled out for undisclosed reasons and will be looking for his second straight victory after scoring a shocking knockout over Brandon Mitchem on July 27th. Reid will attempt to impress the crowd in his first trip to Philadelphia as well as new promoter Diane Lee Fischer of Dee Lee Promotions.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 8:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Limerick southpaw, who competed at the 2004 Olympics has racked up 10 straight wins since turning professional in March of last year. He’ll be looking to make it 11 wins from 11 this weekend but won’t have an easy night against Healy who has a “fight anyone, anytime” attitude. In fact Healy fought as recently as last Saturday night chalking up an impressive points win in Cork.

The main event at the Point sees Bernard Dunne defend his European super bantamweight title against undefeated challenger Kiko “La Sensacion” Martinez.

The full lineup is:

Bernard Dunne V Kiko Martinez – European Super Bantamweight title (12 Rounds)
Tony Oakey V Brian Magee – British Light Heavyweight title (12 Rounds)
Andy Lee V Ciaran Healy - (8 Rounds)
Matthew Macklin V Darren Rhodes - (8 Rounds)
Paul McCloskey V Alfredo Di Feto - (8 Rounds)
Nicky Smedley V Dariusz Snarski - (8 Rounds)
Willie Thompson V Artur Jashkul – (4 Rounds)

Posted by mightygloves.com at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ireland won a hat trick of medals at last years European Schoolboy Championships after Golden Cobras Anthony Upton, Glens Tommy Kiely, and Fergal McCrory from the Clonoe club all claimed bronze in the Ukraine.

Cork strawweight Roy Carroll, from the Glen BC, will be hoping to make it a country and club double when he competes in Portsmouth next month and club coach Robbie O'Driscoll believes that the young Leesider will give a good account of himself in Portsmouth.

He said: "Roy had fantastic season last year and he has been boxing superbly over the last twelve months and we have every confidence in him. We would like to wish the entire Irish squad the best of luck in Portsmouth."


Irish 2007 European Schoolboy Championships Squad

40kg:George Bates (St Mary's Dublin)
43kg:Kieran Forde (Monivea)
44.5kg:Michael Reilly (Portlaoise)
46kg:Roy Carroll (Glen)
48kg:Michael McDonagh (St Mary's)
50kg:Christy Joyce (St Michaels Athy)
52kg:Chris Mullally (Ryston)
56kg:Joe Ward (Moate)
59kg:Stephen Broadhurst (Dealgan)
62kg:Ray Ginley (Oliver Plunkett)
65kg:Daniel O’Neill (Paulstown)
68kg:Daniel O’Brien (Drimnagh)

Team Manager: Gerry O’Mahoney (Dungarvan)
Coaches: Tony Davitt (Drimnagh), TBC
R/J: Fiona Hennigan (Arnaree)


2007 European Schoolboy Championships Schedule

Sunday 2nd September

Arrival of the EABA technical delegates, R/Js, doctors, and teams

21.00 Technical meeting

Monday 3rd September - Preliminaries

Weigh-in and medical examinations 08.00-10.00

Draw 11.00

Opening Ceremony and matches 14.00-18.00

Tuesday 4th September - Preliminaries

Weigh-in and medical examinations 08.00-09.00

Start of matches 14.00-18.00

Wednesday 5th September - Quarter finals

Weigh-in and medical examinations 08.00-09.00

Start of matches 14.00-18.00

Thursday 6th September Semi finals

Weigh- in and medical examinations 08.00-09.00

Start of matches 15.00

Friday 7th September - Rest day

Saturday 8th September - Finals

Weigh-in and medical examinations 08.00-09.00

Start of matches 19.00

Sunday 9th September

Posted by mightygloves.com at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Andy will now complete his preparation for the fight at the Belfast KRONK Boxing Gym, Ireland before travelling to Dublin later in the week.

Andy's opponent will be announced by Brian Peters Promotions in the coming days.


Damian McCann
Andy Lee Boxing Team

Posted by mightygloves.com at 1:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

“Pinnacle FiteNite” is a pro boxing pay-per-view series emanating for a wide variety of venues across the county.

Tua (48-3-1, 40 KOs), ranked No. 13 by the WBC, unleashed his lethal left hook on Montana (48-15, 42 KOs), positioning himself closer to another world title fight. “I’m grateful for this opportunity,” Tua said after the fight. “I was never gone and this was not a comeback fight. This time I was able to train to fight, not train to lose weight. I hope to soon get an opportunity to fight for the world title.”

In the co-feature, unbeaten Israeli heavyweight prospect Roman Greenberg (26-0, 18 KOs), fighting out of England, extended his win streak to 26, stopping former WBO heavyweight title challenger “Dangerous” Damon Reed (43-12, 30 KOs) when referee Jonathan Tuero halted the bout 43 seconds into the ninth round. Greenberg unloaded in the eighth rebound dropping Reed three times, although one was ruled a slip, and the action ended at 43 seconds of the ninth when Reed took a knee again for the third straight time in the fight (twice in the 8th).

“It took a little longer than I would have liked,” Greenberg remarked, “but I hadn’t fought for a while (5 months). I wasn’t sure what was going on in the eighth round (knockdown ruled a slip). I saw that I could break him down with body shots (left hooks).”

Former WBO heavyweight title challenger Jeremy “Half-Man, Half-Amazing” Williams (42-5-1, 35 KOs), fighting as a cruiserweight for the first time, won an exciting eight-round split decision versus Salt Lake City favorite Gary “Pit Bull” Gomez (18-9-1, 7 KOs). “I’m back,” Williams noted. “I felt good. It was my first fight back (after 2 ½ years of inactivity). Remember, I will be the cruiserweight champion of the world.”

Undefeated New York City prospect Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (14-0, 12 KOs) opened the PPV show with a knockout at 1:38 of the opening round against Mexican super middleweight Jose Humberto “Olimpico” Corrall (10-6, 7 KOs). “I threw some chocolate bombs,” Quillin said. “Coming off this win we’re looking for bigger and better things.”

Mexican junior welterweight Braulio Lopez (6-5-1, 1 KO), fighting out of Oregon, won a six-round split decision against Utah veteran Justo Sanchez (17-22-1, 0 KOs), of Howell (UT), Las Vegas high-profile defense attorney Marc “The Defender” Saggese (3-0, 3 KOs) blasted out cruiserweight Trevor Pasha (0-3) 40 seconds into the first round, Utah welterweight Miguel Beltran won his pro debut via a fourth-round unanimous decision against Martin Vierra (2-2, 1 KO), Chris Fernandez (13-3, 7 KOs) won a slugfest by four-round decision versus Willie Walton (2-1, 1 KO) in a battle of Salt Lake City welterweights.

-PFN-

RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHTS: David Tua, 237 1/2 lbs., South Auckland, New Zealand via Samoa
WKO1 (2:15) Saul Montana, 242 lbs., Los Cabos, Mexico; Roman Greenberg, 231 ½ lbs., Finchley, England via Israel and Russia WTKO9 (0:43) Damon Reed, 220 lbs., Topeka, KS. CRUISERWEIGHTS: Jeremy Williams, 200 lbs., Long Beach, CA WDEC8 (78-75 77-75, 75-77) Gary Gomez, 198 ½ lbs., Salt Lake City, UT; Marc Saggese, 192 1/2 lbs., Las Vegas, NV WTKO1 (0:40) Trevor Pasha, 195 lbs., Denver, CO. SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS: Peter Quillin, 159 ½ lbs., New York, NY WKO1 (1:38) Jose Humberto Corral, 163 ½ lbs., Aqua Prieta, Mexico. WELTERWEIGHTS: Miguel Beltran, 146 ½, West Valley, UT WDEC4 (40-36, 40-36, 40-36) Martin Vierra, Phoenix, AZ; Chris Fernandez, Salt Lake City, UT Willie Walton, Salt Lake City, UT WDEC4 (38-37, 38-36, 40-34). JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHTS: Braulio Lopez, 138 lbs., Talatin, OR via Mexico WDEC6 (59-56, 58-56, 56-58) Justo Sanchez, 139 ½ lbs., Howell, UT.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 9:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Boxing's popularity has always been a sport of high and low dips like a rollercoaster ride. Today boxing is sitting in the shadows of other crowd pleasing sports: MMA (shivers and not because I am cold), Pro-wrestling (can you say soap opera on steroids?) and kickboxing (enough said).

What we fail to recall is Boxing (the sweet science) came before all these newly created sports. So why aren't more people looking out for it, improving it and trying to preserve that which History has given us? Boxing is more than art, more than sport it is part of human nature. it is self-defense on a higher level. If we lose boxing because changes are not made we will become reactionary without rules to ensure our personal safety, a society of free-for-alls.

Some changes definitely need to be made pronto others to be considered more carefully and some concepts to be removed from boxing all together so the sweet science will be a survivor not a casualty. Through research and discussions I have come to recognize areas that could be improved in order to benefit the sport.

Alphabet soup- WBA, WBC,IBF,WBO,IBO, XYZ and OMG! Do we really need all these sanctioning bodies? NO! What they are responsible for more than anything else is the nonsense, injustice and scandals of boxing. The titles they give are redundant. The different rankings- an excuse for dirty money flowing around the sport resulting in mis-matched bouts. The many weight classes are stretching the limit ( some can easily be eliminated). The rules are confusing if not just plain dangerous ( not all states follow the same rules) they lack consistency.
The purest in me believes: 1 governing body-8 weight classes and 1 champ per class. The wishful me suggests: 2 possible governing bodies (like the NFL and AFL)-Less than 1 weight classes and a playoff system for champs.
Boxing commentators- Psst...I'll tell you a little secret...when I watch fights on TV I turn the volume off. I can enjoy the fight much more without listening to the commentators talking more about themselves than the fight or showing favoritism even though they claim to be neutral. Their attempts at keeping fans attention by creatively saying the same thing 20 different ways is just annoying.
Low blows- Un-necessary and un-manly. Make the foul protector stronger so a fighter won't say he can't continue because of a low blow and win a fight that way. (The five minute rule is a good one.)
Promoters- I could probably write a book about this subject of boxing but will say in my opinion they have destroyed the integrity of the sport and their control is oppressive. When the promoters make more money than the boxers-some thing is very wrong.
Undefeated boxers- People seem to be pre-occupied with the undefeated boxer these days. Undefeated records are impression no doubt. However, how much of that perfect record belong to bouts that were hard to win and really beneficial to the boxer's talents? Boxers need to fight decent fights ( even with a possible loss or draw) than to let them inflate their record with nobodies and has-beens just to claim the fame of being 20-0.
Networks- More alphabet names but the same mistake. Their objective is to find ways they can make the most money even if the fans don't get their money's worth. Mediocre fights lead fans away from boxing. Will the Networks ever learn?
Weigh-in's- As they are now 24 hours before a fight-can not always be an accurate account of what a boxer will be when he steps into the ring the next day. Much can happen to gain an edge on your opponent in that time as well as physical dangers. Pre-fight weigh in's the same day should take place to ensure fairness.
Entourages- This is not a parade. This is not a MTV video- this is a boxing match- people! A boxer does not need 30 of his closest friends to walk him into the ring. He knew how to walk when he was 3 years old. We do not need a circus atmosphere at ringside. Pure and simple- trainer, chief second cutman and boxer- end of story.
Ring card girls- Sorry guys but I do not see the purpose for this display. Common sense, if you're watching the fight and paying attention you should know what round it is and you do not need a bikini model holding up a little card ( which can't be seen unless you are ringside anyway) to tell you that fact.
Aftercare for boxers- It is important to always remember: Boxers are the most exposed and the least protected. Most rules of boxing do consider a boxer's safety in the ring and that is commendable. What we need are more mentors to help boxers who become successful in the sport learn to manage their money so they will have a secure future. We also need more programs to help boxers after their careers are over. Boxer pensions and retirement funds should be a staple in boxing. RBF, F.I.S.T, and the Teddy Atlas Foundation are very good starts but we need to do more and the people with the money in boxing ( we know who you are) need to be less selfish and more generous.

By now you may be thinking that I am not a boxing FAN but a crusader to abolish boxing. You would be wrong. The love of boxing allows me to examine what can be changed so that boxing remains strong and to keep it from becoming just another word in the dictionary. I do not believe that " pro-boxing" is mud that can never be cleaned. We can clean up the sport it will just take the combined effort to do so.
The boxing community’s hard working trainers and dedicated boxers have my respect. What I do demand is accountability from the people who run boxing. Reforming boxing will be a positive outcome for all involved. Boxing simply needs to "show more love" to the boxers who dedicate themselves to a career they love.

Footnote-Boxing may be temporarily down for the count but it is never out of the fight. Meet me on the flipside and I'll show you -"What is right about Boxing" and there is much that is right.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 9:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sonny’s first serious test on his comeback campaign would come against young Henry Clark. At first some experts thought Sonny made a mistake in choosing Clark. In his previous comeback bouts, Sonny still seemed to carry his vaunted power but he also looked slow and ponderous. Clark was not a big puncher, but he was a boxer and a mover in the Ali style. A style that had proven in the past to trouble Sonny. The actual fight was comparable to a man against a boy. Only Clark’s gameness made it competitive. The referee finally raised Sonny’s hand in round seven. Liston was now right back in the thick of the heavyweight picture. Sonny said he wanted to fight Jerry Quarry and then either Ellis or Frazier.

The next step for Sonny would be against veteran contender Leotis Martin. Martin had lost to Ellis in the first round of the W.B.A.. elimination tournament and he also lost to Henry Clark. He seemed like a “safe” opponent. A win for Sonny here may get him a shot at the winner of the Ellis-Frazier unification bout that was scheduled for February of 1970. The bout started slowly with Liston forcing the action behind his long punishing left jab. At times Martin was able to jab with him, but Sonny was in control. In round four Sonny finally connected with a long sweeping left hook that floored Martin by the ropes. Leotis survived the round and actually began picking up the pace in round five. After six rounds Sonny was well out in front but Martin was very much alive and there were six rounds to go. In the seventh Sonny seemed to age in front of everyone’s eyes. Martin was beginning to out jab Sonny while also landing effective counter shots. In the eighth round Liston became unglued. Martin bloodied and cut Liston’s nose and the blood poured into Sonny’s mouth impairing his breathing. In round nine Liston seemed to just be trying to box his way to the final bell in hopes that his early lead would get him the decision. Martin had other plans. Leotis was now punishing Liston with wicked jabs to his gory face.

Sonny’s jab was more of a flicking jab. As Liston pawed out with a series of jabs Martin timed the last one perfectly and came over the top with a crunching overhand right. The punch literally froze Sonny in his tracks. Swiftly Leotis connected with a powerful left hook to the chin and another right as Sonny fell face first to the canvas, OUT COLD! In a matter of seconds the aura and myth of Sonny Liston was shattered. As announcer Howard Cosell called it a “crushing and compelling knockout.”

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 8:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tito Trinidad: "I always want to fight great fighters and I am coming back to fight Roy Jones Jr. because he is one of the greatest in the sport."

Don King: "The fight will take place at 170 pounds. We are leaning toward Madison Square Garden but nothing is set at this time."

Tito: "I am going to feel very good at that weight and I feel that I will feel great at that fight."

Don King: "Tito Trinidad and Roy Jones will be doing color [on the pay-per-view telecast] for Vargas vs. Mayorga on September 8 and Chad Dawson on September 29 and Maskaev vs. Sam Peter on Oct. 6. Roy Jones will be his inimitable self as only he knows how to do it. And Tito will do the Spanish version. And they will be on Juan Diaz vs. Julio Diaz, the double D. Roy Jones will be doing rap music and Tito will be doing Reggaetón. Then they will go in the ring and fight. It is taking my breath away. This is a fight made in heaven... quality and competitiveness."

Tito Trinidad: "One month ago, I was not clear whether I would come back to boxing. But right now I have made up my mind. I have conversations with my manager and Don and finally everything has come together. Everything has been agreed... that I am ready to fight Roy Jones and Roy Jones is ready to fight me."

Don King: "Papa Trinidad didn't want his son coming back into boxing if he was going to fight anybody less than a Roy Jones Jr. So he raised the bar real high in honor of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rican people. He told me Roy Jones. So my job was to go get Roy Jones. Roy Jones agreed to do business and be involved in history in the making."

Tito Trinidad: "It is true that I said in the past that I would not come out of retirement. But I have been a great fighter throughout my career and I am still healthy and I know that I have too much boxing inside of me and I want to show the world that I am still one of the best boxers. This is a great challenge to fight Roy Jones who is one of the greatest of the era and I never turned down a great fight and I am coming out of retirement for a great fight, with a great fighter like Roy Jones.

It is a huge purse, but at this time that is confidential."

Don King [injects]: "Mucho Grande, muchas gracias."

Tito Trinidad: "There is no next fight. Right now I am focused on fighting Roy Jones, one of the greatest fighters I will ever face. He is a great fighter. After I fight Jones, then I may think of another fight."

What do you think about Mayweather?

Tito Trinidad: "There was talk about fighting Mayweather but because of the difference in weight that fight really could not happen. It will never happen. This fight is at 170 and I will feel great at that weight and it will be a great fight.

I had always said that I will be in boxing as long as my father is. It is 100-percent true that I would only come back if my father did. The only reason I came back is because my trainer, my manager and my friend is back. He is supporting me and we are back together."

Don King: "It is a great day. Papa gave me a hard task to get Roy Jones. Papa said, 'Don’t bring me a mortal man, bring me Roy Jones.'"

Tito Trinidad: "It is just my comeback. I am going to fight Roy Jones."

What about Bernard Hopkins?

Tito Trinidad: "I fought Bernard Hopkins the first time and we won the jackpot. He has been running around ever since. I have been trying to get a rematch with him but it never happened. So right now I am focused on Roy."

What TV will this be on?

Don King: "This fight just came about. So we haven’t gotten that far yet. Papa knows, Roy Jones knows, I know and Tito knows, so it is not an original deal. This is creative, this is history. We have to discuss where the fight will be shown. We have to talk to HBO and we have to talk to SHOWTIME and we have to talk to ESPN and Rupert Murdoch, who is taking over everything. This is the first time since Rumble in the Jungle, where you make the fight, and we didn’t even have television. But right now we have both combatants just sitting here looking at each other and it is just remarkable. Shades of yesterday, fights like that were made 35 years ago."

Roy Jones Jr: "Tito is a great champion and I know that and he has left behind a great legacy. If someone like that comes to challenge you, how can you turn that down? I’d be stupid to turn that down, I fight for a living, that’s what I do. Great fights are made just like what we did here. You make a big fight to give the fans something to come watch. It’s not like the Floyd Mayweather-De La Hoya fight where they gave the fans a dance."

What about fighting at 170?

Roy Jones Jr: "I don’t like it, but for a big fight you have to do those things. It is a wonderful fight and I’m not going to let a few pounds ruin it. Of course it is going to be very difficult. Of course I’m not going to like it. But this is a big fight and the people want it. So we have to make it happen."

Are you too big or fast for Trinidad?

Roy Jones Jr: "Too fast, I may agree with. Too big? He is bigger than me right now. But [me being] too fast [for him], I am going to agree with. We are both powerful punchers, and when you have two powerful punchers it all depends on who is going to get there first. But there is one thing I will guarantee, it will not be like Winky Wright and Bernard Hopkins, two guys that are superior boxer but have no bombs in their tank. We both have bombs in our tank. Plus, we are phenomenal boxers on top of that. So you have everything it takes to make a great fight here. You’ve got two beautiful punchers. You’ve got two beautiful boxers. I am probably the quicker of the two, but pound-for-pound, he is probably the more powerful of the two. So it makes for a great fight."

How much convincing from Don did it take for you to do this?

Roy Jones Jr. "It takes a lot of convincing for me to do anything. It’s how you convince me to do it. He [Don King] just called me and said, 'Hey, Trinidad wants you.' If he wants me then do what you’ve got to do and make it happen. So I came in and we made it happen."

Have you looked at the contract?

Roy Jones Jr.: "I just got here for the press conference and I will look at it now. And I will sign it shortly.

I take my hat off to him for respecting me that much. And now we have two guys who stood up and said they want to fight each other. It didn’t take much to make the fight happen. I don’t change for pretty much anybody. Don King is going to treat me right so I am along for the ride."

Are you going to be OK doing all of that TV stuff?

Roy Jones Jr: "It is OK if I am working for myself. It’s another thing when you’ve got to work for somebody. I’m not going to do what they want me to do all the time, because that’s not how it works. But I’ll do what you want me to do if we do it right. But if you go crazy and do things that I don’t want to do, I am not going to do that."

How hard will it be to get to 170?

Roy Jones Jr: "God works in mysterious ways. After my last fight, I stayed slim because I thought something crazy may come my way. So I am slim. And this fight is worth getting there for."

Roy, you told Don not to put Trinidad in with Hopkins

Roy Jones Jr: "What I told Don was that Hopkins had everything to gain and nothing to lose. Hopkins is really nothing without a guy like Tito. Now Tito have everything to lose and nothing to gain. Hopkins was going for broke, he was going to do everything he had to do to win the fight. I knew he was a hungry fighter, but I could have been able to deal with him a little better."

Don King: "I want to work with Jim Dolan and Madison Square Garden. Jim Dolan is trying to bring boxing back to America when everyone else is running away from it."

Posted by mightygloves.com at 7:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The AIBA World Boxing Championships,which also double as the first 2008 Olympic qualifying event, will be the biggest World Championships in amateur boxing history.

One hundred and eighteen nations have entered the tournament surpassing the previous record of seventy four nations which entered the 2005 World Championships in Mianyang City China.

The 2007 World Championships will be held in Chicago between October 23rd and November 3rd.

High Performance Director Gary Keegan indicated that barring injury four of the squad for Germany will be travelling to the World Championships meaning that there are two or three places still left up for grabs for Chicago.

The Irish squad completed a one week training camp at Limerick University last week ahead of the Germany Round Robin tournament which takes place in Heidelberg between August 22nd and 26th.




Irish Squad for Germany:

48Kg: Paddy Barnes (Holy Family)
51Kg: Conor Ahern (Baldoyle)
54Kg: Ryan Lindberg (Immaculata)
57Kg: David Oliver Joyce (St Michael's Athy)
60Kg: Eric Donovan (St Michael's Athy)
64Kg: John Joe Joyce (St Michael's Athy)
69Kg: Roy Sheahan (St Michael's Athy)
75Kg: Darren Sutherland (St Saviours OBA)
81Kg: Ken Egan (Neilstown)
90Kg: John Sweeney (Dungloe)
91+Kg:Cahal McMonagle (Holy Family)

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 9:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Marquez (47-3-1, 35 KO’s) weighed in at 132.1 pounds and Juarez (27-3, 19 KO’s) was 139 pounds. The maximum weight each fighter could weigh 30 days prior to the fight was 143 pounds.

Marquez will defend his title against Juarez on “Fireworks”, a night of world-class professional boxing, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Romanza Productions and Tournament of Contenders and sponsored by Tecate Beer, Rock Star Energy Drink and Southwest Airlines. For more information please visit www.goldenboypromotions.com.

Tickets for this unforgettable night of boxing, priced at $300, $200, $100 and $50, are on sale now at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office. Tickets are sold at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Macy’s stores and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

The “Fireworks” pay-per-view telecast featuring Marquez vs. Juarez, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $44.95, will be distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 61 million pay-per-view homes. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For your Marquez vs. Juarez fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 9:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

“He thinks he beat me in our first fight. I am going to hush ‘Joe Boxer’ up. All he is doing is using my name to try to make himself look good and to make a name for himself. He’s trying to take the spotlight away from me, but that’s impossible.

“I look forward to kicking his butt, shutting him up and showing him what a real beating is. He is not at my level, so why does he continue to talk like he is? He’s made this fight personal, very personal.

“Now that I think about it, yeah, well, I pretty much hate him,’’

Offered “Joe Boxer” (5-2-2), of Covina, Calif.: “I can’t stand ‘Krazy Horse.’ He’s got a big mouth. He got a gift against me and he knows it. Anybody who saw our first fight knows I beat him. I wanted a rematch right away. The only reason he didn’t lose was because the referee didn’t stop it.

“He was done, fried, toasted. Any other fight, the ref stops it. I plan on shutting him up once and for all. Fighting on his home turf, I don’t have faith I can win a decision, so I will be going for a knockout for sure. I am really going to try and knock him out this time around. I have waited a long time for this.

“It’s just too bad ‘Krazy Horse’ was in jail and we couldn’t fight June 22 as scheduled. Actually, I think he went to jail on purpose. No matter how he acts or what he says, he doesn't want to fight me.’’

The fighters – surprise, surprise – have been keen to get back at each other since their initial encounter on Aug. 5, 2005, at San Jacinto, Calif., ended in a controversial, highly disputed draw.

At the finish of a two-round fight, “Krazy Horse’’ lay flat on his back – seemingly unconscious.

“He was totally finished,’’ said Valenzuela,’’ who faces Bennett in the main event of ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series on Saturday, Aug. 25, at Vicksburg, Miss., on SHOWTIME. “He couldn’t get up. Two rounds and ‘Krazy Horse’ had nothing left.’’

“I was not unconscious, just overheated, tired and exhausted because I wasn’t in shape,’’ insisted Bennett. “The question is, did ‘Joe Boxer’ beat me unconscious? If he thinks that way he's dreaming; he is not from planet earth. This time I am going to leave no doubt.

“I let it go after our first fight, but ‘Joe Boxer’ didn’t. So, now, it has become what it is. No way am I lacking motivation for this fight. In fact, I am motivated already. I am not drinking. I am a clean machine. I am in shape. I will knock him out in three and a half minutes.’’

The fighters’ verbal exchanges began almost immediately after the first fight and quickly escalated into a full-fledged war of words.

Tension reached a near crescendo after a May 2006 show in Laughlin, Nev. After each had won his match and swapped sarcastic syllables at the post-fight press conference, they nearly came to blows at the host fight hotel’s bar and casino.

“Actually, we had our little differences before the first fight, then we fought and I got the raw end of the deal,’’ Valenzuela said. “I have been waiting for a rematch since. He’s been trying to provoke me for two years. He likes to take digs at people; he taunts you. Every time I see him, he is smiling, showing me his fists, talking crap.

“I don’t know who he thinks he is, or who he thinks he is talking to or messing with. I can’t think of any grudge match that compares to this. It is just too bad it didn’t happen in June.’’

As unlikely as it may have seemed a year ago, “Krazy Horse” has become a bonafide MMA superstar. He has won four in a row, all by knockout.

“It’s a wonder what one victory on SHOWTIME can do for you,’’ he said. “My life has changed a lot ever since. I am more serious than I have ever been. There is a lot of money to be made. Guys are staying on top of me. I have people believing in me. That means a lot.

“For anyone to think I could one day become a star is unbelievable.’’

“Krazy Horse’’ scored a jaw-breaking, first-round knockout over KJ Noons in the first MMA bout ever shown on premium television—the SHOWTIME premiere of EliteXC (Feb.10, 2007, in Southaven, Miss.).

“Some people still think I landed a lucky punch,’’ Bennett said. “I am not getting the credit I deserve. But I know the only way to get credit is too keep winning. Going into that fight, they thought I was old and done. But the Noons’ fight only made me stronger. It rejuvenated me.’’

The shocking victory could not have come at a more opportune time for the second oldest of 12 children, who has literally been on his own since age 14.

“I grew up in Florida, but mostly everywhere and nowhere,” said Bennett. “One thing I have been trying to do is find all my brothers and sisters because I don’t know all of them. Our mom and dad were both drug addicts. They took mom away when I was five.

“My whole life has been a fight, a survival test. I live day by day. I didn’t make it through high school. I graduated from jail. According to the computer, I have been arrested 22 times since 1997. I’ve been busted for marijuana five times. But I’m clean now and ready to fight.

“I understand the opportunity presented to me in EliteXC and I’m going to make the best of it. I am going to show everybody. Until recently, nobody believed in me. I am going to shock them. For me to overcome so much, to look back at where I was to where I am today, is truly unbelievable.

“Can you believe it? I may become the face of EliteXC!’’

Regarding their first fight, Bennett says “I thought I beat ‘Joe Boxer’ -- and after watching the tape, I knew for sure I did. But I can’t argue with the judges’ call.

“The difference this time is that it is going to be a clean KO. I won’t be in a rush to take care of business. I learned against Noons I have to be more patient and pace myself.’’

Said Valenzuela: “He can try and pace himself all he wants, but I am going to be taking the fight right at him. He couldn’t make it past two rounds the first time. What makes you think he can go three?

“For him to agree that our fight was a draw; well, what does that tell you? He knows he lost. Everyone knows he lost.’’

“Joe Boxer” moved five years ago from Covina to Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., where he trains at Millennia Gym. He got his nickname shortly after going to a gym where the vast majority of athletes specialized in jiu-jitsu.

“Practically every one except me was into jiu-jitsu,’’ he said. “I grew up in La Puente (Calif.) in the world of boxing. My uncles fought; one was an established pro who was killed on a flight on the way to a fight. I was always holding mitts. I grew up in a gym.’’

Valenzuela will be trying to fight his way back into the win column on Aug. 25. On the June 22 EliteXC/Strikeforce event in San Jose, Calif., Valenzuela lost by first-round submission (heel hook) to late substitute Edson Berto, who was subbing for “Krazy Horse.”

“I’m not going to make excuses, but for my last fight I was training for a stand-up guy. But when “Krazy Horse” couldn’t, or wouldn’t, fight me, they threw me in with Berto on just a couple days’ notice.

“At the time, I knew nothing about Berto, but everybody I talked to said he fought stand-up. When he came at me with knees and kicks, he caught me off-guard. I wasn't prepared for him to be diving in.

“I thought Berto would stand and bang, which is what I want to do. I want to stand and bang and please the crowd. Nobody wants to watch guys rolling around. But I got surprised. I won’t be surprised on Aug. 25. I didn’t show my best against Berto. I will on Aug. 25.”

“Krazy Horse,” who cleared legal trouble in Florida, was cage-side on the night of the fight in Santa Ynez, Calif., and had some choice words for Valenzuela after the fight.

“This guy thinks he can hang with me and he loses to Edson Berto in 47 seconds? You have to be kidding, right?” said “Krazy Horse.”

“What a class act and total sportsman,” said “Joe Boxer’’ sarcastically. “He gives new meaning to the word ‘tasteless.’ I can’t wait to get him in the cage.’’

Valenzuela feels he is a much better fighter than the one “Krazy Horse’’ faced first time around.

“For sure I am very confident,’’ he said. “When we fought before it was only my second MMA fight. I was still really just learning. I was basically a boxer with no ground skills -- well, maybe a little, but I am much more improved now.”

EliteXC announcer Mauro Ranallo will handle play-by-play for ShoXC with highly regarded color analyst Stephen Quadros, The Fight Professor, at his side. The executive producer of ShoXC is David Dinkins, Jr. with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.

For more information on ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series, EliteXC and other MMA-related stories, including bios, stats and photos, please visit EliteXC.com

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 9:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ken began his career in a promising fashion reeling off an unbeaten streak against mediocre opposition. He was beginning to gain recognition as a top prospect until the roof caved in. A wiry Venezuelan named Jose Luis Garcia bombed Ken out and forced Norton to start all over. It took some time but Ken finally re-established himself with tough victories over men like Jack O’Halloran and Henry Clark. Norton was ranked but no one gave him a chance when he met ex-champion Muhammad Ali in March of 1973. In a fight that will forever be remembered as “The Jaw Breaker”, Norton walked off with the upset decision and Ali left to have his jaw wired. Their September 1973 rematch saw a better-conditioned Ali win a very close verdict.

In splitting two bouts with Ali. Ken got his first shot at the world crown against George Foreman. Foreman had destroyed Ken’s friend Joe Frazier in two rounds to capture the title. George duplicated the feat halting Kenny in round two of a mismatch. Again Norton would rebuild his career and after Ali stripped Foreman of his cloak of invincibility in Zaire, Ken became the logical contender. They met in their rubber match for Ali’s title in September of 1976 at Yankee Stadium. Ali retained his title with an unpopular decision. Personally, I felt Kenny deserved the verdict.

When Norton destroyed previously unbeaten Duane Bobick in one round in 1977, he put himself in line for a fourth meeting with Ali. Then boxing politics intervened. Ali lost his title in a major upset to Leon Spinks. The W.B.C. ordered Spinks to defend his title against Norton. Instead Spinks opted for a more lucrative rematch with Ali. Norton then met clever Jimmy Young. The winner to be proclaimed “champion” by the W.B.C. Norton won a dull decision over Young and he was bestowed the W.B.C. crown. So never having won the title in the ring, Kenny lost it in his first defense to Larry Holmes in a terrific battle. Everyone was looking forward to a rematch but Kenny got himself knocked out in one round by Earnie Shavers.

Ken would again try to re-establish himself but his age had finally caught up to him. A life and death struggle to secure a draw with journeyman Scott LeDoux pretty much spelled the end. He did re-surface briefly to edge Tex Cobb, but that only led to disaster as a red hot Gerry Cooney put a final exclamation point on Ken’s career with a brutal one round knockout. Ken did beat some notables during his distinguished career. Contenders like Henry Clark, Jerry Quarry, Boone Kirkman, and Garcia in a rematch, Jimmy Young, Cobb, and Larry Middleton adorn his record.

In reality, Ken lived off his reputation earned in his trio of bouts with Ali. For some reason Ken always proved troublesome to Muhammad. Ken’s best bout may have been his losing venture against Holmes in an all time classic. Ken’s chin was suspect ever since the first Garcia bout. Anytime he faced a big, big puncher he was usually sent home early. Reference to his bouts with Foreman, Shavers, and Cooney. Quarry and Henry Clark were on the downside of their careers when Ken beat them. Kirkman was overrated. Young and Middleton were fast and smart but light hitters. Cobb was game and tough but slow. Kenny was well ahead of LeDoux before his legs gave out and Scott gamely battled back to almost halt Ken. Why did Ken never meet Ron Lyle?

Ken Norton was a very good heavyweight, make no mistake about it. He was not a GREAT heavyweight. Only the greats should be honored as a member of The International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Jim can be contacted at jimsboxing@zoominternet.net

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 7:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tickets for “UNDEFEATED” will go on sale Monday, Sept. 17 at 10 a.m. PST and will be available at the MGM Grand Garden Arena Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations (including select Las Vegas Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and Macy’s West in the Fashion Show Mall). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

A fast sellout is expected as the fight already has the world buzzing in anticipation of seeing two of boxing’s premier, undefeated superstars finally meet in the ring.

“Even though this fight is months away, everyone is already talking about it and breaking it down, trying to figure out who has the edge,” said Oscar de la Hoya, president of Golden Boy Promotions. “It’s a great clash of styles between Mayweather and Hatton and I think that translates into a memorable fight that will go down in history as one of the great ones.”

Leonard Ellerbe of Mayweather Promotions agreed, “Mayweather Promotions is very excited to host our first fight at MGM Grand. This will definitely be a great battle for the fans and the MGM Grand is the perfect place to host this fight.”

Richard Sturm, president of Sports and Entertainment for MGM MIRAGE, stated, “What an exciting way to end 2007. This thrilling match-up between two sensational and undefeated champions, Mayweather and Hatton, will certainly bring an unprecedented and electric atmosphere to the MGM Grand Garden Arena and to the fans from around the world who will be witnessing the event.”

Mayweather, who most recently defeated de la Hoya at the storied Las Vegas venue, can’t wait for the big event, “The MGM Grand is like a second home to me and I’m going to make my fifth appearance here my most spectacular and memorable. I love Vegas, I love the fans at the MGM Grand and I’m gonna show Ricky Hatton that he can’t come into my house and try to take what’s mine.”

Hatton, a native of Manchester, England, followed by saying, “It’s always been a dream of mine to fight at the MGM Grand and now I’ll finally get my chance. The MGM Grand has been the home to so many great champions and so many great fights. To fight Floyd Mayweather in that famous ring will push me even harder to live up to such a legacy.”

Richard Schaefer, chief executive officer of Golden Boy Promotions, said, “The demand for tickets for Mayweather-Hatton has been amazing and our office has been flooded with requests from both here and the UK. This is not only a spectacular fight between two undefeated champions, but it’s an event that will get the entire world’s attention on December 8.”

“UNDEFEATED”, featuring Floyd Mayweather’s defense of his World Welterweight Championship against the universally recognized World Junior Welterweight Champion Ricky Hatton, will be promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Mayweather Promotions at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The event will be produced by and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View. For more information visit www.goldenboypromotions.com.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 7:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

JEREMY WILLIAMS 200 lbs.
GARY GOMEZ 198 ½ lbs.

PETER QUILLIN 159 ½ lbs.
JOSE HUMBERTO CORAL 163 ½ lbs.

BRAULIO LOPEZ 138 lbs.
JUSTO SANCHEZ 139 ½ lbs.

MARC SAGGESE 192 ½ lbs.
TREVOR PASHA 195 lbs.

MARTIN VIERRA later
MIGUEL BELTRAN 146 ½ lbs.

Event: Pinnacle FightNite

Site: South Towne Exposition Center, Sandy, Utah

Promoter: C.A.M. Boxing, Inc.

Television: The 3-hour, four-bout minimum Pinnacle FiteNite show will be available live (Aug. 18) at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT on both cable and satellite PPV via iN Demand, DirecTV and TVN, as well as live in Canada via satellite PPV on Bell Expressvue, for a suggested retail price of $24.95.

Tickets: $35.00, $50.00 and $75.00, are on sale and available at www.smithstix.com, South Towne Exposition Center box office, and local outlets. For additional information go to www.pinnaclefitenite.com. Doors open 5:00 PM/MT, first bout 6:00 PM/MT, first PPV bout 7:00 PM/MT.

photo by Red Stegall

Posted by mightygloves.com at 8:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

“Pinnacle FiteNite” is a pro boxing pay-per-view series emanating for a wide variety of venues. The Aug. 18th edition is promoted by C.A.M. Boxing, Inc. in association with Sports and Entertainment Media, Inc. and Gotham Boxing.

Samoan power-puncher David “Tuaman” Tua (47-3-1, 40 KOs), ranked No. 13 by the WBC, attempts to continue his journey back to the top of the heavyweight division against Mexican champion Saul “La Cobra” Montana (48-14, 42 KOs) in the 10-round main event. Former world title challenger Tua has knocked out current WBC title-holder Oleg Maskaev as well as former world champions John Ruiz, Hasim Rahman and Michael Moorer.

Israeli heavyweight sensation Roman Greenberg (25-0, 17 KOs), the No. 11 rated European heavyweight, now fighting out of England, meets former WBO heavyweight title challenger “Dangerous” Damon Reed (43-11, 30 KOs) in the 10-round co-feature. Greenberg hopes that an impressive win will position him closer to a top 15 world rating.

Former WBO heavyweight title challenger Jeremy “Half-Man, Half-Amazing” Williams (41-5-1, 35 KOs) takes on Salt Lake City favorite Gary “Pit Bill” Gomez (18-8-1, 7 KOs) in an eight-round cruiserweight bout. Williams (41-5-1, 35 KOs), who has fought as a heavyweight in each of his 47 pro bouts, returns to the boxing ring after 2 ½ years of inactivity when he was a mixed-martial-arts fighter and coach on The Contender reality television series. Former Global Union and WBC Cruiserweight Americas cruiserweight title-holder Gomez (18-8-1, 7 KOs), however, has never been stopped and also has the advantage of being the hometown favorite.

Undefeated New York City middleweight prospect Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (13-0, 11 KOs) will open the PPV show in an eight-round battle against Mexican knockout-artist Jose Humberto “Olimpico” Corrall (10-5, 7 KOs).

Pinnacle FiteNite is being produced by 21 Lakes and distributed by Integrated Sports. The 3-hour, four-bout minimum Pinnacle FiteNite show will be available live (Aug. 18) at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT on both cable and satellite PPV via iN Demand, DirecTV and TVN, as well as live in Canada via satellite PPV on Bell Expressvue, for a suggested retail price of $24.95.

Also scheduled to fight on undercard is junior welterweight Braulio Lopez (5-5-1, 1 KO) against Justo Sanchez (17-21-1, 0 KOs), of Howell (UT), in a six-round battle; in four-round bouts Las Vegas high-profile defense attorney Marc “The Defender” Saggese (2-0, 2 KOs) fights Buddy Payne (1-0, 1 KO), welterweight Martin Vierra (2-1, 1 KO) tangles with Miguel Beltran, Jr. (0-2), and welterweight Willie Walton, of West Jordan (UT), also is scheduled to fight. All bouts and fighters are subject to change.

Tickets, priced at $35.00, $50.00 and $75.00, are on sale and available at www.smithstix.com, South Towne Exposition Center box office, and local outlets. For additional information go to www.pinnaclefitenite.com. Doors open 5:00 PM/MT, first bout 6:00 PM/MT, first PPV bout 7:00 PM/MT.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 9:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sam Peter, who is coming off the finest win of his career, beating James Toney back in January, wants to be the first African in history to claim the Heavyweight title. The Peter camp, led by Luminary Lou Duva has the granite chinned slugger working hard in the Poconos under the guidance of Pops Anderson and Stacey McKensey of Tyson Fame. Stacey believes that if Sam Peter works hard enough and stays active enough he could be the heavyweight champion for years to come.

However, when you have three great trainers working with one fighter, it leaves a lot of room for arguing. Hopefully these three great boxing minds can formulate a plan that will bring fans back to Heavyweight division. Sam Peter is by far boxing’s biggest puncher, seen in his most famous punch behind the head. A young Mike Tyson he is not, but possibly the young George Foreman.

His only loss was a fight to the “real” heavyweight champion, Wladimir Klitschko. On that evening Peter was given a true boxing lesson and was handed his first defeat. Sam has improved since this fight, but so has Klitschko, even more so.

On October 6, look for Maskaev to stay in the wrong spot too long and counted out somewhere in the fourth round.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 6:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cintron is coming off a spectacular 2nd round knockout victory over Walter Matthysse (26-2, 25 KOs) on July 14. Cintron is trained and managed by Hall of Fame trainer, Emanuel Steward of the world famous Kronk Gym and under Steward’s tutelage has shown significant improvement. “I think in boxing you never stop learning. Emanuel Steward knows every trick in the book about boxing and little by little we've been going one on one with it and learning.” Said Cintron.

Feliciano last fought Delvin Rodriguez (20-1-1) on March 23 in Mashantucket, CT. when he scored an 8th round TKO, claiming the USBA Welterweight title. “My thoughts are, man, I can't believe I got this shot. I've been waiting for this all my life. And now that I have it, I'm going to give it all I've got.” Feliciano said.

Also featured on the card is a co-feature between Roman Karmazin (35-2-1, 22 KOs) and Luca Messi (30-7-1, 11 KOs) for the WBA super welterweight Intercontinental title.

Promoted by Main Events in association with Don King Productions, the bout will be televised live on Showtime PPV .

Tickets are priced at $300, $150, $100 and $50 and are on sale online at Ticketmaster.com, via Ticketmaster charge-by-phone lines at (213) 480-3232 or (714) 740-2000 and at Ticketmaster ticket centers including Wherehouse Music, Robinsons-May, Tower Records and Ritmo Latino locations. Tickets are also available at STAPLES Center box office and the box office at TEAM LA at Universal CityWalk.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 5:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

before Jimmy beat Foreman he had met an aging Muhammad Ali for the world's title. It was obvious the training was not a top priority for Muhammad. He must have taken Jimmy very lightly. The fight turned out to be a real stinker that went to the scorecards after fifteen rounds. Ali got the verdict and retained his crown. Many felt Jimmy did enough to win. I disagree with that. It was a close but utterly boring tussle. Young had his moments but his ducking through the ropes to avoid punishment did not endear him to the fans or the judges.

When Jimmy rebounded from the Ali setback and defeated Foreman, it led to a match with #1 contender Ken Norton. Ali had lost his title to Olympian Leon Spinks. The W.B.C. wanted Leon to defend against the deserving Norton. Leon opted for a lucrative return against Ali. The W.B.C. then stripped Leon and matched Norton with Young. Although I thought Jimmy lost to Ali or should I say he didn't do enough to take the title. I thought he earned the nod against Norton in a hard fought, competitive battle. Kenny won the decision and the recognition of the W.B.C as titleholder. Jimmy then lost two decisions to Ossie Ocasio that began his fade into boxing oblivion.

Jimmy was not an exciting fighter but he was well schooled. He was a real master of his craft. He had a stinging jab. He was a slick defensive boxer who was very good at making his opponent miss and then counter punching. He had a very good right hand counter that had some pop to it. He was also a decent body puncher who was not afraid to mix it up on the inside. He was not overly great at one thing but was very adept at doing a lot of things.
He reminded me a lot of the great light heavyweight champion Harold Johnson. An outstanding fighter who is often overlooked because of his conservative style. I guess the best way to describe Harold and Jimmy is that they were consummate professionals.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cotto (30-0, 25 KOs), of Caguas, Puerto Rico, has headlined at the ‘Mecca of Boxing’ on the eve of New York’s annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade the last three years. On June 9, in front of a capacity crowd of over 20,500, Cotto, 26, knocked out two-division world champion Zab Judah to retain his title and improve his Garden record to 3-0.

"I am very excited to be returning to Madison Square Garden and I will be completely prepared for the biggest fight of my career," said Cotto. “Shane is a great fighter but he will not be the better fighter on November 10. I will be leaving the ring the same way I will be entering it – undefeated and still world champion.”

A man who needs no introduction to fight fans is three-division world champion Sugar Shane Mosley, 35, (44-4, 37 KO’s), from Pomona, Calif., who is firmly established as one of the greatest fighters of this era, having defeated Oscar de la Hoya and Fernando Vargas twice each, as well as world champions Phillip Holiday, Raul Marquez, Jesse James Leija and John John Molina. Most recently, Mosley decisioned Luis Collazo for the WBC Interim Welterweight title and plans on adding the WBA Welterweight belt to his collection this fall.

“Cotto is a great fighter, but so am I, and we’re going to light up the Garden on November 10,” said Mosley. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited for a fight. I can’t wait to get in the ring and get it on.”

“The welterweight division is the most exciting in boxing today and when two great champions like Miguel Cotto and Sugar Shane Mosley agree to fight each other, you virtually guarantee the fans an amazing fight,” said Oscar de la Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions.

Added Bob Arum of Top Rank, "We are looking forward to this fight which we truly believe will be one of the greatest boxing events of the year."

"Cotto-Mosley is a must-see matchup between two of the best fighters in the sport today," said Mark Taffet of HBO Pay-Per-View. "For the young champion Cotto, it is the signature fight that could launch him to superstardom. And for the future Hall of Famer Mosley, it's the most important fight since his battles with Oscar De La Hoya."

The Garden is a home away from home for both fighters as both Cotto and Mosley have been headliners in the historic building three times each. Mosley fought his Garden battles scoring TKO wins over Eduardo Morales in 1998 and Antonio Diaz in 2000 before losing his welterweight title to Vernon Forrest in a hard-fought decision in 2002. Cotto was the main event at the Garden when he stopped Mohammad Abdullaev in 2005, scored a decision win over Paul Malignaggi in 2006 and most recently, his thrilling stoppage of Zab Judah earlier this summer.
"A fight of this proportion deserves The World's Most Famous Arena," said Joel Fisher, SVP Madison Square Garden Sports Properties. "Madison Square Garden has a rich tradition of hosting historic championship bouts and Cotto versus Mosley will undoubtedly add to the arena's legacy."

As the old saying goes, styles make fights! Both Cotto and Mosley have proven to be aggressive punchers who leave it all in the ring and that can only mean a dream come true for fight fans.

The Cotto vs. Mosley pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 61 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For your Cotto vs. Mosley fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Godfrey (16-0, 9 KOs) will retain his NABF cruiserweight championship. He is rated No. 2 by the WBC, as well as No. 4 and No. 6, respectively, by the IBF and WBA.

“Matt has his sights set on a world title,” Burchfield explained. “He wants to give young fighters an opportunity to fight for these three title belts he’s been so proud to wear.”

For more information about CES call 401. 724.2253 or go to www.cesboxing.com.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

“I got a call over the weekend from Star Boxing asking if Aaron would fight Alfredo Escalera, Jr. on August 24,” Burchfield explained. “We accepted without hesitation. When I didn’t hear back, I called and was told Escalera’s people turned down the fight. Why? I want somebody to give a DNA test to that kid. How can he be the son of the great Alfredo Escalera (world super featherweight champion (1975-78) and not take this fight? It’s what fight fans want to see, two unbeaten cruiserweight prospects, and you know ESPN would like to have Aaron on the show. When he knocked out (DeLeon) Tingsley (June 20) on ESPN, they kept showing his knockout over and over for 24 hours. The problem in boxing today is fighters picking and choosing opponents instead of taking chances. We’re very disappointed.”

For more information about CES call 401. 724.2253 or go to www.cesboxing.com.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 6:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Spanish Harlem-born, Bronx-raised Figueroa (17-2, 13 KOs), now fighting out of Miami, captured his NABF title belt on July 28, stopping former NABA champion Ubaldo Hernandez in the 12th round. Hernandez’ portfolio includes a win against former IBF title challenger Moses Pedroza, as well as going the distance with current WBA lightweight champion Juan Diaz, WBC title challenger Vivian Harris and hot junior welterweight prospect Demetrius Hopkins.

Figueroa, a 2-time New York City high school champion wrestler who was 14-0 his senior year, didn’t get off of the mat and into the ring until seven years ago, when he took a friend’s suggestion and walked into the nearby Morris Park Gym in the Bronx.

“Wrestling has helped me as a boxer,” Figueroa explained. “It helped my balance, conditioning and determination. Some fans have told me I should be a mixed martial arts fighter with my wrestling and boxing background, but I’m 29 now, so I’m going to stick with boxing. I’m joining a wrestling club in Florida and do it just as a hobby, never while I’m preparing for a fight.”

Frankie responded to an ad for a childcare counselor and worked four years with children and teenagers with behavioral problems. Figueroa grew-up in a tough neighborhood, but he stayed in school and out of trouble, concentrating on sports.

The son of a single mother, Frankie’s life had dramatically changed when he was six, the year he first lived with the Morrissette family in the small Vermont town of Troy, thanks to the Fresh Air Fund. “I lived with them during the summer from the ages of six through 17,” Figueroa remembered. “One year I attended a Catholic school there. It was a completely different experience for me. I became an alter boy, learned to ski, milked cows. I lived a double life. I had the good fortune of having two families. I adapted to changes and had a blast. My Vermont family
is very proud of me. My brother, Roger Morrissette, watched me win the NABF title. I have a brother and sister in Vermont and a brother and sister in the Bronx. I just hung out living in the Bronx; I never got caught up in drugs, or doing something that would send me to jail, nothing. I’ve always wanted to make both of my families proud of me.”

Due to his relatively late start in boxing, as well as a slap of amateur boxing reality, Frankie’s amateur career lasted only 2 ½ years. He fought in the 147-pound division, winning his first 14 matches, before losing in the semifinals of a national tournament to Juan McPherson, 16-14, and then Alvin Aconta in the Golden Gloves.

“McPherson has over 200 amateur fights and they (USA Boxing) wanted him fighting for them on ESPN, not me,” Figueroa noted. “It was boxing politics. I never had a chance with my style of just coming forward and fighting, going to the body instead of slapping punches for points. So, I decided to turn pro.”

His pro debut was November 8, 2002, winning a four-round decision against Richard Dean at Club Amazura in Jamaica, New York. Figueroa then hit the road and fought in places like Savannah (Georgia), Winston-Salem (NC), Atlanta, Detroit and Sarasota. His first loss was by four-round majority decision to hometown favorite Troy Wilson in Atlanta. Frankie’s only other career loss was in his 10th pro fight to Francisco Rincon (8-1) in Poughkeepsie, New York.

“My first loss was a joke,” Figueroa added. “I dropped him and they called it a slip. Then I got head butted. I don’t even consider it a loss. I got hit with some good shots (against Rincon). My inexperience showed. I had the balls, but my legs weren’t there. He was the better man that night but I’m proud I kept fighting after I went down. I learned a lot.”

Three fights later, Figueroa stopped Hector Alejandro, Jr. (10-1) in the sixth round for the New York State lightweight title. Frankie followed that bout with a 10-round decision versus Maximo Cuevas (7-2-1) for the vacant WBC Intercontinental Mundo Hispano welterweight crown.

Figueroa came of age on 11/11 (November 11) in 2006, successfully defending his New York State light welterweight championship against highly touted prospect, unbeaten Joey Rios (14-0), by 10-round majority decision at the famed Madison Square Garden.

A third-round TKO of veteran Antonio Ramirez (24-14-6) this past March 2 was Frankie’s last fight in New York, at least for a while, because he relocated in North Miami. “I was based in New York State but I was fighting on the road and there wasn’t a real buzz about me in New York City,” Figueroa remarked. “I had been my own business manager and my new promoter, Seeno Group, bought out my contract. I’m living in Miami in great weather with my own apartment and a car. I like it here where I’m isolated. I never was one to go to clubs in New York City and I don’t hit them in South Beach. I am building a good following in Florida."

Frankie, a U.S. Army veteran who has a son named Frankie, III (aka Ian), gained invaluable experience sparring with the likes of Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Arturo Gatti. In fact, he really enjoyed training camp with Cotto in Puerto Rico, where Frankie has family in Santurce.

“After winning the NABF title, I’m where I want to be right now,” Figueroa concluded. “I think boxing all of the time, but it really isn’t my life. I like going on line. I hope to defend my title this year and fight for a world title next year. I’m in all out wars, that’s who I am. I’m a boxer-puncher but, more than anything, I’m a fighter. I like seek-and-destroy missions, but I can play chess, too. I go all out, balls to the wall, all of the time.

“My new manager, Sal LoNano, is going to get me a world title fight. He’s been in this business a long time. I signed with him because of his experience. He helped Micky Ward make millions of dollars and he got my good friend, (IBF junior welterweight champ) Paulie Malignaggi, two world title shots in a year. We really get along well. He’s a funny guy and so am I. I never knew pay scales, but now I just concentrate on fighting; Sal’s protecting me.”

Figueroa is nicknamed “El Gato” – The Cat – because he was the only one quick enough to catch a cat that was a mascot at his original gym in the Bronx. This cat is a fan-friendly fighter who, at 29, is all in and ready to make noise in the 140-pound division.

For more information about Frankie Figueroa visit his web site at www.gatofigueroa.com.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The eagerly awaited contest will be the first ever British title fight to be staged outside of Britain since the prestigious Lonsdale belt was first awarded in 1909. Portsmouth native Oakey will enter the ring as champion but the bookies are leaning towards the challenger with Magee installed as the pre fight favourite.

Oakey says he’s surprised and a little tempted by the odds! The 31-year-old said, “I’m surprised that the bookies have him as favourite. If that’s the case then I might just have to get down to the bookies and put a few quid on myself!”

“I think the bookies are forgetting that this is Brian’s first title fight up at light heavyweight and my biggest asset is my strength. I’m a proper light heavyweight and my strength combined with my workrate is going to be the difference in this fight especially in the later rounds.”

Magee has countered that argument by claiming that the later rounds will be his territory. The 1996 Olympian said, “I think I’ll have more energy in the championship rounds because I was working so hard to make super middleweight that I just couldn’t carry my strength through the full twelve rounds and I think that’s cost me before.”

“I’m far more comfortable at light heavyweight. I still have to work to get down to the weight but it’s not a struggle anymore and I feel far better for it.”

Magee only just missed out on winning the European super middleweight title in 2005 losing a controversial points decision in Germany to Vitali Tsypko so he’s happy to get another title tilt on what is practically home ground in what promises to be a spectacular night of boxing with Bernard Dunne defending his European super bantamweight title against Kiko Martinez.

“I’ll have great support in Dublin and it’s great that the fight is happening on such a big night for Irish boxing,” said Magee. “I’ve been training alongside Bernard in the build up to this one and I think we’ve both benefited from that. We do our roadwork together in the morning and then train together in the evening as well. We’re both facing massive fights so it’s been good to be able to train alongside each other.”

“Often Bernard’s just been starting training camp when I’ve been about to fight or vice versa but this time we’re both fighting on the same show so it’s meant that the gym has been buzzing for the last few weeks. Of course the fact that my fight with Tony is making history adds to the buzz and makes for a great story and hopefully I can cap it by claiming the title.”

Naturally enough Oakey foresees another scenario. The champion said, “I’ve fought so hard to win this title that it’s going to take a special, special fighter to take it from me and no disrespect but Brian Magee isn’t that fighter.”

“People are saying it’s a real 50-50 fight and I’ve no problem with that. I have an awful lot of respect for Brian. We both turned professional around the same time and I’ve bumped into him a few times over the years and always got on well with him so I’m not going to start trash talking.”

“It will be strange defending the British title in Dublin and it’s nice for myself and Brian to be part of history but at the end of the day it’s a fight and it doesn’t matter if the fight is in Dublin or our back gardens it’s just going to be the two of us.”

Oakey says he’s yet to study any video of Magee but remains confident of his chances. “I’m not one for watching tapes to be honest although I’ll probably watch some of Brian’s fights next week. That’s not to say I’m taking him lightly because I’ve left no stone unturned in preparing for this. I’ve prepared for this fight as if it’s going to be the toughest fight of my career even though I don’t think it will actually turn out that way.”

The Tony Oakey – Brian Magee fight is part of a terrific lineup at the Point with the Irish professional debut of undefeated sensation Andy Lee and appearances from Matthew Macklin and Paul McCloskey on the card. Headlining the event is the clash between European super bantamweight champion Bernard Dunne and undefeated mandatory challenger Kiko Martinez.

Tickets for the Hunky Dorys Fight Night promoted by Brian Peters Promotions in association with Denis Hobson and Team Magee are priced from €75 and are available from Ticketmaster.ie and all usual outlets.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I didn’t understand the email until I got a text message later that day saying: Asia was found dead in her home yesterday morning, suicide (there‘s no shame in death no matter how it happens). "Asia Mays, 24, passed away unexpectedly at her residence on August 8, 2007 in Colorado Springs. She was born September 3, 1982 in Fayetteville North Carolina to the union of Norman and Kim (Punson) Mays," as it was published in The Gazette.
"She enjoyed boxing, fitness competition, aerobics and traveling. She leaves to cherish her memory, her son William Mays and a host of other relatives and friends. Visitation will be held from 4-6 pm, Monday August 13, 2007 at Angelus Funeral Directors 2535 Airport Rd. Funeral Services will be held at 1:00 pm Tuesday August 14, at Angelus Funeral Directors. Interment at Evergreen Cemetery."
Anyone who has been fortunate enough to know Asia is left wondering and asking, why? She had everything working in her favor and everything to gain. Coming so close to becoming a champion boxer, she flew to Vegas recently to meet and train with Jeff Mayweather at Top Rank Gym. Everyone was amazed with her focus, skills and dedication, wanting to sign her to endorsement deals and contracts without ever seeing her fight.
Now the world will never know one of the most gorgeous fighters with the biggest heart.

When I laid eyes on Asia Mays the first thing that came to mind was 'top notch.' She had class, beauty and was tougher than leather. I didn't have to opportunity to know her personally or for very long but I hate I never got the chance to break the ice. When I met Asia her guards were up and there were sharks coming at her from all directions. By her being a boxer she always came out swinging. A role model and icon in the making. Heaven was blessed with an angel… R.I.P. Asia "Top Notch" Mays.

Asia's last words to the press:
I am currently a successful single mother striving to make, William Eugene Mays (born February 10, 2006), proud to be my son. Throughout the pregnancy, I suffered from depression, unemployment, and constant rejection. I got to be 209lbs of misery in unsightly maternity wear. My life changed when I laid eyes on my son, and I made the decision to keep him, despite my plans for adoption, and I made the commitment to show this child that all dreams can be achieved no matter how unattainable they appear to be.
For a year and a half, I worked three jobs and trained six days a week. I trained to gain back my self-confidence and get back into the ring. In my journey, I ran into a lot of deceiving boxing promoters and it discouraged me into stepping back into the ring, but I did start to veer into the world of figure because the door of opportunity opened right in front of my face. I competed three times in figure, and I was fortunate enough to qualify to compete on the national level.
I am now 132 lbs (lost 67 pounds) of dedication to the well being of my son and to a lifestyle that revolves around health and fitness. I am still in search of a trustworthy and compassionate female boxing promoter and I will continue to advance my career in fitness through figure.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 9:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Norton was now a star and a close decision loss to Ali in a rematch established Kenny as a major player. The two bouts with Ali garnered Norton a title shot against George Foreman. This fight was a disaster for Kenny as he was halted in the second round. In the meantime Lyle would fight his back into contention. Only the slick Jimmy Young would sidetrack Ron. In 1975 Lyle would meet new champion Muhammad Ali for the title. Ron did well in a slow, strategic fight but in the eleventh Ali hurt Lyle. The champ opened up and the referee stopped the contest. In 1976 Norton would get his rubber match with Ali with the title on the line at Yankee Stadium. Ali got the verdict but I along with many others thought Norton should have won the crown that night.

In 1977 Norton would be awarded the WBC version of the title with a points win over Jimmy Young. I myself thought the hard luck Young won a close fight. In 1978 Norton would lose the crown in a classic battle to Larry Holmes. Kenny was then crushed in one round by Earnie Shavers. He barely survived to salvage a draw against rough and tumble Scott LeDoux. He did edge Randy " Tex " Cobb but then came his scary one round loss to Gerry Cooney.

Ron Lyle would never get another shot at the title. After he lost to Ali he came back to out slug Earnie Shavers in a war. Then Ron would lose in one of the greatest heavyweight fights in history when George Foreman got off the canvas to stop Lyle. Jimmy Young would again out smart Lyle and although Ron remained a contender he was never again a front runner.

Why did this fight not take place ? Good question. One reason I believe is that Norton rose to the top quicker and made a name for himself with his bone breaking win over Ali. From that point on he had star power and he could be a little more selective with his opponents. I don't feel that Ken feared Lyle but I think he realized he did not have Jake LaMotta's jaw. Ron Lyle could punch. Why take a chance against a guy like that when Ken always seemed to be in the thick of the heavyweight picture. Lyle needed Norton more then Ken needed him.

Who would have won ? Lyle was a better boxer then given credit for. He could punch and he had a pretty good chin. Norton was a sharp hitter but he was not a devastating puncher. I just believe Ron could have taken Ken's shots. I don't believe Norton would have held up under Lyle's attack. My pick would have been Lyle by knockout.

One other thing. After researching this article I came to remember just how good a fighter Jimmy Young was.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

World heavyweight champions “Gentleman” Jim Corbett and Jack “The Manassa Mauler” Dempsey both had their first pro wins in Salt Lake City. Corbett made his pro debut in Salt Lake City way back on July 14, 1886, fighting a draw with Duncan McDonald, but in his next fight, also in Salt Lake City, Corbett registered his first win, stopping Frank Smith in the second round. Dempsey’s second pro fight was a first-round knockout of Young Herman on November 2, 1914. Dempsey had 20 of his 83 pro fights in Utah, winning 16 (14 KOs) with two draws, in Salt Lake City, Pocatello, Murray, Price, Provo and Ogden.

Dempsey, in 1933, had two one-round exhibitions with future world heavyweight champion Max Baer in Salt Lake City and 16 years later, “The Brown Bomber” Joe Louis fought a 4-round exhibition with Rex Layne in Salt Lake City.

The great Archie Moore defeated Joey Maxim by 15-round decision in 1953 for the world light heavyweight title in Ogden; three months prior to beating Joe Frazier for the WBC/WBA heavyweight championship, George Foreman stopped Terry Sorrell by second round knockout on October 16, 1972 in Salt Lake City.

The 48th anniversary of (West Jordan) Utah boxing icon Gene “Cyclone” Fullmer’s (55-6-3 (24 KOs) National Boxing Association middleweight title-winning performance against Carmen Basilio (TKO14) in San Francisco is August 28. Fullmer had three successful title defenses in Utah: 15-round decision against Spider Webb on December 4, 1959 at the George Nelson Field House in Logan, 12th round TKO of Basilio on June 29, 1960 at Derks Field in Salt Lake City, and 15-round decision versus Florentino Fernandez on Aug. 5, 1961 at Ogden Stadium.

Samoan strongman David Tua (47-3-1, 40 KOs), ranked No. 13 by the WBC, battles Mexican heavyweight champion Saul “La Cobra” Montana (48-14, 42 KOs) in Saturday night’s 10-round main event Former world title challenger Tua has knocked out current WBC title-holder Oleg Maskaev along with former world champions John Ruiz, Hasim Rahman and Michael Moorer.

Russian-born heavyweight sensation Roman Greenberg (25-0, 17 KOs), the No. 11 rated European heavyweight who was raised in Israel and fights out of England, takes on former WBO heavyweight title challenger “Dangerous” Damon Reed (43-11, 30 KOs) in the 10-round co-feature.

The eight-round cruiserweight battle between former WBO heavyweight title challenger Jeremy “Half-Man, Half-Amazing” Williams (41-5-1, 35 KOs) and Salt Lake City favorite Gary “Pit Bill” Gomez (18-8-1, 7 KOs) has been upgraded to a pay-per-view fight.

Former WBO heavyweight title challenger Williams (41-5-1, 35 KOs) has returned to the ring one division lighter than he fought in his first 47 pro bouts, coming back after 2 ½ years of inactivity when he was a mixed-martial-arts fighter and coach on The Contender reality television series. The diverse Williams faces Gomez (18-8-1, 7 KOs), former Global Union and WBC Cruiserweight Americas cruiserweight title-holder, who has never having been stopped.

Pinnacle FiteNite is a pro boxing pay-per-view series emanating for a wide variety of venues. The Aug. 18th edition at the South Towne Exposition Center in Sandy, Utah, promoted by C.A.M. Boxing, Inc. in association with Sports and Entertainment Media, Inc. and Gotham Boxing.
Undefeated New York City middleweight prospect Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (13-0, 11 KOs) is scheduled to fight in the opening PPV bout.

Also scheduled to fight on the Aug. 18th undercard is pound-for-pound the toughest lawyer in the world, Las Vegas high-profile defense attorney Marc “The Defender” Saggese (2-0, 2 KOs). All bouts and fighters are subject to change.

The Aug. 18th Pinnacle FiteNite event will be produced by 21 Lakes and distributed by Integrated Sports. The 3-hour, four-bout minimum Pinnacle FiteNite show will be available live on Aug. 18 at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT on both cable and satellite PPV via iN Demand, DirecTV and TVN, as well as live in Canada via satellite PPV on Bell Expressvue, for a suggested retail price of $24.95.

Tickets, priced at $35.00, $50.00 and $75.00, are on sale and available at www.smithstix.com, South Towne Exposition Center box office, and local outlets. For additional information go to www.pinnaclefitenite.com. Doors open 5:00 PM/MT, first bout 6:00 PM/MT, first PPV bout 7:00 PM/MT.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 7:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mosley appears to be set to meet the highly regarded Miguel Cotto in his next fight
for a portion of the welterweight title. Recently Vernon Forrest stepped back into the limelight with a win over rugged Carlos Baldomir to capture a piece of the junior middleweight title. Is there a chance that down the road we may see Forrest - Mosley III ? This is a fight that Shane should avoid at all costs.

Will Shane get by the murderous punching Cotto ? Well that's a story for another day. For the sake of argument, let's say that he does. Would Shane be willing to move up to 154 again to attempt to avenge his two losses to Vernon ? If not, would Vernon be able to come down to 147 to challenge Shane ? Forrest looked very comfortable at 154 pounds.

If Shane wins over Cotto the big money fight for him afterward of course would be the winner of Mayweather - Hatton. There would also be a possible match with Paul Williams but why fight a tall. quick southpaw who is not yet a proved attraction ? If a bout with either Mayweather or Hatton falls through, a match with Forrest makes sense. It can also be a mistake.

Styles make fights. Harry Arroyo, the fine former lightweight champion said Jimmy Paul had a very difficult style for him. Nevertheless Jimmy Paul who was a very fine fighter in his own right could not cope with the pressure of tough Greg Haugen. As tough as he was Haugen was just outslicked by the great southpaw Pernell Whitaker.

The bottom line is that Mosley has a style that will be very difficult for Cotto. It should be a very interesting battle.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 6:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Gerry Penalosa (52-6-2, 35 KOs) shocked Jhonny Gonzalez (34-6, 29 KOs) with a debilitating liver shot at 2:45 of the seventh round taking the WBO Bantamweight Championship. Gonzalez was in complete control of the bout when Penalosa delivered the fight ending shot and referee Robert Byrd called a halt to the bout.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS

Manuel Antonio Lopes (3-0, 1 KO), Brockton, MA WDEC4 (40-34- 40-34, 40-33) Lonnie Brown (0-1), Jacksonville, FL
Marcus Upshaw (7-0, 2 KOs), Jacksonville, FL WDEC6 (60-54, 60-54, 60-54) Earl Doe (4-1, 2 KOs), Beaufort, SC

MIDDLEWEIGHTS

Andrey Nevsky (3-0, 3 KOs), Worcester, MA via Russia WTKO2 (1:16) Rakeen Carter (0-0-3), Albany, NY

Promoter: Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc
Matchmaker: Chris Middendorf

Posted by mightygloves.com at 8:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Let's start with Ron Lyle. George Foreman showed everyone that a big, strong heavyweight with a decent jab and a solid uppercut could keep Joe from getting inside and also punish him at long range. Frazier was game to the core but Big George showed that Joe could be hurt. Lyle was no Willie Pep on his feet but he did have decent mobility for a man his size. He had a fairly quick jab with some pop to it. He threw a strong right hand but he needed room for it to gather steam. His best weapons on the inside if Frazier did get past his jab were a short left hook and a scorching uppercut. Also Ron was more then willing to stand in the trenches and swap body shots. He would have been quite a handful for Joe.

What would Frazier have to do to counter Ron's strategy ? First and foremost he would just have to be Joe Frazier at his bobbing and weaving best. At times Lyle had a tendency to paw with his jab. This could have been a crucial mistake against the relentless Frazier. Joe was very adept at timing a jab and then either slipping under it or slipping to the side of it. The end result would be the same. Joe would now have his head on the opponent's chest and he would pummel the stomach, ribs and kidneys with savage purpose.

This is a fight that would probably see the majority of the action along the ropes. I could see Ron banging Joe a few times on the way in and then giving ground as Joe forces Ron back to the ropes. Lyle was a willing mixer with his back on the strands so I'm sure there would have been some explosive exchanges. Although Ron had a tremendous uppercut I can not see him landing it consistantly as Joe would have weaved away from many of them. Also if Ron dipped his right shoulder to get more leverage on the uppercut, he would leave himself more open to Joe's numbing short left hooks to the head.

At times there would be a lot of clinching, mauling and wrestling. Especially when the two boxers were in mid-ring. Lyle was good at this and his size and strength would have given Joe trouble in these situations. Ron would attempt to stall at times but Joe would always be trying to work. Although it would not be pretty it would be enough to win Joe a few rounds just for effort and work rate.

The key for a Lyle victory would be to hurt Joe early like Foreman did. Hurt Joe and not let up. Frazier was a notorious slow starter but in most cases so was Lyle. So unless Ron timed one good one on Joe's chin, this bout would likely become a war of attrition. The longer the fight went, the better Frazier would get. You could never count Lyle out though because he could take you out of there with one punch and again Foreman had shown that Joe was a mere mortal. Lyle had a good chin as he was belted by Jerry Quarry but stayed on his feet. Earnie Shavers, the " Puncher Of The Century " had Ron down but could not keep him there. Eventually it was Shavers who was brutally knocked out. Lyle gamely got off the canvas in his classic war with George Foreman but later ended up falling as much from exhaustion as he did from Foreman's blows.

Let's say this fight takes place in 1974 after Joe's decision loss in his rematch with Muhammad Ali. Let's say Frazier-Quarry II takes place because logically there was a great demand for that fight due to Quarry's remarkable comeback. Since Lyle's loss to Jerry in 1973 he had re-established himself as a viable contender. Frazier-Lyle in the fall of 1974 would have been a very interesting and anticipated match up. Joe showed against Jerry that he was far from washed up. Could you have imagined Frazier-Lyle as the semi main event to Foreman-Ali in Zaire ?

The outcome ? With all things considered and with each boxer still having the bulk of their enormous talent I see Lyle taking an early lead. He may even score a flash knockdown against Joe. Frazier's hungry though. He feels he has the inside track for a match with the winner of Foreman-Ali. Little by little Joe works his way inside. His wrecking ball left hook is working overtime. Lyle refuses to be intimidated and he attempts to stand his ground landing his fair share of solid counters. As the rounds progress into the sixth, seventh and eighth Ron is spending more and more time with his back plastered against the ropes. The tenacity of Frazier is wearing Ron down. Still there no quit in Lyle. He is still landing enough hard shots to keep Joe honest and the fans at the edge of their seats.

Finally as the eleventh round comes along Joe breaks through hurts Lyle several times with the hook. Still the courageous Lyle refuses to fall although at one point it looked like the referee was considering stepping in. Joe tried to come out fast in the twelfth and follow up on his advantage but his attack gave way to fatigue. The final round saw both men throw desperate but almost harmless blows in a futile attempt to keep the bout from going to the scorecards. At the final bell both completely spent warriors fall in to each others arms and then go to their corners to await the judges verdict. The decision is unanimous, the winner is Smokin' Joe Frazier.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 7:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Azille, whose only previous losses came against Kelvin Davis and Wayne Braithwaite, pressed the action most of the night, landing the occasional right hand. Behind by most accounts in the fight, Palacios won the fifth round big by landing uppercuts and multi-punch combinations that scored heavily on the former world title challenger. Then, in the sixth round, Palacios came to life when a crashing uppercut followed by a left hook floored the resilent Azille early in the stanza. The end was near when Palacios finished Azille with a dazzling power punching exhibition, hitting Azille faster than he could fall. The time was :59 of the sixth round.

"I didn't feel rusty," explained the Bayamon, Puerto Rico native. "I was fighting a guy that I had to be careful with. He's a very strong fighter. He applies a lot of pressure." Palacios lauds Azille's sportsmanship, saying "He's a clean fighter, which is rare nowadays."

Palacios, who currently resides in Orlando, Florida, says of his reasons for taking the significant risk, "I took this fight because I was tired of sitting on the bench. I knew I would win this fight. I don't go into fights feeling I could lose. I felt that if I said no to this fight, it could be six months before I fight again. I knew that when I won, the doors would be open."

Palacios comes from an educated background, having attended Florida Central University on a basketball scholarship and Marquette University on a boxing scholarship. At Marquette University, Palacios shared classes with top fighters like Jaidon Codrington, Sechew Powell, and Roberto Benitez. Palacios had competed in two amateur world championships, in Dublin, Ireland and Bangkok, Thailand. He was ranked number two at 201 pound limit in the nation for many years, holding a victory over Matt Godfrey (6-3). Palacios is a veteran of over 70 amateur bouts.

After the fight, fans who had never before laid eyes on Francisco cheered in roaring approval. Palacios stayed for well over an hour in the arena signing autographs and taking pictures with his new fans. "It was overwhelming. I was very happy. I loved every second of it."

After what he calls "the greatest knockout of my career," Palacios is at home resting. He will return to the gym on Monday to take his next step in the direction of fulfilling his older brother's dying wish, which was to become world champion before he retires.

In appreciation of the opportunity given to him, Francisco wished to thank Warrior's Boxing. "Thank you for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime. If we can do it again, I would be more than honored to oblige. Just give me a little more notice so I can look better," Palacios jokes.

After now having proven himself to be a worthy contender, Palacios plans to take the cruiserweight division by storm. "I have the skills required to get to the top of the division. I feel I can beat everyone at cruiserweight hands down."

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 7:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The fourth round was a withering stanza for Charleston, whose figure came under heavy fire that degenerated into an inferno. Wisely, Charleston opted not to come out for the fifth round, much to reason's delight.

"I was able to establish my jab and worked the body," says George, a Brooklyn native who now trains out of North Jersey, "which is exactly what I wanted to do. Any shot you could think of, I was tagging him with it. I took the fight on 2 weeks notice, which is why I was a little rusty. He was trying to survive from the second round on until he retired."

Sam DiTusa at ringside wrote, "Charleston did little in the way of offense because George was so quick to counter any offense he tried to mount."

The victor made sure to recognize his chief second. "I give a lot of credit to Tommy Brooks. He's one of the greatest trainers in the world."

Shaun George feels that, besides an easy payday, he also picked up a wealth of experience. "I was working on a lot of different things. I was working on concentrating on the body, finishing off my opponent, and picking up the pace as the rounds went on. It showed me that I can do anything I want to do in the ring."

Looking forward, George hopes to draw the top fighters at light heavyweight into the ring with him. "I want to fight a top ten guy. All of these guys are ducking and dodging me. Glen Johnson is ignoring me. We're going to look to the next guy. By next year, I want to be fighting for a world title."

In addition to being victorious, Shaun also entertained fight fans in his first appearance on the West Coast. "They were very supportive," says George of the fans. "I'm glad that I got to bring an exciting fight to the Idaho fans."

Lightning makes more noise than thunder, and George promises to bring both in abundance. "I'm not being silent anymore. I'm putting everybody on the spot. I'm not giving the division any more excuses to ignore me."

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 7:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Eric Ortiz - 115
Z. Gorres - 114.2

Jorge Cardenas - 114.8
A.J. Banal - 115

Miguel Roman - 123.2
Michael Domingo - 121

Jose Angel Beranza - 118
Diosdabi Gabi - 118.4

Brandon Gonzalez - 160
Angel Polanco - 161.6

Tickets for the 2007 Boxing World Cup, priced at $275, $150, $85, $60 and $40, are on sale. The quickest and most convenient way to purchase tickets is by calling Ticketmaster Charge-By-Phone or by visiting the Web site at www.ticketmaster.com. The Ticketmaster Charge-By-Phone number is (916) 649-TIXS. Tickets are also available at the ARCO Arena Box Office and Sacramento-area Ticketmaster outlets.

This historic showdown, presented by Golden Boy Promotions, in association with ALA Boxing, SGG Sports Promotions, ARCO Arena, and international matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz and sponsored by IceLink Watch, Rockstar Energy Drink and Tecate Beer. HBO Boxing After Dark will televise the two co-featured world championship fights live beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET with a tape delayed airing on the West Coast at 10:00 p.m. PT.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 9:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mesi’s advisor/father, Jack, reported that Joe’s back injury prevents him from training properly. Joe has been prescribed rest and continued therapy treatment and he will be able to beginning training properly within two or three weeks.

“I am very sorry I have to miss this opportunity in Utah on Pay-Per-View with Sherman ‘Tank’ Williams,” Joe said. “But as all professional boxers know a big part of our sport is overcoming the set-backs.”

Former WBO heavyweight title challenger Jeremy Williams (41-5-1, 35 KOs) has returned to the ring one division lighter than he fought in his first 47 pro bouts, coming back after 3 ½ years of inactivity, although he was a mixed-martial-arts fighter and coach on The Contender reality television series during this period. An exciting fighter and much decorated amateur boxer who has knocked out 35 of his 41 victims as a pro, he has defeated Attila Levin, David Bostice, Jesse Ferguson, and Danell Nicholson. The diverse Williams faces Gomez (18-8-1, 7 KOs), who has held the Global Union and WBC Cruiserweight Americas cruiserweight championships, as well as holding the distinction of never having been stopped.

"We're excited about showcasing Jeremy Williams' comeback fight on our pay-per-view show," Pinnacle FiteNite executive producer Ritch Danner commented. "His fight against Gomez should be an entertaining, action match."

“Pinnacle FiteNite” is a pro boxing pay-per-view series emanating for a wide variety of venues. The Aug. 18th edition at the South Towne Exposition Center in Sandy, Utah, promoted by C.A.M. Boxing, Inc. in association with Sports and Entertainment Media, Inc. and Gotham Boxing.

Samoan strongman David “Tuaman” Tua, ranked No. 12 by the WBC, takes on Mexican heavyweight champion Saul “La Cobra” Montana in the 10-round main event. Tua (47-3-1, 40 KOs), former world title challenger, has put 40 opponents to sleep including current WBC title-holder Oleg Maskaev and former world champions John Ruiz, Hasim Rahman and Michael Moorer. Montana (48-14, 42 KOs) has an even higher KO ratio than Tua, but the former world title challenger “Tuaman” has never been counted out.

Russian-born heavyweight sensation Roman Greenberg (25-0, 17 KOs), the No. 11 rated European heavyweight who was raised in Israel and fights out of England, faces former WBO heavyweight title challenger “Dangerous” Damon Reed (43-11, 30 KOs) in the 10-round co-feature.

Undefeated New York City middleweight prospect Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (13-0, 11 KOs) is scheduled to fight in the opening PPV bout.

Also scheduled to fight on the Aug. 18th undercard is pound-for-pound the toughest lawyer in the world, Las Vegas high-profile defense attorney Marc “The Defender” Saggese (2-0, 2 KOs). All bouts and fighters are subject to change.

The Aug. 18th Pinnacle FiteNite event will be produced by 21 Lakes and distributed by Integrated Sports. The 3-hour, four-bout minimum Pinnacle FiteNite show will be available live on Aug. 18 at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT on both cable and satellite PPV via iN Demand, DirecTV and TVN, as well as live in Canada via satellite PPV on Bell Expressvue, for a suggested retail price of $24.95.

Tickets, priced at $35.00, $50.00 and $75.00, are on sale and available at www.smithstix.com, South Towne Exposition Center box office, and local outlets. For additional information go to www.pinnaclefitenite.com. Doors open 5:00 PM/MT, first bout 6:00 PM/MT, first PPV bout 7:00 PM/MT.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 9:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

He did not just win fights. He broke bones. He was a devastating puncher with a wrecking ball left hook. He left a trail of fractured jaws, etc... In a word, he was awesome !

Then Tommy Hearns exposed his chin and Roberto Duran followed suit. Herman Montes ended the legend but give Pipino his due. During his prime he was feared !

He crushed legit opposition like Harold Weston Jr., Clyde Gray, Angel Espada and Pete Ranzany. He came to fight and he had the classic kill or be killed mentality.

While Pipino was recognized as the W.B.A. titleholder, another popular West Coast boxer emerged to win the W.B.C. version. He was Carlos Palomino and he won the crown with a spectacular KO of John H. Stracey. He defended the crown with pride turning back the challenges of rugged Armando Muniz and the highly touted Dave "Boy" Green.

Why did these two never meet ? This could have been a West Coast bonanza ! Who would have won if they decided to trade hooks ? As mentioned, Pipino lost his crown to Hearns. Palomino was outfoxed by a wizard named Wilfred Benitez and reliquished his title claim. Carlos was then outspeeded by a highly motivated Roberto Duran. Carlos retired but returned. The saga ended years later in an ill fated comeback that accomplished little.

Carlos Palomino is also inducted to the I.B.H.O.F. . Did he deserve to get in ? YES !!! He was a class act who was good for the sport. So was Cuevas. It's to bad that they ushered in the Golden Era of the 147 lb. division. They had to make way for the Leonard, Hearns, Duran, Benitez era.

What a shame. Two world class champions who may only serve as footnotes.

Only time and history will tell us how Pipino and Carlos will be remembered. Being enshrined in the I.B.H.O.F. is a wonderful start.

If there were no Sugar, Tommy, Roberto and Wilfred. Carlos and Pipino would have faced off. Who would have won this "should have taken place" Super Bout ?

Give me two guys with heart, punch and talent and I say the "chin" will win. My choice is Carlos.
It's all about the beard !

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 7:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tickets priced at $400, $250, $150, $100 and $50 (more than 14,000 tickets will be $150 or less!) will go on sale soon at the Garden box office and all Ticketmaster locations or by calling Ticketmaster at 212-307-7171, 201-507-8900, 631-888-9000, or 914-454-3388. Ticketmaster purchases are subject to convenience charges.

The main event will also be televised on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING beginning at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) and is being promoted by Don King Productions and Duva Boxing in association with Madison Square Garden.

Two domestically non-televised matches have already been added to the card: Two-time 147- and 154-pound world champions Jose Antonio Rivera (38-5-1, 24 KOs), from Worcester, Mass., and Daniel Santos
(30-3-1, 21 KOs), from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, will square off in an elimination bout to determine the World Boxing Association super welterweight No. 1 ranking and mandatory challenger to new champion Joachim Alcine. Polish favorite Andrew Golota (39-6-1, 32 KOs), from Warsaw, will take on Mike Tyson conqueror Kevin “The Clones Colossus” McBride (34-5-1, 29 KOs), from Ireland, in a special heavyweight attraction.

Maskaev (34-5, 26 KOs), from Kazakhstan and a U.S. citizen since 2004 now fighting out of Staten Island, N.Y., is riding a 12-fight winning streak that includes a 12th-round technical knockout over Hasim “The Rock” Rahman to win the WBC heavyweight crown in Las Vegas on Aug. 12, 2006.

The Russian-American won many fans that night with a dramatic and gritty final-round stoppage in a fight that was up for grabs. It has often been said it takes heart to win the big ones, and Maskaev proved he had the heart of a champion. He landed a devastating left hook that sent Rahman down midway through the final stanza and shortly thereafter finished him off with an unanswered barrage, forcing the referee to step in and halt the action during the last minute of the contest.

(More…)
Maskaev vs. Peter lead release – Page 2

Perseverance has been a model for Maskaev in his career. A Russian amateur star that stopped Vitali Klitschko in the first round, Maskaev turned pro in 1993 but was matched too soon with the likes of Oliver “The Atomic Bull” McCall and David Tua.

He ran his record to a respectable 20-2 before stumbling against Kirk Johnson in 2000, Lance “Mount” Whitaker in 2001 and Corey Sanders in 2002. Many thought it was time for Maskaev to throw in the towel, but he took a year off and came back with a new team and vision, and he hasn’t lost a match in over five years.

Maskaev will again face the type of young lion in Peter (28-1, 22 KOs) that has caused him so much trouble in the past. The 26-year-old from Akwa Ibom, Nigeria, now living in Las Vegas, is on the precipice of achieving the success many boxing experts and fans have predicted would come for this heavy-handed knockout artist.

Promoter Don King has been telling everyone within earshot that Peter could be the next Tyson (King co-promotes Peter with Duva Boxing), and the Nigerian’s 76-percent knockout percentage backs the claim. His lone loss came by decision in 2005 against Wladimir Klitschko after Peter had knocked him down three times.

Scariest of all for Maskaev—and, for that matter, the entire heavyweight division—is the fact Peter has now honed his boxing skills to the extent he beat Old School boxing master James “Lights Out” Toney twice in a row in his most recent ring appearances—both on 12-round decisions. Those victories made Peter the WBC No. 1-ranked heavyweight and the mandatory challenger to Maskaev.

●

MSG Sports Properties is part of Madison Square Garden, L.P., owned by Cablevision Systems Corporation, which includes the New York Knicks (NBA); the New York Rangers (NHL); the New York Liberty (WNBA); the Hartford Wolf Pack (American Hockey League); MSG Entertainment, which includes concerts and events at Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, and the Beacon Theatre; MSG Media, which is comprised of MSG and FSN New York; and the Madison Square Garden arena complex, located in the heart of the New York metropolitan area.

Don King Productions has promoted over 500 world championship fights with nearly 100 individual boxers having been paid $1 million or more. DKP also holds the distinction of having promoted or co-promoted seven of the 10 largest pay-per-view events in history, as gauged by total buys, including three of the top five: Holyfield vs. Tyson II, 1.99 million buys, June 1997; Tyson vs. Holyfield I, 1.6 million buys, November 1996; and Tyson vs. McNeeley, 1.58 million buys, August 1995.

DKP has promoted or co-promoted 11 of the top 15 highest-grossing live gates in the history of the state of Nevada including four of the top five: Holyfield vs. Lewis II, paid attendance: 17,078, gross: $16,860,300 (NOTE: Also second-highest live-gate gross for any event in history.), date: Nov. 13, 1999; Holyfield vs. Tyson II, paid attendance: 16,279, gross: $14,277,200, date: June 28, 1997; Holyfield vs. Tyson I, paid attendance: 16,103, gross: $14,150,700, date: Nov. 9, 1996; and Tyson vs. McNeeley, paid attendance: 16,113, gross: $13,965,600, date: Aug. 19, 1995.

Dino Duva, the president of Duva Boxing, has promoted great fighters and great fights during four decades in boxing. Growing up in a renowned boxing family, the Duva name has become synonymous with excellence in the fight game as the “First Family in Boxing.” Working closely with his Hall of Fame father, Lou, and his late, great brother Dan, Duva has been involved in the promotion of over 100 world championship fights including such titlists as Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Pernell Whitaker, Arturo Gatti, and Mark Breland. Duva is presently the promoter of Samuel Peter, regarded by many as the top young heavyweight contender in boxing.

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING’s Steve Albert and Al Bernstein will call the action from ringside with Jim Gray serving as roving reporter and Karyn Bryant as special correspondent. The executive producer of the SHOWTIME telecast will be David Dinkins Jr. with Bob Dunphy directing.

For more information on SHOWTIME Sports Programming including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and fight highlights, photo galleries and more, please visit the new SHOWTIME Sports website at www.SHO.com/Sports.

In March 1986, SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING was born when “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler defeated John “The Beast” Mugabi in a spectacular and unforgettable 11th-round knockout in Las Vegas. Since that time, the network has aired some of the most historic and significant events in the sport including both Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson bouts.

(More…)
Maskaev vs. Peter lead release – Page 3

Always at the forefront of boxing, SHOWTIME has set itself apart by televising “great fights, no rights” on the first Saturday of every month. SHOWTIME is the first network to regularly deliver live boxing in High Definition. In addition, SHOWTIME continues to be a pioneer in sports television with a number of interactive features across multiple platforms making SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecasts the most enjoyable, immersive viewing experience for the boxing audience.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 9:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

DERRICK BROWN: “This is an opportunity of a lifetime for me. I was at camp with Hasim Rahman and had a chance to be around some great people. I was with him when he was training for the James Toney fight. Matt and Jason (Estrada) came up. We (Godfrey) sparred one day but we boxed, too, never knowing we’ve be fighting (each other). God bless him (Godfrey). I’ve told my family and friends I will die in the ring if that’s what I have to give to become the man I’m supposed to be. I have no qualms with him (Matt) and I want to thank him for this opportunity.”

Posted by mightygloves.com at 9:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RICHARD STARNINO 160 LBS.
ERIC PINARRETA 157 LBS.

MANUEL LOPES 169 LBS.
LONNIE BOWEN 169 ½ LBS.

ANDREY NEVSKY 157 LBS.
RAKEEN CARTER 161 LBS.

RICH GRINGAS 187 LBS.
DERRICK HOLSINGER 185 ½ LBS.

MARCUS UPSHAW TOMORROW
EARL DOE TOMORROW

Posted by mightygloves.com at 9:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by mightygloves.com at 6:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by mightygloves.com at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The task force is comprised of black print and broadcast sports journalist from across the country. The Pioneer Award is the organization’s highest honor, and King will share the stage at the awards ceremony with fellow recipients that have special Nevada ties including boxing referee Richard Steele; Sacramento Kings head coach and former UNLV star Reggie Theus; ESPN NBA analyst and former UNLV standout Greg Anthony; UNLV women’s basketball coach Regina Miller; and former University of Nevada-Reno women’s athletics administrator Dr. Angela Taylor.

“This is a truly great honor for me to be recognized with a Pioneer Award by the august members of the National Association of Black Journalists Sports Task Force while they are convening at their 32nd annual convention,” King said. “These are people I respect and admire. I look forward to joining them and the other Pioneer Award recipients at this celebration of the human spirit.”
The awards ceremony is being co-hosted by Ron Thomas, a sports writer for 34 years who was just named the first director of Morehouse College’s journalism and sports program, and Mike Terry, a longtime sports writer for the Los Angeles Times covering college and professional sports.
The award is named after Sam Lacy, a trailblazing black sportswriter who was heavily involved in Jackie Robinson’s entrance into Major League Baseball. When he died at the age of 99, Lacy was still writing a weekly column for the Baltimore Afro-American.

The festivities are part of the NABJ task force’s convention, taking place for the first time in Las Vegas, which is ongoing through Aug. 12.

King will also take part in a special workshop earlier in the day on Friday beginning at 4 p.m. titled Is Boxing Down for the Count?

The promotional legend will be joined on a star-studded panel consisting of President of HBO Sports Ross Greenburg; Senior Vice President/General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports Events Programming Ken Hershman; Hall of Fame boxing promoter Bob Arum; undefeated six-time world champion in five separate weight divisions “Pretty Boy’ Floyd Mayweather Jr.; and New York Daily News sports columnist and longtime boxing scribe Tim Smith.

New York Post sports columnist George Willis coordinated the workshop, and USA Today boxing writer Chuck Johnson will serve as moderator during the 90-minute discussion beginning at 4 p.m.
The workshop will be held on Friday in the Bronze Room 1 at Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. Seating is limited and only registered members of the NABJ convention and special guests will be allowed to attend.

The awards ceremony will take place at a dinner, also at Bally’s Las Vegas from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
NABJ is an organization of journalists, students and media-related professionals. Founded in 1975, it is the largest organization of journalists of color in the nation.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 9:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There are few certainties in professional boxing but it’s as close to a lock as possible that once the first bell rings, plenty of explosions will be taking place in the ring, resulting in multiple knockouts.

And boxing fans like nothing more than watching big boys being put to sleep.

“Pinnacle FiteNite” is a pro boxing pay-per-view series emanating for a wide variety of venues. The Aug. 18th edition at the South Towne Exposition Center in Sandy, Utah, promoted by C.A.M. Boxing, Inc. in association with Sports and Entertainment Media, Inc. and Gotham Boxing, features some of the most powerful punchers in the game today.

Samoan knockout specialist David “Tuaman” Tua, ranked No. 12 by the WBC, against Mexican heavyweight champion Saul “La Cobra” Montana is one 10-round co-main event, while former WBC top contender and unbeaten heavyweight “Baby” Joe Mesi takes another step towards his goal of a world title shot against NBA title-holder Sherman “The Tank” Williams in the other 10-round co-main event.

If the dual main events don’t provide enough dynamite, Russian-born unbeaten heavyweight prospect Roman Greenberg, the No. 11 rated European heavyweight who was raised in Israel and lives in England, meets former WBO heavyweight title challenger “Dangerous” Damon Reed in a 10-round Special Heavyweight Attraction.

Tua (47-3-1, 40 KOs) has stopped 40 of his 47 victims (85%) including current WBC title-holder Oleg Maskaev, as well as former world champions John Ruiz, Hasim Rahman and Michael Moorer. Montana (48-14, 42 KOs) has an even higher KO ratio than Tua, 42 of 48 for 87.5%, but “Tuaman” has never been counted out.

Mesi (35-0, 28 KOs), known as Buffalo’s third sports franchise, put world heavyweight title contender DaVarryl “Touch Of Sleep” Williamson to sleep in the opening round of their 2003 fight, as well as David Izon, Jorge Luis Gonzalez and a total of 28 of 35 (80%) of his opponents.

Williams (33-10-2, 19 KOs) has been stopped only once in 45 pro fights and the always-tough Bahamian has shown added power in the last his last fight fights, knocking out his last three opponents, four of his last five.
Greenberg and Reed are no slouches, either, when it comes to putting lights out. Roman has stopped 17 of 25 (80%) foes; Reed 30 of 43.

Former WBO heavyweight title challenger Jeremy “Half-Man, Half-Amazing” Williams (41-5-1, 35 KOs), brings his power down one weight class as a cruiserweight and he has KO’d 85% of the men he’s defeated, including Attila Levin, David Bostice, Jesse Ferguson, and Danell Nicholson. Williams’ opponent is Salt Lake City favorite Gary “Pit Bill” Gomez (18-8-1, 7 KOs) in an eight-round bout.

Also scheduled to fight on the Aug. 18th undercard is undefeated New York City middleweight prospect Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (13-0, 11 KOs), who tends to get in on the KO act (85%), and Las Vegas high-profile defense attorney Marc “The Defender” Saggese (2-0, 2 KOs). All bouts and fighters are subject to change.

The Aug. 18th Pinnacle FiteNite event will be produced by 21 Lakes and distributed by Integrated Sports. The 3-hour, four-bout minimum Pinnacle FiteNite show will be available live on Aug. 18 at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT on both cable and satellite PPV via iN Demand, DirecTV and TVN, as well as live in Canada via satellite PPV on Bell Expressvue, for a suggested retail price of $24.95.

Tickets, priced at $35.00, $50.00 and $75.00, are on sale and available at www.smithstix.com, South Towne Exposition Center box office, and local outlets. For additional information go to www.pinnaclefitenite.com. Doors open 5:00 PM/MT, first bout 6:00 PM/MT, first PPV bout 7:00 PM/MT.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 7:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just like that, in a span of three months the whole top tier of the heavyweight ranks had been seriously shuffled. Ali and Frazier were no longer the kings of the hill. There was a couple of new kids on the block named George and Kenny. Also a grizzled old veteran had returned to town.
To me the one fight that should have been made from this abrupt restructuring of the big boys was George Foreman-vs-Jerry Quarry. The ever popular Irishman had lost to Frazier in 1969 and to Ali in 1970 and 1972. Still Jerry always found a way to stay in the thick of the heavyweight picture. The win over the previously unbeaten Lyle made Jerry a major player again.

This bout would have sold out Madison Square Garden in no time at all. On paper it looked like it would have been a relatively safe defense for George. Add to the fact that George was much bigger and stronger then Jerry. It is hard to believe that this fight was not made. Quarry pleaded for a shot at George and he gave the impression that he was very confident that he could whip Foreman.

To the surprise of many the Foreman camp semed to be uninterested in a lucrative bout with Quarry. Frazier was still bet up and Al had to mend his jaw and then his reputation in a return with Norton. Lyle was eliminated. Jerry was the logicl choice. Instead George would meet and defeat Joe "King" Roman in his only other 1973 appearance.

Later in 1973 Ali would win a narrow decision over Norton. Quarry would close out 1973 by halting the feared Earnie Shavers in one round.

In January of 1974 Ali and Frazier would finally meet again with Ali taking the verdict. In March, Foreman would turn back the challenge of Ken Norton within two rounds. Quarry was on the outside looking in as Foreman and Ali announced they were meetng each other later that year in Africa.

In June of 1974 Jerry would again meet Joe Frazier in an elimination bout. Although many gave Jerry a good chance to win it was he who was brutally eliminated in five rounds.
It sure would have been nice if Foreman and Quarry would have met some hot summer night at Madison Square Garden in 1973. What a fight that may have been !

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 7:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An opening to fight Marquez became available when Jorge “La Hiena” Barrios was diagnosed with multiple retinal tears, requiring immediate surgery during a routine pre-fight eye examination on Friday, August 3rd, in Los Angeles. Due to the injury and prescribed recovery time from surgery, Barrios was forced to withdraw from his scheduled fight with Marquez.

Juarez (27-3, 19 KO’s), a 2000 Olympic Silver Medalist, has been involved in some tough battles in the past, including two hard fought wars against Marco Antonio Barrera, and is ready for the opportunity to win his first World Championship against Marquez.

Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (20-1-1, 13 KO’s) was originally scheduled to face Juarez on September 15th in defense of his IBF Featherweight Title, and is scheduled to remain on the show against an opponent to be determined.

Also on tap is a middleweight showdown between former World Champion Kassim "The Dream" Ouma and "The Contender" season one winner Sergio "The Latin Snake" Mora and a super lightweight battle pitting former Olympian Francisco "Panchito" Bojado against former World Champion and ‘The Contender’ season two runner-up Steve Forbes.

“Fireworks”, a night of world-class professional boxing, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Romanza Productions and Tournament of Contenders and sponsored by Tecate, Rock Star Energy Drink and Southwest Airlines. For more information please visit www.goldenboypromotions.com.

Tickets for this unforgettable night of boxing, priced at $300, $200, $100 and $50, are on sale now at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office. Tickets are sold at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Macy’s stores and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

The “Fireworks” pay-per-view telecast featuring Marquez vs. Juarez, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $44.95, will be distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 61 million pay-per-view homes. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For your Marquez vs. Juarez fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 9:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From the opening bell, Wills came out attacking with ferocity pushing Johnson back to the ropes with the hopes of taking away Johnson’s key weapon—the jab. What happened afterwards had everyone in attendance doing “oohs and ahhs”. Johnson unleashed a jaw dropping arsenal of punches including uppercuts, left hooks, and straight rights—every punch delivered with precision accuracy to Wills face.

“Bolo said in his Showtime production meeting that all I have is a jab, and he was going to take it away from me” Johnson said with a smile. “Ask him how it worked out for him.”

Johnson continued to dominate the action and toyed with Wills through all 10-rounds. Johnson showed real bravado during some of the exchanges by turning to talk to the ring card girls and even smiling for the cameras “I’ve had tougher sparring session than that fight, easy work” says Johnson. “I took him to school,” Johnson continued, “Bolo is a good fighter, but fighters don't beat boxers.”

After the fight, SHOWTIME analyst Steve Farhood stated "He [Johnson] showed some good combinations. He is a very exciting and entertaining fighter to watch."

“Johnson has positioned himself as America’s best hope to reclaim the title” said Star Boxing CEO Joe DeGuardia. “He’s put the Heavyweight division on notice. With his combination of pure boxing skills and speed I can’t see anybody beating him.”

What’s next for Johnson? “I want to get back in the ring ASAP” says Johnson. “I will leave it up to Joe DeGuardia to do what he does best and that's make great fights.”

Fans are already clamoring to see Johnson fight Samuel Peter, Sultan Ibragimov, and after Friday’s performance a date with Wladimir Klitschko seems inevitable. But Johnson still has his mind focused on doing some house cleaning. “I want to fight all the bums in my division who say they are top dogs” exclaimed the "Kingpin". “My speed, jab and talent can't compare to anyone, I am the complete package. The division is full of wannabe's right now, and I’m here to clear them out”

On the undercard, Eric “The Outlaw” Hunter (8-1, 3KO’s)showed the quickness and guile of a fighter way beyond his years en-route to winning a unanimous decision over Tyrell Samuel (9-2, 5KO’s) in a spirited 8-round clash.

Watching the fight you might think Hunter is psychic. Anytime Samuel thought of a punch, he was met with two-three counters. Hunter also showed the fans the blinding speed that bedeviled Pasquel Rousse and Vineash Rungea in his last two fights. “I fought a guy who was bigger than me but it didn't make a difference” said Hunter. “I stuck to my game plan and beat him. I would like to get right back in the ring.”

“Hunter is quickly making the transition from prospect to contender” says Joe DeGuardia. “He has all the makings of a top prospect.”

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 10:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I guess at this time you may be able to justify a 200 pound division.This "bastard" division has been under scrutiny from its inception as the 190 pound weight class.Later it was bumped up to 200 pounds. In my opinion there have only been two recognizable cruiserweight champions, Evander Holyfield and Dwight Muhammad Qawi. There epic first fight when Vander dethroned Quwi was a fifteen round classic.For the most part though the cruiserweight division has been a colorless weight class.

These heavyweights today are MONSTERS ! When I was growing up, Sonny Liston was a BIG heavyweight at 212. Big heavyweights after Sonny were usually on flabby side. Guys like Buster Mathis who was an under rated boxer did not possess a cut physique. If you doubt Buster Senior's talents, get a tape of his bout with rugged George Chuvalo. Buster showed in that bout that he was a world class fighter. Even "Big" George Foreman in his first career was a tight and ready 220 to 225 pounds. Again small by today's standards. The Joe Frazier who beat Ali in the March 8th, 1971 "Fight Of The Century" weighed less then 210 pounds.

Later you had talented but over weight boxers like Tony Tubbs, Tim Witherspoon and James Broad. Today these big guys like Lennox Lewis and the Klitschko brothers are around 250 pounds of rock solid muscle. Kenny Norton was an extremely well built heavyweight in his day but by today's standards he would be considered a small heavyweight.

So yes, I think the 200 pound division is very viable in this day and age.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 9:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Palacios was born in the Bronx, NY, but was raised in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, where he grew up idolizing Hector Camacho. An articulate man, "Wizard" attended North Carolina Central University and Marquette University on scholarships. Palacios had a distinguished amateur career, consisting of over 70 bouts and a Florida Golden Gloves title.

Azille, 19-3-2 (15 KO), has fought world-caliber competition in Wayne Braithwaite, Imamu Mayfield, and Kelvin Davis, but has only had one fight in the last three years. Palacios lauds Azille, saying that "he's fought good opposition" and that "he wasn't brought up protected."

Palacios says of this event, "It's important because it gives the people a chance to see me who haven't seen me fight before. After this win, the doors should be open for me to take on the best in the division."

"I want to express my gratitude to Warrior's Boxing for giving me this opportunity. I appreciate it. I want to shine. It will be an exciting fight. I've never been in a boring fight."

The fight card will take place at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, FL. The bout will be televised on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 9:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Promoter Donna Brooks of Hall of Fame Promotions says, "I believe it's good for a fighter to travel to different parts of the country so the public can see him. It's a good experience fight."

George took the fight on two weeks notice, however he had been training full-time at Gladiator's Boxing Gym in New Jersey. "My trainer Tommy Brooks and I have been working on new things. We've been working on what can make me a more fan-friendly knockout artist. I've been having a lot of fun in the gym." George has been sparring with many difficult assignments, including 250 pound heavyweight Faruq "The Dream" Saleem, 36-0 (32 KO).

George was ready to fight last month, agreeing to step in against Glen Johnson on Friday Night Fights. However, "communications difficulties" with Team Johnson suggest hesitatation on their part in putting Johnson in with Shaun George.

"Their team is called Warriors. His nickname is called 'The Road Warrior.' I wanted to go to war, but they didn't. My promoter called them to make the fight and they refused to return our phone calls. I look at it as his team doesn't want me to fight him. If they don't want to fight me, just say it. They play too many games."

After disposing of Charleston, George looks to return to action by late-September against a top ten ranked fighter. George points out Antonio Tarver, Julio Gonzalez, and Glen Johnson as men he's aching to throw fists with. The only fighter who he refuses to call out is the Light-Heavyweight Champion Chad Dawson, stating "I want to be a true number one contender before I challenge for a world title."

Says Shaun George, "It's a great honor to entertain the Idaho fans. I'm going to put on a great show. I'm going to apply lots of pressure. The Idaho fans can expect either a quick knockout or a beatdown. Either way, I'm going to win."

"I'm trying to put pressure on this division. As long as the people know who they are, put them in front of me. I'll fight anybody."

Shaun George promises that Charleston "won't see five rounds. I'm ready to go."

Tickets are priced affordably, starting at $17.50. Doors open at 6 PM.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 9:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

“Takin’ It To The River,” promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc., will be taped live and air Saturday night (Aug. 11) at 7:00 PM/ET on CN8, The Comcast Network and Cox Sports Television.

Godfrey (15-0, 9 KOs), also ranked No. 4 by the IBF and No. 6 by the WBA, risks his high ratings as well as am impending world title shot by fighting dangerous Derrick “D-Train” Brown (13-2-3, 11 KOs), who is trained by women’s boxing great Christy Martin, in the main event for Godfrey’s NABF championship belt. The unbeaten Providence cruiserweight also is the reigning NABA, USNBC and WBC Continental Americas title holder.

Nine-time U.S. national amateur champion Williams (13-0-1, 9 KOs), fighting out of Las Vegas but in his new adopted home of Rhode Island/New England, faces Jeff Brownfield (9-6, 4 KOs) in the co-feature.

In a pair of much anticipated four-round bouts, exciting Providence light heavyweight Jarrod Tillinghast (9-0, 3 KOs) meets Earl Doe (2-1, 2 KOs), while Providence crowd favorite Richard “Bobo” Starnino (8-2-1, 1 KO) tangles with New Bedford (MA) super middleweight Eric Pinarreta (1-1, 1 KO), trained by former junior welterweight star “Sucra” Ray Oliveira.

The “Young Guns” take center stage on the rest of the undercard with Marshfield (MA) light heavyweight Manuel Antonio Lopes (2-0, 1 KO), fighting out of Brockton and legendary trainer Goody Petronelli in his corner, against Lonnie Bowen in his pro debut; Whitman (MA)-born light heavyweight Mark “The Italian Bazooka” DeLuca (2-0, 2 KOs), representing the same famed North End of Boston that once produced former world welterweight champion Tony DeMarco, takes on Worcester’s Juan Aguire in his pro debut; Russian middleweight Andrey Nevsky (2-0, 2 KOs), now living in Hyannis (MA) and fighting out of Worcester (MA), versus Rakeen Carter (0-0-2); New Hampshire cruiserweight Rich Gingras (2-0, 2 KOs), 2006 Ringside World amateur heavyweight champion, also is scheduled to fight on the card against an opponent to be determined. All bouts and fighters are subject to change.

U.S. amateur boxing star Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade, of Providence, will be honored during the show as the first amateur inducted into the prestigious CES Ring of Honor, joining members Vinny Paz, “Irish” Micky Ward, Marlon Starling, “El Gallo” Jose Antonio Rivera, “Iceman” John Scully and the late trainer Johnny Duke. U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) will make a special presentation to Andrade.

Tickets for “Takin’ It To The River” are priced at $35.00, $45.00, (Bronze), $65.00 (Silver), $100.00 (Gold) and $150.00 (Jimmy’s Platinum Club) and may be purchased by calling CES (401.724.2253/2254), going on line at www.cesboxing.com or www.twinriver.com, at the Twin River Event Center (100 Twin River Road, Lincoln), RI), or any TicketMaster location. Contact CES (401.724.2253/2254/www.cesboxing.com) or Twin River Event Center (877.82.RIVER/ www.twinriver.com) for more information. Doors open at 6 PM/ET, first bout at 7 PM/ET.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 8:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Not only has Malignaggi accepted their challenge, “The Magic Man” promises to embarrass the Mexican fighter and his entire family in the process, offering the Mecca of Boxing – Madison Square Garden – as the ideal venue to settle the issue.

“All Chavez has is his last name,” Malignaggi spewed. “He’s gotten more press for beating nobodies than anybody in boxing history. All he’s ever fought are cab drivers and busboys. He’s nobody! I was a better prospect before my first pro fight than he is after 33 pro fights. I will embarrass him, his father, his entire family, and ruin his blood line.

“I have tremendous respect for his father, probably the greatest Mexican fighter of all-time, but his son can’t live off of his father’s great name forever. If Chavez and his team are stupid enough to call out a world champion like Paulie Malignaggi – he’s never fought anybody like me -- I’ll oblige them and we can do it at Madison Square Garden, where his father had two great wins in 1986 against my friend, Juan LaPorte, and Rufugio Rojas. I didn’t even waste my time watching Chavez fight last Saturday night. Hey, I’m no Louis Brown. I’ll fight him at 147, no problem. I say, don’t talk about it, JC Junior, let’s just do it.”

Malignaggi concluded by saying Chavez’ promoter, Top Rank, can make it happen by contacting his promoter, Lou DiBella.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 7:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr, (33-0-1, 26 KOs) remains undefeated after he scored a TKO over Louis Brown (15-3, 10 KOs) at 2:42 of the fifth round in a super welterweight bout.

Juan Manuel Lopez (18-0, 16 KOs) defeated Hugo Dianzo (31-12-1, 15 KOs) byTKO after Referee Gino Rodriguez called a halt to the bout at 1:12 of the tenth round. Dianzo suffered a severe cut on the left side of his head.

IBF Mini Flyweight champion, Ulises Solis (25-1-2, 19 KOs) defeated Rodel Mayol (23-2, 18 KOs) in fantastic fashion by scoring a KO at 1:13 of round eight.

Undefeated Bernabe Concepcion (16-0-1, 10 KOs) claimed the NABF Super Bantamweight title by scoring a fourth round KO over Gabriel Elizondo (23-3, 10 KOs). The time was 2:11.

Joey Abell (15-1, 15 KOs) scored a first round TKO at 2:11 over Mike Sheppard (9-7-1, 5 KOs) in a heavyweight bout,

Super Middleweight Donovan George (15-0-1, 13 KOs) stopped Shay Mobley (16-9-1, 11 KOs) at 2:33 of the third round.

Michael Walker beat Dante Craig by second round TKO. The time was 2:33.

Mercito Gesta (11-0-1, 3 KOs) scored a majority decision over Carlos Madrid (8-4-2, 2 KOs) in a six round Super Featherweight bout.

Victor Polyakov (5-0, 4 KOs) defeated Jesse Orta (7-10-1, 4 KOs) by unanimous decision in a six round middleweight bout.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This outcome sets up a possible trilogy of these two exciting fighters.

On the co-feature, WBA super bantamweight champion Celestino Caballero (27-2, 18 KOs) retained his title against Jorge Lacierva (32-7-6, 22 KOs) in a very exciting twelve round bout.

Jorge Piaz, Jr. (16-1, 10 KOs) defeated Jaime Orrantia (11-18) in a six round lightweight bout,

Alfredo Angulo (8-0, 6 KOs) scored a TKO over Taronze Washington (9-8, 5 KOs) after Washington failed to return to the ring for the fourth round of a Jr. Middleweight bout. Angulo knocked him down in the first and third rounds and was clearly in control of the fight.

Juan Castanada (11-0, 9 KOs) defeated Jose Magallon (5-4, 3 KOs) in a Lightweight bout.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 10:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Over the course of his career Roy Dale would meet top shelf opposition like Miguel DeOliveira, Tom Bogs and Juan Carlos Duran. In 1973 he met reigning world's middleweight champion Carlos Monzon in a non-title fight. The great King Carlos halted Dale in the fifth round.

Roy ended his career with a very respectable 31-19 record. May he rest in peace.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 9:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

To understand this further, let's explore the careers of each boxer. Even as an amateur Ray caught on like wildfire. In his hometown, the son of a former contender, Mancini's story line is very attractive and after turning pro the media blitz was on. Handsome and personable, Mancini had it all. In the ring he was an action fighter. There was never a dull moment when Ray was on the tube. His manager, Dave Wolf, moved him wisely and cautiously. In Ray's only real test preceding a title shot he won a convincing decision over future champion Jose Luis Rameriz. His title fight with Alexis Arguello may have been his finest moment even in a losing effort. Arguello is an all time great and Mancini gave him one of his toughest fights before fading in the fourteenth round. Ray's title winning performance against mediocre Art Frias and defense against over matched Duk Koo Kim, Orlando Romero and Bobby Chacon did little to enhance his fistic reputation. The loss to Bramble was a real surprise. Had they underestimated Bramble's ability? The fact remains that Mancini never won another professional fight.

Arroyo on the other hand also came up through the amateur ranks, but with much less fanfare than Ray. As a professional, Harry worked his way up the ladder earning a rating with a victory over tough Robin Blake. He secured on I.B.F. title bout with "Choo Choo" Brown and won the crown in a true action fight. Come from behind defense against "White Lightening" Brown and Terrance Alli made Arroyo a TV fan favorite. Unable to entice Ray into the ring with him, Harry fought and lost his crown to Kronkster Jimmy Paul. As in the case of Mancini, Arroyo's career declined rapidly after his title loss. A shocking KO defeat to Sammy Fuentes and a one sided decision loss to then up coming Vinny Pazienza took Harry out of the picture. A one round loss to future junior welter weight champion Loreto Garza relegated Arroyo to rank of an also ran. So by fate the paths of Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini and Harry Arroyo never crossed in a professional prize ring.

Arroyo still lives and works in the Youngstown area while Ray now resides on the West coast. Mancini is still idolized in his home and this may have caused some bitterness for Harry. Ray's claim of not wanting to box Harry because of their "friendship" may bear some looking into. According to sources close to Arroyo, the two never even had a cup of coffee together. So much for a friendship that deprived Youngstown of a true super bout. The courage of both men goes unchallenged. The feeling here is that the Bramble loss completely disrupted any o Mancini's future plans. He wanted Bramble again, got him and almost beat him in their rematch. Arroyo won the I.B.F. crown only two months before Ray's first loss to Bramble. Who knows if the Mancini camp planned to meet with Harry of Ray would have gotten by Bramble. Mancini remained inactive for several years after he lost his title. By the time Ray was ready to box again Harry's star had dimmed considerably and Mancini secured lucrative bouts with Hector Camacho and later Greg Haugen before retiring.

Ray Mancini and Harry Arroyo, both men, champions and winners. The only loser in this story was the hard luck city of Youngstown, Ohio

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 9:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I am here to shed a spotlight on what it takes to put this type of local show together. To tell about all the hard work, tremendous amount of planning and hours of maneuvering the smallest details into place to make a show successful.

What amounts to a few fun-filled hours for the fans and families of the contestants-in reality takes weeks and months of prep work with a handful of good luck thrown into the mix as well.
Just a glimpse of the chaos that goes unnoticed when the spontaneous idea for putting on a boxing show becomes solid reality is convincing enough to demand a great amount of appreciation for the process involved and the people who are dedicated to keeping boxing alive and well.

Putting on a local show is expensive-the cost can run hundreds even thousands of dollars consisting of licenses, permits, sanctioning fees, officials, securing the venue, and awards and trophies. Getting boxers for the show is also a time consuming ordeal...contacting gyms, networking and having coaches find available, interested, and eligible fighters.

Once the basics have been taken care of next comes Advertising: tickets, posters, fliers,newspaper ads. Before the first bell rings, pre -show prep takes place- checking the safety of ring, making sure the officials are there, EMT, security, concession stands and a physician at ringside.

If that wasn't enough to worry about and cause a few gray hairs ,a few hours before the show is to officially start we have weigh ins and boxer physicals to finish as well as match making for those boxers who have not all ready been pre-matched. The one disappointing factor of these type of bouts is that not all who come with the hope to fight will have an opportunity due to lack of opponents. I'm sure these boxers feel it was still worth the trip to be a spectator and cheer for their gym mates.

There is a totem pole effect in the sport of boxing with the local shows being the backbone and grassroots leading to future contests for advancement of promising careers. Amateur boxing shows ( local, regional, national) are crucial to the sport for many reasons. Most importantly
because it's a way to keep the history and tradition of the sport strong. Also, the contestants get the experience they need to excel in their craft. All gyms big and small depend on local shows for competition outlets. These bouts will be a real life combative experience outside of the boxers home gym and familiar sparring partners. Plus the gym putting on the show gets publicity that will be helpful to building it's reputation.

A successful boxing show depends on many positive factors coming together but in my opinion a successful show is one that displays correct usage of the rules and regulations, shows respect for all involved in the boxing system, produces bouts that show good sportsmanship with an environment for learning. Another factor for success is by putting on regular local shows and becoming comfortable with the process will make it go smoothly the next time around.

Amateur boxing is honest and pure. The foundation on which builds character as well as ability. The stepping stone where hope begins to develop into bigger and greater dreams. No matter the individual results of these matches everyone is a winner especially the sport of boxing-which becomes a lil bit stronger, a lil bit more grounded and stable and redeems itself with the innocence of youth.

Footnote- A big thanks to Darren "Checkmate" Maciunski (www.personalboxingtraining.com) and Melanie Ley ( The Boxing Grandma) for all their help.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 8:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RAFAEL MARQUEZ
“I don’t get why Vazquez keeps blaming the last fight on his nose. I punched him. He got hurt. He did not trip. He got hit. It’s what boxers do. For him to say I won because of the nose injury is not fair. This time, I am going to hurt him all over his body. Maybe then he will respect me for what I did in the first fight.

“I feel a whole lot better in this fight than I did for our first. In March, I trained five weeks. I trained 12 hard weeks this time. I prepared harder for the rematch.

“I feel great and am very confident and excited. This is going to be another great fight, but I am going to win again. I am really determined to prove that our last fight was not a fluke.

“We will see on Saturday who the best fighter is.’’

ISRAEL VAZQUEZ
“I feel a little different before every fight but for this one I am as anxious and eager as I have ever been. At this point, this is the most important fight of my career. I am determined to show what I did not, or could not do, in our first. I am more motivated than ever. I wish the fight was today and not Saturday.

“I totally expect Marquez to come out very fast in the first three rounds. I believe he thinks he is in with a fighter than is not 100 percent healthy. But I am healthy and Marquez starting fast could be an advantage because when he comes in, he comes in wide and throws wide punches.

“I’m known as a slow starter so I plan to come out a little quicker. I am not going to give him a chance to build any confidence or gain any momentum.

“Marquez is not going to fight me any differently. What else can he bring to the table that he didn’t the first time? I don’t think he can do any more than he did. But I know I can do a lot more, and the world will see that on Saturday.

CELESTINO CABALLERO
“I am looking for a really great fight with Lacierva, who is an excellent Mexican fighter who I know will force the action. That is what I want – someone who will push me.

“I can’t wait until Saturday to prove that I am the best world champion at 122 pounds. Fighting on SHOWTIME presents me with a great opportunity.

“This is going to be a great show. I want to fight the winner of Marquez-Vazquez.’’

JORGE LACIERVA
“Finally, my dream is coming true. I have waited a long time – more than five years – for my shot at a world title. I really appreciate my promoter, Gary Shaw, giving me this opportunity.

“I am so hungry. I have to win this fight and become world champion. I have never really had a training camp before. I would go to a gym and train and spar, do my running, that sort of thing. But this is the first time I actually went away to a camp and left my girl behind. All I did was sleep and train for six weeks.

“I have fought two taller guys before, but I am still a little worried about getting inside on Caballero. But I know that once I do, I am going to work him like he has never been worked before.

“I believe Caballero is too tall for this weight class and has problems making the weight. So, once I get inside, I am going to work him up and down.

“A lot of people who expect a lot from me are going to be watching this fight in person or on SHOWTIME. This fight is for them, my friends and family. They have stuck with me. Now, it is my turn to give back to them what they have given to me.’’

Posted by mightygloves.com at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ISRAEL VAZQUEZ

“I want to thank everyone who is worried about me, my health and my nose. Independently what has been said has only served to motivate me more and make me a better fighter. I am totally focused and expect to fight the best fight of my career on Saturday.

“I feel great. Fans will see on Saturday that my nose is perfect and that it will not betray me. Fans will forget about my nose after this fight and I will not have to answer any more questions about it.

“I am 100 percent confident and focused on regaining my WBC title.

“Marquez is one of the best fighters I have fought, but he is not the best. He got his hand raised in our first fight last March, but that doesn’t mean he won. (My nose injury) had as much to do with the result of that fight as anything he did.

“The last fight, it wasn’t me in there. Marquez will see me Saturday. I am excited and ready to go. The people who believe in me have always believed I would come back. This fight is dedicated to them.’’

CELESTINO CABALLERO

“I am definitely excited about fighting on SHOWTIME. This is really a great opportunity for me to get exposure and for fans to get to know me as a fighter and as a person.

“I won’t overlook my opponent, but I am always looking to the future. I want a unification fight. I am not getting 100 percent respect from the fans or the media, which is why this fight is so important to me.

“I definitely want to make a statement and open some eyes. I do not put pressure or myself but there is no question I want to win and look impressive. I want everybody to know that I should be mentioned with the bigger names and champions in my division – like (WBO titleholder Daniel “Ponce”) DeLeon or the Marquez-Vazquez winner.

“The best way to do that is to look good on Saturday. One of the greatest qualities God gave me as a person was patience, so I am not frustrated that I have been overlooked so much. But I do believe this is my time, and I will prove it is my time if I get the chance.’’

Posted by mightygloves.com at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kelly has taken out every obstacle that has been put in front of him. He was very impressive against Zuniga, Zertuche and of course Edison Miranda. I honestly believe that if Taylor would have been matched against Miranda he would have looked good. Miranda is the second coming of John Mugabi. Basically no Plan B. Take him out of his fight plan and he's not versatile enough to make the proper adjustments. Pavlik looked great against Miranda. He did everything he was supposed to do and more. Now he meets Jermain Taylor. Mr. Taylor is a whole different animal.

Who do I want to win ? That is a no brainer. Nothing against Taylor but Kelly has really stirred up the great fight town of Youngstown. I recently watched a Sportstime Ohio one hour broadcast on the life of Kelly Pavlik. Great stuff !!! This young man trains the old school way. He hits a tire with a sledgehammer. He hits the heavy bag with a ball bat. He pushes cars up an inclined road. It was like watching the training scenes of a " Rocky " movie. No one can say that Pavlik has ever put in less then 100 % in preparation. Trainer Jack Loew and company have done a tremendous job in bringing Pavlik to this point. I met Kelly at a banquet a few years back when he was just a young prospect. He is personable and he surely does not lack confidence. At that time he told me he felt he was ready for guys like William Joppy, Antwon Echols and Robert Allen. They were the top rated contenders behind champion Bernard Hopkins. He was not boasting but he was serious.

I'm not ready to make a prediction yet. I don't want to let my heart over rule my head but this is going to be a very, very tough fight for both Taylor and Pavlik. I can not wait to see it.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 10:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On paper, it is a good fight and in the ring, it should even be better. To date, Sweet Science people view Taylor as an enigma. An Olympic medalist with fantastic athletic ability, with the Lou DiBella promotional company firmly behind him, HBO broadcasting all his fights and Emanuel Steward working his corner. On top of that, he beat the legendary Bernard Hopkins twice. “Bad Intentions” still has yet to lose, but has yet to turn into a box office star that his credentials would suggest.

In his last title defense against Cory Spinks you could see Emanuel Steward’s growing dislike for the way Taylor was fighting. On the other hand, on the undercard of Taylor vs Spinks, Kelly Pavlik scored a sensational knockout in a type of victory that his promoter, Bob Arum, had hoped for.

Taylor vs. Pavlik suggests a good middleweight fight. Pavlik, who is a big strong middleweight moves forward looking to land a big right hand. His style is very similar to that of Iran Barkley, but with more talent than “The Blade” ever had.

Presuming both fighters fight up to their respected talents, look for this fight to be a good tough fight with Taylor scoring a late stoppage and re-gaining some of the fans he lost when he looked lackadaisical in his victory over Cory Spinks. Lou DiBella’s demeanor going into this match had one believing that some big fights were to come after this contest on September 29th.

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 5:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The other 10-round co-main event on “Pinnacle FiteNite,” the pro boxing pay-per-view series emanating for a wide variety of venues, promoted by C.A.M. Boxing, Inc. in association with Sports and Entertainment Media, Inc. and Gotham Boxing, pits Samoan knockout specialist David “Tuaman” Tua, ranked No. 12 by the WBC, against Mexican heavyweight champion Saul “La Cobra” Montana.

Russian-born unbeaten heavyweight prospect Roman Greenberg, the No. 11 rated European heavyweight who was raised in Israel and lives in England, faces former WBO heavyweight title challenger “Dangerous” Damon Reed in a 10-round Special Heavyweight Attraction.

Mesi (35-0, 28 KOs), known as Buffalo’s third sports franchise, has defeated former world champion Vassiliy Jirov and past world heavyweight title contenders DaVarryl Williamson and Monte Barrett. Injuries suffered against Jirov, however, led to Mesi’s license being pulled and two years of inactivity before he was medically cleared to fight again. “Baby Joe” has won all six of his “comeback” fights, three by knockout, but he’s up against his toughest foe since Jirov in Williams.

“Every fight is now the most important with all of the controversy surrounding me and I’m sure a lot of people will be watching to see I’m the fighter I used to be,” Mesi said. “I’m done with my so-called tune-ups and people will be sitting on the edges of their seats to see if I’m better or worse against Sherman Williams, who is extremely durable and my next step up. I had two years off doing nothing. That’s a long time. I’m getting in shape and my timing’s coming back, finally feeling like the fighter I was. In my last fight (April 14, WKO1 vs, Ron Johnson), I outclassed my opponent, but, physically I felt good. I’ll be in good shape for Sherman Williams to show people I’m the fighter I was.

“The goal has always been to win the world heavyweight championship. I was inactive and dropped out of the ratings. Now, I’m taking steps and the next is to be rated in the top 10, taken seriously like before and, hopefully, I’ll get a title shot in 2008. I’ve always defended the heavyweight division. It’s not easy to win in, lacking only a superstar like Tyson, the old Holyfield or Holmes. There’s no one star that’s a dominating force. I’m not the best boxer in the world, but I have a little more to offer than some others in that generate fans, excitement, money, and I am an American.”

Williams (33-10-2, 19 KOs), the reigning NBA heavyweight title-holder from The Bahamas, has won his last eight fights dating back two years (8-0, 4 KOs). “The Tank” has defeated former world champion Alfred “Ice” Cole, fought a draw with world heavyweight title challenger Jameel McCline, and took present WBA heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev the full distance in Germany.

“I’m takin’ it to Mesi,” Williams warned. “I have a picture of Joe Mesi in my mind and he looks like Josh Gutcher did when I fought him (devastating 1st round KO). I’m going to make it short and sweet so any critics won’t have too much to write about other than Tank Williams KO’s Joe Mesi in a great fight. They (Team Mesi) made the offer and I took it for the opportunity value. I’m going to take him out. With Mesi’s size, unless he’s changed, he won’t run.

“When I knock him out, the last thing I want to hear is that Mesi was damaged goods. I’m a Christian; I don’t want to hurt anybody and I pray for both fighters. Similar things (health issues) were said about Evander Holyfield and he’s looked great in his last two fights. We’re going to have a great fight on August 18 and I’m going to knockout Joe Mesi.”

Tua (47-3-1, 40 KOs), who went the distance against undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis in 2000, has stopped 40 of his 47 victims including current WBC champion Oleg Maskaev as well as former world title-holders John Ruiz, Hasim Rahman and Michael Moorer. Montana (48-14, 42 KOs) has been tested by the iron such as world champions James Toney, Virgil Hill, and Jirov.

Former WBO heavyweight title challenger Jeremy “Half-Man, Half-Amazing” Williams (41-5-1, 35 KOs), coming back one division lighter as a cruiserweight after being inactive the past 2 ½ years, largely due to his involvement as a coach on The Contender reality television series and as a mixed martial arts fighter, tangles with Salt Lake City favorite Gary “Pit Bill” Gomez (18-8-1, 7 KOs) in an eight-round bout.

Also scheduled to fight on the Aug. 18th undercard is undefeated New York City middleweight prospect Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (13-0, 11 KOs) and Las Vegas high-profile defense attorney Marc “The Defender” Saggese (2-0, 2 KOs). All bouts and fighters are subject to change.

The Aug. 18th Pinnacle FiteNite event will be produced by 21 Lakes and distributed by Integrated Sports. The 3-hour, four-bout minimum Pinnacle FiteNite show will be available live on Aug. 18 at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT on both cable and satellite PPV via iN Demand, DirecTV and TVN, as well as live in Canada via satellite PPV on Bell Expressvue, for a suggested retail price of $24.95.

Tickets, priced at $35.00, $50.00 and $75.00, are on sale and available at www.smithstix.com, South Towne Exposition Center box office, and local outlets. For additional information go to www.pinnaclefitenite.com

Posted by mightygloves.com at 4:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The fight, officially announced today and aptly named “UNDEFEATED”, will be promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Mayweather Promotions and produced by and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View. With several sites interested in hosting this special event, a location will be announced shortly.

“I am extremely excited to announce Golden Boy’s involvement in another boxing extravaganza such as Mayweather vs. Hatton,” said Oscar de la Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. “We are proud to continue to provide fans with the best match-ups and fights in boxing today. This will be an exciting way to end this record-breaking year for the sport.”

“We are very happy that the first fight for Mayweather Promotions will be an event of this magnitude,” said Leonard Ellerbe of Mayweather Promotions. “To be in partnership with Golden Boy Promotions working on another big event is a great way to show we are serious in bringing great fights to the fans.”
"Mayweather-Hatton is a world-class showdown between two undefeated superstars in their prime," said Mark Taffet of HBO Pay-Per-View. "It's the biggest welterweight fight since De La Hoya-Trinidad, and figures to be a memorable night for boxing fans."
Mayweather, 30, is 38-0 (24 KOs) and the reigning world welterweight champion. He is a six-time world champion in five weight divisions including super featherweight, lightweight, super lightweight, welterweight and super welterweight. Coming off of his decision victory against Oscar de la Hoya—the largest grossing event in the history of boxing—Mayweather is one of the most gifted fighters to ever step between the ropes.
“I am the best fighter in boxing today and I’m prepared for any challenge my team puts in front of me,” said Mayweather. “And with Ricky Hatton it’s already personal. He has talked and disrespected me so much in the past months that I can’t wait to get him in the ring and show him he is not even on my level. He’s definitely getting knocked out.”
Hatton, 28, is 43-0 (31 KOs), and hails from Manchester, England. He is also a multi-division champion and universally recognized world junior welterweight champion. He has fought once before at 147 pounds, winning the welterweight belt from Luis Collazo in May of 2006 before moving back down to 140 pounds and capturing his third world title. His most recent contest was a four-round destruction of Jose Luis Castillo in Las Vegas in June.
“It is a dream of every boxer to fight the best boxers in the world,” said Hatton. “"I respect Floyd Mayweather immensely for his boxing ability and it will be an honor to share the same ring with him. He is rightly regarded as the best pound for pound boxer in the world. However, I am confident and determined that I will be the first boxer to beat him in the ring and I am looking forward to this fight."
A global press tour is being planned to promote this event. In addition, on-sale ticket information for this championship title fight will be announced in the near future.

Posted by mightygloves.com at 4:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The question now is, where does Bowe rank among the great heavyweights of all time? How would he have fared against Louis, Marciano, Frazier or even dream fights in his own time against Lewis or Tyson? Here is a boxer who may have never realized his full potential. When he was near it his career declined due to his own self-indulgence.

After Lennox Lewis stopped Riddick in the 1988 Olympics, Bowe was considered a risky project. Rock Newman took the risk of managing Bowe and convinced the skeptical but astute Eddie Futch to undertake the task of molding Riddick. The rest is history. Bowe progressed nicely thru the ranks turning pro in 1989 by halting future contender Lionel Butler in two rounds. In 1990 he stopped faded ex-champion Pinklon Thomas in nine. He also destroyed Bert Cooper in two.

In 1991 he kayoed Tyrell Biggs in eight and outscored ex-champ Tony Tubbs. He later kayoed future titleholder Bruce Seldon in one round. In 1992 he cemented a shot at the title by halting South African Pierre Coetzer in seven rounds.

Finally Riddick “Big Daddy” Bowe was in the ring facing heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield. The well-schooled and well-conditioned Bowe won a hard fought but convincing decision and the crown. Was this the turning point of his career? Was it the beginning of the end? The night Bowe won the title from Holyfield he could have arguably competed with any heavyweight who ever lived. He was that good.

So where did it all go wrong? Did Riddick believe he was unbeatable? Easy defenses against ex-champ Michael Dokes and shopworn journeyman Jesse Ferguson did little to sharpen his skills. His weight as well as his ego began to swell. By the time he met Holyfield in their rematch he had become a different fighter. So had Evander who had totally dedicated himself in training. Their second bout is mainly remembered for the “Fan Man” incident but in reality it was a highly entertaining fight. Even at the height of his skills against an ill prepared Bowe, Evander had all he could do to win the decision and regain the title. Without the championship, Riddick had become an enigma to himself. Would he rededicate himself or let the talent he had slip through his fists.

Riddick began his march toward reclaiming his crown. He would beat once highly regarded Herbie Hide and knock out overrated Jorge Luis Gonzalez who had beaten Riddick in the amateurs. He would again meet a now ex-champion Holyfield in a rubber match. He would pick himself off the canvas to knock out Evander and it appeared Riddick was still a prime player in the heavyweight sweepstakes. All that came crashing down following two brutal and highly controversial bouts against Andrew Golota.

Golota was a native of Poland. He was big, strong, talented and white. He was dubbed the next “White Hope” and a victory over Bowe would put him back in the thick of the title picture. Bowe was still considered too good for the upstart but things changed abruptly when the fight started. Riddick lost too much weight too fast in training. He was weak and lethargic. Golota outboxed, outslugged and outfought Bowe but he also landed repeated low blows. Finally the foul punches cost Golota the bout as he was disqualified in round seven.

In their rematch Riddick vowed to be in condition. It did not matter, Golota was again the dominant fighter and he was again guilty of repeated low blows that led to his disqualification in round nine. The Riddick Bowe who “won” dubious disqualification victories over Golota was only a shell of the Bowe who had won the crown from Holyfield.

That Bowe may have been able to beat the Liston who destroyed Patterson or the Dempsey that ravaged Luis Firpo. He may have beaten the Louis who crushed Schmeling or the Marciano who rendered Jersey Joe Walcott unconscious. He may have defeated the Joe Frazier who whipped Ali or the Ali who drubbed Foreman or the Foreman who bounced Frazier around like a rubber ball. Maybe he could have even beaten the Clay who humbled Liston.

Could he have defeated his amateur nemesis Lennox Lewis? Could he have handled the pressure of neighborhood rival Mike Tyson? Unfortunately, we’ll never know.

AUTHOR'S UPDATE;

Then again with a Lewis comeback still a possibility and with Tyson and Riddick both still active, you never know. Maybe somewhere down the road these fights may be made. I've seen stranger things happen in boxing

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 8:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Posted by Kathleen Holland at 8:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

> Chucho would go on a solid campaign in 1969 to earn another shot at
> the title. He knocked out future champion Rafael Herrera. He drew with
> Ushiwakamaru Harada and Jose Medel. He also split a pair of bouts with Raul
> Cruz. On April 18, 1970 Castillo would meet the new champion, Ruben
> Olivares. " Rockabye " Ruben had stopped Rose in impressive fashion to win
> the crown. Although Castillo knocked Ruben down, Olivares did enough to earn
> the decision and retain his title. Still Chucho's game effort warranted a
> rematch. They met again on October 16th and Castillo finally became world
> champion as a severe cut forced Olivares out in the fourteenth round.
>
> Chucho's tenure as champion did not last long. On April 2, 1971 Ruben
> regained his crown with a decisive decision. Once again though Chuchu put
> Ruben on the canvas.In his next bout Castillo lost a rematch to Rafael
> Herrera with the NABF title at stake. Herrera would go on to dethrone
> Olivares but then lost the title to Enrique Pinder. Castillo would then meet
> Pinder in a non-title bout losing a decision.
>
> In 1973 Chucho would lose to Jose Luis Soto and then be stopped by
> Bobby Chacon. In his last attempt to remain in the limelight he was stopped
> in two rounds by Danny " Little Red " Lopez in 1975. Chucho would lose one
> more fight and then call it quits.
>
> Castillo had 66 fights in his illustrious career, winning 46 of them.
> Many of his 18 losses came early and late in his career. Castillo's record
> from 1967 through his second loss to Olivares was 17-5-2 and that was
> against top level opposition. He was a warrior and a true champion.
>
>
>

Posted by Kathleen Holland at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)