Fairless Hills, PA–Undefeated welterweight contender Mike Jones, of Philadelphia, PA, opened up his training camp at the 10th Round Gym in Fairless Hills, PA, last week in preparation for his Nov. 13 fight with Jesus Soto-Karass at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX.

The Jones vs. Soto-Karass fight opens up the pay-per-view telecast that night on a card which features Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito for the vacant WBC junior middleweight title in the main event.

Among Jones’ sparring partners are fellow-Philadelphians Gabriel Rosado and Raymond Serrano. Rosado (14-5, 8 K0s) is on the verge of his own world ranking at junior middleweight while Serrano (13-0, 6 K0s) is quietly moving up through the welterweight division.

Jones also has been working with unbeaten junior welterweight Ronald Cruz (9-0, 6 K0s), of Bethlehem, PA.

A pro since 2005, the 27-year-old Jones is ranked between No. 2 and No. 4 by all four major world sanctioning bodies. At stake in this scheduled 10-rounder will be Jones’ NABA and NABO welterweight belts.
“I am taking time off from my job (forklift operator at Home Depot in Cherry Hill, NJ) to concentrate on my boxing career,” Jones said. “This is a big fight for me. Soto-Karass is not a pushover and I need to be fully prepared—as usual—for this match. It’s a whole new stage for me and I need to be focused 100 percent.”

Other major fights on the PPV card include: Kelly Pavlik, of Youngstown, OH, vs. Bryan Vera, of Austin, TX, 10 rounds, super middleweights; Guillermo Rigondeaux, of Miami, FL, vs. Ricardo Cordoba, of San Miguelito, Panama, 12 rounds, super bantamweights.

Photo by Claudia Bocanegra

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ATLANTIC CITY/NEW YORK (October 20, 2010)—On Saturday night October 30th one of the best Featherweight prospects in the world in Jorge Diaz will risk his undefeated record when he takes on former world title challenger Emanuel Lucero that will headline a huge night of boxing from Ballys Atlantic City and will be broadcasted LIVE all over the world on www.gofightlive.tv

To order the fight LIVE at 7:30 pm Eastern Time for just $9.99, click

http://www.gofightlive.tv/Events/Fight/Boxing/Jorge_King_Diaz_vs_Emmanuel_Lucero/871

The card is presented by John Lynch’s Pound for Pound Promotions.

Diaz of New Brunswick, New Jersey brings in a perfect mark of 14-0 with nine knockouts and has quickly become one of the most exciting prospects in the lower weight divisions.

Diaz has fought on some of the biggest shows on the east coast as he has appeared at either Boardwalk Hall or Madison Square Garden seven times and in his last bout, Diaz fought in famed Yankee Stadium as part of the Miguel Cotto – Yuri Foreman undercard when he stopped tough Korean Jae-Sung Lee in six rounds.

Diaz two signature wins have come in the last year as he blasted out former Olympic Gold Medal winner Yan Barthelemy in six rounds in Madison Square Garden. Three fights later, Diaz scored an eight round unanimous decision over fellow undefeated Alejandro Lopez (16-0) in Key West, Florida.

Lucero of Scranton, PA via Mexico has a very respectable record of 24-5-1 with fourteen knockouts has fought the best in the world.

He went 21-0-1 in his first twenty-two bouts which includes wins over former world champion Juan Polo Perz and title challengers Rogers Mtagwa and John Lowey.

Lucero then challenged for the IBF Jr. Featherweight title but unfortunately he was up against a buzzsaw named Manny Pacquiao. The current best fighter in the world stopped Lucero in three rounds.

Lucero has only lost to the top featherweights as his only other losses have come to former world champions Valdemir Pereira and Daniel Ponce De Leon and former world title challengers Rocky Juarez and Jason Litzau.

In his last bout, Lucero scored an eight round unanimous decision over Robert DaLuz.

In a rare battle of top prospects, Jeremy Bryan (14-1, 7 KO’s) of Paterson, NJ will take on undefeated Ronald Cruz (9-0, 6 KO’s) of Bethlehem, PA.

Bryan was a former national Golden Gloves champion has one controversial defeat on his ledger. He will go up against Cruz who has scored some vicious knockouts and in his last few bouts has shown much improved boxing skills.

Glen Tapia (7-0, 5 KO’s) will see action in a Jr. Middleweight bout.

Tapia has been named one of best young prospects on the east coast. Tapia will be extremely prepared as he is in camp as one of the chief sparring partners for Pacquiao in the Philippines.

Amir Mansour is one of the most interesting heavyweight prospects around.

The Delaware native won nine straight bouts before spending eight plus years in prison. On the day he was formally released, He scored a highlight film stoppage over Samuel Brown on August 27th.

Mansour will not be in with a pushover as he will be taking on Alex Mejias in a bout scheduled for six rounds.

Mejias has a record of 11-5 with five knockouts and has been in with quality opposition such as world ranked Derric Rossey (22-2); Tor Hamer (10-0) and Bowir Tupou (18-1).

In his last bout, Mejias scored a third round stoppage over undefeated Kimdo Bethal Boykin (4-0) on September 11th.

Also seeing action on the card will be popular Light Heavyweight Bobby Rooney (11-3-1, 6 KO’s) and a Light Heavyweight bout between undefeated Anthony Smith (6-0, 4 KO’s) and Donald Bernard (8-7-2, 4 KO’s)

There is a reason that New Yorkers have garnered a reputation for being tough. On Saturday, Brooklyn’s Shannon Briggs embodied that reputation by going the distance with WBC heavyweight champion, Vitali Klitschko.

In doing so, Briggs became just the third fighter to ever go to the scorecards with the dominant Ukrainian. Unfortunately, his doing so also meant paying a steep price, one that could have and should have been avoided.

A first round bicep injury to Brigg’s left arm went undetected by ESPN3.com’s broadcast team of announcer Jon Anik and analyst BJ Flores, but surely not by Briggs, who didn’t come out as aggressive as anticipated. Post-fight knowledge of the injury puts the pieces together as to why Briggs shied away from throwing the haymakers he promised the pre-fight press conferences.

From the opening bell, Briggs was never in this fight. Klitschko controlled the action throughout, using his stiff jab to keep his shorter opponent on the outside. The big Ukranian effortlessly landed crushing rights at will, repeatedly finding on the left side of Brigg’s face. By round six, it was clear that Klitschko would retain his title. The only question left unanswered was whether or not Briggs would make it to the final bell.

As I watched Klitschko dominate round after round, I was brought back to September 2009 when “Dr. Iron Fist” battered Chris Arreola around the Staples Center ring for ten full rounds.

Klitschko easily won all ten rounds against the “Nightmare”, continually landing his vicious rights against Arreola’s ever-swelling face. While Arreola sat on his stool waiting for the round eleven bell to sound, trainer Henry Ramirez stepped in and told referee Jon Schorle to stop the bout.

When Ramirez stopped the fight, Arreola’s immediate reaction was one of devastation and disappointment. As he got up from his stool, Arreola screamed “No!” at Ramirez and raw emotion in the form of tears began to stream down the “Nightmare’s” red puffy face.

Although it was against his fighter and good friend’s will, Ramirez saw that Arreola didn’t even possess a fighter’s chance by the time round ten had ended and consequently threw in the towel.

Conversely, with regards to Brigg’s courageous efforts against the elder Klitschko, the “Cannon” was apparently calling his own shots.

“Despite prior reports, throughout the contest my trainer, Herman Caicedo wanted to stop the fight, but I made it clear that stopping was not an option. Thank you for all of your support and hopefully I showed you the heart of a lion and the perseverance of a Champion,” said Briggs in a released statement following the bout.

Nobody questions the heart of Briggs or Arreola (at least when he is in the ring). If Arreola had his way, he would have fought the championship rounds against Klistchko.

While Ramirez stepped in and saved his fighter from taking excessive, unnecessary abuse, Caicedo stayed quiet, letting his defenseless fighter take absorb a cringeworthy amount of punishment.

Perhaps Caicedo let him go because he — and Briggs — are both well aware that the fighter is well onto the back nine of boxing’s golf course, only a hole or two away from heading into the clubhouse and calling it a career. For the former WBO heavyweight champion, it was do or die, and Caicedo knew it.

Conversely, when the “Nightmare” was stopped by Klitschko last September, it can be presumed that it was Ramirez’s intent was to preserve his young fighter’s future, learn a lesson, and move on.

When thinking about the two fights and how both played out, I wondered if Briggs was in Arreola’s position at the time of the Klitschko fight — a young undefeated contender — would Caicedo have thrown in the towel and saved his guy for another day? My honest guess would be yes — the logic be that you’ll work your way back into contention down the road. But with this being a last hurrah type fight for Briggs, Caicedo let his guard down and failed to appropriately look after his fighter’s safety, as did British referee Ian John-Lewis, for that matter.

There is no doubting the heart of Briggs, who fought thirty-six minutes with Klitschko and was never sent to the canvass. Unfortunately for Shannon the Cannon, he went from spending time with “Dr. Iron Fist” to spending time with German doctors afterwards as he was found to have a suffered torn ligament in his left arm, multiple facial fractures, and a concussion.

Let this be a lesson in unnecessary punishment. There was no way Briggs was going to quit on his stool — he has too much pride, too much courage. But as a trainer, part of your job is protecting your fighter — not only preserving your boxer’s future in the sport, but also a healthy future outside of the ring.

Kyle Kinder can be reached at Twitter.com/KyleKinder

Photo by Claudia Bocanegra

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the brother of WBO interim Lightweight champion Michael Katsidis was found dead in Brisbane, Australia.

Stathi Katsidis was found dead and with Michael training it Thailand, it is unclear weather his November 27 bout with Lightweight world champion Juan Manuel Marquez will go on as scheduled.

“We haven’t spoken to Michael, but we have spoken to Brendon,” David Itskowitch, an executive with Golden Boy, Katsidis’ promoter, told ESPN.com. “Our concern right now is for Michael, not as to whether he will fight. He just lost his brother, who he was very close with. However long it takes, he will decide what he will do. Right now the fight is not a concern for us. We’re concerned for him.”

According to multiple Australian media reports, Stathi Katsidis was found dead by his girlfriend, Melissa Jackson, who also is the mother of their 4-year-old son.

The cause of death has not been determined, although he had a history of drug and alcohol problems, including a positive test for ecstasy in 2008 and a prior drunken driving arrest, according to media reports.

On Tuesday 12 October Rendell Munroe 21-1(9) left Britain to head for Japan in a bid for Toshiaki Nishioka’s WBC Super Bantamweight crown. The fight takes place on Sunday 24 October in the Japanese capital Tokyo. Munroe 30, did what not every fighter can say they do these days, he earnt his title shot by fighting the best available fighters. In March 2008 Munroe beat then unbeaten Kiko Martinez for the European title making five defence’s along the way repeating his win over Martinez and outpointing teak tough Italian Simone Maludrottu who himself fought for a world title in Japan though down at Bantamweight where he lost a decision to Nishioka’s stablemate Hozumi Hasegawa. In his one fight this year Munroe stopped Mexican Victor Terrazas in an eliminator. He hopes to return from “The Land of the Rising Sun” having conquered Nishioka though maintains it wont change him and he’ll continue his day job working as a rubbish man. Here’s what the humble Midlander had to say.

Hello Rendell, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – You will be challenging for the WBC Super Bantamweight title in Japan on 24 October against Toshiaki Nishioka. What are your thoughts on thi s fight & how what do you think of him as a fighter?

Rendell Munroe – My thoughts are I’m going there to become the champion, obviously he’s a champion himself and I respect him. We’re in there for the same thing. Two good fighters in there and we’re both fighting to be the champion of the world, he defending it and I’m gonna win it.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us a little about your training for this fight? When do you head off to Japan? Are you expecting many fans to travel?

Rendell Munroe – Yeah, everything has gone well. I follow what Jason (Shinfield) says I need to do. Everything is going well everything is perfect. I’ve been in camp for 8 weeks, I went to Portugal for a week to train. They reckon over a hundred fans are coming over which is good.

Anson Wainwright – Do you think you’ll have to put in your best performance to date to win the title away from home in Japan?

Rendell Munroe – Yeah I would say. Every time I step in the ring I look to put on my best performance. I’m going in there to win. Every time I prove I can be that bit better.

Anson Wainwright – If you are able to win the title in Japan what do you think this would mean to you and your family? How would it change your life?

Rendell Munroe – It’s not if I’m able to it’s when I win the title in Japan. That’s the main thing, Obviously it’ll mean a lot to me, it’s my dream of becoming a world champion, it’s what I want to do. So for my family it’s a good thing for them the same. My missus and my two kids can’t come out there but they’ll support me and give me credit when I get home. It might do (Change his life) but I’ll still go to work and be the same Rendell Munroe.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your team, who is your manager, trainer & promoter? Also what gym do you use to get ready for upcoming fights?

Rendell Munroe – My manager is Mike Shinfield and my coach is Jason Shinfield who’s his son from the same area and my promoter Frank Maloney obviously a lot of people know his name from managing Lennox Lewis. I use the gym in Summercote which belongs to the Shinfield’s.

Anson Wainwright – Outside of the ring your known as a very humble guy who still works a day job as a Bin man, can you tell us a bit about that and how you manage to train & fight whilst also working a day job?

Rendell Munroe – Just work isn’t it like everyone else, I go to the gym when I’ve finished work. I would say a big thanks to work for giving me the time off to train. They give me time off when I have a fight coming up so I can dedicate 100% of my time. Apart from that I go to work like an every day man.

Anson Wainwright – Will that change when you win the World title?

Rendell Munroe – No no, I’m glad they gave me the time off. My intention is to win the world title and go back to work.

Anson Wainwright – Though you obviously have a hectic life between your job & Boxing what do you like to do to relax away from Boxing?

Rendell Munroe – I like to play a bit of football (Soccer) with my friends. My eldest boy plays for Leicester football team so I go and watch him as well, he’s in the academy. I relax and chill with my family go to the park and things like that.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us a bit about your younger days and how they took you into Boxing?

Rendell Munroe – I first got into Boxing through an argument with my mum, I went to the gym with my uncle and it went from there.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your amateur career. What titles did you win and what was your final record?

Rendell Munroe – I think I had 40 fights I won about 30. But as an amateur it was just a hobby, something to do. It wasn’t until the later years that people started to say you have potential to go far so give it a proper shot and I have done and that’s where I am now.

Anson Wainwright – You started out your pro career and fought at Featherweight and on occasion even higher. How easily do you make the weight?

Rendell Munroe – No no no, I never started out at Featherweight no one would fight me at Super Bantamweight I had to fight at Featherweight. I make the weight easy, I’m 2 weeks out now and I’m already at the weight. The weight isn’t a problem, it’s not an issue.

Anson Wainwright – The Super Bantamweight division has undergo a transformation in the last year with JuanMa Lopez, Isreal Vazquez & Rafeal Marquez moving to 126. How do you see things? Who do you view as the top guy at 122?

Rendell Munroe – I don’t really look to much into it, I’m one of those fighters who concentrates on myself and what I’m doing I don’t really start looking at the weight division and start thinking. If my teams say who I’m fighting next and I concentrate on myself.

Anson Wainwright – What did you think of your stablemate Jason Booth’s fight for a world title against IBF Champion Steve Molitor?

Rendell Munroe – Yeah he aint in the stable anymore. It was a good fight he (Booth) had the ability to beat him (Molitor) with the skill but the size might be a factor for him which it was but like I say no disrespect to the guy gave it his best shot and he did look good for the first half of the fight then the size and strength showed a bit more for Steve Molitor. It went the way I said it would

Anson Wainwright – Does it bother you that Booth got his fight at home whereas you have to travel to Japan for your world title fight?

Rendell Munroe – No I don’t deal with any negativity, I just do what I’ve got to do. At the end of the day it goes how it goes I let everyone do there thing we’re doing ours and it’s working so keep it that way.

Anson Wainwright – Finally do you have a message for your fans in Britain who loyally support you?

Rendell Munroe – Big thanks for the 100% support I’m looking to make England proud and become a world champion on the 24 October.

Thanks for your time Rendall, keep up the good work.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

Newark, NJ (October 18, 2010) – Undefeated lightweight prospect Michael Angelo “The Artist” Perez will step up in competition when he takes on battle tested veteran Hevinson Herrera November 6 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.

At 14-6-1 (9 KO’s), Herrera is the most experienced foe of Perez’ young career. Each of Florida based Colombian’s losses came against world class fighters in Ricardo Cordoba, Edner Cherry, Cyril Thomas, Luis Cruz, Zolani Marali and Jose Arboleda. Herrera also fought to a draw with future two time world title challenger Feider Viloria.

Perez, a 2008 National Golden Gloves Champion, has dominated since entering the professional ranks as a high school senior in October 2008. The Newark native is 9-0 with 4 wins by KO and won virtually all 30 of the professional rounds he’s boxed thus far. In his most recent bout on July 17, Perez stopped Jorge Ruiz in 2 minutes and 29 seconds.

Although he will enter the squared circle with an opponent that has fought 79 more rounds than him and battled the superior opposition, Perez is ready to put on a show in front of his hometown fans.

“I’m excited for the fight,” said Perez, who compiled an outstanding 112-10 amateur record. “Herrera has a lot of experience and I am expecting a good fight. I’ve had a great training camp and I’m ready to step up, so the fans can expect fireworks on November 6!”

The six round showdown between Perez and Herrera will take place prior to an HBO “Boxing After Dark” doubleheader featuring former two division world champion Zab Judah against unbeaten power puncher Lucas Matthysse and Robert Guerrero versus Vicente Escobedo.

The card is being promoted by Main Events, Golden Boy Promotions and Super Judah Promotions.

Tickets priced at $53, $78, $103 and $253 (ringside) can be purchased at Prudential Center Box Office, by calling TicketMaster at 800-745-3000 or www.Prucenter.com.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, two division world champion Zsolt Erdei will fight on November 20th in Atlantic City as part of the undercard featuring the middleweight championship rematch between Sergio Martinez and Paul Williams.

Erdei inked a deal with Lou DiBella over the weekend.

“I have followed him for a while and watched a number of his fights, and he’s a high quality guy,” DiBella said. “He has superstar status in Hungary. He’s like a rock star there. He doesn’t need the money. He didn’t come back for the money. Coming to America is about legacy and about trying to prove he’s belongs with the top guys, that he can beat the top guy. That is why he’s coming back.”

“What’s coming up next for me is in America,” Erdei said. “To be successful there is the next step after having achieved mostly everything in Europe. The big names in my weight division, I want to challenge and defeat them. That’s my goal. I know it’s going to be a tough and a big challenge, but I have never run away from these kinds of tasks. I didn’t want to end my career without giving it a try in the USA.

“We had a few options, especially from U.S. promoters. After a lot of discussions and negotiations, we met with Lou DiBella and DiBella Entertainment in New York. These meetings were always very positive. He made the best offer, and what was very important to me was that he believes in me. From the beginning I have seen Lou DiBella as a really nice person and I have the confidence in him, and I know that he will open the doors to the American boxing market in order to secure a successful continuation of my career.”

“I love boxing and that’s why I want to continue,” Erdei said. “Boxing is my life and I’m a fighter. I was looking for a new challenge after I had been the WBO light heavyweight world champion for nearly six years, had won the WBC cruiserweight crown and my contract with Universum Box-Promotion had ended.”

“He hasn’t taken a lot of punishment,” DiBella said. “His weight doesn’t fluctuate much. So at 36, it’s not a big deal to keep fighting. He doesn’t have a lot of mileage on him. He has taken care of himself and believes he has a lot left. But he’s not looking for a five-year comeback. He’s looking for four or five fights. He thinks he can beat the top guys at light heavyweight — Jean Pascal, Chad Dawson, that level of guy.”

Thackerville, Oklahoma — Texas star Raul ‘La Cobrita’ Martinez of San Antonio will take on Rodrigo Guerrero of Mexico on a ‘Top Rank Live’ boxing championship card at the WinStar World Casino on Saturday, November 20.

“This is a very exciting, entertaining main event in our first boxing event at the WinStar World Casino,” said Hall of Fame boxing promoter Bob Arum.”I have had the opportunity to spend time at the WinStar World Casino. It is a first-class facility with all of the amentities that one would want at a casino resort hotel. We are very proud to stage our fight program at the WinStar World
Casino on November 20.”

“We are very excited to be hosting a ‘Top Rank Live’ boxing card which starts off our Red River Rumble series in our Global Events Center,” said Michael McEwan, assistant general manager of the WinStar World Casino.

Martinez and Guerrero will box in an IBF Junior Bantamweight Elimination Fight which is scheduled for 12 rounds in the 115-pound weight division. Martinez, 28, has a record of 27-1 with 16 knockouts. He is ranked IBF #2.

Guerrero, from Ciudad, Neza, Mexico, has a record of 14-2-1, 9 KOs. He is a former WBC Continental Americas champion. At the age of 22, Guerrero is a five-year professional.

There will be seven bouts on the card. Casey Ramos, an undefeated 11-0 featherweight from Austin, Texas, and Noah Zuhdi, a 11-1 lightweight from Oklahoma City, will be featured on the undercard. Each will be in a six-round bout.

Arum said this event will “…launch of a series of exciting boxing events at the WinStar World Casino.”

First bell on November 20 is set for 8 pm. Top Rank Live! will be telecast on Fox Sports Network (FSN).

The big boxing event will be at the Global Events Center. Tickets are priced at the $35 (silver), $50 (gold) and $65 (platinum) levels.

Tickets can be purchased on-line at www.winstarworldcasino.com at the Global Events Center Box Office and via phone at 1-800-622-6317.

The Las Vegas Valley will begin reaching new record temperatures on Monday, October 18th, 2010. This prediction comes as Jason “Friday the 13th” Douglas, professional fighter from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, arrives at the McCarran International Airport. Wednesday at the Press Conference (12 noon) he will meet face-to-face with his opponent from the Valley, Henry Namauu (UNLV graduate), and the temperature will climb again. Then Thursday at the weigh-in (5 PM), each fighter will have to be below the 199-pound limit, the cruiserweight requirements. Then comes the big record breaker on Friday night, when the winner will be chosen by judges’ decision or by knockout in the main event bout presented by Crown Boxing at The Crown Theater and Night Club, located in the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Jason and Henry both have had impressive amateur boxing careers, but now we are talking professional boxing. Jason has eight wins, four being KOs, and only two losses. Henry has seven wins, five being KOs, and only 3 losses. Both fighters have had ten professional bouts. Jason has his work cut out for him on Friday night when he gets into the ring with Henry. This fight promises to be a war from start to finish and only one fighter will emerge the winner!

The night will feature six action-packed bouts, with Henry Namauu and Jason “Friday the 13th” Douglas highlighting the night. In a four-round featherweight bout, Mandy LaPointe will take on Hondi Hernandez. Chase Corbin will take on Titus Holmes in a four-round light middleweight bout. Alvaro Morales will take on Chad Davis in a four-round pairing of heavyweights. Local featherweight favorite, Rocco Santomauro, will face-off against Robert Guillen in a four-rounder. In the super bantamweight opener, Alexis Santiago squares off against Sergio Herrera in a bout also scheduled for four.

The Post Fight Party will be rockin’ in The Crown Nightclub immediately following the fights. Your fight ticket allows you admission to the party.

Fight week schedule:
Press Conference on Wednesday, October 20th at the Crown Theater and Night Club (12:00 PM).
Weigh-in on Thursday, October 21st at the Crown Theater and Night Club (5:00 PM).
The Friday Night Fights on October 22nd at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada in the Crown Theater and Night Club (Doors open 5pm / First bout 7pm).

MUST BE 21 & OVER WITH ID

Tickets (702) 777-7776
$25 RESERVED, $50 RINGSIDE, and $100 VIP

For more information, visit http://crown-boxing-inc.com/

Julio Cesar Miranda retained the WBO Flyweight championship with an explosive second round stoppage over Michael Arango in Monterrey, Mexico.

Miranda rocked Arango with a hard right hand that he quickly followed up with three crushing lefts that forced the referee Russell Mora to stop the bout at 1:30 of round two.

Miranda of Monterrey, Mexico is now 34-5-1 with twenty-seven knockouts. Arango is 31-10-3.

Michael Rosales scored a fourth round stoppage over Octavio Castro in a scheduled ten round Jr. Middleweight bout.

Rosales dominated the bout over the first three round until he landed a series of unanswered blows that forced referee Sergio Hernandez to stop the bout at 1:40 of round four.

Rosales, 154 1/2 lbs is now 30-3 with twenty-five knockouts. Castro, 155 lbs is now 14-6-1.

Good looking Featherweight prospect Roberto Marroquin remained undefeated with a six round unanimous decision over Rafael Cerrillo.

All scores read 60-54 for Marroquin, 126 lbs of San Antonio, TX and is now 16-0. Cerrillo, 126 lbs is now 4-5

Rodrigo Garcia remained undefeated by scoring a four round unanimous decision over Yosmani Abreu in a Welterweight bout.

Scores were 40-36; 40-36 and 39-37 for Garcia of Santa Ana, CA and is now 8-0. Abreu of La Habana, Cuba is now 1-2.

On an Autumn evening in posh Mayfair, Michael Helliet of the Mayfair sporting club put on a three fight dinner show in the plush surroundings of the Millenium hotel opposite the Grosvenor square on a Thursday evening all part of a dinner show.

Returning to action after sustaining a shoulder injury last time out was Helliet’s light middle hope Wayne Alwan Arab a transplanted Zimbabwean whom fights out of nearby Hackney, also showing there wares were Southampton newcomer Matty Tew and debutant Nathan Skeen a transplanted Australian making his bow in the paid ranks at cruiser.

First up at light welter was Matty Tew, whom having his fourth pro outing, was cheered on by a group of his followers in one of the corner’s of the largish room were treat to a good solid performance from the Southampton man who continuously backed up Damien Turner, himself coming off of a loss to another Helliet hope in Phil Gill who was in attendance.

Each round replicated each respective session as Tew dug in some good body shots and maintained a steady pressure throughout, backing Turner up with almost every onslaught Tew showed excellent work rate in each round, Turner in the final stanza did try and up the pace but it was too little too late, but showed a lot of balls throughout though he was outpunched and outworked.

Tew ran out a deserved 40-36 points winner on referee Jeff Hinds card.

Wayne Alwan Arab coming back from a six month hiatus has I mentioned earlier had damaged his shoulder last time out when he decisioned Ian Eldridge over four, despite having not boxed since that time Alwan looked surprisingly sharp has he outboxed the teak tough Matt Scriven, who gives a good account every time he steps into a ring.

Arab outboxed Scriven in every department for the first three rounds, and his dominance showed as early as the opener as Scriven’s face was bloodied, testament to Arab’s sharpshooting counters.
Arab as well as using a stiff jab now and again got inside and went well to the body before getting out of harms way and using the left jab as he got on the move, and dominated up until the fourth and last session of this a middleweight four three’s, as Scriven tried to make a fight of it as he backed up Arab continuosly on the ropes in the final round and seemed to take the session, but at the final bell there was only one winner as Arab’s early work had mounted up a comfortable lead on third man Hinds scorecard, and was rightfully adjudged the winner by 40-37, which I felt was an accurate asessment of events.

Showcloser was Australian Nathan Skeen who now resides in England taking on tough Nick Gigg over six two’s at cruiser.

Broad shouldered and looking in good shape Skeen didn’t waste any time as he got straight to work backing up Gigg straight away, it was a good pace to begin with as Skeen took control as he thumped in some heavy body shots as he backed up Gigg, the first couple of rounds saw some good action but from around the fourth things became a little scrappy at times as there styles didn’t gel that good, Gigg who seemed content to survive did try and match Skeen punch for punch at times but it was Skeen who seemed to find the target that bit more, although I gave Gigg a few rounds as he showed stubborn resistance and did at times just did enough to nick a few rounds, I thought Skeen whose continuos pressure seemed to do enough to take a hard fought but deserved decision in the best fight of the night.
Hind’s tally was 59-55 in favor of Skeen who could be one to watch.

Michael Angelo Serra reporting from Mayfair.

Cowboys Stadium is not in Dallas or anywhere near Grapevine, Tex., home of the Gaylord Texan – official hotel of the Dallas Cowboys. The stadium is in Arlington, a half hour west of Dallas and a half hour south of Grapevine and one parking lot from Rangers Ballpark. Let’s pause for a moment to celebrate stadiums named after teams that play in them and not corporations that don’t.

There. That’s the end of homage to the House that Jerry Built. Manny Pacquiao’s last prizefight was about seeing him in Cowboys Stadium. That trick won’t work twice.

Pacquiao hasn’t changed. He’s perhaps more of an icon in the Philippines for having won a congressional election since his March fight with Joshua Clottey, but saying Pacquiao is more of an icon in the Philippines is like calling him “perfecter.” Which means that for Pacquiao’s fight on Nov. 13 to succeed, Tijuana’s Antonio Margarito is going to have to draw better than Ghana’s Clottey did. Piece of cake – preferably tres leches – right?

Not so fast. If Spanish-language emails coming to bbarry@15rounds.com can be believed, not all of Mexico is buying the Margarito line. They have not forgiven or forgotten. And they are right not to.

If you are reading this, you have considered and reconsidered the Margarito case. I don’t plan to persuade you of his innocence or guilt; I’m too conflicted about it, myself, to do a creditable job. But I will be in Cowboys Stadium next month and wonder if watching someone wrestle with his own ambivalence mightn’t prove cathartic to you.

I worry about the precedent Margarito will set in November: Break the rules (wittingly or otherwise), receive banishment, go into exile, miss a fight, take a tune-up match, shop for a sympathetic commission, enjoy your richest payday. It’s obviously unfair, but adults don’t whine about unfairness.

It is troublesome too, though, because this precedent begs for a copycat effort. Why shouldn’t some other fighter, or his trainer, try it?

Still, Margarito will not fight in November with any foreign substances smeared across his hand wraps because Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach will be an incredible pain in the ass during the hand-wrapping that HBO’s cameras will cover like it’s part of the undercard. But here’s something to consider.

If we take Margarito at his word – that he was oblivious of his trainer’s transgressions – we’re left to determine when Margarito’s trainer began tampering with wraps. Margarito cannot help us answer that question because he recused himself from the case by expressing complete ignorance of his trainer’s comportment, numerous times before the California State Athletic Commission.

In other words, was Margarito ever honestly better than the 10-3 journeyman he began his career as?

Well, if the answer is no, we’re in for a bloodletting to make Pacquiao’s unraveling of Ricky Hatton look civilized.

Boxing is a theater that requires suspension of disbelief much as any other. Let us suspend our disbelief, then, and imagine Margarito’s hands were coddled in the softest of gauze and tape the evening he beat Miguel Cotto in 2008 and th’t that same Margarito will be in Arlington four Saturdays from now.

Manny Pacquiao is far too quick for Margarito to find early. Margarito will lope forward, hands low and wide, smiling as Pacquiao hits him 50 times every round. Pacquiao will have spent weeks sparring before Freddie Roach, who probably will have stopped the action each time Pacquiao’s back touches the ropes. Pacquiao, in other words, should come off those ropes like they were an electric fence. And Margarito is none too effective in the center of the ring.

Why not? Because Margarito has a signature crossover move that requires space and time. It goes like this. He puts his jab out to start the combo in motion. He brings his right foot forward with his right cross, which is a loopy, corralling punch thrown to trigger the left uppercut/hook hybrid. Then from a southpaw stance, he pulls on his right shoulder and launches his left fist upwards, with all his being behind it.

But Pacquiao is three things that foil this crossover: Small, quick and southpaw. He will be able to parry the looping cross and move away from it by pivoting quickly on his lead right foot in a tight circle that makes Margarito’s hybrid punch wider than usual. Margarito will hit mostly air, turn leftwards and taste a left cross or four. And he’ll be down 60-54 on all three judges’ cards when the seventh round commences.

But he will not be discouraged.

He will be the largest man Pacquiao has faced. He will be a man who fights with a special kind of resentment. He will be outclassed but not outwilled. And he will weigh more than Joshua Clottey did in March – when the Ghanaian proved that if a welterweight is hell-bent on not getting hurt by Pacquiao he needn’t be.

Margarito has a chance because of physics. Pacquiao’s power above 147 pounds is unproved. Boxing history is rife with great fighters who went one weight class too high. Margarito’s relentlessness would not be enough if he were Pacquiao’s size. But he is not. He is much bigger.

One of two things is likely to happen in November. Margarito never finds Pacquiao, chasing him in hopeless circles round the center of the ring and collecting the 36-minute beating so many Americans, and Mexicans too, believe he deserves. Or Margarito finds Pacquiao late in the fight and makes it a dramatic spectacle indeed.

So I ask myself, would I go to this match if it were in Las Vegas and not my home state of Texas? I think so, but I’m not sure. Would I buy it on pay-per-view, otherwise? Yes. Should you come see this match in Texas? Yes. Should you buy it on pay-per-view, otherwise? I think so, but I’m not sure.

Bart Barry can be reached at bbarry@15rounds.com

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Former Heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs went to the hospital in Hamburg, Germany after his twelve round beatdown defeat at the hands of WBC Heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko.

Now, he is in Hamburg’s Eppendorf University Hospital with a broken left orbital bone in his face, a broken nose and a torn left biceps, Empire Sports and Entertainment promoter Greg Cohen told ESPN.com.

“He was banged up pretty bad,” Cohen said, shortly after arriving back in New York on Sunday. “The CT scan came back normal, thank God. Shannon wants to get out of there as soon as possible, but he’ll be there for a little bit longer. He’s devastated. He really thought he was going to win.”

“His biceps is a very serious injury and they have to do surgery, and he’ll probably be there for a week,” Cohen said. “It might require more than one surgery.”

I wouldn’t be here [in New York] if he wasn’t OK,” Cohen said. “He was in intensive care after the fight for precautionary reasons. The injuries are not life-threatening. He’s just banged up, but it’s not life-threatening or very serious. Other than the injuries I described, everything else is OK.

“He walked out of the arena on his own. They wanted to put him on as stretcher, but he wouldn’t let them. He’s going to be fine.”

“He trained for this. He was 100 percent ready mentally and physically, but I wish they would have stopped it around the eighth round,” Cohen said. “I love Shannon. He’s like family to me. As a human being, he is much more important to me than as an athlete. So it was tough to watch. But Shannon did not want them stopping this fight. I wish they didn’t listen to him, but I understand. I spoke to his corner after one of the rounds and Shannon was telling him, ‘I’m OK, I’m going to get him.’ Even after the 11th round, he thought he was still going to do it. His will was never broken. If I was in the corner, I would have stopped it. But I’m the promoter, not the cornerman.

“I don’t blame the referee at all. The referee did a good job. And I don’t blame the corner. I understand, but my preference would have been for it to be stopped.”

15rounds caught up with North Bergen’s Jonathan Maicelo following an entertaining ten round decision over game Oscar Cuero. Maicelo, who won 100-90 twice and 99-91, impressed the crowd with an impressive offensive arsenal throughout the contest. Here’s what the popular Peruvian had to say.
click-to-listen-to-interview-with-jonathan-maicelo

Michael Bisping scored a three round unanimous decision over Yoshihiro Akiyama in a Middleweight bout to headline UFC 120 at the O2 Arena in London, England.

Bisping scored the harder punches after being hurt seconds into the fight. Bisping had a high workrate for which Akiyama had no answer for.

All three judges scored 30-27 in favor of Bisping, 185 lbs of Nottingham, England and is now 21-3. Akiyama, 185 lbs of Osaka, Japan is now 12-3-2.

Former WEC Welterweight champion, Carlos Condit scored a vicious first round stoppage over Dan Hardy in a scheduled three round Welterweight bout.

After the two exchanged a few kicks and punches, Condit caught Hardy with a hard left hook just as Hardy was trying to land one himself. That punch sent Hardy to the mat and the fight was waved off just as Condit was moving into inflict more damage at the 4:27 mark of round one.

Condit, 170 lbs of Albuquerque, New Mexico is now 26-5. Hardy, 171 lbs of Nottingham, England is now 23-8.

Paul Sass scored a first round submission over Mark Holst in a Lightweight bout.

Sass made Holst tap with a triangle at 4:45 of round one.

Mike Pyle scored an upset as he handed Brit John Hathaway his first loss by scoring a unanimous decision.

Scores were 30-27 on all cards for Pyle, 170 lbs of Las Vegas, NV and is now 20-7-1. Hathaway, 171 lbs of Britain is now 14-1.

Cheick Kongo and Travis Browne fought to a three round draw in a Heavyweight bout.

Kongo would have won a unanimous decision had he not been docked a point in the final frame for holding on to the shorts of Browne. Instead all judges scored the bout even at 28-28.

Kongo, 228 lbs of Paris, France is now 25-6-2. Browne, 251 lbs of San Diego is now 10-0-1.

Alexander Gustaffson choked out Cyrill Diabate in round two of a scheduled three round Light Heavyweight bout.

Gustaffson, 204 lbs of Gothenberg, Sweden is now 9-1. Diabate, 204 lbs of France is now 17-7-3.

Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. made the second defense of the WBO Jr. Featherweight title with an eleventh round stoppage over former Super Flyweight champion Ivan Hernandez in Kissimmee, Florida.

It was a good battle over the first half of the bout until Vazquez Jr. hurt Hernandez towards the end of the tenth. Sensing that he had his opponent in trouble, Vazquez Jr. came out and landed a barrage of punches to start the eleventh and the fight was stopped fifty seconds into the frame.

Vazquez Jr., 122 lbs of Bayamon, Puerto Rico is now 20-0 with seventten knockouts. Hernandez, 122 lbs of Encinada Baja, Mexico is now 28-5-1.

Raul Casarez scored a ten round split decision over Anthony Greenidge in an entertaining middleweight bout.

Both guys had their moments as the fight was fought at close quarters. Casarez was cut over the eye around round eight.

Scores were 98-92 & 96-94 for Casarez while a third card read 96-94 for Greenidge.

Casarez, 158 lbs of Edinburg, TX is now 16-2. Greenidge, 159 lbs of Orlando, FL is now 14-6-1.

In a wild Bantamweight bout, Hipolito Rivera spoiled the pro debut of Anthony LaPorte Jr., who is the son o former world champion Juan LaPorte by scoring three knockdowns in round three of their scheduled four round bout.

LaPorte was cut bad in round two from a head butt. LaPorte was dropped twice in the opening moments of the third round with the second being more authoritative the then first. LaPorte hen dropped Rivera with a right hand. Seemingly back in the fight, LaPorte was dropped with a big left and referee Tellis Assimenios invoked the three knockdown rule at 2:43 of round three.

Rivera, 126 lbs of Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico is 1-2. LaPorte, 126 lbs of New York is 0-1

Former 2008 Olympian, McJoe Arroyo scored a first round stoppage over Israel Rojas in a scheduled six round Bantamweight bout.

Arroyo dropped Rojas with a right hook to the head early in the first. Arroyo finished things with a hard numbing body shot for which referee Tellis Asemenios stopped the fight 2:10 into the fight.

Arroyo, 11 lbs of Fajardo, Puerto Rico is now 6-0 with three knockouts. Rojas, 117 lbs of Sinora, Mexico is 3-3.

Patrick Majewski remained undefeated with a seventh round stoppage over Joseph Gomez in a scheduled eight round Middleweight bout.

Majewski dominated the fght as he worked the body and showed a nice jab. Majewski rocked Gomez in round four with a big left hook. In round seven, Majewski landed a left and a right that hurt Gomez that was follwed up by a flurry of punches for which referee Frank Gentile stopped the bout at 1:50 of round seven.

Majewski, 162 lbs of Atlantic City is now 14-0 with nine knockouts. Gomez, 166 lbs of Aztec, New Mexico is now 17-3-1.

In what has become typical Klitschko fashion, Vitali Klitschko retained the WBC Heavyweight title with a twelve round one-sided unanimous decision over former WBO champion Shannon Briggs in front of a pro-Klitschko crowd at O2 Arena in Hamburg, Germany.

Klitshcko used his three inch height advantage to land one-two cominations over the first handful of rounds. Briggs did not have much answer except for an occasional body shot.

Round six was a good one for the champ as Klitshcko started to put his punches together with most of them striking the face of Briggs. Round seven saw Klitshcko start to double and triple up his long jab that he would follow with flush right hands. Klitschko had Briggs in a lot of trouble as he landed crushing shots that backed the challenger up against the ropes as the round ended. As each round wore on it became less competitive with the only thing is question would be Klitschko getting a stoppage victory.

Klitshcko rocked Briggs at the end of then ninth and throughout the tenth with referee Ian Jon Lewis looking on and he would be have been fine to stop the bout at any time but Briggs took a beating and even was talking to champ as he was eating leather. It was during that round that blood started appearing from around the nose of Briggs.

It was more of the same over the final six minutes with Klitschko dominating the action but somehow Briggs was able to see the final bell.

Klitschko, 252 lbs of Kiev, Ukraine won by scores of 120-105; 120-107 and 120-107 to go to 41-2. Briggs, 263 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is now 51-6-2

Eloy Perez scored a ten round majority decision Dominic Salcido in Super Featherweight bout at The Fantasy Springs Resort in Indio, California.

It was a good two way battle with both guys having spots of success but it was Perez aggressiveness that may have been the difference as he won by scores of 96-94; 96-94 and 95-95.

Perez, 129 1/2 lbs of Salinas, CA is now 19-0-2. Salcido, 129 3/4 lbs of Riato, CA is now 18-3.

Hot shot Jr. Welterweight prospect Frankie Gomez remained undefeated as he was taken the distance for the first time but pounded out a six round unanimous decision over Roman Montano.

Gomez, 141 lbs of East Los Angeles is now 7-0. Montano, 141 lbs of Las Vegas is now 17-8-2.

Union City, New Jersey, a city with a long history of producing pro fighters, has given fans a new up and coming slugger to look out for by the name of Juan “The Beast” Rodriguez. An articulate soft spoken 24 year old southpaw sporting a 3-0 record with two knockouts, Rodriguez surprisingly does not like to be called heavy handed. Tomorrow evening, Rodriguez makes his fourth pro appearance on a card in his hometown headlined by Jonathan Maicelo (13-0) vs Oscar Cuero (13-2).

2009 was a break out year for Rodriguez’s amateur career. He won the New Jersey Golden Glove tournament, made it to the semifinals of the National Golden Gloves, and the quarterfinals of the USA Boxing National Tournament before starting his pro career on December 4th with a one punch KO victory over Bobby Bynum. I was fortunate enough to catch up with Rodriguez. Here’s what he had to say.

John Wall: Juan, you had a very successful amateur career, tell me how your style has has changed now that you are a pro?
Juan Rodriguez: Amateur boxing is all about scoring blows. In my pro career I’m showing another side more of a box and brawl style. People think of me as a puncher, I’m a combination puncher.
JW: So you don’t look to land the big left?
JR: No man, the knockouts just come
JW: Any thoughts on tonight’s opponent Marqus Jackson?
Juan: I don’t research my opponents. I don’t care who I fight my manager (Joe Botti) picks my opponents. I fight them.
JW: I know you are focused on tonight’s fight but what is your big dream and who is your dream opponent?
JR: That’s easy I want to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. My goal is not money. My goal is to be a legend and be the best champ there is.

CLICK TO ORDER THE FIGHT
WBO JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

MAIN EVENT – 12 ROUNDS

Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (19-0-1, 16 KOs), WBO Jr. Featherweight Champion, Bayamon, Puerto Rico,121 ¾ LBS.

Vs.

Ivan Hernandez (28-4-1, 17 KOs), Challenger, Ensendada BC, Mexico 121 ¾ LBS.

WBO YOUTH MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

CO-FEATURE – 12 ROUNDS

Raul Casarez (15-2, 8 KOs), Reynosa, Mexico, 158 ¼ LBS.

Vs.

Antony Greenridge (14-5-1, 5 KOs), Orlando, FL 159 ¼ LBS.

8 ROUNDS

Patrick Majewski (13-0, 8 KOs), Atlantic City, NJ by way of Poland 161 ½ LBS.

Vs.

Joseph Gomez (17-2-1, 8 KOs), Bloomfield, NM 165 ¾ LBS.

6 ROUNDS

McJoe Arroyo (5-0, 2 KOs), 2008 Puerto Rican Olympian, Fajardo, Puerto Rico 117 ¼ LBS.

Vs.

Israel Rojas (3-1, 2 KOs), Aguas Prietas, Sonora, Mexico 116 ½ LBS.

Time permitting, highlights of other fights will be shown including:

4 ROUNDS

Anthony La Porte, Jr. (Pro Debut), son of former world champion Juan La Porte, New York, NY 125 ½

LBS.

Vs.

Hipolito Rivera (0-2), Hato Rey, Puerto Rico 126 126 ¾ LBS.

4 ROUNDS

Israel Vazquez (Pro Debut), son of former world champion Wilfredo Vazquez, Sr., brother of world champion Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr., Bayamon, Puerto Rico 108 ½ LBS.

Vs.

TBA

(ALL FIGHTS & FIGHTERS SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

WHAT: “The Rising Son Returns” PPV pro boxing show

WHEN: Saturday, October 16, 2010 – 9 PM/ET 6 PM/PT

WHERE: Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, FL

PROMOTER: All Star Boxing, Inc. “The New Generation” & Felix “Tuto” Zabala, Jr.

At almost forty-two years old and forty-six pounds heavier then his customary Light Heavyweight weight, Antonio Tarver made a successful debut as a heavyweight as he scored a ten round unanimous decision over Nagy Aguilera at the Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Oklahoma.

Tarver controlled the action over the first three rounds as he boxed very well until injuring his left shoulder sometime around the fourth round. Tarver held his left hand low and fired off quick uppercuts and kept Aguilera against the ropes and reigned in quick combinations and that were mostly capped off by flush left hands to the face.

Aguilera made brief charge in round ten but it was short lived as Tarver was never in any trouble.

Tarver, 221 lbs of Tampa, FL won by scores of 98-92 on all cards to go to 28-6. Aguilera, 232 lbs of Bronx, NY via Dominican Republic is now 16-5

“I feel I looked great,’’ he said. “There was no ring rust. I didn’t get hit much. I didn’t get hurt. I’ll get the shoulder diagnosed, but it didn’t affect me. I wasn’t going to let it affect me. I did what I had to do and stuck to my game plan. I’m back and I’m here to stay. I’m a heavyweight now. The magic still lives.

“There is still work to do,’’ Tarver said. “Aguilera was a good trial horse for me. He surprised me because he stayed on his bicycle so much. But I’ll be back in the gym. I’ve got to power up. I thought I caught him with some good shots. No one (in the heavyweight division) is going to outbox me.’’

Mired by numerous headbutts that caused cuts over both of his eyes, Hector Munoz was tough as nails just to make it to the ninth round with Shawn Porter before the latter finally was able to score the stoppage victory in a scheduled ten round Welterweight bout.

Porter basically won every minute of every round as he landed fast and hard combinations that had Munoz in trouble throughout but Munoz did not take a backwards step and continued to come forward only to absorb punishment until referee Gary Ritter mercifully stopped the bout at 2:05 of round nine.

Porter, 146.4 lbs of of Akron, Ohio remains undefeated at 17-0 with thirteen knockouts. Munoz, 146.8 lbs of Albuquerque, New Mexico is now 18-4-1.

“The fight went exactly as I expected,’’ said Porter, a poised, versatile boxer-puncher who throws power punches in bunches from all angles with both hands. “He came forward all the time and never stopped trying. I was surprised at how long they let the fight go on, but I knew I had to stay focused.’’

“I wanted to draw him forward to get him close, but I never could,’’ Munoz said. “He is not a devastating puncher. He never hurt me or had me shook up. But the cuts were too much to overcome.’’

NEW YORK (Oct. 15, 2010) – Super Six World Boxing Classic fans will get a chance to see WBA world champion and tournament-point leader Andre Ward headline the SHOWTIME telecast on Saturday, Nov. 27 (live at 9p.m. ET/PT), it was officially announced one week after Ward’s tournament opponent Andre Dirrell pulled out of their Group Stage 3 fight due to injury.

Ward, who has already locked up a Semifinal berth in the Super Six World Boxing Classic, will defend his WBA super middleweight world title against world ranked top-10 contender Sakio “The Scorpion” Bika (28-4-2, 19 KOs) of Sydney, Australia, by way of Douala, Cameroon, in the second-half of a SHOWTIME doubleheader.

The fight, which will take place in front of Ward’s hometown fans at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., will not be part of the Super Six tournament, Ken Hershman, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports®, announced. The event is being promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions in association with Golden Boy Promotions, the promoter for Bika.

There will, however, be Super Six World Boxing Classic tournament action on Saturday, Nov. 27, from Finland. In the opening bout of the SHOWTIME doubleheader, “King” Arthur Abraham will meet Carl “The Cobra” Froch for their pivotal Group Stage 3 bout for the vacant WBC world title. This bout will air on same day delay from the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki.

The 31-year-old Bika will be making his third world title appearance, challenging for the belt that Ward wrested from Mikkel Kessler with a brilliant performance in the opening Group Stage of the Super Six tournament. Bika is 0-1-1 in world title fights, having lost a decision to Joe Calzaghe in Oct. 2006 and being forced to settle for a controversial draw against Marcus Beyer in Germany in May 2006.

Two of Bika’s most noteworthy victories came when he crushed Peter Manfredo, Jr. (TKO 3) in Nov. 2008 and when he outpointed Sam Soliman across eight rounds in Oct. 2007.

As evidenced by the fact that he has never been knocked out, Bika is known for his granite chin and is regarded as one of the toughest fighters in the world at 168 pounds. A 2000 Olympian for Cameroon, Bika has fought some of the division’s elite champions, but has long accused the big-name super middleweights of avoiding him.

In an opportunity to get back into the world title picture, Bika lost his most recent start controversially when he was disqualified for hitting Jean Paul Mendy while he was down in the first round of an IBF world title eliminator this past July 31. On his way to what looked like a certain knockout win, Bika dropped Mendy to his knees with a left hand, then landed a right uppercut that caused Mendy to pitch forward face-first on the canvas. Referee Joe Cortez ruled that Bika had fouled Mendy and he called the fight at 1:19 of the first round.

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 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD™, SHOWTIME 2 HD™, THE MOVIE CHANNEL HD™, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMAND™ and FLIX ON DEMAND®. SNI also manages Smithsonian Channel™, 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®.

CLICK FOR FULL EVENT INFO
WHO: WILFREDO VAZQUEZ JR.WBO Jr. Featherweight Champion Bayamon, PR, 19-0-1, 16 KOs
IVAN “Choko” HERNANDEZ, Former World Champion, Ensenada, MX, 28-4-1, 17 KOs
And the Rest of the Full Fight Card

WHAT: Official Weigh-in for the Vazquez Jr vs. Hernandez Fight Card

WHEN: Friday, October 15, 5:30 PM

WHERE: Silver Spurs Arena Parking Lot
1875 Silver Spurs Lane
Kissimmee, FL34744
(321) 697-3333

Media Credential Pick-Up will be on Saturday from 5:00 – 8:00 PM in the North Lobby

WBO Jr. Featherweight Champion Wilfredo Vazquez Jr will be transported by helicopter to the scale for today’s OFFICIAL WEIGH-IN at the Silver Spurs Arena, in Kissimmee, FL. Waiting at the scale will be his opponent Ivan “Choko” Hernandez.

You may be thinking, “?Wilfredo esta loco?” After the fight, he is planning to bungee jump across the street from the hotel. He’s been talking about it all week.

On Saturday, October 16, 2010, All Star Boxing, Inc and Promoter Tuto Zabala, Jr. will return to the city that has hosted many of the company’s boxing shows during the past 10 years that have filled the Kissimmee Civic Center on many occasions. This time it will come back with a World Title fight and one of the biggest shows in Central Florida history that will be hosted at the 10,500 seat Silver Spurs Arena of the Osceola Heritage Park in an event billed “The Rising Son Returns”.

In the main event, WBO Jr. Featherweight Champion Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr. of Bayamon, Puerto Rico will make the second defense of his title when he meets his toughest opponent so far in Ivan “Choko” Hernandez of Ensenada, Mexico in a bout schedule for 12 rounds with Vazquez WBO Jr. Featherweight Title at stake.

For Vazquez Jr.(26), it will be a homecoming. He has fought in Kissimmee 13 times in route to his world title win last February 27 when he stopped “Marvelous” Marvin Sonsona of the Philippines in 4 rounds to capture the title. In his first defense, on May 29, he also stopped former Olympian and #1 contender Zsolt Bedak of Hungary in 10 to improve his record to 19-0-1-16 KO’s.

Former world champion Hernandez (27) is ranked #10 by the WBC and WBO and has fought world champions Mark Johnson, Fernando Montiel, Toshiaki Nishioka and Israel Vazquez. Hernandez’ two most recent fights were both 5th round knockout wins, against Jaime Maldonado and Lisandro De Los Santos, to improve his record to 27-4-1, with 17 KOs.

Tickets for Vazquez Jr. vs. Hernandez on October 16, priced at $202, $102, $52 and $27, are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, the Silver Spurs Arena box office and on-line at Ticketmaster.com.

Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr. vs. Ivan “Choko” Hernandez will be broadcast live on-pay-per-view, distributed by Integrated Sports in the US and in Puerto Rico by Pay Per View Connection beginning at 9 PM ET/6PM PT at a suggested retail price of $34.95.

BOB ARUM: Top Rank has a reputation of developing its fighters from scratch, from its earliest fight onward and we don’t usually co-promote a fighter with anyone. But we’ve know Russell Peltz for many years and Russell is a true boxing promoter, who knows what he’s doing as witnessed by the tremendous job he’s done developing Mike Jones to where Mike is one of the rising prospects in boxing on the cusp of becoming a star in the sport. When we looked at Mike we saw a fine young man who had great ability who believed we could help Russell develop him on the next stage against the elite fighters in the sport. We are so proud and happy to be aligned in this venture with Russell Peltz, who has developed more fighters in the Philadelphia area than the Phillies have pitchers and they have a lot of great pitchers and Russell has developed so many.

RUSSELL PELTZ: Bob, I’ve known you for 36 years and I think you’ve known me longer than you’ve known anybody in boxing with the possible exception of Don Chargin.

BOB ARUM: I think it’s about the same time.

RUSSELL PELTZ: I think Mike is probably the best prospect to come out of Philly since maybe Bernard Hopkins. His management came to me a couple years ago asking to please use Mike Jones on a show, who I had never heard of. I put Mike with a New York Golden Gloves champion named Jason Thompson who was undefeated and after Mike knock him out I was deluged with calls from out of town asking who this kid was. I figured I had something and now he is ranked as high as No. 2 in the world and Top Rank has an entrée with most of the top 147-pounders in the world and it can be a good working relationship. For Mike to have a chance to fight in Cowboys Stadium, and we did have an offer to go to England to fight Kell Brook and probably for more money but this is a better stage for him, and we are all looking forward to this.

BRUCE TRAMPLER: At Top Rank we make it a practice to track the careers of up and coming fighters from around the country and always looking to get involved with the best young fighters. When Russell started telling me about Mike Jones a couple years ago our ears perked up because Russell doesn’t get high on too many guys. We had an opportunity to put Mike on a couple of shows we did in conjunction with Russell this year. He beat Bruseles in a fight I thought gave Mike a lot of experience and a kid in Albuquerque, Hector Muñoz, and he’s fought since and we agree with Russell. He’s got everything it takes. He’s got a great body for a welterweight; very good boxing skills and you can see the improvement in each fight. He could be the face of Philadelphia boxing and we are very thrilled to be involved with him.

BOB ARUM: Everyone knows about this storm coming out of Philadelphia and we are proud to have him on this card in Cowboys Stadium on November 13, so speak for your self now Mike.

MIKE JONES: Thank you and I’m happy to be on board. I am honored to be called one of the best prospects since Bernard Hopkins. I am honored to be on the November 13 card against Jesus Soto-Karass and I’m a work in progress. I get better in each and every fight and I will be one of the best out there. I’m in the gym every day trying my hardest in the gym and giving my best in each and every fight.

Can you tell me your familiarity of history of Philly boxing?

MIKE JONES: I grew up in Joe Frazier’s gym so I know about Joe Frazier and some of the fighters that came from there. But I really wasn’t a boxing fan growing up – I played basketball. Some friends brought me to the gym and I am learning a lot now. I know there were a lot of great fighters in Philly, but I don’t know too much about the history.

RUSSELL PELTZ: I try to twist Mike’s arm to get him to look at some old tapes but he’s got a full plate with two young daughters and he still holds down a part time job and he likes to train 24 hours a day but I know he watched a tape the other day of Price Charles Williams beating Bobby Czyz for the title. I am trying to get Mike to use his jab more and that was a fight Prince Charles won with just his left hand.

What about the part-time job and the kids and training?

MIKE JONES: As of right now, I left the job alone to give 100% to boxing, so I have been training basically all day long. I gave the job up at Home Depot shortly before my last fight.

Why did you think the undercard should be so stacked for this fight?

BOB ARUM: We always try to do a good undercard. Sometimes fights that we think are going to turn out to be really great, don’t, like that Castillo-Gomez fight that we had on March 13, which surprised us that it was not that good. We always aim to do what we can to make a strong undercard and in this case we put together something that I am confident that it will absolutely be great I addition to Mike, Rigondeaux is in a title fight in his seventh professional fight. A lot of people say he is the equal or not better than Gamboa. Then there is Kelly Pavlik who is trying to right himself with this fight that he has against Brian Vera. So it is a very interesting undercard. Even the off-TV card is stacked with great prospects and interesting fights.

Is there an urgency to have your fighters showcased?

BOB ARUM: The difficulty with working with another promoter on a big fight is they ask spots on the televised undercard and because they re a co-promoter they are entitled to it. Therefore it is not always possible to present the best possible undercard dealing in a situation like that.

Mike, how do you see this opportunity?

MIKE JONES: This fight means everything to me right now. It will be watched by millions of people around the world and I am going to try my best so I can be looked at as one of the best out there.

BOB ARUM: Todd is over in Europe right now at Sportel and he has said the interest from TV from around the world is immense. It will probably be the biggest coverage we have had in years.

RUSSELL PELTZ: We talked about going to England and because of the lack of exposure and if Mike wins, which is Kell Brook and if he loses he is in a hole. It wasn’t even the money; it was just the opportunity to fight on this show that made the difference.

BOB ARUM: It may even be more advantageous if Mike fought Brook, to do the fight here in the states.

MIKE JONES: I haven’t thought about the crowd too much or how big the stadium is. I feel like I have always proven myself and it always feels like I have a lot of pressure on my anyway. The bigger the crowd, the more relaxed I get.

Where does the pressure come from?

MIKE JONES: The pressure from within. To be great is my calling. The pressure builds up inside and releases in the fight.

What would you like to work on to become a complete fighter?

MIKE JONES: I have an excellent jab and I barely use it. I could control a whole fight with the jab. I need to get it out there more. And I need to use the power jab. I use it as a range finder, a pity-pat, but I need to use that and it will be a lot better as a weapon.

What about your power?

MIKE JONES: Well, it is deceptive power right now. My style right now is to box and move and counter-punch. I feel I have both. I can box and move around or I can get a guy out of there as well. But I can use both.

What kind of fight do you expect?

MIKE JONES: I have seen tapes of him and I expect a tough fight. He reminds me of a baby Antonio Margarito. He comes straightforward and throws a lot of punches and works the left side a lot. I expect for him to come out and give it his all.

RUSSELL PELTZ: I have been on Mike’s back a lot lately explaining to him that with all the talent he has and to use the jab. When Mike was an amateur and everything that Joe taught him was power. Everything was hard and everything was heavy. He said when he left Frazer and went to Vaughn Jackson he became more of a boxer. He thought maybe he shouldn’t have completely disbanded the power game that Joe taught him and that he should revisit it. Use the jab as a straight left. With his size and ability if he starts developing that jab, he can control the whole Soto-Karass fight in my opinion just by letting that thing go out there and really snapping it. Chandler has a jab like that and this is the closest fighter I can find to Mike Jones.

Were you frustrated not getting the TV exposure?

MIKE JONES: I wasn’t frustrated at all. I just get ready for fights. Russell worries about that and he can make it happen one way or another with Bob Arum.

How soon do you expect to challenge for a world title?

MIKE JONES: Very soon. Given the opportunity. I definitely am going want to win this fight, no respect to Soto-Karass. But I come to win this fight and after that maybe I can get a piece of a title.

RUSSELL PELTZ: Mike became a cause-celebre because everyone found out that for some reason, Russell Peltz couldn’t get Mike Jones on ESPN. So people said who is this kid from Philly that keeps winning and is getting blackballed or shutout from TV, and it helped him. We turned a negative situation into a winning situation. I didn’t want television people telling me who Mike Jones could fight. They weren’t going to dictate Mike’s career path.

BOB ARUM: Remember the guy who no one would put on television and nobody would give a title shot to turned out to be one of the greatest middleweights of all time, “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler. This happens in boxing and the one thing we pride ourselves on at Top Rank if for any reason a network won’t buy a fight with one of our fighters, we do the fight ourselves. You cannot be beholden to the television networks because if you are you do a disservice to your fighter.

What was your job at Home Depot?

MIKE JONES: I was a forklift operator. My daughter’s ages are 6 and 4.

You said the last fight you wanted to step it up and get your guy out of there, so what is it for this fight?

MIKE JONES: I want to control the fight with the jab and I want to counter-punch and I want to move. I know he can’t fight a mover.

You thought you could knock Berto out, are you disappointed the fight did not come about?

MIKE JONES: A little bit, but I take what I can get. This fight here is not an easy fight. I am fighting a great fighter in Jesus Soto-Karass and this will be one of my greatest days yet. It is a great opportunity for me.

Bob, will it be easier to put the promotion together at Cowboys Stadium the second time around?

BOB ARUM: We learned a lot from the last time obviously. One of the things we learned was pricing tickets because we have so many seats there we can offer people the opportunity to see the fight for $50. People say you will be far away but you have one of the greatest screens, the greatest high definition screen in the world. You see it in high definition and you are there in the arena and no matter how far away you are sitting you can watch the fight closely on that big screen. It makes for a great experience. We are marketing the fights differently because of Margarito. We are reaching out more to the Hispanic community because last time we didn’t have a Hispanic main event and we are very bullish about the buzz that is taking over in North Texas and we know we are going to do more than the 51,000 we did before and how much more we will see. For us as boxing promoters working together with this Cowboy organization is a great experience. They are really a professional operation and too bad none of them can play quarterback because maybe the team would do better but they are really terrific people.

How much do you talk to Jerry Jones?

BOB ARUM: I keep away because he knows I am a crazy Giants fan and he tolerates that but with them losing and the Giants starting to look good I don’t think I am going to talk football with him until we finish this event.

Where do you see Mike fitting in the welterweight division?

BOB ARUM: The welterweight division is very strong. Even thought he is fighting this at junior middleweight, Manny is now a natural welterweight and where Manny is that’s where the money is. And Mayweather is a natural welterweight and he brings a lot of excitement and money to the table. Then there are guys like Berto and Williams who may still be a welterweight and other guys who make it a strong division that can give the public very strong and interesting matches. I know that HBO and Showtime have expressed a big interest in Mike and once we have the attention of the two premium networks, we can explain to a British promoter that the money is better fighting in the USA than fighting over in England. That’s why we are very excited because Frank Warren offered the Brook fight to Russell and Russell turned it down. I think with this exposure that Mike is going to get, I know that we can do some big, big fights on either of those premium networks.

Mike, who would you say is the top welterweight?

MIKE JONES: Manny Pacquiao. I would match up pretty well against him. I know Pacquiao is pretty fast and moves a lot but I am fast too and I am much taller than him. I could jab him and I could get him too.

How far away is he from a fight like that?

RUSSELL PELTZ: I consider this a major fight. Every fight from here on, he could fight Berto, the Selcuk Aydin, he could fight Ionut Dan. Everything is riding on this fight in Dallas. The way he is looking in the gym and they way he is talking and thinking right now I think he is starting to fill in all the loose ends and I think 2011…remember 2009 was a wasted year for us. Pullouts, injuries, it was like the year didn’t even happen. I think 2011 is going to be his year and title…it’s about money and I envision him making a lot of money for himself regardless of who he is fighting and somewhere along the way he will fight for a world title.

Would Miguel Cotto fit in the welterweight group?

BOB ARUM: There is no question that Miguel Cotto fits into every situation. In addition to Miguel being a great welterweight and a big crowd pleaser, Miguel Cotto brings in the people and that certainly is a big possibility. I can’t get a Berto to step up and fight a Mike Jones because his management wants to do the safe-risk thing and as long as HBO is paying him the money to do that, he’ll continue to do it. But Miguel Cotto fights for Top Rank and Miguel Cotto will be at the fight on November 13 and that is surely a possibility. We have to get Mike some more exposure, which we will. Then I can see him going in with a Cotto, going in with a Manny Pacquiao. All these guys are looking for dance partners and all these guys are really athletes and they want to be involved in competitive fights and not walkovers.

Mike, where does the work ethic come from?

MIKE JONES: I have always been like that, ever since I was a kid. It’s just what I like to do. I work as hard as I can to get the best out of me and that carries over into boxing.

What about having a team that has been together for a while?

MIKE JONES: Ever since day one and I don’t need any distractions in this point in my career and I have been with these guys ever since I started. We all get along and we are looking forward to bigger and better things.

BOB ARUM: This has been a very informative call. We are going to have a media day and a workout on the 27th in Los Angeles at the Wild Card Gym and on the 28th media and workout for Margarito at the Fortune Gym in LA and that should be very interesting and we are going to do a press event that week in Houston, TX where Rigondeaux trains with Ronnie Shields and Mike Lee, the Notre Dame boxing champion who trains with Ronnie also. There is a lot of activity as we go into the home stretch. And on the 23rd will be the first installment of the 24/7, which the guys at HBO are telling me it, is the best they have ever done. It is one month to go and down the home stretch and I want to than everyone for being on the call.

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Mike Jones (22-0, 18 KOs), of Philadelphia, PA., currently world-rated No. 2 by the WBA and the WBO and No. 4 by the WBC and the IBF, will defend his NABA/NABO welterweight titles against Jesus Soto-Karass (24-4-3, 16 KOs), of Los Mochis, México. Soto-Karass is the WBC’s No. 7-rated welterweight contender. Jones vs. Soto-Karass will open the Pacquiao vs, Margarito HBO Pay-Per-View broadcast.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Cowboys Stadium, MP Promotions and Tecate, PACQUIAO vs. MARGARITO will take place Saturday, November 13 in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX. The $1.2 billion stadium is the largest, most technologically advanced entertainment venue in the world. Pacquiao vs. Margarito will be produced and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View®, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.

Remaining Tickets to Pacquiao vs. Margarito are priced at $700, $500, $300, $200, $100, and $50, and can be purchased in-person at the Cowboys Stadium ticket office in Arlington, or by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com.

HBO’s Emmy-Award-winning all-access series “24/7” premieres an all new edition when “24/7 Pacquiao/Margarito” debuts Saturday, Oct. 23 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT. The four-part series will air for three consecutive Saturday nights before the finale airs the night before the super welterweight championship showdown in Texas.

For Pacquiao vs. Margarito fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com or www.toprank.com .

It is the indispensable medium. Bob Arum and Oscar De La Hoya need television as much as Bill O’Reilly needs to shout into the cameras. But it is also a dilemma for young fighters impatient to get onto that rich stage as quickly as possible. Mike Jones is about to step through those ropes and into that light, which can be as unforgiving as it is bright.

That Jones has yet to do so can be viewed through a prism that casts a varied spectrum of interpretation. Prospects with less experience, a lesser record and a lot less potential have already been there. Fair or not, Jones has been waiting his turn, which finally comes on Nov. 13 beneath a screen that enriches as much as it exposes at Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

The wait, however, represents another opportunity, one which has been swept aside in the headlong rush to cash in before dues have to be paid. Jones, a Philadelphia welterweight who faces Jesus Soto-Karass on the HBO telecast of Manny Pacquiao-versus-Antonio Margarito, has served an apprenticeship. That’s a quaint notion, I know. Maybe, it’s even been forgotten. But forgotten fundamentals are a sure way to foreclosure.

While listening to Jones, promoter J Russell Peltz, Arum and Top Rank matchmaker Bruce Trampler on a conference call Wednesday, I couldn’t help but think that Jones hasn’t been allowed to forget lessons presented, reviewed and repeated at the rhythm and rate of a speed bag over the course of his 22-fight resume (22-0, 18 KOs).

A negative turned into a positive, Peltz said of Jones’ classroom away from HDTV’s defining portrayal.

“You can’t be beholden to the television networks,’’ Arum said. “If you are, you’re doing a disservice to your fighter.’’

More than a disservice.

It is irresponsible to both fighter and fan to push a prospect in front of the HBO cameras before he has a chance to discover whether he really wants to enter the crosshairs in pursuit of a living. Too many have. I still recall a former heavyweight, Danell Nicholson, saying that he wanted to be famous. Nicholson never said he wanted to be a fighter. Fame was his only objective. But it’s not a commodity. You can’t pick up a couple of pounds of it at the corner store

It was as if Nicholson had calculated that boxing was the quickest way to claim his share. But dangerous punches can get in the way of fame, money and common sense. A willingness to take those punches, endure them and counter them is the priority. Fame or money is the windfall, but it is only there if the prospect discovers that he likes to fight — first, foremost and mostly for himself. The cameras are incidental, almost like that windfall.

Among other things, Jones has had a chance to discover that, yeah, that willingness is within him like a heartbeat. Throughout his apprenticeship, he supported two daughters, aged four and six, with a day job at Home Depot. It would have been easy, even understandable, if he had decided to punch-in, punch-out and forget about punches at the gym.

But he didn’t. In the gym and away from the cameras, Jones, who has been compared to Thomas Hearns, learned that the brutal trade was his trade. He’s still learning and re-applying some of the fundamentals, including a more effective jab. He calls himself “a work in progress.’’ But it doesn’t sound as if there any doubts or looming identity crisis about where that progress is headed.

HBO is just a natural step in the progression.

NOTES, QUOTES
· Pacquiao fans must be getting nervous. According to reports from the respective camps, Margarito’s has been single-minded and his work uninterrupted. Meanwhile, Pacquiao has suffered from the flu and a slight foot injury. It might not matter; Pacquiao might win as expected. In the long wake of hand-wrap controversy in a loss Shane Mosley in January, 2009, however, Margarito has much to prove, He is armed with motivation to redeem himself. That’s powerful. Meanwhile, Pacquiao has a new career as a Filipino Congressman and an opponent not named Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

· More Margarito motivation: Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that Margarito has a bet with clothing manufacturer Affliction. He will wear the company’s T-shirt during HBO’s 24/7 series and into the ring. If he loses, he’ll only have the shirt. If he upset Pacquiao, he’ll win a renewal of his endorsement deal. It’ll be worth five figures.

· Two more reasons to forget about the heavyweight division are on the schedule, first Friday and then Saturday. Antonio Tarver is old enough for a cinematic rematch against Sylvester Stallone. Yet, he will make his heavyweight debut on ShoBox against Nagy Aquilera in Miami, Okla. On Saturday, Shannon Briggs faces Vitali Klitschko in Hamburg, Germany. Tarver, an insightful commentator for Showtime, and Briggs are personable. They’re great talkers. If only they could have talked their way out of these fights.

Fargo, ND- light middleweight contender, Ishe Smith, will have an opportunity to stay active and put himself in position for a major bout in the 154 lb. division when he returns to the ring on November 5, at Scheels Arena in Fargo, ND. Smith will participate in the non-televised portion of Showtime Boxing’s first appearance in North Dakota, presented by Lou Dibella Entertainment.

The televised portion of the card will be headlined by Edwin Rodriguez (16-0) taking on James “Buddy” McGirt Jr. (23-2-1), and Marcus Johnson taking on an opponent to be named. Tickets will go on sale Thursday, October 14th, 2010 at 11 a.m. and are available by calling the Scheels Arena box office or at ticketmaster.com.

Smith (21-5) is making his return to the jr. middleweight division after spirited efforts in the 160 lb. class against Danny Jacobs and Fernando Guerrero in his last two bouts. Smith was able to put the undefeated Guerrero on the canvas with an 8th round knockdown and won the fight on the unofficial scorecards of the Showtime broadcast team, despite ultimately being dealt a controversial decision loss.

In addition to taking on two of boxing’s top middleweight prospects in the past year, Smith, the former “Contender” star, has also served as a sparring partner to some of the sport’s top names, including Zab Judah, Chad Dawson, and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Joining Smith, Rodriguez, and Johnson on the star studded card will be Shobox alumni Mickey Bey and Antwone Smith, as well as upper Midwest boxing stars Andy “Kaos” Kolle and Javontae Starks.

Tickets range in price from $20-$65.

Ishe Smith turned professional in 2000 and has captured NABO, WBC Continental, and USBA welterweight titles. Becoming a household name by participating in NBC’s The Contender in 2005, Smith has since appeared on national television numerous times.

Along with holding several marquee victories Smith has also shared the ring with Floyd Mayweather, Fernando Vargas, Shane Mosley, and Oscar De La Hoya as a sparring partner. Smith is based out of boxing’s capital city of Las Vegas, Nevada, and is coached by world renowned trainer Eddie Mustafa Muhammad.

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