Four top cruiserweights showcased their talents today in Frankfurt prior to Team Sauerland´s big show at the Fraport Arena on Saturday night. In four days, IBF Cruiserweight Champion Yoan Pablo Hernandez (25-1, 13 KOs) and two-time world champion Steve Cunningham (24-3, 12 KOs) will meet again, while Enad Licina and Alexander Alekseev clash for the vacant European Cruiserweight Title. “I deserve to be world champion and I will prove my worth on Saturday night,” Hernandez told the press after today´s session. “He is good, but I don´t consider him a world champion,” Cunningham said of his opponent. “I am here to take home the title and become world champion for a third time.”
Meanwhile, Licina (21-3, 11 KOs) has vowed to leave the ring victorious against Alekseev (22-2, 20 KOs). “I grew up in Frankfurt and I want to give my fans an entertaining fight,” he said. “Aleeksev is an accomplished fighter but I am tough and I will beat him.” Said Alekseev: “I need to win. I want to be the new European champion.”
In the third title fight of the night, European Light Heavyweight Champion Eduard Gutknecht (22-1, 9 KOs) makes his first mandatory defence against Vyacheslav Uzelkov (25-1, 16 KOs). “He is a very strong opponent but I will remain the champion,” Gutknecht said.
Disney lodges have distinct themes; both bring adventure indoors.(The Dallas Morning News)
Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service May 10, 2004 | Bleiberg, Larry Byline: Larry Bleiberg LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. _ The Disney theme parks create amazing artificial worlds.
A few Disney hotels do the same. website animal kingdom lodge
Wilderness Lodge, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this month, re-creates the atmosphere of a grand National Park Service inn. The newer Animal Kingdom Lodge brings the look and feel of safari to central Florida. Both hotels were designed by Peter Dominick of the Urban Design Group of Denver, which also planned the Grand Californian Hotel in Disneyland. The lodges are among the best in Walt Disney World.
COOL CHANDELIERS Wilderness Lodge: Teepees hang from the atrium. They’re made of cowhide and appear to glow from the inside, illuminating the Craftsman-styled lobby.
Animal Kingdom Lodge: Six-foot Zulu warrior shields make for dramatic lighting fixtures. From the lobby floor, they look like giant dragonflies overhead.
ROOF LINES AKL: Thatched roofs appear convincing, even on a 1,293-room hotel.
WL: The green-metal A-frames look prim and proper. Dudley Do-Right would surely approve.
ROAD SIGNS AKL: Drivers are warned when they leave lodge property.
WL: The entrance includes this sign, a grand entrance arch and a twig moose sculpture.
(MOSTLY) NATURAL FEATURES AKL: How many hotels have their own wildlife collection? Animals can be seen from many rooms (ask at check-in) and observation areas throughout the hotel.
WL: A mock Old Faithful erupts on the hour outside. Take a boat to the Fort Wilderness campground for nightly movies. site animal kingdom lodge
EDUCATION AND FANTASY AKL: Hear African staff members talk about their homelands in nightly lectures, or take a lobby art tour. Younger guests can hear tribal tales around a fire pit.
WL: A lodge tour outlines the hotel’s Native American symbolism.
NIGHT SHOW AKL: Peer through night-vision goggles at animals on the hotel’s savannah.
WL: The floating electrical parade stops on Bay Lake in front of the lodge every evening.
DINING AKL: The African-food buffet at Boma is a welcome surprise. And Jiko offers nouvelle African that’s as delicious as it is unique. The South African wine selection is the largest on the continent. The free cuisine tour includes samples.
WL: Whispering Canyon Cafe is a noisy commotion, with stick-horse races and shouting wait staff. Just don’t ask for ketchup. Kids love it. Artist Point serves nouvelle Northwest.
SIGNATURE SOUVENIRS AKL: Mickey dressed in kente cloth.
WL: Cartoon-themed totem poles.
LOBBY MUSIC WL: The theme from the “Magnificient Seven” makes a stroll to the pool sound like a grand adventure.
AKL: Tribal rhythms and soaring vocals put you in an African spirit.
SPECIAL TREATS AKL: It ain’t cheap, but guests on the concierge floor can take a private safari through the neighboring Animal Kingdom theme park.
WL: Every day a Flag Family is chosen to climb to the roof and raise the flags over the hotel. Sign up for duty at the front desk. No charge.
ON DISPLAY AKL: The Igbo Ijele mask from West Africa is the only one you’ll see in North America.
WL: The giant fireplace is layered to correspond to the geology of the Grand Canyon.
DETAILS Standard rooms at both lodges range from $199 to $324 per night. Contact: 407-934-7639; www.disneyworld.com.
AKL: Concierge level, which includes drinks and snacks, runs at least $226 more per day. Safaris, open only to concierge level guests, range $49.95 (morning) to $150 (evening) per person.
WL: Concierge level at least $151 more daily.
___ Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
_____ PHOTOS (from KRT Photo Service, 202-383-6099).
Bleiberg, Larry
