NEW YORK (July 22, 2012) — Saturday night, September 22nd, 2012 will be an historic night of boxing as the first ever professional boxing event will be staged in a casino inside New York City as New Legend Boxing/Old World Boxing and W.O.N Promotions present a spectacular show at the beautiful Resorts World Casino New York City in South Ozone Park, New York

“We are very excited about this new venue”, said Felipe Gomez of New Legend Boxing.

“The casino is an important move for us and our business partners. This will help to take our promotions to the next level. The International Fight Night card will feature some of the best local talent in the New York area and will be the first in what we believe will be a long term relationship with the Resorts World Casino New York City”

Tickets for this historic night of boxing range from $50 for General Admission; $75 for Main Floor Reserved and $125 for VIP Seating. Tickets can be purchased by calling New Legend Boxing (718-487-4474), Old World Boxing (718-765-1860) or online at http://www.newlegendboxing.com

All bouts will be named shortly with the doors opening at 6pm.

The Promoters for the event are New Legend Boxing (Felipe Gomez & Kevin O’Sullivan); Old World Boxing (Jim Foley) & W.O.N Promotions (Wilson O. Naranjo)

The Resorts World Casino New York City is located at
110-00 Rockaway Blvd.
South Ozone Park, NY 11420

Argenis Mendez scored a twelve round unanimous decision over Martin Honorio in a IBF Jr. Lightweight Elimination bout at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida

Scores were 117-109, 116-110 and 115-111 for Mendez, 127 lbs and is now 20-2. Honorio,127 lbs of Ciudad, MX is now 32-8-1.

Former world champion Joan Guzman stopped Jorge Pimentel in the first of a scheduled ten round Jr. Welterweight bout.

Guzman dropped Primentel with a hard right to the body and Primentel could not beat the ten count at 2:04 of round one

Guzman, 140 lbs is 33-0-1 with twenty knockouts. Primentel, 141 1/2 lbs is now 24-16

Lenin Castillo remained perfect by scoring a second round drubbing over Ricardo Campillo in a scheduled four round Light Heavyweight bout.

Castillo staggered Campillo in the the first and dropped him twice in the second round. The end came when Castillo landed a big left hook that hurt Campillo and two follow up punches sent Campillo down and the fight was stopped at 2:59 of round two.

Castillo, 171 lbs of Santa Domingo, DR is now 7-0 with four knockouts. Campillo of Snoroa, Mexico is 7-3-1.

After a day of turmoil and threats of the fight not happening, Adrien Broner scored a fifth round stoppage over Vicente Escobedo in the fifth round of a scheduled twelve round bout in Cincinnati.

The bout was in jeopardy after Broner failed to make the 130-pound weight limit and subsequently giving up his WBO title and then missing the 140-pound next morning weigh in by missing both weights by 3 1/2 lbs.

Escobedo only agreed to the fight just a few hours before the fight after receiving around double his original $150,000 purse.

In the fight itself, Broner was dominant as he focused on the body of Escobedo that slowed down the challenger. Escobedo was tough as he tried to fight back only to be outgunned by the highly skilled native of Cincinnati.

After the fourth round, Escobedo came back to the corner with blood coming from his mouth and nose. Broner smelled blood and came out with full force in round five and began to pound the body of Escobedo and that in turn forced Escobedo back to the ropes and he tried to hold on but Broner was relentless until Escobedo’s corner held up the towel and fight was stopped at 2:37 of round five.

Broner, 133 1/2 lbs of Cincinnati is now 24-0 with twenty knockouts. Escobedo, 130 lbs of Woodland Hills, CA is now 26-4.

Keith Thurman remained perfect by stopping Orlando Lora in round six of a scheduled ten round Welterweight bout.

Thurman dominated the bout and barely last a second of the fight as he rained power shots throughout the contest. In round four, Thurman staggered Lora from a left and he continued to pound Lora. In round six, Thurman landed a huge right that sent Lora to the seat of his pants. Lora got to his feet and just walked to his corner and had enough and the bout was stopped at 1:37 of round six.

Thurman, 147 lbs of Clearwater, FL is now 18-0 with seventeen knockouts. Lora, 147 1/2 lbs of Culican, MX is now 28-3-2.

Pablo Cesar Cano won the WBA Interim Super Lightweight title with a seventh round majority technical decision over previously undefeated Johan Perez on Cancun, Mexico

The bout was stopped after the seventh frame when a cut suffered by Cano over his right eye was streaming blood. The cut was caused by a head butt.

Cano, 140 lbs of Mexico is now 26-1-1. Perez, 139 1/2 lbs of Venezuela is now 15-1-1

Jorge Romero scored a wild fourth round stoppage over Rudy Lopez in a scheduled ten round Lightweight bout.

Romero dropped Lopez from a big right hand in the first round. Later in the round, Lopez was credited with a knockdown but replays showed a headbutt caused Romero to fall to the canvas. In round three, Romero landed a booming left hook that sent Lopez down to the canvas. Lopez fought back and was able to get out of the round. Romero ended things in the next round as he was relentless and the bout was stopped.

Romero, 135.4 lbs of Culican, MX is now 23-5 with twenty knockouts. Lopez, 135.8 lbs of Cancun, MX is now 25-6-2.

Manuel Perez scored a ten round unanimous decision over Jose Miguel Cotto in a Jr. Welterweight bout.

It was a tough competitive bout that had a lot of action.

Perez, 139 lbs of Honolulu, Hawaii is now 18-7-1. Cotto, 140 lbs of Caguas,Puerto Rico is now 33-4-1.

LAUGHLIN, NV (JULY 20, 2012)—Juan Carlos Burgos emphatically showed the world that he is ready to become a world champion as he stopped previously undefeated Cesar Vazquez to retain the WBO Latino Jr. Lightweight championship in round three of a scheduled ten round bout at the Edgewater Hotel Resort in Laughlin, Nevada.

The card was promoted by Banner Promotions, Thompson Boxing & JEG Boxing and was seen all over the country on ESPN Friday Night Fights.

After an up tempo first two rounds, Burgos rocked Vazquez with a hard left that drove Vazquez into the ropes. Burgos jumped all over Vazquez and landed a plethora of thudding shots that pounded off the head of Vazquez until the bout was stopped at 1:50 of round three.

With the win, Burgos, who is ranked number-two by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) is now in line to fight for the world championship which was ironically vacated earlier in the day when champion Adrien Broner failed to make weight for his Saturday night fight with Vicente Escobedo.

“I am so proud of Juan Carlos performance”, said Banner Promotions CEO Artie Pelullo.

“There was a lot on the line and the kid just took the bull by the horns and showed the world that he belongs at the top of the Jr. Lightweight rankings and we will look forward to seeing him win the world championship in the coming months”

With the win, Burgos impressive ledger now reads 30-1 with twenty knockouts while Vazquez is now 25-1.

In the eight round co-feature, Aaron Martinez of East Los Angeles, California moved to 18-1-1 with a split decision victory over Prenice Brewer (16-3-1) in a Welterweight fight.

With his legendary uncle looking on, It was an explosive pro debut for Brazilian Jr. Lightweight Vitor Freitas Jones as he needed just 2:11 of the first round to take out Rocco Espinoza (3-6) in a scheduled four round bout.

Freitas, who is the nephew of former four-time world champion Acelino “Popo” Freitas showed the tremendous power that looks like he will carry on the tradition of the fighting family.

“Young Freitas impressed us tonight and he is just nineteen years old. We look forward to getting him back in the ring quickly and I am excited on watching him develop into a great fighter like his uncle”, said Pelullo

2012 U.S. Olympic Alternate Brett Rather thrilled his legions of fans as the former UNLV Boxing star scored a four round unanimous decision over Jamal Woods (2-4) in a Heavyweight bout.

Scores were 40-36 on two cards and 39-37 for Rather.

Other Results
Geovanny Serran (3-4, 1 KO) scored a second round stoppage over Benjamin Lee (1-3) in a scheduled four round Heavyweight bout.

Brice Ritani-Coe (3-0-1) suffered the first blemish of his career when he and Kourtney Boden (3-5-1) battled to a four round draw in a Heavyweight bout.

For the second time in a week Chico McQeen (2-0) scored a four round unanimous decision over Jorge Soto (0-2) in a Jr. Welterweight bout

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com., former WBO Jr. Lightweight champion Adrien Broner missed weight for a second consecutive day but his fight with Vicente Escobedo will go on after the two sides reached a financial agreement.

“The fight is happening, and we’re on,” Golden Boy spokesperson Monica Sears said. “I don’t have any other information.”

Escobedo’s team demanded a Saturday morning weigh-in, and manager Rolando Arellano insisted that Broner come to the 9:30 a.m. ET weight check no more than 10 pounds above the contract weight, meaning 140 pounds.

However, Broner weighed 143.2 pounds, with his camp insisting he was within the 10-pound limit of the 133.5 pounds he weighed in at Friday.

WBO Jr. Lightweight champion Adrien Broner had to give up title after missing weight by more than three pounds for his Saturday night clash with Vicente Escobedo.

Escobedo can win the vacant title assuming the fight at the U.S. Bank Arena in Broner’s hometown of Cincinnati goes ahead as scheduled.

Rolando Arellano, Escobedo’s manager, said he was negotiating the terms of a Saturday weight check to make sure Broner does not balloon in weight overnight, which woud give himself a significant size advantage against Escobedo.

“We’re going to try set up a second weigh-in for Saturday,” Arellano told ESPN.com. “We want him limited to 10 pounds over the contract weight, so he could have a maximum of 140 pounds. But if he comes in over that, then we want to start imposing fines. We want $10,000 a pound, but so far (the Broner camp) has not agreed. The ball’s in their court. We’re not considering pulling out, but Broner didn’t live up to his agreement, so we are giving him the flexibility to modify the initial agreement.

“If he is unable to satisfy those terms and conditions we are asking for, that’s on him. We came to his house, to his arena, to his show. We did everything we were supposed to do.”

“I think he should have acted more professionally,” Arellano said. “That’s not cool. That’s a lack of professionalism. We know he made an effort to make the weight because we knew he was in the gym working (Friday) morning. We just wanted him to try it again, but by running off he didn’t respect the game, he didn’t respect us or the people who work hard to put the event together.”

“I’m young. I’m 22. I’m still growing. I just feel like it’s time for me to go up,” Broner said on Wednesday. “After this fight, there really wouldn’t be a reason for me to stay. I’m just going to go up and give the lightweights hell.”

LAUGHLIN, NV (July 20, 2012)—Two highly anticipated debuts will take place at The Edgewater Casino Resort as 2012 U.S. Olympic Super Heavyweight Alternate Brett Rather and the nephew of former four-time World Champion, Acelino “Popo” Freitas in Jr. Lightweight Victor Jones Freitas join the pro ranks.

The card which is promoted by Banner Promotion, Thompson Boxing & JEG Boxing will be televised on ESPN 2 (9pm eastern).

In the main event, once-beaten and world ranked former world title challenger Juan Carlos Burgos battles undefeated Cesar Vazquez in a ten round Jr. Lightweight bout for Burgos’ WBO Latino title

Rather of Las Vegas was a member of the UNLV Boxing team and is ready to do big things as a professional.

“I am excited and want to thank Banner Promotions and Daren Libonati of JEG Boxing for this opportunity. I put tons of work in the amateur game and I am ready for the next level”, Said Rather.

“I have a lot to live up to and a lot to prove”, said Vitor Jones Freitas

“It’s not only exciting but a dream come true to have my uncle in my corner”

“If Vitor can look what I did then that’s the best bit of advice and guidance I can give my nephew”, said the now Brazilian congressman Acelino Freitas

“I am very excited to have Brett and Vitor on the show”, said Banner Promotions CEO Artie Pelullo.

“Both these kids had great amateur pedigrees. Brett is a big kid with a ton of potential. To be able to promote Vitor is special for me personally because his uncle has meant so much to Banner Promotions for the better part of the last decade and hopefully we can take him to the same heights that we did with Acelino”

VIDEO INTERVIEW OF BRETT RATHER

VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH ACELINO FREITAS & VITOR JONES FREITAS

Juan Carlos Burgos 129 ½ – Cesar Vazquez 129
(WBO Latino Jr. Lightweight Title)
Aaron Martinez 146 ½ – Prenice Brewer 146
Brett Rather 233 – Jamal Woods 243
Vitor Jones Freitas 131 ½ – Rocco Espinoza 131 ½
Brice Ritani-Coe 289 – Kourtney Boden 250
Geovanni Sarran 225 – Benjamin Lee 214 ½
Jorge Soto 140 – Chico McQueen 139

Venue: Edgewater Casino Resort
Promoters: Banner Promotions /Thompson Boxing /JEG Boxing
1st Bell: 6pm Pacific time / 9 pm Eastern
TV: ESPN 2

CLICK TO ORDER THE FIGHT

NEW YORK, NY (July 19, 2012) Popular welterweight prospect Cletus “The Hebrew Hammer” Seldin headlines the undercard of Star Boxing’s “ROCKIN FIGHTS 4” on Saturday, July 28th at The Paramount in Huntington, New York.

Sporting an undefeated record of 7-0-0 with five knockouts, the

25-year-old Seldin has become a staple at The Paramount, with three straight wins by knockout at the consistently sold-out venue.

At “ROCKIN FIGHTS 4”, Seldin will battle San Juan Puerto Rico’s Jonathan Garcia, 3-2-1 (1KO), in a scheduled six round bout.

“Cletus has had three spectacular knockouts in a row at The Paramount and has become a true fan favorite. The interest from fans and media alike about his return to the ring has been very impressive,” said Joe DeGuardia, President of Star Boxing.

“Along with Cletus’ return we’ve put together a very strong undercard at “ROCKIN FIGHTS 4″ to ensure that the terrific boxing fans at The Paramount get a full evening of entertainment.”

In the main event at “ROCKIN FIGHTS 4”, “The Fighting Pride of Huntington, New York”, undefeated junior welterweight prospect Chris Algieri, 14-0-0 (7KO’s), will battle tough Texas veteran Raul Tovar,10-5-1 (4KO’s).

Advance tickets for “ROCKIN FIGHTS 4”, priced at $50 and $100, are available through Ticketmaster, (www.Ticketmaster.com, 800-745-3000) or through The Paramount Box Office, (631) 673-7300.

Special VIP/Red Carpet Seating along with advance tickets are also available by calling Star Boxing at (718) 823-2000 or on their website www.StarBoxing.com.

Also featured on the undercard will be a New York State Junior Lightweight Title bout between undefeated Bronx native Manny Gonzalez, 10-0-0 (7KO’s) and cross-town rival Chazz McDowell, 6-1-0 (1KO) of Yonkers, New York.

The 24-year-old Gonzalez heads back to the ring following his unanimous decision win over Jesus Bayron on February 10th at the Mohegan Sun Casino.

Also returning to The Paramount is junior middleweight newcomer Raul Nuncio, 2-0-1 (1KO), of Glen Cove, New York in a four round tilt against Enver Halili, 1-0-0 (1KO) of Bronx, New York. Nuncio is coming off a four round decision win on March 31st over Valdrin Muriqi.

Local pro debuter Alan Gotay of Huntington will face off against Brooklyn’s Ian James, 2-3-0 (1KO), in a four round junior welterweight clash.

Rounding out the undercard, Hicksville, New York junior welterweight Anthony Karperis, 1-0-0 (1KO), will challenge Travis McElhaney, 0-1-0, of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The Paramount is located at 370 New York Avenue, Huntington, New York, 11743. For directions and more information, please visit their website at www.paramountny.com

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – Upstart promotional company O.P.P. Presents, headed by Mark Nanney, brings world class professional boxing back to the fight town of Sacramento on Friday, August 24th with their initial event, “Hot August Fights,” at the beautiful DoubleTree Hotel. Perennial light heavyweight contender and hometown favorite Otis “Triple OG” Griffin will headline in the eight-round main event as he begins another trek towards his goal of becoming world champion at 175-pounds, along with a supporting bursting with promising local talent.

“It is almost like reinventing myself,” says Griffin of returning to Sacramento with the help of O.P.P. Presents. “I have been through a lot of ups and downs throughout my career with tough decisions and outright robberies. I still have always fought my way back to the top. If you look at it, I have fought eight title fights and about five title eliminators and I’m poised to go right back up to the top. We are going to do five shows here in my hometown of Sacramento, and bring boxing back to the capital city, which has been a hotbed for boxing over the years and I am excited about it.”

New promoter Mark Nanney is determined to give Griffin the best opportunity possible at achieving his career goals, while developing the next wave of potential contenders and champions out of the area. “It started out with my partner Mr. Pratt, who managed Otis Griffin the past four years,” says Nanney, explaining how this event came together. “His involvement pretty much set us in the direction of putting on cards here in Sacramento. We knew Sacramento as a fight town in the ‘80s, and we want to give the fans what they have been looking for the past 20 or 30 years. Mike Ortega, who has been known in the area for his great amateur career, and Juan “Chico” Martinez, are two of the names that are looking to jump out and get as much exposure as possible. It’s a card full of local Sacramento talent, and we expect to draw out the Sacramento fan base.”

In addition to a new promoter, local fight fans should be excited that a new venue has decided to play host to the sweet science. “The DoubleTree was a venue that opened their doors to us,” says Nanney. “There is another local promoter in town in Nasser Niavaroni, and with all due respect, he’s been doing it for many years, but we did not want to step on any toes and get involved in any of his sites. We wanted to start out fresh, and the DoubleTree gave us that opportunity. We look forward to establishing a new arena in Sacramento and that is why we chose the DoubleTree.”

Not only have O.P.P Presents and the DoubleTree committed to the August 24th event, but a five-fight series has been planned, with the second event penciled in for the month of October. “We are looking to do three or four fights at the DoubleTree, and then with either the fourth or fifth fight, step into the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, with Otis Griffin in the main event fighting for either a regional title or a world title elimination bout,” outlines Nanney.

For Griffin, this new partnership with O.P.P Presents gives the career-long road warrior the ability to fight on a level playing field, something “Triple OG” has rarely seen in recent years. “I have been right there so many times,” says Griffin. “To quote the Rosie Perez saying, ‘Sometimes when you lose, you actually win and sometimes when you win you actually tie.’ I can say that because I have been robbed. You have to realize, I’m a fighter out here on my own without a promoter right now. I’ve been doing this independently. So when people left me for dead, it is not like I had a promoter like a Golden Boy anymore or a Don Chargin or anybody like that. It was just Otis Griffin and my manager Mr. Pratt. We put together these wins the hard way on the road against credible opponents and former champions and we got back into the limelight that way. So that’s what we are going to do with Mark Nanney and O.P.P. Presents. We are going to roll right back into the driver’s seat again.”

“We want to let the people of Sacramento that we are here to stay, and we are here to bring the fight game back to the people of Sacramento,” states Nanney. “We want to bring the sport back to the level it was here twenty or thirty years ago, when big time boxing was thriving in the city. We are building the stars of tomorrow, like Mike Ortega, Juan Martinez and a great blue collar fighter in Larry Ward, who will turn around his career with O.P.P. The main thing is, follow these shows and you will see a little bit of everything. You are going to see former world champions come through as well as the stars of tomorrow that are going to keep this chain going.”

Tickets for the event, promoted by O.P.P. Presents, are available by calling 925-787-9586 or at the DoubleTree gift shop, all Dimple Record locations as well as online at OPPBoxing.com.

NEW YORK (July 18, 2012) – At 30, Art Hovhannisyan (14-0-2, 8 KOs) is a six-year pro who remains highly regarded even though he has fought only 75 rounds in his career – an average of about 12 a year.

This Friday, July 20, in what should be an exciting main event on ShoBox: The New Generation live on SHOWTIME® (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast), the Glendale, Calif.-based Armenian faces always-dangerous, hard-hitting former World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight champion Miguel Acosta (29-5-2, 23 KOs) at Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, Calif.

In a compelling co-feature, talented unbeaten Roman Morales (10-0, 6 KOs), of San Ardo, Calif., meets Alexis Santiago (11-2-1 5 KOs), of Phoenix, Ariz., in an eight-round super bantamweight bout.

A scheduled eight-round junior middleweight fight between undefeated Julian “J-Rock” Williams, of Philadelphia, and Sid El Harrak, of Santa Clarita, Calif., was cancelled yesterday after El Harrak withdrew with a knee injury.

Morales, 23, and Santiago, 21, are making their ShoBox debuts. Morales, a top amateur who’s making his sixth appearance at Chumash, hasn’t come close to losing since going pro in February 2011. But he’s only been matched with two fighters with winning records, and he’s never fought more than six rounds.

Santiago, a pro since October ’09, relocated to Las Vegas from Phoenix 10 months ago and is trained by former world champion Roger Mayweather. Santiago has fought much better and has twice gone eight rounds; one of his losses came against undefeated prospect Randy Caballero. He’s won three of four.

Hovhannisyan will be making his first start in 11 months and second in a row against a former world titleholder. In his last outing, he fought a technical draw with ex-International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight champion Cristobal Cruz in an entertaining bout on Aug. 5, 2011, that was stopped at 2:36 of the fourth round due to a nasty, accidental head butt that opened a bad cut on Cruz’ forehead.

The experienced, aggressive-minded Acosta captured the WBA lightweight crown in May 2010 but lost it in his first defense to Brandon Rios in a thrilling, fast-paced scrap with plenty of two-way action on Feb. 26, 2011. Acosta swept the first four rounds on two of the scorecards and hurt Rios on several occasions, but Rios rallied to win by 10th-round TKO.

Hovhannisyan, who scored a career-best victory with a sixth-round knockout over previously undefeated prospect Archie Ray Marquez on June 10, 2011, on ShoBox, knows this could be his toughest fight. But he desperately wants to jump-start his career, so what better time than now?

“This is the kind of fight I have to take and I have to win,” he said. “As soon as we got the call, I took the fight. It took me about a second to decide. I know some may think twice about me fighting two former champs back-to-back, but I’m thrilled for the opportunity. I’m definitely ready to take the next step,

“I’m really eager to show my critics that I’m not a one-hit wonder, that the Marquez fight was for real. I’m determined to show the people that I have the goods to be a world champ. It’s going to be a great fight.

“I’m a hard worker and will be as motivated as I can be. I’m definitely treating this like a world title fight. I have all the respect for Acosta and know he’s a great champion. I would have liked to take a fight at 130 pounds, but at some point I have to fight and defeat some good fighters.”

Tickets for an event presented by Gary Shaw Productions in association with Thompson Boxing Promotions are priced at $35, $45, $55, $70, and $85 and are on sale at Chumash Resort Casino Box office or online at www.startickets.com.

Hovhannisyan recently answered six questions:

What are your thoughts on Acosta?

“I’ve watched four or five of Acosta’s fights, and I definitely saw his fight against Rios. I thought he was impressive until he ran out of gas. I know I won’t be able to relax against him.”

Why so few fights throughout career?

“I haven’t fought the last year mostly because I’ve had fights fall through. I’ve had a few offers; Rances Barthelemy, for one, but he didn’t take it. I had three training camps stopped abruptly. If I had my way, I’d have been fighting a lot more. But it takes two.

“Injuries played a large part, too. I’ve broken my right hand right twice. I’ll never be 100 percent. My doctor says I hit too hard for the weight class, and my bones are too fragile for all my power, something like that. I’ve also suffered a back injury and hurt my other hand. I guess I’ve had a series of bad fortune. When healthy, I’m OK but it’s hard to stay healthy because my right hand is so suspect. I fight through it all, that’s what I do. I’m a grown man with grown-man power. I know what I want to do in boxing and what I have to deal with. String a few victories together and I know I’ll be on the threshold of some big fights.”

How did you feel you were performing against Cristobal Cruz before a clash of heads ended it?

“I like to pace myself and kind of see what I need to do. It was obvious I was eventually going to stop him. I didn’t think the cut was that bad and I wanted the fight to continue because I’d already taken his best shots and I knew I’d finish him in the next two or three rounds. I’d fight Cruz again any time.”

What was it like sparring with ex-world champions Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan?

“It was an incredible experience. I loved every second of it. If they wanted more rounds, I gave them more. To work with great fighters like that was invaluable to me and I cherished every second.”

What fighters inspire you?

“I really look up to Mike Tyson and his aggressive style. He was short but he came in to take your head off. There are no friends in the ring. If you wanted to shake hands, he would after he knocked you out.”

Are you excited about fighting a third time in a row at Chumash?

“I love Chumash and I love fighting there. The atmosphere, the ring, I’m real comfortable with all of that. Chumash is becoming like a home for me.”

The July 20 edition of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra will feature two top contenders — Ring Magazine’s No.8 ranked Junior Lightweight Juan Carlos “Mini” Burgos (29-1, 19 KOs) and undefeated Junior Lightweight Cesar “Saba” Vazquez (25-0, 16 KOs) in the 10-round Junior Lightweight main event. Friday’s card, presented by Banner Promotions, will air at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2 HD, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN3 from Laughlin, Nev.

Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas will be ringside for ESPN2 HD and ESPN3 at the Edgewater Casino describing the action, while studio host Bernardo Osuna will present all the latest boxing news and highlights. Alex Pombo and Delvin Rodriguez will call the fights for ESPN Deportes’ Viernes de Combates (Friday Night Fights) with Leopoldo Gonzalez and Pablo Viruega in the studio.

On ESPN2 and ESPN3, Danny Garcia’s upset win last week over former Super Light Welterweight titlist Amir Khan will be reviewed. In addition, Friday’s show will present highlights from this week’s Saul Alvarez-Josesito Lopez press conference and discuss the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr- Sergio Martinez press tour.

Main Event:
Mexico’s Burgos, a former Featherweight title challenger, has won his last four fights including a February 10-round unanimous decision on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights over former Featherweight titlist Cristobal Cruz.

After that fight, ESPN.com boxing writer Dan Rafael wrote: “The Friday Night Fights main event was a good one in which both fighters had their moments. The 5-foot-10 Burgos, who seemed to tower over the 5-6 Cruz, dropped him to his knees in the sixth round with a left uppercut. Cruz, who suffered a cut over his left in the sixth round, surprised Burgos in the ninth round when he knocked him down with a stiff straight left hand. The knockdowns negated each other and Burgos had done enough to outpoint Cruz.”

Mexico’s Vazquez is coming off a third-round knockout win over Carlos Medellin. Vazquez said of Friday’s fight, “I know that Burgos is a good fighter. It’s a huge honor for being known with the best boxers of my division. Don’t miss out – this fight will be a war.”

Co-Feature:
Friday’s co-feature will pit Welterweights Aron “The Killer” Martinez (17-1-1, 4 KOs) of Los Angeles against Prenice “The Greatness” Brewer (16-2-1, 6 KOs) of Cleveland. Martinez, who has won his last nine fights, is coming off a seventh-round knockout over Joshua Marks, while Cleveland’s Brewer will look to rebound from a 12-round unanimous decision loss to Ronald Cruz.

Follow ESPN’s Friday Night Fights on Twitter @ESPNFNF or like it on Facebook. Follow ESPN Deportes’ Viernes de Combates on Twitter @ESPNBoxeo

Marco Periban remained perfect as he scored a ninth round stoppage over Lester Gonzalez in scheduled ten round Super Middleweight fight in Humble, Texas

Antonio Capulin scored a second round stoppage over Steven Cox in round two of their scheduled six round Jr. Lightweight bout.

Capulin nailed Cox with several body shots that drove him into the ropes that was followed up by a hard combination and the bout was stopped at 1:50 of round two.

Capulin, 130 lbs of Houston, TX is now 7-0 with four knockouts. Cox, 129 lbs of Kansas City, MO is now 2-8.

Joe Lamas made a successful pro debut with a four round unanimous decision over Gilbert Cancio in a Jr. Lightweight bout

Lamas, 131 lbs of Houston is 1-0. Cancio, 131 lbs of Brownsville, TX is 1-2.

Friday, July 27th, will mark the return of one of Tijuana’s more dedicated club show promoters when Promociones PM returns to the border town’s boxing scene after a three year hiatus. Led by former two-time super flyweight champion Diego “Pelucho” Morales, brother of Erik “Terrible” Morales, Promociones PM presents “War in Downtown” at the Mutualista Hall located between 4th Ave. and F. Martinez Blvd. in downtown Tijuana. The hall is only one street over from the legendary Avenida Revolucion, a mere five minute cab ride from the San Diego border.

We are looking to provide a stage for the young fighters in the city for which there are many,” “Pelucho” Morales stated. “These fighters are the ones that we have to maintain active since that is the way you learn the sport. There is only so much you can do in the gym. Inside the ring is where the real lessons are learned.”

In the main event, the vastly popular Tijuana light welterweight Jesus “Bombardero” Valadez (5-1, 2KOs) will look to shine against the tough Edgar Vazquez (4-2-1, 2KOs), also of Tijuana, in a six round face off. The eighteen year old Valadez, who lost his first pro fight but then rattled five consecutive wins, is known for an exciting style of non-stop pressure which has led to impressive wins over the more experienced Jorge Sillas and Julio Paz. In his last fight, Valadez earned a unanimous decision over Gerardo Chavez.

In the co-main event, Juan “Bufalo” Dominguez (1-0) will look to remain undefeated against Rodrigo Ramirez (0-1) in a rare Tijuana heavyweight four round showdown. “Bufalo” made his pro debut just last month with a unanimous decision over Carlos Cuevas.

Also set for the fight card is lightweight Ciro”Gallo” Arrellano (1-0) of Tijuana by way of Oaxaca, looking to ruin the pro debut of Martin Gomez, also of Tijuana. Ramon Vidales (1-2, 1KO) goes against undefeated Gerardo Mendoza (3-0), both of Tijuana, in a four rounder set in the lightweight division. 2011 Tijuana’s super bantamweight amateur champion Erick “Tepeyac” Cebreros is also slated for the night versus the always dangerous TBA. Cebreros, who is trained by two-time world champion Raul “Jibaro” Perez, will look to earn his third pro win.

Just added to the card, U.S. prospect Aldwayne Simpson (1-0, 1 KO) of Richmond, California will take on his yet to be announced opponent in a four-round light welterweight bout. Simpson, an “American Ninja Warrior” competitor, recently wrapped up sparring with former world champion Robert Guerrero.

“We have seen that there is a lot of activity in Tijuana and that is due to the other promoters as well as efforts of the Tijuana Boxing Commission led by Juan Carlos Pelayo and Alejandro Garcia,” Morales said. We have been successful in the past with this kind of event and we want to help Tijuana return to its heyday of being one of the prominent boxing cities of the world.”

Between ’08-’09, Promociones PM was responsible for an impressive rate of activity, putting on nearly twenty shows which included some of the biggest club level names in the city at the time such as Javier “Cobra” Mendoza, Jorge “Pantera” Silva and Juan Luis “Perla Negra” Hernandez among others.

Tickets priced modestly at $10 and $20 are available at the Perro Salado Billiards Hall, the offices of Box Latino and Hollywood Beauty Supply. All ages welcome.

LAS VEGAS (July 17, 2012)—On Saturday night, former three-time world champion Anthony Mundine scored a seventh round stoppage over former world champion Bronco McKart to make an emphatic statement in his American debut.

The IBF North American Middleweight championship bout also marked the inaugural WEALTH TV Pay Per View card.

Mundine dropped McKart three times in the pivotal seventh round and with the win; Mundine becomes a major player in the packed Jr. Middleweight and Middleweight divisions.

Mundine (44-4, 26 KO’s) will now look for the biggest fights with the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto or Saul Alvarez.

The Broadcast, produced by WEALTH TV was seen all over the world and it continues a strong run of boxing events for the network.

“It was our first Pay Per View and everything came off perfectly”, said Charles Herring, the President of WEALTH TV

“Tonight was a great show with three terrific fights and we have many things in the works to provide the best fights throughout the world on both WEALTH TV & WEALTH TV PPV”

The card also featured undefeated Heavyweight Acha Mohammad Ali remaining perfect with a six round slugfest over Andre Carthron.

In the twelve round co-feature, Cornelius White won the IBF International Light Heavyweight crown with a twelve round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Dmitry Sukhotsky in what turned out to be a back and forth bloody brawl.

With the win, White (20-1, 16 KO’s) now jumps to the head of the line to fight for the IBF Light Heavyweight championship.

Go online to www.wealthtv.com for additional information or follow on Twitter @wealthtv.

NEWARK, NJ (July 17, 2012)—Today the renowned Elite Heat Boxing Team leaves for Las Vegas to compete in the 2012 National Jr. Golden Gloves Tournament.

The twenty-one member team lead by Captain Durrell Perry looks to bring home a lot of hardware. Perry, 15 years old is a Silver Gloves National champion and he leads a team full of top amateurs such as National champions in ten year old Vito Mielnicki, twelve year old Rajon Chance as well as National runner-up in fourteen year old John Bauza.

The successful team is mentored by Coaches Walli Moses & Robert Griffith as well as six assistant coaches.

Andrzej Fonfara scored the biggest win of his career when he scored a ten round unanimous decision over former world champion Glen Johnson at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago.

It was a tough fight that saw Fonfara use his height most of the time to unleash combinations from distance. Johnson showed his championship mettle by working hard on the inside but it was clear the wars of the seventy fight career has slowed down the man known as “The Road Warrior”

Fonfara, 173 3/4 lbs of Chicago won by scores of 99-91, 97-93 and 97-93 and is now 22-2. Johnson, 173 3/4 lbs of Miami is now 51-17-2.

After the fight Johnson announced his retirement

Former world Lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo stopped Ivan Popoca after round eight of their scheduled ten round Welterweight bout due to a bad cut that covered the face of Popoca.

Castillo rocked Popoca in round one from big left hard. Castillo landed a huge left in round two that sent Popoca to the canvas. Popoca was cut in round three and the blood worsened throughout the fight. The ringside doctor checked the cut several times but deemed Popoca OK to continue on. Popoca showed a lot of heart as he would get in some shots from time to time but Castillo looked fresher then he has in years. The referee called a halt to the action after the eighth round after he told Popoca that he had little chance to win.

Castillo, 146 lbs of Mexicali, MX is now 64-11-1 with fifty-five knockouts. Popoca, 147 lbs of Chicago is 15-2-1.

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that Jr.Welterweight beltholder Marcos Maidana will give up his title to face Jesus Soto Karass as part of the Saul Alvarez – Josesito Lopez Super Welterweight title card on September 15th in Las Vegas.

The show will be a quadruple header televised by Showtime.

“Well, Maidana is definitely not making 140 pounds anymore,” said Maidana’s manager Sebastian Contursi. “He is just too big for it now after years of making the 140 limit. That’s why we decided to give it a shot at 147 pounds and thought that Jesus Soto Karass is a very good opponent since he just fights. Could be a war.

“Golden Boy Promotions thought that adding Maidana to the Sept. 15 card would improve it, so they offered us that fight and we took it. This time Maidana would have proper time to adjust and to improve under (new trainer) Robert Garcia.”

“We speculated until now about keeping the title but we will give it up,” Contursi said.

Women’s boxing has produced a series of great fighters, but two iconic names stand above the rest – Christy Martin and Mia St. John, and today they were in Fresno for a major Press Conference prior to their epic battle in just four weeks. Before a large crowd at the Downtown Club, Martin and St. John, along with local dignitaries, spoke of the importance of their upcoming fight, as well as the state of female boxing.

Today’s press conference was the beginning of the four week countdown, when nearly a decade after their first bout in 2002, fight fans in the Central Valley will finally have the chance to see Martin and St. John meet again, in FINAL VICTORY. But this time the stakes will be even higher, as these two champions will fight for the final time and it will be for the WBC World Super Welterweight Belt in a big night of championship boxing on Tuesday evening, August 14th that will be presented by Table Mountain Casino, in association with Roy Englebrecht Promotions.

For Martin, this is her opportunity to reach the 50-win milestone against a heated rival looking to keep her from that mark. More importantly, it will be a fitting celebration of a career and life thought to be over when “The Coal Miner’s Daughter” was shot and stabbed by her ex-husband Jim in 2010. Yet despite the odds, Martin not only survived, but she returned to the ring in 2011. Now she wants to finish the most memorable career in women’s boxing history by defeating St. John. “I am excited about this opportunity to get my 50th win against Mia St John to finish my career,” said Martin. “I am honored to fight for the WBC World Title at Table Mountain Casino and look forward to becoming a World Champion once again. This time I will KO Mia, that’s as good a guarantee as you get.”

St. John has her own reasons for wanting this fight, and the way she sees it, this matchup is all about respect and redemption. In 2002, despite her stellar 26-1-1 record, it took an exciting 10 round war with Martin to earn the acclaim from the boxing world that she deserved. Since then, “The Knockout” has continued to be one of the sport’s great ambassadors, in and out of the ring, and all that’s left for her is to even the score with her greatest rival in Christy Martin. “I’ve waited nearly 10 years for this rematch,” stated St John. “I know I out-boxed Christy in the last fight, but this time I am going to BEAT her. Now we’ll see who the real WBC Champion is, La Gallina or La Guerrera.”

“Since I promoted my first female pro boxing bout in December of 1995 on a Battle In The Ballroom show at the Irvine Marriott, I am proud to say that Roy Englebrecht Promotions has promoted more female boxing bouts than any other fight promoter in history,” stated Englebrecht. “To now have the opportunity along with Table Mountain Casino who stepped up to make this tremendous FINAL VICTORY event happen, and work with two boxing as well as sports icons in Christy and Mia, is an honor and privilege, and believe me fight fans in the Central Valley will be in for a special evening when these two ladies meet in the ring with a legitimate world championship on the line.”

The Final Victory show which will also include four undercard bouts featuring some local Fresno area boxers, will be held in the Events Center at Table Mountain Casino in Friant, California, which is located just 15 miles outside Fresno. Tickets for this night of championship boxing will be priced at $70 VIP, $65 Gold, $60 Reserved, and $55 General Admission, and can be purchased at www.tmcasino.com or at Table Mountain Casino. Doors will open at 6pm with the first bout scheduled to begin at 6:30pm, and you must be 18 years or older to attend the show.

Needless to say, this event is as historic as it is compelling, making it the must see fight of the Summer of 2012.