LONDON (3 JUNE) Japanese star Ryosuke Iwasa heads to Bristol this week ahead of his June 13 battle with Lee Haskins for the IBF interim world bantamweight championship and is determined to return to the Land of the Rising Sun with the belt around his waist.

The 25-year-old southpaw has long been considered one of Japan’s standout boxing talents and his fight with Haskins marks the first time he will have fought for a version of the world title. It is, therefore, a significant step-up in class – and one he’s more than ready for.

“There is no doubt this is the biggest fight of my career,” said Iwasa, 19-1 (12 KOs). “I have watched a few of Haskins’ videos – the fight with Stephane Jamoye and a few others – and my first impression was that his style reminded me of ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed. He’s a very difficult fighter to figure out. His awkward and tricky style is something that has made him who he is.

“(Shinsuke) Yamanaka is the best opponent I have faced so far in my career, but I’m expecting Haskins to be better, stronger and tougher than him. I have improved so much since then, though. The Yamanaka fight was four years ago for a domestic title. Now I’m fighting at the world-class level.

“Haskins gets careless at times, but I expect him to be fully focused on June 13. My speed and sense of distance will be the difference, though.”

Included on Iwasa’s 20-fight record are impressive wins over David De La Mora and Hiroki Shiino to lift the OPBF bantamweight title. He was formerly the Japanese bantamweight champion and is currently ranked at number three in the world according to the IBF.

Nevertheless, this trip to England represents the first time Iwasa will have fought outside his native Japan and that, combined with Haskins’ all-round awkwardness, figures to present a problem or two on June 13.

“It is an honour for me to be fighting in Bristol,” said Iwasa. “It doesn’t bother me that much that the fight is in his hometown. Once we’re both in the ring, it’s the same anywhere in the world. It’s our job to give the fans a good performance and put on an exciting show. I will show the fans in Bristol a beautiful style of boxing.

“I know that British people are big sports fans. I am expecting a big crowd cheering for Haskins, but hope for respect and fair support as well.

“I have great respect for Haskins. He is not my enemy and neither are his fans. This fight is about two world-class athletes both trying to win a prestigious title. I know he has been waiting a long time for this opportunity, but so have I. This will be the toughest and the most exciting fight for both of us, and the better man on the night will walk away with the belt around his waist.

“I trust the judges to come up with a fair decision if the fight goes twelve rounds, but I won’t be fighting for a decision. I don’t think Haskins will be, either.”

*** Lee Haskins and Ryosuke Iwasa fight for the vacant IBF Interim World Bantamweight Title and Bob Ajisafe and Daniel Wanyonyi fight for the vacant Commonwealth light-heavyweight title on June 13 at Bristol’s Action Indoor Sports Arena. For tickets, please contact the Ticketline Box Office on 0844 888 4402 or Sanigar Events on 0117 949 6699 ***

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According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Light Flyweight champion Donnie Nietes will defend his crown against Francisco Rodriguez Jr. on July 4 in Cebu, Philippines.

“He is a good opponent and should not be overlooked,” Nietes said.

Europe’s leading boxing promoter Team Sauerland has lodged an official application with the Swedish Boxing Federation for Erik Skoglund (22-0, 11 KOs) to box twelve rounds in a defence of his IBF Intercontinental Light Heavyweight title against Oleksander Cherviak (15-4-1, 5 KOs) on September 19 at the Nyköpings Arenor in Nyköping, Sweden.

In a potential milestone for Swedish boxing, should the application be successful, Skoglund would become the first male boxer to participate in a major title fight on Swedish soil since the ban on professional boxing was imposed in 1969.

Skoglund is undefeated in twenty-two professional contests and a top ten world ranked fighter. Having boxed all of his previous contests in Denmark, Germany and Finland, the 24 year-old from Nyköping is excited about the prospect of competing in his home country.

‘’It would be a dream come true,’’ said Skoglund. ‘’Since I started boxing, it has been my goal to bring the sport home as we have not had this level of boxing in Sweden since 1968. To be fighting in Nyköping, in my hometown, would make it extra special. The arena is just two minutes from my house, so it really is in my backyard. I would expect a lot of support, not just from Nyköping, but from all over Sweden.

‘’I’m hopeful the application will be successful. MMA fighters and female boxers have received permission to fight for the full distance so I see no reason why they would reject our application. Particularly as this is the first time someone has applied for a title fight at this level.’’

With the application lodged, the Swedish Boxing Federation must now file for dispensation with the Swedish Fighting Delegation, who will then be responsible for accepting or rejecting the proposed bout.

‘’The decision is now in the hands of the delegation and we expect them to make the right choice,’’ said promoter Nisse Sauerland. ‘’Erik is a remarkable athlete, who deserves the chance showcase his skills in his own country. We honestly believe we are looking at the country’s next world champion, and this for us is the first step towards bringing world championship boxing back to Sweden.’’

If the application is approved, Skoglund will be making the first defence of his IBF Intercontinental title against the tough Ukrainian Oleksander Cherviak in the Swede’s first fight back since undergoing back surgery in February to repair a herniated disc.

NEW YORK (June 2, 2015) – Roc Nation Sports and Miguel Cotto Promotions hosted the final press conference for the June 6 showdown between WBC and Ring Magazine Middleweight World Champion Miguel Cotto and former Two-Time World Champion Daniel Geale on Tuesday, June 2 at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York City. Along with the main event participants, undercard fighters Junior Younan and Zhang Zhilei were also in attendance. Other speakers included Michael Yormark (President & Chief of Branding and Strategy of Roc Nation), Hector Soto (Miguel Cotto Promotions), Freddie Roach (Cotto’s Trainer), Gary Shaw (Gary Shaw Productions), Graham Shaw (Geale’s Trainer), Brett Yormark (CEO of Barclays Center and the Brooklyn Nets), Peter Nelson (VP HBO Sports Programming), David Berlin (Executive Director of the New York State Athletic Commission) and Ululy Martinez (Vice Chairman of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade Board of Directors). The press conference was emceed by Brooklyn Nets Public Address Announcer David Diamante.

PHOTOS:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zghog55phfcebgl/AADdHvtxcpbR-JVk2zOI54qPa?dl=0
PHOTO CREDIT: Rich Kane – Hoganphotos/Roc Nation Sports

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wzeqxzlc7s79fev/AAAZBtNFUxTp3M_WOX65_pvNa?dl=0
PHOTO CREDIT: Miguel Cotto Promotions/Roc Nation Sports

VIDEO:
https://afcdmc.wetransfer.com/downloads/3f23a9e586626a96ca1668595cf3bd9a20150602192446/289ecc8fa6501bef51b475409c0db45d20150602192446/45c282
VIDEO CREDIT: Miguel Cotto Promotions/Roc Nation Sports

Here’s what press conference participants had to say:

Michael Yormark – President & Chief of Branding and Strategy of Roc Nation

“Led by our Chairman JAY Z and his partners, Roc Nation was founded to work with artists and entertainers to guide them and help them build their careers even beyond the boundaries of the music industry. It is fitting then, that today we stand in a setting named for the legendary BB King – may he rest in peace – an artist and a man that knew no boundaries during a career that transcended his art. In a few short years, Roc Nation itself has expanded beyond the world of music, diversifying in a way that many never thought possible. Today we begin to celebrate a landmark in that expansion, as another legend, World Champion Miguel Cotto, prepares to headline Roc Nation’s first major fight on Saturday night against Daniel Geale, live at Barclays Center and on HBO.”

“When Roc Nation founded its boxing division less than a year ago, we committed to doing things differently, and what you will see on Saturday night will be different. The eyes of the boxing world will be fixed on Barclays Center on Saturday, with celebrities and VIP’s lining the ring and a captivated audience watching at home. They will watch with anticipation, awaiting not only a masterful performance from the champion Miguel Cotto against a formidable opponent, but also an electric appearance from Roc Nation artist and hip-hop superstar Big Sean, as well as the voice of New York Angie Martinez, and a host of other surprises that will make this live boxing experience different from anything you’ve ever seen before.”

“Saturday is the start of something new and fresh for the boxing industry. It is a chance for all of us to show boxing fans, and sports and entertainment fans around the world, that the action on fight night can and will live up to the hype.”

Hector Soto – Miguel Cotto Promotions

“It has been several months of hard work and dedication. Puerto Rico will shine again on the night of June 6 when Miguel Cotto defends his titles successfully.”

Ululy Rafael Martinez – Puerto Rican Day Parade

“We’re really happy this year to formalize a relationship with Miguel Cotto thanks to Roc Nation Sports and Miguel Cotto Promotions. I also want to thank Roc Nation Sports and Miguel Cotto Promotions for contributing to our scholarship fund. They are helping us empower young high school students and college students we provide scholarships to so they can further their education. I’m encouraging everyone planning on coming to the Parade on June 14 to support our man Miguel Cotto On Saturday, June 6 at Barclays Center for the boxing match of the year.”

David Berlin – New York Athletic Commission

“Miguel Cotto and Daniel Geale represent the best in boxing. These are men that carry themselves with dignity both inside and outside the ring. Men who can be respectful because they don’t have to prove themselves with words. Where they prove themselves each and every time they fight is inside that ring.”

“Now that I am with the commission, I no longer root for fighters. I’m in a neutral role, but I do root for fights. I root for fights when fighters come into the ring and they fight hard but they leave the ring safely. I root for fights that satisfy the fans and fights where the right man has his hand raised at the end. That of course is where the New York State Athletic Commission comes in.

“This promises to be a competitive fight. Obviously a competitive fight means it’s a hard night for judges, but what I’m committing to the fighters and fans is that we are going to have competent, qualified and neutral officials in place and the right man is going to have his hand raised at the end of the fight. I wish both men good luck on Saturday night.”

Brett Yormark – CEO of Barclays Center and the Brooklyn Nets

“We’re expecting a great night on Saturday night. So, hopefully we see all of you. Tickets are still on sale. Saturday night represents our 13th night of championship boxing at Barclays Center since we opened the building 32 months ago and boxing plays a huge role in what we do in Brooklyn.”

Peter Nelson – Vice President of Programming HBO Sports Programming

“We look forward to two fighters who have always rose to every challenge that has been put in front of them. Daniel Geale had a lucrative opportunity at one point in time to make his HBO debut and he actually decided instead to go to Germany, to Felix Sturm’s backyard, fight him for his world titles and ended up lifting the titles away from him. He is naturally the largest opponent that Miguel Cotto has ever fought and he’s stepped up to every challenge that’s ever been put in front of him.”

“Miguel Cotto…the last time he stepped into the ring, he entered it an underdog and he ended up leaving it the lineal middleweight champion. He joined just a handful of fighters ever to win four world titles in four separate divisions and he was the first man from Puerto Rico ever to do so. He performed what I saw as one of the strangest punches ever in boxing when he touched a man on the temple and it caused his knee to twist into a knot. I’ve never seen that happen. It was an extraordinary performance.”

“We look to see in this fight, fighters who are going to give us moments of great bravery and great courage. These are the kind of men we want to have on the network. That’s what makes great fights.”

Gary Shaw – Gary Shaw Productions

“I have a personal problem with catch weights. We accepted the catch weight of 157 and I’m not here to complain about the catch weight. We’re going to make the weight. It’s going to be tough. I believe that if a fighter wants to fight at any weight that he wants to fight at, he has that opportunity, but he shouldn’t stop the opponent from fighting at the sanctioned weight which in this case is 160.”

“I believe Daniel Geale is going to win the fight. I believe that Miguel and his team made a mistake. If they were looking at the Golovkin fight, thinking that’s the Daniel that is going to come into the ring…it will not be that same Daniel Geale.”

“It’s truly an honor to represent Daniel Geale because he’s a different young man. The first time I met him, I flew to Germany. I looked around and I couldn’t identify Daniel Geale. Little did I know, he was standing against the back wall. After taking my seat at the dais, Daniel Geale walked up. I looked at him and I said “we’re in trouble! This kid looks like a choir boy not a fighter,” but he gave it all he got and he won the fight. He’s a family man. Doesn’t travel with an entourage. Always on time. Trains hard. Does everything that a true champion has to do.”

Daniel Geale – Former Two-Time World Champion

“This is a huge opportunity and I’m very excited. We’re so excited as a team that this fight is taking place. We’ve put a great training camp in for this fight and I’m feeling as good as I ever have. There’s no excuses. I’m going in as the best fighter I can possibly be. I’m hoping Miguel Cotto is the best fighter he can be as well. I want the fans to enjoy a great fight and I believe it will be a great fight. I can’t wait to walk away with another title. I’m going in very confident and I know a lot of people aren’t giving me much of a chance, but I have a huge amount of confidence in myself knowing I’ve completed a great training camp. Knowing that I have put everything that I possibly can into it and knowing that I have such a great team. I look forward to Saturday night.”

Freddie Roach – Cotto’s Trainer

“We’ve had a great training camp. Miguel is in great shape. Our sparring partners on our team have been great. And we’re ready for this fight. Gary’s been making a big deal about catch weights, but they have been around for a long time and he knows how to read a contract and he’s had that contract for a long time now, so I don’t think that’s an issue. We look forward to seeing you at the fight.”

Miguel Cotto – WBC & Ring Magazine Middleweight World Champion

“I want to thank my lovely family for being here with my. My kids, my wife, my lovely mom. Thank you for always supporting my career no matter how hard it seems or looks to you. I love you.”

“I think that people are making a big issue where there does not need to be a big issue with catch weights. Freddie, back in 2009, made me go down from 147 to 145. Did anyone hear anything about Miguel Cotto disagreeing with the catch weights? No, I was a gentlemen the whole way. Catch weights were our main point to make this fight happen. Daniel and his team agreed to going down to 157 and I hope he can make weight on Friday. I hope to see everyone there on Saturday night.”

“Freddie brings the confidence back to Miguel. He comes every day no matter what he feels and gives his best to me. When you have this kind of person in front of you giving you his best and making sure that you are going to do your best, the only way you can pay him back is bringing your best too. We only talk about boxing when we are in the gym. He’s my trainer there, but as soon as we finish our training session, he’s my friend.”

Cotto vs. Geale, a 12-round fight for Cotto’s WBC and Ring Magazine Middleweight World Championships, takes place Saturday, June 6 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and will be televised live on HBO. The fight, which is presented by Roc Nation Sports and Miguel Cotto Promotions in association with Gary Shaw Productions, will be the official kick-off event of the 2015 National Puerto Rican Day Parade Week and is sponsored by Cerveza Tecate, Jaybird, TapouT, Tequila Cazadores, Venue Kings and Nüe Resource. In addition to the great action inside the ring, the event will feature several notable Roc Nation touches that will further serve spectators with an enhanced fan experience, including Roc Nation and Grammy nominated artist Big Sean taking to the ring for a special performance prior to the main event. The event will be hosted by notable emcee “The Voice of New York” Angie Martinez and will also feature hit master DJ Lobo who will serve alongside Martinez throughout the night. Tickets priced at $500, $250, $200, $150, $100, $80, $50, $35 and $25, not including applicable service charges and taxes, are on sale now and available for purchase at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com and at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center. To charge by phone, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Doors open at 6:00 PM, the first fight begins at 6:15 PM and the HBO telecast begins at 10:30 PM ET/PT.

For more information please visit www.rocnation.com. Follow Roc Nation on Twitter and Instagram @rocnation and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RocNation.

For more information, visit www.hbo.com/boxing, follow on Twitter and Instagram at @HBOBoxing and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HBOBoxing.

Just a day after getting Jose Felix as a replacement foe for Ray Beltran. Humberto Soto injured his knee and his June 27 fight on the Timothy Bradley – Jessie Vargas undercard is off, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“Soto is not going to fight,” said Golden Boy Promotions Eric Gomez. “He messed up his knee jogging on Tuesday. He was training. He got X-rays and he has strained knee ligaments, and the doctor told him he needs to rest it for a month.”

“It’s shocking. This guy can’t catch a break,” Eric Gomez said of Soto. “First, there was the Frankie Gomez situation, then Ray Beltran and now this. When bad news happens, it comes in threes. It was like 1-2-3 strikes, you’re out.”

A superstar makes his 2015 debut when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: MIGUEL COTTO VS. DANIEL GEALE is seen SATURDAY, JUNE 6 at 10:30 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT) from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team will be ringside to call all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

Other HBO playdates: June 7 (9:45 a.m.) and 8 (11:30 p.m.)

HBO2 playdate: June 7 (3:30 p.m.)

Returning to the ring for the first time in nearly a year, Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KOs) defends his middleweight title against former champion Daniel Geale (31-3, 16 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round contest. Cotto, 34, is coming off a knockout victory over middleweight titleholder Sergio Martinez, which ended his opponent’s nearly five-year reign as middleweight champ. The June 6 bout, Cotto’s first at Barclays Center, marks his 21st appearance on HBO. Since debuting on the network, he’s amassed titles in four different weight divisions, making him the first Puerto Rican to do so.

Australia’s Daniel Geale, 34, most recently scored a unanimous decision victory over fellow countryman Jarrod Fletcher last December. Known more for tactical precision than knockout power, he enjoyed a two-fight span as middleweight champ in 2012, and has challenged for two titles in the U.S. in recent years. The fight marks Geale’s third HBO appearance.

Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.

All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.

The executive producer of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is Rick Bernstein; producer, Jon Crystal; director, Johnathan Evans.

® WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.

Las Vegas (June 2, 2015) – Four-time world champion “Terrible” Terry Norris has confirmed that he will appear and have a booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center for the second annual Box Fan Expo that will take place Saturday Sept. 12, 2015. The Box Fan Expo will coincide with Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s last fight and Mexican Independence weekend.

The Hall of Famer, Norris will have merchandise to sell to his fans, as well as photos and memorabilia.

This unique fan experience event, which allowed fans to meet and greet boxing legends, past and current champions and other celebrities of the sport, debuted last September to large, enthusiastic crowds. This year the Expo will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and once again, allow fans a chance to collect autographs, take photos and purchase merchandise and memorabilia.

Exhibitors such as boxing gear, apparel, broadcasting media and other brand companies who wish to participate will have a chance to showcase their products to fans and the whole boxing industry.

Last year’s inaugural Box Fan Expo featured some of the most popular fighters and boxing celebrities in recent history. Fans were treated to visits with Mike Tyson, Roy Jones Jr, Sergio Martinez, Amir Khan, Zab Judah, Mikey Garcia, James Toney, Riddick Bowe, Leon Spinks Terry Norris, Shawn Porter, Chris Byrd, Jesse James Leija, Lamon Brewster, Ray Mercer, Earnie Shavers, Mia St-John, Erislandy Lara, Peter Quillin, Jean Pascal and Austin Trout. Also appearing were current WBC Champion Deontay Wilder, the charismatic Vinny Pazienza, Paul Williams, noted commentator Al Bernstein and top trainer Roger Mayweather of Mayweather Promotions.

The roster of attendees for this year’s Box Fan Expo will be announced throughout the next several months and weeks leading up to the event.

Tickets to the Box Fan Expo are available online at: http://www.boxfanexpo.eventbrite.com

View the official promo video of Box Fan Expo here: http://www.boxfanexpo.com/video-2/

View Promo Flyer here: http://www.boxfanexpo.com/promo-flyer/

View Photos Gallery 2014 here: http://www.boxfanexpo.com/photos/

For anyone in the boxing industry or brand companies who wish to be involved and reserve a booth as an exhibitor or sponsorship opportunities, please contact Box Fan Expo at:

U.S.A telephone number: (702) 997-1927 or (514) 572-7222

For any inquiries please email: boxfanexpo@gmail.com

More information on the Box Fan Expo is available at: http://www.boxfanexpo.com

You can follow Box Fan Expo on Twitter at: https://www.twitter.com/BoxFanExpo and on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/BoxFanExpo

LOS ANGELES (June 2) – Fighters on Thursday’s LA FIGHT CLUB fight cardtook some time to tell us what to expect on fight night and also shared with us their favorite things about the upcoming summer season. The action-packed Los Angeles based series on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes returns to The Belasco Theater this Thursday for another explosive night in a classic Puerto Rico vs. Mexico main event where Puerto Rico’s Jayson “Star” Velez (22-0-1, 16 KOs) of Juncos, takes on Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico’s Daniel “Huracan” Ramirez (11-1, 5 KOs), in a 10-round featherweight bout that is sure to excite fans.

Also, Oscar De La Hoya President and Founder of Golden Boy Promotions is scheduled to attend LA FIGHT CLUB and will host a special meet and greet at the Belasco Theater’s ballroom prior to the televised bouts from 6:00 pm to 7:00 p.m.

The co-main televised event features Carlos “The Solution” Morales (7-1-3, 2 KOs) of Los Angeles taking on Emmanuel Gonzalez (14-1, 7 KOs) of the Bronx, New York in an eight-round super bantamweight bout. Opening the telecast, Los Angeles favorite Christian “Chimpa” Gonzalez (9-0, 9 KOs) will face Darryl Hayes (3-4, 1 KOs) of Houston in a six-round super featherweight fight. Westside Boxing Club’s Rafael “El Alikin” Gramajo (3-1-1, 2 KOs) of Los Angeles is hoping to make airtime in a four-round super bantamweight fight against Pablo Cupul (4-16, 3 KOs) of Merida, Mexico.

Here is what the fighters had to say:

JAYSON “STAR” VELEZ, Featherweight Contender:

What should fans expect on June 4?
I’ve been training since January so I am more than prepared to give fans an exciting night of boxing. My focus is always the same, become a World Champion and be the best in every weight class.

Anything that you think will surprise your fans when they see you on fight night?
My routine is basically always the same but I always adjust my strategy for every opponent. I know my opponent is an aggressive fighter; he throws a lot of punches to the body. My strategy will be to have a strong defense as well as be on the offensive. This will be an exciting fight, with explosive fighters, with action from the first round to the last. My power will surprise the fans and my opponent.

What is your favorite summer activity?
I’m planning to go to Vieques for a few days. It’s part of Puerto Rico, but I’ve never been there and am excited to visit. I think like every Puerto Rican, go to the beach and swim.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I would love to go to Hawaii and see all the beautiful beaches. It would be a dream vacation.

Any summer treats that you love?
Ice cream. I love ice cream, I can eat it all year, even in winter.

What would be your perfect summer weekend?
Relaxing at the beach with my wife, watching our children play, a bottle of red wine and a lot of ice cream.

DANIEL “HURACAN” RAMIREZ, Featherweight Contender:

What should fans expect on June 4?
A war!

What are your plans for this summer, any special trips?
I plan to spend time with my family and go to the beach as often as possible.

What would be your perfect summer weekend?
Staying at any beach in Baja California.

Any summer treats that you love, ice cream, shaved ice?
Micheladas! They are very refreshing.

If you could spend the summer anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I would like to go to a faraway beach, away from everyone.

CARLOS “THE SOLUTION” MORALES, Super Bantamweight Prospect:

What should fans expect on June 4?
Another victory for “The Solution.”

What are your plans for this summer, any special trips?
I plan to hang out with my family.

What is your favorite summer activity?
Training is my favorite summer activity, I never stop working and improving.

If you could spend the summer anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I would love to travel to Europe and spend a whole summer there.

Any summer treats that you love?
Ice cream- rainbow sherbet is my all-time favorite flavor.

What is your favorite thing about the summer?
You get to go to the beach and enjoy the sun.

CHRISTIAN “CHIMPA” GONZALEZ, Super Featherweight Prospect:

What should fans expect on June 4?
They should expect a very exciting fight.

What are your plans for this summer, any special trips?
I really enjoy water parks; I look forward to them every year. I also plan on going to the beach as often as I can this year.

If you could spend the summer anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I would really like to go to Hawaii and spend the summer there.

What is your favorite thing about the summer?
The hot weather. I really enjoy it.

RAFAEL “EL ALIKIN”GRAMAJO, Super Bantamweight Prospect:
What should fans expect on June 4?
They should expect a good fight, full of action.

What are your plans for this summer, any special trips?
My plan is to jump back in the gym and continue working on improving every day.

What is your favorite summer activity?
I love to go fishing and camping during the summer. It is the perfect time of the year to go out to the sea, lake or river and relax.

If you could spend the summer anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I would spend it in Kansas because that’s where my family is.

Any summer treats that you love?
I really love raspados, or “shaved ice.” I look forward to them every summer.

What is your favorite thing about the summer?
My favorite thing is about the summer is that I get more time to spend time with my wife and sons. We go on short trips.

LA FIGHT CLUB: Velez vs. Ramirez is a 10-round featherweight bout presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Cotto Promotions and sponsored by Corona Extra and Mexico – Live It To Believe It!. Doors open at 5:00 p.m., and the first bout begins at 5:30 p.m. The FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes broadcast will air live at 10:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. PT.

Tickets for the June 4 LA FIGHT CLUB are on sale now. Prices start at $20 and can be purchased online by going to www.goldenboypromotions.com or by visiting the Golden Boy Promotions Facebook page. For ticket information, email LAFightClub@goldenboypromotions.com.

The “Knockout Experience VIP Package” is also available for an additional $25 upgrade and includes VIP entrance, access to an exclusive lounge offering food and beverages for purchase; a meet and greet opportunity with fighters and celebrities attending the event; an automatic entry into the LA FIGHT CLUB grand prize drawing, which can include but is not limited to: autograph gloves, picture in the ring, backstage access, tour of locker rooms, fighter ring walk, tickets to upcoming boxing events and additional merchandise and prizes.

The LA FIGHT CLUB is a monthly boxing series that takes place on the first Thursday of each month. It will showcase the brightest stars in the sport and present these exciting matchups in a nightclub atmosphere with an original setup. The boxing ring will be set on the main floor of The Belasco Theater with on-camera standing room for fans in front of the ring similar to a concert pit, as well as reserved balcony and floor seats. Los Angeles’ own DJ Ray of Big Boy’s Neighborhood will spin music during the fights and fans will be able to dance and mingle with the fighters when the venue converts into a night club, in a VIP experience not matched by any promoter in the industry.

For more information visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.belascous.com, www.FOXSports.com/FOXSports1, www.FOXDeportes.com, follow on twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @FoxSports, @FoxSports1, @FoxDeportes, and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/TheBelascoLA, www.facebook.com/FOXDeportes, visit us on Instagram at @GoldenBoyBoxing and @belascola and follow the conversation using #LAFIGHTCLUB.

Las Vegas – In one of the most highly anticipated rematches in recent memory, UFC® bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw will meet former champ Renan Barao when the Octagon® returns to United Center in Chicago on Saturday, July 25. UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: DILLASHAW vs. BARAO 2 marks the seventh UFC championship title bout to air on FOX.

After pulling off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport by dethroning then-champ Barao at UFC 173, Dillashaw (12-2, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.) will put the 135-pound strap on the line against the very man he took it from. Barao (35-2, 1 NC, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), whose record includes eight wins by knockout and 15 by submission, looks to reclaim the title he held for almost two years. With more than 30 finishes between them, this championship rematch could be one of the best fights of the year.

Also, No. 2 women’s bantamweight Miesha Tate (16-5, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) will clash with fifth-ranked Jessica Eye (11-2, 1 NC, fighting out of Cleveland, Ohio). With both women’s eyes set on a shot at champion Ronda Rousey’s title, Tate and Eye will be in a high-stakes battle. As the only woman to take Rousey out of the first round of competition, Tate hopes a dominant performance over Eye will secure a trilogy matchup against the champ. For Eye, she looks to earn her first shot at the world title; something she feels is already rightfully hers.

In addition, the main card will feature a classic striker vs. grappler matchup as No. 7 lightweight contender Edson Barboza (15-3, fighting out of Nova Fridurgo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) meets eighth-ranked Myles Jury (15-1, fighting out of San Diego, Calif.). Barboza’s elite striking has earned him victories over veterans Bobby Green and Evan Dunham, while Jury is known for his slick jiu-jitsu submissions and finishing prowess.

Additional bouts include:
· Fan favorite Joe Lauzon (24-11, fighting out of Bridgewater, Mass.) meets Japan’s Takanori Gomi (35-10, 1 NC, fighting out of Tokyo, Japan) in a lightweight showdown.

· Former WEC® bantamweight champion Eddie Wineland (21-10-1, fighting out of Chesterton, Ind.) takes on No. 10 bantamweight Bryan Caraway (19-8, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.).

· No. 15 light heavyweight contender Gian Villante (13-5, fighting out of Bellmore, N.Y.) welcomes Tom Lawlor (9-5, 1 NC, fighting out of Providence, R.I.) back to the Octagon.

· In a battle of lightweight strikers, Daron Cruickshank (16-6, 1 NC, fighting out of Detroit, Mich.) clashes with James Krause (21-7, fighting out of Lee’s Summit, Mo.).

· The Ultimate Fighter® Season 13 finalist Ramsey Nijem (10-4, fighting out of San Francisco, Calif.) takes on submission specialist Erik Koch (14-4, fighting out of Milwaukee, Wisc.) in a 155-pound bout.

· Lightweight takedown artist Rustam Khabilov (17-3, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M. by way of Dagestan, Russia) meets Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Danny Castillo (17-8, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.).

· In a middleweight battle, jiu-jitsu specialists Zak Cummings (17-4, fighting out of Kansas City, Mo.) and Antonio Braga Neto (9-2, 1 NC, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) square off.

· Looking to make it four consecutive victories, Illinois’ own Kenny Robertson (15-3, fighting out of Washington, Ill.) squares off against welterweight veteran Ben Saunders (18-6-2, fighting out of Orlando, Fla.).

· Jessamyn Duke (3-2, 1 NC, fighting out of Glendale, Calif.) of ‘The Four Horsewomen’, a quartet of fighters led by UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, meets Elizabeth Phillips (4-3, fighting out of Spokane, Wash.) in a women’s 135-pound scrap.

For the latest information on additional bouts for this event, please visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.

Visit the UFC® Press Portal for information and content to support your UFC coverage.

Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: DILLASHAW vs. BARAO 2 on sale Friday, June 5 at 10 a.m. CT and are priced at $253, $178, $128, $93, $78, $53 and $43. Tickets are available for purchase at www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets are also available at United Center box office. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges.

UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, June 3 at 10 a.m. CT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, June 4 starting at 10 a.m. CT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: DILLASHAW vs. BARAO 2 will air live on FOX at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Saturday, July 25, with the prelims kicking off the evening on FOX at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

About UFC®
UFC® is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 134 countries and territories to over 700 million TV households worldwide in 21 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS®, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

Los Angeles, CA (June 2, 2015) Boxing Superstar GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN will travel to New York City this weekend to watch Miguel Cotto and Daniel Geale fight for the WBC middleweight title at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York this Saturday night, June 6.

Universally recognized as the best middleweight in the world, Golovkin is the mandatory challenger for the World Boxing Council’s Middleweight Title, which Cotto will be defending.

“I want to watch this fight in person and look forward to fighting the winner to show who the real WBC middleweight champion is,” said Golovkin, holder of the WBA and IBO Middleweight Titles. “A unification fight with the winner is very important to me.”

With an extraordinary record of 33-0 with 30 knockouts, Golovkin has the highest KO% in middleweight history and has become one of the most marketable international stars in boxing.

On May 16, Golovkin filled the legendary Forum in Los Angeles with over 12,000 fight fans as he stopped #2 ranked challenger Willie Monroe Jr. in the sixth round. In keeping with his outstanding international television ratings, the fight reached 1.5 million viewers on HBO in the United States and was shown in over 120 countries worldwide.

“His two most recent US fights have sold over 21,000 tickets, making him the highest ticket seller in the State of California. This coupled with his continued growth in TV ratings, has made Gennady one of the sport’s most watched fighters,” said TOM LOEFFLER of K2 PROMOTIONS.

His all-action style and dominance of his division has Golovkin ranked # 4 Pound For Pound by ESPN.com and Ring Magazine, riding a knockout streak of 20 KOs in a row.

“Three of Gennady’s most dominant KO performances have come in front of his huge fan base in New York City and he looks forward to returning this weekend. As the mandated WBC challenger to the winner of the Miguel Cotto-Daniel Geale bout, he has a very strong interest in the fight.”

On July 26, 2014, Golovkin stopped Geale at Madison Square Garden with a stunning third round knockout featured on numerous “Knockout of the Year” year-end lists.

For more information on Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, follow him on Twitter @GGGBoxing, Facebook @GGGBoxing and visit his website at www.GGGBoxing.com

BROOKLYN (June 2, 2015) -Promoter Dmitriy Salita is excited to present a night of professional boxing action at the Paramount Events Center on Thursday, June 4. The card will be topped by a main event which pits Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, a charismatic power puncher, from Brooklyn, taking on Detroit resident Damon “Bulldog” McCreary. Miller, who has pop in both hands, as evidenced by his 12-0-1 mark (10 KO’s), will be tested by the 15-4 Detroit native in a heavyweight clash.

“Detroit has produced some of the best fighters in the U.S. and the world,” said promoter Salita. “The rich history of Emanuel Steward and the Kronk Gym is something all Detroit fighters are aware of and seek to live up to. Detroit fighters come to fight! They will come to “Brawl” in Brooklyn and I can assure you, boxing fans will enjoy great, exciting fights!”

Edward Williams, another Michigan native seeks to add to his 9-0-1 mark (4 KOs) on Thursday, as does 4-0-1 lightweight Dewayne Zeigler. He is another Detroit destroyer, with four stoppages in his short career. The Alabama born boxer meets Jeremy Graves from upstate New York at the first boxing event at the new venue.

Trainer Theotrice Chambers III, who trains IBF Jr. Middleweight champ Cornelius Bundrage, trains Williams and Zeigler and says they are coming to wreak havoc in NYC.

“Zeigler is an exciting kid, very explosive, punches hard with both hands,” he said. “And Williams is a good boxer, has a lot of heart and determination. The people in Brooklyn are gonna love them.”

PEC was launched in April by Barclays Center developer Bruce Ratner and Onexim Sports and Entertainment, with all business operations overseen by Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark.

“I am thrilled to join with PEC to bring boxing to LIU Brooklyn Paramount,” said Salita. “Over the last few years, Star of David Promotions has brought New York boxing fans exciting shows with incredible fights through our Brooklyn Brawl Series. This card will be an exciting addition to our series.”

“This June 4 boxing event will reintroduce LIU Brooklyn Paramount to the sports community,” said Brett Yormark, CEO of Barclays Center. “Dmitriy has provided great opportunities for aspiring fighters and we are looking forward to working with him to solidify our grassroots boxing efforts in Brooklyn.”

You can purchase tickets by visiting www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000.

ABOUT STAR OF DAVID PROMOTIONS
Star of David Promotions was founded in 2010 by Dmitriy Salita, a professional boxer and world title challenger who saw the need for a promotional entity to feature the brightest prospects, as well as seasoned pugilists, in and around the New York City area. Viewers have enjoyed watching Star of David fighters in recent years on Spike TV, ESPN2, MSG, and Universal Sports Network. Please visit www.Salitapromotions.com for more information.

BRISTOL (2 JUNE) By Lee Haskins: This week is the last really hard week of training and I’m determined to put it all in. After this week I start to taper down and allow my body to repair ahead of my fight against Ryosuke Iwasa on June 13. It’s important to get the balance right; heavy stuff this week and then lighter stuff during fight week. It’s something I’ve done many times before, of course, so I like to think I know what I’m doing by now.

It’s been a great few months for Bristol sport lately. Bristol City Football Club walked League One and will play in the Championship next season, while Bristol Rovers, their big rivals, won at Wembley Stadium a couple of weeks ago to gain promotion back into the Football League from the Conference.

It sounds weird to some people, but I actually support both Bristol teams. I’m there for City and I’m there for Rovers. I never decided to pick one over the other – love one, hate one. That just isn’t how I’ve ever seen it. I’m a Bristol boy, they’re two Bristol clubs, and I want to see them both do well.

I find it kind of strange how fellow Bristolians can love one club and then really hate the other. It seems weird to me when they’re only a stone’s throw apart. My way of thinking is that if you’re from Bristol, you should support Bristol.

Boxing in Bristol is getting bigger all the time. It’s always been a bit of a love or hate sport around here – as it probably is in most cities – but gyms are doing well now and I see a lot of kids coming through. It’s really encouraging.

I watch these kids do their thing in the gym and I get great satisfaction from helping them out and guiding them whenever I can. I really want to win this fight on June 13 for Bristol and for the young kids who aspire to become boxers – it gives them something to aim for, it shows it can be done. If I can win a world title, there’s no reason why the kids in the gym can’t one day do the same. It’s great to be able to lead by example.

I didn’t really know much about boxing when I started out in the sport. And I definitely didn’t know of any boxers from Bristol. It was all new to me. Boxing was just something I wanted to do – it wasn’t a sport I particularly liked to watch or follow.

I know Glenn Catley was a world champion from Bristol, but I didn’t watch any of his fights during the time he was around. I’ve watched his fights since, of course, and I’d love to do the same as Glenn and bring a world title back to Bristol.

Everybody’s talking about the fight in Bristol now and it’s really going down well. It seems everyone is planning on watching the fight, either at the venue or on Channel 5; tickets are selling well and there’s a buzz about the place.

I like fighting in my hometown, and I like fighting in front of my people, but this fight does feel extra special, extra big. It’s the biggest fight of my life. There are more nerves and expectation for this one than any other fight I’ve had. At times it almost feels like it’s too much. But I’m really looking forward to it and I’d rather be fighting in Bristol than Japan, that’s for sure.

*** Lee Haskins and Ryosuke Iwasa fight for the vacant IBF Interim World Bantamweight Title and Bob Ajisafe and Daniel Wanyonyi fight for the vacant Commonwealth light-heavyweight title on June 13 at Bristol’s Action Indoor Sports Arena. For tickets, please contact the Ticketline Box Office on 0844 888 4402 or Sanigar Events on 0117 949 6699 ***

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LONDON (2 JUNE) Trowbridge warrior Nick Blackwell won the British middleweight title in stunning fashion on Saturday night (May 30) when stopping Londoner John Ryder inside seven swashbuckling rounds at a sold-out O2 Arena.

The win landed Blackwell the coveted Lonsdale belt at the third time of asking and instantly catapulted his name up the world rankings. It also went some way to highlighting the importance of perseverance.

“I remember thinking in the first few rounds that I needed to get my arse in gear and turn it around,” said Blackwell, who lost the opening three rounds to Ryder before clawing back the deficit.

“Gary (Lockett, trainer) was telling me to do stuff and I just couldn’t do it. I was too tense and stiff. I needed to relax, I needed to let my shots flow. After this happened, in the fourth round, I saw signs of Ryder breaking.

“In fact, I was talking to Ryder throughout the whole fight. A lot of people said he was quite mentally weak, so I tried tapping into that. When he picked up a cut, I kept telling him how bad his cut was. When we got into the middle rounds, I kept reminding him that I was just warming up. I could tell it was all playing on his mind and that he was getting weaker and weaker. I think I just mentally destroyed him.

“I then caught him with a right hand that wobbled him, followed by an uppercut and a left hook and he wasn’t in any position to guard himself. Some people said it was a bit of an early stoppage, but I disagree. I tried talking to Ryder after the fight and he was all over the place. He then sat down and spoke to his trainer, Tony Sims, and he said to him, ‘What just happened?’ Ryder didn’t know where he was.”

Despite halting Ryder with a flurry of heavy and hurtful punches, and effectively turning the fight on its head, Blackwell is philosophical about the overall performance. He knows he could have done even better.

“I was annoyed because I know I didn’t perform anywhere near the level I’m capable of,” he said. “But I look at it this way: a bad Nick Blackwell beat a good John Ryder on the night.

“I’ve got loads more to learn and I’ve got loads more to show. I’ve only been with Gary Lockett for two months now and the stuff I’ve learned in that short space of time has already taken me to a different level. I look forward to seeing how much better I can get.

“I hope a lot of other middleweights look at that fight on Saturday and think to themselves, I can beat this Nick Blackwell kid – he doesn’t bring much to the table. Then maybe they’ll stop avoiding me.”

Often avoided, and something of a dark horse in the division, Blackwell now has a title to his name and the backing of promoter Mick Hennessy and Channel 5. And this newfound power, he hopes, will lead him to even bigger and better things in the future.

“I knew it was going to feel good winning the British title, but I didn’t realise quite how good it was going to feel,” he said. “I’m not an emotional person whatsoever and anyone who knows me will say I have never shown emotion at any point in my life. But I started crying on Saturday night and I couldn’t believe it. Suddenly all the ups and downs, all the hard times, came into focus and I just let it all out. It was the best feeling in the world.”

END

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Glassboro, N.J. (Monday, June 1, 2015) – Derrick “Take it to the Bank” Webster (19-0, 10 KOs) scored his second consecutive stoppage victory on Friday night, blasting through gritty 53-bout veteran William Johnson at W.C. Handy Pavilion in Memphis Tennessee. Webster put on arguably the best performance of his professional career in the five-round destruction, which ended via TKO.

“Going into the fight, I didn’t know a whole lot about my opponent,” Webster admitted. “He was a tough guy, a real hard-nosed guy. I would put him in the category of a Darnell Boone (whom Webster defeated via decision in 2013), a guy with a really hard shell. I took care of business with a lot of rapid-fire combinations and kept the jab on him. During this training camp, we focused on a lot of power, so all of my combinations had bad intentions behind them to where he was cut at several different places on his face. As I was hitting him with all of these combinations, I kept looking at the referee to stop the fight. At the end of the day, the guy didn’t do anything wrong to me, so I didn’t want to put any unnecessary harm upon him. I would say it was my best performance as far as punch output, the combinations I put together, and just how poised and focused I stayed inside the ring.”

Now an owner of double-digit knockouts and performing at the highest level of his career, Webster is just outside the door of an opportunity to show the world exactly what kind of fighter he truly is. Arriving to that kind of stage is where the Glassboro native has strived to reach since he first laced up a pair of boxing gloves, and he intends to take full advantage.

“This is such a huge excitement for me,” he said of entering the next chapter of his professional career. “It’s always exciting when you are able to put your craft into action. After all of the pull-outs and date changes that I’ve dealt with throughout my career, I just want to remain busy because I feel like we are truly turning the corner and finding my comfort level inside the ring. Up until this point, I didn’t really feel like I was fighting yet. I was just working off my natural ability. The things I saw in there this fight, along with the growth I’ve seen in myself, I’m ready to show the world what they’ve been missing.”

As far as bout number 20 is concerned, a tentative date is already on the table.

“Right now, we are looking at July 17th in Las Vegas, which is exciting in itself. My entire career, I couldn’t wait to get to Vegas,” Webster stated. “We don’t know the opponent yet, but we’re looking at being a main event or co-feature. We’ll be fighting someone more relevant, which is also exciting. Hopefully, the fight will be for a regional title or more recognized belt.

“Once we get this recognized belt and get world-ranked, I want a world title shot against Miguel Cotto (who defends his WBC belt against Daniel Geale this Saturday in Brooklyn).”

Something that has always followed Webster throughout his career is an incredibly loyal fan base, something of which the undefeated super middleweight has never taken for granted.

“I appreciate everybody’s support, all of those people who have been standing behind me this whole time,” Webster remarked. “The ride is only going to get better from here on out, too. I’m already right back in the gym, and we’re looking to close out the year in fantastic fashion.”

ORANGE, Calif. (June 1, 2015) – Danny Roman (14-2, 5 KOs) came into his “Path to Glory” main event with six straight wins and managed to push that mark to seven with a one-sided, 8-round unanimous decision win against the more seasoned Chris Martin (28-6-3, 9 KOs).

Roman-Martin formed the centerpiece of Thompson Boxing Promotions fifteenth year anniversary show from the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, Calif. It’s the very same venue where Josesito Lopez, Timothy Bradley, and Chris Arreola, among others, mastered their craft before becoming mainstays in the sport.

Roman, a talented super bantamweight from Los Angeles, looked fresh and comfortable against the San Diego based Martin. Martin, as is his tendency, started slow and was unable to pick up momentum. Roman proved too efficient and agile, and won with scores 80-71, all around.

“Our plan was to get him confused,” Roman said. “I was aggressive at first, and then I let him come to me. I think I showed people that I’m a complete boxer. The fact that I won on one of Thompson Boxing’s most memorable nights makes this an even sweeter win.”

“Some people said that we were making a mistake by fighting Chris Martin,” said Eddie Gonzalez, Roman’s manager and trainer. “We were here to prove people wrong. Danny is a very skillful fighter with a high IQ and he showed that on Friday night.”

“Danny is becoming a must watch attraction,” said Ken Thompson, who fifteen years ago founded Thompson Boxing. “He gave the fans a wonderful performance and capped off an exciting fight card.”

“It was an awesome night of boxing,” said Alex Camponovo, matchmaker and general manager for Thompson Boxing. “All the fights were extremely competitive, the atmosphere was electric, and the fans got their moneys’ worth.”

The sold out show from Friday night also featured the always-exciting Juan Reyes (12-2-3, 2 KOs) of Riverside, Calif. Reyes faced veteran Roberto Castaneda (22-9-1, 15 KOs) of Mexico. It was a back and forth fight, but ultimately, Castaneda landed the crisper punches and won by majority decision (59-55, 59-55, 57-57.)

After more than a year away from the ring, former contender Efrain Esquivias (17-4-1, 10 KOs) was outclassed by the younger Jose Haro (9-1-1, 6 KOs). The Salt Lake City native, who fights in the featherweight division, won via unanimous decision with scores, 80-72, 80-72, & 79-73.

Colombian lightweight Cesar Villarraga (7-0, 4 KOs) extended his unbeaten streak to seven, winning a six-round unanimous decision win over Erick Aguirre (6-7-2, 4 KOs). Scores read 60-54, 60-54, & 59-55.

Opening the “Path to Glory” card were welterweights Rigoberto Flores (7-1, 2 KOs) and Luis Hernandez (3-10, 2 KOs). Flores would win by unanimous decision (40-37, 40-36, 39-37).

Thompson Boxing returns to the Doubletree Ontario on Friday, June 26. Details will be announced shorty.

For more information, please visit ThompsonBoxing.com.

For regular updates on our fighters, events, and promotions, please check our Facebook Page, find us on Google+ and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @ThompsonBoxing.

Ray Beltran tested positive for a banned substance after his May 1 knockout win over Takahiro Ao and his June 27 bout with Humberto Soto is off, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“Just disappointed. I’m disappointed for Beltran and I’m disappointed for us, but eventually fighters are going to learn not to try to cheat the system,” Carl Moretti, vice president of Top Rank, Beltran’s promoter, told ESPN.com. “I feel worse about it that it happened to [Ao promoter] Mr. [Akihiko] Honda and our friends from Teiken Boxing and that their fighter, Ao, was hurt by all this.”

“I talked to Ray and he doesn’t think he took anything illegal,” Cameron Dunkin, Beltran’s manager, told ESPN.com. “I asked him if he had been taking any pills and he said he took some supplements he was given by his guys, but he didn’t think they had anything [illegal] in them. I’m getting a list of what he was taking.

“He’s devastated about the Soto fight. Who wouldn’t be? He feels betrayed by somebody who was working with him, but he doesn’t know by who. He has three different guys who work with him but somebody really let him down. Someone didn’t look out for him. This is terrible. There’s nothing else to say.”

BoxingScene first reported the positive test

Moretti said one possible opponent is Jose Felix Jr. (29-1-1, 24 KOs), 23, of Mexico, a Top Rank boxer who is training for a June 13 UniMas-televised bout, but has no opponent yet.

HBO said it plans to keep Soto on the telecast. It is the second fight in a month that has been canceled on Soto, through no fault of his own. The reason HBO found a spot for him on June 27 was because his fight against Frankie Gomez on May 9 at Minute Maid Park in Houston — the co-feature of Canelo Alvarez-James Kirkland — was canceled the day before the bout because Gomez was 6½ pounds overweight at the weigh-in, which cost Soto a low six-figure payday.

NEW YORK (June 1, 2015) – Unbeaten Heavyweight World Champion Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder, confident heavyweight contender Eric “Drummer Boy” Molina and unbeaten junior lightweight Jose “The Sniper” Pedraza participated in Media Day Workouts last Thursday for their fights Saturday, June 13, on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® live on SHOWTIME® (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) at Bartow Arena in Birmingham, Ala.

The power-punching, popular hometown favorite Wilder (33-0, 32 KOs), of Tuscaloosa, Ala., will make the first defense of his title when he meets Molina (23-2, 17 KOs), of Raymondville, Texas, in the main event on June 13. Pedraza (19-0, 12 KOs), of Caguas, Puerto Rico, will meet Andrey Klimov (19-1, 9 KOs), of Klimovski, Russia, in a 12-rounder for the vacant IBF Junior Lightweight World Championship in the co-feature.

Below is what Wilder, Molina and Pedraza said during their separate Media Days in Northport, Ala., Weslaco, Texas and Cidra, Puerto Rico, respectively:

DEONTAY WILDER, Heavyweight World Champion

“It’s definitely a blessing to be able to fight in my state. When we set the goal to be heavyweight champion of the world that was one of the goals we set, to bring it to Alabama. Just to change it up and give Alabama some spice besides football, and to finally get the opportunity to have a major fight in the state of Alabama. This is what we were looking for when we worked to bring the commission here, and we were successful and got it done. This is what we were looking for.

“I want Alabama to be my home territory. It’s why I stay here. Some people still try to throw me out but my heart is here and I’ve got bigger and better plans. This is just the beginning.

“My team handles all the distractions (from fighting at home). I’ve got a wonderful team. I’m just ready to go. I’m ready to get this party started and welcome Molina to Alabama.

“My hand is fine. We tested it yesterday for 10-ounce gloves because that’s the competition weight. We put it on and I felt great. It gave me even more confidence. I’m ready to get in the ring and do what I have to do and perform for my people.’’

(on being world champion)

“We knew we would be doing a lot of traveling after getting the belt but we didn’t know the capacity of how much. It’s been a journey for me.

“I think I bring a different flavor to the sport of boxing, and I want to bring even more to the world.’’

(on Molina)

“I haven’t heard from Molina but that’s good, that means he’s focused. I want him to come very focused. I know he’s going to be nervous and scared, but they say if you back a rabbit in a corner, they fight back.

“I’m most dangerous when I’m at home. I’m not going to let down my home crowd and let someone take what I’ve worked so hard for. He’s not going to come behind enemy lines and take anything from me.

“I want a great performance from him. I want a great performance for the crowd and people to say, ‘Hey, I want to come back for the next one!’ and to be hungry for the next one. We got a lot of fights we want to do in Alabama, and this is just the start. I want to move on from Bartow to the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC), which is bigger than the MGM Grand.

“Every title defense is proving something. I’m the world’s most wanted, and everyone wants it. I’ve got the WBC crown. It’s the most well-known, famous belt in boxing. Everyone wants their name on this belt, and I have it. Every fight is a dangerous fight when I’m putting the belt on the line, and I train as if everyone is a world champion.’’

(on why he’s defending against Molina)

“We have a lot of other opponents, but Molina was the one to understand the opportunity that lies at hand. Some people can price themselves out and some teams make it so difficult that the fight won’t happen. They can really block themselves out from getting the fight. You can have the money or the opportunity. Molina understands what the situation is, and he stepped up to the plate and understands the opportunity at hand to be the World Heavyweight Champion.

“My last fight I proved to everyone what I was capable of. I can go 12 rounds and take a punch. I can be just as fresh in the 12th round as the 1st.

“The sky’s the limit in what we’re trying to do. I represent the state. Even though I’m from Tuscaloosa, it’s not just where my gym is in Northport or Coffeeville. I represent the state of Alabama. I need a home territory and a home state not only where we can bring in local people, bring in the nation, but also bring in the whole world.”

ERIC MOLINA, Heavyweight Contender

“This is the fight that we dream about when we first lace on the gloves and I am extremely excited about the opportunity to fight for the biggest prize in sports, the WBC heavyweight title. I’ve been preparing and training very hard, and I’m almost at the point where we’re ready to go.

“We’ve studied a lot of Wilder, and expect a very physical fight. I think a lot of people are underestimating my strength and power. They know Wilder can punch but they are underestimating the power that I possess.

“We know it’s going be a hostile environment, fighting in basically his backyard, but he’s now the champion and with that he gets an opportunity in his optional title defense (to fight who he wants, where he wants). He gets to enjoy those opportunities, but that’s where I come in.

“Of course, I’m confident I can win the title. I think people look at my record and think this or that, but I don’t feel they understand my entire career, the things I have gone through and overcome, the different angles of boxing that more than meets the eye.

“Nothing against Deontay, who has worked hard to get to where he is, but he doesn’t represent the kind of fighter, in general, that I am. I’ve always had to fight and struggle from fight to fight. I never had a true training camp situation. I’m not saying he had things easy, but I had to work and juggle things to keep going. Only the fighters in my situation can understand it.

“I’ve been boxing for nine years. I have a BS and Master’s Degree and I’m in my fourth year teaching kids with disabilities. Along with boxing, this is what I do. This is who I am, and I am not ashamed of who I am either. I’m proud. If they want to consider me an underdog, fine. But I’m also the guy who got knocked out in his first pro fight and battled back to where I am now and I’m fighting for the championship.

“What people don’t know about me is that my career has been all about determination, strength and struggles. Other boxers, including Bernard Hopkins, lost their first fights and went on to win a world title. I’ve learned a lot from my two losses and now I have the confidence to accomplish anything.

“Bottom line is I am not trying to convince anybody who I am, I just want people to see who the real Eric Molina is — that I am more than what my record on paper indicates. I was NABF champion for a while but could never get a fight so I was dropped from the rankings. It was like I had to start over again. But I stuck to it, and with everything else I had going on outside the ring, things I had to put aside for this fight, still managed to get into the position I’m in now.

“I don’t think there’s ever been a heavyweight contender like me. Where I train, there are no other real heavyweights except for one or two. I have to fly guys in to help me work with the guys already here. I’ve been in camps with Bermane Stiverne; I often had to go to where the sparring was just to get the work.

“I’ve never been in a spot where things have been easy for me in boxing. I never had the odds on my side, the tools, the resources. But I still made it this far and want to go farther.

“I think the first round is very important. I expect that from the get-go that he will feel like he could hurt me, but I also feel very strongly that I could hurt him. So it is very important to be ready for that first bell.

“This is going to be a great fight, much, much better than many may be expecting, and I am ready.’’

JOSE PEDRAZA, Unbeaten Junior Lightweight Contender

“As a Puerto Rican, every time I fight, I fight for the honor of my people. So, on June 13, I won’t only be fighting to win a world title, I’ll be fighting for Cidra, Puerto Rico and for all the Puerto Ricans out there watching me. Puerto Rico needs another champion and I’m here to deliver and make my people proud. I cannot afford to let them down. I won’t let Puerto Rico down. I’ll come back a champion.

“This is a great opportunity fighting on a big show on SHOWTIME. It has taken hard work, dedication and long gym work to obtain this big exposure on SHOWTIME.

“My last fight against Michael Farenas was very important to me because that fight was a title eliminator and, by winning, it opened the door to this fight and finally my dream of becoming world champion is close to arriving.

“It has been a long and hard training camp — intensive. We opened camp in Las Vegas in December. This camp has been special because it is for the world championship.

“Andrey Klimov is a strong boxer, always going forward, the jab and straight right are his best shots. The only thing I see is he is strong and has good fitness. From his last fight against Terrence Crawford I could see that he has problems when he fights a left-handed boxer with good movement. I will be working in side steps and with speed.

“I hope that he comes well prepared for me. We must do our best to give the fans a good show. On June 13, I will be a new champ and after that I want to make two defenses and move to 135.’’

# # #

ALL ACCESS: Deontay Wilder, which chronicle’s the champion’s January fight against Bermane Stiverne and sets the stage as he prepares for his upcoming title defense, premieres on Wednesday, June 3 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

“WILDER vs. MOLINA,” a 12-Round fight for Wilder’s WBC Heavyweight Championship, takes place Saturday, June 13, at The Bartow Arena in Birmingham, Ala. DiBella Entertainment and Bruno Event Team have joined forces to bring this event to Alabama. In the co-main event co-romoted by DiBella in association with Universal Promotions, Jose Pedraza will face Andrey Klimov in a 12-Round bout for the IBF Jr. Lightweight World Title. It will air live on SHOWTIME® (9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT). The telecast will also be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP). Preliminary bouts will be televised live on SHOWTIME EXTREME (7 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).

For more information visit www.sports.sho.com and www.dbe1.com follow on Twitter at @SHOSports, @WilderVSMolina, @BronzeBomber, @LouDiBella and @Swanson_Comm, follow the conversation using #WilderMolina, become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing or visit http://shosportspoundforpound.tumblr.com/

LAS VEGAS (June 1 2015) – The order of bouts is official for World Series of Fighting’s (WSOF.com) much-anticipated, 11-fight Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) world championship doubleheader, live on NBCSN from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on Friday, June 5.

“We are excited to return to Edmonton with a tremendous lineup of fights, including two world championship bouts and a host of matchups featuring some of the sport’s top rising stars and newly discovered talent,” said WSOF President, six-time world champion and two-time Hall of Famer Ray Sefo. “It is going to be yet another memorable night of action in the decagon cage for WSOF and the entire sport of MMA.”

The WSOF 21: “Palmer vs. Horodecki” three-fight preliminary card will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT (5:30 p.m. local time), and stream live on an embeddable video player on WSOF.com. The four-fight, live NBCSN televised main card will begin at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT (7 p.m. local time).

Immediately after the conclusion of the main event, the action will continue with a four-bout postliminary card, beginning at 11:05 p.m. ET/8:05 p.m. PT (9:05 p.m. local time), live on WSOF.com.

WSOF 21: “Palmer vs. Horodecki” will be headlined by a WSOF world featherweight (145 pounds) championship showdown between reigning kingpin Lance Palmer (9-1) and battle-tested veteran Chris “The Polish Hammer” Horodecki (21-5-1). In the co-main event, WSOF World Heavyweight Champion Smealinho “The Prince” Rama (9-1) will risk his crown for the first time against Bulgarian standout Blagoi Ivanov (11-1).

Priced from $56, tickets for WSOF 21: “Palmer vs. Horodecki,” which takes place at the Edmonton Expo Centre, are on sale at Ticketmaster.com.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Bout # 1, Bantamweight (135 pounds) : Michael Hay (1-1) vs. Louie Grover (1-2)
Bout # 2, Lightweight (155 pounds): Mike Scarcello (7-3-1) vs. Dan Lariviere (4-2)
Bout # 3, Middleweight (185 pounds): Marcus Hicks (20-24) vs. Matt Baker (12-7)

MAIN CARD

Bout # 4, Featherweight (145 pounds) Bout:
Hakeem Dawodu (4-0) vs. Chuka Willis (4-0)

Bout # 5, Welterweight (170 pounds) Swing Bout:
Mark Drummond (7-2) vs. Michael Hill (7-3)

Bout # 6, World Heavyweight Championship Co-Main Event:
(Champion) Smealinho Rama (9-1) vs. (Challenger) Blagoi Ivanov (11-1)

Bout # 7, World Featherweight Championship Main Event:
(Champion) Lance Palmer (9-1) vs. (Challenger) Chris Horodecki (21-5-1)

POSTLIMINARY CARD

Bout # 8, Lightweight: Roger Alves (2-1) vs. Danny Doig (2-2)
Bout # 9, Lightweight: Garrett Nybakken (7-7) vs. Nick Hrabec (3-1)
Bout # 10, Lightweight: Tim Smith (14-8) vs. Spencer Rohovie (9-7)
Bout # 11, Catchweight (165 pounds): Stephen Beaumont (7-2) vs. Jose Rodriguez (7-2)

About “World Series of Fighting” (WSOF)
“World Series of Fighting” (WSOF) is a world wide premier professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight promotion dedicated to delivering the best action-packed fights for fight fans by producing the best possible match-ups between elite fighters from around the world. For more information please visit WSOF.com. Follow “World Series of Fighting” on Twitter @MMAWorldSeries and “World Series of Fighting” President Ray Sefo @SugarRaySefo.

ABOUT NBCSN
NBCSN, part of the NBC Sports Group, is dedicated to serving passionate sports fans. Now in more than 85 million homes, the Emmy Award-winning network is the cable television home of the Summer and Winter Olympics, National Hockey League (NHL) – including two games of the Stanley Cup Final — Premier League, Formula One, IndyCar, Tour de France, the 34th America’s Cup, and beginning in 2015, NASCAR. In addition, NBCSN features college football, college basketball, college hockey, cycling, outdoor programming, horse racing surrounding the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup, Fight Night boxing, Ironman, the Dew Tour and USA Sevens Rugby. The network is also home to original programs such as Costas Tonight, NFL Turning Point, Pro Football Talk, The Dan Patrick Show, and NASCAR America. NBCSN is distributed via cable systems and satellite operators throughout the United States.

Valley Forge, PA (June 1, 2015)–On Saturday night, June 20, King’s Boxing will present a championship night of boxing at the Valley Forge Casino Resort.

In the main event, Garrett “The Ultimate Warrior” Wilson will take on Anthony Caputo Smith in a 10-round battle for the Pennsylvania Cruiserweight championship.

Wilson of Philadelphia has a record of 13-9-1 with 7 knockouts and has lived up to his nickname as he is willing to fight anybody at anytime. He has fought seven undefeated fighters and countless contenders.

Wilson, 32 won the USBA Cruiserweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Omar Sheika. He defended the the twice with thrilling knockout wins over Chuck Mussachio (17-1-2) and Andres Taylor (20-1-2).

Those fights set him for an IBF Elimination bout against Alexander Alekseev (23-2-1).

Wilson fought well but came up just short on the scorecards. In his next bout, Wilson jumped up to Heavyweight to fight current number-one ranked Vychslav Glazkov. Wilson took the fight on two days notice and gave a good account of himself before dropping a decision.

Wilson will be looking to break a 4-fight losing streak.

Caputo Smith of Kennett Square, PA has a record of 15-4 with 10 knockouts.

The 30 year-old is like Wilson as he willing to fight anybody.

He won his first thirteen bouts and then captured the Pennsylvania Light Heavyweight title with a 10-round unanimous decision over Dhafir Smith. Caputo Smith then stepped up and lost to undefeated Seanie Monaghan (18-0) on the Juan Manuel Marquez – Timothy Bradley Pay Per View undercard in Las Vegas.

Caputo Smith moved up to win the Pennsylvania Cruiserweight title with a 10-round split decision over Tony Ferrante.

Caputo Smith is on a two fight losing streak after dropping fights to BJ Flores (29-1-1) and former interim world champion Ola Afolabi (20-3-4).

In the 8-round co-feature, Keenan Collins (15-9-3, 10 KO’s) of York, PA will take on Pavel Miranda (19-10-1, 6 KO’s) of Tijuana, Mexico in a Middleweight bout.

In 6-round bouts:

Coy Evans (10-2-1, 2 KO’s) will fight Jose Bustos (7-4-3, 4 KO’s) of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico in a Jr. Lightweight bout.

Earl Newman (5-0, 4 KO’s) of Brooklyn, NY will fight Lamont Capers (5-6) of Hawley, PA in a Cruiserweight bout.

John Magda (10-0, 7 KO’s) of Rutherford, NJ will take on an opponent to be named in a Super Middleweight bout.

Stephen Fulton (5-0, 2 KO’s) of Philadelphia will take on an opponent to be named in a Featherweight bout.

Samuel Quinones (8-3, 3 KO’s) of York, PA will fight an opponent to be named in a Jr. Welterweight bout.

Lightweight Milton Santiago (10-0, 3 KO’s) of Philadelphia, PA will take on an opponent to be named

In 4-rounds bouts:

Kevin Garcia (1-1) of Phoenixville, PA will fight Jack Grady (0-1) of Buffalo, NY in a Lightweight bout.

Eric Spring (5-0, 1 KO) will take on Robert Sweeney (3-2) of Hampton, VA in a Jr. Middleweight bout.

Tickets are priced at $100, $75 and $50 and can purchased at ticketmaster and www.ticketmaster.com

The 1st bout will start at 6:45 PM with the doors opening at 6 PM.

New York, June 1-Star Boxing president Joe DeGuardia says that Chris Algieri “clearly established himself as a legitimate contender” in the welterweight division in spite of the 12-round decision loss to Amir Khan last Friday night (May 29) at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

In the most aggressive performance of his 22-fight professional career, Algieri was moving forward throughout the 12-round tilt, putting the pressure on Khan from the outset. It was a courageous effort for the Long Island product during an action-packed tilt which went to the judges’ scorecards. Joe Pasquale andBenoit Roussel both scored the fight 117-111. But Don Ackerman’s card had it much closer – 115-113 – and many ringside observers, and those watching on television, scored it that close (Spike TV televised as part of the Premier Boxing Champions series).

Algieri fought with purpose and aggression, and the statistics provided byCompuBox after the fight indicated that. Algieri threw 703 punches, landing 199, while Khan was 218 for 609. In the power punch department, the totals were 145 of 433 for Algieri compared to 154 of 333 for Khan.

“I thought I did great pressuring him,” Algieri said. “I got my touches in. He definitely didn’t like it when I got into his body. I thought I hurt him several times. But Khan is a cagey guy, and he spun off. I guess the judges liked that. I thought the cleaner, harder shots would get more respect.”

Khan praised Algieri following the decision saying: “I give Chris a lot of credit. He came forward more than I expected.”

DeGuardia says that he will evaluate the timing and possible opponents for Algieri’s next fight in the days and weeks ahead.

For more information visit official website at www.StarBoxing.com and follow on Twitter @ Star Boxing and Facebook.com/StarBoxing.

Anthony Yigit (13-0-1, 5 KOs) will face Tony Owen (16-3, 3 KOs) on June 20 as part of an action-packed Nordic Fight Night event at the Ballerup Super Arena in Copenhagen.

The Swedish southpaw returns to the ring following a one-sided points victory over EBU-EU Light Welterweight Champion Timo Schwarzkopf, and is eager to prove his pedigree once again as he prepares to go toe-to-toe with the tough Englishman Owen.

‘’I think our styles will make for a great fight,’’ said the 23 year-old. ‘’Tony is a tall southpaw, and like all British boxers, he will be coming to fight. He’s not going to back down, he won’t be scared to stand and trade, and that’s great because neither am I. I think this could be a real slugfest and a fight fans will be talking about for a long time.

‘’I have a lot of respect for Tony, it will be a tough fight, but I’m confident in my own ability and I honestly don’t see this fight going the distance. He is going to want to stand and fight with me at the beginning but as the rounds go on he will lose heart. I will gradually break him down and then stop him in the later rounds.’’

In recent months, Yigit has begun to live up to his amateur billing. Back-to-back show stealing performances against Kim Poulsen (TKO6) and Timo Schwarzkopf (UD10) have given Swedish fans much hope for the future. As the London 2012 Olympian prepares for his fifteenth professional contest, he is confident that his transition to the paid ranks is almost complete.

‘’It takes time to make that transition from amateur to pro,’’ reflects the Stockholm fighter. ‘’I had a lot of experience and a lot of success in the amateur ranks, but it has taken me a while to adapt to the professional game. Now, everything is starting to come together and the results are showing in the ring.

‘’I know I’m not the finished article yet. I’m still only 23 years old and I still have a long way to go, but I’m getting there. There are still areas to improve on, but once I get them down, you will see a more complete fighter. That will come with age and experience. For now, I’m happy with my progress and I’m ready to get another win under my belt on June 20.’’

Yigit joins a star-studded Scandinavian line up for the Nordic Fight Night on June 20 at the Ballerup Super Arena in Copenhagen. Danish super middleweight Patrick Nielsen (25-1, 12 KOs) defends his WBA International title against Charles Adamu (23-6, 17 KOs), while rising featherweight talent Dennis Ceylan (14-0-1, 7 KOs) takes on Sergio Prado (10-4-1, 4 KOs). All the action will be shown live on TV10 in Sweden. Tickets are available via billetlugen.dk.

Johannesburg, South Africa (June 1) – Aware of the red-hot action at the top of the light-heavyweight division, IBO champion Tommy Oosthuizen intends crashing the party before the year is out.

The unbeaten South African (24-0-2, 14 KOs) defends his title for the first time at Emperors Palace, east of Johannesburg, on Saturday against Robert Berridge (26-2-1, 21 KOs) of New Zealand.
He tops the “D-Day at the Palace” tournament, which includes world-rated Mateusz Masternak against Johnny Muller in an intriguing 10-rounder.
After Saturday, Oosthuizen intends chasing down WBC champion Adonis Stevenson for a September showdown. Promoter Rodney Berman has already entered negotiations with the lineal champion’s management.
Oosthuizen has beaten a slew of contenders, chiefly countryman Ryno Liebenberg, plus Ezequiel Maderna, Serge Yannick and Marcus Johnson, but is desperate to nail a “name” opponent.
In 2014, while still campaigning at super-middleweight, there were moves to match him with Andre Ward, a fight that would have placed Oosthuizen firmly in the spotlight.
The fast-handed southpaw admits that the failure to secure a major match-up has seen him lose focus and allow his discipline to wane. Berman has had him on the carpet a number of times for his late-night carousing and slack attitude to training, but ever since he was handed a final warning Oosthuizen has been on the straight and narrow.
“I’m definitely taking the sport more seriously. I was waiting for the big fights. They never came, so I got bored,” he says. “I neglected the game, never showed it enough respect. But that’s behind me. I practically live in the gym now.”
Oosthuizen turned in a career-best performance in dominating rugged Liebenberg in March. He was in the gym soon after, although he had to change tack three weeks ago when Roberto Bolonti, his original opponent, reneged on his contract with Golden Gloves. Berridge, a fellow southpaw, then stepped in.
Fortunately Oosthuizen had been helping cruiserweight Thabiso Mchunu, another left-hander, with sparring for his recent bout. Stablemates Flo Simba and Johnny Muller have also provided sparring.
Oosthuizen has studied a couple of Berridge’s fights on video. He sees a man who clearly comes to fight.
“He’s a top competitor, someone willing to give what it takes. He’s a tough, strong guy with a will to win. The trouble for him is that my head’s back in the right place. I’m comfortable at light-heavy, which is an exciting division with lots of competition.”
With just two draws in an otherwise flawless 26-fight career, Oosthuizen claims he has never been hurt as a pro fighter. “I was hurt emotionally by those two draws, because I know I’m better than that. But I’ve never been shook up . . . that’s the truth.”
He says no single opponent has stood out for his power, although he rates American contender Marcus Johnson, whom he beat on points in Oklahoma three years ago, as his toughest opponent. “He was a hot prospect and came hungry. But I handled him.”
Surveying the current landscape at light-heavyweight, he rates both Sergey Kovalev, the WBA, IBF and WBO champion, and Stevenson as outstanding adversaries.
“They deserve to be on top. They wouldn’t be there if they didn’t impress the world. I’d fight either of them. I’m ready now, I just need the chance. I want the big names.
”I know people said I looked good against Liebenberg, but that wasn’t my best. I was probably at my best when I stopped Evert Bravo in nine rounds in a title fight four years ago. As good as that was, though, my best is still to come.”
Oosthuizen’s new attitude, which suggests he may have finally left his tearaway days behind him, points to a dangerous fighter.
He needs to win well against Berridge this Saturday. Only then will the super fights he craves come into the reckoning.
Undercard action includes a WBA Pan-Africa lightweight title fight between former IBF champion Mzonke Fana and hot prospect Xolisani Ndongeni, plus Luyando Jako of South Africa against unbeaten Roman Zhailauov of Kazakhstan in an eight-round welterweight clash.
Heavyweights Ruann Visser and Steve Shumba clash over four.

LONDON (1 JUNE) Yorkshireman Bob Ajisafe will compete for the vacant Commonwealth light-heavyweight title against Kenya’s Daniel Wanyonyi on June 13 in Bristol.

The fight will act as chief support to Lee Haskins’ IBF interim world bantamweight title clash with Ryosuke Iwasa and takes place over a scheduled twelve rounds. It will be televised on Channel 5.

Twenty-six-year-old Wanyonyi is based in Nairobi, Kenya and boasts a professional record of 21-6-2 (17 KOs). Known for his punch power and exciting style, Wanyonyi recovered from a patchy start to his eight-year professional career to win the Kenyan title and the African Boxing Union title.

In winning the latter, he defeated the unbeaten and highly-touted Matamba Debatch Postolo in Kinshasa, Zaire last June. The fight marked the first time Wanyonyi had gone twelve rounds in his career and he passed the test with flying colours, taking a unanimous decision at the bout’s conclusion.

Leeds man Ajisafe, meanwhile, is the current British light-heavyweight champion and the proud winner of Channel 5’s MaxiNutrition Knockout Tournament. The 30-year-old impressively stopped finalist Matty Clarkson in four rounds to lift the trophy last November and has now won seven fights in a row, five of which have ended in stoppage.

‘Lionheart’ Bob, 15-2 (6 KOs), has fought for the Commonwealth title once before – he lost a unanimous decision to Tony Bellew in 2010 – but is currently in the form of his life and appears more than equipped to pick up another belt and continue his journey up the world rankings.

*** Lee Haskins and Ryosuke Iwasa fight for the vacant IBF Interim World Bantamweight Title and Bob Ajisafe and Daniel Wanyonyi fight for the vacant Commonwealth light-heavyweight title on June 13 at Bristol’s Action Indoor Sports Arena. For tickets, please contact the Ticketline Box Office on 0844 888 4402 or Sanigar Events on 0117 949 6699 ***

FOLLOW US ON ON TWITTER @HENNESSYSPORTS
For more information on Channel 5, MaxiNutrition, Sanigar Events and Hennessy Sports:

www.channel5.com
www.maxinutrition.com
www.hennessysports.com
www.westcountryboxing.com

FOR ALL THE LATEST NEWS VISIT WWW.HENNESSYSPORTS.COM

Prospect Boxing owner Paul Graham has made his blueprint for running successful boxing promotions company which ensures he keeps his boxers and himself busy throughout the season. Reflecting on his time a professional promoter, Graham shares some of the lessons he has learned ” Not every lad that turns over from the amateurs will be British, European or World title contenders but with dedication and hard work and the right matchmaking, most can fight for at least a Scottish area title, which if matched correctly can provide both the fighters and the punters the same entertainment you would expect on some of the televised shows. Its this level of matchmaking that i have tried to push through on all my shows”

In the short time that he has been promoting after 12 Years and officiating in over 600 bouts as a referee Paul has now successfully put together 20 promotions under the guise of the BBBOC, which have featured Scottish, British Masters and WBO European title fights.

In an ever changing marketplace, which has seen more boxing on television than ever, Graham is clear how the non televised shows can maintain there presence “It’s no secret that the key to small hall promotions that have no TV or big sponsorship deals is ticket sales, and while we always welcome sponsorship from local business to help towards the costs of a show,t it’s a necessary evil that all young boxers have to chap doors, get on facebook and twitter and generally bang their own drum and sell tickets to cover the cost of their fights. We also provide regular mail shots to local press where we can to help get the word out.

“Only last week, I went around local pubs, clubs, shops and hairdressers putting up nearly 75 posters and distributing flyers to help promote my next show in Fauldhouse welfare on Friday 5th June features Four fights, food and entertainment and after party in the Commercial bar all for £40. Not a bad evening’s entertainment if I say so myself.

He adds “So if I can put together 3 or 4 Miners welfare type shows and or 3 larger shows with 12-14 contests that have been very successful at The Ravenscraig regional Sports facility in Motherwell, we’re looking at 6 plus shows per year. To achieve this output i work close with Tommy Gilmour MBE, Iain Wilson and Colin Bellshaw at the St Andrews Sporting club, Stevie McGuire at SM promotions in Fife, Granite City Promotions in Aberdeen. As a result some of my fighters will take 50/50 fights away from home to gain experience and further their ambitions, these fights are crucial to building a fighter and also getting them up the rankings. With a high volume of shows and my extensive experience, and possible title fights there’s no reason for anyone looking to turn over to the pros not to come with us!

Our next two promotions booked are
Friday 5th June, Fauldhouse Miners Welfare, West Lothian 4 fights, entertainment, curry n chips and after party.
Saturday 5th Sep, Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility, 14 contests with a title fight to be confirmed

Contact Paul at Prospect boxing page on twitter, Face book, info@prospectboxing.co.uk paulgraham@prospectproperties.co.uk or 01698 338888 or 07801735598 if you want to join us on the journey.

Tacoma, WA (May 30, 2015) Continuing their trend of putting on incredible fights each and every time, the Battle at the Boat series hosted their 101st event live from the Emerald Queen Casino on Saturday, May 30th . A packed house inside the I-5 showroom was treated to what is sure to be one of the most talked about fight cards of the year.

In the main event of the evening, Tacoma’s own Mike “Imagine Me” Gavronski (18-1-1) took on Tyrell “Hollywood” Hendrix (11-7-2) in a rematch of their classic 2011 draw which was televised on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights. The disdain between the two men was obvious, even leading to an intense scuffle at the previous day’s weigh-ins. The two traded haymakers early on, with neither man able to gain the advantage. However, the always-dangerous Gavronski was able to find his groove in the later rounds, sending Hendrix to the canvas in the ninth. When his opponent was unable to recover before the referee’s 10-count, the hometown crowd went crazy, celebrating their hometown heroes TKO victory.

The co-main event was a short one, with Vancouver native Virgil “Black Mamba” Green (11-4) knocking out Marcelino Pineda (5-1) just one minute into the very first round. A brutal hook from Green sent his opponent to the canvas ending the fight.

In what turned out to be one of the more intriguing bouts of the evening, undefeated Ray “Lightning Jr” Lampkin (8-0–, 2 KOs) took on Yakima’ Andres Reyes (3-1) in a 5 round featured bout. The overly confident Lampkin landed quick flurries and stayed busy throughout the fight. Despite the difference in professional experience, Reyes was undaunted, answering his opponent punch for punch. In the end, Lampkin remained undefeated with a majority decision victory.

Three incredible undercard contests highlighted this incredible night of fights. Those results are as follows:

Jason Davis (13-10-2, 4 KOs) def. Daryl Gardner (2-6-1, 2 KOs) via 2nd round KO

Sean Gee (2-0) def. Antonio Neal (3-2, 3 KOs) via Majority Decision (40-36; 40-36; 38-38)

Guillermo Maldonado (1-0) def. Bobby McIntyre (0-1) via Unanimous Decision (40-36; 39-37; 39-37)

Next up from Halquist Productions, Super Fight League 41, live from the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma on Saturday July 11th at 7:00PM. Tickets are on sale now through the Emerald Queen Casino box office as well as all Ticketmaster locations. For more info, please visit www.halquistproductions.com along with the CagesSport MMA and Battle at the Boat Facebook pages.