HBO Boxing begins a new season with the final chapter in a heated rivalry when HBO BOXING AFTER DARK: MIKE ALVARADO VS. BRANDON RIOS 3 AND GILBERTO RAMIREZ VS. MAXIM VLASOV is seen SATURDAY, JAN. 24 at 9:45 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT) from 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo., exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team will be ringside for the event, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

Other HBO playdates: Jan. 25 (10:15 a.m.) and 26 (11:30 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: Jan. 25 (4:45 p.m.) and 27 (11:50 p.m.)

Alvarado and Rios own one victory apiece in a rivalry that would stand out in any era. Their previous encounters, in 2012 and 2013, were memorable slugfests that had fans on the edge of their seats from the opening bell. Now, they’ll meet in 12-round welterweight showdown before a partisan Alvarado crowd.

Boasting a loyal following, Denver’s Alvarado (34-3, 23 KOs) has battled many top talents in the 140- and 147-pound weight classes, including Juan Manuel Marquez, Ruslan Provodnikov, Mauricio Herrera and Mike Dallas Jr. His crowd-pleasing style is an ideal match for Oxnard, Cal. native Brandon Rios (32-2-1, 22 KOs), who never backs down and has squared off recently with Manny Pacquiao and Diego Chaves.

Previewing the bout, is the special “Road to Alvarado-Rios 3,” which replays Saturday, Jan. 24 (11:45 a.m. ET/PT) on HBO and is available on HBO ON DEMAND® and HBO GO®.

Following the first Rios-Alvarado fight, Yahoo! Sports wrote, “Each round was bitterly contested and the advantage would swing from one guy to the other like a pendulum,” adding that it was “one of the most sensational bouts in a long time.”

Opening the telecast, Mexico’s Gilberto Ramirez (30-0, 24 KOs) makes his HBO debut in a ten-round light heavyweight matchup with Russia’s Maxim Vlasov (30-1, 15 KOs). Ramirez, who is moving up in weight to take on Vlasov, relies on knockout power and ring savvy; appearing on HBO Latino in November, he stopped Fulgencio Zuniga in the eighth round. Vlasov has won his last 11 fights.

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 HBO BOXING AFTER DARK is Rick Bernstein; producer, Dave Harmon; director, Johnathan Evans.

® HBO BOXING AFTER DARK is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.

LONDON (21 Jan) – Brandon Rios has labelled his trilogy showdown with nemesis Mike Alvarado a ‘do or die’ affair, admitting he may hang up his gloves if he loses.

The all-action welterweight star will meet the exciting 34-year-old Alvarado in battle for the third time this weekend, following two epic clashes in which they share a win apiece.

Ahead of the edge-of-the-seat matchup, live and exclusive on BoxNation, Rios has predicted fireworks when he steps into the ring, for what could be the last time in his thrilling career.

“I am ready for anything Mike Alvarado brings to the table. I know all his tricks. He can’t surprise me this time. For both of us it’s do or die. If I lose this fight I may just call it a day as a fighter. I’ve been at this a long time,” said Rios.

“This will be the best fight of the trilogy, as it should be. No one should be surprised if this fight ends in a knockout. It’s happened once already. I’m not looking for the knockout but you can bet I won’t be avoiding it if the opportunity presents itself.

“I am so ready for chapter three this Saturday night. This is the ending the fans have been waiting for and I promise you they will not be disappointed,” Rios said.

The duo first met in the ring in October 2012 with Rios coming through as the victor when he stopped Denver born Alvarado in round seven following a relentless toe-to-toe clash, which many experts labelled their ‘Fight of the Year’.

Five months later and they were doing it all again in similarly rousing fashion, this time at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, but it was to be a different outcome with Alvarado stealing the show in a close 12-round unanimous points win.

This time round, however, former WBA lightweight world champion Rios has revealed he has gone back to basics to ensure it is his hand which is raised at the 1stBank Center in Bloomfield, Colorado.

“Our first two fights were exciting and have become legendary. I am proud to be associated with them and with Mike Alvarado,” said Rios.

“We gave the fans and ourselves the best we had to offer and produced spectacular performances. It was so intense and so close. All I kept thinking in each fight was ‘Don’t stop. Keep moving forward.’

“For this one Robert [Garcia] and I are working on using the ring in case Alvarado tries to run. The training method I am using is going back to the basics that I used in our first fight.

“I expect Alvarado to do what he did in the second fight, which is to run and move. He thinks I’m going to follow him like I did in the second fight. We are working on everything we think he will be bringing to the table, but this time we will be 100% ready for him,” said Rios.

The tough and durable Alvarado, though, is of the belief that a leopard doesn’t change its spots and knows full well what to expect from the unrelenting Rios.

“I will not fight his fight. I am sticking to our plan. But you can bet I will shoot the works when I have him in my sights,” said Alvarado.

“I feel great. I know the kind of fight this will be. He’s going to try to cut off the ring and when he does, he’ll open himself up and when he does that I will be cracking him.

“Fighting Brandon Rios has and continues to be an honour. This is a trilogy fans will remember for a very long time. We are entertainers and our fight on Saturday will be the grand finale. I intend to start the fireworks early in the fight,” he said.

Alvarado vs Rios is live on BoxNation (Sky 437/490HD, Virgin 546, TalkTalk 525) this Saturday night. Visit boxnation.com to subscribe.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (Jan. 21, 2015) – M-1 Global’s 2015 season-opening event, M-1 Challenge 55: Guram Gugenishvili Memorial Show, is gradually developing into an exciting, stacked event on February 21 in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The latest fights to be added to M-1 Challenge 55, dedicated to the memory of the first M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion, Guran Gugenishvili, is an intriguing middleweight clash between American invader Luigi “The Italian Tank” Fioravanti and Georgian favorite Nodar Kudukhashvili, along with undefeated featherweight prospect Pavel Vitruk taking on upset-minded Max Coga.

Last week, M-1 Global announced two heavyweight fights for M-1 Challenge 55: past M-1 Challenge title challenger Denis Smoldarev (9-1-0, 3 KO/TKO, 4 SUB), of Estonia, vs. Croatian challenger Maro Perak (23-4-1, 12 KO/TKO, 7 SUB), as well as former M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion Kenny “Deuce” Garner (14-8-0, 7 KO/TKO, 3 SUB), of America, vs. Chechen prospect Aslambek “Titan” Musaev(5-1-0, 1 KO/TKO, 2 SUB).

M-1 Challenge 55 will be streamed live in high definition on www.M1Global.TV. Viewers will be able to watch the preliminary fights and main card by logging on to register at www.M1Global.TV. Fans may watch all of the action on their computers, as well as on Andriod and Apple smart phones and tablets.

Fioravanti (25-12-0, 10 KO/TKO, 6 SUB), fighting out of Florida, is coming off of an impressive first-round stoppage (punches) of
Ruslan Khaskhanov this past December at
M-1 Challenge 54 & ACB 12. He recently signed a new promotional contract with M-1 Global.

The 33-year-old Italian-American joined the U.S. Marines after graduating from high school. He started training in kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in California and Iraq while active in the military. Fioravanti, who holds a second-degree black belt in Pancrase Pankration, has won three of his last four fights

Kudukhashvili (7-1-0, 2 KO/TKO, 3 SUB) is considered one of the strongest of a new generation of Georgian MMA fighters. In 2013, he won the WMMAA championships, defeating Russian champion Shamil Abdulaev in the final competition.

In eight professional MMA fights to date, Kudukhashvili has lost only once, by third-round decision to Jamaican-born Uriah “Prime Time” Hall, winner of the The Ultimate Fighter 17. Kudukhashvili will be making his M-1 Global debut against Fioravanti.

The 24-year-old Vitruk (12-0-0, 3 KO/TKO, 2 SUB) , fighting out of Ukraine, is a rising M-1 Challenge star with a perfect 5-0 record in M-1 Challenge competition dating back to 2013 at M-1 Challenge: Fedor vs. Rizzo. Considered one of the best featherweight prospects in the MMA world today, Vitruk was 2-0 last year, defeating a pair of Brazilians challengers, Rafael Miranda (KO/TKO1 – punches) at M-1 Challenge 53 and Clayton Santos (SUB1 – punches) at M-1 Challenge 46.

Training out of the famed Alexander Nevsky Club in St. Petersburg, Russia, Vitruk has his sights firmly set on M-1 Challenge featherweight champion Ivan Buchinger, who is a Team MMA Spirit stablemate of Coga.

A lightweight champion at home in Germany, Coga will be in fighting in his second M-1 Challenge event having lost last May by first-round knockout (kick) to lightweight contender Max Divnich at M-1 Challenge 47.

The loss to Divnich resulted in a Team Coga decision for him to drop down one weight division to featherweight. In his last action, Coga bounced back strong with an impressive victory in his featherweight debut this past November at Fair FC 2, stopping previously undefeated (5-0-0 pro, 4-0-0 amateur records) Gabriel Sobo in the third round.

All fights and fighters are subject to change.

Fight Network will air M-1 Challenge 55 live on Cablevision’s Optimum TV, Grande Communications, Shentel Cable and Armstrong Cable in the U.S., as well as nationwide in Canada, Roku devices across North America, and globally in more than 30 countries throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Information

www.mixfight.ru
www.wmmaa.org
www.M1Global.tv
www.M-1Global.com

Twitter & Instagram:

@M1Global
@VadimFinkelchtein
@M1GlobalNews

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/pages/M-1-Global/145250878842244
ABOUT M-1 GLOBAL: Founded in 1997, M-1 Global has established itself in the realm of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) as the premiere entity for discovering and developing the world’s next-generation of superstar fighters. With offices in St Petersburg, Amsterdam and Los Angeles and affiliates in Seoul, Tokyo and Paris, the M-1 brand has staged more than 150 events worldwide, including the M-1 Selection, M-1 Challenge and M-1 Global and M-1 Global HWGP events, in addition to co-promoting Strikeforce events and M-1 Global on the Showtime network in the United States. Captivating live, television and broadband audiences with its superior production values and matchups, M-1 Global events have featured some of the sport’s top names, including Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Aleksander Emelianenko, Gegard Mousasi, Alistair Overeem, Keith Jardine, Ben Rothwell, Melvin Manhoef, Roman Zentsov, Yushin Okami, Mike Pyle, Denis Kang, Martin Kampmann, Amar Suloev, Chalid Arrab and Stephan Struve. 2014 promises to be another sensational year of world-class competition with a full calendar of Challenge events fueled by a talent-rich contention system ranking M-1 Global’s Champions amongst the greatest in the sport. M-1 Global’s greatest asset is renowned heavyweight fighter, Fedor Emelianenko.

ABOUT M-1GLOBAL.TV: Enjoy MMA action now in high definition brought to you by M-1Global.tv, offering only the best fights from M-1 Global and other MMA organizations. M-1Global.tv is a great platform developed specifically to bring together the most exhaustive fight video database. It also provides an easy and intuitive interface, helping everyone to start using the platform in no time while avoiding any spoilers. Besides watching the past fights on demand at any time convenient to the customer, viewers are able to enjoy the action LIVE, all available to M-1Global.tv users through a low-priced month to month digital subscription. Your world of action. Anytime!

David Price (18-2, 15 KOs) will face Irineu Beato Costa Junior (16-2, 14 KOs) on February 21 at the O2 World in Berlin, Germany. The heavyweights go toe-to-toe on the undercard of the WBO World Super Middleweight rematch between Arthur Abraham (41-4, 28 KOs) and Paul Smith (35-4, 20 KOs), live on Sky Sports.

Price returns, following a six-month injury lay-off, ready to kick-start his 2015 with a ten-round contest against the 34 year-old Brazilian, Costa Junior. ‘’I can’t wait to get back in the ring and remind everybody what I’m all about,’’ said the former British and Commonwealth Champion.

‘’Costa Junior is exactly the type of opponent I wanted. He’s got a decent record, similar to my own, with sixteen wins and only two defeats. Last year, he went twelve rounds with Christian Hammer, so we know he’s no mug. It will be another step up, but I think he will bring out the best in me. I’m confident I will get the win.’’

The O2 World could prove to be a home away from home for the 6ft 8’’ heavyweight, with thousands of British fans expected to make the trip over to Berlin. ‘’The support from Liverpool will be fantastic,’’ said Price. ‘’There will be loads of fans coming over to get behind Paul and myself. I’m looking forward to being a part of such a big card. It will set up me up nicely for a ‘homecoming’ fight later this year.’’

‘’2015 is going to be a huge year for Pricey,’’ said promoter Kalle Sauerland. ‘’That starts in Berlin on February 21. Costa Junior is a serious opponent. With a convincing victory, we can send a message to all the heavyweights around the world – the big man is back and he means business!’’

Tickets for ‘Judgement Day: Abraham vs. Smith II’ featuring David Price’s heavyweight showdown with Irineu Beato Costa Junior on February 21 at the O2 World in Berlin, Germany are available via tickethall.de.

MIAMI (Jan. 21, 2015) Olympic gold medalist, 10-time world champion in six weight divisions and leading boxing promoter Oscar De La Hoya will launch a new Spanish-language sports, travel and lifestyle cable television channel called De La Hoya TV, the “Golden Boy” announced today at the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) annual conference in Miami.

Offering news, analysis and original programming surrounding combat sports including boxing and MMA, the multi-platform network will feature entertainment, travel, lifestyle and news on international sports, giving fans another level of access to the champions of the sports that they love.

“De La Hoya TV will be the premiere authority on boxing and other combat sports, providing fans with a behind-the-scenes look into the world and lifestyles of their favorite athletes,” said De La Hoya, chairman of De La Hoya TV. “The network aims to inspire all to live the life of a champion, delivering exceptional insight into the athletes and featuring entertainment, global destinations, news and more.”

Building on boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya’s brand, De La Hoya TV will launch with Spanish-language content and focus on engaging the U.S. Hispanic market.

Latino audiences, which now total more than 50 million in the U.S., have long fueled the popularity of combat sports, and De La Hoya TV will provide the Hispanic market with an experience that they’ve longed for. Among U.S. Hispanic audiences, boxing is the second most-popular sport after soccer, and recent data suggests that more than 50 percent of the Mixed Martial Arts’ fan base is Hispanic.

The multiplatform network will launch in the spring of 2015 and be available for cable and satellite distribution. Initially launching in Spanish, the network will in the future provide English content, offering today’s modern consumers with multiple options to engage with network programming.

De La Hoya TV is a partnership between Oscar De La Hoya, businessman and international boxing promoter José Alberto “Pepe” Gómez, and media executive and Fashion TV Latin America partner Victor Hugo Montero.

Gomez is a successful business owner and major promoter of Mexican and international boxing. Gomez operates several media companies in Mexico, including a popular newspaper and radio station.

Montero is an experienced television and cable executive, having launched Venezuela’s first cable channel, Sun Channel Tourism Television, which is currently available throughout Latin America. More recently Montero helped re-launched Fashion TV Latin America, an international cable channel.

“In my decades of working in television, I’ve seen few opportunities to connect with an untapped market with such an exponential opportunity for growth. For over a year we have worked on this project and are focused on expanding content from Spanish to include English and make it available to a larger audience, all to serve the consumer’s appetite,” said Victor Hugo Montero, CEO and general manager of De La Hoya TV.

“The popularity of combat sports continues to grow throughout the United States, Latin America and the globe, and now fans will finally have a unique resource to get news and analysis through De La Hoya TV,” said José Alberto “Pepe” Gómez, executive chairman of De La Hoya TV.

De La Hoya TV’s unique content, which will complement existing boxing programming on the established networks, like HBO, SHOWTIME, FOX, and Televisa will help continue to fuel the growth of the sport and the intensity of the fans.

Original production for De La Hoya TV will begin in early 2015, with details on programming schedules to be announced soon. The network is based in Miami, Florida.

ABOUT DE LA HOYA TV
De La Hoya TV is a new multi-platform sports, lifestyle and travel network serving as the authority of boxing and combat sports. Focused on their slogan, Beyond Boxing, the new Spanish-language channel will feature entertainment, tourism, lifestyle, news and international sports, engaging the audience on an exciting adrenaline filled journey with behind the scenes access to the life of their favorite athletes. For more information, visit www.delahoyatv.com and follow De La Hoya TV on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr is looking to fight Andrzej Fonfara in April despite Top Rank claiming to have an exisiting contract.

“We were offered the fight and we took the fight. Both sides agreed to fight, but I can’t tell you the place, I can’t tell you the weight, I can’t tell you the number of rounds, I can’t tell you what network it is on,” said Fonfara promoter Leon Margules said. “But I think it’s a great fight between two fighters who always make good fights. Andrzej understands how important the fight is for his career and he is pretty excited about it.

Top Rank chairman Bob Arum told ESPN.com that he would do everything he could to stop the fight and have Chavez honor his agreement.

“I can tell you one thing — Leon has joined the list of defendants,” Arum said. “They’re violating our contract and we’ll take action. We’re going to take serious action.

“NBC is going to be party to (the lawsuit) also,” Arum said. “I don’t think Showtime will do the fight because they know HBO’s got rights (to Chavez).”

“We’ve offered to do our last fight. Just let us promote our last fight and then they can walk away,” Arum said. “The lawyers have talked. They weren’t getting anywhere. They may resume talking, who knows?”

The fight figures to be at a catch weight somewhere between the 175-pound light heavyweight limit and the 168-pound super middleweight division. Arum said he was told the bout is supposed to be at 172 pounds.

Michael Perez had to hold on for a 10-round unanimous decision over former Lightweight belt holder Miguel Acosta in an action packed slugfest in a Welterweight bout.

Perez started to bleed from the right eye in round four. Perez came back to rock Acosta in round five with a big left hook that cut him over the right eye.

The two waged war and buckled each other several times with Acosta rocking Perez in the last round.

Perez, 140.8 lbs of Newark, NJ won by scores of 96-93 twice and 95-94 is now 22-1. Acosta, 139.3 lbs of Miranda, VEN is now 29-8-2.

In round seven, Acosta went down from what was ruled a punch but from first glance it did not look like a punch landed.

Lamont Roach remained undefeated with a 4th round stoppage over Herbert Quartey in a scheduled 6-round Lightweight bout.

Roach dropped Quartey in round one from a right to the hook. In round four, Roach drilled Quartey with a hard right that deposited him on the seat of his pants.. A follow up flurry that was finished off by a left hook put Quartey on the canvas as referee Steve Smoger stopped the bout at 2:34

Roach, 131.5 lbs of Washington, DC is now 6-0 with 3 knockouts. Quartey, 133.4 lbs of Silver Spring, MD is now 8-11.

Gilbert Alex Sanchez scored a 6-round unanimous decision over Robert Sweeney in a Jr. Middleweight bout.

In round five, Sanchez landed a perfect left hook that put Sweeney on the canvas.

Sanchez, 153.6 lbs of Camden, NJ won by scores of 58-55 on all cards and is now 5-6-1. Sweeney, 151.4 lbs of Manassas, VA is now 3-2.

Carlos Rosario needed 1 right hand to the shoulder to take out Timothy McNair just 33 seconds into their 4-round Lightweight bout.

Rosario, 132.9 lbs of Pennsauken, NJ is now 2-1 with 1 knockout. McNair, 132.8 lbs of Snow Hill, NC is now 0-3.

Mashantucket, CT:
Light Heavyweights Sullivan Barrera (14-0, 9 KOs) and Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy (27-5, 18 KOs) will face off for eight rounds of action on the undercard of the Dargan-Luis card Friday, Jan. 30 at Foxwoods Resort Casino.

Barrera, 32, is from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and made his professional debut in his new home state of Florida in 2009. He won all four of his fights in 2014, three by way of stoppage, and is making his second appearance at Foxwoods. In his last fight at Foxwoods, he stopped Eric Watkins in the sixth round. Sullivan has an impressive 64% (9 of 14) knockout-to-win ratio and his last three victories have come by way of knockout.

Sullivan Barrera
Photo Credits:
Mike Gladysz/Main Events

“I’ve been in camp since the week after my last fight in November,” explained Barrera. “Camp was excellent. I had the chance to work on a lot of different things. I want to thank my team members, including the one and only GGG [Gennady Golovkin], who’s taught me a lot. I am very thankful to have such a great team.”

Barrera’s manager, Luis Molina added, “I am happy to once again have a chance to showcase Sullivan and continue working towards the ultimate goal to be world champion one day.”

This will be Sullivan’s third fight with world-renowned trainer, Abel Sanchez, the same trainer known for his work with middleweight world champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and fellow Main Events’ stable mate Nadjib Mohammedi. Sanchez said, “Jeff Lacy is an experienced, ex-world champion, which cannot be taken lightly. Camp went well. The more time Sullivan and I spend together the easier it becomes for him to see our vision for his career and development towards a world championship and division domination.”

Barrera and Bryant
Photo Credits: David Spagnolo/Main Events

Sullivan added, “I have really worked on many things during this camp; it’s amazing how much there is to learn. I am eager to get in the ring. Facing an ex-world champion in Jeff Lacy is going to be a tough test. I know he cannot be underestimated but I’m ready to go out there and give the fans what they want to see on January 30. It will be another victory and another step towards a world championship.”

Lacy, 37, made his professional debut in 2001 and remained undefeated for over five years. He is coming off an eight-round unanimous decision victory over Timothy Hall, Jr. in his hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida last month. “I’m looking forward to this fight with Barrera,” explained Lacy. “I am sure that by him wanting this fight with me he is too, and that is what hungers me more!” Lacy also has an impressive knockout-to-win ratio of 67% (18 of 27) so this fight is unlikely to go the distance.

Main Events CEO Kathy Duva said, “After 14 fights, it’s time for Sullivan to start stepping up. Jeff Lacy was with Main Events early in his career. He’s a former world champion and a tough competitor. This is the right fight for Sullivan at this point in his career and an opportunity for Jeff to jump-start his own. We’re looking forward to a big year for Sullivan Barrera and it starts on January 30!”

About January 30
Presented by Main Events in association with Greg Cohen Promotions, the Jan. 30 edition of Friday Night Fights on ESPN2 and will take place at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, CT. It features a ten-round lightweight battle between undefeated contender Karl “Dynamite” Dargan (17-0, 9 KOs) against Tony “The Lightning” Luis (18-2, 7 KOs) for the WBC Continental Americas Lightweight Championship in the main event. The co-feature is an eight-round middleweight bout between Thomas Falowo (12-3, 8 KOs) against Russell Lamour (11-0, 5 KOs). The remaining undercard bouts will be announced shortly. Tickets are $40, $60 and $75 and available now through Foxwoods.com and the Foxwoods box office. The doors will open at 5:00 PM ET and the Friday Night Fights telecast will begin at 9:00 PM ET on ESPN2.

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IBF Middleweight champion Jermain Taylor injured his ribs and was arrested again on Monday thus postponing his February 6 title defense with Sergio Mora, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

A woman said Tuesday that Jermain Taylor threatened to fatally shoot her 5-, 3-, and 1-year-old children, and that she knocked the gun away after the cursing middleweight boxing champion put the weapon to her husband’s head in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Monday.

Toya Smith, 40, told The Associated Press that she and her family were having a good time at the city’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade Monday when Taylor produced his boxing belt and asked to get a photo with her son. Smith says her family had never met Taylor before and that it appeared he had been drinking.

“He bent down to give my son the belt and he almost fell over and dropped the belt, and he thought my baby dropped the belt,” Smith told The Associated Press.

“He put [the gun] up against his temple, I jumped in front of it and it went off up into the air,” injuring her husband’s ear, Smith told the AP. “He was going to shoot him, but I saw it, he was going to kill him and I had to hit the gun.”

A Little Rock police report says Taylor was arrested without incident and a gun was recovered. He is charged with five felony counts of aggravated assault, three felony counts of endangering the welfare of a minor and a misdemeanor count of drug possession after he was found to have a small bag of marijuana.

Taylor was released Tuesday from the Pulaski County jail on $50,000 bond. His attorneys did not return phone calls to The Associated Press on Tuesday.

In addition, Taylor’s title defense against Sergio Mora, which was scheduled to headline the Feb. 6 edition of ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights” at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi, is off and unlikely to be rescheduled. His promoter, Lou DiBella, said Taylor suffered a broken rib in a sparring session a few days ago. DiBella said they had hoped to keep the fight together but that X-rays showed a fracture.

“We learned a few days ago that Jermain suffered a rib injury in sparring, and we were getting another opinion and seeing how Jermain felt, and then this incident happened,” DiBella told ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael on Monday. “His fight on Feb. 6 was going to be canceled due to a legitimate injury, a rib fracture, but this obviously is a shocking development no matter what the exact details are, and it leads myself and his management [Al Haymon] to be more concerned with his well being, his mental health and his future than his boxing career.

“Right now there aren’t any plans to reschedule anything or think about his future in the ring until the events surrounding his legal issues are dealt with.”

“He was pointing at the kids, so I jumped in front of him again and said, ‘Please don’t shoot my kids,'” Smith said.

“Do I have bad luck, or do I have bad luck? I am getting so used to this,” Mora told ESPN.com about having his title shot canceled. “If I didn’t have Lou and [adviser] Al Haymon scrambling for me to get another opponent, I would be panicking. But I’m in a good place. I have a good team, and they are going to take care of things.”

“But I felt the bad news coming even before what happened [Monday],” Mora said. “I was training my ass off, but this is not the first time this has happened. I’m gonna keep training like I am fighting on Feb. 6 and headlining a card on ESPN2.”

Leon Margules of Warriors Boxing wishes to congratulate WBA Super World Featherweight Champion Nicholas “The Axeman” Walters for being named Jamaican Sportsman of the Year at the 54th RJR Sports Foundation National Awards.

29-year-old Walters (25-0, 21 KOs), a native of Montego Bay, Jamaica, had a spectacular 2014, stopping respected champions Vic Darchinyan (TKO 5) and Nonito Donaire (TKO 6).

“Getting sportsman of the year is like getting sportsman of the world,” Walters told reporters at the gala held in his honor.

“We are very proud to be part of “Team Walters” said Leon Margules. “He is a superstar fighter who had his breakout year last year.”

Margules says things will only get better for the Jamaican star.

“This will not be the last time he wins this prestigious award. There are several big fights for Nicholas on the horizon that will further cement him as one of the game’s top fighters.”

# # #

About Warriors Boxing

Launched in 2003, Warriors Boxing operates under a simple philosophy-bring the best boxers in the world to fight fans, match them in competitive bouts, and in doing so help re-establish the sport of boxing for a new generation.

With a series of successful Pay-Per-View shows and packed houses to its credit, the Warriors business model is working wonders in a sport that was sorely in need of the innovation and energy that the company brings to the table.

When it comes down to it though, a promotional company is only as good as the fighters and fights it promotes. Warriors Boxing has delivered on all fronts, with outstanding bouts such as Lara-Molina, Cayo-Peterson, Abraham-Miranda I and II, Miranda-Pavlik, Miranda-Green, Ibragimov-Briggs, Ibragimov-Klitschko, Urango-Hatton, Urango-Bailey, Cayo-Maidana and Ibragimov-Holyfield.

For more information on Warriors Boxing, visit their website at www.WarriorsBoxing.com.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, unified Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko will defend his belts against undefeated oPhiladelphian Bryant Jennings on April 25 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

“I have all of the attributes naturally to be a champion that you can’t teach — heart and will,” Jennings told ESPN.com. “I’m psyched up. This is the level where I’m at. This is exactly what I planned to do. Whatever competition you are in, your goal should be to reach the top. This is the top, but now it’s about taking it to higher heights and winning.

“Yes, we are back at the Garden on April 25,” said Klitschko manager Bernd Boente said. “The fifth Klitschko fight there, fourth of Wladimir, and Wladimir is happy about it.”

“I do have great respect for Bryant Jennings and his achievements,” Klitschko said. “He has good movement in the ring and good technique. I know this will be a tough challenge. I am extremely happy to fight in New York again. I had my first unification fight here and a lot of great heavyweight matches have taken place at Madison Square Garden. It will definitely be a great fight night and I will do everything for it from my side.”

“Everybody has some weaknesses, and there is a blueprint to beat everybody,” Jennings said. “I will have to be at my best. This is heavyweight boxing, where it only takes one punch. Matching me up with Wladimir, there is an age difference. I’m a lot younger than he is. And while I may be shorter [6-foot-3 to 6-6], my arms are long and I am very athletic. But the most important thing is that I come to fight and I know how to win.

“They can say whatever they want about inexperience but I know how to win and in a lot of different ways. And I always have the ambition to find a way to win. I’m not a quitter. I have the heart and will to be a champion. I understand Klitschko is a beast in himself, but I know for sure I will be ready. This is what I fight for. We are not planning on losing. We are talking about bringing that belt home. Nothing against Deontay, but I figure a heavyweight champion from Philly is bigger than a heavyweight champion from Alabama.”

“The negotiations with Roc Nation were exhausting and unnecessary but now all is set,” Boente said.

Las Vegas, Nevada – Two world titles are on the line when the UFC® returns to the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Saturday, March 14 as lightweight champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis defends his title for the second time when he meets No. 1 contender Rafael dos Anjos and newly-crowned women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza makes her first title defense against top contender Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The last UFC event in Dallas in 2014 saw Johny Hendricks defeat Robbie Lawler to claim the UFC welterweight title in front of a sold out crowd.

In his first title defense at UFC 181, Pettis (18-2, fighting out of Milwaukee, Wis.) submitted Gilbert Melendez to retain his title, capping off a stellar year that saw him sign with Reebok and become the first UFC athlete to ever grace the cover of the iconic Wheaties box. Known for his flashy fight style that’s seen him finish his last four opponents, Pettis is looking to further establish himself as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Riding a three-fight win streak that includes victories over Nate Diaz and former champ Benson Henderson, dos Anjos (23-7, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) hopes to become only the third man to ever defeat Pettis. A 17-fight veteran of the Octagon®, dos Anjos can add his name to the record books by becoming the first Brazilian UFC lightweight champion.

The co-main event will feature Esparza (11-2, fighting out of Irvine, Calif.) in her first title defense since becoming the inaugural UFC women’s strawweight champion by defeating Rose Namajunas last month. Esparza will look to use her high-level wrestling to combat the striking prowess of undefeated No. 1 contender Jedrzejczyk (8-0, fighting out of Olsztyn, Poland). A five-time Muay Thai world champion, Jedrzejczyk has never lost in the Octagon, compiling victories over 12th-ranked Juliana Lima and 2nd-ranked Claudia Gadelha to earn the shot at Esparza.

In addition, former UFC welterweight champion and Dallas resident Johny Hendricks (16-3, fighting out of Dallas, Texas) will meet sixth-ranked contender Matt Brown (21-12, fighting out of Columbus, Ohio) in an exciting bout guaranteed to produce fireworks. Both men were involved in Fight of the Year candidates with current champion Robbie Lawler in 2014 and are hoping to secure another crack at the champ with an impressive win in Texas.

Also, ninth-ranked heavyweight Roy Nelson (21-10, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) will collide with No. 11 Alistair Overeem (38-14, 1 NC, fighting out of Amsterdam, The Netherlands). The two fan favorites have no shortage of finishing power, as they’ve combined for 53 total finishes – 29 knockouts and 24 submissions. With the division wide open, these heavy hitters hope to take one step closer to a UFC title shot.

Other bouts for UFC 185 include:
· The Ultimate Fighter season 9 winner Ross Pearson (18-8, 1 NC, fighting out of San Diego, Calif. by way of Sunderland, England) and Sam Stout (21-10-1, fighting out of London, Ontario, Canada) meet in a battle of lightweight strikers.

· Brother of main eventer Anthony Pettis, Sergio Pettis (12-1, fighting out of Milwaukee, Wisc.) moves to the flyweight division to take on Dallas’ own Ryan Benoit (7-3, fighting out of Dallas, Texas).

· Former title challenger and ninth-ranked Chris Cariaso (17-6, fighting out of Tucson, Ariz.) collides with Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo (7-0, fighting out of Phoenix, Ariz.) in a flyweight bout.

· The Ultimate Fighter: Nations winner Elias Theodorou (10-0, fighting out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada) takes on Texas’ Roger Narvaez (7-1, fighting out of Corpus Christi, Texas) in a middleweight matchup.

Tickets for UFC® 185: PETTIS vs. DOS ANJOS go on sale Friday, January 23 at 10 a.m. CT and are priced at $300, $225, $150, $100, $75 and $50 (prices do not include applicable service charges). Tickets are available for purchase online at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at (800) 745-3000 and will be available at the American Airlines Center box office. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person.

Get your VIP package today! The UFC VIP Experience packages together your tickets with behind-the-scenes access to the official weigh-ins, backstage tours, meet and greet and autograph signings with top UFC stars, Q&A sessions, and photo opportunities, access to an in-arena VIP party room, a chance to hold the championship belt inside the Octagon® and more!

UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, January 21 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, January 22 at 10 a.m. CT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

UFC®185: PETTIS vs. DOS ANJOS will be available live on Pay-Per-View at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on UFC.TV, iN DEMAND, DirecTV, DISH Network, Avail-TVN, and in Canada on BellTV, Shaw Communications, Sasktel and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $49.99 US/CAN for Standard Definition and $59.99 US/CAN for High -Definition.

About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (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 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 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.

American Airlines Center
Designed by architectural wizard David M. Schwarz and Dallas based HKS, Inc., American Airlines Center is considered one of the nation’s top arenas. Since opening its doors in 2001 American Airlines Center has been setting the precedent for sporting and live entertainment events. Bringing in a wide variety of big name shows as well as being home of both the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars, the American Airlines Center consistently displays its unique versatility. In 2014, Venue’s Today Magazine named American Airlines Center the 4th busiest arena in the U.S. and the 10th busiest in the world.

NEW YORK, NY (January 20, 2015) – The statistics don’t lie. With more than 90 UFC athletes bred from his stable over the course of the last 15 years, former world champion and Ring of Combat (ROC) President Lou Neglia has proven, more so than any other Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promoter, that he has a keen ability to identify future fighting superstars and world champions.

Just days before the live pay-per-view telecast and GoFight Live (www.gfl.tv) stream of Ring of Combat 50, featuring seven championship bouts and four undefeated rising stars, including 2007 NCAA Division I National Wrestling Champion and lightweight (155 pounds) finisher Gregor Gillespie (3-0); bantamweight (135 pounds) phenom and former Golden Gloves boxing champion Julio Arce (6-0) and brutal middleweight (185 pounds) KO artist Oluwale “Holy War Angel” Bamgbose (3-0) on Friday, Jan. 23 at the Tropicana Resort & Casino in Atlantic City, N.J., a host of Neglia’s greatest discoveries reflected on their experiences in the promotion that catapulted their careers into the next stratosphere and that has been aptly dubbed the “American Idol of MMA” by MixedMartialArts.com.

Chris Weidman: Undefeated UFC Middleweight Champion and four-time ROC veteran

“Ring of Combat is the best fighting organization in the world at getting fighters ready for the UFC. I had some of the toughest fights of my career there, which gave me the experience of fighting the best, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without Lou Neglia and Ring of Combat.”

Frankie Edgar: Former UFC Lightweight Champion and two-time ROC veteran

“(ROC is) one of the premier organizations, not only across the country, but especially here in New Jersey. It’s been great for east coast fighters to showcase their talents, and a great platform for guys to make a name for themselves and get into the UFC.”

“Lou’s been a great guy and supporter of MMA. Being a former fighter himself, he knows what it takes to get guys to the top, and he’s helped a lot of guys out tremendously.”

Matt Serra: Retired, former UFC Welterweight Champion and four-time VATV (Neglia’s former promotion) veteran:

“Lou Neglia is a stand-up guy and a good friend of mine. Prior to the UFC, I only fought in Lou’s promotions. He always treated me great and has been a real solid guy with my fighters. He has the best up and coming show on the east coast.”

Costas Philippou: UFC middleweight and nine-time ROC veteran

“ROC is very organized. I knew in advance who I was fighting, when I should be in Atlantic City, and they even told me where to do my medicals, so I could do everything in one place.”

On the day he got the call from the UFC: “One day my manager called and offered me a short notice fight for the UFC. When I asked Neglia, he not only released me from my contract, but he was genuinely happy for me, that I was getting a shot at the big show.”

Al Iaquinta: UFC lightweight, The Ultimate Fighter: Live cast member and seven-time ROC veteran

“My overall experience was a great one fighting for Lou and Ring of Combat. I feel that I was brought along and matched fairly in my bouts. I had a few very tough fights, which prepared me for my future in the sport.”

On making it to UFC: “I tried out for The Ultimate Fighter, made it through the tryouts and was asked to be on the show. It was a great opportunity for me…Lou was very happy that I had been asked to be on TUF and was being given the chance to prove that I belonged in the UFC.”

Eddie Gordon: UFC middleweight, The Ultimate Fighter season 19 winner and nine-time ROC veteran

“I loved and still love ROC. It’s the best regional promotion out there and it prepared me for the UFC.”

“My best memory from ROC was winning that light heavyweight belt before walking out to the cage, feeling and feeding off the energy of the crowd. Team Truck always packed the house!”

On making it to the UFC: “While I was with ROC, I had a buzz that the UFC was interested in me mainly because of my great teammates Chris Weidman and Al Iaquinta. They both were doing great. I had to keep winning and training, and then I got the call to be on The Ultimate Fighter, which I won.”

“Lou Neglia is the man. He always believed in me, and said (since) my first amateur fight for ROC that, if I kept working hard and listening to (trainer) Ray Longo, that I would make it to the UFC, and he was right.”

At a suggested retail price of $17.99, the live cable television pay-per-view broadcast and the live GFL.tv online stream of Ring of Combat 50 begins at 9 p.m. EST/6 p.m. PST on Jan. 23.

Additionally, a live, free-of-charge preview show featuring two preliminary card bouts from the event begins exclusively on GFL.tv at 8:30 p.m. EST/5:30 p.m. PST.

The 25-year-old Arce, who hails from Queens, N.Y., will put his title on the line in the co-main event against battle-tested Thomas Vasquez (7-2) of Horn Lake, Miss.,

Gillespie, a four-time All-American wrestler for Edinboro University, will square off with Justin Stewart (0=0) of Greene, N.Y.

Bamgbose of New York, N.Y. will battle Devon “Bam Bam” Morris (1-3) Niles, Mich. for the vacant Ring of Combat national middleweight title. To date, the 27-year-old Bamgbose has conquered all three of his opponents by way of first round TKO.

In the main event, 25-year-old Jeff Lentz (9-4-1) of Mays Landing, N.J. will square off with fellow up-and-coming finisher, 26-year-old George “Lights Out” Sheppard (15-9) of Newport News, Va., for the promotion’s vacant, national lightweight championship.

Lentz has earned 6 of his 9 career victories by way of (T)KO (4) or submission (2), while Sheppard has notched 11 of his 15 career wins to date via (T)KO (9) or submission (2).

Unbeaten Randy “Rude Boy” Brown (2-0) of Queens will lock horns with Mike Winters (7-4) of Cortland, N.Y. for the vacant Ring of Combat national welterweight (170 pounds) strap.

Ring of Combat flyweight (125 pounds) champion, Matt “Razor Sharp” Rizzo (7-2) of Levittown, Penn. will risk his title against Corey Simmons (5-6) Defiance, Ohio.

Phillipe “The Filipino Assassin” Nover (8-5) of Brooklyn, N.Y. will square off against Dan Cion (4-1) of Farmingdale, N.Y. for the Ring of Combat East Coast lightweight title.

Kenny Foster (11-8) of Selden, N.Y. will battle Mike Santiago (12-9) of Wood Dale, Ill. for the Ring of Combat East Coast featherweight (145 pounds) belt.

Tickets for Ring of Combat 50, priced from $55 to $135, can be purchased online at RingofCombat.com, the Tropicana Resort & Casino box office and Ticketmaster.com.

Doors at the Tropicana Resort & Casino showroom open at 8:00 p.m. EST.

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About GFL:

GFL (www.gfl.tv) is a fast-growing media and sports entertainment company that utilizes a proprietary technology to deliver the most exciting LIVE combat sports events worldwide and an incredible viewing experience to a global audience. With a diverse mix of combat sports properties, GFL is the premier online destination for live boxing, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Muay Thai, kickboxing, Jiu-Jitsu and more. Since its inception in 2007, GFL has streamed more than 2,500 live events with over 10,000 hours of combat sports content. In addition to its web platform, GFL is available on Roku, IPhone, IPad, as well as other internet ready devices, and broadcasts a weekly, two-hour, syndicated fight TV show on CSN, TCN and SNY, as well as live pay-per-view events directly to iN DEMAND.

About Ring of Combat:

Ring of Combat is one of the longest running and most successful MMA promotions in the country. More than 80 ROC fighters have moved on to the UFC and other top promotions, including former UFC champions Frankie Edgar and Matt Serra and current UFC Middleweight Champion, Chris Weidman. It is because of this success, finding great but unknown talent and preparing them for the world stage, that Ring of Combat has earned the reputation of being called the “American Idol” of MMA. Lou firmly believes that great fights make great fighters!

For more information about Ring of Combat, please visit their website at: www.ringofcombat.com

About Lou Neglia:

Louis Neglia is a three-time World Kickboxing Champion, a former U.S. Kickboxiing Champion, a Florida Karate Champion, New York State Champion, and an Eastern American Karate Champion. No opponent has lasted more than three rounds against Louis Neglia since he won his first World Championship in 1980. Lou is an eight-degree Black Belt, and retired from competition in 1985 with a career record of 34 wins and only 2 losses. He was named Fighter Of the Year in 1984 and was inducted into the Karate Hall of Fame. He starred in four motion pictures(“A Hard Way to Die”,”Super Weapon”,”Fist of Fear”,and “One Down”, “Two To Go”). Featured articles have been written about him in the top American and International magazines and newspapers.

For more information about Lou Neglia’s, please visit his website at: www.louneglia.com

Philadelphia (January 20, 2015 ) – Tonight at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Jr. Welterweight Raymond “Tito” Serrano makes his 2nd appearance after a 22-month layoff when he takes on Jerome Rodriguez (6-1-3, 2 KO’s) in a 6-round bout on a card that will be televised by Fox Sports 1.

Serrano of Philadelphia weighed in at 144.6 lbs at Tuesday’s weigh in and is rearing to go after his 4th round stoppage over Wilfredo Acuna on November 14 in Chester, PA.

“I feel good and ready for a great night,”said the 25 year-old.

Serrano (19-2, 9 KO’s) will be fighting for the 2nd time under the Club 1957 Management banner.

He admits he does not know too much about the 28 year-old Rodriguez.

“He is a southpaw and I just saw his fight with Naim Nelson. He comes to fight so I know I have to be ready.”

After his win over Acuna, Serrano went back to the gym and now will look to improve on that performance and get himself back the fighter who won his first 18 bouts.

“A successful night will be displaying everything that I have been working on in the gym. My last fight was mostly to get the ring rust off after the layoff. On Tuesday, I am looking to show good offense and defense and putting on a show.”

Serrano, who is promoted by Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing is hoping a win will put him back in some important television fights.

“I think after I get this win, I will be back on a Star Boxing card and at 20-2, it should get me a nice opportunity.”

“I want to thank all my fans and team which includes my manager Mark Cipparone of Club 1957 Management.”

“Raymond has been working extremely hard and as a manager I am proud of his focus and his desire to succeed. I can see that he is on his way to erase the mistakes of previous fights. I can tell he is at another level. He has been really committed and is in the gym every day and I feel that combined with his confidence will take him far,”said Club 1957 Management’s Mark Cipparone.

“He is now back on track and in the very near future it looks like there will be significant fights in his profile.”, said Cipparone

Club 1957 Management was founded in 2013 by local businessman Mark Cipparone. Cipparone is the owner of the widely successful and popular Rocco’s Collision. Since the formation of Club 1957 Management he has guided the careers of some the top fighters in the country. Currently he manages Heavyweight Joey Dawejko, Welterweight Raymond Serrano, Jr. Lightweight Tevin Farmer and Jr. Lightweight Jason Sosa and others.

Brooklyn, NY (January 20, 2015)– Boxing and law enforcement working in tandem have a long and admirable history. Police Athletic Leagues have provided a haven for wayward youths, and allowed at-risk youth and law enforcement personnel to interact and form bonds which prove personally beneficial, and also help strengthen fragile communities. With that in mind, promoter Dmitriy Salita and his headliner on the Thursday, Jan. 22 pro boxing card at Webster Hall in Manhattan are teaming up to honor the memories of the two NYPD officers slain last month in a tragic incident.

Junior Wright is a 12-0 cruiserweight, with 10 KOs, who fights tough Texan Rayford Johnson on the Salita show. He stepped up and decided he wanted to do his part to honor the cops’ memory, and also smooth out the trauma in the community, perhaps aid in minimizing the friction between cops and youth in some disadvantaged neighborhoods.

“I heard about the two New York City police officers that were ambushed in December and all the trouble that’s been going on,” Wright said. “I grew up in Chicago and all that comes with it. All my dealings with the police have been above board. They’ve helped me a lot with my career.” His manager Steve Clemente is a 25 year veteran of the Illinois State Police while co-trainer Pete George recently retired after nearly 30 years as a suburban Chicago police officer. With that, Junior has dedicated this fight to the memory of N.Y.P.D. officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos.

When Salita heard the plan, he was more than happy to come on board. “Junior is a great role model,” Salita said. “He is hard-working, determined and focused on making a positive influence through boxing.”

N.Y.P.D. officers who attend Thursday night will receive a half-price ticket.

“We will also have a ceremonial 10 count for the fallen heroes before the main event,” said Salita.

Webster Hall is located at 125 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003.

Doors open for the 10-bout card at 7 PM ET, with ticket prices starting at $40.

5
Toronto – Fight Network, the world’s premier 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, presents the first 2015 installment of Golden Boy Live! this Tuesday, Jan. 20 at 8 p.m. ET, featuring a celebration of Bernard Hopkins’ 50th birthday with a night of boxing fit for a legend.

Fight Network’s broadcast will air live exclusively in Canada.

In the main event, Philly’s own Eric “The Outlaw” Hunter (19-3, 10 KOs) faces highly regarded Nicaraguan junior lightweight contender Rene “Gemelo” Alvarado (21-3, 14 KOs) in a 10-round featherweight bout. In the super lightweight co-main 10-round event, rising junior welterweight star Michael “The Artist” Perez of Newark, New Jersey looks to extend his current unbeaten streak to eight fights, he will face Venezuelan veteran Miguel Acosta (29-7, 23 KOs). Plus, Opening the televised action is Washington, D.C.’s undefeated fighter Lamont Roach Jr. (5-0, 2 KOs) in a six-round junior lightweight battle against Ghana’s Herbert Quartey (12-10, 9 KOs).

“I’m so excited that Golden Boy has decided to honor my birthday in this way,” said Hopkins. “The best present that they can give me is to bring a great night of fights to my hometown and give Philly boxing fans something to celebrate.”

Hopkins, fresh from his hard-fought 12-round title fight with Sergey Kovalev on Nov. 8, turned 50 on Jan. 15. “The Alien” will attend the event held in his honor and will be featured on the television broadcast.

Hard-nosed Philly native Eric “The Outlaw” Hunter (19-3, 10 KOs) is a popular local hero who is ready to make his name on the national and international scene. Unbeaten in four of his last five fights, the 28-year-old won the USBA title last March with a win over Yenifel Vicente and in his most recent outing, he stopped 11-1 prospect Daniel Ramirez in six rounds.

Managua, Nicaragua’s Rene “Gemelo” Alvarado (21-3, 14 KOs) has won four of his last five bouts, most recently bouncing back from an upset loss to Rocky Juarez by defeating Juan Pablo Sanchez for the WBC International title in October. Eager to get back into the title race in 2015, the 25-year-old wants to deliver the kind of performances that guarantee a shot at the 130-pound crown.

Hailing from Newark, New Jersey, Michael “The Artist” Perez (21-1, 10 KOs) is excited to take the trip to Philadelphia for what is close enough to be called a home game. With a record of 6-0-1 in his last seven bouts, the 24-year-old is coming off of two successful defenses of his WBA Fedelatin Title in 2014 when he defeated Jorge Romero and Jared Robinson. Currently ranked sixth in the world by the WBA, Perez wants to make a statement in his first fight of 2015 that he’s ready for a shot at the world championship.

Undefeated newcomer, Lamont Roach Jr. (5-0, 2 KOs) is quickly becoming an exciting fighter to watch in the sport. Hailing from Washington D.C., Roach Jr., scored a knockdown and dominated a four-round decision over Puerto Rico’s Alexander Charneco in his Dec. 6 bout.

Hunter vs. Alvarado, a 10-round featherweight bout, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Joe HandPromotions. Fight Network’s live broadcast in Canada airs at 8 p.m. ET.

For a full listing of Fight Network’s broadcast schedule, please visit tv.fightnetwork.com and follow on Twitter @fightnet, become a fan on Facebook and visit us on Instagram @fightnet.

LOS ANGELES (Jan 19) – Former WBA Interim Super Lightweight World Champion Johan “El Terrible” Perez (20-2-1, 13 KOs) returned to the ring on Friday, Jan. 16 to win the vacant NABA Welterweight title at the Polideportivo José María Vargas in La Guaira, Venezuela. Perez defeated Humberto “Betillo” Gutierrez (29-6-2, 21 KOs) via a 12-round unanimous decision.

Alfonso Blanco (9-0, 4 KOs) was also featured on the card scoring a second round technical knockout win against Edinson Garcia (23-19, 12 KOs) in their scheduled six-round super welterweight bout. The Venezuela native maintains his undefeated status.

“As a proud Golden Boy Promotions fighter I am looking forward to a big 2015 full of great fights for the fans,” said Perez.

For more information visit www.goldenboypromotions.com follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing, @OscarDeLaHoya, become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing or follow on Instagram @GoldenBoyBoxing and @OscarDeLaHoya.

LAS VEGAS (Jan. 19, 2015) – Two nights after being hospitalized following his loss to unbeaten challenger Deontay Wilder on SHOWTIME® from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, former WBC Heavyweight Champion Bermane Stiverne, his Hall of Fame promoter, Don King, and his trainer, Don House, hosted a press conference late today at the MGM Grand.

Here’s what they had to say:

PROMOTER DON KING

“We called this press conference because the Bermane we saw on Saturday night was not the Bermane we all know. Deontay Wilder did a very good job; this is not a press conference for excuses, it is for fact. The doctors at the hospital of the UMC said that he had a severe case of dehydration. His muscles were not working and they thought he had blood in his urine, so they took some tests and held him in the hospital until this morning.

“We want to applaud Deontay Wilder for doing his job, but the man before him was handicapped and unable to do his job, but that should not take anything away from his victory. Deontay performed and did a great job. It is unfortunate, but Bermane will have to do it another day. Knowing the champion we have in Deontay has so eloquently stated that he will take on anybody, I am certain without any equivocation he would grant a rematch with the real Bermane than the man who was handicapped in the ring, not taking away the victory he had and the way he shined.

“We praise Deontay and hope he can be champion long enough to where we can have a rematch of the ‘Return to Glory.’

“Just like our great military, when they get knocked down, they get back up again. Even with his severe dehydration Bermane still stood there for 12 rounds.

“We want to thank Richard Sturm, President of MGM Grand entertainment and Stephen Espinoza with SHOWTIME Boxing for playing a major part in getting this program together. We applaud both our staff and the MGM staff for doing a commendable job for making this happen. The spirit for ‘Return to Glory’ was high. We had a great card with Amir Imam in the fight of the night, getting knocked down and getting back up. All of the fights were exceptional. It was a good night of boxing for the fans and that is what we are really about.

“Don House so eloquently stated the health of Bermane is so important so when I found out he was in the hospital, I went to stay the day there with him because usually we just send them to the hospital to get checked out, but they decided to hold him. When they decided to hold him, I had to get over there and see my fighter. The staff was terrific and very gracious to me and very definitive about what could be wrong and investigating all aspects. They said he is healthy and should take off a month or so to get some rest and then get to work to prepare for his return to glory and recapture the heavyweight crown that is currently held by a great champion named Deontay Wilder.”

BERMANE STIVERNE

“I want to apologize for not making the post-fight press conference. Unfortunately I was not able to perform in the fight like I wanted to due to severe dehydration and muscle damage. I did not know it was that serious until they told me. I could have died from it. I am happy to just be myself, walk and talk again. Thank God for this, that’s really what matters to me to be healthy right now.

“I did not know the severity of it Saturday night. I was able to give the people a good show, 12 rounds of boxing. If I had to do it again I would do it again. This is not the end for me. I will give it a couple weeks and then get back to work. I have a vision for this, but right now it’s just on pause. It’s just a matter of time before I will get back on my feet and walk again. When it comes to my health, I have been released from the hospital. They would not let me leave until I was sufficiently hydrated. I am grateful. Thank you to my promoter and trainer, everyone who has welcomed me.

“To my fans, I apologize for not being able to perform like Bermane usually does. I know that people who really know me, know how I fight. My last fight with Chris Arreola, I gave you a good show. It is unfortunate that I couldn’t do what I wanted to do with my fight with Deontay Wilder. I want to congratulate him, he fought a good fight. Hopefully somewhere in the future we will meet again.

“Thanks everyone for coming out to the press conference, I am back on my feet 100 percent right now. I just need a couple of weeks or a month of rest to be back where I left off.”

DON HOUSE, Stiverne’s Trainer

“Thank you guys for coming out. The most important thing is that Bermane is OK. That is my main concern. I noticed somewhere in the fight, probably around the third or fourth round, something wasn’t right. Even though he told me he was OK, we all know Bermane. I don’t mind losing a fight, but I knew something wasn’t right, so I was very concerned. Around the ninth or 10th round I was thinking to stop the fight because you don’t have to continue, but he wanted to keep fighting.

“You didn’t see Bermane, you saw maybe 10-15 percent of Bermane. I really believe and really felt this should have been a decent fight for Bermane, but would last four rounds or less because his power and speed. We never underestimated him. We trained as if he was fighting King Kong. I train every fighter like that, underestimate no one. But Saturday night, we had about 15 percent of Bermane.

“We are going to look back, see what we did wrong, how we can do things better, what we should have done. We will take a look at how the dehydration may have happened. We will take a look at the fight and some of the things we did in training and find out what we did wrong.”

# # #

“RETURN TO GLORY”: STIVERNE VS. WILDER, a 12-round fight for Stiverne’s WBC Heavyweight Championship took place Saturday, Jan. 17 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and was co-promoted by Don King Productions and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona and Mexico – Live It To Believe It!. In the 12-round co-feature, unbeaten WBC Super Bantamweight World Champion Leo Santa Cruz defended against Jesus Ruiz and undefeated Amir Imam faced Fidel Maldonado Jr. in a 10-round super lightweight bout for the WBC Continental Americas Super Lightweight Title. The event took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., and will aired live on SHOWTIME (10:00 p.m. ET/ 7:00 p.m. PT). The telecast was also available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP). Preliminary bouts were televised live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® (8:00 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).

For more information visit www.donking.com, www.goldenboypromotions.com and www.sports.sho.com, follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing, @BStiverne, @BronzeBomber, @SHOSports and @MGMGrand and become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing, or visit SHOWTIME Boxing Blog at http://theboxingblog.sho.com/.

New York, NY (1/19/15) – DiBella Entertainment’s (DBE) popular and longstanding Broadway Boxing series returns on Thursday, January 29, with a thrilling nine-bout card held at NYC’s famed B.B. King Blues Club & Grill. Headlining the event will be Brooklyn’s talented and charismatic light heavyweight prospect “Notorious” Travis Peterkin (13-0, 5 KOs), who has been a fixture on the series since signing with DBE in 2012.

Peterkin began boxing at age 11 and was an outstanding amateur, compiling a record of 95-7, while winning the New York Golden Gloves prior to turning pro in 2011. Behind a thudding jab and stiff straight right hand, the now-24-year-old southpaw dominated Otis Griffin, winner of The Next Great Champ reality show, via unanimous decision, in his last bout on October 15. It was Peterkin’s first contest scheduled for eight rounds and his biggest victory to date. On January 29, the highly touted Peterkin will be determined to continue to build on that momentum as he is poised to make the move from prospect to contender.

Competing in an eight-round super bantamweight contest will be Brooklyn’s world-rated contender Rafael Vazquez (12-1, 10 KOs) as he mixes it up with Joseph Rios (13-11-2, 4 KOs), from San Antonio, Texas. The heavy-handed WBA #6-rated super bantamweight contender Vazquez got a late start to his professional career, but he burst onto the scene in 2013 with an upset ninth-round KO victory over Leon Moore (30-2) to win the vacant WBA Fedelatin super bantamweight crown and propel himself into the WBA’s top ten ratings. Rios, who holds four victories over previously undefeated opponents, won the WBC USNBC and Texas super flyweight titles in 2012.

Rising super middleweight star Steed Woodall (6-0, 4 KOs) will make his second appearance on a Broadway Boxing card when he faces off against Jas Phipps (5-5-1, 2 KOs). The British-Irish Woodall, now living and training in Palm Beach, FL, was a five-time National champion in the UK as an amateur before relocating to the US and making his pro debut in March of last year. The 20-year-old Woodall, nicknamed “The Stallion”, has a tremendous fan-friendly style and carries absolute dynamite in both hands. After fighting to a controversial draw against the 7-0 Ulises Sierra in his opponent’s hometown last August, Phipps scored the most impressive victory of his career in November, stopping the 21-3 Juan De La Rosa inside the opening round.

The 26-year-old Ukrainian Ivan Golub amassed an astonishing record of 270-32 during his amateur career. He became a five-time Ukrainian National champion, won bronze medals at the Junior World Championships in 2006 and at the World Championships in 2009. He also participated in the World Series of Boxing, winning all five of his bouts. Turning pro in June 2014, Golub (4-0, 3 KOs), who now lives and trains in Brooklyn, and is co-promoted by Fight Promotions Inc., will compete in a six-round middleweight contest against Tucson, Arizona’s Rashawn McCain (2-2).

It will be a battle of the boroughs when DBE’s former #1-rated US amateur and now undefeated prospect from the Bronx, Christopher “Golden” Galeano (5-0), takes on Queens-resident Alexander Mancera (8-5-1, 5 KOs) in a six-round middleweight contest. Galeano, who is co-promoted by 50 Cent’s SMS Promotions, won National, regional, and New York Golden Gloves championships and is now one of the bright young stars on the DBE roster.

Belarusian-native junior welterweight Ivan Baranchyk (3-0, 2 KOs), also co-promoted by Fight Promotions Inc., will return to the ring against Brooklyn’s Ian James (3-10-1, 1 KO). In his last bout on December 3, Baranchyk outfought the undefeated Alfonso Olvera, repeatedly battering him with power shots while learning to pace himself going the four-round distance for the first time in winning a unanimous decision. As an amateur, Baranchyk won gold at the 2010 Class A Vilnuse tournament, 2011 and 2013 Match Event tournament, 2011 Kostukovichi International tournament, 2011 and 2012 Soligorsk Open International tournament, 2012 Class A Liventsev tournament, 2013 Active Military tournament, 2013 Republic of Belarus Open Cup, 2014 Vitebsk University tournament in Belarus, and was an amateur champion of Belarus from 2009-2014.

Undefeated super middleweight southpaw prospect Lennox “2 Sharpe” Allen (17-0-1, 10KO’s), of New York, NY, by way of Guyana, will see action for the first time since August 2013, having recovered from a series of injuries that kept him out of the ring. He will challenge Ghana’s “Dangerous” Kojo Issah (14-1-1, 7 KOs), who is making his US debut. Having turned pro in 2004, Allen has thus far won the Guyanese, New York State and WBC Caribbean Boxing Federation super middleweight titles. Now fully healed, Allen is looking to get back to his winning ways and set himself up for a breakout year in 2015.

The card will also showcase two of DBE’s most recent additions to its roster, lightweight Wesley Ferrer (6-0, 4 KOs) and junior middleweight Shawn Cameron (7-0, 4 KOs), both undefeated prospects from Brooklyn. Ferrer, a 2009 New York Golden Gloves winner and pro boxer since September 2013, squares off in a six-round lightweight contest against Helario Medina (2-4), from Longmont, Colorado, who will be fighting outside of his home state for the first time as a pro.

Cameron served in the Army for six years deployed in Iraq and was honorably discharged in 2006 as a Staff Sergeant. He then began a four-year amateur boxing campaign, competing in several National PAL, Metro and Golden Gloves tournaments, winning the New York Golden Gloves in 2009 at 152 pounds. Cameron, who turned pro in July 2012, will meet the experienced Daniel Calzada (10-12-2, 2 KOs), of Dona Ana, New Mexico, in a junior middleweight bout scheduled for six rounds.

The event on January 29 is sponsored by Manfredi Auto Group and Everlast. Tickets are currently on sale and are priced at $125, $100, $75 and $55. Tables are also available for purchase for this event, with VIP tables going for $1,000 per table (5 seats at $200 per seat), Ringside tables for $500 (5 seats at $100), and $375 tables (5 seats at $75). Tickets are available for purchase by calling the DiBella Entertainment office at (212) 947-2577. Doors open at 6:30pm with the first bout scheduled for 7:00pm.

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 19) – The 50th birthday celebration for future Hall of Famer Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins will have even more fireworks with the addition of Philadelphia favorites Raymond “Tito” Serrano and Avery Sparrow, plus several other exciting undercard bouts featuring East Coast talent on Golden Boy Live! at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia on Tuesday, January 20, airing on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes.

In a six-round welterweight bout between Pennsylvanian fighters, Philadelphia’s Raymond “Tito” Serrano (19-2, 9 KOs) takes on Allentown’s Jerome Rodriguez (6-1-3, 2 KOs). The 25-year-old Serrano bounced back from losses to Emmanuel Taylor and Karim Mayfield with a fourth-round stoppage of Wilfredo Acuna last November, and he wants to keep the momentum going in 2015.

A four-round swing bout will see local Philadelphia favorite Avery Sparrow (3-0, 1 KO) meet up with Pennsauken, N.J.’s Pedro Andres (1-1). The 21-year-old Sparrow is a former amateur standout coming off a four-round win over Jesus Lule on November 25.

Manassas, Va’s Robert Sweeney (3-1) will kick off his 2015 year with a six-round junior middleweight bout against Camden, N.J.’s Gilbert Alex Sanchez (4-6-1, 2 KOs), and in the four-round junior lightweight opener, Pennsauken, N.J.’s Carlos Rosario (1-1) squares off with Snow Hill, N.C’s Timothy McNair (0-2).

This special Golden Boy Live! installment celebrates the “The Alien’s” landmark moment with a main event 10-round featherweight bout that puts Philadelphia’s Eric “The Outlaw” Hunter (18-3, 9 KOs) against WBC International Silver Super Featherweight champion, Nicaragua’s Rene “Gemelo” Alvarado (21-3, 15 KOs). In the co-main event, Newark, N.J.’s Michael “The Artist” Perez (21-1, 10 KOs) meets Venezuela’s former world champion Miguel “Aguacerito” Acosta (29-7-2, 23 KOs) of Venezuela in a 10-round junior welterweight matchup, and unbeaten lightweight Lamont Roach Jr. (5-0, 2 KOs) of Washington, D.C. puts his perfect record on the line in the six-round televised opener against Baltimore’s Herbert Quartey (8-10, 7 KOs).

Tickets for the event are priced at $75 for ringside, $50 for general reserved and $35 for reserved corner and are on sale now. Tickets are available by calling (215) 364-9000, online at www.wanatix.com or at 2300 Arena, 2300 S. Swanson St., Philadelphia, PA 19148.

Hunter vs. Alvarado, a 10-round featherweight bout, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Joe Hand Promotions and sponsored by Corona Extra, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Mexico – Live It To Believe It! Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the first bell rings at 7:00 p.m. The FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes broadcast airs live at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.FOXSports.com/FOXSports1, www.FOXDeportes.com, follow on Twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @Swanson_comm,@FOXSports, @FOXSports1, @FOXDeportes, @JoeHandPromo and, become a fan on Facebook at Golden Boy Facebook Page, www.facebook.com/FOXDeportes, www.facebook.com/JoeHandPromotions
and visit us on Instagram @GoldenBoyBoxing, @JoeHandPromo

Philadelphia, PA (January 19, 2015) – This past Friday night, the matchups for Boxcino 2015 were revealed on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights.

The tournament will get started on Friday, February 13 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut with four quarterfinal fights in the Jr. Middleweight division.

The following match ups are as follows:

1. Cleotis Pendarvis (17-4-2, 6 KO’s) will fight Ricardo Pinnell (10-1-1, 6 KO’s)
2. Stanyslav Skorokhod (8-0, 6 KO’s) will fight Michael Moore (13-0, 6 KO’s)
3. Brandon Adams (15-1, 10 KO’s) will take on Alex Perez (18-1, 10 KO’s)
4. Vito Gasparyan (14-3-5, 8 KO’s) will square off with Simeon Hardy (13-0, 10 KO’s).

The winner of bout 1 will fight the winner of bout 2 while the winner’s of bouts 3 and 4 will fight on April 3 in the semifinals.

The very next week, The heavyweight quarterfinals will commence live from the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. Those match ups are:

1. Donovan Dennis (10-1, 8 KO’s) fights Steve Vukosa (10-0, 4 KO’s)
2. Razvan Cojano (12-1, 7 KO’s) will take on Ed Fountain (10-0, 4 KO’s)
3. Andrey Fedosov (25-3, 20 KO’s) will fight Nate Heaven (9-1, 7 KO’s)
4. Mario Heredia (9-1, 7 Ko’s) will take on Lenroy Thomas (18-3, 9 KO’s)

The winner of bout 1 will fight the winner of bout 2 while the winner’s of bouts 3 and 4 will fight on April 10 in the semifinals.

The entire Boxcino 2015 series will be televised live on “ESPN Friday Night Fights.”

Promoted by Banner Promotions and Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports (CES), remaining tickets to the February 13 edition of Boxcino 2015, priced at $125, $65, $40 and $30, including facility fee, can be purchased via www.ticketmaster,com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, all Ticketmaster outlets or in person at the Mohegan Sun Box Office.

Host of the February 20th bouts, the Oneida Indian Nation’s Turning Stone Resort Casino continues to distinguish itself as a premier destination for professional sporting events, including nationally-televised boxing matches and professional-level golf. The February 20th fight will mark Turning Stone’s 14th nationally-televised boxing event in less than two years, helping establish the resort as a mecca for knockout televised fights. Boxing legends Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr. have promoted televised fight cards at the resort within the last year. Turning Stone has hosted televised boxing events on ESPN, Showtime, HBO, and NBC in the last two years. Located in Upstate New York, the four-season resort offers world-class entertainment and gaming, eclectic mix of restaurants, luxury spa facilities, nightlife, and award-winning accommodations.

Tickets for the February 20th ESPN Friday Night Fights at Turning Stone are on sale now at the Turning Stone box office, in person or by calling 315.361.7469, or online at Ticketmaster. Tickets are $60 for ringside seats, $35, $25, and are subject to additional fees.

The Boxcino 2015 season debut will feature four quarterfinal bouts with the winners moving on to semifinals which will take place on April 3 & April 10.

The Boxcino 2014 tournament spawned breakout stars Willie Monroe and Petr Petrov. Both are now world-rated No. 3 as well as future stars Brandon Adams & Fernando Carcamo. Monroe will be featured in the main event of tonight’s live telecast from Turning Stone Resort Casino, taking on the rugged Bryan Vera with the NABA and NABO middleweight titles at stake.

LONDON (19 JAN) European heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has expressed his delight at seeing Deontay Wilder lift the WBC world heavyweight title last weekend and now seeks to dethrone the heavy-handed American later this year.

Wilder outboxed Bermane Stiverne for 12 rounds in Las Vegas on Saturday night and, in doing so, became America’s first world heavyweight champion since 2006. Fury, who boxes Christian Hammer on February 28 at London’s O2 Arena, couldn’t have been happier with how it all worked out.

“It was big man versus little man and the big man boxed tall, just as I did against Dereck Chisora,” he said. “He outboxed the smaller man with ease.

“Wilder did a good job on Stiverne and he’s now got the WBC title. That puts him in line for big fights against people like me, Wladimir Klitschko and whoever else. America has a new heavyweight champion of the world and the big boys are back in the division. The division has been set on fire again.

“It was definitely the result I wanted. Stiverne, although a good champion, was a bit of an unknown. Nobody knew who he was and nobody cared. Now America has a new heavyweight champion. Also, Wilder’s undefeated and a knockout artist. That means the division has been given a lift and we’re all back in business.”

A fight between Wilder and Fury seems something of an inevitability given their respective ages, career trajectories and exuberant personalities. And, with world titles now up for grabs, it appears even more of a certainty in 2015.

“I don’t like Deontay Wilder and he doesn’t like me,” said Fury, 23 (17 KOs). “I think he’s a big hype-job. We once had a bit of a falling out in Sheffield at one of Mick Hennessy’s boxing shows and I told him one day I will get him in the ring and knock him out. That is still my plan.

“He’s got a title now and I’m the mandatory challenger for Wladimir Klitschko. In an ideal world I’d like to fight Klitschko first, because he’s got most of the belts and he’s the number one in the division, and then I’d like to unify all the titles against Deontay Wilder. Potentially, I’m three or four fights away from being the unified heavyweight champion of the world.”

Should the fight between Fury and Wilder materialise later this year, the Manchester man is under no illusions as to just how big an event it could become.

“It would be the biggest selling fight with the greatest smack talk in heavyweight history,” he said. “No other fight could come close to it. It would be pure entertainment.

“Back in the (Muhammad) Ali days, there was only one man doing the talking. The others wouldn’t talk. This is different, though. We can both talk, we both play the press and we are both natural born entertainers. That’s why it’s the biggest fight out there as far as I’m concerned. It’s not just the biggest fight in the heavyweight division, it’s the biggest fight in world boxing.

“I’m a big puncher, he’s a big puncher, and it’s just a matter of who lands first. I wouldn’t go out there to try and outbox somebody who is probably quicker than me. I’d go out there to switch his lights off. I’d look to demolish him early. There’d be a guaranteed knockout in the early rounds. Either way, it will be over very fast.”

Promoter Mick Hennessy added: “Wilder’s win at the weekend has put the heavyweight division back where it should be. It has made it interesting again. It has given it a new lease of life.

“Wilder and Tyson are two unbeaten sensations. They’re proper modem day heavyweights, modern day gladiators; both are over 6’7 in height and are athletic.

“Ultimately, though, I think Tyson is in a different league to the likes of Wilder and Stiverne. I think he would take care of both of them on the same night. I thought that before Saturday night and I’m even more confident now. I don’t just think Tyson outclasses Wilder, I think he blasts him out.”

END

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UNCASVILLE, Conn. (Jan. 17th, 2015) – Two fighters settled a longstanding rivalry Saturday while another cagey veteran began his slow, steady climb back to the top of the rankings.

In his third bout against regional foe Agustine Mauras, Hartford, Conn., super featherweight Joseph “Chip” Perez captured the vacant New England Championship while former world-title challenger and super middleweight contendr Elvin Ayala of New Haven, Conn., won in his return to the ring following a two-year layoff.

Saturday’s pro-am event at Mohegan Sun Arena, promoted by CES Boxing, featured five amateur bouts and nine professional fights, including two title bouts. In the eight-round main event, Perez (11-3-2) finally got the best of Mauras (6-1-3), a Lawrence, Mass., native, after the two fought to a draw twice in 2013, this time utilizing a more aggressive approach while out-working and out-landing his opponent. The trilogy ended with a 79-73, 78-74, 78-74 win for Perez, easily the most lopsided of their three bouts.

On the undercard, Ayala (27-6-1) ended a layoff of more than two years with a satisfying 60-54, 59-55, 58-56 win over dangerous Philadelphia vet Aaron Mitchell (27-2-1).

A former World Boxing Council (WBC) title-holder rated among the top super middleweights in the world, Ayala hadn’t fought since suffering a first-round knockout loss to Curtis Stevens in January 2013. Having fallen out of the national spotlight, Ayala took the next two years to recover physically and mentally, making changes within his inner circle in an effort to rebuild his career for one last run at a world title.

Saturday’s win was a step in the right direction. The always-ready Mitchell, who hadn’t fought since 2008 prior to this weekend, formerly held the North American Boxing Organization (NABO) middleweight title and won 15 consecutive bouts with a stunning 14 by knockout before his brief departure from the sport more than five years ago.

In the second title bout of the evening, Portland, Maine, veteran Jorge Abiague (8-1) edged New Haven’s Josh Crespo (3-2-2) by split decision, 78-74, 75-77, 78-74 to earn the vacant N.E. Super Bantamweight championship. Abiague controlled the first two rounds with his overhand left before Crespo rocked him with a straight right hand in the closing seconds of the third. Crespo went for the kill, but Abiague survived the final few seconds and got his legs back in the fourth, where he began to dictate the pace. Abiague has now won back-to-back fights since losing to Nate Green in October.

Chinese heavyweight Zhang Zhilei (2-0, 2 KOs), a silver medalist in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, stopped Perry Filkins (0-1) of Hooksett, N.H., at the 1:10 mark of the opening round. Junior welterweight Wang Zhimin (1-0), a gold medalist at the 2011 World Series of Boxing, beat newcomer Kin Moy (0-1) of Cambridge, Mass., by unanimous decision, 40-36, 39-37, 39-36, on all three scorecards and 2012 London Olympian Meng Fanlong (1-0) defeated Washington, D.C., vet Marcellus Yates (0-2) by majority decision 40-36, 40-36, 38-38, in Fanlong’s professional debut.

Worcester, Mass., light middleweight Khiary Gray-Pitts (4-0, 2 KOs) remained unbeaten with dominant knockout win over Springfield, Ill., vet Jake Constant (0-3) courtesy of a body blow at the 1:20 mark of the opening round. Lightweight Briam Granado (1-0, 1 KO) impressed in his professional debut, stopping Theo Desjardin (0-5) of Pawtucket, R.I., at 1:18 of the opening round, knocking Desjardin to the canvas twice.

New Haven junior middleweight Jimmy Williams (8-0-1, 4 KOs) also remained unbeaten, stopping 29-fight vet Jose Felix (11-17-2) at 2:34 of the third round for his fourth consecutive win since fighting to a draw with Atlantic City’s Greg Jackson in August of 2013.

Jose Zepeda remained undefeated by scoring a 2nd round stoppage over Orlando Vazquez in scheduled 8-round Welterweight bout at the Oceanview Pavilion in Port Hueneme, California.

Zepeda dropped Vazquez in round one from a combination and in round two he registered three more knockdowns all from hard combinations and the bout was stopped at 2:03 of round two.

Zepeda, 140 1/2 lbs of La Puente, CA is now 22-0 with 19 knockouts. Vazquez, 141 lbs of Bayamon, PR is now 15-6-1.

Saul Rodriguez scored a 2nd round stoppage over Carlos Rodriguez in round two of their scheduled 8-round Lightweight bout.

Saul landed a left to the head that made Carlos take two steps to the corner and go to a knee and take the ten count at 1:02 of round two.

Saul Rodriguez 132 1/2 lbs of Riverside, CA is now 16-0-1 with 13 knockouts. Carlos Rodriguez, 133 lbs of San Bonaventura, MX is now 9-2.

Luis Sedano won a 4-round unanimous decision over Ali Gonzalez in a Lightweight bout.

Sedano, 130 1/2 lbs of Durate, CA won by scores of 40-36 twice and 39-37 and is now 4-0. Gonzalez, 131 1/2 lbs of Nogales, MX is now 6-5.

LAS VEGAS (Jan. 17) – Golden Boy Promotions alongside Eye of the Tiger Management held an intimate roundtable at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, to discuss the recent signing of David Lemieux (33-2, 31 KOs) to Golden Boy Promotions. The impressive middleweight contender Lemieux, Founder and President of Golden Boy Promotions Oscar De La Hoya, Future Hall of Famer and Golden Boy Promotions Partner Bernard Hopkins, President of Eye of the Tiger Management Camille Estephan, and Senior Vice President of Golden Boy Promotions Eric Gomez were all in attendance.

The hard-hitting Montreal native’s next bout was confirmed to be broadcasted on HBO and Lemieux expressed his interest in fighting the best in the middleweight division. Below is what the Montreal native, his promoters and his management had to say:

DAVID LEMIEUX, Middleweight Contender

“I have put in the work. What you saw in Brooklyn was only 50 percent of what I can do and I feel like I can be a lot better. I want to show that in my next fight.

“I fear no man, I want to go after the top of the food chain. Oscar and Bernard came up fighting the best and I am of the same mind.

“Canelo is a younger, hungrier fighter. He is explosive. He is a tough fighter and it would be a good match up.

“Everyone is on the list. I want to fight the best.

“The reason I started so young was because I was a trouble maker. I was fighting in the streets. My neighbor was a boxer and he told me to come fight real fighters. I got my ass kicked a few times but I fell in love with it.

“We want to make a good run at 160 and then think about moving up in weight.

“I have always liked power punchers and I respect others’ styles and other champions, but I never mimic them.”

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, Founder and President of Golden Boy Promotions

“We are exploring every option. We can go to Montreal, we can go back to New York City, we can come to Las Vegas; that’s the beauty of David. He can fight anywhere and people will come out to watch him.

“He’s still growing. We haven’t seen his full potential which is very exciting. He has explosiveness and power.

“We will be working hand and hand with Eye of the Tiger Management. We are partners and we want the best fights, the best deals. We will be working together in the best interest for David.

“A future fight with Canelo is possible. Canelo wants to fight the best. Lemieux wants to fight the best. For now we want to focus on 160-pounds weight class and on Cotto, Andy lee and Golovkin.”

BERNARD HOPKINS, Future Hall of Famer and Golden Boy Promotions Partner

“We got this guy [Lemieux], he is tough. I know Gabriel Rosado and he handled him easily. I know what I am looking at. I have an eye for talent and he has it.

“We are going to continue and show you that we will put on the best fights and give the fans quality. I’m in it to make the best fights. The ratings speak for themselves. The fans speak for themselves. Judge us by the quality of the matches you see and don’t get caught up in the ‘feelings’ of it.

“I want to put a call out to everyone, that is how Oscar was brought up, that is how I was brought up, fighting the best.

“Three things about David: one, he signed with Golden Boy Promotions; two, he has talent in many ways, not only is he a fan favorite he is a good defensive fighter; three, he has good looks.

“I am seeing now the molding of another legacy, his legacy. But at the end of the day he has an opportunity in the middle weight division, I am glad to be here with a middleweight who I feel already has a lot of respect.

CAMILLE ESTEPHAN, President of Eye of the Tiger Management

“Canelo is on the list. Cotto is on the list. Golovkin is on the list. Andy Lee is on the list. Everyone is on the list.

“I definitely think he is the most popular boxer, the numbers prove it. He has a lot of potential and the sky is the limit.

“I got a call yesterday from someone in the boxing world about how exciting it is to be working with Golden Boy and he said ‘David is like a sunshine that beams on the world of boxing’ and it is very heartwarming. It’s heartwarming to sit down with Oscar, Bernard and Eric, whom I have gotten to know very well since the Rosado fight. This is great group of people and I think that we can build something together that will make a huge impact in the boxing world.

“David is the one guy, that as soon as I saw him the first time in the gym, the first sit-up he did and the last sit-up he did were exactly the same, he doesn’t cheat. He has the ultimate confidence because he doesn’t cheat himself and I have the ultimate respect for him. I am very proud of him as a person.

ERIC GOMEZ, Senior Vice President of Golden Boy Promotions

“After the Rosado fight, Lemieux was impressive and we began talks with Camille. People love David and it made sense. David has an exciting style.

“We are looking at HBO, the ratings against Rosado were some of the best all year. They are very excited about David.”
###

For more information visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and www.eottm.com on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing, @OscarDeLaHoya, @EOTMVD, @lemieuxboxing, become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and www.facebook.com/EyeoftheTigerManagement or follow on Instagram @GoldenBoyBoxing, @OscarDeLaHoya and @DavidLemieuxBoxing.

For many years, Showtime sports photographer Tom Casino has artfully captured the seminal moments of athletic competitions and focused too on the needs and well being of others. Now he needs our help.

Back surgery last summer, then a near-lethal pulmonary embolism and a debilitating stomach virus called c.diff, have depleted Tom’s assets, the misery compounded by additional expenses through another six months of physical rehabilitation. Under a best-case scenario, these medical setbacks will cost Tommy one year of work and more than $100,000 in health-care costs. Without our help, food stamps, Medicaid and financial ruin loom his new reality.

Determined to summon a spark of his old vitality, Tom engages in grueling physical therapy three times a week at the Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville, NJ, with the relentless attention to detail that makes him such a gifted photographer. Those who know Tom personally or professionally surely regard his cheerful disposition, caring ways and consistent generosity. If we truly get back what we give in this life, Tom should be due rich assistance.

He has been there for many of us. Now, in his hour of need, let’s turn the lens on him and capture what he means to us. Here’s how you can help.

You can donate online with a credit card at:

https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/qq97/tom-casino?utm_source=giveforward&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=dashboard&shareid=2980196

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Tom Casino
P.O. Box 58212
Washington, D.C. 20037

Let’s get Tom on the road to a complete recovery. Feel free to forward this to your colleagues and to contact us with any questions.

Follow all the action LIVE from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as Bermane Stiverne defends the WBC Heavyweight title against undefeated knockout artist Deontay Wilder. The action kicks off at 10 PM ET with a Jr. Welterweight bout between undefeated Amir Imam and Fidel Maldonado Jr. The co-feature will pit undefeated WBC Super Bantamweight champion Leo Santa Cruz and Jesus Ruiz.

12 ROUNDS–WBC HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE–BERMANE STIVERNE (24-1-1, 21 KO’S) VS DEONTAY WILDER (32-0, 32 KO’S)

Round 1 Right from Wilder..1-2..1-2..Left and right from Stiverne..right from Wilder..10-9 Wilder

Round 2 Uppercut from Wilder..Body shot from Stiverne..right from Wilder..right..left hook from Stiverne..left hook from Wilder..left hook from Stiverne ..hard 1-2 from Wilder…Stiverne is hurt…Stiverne falls after the bell and tackles wilder…Stiverne wobbled walking back to the corner.20-18 Wilder

Round 3 Right from Wilder..Good body shots from Stiverne..right from Wilder..30-28 Wilder

Round 4 Body shot from Stiverne..right from Wilder..Stiverne lands a hard left hook..2 hard shts…Body shot from Wilder..good right from Stiverne..jab from Wilder..right from Stiverne…39-38 Wilder

Round 5 1-2 from Wilder..Stiverne lands combo…big right from Wilder…hard 1-2…49-47 Wilder

Round 6 Hard combo from Stiverne..Big left hook.Jab to the body..58-57 Wilder

Round 7 Left right..from Stiverne..right..Jab from Wilder..Big right from Wilder hurts Stiverne..Big uppercut..right from Stiverme…68-66 Wilder

Round 8 Big left and right from Stiverne..right to the bodu…right uppercut..77-76 Wilder

Round 9 Jab from Stiverne…double jab…Jab from Wilder…lead left hook from Stiverne…1-2 from Wilder..jab to the body..jab…87-85 Wilder

Round 10 lead right …left and right from Wilder..left hook..right uppercut from Stiverne…97-94 Wilder

Round 11 jab from Wilder..Stiverne lands a left and right to the body..right to body..left to head…lead right from Wilder..106-104 Wilder

Round 12 2 rights to the body for Stiverne…right to body…uppercut..115-114 Wilder

118-109, 119-108 120-107 for the winner and NEW CHAMPION DEONTAY WILDER

Pucnh stats

Stiverne 110-327 Wilder 227-621

12 ROUNDS–WBC SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE–LEO SANTA CRUZ (28-0-1, 16 KO’S) VS JESUS RUIZ (32-5-5, 21 KO’S)

Round 1 2 rights from Ruiz..left from Santa Cruz..Right from Ruiz..Jab from Santa Cruz..right uppercut to the jaw..left hook to the body..Ruiz landing body shots…left hook to live from Santa Cruz..right cross..Jab to body from Ruiz..10-9 Santa Cruz

Round 2 Body shot from Ruiz..Goood oody work from both guys..Nice right from Ruiz..Santa Cruz working the body..left hook..uppercut from Ruiz..Santa Cruz lands an uppercut..body from Ruiz..head shot from Santa Cruz..20-19 Santa Cruz

Round 3 Cut over right eye and nostril of Santa Cruz..Right from Santa Cruz..left hook..right uppercut..right..1-2 from Ruiz…Jab from Santa Cruz..right from Ruiz and body shot..Hard combo from Santa Cruz…30-28 Santa Cruz

Round 4 Santa Cruz getting better..2 jabs from Ruiz..Right from Santa Cruz,,,40-37 Santa Cruz

Round 5 Santa Cruz lands a jab..2 left hooks from Ruiz..Santa Cruz lands a right cross..Clubbing left from Ruiz..2 jabs and a right from Santa Cruz..Nice combination (2 head/2 body)..50-46 Santa Cruz

Round 6 Ruiz lands a counter left hook..59-56 Santa Cruz

Round 7 Santa Cruz lands a left hook to the head..left hook to liver…2 left hooks from Ruiz..sweeping right from Santa Cruz..Hard flurry..Shirt right from Ruiz..Stiff left hook from Santa Cruz…69-65 Santa Cruz

Round 8 Big right rocks Ruiz…Santa Cruz landed relentless…Ruiz trying to fight back but Santa CRUZ CONTINUES TO LAND AND REFEREE KENNY BAYLESS STOPS THE FIGHT…

LEO SANTA CRUZ WINS VIA TKO 8

Punch Stats

Santa Cruz 277-641 Ruiz 120-554

10 ROUNDS–SUPER LIGHTWEIGHTS–AMIR IMAM (15-0, 13 KO’S) VS FIDEL MALDONADO JR (19-2, 16 KO’S)

Round 1 Counter left from Maldonado…left to the body..Imam lands a jab…3 lefts…2 good lefts from Maldonado..counter left hook…exchanging body shots..10-9 Maldonado

Round 2 Maldonado lands a jab..good right hook..sweeping right from Imam..Straight left from Maldonado..Jab and right from Imam..BIG RIGHT AND DOWN GOES MALDONADO AT THE BELL…19-18 Imam

Round 3 BIG LEFT AND DOWN GOES IMAM..2 hard rights from Imam…counter left hook..left from Maldonado..left to body…big left buckles Iamm..right hook…BIG RIGHT AND DOWN GOES MALDONADO..2 big LEFTS AND MALDONADO GLOVE HITS THE CANVAS…29-26 IMAM

ROUND 4 Body shot from Imam..straight right..Left hook from Imam…39-35 Imam

Round 5 Left from Maldonado…HUGE LEFT AND DOWN GOES MALDONADO…FIGHT OVER

Punch Stats Imam 87-254 Maldonado 76-242

Hall of Fame Light Heavyweight / cruiserweight Virgil Hill will come out of retirement to fight Rager Cantrell on February 28 in Bismarck, North Dakota according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“The fight is about North Dakota. It’s going to be my last fight. I can’t think of any other way for me to express to the people of North Dakota how honored I am,” Hill told The Associated Press. “It’s just a farewell, a goodbye.”