READING, PA (March 14, 2017) -Heavyweight Travis “My Time” Kauffman (31-1, 23 KOs) has been training hard for his showdown with Amir “Hardcore” Mansour (22-2-1, 16 KOs) that will headline Premier Boxing Champions: The Next Round on Bounce Friday, March 17 from Santander Arena in Reading, PA.

Televised coverage on Bounce begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT

Kauffman trained in Houston, Texas with famed trainer Naazim Richardson, and is ready for the hard punching Mansour.

“Evertything is great. I was in Houston starting on December 20th and I came home on March 5th,” said Kauffman.

“I have been motivated knowing that I have a killer in front of me. Amir wants what I want, and that is a shot at the Heavyweight title.”

Kauffman has sacrificed a whole lot for this fight, as he missed important family moments in order to give himself the best opportunity to put his family in the best situation in the long run.

“I missed the holidays with my family. I also missed my sons birthday. I have never done that before. This has motivated me, and gives me such a mental edge and a bigger purpose for this fight.”

Being that Kauffman and Mansour (who has trained a majority of his career in Philadelphia) are only geographically separated by an hour, Kauffman knew this fight was bound to happen, and always visualized a fight with Mansour.

“I have always been confident that I could beat him. I was down in Texas working hard, and now I am in better shape, but I know when I win it will get me to the next level.”

That next level would be a shot at one of the heavyweight champions, and just on February 25th, WBC Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder took out Gerald Washington in 5 rounds, for which many thought the champion showed some flaws, which Kauffman thinks he could exploit more should that match up occur.

“I watched the Wilder fight. I did expect Washington to present some problems for him, But Washington doesn’t have the experience. Deontay can punch, but Gerald showed that Deontay can be beat. He showed that Deontay is the most amateurish Heavyweight champion ever, but you have to give the man credit, he is 38-0 with 37 knockouts. He can punch and has a beautiful jab.”

But before a fight with Wilder or one of the other beltholders, Kauffman knows he has a tough task in front of him in Mansour.

“This fight will put me in the top-five. I just want to win this and fight one of the champions. I don’t care who I fight. I been working so hard in this fight so expect a better Travis Kauffman.”

TRAVIS KAUFFMAN vs. AMIR MANSOUR FIGHT WEEK MEDIA SCHEDULE
*All Times Are Eastern*

Wednesday, March 15

4:00 p.m. FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE
Location: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Reading – Amphitheater
701 Penn St.; Reading, PA 19601
3:30 p.m. – Media Arrival
4:00 p.m. – Press Conference Begins

Thursday, March 16

5:00 p.m. OFFICIAL WEIGH-IN
Location: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Reading – Amphitheater
701 Penn St.; Reading, PA 19601
4:30 p.m. – Media Arrival
5:00 p.m. – Fighters to scales

Friday, March 17

6:00 p.m. SANTANDER ARENA DOORS OPEN
Location: 700 Penn Street; Reading, PA 19601

6:30 p.m. FIRST FIGHT BEGINS

9:00 p.m. BOUNCE BROADCAST BEGINS

CREDENTIAL DISTRIBUTION
Fight night credentials can be picked up from the box office beginning at 5:30 p.m. Proper personal photo ID (Driver’s license or passport) is required for credential pick-up.

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by King’s Promotions, start at $20 and are on sale now. Tickets are available at the VF Outlet Box Office at the Santander Arena, by phone at 800-745-3000, or online at Ticketmaster.com.

# # #

For more information visit www.premierboxingchampions.com, follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @, @BounceTV, and @Swanson_Comm and follow the conversation using #PBConBounce, become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions and www.Facebook.com/BounceTV. PBC on Bounce is sponsored by Corona: La Cerveza Mas Fina.

Bounce is the fastest-growing African-American (AA) network on television and airs on the broadcast signals of local television stations and corresponding cable carriage. The network features a programming mix of original and off-network series, theatrical motion pictures, specials, live sports and more. Bounce has grown to be available in more than 94 million homes across the United States and 93% of all African American television homes, including all of the top AA television markets. Among the founders of Bounce are iconic American figures Martin Luther King, III and Ambassador Andrew Young.

CASABLANCA, Morocco (March 14, 2017) – Last Saturday night in the Czech Republic, 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Mohammad Rabii experienced a rare “double” as he successfully turned pro and a few hours later became a father for the first time.

The 23-year-old Rabii, fighting out of Morocco, turned in a sensational professional debut, stopping Lazlow Kovacs II (11-6) at the 2:35 mark of the opening round at Sportovni Hala Kralovka in Prague.

Rabii entered the ring knowing his wife, Imane Imari, was in labor. “On the way to the arena,” Rabii explained, “I received a call that my wife was in labor and my son was coming soon. The fight couldn’t come quick enough for me. I was very excited but I had to concentrate on my first fight as a pro because it was such a big moment for me. The news later that my son had arrived was reason for a double celebration.

“Every time I connected on Kovacs, I could see that it was affecting him. I knew it was all over because I hit him with a big punch that me and my coach, Donald Leary, had worked on in training camp. I cannot wait for my next fight in April.”

Rabii’s son (unnamed at this writing) tipped the scale at 10 pounds, 3 ounces. He and his mother are both in good health.

Rabii was one of the leading pro prospects coming of the Olympic Games in Brazil. He had dropped a highly-disputed decision (0-3) in the semifinals to Uzbekistan boxer Shakhram Giyasov, the eventual silver medalist. Rabii captured a coveted gold medal at the 2015 AIBA World Amateur Championships, ironically, defeating 2016 Olympic gold medalist Daniyar Yeleussinov in the welterweight division championship final.

Rabbi had planned to make his pro debut prior to the arrival of his baby, who was due February 18, training in Cork, Ireland for his originally scheduled pro debut February 28 in Casablanca. However, due to reasons beyond the event organizers’ control, that show was unfortunately cancelled.

“I had to reschedule his pro debut for March 11th against the same opponent, Kovacs,” said Rabii’s manager Gary Hyde, president of Nowwhere2Hyde Management. “Kovacs fights between 154 and 168 pounds, which is much heavier than the 147-pound welterweight division in which Rabii fights.

“Mohammad learned during his warm-up for the fight that his wife was in labor and close to delivering his first child. He had other things to take care of before concentrating on his family affairs, wasting no time as he annihilated Kovacs until dropping his Hungarian opponent hard near the end of the opening round. Czech spectators gasped as Rabii’s thunderous punches connected. Kovacs somehow got to his feet to beat the count but he was visibly shaken and the referee wisely stopped the fight. Rabii had no time to celebrate, though, as he rushed to contact his family back in Morocco, happily learning his wife had given birth to the couple’s baby boy at 7 a.m. Sunday morning.”

INFORMATION:

Twitter: @nowhere2hyde
Facebook: www.facebook.com/garyhyde, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001023624090&fref=ts (Rabii)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (March 14th, 2017) — “The Action Man” returns to Twin River Casino later this month to defend his world title against a heavy-handed underdog capable of stealing the belt and, perhaps, the nickname.

Ohio’s Chris Curtis (14-5, 5 KOs), the reigning CES MMA World Welterweight Champion, faces the one-punch knockout power of Lawrence, Mass., vet Wilfredo Santiago (7-3, 6 KOs) on Friday, March 31st, 2017 in the five-round main event of “CES MMA 42” live from Twin River on AXS TV Fights, one of seven televised bouts on the main card.

“CES MMA 42” kicks off a busy three-week stretch for the most prolific combat sports promotion in the northeast. The schedule continues April 7th in Rhode Island with CES Boxing’s second fight card of the year, followed by CES MMA’s long-awaited return to Beverly, Mass., with “CES MMA 43” at the North Shore Music Theatre.

“CES MMA 42” airs live on AXS TV’s AXS TV Fights beginning at 9 p.m. ET. Doors open at 6 and the preliminary card begins at 7.

Tickets for “CES MMA 42” are priced at $40.00, $55.00, $100.00 and $125.00 (VIP) and can be purchased online at www.cesboxing.com, www.twinriver.com, www.ticketmaster.com or www.cagetix.com/ces by phone at 401-724-2253/2254 or at the Twin River Casino Players Club. All fights and fighters are subject to change.

Curtis makes his second title defense since capturing the belt in January of 2016 with a win over Gil de Freitas while Santiago hopes to build off his devastating 41-second knockout against Chuck O’Neil at “CES MMA 39” in Plymouth, Santiago’s fourth consecutive victory over a span of two and a half years, three of which have come by knockout.

“CES MMA 42” also features the return of fan-favorite Luis Felix (14-9, 5 KOs) of Providence, R.I., who faces Hot Springs, Ark., vet Dawond Pickney (10-6, 7 KOs) in his first fight since suffering a knee injury against Ryan Sanders that forced him to verbally tap at “CES MMA 32.”

The two were supposed to fight a second time at “CES MMA 36” with Felix’s lightweight title on the line, but the Providence native suffered another setback, delaying his long-awaited return to the cage. His 14-month layoff finally ends on March 31st against the upset-minded Pickney, who recently faced seven-time Bellator vet Treston Thomison at Bellator 166.

The show-stopper of the evening might come in the lightweight division when Fall River, Mass., native Josh LaBerge (11-5, 5 KOs) steps up to face longtime CES MMA vet Saul Almeida (18-8, 1 KO) of Framingham, Mass.

A three-time CES MMA vet, LaBerge returned to the promotion at “CES MMA 35” in Beverly, defeating Ran Weathers by unanimous decision. He’s won his last two since suffering a loss to reigning CES MMA World Featherweight Champion Matt Bessette and nine of 10 overall.

The polarizing Almeida makes his 10th appearance at CES MMA, a run that began seven years ago at the promotion’s inaugural event in 2010. He ended a two-year hiatus at “CES MMA 39” in a controversial split-decision loss to undefeated prospect Manny Bermudez, one of 18 bouts in his 26-fight career that have gone the distance.

Also starring on the televised main card, Woonsocket, R.I., flyweight Kody Nordby (8-4) aims for his third consecutive win in his ninth appearance with CES MMA when he faces Bellingham, Mass., native David Baxter (4-1, 1 KO), who recently earned his second win in a row by submitting Dan Cormier at “CES MMA 41” in January.

Johnston, R.I., featherweight Joe Pingitore (7-3, 2 KOs) also returns to the CES MMA cage in a featured bout against Cortland, N.Y., vet Kenny Foster (11-11, 1 KO). A former CES MMA world-title challenger, Pingitore made quick work of Spencer Higa at “CES MMA 40,” submitting his opponent at 4:54 of the opening round via guillotine. Foster last fought at “CES MMA 34” in a narrow, split-decision loss to Calvin Kattar.

Stoughton, Mass., cruiserweight and former Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) vet Pat Walsh (10-2, 4 KOs) makes his sixth appearance with CES MMA in a showdown against Brazilian Dirlei Broenstrup (14-4, 5 KOs), a winner in eight of his last nine bouts. Walsh has won his last five, including back-to-back victories with CES MMA, most recently in January via submission against Kevin Haley.

Rounding out the main card, Milford, Mass., bantamweight Kris Moutinho (3-0, 1 KO) makes his network television debut in just his fourth fight with CES MMA when he battles Ontario’s Lloyd Reyes (4-3, 2 KOs). Moutinho fights for the fourth time since September, a run that includes his first knockout win at “CES MMA 41” via head kick against Jason Rine. The red-hot Reyes has won four of his last five – three by stoppage – after suffering losses in his first two professional bouts.

The return of Cranston, R.I., welterweight prospect Gary Balletto Jr. (2-1, 1 KO) and unbeaten Providence bantamweight Marquis Brewster (2-0) highlights the preliminary card. Balletto Jr. aims for his third consecutive win against Syracuse native Chris Torres (0-0) while Brewster battles newcomer Cody Hier of Philadelphia.

Fresh off her debut win at “CES MMA 41” female flyweight Maria Rivera (1-0) of Framingham, Mass., battles Hot Springs newcomer Jessica Sotack and unbeaten bantamweight Richie Santiago (3-0) battles Winchendon, Mass., native Chad Kelly (3-3, 1 KO). Santiago is undefeated under the guidance of CES MMA with all three wins by submission.

Visit www.cesmma.com, www.twitter.com/cesmma or www.facebook.com/cesmma for more information, or follow CES MMA on Instagram at @CESMMA.

BERNIE BAHRMASEL: Good afternoon and Good Morning to the international press and thanks very much for joining us on this Media Conference Call promoting the highly anticipated World Middleweight Championship between Unified Middleweight World Champion GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN, (36-0, 33 KO’s) and WBA Middleweight World Champion and Mandatory Challenger DANIEL “The Miracle Man” JACOBS, (32-1, 29 KO’s) set for Saturday, March 18 from THE Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The Championship Event presented by K2 Promotions will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View starting at 9pm ET, 6pm PT. Tickets for the live event which are moving fast, may be purchased online through Ticketmaster and TheGarden.com

Joining us first on the call today is the Consensus #1 Pound-for-Pound Fighter in the World from his training camp in Costa Rica, ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ. Sporting a record of 46-0 with 38 knockouts, Roman is joined on the call by his longtime manager CARLOS BLANDON to discuss his WBC Super Flyweight World Championship defense against Mandatory Challenger SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI, (41-4-1, 38 KO’s), in the co-main event on March 18th.

Later in the call, we will joined by former WBC Super Flyweight World Champion CARLOS “PRINCIPE” CUADRAS and his trainer RUDY HERNANDEZ who are wrapping up camp in Los Angeles, California.

In a special attraction 10-round super flyweight bout on the HBO Pay-Per-View, Cuadras will battle Mexico City cross-town arch rival DAVID “SEVERO” CARMONA.

This past September 10 at the Fabulous Forum and telecast, “Chocolatito”and Cuadras clashed in one of the best fights of 2016, as Roman Gonzalez won his fourth division world title.

TOM LOEFFLER: We couldn’t be more excited to have ‘Chocolatito’ back on the show with Gennady and it is a great match-up. On any other show it would clearly be the main event. ‘Chocolatito’ headlined the show last September at the Fabulous Forum and had a tremendous victory over Carlos Cuadras winning a world title in his fourth weight division and is universally considered the No. 1 pound for pound fighter in the world. We are excited for this match-up. It is a tough match-up that’s mandated by the WBC against Rungvisai from Thailand who is a very big puncher and I know many boxing fans are really looking forward to this fight. With that I would like to introduce Carlos Blandon to say a few words. He has been with Roman in training camp.

CARLOS BLANDON: I would like to thank everyone that is making this possible – HBO, Teiken Promotions and K2 Promotions and Madison Square Garden for hosting us once again on March 18. Roman and the whole ‘Chocolatito’ team is very excited and happy once again to be showcasing Roman’s talents at Madison Square Garden, The Mecca of Boxing, and we think it is going to be an excellent night of boxing on fight night. And thanks to Gennady, who we admire and we are very happy to be fighting under his name once again. At the same time having Carlos Cuadras with Rudy Hernandez being able to fight before us makes for a full program of action.

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: First of all I want to say that we are ready for next Saturday. I want to thank God and I want to thank HBO and K2 Promotions and Madison Square Garden. Everything has gone great during this camp and once again it is an honor to be on a card featuring Gennady Golovkin and Daniel Jacobs.

How was it to be a headliner on your last show?

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: It was a great opportunity in Los Angeles that HBO gave me to fight Carlos Cuadras in the feature fight. It was a great fight with an amazing atmosphere. The fans from Mexico and Nicaragua came out. I think it showed that I have the power that I can fill a big arena like the Forum. I was very happy and to be the co-feature with Golovkin is another great opportunity and I realize that there are going to be a lot of fans of Nicaraguan descent that will descend upon Madison Square Garden and I want to give them a very positive result.

How was it fighting at the heavier weight? You got touched up a little in the Cuadras fight. Do you feel you can dominate at the heavier weight?

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: I have always had respect for my opponent and it was a very tough fight at 115. Never did I think it was going to be easy campaigning in this division at 115 – it takes time to get used to and I think that’s what is happening at the moment but I think I will be fine.

What was the reception like when you returned home after not only winning another world title but passing the legend of Arguello by winning a fourth world title?

That day was very memorable when I returned home. People were lined up in the streets and they were greeting me all over and to be honest, being home, they gave me their love. The people of Nicaragua gave me their love and without question it makes me so happy to represent the country of Nicaragua, that now after winning this world title I have to hold onto it.

Do you feel a need move to move to higher weight divisions or do you feel you are fighting for the guys in the lower weight classes?

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: From a legacy standpoint I have already accomplished a lot and now my goal is to hold onto my fourth world title in order to gain higher purses and more money and I want to continue to show that I am a quality fighter and I am a great fighter and I want to move forward and I think a second fight with Cuadras will certainly do that. But I am fixed on holding on to this world title moving forward.

What do you want to accomplish next?

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: A fourth world title was something that was an absolute blessing. I want to thank God and it meant so much to me. No, aside from holding onto my world title, I could possibly go for a fifth world championship – in a different weight division – but first I understand that I need to hold onto to this title at the moment.

How many tickets are left for the fight at Madison Square Garden?

TOM LOEFFLER: The tickets are selling very well. The last show where Gennady and ‘Chocolatito’ had fought together at the Garden in October 2015, we were completely sold out and right now the tickets are ahead of that. So we expect a sold out arena and the fans have reacted to the combination again of Gennady and ‘Chocolatito’ on the same show.

How does this opponent compare to Cuadras and what type of challenges do you expect?

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: I always know it’s going to be a different rival and challenge. Against Carlos Cuadras it was a great fight and I certainly learned a lot in that match-up and especially in my training camp. On this one coming up on the 18th of March, I expect a great fight and I want to put on a great fight for the fans and I realize what I have to do because at the end of the day I want to have my had raised in victory.

Do you want to fight Cuadras again? How did that fight compare to the toughest you have had?

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: As I look at a fight coming up against Carlos Cuadras again I realize I have to train harder. Every opponent presents different challenges. I do believe that the second fight, the rematch, will be better. But heading into the rematch, assuming all goes according to plan, I will be confident and I know he will be a little bit more because of the time we shared in the ring. I do believe I can go out there and get the knockout in the rematch.

Do you feel better training in Costa Rica than in California?

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: Every camp is very good. Every camp runs very well when it comes to training in Costa Rica. I like it because I almost feel at home as if in Nicaragua. There are mountains here and water and I just feel so comfortable in Costa Rica.

You have a tough fight coming up on the 18th and Cuadras says that you didn’t want the rematch immediately…

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: It doesn’t really matter what he says. If he wants to go ahead and get into a verbal match with me, that’s not what I am going to focus on. I am the champion right now. I realize that the rematch is down the line. I have a lot of respect for him. I am fighting for the lower weight classes and a rematch will be in the cards if it does transpire. That will happen down the line and I am all about fighting for the lower weight classes to make them prominent in boxing.

This is a tough time in the United States for Hispanics and Latinos . . .

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: My fight is for the public. I am always very happy for the adulation. These days I want to move forward and make people happy by my performance.

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: Thank you very much to all of the public, God bless you and we will see you Saturday on March 18.

CARLOS BLANDON: We are so appreciative of everything and getting ready for March 18 – Roman is training his heart out. You are going to see a faster and stronger Roman and wee are putting everything in God’s hands. Thanks again to HBO Teiken and K2 and The Garden for making this possible.

__________________________________

RUDY HERNANDEZ: We are ready and we are just wishing the fight was tomorrow.

CARLOS CUADRAS: I am very well trained and I am excited for this fight. My goal is to come out and win against Carmona on March 18

When you fought Chocolatito, did you feel as if you were fighting for the smaller weight classes?

CARLOS CUADRAS: We are obviously fighting for higher purses and we are representing the lighter weight classes. We are going to give a show and demonstrate our high quality action. But we do realize when we fight inside that ring that we can provide action and put on a show as good as if not better than the higher weight classes and that will lead to more lucrative purses and higher paydays down the line.

Chocolatito has talked about fighting at 118. Would you accept a rematch at 118?

CARLOS CUADRAS: I will do it at whatever weight he wants to do it at. If he wants to fight and do the rematch at 118, no problem. We can even do the rematch in the heavyweight division. It will be a great fight. I am going to bring the fight to him. I have the medicine in my hands and the power to get after and to dispel of ‘Chocolatito’.

You always seem happy and smiling in such a brutal sport…

CARLOS CUADRAS: I love boxing and boxing is my life. If someone has a passion for something in anything that they do it shows and with me I love boxing. It is absolutely my life and I enjoy being in the gym competing against great fighters, partaking in the sport of boxing and it is something that I really love.

Do you think that helps lighten the pressure?

CARLOS CUADRAS: I enjoy the moment. I don’t let the pressure get to me. I don’t pay attention to that. I get to fight in these massive arenas. Every day when I step in the ring my focus is squarely on the opponent across from me. Thank you very much and say hello to all of those in Mexico!

Juan Francisco Estrada has called you out – so what do you think about him or ‘Chocolatito’?

CARLOS CUADRAS: Juan Francisco Estrada is a great fighter and it is almost a guarantee since we are both of Mexican descent that we will collide at some point down the line. But it is true that I want to fight Chocolatito in the rematch. That is what I want. He has the world title and that is what I want. But down the line we will have a match with Estrada.

What do you think about the Canelo-Chavez Jr. fight?

CARLOS CUADRAS: Julio Cesar Chavez should win the fight. He is bigger and he is stronger and if he comes in condition and ready to perform at the highest level I think he should get the victory.

How do the Mexican fans respond to you?

CARLOS CUADRAS: As to the response of the Mexican boxing fans they absolutely embrace me following my fight with Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez.

Do you feel that, since you did not get an immediate rematch, that it may not happen at all?

I do believe that he is running from me. He has fear of me. Look, if he wants to fight me at 118, no problem. I will go up to 118 pounds. Whatever weight he is, if he will give me the fight, I will be there and I will fight him in the rematch.

How much of a chance do you give Rungvisai against Chocolatito?

Rungvisai is a very strong opponent and hits hard. If Chocolatito allows him to have his distance, he could knock him out so he has to be wary. He is a very tough and dangerous opponent, as I can attest to.

RUDY HERNANDEZ: Carlos is looking to shine on March 18 and hopes to steal the show and hopes HBO gives him the opportunity to fight again.

CARLOS CUADRAS: I have watched Carmona fight. He is from Mexico City and we are fellow countrymen. I think he is a very tough fighter. I watched his last fight when he lost by unanimous decision. But I am going to go out there and I will be looking for the knockout.

TOM LOEFFLER: We are excited to have both Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez and Carlos Cuadras on the card. This is a tremendous show that we have put together. They had a war in September of last year and Carlos lost a close decision and we wanted to feature him because he was a crowd favorite. Now with Roman defending his title against the mandatory and GGG versus Jacobs we are very excited for next week.

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Consensus #1 Pound-for-Pound Fighter and WBC Super Flyweight World Champion ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ, (46-0, 38 KO’s) will make the first defense of his fourth divisional world title against Thailand’s SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI, (41-4-1, 38 KO’s) on Saturday, March 18 at The Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden.

In a special attraction 10-round clash, former WBC Super Flyweight World Champion CARLOS “PRINCIPE” CUADRAS, (35-1-1, 27 KO’s) battles cross-town rival DAVID “SEVERO” CARMONA, (20-3-5, 8 KO’s) of Mexico City.

The Championship Event presented by K2 Promotions will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

On September 10, 2016, Gonzalez and Cuadras battled in an epic “Fight of the Year” candidate at The Fabulous Forum in Los Angeles. After twelve outstandin rounds of action, Gonzalez was declared the victor. The fight was telecast live on HBO.

Headlining the HBO Pay-Per-View event from on Saturday, March 18, Unified Middleweight World Champion GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN, (36-0, 33 KO’s) will defend his titles (WBC, WBA, IBF, IBO) against WBA Middleweight World Champion and Mandatory Challenger DANIEL “THE MIRACLE MAN” JACOBS, (32-1, 29 KO’s) in a highly anticipated divisional showdown.

Golovkin and Jacobs have an extraordinary, combined 35 consecutive knockouts heading into this highly anticipated batt

GOLOVKIN vs. JACOBS is presented by K2 Promotions. Tickets priced at $1000, $600, $400, $300, $200 and $100, are now on sale and can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008) and online at www.ticketmaster.com or www.thegarden.com

SOCIAL MEDIA — #GGGJACOBS

Gennady “GGG” Golovkin
@GGGBoxing – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Daniel Jacobs
@DanielJacobsTKO – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez
@ChocolatitoBox – Twitter
@ChocolatitoOfficial – Facebook
@Chocolatito87 – Instagram

Carlos Cuadras
@CuadrasOficial – Twitter
@CarlosCuadras – Facebook
@CuadrasOficial — Instagram

HBO
@HBO, @HBOBoxing – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Madison Square Garden
@TheGarden – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Tom Loeffler (K2 Promotions)
@TomLoeffler1 — Twitter

Humble, TX (March 14, 2017) On Friday night March 24, 2017 at the Humble Civic Center,
RTS Boxing Will present a great night of boxing.

In the main event former WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight Champion Alfonso “El Tigre” Lopez (25-3, 20 KO’s)

The 34 Year-old Lopez of Cut and Shoot, Texas will take part in a six-round bout against an opponent to be named.

Lopez is a 10 year-professional, who was undefeated his first 21 bouts.

He has wins over former world title challenger Rubin Williams and Romaro Johnson (11-2-1)

In his highest profile bout, Lopez came up just short as he dropped a majority decision to former middleweight champion on May 7, 2011 in Las Vegas,

Lopez’s wife a nutritionist and personal trainer looks forward to seeing her husband in the ring and says he will be fighting this fight at 175 and will gradually come down to contend at the super middleweight division.

Lopez has won three straight bout, which includes his last outing when he stopped Lester Gonzalez in two rounds on May 9, 2015 in Houston.

The undercard will showcase Houston’s own sensational amateur fighter Luis Acosta, who will be making his pro debut as well as undefeated middleweight brothers Jonathan (9-0) and super featherweight Cristobal Morales (5-0).

Also appearing on the card will be middleweight Cameron Burroughs (2-1, 2 KOs) and pro debuting Robert Edmonds.

RTS BOXING is owned by Courtney Glaspie, who has served as a manager and fitness trainer for fighters. “Boxing has been a long love for me and I am looking forward to this challenge of continuing to make HOUSTON a big stage for BOXING,” said Glaspie.

The show will feature a loaded fight card with fun filled action and entertainment. The show is produced by RoRo Productions and matchmaker Lynn Collins

Tickets are priced $20 General admission, $35.00 reserved $50 VIP,100 and 150.00 table and ringside VIP

Having grown up the son of a former undisputed and two-time World Heavyweight Champion, Hasim Rahman Jr., doesn’t mind that the world will be watching from the beginning of his professional boxing career.

“This isn’t new,” explained Rahman. “I’m so used to being who I am and having eyes on me that it would be awkward to not have them. It hasn’t mattered who I was my whole life, or what I did. The world was watching because of who my father is.”

Rahman Jr., whose father, Hasim “The Rock” Rahman famously knocked out Lennox Lewis in April 2001 to win the WBC and IBF Heavyweight Championships, will make his professional debut against Kansas City’s Brian Imes (1-4, 1 KO) on Thursday, March 23, 2017, at Greg Cohen Promotions’ SUPER BRAWL® III, boxing event at the Skylands Event & Conference Center (ECC) in Randolph, New Jersey.

Presented in association with Rising Promotions and GH3 Promotions (sponsored by David Schuster’s Winner Take All Productions), SUPER BRAWL® III will also feature the Bronx, New York’s Halili brothers: power-punching super-welterweight action hero Skender Halili (13-1, 13 KOs) taking on Ecuadorian veteran Eduardo “El Cheíto” Flores (25-25-3, 15 KOs) in the eight-round main event, and undefeated Enver Halili (8-0, 2 KOs) facing Nicaragua’s Ariel Vasquez (13-16-2, 9 KOs) in the six-round welterweight co-main.

Tickets for SUPER BRAWL® III are priced at Golden Ringside $150, Ringside $100 and General Admission $50 and can be purchased by calling the GCP office: 212.851.6425 or online at gcpboxing.com.

“My dad is like an advisor,” he continued. “My dad is the only person I know that truly has my best interests at heart. Anybody else I ever dealt with, it always came down to money at the end of the day. My dad never asks me for anything. I know he knows the game and I know that with him on my team, the sky is the limit.”

25-year-old Rahman is getting a later-than-expected start at his highly-anticipated boxing career. Coming off his successful 100-fight run as an amateur, the buzz was all around the 6′ 3″ 250-lb. fighter, but a fatal car accident in 2012 saw him serving a 2- to 5-year sentence with the Department of Corrections.

Recently released and now ready to go on with life, Rahman says the entire experience changed him for the good. “It was an eye-opener for me. Going through that really changed my career and how I felt as a person, and a son, a father, and a husband. It changed me. I am grateful god blessed me to be in this position today.”

Rahman says he doesn’t know much about first opponent Imes, but he and trainer Kenny Ellis are hard at work at Upton Boxing Center in Baltimore.

“I feel great. I’m really anxious, but the nervousness hasn’t kicked in. It will around fight time. My team says it’s a good fight for me. Being off for two and a half years, I’m looking to get in some rounds.”

Despite the delayed start, Team Rahman has no plan on rushing things.

“I just want to stay busy as I can and learn as much as I can and fight for a world title when I’m ready. I’m not going to rush. There’s no rush. It’s not like I’m going to wait forever. I will fight for the title when I’m ready and I know if it put in the work, I’ll be ready in a about two years. That’s the goal for me. If it takes three or four years, it does. Whatever the case may be. I’ll keep racking up the knockouts until it happens.”

For Rahman, the decision to follow in his famous father’s footsteps was a rational one.

“I’ve always been taught to plan ahead. When I was in middle school, I was really into football. I played tight end, running back and wide receiver. I had dreams. But it dawned on me how many people have the same dream that I do. For instance, there are a million young African American men wanting to go to the NBA every year. 400,000 of them will play high school basketball. 4000 of those will play college. 35 will be drafted. Out of the that 35, only 7 will start. That means there are a million people trying to get 7 jobs. And the average career in the NBA is four years. That’s a problem. People have to look at their odds. I did. So, I said ‘know what? Instead of being in this giant pool of people trying to be the next Ray Lewis. I rarely run across someone who wants to be heavyweight champion of the world,’ so that’s what I decided to do. No father and son duo have ever become heavyweight champions. It’s never been done. For me to be in the position to cement our family name in heavyweight championship history is very motivating and I’m ready to take full advantage of it.”

Signing with Greg Cohen Promotions was an easy decision, according to Rahman, who has known the Jersey-based promoter for most of his life.

“I really want to thank Greg Cohen for the chance he’s given me,” he said. “I’ve known Greg since I was a kid and he has always believed in me. He has always supported me and kept in contact and followed me. He has a real genuine interest in me. Greg already knows he has the best new heavyweight in the world. I’m really dedicated to making him and my father and the City of Baltimore proud.”

SUPER BRAWL® III will be broadcast, tape-delayed, on Sportsnet New York (SNY). On fight night, doors open at 6:00 pm and the action starts at 7:00 pm. The Skylands ECC is located at 792 Route 10 West in Randolph, NJ. Phone: 973.328.8600.

More information: www.gcpboxing.com, www.risingboxingpromotions.com, www.skylandsecc.com.

Twitter @Skylandsecc @gcpboxing
About Greg Cohen Promotions
One of boxing’s premier promotional outfits, Greg Cohen Promotions (GCP) is a well-respected name for staging world-class professional boxing events and promoting elite professional fighters throughout the world.

Founder and CEO Greg Cohen has been involved with professional boxing in various capacities since the late 1980s, honing his craft and establishing himself as a shrewd international boxing businessman.

Distinguished by his ability to spot and develop raw talent, Cohen first made promotional headlines for his expert guidance of, among many others, former WBA Junior Middleweight Champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout, who Cohen helped guide from unknown New Mexico prospect to elite pay-per-view level superstar.

In addition to Trout, Greg Cohen Promotions has worked with established names such as former unified and two-time heavyweight champion Hasim “The Rock” Rahman and all-time-great multiple-weight class world champion James “Lights Out” Toney.

Cohen currently promotes Undefeated WBO NABO Heavyweight Champion and top 10 world-rated contender Jarrell Miller, Undefeated WBA NABA Middleweight Champion and top 5 world-rated contender Robert Brant, WBO NABO Lightweight Champion and top 5 world-rated contender Mason Menard, former WBA Interim World Lightweight Champion and top 10 world-rated contender Ismael Barroso, top 10 world-rated contender Rico Mueller, undefeated WBA International Bantamweight Champion and world-rated contender Mzuvukile Magwaca, WBO Oriental Super Welterweight Champion and world-rated contender Dennis Hogan, IBO World Featherweight Champion Lusanda Komanisi, former WBO Super Lightweight World Champion Kendall Holt, as well as current top 10 world-rated contenders cruiserweight Olanrewaju Durodola, Filipino Jr. Lightweight star Harmonito Dela Torre, Filipino Super Lightweight Czar Amonsot, and top 15 world-rated contenders featherweight world title challenger Eric Hunter and Guyanese bantamweight Elton Dharry.

Greg Cohen Promotions has hosted world-class boxing events in the finest venues throughout the United States and the world and has also proudly provided talent and/or content for several television networks including CBS Sports Network, HBO, Showtime, ESPN, NBC Sports Network, CBS Sports Network, MSG and FOX Sports Net.

For more information, visit gcpboxing.com. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GCPBoxing. Twitter: @GCPBoxing.

Lawrence Okolie will make his pro debut against Russell Henshaw at the Manchester Arena on March 25, live on Sky Sports.

Okolie was the first of the 2016 Team GB Olympians to turn professional and becomes the first to taste action in the paid ranks on the undercard of Anthony Crolla’s blockbuster World Lightweight unification rematch with Jorge Linares.

The 24 year old Cruiserweight talent faces a stiff test on his first night under the bright lights in the form of Derbyshire’s Henshaw, but Okolie is happy to dive into the deep end in his first pro outing as he looks to back up his claims that he can become Britain’s best ever Cruiserweight.

“Everyone is excited to see how I do – and I am too,” said Okolie. “I believe that I can do the business but I am stepping into the unknown, it’s really exciting. It’s a great bill to start on and Russell is a really good test for my debut.

“I’m really happy that there’s so much interest in me and my Olympic teammates. We handled a lot of pressure in Rio and to qualify for it – you know that if you lose in the qualifiers you aren’t going to get to go to the games and then when you are there, you know that millions of people are watching you. So I’ve learnt how to deal with handling the weight of expectation and still performing to the best of my abilities, and that’s going to stand me in good stead in the pros.

“I want to dominate the division. I’m not afraid to let the other Cruiserweights know that I’m here and I am coming for them. I have all the physical and mental attributes to achieve it, I just have to get the experience and the real belief – not self-belief because I have that – but real belief from getting out there and getting in with someone that has trained to beat you, they’re hitting you with 10oz gloves, that’s when I’ll learn a lot about myself and get that real belief that I can go on to do great things.”

Okolie’s debut is part of a huge night of action in Manchester, topped by Linares and Crolla going toe-to-toe for the second time.

There’s a crossroads battle of Blackpool as Middleweights Brian Rose and Jack Arnfield lock horns and Martin J. Ward defends his British Super-Featherweight title against Maxi Hughes in their third clash in the paid ranks.

Irish sensation Katie Taylor fights for the fourth time in the paid ranks, Marcus Morrison defends his WBC International Middleweight strap against Jason Welborn, while his Joe Gallagher gym-mate Hosea Burton looks to bounce back into title contention from his epic battle with Frank Buglioni, while there’s also action for Tomi Tatham, Ben Sheedy, Nathan Wheatley and Sean McGoldrick.

Tickets are on sale priced at £40, £60, £80, £100 and £150 and available from www.manchesterarena.com or by calling 0844 847 8000. VIPs tickets are exclusively available through www.matchroomboxing.com priced at £250.

Face value tickets for March 25 will also be available from http://www.stubhub.co.uk/matchroom-boxing-tickets/ . StubHub is the official ticket partner and marketplace of Matchroom Boxing and Anthony Joshua.

Atlantic City, NJ (March 13, 2017)–This past Saturday night, welterweight Anthony “Juice” Young registered his 5th consecutive victory as he won an 8-round unanimous decision that highlighted a 7- bout card at The Claridge Hotel in Atlantic City.

The card was promoted by Rising promotions, which staged it’s 7th consecutive card in front of a capacity crowd at The Claridge.

“It’s bitter sweet knowing this was my last event. This show was a great way to end the #ACFightNight series. Awesome crowd, great fights and dramatic endings. It’s now time for me to focus on my fighting career and continue my path to become a world champion,” said Thomas LaManna of Rising Promotions.

Young controlled action against the tough veteran, and Young was able to win in shutout fashion by scores of 80-72 on all cards.

Young of Atlantic City raised his mark to 16-2. Amoako of Silver Spring, Maryland via Accra, Ghana is now 21-14.

In the co-feature, Gabriel Pham scored his 2nd consecutive stoppage, as he took out Chauncey Fields at 1:29 of round four of their scheduled 6-round super middleweight bout.

With the win, Pham of Atlantic City improves to 8-1 with 4 knockouts. Fields of Lynchburg, Virginia falls to 4-2.

Heavyweight Brendan Barrett remained undefeated as he stopped Philly tough guy Brian Donahue at 2:33 of round two of their scheduled 4-round bout.

Barrett hurt Donahue on the ropes and stopped him after a hard flurry. Barrett is now 5-0-2 with all his wins coming via the stoppage variety.

Donahue is now 3-14-3.

In another heavyweight tussle, Dan Pasciolla won a 6-round split decision over LeMarcus Tucker.

It was a close fight with the each man having moments throughout the contest.

Pasciolla of Brick, NJ won two cards via 58-56 scores, while Tucker took a card 58-56.

Pasciolla is now 9-2-1. Tucker of Forest City, Arkansas is 4-2.

Adrian Wilson of Atlantic City got his first professional win by winning a 4-round unanimous decision over Henry Tyrone Paige,

Wilson won on all cards 40-36 is now 1-3. Paige of Batesville, Arkansas is 0-4.

Thomas Romain of Brooklyn, New York won a 4-round unanimous decision over Sidell Blocker.

Romain won all cards by 40-36 scores and is now 2-1. Blocker of Pleasantville, NJ is 1-7-1.

In a battle of pro debuters, Cesar Francis defeated Steve Moore by scores of 40-36 twice and 39-37.

Nutley, NJ (March 14, 2017) – World ranked middleweight Antoine Douglas returned to action after a year layoff by stopping Pablo Munguia in the 5th round in a scheduled six-round bout in Charenton, Louisiana.

Douglas of Washington, D.C. was making his first start since March 5, 2016 got back in the win column.

The 24 year-old raised his mark to 20-1-1 with 14 knockouts, and is ranked number-12 by the WBC,

Douglas is promoted by GH3 Promotions.

“This was a good way to comeback for Antoine,” said GH3 Promotions promoter Vito Mielnicki.

“We wanted to bring him back in March. Antoine has been fighting regularly since he was 11 years-old, so the layoff was needed and good. We moved him fast as he fought 21 times in 4 years. It was the first time that he was able to take a step back. Despite what happened in his fight with Khurtzsidze, we still believe is a future world champion. The fight with Khurtsidze was a learning experience for all of us, from he fighter to the trainers to me the promoter. This whole thing should be about Antoine Douglas and no one else. He is still just 24 years old and his best boxing is ahead of him. We will have him in a few more of these learning fights, and then look for him to be back knocking on a big fight by August.”

“We have a good team around him with his trainers Dennis Porter, Kevin Smalls and Kay Koroma. We just added Joseph Karoma as the strength and conditioning coach.”

“I want to thank Greg Cohen for help getting us on the card in Louisiana.”

Douglas will be back in on action on March 27th, in the Dominican Republic, when he takes on Eduardo Mercedes (32-16, 27 KO’s) for the WBC Fecarbox title.

NEW YORK CITY (March 13, 2017) – World-class featherweight Yohan “La Fiera” Vasquez (18-1, 16 KOs) will put his world ratings on the line, March 27 at home in an eight-round bout against undefeated Venezuelan prospect Maikol “La Perla” Maikin” Beaumont (12-0-1, 7 KOs), at New Monte Bar in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

The 22-year-old Vasquez is a former Interim World Boxing Council (WBC) super featherweight champion. A dangerous puncher who also boxes effectively, he is currently world rated by the World Boxing Association (WBA) at No. 13, as well as No. 15 by the WBC.

In his most recent fight, Vasquez knocked out former world champion Richard Carrillo (24-6) in the second-round, last November in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican knockout artist is riding a 13-fight win streak, dating back to 2014, into his risky confrontation with Beaumont later this month.

Beaumont, 22, is the reigning Venezuelan featherweight champion who will be fighting outside of his native country for the first time against Vasquez.

“Yohan is like a Tazmanian Devil,” Havoc Boxing CEO Rob Diaz said. “He just goes into the ring and starts attacking his opponent. We’ve told him to take his time but he likes to crack. He’s a young fighter on the rise but still green. He has the skill, heart and determination to make it to the top.

“Our plan is to keep him banging out opponents, rising in the rankings, and eventually proving to all the fighters in his division that he belongs with the best. We’re taking it one fight at a time, though. Havoc Boxing will keep pushing Yohan until he gets in position for a world title shot. We’re very excited about his potential and development.”

Havoc Boxing Promotions is a division of Havoc Boxing, which is known throughout boxing for its flashy, totally unique looking boxing “uniforms” – trunks and jackets – and other clothing merchandise and accessories.

In addition to Vasquez, Havoc also promotes Nicaraguan lightweight Oliver “Trombita” Flores (27-3-2, 17 KOs), the former world title challenger, in addition to a pair of Colombian fighters, super bantamweight Wilner Soto (16-1, 8 KOs) and former world cruiserweight title challenger Santander “Cha Cha” Silgado (27-4, 21 KOs).

INFORMATION:

Website: www.TeamHavocUSA.com
Twitter: @HavocBoxingNYC
Instagram: @havoc_ceo
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HavocBoxingNYC
ABOUT HAVOC BOXING: Based in Brooklyn, New York, Havoc Boxing has quickly become the world’s most trusted source for boxing trunks and uniforms. What started a decade ago as a personal mission for creator Andre Rozier to design and sell custom boxing gear has come full circle with the assistance of CEO Rob Diaz and CFO Randall Ramirez. Havoc Boxing has earned a reputation for its stylish, high-quality ring attire supported by amateurs, Professionals and world champions everywhere, Havoc has started a clothing line and accessories with exceptional performance to meet the needs of an ever-increasing number of athletes and fans around the world.

Havoc Boxing is proud to be supported by professionals, champions and former world champions such as Danny “Swift” Garcia, Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi, Danny “Miracle Man” Jacobs, Sadam Ali, Badau Jack, Adrian Bronner, Marcus Browne, Gabriel Rosado and Demetrius Andrade, to name a few of the more notables. Havoc Boxing is a brand for the sports world and maintains the highest standards of quality and integrity in all its products. “Champions Wear Havoc!”

Philadelphia, PA/Bronx, NY/Providence, RI (March 13, 2017)–Newly crowned WBA Junior Middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade threw a staggering 953 punches according to Compubox, in his title win over Jack Culcay this past Saturday in Ludwigshafen, Germany.

Andrade, who many regard as the most talented fighter in the 154 pound division, showed his versatility as divvied up his punch output nicely between jabs and power punches by throwing 519 power punches and 434 jabs.

The junior middleweight average is 684 punches per 12 rounds.

Andrade saved his best work for the home stretch when he threw 91 and 92 punches respectively in the Championship (11th and 12th) rounds. In round 11, he connected on a fight best 40 punches. Andrade outlanded Culcay in 11 of the 12 rounds.

Andrade of Providence, Rhode Island became a two-time champion with a split decision over Culcay be scores of 116-112 twice and 115-114 for Culcay.

“Demetrius showed what a true world champion is supposed to do. He traveled to Germany and took the title from the champion. Now we will look towards the future, and there are many desirable fights out there. There are the champions like Erislandy Lara, Jarrett Hurd and the Charlo /Hatley winner. Of course the big names in the room are Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin. Those are fights that we would love to make and Demetrius wants them as well. Demetrius will defend his title with pride, and we will look to get him in the most meaningful fights,” said Banner Promotions President, Artie Pelullo.

ORANGE, Calif. (March 13, 2017) – Manuel “La Tormenta” Mendez (14-1-2, 10 KOs) body punched his way to another knockout victory during the “Night of Champions” main event on Saturday night.

Mendez’s latest victim, Costa Rica’s Bergman Aguilar (14-3-1, 4 KOs), crumpled to the ground in the third round after sustaining a thunderous left hook to the ribs.

“Body shots are my bread and butter,” said Mendez, who is trained by Joel Diaz. “In the third, I was able to get inside and really do some damage.”

In the first round, Aguilar was the busier of the two, but the tide turned in rounds two and three when Mendez began forcing his way into the pocket and connecting on numerous body shots.

For a fighter with a host of knockouts on his resume, Mendez actually exercises excellent patience in wearing down opponents and striking at the most opportune time. He never looks rushed and always appears to know how the fight will develop.

“I like to take my time in the first few rounds to see what I’m working with,” said Mendez. “By the third, I already knew how to attack.”

In the co-feature, Juan Reyes (14-3-3, 2 KOs) of Riverside, Calif. applied his routine, constant pressure to thwart veteran Miguel Angel Mendoza (23-11-2) of Mexico.

Reyes, who recently made the jump to junior lightweight from featherweight, found his rhythm early with strong body shots and counter left hooks.

Mendoza was more than willing to return throughout their eight round fight, but Reyes found pay dirt on a more consistent basis. The judges awarded Reyes a unanimous decision victory with scores 78-74 twice, 79-73.

“After a few rounds, I could tell he was getting tired,” Reyes said. “I knew if I was first to the punch I would have a great shot at winning. I just kept the pressure and got the win.”

The second fight of the night featured a heavyweight rematch between Jonathan Rice (6-2-1, 4 KOs) of Los Angeles and Mario Heredia (14-7, 12 KOs) of Mexico. Rice got the better of Heredia in their first encounter in November. Rice knocked down Heredia three times on his way to a fifth round knockout victory.

The sequel would not end any different for Heredia. Rice downed Heredia once in the second and twice in the third. The second drop in the third round was the final shot Heredia would absorb. The referee waived the fight off at the 2:02 mark.

In the “Night of Champions” 4-round opener, Jose Salinas (1-0, 1 KO) of Indio, Calif. was victorious in his professional debut over Johnny Black (3-5, 2 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nev.

The junior lightweight dropped Black early in the first round with a left hook. Salinas, a southpaw, continued his attack by punching Black into a corner. From there, he let his hands go, connecting on a handful of punches before the referee stopped the barrage at the 2:37 mark of the opening round.

For more information, please visit ThompsonBoxing.com.

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

MONTREAL (March 13, 2017 – Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM) president Yvon Michel has responded accordingly to unfounded allegations recently made in the media by Sullivan Barrera about GYM and its undefeated world light heavyweight contender, Artur Beterbiev, to set the record straight regarding the recently announced cancelled Beterbiev-Barrera International Boxing Federation (IBF) light heavyweight title eliminator.

“Despite Barrera’s claims,” Michel insisted, “he didn’t sign a contract because he never intended for fight Artur. In Team Barrera’s letter, he lied and showed his ignorance trying to distract from the facts.

“For the conclusion of this unfortunate saga, the IBF has informed me that it has ruled to ban Barrera from its world rankings, or from participating in one of its sanctioned fights, for the next six months. I’ve also been informed that, if nobody in the IBF top 10 is available and agrees to fight Artur, the IBF will declare him as its No. 1 mandatory challenger for the winner of the Ward-Kovalev rematch. Artur will be back in the ring in late April, early May. The mandatory defense for the Ward-Kovalev II winner, or Ward if that fight doesn’t happen, is due in September.”

IBF Light Heavyweight Ratings: Champion – Andre Ward, 1. Unrated, 2. Artur Beterbiev, 3. Sergey Kovalev, 4. Erik Skoglund, 5. Enrico Kolling, 6. SUSPENDED, 7. Oleksandr Gvozdyk, 8. Dominic Bosel , 9. Robert Stieglitz, 10. Trent Broadhurst.
Below, Michel sets the record straight, point-by-point, in terms of the open letter Team Barrera sent to the media.

Michel didn’t negotiate with Barrera’s promoter, Kathy Duva, and asked for it to go to an immediate purse bid.

“Kathy Duva (CEO/Main Events) came to my office the day before the deadline set for Barrera’s acceptance to participate in the IBF title eliminator to speak about the situation. Our hope was to fight Barrera but because he is prohibited from traveling to Canada, I confirmed our intention with Ms. Duva to accommodate Barrera and leave Canada and make the fight in the United States. We were in the same position a year ago, when Barrera pulled out of the same title eliminator because he couldn’t get a visa to fight in Canada. Artur was then supposed to fight Karo Murat, but he suffered an injury and was unable to fight. Barrera later defeated Murat to move into the IBF mandatory position in which he then lost to Andre Ward.

“Kathy told me the number she had in mind to make the fight. I said that I would see if there were enough resources for that amount and promised to call her the following day. I did and explained that there weren’t enough resources to meet that purse structure. Nevertheless, not long after I received confirmation Barrera was officially taking the challenge, I then decided to move forward and immediately requested a purse bid date, which is the prerogative of any promoter, knowing what was Main Events’ expectation in terms of their fighter’s purse. In this business, everybody knows the best way to determine the true market value of a fight is a purse bid, where promoters are evaluating their resources and making their bid accordingly. We still had still seven days to make an offer, one and other, and make a deal up to five minutes before the bid was due. Main Events never made us an offer and neither did we.”

GYM’s winning purse bid was $251,000, substantially more than Main Events’ bid of $182,000, of which Beterbiev would receive 75-percent of the winning bid. Barrera would have received $62,750, compared to $45,500 he would have earned if his own promoter had won the bid.

Beterbiev reported on social media that his fight versus Barrera would be held March 4th in Brooklyn, New York and Michel reported that the fight would be held in late March, early April, in New York. Barrera had trained for those dates but didn’t receive a contract.

“GYM won the purse and pursuant to IBF rules and regulations, the fight had to be held within 30 to 90 days,” Michel continued. “We deposited $50,000, per IBF rules, and received a confirmation letter from the IBF all was conform. As per IBF regulations, within 15 days after the purse bid, we filed contracts for the two fighters. Artur signed his five minutes after he received the contract and it was then sent to the IBF. We executed Barrera’s contract, sending it to Main Events for Barrera with a copy sent to the IBF. Soon after I received notice from the IBF that everything was in order and that we had complied with the IBF requirements.”

Michel sent an improper agreement to Main Event listing various dates.

“We knew we had a PBC date, either April 14, 21 or 29. It’s very common for fight dates written in the initial fighter contract to vary one week before or after the date listed. I contacted IBF president Daryl Peoples and said April 21st was the most likely date but that it could end up being a week earlier or after. He recommended to be transparent and to write all three potential dates into the contract. We did and then sent it to Main Events for Barrera to sign. Main Events noted that IBF rules said only one date and site could be written in the contract. Daryl complied with the objection so we then officially confirmed April 21st would be the date of the fight and Florida the site. We then sent a GYM executed corrected IBF bout agreement back to Main Events to be signed by Barrera and filed with the IBF on February 16th.

“Meanwhile, GYM received a request, from Main Event to produce a Provision of Service agreement for Barrera’s participation. GYM was not obliged to positively fulfill that request but, as a display of good faith, we did so in belief the contract that Barrera would sign and Main Events would file it at the IBF office, on that date, as per its rules. Soon after, GYM received a letter from IBF championship chairman, Mr. Lindsey Tucker, that all requirements had been fulfilled to officially sanction the bout.”

The Florida location for the fight had been selected by GYM for three reasons. 1. Beating Barrera in his own backyard would send strong message for Beterbiev within the division; 2. GYM had received an offer from Miami-based SMY Sports and Entertainment’s president M. Eric Senecal, who wanted the buy the rights to produce the event; 3. GYM’S longtime and very close relationship with Florida-based Warriors Promotions, Mr. Leon Margules.

On behalf of GYM, Margules had reserved the April 21st date with the Florida Athletic Commission. SMY Sports & Entertainments made a deal with GYM that had a deadline to deposit the agreed upon money guarantee. They had reserved the Seminole Hard Rock arena in Fort Lauderdale. If SMY was not able to deliver money and site, GYM had a backup plan, proposed by Margules, who had a deal and a site on hold, Hialeah Racetrack in nearby Hollywood (FL). No matter what would transpire, the fight was guaranteed at a site in Florida, April 21st for a PBC event to be televised on FS1.

Barrera’s manager was contacted by one of the promoters to help pay Yvon Michel and finance the bout.

“This is a tortuous claim and a terrible lie,” Michel said. “Nobody representing GYM ever made that kind of request. The truth is a local promoter, M. Michael Luzbet, whom I’d never met and never made any deals of any sorts with in the past, wanted to be a partner with SMY Sports and Entertainments. He tried to raise his share of money to participate but SMY rapidly disassociated themselves from Michael Luzbet.

“How the group (SMY) was raising money wasn’t really my concern, but they had found sponsors and were counting on the important Quebec community residing in Florida at that time of the year, as well as the important Cuban population and their contacts with the Russian community, to sell VIP tables and tickets. It wanted the rights to put the show on in Florida but they were concerned because they had heard a rumor that Barrera hadn’t signed a contract and he was going to pull out of the fight.

They then requested a guarantee that Barrera (who lives in Miami) was going to fight before confirming their money deposit. I was in Quebec City at that time for the Alvarez-Bute fight. Mr. Lindsey Tucker was there representing the IBF and I spoke to him. He said he believed the IBF had received a signed contract from Barrera. I contacted SYM to say everything was fine and that I had requested a copy (of the Barrera-signed contract) from Lindsey. Daryl People then informed me that there was a misunderstanding and they did not have a signed contract from Barrera. It is only then I realized Main Events had pressured Barrera to sign the agreement without success. We asked the IBF president to pressure Main Events to have Barrera sign the contract because, without it, we were jammed in the promotion of the event. This is exactly what happened.”

Team Barrera implied that Yvon Michel couldn’t promote a show of this magnitude in the U.S.

“I’ve promoted more than 200 shows, never defaulting or cancelling a single show, including involvement in more than 50 world championship fights and many multi-million dollars events, much bigger than this title eliminator. This statement just shows his ignorance about what we’re all about and who we are and was just smoke screen to his behavior. I’ve promoted shows with the majority of the major promoters in the world; DiBella Entertainment, Warriors Promotions, Don King Promotions, Golden Boy, Main Events… just about everybody. It was unbelievable for them to write such an impertinent line.”

Team Barrera unjustly belittled the quality of Beterbiev’s last two opponents, calling them cow farmers from Argentina.

“This is terrible to be so insolent to fellow world contenders. Both fighters were world ranked in the top 15 at that time. (Ezequiel Osvaldo) Maderna (23-2, 16 KOs) had never been knocked out and (Isidro) Prieto (26-1-3, 22 KOs) had suffered only one loss, a decision to the WBC #1 contender Eleider Alvarez. Beterbiev knocked them both out (Maderna in the fourth round, Prieto in the first), so downgrading the quality of Artur’s 2016 opponents was totally unwarranted. If Barrera ever actually got into the ring with Beterbiev, he would have fallen into the same category as Maderna and Prieto, who were both fierce competitors but not in the same league of Beterbiev.”

Michel firmly believes Barrera never intended to fight Beterbiev for his share of the purse bid and, to cover up, he tried to place the blame on others. His promoter spent time and money for the bid at the request of its fighter, Barrera, believing he had a legitimate chance of winning the fight. It is obvious that sentiment was not shared by Barrera, even if the fight was to be held in his own backyard in Florida.

“The truth of this matter is that Barrera lied to distract media attention from the fact he didn’t sign a contract and clearly wanted no part of Beterbiev,” Michel concluded. “We don’t disrespect any contender who prefers not to challenge Artur Beterbiev for the mandatory position. We also believed that Main Events did everything in its power to convince their fighter to keep his words and to go forward with the fight. Main Events is not at blame. We also have respect for Barrera’s fighting abilities but we have no respect for the person Barrera is with his despicable, unprofessional, shameful and disgraceful attitude in handling the present situation.

“On a personal note, I have never met Sullivan Barrera. I never had to directly communicate with him, I never had to do business with him, everything went through his promoter, Main Events, and I really don’t envy them! Soon, GYM will have two light heavyweight world champions and I can guarantee Barrera will never be in their plans.
“We’ve moved on from Sullivan Barrera to find an opponent who has the desire to step into the ring to fight Artur Beterbiev. While Barrera will still be suspended by the IBF, Beterbiev will be World Champion!”

Beterbiev, a two-time Russian Olympian, holds two amateur victories over his fellow countryman, Kovalev, the former world light heavyweight champion. Whether it’s Kovalev or Ward, Artur Beterbiev will be more than ready for the challenge to fight for the world light heavyweight championship this September.

INFORMATION:
www.groupeyvonmichel.ca
www.Facebook.com/groupeyvonmichel
Twitter: @yvonmichelgym, @ABeterbiev
Instagram: @YvonMichelGYM, @Groupeyvonmichel, @ArturBetebiev
ABOUT GROUPE YVON MICHEL (GYM): Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM) was founded in 2004 by Yvon Michel and his associates. The organization’s mission is the development of high-level boxers through coaching support and especially by competitive management. To achieve its objectives, GYM actively recruits talent and organizes events and it is associated with the popular series, “Premier Boxing Champions (PBC),” and has developed major Videotron partnerships with Loto Quebec, TVA Sports, Centre Videotron, Casino de Montreal and Lac Leamy, Tonik GroupImage and Lapointe Dental Centre, in addition to collaborating closely with Rixa.

TUNICA, MS (March 13, 2017) – Unbeaten light heavyweight prospect Ahmed Elbiali is prepared for another opportunity to keep his perfect record intact as he faces Brazil’s Jackson Junior in an eight-round fight featured on Premier Boxing Champions TOE-TO-TOE TUESDAYS on FS1 & BOXEO DE CAMPEONES on FOX Deportes Tuesday, March 14.

Televised coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT from the Fitz Tunica Casino & Hotel in Tunica, Mississippi and is headlined by rising middleweight contender Sergiy Derevyanchenko battling unbeaten Kemahl Russell in a 10-round bout.

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by TGB Promotions, start at $20, and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased at the Fitz Gift Shop, at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000.

Here is what Elbiali had to say ahead of the showdown:

On fighting on FS1…
“It’s a great situation to be fighting on national television, especially FS1. TOE-TO-TOE TUESDAYS has been great for all boxers who are fortunate enough to be showcased. I’m just grateful for the opportunity and everyone tuning in will see me throwing a lot of big shots.”

On his current training camp …
“It’s been a real smooth camp going into this fight. I’m back training in Miami with my coach Carlos Albuerae. When I moved to Las Vegas, we had temporally split up, but now we are back together, stronger than ever.”

On facing opponent Jackson Junior…
“Jackson Junior is a big puncher, as am I, so expect to see some hard blows being traded. Although he’s had more fights then me, I feel I’m on another level. I know he’s coming to knock me out, but I have other plans. He will not be taken lightly.”

On continuing his run to a world title…
“If I want to continue marching up the rankings, coming out victorious against Junior is crucial. The ultimate goal is to win a world title, and I’m going to do everything in my power to get there. This fight is the next step toward achieving that goal. I’m not leaving any stone unturned.”

On bouncing back from an injured hand…
“It was a difficult time for me being out of the ring for over a year with my hand injury. The good news is I’m 100% healthy and my hand feels great. I had a lot of time to reflect on what I need to improve on so that’s what I focused on while I was out. I stayed in great shape the whole time. I just want to get in the ring and shake off the rust.”

# # #

Fans can live stream the fights on FOX Sports GO, available in English or Spanish through the FS1 or FOX Deportes feeds. The fights are available on desktop at FOXSportsGO.com and through the app store, or connected devices including Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, Xbox One and Roku. In addition, all programs are also available on FOX Sports on SiriusXM channel 83 on satellite radios and on the SiriusXM app.

Philadelphia, PA. (March 11, 2017) – Tyrone Brunson won a 8-round split decision over Bandon Quarles in the main event of a 8-bout card in front of a packed house at the SugarHouse Casino.

The show was promoted by King’s Promotions.

It was a action filled fight that saw both guys be the aggressor at different stages of the fight. Brunson showed a more versatile side of him, that many boxing fans haven;t seen in years from him. One which differed from the prodigious knockout puncher that Brunson was known for when he knocked out the 1st 19 fighters he faced in the 1st round.

This Brunson used his legs to set up punches off of the jab, which he also landed several times with power behind that stick. Quarles was very game as he had his moments and landed hard shots that kept Brunson honest. Brunson landed more and harder, and he came out with the victory by scores of 78-74 and 77-75. Quarles took a card at 77-75.

Brunson of Philadelphia is now 24-6-2. Quarles of Alexandria, Virginia is 18-4-1.

Tyrone Brunson Post Fight Interview
Tyrone Brunson Post Fight Interview

A late point deduction cost David Gonzales a split decision as he dropped the six-round bout to Juan Rodriguez in a junior welterweight bout

It was a tough grind-it-out fight until Gonzales was deducted a point in the 30 seconds for holding for holding.

Rodriguez of Haymarket, Virginia won two cards 58-55 and 57-56, while Gonzales of Philadelphia took a card 57-56.

Rodriguez is 7-6-1. Gonzales is 8-2-2.

Carlos Roasrio got off the floor but scored a 3rd round stoppage over Lance Williams in a scheduled 6-round lightweight bout.

Carlos Rosario
Rosario scored a knockdown in round two from a right hand. Seconds later, it was Williams who floored Rosario with a hard right in the corner. In round three, Rosario decked Williams with a hard left hook. Williams got to his feet, but referee Steve Smoger stopped the bout at 46 seconds of round three.

Rosario of Pennsauken, NJ is 7-1 with 4 knockouts. Williams of Muscatine, IA is 7-8.

Victor Vazquez scored a 1st round stoppage over Mike Fowler in a scheduled 6-round super lightweight bout.

Vazquez was all over Fowler and dropped him with a left in the corner. Fowler could not beat the 10-count at 1:38.

Victor Vazquez

Vazquez of Yonkers, NY is 7-2 with 3 knockouts. Fowler of Milwaukee, WI is 5-7.

Sam Oropeza made an emphatic pro debut as he needed just 35 seconds to destroy fellow pro debuter Joe Parkinson in their cruiserweight bout.

Oropeza landed a left that dropped Parkinson. The back of Parkinson’s head crashed on the canvas, and he was knocked out cold for several moments before ringside physicians were able to to get him to his feet.

Brandon Robinson won a 4-round unanimous decision over Lamont McLaughlin in a light heavyweight bout.

Robinson dropped McLaughlin in round three and cruised home to a victory by 40-35 cards.

Robinson of Philadelphia is 2-1. McLaughlin of Philadelphia was making his pro debut.

Vincent Floyd stopped Blaine Donkor in round two of their scheduled 4-round welterweight bout.

Floyd landed a hard flurry that forced referee Steve Smoger to stop the bout at 1:48.

Floyd of Philadelphia is now 2-2-1 with one knockout. Donkor of Washington, D.C. was making his pro debut.

Edward Ortiz and Sharif Jones battled to a 4-round spirited draw in a super middleweight bout.

Ortiz of San Antonio, TX is 3-0-2. Jones of Philadelphia is 0-1-1.

King’s Promotions will present The Road To the Heavyweight Championship, This Friday at the Santander Arena in Reading, Pa. when Travis Kauffman battles Amir Mansour

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Ludwigshafen, Germany (March 11, 2017)–Demetrius Andrade walked into the lions den and came out of it a two-time world champion with a 12-round split decision to capture the WBA Junior Middleweight world title over defending champion Jack Culcay in Ludwigshafen, Germany.

Andrade was the superior boxer, who controlled the bout with his combination punching as he worked the body and then came upstairs to the head of Culcay. Andrade kept a solid distance with his jab, that thwarted Culcay’s oncoming rushes. It was a tough grueling battle as Culcay (22-2, 11 KO’s) tried to bull his way in, had some, but little success and, Andrade was consistently finishing off the exchanges with the prominent punches.

The fight had entertaining exchanges throughout, but it was the workrate of Andrade that was the difference to the tune of 116-112 twice while Culcay took a card 115-114.

“I thought I did everything that I needed to do. I came to Germany and took the title,”said Andrade. “Culcay came like a champion, but I was the better man. I outlanded him and I came out with the victory.”

Andrade (24-0, 16 KO’s) of Providence, Rhode Island is now a 2-time world champion as he adds the WBA belt to his trophy case.

“It feels great. It was a great opportunity to come over here. I never lost my other belt in the ring, so it feels like “And still, and the New, and still undefeated” world champion”

“I just want to fight the best. Line them up, and I will knock all the champions down.”

With the title, Andrade will look to come back to the United States and defend his crown. I just want to thank my whole team, everyone in Providence, New England, Matrix Aerospace, SNAC, Everlast, and my promoters. ”

11 March 2017 – Bangkok, Thailand: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), made a triumphant return to the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand for another exciting evening of world-class MMA action at ONE: WARRIOR KINGDOM. Fans were treated to an amazing showcase of courage and skill, delivered by the absolute best in local and international MMA talent. In the main event, Angela “Unstoppable” Lee retained her ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship with a masterful display of striking, stopping previously unbeaten Jenny Huang within three rounds.

Visit the official ONE: WARRIOR KINGDOM photo gallery by clicking: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ivh34n9pza3q94o/AADwuMwRg-gnDecd5AIBoQyTa?dl=0

In the main event of ONE: WARRIOR KINGDOM, reigning and defending ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion Angela “Unstoppable” Lee of Singapore retained her title with a dominant striking performance, unveiling a new dimension to her evolving skillset by putting together dynamic combinations to stun her opponent Jenny Huang of Chinese Taipei. Lee overwhelmed Huang from the beginning of the bout, peppering her with a volley of punches, elbows and knees. Huang tried her best to weather the storm but Lee kept coming, stalking Huang to no end. By the middle of the third round, the champion had the challenger pinned down on the mat as Lee unleashed ground-and-pound to earn the stoppage.

Angela Lee, ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion, stated: “Well I have had some time to work (on the striking) because I haven’t fought in a while, so it feels really great. It feels like I’m back home here in the ONE Championship cage. It feels amazing, I cannot describe what I’m feeling right now. Thank you guys for coming out. I have to say thank you to my opponent Jenny [Huang] for being such a courageous warrior. She brought out the best in me.”

In the co-main event, local hero Shannon “OneShin” Wiratchai sent a message to the lightweight division, asking for a shot at the ONE Lightweight World Championship belt after easily taking care of debuting opponent Richard Corminal of the Philippines. Wiratchai, one of the most dynamic strikers in the promotion, put his world-class boxing skills on full display, staggering Corminal with punishing lefts and rights against the cage fence. The end came fittingly as Wiratchai connected on a right hook that turned the lights out on Corminal.

Top strawweight contender Joshua Pacio of the Philippines and former ONE Strawweight World Champion Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke of Thailand fought to near exhaustion, pushing each other to the limit over the course of an intense three round bout. Dejdamrong stalked Pacio all throughout the ONE Championship cage while his younger opponent looked to take matters to the ground. Once on the mat, Pacio dominated Dejdamrong, keeping the Thai fighter on the canvas with high-level wrestling. Action continued in the second round as Pacio continued to batter Dejdamrong, even scoring on an emphatic slam. In the third round however, Dejdamrong came to life and started to pressure Pacio with his world-class Muay Thai combinations. Both fighters were able to make it to the final bell with Pacio being awarded a close split decision for his efforts.

In one of the most exciting matchups of the evening, Yodsanan Sityodtong of Thailand and Ramon Gonzales of the Philippines put on a spectacular showcase of aggression to the roar of a packed crowd. Sityodtong, a former boxing world champion nicknamed “Little Tyson”, is known for his very powerful fists. Gonzales used takedowns to stay away from Sityodtong’s power, but spent a lot of energy trying to pursue a guillotine choke that Sityodtong was able to escape from. In the middle of the second round, the two fighters engaged in a skirmish at the center of the cage which left Gonzales unable to continue. Sityodtong earned the submission via verbal tapout after Gonzales signalled to referee Yuji Shimada.

Thai-Japanese female atomweight prospect Rika “Tinydoll” Ishige brought her hometown crowd up to their feet with a spectacular performance, besting Malaysian fighter Audreylaura “Ice Comet” Boniface to win by technical knockout before the end of the first round. The two women wasted absolutely no time at all, going to battle at the center of the cage with a scintillating striking exchange at the sound of the first bell. Once the fight hit the ground however, Ishige’s grappling skills took the spotlight as she stifled Boniface with a series of submission attempts. In the end, Ishige wound up in full mount and finished the fight with ground-and-pound.

Sagetdao Petpayathai of Evolve MMA was successful in his ONE Championship promotional debut, defeating game challenger Kelvin Ong of Malaysia. The local Lumpinee Stadium Muay Thai legend lit up Ong with his powerful striking, tagging the Malaysian with lightning quick kicks and thudding punch combinations. After a brief feeling out period, Petpayathai opened up his hands and drove Ong against the cage fence where he unleashed the fight-ending sequence to clinch the victory by technical knockout.

Featherweight fighters Ma Jia Wen of Tianjin, China, and Yohan Mulia Legowo of Solo, Indonesia, went head-to-head with intense striking tirades as well as high-level wrestling and grappling. Known for his fast and furious starts, Ma went straight at Legowo and opened up with a fierce punching combination, punctuated by a high kick that landed right on Legowo’s temple. In the second round, Ma turned up the aggression once again and began to tee off on Legowo, connecting on a devastating stream of punches and elbows to force the stoppage.

In the second preliminary bout of the card, Thai wrestling champion Kritsada “Dream Man” Kongsrichai of Thailand delivered a sensational performance, forcing opponent Adrian Matheis of Indonesia to succumb to strikes in the very first round. The two strawweights went on the attack as soon as the bout began and although it was Matheis who landed the more telling blows, it was Kongsrichai who put his world-class wrestling chops on display. The end came when Kongsrichai wound up on top and homed in a series of elbows to force the referee stoppage.

ONE: WARRIOR KINGDOM got off to a great start when feisty strawweight contenders Rabin Catalan of the Philippines and Pongsiri Mitsatit of Thailand locked horns to the delight of the capacity crowd. After a few brief exchanges both on the feet and on the ground, local fighter Mitsatit was able to deliver a series of knees to Catalan’s midsection which proved too much for the Filipino to overcome, earning him a thrilling technical knockout victory in the very first round.

Official results for ONE: WARRIOR KINGDOM
ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship bout: Angela Lee defeats Jenny Huang by TKO (Strikes) at 3:37 minutes of round 3
Lightweight bout: Shannon Wiratchai defeats Richard Corminal by Knockout at 3:37 minutes of round 1
Strawweight bout: Joshua Pacio defeats Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke by Split Decision (SD) after three rounds
Catchweight bout (62.0kg): Yodsanan Sityodtong defeats Ramon Gonzales by Submission (Verbal) at 3:21 minutes of round 2
Atomweight bout: Rika Ishige defeats Audreylaura Boniface by TKO (Strikes) at 4:32 minutes of round 1
Featherweight bout: Sagetdao Petpayathai defeats Kelvin Ong by TKO (Strikes) at 2:20 minutes of round 1
Featherweight bout: Ma Jia Wen defeats Yohan Mulia Legowo by TKO (Strikes) at 0:59 minutes of round 2
Strawweight bout: Kritsada Kongsrichai defeats Adrian Matheis by Submission (Due to Strikes) at 2:51 minutes of round 1
Strawweight bout: Pongsiri Mitsatit defeats Rabin Catalan by TKO (Strikes) at 4:45 minutes of round 1

In case you missed the action log on to www.onefc.com/livestream for the full replay of the fights at only US $9.99.

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™
ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, MYTV, HTV, OSN and more.

Philadelphia, PA. (March 10, 2017) – Weights for Saturday night’s King’s Promotions show at the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia

(Photo by Daniel Cork)

Tyrone Brunson 156.3 – Brandon Quarles 155.6
David Gonzales 141.9 – Juan Rodriguez 139.5
Victor Vasquez 138.9 – Mike Fowler 136.3
Carlos Rosario 132.6 – Lance Williams 130.5
Vincent Floyd 148.4 – Blaine Donkor 149.6
Brandon Robinson 172.3 – Lamont McLaughlin 171.3
Sam Oropeza 192.4 – Joe Parkinson 193.2
Eddie Ortiz 163.5 – Sharif Jones 166

Promoter: King’s Promotions
Venue: SugarHouse Casino
1st Bell: 7 PM (Doors open at 6 PM)

Tickets are on sale for $100, $75, $50, and can be purchased at SugarHouseBoxing.eventbrite.com

Atlantic City, NJ (March 10, 2017)–Weights for Rising Promotions show on Saturday night at The Claridge Hotel in Atlantic City

Anthony Young 147.4 – Samuel Amoako 147.3
Chauncey Fields 166.7 – Gabriel Pham 167,3
Brendan Barrett 254.3 – Brian Donahue 199.9
Adrian Wilson 144.7 – Harry Tyrone Paige 148.5
Thomas Romain 134 – Sidell Blocker 126
Lemarcus Tucker 237 – Dan Pasciolla 249.2
Cesar Francis – Steve Moore

Promoter: Rising Promotions
Venue: The Claridge Hotel
1st Bell: 7:30 PM for Professional and 6 PM for amateurs

There will be several amateur bouts that will precede the professional bouts beginning at 6 PM ET.

Tickets for this great evening of boxing are $150, $80 and $55 and can be purchased at www.RSPboxing.com

LOS ANGELES (March 10, 2017) – Romero Duno (13-1, 12 KOs) knocks out Christian “Chimpa” Gonzalez (16-1, 14 KOs) in second round upset victory for the WBC Youth Intercontinental Lightweight title in front of a sold out crowd at Belasco Theater live on Estrella TV’s national Boxeo Estelar broadcast.

“In terms of the knockout, I was just listening to my coach and kept boxing,” said Romero. “I fought hard and disciplined myself to not take any lucky punches. I based my strategy in seeing what my opponent was doing and adjusted whenever I needed to.”

Celebrities in attendance to watch the fight included Former Junior Middleweight Champion and Current Trainer Fernando Vargas, Metta World Peace and Golden Boy Promotions’ stablemates Ronny Rios, Ivan “Striker” Delgado, Ryan “Kingry” Garcia, Edgar Valerio, Oscar “Jaguar” Negrete, David “Junebug” Mijares and Charles Huerta.

With the cheers of all his fans in attendance, Santa Ana, CA’s Alexis Rocha (7-0, 5 KOs) entered the ring with full steam dropping Marcus Beckford (3-5-4, 1 KO) of Long Island, NY in mere seconds of the first round. At round two, Rocha crushed Beckford with a punishing body shot causing the Long Island native to take a knee. As the bout carried on, Rocha continuously demonstrated his power-causing Beckford’s corner to end the fight at the beginning of the fifth round.

Opening up Estrella TV’s Boxeo Estelar broadcast, East Los Angeles’ Angel Bojado (1-1) faced powerful Bogota, Colombia fighter Jhon Leon (2-0, 1 KO) for a four round middleweight bout. While both fighters exchanged a series of blocks and punches, it was Leon who came out on top winning by unanimous decision victory with all three judges scoring the fight at 39-37.

“I think I fought very intelligently,” said Jhon Leon. “I roughed him up a bit here and there but stuck to my style of boxing and I’m happy to come out with the victory.”

Hailing from Miami, FL, entertaining fighter Niko “Baby Face” Valdes (4-0, 4 KOs) added another knockout victory to his record when he took down Alejandro Osuna (4-3, 2 KOs) of Mazatlan, Mexico at 2:16 in the fourth round of this super middleweight match. Throughout the rounds, Valdes utilized his signature counterpunching style to effectively land crushing body shots to Osuna during the slugfest.

“My opponent was a very tough fighter,” said Niko Valdes. “I was throwing a lot of hard punches, but the coach told me to start going to the body and that seemed to work moving forward in the fight.”

Los Angeles local Marvin Cabrera (3-0, 3 KOs) came in the ring with a vengeance causing opponent Saadallah Al-Tameemi (2-0-2, 2 KOs) to stumble back on the ropes in the first round of this scheduled six round middleweight fight. With no signs of slowing down, Cabrera continued to wreck Al-Tameemi-ultimately resulting in the judges stopping the fight in the third round at the 2:35 mark.

“I think I performed well for tonight’s fight, focused on my combinations and was happy to come out with the knockout victory,” said Marvin Cabrera.

Kicking off this edition of LA FIGHT CLUB and the RingTV live stream of the night, Las Vegas’ own Francisco “Alarcon” Esparza (6-0, 2 KOs) scored the first victory of the night with a unanimous decision victory with scores of 60-54, 60-54 and 59-55 over Los Angeles’ Emmanuel Castro (2-4, 2 KOs) in this six round featherweight bout. While the fight went the distance, both fighters gave the fans an all-out brawl with their relentless blocks, jabs and combination punches.

“My opponent put a lot of pressure, it was a tough fight, but today I feel I grew as a boxer,” said Francisco Esparza. “I did a lot of things in the ring I can learn from.”

Christian Gonzalez vs. Romero Duno is an eight-round lightweight fight for the WBC Youth Intercontinental Lightweight Championship presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by “Tecate, BORN BOLD,” Casa Mexico Tequila, and Adriana’s Insurance. The Boxeo Estelar broadcast will air live on Estrella TV at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT. The card will also stream live on EstrellaTV.com and on YouTube via LBI Media, Inc.’s Fenomeno Studios. The Ring TV live stream will begin at approximately 5:30 p.m. PT through 7:00 p.m. Mark your calendars and buy your tickets for the upcoming shows on April 14, June 2, and July 14.

Tickets for LA FIGHT CLUB are starting at only $20 with Flex Passes for multiple fight packages, Group Tickets and Knockout Experience upgrade are available for purchase now at www.goldenboypromotions.com, the Golden Boy Promotions Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, and by calling 213-233-2957.

For more information visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.belascous.com, www.estrellatv.com, follow on Twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @EstrellaTV and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/TheBelascoLA, www.facebook.com/EstrellaTVNetwork, visit us on Instagram at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @belascola and @EstrellaTV, follow the conversation using #LAFIGHTCLUB and #BoxeoEstelar.

Philadelphia, PA-In an old-fashioned rumble between North Philly lightweights Friday night, Avery Sparrow earned a split-decision victory over Anthony Burgin
before a standing-room only crowd at 2300 Arena.

Sparrow (6-1) knocked down Burgin with an uppercut in the sixth round, but the fight was close throughout, with both fighters landing heavy punches. Sparrow won the eight-round showdown on two cards, 76-75 and 77-74. The other judge saw it 76-75 in favor of Burgin.

Sparrow had not boxed since March 26 when he knocked out hometowner Brandon Ruffin in one round in Charlotte, NC. Sparrow’s only career loss came late in 2015 at 2300 Arena when he was disqualified after five rounds for low blows against lefty Jerome Rodriguez, of Allentown, PA. Sparrow was getting the better of the fight at the time of the stoppage.

Burgin, 24, came into this fight after having beaten another Philadelphian, Gerald Smith, in his last fight Oct. 14 at 2300 Arena.

In the semifinal, junior middleweight Roque Zapata took down his second local favorite in as many tries at the 2300 Arena. Zapata, of Culpeper, VA, earned a unanimous decision over North Philly’s Fred Jenkins, Jr. The scorecards were 59-54, 59-54, and 57-56 in favor of Zapata.

The 21-year-old Zapata (3-1-3) defeated South Philly’s Isaiah Wise on Dec. 2 in a four-round slugfest. The veteran Jenkins (10-4) was coming off a impressive showing here Oct. 14 when he outpointed veteran lefty Ibrihim Shabazz, of Newark, NJ, over four rounds.

Wise, of South Philly, rebounded Friday night with a fourth-round TK0 of Milwaukee’s Jeffrey Wright.

In other undercard action, explosive junior lightweight Joseph Adorno, of Allentown, PA moved to 3-0 with a first-round TK0 victory over Mexico’s Marco Ocano.

Impressive lightweight Victor Padilla (3-0), living in South Jersey via Puerto Rico, scored a first-round knockout of Carlos Castillo.

The Philly Fight Night series returns to the 2300 Arena on Friday, June 2.

Friday’s results:

Lightweights: Avery Sparrow (6-1) def. Anthony Burgin (10-3), SD 76-75, 77-74, 75-76

Junior middleweights: Roque Zapata (3-1-3) def. Fred Jenkins, Jr. (10-4-0), UD 59-54, 59-54, 57-56.

Junior middleweights: Isaiah Wise (4-1-0) def. Jeffrey Wright (4-6-1), TK0 4th (:33)

Lightweights: Victor Padilla (3-0-0) def. Carlos Castillo (4-5-0), K0 1st (:38).

Junior lightweights: Joseph Adorno (3-0-0) def. Marco Ocano (1-1-0), TK0 1st (:45).

Flyweights: Ernesto Almodovar (1-0-0) def. Steven Lopez (0-1-1), UD 39-36, 39-36, 40-35

Heavyweights: Cassius Chaney (9-0-0) def. Tom Washington, Jr. (6-10-1), MD 59-55, 59-55, 57-57

Flyweights: Basyzbek Baratov (2-1-1) def. Tyrone Arzeno (0-1-0), SD 39-37, 39-37, 37-39

Super bantamweights: Crystian Pequero (1-0-0) def. Alonzo Davis (0-1-1), K0, 3rd (2:12).

Super middleweights: Chris Thomas (5-0-0) def. Mike Rodriguez (0-4), UD 39-36, 39-36, 40-35.

ORANGE, Calif. (March 10, 2017) – Lightweight Manuel Mendez (13-1-2, 9 KOs) who last fought in November during his memorable first round, one-punch knockout victory over Vitor Freitas on SHOWTIME, made weight at 138 lbs. even, while challenger Bergman Aguilar (14-2-1, 4 KOs) weighed in at 136.4 lbs.

Mendez vs. Bergman is the 8-round main attraction of “Night of Champions,” Thompson Boxing Promotions’ annual, private event.

The 4-bout card originates from the Doubletree Hotel in Orange, Calif. this Saturday, March 11.

WEIGHTS

Manuel Mendez, 138 vs. Bergman Aguilar, 136.4 (8-rounds)
Juan Reyes, 131.7 vs. Miguel Angel Mendoza, 132 (8-rounds)
Jonathan Rice, 260 vs. Mario Heredia, 277.3 (4-rounds)
Jose Salinas, 131.3 vs. Johnny Black, 130 (4-rounds)

For more information, please visit ThompsonBoxing.com.

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

Saturday’s HBO Boxing After Dark® doubleheader telecast begins at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Opening up the telecast from the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, NY is a 10-round junior lightweight attraction between Yuriorkis Gamboa and Rene Alvarado.

The main event of the evening will be a 12-round middleweight slugfest between David Lemieux and Curtis Stevens.

Official Weights from Verona:

Yuriorkis Gamboa:131 lbs.
Rene Alvarado: 130.25 lbs.

David Lemieux: 159 lbs.
Curtis Stevens: 158.25 lbs.

Join the conversation on Twitter: #LemieuxStevens

NEW YORK – March 10, 2017 – Combate Americas announced its second event of the year in a Mexican territory – a debut visit to the city of Tijuana – on Thursday, March 30, live on Azteca America (10 p.m. ET/PT) and UFC Fight Pass® (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT), from Auditorio Fausto Gutierrez Moreno.

In the bantamweight (135 pounds) main event, Argentinian Marcelo “Pitbull” Rojo (10-4) will square off with fellow rising star and Monterrey, Mexico native Iván “El Brasil” Flores (8-1-1).

Rojo, a semifinalist on the third season of The Ultimate Fighter Latin America, will make his promotional debut in La Jaula, the Combate Americas cage, and set out to prove that he has the tools necessary to lead Combate Americas’ fast-growing, 135-pound division.

“I’m not only here as a guest. I came here to become the most important fighter in my division,” said Rojo. “MMA has grown in Argentina, and it’s about time that we show that on this side of the continent. This fight will be a duel between the North against South.”

On the other side, Flores, who suffered his first career defeat at the hands of unbeaten Mark “The Bumblebee” Delarosa at the Combate Americas event in Mexico City, Mexico on January 19, now wants to return to the win column immediately.

“When you face a Mexican fighter, you have to be prepared for the most difficult fight of your life. I hope (Rojo) is aware of that, if he wants to be victorious” said Flores.

Rojo will fight for the first time in Mexico after an extensive career in South American arenas where he has become one of the most popular fighters in the region.

In the featherweight (145 pounds) co-main event, Walter Zamora (9-2) of Costa Rica will battle Alex “Gallito” Flores (8-1) of Monterrey.

Zamora’s debut in Combate Americas will once again personify the sports rivalry between Mexican and Central American fighters.

“Mexico is always the one to beat at any sport,” Zamora explained. “It won’t be any different against Flores. We are going to put on a good show. It will be a spectacular evening because the best fighters of the Americas will be present in Tijuana.”

In other action in La Jaula, Erick “Ghost Pepper” González (5-2) of Los Angeles, Calif. will return to action just six weeks after his heroic, “Fight of the Night” performance against Danny “The Realist” Ramírez at Combate11 on February 16.

Gonzalez will battle Marco Antonio “La Roca” Elpidio (7-1) of Mexico City in a lightweight (155 pounds) affair. Elpidio was victorious by way of split decision over Rodrigo “Kazula” Vargas at the Combate Americas event in Mexico City.

Gonzalez’s three-fight win streak was snapped when he gave up a unanimous decision to Ramirez.

In another bantamweight scrap, Joey “El Cazador” Ruquet (4-1) of Las Vegas, Nev. will collide with Jose Salasar (4-2) of Tijuana.

Ruquet notched a spectacular victory by submission (rear-naked choke) in the second round (1:47) of action against Jose “The Ghost” Ceja at the Combate Americas event in Mexico City.

Additional Combate12 bouts will be announced soon.

UFC FIGHT PASS is a digital subscription service which gives fans access to exclusive live UFC events and fights, exclusive live MMA and combat sports events from around the world, exclusive original and behind the scenes content and unprecedented 24-7 access to the world’s largest fight library.

Download the UFC App now.

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ABOUT COMBATE AMERICAS
Combate Americas, LLC. is the first U.S. Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise in history, designed to build Latino fighting champions and serve Hispanic fans, one of the world’s most avid groups of prize fighting enthusiasts. The Combate Americas franchise includes reality TV programming, live events and mobile programming. The company’s CEO, Campbell McLaren, is universally recognized as the co-founder/co-creator of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). New York Magazine described McLaren as “the marketing genius behind the UFC” and Yahoo! Sports proclaimed that he “knows more about the sport than just about anyone in it today.” With an unprecedented product and a blue-chip ownership and management team, Combate Americas is poised to break new ground and bring about a new era in world championship level MMA competition.

ABOUT TV AZTECA
TV Azteca is one of the two largest producers of Spanish-language television programming in the world, operating two national television networks in Mexico, El trece and Azteca 7, through more than 300 owned and operated stations across the country. TV Azteca affiliates include Azteca US, a broadcast television network focused on the rapidly growing U.S. Hispanic market, and Azteca Web, an Internet company for North American Spanish speakers.

ABOUT AZTECA AMERICA’S NETWORK
Azteca America engages Spanish-language viewers by creating unique, passionate and enlightening content that is relevant to the daily lives of our audience. Wholly owned by Mexican broadcaster TV Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V. one of the two largest producers of Spanish-language content in the world, Azteca America complements its Mexican programs with an innovative lineup of shows from third-party producers and distributors to ensure the finest programming for its audience. The company provides tailored, multi-platform advertising solutions for clients seeking to reach the most dynamic consumer group in the country.

Ludwigshafen, Germany (March 10, 2017)–WBA junior middleweight world champion Jack Culcay weighed in at 153.2 lbs while mandatory challenger and undefeated Demetrius Andrade weighed in at 153.4 lbs at Friday’s weigh in for their championship bout that takes place on Saturday in Ludwigshafen, Germany

LAS VEGAS (March 10, 2017) – Tickets for the closed circuit viewing at the MGM Grand Ballroom of the super-fight between two-division world champion Canelo
Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) and former WBC World Middleweight Champion Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (50-2-1, 32 KOs) will go on sale today March 10 at 10 a.m. PST.

Fans unable to purchase tickets to see the fight at T-Mobile Arena will have the opportunity to experience an exciting night of boxing live in Las Vegas in an electrifying setting side-by-side with other fight fans.

Tickets for the closed circuit telecast at the MGM Grand Ballroom of Canelo vs. Chavez, Jr. are priced at $75, not including applicable fees. All seats are general admission and go on sale Friday, March 10 at 10 a.m. PST at the MGM Grand box office or by phone with a major credit card at 1-800-745-3000.

Canelo vs. Chavez, Jr. is a 12-round fight presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Tecate, BORN BOLD, Adriana’s Insurance and Interjet. Matthysse vs. Taylor is a 10-round fight presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Arano Box Promotions and Star Boxing. The event will take place Saturday, May 6 at T-Mobile Arena and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (March 10th, 2017) — Undefeated junior welterweight prospect Cristobal Marrero ends a four-month layoff and makes his 2017 debut next month in his toughest test to date at Twin River Casino.

Living and training in New London, Conn., by way of Worcester, Mass., Marrero (3-0, 2 KOs) faces New York City vet Sidney Maccow (4-4, 3 KOs) in a four-round bout Friday, April 7th, 2017 on the undercard of CES Boxing’s Nick DeLomba-Jimmy Williams World Boxing Council title bout.

The 22-year-old Marrero improved to 3-0 in December with a unanimous decision win over North Carolina’s Isaiah Robinson, attacking the body against the 6-foot-1 veteran and dominating from the opening bell to earn a 40-36 score on all three judges’ scorecards.

Maccow, 24, is no stranger to the Ocean State; the Sint Maarten native challenged Worcester’s Freddy Sanchez at Twin River in December of 2015 and also faced regional veterans Jerome Conquest and Marcos Suarez.

The Marrero-Maccow bout is one of 11 on CES Boxing’s April 7th card, its second event of the 2017 season, CES’ 25th year of promoting professional boxing. The year-long celebration continues next month with a highly-anticipated 10-round WBC United States National Boxing Council (USNBC) Welterweight Title bout between DeLomba (11-1, 2 KOs) and Williams (12-0-1, 5 KOs) in addition to an eight-round female welterweight showdown between Aleksandra Magdziak Lopes (16-4-2, 1 KO) of Marshfield, Mass., and Mexican challenger Paty Ramirez (11-3, 5 KOs).

Tickets for April 7th are priced at $47.00, $102.00, $127.00 (VIP) and $152.00 (VIP) and can be purchased online at www.cesboxing.com, www.twinriver.com or www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 401-724-2253/2254 or at the Twin River Casino Players Club. All fights and fighters are subject to change.

As the first promoter to host a USNBC title bout 12 years ago, CES again teams up with the WBC to provide DeLomba and Williams with the opportunity of a lifetime. Nine current or former USNBC title-holders have gone on to win world titles and 28 have fought for a major world championship.

The 27-year-old DeLomba has won his last three bouts since suffering his first and only loss in 2015, defeating Sanchez, Oscar Bonilla and southpaw Amos Cowart. Williams, 30, originally from Plainfield, N.J., has only one blemish on his record, a draw against Greg Jackson in 2013. He’s won his last eight, including dazzling knockouts against Christian Lao and Eddie Caminero and a hard-fought unanimous decision win over veteran Manny Woods at Twin River in May.

Joining Aleksandra Lopes on April 7th is her stepson, Arturo Lopes (1-0), who ends an eight-year layoff in his return bout against Taunton, Mass., welterweight Marqus Bates (1-1, 1 KO). The Lopeses fight April 7th in honor of the late Manny Lopes, a former CES standout who passed away in December and will be inducted into the CES Ring of Honor.

The April 7th co-feature is a battle of unbeatens as New Bedford, Mass., junior middleweight Ray Oliveira Jr. (7-0, 1 KO) faces his toughest test to date in a six-round bout against Portland, Maine native Casey Kramlich (6-0-1, 3 KOs) in Kramlich’s Twin River debut. Springfield, Mass., vet Zack Ramsey (7-1, 3 KOs) also returns to battle unbeaten Augusta, Ga., native Divante Jones (9-0, 6 KOs) in a six-round bout for the New England Lightweight Title in another potential Fight of the Night candidate.

Worcester, Mass., lightweight Jamaine Ortiz (3-0, 2 KOs), fresh off a hard-fought win over unbeaten Canton Miller in February, faces another undefeated challenger in a four-round bout against Glenn Mitchell (2-0, 2 KOs) of Steubenville, Ohio, and Lynn, Mass., welterweight Khiry Todd (2-0, 2 KOs) battles Philadelphia’s Vincent Floyd (1-2-1) in a four-round bout. Junior welterweight Jonathan Figueroa (2-0, 1 KO) of Hartford, Conn., returns to Twin River to face Springfield’s Miguel Ortiz (1-0, 1 KO) in a four-round showdown between two rising New England prospects and amateur standouts Ricky Delossantos of Providence, R.I., and Philip Davis of Worcester make their professional debuts against one another in a four-round super featherweight bout.

Worcester middleweight Kendrick Ball Jr. (5-0-2, 4 KOs) also returns in separate four-round bout. Ball Jr. made quick work of Patrick Leal 29 seconds into the opening round of their scheduled four-round middleweight bout in February.

Visit www.cesboxing.com, www.twitter.com/cesboxing or www.facebook.com/cesboxing for more information, or follow CES Boxing on Instagram at @CESBOXING.

Atlantic City, NJ (March 10, 2017)–Welterweight Anthony “Juice” Young will take on Samuel Amoako this Saturday night at The Claridge Hotel in Atlantic City.

The show is promoted by Rising Promotions.

Young, 15-2 with six knockouts of Atlantic City will be looking for his 5th consecutive victory when he takes on Amoko (21-13, 14 KO’s) of Accra, Ghana.

Amoako turned professional in 2005 with a victory over contender Albert Mensah (9-2-1). Amoako, 32 years-old is the former WBO African Lightweight champion Lightweight champion.

Amoako is coming off a 4-round unanimous decision loss to Sam Teah on August 6th in Bristol, PA.

“My training is good. It’s fight week, so I am just maintaining weight. I had a good camp working on my footwork. I sparred with Danny Garcia,” said Young.

The transition to Amoako was easy, as he was already sparring orthodox fighters, even thought original opponent Rogelio Casarez was a southpaw.

“I was sparring right handers anyway, and when Amoako came in, it was no big deal with the switch of the opponent.”

In his last bout, Young was dominating James Robinson until the final round when he got caught and eventually knocked down. Young was able to get out of the round and hang on for the victory on January 20th.

“I leaned it’s boxing, and one punch can change the fight. I need to stay sharp for the whole fight and not get lackadaisical.”

In now his 18th bout, Young is taking a minor step up against a veteran who has fought 201 professional rounds.

“This is my first official 8-round bout. I plan to put on a great performance for the fans. I am grateful for Rising promotions. They gave me a opportunity to fight in front of my fans, and I am looking for them to keep it going.”

In a 6-round bouts:

Dan Pasciolla (8-2) of Brick, NJ will fight LeMarcus Tucker (4-1,2 KO’s) of Forrest City, Arkansas in a heavyweight bout.

Gabriel Pham (7-1, 3 KO’s) of Atlantic City, NJ takes on Chauncey Fields (4-1, 2 KO’s) of Lynchburg, VA un a super middleweight bout.

In 4-round bouts:

Brendan Barrett (4-0-2, 4 KO’s) of Little Egg Harbor, NJ takes on Brian Donahue (3-13) of Philadelphia in a heavyweight bout.

Adrian Wilson (0-3) of Atlantic City battles Henry Tyrone Paige (0-3) of Little Rock, Arkansas in a welterweight bout.

Kevin Asmat (1-1) of North Bergen, NJ will take on Edgar Cortes (3-4) of Vineland, NJ on a super featherweight bout.

Thomas Romain (1-1) of New York will square off with Sidell Blocker (1-6-1) of Pleasantville, NJ in a lightweight fight.

In a battle of pro debuting welterweights, Cesar Francis of New York boxes Steve Moore of Orange, New Jersey

There will be several amateur bouts that will precede the professional bouts beginning at 6 PM ET.

Tickets for this great evening of boxing are $150, $80 and $55 and can be purchased at www.RSPboxing.com

Yesterday, you decided to go to the internet and social media as you have tried to do in the past and paint your own picture of the IBF eliminator bout between yourself and Sullivan Barrera. Maybe your propaganda works in Russia and in Canada but not in the United States. The fact is this fight was doomed to fail from the beginning and you can only look to your fake promoter for reasons and excuses.

First, your promoter decided not to negotiate with Barrera’s promoter Main Events and asked to go to an immediate purse bid. You immediately told the world on your social media account that the fight would be March 4th in Brooklyn, New York. Sullivan Barrera started training for this bout but no contract ever came for this bout.

After your promoter won the purse bid, he then told the world the fight would be in late March or early April in New York. Sullivan continued to train for that bout but again no contract ever came from your promoter.

Then, a few days before your promoter was obligated to meet the IBF’s deadline to send Sullivan Barrera a bout agreement for the eliminator, he is quoted in a Canadian news article about a possible cancellation of the bout if you would not be able to get a visa to enter the United States. You then had to go to your social media to try and correct your own promoter’s quotes and continue to push him to make the bout happen rather than bring up possible excuses to cancel the bout.

Next, your promoter tried to tell the world that the bout would be April 21st in Miami. But following the same pattern, a contract from your promoter never came for that bout either. Instead, he tried to send improper agreements to Main Events with various dates and sites that were all contingent on “financial backers” and could be cancelled and postponed at any time which is against IBF rules. If your promoter didn’t want to negotiate with Main Events in the first place and won the purse bid, why is he trying to make side deals with Main Events instead of just sending a bout agreement?

It was also learned that even after your promoter failed to meet the IBF deadline to submit a proper bout agreement to Barrera with the actual date, site, and location of the bout, he was still reaching out to local promoters in the Miami area and asking them for large amounts of money for the rights to put on the fight in Miami. One of those promoters actually contacted Barrera’s manager and asked his manager to help pay Yvon Michel and finance the bout.

Hopefully you can see how all of these actions (and inactions) raised tremendous concern in the camp of Sullivan Barrera that your promoter was grasping at straws and was not going to be able to properly deliver on the bout. He was in violation of the IBF rules governing the winner of a purse bid and kept trying to find ways around it. As of yesterday, he still wasn’t providing specific information on the site of the bout and at no time has the bout ever been listed on the schedules of any of the main boxing venues in Miami or on any schedule for U.S. television.

While it was always questionable whether your promoter could actually promote a fight of this magnitude in the United States when he has yet to ever do so, we no longer wanted to wait and find out the hard way. Barrera was simply not going to play these games any longer. After training for weeks and spending his own money with little to no certainty as to whether the bout would actually take place, enough became enough. Your promoter got what he wanted and you can thank him for the cancellation of this bout.

Artur, you are a great fighter with a great future. You will either take tough bouts against the best in the light heavyweight division like Sullivan Barrera has done or go the way of your countryman Adonis Stevenson and avoid tough bouts at all costs. You will either be a part of the propaganda and games being played by your promoter or you will demand to be well informed about the truth behind your opponents and the bouts.

But you should know that every story has two sides and Barrera’s track record should leave no doubt about his intentions to fight you and the very best in the division. While you spent all of 2016 fighting whatever cow farmers from Argentina your promoter could find, Barrera was on HBO facing off against Andre Ward and then destroyed the previously unbeaten Slava Shabranskyy.

Have no doubt that Sullivan Barrera was ready to fight you and does not care about the fact that everyone else is afraid of fighting you. But Sullivan needs to be treated like a man and not a piece of meat. If you and your promoter are just looking for fresh meat, you need to keep going back to Argentina.

LONDON (10 March) – BoxNation will air some of the very best fighters around as part of a jam-packed schedule over the coming weeks which sees Gennady Golovkin v Daniel Jacobs, Canelo Alvarez v Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, a stacked April 8th show headlined by lightweight world champion Terry Flanagan facing Petr Petrov and much, much more.

From top to bottom the BoxNation calendar is filled with a host of edge-of-the-seat thrillers with the world’s finest boxers set to do battle starting tonight at 7pm as undefeated warrior Jamie Conlan faces former world title challenger Yader Cardoza for the vacant WBC International Silver super-flyweight championship at The Waterfront in Belfast.

This kick-starts even more great fights on the channel with knockout king David Lemieux going up against middleweight foe, and an equally impressive banger, Curtis Stevens this Saturday night from Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York.

This fight promises to produce all-action, with Canadian Lemieux and Brownsville boxer Stevens looking to rise back to the top of the 160-pound weight class.

Next week, on Friday March 17th, BoxNation will stay in New York as Irish Olympic sensation Michael Conlan makes his professional debut on St Patrick’s Day as he takes on Tim Ibarra from the iconic Madison Square Garden.

It will no doubt be a very special night for the Belfast super-bantamweight who will be looking to get his career off to the best of starts against 26-year-old Ibarra.

Then, the following night on Saturday March 18th, exclusively live once again from the ‘Mecca of Boxing’, Madison Square Garden, pound-for-pound star Golovkin will defend his WBC, WBA Super and IBF world titles against the gifted Jacobs.

The Kazakh fighter has captivated the boxing world, racking up a staggering 36-0 record, with 33 of those coming by way of knockout.

Despite being the sport’s most feared fighter Golovkin will have his hands full against 30-year-old Jacobs who has shown he too has dynamite in his fists with a record of 32 wins and just one loss, with 29 knockouts.

This mammoth clash will pit together two of the greatest middleweights in the world, with the victor rightfully able to call themselves the best fighter in 160-pound division.

The card on the night will also feature another pound-for-pound ace in the undefeated WBC super flyweight world champion Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez who meets the hard-hitting Wisaksil Wangek.

Gonzalez has a flawless 46-0 record, with 38 KOs, and is regarded by many as the best boxer on the planet.

Wangek will be looking to test him, and his 38 KOs in 41 wins shows he is no slouch and has real pop in his punches.

‘The Channel of Champions’ will be back on British soil on April 8th to air one of the best fight cards this year, headlined by lightweight world champion Flanagan as he defends his title from the Manchester Arena against Russian assassin Petrov.

The undefeated Flanagan will be looking to do the business in front of his home fans and prove why he is so highly-rated against the tricky and well-schooled Petrov.

There is nothing but top class fights on this card with former light-middleweight world champion Liam Smith facing the undefeated and rising Liam Williams in a showdown that could be a ‘Fight of the Year’ contender.

Smith, who has taken on the very best including Mexican star Canelo, will be eyeing another shot at a world title down the road but Welshman Williams has other ideas as he looks to derail those plans and throw his hat into the world title mix.

This bout will certainly be a clash not to be missed, with British Olympic hero Nicola Adams making her debut on a card that also sees South African Zolani Tete facing Arthur Villanueva in a final eliminator for the WBO world bantamweight belt.

Exciting heavyweight monster Daniel Dubois is another debutant on a great night of boxing from Manchester.

The month of May isn’t going to start so merry for one Mexican when Latin rivals Canelo and Chavez Jr clash in a megafight from Las Vegas.

Taking place from a sold-out T-Mobile Arena the long-time rivals will finally get to settle an old feud on May 6th with the flame-haired Canelo looking to prove why he is one of boxing’s elite fighters.

The 26-year-old is the biggest pay-per-view draw around but a rejuvenated Chavez Jr is looking to follow in the footsteps of his illustrious father and upset the odds in a must-watch matchup.

This is followed on May 20th when the supremely talented and Floyd Mayweather protégé Gervonta Davis struts his stuff for UK fans when he makes the first defence of his IBF super-featherweight world title against the unbeaten Liam Walsh.

Live from the Copper Box Arena in London, BoxNation will be the only place to see a clash which pits together two of the very best at 130-pounds.

The BoxNation calendar will no doubt have fight fans licking their lips, with back-to-back world class fights available for just £12 a month. Find out more at boxnation.com.

– ENDS –

About BoxNation
BoxNation, the Channel of Champions and proud partner of Rainham Steel, is the UK’s first dedicated boxing channel. From £12* per month with no minimum term customers can enjoy great value live and exclusive fights, classic fight footage, magazine shows and interviews with current and former fighters.
Previous highlights have included Haye vs Chisora, Mayweather vs Maidana, Saunders vs Eubank Jr and Khan vs Canelo.
The channel is available on Sky (Ch.437), Freeview (Ch.255), Virgin (Ch.546), TalkTalk (Ch.415), online at watch.boxnation.com and via apps (ios, Android, Amazon, Apple TV). BoxNation is also available in high definition on Sky (Ch. 490), at no extra cost to Sky TV subscribers, providing they are already HD enabled.
Available on selected internet-connected Freeview products only, subject to coverage. Visit freeview.co.uk/availability.
BoxNation is also available to commercial premises (inc. pubs, clubs and casino’s) in the UK and Ireland, for more information on a commercial subscription please call 0844 842 7700.
For more information visit www.boxnation.com
*Plus £8 registration fee for Sky TV customers