Pennsauken, NJ (January 22, 2015)–This Saturday night, January 24 at the GPG Event Center (Formerly the Woodbine Inn) in Pennsauken, New Jersey, the inaugural boxing will take place with local favorite as Heavyweight contender Chazz Witherspoon (31-3, 23 KO’s) of Paulsboro, NJ will take on Cory Phelps (16-7-1, 8 KO’s) of Catlettsburg, KY in a bout scheduled for 10-rounds.

The show is promoted by CMIS Enterprises & Witherspoon’s Silver Spoon Promotions.

In four round bouts:

Nick Valliere (3-0, 2 KO’s) of Forked River, NJ will fight pro debuting Francisco Cruz of Philadelphia in a Welterweight bout.

Erik Spring (4-0, 1 KO) of Reading, PA will see action in a Jr. Middleweight bout against Travis McClaren (1-5) of Virginia.

Malik Hawkins (1-0, 1 KO) of Baltimore will take part in a Welterweight bout against Josue Rivera (2-6, 2 KO’s) of Philadelphia, PA

Courtney Blocker (3-0, 3 KO’s) of Pensacola, FL will fight in a Jr. Welterweight bout against Domonic Goode (0-3) of Bridgeton, NJ

Matthew Gonzalez (1-0) of Vineland, NJ will fight Emmanuel Lipscomb of Philadelphia in a Middleweight bout.

Vidal Rivera of Camden, NJ will make his pro debut in a Super Bantamweight bout against Jose Garcia (0-2) of Philadelphia.

Jerome Conquest (1-1) of Philadelphia will fight Tyshae Furguson (0-3) of Danville, VA in a Super Lightweight bout.

Tickets for the great evening of championship boxing $100 for Platinum Ringside (limited amount available); $75 for Gold Select seating (limited amount available)and $50 for General Admission and can be purchased by calling 856 472 0443.

Bouts subject to change

There will be an after party at the GPG Event Center.

The GPG Event Center is located at 1444 Route 73 in Pennsauken.

Philadelphia (January 22, 2015 ) – This past Tuesday night at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Jr. Welterweight Raymond “Tito” Serrano scored a clear unanimous decision over Jerome Rodriguez.

With the win, Serrano raised his record to 20-2 as the score cards read 59-55 on all cards.

“It was a fight that I worked on things in training,”said Serrano.

“I knew going in that Rodriguez was a slick boxer but he was a little more aggressive then I expected so I adjusted and fought smart. After the 3rd round he seemed to fade a little bit and I started to land my shots.”

This was Serrano’s 2nd bout after a 22-month layoff and he is happy with the improvement shown in this bout.

“I thought I was better. Rodriguez is young and hungry and he comes to fight. I had to be smarter in this fight and I was better than the last one.”

Serrano will get right back at it as he is looking to fight on February 27 in Huntington, New York on a show that will be promoted by his promoter Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing.

“I should be back on February 27 on the Star Boxing card. I am getting right back to the gym. I am moving forward to accomplish the dream of becoming world champion. I know my promoter will put me in the spots to accomplish that goal.”

“I want to thank my manager Mark Cipparone and all my fans. I want to know that I am back and I am taking my quest to become champion one bout at a time.”

” This was the perfect fight for Ray in every measure. From the very first round it was clear to all in the building that Rodriguez, who is certainly no push over was in the ring with an elite professional. Ray landed impressive shots to the body of Rodriguez all night and his veteran boxing skills made it all look too easy. I have been in the gym for some time now watching Ray closely, comparing and measuring and he will be a problem for anyone out there. Tito has earned my attention for sure so don’t sleep on him because his comeback is now a reality! “, said Club 1957 Management CEO Mark Cipparone

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

WFC 33 RESULTS, WFC ANNOUNCES WFC 36, BOXING BACK AT THE BELLE OF BATON ROUGE

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA — January 21, 2015 — In front of yet another completely sold out crowd in Baton Rouge, World Fighting Championships presented six competitive, high energy bouts, showcasing the level of quality that the promotional company is becoming known for, in both the boxing and MMA communities.

Justin Thomas (11-0, 17KO) shined in the main event, knocking out his opponent, David Lujan (4-3-0, 1KO) in the fourth round of their scheduled six round contest. “It was a great turnout and a great fight for me. It was a real privilege being the main event, especially fighting a fighter like David,” said Thomas after the bout. “He is a great fighter and a great person. He showed great character outside the ring and made me give him more respect.” Said Thomas of the decision, “I got to show my pure boxing skills instead of relying on my power. I’m looking forward to continuing to fight good competition. I feel that in this fight I proved I’m a main event fighter, and I’m just going to get better each fight.”

Other Results:

Chris Singleton def Gary Bergeron by 2nd round knockout
Marcus McDaniel def Jay Williams by unanimous decision (6 rounds)
Stephan Louis def Samotheous Parker by unanimous decision (4 rounds)
Justin Verdin def Dennis Williams by unanimous decision (4 rounds)
Thomas Dorsey def Antonio Mignella by unanimous decision (4 rounds)

World Fighting Championships immediately announced its next boxing event, WFC 36 at the Belle of Baton Rouge, featuring Chris Singleton, Justin Thomas and Samotheous Parker on March 28th. Tickets for the event may be purchased at www.wfcfights.com. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets early to avoid being denied entry on fight night due to the immense popularity of the WFC boxing series at the Belle of Baton Rouge.

Floriana Pagliara 125.4 vs Antwan Robertson 123.4
(WBU Americas Featherweight title)

Wright Johnson

Junior Wright 199.2 vs Rayford Johnson 198.8

Perea Salas

Ytalo Perea 237.8 vs Emilio Salas 207.2
Akil Frederick-Auguste 159.2 vs Eddie Edmond 158.6
Gary Beriguette 145.2 vs Rafael Luna 148.2
Tre’Sean Wiggins 145.6 va Ilyas Aksabaev 145.2
Marcos Suarez 137.4 vs Micah Branch 130.8
Damien Yero 154 vs Mack Babb 151.6

Promoter: Dmitry Salita’s Star of David Promotions
Venue: Webster Hall
1st Bell 7:00 PM

Photo Credit : Vladimir Lik

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

Doors open for the 8-bout card at 7 PM ET, with ticket prices starting at $40.

Monte-Carlo (January 21, 2015) Thirty days out from their highly anticipated World Middleweight Championship, GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN and MARTIN MURRAY have both weighed in within the World Boxing Council’s (‘WBC’) required limits heading into their February 21 clash in Monte-Carlo.

From his training camp in Big Bear Lake, California, Golovkin, the WBA/IBO and WBC ‘Interim’ Middleweight Champion weighed in at 172lbs. while top rated challenger Murray hit the scale at 169lbs. on Wednesday morning in Johannesburg, South Africa.

For middleweight world title fights, the WBC mandates that fighters must be no more than 176lbs. thirty days prior to the fight.

Said TOM LOEFFLER of K2 Promotions, “The interest from the fans and media worldwide has been extraordinary for this event. Golovkin and Murray are exceptionally well conditioned athletes and each will be ready on February 21 to prove who the best middleweight in the world is.”

“Both of these fighters are in excellent shape and boxing fans around the world will be in for an outstanding battle in boxing’s most glamorous division on February 21, “ said RODNEY BERMAN of Golden Gloves of South Africa.

GOLOVKIN vs. MURRAY is presented by Golden Gloves of South Africa, K2 Promotions, GGG Promotions, Expo 2017 and Tsesnabank, Casino de Monte Carlo along with Monte Carlo SBM.

The fight from the Salle des Etoiles in Monte-Carlo will be telecast worldwide including Live on HBO World Championship Boxing® beginning at 5:45 p.m. ET/PT in the United States.

Boxing’s Fastest Rising Superstar, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, 31-0-0 with 28 KO’s, scored his 18th straight KO victory and 12th defense of his WBA/IBO titles on Saturday, October 18th with a devastating second round knockout of WBC “Interim” Middleweight Champion, Marco Antonio Rubio in front of a standing room only crowd of 9,323 at the StubHub! Center in Carson, California, USA. The attendance was record setting, far surpassing any other previous boxing events held at the acclaimed West Coast venue where many world champions have fought including Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Andre Ward.

Golovkin holds the highest knockout percentage in world title fights of any active champion with a perfect 100%.

A native of Karaganda, Kazakhstan, now residing in Los Angeles, California, Golovkin has fought twice previously in Monte Carlo. In March 2012, Golovkin knocked out former world champion Nobuhiro Ishida in the third stanza, which earned him numerous “Knockout of the Year” awards from the international boxing media and scored a sixth round stoppage of former world title challenger Osumanu Adama in February 2013, both fights taking place at the Salle des Etoiles.

On October 25th, Martin Murray stopped Dominico Spada in the fifth round also at the Salle des Etoiles in Monte Carlo. Golovkin was ringside for the Murray/Spada bout and came away impressed by his performance. With the victory, Murray of Merseyside, United Kingdom improved his record to 29-1-1 (13KO’s).

In April 2012, Murray traveled to Buenos Aries, Argentina and battled hometown world champion Sergio Martinez. Despite dropping Martinez in the eighth round, he lost a highly controversial decision in a bout many in the media and ringside observers believe he was victorious in.

Three fights earlier, Murray headed to Mannheim, Germany in December 2011 to challenge also hometown world champion Felix Sturm. Outlanding Sturm throughout the fight with blistering power punches, most ringside observers and media members also thought he won this fight despite the scoring of a highly controversial split decision draw.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (January 21, 2015) – Injury has forced the delay of a heavily anticipated matchup between Bobby Lashley (12-2) and James Thompson (20-14) but Bellator MMA officials have announced a blockbuster fight to replace it in Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (14-4) vs. Cheick Kongo (22-9-2). Also Andre Santos (37-9) has stepped in for the injured welterweight champion Douglas Lima (26-5), and will now face the always-dangerous Paul Daley (35-13).

The new contest is scheduled for the televised portion of “Bellator: British Invasion,” which takes place on Friday, February 27, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The night’s main card airs live on Spike TV, while preliminary bouts stream on Spike.com.

Tickets for “Bellator: British Invasion,” which start at just $25, are already on sale at Ticketmaster.com and Bellator.com. Additional bouts are expected to be announced shortly.

“We’re disappointed we had to delay these fights between Bobby Lashley and James Thompson, and Douglas Lima and Paul Daley, but I have no doubt that these matchups will be fantastic once they eventually come to fruition,” Bellator MMA CEO Scott Coker said. “Fortunately, we’re able to replace the bouts with equally entertaining contests for our fans.”

“King Mo” Lawal fights for the 10th time for Bellator MMA and has established himself as one of the most recognizable superstars in the sport. A standout wrestler who normally competes at light heavyweight, the former NCAA Division I All-American and Pan American gold medalist has earned 11 of his 14 career MMA wins by knockout, including recent striking stoppages of Joe Vedepo and Dustin Jacoby. The former Bellator MMA tournament winner and Strikeforce light heavyweight world champion now moves up to heavyweight for the first time since 2009 to challenge himself against Kongo.

Kongo, a 6-foot-4 Frenchman, is a former professional kickboxer who boasts black belts in both Karate and Kendo. A multiple-time world champion in kickboxing, Kongo now focuses solely on MMA and has built a 4-1 record under the Bellator MMA banner. Training at Wolfslair MMA Academy in London, Kongo most recently flashed his well-rounded game by scoring a first-round submission over fellow striker Lavar Johnson in a September matchup. Kongo’s lone Bellator loss came in a five-round contest for the Bellator MMA Heavyweight World Championship, in which he went five full rounds with Vitaly Minakov but came up short in a decision result.

Paul Daley is a highly feared and respected veteran with dynamite in both fists, which earned him the nickname “Semtex”. The 31-year-old from Nottingham, England has won an impressive 74% of his 35 victories by way of knockout. Having fought for Scott Coker under the Strikeforce banner, rejoining him at Bellator was a no brainer. Daley took to the internet to share his feelings on the injury to Lima, stating: “Nervous, Scared??…..I understand, preparing to fight me…. I would be. It’s ok…. guess you get to have a few more photo shoots with the belt…. My focus has shifted, same date, new opponent…. British Invasion at Bellator 134.”

The new opponent his focus has shifted to is Andre “Chatuba” Santos. A veteran of the sport in his own right, the Rio De Janeiro fighter has two more wins than Daley in four less fights. Santos defeated James Terry at Bellator 129, in what was his first fight on American soil. He now has his sights set on Daley, with hopes to win his seventh straight fight.

About Bellator MMA
Bellator MMA is a leading Mixed Martial Arts organization featuring many of the best fighters in the world. Under the direction of veteran fight promoter Scott Coker, Bellator is available to nearly 500 million homes worldwide in over 140 countries. In the United States, Bellator can be seen on Spike TV, the MMA television leader. Bellator MMA is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations. Bellator is based in Santa Monica, California and owned by entertainment giant Viacom, home to the world’s premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms.

About Spike TV:
Spike TV is available in 98.7 million homes and is a division of Viacom Media Networks. A unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), Viacom Media Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV’s press site at http://www.spike.com/press. Follow us on Twitter @spiketvpr for the latest in breaking news updates, behind-the-scenes information and photos.

BOB ARUM: Thank you. Everyone is looking forward to what should be a great, great fight. The previous two fights were classics and this one will probably top them all. I am really looking forward to Saturday night in Denver and now I would like to put the fighters on. These are two gladiators. These are two guys that make the sport of boxing proud the way they perform in the ring.

BRANDON RIOS: How is it going everybody? I hope everyone had a good Christmas and a great New Years. We are ready for Saturday to give the fans a great show.

MIKE ALVARADO: Training is going good and I am ready to put on a great show. I am ready to start the year off right and put a great trilogy on for the fans. I am ready and excited for this fight.

Do you go into this fight thinking you will fight the same way or do you try to add a wrinkle?

MIKE ALVARADO: I will let the fight go how it goes and make adjustments accordingly to how we fight. Our styles clash and we know each other so well that we know what’s going to happen then make adjustments. There are going to be a lot of adjustments that we will make as we compare each others styles and how we react to them. So it is going to be very interesting to see how this fight plays out as it goes along.

BRANDON RIOS: I see it the same way – we are going to both make adjustments. Like Mike said we are both similar and fight the same way. We both have heart and wear our hearts on our sleeves. It all depends on how the first round goes – that’s how I see it. However the first round goes, that’s how the fight is going to be, and we are ready. We are ready for war, we are ready for boxing and ready for everything that we are going to make adjustments for. I know it’s going to be a great fight and the fans are going to love this one.

What type of a relationship do you have with each other?

BRANDON RIOS: There is no animosity between Mike and me, we are cool. We are the same kind of people. We are the same person. We know what it takes to be where we are at. We both have our problems outside the ring and we both have our problems inside the ring. We know that and at the end of the day we are both the same person. We are both from the hood – we both grew up like that. We understand ‘real’ and we recognize ‘real,’ and that’s what we are we are real fighters. We are cool outside the ring but once we get in that ring we hate each other. We want to kill each other and that’s what makes this sport and that’s what makes these fights more exciting because everyone thins that ‘these guys are too close, the have fun together, but once they get in the ring they kill each other.’ It’s like the Army, all of the soldiers are your brothers. Alvarado is like my brother and we fight – we fight until somebody gets hurt.

MIKE ALVARADO: Brandon said it pretty clear. We have nothing against each other and once we get in the ring we know what we gotta do. We know what type of fight we are getting into with each other. That is the warrior that is going to come out of us that night because we know what kind of fighters we are – we both have heart and power and we are both warriors. There is no reason for us to add more to it. Everybody know what kind of fight they are going to get out of us. We didn’t get to this third fight against each other by accident.

Are you guy’s friends?

MIKE ALVARADO: I would say we are. We don’t really communicate on a day-to-day basis but when we see each other we are cool and have that mutual respect and we understand each other.

BRANDON RIOS: I feel the same way too. Like he said, we don’t talk a lot but once we see each other of course we are going to shake each others’ hand and joke around while we see each other. I live in California and he lives in Denver so it is hard to communicate. We do have that mutual respect for everything that we do inside the ring and outside of the ring.

BOB ARUM: The best trilogies are the ones where the fighters respect one another so much that they consider each other friends. After the trilogy is over they continue to be friends. Recently we saw that with Gatti and Ward. Before Gatti’s untimely death they were really close. I’m sure the Mike and ‘Bam Bam’ will be close for the rest of their lives because they have been through hell together.

The opposite would be Barrera and Morales who still can’t stand to be in the same room with each other…

BOB ARUM: They were different people – they came from different social strata in Mexico. Barrera was much more Spanish and Morales had a lot more Indian blood. They taunted each other with that, and you are correct, there was a lot of animosity and unfortunately, there still is. But these guys are like two peas in the pod. They are really alike. They are fun-loving guys, who when they get in the ring are absolutely fearsome.

Brandon, can you talk about your last two fights?

BRANDON RIOS: From the Pacquiao fight, it is what it is. He showed why he is one of the greatest in the world and I am proud to have lost to one of the greatest in the world. I was confident going into that fight and I thought I was going to win that fight, but I lost and there is nothing I can take away from that. And that controversial win (Chaves) – how is that controversial? Because the guy is eye-gouging me? And keeps eye-gouging me and eye-gouging me – that is controversial? Because he was winning? I still had another round to come back – I was down a point on the cards. It wasn’t like I was losing the whole entire fight. I was down one point and still had a round to go. That’s why he was eye-gouging me because he felt the pressure and the power so he had no other choice than to do his dirty tactics, which he did. I read that in Argentina he is doing all kinds of dirty (stuff) – he bit a British kid in the amateurs. This guy is a dirty guy. You might think it is controversial then you can think that, but at the end of the day I don’t really care what anybody says about it. A win is a win and I still got the win.

I meant controversial meaning what happened in the fight – not the win…

BRANDON RIOS: OK then, you didn’t explain your self right.

Do you like knowing that this will be an exciting fight no matter what happens?

BRANDON RIOS: Yes, no matter what happens it will be. People always say ‘Brandon can’t fight fighters that box.’ I can’t get too comfortable with one person with one style and I got so comfortable with a guy attacking and putting pressure on – taking a shot to give a shot. I got too comfortable. Earlier in my career, I was moving my head and I was moving around, I was boxing and trading punches when I had to. But I just got too comfortable. It is what it is and I learned from the Pacquiao fight. And I learned a lot from the Chaves fight. I reached deep down inside me and did a soul-search and I am ready for whomever now. Fortunately it is Alvarado and we know we are going to put on a great show but it is what it is and now I’m ready.

Mike, people may think you have lost a lot being in the Provodnikov and Bradley fights…

MIKE ALVARADO: I know that those fights didn’t have any wear and tear on me, being in wars like that. I learned a lot since I started in this boxing game. It has been a learning experience as far as my technique and generalship in the ring and everything that goes along with it. Everything that happened in the ring makes me learn more about myself – every situation and every moment in that ring has been a learning experience and I have taken it all with me. I have grown over the past few years as a fighter and as a man inside and outside the ring. It is going to make me a better fighter in the ring. It is on me to make those adjustments and utilize them in that ring.

You have had a couple incidences outside of the ring recently…

MIKE ALVARADO: I have grown so much from all of these learning experiences. I put them behind me. I don’t hold on to them. I don’t bring them with me into the ring and it’s not a distraction. I have learned to be positive through it and be strong and it gives me more confidence to be a better person and a better fighter. On Saturday night it is on us to reach deep inside and make the adjustments that we need to make to overcome this kind of fight.

BOB ARUM: They are both terrific fighters and they have demonstrated that many, many times and there is something about this rivalry that makes them even greater when they face each other and that’s what I look forward to.

Brandon, what type of soul-searching were you doing?

BRANDON RIOS: I got too comfortable at a young age, making all of this money. So I had to do some soul-searching and go back to my roots. Go back to what got me here and not to forget. That’s what I meant by soul-searching.

BRANDON RIOS: We are fighters. We are warriors. We will fight each other and day at any time. I am happy about this. We have to have this trilogy because it’s time. We cannot leave it as a tie. We have to see who is better than whom so we have to have this trilogy.

MIKE ALVARADO: I don’t look at is as a rivalry. We are going to get in there and do what we do. It is what we chose to compete in and it’s 1-1. There has to be a winner to this. It is a trilogy and we have to figure out who wins. I am going to get in there and do what I do – that’s what I do.

What did you think about Bradley-Chaves?

BRANDON RIOS: It was a close fight but I thought Bradley won the fight. Chaves was doing some things but he wasn’t eye-gouging and things like that because Bradley wasn’t letting him. He fought two different guys. Chaves fought guys that he knew could punch and he fought guys that he knew he could stay there and not get hurt. That’s why he fought two different guys and he fought two different styles. It wasn’t the best performance I have seen out of Timothy Bradley.

You have fought Pacquiao so how do you think he would do against Mayweather?

BRANDON RIOS: Right now about 0%. From what I have read Mayweather is saying this and saying that so at the end of the day I am not going to get too excited about it until I see the contract signed and they have a press conference and I will fight on the undercard and that will be a hell of a fight.

Mike, how big of a distraction have the recent legal issues been?

MIKE ALVARADO: There have been no distractions. I am use to something always going wrong in camp. When it is going too good and perfect I know something bad is going to happen because that’s the way it has always been. I have been dealing with adversity my whole life. Adversity has been in my life the whole time so there are not distractions for this fight.

Did you miss any time when this incident happened?

MIKE ALVARADO: No I didn’t miss any training time. I went to jail for one day and I just made up for that day on that Sunday.

Do you think about what a win or a loss will do for your future?

MIKE ALVARADO: The thought goes through my head. I think about it. I know I need this win and we are going to go in there and fight our hearts out. That’s just the kind of fighters we are and the kind of fighter I am. I hate losing so at the end of the day, regardless, I love to win.

BRANDON RIOS: Of course I am thinking about that because we both have a lot on the line right now as far as our careers. I am so focused right now and ready for this fight. It is unbelievable. I had a tremendous training camp and I know what could happen if we lose and what could happen if we win. My mind is set on the prize and for the glory. I am still young in the sport and I have a lot to give to it.

Does your training regimen fit the fact that your fights turn into wars?

BRANDON RIOS: It’s not that I am in wars. It’s just the way I fight. I don’t look for the wars, it’s just the way I fight. Like I said, I got too comfortable fighting one style and forgot about the regimen of boxing and how to get to the top again. So I did some soul-searching and I am ready to get back. I have rejuvenated myself and I am ready. Everybody is going to say what they want to say no matter what. Everybody is going to have their opinion…”this guy’s been in too many wars,’ this and that, but I don’t really care. I know what I can bring and I know what I can provide.

BRANDON RIOS: Making the money at a young age, a kid like me. I grew up poor and never had that much money. I had never seen that much money before. I was always on the street and in and out of jail and causing trouble. That’s how Mike and I can relate and that’s why we get along very well. Having that money made me forget the hunger that got me there. I am ready to get back to the top again. I remember all of that stuff now and I am ready to get back.

You are training in Denver compared to the last fight you trained in California – which is best?

MIKE ALVARADO: There are distractions anywhere, regardless. If there was stuff going on at home, it would distract me. If I was out there in LA – I would still hear about it and still stress about it. But I am comfortable at home. I love training at home so why train away from home? I am focused on training where my main support group is – where my family is and where my kids are. I feel more confident training in my hometown. I love being around my kids

Do your kids sit ringside for your fights?

MIKE ALVARADO: Yes definitely. My oldest daughter will be going into the ring with me and my other daughters will be there as well. I have three girls and they are my number one fans.

How do you make sure you stick to your game plan?

MIKE ALVARADO: I just stay with my game plan that I have already developed and making those adjustments quicker this time around. Sticking to my game plan and not giving in like the first fight. The first fight was a test for that technique – a style against a style. The second fight is where the adjustments come in. Now that I know I was able to adapt to a certain style, I can make the adjustments I need to make to overcome that type of style. I am going to go in there and stick with my game plan.

Is there animosity towards Chaves?

BRANDON RIOS: There is no animosity towards Chaves. I had an eight-month layoff before I had gone back into the gym. Everyone else may talk about that fight but I don’t talk about it. It is what it is. Now I am talking about staying shape and staying in the gym. I literally took eight months off and I did nothing. After the Pacquiao fight I was devastated and down on myself – I was mad and depressed. I have no problem fighting Chaves again. I don’t turn down a fight from nobody. I’ll fight anybody. I am a warrior and I will fight. I’ll fight until I die. I don’t care.

BRANDON RIOS: I was depressed after the Pacquiao fight because I was confident when I went in there but there is a point where you get confident and not cocky confident. What happened is I got cocky confident. It was my fault and I had nobody else to blame. It was my big rodeo for the first time and I didn’t come out and do what I thought I was able to do. Then after that I only fought one time last year and it sucked. And from testing positive for something I never tested positive for before, which I had the wrong guy in my camp and I came out dirty. I wasn’t really dirty there was just a lot of stuff going on in my camp.

In Closing…

BOB ARUM: I can’t wait for Saturday night it is going to be a great fight with two great warriors. Also prior to that fight you will get an opportunity to see Gilberto Ramirez – the undefeated No. 2 super middleweight contender from Mexico. He is something special — I believe he can be the next big thing in boxing — a big knockout puncher and he’s in with a very tough Russian opponent, Maxim Vlasov, a Top-10 contender, and that should be a terrific fight as well.

BRANDON RIOS: Everybody don’t sit on and it don’t wait too long there are still tickets and get your tickets because this is going to be an exciting fight and you want to be there or you are going to be squared. Alvarado is ready and I’m ready and we are going to put on a great show.

MIKE ALVARADO: I am promising that it is going to be a great end to this trilogy. Everybody make sure they get their tickets because it’s going to be a fight.

*****************************

Former world champions and co-stars of one this era’s most intense and exciting boxing rivalries — Denver’s “Mile High” MIKE ALVARADO and BRANDON “Bam Bam” RIOS, of Oxnard, Calif. — are just three days away from authoring Chapter 3 of their amazing trilogy. Boasting a combined record of 66-5-1 (45 KOs), each warrior owns a victory in the series — both of which were candidates for Fight of the Year in 2012 and 2013.

Mexico’s next big thing, undefeated No. 2 super middleweight contender GILBERTO “Zurdo” RAMIREZ and once-beaten Top-10 contender MAXIM VLASOV of Russia, will be featured in the co-main event in a 10-round light heavyweight battle.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Zapari Boxing and Tecate, remaining tickets to the Alvarado-Rios welterweight championship event, priced at $250, $200, $125, $65 and $40, are available at www.AltitudeTickets.com, by phone at 866-461-6556 and at the Pepsi Center box office. The 12-round Alvarado-Rios 3 WBO International Welterweight Championship rumble will take place Saturday, January 24, at the 1STBANK Center in nearby Broomfield and will be televised live on HBO®, beginning at 9:45 p.m. ET/PT. The telecast will open with the Ramirez-Vlasov rumble.

The last boxing event hosted by 1STBANK Center was sold out in advance — the October 19, 2013 WBO junior welterweight world championship between Alvarado and Ruslan Provodnikov.

********************

The “Road to Alvarado-Rios 3” special will replay on HBO on Thursday, January 23 (6:00 p.m. & 1:30 a.m.) and 24 (11:45 a.m.). All times are ET/PT. The 15-minute special will also be available on the HBO On Demand® service, HBO GO® and at www.hbo.com/boxing.

For fight updates go to www.toprank.com or www.hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/trboxing, facebook.com/trboxeo, or facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, or twitter.com/hboboxing. Use the Hashtag #AlvaradoRios to join the conversation on Twitter.

NEW YORK (Jan. 21, 2015)—SHOWTIME Sports garnered a record audience for Saturday’s 2015 SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING premiere telecast headlined by newly minted WBC Heavyweight World Champion Deontay Wilder in his breakout win over Bermane Stiverne. The main event ranks as the highest-rated fight on any premium network in the past 12 months while the entire three-fight telecast becomes the highest rated on SHOWTIME in more than two years. The Jan. 17 telecast attracted the second largest audience since 2004* behind the Miguel Cotto vs. Austin Trout event from Dec. 2012. (*since Nielsen began to separately measure premium television multiplex channels)

Wilder’s impressive win captured an average audience of 1.24 million viewers, ranked as the fourth highest-rated fight on record for the network, with a peak audience of 1.34 million viewers.

The average individual audiences for each of the three fights on the telecast now rank in the top-20 of the most watched bouts on SHOWTIME since 2009. WBC Super Bantamweight World Champion Leo Santa Cruz’s eighth-round TKO of Jesus Ruiz ranks 12th highest while the telecast opener, super lightweight Amir Imam’s fifth-round TKO of Fidel Maldonado Jr. ranks 20th.

The event was co-promoted by Don King Productions and Golden Boy Promotions and took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

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SHOWTIME releases Stiverne vs. Wilder Round 7 in its entirety! http://s.sho.com/1J52G55

Plus, catch the entire SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast again on SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and on mobile devices via SHOWTIME ANYTIME®
Description: Description: C:\Users\deblasic\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Word\004_Bermane_Stiverne_vs_Deontay_Wilder.jpg
Photo Credit: SHOWTIME/Esther Lin

Suggested Tweet
Entire Rd7 from #StiverneWilder http://s.sho.com/1J52G55; Catch the replay ON DEMAND & SHO ANYTIME. @BStiverne vs @BronzeBomber

# # #

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All fights and fighters are subject to change.

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

Information

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

Twitter & Instagram:

@M1Global
@VadimFinkelchtein
@M1GlobalNews

Facebook:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sullivan Barrera
Photo Credits:
Mike Gladysz/Main Events

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

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

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

Barrera and Bryant
Photo Credits: David Spagnolo/Main Events

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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About Warriors Boxing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, January 21 at 10 a.m. CT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, January 22 at 10 a.m. CT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

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

About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC®) is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Costas Philippou: UFC middleweight and nine-time ROC veteran

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

###

About GFL:

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

About Ring of Combat:

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

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

About Lou Neglia:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s what they had to say:

PROMOTER DON KING

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

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

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

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

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

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

BERMANE STIVERNE

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

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

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

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

DON HOUSE, Stiverne’s Trainer

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

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

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

# # #

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The following match ups are as follows:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

END

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DAVID LEMIEUX, Middleweight Contender

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CAMILLE ESTEPHAN, President of Eye of the Tiger Management

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

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

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

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

ERIC GOMEZ, Senior Vice President of Golden Boy Promotions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You can donate online with a credit card at:

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

If you are uncomfortable donating on line, you can make out a check to “Tom Casino.” On the memo line please write “Gift,” which will provide you and Tom a gift-tax exemption. Please mail the check to:

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

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

TEMECULA, CALIF. (Jan. 16, 2015) – Bellator MMA Featherweight World Champion Patricio Pitbull (23-2) was pushed to the limit by tenacious challenger Daniel Straus (22-6), but in the end, the Brazilian showed a ton of heart and retained his title with a gutsy fourth-round submission win.

The contest headlined Friday’s “Bellator: Pitbull vs. Straus” at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, Calif.

Known for his wrestling, Straus showed improved striking skills throughout the bout, as he used his reach and quickness to frustrate Pitbull and open a cut over the champ’s right eye. But Pitbull refused to relent his title and used a late fourth-round takedown to work himself on to his opponent’s back, where he sunk in a rear-naked choke that ended the fight with just 11 second left in the round.

“I knew he’d come out striking,” Pitbull said after the win. “He’s a former world champion and one of the best strikers on the planet.

“I stuck to my gameplan and showed why I’m the champion. AND STILL!”

Pitbull already knows his next opponent, as Georgi Karakhanyan (24-4-1) picked up an incredibly impressive win over top featherweight prospect Bubba Jenkins (8-2).

The two-time D1 All-American Jenkins went quickly to his preferred attack, looking for the takedown, but Karakhanyan was waiting with the perfect counter: a guillotine choke.

Karakhanyan missed on his first attempt at the hold, but when they returned to the feet, Jenkins again looked for the takedown but left his neck behind. Karakhanyan happily cinched up the hold and put Jenkins to sleep with a spectacular finish at the 1:49 mark of the first.

Karakhanyan said he looks forward to the opportunity to erase the frustration of a 2011 loss to Pitbull.

“I’m very excited that I’m getting a title shot,” Karakhanyan said. “I’d love to fight Patricio and get my revenge.”

In additional main-card action, local hero Virgil Zwicker (13-4-1) edged out Houston Alexander (16-11-1) by split decision, while Fernando Gonzalez (23-13) outstruck Marius Zaromskis (20-9) en route to a unanimous decision win.

About Bellator MMA
Bellator MMA is a leading Mixed Martial Arts organization featuring many of the best fighters in the world. Under the direction of veteran fight promoter Scott Coker, Bellator is available to nearly 500 million homes worldwide in over 140 countries. In the United States, Bellator can be seen on Spike TV, the MMA television leader. Bellator MMA is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations. Bellator is based in Santa Monica, California and owned by entertainment giant Viacom, home to the world’s premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms.

About Spike TV:
Spike TV is available in 98.7 million homes and is a division of Viacom Media Networks. A unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), Viacom Media Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV’s press site at http://www.spike.com/press. Follow us on Twitter @spiketvpr for the latest in breaking news updates, behind-the-scenes information and photos.