Carolina, P.R.- Fighters, managers and trainers for this Saturday’s upcoming fight card spoke with 15rounds.com at today’s press conference. The show will feature Puerto Rican Juan Manuel López against Filipino Bernabé Concepción and Vic Darchinyan conqueror Nonito Donaire aginst Mexican Hernán Marquez as the co-features.

Nonito “Flash” Donaire (23-1-0, 15KO’s) stated that he felt good, strong and ready for his upcoming bout against Hernán “Tyson” Marquez (27-1-0, 20KO’s), Sonora, Mexico. Donaire said he’s seen Marquez and knows he has a good record and is a strong fighter who hits hard and is hungry but thinks he has an advantage in speed and height that will help him carry along his plan of fighting from the outside.

The new Filipino “Flash” said this would be his last fight at super flyweight as it is becoming increasingly hard for him to make weight. When asked about what fights at bantamweight he would like, the name of Mexican WBC and WBO titlist Fernando Montiel immediately came up though he said he would not have it in Mexico as he doesn’t want to be at a disadvantage. The names of Eric Morel and Jorge Arce also came up as possible candidates. He would go on to state that his plans are to move all the way up to super bantamweight and mentioned Puerto Rican WBO titlist Wilfredo Vázquez Jr. as a possible opponent stating that he would carry the weight very well and be very comfortable at 122lbs.

Donaire also commented on the rivalries between Filipino, Mexican and Puerto Rican fighters on a positive note stating that fans want to see it. He finished by thanking his fans for all the support saying that it is them who give him determination.

His trainer, Robert García, also acknowledged Marquez’s strength, power and hunger and even admitted that the fight could end early favoring anyone of the fighters. Although he expressed, as had Donaire before, that making weight had become increasingly hard, he was clear that it wouldn’t affect this fight and that Nonito was ready to go twelve rounds if necessary.

Nonito’s opponent, “Tyson” Marquez, told us he’s been watching Donaire for a long time and knows his opponents strengths but also his weakness. The Mexican fighter was quick to point out Donaire’s height, explosiveness, speed and power and catalogued him as a dangerous fighter. Still he said that even though he doesn’t get hit very often, when he has gotten caught, he’s been hurt.

Clear about his plan, Marquez said he would look to get inside and try to get to him first. This, since he admits that whoever gets clocked first will most likely go down. He worked out for this fight for seven weeks, two of them at sea level and the other five at high altitude on Mexico’s D.F.

His trainer, Rudy Pérez, knows Donaire is a very complete boxer that must be approached intelligently yet that won’t be a deterrent for there to be “candela” (fire) come Saturday.

Juan Manuel “JuanMa” López (28-0-0, 25KO’s) kept it short at the podium regarding boxing as he took advantage to speak on behalf of breast cancer research, a cause he has taken into consideration for this upcoming bout. Still he gave credit to his next opponent, Filipino Bernabé “The Real Deal” Concepción (28-3-1, 15KO’s) who is coming off a career-best performance against Puerto Rican Mario Santiago.

López said that pads are easier to hit than he is and they won’t hit back like he will. About Concepción’s training in Manny Pacquiao’s camp, he said that many fighters want to be like the Pac-Man, whom he called a good friend, but only Manny can do it. Jokingly, he said that if Manny, who was supposed to be at the fight, would get on the ring to fight on Concepción’s behalf, he would call up former three-division world champion, Felix “Tito” Trinidad to back him up.

About the looming fight with Rafael Marquez, JuanMa, in a sort of contradiction, said that he wasn’t going to talk about that fight but at the same time that it was a reality. Rafael Marquez is coming of a TKO victory over Israel Vázquez that settled their four fight “fiesta” at two wins a piece.

López’s manager, Orlando Piñero was a little less discreet and made it clear that no matter how good Concepción was, JuanMa is the best champion out there right now and he will prove it come Saturday.

Concepción was also brief at the podium barely stating that this fight was an honor for him and that everybody knows JuanMa is a tough fighter. When asked afterwards about how he felt being in Puerto Rico, he replied that he felt comfortable as did his team and his manager Michael Koncz as the weather is very similar to that in the Philippines.

He assured 15rounds.com that his training, held in Los Angeles, California, was pretty good as he had three sparring partners from the famous Wild Card Gym. He told us he was very comfortable at the weight and didn’t foresee any trouble in this area.

About the fight, he predicted it would probably not get to twelve rounds since they both have power. When comparing the fight to his previous one against Santiago, another Puerto Rican southpaw, Concepción said that the main difference would be in the power López has and Santiago doesn’t. He admitted both could move, but López has more power from what he has seen in a couple of his fights.

Regarding his DQ loss against Steven Luevano, who was later stopped by López, Abe said that when he watched a video of the fight he realized he had to throw more punches. In that fight, two of the judges had Luevano ahead at the end of the seventh round when Concepción landed a punch after the bell that knocked out Luevano. Regardless of the outcome, Concepción said he was “disgusted” with his performance and as a result changes were made in his corner.

His manager, Michael Koncz, jumped in the conversation and spoke about many adjustments being made in the physical aspect but also on the technical aspect of his fighter’s boxing. About the technical changes, Koncz said we would have to wait until Saturday to see them.
Bernabé knows he is an underdog in this fight, although a very live one, and wasn’t very enthusiastic about speaking of future plans but said he would definitely sit down and talk about a fight with Rafael Marquez should he win this weekend.

He ended saying “for all the fans, thank you so much and I hope you don’t miss it”.

Another Filipino fighter appearing on the card will be Eden Sonsona (21-5-0, 7KO’s) who will be facing interim WBO Latino Super bantamweight titlist Jonathan “Polbo” Oquendo (18-2-0, 11KO’s) of Vega Alta Puerto Rico. Sonsona didn’t want to make a prediction on how the fight was going to end, but said his camp had been good and he was happy and excited to be part of the event.

He urged his fans to watch the fight as it was going to be the most exciting fight.

The card will feature a host of upcoming Puerto Rican prospects including ex-Olympians Victor Bisbal, McJoe Arroyo and Carlos Negrón and will be televised around the world and broadcasted in the United States on Showtime. Tickets are available at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot and through Ticketpop. Prices range from $400.00 to $35.00

As unbeaten Mike Jones, of Philadelphia, PA, who is 21-0, 17 K0s, and ranked as high as No. 2 welterweight in the world by the WBO behind champion Manny Pacquiao, prepares to defend his NABA and NABO titles against Puerto Rico’s Irving Garcia (17-4-3, 8 KOs) on July 9 at Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall, he has had his best-ever training camp.
MIKE JONES COMMENTS

• On his training camp: “I’ve had a great camp and I’m in terrific shape. I’m ready. As each fight goes by, I get in better and better shape. I’m smart. I take nobody for granted. When it’s time to shine, I’m gonna shine.”

•His feelings about fighting for a world title (possibly before the end of the year): “It would be a dream come true. I’ve been preparing for this for years. You just want to get a piece of the pie. I’m ready.”

• On his goals: “My No. 1 goal is to be No. 1, nothing less. I’m getting closer but not there yet; not where I want to be. My ultimate goal: World Champion.”

• On staying at welterweight: “I can make that weight (147 pounds) easily. I want the advantages on my side: my height (6’1”) and speed. I’m still learning to use the height as a big advantage over other welterweights.”

• On how he got started in boxing: “As a teenager, I liked basketball and could dunk. I was above average, but not above above average to make it to the NBA so I wanted to try something else. The other sports weren’t rough enough. My dad took me to Joe Frazier’s gym. I picked it up pretty good. I was determined and had a good work ethic. They threw me into my first amateur fight one month after I started and I lost. It made me work harder and I stopped my next 11-12 foes. I eventually sparred with the guy who first beat me and I beat him up pretty good. I had 50-60 amateur fights.”

• On his style: “I have power like Tyson (“taught to me by Smoke [Joe Frazier] and Marvis Frazier as an amateur; I was taught how to bang early on: just plant my feet on the floor and bang “); a jab like Ali (“Snap that jab and then throw combinations off that”) and ring tricks like Roy Jones. I have long, long arms, am tall for a welterweight and fast. I’m pretty good at blocking a guy’s shot. I like to box. I look to be smart. If I see a weakness I like to go in and pounce.”

• His favorite fighters: Muhammad Ali (“He always kept popping that jab”); Mike Tyson (“I like his ferociousness & quickness); Roy Jones; Pernell “Sweat Pea” Whitaker; Evander Holyfield (“Great combinations”); Oscar De La Hoya (“He’d snap that good jab of his.”)

• On his increased media exposure: “I’m happy to be getting so much positive feedback. But there’s always going to be somebody who hasn’t seen me fight before that I want to look good for. Like they say, you only get one chance to make a good first impression. I want to do that every time I fight.”

• On who he’d like to fight in the future: “Anybody with a world championship belt would be a dream fight. That’s what I’ve worked so hard for… to be recognized as one of the best fighters in world.”

• On a future fight with Floyd Mayweather: “It would be a dream come true. He’s the man. He always works so hard. Look at his stomach, how ripped it is. I keep working hard every day to get that. Give me 10% of what Mayweather has. I’d work his body and keep working the left side and hope he gets tired. You can’t touch him on his right side. He snaps that great jab, up and down. He waits for you to open up and he’ll counter. You must counter his counter. I’d have to be in the same­­ tremendous shape like him.”

• On a future fight with Manny Pacquiao: “I’d keep Pacquiao at the end of everything. He jumps in and counter punches. It’s hard to counter punch 3’s and 4’s but you have to be patient.”

• On a future fight with WBC titlist Andre Berto (which has been mentioned by Berto’s promoter as a possibility for the fall): “Great talent, very fast…brings a lot of power. I’d try to use my height. Mix it up. When he throws exchanges he leaves himself open. I see myself catching him and knocking him out.”

• On his soft-spoken nature: “I’m humble and don’t like to brag or boast. But on fight night, I let my fists do the talking. My fists are rather loud.”

VAUGHN JACKSON, JONES’ TRAINER

• On training camp: “ Mike looks great in training. He’s on fire. It’s hard to find sparring partners for him. No one wants to get in there and take a beating. Mike shows no mercy.”

• On Irving Garcia, his July 9 opponent: “We’ve seen tape on Garcia. He’s a nice counter-puncher, with a good right hand but he’s too laid back. Mike’s too tall, too young. Youth (Jones) will overwhelm him. I’d be surprised if it goes past the 5th (round). It’s Mike’s time.”

• On Jones’ future: “We want to get past Garcia and then see what’s out there for the future we’re aware what position Mike’s in and we want to keep him busy. He’s getting better each fight. He belongs where he’s at (in the ratings).”
“I think this is a very good time for Mike Jones. It’s his time to shine. He’s at his peak right now. It’s like the dominoes are finally starting to fall.”
“Mike’s not as big, namewise, as Floyd Mayweather and Manny Paquiao, but he hasn’t yet had the same great opportunities. When he gets the opportunity, he’ll be great.”

J RUSSELL PELTZ, JONES’ PROMOTER

• On one reason why Jones has moved up quickly in the various boxing organizations’ ratings: “Even though I didn’t know it at the time, that weekend (on April 17 that Jones last fought) there was a convention (in Atlantic City) of the four world sanctioning bodies. So everybody was at Mike’s fight, and everybody was impressed. He shot up (the ratings) after that fight.”

• On Jones’ outlook: “He’s a young guy and he’s in a hurry. He believes he’s ready for anybody.”

• On Jones’ next fight: “If he beats Garcia, he’s not going to fight [Manny] Pacquiao or [Floyd] Mayweather next. I don’t see that happening. He doesn’t have the name recognition yet. But somebody like [WBC welterweight champ Andre] Berto? That’s another story. I could see a Berto fight being made, or a fight with the WBO’s No. 1 contender, Kell Brock. The IBF champion is Jan Zavek. That’s a doable fight, too.”

• On the July 9 fight vs Irving Garcia: To me this is the fight. Not only do I consider it Mike’s toughest fight, but I consider it the last before something really substantial. If he doesn’t stub his toe against Irving Garcia, he’s on the doorstep.”

DOC NOWICKI, JONES’ CO-MANAGER

• On training camp: “Mike’s looking excellent and he’s in great shape. He’s been working on his combinations and the usual tricks of the trade. He’s ready and can’t wait for the fight.”

• On his July 9 fight: “I don’t think the fight will go the distance but Mike will get some excellent work out of it. He likes to fight. He’s not looking for an easy fight.”

• On the future: “There’s nobody we would be afraid to put Mike in against now. We’d welcome a fight against Andre Berto (WBC titlist). We want to fight anyone above Mike in the ratings.”

JIM WILLIAMS, JONES’ CO-MANAGER & CUTMAN

• On Jones’ training: “Training camp was great. It always is with Mike. He’s a workhorse in the gym. When you think he’s done with his long workout, he starts over his routine again. He goes on and on. He’s a real gym rat and real serious. He’s always in great shape.”

• On Irving Garcia his opponent: “Probably the most skilled fighter Mike has fought. Garcia’s a tough, rugged guy but doesn’t have a great chin. When Mike sets up his jab and touches his chin, it’ll be over within 5 or 6 rounds. Not an easy night though.”

• On Jones’ future: “Mike will definitely be a world champion. But he says he wants to be more than a champion, he wants to be one of the best of all time. He is very focused and has both feet on the ground.”

# # #

Mike Jones vs. Irving Garcia: The Fireworks Continue on July 9, 2010 at Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall is promoted by Peltz Boxing Promotions and DiBella Entertainment in association with Caesars Atlantic City. The 12-round main event will be for Jones’ NABA and NABO welterweight titles.

Tickets are $100, $75 and $50 and are available at Ticketmaster.com (800-736-1420) and through Peltzboxing.com (215-765-0922)

NEW YORK (July 7, 2010) – After getting cut from his high school freshman basketball team, Mike Jones turned his full attention to boxing, and he’s been a one-sport guy ever since.

Philadelphia’s welterweight prospect Jones recently answered six questions in anticipation of his fight against Irving Garcia, a 12-round main event bout on ShoBox: The New Generation on Friday, July 9, live on SHOWTIME ® (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from the ballroom at the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall.

Jones, 27, puts his perfect 21-0 record (17 KOs) on the line against Puerto Rico’s Garcia (17-4-3, 8 KOs), while promising, once-beaten Antwone Smith (18-1-1, 10 KOs) of Miami, Fla., will face Houston’s Lanardo Tyner (23-3, 14 KOs) in a 10-round welterweight tussle in an exciting co-feature.

The fight is being promoted by Peltz Boxing Promotions in association with DiBella Entertainment.

Question: You’ve been trained and managed by the same people since you turned pro. Has that consistency helped you?

Jones: “Yeah, Vaughn Jackson is my trainer and Jim Williams and Doc Nowicki are my managers. They’ll all be in my corner. I’m just really comfortable with them and it’s been great to have the same guys around and to just have that familiarity. They do their jobs pretty well, which is to make sure I’m ready for each of my fights. I’ve been in better shape for each [consecutive] fight.”

Question: You fight in one of boxing’s toughest divisions. Who would you like to fight most in the future?

Jones: “I’ll fight anyone. Throw them in there with me. There’s been word that I might fight Antwone Smith if we both win on Friday night. I won’t be watching his fight Friday, but I’ll have it Tivo’ed and will catch it later.”

Question: You come from boxing-rich Philadelphia. Do you feel any added pressure being from an area that has produced some great world champions like Joe Frazier and Bernard Hopkins, just to name two?

Jones: “There’s no pressure. I’ve worked at Joe Frazier’s gym and he trained me as an amateur and I’ve worked out with his son Marvis. They’re great guys. But I was actually a Muhammad Ali fan growing up. I’ve sparred with Bernard’s nephew Demetrius. There are a lot of great ones that have come through here. There’s never a shortage of boxing talk in the barbershops.”

Question: Did you play in any other sports growing up?

Jones: “I was actually a basketball player. I didn’t start boxing until I was 15 after I got cut from the high school team. I thought I was going to play for the 76ers but I knew some guys who boxed and I found out I was good at it and just kept going. I could dunk when I was a kid, but basketball and the other sports I played weren’t rough enough.”

Question: You’ve fought in Atlantic City the last five fights. You must be on a first-name basis with some of the ushers by now.

Jones: “Yeah, it’s pretty exciting fighting there. I have a lot of fans that come out that have seen me fight before so you start to develop a little bit of a following. It’s an electric venue. These are my fans and they expect greatness from me. That’s what I’m going to give them on Friday night.”

Question: “What did you do last Monday (June 28) on Mike Jones Day in Newtown, Pa.?

Jones: (Laughing) Not a lot. It’s not my hometown but it’s close to it. I always go up there and train at the Newtown Athletic Club. It’s pretty nice to be recognized by them.”

Curt Menefee will call the action on Friday night from ringside with Steve Farhood and Antonio Tarver serving as expert analysts. The executive producer of ShoBox is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Chuck McKean directing.

For information on SHOWTIME Sports Programming, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, please go the new SHOWTIME Sports website at http://www.sho.com/sports.

About ShoBox: The New Generation

Since its inception in July 2001, the critically acclaimed SHOWTIME boxing series, ShoBox: The New Generation has featured young talent matched tough. The ShoBox philosophy is to televise exciting, crowd-pleasing and competitive matches while providing a proving ground for willing prospects determined to fight for a world title. The growing list of fighters who have appeared on ShoBox and advanced to garner world titles includes: Leonard Dorin, Scott Harrison, Juan Diaz, Jeff Lacy, Ricky Hatton, Joan Guzman, Juan Urango, David Diaz, Robert Guerrero, Kelly Pavlik, Paul Malignaggi, Kendall Holt, Timothy Bradley, Bernard Dunne, Yonnhy Perez, Yuri Foreman and Andre Ward.

About Showtime Networks Inc.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL® and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL® XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL® HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL® ON DEMAND. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

FRANK MALONEY has continued his excellent relationship with Sky Sports by signing a new two year contract with the broadcaster.

Maloney and Sky have enjoyed a successful working partnership for nearly 20 years and the new deal starts in September.

All future Maloney’s shows will be screened live on Saturday night’s and he said: “I am delighted to continue my relationship with Sky.

“They have a top class boxing team from top to bottom and you would go a long way to find a more professional bunch.

“It is a massive boost for boxing in general that they have decided to move our sport from Friday to Saturday and proves how committed they are.”

Maloney has developed a heap of world champions during his time with Sky including former undisputed world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, Scott Harrison, David Haye and Paul Ingle,

And with Jason Booth and Rendall Munroe primed for world title challenges in the autumn, Maloney is confident that list will grow before the end of the year.

Booth’s challenge for Steve Molitor’s IBF world super-bantamweight title at Rainton Meadows Arena, Houghton-le-Spring on September 11 will be shown live on Sky Sports.

Munroe is to challenge Japan’s Toshiaki Nishioka for the WBC super-bantamweight championship, most probably in October.

Maloney said: “I’m very bullish about Jason and Rendall’s chances.

“The two year-deal also gives me time to develop other fighters that I am very excited about.

“Tony Jeffries is a fighter who I expect to win a world title in time and I think my stable has the most exciting crop of heavyweights in Britain.

“David Price will develop into a world class heavyweight, Tom Dallas is the sleeper of the division and Larry Olubamiwo is a fighter you cannot turn away from.”

Maloney has been behind two of the biggest boxing events ever screened by Sky Sports.

He promoted the biggest all- British heavyweight fight ever, the WBC battle between Lewis and Frank Bruno in October 1993.

Maloney also staged the Ricky Hatton-Juan Lazcano fight which drew a record 58,000 crowd to the City of Manchester Stadium in May 2008.

PHILADELPHIA (July 7, 2010)—Tough nosed cruiserweight spoiler, Victor Barragan will now be the opponent for world ranked and undefeated Cruiserweight Ran Nakash on Wednesday night July 14th at The Arena in South Philadelphia.

The original opponent, former WBA Light Heavyweight champion Lou Del Valle was supposed to come to Philadelphia to get his medical examinations last week but never stepped on his plane from Florida where he had been training.

The card is promoted by No Limits Promotions in association with Joey Eye Boxing and will be the inaugural fight card of the new Comcast Boxing Series.

Barragan, twenty-eight years of Oxnard, California has a record of 11-5 with three knockouts.

After losing his pro debut, Barragan won eight straight fights with the best win coming against Villi Bloomfield (7-1) on March 31, 2007.

Barragan then stepped up the competition and dropped three straight fights to the likes of Eric Fields (7-0); heavyweight Evans Quinn (14-2) and Kevin Reynolds (7-1) in a bout that was televised on ESPN 2.

That didn’t dissuade Barragan as he then went on a three fight winning streak as he defeated undefeated Patrick Liles (7-0-1); Henry Namauu (3-2) and a shocking seventh round knockout over former cruiserweight world champion “King” Arthur Williams (46-15-1).

In his last bout, Barragan dropped a close split decision to prospect Nick Iannuzzi (14-1) on March 5th in Iannuzzi’s hometown of Tampa, Florida.

Nakash (24-0, 18 KO’s) is now ranked number-thirteen by the WBC and a win over Barragan will forge him closer to realizing his dream of winning a world championship.

In the co-feature, 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist, Felix Diaz (5-0, 3 KO’s) will take grizzled veteran and fan favorite Emanuel Augustus.

Augustus, 38-32-6 with twenty knockouts and has fought just about everyone from the Lightweight division during his sixteen year career.

The Thirty-five year old has been in the ring with former world champions such as Jesus Chavez, John John Molina, Floyd Mayweather, Leonard Dorin, Leavander Johnson and David Diaz.

The list is just as impressive in terms of title contenders, challengers and prospects.

Augustus is known for his crowd pleasing yet unorthodox style for which he has made him a staple on network television.

On July 13, 2001, Augustus engaged in one of the most memorable fight‘s this decade as he and Mickey Ward fought an incredible fight that is till played on ESPN Classic.

Augustus has fought in The United States, Puerto Rico, Germany, Denmark, United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Australia.

Augustus, who has been known to take fight on very short notice and sometimes able to pull off the upset victory, will be fighting in Philadelphia for the third time and is 1-1 with his latest foray to “The City of Brotherly Love” being a ten round unanimous decision defeat to Almazbek Raimkulov on January 11, 2007 in a bout that Augustus took on short notice.

Augustus has dropped three in a row which includes his last bout where he was stopped in nine rounds to undefeated prospect Ruslan Provodnikov on May 21st in a bout that was televised on ESPN 2. Once again, Augustus took that bout on short notice.

2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist, Vyacheslav Glazkov (5-0, 3 KO’s) of Ukraine will take on the widely popular Mark “Oak Tree” Brown (15-3, 7 KO’s) of Salam, NJ in a Heavyweight bout scheduled for six rounds.

Undefeated Russian Middleweight, Maks Liminov (12-0, 8 KO’s) will take on Julius Fogle (15-5, 10 KO’s) of Cary, NC in a bout scheduled for six rounds.

Undefeated Russian Super Flyweight, Rustam Nabeev (5-0) will take on an opponent to be named in a four round bout.

Former world Jr. Amateur champion, Joey Dawejko (3-0, 1 KO) will take on an opponent to be named in a four round Heavyweight bout.

Undefeated Israeli Lightweight, Oz Goldenberg (1-0) will take on debuting Mike Latorre of Scranton, PA

William Miranda (1-0) of Allentown, PA will take on debuting Carmen Marrero of Readinbg, PA in a four round Heavyweight bout.

Former Penn State offensive lineman, Imani Bell will be making his pro debut against Lee Thomas (1-3) of Saginaw, Michigan in a Heavyweight bout scheduled rounds.

Tickets for this memorable night of boxing are priced at $100, $75, and $50 and can be purchased at following locals:

Peltz Boxing (2501 Brown Street) 215- 765 -0922
The Arena (7 West Ritner St.) 267-687-7560
Joey Eye 267-304-9399
Don Elbaum 610-933-7510

The Arena is located at 7 West Ritner Street in Philadelphia

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=714
“The Uprising” Fighters Head to Australia
SYDNEY, Australia (July 07, 2010) – As Impact FC fighters get ready to rumble and head to Australia, they are rigorously training around the world preparing to bring the first-ever televised MMA event to Australia. The fighters are all top of their game ready to deliver non-stop action to those in Sydney, Australia, as well as to viewers around the world who will be tuning in to the live pay-per-view event on Saturday, July17th at 10PM ET, 7PM PT.

Along with their strength and conditioning routines, honed skills and unfailing determination, Impact FC fighters are also bringing along their social media savvy, sending daily tweets to fans and regularly updating their facebook pages. Thousands of MMA fans hungry for information have been populating Impact FC’s facebook page which features photos, videos, meet and greet dates and giveaway items. This gives fans an opportunity to follow the fighters every step of the way as the excitement builds toward the explosive July 17 bouts. For some of the fighters this is their first foray into the world of social media and they are learning the power it can pack to engage fans. To visit the Impact FC facebook page and stay updated on developing news, go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Impact-FC/117930254896775 and follow Impact FC on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/impact_fc

“The Uprising” features former UFC Champion and Hall of Fame Member, Ken Shamrock returning to the ring to take on former UFC Champion, Hall of fame member

and PRIDE Veteran, Pedro ”The Rock” Rizzo. In the Co-feature, English MMA fighter, Paul Daley who is ranked as the #8 welterweight in the world by Sherdog.com and ranked #5 by MMA Weekly will do battle with Brazilian MMA fighter, Daniel Acacio who is most notable for his fights in PRIDE Fighting Championships and his aggressive fighting style.

With a full card that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats, Uprising match-ups include, Pride K-1 and MMA legend Bob Sapp in a fight for dominance over Australian star and UFC veteran Soa “The Hulk” Palelei, DREAM Middleweight Champion, Paulo Filho will face dangerous striker, Denis Kang, Elite XC Champion and Pride veteran Murilo Ninja Rua with square off against former Ultimate Fighter Jeremy May, former UFC Champion and Pride veteran Murilo Bustamante will battle Jesse Taylor from the Ultimate Fighter, Australian kickboxing legend Peter Graham will fight the #1 ranked Heavyweight MMA fighter in Australia, Jim Yorke, popular MMA star Glover Teixeira is pitted against Croatian fighter from Perth Marco Peselj, Australian surfer and MMA star Richie “Vas” Vaculik is matched with Glenn Taylor-Smith, and Australia’s rising MMA star Shane Nix will face Sydney’s own Manuel Rodriguez.

“The Uprising,” is presented by Impact FC, Saturday, July 17th, 2010 at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT in the United States from local pay-per-view providers for a suggested retail price of only $29.95.

Many expected Jersey City, NJ native Danny McDermott’s March 25 clash with Brian Miller to be his coming out party.

Local fans and media had taken an interest in the bout leading up to fight night. A raucous crowd was on hand to support him. The vacant World Boxing Foundation All Americas title was up for grabs, providing McDermott an opportunity to leave North Bergen’s Schuetzen Park Ballroom with a minor championship belt.

The popular lightweight had an opponent in front of him who at 7-0-3, was unbeaten but yet unproven. The Schenectady, NY native had just one victory over a fighter with a winning record and fought a toe to toe style, which is McDermott’s bread and butter. Having previously battled to draws in his opponents’ hometown, Miller’s toughness was without question, but this was supposed to be McDermott’s time to shine.

Things didn’t go as planned.

McDermott’s troubles started twenty four hours prior to fight night during the weigh in, initially coming in over the contracted limit before scaling in at 135 lbs on his second try. Members of his team attributed his weight struggles to the fact that he was seemingly working double duty since his wife Anette recently gave birth to their first child. With the responsibilities of caring for a newborn baby during the most crucial part of training camp, many would have withdrawn from the fight altogether. McDermott never consider that an option.

“Not once did I think about pulling out.” “To me it was a responsibility. (Regardless of what kind of shape I am in) I had to go in and fight. As a fighter you fight, as a father, you have to provide for your family whether you are tired or not.”

McDermott’s choice turned out to be bitter sweet.

He fought his heart out, but was in the squared circle with a better conditioned opponent. In a bout that epitomized the term “phone booth battle”, McDermott had spurts of success before fatigue prevented him from effectively neutralizing his volume punching opponent down the stretch. Miller ultimately earned a split decision in one of the Garden State’s most entertaining club fights in recent memory.

McDermott was clearly dejected by the defeat and even refused a post fight interview to this writer immediately following the bout’s completion. His night it wasn’t.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t admit it stung a bit”, said McDermott, who fell to 8-2-1 (3 KO’s) following the defeat. “It’s boxing you have your good nights and your bad nights. Miller outhustled me for sure that night and I tip my hat off to him. I can admit that.”

With more than three months in the history books and an ample amount of time to recover, John Lynch of Pound 4 Pound Promotions worked out a deal for McDermott to return against hardcore veteran Marty Robbins this Saturday at the State Fairgrounds Sports Arena in Nashville, TN. Robbins has an unimpressive 23-46-1 record, but has swapped punches with world champions, title contenders and unbeaten prospects. The Tennessee native is a prototypical stepping stone opponent and can take a decent punch, making it to the final bell in 33 of his defeats.

Being the victor in the four round “keep busy” fight is expected but not guaranteed. He will enter the ring as the favorite, but also runs the risk of dropping a decision in his opponent’s hometown. McDermott has no logistical concerns.

“I am not worried whatsoever (about fighting in his hometown).” “The fight is to keep me busy to be honest with you. I plan on having more of these types of fights around different parts of the country. All the greats have done this. I’m just taking a page from them.”

If everything goes as planned against Robbins, all signs point to a rematch with Miler as part of the August 21 Tomasz Adamek-Michael Grant headlined card at the Prudential Center in nearby Newark, NJ. Upwards of 10,000 screaming fans flooded the very same arena to see Adamek defeat Jason Estrada in February. Each of the four times Adamek headlined in Newark, the attendance rapidly increased. With the potential of 12-15,000 fans in the arena, McDermott’s acknowledges there is no better time or place to seek revenge.

“I’d love to be on a big card like that, especially against Miller.” “I think the Prudential Center crowd would love a fight like that. What’s better than two guys who put everything on the line and go toe to toe for the love of the sport? I only can hope it happens.”

If the rematch – which according to reports, Miller initially rebuffed if it were to take place on McDermott’s turf – does happen, the latter recognizes he must come far better prepared than the first time around. His level of concentration would undoubtedly have to change and McDermott acknowledges that preparing for the rematch farther away from home would be a major x factor.

“The thing I would do differently is go away to training camp (to) get away from (the) distractions and get enough sleep every night. (This would enable me to) come in (tip top) shape; then you will see the difference.”

If Miller does in fact agree to a rematch and McDermott’s plan to prepare in a location far away from the many distractions in the New York metropolitan comes to fruition, the night of August 21 could very well be stolen by two lightweights that already displayed the willingness to duke it out as if there were no tomorrow.

For more New Jersey boxing news, go to Gardenstatefightscene.com.

Let’s face it. Boxing is seldom talked about on Sportscenter, hardly heard on sports radio, and rarely written about in newspapers. If you called up your local sports radio station and wanted to talk about the ‘sweet science,’ chances are you wouldn’t sniff a second of airtime – and you may even get a cheap laugh from the call screener. Conversely, if you wanted to talk about next year’s Super Bowl, you’d get right on the air.

But what if I told you there is a place where boxing cannot get shut out of the discussion? Better yet, what if I told you that place was accessible to all – a place where boxers, journalists, promoters, and fans can come together and collectively drive the discussion about boxing to the next level?

Well folks, it exists. It is called Twitter.

Besides the classic case of “open-mouth, insert-foot” a la Andre Berto after the Edwin Valero killings when he tweeted “R.I.P to Edwin Valero after killing his wife yesterday he just killed himself in jail today. WOW women are a Motherf***er boy RIP E.V.,” (a statement in which he obviously backed off of); Twitter doesn’t have much downside for athletes. It offers a free platform to help build their brand. It acts as a virtual soapbox for boxers to stand on and talk about their upcoming bouts and intentions. Everyone who follows another Twitter user does so willingly and presumably is interested in hearing what the other has to say. Therefore, for boxers, it can be an effective platform to promote themselves and try to gain recognition amongst both boxing heads, as well as the general public.

Some boxers have already recognized the power of social media and have used Twitter to intereact with their fans. Everything Andre Dirrell writes about on his Twitter account is read by 2,388 people. Whatever it is that Zab Judah decides to tweet about reaches 9,985 people. Amir Khan’s messages are delivered to 26,674. Never before has there been constant access to an audience like the access Twitter provides its users. However, unlike your typical average Joes, the use of Twitter by athletes provides them a tool for free advertising. I wonder how many of Zab Judah’s 9,985 followers will tune in to ESPN’s Friday Night Fights on July 16 to watch him take on Jose Santa Cruz simply because they were reminded by “Super” Judah himself via Twitter. Whatever that number is, it can only help the cause.

Keep in mind, this is a two-way street. Similar to how Twitter allows for boxers to reach an audience in a matter of seconds, fans and followers of fighters also have access to the athletes. While fighters have access to an audience at their fingertips, fans have direct access to the athletes. Most boxers I have come across that use the social networking website actively engage their followers, often fielding questions, and allow for sneak peeks into the life of a fighter.

For instance, back in February, I asked Paulie Malignaggi why he taunted Juan Diaz in the 6th round of their first bout, after he seemingly stunned the “Baby Bull”, instead of following up to try and stop the fight. Malignaggi replied in two separate tweets, “S**t happens lol, I knew I had him hurt but was covering up real well. next time it won’t happen. was a mistake on my part, but live and learn.”

On the promotional side, HBO Boxing, Golden Boy Promotions, and Top Rank, Inc. are three boxing forces that have fully immersed themselves into the world of social media. All of them have thousands of followers on Twitter whom they often interact with by posing questions and asking for their follower’s opinions. At times, they respond directly to suggestions and comments or even “re-tweet” a response, which allows for all of their followers to read someone else’s comments. Top Rank Live telecasts regularly show tweets directed at the broadcast between rounds. The constant engagement of promotional companies with fans keep boxing fans interested and talking about the sport, even during the summer months, when the sport seemingly dies down a bit.

Boxing will never get shut out of social media, like it has on television or terrestrial radio. All promotion companies should follow the lead of Top Rank Inc. and Golden Boy Promotions and establish a presence on social media sites. They risk little by investing time, money, and manpower into actively maintaining and using social media because everything they say on these websites will be read by thousands of people. Further, boxers should be excited and jump at the chance to grow their fan base by simply having an active Twitter account.

If used properly, Twitter can act as a complimentary outlet for promoting fights (just ask Malignaggi and Amir Khan, who, together created a buzz with their vicious war of words on Twitter). The boxing industry — fighters and promoters — need to continue to embrace social media and use this free media platform as best they can. The benefits far outweigh the costs.

I encourage you all to join social media revolution. See you there. Twitter.com/KyleKinder

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com disgraced former Welterweight champion, Antonio Margarito will appear before the Nevada Athletic Commission in effort of regaining his boxing license in that state.

“We have him on last because that will be the longest part of the meeting,” commission executive director Keith Kizer told ESPN.com on Tuesday.

“He’s going to have to answer some tough question here,” Kizer said. “He has to be here in person. It’s a heavy burden for him to satisfy, but it’s his burden to meet. He’ll have to explain anything the commissioners want to ask him about. I assume the commissioners will ask him a lot of questions. Some may be easy, some may be hard, but the burden is solely his.”

However, in the minutes before his fight with Shane Mosley on January 24, 2009 in Los Angeles, drama had unfolded in Margarito’s dressing room. It was there that Mosley trainer Naazim Richardson objected to the way Margarito’s left hand had been wrapped.

California officials eventually cut off the wrap to check it and discovered an illegal pad coated in a plaster-like substance, which had obviously escaped the notice of the commission inspector who oversaw the wrapping procedure. When the wrap on Margarito’s right hand was also cut off for examination, an identical illegal pad was also discovered.

Margarito’s hands we re-wrapped and he went on to lose the fight. Three weeks later, Margarito’s claim of ignorance at a hearing was rejected by the California State Athletic Commission and he had his license revoked in a 7-0 vote, as did trainer Javier Capetillo.

“I really believe he should get his license in Nevada,” Said Bob Arum, who promotes Maragrito. “He and his attorney will present the reasons and the Nevada commission will decide. We went to Nevada because that’s where we are planning for him to fight. If it’s not against Pacquiao in November, it would be against Cotto in December.

“I’m optimistic the Nevada commission will do the right thing, but I haven’t talked to anyone on the commission, not one person, and neither has [Top Rank president] Todd [duBoef].” Arum said they are approaching the Nevada commission now so they don’t have to rush like they had in Texas earlier this year.

“If Floyd elects not to step up to the plate and fight Pacquiao and Pacquiao elects to fight Margarito, if that happens, we need to make sure Margarito has a license,” Arum said. “You can’t go to Pacquiao and see if he will fight Margarito if the guy doesn’t even have a license. So we are doing this now instead of rushing around at the last minute.”

“This is not that different from other situations where people had things in their past that the commission wanted to ask them about before deciding about a license,” Kizer said. “We did it with people like Mike Tyson, Zab Judah and Roger Mayweather, who had all been disciplined in Nevada. Margarito’s situation was in California, but we have the same rules as they do. Margarito was revoked, and after a year you are free to apply anywhere. He sat out for [more than] a year, and now he can reapply.”

“They have full discretion and jurisdiction,” he said. “I know there will be a lot of people on both sides. If they do grant him a license, there will be a lot of people yelling, ‘They’re crazy for giving him a license.’ And if they don’t, there will be a lot of people yelling, ‘They’re crazy for not giving him a license.’ They’ll be criticized either way, so they don’t have to worry about it. The five commissioners will listen to what he has to say and make the decision.”

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Going into the Lion’s den is nothing new for Michael “The Great” Katsidis, it’s something he enjoys doing, it brings out the best in him. Recently that was very much the case when he defended his WBO Interim Lightweight crown against Britain’s highly thought of Kevin Mitchell in front of thousands of raucous fans at Upton Park home of Mitchell’s beloved West Ham soccer club. Katsidis 29, entered the ring as very much public enemy number one. That never bothered the battle tested Australian of Greek descent. For the first few rounds Katsidis took a look at what Mitchell had to offer before exploding early in the third, hurting Mitchell. Despite Mitchell valiantly trying to last the round he wasn’t able to as Katsidis got the stoppage and arguably his best win to date. After the impressive victory Katsidis hoped it would propel him into a Big summer fight with Amir Khan, up 5 pounds at Light Welterweight, however that never came to fruition. Now Katsidis has shifted his gaze to this summer’s Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz 2, he hope’s to fight the winner later this year.

Hello Michael, welcome back to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly congratulations on a tremendous win against Kevin Mitchell, how do you look back on that fight and how highly do you rate your performance?

Michael Katsidis – I rate the performance to where we were at in my training. I was stopping guys during sparring accidentally whereas in the past I had trouble with he same people. It just goes to show the hard work paid off and as expected we got the result on the night. I was prepared to fight hard for 12 rounds though I knew at some point Mitchell was bound to come on to one of my shots as I felt I had improved my power better than it was before.

Anson Wainwright – Apparently you had a really tough training camp in Thailand, can you tell us about this. How long were you there? What sort of things did you do during your stay?

Michael Katsidis – We did a lot of what we have always done. Basically I entered rugged tough training camps in Thailand after I has my first loss. I knew these were fights I believe didn’t show nearly my full potential. My career needed a rebirth and the only way I could do this was by isolating myself away from the luxury’s that most face in everyday lifestyle living in America. What we worked on there was very simple repetitious and hard. As it should be doing what we always did best.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about the occasion, how were you treated in London? What did you think of Upton Park and the atmosphere?

Michael Katsidis – In the lead up to the weigh in everything that went on was like back ground noise to me. Everything we had worked on over the hard 3 months sacrifice of being away from my wife and new baby daughter was about to pay it’s dividend. I made weight easily and stepped out to the arena then with one breath of fresh air everything around me had come to life, the wide open space of a 40,000 plus venue began one of the most thrilling rides of my life. From that moment to the time the referee waved the fight off was pure bliss. I want to go again! The people, love me or hate me, So many people so passionate about the sport. I love in one arena, something to remember indeed.

Anson Wainwright – Have you been able to go back to Australia because of the Volcano which disrupted everything in Europe?What are your thoughts on the Volcano?

Michael Katsidis – “I might not get to go home because of the volcanoes”. I couldn’t believe what I was saying after the fight. All this time and then the airports about to shut down due to volcanic eruptions. Incidentally at the same time there was news of extreme violence in Thailand where there was an official warning given to most tourists intending on landing in Bangkok. I wasn’t going to let this get the better of me. The morning after the fight I booked my flight direct to Japan to pick up my wife and daughter. 3 hours later the airports had closed. Fortunately the rest of team Katsidis had a safe return also.

Anson Wainwright – It was reported that your one of the leading contenders to fight Amir Khan in late July early August possibly in England again. Obviously that never worked out what are your thoughts on that possible fight and can you tell us had you been contacted regarding that fight?

Michael Katsidis – I believe there was discussion. But nothing serious was ever put to me about this. This is a great fight for England and if Amir wants to make a statement that fight is the one. Obviously Amir Khan’s camp isn’t serious about making that statement as yet. He’s a great fighter and has many great fights to come, this may become a reality. Well, the idea of it sounds great at least.

Anson Wainwright – Will it be a problem to fight up at 140? You seem a natural 135 where you are very strong would you not lose some of your advantages going up in weight?

Michael Katsidis – Of course Lightweight is my division. Others adapt differently, are more versatile. I can only comment on what I know works. I’m not a 140 fighter as yet. I will cross that bridge when it comes though I do know I will become one very strong wrecking ball making way, that I am sure of. Perhaps I will be better though, I am yet to have difficulty at my current weight.

Anson Wainwright – Where do you stand with regards your next fight?

Michael Katsidis – Normally I would have been preparing for my next bout though Paco of the WBO has ordered me to stand aside to fight the winner of the Diaz Marquez fight July 31st. As much as I would have loved to have been working on another great fight in England or the States I believe in the WBO and the wait will be worth it. for both myself and the fans of the sport.

Anson Wainwright – Since the Mitchell fight what sort of reaction have you got from fans where you’ve been?

Michael Katsidis – In England every cab driver or store attendant and people at the airport were stopping me to congratulate me on my efforts. From that to landing in Japan picking up my family then heading to my desert home out at Vegas I can honestly say I haven’t been around it. Being with my family has been day after day in paradise and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Anson Wainwright – Is there anyone you’d like to mention who helped you with preparations for the Mitchell fight?

Michael Katsidis – My family, my wife Kumi baby Kalia Brendon, Kerry, Noah and Tanner. My sparring partners Nestor Rocha, Brandon ‘Bone crusher’ Smith and of course the WBO.

Anson Wainwright – Finally what message do you have for your fans?

Michael Katsidis – Don’t die wondering.

Thanks for your time Michael, keep entertaining us.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, an agreement has been reached between Featherweight beltholder’s Yuriorks Gamboa and Elio Rojas in a bout that will take place on September 11 in a site to be determined.

“We’ve sent them a draft of the contract for them to review and we’re waiting for their comments, but we’ve agreed on the terms,” Carl Moretti of Top Rank, who promotes Gamboa told ESPN.com.

Before Salido got the fight with Gamboa, Rojas had been the target. However, according to Top Rank, issues between King and Rojas’ manager, along with the tight schedule, forced Top Rank to turn to Salido, who it also promotes.

Once Salido dropped out and there was more time to make a fight for Gamboa, Top Rank made another run at Rojas because that is who HBO preferred, Moretti said.

“Style-wise, Rojas presents Gamboa with a different kind of fight than Salido,” Moretti said. “Salido is right-handed and in front of you and can punch. Rojas is a lefty, he’s taller than Gamboa and not easy to hit. He’s more of a pure boxer.”

“It’s Gamboa’s title against Rojas’ title. Pretty simple,” Moretti said.

“It shows that they really believe they have a shot to win the fight, which they do,” he said.

“He wanted this fight. He wanted Gamboa or [titlist] ‘Juanma’ Lopez, and now he has one, and when he beats him, he would go for another unification fight,” Victor Rojas, Elio’s uncle and one of his representatives, told ESPNdeportes.com.

To prepare for the fight, Rojas has hooked up with a new trainer, the highly regarded Kevin Cunningham. Cunningham, who is training unified junior welterweight titlist Devon Alexander for his Aug. 7 fight with former titleholder Andreas Kotelnik in Las Vegas, said Rojas joined the camp on June 30.

“They called me and asked me if I would train him,” said Cunningham, who first met Rojas several years ago at King’s training facility in Orwell, Ohio. “Elio is a good kid. He watched the way I run my camps when we were in Ohio and he has wanted me to work with him and this opportunity came up.

“This could be a very, very good fight. You’ve got Gamboa, who’s coming in with good hand speed and he can punch and he has had his way with everybody he’s fought so far. But I think Elio is the most talented opponent Gamboa would have seen so far in his career, so I like Elio’s chances. He’s going to have to be at his best and extremely sharp, but I see a lot of mistakes that Gamboa makes. I got nine weeks to get Elio ready and he will be ready.”

The planned co-feature is a lightweight title eliminator between Anthony Peterson (30-0, 20 KOs), of Washington, D.C., and Brandon Rios (24-0-1, 18 KOs), of Oxnard, Calif., both of whom are promoted by Top Rank. The winner is supposed to become the mandatory challenger for titlist Miguel Acosta, another Top Rank fighter.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former world Heavyweight title challenger, Chris Arreola will take on fellow Mexican-American Heavyweight Manuel Quezada on August 13 in a bout that will take place at the Citizens Business Bank Center in Ontario, California.

The bout will be braodcasted on ESPN 2.

“This fight is an opportunity for Cris to jump back into the thick of things with a win,” Dan Goossen, who promoted both Arreola & Quezada said. “And this is something Quezada has been asking for for quite awhile. He’s been asking to fight Cris. He feels like he’s taken a backseat to Cris and he thinks he’s just as interesting and aggressive and exciting as Cris is in the ring. I know that Cris has never had any problem fighting Manny, but it never worked out that way the last few years. Now, obviously, here it is. They’re both coming off very disappointing losses and they need to win this one.”

“Cris has to perform and also this is Manny’s big shot,” Said Henry Ramirez, who trains Arreola. “You’ve got two guys whose backs are against the wall, my guy and Manny. Whoever loses is basically done. But I’m hoping Cris knows his back is against the wall. Manny is a tough guy. I like Manny a lot and I respect him a lot. I know him well. He’s a good friend of mine. But Cris has been in the gym and sparring for about a week.

“I think Cris knows the only way to get back to those paydays he had and to get back into the limelight is for him to take the fight seriously and to pull his head out of his ass. Is it pulled out yet? Little by little it’s coming out. For this fight he hasn’t missed any workouts — yet. But I know Cris. Let’s see if he can take this seriously.”

“Our conversations with HBO, as it relates to the heavyweight division, is if you’re not out there giving 100 percent and showing that aggressive style and the ability to draw fans and ratings, that it’s a hard road back to HBO, and Cris knows that,” Goossen said. “I believe the winner of this fight comes right into a fight with Adamek, either a rematch for Cris or a shot for Manny. Cris would love to have that rematch and Manny would love to pull the upset on Aug. 13 and jump into Cris’ shoes.

“I think Aug. 13 is a springboard to having one of the fighters come out and say, ‘I’m ready to take on everybody and to do it in tip-top shape.’ ”

Arreola is 28-2 with twenty-five knockouts. Quezada is 29-5 with eighteen knockouts.

On Saturday July 17th at the Tropicana Casino and Resort, Philadelphia’s up and coming welterweight prospect, Raymond “Tito” Serrano (12-0, 6KO’s) will look to continue on his path up the contender ranks when he takes on Ghana’s Ayi Bruce (6-2, 4KO’s). Serrano-Bruce is scheduled for eight rounds, and will be one of the co-featured bouts of the evening on the Pay-Per-View telecast. The card, being presented by Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing, and billed as T-N-T at the Tropicana, will feature WBO #2 rated heavyweight David Tua (51-3-1, 43KO’s) taking on Monte Barrett (34-9, 20KO’s) in the main event.

Serrano is coming off a dominate eight round unanimous decision over Ronald Warrior Jr. in his last fight, which was televised live on ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights” earlier this year.

The 21-year-old Serrano, is excited to be fighting in Atlantic City and is looking forward to the world-wide exposure he will get in fighting on PPV.

“This is very exciting fight for me,” stated Serrano. “Fighting so close to home, and fighting on PPV, is a dream come true for me. I have a lot of family in Puerto Rico and fighting on PPV will allow them to see me fight, so this is definitely a special fight for me. This will be my second consecutive eight rounder, and I feel that before this year is over I will be ready to move up to ten round fights, and start testing myself against some of the top prospects in the welterweight division. I am very focused, and very hungry. This will be my third fight in Atlantic City since turning pro, and just as in my previous two, I plan on putting on an exciting entertaining performance for all the fans in attendance.”

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!
Tickets can be purchased by calling the Star Boxing office at (718) 823-2000 or visiting www.starboxing.com. Tickets are priced at $100 (ringside), $50 and $30. Star Boxing is currently holding exclusive $200 VIP Packages, call for more information. Tickets may also be purchased at any Ticketmaster outlet, or by going online to Ticketmaster.com. Tickets are also available for purchase at the Tropicana North Tower Box Office or by phone at (609) 340-4000. The Tropicana Casino and Resort is located at 2831 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ.

CATCH IT LIVE ON PPV
T-N-T at the Tropicana is being promoted by Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing and will be shown live at 8 PM/ET – 5 PM/PT on both cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, DIRECTV, Avail-TVN and DISH Network in the United States and Puerto Rico for a suggested retail price of only $24.95. The PPV telecast will also be shown in France, New Zealand, Australia and via tape delay in numerous other countries throughout the World. The exciting undercard will go live on PPV at 8 PM/ET – 5 PM/PT with the Tua vs. Barrett main event scheduled to go on air at approximately 10 PM/ET – 7 PM/PT.

ABOUT STAR BOXING:

Star Boxing, Inc. has been in operation since 1992. Star Boxing has worked to produce some of the most exciting and memorable boxing events in recent history. Star has continued to work with and develop a number of very exciting world champions, world rated contenders and young prospects. Star has consistently brought credibility, integrity, and exciting fights to the boxing industry. For more information on Star Boxing, visit the official website at www.starboxing.com.

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The Tropicana Casino & Resort is a 24-hour gaming destination located on the beach and Boardwalk. Featuring more than 2,100 rooms and suites and home of The Quarter, a 200,000 square foot entertainment complex, Tropicana is the premier resort in Atlantic City. With more than 20 restaurants, 20 shops, 12 bars and lounges, 2 pools, an IMAX Theatre and a spa, Tropicana is consistently rated as the “Must-See Attraction” in Atlantic City. For more information, visit the new official Web Site at www.tropicana.net For more exclusive discounts, current information, pictures, and video, be sure to check out the Tropicana on the Web at www.facebook.com/TropAC or follow us on Twitter twitter.com/TropicanaAC.

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RENO, NEVADA — In a measured performance, world ranked light flyweight Ulises Solis scored a ten-round unanimous decision win over shop-worn former titlist Eric Ortiz at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino on Saturday night. Their bout headlined a fight card which was part of a celebration weekend, honoring the centennial anniversary of the Jack Johnson-James J. Jeffries World Heavyweight title fight which took place in Reno.

Solis (31-2-2, 21 KOs) of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico fought far more cautiously than many had expected he would against Ortiz (32-11-3, 21 KOs) of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. After all, Solis was completely dominant in their first encounter which took place in 2006 and ended in a ninth-round stoppage.

Solis, 113 ½, started out slowly before Ortiz, 114, landed two rights in the second round that seemed to wake up the former IBF Light Flyweight Champion. Solis, currently the IBF #1/WBO #3 ranked 108-pounder, began to assert himself in the third, most notably landing a hard leaping lead left hand.

As the rounds went on, Solis utilized his superior boxing skills and built up a heavy lead on the scorecards. Ortiz could not make his way around Solis’ stiff jab, and thus was a sitting duck on the outside. As the fight moved into the seventh round, Solis began to press the fight as Ortiz began to fade.

Early in the eighth, Solis stunned Ortiz with a left hook, but did not press the issue with an aggressive follow-up attack. Ortiz burst with a quick flash of energy in the ninth and pressed Solis into a corner, where he landed some feather dusting combinations. Ortiz seemed to begin to lose his legs as he leaned on Solis moments later. With Ortiz already falling over, Solis gave him a shove that accelerated his fall to the mat. For that action, referee Jay Nady deducted a point from Solis.

The shoving incident proved to be an indication that Ortiz was deteriorating in the fight. Moments later, Solis landed a quick jab, overhand right combination that forced Ortiz to touch his right glove to the mat to score a knockdown and negate the point deduction. Ortiz would make it out of the round, but another right would result in another knockdown for Solis in the tenth. Ortiz, who outperformed expectations based on his recent performances, proved game until the end as he continued to come forward until the final bell.

In the end, Solis earned the nod in lopsided fashion by the scores of 99-88 and 98-89 twice. Solis is the mandatory challenger for the IBF Light Flyweight title currently held by Luis Lazarte. However, Lazarte already has a defense scheduled for September 4th against Carlos Tamara. Instead of sitting on the shelf waiting for his mandatory to be enforced, Solis took the calculated risk of fighting Ortiz. “He had everything to win, and I had everything to lose,” said Solis after the fight. “But I feel I showed I am a world class fighter. The meaning on this fight was to get ready for the next title, and not waste any time.” Solis’ next fight will likely be against the winner of Lazarte-Tamara, although Omar Nino, holder of the WBC version of the title, is another possibility.

In the co-feature, welterweight hopeful Mark Jason Melligen (19-2, 13 KOs) of Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines scored a ten-round unanimous decision over Anges Adjaho (25-3, 14 KOs) of Geneva, New York by way of Cotonou, Benin. Adjaho, the IBF #9 ranked contender at lightweight, fought well down the stretch, but was not active enough in the early rounds to win any favor with the official scorers.

Melligen, 147, landed well to the body of Adjaho, 146 ½, at times early in the fight. However, it was when Melligen would wow the crowd with his attack on Adjaho’s midsection, that the Benin-born contender would wake out of his defensive posture and mount an offense of his own. Far too often though, Adjaho would cover up and wait for Melligen to stop throwing before attempting a punch of his own.

Adjaho came out of his shell some in the sixth, landing first for a change and buzzing Melligen with at least one shot mid-round. Melligen turned the tide late in the stanza, as he backed Adjaho up just before the bell. After a nondescript seventh, Adjaho controlled most of the eighth before Melligen landed a quick flurry to close the round.

Adjaho continued to press a tiring Melligen in the ninth. Each had their moments in the round, but the flow seemed to favor Adjaho. After a tenth round in which both fighters seemed to have little left in the tank, all three judges scored the fight rather widely for Melligen. Scores read 99-91, 98-92 and 97-73.

Melligen had been pegged to fight Michel Rosales Saturday, the last man to defeat him. However Rosales opted to take a fight in Mexico for a minor light middleweight title, and bowed out of the planned rematch. “I would like to fight Rosales,” said Melligen after the fight. “I accept my loss, but if Rosales would like to rematch me I will fight him.” Melligen stated he has tentative plans to return to the ring in August.

Joey Gilbert (20-2, 15 KOs) of Reno continued his rise back into contention with an eight-round unanimous decision win over the always tough Billy Bailey (10-9, 4 KOs) of Bakersfield, California.

Gilbert, 172, utilized an excellent body attack in round one, but the telling blows, especially upstairs, were landed by Bailey. Gilbert fell back on his boxing skills in round two, far outworking Bailey, 173, and landing best with hooks to the body. Gilbert started out on his toes in round three, and found success by landing potshots and getting out of range. Inexplicably, late in the round Gilbert allowed himself to get into a heated, flat-footed exchange with Bailey. Both landed their share of punches, but more importantly Gilbert was giving Bailey the one shot he had in the fight.

Gilbert regained control of the fight in round four, as he was again busier than the onrushing Bailey, and landed the stiffer blows for the first time in the fight. Round five featured some excellent two-way action, but it was Gilbert that landed in combination, while Bailey’s shots were usually one at a time. Again in the sixth, Bailey landed the cleanest punch in the round, but allowed Gilbert to outwork him for the majority of the three minutes.

Gilbert punctuated a seventh in which he outboxed Bailey again with several hard rights to the body, one after another. Throughout the fight, Bailey had just missed with several swings at Gilbert’s chin. As the bell rung to open the eighth, it was clear Bailey would need to do something dramatic to win the fight. A now bloodied Gilbert gave Bailey the opportunity again, as the two stood in the red corner and unloaded to close the fight. In the end, all three judges had the fight for Gilbert by the scores of 80-72 and 79-73 twice.

In the opening fight of the night, 2008 Mexican Olympian Francisco Vargas (2-0, 1 KO) of East Los Angeles, California by way of Mexico City scored a four-round decision over the game Juan Sandoval (1-4, 1 KO) of San Bernardino, California. Sandoval, 132, came to fight, but did not have the skill set to match the former amateur star. Vargas, 130, went all out in the fourth, landing several cracking blows against the defensive Sandoval. All three judges scored the bout a shutout in favor of Vargas, by the scores of 40-35 and 40-36 twice.

Carlos Gaytan (2-0-1, 2 KOs) of Reno pounded Alex Rivera (2-2, 2 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada en route to a second-round stoppage victory. Gaytan, 169, was the aggressor from the outset. Rivera, 168, was often in retreat, but was able to take several head shots without going down. Unable to put a dent into Rivera with punches to his head, Gaytan stuck a left hook to his body that downed the Las Vegas resident, forcing him into submission on the mat. Official time of the knockout was 1:33 of round two.

In the final walkout bout, Khadaphi Proctor (5-5-1) of Hesperia, California evened up his journeyman record with a hard-fought six-round split decision over John Figueroa (7-6-3, 3 KOs) of Salinas, Puerto Rico. Figueroa, 137, started out well as he rocked Proctor, 138, with a looping overhand right halfway through the first round. As the fight progressed, Proctor slowly began to seize control of the fight. In the end, one judge had the fight for Figueroa, 58-56. That tally was overruled by scores of 60-54 and 59-55 for Proctor.

Let’s Get It On Promotions will bring fight action back to Northern Nevada on August 28th at the Churchill County Fairgrounds in Fallon. USBA Light Heavyweight Champion Otis Griffin is expected to be part of a card that will feature both boxing and mixed martial arts.

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com.

Atlantic City, NJ–The weigh-in for the July 9 Mike Jones-Irving Garcia fight will take place at 5pm Thursday, July 8, at the Atrium (6th floor) in Bally’s Hotel & Casino and it is open to the public

Jones will defend his NABA and NABO welterweight titles in a scheduled 12-round bout against Garcia on a show dubbed The Fireworks Continue in the ballroom of Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall.

“I’ve had a tremendous camp and I’m in great shape–I’m ready,” said Jones. The 27-year-old Philadelphian is 21-0, 17 KOs, and ranked as high as the No. 2 in the world by the WBO behind champion Manny Pacquiao.

“As each fight goes by, I get in better and better shape,” Jones said. “I take nobody for granted. When it’s time to shine, I’m gonna shine.”

Garcia: “I’ve worked very hard to come into this fight in my best physical condition. This is a difficult fight but not an impossible one to win.”

The 31-year-old Garcia is 17-4-3, 8 K0s.

Also weighing-in will be welterweights Antwone Smith, of Miami, FL, and Lanardo Tyner, of Houston, TX, the co-featured attraction, as well as the fighters in the eight undercard fights.

On fight night, July 9, the first of 10 bouts begins at 8.30 pm. The show is being promoted by Peltz Boxing Promotions, Inc., and DiBella Entertainment in association with Caesars Atlantic City.
Showtime will televise the two main fights as part of its popular ShoBox series, The New Generation, starting at 11pm.

Tickets priced at $50, $75 and $100 are on sale at the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall, Peltz Boxing Promotions (215-765-0922) and all Ticketmaster outlets (800-736-1420). They also can be purchased at Boardwalk Hall and online at www.Ticketmaster.com.

WBO 130-pound world boxing champion Roman “Rocky” Martinez ran the route of the Torch of Central American and Caribbean Fire, this Sunday, July 4 in his hometown of Vega Baja. He toured the Carr.155, from Angel Sandin Martinez School into the public square and the athlete was responsible for the protocol activity.

“For me it is a true honor to represent the people who saw me grow up in such a prestigious event. My boxing career has not been easy but I want you to know that whenever I’m in the ring I’m not alone because I have the strength and support of my people, “said Martinez.

This family sporting activity also included the participation of other native athletes of Vega Baja, of whom four were part of the Games of Central American and Caribbean in the athletic disciplines of cycling, taekwondo and swimming.

No, the upcoming rematch between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz does not belong on pay-per-view. Two fighters whose cumulative record is 1-2 since their first match should not charge extra for a second go. And no, this fight does not belong in Las Vegas. Chilango versus Houstonian, surely, has more appropriate host cities.

There, that takes care of the disclaimer. In keeping with the sprit of this long weekend, in fact, let’s call what’s above a Preamble. Now for the salvaging.

On July 31, Marquez and Diaz will fight for Marquez’s WBA, WBO and Ring magazine lightweight titles at Mandalay Bay. It will be the first fight for Marquez since his 10-unanimous-rounds-to-none loss to Floyd Mayweather in September. It will be the first fight for Diaz since his one-sided loss to Paulie Malignaggi in December.

It will also be a rematch of 2009’s Fight of the Year. That lends the match a distinction its combatants’ recent showings cannot sully. Yes, Marquez was foolish to make the mercenary’s choice and take that high-paying fight with that high-weighing superstar. And yes, Diaz was nobly foolish to grant Yankee Fan an immediate rematch on neutral ground. But there we are.

Where we also might consider being in four Saturdays is Las Vegas. Marquez-Diaz I really was that good – especially if you were in Houston’s Toyota Center to see it.

I was in Houston 16 months ago. That’s why I’ll be in Las Vegas later this month – to honor the combatants and see if they can do it again.

A doubtful proposition. After all, there was a reason Diaz began the post-fight press conference by assuring his mother he was OK. There was a reason Marquez called-out Mayweather – aside from Manny Pacquiao’s not wanting a rubber match. It was because none of us who sat in that Toyota Center conference room hankered for Marquez-Diaz II.

The fight was excellent. Sensational, actually. But it left few questions unanswered. Act One saw Diaz apply great pressure, assaulting Marquez’s vanity with the rude force of his youth. Act Two saw Marquez change from veteran boxer to hot-blooded finisher. The fight’s arc resembled that of Margarito-Cotto, but with a more decisive ending and no later allegations of foul play. Its decisive ending also saw Marquez set a new standard in right uppercuts.

You had another chance to see that right uppercut, Friday night, when Golden Boy Promotions replayed Marquez-Diaz I in something of a Telefutura infomercial on its weekly “Solo Boxeo” program. The purpose of that 90-minute program was to promote “Marquez-Diaz 2” of course. But Golden Boy Promotions deserves credit for another thing it did, and has been doing: Easing Israel Vazquez into retirement.

For the third week in a row, Vazquez was a major part of the Telefutura broadcast. You hope he enjoys his time in front of the camera enough not to return to the ring. Looking at his face and listening to his speech gives you the impression that if a pending retirement comes in time for Izzy, it will be just barely.

But Golden Boy Promotions also has a different kind of infomercial it routinely does that is less creditable. That would be the emphasis it places on sponsors in conference calls and press conferences – ostensibly media events. This has never felt right for reasons that couldn’t quite be identified.

Until the opening part of last week’s conference call when CEO Richard Schaefer recognized Cerveza Tecate, AT&T and NCM Fathom. It sounded exactly like a Wall Street earnings call – that quarterly tradition in which an executive tells analysts why others should invest in his company.

Which is where the incongruity sets in. Golden Boy Promotions is not a publicly traded company; no one on these calls or at these press conferences is a potential investor. It’s akin to a Hollywood studio inviting critics to a movie screening and then discussing concession sales. It seems to miss the point of American journalism.

We’ve gone along with it for years as part of our advocacy for a thing Top Rank’s Todd DuBoef recently called “brand of boxing” in an interview with Thomas Hauser. We want the sport to succeed. We were ecstatic when we thought corporate sponsorships would somehow lead to mainstream interest. That hasn’t happened. Instead, these sponsorships are but another way to help millionaires get richer.

Which is fine. It’s part of the system formerly known as democratic capitalism. But it is not news, and it should not be treated as such. Journalism is not public relations.

Got it? Good. Now let me don my PR cap.

Las Vegas needs your help. No city has felt the depredating effects of the Great Recession more. It looked desperate, starving even, last November. And since then, there’s nary a report of its having improved.

Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz, too, could use your help. Both need to strike their most recent fights from folks’ memories. They promise to make a compelling match – master boxer-finisher against young volume puncher – any time they share a ring.

And the brand of boxing? It should be championed. Supporting a city that has been an important part of that brand is an admirable thing to do. But the best reason to attend Marquez-Diaz II is this: We cannot allow our sport to be held hostage by a fight unlikely to happen.

We must celebrate the fights we have and the fighters who make them. There’s no need to waste words or time on others. No need to waste them on sponsors, either.

See you in Las Vegas.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter.com/bartbarry

Photo by Gene Blevins/Hogan Photos

Sunday Sizzler heavyweight Joey “Minnesota Ice” Abell LIVE! Plus the weekends Fight recaps and upcoming fight previews! 15rounds.com’s Johnny Schulz presents: Talking BOXING with JSizzle and New York Dan NYD. And joined by Billy from Philly – A weekly Sunday boxing show covering Boxing from all angles. Season 2 Finale.

RENO, NEVADA — In a rematch of former 108-pound titlists, Ulises Solis will take on Eric Ortiz in the ten-round main attraction at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino tonight. The event will be televised live by Fox Sports en Espanol and air on tape delay on Fox Sports Net affiliates nationwide. Saturday’s fight card is part of a centennial celebration weekend honoring the Jack Johnson-James J. Jeffries World Heavyweight Championship fight, which took place in Reno on July 4th exactly 100 years ago. Fighters from tonight’s card weighed in Friday afternoon at the casino’s Xtreme Sports Bar & Lounge.

Solis (30-2-2, 21 KOs) of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico will fight Ortiz (32-10-3, 21 KOs) of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico in a bout held just about the 112-pound light flyweight limit. Their first meeting took place in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico in 2006. Solis, making the first defense of the IBF title at the time, outboxed Ortiz and bloodied him in the middle rounds. With a little over a minute left in the ninth, Solis landed a sweeping left hook that dropped Ortiz flat on his back. Ortiz gamely rose to his feet, but was downed again by right hand, which was followed by a grazing left hook. Ortiz watched the count and got to his feet again, but referee Jesus Salcedo wisely stopped the fight.

Ortiz peaked with a surprising upset of Jose Antonio Aguirre by seventh-round stoppage to claim the WBC Light Flyweight title in March 2005. However, just six months later Ortiz would drop the belt to Brian Viloria via devastating first-round kayo. Six months after that came the loss to Solis for the IBF strap. Outside of a couple upsets over largely unproven prospects, Ortiz has lost when he has fought against quality opposition in the years since.

Solis, currently the IBF #1/WBO #3 ranked 108-pounder, is taking a calculated risk by even stepping into the ring tonight. In his last time out, Solis gained mandatory contender status for the IBF title currently held by Argentinean Luis Lazarate. However, Lazarate has a September title defense against Carlos Tamara already scheduled, so it was important for Solis to land an interim fight. Appearing quite friendly at the scales, Solis weighed in at 113 ½, while Ortiz scaled 114-pounds on Friday afternoon.

In the televised co-feature, welterweight Mark Jason Melligen (18-2, 13 KOs) of Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines will look to continue to rehabilitate his prospect status against IBF #9 ranked lightweight contender Anges Adjaho (25-2, 14 KOs) of Geneva, New York by way of Cotonou, Benin in a ten-round bout.

Melligen originally was tabbed to fight the last man to defeat him, Mexican Michel Rosales. The fight was scrapped when Rosales opted to take a bout in Mexico for a minor title on June 26th in lieu of the rematch with Melligen. “He is plain scared to face me again,” said Melligen in reference to Rosales’ late pull out. While Adjaho has never before fought a legitimate welterweight, he also has only lost to two high caliber opponents. With a clear cut win over Adjaho, Melligen would undoubtedly improve his standing in regards to world rankings with the major sanctioning bodies. Melligen weighed in at 147-pounds, while Adjaho 146 ½ on Friday.

Drawing interest from local fight aficionados, former world ranked contender Joey Gilbert (19-2, 15 KOs) of Reno will look to take another step back towards contention against the always tough Billy Bailey (10-8, 4 KOs) of Bakersfield, California in an eight-round light heavyweight bout. Gilbert is coming in off of two consecutive stoppage victories since his February 2009 decision defeat to local rival Jesse Brinkley. Prior to a suspension in 2007, Gilbert had been ranked in the top ten by both the WBC and WBO at 160-pounds.

While Gilbert has been campaigning at super middleweight, in Bailey he will meet a more natural 175-pounder. Bailey fought just two weeks ago, losing a disputed eight-round decision to hyped prospect Mark Tucker on the Andre Ward-Allan Green undercard in Oakland, California. Bailey has had an up-and-down career, fighting mostly in his opponents’ backyards. However, Bailey has been stopped just once, and more than a few of his losses have been questionable decisions. Their fight, scheduled to be the second of the night, could be the show-stealer. Gilbert weighed in at 172-pounds, while Bailey came in at the contract limit of 173.

In the opening fight of the night, 2008 Mexican Olympian Francisco Vargas (1-0, 1 KO) of East Los Angeles, California by way of Mexico City will take on Juan Sandoval (1-3, 1 KO) of San Bernardino, California in a four-round super featherweight fight. Vargas, who turned pro with a fourth-round knockout in March, weighed in at 130-pounds. Sandoval, who took the fight on short notice, replacing the originally scheduled Andrew Rempp, weighed in two pounds over at 132. Originally Vargas’ trainer had asked Sandoval to lose a pound, but he was later convinced to allow the additional weight.

Carlos Gaytan (1-0-1, 1 KO) of Reno will take on the heavily tattooed Alex Rivera (2-1, 2 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada in a four-round super middleweight bout. Gaytan, who scored a brutal knockout over Jack Montgomery in his debut at the Grand Sierra earlier this year, weighed in at 169-pounds. Rivera, coming off of his first-career defeat in February, scaled 168-pounds.

In a pairing of journeyman light welterweights, Khadaphi Proctor (4-5-1) of Hesperia, California will take on John Figueroa (7-5-3, 3 KOs) of Salinas, Puerto Rico in a bout that may be six or four-rounds depending on the length of the televised fights. Proctor, who scaled 138-pounds, has dropped three straight, albeit to touted prospects. Figueroa, who weighed in at 137-pounds, ended a three-fight skid with a decision victory in April.

The weekend celebration of Johnson-Jeffries began Friday night with a gala held at the casino’s Grand Theatre where the fight card will be held tonight. Johnson’s great niece, Linda Haywood, stole the show with an emotional story about how the 1910 fight has affected her family. Author Wayne Rozen recounted the lead-up, aftermath and actual fight with a detailed multimedia presentation. Several events will take place this morning as well as Sunday, for more information visit JohnsonJeffries2010.com. Tickets for the tonight’s live boxing event, promoted by Let’s Get It On Promotions and Top Rank, are available online at GrandSierraResort.com.

Quick Weigh-in Results:

Flyweights, 10 Rounds
Solis 113 ½
Ortiz 114

Welterweights, 10 Rounds
Melligen 147
Adjaho 146 ½

Light Heavyweights, 8 Rounds
Gilbert 172
Bailey 173

Super Featherweights, 4 Rounds
Vargas 130
Sandoval 132

Super Middleweights, 4 Rounds
Gaytan 169
Rivera 168

Light Welterweights, 4 Rounds
Proctor 138
Figueroa 137

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com.

Demetrius Hopkins scored a ten round unanimous decision over Mike Arnaoutis in a battle former Jr. Welterweight title challengers but this fight was fought and Welterweight at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California.

The fight went pretty much as most pundits expected it with Hopkins looking to fight at ranges using his long jab, sometimes even doubling it up then bringing the right hand behind it while Arnaoutis would try to get inside. Try he did but without much success as Hopkins pot shotted at ranged and would stuff right hands in the face of Arnaoutis.

Arnaoutis, who has been prone to cuts was opened up as early as round two as he began to bleed over his left eye brow and later in the fight his features were bruised up all all over his face. Arnaoutis did mount some offense he landed some solid left hands but he could not follow up with anything behind it. Hopkins showed solid ring generalship as he coasted down the stretch to the unanimous decision victory by scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 99-91

Hopkins, 147 lbs of Philadelphia will now look for a world title shot at 147 pounds with a record of 30-1-1. Arnaoutis, 146 lbs of Atlantic City is now 22-6-1.

Knockout artist, Francisco Contreras scored an eight round unanimous decision over Erick Cruz in a Lightweight bout.

Contreras controlled the action in a bout that did not have a great flow of action with the exception of a right hand that got through by Cruz that briefly got the attention of Contreras.

Contreras, 135 1/2 lbs of Irvington, NJ won by scores of 80-72, 80-72 and 78-74 to remain undefeated at 15-0. Cruz, 135 lbs of Manati, PR, took the bout on short notice and is now 7-4-3.

Long and lean Joseph Elegele scored a third round stoppage over late-sub Willie Walton in a scheduled four round Welterweight bout.

Both southpaws landed shots that staggered the other in round one. In round two, Elegele dropped Walton just as the bell sounded at the end of the round from a straight left to the top of the head. In round three, Elegele scored the possible premature stoppage when he landed a flurry in the corner that had referee Wayne Hedgepath unexpectedly stop the bout at 1:37 of round three.

Elegele, 143 lbs of Melbourne, FL is now 9-0 with seven knockouts. Walton, 145 1/2 lbs of Salt Lake City, UT is now 4-2.

Charles Hayward scored a six round unanimous decision over Mazur Ali in a Light Heavyweight bout to highlight a seven bout card at Merighi’s Savoy Inn in East Vineland, New Jersey

Hayward was very workmanlike as he mixed up the jabs and landed some solid right hands as he went upstairs to the head worked the body evenly. Ali would occasionally catch Hayward walking in but it wasn’t enough as Ali was also docked a point for holding in the fight.

Hayward, 174 lbs of Philadelphia won by scores of 60-53, 60-53 and 57-56 to raise his record to 5-2. Ali, 178 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is now 6-7.

Joel De La Paz scored three explosive knockdowns, all from punishing left hooks and needed just forty-four seconds to dispose of Randy Campbell in a four round Light Heavyweight bout.

After the third knockdown, Campbell’s corner mercifully threw in the towel. De La Paz, 167 lbs of Atlantic City is now 5-0 with four knockouts. Campbell, 167 lbs of Bowerston, OH is now 3-3.

Continuing the tradition of Delaware’s first family of boxing, Joey Tiberi made a successful pro debut as he scored a first round stoppage of Javier Dennis in a scheduled four round Lightweight bout.

This was a sloppy bout as Tiberi was having a tough time getting any rhythm against the awkward Dennis. Tiberi than landed a flurry that spun Dennis Around one more big shot sent him down and out and the fight was quickly halted at 2:27 of round one.

Tiberi, 135 lbs of Bear, DE is 1-0 with one knockout. Dennis, 134 lbs of Reidsville, NC is now 1-4.

The son of former WBA Heavyweight champion Bruce Seldon, Isiah Seldon bullied and mauled his way to a four round unanimous decision over Damion Reid in a Super Middleweight bout.

Seldon was steady in his aggression as he continuously trapped Reid against the ropes and would land little flurries.

Scores were 40-36 on all cards for Seldon, who had his father as his chief trainer and the 166 native of Atlantic City is now 1-0. Reid, 166 lbs of Reidsville, NC is now0-3.

Carlos Perez and Hector Collado battled to a four round draw in a Welterweight bout.

Scores were 38-38 on all cards. Perez, 146 lbs of Pleasantville, NJ is 0-0-1. Collado, 146 lbs of Union City, NJ is now 0-1-1.

In a close bout, Joseliz Cepeda scored a four round split decision over Joshua Orocho in a Jr. Lightweight bout.

It was a back and forth tussle and the scores read as such as Orocho won a card by a 39-37 tally but they were over ruled as the two remaining cards favored Cepeda by scores of 40-36 and 39-37.

Cepeda, 127 lbs of Santa Domingo, DR is now 1-1. Arocho, 128 lbs of Vineland, NJ is 0-1.

The opener Raul Lopez score a systematic one sided unanimous decision over Geraldo Rosas in a Super Bantamweight bout.

In between numerous head clashes, Lopez was effective in beating the body of Rosas, who was tough in defeat.

Scores were 40-36 on all cards for Lopez, 122 lbs of Bronx, NY and is now 4-1-1. Robles, 122 lbs of Union City, NJ is now 0-1.

The card promoted by Mike Indri’s Dignity Promotions.

NEW YORK / YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND (July 2, 2010)—This Friday night at the Doncaster Dome in Yorkshire, England, Jamie McDonnell will make the first defense of his European Bantamweight title in front of his hometown fans when he takes on Rodrigo Bracco of Italy in a bout scheduled for twelve rounds and the bout, along with a eight bout undercard will be streamed on www.gofightlive.tv

The fights will be available on Saturday July 3rd at 12:30 am eastern time and will be available FREE of charge just by clicking: http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=730

McDonnell has a record 14-2-1 with six wins coming by knockout and he won the crown in his last bout as he stopped Frenchman Jerome Arnould (22-3-1) in ten rounds in Arnould’s homeland in France.

McDonnell has won six straight fights which also includes his exciting split decision over Ian Napa back on January 22nd for which McDonnell captured both the British and Commonwealth Bantamweight titles.

Bracco of Italy has a record of 11-2 with five knockouts.

This will be Barcco’s first fight outside his native land and has won two straight bouts which includes his last bout when he won the Italian Bantamweight title with a tenth round stoppage over previously undefeated Pio Antonio Nettuno on March 19th.

The ten round co-feature will be a Jr. Welterweight bout between Curtis Woodhouse taking on Stefy Bull.

Woodhouse has a record of 13-1 with eight knockouts and has won three in a row by knockout.

The Yorkshire resident is coming off a fourth round stoppage over Maurycy Gojko on April 25th.

Bull is a veteran of thirty-six bouts and has produced an impressive record of 29-6-1 with seven knockouts.

Bull is also a Yorkshire resident and has won four straight with his latest victory being a second round stoppage over Dean Hickman (15-6-1) on May 21st.

The rest of the card as Follows:

6 Rounds – Jr. Welterweights—Scott Haywood (20-5-1, 4 KO’s) vs. Rick Godding (11-0, 1 KO)
6 Rounds – Flyweights- Usman Ahmed (6-3-1) vs. Luke Wilton (7-2-1, 3 KO’s)
4 Rounds – Welterweights – Steven Swinburn (0-0-1) vs. Joe Smith (0-1)
4 Rounds – Heavyweights – Damian Campbell (PD) – Lee Swaby (25-25-2, 11 KO’s)
4 Rounds – Jr. Welterweights – Tommy Coyle (4-0, 1 KO) vs. Daniel Thorpe (23-103-3, 9 KO’s)
4 Rounds – Jr. Welterweights – Chad Gaynor (3-0. 2 KO’s) vs. Johnny Greaves (2-50, 1 KO)
4 Rounds – Middleweights – Liam Cameron (4-0, 1 KO) vs. Dee Mitchell (9-7, 2 KO’s)

The card is promoted by Frank Maloney Promotions and this is the second show in as many weekends that a Frank Maloney Promotions show has been streamed on www.gofightlive.tv

“We had a lot of great feedback and views on the Tyson Fury – John McDermott rematch”, said David Klarman, president of www.gofightlive.tv

“Frank Maloney has been one of the great promoters in all of Europe and puts on great fights and we hope to be able to show the fans around the world these great fights that will take place this weekend and beyond.”

NEW YORK (July 2, 2010) – With dreams of becoming the next great champion to come out of boxing-rich Philadelphia, welterweight prospect Mike Jones will face Irving Garcia in a 12-round main event bout on ShoBox: The New Generation on Friday, July 9, live on SHOWTIME® (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from the ballroom at the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall.

Jones, 27, puts his perfect 21-0 record (17 KOs) on the line against Puerto Rico’s

Garcia (17-4-3, 8 KOs), a tough, aggressive brawler who ShoBox fans might remember for twice knocking down undefeated Carlos Abregu before eventually suffering a fourth round knockout in his last main event fight on May 1, 2009.

In an exciting co-feature, promising, once-beaten Antwone Smith (18-1-1, 10 KOs) of Miami, Fla., will battle Houston’s Lanardo Tyner (23-3, 14 KOs) in a 10-round welterweight tussle.

Jones is ranked among the Top 10 welterweights by all four major world sanctioning bodies in one of boxing’s deepest divisions: No. 2 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO), No. 3 by the World Boxing Association (WBA) and No. 7 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and the World Boxing Council (WBC). In addition to his camp touting Jones as the WBO’s top-ranked American 147-pounder, ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael recently wrote, “The 27-year-old from Philadelphia sure looks like he has the potential to become a top welterweight.”

Philadelphia Daily News boxing writer Bernard Fernandez has suggested that Jones could possibly replace the late Arturo Gatti as the next big Atlantic City drawing card. This will be Jones’ fifth consecutive fight in Atlantic City and his first as a headliner at Boardwalk Hall. Not only will Jones’ unbeaten record be on the line but also his North American Boxing Association (NABA) and North American Boxing Organization (NABO) titles.

“There’s a lot at stake for me with this fight and other big ones in the future,” said Jones. “But all of my focus is in winning this fight and looking good in possibly my toughest fight to date.”

The Atlantic City fans will be rooting for Jones, who lives and trains in Philadelphia. In the weeks leading up to his fights, Jones takes to the Newtown Athletic Club in Newton, Pa. for final preparation. Jones has developed quite a following in Pennsylvania, so much so that the Newtown civic leaders proclaimed June 28 “Mike Jones Day.”

The 6-foot Jones is coming off a fifth-round TKO over Hector Munoz of Albuquerque, N.M., also at the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall in April. In February, he scored a 10-round unanimous decision over Puerto Rico’s Henry Bruseles at Bally’s Park Place Hotel and Casino Ballroom.

Jones says he has “Tyson power” which was taught to him as an amateur by “Smokin” Joe and Marvis Frazier. “I was taught how to bang early on: just plant my feet on the floor and bang,” he said. “I have a jab like Ali; snap that jab and then throw combinations off that and my ring tricks are like Roy Jones. I have long, long arms, am tall for a welterweight and fast. I’m pretty good at blocking a guy’s shot. I really haven’t been boxing too long and I’m still learning every day.”

Garcia is no stranger to fighting highly touted prospects, having faced the world-ranked Abregu and the dangerous Said Ouali.

SHOWTIME announcer Nick Charles called the Abregu-Garcia fight “one of the most wildly entertaining fights I’ve seen in years,” while SHOWTIME expert analyst and boxing historian Steve Farhood considers the Abregu-Garcia battle as the most exciting bout to ever air on ShoBox.

“This is a difficult fight but not an impossible one to win,” said Garcia, who turned pro in 1998. “I am working very hard to come into this fight in my best physical condition. I know how important this fight is for my future and the future of my family.”

The event is promoted by Peltz Boxing Promotions in association with DiBella Entertainment.

In the co-feature, all eyes will be on Smith, who is the early favorite to beat Tyner. Many feel that the winners from each of the night’s top fights will likely square off against each other in an upcoming match.

The 5-foot-7, extremely athletic Smith is a boxer-puncher who is not averse to trading punches. In his last fight on April 10 in Sunrise, Fla., the 23-year-old knocked out Franklin Gonzalez with a body shot in the third round on the Andre Berto-Carlos Quintana card. In November of last year, Smith earned a ninth-round stoppage against undefeated Henry Crawford in an all-out slugfest that ShoBox fans won’t soon forget.

Smith is rated No. 13 by the IBF and has been a pro since 2006. Smith also has wins over Jerome Ellis, Norberto Gonzalez and Richard Gutierrez.

Tyner, 34, is originally from Detroit. He turned pro in 2004 and has beaten Kenny Abril, Leo Martinez and Gilbert Venegas. He also went 12 hard rounds with Mexican knockout sensation Saul Alvarez, losing by decision last year in Mexico.

Curt Menefee will call the action from ringside with Steve Farhood and Antonio Tarver serving as expert analysts. The executive producer of ShoBox is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Chuck McKean directing.

For information on SHOWTIME Sports Programming, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, please go the new SHOWTIME Sports website at http://www.sho.com/sports.

About ShoBox: The New Generation

Since its inception in July 2001, the critically acclaimed SHOWTIME boxing series, ShoBox: The New Generation has featured young talent matched tough. The ShoBox philosophy is to televise exciting, crowd-pleasing and competitive matches while providing a proving ground for willing prospects determined to fight for a world title. The growing list of fighters who have appeared on ShoBox and advanced to garner world titles includes: Leonard Dorin, Scott Harrison, Juan Diaz, Jeff Lacy, Ricky Hatton, Joan Guzman, Juan Urango, David Diaz, Robert Guerrero, Kelly Pavlik, Paul Malignaggi, Kendall Holt, Timothy Bradley, Bernard Dunne, Yonnhy Perez, Yuri Foreman and Andre Ward.

About Showtime Networks Inc.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL® and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL® XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL® HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL® ON DEMAND. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (July 2, 2010) — With one week to go before Classic Entertainment & Sports presents “Let Freedom Ring” July 9th, 2010 at the Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, R.I., the number of available tickets are dwindling fast.

As of today, all $35.00 and $100.00 ringside VIP tickets are sold out. Only $75.00 seats (front row outside of the ringside corral) and $50.00 seats are available, and those are moving fast, too, so get yours today or risk being left out in the cold on July 9th.

“Let Freedom Ring” will broadcast live on ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights” with NABO lightweight champion “Hammerin'” Hank Lundy (18-0-1, 10 KOs) defending his title against John “The Hammer” Molina (20-1, 16 KOs) in the 10-round main event. Friday’s card also features a highly-anticipated border war between Vladine Biosse (6-0, 4 KOs) of Providence and Lowell, Mass., native “Irish” Joey McCreedy (11-4-2, 6 KOs) in the 8-round co-feature for McCreedy’s New England super middleweight title.

The undercard includes Keith Kozlin (5-1, 3 KOs), Joe Gardner (4-1-1, 1 KO), Dustin Reinhold (1-1, 1 KO), Maceo Crowder (2-0, 1 KO), Diego Pereira (4-0, 2 KOs), Providence firefighter Eric Estrada (the brother of 2004 U.S. Olympian Jason Estrada) in his pro debut and a long-awaited rematch between female welterweights Kali Reis (2-0, 1 KO) and Aleksandra Magdziak Lopes (2-1, 1 KO).

To purchase tickets, call 401-724-2253 or visit CESBoxing.com. Be sure to visit the site in the next few days for more information on your favorite fighters and CES’ upcoming shows. Also, join Team CES at the Twin River Casino tonight for an open workout from 7 to 9 featuring several fighters from next Friday’s card, including Biosse, McCreedy and Kozlin.

On the 1 July Frank Warren proudly announced a bumper fight card that is stacked from top to bottom with Championship fights calling it “The Magnificent Seven”. It contains one Interim World Title fight, 3 European title bouts and 2 British Championship fights. It takes place on 18 September from LG Arena, Birmingham on Sky Sports on PPV. Headlining the card is Wales Nathan Cleverly 19-0(9) who squares of with another unbeaten fighter in Maro Kurat 22-0(13) of Germany by way of Iraq for the Vacant WBO Interim Light Heavyweight crown.

In European action Enzo Maccarinelli 32-4(25) makes the first defence of his Cruiserweight crown likely against another German Alexander Frankel who is originally from Ukraine sporting a pristine 22-0(17) record. An intriguing battle of Britain takes place when Matthew Macklin 26-2(18) challenge’s for his old European Middleweight title against Darren Barker 22-0(14) in a 50-50 fight. Sheffield’s Ryan Rhodes 44-4(30) makes the second defence of his European Light Middleweight when he meets former World title challenger Lucas Konecny 44-3(21).

Another highly anticipated fight see’s Kell Brook 21-0(14) meets Michael Jennings 36-2(17) in a British title scrap that doubles up as a WBO Welterweight eliminator. These two have been matched several times only for the fights to be cancelled for a variety of reason’s. Derek Chisora 13-0(8) rematches Sam Sexton 13-1(6) in a British Heavyweight title fight. Chisora previously beat Sexton just over two years ago by sixth round stoppage.

Former Olympian’s James Degale & Frankie Gavin also see action. Degale 7-0(5) makes the first defence of his WBA International Super Middleweight crown though no opponent is known as yet. Gavin 7-0(6) clashes with former Soccer player Curtis Woodhouse 13-1(8).

Local Don Broadhurst 11-1(3) returns after a 9 month hiatus when he lost for the first time against Lee Haskins. No opponent was announced for Broadhurst.

Ticket’s go on sale on 9 July. Stayed tuned for more information.

Photo by REUTERS/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus (UNITED STATES)

Raul Lopez 122 vs Geraldo Rosas 122
Joshua Arocho 128 vs Joseliz Cepeda 127
Joey Tiberi 135 vs Javiar Dennis 134
Joel DeLaPaz 167 vs Randy Campbell 167
Carlos Perez 146 vs Hector Collado 146
Ismail Garcia 159 vs Bryan Smith (failed to show for weigh-in fight cancelled)
Isiah Seldon 166 vs Damion Reed 166
Mazur Ali 178 vs Charles Hayward 174

Venue: Merighi’s Savoy Inn
Promoter: Mike Indri’s Dignity Promotions

15rounds.com Matt Yanofsky goes one on one with former WBC Junior Middleweight champion and Contender Season 1 winner Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora. Mora is slated to battle the legendary Shane Mosley September 18 in the main event of a pay per view. Click below to hear what Sergio has to say about Mosley, his previous struggles as an unpromoted fighter and why The Contender failed after four seasons!
listen-to-sergio-mora

A reported agreement on terms for Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. should be reason for optimism. Maybe, the biggest fight in years will finally happen. But skepticism is the only reasonable reaction. We’ve been here before, haven’t we? We’re back at the scene of an old accident, waiting on Mayweather all over again. I’d prefer to wait on a root canal.

Mayweather is as unpredictable as he is elusive. Annoying, too, but give him this: He says – ad nauseam –that he is the face of boxing, that everything happens because of him. Few can argue with him on that one right now. In resurrected talks of negotiations that blew apart more than six months ago, Mayweather has the last say, yea or nay.

“It’s up to him,’’ Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum told Yahoo Wednesday.

Safe to say, Arum won’t leave it up to Mayweather for long. He’ll give it a couple of weeks. The Top Rank promoter says he will wait until mid-July for an answer from Mayweather. No reply presumably means Arum will turn to Plan B or C, Antonio Margarito or Miguel Cotto for a Pacquiao bout scheduled for Nov. 13.

But nobody knows how — or even if — Mayweather will respond. Mayweather’s representatives, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer and Leonard Ellerbe, have honored an initial agreement not to comment. If Mayweather-Pacquiao is going to happen in November, however, it’s time to take off the gag.

Mayweather must enjoy the power of being granted the last word. But it is double-edged with potential enough to destroy Mayweather’s attempts to spin himself into a less profane, more media-friendly personality before and after his brilliant victory over Shane Mosley in May.

In renewed talks however, it looks as if there is a reversal of roles. There was no deal six months ago because of a sudden, deal-breaking demand from Mayweather for random, Olympic-style drug-testing. Pacquiao said no, a refusal that then aroused speculation about whether he was in fact a user of banned substances despite a clean record of tests sanctioned by regulatory agencies, including the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

According to Arum, the drug issue has been resolved. Arum didn’t provide any specifics, but the assumption is that Pacquiao has agreed to some sort of random blood-testing under protocol set down by the Nevada commission, which appeared to consider possible methods and timetables during discussions last month with sports-medicine experts, physicians and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

If Pacquiao has agreed to drug testing, Mayweather has lost the high ground he had occupied amid repeated boasts that he was only try to clean up boxing. Drug testing is no longer the issue. But that doesn’t mean that Mayweather won’t find another one.

If he does, Mayweather will have to face renewed accusations that he just doesn’t want to fight Pacquiao.

Arum is right:

It is up to Mayweather.

Is it ever.

From this corner, it looks as if Mayweather’s only wiggle room is a delay until next year. In interviews with Yahoo and Filipino media, Arum seemed to prepare himself for Pacquiao-Mayweather at a later date.

He has to look only at Mayweather’’s recent record. The unbeaten welterweight has fought only four times over the last four years – twice in 2007 with victories over Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, not once in 2008, once in 2009 with a lopsided decision over Juan Manuel Marquez and once this year against Mosley.

Even if Mayweather’s career is down to only one a fight year, it appears as if there is only one fight for him. It looks as if he can’t say no to Pacquiao. Then again, Mayweather has already shown that he can say just about everything and sometimes nothing at all. It’s impossible to know what he will do. The only thing anybody knows for certain is that he will make you wait.

Undefeated welterweight Mike Jones, of Philadelphia, was given a citation from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives proclaiming June 28, 2010 as “Mike Jones Day” at the Newtown (PA) Athletic Club, his training site for several weeks prior to his fights. The proclamation was presented to him by Adrianne Sellers, legislative assistant to Pennsylvania State Representative Steve Santarsiero. Jones, who is ranked the #2 welterweight by the WBO behind champion Manny Pacquiao, has been preparing for his July 9 fight when he defends his NABA and NABO titles against Irving Garcia at Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall.

# # #

Mike Jones vs. Irving Garcia: The Fireworks Continue on July 9, 2010 at Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall is promoted by Peltz Boxing Promotions in association with DiBella Entertainment and Caesars Atlantic City. The 12-round main event will be for Jones’ NABA and NABO welterweight titles.

Tickets are $100, $75 and $50 and are available at Ticketmaster.com (800-736-1420) and through Peltzboxing.com (215-765-0922)