According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Bermane Stiverne will meet Chris Arreola for the WBC Heavyweight title that was vacated by Vitali Klitschko earlier this week.

Stiverne already scored a unanimous decision over Arreola on April 27.

“Here we are. We got the order from the WBC to fight Arreola for the vacant title. It’s a fight we will happily do,” said Stiverne’s manager Cam Estephan told ESPN.com. “We would have hoped to take the belt from Vitali but this was not something in our control. I respect what he is trying to do in the political arena. Now we are facing a guy we already beat. We’re looking to do it again.

“We feel like Bermane dominated the fight with Arreola in April. But we do have a lot of respect for Arreola and his team, so we take nothing for granted. We will be diligent and put more of an exclamation point on things and send Wladimir Klitschko a message as well. His brother didn’t want to fight Bermane, so when we’re done with Arreola, let’s do it and unify all the titles.”

“I know there were a lot of questions about Don King and the relationship with Bermane,” Estephan said. “We have come to a very good agreement that everybody is happy with this past Tuesday. We are gonna do things together and hopefully bring the heavyweight division back to North America. We have a good agreement with Don King and we feel like we’re a strong team.”

“I know there were a lot of questions about Don King and the relationship with Bermane,” Estephan said. “We have come to a very good agreement that everybody is happy with this past Tuesday. We are gonna do things together and hopefully bring the heavyweight division back to North America. We have a good agreement with Don King and we feel like we’re a strong team.”

OTTAWA, Canada (September 9, 2013) – Eye Of The Tiger Management (EOTTM) has been making noise in Canadian boxing for the past 4-½ years, since promoter/manager Camille Estephan started managing his friend, heavyweight Bermane Stiverne.

Today, Stiverne and his equally talented stable-mate, light welterweight Dierry Jean (25-0, 7 KOs), are both top-ranked contenders and mandatory challengers for, respectively, World Boxing Council (WBC) champion Vitali Klitschko and International Boxing Federation (IBF) title-holder Lamont Peterson.

“Bermane is so talented,” Estephan explained. “He’s ready to fight the best in his division. I wish Klitschko would step-up and fight Bermane but he’s avoiding him like the plague (Stiverne has won two title eliminators and three purse bids have been postponed). We’ll fight him in Kiev or Germany. We’d like to do it here (Montreal) but if we have to travel we’ll bring the belt back to North America. I can’t blame Vitali, though. (Chris) Arreola just destroyed (Seth) Mitchell and Bermane destroyed Arreola.

“Dierry is our other mandatory challenger. He has proven himself as a world-class fighter in the hot light welterweight division. We’ve been talking with Golden Boy Promotions (Peterson’s promoter) and hope to hear something soon. If not, the fight will go to purse bid, and we’d like to bring the fight against Peterson to Montreal for Dierry to get that belt.”

Two other world-class EOTTM fighters – middleweight David Lemieux (29-2, 28 KOs) and welterweight Antonin Decarie (27-2, 8 KOs) – are scheduled to return to the ring September 28 to fight on the Adonis Stevenson-Tavoris Cloud card at Belle Center in Montreal. Lemieux is ranked No. 14 by the WBC and No. 15 by the IBF, while former interim world title-challenger Decarie is rated No. 11 by the WBC.

Last Friday night in the sixth installment of EOTTM’s Fight Club Series at Lac Leamy Casino Hotel in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, Montreal’s undefeated World Boxing Council (WBC) Americas lightweight champion Ghislain “Mani” Maduma (15-0, 9 KOs), rated No. 10 by the IBF and No. 13 by the WBC, successfully defended his belt and also captured the vacant North American Boxing Federation (NABF) champion by winning a one-sided 12-round decision over Mexican invader Fermin De Los Santos (24-14-2, 16 KOs). Maduma also earned participation in the soon-to-be announced WBC World Cup, scheduled to start later this year in four divisions, in which Decarie is also competing.

Unbeaten welterweight prospect Mian Hussain (7-0, 4 KOs) registered an impressive victory by six-round decision last Friday evening versus former European champion Giuseppe Lauri (53-14, 31 KOs),

Other EOTTM fighters include light heavyweight super lightweight Baha Laham (12-0-2, 5 KOs), super middleweight Schiller Hyppolite (8-1, 5 KOs), lightweights Michael “L’Unique” Gadbois (9-0-2, 3 KOs) and Chris Plaitis (4-0-1), and heavyweight Zachary Bunce (2-0, 1 KO).

“Our shows feature fighters from all over the world,” Estephan concluded. “We have warriors; our guys aren’t scared to fight anybody. They want to fight the best in the world. We’re all very serious and making our mark on the boxing world. In his last fight, Bermane broke Arreola’s nose in three places and dropped him, something Klitschko was unable to do. Dierry knocked out the IBF No. 7-rated fighter (Cleotis Pendarvis), fighting his opponent in his backyard, despite a bad hand and serious cut. Our impressive roster of fighters is full of young, talented fighters who will dominate their respective divisions and are forces to be reckoned with. Maduma is a future world champion, one helluva fighter who can compete right now with anybody in the world, and Hussain rates as one of the best young prospects in boxing.

“We’ve built this company on character; doing things the right way, working hard, good habits and pride in what they are doing. They are all full-time fighters who don’t have other jobs and train twice a day. They’re disciplined in camp and win fights before they step in the ring because of their dedication and preparation. I’m very much hands-on, getting reports from our trainers and strength-and-conditioning coaches in order to know exactly where they are at in terms of training. Boxing is very mental and our fighters can look at themselves in the mirror and know that they’ve done everything possible to perform at their best. We’re building world champions!”

For further information about Eye Of The Tiger Management, its events and fighters, visit www.eottm.com, contact EOTTM at (514) 632-56666, or follow on Twitter @eottmvd.

OTTAWA, Canada (August 13, 2013) -The latest ruling by the World Boxing Council (WBC), allowing its heavyweight champion, Vitali “Dr. Ironfist” Klitschko (45-2, 41 KOs), to avoid fighting No. 1 mandatory challenger Bermane “B. Ware” Stiverne (23-1, 20 KOs), has drawn anger from an increasingly frustrated Team Stiverne.

Stiverne has already won not one, but two WBC title eliminators, the latest against Chris Arreola (35-3, 30 KOs) on HBO this past April 27, and three different mandated purse bids have been postponed. Now, the WBC has announced that the 42-year-old Klitschko has suffered an injury to his right hand and he won’t return to the ring until 2014. Plus, the WBC will not make a decision regarding his title situation until the first-quarter of 2014, leaving Stiverne waiting even longer for his much deserved world title shot.

“I would hate to think the WBC treats some fighters more highly than others,” a terribly disappointed Stiverne said. “I don’t understand. (Timothy) Bradley was stripped when he was injured but I’ve read that the WBC would never strip Vitali. Do they have favorites? All fighters should be treated the same. We haven’t heard anything directly from the WBC. The WBC isn’t respecting us or its own rules. I remember when (Oleg) Maskaev was hurt before his fight with (Sam) Peter and Peter was named the WBC Interim champion. This isn’t fair or respectful, and it’s bad for boxing.”

Klitsckko hasn’t fought in nearly a year, when he defeated Manuel Charr (TKO4) on September 8, 2013; his last mandatory defense was almost two years ago, on Sept. 10, 2011 against Dereck Chisora (DEC12).

Stiverne’s manager, Camille Estephan, CEO of Eye Of The Tiger Management (EOTTM), believes the WBC should either strip Klitschko of his belt, letting Stiverne fight the highest-ranking, available contender for the vacant WBC title, or name Stiverne as its Interim heavyweight champion.

“Klitschko has been a great champion and ambassador of boxing,” Estephan commented, “but a true world champion has to defend his title in the ring, not keep it because of politics. He won’t fight until 2014 but he should be stripped for not defending his title, or step aside to allow Bermane to fight for the Interim belt. The heavyweight division is the flagship of boxing but, we haven’t had one world heavyweight champion because the Klitschko brothers won’t fight each other, of course, but Vitali not defending his title adds insult to the heavyweight division.

“He hasn’t defended his title in almost a year and now it’ll be much longer if we have to wait for the WBC to even make a decision about the status of its heavyweight title. This is totally unacceptable. The credibility of the sport is at stake. Bermane has done everything required and more to get his world title shot. Two winning title-eliminators, three postponed purse bids, and now this. Why should he continue to be penalized for Vitali not defending his belt? I expect the WBC Board of Governors to do the right thing, now, and immediately. We’ve waited long enough!”

For further information visit www.eottm.com, or follow on Twitter @eottmvd and @BermaneStiverne.

OTTAWA, Canada (July 26, 2013) — When heavyweight contender Bermane “B. Ware” Stiverne (21-1, 20 KOs) upset Chris Arreola (35-3, 30 KOs) on HBO this past April 27, in a title elimination bout, it set-up the dangerous Canadian for a super fight versus future Hall of Famer and long-time World Boxing Council (WBC) World Heavyweight Champion, Vitali Klitschko (45-2, 41 KOs).

Stiverne completely dominated former world title challenger Arreola, dropping him in the third round, en route to a unanimous 12-round decision (118-109, 117-110, 117-110) for the vacant WBC Silver title.

A purse bid was set and postponed, reset and re-postponed. Finally, July 22 was supposed to be the final purse bid date when, surprisingly, the WBC once again granted another extension requested by the Team Klitschko, forcing the mandatory challenger to wait once again for his world title shot that he has now earned twice by winning a pair “title elimination” bouts. WBO No. 1 contender Stiverne, who is also rated No. 10 in the world by The Ring Magazine, had knocked out Ray Austin in the 10th round of their WBC heavyweight title eliminator on June 25, 2011.

“It’s a bit frustrating to hear only two days before the scheduled purse bid that it has once again been postponed,” explained Stiverne’s manager, Camille Estephan, CEO of Eye Of The Tiger Management (EOTTM). “We are waiting for a new date. At this point, we have worked really hard to secure potential venues. Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre and Montreal’s Bell Centre are still at the forefront. Regardless, Bermane is ready now, or in a few months, and the longer Klitschko plays politics rather than man up and fight, the more ready we will be and the older he will get. Bermane will KO him wherever and whenever it happens.”

In the meantime, though, fans can still be treated to world-class boxing in the Capital region on September 6. “For now,” Estephan noted, “we are focused on our September 6th card at the Casino Lac Leamy in Gatineau. We have undefeated lightweight Ghislain “Mani” Maduma (14-0, 9 KOs) defending his WBC Continental Americas belt and also fighting for the vacant NABF (North American Boxing Federation) championship. This win, if successful, should put him in the top 5 in the world (Maduma is presently rated No. 14 by the WBC). (Super featherweight) Baha Laham (12-0-1, 5 KOs) and (light heavyweight Andy Gardiner (8-0. 4 KOs) are also being showcased in separate eight- round fights. If you know anything about these two guys, I don’t have to tell you it’s going to be exciting.”

Tickets for Sept. 6th event are on sale now and very reasonably priced at $40.00 and $60.00, while tables of 10 may be purchased for $1,500, by visiting www.admission.com or at the Final Round Boxing Club, 15 Eccles Street in Ottawa. For further information visit www.eottm.com, contact EOTTM at (514) 632-56666, or follow on Twitter @eotmvd.

Bermane Stiverne scored a twelve round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Chris Arreola in a WBC Heavyweight elimination bout at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California.

Stiverne was more active and landed some good shots throughout the bout. He dropped Arreola at the end of round round three from a hard right to the head. Each proved tough as power shots were landed by both. Stiverne was effective with the left hook and straight right hand. Arreola proved his mettle as he fought through cuts but continued to come forward.

Stiverne was basically known as a power puncher before the bout showed boxing skills that previously had not been part of his game.

Stiverne. 247 lbs of Miami won by scores of 117-110, 117-110 and 118-109 and is now 23-1-1. With the win, Stiverne earned the mandatory shot at WBC Heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko. Arreola, 248 lbs of Riverside, CA is now 34-3-1

Sherman Oaks, CA (March 26, 2013) – “I’ve been working on my usual aggressive power punching style and focusing on waist and head movement. It has been a year since I have last fought and I am feeling anxious to get back into the ring and shine on HBO,” said the WBC’s #1 world ranked heavyweight, Chris Arreola. “I’m ready to fight for and claim the top spot in the world in the heavyweight division and that includes the current world champions. I’m ready.”

Added trainer Henry Ramirez, “Chris has been back training hard and preparing for the challenge that Bermane Stiverne presents, great hand speed and good punching power. Be assured, Chris will be ready for everything.”

The 12-round WBC World Championship Heavyweight Elimination bout between Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola (35-2, 30 KOs) and WBC #2 world contender, Bermane “B. Ware” Stiverne (22-1-1, 20 KOs) will take place on Saturday, April 27 at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California.

Tickets starting at $25 are on sale online at AXS.com or call AXS at 888-929-7849. Doors open at Citizens Business Bank Arena at 2:30 p.m. The first bout starts at 3:00 p.m. with the scheduled 12-round bout between Arreola-Stiverne to begin at 5:30 p.m.

Follow HBO Boxing news at www.hbo.com and at www.facebook.com/hboboxing. Use the hashtag #ArreolaStiverne to join the conversation on Twitter. For constant updates on the fight, including videos, pictures and articles, visit www.goossentutor.com or www.hbo.com.

Sherman Oaks, CA (March 14) – The beat goes on. Riverside’s Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola (35-2, 30 KOs) will fight Bermane Stiverne (22-1-1, 20 KOs) of Las Vegas on Saturday, April 27 at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California said Dan Goossen, president of Goossen Tutor Promotions.

Arreola and Stiverne, the WBC #1 and #2 world rated heavyweights, respectively, face each other in the “Boxing Before Dark” 12-round WBC World Championship Heavyweight Elimination main event, with the winner guaranteed to immediately fight for the World Championship.

Tickets priced at $200, $100, $50 and $25, plus fees, will go on sale this Saturday, March 16 at the Citizens Business Bank Arena Box-Office (open Monday-Saturday) or online at AXS.com or call AXS at 888-929-7849.

Rescheduled after Arreola was forced to postpone a previously scheduled fight with Stiverne due to illness, the crowd-pleasing heavyweight was thrilled with the new date.

“I’m glad we were able to reschedule this terrific heavyweight matchup so the boxing fans can look forward to an exciting night of action on HBO® with the heavyweight showdown between Cristobal Arreola and Bermane Stiverne,” said Kery Davis, Senior Vice President of Programming, HBO® Sports.

“The illness that forced me to pull out of the fight was unfortunate but I am very happy to once again be healthy and thankful to my promoter Goossen Tutor and HBO for rescheduling my fight,” stated Arreola. “Being less than 100% against an opponent like Stiverne and in a fight of this magnitude would not have been the best decision for my career. I’m back in training camp, completely healthy and fully motivated for April 27.”

Said Dan Goossen, “Heavyweights, especially hard-hitting, aggressive heavyweights, always get the fans excited, and this is a perfect fight to display that excitement.”

Said Stiverne, “The thing about Arreola is he’s a tough customer, but I have noticed that all of his opponents seem to fight the same way. They come into the ring with great intentions before falling into his traps. They have a game plan but they seem to forget. They follow the plan for a few rounds and then they let him take over. I will not do that. I’m bringing my ax to the fight and I’m going to chop the tree down.”

“Arreola is successful at intimidation but you can’t intimidate me. The fans are going to see the best Bermane Stiverne there is. I plan to impress and move to the next level.”

“This fight with Arreola became personal for me after the postponement. I’ve been going back and forth for so long waiting for this fight to happen that I’m now taking this personally. Time spent with my friends and family has been taken away from me, so it’s good he and I are finally going to get it on in Southern California on April 27.”

“It’ll be a great fight between Arreola and Stiverne,” Stiverne’s promoter, Don King, predicted. “It’s the next step in bringing the world championship back to America. The fight is a must see.”

In addition, being showcased that night will be Olympian twin brothers from Norwalk, CA, Javier (13-1, 5KOs), the 2008 US Olympian and Oscar Molina (2-0, 1KO), the 2012 Mexican Olympian. Also featured in a 4-round bout, the pride of the Ten Goose Gym, up-and-coming Juan Funez (1-0) of Van Nuys.

Doors open at Citizens Business Bank Arena at 2:30 p.m. The first bout starts at 3:00 p.m. with the scheduled 12-round bout between Arreola-Stiverne to begin at 5:30 p.m.

The Arreola-Stiverne showdown will be the opening bout of a special presentation of HBO® World Championship Boxing at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com the multi-time WBC Heavyweight title eliminator bout between Chris Arreola and Bermane Stiverne will e re-scheduled for April 27 at a site to be determined most likely in California.

The was due to take place this Saturday but Arreola fell ill.

“He’s not back in training yet but he’s feeling better,” said Arreola’s promoter Dan Goossen said of Arreola, whom he expects will return to training by the end of the week. “He wants to get rid of the bug entirely but he’s happy with the date, and I’m glad it’s right around the corner.”

“I’m in the process of trying to finalize a site,” Goossen said. “But I’m looking to do the fight out here in Los Angeles. It’s a great fight for California. I’ve got three or four places that I’ve got in mind but nothing concrete yet.”

“I spoke to Don (King). He’s aware of everything,” Goossen said. “I spoke to the WBC (which is sanctioning the bout). Everyone’s been informed. (HBO was) anxious to do the fight in the first place and that didn’t wane just because Chris got sick. Once they knew a late April date would work that’s what we started to target.

Sherman Oaks, CA (March 1) – The Heavyweight elimination bout scheduled for March 9 between Chris Arreola and Bermane Stiverne has been postponed. The match up will be rescheduled to a later date due to a bronchial infection sustained by Chris Arreola.

The co-featured bout scheduled for that same night, as well as the remaining undercard bouts, will continue as scheduled with the much anticipated IBF junior lightweight championship rematch between Mexico’s World Champion Juan Carlos Salgado (26-1-1, 16 KOs) taking on the #1 world contender and mandatory challenger Argenis Mendez (20-2, 10 KOs) of the Dominican Republic stepping into the spotlight. The co-semi-main bouts, will feature twin brothers, Javier and Oscar Molina.

HBO Latino®, Home Box Office’s dedicated Spanish-language premium channel, will telecast the Salgado-Mendez bout, reaching today’s many multigenerational and bilingual Hispanic households in the U.S., appealing to the wildly popular boxing and sports fan base.

The two originally battled for the vacant IBF super featherweight title in a September 2011 bout in which Salgado persisted and survived through a rough twelfth round in which Mendez had him down, but not out, to claim his first IBF World Championship by unanimous decision.

Javier “El Intocable” Molina (12-1, 5 KOs), the 2008 U.S. Olympian challenges the heavy-hitting Josesph Elegele (13-1, 10 KOs) in an eight round welterweight war and Oscar Molina (1-0), the 2012 Mexican Olympian makes his U.S. debut in a 4-round welterweight bout.

Other featured fights include #6 world rated light heavyweight, Cornelius “Da Beast” White (20-1, 16 KOs) versus Otis Griffin (24-11-2, 10 KOs) in a 10-round match up and the highly anticipated debut of Van Nuys, CA local featherweight, Juan Funez in a 4-round bout against Jose Garcia (1-5-1, 1 KO) of King City, CA.

Tickets for this event have been revamped and are priced at $100, $75, and $50 are on sale now and may be purchased online at www.fightcluboc.com and irma@goossentutor.com or by calling 818-817-8001.

For all fans who have purchased and received their tickets to the originally scheduled March 9th HBO show at The Hangar, and still want to see a great night of fights will be entitled to receive the same seats at a reduced price.

With the new reduced pricing, customers that purchased their seats will have the option to: 1) apply their prior purchase toward additional lower priced tickets in the same section (if a customer purchased 4 tickets at $75 [$300 total] they can receive the same four tickets now priced at $50 [total $200] and apply the extra $100 toward two additional tickets at $50; or 2) apply their prior purchase toward the same amount of tickets and receive the applicable rebate (for each ticket, a $250 ticket will receive a $150 rebate, $150 ticket will receive a $75 rebate, and a $75 ticket will receive a $25 rebate); or 3) the customer can request a full refund.

Doors open at The Hangar at 4:00 p.m. The first non-televised bout starts at 4:30 p.m.

The event is being promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions, LLC in association with Promociones del Pueblo.

In the wake of Cristobal Arreola’s withdrawl from the March 9th HBO show, Eddie Chambers (36-3, 18 KO’s) has offered to step up to fight Bermane Stiverne (22-1-1, 20 KO’s). Chambers has been in the gym and says he is ready to take Stiverne on.

Eddie Chambers said, “I am always in the gym. I was training anyway. It would be very easy for me to take the March 9th fight against Stiverne. I think this is a great opportunity, just too good to pass up.”

“Eddie is a throwback, old-time fighter. He is always ready to go. As soon as he heard Arreola backed out of the fight Eddie called me to say he wanted to step in to fight Stiverne. We would be happy to make this fight.” said Chambers promoter, Kathy Duva.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, The March 9th WBC elimination bout between Chris Arreola and Bermane Stiverne has been postponed due to Arreola contracting Bronchitis.

“He got sick over the weekend,” said Arreola’s promoter Dan Goossen of Arreola. “We were hoping for a quick recovery but it just didn’t happen. He’s still out of commission and hasn’t gotten any better. For a fight of this magnitude you have to have a healthy fighter.

“He’s certainly disappointed. It’s a big blow to have to delay it. It is what it is and we’ll just reschedule it and go from there.”

“I talked to HBO and, hopefully, within four or five weeks we can get it back on,” Goossen said.

“I don’t think anyone can take this any other way other than disappointment,” Goossen said. “We hoped to have this heavyweight fight on March 9, but we’ve all been around this business long enough to know these things happen.”

“I’m working with HBO to keep the rest of the show together, including the title fight,” Goossen said. “We’ve got some good fights on the show.”

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 24) – Riverside’s Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola (35-2, 30 KOs) the WBC #1 world contender takes on the heavy-hitting WBC #2 world contender, Bermane “B. Ware” Stiverne (22-1-1, 20 KOs) in a heavyweight battle with the winner guaranteed to fight for the WBC Heavyweight World Championship in his next bout. Both Arreola and Stiverne will look to put their power on display to take that next step toward history.

The Arreola-Stiverne showdown will be televised on HBO® World Championship Boxing at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT. This will also mark the first HBO® boxing event to be held at the world-famous Orange County Fair & Event Center, home to the newly built 23,000 square foot building The Hangar.

The co-featured bout is a rematch between two-time World Champion Juan Carlos Salgado (26-1-1, 16 KOs) of Mexico City against the #1 world contender and mandatory challenger, Argenis Mendez (20-2, 10 KOs) of the Dominican Republic in a 12-round IBF Jr. Lightweight World Championship bout.

Tickets priced at $250, $150, and $75 will go on sale tomorrow, Friday, January 25

at 8 a.m. online at www.fightcluboc.com and irma@goossentutor.com or by calling

818-817-8001.

Doors open at The Hangar at 4:00 p.m. The first non-televised bout starts at 4:30 p.m. The scheduled 12-round bout between Salgado-Mendez will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the Arreola-Stiverne 12-round bout immediately after.

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 22) – On Saturday, March 9, Riverside’s Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola (35-2, 30 KOs) takes on the heavy-hitting Haitian Bermane “B. Ware” Stiverne (22-1-1, 20 KOs) in a heavyweight battle with the winner guaranteed to fight for the WBC Heavyweight World Championship in his next bout. Both Arreola and Stiverne will look to put their power on display to take that next step toward history.

The Arreola-Stiverne showdown will be televised on HBO® World Championship Boxing at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT. This will also mark the first HBO® boxing event to be held at the world-famous Orange County Fairgrounds & Event Center, home to the newly built 23,000 square foot building The Hangar.

“Boxing fans can look forward to an exciting night of action on HBO® with the heavyweight showdown between Cristobal Arreola and Bermane Stiverne,” said Kery Davis, Senior Vice President of Programming, HBO® Sports.

The Arreola-Stiverne fight shapes up as a bout unlikely to go the distance given the knockout rates of both combatants. Arreola, 31, has stopped all but five of his 35 victims, while the 34-year old Stiverne – whose only loss on his impressive record came more than five years and 11 fights ago – has allowed only two of his 22 conquests to hear the final bell.

The co-featured bout is a rematch between two-time World Champion Juan Carlos Salgado (26-1-1, 16 KOs) of Mexico City against the #1 world contender and mandatory challenger, Argenis Mendez (20-2, 10 KOs) of the Dominican Republic in a 12-round IBF Jr. Lightweight World Championship bout.

Tickets priced at $250, $150, and $75 and will go on sale Friday, January 25 at 8 a.m. online at www.fightcluboc.com and irma@goossentutor.com or by calling 818-817-8001.

An injury earlier this year limited Arreola’s activity in 2012 to one fight – a first round KO of Eric Molina in February. Stiverne matched Arreola’s 2012 bouts posting a win (via unanimous decision) against Willie Herring in April.

“Prior to Chris’ injury, he kept a very unheard of pace for a heavyweight, registering five wins in 2011 and a February bout in 2012. This is the type of determination Chris has shown fighting his way back to his goal of becoming heavyweight world champion,” his promoter, Goossen Tutor’s Dan Goossen said. “He’s been incredible staying in the gym and keeping his weight under control. I’ve said for years he’s one of the most exciting fighters in the world, and now with his desire to be in tip-top shape, he’s now one of the most dangerous fighters today.”

The always-entertaining Arreola was thrilled to learn the fight will be in front of his hometown fans in California, “I’m going to make 2013 my year. I’m thrilled to be back on HBO and fighting someone worthy and good in Stiverne. He’s a tough fighter but my will and strength will break him down. I’m not going to let anyone stand in my way!”

An irritated Stiverne said about the fight with Arreola, “It should have been done a long time ago.” “I don’t know what he’s been doing besides running from me. I’m looking forward to the fight. He is nothing that I can’t deal with. I’ll get the job done. I’m not concerned about a knockout. We have a plan that we want to execute. If the knockout comes, it comes.”

“It’ll be a great fight between Arreola and Stiverne,” Stiverne’s promoter, Don King, predicted. “It’s the next step in bringing the world championship back to America. The fight is a must see.”

Back on September 10, 2011, Salgado was on the winning end of what many thought was a very tough bout against Mendez for the vacant IBF title in Mexico.

The victory over Mendez made Salgado a two-time world champion previously winning the title in 2009 over then undefeated Jorge Linares with a devastating first round knockout. His reign was short-lived the first time around when he lost his belt in his first defense against Takashi Uchiyama, the still reigning world champion.

Salgado said, “I’m excited to defend my title in California. Mendez has been doing a lot of talking but it won’t help him when I beat him for a second time on March 9.”

Salgado’s promoter, Oswaldo Kuchle of Promociones del Pueblo, said of their first fight, “Salgado-Mendez I was a thriller. The 12th round was a historic round, and I can’t wait to see round 1 of the rematch.” “Both fighters fought their hearts out, and now, besides the IBF belt on the line, they’ve made it personal, especially knowing the winner will be on the road to huge fights in this division.”

Mendez gets his second shot at the title after soundly beating Martin Honorio for the #1 rating in the IBF and the mandatory shot at Salgado and is anxious to start the bout from the end of the first fight with Salgado when he scored a knockdown in the 12th round but was unable to finish the job.

“I let Salgado off the hook last fight and I won’t make the same mistake again. I will make sure that the belt is around my waist at the end this time. The people of the Dominican Republic will have a new champion come March 9th,” stated the confident challenger.

“Boxing fans love the heavyweights and we have two of the best and biggest knockout punchers in the business going toe-to-toe,” Goossen stated. “Chris is determined to become the first world heavyweight champion of Mexican descent. And with Salgado-Mendez, you have two of the top Junior Lightweights in a rematch that was a thriller the first time around. It will be a great night of fights at The Hangar.”

The event is being promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions. The Arreola-Stiverne bout is presented in association with Don King Productions and the Salgado vs. Mendez bout in association with Promociones del Pueblo and Acquinity Sports. The event is sponsored by Corona.

Doors open at The Hangar at 4:00 p.m. The first non-televised bout starts at 4:30 p.m. The scheduled 12-round bout between Salgado-Mendez will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the Arreola-Stiverne 12-round bout immediately after.

The Hangar at the OC Fair & Event Center is the centerpiece of the 150-acre campus. Opened in April of 2010 it was designed with an aviation hangar look, including a 50 foot high ceiling as well as 50 foot high hangar doors that can be rolled back to give The Hangar an indoor/outdoor feel. The Hangar also has a 40 foot high HD Screen. The Hangar can be found at the heart of the OC Fair property in the Main Mall area. The Fair is located at88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626.

LOS ANGELES (Nov. 27) – On Saturday, January 26, World Champion Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (26-0, 14 KO’s) of Oakland, CA takes on Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik (40-2, 34 KOs) of Youngstown, Ohio in what promises to be a thrilling WBA and WBC Super Middleweight World Championship Bout.

This event will be the first boxing event at the Galen Center at USC in Los Angeles, CA, home to the USC Trojans Basketball and Volleyball teams. “The layout of the Galen Center couldn’t be better for the presentation of a boxing event and we are excited to host these world class bouts,” said USC Senior Associate Athletic Director J.K. McKay.

When Ward captured his first world championship in 2009, defeating WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler, he went on to challenge three other world and former world champions in his next five bouts. World titleholders Carl Froch, Arthur Abraham and Chad Dawson all tasted defeat at the hands of Andre Ward. Next in line is the very powerful, former world champion Kelly Pavlik, who promises to take both title belts from Ward.

The co-featured bout has Riverside’s Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola (35-2, 30 KOs) challenging heavy-hitting knockout puncher Bermane “B. Ware” Stiverne (22-1-1, 20 KOs) from Las Vegas, NV by way of Haiti. Both Arreola and Stiverne will put their power on display with the winner guaranteed to fight for the heavyweight world championship in his next bout.

This exciting HBO® World Championship Boxing doubleheader is being presented by Goossen Tutor Promotions in association with Antonio Leonard Promotions and SOG.

The Ward-Pavlik bout will be promoted in association with Bob Arum’s Top Rank, Inc.

“Televising Andre Ward in an intriguing showdown against Kelly Pavlik is a great way to start the new year,” said Kery Davis, Senior Vice President of Programming, HBO Sports. “Combined with the heavyweight showdown between Cristobal Arreola and Bermane Stiverne, boxing fans can look forward to an exciting night of action on HBO.”

An injury earlier this year limited 28-year-old Ward’s activity in 2012 to one fight — a thorough destruction of Chad Dawson in September. Pavlik, 30, has fought three times this year and posted wins (two via TKO and one unanimous decision) against opposition with combined records of 53-6.

“Kelly Pavlik has been determined to get back onto the top of the heap in boxing,” his promoter, Top Rank’s Arum said. “I know he’s ready to give it his all against one of the best champions today. I really believe this will be an exciting, competitive fight.”

“I’ve heard all the talk about Kelly Pavlik, but I know better than that. He’s beaten plenty of the big names,” Ward said. “Bob Arum has done a great job of keeping Kelly busy until an opportunity like this came along. You can bet that a former world champion like Kelly Pavlik, being afforded another title shot…he’s going to be primed and ready. We are going to be ready too and it’s going to be a tremendous show.”

“Andre Ward’s a hell of a world champ,” said Pavlik, who’s trained by California-based Robert Garcia. “He’s the super middleweight king right now. He went through a tough tournament and proved where he’s at. He beat everybody that he was supposed to fight and he’s top dog. When I was champ, I was the one being pursued. Now he’s champ and I’m in hot pursuit.”

“Andre Ward has conquered every challenge he’s faced as a pro and has improved each and every time,” said Promoter Dan Goossen. “He captured Olympic Gold in 2004; emerged from the tournament as a long shot to claim the Super Six World Boxing Classic and won both the WBC and WBA super middleweight titles in the process.”

The Arreola-Stiverne fight shapes up as a bout unlikely to go the distance given the knockout rates of both combatants. Arreola, 31, has stopped all but five of his 35 victims, while the 34-year old Stiverne – whose only loss on his impressive record came more than five years and 11 fights ago — has allowed only two of his 22 conquests to hear the final bell.

The always-entertaining Arreola was thrilled to learn the fight will be in front of his hometown fans, “I’m going to make 2013 my year.” I’m excited to be back on HBO and fighting someone worthy and good in Stiverne. He’s a tough fighter but my will and strength will break him down. I’m not going to let anyone stand in my way!”

An irritated Stiverne, who is trained by Don House, said about the fight with Arreola “It should have been done a long time ago.” “I don’t know what he’s been doing besides running from me. I’m looking forward to the fight. He is a tough customer, but nothing that I can’t deal with. I’ll get the job done. I’m not concerned about a knockout. We have a plan that we want to execute. If the knockout comes, it comes.”

“It’ll be a great fight between Arreola and Stiverne,” Stiverne’s promoter, Don King, predicted. “It’s the next step in bringing the world championship back to America. The fight is a must see.”

“Boxing fans love the heavyweights and we have two of the best and biggest knockout artists in the business going toe-to-toe,” Goossen stated. “Chris is back to full health and in great shape already. He is determined to become the first world heavyweight champion of Mexican descent. But he will not overlook Stiverne who has run over his heavyweight opposition — including former world title challenger Ray Austin — in impressive fashion. It will be a great night of fights at the Galen Center.”

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $100 and $50 (plus fees) will go on sale shortly.

Doors open at the Galen Center at USC at 3:30 pm. The first non-televised bout starts at 4 pm. The two HBO® World Championship Boxing bouts will begin at 6:45 pm.

The event is sponsored by Corona.

Don King Productions bid a whopping $1.1 million to secure the rights to promote the WBC Title elmination bout between Chris Arreola and Bermane Stiverne.

King, Stiverne’s promoter, blew away the other bidders. Dan Goossen, Arreola’s promoter, offered $550,000; Golden Boy Promotions, which had designs on adding the fight to its Nov. 10 card at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to help beef up ticket sales because Arreola is a Mexican-American from Southern California with a good following, bid $512,000; and WealthTV, , offered $132,000.

According to Goossen, Arreola is entitled to 55 percent of the bid ($605,000) with Stiverne’s share the remaining 45 percent ($495,000).

“King has 10 days to give us a location and date of the fight,” Goossen said Sunday. “Whenever and wherever the fight is, Cris has his mind set on winning this fight and he has his mind set on becoming heavyweight champion of the world, no matter who he has to go against. He’s in great shape and he’s been training. That is music to my ears.”

“I’ve always felt if Cris is tip-top shape, be it against Bermane Stiverne or anyone else, he will overcome them. He’s so adamant that he will be in great shape for this fight and it showed when I saw him in Las Vegas (three weeks ago). He is really committed to win this fight and go on to win the heavyweight championship of the world.”

“Stiverne is a big puncher, but Cris has been in with big punchers, none better than Vitali Klitschko and he took everything,” Goossen said. “When you’re in great shape and can throw the combinations Cris can throw, there will be very few opponents who can handle it.”

“He’s been training and he’s fine,” Goossen said. “He’s good now. He said he’s 100 percent.”

“If for any reason Don has any problems moving forward we will step in,” he said. “Either way, this is a good fight for boxing, two powerful heavyweights fighting with a lot on the line.”

Miami, FL–World Renown Boxing Promoter Don King did it again with another great card of excellent competitive boxing in Miami at the Casino Miami Jai-Alai. This was the first card at the newly renovated Casino Jai-Alai much to the delight of a ravenous crowd who was left begging for more. With numerous accolades, awards, lifetime achievements in the sport of boxing, and accomplishments during his career, King is often referred to the greatest promoter of all time and rightfully so.

For the main event, WBC US Super welterweight Champion Joey “Twinkle Fingers” Hernandez 21-1-1(12KO) was very impressive with a first round TKO win over tough veteran Shakir Ashanti 16-13. Ashanti, who I must note had a crazy outfit of what appeared to be skirt and pom poms attached to his legs, met Twinkle Fingers with a couple fast early punches and the two tied up in the middle of the ring. While tied up Hernandez did what all fighters should do and instead of waiting for the referee to break the action he kept punching with the free hand landing some hard punches that eventually floored the Ashanti. Ashanti was able to beat the count however it was Hernandez who then rushed across the ring and landed a number of clean unanswered shots during a fight ending flurry that ended the junior middleweight fight at 2:45 of just the first round. After the fight Hernandez was quick to grab the microphone from ring announcer Marc Lictenfield to call out Jr Middleweight contender and former 5 time world champion Cory Spinks for a fight. Spinks was not slow to climb into the ring and return fire on the microphone by telling Hernandez to “bring it on” and ”Imma stop this fool right here” which was not very well accepted by Hernandez’s hometown crowd in Miami. Spinks is looking to avenge a 2010 knockout loss to Cornelius Bundrage 31-4(18KO) on June 23rd at the Hard Rock in Hollywood Florida. The fight will be for the IBF title. Hernandez said after the fight, “I’m a bad dude when I want to be. I wiped out Shakir Ashanti like a plate of dishes in the first round—and he went 10 rounds with Cory Spinks!

The WBC #1 ranked heavyweight Bermane “B-Ware” Stiverne 22-1-1, (20 KOs) squeaked out a unanimous decision win over journeyman Willie Herring 13-11-3(4KO) from Orlando. Stiverne, a native of Haiti who grew up in Miami, controlled much of the first part of the fight with hard combinations and pressed the very tough and brave Herring. Herring had no problem standing in the pocket with the bigger Stiverne exchanging punching but was not a fan Stiverne mid-fight jaw jacking taunts and told him to “Shut up and fight”. Herring landed some nice shots at the end of round four that led to a very entertaining round 5 which it seemed the tide seemed to be turning and Herring appeared to be putting together a nice late fight rally. Stiverne hung on to take the decision however it was Herrings toughness that won the fans appreciation as was well noted after the fight. Stiverne mentioned after the fight he had injured his right hand, his money hand and he calls it, early in round two. The cards read, 79-73 twice and 77-75 on the final card, and was the same score I had. Stiverne said after the fight, “Willie Herring gave me just what I needed tonight, a chance to show all the things we’ve been working on in the gym like head movement, establishing my jab, body shots and throwing punches in bunches.” “I came to fight and so did Herring. I threw a lot of leather and he got most of it. “I took this fight and short notice but it was good to get some rust worked out. Herring is lighter and moves well so it wasn’t easy for me to land everything I threw, but he knew when I did. “It was great to be fighting where I grew up in Miami in front of friends and family.”

Former amateur standout and 2008 Haitian Olympian Azea “Haitian Hitman” Augustama 13-1(8KO) let his star shine bright with a win over Grover “The Cobra” Young, 6-7-1(3KO). The sharp Augustama often connected with blistering fast right hand left hook combos to the hard charging southpaw who himself found success early on with a couple straight left hands as well. A bizarre moment happened in the second round when Augustama landed a straight right hand and Young backed up holding his head as if he got head butted. The referee noted it as a clean punch and did not step in, so Augustama jumped on Young with a flurry of punches that prompted him to take a knee to recover still holding his head. I spoke to Augustama after the fight and he stated it was a clean punch. The end came at 55 seconds of the second round.

Marcus “Happy” Oliveira 23-1-1(23KO) was just that …’happy’ after a fast 1 punch knockout over Adam “Atom Bomb” Collins from Portsmouth, OH. The end came quickly at just :49 seconds of the first round when Oliveira landed a crushing left hook to the body which sent Collins to the canvas and unwilling to continue…………. After the fight Oliveira said ““I predicted I would win the fight with a body shot and I did. My body shot dropped him for good. The last time I saw a body shot like that was Tito Trinidad vs. Rafael Pineda. I’m a big Tito fan, so I have always wanted to land a body shot like that. “When I hit him in the face he covered up his head, so I took it to his body. “I’m ready to fight for a world championship this year. I’d fight Nathan Cleverly tomorrow.”

Tough Jr Welterweight prospect Amir Imam 4-0(3KO) from Albany, NY, now fighting out of Pompano Beach Florida, looked sharp with a convincing TKO win over rough and ready but awkward John “Big Money” Willoughby 3-12(2KO) from Selma AL. Imam landed a great straight right hand early in round one that put Willoughby against the ropes and set the tone for the rest of the fight which was of a pitbull versus a feline. Imam knocked Willoughby down twice in the first round once with a beautiful right hand and a second by way of a short left hook inside. The end came at 1:15 of the second round after a crushing right hand at which time referee Sam Burgos.

Undefeated Heavyweight prospect Trevor “The American Dream” Bryan 3-0(2KO) from Albany, NY, now fighting out of Pompano Beach Florida, kept his perfect record in tact with a hard fought unanimous decision win over young challenger Brandon Spencer, 1-3 (1KO) from Augusta GA. It took Bryan a couple rounds to get acclimated to his 283 pound southpaw counterpart’s style, but started to find a home for his double left hook and right hand combination that later proved to be the big difference in the fight. A game Spencer landed hard straight left hands and occasional desperate flurries, but was slowed by body shots of Bryan, and poor conditioning. All three cards read 40-36.

Boxing notables in the crowd included Francisco Palacios, Cory Spinks, Chad Dawson, Patricia Alcivar, and Guillermo Jones.

Weights from the Casino Miami Jai-Alai in support of Saturday’s boxing card featuring South Florida favorite Joey Hernandez (20-1-1, 11 KOs), taking on Shakir Ashanti (16-12, 4 KOs), from New Bern, N.C., and WBC No. 1-ranked heavyweight Bermane “B-Ware” Stiverne (21-1-1, 20 KOs), from Miami, taking on Willie Herring (13-10-3, 4 KOs), from Orlando, Fla.

Joey Hernandez 164 ¼ vs. Shakir Ashanti 158 ½, 10 rounds, junior middleweights;

Bermane Stivern 243 vs. Willie Herring 212 ¾ , 8 rounds, heavyweights;

Marcus Oliveira 182 ¼ vs. Adam Collins 178 ¾, 8 rounds, light heavyweights;

Azea Augustama 190 vs. Grover Young 194, 6 rounds, light heavyweights;

Amir Imam 140 ¾ vs. John Willoughby 137, 4 rounds, junior welterweights;

Trevor Bryan 224 ½ vs. Brandon Spencer 282, 4 rounds, heavyweights