After Lucas Matthysse fell ill earlier this week, Golden Boy Promotions scrambled to find an opponent for Erik Morales as part if the Floyd Mayweather Victor Ortiz undercard and they came up with undefeated Mexican Pablo Cesar Cano according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“When Matthysse dropped out we looked at who the available contenders were and we wanted to still put on an exciting fight,” Golden Boy Promotions Richard Schaefer told ESPN on Friday night, just after the deal had been completed. “Matthysse against Morales would have been toe-to-toe action. We all know that. With Pablo Cesar Cano I know it will also be toe-to-toe action. And the rivalry between Mexico City (Cano) and Tijuana (Morales) continues.”

It turns out that the 21-year-old Cano (22-0-1, 17 KOs) is trained by Rudy Perez, who trained another Mexican star, Marco Antonio Barrera, for his all-time classic trilogy with Morales.

“Rudy Perez is excited about the opportunity. Cano is thrilled,” Schaefer said. “Rudy Perez told me has exactly the recipe to beat Morales. He’s done it before in (two of the three) Barrera fights. They are all fired up for this opportunity. Cano just fought a couple of months ago and he is in great shape and ready go. They really jumped on this.”

Schaefer said Morales (51-7, 35 KOs), 35, also accepted the fight immediately.

“He said, ‘I don’t care, just sign him up,’” Schaefer said. “He said, ‘I don’t care who I fight. Bring me King Kong.’ I know this is going to be an exciting fight. It was easy to get made and I’ll bet anyone it will be an exciting fight. When you have two Mexicans fighting each other — on Mexican Independence Day weekend — for a world title, I don’t think you see too many boring fights. These guys really want it.”

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that Lucas Matthysse has fallen ill which will force him to opt out of next Saturday’s showdown with Erik Morales that would have been for the vacant WBC Super Lightweight title that was to be a part of the Floyd Mayweather – Victor Ortiz undercard.

“They did send us a certificate from a doctor but this is a situation where I don’t even need to see a certificate,” said Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions. “The guy was favored to go and win a world title against a legend like Erik Morales on the biggest pay-per-view card of the year. Who the hell would want to pull out of that?”

“He has a very severe virus, which totally dehydrated him and weakened him,” Schaefer said. “I was told he had to be admitted to the hospital to deal with the dehydration issues, but he is going to be OK.”

When Matthysse (28-2, 26 KOs) dropped out Schaefer said Morales’ first request was that Golden Boy try to line up a rematch with titleholder Marcos Maidana, who won majority decision against him in an April barnburner.

“Erik came to us and said he was looking forward to the fight with Matthysse and that he will fight anyone in his place,” Schaefer said. “He said, ‘Get me Maidana.’ So we reached out to Maidana, but he prefers to fight in Argentina at this point.”

Schaefer said there are three potential opponents for Morales, although he declined to name them.

“We should have something to announce in the next 24 hours,” he said.

“Erik Morales is always in exciting fights,” Schaefer said. “You could never see Erik Morales in a bad fight, so I am excited no matter who he fights.”

A friend visited me from Mexico last week. Between trips to Austin and strolls along the San Antonio River, we had occasion to watch a number of old Marco Antonio Barrera fights – the Junior Jones debacles and the classic trilogy with Erik Morales. But it was the first Manny Pacquiao fight that filled me with a dull sense of foreboding about November.

What does Barrera have to do with November? Probably not much unless Top Rank needs undercard filler. What Barrera tells us about Pacquiao’s waning interest in combat, though, might be plenty instructive as we begin to look forward to Pacquiao’s third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.

First, a note or two about what it was like to be an average boxing fan in Mexico for the last decade. My friend lives in Tampico, Tamaulipas, a city located about 300 miles south of the U.S. border. In the 1940s, he boxed in amateur events as a boy in the Mexican state of Veracruz. He loves boxing at least as much as you do.

But until last week, he had never seen Barrera-Morales I, II or III. Those fights, you see, were on pay channels, and a municipal employee in Tamaulipas’ fifth-largest city didn’t earn a salary large enough to justify such an expense. That meant, in some way, boxing stopped commanding his interest. There were the old days, nostalgia for such scrappers as Rodolfo “Chango” Casanova, sure, but with its accessibility issues, boxing moved to a distant second behind soccer.

That is now changed. Boxing is everywhere on Mexican public airwaves again. But the lost decade of Mexican prizefighting, and its consequences for the quality of product coming out of Mexico today – read: Canelo and Junior – is worth an annual reconsideration or two by American fight fans looking at bandwagons to jump.

The Barrera that fought Morales in February of 2000 has never been seen again. He would go on to teach Naseem Hamed how to box in 2001 and decision Morales in their 2002 rematch, but he would never fight with the abandon he showed in his first match with “El Terrible.”

Seventeen months after winning a first decision over Morales, Barrera would come to San Antonio and get fully undone by a young Filipino prodigy nicknamed Pac Man. With trainer Freddie Roach whispering in his ear about Texas judges – with the ghost of Chavez-Whitaker still haunting the Alamodome scorer’s table (and yes, trivia buffs, Gale Van Hoy was an official judge for Barrera-Pacquiao I) – Pacquiao would make no mistakes in his championship rounds with Barrera.

Fresh as an insolent child after 30 minutes of combat, Pacquiao would hunt and raze Barrera. Beginning in the ninth round, Barrera would glide, retreat and engage only when imperiled. And Pacquiao’s ferocious fighting spirit would not stop imperiling the champion till Barrera’s corner stopped the match.

Four years later, in a fight that marked a temporary rapprochement between Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions, Barrera challenged Pacquiao to a rematch Barrera had no thought of winning. Barrera cashed himself out, gliding and retreating for 36 minutes, engaging only when imperiled and announcing a retirement immediately afterwards.

And Pacquiao let him. Fighting as the favorite in Las Vegas, Pacquiao had no fears of crooked Lone Star scorecards. He did enough to win each round. Drained from making 130 pounds for the last time, Pacquiao did a 12-round dance with Barrera that looked like nothing so much as a business transaction.

What happens, then, if that Manny Pacquiao meets the wrong Juan Manuel Marquez on Nov. 12 at MGM Grand?

To this point, worries about Pacquiao-Marquez III have all treated Marquez’s health. Marquez, great as he is, does not belong in a fight one ounce above the lightweight limit of 135 pounds. Pacquiao is an established, if ever-light, welterweight. Their rubber match will happen at 144, where Pacquiao seems most comfortable.

Marquez has shown us that he, too, is capable of a business transaction. Told by his trainer and longtime manager Nacho Beristain not to fight Floyd Mayweather at welterweight in 2009, Marquez did it anyway to gain a career payday. Dropped early in the match, Marquez fought hard enough to frighten the ever-cautious Mayweather from pursuing a knockout in the half hour that followed. Mayweather could not knock out Marquez, in other words, because he hated the thought of a hellacious exchange.

After losing most every round to Mayweather, though, Marquez showed no regret. On the contrary, he stated plainly that he had nothing about which to feel shame. He’d challenged a much larger man, remained on his feet and cashed a much larger check.

Since then, Manny Pacquiao has shown, in fights with Joshua Clottey and Shane Mosley, that if an opponent is hellbent on not-fighting, Pacquiao won’t force him to do it. The likely beneficiary of every close round, Pacquiao now stays busy, picks his moments, flurries and leaps out, and collects decision victories and immense paydays.

What happens, then, if that Pacquiao squares off with that Marquez? Two words, actually: Uh oh.

We’re readying the boxing rally caps, I know – the now-annual rite of Pacquiao-Mayweather-fight promises will soon spill forth as if on a timer – but it might be helpful to remember this. Whatever happens from here, however easily Mayweather decisions Victor Ortiz in a few weeks, however easily Pacquiao decisions Marquez two months after that, Pacquiao-Mayweather will never again hold the promise it held at the end of 2009.

The Fight to Save Boxing, 2012 vintage, is an event already corrupted by greed and shortsightedness. Let us hope nothing happens in November to cause further erosion of interest.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

LOS ANGELES (August 3)…The “STAR POWER: Mayweather vs. Ortiz” pay-per-view telecast is now complete with four star-studded fights from two sites all taking place Saturday, September 17 from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions announced today that Erik Morales vs. Lucas Matthysse and Jessie Vargas vs. Josesito Lopez have been added to the mega-event, which is being produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®.

The out-of-this-world night of boxing will kick-off with a super lightweight bout featuring undefeated rising star Vargas in his HBO Pay-Per-View debut against hard-hitting Lopez, followed by the first of the night’s three world title fights as Mexican boxing legend Morales will face power punching Argentine Matthysse for the WBC Super Lightweight World Championship. The pay-per-view telecast will then go live to STAPLES Center in Los Angeles with Mexican boxing phenom Canelo Alvarez taking on Alfonso Gomez for the WBC Super Welterweight World Championship, followed by the main event welterweight championship mega-fight, Floyd Mayweather vs. Victor Ortiz, live from Las Vegas.

Fans in attendance at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas will be able to see the Alvarez vs. Gomez fight live, while those in attendance at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles will see Mayweather vs. Ortiz and Morales vs. Matthysse live. Following the showing of Mayweather vs. Ortiz at STAPLES Center, fans in attendance will see two special post-fight concerts performed by Los Tucanes de Tijuana and El Gran Silencio.

“The addition of Morales vs. Matthysse and Vargas vs. Lopez to the September 17 fight card makes ‘STAR POWER’ without a doubt the biggest night of boxing in 2011,” said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions. “Mayweather Promotions is very excited about Jessie Vargas’ pay-per-view debut on such a huge event to really get his name out there and show the world what he can do.”

“Now that we have a complete pay-per-view card, the stage is set for the world to witness a real supernova of boxing,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “Three title fights in one night is something that we are very proud to bring to boxing fans around the world. Each of these championship fights could stand alone as their own main event and fans will be able to experience them all in one night. Adding undefeated Jessie Vargas in his pay-per-view debut and the legendary Erik Morales, who is fighting to make history as the first Mexican boxing warrior to win world titles in four weight classes, really strengthens the entire ‘STAR POWER’ event.”

Tickets for Mayweather vs. Ortiz, Morales vs. Matthysse and Vargas vs. Lopez at the MGM Grand Garden Arena are priced at $1,250, $1,000, $600, $300 and $150, not including applicable service charges. Ticket sales are limited to twelve (12) per person at the $1,250, $1,000, $600 and $300 price levels with a ticket limit of two (2) per person at the $150 price level. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

STAPLES Center tickets for Alvarez vs. Gomez are priced at $300, $150, $75, and $50, are on sale now and available for purchase online at ticketmaster.com, via Ticketmaster charge-by-phone lines at (800)745-3000. Tickets are also available at STAPLES Center box office.

A three-division world champion and future Hall of Famer, Erik “El Terrible” Morales (51-7, 35 KO’s) ruled the boxing landscape for years, thrilling fans with his classic battles against Manny Pacquiao, Marco Antonio Barrera, Paulie Ayala, Wayne McCullough and In-Jin Chi. But when he returned from a nearly three year layoff in 2010, many wondered if the Tijuana native still had what it took to compete with the elite. Those questions were answered loud and clear with a three fight winning streak in 2010 and a Fight of the Year candidate in April of 2011, when he went to war for 12 rounds with Marcos Maidana before losing a razor-thin majority decision. Now, the 34-year old warrior is back in the ring and back in Las Vegas to face the concussive punching Matthysse as he vies to become the only Mexican fighter in history to win world titles in four weight divisions.

“This fight is the chance of a lifetime,” said Morales. “I have waited for this moment my entire career. To have the opportunity to win world titles in four weight divisions on Mexican Independence Day and on a night like this is a dream come true. I am going to train harder than ever to make the Mexican people proud and to be victorious on September 17.”

One of boxing’s hardest punchers, Lucas Matthysse (28-2, 26 KO’s) of Trelew, Argentina has made former World Champions Zab “Super” Judah and Devon Alexander see stars in his last two fights, knocking each of them down, only to lose both fights by controversial split decisions. The 28-year-old’s new role as the people’s champion is a good one for the crowd-pleasing standout, who has been delivering stellar performances from the time he turned professional in 2004. A former WBO Latino and WBO Intercontinental champion who counts “Vicious” Vivian Harris, DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley and Rogelio Castaneda Jr. among his vanquished foes, Matthysse, who has won 93 percent of his fights by way of knockout, is amped up and ready to trade blows with one of the sport’s modern greats, Erik Morales, on September 17.

“I cannot wait to get in the ring and fight Erik Morales,” said Matthysse. “I will do anything and everything I can to walk away from this fight as a world champion. I will work harder because I don’t want to pass up this magnificent opportunity.”

Jessie Vargas (16-0, 9 KO’s), who grew up in Los Angeles, now resides in Las Vegas and trains at the Mayweather Boxing Club with recently hired trainer Robert Alcazar, is coming off of an impressive second-round knockout win over veteran Walter Estrada on July 8. His extraordinary performance set off a national buzz among boxing writers and fans that the young prospect is on the fast track to boxing greatness. Appearing in the opening bout in his pay-per-view debut, Vargas has the chance of a lifetime to make his name and talent known around the world against a stiff test in Josesito Lopez.

“Floyd Mayweather and Mayweather Promotions have given me an amazing opportunity to fight on the biggest night in boxing this year,” said Vargas. “On September 17, I know I will be ready to show the world that all of my hard work and preparation has led to this opportunity. I am so excited to be a part of this event and I look forward to beating Lopez and keeping my undefeated record.”

Riverside, California’s Josesito Lopez (29-3, 17 KO’s) may only be 27-years-old, but he’s old school when it comes to his approach to the sport of boxing. This attitude has led him to nearly 30 pro wins, with his only losses coming via narrow decisions. Currently riding a seven-fight winning streak, Lopez showed off his veteran savvy in his most recent victory in January, when he tarnished hot prospect Mike Dallas Jr.’s perfect record by scoring a seventh round knockout.

“I am very excited to be a part of this event and to show the world that I am a force to be reckoned with in the ring,” said Lopez. “I haven’t lost a fight in over three years and I don’t plan on losing this one. Jessie Vargas might be undefeated now, but he won’t be after September 17.”

“STAR POWER” is a mega-event taking place on Saturday, Sept. 17 from two world-class cities with three world titles at stake. Floyd Mayweather and Victor Ortiz will face off in a 12-round fight for Ortiz’s WBC Welterweight World Title from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. Canelo Alvarez and Alfonso Gomez will do battle in a 12-round fight for Alvarez’s WBC Super Welterweight World Title from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Calif. Also live in Las Vegas, will be Erik Morales vs. Lucas Matthysse in a 12 round fight for the vacant WBC Super Lightweight World Title and an opening fight featuring undefeated rising star Jessie Vargas against top contender Josesito Lopez. The mega event is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate, DeWALT Tools and AT&T. Alvarez vs. Gomez is presented in association with Canelo Promotions and Morales vs. Matthysse is presented in association with Box Latino Promotions and Arano Box Promotions.”STAR POWER: Mayweather vs. Ortiz” will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

For more information, visit www.floydmayweather.com, www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.mgmgrand.com and www.staplescenter.com; follow on Twitter at @floydmayweather, @mayweatherpromo, @goldenboyboxing, @VICIOUSOrtiz, @terrible100, @Jessie_Vargas, @JosesitoLopez, @mgmgrand; or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FloydMayweather, www.facebook.com/Mayweatherpromotions, www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing. Follow HBO Boxing newsat www.hbo.com/boxing,Facebook at www.facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter @hboboxing. Follow STAPLES Center on Facebook at www.facebook.com/staplescenter and on Twitter @STAPLESCenterLA.

The “STAR POWER” pay-per-view telecast, which begins at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 92 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View®, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For Mayweather vs. Ortiz fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com.

HBO®’s Emmy® Award-winning all-access series “24/7” premieres an all-new edition when “24/7 Mayweather/Ortiz” debuts Saturday, Aug. 27 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. The four-part series will air for three consecutive Saturday nights before the finale airs the night before the welterweight championship showdown in Las Vegas.

This past Saturday night at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, Golden Boy Promotions hosted a highly entertaining HBO Pay-Per-View dubbed ‘Action Heroes.’ In the main event, light welterweight contender Marcos Maidana survived a surprisingly stiff challenge from aging former champion and all-time great Erik Morales. The undercard featured several other surprises and thrills, as did the post-fight press conference, thanks in large part to the emcee work of Oscar De La Hoya.


Watch Morales-Maidana Post-Fight Press Conference in Sports  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

A suspicion was confirmed Saturday. No, it wasn’t the suspicion we all harbored about Erik “El Terrible” Morales’ shopworn frailty. Morales’ comportment in the main event of “Action Heroes” was first rate. Rather, the suspicion was that this new generation of fighters, while competitive and proud, is not what the last generation of fighters was.

Argentine junior welterweight Marcos Maidana whacked and plowed his way to a majority decision against Morales – Mexico’s former super bantamweight, featherweight and super featherweight world champion – at MGM Grand in a fight broadcast on HBO pay-per-view Saturday. Maidana won by scores of 116-112, 116-112 and 114-114.

My scorecard went 118-113 for Maidana. I had the Argentine winning rounds 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 11 and 12. I had Morales winning rounds 5 and 8. I had rounds 2, 7 and 10 even. If those even rounds all went Morales’ way, as many an “Action Heroes” viewer saw them, I still had Maidana winning 7-5.

A word or two about “Action Heroes” viewers. They were, almost to a man, advocates. It was not possible to buy the card without a zealous belief in “El Terrible.” Those who’ve shown Morales their zeal through the years were rewarded Saturday, they were vindicated Saturday, and they were thrilled Saturday. But they were not objective Saturday.

All paeans to punch accuracy and effect aside, Morales had rounds in which he landed fewer than 10 meaningful blows. Maidana was not in Morales’ class but was ineffectively aggressive throughout. And if you want boxing to entertain, you present scorecards that value ineffective aggressiveness over any criterion but its effective cousin.

If there was a loser Saturday it was not Morales or Maidana – though Maidana’s terrifying mystique was eroded. Instead, the losers were a new generation of fighters in general and two prizefighters in specific.

Those two prizefighters are Victor Ortiz and Amir Khan. Ortiz wilted and quit under Maidana’s assault 22 months ago then informed Staples Center patrons he should not have to endure an assault like Maidana’s. Khan then spent six minutes shamelessly fleeing Maidana in December while successfully defending his WBA 140-pound title in a performance for which he was lauded.

How does that performance look today?

While you consider that, consider this: Erik Morales, a 34-year-old veteran of 57 prizefights who retired almost four years ago and met Maidana 14 pounds above his prime fighting weight, just acquitted himself more nobly than Khan and Ortiz combined. And he did it with one eye.

The punches with which Maidana struck Morales – the same blows that still wake Ortiz and Khan with nightmares – had nary an effect on Morales who, after having his right eye shuttered by a left uppercut in round 1, did not wobble, run or signal for a doctor in the 33 minutes that followed.

That an overweight, overaged guy unable to see a left hook for 11 rounds just beat back the most-feared puncher in boxing’s most-competitive division does not speak well of our sport’s new generation. Not well at all.

And beat him back, Morales did.

The opening round saw Maidana’s relentless and undisciplined attack land all over Morales’ body, causing HBO commentator Jim Lampley to call Morales, quite rightly, a “shell” of his former self.

Maidana raced out his corner and whacked away at Morales spinning the former champion making him look poorly balanced and fragile bruising him with huge shots and rendering his right eye useless with a ferocious inside uppercut that nearly signaled the end.

But Morales knew the storm would subside. He had been across from men just as determined and feral as Maidana. And those men had twice Maidana’s class and savvy. Morales returned fire with three-punch combinations. He watched Maidana stumble and play motorboat while breathing.

Maidana never got comfortable as he’d planned because he was unable to chase Morales bullying him hitting him making him reel and retreat or skip sideways desperately – Maidana was unable to relax because he was across from a man who was not intimidated by him in the slightest a man whose fear of being struck by Maidana dissipated with each Maidana strike.

Then Morales buckled Maidana with a naked left hook lead. Morales was too old to hit Maidana with combinations half as intricate as he’d thrown a decade ago. But Morales still forced Maidana backwards and made the Argentine’s eyes grow with surprise and worry.

Maidana deserved to win for approaching the championship rounds with more self-belief than he deserved to carry charging after Morales reminding the crafty Mexican of the seven-year difference in their ages.

But Morales’ severe arrogance was not diminished. A half hour of combat with Maidana served only to remind him of his greatness.

Who were the winners Saturday? Maidana, for having his hand raised. Morales, for burnishing his legacy at age 34 in a way he could not at age 30. Morales’ generation of fighters, generally. And Manny Pacquiao, specifically.

If you did not watch Morales in his middle rounds with Maidana and think of Pacquiao, you were not watching creatively enough. Morales threw half as many punches at Maidana, coming off the ropes, as he’d thrown at Pacquiao. And Maidana retreated, held or pushed his head under Morales’ chin. One-one-two from Morales made Maidana pause. One-one-two, one-one-two from Morales made Pacquiao bang his hands together and hurl himself on Morales like a doberman on a t-bone. Pacquiao twice slashed to the canvas, at 130 pounds, a man Maidana could not affect at 140.

Let us have no more loose talk of greatness, then, about today’s junior welterweight division. They are a good if coddled lot. They are not worthy of comparisons to men like Morales, Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez or Marco Antonio Barrera.

They have dignity and heart, yes. But they do not have “dignidad y corazón” – not the way Morales used those words Saturday.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter: @bartbarry

IBF #6 ranked lightweight contender Vicente Escobedo is in Las Vegas, Nevada this weekend, taking in the anticipated Erik Morales-Marcos Maidana HBO Pay-Per-View event at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino tonight. Escobedo (23-3, 14 KOs) of Woodland, California is a knowledgeable observer, considering he fought both co-main event participants, Robert Guerrero and Michael Katsidis, and was in negotiations to fight Morales some time back. Escobedo, who was also presented with the Cinturon Tecate title for getting the most votes via text message during Telefutura Solo Boxeo telecasts as the boxer who displayed the most character, weighed in on both of tonight’s fights with 15rounds.com.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — Beloved Mexican boxing icon Erik Morales returns to Las Vegas as a long shot to knock off fearsome puncher Marcos Maidana with a vacant interim title at stake to headline an event dubbed ‘Action Heroes’ at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino tonight. Fighters for the HBO Pay-Per-View event weighed in Friday at the same venue where the fight will be taking place tonight.

The match-up has many questioning aloud Morales’ readiness for such stiff competition and worrying about his well-being. Morales (51-6, 35 KOs) of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico returned to the ring a year ago last March, and has scored three wins against mid-level opposition. Morales, the WBA #5 ranked light welterweight, won over the hearts of Mexican fans everywhere over his long career with his aggressive and fiery style. Though he is a classy boxer when he wishes to be, he has a penchant for trading once the action heats up and the crowd gets into it. It is a penchant that could get him in serious trouble tonight. Morales weighed in at 140 Friday, bearing no resemblance to the anorexic guy that used to make 122-pounds.

Maidana (29-2, 27 KOs) of Jose Leon Suarez, Buenos Aires, Argentina claimed the interim WBA title which is at stake tonight back in June of 2009 with an upset of Victor Ortiz and made three defenses before running into full champion Amir Khan last December. It is Maidana’s obscene knockout percentage that has many worried about Morales’ health. If there is one thing to pick out on Maidana’s resume that could give Morales supporters hope it would be the Argentine’s off night against DeMarcus Corley last August. Even though he won a clear decision, Maidana struggled with the classy boxer in a bout that went the full twelve. Maidana, the WBA #1 ranked light welterweight, weighed in at 140-pounds.

In the fight most insiders are predicting will steal the show, Robert Guerrero (28-1-1, 18 KOs) of Gilroy, California will take on Michael Katsidis (27-3, 22 KOs) of Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia in a twelve-rounder with two interim belts on the line.

Guerrero, the WBA #1/WBO #1/IBF #4 ranked lightweight, appears to be on the cusp of breaking through as a major player in the sport and an impressive victory over Katsidis would go a long way in making that happen. In Katsidis, the WBA #2/WBO #3 ranked 135-pounder, Guerrero has an adversary that could make for a thrilling war, which is the type of fight that could launch the Gilroy native into stardom. Guerrero claimed titles at featherweight and super feather before abdicating the latter title for a move up to 135-pounds a year ago. Guerrero came in at 134-pounds Friday.

Katsidis is a blood and guts warrior in the mold of the late Arturo Gatti. Katsidis, a former WBO Interim Lightweight titleholder, has tripped up at the elite level, but always given a good account of himself in those situations. Does Robert Guerrero represent the elite level of the sport? That is the question that will be answered tonight. Katsidis, who unveiled a beach bum character throughout fight week, donning sunglasses and suntan lotion on his nose, scaled 134 as well. If you try to keep on the crazy title belt situation, this fight is for both the WBO and WBA interim versions of the lightweight crown. Juan Manuel Marquez holds the more recognized versions of both those titles.

In his first test since regaining his freedom after a 17-month prison term, former rising star James Kirkland (27-0, 24 KOs) of Las Vegas take on former interim belt holder Nobuhiro Ishida (22-6-2, 7 KOs) of Osaka, Osaka, Japan in an eight-round middleweight attraction. Kirkland returned to action for the first time in two years just one month ago and has already scored two quick stoppage victories. However, the former junior middleweight contender did look rusty in his last outing on March 18th, which ultimately ended in the second round.

Ishida, who claimed the WBA Interim Light Middleweight title in 2009 before dropping it to Rigoberto Alvarez by split decision last October, does have a sizeable height and reach advantage over the power-punching Kirkland. The loss to Alvarez was Ishida’s only fight outside of Japan, and it was a loss. Kirkland, already the WBO #4 ranked middleweight, and Ishida, the WBA #4 ranked junior middle, both scaled 158-pounds Friday.

The always colorful Paul Malignaggi (28-4, 6 KOs) of Brooklyn, New York, who takes on Jose Miguel Cotto (32-2-1, 24 KOs) of Caguas, Puerto Rico in the ten-round pay-per-view opener, stole the show at Friday’s weigh-in, as came out painted up like a golden Green Lantern, spandex shorts and all. The former 140-pound title holder is now campaigning at welterweight and will take on the diminutive brother of Miguel Cotto in his second fight at the new weight class.

Cotto, who was underpowered as a lightweight title challenger, did rock current 154-pound titlist Saul Alvarez early in their meeting last May before succumbing to a ninth-round stoppage. Malignaggi has a history with the Cotto family, having fought Jose’s brother Miguel to a twelve-round decision defeat in a war back in 2006. Malignaggi, the IBF #11/WBO #12 ranked welter, and Cotto, the WBO #11 ranked light welterweight, both scaled the 147-pound welterweight limit Friday.

Fast-rising light welterweight contender Danny Garcia (20-0, 14 KOs) of Philadelphia Pennsylvania looks to embellish his reputation a victory over faded former unified lightweight champion Nate Campbell (33-7-1, 25 KOs) of Jacksonville, Florida in a ten-rounder that will be televised just before the pay-per-view hits the air at 6 o’clock.

Garcia has been on a knockout tear over the last year, most notably knocking out former title contender Mike Arnaoutis last October. Campbell retired after a shocking loss to journeyman Walter Estrada via split decision last November. Garcia is expected to get the victory, but a win over Campbell will look good on your resume nonetheless. Garcia, the WBC #9 ranked light welterweight, scaled 139, while Campbell came in at 140-pounds.

In the heavyweight attraction, former international amateur star Rakhim Chakhkiev (9-0, 7 KOs) of Hamburg, Germany by way of Tobolsk, Russia takes on journeyman Harvey Jolly (11-16-1, 6 KOs) of Adrian, Michigan. Chakhiev, who is apparently moving down to cruiserweight, weighed in at 203-pounds, as did Jolly.

In the scheduled curtain raiser, touted former amateur star Mikael Zewski (8-0, 5 KOs) of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada takes on west coast tough guy Clint Coronel (4-1-2, 1 KO) of San Jose, California in a six-round light middleweight fight. Zewski and Coronel both weighed in at 151-pounds.

2008 U.S. Olympian Gary Russell Jr. (14-0, 9 KOs) of Capitol Heights, Maryland was slated to fight on the free preview portion of the televised card, but had several opponents fall out before finally his bout was scratched. Russell was originally pegged to fight Ira Terry, and his replacement opponent Sherali Dostiev missed his flight to Las Vegas.

According to Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer, a late replacement opponent for undefeated Omar Figueroa (10-0, 8 KOs) of Weslaco, Texas that was matched late Thursday also missed his flight. Originally tabbed opponent John Figueroa fell out early Thursday.

Ivan Morales (9-0, 5 KOs) of Tijuana, a southpaw that bares a striking resemblance to his older brother Erik, never had an opponent scheduled and fell off of the card.

Tickets for the event, promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, Box Latino and Universum Box Promotions, are available online at Ticketmaster.com.

Quick Weigh-in Results:

WBA Interim Light Middleweight Championship, 12 rounds
Morales 140
Maidana 140

WBA Interim Lightweight Championship
WBO Interim Lightweight Championship, 12 Rounds
Guerrero 134
Katsidis 134

Middleweights, 8 Rounds
Kirkland 158
Ishida 158

Welterweights, 10 Rounds
Malignaggi 147
Cotto 147

Light Welterweights, 10 Rounds
Garcia 139
Campbell 140

Heavyweights, 4 Rounds
Chakhkiev 203
Jolly 203

Light Middleweights, 6 Rounds
Zewski 151
Coronel 151

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

Courtesy of fightpickexperts.com

Intrigue is attached to Marcos Maidana-Erik Morales, perhaps for debatable reasons in a fight that might be determined more by what each fighter can’t do rather than what they can.

By now, fears for Morales’ well-being are well-documented. Rival promoters, trainers and media have talked about their concerns, which – right or wrong – have helped sell the junior-welterweight fight Saturday night Las Vegas’ MGM Grand on an HBO pay-per-view card. A heightened sense of danger never fails to attract a crowd.

Morales is quick to say that he picked Maidana, who in fact was the first option after Juan Manuel Marquez said no. Nevertheless, Morales, who is about a year into his comeback, looks at Maidana and sees vulnerabilities.

I suspect that Morales is looking at the powerful son of an Argentine gaucho with the sharp eye of the insightful trainer he could be and should be. Maidana’s loaded war chest includes everything but a GPS. There aren’t many smart bombs in there.

Maidana says referee Joe Cortez allowed Amir Khan to survive a ferocious 10th round in Maidana’s loss on Dec. 11 in the Fight of the Year. He won’t have Cortez to blame Saturday night. Tony Weeks has the assignment.

But the referee could have been Barney Fife for all that it mattered against the courageous Khan. Maidana had only himself to blame. He simply didn’t know how to set up a fight-ending combination. Maidana’s last trainer, Miguel Diaz, suggested exactly that when he called the Argentine’s tactics in pursuit of the wounded Khan “disorganized.’’

Maidana’s lack of tactical focus, surely detected by Morales, appears to be the cumulative result of never one trainer long enough in his corner to direct, discipline and refine all of his evident talent. After 18 months with Diaz, he left the experienced corner man following the loss to Khan.

“I feel that I reached a point with Miguel where I wasn’t advancing anymore,’’ Maidana said. “I think that’s what happened to me in the Khan fight. I felt that I needed a change.’’

The change was supposed to include Nacho Beristain, Marquez’ longtime trainer in Mexico City.

“I was there in Mexico,’’ Maidana said. “I traveled to Mexico. We had an agreement. I was supposed to train with Beristain. As soon as I touched down in Mexico, Beristain informed us that he wasn’t going to be able to work with us, that Marquez pretty much prevented him from working with him, that Marquez made a comment that possibly down the line there could be a fight with Maidana.

“I think maybe he just got jealous and he didn’t want me to train with him.’’

Maybe.

A string of maybes in any corner often adds up to an incomplete fighter, a beatable one. I’m not sure Morales, now 34 and back after losing four straight before an abbreviated retirement, still has the physical wherewithal to beat him. The best of his Hall of Fame career appears to have been left in the ring against Marco Antonio Barrera and Manny Pacquiao.

Uncertainty in Maidana’s corner, however, creates a hedge, a reason to wonder whether Morales can in fact pull it off. Angered at Beristain’s sudden about-face, Maidana hired an able and experienced Rudy Perez. But there is no way to know whether the two can forge a working relationship within a few weeks. The corner shuffle had to cause some early confusion in Maidana’s approach to training camp.

“Yes, of course, I was upset,’’ Maidana said. “I was very upset. That’s something that’s very unprofessional. I was upset about it. But at the end of the day, there’s other trainers at the same level, if not better than Beristain. I think I found that in Rudy Perez. But, yes, I think it would bother anybody.’’
Bothered long enough perhaps for Morales to do what few think he can anymore.

“Look, he’s only been with Rudy Perez for a little bit of time,’’ Morales said. “It’s only been a few weeks. …It’s very clear to me what type of fighter I’m going to face. It’s going to be the same old Maidana. I don’t think that Rudy Perez can be a miracle worker.’’

The biggest miracle for Maidana might be a long-term trainer. Without one, his promising career might be remembered as disorganized, a puzzle full of unfulfilled potential.

Erik Morales has heard questions loaded with suggestions that he is damaged and in danger of permanent disability or worse when Marcos Maidana’s power figures to land with probability dictated by a record that includes 10 first-round knockouts and stoppages in 87.1 percent of his 31 fights.

Fear not, Morales says.

“I feel good,’’ Morales said this week at the end of a conference call 11 days before his April 9 date with Maidana at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand. “I feel calm.’’

The questions, he says, are coming from his former promoter, Fernando Beltran.

“It is a matter of revenge, because I am not with him anymore,’’ Morales said through an interpreter, Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker Eric Gomez. “I know Fernando Beltran is causing these problems.’’

At 33, Morales is still at an age when many are at the end of their prime, which means they are still capable in mind and body. Like so many Mexican fighters, however, it’s not the age so much as the record. They are kids, teenagers, when they begin a trade so often mastered in a perilous exchange built on the ability to set up a punch by enduring two, three and four. Morales was 16 when he answered his first pro bell, one of 57.

“I know I have been in some wars,’’ Morales said in a matter-of-fact tone with a comment that also is a matter-of-record, yet cuts both ways.

For him, the experience represents well-practiced skill, the knowhow to avoid power long enough to counter it and transform it into an advantage. But those wars aren’t video games. They come with a physical price, each tagged with the same question: How much is left? I have no doubt that Beltran is asking, again and again.

He wouldn’t be the first former promoter to do so and he won’t be the last. Maybe, he is motivated by reasons other than concern. Maybe not. But Beltran also is asking only what so many others have. Morales’ four fights, all defeats, before he left the sport after losing to David Diaz in 2008 were full of troubling signs. Two of them were to the undisputed best, Manny Pacquiao.

It was the second loss to Pacquiao in 2006 that left a moment impossible to forget. Morales was down in the third and final round. He looked up at his father and trainer, who urged him to get up and continue. Morales waved him off with a gloved right hand. It was as if he was saying good bye. No, no more. For one of the toughest fighters of his generation, it was a concession that his best days were over.

Perhaps, a flicker of what he once was will be there for what would be a significant upset of Maidana.

“I’m not old,’’ said Morales, who won three comeback fights in Mexico last year. “I just decided, at 30 years old, to take a little break.’’

In Maidana, Morales sees a flawed fighter. At 28, Morales would have beat him, no doubt. Five years later, however, there are doubts about whether the toll he paid in speed and reflexes against Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera left him with enough to match the knowhow, especially when Madaina’s shotgun style of power is unleashed. It’s one thing to know how to get out of the way. Doing it, however, is something altogether different.

According to Gomez, Morales passed a battery of medical tests in Mexico, including one administered in Mexico City by the same neurosurgeon who reportedly put a plate in Barrera’s skull in 1997 to correct a congenital condition, one not related to boxing.

What’s more, Morales believes he is stronger perhaps healthier than ever, in part because he doesn’t have to break himself down to make junior-welterweight, 140 pounds. At his featherweight prime, Morales often would step onto the scale at the official weigh-in looking as if he had starved himself. He was always as gaunt as a refugee. If you saw him a couple of months and several meals later, he was hard to recognize.

Maybe, the fears have been overstated. I can’t help but think of Evander Holyfield in 1996 before his first fight with Mike Tyson. From promoter to bookie to fan, the prevailing talk was that Holyfield was damaged. Few thought he could win. The better chance was that he would suffer serious injury.

Holyfield won.

Maybe, Morales will too.

In the meantime, however, I can’t help but wonder about the questions and worry about the result.

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that former Jr, Welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi will face Jose Cotto on April 9 as part of the Marcos Maidana – Erik Morales Pay Per View in Las Vegas.

“I think it’s a good opportunity. It’s a logical next step up in level of opponent for me at welterweight,” Malignaggi told ESPN.com on Monday night. “It’s a great opportunity to be showcased on a card like this. It’ll give me some good TV exposure. I’m very happy with the progress I’m making and this is the next step to get back up the ladder. It’s a good fight for me. Las Vegas, MGM Grand, HBO PPV. I’m excited. How could I not be?”

“Cotto is an action fighter. He comes to fight, he comes forward,” Golden Boy promoter Richard Schaefer said. “This is a big opportunity for him to be in Las Vegas and on pay-per-view again against Paulie Malignaggi. He feels it is a very winnable fight and he is convinced he will win. For Malignaggi, he’s been a champion at 140 pounds. Now he wants to make a name for himself at 147.”

“I really don’t think about that too much, but I guess when you do think about it, that factors into it,” Malignaggi said. “I fought Miguel Cotto, now I’m fighting Jose Miguel Cotto. They’re brothers, but I fought the better Cotto back in 2006. But having fought a Cotto, I know you have to come prepared. Jose Miguel Cotto may not have the resume of his brother, but he’s a good fighter. Both of his losses (to Alvarez and a lightweight title bout to Juan Diaz in 2006) came to name fighters. Both of our records have losses that have come only to name fighters. He’s always solid, always gives his best. But he’s a guy, if I am going to make my way back up the boxing ladder, he’s a guy I’m supposed to beat. He’s a guy I should beat pretty handily. I shouldn’t have a competitive fight with Jose Miguel Cotto in my eyes.”

“Following his loss to Khan, Paulie wanted to move up to welterweight. He felt it was time to see what he can do at 147 pounds,” Schaefer said. “He’s a very talented fighter. He’s a very good boxer, but not known as a knockout puncher. But to move up to 147 and the first guy he fights, he not only wins, he knocks him out. I have to say I was pretty impressed. It was a great first impression at 147 and first impressions count. I was impressed with that performance. So here he goes again at 147 against Cotto, a fighter who [Alvarez] had a little bit of trouble with.”

Former Unified lightweight champion of the world Nate “The Galaxxy Warrior” Campbell has confirmed that he has singed a contract to face tough Philly fighter Danny Garcia 20-0(14KO) on April 9th on the great undercard of the Marcos Maidana vs Erik Morales card. This card is shaping up to be one of the best undercards of the year so far with Paul Malignaggi facing Jose Miguel Cotto, Robert Guerrero vs Michael Katsidis and top middleweight prospect James Kirkland making his post prison return.

Dan Rafael of espn.com reported that former Jr. Middleweight champion Winky Wright injured his hand and his bout with Matthew Macklin is off the April 9 Pay Per View that will be headlined by Erik Morales and Marcos Maidana.

“I hurt my hand sparring, so I’m not going to be able to fight,” said Wright, who added that he was at the doctor’s office and just about to meet with him.

Wright said he injured his left hand during a sparring session with welterweight prospect Keith Thurman on Thursday.

“I hit him on top of the head or on his elbow and I hurt the hand, but I kept working with it,” Wright said. “And then I did it again and I had to shake it off. My hand swelled up a little bit. I went to get it checked out [on Friday]. It ain’t fractured, but it’s pretty sore and swollen and the doctor said wait about a week and then we’ll see. But I’m near the end of my career. I can’t go into the fight not at 100 percent. I can’t be going in there with a hurt hand and half-trained. I want to go in there and show people I can be a champion and look good. If I lose a week, that’s a problem. So I figured let’s call it now and at least give Golden Boy a chance to get another fight.

“I know if I am out a week or two, I won’t be ready for the fight. The important thing is to be healthy when I get in the ring. I was looking forward to a good fight. This is a little setback, but this ain’t gonna stop me. This train is going to keep on moving.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com former three time world champion Erik Morales will takes on Marcos Maidana to headline an HBO PPV card on April 9 in Las Vegas.

“I got the ‘Fight Freak’ card done,” Said Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions, referring to the hardcore boxing fans he hopes to please with the lineup. “Everything is locked in.”

The other televised bouts on the show:

• Robert Guerrero, a former featherweight and junior lightweight titlist, and Australian action star Michael Katsidis will meet in the co-feature matching lightweight contenders.

• Middleweight Winky Wright will face Matthew Macklin of Great Britain in a previously announced bout.

• Junior middleweight James Kirkland, one of boxing’s hottest rising stars before his career was sidetracked by an 18-month prison stint, will open the card against an opponent to be named. Kirkland’s fight is contingent upon winning and not being injured in a fight scheduled for March 5, his first fight since being released from a halfway house where he recently completed his sentence.

“I can tell you what Erik Morales said to me, that he feels like this is an early Christmas present,” Schaefer said. “It’s really the fight he wants. He feels that he has the style to beat Maidana and he feels with Maidana, he is taking on the most dangerous 140-pounder. He said, ‘I don’t want to just do a fight. I want to do a fight where a win will take me back to where I was.’ I agree with Erik that a win against Maidana will do exactly that. Maidana is one of the most credible 140-pounders and an exciting fighter. Most people rank him third in the division [behind Timothy Bradley Jr. and Khan].”

“He and his father were begging us for this fight,” Schaefer said. “He did take some time off and there is a history of fighters who took time off and came back and did write another chapter in the career, and not only pick up where they left off but go to bigger heights.

“Erik has had three fights [on his comeback], not against the easiest opponents, but not against the toughest opponents. But that shows how serious he is about his comeback. Each opponent was a gradual step up and it allowed him to measure where he stands. I’m happy for him that we were able to deliver that early Christmas gift to him. Not many fighters would sign up to fight Maidana.”

“It’s one of the most exciting fights one can make in boxing and I’m really looking forward to it,” Schaefer said. “Helluva fight. The winner will come out as a major guy.”

When touching on the Wright-Macklin fight, Schaefer said “There’s a lot at stake for both guys,”

“James Kirkland will open up the show,” Schaefer said. “The plan is that we have James fighting on March 5 in a non-televised bout and then he’ll come back on April 9 on the opening bout of the pay-per-view.”

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that former Jr. Middleweight champion Winky Wright will return after more then two years out of the ring on April 9 on the televised undercard of a proposed lightweight title fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales.

“The winner clearly is set up for a middleweight world championship fight,” said Golden Boy Promotions Schaefer said. “For each guy this is an extremely important fight.”

“We are meeting this week with Marquez,” Schaefer said. “We met late last week with Morales, and he is on board. He wants to do this fight. Now we’re going to meet with Juan Manuel and work things out with him and get him on board. What we want to do is put together another ‘Fight Freak’ card with great fights, entertaining fights and fights where there is a storyline behind it.”

“We are meeting this week with Marquez,” Schaefer said. “We met late last week with Morales, and he is on board. He wants to do this fight. Now we’re going to meet with Juan Manuel and work things out with him and get him on board. What we want to do is put together another ‘Fight Freak’ card with great fights, entertaining fights and fights where there is a storyline behind it.”

Schaefer was hoping to finalize a lightweight bout between top contenders Robert Guerrero and Australia’s Michael Katsidis for a March 5 HBO card headlined by junior middleweight Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who will probably face Matthew Hatton, the younger brother of former junior welterweight champ Ricky Hatton. However, Schaefer said Katsidis told him he would be unavailable for March 5 because of the massive flooding near his home in Australia.

“The floods have really affected him,” Schaefer said. “His focus and his mind aren’t there. He won’t be mentally ready. He said the floods are absolutely devastating. So we will see if he will be ready for a month later.”

Another fight Schaefer mentioned for the pay-per-view is a lightweight bout involving Jason Litzau, who is coming off a major upset of Celestino Caballero in November. Schaefer said he has talked to Square Ring CEO John Writ, Litzau’s promoter, about Litzau facing either Golden Boy blue chip lightweight prospect Adrien Broner or former junior featherweight titlist Daniel Ponce De Leon, a featherweight contender who would move up to junior lightweight.

“It would be a big step up for Broner, but we believe he is ready,” Schaefer said of the 21-year-old from Cincinnati, who scored a first-round knockout on Saturday. “I think Adrien is one of most exciting young fighters in boxing. We spoke to Writ and made an offer. Whatever fights we make for the April 9 card, we’re going to make some great fights. I am really pumped.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, This Saturday’s Lightweight bout between former world champions Erik Morales and Jorge Barrios will need a change of opponents due to Barrios not being able to travel outside of Argentina due to a previous legal problem.

In January, Barrios was involved in a car accident in which a pregnant woman was killed, which led to a lengthy court case. Barrios was eventually exonerated and resumed his career after an 11-month layoff in October.

According to Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker Eric Gomez, “about a month ago he got the green light to travel” for the Morales fight. “The judge approved Barrios to travel and everything was fine,” Gomez said. “He was supposed to pick up the special travel permit on Monday and then travel on Tuesday.”

However, Gomez said he was told by Mario Arano, the promoter from Argentina who is Golden Boy’s partner on Barrios, that the family of the woman who had been killed had gone to court seeking to reopen the case and wanted to stop him from leaving the country.

Gomez said that Arano told him that during a hearing on Monday, the judge told Barrios she would need some time to review the case. The judge was a different judge than one originally assigned to the case because that judge was on vacation, Gomez said.

“The judge made a remark and said she needed some time and I guess the attorney [for Barrios] snapped at her that the decision had already been made by the other judge,” Gomez said. “She got upset and said, ‘It’s my decision now.’

“After a recess, [the judge] said it was not a good idea for Barrios to travel and she denied it. Barrios is appealing, but there’s no time. The original judge was on early holiday and gone for the rest of the month,” Gomez said.

Gomez said the two leading possibilities are former world title challenger Francisco Lorenzo (35-8, 16 KOs) of the Dominican Republic and David Rodela (15-3-3, 6 KOs) of Oxnard, Calif., who is promoted by Golden Boy.

“Rodela has accepted the fight and we’re waiting to see about Lorenzo. He has a similar style to Barrios,” Gomez said. “Erik said he would talk to his dad about it and look at some film.”

Mexican icon Erik Morales did not dare disappoint the crowd of over 50,000 on hand at the Monumental Plaza de Toros in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico celebrating in advance of Mexican Independence Day Saturday night, as he stopped Willie Limond in six rounds to notch his 50th career victory. Just two fights into his comeback, Morales seems to have shaken off much of the rust left from his retirement.

Limond (33-3, 8 KOs) of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom got off to a solid start. Limond, 143, showed solid defense as he blocked and parried a fair amount of the Morales, 143, offense for the first two rounds. While Limond may have been the naturally bigger guy, his eight kayos indicate that he is not much of a puncher. Morales (50-6, 35 KOs) of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico was the heavy hitter in the fight, and that became clear as the fight progressed.

By the fourth round, Morales was asserting himself in the fight. Whereas Limond returned fire on even ground for the first few rounds, he was left defensive against Morales’ offensive pressure as the bout moved into the fifth round. In the sixth, Morales broke through with a vicious body shot that dropped Limond. While the Scot was clearly in pain, he was able to muster the energy to angrily punch the ground while taking referee Jay Nady’s count. Before the conclusion of the round, Morales dropped Limond twice more prompting the stoppage at 2:46 of the sixth.

Strangely, even though both fighters weighed in at the contracted 143-pounds, it was announced that the bout was for the WBC Silver Light Welterweight title. The light welterweight division limit, or super lightweight as the WBC calls it, is 140-pounds. Maybe even stranger, the WBC issued a press release earlier in the month that if Morales, the WBC #2 ranked light welterweight, defeated Limond, the Mexican legend would be made the mandatory challenger for the WBC Lightweight title. Morales has not made the lightweight limit of 135-pounds since August of 2007.

After the fight, Morales clearly stated his desire to campaign at lightweight. Looking ahead for Morales, the current WBC Lightweight Champion is Humberto Soto, who fights unheralded Fidel Monterrosa Munoz on September 18th in Mexico. Reportedly, Soto has a title defense against Marco Antonio Barrera in the offing. Should Barrera defeat Soto, it goes without saying that a Barrera-Morales IV would be the biggest fight either fighter’s handlers could make.

In a thrilling fight, WBC #1 ranked flyweight/IBF #5 108-pounder Edgar Sosa (40-6, 23 KOs) of Mexico City stopped game Filipino Ryan Bito (18-7-3, 6 KOs) of Sucat, Muntinlupa City, Philippines to win the WBC International Flyweight title.

Bito, the WBC #16 ranked flyweight, fought on even ground with Sosa, 111.76, early on in the bout, but eventually wilted to the Mexican’s vicious attack. Sosa supporters had reason to worry early on, as an accidental head clash opened a cut on his forehead in the third round. The blood seemed to give Bito, 110.26, additional confidence, as he landed several hard shots in the third and fourth.

Another accidental clash late in the fourth opened another cut on Sosa’s forehead late in the fourth. With two bad cuts bleeding steadily before the fight had gone long enough to become official, the bout was in danger of being stopped as a no contest. Especially considering Bito, fighting in North America for the first time, was having considerable success – it would not have been a surprise if the Mexican official stopped the fight at that convenient juncture.

Just as it seemed Sosa was in trouble, he rocked Bito just before the bell to end the fourth. As the fight entered into the middle rounds and the blood coming from his cuts stopped flowing, Sosa began to control the action. Sosa, in his third fight as a flyweight since dropping his WBC 108-pound title in controversial fashion to Rodel Mayol, varied his attack to Bito’s body and head, and started backing up the Filipino.

One minute into the tenth, Sosa dropped Bito with a horrid left body shot. Bito looked done, but gamely rose to his feet, and immediately entered into a fiery exchange with Sosa. A minute later, Sosa dropped Bito again with the same exact shot. Again Bito got up before the count of ten, but referee Guadalupe Garcia wisely stopped the contest. Official time of the stoppage was 2:05 of round ten. “I’d like to have one more fight before I fight for the title,” said Sosa after the fight.

Ana Maria Torres (22-3-2, 13 KOs) of Mexico City pleased her compatriots on hand at the bullring with an almost shockingly dominant ten-round unanimous decision over Alesia Graf (24-2, 9 KOs) of Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany to retain her WBC Super Flyweight title. Torres, 114.4, dropped Graf, 114.4, twice in the third round and continued to control the entire fight. Graf, the reigning WIBF/GBU 122-pound title-holder, not only had the superior boxing skills of Torres to deal with, she slipped at several instances on the rain dampened mat. Torres seemed on the verge of scoring a stoppage in the ninth, but Graf managed to make it the distance. All three judges scored the bout for Torres, 100-88.

Photos by Notimex

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

CLICK TO ORDER THE FIGHT
Quotes of Note
Eric Morales: “I’m very happy to interact with the people once again, something I have not done since 2002 when I was promoting fights in the United States. I thought it was beautiful that they played “Las Mañanitas” for me. Winning a world title in my fourth division is my objective. I work hard to be able to do it, but everything is little by little to get to the fourth world title. There have been talks with the people from Golden Boy Promotions about a fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.”

Edgar Sosa: “I am bound step by step towards the flyweight title. I feel great physically and energetically. It is always great to interact up close with the fans that support us. Each day I feel like I am in better physical condition for the great Bicentennial Gala. I have not abandoned my dream of fighting for the WBC World Flyweight title, currently held by Pongsakiek Wonjongkam of Thailand, but what is important right now is to only think about his battle with Ryan Bito.”

MORALES-LIMOND PPV FACT SHEET

WBC INTERCONTINENTAL WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
MAIN EVENT – 12 ROUNDS
ERIK “Terrible” MORALES WILLIE “Hands of Steel” LIMOND
Former 3-Division World Champion WBU Lightweight Champion
WBC #2 & WBA #6 Former British Empire Champion
Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
49-6 (34 KOs) 33-2 (8 KOs)
WBA INTERNATIONAL FLYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
CO-FEATURE – 12 ROUNDS
EDGAR SOSA RYAN BITO
Former WBC Flyweight Champion/IBF #6 WBC International Flyweight Champion
Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Metro Manila, Philippines
39-6 (23 KOs) 18-6-3 (6 KOs)
WBC SUPER FLYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
10 ROUNDS
ANN MARIE “La Guerrera” TORRES ALESIA “The Tigress” GRAF
WBC Female Super Flyweight Champion WIBF & GBU Super Flyweight Champion
Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
21-3-2, 13 KOs 24-1 (9 KOs)

Plus other exciting fights pending time availability…..

(all fights and fighters subject to change)

WHAT: “Mexican Fiesta” PPV

WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010 – 9 PM/ET, 6 PM/PT

WHERE: Mexico City, Mexico

PROMOTER: Grupo Empresarial Matiz

PAY-PER-VIEW INFORMATION: Distributed in the United States by Integrated Sports Media for live viewing at 9 PM/ET – 6 PM/PT on both cable and satellite pay-per-view for a suggested retail price of only $29.95.

PAY-PER-VIEW ANNOUNCERS: World Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Col. Bob Sheridan (blow-by-blow) and former NFL player and veteran boxing announcer Benny Ricardo (color analyst).

INFORMATION: www.integratedsportsnet.com

Integrated Sports Media: North America’s leading distributor of International Pay-Per-View and Closed Circuit sports events has presented World Championship and world-class boxing matches featuring Erik Morales, Vitali Klitschko, Ricky Hatton, Cristian Mijares, Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones, Jr., Tomasz Adamek, Ivan Calderon, Rocky Martinez, Nicolai Valuev, Amir Khan, Marco Antonio Barrera, Arthur Abraham, David Haye, John Ruiz, Wilfredo Vasquez, Jr. and Ruslan Chagaev. In addition, Integrated Sports Media distributed numerous International soccer matches showcasing teams like Real Madrid, Club America of Mexico and the National Teams of Argentina, Honduras, El Salvador and the USA, as well as World Championship and world-class mixed martial arts shows featuring Fedor Emelianenko, Tim Sylvia, Bobby Lashley, Bob Sapp, Jeff Monson, and Roy Nelson. For more information on upcoming Integrated Sports events visit www.integratedsportsnet.com .

CLICK TO ORDER THE FIGHT
HOBOKEN, N.J. (Sept. 1, 2010) – Scotsman Willie “Hands of Steel” Limond, WBU Lightweight Champion, will be a plaid matador to Mexican bull — 5-time world champion in three different weight classes, Erik “Terrible” Morales — in their September 11 showdown that headlines the “Mexican Fiesta” Pay-Per-View show live from Mexico City.

“”I know this is going to be a hard fight,” Limond said, “but I’m hoping to take the bull by the horns and put on a great performance for the fans in Mexico, USA and my Scottish fans back home.”

Limond (33-2, 8 KOs) will be fighting for the first time outside of the United Kingdom against living legend Morales (49-6, 34 KOs), rated No. 2 by the World Boxing Council, in an outdoor bull ring, Plazo de Toros, which is being set-up to seat 54,000 for “Mexican Fiesta.” Morales, who is the last to defeat the great Manny Pacquiao, will be shooting for his 50th career win in the 12-round main event.

“Fighting Morales anywhere is a hard fight but to fight him on Mexican Independence Day makes it even harder,” Limond noted. “The man is one of my heroes. It will be an honor to share the ring with him and I’m hoping I can spoil the party.

“He has tons of experience, more knockouts than I have fights, and he is still a very dangerous fighter. If I were to win this fight it would be the highlight of my career and I think it could open major doors for big fights.”

“Mexican Fiesta,” presented by Grupo Empresarial Matiz, is being distributed in the United States by Integrated Sports Media for live viewing at 9 PM/ET – 6 PM/PT on both cable and satellite pay-per-view for a suggested retail price of only $29.95.

Limond nearly had his breakthrough fight in 2007, when he floored Olympic silver medallist Amir Khan, but Willie was unable to continue the fight after eight rounds, in which Khan took Limond’s British Empire belt. Limond has won his last five fights since losing to Khan.

“I have quite a fan-base in Scotland,” he added, “so a victory would be a massive thing for the Scots. I think it would go down in Scottish history as a great win for a Scottish fighter.”

Former WBC Light Flyweight Champion Edgar Sosa (39-6, 23 KOs) challenges WBC International Flyweight Champion Ryan Bito (18-6-3, 6 KOs), representing the Philapines, in the 12-round co-feature on the “Mexican Fiesta” PPV card..

In a female super flyweight battle of champions, WBC titlist Ann Marie “La Guerrera” Torres (21-3-2, 13 KOs), of Mexico, defends her belt against WIBF and GBU champion Alesia “The Tigress” Graf (25-1, 9 KOs), of Germany, in a 10-round title bout.

Other exciting bouts will be shown, pending time availability, on the “Mexican Fiesta” PPV show.

For more information about the Morales-Limond PPV event go to www.integratedsportsnet.com.

Integrated Sports Media: North America’s leading distributor of International Pay-Per-View and Closed Circuit sports events has presented World Championship and world-class boxing matches featuring Erik Morales, Vitali Klitschko, Ricky Hatton, Cristian Mijares, Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones, Jr., Tomasz Adamek, Ivan Calderon, Rocky Martinez, Nicolai Valuev, Amir Khan, Marco Antonio Barrera, Arthur Abraham, David Haye, John Ruiz, Wilfredo Vasquez, Jr. and Ruslan Chagaev. In addition, Integrated Sports Media distributed numerous International soccer matches showcasing teams like Real Madrid, Club America of Mexico and the National Teams of Argentina, Honduras, El Salvador and the USA, as well as World Championship and world-class mixed martial arts shows featuring Fedor Emelianenko, Tim Sylvia, Bobby Lashley, Bob Sapp, Jeff Monson, and Roy Nelson. For more information on upcoming Integrated Sports events visit www.integratedsportsnet.com.

On Tuesday, Erik Morales and his team held a press conference to promote his September 11 bout with Willie Limond. While the fight will take place in Mexico City, Mexico, the press conference was held in Harrison, NJ at Red Bull Arena. 15Rounds.com was there to see what “El Terrible” had to say.

Part 2

Erik Morales: “I want to thank everyone who has supported us for this fight. I’m ready. I had a lot of preparation and I’m ready to fight again. I think two-and- a-half years of

rest were enough. I have a lot of energy and will go back in the ring with a high level.”

“I know I have a strong rival. It was motivating to train with great gusto and indeed everyone will see a big fight this Saturday at the Arena Monterrey.”

Jose Alfaro: “I’m calm, relaxed, and just waiting for the moment to show how I can fight. That’s what we used on my team and I hope everything goes well. Honestly, there is no pressure on me, just the desire to win. I think I’m with someone who was as great as Erik Morales, but beating someone like him will be an important part of my career.”

“Morales is the logical favorite because of his experience and victories over fighters like Manny Pacquiao. He had big fights with Marco Antonio Barrera and many more, but I come with the desire to succeed. I had sufficient time to prepare and you’ll see on Saturday.”

FACT SHEET

WHO: WBC INTERCONTINENTAL WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

MAIN EVENT – 12 ROUNDS

ERIK “El Terrible” MORALES JOSE “Jicaras” ALFARO

Former 3-Division World Champion Former WBA Lightweight Champion/WBC #13

Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico Nagarot, Nicaragua

48-6 (34 KOs) 23-5 (20 KOs)

WBA LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE ELIMINATOR

CO-FEATURE – 12 ROUNDS

HUGO HERNAN “Pigu” GARAY CHRIS “Hard Hittin’” HENRY

Former WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Former NABF, NABA, USNBC & IBA Intercontinental Champion

WBA #3/2000 Argentinean Olympian WBA #4

Tigre, Buenos Aires, Argentina Houston, Texas, USA

32-4 (17 KOs) 24-2 (19 KOs)

SPECIAL HEAVYWEIGHT ATTRACTION

10 ROUNDS

DAVID “Nino” RODRIGUEZ DANIEL BISPO

NABA Heavyweight Champion/WBA #13 1996 Brazilian Olympian

El Paso, Texas, USA Sao Paulo, Brazil

32-0 (30 KOs) 22-12 (16 KOs)

6 ROUNDS – LIGHT MIDDLEWEIGHTS

ABRAHAM “Abie” HAN ULISES “Tremendo” DUARTE

El Paso, Texas Tlalnepantla, Mexico

8-0 (7 KOs) 19-15 (17 KOs)

(all fights and fighters subject to change)

WHAT: “The Champion Returns” PPV

WHEN: Saturday, March 27, 2010 – 9 PM/ET 6 PM/PT

WHERE: Monterrey, Mexico

PROMOTER: KO Entertainment and Box Latino

PAY-PER-VIEW INFORMATION: Distributed in the United States by Integrated Sports Media for live viewing at 9 PM/ET – 6 PM/PT on both cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, DIRECTV, TVN and DISH Network, for a suggested retail price of only $29.95.

“The Champion Returns” PPV is also available on www.GoFightLive.TV outside of the United States and Mexico by clicking:

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=635

PAY-PER-VIEW ANNOUNCERS: World Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Col. Bob Sheridan (blow-by-blow) and former NFL player and veteran boxing announcer Benny Ricardo (color analyst).

INFORMATION: www.integratedsportsnet.com

TICKETS: Purchase at www.superboletos.com

Integrated Sports Media: North America’s leading distributor of International Pay-Per-View and Closed Circuit sports events has presented World Championship and world-class boxing matches featuring Ricky Hatton, Christian Mijares, Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones, Jr., Ivan Calderon, Rocky Martinez, Nicolai Valuev, Amir Kahn, Marco Antonio Barrera, Arthur Abraham, David Haye, John Ruiz, Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr., and Ruslan Chagaev. In addition, Integrated Sports Media distributed numerous International soccer matches showcasing teams like Club America of Mexico and the National Teams of Argentina, Honduras, El Salvador and the USA, as well as World Championship and world-class mixed martial arts shows featuring Fedor Emelianenko, Tim Sylvia, Bobby Lashley, Bob Sapp, Jeff Monson, and Roy Nelson. For more information on upcoming Integrated Sports events visit www.integratedsportsnet.com.

Morales: “Losing so much weight in recent months isn’t going to affect me. For two and one-half months we worked a lot on the technical issues but we also made the best effort trying to achieve peak physical condition. I also mean that I was six months into the plan to establish a steady weight loss and here are the results. We planned to work hard to get into top form and I reached it.”

Morales: “This is a good match against Alfaro. We know that he is very strong, but that’s why we wanted to fight someone like him. I will not defraud anyone, let alone myself, and this is the optimal test. I will be the strongest, smartest and most experienced in the ring against Alfaro.”

WHAT: “The Champion Returns” PPV

WHEN: Saturday, March 27, 2010 – 9 PM/ET 6 PM/PT

WHERE: Monterrey, Mexico

PROMOTER: KO Entertainment and Box Latino

“The Champion Returns” PPV is also available on www.GoFightLive.TV outside of the United States and Mexico by clicking

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=635

INFORMATION: www.integratedsportsnet.com

TICKETS: Purchase at www.superboletos.com

NEW YORK (March 22, 2010)—This coming weekend will be one of the biggest boxing weekends on www.gofightlive.tv as four big events will be streamed on the world’s number-one live Boxing website.

The action begins on Thursday as Pound for Pound Promotions presents a big night of boxing in North Bergen, New Jersey that will feature some of the best prospects on the east coast.

Friday night will head a few miles south down the Jersey Turnpike as Nedal Promotions will showcase three big main events that includes former contestant of The Contender Season I, Ahmed “Baby Face” Kaddour, former world title challenger Omar Sheika as well as former U.S. Olympian Terrence the Heat Cauthen.

The action continues on Saturday with two big shows in the countries that border North America.

“The Champion Returns” feating former three-division world champion, Erik “El Terrible” Morales battles former world champion Jose Alfaro.

Also on the card will be a much anticipated Light Heavyweight elimination bout between Hugo Garay and Chris Henry.

One more show will round out the weekend and it will take place north of the border as former IBF Jr. Featherweight champion, Steve “The Canadian Kid” Molitor battles Takelani Ndlovu in a rematch for that very same world title.

POUND FOR POUND PROMOTIONS—MARCH BADNESS

This show from North Bergen, New Jersey is a big eight bout card that will be headlined by Danny “Little Mac” McDermott battling Brian Miller in an eight round Lightweight fight.

In the main event, Danny “Little Mac” McDermott (8-1-1, 3 KO’s) takes on undefeated Brian Miller (7-0-3, 3 KO’s)

McDermott of Jersey City, NJ is a very popular Lightweight and will be looking for his fifth consecutive win and is coming off a very impressive second round stoppage over Floriano Pagliara back on May 7th.

Miller of is just twenty-four years old and is taking a step up in competition as this will be good test for the Schenectady, New York native.

One result that stands out for Miller was his four round draw with then nine fight veteran, Ryan Belasco in Belasco’s backyard when Miller was in his third fight.

Five undefeated fighters plus some local favorites round out the undercard as Lightweight, Christan Martinez (2-0, 2 KO’s) will take on debuting Hector Collado in a Lightweight bout.

Jr. Middleweight, Steven Martinez (3-0, 3 KO’s) will look to stay perfect in a four round bout against Michael Ransome.

Super Middleweight, Jason Escalera (7-0, 6 KO’s) will look to start a new knockout streak when he takes on Jesus Torres (5-0-1, 4 KO’s) in a battle of undefeated knockout artists.

Exciting cruiserweight, Patrick Farrell (5-0, 3 KO’s) will battle Chris Stallworth (9-2, 3 KO’s).

Plus Chris Green, Abrham Torres and Eilon Kadem will fight in separate bouts

To order for just $5.99, Click:

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=658

NOTE—THIS IS NOT A LIVE EVENT

NEDAL PROMOTIONS—FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS

In one co-feature, Sheika of nearby Paterson, New Jersey will battle Philly slugger, Garrett Wilson.

Sheika has a record of 28-9 with nineteen knockouts and is looking for one more big run as he is now campaigning in the Light Heavyweight division.

The thirty-three year old Sheika won his first fourteen bouts as he became a fan favorite by appearing on many nationally televised shows. After suffering his first loss, Sheika racked up six impressive wins in a row that included victories over two world champions in Simon Brown and Glen Johnson. Those wins catapulted Sheika into his first world title bout where he was stopped in five by the legendary Joe Calzaghe.

After the Calzaghe fight, Sheika went 3-1 and earned a shot at WBC champion Eric Lucas. Sheika dropped the unanimous decision and then went on two lose his two successive bouts.

Sheika went on a three fight winning streak to set up a shot at IBF champion Jeff Lacy. Sheika fought very well before dropping the unanimous decision (Sheika lost by just two points on two cards). That fight earned a trip to Germany and a fight with WBC Markus Beyer.

One again, Sheika came up just short and dropped a very close unanimous decision.

Since that fight, Sheika has gone 2-1 with the lone defeating being a stoppage loss to the great Roy Jones Jr. In his last bout, Sheika stopped Theo Kruger in eight rounds on Septermber 23rd in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Wilson has a record of 7-3 with two wins coming back knockout.

Wilson has been in tough and is known for always giving his all and all three of his losses have come to opponents have had a record of 24-1 at the times of the bouts.

Wilson has never been stopped and that includes his last bout when he dropped a six round unanimous decision to former Puerto Rican Olympian, Carlos Negron on January 23rd in Madison Square Garden.

In the second co-feature, former star of The Contender Season 1, Ahmed “Baby Face” Kaddour will battle underappreciated Jerome Ellis in a Jr. Middleweight bout scheduled for eight founds..

Kaddour is of Lebanese decent and spent time in Demark, Houston and has been training in New Jersey for this fight and he will bring in a record of 21-2 with nine knockouts.

Kaddour very quietly built up a record of 18-0 with nine knockouts before being picked for the Inaugural season of The Contender.

On the show, Kaddour showed an outgoing personality and quickly gained fans worldwide.

Unfortunately, Kaddour dropped his only fight on the show when he lost a unanimous decision to Ishe Smith (13-0). Kaddour came back on the show and dropped a five round unanimous decision to future Welterweight title challenger Alfonso Gomez (11-2-1).

Since the show, Kaddour’s career has been littered with inactivity as he has only fought four times in almost six years.

Kaddour won a eight round unanimous decision over Maxell Taylor (12-1) as part of the popular SHO Box series.

After a fourteen month layoff, Kaddour fought to a disputed draw with Jesus Valverde and just two months later he took an eight round split decision in the rematch.

Then after almost a three year break, Kaddour came back scored six round unanimous decision to Mike Ermis (6-7-2) last September 12th in Denmark.

Kadoour will be taking on the tough Jerome Ellis.

Ellis has a record of 12-10-2 with ten knockouts and like Medina, he has fought some very tough competition.

Ellis won his first five fights (including a split decision over Ed Peredes, who is now 24-3). Ellis then dropped two in a row which included a unanimous decision to then 14-2 Said Ouali.

After a 2-0-1 stretch, the native of Coconut Creek, FL lost to then hot prospect Anthiny Thompson (17-1) by unanimous decision. Ellis then scored an eighth round stoppage over Kevin Cagle (16-1) before dropping a six round unanimous decision to Irving Garcia (10-2).

Ellis scored three straight wins including upset stoppages over Felix Cepeda (7-0) and Neil Sinclair (28-4).

Ellis stepped up the competition as he has gone 1-6-1 in his last eight with some of those losses being to Future Middleweight title challenger Billy Lyell, Future Welterweight title challenger Miguel Angel Rodriguez (28-2); then undefeated prospect Henry Crawford (18-0-1); Hot welterweight prospect Antowne Smith (12-0-1). Ellis has a draw with welterweight contender Richard Gutierrez (24-2.) in Ellis last outing, he was stopped by hot prospect Shawn Porter (10-0) in four rounds on November 21st in Tunica, Mississippi

In the third eight round co-feature, Terrance “The Heat” Cauthen of nearby Trenton, New Jersey will battle Isam Khalil of Sweden.

Cauthen is a former U.S Olympian who has had a solid career fighting some of the better welterweights in the world and sports a record of 33-6 with nine knockouts.

Cauthen, a fourteen year pro started his career by winning fourteen consecutive bouts before being stopped by Teddy Reid on August 6th, 1999.

That did not deter Cauthen as he then went on to reel off eleven more victories to push his record to an impressive 25-1.

Cauthn then stepped it up and dropped two in a row including losing a decision to pound for pound resident Paul Williams.

Cauthen then went 6-0-1 including win over former U.S. Olympian Dante Craig.

He has gone 1-3 in his last four bouts as he has been in with Sechew Powell (21-1); Cauthen then defeated undefeated Alexis Camacho (16-0); but losses to Shamone Alvarez (19-1) and his most recent fight, which he was stopped by undefeated Canadian Antonin DeCarie (21-0) last October 3rd in Montreal.

This will be a huge step up for Khalil, who has an impressive record of 15-1-2 with nine knockouts.

He was undefeated in his first fifteen fights (13-0-2) until he was stopped in four rounds by rugged Doel Carrasquillo.

Since then, Khalil has won two in a row including a four round unanimous decision over Serjejs Savrinovics on March 27th, 2008 in Sweden.

This will be Khalil’s fourth fight in America after fighting in Sweden, England, Hungary, Germany, Finland and Spain.

There will be five other big bouts on this LIVE telecast which will feature undefeated Light Heavyweight Billy Salser in a four round bout

TO ORDER THIS EVENT LIVE, CLICK

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=637

THE CHAMPION RETURNS—ERIK MORALES VS JOSE ALFARO

HOBOKEN, N.J. (Mar. 22, 2010) – After 2 ½ months of intense training, 3-division world champion Erik “El Terrible” Morales, is ready for his comeback fight Saturday in “The Champion Returns” pay-per-view event, live from Monterrey, Mexico.

Morales (48-6, 34 KOs) has been retired for the past 2 ½ years. The iconic Mexican warrior returns to the ring on a mission to become the first Mexican world champion in four different weight classes. Saturday night in the 12-round main event, Morales takes on former WBA lightweight champion Jose “Jicaras” Alfaro (23-5, 20 KOs), for the vacant WBC Intercontinental welterweight crown.

“I’m happy to be here (in Monterrey) and completely ready to face Alfaro,” Morales said. “Fans will see a different Erik Morales than in my last few fights because now I’m hungry to win this fight and go on towards winning a world title in my fourth division. I want to prove to everyone watching that all of the hard work in training camp will result in a great performance in my return to the ring.”

Morales, the last opponent to defeat Manny Pacquiao, has also beaten Marco Antonio Barrera, Pauli Ayala, Wayne McCullough, Junior Jones, Carlos Hernandez, Jesus Chavez, Guty Espadas, Jr. (twice), Daniel Zaragoza and Kevin Kelly.

In the 12-round co-feature, former 2-time WBA light heavyweight champion Hugo Hernan “Pigu” Garay (32-4, 17 KOs), rated No. 3 by the WBA, faces WBA No. 4 rated Chris “Hard Hittin’” Henry (24-2, 19 KOs) in the WBA Light Heavyweight Eliminator.

Top contender Denver Cuello (19-2-5, 10) meets No. 2 Juan “Churritos” Hernandez (15-1, 12 KOs) in the 12-round WBC Interim Strawweight title fight, while El Paso’s undefeated NABA title-holder David “Nino” Rodriguez (32-0, 30 KOs) and 1996 Brazilian Olympian Daniel Bispo (22-12, 16 KOs) battle in a 10-round Special Heavyweight Attraction.

TO ORDER THIS EVENT, CLICK

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=635

RUMBLE AT RAMA XI—MOLIROR VS NDLOVU II

Live from Casino Rama in Canada, Former IBF Jr. Featherweight champion, Steve Molitor looks to regain the title he lost sixteen months ago when he was knocked out by Celestino Caballero when he takes on tough South African, Takelani Ndlovu.

Molitor got back on the preverbal horse and promptly won three straight fights and is now in position to win back that belt.

Molitor, 31-1 with twelve knockouts has become a fan favorite and will be making his tenth straight appearance at Casino Rama where he made five defenses of his crown before being stopped by Caballero.

His first title defense came against Ndlovu.

Ndlovu has a record of 30-5 with eighteen knockouts and has won two straight, which includes his last fight where he won a tough twelve round unanimous decision over Kiko Martinez on September 25th in South Africa.

Ndlovu has a couple of real good wins on his docier which includes a twelve round unanimous decision over then 32-2 Ricardo Castillo.

In a co-feature, Canadian ladies favorite Lisa Brown (16-4-3, 5 KO’s) takes on Ana Julaton (6-1-1, 1 KO)

Brown is a ten year veteran and has fought all of the top girls in the lower weight divisions. And even went the distance with woman’s pound for pound enteant, Mellissa Ernandez.

Julaton is widely popular in both her home area of Daly City, California and her native Philippines where she has captured the imagination of that boxing hotbed.

She is the current WBO champion as she defeated Donna Biggers in a thrilling ten round fight back on December 4th in San Jose, California.

She will look to add the WBA hardware to her trophy case and in the process try to thrill fans in a third country.

There will also be an interesting Heavyweight clash between Polish star Greg Kielsa (11-0, 5 KO’s) against a man who has the same exact record in Neven Pajik.

HOBOKEN, N.J. (Mar. 17, 2010) – Three-division world champion Erik “El Terrible” Morales, the last opponent to defeat Manny Pacquiao, returns from a 2 1/2-year layoff March 27 to headline “The Champion Returns” pay-per-view event, live from Monterrey, Mexico.

Morales (48-6, 34 KOs) may have his sights set on a fourth fight against Pacquaio in the not too distant future, but the iconic Mexican warrior must first get past former WBA lightweight champion and Nicaraguan KO specialist, Jose “Jicaras” Alfaro (23-5, 20 KOs), Mar. 27 in the 12-round main event for the vacant WBC Intercontinental welterweight crown.

“The Champion Returns,” presented by KO Entertainment and Box Latino, is being distributed in the United States by Integrated Sports Media for live viewing at 9 PM/ET – 6 PM/PT on both cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, DIRECTV, TVN and DISH Network, for a suggested retail price of only $29.95.

At a recent Televisa event honoring Mexico’s best athletes of the last decade, Morales expressed his desire to fight Pacquaio at 147 pounds, in addition to fulfilling his dream of becoming the first Mexican to capture world titles in four different weight classes.

“The two opponents who have defined my career are Junior Jones and Manny Pacquaio,” Morales said. “Defeating Jones (TKO4) was important to me because he had stopped something like 32 Mexicans in previous fights. Defeating Pacquaio (DEC12) is my greatest accomplishment in the ring. I remember seeing him cry after our fight. I would love another chance at Pacquaio and I also look forward to fighting Juan Manuel Marquez in the future. At 147, I’m faster than ever and freer with my body so I can get the most out of it. First, though, is my fight against Jose Alfaro on March 27th in Monterrey on pay per view. Alfaro is a great young fighter and a former world champion. A wicked puncher who will bring his best, he has a big heart into the ring, and always gives fans everything he has.”

In the 12-round co-feature, former 2-time WBA light heavyweight champion Hugo Hernan “Pigu” Garay (32-4, 17 KOs), rated No. 3 by the WBA, meets WBA No. 4 rated Chris “Hard Hittin’” Henry (24-2, 19 KOs) in the WBA Light Heavyweight Eliminator.

Top contender Denver Cuello (19-2-5, 10) squares off against No. 2 Juan “Churritos” Hernandez (15-1, 12 KOs) – continuing the ongoing Philippines-Mexican rivalry, respectively — in the 12-round WBC Interim Strawweight title fight.

El Paso’s undefeated NABA title-holder David “Nino” Rodriguez (32-0, 30 KOs) takes on 1996 Brazilian Olympian Daniel Bispo (22-12, 16 KOs) in a 10-round Special Heavyweight Attraction.

Tickets are available to purchase at www.superboletos.com.

Integrated Sports Media: North America’s leading distributor of International Pay-Per-View and Closed Circuit sports events has presented World Championship and world-class boxing matches featuring Ricky Hatton, Christian Mijares, Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones, Jr., Ivan Calderon, Rocky Martinez, Nicolai Valuev, Amir Kahn, Marco Antonio Barrera, Arthur Abraham, David Haye, John Ruiz, Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr., and Ruslan Chagaev. In addition, Integrated Sports Media distributed numerous International soccer matches showcasing teams like Club America of Mexico and the National Teams of Argentina, Honduras, El Salvador and the USA, as well as World Championship and world-class mixed martial arts shows featuring Fedor Emelianenko, Tim Sylvia, Bobby Lashley, Bob Sapp, Jeff Monson, and Roy Nelson. For more information on upcoming Integrated Sports events visit www.integratedsportsnet.com.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com,. former three-divison world champion Erik Morales will comeback after a two and a half year retirement to take on former Lightweight beltholder Jose Alfaro on March 27 in Mexico.

“I think he’ll sell pretty good, but not like he did last time,” Said Nacho Huizar, who will co=promote the fight along with Morales, referring to Morales’ onetime position as a significant pay-per-view attraction.

“After I heard he was going to come back, he called me and begged me to be his partner,” Huizar said. “It’s an honor to me for him to pick me. If I don’t do it, somebody else will.”

Morales-Alfaro will be televised in the United States via Integrated Sports pay-per-view.

“We’ll see what happens,” said Huizar, who said he promoted Morales’ first five pro fights before Morales went on to become a major star under the guidance of co-promoters Top Rank and Fernando Beltran’s Zanfer Promotions.

“That’s it,” Morales said at the time of his loss to then WBC Lightweight champion David Diaz . “No more fighting. I am done. Too many punches, particularly to the head area.”