TalkingBoxing News
Tszyu Finally Makes Weight
FRI June 3 - IBF Light-welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu has finally weighed in, but he needed a further two attempts to do so.
Tszyu returned after fifty minutes and he looked annoyed when his second attempt to make the ten stone championship limit failed.
The Russian-Aussie stripped down to his birthday suit, and with a towel to protect his modesty, he gave a sigh of relief when it was announced he was ten stone exactly.
Tszyu weighed in initially three ounces over the 140-pound limit. An hour later, he tipped the scales at 139.9 pounds. Hatton weighed 139.8 pounds. PHOTOS: TOM CASINO.
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Hatton Goes Old-School
TUE May 31, JAMES MOORE - Last Friday, May 27th, Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton had once again completed his infamously grueling, and classically "old school", 15 round body belt session. It was the concluding piece of his training jigsaw, and the customary preparation for his upcoming super-fight with the legendary 140lb king, Kostya Tszyu...
Tszyu: My Training is Perfect
TUE May 31 - I have been in Manchester in the UK for over one week now and everything is great. The people here have been very friendly and my training is perfect. We had some rain here last week, but the last few days have been sunny and cool...
Driven from Retirement, Quartey Battles Phillips on HBO, June 18th
FRI June 3 - DiBella Entertainment's Ike "Bazooka" Quartey has arrived in the United States from his native Accra, Ghana, to complete his training camp and make final preparations for his fight against Verno Phillips which will be televised live on HBO on Saturday, June 18, from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN.
Quartey (35-2-1, 30 KO's) squares off against fellow former World Champion Phillips (38-9-1, 20 KO's) as the co-feature on the Glen Johnson vs. Antonio Tarver world light heavyweight championship card.
Quartey made his return to the ring a winning one after a five year hiatus on January 14th of this year by disposing of Clint McNeil at Azumah Nelson Sports Complex in Accra via an eighth round TKO.
When asked about his comeback Quartey simply states: "I am back to win a World Championship. I am back to cement my legacy. The next step on that journey is on June 18th."
"Ike is in great shape and looks like he hasn't been away from the ring for five weeks let alone five years," stated DBE President Lou DiBella. "His U.S. comeback fight is against a former two time world champion and Ike will prove that he is ready for any fighter in the world."
"I think it is going to be a fantastic fight between two great former champions," said Arthur Pelullo, president of Banner Promotions, Inc., Phillips' promoter. "The winner goes on to be a player in either the 154 or 160 pound division, and I am very excited about Verno's possibilities."
Verno Phillips had reeled off seven straight wins before losing a close unanimous decision to the highly regarded Kassim Ouma on October 2 of last year at Caesars Palace.
Quartey vs. Phillips will be televised live on HBO's World Championship Boxing on Saturday, June 18 at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT.
Battle of Brothers: Navarro vs. Pacquiao
FRI June 3 - K2 Promotions is pleased to announce Navarro vs. Pacquiao on ESPN2 Friday, June 17 at the Table Mountain Casino in Friant, California, just 15 minutes north of Fresno.
In the 12 round main event, the fists will be flying as Carlos Navarro and Bobby Pacquiao battle it out for the WBC Continental Americas super featherweight championship. Doors open at 5:30pm and the first bell rings at 6:15pm. The ESPN2 Friday Night Fights telecast begins live at 10pm ET / 7pm PT.
K2 Promotions, owned by Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, had previously only promoted cards which featured their heavyweight world championship fights. But when the opportunity to promote a show on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights became available, K2 eagerly jumped in, putting on a competitive card that fight fans won’t soon forget. Tom Loeffler, Managing Director for K2 Promotions, secured the June 17th date on ESPN2 with the compelling championship match between Navarro and Pacquiao. “We are excited to bring world class boxing to Table Mountain Casino and all of the boxing fans in Central California.”
"I am also thrilled to be working on our first ESPN2 show with Roy Englebrecht Promotions, who will handle the logistics and operations for the show" said Loeffler, who also noted that WBC Heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko will be in attendance at Table Mountain Casino as the featured guest of the evening. “Table Mountain Casino is proud to partner with ESPN2 and Heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko’s K2 Promotions to present the nationally televised super featherweight championship fight of Carlos Navarro and Bobby Pacquiao,” stated John Mayewski, President and CEO of Table Mountain Casino.
“We are thrilled that ESPN2 is broadcasting from Friant and featuring the Fresno area. We’re even happier that our Table Mountain Casino Event Center was chosen for this prestigious fight and is becoming recognized as a national venue for significant events. This is part of our continuing effort at Table Mountain Casino to attract world-class sporting events of interest to residents in the Central Valley and to continue making high-quality national-level entertainment available and affordable in the community.”
Highly touted Carlos Navarro (26-3-1, 21 KOs) has been on a tear since returning to the ring in 2004 after a two-year break. 3-0 with 3 knockouts since his comeback, the 28-year-old native of Los Angeles is coming off back-to-back stoppages of former world champions Luisito Espinosa and Agapito Sanchez.
Bobby Pacquiao (21-11-3, 9 KOs), the older brother of 130-pound superstar Manny Pacquiao, is a crowd-pleasing fighter who has his sights on a junior lightweight title in the near future. A Philippine champion with five title defenses to his credit, Pacquiao is excited about making his US national television debut against a world-class foe like Navarro.
Tickets for this action-packed night of boxing are on sale now, and are priced at $75, $45, $25, and $15. A special MEET THE CHAMPIONS Post-Fight VIP Reception is also being offered for an additional $20. Tickets may be purchased at the Table Mountain Casino box office, online at www.tmcasino.com, or by calling the Casino at 559-822-7777.
Greenburg on Mission, Fights June 11
FRI June 3 - Heavyweight prospect Roman Greenberg (18-0, 13 KOs) is on a mission to establish himself in the United States to improve his position as a legitimate contender in order to have a shot at eventually becoming the first Jewish world champion in more than a quarter-century, since light heavyweight Mike Rossman.
The Russian-born and Israeli-raised Greenberg headlines a June 11th pro boxing show at the Plaza Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, promoted by Guilty Boxing in association with Fight Academy, INFOX BOX Promotion, World Sport Promotions and BMI Airlines.
The 6-3, undefeated Greenberg, now fighting out of England, fights Josh "The Griz" Gutcher (17-3, 13 KOs), of Des Moines (IA), in the 10-round main event. This will mark Roman's seventh appearance in the United States after having fought three times in Miami, twice in New York City and once in Las Vegas, back in 2002 when he registered a fourth-round TKO of Jakarta Nakuru in his third pro fight.
The 23-year-old Greenberg's most significant victory to date was against Julius Francis (WDEC10, Dec. 10, 2004), the same fighter who once beat Mike Tyson conqueror Danny Williams.In his 11th pro fight, Roman registered a third-round TKO of Troy Beets, who later captured the IBA Americas cruiserweight title and in his latest fight lost a 10-round decision to Vissiliy Jirov, former IBF title-holder.
Roman, rated No. 18 by the European Boxing Union, was born in Russia and moved at 10 to Haifa, Israel. He started boxing at the age of 11, first fought in a match two years later and eventually posted a 47-5 amateur record, highlighted by his silver medal performance at the 2000 World Junior Championships in Budapest. Greenberg's only been knocked out once, by an opponent 11 years his senior in the national championships, when Roman was only 15.
The gifted sharpshooter with incredibly quick hands turned pro in 2001 after serving seven months in the Israeli Army. He speaks four languages – Russian, Hebrew, German and English -- and now lives in Finchley, a section of London. Ukrainian light heavyweight champion Yuri Barash'yan (16-2, 11 KOs), rated No. 15 by the European Boxing Union, battles dangerous Jesus Ruiz (18-4, 16 KOs), of Las Vegas, in an great 10-round co-feature match.
The undercard bouts include Ukrainanian light heavyweights Viatcheslav Uzelkov (3-0, 3 KOs) versus Jonathan Embry (1-1, 1 KO), of Los Angeles, unbeaten Ukrainaian super middleweight Viktor Zinoviev (5-0, 3 KOs) against Moses Matovu, of Las Vegas, and three other bouts. All fighters and matches are subject to change.
Tickets are priced at $40 and $25. The first bout starts at 7 PM. Call 630.258.8249 for more information.
The June 11th show, featuring Greenberg-Gutcher, will be streamed on Secondsout.com (subscription basis required), as well as broadcast on Eurosport Television throughout Europe and Ukranian Television.
Guzman Balks at Vazquez' Next Fight
FRI June 3 - “Israel Vazquez and his manager, Frank Espinoza, are looking to start a re-tread business, because they are re-treading one of most tired names in boxing.”
That was the statement of Jose Nuñez, manager to WBO Super Bantamweight Champion Joan Guzman, after Fightnews reporter Ralph Gonzalez published a brief informing the boxing world that Israel Vazquez, IBF Junior Featherweight Champion, and Mr. Espinoza his manager, were going to push Vazquez’s promoter, Sycuan Ringside Promotions, for a bout with former World Champion Johnny Tapia this July.
“No disrespect to Tapia, Vazquez, or Espinoza, but come on, Tapia should probably have retired a few years back. I guess after the scare Vazquez had against Armando Guerrero this week, Espinoza wants to get one more easy mandatory for Vazquez and collect his cut of the money,” said Nuñez.
“The way I look at it, maybe Guzman should be pushing for another fight against Agapito Sanchez, or a one against Manuel Median, because all Vazquez, and Oscar Larios, are doing is fighting boxing’s version of re-treaded tires!”
Nuñez was referring to recent report that the WBC 122 pound Champion Larios will be re-matching with Wayne McCullough.
“We know Mr. Espinoza and Vazquez read the internet. Hell, they even had the guys to mention Guzman once or twice on web sites before the fight with Guerrero. Then, after Vazquez’s close call, or maybe I should say gift decision, they do not want to hear me or Guzman. Listen, the $50,000 challenge is still out there to Team Vazquez.”
Last Tuesday night, Nuñez challenged Vazquez to fight Guzman and Espinoza to a personal $50,000 side beat on the bout.
After Comeback Win, Diaz Back August 20th
FRI June 3 - World ranked junior welterweight David Diaz, 27-1 (15KO's) got back to business on Thursday night as he stopped veteran Tyrone Wiggins at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri. Wiggins who was dominated for the first three rounds by Diaz's crushing body shots and upper cuts retired after the third round leading to a technical knockout victory for the Chicago native. This was Diaz's first bout back in action since his disappointing loss to the highly regarded contender Kendall Holt.
About the fight David said, "It was great to get back in the ring, use some new things that Fly (Mike Garcia, Diaz's trainer) and I have worked on and get a decisive win."
Diaz's next scheduled bout is on the huge HBO televised night of World Championship Boxing on Saturday, August 20th at the Allstate Arena. Said Diaz, "Fernando and I've talked about this for years and we're both thrilled to be fighting on the same card, especially in front of the great boxing fans in Chicago. The fans of Chicago are in for a big night as it will be a terrific card that Main Events and 8 Count Productions are putting together. Everyone in the world will be able to see how we do it in Chicago." Diaz's bout will be on the off-TV portion of the event.
Discussing a possible opponent for Saturday, August 20th, Diaz continued, "I want to fight a top ten guy next, I need to get back in the 135-140 mix, there's lots of great fighters in that range and I need to prove that I belong."
The August 20th action packed evening is headlined by the Chicagoland debut of two time world champion "Ferocious" Fernando Vargas, 25-2 (22KO's) of Oxnard, California in a twelve round junior middleweight bout battle against former champion Javier CastIllejo, 58-5 (39KO's) of Madrid, Spain.
The co-main event features a featherweight world championship bout between World Boxing Council champion In Jin Chi, 30-2 (18KO's) of Seoul, Korea against Rocky Juarez, 23-0 (18KO's) of Houston, Texas. With both boxers known for their aggressive styles and warrior attitude, this bout has "Fight of the Year" candidate written all over it.
Additional information regarding tickets and other bouts on this evening of professional boxing will be announced in the very near future. This event is being co-promoted by Main Events and 8 Count Productions.
