TalkingBoxing News
Tarver, Jones Tix Sell 5K in 3 Hours
FRI August 19 - Antonio Tarver, Roy Jones Jr, their names will forever be linked to one another in boxing lore. They first met in the ring as thirteen-year-olds at the Sunshine State Games in Gainesville, FL., and each went on to become Olympic Medallists. As professionals, Jones became one of the most decorated champions in boxing history while Tarver fought his way to the top to become world light heavyweight champion. But for Tarver to be known as the best and to be part of history, he had to beat Roy Jones.
Jones-Tarver I, on November 8, 2003 ended in a Jones win by decision. The rematch took place on May 15, 2004 and Tarver shocked the world when he knocked out Roy Jones, Jr. in round 2. On October 1, 2005, Tarver and Jones will settle the score, and this time there will be “No Excuses,” broadcast live on pay-per-view.
Tarver vs. Jones 3 is presented by Joe DeGuardia's Star Boxing and Square Ring, Inc. and will take place at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, FL. Tickets, priced at $25, $50, $100, $200, $350, and $600 and limited VIP packages are available at the St. Pete Times Forum box office, by calling Ticketmaster at 813.287.8844 or 727.898.2100 or by logging onto www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices do not include applicable surcharges.
“The combination of having a fight of legendary proportions with two great athletes and having the fight take place in both fighters home state has proven to be a winning combination."
"We are proud to host an event of this magnitude. This is not only great for the St. Pete Times Forum, but for Tampa Bay and the state of Florida," said Sean Henry, Executive Vice President of the St. Pete Times Forum and the Tampa Bay Lightning. "The velocity at which tickets are selling speaks volumes about boxing and its future in the Bay area."
The Tarver vs. Jones 3 pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9pm ET/6pm PT on October 1, has a suggested retail price of $49.95, will be distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to over 50 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For your daily Tarver vs. Jones 3 updates visit, www.hboppv.com
Austin Replaces Liakhovich, Faces Beck
“I was very excited to get the shot and it’s even better that it will
take
place in my hometown of Cleveland,” Austin (22-3-3, 15 KOs) said. “I
am
going to make the most of my opportunity. I’m coming to knock Owen
Beck
out. I’m not playing.”
Beck (24-1, 18 KOs) had been scheduled to face Sergei “White Wolf”
Liakhovich. The Belarussian heavyweight sparred on Wednesday in Las
Vegas
and awoke in severe pain with a swollen chest yesterday, and visited a
doctor who advised he had sustained a bruised cartilage injury to his
rib
cage and will not be able to resume training for four weeks.
In a wide-open heavyweight division, the winner of this important
heavyweight match could be in line for a world title fight.
The other half of the co-featured main event remains a World Boxing
Council
and an International Boxing Federation cruiserweight elimination bout
between former World Boxing Council cruiserweight champion Wayne “Big
Truck”
Braithwaite and Guillermo “El Felino” Jones. This fight will also be
shown
domestically on SHOWTIME.
Tickets priced at $100, $50 and $25 are on sale now at the Gund Arena
ticket
office (where there is no service fee), all Ticketmaster locations,
online
at www.ticketmaster.com, or charge by phone in Cleveland at (216)
241-2121
and in Akron at (330) 945-9400. For more information, log on to
www.GundArena.com or call the Gund Arena event information line at
(216)
420-2200.
Marquez-Mabuza Secured by Shaw for Showtime, Oct. 1st
Banner Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions bid $50,000 and $30,000, respectively. The fight will be televised live from the Reno Events Center on SHOWTIME Championship Boxing, Saturday, October 1. Promoted by GSP, in associating with Goossen-Tutor Promotions, the telecast will also feature a 12-round heavyweight bout between James Toney and Dominick Guinn.
"I am thrilled to have this all-action world title fight on my show," said Shaw. "We will see if Marquez can prove he is still the best bantamweight in the world or if Silence is really golden."
Marquez, 34-3 (30 KOs), has successfully defended his title five times since knocking out previously undefeated champion Tim Austin in the eighth round, February 23, 2002. Riding a five-year, 13-bout winning streak, Marquez boasts knockout victories over former world champions Mark Johnson and Mauricio Pastrana.
Mabuza, 18-0 (15 KOs), captured the IBO bantamweight title in only his 11th professional bout, knocking out Jose Sanjuanelo, 22-1, in the sixth round of their March 2, 2002 title bout. Mabuza successfully defended his title for a sixth time, winning a 12-round unanimous decision over former WBO champion Cruz Carbajal, which had also been sanctioned by the IBF as a title elimination bout, May 13. This is only the third time Mabuza has fought in the U.S.
'Contender' Returns, Mora-Manfredo Re-Match Headlines
On Saturday, October 15th 2005, live from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California, ESPN will televise a fight card packed with Season One Contender fighters as they once again battle in classic East vs. West fashion.
The Contender champion Sergio "The Latin Snake" Mora will be defending his Contender belt against rival Peter "The Pride of Providence" Manfredo Jr., whom he last defeated in May. This highly anticipated rematch will take place in Mora's hometown of Los Angeles at STAPLES Center on Saturday, October 15th.
“Living together under one roof as long as we did created a bond that isn’t typically found in a solitary sport such as boxing. Peter and I have a mutual respect for one another, thus allowing this rematch to take place. But this time, he’ll have to come to my hometown, and you can believe the snake will bite again,” stated a confident Sergio Mora.
Peter Manfredo provided his comments, “This is make-or-break for me. I refuse to lose twice in a row. I proved that against Alfonso and I’ll prove that against Sergio. It’s time to restore the Pride to Providence. October 15th will be the day I do just that.”
The undercard will feature the exciting match-ups of Alfonso "Superman" Gomez vs. Jeff "The Hell Raza" Fraza, Anthony Bonsante vs. Jesse Brinkley, Jonathan Reid vs. Miguel Espino.
"As we embark on the next phase of 'The Contender' with our new partners at ESPN, we are thrilled to have a terrific home for our Oct 15 event in The Staples Center, which has been the site of some of the best world class boxing in recent years," stated executive producer of The Contender Jeffrey Katzenberg.
"As the event that launches the ESPN era for The Contender, we're scheduling the 'East vs. West' special with an eye toward ratings success -- in prime time on Saturday night October 15th following a college football game, a powerful lead-in for a powerful new ESPN Original Entertainment series," expressed Will Staeger, Executive producer, ESPN Original Entertainment.
“Rocky-style, The Contender has improved the televised boxing viewing experience by making millions of fans care about the men who step into the ring. We know their families, their hopes and their dreams! That’s why it works, and will continue to work,” explained Mark Burnett.
ESPN will air the event live at 8:00PM (PST) / 11:00pm (EST).
Tickets will be available August 22nd, 2005 through www.Ticketmaster.com and at the STAPLES Center Box Office.
In season one, The Contender produced a live boxing finale that sold out in less than 5 minutes and generated over 10 million viewers nationwide.
FRI August 19 - Cleveland native and heavyweight contender Ray “Rainman” Austin got a call today that most boxers only dream of when his promoter, Don King, notified him that another boxer had suffered a training injury, paving the way for him to step into the co-featured main event for the USNBC
heavyweight championship on Sept. 3 at Gund Arena against World Boxing
Council No.7-ranked heavyweight contender Owen “What the Heck” Beck,
which
will be televised domestically on SHOWTIME at 9 pm. ET/PT (delayed on
the
West Coast).
FRI August 19 - Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, with a bid of $150,001, won the purse bid for the IBF bantamweight championship fight between defending champion Rafael Marquez, from Mexico and IBO champion and IBF #1 contender and mandatory challenger, Silence Mabuza, from South Africa.
FRI August 19 - Mark Burnett Productions, DreamWorks Television, and ESPN, Inc. have announced a date, venue and fight card for the first of their three boxing specials.
Forum
