TalkingBoxing News
Ahunanya Takes on Ibragimov, Sept. 16th
MON August 22 - Nigerian and former NABA heavyweight champion Friday "The 13" Ahunanya (20-3) 11KO's will return to the ring on September 16th against KO artist and unbeaten heavyweight Sultan Ibragimov of Russia (17-0) 15KO's for the WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight title.
This event will take place at Girinnett Center, Duleth, GA.
In his last outting April, Friday Ahunanya and Dominic Guinn fight ended in a 10 rounds majority decision. A month before his fight with Guinn, he lost a close decision fight with Taurus Sykes.
Ibragimov, also won his two of the year against former world champion Al Cole and Zuri Lawrence. Many Nigerians are expected to be at the arena to support their Man Ahunanya! - Ike Enwereuzor
Gary Shaw to Promote Manny Pacquiao
MON August 22, ROGER GORDILLO - Things are finally starting to fall into place for Manny Pacquiao as the Filipino sensation is slated for a September tune-up bout on the same card as his former and future opponent Erik Morales.
Both fighters will appear in super featherweight matches before Pacquiao and Morales undoubtedly face each other later this year. With Pacquiao receiving more concentration with his new isolated training instituted by his world class trainer Freddie Roach, but the biggest change in the Filipino’s camp is his legal victory over his old promoter Murad Muhammad which released the Filipino star from his former promoter.
In a surprise announcement today Gary Shaw promotions released the following press release.
# # # # # # # # #
GARY SHAW, CEO of Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, announced today he has signed an exclusive promotional agreement with three-time world champion MANNY PACQUIAO.
“As a promoter, you always hope to sign a ‘blue chip’ athlete who will win a world title. Today, I have signed a ‘platinum chip’ world class champion whose persona transcends sports and approaches folk lore in The Philippines. I feel privileged that Manny has chosen me as his promoter,” said Shaw. “Manny has a superb management team in Shelly Finkel, Nick Khan and Keith Davidson, as well as a Hall-of-Fame caliber trainer in Freddie Roach. I look forward to working together with them and I am truly honored that the team has placed its confidence in me. One thing we already agree on…Manny will get the biggest hotel room.”
Pacquiao, 39-3-2 (31 KOs), a former WBC flyweight, IBF super jr. featherweight champion, and The Ring magazine featherweight champion, will be facing Hector Velazquez, 42-10-2 (31 KOs), from Mexico, in a 12-round super featherweight bout, Saturday, September 10, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. HBO will televise it live, along with the second main event, another 12-round super featherweight fight pitting three-time world champion Erik Morales, 48-2 (34 KOs), against 1996 U.S. Olympian Zahir Raheem, 26-1 (16 KOs).
Tua Out as Warriors PPV Heats Up
MON August 22 - Heavyweight David Tua, scheduled to make his first United States appearance in more than two years, will not be able to participate on the Heavyweight Heat pay-per-view card on Friday night, August 26, due to dental surgery.
Tua had a wisdom tooth extracted, and has been advised by doctors to postpone his ring appearance against Cisse Salif. The rest of the stellar card remains intact. Warriors Boxing Promotions in association with Cedric Kushner Promotions will present the long awaited showdown between "Merciless" Ray Mercer (34-5-1,25 KO's) and Shannon Briggs (42-4-1, 36 KO's), and the ring return of top Heavyweight contender Jameel McCline (31-5-3,19 KO's) live on pay per view from the brand new Hard Rock Live arena at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Showtime Pay Per View will distribute the heavyweight extravaganza priced at $29.95. Contact your local cable and satellite provider.
McCline looks to get back on the winning track against Steve Pannell (34-8, 28 KO's), a powerful 6-4 native of Salem, Virginia.
In another co-featured bout on August 26, IBF Cruiserweight champion O'Neil Bell (24-1-1, 22 KO's) will defend his world title for the first time against South African strongman Sebastiaan Rothmann (18-3-2, 12 KO's). On a fight card loaded full of action from start to finish, highly regarded junior welterweight contender Juan "Iron Twins" Urango (15-0-1, 12 KO's), will aim to keep his unbeaten record intact when he battles slick boxing New Yorker Andre Eason (15-3-0,6 KO's), in a WBC Latin American Junior Welterweight Title bout scheduled for 12 rounds.
In another heavyweight bout, Lance Whitaker will be featured in a contest scheduled for ten rounds.
In the heavyweight main event, scheduled for 10 rounds, longtime world title contender Briggs is again focused on the heavyweight crown when he squares off against granite-chinned warrior Mercer. It's a match up of two fighters who both gave former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis major tussles, and have fought some of the best in the world during the past decade. Briggs has reeled off six straight victories on the heels of a hard-fought defeat to McCline at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden. The Brooklyn-bred brawler has captured 10 of his last 11 fights. Mercer has scored in 11 of his last 12, the only loss to the highly-regarded Wladimir Klitschko.
New York bred McCline, who has long fought out of Clifton, NJ, has faced both Chris Byrd (IBF) and Wladimir Klitschko (WBO) for versions of the heavyweight title, most recently just missing in a split decision for the IBF title against Byrd at the Garden. McCline emerged as a bona fide contender for the title in 2000 when he reeled off seven consecutive triumphs against the likes of Al Cole, Lance Whitaker, and Michael Grant.
Brock Digitized for EA Sports Debut
MON August 22 - Last week, heavyweight contender Calvin Brock (26-0, 21 KOs) realized the dream of just about every kid in America when he was "digitized" for the next edition of EA Sports wildly popular boxing game series "Fight Night." The newest version, "Fight Night Round 3" is expected to debut in early 2006.
"I"m thrilled that EA Sports asked me to be a part of this," Brock said. "Being a character in this game brings me tremendous exposure to sports fans outside of boxing. Come this spring, gamers will be able to choose to be me, Calvin Brock, when they play the new "Fight Night." Who wouldn't love to be immortalized in a video game?"
"I saw a clip of the technology EA Sports is using for "Fight Night Round 3," Brock continued. "Wait until you see how real the fighters movements look. The production is so state-of-the-art that it looks more like a movie than a video game."
EA Sports suburban Chicago location has nearly 80 employees dedicated to the development of their flagship fighting game, "Fight Night." Last week, Brock spent a day with the EA engineers and producers as they meticulously digitized his image, recorded his signature moves and gauged his personality for accurate reproduction in "Round 3."
Brock joins Bernard Hopkins, Roy Jones Jr. and Winky Wright among other boxing greats in Fight Night"s roster of playable fighters.
Calvin Brock (26-0, 21 KOs) is rated #7 by Ring Magazine and #8 by ESPN.com. In April, Brock scored the biggest win of his career when the 6"2", 220 pound Brock won an impressive 10 round decision over 6"6" 265 pound top-10 rated Jameel McCline on ESPN Pay-Per-View from Caesar"s Palace, Las Vegas.
A native of Charlotte, this 2000 Olympian is the only big man in USA Boxing history to go to The Games with a college degree in hand having earned a Bachelors in Business Administration from UNC in 1999.
An avid tap dancer, Brock believes tap dancing has helped him with his footwork in the ring. He plans to open a dance school afte
Tarver Giving Jones Respect, Making No Excuses
MON August 22 - It’s been almost 25 years since Antonio Tarver and Roy Jones Jr. crossed paths for the first time, and from their first fight as 13-year-old amateurs, they have been indelibly linked in the minds of boxing fans and each other.
On Saturday, October 1st, at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida, this journey comes to an end, as the two premier light heavyweights of this era meet for the third time to determine who the superior fighter truly is.
“I have to commend Roy Jones for coming back and saying "I want Antonio Tarver, I want the best,” said light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver. “He could have had the opportunity to come up and fight someone to pad his record or just to get fans excited, but he wants to come to the mountaintop to try to knock the king off.”
In their first battle, on November 8, 2003, Jones won a hard fought decision over Tarver in a stirring 12 rounder; it was a verdict which split many boxing fans. But in their May 15, 2004 rematch, Tarver got revenge with a stirring second round knockout that was preceded by the now legendary pre-fight comment by "The Magic Man", “You got any excuses tonight, Roy?”
On October 1st, in a bout to be televised live on HBO Pay-Per-View (9pm ET / 6pm PT), there will be “No Excuses”, and that’s just the way Tarver wants it. “Roy has come up and said this is it, this is all or nothing." And that’s what makes this fight interesting,” said Tarver. “It’s no excuses. After October 1st, it will be what it will be.”
And despite the decisive nature of the rematch result, Tarver is treating this fight and his opponent with the respect they deserve, because throughout boxing history there have been countless examples of great fighters still having one great performance left in them.
“I’m not gonna sit here and tell you that I’m going in here and I can expect a knockout,” said Tarver. “When I caught Roy, it was just one of those perfect punches that would have knocked anyone out. He is one of the all-time greats in this sport, and I am training as such. On October 1st, I’m expecting to face a prime Roy Jones at his best; I will not let up mentally in training one bit.”
Tarver’s longtime trainer Buddy McGirt agrees.
“Our focus is clear in this fight, and my only worry is keeping Antonio OUT of the gym,” said McGirt. “As soon as this fight was mentioned, Antonio and I began working on our game plan, and we’re ready for our toughest camp ever. Roy Jones Jr. is a dangerous fighter and to overlook him would be foolish.” And even though Jones may have been a no-show at the recent press conferences to officially announce this highly anticipated bout, Tarver doesn’t see these absences as a sign of disrespect. To him, it’s a sign that Jones is preparing for the fight of his life.
“Everyone knows I don’t mind talking to the media and being the center of attention,” laughs Tarver. “I enjoy it, and its part of being a superstar in this game. So to me, Roy not showing up at the press conferences is a good thing because it shows me that he’s taking this fight very seriously, and that he is bringing his ‘A’ game on October 1st. He’s gonna need it, because I’m doing the same.”
Tarver’s promoter, Joe DeGuardia of Star Boxing, also believes that Jones’ press conference no-shows are a good sign for boxing fans.
“I know in my gut that Roy is training as hard, if not harder, than he ever has,” said DeGuardia. “He has a warrior’s spirit, and it’s been tough for him to deal with losing to Antonio. The fact that Roy is already in camp, and that Antonio is already training with the intensity of a man who continues to itch for a fight with Roy Jones Jr. means this fight on October 1st is going to be one of the most memorable we’ve seen.”
In the end, for Tarver, his dedication to training and to winning the rubber match against Jones impressively comes down to one word – respect. He wants it by proving once and for all that the top light heavyweight of this era is The Magic Man".
“My motivation is that that I feel respect hasn’t been given to me, and that people have not seriously crowned me as a superstar in this game of boxing,” said Tarver. “So I’ve got to stay motivated, and I got to stay hungry. On October 1st, it will be the end of one legend and the beginning of another.”
Tickets for “No Excuses”, Tarver-Jones Jr. 3 , are available now at the McDONALD’S BOX OFFICE at the St. Pete Times Forum and all Ticketmaster Outlets including Spec’s Music and FYE. To order tickets by phone call Ticketmaster at 813.287.8844 or 727.898.2100 or log on to www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are priced at $600, $350, $200, $100, $50, and $25, and limited VIP ringside seats are available. Prices do not include service charges. For more information please call 813.301.2500. For dinner reservations at Medallions Restaurant on the night of the match please call 813.301.6926.
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.
Forum
