TalkingBoxing News
Gatti to welterweight; faces top ranked Damgaard
TUE October 25 - Two-time world champion and fan-favorite Arturo Gatti returns to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ on Jan 28th in a 12 round showdown against undefeated welterweight contender Thomas Damgaard for the vacant IBA welterweight championship, it was announced today by Main Events CEO Kathy Duva. The bout, which will be televised on HBO’s “World Championship Boxing” series, will be Gatti’s first at welterweight.
Tickets, which will go on sale on November 12, are priced at $300, $200, $150, $100, and $50, and will be available at the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall Box Office, by calling TicketMaster at 1-800-736-1420, or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.
Gatti (39-7, 30 KO’s) is the former IBF jr. lightweight champion and the former WBC super lightweight champion. The 33-year-old Jersey City, NJ resident by way of Montreal, Canada is returning to the ring for the first time since surrendering his WBC title to Floyd Mayweather Jr. on June 25, 2005 (TKO by 6). The Gatti-Mayweather bout was the highest-grossing non-heavyweight bout in Atlantic City, NJ history.
In 2002 – 2003, Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward waged a thrilling trilogy that was recently selected by ESPN.com fans as the second-greatest boxing trilogy in history, behind only Ali-Frazier.
Damgaard (37-0, 27 KO’s) has not lost a bout since turning pro in February 1998. The 34-year-old Morkov, Denmark southpaw is ranked #5 by The Ring magazine.
On Nov 3, 2000, Damgaard captured the EBU welterweight title and the WBA International welterweight title by decisioning Alessandro Duran (W 12). He successfully defended both titles three times. Damgaard will be fighting in the U.S. for the first time when he visits Boardwalk Hall to challenge Gatti.
Main Events will promote the evening of boxing, in association with Caesars Atlantic City and International Entertainment APS.
Gibbs in Top Shape for Oct. 28th
TUE October 25 - Hard-hitting Willie Gibbs, of Southwest Philadelphia, and Marcos Primera, of Asheboro, NC, are rounding into top shape for their scheduled 10-round middleweight fight Friday evening, Oct. 28, at the New Alhambra, Swanson & Ritner Streets, next to Forman Mills in South Philadelphia.
CN8 will televise the bout on a delayed basis (Oct. 30, 9-11 pm; Nov. 6, 12-2 pm) to more than six million homes along the East Coast from Maine to Virginia.
Gibbs, 29, is 18-1, 15 K0s. He has been training in Brockton, MA.
"I have to leave my home to go up there," Gibbs told Bernard Fernandez of the Philadelphia Daily News. "Fewer distractions. I don't know nobody and nobody knows me.
"I see myself being in the Top 5 by next April. If I get a good enough opponent and beat him, it'll put me up there. After this fight (with Primera), I should be world-rated by somebody."
Beating Primera will be not be easy for Gibbs, who has lost only to then-unbeaten Daniel Edouard for the vacant USBA title 15 months ago.
Primera, 30, is coming off a pair of impressive wins over Carlos DeLeon, Jr., and Julio Garcia. In addition, for the last three weeks he was in Atlanta, GA, sparring with former WBC welterweight champion Vernon Forrest, who was getting ready to fight Elco Garcia on Oct. 21 in Temecula, CA.
A pro since 1996, Primera has a 19-10-2 record, 12 K0s. However, he has fought much better opposition than has Gibbs. Primera has boxed Kingsley Ikeke, Kofi Jantuah, world middleweight champion Jermain Taylor, Luis Collazo and Olympian Dante Craig.
Other fights on the card:
Middleweights, 8 rounds: Matt Macklin, of Tipperary, Ireland (14-1, 10 K0s) vs. Anthony Little, Akron, OH (5-2, 1 K0).
Junior middleweights, 8 rounds: Jason LeHoullier, West Nottingham, NH (17-0, 8 K0s) vs. Tom Wilt, Altoona, PA (18-4-1, 4 K0s).
Junior middleweights, 6 rounds: Harry Yorgey, Bridgeport, PA (10-0, 5 K0s) vs. Doug Esbenshaden, Lancaster, PA (6-3, 1 K0).
Featherweights, 6 rounds: Ramaz Gazashvili, Philadelphia, PA (5-1-1) vs. Johnnie Edwards, Aiken, SC (2-0, 1 K0).
Light-heavyweights, 4 rounds: Louis Lamar Robinson, Philadelphia, PA (2-0-1, 1 K0) vs. Shannon Anderson, Coatesville, PA (1-0).
Flyweights: Edwin Carmona, New Haven, CT (1-0) vs. Israel Crespo, Lancaster, PA (pro debut).
Tickets for the seven-bout card are priced at $35, $45 and $50. They are on sale at Peltz Boxing Promotions (215-765-0922).
Larios-Vazquez Rubber Match Heats Up!
TUE October 25 - Boxing history is replete with trilogies. The one that usually springs to the fight fan's mind first is the classic series of bouts between heavyweights Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
Now Israel Vazquez, a world champion promoted exclusively by Sycuan Ringside Promotions, is getting ready to complete his ring trilogy with another world champ, Oscar "Chololo" Larios.
Vazquez, the International Boxing Federation champion at 122 pounds, and Larios, the World Boxing Council champ at that weight, finally will have their long-discussed rubber match Dec. 3 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Larios-Vazquez III, presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Sycuan, will be the co-main event on a show topped by the middleweight title rematch between veteran Bernard Taylor and upstart Jermain Taylor. HBO Pay-Per-View will televise the card.
There is no question in anyone's mind that this battle will decide supremacy in the 122-pound division. Ring Magazine, the "Bible of Boxing," already has given its imprimatur to the matchup and will recognize the winner as the world's best junior featherweight fighter.
The pair first tangled April 12, 1997, in Mexico City when Vazquez had an 11-1 record and the highly touted Larios was rolling along with a perfect 20-0 pro mark. Vazquez was explosive in the opening round and knocked out Larios.
They crossed gloves again five years later on May 17, 2002, in Sacramento when Larios scored a technical knockout victory in the 12th and final round. But now both proudly wear title belts. Larios has made nine title defenses while Vazquez has made two.
Both of these Mexican fighters know what is at stake Dec. 3 and so do their promoters.
"This one is for all the marbles," Glenn Quiroga of Sycuan said. "This one is all about pride and country and bragging rights. The winner truly can say he is the better boxer."
"We are very proud to have been able to work with Sycuan to make this rubber match a reality," said Golden Boy's matchmaker, Eric Gomez. "This fight is different for both of them because they both bring world championship belts into that ring."
Larios, whose overall record is 56-3-1 with 36 knockouts, downplayed his other two losses, one to Willie Jorrin and one to Agapito Sanchez.
"This will be a great fight," said Larios, "because we both know each other very well. I consider Israel to be the only fighter to ever beat me. I got robbed in those other two bouts, so he is really the only guy to ever beat me."
Larios, who is 28 and comes from Guadalajara, did not get any argument about the difficulty of the rubber match from the 27-year-old, Mexico City-born Vazquez.
"I am real motivated, but I know it will be a very hard fight," said Vazquez, who has a record of 38-3 with 28 knockouts. "I went into the second bout with him overconfident. He surprised me in the rematch because he fought so intelligently and he had so much movement. He was just better prepared for that second fight.
"You will see a war in this fight December 3,” said Vazquez, who now lives in Los Angeles. “But I think and I believe it will go my way. For this one, I will have much more and better sparring and I will pick my shots. This will be a great fight which will have boxing fans talking for years.
"This is the decisive battle. This is the fight that will decide our destinies."
Top prospects featured on sweet Showtime card
TUE October 25 - On Friday, Nov. 4, 2005, “ShoBox: The New Generation” presents what many consider its greatest fight card since the popular series debuted in July 2001.
The first explosive pairing features “ShoBox” veteran, undefeated Sechew “Iron Horse” Powell, in a 10-round junior middleweight scrap against once-beaten IBF No. 12 contender Archak “Shark Attack” Ter-Meliksetian. The dynamite co-main event will match unbeaten super middleweights Jaidon Codrington and Allan “Sweetness” Green in an eight-round slugfest.
Powell (17-0, 11 KOs) is facing the sternest challenge of his career when he makes his fourth SHOWTIME and “ShoBox” appearances against the dangerous, hard-hitting Ter-Meliksetian (15-1, 12 KOs).
“Rather than hide, Powell is fighting a stylish and accomplished guy in Ter-Meliksetian - an opponent who could not only make him look bad but could win outright,” said “ShoBox” blow-by-blow announcer Nick Charles.
“After a shaky start, Powell has grown on ‘ShoBox’ and now he is considered one of the best young junior middleweights in the game,” “ShoBox” expert analyst Steve Farhood said. “In assessing a ‘ShoBox’ fight, I always ask the same question: Is a prospect being matched tougher than he has been matched to date? In this case, I have to answer ‘Yes.’ Ter-Meliksetian is a big 154-pounder with serious punching power, especially with the left hook. Powell is a well-schooled, slick-boxing southpaw. It is an excellent style match up.”
Powell needed just 22 seconds to dispatch of Cornelius Bundrage in his last “ShoBox” outing on May 6, 2005. It was the quickest fight in the history of the series.
“Ter-Meliksetian looks strong to me, but at the same time, very green,” Powell said. “He has never really been in with anybody on the same level as me. This is going to be the major factor in the fight. He just has not tested himself enough to step up to my challenge, and I think that is going to hurt him.”
Ter-Meliksetian, naturally, disagrees with Powell’s assessment.
“I really do not need to know much about Powell,” Ter-Meliksetian, who is 7-0 this year with five knockouts, said. “He should be worried to know about me. As long as I am 100 percent, it does not matter. I love to be aggressive. I like to see blood in boxing. But I know in fights like this, I have to be intelligent at the same time.”
Codrington (9-0, 9 KOs) and Green (17-0, 11 KOs) have already displayed the promise, ability and skills that could make them a future champion.
A decorated amateur, Codrington is supremely confident he will make it 10 consecutive victories.
“Allen Green?” said Codrington, who won the 2002 National Golden Gloves at 165 pounds and the 2004 New York Golden Gloves at 178. “Green is just another victim. I remember seeing him fight at the Golden Gloves and getting dropped two or three times. I do not know how he won the fight, but he managed to pull it off. As a matter of fact, he fought Curtis Stevens in the finals and made it out alive by the skin of his teeth. I am going to finish what Stevens started.”
Green, the 2002 National Golden Gloves champion at 178 pounds, is also positive his unbeaten record will remain intact.
“I know all about Codrington,” Green said. “He is not ready for me, and he knows he is not ready. He is too slow. He is not seasoned enough. He is easy to hit, and that is not a good sign. He is not mentally ready. He is not physically capable of winning this fight. He does not punch hard enough, despite what his record shows. I see the fight going maybe four rounds, five will be stretching it.”
Both boxers triumphed easily against their one common opponent, Etianne Whitaker. Codrington scored a first-round knockout April 28, 2005 in New York, N.Y. and Green flattened Whitaker in the second-round Nov. 27, 2004, in Miami, Okla.
“The fact they are fighting each other at this stage of their respective careers is refreshing and a true treat for fight fans,” Farhood said. “Codrington has the look of a star, and he is making a huge move for a fighter with only nine bouts worth of pro experience. Green has already been on ‘ShoBox’ and he is a slick boxer who is ready for his breakout fight. The winner of this match up just might be considered the best young 168-pounder in the world.”
“Two perfect records and such different styles,” Charles said. “Somebody moves up and somebody either gets grounded or just maybe, somebody gets exposed. It is classic ‘ShoBox.’ ”
For information on “ShoBox: The New Generation” and SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecasts, including complete fighter bios, records, related stories and more, please go the SHOWTIME website at http://www.sho.com/boxing.
Ruiz petitions WBA for random steroid testing
TUE October 25 - The WBA's 84th annual convention is next week (October 31-November 5) in South Korea and WBA heavyweight champion John "The Quietman" Ruiz is petitioning the organization to mandate random testing for performance enhancing drugs and to maintain the current two-year bam from WBA ratings for any boxer who violates the drug rules.
Reinstated as WBA champ after James Toney tested positive for violating performance enhancement drug rules after their April 30 title fight, Ruiz has publicly called for a stricter drug policy in boxing and he's frustrated that no action has been seriously discussed, never mind taken.
"Nobody in boxing seems to care or they'd be tougher tests," Ruiz said. "I'm asking the WBA to rule random testing, at the very least, for all world title fights. Fighters are taking steroids and getting away with it. It's very dangerous. Steroids make fighters stronger and quicker; allow them to workout harder, longer, and comeback from injuries much quicker. It's so easy to take steroids and get away with it because we know when we'll be tested (immediately before and after fights). There's no random testing in boxing.
"Other sports have addressed steroid problems. Boxers risk their lives every time they go into the ring. A fighter taking steroids is going to kill an opponent someday. I only hope it doesn't take a tragedy for the WBA to make a change in its policy."
"The Quietman" has called for random drug testing anytime between the announcement of a fight right up until the day of the event in order to prevent the use of anabolic androgenic steroids and other banned performance enhancing substances.
Ruiz is the first and only world heavyweight champion of Hispanic heritage. He has beaten former world champions Evander Holyfield, Hasim Rahman and Tony Tucker, as well as top 10 contenders Andrew Golota, Fres Oquendo and Kirk Johnson.
Toney responds to Ruiz' recent steriod release
TUE October 25 - I've kept my mouth shut as it relates to responding to the continual and annoying accusations, grandstanding and somewhat disingenuous comments made by either John Ruiz or one of his mouthpieces.
However, enough is enough. Most real fighters do their talking with their fists and not their mouths...remember I said real fighters. Ruiz has done nothing but cry since being handed his WBA belt back. If he was a real man, a real fighter, he would have tried to get me back into the ring to show everyone that James Toney could not have kicked his ass if my test didn't show up positive. But he knows what I stated as the cause of my positive test was the TRUTH....prescribed medication used to reduce inflammation in my recent bicep/triceps surgery. If this wasn't the case, and he actually believed that I was using performance enhancing drugs to beat him, I can only think he would want this overblown middleweight, with the world watching his next drug test, to get back into the ring with him immediately so he could manhandle me as he said he could have done without the positive test.
Let it be said now, John Ruiz would rather go out of the country to fight, then to ever think of having to be in a ring with me again. He knows I beat him with one arm (my good one); the other arm was still recuperating from the 2004 career threatening surgery. I'm tired of hearing his continual babble and grandstanding.
The New York State Athletic Commission was given the reason why my test was positive. I believe they understood the difference of medications used for recovery purposes and those intended to enhance your performance. You didn't need to be a rocket scientist to see I was not the poster boy for steroid use.
Unfortunately, for the Commission and the WBA, their rules do not have the ability to separate the circumstances, no matter how valid they may have been.
The analogy is somewhat similar to a speeding driver who is pulled over by a policemen for going 80 mph in a 55 mph zone, but approaching the vehicle the policemen realizes the driver's wife is delivering a baby in the back seat. Now the simple act of speeding is illegal, however in this case, despite the rules and regulations of the appropriate State, the policeman now will make a determination in either giving a speeding ticket to the driver or to give him an 80 mph police escort to the hospital. The Commission didn't have the luxury in my case to make a similar determination based upon circumstances; hence the suspension.
These are the changes needed within the Commission and the WBA and anyone else the Ruiz team so designates as a future target of inadequacy.
However, like any other court of law, or system that takes into account the "possibility" of extenuating circumstances, which was the only reason I didn't fight the suspension since the rules didn't address taking prescribed medication solely for rehabilitation of my surgically repaired arm, the rules governing boxing should mirror the above referenced legal system. The Ruiz camp has taken the position of grandstanding in an area where deflection can only last so long---or at least until his next grabfest known as one of his fights.
Ruiz states, "Other sports have addressed steroid problems..." in his latest statement. Is he kidding? One of the top players in baseball received a paltry 10-day suspension for his use of steroids. Give me a break John, and go back to being the "Quiteman." Get off your high horse and fight like a man. Stop talking and whining about getting your butt kicked. I was fat, out of shape and fighting with one arm and kicked your ass - face up to it; Schwarzenegger I wasn't.
For my final and last comment on this subject, I say to the Commissions and the organizations that you've done a great job of protecting and when need be, penalizing the fighters. Keep it up.
Light's Out - James Toney
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