TalkingBoxing News
Duddy Headlines "Irish Express" Card
TUE March 14 - The prospect of fighting before a packed
house
of predominately passionate Irish fans the night before St. Patrick's
Day
doesn't add any pressure according to the "Irish Express" headliner,"Ireland's" John Duddy (15-0, 13 KOs).
Duddy is a native of Derry, Northern Ireland now living in Queens (NY). The popular undefeated brawler battles veteran "Showtime" Shelby Pudwill (21-2-1, 9 KOs) Thursday night (March 16) for the vacant WBC Continental Americas middleweight championship in the 10-round main event at The Theater in Madison Square Garden.
The "Irish Express," promoted by Irish Ropes, features a group of Irish boxers, but Duddy clearly is the draw. "Once I'm in the ring it's the same as any of my fights," Duddy explained. "After the fight it'll be a special occasion for me, like it will be for all of the fans during the fight, but I can't start celebrating until after my job is done. It's going to be a great fight against Pudwill. I'll be 110-percent and I'm sure he will be, too.
"Five thousand fans will be celebrating, but that's one of the reasons I became a professional fighter - to be on top of the card for people to come see. But the only thing that really matters is me getting a victory."
Pudwill, fighting out of North Dakota, is a former CAM (Canadian, American and Mexican) middleweight champ presently on an eight-fight win streak dating back to 2001.
"I don't know too much about him," Duddy noted, "but I'm going to let him worry about me rather than me worry about him. It's going to be a glorious night."
Tickets, priced between $400.00 and $50.00, are available by calling TicketMaster (212.307.7171) or at Jack Dempsey's Restaurant & Bar (212.629.9899). For more information about the "Irish Express" call Irish Ropes at 718.318.5145 or visit its web site at www.irishropes.com.
Alpha Omega Boxing's Newest Promoter
TUE March 14 -
Cape Cod-based sports marketing
veteran
Hank Tuohy and businessman Dino Mitrokostas have teamed to form Alpha
Omega
Entertainment Group, Inc., the newest promoter of professional boxing
and
mixed martial arts shows.
Tuohy has valuable experience as a promoter (Tuohy Sports & Entertainment) of three ESPN2 pro boxing cards, while Mitrokostas owns several businesses including a popular restaurant/sports bar on Cape Cod. Dino also produces a sports comedy about two ultimate sports fans, Regular Joes, soon-to-be-aired on the Fox Sports network.
Together, Tuohy and Mitrokostas represent a new breed of "fight" promoter, one combining sports and entertainment through event marketing and cross promotions.
"We're a different promoter because we don't promote fighters, nor do we want to promote fighters; Alpha Omega promotes events," Tuohy explained Alpha Omega's promotional philosophy. "We can pick and choose fighters, working with the best promoters in the boxing and mixed martial arts industries to keep their fighters busy. We also want to give free agent fighters more opportunities to work. Because of our television contacts, fighters on our shows will be well paid and receive valuable exposure.
"We understand that fight fans paying for seats have to receive equal entertainment value. Fights are the most important part of the night, but not the entire show, and our shows will transcend sports. I want people leaving our show to be talking about what a great night they had and asking when our next show is scheduled. Boxing and mixed-martial-arts shows will provide tremendous cross marketing opportunities for our sponsors. Anywhere from 1,500 to 5,000 people will see their products up front and personal at the event and countless other eyes will be watching it on television. Our shows will be great interactive promotions for sponsors."Alpha Omega is a licensed promoter at Mohegan Sun and in Massachusetts. It also plans to promote shows in New Orleans and Florida. Other team members include boxing historian Mike DeLisa and international matchmaker Johnny Bos.
For more information about Alpha Omega call Hank at
508.477.5355/617.842.8661 or visit www.tuohysports.com (Alpha Omega's
new
web site is under construction).
Fighting Irish Boxing Exhibit
TUE March 14 -
"Fighting Irishmen: A Celebration of Celtic Warriors," an eclectic collection of boxing photography and artifacts exhibit, will be launched in mid-August at the Irish Arts Center, located at 553 West 51st Street, it was announced today by curator Jim Houlihan, at Gallagher's Steak House.
Boxing legend "Irish" Micky Ward, former football Giants great and present broadcaster Dick Lynch, FOX & FRIENDS anchor Brian Kilmeade, Pat Lynch, manager of boxing champion Arturo Gatti, and Sean Finlay, publisher of the Irish Echo, were all honored today with Distinguished Irish American Hero Awards from the Irish Arts Center at the sold out benefit luncheon.
The Irish Arts Center has promoted Irish culture since its inception in 1972. Offering theater performances, film screenings, converts, exhibitions and classes in Irish music, dance, history and language, the Center is recognized as the most active and diverse Irish cultural organization in North America.
The exhibit, which will be open to the public, is a stroll down memory lane for fight fans and historians alike. Among the artifacts and pictures on display will be the legendary John L. Sullivan's fur coat; a blazer specially made for Jack Dempsey; photographs from the archives of Sports Illustrated, as well as classic photographs from the lens of legendary Madison Square Garden photographer George Kalinsky; Charlie Nash's Olympic Jersey when he was fighting for Ireland; photographs of the classic Micky Ward vs. Arturo Gatti trilogy; and historic photos of such memorable Irish fighters as John L. Sullivan, Jerry Quarry, Jack Dempsey, Jay Tunney, James J. Corbett, James J. Braddock, Bill Conn, Jimmy McLarlin, Gerry Cooney, Barry McGuigan and Bobby Cassidy, just to name a few.
Fighting Irishmen: A Celebration of Celtic Warriors will be launched prior to Labor Day, and will be on exhibit through November 30. Suggested contribution at the door is $10 per person, and all proceed will go to the Irish Arts Center. For more information call the Arts Center at 212-757-3318, ext. 203.
In addition, there will be a series of special events commemorating the Celtic warrior. The four nights scheduled are as follows: October 19 at the Arts Center, Writers and Fighters panel discussion; October 26 at Fordham University Lincoln Center, An Evening with Barry McGuigan and Friends; November 7 at the Arts Center, Irish Kings of the Ring on Film; and November 15 at Fordham Lincoln Center, Irish Champs and Contenders.
Boxing legend "Irish" Micky Ward, former football Giants great and present broadcaster Dick Lynch, FOX & FRIENDS anchor Brian Kilmeade, author and New York Post columnist Steve Dunleavy, Pat Lynch, manager of boxing champion Arturo Gatti, and Sean Finlay, publisher of the Irish Echo, were honored today with Distinguished Irish American Hero Awards from the Irish Arts Center to announced the exhibit at the benefit luncheon at Gallagher's Steak House.
Tony "The Tiger" on Rahman-Toney Card
TUE March 14 - The old adage in baseball is that a team can never have too much pitching. Boxing promoter Dan Goossen, in announcing the recent addition of Tony The Tiger Thompson to Goossen Tutor’s growing stable of talented fighters is establishing a similar credo in his sport: You can never have too many good heavyweights.
Thompson (26-1, 16 KOs) will make his 3rd start under the Goossen Tutor Promotions banner this coming Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on the undercard of the highly-anticipated showdown between WBC heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman and James Lights Out Toney to be televised on HBO.
We are excited to see Tony Thompson progress in such a short period of time, Goossen asserted. I am looking forward to watching The Tiger show his stripes the same night that James Toney puts the lights out on the championship reign of Hasim Rahman.
The hard-punching southpaw from Silver Spring, MD, will be seeking his 23rd consecutive win in a scheduled eight-round heavyweight bout against Philadelphia’s Maurice Wheeler (10-4-1, 1 KO), also a southpaw.
Trained by Tom Browner and Barry Hunter, Thompson packed a solid 253 ¾ pounds on his 6-5 ½ frame in his last bout in January a fourth-round TKO over then once-beaten Brandon Cabell in Maryland to win the vacant Maryland State Heavyweight Title. He has also captured wins over the likes of familiar names Zuri Lawrence and Vaughn Bean. His only loss was to then-unbeaten Eric Kirkland in Massachusetts in his fifth pro fight.
Thompson’s opponent Saturday night, Wheeler, has won his last four bouts and nine of his last ten. His last two wins came against Najee Shaheed (via split decision last November and a unanimous decision in their rematch last month).
In signing on with Goossen Tutor, Thompson bolsters a heavyweight stable which, in addition to Toney, includes unbeaten prospects Chris Arreola, Travis Walker and Teke Oruh; once-beaten Jason Gavern, Rafael Butler and Malcolm Tann; and the more established likes of Kirk Johnson, Javier Mora, Audley Harrison, Dominick Guinn, Vassiliy Jirov and Cedric Boswell.
The addition of Tony Thompson provides Goossen Tutor with another building block toward our goal of boxing’s most coveted division for many years to come, Goossen concluded.
Co Main Events on Solo Boxeo
TUE March 14 - With the first three shows of 2006 producing excellent action packed televised
co-main events, Dominic Pesoli’s 8 Count Productions’, HOME OF THE BEST
IN CHICAGO BOXING and Bob Arum’s Top Rank Incorporated along with Miller Lite and TCF Bank are proud to announce further details of this Friday night’s SOLO BOXEO De Miller MADNESS IN MARCH event on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom.
The Aragon Ballroom is located at 1106 W. Lawrence Avenue on the north side of Chicago. Doors for this event will open at 6pm, with the first bell scheduled for 7pm. Tickets starting at $25 are available in advance by calling 312-226-5800.
This week’s co-main event features two welterweight prospects as Chicagoan
Gilbert Venegas, (9-1-2, 6 KO’s) battles Mexican Francisco Rincon, (10-3, 5 KO’s)
now fighting out of Dallas, Texas in a scheduled eight round bout.
Speaking about the co-main events that have taken place recently on the 8 Count Productions events, Pesoli said, “The feedback we’ve received from our fans that come to the fights, the networks, those watching at home and the local and national media has really been great. Our matchmaker Jerry Alfano does a fantastic job making our entire shows competitive and exciting and we’ve really seen some exceptional matches in the co-main events.”
“Just this year we’ve had Raul Martinez stop Andres Ledesma in the eighth and final round after suffering a bad cut. Later in January, Jose Hernandez and Antonio Escalante fought a terrific Corrales/Castillo like fight over ten rounds that many of the media guys thought was an early candidate for ‘Fight of the Year’. Last month Luciano Perez’s original opponent fell out and Jerry brought in Carson Jones on short notice and they had a terrific battle with Luciano stopping him in the sixth.”
Continued Pesoli, “This Friday night is another great matchup. Gilbert and Francisco
have very similar records, both are highly skilled and very tough guys. And there’s
a great deal at stake which is what boxing really needs more of. Fighters with solid records, taking risks and willing to fight other tough guys in order to move up
in the rankings. Just like Carson Jones and Antonio Escalante, Rincon shows that
he is willing to test himself by coming to Chicago to fight Venegas.”
The main event of MADNESS IN MARCH features Chicagoland’s most popular boxer, 1996 Olympian David Diaz, (29-1-1, 16 KO’s) will face Silverio Ortiz, (16-8, 7 KO’s) of Merida, Mexico in a ten round lightweight battle.
In a special St. Patrick’s Day attraction, undefeated Chicagoland fan favorite and Illinois State Light Heavyweight Champion “IRISH” Mike Nevitt, 11-0, (5 KO’s) will battle Jesse Sanders, 14-4-2 (13KO’s) of Oskaloosa, Iowa in a six round bout.
The full bout lineup is
David Diaz vs. Silverio Ortiz Jr. ten rounds. lightweights
Gilbert Venegas vs. Francisco Rincon, eight rounds, welterweights
Tavrois Cloud vs. Terrence Jones, eight rounds, light heavyweights,
Mike Nevitt, vs. Jesse Sanders, six rounds, light heavyweights
Jose Manuel Ortega vs. Gonzalo Bonilla, six rounds, junior welterweights
Rita Figueroa vs. Eva Lidia Silva, six rounds, lightweights
Barbaro Zepeda vs. Miguel Angel Figueroa, six rounds, featherweights
Wilton Honirio vs. TBA, four rounds, super featherweights
The Master of Ceremonies for this event will be the internationally recognized voice of Latino boxing, Lupe Contreras.
To view the seating chart and poster for this event or for more information on 8 Count Productions and the 6,000 square foot JABB Boxing Gym, please visit www.8countproductions.com and
www.jabbboxinggym.com.
Calzaghe-Lacy on iTunes
TUE March 14 - CBS Corporation's Showtime Networks Inc. announced that the iTunes Music Store is offering its first boxing match for download. The world title unification bout between IBF/IBO Super Middleweight Champion Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy of St. Petersburg, Fla., and his WBO counterpart Joe Calzaghe of Wales, is available now, in its entirety at www.itunes.com. SHOWTIME’s live telecast took place on March 4, from the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England.
The bout lived up to its preflight hype as an explosive match up. Calzaghe dominated Lacy from the opening seconds of round one, scoring continuously with right-left combinations through all 12 rounds. In the fourth, he opened a cut over Lacy’s left eye and caused severe swelling over the right. From the fourth round on, Lacy bled from the mouth, nose and eye, yet showed the heart of a champion and the resilience of a bull. Lacy went down in the 12th, but finished the fight toe-to-toe with the Welsh Champion in an attempt to trade blows all the way through the final seconds of the bout. The entire fight is available now at iTunes for just $1.99.
"We are proud to deliver boxing to Apple and the very popular iTunes Music Store," said Showtime Sports & Event Programming General Manager Ken Hershman. “This relationship will help SHOWTIME continue to deliver the highest quality and most compelling match ups in boxing to the broadest audience possible.”
iTunes, which currently offers SHOWTIME original programming including Golden Globe® nominees "Sleeper Cell" and "Weeds,” continues to pioneer the purchase-to-download market and now offers television and sports content available for just $1.99 per episode for viewing on a computer or iPod. The iTunes Music Store is the world's most popular video download store with more than 15 million videos purchased and downloaded.
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING celebrates 20 years of hard-hitting, explosive programming in 2006. In March 1986, SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING was born when “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler defeated John “The Beast” Mugabi in a spectacular and unforgettable 11th-round knockout in Las Vegas. Since that time, the network has aired some of the most historic and significant events in the sport including both Holyfield-Tyson bouts. Always at the forefront of boxing, SHOWTIME has set itself apart by telecasting “great fights, no rights” on the first Saturday of every month. SHOWTIME is the first network to regularly deliver live boxing in High Definition. In addition, SHOWTIME continues to be a pioneer in sports television with a number of interactive features across multiple platforms making SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecasts the most enjoyable, immersive viewing experience for the boxing audience.
Forum
