TalkingBoxing News
Joan Guzman to Be Co-Promoted
THU March 30 - Unbeaten Joan ‘Sycuan Warrior’ Guzman is one of the most feared fighters in boxing. Now, with the promotional backing of Golden Boy Promotions and Sycuan Ringside Promotions, the former super bantamweight champion and current number one WBO featherweight contender will get to display his immense talent for a worldwide audience every time he steps into the ring.
'We’re very excited to be working with Sycuan to co-promote a great fighter like Joan Guzman,' said Oscar De La Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. 'He is not only very talented and able to knock his opponents out with either hand, but he has a charisma in and out of the ring that few fighters possess. If you haven’t seen him fight before, you’re in for a treat.'
'Obviously, Oscar de la Hoya personifies, in and out of the ring, all of the good qualities of boxing. He is a classy boxer, a classy promoter and a classy person. We at Sycuan co-promoted a fight show in our hometown of San Diego with Golden Boy before so we know what we are getting into with this new relationship. We feel that Golden Boy can help us put Guzman in that golden circle of the world's best pound-for-pound fighters. Together, I think we make for a promotional powerhouse.' Said, Willie Tucker, Sr. Executive Vice President of Sycuan Ringside Promotions.
'Now that Sycuan Ringside Promotions has made a significant mark in professional boxing, we felt it was time to step up to an even higher level. We think this alliance with Oscar, Richard, Eric and the entire GBP staff, combined with the immense talent of our small but select group of boxers, will get us there. It is time for Joan Guzman to shine brightly before worldwide audiences. He is an elite level boxer and the Sycuan-Golden Boy partnership will be extremely beneficial. Oscar de la Hoya has been a consistent winner, a classy champion, and it is a pleasure to be associated with both him and his "new era" promotional company.' Said, Glenn Quiroga, President of Sycuan Ringside Promotions.
'I go way back with Oscar to his amateur days. Even then, you could see he was a once in a generation ring talent and personality. This is a natural pairing of two Southern California-based but worldwide promotional companies. GBP has very talented fighters from around the globe and so do we. Joan Guzman is our shining star from the Dominican Republic and, with Golden Boy's connections, the sky is the limit for him. Let the word go out that Golden Boy and Sycuan make for a tenacious, talented promotional combination.' Said, Scott Woodworth, Vice President of Sycuan Ringside Promotions.
Guzman, 24-0 with 17 knockouts, will return to the ring on Saturday, May 6th against a to be determined opponent on the Oscar De La Hoya – Ricardo Mayorga card, which will be televised live on HBO pay-per-view from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
'This is superb. Before we had one great promoter, Sycuan Ringside Promotions, and now we have two. We are just excited and delighted to be working with Oscar de la Hoya and his progressive promotional outfit, Golden Boy. I see this unified promotional effort, in combination with Joan's awesome skills, as just the ticket to put him up where he belongs in boxing's elite circle. I guess it takes a Golden Boy to know one because Guzman is a golden boy himself. We look forward to unparalleled success with this strong team. I want to especially thank the Sycuan Ringside Promotions crew and the Sycuan tribe for making this all happen.' said Jose Nunez, manager.
An enthusiastic Joan Guzman stated: 'I am still pinching myself and hoping this is not just a good but silly dream I am having. This is beyond my wildest expectations and I must thank everybody at Sycuan for pushing so hard. I embrace Oscar de la Hoya and his talented team and, working in sync with Sycuan, I know I can now become a real boxing star. I say thank you, thank you, thank you, a million times to both my "family" at Sycuan and my new friends at Golden Boy. It's just an honor to be on same dais with Oscar.'
The pride of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, where he is a national sports hero on the level of a Pedro Martinez and Sammy Sosa, the 29-year-old Guzman represented his country in the 1996 Olympics before turning pro in September of 1997. In 2002, Guzman won the vacant WBO super bantamweight championship, knocking out Fabio Oliva in three rounds. In his first defense, Guzman stopped countryman Agapito Sanchez in seven rounds in a highly anticipated battle, and after a second successful defense over Fernando Beltran Jr.. He then nearly shut out previously unbeaten Tersdak Jandaeng. He will now move up to either the featherweight or superfeatherweight division to take on the world’s best pugilist.
For more information on Golden Boy Promotions, please visit our website at www.goldenboypromotions.com.
Cotto Vs Malinaggi on PPV
THU March 30 -
Top Rank, in association with DiBella Entertainment, present the biggest rumble New York has witnessed since the Jets took on the Sharks. World jr. welterweight champion MIGUEL COTTO, the pride of Puerto Rico, returns to Madison Square Garden to take on undefeated Top-10 contender PAULIE “MAGIC MAN” MALIGNAGGI of Brooklyn, N.Y., Saturday, June 10. Cotto vs. Malignaggi headlines a championship card, which will include six bouts on the Pay Per View telecast.
Highlighting this boxing pay per view extravaganza, in separate bouts, will be undefeated Irish middleweight sensation John Duddy, making his first defense of his WBC Continental Americas title; former world champion “The Flushing Flash” Kevin Kelley; undefeated lightweight contender and son of the Mexican icon Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.; undefeated Puerto Rican featherweight prospect Juan Manuel Lopez; and making his pro debut, Notre Dame defensive back Tony Zbikowski.
Tickets, priced at $300, $200, $100 and $50, are on sale now at the MSG Box Office, TicketMaster outlets & Ticketmaster phone (212/307-7171), and www.ticketmaster.com / www.thegarden.com.
This marks the second consecutive year Cotto, (26-0, 22 KOs), of Caguas, Puerto Rico, has headlined at the Mecca of Boxing on the eve of New York’s annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade. Last year, he knocked out Muhammad Abdullaev to retain his title in front of a huge crowd.
He faces a tough challenger in Malignaggi, (21-0), who promises he will dethrone Cotto and win the world title.
"I'm going to cash in on this opportunity; my legacy begins by beating Cotto for the WBO title," the outspoken Malignaggi said.
"I just don't want to be the next great Italian fighter, I want to be the next great fighter in the world. I've been under a microscope and 'dissed' by people, but I'm going to prove my detractors wrong.
"Cotto's coming to my house. He's going to find himself unwelcome with nothing there for him except knuckle sandwiches from me. I'm a fresh 21-0 without being in any wars. Cotto is 26-0 with a lot of mileage on him. I'm going to make him 26-1. (Ricardo) Torres put him down and (Chop Chop) Corley had him going. Cotto needed some hometown help from the ref to beat Corley."
Cotto responded, "Malignaggi sure talks a lot. Let's see what happens when we get into the ring. He calls himself the “Magic Man” but on June 10 I’m going to perform a little magic myself and make him disappear."
Cotto is a powerful force who strikes with extreme power. He has defended his world title five times while earning "Puerto Rico Fighter of the Year" honors for the last two years in a row.
"We worked hard for many years to get to this level and I was very proud to receive the Fighter of the Year honor," he said.
Miguel won the WBO world title on September 11, 2004, with a sixth-round TKO against previously undefeated Kelson Pinto. Miguel is experienced against very strong opposition, and has beaten current or former world champions DeMarcus Corley, Randall Bailey, Carlos Maussa, and Cesar Bazan, as well as contenders Ricardo Torres, Muhammad Abdullaev, Kelson Pinto, Victoriano Sosa and Lovemore Ndou.
In Cotto's last fight on March 4 in Bayamon, PR, he TKO'd Gianluca Branco (36-1-1) at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez and drew a capacity crowd that chanted, "Cotto!Cotto!" during the start of the undercard bouts and continued through the main event.
Miguel gave a strong performance and dominated the fight; he outworked Branco, worked the body well, and steadily wore him down; Branco was cut on his scalp by a clash of heads in the 5th round, and was swollen under his right eye and on the right side of his jaw in the 6th; Miguel landed a left hook to Branco's right shoulder in the 8th round, and Branco grabbed his shoulder in pain and turned away from the action; the referee stopped the fight at 0:49; after seven rounds, Miguel led by scores of 70-63, 69-64, 69-64.
After the fight, Miguel said, "I knew I had to take my time with Branco, I never wanted to be reckless. I felt I was putting enough pressure on him. I felt a lot stronger than him, I was breaking him down. It was just a matter of time. I started to work on him with the first ring of the bell. It wasn't an easy fight, it was a tough fight. He did not hurt me. He had his good punches, but this was our night. He came to try and use his style, to try to block and then punch. I think I looked better than September 24. I'm going to try to do this from now on. The fight with Ricardo Torres was a war, this was a boxing fight. Getting the win is the important thing."
Gulity Fight Night
THU March 30 - A contrast in styles between nationally ranked boxer Jairo Ramirez of San Diego and hard-hitting Russell Stoner Jones of Denver is featured in the 10-round lightweight main event on the inaugural “Guilty Fight Night” card presented by Guilty Boxing and sponsored by Xyience Friday, April 7, at the new South Coast Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev.
The 24-year-old Ramirez has a record of 19-2 with seven knockouts and is ranked No. 6 by the North American Boxing Federation while the 31-year-old Jones, whose nickname is “Hands of Stone,” has a mark of 15-12 with 10 knockouts.
Ramirez has won six straight while Jones is coming off a bout against former International Boxing Federation lightweight champion Julio Diaz.
This is the first boxing card to be held at the South Coast Hotel & Casino. The Orleans Hotel & Casino has been hosting boxing since 1999 and both it and the Gold Coast Hotel & Casino have been host to Guilty Boxing cards since 2004.
The innovative Guilty Boxing series has presented nationally and internationally televised cards in Arizona, California, Connecticut, New Jersey and Mexico as well as Las Vegas.
Guilty Boxing’s “Guilty Fight Night” cards are seen in 202 million households worldwide, making Guilty Productions one of the fastest-growing providers of boxing television programming in the world.
Six-round fights on the eight-bout card include super welterweight Joaquin Zamora of Socorro, N.M., (9-2-1, 7 KOs) against Cleiton Conceicao of Tijuana, Mexico, (8-1, 7 KOs) and super bantamweight Joel Santiago of Las Vegas (7-0, 2 KOs) against Torrence Daniels of Colorado Springs, Colo. (5-1-1, 2 KOs).
Four-round bouts include super featherweight Van Oscar Penovaross of Hawaii (Pro Debut) against an opponent to be determined; super bantamweight Carlos Lopez of San Diego (1-1-2, 1 KO) against Alejandro Perez of Salinas, Calif., (3-0-1, 1 KO); super bantamweight Michael Franco of Riverside, Calif., (2-0, 1 KO) against an opponent to be determined; bantamweight Jose Magallon of Las Vegas (3-0, 2 KOs) against Hector Reynosa of Riverside (0-1); and super flyweight Joe Silva of Thornton, Colo., (1-0, 0 KOs) against an opponent to be determined.
The card starts at 7 p.m. with doors to the Ballroom area on the second floor of the South Coast Hotel & Casino opening at 6:30.
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