TalkingBoxing News
Mayorga Camp Notes
THU April 21 - World Boxing Council super welterweight champion Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga will be fighting one of the most popular boxers in history on May 6, “The Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya, and his training regimen is evidence that he is taking this fight seriously.
Mayorga started his training here on Feb. 23 at the new Fight Club gym. The first interval of training began with a 3-mile morning jog each day at 7 a.m. After his jog, El Matador eats breakfast and takes a nap.
Gym training begins at 1 p.m. His work consists of stretching, skipping rope, exercises and strength and conditioning for an hour. Then it’s into the ring where his coaches are stressing technique with pads for 30 minutes. The workout concludes with warm-down exercises.
During the second week of March the training schedule changed to include 30 minutes per day of sparring. The adjusted training schedule starts at the gym beginning at 1 p.m. Road work was increased to four-to-five miles per day beginning around 7 p.m.
Mayorga and his co-trainer Stacy McKinley were interviewed during today’s media workout in Miami.
“We have already achieved 90 rounds of boxing, which is a large number,” McKinley said. “We’ve also put in 50 rounds of pad work and an equal number of rounds for shadow boxing. We’ve also put in 30 rounds with the heavy bag so far.
“Right now, we’re ramping down the training regimen to avoid peaking too soon. Next week, we’ll pick it back up so Ricardo peaks on May 6.
“Ricardo is already in as good condition as he was for his last three fights. Come May 6, he’ll have moved up two more levels. That’s what I call the fifth level or world championship condition. That’s what it takes to survive at the top. Ricardo has always been dangerous, but imagine what he’s going to be like when he arrives in perfect condition.
“I co-trained Ricardo for both the fights with Vernon Forrest where he was in excellent condition. He will be in better condition for this fight. Not only that, he’ll be stronger for this fight because he’ll be at the 154-pound limit as opposed to the suffering he had to endure to make 147.
“Everyone knows this is a dangerous fight for Oscar, including Oscar himself. We know this is a great opportunity for us and some members of the media have forgotten how talented Ricardo really is.
“I left Ricardo after the Spinks fight because I didn’t agree with the strategy to try to box Spinks. Now he’s doing what he does best. He’s a banger. Oscar is a better boxer than Ricardo. Likewise, we know Ricardo is a better fighter than Oscar is. Our strategy is to make this man stand and fight. De La Hoya will have no choice. No running room, no ducking and hiding. We are training to fight, and I mean fight, for 12 full rounds.
“Oscar’s got a good chin; I think Ricardo’s is better. Oscar’s got heart, but he doesn’t have the heart Ricardo has shown. If you notice, when it gets tough, Oscar will give it up. I saw him do it with Felix Trinidad and Bernard Hopkins. Mayorga will make him do the same thing. Oscar’s a front runner. Once you catch up to him, you can hunt him down. Ricardo’s a gunslinger. He’ll unload both guns from the first round.”
Mayorga was equally defiant meeting with the media.
“It takes discipline to become a champion and even more to remain a champion. I am being disciplined in my training camp. I have even tailed off the drinking and cigarettes.
“My motto for this fight is: I’ll live and die for my championship. De La Hoya is coming into my danger zone. The fight is being called danger zone because that’s where Oscar is headed. He’s stubborn and he disrespected me during the media tour and that will be his downfall come May 6.
“I don’t have to prepare mentally all that much for this match because I’m always ready to fight. That’s what I am, a Nicaraguan street fighter. Oscar is the one that needs to prepare mentally to face me.
“Honestly, I have not watched a single tape of Oscar De La Hoya’s fights. I already know what his weaknesses are. He is crazy to think he can try to stand up in front of me and take the punishment I will deliver. Oscar’s washed up. He was great at one time but logic and Mother Nature tell you he’s washed up now.
“I have my work cut out for me because I’m fighting in his backyard but I would fight him in the backyard of his home in front of all of his fans and still beat him.
“I don’t want to leave the decision up to the judges so I’m going to knock him out before the sixth round.
“I have been sparring with live chickens as they emulate ‘chicken’ De La Hoya best. They run just like he does. Most people don’t understand that of all the fighters in boxing, Oscar is the one I like least. He’s a pretty boy and it makes me want to defeat him.
“He shouldn’t have gone down from that body shot that Bernard Hopkins threw. Everyone knows he took a dive in that fight.
“If he’s a man like he says he is, he should show his Mexican pride and fight with me. I know he is not the fighter he once was but he can still stand and fight me like a man.
“My strategy is to have a larger punch output and knock Oscar out. I don’t want to hear him back out of the fight because his butt hurts or he hurt his pinky finger. I want him to come to fight.”
Tickets for De La Hoya vs. Mayorga, “Danger Zone,” priced at $1250, $950, $750, $350 and $150 are on sale now at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office and are also available at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (Tower Records/WOW!, Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Robinsons-May stores and Ritmo Latino). Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also will be available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
The De La Hoya vs. Mayorga pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on May 6 has a suggested retail price of $49.95, will be distributed domestically by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 56 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in high-definition television for those viewers who are HDTV capable. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For your daily De La Hoya vs. Mayorga fight week updates, log onto www.HBOPPV.com.
Garcia/Rivera Revives Rivalry
THU April 21 -
World Boxing Association super welterweight champion Alejandro “Terra” Garcia defends his title against former world champion and local favorite Jose Antonio Rivera, reviving the legendary Mexican-Puerto Rican rivalry in boxing at the DCU Center in Worcester on May 6.
Garcia-Rivera shapes up as the latest edition of memorable brawls featuring Mexican versus Puerto Rican fighters including classics like Oscar De La Hoya-Tito Trinidad, Salvador Sanchez-Wilfredo Gomez, Julio Cesar Chavez-Juan LaPorte, and Carlos Palomino-Wilfred Benetiz.
“I’m more than willing to renew the Puerto Rican-Mexican rivalry that’s been so popular in boxing,” said Rivera, who was born in Philadelphia but later lived with relatives and visited Puerto Rico. “It goes back a long way and I’m excited to be part of it against Garcia, who is a true Mexican warrior that I’m fighting for his championship.”
A wrist injury that required surgery prevented Rivera from fighting Fernando Vargas in a high-profile fight in 1997, which very well could have been an ethnic showdown of interest in Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United States.
Rivera (37-4-1, 24 KOs) lost his World Boxing Association welterweight title to Luis Collazo in a very close split decision at the DCU Center on April 2. Elbow surgery cancelled Jose’s first title shot at 154 pounds against WBO title-holder Daniel Santos on Aug. 28 in Cleveland.
Garcia (25-1, 23 KOs) is a feared knockout artist from Tijuana, Mexico, whose only loss came Dec.
13, 2003, when he dropped his guard against Travis Simms.
Garcia stopped 1996 Olympic bronze medal winner Rhoshii “The Mongoose” Wells (TKO 9) in a rematch May 21 to capture the WBA interim super welterweight title at the United Center in Chicago. In his last outing on Aug. 13, also at the United Center, “Terra” won a unanimous 12-round decision against Italian champion Luca “Bergamo Bomber” Messi, and he was soon thereafter declared the outright WBA super welterweight champion after a rematch with Simms never materialized.
Tickets priced at $35, $50, $100 and $250 are on sale at the DCU Center Box Office, all area Ticketmaster locations, online at ticketmaster.com, or charge by phone at (617) 931-2000 or (617) 228-6000. All tickets are subject to a $.50 facility fee.
The Garcia vs. Rivera main event on the Dynamite at the DCU card, promoted by Don King, will be broadcast live on SHOWTIME Championship Boxing at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).
The full undercard will be announced soon.
Clampitt Vs Fiorentino Live on CN8
THU April 21 - Two of the premier women prizefighters in the world, Jaime “The Hurricane” Clampitt (16-3-1, 7 KOs) and Missy “The Fury” Fiorentino (13-1, 6 KOs), headline the “Let It Ride” boxing show, promoted by Classic Entertainment & Sports (CES) and sponsored by Lincoln Park, Thursday night, May 18 at the Rhode Island Convention Center in downtown Providence.
“Let It Ride” will be taped live and broadcast on CN8, The Comcast Network. The event will air network wide on SATURDAY, May 20 at 7:00 PM/ET. The CES/CN8 announcing team includes blow-by-blow commentator Ed Berliner, former five-time world champion Vinny “The Pazmanian Devil” Paz serving as color analyst, and Phil Burton as ringside reporter.
“We have two world champions in one of the greatest female fights of all-time,” CES president Jimmy Burchfield said. “I was never much of a female fight fan, but these two have won me over. They are two true warriors who everybody wants to see fight each other. It’s going to be a great fight. I compliment both camps for taking the fight. It was four or five months in the making.
“This is going to be a rockem’, sockem’ fight like in the old days when, regardless of records, fighters fought for neighborhood rights and nobody avoided anybody. Fans should be able to vote for fights they want to see and this is one they’d vote for. Both teams feel strongly that they can win. This is one of the rare times in boxing that females are in the main event, but this match-up deserves to be on top of the card.”
Clampitt, of Narragansett (RI), defends her International Women’s Boxing Federation (IWBF) lightweight title against Fiorentino, of Warwick (RI), in a clash of intrastate rivals in the 10-round main event. Fiorentino is the reigning IWBF featherweight title-holder.
2004 U.S. Olympian Jason “Big Six” Estrada (5-0, 1 KO), fighting out of his hometown of Providence, fights veteran Stacy “Bigfoot” Frazier (15-5, 13 KOs) in the 8-round co-feature. In a six-round Special Attraction, WBC rated No. 18 super welterweight Ossie Duran (20-5-1, 9 KOs), of Ghana, makes his U.S. and CES debut.
Providence middleweight Richard “Bobo” Starnino (6-1-1, 1 KO) makes his ring return after being inactive for nearly 2 ½ years against Keith Sonley. Also on the undercard in separate bouts against opponents to be determined is undefeated Irish super middleweight Joe “Sugar” Rea (5-0, 4 KOs), now being trained by “Irish” Micky Ward, and Pawtucket lightweight Eddie Soto (4-0, 3 KOs).
“Our Olympian, Jason Estrada, is going to make a statement in the heavyweight division this year,” Burchfield noted. “He’s certainly facing the toughest test of his young pro career in Stacey Frazier. We also have a tremendous cast of fighters supporting this card. Ossie Duran is a world-class fighter who I’ve been trying to work with in a long time. His cousin lives in Providence and now Ossie is living here and being trained by Peter Manfredo, Sr. He’s going to fight a few times at 154 pounds, but we’ll believe he’ll be a world champion at 147.
“Fan favorite ‘Bobo The Bull’ Starnino is back in action after being away from the ring for a while. Talented lightweight prospect Eddie Soto will be fighting, too. I’m tremendously excited about Joe Rea, who is with a whole new team and I’m happy I put Micky Ward with him as his head trainer. He never trained properly and is 5-0 with four knockouts on raw talent. He’s the real deal.”
“Let It Ride” is dedicated to the memory of famed Rhode Island-based trainer Robert “Tiny” Ricci, who passed away two years ago.
All bouts are subject to change.
Tickets are priced at $150 (limited VIP), $100 (ringside), $60 (reserved) and $30 (general admission). Call 401.724.2253 to order tickets, for additional information, or sponsorship/advertising opportunities. Or go to www.cesboxing.com.
RHODE ISLAND PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
Jaime Clampitt: “This is what we want, to fight the best, and we’re both the best. It’s nothing personal, only business. It’s my job to beat her May 18th and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Missy Fiorentino: “Last year I made some changes. I have a new manager, my mother (Shirley), and I went with Peter Manfredo, St. as my trainer. It’s the best thing I ever did. I won three fights and (CES president) Jimmy (Burchfield) gave me an opportunity for a world title and I won at 126 pounds. After that he asked me what was next and I said I wanted another title. I want to thank Jimmy and Jaime for giving me a chance to fight for her title. This is the first time I’ve ever had to gain weight. I’m looking forward to this fight. Jaime is a great fighter. She’s a champion; I’m a champion. It’s going to be a good fight.”
Jason Estrada: “This guy I’m fighting, Stacy Frazier. The name alone, Stacy, what’s that mean? He’s got to go. I’m on the road to being heavyweight champion and it’s definitely in my future. I’m going for titles, all of them. I’m working hard. The next guy (Frazier) is in trouble because I’m still pissed about the last fight (no contest vs. Yanqui Diaz due a cut suffered in the first round by Diaz.) You’re going to see a different fight, I’m going to be very aggressive.”
Ossie Duran: “I’m a two-time Commonwealth champ and WBF champ. I’ve been looking for somebody to back me up. I have that now in Rhode Island with Jimmy and I will win a world championship.”
Richard Starnino: “I’m going to bring a good fight May 18. I don’t care if I have to go through a brick wall to get this win – I’ll bust right through.”
Eddie Soto: “I’m going to put on a big fight on May 18 and hopefully, in the future, Jimmy will get ma a title shot.”
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