THE LOS ANGELES MATADORS BEAT THE MEMPHIS FORCE TO EARN THEIR SECOND CONSECUTIVE HOME VICTORY

Posted on | December 13, 2010 | No Comments

Sunday, Dec. 12 at Club Nokia at LA LIVE.

LOS ANGELES (Dec. 12, 2010) – The Los Angeles Matadors made their hometown Angelinos proud Sunday night at Club Nokia at LA Live as they easily defeated the Memphis Force 4-1 in a best of five series. The Matadors earned three points for the match win and maintained a steady lead in the Americas Conference, holding a one point lead over the Miami Gallos. Additionally, the Matadors remain in a second place tie with Paris United and Milano Thunder of the Europe Conference, behind the Baku Fires of the Asia Conference, in the international World Series of Boxing.

Bantamweight Matador Fernando Martinez improved to 2-0 in defeating Detelin Dalakliev by decision 48-47, 48-47, 49-46. Martinez was the aggressor throughout the bout with a higher volume of punches, despite a significant height and reach disadvantage, gassing Dalakliev with his up-tempo pace.

“My opponent was larger then me,” Martinez said. “So the strategy was to move around, go for the body, keep my distance from his jab and, when I had the opportunity, move inside.”

The Matadors took a 2-0 lead as lightweight Eric Fowler scored a third round TKO over Yahman Phelps, at 2:46, despite a gash on his forehead from an accidental headbutt in the first round and sustaining a cut above his left eye in the beginning of the third.

“It feels good to get the knockout and pick up a win for The Matadors,” Fowler said. “We’re fighting for LA – that’s who we do this for.”

Added Fowler on his wild, go-for-broke style of punches, “I can box, but I wanted to put pressure on him and be aggressive. His style made the fight a little sloppy and wild, but a win is a win. We can always do better, always get better.”

Middleweight Russell Lamour continued the Matadors winning ways as he scored a unanimous decision over Chris Jones, 48-47, 49-46, 48-47. Lamour opened a gash over Jones’ left eye early in the first round yet was unable to finish him. The Matador continued to pressure Jones throughout the five rounds en route to the unanimous decision.

“It feels good to pick up my second consecutive win,” Lamour said. “It puts me in perfect position for the rest of the season to help us advance to the semifinals.”

For safety reasons the L.A. Matadors withdrew Light Heavyweight Carlos Gongora due to being below the minimum weight requirement. The Matadors forfeited the light heavyweight bout giving Anthony Mack the victory.

Heavyweight and Long Beach Native David Imoesiri scored his first win of the season defeating Javonta Charles in a unanimous decision, 48-47.

“I’m happy with the win but I’m a little bit disappointed in my performance,” Imoesiri said. “I could have been sharper and a little more prepared. I put up a good fight and had a tough guy in front of me, but I should have been able to put him away a little bit easier.”

The World Series of Boxing is a groundbreaking, international sports league with teams from three continents competing for five spots – bantamweight, lightweight, middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight, in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The Matadors will compete against three other North American teams, Miami, Mexico City and Memphis, for the next four months with the winner from the North American division advancing to the semifinals to compete against teams from other continents.

The Matadors will travel to Memphis for a rematch against the Force on Thursday, Dec. 16 at Desoto Civic Center with their next home stand at Nokia Theatre Jan. 13.

ABOUT THE LA MATADORS

LA Matadors, member of World Series of Boxing’s (WSB) Americas Conference, is Los Angeles’ newest sports franchise. Each fight consists of five bouts, each of which has five three minute rounds in an exciting city versus city pro-style team format. The team is made up of 14 of the highest caliber boxers, including Olympic and World Championship medalists in five weight divisions: Bantamweight-118 lbs, Lightweight-134 lbs, Middleweight-160 lbs, Light Heavyweight-187 lbs and Heavyweight-201+ lbs. The Matadors compete in a five-month, 12-fight regular season (six home matches and six away matches) from Nov. 2010 to Mar. 2011 against conference rivals Memphis, Miami and Mexico City, and call Nokia Theatre at LA LIVE home. Matadors and Americas Conference members are vying for a coveted spot in the WSB Playoffs and opportunity to receive an automatic berth to the 2012 London Olympic Games. Complete information on the Matadors, including fight schedule, fighter bios, ticket information and more can be found at the team’s official website www.lamatadors.com