SUGAR SHANE MOSLEY AND SERGIO MORA TO FACE OFF ON MEXICO’S BICENTENNIAL INDEPENDENCE DAY WEEKEND “200: CELEBRATE AND DOMINATE” AT STAPLES CENTER IN LOS ANGELES TELEVISED LIVE ON PAY-PER-VIEW

Posted on | August 3, 2010 | No Comments

SAUL “CANELO” ALVAREZ TO FACE CARLOS “TATA” BALDOMIR AND “VICIOUS” VICTOR ORTIZ TO BATTLE “VICIOUS” VIVIAN HARRIS IN UNDERCARD BOUTS

LOS ANGELES, August 3 – The Mexican Independence Day Bicentennial celebration will be a big boxing weekend as Golden Boy Promotions presents “200: CELEBRATE AND DOMINATE” featuring Five-Time and Three-Division World Champion Sugar Shane Mosley against former World Champion Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora in a junior middleweight showdown. Also appearing on the card will be rising Mexican phenom Saul “Canelo” Alvarez who squares off against former World Champion Carlos “Tata” Baldomir, and top junior welterweight contender “Vicious” Victor Ortiz who will face former World Champion “Vicious” Vivian Harris, all part of a great night of fistic action on Saturday, September 18 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles which will be televised live on pay-per-view.

“I am happy to be fighting at STAPLES Center again and on a card like this with great up and coming talent,” said Sugar Shane Mosley. “I am going to give Sergio, the younger guy, a chance to see what he can do. I am giving him the opportunity to see if he can take on a great warrior like me. Let’s see if he is going to be the Mexican star that can beat me on September 18 at STAPLES Center which is my boxing home.”

“It is an honor to be fighting Sugar Shane Mosley,” said Sergio Mora. “I respect Shane, but September 18 is not the Shane Mosley show. It’s mine…the Latin Snake’s, real debut. I am a proud Mexican-American, in my prime and I am here to prove myself against one of the best fighters of this era.”

“I am very pleased to once again present a stellar card here in Los Angeles,” said President of Golden Boy Promotions Oscar de la Hoya. “On September 18, fight fans will see the present and future of boxing while they commemorate Mexico’s Bicentennial Independence Day. No boxing fan should miss this show as I expect there to be fireworks in the ring during every one of the fights that night at STAPLES Center.”

“On September 18, we will continue to celebrate the great heritage of Mexican and Mexican American boxing that historically takes place during Mexican Independence Day weekend,” said CEO of Golden Boy Promotions Richard Schaefer. “These fighters are not just coming to win, but they are coming to win in an exciting and spectacular fashion in front of adoring and knowledgeable boxing fans at STAPLES Center.”

“STAPLES Center and AEG are incredibly excited about bringing the Mosley vs. Mora fight to Los Angeles,” said Lee Zeidman, STAPLES Center General Manager. “We look forward to what is sure to be a great night of boxing and to host the main bout which includes two local grown fighters in Shane and Sergio, both of whom have had memorable victories in their careers here at STAPLES Center and September 18 will be a night that more boxing history will be made.”

A future Hall of Famer who is undefeated in two bouts at STAPLES Center against Oscar de la Hoya and Antonio Margarito, Sugar Shane Mosley (46-6, 39 KO’s) returns to his Southern California backyard for the first time since his dominating ninth round knockout performance against then Welterweight World Champion Margarito in January of 2009. A future Hall of Famer, Mosley has already earned six world titles ruling the lightweight, welterweight and junior middleweight divisions over his storied 16-year career. He has defeated the likes of De La Hoya, Fernando Vargas (twice), Luis Collazo, Ricardo Mayorga and Margarito. Looking to put his recent loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May of this year behind him in short order, Mosley returns quickly to action as he continues to take on every challenge the sport has to offer. On September 18, his challenge will be turning back the extremely hungry and talented Sergio Mora.

East LA’s own former Junior Middleweight World Champion Sergio Mora (22-1-1, 6 KO’s) last fought at STAPLES Center in 2005 when he scored a thrilling split decision victory over Peter Manfredo in a rematch of his final bout championship win of the first season of the reality series “The Contender” during which Mora became a household name to millions of fans. Going unbeaten in his next four fights, Mora began to rapidly climb the junior middleweight ranks, eventually earning a shot at the junior middleweight world title held by the late Vernon Forrest in June of 2008. Mora seized the opportunity and won the title via majority decision, but would lose a close decision to Forrest in a rematch three months later. Mora returned to the ring in April of this year and defeated hard-hitting Calvin Green with an impressive seventh round knockout. He now looks to take down a legend in Sugar Shane Mosley and become the first fighter of Mexican descent to defeat the future Hall of Famer.

Unbeaten in 34 pro bouts, but still only 20-years-old, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (33-0-1, 25 KO’s) has broken into the elite level of the welterweight division in 2010 with knockout wins over Brian Camechis, Jose Miguel Cotto and Luciano Cuello. With a rock star-like following already established in Mexico, Alvarez looks to continue making his mark on the American fight scene with another impressive performance on September 18, facing a former World Champion in Carlos Baldomir for the first time in his young, but impressive career.

A rugged warrior who has earned the respect of the fight world for his aggressive style and unyielding will to win, Santa Fe, Argentina’s Carlos Baldomir (45-12-6, 14 KO’s) has been saddled with the task of seeing if Saul Alvarez is ready for prime time. The owner of wins over the likes of Arturo Gatti and Zab Judah, the latter victory earning him the WBC Welterweight World title in 2006, Baldomir has also been in with Floyd Mayweather and Vernon Forrest for twelve rounds each, making it evident that the bright lights of Los Angeles won’t have any effect on him when the bell rings.

23-year-old southpaw Victor Ortiz (27-2-1, 21 KO’s), who followed up his December 2009 knockout win over Antonio Diaz with a February knockout of Hector Alatorre and a dominating May decision victory over former World Champion Nate Campbell, will look to use his September 18 bout as a showcase of his impressive boxing skills that have already garnered him high praise as one of boxing’s future superstars.

One of the hardest punchers in the junior welterweight division, former World Champion Vivian Harris (29-4-1, 19 KO’s) expects to show Victor Ortiz who truly deserves the nickname “Vicious” on September 18. The WBA 140-pound titleholder for nearly three years, the Guyana native has thrilled fight fans with his memorable battles against Stevie Johnston, Juan Lazcano and Disobelys Hurtado. Now hoping to get back in the title hunt, he can skyrocket to the top should he halt Ortiz.

Tickets for Mosley vs. Mora, priced at $200, $125, $75 and $20, are on sale now and available for purchase online at ticketmaster.com, via Ticketmaster charge-by-phone lines at (800)745-3000. Tickets are also available at STAPLES Center box office.

“200: CELEBRATE AND DOMINATE” has a suggested retail price of $44.95 and will be distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD.

Golden Boy Promotions currently has over 60 fighters under contract, from future hall of famers Bernard Hopkins, Sugar Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Marquez, to current world champions and superstars Ricky Hatton, Amir Khan, David Haye, Marcos Maidana, Israel Vazquez and Chris John. Also included on the company’s roster are top contenders Juan Diaz, Robert Guerrero, Saul Alvarez, Victor Ortiz, Joel Casamayor, Daniel Ponce De Leon, Librado Andrade, Rocky Juarez and Abner Mares as well as highly regarded prospects Danny Garcia, Frankie Gomez, Erislandy Lara, Carlos Velasquez and Deontay Wilder.

STAPLES Center, back-to-back recipients of the prestigious Pollstar-CIC Arena of the Year award, has clearly established itself as the Sports and Entertainment Center of the World. As the home of four professional sports franchises – the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks – STAPLES Center has proven to be a home court advantage for the local teams. STAPLES Center continues to distinguish itself as the host of major, high-profile events of national and international distinction including the 2004 NBA All-Star Game, the 2002 NHL All-Star Game, the 2000 Democratic National Convention and 2009 World Figure Skating Championships, ten Grammy Award shows as well as the annual X Games competitions and Pac-10 Men’s Basketball Championship tournaments. STAPLES Center’s ten years have also been marked with performances and special events that brought international stature to Los Angeles’ sports & entertainment icon including concerts by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (who played the arena’s first-ever public event on October 17, 1999), Prince, U2, Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks, Usher, Kanye West, Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake, as well as world championship boxing including Lennox Lewis vs. Vitali Klitschko for the World Heavyweight Championship. Hosting over 240 events a year, the arena’s reputation for world-class amenities, features and commitment to quality of service and the guest experience is second to none.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.aegworldwide.com, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/STAPLESCenterLA, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing.