NEW JERSEY BOXING HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES THEIR 2008 INDUCTEES!!

Posted on | April 3, 2008 | No Comments

Former World Champions Tim Witherspoon and Charles Brewer top the list.

By Mike Indri

Retired Boxers Foundation

April 2, 2008

Former two-time world heavyweight champion Tim Witherspoon and ex- super middleweight title holder Charles Brewer, along with East Rutherford resident Keith Idec, Paterson’s Eddie Cotton, Clifton’s Danny Milano and Paterson native Nick Lembo headline a group of 14 well deserved members elected into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame earlier this week.

“Another elite group”, a beaming Hall president Henry Hascup proudly exclaimed. The honorees will formally be inducted at the NJ Boxing Hall of Fame’s 39th annual dinner slated for Nov. 13 in Garfield.

NJ Boxing Hall of Fame 2008 Class:

James Ali Bashir (trainer)
Bryant Brannon (middleweight contender)
Charles Brewer (IBF super middleweight champion)
Eddie Cotton (referee)
Keith Idec (Boxing Writer)
Nick Lembo (NJ State Athletic Control Board)
Willie Lewis (middleweight – all 33 fights in NJ)
Ludwig Lightburn (lightweight)
Danny Milano (cutman extraordinaire)
Russell Peltz (Promoter)
Don Petrin (NJ Champion – posthumous)
Derrick Rolon (popular middleweight)
Dr. Michael Sabia (NJSACB – inventor of the “enswell”)
Tim Witherspoon (WBC/WBA two-time heavyweight champion)

All boxing fans will be treated to a special night (Tues) April 22nd, as the movie “Carnera – The Walking Mountain” will be premiering at the world renowned Madison Square Garden WaMu Theater.

ADMISSION WILL BE FREE OF CHARGE and special seating will be reserved for members of all boxing and wrestling associations.
Italian boxer Primo Carnera rose from adversity to become a World Heavyweight Champion, yet his time as a boxer was filled with deceit.

Taken advantage of, misled and dishonored in a pugilistic career which reached the pinnacle, yet somehow left the proud champion virtually penniless was hurtful and embarrassing for the humble and honorable gentleman of a person.

Directed by legendary Renzo Martinelli “Carnera – The Walking Mountain” shines reflection onto the true being of Primo Carnera…a loving husband and father, a wonderful and caring human being who never stopped dreaming and never stopped fighting; making
his life one filled with pride, integrity and positive accomplishment.

Primo Carnera was a true hero, and a legend.

A foundation, which bears his name and was established in his honor by his son and daughter, operates out of Italy and Florida and is dedicated to helping all underprivileged children…a dream of Primo Carnera’s.

Enjoy a special evening honoring boxing, integrity and family, in the presence of sport stars, cinema celebrities and Primo Carnera’s daughter and son, Giovanna and Umberto.

For information on the movie, or to attend the April 22, 2008 world premiere:

Click here: Carnera The Walking Mountain

Mike Indri can be reached at RBFNJMIKE@aol.com

JOE CALZAGHE CONFERENCE CALL TRANSCRIPT

Posted on | April 3, 2008 | No Comments

JOE CALZAGHE CONFERENCE CALL

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Fred Sternburg: On behalf of Golden Boy Promotions, Frank Warren, (Sports Network), and Planet Hollywood resort and casino, we’d like to welcome you to Joe Calzaghe’s Media Conference Call. Joe’s just finishing up his last week of training in Wales before he comes over to the states and does his last two weeks of preparation for a fight that everybody has been anticipating for many, many months and appropriately it’s called Hopkins versus Calzaghe, battle of the planet. It takes place April 19 in the Planet Hollywood Ring in Las Vegas. HBO will be televising it live and it’s an extraordinary between arguably two of the best fighters of our era, Joe Calzaghe and Bernard Hopkins, and Joe will be moving up from the super middleweight division where he has reigned for over 10 years as world champion to challenge Bernard for his light heavyweight championship.

So it’s my pleasure right now to bring on the co-promoter of the event, Frank Warren to give you a few words. Frank?

Frank Warren: Thank you Fred. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening depending where you are. We’re really looking forward to this fight. It’s as Fred said, it’s arguably the two best guys in the last 10, 12 years in world boxing, and they certainly are the best in their respected weight divisions. Joe is stepping up for as we know to fight for the ring belt on the 19th and that is a bit of unknown there for him but he’s obviously feeling very comfortable and very confident which I’m sure he’ll tell you himself in a moment.

It’s Joe’s first fight in the states but I think it’ll be like fighting at home for him because it seems there’s going to be more Brits there than there are supporters for Bernard Hopkins, so it should be a real British atmosphere and I know that all of Britain will be behind him and I think he’ll win over a lot of the American fans as well if he hasn’t already done after his two performances that we’ve seen over there with Jeff Lacy and Mikkel Kessler. Joe’s training, again, he’ll tell you himself, has gone well. I know he’s prepared for this fight and I know that he’s in a great frame of mind and it’s the fight he’s been asking for, it’s the fight that he’s wanted, and in every time I’ve promoted Joe when he’s wanted a fight, wanted an opponent and we got it for him. He always looks outstanding and that we hope will be the case on the 19. Anyway, we’ve got Joe on the line so I’m sure we’ve got lots of questions to ask of him. I think he might have a few before that. Joe, would you like to say a few words?

Joe Calzaghe: Hello. Thank you, thank you. Our fan base will be incredible for me there. I’m looking forward to it, obviously it’s my first fight in America in any weight. Yeah, I’m excited. Training has gone good, injury free. I’m looking forward to coming over and hopefully making a great fight. I know Hopkins is very rarely beat in a great fight, but I’ll do my best to make it a good spectacle. But either way I think I will win. I have no doubt in my mind that I will win this fight. So like I said, it’s been a long time, a good servant to the game, but I’ll make sure this fight is his last fight.

Fred Sternburg: Very good Joe. Just a note of reference here, tickets are selling extremely well. I think we’ve noticed a lot of activity over the past 10 days. Remaining tickets can be purchased by going online at PlanetHollywood.com or calling 866-USFIGHT, F-I-G-H-T. While we’re getting reporters in queue to ask questions, Joe, I’ll just throw one out at you here. I guess the big question is how has the transition from super middleweight to light heavyweight been for you in training?

Joe Calzaghe: No difference whatsoever at the end of the day. I’ve not done any weights program, I’ve not changed anything to what I normally change. The only difference is I’m not up starving myself as much to make 12 stone. 12 stone has always been difficult for me. I honestly believe it drains my punching power. I’ve always been a big puncher. I think the last few years, not just 103’s but make a 12 stone, the last few pounds just make me struggle. So there’s nothing, no transition really, just more careful making the weight. My natural weight is about 14 stone, 14 stone, so all I’m doing is getting to 12-7 instead of 12. So until you actually fight you don’t really know how things will go, but as far as I’m concerned I’ll be better at the weight, I’ll be much better. I’ll have the punching power, the speed’s the same, the speed’s no difference. Speed’s always there. So actually I’m not sure what we’ll see on the night, the speed will be the same no problem, no problem.

Michael Amakor,

Fighting.com: I followed your career for awhile and I want to know why you’re so confident about your fight with Hopkins.

Joe Calzaghe: I’m always confident.

Michael Amakor: Your weight class, you’re stepping up. What in your career has prepared you to take on Hopkins?

Joe Calzaghe: I’m always confident no matter who I fight. I’m a winner, a champion, undefeated for 17 years, well 18 years this year. So if you can’t be confident in your own ability after being undefeated many years, you’re never going to be confident. Regardless if I’m fighting Hopkins or anybody else, I’ve always got the same confidence whether it be Lacy, whether it be Mikkel Kessler, at the end of the day, I don’t go where he goes and so on, I look at the guy who’s 43 and the guy who’s lost four fights.

He’s obviously – me going to America is his only chance because he has American ref – the judge is an American referee, but I rise up to every challenge and the harder the challenge the better the performance. So it’s the same as always, I’m 100% confident I’m going to win this fight. I think I would have beaten him 10 years ago and I would beat him now. Joe Calzaghe’s better than Bernard Hopkins.

Bob Velin,

USA Today: Do you expect Hopkins to try to fight you, try to go toe to toe with you or do you expect him to run around the ring? And if that happens, what will you do?

Joe Calzaghe: Well obviously a lot of people, I think Americans don’t realize what I can do. I can box and fight, so I adapt to whatever means I need to do in the fight. Maybe he’ll run from me, maybe when he’s losing and stops trying to fight, who knows. He’s very good at what he does. He can be a bit of a dirty fighter as well, and I’ve seen him – he ties you up on the inside, you can throw the shoulder in, he’s very clever. I’m a southpaw so he’s going to probably look for my right then, the obvious punch to throw against a southpaw, but I know he’s beaten quite a few southpaws, but obviously as you will find out, I’m a totally different southpaw to anything he fought before. So listen, I just go in there with – I just concentrate on what I’m going to do, I don’t care what he’s going to do. Whatever he’s got I’ve got better. So not a problem, I can fight, box, I should imagine the fight will have a boxing match and a fight in there. It will be both. It’s going to be both.

Chris Mannix,

Sports Illustrated:You mentioned about 10 years ago this probably would have been a really big marquis fight. I’m wondering besides a hefty paycheck, what is your motivation for taking this fight against Hopkins?

Joe Calzaghe: Well, new challenge basically. I’ve always said if you get a fight as a light heavyweight it would be nice, and a fight in the states, and obviously going out and watching the tremendous support, he had enough. I thought, well it kind of is the end of my career, it’d be a shame never to experience it first hand yourself. So that’s basically it. Fighting in America and challenging myself, it’d be great when the few Brits go over and succeed. So that in itself is cool for me and it’s worth getting me excited. It’s not just about fighting for money. At the end of the day you’d be willing to get paid money, but maybe boxing what, 26 years when you’re fighting, it takes a lot for me to get excited these days.

Kessler gets me excited, Lacy got me excited, so nothing in super middleweight at the moment interests me, so hence me going up to fight at 175.

Chris Mannix: You think beating a guy like Hopkins at this point in his career does anything for your legacy for your career?

Joe Calzaghe: Of course it does. Early in the day, it’s a challenge in itself to go to America and to win. At the end of the day you – let’s face it, I’m going outside my comfort zone, and at the end of the day you’re the Golden Boy fighter, so at the end of the day I have to not just go there and win, I have to go there and win a proper win.

I have to go there and dominate. And that’s a difficult task to do against somebody like Hopkins. At the end of the day I know you say he’s 42, 43, but he’s still an excellent fighter. You can’t take that away from him. Look at his last two fights, he has won comfortably. The guy can still fight – he’s a very good fighter. The two fights against Taylor were disputed decisions, so you can make a case to say his last loss was to Roy Jones all those years ago. So he’s still a very good fighter.

Dan Rafael

ESPN.com: You talked a little bit so far in the call about coming to America and all that, and that’s been discussed for a long time as far as I can remember going back five, six, eight years ago they’ve talked about when will Joe Calzaghe come to the United States and fight. Can you talk about your motivation to finally make it happen and what was the motivation of your desire to come here and fight? Because you have done so well in your home country, drawn so many big crowds, obviously made good money and add a million defenses.

Joe Calzaghe: Well obviously, opponents matter. I come to fight – the fight in Jeff Lacy, he’s been fighting seven weeks back, he’ll be here it says it all. Because it’s difficult to motivate yourself for an opponent who you don’t really worry about and you end up performing, go fight a great fighter against Jeff Lacy and fight somebody else to be honest in hindsight was a decent opponent. He’s a tough guy, but I struggled. I mean I struggled because in my mind I wasn’t fighting for the fight at all. So you’re not worried and you’re training and not bothered about certain opponents and that’s when fighters are more likely to get beat. So the way I look at it is I need to fight somebody that I can get motivated for and middleweight, there’s nobody at all there. So after Kessler, like I said, going over there and to win in his back yard with everything in his own circumstances as regards to the weight, he wants me to come out and fight in the location on the date, I’m going to be there. And that in itself, I’m challenging myself also, and that’s a saying of a true champion.

Franklin McNeil,

Newark Star Ledger: You said something a little earlier that kind of perked my interest here. You talk about Hopkins and we all do know this, but you talk about Hopkins. He can do a lot of – I don’t want to use the word dirty, but he can do some things, and I guess dirty is the right word, in the ring especially when the referee can’t see. He can hit you whatever, whatever. Have you ever fought anyone who – that you can say, “Hey I fought a guy who did that type of stuff to me, so when Hopkins does it or if he does it, you’ll be prepared for it?”

Joe Calzaghe: Yeah I’ve fought some dirty fighters in my time, I’ve almost been boxing for 25 years. So at the end of the day I’ve fought fighters that hit on the break and hit me low and use the shoulder and the head. So obviously I’ve done that but I’m not going in there for a wrestling or for an MMA fight. I’m going into a boxing match. So at the end of the day, all I want is a fair referee who will take notice of obviously when he throws his head in behind his punches. You have to have faith in the system at the end of the day. Obviously we say when your back’s against the ropes, you’re going to resort even more to them sort of tactics. But I can’t worry about that. I just have to worry about what I do and make sure that I don’t get myself in a situation where I’m there for him to put his shoulder or his head onto my head. I have to box a very smart, clever fight, and I’m capable of doing that as I’ve shown in the past. It’s just making sure I go in that ring with the right mindset of boxing my fight, not getting drawn into his fight when the things will probably turn out to be a bit dirty.

Dan Rafael,

ESPN.com: I wanted to finish a couple of questions about coming to the United States to fight. I wonder at what point in your career did you think it was going to be a realistic possibility that you would come here, and when did you decide that you wanted to make that happen?

Joe Calzaghe: Maybe a year ago. I can’t name exactly, I was not really that concerned. But mainly after the Kessler fight. After the Kessler fight I had to sit down and say, “How am I going to sit better this moment?” And to finish my career off with meaningful fights, meaningful for myself, that’s something that gets me excited. And I suppose going out so watching it and being confronted by Hopkins with his comments. I love them. People say I was upset or offended. No I was not offended by white guy and all this bullshit, I’m not bothered. My skin is thicker than that, I’m not bothered. I know it’s all part of the game. But he’s a smart guy and that sold the fight. So one I saw, obviously, even going into the weigh in and seeing the tremendous reception the rookie got, it’s incredible, absolutely incredible. You know the sight of all the thousands, thousands of fans, it’s just brilliant and I had a buzz off that and a I wanted to get a bit of that before I retired because there’s one thing missing really from my record.

Dan Rafael: Joe, how many people do you expect – I’m sorry, how many people do you…

Joe Calzaghe: It’s thousands, thousands. Obviously I know how to thank them before they get a better number than me, but I’m sure everyone I speak to, I think they become – people coming to the fight that don’t even come to my fight in college. So I think everybody wanted to go there for a good presser and the party but yeah, loads of people are coming up. There’s going to be pressure but I love pressure. That’s where I perform is when I’ve got pressure. So I just want to make sure that I give not just for UK fans but American fans. At the end of the day I look at it – a lot of American fans like my style and I can show them as well that I’m an excellent fighter.

Robert Morales,

LA Daily News: Two quick questions; People talk about you leading up to light heavyweight, but I’m wondering; could you be perhaps more of a light heavyweight than Bernard because really up until the last couple of fights he fought for his entire career, a long career at 160 pounds. He’s not a big guy. So in that case, I don’t really see an issue with the weight. Do you agree with that, that you’re at least as big as he is?

Joe Calzaghe: Yeah that’s a great point because that’s the point that I’ve also stated is that people seem to forget I’ve fought big guys, I’ve fought guys six foot four, and Mikkel kessler, the massive, biggest super middleweight I’ve probably ever seen. He’s got a body like a cruiserweight. I would say he’s definitely bigger than Hopkins. People seem to forget that you most pay most of his career at middleweight, the weight below me, so he’s not a big guy. He’s probably the same as me, maybe a little bit taller, so I don’t think it’s really going to make much of a difference.

Robert Morales: And I agree with that in that regard. And one more thing Joe, a lot of friends that I have that are boxing friends and everything, they ask me what I think about you and I tell them. And they say, “Yeah but you know he’s never fought in the United States.” And of course I know that’s been a big issue. How much do you care what the American fans think and the fact that you have not fought here yet? Is that important to you?

Joe Calzaghe: I don’t know. What’s the right answer for that one? Okay. It’ll be a fight worth recognition, not just from his own people but from all fans, from all the world. So of course it’s important to me to get fans in the states and to be recognized and maybe obviously some people are ignorant to fighters in Britain and Europe.

So is it another, like I said, another task for me to come over there and beat the best fighter in the world from Wales. Not England, Wales.

Chris Murray,

Philadelphia

Tribune: Hello, how do you explain Bernard Hopkins’ mastery of southpaw fighters? Without maybe divulging your particular strategy, how do you explain how this guy tends to be so good against southpaw fighters?

Joe Calzaghe: How many southpaws has he boxed?

Chris Murray: I think he’s boxed at least – I’m thinking about 10, 11 of them, yeah.

Joe Calzaghe: Well I think I boxed 37 right-handers. So at the end of the day, so you’ve beaten eight, nine southpaws, but I’ve beaten 37 right-handers. So that must mean I’m better with right-handers than he is with lefties. At the end of the day, he hasn’t fought me. When you talk about left-handers, you’re talking about southpaws, and told them about some of that myself. Is it going to be a completely different thing altogether? I’m a Winky Wright, whose blown up light middleweight, and we just got into a shell. As you’re going to see, I’m not Antonio Tarver. So as regards to how he performed with southpaws in the past, I couldn’t care if he knocked them all out in the first round because things are going to be totally different when he steps in with me as you’re going to see on the 19th.

Chris Murray: He’s such a defensive fighter. How do you propose to kind of get him to fight – or can you get him to fight your particular style? Because Bernard tends to go in all kinds of angles and he tends to be a lot more defensive. He’s not going to necessarily I guess be aggressive coming out at you.

Joe Calzaghe: Well he’s going to have to come out eventually because I feel, 100% feel there’s no way he can beat me. He can’t outbox me and he can’t outfight me. So eventually if he’s going to go defensive like Winky Wright, I’m going to outbox him. Now if he comes to the side he’s going to get beat on the inside. Seriously, I am so relaxed about this fight, I can’t tell how confident I am. I’m going to win this fight. I don’t have a strategy, I just go in there and do my thing. Nothing more to say. When I’m in a fight, I do what’s best for me. So I’ll go in there and just box as I usually box. I’ll be aggressive and see where we go from there. Maybe he might stand toe to toe, he might run, he might look for the big right-hander, who knows, who cares? At the end of the day I’m just going to go there and do what I always do and it’ll be enough.

Steve Carp,

Las Vegas

Review Journal: When will you be arriving in Las Vegas? What day?

Joe Calzaghe: I’m coming to Vegas on Saturday, the 5th of April.

Steve Carp: Saturday the 5th of April, very good. You talked about the judges and the referees earlier. Does it give you comfort to know that Joe Cortez who I believe worked your fight with Chris Eubank a few years ago will be the third man in the ring and that he’s a veteran referee? Does that give you some peace of mind?

Joe Calzaghe: Oh yeah of course. I have the utmost respect for Joe Cortez. Good omen. He refereed me like you said, the Chris Eubank, and obviously he’s a very stern guy and knows his job and is I’m very, very happy with him refereeing the fight, yes.

Steve Carp: Yeah because like you said, Hopkins is known to do some things inside the ring that aren’t “kosher” shall we say, and I would think you want to have a referee who is a veteran and is aware of those things, correct?

Joe Calzaghe: Yeah of course. And we like to say with (Joe Cortez), he’s so experienced, you have to be very clever to get something past him and he doesn’t take any shit in the ring. So that’s what you want. You want a referee who is going to allow you to fight up to the rules. And yeah, like I said I’m every happy with his appointment.

Hugh MacDonald

Herald Newspaper: I would like to talk just a bit about the dynamic between you and your father. Apparently at one time there was a situation that you should leave your father to go on in boxing. Is this true and how has he helped you in achieving so many goals?

Joe Calzaghe: Oh yeah. At the end of the day if it wasn’t for my dad I wouldn’t be where I am today as far as boxing at night. He motivated me, took me to the gym, taught me the basics in my teenage years. When you want a knock on the head and you want to go out with your friends and do this, he kicked me in the ass and kept me on a straightened arrow.

And I owe it all to him. There was a time as a pro when I had some bad fights and people from outside were sort of criticizing him and even myself. I was thinking about getting another trainer in as well for awhile, but after a few months I knew I couldn’t do that. Because whatever happened in my career, I owe everything to him to where I’ve got to.

And thank God I stayed with dad, and he’s proven not just with me, with the other boys that he’s made world champions, trainer of the year. He’s a fantastic trainer, he’s alright, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Hugh MacDonald: Was that one of your most pleasing aspects, for your dad to get some recognition as a great trainer as well voted trainer of the year?

Joe Calzaghe: Yeah it’s fantastic. For so long he never really got the recognition because he didn’t have any really boxing experience. But he doesn’t necessarily have to be – some fighters are fighting all their life, some make good trainers. It doesn’t work all the time with that, but he is a tremendous motivator and has a tremendous knowledge of boxing and always knows (unintelligible) fighters.

So yeah, when our gym got stronger and stronger, Bradley Price and Gavin Reese, my dad trained them since age nine for the amateurs. And the same with myself, come from a small town until the ABA built up, and I think Bradley’s potential unintelligible and obviously Gavin unfortunately lost his title the other day but nobody can take away the fact that he won a world title.

And you can’t deny obviously him the other day, the other week but I’m sure he will definitely come back stronger than ever. For myself personally, it’s great that he’s getting the recognition. He deserves it. He put so much hard work in himself. He’s so devoted to the sport. Obviously he doesn’t just train me, he trains about eight of the pros, so of course he deserves everything he gets. I’m very proud of him.

David Anderson,

The Daily Mirror: I just wanted to know, have you spoken to Ricky Hatton yet about sort of running tips and going to America and then Vegas for the big show? Or do you plan to speak to Ricky about any experience?

Joe Calzaghe: No I haven’t spoken to Ricky, but I talked to him for awhile back. We obviously don’t need it a week before, because it takes at least two weeks to sort of acclimate. But like anything, I think every individual has their own way of dealing with things. You can’t tell somebody the way you should regarding the pressure and going to another place. I’ve always felt like I’ve got a personality where I’m comfortable with adapting to any situation I’m in and I’ve always felt like we travel well. And obviously I need to prove that but I’ve always felt that we travel well. And I’m actually excited about going away. Number one because obviously it’s fucking freezing and it hasn’t started raining yet, so I’m looking forward to training with some sun on my back. And number two, it’s like I said, I am anything they told me to was going out before. You’ve got certain people that said three weeks before. But there’s absolutely no way I go three weeks before any case. I’ve got my kids and I think three weeks is too long. Especially fighting old man, three weeks, I think two weeks is plenty of time to beat this old man. If I can’t beat this old man I’ll retire and I won’t show my face in public ever again.

David Anderson: Have you taken Ricky’s advice of how to play this rather than stay in a hotel and run a risk of picking up bugs from their conditions?

Joe Calzaghe: To be honest I think that’s just common sense. I do suffer some if I stay in a hotel for a day I’m troubled my breathing and all that. So that obviously makes sense to get a place and I want to be left alone. I’m not one of these people that likes to have an open workout if I don’t have to or speak to a million people if I don’t have to.

One thing you have to do is be concentrated on the job at hand which is the fight. So I like a lot of my own time, so the good thing I think we got a place that’s nice and quiet, so luckily for me I’ve got Bradley coming out and Nathan so I can do some sparring with them and obviously keep yourself relaxed and everything. So we are trying to keep things as normal as possible and do the same sort of routine that I would do at home with regards to the running, the making the weight.

Obviously I’ve got to lose so much weight but I still have to lose weight. Just keep thinking it’s normal, really. I don’t really want to be going to the casinos and hotels and be mobbed all the time. That’s one thing you don’t want to do. I keep myself nice and relaxed because obviously the more relaxed, the easier it is going to be to get in the ring. I don’t need any tension and start a game wrong and stuff.

Chris Roberts,

The Daily Record: Just on the subject of Mackie recently and he said that your father should be given a knighthood. Would you go along with those words?

Joe Calzaghe: Yeah why not? Yeah I think so. I think he should be. I think he should be, why not? To be honest, they give them out pretty easily, so why shouldn’t he have one?

Chris Roberts: Boxers don’t tend to get recognized like that.

Joe Calzaghe: Yeah they don’t, but either way, but yeah I don’t really think that people say that but myself about what, but I don’t know.

Chris Roberts: Yeah…yeah. Bernard Hopkins obviously talking a good game; he went on to say that you might be cute but he’s going to give you a facelift.

Joe Calzaghe: He’s the one that needs the facelift. He’s the ugly one. I think he’s got it ass backwards, what happened? People get facelifts when they’re ugly, not when they’re already good looking. So I don’t know what he’s working at but he needs the facelift. I’ve really struggled to make him look any uglier than he is. He’s ugly, his nose is flat across his face. It’d be very difficult. But you know it’s the ones that look pretty good you worry about? One with a face those things like that. You don’t worry about. So much for a great defense. He must have walked into a lamppost to get a nose like that. That’s all I can say.

Mike Houser,

Nevada Appeal: Assuming you win this fight, will there be any big enough fights to get you back to the states? And if you do win this fight, will you stay at light heavy?

Joe Calzaghe: Yeah well to be honest I’m not sure. I’m not sure, I take one fight at a time. To be honest I would prefer to stay at light heavyweight. What’s the point in killing myself to make it to middleweight again? I’m only looking to fight another fight after this and I’ve basically ruled the super middleweight division for into my 11 year. I’ve beaten the most dangerous fighters out there. The last guy I beat I think will go on, Kessler, that is will go on and win the title is when I relinquish. But the options there. Like I said, I’m still a super middleweight champion and I’m soon to be light heavyweight ring champion. And like I always say, I’m not thinking ahead of this fight, I’m just thinking about April the 19 and winning the fight. And after April the 19, then I’ll think of the next step. But I’ve not really thought about it, not even opponents. I’ve not even thought about what’s happening after this because this is a massive fight. The same as before the Kessler fight, I wasn’t thinking of Hopkins before Kessler. So just one fight at a time. At this stage in my career, like I said, unintelligible, you just take it one fight at a time. Just put everything into one fight.

Mike Houser: Okay. And another take on Hopkins, I’m trying to make light of his racial remarks, but what does that reflect on him as a promoter? This guy will have to bring fighters in, maybe white fighters, and it’s kind of degrading. What do you think? What kind of promoter is this guy saying stuff like that?

Joe Calzaghe: I don’t know. Probably got a white trainer in the corner as well. Honestly I don’t think he is a racist. I think he said a stupid remark that made himself look stupid. He looked embarrassed when he was asked the question in London. I don’t really care. As I had said, the same amount won’t happen the other way around. But honestly, I don’t really care for his remarks. I don’t know the guy, I don’t really care about him, and I know I’m going to beat him. So he’s the one who’s going to look stupid after the fight.

Franklin McNeil,

Newark Star

Ledger: I just wanted to follow up on something. Your style, you pretty much can be a rapid firer, you can throw a lot of punches, but Bernard likes to wait and kind of counterpunch. As far as styles, why is your style more – is a better style for this type of fight? Why will you be in a better position going in because of the way you fight?

Joe Calzaghe: Well I throw more punches. Throw more punches, land more punches. That’s what it comes down to. That’s the basics of boxing, to land more and punch more. Plus I just hope he’s got a Jeff Lacy mentality and thinks that I slap, I don’t hit hard because he’s in for a big shock. But believe me, he’s going to be feeling the power.

Franklin McNeil: Do you think his age – you throwing so many punches will force him to fight more than he would like to? And will age at that point be a factor in wearing him out?

Joe Calzaghe: I don’t know about age, I don’t really think about his age. And I’m aiming, I always throw the first punches. But in this fight, he’s going to be probably moving a lot and looking to land the chuck over the top, the right hand against the southpaw, so I’m just going to – I’m aiming to sit on my punches a bit more to hurt him. I will use the speed, but I’ll definitely mix things up with the power punches with the added weight I’ve got with this, I’ve definitely noticed that I’m punching harder in the gym. So I want to knock him out. So I’m throwing just around a thousand punches or four thousand punches, I want to go in there and use the speed and work him but also slow some punches down where obviously I get some proper power in them because I just don’t want to win this fight, I want to knock him out.

Eduardo Ohata,

Folha De St. Paulo: Mr. Calzaghe, you British champions don’t have the support or you have a fanatic. Thousands go watch your fights and are very, very vocal. How do you explain this kind of support?

Joe Calzaghe: It’s amazing. The best supporters in the world, what can I say? I’m just very lucky to come from it and I can’t explain it. There’s not been anywhere else in the world, you wouldn’t get 10,000 Americans ever come over to the UK to watch a boxing fight no matter how big you are. So it’s just awesome. It’s an advantage being a British fighter in a way because on your way, what you need is to feel like you’re away from home, home from home, and what better than to get your British fans there in their numbers. And when you walk out the arena to have a tremendous reception, money can’t buy that. So it’s just great, it’s the best support in the world. What can I say?

Eduardo Ohata: Mr. Calzaghe, with this kind of support, do you think that you British are bringing something that is disappearing in boxing?

Joe Calzaghe: Really just bringing tremendous support to show the world how to support fighters. It’s great in Britain and all. I suppose in a lot of sports the British are struggling in football and so on, and everything else. But boxing has never been so big in the UK. It’s been televised right across the channels now and I think we all pick the same old champions. So it is brilliant, it’s made my career. But since I’ve been boxing I don’t think boxing has ever been as big as it is now, this moment, and obviously shown through the tremendous support just coming out and watching the fighters.

Eddie Goldman,

SecondsOut Radio: The question I have regards age. When I asked Bernard Hopkins at the news conference about age and he’s 43, how is this going to affect you, he shot back and he said, “Well how old are you?” And of course you just turned 36, happy birthday by the way. Tell me how you think this is going to affect the fight because at this age of 43, Hopkins does obviously not fight three minutes of every round. But how do you see this affecting the fight as it’ll go on?

Joe Calzaghe: To be honest I’ve really not really paid any attention to his age. I don’t look at a guy and say hey I’m fighting a 43 year old. I’m training to the fight the best Bernard Hopkins can be. So I’ve not really thought anything, but I suppose a normal 43 year old just cannot fight for three minutes a round. He’s only human at the end of the day. Although he’s in tremendous shape for 43, he’s not going to have the same stamina as myself and that doesn’t have anything to do with age. I think any age that he’s going to be he’d struggle to keep up with a well creative style. I’ve never seen him throw a thousand punches in a fight. But what he makes up for his smartness. He’s very smart in the way he fights. So that itself is going to be tough. He’s from the street against Winky the last fight. He moved very well. He moved very well and he used the right shots at the right time obviously and that’s how he beat Winky Wright. But he surely retained in a lot of that good movement. His work rate wasn’t bad, still a pretty good work rate. So I’m not really thinking about age. I’m no spring chicken myself at 36 but I believe I can still fight the way I’ve always fought and the same as you’ll probably go in this fight thinking he’s as good as ever, so let’s wait and see.

Eddie Goldman: How well preserved do you think you are? Because for about the last ten years you’ve been averaging about two fights a year rather than fighting much more often.

Joe Calzaghe: Well look at my face, it tells you doesn’t it? At the end of the day somebody is going to stand there and get your head smashed in. At the end of the day I’m pretty good, even in ugly fights. I always seem to come out right. I also when after a fight I don’t, I haven’t been smashed up thank God. I’ve been blessed, so boxing’s an art. At the end of the day it’s just stand there and get your head smashed in. At the end of the day I’m pretty good even in ugly fights. I always seem to come out on top. So I’m just also – right after a fight I don’t really go to the gym for a few months. So maybe that’s preserved me a bit as well, but after fights although I train really, really hard when I’m in the gym and 12 weeks before the fight, I forget about boxing. I’m not one of these guys in the gym who just eats and breathes boxing. I’m a few months away with my family and my kids and do other interests, and then I start to get a desire to want to train. I want to fight. I want to get in shape. And to be honest, I think that’s to do with the longevity and wanting me to keep going and keeping me fresh, keep me excited about it. I don’t know if that makes any sense.

Dan Rafael,

ESPN: Joe, I will ask you another question, taking a follow up on some of the questions that Eddie was asking you. He made a good point about Bernard Hopkins being a little bit older and even when he was a younger guy he was never really one to fight a full three minutes of every round. Have you gone back and watched any videos of his previous fights to maybe see an opponent that was at least similar to you because he has fought so many left handed fighters and noticed that sort of lack of activity and how he sort of picks his spots, when to fight which is really the opposite of what you do which is as you have mentioned throw so many punches?

Joe Calzaghe: No. Do you know what? This is no disrespect for Hopkins as a fighter. I’ve watched him a couple of times. Number one is because you can watch an opponent fight and you only fight as good as an opponent lets you fight. So he hasn’t fought anybody – the southpaws he’s boxed have not been like my style. So I watched obviously the Tarver fight with Jones, and basically I’ve seen the Winky Wright fight. But I’ve said, I’ve never spread the opponents. I’ve never ever done it with Kessler or anybody else and good fighters. I watch about two, three fights of somebody then I watch it once. And that’s something I’ve always done. I’ve never been one that used to go hours do this and this and do that. I watched it a couple of times and that’s all I need to see. I watched him in Tarver, I watched him in his last fight against Winky Wright and I wasn’t impressed, no. So I think I can stop him.

I honestly believe in my heart I’ll stop him unless he can prove for once in his last fight. And that’s a reach. So, at the end of the day, you’re older.

Dan Rafael: I wanted to ask you one other question. You were talking a little about how great a time this has been for British boxing with so many different fighters winning titles and the improved television coverage and whatnot. Your father has trained many of the good fighters besides yourself, Gavin Reese and some of the other guys that have had titles over the last couple years. Those guys have lost their titles. If I’m not mistaken, you’re the last champion left in your father’s stable after a couple of tough losses over the last couple of months. Has that brought the mood down in the gym at all a little bit or do you feel like you’re carrying the torch for your father who’s ironically the trainer of the year this year? What’s his mindset going into this having had his other champions lose?

Joe Calzaghe: Nothing. No, nothing has changed. His spirits are still high. I’ve actually sparred with him the other day. He’s frustrated and he’s more – what we are down there, listen, fighters lose. That’s the way it is. My dad’s record of undefeated fighters going back for like two years I think is unbelievable, unbelievable. And obviously it’s all going to come to an end, it’s disappointing. Bear in mind they were underdogs going into the fights, especially with Enzo because he definitely didn’t perform like he could have and he was – excuse me, but he was ill and nearly pulled out three, four days before. He took a risk, went into the fight, and he made a big mistake. He should never have been in that ring that night. But I’m sure we will come back. The spirits are still high. You’ve seen Gavin, my dad’s spirits are still high. So at the end of the day, I’m not just saying it, but they’re not me. I’ve been champion for into my 11 year, so I’ve seen fighters win and fighters lose, friends of mine going over the years and people come and go retire. And so that is not a problem, it’s not a problem. Spirits are not low in the gym, confidence is still as high as it’s always been, and the vibe of the other fighters is still buzzing. So no, nothing’s changed. Disappointing couple of weeks but hey, that’s boxing.

Michael Woods,

TheSweetScience.com: I’m interested from your perspective Joe on Hopkins psychological warfare. He’s been ramping it up more in recent fights. He played the race card a couple months ago. I’m curious to know from you. Do you believe he does that to try to get inside opponents’ head or is he doing that to try to sell the fight, to hype the fight?

Joe Calzaghe: I think he tries to get into opponents’ heads. I think he tries to get into your head a bit. I’ve seen him do it in the past. But believe me, he’s barking up the wrong tree with me. I’m actually more experienced than he is. He’s older but I’ve been fighting longer. So it may work against a 22 year old kid who’s in awe, it’s a big fight. So I’ve actually enjoyed some of the comments he’s made to me coming from an adult. So yeah, he tries to always be – like I said, he’s barking up the wrong tree with me. I’m sure he’ll try some things coming up at the press conference and maybe some little tricks like he did. But he won’t be very careful.

Don’t try punching me in the face like he did with Winky Wright because I don’t get into that before the fight. But that’s the way it goes. I suppose I think more so like I said. More so that he tries to get in your head and I think he thinks that he actually got into my head. It’s amusing.

Michael Woods: Yeah his latest thing is he’s talking about that he’s prepared to die in the ring. Some guys can say that and when they fight a certain style it’s believable. Bernard is more of a safety first guy. That’s not exactly the way he fights. So he seems to have to switched tactics. He went with the race card now he talks about how he’s willing to die in the ring. Does it help sell the fight also?

Joe Calzaghe: Yeah of course it helps sell the fight. The other day he didn’t play the race card, he didn’t come up to me and challenge me at the press when I was in America. Maybe this fight is going to be made. Nobody wants to see two guys shake each others’ hands and go oh you’re a great fighter, yeah you’re a great fighter too. Always have a great fight. People don’t want to see that. They want to see their controversy and a bad guy and so on. No, let him play the bad guy. But listen, I’ve been boxing like I said for 26 years, and by my experience, dogs are bad; don’t bite. The loud one in the room is not one you want to worry about. It’s the ones that are quiet are the ones I get worried about. So he brings nothing in the ring and he brings nothing outside the ring that I haven’t seen before. So I’ll let him carry on and keep barking and keep barking because come fight night I’m going to be the bad guy, I promise on that.

CUNG LE TO APPEAR ON TDR

Posted on | April 3, 2008 | No Comments

This week we return to our home based Brute Adidas studios in Des Moines for a fantastic show. We were happy to broadcast the AAU Iowa kids Folk style Tournament with a record number of fans in attendance and a record number of listeners. Wrestling in unbelievable.

This week on TDR-

Brent Metcalf – U of Iowa,2007/08 NCAA Champion and his father Tom Metcalf (Metcalf Electric) join us to discuss Brent’s youth, his HS and Collegiate run and his recent incredible season. He is this years recipient of the coveted Hodge award. Congrats! What lies next for this NCAA Champion? Tune in and find out.

Tanner Gardner- Stanford’s all-time winningest wrestler and first three-time All-American. After placing eighth and seventh in his previous two trips, the Kansas native placed fifth at 125 pounds for coach Kerry McCoy and the Cardinal. With 145 wins, Gardner has set the standard for excellence at Stanford.

Jordan Cronin-This our first Resilite Focus on a High School Athlete

Kahlil Gibran stated, “Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing what will be.” Incline Kids Wrestling Club athlete Jordan Cronin certainly continues to progress remarked Incline Kids Wrestling Coach Tony Guerra. “When Jordan steps out onto the mat, he has a plan, he has a purpose. Most importantly though he has the guts to dream big and do the work that it takes to live his dream.” Cronin, a 6’4” 260 pound Nevada sophomore and 2008 Nevada Union FS/GR Tourney Champion. Cronin is actively working toward his goal of wrestling in college and tournaments such as the highly competitive Nevada Union Tourney serve to help him prepare for this summers USA Wrestling Freestyle and Greco-Roman National Championships. Held in Fargo North Dakota July 17-26 2008, the tournament is regarded is a showcase of the nations most talented wrestlers. Cronin the 2x defending state champion in the heavyweight division will compete head to head with our nations best and most competitive athletes for all American status and a national title.

Cronin, at 16 years old, will likely be one of the youngest athletes to compete in the “Junior Division” which is generally populated by 17 and 18 year olds. Asked how he feels about the opportunity to compete at a higher level, “I feel I’ve got a lot to give. I feel good about raising the bar.” Cronin replied. “We should welcome the chance to challenge ourselves if we want to excel.”

Cung Le- MMA Sensation. Star of Elite XC, Showtime and CBS TV joins us to discuss his recent victory over legendary MMA star Frank Shamrock. What’s in store for this quiet, well spoken very nice young man? Practice, practice and more training. Not many people gave him credit in the fight against Shamrock but Le stayed true to his game and like a spider drew Frank in to his web of high kicks and hard punches. Le has a tremendous wrestling background as most MMA stars do but his ground game is not one to mess with. When GSP was on the show 3 weeks ago he predicted (off air) that Le would win based on leg striking alone. This has not been a good month for the Shamrock brothers with Ken loosing to a relatively unknown fighter only weeks ago.

Jordan Leen- Only the second NCAA champion in history from the state of Tennessee, Leen rode an improbable wave to the NCAA championship from the #8 seed. He beat top-seeded Gregor Gillespie of Edinboro, #12 Josh Zupancic of Stanford and #2 Mike Poeta of Illinois to claim the title at 157 pounds.

Phil “P-Diddy” Davis- NCAA Champion for Penn State. The senior made two NCAA finals and placed at the tournament four times after a high school career that only found him placing fourth as his highest state accolade. Never a district or state champion, Davis became one of four four-time All-Americans this season. His unorthodox style made him fun to watch and Davis always rose to the occasion for big matches. He can put up points in a hurry.

Josh Zupancic- Two-time All-American from wrestling powerhouse Walsh Jesuit High School in Ohio. Zupancic left Big Ten country in the Midwest for a gig at Stanford. Under Kerry McCoy, Zupancic placed twice at the NCAA tournament.

Zupancic joins teammate Tanner Gardner and former wrestler Chris Horpel and the program’s only two-time All-Americans. Zupancic finished seventh last year.

LENNOX LEWIS COMMENTS ON HOPKINS VS. CLAZAGHE

Posted on | April 3, 2008 | No Comments

When undefeated superstar Joe Calzaghe of Wales (44-0, 32 KOs) steps into the ring on Saturday, Apr. 19 and faces off with boxing legend Bernard Hopkins (48-4-1, 32 KOs) in a light heavyweight showdown from Las Vegas that will be telecast live on HBO’s World Championship Boxing at 9:45 p.m. ET/ 6:45 p.m. PT, the undefeated visitor from across the pond will be making his first appearance in a ring outside Europe.

HBO analyst Lennox Lewis, a native of Great Britain, who retired in 2004 while carrying the title of reigning world heavyweight champion, assesses the challenge awaiting the 36-year-old southpaw:

On the challenge of traveling to a fight:

“It is an advantage for Hopkins and an issue for Calzaghe because he has never traveled for a fight. Now he actually has to travel, get readjusted, stay for quite awhile in a brand new environment. That has to have some kind of effect on you because you have never done it before. All of a sudden this is you, the whole world is focused on you. You are not at home anymore, your fans are traveling. Some boxers can adjust and some boxers can’t, we are going to have to see whether he can make the adjustment or not.”

On the effects of opponents who talk smack and try to get inside your head:

“Some opponents listen to it. Some opponents take it in and some opponents use it and take advantage of it. Like me, for example. Mike Tyson bit me on the leg (in January 2002) and I used that to my advantage. Everyday I put up a picture of Mike Tyson at training camp and said, ‘Ok, he had first blood, but I am going to finish the fight.’ ”

Assessing the fight:

“It is going to be a great fight because you have one undefeated fighter coming all the way from England and you have one cagey old fighter which you never know what to expect when he comes out, but you know that he has a lot of experience going behind him. As an American fighter Hopkins’ popularity is greater than Calzaghe’s, so this is a recipe that makes for a good fight.”

Coming out party for young lions Jason Estrada & Aaron Williams

Posted on | April 3, 2008 | No Comments

ESPN2 Friday Night Fights, April 4 at Twin River Event Center, RI
Rocky Marciano and Zak DeOssie to be honored

PROVIDENCE (April 2, 2008) – CES stable-mates Jason “Big Six” Estrada and “Awesome” Aaron Williams are planning coming out parties Friday night (April 4) on the ESPN2 Friday Night Fights card, “Heavy Hitters,” promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment and Sports, Inc. (CES), live from Twin River Events Center in Lincoln, Rhode Island.

2004 U.S. Olympian Estrada (11-1, 2 KOs) fights former NABO/NABA/WBC Continental Americas heavyweight champion Lance “Mount” Whitaker (32-4-1, 27 KOs) in the 10-round main even, while 21-year-old Williams (16-0-1, 11 KOs) also faces his stiffest test to date, ex-NABO cruiserweight title-holder Andre “Tombstone” Purlette (40-2, 35 KOs), in the 8-round co-feature.

The 6’ 8” Whitaker has beaten former world champions Oleg Maskaev and Al “Ice” Cole, as well as previously undefeated Robert Davis (22-0), and 2-time world title challenger Monte Barrett.

“I don’t care if he’s 6’ 8” because we’re not playing basketball,” the 27-year-old Estrada said. “(Mike) Tyson proved height doesn’t matter in heavyweight boxing. I have the kind of hand speed Whitaker’s never seen before. I fought a taller boxer in the amateurs – a 6-9 Cuban – and I beat him in Cuba. I’ll be putting pressure on him from the start. I’ll be going forward and he’ll be going backwards. I’m going to keep beating him to the punch. I’ll out-hustle him. I’m younger, stronger faster, quicker and more motivated. Fighting on ESPN2 in the main event is one more step I need to take. This is my moment. I’ve been waiting for this chance.”

Purlette may have more than twice as many knockouts as Williams has had pro fights, but the prodigy is far from intimidated. “I’ve known him a long time,” 9-time U.S. national amateur champion Williams noted. “We’ve sparred back in the day. He’s going to come to fight and it’s going to be a very interesting fight – youth versus a veteran. Fans are going to see a young, fast kid moving up in the cruiserweight ranks in Aaron Williams. Fighting on ESPN2 in the co-feature means a lot to me. Not only am I an ESPN-caliber fighter, I am also getting closer to being a main event fighter.”

The great Rocky Marciano will be posthumously inducted into the CES Ring of Honor in a special ceremony with his brother, Peter, accepting on behalf of the Marciano family. Marciano (49-0) fought 28 times in Providence, winning 24 by knockout.

Former Brown University football star, Super Bowl champion New York Giants linebacker/special team player Zak DeOssie, will also be honored.

Providence’s dangerous light heavyweight Joey “KO Kid” Spina (21-1-1, 15 KOs) takes on Quebec Boxing Council champion David Whittom (10-5-1, 6 KOs) in a 6-round bout. Also on the undercard is light heavyweight “Irish” Joey McCreedy (7-1, 5 KOs) versus “Hurricane” Henry Mayes (6-5-1, 4 KOs) in a 6-rounder, Russian super middleweight Andrey Nevsky (4-0, 3 KOs) against Fitzgerald Johnson (1-3, 1 KO), and flyweight Isander Beauchamp (4-0, 1 KO) tangles with pro debuting Rob Bell. Exciting Philadelphia super lightweight “Hammerin’” Hank Lundy (10-0-1, 6 KOs) has been added to the card.

Tickets for “Heavy Hitters” are priced at $35.00 (ADA stage seating only), $40.00, $50.00, (Bronze), $75.00 (Silver), $100.00 (Gold) and $150.00 (Jimmy’s Platinum Club) and are available to purchase by calling CES (401.724.2253/2254), going on line at www.cesboxing.com or www.twinriver.com, at the Twin River Event Center (100 Twin River Road, Lincoln, RI), or any TicketMaster location. Contact CES (401.724.2253/2254/www.cesboxing.com) or Twin River Events Center (877.82.RIVER/ www.twinriver.com) for more information. Doors open at 6 PM/ET, first bout at 7 PM/ET.

(Twin River has waived its 18+ rule for “Heavy Hitters.” Anybody under the age of 18 must be accompanied at all times by an adult and they must enter through the West entrance.)

CARINA MORENO READY TO DEFEND TITLE

Posted on | April 3, 2008 | No Comments

WBC CHAMPION
CARINA “LA REINA” MORENO
SET TO DEFEND HER TITLE
AGAINST DAN BI KIM

WBC minimumweight champion Carina “La Reina” Moreno (17-1, 5 KO’s) has signed a contract to defend her title against Dan-Bi Kim (4-0, 1 KO) of South Korea. The fight will take place at the Tachi Palace Casino on April 17, 2008.

Moreno is eager to step back in the ring while attempting to extend on her nine fight winning streak as she stated, “I’m ready to go. I just fought Mayela Perez in a four rounder a few weeks ago. My trainer Rick and I feel real confident in this fight. I believe my experience will be the difference. I can’t wait to showcase my skills to all my fans at the Tachi Palace. I’m very thankful to my promoter Christian Printup and co-manager Repo Rick for putting this fight together.”

Goossen Tutor Promotions, LLC and the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino are proud to be promoting this world title bout. For ticket information call the Tachi Palace at (559) 924-7751

ABELL STARTCHES DRASKOVIC IN TWO; PAVES THE WAY FOR TUSSLE WITH WHEELER

Posted on | April 2, 2008 | 1 Comment

Heavyweights headline at The Legendary Blue Horizon on Friday Night April 11th to be aired live on www.gofightlive.tv

PHILADELPHIA (APRIL 1, 2008)—after a one bout power outage, Joey “Minnesota Ice” Abell got back in the knockout column with a destructive second round knockout over Ratko Draskovic in less then two rounds on Thursday March 27 in Gothenburg, Sweden which now clears the path for Abell to return to his home away from home when he takes on Maurice Wheeler on Friday April 11 at The Legendary Blue Horizon in Philadelphia.

This great night of action is promoted by Vernoca L. Michael and Blue Horizon Boxing Inc.

Abell dropped Draskovic at the end of round one and ended matters with a thudding jab that put Draskovic down and out at the beginning of round two.

Abell, 19-1 with eighteen knockouts will look for his eighth knockouts in nine Legendary Blue Horizon appearances when he takes on the crafty and experienced southpaw Wheeler.

Wheeler, 10-11-1 with one knockout will be making his sixth Legendary Blue Horizon appearance (3-2) and will have the hometown advantage as the Philadelphia native will attempt to the spring the upset.

This fight along with a packed undercard can be seen live all over the world on www.gofightlive.tv

The co-feature will be a Middleweight battle between Gee Culmer (13-1, 3 KO’s) of Philadelphia and Anthony Little (7-10-1, 1 KO ) of Akron, Ohio in a eight round affair.

This is a ten bout card that features Steve Chambers (15-1, 4 KO’s), the Legnedary Blue Horizon debut of Simon “One Punch” Carr (4-1-1, 3 KO’s) and the pro debut of Sweden’s Anders Holmberg

(ATTACHED IS THE UPDATED BOUT LIST AS OF 4/1/08)

Ticket prices for this great night of boxing are $200 for Queen Seating, $125 for Presidential seats, $65 for VIP, $55 for Ringside, and $45 for General Admission and can be purchased by calling The Legendary Blue Horizon at 1-215-763-0500 or by logging on to comcasttix.com. Doors open at 6:30 PM / 1st bout begins at 7:30 PM sharp

The Legendary Blue Horizon is located at 1314 North Broad Street in Philadelphia, PA

THERE WILL BE A PRESS CONFERENCE ON WEDNESDAY April 9th AT THE LEGENDARY BLUE HORIZON AT 11 AM

For more information, log on to www.legendarybluehorizon.com

ELITEXC KEEPS BUSY WITH THIRD CARD IN 3 WEEKS THIS WEEKEND

Posted on | April 1, 2008 | No Comments

ELITEXC’S THIRD CARD IN THREE WEEKS,

FIFTH IN 29 DAYS, THIS SATURDAY, APRIL 5,

AT TABLE MOUNTAIN CASINO IN FRIANT, CALIF.

Telecast Will Include Hamman, Suganuma, Camoes & A Women’s Match Featuring Baszler

On A Special Edition of ShoXC on SHOWTIME (11:30 p.m. ET/PT, Delayed on the West Coast)

LOS ANGELES (April 1, 2008) – In an excellent matchup of promising light heavyweights, undefeated Jared Hamman (9-0) of San Bernardino, Calif., faces once-beaten Poai Suganuma (8-1) of Hilo, Hawaii, in the main event on ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series this Saturday, April 5, live on SHOWTIME (11:30 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast) at Table Mountain Casino at Friant, Calif.

ShoXC is patterned after the popular SHOWTIME boxing series ShoBox: The New Generation, which pits developing fighters in tough match ups. ShoXC, like ShoBox, is a springboard for the future stars and champions of EliteXC.

Tickets, priced at $50 (General Admission), $60 (Gold), $70 (Reserved) and $80 (VIP), are available at the Main Casino Cage at Table Mountain Casino online at www.tmcasino.com/tickets.html. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. First live fight is at 5:30 p.m. PT.

The mixed martial arts fight card is the third in three weeks for Los Angeles-based ProElite, Inc.’s live fight division, Elite XC – all on SHOWTIME — and fifth in 29 days.

EliteXC, led by Gary Shaw, was involved with cage events on March 8 (London, Cage Rage), March 15 (Honolulu, Icon Sport) and March 29 (San Jose, Calif., Strikeforce). It also is EliteXC’s second ShoXC fight card in three weeks. The other came on March 21 (Santa Ynez., Calif.).

If the run of MMA events isn’t enough, Shaw, who’s one of the world’s top boxing promoters, will also present an outstanding fistic doubleheader Saturday, April 12, on SHOWTIME.

“I’ve been racking up the frequent flyer miles, but it’s worth the effort,’’ Shaw said. “A lot of work goes into putting on quality, first class shows and the fight team at EliteXC deserves a ton of credit.

“There are a lot of willing fighters out there, but it takes excellent matchmaking to make the best fights happen, and we have an outstanding, hard-working fight team that continually puts together the kinds of fights that always offer a bit of everything to those in attendance and watching on SHOWTIME.

“Like I’ve said, this (ShoXC) is the best place for young fighters to establish themselves and make a name. I really believe that ShoXC continues to do for MMA what ShoBox has done for boxing. This is truly another great show, for sure, and it’s stacked with promising prospects.’’

Since its inception, EliteXC has consistently featured women’s fights on SHOWTIME. On this show, crowd-pleasing, talented Shayna “The Queen Of Spades’’ Baszler of Sioux Falls, S.D., will face Japan’s Keiko Tamai (16-14) at 140 pounds. Another top match will feature comebacking Brazilian, Fabricio “Morango” Camoes (7-4), who will make his eagerly awaited EliteXC and ShoXC debut, against Joe Camacho (10-11-3) of Los Angeles in a 160-pound bout.

In other televised fights, Wilson Reis (3-0) of Philadelphia faces Doug Evans (5-2) of Anchorage, Alaska, at 140 pounds and Giva “The Arm Collector’’ Santana (10-0) of Irvine, Calif., meets Matt “Luke Duke’’ Lucas (9-0) of Arizona in a battle of unbeatens at 185 pounds.

Non-televised bouts include: Promising Melanie LaCroix (1-0) of Los Angeles, Calif., vs. KC Noland (1-2) of San Luis Obispo, Calif., at 140 pounds; Jaime Iracheta (debut) of Fresno, Calif., vs. Brent Cooper (1-0) of Irvine, Calif., at 185 pounds; Telly Sanders (debut) of Fresno vs. Roberto Vargas (1-0) of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., at 165 pounds; Yasser Pezzat (debut) of Fresno vs. Luke Riddering (debut) of San Luis Obispo at 265 pounds; Carl Saumantafa (2-0) of Fresno vs. Amadeo Viola (0-1) of Rancho Cucamonga at 265; and Japan’s Yoko Takahashi (13-9) vs. an opponent to be announced at 150 pounds.

The SHOWTIME fights are scheduled for three, 5-minute rounds with the exception of Baszler-Tamai, which is slated for three, 3-minute rounds. The non-televised fights are scheduled for three, 3-minute rounds.

Fans can watch pre- and post-fight interviews only at ProElite.com. Fighter pages are below.

Hamman and Baszler tallied impressive victories Oct. 26, 2007, at Santa Ynez, Calif., on ShoXC. On the same show, Santana scored a 2:46, first-round submission (armbar) over Jaime Fletcher in a non-televised bout. Fletcher won an upset three-round split decision over Aaron Rosa on the March 21 ShoXC.

Team Unbreakable’s Hamman submitted Tito Ortiz’s training partner, the aforementioned, previously unbeaten Rosa (rear naked choke), in the second round. Baszler rocked and socked her way to an impressive 0:44, first-round submission (arm bar) over Jennifer Tate.

“Jared keeps stopping everyone and was awesome against Rosa. Shayna exemplified once again that women do have a place in MMA,’’ Shaw said. “I can’t wait to see them both in action again.’’

Hamman has won all of his MMA fights by stoppage, an overwhelming number of them by TKO or KO. Despite going down early, he dominated Rosa with a series of body slams and ground strikes to position himself for the rear naked choke that Rosa tapped out to at 1:46 of the second round.

“That was definitely the biggest and most important win of my career,” said Hamman, a college football coach and former football star at Atascadero High who’s yet to have a fight enter the third round.

“It was very exciting. Fighting on SHOWTIME really added more pressure. But what’s cool is that all my players (at the University of Redlands) were able to see me fight and win.’’

Suganuma majored in computer science in college. After moving to Japan in late 2004, where he worked as a singer, ukulele player and English teacher, Suganuma became interested in wrestling.

An avid weight-lifter, the six-foot-two 26-year-old won a grappling competition and, then, after a month of MMA training, made his debut. He won his first five before suffering his lone defeat to Kestutis Arbocius in the finals of a King of Pancrease fight stopped due to cuts in the third round Aug. 27, 2006.

Suganuma returned shortly thereafter to Hilo, his hometown, to train with BJ Penn. He has gone 3-0 since, including a 3:05, first-round submission victory (armbar) over Bernard Ackah on Oct. 28, 2007.

Camoes, a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under world champion Saulo Ribiero, will make his EliteXC, ShoXC and United States debut. The last time he fought, he defeated three opponents in one night, capped by a first-round submission (armbar) over the more experienced Jean Silva in the finals of the Super Challenge in Brazil on Oct. 7, 2006.

“I struggled for years in Brazil,’’ said Camoes, who cites “personal problems’’ for the layoff. “But I believe both my team and I will improve in America and I am ready for new challenges. I am very well prepared and my training has been excellent. The conditions are excellent in the United States.

“I look forward to showing that my game has evolved and fighting for ProElite and EliteXC on SHOWTIME is very exciting. I am anxious to fight. This is like a new beginning for me.’’

Camacho is coming off a second-round knockout over Thomas “Wildman” Denny on Jan. 24, 2008. The triumph over Denny was Camacho’s second in a row and extended his unbeaten streak to six (5-0-1).

The talented Baszler’s triumph over Tate was her third consecutive first-round victory.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect it to go that quickly,” said Baszler, whose eight victories have all come by submission. “I slipped a punch, the take down was there and I took it. I did what I trained to do.’’

Tate came out swinging wild and ate a right hand to the chin. Baszler swooped in and took the fight to the floor, where she ended it seconds later with a slick armbar.

“I love fighting on SHOWTIME,’’ said Baszler, who also boasts a 2006 victory over Julie Kedzie (who fought Gina Carano on EliteXC’s history-making fight card Feb. 10, 2007, on SHOWTIME).

“I know all of my family and friends were watching last time and will do so again. I didn’t get a lot of airtime, but I am very happy with this win. I’ve fought the best and I am ready to fight anybody.”

Tamai, who is known for her flamboyant ring attire and personality, will look to regain her winning ways against Baszler. Tamai, who has fought tough opposition, defeated Jan Finney via a second-round submission (armbar) on Feb. 16, 2007.

Reis, a Brazilian Top Team black belt, will make his initial appearance on ShoXC. In his last start and EliteXC debut, the fast-rising featherweight impressively submitted (choke) former Division 1 wrestler Zach Machovsky at 1:15 in the second-round in a non-televised bout Jan. 25, 2008, at Atlantic City.

An accomplished wrester who turned pro in July 2007, Reis trains out of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu United in Jenkintown, Penn., under Lloyd Irvin black belt Jared Weiner.

Evans, who helped put the Anchorage-based Alaska Fighting Championship on the MMA map, has competed at 135 pounds but is looking forward to fighting at 140.

“It’ll feel really good to get back to my more-natural weight class and start being one of the bigger guys in the division again,” said Evans, who began his career with five consecutive victories. “I’m excited to fight for EliteXC where I plan on making my new home.’’

Santana, a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and five-time world champion, has won nine of his 10 starts by first-round submission, all by armbar, thus the nickname the “Arm Collector.’’

“I train very hard and am ready to fight the best,’’ said Santana, who went the distance in his pro debut. “There are a lot of good fighters in my division. I want to be a world champion.

“I’m glad to have signed with EliteXC. This is the kind of opportunity I have been waiting for.’’

Lucas, who started training MMA eight years ago, scored a 55-second, first-round submission (choke) over Rich Beecroft on Feb. 1, 2008. Lucas was victorious in his EliteXC debut in his start before last, winning a hard-fought unanimous decision over Jon Kirk on Nov. 10, 2007, at Corpus Christi, Tex.

Takahashi, a former Smack Girl titlist, has won two of her last three.

Fighter pages for televised bouts: Hamman (http://jaredhamman.proelite.com), Suganuma (http:/poaisuganuma.proelite.com), Camoes (http:/fabriciocamoes.proelite.com), Camacho (http:/joecamacho.proelite.com), Baszler (http://shaynabaszler.proelite.com), Tamai (http://keikotamai.proelite.com), Reis (http://wilsonreis.proelite.com), Evans (http://dougevans.proelite.com), Santana (http://givasantana.proelite.com), Lucas (http://mattlucas.proelite.com).

Fighter pages for non-televised bouts: Saumantafa (http://carlsaumantafa.proelite.com), Viola (http://armadeoviola.proelite.com), Pezzat (http://yasserpezzat.proelite.com), Shilling (http://joeshilling.proelite.com), Iracheta (http://jaime Iracheta.proelite.com), LaCroix (http://melanielacroix.proelite.com), Noland (http://KCNoland.proelite.com), Cooper (http://brentcooper.proelite.com), Sanders (http://tellysanders.proelite.com), Vargas (http://robertovargas.proelite.com), Takahashi (http://yokotakahashi.proelite.com). .

About ProElite, Inc.

ProElite Inc. [PELE.PK] delivers the most exciting entertainment experience in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) with live arena-based entertainment events, cable television programming on Showtime Networks and community-driven interactive broadband entertainment via the Internet. ProElite embraces MMA with the highest levels of honor, integrity, discipline and self-esteem all the while remaining inclusive for fighters, fans and schools. ProElite’s live fight division, EliteXC, delivers spectacular live MMA fight events that showcase the world’s top fighters [elitexc.com]. ProElite’s interactive business, ProElite.com, capitalizes on the growing popularity of the sport of mixed martial arts by building a community of MMA enthusiasts. In addition to streaming the most exciting live fights to the web, ProElite expands the fan base of the sport by providing a comprehensive set of online social networking tools for fans, fighters and organizations. ProElite.com – Empowering the Fight Community TM

About Showtime Networks Inc.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL® and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL® XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL® HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL® ON DEMAND. SNI is also an owner and manager of SUNDANCE CHANNEL®, a venture of NBC Universal, Robert Redford and SNI. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

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