BBBofC Southern Region Chairman Mick Collier Launches ‘Harry Fund’ To Support Former Boxer Harry Senior
Posted on | September 13, 2010 | No Comments
Mr Mick Collier
Chairman – BBBofC Southern Area
For Immediate Release:
London – 13th September 2010
Following the editor’s letter in Boxing News on August 26th, highlighting the plight of former Southern Area Heavyweight champion Harry Senior, BBBofC Southern Area Chairman Mick Collier has instigated the ‘Harry Fund’ and is appealing to the boxing community for their support.
Harry Senior suffered a stroke on the 2nd December 2009, during a sparring session with Albert Sosnowski ahead of the Polish fighters European title fight with Paolo Vidoz, and subsequently required life saving surgery, at The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery at Queen Square in London, where he had part of his skull was removed to allow his brain to swell, before starting the slow road to recovery at The Frank Cooksey Rehabilitation Unit at King’s College Hospital.
During his distinguished career Harry boxed for England in the amateurs and fought the best domestic fighters in the pro ranks, including Danny Williams for the Commonwealth title. Harry is also credited with helping Audley Harrison win gold at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
On announcing the ‘Harry Fund’ Mick Collier said, “I am saddened by Harry’s plight and want to get him some much needed financial support as quickly as possible.
Harry suffered this most unfortunate incident and as he is a former license holder I believe collectively we should do our best to support him, and his family, as they are suffering some financial hardship at this time.
It could be another two years before Harry can get back to a normal life and in that time he needs to be looked after
I have been in touch with the general secretary of the board regarding the BBBofC Benevolent Fund, which offers aid to boxers that have fallen on hard times. However any payment made from the fund can take a while to come through, and even then it’s not a large amount, and Harry and his family needs help now.
I’d also like to say that there are some good people out there that have been talking about putting together charity events or a benefit for him, which is I think is great, but again these things take weeks or months to organise and Harry needs the help now.
This is why we at the Southern Area decided to create the ‘Harry Fund’ and make this appeal for support.”
For further information or to make a donation please contact:
Mick Collier
Chairman BBBofC Southern Area Council
c/o M R Scaffolding Ltd
2 Wood’s Road
London SE15 2PX
Phone: 07973 182141
E.Mail: micky.collier@mrscaffolding.com
Donations for the ‘Harry Fund’ should be made out to the British Boxing Board of Control
Tags: Albert Sosnowski > Audley Harrison > Auto > benevolent fund > Boxing > boxing community > Commonwealth title > draft > fight > Former > heavyweight > heavyweight champion > Launches > news > plight > queen square > region chairman > rehabilitation unit > release london > road > stroke > surgery
MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY BOXING TRADITION RETURNS TO ITS LOS ANGELES ROOTS FOR “200: CELEBRATE AND DOMINATE” MOSLEY VS. MORA ON SEPTEMBER 18
Posted on | September 13, 2010 | No Comments
LOS ANGELES (September 13) – On September 15, 1972 Mexican lightweight Chango Carmona stopped Mando Ramos in the eighth round of a WBC title bout at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. Little did Carmona know that he was starting a now nearly four-decade-long tradition of Mexican and Mexican American fighters representing their people on the hallowed Mexican Independence Day holiday weekend. Thirty-eight years later, Mexican Independence Day weekend boxing will once again return to Los Angeles for “200: CELEBRATE AND DOMINATE” Mosley vs. Mora on September 18 at STAPLES Center live on HBO Pay-Per-View®.
Former World Champion Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora, rising boxing phenom Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, top junior welterweight contender “Vicious” Victor Ortiz, former World Champion Daniel Ponce De Leon and number two world rated featherweight Antonio Escalante, who are all of Mexican or Mexican-American descent, will step into the ring September 18 with an understanding of the significance of the night and the fights ahead of them.
“It is humbling to fight on Mexican Independence Day and follow in the footsteps of some of the greatest fighters of all time,” said Mora, whose mother moved to East Los Angeles from Mexico in when she was 20-years-old in pursuit of a better life. “I understand what it means to be a part of this tradition and I feel that I am ready for the challenge. The opportunity to fight in Los Angeles makes the stakes even higher and the fight even more significant.”
The city of Los Angeles has played a critical role in the history of Mexican Independence Day boxing. In 1984, Julio Cesar Chavez, arguably the most important figure in Mexican boxing history, won his first world title when he fought fellow Mexican Mario Martinez at the Olympic Auditorium. Chavez, who went on to fight on Mexican Independence Day weekend six more times, fought his last Mexican Independence Day fight on September 18, 1998 against Los Angeles native and future 10-time World Champion Oscar de la Hoya who defeated Chavez via an eighth round TKO.
The torched was passed, and De La Hoya carried on the Mexican Independence Day fighting tradition from that point forward, fighting nearly every year on the all-important weekend. Several of the most memorable fights in De La Hoya’s storied career took place on Mexican Independence Day weekend including bouts against Felix Trinidad, Fernando Vargas and Sugar Shane Mosley.
“It was always an honor to represent the Mexican people on the independence weekend,” said De La Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. “I look forward to bringing some of the best Mexican and Mexican American fighters to Los Angeles next weekend to continue this grand tradition. This is a great opportunity for these young fighters to make a name for themselves as many other fighters have on this great holiday.”
The greater Los Angeles area has the largest Hispanic community in the United States and with a large portion of that community residing in East Los Angeles, it is no wonder that the neighborhood has produced some of the most talented fighters of Mexican descent in recent history such as De La Hoya and Mora. Also an East L.A. native, rising junior welterweight prospect Frankie Gomez will fight for the first time on Mexican Independence Day weekend when he faces Cesar Holguin in the bout immediately before the pay-per-view telecast on September 18.
“Fighting on Mexican Independence Day weekend in my hometown is a dream come true,” said Gomez. “There is definitely added pressure, but I am confident that I will be able to make my family and my people proud. I hope this is the start of many more Mexican Independence Day fights in my career.”
September 18 marks the Bicentennial of Mexican Independence and “200: CELEBRATE AND DOMINATE” marks one of the biggest celebratory fight nights to take place in Los Angeles, continuing the tradition of great Mexican Independence Day fights.
MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY FIGHT APPENDIX:
ÓSCAR DE LA HOYA
Date Opponent Location Result
9/18/2004 Bernard Hopkins MGM Grand, Las Vegas L KO9
9/13/2003 Shane Mosley MGM Grand, Las Vegas L UD12
9/14/2002 Fernando Vargas Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas W TKO11
9/18/1999 Félix Trinidad Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas L MD12
9/18/1998 Julio César Chávez Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas W TKO8
9/13/1997 Héctor Camacho Sr. Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas W UD12
9/9/1995 Genaro Hernández Caesars Palace, Las Vegas W RTD6
“I always felt great pride fighting during Mexican Independence Day weekend,” De La Hoya said. “There is an extra motivation to perform on this weekend because no one wants to let their country down and I know, just like Chavez and I did when we fought on this special day, the fighters on the September 18 fight card will make Mexico proud.”
JULIO CÉSAR CHAVEZ
Date Opponent Location Result
9/18/1998 Óscar de la Hoya Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas L TKO8
9/16/1995 David Kamau Mirage, Las Vegas W UD12
9/17/1994 Meldrick Taylor MGM Grand, Las Vegas W TKO8
9/10/1993 Pernell Whitaker Alamo Dome, San Antonio, Texas D12
9/12/1992 Héctor Camacho Sr. Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas W UD12
9/14/1991 Lonnie Smith Mirage, Las Vegas W UD12
9/13/1984 Mario Martínez Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles W TKO8
“I feel proud to have been part of fights that gave fans such great memories while celebrating Mexico’s Independence, such as my fight against Meldrick Taylor,” said Chavez. “That night, I was filled with great pride knowing that all of my people were watching and that the fight was taking place as part of the celebration of Mexican Independence Day.”
JUAN MANUEL “DINAMITA” MÁRQUEZ
Date Opponent Location Result
9/19/2009 Floyd Mayweather MGM Grand, Las Vegas L UD12
9/13/2008 Joel Casamayor MGM Grand, Las Vegas W TKO11
9/18/2004 Orlando Salido MGM Grand, Las Vegas W UD12
“It is always an honor to fight on Mexican Independence Day weekend,” said Marquez. “To be given the chance to fight on this important day in the history of my country three times in my career is something I am very proud of.”
MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA
Date Opponent Location Result
9/16/2006 Rocky Juárez MGM Grand, Las Vegas W UD12
9/17/2005 Robbie Peden MGM Grand, Las Vegas W UD12
“It was an honor for me to fight on this weekend because I knew that all Mexican fans were watching very closely,” Mexico City’s Barrera said. “It has always been an important date that belongs to most important Mexican fighters.”
ERIK ‘EL TERRIBLE’ MORALES
Date Opponent Location Result
9/11/2010 Willie Limond Plaza de Toros Mexico W KO6
9/12/1998 Junior Jones Plaza de Toros Tijuana W TKO4
“Even though I only fought twice on this weekend, I always know that it is a fight that will be remembered because it took place on such an important date,” Morales said. “It remains a strong connection between the sport and Mexican history. There will always be a hard-fought battle that fans won’t forget when a Mexican fights during the celebration of Mexican Independence.”
GABRIEL RUELAS
Date Opponent Location Result
9/17/1994 Jesse James Leija MGM Grand, Las Vegas W UD12
9/16/1996 Ángelo Núñez Las Vegas W TD 8
“It was an honor for me to fight during the celebration of Mexico’s Independence and I will always remember it was an important moment in my career during which I hope I was a worthy representative of Mexican boxing,” Ruelas said.
ERUBEY “CHANGO” CARMONA
Date Opponent Location Result
9/15/1972 Armando Ramos Memorial Coliseum, Los Ángeles W TKO8
“For me it was very special and so important to fight on September 15, 1972,” Carmona said. “I remember shouting for joy after I beat Ramos and captured a world title in front of all the Mexicans fans in the Los Angeles Coliseum. That win wasn’t just for me, it was for Mexico as well.”
# # #
“200: CELEBRATE AND DOMINATE” is headlined by Five-Time World Champion Sugar Shane Mosley facing off against former World Champion Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora and also features Mexican phenom Saul “Canelo” Alvarez against World Champion Carlos “Tata” Baldomir, top junior welterweight contender “Vicious” Victor Ortiz taking on former World Champion “Vicious” Vivian Harris and former World Champion Daniel Ponce De Leon squaring off against number two world rated featherweight Antonio Escalante in a WBO Featherweight Title Elimination bout.
“200: CELEBRATE AND DOMINATE” Mosley vs. Mora is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate, DeWalt Tools and AT&T. The special night of boxing set for Saturday, September 18 at STAPLES Center is an official event of the Mexican Bicentennial celebration in Los Angeles, Calif.
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.
“Fiesta de la Independencia,” a two-day celebration of the Mexican Bicentennial will feature live fights with “Sólo Boxeo Tecate,” the official Mosley vs. Mora weigh-in, autograph sessions by boxing legends, live music, sponsor activations and exhibits, Mexican themed concessions provided by the Patina Restaurant Group, a beer garden and much more including a live concert by legendary band Conjunto Primavera Friday night after Sólo Boxeo Tecate, will begin Friday, September 17 in Parking Lot 7 at L.A. LIVE at noon. Tickets for “Fiesta de la Independencia,” priced at $10 plus service charges for general admission on Friday (which includes standing room for Sólo Boxeo Tecate) and Saturday and $30 plus service charges for Friday admission plus a reserved seat for the Sólo Boxeo Tecate fights, are on sale now and available for purchase in advance at www.beticketing.com/goldenboypromotions or on site at the “Fiesta de la Independencia” main entrance on 11th Street. For more information on this event, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com.
The “200: CELEBRATE AND DOMINATE” Mosley vs. Mora pay-per-view telecast, which begins at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $44.95, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and will be available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View®, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com.
NCM Fathom will broadcast “200: CELEBRATE AND DOMINATE” Mosley vs. Mora in high definition LIVE to more than 300 movie theaters nationwide at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT. Tickets to see the fight on the big screen are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.
For more information on “200: CELEBRATE AND DOMINATE” Mosley vs. Mora go to www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.whorupicking.com, www.aegworldwide.com, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/STAPLESCenterLA, www.twitter.com/SugarShaneM, www.twitter.com/ssab12, www.twitter.com/VICIOUSOrtiz, www.twitter.com/kwildwildwest or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing.
Tags: Auto > Camacho > Chavez > Daniel Ponce De Leon > date > DAY > draft > fight > Grand > HBO Pay-Per-View > HOYA > Julio Cesar Chavez > mario martinez > memorial coliseum > Mexican Independence Day > olympic auditorium > ponce de leon > PRIDE > staples center > Thomas > tradition returns > Weekend
SUGAR SHANE MOSLEY AND SERGIO MORA CONFERENCE CALL TRANSCRIPT
Posted on | September 13, 2010 | No Comments
Kelly Swanson
Thank you, everybody, for joining us today. For the past several weeks, we have been hosting a variety of conference calls with a lot of fighters that are going to be participating in next Saturday, a week from Saturday’s Mosley vs. Mora “200: Celebrate and Dominate” from Staples Center live on HBO Pay-Per-View. But this is the call we’ve all been waiting for because we are fortunate enough today to have the main event of that show on the phone with us. As your alert mentioned, joining us right now is Sergio Mora and his trainer, Dean Campos.
Before we get to them and for the introductions, I’d like to introduce Richard Schaefer, Chief Executive Officer of Golden Boy Promotions.
Richard Schaefer
Welcome, everybody, and thank you so much to be on today’s call. I look forward seeing you all in a little bit more than a week here in Los Angeles. It is going to be a great card when five time and three divisional world champion, Sugar Shane Mosley will go in the ring against Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora, a former world champion himself in the junior middleweight of 154. As we all know we will have the Mexican star, Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez on the card as well against Carlos “Tata” Baldomir, a former world champion and “Vicious” Victor Ortiz fighting the other vicious guy, Vivian Harris and a very exciting barn burner is going to be the opening bout of the pay-per-view card, which is going to be former world champion, Daniel Ponce de León against number two world rated featherweight Antonio Escalante of El Paso, Texas. So four televised fights-four great fights-very fitting for this great 200 year bicentennial celebration of the Mexican Independence.
It’s going to be the official Mexican bicentennial celebration in Los Angeles. The Mexican Consulate is very heavily involved. It is marketed through all of the Mexican channels and reach the different platforms from the Mexican Consulate. Sponsored by Cerveza Tecate, DeWalt Tools and AT&T, the live HBO pay-per-view will begin at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Pacific.
Tickets quickly, starting at $20, $75, $125 and $200 and yes, you did hear right, $20 to see a card like that at the number one facility, and I’m not just making that up. It was actually ranked number one sport facility in Southern California, the Staples Centers here in downtown Los Angeles. For $20, tickets are going fast. We had to open the upper deck. So we do expect a capacity crowd do be at hand to be part of this great weekend.
The fight will be shown in movie theatres again as well. More than 300 select movie theatres nationwide will show the entire card and locations that you can check on www.fathomevents.com. The fight week kicks off this Sunday with the Mexican Bicentennial Parade in East LA, which is one of the events where the fighters will be participating in as well. We really are going to see throughout the week, throughout that 200 week, 200 year anniversary week, activities like we have never done. We’ve never seen on any other pay-per-view before.
There will be, in fact, a special Fiesta de la Independencia, which will begin on Friday, September 17th in front of the Staples Centers part of the L.A. Live structure at noon. It will be a two day celebration of the Mexican Bicentennial, which will feature live fights with Solo Boxeo Tecate on Friday night. It will host the official Mosley/Mora weigh-in. It will host special autograph sessions with some of the boxing legends we have invited. I’m happy to report that they have accepted-the 20 or so, our biggest Mexican stars of all time will be at hand in Los Angeles and will be part of that Fiesta de la Independencia where fans can go and meet them and greet them and get autographs.
There will be live music, sponsor activations, a lot of booths and exhibits, Mexican themed concessions will be provided by the number one restaurant in Los Angeles, the only three star Michelin restaurant group here in southern California, the Patina Restaurant group. There will be a beer garden and much more, including live concerts on Friday right following the Solo Boxeo Tecate shows will be the legendary Mexican band, Conjunto Primavera.
All that by the way Solo Boxeo and concert and so on, tickets are priced at $10, $10 to be part of the fiesta de la Independencia. Again, we really want to encourage all fight fans and all fans, music fans and so on to be part of that big celebration downtown LA.
Now, though, let’s move on to the main event here with Mosley and Mora. It is a pleasure now to introduce to you, Dean Campos, the head trainer for Sergio Mora to make some opening comments on how training camp has been going.
Dean Campos
Hello, everybody. Training camp is going great. Everything I expected from Sergio, he’s come through. All of sparring partners came through on everything we wanted them to do. Everything is great, it’s fabulous.
Schaefer
Before I’m going to introduce Sergio Mora, I do want to acknowledge as well Cameron Dunkin, who is Sergio Mora’s manager. We have recently started the relationship with Cameron, actually with Kirkland and then Mora and soon other fighters. It’s a pleasure to work with Cameron and his attorney as well, Michael Miller. They make quite a team.
Now it is a pleasure for me to introduce to you with a record of 22 and 1 and 1 draw, six KOs from east LA, California, the former Junior Middleweight World Champion. We all know he was a big hit on TV as well when he won The Contender. He’s one of the most recognized names. Whenever I’m with him, I see people come up to him, even non-boxing fans. He really is the kind of guy who has broken through outside of the boxing world as well, but now he has this tremendous opportunity and I can tell you he will be ready.
A couple weeks ago he came to visit me here in the office. We talked a bit. I can assure you Sergio Mora is coming to win. We know that he has what it takes to become world champion because he’s done it before. The question now is can he do what other greats of Mexican descent-De La Hoya, Vargas and Margarito-have failed to do on Mexican Independence Day weekend, defeat the legendary Sugar Shane Mosley.
Believe me, guys, Sergio Mora will be ready. Anybody who underestimates and including Mosley, which sometimes I have the feeling he does, they’re going to be in for a true shocker.
It’s a pleasure for me to introduce to you Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora.
Sergio Mora
What an introduction, Richard, thank you very much. I appreciate that and good afternoon, gentlemen, everybody, good afternoon. Without questions, I just want to say a quick little statement that I’m really excited for this opportunity. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that things happen for a reason. I’m a firm believer of destiny. Deano is not a man of many words, but if you’re part of the circle, if you’re part of the team, you can’t shut the guy up. He believes the same thing that I do. That stars align for a reason and things are meant to be when they’re meant to happen.
This 200th Anniversary that Richard was talking about, it’s just the stars aligning for me to have another opportunity to fight another Hall of Famer, another great, great fighter and champion in Sugar Shane Mosley. On a big weekend where me and him are headlining and in our home town on such prestigious weekend, it can’t get any bigger than that. HBO, the biggest network in boxing televising it and it’s very exciting. It does not get any bigger than this.
So, of course, I’m very prepared. I’m very focused. I know what I need to do. I have one loss on my career and it took a great fighter like Vernon Forrest to catch me on a weak night to finally beat me. I think I’ve been inactive because of the situation I was in with the contract of The Contender and the television side of everything.
Once that got handled and we came to a conclusion with The Contender, I met with every big promoter and Golden Boy was the way to go. Richard Schaefer said everything that he was going to do for me and he kept his promise. Now it’s time for me to keep mine. It’s sink or swim and I’m an excellent swimmer. I welcome the opportunity. I’m very, very, very happy and grateful for everyone and everything that’s happened and God bless.
Schaefer
Now we would like to open it to the members of the media for any questions you might have for Dean Campos or for Sergio Mora or myself.
Q
Sergio, Shane has said in a radio interview recently that it’s a privilege for you to be fighting, now it will be two Hall of Fame fighters and it could lead you to some bigger fights. Where do you see it leading you from here?
Mora
Well, that’s my manager, my team and that’s Richard Schaefer’s job and I mean hopefully the best. I mentioned that to my last fight on the Hopkins and Jones undercard that I think I’m in a position where I’ve matured mentally and physically as a man and as a fighter. It took a lot. It took a lot for me to finally get to that position. I think I’m really literally ready for the best at junior middleweight or middleweight, whether that’s going to be Margarito or Floyd Mayweather, or Paul Williams or Sergio Martinez, or now we’re talking about Pirog or even Kelly Pavlik.
I’m ready for the absolute best. Right now I have to focus on Shane Mosley, who is a big threat to me. I obviously have to concur that before I start thinking of other things.
Q
Richard had gone over your record. You only have one career loss and to the future Hall of Famer, Vernon Forrest. Do you feel that you should be just in much of a demand as some of these other fighters who are undefeated or just once defeated fighters? Do you think you should be at their level as well?
Mora
Of course, I need to be, but see, everything in business is part of a plan. If you’re not with that team, you’re not going to be included in things like that. I think in the contract I was in with the people I was with, with The Contender, they didn’t really work well with other promoters. They didn’t put on their own shows. So, we’re excluded from the networks and those big days. Now that I’m part of the best promotion team in boxing, in Golden Boy, they have all the political muscle. They have the days and they have the talent. I just need to prove myself that I belong in those days.
Having a squeaky clean record is one thing, but you have to show up on fight night and do what you’re supposed to do and that’s entertain the crowd and be an excellent fighter. By doing that September 18th, I’m going to have a hell of a chance of doing that in the future with the bigger opponents and the bigger days.
Q
You talked a little bit on your introductory remarks about the inactivity and those issues that you had with your previous promotional contract. I know there were other fights that have come up, whether it was the Jermain Taylor fight, which never came off, or a fight like you, I believe, had with Kassim Ouma that had been scheduled that go cancelled through no fault of your own. I just wonder if you take a look back at all the stuff that happened from the post Contender time until now you find yourself in this position to be involved in a fairly significant fight, are you the type of person that looks at that and says everything happened for reason and you’re here now because of all of that? Do you have thoughts about what would have been had you fought Ouma that night, or taken the opportunity to fight Taylor for the middleweight title?
Mora
Of course, I believe in destiny. Me and Dean always believe in destiny. I remember way before The Contender I was supposed to fight on NBC, my first nationally televised fight against another undefeated guy. A week before that fight, I got cut sparring and that fight had to be cancelled. This guy ended up upsetting another undefeated guy. From that point on, we always wondered that things are meant to be.
Q
Who was that, Sergio?
Mora
Deano, can you remember who that was? I was 9 and 0 and I believe the other guy was like 13 and 0. I ended up fighting a guy named Les Ralston on NBC a year afterwards who was 13 and 0. But the guy I was going to fight, he’s an African American and he beat another undefeated fighter. Dean, who was it?
Campos
I think that he was Mexican.
Mora
He didn’t amount to nothing, so. I probably couldn’t remember. But the bottom line is I’ve had a lot of ups and downs from cancelled fights and injuries. Even as an amateur, I’ve had a lot of letdowns. But I can’t complain about my success either because I’ve had a lot of blessings and I think everything happens for a reason. I’m a firm believer of destiny. If you watched The Contender, I mentioned the book The Alchemist and everything that happens to Santiago in that book. I really feel that my life turned out something like what Santiago parallel and a lot of people. And that’s the reason for people to relate. There’s ups and downs in life and that’s how a boxing career is. The epitome of a fighter is to be just that. We just have to keep fighting.
Q
What about, if there are any, I’m not sure if there are, about the regrets about having possibly having had the opportunity back at the time to fight for the middleweight title and then not taking that, but other things coming along. You ended up getting the fight with Vernon Forrest after that and winning a world championship.
Mora
Obviously, you can never judge something until the end of our career. Right now it still seems like maybe it was mistake. My team, and Dino will tell you now that he’s on the line, it wasn’t all my decision. It was actually Dino’s decision, John’s decision, my team’s decision not to fight Jermain in Memphis. We had agreed to fight in LA and other places. But it was a team decision and I listened to them. I would have taken that fight. I feel that I could have beat him, but that’s in the past. We never know if it’s going to be a mistake.
If I would have beat him that night, think about it. … won that night and he didn’t get the credit he deserved because he basically made it a close decision, but no one respected that. They just forgot about him and that’s what I think what would have happened to me. I would have gave him a good fight and then I would have lost the decision and they would have pushed me aside.
Q
Dean, going into this fight, where you’re preparing Sergio to fight Shane Mosley, have you done much looking at his previous fight with Mayweather? I know Sergio and Floyd are very different fighters obviously. But have you looked at that fight? If so, do you see a much slower or a fighter that can’t throw as many punches as he once did than Mosley. What do you see when you look at that video of him and perhaps the fact that maybe age has caught up to him a little bit?
Campos
No, I don’t think age caught up to him. I just think that inactivity and I have my own thoughts on what happened to him that night. And I think maybe one, but I really don’t have to say it here. I just think that the inactivity, the style that Mayweather has is a frustrating style. Mosley like to fight and Floyd is the type of guy that takes the fight out of the fight.
So he’s constantly throwing water on you every time you want to start a fire. I think it’s frustrating for a guy like Mosley who just he fights with his hands. I’m not saying that he’s not a smart fighter because he is. But he’s a very aggressive thinking fighter and Mayweather is just the opposite. He just feeds off of the little weaknesses you have and he fights in those small little spaces and he throws you off the game.
That could happen to anybody. I think if they fought again to be honest with you, Mosley would be prepared. I think he’s the type of fighter you have to fight twice to understand him. You get in there once, you fall behind and you’re pretty much done when you fall behind against him because you’re not going to catch him in the end. I think that’s what happened a little bit because we’re going to see that one where he fought against Margarito. That’s the guy we’re going to see.
Yes, I studied it. Basically, honestly that’s the fight I least study.
Q
The Margarito or the Mayweather?
Campos
The Mayweather. That’s the one I study the least. I look at all his younger days and when he was 28, 29, 30 and he was beating guys like Oscar and he was a fighting-the earlier fights in his career. Those are the guys I look at and I sort of look at what he does. I’m impressed with what I see and hopefully we can defuse him a little bit and do some things that he’s not too comfortable with. But yes, that’s what I was looking at.
Q
Shane Mosley was quoted recently as saying that boxing desperately needs the biggest fights and they need the biggest fights to happen. And absolutely no disrespect to you, but this fight has been criticized by a lot of writers as maybe not exactly the headliner match-up that people want to see, especially as a pay-per-view. How do you respond to that?
Mora
A fight is just that, a fight. You can never expect what’s going to happen. The biggest fight this year has been Mosley and Mayweather. I don’t know if you were there, but after the second round, it was like a boring fight. So that was a mega-fight, but I didn’t think I was at a mega-fight being there. So people can criticize mega-fights or they could criticize this fight. But if they end up seeing a great fight that night, then opinions change.
I think styles make fights. Like Deano was saying, it’s going to be a hard task to defuse a bomb like Mosley. But that’s what we’re going to have to do to find some way to beat this guy and come out the winner. It’s going to be a hard task because this guy comes to knock everyone out. It’s going to be an exciting night because fireworks are going to happen if I can’t defuse his bomb. Because then that means that I’m going to have to go in there and battle with this guy and turn it into a war and that’s what will happen.
Q
So we know as a fighter, Shane likes to come in and mix it up and go toe to toe. Is that something that you feel that you need to do in this fight to make it an exciting fight?
Mora
I usually feed off of my opponents. I’m a defensive minded fighter that fights with adrenaline and passion. I also like to throw punches in bunches and in speed and combinations. I think Shane Mosley concentrates more on boxer punching and really putting some good power and leverage behind shots like he did against Antonio Margarito, who I’ve been sparring for ten years. I can tell you, you think he has cement in his hands, he has cement in his head and in his chin. I’ve been sparring him for over ten years and to knock that guy out or to hurt that guy is a task in itself. I definitely know this man can punch.
I just need to fight smart and I can’t let him to take the lead. This is going to be a dance and I got to be the leader. I have to be the one setting the pace. I’m the one that’s going to control the action.
Q
Do you think this is a must win for you? Do you consider this a must win?
Mora
When do I have the leisure of a loss? I think when you’re talking to a fighter, they’re always scared to death to lose. They have a lot of pride and they don’t want that embarrassment. Nothing else matters but to win. It’s a must win. Every fight for me is a must win. Whenever things go well for me in camp and I have no excuses like I did for this camp, I really feel that I can beat the best. So this is just another opportunity for me to prove that.
Q
I just want to quickly add something here what was asked about mega-fight compared to this fight. The fact is not every NFL game is the Super Bowl and not every NBA game is the Finals. Not every NHL game is for the Stanley Cup. So I think what we’re trying to do is, we’re trying to put together attractive cards, which are well matched and which really present a lot of storylines. I think the storyline in this particular card top to bottom, frankly, is that when people have their backs against the wall, that’s when they become dangerous.
He asked as well must win night, like for Sugar Shane Mosley coming off the loss against Mayweather, it is a must win night, especially you’re 39 years old. It is a must win night. It is for same for Carlos Palomino. If he wants to turn back the clock and become relevant again as a world champion and being in big fights, this is his opportunity to that. This is his last chance.
The same is true for “Vicious” Vivian Harris, an opportunity to fight young Victor Ortiz. He will do whatever it takes to come and try to win that fight. So this is what I mean. These are guys which have their back against the wall and who will come out fighting.
Q
In your career, you have a victory over the late Vernon Forrest who held earlier in his career two victories over Shane Mosley. Now obviously styles make fights and you just can’t make an easy comparison over that. But how much does that victory in your first fight with Vernon Forrest to help you in preparing for this fight with Shane Mosley?
Mora
The first fight with Vernon, I was very well prepared. I had a ten week camp and I fought in the weight division where I had never fought before. I made that weight strong and confident and obviously I took the title away from him and surprised everybody, including him. The second fight was put together at last minute, one we did in five weeks and obviously I was depleted and shot and lost the title. But those 24 rounds with Vernon Forrest were the most educational experience that I’ve ever been through as a professional. I’m the only man that can say that they went 24 rounds with such a great fighter as Vernon and snatch a win from him.
So, of course, I have the confidence of knowing that I can go 12 rounds with the best, one of the best, and dish it out and take it. I know Shane Mosley is one of the best again. So I’m looking at him knowing that I beat the guy that beat him. That gives me confidence, of course. But then I bring myself back to earth and say styles make fights. I have to watch out for this guy because he can knock me out in the first round or he can do what he did with Mayorga and knock him on the last 10 seconds of the 12th round. There’s no relaxing like with a warrior like Shane.
I value and I appreciate and honor everything that is involved with this fight. This is what boxing is all about. This is the epitome of two guys, one at the later part of his career and one that just is hungry to break through. So it’s the circle of life all over again.
Q
How do you think the weight factor will work in this fight since you’ve been usually fighting at weights one to two with sometimes more higher than Shane Mosley has been fighting at?
Mora
I have two fights like junior middleweight and then I have the rest of my career at 160. Like I told Richard in the beginning of 2010 when I signed with Golden Boy that I can make 154 pounds if given nine to ten weeks. If I bring in my strength and nutritionist in Robert Ferguson, I was given more than ten weeks for this fight and I’m making the weight very, very strong, confident and easily for this fight. So no excuses, I’m ready to go at 154.
Swanson
Thank you, Sergio and Dean. Now I believe we have Mr. Mosley and Mr. Richardson on the call.
Schaefer
Team Mosley led his trainer Naazim Richardson doesn’t really need much introduction. We all know that Naazim Richardson is one of the most gifted and best trainers today in the sport of boxing. He is preparing Sugar Shane Mosley again for this task at hand. He knows as he told me, he knows what Sergio Mora is coming to win. He knows, he understands the game. He understands boxing. He knows what’s at stake. I know that he is not taking Sergio Mora lightly.
But it’s a pleasure for me now to hand it over to Naazim Richardson who can make the opening remarks and talk a little bit about camp.
Richardson
I’d like to thank everybody that’s on board now. I appreciate the time and the effort for everybody to put this call together, Kelly and her staff and Golden Boy and everybody that’s involved. I’d like to thank you all and the Mora camp in itself.
As Richard just said so, I always thought the Mora was taken lightly in the sport of boxing. I never really thought he got his due. He’s an incredible athlete. I’ve known him since the amateurs. I knew coming into this task, I was asking Shane, this was one thing about the weight. I was asking Shane, the first thing I ask him was why are you fighting the middleweight. Yes, okay, we know that Paul Williams can make welterweight. It doesn’t make you a welterweight because you can make a weight.
I said why are you fighting a middleweight. The guy’s arm span, his range, his height and everything is middleweight. I said this is a middleweight fighting a welterweight. I said bottom line, so I spoke to Shane about it early and he made the decision that that’s Shane Mosley. He’s a gladiator. He always has been. He’s going to fight. Other guys sit around and talk about what they’re going to do and be braggadocios about their skills. This guy is work. This guy is right back in the camp, not whining, not complaining. We push him. He’s accepting it. He’s adhering to the work. He’s an incredible human being like I said he could just fight his behind off.
So I know Sergio Mora and guys like Mora and these guys, they grew up watching Shane Mosley. They’re exceptionally motivated. Shane is the reason a lot of these guys are boxing. Some of the kids he’s fighting now, he’s one of the reasons they’re even boxing. They grew up sitting in front of the television watching him, wanting to do the things and become to the status that he is. So this is something I always tell Shane mentally you have to be prepared for. That even when you hit these guys, these guys are going to respond back because this is their moment in the light. I mean, they’re boxing Shane Mosley. I never thought Miguel Cotto was the same athlete after he got at Shane Mosley. He exhaled because all mountains had been climbed.
So I’m looking at Sergio Mora in the same light. This guy is coming. He’s bringing the best. He has a great team leading. He’s an outstanding athlete and again, I have to prepare my welterweight to beat a middleweight. It’s the bottom line. That’s what it becomes. I don’t want to hear about hard making the weight and all that. This is middleweight fighting a welterweight. I had a middleweight fighter and I’d have challenged any welterweight in the world with my middleweight fighter. I have to look at it for that preparation and Shane Mosley is an exceptional welterweight. So I think we’re up for the task. I really believe we’re up for this task.
Schaefer
Before I’m going to introduce Shane Mosley, I want to wish him as well a happy birthday. Last week was his birthday. He turned 39 and he keeps on amazing us. We all know outside of the ring, what a great person he is. But inside the ring, he just keeps amazing us. People count him out. I remember following the fight with Mayorga, he in Los Angeles at the Home Depot Center, a lot of people said I think we’ve seen the end of Shane. Then he turned back the clock and he just dominated, destroyed Margarito here at Staples Center. He’s coming back to Staples Center. The two biggest wins of his career, the de la Hoya win and the Margarito win both came from Staples Center.
So Sugar Shane Mosley always finds a way to turn back the clock and win. He knows and I told him how dangerous and how motivated Sergio Mora is. So we will see this legend again displaying his craft, his skills, the total package, defense, offense, speed, combinations and here in downtown Los Angeles in a little bit more than a week.
It really is a please for me to introduce to you my friend, Sugar Shane Mosley with a record of 46 and 6, 39 KOs from Pomona, California and coming back here next week to Staples Center.
Sugar Shane Mosley
Thank you. I’m getting younger. I’m getting ready to go into this match with Sergio Mora. I’ve prepared very well. I think the camp, Naazim Richardson, all the sparring partners, Karl Dargin and Rock Allen. All the sparring partners are in with me and helping me to prepare for this fight. It’s been great. I’m excited and ready to go for battle September 18th at the Staples Center. Coming back to the Staples Center is going to be a great match, a great night of fighting. Believe me, I’ve prepared myself very well for this fight.
So, I guess, thank you, all the writers and the fans and everybody that’s out there. Thank you for following in this sport. Thank you, if there are any questions.
Q
What I’d like to know from you, Shane, is after the fight with Mayweather, I know you weren’t really contemplating retirement, but to get with Richard and everybody and say, “Time to get back in the ring. Let me go do this,” and really commit yourself to going back into another training camp again.
Mosley
I’m not really sure when the timeframe was, but I knew right away that I wanted to go back into the ring and fight again. Two days, three days later, I was in I think Houston. I was in the gym.
Q
Three days later you said?
Mosley
Yes, three or four days later I was in the gym in Houston, I think, working out. I’m sorry, when I arrive in Houston, I think it was, I’m not sure how many days it was, but right when I landed in Houston, I was already training in the gym and sparring with the kids and working on my son on his skills and stuff. So I went right to the gym.
Q
I know there was a bunch of stuff that had been thrown around about a possible fights. What was your thought, and I don’t know how exactly it came up to you when the name Sergio Mora was brought to your attention. I know you’re familiar with him. He’s obviously another fighter with Golden Boy and had fought your rival, Vernon Forrest, two times. But what was your thought when that name was brought to you, as opposed to any of the other variety of possibilities, whether it was Andre Berto or whoever?
Mosley
First, it was Andre Berto. We gone through a little thing where it was 50/50 split, then it turned to 52/48. It thought a fight at Staples Center would be a great fight for me and Sergio Mora brought to me by Richard. I took to it and I agreed. I said yes, I think this would be a great fight at Staples Center. A guy from East LA, he’s the only one to beat Vernon Forrest, he beat Vernon Forrest once. I never beat him. It would be a good little fight at STAPLES Center. So, we took it and ran with it.
Q
I know that some of the guys have questioned Sergio before your part of the call started about the total need for definitely a victory because we know where he’s coming from in his situation. You have yourself who just lost a fight to Floyd Mayweather. A second loss in a row to Sergio Mora, who is a very good fighter, of course, but certainly not on the level of Floyd Mayweather in most people’s eyes would be a significant setback to your career, particularly given you just had another birthday. What are your thoughts about the significance of a victory?
Mosley
Yes, it could be a setback. Fighting a bigger guy and a guy is strong and can fight. Some fans take it for granted that this guy is a little bigger. He’s also fast. He works very hard. He’s a competitor. He loves to win. He only lost one time and that’s to Vernon Forrest in his whole career. So he can fight. So I think people are mistaken that and thinking that it’s just going to be a walk in the park when it’s really not.
Q
Have you addressed your own situation with Naazim what the reasons where, why what happened in the Floyd fight after round two where you just seemed to lack the energy. How have you assured yourself that come rounds three through 12, I guess, then, if it gets that far, that you’re still going to be able to have the punch output and do the kind of things offensively that you’ve always been accustomed to doing?
Mosley
Well, with the Floyd fight, it wasn’t that I was tired. It was just that my neck was a little tight and I couldn’t throw any more punches like I wanted to. If I’m fighting the second round and I make it to the twelfth round, then that says that I obviously wasn’t that tired. If I can go two more rounds after the second round, so something else happened in that fight and that’s what happened. I just got a little tight, and I couldn’t throw the punches like I wanted to. I can assure you that that won’t happen again. I’m sure Naazim would say the same thing that it won’t happen again.
Q
If you win, we’re going to get a rematch with Shaquille O’Neill. Just joking.
Mosley
Definitely. I want a rematch with Shaquille.
Q
Naazim, earlier Mora’s trainer had said that Mayweather was fighter you may need to fight maybe twice to figure him out. Do you think that if Mosley was able to get a second fight with Mayweather, he would do better than he did last time?
Richardson
Well, that’s a great question, but it’s answered already by every trainer. Any missed opportunity, we want another shot at it. We’ve love to have another chance, but we know that a lot of opportunities come once in a lifetime. If you show what a bad night, they may not come back around. So like I said, yes, I would love to see.
I think that the round robin is real always. When you saw Duran beat Leonard, we saw Duran beat Leonard and then you saw Hagler beat Duran. But then you saw Leonard come back and beat Hagler. The round robin is still well alive, and I believe that round robin is consistent of Mayweather to Pacquiao to Shane Mosley. It’s going to be necessary to see all of these guys fight.
To add on to your comment, I believe a guy like, even like with the Margarito thing coming, I believe that until you beat Margarito, I don’t write nobody in for beating Margarito until he’s beaten, until somebody physically goes up there and beats him. You’re not just going to tell me this guy beat him, so that guy will beat him. Shane Mosley has always answered that call. Guys who have beaten guys who have beaten him, Shane Mosley has come back and knocked some of those guys out.
Q
Shane, you’ve had success at the Staples Center. Do you actually feel that having success in a particular venue can actually help a fighter?
Mosley
Yes, it’s always good to come back home and do some fights, especially like at the Staples Center. Being that Sergio Mora is also from East LA and from the area as well, he likes fighting at home as well. He had a lot of his victories at the Staples Center as well. So this is going to be a night where both fighters have had great successes at the Staples Center.
Q
Shane, you mentioned the fight with Mayweather and you having problems that you couldn’t get the punches off later in the rounds. That fight was very reported in depth, had the Olympic style blood testing. Did that have any negative affects on you at all?
Mosley
Not at all. I think it was actually a great thing to have because I learned through the USADA that taking all those like vitamins take a lot of vitamins and stuff like that for your fight, so no, it was actually a good thing.
Q
Now in this fight, you’re going to be going off to fight-and Naazim mentioned that earlier-some of those generally fought at higher weight classes than you. What adjustments are you going to have to make and do you think that could pose any problems for you since it seems at welterweight, you had so much success there?
Mosley
I don’t know. It might pose us a problem, and that’s the reason why we take the fight. It’s not just an easy fight like people want to say. It’s a hard fight. This guy has come down from middleweight to junior middleweight. I’m going up to junior middleweight. He’s going to be carrying a … in the ring. So it makes it that much more challenging to get the knock-out and to fight somebody of this caliber.
Q
What are you doing to avoid overlooking him, because some people have said because of your record and his overall record and everyone saying obviously you’re going to be a future Hall of Famer. It’s certainly a question whether he will. What are you doing to make sure you don’t overlook this guy because he sounds very confident and very hungry because this is a great opportunity for him?
Mosley
I know that he’s very confident and very hungry, so that’s what’s making me not overlook him. I know that he’s coming to win. This is will be a big feather in his cap. So I have to train very hard and make sure that I’m doing all the right things. I think it helps having a lot of young fighters in the gym with me working with me that are real hungry as well to keep me focused. So I think that’s a good strategy by Naazim Richardson to bring a lot of young fighters in to have them spar with me.
Q
You are 39 now, how long do you see yourself going? Do you see yourself being more a Bernard Hopkins type of guy who can stay in great shape and take care of his body and be still fighting at the age of 44, 45? Or can you see the end from here?
Mosley
Well, it’s evident that I see myself, I can go to 45 or 46, 47 if I want to. But it just depends on how I feel if I do it. I keep myself in great shape all the time regardless if I have a fight coming up or not. I think that’s why I’m able to fight at this level of competition for so long.
Q
Will you know when it’s time?
Mosley
Yes, I’ll definitely know what it’s time to hang up the gloves. Right now it’s definitely not the time. I feel great and I’m in great shape. I love the sport of boxing. I love the excitement. I love the challenge.
Q
You still have a lot of fighters you’d like to face at this point.
Mosley
There’s a few fighters out there right now that I can face. Margarito and Pacquiao are getting ready to fight each other. I can do a rematch of Margarito or I could fight Pacquiao. There’s Cotto still out there. He has a belt at junior middleweight. That’s a rematch that I would love to take.
Also, a Floyd Mayweather rematch. Like Naazim said, that wasn’t my night. Sometimes you have bad nights and there’s nothing you can do about it. Floyd did a great job, he won the fight. He survived a knock-out and won the fight, so he did a great job. But that’s four guys out there I could fight.
Q
Would you prefer to go back to welterweight or stay at 154 or what?
Mosley
It doesn’t really matter, 54, 47, anywhere in that range, anywhere in that fight range is my territory, so I can do that.
Q
You just mentioned Miguel Cotto as a possibility for a rematch in the future. Now what are your chances of if you come out victorious in this upcoming fight, and if Miguel finally decides to fight in December, that next year, we’ll see that rematch. Also what can you tell me if you saw Miguel fighting at 154 last June?
Mosley
Yes, I watched the fight that he had in June and he did very good. He looked actually a little better than I’ve seen him. He looks more comfortable at 154. So I think that the type of guy that he’s fighting, he’s fighting he looks real good with and definitely have a fight with him in December if Bob can make that match, then it will help make the match, I should say, then, definitely we’ll take that in December. Like I said, there’s big fights out there and I’m prepared to do them.
Schaefer
Thank you, Shane, thank you, Sergio, for taking the time and thank you to the trainers as well, Naazim and Dean. If you have to summarize the whole thing, this whole card it really is the best pay-per-view weekend traditionally every year. It is this year especially so, we’re celebrating 200 years of Mexican independence from the largest Hispanic center in the United States in downtown Los Angeles.
The second one is it’s a must win situation for the fighters on this card. So there’s so much at stake. Certainly and really very important is the ticket prices. Great events planned for the whole week, Friday night, Solo Boxeo Tecate and the famous legendary Mexican band, Conjunto Primavera, which usually sells out 20,000, 30,000 seats venues. They are going to be in downtown Los Angeles, a special event hosted by Golden Boy for $10. For $10 you’re going to be able to see Solo Boxeo Tecate and Conjunto Primavera.
Then at Staples Center the next day with “Sugar” Shane Mosley and Sergio Mora and Saúl Álvarez and everyone for $20-I have in all those years we’ve been promoting and Golden Boy, the last 10 years or so-I have never, ever seen an event quite like that. So I urge everyone to come downtown in LA to be part of the festivities and enjoy the great atmosphere and the great fights that we will be putting on. See you all next week. Thank you.
END OF CALL
“200: CELEBRATE AND DOMINATE” is headlined by Five-Time World Champion Sugar Shane Mosley facing off against former World Champion Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora and also features Mexican phenom Saul “Canelo” Alvarez against World Champion Carlos “Tata” Baldomir, top junior welterweight contender “Vicious” Victor Ortiz taking on former World Champion “Vicious” Vivian Harris and former World Champion Daniel Ponce De Leon squaring off against number two world rated featherweight Antonio Escalante in a WBO Featherweight Title Elimination bout.
Tags: Auto > camp > course > daniel ponce > defensive > draft > fight > Golden Boy Promotions > HBO Pay-Per-View > junior middleweight > Kelly Swanson > loss > Richard Schaefer > round > Sergio Mora > sergio the latin snake > staples center > Sugar Shane Mosley > title > toe > war > weight
GILBERT VS. OUMA UNDERCARD SHAPES UP
Posted on | September 13, 2010 | No Comments
September 13th, RENO – A spectacular undercard is being presented as part of the highly anticipated Joey Gilbert vs. Kassim Ouma NABA middleweight championship fight on September 25th at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, Reno.
Heavyweight prospect Joe “The Future” Hanks (14-0, 9 KOs) will be fighting in a 6 round bout on the RFX VI card against Aron Lyons (11-9, 8 KOs) of Las Cruces, NM. Originally from Newerk, NJ, Hanks now lives and trains in Los Angeles.
Returning to Reno is undefeated middleweight prospect Markie “The Italian Bazooka” DeLuca from Boston, MA. DeLuca’s last fight was is 2008 in The Biggest Little City when he knocked out Flavio Cardoza in the first round. DeLuca entered the Marine Corps shortly after that fight to serve his country. He is eager to return to the ring. DeLuca’s opponent will be announced soon.
In a battle of local boxing pro debuts, Nelson Lopez and Duane “Bubba” Dupre, both from Reno, will fight each other in a four round light-heavyweight bout.
Two MMA bouts have also been added to the card. Jerel Clark vs. Jack Montgomery, and Joe Barros vs. Josh Rabedeaux.
Fight card subject to change. More details will be announced shortly. Ticket information is below.
Reno Xtreme Fights, Reno’s only professional boxing and mixed martial arts series, is presented by Grand Sierra Resort and Casino and Let’s Get it on Promotions. Doors will open at 7 pm. for the fight on Saturday, September 25th with the first bout at 8 p.m. in the Grand Theatre. Tickets are $75, $55 and $35. Tickets for a King’s Row Booth for four are $1,000 which includes an exciting spot to get close to the action with light appetizers and one bottle of alcohol included. To purchase tickets or for more information, please call 1.800.648.3568 or visit www.grandsierraresort.com.
Tags: Auto > bottle of alcohol > card > championship > Cruces > draft > fight > Grand > Grand Sierra Resort and Casino > grand sierra resort and casino reno > heavyweight > Joey Gilbert > Kassim > Kassim Ouma > light appetizers > middleweight championship fight > nelson lopez > prospect > rabedeaux > RFX > round > sierra resort
Mike Rogers is the New Head Coach at Franklin and Marshall, Talks to TDR TV
Posted on | September 13, 2010 | No Comments
Rogers Named Diplomats Wrestling Coach
LANCASTER, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall College Director of Athletics and Recreation, Patricia S.W. Epps, announced the hiring of Mike Rogers as the Diplomats’ 13th wrestling coach. Rogers brings over a decade of coaching experience to Lancaster.
“I strongly believe that we have found the right person at the right time for this position,” said Epps. “Coach Rogers has firsthand experience coaching top caliber wrestlers in a rigorous academic environment that will serve him well at F&M.”
A two-time NCAA All-American, Rogers spent the 2009-10 season at American University as the head assistant coach. The Eagles produced three All-Americans and recorded its best NCAA finish in 14th place while posting the nation’s second best grade point average.
“I am honored to be named the next head wrestling coach at Franklin & Marshall College and to be added to their prestigious list of coaches,” said Rogers. “I am excited to be a part of such a strong tradition of wrestling and looking forward to the challenges ahead; as well as working with alumni, administration, and the student-athletes to elevate the program. I feel fortunate in working with a dedicated administration that is committed to the program’s success and eager to get started.”
Rogers has spent the last six years as the head coach of the Pennsylvania Junior Freestyle Team, which he guided to two junior freestyle championships. He also served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Lock Haven University, for seven years.
Rogers spent three seasons as the head coach at Central Mountain High School in Mill Hall, Pa., from 1999-2002, leading the team to a 29-16 overall record. In 2001, Rogers was named the District 6 AAA Coach of the Year.
A 1997 graduate of Lock Haven University, Rogers was a four-year member of the wrestling team and earned All-America status during his last two seasons. A three-time national championships qualifier, Rogers earned the 1996 Gorrarian Award, recording the most pins in the least amount of time at nationals.
Rogers was also a two-time Eastern Wrestling League Champion and is one of seven Bald Eagles and one of twelve in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference to win four conference crowns. He is also one of only 14 wrestlers in Lock Haven history to reach 100 wins, recording a career mark of 112-28. A native of Fort Myers, FL, Rogers was a Florida State Champion in 1992 and a national runner-up that same year during his high school career.
Rogers received his B.A. in Special Education from Lock Haven University in 1997 and a Master’s in Education in 2002. He and his wife, Danielle, have two sons, Caden and Teagen. He will assume his role on Monday, September 20th.
Tags: athletics > Auto > champion > coaching > Diplomats > draft > franklin and marshall > franklin marshall > freestyle championships > freestyle team > Haven > junior freestyle > Lock > lock haven university > marshall college > mike rogers > NCAA > pennsylvania junior > rigorous academic environment > TDR > University > YEAR
Shane Carwin, The Mental Game and wrestling, UFC Heavy Wt, Talks to TDR TV
Posted on | September 13, 2010 | No Comments
Shane Carwin, the former UFC Champion hit me right between the eyes. No, Thankfully Not with his size 5 XL fists but with his heart. He really cares about kids and the sport of wrestling. In this interview you’ll notice how much thought Carwin puts in to describing his craft.
Carwin and his two brothers were raised by his mother, who had the goal of getting all her sons college educations.[6] He received a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines as well as a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Technology from Western State College.[6]
Carwin wrestled in college, becoming a two-time NCAA Division II Wrestling National Runner-Up Heavyweight in 1996–97 and the NCAA II Wrestling Heavyweight National Champion in 1999. He was also a two-time All-American in football for Western State.
Carwin became an engineer out of college and continues to work in that field while pursuing his MMA career.[7] Carwin is also a volunteer wrestling coach for the University of Northern Colorado.
He’s very grateful for the caring coaches that nurtured him along during his formative years.
Shane Bannister Carwin is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was previously the UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion. He won his first 12 MMA fights in the first round which led to his Heavyweight Championship shot at UFC 116 against champion Brock Lesnar, which became his first career loss.
Shane Carwin will be making a rare public appearance at Max Muscle Sports Nutrition in Clive, Iowa on Saturday September 25 th from 1 to 5 PM. Joey Boyens and his family have been supporting the MMA and wrestling community now for 2 years. Come celebrate the stores success with up to 80% off savings on some of their more popular lines of Sports Nutrition.
Max Muscle Des Moines offers nutritional consultations tailored to fit your individual needs and get you the results you desire. Please contact us at 515-327-1MAX to schedule your FREE Body Composition Assessment and for more information about a Nutrition Blueprint tailor made just for you.
About Max Muscle: http://maxmuscledesmoines.com/
About Shane Carwin: http://www.shane-carwin.com/
Tags: Auto > Brock Lesnar > champion > college > college educations > colorado school of mines > craft > degree in mechanical engineering > draft > heavyweight > MMA > NCAA > ncaa division ii > nutrition > nutritional consultations > rare public appearance > Shane Carwin > sports > TDR > thought > Ultimate Fighting Championship > university of northern colorado
UNDEFEATED ROGER BOWLING TO REMATCH BOBBY VOELKER IN STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS MAIN EVENT AT SAVE MART CENTER IN FRESNO, CALIF., OCT. 22
Posted on | September 13, 2010 | No Comments
UNDEFEATED BILLY EVANGELISTA TO FACE WAACHIIM SPIRITWOLF,
LAVAR JOHNSON RETURNS TO CAGE
Tickets Go On Sale Friday, Sept. 17; Pre-Sale Begins
Wednesday, Sept. 15, via “STRIKEFORCE Insider”
SAN JOSE, CALIF. (Sept. 13, 2010) – Five months after their initial encounter, an exciting battle that ended prematurely due to an accidental poke in the eye, “Relentless” Roger Bowling will put his unbeaten record on the line one more time against “Vicious” Bobby Voelker in a collision of welterweights (170 pounds) in the main event of a STRIKEFORCE Challengers Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight card presented by Rockstar Energy Drink at Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif., live on SHOWTIME® at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast), on Friday, Oct. 22.
Undefeated prospect and Fresno resident Billy Evangelista will make his long-awaited return to the cage when he faces Waachiim “Native Warrior’’ Spiritwolf in a 165-pound catch weight bout. Heavyweight star and Madera, Calif. native Lavar “Big” Johnson will continue his miraculous return to the sport in a matchup against an opponent to be determined.
A special pre-sale ticket purchase opportunity for the event will take place for “STRIKEFORCE Insider” e-newsletter subscribers (http://STRIKEFORCE.com/insider.html), beginning at 10 a.m. PT on Wednesday, Sept. 15, and ending at 10 p.m. PT. on Thursday, Sept. 16. STRIKEFORCE Insiders will receive a special e-newsletter with the pre-sale code.
Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. PT on Friday, Sept. 17, and will be available for purchase at the Save Mart Center box office, select Save Mart Supermarkets, all Ticketmaster locations (800) 745-3000, Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com) and STRIKEFORCE’s official website (www.strikeforce.com).
The 5-foot-8, 27-year-old Bowling (8-0), of Columbus, Ohio, won a unanimous three-round technical decision over the 6-foot, 31-year-old Voelker (22-8), of Kansas City, Kan., during a STRIKEFORCE Challengers presentation on May 21 in Portland, Ore., on SHOWTIME.
Bowling, who trains in Cincinnati with, ironically, Team Vision, was ahead by the scores of 29-28 on the three judges’ scorecards when an excellent, crowd-pleasing fight was halted at 1:38 of the third round after he could not continue due to an unintentional poke in the right eye he had received.
The talented, aggressive-minded Bowling entered the fight, his STRIKEFORCE debut, with high expectations and the rising star lived up to the billing and his nickname as he punished Voelker, particularly during the majority of the first two rounds.
This will be the first start since for Bowling, a pro since June 2007 who had won his seven previous fights inside the distance, six of which came in the first round.
Voelker, who was in the midst of a major rally against Bowling when the bout came to a disappointing end, has maintained a busy schedule since turning pro in February 2006. He has fought once since the Bowling match, winning a hard-fought, three-round split decision over Cory Devela last July 23 on STRIKEFORCE Challengers at Everett, Wash.
It was the eighth victory in 11 starts for the hard-trying, determined Voelker, who registered a dramatic, come-from-behind second-round TKO (punches) over Erik Apple at STRIKEFORCE: Challengers on Nov. 20, 2009, in Kansas City.
“It was unfortunate and frustrating my last fight had to finish that way,’’ Bowling said. “I felt it ruined the first couple rounds that I worked really hard for. But it was just one of those things that can happen. If you get poked in the eye, you can’t open it. And if you can’t open your eye, they’re not going to let you fight.
“Both Roger and I have great hearts and I’m looking forward to doing it again with him.’’ said Voelker, whose left eye was cut in the first. Like he did against Apple, Voelker showed an incredible chin, heart and remarkable resolve and resiliency by staging a dramatic comeback in the third stanza after absorbing an inordinate amount of punishment in the first two rounds.
At the end of the second round, a seemingly exhausted Voelker impressively managed to take down Bowling. It was still going Voelker’s way at the outset of the third as he rocked Bowling, who had never had a fight go past two rounds, with combinations.
But shortly thereafter, moments after the referee had separated the fighters when they were clinched against the cage, one of the seams on the outside of Voelker’s gloves grazed Bowling’s right eye. Unable to continue, the fight went to the scorecards and Bowling got a decision based on the strength of the first two rounds.
“It’s an unfortunate thing,’’ Voelker said. “We had a great war and we just wanted to end it with a great war in the last 3:22. Things happen, accidents happen. He wasn’t able to see and couldn’t continue. He won the first two rounds so he got the decision. There it is. We can do it again. We’ll both be back.’’
The start for Evangelista (10-0, 1 No Contest), a Muay Thai specialist, will be his first since Nov. 6, 2009, when the 5-foot-8, 29-year-old earned a unanimous decision over hard-hitting brawler Jorge Gurgel at STRIKEFORCE Challengers at Save Mart Center. An injury sustained in the bout with Gurgel has kept Evangelista sidelined.
In his outing before last on May 15, 2009, on STRIKEFORCE Challengers, Evangelista fought Mike Aina. The result was initially ruled a victory by disqualification for Aina, but it was later overturned and ruled a no contest by the California State Athletic Commission after Evangelista appealed. Replays showed Evangelista’s knee struck Aina in the shoulder, not the head, as the referee originally believed.
Spiritwolf (8-6-1), a resident of San Diego, Calif., will make his debut for STRIKEFORCE. A two-fight winning streak and three-fight unbeaten streak (2-0-1) in 2010 ended for the 5-foot-8, four-year pro when he lost a decision to Delson Heleno on Sept. 4.
A Native-American who is of Navajo and Yaqui descent, Spiritwolf registered an impressive first-round TKO over Crafton Wallace in his outing before last on May 22.
Johnson, a second-round TKO (punches) winner over then-undefeated Lolohea Mahe last March 26 in the main event of STRIKEFORCE Challengers at Save Mart Center, will be making his second start since he was gunned down while attending a family barbeque during the July 4 holiday in 2009.
The 6-foot-2, 33-year-old Johnson survived three gunshot wounds sustained during the walk-by shooting that led to the death of a cousin. A father of two boys, ages eight and five, Johnson spent 30 days in a hospital, fighting for his life, and several more months rehabilitating.
Taking all that into consideration, he was pleased with his comeback performance, “I felt great,” he said. “The whole comeback thing was rough, but I took baby steps and came along. Now, I’m ready to fight again.’’
Save Mart Center doors will open for the STRIKEFORCE Challengers event at 4:45 p.m. The first preliminary bout will begin at 5:30 p.m. PT. The first main card bout will start at 8 p.m.
Tags: Auto > Bobby Voelker > CALIF > decision > draft > event > fight > initial encounter > Insider > long awaited return > mart supermarkets > Mixed Martial Arts > native warrior > old bowling > purchase > round > SHOWTIME > spiritwolf > Strikeforce > ticketmaster locations > Wednesday
MMA HEAVYWEIGHT SUPERSTAR JOSH BARNETT SIGNS WITH STRIKEFORCE
Posted on | September 13, 2010 | No Comments
NEW YORK (Sept. 13, 2010) – Two-time champion and top world-ranked heavyweight superstar Josh “The Babyfaced Assassin” Barnett has signed a multi-fight agreement to compete for world championship Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion STRIKEFORCE.
“STRIKEFORCE is the home of the best heavyweight division in the world and I’m proud to be able to call it my home now,” said the 32-year-old Barnett (29-5), an expert in catch wrestling who hails from Seattle, Wash.
“I’m looking forward to competing amongst the greatest fighters in the world and fighting my way to another world title.”
The 6-foot-3, 255-pound Barnett became the youngest UFC champion in history at age 24 when he scored a second-round TKO (4:35) on MMA legend Randy “The Natural” Couture in Las Vegas, Nev., on March 22, 2002. In his sixth career fight, Barnett submitted wrestling and MMA legend Dan “The Beast” Severn with an armbar in the fourth round (1:21) in Hawaii.
In addition to his achievements in America, Barnett has spent a good portion of his career competing in top tier promotions overseas, including the now defunct PRIDE Fighting Championships in Japan where he notched memorable victories over the likes of Aleksander Emelianenko, Mark Hunt and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. On Oct. 21, 2006, Barnett took part in PRIDE’s first event on U.S. soil, submitting Pawel Nastula with a toe hold in the second round (3:04) at Las Vegas’s Thomas & Mack Center.
In 2008, Barnett competed in another Japanese promotion, Sengoku. After submitting (heel hook) Hidehiko Yoshida in Tokyo on March 5, 2008, Barnett returned to action on May 18, 2008, and earned a unanimous decision over top-ranked rival and fellow American Jeff “The Snowman” Monson.
Barnett signed an agreement to compete in Japan’s DREAM promotion earlier this year. Last March 22, he made his debut with the organization, submitting former K-1 tournament champion and devastating power puncher, “Mighty Mo” Siligia, with a kimura at 4:41 of the first round.
On July 10, Barnett followed up the strong showing with a first-round TKO (punches) over Geronimo dos Santos in the main event of a fight card in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Tags: Aleksander Emelianenko > Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira > Auto > catch > draft > expert > fight > hidehiko yoshida > home > japanese promotion > Jeff "The Snowman" Monson > Josh Barnett > MMA > pride fighting championships > promotion > round > signs > Strikeforce > Thomas & Mack Center > time champion > tournament champion > way













