THE STAREDOWN BEFORE THE THROWDOWN
Posted on | April 2, 2010 | No Comments
WBA World Heavyweight Champion (on Left) DAVID HAYE (23-1, 21 KOs) AND FORMER WORLD CHAMP JOHN RUIZ (44-8-1, 30 KOs) GIVE EACH OTHER THE EVIL EYE AS THEY STAND FACE TO FACE BEFORE GOING TOE TO TOE THIS WEEKEND FROM MANCHESTER, ENGLAND. (PHOTO COURTESY OF AL STEVENSON)
Tags: Bob Trieger > Boxing > championship > David Haye > heavyweights > John RUiz
The Fall and Rise of Alex “The Brick City Bullet” Perez
Posted on | April 2, 2010 | No Comments
By: Saul Lelchuk
To say it’s been a long time coming would be an understatement.
All along, most people just said it would never happen at all.
Not after his wild youth on the streets of Newark’s worst projects.
Not after he was rushed to the hospital with gunshot wounds just a week after finally turning pro.
Not when the police banged on his door in the middle of the night and arrested him on charges that carried 30 years in prison.
But for two unwavering people in his inner circle – trainer, manager, and pseudo-father Jose Rosario and friend, co-trainer, and attorney Danny Serratelli – Alex Perez’s rise in boxing hasn’t been a question of if, but when.
So that now – less than a month before Perez’s next bout, when he is slated to fight on the undercard of the Chris Arreola -Tomasz Adamek bout in Ontario, California – to say they are excited would be, again, an understatement.
But to say they were surprised? Not so much.
“With all that stuff behind him, I can see the real Alex Perez again,” says Serratelli. “I am totally confident in his ability, toughness, and work ethic, and I know firsthand from working with him and many other top fighters in the gym over the years that he should eventually be competing on the highest level and fighting the best in his division. Alex is the whole package – he can box, he can punch, he can take it, and he’s huge for a welterweight.”
Rosario seconds this. “He’s very hungry right now, very anxious to get in the ring and show people what he can do. He’s looking forward to the fight. He’s already close to [the 147-pound welterweight limit] weight now, a month before the fight. But he’s big enough, powerful enough, that we have to bring in bigger guys, middleweights, super-middleweights, for him to spar with.”
Although Perez is almost completely unknown to the average boxing fan, his record thus far bears out this optimism. In a relatively brief amateur career (just under 60 fights) he picked up multiple New Jersey Diamond Glove and Golden Glove championships and competed internationally, before turning pro at 22 years old. Although he has only 11 professional fights under his belt, he is currently undefeated, with six knockouts and one no-contest. A powerful, hard-hitting, 6’1” southpaw, he has sparred with some of boxing’s best, including fellow Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto, Sergio Martinez, Felix Sturm, and Joel Julio.
Working with those fighters has naturally improved him on a technical level, but where it really helps, Perez says, is mentally. “I was the chief sparring partner for some of those guys, and there were times when I was wearing them out,” he remembers. It is a comment not intended as bravado, as he goes on to explain. “So when you’re holding your own with these champions – guys at the top of their divisions – it gives you so much confidence. Because you think, if I’m doing that with the best in the sport, imagine what I’m gonna do to my opponent.”
It is a statement that displays not only confidence, but also an unmistakable surety that belies his age and ring experience. But to hear this self-belief is not surprising. Not when you know Alex Perez. Not when you know what he has been through.
Rewind six years.
Perez had just won his first professional fight with a first-round knockout, but it was not only the victory that left him elated. For Perez, just stepping into the ring as a professional boxer was a true victory in itself. The win was a confidence-builder, a reassurance, a finite return on the grueling hours he had put in at the gym. It was good to see the ‘0’ in the left-hand column of his record change to a ‘1’ on what he hoped would be a steady and uninterrupted march up through the numerical scale.
But the feeling of turning pro? The knowledge that, whatever happened, he had a chance – a chance in the widest, wildest sense of the word. That was immeasurable, uncontainable. “No more of this street s—t,” he told himself after the fight. “No more of this bulls—t. This – boxing – is what’s for me. This is what I’m gonna do.”
Like so many before him, he was not just fighting for himself, but also – predominantly – for his family. Every punch he threw had an explicit, explosive reason behind it. My children. My mother. My sister. My grandmother. My niece. Sure, each punch brought him one step closer to his goals. But his blows did something infinitely more important, more tangible. They brought his family one step further away from the impoverished, crumbling projects where he had grown up: Newark’s notorious, now-defunct Baxter Terrace housing blocks. A neighborhood that steadily produced drugs, gangs, and violent crime the way the Big Ten churns out pro athletes.
He was young. Strong. Hungry. Things were looking good.
Then, just days later, a petty quarrel on a street-corner changed everything.
Words were exchanged, a gun was pulled, shots were fired, people screamed. The all-too-familiar urban sequence, so glossily stylized, glamorized, in a never-ending stream of movies, hip-hop songs, TV shows. Only then the scene was over, and no one yelled cut; the track didn’t end, the chorus never kicked in.
Instead Perez was rushed to the hospital with gunshot wounds to his chest and ribs.
But even the impact of two bullets didn’t banish boxing from his thoughts. If anything, the shooting gave him even more focus. Throughout the two weeks in intensive care, through the month in the hospital, through the long, painful process of recuperation and rehabilitation, he repeated the same mantra he had first voiced to himself after that first fight.
This is for me. Not that street s—t. Not going back to that.
He’d be the first to tell you how lucky he was. He recuperated quickly and completely, and just six months later he was back in the ring, fighting with heightened determination and renewed purpose.
This time, he needed less than a minute to TKO his opponent. Ultimately, the shooting had affected his boxing career in only one lasting way: he was now Alex “The Brick City Bullet” Perez.
But outside of the ring, the incident had a more profound effect on the wild Newark youth. Coupled with the triumph of his pro debut, it helped open his eyes; helped him see that there were two ways he could go. “Either go all-out in the streets,” he told himself, “or go all-out to leave them. Can’t do both.”
He began to settle down, to focus. Fought four times in 2006, three more in 2007. Not the ceaseless activity of some young prospects, but enough to stay active, keep advancing, keep learning. And he kept winning.
But circumstances hit harder than an opponent’s punches could ever land. And so several years ago, when Jose Rosario’s wife was stricken with a cancer that would ultimately prove fatal, Perez found himself once again distracted by events outside of his control. With Rosario – who, in addition to co-running the gym where Perez trains, works full-time for New Jersey’s Essex County – occupied by his wife’s sickness, Perez’s career slowed, stalled. A year passed with no fights. Some of boxing’s biggest promoters and managers expressed interest in signing him (his younger brother, Mikey, is promoted by Golden Boy), but Perez repeatedly refused their advances. “I got loyalty,” he stated simply, when I asked why this was. “He’s basically my stepfather. There’s no way I’d ever leave him.”
Rosario had shown him loyalty. Not just training him, steering his career, but most of all raising him – embodying the paternal role to an eight-year-old kid. Loyalty. Perez had resolved that he would show the same, and stand by his mentor, even if that meant the detriment of his career.
They say it never rains but it pours. Perez might agree. Home with his family one night, asleep in bed, he was awakened by a pounding on the door. Still half-asleep, he found himself confronted by police saying that he had been identified by two men who claimed he had robbed them at gunpoint, shot at them, earlier that day. He told the police he couldn’t have had anything to do with it, had no idea what they meant. He waived his rights, invited them to search his apartment, his car, all to no avail. He was arrested, taken into custody, and charged.
Bail was set at $250,000. He told the judge he could never pay it, not quite realizing, in his shock, that that was the point. “They looked at me,” he remembers, “saw the charges facing me, said ‘No way.’”
Enter Serratelli. Known in Newark as the “Fight Lawyer” for his toughness and longtime involvement in boxing as well as for his legal work (primarily in criminal law and immigration issues), Serratelli had known Perez for years, ever since they were introduced in the Red Brick Gym by Rosario. Training together, they struck up one of those counterintuitive, camaraderie-forged-in-battle friendships that anyone who has sparred is familiar with; over the years, they only became closer. Serratelli took an interest in Perez’s career, offering him advice, training with him, and attending his fights whenever he could.
Now, Perez needed a lot more than advice.
It was the darkest period he had ever experienced, and for the first time in his life, this deeply religious, utterly-determined man was becoming profoundly discouraged. “I thought it was over for me – I was mentally breaking down, day by day. I thought it was the end of the road. I was facing 30 years, locked up, going crazy…” Voice thick with the lingering emotion of the experience, he tries to articulate the helplessness he had felt. “It was worse than getting shot, way worse. When I got shot, I knew [almost immediately] I’d be able to box again – that it all depended on me. My recovery was in my hands. But here, there was nothing I could do…. Nothing.”
Serratelli began visiting Perez in jail on a daily basis, offering support and learning the details of a case he was quickly becoming convinced had no legal merit. But he found himself in the minority with this conviction. Many, both in Newark and in the boxing community, openly questioned Perez’s innocence, and even some of the fighter’s friends opined that he probably had indeed done what he was accused of. To hear of such doubt was an unpleasant shock to Perez, but was less surprising to Serratelli, who had unhesitatingly agreed to take Perez’s case pro bono. “I’m in criminal court almost daily,” he explained. “In a case like this, it is unfortunate that the consensus amongst lawyers, judges, and the public is guilty until proven innocent, rather than vice versa.”
The first step was bail. Given the seriousness of the charges, the prosecution opposed Serratelli’s efforts to get it reduced, but he succeeded in getting a reduction hearing and subsequently persuaded the judge to lower the amount almost two-thirds, to $100,000. Even raising the required 10 percent of that smaller sum was not easy, however, and Perez was incarcerated for almost a month before his friends and family – all pooling their money together – came up with the $10,000 and obtained his release.
That done, Serratelli turned his attention to the charges – armed robbery and aggravated assault, among others. But the case wouldn’t be one of Perez’s first-round knockouts, and instead he found himself mired in the judicial process – a fog that can make the notoriously-convoluted machinations of boxing’s upper echelons seem almost simple in comparison. For week after week, the matter wore on. “I handled that case like a fight,” Serratelli told me. “They [the prosecutors] were talking about polygraph tests, discussing potential deals, saying they’d let him plead down to lesser charges, but I wasn’t interested in that. No polygraphs; no deals. He was innocent – it was either clear his name, or nothing.”
Finally, months after Perez was first arrested, Serratelli was able to give him the news the boxer had barely allowed himself to dream of getting: he was free, all charges dismissed. And with his troubles behind him, Perez was also free to turn his full attention once again to boxing. “It’s a big weight off my shoulders,” he says, chuckling a little at the enormity of the understatement he just made.
But he readily acknowledges the upside to his bitter and trying experiences. If fighters are formed and fashioned by adversity, then Perez is as tough as they come. “This game’s about mental toughness,” he says. “I’ve seen guys in unbelievable, super-duper shape come in and get beat before they ever stepped in the ring… Before my last fight [a 10-round decision win in Puerto Rico for the minor WBC Caribbean welterweight title] I hadn’t fought in 15 months, but I went to the guy’s backyard and took his belt, did what I had to do… Everything that happened to me? I feel like it’s behind me.”
And now? He’s only looking ahead.
“Even when he didn’t have fights scheduled, he was always in the gym, always training,” says Rosario. “We’re not looking past this next fight, but we want to fight four, five times more this year. We want him ranked in the division’s top 10 by the end of the year.”
Top 10 in 2010? Perez has no problems with this. “I’m not working now, no side-jobs, no distractions – just boxing. I get down on my knees and thank God every night for what I have.”
He grows quiet for a moment, thinking. “My grandmother’s very sick, now. This next fight is for her.” The resolute resignation of Perez’s tone reflects the larger metaphysical image his words have painted throughout our conversation: that there’s always going to be something else; that pain and loss and tribulations of one sort or another are never far off; that things might never be just plain easy.
I try to guess what’s going through his mind – the penurious childhood, running wild in the city’s worst neighborhoods? Or maybe the first time he walked into a gym with Rosario and put on a pair of gloves, began to think that maybe his two hands could cave a hole through the insurmountable walls that towered so high around him… Or maybe the arduous years of training, the thousands of long hours in the gym, the cracked cartilage and pools of sweat and headaches and bruised ribs that are the hallmarks of the sport to those who practice it. Or perhaps he is remembering the various setbacks he has suffered – all those happenings that did their best to buffet him off track, the bullets and jail and all the rest.
Or maybe he wasn’t thinking of any of this; was thinking instead about what lay in front of him.
He’s quiet for another moment, then speaks once more. “But you know what? It’s gonna be a good story in the end. It’s gonna be a good story.”
QUEZADA, DALLAS, JR. AND RUIZ HEADLINE AT TACHI PALACE APRIL 8TH
Posted on | April 1, 2010 | No Comments
Los Angeles, CA (March 31, 2010) – As Dorothy Gale, the lead character in “The Wizard of Oz,” proclaimed, “There’s No Place Like Home.” Perhaps with that in mind, boxing promoter Dan Goossen revealed in a recent media conference call that Goossen Tutor Promotions will be aggressively promoting Central Valley fighters for its 2010 shows at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, CA.
“This year, our focus for the Tachi fans will be homegrown talent, fighting for worldwide recognition and eventually world championships,” Goossen pointed out. “With the growth of certain local fighters, we will look to promote their next level fights right here at Tachi’s outdoor arena to accommodate the added attendance and attention.”
Goossen Tutor will present the first of its four scheduled shows in 2010 on Thursday, April 8 featuring three of its top young prospects from Central California in Wasco heavyweight Manny “El Toro” Quezada, undefeated Bakersfield junior welterweight Michael “Silent Assassin” Dallas, Jr.and the pro debut of Fresno super bantamweight Michael Ruiz. A fourth locally raised product – Hanford’s Shawn Estrada – was scheduled to be featured on the show but unfortunately, the snake-bitten 2008 U.S. Olympian reinjured his hand preparing for his bout and was forced to withdraw but promised to be ringside to watch his stablemates.
The Tachi home cooking has been awfully good to Quezada (29-4, 18 KOs). The WBC CABOFE Champion and #8-ranked WBC world contender has won 16 of 17 bouts fought there – including a one-sided decision against Nicolai Firtha in a title defense in his last ring action back in October — and has become a true fan favorite.
Quezada will kick off his 2010 competition against veteran Jason “the Sensation” Gavern (18-7-3, 8 KOs). A Virginia native now living in Kissimmee, his two best performances were against Travis Walker – with an eight-round draw who was 10-0 at the time and a six-round, unanimous decision win over 17-2 Raphael Butler. In his last two outings, Gavern has lost to undefeated Russian world contender Denis Boytsov (27-0, 22 KOs and ranked #5 IBF/WBAWBO and #6 WBC) and, most recently, Neven Pajkic (10-0, 5 KOs) of Bosnia by decision.
“We’re excited about this year. It’s gonna be a big one for all of us including Tachi,” Quezada offered. “I’ve had most of my fights there, so I’m excited to get back and get it on again starting with Jason Gavern. I’ve seen Gavern fight and he does exactly that, comes to fight. It’s exactly the type of challenge I need.”
It is Dan Goossen’s plan to continue Quezada’s development at Tachi and get him a world heavyweight title shot – possibly there – later this year.
Also no stranger to the fans in Lemoore is Dallas, Jr. (12-0-1, 3 KOs). The Jackie Kallen-managed rising star pitched a near shutout in decisioning Sergio Joel De La Torre back in October to make it six for six in front of his home area fans. He looked most impressive in a first-round TKO win over veteran Fabian Luque in Temecula, CA in his last bout earlier this month seen on ESPN2 “Friday Night Fights.” Dallas, Jr., who has gained valuable experience sparring with the great champion Manny Pacquiao, will look to take another step in his progression up the junior welterweight ranks on April 8 at Tachi.
“I have a lot of fans and family in the local area who come to Tachi to see me perform,” Dallas said. “I’m going to go out there and put on a good show.”
The appearance of Ruiz on the card is an unexpected bonus for fans at Tachi, as the 20-year old boxer out of Aleman Boxing in Fresno – a semi-finalist in the 2008 U.S. Future Stars national Championship and National Golden Gloves – was expected to be a member of the U.S. Boxing Team in the 2012 Olympics. Instead, Ruiz decided now was the time to turn professional and he will make his debut in a 4-round bout.
“I am very excited to having my first pro fight at Tachi,” Ruiz said. “I will have lots of friends and family coming from Fresno to watch me take the first step in my career toward an eventual world championship.”
Two other undefeated boxers are slated to see action in scheduled four-round bouts on the April 8 show at Tachi, including Ephraim Martinez (3-0, 1 KO, Buttonwillow, CA) versus Juan Topoz (3-2-1, Santa Rosa, CA) in a junior featherweight contest; and Tyrell Hendrix (4-0-1, 2 KOs, Hollywood, CA) against an opponent to be announced in a clash of super welterweights.
Dan Goossen concluded: “You’re normally lucky if you have the ability to showcase one local fighter and try to build them up to stardom. So in this case, to have three locals fighting in front of hometown fans hopefully on their way to world championships, it’s a great feeling for everybody. Mark my words, the Central Valley and Tachi are going to become synonymous with big time local fighters!”
Tickets for the April 8 event – priced at $225, $60, $40, $35 and $20 – may be ordered online at www.tickets.com; by phone at 1-800-277-2255 or at the Tachi Palace Gift Shop, 17225 Jersey Avenue, Lemoore, CA 93245.
Tags: Boxing > Manny Quezada > Michael Dallas Jr. > Michael Ruiz > Shawn Estrada
Six Questions With the #8-rated WBC Heavyweight Contender.
Posted on | April 1, 2010 | No Comments
Los Angeles, CA (April 1, 2010)- WBC CABOFE Champion and current #8 ranked WBC World Heavyweight contender Manny “El Toro” Quezada (29-4-1, 18 KOs) is making final preparations for his first fight of 2010 against the very tough veteran Jason “The Sensation” Gavern (18-7-3, 8 KOs). The Thursday evening, April 8th contest and undercard will also be the first of four scheduled shows at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California this year presented by Goossen Tutor Promotions.
The 32-year old Quezada, who hails from nearby Wasco, California, will be making his 18th appearance at his “Home Away From Home” at Tachi. He will be seeking his 19th consecutive victory overall and a potential next bout against a Top 10 World contender, as he continues his climb up the heavyweight ladder toward a world title opportunity.
GOOSSENTUTOR.COM now takes you “Inside the Mind” of Quezada leading into the final days prior to the biggest fight of his career with “Six Questions” for the American heavyweight hopeful of Mexican descent:
GOOSSENTUTOR.COM: On April 8th you will be making your 18th appearance at Tachi. Talk about your experiences of fighting at Tachi and about the success you have enjoyed there.
QUEZADA: “It’s great. It’s my home. Lots of my family and friends come out and I love fighting there. Them being there gives me that extra little push when I am there fighting in front of a lot of people.”
GOOSSENTUTOR.COM: Your April 8th opponent at Tachi is Jason Gavern, a tough out for anybody. What do you know about his boxing style and what have you done to prepare for him?
QUEZADA: “All I know is that he’s a slick little boxer who comes to fight. I know I have to get in shape and be ready. And I will be ready to go 10 rounds hard. I will be ready for him.”
GOOSSENTUTOR.COM: You’ve won 18 straight bouts after an inauspicious 11-4 start to your pro career. What has changed for you inside and outside the ring that has turned you from journeyman to world title contender?
QUEZADA: “That’s a good question! Now I’ve got a good team around me, good training and that’s been a key. Plus I changed my attitude. I go in there to fight. I try to get in the best shape I can and try to fight every round HARD and try to win every round. Hopefully, that kind of preparation will help me win a fight. Definitely I am staying in better shape outside the ring as well, so that I can be at my best inside the ring. I definitely come ready to fight every time I step inside the ring now, whereas before it wasn’t that way.”
GOOSSENTUTOR.COM: You are now ranked as the WBC #8 heavyweight contender in the World. How long do you think it will be before you face a Top 10 contender?
QUEZADA: “I really don’t know that answer. Hopefully, it won’t be too long. Hopefully, this year I can get a crack at a Top 10 opponent and get a shot at a World Championship soon after that.”
GOOSSENTUTOR.COM: What are your goals for 2010?
QUEZADA: “To just keep on winning and moving up in the rankings and getting a title shot. If not this year, then sometime in the beginning of next year.”
GOOSSENTUTOR.COM: What can boxing fans expect from Manny “El Toro” Quezada in the ring on Thursday, April 8th at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino?
QUEZADA: “Oh they can expect a fight! You know I am going to be ready to fight and I know Gavern will be ready as well. They can expect a real good, competitive fight and I’m going to bring it. I’m going to give them everything I’ve got like I always do. So it’ll be a good, exciting fight and I hope the fans will turn out and watch it and enjoy it!”
Tickets for the April 8 event – priced at $225, $60, $40, $35 and $20 – may be ordered online at www.tickets.com; by phone at 1-800-277-2255 or at the Tachi Palace Gift Shop, 17225 Jersey Avenue, Lemoore, CA 93245.
HOPKINS VS. JONES II UNDERCARD COMPLETE WITH VETERAN CONTENDERS, RISING STARS
Posted on | April 1, 2010 | No Comments
Ray Narh, Craig McEwan, Buddy McGirt Jr. & the Professional Debut of Top Amateur Frankie Gomez Compose The Stacked Non-Televised Undercard Live From The Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
LOS ANGELES, April 1 – With six undercard fights before the pay-per-view telecast begins, the April 3 event featuring the long-awaited showdown between future Hall of Famers Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr., is set to be a night that fans will not want to miss live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Heading up this stacked pay-per-view televised undercard will be a 10-round showdown between talented up and comer Jason Litzau and perennial contender Rocky Juarez for Litzau’s NABF super featherweight title. Also featured is the return of former Junior Middleweight World Champion Sergio Mora against veteran Calvin Green and unbeaten Ukrainian prospect Ismayl Sillakh steping up to the big time to face 175-pound standout Daniel Judah for the vacant NABF Light Heavyweight title.
Before the telecast begins, a host of rising stars and veteran contenders will get fans in attendance at the Mandalay Bay Events Center fired up. Among the fighters appearing will be Ray Narh, Craig McEwan, Buddy McGirt Jr., Yaundale Evans, Julian Williams as well as the much anticipated professional debut of one of the United States’ top amateur talents, East LA’s own Frankie Gomez.
“The Rivals: Hopkins vs. Jones II,” set for Saturday, April 3 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nev., is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Square Ring Promotions and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate, AT&T and Southwest Airlines. The event will be broadcast live on pay-per-view beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
Tickets priced at $750, $500, $300, $200 and $100 are on sale now at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also will be available for purchase at www.mandalaybay.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
Ghana’s Ray Narh (23-1, 20 KO’s) has not lost a fight in close to six years, winning 13 in a row – 11 by knockout. This hard-nosed competitor has a title shot in his sights in 2010, but standing in the way is Gary, Indiana’s Angel Hernandez (14-4, 10 KO’s). The two will meet in a 10 round bout for the vacant USNBC super lightweight bout.
Seemingly getting better with each fight, Scotland native Craig McEwan (17-0, 9 KO’s), who now lives and trains in Los Angeles under the tutelage of future Hall of Famer, Freddie Roach, has been paying his dues and piling up the wins, including 2009 victories over hot prospect James Parison and veterans Alexis Divison, Brian Vera and Darnell Boone. On April 3, he will battle Canadian Kris Andrews (15-8-2, 4 KO’s), who riding a four fight winning streak.
Also in action on April 3 will be super middleweight southpaw James “Buddy” McGirt Jr. (21-2-1, 10 KO’s). The talented son of renowned trainer and former World Champion Buddy McGirt Sr., Jr. is coming off of impressive victories over Patrick Perez and Anthony Pietrantonio last year, setting the stage for what he hopes will be a successful 2010 campaign. In the opposing corner will be Montgomery, Alabama’s John Mackey (11-4-2, 5 KO’s), a southpaw who is eager to score the upset on Saturday.
The top amateur junior welterweight in the United States, 18-year-old Frankie Gomez will make his highly-anticipated professional debut on April 3. An aggressive fighter with a fan-friendly style, the East Los Angeles native was a 2009 National Champion and a Silver medalist in the World Championships who is now on a mission to win a world championship in the pro ranks. His journey begins in Las Vegas when he takes on Florida’s Clayvonne Howard (2-3, 1 KO).
That’s not all though, as fans will also see a super featherweight contest featuring Cleveland’s Yaundale Evans (5-0, 3 KO’s) against Minneapolis’ Juan Baltierrez (2-1-2, 1 KO) and the pro debut of Philadelphia junior middleweight Julian Williams against San Leandro, California’s Jason Montgomery (1-0) in a four rounder.
The Hopkins vs. Jones II pay-per-view telecast begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and has a suggested retail price of $49.95. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. The main event is scheduled to begin live immediately following the college basketball semi-finals. For Hopkins vs. Jones II fight week updates, log on to www.goldenboypromotions.com.
Tags: Bernard Hopkins > Boxing > Buddy McGirt Jr > Craig McEwan > Ray Narh > Roy Jones Jr.
“The Heavy Hitters” Press Conference; David Haye vs. John Ruiz
Posted on | April 1, 2010 | No Comments
Manchester, England
David Haye…..
“I always plan to knockout my opponent. John Ruiz is a tough guy. He’s in the best shape of his life, no secret. As heavyweight champion, everybody’s coming for me. I’m expecting 12 tough rounds. I’ve trained for 12 tough rounds…or less. In shape, nobody in the world can go 12 rounds with me.”
“John Ruiz has been there before. I wasn’t going to give him too much verbal. He does his talking in the ring.”
“I plan not to let anybody get into the fight. I will establish what I want to do to negate his game plan. I don’t underestimate John Ruiz. When we signed to fight John Ruiz, I knew it was going to be a tough fight.”
“I’ve always punched hard. I believe I’m the hardest puncher, pound-for-pound, in the world. He (Ruiz) has been stopped only once, 14 years ago by one of the toughest punchers (David Tua). I look to make a statement, do something dramatic. He does 2-3 things in a fight that people hadn’t noticed. He’s very good at everything, not excellent in any area. He has all of the punches in the book and very effective. Others didn’t study and underestimated him. I won’t fall into that trap.”
“I believe I’m a born winner. I always think about winning.”
John Ruiz…..
“First, I want to thank the people of Manchester, especially for the great hospitality they’ve given me and my team. I’ve been here (England) before and I hope to keep my record (6-0 in England) going. This is a great opportunity for me, my team, family and friends. We’ll put it to works Saturday night.”
“I’ve heard it all before – they’re going to knock me out or put me six-feet under. I’ve heard it all. Boxing is a sport where you go out and fight.”
“Age is just a number. It all depends on how you feel, trained and determination to keep winning. I’ve always said that I don’t have the greatest talent. I take pride in my determination to fight and win. I have the support of my team and my life is as beautiful as ever. I’m complete – personal life and business. I’m on top of the world and here to prove it.”
“He’s (Haye) fast, moves around a lot, and gives different angles. I have to be prepared to for, like corralling an animal. He’s quick. It’s going to be a tough fight, the only way I want to see it. He won the title, nobody gave it to him. Saturday is going to be another day.”
“I don’t need to say I will win the title. If I didn’t think so, I would go home today. That’s my personality. Every fight I go into to win but you have to prove it.”
“It (this fight) means a great deal to me –I put my life on the line, that’s what boxers do – for me, my team, family and fans who have been through it all. It’s been a tough road. I never took the easy way out and this is no exception. David Haye is a tough opponent.”
Adam Booth (Haye’s manager/trainer)…..
“This is the hardest fight for David out there. He (Ruiz) is a seasoned and successful heavyweight. He has new vigor. His worst days are behind him, best days ahead of him, and we’re prepared.”
“You have two guys here in condition. One is world champion the other has been world champion twice. You don’t need trash talking. You’re going to get one of the best fights the British have seen in a long, long time. Look at the respect between these two. David more than understands that John Ruiz is tougher than anybody he’s fought.”
Miguel Diaz (Ruiz’ trainer)…..
”I watched tapes of David and the one against (Giacobbe) Fragomini is the one I watched the most. He (Haye) was beating him for the first five rounds and then he (Fragomini) put the pressure on him. I don’t know if he can take the heat of the kitchen. He must prove it in this fight. We trained almost three months. John is in great shape, physically and mentally. I expect a great fight from my fighter and David.”
“My fighter has fought around the world and not as a local, most of the time. He has no trepidations about this fight. He knows what he has to do.”
-30-
Tags: Boxing > David Haye > heavyweights > John RUiz > Manchester > press conference > UK
K-1 AND K-1 MAX KICK OFF 2010 SEASONS ON HDNET
Posted on | April 1, 2010 | 1 Comment
Network to Feature the World’s Best Strikers in Two Exclusive Broadcasts This Weekend
DALLAS (April 1, 2010) HDNet will kick off the 2010 K-1 and K-1 World MAX seasons this weekend with two exclusive broadcasts featuring the best kickboxers in the world.
“HDNet Fights: K-1 World MAX 2010 Japan Tournament” premieres on Friday, April 2 at 10:00 p.m. ET, and then, early Saturday morning, HDNet features the LIVE broadcast of “HDNet Fights: K-1 World GP 2010 in Yokohama” at 4:00 a.m. ET – with an encore presentation scheduled for next Friday night, April 9 at 10:00 p.m.
“This Friday night K-1 double feature is going to be a real treat for fight fans,” said Andrew Simon, CEO of HDNet Fights. “If you’ve never seen the fast paced, knockout action of K-1 and K-1 MAX, this is your chance to find out why these fighters are widely regarded as the best all-round strikers in the world.”
The K-1 World MAX 2010 debut features an exciting one night, 8-man tournament to crown the best 154 pound kickboxer in Japan. The Japan tournament is traditionally considered the toughest of the K-1 MAX qualifying tournaments and typically produces the most knockouts. The action continues into the late night as HDNet presents LIVE coverage of “HDNet Fights: K-1 World GP 2010 in Yokohama.”
In the main event of the evening, the reigning K-1 World GP Champion and one of the most dominating fighters in all of combat sports, Semmy Schilt (32-3-1, 16(T)KOs) puts his K-1 Super Heavyweight Title on the line against Errol Zimmerman (7-3, 3(T)KOs).
Plus, K-1 legend Peter Aerts (63-23, 48(T)KOs) challenges Kyotaro (8-3, 4(T)KOs) for the K-1 Heavyweight Title, Badr Hari (16-6, 14(T)KOs) looks to avenge a 2003 loss to former top 10 K-1 fighter Alexey Ignashov (25-9, 16(T)KOs), and Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem (3-3, 2(T)KOs) faces off with Dzevad Poturak (K-1 debut).
Gavin Neil: The “Forrest Gump of MMA” Prepares to Face “The Dirty Samurai”
Posted on | April 1, 2010 | No Comments
by Jeff Chan MFC Staff
On May 7, 2010 at MFC 25: Vindication, up and coming Victoria-based fighter Gavin Neil (7-1) will be stepping into the ring against Richie “The Dirty Samurai” Hightower (8-3-1), an alumni of that infamous MMA reality show, in a fight that has strong potential to bring fireworks to the crowd at the Edmonton Expo Centre at Northlands.
Gavin trains at Zuma Martial Arts in Victoria under the guidance and management of Adam Zugec, one of the elite few Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighters to be awarded a black belt by 7th-degree BJJ black belt Marcus Soares. Also an instructor in Erik Paulson’s Combat Submission Wrestling and a Thai boxing instructor under Ajarn Chai, Zugec is no stranger to the fight game.
Starting his professional MMA career at MFC 14: High Rollers on November 23, 2007, Gavin fought roughly every other month until MFC 19: Long Time Coming on December 5th, 2008. Then he took a bit of a break, fighting in a couple of other promotions before deciding to return to the Maximum Fighting Championship under a new three fight exclusive deal, for his upcoming ninth fight at MFC 25 on May 7th, 2010.
Neil is direct when asked about his decision to return, “it’s nice to be back in a legit organization like the MFC because I was a little disappointed with last promotion I fought under. It was actually the most ghetto event I’ve been in yet… sort of like the backwoods muay thai events I used to do when I was 15.” Zugec also sees the return to the Maximum Fighting Championship as a good move for Gavin. “The great thing about Mark Pavelich is that he’s been around for a long time and knows how to put on a professional show. When we show up to fight he’s always organized… the itinerary is laid out and everything. There’s no bullshit. The Maximum Fighting Championship is very polished – it’s the way a show should be.”
When asked to describe Neil’s fighting style and persona, Zugec takes a second to think. “Gavin’s a bit hard to explain. He kind of looks like a country bumpkin who’s out of shape. People will look at him and laugh. But he’s actually one of the toughest kids out there and he trains super hard. He’s a great stand-up fighter, composed on the ground, very well schooled.”
It’s all a testament to the diversity of the sport of mixed martial arts. “MMA is definitely an everyman sport”, muses Neil. “It’s an odd mix. Some people are into it because it’s the new thing. And then you have big nerds in there competing on the same level with the ‘tough guy’ types.”
So what happens when a character like Gavin Neil shows up in the nickname-happy sport of mixed martial arts? MFC CEO Mark Pavelich has an idea, “I like to call him the Forrest Gump of MMA”. And what does Gavin think of that? “Well it isn’t the worst nickname I’ve had… when I was 230, people called me ‘Snacks’. And I’ll never have a name like ‘Killer’ or anything like that.”
Gavin Neil comes across as an unassuming guy, but one who’s serious about his MMA. Zugec reinforces this impression. “Gavin doesn’t really need or care about getting attention. But he definitely wants respect as a fighter.” When told that he has a growing following in Edmonton, Gavin seems a bit sheepish. “Well last time I was in Edmonton, some guys recognized me and knew my name. I’m not used to that. Maybe people in Alberta go for the ‘country boy’ look.”
Does Zugec see any long-term plans for Gavin? “We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, so we’re just taking it one fight at a time and concentrating on our next opponent – Richie Hightower. This is going to be a good fight because Gavin always comes to fight and Richie wants to prove that he isn’t just some guy from that reality show. Richie likes to throw bombs and he’ll be coming out to win. But if you hit Gavin, he’s going to hit you back.”
“I think we match up well”, Gavin says about his upcoming fight. “I just have to make sure to watch out for his big overhand right. That, and keep doing what I always do… fight him in his weakest area.”
Want to watch Gavin Neil throw down against Richie “The Dirty Samurai”
Hightower? Then come to the Edmonton Expo Centre at Northlands for MFC 25:
Vindication on Friday, May 7, 2010. For those who can’t make it (or who wait too long to try to buy tickets), the show will be aired live on HDNet Fights.
Gavin vs. Richie will be the first televised fight.
Tags: Edmonton Expo Centre > Gavin Neil > MFC > Mixed Martial Arts > MMA > Richie Hightower
SEARCH OUR BLOGS
SEARCH THE WEB
Subscribe in a reader
US Money Reserve
Bodybuilding fitness software: Gain weight & build muscle fast.
Photographers - Boston, MA
PRO-SEBLOG.COM: EMPOWERING ORDINARY PEOPLE TO PRACTICE LAW ON THEIR OWN BEHALF
CLICK HERE TO ORDER AN AWESOME SELF-HELP LEGAL COURSE
MARKETINGBOSS.INFO: MARKETING TIPS FOR YOUR SITE & BUSINESS
Boxing Live
RING GIRLS
OUR SPONSORS
