WHY DOES SCOTT COKER FEEL “WARM AND FUZZY” ABOUT THE FUTURE OF STRIKEFORCE?

Posted on | December 13, 2011 | No Comments

Last night on “Inside MMA”, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker gave the panel a sneak peek into the future of the promotion: 

http://www.hd.net/blogs/scott-coker-on-the-future-of-strikeforce/

Also, Demetrious Johnson gave us an update on the new UFC Flyweight Division and his expectations for his upcoming bout with  Ian McCall:

http://www.hd.net/blogs/mighty-mouse-on-the-ufc-flyweight-tourney/

And, is this “Inside MMA” or “Dear Abby”?  Each panelist gave Lorenz Larkin some advice on how to beat Mo Lawal – whether he needs it or not:

http://www.hd.net/blogs/lorenz-larkin-vs-king-mo-lawal-inside-mma/

Finally, the Force is with Ron Kruck as he presented an inside look at Amanda Lucas and her burgeoning MMA career:

http://www.hd.net/blogs/star-wars-creator-daughter-turned-mma-fighter/

**HDNET FIGHTS:  BAMMA 8″ NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE.**  Check out all the fights from the U.S. television debut of BAMMA, Europe’s #1 MMA promotion at:

http://www.hd.net/blogs/bamma8streaming/

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Interview: Johnny Eames On Ben Murphy And His Headline Grabbing British title Challenge

Posted on | December 13, 2011 | No Comments

By Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro

On Saturday night British Light Welterweight Champ Ashley ‘Treasure’ Theophane defended his coveted Lonsdale belt against late replacement Ben Murphy.

Whilst Theophane did manage to retain his title, it was far from a convincing win, and it was the challenger who received all the plaudits, probably because he dominated the fight and all ringside judges had Hove’s Murphy firmly ahead on points at the start of the eleventh.

No surprise then that most of the media reports make a big point that Theophane was very, very lucky to get the win in the end, as well as lavish praise on Murphy for his magnificent performance. Something I readily agree with especially knowing the circumstances surrounding the fight – Murphy took the fight at just a couple of days notice, fought at a higher weight division than he normally does and more importantly had been cut during the successful defense of his Southern Area Lightweight title just two weeks earlier.

As such I really wanted to get an inside track on this mighty warrior, as well as the fight itself, so rather than talk with Murphy so soon after the fight Instead I spoke with his coach Johnny Eames at his famous fight factory The TRAD TKO Boxing Gym in Canning Town.

However before we get onto the interview with the esteemed Mr Eames I thought it sensible to give a very brief rundown on the fight for those that hadn’t been lucky enough to watch Murphy’s magnificent performance.

Murphy completed dominated the first half of the fight, he took the fight to the bigger man, pinning Theophane on the ropes and letting rip with nonstop venomous salvos, to win the first five rounds easily. Theophane had a little more success in the sixth, but still not enough I felt to win the round – mainly because it was clear that it was Murphy that was still in full control.

Round seven see the Tasmanian Devil Dog like Murphy completely tie up the champ, as in the early rounds, to secure the round, even though Theophane had managed to tear a nasty gash over Murphy’s right eye – On this point some reports say was the result of a left uppercut, whilst various of those present ringside, including his coach Johnny Eames, claim this was due to the dubious use of the elbow.

Either way at the end of the day Murphy was badly cut, something that clearly affected him, as such initially he seemed wary to go full pelt as previously, which allowed Theophane to actually gain some semblance of success for the next couple of rounds.

Round eleven sees Murphy fly out the traps and again take the fight to the Champ and keeps the pressure up for a minute or so. As soon as the major assault subsides Theophane starts one of his own. Theophane steps up the pace and continues to do so until the referee Howard Foster steps in and stops the fight on the 2 minute 33 second mark.

Interestingly many pundits disagreed with the ref stepping in and stopping the fight at this point, including myself, but it was surprisingly refreshing that Johnny Eames didn’t, something he explains during the following interview.

Rio – First question I have to ask is just how did this fight actually come about?

Johnny – Frank Maloney called me on Tuesday evening and asked me if Michael Grant wanted to fight Ashley Theophane for the British title as Nigel Wright unfortunately had a problem with his brain scan – obviously my sympathies go out to Nigel Wright, who’s a good friend of mine. I spoke to him up there and hopefully all will be all right once they get the second opinion – I said Michael wasn’t available and maybe he should try Peter McDonagh, who trains here in the gym.

Obviously the answer was that he couldn’t do it, so I said look I’ve got another guy here, who I don’t actually manage, but train and I’ll have a word with him, Ben Murphy, I said the only problem is he only fought two weeks ago and in that fight he got cut, so it was a big if Ben would be willing to take the fight.

That was a stupid question really, because I phoned Ben, maybe I should have rang his manager first but I always have a sort of special relationship with my fighters and I rang Ben he answered immediately I said do you want to fight for the British title Saturday, bearing in mind this was Tuesday and the answer was yes. He didn’t ask who, where, how much, what weight, nothing!

Obviously it was a step up in weight, which was a gamble, but I worked with Ashley (Theophane) for two or three years and I know Ashley quite well. I knew that Ben was the kind of fighter that Ashley really didn’t like fighting. The big question mark over the fight was it was two weeks since he fought and had been back in the gym once, all right he did a couple of runs and he always keeps himself fit.

We hadn’t prepared for it, but that’s all right because Ashley hadn’t prepared for us – then again how can you prepare for Ben Murphy – you know he was prepared to fight Nigel Wright, a southpaw, and now he’s got a little bull like animal who wants to rip his head off with every punch he throws.

Rio – You touched on my next question, normally Ben fights at Super Featherweight and Lightweight, didn’t you worry about him stepping up to Light Welter so quickly.

Johnny – If it had been any other Light Welterweight in the Country I might have been a bit concerned, but I know Ashley quite well, he aint what you call a big puncher, he’s quite accurate but not a big puncher so I knew Ben would be able to deal with the power.

Ben walks around at 10st 4lbs, 10st 5lbs and he makes Lightweight quite comfortably and he did make Super Featherweight for Prizefighter, so he’s pretty flexible. He’s a good liver so he can keep the weight on or take it off as it makes no difference for him, so we virtually fought at walking around weight.

Ben’s a different animal, yeah it was a gamble, but a calculated gamble.

Rio – Ben’s only been with you around six weeks or so, so I assume a lot of what we see was his normal fight style and not that you have bought much on board yet.

Johnny – When he came to me he had three weeks ‘til his Southern Area title defense, there’s nothing I can teach in three weeks, not even Superman could teach anyone anything in three weeks, and there’s a lot better trainers than me out there (Rio – I doubt there are many better, with the levels of Championship success Johnny has had over the years) that would tell you that you couldn’t teach anyone anything new in just three weeks, so we just had to make sure he was ready for a ten rounder, which he was.

After the first fight I said we’ll get you in the gym and I’ll start teaching you some of the things you need to know. He was due to be in this Monday to start our coaching for fights after Christmas.

Obviously it’s not how I want him to fight, but for Ashley it’s the way he had to fight. I spoke to him beforehand and said that there’s things I want to teach you to do, but said to him for this fight just go out there and do what you do, because he had to do what he does. It aint pretty but it’s effective.

Rio – Now I’m going to get onto the fight itself – unfortunately I couldn’t get up to Sunderland so I watched it on TV – I thought he did amazingly well and that the stoppage was early, but please tell me how you see that fight.

Johnny – I was amazed at how he could back Ashley up so easily in the first six rounds, I mean at first I thought Ashley was having a look to see what Ben’s got to offer. I knew he hadn’t prepared for Ben, all good fighters can adapt during a fight and Ashley is a good fighter.

As I said I thought Ashley was just having a look, then after the first round went, and then the second and then the third went I realised he couldn’t deal with it.

Ben was very fired up, I was asking Ben not to put power in every shot, unfortunately that side of it we haven’t taught him that yet and he just went round after round.

I had us win the fist six rounds, without a shadow of a doubt. For me personally I had us lose the next four, going into the eleventh I had us two up. I believe, no I know for definite because I spoke with the judges, that one judge had Ben five up going into the eleventh, one had him four up and one had him one round up.

In hindsight if I had known that I would have told Ben to go out there and hang on him for dear life, but not knowing if he’d be able to do that or not, because that’s not his style.

Everybody was in his favour, at the end of the tenth round, I think it was, he came back – he was cut in the second round, it was a cut that he got two weeks before and we knew it would reopen, and then cut again in the seventh round – and he’d started to get beaten up a bit, I’m not someone that I’m not one for letting my fighters get beat up so I said to him unless you win this eleventh round I’m not letting you out for the twelfth.

Obviously partly to fire him up but also to make him aware he was taking too many shots. Unfortunately the referee didn’t let him get back to the corner, but a lot of people who watched it on TV said they didn’t feel the stoppage was justified, from ringside it was and Howard (Foster) did a good job, a very good job.

Ben did everyone of us proud, when we went back to the hotel the officials stood and clapped us in, I’ve never seen that before.

The bottom line is that it could open doors for Ben in his own weight division.

Rio – Again you’ve touched on my next question – what’s next for Ben.

Johnny – Ben is a Lightweight, he really is a Lightweight, he will do Lightweight again and he will be fighting at Lightweight in the next fight.

I’d love to think, and reading the reports and website that everybody thinks that Ben should be mandatory challenger for the British Lightweight title. I’d love to think he would.

Anthony Crolla is a good friend of mine, Joe Gallagher is a good friend of mine, but I’m pretty certain if they was watching that they wont be fancying facing Ben Murphy at Lightweight and I’m pretty certain that he could go and take the title from Anthony.

Rio – So if he does get the shot and wins the title, do see Ben progressing further than that?

Johnny – I never look beyond the British level with one of my fighters until they win it and defend it and then we look to see what’s around. The Lightweight division on the European scene is a very good division.

I’m not saying Ben aint good enough, but let’s see what happens with the British title first and then we’ll see where we go after that.

Rio – You’ve only had five weeks working with Ben, what’s your absolute honest opinion of him.

Johnny – The American trainer that was with Ashley said to me after the fight ‘put that man back in the cage, he should be on chains.’ That’s exactly what he is, he’s a total throwback, he’s not scared of anybody or anything.

When he was up here training with Bryan Lawrence, he’s a Lightweight but he was sparring with Middleweights because the lighter weights didn’t want to spar with him. That’s the kind of kid he is and any fighter that has Ben’s attitude I’ll give them as much time as I can.

As a character and as a person he’s amazing, he’s just amazing you know I’ve never had a fighter with such a positive thinking way of fights. In his mind no one can beat him and he don’t care who he fights.

I just wish there were a lot more fighters like him out there. Fighters these days are picky, want to be guaranteed wins, this kid don’t give a shit, he’ll fight whoever you put in front of him.

Wrestling Links (12-13-11)

Posted on | December 13, 2011 | No Comments

Nastiest Hollywood divorce battles New York Daily News The former wrestling star is suing ex-wife for defamation after her tell-all book ‘Wrestling the Hulk–My Life Against the Ropes’ revealed that Hogan allegedly beat her during their 24-year marriage. The 18-page lawsuit, filed Thursday in Clearwater, … See all stories on this topic »      New York Daily News

Wrestling: Luxemburg-Casco hopes difficult schedule pays off in postseason Green Bay Press Gazette While the Spartans’ coach was proud of the accomplishments of his relatively young team, he wondered after the season if he should have tested his wrestlers more leading up to the postseason. With that notion in mind, Berceau went back to the drawing … See all stories on this topic »

Wrestling: Nanuet shuffles lineup, tops Edgemont for title The Journal News | LoHud.com Seth Harrison/The Journal News Chris Kim of Edgemont, right, is flipped over by Peter Smith of Nanuet in a 170 lbs. match during a wrestling meet at Edgemont High School Dec. 12, 2011. Smith pinned Kim to win the match. ( Seth Harrison / The Journal … See all stories on this topic »

Tech wrestling hopes to bounce back Delmarva Now MATTHEW S. GUNBY/DELAWARE WAVE GEORGETOWN –After two consecutive seasons of making the DIAA dual-meet state finals, the Sussex Technical High School wrestling team took a major step back in the 2010-2011 season, after losing heaps of talent from the … See all stories on this topic »

Holland’s Nikolas Leal begins wrestling season as the hunted after state … MLive.com Last year, the Holland senior wrestler was trying to elevate his name as one of the best wrestlers in the state, and knew a state championship would do that. And that’s exactly what he did, upsetting two undefeated wrestlers in the semifinals and … See all stories on this topic »

Central wrestling team rebuilds Delmarva Now GEORGETOWN — Upholding the championship-level aspirations typically associated with the Sussex Central High School wrestling team might have to be put on hold for the year, as the Golden Knights will have to replace nine starters from last year’s DIAA … See all stories on this topic »

UVU Wrestling ushers in a new era Daily Herald Flint Ray, the face of Utah Valley University wrestling program for so many years – gone. Jeb Clark, a local Spanish Fork High School product, who was a standout for the Wolverines graduated. In all, UVU lost five key members from last year’s team, … See all stories on this topic »

Two Bison wrestlers place at Rapid City Invitational Rapid City Journal DeSersa was Hot Springs’ highest placing wrestler at this past weekend’s Rapid City Invitational. RAPID CITY – In a tournament featuring a total of 29 schools from a three-state region, the Hot Springs Bison wrestling team placed 22nd overall with a … See all stories on this topic »

Bomber wrestlers win six Baxter Bulletin Neal Denton/The Baxter Bulletin The Mountain Home wrestling team posted six victories in 21 matches Monday night at a tri-match involving the Conway Wampus Cats and the Berryville Bobcats at the MHJH Gym. Mountain Home’s Lane Alexander scored two of … See all stories on this topic »

Community sports notes: Frontier wins wrestling title The Columbian By Paul Danzer One point was the margin as Frontier defeated Shahala for the team title of the Greater St. Helens League Middle School Wrestling Tournament, which took place on Saturday at Union High School. Frontier had three of the individual … See all stories on this topic »

 

Blogs

Wrestling Fans | The Comics Journal By Dan Nadel Jerry Robinson, RIP; Wrestling; Dr. Who. Basically an old school comic-con. The Comics Journal

Wrestling Wreport: Penn State sweeps Lehigh and West Virginia … By Galen Wrestling Wreport: Penn State sweeps Lehigh and West Virginia. Black Shoe Diaries

Youth wrestling clinic to be held before Northwestern dual … By kjpilcher University of Iowa Wrestling announced Monday that the Iowa Elite Chevy Youth Wrestling Clinic will be held Jan. 15 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. The. TheGazette

Two big wrestling tournaments on tap this week | Varsity Xtra By Mark Heller Fresh off its victory last weekend at the Mustang Classic, Mountain View’s wrestling team is back at it again this weekend at the Larry Faust Invitational on. Varsity Xtra

Rubio Faces Vanda at WBC Convention in Vegas

Posted on | December 13, 2011 | No Comments

 

On December 16, and to coincide with the WBC Convention, Sampson Boxing in Association with Promociones del Pueblo will proudly present a night of world-class professional boxing featuring five regional title fights at the fabulous Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

 

In the night’s potentially explosive 12-round middleweight main event, WBC #1 and WBO #3-rated Marco Antonio Rubio (52-5-1, 45 KOs) of Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico, will risk his lofty rankings against Saint Paul, Minnesota’s always tough Matt “The Predator” Vanda (44-13, 24 KOs). The two veterans will be vying for the vacant WBC Latino middleweight title.

 

In the 10-round co-featured bout, hot featherweight prospect Javier Fortuna (17-0, 13 KOs) from La Romana, Dominican Republic, will make the second defense of his WBC Youth Intercontinental featherweight title against Miguel Roman (37-8, 28 KOs) from Juarez, Mexico.

 

On the fiercely competitive undercard, Panama City, Panama’s Azael “Turbo” Cosio (12-1-2, 9 KOs) will go against Oklahoma City’s Ronnie “The Natural” Warrior Jr (13-5-1, 4 KOs) in a 10-round welterweight scrap for the WBC Latino welterweight title.

 

Somebody’s “O” must go in a couple of other clashes.

 

Undefeated Samuel Rogers (10-0, 5 KOs) from the US Virgin Islands will face also undefeated  Jamar Freeman (9-0-2, 5 KOs) from Wilson, North Carolina, in a 10-round fight for the vacant WBC FECARBOX light middleweight title; and undefeated knockout artist John Jackson (11-0, 10 KOs) from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands will take on undefeated Keandre Leatherwood (9-0, 6 KOs) from Birmingham, Alabama, in a 10-round fight for the vacant WBC Youth World light middleweight title.

 

Rounding out the action will be a special six-round female super featherweight attraction between Las Vegas-based southpaw Laura “La Poeta del Ring” Serrano (17-4-2, 6 KOs) and Jamestown, New York’s Ela “Bam Bam” Nunez (10-11-1, 2 KOs).

 

This event is sponsored by Corona.

 

Tickets go on sale Monday (December 12) and are priced at $100 ringside and $25 General Admission. They will be available at the Mandalay Bay box office and online at www.mandalaybay.com.

 

About Sampson Boxing

 

Sampson Lewkowicz has been the recipient of many awards for his outstanding work in professional boxing including World Boxing Organization Matchmaker of the Year (2003 to 2009), the first ever World Boxing Association Matchmaker of the Decade (2000-2010), as well as several awards from the World Boxing Council.

 

He was also the recipient of a Curbed Sabre by the Minister of Sports of Indonesia and has received municipal awards by mayors of several localities in The Philippines, California, Puerto Rico, Thailand, Israel and Uruguay.

 

Today Sampson Boxing is a general partner in over 340 promotions and works with the top promoters of the USA, Europe, Asia, South Africa, Central America, South America, New Zealand and Australia.

Wolves dominate Super Region I rankings for second straight time

Posted on | December 13, 2011 | No Comments

December 5, 2011

 

NEWBERRY, S.C. – The Newberry College wrestling team sits atop the Super Region I coaches poll for the second straight time as released today. The Wolves have the No. 1 ranked grappler in four different weight classes and have the No. 2 at four others. Newberry has been atop the rankings in both polls this season and has at least one wrestler in the top four of every weight class.

“We are constantly talking about the process of getting better,” head coach Jason Valek said. “We can see it each time we head to the mat. We need to develop more confidence in our talents and draw on those to move forward.”

National runner-up BJ Young (Jackson, N.J.) comes in No. 1 at 141 pounds. Connor McDonald (Rehoboth, Del.) is atop the rankings at 125 while Mitchell Brown (Omaha, Neb.) (184) and Jake Elkins (Trussville, Ala.) (285) also received No. 1 rankings. Brown sits at 8-1 and was fourth in the opening Super Region I poll.

Four Wolves are second at their respective weight classes. Matt Oliver (Toms River, N.J.) is second at 133. Deral Brown (Elgin, S.C.) was second at 149 while Sean Byrnes (Jackson, N.J.) is ranked No. 2 at 165. Travis Sheehy(Suwanee, Ga.) was ranked No. 4 in the previous poll but has ascended to second at 174.

Karl Reed (Mount Laurel, N.J.) is ranked No. 3 at 197 while Taylor Knapp (Lawrenceville, Ga.) sits at No. 4 at 157.

Scott Casber
Founder/Host
Takedown Wrestling Radio and TV
USA Wrestling Weekly
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Mixed Martial Arts Links (12-13-11)

Posted on | December 13, 2011 | No Comments

UFC 140 Results: From Spotlight to Twilight – How Will the MMA World Remember … Bloody Elbow And all of the characteristics that made him an MMA star were already there. And so too, were the characteristics of the UFC pre-Zuffa. Jeff Blatnick had to sift his way through a monkeys-on-a-typewriter “keys to victory” sheet which listed Ortiz has … See all stories on this topic »

MMA Analysis: Flyweights Coming to UFC in March Opposing Views Finally the flyweight division is coming to the biggest Mixed Martial Arts Promotion in 2012. At Saturdays UFC 140, UFC President Dana White announced the 125 pound division would debut inside the Octagon in March of 2012. Ever since the bantamweights … See all stories on this topic »      Opposing Views

Ogden MMA pro ‘living the dream’ at age 43 StandardNet It’s an unconventional training exercise, to be sure, but then Eric Tillotson is an unconventional addition to professional mixed martial arts. He’s 43 years old, and still a prospect, with hopes to advance in the fast-growing sport, which has become … See all stories on this topic »       StandardNet

Bay Area MMA Not At Its Best, But The Sport Is Growing SB Nation A stream for all things related to Bay Area and California mixed martial arts, follow along for updates as the region is represented by guys like Cain Velasquez, Urijah Faber and Nick Diaz. For more on MMA in general, go to Bloody Elbow. … See all stories on this topic »      SB Nation

New Fan’s Introduction to Mixed Martial Arts: Standing Striking Bloody Elbow by TP Grant on Dec 12, 2011 2:00 PM EST in MMA Technique Be it the UFC on Fox show, the past season of the Ultimate Fighter, that classic match between Henderson and Shogun or UFC 140 that convinced you to come looking for more MMA, welcome! … See all stories on this topic »

Local MMA fighters to compete at Cage Rage 5 in Moncton Cape Breton Post By TJ Colello – Cape Breton Post SYDNEY — Tyler Reid’s climb up the ladder in the world of mixed martial arts is happening at a meteoric pace. The 23-year-old from Mira enters only his fourth fight Saturday night in Moncton during the Canadian Extreme … See all stories on this topic »      Cape Breton Post

Mixed martial arts: Oregon has seen great fights this month Statesman Journal These past two weeks have been action-packed here in Oregon with some amazing local mixed martial arts fights. When it gets cold outside, the Oregon MMA scene brings the heat. On Dec. 3, Keizer’s Adam King stole the show at Rumble at the Roseland 60 … See all stories on this topic »

Maple Leafs attend UFC 140, become new fans of mixed martial arts THE FAN 590 TORONTO – A few of the famous faces in the crowd at UFC 140 quickly became fans of mixed martial arts. The Toronto Maple Leafs players and staff attended the event at Air Canada Centre on Saturday night and were impressed with what they saw. … See all stories on this topic »

UFC boss says Jon Jones vs. Anderson Silva not ‘happening anytime soon’ MMAjunkie.com by John Morgan on Dec 12, 2011 at 7:00 am ET TORONTO – After defeating his third former champion in a nine-month span, current UFC light heavyweight titleholder Jon Jones (15-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) is unquestionably among the hottest fighters in the entire… See all stories on this topic » MMAjunkie.com

 

Blogs

Strikeforce: ‘Rockhold vs Jardine’ a part of Showtime’s … – MMA Mania By Jesse Holland Even if you don’t subscribe to Showtime, you can still watch Strikeforce: “Rockhold vs. Jardine” on Jan. 7 in Las Vegas. Here’s how. MMAmania.com

UFC 140 highlights the gentrification of mixed martial arts By LiverKick [div class2=icon]The following is from an article on LiverKick. com, part of the MiddleEasy Network. [/div] Over the weekend at UFC 140 the two featured bouts of the evening saw exciting. MiddleEasy

Tori Nelson to face Vashon Living for WIBA Title, Todd Wilson to battle Fernando Basora on Feb. 11 Jimmy Lange Boxing Card

Posted on | December 13, 2011 | No Comments

 

Fairfax, Va. (December 12, 2011) – A pair of popular Northern Virginia boxers, middleweight Tori “Sho Nuff” Nelson (Ashburn) and junior welterweight Todd “White Lightning” Wilson (Fairfax), will put their undefeated records on the line as opponents have been announced for their bouts on the Jimmy Lange Boxing card set forSaturday, February 11, 2012 at the Patriot Center.

 

Fans can purchase $75, $125, $200, $300 and $500 tickets (offer does not apply to $35 and $50 tickets) at 25% off when buying in person at the Patriot Center Box Office or going online to Ticketmaster’s website (http://tinyurl.com/bq24arx).  The holiday offer, provided courtesy of Jeff Valcourt of title sponsor Valcourt Building Services, is only available through December 24, 2011.

 

Nelson (5-0-1), a single mom with three jobs (school bus driver and cafeteria worker at Loudoun County’s Broad Run High School and IHOP waitress) outside of the ring, will challenge Vashon “Lady V” Living (5-2, 1 KO) of Houston, Texas for the vacant Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA) middleweight championship in a 10-round contest.  This past summer in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, Nelson won the World Boxing Council’s (WBC) middleweight championship belt by upsetting Lorissa Rivas.  She beat Michelle Garland in an action-packed contest in her Patriot Center debut last September.

 

Living is battle-tested in championship fights having lost a 10-round decision to Christiana Hammer for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and World Boxing Federation (WBF) middleweight titles in October 2011.  An experienced amateur competitor, she had won five in a row prior to the world title fight.

 

Wilson (11-0, 3 KOs), a former collegiate boxing champion and all-American at Virginia Military Institute, will faceFernando “El Latigo” Basora (8-7-1, 6 KOs) of the Bronx, N.Y. in a six-rounder.  The Fairfax fighter outworked former world champion Eric “Mighty Mouse” Aiken en route to earning his 11th victory and biggest test to date last September at the Patriot Center.  Since emerging on the Beltway boxing scene, the business development specialist at Booz Allen Hamilton has continued to draw supporters while gaining ring experience.

 

Nicknamed ‘the whip’, the Puerto Rican-born Basora gave Ryan Belasco all he could handle in a loss this past August in Dover, Del. Only three of his 16 fights have gone the distance, so fans should expect a high-energy, fast-paced affair when he visits Wilson’s home turf in February.

 

World Boxing Union (WBU) champion Jimmy Lange will defend his junior middleweight title against an opponent to be determined in the Main Event.  Officials plan to announce the card’s third world title bout later this week. TheZain “Tiger” Shah vs. Tony “Mo Better” Jeter bout previously announced has fallen out.

 

Doors will open at 6:00 pm, with the first fight scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm.  All bouts are subject to change.

 

Tickets, priced at $35, $50, $75, $125, $200, $300 and $500 (plus applicable service charges), will be available for purchase through all Ticketmaster outlets including the Patriot Center box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com/and via Phonecharge at 703-573-SEAT, 202-397-SEAT and 410-547-SEAT. Accessible seating is available for patrons with disabilities by calling 703-993-3035.

ANDRE DIRRELL RETURNS FOR FIRST FIGHT IN NEARLY TWO YEARS AGAINST SURGING DARRYL CUNNINGHAM ON DEC. 30 SPECIAL EDITION OF SHOBOX: THE NEW GENERATION

Posted on | December 13, 2011 | No Comments

 

Former World Champ Jermain Taylor Faces Jessie Nicklow;

Unbeaten Light Heavyweights Luis Garcia and Alexander Johnson
Round Out Tripleheader  Live on SHOWTIME^® 
From Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon, Calif.

 

NEW YORK (Dec. 12, 2011) – Long regarded as one of the world’s premier super middleweight contenders, Andre Dirrell will return to the ring for the first time in 21 months when he facesDarryl Cunningham in the co-feature of a special edition of ShoBox: The New Generation onFriday, Dec. 30, live on SHOWTIME^® (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) fromMorongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon, Calif.

 

Dirrell (19-1, 13 KOs), of Flint, Mich., has not fought since winning by 11^th-round disqualification over Arthur Abraham in The Super Six World Boxing Classic on March 27, 2010. Cunningham (24-2, 10 KOs), of Detroit, has been victorious in 17 consecutive starts and has not lost since December 2007.

 

The ShoBox main event will spotlight another comeback — that of former undisputed middleweight world champion Jermain Taylor (28-4-1, 17 KOs), of Little Rock, Ark., in a scheduled 10-round middleweight bout. Taylor’s first start in 26 months represents a return to the division he once dominated. Taylor will face Jessie Nicklow (22-2-3, 8 KOs) of Baltimore, Md.

 

In the opening bout of the telecast, former Cuban amateur standout Luis “El Leon” Garcia (11-0, 9 KOs) of Cork, Ireland, meets southpaw Alexander “The Great” Johnson (12-0, 5 KOs, 1 NC) of Oxon Hill, Md., in an eight-round showdown of undefeated light heavyweights.

 

Dirrell anticipates challenging for a world title in 2012 but for now the 2004 Olympic Games bronze medalist is content to be fighting again and focused on Dec. 30.

 

“I’ve been waiting for this for the longest time,’’ he said. “(The time off) seemed like forever.’’

 

Dirrell’s last fight – a Super Six Group Stage 2 bout against Abraham in Detroit – ended abruptlyafter an illegal Abraham right hand to the head rendered Dirrell unconscious. The illicit punch came while Dirrell, who had slipped in Abraham’s corner, was down on one knee. The referee halted the contest at 1:13 of the 11^th round, ruling Dirrell the winner by DQ. Dirrell was comfortably ahead at the time by the scores of 98-91 and 97-92 twice.

 

The athletically gifted Dirrell, 28, cited neurological problems stemming from the Abraham boutand dropped out of the Super Six tournament. He now says he has a clean bill of health and is ready to not only resume his promising career but make a statement in his first bout back.

 

“It’s real important I go in and give a good showing,” said Dirrell, who trains at the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas. “I’m not worried about what happened in the past. The only thing I’m worried about is that I haven’t been in there (for a long time).”

 

Dirrell, whose only defeat came on a 12-round split decision to World Boxing Council (WBC) 168-pound champion Carl Froch in Group Stage 1 of the Super Six tournament on Oct. 17, 2009, expects to have some jitters for Cunningham.

 

“They’re nothing I can’t handle. I’m just more anxious than anything,” Dirrell said.

With a possible world title shot in the future, Dirrell wanted to face a solid foe. He gets that in Cunningham, a tough, veteran lefty who possesses a lot of hand speed and decent power. Cunningham was scheduled to face Kelly Pavlik earlier this year, but Pavlik withdrew.

In his most recent outing, the confident Cunningham, 37, took a unanimous decision over Dante Craiglast Oct. 6 in Detroit. Cunningham also has notable victories over the likes of Antwun Echols, Rubin Williams and Pat Coleman. All but two of Cunningham’s fights have taken place in Michigan.

“I’m always coming to win,” said Cunningham, a personal trainer who says he does 800-900 sit-ups a day. “This is my opportunity to shine. I’m not going to lie down. People don’t know me now. They don’t know my heart, what’s inside me. But the whole world is going to know me after this fight.’’

In the telecast’s opener, Garcia, a six-footer who turns 24 on Dec. 23, and the 5-foot-11 1/2 Johnson, who turns 30 on Dec. 22, will be making their ShoBox debuts.

In his most recent outing and lone fight in 2011, Garcia scored a second-round TKO over former world champion Byron Mitchell on Nov. 6. Mitchell, cut near his left eye, was counted out at 0:51 in the second.

Until this year when he was a victim of several fights falling out, Garcia had maintained a busy schedule. He fought five times in 2010 and four times in 2009.

Garcia was a stellar amateur and a world junior champion. He thought he’d earned a trip to the 2008 Olympic Games but his spot on the team went to a boxer he’d beaten, Emilio Correa,  who went on to win a silver medal.

Disillusioned with what he claimed were the politics of amateur boxing, Garcia defected to Cork shortly thereafter and turned pro in September 2008. He’s trained by Glenn McCrory in Newcastle, England.

Johnson will be making his fourth start this year. He is coming off a fourth-round TKO over Keon Johnson (no relation) last July 16 in Washington, D.C.

A pro since March 2007, Alexander Johnson won his start before last on an impressive 10-round majority decision over fellow unbeaten and highly touted prospect, Farah Ennis, on April 2 in Atlantic City. Performing with calm intensity and passion, Johnson was victorious in his most noteworthy triumph by the upset scores of 98-93, 97-93 and 95-95.

For information on SHOWTIME Sports, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, please visit the website at http://sports.SHO.com.

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