Boxing Blog – TSS Tidbits

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Undefeated featherweight prospect Dat “Dat Be Dat” Nguyen (11-0, 6 KO’s) returns to action Friday, August 31 at the Casino Del Sol in Tuscon, Arizona, where he takes on Rio Rico, Arizona journeyman Baladan Trevizo (5-13-6, 1 KO).
In his most recent outing, a toe-to-toe slugfest with fellow prospect and stablemate Castulo Gonzalez (9-3, 3 KOs), Nguyen threw an amazing 886 punches in route to a hard fought 8-round unanimous decision victory. The bout, which aired live on the July 18 installment of ESPN2’s Wednesday Night Fight’s, will likely find itself as a candidate for fight of the year honors.
Nguyen, who is trained by the heralded James “Buddy” McGirt, spent the majority of his time preparing for this bout with Victor Ramos at Ramos’ Palm Bay, Florida gym, as McGirt was away working as a trainer for the third season of The Contender reality TV show.
The Nguyen – Trevizo bout will be a featured undercard attraction on promoter Don Chargin’s card, which will be televised live on the Telefutura network. The headlining bout will feature Yuri Boy Campas (89-10, 72 KOs) and Norberto Bravo (24-13-3, 13 KOs) in a ten-round light middleweight affair. The bout will represent the 100th fight in the career of Campas.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.—Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10 a.m. (Wednesday, Aug. 29) to see the highly anticipated lightweight world championship unification match pitting undefeated World Boxing Association and World Boxing Organization lightweight champion Juan “Baby Bull� Diaz against International Boxing Federation lightweight champion Julio “The Kidd� Diaz in the first major boxing event ever staged at the new Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill., on Saturday, Oct. 13.

Tickets priced at $300, $150, $100, $75 and $35 can be purchased beginning at 10 a.m. on Wednesday at the Sears Centre Box Office, select AMCORE Bank Outlets, by phone at 1-888-SEARSTIX, or on-line at www.searscentre.com.

“El Dia de Los Diaz� (“Day of the Diaz�) will also feature a full undercard headlined by Chicago’s emerging heavyweight contender “Merciless� Mike Mollo (18-1, 11 KOs). Mollo stunned Mike Tyson conqueror Kevin McBride with a second-round stoppage in Chicago on Oct. 7.

The event is being promoted by Don King Productions in association with Sycuan Ringside Promotions and Sears Centre.

What: Pugilists and Popcorn Forum on boxing cinema presented by Fighting
Irishmen: Celebrating Celtic Prizefighters 1820-Present in association with the South Street Seaport; film clips and lively discussion on Hollywood’s fascination with the sweet science.

Who: On the Waterfront author Budd Schulberg; legendary boxer “Irish� Micky Ward; boxing promoter Lou DiBella, actor Tony LoBianco, female boxer
Maureen Shea; moderator Jim Houlihan, curator of exhibit (speakers subject
to change).

When: Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Where: Tour

South Street Seaport Museum

12 Fulton Street

Panel Discussion

Downtown Association

60 Pine Street

Subways: 2,3,4,5,J,Z or M to Fulton Street; A or C to Broadway-Nassau.

Time: 6:00 PM tour, 7:30 PM Panel discussion

Tickets: $35 and $50 VIP (vip ticket also includes private tour or exhibit; refreshments included in price of admission)

Contact: Carol Rauscher, 212-748-8776, crauscher@southstseaport.org

Panelists will include: Tony LoBianco- Played Rocky Marciano in the film “Marciano”. “Irish” Micky Ward- Champion fighter, currently a trainer. A movie entitled “The Fighter” is currently being made starring Mark Wahlberg & Matt Damon, who will portray Micky in his life story. Maureen Shea- Undefeated female contender; she trained Hilary Swank for the Academy award winning movie, “Million Dollar Baby”. Lou DiBella- Boxing promoter, appeared as himself in the 2006 movie “Rocky Balboa”. Budd Schulberg- Author, screenwriter of “On the Waterfront” and the “The Harder They Fall”. Please no jeans or sneakers.

WANTED: A HEAVYWEIGHT SONG WRITER!

Instructions: Write a gutsy melody with heart to the lyric below. (Rock, jazz,
salsa, hip-hop—your choice.)

This song, along with other boxing songs of the past, will be performed at the
legendary Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn when they open their doors September 29-30 to
all artists during an annual art festival weekend.

Here’s the lyric:

“Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom�

Lyric by Peter Wood

A fighter’s life is full of woe,
They reach the top & then they go.

Battling Siki
Benny Briscoe
Bad Kid Dixie
Johnny Risko

Louie Firpo &
Zora Folley
Curtis Cokes &
Evander Holy

A fighting life is all they know,
So pity the wife of a pro.

Billy Papke
Eddie Viruet
Patsy Perroni
Benny “Kid� Paret

Cha Cha Cabrara
Jumbo Cummings
Chu Chu Malave
Dougie Demmings

Quick comes the night—his big punch lands!
“What a great fight!� say all the fans.

Joe Gans
Beau Jack
Max Baer
Johnny Mac

Sammy Goss
Barney Ross
Percy Pough
Scott Ledoux

The crowd cheers her champ with every tongue!
No more a tramp—it’s good to be young!

The youngest man in the room,
Makes her smile & makes her swoon–
Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom!

Graziano
Giardello
Marciano
Mauriello

Jimmy Wilde
Love Allotey
Ronnie Lyle
Sam McVey

A fighter’s life is full of woe,
They reach the top & then they go.

Tiger Flowers
Lazlo Papp
Johnny Powers
Willie Pep

Joe Gans
Beau Jack
Max Baer
Johnny Mac

Now he’s old & rather slow,
And hears the tiptoe of his foe.

Sammy Goss
Barney Ross
Percy Pough
Scott Ledoux

Kid Filipino
Tennessee Lee
Jersey Joe Walcott
Muhammad Ali

A fighter’s life is full of woe,
They reach the top & then they go.

Gypsy Joe Harris
Rube Olivares
Eddie Viruet
Benny “Kid� Paret

The youngest man in the room,
Made her smile & made her swoon.

What is written on your tomb,
Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom?

“Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom� was inspired by Rosenbloom himself, a great Jewish
battler who fought 299 bouts (223 wins, 42 losses, 32 draws.) “You couldn’t hit
him in the backside with a handful of buckshot,� said trainer Cus D’Amato of
Rosenbloom.

The lyric was also inspired by David Fishberg’s song “Van Linge Mungo�. Fishberg
simply strung together old baseball players’ names to create a lyric.

Most importantly, the lyric was inspired by prizefighters. After following boxing
for 45 years, I see a melancholic pattern: Boxing is a young man’s game and after
his exciting career ends, where does a prizefighter go? A fighter’s career is
short. Too short. Too many times his final years are harsh and relentless.

The other boxing-related songs which will be performed at Gleason’s will be: The
Boxer by Paul Simon, The Hurricane by Bob Dylan and Ally Oop by The Hollywood
Argyles. Who is Ally Oop? He was the original heavyweight champ…

…He had a chauffer who was a genuine di-no-saur,
And he’ll knuckle your head before you count to fo-ur!

Send your song demo to: Peter Wood, 38 Timber Ridge, Mt. Kisco, NY 10549.
Gleason’s Gym will become an Exhibition space and gallery during the 11th Annual
“Dumbo Art Under the Bridge Festival.” The weekend is September 28-29-30, 2007.
If you wish to exhibit your art, photographs, sculptures, painting – any type of art
- then contact Bruce Silverglade at 718 797 2872. There is no charge to show your
work and no commission when you sell your work. The only requirement is that the
work has something to do with Boxing.

(For more information about Gleason’s art weekend, visit their website.)

VICKSBURG, Miss. (Aug. 26, 2007) – For two agonizing, long years, Victor “Joe Boxer� Valenzuela waited to get fast-talking, loud-mouth Charles “Krazy Horse� Bennett back in the cage.

It was worth the wait.

In an impressive performance, Valenzuela (6-2-2) rallied from an early knockdown to register a stunning 3:23 first-round submission (tap out due to strikes) over Bennett (18-14-2) of Ocala, Fla., in their highly anticipated grudge rematch in the main event on ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series Saturday.

EliteXC presented the event from the Vicksburg Convention Center. It aired on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

“This is as good as it gets,’’ said a jubilant Valenzuela. “I shut the ‘Horse’ up and then shut him down and out. This was vindication for me like you would not believe.�

“It doesn’t get any more personal for me than this. I am on cloud nine. All I heard from the time we fought our first fight (Aug. 5, 2005) was what he was going to do to me in the rematch.�

“I showed him and the world what I am all about. I dealt with adversity and kept my composure after going down. I was stunned but not hurt. I weathered the storm and the best he had to offer.�

“I showed the heart of a champion. Champions get up.’’

Bennett (http://krazyhorse.proelite.com/) dropped Valenzuela in the bout’s early moments, but “Joe Boxer’’ (http://joeboxer.proelite.com/) rebounded to score two knockdowns of his own. Moments after the last knockdown, the abbreviated but exciting fight was over.

“I knew he was through and had nothing left after his barrage of punches,’’ Valenzuela said. “I proved I could talk the talk. This is just the greatest feeling in the world.’’

A disconsolate Bennett had little to say afterward. He made no excuses. “I should have not been in such a hurry after I knocked him down. I should have allowed him to get up. Instead, I got a little excited and maybe punched myself out.�

A night of lightweight action headlined by a 12-round showdown between Miguel Huerta (24-8, 17 Kos) and Efren Hinojosa (29-3-1, 17 KOs) for the vacant NABF Lightweight title will be featured on the next edition of Fight Night on VERSUS in collaboration with Top Rank Boxing, Thursday, August 30 at 9 p.m. ET from the Grand Plaza in Houston, Texas.

Huerta, a Mexico City native lost a controversial split decision to Kid Diamond in his last fight which was televised June 14 on VERSUS. Huerta took the action to Diamond and knocked him down in the 11th round with a left cross but came up short in the decision. He is currently ranked #12 by the WBC. The bout against Diamond was his only fight of 2007, but he stopped Antonio Ramirez via a sixth-round TKO in his previous fight on December 22, 2006. Hinojosa, originally from Mexico but now fighting out of Lakeside, California, last fought in December 2006, losing a unanimous 12-round decision to Nugaev Rustam in Russia.

The undercard will be headlined by the 10-round super lightweight bout between Victor Ortiz (18-1, 13 KOs) and Emmanuel Clottey (24-7, 14 KOs). Ortiz will be making his fourth appearance in the ring this year and he scored a first round knockout over Maximino Cuevas in his last fight on June 29 in Arizona. In January he fought to an eight-round draw against Marvin Cordova in Phoenix and stopped Tomas Barrientes by TKO in five rounds in April. The veteran Clottey, the older brother of Joshua Clottey, who defeated Felix Flores on the last VERSUS Fight Night telecast earlier this month, has not fought since being upset by Germaine Sanders in New York in April.

Oscar De La Hoya, Mike Tyson, and Bernard Hopkins already have their seats. Now fight fans around the world can buy their tickets for the biggest heavyweight event of 2007, as unbeaten WBO Heavyweight Champion Sultan Ibragimov defends his crown for the first time against the legendary “Real Deal”, Evander Holyfield, on Saturday, October 13th, at the beautiful brand new Khodynka Ice Palace in Moscow, Russia.

Tickets, priced from just over $10.00 (300 rubles) to $3,000.00 (75,000 rubles). There are also a limited number of VIP tickets available. Tickets may be ordered by calling +7 (495) 228-0418 or +7 (495) 643-1825, or by visiting www.ring-side.ru or www.hockey-palace.ru.

Fans outside of Russia can also purch! ase tickets to this historic event, which will see Holyfield attempt to win a record fifth world heavyweight title by beating undefeated Russian hero, Ibragimov, by calling Seminole Warriors Boxing at 954-985-1155 or visiting www.warriorsboxing.com.

For more information on Seminole Warrior’s Boxing, please visit our website at www.warriorsboxing.com

Maureen Shea, 11-0, will open the show for the Black Tie New York City Boxing event at Cipriani on Wall Street on Wednesday September 5th. Shea will step into Cipriani’s as the first bout of the evening, scheduled for eight rounds. She will be the first female boxing on Wall Street!

Black Tie Boxing NYC is hosted by Tommy Gallagher Productions in association with Dibella Entertainment, and the black tie event features undefeated headliner Dimitry Salita, 27-0-1; Jorge Teron 17-0-1 and Michael Grant, 42-3.

“Team Shea is honored that Tommy Gallagher personally asked Maureen to be on the card, and we promise to deliver a great start to an excellent night of boxing!” said Luigi Olcese, manager for Maureen Shea.

The evening at Cipriani, 55 Wall Street, starts with cocktail hour at 6 PM, with dinner beginning at 7. First bout is 7:15 PM. Tables for ten and ringside tables are still available as well as individual seats. Please feel free to contact Luigi Olcese of Team Shea at 914.469.0430.

Due to a knee injury suffered while training in Iowa last Friday, Jens “Lil’ Evil� Pulver has been forced to withdraw from his World Extreme Cagefighting debut fight on September 5th against Cub Swanson.

“The biggest thing is that I’m disappointed,� said Pulver, the international mixed martial arts star who was preparing for the launch of the latest chapter of his storied career in the WEC. “And this is just an opportunity that will have to be sidelined a bit. But I thank the fans for all their support, I thank the WEC and hopefully they can get me back in there as soon as I’m ready. I also wish the Cub the best, and hopefully down the road I can fight him as soon as possible.�

Swanson, a rising featherweight contender, will face an opponent to be determined in a scheduled three round bout.

Pulver, the former UFC lightweight champion, was winding down his training camp in Iowa last week when he was injured while grappling.

“I was doing a guard pass and my foot got caught up in my partner’s shorts,� recalled Pulver. “He was pitching his legs down, and I made one move and he rolled the other way. My whole body went one direction, but my knee down to my foot went the other, it shot straight out to the side, and I heard an explosion. Right then I knew, and I was lying on the floor going ‘no way this just happened.’�

A visit to a local Orthopedist confirmed a MCL tear in Pulver’s left knee and no broken bones, but an upcoming MRI will determine whether the injury will require surgery or not. Regardless of the final diagnosis, Pulver expects to be back and better than ever as soon as he is cleared to compete.

“It’s been a rollercoaster life, and now I’m going down, but I’ll be heading back uphill in a minute,� said Pulver.

For updates on Jens Pulver’s return to competition, visit WEC.tv.