Boxing Blog – TSS Tidbits

When one door closes, another door opens and that is exactly the case when Ricardo Rocky Juarez will have a shot at Juan Manuel Marquez and his WBC Super Featherweight World Title at MGM Grand in Las Vegas on “Fireworks� live on Pay-Per-View on September 15.

An opening to fight Marquez became available when Jorge “La Hiena� Barrios was diagnosed with multiple retinal tears, requiring immediate surgery during a routine pre-fight eye examination on Friday, August 3, in Los Angeles. Due to the injury and prescribed recovery time from surgery, Barrios was forced to withdraw from his scheduled fight with Marquez.

Juarez (27-3, 19 KO’s), a 2000 Olympic Silver Medalist, has been involved in some tough battles in the past, including two hard fought wars against Marco Antonio Barrera, and is ready for the opportunity to win his first World Championship against Marquez.

Robert “The Ghost� Guerrero (20-1-1, 13 KO’s) was originally scheduled to face Juarez on September 15 in defense of his IBF Featherweight Title, and is scheduled to remain on the show against an opponent to be determined.

Also on tap is a middleweight showdown between former World Champion Kassim “The Dream” Ouma and “The Contender” season one winner Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora and a super lightweight battle pitting former Olympian Francisco “Panchito” Bojado against former World Champion and ‘The Contender’ season two runner-up Steve Forbes.

“Fireworks�, a night of world-class professional boxing, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Romanza Productions and Tournament of Contenders and sponsored by Tecate, Rock Star Energy Drink and Southwest Airlines. For more information please visit www.goldenboypromotions.com.

Tickets for this unforgettable night of boxing, priced at $300, $200, $100 and $50, are on sale now at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office. Tickets are sold at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Macy’s stores and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

The “Fireworks� pay-per-view telecast featuring Marquez vs. Juarez, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $44.95, will be distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 61 million pay-per-view homes. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For your Marquez vs. Juarez fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com.

IBF light welterweight champion Paulie “The Magic Man� Malignaggi (24-1, 5 KOs), still savoring his masterful title-winning performance against Lovemore N’dou, is home in Brooklyn fuming about Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (33-0-1, 26 KOs) and his team openly challenging him.

Not only has Malignaggi accepted their challenge, “The Magic Man� promises to embarrass the Mexican fighter and his entire family in the process, offering the Mecca of Boxing – Madison Square Garden – as the ideal venue to settle the issue.

“All Chavez has is his last name,� Malignaggi spewed. “He’s gotten more press for beating nobodies than anybody in boxing history. All he’s ever fought are cab drivers and busboys. He’s nobody! I was a better prospect before my first pro fight than he is after 33 pro fights. I will embarrass him, his father, his entire family, and ruin his blood line.

“I have tremendous respect for his father, probably the greatest Mexican fighter of all-time, but his son can’t live off of his father’s great name forever. If Chavez and his team are stupid enough to call out a world champion like Paulie Malignaggi – he’s never fought anybody like me — I’ll oblige them and we can do it at Madison Square Garden, where his father had two great wins in 1986 against my friend, Juan LaPorte, and Rufugio Rojas. I didn’t even waste my time watching Chavez fight last Saturday night. Hey, I’m no Louis Brown. I’ll fight him at 147, no problem. I say, don’t talk about it, JC Junior, let’s just do it.â€?

Malignaggi concluded by saying Chavez’ promoter, Top Rank, can make it happen by contacting his promoter, Lou DiBella.
****from PR release

They are two of boxing’s best, two of the most exciting fighters in the sport today, and both are undefeated. They stand atop their weight divisions and fight fans are in for a thrill as pound-for-pound king of the ring and welterweight champion ” Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather will meet British icon and junior welterweight champion Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton on Saturday, December 8 for the 147-pound championship. With a combined record of 81-0, this is the biggest match-up of two undefeated welterweights since the record setting mega-fight between Oscar de la Hoya and Felix Trinidad in 1999.

The fight, officially announced today and aptly named ” UNDEFEATED”, will be promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Mayweather Promotions and produced by and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View. With several sites interested in hosting this special event, a location will be announced shortly.

“I am extremely excited to announce Golden Boy’s involvement in another boxing extravaganza such as Mayweather vs. Hatton,” said Oscar de la Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. “We are proud to continue to provide fans with the best match-ups and fights in boxing today. This will be an exciting way to end this record-breaking year for the sport.”

“We are very happy that the first fight for Mayweather Promotions will be an event of this magnitude,” said Leonard Ellerbe of Mayweather Promotions. “To be in partnership with Golden Boy Promotions working on another big event is a great way to show we are serious in bringing great fights to the fans.”

“Mayweather-Hatton is a world-class showdown between two undefeated superstars in their prime,” said Mark Taffet of HBO Pay-Per-View. “It’s the biggest welterweight fight since De La Hoya-Trinidad, and figures to be a memorable night for boxing fans.”

Mayweather, 30, is 38-0 (24 KOs) and the reigning world welterweight champion. He is a six-time world champion in five weight divisions including super featherweight, lightweight, super lightweight, welterweight and super welterweight. Coming off of his decision victory against Oscar de la Hoya—the largest grossing event in the history of boxing—Mayweather is one of the most gifted fighters to ever step between the ropes.

“I am the best fighter in boxing today and I’m prepared for any challenge my team puts in front of me,” said Mayweather. “And with Ricky Hatton it’s already personal. He has talked and disrespected me so much in the past months that I can’t wait to get him in the ring and show him he is not even on my level. He’s definitely getting knocked out.”

Hatton, 28, is 43-0 (31 KOs), and hails from Manchester, England. He is also a multi-division champion and universally recognized world junior welterweight champion. He has fought once before at 147 pounds, winning the welterweight belt from Luis Collazo in May of 2006 before moving back down to 140 pounds and capturing his third world title. His most recent contest was a four-round destruction of Jose Luis Castillo in Las Vegas in June.

“It is a dream of every boxer to fight the best boxers in the world,” said Hatton. ” “I respect Floyd Mayweather immensely for his boxing ability and it will be an honor to share the same ring with him. He is rightly regarded as the best pound for pound boxer in the world. However, I am confident and determined that I will be the first boxer to beat him in the ring and I am looking forward to this fight.”