Boxing Blog – TSS Tidbits

While boxing’s current longest-reigning world champion JOE CALZAGHE was feted today marking 10 years of superstardom and 20 consecutive successful title defenses, his opponent MIKKEL KESSLER tried to rain on Joe’s parade and issued a few choice word to The Sun’s Gavin Glicksman.

“Joe is a great champion but I’m going to beat him,” said Kessler. “I’m going to be 200 per cent better than my last fight and he’s going to get a big surprise. I’ve seen some of his fights and he’s never fought a guy like me before, that’s why he’s going to be in trouble. I hit straight, I hit hard, I hit directly. I’m going to show everyone I’m a bigger champion than he is.”

“I know Hans Christian Andersen is from Denmark, but If Kessler wants to believe in fairy tales, I suggest he read “The Emperor’s New Clothes” before he starts believing the tales his camp is telling him,” responded Calzaghe. “Kessler is going to get exposed on November 3. I just hope I don’t get a hernia carrying all those belts out of the ring!”

WBO/The Ring champion Calzaghe (43-0, 29 KOs), from Newbridge, Wales, and WBC/WBA champion Kessler (39-0, 29 KOs), from Copenhagen, Denmark, collide Saturday, November 3, in arguably the biggest title unification fight between non-heavyweight champions since the Sugar Ray Leonard-Tommy Hearns welterweight rumble of 1981. Promoted by Frank Warren in association with International Entertainment, the Calzaghe-Kessler world super middleweight championship will be broadcast live to the U.S. from Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, on HBO World Championship Boxing at a special time: 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. Millennium Stadium will be scaled for an indoor-record 60,000-plus fans.

Calzaghe, who has held the WBO title since October 11, 1997, will be looking to successfully defend his title for a division-record 21st consecutive time — tops among active world champions — which would tie him with super middleweight champion Sven Ottke at fourth place on boxing’s all-time list behind heavyweight champion Joe Louis (25), light heavyweight champion Dariusz Michalczewski (23) and strawweight champion Ricardo López (23)

Sting Like a Maccabee, a panel discussion on the golden age of Jewish boxing, with
panelists Budd Schulberg, Mike Silver, Ron Ross and Steve Farhood, will be held at
The Suffolk Y JCC, 74 Hauppauge Road, Commack, N.Y., on Monday, October 15, from
12:30 – 2:30p.m.

For more information, please call (631) 462-9800, ext. 125.

From Release:
Star Boxing’s Raymond Joval (37-4 16KO’s) returned to his native Holland this week marking the first time he has fought in his homeland in three years. Joval fought former two-time French Champion Alban Mothie (26-17-3) in an eight round middleweight bout.

The fight card was part of the Ben Brill Memorial fundraiser. Brill is a survivor of the concentration camps and got his start in boxing ironically at the hands of his German captures who noticed his talent for boxing, which he credits for saving his life. He went on to become a professional fighter and eventually a European Champion in the mid 1940’s.

Alban Mothie is a tough fighter who will take on anyone who steps inside the ropes, but on this night he was no match for Joval, who kept him at the end of his sharp fast jab the entire night. Joval had Mothie backing into the ropes in the sixth round pummeling him with magnificent combinations and clearly hurting his opponent almost knocking him to the canvas.

Joval kept the pressure on Mothie who was trying to come back with counter punches but by this time had no effect on the overpowering Joval, who knew he had his opponent weak and tired.

The sold out crowd was up on their feet at the eighth round, the atmosphere was electrifying, Mothie tried to hold Joval in a clinch but Joval increased the pressure all the way to the final bell. Joval won the fight via a unanimous decision.

My congratulations to Raymond on yet another impressive victory. His impressive ESPN win against Willie Gibbs at the Paradise Theater and this win in Amsterdam show that Raymond is an experienced veteran in demand on both sides of the Atlantic. With his credentials, we expect to put him in a marquee fight in 2008.

HBO’s late-night boxing series heats up with a spectacular matchup of two lightweight titleholders when HBO BOXING AFTER DARK: JUAN DIAZ VS. JULIO DIAZ is presented SATURDAY, OCT. 13 at 11:00 p.m. (ET/PT), from the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill., just outside Chicago, exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team of Bob Papa, Larry Merchant and Lennox Lewis will be ringside for the event, which will be available in HDTV, as well as closed-captioned for the hearing impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

Before the lightweight showdown, HBO will replay the super featherweight tilt between Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera. That fight originally took place on Oct. 6 in Las Vegas and featured two of the sport’s most decorated performers. Pacquiao scored a unanimous decision victory.

In a 12-round unification title showdown of the two best 135-pounders, Juan Diaz (32-0, 16 KOs) of Houston meets Julio Diaz (34-3, 25 KOs) of Coachella, Cal. Juan Diaz, 23, defeated Acelino Freitas last spring on HBO, proving he is a force to be reckoned with. Julio Diaz, 27, is a seasoned pro who looks to use his considerable experience and knockout power to his advantage.

Team Ruiz has challenged Team Liakhovich to publicly produce an official WBA letter, alludec to in a release Team Liakhovich distributed earlier today, ordering Team Liakhovich to begin negotiating with former WBA champion and present No. 1 rated Nikolay Valuev for an elimination bout to determine the WBA No. 1 mandatory contender.

Two-time WBA heavyweight champion John “The Quietman� Ruiz (41-7-1, 28 KOs), rated No. 3 by the WBA, today arrived in Chicago to fight on Saturday night’s card against former WBO title-holder Serguei “White Wolf� Liakhovich (23-2, 14 KOs), rated No. 2 by the WBA, or another suitable opponent.

Ruiz’ legal advisor, Anthony Cardinale, noted that according to WBA rules only the WBA Championship Committee can establish an elimination bout for the mandatory position. “We’re sure that no vote has been taken by the WBA Championship Committee and whatever letter Mr. Gotzev may have is invalid,� Atty. Cardinale explained. “Let them post the letter he’s talking about on the Internet so we can all read it. And the contract John signed to fight Liakhovich stated that the WBA would be petitioned to establish the winner of Saturday’s fight as either the mandatory contender or rated No. 1, moving the winner of the fight between the WBA’s No. 2 and No. 3 rated heavyweights ahead of Valuev.�

Ruiz broke training camp in Puerto Rico and is in Chicago prepared to fight Saturday night. “I’m here if Liakhovich wants to fight,� Ruiz said. “If he doesn’t want to fight me, I’ll fight somebody else, and Monday we’ll petition the WBA Ratings Committee to move me into the No. 2 spot and the WBA Championship Committee to order a box-off between me and Valuev for the No. 1 mandatory position to fight (Ruslan) Chagaev. Liakhovich can avoid all that by fighting me Saturday night. How is he rated No. 2 anyway? His last fight was a loss a year ago and the only rated fighter he’s ever beaten, (Lamon) Brewster, had a detached retina.�

2000 United States Olympian and Former World Super Middleweight Champion Jeff “Left Hook� Lacy has accomplished more in a few short years than most fighters do in an entire career, but Lacy is far from done in his quest for greatness and will now have Golden Boy Promotions in his corner to guide him.

“This was the perfect fit for me at this point in my career and I’m excited about joining the other great fighters on the Golden Boy Promotions team,� said the 30-year-old Lacy, owner of a 22-1 record with 17 knockouts. “I’m looking forward to getting back in the ring and showing everyone that I’m one of the best fighters in the world today. Most importantly, I want my title back, and I’m going get it in 2008.�

Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar de la Hoya added, “I’ve followed Jeff’s career since he was an amateur and I always considered him not only one of the most talented fighters out there, but one of the most exciting. The fans will be in for a treat every time he steps into the ring, and we’re proud to have him on our team.�

A stellar amateur who compiled a record of 209-12 over a career that culminated in a trip to the 2000 Olympic Games, Lacy has gone on to take the pro boxing world by storm with his concussive power, aggressive style and charismatic personality. The St. Petersburg, Florida native won the World Super Middleweight Title in just his 18th pro fight when he stopped Syd Vanderpool in eight rounds on October 2, 2004. Lacy defended his title four times before falling short via decision in a unification bout against Joe Calzaghe in March of 2006 on Calzaghe’s home turf in England. Undeterred, Lacy returned to the ring with a gritty decision win over Vitali Tsypko in December of 2006, but suffered a torn left rotator cuff in the bout. Now healthy and itching to get back into the ring, “Left Hook� is ready to wreck havoc on the 168-pound and 175-pound divisions.
–from promotional release

Chengdu, China. (October 8, 2007) – By Zhenyu Li:

The 86th WBA Annual Convention officially kicked off today in Chengdu, China. This is the first professional boxing convention and the biggest international sporting organizational event for single sport ever held in China.

WBA president Mr. Mendoza said that this year’s convention would be focused on the scoring system. They will make some adjustment in regard to the rules of the scoring system.

Mr. Mendoza expressed his willingness to help China develop professional boxing in the way of cooperating with the regional association to hold pro boxing match in China.

The president insisted that China should promote pro boxing in a systematic way, taking one step at a time. WBA would like to provide China with coaches and agents if possible. He also pointed out that China should establish its own group consisting of fighters, coaches and agents. He believed that pro boxing in China would improve in the next one or two years.

The convention will last for six days from October 8 to October 13.

Rising UFC superstar Roger “El Matador� Huerta (20-1-1) headlines his first nationally-televised fight card as he takes on hard-hitting Clay “The Carpenter� Guida in a battle of top lightweight contenders on Spike TV, Saturday, December 8 at 9:00pm ET/PT. The fight takes place LIVE from the Palms Casino Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, featuring Huerta vs. Guida, and the two season finalists from The Ultimate Fighter 6: Team Serra vs. Hughes.

“The lightweight division is proving itself to be one of the most exciting divisions in the UFC and these are two of the most exciting guys in it,� said Dana White, UFC President. “Roger and Clay have both won ‘Fight of the Night’ awards before and this one might win ‘Fight of the Year’�.

Tickets for The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale are $350, $250 and $150, plus any additional box office or service fees, and go on-sale Saturday, Oct. 13 at 10:00 am PT. Please visit any Ticketmaster location, call 702-474-4000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com to purchase tickets.

American super flyweight star Jose Navarro (26-2, 12 KO’s) has never been more prepared for a fight. The 2004 Olympian will go up against Dimitri Kirolov (28-3, 9 KO’s) for the vacant IBF Super Flyweight title on Saturday night, October 13th at Khodynka Ice Palace in Moscow, Russia.

“I am fighting for my family and for my pride. Unlike the first time in Japan, I will not be robbed of this opportunity. I will bring the belt back home to the states�, said Navarro who arrived in Moscow over the weekend.

Navarro fought for the WBC Super Flyweight title in January of 2005 against Katsushige Kawashima (32-6, 21 KO’s) in Tokyo, Japan. In that bout, Navarro fought aggressively, landing powerful combinations and outboxing his opponent, but lost an extremely controversial decision to the hometown Kawashima.

“I still think about that terrible decision each and every day. I know and everyone else knows that I won that fight. That bad decision motivated me to train even harder for this fight against Kirilov. At the end of this fight, there will no doubt who is the best boxer in this weight class� said the southpaw.

To be certain there is no controversial decision for either side Saturday night in the Russian capital, Navarro’s promoter, DiBella Entertainment, will be represented by boxing veteran and DBE Vice President Carl Moretti along with Navarro’s manager Brian Kamenca.

“I am confident in the quality and honesty of the IBF officials and know that Jose will get a fair shake in Moscow. On October 13th, Jose Navarro will realize his destiny and be crowned the IBF Super Flyweight Champion�, said his promoter, Lou DiBella.

“Jose has once again stood up to the challenge and will face his opponent, Russian Dimitri Kirilov in Kirilov’s country for the vacant IBF world title. We only hope that this time, with another great performance from Jose, that there is no controversy tied to the outcome�, added Kamenca.

The battle is the co-feature bout on the Evander Holyfield-Sultan Ibragimov card and will be broadcast on Pay-per-view around the world. Tickets, priced from just over $10.00 (300 rubles) to $3,000.00 (75,000 rubles) 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.

It’s a special edition of HBO BOXING AFTER DARK when HBO Sports presents the exclusive replay of the super featherweight showdown MANNY PACQUIAO VS. MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA II SATURDAY, OCT. 13 at 11:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on HBO. The HBO Sports team, which was ringside for the live event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, calls all the action.

The fight, which took place Oct. 6 and was carried live on HBO Pay-Per-View, featured the highly anticipated rematch. Pacquiao scored a unanimous decision victory in the rematch.

Following the PACQUIAO-BARRERA II replay, HBO will present the previously announced HBO BOXING AFTER DARK lightweight unification title matchup between Juan Diaz and Julio Diaz from Chicago.

HBO2 playdates for both fights: Oct. 14 (9:00 a.m., 4:45 p.m.) and 16 (11:00 p.m.). Times are ET/PT.