Boxing Blog – TSS Tidbits

“It’s a mental, physical challenge fighting someone like Andrey Tsurkan,” said world-rated Yuri Foreman today in New York. He and Tsurkan, a strong, brawling, hard-hitting NABF super welterweight champion, fight Thursday night at the Paradise Theatre in the Bronx, N.Y. The fight card will be broadcast live on the VERSUS Network.

“Tsurkan is tough, very strong, likes to put pressure on early,” said Foreman, 23-0. “I will have to withstand all of it, keep my composure and focus, keep both hands up, control the center of the ring.”

Ringside seating is sold out and a big crowd is expected to pack the historic Paradise Theatre.

“I’m going to feint, have head and foot movement and pow – he is going to feel my punches,” Foreman said. “I will win, then hopefully get an opportunity to fight for a world title.”

Foreman lives and trains in Brooklyn, N.Y. Tsurkan fights out of the Bronx, N.Y.

Top Rank, in association with DiBella Entertainment and Star Boxing, is promoting.

World rated super middleweight contender Allan Green looks to continue his march towards a world championship when he battles former world title challenger Rubin Williams on January 4th at the Osage Million Dollar Elm Casino, Tulsa, OK.

While Green is excited to return, this bout represents somewhat of a let-down for Green. After already committing to this fight, Green was offered an opportunity to square off against Olympian Andre Ward on HBO. The timeline, however, left it impossible for ESPN2 to fill the hole with a comparable fighter, and Green was forced to keep his original commitment.

“Losing the fight with Ward was a major blow,” said Green, who will be fighting in his hometown of Tulsa for the 4th time. “While losing that fight really hurts, I have to block it out and focus on January 4th because my head has to be together when I step into the ring.”

“It’s disappointing that the Ward fight offer came at the wrong time,” said promoter Tony Holden. “But, we would be more than happy to meet him after this fight.”

Meanwhile, Rubin Williams, who will have a chance to get back into the world championship picture with a win over Green. Williams gave a valiant effort against than IBF world champion Jeff Lacy in 2005, but has seen his career slow to a crawl since then, fighting just four times over the next two years.

“This is a great opportunity for me,” said Williams. “This fight is a long time in the making. Allan has been making a lot of noise and a fight like this, against a fighter like Allan is just what I need to show the world where I stand in the super middleweight mix.”

Both Green and Williams have been on a collision course for some time. Both have been very vocal about their dislike for the other in the past.

“Rubin talks a lot and has said I didn’t want to fight him, but he has been offered fights with me on many occasions and he never wanted to make it happen,” said Green. “I have nothing bad to say about him only that on January 4th he will be at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“I get a bad rap from a lot of people because I had to pull out of the Pascal fight,” said Williams, who brings a 29-2-1, 16 KO’s record into the fight. “I was in a car accident and had to pull out, but you can rest assured that I will be in that ring on January 4th.”

In 2007 Green suffered his first career set-back at the hands of hard punching Edison Miranda. Despite suffering through a major medical issue, Green quickly rebounded to score two devastating knockouts over veterans Darrell Woods and Sherwin Davis.

“I am not going to make any excuses for the Miranda fight,” said Green, who brings a 25-1, 18 KO’s record into the fight. “Miranda did what he had to do to beat me. I don’t think one fight should make or break any fighters’ career. I had major surgery after that fight and then I rallied for two wins. I am still in the Ring Magazine top ten and I have never ducked anyone in my career. Now I have to take care of Williams to continue on the road back. In fact I think Williams is a tougher fight than Ward.”

Since the loss to Lacy, Williams’ career has all but stalled. Williams last fought to a draw with former three-time world title challenger Antwun Echols on January 12, 2007.

“I definitely have not been as active as I would have wanted,” said Williams, who hails from Detroit, MI. “I made a lot of bad decisions and had some major managerial issues that kept me sidelined more than I would have liked. I went out for the Contender and that took a lot of time as well, and left me unavailable for some good fights that I did get offered. But I am ready to get going and I know a win over Allan on January 4th would put me right where I want to be.”

The Green-Williams fight is scheduled for 10 rounds and will be televised live by ESPN2. Former world tit le challenger Zahir Raheem looks to start 2008 in a big way as he is scheduled to face Francisco Dominguez in the 10 round co-feature.

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NEW YORK CITY (December 3, 2007) – Dominican-born heavyweight prospect Nagy Aguilera, New York’s newest rising star, will be in action again December 13 on the “Holiday Hits� pro boxing show, co-promoted by Ring Promotions and Cedric Kushner’s Gotham Boxing, at The Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan.

NABA middleweight champion “Mean� Joe Greene (16-0, 12 KOs), the 2004 National Golden Gloves Tournament champion and WBA No. 9 rated challenger, headlines in the 10-round main event.

WBC No. 20 rated lightweight Jorge “The Truth� Teron (18-0-1, 11 KOs), 3-time New York Golden Gloves champion, will be in the 10-round co-feature. Unbeaten middleweight Peter “Kid Chocolate� Quillin (15-0, 12 KOs) takes on Troy “TNT� Lowry (27-7, 16 KOs) in an eight-round Special Middleweight Attraction.

Two-time New York Golden Gloves champion Aguilera (4-0, 2 KOs), raised in Puerto Rico and fighting out of Newburgh (NY), is matched with Darryl Holley (6-5, 1 KO) in a 6-rounder. “I first came across Nagy when I was looking for a sparring partner about two months before my fight with (Evander) Holyfield,� Nagy’s advisor and former world heavyweight contender “Big� Lou Savarese said. “I was told about a good heavyweight in Newburgh, which is about 1 ½ hours north of New York City. It’s a beautiful place, right on the Hudson River, but a rough suburb. I was taken back after sparring with Nagy and wondered why I hadn’t heard of him. He was only 20 at the time (Aguilera is now 21) and said he only had about 30-40 amateur fights. But he seemed more seasoned than that.

“Nagy is so fundamentally sound, but he was doing it working on a shoe-string budget, without the benefit of a strength-and-conditioning coach or eating properly. I introduced him to John Silverman, who is now his manager, and today Nagy has those edges. Nagy has great physical attributes (6-3, 230 pounds) and — it’s odd to say about a 21 year old — but he doesn’t really do anything wrong because he’s so technically solid. Nagy later told me he had 137 amateur bouts having started boxing very young in Puerto Rico before moving to the Bronx about five years ago. Mentally, I’ve never see a fighter so relaxed before a fight – he sleeps in the locker-room! His timing is starting to come around; two fights ago he knocked out (right out of the ring) a guy (Tyrone Smith) who had never been stopped and in his last fight, he floored an opponent (Elfair McKnight) who had never been down before. Nagy almost knocked him out, too.â€?

Also fighting on the undercard are New York State lightweight champion Freddy Soto (9-3-2, 5 KOs), light welterweight Jeremy Bryan (1-0), Canadian bantamweight Noriko Kariya (7-2-1, 1 KO), and Long Island heavyweights Darrel Madison (7-1, 3 KOs) and Elfair “The Wyandanch Warrior� McKnight are matched-up.
Tickets are priced at $150.00, $100.00, $75.00 and $50.00. Call Ring Promotions (516.313.2304) or Gotham Boxing (212.755.1944) to purchase tickets or for more information. Doors open at 6:30 PM, first bout at 7:30 PM.