According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Floyd Mayweather finally signed his contract and his mega showdown with Shane Mosley is officially set for May 1st in Las Vegas.

“He signed. It’s going to be a great fight,” said Judd Burstein, who is the attorney for Mosley.

“Al Haymon’s word is gold to me. He told me personally,” Burstein said. “We spoke and he said Floyd signed. It was a short but happy conversation. Shane is excited. We all know it’s going to be a great fight.”

“This one is definitely for the fans as I wasn’t going to waste anyone’s time with a meaningless tune-up bout and asked to fight Shane immediately,” Mayweather said. “I have said ever since I came back to the sport that I only wanted to fight the best. I think Shane is one of the best, but come May 1, he still won’t be great enough to beat me.”

Said Mosley, “I have always wanted to fight Floyd and now it is finally coming true. I am already in great shape and ready to show everyone on May 1 that I am stronger, faster and better than he is. I will have no problem beating him.”

“Floyd has been trying to make this fight for the last 10 years, so he is extremely excited about the opportunity to face Shane,” said Leonard Ellerbe, a Mayweather adviser. “He can’t wait to extend his undefeated record and perform at the highest level. More importantly, he is also happy to set the precedent for random blood testing in order to ensure fair and safe contests for all fighters.

“When two champions of this caliber meet in the ring, you can expect nothing but excellence and that is what we are going to see on May 1,” said Richard Schaefer CEO of Golden Boy Promotions who will promote the fight. “Shane Mosley is one of the greatest fighters of this era and I commend him for not only agreeing to the fight against Mayweather, but also agreeing to participate in a testing process that can only help the integrity of the sport.”

This Saturday February 6th at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, NJ, Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing presents an exciting six bout card, headlined by Atlantic City’s own welterweight contender Shamone “The Truth” Alvarez (20-2, 11KO) taking on exciting knockout artist Alexis Camacho (17-2, 16KO) being shown live on GoFightLive.tv. The show certainly brings together the past, present and future of Boxing in Atlantic City, and the industry in general. The ‘time machine’ factor adds to the other elements of this show that make it a bit more special then just your ordinary night of boxing in Atlantic City.

For starters, Alexis Camacho, one of the main event participants, recently began working with legendary trainer, and New Jersey native, Lou Duva. This will be Camacho’s first fight with Duva as his trainer. Duva, is one of the biggest names in boxing history, having trained countless world champions throughout his career, including most notably two of boxing’s all-time greats, Pernell Whitaker and Evander Holyfield. Certainly, Duva has a longstanding history with the great past of Atlantic City.

The show Saturday night at the Tropicana will be the first professional boxing event held there in a long time. DeGuardia, who has consistently promoted shows throughout Atlantic City for years, hopes the success of the show Saturday night will be the first of a soon to be series of Star Boxing promoted events at the Tropicana.

In addition to DeGuardia’s own events with his company Star Boxing, he has plans with the newly formed Boxing Promoters Association (which DeGuardia serves as the President) to bring boxing back to what it once was in Atlantic City. DeGuardia feels in time Atlantic City will again become a true fight city, where many of boxing biggest fights once took place.

“On Saturday night, significant elements of the past, present and future of boxing will all be at the Tropicana Casino in Resort,” stated DeGuardia. “Lou Duva was around when boxing was at an all-time high in Atlantic City, now on Saturday night he brings in one of his newest bangers. For awhile now Star Boxing has been consistently promoting shows in Atlantic City, we usually try to do at least a handful year in and year out, but this is the first time we are doing a show at the Tropicana in four years. The Tropicana is one of the the hottest night spots in all of Atlantic City, and we are looking to build off the success of this show Saturday with the intent of creating a regular series there. Further, I strongly believe that the future of the sport will strongly be dictated by the newly formed Boxing Promoters Association (BPA), which includes over 30 of the top U.S. promoters. There is nothing like seeing a live boxing event and Saturday promises to live up to the tradition and history of boxing in Atlantic City. We at Star Boxing and the BPA in general, truly believe that boxing is going to continue to flourish, and the fan base is going to continue to grow. I am very excited with the progress we have made thus far since the creation this past summer, and equally as excited to be returning to the Tropicana, to present an exciting an action-packed night of boxing this Saturday night. I am optimistic about the future of boxing in Atlantic City.”

The Tropicana Casino and Resort is located at 2831 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ and can be contacted by calling (609) 340-4000. Tickets are priced at $100 (ringside), $50 and $30 with a limited number of V.I.P. packages available at $200. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Star Boxing office at (718) 823-2000 or visiting www.starboxing.com. Tickets may also be purchased at any Ticketmaster outlet, www.ticketmaster.com, or at the Tropicana North Tower Box Office.

ABOUT STAR BOXING:
Star Boxing, Inc. has been in operation since 1992. Star Boxing has worked to produce some of the most exciting and memorable boxing events in recent history. Star has continued to work with and develop a number of very exciting world champions, world rated contenders and young prospects. Star has consistently brought credibility, integrity, and exciting fights to the boxing industry. For more information on Star Boxing, visit the official website at www.starboxing.com.

ABOUT TROPICANA CASINO & RESORT:
The Tropicana Casino & Resort is a 24-hour gaming destination located on the beach and Boardwalk. Featuring more than 2,100 rooms and suites and home of The Quarter, a 200,000 square foot entertainment complex, Tropicana is the premier resort in Atlantic City. With more than 20 restaurants, 25 shops, 12 bars and lounges, 2 pools, an IMAX Theatre and a spa, Tropicana is consistently rated as the “Must-See Attraction” in Atlantic City. For more information, visit the new official Web Site at www.tropicana.net For more exclusive discounts, current information, pictures, and video, be sure to check out the Tropicana on the Web at www.facebook.com/TropAC or follow us on Twitter twitter.com/TropicanaAC.

Star Boxing

Tropicana Resort and Casino

Star Boxing Exclusive Merchandise

MYSPACE/STARBOXING

Facebook/Star Boxing

twitter.com/starboxing

BROOKLYN (Feb. 2, 2010) – 2008 U.S. Olympian Sadam “World Kid” Ali recently completed a strong training camp and now he’s ready to go Saturday night against fellow Brooklyn welterweight Jason Thompson in Newark, New Jersey.

Ali puts his perfect pro record (4-0, 2 KOs) on the line versus Thompson (5-4-1, 4 KOs) in a 4-round bout on Saturday night’s “Heavy Artillery” card, headlined by Tomasz Adamek and Jason Estrada, at the Prudential Center.

THE FIGHT CAN BE VIEWED LIVE ON WWW.GOFIGHTLIVE.TV

“Everything was good leading up to this fight,” the 21-year-old Ali said. “I had good sparring that got me ready to go. I never underestimate anybody. As a boxer, anybody who has the heart and guts to get into the ring with me, I respect.”

Ali was the first Arab-American member of the U.S. Olympic Team, as well as the first New York City based member of the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team in 20 years.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, IBF Super Middleweight champion Lucian Bute will defend against former Middleweight title challenger Edison Miranda in April 17th in Bute’s adopted hometwon of Montreal.

“It will certainly be a pleasure for me to box again at the Bell Centre and to defend my title for the fifth time in front of my fans,” said Bute, a native of Romania based in Montreal. “I am taking Miranda very seriously. He demolished many good fighters and is a notorious puncher. I will have to keep my concentration level on high to stay champion.”

HBO will carry live coverage of the bout in the United States and hopes to pair it with Kelly Pavlik defending the middleweight championship against junior middleweight titleholder Sergio Martinez from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. Pavlik-Martinez is still in negotiations.

“This is another shot for Edison and with his new trainer, I think we’ll do fine,”Said Leon Margules, who is Miranda’s co-promoter. “We’re excited about the fight. I think he can knock Bute out. Edison wants to show he belongs with the top 168-pounders and this is a great opportunity for him.”

Stephan Larouche, Bute’s trainer, said the styles of the two fighters — Bute being the skillful boxer and Miranda the brawler — should make for an entertaining fight.

“Styles make fights. I know this is a boxing cliché, but it’s the truth,” Larouche said. “Once again we have two world-class athletes with different styles that, when mixed together, have all the ingredients to explode. The fans are in for a treat.”

On Saturday February 6th, Atlantic City’s welterweight contender Shamone “The Truth” Alvarez (20-2, 11KO) will look to get his career back underway and once again begin his ascent into the upper echelon of the welterweight division when he takes on Mexican knockout artist, Alexis Camacho (17-2, 16KO). The show, promoted by Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing, will take place at the Tropicana Casino and Resort and be broadcast live on GoFightLive.tv.
SHAMONE “THE TRUTH” ALVAREZ

The 33-year-old Alvarez began his professional career in 2002, and went onto to string together 19 consecutive victories, including picking up the WBO NABO welterweight title. In 2007 Alvarez squared off against Joshua Clottey in an official IBF title eliminator, dropping a decision to the eventual IBF welterweight champion.

After the loss Alvarez took some time off from the sport. He returned just under a year later to win a ten round decision over Terrance Cauthen in December of 2008.

The win over Cauthen put Alvarez in yet another official IBF title eliminator, this time against Delvin Rodriguez. The fight, which took place in March of last year, saw Alvarez lose a razor thin decision in a fight that many argued Alvarez could have won.

In October, Alvarez was scheduled to face undefeated Canadian contender Antonin Decarie (now 23-0), but the week of the fight, Alvarez injured his knee while running and had to pull out.

Alvarez is now back and according to the contender, more ready and hungrier than ever.

“This is my time,” stated Alvarez. “Physically and mentally I am one-hundred percent ready and focused to climb back into the world title picture. In both my losses I know what I did wrong and I have learned from them. You are going to see the old but at the same time the new and improved Shamone Alvarez when I get in that ring from now on. When I first came up I was very aggressive and took the fight right to my opponents. In my two losses my lack of aggressiveness cost me the fights, and cost me the world title opportunities. I’m on my third strike, trust me I don’t plan on striking out.”

In the fight against Camacho, Alvarez will be facing a big puncher and someone who will not be afraid to mix it up with him, something that Alvarez is well aware of, and looking forward to.

“I have watched tapes of him and I know that he can crack. You look at his record and you see that he obviously has some power but he has never been inside the ring with someone who is on my level. From what I have seen of him he is a typical Mexican style fighter, he comes forward, he throws big punches, he is durable, but he is there to be hit, and as you will see come Saturday night, he will be hit.”

While Alvarez states that he is not looking past the task at hand, he does have big expectations for himself in 2010.

“2010 is going to be a big year for me. God-willing everything goes well on Saturday, I am looking at a possible March 27th date to fight for the IBO title. Once I pick up the IBO belt, I will then hopefully have a chance to go to Canada to take on Decarie as we have unfinished business. At that point I will be ready to challenge any of the world champions in the welterweight division, it’s just a matter of who gives me that shot. There is no more playing around. You are going to see the dog come out of me this year, and for all those welterweight contenders and champions out there, look out because I’m coming for you.”

The Tropicana Casino and Resort is located at 2831 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ and can be contacted by calling (609) 340-4000. Tickets are priced at $100 (ringside), $50 and $30 with a limited number of V.I.P. packages available at $200. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Star Boxing office at (718) 823-2000 or visiting www.starboxing.com. Tickets may also be purchased at any Ticketmaster outlet, www.ticketmaster.com, or at the Tropicana North Tower Box Office.

ABOUT STAR BOXING:
Star Boxing, Inc. has been in operation since 1992. Star Boxing has worked to produce some of the most exciting and memorable boxing events in recent history. Star has continued to work with and develop a number of very exciting world champions, world rated contenders and young prospects. Star has consistently brought credibility, integrity, and exciting fights to the boxing industry. For more information on Star Boxing, visit the official website at www.starboxing.com.

ABOUT TROPICANA CASINO & RESORT:
The Tropicana Casino & Resort is a 24-hour gaming destination located on the beach and Boardwalk. Featuring more than 2,100 rooms and suites and home of The Quarter, a 200,000 square foot entertainment complex, Tropicana is the premier resort in Atlantic City. With more than 20 restaurants, 25 shops, 12 bars and lounges, 2 pools, an IMAX Theatre and a spa, Tropicana is consistently rated as the “Must-See Attraction” in Atlantic City. For more information, visit the new official Web Site at www.tropicana.net For more exclusive discounts, current information, pictures, and video, be sure to check out the Tropicana on the Web at www.facebook.com/TropAC or follow us on Twitter twitter.com/TropicanaAC.

NEW YORK (FEBRUARY 1, 2010)—This weekend there will be THREE BIG BOXING BROADCASTS STREAMED LIVE!! On the world number-one site for live combat-sports action, www.gofightlive.tv

The weekend kicks off on Friday night from Philadelphia as a terrific eight bout card will originate from the number-one boxing venue in the world, The Legendary Blue Horizon.

In the main event, the USBA Jr. Middleweight champion Derek “Pooh” Ennis (19-1-2, 12 KO’s) tunes up for a spring title defense when he takes on veteran Edwin Vazquez (24-14-2, 8 KO’s).

In one co-feature, undefeated Ronald Cruz (7-0, 4 KO’s) face his most experienced opponent against the upset-minded Martinus Clay (13-24-4, 5 KO’s) in an eight round Jr. Middleweight bout.

There will be a very much anticipated heavyweight special attraction as former world junior amateur Heavyweight champion Joey Dawejko (1-0) makes his long awaited area debut when he squares off against Ricardo Johnson (1-0)

Fans can also witness Swedish heavyweight Andreas Gustafson (3-0, 1 KO) battle Levay King in f our round bout.

EIGHT BIG FIGHTS FOR JUST $5.99 LIVE FRIDAY FEBRUARY 5TH AT 7:30 PM EASTERN TIME BY CLICKING:

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?event=575

SATURDAY FEBRURAY 6TH—ADAMEK VS ESTRADA—8pm eastern

One of the most exciting fighters in the world, former Light Heavyweight and Cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek (39-1, 27 KO’s) makes his second start in the Heavyweight division after he dismantled former top contender Andrew Golota last fall in what was deemed the biggest sporting event in the history of Poland.

Adamek will battle former US Olympian Jason “Big Six” Estrada (16-2, 4 KO’s) of Providence, Rhode Island in the twelve round Main Event for the IBF International title.

A lot is on the line as Adamek has been rumored for a possible April 24 can’t miss showdown with the equally exciting Chris Arreola.

One thing stands in the way of that fight as Estrada is highly motivated and is more than capable to spring the upset in front of what will be rocking Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey where Adamek has become an overwhelming hometown favorite since moving to nearby Jersey City.

This will be Adamek’s fourth fight at “The Rock” with each crowd being bigger and louder than the previous fight and Saturday will look to be no exception as Adamek could only be a couple fights away before challenging for the Heavyweight championship of the world.

Estrada has big expectations coming out of the 2004 Olympics and this is a golden opportunity to throw his name in the middle of the wide open Heavyweight division.

There will be a five fight undercard that features undefeated and very popular middleweight prospect, Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin as he takes on perennial contender Fernando Zuniga.

Quillin of New York has a perfect record of 20-0 with fifteen knockouts and is eager to get back to action after an assortment of injuries have kept him out of the ring for the last sixteen months.

Quillin did not take the easy route back by agreeing to fight Zuniga.

Zuniga, who has a record of 28-9 with twenty knockouts, and been in with some of the biggest names of the middleweight divisions including William Joppy, Thomas Tate, Charles Brewer and Sam Soliman.

Just two fights ago, Zuniga scored an upset victory over than 19-1-2 Carlos Deleon. Zuniga just completed a six week tour as a main sparring partner for Bernard Hopkins as Hopkins prepared for his big fight with Enrique Ornelas.

If that isn’t enough, fans all over the world will be treated to an undercard of some of the best undefeated prospects in the country which include cruiserweight Patrick Farrell (4-0); Jr. Middleweight Dennis Douglin (6-0); Super Middleweight Patrick Majewski (11-0); and 2008 US Olympian Sadam Ali (4-0)

This can’t miss night of action begins at 8pm eastern time for just $9.99 and its all one click away at:

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?event=581

STAR BOXING—THE EVE OF THE SUPER BOWL—SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6TH AT 7PM EASTERN

Joe DeGuardia Star Boxing usually puts on some of the most competitive boxing shows in the country and this tremendous card from the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City will be no exception as this card will feature an interesting Welterweight contest between Atlantic City’s own Shamone Alvarez battling knockout artist Alexis Camacho of Texas.

Alvarez, 20-2 with eleven knockouts will have the home ring advantage as he will be fighting in front of the hometown fans for the thirteenth time and he will be looking to get back in position to fight for a welterweight title.

Alvarez was on the brink of a title shot on two occasions but dropped close to decisions to former world champion Joshua Clottey and former title challenger Delvin Rodriguez.

Camacho of Austin, Texas has a record of 17-2 with sixteen knockouts, like Alvarez desperately needs a win to surge his career forward to a significant fight.

He has been training in New Jersey under the guidance of the Hall of Fame trainer Lou Duva.

After scoring a decision in his first bout, every one of Camacho’s wins have come early and on Saturday night he will be looking to add Alvarez to that list of opponents did not see the final bell against Camacho. For the record, Alvarez has never been stopped.

In the co-feature, it will be an eight round Heavyweight bout between the always exciting blood and guts warrior, Vinny Maddalone taking on Dominique Alexander.

Maddalone has a record of 32-6 with twenty-three knockouts and is known for his crowd pleasing efforts and he always gives his all no matter if he is in with a more talented fighter.

He is coming off a spirited effort in which he dropped a eight round unanimous decision to former undisputed Cruiserweight champion Jean Marc Mormeck less than two months ago in Mormeck’s hometown of Paris, France.

Alexander is 19-7-1 with nine wins coming early. Alexander has shared the ring with former IBF Cruiserweight champion Kryztof Wlodarczyk, former world heavyweight title challengers Kali Meehan and Fres Oquendo as well as top prospect Odlanier Solis.

Alexander is coming off a majority decision win over Galen Brown (32-12-1) last August.

A solid undercard will also be shown on the broadcast the will feature popular Light Heavyweight Chuck Mussachio (14-1-2, 5 KO’s) ; undefeated Light Heavyweight prospect Yathomas Riley (7-0, 5 KO’s) and eighteen year old Thomas LaManna, who will be making his pro debut.

All the action can be seen LIVE at 7pm, eastern for just $5.99 by clicking:

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?event=589

Seven-time world champion and “Fighter of the Decade” Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao,General Santos,Philippines hits the speed bag at the Wildcard Boxing Club as he prepares for his upcoming World Welterweight championship against Joshua Clottey,Ghana. Top Rank’s “The Event”, will be held on Saturday,March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas,Texas and televised live on HBO Pay-Per-View

Photos by Chris Farina of Top Rank

On Saturday February 6th, heavyweight fan favorite, Vinny Maddalone (32-6, 23) will get the weekend fireworks started early when he takes on Dominique Alexander (19-7-1, 9KO) in an eight round heavyweight match-up at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, NJ. The show, promoted by Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing, and broadcast live on GoFightLive.tv, is headlined by welterweight prospect, Atlantic City’s own, Shamone ‘The Truth” Alvarez (20-2, 11KO) taking on knockout artist Alexis Camacho (17-2, 16KO).
VINNY MADDALONE

The Queens native Maddalone is no stranger to the bright lights of Atlantic City, having fought there four times before, one of which was named ESPN’s 2004 Fight of the Year.

“I’m excited to be returning to A.C.,” says Maddalone. “There is a lot of fight history in this city, so it’s extra special for me anytime I have the opportunity to fight there.”

Maddalone is coming off a hard fought decision loss back in December to former two-time cruiserweight champion, Jean Marc Mormeck. The fight which took place in Mormeck’s native France, saw Maddalone press the action and take the fight head on to Mormeck from the opening bell. Mormeck as well as Maddalone , is known for being a banger, but it was evident from the first time Mormeck felt Maddalone’s power he wanted no part in the brutal exchanges and began circling and boxing from the outside.

“I was surprised when he started moving like he did,” stated Maddalone. “From the tapes I have seen of him he usually stood right there in front of you, but then again that was at cruiserweight. I could tell right away in the first round when I hit him that I could hurt him.”

In what was an exciting fight, that brought the sold out crowd to their feet multiple times throughout the contest, Maddalone went on to lose by decision. Although Maddalone lost, as was the case when he fought in Europe in 2008; he dropped another hard fought decision loss to undefeated top five rated heavyweight Denis Boytsov; he further added onto his fan base, a base that has now begun to stretch worldwide.

“I’m a throwback fighter. Anytime I am in that ring you know you are going to see an exciting fight, and the people in Europe, as do my fans here in the U.S, appreciate that. Fighting is my life, it’s what I love to do, and come February 6th you can expect nothing less out of me. As I do every time I step into that ring, I am going to leave it all on the line and give the fans something to be excited about.”

A win in Atlantic City, could set up another trip for Maddalone back to Europe. There have been talks of Maddalone fighting on the undercard of Mormeck’s next fight, and if both win, Maddalone- Mormeck II could be on the horizon.

“I would love another opportunity to face Mormeck. It was an exciting fight that the fans loved, and want to see again, but first things first, I must take care of business this Saturday.

The Tropicana Casino and Resort is located at 2831 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ and can be contacted by calling (609) 340-4000. Tickets are priced at $100 (ringside), $50 and $30 with a limited number of V.I.P. packages available at $200. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Star Boxing office at (718) 823-2000 or visiting www.starboxing.com. Tickets may also be purchased at any Ticketmaster outlet, www.ticketmaster.com, or at the Tropicana North Tower Box Office.

ABOUT STAR BOXING:
Star Boxing, Inc. has been in operation since 1992. Star Boxing has worked to produce some of the most exciting and memorable boxing events in recent history. Star has continued to work with and develop a number of very exciting world champions, world rated contenders and young prospects. Star has consistently brought credibility, integrity, and exciting fights to the boxing industry. For more information on Star Boxing, visit the official website at www.starboxing.com.

ABOUT TROPICANA CASINO & RESORT:
The Tropicana Casino & Resort is a 24-hour gaming destination located on the beach and Boardwalk. Featuring more than 2,100 rooms and suites and home of The Quarter, a 200,000 square foot entertainment complex, Tropicana is the premier resort in Atlantic City. With more than 20 restaurants, 25 shops, 12 bars and lounges, 2 pools, an IMAX Theatre and a spa, Tropicana is consistently rated as the “Must-See Attraction” in Atlantic City. For more information, visit the new official Web Site at www.tropicana.net For more exclusive discounts, current information, pictures, and video, be sure to check out the Tropicana on the Web at www.facebook.com/TropAC or follow us on Twitter twitter.com/TropicanaAC.

Star Boxing

Tropicana Resort and Casino

Star Boxing Exclusive Merchandise

MYSPACE/STARBOXING

Facebook/Star Boxing

twitter.com/starboxing

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com Manny Pacquiao won the 2009 fighter of the year and also won the fighter of the deacde award by the Boxing Writers Association of American (BWAA)

Pacquiao, who will be presented with his third Sugar Ray Robinson trophy in the past four years, heads the list of honorees who will be invited to receive their awards on June 11 in New York at the BWAA’s 85th annual banquet.

Freddie Roach, who has trained Pacquiao since 2001 and been an integral part of his success, will receive the Futch award for trainer of the year for the fourth time. He also won it in 2003, 2006 and 2008.

“Manny and I are a great team and to win this award you need a great fighter,” Roach told ESPN.com Sunday. “Hopefully, [junior welterweight titlist] Amir Khan will be my next guy. It’s my favorite award because its named after my trainer [the late Eddie Futch].”

Futch trained Roach during his fighting career before taking him under his wing as an assistant trainer.

“I give Eddie all the credit for where I am today,” Roach said. “He gave me great guidance during my apprenticeship with him.”

Lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez and former titlist Juan Diaz will share the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier award for fight of the year. Their Feb. 28 all-action slugfest was an instant classic as Marquez went to Diaz’s hometown of Houston and stopped him in the ninth round to retain the title.

Also to be honored by the BWAA:

• ESPN’s Joe Tessitore, the longtime blow-by-blow voice of ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights,” was selected as the Sam Taub award winner for excellence in broadcast journalism.

• Jerry Izenberg, one of America’s foremost sports columnists for the Newark (N.J). Star-Ledger for almost 60 years, will receive the John F.X. Condon award for long and meritorious service to boxing.

• Alexis Arguello, the Hall of Famer who won world championships in three weight classes, will receive the Marvin Kohn good guy award posthumously. Arguello died in July at age 57.

• Showtime broadcaster Nick Charles, who is fighting a battle with bladder cancer, and former heavyweight contender George Chuvalo, will share the Bill Crawford award for courage in overcoming adversity. Two of Chuvalo’s sons died from drug overdoses and a third son, as well as his first wife, committed suicide, and now he speaks to high school students about drug use.

The Nat Fleischer award for excellence in boxing journalism, the highest award the BWAA presents to one of its members, has not been announced yet. Balloting for the lifetime achievement award is ongoing. It is voted on only by past winners.

Photo by Chris Farina of Top Rank

Nick Diaz scored an exciting first round knockout over Mariusz Zaromskis in a wild round to retain his Strikeforce Welterweight title at the Bank Once Center in Sunrise, Florida.

Both guys landed heavy shots that included Zaromskis landing a hard shot that sent Doaz down to the floor but Diaz popped right up and and began to pound away on the face of Zaromskis as he landed some huge shots until he landed a booming right hook that put Zaromskis down and out at the 4:38 mark of round one.

Diaz, of Stockton, California is now 20-8-1 with twelve knockouts. Zaromskis of London is now 13-4.

“I’ll fight anybody,’’ said Diaz, who has been victorious in seven of his last eight and hasn’t lost in more than two years. I felt real good fighting again at 170. But the guy I really want is Gegard Mousasi.’’

Cris Cyborg retained her Strikeforce Lightweight title as she stopped a tough Marloes Coenen in round tyhree of their scheduled five round five.

Cyborg controlled most of the action throughout the fight by Coenen showed toughness and got in some big punches for herself until Cyborg pounded her on the ground and the fight was stopped at 2:07 of round three.

Cyborg, 144 1/2 lbs of Curitiba, Brazil is now 9-1 with seven stoppages. Coenen, 143 3/4 lbs of Amsterdam is now 17-4.

I’m very happy to win this fight,’’ said Cyborg shortly the heated scrap was stopped at 3:40 of the third. “It was a good fight. I think I could have done more but she was the toughest fighter I’ve faced and has a great heart. I admire her a lot.’’

Coenen, a strikingly attractive submission whiz who couldn’t take down Cyborg, wanted the fight to continue. “This is extremely disappointing to say the least,’’ she said. “This was for a world title. It should have been allowed to go a little longer. I wanted to fight.’’

Former NFL Star and Olympic Bobsledder Herschel Walker proved that life begins at forty-seven years old as he made a successful pro debut by stopping an over matched Greg Nagy in round three of a scheduled three round Heavyweight fight.

Walker showed versatility as he was effective with strikes and on the ground and was in control for just about every second of the fight until it was stopped at 2:17 of round three.

Walker, 214 1/4 lbs looked in pronominal shape to winhis pro debut. Nagy, 210 1/2 lbs of Phoenix, AZ is 1-2

“I feel good but I didn’t do many things right and I still have a lot to learn,’’ said Walker, the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner and a two-time Pro Bowl competitor. “The experience itself was exciting and I thank my opponent for fighting me. It’s tough to fight an old man. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

“I thought I’d be more nervous. I’m an MMA fighter now. I earned a little bit of a stripe tonight. This is one of my biggest athletic achievements ever.’

“Ruthless” Robbie Lawlor scored one of the most devastating one punch knockout over Melib Manhoef in round of their scheduled three round bout.

Manhoef dominated the fight as he was viciously kicking Lawlor’s legs and landing hard body shots until Lawlor landed a “Hayemaker” right hook that landed squarely on Manhoef’s chin and he was knocked out cold before he crumbled to the ground and for good measure, Lawlor landed a hard right to jaw the jaw and the fight was stopped at 3:33 of round one.

Lawlor of Granite City, IL is now 17-5-1 with fourteen knockouts. Manhoef of Amsterdam, Netherlands is now 24-7-1

“I knew this guy was really a killer, but I knew I would catch him,’’ Lawler said. “When he looks to finish, he really loads up. I just lured him in and got him.

“He was chopping and chopping and he was really hurting me with the leg kicks. When I felt the first one land, I knew I could get one more in and finish, and that’s what I did.’’

Former WWE Superstar Bobby Lashley remained undefeated as he pounded Wes Sims for much of their two-plus minute Heavyweight bout.

Lashley had the 6’8″ Sims on tne ground and continued to pound Sims until the referee stopped the bout at 2:06 of round one of their scheduled three round fight

Lashley, 252 1/4lbs of Coconut Creek, Fla is now 5-0 with two knockouts. Sims. 258 1/4 lbs of Lancaster, OH is now 22-13-1-2.

“Anytime you win and learn something, it’s a good night,’’ he said. “Sims is a tall guy who came in with nothing to lose, almost like he didn’t care, and those are the guys that are usually the hardest to fight.

“I want to continue to step up.

Jorge Arce captured the WBO Super Flyweight champion via a technical decision over a nasty cut was opened up over the right eye of Angky Angkota during round seven of their scheduled twelve round main event in Mexico City.

Arce continously cornered the smaller Angkota and wailed away on the game native of Indonesia. Angkota showed a lot of spunk and courage as he would try to fire back some wild shots. Angkota tried to “goad” Arce as he made body gyrations towards Arce in round seven in an effort to convince Arce that his punches were not effective.

Later in that round, the fighters clashed heads and a nasty cut started to drip blood down the right side of Angkota’s face.

When the scores were read, Arce 115 lbs of Los Mochis, Mexico was ahead by scores of 60-54, 60-54 and 58-56 to win a fourth world title and is now 53-6-1. Angkota, 115 lbs of Semerang, Indonesia is now 23-5.

“This is for my baby who was either born tonight or tomorrow”,said Arce

Former world title challenger Eduardo Escobedo scored a ten round unanimous decision over Joksan Hernandez in a Featherweight bout.

Escobedo dropped Hernandez in round three from a nice counter shot. The action was wildly entertaining especially at the outset of round’s eight and ten as the two stood toe to toe which was much to the delight of the crowd.

Escobedo, 126 lbs won his sixth straight fight since dropping a shot at then WBO Super Bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce De Leon in 2007, won by scores of 97-92, 97-93 and 96-93 to raise his record to 27-3. Hernandez is now 17-2.

Alonso Lopez scored a third round stoppage over Sergio Cruz at 2:02 of round three of a scheduled four round Super Flyweight bout featuring debuter’s.

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Nonito’ The Filipino Flash’ Donaire,Philippines works out during a media day for his upcoming championship fight on “Latin Fury 13/Pinoy Power 3”, a Top Rank Pay Per View on Saturday,February 13 from the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas. Donaire takes on top-rated Gerson Guerrero of Mexico in the main event.

Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Chris Avalos remained undefeated as he pounded out Jose Nieves at 2:20 of round four of a scheduled ten round Bantamweight bout at the Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

After a slow first round, Avalos dropped Nieves in round two with a hard right to the body. In round four, Avalos landed a combination that dropped Nieves for a second time. Avalos finished the fight as landed yet another flurry of punches that sent Nieves down for referee Rocky Burke at 2:20 of round four.

Avalos, 118 lbs of Lancaster, CA is now 15-0 with twelve knockouts. Nieves, 119 lbs of Carolina, Puerto Rico is now 17-2-3

“Avalos turned the fight with one shot,” said ShoBox’s expert commentator Steve Farhood. “As soon as Nieves backed to the ropes, in essence, the fight was over.

“He kept his poise and took what was given to him, and, when he turned it up, it turned out that Nieves couldn’t handle it.”

“I’m beyond happy, but I didn’t think it would end that quickly,” Avalos said. “I thought it would go into the sixth round. He was a good fighter, I take nothing from him. I was just the better fighter tonight.”

Archie Ray Marquez remained undefeated with an eight round unanimous decision over Derrick Campos in an entertaining Lightweight scrap.

Campos did not do much of anything over the first three rounds as Marquez used his height and reach to box well and stay out of the way of anything Campos could offer. Campos started to turn up the pressure in the middle rounds and had a little success.

Marquez was more consistent over the last three rounds and scored a knockdown when he landed a hard right to the head and the feet of the two fighters collided and Campos hit the ground on what was ruled a knockdown.

Marquez, 131 lbs of Albuquerque, NM won by scores of 80-71, 79-72 and 77-74 to raise his record to 9-0-1. Campos, 132 lbs of Topeka, KS is now 20-8.

“I like his style, but he needs to work on his power,” said Tarver, who served as ShoBox’s guest analyst. “He needs to turn his opportunities into power shots, rather than boxing away. I look forward to seeing him again and I think he has a bright future.”

PHILADELPHIA (January 29, 2010)—On Friday night February 5th one of the most anticipated area debuts in quite some time will take place as former world Junior amateur heavyweight champion Joey Dawejko will fight a four round Heavyweight bout as part of the Special Valentine’s Day card at The Legendary Blue Horizon.

The card is promoted by Vernoca L. Michael and Blue Horizon Boxing promotions Inc.

There will be members from the Red Cross at the Blue Horizon where a station will be set up for donations for relief in regards to the recent Tragic Earthquake that took place earlier this month in Haiti and the boxing community is encouraged to help those in need.

Dawejko from the Tacony section of Philadelphia picked up boxing as a youngster after his grandfather took him to the local Golden Gloves that was ironically held at The Blue Horizon and Dawejko wanted to give boxing a try.

Dawejko started to have success as a junior boxer which facilitated Dawejko to step up the competition. In 2008, Dawejko traveled to Guadalajara, Mexico to compete in the prestigious world Junior Championships.

Four victories later Dawejko captured the championship when he defeated Eric Brechlin of Germany by a score of 9-1 Dewejko won his four bouts by a combined score of 43-16, and Dewejko was anointed the future of USA Boxing.

Dewejko didn’t want to wait another four years for the next Olympics to come around and decided to turn pro after finishing his amateur career with a record of 56-12.

“The wait for the Olympics plus I felt to go out on top was the perfect ending and it was time to go pro”, said the then eighteen year old prodigy.

Dewejko received a phone call that former Heavyweight champion of the world Hassim Rahman needed a sparring partner and Dewejko jumped at the chance to work with Rahman.

“I was still an amateur when that happened. It actually was before the world junior championship. I guess he liked what he saw in those sessions and we kept in touch.”

After sparring with Rahman for a second camp, Dawejko signed a contract with Rahman as the former champ is now the manager of young Dawejko.

Since then Dawejko has sparred with former WBC Heavyweight champion Samuel Peter as he prepared to take on Eddie Chambers.

Dawejko turned pro on September 26, 2009 in Kinder, Louisiana against thirteen fight veteran Royphy Solieau. Dawejko scored a knockdown in pounding out a six round unanimous decision.

Dawejko showed that he was a throwback as he fought six rounds in his pro debut rather than the four rounder’s that most fighters take in the first fight.

Now in Dawejko’s second start he will get to perform in front of the hometown fans.

“I go to just about all the fights at The Blue Horizon and sometimes I get lost in thought as I am always envisioning being in that ring and performing for the knowledgeable crowd that Blue Horizon has and I can’t wait until February 5th to display my skills in front of them”

Rahman will be ringside to watch his protégé fight undefeated Ricardo Johnson (1-0) of Ohio in the four round bout.

In the main event, USBA Jr. Middleweight champion, Derek “Pooh” Ennis (19-2-1, 12 KO’s) of Philadelphia will take on Edwin Vazquez (22-14-2, 8 KO’s) of Santurce, Puerto Rico in an eight round non-title bout.

In an eight round co-feature, former world title challenger Israel “Pito” Cardona (36-10, 28 KO’s) of Hartford, CT takes on the upset specialist Martinus Clay (13-24-4, 5 KO’s) of Philadelphia.

In a four round Heavyweight bout of Philadelphian’s, Tim Johnson (4-1, 2 KO’s) takes on Charles Hayward (2-2, 1 KO)

In a four round Ladies Welterweight bout, Jackie Davis (3-0, 1 KO) of Philadelphia takes on Cassandra Lindsay (3-4, 2 KO’s) of Columbus, MS

Andres Gustafson (3-0, 1 KO) of Norrkoping, Sweden will travel across the Atlantic to do battle with Levay King (0-1) in a four round Heavyweight attraction.

In a battle of Phildelphia based Jr. Welterweight, Clement Bethea will make his pro debut against comebacking Henry Northan (0-1).

Northan, will be making his first ring appearance in nearly seven years.

Also seeing action is exciting undefeated Ronald Cruz (7-0, 4 KO’s) of Bethlehem, PA against an opponent to be named in a four round bout.

THE SHOW WILL BE STREAMED ALL OVER THE WORLD ON WWW.GOFIGHTLIVE.TV FOR $5.99 BY CLICKING:

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?event=575

Tickets are going fast for this exciting boxing event. The perfect pre-Valentine gift for your boxing enthusiast.

Ticket prices for this great night of boxing are $200 for Queen Seating, $125 for Presidential Seats, $65 for VIP Seating, $55 for Ringside Seating and $45 for General Admission Seating. Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-763-0500 or through PayPal by clicking here. Doors open at 6:30 PM / First Bout begins at 7:30 P.M.

The Legendary Blue Horizon™

1314 North Broad Street in Philadelphia, PA

On February 6th at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, Tomasz ‘Goral’ Adamek, the IBF Heavyweight International Champion (37-1, 27 KO), will take on Jason “Big Six” Estrada (16-2, 4 KOs) of Providence, Rhode Island, in a 12 round title defense. The fight is promoted by Main Events and Ziggy Promotions in association with Classic Entertainment and Sports Inc.

Fans who cannot make it to “The Rock” to see the live show can watch it online via GoFightLive.tv, for $9.99. Visit http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?event=581

to purchase the fight.

Three exciting undefeated fighters will also be featured on the GoFightLive show: Patrick Farrell, of Jersey City, 4-0, 3 KO’s; Saddam Ali, Olympian from Brooklyn, NY, 4-0, 2KO’s; and Denis Doughlin, of Morganville, NJ, 6-0, 3KO’s.

This GoFightLive on demand viewing will not be available in Poland or South Africa. Other may be added at a later date.

Viewing is restricted to residential homes only. Restaurants, bars or commercial establishments that wish to show the GFL on demand viewing must contact Main Events directly, 973-200-7050.

For more info visit: www.mainevents.com

LOS ANGELES, January 25 – A pair of unbeaten prospects from Uzbekistan, light heavyweight Gayrat Ahmedov and junior middleweight Ravshan Hudaynazarov, are set to make their United States debuts in separate bouts on January 29 on the Gabriel Campillo vs. Beibut Shumenov II card at The Joint at Hark Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ahmedov (12-0-1, 8 KOs), a four-time Uzbekistan National Amateur Champion, and Hudaynazarov (9-0, 6 KOs) a 2007 World Military Games Gold Medalist, have been training in North Carolina with veteran trainer Don Turner in preparation for their January 29 bouts. Both fighters are promoted by Las Vegas-based KZ Event Productions, owned and operated by the Shumenov brothers, January 29 main event challenger Beibut and Chingis.

In his last fight, Ahmedov knocked out Douglas Otieno (19-2, 9 KO’s) in the opening round on the Campillo-Shumenov I card, capturing the PABA light heavyweight belts that Shumenov relinquished prior to challenging Campillo in their WBA Light Heavyweight Championship match last August in Kazakhstan.

“I’m excited for this fight because one of my goals has always been to fight in Las Vegas,” the personable Ahmedov explained. “I have trained in Las Vegas, but this will be my first time fighting there. The Shumenov brothers are the reason I am fighting in the United States and I’m thankful to them. Beibut is a fighter himself, so he knows what it takes to be a champion and understands what a fighter goes through so he treats us like people.”

Ahmedov continued, “If everything goes as planned and I win this fight, Beibut has talked about getting me a shot at a world title in 2010. Because Beibut and I are like brothers, so even though we are in the same weight class, we will never fight each other. We want to both be world champions together, just for different organizations.”

Ravshan also fought on the Campillo-Shumenov I event, stopping veteran Joseph Miyumo (30-7-5, 17 KO’s) in the sixth round to keep his perfect pro record intact. “I’m very happy to be fighting January 29 in Las Vegas,” Ravshan said. “It’s been one of my dreams to fight there. I want to thank my promoter, KZ Event Productions, for giving me the opportunity to fight in the United States. I want to wish Beibut luck in his bout and that I hope that he wins the world title. This is a very important fight for him and all of us with KZ Event Productions and I’m very happy to be promoted by KZ and grateful for what they’ve given me. I will not let them or the fans down on January 29 as I’m going to give everybody a good fight to watch, so don’t miss it.”

Ahmedov and Hudaynazarov are scheduled to be in 6-round bouts versus opponents to be determined.

“Campillo vs. Shumenov II” features the 12-round WBA Light Heavyweight Championship rematch between the defending champion, Spain’s Gabriel Campillo (19-2, 6 KOs), and IBA World title-holder, Beibut Shumenov (8-1, 6 KOs). The evening of boxing will be presented by KZ Event Productions and Golden Boy Promotions with Campillo vs. Shumenov presented in association with Sampson Boxing LLC. The bout will be televised live on Fox Sports Net (FSN) and its regional sports network affiliates beginning at 11 pm ET / 8 pm PT (check local listings). Doors will open at 6 pm and the first bell rings at 7 pm.

In the event’s opening televised fight, former Cuban amateur star Erislandy Lara (9-0, 5 KO’s) takes on veteran junior middleweight Grady Brewer (26-11, 15 KO’s), winner of hit reality television show The Contender II, in a 10-round bout.

Tickets for this action-packed night of boxing are priced at $150, $125, $100, $50 and $40 (general admission standing room tickets). Tickets may be purchased at the Hard Rock Hotel Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.Ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000.

For more information, visit www.kzeventproductions.com or www.goldenboypromotions.com or follow Golden Boy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, The historic heavyweight bout between former undisputed Heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield and Francois Botha slated for Uganda has been postponed and may be revived in the United States.

Holyfield’s Feb. 20 fight against Francois Botha in Kampala, Uganda, is off and plans are in the works to reschedule it, the former heavyweight champion told ESPN.com on Wednesday.

Holyfield was scheduled to face South Africa’s Botha in a 12-round bout at Nelson Mandela Stadium, where organizers predicted a crowd of 80,000. However, Holyfield said the promoter failed to make a scheduled payment, forcing him to scrap the idea of going to Africa.

“I’m not going over,” Holyfield said. “We’re moving the fight to the States, but they haven’t got a site yet. But I’m still supposed to fight Botha.”

Ken Sanders, Holyfield’s manager, told ESPN.com that Miami was a possible location for the fight. He also said that besides trying to reschedule the Botha bout, Holyfield would also fight April 24 in Las Vegas.

“But the guy never did come up with the money,” Holyfield said. “They were supposed to pay us before we went over there, put the money in an escrow account. And they missed the payment. Three months we been waiting and we never did get it. So we made the decision.”

“We sat down and had a good conversation and I asked Evander if he wanted to do this and he said he did,” Sanders said. “I asked his trainer, Tommy Brooks, the same thing and he said he’ll have no problem, that Evander just needed two or three weeks after the first fight and he’ll be ready to go for the second one. He’s already in great shape.”

Between Holyfield’s age — 47 — and the number of rounds he’s boxed professionally, it could be difficult for him to get a license in Nevada, where the commission has rigorous standards. However, Sanders said he was not worried about it.

“He’ll pass all the tests,” Sanders said. “I’m not concerned.”

Holyfield said he was looking forward to fighting in Uganda.

“I was kind of excited about it when they talked about 80,000 people,” he said. “The point is to be able to go to different parts of the world. The U.S. is a great place to fight, but it’s not the world.”

“There are so many places that want to have the fight,” he said. “We’re trying to find out the best place.”

When asked about his weight and Cruiserweight vs. Heavyweight:

“This weight is natural for me, very comfortable. I am eating more, I am not hungry. For the fight maybe I will weigh what I weigh today, 222lbs. This is my natural weight. This time I am happier when I go into training.”

“Cruiserweight was more difficult for me. I always had a problem getting to the weight, especially when I was 175. I feel very good at this weight. I feel faster. The difference in training is the sparring partners are heavier, 240, 250lbs. But I feel stronger because my weight is natural.”

“My dream is to be champion in the heavyweight division. Estrada is a good boxer; but I am serious about this fight. I need to win. It is very important in order to move up for a heavyweight title.” “Estrada is a technical boxer. If I see opportunity to knock him out I will, but if not, I prepared to go 12 rounds.”

When asked who would he like to fight next:

“I will fight everybody. We have this fight on February 6th right now I concentrate on that. Maybe in April Arreola, we will see. Maybe a one more fight after that and then I will ready for a championship fight. Right now I must win against Estrada.”

“Every guy when he comes into the ring wants to win, but I believe I will win this fight. I am stronger, I am healthy. When I am healthy I am very fast. I have power. I feel good!”

Jason Estrada commented that you will have a problem with his hand speed:

Tomasz – “I’m fast too! I think I am stronger. He must know this. My jab is very strong and my right has the most power.”

Commenting about being a local favorite:

“I am so happy to be fighting at Prudential Center. I feel like this is my second home. My first home is in Poland. But now my second home in United States is Prudential Center. I won my second belt here, Cruiserweight, but I need to win 1 more belt here, Heavyweight. There are many Polish people in this area. I am happy when I come back to Prudential.”

Comments from Trainer, Andrew Gmitruk – “You know Estrada is a big guy with a very special style, but Tomasz Adamek is very quick, very comfortable. He is very strong. He is extremely well conditioned. We expect a hard fight, but we expect to win this fight.”

“Adamek has extremely good movement. It comes from the body, from the legs. His speed is like light heavyweight or middleweight division. Good left hook and right hand. He has not lost his speed or coordination (stepping up to heavyweight). Every day he is getting stronger. He is very well conditioned. I think he is a complete boxer now. Most heavyweights have lost the power, the coordination, and the speed. They are only thinking about the hard punch. Tomasz has everything together with the hard punch. That is why I think he is very dangerous for everybody in the heavyweight division.”

Tomasz Adamek and his trainer Andrew Gmitruk responded to Jason Estrada comments

Trainer Andrzej Gmitruk about the “who has fastest hands, disrespecting” issue:

“It’s not about who has fastest hands. It’s about who has the quicker mind in the ring. I have no doubts that both answers are the same: Adamek. We are not disrespecting Jason – on the contrary – we know how important this fight is if Tomek wants to be a world champion. He (Estrada) wants to play a spoiler role, but it does not work against somebody with such a strong psyche and determination like Adamek. Maybe Estrada wanted to be disrespected; maybe he was hoping we are not serious about this fight. Unfortunately for him – we are dead serious”.

Adamek:

“I just smiled when I read Jason quotes. First of all I had no idea he has so much free time on his hands to pay such close attention to what I’m saying and who I’m sparring against. I on the other hand have no idea who he is sparring with and have no desire to know it. I just don’t care. I care about my training camp, my preparation. Maybe he has to speak with one of my three sparring partners, 18-1, 15 KO, Travis Kauffman, who could not believe how fast and accurate I can be in the ring.“

THE FIGHT BETWEEN ADAMEK AND ESTRADA WILL BE STREAMED LIVE ON WWW.GOFIGHTLIVE.TV ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6TH AT 8PM EASTERN FOR A PRICE OF JUST $9.99 BY CLICKING:

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?event=581

On Saturday February 6th, Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing will present its “Super Saturday” boxing show, on the eve of the Big Game Sunday, from the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, NJ. Headlining the card is Atlantic City’s, Shamone “The Truth” Alvarez (20-2, 11KO) taking on hard hitting, Lou Duva trained, Alexis Camacho (17-2, 16KO) in a ten round welterweight showdown. In the co-feature bout of the evening, exciting heavyweight fan favorite, Vinny Maddalone (32-6, 23KO) squares off against Dominique Alexander (19- 7-1, 9KO) in a heavyweight special attraction. The entire card will be broadcast live on GoFightLive.tv.

Fans can view the show

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?event=589

Fighting for the first time in 2010 will be Star Boxing’s highly touted up and coming prospect Yathomas Riley (7-0, 5KO) when he takes on Walter Foster (4-1, 4KO). The bout is scheduled for six rounds in the light heavyweight division. The 2006 National Golden Gloves, and PAL Champion, has tore through the competition since turning pro in 2008. The Florida native, now living and training in the Bronx, has gained valuable experience serving as one of the lead sparring partners for former light heavyweight champion Glen Johnson on multiple occasions.

Wildwood, New Jersey’s prospect Chuck Mussachio (14-1-2, 5KO) looks to make it back to back victories in Atlantic City when he takes on Richard Dalphone (2-5-3, 2KO) in a six round light heavyweight contest. Mussachio, a Special Education Guidance Counsler at Middle Township High School, last fought in Atlantic City in November, winning an eight round decision over Bobby Rooney, in turn boasting his record to an impressive 9-0-1, when fighting in Atlantic City.

Also on the card, making his fourth straight appearance as a professional in Atlantic City, will be Cape May, New Jersey native, Josh Mercado (3-0, 1KO) taking on Millville, New Jersey’s Ismael Garcia, in Garcia’s pro-debut. Mercado-Garcia is scheduled for four rounds in the welterweight division. Mercado is a Lower Cape May Regional High School alum and former amateur National Collegiate Champion out of Lock Haven University.

Rounding out the card is Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna, making his pro-debut against New York’s Fasika Bezabeh, in a four round middleweight contest. The 18-year-old LaManna, currently in his senior year at Millville High School in New Jersey, turned to boxing at just eight years of age, after previously studying martial arts.

The Tropicana Casino and Resort is located at 2831 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ and can be contacted by calling 609 340-4000. Tickets are priced at $100 (ringside), $50 and $30 with a limited number of V.I.P. packages available at $200. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Star Boxing office at 718 823- 2000. Tickets may also be purchased at any Ticketmaster outlet, www.ticketmaster.com, or at the Tropicana North Tower Box Office.

ABOUT STAR BOXING:
Star Boxing, Inc. has been in operation since 1992. Star Boxing has worked to produce some of the most exciting and memorable boxing events in recent history. Star has continued to work with and develop a number of very exciting world champions, world rated contenders and young prospects. Star has consistently brought credibility, integrity, and exciting fights to the boxing industry. For more information on Star Boxing, visit the official website at www.starboxing.com.

ABOUT TROPICANA CASINO & RESORT:
The Tropicana Casino & Resort is a 24-hour gaming destination located on the beach and Boardwalk. Featuring more than 2,100 rooms and suites and home of The Quarter, a 200,000 square foot entertainment complex, Tropicana is the premier resort in Atlantic City. With more than 20 restaurants, 25 shops, 12 bars and lounges, 2 pools, an IMAX Theatre and a spa, Tropicana is consistently rated as the “Must-See Attraction” in Atlantic City. For more information, visit the new official Web Site at www.tropicana.net For more exclusive discounts, current information, pictures, and video, be sure to check out the Tropicana on the Web at www.facebook.com/TropAC or follow us on Twitter twitter.com/TropicanaAC.

Star Boxing

Tropicana Resort and Casino

Star Boxing Exclusive Merchandise

MYSPACE/STARBOXING

Facebook/Star Boxing

twitter.com/starboxing

NEW YORK (JANUARY 25, 2010)– Hot lightweight prospect “Hammerin” Hank Lundy brought a touch of his Philadelphia fighting to Boston last night, defeating former Cuban amateur standout Richard “El Tigre” Abril by a 10-round split decision, in the “Boston Pop” main event at The Roxy.

Lundy (17-0-1, 10 KOs) remained unbeaten, even though he suffered a knockdown in the midway through the fight, that appeared to be more of a slip causing his glove to briefly hit the canvas. The judges scored 98-91 and 96-94 in favor of Lundy, 95-94 for Abril (12-2-1, 6 KOs).

FANS ALL OVER THE WORLD CAN WATCH THIS GREAT FIGHT FOR $4.99 BY CLICKING:

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?event=592

“He didn’t frustrate me but he kept moving around,” Lundy said after the fight. “Once he felt my power he ran. I clearly beat him. He didn’t do nothing but hold. That was a slip, not a knockdown. He can’t punch.”

Fans can always witness the co-feature, as power-punching Eddie “Thunder” Caminero lived up to his nickname, stopping Chris Traietti in the second round, after flooring him in the first and later hurting him with a right hand before referee Bob Benoit halted the action.

PROVIDENCE (Jan. 25, 2010) – As he prepares for his February 6 showdown in Newark against former world light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek, 2004 U.S. Olympian Jason “Big Six” Estrada’s nose is out of place and it doesn’t have anything to do with sparring sessions gone wrong.

Estrada (15-2, 3 KOs) feels disrespected by Team Adamek but not, surprisingly, for Adamek looking past him to a reported April 24 fight against Chris Arreola, rather their apparent belief that Adamek (39-1, 27 KOs) has faster hands than Estrada, whose lightning-like hand speed for a 240-pound heavyweight has been his calling card.

“Looking past me towards Arreola doesn’t really bother me,” Estrada said. “I think it’s silly and they’ll hear about it after the fight. I never talk too much but I’m going to talk like never before after this fight. I hope they keep thinking about fighting somebody else. I’m keeping track of everything and got names of people to talk about after I beat Adamek. I’m going to shutdown his plans.

“I’m in the gym with sparring partners that are similar to him – tough, stand-up with decent hand speed. They made a big mistake offering me this fight and an even bigger mistake thinking he has faster hands than me. I’ve heard that they’ve brought in guys to work with who are big but don’t have fast hands. That makes me laugh. How, all of a sudden is he going to have faster hands than me? I am bigger, stronger, faster, quicker and younger than him. I’m just a better all-around fighter.”

Estrada also notes that he’s never been down and Adamek was floored twice as a light heavyweight. “I know he likes to pressure his opponents but how is he going to do that against a bigger guy like me,” Estrada rhetorically asked. “I’m a heavyweight, not a light heavyweight. I’ve never taken big hits like he has. They say he has a great chin, but so do I, and we know he has been hurt at least twice….by light heavyweights! They weren’t flash knockdowns, either. I’ve never been hurt in my whole career. I don’t see him changing his come forward, tough guy style at this stage. He was a good light heavyweight, good cruiserweight, but I’m a real heavyweight.”

Providence-native Estrada was one of the most highly decorated American amateur boxers ever, compiling an amazing 261-14 record in U.S. competition. He was the first boxer to win both the U.S. Nationals and U.S. Challenge three years (2001-2003) in a row.

During his 5-year pro career, the 29-year-old Estrada has beaten solid heavyweights such as Lance Whitaker, Zuri Lawrence, Derek Bryant, Charles Sufford and Robert Hawkins. Adamek’s lone win as a heavyweight, Estrada noted, was against an over-the-hill Andrew Golota.

“Jason has had his best training camp,” his promoter Jimmy Burchfield (Classic Entertainment and Sports, Inc.) remarked. “He’s never been in better shape, mentally or physically. He’s going to surprise a lot of people February 6th. Not me, though; I’ve always believed in him and I know what he’s capable of doing.”

By fight night, Estrada will have trained a full eight weeks for “Heavy Artillery,” much longer than ever before, and “Big Six” doesn’t mind fighting in Adamek’s backyard. “Training camp has been smooth,” Jason explained. “I’ve never had this much time to prepare for a fight, maybe five weeks and a couple of days, at best. There’s been plenty of time to get over little physical problems suffered in camp, not like in the past when I’d go straight from doing very little to hard training. I’m much more comfortable than I’ve ever been because of this extended time in camp. Mentally, it really helps.

“This is a big fight for me. Beating Adamek should take me to where I thought I’d be by now in the heavyweight division. Fighting in front of all his Polish fans doesn’t bother me at all. I’ve never had a problem being the villain. His fans will have nothing to do with the fight. It’s just going to be me and him in the ring. I’m half Puerto Rican with a lot of family, friends and fans coming to the fight, especially from New Jersey and New York. I know there will be a lot more Polish fans there for him, but my Hispanic fans will be loud, too.”

PHILADELPHIA (JANUARY 25, 2010)–When Coy Evans went to a nearby gym in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, he was looking for a hobby. Nearly ten years later that hobby has turned serious and Evans looks to be the next in the long line of potential world champions from the “City of Brotherly Love”

Evans went to the gym at age sixteen where he was looking for a hobby. One thing led to another and Evans started his amateur career.

Evans had an outstanding record of 42-3 and won Philadelphia Novice Golden Glove tournaments between 2001-2004 and Evans decided to turn professional.

Coy Evans has established himself as one of the top prospects in boxing talent rich Philadelphia. The Featherweight turned pro on October 22nd, 2004 with a four round majority decision over Edward Valdez at The Legendary Blue Horizon.

Evans then sat on the sidelines for four years as other fighters continued to get opportunities.

“It was hard to get fights with no management behind me”, said Evans.

“I quit a couple of times out of frustration but I am not a quitter so I knew if I stuck it out good things would start to happen”

Evans then hooked up with E & M management team consist ting of Eddie Woods and Moz Gonzalez.

The management duo have been managing fighters for the better part of two decades and almost instantly young Evans started getting fights.

The first fight after the hiatus, he came back to score a four round unanimous decision over Elias Castillo .

In that fight, Evans had some ring rust and showed his inexperience but was able to push through for the victory.

After a disputed draw with Jason Rorie, Evans began to regained focus and started a run of four straight wins that was culminated by a second round stoppage over the durable Vineash Rungea on January 15th, 2009 at The Arena in Philadelphia

“I knew I had power. I wasn’t sitting down on my punches and combined with my hand speed I believe that more knockouts will start to come”

Evans has quickly developed two reputations. first being that he may have the fastest hands in Philadelphia and the other being that he has become a man that nobody wants to fight.

“Finally good things are starting to happen”, said Evans

“I was sitting back and now it’s my turn”

Gonzalez agrees with his fighter.

“He deserves it. This year will be a real stay busy year for Coy and he will finally start to get recognition I know he deserves as one of the best up and coming Featherweights anywhere. He is such a good kid. He works, goes to the gym and goes home.”

Evans works as an assistant to an attorney in Center City Philadelphia. He has a six year old daughter and just recently, Evans inked his first endorsement deal as he is now is sponsored by Unleashed Beverage Company and is also promoted by Greg Robinson’s Power Productions.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com,. former three-divison world champion Erik Morales will comeback after a two and a half year retirement to take on former Lightweight beltholder Jose Alfaro on March 27 in Mexico.

“I think he’ll sell pretty good, but not like he did last time,” Said Nacho Huizar, who will co=promote the fight along with Morales, referring to Morales’ onetime position as a significant pay-per-view attraction.

“After I heard he was going to come back, he called me and begged me to be his partner,” Huizar said. “It’s an honor to me for him to pick me. If I don’t do it, somebody else will.”

Morales-Alfaro will be televised in the United States via Integrated Sports pay-per-view.

“We’ll see what happens,” said Huizar, who said he promoted Morales’ first five pro fights before Morales went on to become a major star under the guidance of co-promoters Top Rank and Fernando Beltran’s Zanfer Promotions.

“That’s it,” Morales said at the time of his loss to then WBC Lightweight champion David Diaz . “No more fighting. I am done. Too many punches, particularly to the head area.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Allan Green will replace Jermain Taylor in Showtime’s Super Six Middleweight boxing classing and will face Andre Ward on April 17th.

Green was rumored for a February 5th bout with Sakio Bika as a “Box Off” to enter the tournament but plans were scrapped.

“It’s a great opportunity for him to be in the Super Six,” Said Green’s promoter Lou DiBella. “He was ready and willing and able to do the fight with Bika. It didn’t happen, and I think there are actually a lot of people breathing a sigh of relief — Showtime and Ward’s people — because the turnaround from Feb. 5 to April 17 was very quick considering the nature of how Allan and Bika fight. The chances of them coming out of the fight without a scratch was unlikely, which would have messed up the April schedule.”

“It wasn’t like it was planned for Allan to take over for Jermain,” DiBella said. “Had we not had the tournament available for us, we were in consideration to fight [titleholder] Lucian Bute [in April]. Allan would have had other opportunities. That said, I think Allan is the right guy for the spot.

“An American had dropped out and Allan was the best American 168-pounder that wasn’t already in the tournament.”

“He has the Mighty Thor tattooed on his arm because he’s a big puncher and carries the hammer of Thor,” DiBella said. “He’s a big puncher and that’s his great equalizer. Ward is a tremendously talented boxer but if you get hit flush by Green, you’re going to have problems, and I think that will be a real issue for Andre. That will make it an interesting fight.”

“He has a disadvantage, but he has that great ability to get the three points in any fight as well as anyone in the tournament outside of Abraham,” DiBella said. “He was prepared to fight his way into the tournament by fighting Bika and the cancellation of that fight gave him the opportunity to walk in. Now it’s up to him to take advantage of that opportunity.”

Juan Manuel Lopez became a two division world champion after scoring a jaw dropping seventh round stoppage over WBO Featherweight titleholder Steven Lueveno. After a slow opening round where both men mostly took their time, Lopez took control. With upwards of 5,000 Puerto Rican supporters cheering him on at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, Lopez landed a number of solid uppercuts, body shots and straight left hands in close quarters.

The counter punching Lueveno surprisingly tried to make it a dog fight and was able to land a few head shots, but ultimately ended up paying the price for not sticking to his game plan. Lopez thoroughly dominated the sixth, where Lueveno’s punch out dramatically decreased.

With a gassed opponent in front of him in round seven, Lopez badly rocked Lueveno with a hard uppercut before dropping him on his back with a left hook. Lueveno stood up on shaky legs, forcing referee Benji Esteves to stop the contest 44 seconds in.

“JuanMa looked spectacular. He did what he had to do and he beat a great champion with six title defenses”, Said Ivan Rivera, who is Lopez co-promoter with PR Boxing

“We are looking to make our first title defense in Puerto Rico in May and the Gamboa fight will happen down the line — Matt Yanofsky

Yuriorkis Gamboa retained his WBA “Regular” Featherweight title after demolishing tough Philadelphia based Tanzanian Rogers “The Tiger” Mtagwa inside of two rounds. From the opening moments of the fight, Gamboa’s advantage in speed and athleticism was evident. The 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist tagged Mtagwa with a number of clean head shots in the opening stanza en route to scoring a flash knockdown with a perfectly timed left hook.

Gamboa blitzed Mtagwa in round two, decking him hard with another left hook. The game Mtagwa did all he could to survive the rest of the round, but a combination from the rapidly improving Gamboa sent him crumbling to the canvas, forcing referee Steve Smoger to call a halt to the contest at 2:35.

Gamboa, of Miami, FL via Cuba, improves to 17-0 (15 KO’s), while Mtagwa drops to 25-14-2 (18 KO’s).–Matt Yanofsky

Popular Middleweight “Irish” John Duddy needed just 115 seconds to dismantle Juan Astorga in a bout scheduled for eight rounds.

Duddy dropped Astorga with what looked like a left to the top of the head on a punch that did not look like a telling blow. Duddy emphatically put Astorga down for a second and final time as he dropped Astorga with a vicious left hand to the body. Astorga was in pain and the referee stopped his count at five with Astorga riving on pain in the ground.

Duddy, 160 1/2 lbs of New York, NY is now 28-1 with eighteen knockouts. Astorga, 159 1/2 lbs of Lee’s Summitt, MO is now 14-4-1.

Junior Middleweight rising star Pawel “Raging Bull” Wolak scored a one-sided eight round unanimous decision over Ishmail Arvin. Wolak pressured Arvin from bell to bell, tagging the Baltimore, MD native with crisp shots to both the body and the head. Arvin showed tremendous heart and refused to back down, but Wolak, who also showed improved head movement, simply had too much. Scores were 80-72 and 79-73 twice.

“This was a tough fight” said Wolak, a Mount Arlington, NJ native who improved to 26-1 with 18 knockouts with the victory. “He was a physical fighter and landed some good shots so I owe him all the credit in the world for coming to fight and I am ready for whoever is next.”

Arvin drops to 15-2-4 (7 KO’s) with the defeat.

Jr. Welterweight Chris Algieri was bloodied but that didint deter him from pounding out a six round unanimous decision over James Hope.

Algieri continued to come forward despite the blood leaking from his nose and landed some solid left hooks against the game Hope.

Algieri, 140 1/2 lbs of Huntington, NY won by scores of 59-55, 58-56 and 58-56 to stay undefeated at 10-0. Hope, 141 1/4 lbs of Rock Hill, SC is now 4-4.

Exciting featherweight prospect Jorge “Kid” Diaz, of Jersey City, NJ upped his record to 11-0 (7 KO’s) after demolishing Denver, CO’s Tommy Atencio in 87 seconds. Diaz dropped Atencio, 4-4 (2 KO’s), hard with an overhand right and again with a solid body, which ended Atencio’s night.

“I went into the fighting looking to box” said Diaz, who scored a jaw dropping knockout against 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Yan Barthelemy the last time he fought at Madison Square Garden. “I caught him hard with that right hand, so the opening was there to end it early”.

According to Diaz’ manager Pat Lynch, Diaz will return March 20 in Florida.

Queens, NY’s Will Rosinsky improved to 10-0 (6 KO’s) after scoring a workmanlike four round decision over durable Markas Gonazlez of Kansas City, KS. Rosinsky, a multi time Golden Gloves champion, landed a number of good body shots and straight right hands. To his credit, Gonzalez never gave up and pressured Rosinsky from bell to bell. Scores were 40-35 and 40-36 twice. With the defeat, Gonzalez drops to 7-3 (4 KO’s).

Local favorite Tommy Rainone used a second round knockdown to facilitate a four round unanimous decision over Gerardo Cesar Prieto.

Rainone dropped Prieto with a straight left hand and coasted down the stretch as he moved out of dodge from any of Prieto’s offense.

Scores were 40-35; 39-36; and 39-36 for Rainone, 148 lbs of Plain View, NY and is now 13-3. Prieto, 147 lbs of Provo, UT is now 6-8-1.

Former Puerto Rican Olympan, Carlos Negron scored a six round unanimous decision over Garrett Wilson in a Ccruiserweight bout.

Negron battered the game Wilson as he landed numerous body punches and when he went to the head he drew blood from the nose of Wilson as early as round three. Wilson would leap inm and try to land the one scoring blow that would turn the fight around but that didn’t happen as Negron used almost a one foot height advantage to easily avoid any of Wilson’s big shots.

Wilson, 181 lbs of San Juan, Puerto Rico won by scores of 60-54 on all cards is now 7-0. Wilosn, 178 1/2 lbs of Philadelphia is now 7-3.

Photos by Chris Farina of Top Rank

After Shane Mosley and Andre Berto had their bout canceled for next Saturday night in Las Vegas, a solid undercard was also postponed but one of the main fights has found a home as Yusaf Mack will now battle Glen Johnson in an IBF Light Heavyweight elimination bout on February 5th in Miami in a bout that will be televised by ESPN 2.

Mack 25-2-2 with seventeen knockouts of Philadelphia will be looking to secure a title shot but the former champion Johnson, 49-13-2 with thirty-three knockouts will be standing in his way in front of Johnson’s adopted hometwon fans in Miami.

When reached for comment, Mack’s co-manager Rory Donadio told 15rounds.com, “Team Mack want’s to thank (ESPN Boxing Czar) Doug Loughary for pulling a rabbit out of his hat to make this fight possible”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, an exciting co-feature has been added to the potentially epic fourth bout between Israel Vasquez and Rafael Marquez as Yonnhy Perez will make the first defense of the IBF Bantamweight titlle when he takes on the undefeated and highly regarded Abner Mares on May 22nd at Staples Center in Los Angeles

“I think it’s a great opening fight for that main event and the right fight for that arena,” said Gary Shaw, Perez’s co-promoter. “I think it’s a 50-50 fight.”

“I believe if you’re going to preach and talk about doing what’s best for boxing, then you have to do what’s right,” Shaw said. “Yonnhy has an optional defense and I could have put him in easier [company], but what does that do for him or for boxing? If Yonnhy loses and it’s a great fight, which I expect it to be, he’s still very viable. If he wins, he’s bigger.”

Frank Espinoza, Mares’ manager, told ESPN.com that their side has agreed to the fight but that the 24-year-old Mares would take a tune-up fight in March. He said he’s working out the specifics of the tune-up with Golden Boy.

“We like the fight and we’ve agreed to the fight,” said Espinoza, who also manages Vazquez. “We have to finalize the contract but I don’t foresee any problems. It’s a fantastic opening fight. It’s going to be quite a doubleheader. We’re going to take a fight in March and then go ahead and fight in May. That’s what we need to do.

“Abner needs a tune-up fight to get the rust and kinks out. It’s always dangerous because you never know what will happen, but it’s more dangerous for a guy going in there with so much inactivity. We want to get him in shape, get the kinks out and prepare him to fight Perez. Abner really wants the fight. It’s his time. He’s been waiting and he wants to do it in L.A. in front of his hometown. He’s really excited and pumped up for it.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former WBO Jr. Welterweight champion Kendall Holt will take on Kaizer Mabuza on February 27 in Atlantic City.

The bout will be part of of Top Rank’s new Fox Sports “Top Rank Live” series on but is not expected to be televised and will take place before the broadcast begins which will be headlined by Philadelphia super Prospect Mike Jones taking on Henry Bruseles.

The winner will be due a mandatory title shot against the winner of the March 6 Devon Alexander-Juan Urango 140-pound unification fight, although the match won’t necessarily be next for the Holt-Mabuza winner.

“I think this fight will re-establish Kendall because he’s fighting for the No. 1 spot [according to the IBF],” said Brandon Jacobs, the New York Giants running back who manages Holt. “I think he’ll go through this guy pretty easily and the whoever wins the Alexander-Urango fight will have to come forward and fight him. We want one of the belts.”

If Holt (25-3, 13 KOs) wins and the title fight isn’t made immediately, which is possible since the IBF mandatory won’t yet be due, Top Rank’s Bob Arum, Holt’s promoter, and Jacobs said he could next face contender Lamont Peterson on the undercard of the proposed Yuri Foreman-Miguel Cotto junior middleweight title bout.

Minneapolis, MN- One of Minnesota’s most heralded prospects, and former amateur national champion Javontae Starks(2-0 2 ko’s) is slated to box for the first time in his hometown on February 5 at First Avenue night club when he takes on Matt Ellis (1-1).

After fighting twice at Grand Casino Hinckley Starks’ third pro bout will be his first in his native Minneapolis. While his first bout in the Twin Cities is an exciting prospect Starks’ focus in the professionals is to compete at the same level he did in the amateurs, the national and world stage.

“I’m willing to fight the best in Minnesota, but my sights are on the national scene, and putting Minnesota on the boxing map”

Starks made a name for himself nationally in the amateurs, reaching a number one ranking at welterweight, and competing for team U.S.A. on numerous occasions. Two fights into his anticipated professional career Starks has been explosive, stopping Dan Copp in round two, and Andrew Kato in the first round.

Starks’ bout will serve as a co-feature to Minnesota middleweight champion Andy Kolle’s return against Pat Coleman. “Friday Night Fights at First Avenue” will be an 18+ event. Tickets are priced 25$, 35$, and 100$ and are available at www.first-avenue.com/event/4478/friday-night-fights-first-avenue

See all the photos from Tuesday’s Press conference at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas to announce the big fight that will take place between WBO Welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao and former IBF Joshua Clottey

PHILADELPHIA (JANURY 18TH, 2010)—On Friday night, February 5th, USBA Jr. Middleweight champion, Derek “Pooh” Ennis will battle Edwin Vazquez in a special eight round Jr. Middleweight bout.

The fight will highlight a night of boxing promoted by Vernoca L. Michael and Blue Horizon Boxing Inc. as the world’s number-one boxing venue presents the annual “Valentine’s Day Special”

This bout was originally scheduled to take place on January 15th at The Arena in Philadelphia but was pushed back due to an ankle injury suffered by Ennis.

Ennis, 19-2-1 with twelve knockouts won the USBA Jr. Middleweight title with a tremendous back and forth brawl as he won a hard fought twelve round unanimous decision over Eromosele Albert on October 16th and The Legendary Blue Horizon.

Ennis and Albert exchanged hard combinations in close and the near-sellout crowd at The Legendary Blue Horizon was entertained as the fight was one of the best in Philadelphia in the past few years.

Ennis won by scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113 in the bout for which most ringside observers thought could have gone either way.

That win catapulted Ennis into the world rankings as he is now ranked number-thirteen by the IBF.

The win over Albert was Ennis’ seventh straight victory and he holds win over Albert (22-3-1), John Mackey (11-3-2) and Troy Browning (20-2-1) in that streak.

This will be Ennis fourth appearance at The Legendary Blue Horizon (3-0, 2 KO’s) with his most recent bout being the classic fight with Albert.

Vazquez is a seventeen year veteran and has a record of 22-14-2 with eight knockouts.

The native of Santurce, Puerto Rico has been in with some of the biggest names in boxing as evidenced by a resume that includes fights with former world title challengers, Demetrius Hopkins, Antonio Diaz, former WBO Jr. Welterweight champion Ricardo Torres, Matthew Hatton, and former Undisputed Welterweight champion Zab Judah.

Vazquez won the WBA Fedecaribe Welterweight title with a twelve round unanimous decision over Jose Correa (13-1) on March 23, 2007 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Local fans may remember Vazquez last appearance in the area as he lost a razor thin unanimous decision to Eric Mitchell (20-4-1) on March 15, 2008 in Sewell, New Jersey in a bout that was for the IBC Continental-America’s title.

The fight was controversial as Vazquez was deducted a point in round three for a low blow. If not for that deduction the fight would have been a draw.

In an exciting eight round co-feature, Loren Myers of Fresno, California will square off against former world title challenger Israel “Pito” Cardona.

Myers quickly became a fan favorite at The Legendary Blue Horizon after his last outing on December 4th when he battled Gee Cullmer (16-1) to one of the most controversial draws in recent memory. It was a fight where most ringsiders thought Myers dominated and should have had his hand raised and the out of towner received a standing ovation from The Blue Horizon crowd.

Myers of Fresno, California has a record of 7-7-1 with two knockouts and is coming off that disputed draw on December 4th at The Legendary Blue Horizon.

Cardona of Hartford, Connecticut brings in a record of 36-10 with twenty-eight wins coming by knockouts.

Cardona is a seventeen year veteran and raced out to a record of 17-0 with thirteen knockouts before winning the IBO International Super Featherweight title with a twelve round unanimous decision over Jeff Mayweather. Cardona made two title defenses over Mike Capiello (29-4) and Steve Larrimore (24-17).

Cardona lost a split decision to former world champion Charles “The Natural” Murray (39-4) before winning the USBA Lightweight championship with a stunning third round stoppage over Ivan Robinson (23-1).

Cardona made two defenses of that crown before adding the NABF championship with a twelve round split decision over Golden Johnson (15-1-2).

After scoring a seventh round stoppage over Joel Perez (24-2-2), Cardona lost in his only world title shot when he dropped a twelve round unanimous decision to Paul Spadafora.

After that title bout, Cardona went 3-3 in his next six bout before a four year hiatus.

When Cardona returned from that break he scored two quick knockouts before four consecutive losses to top guys such as Juan Buendia (13-1); Mike Jones (11-0); Antonin Decarie (17-0) and his last bout a very close unanimous decision to Hector Camacho Jr. (48-3-1) on August 29 in Cleveland.

In an eight round Featherweight bout, top prospect Eric “The Outlaw” Hunter (11-1, 4 KO’s) of Philadelphia will take on an opponent to be named.

In a four round Heavyweight bout, Former World Jr. Amateur champion Joey Dewejko (1-0) will make his long awaited Philadelphia debut when he takes on Damon Clement (0-2) of Ohio in a four round bout.

In a four round Welterweight bout, Ronald Cruz (7-0, 4 KO’s) of Bethlehem, PA will take on an opponent to be named.

In a four round Heavyweight bout, Tim Johnson (4-1, 2 KO’s) of Philadelphia will take on Patrick Budd (2-1, 1 KO) of Dumfries, VA

John Bolden (1-0, 1 KO) of New York will battle Ricardo Johnson (1-0) of Cincinnati, OH in a four round Heavyweight affair.

In a four round Ladies Welterweight bout, Jackie Davis (3-0, 1 KO) of Philadelphia will take on debuting Tanya Martinez of Colorado Springs, CO

Undefeated Swedish Heavyweight, Andres Gustafson (3-0, 1 KO) of Norrkoping, Sweden will take on Levay King (0-1) in a four round bout.

Debuting Clemente Bethea of Philadelphia will take on Henry Northan (0-1) of Philadelphia in a Jr. Welterweight bout scheduled for four rounds.

Tickets are going fast for this exciting boxing event. The perfect pre-Valentine gift for your boxing enthusiast.

Ticket prices for this great night of boxing are $200 for Queen Seating, $125 for Presidential Seats, $65 for VIP Seating, $55 for Ringside Seating and $45 for General Admission Seating. Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-763-0500 or through PayPal by clicking here. Doors open at 6:30 PM / First Bout begins at 7:30 P.M.

The Legendary Blue Horizon™

1314 North Broad Street in Philadelphia, PA

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, After the recent withdraw by Andre Berto for next week;s Welterweight unification bout with Shane Mosley, representatives for Floyd Mayweather have indicated that Mayweather would be ready for a fight with Mosley this Spring.

“I know everyone is rushing to make this fight with Mosley, but I want people to know that Floyd feels awful for Berto and his family for what they and their country are going through,” Said Maywethaer’s close advisor Leonard Ellerbe . “That is first and foremost. But if, in fact, Shane Mosley is available, that’s the fight that Floyd would love to make. It’s no secret that Floyd has been trying to make a fight with Shane for the last 10 years.

“Our condolences go out to Berto and his family because that is the human side of this. Everyone is talking about us making a fight with Mosley, but Floyd wants people to know that his prayers — all of ours — are with Berto. But he also wants people to know that he is ready to fight Mosley. That’s the fight he wants more than anything. And Floyd has instructed me and Al [Haymon, Mayweather’s other adviser] to make the biggest fight possible. We will be talking with [Golden Boy CEO] Richard [Schaefer]. Floyd against Shane is the biggest fight in boxing right now that can be made.”

According to Schaefer, he has the MGM Grand Garden Arena on hold for May 1 and May 8. Ellerbe said that time frame is fine with Mayweather for a fight with Mosley.

“Most definitely,” Ellerbe said. “Shane is a great fighter and if a deal could be made, Shane would be the toughest fight out there. That fight is tougher than the other fight [Pacquiao-Mayweather]. It’s a mega fight if it can be made.”

Photos of Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey arriving in Dallas, Texas for the press conference tomorrow to announce their March 13th bout

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the much anticipated Welterweight unification bout between Shane Mosley and Andre Berto scheduled for next Saturday in Las Vegas has been canceled due to Berto’s focus being on the recent tragic earthquake that took place last week’s in Haiti which is where Berto and his family are originally from.

The cancellation of the fight could lead to Mosley instead defending his title against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the spring.

“Since the 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti on Tuesday evening, I have been focusing on my family and the Haitian people who are facing an inconceivable battle for survival while still trying to continue to prepare for an opportunity I have dreamt of since childhood,” Berto said in a statement. “I lost several family members to the earthquake and, after two days without word, was relieved to learn that my sister, Naomi, and her daughter, Jessica, survived, but were left homeless. I have seen the pain in my parents’ eyes as they attempt to understand what has happened to our homeland and recognize a place they once called home.

“As a result of this disaster, I am mentally and physically exhausted and, therefore, I have no choice but to withdraw from my bout on January 30.”

Berto lost at least eight family members in the disaster.

“Throughout the past six days, I have received an incredible outpouring of support, and I sincerely appreciate everyone’s prayers for the people of Haiti,” Berto said. “I hope that everyone will continue to keep the Haitian people in their thoughts and prayers as we work to rebuild this proud nation. The rebuilding of Haiti is not something that will happen overnight, but I am fully dedicated to helping the Haitian people recover from this catastrophic event.”

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, who promotes Mosley, said he told Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs) about the cancellation of the fight, and he was understanding.

“It’s just a very unfortunate situation,” Schaefer said. “This is unbelievable. Everyone has seen the pictures from Haiti and followed this devastating situation. We all feel very bad for Andre. We know where his focus needs to be and that is with his family and his people. I talked to Shane. Obviously, he shares the sentiment. He feels bad for Andre and understands. But at the same time he is disappointed because he is in amazing shape with two weeks to go, and now this fight fell out. He is not happy about it, but he fully understands the situation. We just wish the best for Andre Berto.”

The cancellation may pen the door for a mega showdown between Mosley and Floyd Mayweather

“That is a super fight, and now my next order of business — to see if we can put [Mosley-Mayweather] together,” Schaefer said. “That is what I am going to be doing in the coming hours. The sooner the better if we can get this potential fight done. With Shane now being available and Floyd being available, that’s a fight all fight fans and sports fans would embrace. This would be a huge showdown. Shane has wanted that fight for a while. That’s what I am going to try to do.”

“I think he made a correct decision for himself,” said Lou DiBella, Berto’s promoter throughout his professional career. “Your mental health and physical health are more important than one fight. I know that Andre has been in agony since this happened. He has been really struggling. He is mentally and physically exhausted and I don’t think he’s been sleeping. He’s been torn about whether to fight and had to make this decision. I think he’s going to go to Haiti next week.

“It’s the right decision. It’s impossible to watch those pictures from Haiti even if you’re not Haitian. But he and his family and his parents are suffering. It hits very close to home. How could any human being focus under those circumstances? I’m glad for Andre that he made this decision for himself.”

“Not one person involved in the promotion had any negative response to this decision,” DiBella said. “Everyone empathizes with Andre and his whole family. The young man’s well-being outweighs any one fight.”

HBO’s Kery Davis echoed DiBella.

“Andre Berto is a terrific athlete and an even better person,” Davis said. “We can only imagine the pain the earthquake has caused the entire Berto family. Our thoughts and prayers are with Andre and we hope to have him back on HBO when he is ready to return to the ring.”

Manny Pacquiao arriving in Los Angeles for the upcoming press tour to promote his March 13 bout with Joshua Clottey

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank