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Thursday, September 06, 2007
Vargas-Mayorga Rescheduled for November 23
LOS ANGELES — Fans that have already purchased nearly $1 million worth of tickets to see a boxing match featuring “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas vs. Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sept. 8 will now be able to put those tickets to use on the rescheduled date of Friday, Nov. 23.
Vargas’s doctor ordered him on Aug. 25 to not participate in the highly anticipated match’s original date to take the necessary weeks of treatment to correct an iron deficiency. Vargas health has already improved to the point he is “chomping at the bit” to get back to full training, which will occur in about three weeks.
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Sunday, August 26, 2007
Vargas-Mayorga Postponed
LOS ANGELES - Fans that have already purchased nearly $1 million worth of tickets to see a boxing match destined to be sold out featuring “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas vs. Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sept. 8 will have to wait for the bout to be rescheduled after a routine blood test by Vargas on Friday revealed a severe iron deficiency.
Vargas’ doctor ordered him to not participate in the highly anticipated match and to take the necessary weeks of treatment to correct the problem.
Promoters of the event Don King Productions and Main Events in association with Staples Center will notify the public as soon as a rescheduled date can be confirmed.
Vargas (26-4, 22 KOs) is a two-time world champion and Mayorga (27-6-1, 22 KOs) is a three-time world champion. Their upcoming bout had been aptly dubbed “The Brawl” after a highly contentious confrontation between the fighters erupted at the initial press conference announcing the event in Los Angeles and again at a subsequent press conference in New York.
Further information on the rescheduled date and refund policy will be made available in the coming days.
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Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Gatti-Gomez Conference Call Quotes
The following is a summary of the media conference call that took place earlier today discussing the upcoming bout between Arturo Gatti and Alfonso Gomez on July 14th at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ courtesy of Main Events.
Featured on the conference call are Gatti, Gomez, Main Events CEO Kathy Duva, and Executive Producer of The Contender, Jeff Wald.
Continue reading "Gatti-Gomez Conference Call Quotes"
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Wednesday, May 23, 2007
De La Hoya Picks Ibragimov Over Briggs
LOS ANGELES – Sultan Ibragimov is ready to put his unbeaten record up for grabs against the WBO Heavyweight Champion, Shannon Briggs, on Saturday, June 2nd at Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ.
The high-impact 12-round showdown is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Seminole Warriors Boxing Promotions in association with Caesar’s Atlantic City, Nafta Moskya, Golden Grain, CSI Sports, Global Advertising and Main Events. The fight will be shown on Pay-Per-View and begins at 9:00 pm ET/ 6:00 pm PT.
Ibragimov is one of the hottest talents in the heavyweight division, and experts as well as his Russian supporters believe he has the ability to beat the current champion in this long-awaited match up. The championship fight was originally scheduled for March 10, but was postponed after Briggs suffered from an pneumonia.
“We’re confident that Sultan Ibragimov is the next heavyweight champion of the world, and we’re eager to see him beat Shannon Briggs and put the championship belt around his waist,” said Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya.
“He dominated Javier Mora with a quick 46-second knockout in the first round of his last fight, and we know he is ready for his fight against Briggs,” continued De La Hoya.
A 2000 Olympic Silver medalist for Russia, Sultan Ibragamov (20-0-1, 17 KO’s) turned pro in 2002 with a first round knockout of Tracy Williams - in fact, his first four fights ended in opening round victories. He won the WBO Asia-Pacific title in October of 2004 with a third-round knockout against Najee Shaheed. He defended that crown six times.
He has also defeated former world champion Al Cole and contenders Lance Whitaker and Zuri Lawrence.
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Thursday, April 26, 2007
Welterweight Mania!
Woooooooooooo!
HBO will be televising a split-site tripleheader on July 14th. What? Yeah, I’ve never heard of such a thing either but here goes nothin’...
Three welterweight bouts will be televised on HBO that night:
The opening bout will be Kermit Cintron defending his IBF Welterweight Title for the first time against Walter Matthysse from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. The second bout will feature the uber-popular Arturo Gatti, fighting for the ninth straight time in Atlantic City, in a 10-round affair against former Contender star Alfonso Gomez.
The final bout of the night will be Antonio Margarito making the 8th straight defense of his WBO Welterweight Title against mandatory challenger Paul Williams. A location for Margarito-Williams has not yet been selected but officials have stated that the possible location has been narrowed down to two sites: The Home Depot Center in Carson, CA or the Gibson Amphitheater in Universal City, CA.
Apparently Gatti’s camp was very picky over who his next opponent would be and it caused quite the delay in getting a deal between HBO and Main Events completed:
HBO and Main Events had spent the last few weeks locked in a disagreement over Gatti’s opponent. The network had pared its wish list down to having Gatti fight either former lightweight titlist Paul Spadafora, who is 2-0 on a comeback, or Steve Forbes, another former “Contender” star and former junior lightweight titlist who lost a highly controversial decision to Demetrius Hopkins last month in an exciting fight.
Gatti’s team didn’t like either style for him and preferred lesser opponents such as Dmitriy Salita or Edgar Santana, neither of whom HBO would approve.
HBO gave Main Events a tentative OK on Gomez earlier this month and it made a deal with his handlers. But a few days later, on April 7, “Contender” first-season runner up Peter Manfredo—who had lost a rematch to Gomez on the series—was wiped out in three rounds by super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe. That loss gave HBO second thoughts about using another untested “Contender” boxer against Gatti in the final fight of his HBO contract.
However, when the Margarito-Williams fight came together and Cintron-Matthysse, another potentially explosive fight, was pitched for the telecast, HBO agreed to take Gomez. With Gatti’s HBO contract coming to an end, Main Events also agreed to give HBO the right of first negotiation and a matching right on his next fight.
I’m not surprised that they were so selective of Gatti’s foe. If he loses one more time, he’s pretty much done fighting-wise and HBO most likely won’t sign him to a new deal.
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Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Hopkins Not Against Fighting Holyfield
Bernard Fernandez of the Philadelphia Daily News interviewed Bernard Hopkins at a recent awards dinner and asked him about the possibility of taking on Evander Holyfield later this year. Hopkins gave an interesting answer:
“You just put a fight together. It’d be two legends going up against one another. It would be a chance for Bernard Hopkins to prove he can hang with a bona fide heavyweight, and one of the greatest of my era,” Hopkins said.
Fernandez also spoke with Main Events’ Kathy Duva who is currently serving as Holyfield’s promoter. Duva seemed to have no doubts about putting the two together and stated that if Holyfield wanted the fight then it would happen. She also stated that Holyfield has a lot more to lose in taking the fight than Hopkins does…
“Oh, my God, I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work,” Duva said. “It would certainly be a moneymaker. Both of them are brands. You put brands together, it’s called pay-per-view. I can’t speak for Evander, but if he said, ‘Let’s do it,’ I’ll be there with bells on. Frankly, I think it’d be worth more than a lot of heavyweight title fights. From a marketing standpoint, it’s beautiful.”
“Evander would have a lot more to lose than Hopkins,” Duva said. “That is something that would have to be taken into consideration. If you look back, Evander’s always had a harder time with small heavyweights. Some of his worst nights came against guys like Chris Byrd and Bert Cooper, who weren’t that big. But seeing how mobile and quick he was against Maddalone . . . it was like watching the Evander of 15 years ago. I couldn’t believe it.”
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Monday, March 26, 2007
Rumor: Holyfield’s Next Fight in Calgary?
Rumors are swirling that not only will Evander Holyfield’s next fight not be in Texas, the state where he has fought the last three fights of his comeback, but that it won’t even be in the USA…
Holyfield is expected to return to action at some point in June. His promotional company, Main Events is said to be attempting to bring Holyfield’s next bout to Calgary, Alberta, Canada against an opponent that has yet to be named.
Be sure to stay here for any updates on this…
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Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Holmes Calls Out Brock and HBO Among Others
An irate Donnell Holmes (25-0) has sent the following message to Calvin Brock, HBO, and Main Events, issuing a challenge and addressing some longstanding issues that began over a decade ago during their amateur career.
Holmes has grown weary of being ignored by the main stream media that in his words formed a bias against North Carolina fighters placing them below the competent level to challenge for a title. That is except for Calvin Brock.
“This is a message from Donnell “The Real Touch of Sleep” Holmes. First of all I want the world to know I am not in the business of calling people out. But because of remarks Mr. Arrogant Calvin Brock said about me last week, I think there are some things I need to address. First of all who cares that you beat me in the amateurs thirteen years ago. Which at the time you had ten years of experience as an amateur boxer and I only had five amateur fights. Second of all, I was proud of the success you were having in your pro career being another heavyweight boxer from my home state of NC. We were cool up until June when you got the Timor Ibragimov bout, then you turned into Mr. Arrogance.”
“I heard the remarks you said last week about I am nothing and that you are on top of the World, you would never fight me because you would be walking backwards. But your next fight is against Ralph West, with a record of 17-10. You don’t want to fight me because you would be on your back. “
“You and your arrogant daddy have always down talked me since the amateurs. But you still have your same slow, sloppy, falling down, all around the ring, amateur style. You are still lazy in the gym as you were in the amateurs. I have passed you years ago in skill level and experience due to the fact that I have paid my dues in the gym as a amateur and a pro sparring with the worlds best fighters, not like you, only sparring and training with guys that you could beat even on a bad day in the gym. “
“Sooner or later HBO will make you fight somebody, Main Events wont be able to protect you forever, matching you up with washed up has-been’s and wannabe’s. The media pumped you up way beyond the fighter you are and somewhere down the line you started believing it, stating you were the best heavyweight in the world when you aren’t even the best heavyweight out of NC.”
“For eight months you were too good to return my phone calls but funny you remembered my number to text message me that Calvin Brock travel junk. Gary Shaw is my promoter now, Main Events knows him well, so they can contact him anytime about a fight between you and I. And a word to HBO and Main Events, I am Donnell “The Real Touch of Sleep” Holmes, currently ranked number 8 by the WBC with a record of 25-0, I don’t feel like it would be making your fighter walk backwards to fight a credible opponent. That’s why boxing is going down today and no one wants to watch it because you take a sorry boxer like Calvin Brock, talk about how great he is then put him on TV versus a boxer that is more sorry than he is to make him look good. I’m coming off a one year lay off due to promotional problems with my former promoter and now that I have Gary Shaw working for me, we are going to hit the scene running, getting rid of the trash in the heavyweight division. “
“Hopefully starting with you, Mr. Arrogant Calvin Brock.”
“So here it is, for the people of HBO, Main Events, and Mr. Arrogant Calvin Brock and his daddy, I am calling you out!”
“Go ahead and get your Ralph West sparring session out the way. But I want everyone who reads this to see that I have all the credibility and that its no way you can go around calling yourself the best fighter in the heavyweight division, when you’re scared to fight a top ten fighter that you claim is not in your class. “
“So now Mr. Arrogant, Fat, Slow, and Sloppy, IT’S ON YOU! You’re so arrogant you think you can’t lose, so you fired your trainer when Klitschko beat you down. It wasn’t his fault that you were scared and stood right in front of a 6’6”, 240 lb man, that was stupid of you. My only question is who are you going to fire when I knock you out?”