RSSRodney Jones
Friday, February 02, 2007
EEC - February 2, 2007
Happy Groundhog Day everybody! We have a busy weekend ahead of us…
News, Notes, and Rumors:
- The WBC announced yesterday that it has stripped the WBC Flyweight Title from Omar Nino because Nino has tested positive for methamphetamine according to post-fight testing results done after his November 18th bout against Brian Viloria.
Ironically Viloria and Edgar Sosa will fight for the title in the coming months. The winner of that bout will then have to face Nino who has been giving number one contender status since he was unaware that the drug had been put into his system.
“In light of the fact that the WBC believes that Nino did not voluntarily commit this infraction and considering that his clean record has won him the trust of this organization ... we are declaring that Nino will be the challenger for whoever is the new champion,” a WBC statement said.
- The Saint Louis Post-Dispatch is reporting that Felix Trinidad will be at ringside to watch Cory Spinks fight Rodney Jones this weekend. He’s just going to see a decent bout, right? Not exactly…
Spink’s trainer, Kevin Cunningham, has confirmed that Trinidad will be at ringside with Don King to scout Spinks as a possible opponent in the near future…
“Don’s bringing Felix Trinidad in for this fight,” Cunningham said. “He might come out of retirement. Fernando Vargas is another possibility. But my thing is this: We want to keep chugging away, keep grinding. And eventually that big marquee fight will be there for us. And hopefully we can bring another big fight back to St. Louis.’’
- Paulie Malignaggi will be the in-studio guest for ESPN’s Friday Night Fights this evening…
Weekend Fights
Friday -
Zuri Lawrence vs Dominick Guinn - Rochester, New York - Heavyweight (ESPN 2)
James Kirkland vs Billy Lyell - Santa Ynez, California - Junior Middleweight (Showtime)
Timothy Bradley vs Manuel Garnica - Santa Ynez, California - Junior Welterweight (Showtime)
Saturday -
Tomasz Adamek vs Chad Dawson - Kissimmee, Florida - WBC Light Heavyweight Title (Showtime)
Jesus Chavez vs Julio Diaz - Kissimmee, Florida - IBF Lightweight Title (Showtime)
Cory Spinks vs Rodney Jones - Kissimmee, Florida - IBF Junior Middleweight Title (Showtime)
Laila Ali vs Gwendolyn O’Neil - Kempton Park, South Africa - Women’s Super Middleweight Title
Sunday -
Naoufel Ben Rabah vs Lovemore Ndou - Sydney, Australia - IBF Junior Welterweight Title Eliminator
Paul Briggs vs Andre Thysse - Sydney, Australia - Light Heavyweight
Sakio Bika vs Rupert Van Aswegen - Sydney, Australia - Super Middleweight
Some Good Reads
Boxing Scene: Chasing Marciano’s Ghost: What’s in a Record?
MaxBoxing: Friday Night Fights Shuffle
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Thursday, January 18, 2007
Don King’s ‘Super Saturday’ Lands in Kissimmee, Florida
Don King Productions’ “Super Saturday” boxing card featuring three world championships will stay in Florida and take place on Feb. 3 at the Silver Spurs Arena at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida.
The event, originally slated for Miami, will now make history as the biggest fight card ever in the greater Orlando area featuring three world championship matches: undefeated World Boxing Council light heavyweight champion Tomasz “Goral” Adamek will defend his crown against fellow unbeaten and WBC No. 2-ranked contender “Bad” Chad Dawson; International Boxing Federation lightweight champion Jesus “The Matador” Chavez will face IBF interim 135-pound champion Julio “The Kidd” Diaz; and Cory “The Next Generation” Spinks will make a mandatory defense of his IBF junior middleweight title against IBF No. 1-ranked “Smooth” Rodney Jones.
Continue reading "Don King’s ‘Super Saturday’ Lands in Kissimmee, Florida"
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Friday, January 12, 2007
Showtime, Don King Card Needs New Venue After Check Bounces
Don King and officials from Showtime held a press conference yesterday to announce offically announce their February 3rd card which we announced last Friday. However the two parties ran into a problem…
A $500,000 check from an arena official to help jump start the event bounced yesterday and now King and Showtime are without an arena to host the event.
The bad news: There’s only three weeks until the event is supposed to take place and finding an arena may sound a lot easier than it seems at this point.
“We’re looking for a home,” King said. “This is a terrible embarrassment for me and a blow. I’m throwing out an all-points bulletin. We’re looking for a home for this fight.”
There were three title fights scheduled to be on the card: Tomasz Adamek vs Chad Dawson, Jesus Chavez vs Julio Diaz, and Cory Spinks vs Rodney Jones
Tickets for the event have been on sale for over a week now.
“We had a signed contract and everything was running smoothly,” King said. “Then the check we deposited for $500,000 was returned and stamped insufficient funds. As of now, there’s no room at the inn and no money in the bank. Welcome to the promotion business. We’re in a critical situation, but we’re going to save it for the great state of Florida,” King said. “Prayerfully, this card will be staged here in Florida.”
But what if they can’t find an arena in Florida? Despite a big problem with people who already bought tickets, getting the event out of Florida might not be such a bad idea, especially with the freaking Super Bowl being held the very next day…
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