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Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Lawrence to Replace Williams Against Rahman
Former world heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman of Baltimore, Md. will take on Zuri Lawrence of Wappingers Falls, N.Y. at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pa.
Rahman, 44-6-2, was scheduled to fight Sherman Williams but he came down with a very bad sore throat and flu-like symptons earlier this week. Lawrence has a record of 23-12-4. He has three straight wins and a year ago defeated contender Jameel McCline in Hollywood, Ca.
Rahman and Lawrence will weigh in today 3 pm at the Abraham Lincoln Wyndham Hotel, 5th Ave., Reading, Pa. The undercard will weigh at the hotel on Friday, 9 am.
This is an important bout for Rahman who is looking for a major bout in early 2008.
“The Rock has three straight wins, this fight tomorrow night against Zuri Lawrence and then Rock is looking for something major. We have some ideas which will we soon discuss with Bob Arum at Top Rank,” said Steve Nelson, the long-time manager of Rahman.
Rahman, trained by Marshall Kauffman, has looked strong and powerful while training at Kings Gym in Reading, Pa.
“I’ve taken Rock back to the basics - working on his jab, his right hand, right uppercuts, left uppercuts,” said Kauffman. “I am trying to incorporate a better defense for Rock. For example, I want him to roll from punches, catch his left hooks more and get back to continually working on the jab to set up his right hand. The biggest key is to just be consistent.”
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Monday, November 12, 2007
Williams Hopes to Derail Rahman
Big time boxing returns to the Sovereign Center in Reading, PA on Thursday, November 15th when Top Rank Promotions presents “Downtown Showdown,” featuring former two-time heavyweight champion Hasim “The Rock” Rahman against veteran Sherman “The Tank” Williams in a ten round main event.
The fight will be televised nationally on Versus “Fight Night Live,” hosted by Wally Matthews and Nick Charles.
Former champion Hasim Rahman (44-6-2, 35 KOs) is continuing his quest for another world title shot, having won his last three fights (two by knockout) since switching to Reading-based trainer Marshall Kauffman. With a win, Rahman is hoping to gain a shot at IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.
In 2001, Rahman captured the undisputed heavyweight title with a spectacular 5th round knockout of Lennox Lewis, only to lose the title in the rematch. Tough ring veteran Sherman Williams (33-10-2, 19 KOs) has won his last eight bouts in a row, including three by knockout. A native of the Bahamas, he has only been stopped once in his career.
Continue reading "Williams Hopes to Derail Rahman"
Monday, October 29, 2007
Rahman Returns on November 15 Against Williams
READING - Big time boxing returns to the Sovereign Center in Reading, PA on Thursday, November 15th when Top Rank Promotions presents “Downtown Showdown,” featuring former two-time heavyweight champion Hasim “The Rock” Rahman against veteran Sherman “The Tank” Williams in a ten round main event.
The fight will be televised nationally on Versus “Fight Night Live,” hosted by Wally Matthews and Bob Papa.
Former champion Hasim Rahman (44-6-2, 35 KOs) is continuing his quest for another world title shot, having won his last three fights (two by knockout) since switching to Reading-based trainer Marshall Kauffman. With a win, Rahman is hoping to gain a shot at IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.
In 2001, Rahman captured the undisputed heavyweight title with a spectacular 5th round knockout of Lennox Lewis, only to lose the title in the rematch. Tough ring veteran Sherman Williams (33-10-2, 19 KOs) has won his last eight bouts in a row, including three by knockout. A native of the Bahamas, he has only been stopped once in his career.
Continue reading "Rahman Returns on November 15 Against Williams"
Friday, August 24, 2007
Huerta Returns Against Hinojosa on Versus
STAMFORD – A night of lightweight action headlined by a 12-round showdown between Miguel Huerta (24-8, 17 Kos) and Efren Hinojosa (29-3-1, 17 KOs) for the vacant NABF Lightweight title will be featured on the next edition of Fight Night on VERSUS in collaboration with Top Rank Boxing, Thursday, August 30 at 9 p.m. ET from the Grand Plaza in Houston, Texas.
Huerta, a Mexico City native lost a controversial split decision to Kid Diamond in his last fight which was televised June 14 on VERSUS. Huerta took the action to Diamond and knocked him down in the 11th round with a left cross but came up short in the decision. He is currently ranked #12 by the WBC. The bout against Diamond was his only fight of 2007, but he stopped Antonio Ramirez via a sixth-round TKO in his previous fight on December 22, 2006. Hinojosa, originally from Mexico but now fighting out of Lakeside, California, last fought in December 2006, losing a unanimous 12-round decision to Nugaev Rustam in Russia.
Continue reading "Huerta Returns Against Hinojosa on Versus"
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Friday, June 08, 2007
Nick Charles to Call Rahman-Sykes
Nick Charles, one of boxing’s finest and most recognizable blow-by-blow announcers has joined Versus and will make his network debut on the next Fight Night on Versus in collaboration with Top Rank Boxing, Thursday, June 14 at 9 p.m. ET from the Main Street Armory in Rochester, New York.
Charles, the blow-by-blow voice of Showtime’s Shobox since 2001, replaces Bob Papa and will join Wallace Matthews to form the Versus Fight Night announce team. One of the original members of CNN, Charles began his career in the mid-70’s in Washington D.C. where he served as an anchor for CNN Sports for 21 years and won two Cable Ace Awards. The first fight he covered was the 1976 heavyweight championship bout between Muhammad Ali and Jimmy Young.
“We’re delighted to have someone with the reputation and experience of Nick Charles join our Versus Fight Night team,” said Marc Fein, Senior Vice President of Programming and Production for Versus. “Nick has been a ringside fixture at major boxing events and his professionalism and knowledge will provide our fans with great boxing insight during each Fight Night telecast.”
Versus’ June 14 Fight Night will be headlined by a 10-round heavyweight bout pitting former two-time WBC heavyweight champion Hasim “The Rock” Rahman (41-6-2, 33 KOs) against former NABA champion Taurus Sykes (25-3-1, 7 KOs). Rahman first emerged as a heavyweight champion when he knocked out Lennox Lewis in the fifth round of their first clash in 2001; but Lennox took the title back in their rematch.
Also featured will be Kid Diamond (24-1-1, 14 KOs), of Las Vegas in the NABF Lightweight Championship against Mexico City’s Miguel Angel Huerta (24-7-1, 17 KOs). Diamond, whose real name is Almzabek Raiymkulov, is a native of Kyrgystan. In his last fight, September 14, 2006 in Las Vegas, which was televised by Versus, Diamond scored a 7th round TKO against Jairo Ramirez.
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Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Report: Morrison Cleared to Fight on Thursday
According to various reports that are coming out, Tommy Morrison has been cleared to return to the ring after passing a slew of medical tests and will take on John Castle on Thursday night.
An official announcement regarding the matter is expected to take place later today…
The card that Morrison is fighting on will be televised on Versus. There hasn’t been any indication as of yet if they will move his bout up in order to be televised.
Update 4:33 PM: It’s looking like the fight is not going to be televised at this point. Top Rank has moved the press conference discussing Morrison’s return to tomorrow.
Update 6:00 PM: A little media roundup for you…
ESPN: Morrison medically cleared to fight Thursday
Deadspin: Eventually, The Running Man Will Become Reality
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Morrison set to return
Boxing Scene: Tommy Morrison May Finally Return on 2/22 Card
Eastside Boxing: Morrison Returns to the Ring Thursday!
Seconds Out: Morrison to fight on Top Rank card
Update 2/21 8:36 AM: The AP story that I came across when I woke up gives us a new perspective on things:
Morrison did a telephone interview with the AP last night and stated that he has always been HIV-negative…
“I’m negative and I’ve always been negative and that should be the end of it,” Morrison said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
“The rug was yanked out from under my feet by a misdiagnosis,” he said. “All I want to do is fight. ... It’s unfinished business.”
West Virginia State Athletic Commissioner Steve Allred has said that he has indeed approved Morrison’s ability to box tomorrow night.
Interesting thing to note: West Virginia does not have mandatory blood testing for boxers.
Also contrary to many reports which said that Top Rank would wait for a Morrison victory before they sign him, Morrison announced that he has already signed with the promotional company. Morrison said that he signed with them for at least eight fights this year…