New York, NY – (8/31/2011) – This Saturday night, former World Boxing Council (WBC) Welterweight Champion, Andre Berto (27-1, 20KO’s) will look to regain a version of the welterweight championship, and re-position himself back atop the elite of boxing world when he challenges current International Boxing Federation (IBF) title holder, Jan Zaveck. The show, entitled, Battle in Biloxi: is presented by DiBella Entertainment in association with SES Boxing and will be aired live on HBO’s Boxing After Dark®, beginning at 10:45 PM ET/PT.
While the fight will feature a number of firsts for Zaveck, his first time fighting in the U.S. and first time fighting on HBO, it will also feature a first for Berto. It will be the first time Berto enters the ring as a professional coming off the heels of a loss in his last bout. That loss came in what many believe to be the leading candidate for the 2011 Fight of the Year”, a close twelve round decision to Victor Ortiz this past April. While many people in Berto’s shoes might have looked to take on an easier opponent in their first fight back, Berto went in the complete opposite direction.
“Almost every great fighter has losses on their record and they came back even stronger,” said Berto. “I’m not trying to prove anything to the critics. My family and the real Berto fans out there have shown me tremendous support and love and they know what kind of fighter I am.
Berto admits that Zaveck is relatively unknown here in the states, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a tough opponent. That being said, Berto is very confident he will leave the ring Saturday night as the new IBF Welterweight Champion.
“Like I’ve already said before, Jan Zaveck is a good fighter. He’s a world champion for a reason. From what I have seen he has a good right hand and he likes to bang but he will also try to box a little bit. Whatever he brings to the table, I will make sure that I’m ready for it Saturday night.”
A win on Saturday night not only puts Berto back in the driver seat but also moves him closer to the big fights he has been longing to secure, those being boxing’s two biggest cash cows, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.
“I’ve had a tremendous training camp. We switched things up a bit and went to California for this camp and I have been working Victor Conte. He’s really been helping me with my nutrition and has taught me the importance of having rest days. In the past, we were very old school. It was always work as hard as you can every day. Now I feel great, better than I ever have before and I am ready to recapture a piece of the welterweight title Saturday night and show everyone that I am back.”
Battle in Biloxi: Berto vs. Zaveck is presented by DiBella Entertainment in association with SES Boxing. The show will be aired live on HBO’s Boxing After Dark®, beginning at 10:45 PM ET/PT.
Tickets, are priced at $150, $100, and $50, and are available online at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, at any Ticketmaster retail outlet, or in person at the Beau Rivage Theatre box office.
Live Professional Boxing – Sept. 9 – Marriott Hotel, War At Woodland Hills 5
Woodland Hills, California (August 30th, 2011) – After two sold out shows earlier this year, Art of Boxing Promotions and Bash Boxing, Inc. have answered the pleas of Southern California boxing fans with more professional boxing in the San Fernando Valley. War at Woodland Hills 5 will be held on Friday, September 9th at the Warner Center Marriott Grand Ballroom in Woodland Hills, California.
Looking to uphold it reputation of having the most evenly matched boxing cards and most electric atmosphere of any boxing show in the country, War at Woodland Hills 5 will feature 8 professional bouts including the homecomings of Mexican warriors Ray Beltran Jr. (24-5, 6Kos) and Javier Gallo (17-4-1, 9KOs), as well as the new female boxing sensation Yolanda “Ms. Knockout” Ezell (1-0, 1KO).
North Hollywood’s Beltran, best known as Manny Pacquaio’s main sparring partner, returns to Woodland Hills after what was considered one of the bloodiest fights in Showtime Network’s Shobox history. Beltran went toe-to-toe in May with Las Vegas’ undefeated prospect Sharif Bogere for 10 blood-filled rounds until Vegas judges rendered a close and controversial decision for the hometown fighter. Trained by Freddie Roach and former Olympian Pepe Reilly, Beltran captured the USBA Lightweight title in his previous fight in Woodland Hills in March, with a crowd pleasing 7th round knockout of Carlos Vinan.
Buena Park’s Gallo last fought in Woodland Hills against Jose Araiza in a Fight Of The Year candidate that brought the Warner Center faithful to their feet. The all-action, phone booth shootout that saw both fighters hit the canvas during the final round ended in a close split decision victory for Gallo. The Woodland Hills victory earned Gallo a showdown in Las Vegas with former WBC Light Flyweight Champion Rodel Mayol on the Manny Pacquaio vs. Shane Mosley undercard. While Gallo lost a close majority decision to the heavily supported Mayol, he showed the entire world why he has brought so much excitement to the Woodland Hills faithful.
Hollywood’s Yolanda Ezell also returns after making a statement in her pro debut at War at Woodland Hills 3 in March. The Floyd Mayweather Sr. trained Ezell knocked out fellow debutante Laura Deanovic in 14 second of the first round. Ezell, a model and singer from Knockouts For Grls fame, looks to add to her impressive debut last March.
Tickets to THE WAR AT WOODLAND HILLS 5 can be purchased online by going to www.bashboxing.com or by calling (626) 388-8888. THE WAR AT WOODLAND HILLS 5 takes place on Friday, September 9, 2011 in the Grand Ballroom of the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills. Doors Open at 7:00 pm, First Bout at 7:30 pm.
‘Bazooka’ Joe Linenfelser sets sights on Henry Coyle
CHICAGO (Aug. 30, 2011) – Despite squeezing in a four-round bout before curfew, against an opponent strictly in survivor mode, “Bazooka” Joe Linenfelser (10-1-1, 6 KOs) notched his 10th career win on the non-televised portion of the August 20 ESPN Friday Night Fights card in Indiana,. Now, the talented 23-year-old welterweight prospect is looking forward to a Chicago-style showdown in the not too distant future against Henry “Western Warrior” Coyle.
Faced with not fighting at all due to a midnight curfew, or dropping down from six to four rounds, Team Linenfelser chose the latter and “Bazooka” Joe went on to easily win a four-round decision against veteran Ruben “Modern Day Warrior” Galvan (27-18-4, 10 KOs). The much more experienced Galvan has fought world champions such as Zab Judah, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and Paul Spadafora, as well as world title challenger Dmitriy Salita.
“I’m happy to get another win against a guy who has been in the ring with a lot of tough guys,” Linenfelser said. “At first, I was a little upset that it was only a four-rounder because you can hurt a guy but he can still survive four rounds. Galvan pressured me until I hit him with a few good rights, and then he just held on to survive. I wish he had boxed more, or moved around a little, and I would have knocked him out if we fought another round. He really stopped fighting after the second round. In the locker-room, he said he didn’t want a rematch because of my power punching.”
Linenfelser won a decision by scores of 40-36, 39-37 and 39-37.
“Once Galvan felt Joe’s power and was wobbled the first time, he just put his head right in Joe’s chest, just trying to survive,” commented Joe’s father and manager, Jeff. “Ruben just held on but, when he was in Joe’s range, he almost got knocked out a few times in the last two rounds. After the fight, he said he was still wobbly and that he had never been hit as hard by anybody, harder than by Zab Judah. With it being only a four-round fight, Joe just threw as many punches as he could.”
Linenfelser now has his sights set on Coyle (16-2, 2 KOs), the former Irish National champion and 2006 World Military Games gold medalist. The Irishman lives and trains in Chicago, when he’s not fighting back at home, and the Linenfelsers believe there’s a natural bragging rights-type fight on the table.
“I went to one of Coyle’s recent fights in Chicago and afterwards I challenged him right there,” Joe explained. “I went there to watch him as a possible opponent for an upcoming fight. We thought that maybe he was a higher caliber fighter than me, but after watching him, I knew I was at least his equal, if not better. A win against him would get me some valuable media attention and rated. In another year, I hope to be fighting for a regional belt, and headlining on television. A big win against Coyle can help get me there.”
Jeff said the fight is a natural in the Chicago area and if the price is right, Team Linenfelser is all for it happening. “They’re two good prospects who come straight ahead,” he explained. “They’re not defensive fighters and somebody’s getting knocked out. It’ll be a good fight, not an easy one, but Joe will win. Coyle will be a good test for him.
“Coyle said something about Joe needing to first get past Ninos Abraham (6-0-1, 2 KOs) before getting a shot at him. The problem is Joe has already sent Ninos into retirement without ever landing a glove on him. We’d take a fight against Ninos, anytime, but he won’t fight Joe. Unless he does, none of the three Chicago-based promoters will ever use Ninos, because they all know about some very disrespectful things he said in public about Joe’s mother.”
When he made his pro debut October 8, 2005, stopping 181-fight veteran Donnie Penelton in the opening round of their fight in Iowa, 17-year-old Joe was the youngest professional boxer in the United States. Six years later, “Bazooka” Joe is ready to explode on the Midwest boxing scene.
JOSE “CHELO” GONZALEZ, MCJOE ARROYO AND CARLOS NEGRON HEADLINING THE 6TH EDITION OF “A PUÑO LIMPIO” THIS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
BAYAMON, PUERTO RICO- Unbeatens Jose “Chelo” Gonzalez, McJoe Arroyo and Carlos Negron will headlining the the 6th edition of the series “A Puño Limpio”, this Friday, September 2, at the coliseo Ruben Rodriguez in Bayamon, in a PR Best Boxing Promtions (PRBBP) in association with Top Rank Inc., to be televised live on WAPA America, this time from 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.
González (16-0, 12 KOs) will defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) Latino Lightweight title in a 10 round fight against Eddie Soto (12-2, 4 KOs), from Rhode Island. The champions actually is ranked #8 in the WBO lightweight division.
“I’m ready for mi rival. I knew him here, but I’m well trained for this fight, to keep my title and to continue to the world champoionship”, Gonzalez said.
Soto said that “I had greta battles in the United States, against good fighters and I just want Gonzalez is well-trained to a make a big fight”.
The co-feature presents Negron (13-0, 9 KOs) in his fourth fight as a heavyweight against Colombian Epifanio Mendoza (31-12-1, 27 KOs), in a six round bout.
“I like to fight boxers like Mendoza, veterans, to gain experience in my career. It’s going to be a great fight”, Negron said.
Otherwise, Mendoza said that “this is going to be your hardest fight Carlos. You are my friend, I respect you, but this Friday we are going to battle in the ring”.
Meanwhile, Arroyo (7-0, 4 KOs) is back to the ring in a six round 115lb bout, versus Jaime Gutierrez (3-5), who is traveling to Puerto Rico.
“I’m in great shape, and ready to show my skills again in the ring”, Arroyo said.
Other seven fights will complete the card. This “A Puño Limpio” will be televised from 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. due to channel issues.
Tickets are availables at Ticketcenter, www.tcpr.com, 1 (787) 792-5000.