Barker vs. Martinez undercard announced; Escobedo chosen by fans as boxer with most caracter

New York, NY – (9/30/2011) – This Saturday, October 1st, DiBella Entertainment (DBE) will present “Noche de ‘Maravilla’: Martinez vs. Barker” featuring Middleweight Champion ergio Martinez (47-2-2, 26KO’s) defending his WBC Diamond belt and Ring Championship against England’s undefeated European Champion “Dazzling” Darren Barker (23-0, 14KO’s), at Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, NJ. Opening up HBO’s World Championship Boxing® telecast will be the rematch between top-rated middleweight contender “Irish” Andy Lee (26-1, 19KO’s) and former participant of “The Contender”, and the only man to defeat Lee as a pro, Bryan Vera (19-5, 12KO’s), in a 10-round middleweight matchup.

“Noche de ‘Maravilla’: Martinez vs. Barker” is being presented by DiBella Entertainment in association with Matchroom Sport, and Caesars Atlantic City, and is sponsored by Corona. Doors open at 6PM ET, with the first bout scheduled for 6:30PM ET.

Tickets for “Noche de ‘Maravilla'” are priced at $300, $200, $100, and $50, and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, at any Ticketmaster retail outlet, or in person at the Boardwalk Hall box office.

In addition to the HBO live televised portion, there are an additional eight undercard bouts that feature a number of exciting up-and-coming young fighters, including DBE stable-mates, Isaac Chilemba, Steven Martinez, and J’Leon Love, all fighting in separate bouts.

The South African Chilemba (17-1-1, 8KO’s) will be making both his DBE and U.S. debut when he takes on Jameson Bostic (23-4, 13KO’s) in what promises to be a stiff test for the current WBC International Light Heavyweight Champion Chilemba. The bout is scheduled for eight rounds in the light heavyweight division.

The promising Puerto Rican prospect, Martinez (10-0, 8KO’s), will take on his toughest opponent to date when he squares off against “Smokin” Jay Krupp (14-4, 7KO’s) in a six-round junior middleweight showdown. The Bronx-native Martinez, a National Golden Gloves Champion, and overall three-time New York Golden Gloves Champion, spent the last few weeks serving as one of the lead sparring partners in Sergio Martinez’ training camp, in Oxnard, CA.

The hard-hitting prospect, Love (8-0, 6KO’s), is scheduled to meet Eddie Hunter (5-6-2, 2KO’s) in a six-round super middleweight match-up.

Two undefeated Irish-American New Yorkers will also see action on the card, when Kevin “Kid” Rooney (2-0, 1KO) faces Daniel Lugo (0-1), and Seanie Monaghan (8-0 5KO’s) challenges Kentrell Claiborne (2-3, 1KO). Rooney, the son of famed trainer Kevin Rooney Sr., also works full-time for DiBella and will be pulling double-duty on fight night. Rooney-Lugo is scheduled for four rounds in the junior middleweight division, while Monaghan-Claiborne is scheduled for six rounds in the light heavyweight division.

Also on the card will be West Point graduate, Boyd Melson (5-0, 3KO’s). Melson is the founder of “Team Fight to Walk”, and he donates his entire purse to the “Just a Dollar Please” organization, which is heavily involved in a pending stem cell trial focusing on research for spinal cord injuries. Melson will take on Russ Niggemyer (2-3, 2KO’s) in a six-round junior middleweight match-up.

Two of Sampson Boxing’s most promising prospects will also see action on the card when Magomed Abdusalamov (9-0, 9KO’s) battles veteran Kevin Burnett (13-4-1, 8KO’s) in a six-round heavyweight match-up, and Israel Duffus (2-0, 2KO’s) encounters Troy Artis (2-2-1, 1KO) in a four-round middleweight match-up.

Tickets for “Noche de ‘Maravilla'” are priced at $300, $200, $100, and $50, and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, at any Ticketmaster retail outlet, or in person at the Boardwalk Hall box office.

“Noche de ‘Maravilla’: Martinez vs. Barker” is being presented by DiBella Entertainment in association with Matchroom Sport, and Caesars Atlantic City, and is sponsored by Corona. Doors open at 6PM ET, with the first bout scheduled for 6:30PM ET. The show will be aired live on HBO’s World Championship Boxing®, beginning at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT.

VICENTE ESCOBEDO CHOSEN BY FANS AS BOXER WITH THE MOST CARACTER

Escobedo Earns 51% of Votes from “Sólo Boxeo Tecate” Viewers

New York (September 30, 2011) – After 10 rounds of hard-fought action against fellow former Olympian Rocky Juarez during the September 23 “Sólo Boxeo Tecate” broadcast, Vicente “Chente” Escobedo was declared the winner by unanimous decision. Fans at home also recognized him as the boxer with the most carácter, and with 51% of their text message and online votes, they entered him into the competition for the “Cinturón Tecate” (Tecate Belt), which Escobedo won in the first quarter of 2011.

“Cinturón Tecate” is an award created to celebrate the boxers who display the most carácter in the ring during the “Sólo Boxeo Tecate” broadcast each Friday night on TeleFutura. Tecate recognizes that viewers at home are the best judges and allows them to vote for their favorite fighter of the night by sending a text message or visiting www.Univision.com. To thank participating fans, each text submitted gives them the opportunity to win boxing memorabilia, such as T-shirts, autographed pictures and even tickets to future “Sólo Boxeo Tecate” fights.

On Friday, September 30, Tecate will offer fans their last opportunity to help their favorite boxer win the third “Cinturón Tecate” of the year, as well as a live appearance on Univision’s premier sports show “República Deportiva.” During the main event of the “Sólo Boxeo Tecate” broadcast from the Hangar at OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, Calif., fans will be able to decide if undefeated Luis Ramos Jr. (19-0, 8 KO’s) or rugged challenger “Dangerous” David Rodela (15-4-3, 6 KO’s) shows the most character and talent in the ring as they square off in a 10 round lightweight fight.

To participate, adults can send a text message to 55333 with B1 to vote for Ramos and B2 to select Rodela, or visit Univision.com, Uniclave: Solo Boxeo Tecate. The broadcast will air on TeleFutura at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT (10:30 p.m. CT).

Current “Cinturón Tecate” rankings are:

Ranking Boxer % of Votes Date of Fight

1 Jessie Vargas 87% July 8

2 Michael Perez 85% August 19

3 Omar Figueroa 78% August 26

4 Eloy Perez 76% September 2

5 Antonio Diaz 69% August 12

6 Seth Mitchell 67% September 16

7 Beibut Shumenov 58% July 29

8 Jayson Velez 56% July 15

9 Jose Silveira 52% July 22

9 Keenan Collins 52% September 9

10 Vicente Escobedo 51% September 23

For additional details on the next “Sólo Boxeo Tecate” event visit www.Facebook.com/TecateBoxing and www.Facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, or follow us on twitter at www.Twitter.com/TecateBoxing and www.Twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing .

For more information on “Cinturón Tecate,” results or to speak with a brand executive about Tecate’s continuous support of boxing, please contact FORMULATIN at (212) 219-0321.

“On Oct 7th The Irish Invade Chicago” – McCreedy & Eklund

On October 7th super middleweight “Irish” Joe McCreedy and light welterweight Sean Eklund will invade Burbank, Illinois which is just minutes from Chicago, Illinois as Cynthia Tolaymat’s CFC Promotions presents “Chicago Fight Night III”.

Super Middleweight “Irish” Joe McCreedy (15-5-2 6KO’s) over the summer signed with CFC Promotions in hopes of moving his career in the right direction, that decision proved to be an intelligent one as CFC Promotions CEO Cynthia Tolaymat provided an instant USBO title shot for McCreedy.

McCreedy who hails from Lowell, Massachusetts has a overwhelming fan base back home and wants to follow in the footsteps of some fighters who recently called Chicago their second home, fighters such as USBO welterweight champion Lanardo Tyner, IBO International Middleweight, USBA Middleweight champion Osumanu Adama as well as IBF International light welterweight champion Albert Mensah amongst a few.

McCreedy is trained by Dicky Eklund the fighter who was portrayed by Christian Bale in “The Fighter” a 2010 biographical sports drama film directed by David O. Russell. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, winning the awards for Best Supporting Actor (Christian Bale) and Best Supporting Actress (Melissa Leo). McCreedy also spend some time being trained by Floyd Mayweather Sr in Las Vegas prior to returning home to finish his training camp with Eklund.

McCreedy’s is no stranger to bright lights and cameras as he was recently seen on HBO’s Mayweather – Ortiz 24/7, during the infamous scene where Mayweather Jr and Senior verbally assaulted one another “McCreedy was seen sitting on the ring with Roger Mayweather. Hollywood also is calling for a sequel to “The Fighter” which will surely bring all the bright lights once again to the face of McCreedy. One thing for sure is that McCreedy wants to be seen showcasing his skills on TV and this bout if victorious can lead him to bigger opportunities down the road.

Sean Eklund

The other Irish fighter is none other than light welterweight Sean Eklund (9-4 2KO’s) who also hails from Lowell, Massachusetts won nine of his last eleven bouts is looking to extend his winning streak to 4 as he takes on Terry Buterbaugh (6-5-2 3KO’s).

Eklund who is the nephew of Dicky Eklund wants to impress the Chicago crowd and hopes to give the fans a great exciting fight. Eklund’s best performance to date was defeating the then undefeated Eddie Soto in 2010. There is a saying in boxing “Your only as good as your last fight”, if that saying is true then Eklund is sitting pretty high because his last fight he TKO’d Patrick Cape in just 2 rounds.

Eklund knows this is a big stage he is fighting on and hoping to capitalize on the opportunity he has been given.

“We brought in Joe McCreedy and Sean Eklund for the fight fans of Chicago, the city has a very large Irish population who loves to cheer for their fighters” – said Tolaymat. She went on to say “I think the Irish community will embrace both of these fighters and show their support for these young warriors.”

Serving as the Main Event on “Chicago Fight Night III” will be Chicago’s adopted son, middleweight Osumanu Adama (19-2 14KO’s) as he is put through the biggest test in his professional boxing career as he is scheduled to face former IBF light middleweight champion Roman “Made In Hell” Karmazin (40-4-2, 26 KOs), the bout is an IBF proposed eliminator box off.

One half of the co-main event will be former WBA world champion “Vicious” Vivian Harris (29-7-1 19KO’s) taking on former Indiana state champion Jermaine “Hawk” White (17-4 9KO’s) in a 10 round contest. There has been a great buzz surrounding this fight due to the all out action style of fighting both of these welterweights bring.

The undercard will feature middleweight contender Derrick Findley, Ramon Valenzuela Jr, Light welterweight Antonio Canas as well as heavyweight Boban Simic who is making his long awaited professional debut.

Tickets for CHICAGO FIGHT NIGHT III, starting at $30 can be purchased in advance at Shop & Save, Cermak Produce, or Chicago Fight Club (http://www.chicagofightclubs.com) 708-333-3303 and Will County Boxing Gym (http://www.willcountyboxing.com) 815-661-0247.

Doors on the evening of the event will open at 7pm with the first bell at 8pm. The Club is located at 7600 S. Cicero Ave. Burbank, IL. For further information, please visit their website at (http://www.theclubchicago.com). The Club is serving alcohol at all boxing events.