Katsidis to train in Earl’s gym the week before Burns fight

Steve Bunce’s has lined up another top show with guests for his Boxing Hour on BoxNation (Sky Platform Ch. 456) tonight:

– Michael “The Great” Katsidis, known as the Brit Basher because of his wins over Kevin Mitchell and Graham Earl, will be the big live guest to talk about his forthcoming super-fight against Ricky Burns this Saturday night at the Wembley Arena.

– Burns and his trainer Billy Nelson will join in by phone from their Glasgow training headquarter to discuss how their preparations have been going for Katsidis.

– A boxer as crazy as Buncey, American legend James “Lights Out” Toney, talks about his forthcoming WBA World Cruiserweight title challenge against Russian Denis Lebedev this Friday night, live on BoxNation.

– Also coming into the studio will be Larry “The War Machine” Olubamiwo who takes on Dereck Chisora at the Wembley Arena in a critical cross-roads fight for both men.

– A future star of the sport, Frankie Buglioni, drops in to talk about his glittering professional debut on the Wembley undercard.

– Finally, Flash Ashley Sexton comes in ahead of his English Flyweight title fight next week at the York Hall.

KATSIDIS JOINS UP WITH EARL AHEAD OF BURNS FIGHT***LIVE THIS SATURDAY NIGHT ON BOXNATION (SKY PLATFORM CH. 456)

Brit Basher Michael Katsidis has teamed up with former victim Graham Earl ahead of his Interim World Boxing Organization (WBO) World Lightweight title clash with Ricky Burns at the Wembley Arena this Saturday night.

The Aussie powerhouse was involved in a thriller against Earl in 2007 – also at Wembley Arena – that saw both fighters hit the canvas in a thriller before Earl was pulled out by his corner before the start of the sixth round.

Katsidis has based himself at Earl’s gym in Luton for the final week leading up to his fight with Burns, that will be televised live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky Platform Ch. 456).

“It’s great to catch up with Graham after that terrific war we had a few years ago and only in boxing can you get that special bond between fighters who’ve had to dig deep to win,” Said Katsidis.

“I saw him briefly last year when I was over for the Kevin Mitchell fight and he offered us his gym to use then,”

“When the Burns fight was made I was straight on the phone to Graham to arrange to train at the gym. He’s a great guy and he’s looked after us while we’ve been in England this time,”

“The gym’s out of the centre of London so I can get away from all the noise and mayhem and just focus on the fight against Burns,”

Earl, who fought Burns in 2005 and lost on points over eight rounds, hasn’t passed on any tips to Katsidis.

“I understand that Graham is friends with Ricky and I wouldn’t ask him anything anyway,” he added.

“The Burns he fought in 2005 is different to the one I’m going to facing on Saturday night,”

“If Earl did tell me anything it wouldn’t be much use as Burns is a different fighter now,”

“He’s really come on since that fight, he won a world title and his experience and skill has improved and now he’s moving up in weight as well,”

“All I can say is that I have a plan to beat Burns and I can promise the fans that I will fight as I do in every fight I have.”

John ‘The Quietman’ Ruiz Subject of Children’s Book ‘Hooks & Jabs’

MEDFORD, Mass. (October 31, 2011) – Two-time World Boxing Association (“WBA”) heavyweight champion John “The Quietman” Ruiz is the subject of a bi-lingual, children’s book, Hooks & Jabs, which was written by Jose-Gabriel Almeida and illustrated by Jan Michaelsy.

Ruiz, who is the first and only Hispanic Heavyweight Champion of the World, wanted to tell his story; detailing the overwhelming odds he conquered to become world champion, in order to inspire children, particularly Hispanics, at an early age.

Ruiz has lived by the credo, “Follow Your Dreams,” fighting his way out of a housing project in Chelsea, Massachusetts to capture one of the most prestigious individual awards in sports.

“I wanted to give kids a sense that, if they believe in themselves, they can aim high and achieve their goals,” Ruiz explained. “I wanted to send this message in a way that fascinated kids. I first pitched this idea to Gladys Rosa, a personal friend who has worked in public relations with some of the biggest names in boxing for many years. I met Jose 10 years ago at a press conference and we’ve remained friends ever since. He has written several children’s books and is a sports fanatic.

“We sent emails back and forth to each other about different scenarios until we came up with this version of Hooks & Jabs. I am Puerto Rican and have a large Hispanic following, which is I why I insisted that the book was published in a bilingual format. I wanted to reach kids from my culture. As a started researching publishing houses, I soon realized that it’s an over saturated process with a lot of red tape. I didn’t want to deal with publishing people who had different points of view about how my story had to be told, so I decided to self-publish my book, and I’m very glad I did. I’m very proud of this project because it’s 100-percent real. This is my story, my book, and I own all rights.”

Ruiz has retired from the ring but remains tied to boxing as an owner/chief instructor of recently opened Quietman Sports Gym, inside of Gold’s Gym in Medford (4000 Mystic Valley Parkway), which is a suburb of Boston and only a few miles from where John grew-up in Chelsea.

Quietman Sports Gym is a full-contact gym, featuring a boxing ring as well as a cage for MMA, wrestling, jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai fighting. The gym also offers boxing and full-contact fighting classes, personal and semi-private instruction, self defense classes, and white collar boxing.

Future plans call for Quietman Sports Gym to become a sanctioned USA Boxing gym, where John plans to develop future Olympians. Ruiz also wants to become a boxing and MMA promoter – professional and amateur – and he has already started a boxing consulting agency, Quietman Sports, along with his longtime attorney and advisor, Boston Attorney Anthony M. Cardinale.

The 39-year-old Ruiz, who lives in Las Vegas and Chelsea, retired with a professional record of 44-9-1 (30 KOs), including 12 world title fights.

For more information about the Quietman Sports Gym, call 781.396.6700, go online to www.JohnTheQuietmanRuiz.com or WWW.Quietmansports.com, or on Facebook at John Quietman Ruiz.