Charles Murray Back on Tapia-Barrera Undercard Nov 2

25.10 - After some confusion, former International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior welterweight champion Charles "The Natural" Murray is back on the card and will fight undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) Latin American Junior Welterweight Champion Kelson "The Brazilian Knockout Artist" Pinto in one of the two featured 10-round undercard bouts for "La Batalla De Los Guerreros" ("The Battle Of The Warriors") on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2002, at the MGM Grand Arena. In a second 10-rounder, unbeaten junior welterweight and 2000 Olympic Silver Medalist, Ricardo Williams, faces former International Boxing Federation (IBF) 140-pound champion Terronn Millett.

Murray (44-7, 26 KOs), of Rochester, N.Y, captured the IBF junior welterweight title with a 12-round decision over Rodney Moore on May 15, 1993. He made two successful defenses before Jake Rodriguez dethroned the champion on Feb. 13, 1994. In their 1996 rematch, Murray defended his North American Boxing Federation (NABF) 140-pound crown with a seventh-round TKO. Throughout his career, Murray has fought the best in his division, including Mickey Ward and Livingstone Bramble.

Pinto (14-0, 13 KO's), of Salvador, Brazil, has made like a Mercedes since turning pro on Jan. 27, 2001. Arguably the most devastating puncher of today's boxing prospects, he won his initial seven starts by first-round knockout. In his lone outing that did not end inside of the distance, Pinto recorded a 10-round decision over Dagoberto Najera on June 29, 2002. Pinto, who is making his eighth start of the year, won the WBO Latin American title with a second-round TKO over Luiz Ferreira on May 1, 2002. Pinto, who went 94-4 in the amateurs and was a four-time Brazilian National Champion, defeated Miguel Cotto in the gold medal match of a 1999 tournament.

Williams (7-0-1, 5 KOs), of Cincinnati, Ohio, was the 2000 Olympic Games silver medallist. One of the greatest amateurs in U.S. history, Williams captured two consecutive Junior Olympic titles, two Junior World titles, two consecutive national titles, a national golden gloves title and a Goodwill Games gold medal by the time he was 17 years old. Williams, who turned 21 on June 25, made his pro debut on Jan. 27, 2001. He went 5-0 with one no-contest his first year punching for pay. In 2002, Williams is 2-0, and is coming off of a 10-round unanimous decision over Anthony Washington on Feb. 24. The Cincinnati native will make his first start since undergoing surgery in May for a torn ligament in his left hand.

Millett (27-3-1, 19 KOs), of Colorado Springs, Colo., won the IBF title on a fifth-round TKO over Vince Phillips in February 1999, and made one successful defense, a 12th-round TKO over Virgil McClendon five months later. Millett's next defense was supposed to be against Zab Judah, the IBF's mandatory challenger at the time, but the fight never took place after it was discovered that Millett had suffered a broken hand against McClendon. The IBF later stripped Millett and matched Judah against Jan Bergman for the vacant title. Millett later fought Judah, who had defeated Bergman, on Aug. 5, 2000, and had him down in the opening round. However, Judah rallied to retain his title with a fourth-round TKO. Since the setback, Millett has gone 5-1.

Barrera (55-3, 39 KOs), of Iztacalco, Mexico, near Mexico City, will make his first start at the MGM Grand Arena since winning a 12-round decision over previously unbeaten Erik Morales on June 22, 2002. Previously, Barrera frustrated previously undefeated Naseem Hamed en route to winning a lopsided 12-round decision on April 7, 2001, at the MGM Grand. Barrera, one of Mexico's greatest all-time fighters, is a three-time WBO junior featherweight champion. He captured the World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight title belt by outpointing Morales, but chose to relinquish it. Since capturing the WBO title the first time, Barrera is 16-3 in world title fights. He made eight successful defenses in his first tenure as WBO champion, and two each in his second and third stints.

Tapia (52-2-2, 28 KOs), of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is fighting for the first time since capturing the IBF featherweight title with a 12-round decision over defending champion Manuel Medina on April 27, 2002. A former IBF and WBO 115-pound champion, as well as World Boxing Association (WBA) and WBO bantamweight titleholder, Tapia had been unbeaten for more than 12 years until losing a disputed 12-round decision to Paulie Ayala on June 26, 1999, in what many boxing writers deemed the fight of the year. Tapia captured the WBO 115-pound title in October 1994 and made 10 successful defenses. He added the IBF belt when he defeated Romero in July 1997. Tapia won the WBA 118-pound title in December 1998 and the WBO's version of the title in January 2000. Tapia is 17-2-1 in world title fights.

Forum Boxing, Inc., in association with the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino - The City of Entertainment in Las Vegas, also announced today the four preliminary bouts that will round out the card. They are:

Henry Bruseles (16-1, 11 KOs), of Caguas, Puerto Rico, vs. former World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight champion Livingston Bramble (40-24-3, 25 KOs), of St. Croix Virgin Islands, 8 rounds, junior welterweights;

Rocky Montoya (21-1, 14 KOs), of Reynosa, Mexico, vs. Miguel Angel Escamilla (17-4-1, 14 KOs), of San Felipe, Mexico, lightweights, 8 rounds;

Orlando Cruz (4-0, 4 KOs), of San Juan, Puerto Rico, vs. Julio Leal (3-3, 2 KOs), of Tijuana, Mexico, 6 rounds, featherweights;

Michael Santos (5-0, 3 KOs), of Mexico City, vs. Daniel Mendez (12-16-1, 6 KOs), of Hermosillo, Mexico.

Marco Antonio Barrera and five-time world champion Johnny Tapia, collide in the Nov. 2 12-round main event.

The live fight card starts at 5:00 p.m. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. The highly anticipated Barrera-Tapia clash will be televised live by HBO at 7:00 p.m. PT and 10:00 p.m. ET.

Tickets for the event are on sale at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office and priced at $325, $225, $125, $75 and $50, not including applicable service charges. Tickets also will be sold at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (Tower Records, Smith's Food and Drug Centers, Ritmo Latino and Robinsons-May stores). Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

For room packages and availability and event ticket information about the MGM Grand, call (800) 929-1111 or (702) 891-7777 or log onto the World Wide Web at www.mgmgrand.com.