Showtime Kicks Off New Year With World Championship Doubleheader

05.12 - In the first major world championship fight of 2003, World Boxing Organization (WBO) Junior Welterweight Champion DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley and World Boxing Association (WBA) Light Flyweight Champion Rosendo Alvarez will defend their titles in separate 12-round bouts Saturday, Jan. 4, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING. Corley will make his second title defense when he takes on former WBO and WBA 140-pound titleholder and current WBO No. 7 contender Randall Bailey. Alvarez will defend his title for the second time when he meets former WBA 108-pound kingpin and current WBA No. 1 contender Beibis Mendoza in the rubber match of their hotly contested trilogy. SHOWTIME will televise the Don King Productions, Inc.-promoted world championship doubleheader from the D.C. Armory in Washington, D.C

Corley (27-1-1, 16 KOs), of Washington, D.C., captured the vacant WBO 140-pound crown on SHOWTIME by scoring a first-round TKO over Felix Flores on June 30, 2001, in Las Vegas. Corley floored Flores twice before the referee stopped the bout at 2:49. The flashy southpaw made his initial WBO title defense in his last start on Jan. 19, 2002, when he floored former world champion Ener Julio twice en route to registering a lopsided 12-round unanimous decision on SHOWTIME from Miami. The fight, which marked Corley’s lone 2002 appearance, was a rematch of a contest on Sept. 24, 1999, in which he recorded a 12-round split decision over Julio to capture the United States Boxing Association (USBA) junior welterweight belt. The talented, charismatic Corley has won 10 consecutive bouts since suffering his only defeat on March 20, 1999.

Bailey (26-2, 26 KOs), of Miami, won the WBO title by knocking out Carlos “Bolillo” Gonzalez in the first round on May 15, 1999, in Miami. The crowd-pleasing slugger made two successful defenses before his 21-fight winning streak ended when he dropped a 12-round split decision to Julio on July 22, 2000, in Miami. After rebounding to score early-round knockouts in his next three bouts, Bailey captured the WBA version of the 140-pound title by scoring a third-round KO over Demetrio Ceballos on Feb. 2, 2002, in Reading, Pa. In Bailey’s initial WBA title defense three months later on May 11, 2002, Diosbelys Hurtado stopped the champion in the seventh round from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Bailey, who also is currently ranked No. 5 by the WBA, is coming off of a first-round TKO over Alfonzo Fowler on Sept. 27, 2002

Alvarez (31-2-1, 21 KOs), of Managua, Nicaragua, captured the WBA 108-pound crown with a 12-round split decision over the previously unbeaten Mendoza on March 3, 2001, in Las Vegas. The judges scored the contest 115-112, 114-113 and 113-114. The world championship affair was a rematch of a bout for the then-vacant WBA title on Aug. 12, 2000, on SHOWTIME in which Alvarez had two points deducted for low blows and lost by seventh-round disqualification. Alvarez has won four consecutive starts since the setback, including a 12th-round TKO over Pichit Sithbangprachan in his lone title defense and last start on Jan. 19, 2002, from Miami. Alvarez won the WBA 105-pound belt on Dec. 2, 1995, and made five successful defenses. On March 7, 1998, he suffered the first blemish on his record when a title unification bout with then-World Boxing Council (WBC) titleholder Ricardo Lopez ended in a controversial seventh-round technical draw. Alvarez lost his title on a 12-round decision to Lopez in their rematch eight months later on Nov. 13, 1998, in Las Vegas.

Mendoza (28-1, 23 KOs), of Arboletes, Colombia, was ahead on the scorecards 59-54 and 57-55 twice in the first match against Alvarez when he was awarded the disqualification victory during his SHOWTIME debut. A hard-hitting boxer-puncher, Mendoza had never been extended past nine rounds until he went the distance in the rematch. Mendoza vehemently disputed the decision, which ended his 26-fight winning streak. The native Colombian has won both of his starts since. In his last outing, Mendoza recorded an eight-round unanimous decision over former International Boxing Federation (IBF) strawweight champion Manny Melchor on April 12, 2002, from Miccosukee, Fla. One of the greatest amateurs in Colombian history, Mendoza won 143 out of 150 bouts and captured countless titles. A four-time national champion at 108 pounds, he represented Colombia at the 1996 Olympic Games. In 29 pro bouts, 18 out of Mendoza’s 23 knockouts have come inside of three full rounds.