Mike Arnaoutis To Return February 18

17.01.05 – Cestus Management’s junior welterweight sensation “Mighty” Mike Arnaoutis is scheduled to return to the ring on February 18, 2005, for a fourth consecutive appearance on the Showtime Network’s ShoBox: The New Generation series, set to air live from the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, California..

Riding the wave from a highly successful 2004, Team Cestus has planned for an even bigger 2005. Along with high hopes for the continued rise of “Mighty” Mike, Cestus Management plans to introduce several more future stars over the course of the next year. According to Advisor Mike Michael, however, nothing is more important at the present time than making sure “Mighty” Mike’s next bout lives up to the fans’ expectations.

“We’re still looking for a fighter to get in with Mike, ” says Mike Michael. “The reason we haven’t approved anyone yet is because we want to stage the kind of fight that the fans want to see. We’ve been asked back to the Chumash Casino for the third time because the fans down there demanded it. We’re on our third consecutive Gary Shaw Productions card because Gary is the kind of promoter who wants to put on the best show possible for the boxing fans. And we’re on our fourth ShoBox date because ShoBox knows how to put a great fight together. With all of that, we’re working as hard as we can to start the year off in the proper way, with the kind of fight that reminds people who the Prospect of the Year was last year, and why ‘Mighty’ Mike will go from being the Prospect of the Year in 2004 to being the Fighter of the Year in 2005. So we want to thank the Chumash, Gary Shaw and ShoBox for giving us the opportunity to entertain the fight fans, and we want to assure everyone out there that come February the 18th, ‘Mighty’ Mike will be ready for action!”

Among other honors, “Mighty” Mike Arnaoutis was awarded the prestigious title of “Prospect of the Year” for his work during 2004 by BoxingTalk.com, TalkingBoxing.com and The Fist Magazine, the premier boxing publication of Australia and New Zealand, as well as the runner-up to the Prospect of the Year by Steve Kim of MaxBoxing.com. Reached for comment, Greg Leon, the publisher of highly respected website BoxingTalk.com, gave us his thoughts on “Mighty” Mike’s performance over the past year.

Says Leon, “Mighty Mike Arnaoutis closed out 2004 with a bang. After his terrific slugfest with Juan Urango ended in a draw, Arnaoutis made sure his next two bouts, an eye opening [first] round stoppage over a tough as nails Jessie Feliciano, and an equally impressive third round TKO over Jauquin Gallardo, wouldn’t be left for judges to decide. When it came time for Team Boxingtalk to vote for our prospect of the year, Arnaoutis won it in a landslide.”

Cestus Management would also like to remind fans to check out the current issue of Boxing Digest Magazine, which features a piece by prominent boxing writer Mitch Abramson on the rise of “Mighty” Mike over the past year, as well as a feature by Robert Mladinich detailing the accomplishments of the ShoBox: The New Generation series and its impact on the sport of boxing.