James Moore appears on radio show; King Kong Agbeko Ready to Make First Title Defense

The extremely popular junior middleweight James Moore, 15-1 (10 KOS), a native of County Wicklow, Ireland, who fights out of Queens, New York, is primed and ready for his August 6th battle against veteran Lloyd Christian Joseph, 12-6-3 (5 KOS), a native of the Virgin Islands who fights out of New York..

The fight, which is being promoted by DiBella Entertainment, is being held at B.B. Kings Blues Club in the heart of New York City’s Times Square. Part of promoter Lou DiBella’s Broadway Boxing series, the card is being called “Hot Fights, Summer in the City.”

Headlining is former world lightweight champion Randall Bailey, 36-6 (33 KOS), of Miami, vs. Dairo Esalas, 31-13 (25 KOS), of Colombia, and popular New York heavyweight Vinny Maddalone, 29-4 (20 KOS), against an opponent to be determined.

Also scheduled to appear is featherweight Dat Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American who resides in Vero Beach, Florida, and three amateur stars who will be making their pro debuts.

Light heavyweight Will Rosinsky, a recent graduate of Queens College, is a four time New York City Golden Gloves champion, and hard-punching middleweight Philip Jackson-Benson of Brooklyn is a two-time Golden Gloves titlist. Lightweight Ryan Kielczewski of Lowell, Massachusetts, will also be lacing them up for the first time as a pro.

This will be Moore’s first ring appearance since losing a disputed decision to Gabriel Rosado on June 4.

In anticipation of the fight, Moore appeared on the Joey Reynolds nationally broadcast radio show on WOR on July 24. It is the highest rated late night show among all demographic listeners in the country.

Reynolds, whose father was a fighter, said all great boxers lose at one time or another and praised Moore, who has been on the show in the past, for his gritty determination, emotional resolve, and fierce immigrant work ethic.

“You really deserve a lot of respect for what you do,” said Reynolds.

Moore, who was genuinely touched by the comments, thanked Reynolds and offhandedly thanked the United States for enabling him to try and achieve his longtime ambition of becoming a world champion.

“The United States is the greatest country in the world,” asserted Moore, who has fought all over the world. “It has given me tremendous opportunities, and I am very grateful for that.”

Assuming he beats Joseph, Moore vows to stay busy.

“I’ll find somewhere else to fight,” he said. “I’m a fighter, so that’s what I do. I try to focus on one fight at a time, but I can’t help dreaming about what the future holds. I’m going to just continue doing what I’ve always done. Train hard and fight to win. If I do that, everything else will fall into place.”

B.B. Kings is located at 237 West 42 Street in Manhattan. Tickets are priced from $60 to $160. Very few tickets are still available. Call DBE at 212-947-2577 for more information.

King Kong Agbeko Ready to Make First Title Defense

PONCE, Puerto Rico—Joseph King Kong Agbeko, who received a presidential parade in Ghana after winning his first world championship last year, will make the first defense of his International Boxing Federation bantamweight championship against knockout artist William “Chirizo” Gonzalez on Saturday in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

“No one is taking my title,” Agbeko said. “I’ve worked too hard for this. I’m ready for a war if Gonzalez comes to fight.”

Nothing in Gonzalez’s record (21-2, 19 KOs), including 19 of his 21 victories coming by knockout, indicates the Nicaraguan will be coming to do anything less than unseating the new champion.

Agbeko (25-1, 22 KOs) won his title in one of last year’s better fights, scoring a seventh-round technical knockout over Luis “El Demoledor” Perez in Sacramento, Calif., on Sept. 29. Perez had been a world champion since 2003, but the ringside physician felt he was taking too many head shots from Agbeko and asked the referee to halt the contest.

Agbeko was honored for his feat in Accra, the capital of his home country, with a parade where he was personally congratulated by the president of Ghana.

Now fighting out of John’s Gym in the Bronx, N.Y., Agbeko will conclude his training today (July 28) and will fly to Puerto Rico tomorrow to make final preparations.

Agbeko vs. Gonzalez is part of the “Night of Champions” fight card being staged at Ponce’s Auditorio Pachin Vicens on Saturday that will feature a second world championship pitting No. 1-ranked Juan “El Exterminador” Palacios (23-2, 18 KOs), from Nicaragua, against No. 3-ranked Omar “El Pastor” Soto (11-2-1, 6 KOs), from Puerto Rico, for the interim World Boxing Council strawweight championship.

The event is scheduled to showcase as many as 11 bouts and is being promoted by Don King Productions and Universal Promotions.