BRONX, NY – Aug 25, 2008 On September 5th Star Boxing’s top rated heavyweight Kevin “Kingpin” Johnson returns to the ring when he takes on former WBA heavyweight champion of the world Bruce “The Atlantic City Express” Seldon (38-6, 34KO’s). The heavyweight fight is the co-feature to the “Mighty” Mike Arnaoutis (19-2-2, 9KO’s) ten round jr. welterweight bout against Nasser Athumani (20-6, 16KO’s) at Bally’s Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, NJ.. The entire card, which features some of the areas top local talent including “The New” Ray Robinson (8-0, 3KO’s) of Philadelphia, PA and Qa’id Muhammad (2-0, 2KO’s) of Atlantic City, NJ will be broadcast live on www.GoFightLive.TV. The outspoken and ever entertaining Johnson (19- 0-1, 6KO’s), who is ranked number 7 in the World, and who many feel is the top American heavyweight, recently took some time apart from his tough training regimen to sit down and talk about his upcoming opponent, his return to New Jersey, the heavyweight division as he sees it, and where he ranks himself.
INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN JOHNSON
Q: Kevin how has training been for your upcoming fight with former heavyweight champion of the world Bruce Seldon?
KJ: Everything is good. Camp has been great. I have some big shoes to follow in though. It’s not easy being the next Muhammad Ali, but I’m working hard and am very happy where I am right now.
Q: How does it feel to be coming back to New Jersey to where you were born and raised?
KJ: Oh, it feels great. There is nothing like fighting in your hometown. I expect to have a large number of supporters on hand. This will be the first time in 3 years I am fighting back in Jersey and I truly am excited about coming home. I hope all the ladies are ready to come out and see the Kingpin. My conditioning for this fight has been great and I want to make sure everyone gets a chance to see my amazing physique.
Q: I read that Seldon has been running his mouth a little bit leading up to the fight, is that giving you extra motivation, or do you not even bother listening to what he says?
KJ: Not even worried about him in the least bit. To be honest I am not worried about any of the heavyweights out there right now. I have one goal and one focus and that’s to be the heavyweight champion of the world. If you think that I am going to let anything, let alone one man stop me from achieving that, then you don’t know Kevin Johnson. He and anyone else can say all they want, but when you get in the ring with me all the talking stops and these guys realize they don’t stand a chance.
Q: Is it true though that it was Seldon’s mouth that led to this fight being made?
KJ: It’s simple, he kept talking trash and writing these challenges to me, so I told my promoter, Joe DeGuardia, to make the match, and Joe did.
Q: Do you have a specific game plan going into the fight? Do you feel you are going to stop Seldon? What can we expect to see from you come September 5th?
KJ: I am bringing in some new elements with me to this fight. I am in the position now to crack into the top five in the heavyweight division and I know now that I need to show a little bit more. Like Ali said, “float like a butterfly, and sting like a bee.” For this fight, and for every fight from here on out though I am adding a new element, I’m going to pop like a firecracker. I am coming in like a tsunami and leaving like a tornado. I do not see Seldon making it very far in this fight at all. I am going to dominate him from the opening bell until I finish him off.
Q: You have only 6 KO’s in your 19 victories, which leads people to believe you do not have much pop, which is not true. What do you say to those people who question your lack of power?
KJ: You know what, that’s fine for people to say that now. After this fight though if people are still saying that then we have a problem. People say I can’t punch but what they don’t understand is that I haven’t had to. I have won 19 fights, with just a jab, one hand! And I have done it easily. Now imagine how easy it’s going to be when I start using both hands? No one knows about the real Kevin Johnson. I like that people think I can only box and use my jab. All these guys can study my tapes and say he is a one-dimensional fighter and come up with a so-called game plan to beat me. But when they get into the ring with me it’s going to be a completely different story, because I have not shown the real me yet. I mean look at Klitschko he exposed himself to the world years ago. Everyone knows how he fights and what to expect, if I fought him right now I would completely one hundred percent dominate him. This is my time now, to make a move and break into the top five. So like I said before you can expect to see more out of me. That’s good news for all my critics out there, good news for all my fans, and absolutely horrible news for my opponents.
Q: Where do you rank yourself in the heavyweight division right now? Where do you see yourself in a year from now and who, if you had to chose who would you say is the top heavyweight in the world or poses the biggest threat to you?
KJ: I see myself as THE threat to any of the world champions out there. I have the fastest jab in the heavyweight division, that’s not a secret, everyone knows that. Now I am going to be adding the fastest and most accurate combinations to my arsenal too. Let’s be honest it makes it impossible for anyone to beat me. My promoter Joe DeGuardia at Star Boxing has me right where I want to be. Everything is falling into place and I know that I am going to have my title shot within a year. Joe has done a great job at putting things together for me and getting me exactly what I have asked for, couldn’t expect anything better. The title is coming to me regardless. Before that though I really want to clean up the division and get these so-called top contenders out of the way, and then I will go after my belt. Andrew Golota needs to go and whenever he is ready to leave, I will escort him right out the front door. The same goes for Hasim Rahman, enough is enough. First I would like to get Golota out the way, then Rahman, then I will concentrate on going after whoever is champion at the time. Regarding any threat to me in the heavyweight division, the only threat to me is God and last I checked he was on my team so to be completely honest I don’t have anything or anyone to be worried about.
Q: Anything you want to say in closing to your fans?
KJ: I want let all my fans in Jersey know it has been a long time coming. I have so many supporters in Asbury who have been dying to see me fight at home. Atlantic City is not far so I expect to have a good fan base at Bally’s come September 5th. I want to thank my promoter Joe DeGuardia and Star Boxing for putting this fight together and I look forward to seeing everyone on the 5th. Trust me you are not going to want to miss it.
Tickets are priced at $90 and $60 and can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 1(800) 736-1420 or going online to ticketmaster.com. Tickets are also available by calling Star Boxing at (718) 823- 2000 or by going online to www.starboxing.com
Tickets On Sale Now For “Radisson Rumble” Rematch From ESPN 2
August 26, 2008 (Merrillville, In) On Friday October 3rd, Octavius James/One In A Million Inc, presents the “Radisson Rumble” an evening of exciting professional boxing from the Radisson Hotel @ Star Plaza in Merrillville, IN. One In A Million is coming off a highly successful show at the USS Steelyard in Gary, IN where thousands gathered to celebrate the five-year anniversary of a tremendous boxing promotion. Tickets are now sale for the “Radisson Rumble” which is sure to provide the fireworks boxing fans have been accustomed to from One In A Million Inc.
“The Steelyard Brawl was truly a historic event for One In A Million Boxing. It touched me at how many people came out to show their support and appreciation for our five year anniversary show”. Said One In A Million CEO Octavius James. “The fans reaction gives me the energy to work even harder to continue to produce outstanding shows. I assure the “Radisson Rumble” is going to be a tremendous show with outstanding fights. There is something special about the Radisson. On October 3rd, we are going to be putting on a special main event with Michael Walker vs. Antwaun Echols. This fight is a rematch as both men fought to a draw in February on ESPN 2 “Friday Night Fights”. The first fight was a barn burner and the second one is sure to provide more fireworks.” James Said.
As mentioned in the Main Event, Once beaten Middleweight prospect Michael “Midnight Stalker” Walker (18-1, 12KOs) will look to get back on the winning track after suffering a hard fought unanimous decision loss to David Lopez in June on Solo Boxeo. In February, Walker and Antwaun Echols (31-8, 3KOs) fought to a draw before a worldwide television audience watching on ESPN 2. The Chicago native is erasing that draw from his record and showing the world he is still a force to be reckoned with in the middleweight division. Walker has shown signs of brilliance having defeated former Olympic gold medallist Dante Craig last August on the Morales -Diaz pay- per- view card.
In the Co-Main Event Derrick “Superman” Findley (12-2, 7KOs) who is coming off a devastating second round TKO win over Andrezj Fonfara on ESPN 2 seeks to continue in his ascension up the middleweight ladder. “Superman” possesses dangerous knockout power in both hands along with a physique, which is second to none. Findley is primed and ready for all contenders.
Plus in a special attraction Juan “Mexican Connection” Aguilar (6-1, 3KOs) takes on Orphuis Waite (2-0, 2KOs). Waite has started his career with a bang running through his first two opponents and will be looking to do the same against Aguilar. Aguilar on the other hand has other plans on his mind, as he will be looking to stop Waite in his tracks.
Rounding out this exciting card will be Heavyweight Michael “Quiet Assassin” Parker (6-0, 5KOs), Welterweight sensation Ed Ochoa (5-0, 5KOs), and middleweight Josh Crouch (1-0, 1KO).
Parker is coming off a stirring knockout win against Eric Crittendon and is focused on moving right past the competition in his quest towards becoming a heavyweight contender. Ochoa is looking to find out who will be the next name to add to his knockout list. Crouch who is the newest addition to the One In A Million Inc. stable is ready to exhibit his talent against whoever is put in front of him.
Radisson Hotel @ Star Plaza is conveniently located
at I-65 & US 30.
Ticket prices are $100 VIP $75 VIP ringside $50 ringside $30 general admission.
Tickets for the “Radisson Rumble” can be purchased online at www.Ticketmaster.com any Ticket Master location or by calling 312-559-1212, 219-791-1234 or 866-438-7372
For more information on the “Radisson Rumble,” visit us at: www.OneInAMillionBoxing.com
European Boxing Roundup by Per Ake Persson
Former EBU jr middle champ Edip Secovic, who at the age of 50 made a comeback this year, was found dead outside of his pub in Vienna this morning. Secovic had been stabbed to death. A man – a 26-year old Russian also with stab wounds – has been taken into custody and is believed to be one of the killers but the case is yet very unclear. Iit´s believed that Secovic had gotten into an argument with one or some of his guests. Secovic hailed from what was Yugoslavia but fought out of Austria for his entire career. He won the EBU title in 89 but lost it the same year. Edip also won the WAA and UBF “world” titles. He first retired in 89 but kept coming back through the 90´s. In 2000 he retired for good it seemed but returned June 1 of this year with a first round knockout of Steve Klockow for a total record of 29-9-1. Check again out edip.at for a final farewell to the champ.
French cruiser champ Nadjib Mohammed defends the title against Abdelkader Benzinia September 18 in Paris. On this bill Woilid Guarras and Hassan N´Dam N´Jikam clash in the semifinal of the Grand Tornoi. Russian cruiser Valery Brudov and Cameroon heavy Carlos Takam are featured on the undercard.
Riddick Bowe´s latest comeback – this time September 12 in Gyor, Hungary – is not yet officially cancelled but there are rumors it will be. If parts of the show can be salvaged or postponed to a different date remains to be seen. In Denmark the financial difficulties for Bowe´s agent in Europe, Robert Larsen, continues and his licenses as promoter and manager remain suspended.
German jr light Vitali Tajbert, official challenger for the EBU title, face Belgian Ermano Fegatilli August 29 in Duesseldorf on Spotlight Boxing´s big show at the Burg-Waechter Castello.