LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (October 16, 2008) World ranked bantamweight Alex Valdez and his team are furious at the decision over referee Mike Griffin’s decision to stop his title fight in the second round against World Boxing Council champion Hozumi Hasegawa in Tokyo, Japan today. “Alex won the first round with his aggression, in the second round at about the two minute mark he gets hit behind the head by Hasegawa and tumbles against the ropes. He’s up at the count of eight without a problem, Hasegawa flurries and Griffin stops the fight. It was too early and fans can look at the tape and judge for themselves, said Frank Espinoza, manager of Alex Valdez..
At the time of the stoppage, 2:41 of the round, Valdez can clearly be seen moving off them ropes to avoid Hasegawa’s flurry of punches, few of which hit the mark, none of which hurt the Mexican.
Fight fans can view Round 2 from this Youtube link;
Continued Espinoza “Fans and fighters deserve better than this. It’s very rare to see a world title fight stopped in this manner. Hasegawa is the # 1 ranked bantamweight in the world, if he can beat my guy that’s one thing but let them fight. If this stoppage had happened in Mexico or Los Angeles or Las Vegas , the fans and writers would have thought it was way too early.
I’m going to explore my options and may file a protest with the WBC to have a rematch here in the States. World title fights are not club four rounders. What if they had stopped one of Israel ’s fights against Marquez like this or the first Corrales/Castillo fight? Alex is a warrior and frankly he’s embarrassed to have the fight end like this.
I’m also concerned about the choice of referee Mike Griffin. Why didn’t they use Kenny Bayless, Vic Drakulich or Toby Gibson? They’re all very solid Nevada refs who have done Hasegawa fights recently in Japan . There’s no card in Nevada this week.
Why choose a guy with little experience in big fights who had never refereed a fight with either guy before? The one recent big fight he did have was the Mijares destruction of Arce last year. He let Arce take a frightful beating for the last two rounds. My guy catches a couple of flurry shots and the fight is over like that?”
About a rematch, Espinoza said, “In Nevada or California absolutely. Let Keith Kizer or Armando Garcia choose the ref and we’ll be there.”
The ESPINOZA BOXING CLUB was started in 1991 by Los Angeles area businessman Frank Espinoza. Espinoza has earned numerous accolades for his management skills from many boxing newspaper and internet writers.
In 2006, Espinoza was awarded the Manager of the Year award from the World Boxing Hall of Fame and inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame.
In the September 2008 issue of Ring Magazine, Espinoza was praised for his outstanding handling of the career of junior featherweight world champion and “Pound for Pound” superstar Israel “EL MAGNIFICO” Vazquez.
Vazquez is currently ranked on numerous Pound for Pound lists including # 4 by Yahoo Sports, # 5 by Ring Magazine and # 7 by ESPN.
Espinoza also has managed retired former world champion Martin “EL GALLITO” Castillo and currently manages world ranked Alex Valdez and Miguel “EL ANESTESISTA” Huerta in addition to undefeated prospects Manuel “SUAVECITO” Roman, Jesus “POLLO” Hernandez, Luis Ramos, Carlos Molina, Abraham Lopez and Ronny Rios.
Cedric Kushner’s Gotham Boxing returns with powerhouse “The Grande Event” show
Duddy, Quillin, Wolak & Teron in action Nov. 21 at Roseland Ballroom in NYC
NEW YORK (October 15, 2008) – Nearly a full decade ago, Cedric Kushner promoted his first show at New York City’s famed Roseland Ballroom and on November 21, Kushner’s Gotham Boxing returns to the iconic Manhattan venue with “The Grande Event,” featuring a quartet of young, explosive talent sporting a combined pro record of 89-1-1 (65 KOs) — “Ireland’s” John Duddy, Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin, Pawel “Raging Bull” Wolak and Jorge Luis “The Truth” Teron.
Kushner promoted a “Heavyweight Explosion” card on pay-per-view on December 8, 1998, headlined by Jessie Ferguson versus Obed Sullivan and showcasing future world champions Shannon Briggs, Al “Ice” Cole and Oleg Maskaev.
Promoting the Big Apple’s “Fab Four” on Nov. 21, however, is even more special to the Kushner, the former rock ‘n roll promoter who turned to boxing nearly a quarter century ago and has promoted more than 30 world champions and 300 title fights worldwide.
“I have lived in New York for more than half of my life,” Kushner explained. “I consider myself a New Yorker and enjoy the energy and all he amenities of this great city. I like to think, if you can’t get it here, it doesn’t exist. In my mind this is the media capital of the world and for that reason I believe it’s in everyone’s best interest to promote in New York, particularly when you’re promoting new or relatively new fighters.
“I can’t think of a better show at this level that’s ever been promoted in New York City with four fighters on the same show, each deserved of being in a main event themselves, is rather special.”
“The Grande Event” is headlined by unbeaten middleweight Duddy (25-0, 17 KOs), fighting out Queens (NY) by way of Derry, Northern Ireland. Rated No. 2 by the World Boxing Organization, as well as No. 4 by the World Boxing Council and No. 7 by the International Boxing Federation, Duddy takes on veteran Sam “The Punching Policeman” Hill (17-9-1, 10 KOs) in the 10-round main event. Hill has beaten former world champion and Olympic gold medalist David Reid (TKO9) and been in with world champions Jermain Taylor and Maselino Masoe,
Brooklyn’s undefeated middleweight “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (20-0, 15 KOs) could very well be the next Kushner-promoted fighter to capture a world title. Quillin faces an opponent to be determined in the 10-round co-feature.
New York State middleweight and Polish National junior middleweight champion Wolak (22-1, 15 KOs), now living in Brooklyn, is a powerful puncher who has stopped 15 of his 22 victims to date. He faces Christian Lloyd Joseph (12-7-3, 5 KOs) in a 10-round bout.
Bronx lightweight Teron (22-0-1, 15 KOs), trained by former world and Olympic champion Mark Breland, is the reigning NABO champion. Jorge is knocking on the door for a world title shot next year, rated No. 4 by the WBO, in addition to No. 12 by the World Boxing Association and No. 19 by the WBC. He meets TBA in another 10-rounder.
Also scheduled to fight in separate four-round bouts are Queens light middleweight Lambrose “Lionheart” Karaolides (1-0), Bronx super middleweight Hajro Sujak (2-0, 2 KOs), Brooklyn welterweight Luis “El Mero Mero” Ruiz (3-0, 1 KO), Brooklyn light middleweight Romain Oliveri (1-0, 0 KOs), and light welterweight Jonathan Gonzalez, a 2008 Puerto Rican Olympian making his pro debut.
Tickets, priced at $50.00, $80.00, $100.00, $150.00 and $200.00, are on sale and available to purchase by calling Gotham Boxing (212.755.1944), any TicketMaster outlet, or at the Roseland Ballroom box office. Doors will open at 6:30 PM/ET, first bout at 7:00 PM/ET.
For more information call Gotham Boxing or go on line to www.gothamboxing.com.