News: Miranda Gets 2008 KO OTY; Dunne’s Fight for Glory now online

HOLLYWOOD, FL, December 31 – On January 11, 2008, Edison Miranda blasted David Banks out of the ring in the third round, a knockout recently named 2008 Knockout of the Year by ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael. On January 14th, 2009, “Pantera” hopes to make spectacular January knockouts an annual tradition when he takes on Manuel Esparza on the latest edition of “Hard Knocks at the Hard Rock” at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida..

“I’m happy to accept the award for Knockout of the Year from ESPN, and I promise that I will be in the running for the 2009 award every time I step into the ring in the New Year,” said Miranda. “They may have to name the award after me after they see all the spectacular knockout wins I have in 2009.”

Tickets for this event, which is headlined by the return of junior middleweight contender Sechew Powell and the debut of 2008 Puerto Rican Olympian Jonathan Gonzalez, are priced at $152, $102, $52, and $22, and are available now at the Hard Rock Live Box Office or TicketMaster.com.

Also in action on January 14th will be highly touted Cuban defector Stalinn Lopez in his pro debut and Star Boxing standout Yathomas Riley. Former undisputed cruiserweight champion O’Neil Bell, who was scheduled to make his heavyweight debut, has pulled out of the fight for personal reasons.

Big Time – Bernard Dunne’s Fight for Glory now online

Big Time – Bernard Dunne’s fight for Glory is the acclaimed documentary which goes behind the scenes and features Dunne and his promoter Brian Peters as they travel the road to European title glory is noe available to watch online from the RTÉ website – http://www.rte.ie/sport/other/2008/1230/dunneb_av.html

The documentary covers Dunne’s return home to Ireland following a three year apprenticeship in the U.S. under boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard and renowned trainer Freddie Roach.

The Dubliner quickly became a household name in Ireland reeling off a string of impressive victories before challenging for the European title at a sold out Point Theatre in his native city. An emotion charged night saw Dunne become champion of Europe with a career best performance and two successful defences followed.

However Dunne’s world fell apart at the hands of Kiko “La Sensación” Martinez with the Spanish wrecking ball ripping Dunne’s title away in just 86 seconds.

Since then Dunne has picked up the pieces and rebuilt his career with three straight wins as he build toward the ultimate prize – a world title fight in 2009.

“Big Time” tells that story with incredible highs, wounding lows and fearless ambition, all set against the tough and at times cruel backdrop of professional boxing.

Big Time: Bernard Dunne’s Fight for Glory is produced for RTÉ by Liberty Films with funding support from Sound & Vision, a Broadcasting Commission of Ireland initiative.

For more information see: http://www.rte.ie/tv/christmas/bernarddunne.html