The HBO Boxing After Dark show will feature a 10 round junior middleweight showdown between knockout artists James Kirkland and Joel Julio, two of boxing’s hardest punchers. In one of the co-featured bouts, the NABO and USBA junior welterweight crowns will be on the line when “Vicious” Victor Ortiz takes on “Mighty” Mike Arnaoutis. Opening the telecast will be two-time featherweight World Champion and Gilroy, California native Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero in a ten round NABO junior lightweight championship contest against undefeated contender Daud Yordan..
David Itskowitch, COO of Golden Boy Promotions:
“We have a very exciting triple-header featuring three co-main event fights on March 7th. We are very excited to bring Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero home to fight in front of his hometown fans.”
“You don’t usually see this much talent on one night. You will see the stars of tomorrow…today. These are the guys that are going to carry this sport for years to come, and you have the chance to see all three of them on the same card on March 7th.”
Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, Former Two-Time World Champion:
“I’ve finally made it out to fight in the Bay Area and I’ve been wanting this for a long time. I’m really excited and can’t wait. I’ve worked really hard to get to this point and to get out there in front of my hometown fans is going to be great.”
“It’s time…we’re the young up-and-coming fighters. It’s time for us to take over.”
“I’m going to do what I do best, come out and put on a good show. It’s up to the fans to come out and support the fights and I hope they do.”
Victor Ortiz, NABO Junior Welterweight Champion:
“I’m excited to be on this great card with Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero and James Kirkland. I’m really excited to fight in the Bay Area because everyone has been asking me when I would fight up here and now I finally am.”
“You can expect a great night from both me and my opponent on March 7th”
Rolando Arellano, Co-Manager of Victor Ortiz:
“We are excited to have a young up-and-coming champion in Victor Ortiz on this exciting card.”
Bob Santos, Co-Manager of Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero:
“To have HBO and the caliber of these fighters coming to the Bay Area is very exciting.”
Ruben Guerrero, Father/Trainer of Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero:
“It’s my job to study the opponent and pick out the bad things about him to help Robert prepare and that’s what I’m doing again for this fight.”
Tickets for this hard-hitting event, priced at $200, $100, $60 and $25, are now on sale and available for purchase at the HP Pavilion Ticket Office, Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets or by calling 1-800-745-3000.
The explosive triple-header boxing event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate and Southwest Airlines. Doors open at 3:00pm and the first bell rings at 3:30pm. The HBO Boxing After Dark telecast begins at 10:00pm ET/PT.
Herbie Hide to Darnell Wilson: “How much do you want to pay for a thrashing?”
After Matt Godfrey had to pull out of his WBC final elimination bout against Herbie Hide scheduled for March 6th in Cuxhaven, Germany, Darnell “Ding-A-Ling-Man” Wilson started calling out the “Dancing Destroyer” for an eight-rounder. Herbie’s response: “Darnell Wilson can’t be serious. He must have some ‘Ding-A-Ling’ in his head. Isn’t he the man who just lost in Singapore to Ehinomen Ehikhamenor, a guy I clearly outclassed last year? How dare this kid calls me out?”
“Wilson, listen son, if you want to come and play with the big boys do your homework first. You are coming off of two straight losses and got nothing to offer. I am lined up for a final elimination bout. You can come and do sparring with me if you want. If you’re interested in a thorough thrashing from the ‘Dancing Destroyer’ – how much do you want to pay for it? If you bring some money to the table I might give you a good lesson. Otherwise start beating mediocre guys before you try to compete at the top level.”
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT RILEY READY TO SHINE UNDER ESPN’S BRIGHT LIGHTS
This Friday the 13th at New York City’s famed Roseland Ballroom in mid-town Manhattan, Star Boxing’s exciting light heavyweight prospect Yathomas Riley (5-0,3KO) will look to showcase his skills for the first time on national T.V. when he takes on Julius Jackson (2-2) in a four round light heavyweight contest that is scheduled to open up that evening’s ESPN “Friday Night Fights” telecast. In the main event, Star Boxing’s Alexis Camacho (17-1,16KO) will look to start the new year with a bang when he takes on the always dangerous Carlos Molina (14-4-1,5KO) in a ten round welterweight contest.
Riley, the 2006 National Golden Gloves light heavyweight champion, burst onto the scene in 2008 with a 4th TKO of Borngod Washington. Riley who is from Homestead Florida, but now fights out of the Bronx, NY went a perfect 4-0 in his first year as a pro and looks to continue that success in 2009 and gradual move up the light heavyweight ranks.
Riley ran his record to 5-0,3KO when he handed out a four round beat down to the very game Evgeny Stardubstev on January 14th in his home state of Florida. Now Riley returns back to New York City for his much anticipated national T.V. debut.
“This is a very exciting time for me right now,” stated Riley. “I am very grateful for this opportunity from my promoter Joe DeGuardia and Star Boxing for putting this fight together, and for ESPN2 for wanting me to open their telecast. This is every fighter’s dream, to fight on national T.V., and come this Friday I get to live that dream.”
While some young fighters might feel there is added pressure in fighting on a nationally televised broadcast, the very confident Riley, is only looking at the positives in this opportunity. “I am confident in my ability and my skills, and being able to fight on T.V. is going to give me a chance to showcase them on a national level. This is a huge moment for me and my career, and I promise that I won’t take that for granted. I plan on putting on a spectacular showing on Friday, and look to feed off that and continue to impress and continue to put together dominating performances for the rest of 2009. Friday the 13th is when I check in. It’s going to be my coming out party, a chance to show the entire boxing world that Yathomas Riley is going to be a force to recon with in the light heavyweight division.”
“I feel strongly that Yathomas is really going to be something special,” stated Joe DeGuardia, CEO of Star Boxing. “Yathomas still has things to work on and improve on just like any up and coming prospect, but he has so much natural ability that I truly believe the sky is the limit for him. The best thing about Yathomas, and it’s something that you can’t really teach in boxing, is that this kid punches extremely hard. He has the ability to end a fight with one punch and the best part about it, it can come from either hand. 2009 is going to be big year for Yathomas, he is getting a chance to showcase his skills on national T.V. on the 13th and we look to continue to keep moving him in this direction and continue to watch him grow and move up the light heavyweights ranks in the process.”
LOOK FOR THE HUSTLER HONEY’S IN ATTENDANCE AS RING GIRLS!
The show is promoted by Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing, in association with The Hustler Club. Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased through all livenation outlets or by going online to www.livenation.com or www.starboxing.com. Tickets can be purchased for $200, $100, $75, or $40. V.I.P tables are also available for purchase, for details call Star Boxing at (718) 823-2000. Roseland Ballroom is located in New York City at 239 W. 52 Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue. Doors open at 6:30 PM with the first bout scheduled for 7:30.