LOS ANGELES, CA (February 19, 2009) Sensational lightweight prospect Luis Ramos will next return to the ring on Saturday, March 7th at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California on the off-TV portion of HBO’s Boxing After Dark tripleheader presented by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. The 20 year old Ramos has quickly become the talk of the Southern California boxing scene as one of boxing’s hottest prospects. Since turning professional in October 2007, the southpaw Ramos has impressively run his record to 9-0 with five knockouts..
Said manager Frank Espinoza, “The fans in San Jose are in for a real treat. With his all action, aggressive style he’s really become a favorite in the Los Angeles area and had drawn huge crowds to his fights.”
Fighting on this big show is an excellent opportunity for Luis and we’re very thankful to Richard Schaefer and the Golden Boy Promotions team for this opportunity.”
Ramos is coming off a dominant six round decision over Justo Vallecillo on December 11th at the Marriott Hotel in Irvine, California , sweeping all three scorecards.
Continued Espinoza, “Luis has done a great job in his first nine bouts, either with stoppages or almost clean sweeps on the scorecards in his four decision wins. With his continued work and strong dedication to his training he has all the tools to become a world champion.”
Further details of the Luis Ramos bout will be announced shortly.
The HBO Boxing After Dark card will feature a ten 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 middleweight crowns will be on the line when “Vicious” Victor Ortiz takes on “Mighty” Mike Arnaoutis. Opening the telecast will be two time featherweight champion and Gilroy, California native Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero in a ten round junior lightweight contest against undefeated contender Daud Yordan.
Tickets for this hard hitting event, priced at $200, $100, $60 and $25 are available at the HP Pavilion Ticket Office, Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets or by calling 1-800-745-2000.
The ESPINOZA BOXING CLUB was started in 1991 by Los Angeles area businessman Frank Espinoza.
Espinoza, born and bred in East Los Angeles, was a huge fan of the sport and eventually went on to establish himself as one of the top managers in the world of boxing.
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.
Espinoza’s management style has earned him numerous accolades from several respected print and internet boxing writers. 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.
Along with managing Vazquez also manages a young squad of talented and promising fighters composed of Luis Ramos, Carlos Molina, Abraham Lopez, Ronny Rios, Manny “Suavecito” Roman and Jesus “Pollo” Hernandez.
Among the world champions Espinoza has managed in the past are Martin “Gallito” Castillo, Enrique Sanchez, Isidro “Chino” Garcia and “Mighty” Mike Anchondo.
It is the goal of the Espinoza Boxing Club to always fight for our fighter’s best interests and to maximize their potential.
Edwin Rodriguez signs with DiBella Entertainment
Headlining “Homecoming” March 19 at Mechanics Hall, Worcester, MA
WORCESTER, Mass. (February, 19, 2009) – At large group of supporters attended today’s press conference in Worcester (MA) for unbeaten middleweight prospect Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez’ formal signing of an exclusive promotional contract with DiBella Entertainment.
Friends, family, members of the Worcester Police Gang Unit, local politicians, media, business leaders and boxing dignitaries, as well as fellow boxers – Jose Antonio Rivera, Peter Manfredo, Jr., Bobby Harris, Danny O’Connor and Andre Nevsky – filled the room at historic Mechanics Hall.
“It’s great to be here in this great venue,” promoter Lou DiBella said. “Mechanics Hall has a great history. I’m happy to sign and promote a great young fighter like Edwin, who could be a real star. In today’s economy, I wouldn’t be signing fighters if I didn’t feel it’s a good investment. Not only does he have world-class ability, I believe in him as a person and admire him in and out of the ring. This is one of my most significant signings. Edwin’s every bit, or better, than the most recent Olympic class, and I believe he’s a future world champion.”
The Dominican Republic born Rodriguez (9-0, 5 KOs), fighting out of Worcester, was an outstanding amateur boxer who had an 84-9 record, including gold medal performances in the 2005 USA Boxing National Championships and 2006 U.S. Golden Gloves Championships.
“There are many dangers in this sport,” Rodriguez explained why he signed with DiBella Entertainment. “A lot of promoters and managers want to make as much money as possible and leave their fighters with nothing. Lou DiBella’s motivation is to do his best for me, in and out of the ring. He has a stable of world-class fighters and I’m proud to be part of it. He stepped up to the plate and, as Italians say, made an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
An announcement was made about Rodriguez’ next fight with him headlining, “Homecoming,” promoted by Manfredo’s Gym in association with DiBella Entertainment, as part of its Broadway Boxing television series, Thursday night, March 19 at Mechanics Hall.
Tickets, priced at $50.00 (balcony), $75.00 (first row balcony), $60.00 (floor), $100.00 (floor), and $150.00 (ringside – first 2 rows inside security barriers), go on sale tomorrow at the Mechanics Hall box office, www.mechanicshall.org, Manfredo’s Gym in Pawtucket (RI), and the Boys & Girls Club of Worcester. Doors open at 6:30 PM/ET, first bout at 7:00 PM/ET.
Press Conference Quotes
Lou DiBella: “It’s great to see a world champion (Jose Rivera) and so many dignitaries and community leaders here today. Mr. Rivera was one of the most terrific fighters of the last decade and a good role model. Broadway Boxing is the name of my series. We put on world-class club shows and give fans a great opportunity to see the best talent. This will be a great show. Like Jose, I admire Edwin for what he does in and out of the ring. He had to put his career on hold (turning pro instead of trying to make the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team) to take care of his babies. I’m looking forward to a great night of boxing at this great venue.”
Edwin Rodriguez: “I’d like to thank the Boys & Girls Club for giving me a place to channel my energies. And special thanks to my amateur coach, Carlos Garcia, who is not only my coach but a friend. He told me when I started to keep my hands high, in and out of the ring. I’m proud to wear the colors of Worcester Police Gang Unit on my trunks in my next fight. Peter has put me through blue collar workouts in training and I thank him. My manager and friend, Larry Army, has done a great job for me. I want to thank by family – mom and dad and my five brothers. Six brothers and we had a lot of fights growing up. I also want to thank my fiancé’s family for their love and support. All my friends here today, I thank you, and to my fiancée, Stephanie (Rapa) and our twins, Edwin, Jr. and Serena Lynn, I love you.”
Larry Army (Edwin’s manager): ‘We’re proud to have Edwin’s next fight in Worcester, March 19 right here at Mechanics Hall. Edwin’s going to headline this Broadway Boxing show. We have a special fighter here. If we sellout this show Lou has promised to do more shows in Worcester. As good a boxer as he is, Edwin’s an even better person.”
Peter Manfredo, Sr. (Edwin’s head trainer): “My job is simply to prepare him. People at the next show will see how he’s progressing. Lou works with world champions and the bottom line is Edwin will progress into a world champion.”
Unseen exclusives on the Steve Bunce Boxing Hour
Setanta Sports News has exclusive action from three previously unaired fights on the Steve Bunce Boxing Hour this Thursday at 2pm. For the first time on television viewers can watch Michael Maguire outpoint Fayael Messaudene, and George Groves’ third round defeat of Romanic Hignard from the Hayemaker 4 card at York Hall in Bethnal Green.
Last weekend’s IBF light-heavyweight eliminator bout between Clinton Woods and Elvir Muriqi will be shown as well.
Commonwealth middleweight champion Darren Barker will be appearing in the studio to preview Kelly Pavlik’s WBO and WBC title defence against Marco Antonio Rubio this weekend, which is exclusively live on Setanta Sports 1.
And it’s the final week of our Fantasy Fight competition. Viewers have emailed in, in their thousands, pairing up the boxers they would most like to see (dead or alive) fight each other. Fans of the show wanting to take part should email views@setanta.com.