New York, March 24–The Vitali Klitschko WBC heavyweight championship title defense contested in Stuttgart on Saturday, was a big hit in Germany and throughout Europe. Vitali’s ninth round knockout victory over challenger Juan Carlos Gomez was watched by a sold out crowd of 12.500 spectators. An amazing total of 11.5 million television viewers watched the championship on German TV channel RTL, which was a market share of 55 percent. The Klitschko-Gomez world title tilt was broadcast in more than 100 countries worldwide, including ESPN Classic live, and replayed on ESPN2 in the United States..
Mighty Mike Anchondo Returns To Ring After Two Year Absence
San Manuel Indian Nation, Calif. – March 24, 2009 – Thursday, April 16, San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino in association with Roy Englebrecht Events, presents the return of Live Championship Boxing for an evening of pound-for-pound prize-fighting action. Tickets are available now at Ticketmaster.com and the San Manuel Box Office for $35 and $50.
The main event will feature the return of former world super featherweight champion, “Mighty” Mike Anchondo (27-2, 19 KOs), and boxing veteran Hector “Mongoose” Alatorre (15-6, 5 KOs).
Anchondo, a 26-year-old La Puente, California native, will make his return to the ring after a hiatus of almost two years. He is an aggressive boxer who soared to the top of the 130-pound weight class in 2004 and is now eager to regain lost ground to get back on top. Alatorre, a 27-year-old from Tulare, California, is known for having an iron chin and has fought renowned fighters over his five-year professional career.
Steve Lengel, Executive Director of Operations for San Manuel, said about the upcoming boxing event, “San Manuel always provides great entertainment for every guest to enjoy, and by including local area fighters on the card ensures boxing fans the chance to root for their hometown heroes.” Lengel added, “Guests will also get to experience the return of world champion Mike Anchondo, which is sure to bring fans to the edge of their seats.”
Promoter Roy Englebrecht is especially excited for Mighty Mike’s return. “Mike fought for me on four occasions on Battle In The Ballroom shows at the Irvine Marriott, and now to be part of his return is just great. Mike is ready to get back to championship form, and San Manuel has his return.”
The fight card also features two co-featured bouts, Rhonda Luna versus Elizabeth “The Pearl” Villareal and Jose Reynoso (10-2), from Riverside, California, will face an opponent, who is yet to be determined, for the San Manuel belt.
Luna (14-1-1, 2 KOs), from Rowland Heights, California, will defend her San Manuel championship belt against the hard-charging Villareal (5-7-4) from San Antonio, Texas.
Additionally, undercard bouts include Inland Empire boxers, such as Moreno Valley’s Artemio Reyes (2-1) and Highland’s Luis Cervantes (0-1).
Note: Doors open at 6:30 and the first bout is scheduled for 7:30. A 21-and-older age requirement to enter the casino and/or see the show is strictly enforced.
WBO-Champion Karoly Balzsay: first title defence against former champion Masoe
Another spectacular boxing event will be staged at the KönigPALAST in Krefeld when the „Universum Champions Night“ returns on April 25, just over a year after a great fight night in March 2008. Four weeks ahead of this great boxing night nearly 75 % of the available tickets have been sold.
The newly crowned WBO super middleweight champion Karoly Balzsay (20-0, 14 KOs) will be featured in the second world title fight of the event. The 29 year old Balzsay, who is trained by Fritz Sdunek in Hamburg, claimed the title by beating stable mate Denis Inkin in January. He will now make his first world title defense against former WBA middleweight champ Masolino Masoe (29-5, 27 KOs). Masoe, who was born on Samoa but now lives and trains in New Zealand, stepped up a weight division to super middleweight after losing his belt in March 2006 to Felix Sturm. He positioned himself in the WBO ranking within the Top 15. Against the former champ masoe, the reigning champion Balzsay will have to demonstrate the boxing fans in Krefeld his great boxing skills as this challenge will certainly be a tough one.
Headlining this „Universum Champions Night“ will be the defending WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm (31-2-1, 13 KOs) in a fight against the unbeaten Japanese challenger Koji Sato. The Universum middleweight champion is coming off a brilliant performance against mandatory challenger Sebastian “Hurricane” Sylvester in at the sold out König-Pilsener-Arena in Oberhausen in November 2008. In the first all german encounter in over eight years the superior boxing skills, the quickness and counter punching of the reigning WBA champ Sturm proved to be too much for the challenger as he totally outclassed and dominated Sylvester.
His challenger now, the unbeaten Japanese Koji Sato (14-0, 13 KOs), fights for the first time in Europe. The 28 year old from Tokyo is the current OPBF middleweight champion (Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation) and is ranked WBC #6 and WBA #14. As a result of his record of 13 knockout wins in his 14 fights, Koji Sato has an impressive KO-rate of 92,8 %.
The undercard features a very attractive bout between unbeaten middleweights Gennady Golovkin (15-0, 12 KOs) of the spotlight boxing team and his contender Tarvis „Marvelous“ Simms (24-0-1, 11 KOs). This will be an eye to eye battle as only one fighter will make his way to a possible world title fight in the near future.
Popular heavyweight Markus Tomala (6-0, 3 KOs) will also be in action close to his hometown of Düsseldorf. Now trained by Artur Grigorian the heavyweight talent of Universum Box-Promotion is always giving 100% and wants to show his fans a good fight. He faces the Cuban Pedro Carrion (6-1, 4 KOs) in his toughest fight to date.
More matchups for the event in Krefeld will be announced in the coming days.
The ZDF will broadcast the fight of Felix Sturm vs. Koji Sato live from Krefeld. The highlights will be available on www.boxing.de on Sunday.