News: Abraham vs Lorenzo, Then Pavlik; Gayratjon Ahmedov; Lopez-Duran

By Per Ake Persson: German tabloid Bild Zeitung wrote Sunday that IBF middle champ Arthur Abraham will fight mandatory challenger Giovanni Lorenzo June 27 in Germany. Bild wrote that Abraham will then take on WBC and WBO king Kelly Pavlik November 17 at the Madison Square Garden in New York. Manager Wilfried Sauerland is quoted as saying that “we are in intense, good negotiations”. Trainer Uli Wegner points out that “King” Arthur needs to watch his diet a lot closer than last time out when he struggled against Lajuan Simon, which was written down to losing eight kilos in the last two weeks leading up to the fight..

Arena Box Promotion´s Turkish welter Selcuk Aydin makes his US debut April 17 in Primm, Nevada, against Said Ouali in what is a defence of the WBC Int´l title. Aydin is already in Nevada training under Graciano Rocchigiani.

Hungarian promoter, manager, agent and sometimes still fighter Zoltan Petranyi will stage a big free entrance show at the Gilda-Max Gym in Budapest April 1. It´s mainly a no-name show giving many decent journeymen a chance for a win in front of a homecrowd.

Beibut Shumenov‘s KZ Event Productions signs prospect Gayratjon Ahmedov

LAS VEGAS (March 30, 2009) – KZ Event Productions, owned by world-rated light heavyweight contender Beibut Shumenov and his brother, Chingis, announced today that it has signed unbeaten Uzbekistan light heavyweight prospect Gayratjon Ahmedov to an exclusive promotional deal.

The 30-year-old Ahmedov (10-0-1, 6 KOs) was national amateur champion of Uzbekistan in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2001. He was a silver medalist at the Asian Games and bonze medal winner at the 2002 Boxing World Cup in Kazakhstan.

“We’re very excited to add a fighter of Gayratjon’s ability to our growing stable of future champions at KZ Event Productions,” Shumenov said. “He’s a devastating puncher who fans will love when they have an opportunity to watch him fight.”

Ahmedov, who has never fought as a pro outside of Asia and Europe, is scheduled to make his KZ Event debut May 9 on the undercard of an outdoor show, headlined by former Kazakhstan Olympian Shumenov (7-0, 5 KOs), at Khadjimukan Stadium in Chimkent, Kazakhstan.

Shumenov, the 2008 WBC Asian Boxing Council Organization’s Boxer of the Year, already holds three championship belts – WBC Asian Boxing Council, WBO Asia Pacific and PABA — and is rated No. 8 by the WBA, No. 9 by the WBO and No. 16 by the WBC. His most defining victory to date was a one-sided victory by 12-round decision (120-107, 120-108, 120-108) against former WBC title-holder Montell “Ice” Griffin (50-8, 30 KOs) last August in Kazakhstan.

BOXING RETURNS TO DESERT DIAMOND CASINO ON APRIL 10

David “The Destroyer” Lopez vs. Ossie Duran in Jr. Middleweight Bout Televised on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights”

(Tucson, Arizona) – The boxing drought is over in Southern Arizona. Desert Diamond Casino, in a partnership with Golden Boy Promotions, is bringing back live pugilism for boxing fans. On Friday, April 10th, the Diamond Center will once again be the center of world-class showdowns as Nogales’ own David “The Destroyer” Lopez faces off in a ten-round junior middleweight bout. Special guest Oscar De La Hoya will also be present at the fights. Doors open at 6:00 pm with the first fight starting at 7:00 PM. Select fights will be televised on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights”. Tickets are on sale now and range from $35 to $100 in advance. They can be purchased at any Ticketmaster location, by calling 800-745-3000, by contacting the Desert Diamond Casino Box Office, or by visiting www.desertdiamondcasino.com.

Fan favorite and Nogales’ pride, David “The Destroyer” Lopez (37-12, 25 KOs), is dropping some pounds to face off in the junior middleweight division after years of dominating the middleweight ranks. He’ll take on Ossie Duran (23-6-2, 9 KOs) who fights out of Patterson, New Jersey by way of Accra, Ghana.

The co-main event features the 2000 Junior Olympics bronze medalist, Hector “El Flaco” Sanchez (17-0, 8 KOs), who fights out of Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. He’ll compete in eight rounds as a jr. welterweight against former world champion DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley (33-10-1, 19 KOs).

2004 Olympian Rock Allen (14-0, 7 KOs), a Philadelphia native, will compete in an eight-round junior welterweight fight against El Paso’s Adan Hernandez (14-6, 5 KOs).

Carlos Velasquez (9-0, 5 KOs), a 2004 Puerto Rican Olympian, is featured in the four-round junior lightweight event; his opponent has not yet been determined.

In a 6-round junior featherweight bout, Houston native Hylon Williams (8-0, 3 KOs) will return to the Diamond Center for a third time. He was an alternate for the 2008 US Olympic team and was the 2007 National Golden Gloves Champion. He faces Albuquerque’s Julio Chavez (6-3-1, 2 KOs).

Local heavyweight fighter and heavy-hitter, Eric Woods (5-0, 4 KOs), will return once again to the Diamond Center for a four-round fight after knocking out Andrew Fish back on October 10, 2008. He faces Ethan Cox (2-4-1, 1 KO) out of Long Beach, CA.

Karl Dargan (3-0, 1 KO), out of Philadelphia, PA, recently won the gold medal in the light welterweight division at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He’s fighting as a junior welterweight for four rounds against an opponent yet to be determined.

Treena Parvello, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for the Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise, said, “It’s true, boxing is back! This will be the event of the year so don’t miss out on seeing David “The Destroyer” Lopez continue his rampage on the road to becoming a world champion! It all goes down at Desert Diamond Casino on April 10th.”