WBO#9 Minto earns WBO NABO Title Shot! WBO#9, WBA#15 heavyweight contender Brian “The Beast” Minto (33-2 21kos) will meet former WBA heavyweight champ Bruce Seldon (40-7) for the interim WBO NABO heavyweight title on Friday August 14th at Pullman Park in Butler, Pennsylvania. A winner of six straight and 15 of his last 16, Minto will also put his WBA Fedecentro heavyweight title up for stake. Seldon, a winner of two straight and five of his last six, has claimed 36 knockout victims in his 40 professional wins..
The show will be Minto’s second appearance at the historic Pullman Park baseball stadium. Last July 2nd, Minto Ko’d John Poore (20-2) in the main event on ESPN2’s Wednesday Night Fights before several thousand spectators. Promoted by Beatdown Promotions, the 8 bout card will begin at 7pm. Tickets for the event are $25 (general admission), $35 (box reserved) and $50 (ringside) and available at the Pullman Park box office or by calling (724) 287-6797.
“Pain On Penn Street” Press Conferences Photos
Reading, PA – The fighters preparing for battle this Saturday, May 30 on “Pain on Penn Street” at Reading, PA’s Sovereign Center met face to face for the first time Tuesday at Downtown Reading Hofbrau bar and restaurant. The event, promoted by King’s Promotions, will be the first to feature boxing and mixed martial arts action on the same card in Pennsylvania history.
The main event will feature Reading, PA’s unbeaten heavyweight prospect Travis Kauffman in his toughest test to date, against southpaw Livin Castillo of Ecuador in an eight round contest. Said Travis, “I’m in great shape and I’m expecting a great fight here in Reading on Saturday night. This is a great opportunity to show where I’m at and where I belong in the heavyweight division.”
Marshall Kauffman, Travis’ father, trainer and promoter of the show, feels his son must rise to the occasion to separate himself from the pack. “This is going to be a tough challenge for Travis. Castillo comes to fight, and he’s faced some of the best in the world. Not only does Travis have to prove a point to the boxing world, he has to prove a point to his hometown of Reading that he’s on that level.”
Travis Kauffman, a former PAL National champion, is 16-0 with 13 KOs, while Castillo is 14-6 with 9 KOs.
In the co-featured bout, unbeaten cruiserweight knockout artist Julio Cesar Matthews, a native of Harrisburg, will meet the surging Kamarah Pasley in a six round contest.
Reading heavyweight fan favorite Craig Tomlinson will make his first appearance in five years when he faces Jonathon Felton over six rounds.
Estaban Rodriguez of Lebanon, PA will meet Pottstown’s Travis Thompson in a rematch of their thrilling bout last September.
Bethlehem’s Ronald Cruz will try to make it five straight without a loss when he faces once-beaten Norman Allen of Maryland.
The rest of the card will be rounded out with ten MMA bouts featuring some of the most talented amateur grapplers in the region.
It was also announced that number one rated heavyweight contender Chris Arreola, 27-0 (24 KO) and his trainer Henry Ramirez will be on hand to watch the fights as well as the weigh-in this Friday. Arreola and Kauffman sparred frequently to help Arreola prepare for his fight last year with Travis Walker.
Tickets, priced at $65, $50, $35 and $25, are on sale now and can be purchased at the Sovereign Center Box Office at 700 Penn Street in Reading (610-898-7200) and at all Ticketmaster outlets (800-745-3000 or ticketmaster.com).
PRESS CONFERNCE WRAP-UP FROM HOUSTON “THE BEATDOWN IN H-TOWN” SET FOR THURSDAY NIGHT
HOUSTON, TX (May 26, 2009) Featured fighters from this Thursday’s world class professional boxing event, “THE BEATDOWN IN H-TOWN” met with the Houston media this afternoon to discuss their upcoming bouts taking place at the Arena Theatre.
“THE BEATDOWN IN H-TOWN”, is presented by Chet Koerner’s TKO BOXING Promotions, curators of the nationally acclaimed “HOMETOWN HEROES TO WORLD CHAMPIONS” boxing series.
Chet Koerner, President of TKO BOXING Promotions; “We’re thrilled to present our first show in Houston . We’ve been very busy for the last year putting on great events in Reno, Las Vegas, Baltimore, Cincinnati and York, PA and we have terrific upcoming events planned in San Diego, Reno, Baltimore and York .”
We’ve put together an excellent evening of world class professional boxing for the great fight fans in the Houston area this Thursday night.”
Karl “KJ” Noons, “ Houston is my hometown and this is my first time boxing here. I’m very thankful to the TKO team for making this happen and look forward to putting on a great show for the hometown fans.”
Dat “BE DAT” Nguyen, “I’m glad to be here in Houston . I’ve had a terrific camp in Vero Beach and I’m ready to put on a great show for the Houston fight fans.”
Rafael Valenzuela, “This is my third fight this year and I’m really looking forward to Thursday night and staying unbeaten this year.”
Special guest at the press conference was Houston HOMETOWN HERO, Rocky Juarez, who will be facing Chris John on June 27th in Los Angeles as he attempts to become a WORLD CHAMPION.
“THE BEATDOWN IN H-TOWN” is headlined by an outstanding eight round featherweight bout between Dat “BE DAT” Nguyen, 14-1-0 (6KO’s) fighting out of Vero Beach, Florida and Indio, California’s Carlos Hernandez, 14-6-1 (5KO’s).
In the co-feature, Phoenix native, Rafael Valenzuela, 12-1-0 (6KO’s) will battle Jose Garcia Bernal, 27-15-1 (18KO’s) of Miami, Florida, over eight scheduled rounds.
In a special feature attraction, MMA World Champion, Karl “KJ” Noons, 8-2-0 (5KO’s) will face off against Washington State middleweight champion Enrique Gallegos, 6-4-0 (1KO.)
Also featured at “THE BEATDOWN IN H-TOWN” will be Houston prospects Gerardo “TIN TIN” Ibarra and Omar Henry along with Mission , Texas native Raul Tovar as well as the pro debut of former amateur standout Jonathan Gover of San Antonio .
Tickets for “THE BEATDOWN IN H-TOWN”, starting at $20, are now on sale and can be purchased through the Arena Theatre Box Office; 713-772-5900 or www.arenahouston.com. The Arena Theatre is located at 7326 S.W. Freeway in Houston . Doors will open on the evening of the event at 7pm, with the first bell at 8pm.
Tickets, starting at $20, are now on sale and can be purchased through the Arena Theatre Box Office; 713-772-5900 or www.arenahouston.com. The Arena Theatre is located at 7326 S.W. Freeway in Houston . Doors will open on the evening of the event at 7pm, with the first bell at 8pm.