News: Demetrius Andrade; Solomon Haumono; Eugene Hill

One of the top boxing prospects in the world, 2008 U.S. Olympian Demetrius “The Extinguisher” Andrade, returns home October 3 to fight for the third time as a professional on the stacked “Saturday Afternoon Special” card at the Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, Rhode Island. “Saturday Afternoon Special” is a rare matinee show (2 PM/ET start), promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment and Sports, Inc. (CES), in association with Twin River, Banner Promotions, Star Boxing and DiBella Entertainment..

Undefeated prospect Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez (11-0, 8 KOs), a 2-time national amateur champion, headlines in an 8-round super middleweight match against battle-tested Darnell Boone (16-12-2, 6 KOs).

Andrade (7-0, 6 KOs), born and raised in Providence, is a former World amateur champion fighting in the 6-round co-feature versus another undefeated prospect, Chris Chatman (4-0, 2 KOs). In arguably his best performance as a pro, Andrade stopped previously undefeated John Williams (3-0-1) earlier this month at Twin River.

“He was game,” Andrade said of Williams. “I think my last fight was my best, so far. He was a tough guy. I showed a little of everything; boxing in and out, moving around, and using all of my tools on my opponent.”

“Demetrius Andrade will be world champion,” Burchfield claimed. “All of us at CES are honored to have him fight again at home on our card. His promoters are both dear friends of mine – Artie Pelullo of Banner Promoters in Philadelphia and Joe DeGuardia of Star Boxing in New York City. They are two of the top promoters in the business and it’s been great working with them to have Demetrius fight on our cards. Demetrius is an undefeated prospect that puts on a colorful show from the moment he enters the arena and goes into the ring.”

Andrade made his pro debut last Oct. 23 and the accelerated pace of his first year is the result of his promoters working with associates like Burchfield, which allows him to fight at home before family and friends. “I was just thinking that 10 fights by the end of this year would be good,” Andrade remarked. “It looks like I’ll have nine because of the holiday season. That’s still good. I’m learning pro techniques and getting more relaxed, confident and patient. I don’t throw every punch looking for a knockout anymore, but I still throw hard punches with bad intentions. I’ve improved my inside moves, working on techniques to stop my opponent from holding me. For me, fighting at home is glory. There’s no place like home.”

Another promising Cape Verdean from Providence, super middleweight Vladine Biosse (3-0, 3 KOs), takes on Tafari Lawton (1-0) in a 4-round bout. The fan-friendly Biosse is a former University of Rhode Island football player.

Light welterweight Simeon Dunwell (9-1, 2 KOs) meets David Marquez (5-6-1, 1 KO) in a 6-round bout. Also fighting on the undercard in 4-round fights are Hartford junior middleweight David Bauza (1-0, 1 KO) vs. Khristian Geraci (4-6-1, 3 KOs), Hartford light welterweight Edwin Soto (1-0, 1 KO) vs. Darrell Jones (2-2, 1 KO) and Providence light welterweight Jesus Caro (4-0, 4 KOs) vs. Damien Butler (0-1). All fights and fighters are subject to change.

Rollback ticket prices for “Saturday Afternoon Special” are $25.00, $35.00 $50.00, $100.00 ($15.00 redeemable free play at Twin River), and limited $150.00 Jimmy’s Platinum Club ($25.00 redeemable free play at Twin River), and are available to purchase by calling CES (401.724.2253/2254), going online at www.cesboxing.com or www.twinriver.com, at Twin River’s Players Club booth at Twin River, or any TicketMaster location.

Contact CES (401.724.2253/2254/www.cesboxing.com) or the Twin River Event Center (877.82.RIVER/ www.twinriver.com) for more information. Doors open at 1 PM/ET, first bout at 2 PM/ET.

Solomon Haumono joins cousin Dominic Vea with OPBF title belt

Solomon Haumono’s recent tenth round stoppage of Michael Kirby in Queensland ensured that he won’t be outdone by his younger cousin and fellow pugilist Dominic Vea when it comes to title belts.

Haumono’s win rewarded him with the OPBF’s heavyweight belt, but Vea, a cruiserweight, still has bragging rights – he picked up his OPBF Cruiserweight title much earlier in 2007.

First cousins Haumono (17-1-1, 15KO) and Vea (12-1, 10KO) join light heavyweight Tim Bell as Australia’s only Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation title holders. The OPBF title is a highly prized Asia-Pacific regional belt.

Vea and Haumono are the family’s second generation boxers. Two uncles, Fine and Sione, also had distinguished careers in the ring. Fine Sani Vea, won boxing gold at the Brisbane 1982 Commonwealth Games and went on to the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, while Sione Sani Vea fought Tony Mundine on two occasions.

Vea, who defended his OPBF title and claimed the WBO Oriental cruiserweight belt in August is taking a much deserved break and will be back in action early next year.

“Sol has worked hard to win this belt and get where he is, so I’d like to congratulate him on a job well done. It’s nice having two title holders in the family! ” says Dominic, who trains out of Mt Druitt’s Core Strength Gym.

EUGENE HILL RETURNS TO ACTION IN HOUSTON ON OCTOBER 10TH

HOUSTON, TX (September 29, 2009) Sensational heavyweight prospect Eugene “MEAN GENE” Hill will return to the ring in Houston, Texas as Chet Koerner’s TKO BOXING Promotions presents “HIGH STAKES”, an action packed evening of world class professional boxing on Saturday, October 10th at the Arena Theatre.

The heavy handed Hill, known for his devastating knockouts, brandishes a record of 17-1-0 with fourteen stoppages heading into his scheduled six round bout against Sonora, Mexico native, Francisco Mireles, 8-4-0 (1KO).

A native of Dickinson, Texas, the highly popular Hill has recently started a strength and conditioning program with award winning fitness coach Shaun Kelly in addition to his daily boxing routine with trainer Aaron Navarro.

Said Hill, ‘Working with Shaun has truly helped me with my energy level and I’m in much better shape than I’ve ever been in my pro career. I’ve lost weight but I’ve gained muscle which has been critical for me. In the next twelve months I want to fight the highest rated heavyweights in the world and it’s critical that I be in the best shape possible in order to do that.”

“My boxing training has really picked up with Aaron Navarro. He has me concentrating on using a variety of body shots and I’ve been sparring regularly with Chris Henry, Felix Cora and Nagy Aguilera.”

“I can’t wait to get in the ring and put on another great performance for the Houston fight crowd on October 10th.”

Said Koerner, President of TKO BOXING Promotions, “MEAN GENE is known in the state of Texas for his thunderous knockouts which has made him amongst the most popular athletes in Houston. Since we announced his fight on “HIGH STAKES”, Eugene has made numerous TV and radio appearances with many more lined up through fight night.”

“HIGH STAKES”, the second Houston card by TKO BOXING Promotions, features an unprecedented amount of talent throughout the card. “The Houston fans want to see terrific fighters in action packed fights. They loved our card in May and we return on October 10th with many of the hottest prospects in boxing on this card” said Koerner.

Along with Eugene “MEAN GENE” Hill, “HIGH STAKES” features numerous world class contenders and prospects including all-action Vietnamese featherweight Dat “BE DAT” Nguyen, 16-1-0 (6KO’s), local middleweight prospect and MMA champion KJ Noons, 11-2-0 (5KO’s),. sensational Houston based newcomer Gerardo “TIN TIN” Ibarra, 4-0-0 (3KO’s), world ranked flyweight Rayonta Whitfield, 22-1-0 (11KO’s), undefeated lightweight Mickey Bey Jr., 13-0-0 (7KO’s) along with Dominican welterweight KO artist, Francisco “THE PHENOM” Contreras, 10-0-0 (10KO’s).

Starting at $25, tickets for “HIGH STAKES” can be obtained through the Arena Theatre Box Office (www.arenahouston.com, phone 713-772-5900). The Arena Theatre is located at 7326 Southwest Freeway (between Bellaire and Fondren) in Houston . Doors on the evening of the event will open at 7pm with the first bell at 8pm.