By Seth Green: According to news reports, the mega fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will be taking place on March 13th at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Dallas Cowboy Stadium was under consideration, as Cowboy owner Jerry Jones had offered $25 million for the fight to take place there. However, the MGM has reportedly won out, topping that bid..
Battle at the Boat 75 “The Anniversary Show”
Featuring George “Monk” Foreman III
David Torres vs. Raymundo Beltran
Walter Wright returns!
(Tacoma, WA.) Brian Halquist Productions and the Emerald Queen Casino will start their 14th year of pro-boxing Saturday, January 9, 2010, with Battle at the Boat 75 – The Anniversary Show. Doors open at 6:00 pm, first fight is scheduled for 7 pm. Battle at the Boat 75 will feature fighters well known to the Northwest boxing fan along with some new faces that will become familiar to the Northwest boxing scene.
The Main Event will feature Othello, Washington’s David “El’ Torrito” Torres (21-1, 13 KO’s) vs. Raymundo Beltran (22-4, 14 KO’s) in a 10 round contest. Torres who last fought in October of 2008, will look to gain ground in the light welterweight division. “It’s great to have David back at the Emerald Queen. He’s had lots of success fighting in Tacoma and we look forward to a great fight with Beltran,” said Promoter Brian Halquist.
Also on the card will be George “Monk” Foreman III (4-0, 4 KO’s), son of former three time heavyweight champion George Foreman. “George III just started his pro-career this past June and has been extremely active. When we saw that another Foreman was fighting, we set our sights on featuring him on one of our shows,” Halquist stated. Foreman III will fight a four rounder. This isn’t the first time that a Foreman has fought locally. George Foreman fought an exhibition fight at Fort Lewis at the beginning of his comeback some 20 years ago.
Making his return to the Emerald Queen Casino will be local fan favorite Walter “2 Guns” Wright (13-3, 7 KO’s). Wright, who was featured on ESPN’s “The Contender” reality television show, will be fighting 6 rounds in the semi-main. “Walter has the skills to be a champion. We built him at the Emerald Queen Casino and the crowd loves him. We want to get Walter back in the ring and feature him in 2010,” said Halquist. Wright is a Seattle native who signed with BHP after turning professional.
Making his pro debut will be 2008 Olympic alternate David “Thunder” Clark who is trained by Freddie Roach. “We’ll be working with Freddie to develop David in the years to come. Clark was one of the best amateurs in the world and we are very excited about working with him, Freddie and the crew at Wild Card Gym,” Halquist said. Roach will be making the trek from the famed Hollywood, California gym to Tacoma with Clark. .
Also making his pro debut is Tacoma’s Mike “Imagine” Gavronski. Gavronski is a 3 time Tacoma Golden Gloves champion and was named the “Golden Boy” at the 60th annual Tacoma Golden Gloves tournament in 2008. “Gavronski is ready to turn a pro. He is coming in with an impressive amateur career and the Emerald Queen Casino fight fans have been excited to see his pro-debut,” said Halquist. “It’s great to turn another local kid pro. Northwest fight fans are so supportive of our local fighters. Mike already has a big local following and there is a big buzz about him.”
The Battle at the Boat started on July 9, 1997 in a big circus tent when the Emerald Queen Casino was on a riverboat located on the Tacoma tide flats. On that night Tacoma’s Emmett “Laser” Linton faced Jose “Shibata” Flores for the IBA light middleweight world title. A sold out crowed watched the fight and the series was launched.
Showtime, HBO, ESPN, ESPN 2, Telemundo, Fox Sports Network, Univision, Direct TV, and Azteca have all broadcast Battle at the Boat shows from the Emerald Queen Casino. Fights from the series have been shown nationally and internationally.
In July of 2007, The Battle at the Boat saw Vernon Forrest face Carlos Baldomir for the WBC Super Welterweight Title which aired on HBO. It was dubbed one of the biggest fights in Washington State history and definitely lived up to its hype, as Vernon Forrest defeated Carlos Baldomir by Unanimous Decision to lay claim to the vacant world title.
Shortly after that, ShoBox celebrated their 100th telecast on November 2nd 2007 at the Emerald Queen Casino. On that night, heavyweights Eddie Chambers and Calvin Brock fought to a 12 round Split Decision victory for Chambers.
On August 2nd, 2008 Showtime came back to the Emerald Queen Casino to present the Dmitry Kirillov-Vic Darchinyan IBF Super Flyweight Title fight. Vic Darchinyan dominated from the very start and was able to score a 5th round KO to take the title from Kirillov.
The fight series will continue into 2010. Five fights have been scheduled for the year. “We were only planning on doing one show back in 1997,” Halquist said. “Thirteen years later we are still going strong. It’s been an incredible run and we are looking forward to many more shows in the future. This series has taken on a life of its own. I feel so fortunate to have been a part of this.” Halquist said, with a smile on his face.
The Fight card
Main Event – 10 Rounds
David Torres (21-1, 13 KO’s) vs. Raymundo Beltran (22-4, 14 KO’s)
Semi-Main – 6 Rounds
Walter Wright (13-3, 7 KO’s) vs. TBA
Also Featuring:
George Foreman III (4-0, 4 KO’s) vs. TBA
Francisco Reyes (3-0, 2 KO’s) vs. Darren Darby (5-7-2)
David Clark (Pro Debut) vs. Rob Diezel (Pro Debut)
Mike Gavronski (Pro Debut) vs. Darren Azeie (Pro Debut)
TICKETS
Available at the Emerald Queen Casino box office 1-888-831-7655 and at all Ticketmaster outlets. Or online at www.ticketmaster.com
Ticket Prices: **VIP Ringside $100 – Reserved $60 – General Adm. $30
**All VIP ticket buyers will be invited to a pre-party function at the EQC Bridge Nightclub starting at 5:00 pm.
Quickie Facts
What: Battle at the Boat 75 – The Anniversary Show
Where: Emerald Queen Casino’s I-5 Showroom
When: January 9th, 2010
Time: Event starts at 7:00 P.M. Doors open at 6:00 P.M.
PRIMM VALLEY CASINO RESORTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH ROY ENGLEBRECHT EVENTS AND FERNANDO VARGAS PRESENT WORLDS COLLIDE CHAMPIONSHIP: A $175,000 BOXING AND MIXED MARTIAL ARTS TOURNAMENT ON JAN. 9
NO FAME – NO FORTUNE – NO FEAR – ALL FIGHT
Primm, Nev. – Primm Valley Casino Resorts, Roy Englebrecht Events and tournament host Fernando Vargas present Worlds Collide, a high octane boxing and mixed martial arts championship tournament 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9 in the Star of the Desert Arena at Buffalo Bill’s Resort and Casino. Tickets are $50 and $20 and can be purchased online at www.primmvalleyresorts.com or by calling 1.800.FUN.STOP.
The championship includes five bouts with five contenders coming from Las Vegas and five hailing from California. The winner from each bout will take home $5,000 and the loser will bring in $2,500.
MMA – three, five-minute rounds – 180 pounds:
Jorge Lopez, Las Vegas (8-3) taking on Danny Davis, Las Vegas (1-1-1)
Boxing – six, three-minute rounds – 162 pounds:
David Tabatadze, Reseda, Calif. (4-0, 1 KO) challenging Angel Osuna, Coachella, Calif. (3-2-1, 1 KO)
Boxing – six, three-minute rounds – 142 pounds:
Deth Marcus Hall, Las Vegas (2-0) vs. Yakub Shdaev, Northridge, Calif. (3-1, 1 KO)
MMA – three, five-minute rounds – 135 pounds:
Sidemar Honorio, Huntington Beach, Calif. (5-0) taking on John Merkle, Los Angeles (3-3)
Boxing – six, three-minute rounds – 132 pounds:
Renell Griffin, Las Vegas (6-2-1) vs. Johnny Frazier, Las Vegas (2-2-3)
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. in the Star of the Desert Arena inside Buffalo Bill’s Resort and Casino.
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