Seattle’s Walter “2 Guns” Wright will return to the ring on Saturday at Brian Halquist Productions’ Battle at the Boat 77 at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma. Wright, a multiple Tacoma Golden Gloves champion, will meet Joshua Snyder (8-5-1, 3 KOs) in a scheduled six-round co-main event. It marks Wright’s first bout in more than three years. “I’ve been out of the ring, but not away from the sport,” said the 29-year-old Wright, who sports a record of 13-3-0 with 7 knockouts. “I’ve been training. I’m in the best shape of my life and I’m focused. I’m really looking forward to getting back in that ring and putting on a show..”
Undefeated light welterweight Hector Serrano (12-0, 4 KOs) faces highly-regarded Angel Hernandez (14-5, 11 KOs) in the 10-round main event.
Wright, who is 9-1 lifetime at the Emerald Queen Casino, burst onto the boxing scene as an amateur, posting an impressive 90-12 record and winning four consecutive titles at the Tacoma Golden Gloves.
After losing his professional debut on March 31, 2003, Wright responded by winning his next 10 fights before being cast onto ESPN’s reality television series “The Contender Season 2,” where Wright ran his winning streak to 11 with an opening round victory over Andre Eason before losing a unanimous decision to the show’s eventual runner-up Cornelius Bundrage.
Wright improved to 13-2 by winning his next two bouts – defeating fellow “Contender” participate and former WBF Americas welterweight champion Vinroy Barrett by technical knockout before handing previously undefeated Dan Wallace his first defeat – before losing a highly-contested split decision to undefeated British light middleweight champion Anthony Small in London on March 30, 2007.
Snyder, who fights out of Berlin, MD, last fought on April 17 in Atlantic City – appearing on the undercard for the Kelly Pavlik-Sergio Gabriel Martinez WBC/WBO world middleweight title fight – where he lost a decision to undefeated Matt Korobov. Snyder’s biggest victory came in a split decision in 2008 against Aaron Pryor, Jr., son of former world light welterweight champion Aaron Pryor.
Highlighting the undercard will be Russian knockout specialist Sergey Kovalev. The hard-hitting light heavyweight is a perfect 7-0 with all his victories coming by knockout. Kovalev will meet Harley Kilifan, who has scored knockouts in seven of his eight career wins, in the six-round contest.
Also on the eight-bout card will be a four–round light welterweight bout between Arlington’s Miguel Garcia (1-0-1) and Guillermo Delgadillo of Walla Walla.
The first bout is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tickets are priced at $25, $40 and $100 and are available at the Emerald Queen Casino box office and any TicketMaster location.
For up to date information, check out www.halquistproductions.com
Tucker Amped for DBE Debut!
Westminster, MD (June 17) – As a hero to many who regularly fights before raucous, standing room only crowds, Mark “TNT” Tucker is accustomed to performing under the bright lights.
So far so good.
The 22 year old light heavyweight sensation has impressive victories over former title contenders Rubin Williams and Ross Thompson, while decisioning grizzled veteran George Armenta.
“Fighting in Westminster has been tremendous and I’ve already accepted some tough fights to please my fans, but now it’s time to take the next step towards becoming a premier fighter,” said Tucker, who at 13-0 holds the USBO Light Heavyweight championship.
This Saturday at Oakland, CA’s Oracle Arena, Tucker faces a new challenge when he makes his promotional debut for DiBella Entertainment. Headed by globally renowned Lou DiBella, DBE has led some of the sport’s top fighters to premium cable dates, world championships and, multi-million dollar pay days.
Aside from having to impress a new promoter, Tucker has a difficult draw in opponent Billy Bailey with the NABO Youth title at stake. At 10-7-1 (4 KO’s), Bailey is far tougher than his record indicates. The rugged Californian has impressive wins over once beaten Brian Cohen and previously undefeated Kevin Hand, while dropping controversial decisions in the hometowns of well regarded fighters such as Roger Cantrell, Anthony Ferrante and Danny Santiago.
Even though Bailey, who has been stopped just once, enters Saturday night a loser in his last two bouts, Tucker is not taking the opportunity to battle for the NABO title lightly.
“Billy comes to win and has pulled off upsets in the past, so I had a terrific camp to properly prepare,” said Tucker, who spent time training at the famed Wildcard Gym under the guidance of Freddie Roach. “I am honored to be able to fight for one of boxing’s finest promoters in Lou DiBella and I am going to show him how a country boy handles business inside of the ring.”
The Tucker-Bailey match up will serve as one of the bouts leading up to the SHOWTIME Super Six: World Boxing Classic, WBA Super Middleweight fight between Andre Ward and Allan Green. Tickets are available by calling 510-569-2121.
Mia St. John Nominated for 2010 American Latino Award
On-Line Voting http://AmericanLatino.TV/Awards
June 17, 2010 (Los Angeles, CA)- American Latino TV has announced the nomination of two-time WBC boxing champion Mia St. John for a 2010 American Latino Award in the “Favorite Athlete” category. Winners are chosen by the fans through on-line voting which continues through Monday at http://AmericanLatino.TV/Awards.
“I’m honored just to have been nominated, especially among such inspiring company,” said St. John. The three other nominees in Mia’s category include WNBA star Rebecca Lobo, the Chicago Bear’s Roberto Garza and Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medalist Henry Cejudo.
The American Latino Awards showcase the best in a variety of categories including music, fashion, film and sports. Just a few of this year’s nominees include Ozomatli, Pitbull, Selena Gomez, John Leguizamo, Benjamin Bratt, Eva Mendes, Emilio Estefan and Soledad O’Brien.
American Latino TV is a nationally syndicated award-winning program featuring inspiring U.S. born Latinos. Seen in over 100 cities, often in tandem with it’s sister program LatiNation, American Latino reaches 92% of U.S. Hispanic households and is seen on the Internet, in the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico & Canada.
Winners will be announced in a special TV presentation airing later this summer.
JUNE 28 PROCLAIMED MIKE JONES DAY
The Newtown Athletic Club (NAC), of Newtown, PA., (209 Penns Trail) has proclaimed June 28 “Mike Jones Day.” Jones, the undefeated 21-0 (17 KOs) welterweight fighter, who is ranked #3 in the world behind superstar Manny Pacquiao, uses the NAC as his home-training base for weeks immediately prior to his fights.
“We are thrilled that the next great welterweight champion uses our world-class facilities at the NAC for his fights and we wanted to honor him for our great association,” said Jim Worthington, owner of NAC.
“The NAC is my home-away-from-home for training and the facilities and people there are outstanding,” said Jones, whose next fight vs. Irving Garcia is on July 9 at Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall. “I feel great coming into this fight, possibly my toughest one to date, and on July 9 I want to treat my fans to an extended fireworks show in the ring.”
Jones will hold a sparring and training session from 1-2 p.m on June 28 which is open to the media and public. The workout will be held in the ring at Big League Academy, adjacent to the NAC.
From 6-7 p.m at the NAC, Jones will be on-hand for “Pizza Night at the Café,” a meet-and-greet session featuring free pizza. Jones will be available for autographs and photos and will talk about his July 9 bout. A raffle for free tickets and autographed gloves will be held. Tickets for the Jones-Garcia fight can also be purchased at the meet and greet or at Peltz Boxing Promotions at 215-765-0922 and all Ticketmaster outlets at 800-736-1420.
Adrien “The Problem” Broner to fight for WBC Intercontinental Title
Saturday June 19, 2010 at the Taft Theater located at 317 E 5th Street, in Downtown Cincinnati, Ohio R&R Promotions is proud to present FIREWORKS Fathers Day Weekend Explosion.
This great night of boxing features Cincinnati’s own Adrien “The Problem” Broner (15-0 12 KO’s) as the Main Event. Broner will be fighting for the WBC Intercontinental Championship Title. The opponent, Carlos Claudio, (10-4, 3 KO’s) will be coming to Cincinnati by way of San Juan, Puerto Rico. This Super Featherweight bout will be a 10 round fight.
The undercard boasts a card that will prove to be just as exciting as the main event. The newest member to the R&R team Chris “Hurricane” Howard (10-0, 5 KO’s) will face Roberto Acevedo (9-9, 1 KO) also of San Juan Puerto Rico. Cincinnati’s Heavyweight, David “Da-Da” Long will again face Kelsey Arnold (3-4 1 KO) of Lexington Tennessee. This 6 round heavyweight bout will be a rematch of their March 2009 fight that will settle the score. Joseph Judah (5-0 1 KO) of New York, Zab Judah’s little brother, will be fighting a 4 round welterweight bout against Trenton Titsworth (2-6 2 KO’s) of Nebraska. William Action Jackson (7-0 5 KO’s) Ohio’s Welterweight champion will be in a 6 round bout against Salvador Zamora (4-3 2 KO’s) from Mexico. Jesse Carradine (6-0 3 KO’s) will be fighting a 4 round Super Light bout to settle a score with Calvin Pritchard of Toledo Ohio and DeVonte Allen (1-0) will be in a 4 round Super Featherweight bout against a debut fighter from the DC area William Davis.
The Official Weigh-In and Press Conference for this event will be held at 4pm on Friday, June 18, 2010 at the Taft Theater.