PROVIDENCE, RI – 2004 United States Olympic heavyweight Jason “Big Six” Estrada has requested, and been granted, a release from his promotional contract with the New York based Boxing 360, and signed an advisor agreement with 2003 NABF Matchmaker of the Year, Ted Panagiotis.
Estrada’s last fight was a very disappointing defeat at the hands of streaking heavyweight Franklin Lawrence on January 29th. Estrada was the heavy favorite going in, but suffered two minor cuts en route to a 10th round TKO defeat. Estrada was never down in the bout and the long layoff was evident as he was flat & rusty from the opening bell.
“We are not going to make excuses, Franklin Lawrence did what he had to do and Jason was flat from the first bell, but really showed a lot of heart,” said Panagiotis. “That being said, that is not the fight I would’ve picked. We had planned a perfect tune-up fight on January 13th in Oklahoma, and to be honest that is what he needed after such a long layoff and foot surgery. Travel & some lack of communication caused that fight to fall apart unfortunately.”
The loss to Lawrence dropped Estrada’s record to 16-4, 4 KO’s. It was Jason’s second loss in a row. In his previous fight, Jason dropped a disputed decision to former WBC world light heavyweight & IBF world cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek.
“Jason opened a lot of eyes with his effort against Adamek,” said Dr. Roland Estrada, Jason’s Father & trainer. “A lot of people thought Jason deserved to have his hands raised that night, and now Adamek is going to be fighting Klitschko for the world heavyweight title before the end of the year. The loss to Lawrence is a set back but it’s not the end of Jason Estrada. One or two solid wins and he is right back in the mix.”
According to the Estrada team, the plan is to get right back into the ring. None of the cuts suffered in the Lawrence fight were as serious as they seemed, and the team is hoping for an April or May return, however nothing has been scheduled yet.
“We have nothing scheduled and are open to listening to all fight or promotional offers. Roland notified me of his decision to ask for the release from Boxing 360 yesterday, so we are going to get things in gear this week,” said Panagiotis, who previously served as the Director of Boxing Operations & Matchmaker for Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports.
“There are no hard feelings between team Estrada & Boxing 360, more disappointment on both sides I think. I want to thank Boxing 360, both Mario & Bob Duffy, for their efforts and we would definitely be open to working with them again in the future,” said Estrada.