“We want Kelly Pavlik. We want Carl Froch or any of the Super Six Semi-Finalists. We want Lucian Bute. We want Robert Stieglitz. We want Andre Ward. Tell them all we’ll be calling.” Leon Margules of Warriors Boxing and Domenic Pesoli of 8 Count Productions wish to congratulate the red-hot super middleweight prospect they co-promote, Donovan “Da Bomb” George (21-1-1, 18 KOs), for his jaw dropping knockout victory on Friday night..
Fighting live on Showtime’s Sho-Box, George erased the memory of his first career loss in his previous fight by destroying formerly undefeated Cornelius White (16-1, 15 KOs) in 2:02 of the first round at Bally’s Atlantic City.
White was down a total of three times.
While many boxing insiders considered George to be in very tough against the powerful White, Pesoli claims the fighter never had any doubts in himself.
“We knew this was a dangerous fight, but Donovan said all along he would destroy this guy. A victory like this, on a stage like this, over someone who was considered so dangerous, means that Donovan George is now a legitimate threat to any world champion.”
Margules says he and Pesoli’s next move will be to put George into a big fight on an even bigger stage.
“The name Kelly Pavlik has been coming up since early on in Donovan’s career and that’s the fight we’d like to make more than any other. We want Kelly Pavlik. That would be a tremendous battle between two old-school kinds of fighters. We’re ready whenever they are to put it together.”
Long familiar with the way some fights take long to materialize, Margules says he’d also be willing to face any of the other champions or top contenders at super middle. “We want Carl Froch or any of the Super Six semi-finalists. We want Lucian Bute. We want Robert Stieglitz. We want Dimitri Sartison. We want Andre Ward. Tell them all we’ll be calling. Donovan George is for real and now everybody knows it!”
Warriors and Bad Dog Congratulate Barthelemy for Impressive Victory
Co-promoters Warriors boxing and Bad Dog Productions wish to congratulate their fast-rising super featherweight contender Rances Barthelemy (9-0, 7 KOs) for keeping his undefeated record intact via an impressive third-round stoppage of Anthony “Psycho” Woods at the Magic City Casino in Miami, Florida on Friday night.
Cuban-born Barthelemy continued his march up the super featherweight ranks by dominating Woods with his deadly accurate combinations for two brutal rounds.
Woods failed to come out for the third.
“Rances is future champion. There’s no doubt about it,” said an impressed Leon Margules, President of Warriors Boxing. “There aren’t many fighters in the world who can handle his speed and power. So you get what you had here today, which was basically a fighter who had gone the distance with some quality fighters running for his life against Rances. The fact Woods could only last two rounds shows you what it’s like to fight Rances. You can run but you can’t hide.”
By all indications, Barthelemy, the younger brother of 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Yan Barthelemy, is ready to begin an assault on the top of boxing’s 130-lb mountain.
He’s so tall and strong for this weight class. We’ll be looking to start moving him up in quality of opposition now. This will be a very big year for Rances Barthelemy.”
OMAR SHEIKA, GARRETT WILSON MEET FOR USBA CRUISER TITLE IN APRIL 23 REMATCH AT CAESARS ATLANTIC CITY
Atlantic City, NJ—It took one year to nail down, but Omar Sheika, of Paterson, NJ, and Garrett Wilson, of Philadelphia, PA, meet for the second time when they collide in a scheduled 12-round contest Saturday evening, April 23, in the Palladium Ballroom at Caesars Atlantic City.
At stake, in addition to revenge for Wilson, will be the vacant United States Boxing Association (USBA) cruiserweight title. The first of seven fights begins at 7.30 p.m. in the 1,450-seat ballroom, the first time it has been used for boxing.
Sheika, 34, scored a fourth-round knockout over Wilson on Mar. 26, 2010, in Hamilton Township, NJ. Wilson, unknown at the time, started fast, won the first round, but played to the crowd, stood and danced between rounds in his corner, then slowly ran out of gas and ideas. The fight turned late in the second round when Sheika found his range and Wilson’s body. By the fourth, it was over.
After that, Skeika (30-10, 21 K0s) knocked out Jim Strohl, of Las Vegas, NV, again in Hamilton Township, then lost a 10-round decision to world-rated Romanian light-heavyweight Adrian Diaconu, in Montreal, Canada.
A pro since 1997, Sheika remains one of boxing’s most exciting fighters. He has wins over Simon Brown, Glen Johnson and James Butler and he fought for world titles four times as a super middleweight, losing to Joe Calzaghe, Eric Lucas, Jeff Lacy and Markus Beyer.
Sheika has been a popular performer on television and was in Fight-of-the-Year candidates with Scott Pemberton (twice) and Thomas Tate and he also boxed Roy Jones, Jr.
Though Sheika has been campaigning as a light-heavyweight, the rematch with Wilson will be at a catch-weight of 185 pounds.
Wilson, 28, calls himself the “Ultimate Warrior” for his willingness for take on the best any time, any place. He has come a long way since losing to Sheika.
Though he dropped a six-round decision in his next fight to lefty Julio Cesar Matthews, of Reading, PA, Wilson has been climbing the ladder.
He knocked out fellow-Philadelphian Reshawn Scott in one round, then held Andres Taylor, (then 16-1-1) to an eight-round draw in Taylor’s backyard of Johnstown, PA.
Wilson followed with his most impressive showing when he came from behind to knock out Aaron Williams, (then 20-2-1) in seven rounds in what was supposed to be a Mayfield Heights, OH, homecoming for Williams.
A pro less than three years, Wilson is 9-5-1, 4 K0s, and eager to stay in the fast lane.
Tickets priced at $50 and $75 are on sale at the offices of Peltz Boxing Promotions (215-765-0922) and all Ticketmaster outlets (800-736-1420). They also can be purchased online at www.peltzboxing.com and www.Ticketmaster.com.