LOS ANGELES (March 31, 2011) – World Boxing Council (WBC) Silver Bantamweight Champion Abner Mares participated in a media workout today at Maywood Gym in Maywood, Calif. as he gets ready to face International Boxing Federation (IBF) Bantamweight World Champion Joseph “King Kong” Agbeko in the eagerly awaited Bantamweight Tournament Final: Winner Takes All on Saturday, April 23 LIVE on SHOWTIME® (10:30 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles. .
Mares (21-0-1, 13 KO’s), of Hawaiian Gardens, Calif. by way of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, will defend his WBC Silver bantamweight championship in the tournament final against Agbeko (28-2, 22 KO’s), of Accra, Ghana.
In what will be a hotly contested co-feature, former Two-Division World Champion Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan (35-3-1, 27 KO’s), of Sydney, Australia, by way of Vanadzok, Armenia, and former IBF Bantamweight World Champion Yonnhy “El Colombiano” Perez (20-1-1, 14 KO’s), of Santa Fe Springs, Calif., by way of Cartagena, Colombia, will clash in the tournament consolation bout.
Tickets, priced at $200, $100, $75, $50 and $25, are available online at Ticketmaster.com, and via Ticketmaster charge-by-phone at (800) 745-3000. Tickets are also available at STAPLES Center Box Office.
Mares earned a berth in the final with a bloody, come-from-behind 12-round split decision win over Darchinyan in the tournament semifinals last Dec. 11 in Tacoma, Wash. Later in the evening, Agbeko earned his spot in the final by handed Perez his first career loss via a unanimous 12-round decision.
The Bantamweight Tournament Final: Winner Takes All is promoted by Don King Productions, Gary Shaw Productions, Golden Boy Promotions and Thompson Boxing Promotions and sponsored by Corona. An exciting undercard will be announced shortly.
Here’s what Mares and Oscar de la Hoya had to say on Thursday:
ABNER MARES:
“The fight (against Darchinyan) gave me a lot of confidence and motivation. I’m fighting legitimate fighters in this tournament and I know I belong.
“It’s a great fight. Agbeko is an amazing fighter. Not many fighters lose a title and come back stronger to win it. He’s hungry and I know he doesn’t want to lose that title again, but I’m here to prove myself, to prove that I’m the best 118 pounder and win this tournament.
“I want to go out and give the fans a good fight. With Agbeko’s style and my style, the fight has to be interesting. We can’t put on a bad fight.
“I’m here to fight the best – that’s why I’m facing Agbeko and that’s why I want to fight (Nonito) Donaire after I win this thing.
“I thank Oscar for everything. He’s the one who’s been with me from the beginning.”
OSCAR DE LA HOYA:
“The Bantamweight Tournament was the best thing that could have happened to this division. SHOWTIME stepped up to the plate and did a great job putting it together. We will see very soon who is one of the best of this division. The champion of this tournament will be in line to face pound-for-pound great Nonito Donaire.
“The great thing about this fight is anyone can win it. It’s a coin toss.
“Abner is a fighter I believe in – he always give his all. He wants to be the best in his division.
“Eventually, after this tournament, we want him to keep on facing the best fighters out there. I believe he’ll go up one or two divisions, but he still has some work to do here at 118 pounds. He has the talent and speed and power to move up in weight.
“I’m really excited that Abner is the first fighter who turned professional with us and now he’s fighting for a world title. That’s exciting for us.
“We’re a young company and we have many world champions, but Abner is our first that we had from the start.
“Abner is a very dedicated and loyal fighter and we are thrilled to have him.
“With the Super Middleweight tournament SHOWTIME has created noise and attention for that division. What SHOWTIME has done is outstanding. The fans love and support these types of tournaments. They really stepped up to the plate and gave fans what they wanted.”
For more information, visit www.donking.com, www.garyshawproductions.com, www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.thompsonboxing.com, become a friend on Facebook www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing or follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/GaryShawBoxing, www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing or www.twitter.com/abnermares00.
For information on SHOWTIME Sports Programming, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, please go the new SHOWTIME Sports website at http://www.sho.com/sports.
HAVOC BOXING RETURNS TO GFL THIS SATURDAY NIGHT
WBC #3 122 SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT LEON MOORE PLUS SOME OF THE BEST PROSPECTS IN THE NEW YORK AREA IN LOADED CARD THIS SATURDAY NIGHT
BROOKLYN, NY (March 31, 2011)—This Saturday night from the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn, Havoc Boxing presents H3
The fight card will broadcasted LIVE all over the world on www.gfl.tv for just $9.99 by clicking: http://www.gfl.tv/Events/Fight/Boxing/Havoc_Boxing_Presents_H3/992
In one of the feature bout, WBC number-three ranked Super Bantamweight Leon Moore will see action against veteran Felipe Almanza in a bout scheduled for six rounds.
Moore of Georgetown, Guyana has a very impressive mark that reads 27-2 with twenty two knockouts.
Moore turned pro in 2001 and racked up seventeen consecutive victories.
He lost a very close split decision to future Flyweight champion Irene Pacheco (32-1)
Moore twice won the Guyanese Bantamweight title and the WBC Caribbean title. He won the WBC Caribbean and NABA Super Bantamweight title with a unanimous decision over former world champion Mauricio Pastrana (35-11-2).
Moore is riding a nine fight winning streak which includes a majority decision over Brelior Teran last November 6.
Almanza of Lorica, Colombia has a record of 18-22-4 with nine knockouts.
He has shared the ring with some of the top fighters in the world such as two fights with Cesar Seda (6-0 & 9-0); Former world champion Eric Morel (35-2); Currant World champion Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (11-0-1); Teon Kennedy (10-0); Abner Mares (19-0); Future world champion Tomas Rojas (32-12-1) and his last bout he dropped a six round unanimous decision to Abraham Lopez (12-0) on February 25th
In a six round Lightweight bout, undefeated Mark Davis will put his perfect mark that reads 14-0 with four knockouts on the line when he takes on Ramesis Gil.
Davis of Cincinnati, Ohio has been a pro four years and is known for his slick style.
He has had signature wins over Sadot Vazquez (3-1-1); Carl McNickles (5-1); and Adaulto Gonzalez (10-5). He is coming off an eight round unanimous decision over Justo Vallecio (6-11) last August 21st.
Gil is 6-1-4 with five wins coming by knockout.
He was unbeaten in his first ten bouts as he scored a win over rugged win Roberto Acevedo before being stopped in four to Darley Perez (17-0) on December 10th.
In a six round Super Welterweight bout undefeated and touted prospect Joel Castillo will take on Billy Cunningham.
Castillo of Bronx, New York is perfect in his seven bouts with four knockouts.
Castillo turned pro in July of 2006 and won five fights in a six month period before a three year hiatus from the ring.
Since he has returned, Castillo has won two straight which includes his last outing when he scored a second round stoppage over Angel Gonzalez on Decmber 10th
Cunningham has a record of 5-9 with four knockouts and the Jackson, Mississippi native is known for taking on top prospects.
He has shared the ring with Lanard Lane (5-0); Bastie Samir (6-0) and his last bout he dropped a four round unanimous decision to Seanie Monaghan (5-0) on March 12th
In a six round Welterweight bout, local favorite Tommy “Razor” Rainone (13-4, 4 KO’s) of New York takes on Arthur Medina (14-22, 5 KO’s) of Fort Collins, CO
Jonathan Arias (11-6, 9 KO’s) of the Dominican Republic battles Angel Cruz (4-1, 4 KO’s) of Miami in a six round Super Flyweight bout
DonYil Livingston (2-0, 2 KO’s) of Palmdale, CA takes on Greg Hackett (2-6) of Philadelphia in a six round Middleweight affair.
Frank Galarza (2-0, 1 KO) of Brooklyn battles Noel Garcia (2-7-1) of Springfield, MA in a four round Jr. Middleweight fight.
Rounding out the card will be a four round Heavyweight fight between Ramadan Yasser (3-0, 3 KO’s) of New York and Mario Flores (1-0, 1 KO) of Washington, DC
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SALUTE TO PHILADELPHIA BOXERS CARD TO TAKE PLACE ON APRIL 15TH AT THE NEW PALLADIUM IN PHILADELPHIA
PHILADELPHIA (March 31, 2011)—On Friday night, April 15 Wilkes Productions presents “Salute to Philly Boxers” card that will take place at the New Palladium That is located at 229 West Allegheny Ave. in Philadelphia.
The card is dubbed “Rumble Night in North Philly”
In the main event, undefeated Featherweight Coy “Pretty Boy” Evans will see action in the six round main event.
Evans of Philadelphia has a record of 10-0-1 with two wins coming by knockout.
Evans has is one of the top prospects in Philadelphia and has been stepping up the competition with each bout. Evans has been fighting opponents with significantly more experience yet Evans has come through with flying colors.
In his last bout, Evans scored a six round unanimous decision over Felipe Almanza (18-19-4) on January 28th in Philadelphia.
Also seeing action is the woman who many consider to be the top pound for pound female fighter in the world in Melissa “Hurracan” Hernandez.
The native of Bronx, NY has a record of 14-2-3 with five knockouts.
Hernandez has faced some of the top female fighters in the world and has captured the WIBA International Super Bantamweight title with a ten round unanimous decision over Lisa Brown (12-2-3)
Hernandez also captured the Global Boxing Union Lightweight title with a majority decision over Layla McCarter (23-12-5)
She added more hardware as she won the WIBA International Lightweight title with a unanimous decision over Victoria Cisneros.
She is coming off a four round stoppage over DJ Morrison on January 20th in Charlotte, NC
Rounding out the six round bouts will be Jr. Welterweight Edgar Santana.
Santana of New York has an impressive mark of 24-3 with fifteen knockouts and was considered one of the top prospects in the Jr. Welterweight division as he won twenty-one of his first twenty-three bouts as he had quality wins over Francisco Campos (20-5-1); Meacher Major (12-2-1).
This will be Santana’s first fight in three years and he is riding a three fight winning streak
In four round bouts, Kaseem Wilson, (12-2-1, 4 KO’s) of Philadelphia; Light Heavyweight Fred Jenkins Jr. (1-0, 1 KO) Heavyweight Mark Ridout (Pro Debut); Marvin Jones (2-0, 2 KO’s) of Tampa, Florida and Jr. Middleweight Glenwood Latimer (Pro Debut) will also see action against opponent to be announced.
Tickets for this special night of boxing cost: $50 for Ringside and $40 for General Admission and be purchased at the New Palladium (267-773-8411) ; Wilkes Productions (215-222-7127) & Sloan Harrison 215.471.6540