Oscar “Finito” Gonzalez (21-1, 17KOs) will look to stop the flight of Tijuana journeyman Arturo “Aguilita” Valenzuela (20-15, 17KOs) once and for all on Saturday, April 2nd, in the seaside port of Rosarito, MX, in a fight card presented by Erik Morales’ Box Latino. The multi-bout fight card will take place at the Ernesto Ruffo Appel Municipal Gymnasium twenty minutes south of the San Diego-Tijuana border. Gonzalez, who is one of Box Latino’s up and coming stars along with Alejandro Sanabria, Pedro Guevara and Omar Estrella, was present yesterday at a press conference in downtown Tijuana to announce his fight scheduled for ten rounds in the featherweight division.
“I think it is going to be a tough fight but we are very prepared,” Gonzalez stated.
Gonzalez of Tijuana, MX, by way of Tepic, Nayarit, holds the WBC Youth super bantamweight title.
The fight card also includes popular Tijuana welterweight Javier “Pelon” Gomez (10-7, 7KOs) and hard hitting flyweight Jose Estrella (7-2-1, 6KOs).
Tickets are available at the Ernesto Ruffo Appel Municipal Gymnasium box office in Rosarito, MX. For more info, please visit www.BoxLatino.com
Protecting the President While Protecting Himself at All Times
Mike Kurzeja is your everyday police officer turned Secret Service agent/professional boxer with a nationwide nutritional supplement sponsorship.
The series of events that led to him protecting the President by day and trading leather at night begins with a bored Chicago cop.
“I was at a crossroads in my career,” he recounts, “I didn’t want to be a police officer for another 10 years, so I decided to apply to federal agencies. The Secret Service told me I could still be based out of Chicago if I came to work for them. It was a no-brainer at that point.”
In his spare time, Kurzeja took to boxing in college and then as a police officer, became involved in the Police Athletic League’s program. In 2000, he started fighting in the annual Chicago-area Super Cop Tournament, a charitable boxing event for fallen officers, and won three times.
It was the promoters of Super Cop who suggested Kurzeja consider turning professional. “I got my license and the rest is history. I made my debut in 2009.”
Meanwhile, because he is a physical fitness buff, he applied for sponsorship from the biggest supplement company in the world, Optimum Nutrition, and they agreed to become his sponsor. “They take care of me. I got lucky. Most of the people they sponsor are national-level body builders and fitness models. I’m the only boxer.”
And thus, Agent Kurzeja (4-0, 4 KOs) is in final preparations to appear on the Hitz Boxing Fight Night event on Saturday, April 9, at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana. He is scheduled to face Ohio’s Ross Niggemyer (2-1, 2 KOs).
“He can punch and seems like a worthy opponent. Hopefully I’ll be able to show the improvements I’ve made in training.”
Off work, Kurzeja is friendly, likeable and even calls himself mellow. At work, he can’t even talk about what he does. “I can’t speak specifically about what I do during the day,” he explains. “In the Secret Service, we’re a dual-mission agency that provides a protective function, we protect the president and vice-president, and we have an investigative function. Let’s leave it at that.”
Kurzeja is wildly popular among his law enforcement colleagues and they flock to his fights. “I get a lot people from Super Cop come out to support my boxing. And then of course I get people from the Secret Service, so I do have a good-size following from the law enforcement community.”
Mike Kurzeja’s life is not for everybody and certainly not for the timid. It takes discipline, dedication and courage to do the things he does. He says if everything goes right he’ll be adding the word champion to his many descriptions.
“I plan to build up my record and keep stepping up my competition level and with God’s grace I’ll hopefully fight for some sort of title in the fall.”
Also scheduled to appear are: Yakubu “Black Mamba” Amidu (19-2-1, 16 KOs); Chicago light welterweight Russell Fiore (4-0-1, 4 KOs); Chicago super middleweight Ninos Abraham (5-0, 2 KOs); Chicago heavyweight Dave Latoria (7-0, 3 KOs); Chicago junior lightweight Paulie Settepani making his pro debut; and Hammond welterweight Ruben “Modern Day Warrior” Galvan (27-15-4, 10 KOs) in separate bouts.
For more information, please visit: www.hitzboxing.com.
WHEN: Fight Night at Horseshoe Casino
Saturday, April 9, 2010
Action Starts at 7:00 PM. Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
Price: $10 – $90
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT TICKETMASTER AND AT:
www.thevenue-chicago.com
Must be 21 or older to attend shows. Must be 21 or older to gamble.
WHERE: THE VENUE AT HORSESHOE CASINO
777 Casino Center Dr., Hammond, IN, 46320
Horseshoe Box Office: 219-473-6060
BUSY SPRING FOR ST. LOUIS’ RUMBLE TIME PROMOTIONS
ST LOUIS, MO (March 31, 2011) Based out of St. Louis, Missouri, Rumble Time Promotions, leaders in the promotion of professional boxing and mixed martial arts, has a very busy spring planned with numerous events planned across the country.
“These are very busy times for Rumble Time Promotions, but that’s they way we like it. Keep moving and keep promoting great events for the fans. The year is off to a terrific start for us” said Steve Smith, President of Rumble Time Promotions. “I’m very lucky to have a great team in place at Rumble Time.”
“Our goal is to make top contenders, champions.”
Recently, Rumble Time Promotions struck a deal to work with Showtime and Russia’s M-1 Global to bring the best in Mixed Martial Arts to the United States. Their first event took place this past Friday night, March 25th in front of a packed house at the Constant Center in Norfolk, Virginia.
Details of the next Showtime televised M-1 Global/Rumble Time Promotions event will be announced shortly. Included among the world class athletes fighting under the M-1 Global is MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko.
On Friday, April 8th, Rumble Time Promotions heads to Laredo, Texas, where sensational welterweight prospect Willie Nelson, sporting an undefeated record of 16-0-1 (10KO’s), will battle Vincent Arroyo on Showtime’s acclaimed boxing series ShoBox. Standing 6’3”, this will be the 23 year old Cleveland native’s first televised bout.
One week later, on Friday, April 15th, Rumble Time Promotions will return to the St. Louis area hosting BATTLE ON THE BANKS, an action packed evening of professional boxing and mixed martial arts at the Ameristar Casino Resort Spa in St. Charles, Missouri.
Headlining BATTLE ON THE BANKS is a spectacular ten round light weight showdown between St. Louis’ finest, “Dangerous” Dannie Williams, 16-1-0 (13KO’s) and Mexican veteran Manuel Leyva, 18-2-0 (10KO’s) for the WBC Continental Americas Title.
Five other bouts are scheduled for BATTLE ON THE BANKS along with two mixed martial arts fights.
The next night, Saturday, April 16th, Rumble Time Promotions will travel to Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, where former world title challenger Deandre “Bull” Latimore, 21-3-0 (17KO’s) will battle Bayonne, New Jersey’s Dennis Sharpe, 17-6-3 (4KO’s) in a twelve round junior middleweight bout.
The Latimore/Sharpe bout, promoted in association with DiBella Entertainment is the chief undercard support to the HBO televised Welterweight World Championship between Andre Berto and Victor Ortiz.
Along with Steve Smith, Rumble Time Promotions is comprised of chief financial officer Gail Hull, match maker Derrick Spicer, recruiting and development, former world champion Harold Petty and vice president/attorney Blake Fischer.
Rumble Time Promotions has consistently promoted world class fighters, working with numerous broadcasts networks. Among the fighters under their banner are Deandre Latimore, Dannie Williams, Willie Nelson and Prenice Brewer.
Additional announcements regarding other top prospects joining the Rumble Time Promotions team will be made shortly.
For more information on Rumble Time Promotions, please visit their website at www.rumbletimepromotions.com. Tickets to their events can be purchased by calling 312-662-2000.