LOS ANGELES, April 28 – East Los Angeles’ “Pitbull,” unbeaten prospect Frankie Gomez (8-0, 6 KO’s), will attempt to tear through another opponent this Thursday, April 28, when he headlines “Fight Night Club” at L.A. LIVE’s Club Nokia in a six round junior middleweight fight against Vancouver, Washington’s Jason Davis (11-8-1, 3 KO’s).
Also looking to keep his local fans happy this week will be hometown favorite Ramon Valadez (7-1, 4 KO’s), who battles the Dominican Republic’s Rafael Lora (11-4, 5 KO’s) in the junior lightweight co-main event scheduled for six rounds.
That’s not all, as Club Nokia will be the site of the official post-fight party for the newly crowned World Boxing Council (WBC) Welterweight World Champion “Vicious” Victor Ortiz, who is fresh off of his stirring 12-round unanimous decision win over previously undefeated Andre Berto earlier this month in an early Fight of the Year candidate. Ortiz will join fans in the 4th floor VIP Room after the fights for the post-fight after party.
“Fight Night Club” is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and AEG and sponsored by DeWalt Tools, Budweiser, Cazadores Tequila and Northgate Markets. The fights will be broadcast LIVE on Fox Sports Net (FSN) and its regional sports network affiliates and streamed live online at www.RingTV.com at 8:00 p.m. PT/11:00 p.m. ET. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. PT and the first bell rings at 7:00 p.m. PT.
In the opening televised bout of the evening, scheduled for six rounds in the junior welterweight division, the always exciting Fidel Maldonado Jr. (9-0, 8 KO’s) of Albuquerque, New Mexico puts his perfect record on the line against Aguadilla, Puerto Rico’s Jorge Cordero (4-6, 4 KO’s) in a battle of power punchers.
Undercard action will see unbeaten Venezuelan junior middleweight Alfonso Blanco (4-0, 2 KO’s) taking on Los Angeles’s Juan Carlos Diaz (7-12, 6 KO’s) as well as Los Angeles welterweight Ernesto Ocon (2-0, 1 KO) squaring against with Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico’s Miguel Pizarro (1-1) in scheduled four round bouts.
Three amateur bouts are on tap as well, with Faith Franco of Duarte Boxing Club facing Danyelle Wolfe of Old School Boxing, Sportscene Boxing Club’s Albert Rosales meeting Arturo Lara of Wilmington Boxing Club and Osman Rivera of Pasadena Boxing Club taking on Commerce Boxing Club’s Chico Chavez.
Debuting as the host of “Fight Night Club” this week will be HOT 92.3’s Jimmy Reyes, who will be joined by Ring Magazine’s Ring Card Girl of the Month, Paulina Garces serving as co-host. The event will also feature a live performance from recording artist Tiffany “Taz” Zavala.
Now in its third season, “Fight Night Club” is Golden Boy Promotions’ and AEG’s critically acclaimed live monthly boxing series, that presents boxing in a night club atmosphere, with a DJ, music, great food and a VIP room, as well as a unique setup where the ring is on Club Nokia’s stage with standing room for fans in front of the ring, as well as reserved seating in the balcony. After the boxing action ends, fans are invited to stay to hear great music played by LA’s hottest DJ’s, dance and mingle with the fighters as the venue converts back into a night club. Athletes and celebrities have flocked to Club Nokia to take in the “Fight Night Club” action including, future Hall of Famer and GBP President Oscar de la Hoya, future Hall of Famer and GBP Partner Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins, Hall of Famer Sugar Ray Leonard, current and former World Champions Amir “King” Khan, Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora, Daniel Ponce De Leon and Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi, plus sports and entertainment stars Will i Am, Ron Artest, Taboo, Mario Lopez, Audrina Patridge, Baby Bash, Aubrey O’Day, Tattoo and many more.
Tickets, priced at $150 (VIP On-Stage Seats, which allow purchasers to sit ringside on Club Nokia’s stage near VIP’s attending the fight [De La Hoya, etc.] and grant buyers access to the Club Nokia VIP Room during the event), $100 (VIP Balcony Seats in the first two rows which grant buyers access to the Club Nokia VIP Room during the event), $60 (VIP Balcony Seats which grant buyers access to the Club Nokia VIP Room during the event), $25 (General Admission Upper Balcony Seats) and $15 (General Admission Floor Standing Room) and will go on sale Monday, January 25 at 10 a.m. PT and may be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 online at http://www.ticketmaster.com or through any Ticketmaster outlet or the STAPLES Center box office. Group tickets are also available by calling 1-877-AEG TICKETS (1-877-234-8425).
FOES FOR JONATHAN OQUENDO AND CAMILO PÉREZ FOR SHOW “A PUÑO LIMPIO” MAY 6TH IN PUERTO RICO
Super Bantamweight contender Jonathan Oquendo and prospect Camilo Perez already have rivals for their fights in the series “A Puño Limpio” to be held Friday, May 6th at the Coliseo Pedrin Zorrilla in San Juan, Puerto Rico in a PR Best Boxing Promotions (PRBBP) presentation that will shown live on WAPA America.
Oquendo (20-2, 13 KOs), who is ranked #3 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) in 122 pounds, will face dangerous Thomas “KO” Snow (14-1, 9 KOs) for the WBO NABO Super Bantamweight title in a 10 round bout.
Meanwhile, Pérez (2-0, 2 KOs), Gold Medalist in the Central American and Caribbean Games 2010, will face Eliezer Agosto (1-0, 1 KO) in a four round and 122 pounds fight.
Also in the show, former amateur World Champion McWilliams Arroyo (7-1, 6 KOs) will fight in a Flyweight six round bout against a rival to be announced.
Five more fights will complete the card.
“A Puño Limpio” will be seen live on WAPA America (www.wapa.tv) at 9:00 p.m.
Tickets availables at Ticketcenter, www.tcpr.com, calling 1 787 792-5000. Prices are $12, $30 and $150 on tables for four people.
Calzaghe performs Prizefighter International Heavyweights draw on Ringside
Perez opens against Oquendo on May 7, Sprott faces Fields
Welsh legend Joe Calzaghe performed the draw for Prizefighter International Heavyweights on Ringside on Sky Sports – as eight men with over 160 knockouts between them fight to become the first ever International Prizefighter Champion on May 7 at London’s Alexandra Palace.
It’s the 18th edition of Matchroom Sport’s eight-man, one night tournaments live on Sky Sports and Irish-based Cuban Mike Perez kicks off the night and the hard-hitting unbeaten 25 year-old faces a real test against Fres Oquendo, David Haye’s Puerto Rican sparring partner.
The explosive Perez has won all of his 13 pro fights – 10 by knockout – and won the World Junior Amateur title at Light-Heavyweight before joining the pro ranks. Haye contacted promoters Matchroom Sport to recommend Oquendo, and the Hayemaker reckons the 38 year-old has the class and experience to claim the £32,000 winner’s cheque having mixed it with Evander Holyfield, John Ruiz, David Tua and Oliver McCall in his 39 fight career.
The winner of that bout will face a semi-final against Kevin ‘Kingpin’ Johnson, the American who took Vitali Klitschko the distance in a World title fight in December 2009, his only defeat in 25 fights or Gregory Tony, the French Heavyweight champion who fought for the European title in August. Johnson fights outside America for only the second time, after losing to Klitschko in Switzerland, and Kingpin – with 10 KOs from 23 wins – is eager to win the tournament for a chance to get back into title contention. Tony is a live opponent for the American though, as the 32 year-old can really bang – he won his first seven fights inside three rounds and holds 12 KO wins from 14 victories.
UK Prizefighter champion Michael Sprott features in the third quarter-final against KO King Tye Fields, the 6ft 8in American with 41 knockouts from 45 wins. Sprott will be determined to win back-to-back Prizefighter tournaments after success in October and the Reading man is back in the venue where the European title was snatched from him by Audley Harrison’s 12th round knockout last April. Fields will be a major test for the 36 year-old and warned that he plans to get his fights over quickly – and he boasts an incredible 25 first round knockouts to his name.
The winner of Sprott and Fields’ will feature in the second semi-final and will take on either Cuba’s Juan Carlos Gomez or German Konstantin Airich. Gomez is the former WBC Cruiserweight and International Heavyweight champion with 49 wins from 52 fights in a colourful career that saw him defend his Cruiserweight title ten times before moving up to heavyweight defeat Oliver McCall for the International Heavyweight title and– troubling Vitali Klitschko when he challenged for his WBC belt two years ago, before falling in the seventh round. Big hitting Kazakh-born Airich has 13 knockouts from 16 wins and has tasted defeat just twice – including a crazy fight with Danny Williams that put him firmly in the public eye.
Tickets for Prizefighter International Heavyweights at London’s Alexandra Palace on Saturday 7 May are available from Matchroom Sport priced £35 unreserved, £50 and £60 ringside and £120 VIP – to buy call Matchroom Sport on 01277 359900