Los Angeles, CA (May 16, 2011) – Southern California heavyweight star Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola (31-2, 27 KOs) will make a quick return to the ring when he faces 28-year-old Kendrick “The Apostle” Releford (22-14-2, 10 KOs) of Fort Worth, Texas, in a 10-round main event on Friday, May 27, at the world-class 6,000-seat Reno Events Center operated by the Reno-Sparks Convention Visitors Authority and televised LIVE on ESPN2 “Friday Night Fights” at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
Goossen Tutor Promotions will present the televised doubleheader of heavyweight championship boxing billed as “Blame It On Reno, ESPN Style.” The main event of the ESPN2 “Friday Night Fights” telecast was originally scheduled to feature Josesito Lopez (29-3, 17 KOs) in his first championship defense of his NABF Light Welterweight Title against “Showtime” Steve Upsher Chambers (23-1-1, 6 KOs).
An injured knuckle by Lopez has forced the postponement of the fight.
The co-feature – in association with Boxing 360 – will remain a scheduled 12-round International Boxing Federation (IBF) Heavyweight Championship Elimination bout matching former Heavyweight World Title challenger Tony “The Tiger” Thompson (35-2, 23 KOs) against newly crowned USBA Heavyweight Champion Maurice “Sugar Mo” Harris (24-14-2, 10 KOs).
Last Saturday, May 14, a newly slimmed-down and focused Arreola once again put on a power-punching display as he recorded a third-round knockout against Nagy Aguilera at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., on the undercard of the Andre Ward-Arthur Abraham Showtime Super Six World Boxing Classic Semifinal. After the fight, Arreola told reporters he hoped to get another fight soon.
“It’s only my second fight back since being serious,” Arreola said on Saturday. “I’ll be back in the gym, back to work on Tuesday. I need another fight fast just to stay focused on what I need to do.”
After learning his wish was granted by promoter Dan Goossen of Goossen Tutor Promotions on Monday, Arreola said: “I didn’t think twice when Henry (Ramirez) told me the possibility of going right back into the ring in Reno. I’ve got one objective in my career now – train, fight and win.”
“It’s always unfortunate when a main event fighter gets hurt, but in this case, the fans are the real winners having Chris accept this challenge on such short notice,” Goossen said. “He’s everything you would want in a heavyweight world contender, he loves to fight.”
In the former World Boxing Organization (WBO) Latino Heavyweight Champion Releford, the 30-year-old Arreola will face an experienced fighter with a rich family history in boxing. Releford is trained by his father Kenneth Releford who won several amateur titles, including the Fort Worth (Texas) Golden Gloves. Releford’s three uncles – George Releford, Anthony Releford and Vincent Releford – also had noteworthy amateur careers.
Doors open at 4 p.m. with the first bout at 5 pm. The first ESPN televised bout is set for 9 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. PT.
Tickets for the May 27 boxing card at the Reno Events Center are priced at $100, $59.50 and $29.50 (General Admission). Tickets may be purchased at Reno Events Center, Eldorado and Silver Legacy’s Ticket Offices, or by phone at 1-800-745-3000 and on line at www.ticketmaster.com.
Commonwealth champ Dominic Vea to face Shane Cameron on Green undercard
Commonwealth Cruiserweight champion Dominic Vea (AUS) will defend his belt against former heavyweight Shane Cameron (NZ) in the headline bout on the Danny Green vs Antonio Tarver undercard on 20 July in Sydney.
Vea (13-2, 10KO) is expecting a tough fight against Cameron, but acknowledges the New Zealander is still adjusting to his recent move down to cruiserweight.
Dominic says, “I’ve watched a lot of tape of Cameron at heavyweight and cruiserweight. He’s got decent speed but it’s a new ball game for him after only one fight at the true cruiserweight limit. He will struggle against a fighter of my calibre.
This will be the Commonwealth champion’s first fight in a year. His last hit-out was a bruising encounter in July 2010, when Vea claimed the Commonwealth title despite entering the ring with a broken nose.
Time out of the ring has really freshened me up,” says Vea. “It feels great to be injury-free and training intensely again.”
Vea’s training regime now includes daily morning sessions with renowned trainer Ray Kelly before another two hours each afternoon at Core Strength Gym Mt Druitt.
Seven worthy foes to challenge Pacquiao
By Reni M. Valenzuela: Boxing should have learned its lessons even before history repeated itself. Except for some greedy and carnivorous pockets, what is something good for the sport and fight fans that can come out of a ring brush between a living legend in his prime and a future Hall-of- Famer at the tail-end of his boxing career?
We are back to the fundamentals of sport after all is said and done reviewing the just concluded May 7th farce at the MGM Grand.
Boxing as a sport must not lose it’s element of competition for competitiveness is one of few things that cannot be compromised in any sport with the worship of King Darius’ bust or even a reverent bow at any alluring altar of the Golden Calf down the hill of senseless revelry in the arena of game or fight mismatches.
Before Manny Paquiao would fully waste away as the emerging best and greatest boxer ever (without questions), let him fight a good fight every time against a deserving opponent who would pose a legitimate threat to his throne, at least in the people’s mind.
The fighter who would challenge the Pacquiao dynamo in the future need not be a perfect goose with a paranoid “perfect” record like the extremely perfect dud Floyd Mayweather Jr who does everything to run amuck in order to avoid the man who would put a blot on his highly cherished and “unblemished” performance or non-performance in boxing.
The Pacman should be pitted against a respectable boxer who may even be actually less competitive than his previous opponents yet can be regarded as an excellent choice to bring suspense, thrill and excitement because of the fighter’s previous impressive wins and outstanding resume sans awful “Sugar Shane-like” performances in his two immediate past outings. One who is among the top and best in the current crop of fearless gallant warriors, budding or veteran, until exposed otherwise as a meek boar after figuring in a true mega battle with the pound-for-pound king animal of the ravenous jungle.
On such measurement, therefore, here qualifies Juan Manuel Marquez who in the past fiercely engaged Pacquiao in two contested and controversial fights and who has been chasing the man whom he thinks robbed him of two important wins in his boxing career. But should they face each other again and tangle for a trilogy match-up, it must be in a weight level somewhere between 137lbs and 142lbs or else the fight would be another “bore one sided show” in favor of Pacman.
The boxing Bruce Lee has virtually outgrown almost every fighter in the welterweight category and down the lighter levels. Thus here lies the wonder and succession of the Pacman phenomenon. It is destiny’s beckoning therefore that Pacquiao has to move on or move up and take some risk to face some real competitive challenges to his greatness. David had no other choice but to fight and slay the giant monster Goliath at a time when he encountered no dare in his lifetime bigger than tending a flock prior to the Goliath match-up.
Sergio Martinez, Mike Jones, Kermit Cintron, Victor Ortiz, Saul Alvarez and Marcos Maidana or the knockout punching-ghost of Edwin Valero may likewise be worthy future opponents for Pacquiao at varying appropriate times and weights.
Some “brave” souls within the circle of Team Pacquiao may shiver at the mention of Martinez, Jones and even Cintron as prospective challengers for Pacman, but I am confident nonetheless as a coward fight fan that Pacquiao would beat them all in spectacular fashions.
Outside of the seven or eight names mentioned above, any Pacquiao fight coming up wouldn’t be any different to deflect from table scrapings to serve the continuation of the sorry saga of a dying sport and cause the demolition of a legend’s underpinning to declare him history’s best.
renimvalenzuela@yahoo.com