Team Puerto Rico invade New York; Cleverly news; Martirosyan-Roman on 6/4; This week ‘s GFL events

Reporters and TV cameras packed el Zipperle restaurant in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, for yesterday’s press conference to promote Team Puerto Rico’s blockbuster June 10 and 11 back-to-back “Boricua Invasion I & II” boxing events at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City.

And today, all three major newspapers, El Nuevo Día, El Vocero and Primera Hora, are filled with Team Puerto Rico stories and features. In fact, one of the major television stations, WAPA TV, devoted seven full minutes of newscast to the event.

On June 10 and 11 (Friday and Saturday before the 2011 National Puerto Rican Day Parade on Sunday), Gary Shaw Productions and DiBella Entertainment will present Boricua Invasion I and II, featuring members of Team Puerto Rico Boxing, the eight-man team of Puerto Rico’s future ring stars.

Gary PodiumFriday’s Boricua Invasion I will feature welterweight Thomas Dulorme (11-0, 10 KOs); welterweight Kenny “Battlestar” Galarza (14-1, 14 KOs) and lightweight Jose “The Sniper” Pedraza (2-0, 2 KOs) and will be televised live on ESPN Friday Night Fights

Saturday’s Boricua Invasion II will feature four more members of Team Puerto Rico: featherweight Luis “Orlandito” Del Valle (12-0, 10 KOs); junior middleweight Jonathan “Mantequilla Gonzalez (12-0, 12 KOs); light welterweight Hector “El Flaco” Sanchez (19-1, 9 KOs); and light welterweight Jorge “Machito” Maysonet Jr. (3-0, 2 KOs); plus a special off-TV appearance by Puerto Rico-born light welterweight Gabriel “Tito” Bracero (15-0, 1 KO) of Brooklyn. The main bouts of Boricua Invasion II will be broadcast live on Showtime: The New Generation.

TPR group

“The media and the people here get that these kids are the future of Puerto Rican boxing,” said Gary Shaw. “Each of them already enjoyed tremendous popularity, but now that they’re united in a team it’s like they’re the Beatles of boxing.”

Shaw and Javier Bustillo of Universal Promotions (Team Puerto Rico co-founder along with DiBella and Warriors Boxing) spoke to the large crowd and then each fighter took a turn at the podium talking about their opponents.

On June 10, Galarza will fight in the main event against Irving Garcia (17-6-3, 8 KOs), while Dulorme will battle former world champion DeMarcus Corley.

In the June 11 main event, Del Valle will face Dat Nguyen (17-1, 6 KOs). Hector Sanchez will take on ShoBox alum Vincent Arroyo (11-1, 7 KOs). Other opponents will be announced shortly.

“I am extremely happy to see the level of support Team Puerto Rico is receiving from Puerto Ricans at home and in the States. Everywhere you go people are talking about these kids and how exciting it is to have a generation of Puerto Rican fighters with so much promise on one team. These back-to-back shows are going to be like nothing else in today’s boxing,” added Shaw.

Lou DiBella of DiBella Entertainment says demand for the two shows is already extremely high. “Boricua Invasion I & II are going to be the boxing events of the year for Puerto Rican fans and for New York City and tickets are going extremely quickly. I urge everyone hoping to see these amazing shows live get their tickets now.”

Tickets for Boricua Invasion I on Friday, June 10 are priced at $175, $125, $75, $45 and are available through Ticketmaster.com, charge-by-phone, or at any Ticketmaster outlet. On Friday, doors will open at 6:00 pm and the action starts at 6:30.

Tickets for Boricua Invasion II on Saturday, June 11 are priced at $200, $150, $85, and $55 and are available through Ticketmaster.com, charge-by-phone, or at any Ticketmaster outlet. On Saturday, doors will open at 7:00 pm and the action starts at 7:30.

For VIP Package tickets to both nights, please call DiBella Entertainment at 212-947-2577.

The Roseland Ballroom is located at 239 West 52nd Street in New York City.

All bouts are subject to change.

For more information, visit www.teampuertoricoboxing.com or www.latinoboxing.com. For more information on the Roseland Ballroom, visit www.roselandballroom.com.

Frank Warren statement on Cleverly:

Inaccurate articles are circulating on certain boxing websites stating that Tony Bellew has been confirmed as Nathan Cleverly’s opponent for this Saturday (21 May) at the O2 Arena.

Promoter Frank Warren would like to make it clear that no opponent has been confirmed yet for Cleverly and an official announcement will be made through his office in due course.

Martirosyan Ready For Roman

2004 U.S. Olympian Vanes Martirosyan (29-0 18KOs) is deep into his training camp for his upcoming fight versus Saul Roman (34-8 29 KOs). The fight takes place June 4th at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, CA on the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr versus Sebastian Zbik under card.

Martirosyan, who lives in nearby Glendale, has been receiving tough sparring at the Glendale Fight Club as he prepares to face Roman for the World Boxing Council ( WBC) junior middleweight silver title. Martirosyan has been sparring with the likes of middleweight Donyil Livingston who was a standout amateur, junior middleweight contender Michael Medina, Manny Pacquiao sparring partner Rashad Holloway and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

“I have had great sparring. The guys I am sparring with have given me great work. I can’t wait till fight night,” said an excited Martirosyan.

Freddie Roach has been Martirosyan’s trainer for the past few years. Edmond Tarverdyan has recently been added to the team and trained Martirosyan for his most recent fight, a 2nd round TKO of Bladimir Hernandez in March. Tarverdyan has received the endorsement of Roach.

“I feel blessed to work with Edmond. This is my best camp ever. Freddie likes him too. I can’t wait for everyone to see the new things he has taught me,” said Martirosyan.

The fighter of Armenian descent has his sights set firmly on winning a championship in 2011. He knows that defeating Roman and capturing the WBC junior middleweight title is an important step to accomplishing his goal, “I am not looking past Roman. I know he is a good fighter. I can’t wait to show what I can do when I step in the ring. 2011 is my year. My fans are going to go with me all the way to the top.”

THIS WEEK ON GFL COMBAT SPORTS NETWORK – 4 EVENTS

– Friday, May 20, 2011 8:00pm ET featuring Cage Fury Fighting Championships – CFFC: 8 ‘Seek and Destroy’ at the Resorts Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Main Event will feature veteran welterweight Doug ‘Flash’ Gordon taking on rising star Joey ‘Boom Boom’ Rivera. With a record of 11-9, Gordon has fought almost all the top welterweights in the east coast including UFC and Bellator veterans. In his last fight Gordon knocked out previously undefeated Jesus Martinez in just 50 seconds of their first round bout to capture another title. This bout not only showed that Gordon still has something left, but showed he can still be a force in CFFC’s welterweight title picture. In the Co-Main Event, current lightweight champion, Marques Daniels will take on Jay Coleman in his long awaited return to action. Daniels (6-4) is riding a two fight win streak and only one of his six wins has come via decision. When Daniels fights, he fights to finish. Coleman (6-4) is returning to cage after a four year layoff. With a new attitude and a new school under the tutelage of Ricardo Almeida protege Tom Beblass, Coleman with victories over UFC veterans, Coleman has the experience and the skills to get back on top.

– Friday, May 20, 2011 7:30pm ET featuring Jawbreaker Fight II from the Longbranch Nite Club in Raleigh NC. MMA and Boxing Event! Main Event Pro Boxer Donnell “The Real Touch of Sleep” Holmes, Pro Boxer Co Main event John “Bang Bang” Butler and Pro Boxer Antoine “The Future” Alston and MMA Pro Main Event Keith “Bad Newz” Bell. Ameture MMA Blake “The Ultimate” Risk, Patrick Muegge, Josh Clark, Mark Pellon, Mike Smith and Richard Waithe!

– Saturday, May 21, 2011 8:00pm ET featuring Reality Fighting, New England’s longest running MMA promotion, brings an action packed MMA show back to Mohegan Sun Casino’s Arena. The card features three professional superfights in the women, lightweight, and welterweight divisions, along with an impressive undercard. In the Women’s Superfight, Marianna Kheyfets of Danbury, CT., will take on Kaline Medeiros of Fall River, MA. Marianna trains out of American Top Team, is 2-0 and holds a submission victory over Kim Couture. Kaline, trains with Gillett’s MMA and will be making her pro debut after a stellar amateur career. The Lightweight Superfight pits two fighters who are undefeated in Reality Fighting against one another. Joe Proctor who is trained by UFC fighter Joe Lauzon will go toe to toe with Underdog BJJ fighter Oz Pariser. Ryan Quinn takes on Joe McGann in a Welterweight Superfight. The American Top Team trained Quinn is coming off a dominant win at a recent Bellator fight held at Mohegan Sun. McGann trains with USMMA in Massachusetts, he had an impressive win at the December Reality Fighting.The undercard is stacked with exciting fights featuring Reality Fighting favorites like Emil Haddad, Mark McLaughlin, and Jay Ward.

– Sunday, May 22, 2011 10:00pm ET featuring Tape Delayed May 21st 6pm Kings Boxing Promotions event “Fight For Hope” at the Sovereign Center, Reading, PA. The heavy-handed Collins, who has a record of 12-5-2 (8 KO), will face Allentown, PA’s Jorge Delgado (4-9, 2 KO) in a six-round bout with cross town bragging rights at stake. Collins’ matchup was elevated to main event status after local heavyweight star Travis Kauffman withdrew from the card with a shoulder injury. The rest of the pro card will be comprised of local Pennsylvania talent such as heavyweight William Miranda (2-3) of Allentown, the pro debuts of Williamsport heavyweight Randy Easton and Reading welterweight Cesar Gonzales, welterweight Grayson Blake (1-0, 1 KO) of State College, PA, and lightweight Travis ‘The Animal’ Thompson (4-7-1, 3 KO) of Pottstown, PA. The card also features the best local amateur talent, including Quincy Staples of Reading against Abram Santos of Allentown in a rubber match to settle a 1-1 tie. Xavier Melendez of Reading will face Exeter Township’s Kenny Williams, Fabian Valentin of Reading versus Elmer Madenia from Lebanon, and 6’6″, 280 pound Super Heavyweight Giant Joe Campano versus Darnell Hayes from Lebanon. Female fighters, Tassalea ‘The Princess’ Lopez of Reading will face Janel Grim of Lebanon.

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