NEW YORK, NY (July 29, 2011) – This Sunday night’s episode of Broadway Boxing will pay tribute to one of the pioneers of sports television and one of boxing’s greatest advocates, the late Nick Charles. The program will feature a roundtable discussion featuring those who knew Charles the best, never before seen footage of Charles talking about the sport of boxing and, of course, three memorable bouts that Charles called from ringside in his capacity as the play-by-play man for Showtime’s ShoBox: The New Generation series and Broadway Boxing.
Broadway Boxing airs every Sunday night at 8PM ET / 5PM PT on SNY, which is broadcast via cable throughout New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut and nationwide on DirecTV and Dish Network. Broadway Boxing is syndicated on Comcast Sports Net affiliates nationwide. Check local listings for broadcast times on CSN.
Charles, who passed away on June 25 after a courageous battle with bladder cancer, is widely credited with popularizing the sports highlight show when he teamed with Fred Hickman for Sports Tonight upon the launch of CNN in 1980. In his 21 years at Showtime he covered almost every major sporting event worldwide. Throughout it all, boxing remained his first love.
In the roundtable portion of the show, ShoBox Executive Producer Gordon Hall, promoter Lou DiBella, Broadway Boxing and ShoBox color commentator Steve Farhood, and Broadway Boxing color commentator Brian Adams share their thoughts on Charles as their colleague and friend.
The fights shown will combine Charles’s work on both the ShoBox and Broadway Boxing franchise. The bouts to air are: the 2005 “double knockdown” affair – often referred to as the wildest 22 seconds in ShoBox history – between Sechew Powell and Cornelius Bundrage, the 2008 rematch between Randall Bailey and DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley which aired on Broadway Boxing, and the 2010 slugfest that aired on ShoBox featuring Edwin Rodriguez and Kevin Engel.
Further, clips of a documentary on boxing which was never aired, will be shown featuring Charles talk about his passion for boxing.
Jimmy Lange Boxing Returns to Patriot Center Sept 10
Fairfax, VA (July 29, 2011) – Hometown favorite and former Contender reality TV show star Jimmy Lange (36-4-2, 24 KOs) will headline his 13th show at the Patriot Center with a 10-round contest (opponent TBD) on Saturday, September 10, 2011. Presented by Valcourt Building Services, Jimmy Lange Boxing is the mid-Atlantic region’s top professional boxing show, drawing thousands of enthusiastic fans and featuring action-packed fights. Ticket prices range from $35 to $500 (VIP Ringside) and can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets.
The eight-round co-main event will feature a junior middleweight clash between Jonathan “Reid Dawg” Reid (35-12, 19 KOs) of Nashville, TN and George “Wartime” Rivera (12-6, 4 KOs) of Charlottesville, VA. Both fighters emerged victorious — Reid over Mike McFail, Rivera against Shakir Ashanti — on the last Patriot Center card held on March 12, 2011. A Contender teammate and former opponent of Lange’s, Reid is more battle-tested, having faced the likes of William Joppy, Pawel Wolak and Jesse Brinkley. Meanwhile, Rivera is undefeated at the Patriot Center and is 6-1 when fighting in Northern Virginia.
Former No. 1 junior welterweight contender, Michael “No Joke” Stewart (47-6-3, 24 KOs) of New Castle, DE will make his Washington, D.C. area debut in a six-round special attraction bout (opponent TBD). A former USBA light welterweight title holder, he fought to a draw against David Torres for the vacant NABA light welterweight title last February in Dover, DE. Stewart competed in the second season of The Contender, losing to eventual winner Grady Brewer in the quarterfinals. The 15-year veteran has faced former world champions Ricky Hatton and D.C.’s own Sharmba Mitchell and beaten Ivan Robinson, Terron Millett and Charles Tschorniawsky during his career.
A pair of undefeated Northern Virginia prospects with strong followings, Fairfax welterweight Todd “White” Lightning” Wilson (10-0, 4 KOs) and junior middleweight Zain “Tiger” Shah (5-0, 3 KOs) of Chantilly, will seek to keep their winning streaks alive in six-round contests.
Wilson, a business development specialist at Booz Allen Hamilton and former collegiate champion at Virginia Military Institute, is anxious to get back in the ring after his last fight was stopped prematurely at the end of the third round when Dean White was disqualified for excessive holding and hitting after the bell. Wilson, who fights out of Annandale Boxing Club, will face former Florida State USA titlist Raymond Betancourt (8-6, 3 KOs) of West Palm Beach, FL.
Training out of LA Boxing’s Reston gym, Shah will take on Julius “Vicious” Kennedy (7-2-1, 3 KOs), his second straight Baltimore opponent at the Patriot Center. Shah won a close decision against a tough Omar Sims last year in Fairfax and can expect another battle on his hands with Kennedy. Earlier this year, Shaw TKO’d Tevin Parker for his fifth win. Kennedy has looked sharp in his last two bouts, losing in a fight-of-the-year contest with Scott “Cujo” Sigmon and drawing with Jessie Nicklow in an equally-entertaining slugfest prior to that.
Lynchburg, VA’s Sigmon (16-3, 8 KOs), known for his hard-charging style and loyal fan base who travel well especially in and around the Beltway region, will battle Bruce “The Rage” Rumbolz (22-22-2, 13 KOs) in an eight-round bout. Sigmon dropped a 10-round decision to undefeated Chris Patrick last month in Greensboro, NC, snapping an eight-bout win streak.
Popular LA Boxing trainer Lawrence Jones (3-5-2, 1 KO) of Reston, VA will make his fourth Patriot Center appearance when he takes on Jose Felix (10-9-2, 3 KOs) of Richmond Hill, GA in a six-round contest. Jones, who lost a split decision to Todd Eriksson earlier this year, has gone 1-1-1 in front of his hometown supporters in Fairfax.
Tickets, priced at $35, $50, $75, $125, $300 and $500 (plus applicable service charges), can be bought through all Ticketmaster outlets including the Patriot Center box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com/ and via Phonecharge at 703-573-SEAT, 202-397-SEAT and 410-547-SEAT. Accessible seating is available for patrons with disabilities by calling 703-993-3035.
Doors will open at 6:00 pm, with the first fight scheduled to begin promptly at 7:00 pm. All bouts are subject to change. Jackie “First Lady of Boxing” Kallen serves as promoter with matchmaking duties handled by J.D. Brown.
Takaloo and JJ Bird lead the Prizefighter Light-Middleweight II charge
Seven names announced for York Hall showdown on September 15
Former two-weight World champ Takaloo tops the bill for the Prizefighter Light-Middleweights II at York Hall, Bethnal Green on Thursday 15 September – leading a classic mix of fighters aiming to triumph live on Sky Sports.
Tickets are now on sale for the 20th edition of Matchroom Sport’s eight-man, one night tournaments which sees a reality TV star, unbeaten novices and young hopefuls all join the former WBU Light-Middleweight and Welterweight belt holder Takaloo, who recently applied for a license from the board and must come through a warm-up test before the night.
The hugely popular ‘Margate Rock’ returns to the ring from a three year absence and hopes to roll back the years to the days he fought in title showdowns with the likes of Anthony Farnell, Wayne Alexander, Michael Jennings and Eamonn Magee.
Adding some razzmatazz to proceedings is Peterborough’s JJ Bird finished, the 24 year-old who finished fourth in the last series of Big Brother, who will bank on support from flatmate Aston Merrygold from pop group JLS as he returns to the ring after two years out of action.
Peter Vaughan is one of three unbeaten fighters in the line-up, and ‘The Raging Bull’ will be full of confidence after outpointing previously unbeaten Phill Fury in a real war on the Tyson Fury vs. Dereck Chisora undercard at Wembley Arena on Saturday, taking his record to three wins and one draw.
Hampshire fighter Wayne Goddard takes a 9-0 record into the tournament while Brentwood’s Kris Agyei-Dua has three points wins to his name since making his pro debut at 30 years-old in February.
All of former Amateur star Daniel Herdman’s pro dates have been at York Hall so the ‘Hurricane’ from Stevenage, who won the Junior ABAs before turning pro in 2007, will feel right at home as he guns for the trophy.
Steve Harkin’s place in the line-up came down to his loyal followers, as fans of the 29 year-old from Liverpool began a campaign on Twitter that sees the 5-1-2 fighter become the seventh name in the mix, with promoters Matchroom Sport hoping to name the final contender early next week.
As previously announced, for the first time in Prizefighter the draw will be made in the ring on the night, and before the action begins we will see the first “Prizefighter Prospect” in action as Matchroom Sport offer a young boxer the chance to fight in front of a big crowd before the eight Prizefighters battle for the title and the £32,000 winner’s cheque – with Ryan “Crash Bang” Taylor the first fighter to be offered this golden opportunity.
Tickets for Prizefighter Welterweights II at York Hall, Bethnal Green in east London are available from Matchroom Sport priced £35 unreserved, £60 ringside and £100 VIP – to buy call Matchroom Sport on 01277 359900.