Promoter Lou DiBella recently told that Ring Magazine middleweight champion Sergio Martinez will come to Moscow to fight with WBO middleweight titleholder Dmitry Pirog only for $5-6 millions. DiBella believes that Pirog doesn’t have a big name and this fight isn’t marketable.
«I think that all this DiBella’s statements are refusal to fight, — said Pirog’s promoter Kirill Pchelnikov. — They don’t want to fight with Pirog at least for now. And money is not the issue. You may give them six millions and they will find another excuses. Instead of fighting Pirog he would better fight with two other fighters he knows he can beat and make the same money. Dibella says that Dmitry is unknown fighter. I wonder with whom Martinez will fight next and how well this boxer will be known. We are ready to fight anyone and even if Martinez will accept the fight we are ready to fight anytime and anywhere. But we have other options for Pirog, not only Martinez. I can’t tell you who will be the next opponent. It will be clear later. The only thing I can tell is that we had negotiations with WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm, but he refused from bout with Pirog and now he has the fight with British fighter Martin Murray».
Vargas vs. Cheikho co-feature a potential war McGuinness-Gaudet Oct. 22 in Ontario
TORONTO (Oct. 17, 2011) – The co-feature between unbeaten Colombian welterweight Samuel Vargas (7-0-1, 1 KO) and outspoken Ahmad Cheikho (6-3-2, 5 KOs), despite neither being natives of Canada, perhaps, best illustrates the provincial rivalry theme between Toronto and Quebec for the October 22 show, headlined by the NABA super featherweight title fight pitting Logan Cotton McGuinness and Benoit Gaudet at The Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario.
The Oct. 22nd card is being presented by Hennessy Sports, in association with Interbox and United Promotions.
Vargas moved to Mississauga, Ontario from Colombia, while Cheikho came to Montreal from Lebanon. Both boxers take great pride in their homes and plan to push that point when they face each other in the 10-round co-main event.
“This fight means a lot in the sense Quebec has had some of the best fighters in Canada and now we can show everybody that Toronto has better fighters,” Vargas said. “I expect a great show.”
“It’s a very important fight for Ahmad because he’s representing Montreal and the province of Quebec,” Ahmad’s manager Camille Estephan noted.
Styles make fights and this one shapes up as a classic pitting a pressure fighter and underrated defender, Vargas, versus a fast, slick Cheikho, who was a junior kick-boxing champion.
“He’d better be chewing some gum to strengthen that glass jaw he’s got,” Vargas warned. “I’m in great shape, right on weight and good to go, so he better be ready. I hope he knows he’s in for a one helluva fight. He’s a better fighter than his record shows and he can box a bit. But, I can brawl or box.”
The two rivals have two common opponents: Vargas fought a 10-round draw in his last fight against Tebor Brosch, who Cheikho was stopped by in one round in 2009; Michael Springer lost a four-round decision to Vargas and fought a four-round draw with Cheikho.
“We read somewhere that Vargas mentioned that he wants to test Ahmad’s chin,” Estephan added. “Ahmad is coming to Toronto to hurt Vargas. This from Ahmad to Vargas: I want to crush your bones.'”
McGuinness (15-0-1, 7 KOs), presently rated No. 11 by the World Boxing Association (“WBA”), is the reigning North American Boxing Association (“NABA”) Lightweight Champion, but the Orangeville, Ontario native has given up his belt in order to fight Gaudet for the vacant NABA super featherweight title in the main event.
Former world title challenger Gaudet (24-2, 10 KOs), a former NABA super featherweight title-holder from Quebec, was stopped by defending champion Humberto Soto in their 2009 World Boxing Council (“WBC”) super featherweight championship match, which was the co-feature on the Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton mega-fight card.
Hennessy Sports’ newly signed unbeaten light heavyweight prospect, Lionell “Lonnie B” Thompson (9-0, 6 KOs), will be fighting an opponent to be determined in a six-round match.
Also on the undercard is an enticing matchup between a pair of Ontario lightweights, Jeremy Abbott (2-2, 1 KO) and Harrison McBain (3-3-1), who will square-off in expected 6 round battle.
In four-round bouts are Ontario fighters Dillon Carman (1-0), a heavyweight prospect, light middleweight Brandon “Bad Boy” Cook (2-0, 1 KO), and super featherweight Natasha Spence (2-0-1, 2 KOs). All fights and fighters are subject to change.
Tickets, starting at $30.00, may be purchased at the Hersey Centre Box Office, through Ticketmaster at (855) 985-5000
Go on line at www.HennessySports.com for more information McGuinness and the Oct. 22 show.
The official promo video can be seen by clicking here: http://youtu.be/aKL8LZxzxdQ
Hammer Set For Second Defense of WBF Title!
On Friday October 21 at the Brandenburg Halle in Frankfurt, Germany, undefeated World Boxing Federation (WBF) Women’s World Middleweight Champion Christina Hammer (10-0, 7 KOs) will defend her title against American Vashon Living (5-1, 1 KO).
In what will be Hammer’s second defense of the WBF title, the pair will square off on a show promoted by Ulf Steinforth of SES Boxing and televised live in Germany by Sport1.
21-year-old Hammer, born in Kazakhstan but now a German citizen hailing from Magdeburg, captured the WBF World title with a seventh round stoppage of Hungarian Diana Kiss in February, and successfully defended it with a unanimous decision over WIBA Light Middleweight World Champion Maria Lindberg from Sweden this past May.
Prior to winning the WBF title, Hammer had picked up the vacant WBO crown in October 2010 by beating Teresa Perozzi from Bermuda. That belt will also be on the line in Frankfurt.
Vashon “Lady V” Living will enter her first World Championship fight against Hammer, and she will do so as the underdog. After a stellar amateur career, the 30-year-old from Houston, Texas unexpectedly lost her professional debut in 2005 and didn’t fight again until 2009.
However, she has gone undefeated in her comeback, racking up five straight victories to line up the big opportunity in Germany, and has reportedly looked sharper and more focused than ever in training.
Living is trained by Aaron Navarro at the Main Street Boxing Gym in downtown Houston, and promoted by former heavyweight contender Lou Savarese, so she has a strong team behind her in her quest to become a world champion in her first attempt.
www.worldboxingfederation.net