By Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro: Francis and George Warren may be new to the boxing promotions business, but no one can deny they have hit the ground running. Their first show produced a ‘Fight of the Year’ front runner, when Liam Walsh successfully defended his Commonwealth title in a proper barnstorming battle royale with Paul Appleby. Their second event see new star signing, Cruiserweight Leon ‘Solid’ Williams, wrestle the Lonsdale belt from long time Champ Rob Norton’s iron grip.
For their third event, at York Hall in Bethnal Green on Friday 18th November, and live on BoxNation (Sky platform channel 456) Francis and George have another major battle headlining, as former WBU and World Boxing Organization (WBO) Cruiserweight World Champion Enzo Maccarinelli makes his welcome return to the ring… as a Light Heavyweight.
Big Mac’s opponent on Friday will be unbeaten Gyorgy Marosi. This will be no easy fight for Maccarinelli, as Marosi is a tough battler who has stopped eight of his twelve opponents and is the reigning Hungarian Super Middleweight Champion.
Whilst I do not know too much about Marosi’s fights, well all the reports are in Hungarian and whilst I do speak various languages Hungarian is not one of them. Saying that I have had a good look at his record though.
The first thing that struck me was this guy is a fast starting big hitter – having stopped six opponents in two rounds or less, one in the third and one in the fifth. His biggest scalp to date is Arnold Turos, who was 14-1 with six KO’s when he faced Marosi, who stopped him in the first round.
Now Maccarinelli is another thing altogether, how could I not know about his career, I’m a big fan of the Cruiserweight division and he was a two time World Champion.
As a Cruiserweight Maccarinelli overcame an early career loss, to Lee Swaby in only his fourth contest, to build up an impressive record before becoming. one of the biggest names on the World scene.
With ten excellent wins, seven within the distance, under his belt since the loss to Swaby, the Welshman challenged for the vacant WBU World title, against the seriously tough Bruce ‘Lionheart’ Scott. Maccarinelli overcome a first round knockdown to stop the durable Scott in the fourth and lift the coveted crown.
Maccarinelli successfully defended his crown seven times, with only two going the full distance. His first, against Andrei Karsten in September 2003, lasted just one minute and ten seconds. His second victim, sorry opponent, Earl Morais fared just a little better, having lasted until the one minute thirty second mark before being knocked out.
In February 2004 Garry Delaney visited the canvas no less than seven times before referee Dave Parris decided to call a halt to the proceedings after two minutes and thirty seven seconds of the eighth round.
Five months later Ismail Abdoul achieved something no one else had during Maccarinelli’s reign to that point, he went the distance. Saying that he was totally outclassed by the Swansea man, who had out pointed the Belgium by a 120-108 and 119-109 (twice) margin.
Two further stoppage finishes followed, a third round knockout of Jesper Kristiansen in September 2004 and a fourth round stoppage of America’s Rich LaMontagne in January 2005.
For his final defense, of the WBU title, Maccarinelli faced and beat former British, Commonwealth and WBU World Champion Mark Hobson in a thrilling encounter at the M.E.N. in Manchester in March 2006.
In his next bout Maccarinelli challenged Marcelo Fabian Dominguez for the interim WBO title. In yet another thriller Big Mac added another stoppage finish to his record, this time a ninth round TKO finish.
Seven months after their first encounter Maccarinelli and Mark Hobson again went to war, this time for the full WBO World crown. Big Macc took no chances and dispatched Hobson after just one minute and eleven seconds of the first round.
In April 2007 American Bobby Gunn crossed the Atlantic to try his luck against Swansea’s finest, without success as Big Mac stopped him after just two minutes and thirty five seconds of the first round.
three months later another American, Wayne Braithwaite, made the trip to see if he could do what Gunn couldn’t and take the belt away from Maccarinelli. He couldn’t either although he did manage to go the distance to become the only person that did during Big Mac’s reign as WBO champ.
In November 2007 Mohamed Azzaoui made the even longer flight, from New Zealand, but got sent back home after just fifty eight seconds of the fourth round.
Then it was the big one, on the 8th March 2008 Maccarinelli and WBC/WBA World Champion David Haye locked horns in a unification Battle Royale. The fierce battle lasted just over five minutes before the almighty Haye became the unified Champ.
One non-championship bout followed before Maccarinelli was back on the Championship trail, this time against American exiled Brit Ola Afolabi for the interim WBO title. Maccarinelli’s fans could see their man easily cruising towards another title, when the unthinkable happened – Afolabi, who was way behind on points, was under big pressure and was backed up to the ropes, as Maccarinelli started to unload Afolabi let rip with a sharp right and sent Big Mac down and out.
Maccarinelli brush him self down and in his very next fight challenged Denis Lebedev for the vacant WBO Inter-Continental belt. Big Mac’s luck had run out as after just two minutes and twenty seconds of the third round referee Terry O’Connor called a halt to the proceedings to save Maccarinelli suffering another knockout.
Two further non-championship bouts followed, neither opponent were to go the distance, before Maccarinelli challenged Alexander Kotlobay for the vacant European crown. The Mac was back, having dispatched Kotlobay in just two minutes and fifteen seconds of the first round.
Unfortunately Maccranelli’s reign came to an abrupt halt, after being dropped twice heavily in the seventh round, by challenger Alexander Frenkel in September 2009.
Maccarinelli decided to switch to the Light Heavyweight division earlier this year and on Friday will make his first outing at this new weight. Word is he is stronger at the lower weight so even though Bonfire night was just over a week ago you can expect fireworks on Friday night.
Heading up the support is Tony Conquest versus Toks Owoh for the vacant Southern Area Cruiserweight title. New British Champ Leon Williams is sure to be taking a lot of interest in this fight, as it’s rumoured that the winner of this then gets to face him early in the new year.
This will be former World #3 ranked Super Middleweight Owoh’s first shot at a Cruiserweight belt.
With just two wins under his belt since moving to the division, back in March, Owoh may find his much younger opponent too much to handle. Conquest is some twelve years Owoh’s junior and is unbeaten in seven outings.
The leveler may be experience, Owoh has not only fought eighteen times more than Conquest but has also fought a Championship bout previously, having fought and lost to American Glenn Johnson for the IBF Inter-Continental Super Middleweight title.
The undercard features a plethora of local prospects, including the exciting young Lightweight prospect Billy Morgan, who is coached by the legendary Jimmy Tibbs and his son Mark at the TRAD TKO gym in Canning Town, and Graham Earl’s unbeaten protégé, Heavyweight Tom Little.
Southampton’s unbeaten Light Welterweight Matty Tew makes his first trip to the famous York Hall, whilst Light Heavyweight Menay Edwards makes a much shorter trip from Crayford.
Finally, and adding an International flavour to the proceedings, is Norwegian Featherweight Andreas Evensen. Some may remember former WBO Inter-Continental Champion Evensen, as last year he crossed the North Sea to unsuccessfully challenge WBO World Champ Ricky Burns for his Super Featherweight crown.
Francis and George Warren’s Queensberry promotion event, headlined by the Enzo Maccarinelli versus Gyorgy Marosi, takes place at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, and broadcast live on BoxNation (Sky Platform Ch. 456), on Friday the 18th November 2011.
Tickets, priced £60 (Ringside) and £40 (Standard Seated), are available now on-line at www.tkoboxoffice.com or from the TRAD TKO Boxing Gym, Gillian House, Stephenson Street, Canning Town, London E16 4SA.
Harold Lederman Ring 8 Nov. Guest Speaker
NEW YORK, NY (November 13, 2011) – Renown boxing judge and HBO analyst Harold Lederman will be the special guest speaker Tuesday evening (Nov. 15) for RING 8’s monthly meeting (7 PM/ET start) at the historic Waterfront Crabhouse in Long Island City.
Lederman, who hails from the Bronx, was an International judge (1967-1989) who worked more than 100 world title fights. Today, he plays a key role as HBO’s World Championship Boxing judge analyst.
A graduate of Columbia University, the popular and recognizable Lederman was the 2006 “Good Guys Award” winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He is a World Boxing Hall of Fame inductee and this March, it was recently announced, he will also be inducted into New York State Boxing Hall of Fame inaugural class.
“Harold is a good friend, longtime Ring 8 member and one of the most respected people in boxing,” RING 8 president Bob Duffy said. “His support for Ring 8 and its work over the years has been invaluable. Harold is a real New York boxing guy. We’re grateful to him for agreeing to be our guest speaker this month.”
Formed in 1954 by an ex-prizefighter, Jack Grebelsky, RING 8 became the eighth subsidiary of what was then known as the National Veteran Boxers Association — hence, RING “8” — and today the organization’s motto still remains: Boxers Helping Boxers.
RING 8 is fully committed to supporting the less fortunate people in the boxing community that may require assistance in terms of paying rent, medical expenses, or whatever justifiable need.
Go on line to www.Ring8ny.com for more information about RING 8, the largest group of its kind in the United States with more than 350 members. Annual membership dues is only $25.00 and each member is entitled to a buffet dinner at RING 8 monthly meetings, the third Tuesday of every month, excluding July and August.
Deal Reached: Roy Jones, Jr. Dec. 10 Fight to be Shown Live on Ustream.TV via Worldwide Internet Pay Per View
After months of negotiating, Ustream.TV will again throw its hat in the boxing ring on Dec. 10 in Atlanta, GA. This fight will feature the “Resurrection” of the Legendary 12 Time World Champion, Roy Jones, Jr. fighting Max Alexander for the UBO Inter-Continental Title. This fight will be shown Live on Internet Pay Per View for the reasonable cost of $9.99. The link for the Internet Pay Per Vew is http://www.ustream.tv/royjones.
The interesting thing is that no major TV station showed the major promoter of this event any serious interest in showing the Roy Jones, Jr. fight live. After the numerous years of exciting historical fights that the legend has given the public and TV it seems that if Bernard Hopkins at 46 years old can be televised, Roy Jones, Jr. should be televised.
However, with the new innovative ideas and improvements of the internet, the global giant, Ustream.TV, has excitedly stepped up to the plate and was willing to fill the void that the traditional, often times out-dated network stations missed. The legendary global brand name of Roy Jones, Jr., combined with the equally global internet brand name of Ustream.TV creates a powerful synergy that will help catapult the archaic overpriced boxing platform into the new era. Internet TV is be the new frontier as Roy Jones, Jr’s famous song is aptly titled “Can’t Be Stopped.”
The public will be getting a blockbuster event. The Legend. Roy Jones, Jr., will be fighting for the UBO Cruiserweight Inter-Continental Title against Max Alexander in a 10 Rd Bout, Up and coming, undefeated, young and exciting fighter Chris Howard (13-0), will be fighting for the NABA US Lightweight Title plus a 10 bout under card fight with both MMA and Pro Boxing on the card. All of this on internet pay per view for only $9.99. This is a true value, at a price that anyone worldwide can afford in a medium anyone worldwide can access – the internet. Is this signaling the end of one overpriced out-of-date platform and the beginning of a new and exciting broadcasting adventure – internet pay per view?
About Ustream.TV: Ustream.TV is a world-wide website which consists of a network of diverse channels providing a platform for lifecasting and live video streaming of events online. Established in March 2007, the site has over 2,000,000 registered users who generate 1,500,000+ hours of live streamed content per month with over 10 million unique hits per month. During the 2008 United States presidential election, the website was used by nearly all of the major candidates to help their campaigns, by allowing a greater number of voters to ask political questions. Former Senator and 2008 Presidential Candidate Mike Gravel became the first candidate ever to stream an alternate debate on Ustream that allowed Sen. Gravel to respond to all of the questions being asked, as well as comment on the responses from the other candidates throughout a nationally televised debate. [see Ustream wikipedia for all sources and credits for the Ustream information]
Roy Jones, Jr. vs. Max Alexander Fighting Live on Dec. 10 in Atlanta, GA at the Atlanta Civic Center. Buy Tickets now at Ticketmaster.com or Buy now on Internet Pay Per View at http://www.ustream.tv/royjones. For more information go to www.KoKings.net. For general questions, sponsorship opportunities, advertising, etc. email to kokings555@gmail.com