NEW YORK (November 15, 2011)—Next Friday night, one of the most talented fighters in the world will return to his homeland as undefeated and former three-time world champion Joan “Little Tyson” Guzman returns to the ring after an eleven month absence when he takes on the tough Florencio Castellano in a twelve round bout in the Dominican Republic.
The card can be seen outside the United States on gfl.tv for just $9.99 by clicking: http://www.gfl.tv/Events/Fight/Boxing/Guzman_vs_Florencio__International_Broadcast/1241
in the United States for just $9.99 by clicking: http://www.gfl.tv/Events/Fight/Boxing/Guzman_vs_Florencio__US_Broadcast/1251
(NOTE THE U.S. BROADCAST WILL NOT HAVE THE GUZMAN OR MENDEZ BOUTS)
Guzman of the Dominican Republic has a record of 30-0-1 with seventeen knockouts is one of the most gifted fighters in the world. He is a three division world champions as he has won belts at Super Bantamweight, Super Featherweight and Lightweight and his beaten the likes of Agapito Sanchez, Fernando Beltran Jr., Javier Juaragui, Jorge Barrios and Humberto Soto.
He has been out of the ring for eleven months but with a win over Castellano he could be in line for a world title shot.
Castellano of Colombia has a very respectable record of 17-4 with thirteen knockouts. He has tremendous knockout prowess so if Guzman is not on the top of his game, he could be in for a long night.
A tremendous undercard will take place that will feature Dominican Super Feather Argenis Mendez taking on will take on Jose Palma in a bout scheduled for ten rounds.
Mendez , 18-2 with nine knockouts is coming off an attempt to at the world title where he lost a disputed decision to Juan Carlos Salgado. Mendez had Salgado hurt and knocked him down in the final round but ran put of time and lost by just two points on the scorecards.
Palma of Colombia has a record of 14-4-2 with nine knockouts and will be looking for his fourth consecutive victory.
Woman’s IBF Super Featherweight champion Amanda Serrano (12-0-1, 8 KO’s) will be making the first defense of her crown when she takes on Diana Ayala (10-5-3, 6 KO’s)
Julio De Jesus (12-0, 11 KO’s) will step up the competition when he takes on Ramon Duran (21-4-1, 13 KO’s)
Undefeated fighters Carlos Valdez (5-0, 3 KO’s); Josue Valdez (4-0, 2 KO’s) & Argenis Lopez (12-0, 3 KO’s) will see action in separate bouts as well as Swedish woman’s sensation Mikaela Lauren (12-1, 3 KO’s)
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Campbell itching to end layoff
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Nov. 15, 2011) – The path of destruction Mike Campbell leaves in his wake Friday night at the Twin River Event Center might be longer than the stretch of inactivity he had to endure in between fights.
Campbell, a Providence, R.I., native will make his long-awaited return Friday, Nov. 18, 2011 against veteran Jeff Anderson of Lincoln, R.I., in the three-round lightweight co-feature of Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports’ “Undisputed” mixed martial arts event. Campbell’s return ends a seven-month layoff for “The Beast,” which included a knee injury that sidelined him for several weeks.
“I’ve had plenty of time to heal,” Campbell said. “Now I want to crush and kill everything.”
Stomping out Anderson (10-4, 2 KOs) won’t be easy. The veteran lightweight – nicknamed “Candyman” – is accustomed to facing elite competition; the combined record of his last four opponents is 29-13, a stretch that includes back-to-back wins over John Ortolani and Damien Trites, and a tough loss to Bellator Fighting Championships veteran Rene Nazare, who entered the bout against Anderson with a perfect 6-0 record and is now 10-1.
“I know he’s a tough son-of-a-gun,” Anderson said of Campbell, “but my goal is to be tougher. Facing the opponents I’ve faced has given me the confidence to know I can hang with the tougher guys, and it makes it a lot easier for me to do the certain things I need to do to win in any particular fight.
“I’ve been fighting for a long time to be the best I can be at this sport and to do the best I can for my family, and it seems like it’s finally come to fruition.”
While Anderson’s confidence is at an all-time high following his most recent win against Trites in June, Campbell (9-4, 6 KOs) is looking to reestablish his dominance in the lightweight division in the aftermath of his knockout loss to Tony Hervey in April. Campbell hopes the extra time in between fights turns out to be a blessing in disguise Friday when he finally shakes off the rust.
“For the first time in a long time, I’ve been driving around smiling,” he said. “I’m excited. I’m happy to be back. I’m not nervous at all because I’ve done everything I can possibly do to get ready for this fight. I wasn’t as certain with my training for the Hervey fight because I was tired; it was my second fight in five weeks, and I blew off some things and missed things I shouldn’t have missed.
“Laziness, maybe? I don’t know. I was a little burnt out, but the good thing is I didn’t dwell on the Hervey fight. I was over it 10 minutes after the fight. He is a King of the Cage champion, and, based on our styles, I knew he’d either knock me out or I’d knock him out. I got caught, but it was a learning experience.”
Since losing to Hervey, Campbell has relied on the tutelage and experience of other local mixed martial arts fighters to help him train for Friday’s fight against Anderson.
“There’s a real camaraderie with these guys, which is something we’ve been missing for a couple of years now,” he said. “I’m working with guys like Keith and Pete Jeffrey, Greg Rebello, Tom Lawler, who is fighting on a UFC [Ultimate Fighting Championships] show on Saturday night – we kind of all sat down and said, ‘Look, we need a place to train, and we need better sparring partners and people who are actively fighting.’ We really didn’t have a home. Now we’ve got a whole great crew of guys coming in training each other and pushing each other. When I don’t have a fight, I’ll be there for them, and vice-versa.”
Campbell’s game plan for Friday’s fight is the same as always – keep it standing up, and let his hands fly. Anderson figures to take a similar approach.
“People underestimate my ground game,” Anderson said. “People know I like to stand up and bang, but I haven’t been able to do it in these last few fights because the opponent knows my style and makes sure I can’t fight my fight.
“When I get in the cage, I just adapt to their style and what they’re trying to do and use my tools to the best of my ability to counteract it. I’m hoping I can get in there and stand up [Friday]. We’ll see what happens. I know Mike likes to bang, so I think it’s going to be a real awesome fight. I expect him to come out guns blazing because he needs this win as much as I do.”
Added Campbell: “This is, by far, one of the best training camps I’ve had in my career. Knock on wood, I’ve suffered no injuries and everything is running smoothly the way it should.”
The main event of “Undisputed” features CES MMA’s inaugural five-round middleweight title bout between Todd Chattelle (9-6, 9 KOs) of Pawtucket, R.I., and Brett Oteri (8-2, 1 KO) of Dedham, Mass., in addition to a highly-anticipated bantamweight battle between New Jersey native Jason McLean (6-4, 2 KOs) and Rockport, Mass., veteran Pedro Gonzalez (7-4).
“Undisputed” also features a middleweight showdown between Keith Jeffrey (5-2-1) of Pawtucket, R.I., and New York native Kevin Horowitz (3-3). Saul “The Spider” Almeida (10-1) of Framingham, Mass., will face featherweight Kevin Roddy (11-13) of New Jersey; lightweight Dinis Paiva Jr. (1-1, 1 KO) of East Providence, R.I., will battle newcomer Cliff Moulton of New York; featherweight Shaun Marmus (3-2-1, 1 KO) of Coventry, R.I.; will take on Robbie Leroux (3-1, 1 KO) of Bridgewater, Mass.; Keith Ferreira (1-1, 1 KO) of Fall River, Mass., will face newcomer Vincent Ramirez of Springfield, Mass., in a middleweight bout; and Gilvan Santos (1-0) of Framingham will face bantamweight Rob Costa (1-1) of Fall River. Providence heavyweight Eric Bedard (2-0, 1 KO) will also be featured on the undercard.
Tickets for “Undisputed” are $35.00, $55.00, $100.00 and $125.00 and can be purchased by calling CES at 401.724.2253/2254, online at www.cesboxing.com or www.twinriver.com, at the Players Club booth at Twin River, or through any TicketMaster location. Doors open 6 p.m. with the first bout scheduled for 7.
(Twin River has waived its 18+ rule for “Undisputed.” Anybody under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult and must enter through the West entrance.)
Boxing Hall to Announce New Inductees Dec. 6th
CANASTOTA, NY – NOVEMBER 15, 2011 – The International Boxing Hall of Fame announced a news conference will be held at the Hall of Fame Events Pavilion on Tuesday, December 6, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. to announce the newest Hall of Fame Inductees.
Inductees will be named in five categories: Modern, Old-Timer, Pioneer, Non-Participant and Observer. Members of the Boxing Writers Association of America and an international panel of boxing historians cast votes. Voters from Japan, England, Canada, Mexico, South Africa, Germany, Puerto Rico and the United States are among those who participate in the election process.
“The Hall of Fame’s annual announcement is an exciting moment for the boxing community. All eyes turn to Canastota to see who will be among the new class of inductees,” said Executive Director Edward Brophy. “All inductees receive a permanent place on the Hall of Fame Wall and living honorees will be presented with a gold Hall of Fame Ring at the Official Induction Ceremony.”
The 23rd Annual Induction Weekend will be held June 7-10, 2012 in Canastota, NY. Over 20 events, including a banquet, parade, golf tournament and the Official Induction Ceremony on the Hall of Fame Museum Grounds, are scheduled. A celebrity lineup of over 40 boxing greats of yesterday and today is anticipated.
For more information on the Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, or the news conference announcing the newest inductees, please call the Boxing Hall of Fame at (315) 697-7095, visit the Hall’s official website www.ibhof.com.