Povetkin vs. Boswell, Helenius vs. Chisora LIVE to U.S. on EPIX – Dec 3

NEW YORK (November 21, 2011) – Live world championship boxing returns to EPIX (follow @EPIXsports on Twitter for the latest updates on EPIX boxing) when newly-minted undefeated World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight champion ALEXANDER POVETKIN makes his first world title defense, against CEDRIC “The Boz” BOSWELL, Saturday, December 3. Presented by Sauerland Event, the live broadcast will emanate from Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland.

The WBA heavyweight championship will be televised live in the U.S. exclusively on EPIX, the multiplatform premium entertainment service. EpixHD.com will stream the fight live as part of a free two-week trial offer. The live broadcast and the live stream on EPIX and EpixHD.com, respectively, will begin with the main event at 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT.

Following the Povetkin-Boswell heavyweight title fight, the broadcast and live stream will continue with undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) and WBA Intercontinental heavyweight champion ROBERT “The Nordic Nightmare” HELENIUS taking on DERECK CHISORA for the vacant European heavyweight title.

As has become the custom, EPIX will once again present the closed-captioned simulcast of both fights on a jumbotron in Times Square (Broadway between 44th and 45th Sts.), beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Povetkin, Boswell, Helenius and Chisora boast a combined record of 88-2 (61 KOs) – a 98% winning percentage and a victory by knockout ratio of 69%.

“EPIX looks forward to providing U.S.-based boxing fans exclusive live coverage of the Povetkin- Boswell and Helenius-Chisora heavyweight title fights and presenting the continuing plotlines of Povetkin and Helenius as a preview of the heavyweight division’s next generation of world champions and world title challengers,” said Travis Pomposello, EPIX senior executive in charge of boxing.

“Winning the world title was like a dream coming true for me,” said Povetkin. “Now I need to prove myself against quality contenders out there. I look forward to fighting Boswell. He is a tough opponent. But I have worked so hard to become champion there is no way I will allow him to take the belt away from me. I can promise my fans an exciting fight in Helsinki on December 3.”

“My entire life I have been waiting this moment,” Boswell stated. “Now the big day has finally come. Povetkin is a good kid but he is a kid and he will be in trouble once we are in the ring. I have the experience and the strength to beat him. I will shock the boxing world on December 3 when I take home the WBA Heavyweight Title to America.”

Povetkin (22-0, 15 KOs), of Russia, is trained by Teddy Atlas. He captured the vacant WBA heavyweight title on August 27, winning a gutsy unanimous decision over former WBA heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev, who entered the fight as the No. 1-rated contender. Povetkin, the 2004 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist, has an impressive resume which includes a knockout victory over former two-time heavyweight champion Chris Byrd, and unanimous decision victories over one-time heavyweight title challenger Eddie Chambers and former U.S. Olympians Jason Estrada and Larry Donald. Povetkin, who has been promoted by Sauerland Event throughout his entire professional career, enters this fight having won three of his last five bouts by knockout.

Boswell (35-1, 26 KOs), of Atlanta, enters this fight riding a five-year, 14-bout winning streak, with 12 of those victories coming by way of knockout. Highlights of that streak include a second-round knockout of then-undefeated heavyweight contender Roman Greenberg (27-0) for the vacant USBA and IBF North American heavyweight titles, a ninth-round stoppage of top contender Owen Beck for the vacant WBC Latino heavyweight title and WBC Latino title defense unanimous decision victories over former world heavyweight champion Oliver McCall and Kertson Mantswell, which also included the NABA heavyweight title.

“The support of my Finnish fans has always been fantastic,” Helenius stated. “They raised the roof last November when I defeated Attila Levin before the Super Six clash
between Abraham and Froch. This time, they will be even louder and lift me to victory. I will be the new European champion on December 3!”

“He’s called the ‘Nordic Nightmare,’ but he’ll be having nightmares about me for the rest of his life after I’ve left him flat out on the canvas,” Chisora stated. “I’m surprised Helenius’ people wanted me to fight their unbeaten golden boy, they must be going on my performance in my last fight and think I’m easy pickings. Believe me, this is the biggest mistake they have made with his career and I’ll be going over to Finland to knock him clean out. I can’t wait for December 3 and winning that European title and bringing it back to Britain.

Helenius (16-0, 11 KOs), a native of Finland who fights out of Berlin, Germany, returns to the ring after knocking out former WBO heavyweight champion Siarhei Liakhovich in August. Liakhovich was the third former heavyweight champion to suffer a knockout loss to Helenius, joining knockout victims Lamon Brewster and Samuel Peter, who were starched in eight and nine rounds, respectively. Helenius, who enters this fight having won 10 of his last 11 fights by stoppage, is world-rated No. 1 by the WBO and No. 3 by the WBA and International Boxing Federation (IBF).

Chisora (15-3, 9 KOs), of London, will be fighting outside the United Kingdom for the first time in his four-year professional career. The former BBBoC British heavyweight Champion and Commonwealth (British Empire) heavyweight champion boasts consecutive knockout victories of Danny Williams and Sam Sexton, who had a combined record of 54-9 when he defeated them.

Calling the fights for EPIX and EpixHD.com will be eight-time New York Emmy® Award winner and WNBC-TV’s lead sports anchor Bruce Beck, handling the blow-by-blow duties. Joining Beck on the broadcast team as analysts will be five-time Trainer of the Year and International Boxing Hall of Fame nominee FREDDIE ROACH and ESPN.com senior boxing writer Dan Rafael. Sports Illustrated’s boxing writer Chris Mannix will be stationed ringside at Hartwall Areena where he will provide live post-fight in-ring interviews with the fighters.

ESPN’S 2012 FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS SEASON OPENS JANUARY 6TH IN KEY WEST

New York, NY – (11/21/2011) – On Friday, January 6th, DiBella Entertainment will kick off the 2012 season of ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights” with what promises to be an action-packed night of boxing, outdoors at Mallory Square, in beautiful Key West, Florida. Headlining the card will be WBC and WBA #9 rated Super Middleweight, Dyah Davis (20-2-1, 9KO’s), taking on hard-hitting Alfonso Lopez (22-1, 17KO’s), in a 10-round match-up. Opening up the show will be a can’t-miss junior middleweight showdown between DiBella Entertainment’s highly regarded up-and-coming prospects, Steve Martinez (11-0, 9KO’s) and Jonathan Cepeda (11-0, 10KO’s). Martinez-Cepeda is scheduled for eight rounds.

“January 6th begins ESPN’s 2012 season with a bang,” said Lou DiBella, CEO and President of DiBella Entertainment. “You have two huge punchers in the Martinez-Cepeda match-up, and someone’s ‘0’ must go. This is a terrific opener almost guaranteed to be explosive. In the main event, Dyah Davis looks to continue his climb toward a world title shot against emerging contender Alfonso Lopez. This is a helluva way to kick off the new year.”

“We are pleased to be starting off the 2012 Friday Night Fights season from Key West Florida with Dibella Entertainment. Coming off a spectacular 2011 we expect the main event of Davis VS. Lopez to deliver action and excitement for our boxing fans,” said ESPN Director fo Programming, Doug Loughrey.

The Florida-native Davis, son of former Olympic gold medal winner and world title challenger, Howard Davis, is two fights removed from his most impressive victory to date, a 10-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Marcus Johnson (20-0, 15KO’s, at the time). Davis followed up that win with another unanimous decision victory over the always dangerous Darnell Boone in October. Davis is hoping an impressive showing on the nationally televised ESPN network will move him one step closer toward challenging for a piece of the super middleweight crown. First though, he must get passed Lopez, whose only defeat as a pro came in a disputable majority decision loss to former middleweight kingpin Kelly Pavlik.

Puerto Rican Steven Martinez, who hails from the Bronx, and is co-managed by NY Giants Running Back, Brandon Jacobs, is one of the most promising prospects to come out of New York in years. A three-time New York Golden Gloves Champion, and 2008 National Golden Gloves Champion, the 21-year-old Martinez has everything you look for in an up-and-coming prospect; size, speed, and knockout power in either hand. Martinez recently spent time serving as one of the lead sparring partners in helping prepare reigning Middleweight Champion Sergio Martinez defend his title against Darren Barker this past October. Martinez was one of the featured bouts on the undercard that night, stopping the always tough Jay Krupp in the fifth round of their scheduled six-round junior middleweight contest.

Like Martinez, Cepeda is another can’t-miss prospect, and a former Golden Gloves Champion. Cepeda, who is of Dominican descent, and originally hails from New Jersey, now lives and trains in Florida, under renowned trainer John David Jackson.

The bout on the January 6will be the first scheduled eight-round bout for both Martinez and Cepeda, as well as the first time either will be featured on national television.

The entire show is promoted by DiBella Entertainment. The show will air live on ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPN Deportes at 9PM ET. A complete list of the undercard will be announced shortly. Tickets will go on sale soon.

Reigning Champions crushed by Mexico City Guerreros

Lausanne, Switzerland, 21 November 2011 – Showboating, KOs, devastating blows, solid defences and all round top quality entertainment would summarise the second week of WSB action. Baku Fires won in Istanbul to make it two wins in two. Dynamo Moscow announced their arrival in devastating fashion and the match-up of the week between Milan and LA showcased some of the best boxing around. However it was the crushing defeat of the reigning champions Paris United by Mexico City Guerreros that sent shockwaves through the competition. The action was again top drawer.

The match of the week

The glamour of the Dolce & Gabbana Milano Thunder met the glitz of the Los Angeles Matadors in a clash of two teams with aspirations to win the competition. A raucous crowd at the Mediolanum Forum greeted the visiting team from Hollywood and the boxing on show was sumptuous from start to finish. Veaceslav Gojan got proceedings under way with a faultless display against another debutant in 18-year-old Edwin Sandoval. Crowd favourite and local hero Domenico Valentino then took to the ring and overcame the tough challenge of Leonid Malkov to put the team from Italy 2:0 up. Irishman William McLaughlin ensured victory for the home team with a tenacious and dogged display against the tough Zaal Kvachatadze. Siarhei Karneyev got a win for the Matadors.

Thrashing of the week

The Dynamo Moscow team made quite an impression following their emphatic 5:0 demolition of the Venky’s Mumbai Fighters in Perm on Friday. It was Arslanbek Makhmudov who really made his mark in the Heavyweight contest of the evening, sending his opponent Trent Rawlins sprawling to the canvas with a thunderous overhead right midway through the fourth round. Makhmudov caught Rawlins flush in the jaw, a real sledgehammer of a shot. It was a picture perfect end to a sumptuous evening in the packed 3,500-seater Sukharev Sport Complex. This experience would have been a sobering one for the Indians.

Fighter of the week

Normally this part would be reserved for an outstanding performer; however the spotlight this week falls on Venky’s Mumbai Fighters Siddarth Varma for his strange showboating antics in the ring against Dynamo Moscow’s Eduard Husainov. Playing to the spectators all evening and seemingly more intent on making himself noticed than actually fighting the boxer in front of him, Varma continuously raised his glove in salute to the crowd to the amusement of many onlookers. Confident in his ability and with a swagger worthy of some of the great boxers of the past, if Varma can concentrate on his boxing, WSB could have a real entertainer in their ranks.

Buzz of the week

The most anticipated match of the weekend came following the buzz surrounding the young Los Angeles Matadors’ Sean Turner. There was a real excitement around the less than athletic looking Turner, achieving almost immediate cult status. A good steady fighter with a solid defence, Turner looked comfortable in the ring, dominating from the centre of the canvas and doing some serious damage with some stinging hooks. However stamina is an essential part of any boxer’s make-up and midway through each round the positive Turner would sag and leave himself exposed, a fact well exploited by Milan’s Michel Olas. Despite losing, Turner’s demeanour and presence in the ring ensured a new fan base for himself. Let’s hope he can learn from his first WSB match and make his mark in the competition.

Sensation of the week

The Mexico City Guerreros looked unstoppable as they completely exposed, dominated and crushed the reigning champions Paris United. Pundits and experts alike could not have predicted such a resounding victory for the Guerreros against the team from the French capital. Elias Emigdio got proceedings under way, coming through a tough contest with Alexsandr Riscan to record a split decision victory. Juan Romero then bulldozed his way to a comprehensive win over WSB debutant Mehdi Sellami. Following an accidental collision that severely cut Juan Mercado in the first round of the Middleweight contest, the fight with Adriani Vastine was ruled a technical draw. Then Swedish southpaw Kennedy Katende sent the crowds at the Foro Polanco into raptures after TKOing his opponent and making sure of the win for the home team. Juan Hiracheta then closed out the evening by winning and led the celebrations at the end of the 4:0 victory. No one will want to face this team now.

The Astana Arlans vs. Bangkok and Wuxi Dragons vs. Leipzig Leopards ties were both been cancelled, due to flooding in Thailand and due to unforeseen circumstances respectively.