Price vs. McDermott on 1/21; Mitchell vs. Ibragimov on Dec 10th

David Price intends to start 2012 with a world class performance against John McDermott. The big Liverpudlian had to pull out of his November 19th clash with Big Bad McDermott due to an injury sustained during training.

Now Price has had the all clear he is eager to get back in training in his march towards winning all titles but first he has to deal with the most under rated and unluckiest fighter in the heavyweight division on January 21st at the Olympia in Liverpool.

The winner of the eliminator will meet Tyson Fury in a British Title showdown. Recently in the press Haye insisted Price can beat Fury in the race to rip the world heavyweight crowns from the Klitschko brothers.

Price and his trainer will join Frank Maloney in Las Vegas for a 7 day training stint just before Christmas where he will meet top American fighters and then go on to be revealed to the press as the future of the heavyweight division.

“I have told my team I want real first class sparring to put me under the same sort of pressure the I’m expecting from McDermott ”. Said Price

Price would like to pay his respects to a great amateur coach Mick Carney, who passed away recently.

“The England ABA team used to spend time at the Fitzroy Lodge where Mick advised and gave advice to everyone, he was a true cockney gentleman full of humour and the right kind of discipline a fighter needed”.

Tickets go on sale today for the British Title eliminator via www.frankmaloney.com, Tickets priced at £70 and £30.

HEAVYWEIGHT SETH MITCHELL CREDITS TALENT AND FATE FOR UNUSUAL PATH TO PROFESSIONAL BOXING

Washington, DC (November 21)…Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell will take the biggest step of his thus far unconventional professional boxing career on Saturday, Dec. 10 against Timur Ibragimov in the co-featured bout to the “Capital Showdown: Khan vs. Peterson” championship fight taking place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC which will be televised live on HBO’s World Championship Boxing. Mitchell’s transformation from a standout linebacker at Michigan State University into a professional boxer is the most well-known part of his personal narrative. However, it is his raw athletic talent, coupled with certain serendipitous events that have led him to a promising career as a heavyweight pugilist.

“I’ve been very competitive throughout my whole life,” Mitchell said. “I believe that God blesses each and every one of us with a particular gift or talent, and athletics is my gift and my talent.”

Mitchell is the second oldest of five children born to Jeanette Mitchell. When he was 12 years old, he and his family moved from Virginia Beach, Va., to Brandywine, Md., to live with his grandparents. Little did he know that moving to Brandywine was the first event in a long line of fortunate occurrences that set Mitchell up for success.

“I don’t know what would have happened to me if I would have stayed in Virginia Beach,” Mitchell said. “I witnessed a lot of abuse and negativity there. When we moved to Brandywine, there were 11 of us living in our grandparents’ house, but there was a lot of love there. If we hadn’t moved, I never would have met the influential people who have helped me get to where I am today.”

While Mitchell was known as “Little Superstar” on the streets of his Virginia Beach neighborhood, he dreamed of becoming a star basketball player, but when he realized he would not grow to be tall enough for basketball greatness, he switched his focus to becoming a football player. He started as a freshman on the Gwynn Park High School football team. Eventually, Mitchell became an All-State and an All-American linebacker who was named the 2000 Associated Press Maryland Defensive Player of the Year. Upon graduation from high school, he received a full scholarship to Michigan State University (MSU) to play football.

During the 2003 season, Mitchell led the Spartans by averaging 10.6 tackles per game and was second on the team in defensive production despite missing the first two games of that year. He was a preseason All-Big Ten selection going into his junior year, but after an unfortunate series of knee injuries during his three-season tenure on the MSU football team, Mitchell decided to walk away from football.

“I was not at peace with myself at first,” Mitchell said. “I had to go home, regroup with my mom, the Daniels [Mitchell’s godparents] and my mentor Maurice Banks to figure out what I was going to do next. I knew that I was going to be all right. I had my college degree [in Criminal Justice with a specialization in both Homeland Security and Security Management], but I was not ready to walk away from sports completely.”

Perhaps one of the most important moments of Mitchell’s life came when he happened upon the televised pro boxing debut of current Baltimore Ravens safety Tom Zbikowski. Mitchell immediately knew he had found a way to provide for himself and his then-pregnant wife-to-be. He left Michigan and returned to Maryland where he met his manager Sharif Salim and trainer Andre Hunter, who helped him set out on a heavyweight boxing career.

A quick learning curve rapidly paid off, as Mitchell went 9-1 in his amateur contests, with all of his victories coming via knockout. He began his professional career in 2008. After just one professional fight, he signed with Golden Boy Promotions, which he said was the most surprising and rewarding part of his journey thus far.

“I love the sport of boxing,” Mitchell said. “I want to stay on this path and continue to provide for my family. Hopefully, that brings financial security along with winning the heavyweight championship.”

He very well could be on his way. With a record of 23-0-1 (17 KO’s), Mitchell is an American heavyweight on the rise. A 2010 ESPN.com prospect to watch, he has been anointed as the United States’ best current hope for a heavyweight world champion.

“Seth Mitchell is a special fighter,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “He doesn’t have the outside distractions that a lot of athletes have. He has a supportive wife, a strong team and a competitive edge that can take him far in the sport of boxing. I think December 10 is going to be a big coming out party for Seth Mitchell, and I can’t wait to see it.”

# # #

“Capital Showdown: Khan vs. Peterson,” a 12-round Unified Super Lightweight World Title Fight for Khan’s WBA World Super Championship and IBF World Championship, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Khan Promotions and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate, DeWalt Tools and AT&T. Also featured will be a 10-round heavyweight battle between Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell and Timur Ibragimov. The fights will be telecast in the United States on HBO World Championship Boxing at 9:45 p.m. ET/6:45 p.m. PT and on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom.

Tickets, priced at $300, $150, $75, $50 and $25, are on sale now through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or by purchasing them online at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets for fans traveling from the United Kingdom are available for purchase online at www.Sportscorporation.com or by calling +44 (0)845 163 0845.

CHAMPION JUAN CARLOS BURGOS RECEIVES BELTS!

Los Angeles, CA (November 21) – Champion Juan Carlos Burgos was on hand at El Paseo Inn Restaurant at the historic Placita Olvera earlier today to receive his World Boxing Organization (WBO) Latino Super featherweight belt and his World Boxing Council (WBC) International silver super featherweight/ WBC Latino super featherweight belt.

Burgos, who is co-promoted by Thompson Boxing Promotions and Banner Promotions, earned the belts by battling for 10-tough rounds against hard punching Puertorican Luis Cruz on the opening televised bout of the November 12 Pacquiao-Marquez trilogy undercard.

Burgos had this to say about the battle, “Some of Cruz’s people thought that I was going to be an opponent that would only last three rounds. Even if you watch the video, you can hear his trainers telling him that I was not at Cruz’s level. But I proved everybody wrong.”

When asked about his future plans, Burgos stated: “My main focus now is to become world champion. I owe it to my family, my team and my promoters who have always believed in me. I would love to take on Yoriokis Gamboa. I will fight him at any weight… featherweight, super featherweight, lightweight, catch weight. You name the weight and I will fight him. I would also love to be matched up against current WBC featherweight champion Jonnhy Gonzalez. We were supposed to fight each other in September of 2010 but he went another direction. I don’t know if he is afraid of me but I really feel he is ducking me.”

Other fighters mentioned on Burgos’ wish list were, IBF Featherweight champion Billy Dib, highly ranked featherweight Mickey Garcia, Super featherweights Juan Manuel Lopez and WBC Champion Takahiro Aoh and lastly IBF Super featherweight champion Juan Carlos Salgado.

Burgos (28-1, 19 KOs), is scheduled to make his return the ring in the first trimester of 2012.

WBC News

November 21, 2011 – Mexico City.

From the office of WBC President Dr. José Sulaimán:

Are you a real boxing fan? Come and join us in our 49th WBC Annual Convention.

For the very first time in history, a boxing organization opens its doors and invites all the fans and boxing lovers to the 49th WBC Annual Convention, an event where all the greatest boxers, referees, promoters, judges and representatives from all the affiliate organizations will attend from all around the world.

Meet, greet, take pictures and ask for autographs with the greatest boxing stars from the past and present: Oscar de la Hoya, Terry Norris, Hector “Macho” Camacho, Mike Tyson, Bernard Hopkins, Lennox Lewis, Sugar Ray Leonard, Julio Cesar Chavez, Larry Holmes, Jeff Fenech, Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez, Carlos Ortiz, Vitali Klitschko, Carlos Zarate, Pipino Cuevas, Floyd Mayweather, and many others!

Las Vegas makes history once again because it will have the event where all the international boxing stars will reunite and it also will see clinics and medic presentations, approvals of world rankings, mandatory challengers designations in the 17 divisions, seminars for referees and judges. Enrich and update boxing – be part of all of these events!

Come and join us at our 49th WBC Convention from December 11-17 in Las Vegas.

Don’t think twice and register at: convention.wbcboxing.com.