SHERMAN OAKS, Calif. (Dec. 29, 2011) – Goossen Tutor Promotions will kick off 2012 with a World Championship bout headlining on the popular SHOWTIME series, ShoBox: The New Generation on Friday, Jan. 20. The special edition of ShoBox features World Boxing Association (WBA) super bantamweight champion Rico Ramos defending his title for the first time against the WBA interim champion Guillermo Rigondeaux, matching two world champions and two of the sport’s rising stars.
The bout was originally scheduled for New Year’s Eve, but was postponed after a fighter in the co-main event withdrew due to an injury. The championship event will be held at the Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nev. and broadcast on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).
Ramos (20-0, 11 KOs), of Whittier, Calif., just outside of Los Angeles, won the WBA super bantamweight title with a seventh-round knockout over defending champion Akifumi Shimoda this past July in Atlantic City. The slick and speedy 24-year-old holds victories over former world title challengers Alejandro Valdez and Heriberto Ruiz, but will be facing his toughest opponent to date in Rigondeaux.
The 31-year-old Rigondeaux (8-0, 6 KOs), of Miami, Fla., by way of Cuba, is one of the sport’s fastest rising prospects. An amateur boxing legend in Cuba, Rigondeaux was the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games Gold Medalist in the bantamweight division. The hard-hitting southpaw defected from Cuba in 2009 and won the interim WBA super bantamweight championship in only his seventh professional fight. He is coming off a first-round knockout over previously undefeated Willie Casey in a March bout in Ireland.
The Pearl at Palms Casino Resort is Las Vegas’ premier concert theater boasting seats for up to 2,500 ticket holders. “We are thrilled to partner with Goossen Tutor and SHOWTIME to bring another exciting night of boxing to the Pearl,” said Palms President Joseph A. Magliarditi. “The list of athletes on the card is impressive; we are looking forward to a great event.”
Also appearing on the televised portion of the card is rising middleweight prospect Brandon Gonzales (15-0-1, 10 KOs), of Sacramento, Calif., who will be facing the tough, undefeated 29-year-old, Caleb Truax (18-0-1, 10 KOs) of Osseo, Minn. Gonzales, the 27-year-old stablemate of Andre Ward and protégé of ‘Trainer of the Year’ candidate, Virgil Hunter, defeated Ossie Duran in a hard-fought 8-round decision this past October in Atlantic City, NJ. This will be the middleweight fighter’s second bout under the Goossen Tutor-Antonio Leonard banner.
Opening the ShoBox telecast, undefeated Matthew Villanueva (6-0-1, 6 KOs) of Burbank, Calif. will fight Mike Ruiz (8-1-1, 3 KOs) of Fresno, Calif. in an 8-round junior bantamweight bout.
“I want to thank Palms for being the host of this very intriguing championship bout. The winner immediately jumps to the top of the class,” said promoter Dan Goossen. “Although Rigondeaux has a better knockout percentage then Ramos, Rico is known for one-punch knockout power, and I don’t believe anyone at this weight can take it.” “As for Gonzalez and Villanueva, both are exciting, aggressive fighters and each have their work cut out for them in their matchups.”
Doors for the event open at 5:30 p.m. with the first bout at 6:00 p.m. and the televised portion of the card beginning at 8:00 p.m. (all times PT). Tickets for the event are priced at $50 and $25 and are available at ticketmaster.com and at The Palms box office starting Friday, Dec. 30 at noon PT.
ESPN’s Friday Night Fights’ Season Premiere: Davis vs. Lopez
Night Fights presented by Corona Extra will kick off its 14th season January 6 at 9 p.m. ET from Key West Fla., on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN3 when super middleweights “Dangerous” Dyah Davis (20-2-1, 9 KOs) and Alfonso “El Tigre” Lopez (22-1, 17 KOs) meet in the 10-round main event.
Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas will be ringside outdoors at Mallory Square describing the action, while studio host Bernardo Osuna will present all the latest boxing news and highlights. The card is presented by DiBella Description: C:Usersmcdonas1AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindowsTemporary Internet FilesContent.OutlookMA28FIWDFNF_Davis1.jpgEntertainment. Friday’s show will also include a special feature on Davis, son of 1976 U.S. Olympic Gold medalist Howard Davis Jr.
Boca Raton, Fla.’s Davis, is coming off an October eight-round decision win over Darnell Boone. Previously, Davis scored his career-best win in a 10-round unanimous decision over undefeated Marcus Johnson.
After that fight ESPN.com’s boxing expert Dan Rafael wrote, “Davis outboxed him (Johnson) with relative ease. Johnson was aggressive against Davis, but had little success landing meaningful punches. In the ninth round, Davis dropped Johnson to a knee with a right hand to the ribs. It was the first time Johnson had been down. The knockdown did not factor into the outcome because Davis was already far enough ahead, although it did serve to embarrass Johnson even more in a fight that he was supposed to win.”
Davis said of Friday’s fight, “I’m excited to be fighting on Friday Night Fights’ first show of the year, and just to be on ESPN, period. It’s in every household nationwide, so it’s beautiful.”
Description: C:Usersmcdonas1AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindowsTemporary Internet FilesContent.OutlookMA28FIWD2012 fnf PROMO.jpgCorpus Christi, Texas’ Lopez is coming off a September seventh-round TKO win over Michael Walker.
“I’ve been preparing for this fight for about 10 weeks,” Lopez said. “I always try to stay prepared for any opportunities, then we got the call that we were fighting on ESPN, so I’m going to go out there and try to put on a show for the fans and really try to have a great year in 2012.”
Friday’s card will also feature undefeated junior middleweight Steven Martinez (11-0, 9 KOs) against Denis “Da Mommas Boy” Douglin (13-1, 8 KOs). N.Y.’s Martinez is coming off a fifth-round TKO win over Jay Krupp, while N.Y.’s Douglin is coming off a six-round unanimous decision win over Phillip McCants.
Amateur Star Charlie Hoy Ready For Pro Debut On January 13th
Former Repton Amateur star Charlie Hoy makes his professional debut, against Newport’s Darren Pryce, on the undercard of TRAD TKO Gym mate Leon ‘Solid’ Williams’ British Cruiserweight title defense at York Hall in London on Friday, 13th January, 2012.
Hoy, who is trained by Jimmy and Mark Tibbs at the famous Canning Town gym, had a stellar amateur record of 68 fights, of which he only lost 10, and won various national titles, including three schoolboy ABAs, three Four Nations, three ABCs and reached the finals of the Senior ABAs in 2011.
Speaking earlier, Hoy obviously feels he is well prepared for his maiden pro-outing as he said, “I’m really looking forward to it, I’m excited to be debuting at York Hall on the 13th.
I have two great trainers, Jimmy and Mark Tibbs, behind me, so my preparations have been first class, as has the sparring.
I’ve had the best sparring I could possibly get, the best Super Flyweight in the country Michael Maguire, English Flyweight Champion Ashley Sexton and former British Bantamweight Champion Martin Power, there’s nothing better than that really.
All the hard work’s been done in the gym so I’m just going to go out there and enjoy myself and hopefully get a good win on the 13th.”
Charlie Hoy, against Darren Pryce, features on the undercard of Leon ‘Solid’ Williams versus Shane McPhilbin for the British Cruiserweight title that headlines Francis and George Warren’s Queensberry Promotions first event of the New Year, which takes place at York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, on Friday 13th January 2012 and broadcast live on BoxNation (Sky platform Channel 456 & Virgin 546)
Tickets, Standard Seated – £40 and Ringside SOLD OUT for Williams vs. McPhilbin are available now on-line at www.tkoboxoffice.com. Tickets are also available direct from the TRAD TKO Boxing Gym, Gillian House, Stephenson Street, Canning Town, London E16 4SA.