CANASTOTA, NY – JANUARY 25, 2012 – The International Boxing Hall of Fame announced today five-time world champion Johnny “Mi Vida Loca” Tapia will attend festivities planned for the 23rd Annual Hall of Fame Induction Weekend set for June 7-10th.
“During his championship career, Johnny Tapia always thrilled fans with his exciting style,” said Hall of Fame director Edward Brophy. “We’re looking forward to welcoming him back to the Hall of Fame and we know fans will be happy to see him in Canastota.”
Fighting out of Albuquerque, NM, Tapia compiled an impressive 150-12 amateur record. As a professional, he captured five world titles in three separate weight divisions. He reigned as WBO junior bantamweight champion (1994-1998), IBF junior bantamweight champion (1997-1998), WBA bantamweight champion (1998-1999), WBO bantamweight champion (2000) and IBF featherweight king (2002). Known for his passionate fighting style, the fan-friendly Tapia posted a pro record of 59-5-2 (30 KOs) that includes wins over Danny Romero, Arthur Johnson, Nana Konadu, Jorge Julio, Cesar Soto, Manuel Medina and Mauricio Pastrana.
Events planned for the weekend include a banquet, a heavyweight bash, parade, golf tournament, boxing autograph card show, cocktail party and the Official Induction Ceremony honoring the Class of 2012. Living inductees to be honored at the Official Induction Ceremony on Sunday, June 10th are multi-division champion Thomas “Hitman” Hearns, two-division champion Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson, “Let’s Get Ready To Rumble” ring announcer Michael Buffer, trainer Freddie Roach, broadcaster Al Bernstein and journalist Michael Katz. Posthumous inductees will also be honored.
An impressive list of over 40 boxing greats from the United States and abroad are scheduled to participate in weekend festivities.
For more information on the Hall of Fame’s 23rd Annual Induction Weekend please call (315) 697-7095, visit online at www.ibhof.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/InternationalBoxingHallofFame and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BoxingHall.
SHOWTIME SPORTS TO OFFER SECONDARY AUDIO PROGRAM (SAP) IN SPANISH FOR ORTIZ-BERTO II ON FEB. 11
Alejandro Luna and Raul Marquez to Call the Action from Ringside
Saturday, Feb. 11, Live at 9 p.m. ET/PT
From The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.
NEW YORK (Jan. 25, 2012)—SHOWTIME® Sports will offer secondary audio programming (SAP) in Spanish for the upcoming Victor Ortiz-Andre Berto II blockbuster on Saturday, Feb. 11, live on SHOWTIME (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast), from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Alejando Luna will call the play-by-play action and Raul Marquez will serve as color commentator for the SAP telecast.
Luna is well known in the Spanish-language sports community as the on-air host for Fox Sports en Espanol’s coverage of Mexican Soccer, Copa Santander Libertadores and Copa Nissan Sudamericana. Luna also serves as Fox Sports en Espanol’s play-by-play announcer for the Italian Serie A and UEFA Champions League.
Marquez was a representative for the 1992 U.S. Olympic boxing team in Barcelona, Spain and is a former International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior middleweight champion. He is currently a commentator for various Spanish boxing broadcasts and helps train his son, Arturo Marquez, an amateur boxer and Golden Gloves champion.
Ten months after their classic slugfest that was named 2011 “Fight of the Year” (USA Today, Ring Magazine), former World Champions Ortiz (29-3-2, 22 KO’s), of Ventura, Calif., and Berto (28-1, 22 KO’s), of Winter Haven, Fla., will square off again. The eagerly awaited 12-round fight is a rematch of a fiercely contested, multiple-knockdown affair on April 16, 2011, that Ortiz won by a unanimous decision (114-112, 114-111 and 115-110) while capturing Berto’s World Boxing Council (WBC) 147-pound title. Both fighters were knocked down twice in the fight, with Berto being dropped in the first, Ortiz going down a round later and each of them hitting the deck in a wild sixth round that many called the “Round of the Year” for 2011.
“Repeat or Revenge: Ortiz vs. Berto II” is the highly anticipated 12-round welterweight rematch of USA Today and Ring Magazine’s 2011 Fight of the Year between former World Champions “Vicious” Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto which will take place Saturday, Feb. 11 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and DiBella Entertainment. It will air live on SHOWTIME Championship Boxing at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast). A special three-fight undercard will air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).
Tickets, priced at $300, $150, $100 and $50, are on sale and are available at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). Ticket sales are limited to eight per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
Atlas Cops & Kids Boxing Program Making difference in NYC
NEW YORK CITY (January 25, 2012) – When government funding ceased three years ago for the New York City Police Athletic League (“PAL”) Cops & Kids Boxing program, The Dr. Theodore A. Atlas Foundation absorbed operational costs, expanded its reach into education, and today it is making life-changing differences for hundreds of inner-city youths between the ages of 10 and 21.
Certified by USA Boxing, the Atlas Cops & Kids Boxing Program has been a knockout of a success, providing a safe place for city kids to go after school. Members not only learn how to box, some developing into team members for competitive tournaments like the famed Daily News Golden Gloves, but also build camaraderie, discipline, self-esteem and character.
The program now has gyms at Park Hill in Staten Island, where 2012 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team member Marcus Browne developed his skills, and Flatbush Gardens in Brooklyn with more gyms soon opening in Brownsville and Berry Houses in Staten Island, as well as future plans to open gyms in the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens.
The Dr. Atlas Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by renowned boxing trainer and television analyst Teddy Atlas in his father’s memory, currently leases gym space for $1.00 a year for its Brooklyn and Staten Island locations. Operational costs, however, are approximately $50,000 for each gym, including equipment, computers, teachers, coaches, etc.
Unlike other charitable organizations that may keep up to 80-percent of funds for expenses and administrative fees, nearly 100-percent of all monies raised by the Dr. Atlas Foundation go directly to needy families and individuals. Fundraising, however, especially during today’s strained economic times, simply isn’t enough anymore. Sponsorships, corporate and individual, and public donations are desperately needed to continue The Foundation’s invaluable community work.
“During the past 15 years,” Teddy said, “the Dr. Atlas Foundation has given millions of dollars directly to people in need. The money may go towards cancer treatment, medical expenses not covered by insurance, medical equipment, Christmas presents for kids, and many other ways to help sick children and families. Other organizations claim that monies raised go toward research, but the future is now for people in need. We get calls every day from people in need, many of whom were directed to us from these other organizations. Our programs are getting real results.”
The Atlas Cops & Kids Boxing Program offers much more than learning the sweet science and demands strict membership requirements. Each gym has an academic learning center and all gym members are subject to a review of their report cards and adherence to a set of rules established for proper behavior and appearance.
“The boxing program is needed for wayward kids with little or no direction,” Atlas continued. “Our gyms give them a place to go for hope; building confidence and making them feel better about themselves. They get the tools there that they need to grow-up and become productive people. It is an important, valuable alternative to violence, crime and drugs. That’s what boxing does like no other sport. It helps kids find themselves. Not only do they discover things that they didn’t know were available to them, they gain pride and confidence in themselves. Our program is a platform for them to have dignity. The Dr. Atlas Foundation has been helping needy people with medical expenses, relocation assistance, and for other areas like that. But violence is a sickness and we’re helping to prevent that with our gyms. I agreed to absorb the boxing program with a twist – education components had to be part of it. We established behavioral rules and conduct with disciplinary consequences. The kids have to keep their grades up if they want to train. Pat Russo did a great job as the PAL boxing program director and he’s continuing to do a great job as the director of our program.”
Russo proudly and happily remains in charge today. “I couldn’t walk away from these kids after 20 years as the PAL gyms director,” Russo explained. “I’d known Teddy for years and called him saying we had seven gyms and 1000 kids who were going to be turned out in the streets. Teddy saw this as preventative in terms of sickness, crime activity and drugs. We always taught the value of education and becoming a productive person, so this program fit into the Dr. Atlas Foundation organization.
“Kids want to be a part of something and we’re providing a positive alternative to gangs and drug activity. People in power have a bias for some reason against boxing, but it costs about $100,000 to incarcerate a teenager. It costs us $50,000 a year to run one of these gyms, where we can guide 200 or more kids and keep them out of jail. There are a lot of one-parent kids here who don’t really know what’s out there for them. We had one kid who just entered the Police Academy. It’s tough. They can’t pay money to be here but there’s no cost to help making a good kid into something for themselves. We’re mentors. They really want discipline and it’s really working.”
Donations and sponsorships are needed to help fund the Atlas Cops & Kids Boxing Program. For more information go online to http://www.dratlasfoundation.com/boxingclubs.html
Here is a link to short video presentation about the Atlas Cops & Kids Boxing Program through the eyes of some of its members: atlas video.nfl. Also find this link featuring Olympic boxing hopeful Christina Cruz on The CBS Morning Show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qb8BxWO5r4.
http://www.facebook.com/#%21/DrAtlasFoundation
https://twitter.com/#%21/AtlasFoundation
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheDrAtlasFoundation?feature=mhee