HBO Sports’ flagship boxing series returns with an action-packed card headlined by two of the sport’s fastest-rising stars when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ JR. VS. MARCO ANTONIO RUBIO AND NONITO DONAIRE VS. WILFREDO VAZQUEZ JR. is seen live SATURDAY, FEB. 4 at 10:00 p.m. (ET)/7:00 p.m. (PT) from the Alamodome in San Antonio, exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team of Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant and Emanuel Steward will call all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.
Other HBO playdates: Feb. 5 (8:30 a.m.) and 6 (12:25 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: Feb. 5 (3:30 p.m.) and 7 (12:40 a.m.)
After standout matches on HBO in 2011, Mexico’s Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Nonito Donaire of the Philippines begin 2012 against formidable opponents at a venue known for bringing out the best in fighters.
The 12-round, 160-pound main event features Chavez Jr. (44-0-1, 31 KOs) defending his hard-earned middleweight title against an experienced challenger in fellow Mexican Marco Antonio Rubio (53-5-1, 46 KOs). Only 25, Chavez Jr. will have his work cut out for him in battling a prizefighter with 59 pro bouts under his belt.
The co-feature is an intriguing 12-round junior featherweight title fight pitting fan favorite Nonito Donaire (27-1, 18 KOs) against the formidable Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (21-1-1, 18 KOs) of Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Budding superstar Donaire, now residing in San Leandro, Cal., scored one of 2011’s most memorable victories when he knocked out Fernando Montiel last February. Now, the engaging 29-year-old, who last lost a pro fight in 2001, moves up in weight to the 122-pound division in hopes of adding a new title belt to his collection. Vazquez Jr., who hails from a boxing family, has other plans.
The night of boxing programming kicks off at 9:45 p.m. ET/6:45 PT when an all-new edition of “2 Days: Portrait of a Fighter” debuts. The Feb. 4 installment of this revealing and intimate look at a 48-hour span in the life of a boxer in the lead-up to one of his fights will focus on lightweight Brandon Rios of Oxnard, CA. The feature is approximately 15 minutes.
Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.
All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.
The executive producer of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is Rick Bernstein; producer, Jon Crystal; director, Marc Payton.
® WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.
“IRISH” MICKY WARD TO RETURN TO CANASTOTA FOR 2012 HALL OF FAME WEEKEND
Hall of Fame Weekend June 7-10th
CANASTOTA, NY – FEBRUARY 1, 2012 – The International Boxing Hall of Fame announced today “Irish” Micky Ward, whose life was portrayed in the Academy Award-winning motion picture The Fighter, will attend festivities planned for the 23rd Annual Hall of Fame Induction Weekend set for June 7-10th.
“Micky Ward was a true warrior inside the ropes,” said Hall of Fame director Edward Brophy. “He is a fan favorite and we’re so excited to welcome him back to Canastota.”
“Irish” Micky Ward
Boxing out of Lowell, MA, Ward was one of boxing’s most exciting fighters. He turned pro in 1985 and used a crowd-pleasing style to register a 38-13 (27 KOs) record that includes wins over Shea Neary, Reggie Green and Emanuel Burton. In 2002 and 2003 Ward engaged in an epic trilogy with Arturo “Thunder” Gatti (1-2). Following their third bout Ward announced his retirement from the ring. During his career, he was in “Fight of the Year” three times (2001 vs. Burton, 2002 and 2003 vs. Gatti). The Fighter, an Academy Award-winning motion picture chronicling his life, featured Mark Wahlberg as Ward and Christian Bale as his brother / trainer Dicky Eklund.
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.
JULIO CÉSAR CHÁVEZ, JR. / MARCO ANTONIO RUBIO NONITO DONAIRE / WILFREDO VAZQUEZ, JR. WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLEHEADER FINAL NEW CONFERENCE
SAN ANTONIO (February 1, 2012) – Undefeated World Middleweight Champion and the Son of the Legend, JULIO CÉSAR CHÁVEZ, JR. (44-0-1, 31 KOs), of Culiacan, México, Top-Five pound-for- pound superstar and three-division world champion NONITO “The Filipino Flash” DONAIRE (27-1, 18 KOs), a native of General Santos City, Philippines, now living in the Bay Area of San Leandro, Calif., No. 1 middleweight contender MARCO ANTONIO RUBIO (53-5-1, 47 KOs), of Torreon, México, former junior featherweight champion WILFREDO VAZQUEZ JR. (21-1-1, 18 KOs), of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and Hall of Fame promoter BOB ARUM will host their final San Antonio News Conference, Tomorrow! Thursday, February 2, on the Stadium Field Level of the Alamodome. The news conference, which will be open to the public, will begin at 2 p.m. CT.
Arum and the fighters will be discussing their world title doubleheader, featuring the Chávez Jr. vs. Rubio middleweight title fight and the Donaire vs. Vazquez Jr. WBO junior featherweight championship, which will take place This Saturday! February 4, at the Alamodome. Both fights will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing®, beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Zanfer Promotions, All Star Boxing and Tecate, remaining tickets to the Chávez Jr. / Donaire world championship doubleheader, priced at $200, $100, $60, $40 and $25, can be purchased at the Alamodome box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com and via Ticketmaster charge-by-phone lines at (800) 745-3000.
These four warriors boast a combined record of 145-7-3 (114 KOs) – a winning percentage of 94% and a victory by knockout ratio of 79%.