There’s now a blemish on the record, one that didn’t exist a year ago, and there have been minor setbacks along the way, but Vladine Biosse hasn’t changed his outlook in the face of adversity. “I feel the same way I did when I first started,” said the super middleweight prospect from Providence, R.I. “I’m still a top contender, and I’m still pushing for that world championship. I’m going to be a world champion whether people want to see it or not.”
The affable Biosse (11-1-1, 6 KOs), dubbed “Mr. Providence” based on the tremendous fan support present at each of his fights, has been out of the limelight for quite some time following his majority draw against John Mackey in October – his second consecutive fight without a win – but the two-time ESPN showstopper is ready to burst back onto the scene Thursday, March 22nd, 2012, when he returns to the ring to face veteran George Armenta at “Home Invasion,” the official launch of Classic Entertainment & Sports’ 2012 Thursday Night Fight Series at the Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, R.I.
Coming off a draw in October and a knockout loss to Denis Grachev in May, Biosse is picking up right where he left off, facing another tough opponent in Armenta (14-7, 11 KOs), a dangerous veteran from Silver Spring, Md., with knockout power who’s faced the likes of World Boxing Council U.S. National Boxing Council (WBC USNBC) middleweight champion Elvin Ayala, undefeated Worcester, Mass., super middleweight Edwin Rodriguez, and former International Boxing Federation (IBF) light middleweight title challenger Sechew Powell.
“You can’t take a guy like him lightly,” Biosse said. “I’m preparing as hard as I can and training as hard as I can, because I know he won’t go easy on me.”
Biosse’s also dealing with the possible repercussions of a left pectoral injury sustained five months ago in the opening round of the fight against Mackey.
“Luckily, I didn’t need surgery,” said Biosse, who described the injury as a muscle pull. “I worked with a physical therapist and we did intensive treatment on it everyday for six weeks without skipping a day. I’m real happy with the results. I’ve been stretching it out more, so I’m finally able to use it again in the right way.
“When you get hurt like that, you’re afraid to use it again, but I’m back, man. No setbacks.”
Aside from the physical therapy, Biosse has spent the past few months sharpening his game. One of his priorities following the draw against Mackey was to work with some new talent, so he flew to Orlando in January and spent several weeks in camp with former world-title challenger and “The Contender” reality television star Alfonso Gomez, who was helping Providence’s Demetrius Andrade prepare for a nationally-televised bout in March.
Biosse had the opportunity to spar at several gyms in south Florida and also work with members of three-time world champion “Sugar” Shane Mosley’s camp, including Philadelphia lightweight Karl Dargan and current World Boxing Association (WBA) International welterweight champion Brad Solomon.
“It was a great experience,” Biosse said. “It’s good to work with a different group of guys that can help you get better and get right. We worked on keeping my jab hand up, staying on top and being able to use my outside right hand more instead of staying in the middle – just a lot of little things we worked on.
“Most of the trainers felt what I was doing was good, and they liked my style. It was just a matter of absorbing different pointers here and there that will make me a better boxer.”
Biosse promises to show off some of his new tricks March 22nd against Armenta.
“A lot of that stuff, you’re going to see it,” Biosse said. “I’ve been working my ass off.
“People have been telling me, ‘You don’t box like you used to.’ A lot of times when you win, win, win, you don’t learn a lesson. Strange as it sounds, the loss and the draw really brought me back down to earth. You learn that you still need to fight hard everyday to stay on top. I actually appreciated it. You only learn when you fail. Sometimes you need to fall to make the journey a better journey.”
The support of his fans – the same fans who helped him earn his nickname – have been the driving force in Biosse’s attempt to get back on track and continue chasing his dreams of winning a major world championship.
“A lot of people have been asking, ‘When you fighting again? It’s been a while,’” Biosse said. “Even after my first loss they were telling me not to get discouraged. You win some, and you lose some. I thank everybody for the support. This is such a hard sport, and if you don’t have the people to back you, you feel defeated.
“The fans push me to continue doing what I do. They motivate me as much as I motivate myself.”
“Home Invasion” also features the long-awaited return of New Bedford, Mass., welterweight Jason “School Boy” Pires (22-4-1, 9 KOs), an active member of the New Bedford police force SWAT Team. Pires will face fan-favorite Eddie Soto (12-3, 4 KOs) of Pawtucket, R.I., in the six-round main event.
The undercard includes seven bouts, highlighted by the return of New Bedford welterweight Johnathan Vazquez (4-1-1, 3 KOs), who’s looking to bounce back from a knockout loss to Bryan Abraham in October, the first of his career. Vazquez will face New Jersey’s Rashard Bogar (3-3-1, 2 KOs) in a four-round bout.
Fan-favorites Alex Amparo (2-0, 1 KO) of Providence and Benny Costantino (7-0, 4 KOs) of West Warwick, R.I., will also return to Twin River following victories in October. Amparo, a middleweight, will face newcomer John Downey in a four-round bout while Costantino, 40, will continue his comeback in a four-round super middleweight bout against Yolexcy Leiva (4-2, 3 KOs) of Nashville, Tenn.; Costantino’s victory over Odias Dumezil in October was his first fight in 10 years.
Unbeaten middleweight prospect Thomas Falowo (5-0, 4 KOs) of Pawtucket will put his perfect record on the line against Ronald Reaves (2-2, 1 KO) of Atlanta, while light welterweight Carlos Hernandez (1-2) of Bridgeport, Conn., will face Robert Brando-Hunt (0-1) of Hyannis, Mass., who is searching for his first professional win. Female welterweight Aleksandra Magdziak Lopes (5-1, 1 KO) of Quincy, Mass., ranked No. 13 in the World Boxing Council (WBC), will battle Denver’s Brittney Christian (3-1, 1 KO) in a four-round bout, and super middleweight Kevin Cobbs (2-0, 1 KO) of Burlington, Vt., will also be on the undercard in a four-round bout.
Tickets for “Home Invasion” are $35.00, $50.00, $75.00 and $125.00 (VIP) and can be purchased by calling CES at 401.724.2253/2254, online at www.cesboxing.com or www.twinriver.com, at the Players Club booth at Twin River, or through any TicketMaster location. Doors open 6 p.m. with the first bout scheduled for 7.
WBO ANNOUNCES REFEREE AND JUDGES FOR SATURDAY, MARCH 3, DUER-TRONTO FEMALE TITLE BOUT IN ARGENTINA
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO- World Boxing Organization (WBO), by president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel, announced today the referee and judges who will work on the female world title bout between WBO Super Flyweight (115 pounds) champion Carolina Raquel Duer vs Milena Tronto this Saturday, March 3, at Punta Indio, Buenos Aires, Argentina, in a Ferraro Box presentation.
Valcarcel reported that for the fourth title defense of Duer (10-3, 3 KOs) against Tronto (6-1-1, 1 KOs), the referee will be Gustavo Tomas, from Argentina.
While, the judges for Duer-Tronto are Antonio Bernardo Soares, from Brazil, Jorge Tripodi, from Chile, and Luis Doffi, From Argentina. WBO supervisor for this fight will be Jorge Molina.
2012 INDEPENDENT NORTHEAST CHAMPIONSHIPS COMES TO ELEITE HEAT GYM IN NEWARK, NEW JERSEY ON JUNE 1ST-JUNE 3RD
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY (February 29, 2012)—Beginning on Friday June 1st a very important and distinguished amateur boxing tournament in Newark as the Elite Heat Gym will play host to the 2012 Junior Independent Gloves Northeast Championships.
Fighters from all over will be on display as the Tournament has already received commitments from fighters from Connecticut, Washington D.C., Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia & Vermont.
There will be belts awarded to all winners.
All applications MUST be completed and returned by May 20th and those applications can be downloaded from www.eliteheatgym.com
The applications can be faxed to 862-772-2533 or emailed to independentboxingjunior@aol.com
The fights will begin at 7PM each night
The On-Time check in will be May 29th 8AM – 9PM with the final check in 8AM-1PM
The Elite Heat Boxing Gym is located at 130 Mt. Pleasant Avenue in Newark, New Jersey 07104 and the phone number is 862-772-2532