ORANGE, CA (March 14) – This Friday, March 16, undefeated featherweight Abraham ‘Chamaco’ Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) will square off against Gabriel Tolmajyan (12-1-1, 3 KOs) in the co-feature of this week’s ESPN ‘Friday Night Fights’. Click on the video link below to hear what Lopez had to say about his upcoming battle against Tolmajyan.
This event is promoted by Gary Shaw Productions in conjunction with Thompson Boxing Promotions and will take place at Morongo Casino Resort & Spa. Tickets are priced at $35 & $55 and are on sale now and can be purchased at the Morongo Casino Box office or by calling the Box office hotline at (951) 755-5391. Tickets are also available by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745- 3000 or online at ticketmaster.com.
Morongo Casino Resort and Spa is located at 49500 Seminole Dr, Cabazon, CA, 92230. Doors open at 5:00 p.m , first fight starts at 5:30 p.m. ESPN “Friday Night Fights” telecast begins at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
Frank Haroche Horta vs. Grady Brewer on Saturday
Macon, Georgia – Former French Welterweight Champion Frank Haroche Horta will battle Contender Series Star, Grady Brewer for the IBO Inter-Continental Jr. Middleweight Championship on Saturday March 24, 2012 LIVE from the Macon city Auditorium in Macon, Georgia. The entire event will be broadcast FREE on LDLTV.com, Ustream.tv and several other outlets to anywhere in the United States! The event will also be available outside the U.S. through Ustream.tv as a PPV.
Macon, Georgia attracts people from around the world for it’s annual International Cherry Blossom Festival, which runs from March 16 thru March 25. This year, visitors can add a great fight card to their schedule!
Rufus Beddingfield, president of Beddingfield Boxing Promotions said, “We have worked hard to put together a very competitive and fan-friendly card that I guaranty will result in a great night of professional boxing. The winner of our main event may be eligible to fight for a World Title in his next fight and hopefully, we can have it right here in Macon.”
In addition to the Frank Haroche Horta vs. Grady Brewer main event, the rest of the card, which is subject to change, is as follows:
Co-Main event: Martin Tucker vs. Robert Daluz in a six-round lightweight contest.
Bradon Spencer vs. Curtis Harper, in a four-round heavyweight battle. Clarence Booth vs. William Rodriguez in a four-round lightweight match-up. Antomio Nieves vs. Anthony Fraguada in a bantamweight contest.
Billy C from the Talkin Boxing With Billy C TV & Radio programs will call the action live from ringside. The event in its entirety can be seen for FREE, anywhere in the U.S. on LDLTV.com.
For more information on the event and or to purchase tickets, please visit ww.BeddingFieldBoxing.com or go to www.BillyCboxing.com and click on the French Invasion Fight Poster.
For all information about the broadcast, please visit www.LDLTV.com.
Japanese champion Charlie Ota makes American debut Saturday night in birthplace
NEW YORK (March 14, 2012) – The circuitous journey for Charlie Ota (19-1, 13 KOs), aka Charles Bellamy, comes full circle Saturday night in New York City as the 30-year-old junior middleweight makes his American debut, ironically, in the city in which he was born, nearly 6,800 miles from where he lives in Tokyo.
Ota faces veteran Gundrick “Sho-Gun” King (16-7, 11 KOs) in an eight-round bout on the undercard of “THE REAL Middleweight Championship – Get Your Irish Up” card, presented by DiBella Entertainment, Saturday evening (St. Patrick’s Day) in The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
The 12-round main event features World Middleweight Champion Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez (48-2-2, 27 KOs), Ring Magazine’s No. 3 pound-for-pound fighter, defending against former European champion Matthew “Mack the Knife” Macklin (28-3, 19 KOs). Undefeated super middleweight contender Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez (20-0, 14 KOs) takes on Don “Da Bomb” George (22-1-1, 19 KOs) in the 10-round “Bombs Away” co-feature that has possible future world title shot implications. Martinez-Macklin and Rodriguez-George will both air live on HBO’s “World Championship Boxing,” starting at 10PM ET/7PM PT.
Tickets, priced at $505, $355, $205, $125 and $65, are available to purchase through the Madison Square Garden Box Office, through Ticketmaster at Ticketmaster.com or by calling (866) 858-0008. Call DiBella Entertainment at (212) 947-2577, visit www.dbe1.com and @loudibella on Twitter for more information.
“Everybody’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, including Charlie, a kid from Harlem adopted by the people of Japan,” show promoter Lou DiBella joked. “This is a unique homecoming for him, fighting halfway around the world, for the first time where he was born. Charlie is an exciting fighter who people are going to love to watch in action.”
Ota was born in Harlem, where he lived for six years, eventually moving to South Carolina and then Maryland. In 2000, Charlie joined the U.S. Navy and chose to be stationed in Japan on the USS Gary, until being honorably discharged in 2004. Charlie briefly returned home to live in the United States but soon permanently moved to Japan. The only time he’s left, until now for this fight, was after last year’s devastating earthquake in Japan, returning home to Maryland to visit his mother and ensure family and friends that he was okay.
“Charlie came back because of the fight in him,” his promoter Issei Nakaya remarked. “He has the patience and determination of a Japanese person. Charlie returned to Japan after our earthquake disaster and fought May 19 (2011) on a day called ‘The Day of Boxing’ by Japanese fans. It marks the day Japan’s first world champion, Yoshio Shirai, won his title. I was very happy Charlie fought in the main event (W-TKO9 vs. Tadashi Yuba) on such a special day for Japanese boxing fans. He fought not only for himself, but for all Japanese who had suffered huge damages. I’d like to thank Lou DiBella for giving Charlie a chance to further his boxing career and represent Japan on this great U.S. show.”
Originally, Charlie started taking college classes to work in Japan as an English tutor/teacher, and he soon found a nearby gym (Hachioji Nakaya Boxing Gym) to work out and keep in shape. “I decided to take up boxing and soon became pretty good at it,” Ota explained. “Growing up, I always did a lot of fight training with a friend. Even in the military, I would hang a punching bag up in the helicopter hangar to work out. I soon became pretty good at it and decided to turn pro and see how far I’d go in boxing. I’m very happy that I got a chance to really see Japan and become a fighter at the same time. When I first came to Japan, I was on a ship that was often at sea, so I didn’t get to really see Japan until I moved there.”
Ota has done very well in the ring, too, capturing the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (“OPBF”) and Japanese junior middleweight titles two years ago, followed by six successful title defenses, and he is presently rated No. 9 by the World Boxing Association (“WBA”), as well as No. 19 by the World Boxing Council (“WBC”).
“I started boxing at 24,” Ota added. “I had to put school on hold to box. I remember a lot of people telling me I was too old and that it was too late for me to be a professional boxer. I believed in my ability and wanted to see for myself. I’m happy with my success so far and still believe the best is yet to come.”
Charlie Ota may turn out to be the best thing from Japan to hit New York City since sushi.
Hernandez-Oluoch Showdown Tops “Battle at the Boat 86”!
Tacoma, WA (March 14, 2012) – Lightweights Jose Hernandez and Peter Oluoch will meet Saturday, March 31 in the ten round main event of Halquist Productions’ “Battle at the Boat 86”.
The card takes place at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma and tickets are available on ticketmaster.com or by calling the EQC box office at 1-888-831-7655.
Dubbed as “Loco” for his fearlessness inside the squared circle, Hernandez, 12-5-1 (5 KO’s), is consistently fighting top-notch competition. Spending much of his career in his opponents’ backyards, Hernandez lost a number of controversial decisions and the six fights he did not win came against fighters with a combined record of 85-4-1. The Fort Worth, TX native also defeated contender Noe Bolanos and prospect Aaron Garcia, knocking out the latter in 5 rounds to capture the WBC Youth title back in 2009.
Oluoch, who’s traveling more than 9,000 from Nairobi, Kenya for his American debut, fought 17 of his 18 bouts in Africa. At 11-5-2 (6 KO’s), Oluoch went the distance with contenders Justin Juuko, Rustam Nugaev and Bethuel Uushona.
“This is going to be an outstanding fight,” stated promoter Brian Halquist of Halquist Productions. “Both guys have been in extremely tough and proved that they can hang with the best. I’m excited for this fight and regardless of whose hand is raised after the match the real winner will be the fans.”
In the co-featured bout of the evening, retired Marine turned wildly popular welterweight Nate Serrano, 3-1 (1 KO), of Yakima, WA faces Sacramento CA’s Nick Balestra, 2-1-1 (1 KO), in a six rounder. Serrano is coming off a controversial majority decision loss to Roberto Crespo in January.
Also appearing on the undercard are fan favorites Sarah Pucek, William Fernandez, Beau Hamilton and Isaac Tabedo.
Doors open at 6 pm and the opening bell is scheduled for 7.
During the last 23 years, Halquist Productions built a reputation in the boxing world for their loyalty, honesty and integrity. In 1997, Halquist Productions ran their inaugural “Battle at the Boat” series, which remains successful to this day. Halquist Productions promoted many world title bouts and their fight cards have been seen on ESPN, HBO and Showtime.