MIAMI, Okla. (April 28, 2012) — Thomas Oosthuizen made the most of his United States television debut on ShoBox: The New Generation by producing a crowd-pleasing unanimous decision victory over Marcus “Too Much” Johnson. The 10-round super middleweight bout was scored 98-91 on all three scorecards. In the SHOWTIME® co-feature, unbeaten super bantamweight prospect Luis Orlando Del Valle scored a hard-fought, 10-round unanimous decision over Christopher Martin by the tallies of 100-89, 98-91 and 97-92.. In the evening’s opening bout, Jose “The Sniper” Pedraza won a unanimous decision over the relentless Gil Garcia by the scores of 79-72 and 80-71 two times in an eight-round super featherweight bout from Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Okla.
After losing the first fight of his career in his last ShoBox appearance, Johnson (21-2, 15 KOs), of Houston, came out bullish and determined to outperform the IBO super middleweight titlist Oosthuizen. Jumping out from his corner at the opening bell, Johnson bolted directly at his six-foot-four opponent and attacked him with a barrage of head and body blows. Oosthuizen (19-0-1, 13 KOs) of Gauteng, South Africa, absorbed some early punishment but maintained his composure.
Despite his height advantage of more than five inches, the tall South African did not always keep his distance, choosing to fight off the ropes during many portions of the contest. As the bout entered the fourth and fifth rounds, the 26-year-old Johnson slowed and Oosthuizen upped his work rate. A busy southpaw, Oosthuizen threw most of his punches in bunches including repeated left-right, left-right combos to the ribs.
In the eighth, Oosthuizen pressured Johnson into the blue corner and forced the Texan to take a knee after landing a right hook to the body. Johnson beat the count and the two battled it out for the final rounds before the scores revealed that Oosthuizen claimed the latest victory in his budding career.
“I never underestimated Johnson,” said the 24-year-old Oosthuizen. “I expected him to come out fast but I knew it would be sink or swim. I think he was surprised when I surpassed his big punches at the beginning. I could tell he was beginning to tire by the third or fourth round because I could hear how heavily he was breathing.”
In the co-feature, Del Valle (16-0, 11 KOs), of Bayamon, P.R., continued his pursuit of contender status with a win over his toughest opponent to date. The Puerto Rico native won the early rounds before Martin began to work his strong jab in the fourth to make it a closer fight. Both natural counter punchers, the boxers got busier as the fight advanced.
In the seventh, Martin (23-2-3, 6 KOs), of Chula Vista, Calif., was having a strong round and switched to southpaw stance only to get caught by a left hook that dropped him to the floor. When he rose to his feet, Dell Valle pressed forward but Martin regained his composure and survived the round.
Del Valle and Martin engaged in many rousing exchanges over the last three rounds that created swelling above the right eye of both 25-year-old fighters – as well as excitement in the venue through the final bell.
To open the evening, Pedraza (8-0, 6 KOs) and Garcia (5-3-1, 1 KO) put on an entertaining display of boxing. The highly touted prospect out of Caguas, Puerto Rico, Pedraza amassed “a frightening connect percentage,” said SHOWTIME expert analyst Steve Farhood, landing 60 percent (281 of 471) of his shots. In the fifth round, Pedraza badly staggered Houston’s Garcia with several shots to the head. Referee Vic Drakulich ruled it a knockdown but video replay revealed that Garcia did not touch the canvas and was not held up by the ropes. By late in the sixth round, Pedraza had opened a cut over Garcia’s left eye.
Unfazed by the near knockdown or cut, Garcia pushed forward. Though Pedraza proved to be the quicker and more polished boxer, Garcia won the crowd with his no-quit, unyielding fight style. Garcia gave Pedraza a tough test through his resilience and body attack but it was not enough to win the fight.
Mike Crispino called the action on ShoBox with Farhood serving as expert analyst. Gordon Hall is theexecutive producer of ShoBox with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing. For information on SHOWTIME Sports, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, visit the website at
http://sports.SHO.com.
Milano crowned WSB Team Champions
London, Great Britain, 2 May 2012 – The pinnacle of the World Series of Boxing season saw Dynamo Moscow and Dolce & Gabbana Milano Thunder battling it out in a packed ExCeL arena in London for the 2011-2012 Team Final.
Huge crowds had gathered in anticipation for the competition’s debut on British soil as boxing fans came out in force to witness the best of Olympic fighters boxers taking to the ring for five sensational bouts.
Bantamweights Vincenzo Picardi and Vladimir Nikitin kicked-off the action in spectacular style, with the crowd firmly behind them, the two diminutive fighters started off all guns blazing in the first round. 27-year-old Italian Picardi had the better of the opening exchanges as he connected with several classy combinations. It was more of the same in the second as the experienced Picardi pierced Nikitin’s defences with some precise hooks. The Russian orthodox was then cut after his rival caught him with a thunderous uppercut but this seemed to spur Nikitin, who then threw some hard rights to push back his opponent as he took the third.
Nikitin continued on the offensive in the fourth round but in the fifth this suited the Italian who was leaning back, defences tight, soaking up the pressure, waiting for the Dynamo man to open before picking his shots. There was a chorus of ‘Vincenzo, Vincenzo’ from the vast number of Milano fans to which Picardi responded to by unleashing some powerful hooks. It was a quality fight but there had to be a winner and it was Picardi who prevailed and won by split decision to give Dolce & Gabbana Milano Thunder the early advantage.
Picardi later declared, “It was a tough fight, Nikitin is a great boxer”, before adding, “With my victories in the WSB this season I will go to the Olympic Games full of confidence”.
Adlan Abdurashidov, this season’s top ranked Lightweight then made his entrance as he faced the emerging talent from Serbia, Branimir Stankovic. Dynamo Moscow’s Abdurashidov has such high intensity when he steps into the ring and after five wins this campaign and a place at the WSB Individual Championships confirmed, the young 22-year-old Russian was brimming with confidence here. This showed as he taunted his opponent in the early exchanges. Although the Milano Thunder orthodox fighter might lack the experience at this level, the word from the Italian camp is that the 21-year-old Stankovic is quite a prospect and he demonstrated why he is rated so highly with an accomplished display.
Defying the odds, Stankovic fancy footwork did the damage in the first two rounds, moving with grace and throwing devastating combinations as he completely unsettled Abdurashidov. He took the third in similar style throwing some hard hooks that hit the target as the Russian struggled to contain him. The Dynamo star was running out of ideas, unable to pin the fleet-footed Stankovic down. The young Serb from Milano had by now taking the first four rounds and with the fifth just a formality he registered an emphatic victory that saw the Italian outfit move to 2-0 up in the tie.
Abdurashidov was keen to stress post-match, “With me arriving late in London, my preparations were not the best and I did not feel at 100%, but I will come back much stronger for the Individual Championships in June”.
With Dynamo Moscow now trailing, Maxim Gazizov was given the unenviable task of beating Middleweight supreme king Sergiy Derevyanchenko, who had not lost in his two seasons in the WSB. The first round was a tentative one by both orthodox fighters as they tried to get the measure of each other. As Moscow’s Gazizov tried to apply the pressure in the second, after edging the first, but he was then caught but some solid punches. You could understand why going on the offensive was such a dangerous tactic with Derevyanchenko such an accomplished counter-puncher. Gazizov was ahead on the judges’ scorecards after three rounds following his positive display. The Ukrainian 26-year-old, reigning WSB Individual Champion in his weight category, undefeated in eleven fights, then started to slowly pick his rival apart with some telling shots to both the head and the body. The master technician stayed composed as he dominated the latter stages to take the win, giving Milano the overall victory and ensuring his team mates would hold the Team Champions Trophy aloft at the end of the evening.
Derevyanchenko was delighted with victory, “I am very happy to achieve such a win for my team, it was tough against Gazizov but I boxed well and now we are Champions”.
The growing credentials of Oleksandr Gvozdyk of Dynamo Moscow were once again in evidence as the Ukrainian got the better of the experience Hungarian Imre Szello in the opening exchanges. Szello was in the mood for this one, safe in the knowledge that his team has the title sewn up, but in Gvozdyk he faced one of the competition’s rising stars. The Light Heavyweight Moscow star was in exhilarating form, alternating between head and body shots as he quickly took the initiative. Szello tried to keep his opponent at bay with the jab but Gvozdyk seemed hungry to impress and record a win for his team. Vital points were scored by the 190cm tall 25-year-old as he took the win in style to reduce Dynamo Moscow’s deficit.
The Ukrainian sensation, when asked how WSB impacted on his Olympic preparations, said, “Five rounds is hard but it gets you in much better shape so I will go to London with high hopes following my season in the WSB”.
After his fighting talk at the weigh-in, Dynamo Moscow’s Vitaly Kudukhov was intent on inflicting a first career defeat on reigning Heavyweight Individual Champion Clemente Russo. The Russian started off furiously, getting as close to Russo as possible, throwing all kind of punches in the direction of the Italian. It was far from easy on the eye as Kudukhov was intent on not letting the tactician find his range. The aggressiveness saw both boxers penalized in the first as Russo just could not get to grips with the 25-year-old Russian who took the first two rounds. The Milano orthodox fighter then had to dig deep and spurred on by his corner and the crowd, he started to catch his rival with several body shots as he dragged himself back into the contest. With Kudukhov tiring from his early onslaught, Russo did just enough to edge in the closing stages to win by split decision. It was sheer delight from the Italian when the announcer declared him the winner as he celebrated wildly with corner, with the title in the bag and his undefeated record intact.
Russo, the Dolce & Gabbana Milano Thunder captain, then lifted the trophy with his team, bringing to a close a fantastic season that saw the Italian squad become WSB Team Champions for the very first time.
Fight Night Productions and Ker’s WingHouse Reloads For “WingHouse Fight Night”
TAMPA, Fla. – On Friday, June 1, 2012, Fight Night Productions and Ker’s WingHouse Bar & Grill are poised to take over the A La Carte Event Pavilion for Tampa’s longest-running boxing series, “WingHouse Fight Night.” The card will showcase some of the area’s most talented and promising professional fighters including Tampa-native and Florida State Featherweight Champion, Charlie “The Beast” Serrano (14-3-1, 4 KOs), Heavyweight sensation, Kenny “Right Hook” Lacy (1-0-0, 1 KO), St. Petersburg prospect, Alphonso Black (2-0-1, 2 KOs), as well as Ft.Myers’ own highly decorated amateur, Bryant Perrella.
Serrano returns to “WingHouse Fight Night” after dropping a hard-fought decision to Camilo Perez (6-0-0) in San Juan, Puerto Rico on the undercard of Showtime Boxing’s presentation of Juan Manuel Marquez/Orlando Salido II. “The Beast” has an impressive 13-1-1 record when fighting at the A La Carte Pavilion, with his only loss at the storied venue dating back to March of 2008.
Lacy, the brother of former United States Boxing Association (USBA), North American Boxing Association (NABA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) super middleweight champion, Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy, had an impressive-professional debut at February’s “WingHouse Fight Night,” scoring a devastating, third-round knockout. He will look to continue his climb in the heavyweight division on June 1st.
Rising middleweight prospect Alphonso Black (2-0-1, 2 KOs) will be looking to get back on the winning track after his toe-to-toe war with Victor Pacheco (1-0-1), that ended in a draw at February’s “WingHouse Fight Night.” Black is building quite the fan base at the A La Carte Pavilion by delivering two-sensational knockouts, and an all-action style of fighting.
Also in a feature bout, will be Ft. Myers-welterweight, Bryant Perrella (2-0-0, 2 KOs), who in his last fight, traveled to San Antonio, Texas to score an impressive fourth-round technical knockout of Nick Gonzalez (3-3-1, 1 KO).
Perrella, who announced that he had signed a co-promotional deal with Top Rank Boxing in January of 2012, made his professional debut on February’s “WingHouse Fight Night.”
The former Olympic hopeful and three-time Sunshine State Game gold-medalist displayed lightning-quick hands and sensational power, dropping his opponent three times in the first-round, en route to a technical knockout victory and first professional win.
Also, featured on the card are a couple first time participants on WingHouse Fight Night. Welterweight, Clarence Booth (2-1-0, 1 KO), is a very popular boxer in Central Florida, and will be looking to make an impressive debut at the A La Carte. Undefeated Justin Jones (4-0-0, 2 KOs) has created quite a buzz for himself, and is known for his all-action style, which has resulted in a number of entertaining fights.
In the coming weeks, more fights will be announced via our Twitter feed, @FightNight_FL. Tickets for this night of non-stop action start at only $25 and are currently on sale at all Ticketmaster outlets and www.Ticketmaster.com. For inquires on VIP table availability, please contact Aaron Jacobs (FightNightFL@Gmail.com) and for the most up-to-the-date information on additional fights, opponents and match-ups, please go to www.FightNightProductions.com, or our Facebook® page (search: Fight Night Productions, LLC).
Doors for this event will be open at 7:00 PM, with a bell-time of 8:00 PM.
“Winghouse Fight Night” Card*
Charlie Serrano (14-3-1, 4 KOs) vs. TBA 6rds Featherweight
Kenny Lacy (1-0-0, 1 KO) vs. TBA 4rds Heavyweight
Bryant Perrella (2-0-0, 2 KOs) vs. TBA 4rds Welterweight
Alphonso Black (2-0-1, 2 KOs) vs. Darrel Eacholes (0-0-1) 4rds Middleweight
Clarence Booth (2-1-0, 1 KO) vs. Greg Faust (1-1-0) 4rds Welterweight
Justin Jones (4-0-0, 2 KOs) vs. Rohan Wilson (6-5-1, 1 KO) 4rds Super Featherweight
*Card Subject To Change
Weigh-In Information
The official fighter weigh-ins for “WingHouse Fight Night” are open to the public and will conducted on Thursday, March 30, 2012, at 5:00 P.M., located at the Pinellas Park Ker’s WingHouse Bar & Grill (7790 US Highway 19 North, Pinellas Park, FL 33781).