EL PASO, TEX. (May 4, 2012) – Undefeated World Middleweight Champion and the Son of the Legend, JULIO CÉSAR CHÁVEZ, JR. will return to the boxing metropolis of El Paso, Texas for the first time in nearly six years, headlining “Viva Chávez!” on Saturday, June 16, at Sun Bowl Stadium. After initial concerns from The University of Texas System regarding the world championship event from taking place at the Sun Bowl Stadium in The University of Texas at El Paso, Chancellor Francisco Gonzalez Cigarroa, announced last week that he will allow the event to take place as previously scheduled. Chávez Jr., who will be making the third defense of the title he won last year, will be battling No. 2-world-rated contender ANDY LEE, marking the first world championship fight to be held in the Sun Bowl Stadium since June 13, 1998 when Oscar De La Hoya knocked out Patrick Charpentier in the second round to retain his welterweight crown. The Chávez Jr. vs. Lee world championship rumble will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing®, beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET.
“Top Rank is dedicating this great event to the citizens of El Paso who helped us make this event possible, UTEP and for boxing in demanding that the Chavez Jr. vs. Lee championship bout take place at Sun Bowl Stadium,” said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum.
Presented by the University of Texas at El Paso and promoted by Top Rank in association with Zanfer Promotions, DiBella Entertainment, The City of El Paso, AT&T and Tecate, tickets to the Chávez Jr. vs. Lee world title tilt go on sale Tomorrow! Saturday, May 5, at 2 p.m. ET / Noon MT. Tickets, priced at $200, $100, $60, $40 and $25, plus applicable service charges, can be purchased at the UTEP Ticket Center, all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com and by phone at (915) 747-5234.
These two warriors boast a combined record of 73-1-1 (51 KOs) – a winning percentage of 97% and a victory by knockout ratio of 70%.
Chávez Jr. (45-0-1, 31 KOs), of Culiacan, México, making his first appearance in El Paso since August 19, 2006 when he knocked out Jermaine White in the fourth round of their welterweight bout, is the son of Mexico’s greatest fighter Julio César Chávez. Chávez, 26, took up the “family business” in 2003, winning a four-round decision in his professional debut. Eight years later, the reigning World Middleweight Champion and superior gate attraction is poised to make his own mark in the boxing world. He took a major step toward that goal by enlisting legendary trainer Freddie Roach to take him to the next level. Their first fight together was a gigantic success, a dominant 12-round unanimous decision victory over top-10 contender John Duddy (29-1, 18 KOs) in June 2010 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. After his January 29, 2011 unanimous decision win over Billy Lyell, Chávez Jr. became the second family member to win a world title, dethroning undefeated World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight champion Sebastian Zbik via a majority decision. That June 4, 2011 slugfest took place at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles just a few blocks north of the Olympic Auditorium where the legendary Julio César Chávez won his first world title. Chávez Jr. successfully defended his title on November 19, 2011 with a fifth-round knockout of Top-Five contender Peter Manfredo, Jr. at Reliant Arena in Houston, followed by a hard-fought unanimous decision on February 4 over No. 1 contender Marco Antonio Rubio at the Alamodome.
Lee (28-1, 20 KOs), who at 6’2, is one inch taller than Chávez, Jr., was born in London but is Irish of heritage. Ireland’s sole boxing representative in the 2004 Olympics, Lee made his professional debut in 2006, winning a six-round decision over Anthony Cannon. Trained at the famed Kronk Gym in Detroit by Hall of Fame inductee Emanuel Steward, who has referred to Lee as “my left-handed Tommy Hearns,” Lee possesses exceptional skills, speed and movement, complemented by good punching power and experience against good opposition. He enters this fight riding a four-year, 13-bout winning streak with eight of those victories coming inside the distance, including a win over Bryan Vera last October to avenge the only loss on his professional ledger. He enters this fight as a consensus Top Three world-rated contender, ranked No. 2 by the World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) and No. 3 by the WBC.
WBF Doubleheader in Hungary
Tibor Feja and his Feja Promotion is staging a major WBF doubleheader on Saturday May 12 in Budapest, Hungary, featuring an interesting female world title defense, and two local boxers clashing for the vacant Intercontinental Super Middleweight strap.
World Boxing Federation women’s World Bantamweight Champion Renata Szebeledi, 15-9 (8), is making the first defense of her title against tough Romanian Eva Marcu, 7-3 (2), in a rematch.
The two fought last June, with Szebeledi coming out on top after a rough encounter, and now Marcu will get her chance at redemption and her first world championship.
In her first bout after defeating Marcu last year, Szebeledi traveled to Germany to capture the WBF World title with an inspired performance against local favorite Pia Mazelanik. Since then she has racked up three non-title victories, before dropping a close decision in an International Boxing Federation (IBF) Super Flyweight challenge against Simona Galassi in Italy. Now back at her natural weight, Szebeledi is looking forward to defending her world championship in front of her local fans, and with Marcu coming off a fresh victory last month she is sure to be in for another hard challenge.
In the second WBF title fight of the night, Budapest-rivals Attila Baran, 9-2 (4), and Janos Olah, 10-8-1 (3), will duke it out for the vacant Intercontinental Super Middleweight championship. Both have mixed in minor championship territory in their careers, but Baran (19) has youth on his side, while Olah (30) is the more experienced and tested.
It shapes up to be an interesting night of championship boxing in Budapest on May 12, and while Szebeledi and Baran must be considered slight favorites, it is bound to be competitive action in both fights.
www.worldboxingfederation.net
KO artist Ivan Najera headlines “Cinco de Mayo” in San Antonio, TX
On Saturday, May 5th, world class boxing returns to San Antonio, TX.
Jesse James Leija/Mike Battah Promotions presents, “Cinco de Mayo”, which will being staged at the Cowboys Dance Hall, located at 3030 NE Loop 410 in San Antonio, TX, and will feature eight action filled bouts on one of the biggest nights in boxing.
Highlighting the event will be the big punching Super Featherweight, Ivan Najera (7-0, 6 KOs) from the Alamo City, in a scheduled six round special feature.
In his previous outing, the 19 year old phenom destroyed ring veteran James Lester from Detroit, MI, in just one round with a crushing left hook. The newly signed Top Rank, Inc. prospect looks to continue his unbeaten streak in dramatic and dominant fashion.
The young, undefeated fighter has the boxing world buzzing about his tremendous power in both fists and tenacious, fan friendly fight style.
Also appearing on the “Cinco de Mayo” bout sheet will be two highly touted boxing talents; Light Heavyweight Trevor McCumby (4-0, 4 KOs) and Super Middleweight Ronald “Akeem” Ellis (2-0, 2 KOs).
Also at just 19 years of age, McCumby brutally stopped his last three opponents in the first round of action, and is expecting another knock-out performance in front of the fight fans of San Antonio, TX.
Ellis, a former National Golden Gloves Champion in the 165 pound division is also perfect in his professional campaign, starching his first two opponents early in both contests.
Also on the card will be two more exceptional young fighters from Austin, TX, Junior Welterweight John Arellano (6-1, 6 KOs) and Lightweight Jennifer Fenn (7-0, 4 KOs), who are both currently trained by James Kirkland trainer, Ann Wolfe.
The third 19 year old knock-out artist on the card, John Arellano, has stopped three of his seven opponents in the first round as well. Fenn, who holds the honor and distinction of having her mother as head trainer, is hoping to broaden her resume to four consecutive victories by way of knock-out on May 5th.
Additional all-action fighters on the card include Brit Steven Hall, Javier Rodriguez, and Theo Johnson.
As an added bonus for all ticket holders, the special HBO PPV event out of Las Vegas, NV, “Ring Kings: Mayweather/Cotto and Alvarez/Mosley” will be shown following the completion of the exciting live bouts.
Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster outlets as well as www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets start as low $25 in advance and $30 at the gate.
Don’t miss the “Cinco de Mayo” celebration with your favorite fighters at the Cowboys Dance Hall this Saturday, May 5th, in San Antonio, TX.
For additional information please call 210-219-6688.