CORK, Ireland (July 11, 2012) – A frustrated World Boxing Association (“WBA”) Super Bantamweight Champion Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux (10-0, 8 KOs), upon learning that Nonito Donaire plans to move up to the featherweight division after his next fight, has labeled Donaire, “The Filipino Phony.”
“Donaire is running scared of any super bantamweights with power,” Rigondeaux said from his Miami training camp. “He hasn’t knocked out anybody at 122 pounds. One thing is for sure, though, he will get knocked out if he has the guts to fight me.”
Rigondeaux trained at Wild Card Gym with one of his favorite fighters, Manny Pacquiao, who may be wondering at this point exactly why his fellow countryman, Donaire, doesn’t fight Rigondeaux to determine the contemporary King of the Super Bantamweights.
“Manny fought the best fighters around when he was moving up through weight classes but this phony, Donaire, is disappointing fans all over the world, especially Filipino people, by running scared from the best fighter at 122 pounds,” Rigondeaux continued. “I competed against more than 250 amateur boxers from every continent and none of those guys were paid to fight me. ‘The Filipino Phony’ will be paid a king’s ransom to fight me, but he’s scared enough to move up to 126 just to avoid fighting me. The problem he faces, though, is I will also move up to featherweight once I’ve cleaned out the super bantamweight division. What’s he going to do then, move up to super featherweight?”
Arguably the greatest amateur boxer of all-time, Rigo is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, as well as a 7-time Cuban national champion who captured a pair of World Championship titles during his incredible amateur career.
“It’s beyond belief that the so-called No. 3 pound-for-pound fighter in the world is scared to fight Rigo,” Rigondeaux’s manager Gary Hyde added. “There can be no doubt in anyone’s mind that this is what’s happening now with Donaire. When a member of our team, Paddy Cronan, approached Donaire at Rigo’s June 9th fight to ask him if he would step-up to the plate and fight Rigondeaux, Donaire clearly indicated that he had no intention of fighting Rigo.”
A lethal puncher, particularly to the body, Rigondeaux looked sensational in his most recent fight last month against Teon Kennedy (17-1-2), who was decked five times before the fight was mercifully stopped in the fifth round.
Rigondeaux, a savvy southpaw, is trained by Cuban coach Jorge Rubio and working with conditioning coach DJ Montanocordoba. Rigondeaux’s promotional contract with Top Rank expires July 15 and discussions are ongoing with Hyde and Rigondeaux’s team to determine what path to take from here on.
Gingras added to July 19th show
Motivated Gingras ready to return to ring on short notice Thursday at Twin River
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (July 11, 2012) – Rich Gingras certainly wasn’t expecting the phone call earlier this week, but he was more than ready to accept the challenge. Such is the unpredictable nature of professional boxing.
Working full-time as the owner and head trainer at the Fight 2 Fitness gym in Pawtucket, R.I., the former “The Contender” reality television star hasn’t slowed down since his last fight on May 24th, which is why he willingly answered the bell when promoter Jimmy Burchfield Sr. offered to add him to the “Built To Last” card Thursday, July 19th, 2012 at the Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, R.I.
“That’s the way boxing is,” said Gingras, who lost to Terrance Smith in May when the ringside doctor stopped the fight after the second round due to a cut over Gingras’ eye. “The last thing I wanted to do was wait another two months before my next fight.”
Four days after the fight, Gingras (11-3, 7 KOs) moved his gym from the second floor to the bottom level, expanding from just under 5,000 square feet to 8,500, a space that now includes 33 heavy bags, six speed bags, seven spin bikes, full locker rooms and showers, and a regulation-sized boxing ring.
Needless to say, Gingras has kept in shape since the end of May; he weighed 183 pounds the night of his fight and has been walking around comfortably at 178 for the past six weeks, so he’ll be ready to fight at the light heavyweight limit of 175 when he returns to the ring next Thursday in a six-round special attraction.
“The longer you’re away from the gym, the harder it is to get back in shape,” he said, “so that’s why I went back in right after the last fight. I’m constantly working out, running everyday, and when I’m not working out myself, I’m training someone else, so I’m still burning calories.
“Eating food has become a whole other job just so I can keep up on my calories.”
Gingras recently signed a promotional agreement with Classic Entertainment & Sports, which will promote the July 19th show, and debuted with the company in May. His goal at the time was to stay as busy as possible, and that hasn’t changed despite his recent setback. The fight on the 19th will be his third since March, and he’s already looking forward to stepping back into the ring in October when CES’ Thursday Night Fight Series continues at Twin River.
“I want to get right back on that horse,” Gingras said. “When you live healthy, you heal fast, and I’m a fast healer. I take pride in staying in shape.”
Tickets for “Built To Last” are $40.00, $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.
Providence native and reigning New England super middleweight champion Vladine Biosse (13-1-1, 6 KOs) will star in the eight-round main event while Providence’s Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey (20-3, 10 KOs) will face veteran Jesse Oltmans (10-3, 7 KOs) of Bartonsville, Pa., in the six-round co-feature. Super middleweights Keith Kozlin (6-3-1, 4 KOs) of West Warwick, R.I., and Reynaldo Rodriguez (6-4-1, 3 KOs) of Woonsocket, R.I., will look to settle the score in a rematch from their fight last July, which ended in a draw.
Also on the undercard, light heavyweight Kevin Cobbs (4-0, 1 KO) of Burlington, Vt., will battle Queens’ native Donte Wiggins (1-0, 1 KO) in a four-round bout and Pawtucket, R.I., middleweight Thomas Falowo (6-1, 4 KOs) will look to bounce back from his first loss in May when he faces Rahman Yusebov (8-8, 6 KOs) of Dallas in a six-round bout. Benny Costantino (7-1, 4 KOs) of Warwick, R.I., will face Dennis Ogboo (6-5, 5 KOs) of Lexington, Ky., in a four-round middleweight bout, and lightweight Zack Ramsey (1-0, 1 KO) of Springfield, Mass., and welterweight newcomer Jansy Rivera of Providence (San Juan, Puerto Rico) will be featured in separate four-round bouts. All fights and fighters are subject to change.
(Twin River has waived its 18+ rule for “Built to Last.” Anybody under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult and must enter through the West entrance.)
Shawn Estrada vs. Felix Piedra on August 11th
Studio City, CA (July 11) – Back on June 23rd, the San Fernando Valley’s legendary Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City, CA hosted its first boxing event in 17 years before an appreciative full house. On Saturday night, August 11, Goossen Tutor Promotions, the Valley’s first family of boxing, will present the second program in its “LIVE AT THE LODGE” series of boxing events held every two months throughout the year designed by promoter Dan Goossen to produce a number of “Tomorrow’s Champions, Fighting Today.”
In the main event, 2008 U.S. Olympian Shawn Estrada (14-0, 12 KOs) will square off with undefeated Felix Piedra (8-0-1, 5 KOs) in a scheduled 8-round light heavyweight contest — with both fighters taking on their toughest challenge to date.
Tickets priced at $100.00 VIP, $50.00 Ringside & $30.00 (plus fees) are on sale this Friday, July 13 at www.goossentutor.com/schedule or email irma@goossentutor.com or by calling the Goossen Tutor office at (818) 817-8001. Tickets will be available the day of the event only at the Sportsmen’s Lodge starting at Noon.
In addition to the main event, young knockout artist Jessie Villanueva (3-0, 3 KOs) of Palmdale, CA. – who won by first-round TKO in the inaugural show last month — will be featured in a 4-round junior featherweight bout.
Slated to fight for first time as a pro outside of his home state of Missouri, in a scheduled 4-round ‘Special Attraction’ bout, is Leon Spinks, III (2-0, 1 KO) – grandson and great nephew of former Olympic champions and World Heavyweight kings Leon and Michael Spinks, respectively. Can the young Spinks replicate the “Spinks Jinx?”
As Goossen did with the old Country Club, looking for that next big one, making his highly anticipated pro debut will be Armenian heavyweight Sergo Pogosyan. Now fighting out of Glendale, CA, Pogosyan was a member of the Moscow Kremlin Bears of the World Series of Boxing’s European Conference and is a big heavyweight.
Rounding out the card in another four-rounder will be John Hays (1-0), of Los Angeles, CA.
“This is a big fight for me,” Estrada, who will be fighting for just the second time in a year, admitted. “I’m back healthy from all my injuries and I am at the point in my career when I have to step it up. I should have been at a point where we were now starting to think about title shots, so I have to get back into regular action and rattle off a string of impressive wins starting with August 11th. I am working with Joe Goossen and anybody who knows Joe knows that his fighters come into the ring in shape and ready to fight.”
Villanueva and his also undefeated older brother, Matthew, are starting to remind Southern California boxing fans of another sibling duo that gained international acclaim and world championship belts under the promotional guidance of Dan Goossen when he headed up Ten Goose Boxing.
“I am happy to be following in my brother’s footsteps and confident in the hands of Goossen Tutor that we will be a mirror image of the Ruelas Brothers,” said Jessie.
Going by the handle “The Third Generation,” the 24-year old Spinks debuted as a pro back in March with a first-round TKO win and followed that up in May with another win.
“It’s a dream come true to have my pro debut on the card of such a famous promoter like Dan Goossen,” Pogosyan, who had 70 amateur fights and was a three-time Armenian champion and Olympic alternate, said through an interpreter. “And I won’t let anyone down.”
“We’re expecting another exciting night of boxing at “The Lodge” on August 11,” Goossen said. “Shawn Estrada is a big puncher and once the bell rings he’s looking to land one bomb after another. Mention the name Leon Spinks, III, and it makes you want to see if he inherited the Spinks champion bloodlines. Heavyweights also have a way of getting fans excited, and it’s the same for me, with the debut of Pogosyan, along with Jessie Villanueva taking another step in his development.”
The recently- renovated Events Center at “The Lodge,” boasts room for 1,000 boxing fans.