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San Francisco, California   — “DAY FOUR –  Superstar Manny Pacquiao(R) and New York’s undefeated (20-0) WBO Jr. Welterweight champion Chris Algieri(L) make a special appearance on “Yahoo Sports Talk Live” with host Jim Kozimor(ctr) at Comcast SportsNet Bay Area , Thursday on ‘Day Four’  of their worldwide tour.

Pacquiao  and Algieri , along with their respective trainers Freddie Roach and Tim Lane, promoters Bob Arum, Joe DeGuardia and Artie Pelullo, and Ed Tracy, President and CEO of Sands China Ltd.,  are on a 27,273-Mile Media Tour, that began on Monday, August 25 at The Venetian Macao. The 12-day tour includes press conferences or public and private appearances scheduled for Macau, Shanghai, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York.

Promoted by Top Rank® and Sands China Ltd., in association with MP Promotions, Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing, Banner Promotions and Tecate, the Pacquiao vs. Algieri world welterweight championship event will take place Saturday, November 22, at the Cotai Arena in The Venetian Macao Resort in Macau,China.

http://www.boxingscene.com/photos-pacquiao-algieri-continue-tour-san-francisco–81556

pbcc.140825.800w     By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.

SHANGHAI- Chinese boxing fans are expected to troop to the Mercedes Benz Arena today for “FIST OF POWER”, a live event that will feature Ik Yang (15-0, 9 KOs) of Dalian, China against Sukkasem Kietyongyuth (13-2, 8 KOs), of Roi-Et, Thailand for the WBO Asia-Pacific lightweight title.

The August 26 card also has something to offer for the Filipino fight fans – Randy “Razor” Petalcorin (21-1-1,16KO’s) of Gen. Santos City will go up against Walter Tello (20-7,8KO’s) of Panama for the interim WBA world light flyweight title.

It is not just Filipino boxers, but Filipino ring officials have also become a regular presence in boxing promotions held in China. When Top Rank started their first high profile boxing event – FISTS OF GOLD – in Macau last April 2013, ring officials of the World Boxing Organization (WBO) headed by its president Paco Valcarcel and WBO Vice-President for Asia-Pacific Leon Panoncillo were among those who handled and supervised the birth of big time boxing promotions in this country. This started the influx of experienced boxing officials from the Philippines who provided their expertise in the professional side of the sport. They have formed a good partnership with Thai,Australian and Chinese boxing officials.

Panoncillo is currently the driving force and head of the Professional Boxing Commission of China (PBCC). Aside from supervising events, he has conducted workshops for Chinese boxing officials who are interested in learning how professional bouts are conducted and supervised. One example was the demonstration on the proper taping or wrapping of a boxer’s hand and gloves which was held after today’s FIST OF POWER weigh-in at the Sheraton Hotel.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAPHOTO – PBCC and WBO Asia-Pacific chief Leon Panoncillo demonstrates handwrapping on chief dressing room and handwraps inspector Romar Embodo as WBO As-Pac board member Danny Leigh and PBCC Executive Sec. Maggie Wei Na look on.

Panoncillo, who also has the experience of being a boxing trainer, showed the legal way of handwrapping as well as the illegal way to make inspectors aware of any shenanigans happening inside the fighters’ dressing room.

In various boxing events in Macau and in mainland China, the PBCC has conducted itself in a professional manner and has trained aspiring officials to do things the right way. It also has been responsible in the way they provide licenses, conduct the needed medical requirements for boxers and make sure the proper emergency facilities are available.

“Pro boxing is new and still growing here, If they start doing things the right way, the rest will be easy.” Panoncillo said.   Top Rank has tied up with SECA to build the growth of pro boxing here in China. SECA CEO Sheng Li stated in today’s presscon that they still don’t have much knowledge in pro boxing in China, hence his partnership with Top Rank. Looking at the steady increase of boxing promotions in this country, it has been mutually beneficial for both parties. The PBCC has also become a steady and reliable presence.

pbcc_augustshanghaiPhoto – PBCC officials – Romar Embodo, Dr.Rene Bonsubre, Salven Lagumbay, Larry Balanay, Edward Ligas, Arnie Najera, Danny Leigh,Danrex Tapdasan, Sorat Soikrachang and PBCC head Leon Panoncillo

The Tuesday fight card in Shanghai has seven Chinese boxers. Aside from Petalcorin, another Filipino boxer, Marlon Alta (12-4,9KO’s) will be pitted against Qu Peng (5-0-1,3KO’s) of China in a non-title light heavyweight match-up.

http://philboxing.com/news/columns.php?aid=884&id=98319

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By Jake Donovan

A phone call from representatives handling the career of two-time Olympic Gold medalist Zou Shiming to the Top Rank office led to what has become an ongoing tradition of promoting major fight cards in Macau. That marriage – not even yet two years old – is already on the verge of reaping major benefits.

Shiming has spent his entire young pro career fighting at The Venetian Macao, beginning with his pro debut last April.

“None of this would have been possible if we weren’t contacted by the people who represent Zou Shiming,” Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum pointed out of the ongoing relationship between Top Rank and the casino resort often referred to as ‘Las Vegas on steroids.’

In that debut show, Shiming won a four-round decision over Eleazer Valenuela. The bout was billed as the headlining act given the soaring popularity of the most successful boxer in the history of China’s amateur boxing program, including Olympic Gold medals won in 2008 at home in Beijing and 2012 in London. The highlight of that show, however, was Juan Francisco Estrada scoring what at the time was a major upset over Brian Viloria to become a two-belt flyweight titlist.

If all goes well in their next bouts, their paths could cross in the ring.

Top Rank and Shiming return to the Venetian Macao on November 23 (November 22 in the United States), with a show headlined by a welterweight title fight between legendary Manny Pacquiao and unbeaten Chris Algieri. On the undercard, Shiming (5-0, 1KO) appears in his first scheduled 12-round bout as he faces unbeaten Thai boxer Kwanpichit OnesongchaiGym (27-0-2, 12KOs). Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum confirmed during Monday’s press conference in Macau that the bout will serve as an official title eliminator.

The winner will go on to face the last man standing in the September 6 mouthwatering clash between Estrada and former lineal 108 lb. king Giovani Segura.

From a promotional standpoint, Arum is naturally rooting for his guy to win. Also, so that he no longer has to butcher then name of the unbeaten opponent who will stand across the ring from Shiming.

“Zou Shiming won three medals in three (Olympic) competitions, the second and third being Gold medals,” Arum reminded the assembled media during Monday’s press conference in Macau, the first stop of a 27,000-mile press tour that concludes September 4th in New York. “China had never been a hotbed for boxing, so the past few years have been an education. The past few years have been educational.

“A lot of that is attributable to following Zou Shiming and his winning Olympic medals. He will go into the ring on November 23, in a WBO title eliminator versus the Thai fighter (Kwanpichit OnesongchaiGym). Thank God he changed his name, he now goes by 13-Rien Express. The title eliminator will be fought over 12 rounds.”

Shiming has quickly advanced up the scale since his pro debut. His two ring appearances in 2014 came in fights scheduled for eight and ten rounds, respectively. Shiming only enjoyed one early night, though not by much as he stopped Yokthong KKP in the 7th round of their February flyweight bout.

His most recent ring appearance was his deepest to date, a 12-round decision over Luis de la Rosa this past July. It was the first time in Shiming’s career that Arum was unable to sit ringside, as the promoter was still recovering from knee surgery. The 33-year old flyweight hopes it’s the only time the two are separated, especially as he already begins to hit the prime years of his rapidly escalated career.

“Bob missed my last fight, so I hope all of my fights in the future are in the company of Bob Arum,” Shiming noted. “I’m grateful for all that Bob has done for me so that we can progress with each fight.”

Following the completion of the press tour, Shiming will travel to the Philippines, joining his head trainer Freddie Roach and Pacquiao in training camp. The preparation is truly a team effort, one that even has the Filipino legend rooting for his stable mate to the world title stage despite his own difficult assignment lying ahead.

“Zou Shiming is going to train with me in the Philippines,” Pacquaio confirmed to the media during Monday’s presser. The comment was accompanied by a big grin, as Pacquiao turned to Shiming while holding two fingers in the air. “Two more fights to become a world champion.”

http://www.boxingscene.com/shiming-onesongchaigym-confirmed-wbo-eliminator—81413

 

Pacquiao_Algieri_Macau-PC680Photos: Chris Farina/Top Rank

Article By Karl Freitag

The kickoff press conference for the November 22 clash of champions between WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao and WBO jr welterweight champion Chris Algieri took place Monday at the Venetian Macao in Macau, China.

“This fight is going to be a good fight,” promised Pacquiao. “Algieri is undefeated, he’s a good boxer, I saw his last fight with Ruslan. He took a lot of punches but he’s a very tough boxer and fought back…my opponent is tough and I like that. The last fight that we had here with Brandon Rios we did a good job, but Algieri’s different than Rios. He’s faster than Rios, he’s taller than Rios, so it will give me a hard time.

“It’s been a long time that the fans of Manny Pacquiao have been expecting a knockout. This fight I’m going to try to do my best to make the fans happy and if the knockout comes it’ll come, but what I’m trying to do is focus and win the fight.”

Algieri was very gracious toward the Pacquiao Team for accepting the fight and stated he deserved this chance. “I earned the right to be here,” said Algieri, who is significantly taller than Pacman. “I bled for this. I trained for this my whole life. This opportunity means the world to me. I’m going to prepare myself the best I possibly can…I will give it my absolute all, just like I showed in my last fight and every fight before that.”

Pacquaio’s trainer Freddie Roach said Manny’s training camp will be held in General Santos City, Philippines. “I know Chris has a master’s degree,” commented Roach. “But Manny has a Ph.D in boxing.”

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http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/pacquiao-and-algieri-face-off-in-macau-258169

More Pacquiao-Algieri Quotes

WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao and WBO jr welterweight champion Algieri will announce their November 22 world championship fight during a two-week 27,273-mile international media tour, which kicked off Monday with a press conference at the fight location, The Venetian Macao. The tour will include stops in Shanghai, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York. The event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT. If you plan on attending live, tickets go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. August 29 (details later in this report).

Manny Pacquiao: “Chris Algieri fought an exceptional fight in June to win the world title from Ruslan Provodnikov. I am impressed and intrigued by his scientific approach to training and boxing. He may be the smartest and the fittest athlete I have ever faced and that makes him the most dangerous. I worked hard to reclaim my welterweight title and I will work harder to make sure I keep it on November 22. As always, I dedicate this fight to my fellow Filipinos around the world and to bring glory to the Philippines. ”

Chris Algieri: “It is a real honor to fight a future Hall of Famer like Manny Pacquiao and I am looking forward to being introduced to a whole new market and fan base in the Far East. My last fight against Ruslan Provodnikov got the world’s attention, now I am going to show what I can really do. I have the utmost respect for Manny and his great team, but make no mistake — I am here to win and I have nothing on my mind but beating a legend.”

Pacquiao Trainer Freddie Roach: “I underestimated Algieri when he faced Ruslan Provodnikov in June but I won’t make that mistake again. I hope he understands that this is a fight and not a marathon. Algieri is going to face the best of Manny Pacquiao because Manny is going to have his toughest training camp ever. I am looking forward to a great fight and Manny’s finest hour on November 22.”

Algieri Trainer Tim Lane: “Over the past 14 years I have trained and watched Chris become a Master of the Art of Boxing. His hard work ethic, discipline and dedication are second to none. Chris has been in the gym after only one week off from his last bout with New York trainers Keith Trimble, Dr. Mike Camp and Tony Ricci who have kept him in great shape through the years and continue to help him get stronger and faster between and during all camps. Training camp will officially start in late September in New York and finish in Las Vegas before leaving for China. Let it be known, there is a New ERA in the world of boxing and on November 22. Chris Algieri will once again Shock the World and become the New WBO Welterweight Champion!”

Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum: “The battle between the two world champions will be a fantastic fight. Manny’s non-stop attack style will be challenged by Algieri’s laser-like punching.”

Algieri’s promoter Joe DeGuardia: “It has been a great year. In February we had Chris at The Paramount on ESPN, in June on HBO winning the World Championship at Barclays Center in dramatic fashion against the feared Ruslan Prodvodnikov. Now we are excited to announce that he will be at The Venetian Macao against legendary Manny Pacquiao on HBO Pay-Per-View. It has been an unprecedented meteoric rise that will continue on November 22. I look forward to this intriguing and ‘landscape-changing’ fight.”

Edward Tracy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sands China Ltd: “Sands China is thrilled to be bringing Manny back to Macao again to fight at the Cotai Arena this November. Since Manny’s sold-out Venetian Macao debut in November 2013, we’ve worked continuously with Bob Arum and Top Rank to host three more successful boxing cards at the Cotai Arena and two live screening events of US cards; and further, announced our partnership on the mainland China television program ‘Fist Power – Fight to Win.’ We’re happy to see these events helping promote the growth of boxing in the region while raising the profile of Macao as a world centre of tourism and leisure.”

Mark Taffet/HBO Pay-Per-View: “Against all odds, Manny Pacquiao has produced a brilliant, Hall of Fame career. He’s accepted challenges around the globe and established new frontiers, including fighting on pay-per-view from Macao. Now another young, talented and unassuming prizefighter named Chris Algieri will try to defy the odds and fulfill his dreams by challenging Pacquiao for his welterweight crown. In Chris Algieri, fight fans see a great American story with added intrigue based on the heart and courage he displayed in his recent victory over Ruslan Provodnikov.”

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/more-pacquiao-algieri-quotes-258181

Jay-Z

The boxing world needs a change and Jay Z is ready to make it happen.  There’s finally going to be a little shakeup as Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions will have to welcome Roc Nation Sports into the business.

Roc Nation Sports founded by Jay Z in April 2013, has already made a big splash as sports agents now they’re taking on a new venture.

“There’s no question the sport of boxing needs a new player, someone who can do something different,” Michael Yormark, the president and chief of branding and strategy for parent company Roc Nation, told ESPN.com on Sunday night. “We’re energized and we’re going to make a difference. This is a huge priority to us. This is a highly serious business to us.”

Roc Nation Sports is also prepared for the challenge and made a big move as they’ve hired David Itskowitch to serve as the chief operating officer of its boxing division.

Itskowitch, who said Roc Nation Sports has already secured a promoters license in New York and Washington, D.C., is a highly respected and experienced executive with 18 years in the boxing business.

“This is a serious business for us moving forward and Dave has one of the great reputations in the boxing industry,” Yormark said, adding that Jay Z and Roc Nation Sports president Juan Perez are big boxing fans. “Hiring him should be a loud and clear statement this is serious for us and that we will do this the right way. We have one of the most respected individuals in the sport leading the charge for us.

“We’re going to promote our first event by the end of the year and we’re currently strategizing on which fighters we will seek to sign,” Itskowitch told ESPN.com.

Itskowitch said Roc Nation Sports is willing to work with any promoter, manager or television network, something uncommon in boxing.

Said Itskowitch, “We will be a promoter, but our job won’t end once a guy fights on a particular Saturday night. We will promote him 365 days a year.”

Jay isn’t the first rapper to enter the biz as 50 Cent stepped away from Mayweather’s TMT and formed SMS Promotions.  I wonder how he feels about this.

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http://thesource.com/2014/08/18/jay-z-roc-nation-sports-obtain-license-to-become-boxing-promoters/

 

 

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Credit:  Photo by Steven Counts.com / Article by Lenn Satterfield –

WBO middleweight titleholder Peter Quillin may have landed his biggest pay day and a fight before fans familiar to him against Matt Korobov on Nov. 8 either in Washington, D.C., or New York City, thanks to a purse bid won by Roc Nation Sports on Monday.

The winning bid for Roc Nation Sports, the company founded by rapper Jay-Z, was made by newly-hired former Golden Boy Promotions COO David Itskowitch.

Itskowitch bid $1,904,840 compared to $1,207,000 by Golden Boy Promotions representative Ramiro Gonzalez and $515,000 by Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti, according to Jose Izquierdo, general secretary of the WBO.

Izquierdo and WBO President Paco Valcarcel said that Quillin (31-0, 22 knockouts) is entitled to 75 percent ($1,428, 630) of the bid to 25 percent ( $476,210) for Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs).

“I’m already making enough money where I’m able to take care of my family and to own a couple of things and to live a good life, but that’s damn near $2 million on the table that they’ve bid on this fight,” said Quillin, who is promoted by Golden Boy and advised by Al Haymon.

“I don’t think or believe that [WBA 160-pound titleholder] Gennady Golovkin has come close to being offered nothing like that. Of course, my other pay days are very good pay days, and I’m looking to put away as much as I can for life after boxing. Some of these other guys around me may be making more money, but I just hope they’re making the right decisions with their money.”

Izquierdo said Itskowitch proposed the date of Nov. 8 either in Washington, D.C. or New York City, where Roc Nation has been licensed.

Michael Yorkmark, president and chief of branding and strategy for Roc Nation, is the twin brother of Brett Yormark, the CEO of Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., where Quillin has competed in two of his past four fights contested under the banner of Golden Boy.

Quillin debuted at Barclays Center in October 2012 when he scored a unanimous decision win over previously unbeaten Hassan N’Dam, whom he dropped six times to earn the WBO’s vacant belt.

In Quillin’s next fight in April 2013 at Barclays Center, he scored two second-round knockdowns 30 seconds apart and dropped his man twice more in the seventh and final round of a technical knockout victory over Fernando Guerrero.

In his last fight in April at The D.C. Armory in Washington, D.C., Quillin dominated Lukas Konecny, winning a unanimous decision by the scores of 119-109, 119-109 and 120-108.

“Both of those areas are places that have the demographics where I have been able to relate to people and to get my story out there. I feel as though I have a big following in Brooklyn, as well as in D.C.,” said Quillin.

“I just want to be able to deliver my story in a positive way to people, regardless of whether it’s in Brooklyn or in D.C. or against Korobov or any of those other guys.”

http://ringtv.craveonline.com/news/352919-peter-quillin-poised-for-lucrative-defense-vs-matt-korobov

Bienvenida a Roc Nation

El presidente de la Organización Mundial de Boxeo (OMB) dio la bienvenida a Roc Nation Sports, empresa que ganó hoy la subasta de la OMB para la pelea entre el campeón peso mediano Peter Quillin y el primer clasificado Matt Korobov.

“Definitivamente estoy sorprendido por su participación”, dijo Valcarcel de la primera incursión de Roc Nation Sports en el mundo del boxeo. “En nombre de la OMB le doy la bienvenida a Jay Z y su compañía Roc Nation Sports y les deseo éxito en su empeño por traer eventos de boxeo de calidad y representar bien a los boxeadores que adquieran”.

“Nos sentimos honrados de que ellos (Roc Nation Sports) hayan optado por un combate de campeonato mundial de la OMB para hacer su entrada al deporte como promotor de boxeo y esperamos trabajar con ellos”, dijo Valcárcel sobre la pelea, cuya fecha propuesta es el 8 de noviembre 2014, posiblemente en  Washington DC o Nueva York.

Con una oferta de $1,904,840 Roc Nation Sports, la compañía fundada por el rapero y estrella de la música Jay Z, ganó la subasta, que se llevó a cabo en las oficinas de la OMB en San Juan, Puerto Rico, para promover la pelea de Quillin (31-0, 22 KOs), campeón mediano de la OMB, contra Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs).

Roc Nation, representado por David Itskowitch, superó la oferta del promotor de Quillin, Golden Boy Promotions ($1,207,000) y el promotor de Korobov, Top Rank, ($515.000).

 

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World Boxing Organization (WBO) President, Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel welcomed Roc Nation Sports, company that won today’s WBO purse bid for the fight between the middleweight champion Peter Quillin and the #1 ranked Matt Korobov.

“I’m definitely surprised by their participation,” said WBO President Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel of Roc Nation’s first foray into the world of boxing. “On behalf of the WBO I welcome Jay Z and his company Roc Nation and wish them nothing but success in their quest to put on quality boxing events and represent well the fighters they eventually sign.”

“We are honored that they (Roc Nation Sports) have chosen a WBO World Championship contest to mark their entrance to the sport as boxing promoter and look forward to working with them,” said Valcarcel of the fight proposed for November 8, 2014 at an undetermined venue in either Washington, DC or New York City.

With a bid of $1,904,840 Roc Nation Sports, the company founded by rapper and music superstar Jay Z, won Monday’s purse bid at the WBO Headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to promote Quillin’s (31-0, 22 KOs) mandatory WBO Middleweight title defense against Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs).

Roc Nation Sports, represented by David Itskowitch, outbid both Quillin’s promoter Golden Boy Promotions ($1,207,000) and Korobov’s promotor Top Rank ($515,000).

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Credit:  Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank-

Article by Dan Rafael –

Former featherweight world titleholder Orlando Salido and former title challenger Terdsak Kokietgym will square off for a vacant interim junior lightweight title on Sept. 20 in Salido’s hometown of Ciudad Obregon, Mexico.

The WBO, which is sanctioning the title involved in the bout, normally does not give out interim belts the way other organizations do, but it made an exception in this case because Mikey Garcia, its 130-pound titleholder, is inactive and embroiled in a lawsuit with Top Rank, his promoter, and it looks like he will be idle for an extended period.

“The approval of interim championship bouts is an exception, not the norm,” WBO attorney Luis Batista-Salas wrote in the organization’s letter granting the sanction this week. “In this case we are ordering this fight due to the fact that current WBO junior lightweight titleholder Miguel Angel ‘Mikey’ Garcia is in an anticipated protracted legal battle with his promoter, seeking a declaration from the California State Court that he has no further obligation under the promotional rights agreement.

“Besides the contractual dispute, the champion has furthermore declared his intent to move up in weight. Thus, and in order to keep the junior lightweight division active, we approve the fight between Salido and Kokietgym, the two best available contenders.”

Garcia (34-0, 28 KOs), a two-division titleholder, has not fought since a lopsided unanimous decision win against Juan Carlos Burgos in a Jan. 25 title defense in New York, and it appears unlikely that he will fight again this year.

Salido lost his featherweight world title to Garcia by eighth-round technical decision in January 2013, also in New York, when an accidental head-butt broke Garcia’s nose and the fight was called off because Garcia, who had knocked Salido down four times, was deemed unable to continue.

After Garcia failed to make weight for his first defense against Juan Manuel Lopez, he was stripped of the belt. Salido then won the vacant title by knocking out Orlando Cruz in the seventh round in October.

Salido (41-12-2, 28 KOs), 33, was stripped of the title for failing to make weight for a March 1 defense against Vasyl Lomachenko. Salido won a decision, but the title remained vacant and he announced he would move up to junior lightweight, where he is again following behind Garcia.

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“Mikey gave us the opportunity to fight for the featherweight title again by not making weight and now he is giving us the opportunity to fight for the (interim) junior lightweight title,” Sean Gibbons, Salido’s manager, told ESPN.com on Friday. “We’re happy to fight for this title against the top-rated (WBO) contender.

“If we win, we’ll send Mikey a nice Christmas ham even though Salido is still upset that he quit on us in ninth round with a suspect broken nose when Salido was coming on like Grant in Richmond. We know this is a big opportunity, especially because he gets to fight at home.”

Kokietgym (53-4-1, 33 KOs), 33, of Thailand, is riding a seven-fight winning streak since suffering a unanimous decision loss to Japan’s Takahiro Ao in a junior lightweight title challenge in April 2012.

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Kokietgym’s four losses have all come when he has faced a top-level opponent. Besides the loss to Ao, he dropped a decision challenging Steven Luevano for a featherweight title in 2008, was knocked out in the seventh round by Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez in a 2006 interim featherweight title bout and lost by unanimous decision to Joan Guzman in a featherweight title eliminator in 2005.

http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/11360929/orlando-salido-terdsak-kokietgym-set-interim-130-title-bout

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By Salvador Rodriguez –

WBO super featherweight champion Mikey Garcia (34-0, 28KOs) is planning to move up in weight to the lightweight division. Garcia is still involved in a legal tussle with promotional firm Top Rank. Garcia claims that his promotional contract expired and Top Rank believes they still have him under contract.

Garcia last fought on January 25th in New York City, when he won a twelve round unanimous decision over challenger Juan Carlos Burgos.

“I have no date yet. I’m like everyone else, waiting for a date and an opponent, [waiting] to see what Top Rank says. Right now there has been nothing,” Garcia siad.

“I was waiting for a unification with Takashi Miura (WBC) or Takashi Uchiyama (WBA), but there was nothing [from Top Rank], so I’m going to look for more challenges at 135-pounds.”

http://www.boxingscene.com/mikey-garcia-planning-move-up-lightweight–80798

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Photo:  HBO –

Manny Pacquiao versus Chris Algieri is a done deal.

Algieri and his co-promoters, Joe DeGuardia of Star Boxing and Banner Promotions’ Artie Pelullo, met for several hours on Tuesday and hammered out their remaining issues, resulting in an agreement that will see Algieri, a junior welterweight titleholder, get the opportunity to challenge Pacquiao for his welterweight world title.

The fight will take place Nov. 22 (HBO PPV) at the Cotai Arena at the Venetian Macao in Macau, China, where Pacquiao also fought in November 2013 and easily outpointed Brandon Rios, the promoters told ESPN.com.

“I have to talk to my lawyer, Dan Pancheri, who will spit out the contracts first thing (Wednesday) morning so they can have a copy of it in the afternoon,” Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said Tuesday night. “We have a deal. On my end, it wasn’t a hard deal at all. I came up pretty much with what they were looking for and then Joe and Artie had to sit down with Algieri and cut it up fairly amongst themselves.”

HBO Boxing After Dark at The Barclays Center.

That is what Algieri, DeGuardia and Pelullo did for most of the day.

“We had a marathon lunch. We started out meeting in the morning, then went and had a long lunch together, came back to the office and finished it up,” DeGuardia said. “I called Bob to tell me we have a deal on our end. All the terms have been reached with Top Rank and we’re going to paper it up.

“We were able to sit down and go through everything Chris wanted to go over and put everything together. He’s gonna beat Pacquiao.”

Terms were not disclosed but DeGuardia said Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) will earn a career-high payday of more than $1 million. It will be more than 10 times his previous biggest purse, which was $100,000 for his upset split decision win against Ruslan Provodnikov to win a junior welterweight world title on June 14 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Eleven months ago the 30-year-old Algieri was unknown and not even fighting regularly on televised cards. Now he is fighting one of the most famous fighters on the planet for a world title and a seven-figure payday.

“He’s very happy. He’s happy for the opportunity,” DeGuardia said. “I’m ecstatic we’ve been able to give him this. It’s a great feeling. You work hard you develop him up the ranks. He fought off TV for a long time, he got on TV and now this. It’s really rewarding to see him get this opportunity and a payday that will change his life.

“He’s wants the fight and has no problem going up in weight. He wants the welterweight championship. He wants challenges. He loves the idea. He wanted to fight for another championship and he loves that he is fighting Manny Pacquiao for it. He looks as Manny as an elite of the game. He wants to climb another mountain. If he wins this fight, you have the start of another era.”

Algieri, from the Long Island, New York, town of Huntington, got knocked down twice by Provodnikov in the first round and persevered through a grotesquely swollen right eye for most of the fight. He also has a background different from most boxers.

A former kickboxer, Algieri grew up in a middle class family, went to college and eventually earned a master’s degree. He says he wants to go to medical school when he is done with his boxing career. He also works as a nutritionist.

“I think it’s an interesting fight between him and Manny,” Arum said. “I’m excited. This is a college-educated kid, a good boxer, the kind of kid who will draw interest other than the just the hard core boxing fan,” Arum said. “And the kid can also fight.”

Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs), the 35-year-old Filipino icon, has won world titles in a record eight weight classes. On April 12 in Las Vegas, Pacquiao convincingly outpointed Timothy Bradley Jr. to regain the welterweight title he had lost to Bradley in June 2012 in a fight in which Bradley received a split decision in one of the most controversial calls in boxing history.

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Pacquiao and Arum have had terms in place for his next fight since Pacquiao signed a two-year extension with Top Rank in May that will take him through 2016 with the company that has promoted him since 2005. Although terms for the fight with Algieri were not disclosed, Pacquiao has been making in the $20-million-plus range for recent fights.

Although the business side of Pacquiao’s next fight has been set, he didn’t know who he would be fighting. Arum said Pacquiao called him on Monday morning to check in on his health — Arum is recovering from a recent knee replacement surgery — and they also talked about Algieri since Arum was getting close to a deal.

“Manny is 100 percent for it,” Arum said. “I told him I was coming along with it. He said Algieri seems like a nice young man and he saw his fight with Provodnikov. Manny said he thought it would be a good fight and he was OK with fighting Algieri.”

Pacquiao could be motivated for the fight by wanting to seek revenge for his beloved trainer, Hall of Famer Freddie Roach, who is also Provodnikov’s trainer and was on the losing end of that in that June upset.

http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/11221114/manny-pacquiao-fight-chris-algieri-china-nov-22

HBO Boxing After Dark at The Barclays Center.

By Jerry Glick
Photos: Peter Frutkoff/PeterFrutkoff.com

Flush with the success that he had from taking the WBO junior welterweight title from Ruslan Provodnikov back on June 14th, Star Boxing’s pride and joy, Chris “The Fighting Pride of Huntington” Algieri, was eager to talk about winning the belt and his challenge to the great Manny Pacquiao for Pac Man’s WBO welterweight belt scheduled to happen on November 22nd.

His right eye, badly damaged in his title winning effort, appeared to be completely healed, as well as the broken nose he suffered. Algieri looked in every way a superstar.

HBO Boxing After Dark at The Barclays Center.

Algieri became a boxing world champion in only his twentieth pro fight, but he explained, it isn’t the first time he became a world champion after a limited number of fights. “I became a kickboxing world champion in only my fourth fight.”

Algieri admitted that fighting Pacquiao, “Is surreal, because it is something I’ve been thinking about so long, and visualizing this moment and now it’s here.”

He actually began to discuss the possibility of challenging Pacquiao even before he won the Provodnikov fight. The prospect was initially discussed by Top Rank’s head man, Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum.

“I didn’t know how real it was,” said the newly crowned champ. “I know that Bob Arum mentioned it prior to the Provodnikov bout, and generally when Bob says something it’s a big deal. There were murmurs about the fight and about a week later (after the Provodnikov fight) we had worked out the details.”

The naysayers have come out of the woodwork for Pacquiao fight as they did for the Provodnikov contest, although he admits the critics are a lot more unsympathetic regarding the Pacquiao matchup.

“I am a self motivating person,” he said, “It doesn’t affect me negatively or positively.”

Algieri’s promoter, Joe DeGuardia of Star Boxing, is taking a backseat to the venerable Bob Arum for the November 22nd showdown with Pacquiao.

“Chris is going to carry this promotion, and that’s why Bob is the top promoter in the industry,” explained DeGuardia. “Bob’s a Hall of Famer who’s been in the business for fifty years promoting top fighters…..Ali, Leonard, Hearns, you name it. He saw it before the Provodnikov fight. He knew it before. He saw it because it’s there, Chris will be the attraction.”

Algieri is very confident of a victory over Pacquiao and stated that he will gain even more confidence during training.

“I’m not the same person I will be on November 22nd as I am today.”

According to Algieri, Pacquiao has not fought his style in years and although Algieri is moving up in weight, he is actually the bigger man.

“Margarito was bigger,” he pointed out. “But not an athletic guy; a straight forward slugger. Not a guy who is going to be moving pushing, pulling, using his jab. Manny kills those guys; he picks them apart.”

Algieri said that he has watched all of Pacquiao’s fights and knows that he will be facing a great fighter, but he remains confident.

Much has been said about drug testing especially where Pacquiao is concerned, given his history of being questioned about whether he is juicing, but this does not worry Algieri.

“I think every fighter should be blood tested. There’s no reason not to. When I got approached about drug testing I said of course. I got nothing to hide. I have no fear about what I put into my body and what I can do.”

He added that he has no comment about whether Pacquiao uses PEDs and he has confidence that Pacquaio will be carefully tested and all things should be fair.

He believes that when Pacquiao was smaller he was an explosive powerhouse and that he is more affected by his moving up in weight than the fact that he is aging (Pac Man will be a month short of 36 by fight time).

“I’m expecting what he is,” said Algieri. “He’s an explosive guy, very quick. In and out, I think he’s one of the best in and out, side to side guys out there. He puts on pressure without just going forward. Ruslan is a straight ahead guy and puts on pressure. Manny puts on pressure too but it’s more like an ebb and flow, he cuts an angle and moves laterally. He can use his jab when he needs to, he can box. He fires fast combinations moving in and out.”

HBO Boxing After Dark at The Barclays Center.

Will Algieri be faster?

“We will find out that night,” countered Algieri. “You know what the great equalizer is, and I say this all the time, the jab. I don’t care if he’s faster, I don’t care if he hits harder, I don’t care if he’s bigger, stronger; I got a jab and I got a brain. That’s the great equalizer. Not power, it’s the jab.”

He said that the biggest thing that he learned about himself against Provodnikov was that strategy comes before pride.

“I learned that I’m not too proud to take a knee,” admitted the fighter. “When I was younger I would have been too proud to go down. He (Provodnikov) didn’t knock me down a second time, I took a knee. I was trying to figure out what was going on. At the time my eye was still blurry. After I got up I could see. So my vision returned. I don’t think I would have done that back in my kickboxing days.”

HBO Boxing After Dark at The Barclays Center.

It may be to the advantage of Algieri that due to the time differential between Macao and the US, he will be entering the ring at 10 AM local time so that HBO PPV can broadcast the event in the evening hours in the US.

“I’m a morning person,” said Chris. “I hate having to fight at midnight.”

He said that he feels fine now, but he is not sparring yet, and won’t until doctors clear the broken nose he also suffered in that first round.

Algieri is healing fast. “The eye was opened on the second day,” he recalled. “The swelling was gone in the first week. I was on FOX Business on Wednesday. I put shades on and you couldn’t tell.”

He anticipates he’ll begin training in earnest about eight to ten weeks before the big fight.

“The end of August or early September.”

An admitted gym rat: “This is the longest I’ve been out of the gym,” admitted Algieri, “Because the doctors advised me to.”

THE PRESS TOUR

He is already looking forward to the press tour, the travel to China, and the training that awaits him.

“I like the fact that we will have a civil tour,” said Algieri. “We are not going to get aggressive, there’s not going to be some ugly stare downs.”

After a tour of Asian cities including Shanghai, Macao, and others, it’s off to a tour of the United States. So far DeGuardia is sure of only Los Angeles and New York as tour stops, with more to be added later. DeGuardia called this the biggest fight in that part of the world since Tyson-Douglas back in 1990 in Tokyo.

A FAMILY NOTE

Chris’ dad was at this interview and attends all his fights including the Provodnikov fight. His mother stays home. How did she react when she saw his damaged eye?

“Funny story,” stated Chris. “This guy here,” pointing at his father, “Almost had a heart attack. Mom? Cool, just happy I won. It didn’t faze her one bit.”

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/talking-with-newly-crowned-wbo-jr-welterweight-champion-chris-algieri-253617

Date:  Saturday, July 19, 2014

WBO Jr. Featherweight Championship Bout

Location:  Cotai Arena, Venetian Resort, Macao, Macao S.A.R., China

Promoter:  Top Rank

Supervisor:  Leon Panoncillo

Referee:  Mark Nelson

Judges:  Dennis Nelson, John Poturai, Glenn Feldman

Results:  WBO Junior featherweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux retains his titles by knocking out Sod Kokietgym at 1:44 minutes into the first round.

TV:  USA HBO 2, Hungary Sport 1, USA UniMas

Date:  Saturday, June 28, 2014

WBO Lightweight Championship Bout

Location:  CenturyLink Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA

Promoter:  Top Rank

Supervisor:  John Duggan

Referee:  Genaro Rodriguez

Judges:  Levi Martinez 78-72 | judge: Dennis Nelson 78-72 | judge:  Robert Hecko 77-73

Results:   Terence Crawford retained the WBO Lightweight Title by TKO on 9th. round against Yuriorkis Gamboa.

TV:  USA HBO

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By Bill Green/BG Sports Entertainment
Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank

Fight week has arrived and WBO lightweight world champion Terence “Bud” Crawford (23-0, 16 KOs), of Omaha, Nebraska, took time out of his busy training routine to discuss his much talked about world title defense against fellow undefeated former champion and Olympic gold medalist Yuriorkis Gamboa (23-0, 16 KOs) live on HBO Boxing After Dark this Saturday night at the CenturyLink Center located in Omaha, Nebraska. The event is being promoted by Top Rank, in association with SMS Promotions, PS4 and Tecate.

Hello champ, thank you for taking time out of your schedule and supporting the #1 boxing website, www.fightnews.com. How is training camp going?

Camp went real well as always. I have a great team. They have been there since day one. We put in the work necessary to compete at this level. Colorado Springs is perfect for conditioning and we had great sparring as well. We did everything we normally do but just more of it. We are taking things to the next level.

On June 28th, Omaha, Nebraska and Terence Crawford will be making new history in the boxing world. For instance, first televised HBO Boxing After Dark card in Nebraska, Top Rank’s first appearance in Nebraska, and the first major boxing card at the CenturyLink Center. How does it feel to be part of Nebraska history?

Wow, I mean it’s a real honor. This is home. This is where it all started. I’m truly blessed and thankful to all my supporters.

Champ, your popularity has soared since becoming a household name and capturing the WBO lightweight title. You received the key to the city, appeared on several sports talk shows and gave back to the community by talking to students throughout the Omaha Public Schools district. How has the fame changed you inside and outside the ring?

I feel like it hasn’t really changed me in terms of who I am. I feel like this is my responsibility as a champion. Before the Burns fight, I promised the kids/students that I would be back but that I would be bringing the belt with me. If anything, the added attention makes me train even harder. I love my city and on June 28th, I will fight my heart out.

Since you mentioned the Burns fight, how would you rate your performance?

It was a great night, we got the job done and that’s what counts. However, I felt like I could have done better. I give my performance a B. I adjusted and took control of the fight after a few rounds but made a few mistakes that I will correct heading into this fight with Gamboa.

At the press conference to announce the fight, most boxing insiders were surprised to see you be more vocal and outspoken. I believe it started after hearing Gamboa boast about his accomplishments, including being a former Olympic Gold Medalist, and three-time world champion. Any bad blood with Team Gamboa or is this simply a champion coming out of his shadow?

Crawford: No, there is no bad blood at least on our end. I just want him to know that this is my city, he’s the challenger. Also, this isn’t the amateurs and everyone else he beat in the pros weren’t Terence Crawford.

I have noticed some back and forth comments from both camps on social media. SMS Promotions, aka a 50 Cent, Promoter of Gamboa, boldy predicted that his fighter will stop you in four rounds, while Gamboa himself stated that he faced the better opposition in his career and that his combination of power/speed will be the deciding factor. How would you like to respond to Team Gamboa’s somewhat stern statements?

They can say all they want it doesn’t faze me. We will see what he can or can’t do. I know that I’m well prepared and I assume he will be as well. All that talk won’t matter, we are going to settle things in the ring.

You competed as an amateur at 132lbs and typically campaign between 135-140 lbs. However, Gamboa won gold as a flyweight and most of his key victories as a pro were at 126. Do you believe that your size and strength will be your biggest advantage?

We shall see. I mean… we have never fought before so we prepared for whatever he might bring to the table. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get that “W.”

The old cliché in boxing is “styles make fights.” Why will Crawford vs Gamboa be a great fight?

Crawford: The fight is going to be explosive. It will be great because we are both undefeated as pro’s, both stellar amateur careers, and I truly believe both of us are elite fighters in the sport. Find the best-fitting & stylish women’s swim tops, bottoms & bikinis available in plus sizes. Shop women’s plus size swimwear & bathing suits online at Swimwearlux.com. Discover women’s plus size swimwear and beachwear at Swimwearlux – Pick from a range of tummy control swimwear and swimsuits styles and colors. What kind of plus-size bathing suit are you looking for? Since swim styles and patterns are always changing with each season, you’ll always find new styles. #1 selection of plus size Bikinis & Tankinis at Swimwearlux. #plus #size #swimwear #swimwearlux

Ok champ, we are almost finished and then you can get back to training. At a sold crowd, live on HBO boxing, Omaha Nebraska fans are on their feet in complete anticipation chants of BUD… BUD… BUD… begin to surface, the stage is set, Michael Buffer grabs the mic as his voice blisters’ the air with “Omaha? Are you ready? Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!!!” Please finish the ending to the story.

You will hear the words “and STILL,” followed by “WBO LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD, TERENCE “BUD” CRAWFORD.”

 

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/crawford-you-will-hear-the-words-and-still-250386

Date:  Saturday, June 14, 2014

WBO Jr. Middleweight Championship Title

Location:  Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Promoter:  Banner Promotions / Top Rank

Supervisor:   Jose Izquierdo II, Esq.

Referee:   Michael Griffin

Judges:  Julie Lederman (60-52); John Poturaj (60-51); Alan Rubenstein (60-52)

Results:   The Champion Demetrius Andrade retains the WBO Jr. Middleweight Title against Brian Rose by TKO in the seventh round.

TV:  USA HBO; Hungary Sport 1

provodnikov-algieri-kickoff680Photo by:  Peter Frutkoff –

Marc Abrams: The “Siberian Rocky” Ruslan Provodnikov will defend his WBO Junior Welterweight Championship against undefeated New Yorker Chris Algieri Saturday night, June 14, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and it will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark. The card is being promoted by Banner Promotions and Top Rank, in association with Star Boxing. The telecast will kick off at 10:00 p.m. Eastern with the WBO Junior Middleweight title collision between undefeated defending champion Demetrious Andrade and mandatory challenger Brian Rose of the United Kingdom. On the call we have Ruslan Provodnikov, his manager, Vadim Kornilov; Promoter Art Pelullo and Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach. We also have Chris Algieri.

Arthur Pelullo: On behalf of Banner Promotions and Top Rank, and naturally Joe will say introduce himself dealing with his company; we’d like to thank everybody. It is going be a heck of a night. It’s going be a great show. Chris Algieri, who’s with Joe DeGuardia of Star Boxing, is undefeated. A Long Island native, he’s basically fighting in his backyard. It’s going to be a very difficult fight for Ruslan Provodnikov. And we’re very excited about being at the Barclays Center. Brett Yormark and his team have been very helpful to us. HBO is going to televise the event live in the U.S. and it will be seen live in several countries as well.

Joe DeGuardia: Thank you, Artie. I’d like to echo your comments. I’m very excited for this fight on June 14. And I think it’s going be a fantastic night of boxing between being in Brooklyn, being on HBO and having such a fantastic co-feature fight — Demetrious Andrade’s first world title defense — and the main event fight, Ruslan Provodnikov, who everybody knows is one of the toughest fighters in boxing today, against undefeated Chris Algieri of Long Island. I’m really looking forward to a great fight and glad to be there on June 14.

Vadim Kornilov: We’re excited to finally have Ruslan fighting in New York, considered one of the most Russian-populated cities in the United States and we’re very excited to see all the fans come out — a lot of people from all over the United States to see the fight live. We hope that Chris is going be as well prepared as Ruslan to make this fight a great looking fight for TV and for all the fans.

Ruslan Provodnikov: I’m very happy to be fighting in New York. I’m happy to be the first big Russian fighter to fight at the Barclays Center. HBO thank you very much for supporting the rest of my team. I appreciate everybody’s support. Everything’s going well. And I’m glad to be here with Freddie Roach
.
Freddie Roach: We’ve had a great training camp, great sparring partners. We know Algieri is great young boxer and we’re getting as ready as we can for him. And we’re doing very well. I’m happy where we are right now and we will be in New York on Saturday night [May 31] to finish up the work and can’t wait–we can’t wait to get this one going.

Joe DeGuardia: At this point in time I’ll introduce both Chris Algieri, undefeated, 19-0 from New York, Long Island, New York, pride of Huntington and his trainer as well, Tim Lane.

Mr. Chris Algieri: I’d just like to say thank you. And I want to say hello to everybody as well. I’m very excited for June 14, preparations are going really well out here in training camp in Las Vegas and we are very happy with where things are going. June 14 is going be a great night. It’s a real honor to be fighting at the Barclays Center and being HBO and to be fighting in my home state. I’m looking forward to it.

Ruslan, do you feel that you have to win in fantastic fashion now so that big name opponents will have to face you? I know that you feel you’ve been ducked. Do you feel that in order to get big fights now you have to win in fantastic fashion?

Ruslan Provodnikov: Definitely it’s a big responsibility for me. Most importantly because now I’m a world champion and I’m defending my title. I have to fight like a world champion. I will try to finish the fight in a great fashion, as always, because I always do.

How do you feel with the frustration of not getting a big name opponent for your next fight? Chris is a very good fighter, but he doesn’t have the name value right now at least of Juan Manuel Marquez or Tim Bradley.

Arthur Pelullo: Neither did Ruslan before he fought Tim Bradley. So, you can’t look past anybody. That’s just my two cents. They thought it was going to be a workout against Bradley. And, believe me, Chris Algieri is a very difficult fight. And I’m sorry for interrupting.

Ruslan Provodnikov: No, it does not bother me. I’m very loyal to my space in life and Chris is a great opponent. He’s a great fighter. And this is what happened and this is the way it should have been. I know my time will come.

Artie, I just wanted to ask you, kind of piggy backing on what was being said, are you taking any extra measures to reassure that Ruslan doesn’t underestimate Chris or is it pretty safe going that he’s taking the fight seriously as you’d want him?

Arthur Pelullo: We always take fights seriously. And we get ready for every fight 100 percent. So, I mean at the level we’re at right now, the World Title level, you can’t take anyone for granted. And we’re in great shape for this fight.
Chris, about your underdog status right now, do you understand that it’s simply because you haven’t had a chance at the spotlight yet? I mean granted you have definitely been on Friday Night Fights as have a lot of great fighters, but you’re not getting the attention Ruslan has. Are you offended by that or do you just see it as ‘Oh well, that’s going be the case because I haven’t really established my name and I won’t be able to until I beat someone like Ruslan?”

Chris Algieri: No, I don’t take any offense to it. It’s just the nature of the game in this situation. I haven’t had those big name fights yet. I’ve only been on TV a couple of times. But I have been working very hard throughout my entire career and getting ready for this opportunity. And on June 14, everybody’s going to see who I am and see what I bring to the table and that’s when everyone can really see what Chris Algieri’s all about.

Chris, your background is in kickboxing. At this point do you see it as beneficial to your boxing career having that background or detrimental?

Chris Algieri: I definitely do see it as a benefit. I’ve been in big fights and I’ve fought fighters from all over the world before. I’ve been in very tough fights, physically demanding fights, long fights. But, I think that really has carried over in my boxing career and has brought me to where I am today.

Ruslan, the nickname Siberian Rocky, I was wondering who gave it to you and if you are aware–if you have watched the Rocky movies and what the nickname means to you if you have, indeed, seen those Rocky movies.

Ruslan Provodnikov: The nickname Siberian Rocky to me means that a lot. It means to never give up.
Freddie, how much time have you had with Ruslan in contrast with the last camp ahead of the Alvarado fight?

Freddie Roach: We’ve been doing very well now and we had a full camp together and last time I was busy with Manny so I missed the last week of the camp. But, this time I’ll be there the entire time. Ruslan and Miguel Cotto will both be traveling together to New York. So, we can all work together in New York and we’ve had a full camp this time.

Was it Manny Pacquiao last time or was it really the Cotto [fight against Delvin Rodriguez] camp the week ahead of time?

Mr. Freddie Roach: It was actually the Cotto camp because the fight was in Florida so I did take Ruslan to Florida with us to be with us for that week. And then he and Marvin traveled, and Gavin traveled too, for the last fight.

From your perspective as the trainer what is the difference for Ruslan in terms of what he gets out of that additional time with you?

Freddie Roach: Well, we work very well together, but Marvin is a great assistant also because Marvin’s one of the assistants that doesn’t change. He knows my style. He knows what I want and he follows instructions very well. And he did a great job in that fight against Alvarado, so I don’t think we lose anything with Marvin and Ruslan being together.

Tell me about–you said he does a great job. On fight night and in training camp last time ahead of the Alvarado fight, what was it that Marvin really brought in terms of continuing your game plan and helping Ruslan get that success that he did?

Freddie Roach: He knows the rules and so forth. We had a little problem with the other camp [Alvarado] on a rules issue. And we won that argument. And then Marvin’s professionalism in the corner. He doesn’t get excited. He stays calm. He talks to his fighter. He doesn’t scream at them. He doesn’t yell at people. People don’t respond to being yelled at. And he’s very good at that. He’s the best assistant I’ve ever had.

How long has he been with you?

Freddie Roach: Three years.

What will Marvin’s role be with you for this upcoming fight with Chris Algieri?

Mr. Freddie Roach: He’ll be right beside me. And we’ll talk about the strategy. We have a strategy for the fight, but we’ll talk about what adjustments we need to make during the rounds and we believe the lead guy in this fight for Ruslan.

Artie, I know that the fighters themselves don’t like to look beyond the current opponent, but what are you looking at for Ruslan should he triumph on the 14th?

Arthur Pelullo: The most important thing, and you said it, is June the 14th. So, right now there are a lot of fights out there for both Chris Algieri and Ruslan Provodnikov, whoever is the winner. I really would just like to stay focused on this event. I actually don’t believe getting into details about what’s out in the horizon because that means you’re assuming you’re going to win. And I just think that right now the Algieri fight, when it was first made, a lot of people didn’t believe that it was going to be a difficult fight. And I knew it all along that it’s going be a difficult fight. I know he’s a tough guy. I know he’s coming to win. So, for me to start talking about future events, I think that’s premature. Right now it’s Chris Algieri and he has to get through fighting an undefeated kid, which is a very difficult fight.

Arthur Pelullo: So, that’s my best answer I can give you about a future event.

So, obviously, the fights that Ruslan had last year, both the closest loss with Bradley and the win over Alvarado, were big for his career and brought him to this position where he’s at now — where he gets to be the A side. But, should he triumph over Algieri on the 14th, what do you believe that that would do for his career?

Arthur Pelullo: Both of these kids have to win. Their careers are predicated on winning. It’s not like you’re Donovan McNabb, he’s playing for the Eagles. He’s getting $10 million year, whether the Eagles have a good year or a bad year. The winner of this fight will move on to a big fight. So, on June the 14th, at about 1:00 a.m., come over to ringside and ask me the question then about what the next fight is. And I’ll let you know.

Chris, you’ve seen Ruslan fight on TV. What do you think that Ruslan does well and what do you think are some of the weaknesses that you’ve seen in his game?

Chris Algieri: Ruslan is a great fighter and a great champion. It’s a real honor to be in there with him. I have seen him fight before. I’m actually a fan of watching Ruslan fight. He’s a pressure fighter. He comes forward. He’s super tough, very durable. He’s a good strong puncher and he maintains his pressure throughout the bout. He moves his head when he needs to and crosses the line and he closes the distance very well. Those are the things that my team has been studying to work on. But, just based on past fights, there is a weakness with dealing with a jab and a boxer and movement, but really those are the things that we’ve been trying to work most on. But, at the end of the day it’s a fight. Ruslan is going to press the action. I’m going o have to stand and fight at times. So, we’ll be ready for that as well.

Are there any opponents that you faced that you feel are similar to what Ruslan will be bringing to the table?

Chris Algieri: Yes, I think I’ve fought a couple of guys who were pressure fighters and big punchers. My last opponent Emanuel Taylor was a very, very well-known knockout puncher. He had one-punch power. He also threw a lot of very tight short punches. I fought a fighter, a Puerto Rican fighter, Jose Peralta, who is a shorter, stockier pressure aggressive guy as well. So, I feel like I’ve dealt with similar, but not quite like Ruslan-type fighters in the past.

Chris, how does kickboxing training translate into boxing and how do you feel you’re going to capitalize on such a big fight?

Chris Algieri: Well, in terms of the question about kickboxing — a lot of the techniques are very similar to punch techniques. The fact that I’ve been fighting without a headgear for such a long time I think has really helped with my defense in my pro boxing career. But, in terms of how this sport is fought; it’s a totally different pace. Boxing is a lot faster. Conditioning is a lot more intensive. Fights are longer. But, I think I’ve made those changes over the past 19 fights and conditioning has never really been a problem. But, in preparation for this fight, my last couple camps have been going really well. And we didn’t really see that we needed to change too much. My team, my coach, my camp, has put in a tremendous amount of work to develop a great program for this fight for my strength and conditioning. And my trainers, Tim Lane and Keith Trimble, have a great game plan that we’ve been working on. And we’ve been executing. So, we’re ready for this big fight.

Chris, what gym in Vegas have you been training at for this fight?

Chris Algieri: I’ve been training at my coach’s gym, Xtreme Couture MMA. It’s actually an MMA gym.Tim Lane, trains at that gym, so we’ve been stationed over there.

What’s the philosophy behind training in Vegas and being so far away from Long Island and how it benefits you in terms of minimizing distractions. You’ve been doing this since, what, 2010 I think?

Mr. Chris Algieri: I’ve been moving around quite a bit to training camps. Long Island is not really a great place to be a professional athlete. Things are very far away. Things are expensive. There are no other top level pros in the area. You generally have to go west and go into Brooklyn, into Manhattan, which is quite a trek from Long Island. So, it doesn’t really make sense for me to stay out there. It just makes things a lot more difficult. I have a trainer at home, Keith Trimble, who I work with while I’m in New York. And then I have my trainer here, Tim Lane, here in Vegas, so we come out here and train here. And there are just great fighters all over the place. There are great gyms that are in a very close proximity. And there are top level guys here at all times.

In terms of prepping for this fight, was your sparring specifically designed to find pressure fighters who are like Ruslan, because you’ve been talking about his ability to pressure? Was that the focus of your sparring or did you change it up?

Mr. Chris Algieri: Absolutely. My coaches set up this camp perfectly. And they were out here in Vegas scouting out perfect sparring partners for this camp while I was in New York training and getting into condition. I had some good sparring while I was in New York and then I came out here and have had great sparring thus far.

Freddie, what impresses you about Algieri when you watch him on tape?

Freddie Roach: He’s a good boxer. He moves well. He’s has a good jab. He’s a solid boxer. But nobody’s perfect and we have a very good game plan.

Do you think he’ll wilt under Ruslan’s pressure as the fight goes on? Is he vulnerable to body shots in your opinion?

Freddie Roach: I think everybody in the world is if you work on it hard enough. So, we’ll see.

Vadim, you had given me perspective on Ruslan’s popularity in Russia compared to some of the other fighters. Can you address his popularity? And, from what I understand, he the most popular of fighters from Russia?

Vadim Kornilov: Well, in Russia I think right now is between Kovalev and Ruslan. But there’s been a lot of different polls and ratings and stuff like that that have shown Ruslan coming ahead. I think they’re about at the same level. Ruslan passed the bigger fights and fought some bigger opponents. I think because of that, Ruslan has taken off a little bit more.

What do you think is his appeal? He really seems to come off, especially the night that he won the title, you know, you watched HBO’s “Two Days With”–before the Alvarado fight — and he brought his mother. And he was really emotional. He mentioned fighting for the people.

Vadim Kornilov: He’s very grounded. He’s not spoiled or jaded. And I think people can really relate to that.

Can you elaborate on that?

Vadim Kornilov: It’s the type of person that he is and the way he is with people and the fans, and the way he fights. I think people can really relate to that and just by watching the way he is in the ring. I think that basically goes to people’s love for him. Ruslan is fan-friendly inside and outside the ring.

Arthur Pelullo: I think he has the right nickname, the Siberian Rocky because everybody can relate to the underdog. And everybody can relate to a guy fighting his way out of less than ideal conditions — whether it’s poverty or a low income environment — to reach a better level financially in their life. A better life in general. When he fought Bradley he was considered just the opponent and it was a payday. And what he did was he rose to the occasion. People like that. People can identify with somebody who’s a working class person. There were a lot of great fighters in history that were like considered working class guys and everybody wanted to be a part of their bandwagons. And they attracted fans because they were the people’s guy. And Ruslan’s a people’s champion. He’s a tough guy. And he’s straight. He tells you the way it is. After he reviewed the tape he said listen, I could see how people thought Bradley won the fight. People like that. It’s like when he — if he lost a fight, he lost the fight. If he won the fight, he won the fight. That’s what people want to hear. People like straight stuff, straight talking. And the Russian citizens, they’re right up there. They want the truth. They don’t want a lot of good bologna. And I think they appreciate that he’s a straight forward guy. And he’s has a lot of Mexican fans and American fans because on top of all of that he’s the most TV and fan-friendly fighter right now in America. That’s my opinion.

Ruslan, please explain where you’re from, what you overcame and also what you feel personally – what you try to bring across in appealing to your audience?

Ruslan Provodnikov: I came from a small village in Russian called Beryozovo. I had a very hard upbringing. Hard work. The reason, you know, for the fans I think that’s a good question for the fans. I don’t know why. I’m doing a lot of … that’s a good question for the fans to ask why they like me.

Why do you fight the way you do and when you say things like the belts aren’t important, the money isn’t important, it’s the way I fight and what people think of the way I fight. Do you think that is an aspect of your fighting style and your personality that goes to your fans?

Ruslan Provodnikov: Everything I said is because the way I fight comes from inside of me. It’s my character. And I’m probably never going to fight differently. And people love me probably because of that, and of who I am. I am who I am in the ring and I just put everything in the ring. It’s who I am.

Chris, you talked about two of the guys on your resume who you feel are most similar to Ruslan. You talk about which fights in particular where you feel like he’s had problems, talked about his jab. The jab that seems to bother him. Can you talk about the fight that you feel like he’s had the most problems in?

Chris Algieri: I mean the Tim Bradley fight, even Alvarado when he boxed a little bit. I’m not big on watching tape or watching my opponents. I’ve seen Ruslan’s fights because I watched them live. Like I said, I was a fan while Ruslan has been fighting. And my coaches have done the studying and have watched other fights and told me what the strategy is
.
Okay, anything from watching his against Herrera?

Chris Algieri: No, I hadn’t seen that whole fight to tell you the truth. You know, my coaches did and they’ve said that they saw certain things and certain aspects that we want to capitalize on. And we’ve been working on those things. But, like I said, I don’t really watch too much tape. I’m a fight fan. I don’t study my opponents all that much in terms of their past performances because boxing is all about rhythm and really you can’t watch a guy’s rhythm from watching a fight. Everyone’s different on fight night.

Freddie, you talked about not wanting Ruslan to fight Manny Pacquiao. If he keeps winning and if Pacquiao beats Marquez or whichever fight is next, don’t you think the demand will increase for him to fight Pacquiao. And if it does will you then relent and allow the fight to happen?

Freddie Roach: I have both fighters and I would hate to lose one of them, one of the fighters. But, the thing is if the demand does come again, we’re going to have to let it happen and it’d be a sad day for me. But the thing is, I probably sit both fights out and just watch it on TV myself.

You wouldn’t be at either corner? You’ve said in the past Manny’s your number one guy.

Freddie Roach: Manny is my number one guy and so forth. But, Ruslan’s very close to me. And Ruslan’s been a very hard worker. But, the demand is getting closer and closer, so with the win here it could happen. And Manny is running out of opponents right now, and that’s the way it goes.

But you would watch the fight on TV?

Arthur Pelullo: We’ll give him a ticket. Freddie, you got a ticket. Don’t worry about it. See, you got a ringside seat for the fight. Freddie, no problem.

If everything goes according to plan and according to your expectation, how will this fight go and will it end in a knockout in approximately what round?

Freddie Roach: We have a tough opponent in front of us and he has been knocked out before in kickboxing matches. So, we will put pressure on him and we will do the best we can to get him out of there. And I think every fight should end in a knockout and I look. We don’t go looking for a knockout. We’re going to go out there and win every round one at a time. It won’t be easy up to that point that’s for sure.

Hey, Chris, like you I have a BA from the Harvard of Long Island Stoney Brook. And I’m curious, as you make a decision to go from possible pre-med into a sport that so many people would see as counter to healing, towards health et cetera.

Chris Algieri: The way I look at it is boxing is definitely a hurt business, but at the end of the day it is still a sport. And there are certain requirements, you know, required of each fighter medically to make sure that we’re all fit to fight. And I feel that the way that I prepare for fights and the way that my style is that I take as little damage as possible. Of course, there’s a tremendous risk involved, but my plan is to minimize that risk the best I can by being as prepared as possible and fighting the way that I do. But, in terms of just my future plans and where I come from, you know, it doesn’t really determine. Boxing is my passion. This is what I’m doing now and I can still do it. I can still perform it at this high level. And I’m honored and blessed to be able to do that. But, there’s life after boxing. And there’s always time to go to school. There’s always time for me to pursue what my future career goals are. And this is what I’m doing now because I can and I love it.

Do you feel based on your academic background and your diverse athletic background that you have an intelligence edge when you’re in the ring?

Chris Algieri: I would say so. I mean, I fight in a way that I use my intelligence when I fight in a way that definitely IQ can help. But, you know, it is about the boxing IQ when it comes to just stepping inside the ring. Being good at calculus is not going to help me in a fight. But, being able to analyze certain situations, especially in a mind-body sense, like you said, because of my athletic background definitely has helped my progression in the sport. I think I’ve learned at a fast rate because of my past experiences and because I am a student of the game.

So, truth be told, when you’re in schools like the schools that you’re in and you’re getting that kind of education and then you tell the people around you that you’re going to box professionally, how many stares did you get? How many wooly eyes did you get?

Chris Algieri: Countless. You know, I was a lab technician for years at our culture and Harvard Laboratory and initially no one really believed me that that’s really what I wanted to do was to be a fighter and that I was fighting. And then more and more people were seeing what I was doing and they were coming to fights and they were watching me fight. And I think I turned a lot of those people around. I had a lot of people in the science community trying to talk me out of fighting, but I really don’t get that much anymore. I think that people are a lot more on board because of where we’ve gone and are excited to see how far I can take it.

Chris, we’ve seen the two more rounds documentary and we saw what Ruslan did to Mike Alvarado, a true warrior, one of the best action fighters of this era. How are you prepared to deal with the mental aspect of the fight? You’ve got a man across from you, who’s willing to take your soul, so to speak, and is going to try to break you down and make you quit. But, despite the athletic nature of the fight, how do you plan on dealing with the mental aspect of the game and how do you overcome any fear you may have?

Chris Algieri: Well, I think that one of my best aspects, as a fighter, is my mental strength and my mental advantage. I am fully committed and I sacrificed quite a bit for this fight and this career of mine. And, like I said, this is a passion. And my mental focus definitely has helped me throughout my entire career and I think it’s going to continue to pay dividends in this fight.
Do you have any fear? Do you have any fear fighting Ruslan Provodnikov?

Chris Algieri: I mean I believe that there’s fear involved in any fight. But, when it’s fight night and the preparations are over, I feel nothing but confident. I’m looking forward to June 14. Everything is going the way that I had hoped and dreamed. And I’m actually really looking forward to this fight. Now, it’s an opportunity for me to showcase my skills and to be in with one of the top guys in the game. So, it’s just a great opportunity all around. I don’t concentrate too much on the fear. I’m just getting as prepared as possible.

Chris, you’ve fought so many fights of your professional career in Long Island in front of hometown crowds. And I think my understanding when this fight was made that one of the reasons, among others, that you got the fight was because it was going be in New York and most likely you would bring a crowd with you, which would perk up the attendance at the arena that you’re having this fight at. My question for you is how big of a deal is it and how much does it mean to you to be in your first world title fight and be doing it in front of your hometown people?

Chris Algieri: It’s crazy, but this is what I envisioned in my mind for my first world title fight. I had envisioned it being in Madison Square Garden, of course, because there was no Barclays Center 10 years ago when I was thinking about this. But, it’s amazing to be fighting in the Barclays Center. It’s such an incredible arena. It means a tremendous amount to me to be fighting for a world title, my first world title fight, in my home state. So, it makes it that much bigger and that much more of a grand event.

And the other thing I wanted to ask you about is style of the fight. We know, and that Ruslan has talked about in his call, he’s about pressure and coming forward and going to you the way he did against Bradley, the way he took care of Alvarado. You are more of a boxer. I mean your knockouts are not the way his are. Is this basically comes down to, if I’m wrong here, you’ve got to outbox him to win this fight. He’s not a guy that goes down very often. He’s not a guy that’s been stopped. Do you look at this as you’ve got to just go out and box pretty much the perfect kind of fight and win that decision otherwise it could be trouble for you?

Chris Algieri: No, the monster of campus and master boxer. We’ve got to go out there and be a master boxer. This is a boxing match. It’s not a barroom brawl. So, I’ve got to go out there and use my skills. And as much as Ruslan is a come forward and pressure fighter, it takes a certain amount of skills. And I know him and his team have been working on — I’m sure working on more boxing skills and trying to work their game plan. So, it’s not just a fight. This is a boxing match. And we’re both going to go out there with our strategies. And, you know, a big part of mine is going to be trying to be a master boxer.

Do you feel like if he is able to pressure you and get right close to you and take it to you that if you have to you can stand and trade with guy because that’s the–he’s going to try to impose himself on you compared to another guy that might also want to box with you.

Chris Algieri: Yeah, I mean absolutely. There’s no shot that that I’m not going to have to fight. This is a boxing match. Ruslan’s going to put the pressure and he’s going be in front of me. But, at the same time even though I’m deemed the boxer and he the puncher, once we’re inside, I can still punch. I’m still going be in there, still being able to throw and use my skills on the inside.

Ruslan, you are the pressure fighter, the guy that likes to go there and get his guy mix it up, not necessarily the technical boxer. Is it all about for you tracking this guy down and getting him out of there?

Ruslan Provodnikov: All my career I’ve had to fight guys that were taller than me and had longer arms. And all I’ve had to do is try to get to them and try to pressure them. It’s no secret what my plan is. Of course I’m going to pressure. We know what he’s going to do. I mean they all try to box me and they all try to move and jab. But, I’m going to follow my plan and always do is that break the first one down outside. I can break him down from the distance from up close and from anywhere. And but the question is always how much can–how long can he jab?

Freddie, I wanted to ask you about that also. You know, how well he’d be able to go after a guy like Chris who is longer and is also a good boxer who has good movement? I mean Ruslan has not faced a lot of guys like that in his career it seems to me.

Freddie Roach: No, we definitely have to pressure him and cut the ring off and control the ring. And Chris is a very good boxer with long arms. And we have to break him down and get inside early, set traps and we need to really control the ring. And that’s what we’ve been working on quite a bit. Ruslan’s getting very good at controlling the ring and keeping himself in the best spot. So, I think that’s the big key to the fight is who’s going control the ring.

When this fight was originally announced Nassau Coliseum was very much on the table to host this fight. I just wanted to know how close it was to actually taking place there and what swayed it to go to Barclays instead?

Arthur Pelullo: Well, it was very close to happening there. We agreed to make a deal there and then we didn’t actually — weren’t able to sign the agreement. The gentleman was out sick. And then I get a call from Vadim, ‘don’t sign anything.’ You know, we have the opportunity to move it to the Barclays Center. And that’s exactly what happened.

Is there a plan for you to build up Ruslan in the East Coast specifically? I mean he’s now fighting 30 minutes away from Little Odessa.

Arthur Pelullo: Well, that was one of the main reasons why we decided to move the fight. He is in Brooklyn. He is 30 minutes from Brighton Beach. There is a large community of Russian people there. And we believe the ticket sales are going well. And we think that he’s going to become a star in that area. And the manager, general manager, president of the arena and the president of the Nets Brett Yormark, loves it, loves the kid, loves the fight. And would like to have more than one Ruslan fight there because things are going so well. It doesn’t hurt that, the owner of the Nets, Prokhorov, is a Russian too and he’s been very good at helping us get everything through Vadim and Albert, friends of Vadim’s in Russia, to help us get this deal. The bottom line is that Ruslan Provodnikov is a ticket seller and we think it’s going be a good show. And where better for him to defend his title for his first time, but in an area where we hit the market of his people, which is a great idea. And we got lucky, timing is everything.

Chris, question for you. I know you said it was always your dream to fight in New York, well, specifically Madison Square Garden. Was there any disappointment knowing that the fight wasn’t a little bit closer to home and Nassau Coliseum as opposed to your friends having to drive in or take a train instead?

Chris Algieri: No, the only disappointment was that being as Nassau would have been a very historic event because there hasn’t been a fight there in I believe almost 20 years. But, other than that, no, not at all. You know, Barclays is, like I said, is a beautiful arena. It’s brand new. Everything in it is pristine there. And they’re holding–you know, it’s pretty much the premier venue in the New York area now. But, in terms of my fans and I think the most of the people that I talk to are–were a lot more excited for it to be at the Barclays than even Nassau. It’s very easy to get to from Long Island, so it’s no issue.

Arthur Pelullo: I’d just like to say thank you to everybody for joining us. Like I said, we think it’s going to be a great event. As we just talked about, the main event, is a very intriguing fight because Chris Algieri is now where Ruslan Provodnikov was about two years ago when he fought Bradley. So, we’ll see what Ruslan is made of and because he’s supposed to win a fight like this, but it’s a very difficult fight. And I wish both of them good luck. The co-feature being Demetrius Andrade is going to be a heck of a fight with the number one contender against Brian Rose. That will also be a fight will determine the direction of his career. As you all know, the press conference will be Thursday, the weigh in is Friday. The doors open at 6:00. The first bout will be at 7:00. We will be airing the fight live internationally. The international show will start about 9:00 p.m. There’s plenty of tickets available. The ringsides are going very fast. But, there are a few tickets available in those price ranges as well. I want to thank everybody for coming, Chris, Joe, Ruslan, Freddie, and Vadim and everybody on the call. Thank you very much, guys.

Joe DeGuardia: No, I’ll just echo your comments, Artie. I appreciate everybody being on the call. I’m certainly looking forward to June 14 where I think we’re gonna have a fantastic match and certainly a wonderful boxer, puncher, bull matador, all those kind of clichés that we’ll be able to see on June 14. I think it’ll be a great night. And be sure to be there at the Barclays Center or tune in on HBO June 14.

Ruslan Provodnikov: You know everybody, it was a great conversation and I want to wish good luck to Chris. I hope you do have a great training camp. And I’ll see everybody June 14.

Chris Algieri: I would just like to thank everybody for being involved in the call and for everybody who came and called and asked questions. I wish the best of luck to Ruslan and his team and to Freddie and the rest of your camp, that I hope it goes well. And I will see you guys on June 14.

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World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior welterweight champion, the “Siberian Rocky” RUSLAN PROVODNIKOV defends his world title against undefeated scholar-brawler CHRIS ALGIERI, Saturday, June 14, at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The fight will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark®, beginning at 10:10 p.m. ET/PT.
www.eastsideboxing.com/2014/provodnikov-algieri-interview-transcript/

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Guillermo Rigondeaux will defend his RING, WBA and WBO junior featherweight titles against Sod Kokietgym on July 19 in Macau, China, Top Rank announced on Saturday.

Rigondeaux (13-0, eight knockouts) is coming off back-to-back unanimous decisions over Nonito Donaire last April and Joseph Agbeko in December. Rigondeaux won the WBO belt in the Donaire fight.

The 36-year-old Kokietgym (63-2-1, 28 KOs) has had only two fights of note in his long career, losses to Daniel Ponce de Leon in 2005 and 2006. Ponce de Leon won the vacant WBO 122-pound title in the first fight and successfully defended it in the second.

Kokietgym is 36-0-1 since that second fight but has faced obscure opponents only in his home country of Thailand during that stretch.

Also on the card will be two-time Chinese Olympic champion Zou Shiming (4-0, 1 KO), a flyweight; former flyweight titleholder Brian Viloria (33-4, 19 KOs); Mexican super middleweight Gilberto Ramirez (28-0, 22 KOs); and 2012 Russian Olympic gold medalist Egor Mekhontsev, a light heavyweight. None of their opponents has been determined.

In addition, junior bantamweight Rex Tso (12-0, 8 KOs), lightweight Ik Yang (13-0, 8 KOs) and junior middleweight Ng Kuok Kun (4-0, 2 KOs) are in separate bouts.

http://ringtv.craveonline.com/news/341173-guillermo-rigondeaux-returns-in-july-in-macau

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OMAHA, NEB. (May 23, 2014) — Top Rank® announced today that undefeated Top-Five contenders MATT KOROBOV and JOSE UZCATEGUI would battle in a 10-round rumble in the co-main event to World Boxing Organization (WBO) lightweight champion TERENCE CRAWFORD’S world title defense homecoming against Cuban sensation and three-division world champion YURIORKIS GAMBOA. Korobov and Uzcategui will be battling for the vacant WBO Inter-Continental middleweight title. Both fights will be televised live from the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Saturday, June 28, on HBO Boxing After Dark®, in its first-ever visit to Omaha, beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.
This exciting all-action doubleheader features four undefeated gladiators with a combined record of 91-0, 63 KOs.
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with SMS Promotions, PS4 and Tecate, remaining tickets to the Crawford vs. Gamboa world championship event, priced at $102, $52 and $27, can be purchased at the CenturyLink Center Omaha box office and all Ticketmaster outlets. To charge-by-phone call 800-745-3000. To order online, visit Ticketmaster.com.
Korobov (23-0, 13 KOs), a 2008 Russian Olympian and stellar amateur will be making his long-awaited HBO debut. Now based in St, Petersburg, Fla., Korobov, a six-year veteran of the pro ranks, enters this fight having won three of his last four fights by knockout, including a sixth-round stoppage of Emil Gonzalez on April 16. Korobov is currently world-rated No. 3 by the WBO.
Uzcategui (22-0, 18 KOs), a native of Venezuela who trains in Mexico, will be making his U.S. debut. A knockout artist who has stopped 10 of the last 11 opponents he has faced, he captured the WBO Latino middleweight title in March, knocking out David Lopez in the sixth round. He is currently world-rated No. 5 by the WBO.

Read more at http://www.eastsideboxing.com/2014/korobov-vs-uzcategui-added-to-crawford-uzcategui-title-card/#9YJmVM4DfyPF8Wee.99

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Photo:  Chris Farina/Top Rank –

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Anyone for Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez V?

That is the fight likely to happen in the fall after Marquez put on a clinic against Mike Alvarado and won a lopsided unanimous decision in a welterweight title elimination bout before a raucous pro-Marquez crowd of 12,090 on Saturday night. It was the first fight at the refurbished Forum, which had not hosted a boxing card since 2001.

The resounding victory, one in which Marquez did have to survive a knockdown in the ninth round, made Marquez the mandatory challenger for Pacquiao, who regained his welterweight world title by outpointing Timothy Bradley Jr. in their April 12 rematch.

The judges had it 119-109, 117-109, 117-109 for Marquez. ESPN.com also had it 117-109 for Marquez, who dropped Alvarado in the eighth round.

Making the win even sweeter for Marquez was the fact that it took place at the Forum, where, as an unknown, he cut his teeth and developed into a featherweight contender, going 12-0 with nine knockouts in the arena between 1995 and 1999.

“I said it was going to be a tough fight and I said it was going to be a difficult fight,” Marquez said. “I wanted to give the public here a gift. A gift that dignifies the history of this event and the history of the Forum.

Marquez-Alvarado punch stats

Marquez Alvarado
Landed 278 178
Thrown 627 510
Pct 44% 35%
— Courtesy of CompuBox

“I wanted to make this fight a gift to the fans.”

Another gift might be a fifth fight with Pacquiao. He and Marquez have already met four times in all-time great fights. Although Pacquiao leads the series 2-1-1, Marquez’s lone victory was as definitive as the others were controversial.

In their fourth fight, in December 2012, Marquez knocked Pacquiao unconscious with a right hand at the end of the sixth round for one of the most memorable knockouts in boxing history.

Although Marquez (56-7-1, 40 KOs) lost his next fight by split decision challenging then-titleholder Bradley in October, he bounced back in a big way against Alvarado, the former junior welterweight titlist.

But he was not going to make a definitive statement about fighting Pacquiao next right after the fight.

“Finally, in that fourth [Pacquiao] fight, we obtained justice,” he said. “This fight is for all of the Mexicans that have supported me in that fourth fight and this fight was for them. [As for a fifth fight with Pacquiao], we’ll relax. I don’t know at the moment but any decision we make will be good for me, good for my family and good for the Mexican fans.

“I’m not making a decision on Pacquiao right now. I felt great in the fight and I know I did a great job, but let me see how I feel in a couple of weeks. I am not making a decision on a Pacquiao fight right away. I’m gonna rest and think about it.”

While the crowd chanted “Marquez! Marquez! Marquez!” during the first round, he was firing punches, but Alvarado started very slowly. Alvarado was barely throwing any punches in the early rounds and anything he did throw Marquez countered well.

The 40-year-old Marquez, a shoe-in Hall of Fame and one of the best fighters in Mexican history, raised swelling around Alvarado’s right eye in the third round as he continued to land hard, clean jabs.

Marquez, who earned $1.4 million, also had his right hand working well as he was aggressive with it against an Alvarado (34-3, 23 KOs), 33, of Denver, who appeared confused and was either unable or unwilling to throw many punches until turning things around later in the bout.

Marquez continued to land powerful punches in the sixth round as the right side of Alvarado’s face began to become more and more swollen. There was an exciting exchange at the end of the round but Marquez clearly got the better of it. Even when Alvarado, who made $650,000, did land anything, Marquez, one of the great counter punchers in boxing history, countered him.

But the fight became more exciting in the second half even though Marquez was in control. He was having another dominating round in the eighth when he landed a huge right hand flush on Alvarado’s jaw a couple of seconds before the round ended and Alvarado went down. He beat the count and the round ended.

“It was a bad experience being in there with a legend,” Alvarado said. “I was warming up a little bit too much before I started getting off. It was on me but it was a great fight.

“I knew I needed to let my hands go to create some more shots for me. The way the fight went, he backed up and he felt the power from me so he fought a good fight.”

Moments into the ninth round, Alvarado landed a clean right that dropped Marquez, nearly silencing the crowd. But he got up, did not appear badly hurt and engaged Alvarado in an action-packed exchange that brought the crowd to life again.

“That’s the kind of fighter I am. I like wars,” Alvarado said. “That’s how he exploited me and that’s how I fight. My hat’s off to him. I thank God it was a good fight. I am happy with this opportunity and blessed that we are safe and it’s good.”

Alvarado’s left eye was also damaged and a purple mess after the ninth round and the ringside doctor gave it a good look, but the fight went on. After the 10th round, Alvarado’s corner told him he needed a knockout.

Alvarado landed a right hand near the end of the 11th round that made Marquez’s legs buckle, and he nearly went down.

“Yes, I did expect this fight,” Marquez said. “I always said that Mike Alvarado is a strong man and fast and worthy and strong, and I did expect this fight.”

Marquez’s dominance was illustrated by the CompuBox punch statistics. He landed 278 of 627 punches (44 percent) while Alvarado landed 178 of 510 blows (35 percent). More notable, Marquez landed more punches than Alvarado in 11 of the 12 rounds.

Alvarado has now lost two fights in a row. In October, in his hometown, he lost his junior welterweight belt in his first defense, getting knocked down twice by Russian brawler Ruslan Provodnikov — who was ringside Saturday — before retiring on his stool after the 10th round of a punishing fight.

“I put that [Provodnikov] fight behind me,” Alvarado said. “It was another experience and another life lesson I have gone through. It only made me stronger. This fight will only make me better. I will learn from it and use it for the rest of my career.”

One of the reasons Marquez accepted the fight with Alvarado was because it was an eliminator for a welterweight title shot. Marquez has won world titles in four weight classes from featherweight to junior welterweight and wants to be the first Mexican to win titles in five divisions. That would mean a fight with Pacquiao if Marquez wants the title shot next.

“Marquez said he would go back and consult with his team and analyze the fifth fight. That’s a pretty good statement,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, who promotes Marquez and Pacquiao. “I’m fairly confident I’ll make it. Manny wants the fight. So it’s going to be up to Marquez. It really is. I think there’s a lot of money in the fight. And this was a great fight tonight.

“Mike has the guts of a lion. He stayed in there, he hurt Marquez pretty good but Marquez is Marquez. Marquez is a great fighter.”

http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/10949279/juan-manuel-marquez-earns-unanimous-decision-win-mike-alvarado-elimination-bout

marquez180514_1El mexicano fue claro vencedor en un combate en el que lució un gran repertorio de combinaciones, que lo llevaron al triunfo.  El triunfo le da Márquez la oportunidad de retar al filipino Pacquiao por el cetro welter de la OMB, sería el quinto duelo entre ambos.  (Fotos:  Mexsports) –

LOS ÁNGELES, 18 de mayo.- En una pelea emocionante  con una caída en cada bando, Juan Manuel Márquez venció contundentemente, por decisión unánime, a Mike Alvarado en el Forum Inglewood, de Los Ángeles, y tiene el camino abierto para una quinta pelea contra Manny Pacquiao por el título welter de la Organización Mundial de Boxeo.

En el combate, que fue denominado eliminatorio para una pelea contra el vigente campeón filipino, Márquez (56-7-1, 40 KO’s) dominó la mayoría de los rounds, conectó los mejores golpes y derribó en el octavo a Alvarado (34-3, 23 KO’s), aunque él cayó a la lona en el noveno round. Al final los jueces favorecieron al mexicano con dos tarjetas de 117-109 y una de 119-108.

Márquez fue a la ofensiva en todo momento y, cuando Alvarado, quien subió al ring con un pantaloncillo con un bandera mexicana y otra estadunidense en cada costado, intentó contragolpear se llevó la peor parte.

marquez180514_2

Hasta el séptimo round Márquez conectó los mejores impactos, pero no se vislumbraba un potencial nocaut. Fue hasta los segundos finales del octavo que logró una combinación de izquierda y derecha en el rostro que tumbó a Alvarado y lo puso con medio cuerpo por fuera del encordado.

El estadunidense se levantó y el referí Pat Russell indicó que la pelea podía continuar, antes de que pudiera haber más acción se terminó el round y Alvarado fue literalmente salvado por la campana.

marquez180514_3

Márquez entró más ofensivo en el noveno, tratando de buscar el final de la batalla, pero fue sorprendido con un recto de derecha que lo sentó sobre el ring provocando el conteo del réferi. El mexicano se levantó de ese momento, el único problemático que tuvo, y después ambos bajaron la intensidad de sus ofensivas.

Deja a Pacquiao en suspenso

Tras concluir la pelea, el presentador de Top Rank preguntó a Márquez si aceptaría la quinta pelea contra Pacquiao, a lo que el tricolor no dio una respuesta concreta. “Vamos a descansar relejarnos, vamos a tomar una decisión que será buena para mí, para mi familia y para la afición mexicana”, dijo Márquez.

http://www.excelsior.com.mx/adrenalina/2014/05/18/959916

pacquiao-bradley-rematch (16)

By Jake Donovan –

The worst thing you can ask a fighter if you are in search of an honest answer is what he plans to do with a win in his upcoming fight. The response most often offered will be that they are focused on nothing other than the fight in front of them, and that all bets are off until the outcome is decided.

That’s why fighters have promoters and managers – so they can plan the next move. When they are in the mood, they can even talk about it as well.

So when Juan Manuel Marquez and Mike Alvarado insist that the only thing that matters right now is their head-on collision on May 17, we have to respect their response. After all, both fighters are coming off of a loss – Marquez dropping a close but clear decision to Tim Bradley, while Alvarado suffered a heartbreaking stoppage defeat in a Denver homecoming versus Ruslan Provodnikov.

Needless to say, a second straight loss could prove damaging to either boxer. A win, however, immediately puts that fighter back into the title mix. Given what’s at stake in this fight, it’s a hell of a prize to claim to ignore until after the fight.

But at least their promoter is talking.

“Well, I’m not the one fighting,” quipped Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, whose Top Rank company presents this weekend’s action at The Forum in Los Angeles. “So, the first thing I did was talk to Manny Pacquiao, and he’s up to fight the winner.

“There’s nothing contractual with the winner of the two fighters on Saturday. I will offer the fight to the winner and it’s up to them to accept it or reject it.”

It’s hardly happenchance that such a fight is being offered for this weekend’s winner. In addition to promoting all three fighters, Arum secured sanctioning for the fight – which takes place at a contracted maximum weight of 144 lb. – to serve as an official title eliminator for the right to challenge for Pacquiao’s belt.

Pacquiao reclaimed his place among the best welterweights in the world with a convincing 12-round points win over Timothy Bradley Jr. last month in Las Vegas. The win avenged a highly controversial defeat suffered nearly two years prior, though the Filipino southpaw was later forced to overcome a far more damaging blow to his career when Marquez knocked him out cold in their 6th round of their Dec. ’12 war, which was honored as Fight of the Year.

Alvarado is new to the mix, having yet to fight any of the aforementioned welterweights. Marquez and Pacquiao, on the other hand, have one of the longest running rivalries in the sport’s history. Dating back to their first fight just over ten years ago, there has been little to separate the two in each of their four encounters, with the exception of Marquez’ conclusive knockout ending in their last fight.

Fans have forever disputed the outcomes of each of their previous three encounters, in which they fought to a draw, followed by two close, controversial decisions narrowly won by Pacquiao.

Marquez spent most of those years chasing one more fight with Pacquiao to settle the score, which he was finally able to do last time around. He had even reached a point in his career where he saw little reason to continue if a fifth fight with one of the two biggest superstars in the sport couldn’t be made.

Yet through it all, May 17 is all that matters if you ask the future Hall of Famer.

“All I’m thinking is first things first and that’s May 17,” Marquez (55-7-1, 40KO) insists. “After I win this Saturday, if (a 5th fight) with Pacquiao is there, it’s there. I just want to have this fight on Saturday and it goes from there.”

His opponent was a little more forthcoming in at least acknowledging what awaits the winner.

“This is a huge opportunity. We’re both coming off of losses, but this fight is going to lead to a bigger fight,” Alvarado (34-2, 23KO) said of the reward that will come with Saturday’s bout. “It means a lot to both of our careers. It helps motivate me to train that much harder, knowing that I’m in a category with the best of the world.

“I’m happy, I’m excited and I’m ready for this show to begin this weekend.”

Alvarado has every reason to be anxious to move on to his next fight. The Colorado boxer has lost two of his last three contests, with both losses coming in brutal slugfests. His first defeat – a 7th round stoppage versus Brandon Rios in their Oct. ’12 war – was avenged five months later, but fell into the same kind of trouble against Provodnikov last October.

Worse than the actual loss itself, Alvarado’s dramatic decline in the fight coupled with the manner in which the bout developed and ultimately ended raised concerns from those closest to him about his health, including requests of retirement from his loved ones. Alvarado insists such talks have no place in his career at the moment, although he took such feedback in the most uplifting manner.

“They just want to make sure I’m safe, that I’m OK. They are my number-one supporters and as long as I know they’re there for me, I’m OK.”

Being repositioned for a potential title shot despite coming off of a knockout loss let Alvarado know that he has more than just his family in his corner.

“I was surprised,” Alvarado admitted of the chance to fight in a title eliminator. “But it also tells me that Top Rank has my back. I’m ready to step up to the plate and put on a better show. I’m ready to redeem myself and put on a good show. That’s what this weekend is all about.”

As far as Marquez is concerned, this weekend is all about pleasing the fans. Entertainment comes first, with business to be discussed whenever he feels the time to be appropriate.

“This fight will be a war,” Marquez guarantees, about as far into the future as he wishes to predict. “He likes to fight. I like to fight. The people win because the people want to see this type of fight.”

Should Marquez win, the fight those same people – and millions of others – would like to see him take another run at a major title. Including the title he was practically given at 140 lb., Marquez has won belts in four weight classes and – three months shy from his 41st birthday – believes time remains on his side to add to that total.

“Obviously that’s what I want to do – make history by winning a title in five weight classes, something no other Mexican fighter has ever done,” Marquez admits.

With that in mind, how can he NOT help but look ahead of Alvarado and towards the future?

“It’s not difficult for me. I feel right now like I am fully concentrated on Mike Alvarado,” Marquez promises. “Maybe in the future I will have “the most” important fight of my career. But right now, I’m only thinking about Mike Alvarado.”

In the meantime, everyone else is thinking about what will come next.

“Manny has agreed to fight the winner,” Arum reiterates. “I will say that pretty much once we get the terms worked out, it will be a done deal.”

http://www.boxingscene.com/pacquiao-prize-awaits-marquez-alvarado-winner–77789