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  • TO: ALL BONA FIDE PROMOTERS
  • FROM: LUIS BATISTA SALAS, ESQ.
  • DATE: SEPTEMBER 2, 2014

Re: WBO Jr. Featherweight Purse Bid Guillermo Rigondeaux-Chris Avalos

As per Section 11 through 13 of the WBO Regulations for World Championship Contest (www.wboboxing.com) and as promoters were not able to reach an agreement, please be advised a purse bid will be held at 10:00 AM EST on September 9th 2014 at:

WBO HEADQUARTERS 1056 Muñoz Rivera Avenue Suite 711-714 San Juan, PR 00927-5013

The minimum acceptable bid for the Jr. Featherweight Title is $100,000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Dollars).

The WBO President, Francisco Valcarcel, will preside.

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SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO- The World Boxing Organization (WBO), by president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel, announced today the referee and judges who will work this Saturday, August 30, in the 13th title defense of the cruiserweight champion Marco Huck against Mirko Larghetti, to be held at the Gerry Weber Stadium in Halle, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, in a Sauerland Event presentation.

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For this fight, when Huck (37-2-1, 26 KOs) will defend his WBO 200 pounds belt versus Larghetti (21-0, 13 KOs), who is the #12 ranked, the referee will be Jack Reiss, from United States.

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Meanwhile, the judges for the Huck-Larghetti fight are William Lerch, from United States, Carlos Ortiz Jr., from United States, and Alfredo Polanco, from Mexico.

The WBO supervisor for this fight will be John Handelaar.

Huck is coming off a sixth round TKO win over Firat Arslan on January 25, 2014 for his 12th successful defense.

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http://www.boxingscene.com/photos-marco-huck-mirko-larghetti-go-face-face–81455

 

 

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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August 21, 2014
Townsville, Australia-
WBO reaches out to Townsville Australia youth coordinated by Townsville Fighting Fit Boxing Gym to distribute equipment Boxing supplies to the many needy Youth and spreading the word of awareness of saying no to drugs.
 
Australia World Boxing Organization Representative, Executive Board Member Danny Leigh have coordinated with Boxing Promoter Joe Pennisi of Ringside Fights Boxing Promotions  and Boxing trainer Jamie Mcintire of Townsville Fighting Fit Boxing Gym along with reigning WBO Oriental Lightweight champion Josh King to help on these gathering of support to reach out to the children of Townsville youth of Australia. 
  
Mr. Leigh informed that our WBO Organization came on to the right location at Townsville to give opportunity to the many children to stay off the street and rather commit on doing training with Townsville Fighting Fit Boxing Gym.
 
The big gathering of Youth for the World Boxing Organization “Kids Drug Free Program” came to meet Mr. Leigh to receive their colorful Boxing Gloves donated by the WBO for the Youth, children was enthusiastic gathering to start their training program with Townsville Fighting Fit Boxing Gym.
 
CEO / Promoter Mr. Joe Pennisi of Ringside Fight sent a warming response to the WBO representatives “Thanking WBO huge for the supplies of equipment Boxing Gloves as a sign of good faith and ongoing commitment to their future boxing endeavors for the children of Townsville”, this is the right time of importance this year to help out on the children of need, he could see that each young person that came through the invitation of the Boxing Gym was thrilled and filled with Happiness and Joy. 
  
Another great achievements of gift giving from the WBO, Thank you President Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel for the continuous support for the children around the world.  More Power to the WBO!!

 

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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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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) — Carolina Raquel Duer of Argentina defended her World Boxing Organization bantamweight title for the second time.

Duer, popularly known as “The Turk,” defeated Ana Maria Lozano of Venezuela by unanimous decision on Friday night in Lanus, a city in Buenos Aires Province, to take the crown in the 115- to 118-pound class. After the 10 rounds, two judges scored the bout 98-92, and one had it 97-93.

The Jewish boxer raised her professional record to 17-3.

Duer, 35, was the WBO super flyweight champion, for fighters weighing 112 pounds to 115 pounds — a title she defended six times. She is the first Jewish woman to hold a WBO crown.

The country’s National Public Television covered the fight live and broadcast it free under a federal program designed to make satellite television more accessible, including in high definition.

Duer this year began to announce boxing on National Public Television, and she will be in Las Vegas on Sept.  13 as the special commentator for Argentine TV at the rematch between American boxer Floyd Mayweather and the Argentine Marcos Maidana.

Duer, a favorite in Argentina, is the daughter of Syrian immigrants. She attended the Jaim Najman Bialik Primary School in Buenos Aires and spent more than a month in Israel in her younger years working on a kibbutz and touring the country.

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
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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
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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.

******************
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/

looking-for-mayweatherWhile he’s the WBO junior middleweight champion, Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade aspires to a much bigger goal. He hopes to take on one of boxing’s all-time greats in Floyd Mayweather Jr., who this past weekend pocketed $32 million in beating Marcos Maidana. Andrade is in Jacksonville working with his massage therapist while he continues training for a title defense June 14 on HBO.  John Sudbrink/The Daily News –

By Rick Scoppe-

Six years after returning from the Olympics without a medal following a disputed quarterfinal loss in Beijing, Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade is 20-0 as a professional and the World Boxing Organization junior middleweight champion.

To some, that might seem a rapid ascent.

But if the 26-year-old southpaw has his way, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

While his first title defense against WBO top-rated mandatory challenger Brian “The Lion” Rose (25-1, 7KOs) is scheduled for June 14 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., on HBO, Andrade has bigger aspirations – much bigger aspirations.

His eyes, not to mention his “mind, body and soul,” are on the prize, which is none other than to face one of the sports’ all-time greats, 37-year-old Floyd Mayweather Jr., the nine-time, five-division world champion who beat Marcos Maidana on Saturday night in a majority decision for the 46th victory in his career that is without a blemish.

As soon as the fight was finished there were those calling for a rematch, but if Andrade has his way he’ll be next to step into the ring against Mayweather, who earned $32 million for his latest victory.

“I’m just ready to get in there, whup the lion (Rose) and tame him; he’s going to be my little cub and I’m going for the big shot,” Andrade said. “I do want Mayweather. There’s nobody out there for me other than him.”

First, however, Andrade, must beat Rose. To do that, Andrade said he’s working hard in training camp, which for the past week has been in Jacksonville, where he came to see his massage therapist, Lori-Ann Gallant-Heilboran, whom he first worked with during the 2008 Olympics. Along with working with her, Andrade has been working out both in town as well as aboard Camp Lejeune.

“We’re just bracing ourselves for whatever we have to do on fight night. That brought us up here,” Andrade said during an interview at The Daily News office. “We’re doing everything we need to do.”

Andrade, who was born in Providence, R.I., and now lives in Atlanta, won the WBO title in November, claiming a 12-round, split-decision over 2004 U.S. Olympian Vanes “Nightmare” Martirosyan (33-1-1, 21 KOs) on Nov. 11.

Andrade said Martirosyan “kind of ran the whole night,” and some observers questioned the judge who scored the bout for Martirosyan. Nonetheless, Andrade won the title and now faces Rose as the co-main event at the 18,103-seat Barclays Center.

“Winning the title is just the beginning, the first part of being a superstar or being one of the greats,” Andrade said. “Anybody can win on any given night a title. It’s about what you’re going to do afterwards, if you can hold onto it for longevity, and that’s what I plan on doing. We’re working extremely hard and smarter and doing everything we need to do to overcome whatever comes our way.”

Starting with Rose, a bout Andrade predicted won’t go the distance. Then, he hopes and dreams, it’s on to Mayweather.

“When I win June 14th…, I would call Mayweather out. But I can’t rely on that guy. He pretty much is self-made and picks his opponent and is going to go whatever’s going to generate the most income. Can I blame him for that? No. He’s already did everything in the sport he needed to do. But if he wants to go against somebody that’s undefeated, going to give him an arduous time in that ring, that’s me,” Andrade said.

“I’m ready if he wants to do it. If not, all I can do, and all I told my supporters and my believers and myself, is I will carry the torch when his time is up.”

Mayweather has three fights left on a lucrative six-fight contract, which leaves him room to fight Andrade – if he decides to. Does Andrade believe that one night he’ll slip through the ropes to take on Mayweather?

“It’s hard to tell. Can it happen? Maybe. It’s 50-50 chance. It’s up in the air,” he said. “I’m undefeated with a belt. There’s nobody else in the 154 weight class that’s undefeated, that’s long, that’s slick and that will give him a difficult time, and people want to see it. I know I haven’t been fighting a long time like him. … But now that I’m the WBO (champ) the light’s starting to come toward my way I can be able to call out top guys now. It’s up to them to take the fight.”

And make no mistake about it, if he beats Rose next month, Andrade will stand up on HBO and proclaim he wants Mayweather.

“I will be shouting him out,” he said. “I don’t see anybody else in the 154 division other than me to get in the ring with him, but there are fighters at 147 he can fight also. It’s on him. He can do whatever he wants to do. My job is to keep on winning, give the fans what they want so they can keep shouting my name. If it doesn’t happen, I’m going to be the one that carries that torch and gives excitement and be the next greatness of boxing.”

http://www.jdnews.com/sports/local/wbo-champ-andrade-wants-shot-at-mayweather-1.316325

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OMAHA, NEB. – Undefeated world champions TERENCE CRAWFORD, the Pride of Omaha, and Cuban sensation YURIORKIS GAMBOA, who share identical 23-0 (16 KOs) professional ring records, will battle for Crawford’s newly-won World Boxing Organization (WBO) lightweight title, Saturday, June 28, at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha.  This will be the first world championship fight Omaha has hosted in 42 years, when Joe Frazier successfully defended his heavyweight title against Nebraska’s-own Ron Stander in 1972.  It is also a professional homecoming for Crawford, who has not fought in his home state since 2011.  The fight will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark, in its first-ever visit to Omaha, beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

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http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=77615

 

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Don’t look now, but United States President Barrack Obama, a recent Philippine visitor, must have been expecting to meet Filipino World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao during his two-day stay visit in Manila Monday and Tuesday.

This can be gleaned when President Obama mentioned the name of Pacquiao as one of the many things he and the Filipino nation have in common in his speech while offering a toast to his host, President Nonoy Aquino, during the State dinner held at Malacanang Palace Monday night.

“There is our mutual obsession with basketball, “ President Obama said pertaining to the sport the Filipinos and he love most, he being a former player during his high school days at Panahou University in Hawaii where he grew up.

“There is our admiration for Manny Pacquiao,” he added in reference to the boxing icon, who, three years ago, was his guest at the White House in the course of promoting his fight against Shane Mosley scheduled May 7, 2011.

The American head of state then added rather jokingly: “Even if sometimes. His fight against Americans doesn’t turn out the way we’d like.”

The first U.S. African-American Chief Executive must have still been reminiscing the memorable moment when he and the eight-division world belt owner and himself met face-to-face at his Oval Office talking about basketball, boxing and how they were rendering service to their peoples.

Pacquiao was already a Congressman then representing the lone district of his wife Jinkee’s Province of Sarangani.

Unfortunately, however, Pacquiao was not included to the limited 300 individuals invited to the banquet.

The U.S. President might have, likewise, remembered that for two days, the Philippine flag flew in front of the hay Adams Hotel just across the White House signaling that a very important tenant, who will be meeting him the following day, was staying there.

That on the very same day of his visit, Pacquiao and his entourage created a minor disturbance – a multi-car pile up at the traffic light at the corner of 17th Street where the Filipino fighter was about to cross on the way to his meeting with the most powerful man on the planet.

The reason was passing motorists stopped their cars upon recognizing Pacquiao standing there waiting for the red light and started to wave their hands to greet him, some even snapping their cameras to take photos of the world champ using their cell phones.

Luckily, no one was injured although the minor accident made headlines marking Pacquiao’s tour of the U.S. capital something to remember by.

Pacquiao and wife Jinkee had a chance to meet the President and Vice President Joe Biden over lunch in a private, closed door meeting through the intercession of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, earning him the distinction of becoming the first reigning world boxing champion to have been invited to the Presidential residence.

When ring legend Muhammad Ali earned the same privilege, he no longer was a titleholder.

With his successful visit to Washington, D.C., Pacquiao was, not only believed to have established himself as a world-class politician, but, likewise, cemented a friendship between him and President Obama.

Before meeting Obama, Pacquiao was guided by Sen. Reid, whom he helped in his re-election bid, to a tour of the White House.

Top Rank bossman Bob Arunm and wife Lovee accompanied the Pacquaios to the White House where they spent 10 minutes with Mr. Obama in the Oval Office and talked about common interest.

“I invited him to my fight (against Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas), but he said he didn’t think he could make it,” Pacquiao was quoted as saying then.

“But he said he would definitely watch the pay-per-view.”

Mr. Obama told Pacquiao he’d visit him in the Philippines, reason why the head of the most powerful nation in the world, indeed, was expecting to renew his friendship with the Filipino boxing icon during his state visit.

While inside the Oval Office, Pacquiao and Jinkee posed for pictures with Obama, who even struck a boxing pose.

“It was very unforgettable moment in my life. Ang taas pala ni President Obama,” Pacquiao, who stands 5-foot-6, told Filipino media men of the 6-3 Obama upon arrival in the country.

Obama gifted Pacquiao three grocery bags full of light blue M&M’s with the Presidential seal, along with a watch, also adorned with his official seal after their memorable meeting.

http://philboxing.com/news/story-94895.html

 

201404130106040110908-p5Photo by AP/Photo/Erick Jamison/Yahoo Sports Gallery –

One-time Muslim rebels, soldiers and refugees united in celebration Sunday as Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao defeated American Timothy Bradley to reclaim the World Boxing Organization welterweight crown in a unanimous decision.

Sok Biruar, a Moro Islamic Liberation Front sub-commander, joined with soldiers from the army’s 6th Infantry Division in the Philippines’ Muslim south to watch Pacquiao avenge his 2012 loss in a unanimous 12-round decision. All around the country, life came to a halt as the fight was broadcast live from Las Vegas, Nevada, in gymnasiums, malls, restaurants, public parks, malls, and main squares.

“This proves that we [the soldiers] and the MILF are already united. That the war is over and we’re sick and tired of conflict,” Biruar said, adding that they’ve enjoyed a good relationship with the army since the signing of a March 27 agreement, which grants Muslim areas greater political autonomy in exchange for an end to armed rebellion.

Pacquiao – or the Pacman, as his legions of fans like to call him – is without doubt the most famous citizen in the Philippines. He grew up in a slum without shoes, and had sold donuts, flowers and fish on the street until an IBF Super Bantamweight title fight in 2001 propelled him to the big time.

Since then he has won 56 fights – ten of them world titles at four different weight classes – drawn five and lost two, earning close to $US700 million in career TV revenue in the process. He became a Congressman and dabbled in singing, politics, acting and cockfighting, before losing his title to Bradley in a split-decision in 2012. Most ringside observers were astonished, judging Pacquiao to have won the fight.

In Zamboanga City, refugees displaced when rival Muslim faction the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) laid siege to the city in September to try and derail the peace talks were also jubilant Sunday, breaking into thunderous applause and chanting “Manny! Mannny!” as Pacquiao’s victory was broadcast on giant screens set up among the tents and temporary housing.

More than 100,000 people forced to flee their homes in the ensuing three weeks of fierce fighting are still housed in the city’s Joaquin F. Enriquez Memorial sports complex. Some 200 people were killed in the siege, including soldiers, rebels and civilians.

“We’re so very, very happy… for this moment we are able to forget our problems,” said Kadaf, 26, whose family’s bunkhouse in Barangay Rio Hondo was destroyed during the 23-day standoff between the government forces and the MNLF.

“At least our idol has now proven to the whole world that he is still the king of boxing,” he added.

President Benigno Aquino’s spokesman Herminio Coloma said in a statement Sunday that the nation is united in cheering on Congressman Pacquiao.

“He is the symbol of the excellence of the Filipino in all endeavors,” Coloma added. “Pacquiao’s latest victory is symbolic of the way Filipinos can recover from the worst disasters,” refering to the siege in Zamboanga, Typhoon Yolanda and the Bohol earthquake that struck the country last year, killing thousands.

Pacquiao’s mantra for Sunday’s fight was “my journey will continue.”

He has said he is 80 percent sure he will run for senate in the Philippines in 2016 when his term as a congressman expires.

http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/165587/filipino-refugees-ex-rebels-army-unite-for-pacman.html

 

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Manny Pacquiao won a 12-round unanimous decision over Timothy Bradley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena tonight to avenge his controversial 2012 loss to the previously unbeaten American.

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The Filipino boxing icon improved to 56-5 with two drawn and 38 wins inside the distance as he regained the World Boxing Organization welterweight world title he lost to Bradley in June 2012.

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Although he couldn’t get his first knockout win since 2009, Pacquiao lived up to his pre-fight promise to come out with more aggression, denying Bradley’s avowed aim of sending him into retirement with another defeat.

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“I think I can go another two years,” said Pacquiao, who has won world titles in an unprecedented eight weight divisions. “I’m so happy to be world champion again. Tim Bradley was not an easy fight.”

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Bradley, who said he fought from the first round with a right calf injury, fell to 31-1, with 12 knockouts.

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“Life goes on,” Bradley said of his first pro defeat. “It’s back to the gym. Not a big deal.”

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Judge Glen Trowbridge scored the bout 118-110 for Pacquiao, while Michael Pernick and Canada’s Craig Metcalf saw it 116-112 for the “Pacman”, whose every move was cheered by the star-studded crowd of 15,601.

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After a tight first round, Pacquiao made his power felt in the second.

The third saw both fighters exchange at a furious rate, Pacquiao again landing the more damaging blows.

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But Bradley shook Pacquiao in the fourth, and Pacquiao said California’s “Desert Storm” was an improved fighter from the one who took a bitterly debated split decision in their first fight.

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Although the pace slowed in the later rounds, Pacquiao put together multi-punch combinations in the seventh and out-worked Bradley in the remaining rounds.

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After throwing few punches in the 11th, a desperate Bradley swung wildly in the 12th, and Pacquiao finished the fight with a cut over his left eye from a clash of heads late in the final round.

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The 27th. WBO Convention will be held at the Ceasar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 27 to 31, 2014.

Please use this site to create and manage your WBO Convention hotel reservations:

https://aws.passkey.com/g/24535483

For reservations and general questions by phone (866+1) 227-5944, please use the Code SCWBO4 

(Convention registrations will be handled separately through WBO Headquarters at 787-765-4444 – Dorys Companys – dcompanys@wbo-int.com / Diana Melendez – dmelendez@wbo-int.com)

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Photos: Emily Harney –

by David P. Greisman

Sergey Kovalev’s fight with Cedric Agnew was originally intended to be a keep-busy bout, showcasing him ahead of a proposed showdown with light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson.

Kovalev might not get the Stevenson bout, but the 175-pound titleholder got his showcase victory, putting Agnew down three times en route to a seventh-round knockout.

It was only the third time in Kovalev’s career that he had been extended past six rounds. And that was in large part because Agnew focused on defense, keeping a high guard to try to block as many of Kovalev’s punches as possible and using movement to attempt to stay away from the rest. Agnew did jump forward on occasion with a few punches in combination, which Kovalev took well.

Kovalev adjusted to Agnew’s high guard by taking the steam off of some of his shots,  jabbing between the guard, looping hooks around it, and dedicating more of his attack to Agnew’s body — an investment that would pay off later.

Toward the end of the second round, Kovalev threw a four-punch combination that concluded with a right hand and a left hook that put Agnew on the canvas. The bell rang and Agnew rose, getting an extra minute to recover.

Agnew was able to draw blood from Kovalev in the fourth round, when Kovalev threw a right hand and missed with a left hook, and the ducking Agnew rose up. Their heads clashed, bringing crimson from above Kovalev’s right eye. The referee, Samuel Viruet, wrongly ruled that the cut had been caused by a punch.

Through four, CompuBox had Kovalev landing 60 shots, half of which were to Agnew’s body. Agnew had been credited with landing just 20 at that point.

Kovalev’s cut man went to work, and the fighter didn’t bleed at all in the fifth.

The domination continued in the sixth. It started with a jab to the body, a right hand up and then a left to the head, and Agnew appeared to sit on the ropes. Kovalev was credited with landing 29 punches in that round to Agnew’s six, though another cut opened a bit below Kovalev’s left eye, which he blamed on Agnew’s shoulder.

Agnew had little left. In the opening minute of the seventh round, Kovalev landed a left to Agnew’s body, and Agnew went down to a knee and remained there while the referee counted him out.

The end came 58 seconds into the round. All three judges had Kovalev shutting Agnew out, 60-52, at that point.

CompuBox had Kovalev landing just two fewer punches than Agnew threw on the entire night. Kovalev was 107 of 402, a 27 percent connect rate, an average of 17 of 65 per round. Agnew was 31 of 109, a 28 percent connect rate, an average of 5 of 18 per round.

But that was to be expected. Kovalev was expected to win against a skilled but largely unknown opponent. His team and HBO had been working to make a deal for Kovalev to face Stevenson — who faces Andrzej Fonfara in May — this coming September. They believed a deal had been made, but Stevenson signed with Al Haymon in February, and Stevenson’s team recently accepted more money for the Fonfara bout to land on Showtime instead.

“I don’t want to speak on Adonis Stevenson. Adonis Stevenson is a piece of shit,” Kovalev said afterward. “Excuse my English.”

Kovalev now has a multi-fight deal with HBO. It remains to be seen who his next opponent will be, given that the other two top light heavyweights, Bernard Hopkins and Beibut Shumenov (who fight each other in April), work with Golden Boy Promotions and are featured on Showtime. Many believe that Stevenson will face the winner of Hopkins-Shumenov.

Kovalev won the World Boxing Organization’s world title last August with a fourth-round stoppage of Nathan Cleverly, then defended the belt in November with a second-round knockout of Ismayl Sillakh. He has scored knockouts or technical knockouts in all but two of his victories, yet that record hasn’t been built against the highest level of competition. A Stevenson would have fixed that.

The 30-year-old from Chelyabinsky, Russia (and now fighting out of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) improves to 24-0-1 with 21 KOs, with the draw coming as a technical draw in 2011.

Agnew, a 27-year-old from Chicago, suffered his first defeat and is now 26-1 (13 KOs).

http://www.boxingscene.com/sergey-kovalev-knocks-cedric-agnew-out-seven–76172

 

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Phitak Canthajun – Samutprakarn, Thailand –

Another great effort of the World Boxing Organization lead by no less then the President Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel himself in coordinating another successful Drug Free program for the Youth of Samutprakarn province at Thailand.

The World Boxing Organization again had put a lot of effort in coordinating with Thailand Tourism and Sports Office of Samutprakarn Province to reach out to children near the boarders of Thailand that had been troublesome issues of Youth getting involved with wrongful drug.

The boxing organization Executive Vice President for Asia Mr. Leon P. Panoncillo, Jr. in coordination with Thailand WBO representative Mr. Sawaeng Thaweekoon have worked on summer workshop project involving getting knowledge of wrong drugs in the area, educating them through lectures.

With the week long activities, 30 students boys and girls appreciated the week of enjoyable games and sports activities including educational seminar lectures for the Youth of understanding the causes and harm drugs may inflect if they intend to use it.

“The goal of this project is reaching out to the Youth of Samutprakarn and educating them before its too late, informed WBO Thailand Representative Mr. Sawaeng Thaweekoon”.

The organizers scheduled a week of fun and games during their stay and WBO also donated to children WBO Drug Free T-shirts, school scholarship for the Youth, variety of daily food for children and educational lectures during their Drug Free week by volunteer staff of the Institute of Physical Education Bangkok.

We would like to thank World Boxing Organization President Francisco Valcarcel, WBO Vice President for Asia Leon Panoncillo, WBO Thailand representative Mr. Sawaeng Thaweekoon for organizing a week filled with fun and games.

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DONNIE ‘Ahas’ Nietes is leaving nothing to chance in his rematch against Moises Fuentes for the World Boxing Organization light-flyweight title on May 10 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The reigning champion is aware the majority 12-round draw he eked out in his first meeting with the Mexican a year ago at the Waterfront Hotel and Resort in Cebu left a bad taste in the mouth, so much so that he vows to go for a knockout if given the chance.

“Ina-knockout ko siya ‘pag may time,” said the two-time world champion in Tuesday’s session of the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at Shakey’s Malate. “‘Pag may chance, patutumbahin ko siya.”

Proof that he’s preparing hard against the 28-year-old challenger from Mexico City, Nietes spent the early part of his training in the US, where he sparred with the likes of former world champion Giovanni Segura and American Matthew Villanueva.

Now back in the country, the pride of Murcia, Negros Occidental will complete the second part of his training in Cebu.

“Grabe ang paghahandang ginagawa namin ngayon, kaya kumpiyansa akong mapapanatili ko ang korona,” said Nietes (32-1-4, 18 KOs), who will be turning 32 three days after the fight.

But ALA Promotions vice president Dennis Canete, who was also a guest in the forum presented by Shakey’s, Accel, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, was quick to add the mandatory title defense of Nietes won’t come in handy.

“Every rematch is dangerous,” Canete admitted. “Siyempre, na-gauge ka na nu’ng opponent mo and Moises Fuentes is a great fighter. So it’s going to be tough.”

A former WBO minimumweight title holder who fought and won against the likes of Ivan Calderon and Raul Garcia, Fuentes (19-1-1, 10 KOs) is a on a three-fight winning streak since facing Nietes, including technical knockout victories in his last two matches against Luis De la Rosa and Omar Salado.

Nietes on the other hand, is fresh from a sensational third-round technical knockout of Sammy Gutierrez last November at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

At the same time, the heartbreaking 10th round loss suffered by stablemate Merlito Sabillo to Francisco Rodriguez of Mexico to yield his WBO 105-lbs. crown over the weekend, also serves as added motivation to Nietes in his fight against Fuentes.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2014/03/26/nietes-promises-to-ko-fuentes-in-opportunity-arises/

 

 

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By:  Eddie Alinea –

It’s all work and no play for Filipino boxing pride Manny Pacquiao in his first week at the Wild Card Gym training camp and in Los Angeles.

And it looks like the situation will be the same the next 23 days when he fights anew defending World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Timothy Bradley on April 12 (April 13 in Manila) at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

“Trabaho talaga, walang pahinga (it’s all works really, no rest),” exclaimed the 35-year-old former pound-for-pound king in reference to his fine tuning regimen that started Tuesday last week, three days following his arrival from Manila. “I can’t even play basketball anymore.”

“I already foresaw know what will happen even when I was still in General Santos for the first leg of my preparation that’s why I intentionally skipped my first day of workout Monday last week to prepare myself for the long and hard grind.”

“I started Tuesday with the conditioning segment with Justin (Justin Fortune, whom he re-signed as strength and conditioning coach) and he really gave me a helluva day that at the end of the day, all I wanted was have more sleep,” Pacquiao confessed to this writer in a long distance telephone interview.

In the afternoon of the same day, he was at the new Wild Card Gym on the ground floor of the old Hollywood sweat shop, which chief trainer Freddie Roach built precisely for his prized student’s private use.

“I’m happy that Justin has rejoined the team, he will be a great help in my preparation as he was in our first five years together, remember?” he said. “Ngayon pa lang, after only four days of working out with him, maganda na ang pakiramdam ko sa katawan ko.”

“We still have four weeks in our program, so I can’t see any reason why I can’t reach the desired results we’re aiming for,” the only man to win world championships in eight weight divisions and in four lineal categories.

Focus of the program is combining speed in his feet and hands movement and power in his punches, which the Pacman said will be the key to avenging his 12-ropund controversial slit decision loss to the undefeated Bradley and recapture the 147-pound belt he believed was robbed of him nearly two years ago.

“Freddie and I came up with a game plan aimed at mixing speed and power in this coming fight,” he said. “I will be banking on my foot movement to chase him wherever he goes and keep him off balance once I catch up with him.”

“I will force him to come on and fight in frustration and use my power to completely demolish him,” he vowed. “Bradley has often said I already lost my killer instinct and I’m already has been. Well, I’ll show him that he’s mistaken on his perception when we get into the ring.

“The fighting Congressman from Sarangani Province said that if Bradley believes I’ll be the same Manny Pacquiao, whom he fought in 2012, he’s mistaken. And if he believes what he’s been saying against me would strike fear in me, he’s again wrong.

“Everything that I have been doing in my training camp from GenSan to here is aimed at proving just how wrong his perception is,” Pacquiao stressed.

“On the contrary, he’ been driving me to work hard, train hard so I can be a better fighter that in my previous fights,” he said. “Bradley will be fighting the man who stopped Oscar De La Hoya, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and Ricky Hatton or even better.”

http://philboxing.com/news/story-93052.html