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Saturday, February 18, 2012

It’s Showtime: Jimmy Lennon Jr. to Announce “Cagesport XVIII”!

Legendary ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. will serve as the master of ceremonies for “Cagesport XVIII”.

The card takes place Saturday, February 25 at the Emerald Queen Casino and is promoted by Halquist Productions. Tickets starting at $35 are available at the casino box office or on EmeraldQueen.com.

A member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame, Lennon Jr. has announced numerous big-time fights for the most respected networks, appearing on Showtime, HBO and Fox Sports amongst others. Globally recognized for exclaiming “It’s Showtime!” prior to the main event, he also called five cards in 2011 for Halquist Productions.

“We are always excited to have Jimmy announce our shows,” said Halquist Productions’ CEO Brian Halquist. “It’s truly an honor to have the best in the business working with us.”

Known as “Classy”, Lennon Jr. is thrilled to be back in Tacoma and passed up other opportunities to make it happen.

“I am fortunate enough to be asked to announce shows all over the world,” said Lennon Jr. “(The same weekend as Cagesport XVIII) I was asked to announce a show in London, but I chose to be in Tacoma with Halquist Productions. I love the atmosphere, I love the fights and I love the fans in Tacoma. It’s truly something I am proud to be a part of.”

Cagesport XVIII has a total of ten world-class mixed martial arts bouts, headlined by a five round welterweight title match-up between local favorite “Fast” Eddy Ellis and David “Hollywood” Hulett.

♔EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess♔, See you at the Fights and Thank You for your time.EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey ©®™ 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 All photos other than specified by "EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess" Keisha Morrisey, for ♔Empire Morrisey Photo-Studios♔, KCKMT for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and ★Starlite★ Boxing's Sweetscience Magnews-Online Publication all rights reserved.

BATTLE OF THE UNDEFEATED! RIOS AND GAMBOA TO RUMBLE FOR WORLD LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE Saturday, April 14 at Mandalay Bay Live on HBO

BATTLE OF THE UNDEFEATED!!! Brandon Rios and Yuriorkis Gamboa will face each other April 14th in Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino Las Vegas in one of the most highly anticipated fights of the year.

Boxing fans can expect many happy returns this tax season. Former world lightweight champion BRANDON "Bam Bam" RIOS and former featherweight champion YURIORKIS GAMBOA will collide in a battle of the undefeated for the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight championship, Saturday, April 14, at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Arena Box U.S., the fight will be televised live on HBO as the main event of World Championship Boxing, beginning at 10:15 p.m. ET.

Rios (29-0-1, 22 KOs), the former WBA lightweight champion, from Oxnard, Calif., enters this fight having won 10 of his previous 11 fights by knockout. Gamboa (21-0, 16 KOs), the former world featherweight champion who won Olympic gold in 2004 for his native Cuba and now resides in Miami, Fla., will return to the ring having won eight of his previous 11 by stoppage. In short, these warriors have never met a chin they didn't want to smash.

"Rios and Gamboa are two young and hungry fighters in their prime looking to make a leap to stardom," said Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank.

"Gamboa has been constantly referred to as a 'rising Cuban star' throughout his career. But on April 14, the word 'rising' will finally be eliminated. Gamboa will be a superstar," said Ahmet Öner, president of Arena Box US. "Gamboa is so special and though he has been fighting at 126 pounds, 135 pounds is where he belongs. He will be so much stronger fighting at lightweight."

"Brandon Rios versus Yuriorkis Gamboa is a spectacular fight and we're excited to present this showdown live on HBO World Championship Boxing," said Kery Davis, Senior Vice President, Programming, HBO Sports. "Both fighters deserve recognition for stepping up and saying 'let's do it.'

♔EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess♔, See you at the Fights and Thank You for your time.EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey ©®™ 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 All photos other than specified by "EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess" Keisha Morrisey, for ♔Empire Morrisey Photo-Studios♔, KCKMT for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and ★Starlite★ Boxing's Sweetscience Magnews-Online Publication all rights reserved.

The Final Trio of London Hopefuls Claim U.S. Olympic Team Trials Final Round Berths in Spokane‏

The U.S. Olympic Team Trials Championship bouts are now set following three challengers bracket final round contests at Northern Quest Resort. All six competitors in Friday’s action were battling to stay alive in the first-ever Olympic Trials, and the intensity of the action reflected the night’s high stakes.

Flyweight Tyrieshia Douglas (Baltimore, Md.) was competing in her fifth bout in as many days but didn’t show any signs of fatigue in her contest with Christina Cruz (New York, N.Y.). Douglas held a slim two-point advantage going into the final round, and she didn’t leave anything to chance over the final two minutes. The two-time USA Boxing National Championships silver medalist scored 11 points in the final round to claim a 22-14 victory and move on to Saturday’s championship contest with six-time national champion Marlen Esparza (Houston, Texas).

Two tall and skilled lightweights faced off in the second contest of the evening with 2011 National Golden Gloves champion Mikaela Mayer (Los Angeles, Calif.) challenging 2011 USA Boxing National Championships bronze medalist N’yteeyah Sherman (Barberton, Ohio). The momentum swung throughout the bout with Sherman taking a 7-5 lead after the opening two minutes. Yet Mayer pulled the bout to a 13-13 tie at the midway point of the contest. Mayer grabbed the lead in the third round, holding a 20-17 advantage with one round of action remaining. Sherman, an accounting major at Kent State University, nearly managed to pull the bout to a tie score over the final two minutes but Mayer held on to a one-point lead. She went on to win a 26-25 final decision and move on to a rematch of Tuesday’s action with Queen Underwood in Saturday’s finals.

Middleweight Tika Hemingway (Pittsburgh, Pa.) won the final spot in the championship round with a convincing 21-6 victory over Raquel Miller (San Francisco, Calif.) in their challengers bracket contest. Hemingway took the early lead and built it out slowly, closing the show with nine points in the final round to win a 21-6 decision. She will face 16-year-old Claressa Shields (Flint, Mich.) in a rematch of Thursday’s action on Saturday night.

The evening opened with three junior female bouts, featuring contests ranging from the 10 and 11 year-old division to the 15 and 16-year-old class. The participants traveled from as far as Alberta, Canada to take part in the event.

Saturday’s championship round action will begin at 8 p.m. PT and should the winners bracket titlist emerge victorious, they will be the first-ever U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Women’s Boxing champion. If a challengers bracket champion wins on Saturday, the weight class will go to a second winner-takes-all bout on Sunday.

Saturday’s championship bouts can be viewed via live stream at http://www.universalsports.com/video/assetid=fa5a8f09-8696-4cf8-8833-f9f42c58631b.html.

Friday’s Challengers Bracket Finals Results

112 lbs/challengers bracket: Tyrieshia Douglas, Baltimore, Md., dec. Christina Cruz, 22-14

132 lbs/challengers bracket: Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif., dec. N'yteeyah Sherman, 26-24

165 lbs/challengers bracket: Tika Hemingway, Pittsburgh, Pa., dec. Raquel Miller, San Francisco, Calif., 21-6

Saturday’s Championship Round Bout Sheet

112 lbs: Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas vs. Tyrieshia Douglas, Baltimore, Md.
132 lbs: Queen Underwood, Seattle, Wash., vs. Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif.
165 lbs: Claressa Shields, Flint, Mich., vs. Tika Hemingway, Pittsburgh, Pa.

♔EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess♔, See you at the Fights and Thank You for your time.EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey ©®™ 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 All photos other than specified by "EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess" Keisha Morrisey, for ♔Empire Morrisey Photo-Studios♔, KCKMT for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and ★Starlite★ Boxing's Sweetscience Magnews-Online Publication all rights reserved.