Rally to Legalize #MMA in New York at @NYGovCuomo and the MMA Documentary Film Festival

At the MMA legalization rally in front of Governor Andrew Cuomo's NYC Office. 633 Third Avenue.

On Tuesday, March 6, the Coalition to Legalize MMA in New York and Madison Square Garden will bring a full day of events to support the legalization of live Mixed Martial Arts in the Empire State. The festivities will start at 11:30 AM, where the Coalition will host a rally for the sanctioning of professional MMA in front of New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Manhattan Office at 633 Third Avenue in the heart of lower Manhattan.

Governor Cuomo’s official endorsement of the sport is considered by many to be a slam dunk for Coalition forces looking to see live MMA in New York by the end of this legislative year. Among the confirmed speakers at the event are former New York State Assemblyman and co-sponsor of the Assembly MMA bill, Michael Benjamin and co-owner and President of Atlantic City-based Cage Fury Fighting Championships, Rob Haydak.

After the rally, the action moves to the New York sports staple Madison Square Garden. The Coalition, in association with Madison Square Garden and TaKe On Productions, will host a free MMA documentary film festival. Media and fan Q & A sessions with the Director and Producer will follow each film.

The MSG film festival will include the world premiere of “In Her Corner: The Inside Story of Women’s MMA.” The film features interviews with Munah Holland, Bjorn Rebney, and Roxanne Modafferi regarding the promotion and growth of women’s MMA.

♔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.

keisher “fire” mcleod-wells set to fight on march 7th @ broadway boxing!

Gleason’s own Keisher “Fire” McLeod-Wells (4-2, 1-KO) will be returning to the ring on March 7, 2012 against Patricia “Patty Boom Boom” Alcivar (5-0, 3-KOs) in a six-round bout on the Broadway Boxing Card.
♔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.

Zab Judah: “I’m 22 years old again”

Jerry Glick reporting: Zab Judah is a Brooklyn bred fighter. Born and raised there, but in fact, he has never fought in his home town as a pro. That will all change when he steps into the ring on Main Event’s talent rich show at the borough’s storied former airbase, Floyd Bennett Field; the home of the venue for this show, The Aviator. He will face unbeaten Vernon Paris, 26-0 (15 KOs), March 24^th, on NBC Sports Network in an IBF junior-welterweight eliminator to determine who will fight the winner of the Amir Khan-Lamont Peterson rematch.

Also scheduled to fight will be heavyweights Tomasz Adamek, and Siarhei Liakhovich, as well as rugged super-middleweight Curtis Stevens and crafty middleweight Tarvis Simms.

Zab, 41-7 (28 KOs), talked to the media by phone on Tuesday and said that he is not looking back at the Khan fight. That he has regrouped and is ready to beat, the young, 24 year old, Paris. At 34 Judah is ten years older and, he says, wiser. He added that he still feels young. “I’m excited again,” said Zab with youthful enthusiasm. “I’m 22 years old again and I promise that I will give you guys the excitement that I gave you guys when I was 22 years old.”

Still trained by the great Pernell Whitaker, Judah said that training is going well, “It’s going great. We have a lot of young undefeated professionals that I’m sparring with. I’m preparing myself as though I was fighting one of the greatest fighters.”

Boxing in Brooklyn for the first time will be a great opportunity for Judah. After 48 pro fight, he will finally box in his home town. “It’s the first time that I will be fighting in Brooklyn as a professional,” said Judah. “It’s a great feeling. The last time I fought in Brooklyn, New York was the Golden Glove.”

He insisted that the punch that ended his fight with Khan was not a legal a body shot, as the referee ruled, but a low blow. “How would anybody know what me and my testicles are going through?” asked Zab. “People make an assumption. It kind of hurts your feelings. You say I got hit with a low blow and they say it was a body shot. A body shot? First of all did you see my body? It was as hard as a brick. Khan is not a knockout puncher. It was a borderline low blow that jammed the cup up into my testicles. It bothers me when people say (these things). People who know me know that I have a heart like a lion.”

Judah understands the opportunity that his fight with Paris is providing him with. “This is an eliminator fight to get me back to where I should be and to where I need to be right now.”

Judah has come back from disaster before. He has the ability to re-invent himself; “to pick himself up, dust himself off and start all over again,” to paraphrase the late reggae singer Peter Tosh. Judah refuses to look back at losses and wants to focus on this fight and the future. This ability may very well be what allows him to keep going when others might become discouraged. A pretty good quality in any endeavor; probably more remarkable in a boxer.

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.

"Raw Combat: The Underground World of Mixed Martial Arts,"

Jim is a long time journalist and author of "Raw Combat: The Underground World of Mixed Martial Arts," which is a rare, often humorous, and intimate glimpse into the world of New York Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). It is a love letter to the sport and community he has covered since the beginning. For me, it was a walk through memory lane. Reading about longtime friends, gyms, and events past and present often brought a smile to my face or heaviness to my heart (RIP Paul Rosner and Gene Fabrikant). New York, where MMA competition is still illegal, is a time capsule. Jim Genia is a historian.

♔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.

Melson: “This is my Toughest Match Yet - Time To Earn It”‏

Although he didn’t start boxing until he was a Plebe in his Freshman Year at West Point, Captain Boyd “Rainmaker” Melson’s had a number of big fights.

A 2008 Olympic alternate selection, Melson battled future pro standouts Erislandy Lara, Danny Jacobs, DeAndre Latimore, Charles Hatley and Keith Thurman during his amateur career. The New York, NY based junior middleweight also competed in many of the United States’ and World's biggest tournaments however, he considers his next fight the most important to date.

On Wednesday evening at BB King Blues Club in Times Square, Melson, 8-0 (4 KO’s), will challenge fellow unbeaten New Yorker Delen “Sniper” Parsley in an eight round contest. At 6’3 with a huge wingspan, Parsley, a talented 24-year-old who’s been around the sport his entire life, has many physical advantages coming into the bout.

“Delen is one of the tallest and longest junior middleweights I’ve ever seen,” said Melson, an active Army Reserve officer and West Point grad. “His style will definitely present a challenge. My international experience as an amateur has allowed me the fortune of facing equally tall opponents in the past.”

To prepare for his first eight rounder, Melson made a few adjustments to his training regimen. The two most noticeable changes were in his decision to start camp a few weeks earlier and find a way to allow an already extremely overburdened daily schedule to create more space for more road work and additional strength training. Melson feels positive about how this preparation will pay off when the opening bell sounds.

“This is the kind of fight that can help either of us get to the next level. It's an excellent challenge for both of us and I am confident that my preparation and my soul's passion will both reveal themselves in the ring!”


♔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.