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Sunday, April 19, 2009

Jesus Rodriguez vs. Devon Alexander in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS—Jesus “Chuy” Rodriguez, a winner in 11 of his last 12 matches, signed a contract today to face undefeated World Boxing Council No. 1-ranked super lightweight Devon Alexander “The Great” on Friday, April 24 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis and on SHOWTIME®.

Alexander (17-0, 10 KOs) is the Gateway City’s fastest-rising star, and Rodriguez (19-3, 5 KOs), from Salinas, Calif., will look to give him a stiff test in a match scheduled for 10 rounds.

The main event will feature two more St. Louisans battling for the vacant International Boxing Federation junior middleweight championship when former four-time world champion Cory “The Next Generation” Spinks (36-5, 11 KOs) meets IBF No. 6-ranked contender Deandre “The Bull” Latimore (19-1, 16 KOs).

Both fights will be televised on ShoBox: The New Generation live on SHOWTIME beginning at 11 p.m. ET/PT (10 p.m. CT, delayed on the West Coast). A full undercard will be presented. Doors open at 6 p.m.

The event is promoted by Don King Productions with Spinks vs. Latimore presented in association with Rumble Time Promotions and DiBella Entertainment.

Alexander, a 22-year-old phenom trained and managed by Kevin Cunningham, was recently named mandatory challenger to the WBC 140-pound champion Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley, so he has his first world championship match riding on this fight.

Devon Alexander and Kevin Cunningham,


Bradley added the World Boxing Organization 140-pound title to his resume by defeating then-champion Kendall Holt on April 4, also on SHOWTIME, which means Alexander will next face a unified world champion if he can get past Rodriguez.

“A world championship fight is what I have been working towards my whole life,” Alexander said. “To earn that chance in front of my hometown fans in St. Louis would mean a lot to me.”

Alexander’s promoter Don King sees a bright future for this budding star.

“Devon Alexander has all the skills to become a world champion and he’s going to earn his first title shot by defeating Jesus Rodriguez in St. Louis on April 24,” King said. “Not only is Devon a great fighter but he’s an outstanding individual, a young man the people of St. Louis can be proud of.”

Rodriguez’s three losses have all come against undefeated fighters. He lost his debut against a fighter also making his first appearance in 1999 and against two fighters who remain undefeated: Vladimir Zykov, who had 15 wins when he faced Rodriguez in 2006, and Mike Alvarado, who had 19 wins when Rodriguez dropped a 10-round decision when they met on Feb. 15, 2008.

It should be noted that Rodriguez defeated Omri Lowther, a highly decorated amateur who was undefeated in nine fights as a professional when they met in 2007. Rodriguez won an eight-round unanimous decision.

See you at the Fights.
Thanks for your time.

Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience The Video Channel Online http://www.youtube.com/ELEmpress1

EL Boxing Empress Keisha Morrisey's Myspace http://www.myspace.com/Keishadivine

Honorable Keisha Morrisey http://www.keishamorrisey.com

©®™2007, 2008 All rights reserved

Manfredo stops Smichet in 7th

MONTREAL– Former world title challenger Peter Manfredo, Jr. knocked out tough Tunisian veteran Walid “Tempete de Sable” Smichet in the seventh round of today’s scheduled 10-round co-feature at Montreal Casino

The 28-year-old Manfredo (32-6, 16 KOs), star of The Contender, Season I, got his career back on the right track with a strong performance against Smichet (20-6-3, 14 KOs), who had been knocked out only once in 28 prior pro fights, by Renan St. Juste in 2006. Manfredo accomplished what neither unbeaten world title contender John Duddy nor Canadian middleweight champion Sebastien Demers had been able to do in their 10 and 12 round fights, respectively, against Smichet.

“It was a nice win and good confidence builder,” Manfredo remarked. “I hurt him in the third and after that I knew I could hurt him anytime. He was tough, though, and came back fighting. I hurt him again in the sixth and knew that it was only a matter of time. I was bigger, stronger and better than him and proved it today, not only to the fans, but to myself. I’m a top-level performer who only had three weeks to get ready for this fight. I’m coming down to middleweight and I want Duddy. Today, I did what he couldn’t do and plan on being ringside Friday night (vs. Billy Lyell in Newark, NJ) for his fight.”

Manfredo recently reunited with his original promoter, Jimmy Burchfield (Classic Entertainment and Sports, Inc., who said after the fight, “What a victory! A war, back-and-forth action, but Peter boxed beautifully and stuck with his game plan. He hurt Smichet a number of times, picking him apart, throughout the fight. It was a devastating punch; knockout of the year candidate.”

Manfredo floored Smichet in the third, staggered in the sixth, and put him to sleep with a vicious left hook at the end of the seventh.

“A great win,” Manfredo’s manager Larry Army added. “We couldn’t be happier with his comeback fight. The middleweight division is ripe for Peter’s pickings.”

Go to www.cesboxing.com for more information about Classic Entertainment and Sports and Manfredo.See you at the Fights.
Thanks for your time.

Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience The Video Channel Online http://www.youtube.com/ELEmpress1

EL Boxing Empress Keisha Morrisey's Myspace http://www.myspace.com/Keishadivine

Honorable Keisha Morrisey http://www.keishamorrisey.com

©®™2007, 2008 All rights reserved

SecondsOut Radio: Nonito Donaire and Brian Viloria Reviews, Carl Froch- Jermain Taylor Preview, Tor Hamer and Shawn Raysor

SecondsOut Radio: Nonito Donaire and Brian Viloria Reviews, Carl Froch-
Jermain Taylor Preview, Tor Hamer and Shawn Raysor on Today's
Heavyweights

On this week's edition of SecondsOut Radio, host Eddie Goldman begins
by reviewing the two major title fights held Sunday morning, April 19,
at the famed Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City in the Philippines.

On that card, Nonito Donaire (21-1, 14 KOs) successfully defended his
IBF flyweight title by dominating previously-unbeaten Raul Martinez
(24-1, 14 KOs), knocking him down four times, and scoring a fourth-
round TKO. The co-feature saw an aggressive Brian Viloria (25-2, 15
KOs) upset Ulises Solis (28-2, 20 KOs) with an 11th-round knockout to
capture the IBF light flyweight title. This was the best a rejuvenated
Viloria had looked in a long time, and this spirited fight, in which
Solis came back in the middle rounds, could earn a Fight of the Year
nomination.

One fighter who is trying hard to gain recognition is 26-year old
heavyweight Tor Hamer (5-0, 4 KOs). His next fight will be against an
opponent to be named on the Andre Berto-Juan Urango undercard May 30
at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida. We had a chance at a news
conference this past week at the new Yankee Stadium to speak with Tor
Hamer and his trainer, Shawn Raysor, about his career, why American
heavyweights are no longer at the top of that division, why so many
American heavyweights seem out of shape, and more.

This coming Saturday, April 25, the unbeaten WBC super middleweight
champion Carl Froch (24-0, 19 KOs) of Nottingham, England, travels to
America to defend his title against the former middleweight champion,
Jermain Taylor (28-2-1, 17 KOs), of Little Rock, Arkansas. This fight
will take place at the MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino in
Mashantucket, Conn. It will be televised live in the U.S. on Showtime.

We had a chance on a recent media conference call to speak with both
Carl Froch and Jermain Taylor about this fight.

It is free to listen to or download SecondsOut Radio, but you must
register to gain access to it. Just click here, http://www.secondsout.com/radio/,
and listen, learn, and enjoy.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman
http://eddiegoldman.com

See you at the Fights.
Thanks for your time.

Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience The Video Channel Online http://www.youtube.com/ELEmpress1

EL Boxing Empress Keisha Morrisey's Myspace http://www.myspace.com/Keishadivine

Honorable Keisha Morrisey http://www.keishamorrisey.com

©®™2007, 2008 All rights reserved