★Starlite★ Boxing's Sweetscience©®™: Feb 28, 2013

Thursday, February 28, 2013

No Holds Barred: Kevin Jackson on Iowa State Going To NCAAs and Big 12s, Saving Olympic Wrestling, and King Mo

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again speaks with Coach Kevin Jackson (http://www.twitter.com/CoachKJ_ISU), the Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion freestyle wrestler, who is the head wrestling coach for the legendary Iowa State Cyclones (http://www.cyclones.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10700&SPID=4248&SPSID=46632).

After a slow start to the 2012-13 college wrestling season, Iowa State reeled off eight wins in their final nine dual meets, with the team now ranked 20th in the nation. Several wrestlers are also individually ranked in the top 20, including redshirt sophomore Kyven Gadson, who is ranked seventh at 197 pounds.

"Were happy with the last few months," said Coach Jackson in this interview, which was recorded by phone Wednesday. "It's just the way our guys are competing. The wins are coming. The dominating performances are coming. The major decisions, the falls, the tech falls are all falling into place."

This all comes at the right time for Iowa State. The regular season is now over, with the Big 12 Duals and Championships slated for March 8-9 in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and the NCAA Div. I National Championships March 21-23 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Coach Jackson added, "We're still a young team. We have four sophomores and three freshman starting in our lineup. So we're really excited about our future. But also we think for a lot of these guys the future is now, and that there are great opportunities for them at the Big 12s next week, and then at the NCAA tournament a few weeks later."

While college wrestling in the U.S. prepares for these championship tournaments, the entire worlds of wrestling and sports were rocked by the recent decision of the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee to drop wrestling from the program of the 2020 Olympics. We also discussed this with Coach Jackson.

"I don't know exactly what went wrong, besides I think our leadership within our international governing body [FILA] was flawed, and we weren't staying ahead of the game," he said. "We weren't staying ahead of what we needed to do to show the IOC that we were worthy of being in the Olympic Games, and the great things that we have done throughout the history of the Olympic Games, and how we are an integral part of those Games. And I don't think our international governing body did that."

Besides going over what changes international wrestling needs to make and what we can do to help save Olympic wrestling, we also discussed the recent loss in the Bellator MMA organization by "King" Mo Lawal, who had trained for years in freestyle wrestling with Coach Jackson at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. Coach Jackson was also a professional MMA fighter in the 1990s in both UFC and Battlecade Extreme Fighting, so he offered some friendly advice to "King" Mo.♔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.

Victor Ortiz will take the dance floor on season 16 of “Dancing With the Stars.

The new cast of ABC’s hit show was revealed today, exclusively on “Good Morning America,” and the headliners include country music legend Wynonna Judd, former “Idol” finalist Kellie Pickler, reality TV star Lisa Vanderpump and NFL star Jacoby Jones.

Jones isn’t the only athlete on the show. Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman, professional boxer Victor Ortiz, and figure skating legend Dorothy Hamill will compete this season. Comedians D.L. Hughley and Andy Dick, as well as “General Hospital” star Ingo Rademacher, and Disney star Zendaya Coleman round out the star-studded pack.

The new season kicks off with a two-hour premiere on Monday, March 18 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on ABC. The couple with the lowest combined judges’ scores and public votes for their performance will be sent home in the season premiere of “Dancing With the Stars: The Results Show.”

♔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.

Alantez Fox Steps Back in the Ring March 2

Undefeated junior middleweight Alantez "Sly as A" Fox (9-0-1 4KOs) will be making his second appearance of 2013 as he steps in the ring with Greg Hackett (2-9) in a 6 round fight. The Maryland born prospect will be on a card that is being held in his backyard of Fort Washington, Maryland at the Rosecroft Raceway venue on Saturday, March 2nd.

Fox is happy to have a quick turnaround and would like to continue fighting on a consistent basis. Aside from his skills and physical attributes, Fox is a student of the game and enjoys learning from his performances. However, Fox finds it equally important to fight in front of his home town crowds in an effort to give them the performances he feels they deserve.

"I'm always excited to have a fight scheduled and the feeling intensifies as the fight gets closer," Fox said. "Every fighter brings something different to the table and by fighting more I get the opportunity to see a variety of challenges. It makes it even better when I get to accomplish my goals in front of my fans from my home town or my home state. I'll be looking to treat my fans to an entertaining night. Boxing 360 is doing a great job with my career."

Boxing 360's Mario Yagobi feels confident that Fox is on the right path and working towards making him a viable contender with a strong fan base.

"Fox is willing and able to take on the fighters we put in front of him, he knows that this is the part of his career where he has to make the right moves and I have all the confidence in him getting the job done. It's a process that all fighters find themselves in at one point in their career, Fox is handling all of the obstacles and when he's ready to take the next step I know he'll handle that too," Yagobi said.

Prizefighter: Heavyweights III to Air Thursday on WealthTV The popular eight fighter one night box-off series comes to the USA airwaves

WealthTV is set to air Prizefighter: Heavyweights III on Thursday February 28^that 10PM ET. The event features a unique eight fighter, three round single elimination tournament format. It will be the third edition of the box-off to air on WealthTV.

This installment of the series will showcase many familiar faces. Americans Travis Walker (39-9, 31 KO) and Derric Rossy (28-6, 14 KO) are in the tournament field. The United Kingdom is represented by three fighters, Audley Harrison (31-6, 23 KO) Martin Rogan (16-4, 8 KO) and Ian Lewison (7-2, 4 KO.) Claus Bertino (15-5, 8 KO), Albert Sosnowski (47-6, 28 KO), and TimoHoffmann (40-8, 23 KO) fill out the rest of the bracket and hail from Denmark, Poland, and Germany respectively.

“This Prizefighter has the best competition of any edition before.” Said WealthTV director of live events Tommy Morris. “There are world title challengers in action; Harrison & Sosnowski. We will also see regional title winners Walker, Rossy, Hoffmann and Rogan. Rogan has won the Prizefighter event in the past. The three round format creates high action fights which is somethingboxing fans always look forward to.”

Acquinity Sports inks Hylon Williams Jr‏

Fast-rising promotional company, Acquinity Sports, has signed 2008 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team alternate Hylon "Lil' Ced" Williams, Jr. to an exclusive contract.

Williams (16-1, 3 KOs), a native of Las Vegas, was a standout U.S. amateur boxer who compiled an impressive 145-20 record, highlighted by gold medal performances at the 2007 National Golden Gloves and 2006 National PAL tournaments.

Williams' co-managers, Luis DeCubas, Jr. and Alex Bornote, reached out to promoter Henry Rivalta, Acquinity Sports Vice President of Operations. Negotiations took place and the parties came to a mutually beneficial agreement.

"I'm very happy to have signed a promotional contract with Acquinity Sports," Williams said. "I'm anxious to get back into the ring and eager to prove that I'm one of the top 126-pounders in the world. I'd like to thank Luis, Alex and Henry for putting this deal together. I want to fight all of the top dogs."

Williams has campaigned for most if his professional career as a lightweight, however, he has committed to fighting as a featherweight. Acquinity Sports now has a terrific trio of featherweights with Williams joining undefeated stable-mates Claudio Marrero (14-0, 11 KOs), rated No. 2 by the World Boxing Association (WBA), and Alexei "The Hurricane" Collado (15-0, 14 KOs).

"We are very pleased to add a talent like Hylon to our growing roster of future champions," Rivala commented. "My partner, Gary Jonas, and I feel that Hylon is a talented young man with a bright future ahead of him. He's a slick boxer and legitimate threat for anybody in the featherweight division. I have no doubt in my mind Hylon can become world champion. He's young and hungry, works hard, and has a great attitude."

Williams made his pro debut April 19, 2008, winning a four-round decision over Marcos Mendias, on the Bernard Hopkins-Joe Calzaghe undercard, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The 22-year-old Williams won his first 15 pro fights before losing an eight-round decision to former Cuban National Champion Rances "Kid Blast" Barthelemy (14-0). In his last fight this past October, Williams shutout John Willoughby en route to a six-round decision.

ELVIR MURIQI TO TAKE ON PAUL VASQUEZ ON MARCH 15TH IN WHIPPANY, NEW JERSEY Thompson, Douglas, Nickey, Young & Wright put undefeated records on the line plus Heavyweight slugfest between Patrick Farrell and John Lennox

On Friday night, March 15^th Light Heavyweight contender Elvir “The Kosovo Kid” Muriqi returns to the ring when he takes on Paul Vazquez in a scheduled eight round bout at the Birchwood Manor in Whippany, New Jersey.

That bout plus a full undercard is promoted by Vito Mielnicki’s GH3 Promotions and Greg Cohen Promotions.

The thirty-three year old Muriqi has a record of 39-5 with 24 knockouts and is looking to make another run to the top of the Heavyweight rankings.

The native of New York City won 30 of his first 31 bouts with his lone blemish being a controversial disqualification defeat. In that streak Muriqi had quality wins over Joseph Harris, Sammy Ahmad, James Crawford and Tony Menefee. After dropping two of three, Muriqi went on a three fight winning streak that set up a showdown with former undisputed Light Heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver.

Muriqi fought a valiant fight for which some ringsiders thought he may have pulled off the upset. In the end it was Tarver who took the majority decision in their Showtime televised bout on June 9, 2007.

Muriqi rebounded with a 4^th round stoppage over Jameel Wilson which set him up for an IBF elimination bout against former world champion Clinton Woods.

Once again Muriqi put on a great performance before dropping a unanimous decision in front of Woods hometown crowd in England.

Muriqi is currently riding a four fight winning streak with wins over Daniel Judah and his most recent win over Chris Grays on December 10, 2011.

Vazquez, 34 years old of Martinez, California has a respectable record of 9-2-1 with three knockouts. He has won three in a row with the latest being a third round stoppage over Brett Urban on May 19, 2011. Vazquez also has a draw with former world title challenger Pat Lawlor.

In the six round co-feature, John Thompson (10-0, 3 KO’s) will take on Calvin Odom in a Jr. Middleweight bout.

Thompson) of Newark, NJ has been stepping up the competition with each fight. The twenty-three year old has quality wins over Jermond Bourgeois (TKO 2), John Mackey (UD) and his last bout when he scored a six round unanimous decision over Elie Augustama on December 1^st at Madison Square Garden as part of the Austin Trout – Miguel Cotto championship fight card.

Odom of Inglewood, CA has a record of 15-13 with 11 wins by knockout. Odom has faced top competition and has defeated the likes of undefeated Juan Gil, Jose Luis Zertuche, and Srrgio Rios and has also faced Grady Brewer (twice), Roberto Garcia, former world title challenger Marco Antonio Rubio, Sebastian Valdez, Jose Antonio Ojeda, Walter Wright, Luciano Perez, Charles Hatley, Wale Omotoso, Tony Harrison and his last bout he dropped an eight round decision to Joe Greene on January 10th

In what figure to be a six round Heavyweight slugfest, it will be the battle of New Jersey when Patrick Farrell (8-1-1, 4 KO’s) of Jersey City takes on John Lennox (10-2, 5 KO’s) of Carteret.

In four round bouts, Danny Gonzalez (1-0) of Queens, NY will square off with Carlos Nieves (0-1) of New York in a Jr. Welterweight bout.

In a four round Jr. Lightweight bout, Glenford Nickey (1-0-1) of New York, NY battles Anolan Rigal (1-3-1, 1 KO) of Johnson City, NY

Anthony “Juice”Young (6-0, 2 KO’s) of Atlantic City will fight an opponent to be named in a Welterweight bout.

In a heavyweight bout, Tyrell Wright (1-0) Bayonne, NJ takes on Lamont Capers (1-1) of Hawley, PA

Popular Vinny O’Brien (3-2, 2 KO’s) of East Hanover, NJ returns to the ring when he takes on Anthony Smith (1-1) of Brooklyn in a Jr. Welterweight bout

Rounding out the card will be the pro debut of Ricky Edwards boxing Moses Molina (1-3, 1 KO) of Bridgeton, NJ in a Lightweight bout.

Mike Tyson appears on THE LATE LATE SHOW with CRAIG FERGUSON.

Tonight, legendary boxer Mike Tyson appears on THE LATE LATE SHOW with CRAIG FERGUSON.

During the interview, Craig asks Tyson if he is still crazy, and he responds “Absolutely, out of my mind!” Tyson also discusses keeping his anger under control now. Here is a sneak preview of his interview

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Thursday, February 28, 2013