WORLD-CLASS EVENT SAT. NIGHT IN MONTREAL JEAN PASCAL VS. GEORGE BLADES ALVAREZ VS. MIRANDA, LEMIEUX VS. UPSHAW Stevenson vs. Cloud headlines 'The Return of Superman'

While media attention has focused on Saturday night's "The Return Of Superman" main event (airing live on HBO in the United States), featuring World Boxing Council (WBC), The Ring Magazine and lineal world light heavyweight champion Adonis "Superman" Stevenson (21-1, 18 KOs) in his first title defense against former world title-holder Tavoris "Thunder" Cloud (24-1, 19 KOs), the remainder of this stacked card at historic Bell Centre in Montreal also showcases five other Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM) world-class fighters in action.

First, former WBC, The Ring Magazine and lineal light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal (22-2-1, 16 KOs) returns to the ring for the first time since defeating Aleksy Kuziemski last December. His opponent is American George "Honey Boy"  Blades (23-4-2, 16 KOs). The last time the WBC #2-rated Pascal did not participate in the main bout of a major event was back in December of 2007, when he faced Brian Norman at the Bell Centre.  Joachim Alcine then successfully defended his World Boxing Association (WBA) light middleweight title belt against Alfonso Mosquera in the main event.

"It is a privilege and a luxury to have Pascal's participation in Saturday night's event," said President Yvon Michel of GYM. "He is still considered one of the biggest stars in the light heavyweight division and we all look forward to seeing him back in action.He's fighting for all the right reasons on Saturday and it was good to see him happily smiling during training camp. Currently there is no opponent who is more important for Jean's career than Blades. I expect an inspired performance from him as HBO executives watch him in action."

The 39-year-old Blades has been a professional boxer since 1999. From his pro debut through 2007, he won 20 of his first 22 pro fights to join the ranks of world heavyweight contenders. In June of 2007, he had a world title shot against World Boxing Organization (WBO) light heavyweight champion Zsolt Erdei (26-0-0), who won by 11^th round technical knockout in Hungary. Blades has won his last two fights, most recently against James Morrow (12-19-3), on February 16 in his home state of Indiana.

Another world light heavyweight contender from Montreal, whose return has been long anticipated, is North American Boxing Association (NABA) and North American Boxing Organization (NABO) light heavyweight champion, Eleider "Storm" Alavarez (12-0, 8 KOs).  The WBA and WBO #4 Alvarez faces fellow Colombian, Edison "Pantera" Miranda (35-8-0, 30 KOs). Alvarez has won his last three fights by knockout, including the last two against the world-rated opponents Danny McIntosh and Nicholson Poulard. Alvarez wants his world title shot soon and a convincing victory on his part could precipitate many things in the short or medium term.

Miranda is a dangerous puncher, whose early meteoric rise resulted in a pair of unsuccessful world title fights, seeks to revive his career. According to his promoter Leon Margules, Miranda doubled his training workouts, "Edison is only 32 years old but he is aware that he must absolutely win September 28th because it is his last chance, explaining why he has trained in Florida with so much determination.

Because he and Alvarez are both Colombian, their fight is so much more personal, passionate and emotional for both warriors."      

Another GYM fighter patiently waiting to explode on the international scene, middleweight prospect David Lemieux (29-2-0, 28 KOs), will also be in action Saturday night at Bell Centre. Now ranked #14 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and #15 by the WBC, Lemieux takes on American upset-specialist Marcus Upshaw (15-10-2, 7 KOs) . The latter is well-known in Quebec having shocked Quebec fighter Renan St-Juste three years ago in Quebec City "At 6' 4'' with an aggressive style, it is possible that David may look bad at times in this fight, but this is the kind of strong and complicated opponent that will allow David to grow," Lemieux' trainer Marc Ramsay commented. Lemieux has won his last four fights by KO and his opponents lasted a total of only six rounds during this sequence.

Welterweight Antonin Decarie (27-2, 7 KOs) fought his last two times before HBO cameras and, despite losing his last fight to Argentina Carlos Abregu (35-1, 28 KOs), he showed the right stuff to evolve into a potential world champion. The 30-year-old Decarie, rated #10 by the WBC, still has a very bright future ahead of him. He has also been selected to represent North America in the WBC's World Cup tournament that should get underway in late 2013. In a six-rounder to stay active, Decarie will face the Frenchman Salim Larbi (17-3-2, 5 KOs) this Saturday evening. Larbi fought for the WBO world title as recently as 2012.

IBF I / C and NABA welterweight contender, IBF #3 rated Kevin Bizier (20-0, 14 KOs), of Quebec, will also be back in action after fully recovering from a painful ankle sprain.His opponent is veteran Giuseppe Lauri (53-14, 31 KOs), a native of Italy who now lives in Hungary. Bizier could be one of the main headliners of a GYM event tentatively scheduled for November in Quebec City.   

Finally, Saturday night's event will allow former world amateur champion Artur Beterbiev (1-0, 1 KOs) to continue learning, this time in a six-round, light heavyweight fight. To demonstrate the confidence that GYM places in Beterbiev, in only his second professional outing, the Russian prospect will fight a veteran of 47 professional fights, Rayco Saunders (23-22-2, 10 KOs). It's highly usual for a young prospect like Beterbiev, who hasn't lost since a cut cost him an amateur match in 2003, to fight a veteran such as Saunders so early into his pro career. 

"Superman Returns," headlined by the world light heavyweight championship between defending champion Stevenson and challenger Cloud, is being presented by Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM), Don King Productions (DKP) and Gary Shaw Productions (GSP), in association with Mise-O-Jeu and Videotron.    

Saturday night's gala event at Bell Centre promises to be memorable, featuring an awesome line-up of fighters in significant matches.

Doors at the Bell Centre will open Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. ET with the first fight scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. ET. Stevenson vs. Cloud on HBO in the U.S. is slated to start around 10:30 p.m. ET.

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Stevenson-Cloud-event-showcases-card-full-of-world-class-fighters.html?soid=1107899787415&aid=rZ0t_eO0Xpo

♔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, 2012, 2013 All photos other than those specified by "EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess" Keisha Morrisey, for ♔Impress Photo-Studios♔ and KCKMT for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and ★Starlite★ Boxing's Sweetscience Blog-Online Publication all rights reserved.

Alvarado vs Provodnikov - First Bank Center, Denver CO

HBO "World Championship Boxing" will air at 9:45 p.m. ET/PT the WBO Jr Welterweight Title clash between champ MIKE ALVARADO of Denver and No. 1-ranked contender RUSLAN PROVODNIKOV of Russia.



♔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, 2012, 2013 All photos other than those specified by "EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess" Keisha Morrisey, for ♔Impress Photo-Studios♔ and KCKMT for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and ★Starlite★ Boxing's Sweetscience Blog-Online Publication all rights reserved.

Floyd Mayweather Talks Legacy, Drug Testing, Next Fight, in NYC

Floyd Mayweather Talks Legacy, Drug Testing, Next Fight, in NYC

Written by Michael Woods

Wednesday, 25 September 2013 17:07

Floyd Mayweather is soaking up the adulation as the face of the fight game, the undisputed heavyweight champion of relevancy, on a tour of New York media stops. On Tuesday, Floyd took questions from select media at the Vanderbilt Suites in Manhattan, and told the assembled that he is as happy as he is as ever been.

The 36-year-old boxer, who succumbed to a Howard Stern grilling in the AM, and was off to talk money with Bloomberg crew after the luncheon, came off as a contented person, but still showed the pride which hints that he isn't fully serene in regards to how he is seen in the grand scheme of the sport. I asked Floyd about where he stands all time, noting that his legacy seems to be in a re-assessment period to some, though many more fans seem to think that the fighter can't rise to the level of the Sugar Rays or other golden age greats because he isn't as active, and has cherry-picked foes. Floyd pointed out that when he was 36, Muhammad Ali lost to a man who'd had seven pro bouts. Who else has been on top for a 17 year span, who else connects like I do, who else makes the revenue I do? His implication was clear, even if he didn't want to draw the heat by outright stating that he's the best of the best.

Mayweather pointed out that other fighters get clapped on the back when they sign up for year-round drug testing, but he drew scorn when he made an issue of it a few years back...and now all sports are consumed with the issue. He didn't offer much in the way of hints as to who he might fight next, and neither did advisor Leonard Ellerbe. Both men said that Danny Garcia is a solid boxer, but both also warned naysayers who think the next Floyd date, May 3, 2014 can't come close to the Canelo clash in terms of buzz or revenue that a year or two ago, nobody was predicting that Canelo could be the B side to a promotion which will go over 2.2 million PPV buys and $150 million in revenue when final tallies come in.

"Everyone is gunning for me, from heavyweight down to 105," Mayweather told the media, which included writers from Forbes and the Wall St Journal.

We did perhaps get a hint of what Mayweather won't do, as Floyd noted that he's a welter, and in fact had to gobble extra food to hold weight on fight night. So no, people looking for him to go to 168 or a sub 68 catchweight against Andre Ward, won't be in luck.

He and Ellerbe left the door open for a fight in NY, with Ellerbe saying, "We're always open to listening to different things, you just never know," after Mayweather professed his love for Vegas, titling the possibility of indulging in delicious excess there "Mayweather Mania."

With that the lunch came to a close, with the visit to Bloomberg, and an appearance on "The Colbert Report" still to come. No boxer has replicated the same manner of buzz Mayweather enjoys, getting traction on everything from TMZ to Forbes, and popping up on both left wing outlets, like MSNBC, and pillars of capitalistic supremacy, like Bloomberg. That he does so without being a mad bomber, a la Mike Tyson, and revels in the fact that he doesn't engage in risky trading which could be detrimental to his long term well being, is rather fascinating. His style is best appreciated by purists, and I admit to being slightly suprised that his public preoccupation with the size of his paychecks hasn't resulted in pointed pushback from citizens who don't enjoy the same level of monetary comfort. Sum it all up, Mayweather is a supremely skilled athlete with some personal complexities which keep folks interested in his actions. I confess, I thought to myself that it might be nice to see him glove up before next summer, considering that his activity gives the sport a double-shot of adrenaline. No, Mayweather said, he calls the shots, and he's going to fight in May and September in 2014 and 2015. We can keep ourselves occupied by who is the next lucky soul/poor bastard who will get the opportunity to be rendered a sub-optimal version of their best selves.

http://www.thesweetscience.com/news/articles-frontpage/17288-floyd-mayweather-talks-about-his-legacy-next-fight-in-ny
♔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, 2012, 2013 All photos other than those specified by "EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess" Keisha Morrisey, for ♔Impress Photo-Studios♔ and KCKMT for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and ★Starlite★ Boxing's Sweetscience Blog-Online Publication all rights reserved.