★Starlite★ Boxing's Sweetscience©®™: Diego Chaves

Showing posts with label Diego Chaves. Show all posts

Friday, May 17, 2013

"Knockout Kings II" Featuring Andre Berto vs. Jesus Soto Karass & Undefeated Rising Stars Keith Thurman vs. Diego Chaves Lands At The AT&T Center in San Antonio on July 27 Live on SHOWTIME - Tickets Go On Sale Friday, May 17 at 10:00 a.m. CT‏

"KNOCKOUT KINGS II" FEATURING FORMER TWO-TIME

WORLD CHAMPION ANDRE BERTO FACING

PERENIAL CONTENDER JESUS SOTO KARASS AND UNDEFEATED

RISING STARS KEITH THURMAN AND DIEGO CHAVES SQUARING OFF FOR WBA INTERIM WELTERWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP LANDS AT THE AT&T CENTER IN SAN ANTONIO ON JULY 27

PLUS, UNBEATEN TEXAS SENSATION OMAR FIGUEROA JR.

FACES JAPAN'S NIHITO ARAKAWA FOR WBC INTERIM LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

SHOWTIME^® TO TELEVISE TRIPLEHEADER LIVE

San Antonio, Texas will once again be the site of a major boxing event when SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING^® returns to the Lone Star State on Saturday, July 27 with "KNOCKOUT KINGS II," a spectacular night of world-class fights at the AT&T Center featuring a tripleheader starring some of the sport's brightest stars live on SHOWTIME.

In the 12-round main event, former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto is back in the ring to take on tough Mexican contender Jesus Soto Karass. Plus, unbeaten knockout artist Keith Thurman and fellow power-puncher Diego Gabriel Chavesbattle for Chaves' WBA Interim Welterweight World Championship and Weslaco, Texas' undefeated rising star Omar Figueroa Jr. squares off against Tokyo's Nihito Arakawa for the vacant WBC Interim Lightweight World Championship.

The event marks the return of co-promoters Golden Boy Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions to San Antonio where they recently promoted the April 20 blockbuster fight between Canelo Alvarez and Austin Trout which had almost 40,000 fans in attendance.

"Texas is our new home away from home and it's great to be returning so soon after the Alvarez-Trout mega event in April," said Oscar De La Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. "That event proved that boxing is alive and well and on July 27, we're going to have another stacked card that will pack the AT&T Center."

"Leija-Battah Promotions is thrilled to be co-hosting another SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING event in San Antonio in collaboration with Golden Boy Promotions," said Mike Battah, President of Leija & Battah Promotions. "The people of San Antonio and Texas demonstrated their affinity for boxing on April 20 at the Canelo vs. Trout sell-out event and we look forward to hosting multiple mega-fights yearly."

"We have always dedicated ourselves to providing the people of San Antonio and all of South Texas with a broad variety of first-class sports and entertainment events at the AT&T Center," said Rick Pych, Spurs Sports & Entertainment President of Business Operations. "San Antonio is a city that truly appreciates and supports boxing in a big way and this is a terrific opportunity for fight fans to witness three world-class bouts in an arena setting."

A member of the 2004 Haitian Olympic team, Andre Berto (28-2, 22 KO's) turned pro later that year and has never looked back. A throwback fighter willing to go into the trenches to put on exciting bouts for his fans, the 29-year-old from Winter Haven, Florida first struck professional gold in 2008 when he stopped Miguel Rodriguez in the seventh round to win the WBC Welterweight World Championship. Berto successfully defended the crown five times before losing it to Victor Ortiz in The Ring Magazine's 2011 Fight of the Year. He bounced back five months later to defeat Jan Zaveck for the IBF Welterweight World Championship. In his most recent bout, Berto engaged in a fight of the year candidate against Roberto Guerrero, losing a hard fought 12-round decision last November.

"It's been a long time since I've fought in Texas and I'm happy to be back fighting in front of the great fans here," said Berto. "I'm hungrier than ever to get my title back and the first step is taking out Soto Karass on July 27."

One of the fight game's most rugged competitors, Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico's Jesus Soto Karass (27-8-3, 17 KO's) always gives a supreme effort in the ring and, win or lose, his opponents never emerge from their fights with him unscathed. Fresh off of a January win overSelcuk Aydin, the 30-year-old Soto Karass hopes to add Berto's name to a list of vanquished foes that includes Euri Gonzalez, Said El Harrak, Vince Phillips, David Estrada and Chris Smith.

"I respect what Andre Berto has done in his career and he's a tough fighter, but a win over him would be the biggest of my career," said Soto Karass. "If I want to get a world title shot, I have to go through him to get it."

A crushing puncher with a 90% knockout rate, Clearwater, Florida's Keith "One Time" Thurman (20-0, 18 KO's) has raised his worldwide profile considerably since returning from a year-long injury induced layoff in 2012. Since then, Thurman has gone 5-0 with four knockouts, with wins over Brandon Hoskins, Orlando Lora and former World Champion Carlos Quintana. In his last fight in March, the 24-year-old scored a shutout win over former World Champion Jan Zaveck and on July 27, he challenges for his first world title.

"I'm looking forward to fighting for an interim title and doing it against someone like Chaves," said Thurman. "I'm not going to have to chase him or get him to fight. We're going to battle and I'm going to be the last man standing."

The latest in the line of hard-hitting standouts from Argentina, Diego Gabriel "La Joya" Chaves (22-0, 18 KO's) shares a similar fighting philosophy with his opponent, Thurman: to end matters as soon as possible. Currently sporting a five-fight knockout streak, the 27-year-old Chaves won the WBA Interim Welterweight World Championship in July of last year with a second round knockout of Ismael El Massoudi and defended it two months later with an identical result against Jose Miranda. Now he's back to fight in the United States for the first time since 2010.

"I appreciate the opportunity to fight in the United States and against someone with a great reputation like Keith Thurman," said Chaves. "We're proud people and proud fighters in Argentina and I'm going to show this to the world on July 27^th."

Adding to the knockout theme on July 27 is Texas' own titan, Weslaco native Omar "Panterita" Figueroa Jr. (21-0-1, 17 KO's), who has ended four of his last five wins with first round knockouts. In April, the 23-year-old thrilled his home state fans with a first round knockout over then unbeaten top prospect Abner Cotto, winning the NABA and WBC Interim Silver Lightweight titles in the process. He will draw on the energy from a San Antonio crowd for his third consecutive fight when he fights for his first world title against Arakawa on July 27.

"For me there's nothing like fighting at home in Texas and the fans of San Antonio have pushed me to new heights in my last two fights," said Figueroa. "I'm looking forward to giving them another big knockout win."

Fighting out of Tokyo, Japan, 31-year-old southpaw Nihito Arakawa (24-2-1, 16 KO's) is a nine-year veteran guaranteed to give Figueroa some looks he has never seen in the ring before. A Japanese and OPBF lightweight champion, Arakawa has won 11 of his last 12 bouts, most recently dispatching Pakphum Tor Pornchai in two rounds on May 4. On July 27, he'll enter hostile territory with the goal of pinning a "1" on Figueroa's loss column.

"I'm looking forward to fighting in the United States for the first time against a tough opponent like Omar Figueroa," said Arakawa. "I'm coming here to put on a great show and take the title back to Japan with me."

"KNOCKOUT KINGS II," featuring Two-Time Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto vs. tough Mexican contender Jesus Soto Karass in a 12-round welterweight main event, takes place Saturday, July 27 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. In the 12-round co-featured attractions, unbeaten knockout artist Keith Thurman and fellow power-puncher Diego Gabriel Chaves battle for Chaves' WBA Interim Welterweight World Championship in a fight promoted in association with KO International and Weslaco, Texas' undefeated rising star Omar Figueroa Jr. squares off against Tokyo's Nihito Arakawa for the vacant WBC Interim Lightweight World Championship in a fight promoted in association with Teiken Promotions. The tripleheader will be broadcast live on SHOWTIME and will be available in Spanish via second audio programming (SAP).

♔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.

Friday, March 1, 2013

Paulie Malignaggi: I WILL Be Fighting In Abu Dhabi, Against Either Chaves or Soto

With the news breaking, that the negotiations between promoter Johnny Eames’ Showtime Sports Events (SSE) promotional outfit and WBA Interim Welterweight Champion Diego Chaves’ camp have been terminated, it seemed inevitable that the proposed title clash between the Argentinian and WBA Welterweight King, Brooklyn, New York’s Paulie ‘Magic Man’ Malignaggi would no longer take place in Abu Dhabi, UAE in May. (Photo By; Keisha Morrisey)

However, following various transatlantic phone calls over the past thirty six hours, between SSE’s Managing Director, Gianluca Di Caro, and Paulie Malignaggi’s lawyer, Steven Bash, the mouthwatering clash, between the WBA’s top ranked Welterweight pairing remains a possibility for the Gulf state's inaugural World Championship event.

The deal clincher came after Gianluca Di Caro agreed to SSE continuing their pursuit of Chaves, by participating in the March 11^th WBA ordered purse bids.

In return Paulie Malignaggi agreed that should their quest be unsuccessful, that he would be just as happy to fight four weight World Champion, Tijuana, Mexico’s Humberto Soto in an equally mouthwatering WBF/WBA unification battle on May 18th.

On his arrival in Las Vegas, where on Saturday evening he will be color commentating on WBA Lightweight World Champion Richard ‘El Tigre’ Abril’s first defense of his Crown against Sharif ‘The Lion’ Bogere at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Paulie Malignaggi stated.

“The opportunity to fight in Abu Dhabi excites me.

I am a fighter always searching for new challenges and goals and winning the WBF welterweight title along with defending my WBA welterweight title in a historic place like Abu Dhabi would be a huge feather in my hat.

I feel like boxing could have a new city to hold mega fights and events and if by me fighting there I could be a part of that, well that is just the kind of situation I look for and it motivates me to strive to continue to be the best.

Whether the opportunity comes from Showtime Sports Events winning the purse bid or from possibly an opponent change to Humberto Soto it still remains an exciting situation for me as both of those guys are warriors and would be worthy opponents.”

Paulie ‘Magic Man’ Malignaggi, against either Diego Chaves or Humberto Soto, for the WBF and WBA World Welterweight Championships, will headline a World Class evening of professional boxing at the Zayed Sports City, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on May 18^th.

Co-headlining sees IBF Flyweight World Champion, South Africa’s Moruti ‘Babyface’ Mthalane competing against Filipino super star Sonny Boy Jaro for the vacant WBF Flyweight title.

Supporting the exciting double header sees at least two further World Championship bouts, including WBF Light Welterweight Champion Zolani Marali defending his coveted Crown against mandatory challenger, WBF Interim title holder, Tijuana, Mexico’s Antonio ‘Cañitas’ Lozada Jr.

At least one further World Boxing Federation (WBF) World Championship bout is expected to announced shortly.

The final Championship bout of the night features former British and IBO World Champion Colin Lynes battling it out with Poland’s EBU-EU Champion Rafal Jackiewicz for the vacant WBF Inter-Continental Welterweight title, as well as earn the right to challenge the winner of Malignaggi – Chaves or Soto for the World title later in the year.

Supporting the sensational feature Championship bouts will see four future World Champions in action - two time Lithuanian National Amateur Heavyweight Champion Paulius Kasiulevicius, exciting Turkish Light Heavyweight Onder Ozgu, Albanian Middleweight Festim Lama and sensational London, UK based Saudi Light Welterweight Zouhair Siddiq, a highly exciting young prospect who was not only selected for the Beijing Olympics (unable to compete due to injury) but also won the prestigious London ABAs.

♔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.

Argie Bargey – Malignaggi-Chaves Negotiations Fail, Scuppering Abu Dhabi Flagship Event.

Showtime Sports Events (SSE) today announced that all negotiations for WBA Welterweight World Champion Paulie Malignaggi to defend his crown against interim Champion, Argentina’s Diego Chaves, at their inaugural event at Zayed Sports City, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on May 18^th have been terminated.

The Showtime team first entered negotiations with Malignaggi on the 23^rd January, with the intention that Brooklyn, USA based Malignaggi facing WBF Welterweight King, Tijuana, Mexico’s Humberto Soto, however the following day the WBA ordered Malignaggi to face mandatory challenger Chaves.

After some nifty negotiations by Malignaggi’s lawyer, Steven Bash, the SSE team agreed to a switch of opponent and immediately made a substantial offer to Diego Chaves’ management.

However, whilst Malignaggi was firmly on board in January, it was not until the 14th February, some three days after the deadline set by SSE for acceptance of the offer, that the Argentinian’s promoter, Osvaldo Rivero, actually began negotiations.

With the clock ticking, SSE’s matchmaker, Olaf Schroeder, and lawyer, Tony Wyatt, set to work in an attempt to secure Chaves’ signature.

With no further correspondence being received from Mr. Rivero by February 21^st, just a few short days before both the WBA and proposed PPV provider’s deadline of February 24^th, Showtime Sports Events Managing Director, Gianluca Di Caro intervened, by personally writing to Mr. Rivero.

Neither Mr. Rivero or the Argentinian’s camp responded, leaving no viable option but for SSE to terminate all discussions, regarding Chaves, and focus on other options available.

With the news breaking earlier today, that the WBA have now called for purse bids on March 11th for Malignaggi-Chaves, these options seem rather limited.

Even so, Showtime Sports Events promoter, Johnny Eames, remains relatively sanguine about the whole affair, saying,

“As much as we tried to get the Malignaggi-Chaves fight on, it seems this is now a non-starter.

It’s a month since we had Paulie Malignaggi agree to the fight, but for some reason Chaves’ people have decided they don’t want the fight on our show, even though the offer we made is much higher than Chaves has had for his previous fights.

It’s so disappointing, Chaves is the #1 contender to challenge for Paulie Malignaggi’s WBA title.

The WBA were happy for us to put it on, Golden Boy were happy for us to put it on, but it seems someone, probably not Chaves but someone in his camp, was holding out for more money because it’s in Abu Dhabi.

Either that or they had no intention of signing and were holding out for the WBA to order purse bids, so they can have the fight on home turf.

Either way, so it goes, they didn’t sign by yesterday and now we’re going to have to look elsewhere, hopefully though with Paulie Malignaggi still top of the bill, possibly against WBF World Champion Humberto Soto.

If it doesn’t work out that way, so be it and we’ll put Paulie on another of our shows later in the year, because he has been so easy to deal with and we don’t want him losing out on the big purse we offered him.”