Hall-of-Fame Induction Would Be Final Accolade On Impressive Career of Ray Mercer‏

Inside the squared circle Ray “Merciless” Mercer has accomplished things that most fighters dream of but will never see come into fruition. In addition to winning a Gold Medal at the 1988 Olympics, Mercer has held the WBO and NABF Heavyweight titles, and has gone to battle with countless future hall of famers.

This past weekend Mercer was a special guest to the inductee ceremony at the International Boxing Hall of Fame—a place the fighters hopes he will be returning to soon to see his name join the legacy of so many who have contributed to the sweet science.

“This past weekend was awesome; being there and seeing Tommy Hearns, Al Bernstein, Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson, Michael Katz, Michael Buffer and Freddie Roach get inducted into the hall of fame. It was one of the best experiences of my life,” said Mercer.

“Getting inducted into the Hall of Fame would complete my career,” said Mercer. I’ve won the Gold Medal and heavyweight championship, but that would truly be great. It would make my parents, friends and fans all over proud.”

Retired from the gloved sport since 2008, Mercer has been actively working with Find A Dream—a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization that reaches out to community children and provides them a healthy channel to find and work towards fulfilling a dream—the boxer has been working hard to spread awareness about the importance of providing a sanction for inner city kids to work toward a positive goal.

In recent months Find A Dream has been focusing on putting together an all-star team to help spread awareness throughout the country and help enrich the lives of inner city youth by providing them with boxing, martial arts, computer and educational programs. They recently have secured a building for their newest facility which they will be opening up shortly in South Carolina, and are focusing their efforts on opening up several other locations.

Mercer shares company with an elite team at Find A Dream, UFC legend and Hall-of-Famer Dan “The Beast” Severn, cruiserweight boxer Bobby Czyz, heavyweight KO artist Don Steele and actor Quinton Aaron, amongst several others.

In 2012 Find A Dream is striving to continue to expand and impact the lives of children throughout various communities. Find A Dream plans to spread their word through boxing and MMA events, car shows, cook-offs, concerts and more in hopes of reaching out to communities and bringing awareness of the necessity to work towards enriching the lives of our youths.

Find A Dream is a nonprofit organization unlike any other. We have partnered with professionals to deliver on our promise of positive change in young lives. Our communities become stronger when our youth is mentored through people of character with a true interest in pouring constructive, character-building activities and input into their lives.

♔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.

No Holds Barred: MMA Comes to China, with Konrad Pi, Co-founder of Art of War Fighting Championship

No Holds Barred: MMA Comes to China, with Konrad Pi, Co-founder of Art of War Fighting Championship

http://nhbnews.podOmatic.com/entry/2009-04-30T01_43_32-07_00

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Konrad Pi, the co-founder of the Art of War Fighting Championship (http://mmachina.com) and president of the Adoria Entertainment Group in Beijing, China.

The next show for the Art of War Fighting Championship, scheduled for May 23 at the National Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Beijing, will feature a full card of mixed martial arts fights, headlined by a main event with rising Chinese star Wu Hao Tian facing the up-and-coming Japanese fighter, Yutaka Kobayashi. Also fighting on this card will be Rolles Gracie Jr. of Brazil, as well as Malik Mawlayi of Sweden taking on Fransino Tirta of Indonesia, and many other fighters from Asia and around the world.

This event will also be an international "coming out party for the Art of War Fighting Championship," said Mr. Pi in our lengthy interview. According to the Art of War, this show is being held "under the Patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates." There is expected to be in attendance "a delegation of over 300 students, athletes, press representatives and martial arts fans from the United Arab Emirates."

In addition, there will be a reunion of the first family of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the Gracies, who are also of course mixed martial arts pioneers. So far listed as confirmed to attend are Rickson Gracie, Royce Gracie, Renzo Gracie, and Royler Gracie. Other notables scheduled to attend this event are Demian Maia, Fabricio Werdum, Ricardo Liborio, Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro, Bas Rutten, Josh Barnett, Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Tim Sylvia, Jeremy Horn, referees Yuji Shimada and Big John McCarthy, Stephen Quadros, Michael Buffer, Todd Hester, Luca Atalla, and yours truly, Eddie Goldman.

The organizers of the Art of War Fighting Championship hope to use this event to begin to establish their promotion as not only the leading mixed martial arts company in China, the most populous country in the world, but also as one of the top world-class mixed martial arts events in the world. Accomplishing that, they are well aware, will take time, but this event is a major early step along that path.

In a lengthy interview with Konrad Pi, we discussed this May 23 event, the overall plans for the Art of War Fighting Championship, the top fighters on this card, and the rules of this event, which are similar to the old Pride rules. We also discussed the role of martial arts in Chinese history and culture, the importance of both grappling and striking to the Art of War Fighting Championship, the growth of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in China, cultural differences and perceptions between many people in China and the West which cause them to look at many aspects of the combat sports in differing ways, the relationship of the Art of War Fighting Championship organization to the government of the People's Republic of China, prefight medical testing required by the Art of War Fighting Championship, and more.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=150801513&s=143441.

The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by musician Ian Carpenter (http://iancarpenter.com/).

Make sure to check out my regular weekly boxing show SecondsOut Radio, at http://www.secondsout.com/radio/. On this week's edition of SecondsOut Radio, we focus on the top fighters in boxing in the UK today. We compare where the careers of Joe Calzaghe, Junior Witter, Amir Khan, Ricky Hatton, David Haye, and Carl Froch were one year ago with where they are today. And we comment on the thrilling come-from-behind 12th-round TKO victory Carl Froch scored over Jermain Taylor this past Saturday night, April 25. Ricky Hatton, of course, will be facing Manny Pacquiao, regarded by most as the current pound-for-pound king, this coming Saturday night, May 2, in Las Vegas. This fight will take place at 140 pounds, where Hatton is presently regarded as the best fighter in the world. We spoke with a confident Ricky Hatton on a media conference call this past week to get his take on this fight. David Haye, the former cruiserweight champion who relinquished his belts in that division to move up to heavyweight, will get his wish for a crack at a heavyweight title when he faces the top fighter in that weight class, Wladimir Klitschko, June 20 in Germany. David Haye was in New York this past week for a news conference, and we caught up with him there for some very poignant comments. 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.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

Gladiator Magazine (http://gladmag.com/), for in-depth coverage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well as lifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. Gladiator Magazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com (http://bjjmart.com) or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear (http://jiujitsuprogear.com/).

BJJMart.com (http://bjjmart.com), your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

Wrestling 411 (http://wrestling411.tv), providing coverage of the sport of wrestling on TV, the Internet, and radio. Wrestling 411 is produced by Media Sports Productions (http://www.mediasportsproductions.com/), whose sole mission is the marketing and promotion of the sport of wrestling.

FightBeat.com (http://fightbeat.com/), for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Fair Deal for Atlantic City Dealers (http://fairdealforacdealers.org/), a campaign organized by an alliance of casino workers and unions in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to fight for justice in the gaming industry and achieve a fair deal for all casino workers.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman
http://eddiegoldman.com

Enjoy!
http://nhbnews.podOmatic.com/badge.gifSee you at the Fights.
Thanks for your time.

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