★Starlite★ Boxing's Sweetscience©®™

Thursday, February 28, 2013

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.

♔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.

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

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Richar Abril vs. Sharif Bogere is going down THIS SATURDAY at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Vegas! Plus Gary Russell Jr. vs. Vyacheslav Gusev!

3 days away from #AbrilBogere @hardrockhotellv! Can't wait 2 see undefeated @mrgaryrusselljr take on Gusev in an all-out war!@SHOsports #Boxing

DANNY GARCIA RIB INJURY FORCES POSTPONEMENT OF FEBRUARY 9 FIGHT AGAINST ZAB JUDAH FIGHT TO BE RESCHEDULED FOR APRIL 27 AT BARCLAYS CENTER LIVE ON SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®

Due to a rib injury sustained while training, Danny Garcia will be unable to compete in his scheduled February 9 world title defense against Zab Judah which was to be televised by SHOWTIME® from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. As a result, the event, and its undercard bouts, have been postponed until Saturday, April 27 at Barclays Center and will be telecast live on SHOWTIME.
All tickets purchased for the February 9 event will be honored on April 27.
Garcia vs. Judah, a 12-round bout for Garcia's Unified Super Lightweight World Championship, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and supported by Golden Boy Promotions sponsors Corona and AT&T.

♔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.

FINAL PRESSER QUOTES DIB & GRADOVICH PROMISE FIREWORKS 50 CENT IN LIVE PERFORMANCE ESPN Friday Night Fights at MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino

Co-promoters Lou DiBella, of DiBella Entertainment, and 50 Cent, of SMS Promotions, hosted the final press conference today at the Strand Hotel in New York City for this week's (Mar. 1) ESPN Friday Night Fights at the MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

In the 12-round main event, SMS Promotions' IBF Featherweight Champion Billy "The Kid" Dib (35-1-0-1NC, 21KO's) puts his world title on the line against Russia's undefeated IBF #11 rated Evgeny Gradovich (15-0, 8KO's). In the televised co-feature, former amateur standout and now top-ten rated junior middleweight contender Willie Nelson (19-1-1, 11KO's) squares off against Michael Medina (26-3-2, 19KO's) in a 10-round showdown for Nelson's NABF super welterweight title. The Nelson-Medina bout is promoted in association with Rumble Time Promotions. The event is sponsored by SMS Audio. Both bouts will air on ESPN's Friday Night Fights beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET.

50 Cent will perform live on fight night.

LOU DIBELLA: "First and foremost, I want to thank everyone here for coming out and also everyone that is involved in this event, particularly 50 cent, Foxwoods and our great sponsor, SMS Audio.

"We have an outstanding event coming up this Friday and I think it is important for everyone to know that we are not doing this event to make a ton of money. We are doing this to give the public an opportunity to see a great event and also to give this great champion, Billy Dib, the exposure that he truly deserves here in the US.

"We have a terrific card from top to bottom, including a dynamite co-feature with NABF Junior Middleweight Champion Willie Nelson defending his title against Michael Medina. It is a co-feature that easily could have been a main event on its own, in fact, it was originally, but then we had this great opportunity to put Billy Dib in the main event, defending his world championship live on ESPN and we just couldn't pass that up. I want to thank Doug Loughrey from ESPN for giving us this opportunity and for working so hard on making this a reality.

"There are an awful lot of haters when you start a new business, especially in the boxing world. No one has laid out a red carpet for Curtis "50 Cent' Jackson. Everything that he has achieved thus far he has worked to get. I am totally impressed by working with him to see his intellect and how hard he actually works. I only see great things for him in this sport moving forward and just wanted to say it really is an absolute pleasure to work with you and your company."

CURTIS "50 CENT" JACKSON: "I am excited about Friday night. This has been a great partnership I have formed with Lou (DiBella) and it has just been an amazing process for me. This is the first boxing event that I have been involved with for the entire process, from beginning to end, and it really is going to be a special night for me on Friday night.

"To actually be in Billy's camp and to see the sacrifices that he makes day in and day out is really something special. It makes you realize really what these fighters go through. It gives you a whole new appreciation for them and for this great sport.

"The level of the actual talent involved in this promotion is exciting for me and excites me for what the future has to hold for me in this sport. I believe by combining the right elements we can bring back that younger demographic to this sport, and that is something we are going to be working on constantly."

BILLY "THE KID" DIB: "I want to thank everyone who was involved with this promotion. March 1st is going to be a great event. The whole team has worked very hard. This is my second coming. I am coming back here to America to showcase my ability. I am a completely different animal right now and you will see that Friday night. I know Gradovich is going to fight out of his skin, being this is his first world championship opportunity, so I can promise you that this is going to make for fireworks in this fight. We respect Gradovich; we know that he is ready, and these are the type of fights we want."

EVGENY GRADOVICH:

"Thank you for this opportunity, I am very excited. I know that this is going to be a great fight. We trained very hard for this fight, and I know it is going to be a very good fight for everyone involved, especially the fans in attendance and those watching at home on ESPN."

Mayweather has six approved opponents for six-fight contract with Showtime/CBS

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has already approved six opponents for his six-fight contract with Showtime/CBS. According to the Boston Herald these are the fighters that Mayweather has approved of to fight for his 30 months $250 million contract with Showtime/CBS: Guerrero, Marcos Maidana, Alfredo Angulo, Danny Garcia, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Devon Alexander.

Of that list, only Canelo would be considered a dangerous opponent for Floyd. Garcia is a light welterweight, Alexander tends to clinch a lot, Angulo is a slow 154 pounder, Maidana is also very slow, and Guerrero is a straight up fighter with little in the way of defensive skills. Missing from this list is Manny Pacquiao, the fighter that boxing fans feel would be Mayweather’s biggest threat. If all Mayweather Jr. has to do is beat Canelo, Angulo, Guerrero, Alexander, Garcia and Maidana in order to complete his six-fight contract within 30 months for Showtime/CBS then they’re not putting a lot of pressure on him. Pacquiao’s name should be in that list as well as Amir Khan, Lucas Matthysse, Keith Thurman and Austin Trout. Alvarez is a good fighter, but he’s pretty slow and is like a bigger version of Juan Manuel Marquez.

Mayweather already proved that he can beat Marquez with ease, so it’s likely that Canelo will be no problems for Mayweather. Canelo obviously will be coming next after the Guerrero fight because Mayweather is going to want to get the most difficult fight out of the way as quick as possible in order to avoid facing him a year or two down the line when he starts to lose more of his skills.

It’s still a very winnable fight for Mayweather no matter when he faces Canelo because his style is made to order for him.

Garcia is someone whose situation is kind of precarious right now. Unless Golden Boy keeps him away from Matthysse and Amir Khan, we could see Garcia beaten in 2013. At that point there will be no reason for Mayweather to fight him. He’ll have to switch out Garcia’s name and insert Khan or Matthysse.

Carl Froch vs. Mikkel Kessler May 25th at the O2 Arena in London, England

Does IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (30-2, 22 KO's) has what it takes to get past WBA World super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler (46-2, 35 KO's) in their rematch on May 25th at the O2 Arena in London, England.

Joan Guzman & Vincente Mosquera Fighting for Interim WBA super lightweight title

Acquinity Sports has announced that an agreement has been reached regarding an Interim World Boxing Association super lightweight title fight, featuring a pair of past world champions, Joan "Little Tyson" Guzman and Vincente "El Loco" Mosquera, tentatively scheduled for May 31 at a venue to be determined.

Guzman (33-1-1, 20 KOs), a 1996 Dominican Republic Olympian now living in Miami, suffered his first loss as a professional this past November, dropping an eighth-round technical decision to Khabib Allakhverdiev for the WBA championship (Danny Garcia is the WBA Super 140-pound champion). Guzman suffered a knee injury when he was tossed to the canvas, leading to the fight being halted by the referee Luis Pabon. Guzman's promoter, Acquinity Sports, requested an immediate rematch with Allakhverdiev, based on the mishandling of the event by Pabon. Instead, the WBA granted an Interim title fight between WBA #5 Guzman and WBA #9 Mosquera, and the winner earning a regular WBA title shot with Allakhverdiev.

"Guzman worked had in his last fight and fell short due to injury." Acquinity Sports CEO Gary Jonas said. "He is a two-time World Champion who knows what to do in the ring very well. This is a very interesting fight. I feel Guzman will win this fight and get another shot at Allakhverdiev and his world title."

Guzman captured the World Boxing Organization (WBO super bantamweight crown in 2004, stopping Agapito Sanchez in San Diego. Guzman successfully defended that title by way of a 12-round decision over Fernando Beltran.

In 2006, Guzman added the WBO super featherweight title belt to his collection by winning a 12-round decision from Jorge Rodrigo Barrios. Two title defenses against Antonio Davis and Humberto Soto, in which Guzman won by 12-round decisions, before the crafty Dominican moved up in weight class to lightweight and eventually the super lightweight division.

Including the aforementioned fighters, Guzman has beaten a virtual Who's Who of world-class fighters between 122 and 140 pounds, such as Ali Funeka, Javier Jauregui and Fabio Daniel Oliva.

"I am happy to see Guzman get another shot," Acquinity Sports Vice President of Operations Henry Rovalta added. "His fight with Allakhverdiev ended in an injury. Khabib won a split decision bit thjere were still four more rounds to go. Guzman won't be looking past Masquera . We know that he's tough but Guzman will be ready ready."

WBA #9 Mosquera (32-2-1, 17 KOs) has won his last eight fights in a row, since being knocked out for the only time in his professional career by the late Edwin Valero in 2006. Panama-native Mosquera won the WBA super featherweight championship in 2005, taking a 12-round decision from defending champion Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai in New York City's famed Madison Square Garden.

Mosquera made one successful title defense, a year later against Jose Pablo Estrella in Argentina, by way of a 12-round split decision. After losing to Valero in his following fight, Mazquera was inactive for 4 ½ years.

♔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.

Danny Garcia Must Give Up One Of The Titles, Explains Sulaiman'

World Boxing Council (WBC) President Jose Sulaiman has rejected the idea of a WBC champion holding a championship belt from a rival sanctioning organisation.

''In Danny Garcia's case, I did not want to fight with a champion I admire a lot, but we were surprised by his decision to stay with two belts. I gave him 15 days to drop the WBA title and he never did it. We did not want to act at the time, but for his next fight Danny Garcia must make a decision.'', explained Sulaiman.

''The WBC does not accept unification's. When these things come up, the WBC will accepts the fight, but the winner must then decide which title he plans to keep. If he decides to stay with the other organisation, then we''ll vacate our title and crown a new champion.'', Sulaiman said.

Garcia's next fight is against Zab Judah in April.

Yet the WBC organisation allowed Andre Ward to walk around with both the WBC title and WBA championship belts for long enough.

Are the WBC correct in their ways to do this to a unified world champion?, any thoughts please be sure to comment below.♔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.

‶Unfinished Business″

‶The Pride Of Providence″ Peter Manfredo Jr. (38-7, 20 KOs) returns to the ring Friday, March 15th, 2013 in the 10-round main event of ‶Unfinished Business″ at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I. Showtime is 7 p.m.; doors open at 6. The card features eight bouts.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

BERNARD “THE EXECUTIONER” HOPKINS PHILADELPHIA MEDIA WORKOUT QUOTES‏

“Tavoris Cloud is an aggressive young fighter. I heard him at the press conference in New York City. He described himself as the Mike Tyson of this era.

“Ive been on a path that I keep my body on the right track and duck more punches than I take. I can fight until I’m 50 years old.

“The less you get hit, the more you can speak and count your money.

“I am going to be glad and excited to be at Barclays Center. It is the new Mecca of Boxing in New York. It used to be the hood. Now it’s known as ‘Hello Brooklyn.’

“I get a chance to leave my legacy in Brooklyn. Not only am I honored, but I ‘ve earned that.

“I’m past the stage of breaking records. It’s my legacy that I want to protect. It’s important to me that in my last couple of fights I didn’t put myself on the line by doing one third of the work that I’ve put in all of these years. I refuse to surrender to that kind of mentality.

“Anyone that can beat me, any one that can embarrass me, will become an instant star.

“I believe that Cloud’s aggressiveness will make this an action packed fight because he’s thinking of himself as number one because he has the belt. He needs to come in and make adjustments to my style. If he can’t make adjustments, you will see a repeat of the Kelly Pavlik fight.

“I’m different. I’ve set records and broken records. I have to concentrate not only on what I did yesterday, but what I’m going to do tomorrow.

“People ask me, ‘What does it feel like to be 48?’ I say that I don’t know because if you ask most people in their late forties or even late thirties how they feel, they might say they’re ready to die because they aren’t healthy and don’t have longevity like me. You can’t put me in the same category as a regular guy.

“I don’t expect Cloud to dance like Ali. I don’t expect him to do anything to buy time. I expect him to come forward. That’s what I would do if I was 30 fighting someone who is almost 50.

“I have to stay busy and I’ll win every round. The cat is out of the bag because I’m not coming to get beaten up.

“There is no one saying that I am going to get blown out on March 9 when I step into that ring. There is no one saying that I’m going to lose the fight. They are saying that Tavoris Cloud’s style is my forte. Cloud comes forward and throws bombs and anyone I’ve fought that comes forward, I’ve beaten. The only thing they are saying is that ‘He is 48.’

“Maybe I’ll go down a pound or two before I leave this sport, or maybe I will help my partners at Golden Boy and help them find new talent as a promoter or maybe I will find a little fat stomach that makes me look like I am retired.

“There’s a lot working against me, but there is also a lot working for me. I have the conditioning to adjust to the times. The game didn’t change, but I’m ready to face someone that is young enough to be my son and in some cases, my grandson.

“I am leading the 40-and-up club. There are a lot of 40-year-olds rooting for me because they have interns looking over their shoulders trying to take their jobs.

“I am living out what we talked about 10 or 15 years ago. I knew I was going to be here. We talked about this moment. I knew I could do this. I know I can still win or compete on this level.

“I am so competitive; I know I have the body and skills to still do this.

“I love this game and sometimes love can hurt.”

Chicago Fight Club Presents; Irish Joe Mccreedy, Sean Eklund, Antonio Canas and Vivian Harris

CFC Promotions presents CFC fighters.. Irish Joe Mccreedy, Sean Eklund, Antonio Canas and Vivian Harris. On this card ..Irish Joe Mccreedy fights for the USBO Super Middleweight title,and Vivian Harris vs Jermaine White for the USBO Welterweight title..Also featured are local favorites..Rafael Huertas,Russell Lamour Jr.,Bernie Ongewe,and Isander Beauchamp!!

Lucian Bute vs Jean Pascal set to fight on May 25 in Montreal

Brandon Rios vs. Mike Alvarado II March 30 on HBO at Mandalay Bay Events Center

No Holds Barred: Carlos Carvalho on 2013 ADCC North American Qualifier

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Carlos Carvalho, the executive officer of the USA ADCC Federation (http://www.adccamerica.com).

The most important grappling tournament of 2013 in North America is about to happen: the final North American qualifier for the 2013 ADCC World Submission Fighting Championships. This is the last chance for North American grapplers to qualify for the 2013 ADCC World Championships. This qualifier will take place this Saturday, March 2, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio, as part of the annual Arnold Sports Festival (http://www.arnoldsportsfestival.com).

The winners in both the five men's weight classes and the two women's weight classes will receive official invitations to compete in the 2013 ADCC World Submission Fighting Championships, which will be held later this year at a date and location to be announced.

We spoke with Carlos Carvalho Wednesday by Skype about this important event.

"It is such a big event. You can't imagine," he said in this interview. The logistics involve bringing competitors from the 48 ADCC Federations around the world, plus the officials and staff, to the event.

"The ADCC is the Olympics of grappling, because we are as big as the Olympics. I don't see any other organization that runs something like this big, except the Olympics."

We discussed the international growth of the ADCC Federations especially in Europe, the high level of athletes who will compete in the North American qualifier, the ADCC rules, and more.

"BRADLEY IS GOING TO RUN FROM RUSLAN JUST LIKE HE DID AGAINST MANNY."- Freddie Roach‏

Hall of Fame trainer FREDDIE ROACH and No. 3 world-rated welterweight contender RUSLAN PROVODNIKOV took time out of training camp, at Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, to discuss their upcoming challenge of undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, Jr. The Bradley vs. Provodnikov WBO welterweight championship will take place,Saturday, March 16 at The Home Depot Center and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing®, beginning at 10:15 p.m. ET/PT.

"We are having an outstanding camp," said Roach. "Ruslan has given me everything I have asked for in training. The fact that Ruslan has been Manny Pacquiao's lead sparring partner his past two camps has given Ruslan an outstanding foundation from which to work. When Manny was preparing to defend his title against Bradley last spring I said any of Manny's sparring partners could beat Bradley. Ruslan will to prove that on March 16.

"I've heard Bradley say he's going to take the fight to Ruslan. He said the same thing before his fight with Manny. And when he feels Ruslan's power, like when he felt Manny's, it's going to be a remake of Forrest Gump. 'Run, Timmy, run!'This isn't about Ruslan finishing what Manny started. It's about duplicating it."

"I'm very happy and very satisfied with everything I have been doing with Freddie," said Provodinkov (22-1, 15 KOs), a native of Siberia. The two-fisted Russian buzzsaw enters this fight riding a five-bout winning streak with four of those victories coming by way of knockout. "I know my fans have seen me on ESPN Friday Night Fights fighting a certain way, but on March 16, they will see a different Ruslan inside the ring. My work with conditioning coach Gavin MacMillan has made me stronger and faster and my endurance is tremendous. I have never felt so good."

Solid Undercard Announced for Dib-Gradovich‏

Co-promoters DiBella Entertainment and 50 Cent's SMS Promotions have announced a solid undercard supporting this week's ESPN Friday Night Fights event, featuring International Boxing Federation (IBF) Featherweight Champion Billy "The Kid" Dib (35-1-0-1NC, 21 KOs) defending his title against undefeated Russian challenger Evgeny Gradovich (15-0, 8 KOs), airing live (9 p.m. ET start) from the MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

The 12-round main event pits Australia-native Dib, promoted by 50 Cent, against Gradovich. In the 10-round ESPN Friday Night Fights co-feature, North American Boxing Federation (NABF) super welterweight champion Willie "The Great" Nelson (19-1-1, 11 KOs) makes his first title defense against Michael "El Magnifico" Medina (26-3-2, 19 KOs). The Nelson-Medina fight is being promoted in association with Rumble Time Promotions. The event is sponsored by SMS Audio.

Undefeated prospect Ryan "Polish Prince" Kielczweski (15-0, 3 KOs), fighting out of Quincy (MA), takes on Houston's Gil "La Metrealleta" Garcia (5-3-1, 1 KO) in an eight-round junior lightweight bout.

Another unbeaten New Englander, New Haven super bantamweight Luis "KO King" Rosa Jr. (12-0, 6 KOs), is matched against New York City-veteran Jhovany Collado (4-5-2, 1 KO) in an eight-rounder.

World Boxing Association (WBA) No. 11-rated welterweight Charlie Ota (21-1, 15 KOs), fighting out of Japan by way of Harlem, has been added to the card in a six-round bout against hard-hitting Brandon "The Business" Baue (12-9, 10 KOs). Ota joined the US Navy in 2000 and was stationed in Japan. Reigning OPBF and Japanese champion Ota was slated to fight this past Thursday in New York City but the fight fell through. Baue, who lives in Troy, Missouri, lost a six-round decision in his last action to former world champion Yuri Foreman.

The fastest rising New England female boxer, New London's (Conn.) undefeated junior featherweight Shelly "Shelito's Way" Vincent (7-0), who is trained by Peter Manfredo Sr. in Rhode Island, faces Mikayla Nebel (0-3) in a six-round fight.

Also fighting on the undercard in four-round bouts are former Southern Connecticut State College football player, New Haven junior middleweight Jimmy Williams (1-0, 1 KO), against Raynard Younger (0-1), from Georgia, and Arizona junior welterweight Luis Olivares makes his professional debut versus Houston's Rafael Munoz (1-1), while Cincinnati lightweight Donte Strayhorn meets Cranston's (RI) Joe Pingitore in a battle of pro-debut fighters.

♔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.

Monday, February 25, 2013

A Closer Look at Sharif Bogere's Ringwalk

On March 2, the Uganda native will roar into the ring wearing the skin of an infamous lion from his native Africa, accompanied by the tune of “Warrior Lion” by Blaq Fuego. Once in the ring, the five-time African champion is looking to put on a show against Richar Abril and capture the vacant WBA Lightweight World Championship. Don’t miss one of boxing’s most entertaining contenders, Saturday, March 2 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME.