"Black-Tie Boxing" event June 27th at Cipriani Wall Street, Yusaf Mack Mack-Jose Vasquez headlines, Grant & Acevedo on card

An evening of "Black-Tie Boxing" event June 27th at Cipriani Wall Street, Yusaf Mack Mack-Jose Vasquez headlines, Grant & Acevedo on card, “Black-Tie Boxing,”presented by Thomas Gallagher Productions, Inc., will be broadcast live on ESPN2 Wednesday Night Fights. Jake "The Raging Bull" La Motta Living Boxing Legend of the Bronx, NY (83-19-4-30 Ko's), and retired will be in attendance and supported the boxers at the press conference.


Yusaf Mack (22-1-2-14 Ko's) of Philadelphia, PA, and former USBA Champion rated Number 15 by the IBF, headlines a 12-round super middleweight title fight between Puerto Rican power puncher Jose Juan “Zeus” Vasquez (16-1-1-9 Ko's). In a pair of eight-round co-feature events, former world heavyweight title contender “Big” Michael Grant (41-3-31 Ko's), of Brooklyn, NY former World Heavyweight Title Challenger IBC and NABF champion, returns to the ring after a two-year absence against tough veteran Billy “The Kid” Zumbrun (21-8-1-11 Ko's); former Intercontinental welterweight champion Nick “Ace” Acevedo (17-2-9 Ko's), and former star of the The Contender II television reality series, faces dangerous light middleweight Max “Holy Hands” Cuevas (9-5-1-5 Ko's). Scheduled to fight on the show is New York State welterweight champion Allen “Dream Shatter” Conyers (11-2-9 Ko's) versus Adam Salas (10-10-2 Ko's) in a six-round non-title match. Also slated to be on the undercard in four-round bouts are heavyweights Darrel Madison (4-1-3 Ko's) and Rodney Ray (4-4-1-4 Ko's), and amateur super middleweight Mark “The Italian Bazooka” DeLuca (2-0-2 Ko's) vs. TBD.


"Michael Grant looks great. He’s now living in Brooklyn and training at Gleason’s. He’s 267 pounds right now with six-pack abs. Every one wants to see how he looks. He’s making a comeback after suffering some injuries and bad luck. Michael’s a great athlete who is 41-3 with 31 knockouts. He’s only 34 and a few years ago, how many people thought (Oleg) Maskaev would be the world heavyweight champion today? The potential is there for Michael to get right into the heavyweight mix with a few wins."
(Yusaf Mack Michael Grant and Darrel "King David" Madison)


Pro boxing goes upscale, a new strict dress code will be enforced - black-tie attire is required, tuxedos and gowns- caviar and champagne replace hot dogs and beer -- and fashion models will replace ring card girls. “We’re bringing class back to boxing,” promoter Mathew Sheldon explained. “Everyone will be served a delicious three-course dinner and we’re going back to the twenties and thirties style of dress in boxing, when men wore tuxedos and women gowns. This is going to be a classy, wealthy crowd. Some of the crazy stuff you may see at other fights you won’t see here. They’ll be sitting at tables, not on folding chairs with people standing in front and spilling beer all over the place. We’re trying to bring young blood into our sport, to make it more mainstream than just for boxing fanatics".

Tickets, priced at $300.00 (dinner included), are on sale by calling Cipriani Wall Street, in New York City (212.699.4099), Gallagher Productions (646.884.6200) or Sheldon Productions, Inc. (212.624.9363). Tables of 10 are still available for $3,000.00. A portion of the proceeds will go the Veterans Boxers Association (Ring 8 VBA). All bouts and boxers subject to change.

Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame June 2007

Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker has been elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame and will be inducted on Sunday June 10 2007 in Canastota, New York. Pernell Whitaker will appear on ESPN Friday Night Fights Studio as a guest Friday, June 15th 2007. Pernell Whitaker, formerly of Norfolk's Young Terrace public housing projects, went on to win an Olympic gold medal, six championship belts and is acclaimed to be one of the world's best fighter and considered by many one of the 100 greatest boxers rated No.48, pound-for-pound.

(Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker)


On December 7, 2006, Roberto Duran, Ricardo Lopez and Pernell Whitaker were announced as the next world champion boxers to be inducted as living inductees. They headed a class that also included non-participants and numerous posthumous fighter inductees. Pernell "Sweet Pea' Whitaker fought over 500 times and only lost 14 of the fights, His official amateur record is 201-14. The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) is located in Canastota, New York, United States, within driving distance from the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta. The IBHOF is one of two recognized international boxing hall of fames, with the other being the World Boxing Hall of Fame. There are ceremonies conducted every year to honor the inductees and the ceremonies are attended by many former world boxing champions, boxing celebrities and Hollywood celebrities each year.

(Keisha and Roberto Duran)

Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker

In 1982 Pernell Whitaker won the United States Golden Gloves lightweight championship in Munich, West Germany. In 1983 he won the Pan-American Games as a lightweight. In 1984 at the U.S. Olympic Box offs in Fort Worth, TX. Pernell finished first in the lightweight division and went on to win the Gold Medal at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.Pernell Whitaker compiled a professional record of 40-4-1 ND-17 Ko's, in a pro career that stretched from 1984 to 2001. Pernell made his pro debut as a lightweight at Madison Square Garden in 1984 by winning a 2nd round TKO. He won world titles as a lightweight, light welterweight, welterweight and light middleweight. He won his first title by winning a 12 round unanimous decision over Roger Mayweather in 1987 for the NABF lightweight crown. Whitaker’s first loss was a very controversial split decision in a fight with Jose Luis Ramirez for the WBC lightweight title in 1988. Pernell avenged that loss a year and a half later in a fight for the vacant WBC title along with retaining the IBF lightweight title he won six months earlier, the fight was in his hometown of Norfolk, Va. In 1993 Pernell Whitaker beat Buddy McGirt in a 12 round decision for the Undisputed Welterweight Championship of the World. Later that year he retained that title in a draw with Julio Cesar Chavez. One of the title defenses was against Julio Cesar Vasquez in 1995 which was also for the WBA Jr Middleweight title. Pernell Whitaker went on to defend the World Welterweight title nine times until losing a 12 round decision to Oscar De La Hoya in 1997. He earned seven-figure purses and had a 10-year run as the star attraction for HBO Sports. Professional boxers have to wait five years after retirement to be eligible for election into the Hall of Fame.

(Keisha and Pernell Whitaker)

Pernell Whitaker is also considering getting back into he ring, I spoke with him briefly about his career and future, although he is becoming more active in the sweet science, he guaranteed me he had no desire to actually train to fight himself, and in fact that he enjoys working with Calvin Brock, Whitaker worked Calvin Brock's corner on the Briggs Ibragimov heavyweight under card Saturday June 2nd in Atlantic City, New Jersey. When I asked him about accepting his award, he humbly stated he was grateful and honored.

(Pernell Whitaker and Calvin Brock)

Light Heavyweight Antonio Tarver, defeated Elvir Muriqi

Joe LaGuardia's Star Boxing, Gary Shaw Productions and Mohegan Sun presented in Connecticut live at the Convention Centers Exhibit Hall, a double header, Light Heavyweight bout card, this past Saturday June 9th 2007, the main event was Antonio "The Magic Man" Tarver, better known for defeating mega boxing-star Roy Jones, fresh off his brief stint on the silver screen in "Rocky", and a lethargic defeat by Bernard Hopkins last year, former WBA, WBC, & IBF champ, Antonio "The Magic Man" Tarver (25-4-0) returned to the ring to defeat, Elvir The Kosovo Kid" Muriqi (34-4-0), by a majority decision for the IBO light heavyweight championship। Referee Michael Ortega determined that in the 5th round Tarver had accidentally head but Muriqi, who feels he won eight rounds of the fight despite the decision. The co feature was Chad "Bad" Dawson (24-0-0), a New Haven, Connecticut native, an emerging champion and the newest star in the 175 pound weight division stopped Jesus Ruiz (19-5-0)with an accumulation of punches, by TKO two minutes into the 6th round, retaining the WBC light heavyweight championship crown. Chad Dawson, undefeated is the son of a former fighter and corner included Floyd Mayweather Sr. Will Chad Dawson make his second defense against Tarver.