WBO 130 POUND CHAMPION JOAN GUZMAN READY TO DEFEND AGAINST ALEX ARTHUR; FIGHT WILL GET A NEW DATE

SAN DIEGO, Calif– Contrary to information circulated on the internet, undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) Junior Lightweight Champion Joan Guzman (28-0, 17 KOs) will travel to Scotland to defend his title against interim champion Alex Arthur.

Joan Guzman and Floyd Mayweather Sr


Inaccurate reports across the internet have stated that Guzman has pulled out of his title fight against Arthur (26-1, 19 KOs), which is currently scheduled for Saturday, May 3 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The highly anticipated fight, however, will likely be rescheduled.

“Guzman is not giving up his belt,” said Jose Nunez, Guzman’s long time manager. “He’s worked extremely hard and gone through tremendous sacrifices to become a world champion. He’s simply not going to give up his belt. Guzman will go to Scotland and he will successfully defend his title. The date will most likely be pushed back a bit.”

Guzman, who has fought in the U.K. once before, has had some trouble securing a visa that will allow him to travel to Scotland. According to Nunez, the issue is being resolved.

Jaon Guzman enter the ring to face Soto


“Rest assured that team Guzman will have all the appropriate paperwork for this fight,” Nunez said. “We know what has to be done and we understand the time frame that is needed to accomplish this.”

“Right now we’re taking a wait-and-see approach,” said Sean Gibbons, matchmaker for Sycuan Ringside Promotions, the company that promotes Guzman. “We are waiting for Frank Warren of Sports Network to give us the new, rescheduled date.”

Frank Warren won the rights to this championship fight in a WBO purse bid.

ABOUT SYCUAN RINGSIDE PROMOTIONS:

Sycuan Ringside Promotions of San Diego is considered to be the fastest-growing and most dynamic promotional entity in the sport. Sycuan Ringside Promotions made its promotional debut during 2004, but already has or had six current or former world champions and has promoted and presented world title bouts across the country on premium cable networks.

Sycuan Ringside Promotions has many notable boxers in its stable, including World Boxing Council super bantamweight champion Israel Vazquez, World Boxing Association super bantamweight champion Celestino Caballero, former WBC welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir, former International Boxing Federation lightweight champion Julio Diaz, lightweight sensation Jorge Paez Jr., undefeated cruiserweight prospect Shawn Hawk and once-beaten, super middleweight prospect Henry Buchanan.

Sycuan Ringside Promotions is led by Glenn Quiroga, president; Willie Tucker, executive vice president; and Scott Woodworth, vice president.

©®™ 2007, 2008 All photos by "El Boxing Empress" Keisha Morrisey- Empire Morrisey Studios, for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience all rights reserved

BJ FLORES SPEAKS ON THE STATE OF THE CRUISERWEIGHTS‏

PHOENIX, AZ- After an exciting weekend in Las Vegas taking in the Bernard Hopkins/Joe Calzaghe Light Heavyweight Title bout, undefeated and world ranked cruiserweight BJ Flores spoke about this past weekend’s IBF Title Elimination bout between Tomasz Adamek and O’Neil Bell which took place in Katowice, Poland.

“The ending was very surprising to me, I was shocked that Bell seemingly quit after the seventh round in such an important fight. He’s shown such terrific fortitude in previous world title bouts against Sebastiaan Rothmann and Jean Marc Mormeck that it’s strange he would stop fighting.

On the part of Adamek this was a terrific win. It’s very impressive that he could come up almost 25 pounds from light heavy to cruiserweight and be successful on a world class scale. He looked fast at the higher weight and fought very intelligently against Bell."

About the upcoming fight between Adamek and IBF title holder Steve Cunningham, Flores stated, “It should be an outstanding fight. Both have fast hands and are very smart fighters, particularly their use of combinations. They’re both always in great shape. Hopefully even if the fight is in Poland, it will be broadcast in the US as fight fans will see a terrific bout.”

In regards to his immediate plans, Flores said, “I’m excited to get back in the ring and we should have an announcement in the very near future.”

BJ Flores, 21-0-1 with thirteen knockouts, is currently world ranked #2 by the IBF, #7 by the WBO and #9 by the WBA.

Bernie Bahrmasel
Double B. Publicity, Inc.

James McGirt, Jr.; regroups after 1st loss, moving back to middleweight

VERO BEACH, Florida– There’s nothing more devastating in boxing that than a hot prospect’s first pro loss, especially for someone such as James McGirt, Jr. (18-1, 9 KOs), whose last name alone makes opponents perform better. McGirt suffered his first set-back April 11 when another son of a former world champion, Carlos “Baby Sugar” DeLeon, Jr. (20-2-2, 12 KOs), stopped James in the seventh round of their ShoBox co-feature.

Photo courtesy of Emily Harney


DeLeon was floored by McGirt at the end of the sixth round, but he got to his feet just before the bell sounded. “When I dropped him, instead of listening to my father (head trainer “Buddy” McGirt), I got careless,” James explained. “I had him but dropped my right hand and got caught. My legs were a little wobbly, but I was more embarrassed than anything having been knocked down for the first time in my career. I thought that I could deal with it but got hit with an uppercut. I tried to wait it out, hoping he’d gotten tired punching, but I wasn’t punching back and the ref stopped the fight.

Buddy Mc Girt



“The hardest thing in the world is to take your first loss. I still know that I’m going to be a world champion someday. This is part of the learning experience. No excuses. I should have listened and boxed. It’s a hard pill to shallow. I want a rematch, but I know it won’t happen right away. I won’t be able to sleep at night unless I fight him one more time.”

McGirt’s father, 2-time world champion “Buddy,” suffered his first pro loss in his 30th fight, as the No. 1 contender in the world, to Frankie Warren by 10-round decision. “I warned James last year that he was dropping his right hand too much,” Buddy noted. “You can’t take anything for granted. Once he knocked the other guy down, James thought that he had him, but he got caught by that left hook. It’s a great learning experience. I was talking to Roy Jones. He said at least it happened now or he would have kept doing it and now he’ll listen. James can’t have a flamboyant, relaxed attitude like he did in basketball. On the court he could be nonchalant, flashy, but you can’t do that in the ring. They’re always trying to beat Buddy McGirt’s son and Buddy McGirt. In a way I’m glad it happened. It’s going to be a good learning experience for James. I told him he should thank DeLeon for the wake-up call because he got lazy.

“Sure, it’s a hard pill to swallow. I saw the punch hit him and I can still visualize it like a picture in my mind. That night, James became a man, and not just in the ring. Taking nothing away from DeLeon, James had the fight and should have won. Now he has to put it behind him and move forward. After a first loss, you either become a better fighter, or get out of the game. James’ eyes were opened. You can’t do what he did in basketball, not in this business, and now he understands. What he does from here on will determine what he is in boxing.”

McGirt may have been more comfortable making weight and fighting as a super middleweight, but the plan is for him to slowly move back to the middleweight division. “His opponents at super middleweight are too big,” McGirt’s manager Dennis Witherow explained. “I talked with Buddy after the fight and we agree that James needs to fight as a middleweight. They weighed-in the same weight but, in the fight, the difference in their weight made a big difference. He’ll fight at 162-163 in his next fight, hopefully in July. We’re going forward, not looking backwards. The loss is part of the learning process, a bump in the road. He got caught and that’s just part of the game.”

Buddy added, “The last two days (prior to the fight) James just shadow-boxed. He didn’t run or train, ate right before the weigh in, and came in at 166. He won’t have a problem making 163. We saw how small James (166-167 lbs. in the fight) was in comparison to DeLeon (between 180-185 lbs) and even (Jason) Naugler. James will be fighting as a middleweight.”

-JM-

CONTACT:
Bob Trieger
Full Court Press
©®™ 2007, 2008 All photos by "El Boxing Empress" Keisha Morrisey- Empire Morrisey Studios, for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience all rights reserved