The Boxing News Report 1.12.08: Weekend Edition
Posted by Ramon Aranda on 01.12.2008
January continues to be a solid month for boxing as more announcements are made regarding big fights and who is Roman Karmazin dedicating his Jan. 19th fight to? All this and more in this week's Boxing News Report.
Hello fight fans, welcome to this week's edition of the Boxing News Report. There's quite a bit of news going on this week as more and more fights are beginning to take shape with announcements and rumored agreements trickling in. From the look of things 2008 is moving forward with excellent fights that should generate plenty of fan interest; something boxing needs right now in lieu of a great 2007. It seemed like just yesterday that promoters were having a difficult time working with each other resulting in denying the fans the fights they all wanted to see. Well if last year was any indication; it looks like a lot of those issues are being put to rest in order to provide fans with meaningful fights.
Now let's get on to this week's news!
Marquez-Pacquiao Press Conference Coming Next Week
In keeping with the topic of excellent fights being made, next Tuesday afternoon, Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions will host a press conference to officially announce the rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. The two met back in 2004 in a thrilling bout that ended in a draw after Marquez was able to survive three knockdowns in the first round to give Pacquiao a hellacious time over the course of the next eleven rounds. The press conference will be held in Los Angeles, CA where it is expected that the undercard will also be detailed. The word is that the bout will take place at the Mandalay Bay Casino & Resort in Las Vegas, NV on March 15th. The bout will be for Marquez' WBC junior lightweight title as well as the Ring Magazine's junior lightweight championship.
I for one am extremely excited that these two will finally meet as I, along with thousands of fans have been clamoring for a rematch for over 3 years now. Looks like we all get our wish come March.
Roman Karmazin Dedicates MSG Bout to Fallen NYPD Officers
For his upcoming bout on the undercard of Jones-Trinidad, former junior middleweight titleholder Roman Karmazin will be dedicating his performance to slain New York City Police officers and fellow Russian immigrants Eugene Marshalik and Russell Timoshenko, who were killed in the line of duty in March and July 2007, respectively.
"These guys, Russell, Evgeni, they were immigrants like me," Karmazin said.
"Their families came here to realize happiness, to stand on their own two feet and to be proud of what they accomplished in life. That is why I am dedicating this fight in their memory—to make sure they and their bravery are not forgotten."
"As fighters, we take risks every time we step in the ring as it is hard to become champion and stay there when the competition is so strong," Karmazin said. "But it is nothing compared to putting your life on the line to protect people and hope that you live to see another day."
Karmazin (36-2-1, 23 KOs), now living in Los Angeles, will defend his title against Alex Bunema (26-9-2, 14 KOs), from Kinshasa, Zaire, in a match featured on the HBO Pay-Per View telecast during the "Bring on the Titans" event headlined by Felix "Tito" Trinidad vs. Roy Jones Jr.
Karmazin will wear the name of the fallen officers, as well as a NYPD patch, on his robe and trunks when he enters the ring. Karmzin's attorney Steven Bash hopes to get in touch with the families of both Russell and Eugene, and have Roman meet with them and personally invite them to the show.
"What we are doing, should be something that all people should do no matter their background and affiliations, and that is to honor the families of those who have sacrificed to make the lives of others better and safer," said Bash, himself an immigrant from the former Soviet Union whose mother brought him over in her arms.
"Roman would like to show his great respect and appreciation for these two young men and fellow immigrants, Russel Timoshenko and Eugene Marshalik, whose unfortunate sacrifice is part of our ongoing freedom to succeed in the United States."
We wish Roman good luck on January 19th!
WBC to Hold Purse Bid for Upcoming Fights
The WBC will conduct several purse bid offers next Monday, January 14th where promoters will get a chance to get first dibs on one of these upcoming WBC sanctioned bouts:
Heavyweight: Vladimir Virchis vs. Juan Carlos Gomez, final elimination.
Light Heavyweight: Chad Dawson vs. Adrian Diaconu, mandatory defense.
Super middleweight: Carl Froch vs. Dennis Inkin, final elimination.
Super lightweight: Timothy Bradley vs. Jose Luis Castillo, final elimination.
Lightweight: Joel Casamayor vs. Jose Armando Santa Cruz, mandatory rematch.
Featherweight: Hector Velazquez vs. Elio Rojas, final elimination.
Bantamweight: Veeraphol Nakhonluang vs. Vusi Malinga, final elimination.
Light Flyweight: Omar Niño vs. Juanito Rubillar, final elimination.
One fight that immediately jumps out to me is the Dawson-Diaconu bout which could be an interesting fight. Currently Dawson is apparently going to tangle with former light heavyweight champ Glen Johnson so Diaconu could possibly take on the winner of that one. Another fight of note is Joel Casamayor vs. Jose Armando Santa Cruz whom if you recall was robbed like an elderly woman at an ATM machine when all three judges gave Casamayor an insulting unanimous decision win when the two met just recently. Luckily the WBC has ordered a rematch though it appears as if Casamayor will first defend his title in what looks to be a more exciting bout against balls-to-the-walls slugger Michael Katsidis. Santa Cruz may want to rethink his title shot should Katsidis emerge victorious.
Former Heavyweight titlist Nicolai Valuev Fined for Assault
Former world heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev was fined on Wednesday for punching a 61-year-old man in a scuffle two years ago.
A city court fined Valuev 30,000 rubles ($1,228) and ordered the 34-year-old boxer to pay an additional 100,000 rubles ($4,093) in compensation after he beat a security guard outside a St Petersburg sports complex in January 2006.
Yuri Sergeyev, 61, sued Valuev, saying he had suffered serious injury after the boxer, who stands nearly 7 feet tall and weighs almost 330 pounds, punched him over a parking incident.
Valuev, former World Boxing Association champion, said he had only tried to "shake off" Sergeyev after he insulted his wife Galina.
"Just imagine what would have happened to that old man if I really punched him," Valuev, who is in Berlin training for his next fight, was quoted as saying by the Russian media.
The Russian, dubbed the "Beast from the East" for his size and menacing appearance, suffered his first professional defeat and lost his WBA title to Uzbek Ruslan Chagaev in April, 2007 in Stuttgart, Germany.
Valuev is scheduled to fight Belarussian Sergei Lyakhovich in next month's elimination heavyweight bout in Nuremberg, Germany, with the winner taking on Chagaev for the WBA crown.
Credit: ESPN
The Contender vs. The Next Great Champ
Two reality TV boxing stars will duke it out on February 22nd at the Silver Legacy Hotel/Casino in Reno, Nevada. Light heavyweight Otis Griffin (18-2-2, 7 KOs) the winner of Oscar De La Hoya's "The Next Great Champ" boxing reality TV show which aired on Fox in 2005 will take on Jesse Brinkley (29-5, 20 KOs), a semifinalist on the first season of The Contender. Griffin will be coming down to super middleweight for the first time in his career for the bout, which will be promoted by Let's Get It On Promotions.
Credit: Fightnews.com
Well that'll do it for this week folks, next week should be interesting as Felix Trinidad and Roy Jones finish preparing for their fight next Saturday, January 19th. We'll bring you coverage of all the happenings throughout the week and a reminder that we'll be providing LIVE coverage of the bout next Saturday night so stick to 411mania for the play-by-play blog.
