Kovalev vs. Mohammedi Final Press Conference

Kovalev – Mohammedi Presser
Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas

Credit:  Photos by David Spagnolo/Main Events –

The final press conference was held Thursday for the HBO-televised clash between WBO/WBA/IBF light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (27-0-1, 24 KOs) and mandatory challenger Nadjib “Irondjib” Mohammedi (37-3, 23 KOs) on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada. The co-feature will include a ten-round light heavyweight match-up between Jean Pascal (29-3-1, 17 KOs) and Yuniesky Gonzalez (16-0, 12 KOs).

Sergey Kovalev: “Thank you to WBO. This was my first belt and mean a lot to me. Thank you for this ring. Thank you for everybody that came here today. Thank you Kathy Duva my promoter, Egis Klimas my manager and Nadjib Mohammedi. I want to show this Saturday who I am. I would like to still be champion as long time as possible. I did not get all my goals in my career yet. My amateur career I didn’t give me a lot of opportunities. I was hurt in amateur career and I had to try not to closed doors. Some of my dreams in the boxing and my goals not finished. For my dreams, my goals this Saturday is the next step in my career…I cannot say who is the best. I try to be better with every day, fight and build my career as I would like.”

Nadjib Mohammedi: “I am very excited and happy. Thank you Sergey Kovalev, Main Events and HBO. I have hard work in my training camp for this fight. I am very happy. I promise Saturday a good fight. I am ready. Thank you very much.”

Kathy Duva/CEO of Main Events: “There has been a lot of discussion lately about where the best fighters fight. The place that has developed every major fighter in the last 30 years is HBO and that is why Sergey Kovalev is an HBO Fighter. This event is going to be promoted with a group of great promoters. Krusher Promotions, Sergey’s promotional company, will be our new partner going forward. Our sponsor is Myagkov Vodka. It is so nice to be back here at Mandalay Bay. We have had a long relationship with Mandalay Bay going back to Fernando Vargas. It is in my view my favorite place in Las Vegas to come. It is associated with the great people at MGM International and my good friend Richard Sturm.”

“Our first time in Nevada was in 1981 when Sugar Ray Leonard fought Thomas Hearns. This is my first time working with the current commission here in Nevada. We are forging a good relationship with them. I want to thank Cisco Aguilar and Bob Bennett.”

“The first time Sergey Kovalev fought in Las Vegas it was on an undercard. Those fighters work just as hard as everyone else. We have a great undercard for this Saturday’s event and it is always fun to watch the undercard fighters because you never know if one of them could be the next Sergey Kovalev. The opening bout on HBO World Championship Boxing telecast will feature Jean Pascal, the former light heavyweight champion of the world, against the undefeated Cuban Yuniesky Gonzalez. Pascal is truly a warrior in the best sense of the word. His promoter is InterBox and he also has his own promotional company, Jean Pascal Promotions.”

“We got to know Nadjib Mohammedi a year ago when he fought Anatoliy Dudchenko on one of our shows. He came in as the under dog and came away as the mandatory challenger. I thank God every day for the day I met Egis Klimas and he brought me Sergey Kovalev. He has a great team around him. Sergey Kovalev’s trainer is a former world champion. I have known John David Jackson for a long time and he is one of the best trainers in the world. Bernard Hopkins said to me that Sergey is getting better with every fight. He is powerfully fast and shockingly dominating. He is the kind of guy that people want to see. Hopkins warned Sergey not to get complacent. I think a mark of a great fighter is no matter what you do you are never satisfied and that is the best way to describe Sergey.”

Bob Bennett – Nevada Athletic Commission: “On behalf of the Nevada Athletic Commission, we are pleased and privileged to bring you this fight. We would like to thank Main Events, HBO, Richard Sturm and Mandalay Bay and last, but not least, we really want to thank the fighters because without them none of us would be here.”

Paco Valcarcel – WBO President: “Sergey Kovalev was a sensation. Sergey, we have something for you. He is a great human being. He is a great fighter, outstanding. You going to have a lot of excitement in this fight. We have a real diamond ring for him. This is something we give to our champions.”

Egis Klimas – Sergey Kovalev’s Manager: “Good afternoon. First I want to thank Don Turner who gave me my first steps in boxing. He is the man who introduced me to this sport. He noticed Sergey and told me I had to sign him. Coming back to Vegas brings back a lot of good memories because this is where Sergey won his first belt. He won the NABA Light Heavyweight Title. We were celebrating here and he grabbed his belt, put a shirt over it and brought it downstairs. He said he wanted to give it to me. He gave it to me and said it was our title together. I still have it at my house, he never took it back. I want to thank HBO and Nadjib Mohammedi for taking this fight, Mandalay Bay and media for coming for this good event. We are looking for one of the best fights in the light heavyweight division. When Sergey came to United States in 2009 the light heavyweight division was dead and nobody was talking about it. I strongly believe the division is burning today and that is because of Sergey. There is not a match in this division that happens without mentioning his name.”

John David Jackson – Sergey Kovalev’s Trainer: “I am not going to talk too much. I am going to let Sergey do the talking in the ring Saturday night. But I was a WBO champion during my career and where is my ring, Paco? (laughing)”

“I think Sergey Kovalev is in the top five fighters pound-for-pound and he can become #1.”

Vince Caruso: “Nadjib Mohammedi, a lot of people didn’t know who we were not too long ago. After Saturday he will be known everywhere. I can make two guarantees: He will weigh 175 pounds tomorrow on the scale and he will have the best game plan possible. That is because of Abel Sanchez, who I believe he is the best trainer in the business. When Nadjib’s trainer couldn’t make it into the country back in November, I had the chance to call Abel to step in. It is like putting sugar in the Duncan Hines…Nadjib Mohammedi is Saturday’s challenger but he will be Sunday’s champion.”

Jon Ali – Nadjib Mohammedi’s Co-Manager: “I am glad to be here with my brother, Nadjib Mohammedi. I am very proud of him. Back in France he came a long way to get here. Saturday night will change his life forever.”

Abel Sanchez – Nadjib Mohammedi’s Trainer: “Nadjib earned this right by moving up the ladder to become the #1 contender. I believe we are fighting the best light heavyweight in the world. We know we are fighting a very tough guy. I hope everyone enjoys the fight.”

Jean Pascal: “Hi everybody. There is no place like home. I have been fighting at home my whole career. I am glad to be in Vegas, it is my first time fighting here. Every fighter on my level wants to fight at least one time in Vegas. This is my chance to make a statement on Saturday night. I know am still among the best in the world and best in my division. I know Yuniesky Gonzalez is hungry and he wants to make a statement. I want to give you guys a great show on Saturday night.”

“My philosophy is the best must fight the best. I believe I am still among the best in the world. I am the best light heavyweight in the world but I had a bad night on March 14.”

Yuniesky Gonzalez: “Good afternoon. Thank you to Jean Pascal team, HBO and Joe DiGuardia and Kathy Duva of Main Events for this opportunity. Gracias. We are going to see high quality boxing from Yuniesky Gonzalez Saturday night.”

Pierre Duc – InterBox Promotions: “Good afternoon. InterBox has been one of the lead promoters in Canada for a long time but this is our first time in Vegas, so this is a great thrill for us. Thank you to HBO, Kathy Duva and Main Events for having us here. Following Jean Pascal’s fight with Sergey Kovalev one of Pascal’s requests was to step back into the ring as soon as possible. We are so happy to make this happen for him. You are going to see a very exciting fight on HBO. Jean Pascal is a former light heavyweight champion. Kathy Duva described him as a warrior. This is going to be a long and very difficult fight for both fighters.”

Marc Ramsay – Jean Pascal’s Trainer: “Thank you for being with us today. After the fight with Sergey Kovalev, Jean Pascal requested a fight right away on HBO with the best opponent available. With the style of both fighters we are going to have a great fight. We had a great training camp and it should be a great fight Saturday night.”

Joe DiGuardia – Star Boxing, Gonzalez’s Promoter: “Thank you. It is great to be back here at Mandalay Bay where I have also had some great fights and my best success stories. I want to thank Kathy Duva and Main Events from having us, Peter Nelson and HBO for giving this opportunity to Yuniesky Gonzalez. Jean Pascal is a great champion. Sergey Kovalev is one of the greatest of our time. Yuniesky Gonzalez is pleased to have this opportunity. Yuniesky Gonzalez is an exciting fighter. I guarantee you will see an exciting fight with Yuniesky Gonzalez and Jean Pascal. Yuniesky Gonzalez has been clawing his way to get this opportunity and he will take advantage of it.”

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/kovalev-vs-mohammedi-final-press-conference-298935

WORLD BOXING ORGANIZATION

                                                                   CHAMPIONSHIP COMMITTEE

July 15, 2015

Arthur Pelullo

Banner Promotions

—————————————–

Joseph De Guardia

Star Boxing

Re:      WBO JR. MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION-SHOW CAUSE

Dear Messrs. Pelullo and DeGuardia:

The WBO World Championship Committee orders you to show cause as to why the WBO Junior Middleweight Championship of the World, currently held by Demetrius Andrade, should not be declared vacant. As you know, Section 1 (b) (7) of the WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests establishes that it is within the power and discretion of the WBO World Championship Committee “[t]o recommend to the President and the Executive Committee that a title should be vacated if a Champion fails to comply with the WBO World Championship Rules.” On the other hand per Section 5 (c) of said Regulations, “[t]he WBO World Championship Committee may, in its discretion, vacate a Champion’s title […] regardless of cause or fault if the Champion fails to defend his title within a nine (9) month period.”

Your fighter, Mr. Andrade, won the Vacant WBO Junior Middleweight title against Vanes Martirosyan at an event held at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, on November 9, 2013 and has defended his belt only once— more than a year ago— on June 14, 2014 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York against Brian Rose.

On September 10, 2014, this WBO World Championship Committee ruled in your favor upon receiving a petition to allow Andrade to move up in weight and immediately vie for the Vacant WBO Middleweight Championship of the World against Matt Korobov, giving sides fifteen (15) days to reach an agreement. At the end of that negotiation period on September 25, 2014, it came to our knowledge that Mr. Andrade was interested in defending his Junior Middleweight title and, therefore, wanted to stay within his division and no longer compete for Middleweight title. Mr. Andrade was next scheduled to defend his belt against Jermell Charlo on December 13, 2014 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, but an agreement was never finalized and Andrade pulled out of the fight on November 17, 2014.

Then on January 23, 2015, we wrote to the both of you again advising that parties had thirty (30) days to negotiate an agreement for the WBO Junior Middleweight Championship bout between Mr. Andrade and Jermell Charlo and that a purse bid would be called if an accord was not reached within the time frame. WBO President Valcárcel subsequently received email correspondence from Mr. Pelullo on February 19, 2015 informing us that Charlo elected not to fight Andrade, but that Stephen Espinoza of Showtime was looking into Erislandy Lara as a challenger to Andrade for a date in April, but in any case no later than May.

On April 15, 2015 WBO President Valcárcel wrote to the both of you asking for confirmation of Mr. Andrade’s plans and informing that while the WBO was originally willing to allow a voluntary defense of the belt, the Junior Middleweight division could no longer be kept inactive and that a mandatory defense was in order. Mr. Pelullo promptly responded and advised that he was to meet with Mr. Andrade during that same week and that a June 29 date was set aside, potentially against Liam Smith. President Valcárcel again followed up with you on May 12, 2015 advising you of Section 20 of the WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests— PROCEDURE WHEN A TITLE IS DECLARED VACANT— and requesting that you provide the WBO with contracts for the next Andrade bout within a period of forty-eight (48) hours.

As you can see from the above, the WBO has been more than lenient with Mr. Andrade, but he has clearly been inactive and the WBO must enforce its rules. For this reason please be advised that you have a period of ten (10) days upon receipt of this communication to show cause as to why Mr. Andrade has not defended his belt under the terms of the Championship Regulations. Failure to comply with this requirement will immediately result in the WBO Jr. Middleweight Title being declared vacant, without further hearing you.

Very truly yours,

WBO World Championship Committee

(SIGNED)  Luis Batista Salas, its Chairman

cc         Francisco Valcárcel, President

Photos: Chris Farina/Top Rank –

WBO World Featherweight champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko works out in Oxnard,Ca. for his upcoming title fight against Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo of Thailand.

Promoted by Top Rank and Sands China Ltd., in association with MP Promotions, Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing, Banner Promotions and Tecate, Lomachenko fights on the undercard of the Pacquiao vs. Algieri world welterweight championship event that will take place Saturday, November 22, at the Cotai Arena in The Venetian Macao Resort in Macau,China. It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View.

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/lomachenko-looks-sharp-in-workout-263340

Photos: Chris Farina / Top Rank –

On Saturday New York’s undefeated (20-0) WBO Jr. Welterweight champion Chris Algieri concluded a 27, 273-Mile world-media tour for his upcoming championship fight with boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao. Algieri ended the tour by attending a parade as Grand Marshall, bringing his title belt to his fans in Huntington, Long Island. Algieri also stopped by a local health fair and spoke to kids about the benefits of eating right.

The 13-day Pacquiao-Algieri media tour, that began on August 25 included stops in Macau, Shanghai, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York. Promoted by Top Rank and Sands China Ltd., in association with MP Promotions, Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing, Banner Promotions and Tecate, the Pacquiao vs. Algieri world welterweight championship event will take place Saturday, November 22, at the Cotai Arena in The Venetian Macao Resort in Macau, China. It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View.

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/algieri-gives-back-hometown-fans-259932#more-259932

Photos: Chris Farina / Top Rank

Superstar Manny Pacquiao and New York’s undefeated (20-0) WBO Jr. Welterweight champion Chris Algieri make their ‘Grand Arrival’ at The Venetian Las Vegas on ‘Day Six’ of their worldwide media tour.

Pacquiao and Algieri, along with their respective trainers Freddie Roach and Tim Lane, promoters Bob Arum, Joe DeGuardia and Artie Pelullo, and Ed Tracy, President and CEO of Sands China Ltd., are on a 27,273-Mile Media Tour, that began on Monday, August 25 at The Venetian Macao. The 12-day tour includes press conferences or public and private appearances scheduled for Macau, Shanghai, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York.

Promoted by Top Rank and Sands China Ltd., in association with MP Promotions, Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing, Banner Promotions and Tecate, the Pacquiao vs. Algieri world welterweight championship event will take place Saturday, November 22, at the Cotai Arena in The Venetian Macao Resort in Macau,China.

It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/pacquiao-algieri-grand-arrival-258869

Photo:  HBO –

Manny Pacquiao versus Chris Algieri is a done deal.

Algieri and his co-promoters, Joe DeGuardia of Star Boxing and Banner Promotions’ Artie Pelullo, met for several hours on Tuesday and hammered out their remaining issues, resulting in an agreement that will see Algieri, a junior welterweight titleholder, get the opportunity to challenge Pacquiao for his welterweight world title.

The fight will take place Nov. 22 (HBO PPV) at the Cotai Arena at the Venetian Macao in Macau, China, where Pacquiao also fought in November 2013 and easily outpointed Brandon Rios, the promoters told ESPN.com.

“I have to talk to my lawyer, Dan Pancheri, who will spit out the contracts first thing (Wednesday) morning so they can have a copy of it in the afternoon,” Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said Tuesday night. “We have a deal. On my end, it wasn’t a hard deal at all. I came up pretty much with what they were looking for and then Joe and Artie had to sit down with Algieri and cut it up fairly amongst themselves.”

That is what Algieri, DeGuardia and Pelullo did for most of the day.

“We had a marathon lunch. We started out meeting in the morning, then went and had a long lunch together, came back to the office and finished it up,” DeGuardia said. “I called Bob to tell me we have a deal on our end. All the terms have been reached with Top Rank and we’re going to paper it up.

“We were able to sit down and go through everything Chris wanted to go over and put everything together. He’s gonna beat Pacquiao.”

Terms were not disclosed but DeGuardia said Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) will earn a career-high payday of more than $1 million. It will be more than 10 times his previous biggest purse, which was $100,000 for his upset split decision win against Ruslan Provodnikov to win a junior welterweight world title on June 14 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Eleven months ago the 30-year-old Algieri was unknown and not even fighting regularly on televised cards. Now he is fighting one of the most famous fighters on the planet for a world title and a seven-figure payday.

“He’s very happy. He’s happy for the opportunity,” DeGuardia said. “I’m ecstatic we’ve been able to give him this. It’s a great feeling. You work hard you develop him up the ranks. He fought off TV for a long time, he got on TV and now this. It’s really rewarding to see him get this opportunity and a payday that will change his life.

“He’s wants the fight and has no problem going up in weight. He wants the welterweight championship. He wants challenges. He loves the idea. He wanted to fight for another championship and he loves that he is fighting Manny Pacquiao for it. He looks as Manny as an elite of the game. He wants to climb another mountain. If he wins this fight, you have the start of another era.”

Algieri, from the Long Island, New York, town of Huntington, got knocked down twice by Provodnikov in the first round and persevered through a grotesquely swollen right eye for most of the fight. He also has a background different from most boxers.

A former kickboxer, Algieri grew up in a middle class family, went to college and eventually earned a master’s degree. He says he wants to go to medical school when he is done with his boxing career. He also works as a nutritionist.

“I think it’s an interesting fight between him and Manny,” Arum said. “I’m excited. This is a college-educated kid, a good boxer, the kind of kid who will draw interest other than the just the hard core boxing fan,” Arum said. “And the kid can also fight.”

Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs), the 35-year-old Filipino icon, has won world titles in a record eight weight classes. On April 12 in Las Vegas, Pacquiao convincingly outpointed Timothy Bradley Jr. to regain the welterweight title he had lost to Bradley in June 2012 in a fight in which Bradley received a split decision in one of the most controversial calls in boxing history.

Pacquiao and Arum have had terms in place for his next fight since Pacquiao signed a two-year extension with Top Rank in May that will take him through 2016 with the company that has promoted him since 2005. Although terms for the fight with Algieri were not disclosed, Pacquiao has been making in the $20-million-plus range for recent fights.

Although the business side of Pacquiao’s next fight has been set, he didn’t know who he would be fighting. Arum said Pacquiao called him on Monday morning to check in on his health — Arum is recovering from a recent knee replacement surgery — and they also talked about Algieri since Arum was getting close to a deal.

“Manny is 100 percent for it,” Arum said. “I told him I was coming along with it. He said Algieri seems like a nice young man and he saw his fight with Provodnikov. Manny said he thought it would be a good fight and he was OK with fighting Algieri.”

Pacquiao could be motivated for the fight by wanting to seek revenge for his beloved trainer, Hall of Famer Freddie Roach, who is also Provodnikov’s trainer and was on the losing end of that in that June upset.

http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/11221114/manny-pacquiao-fight-chris-algieri-china-nov-22

By Jerry Glick
Photos: Peter Frutkoff/PeterFrutkoff.com

Flush with the success that he had from taking the WBO junior welterweight title from Ruslan Provodnikov back on June 14th, Star Boxing’s pride and joy, Chris “The Fighting Pride of Huntington” Algieri, was eager to talk about winning the belt and his challenge to the great Manny Pacquiao for Pac Man’s WBO welterweight belt scheduled to happen on November 22nd.

His right eye, badly damaged in his title winning effort, appeared to be completely healed, as well as the broken nose he suffered. Algieri looked in every way a superstar.

Algieri became a boxing world champion in only his twentieth pro fight, but he explained, it isn’t the first time he became a world champion after a limited number of fights. “I became a kickboxing world champion in only my fourth fight.”

Algieri admitted that fighting Pacquiao, “Is surreal, because it is something I’ve been thinking about so long, and visualizing this moment and now it’s here.”

He actually began to discuss the possibility of challenging Pacquiao even before he won the Provodnikov fight. The prospect was initially discussed by Top Rank’s head man, Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum.

“I didn’t know how real it was,” said the newly crowned champ. “I know that Bob Arum mentioned it prior to the Provodnikov bout, and generally when Bob says something it’s a big deal. There were murmurs about the fight and about a week later (after the Provodnikov fight) we had worked out the details.”

The naysayers have come out of the woodwork for Pacquiao fight as they did for the Provodnikov contest, although he admits the critics are a lot more unsympathetic regarding the Pacquiao matchup.

“I am a self motivating person,” he said, “It doesn’t affect me negatively or positively.”

Algieri’s promoter, Joe DeGuardia of Star Boxing, is taking a backseat to the venerable Bob Arum for the November 22nd showdown with Pacquiao.

“Chris is going to carry this promotion, and that’s why Bob is the top promoter in the industry,” explained DeGuardia. “Bob’s a Hall of Famer who’s been in the business for fifty years promoting top fighters…..Ali, Leonard, Hearns, you name it. He saw it before the Provodnikov fight. He knew it before. He saw it because it’s there, Chris will be the attraction.”

Algieri is very confident of a victory over Pacquiao and stated that he will gain even more confidence during training.

“I’m not the same person I will be on November 22nd as I am today.”

According to Algieri, Pacquiao has not fought his style in years and although Algieri is moving up in weight, he is actually the bigger man.

“Margarito was bigger,” he pointed out. “But not an athletic guy; a straight forward slugger. Not a guy who is going to be moving pushing, pulling, using his jab. Manny kills those guys; he picks them apart.”

Algieri said that he has watched all of Pacquiao’s fights and knows that he will be facing a great fighter, but he remains confident.

Much has been said about drug testing especially where Pacquiao is concerned, given his history of being questioned about whether he is juicing, but this does not worry Algieri.

“I think every fighter should be blood tested. There’s no reason not to. When I got approached about drug testing I said of course. I got nothing to hide. I have no fear about what I put into my body and what I can do.”

He added that he has no comment about whether Pacquiao uses PEDs and he has confidence that Pacquaio will be carefully tested and all things should be fair.

He believes that when Pacquiao was smaller he was an explosive powerhouse and that he is more affected by his moving up in weight than the fact that he is aging (Pac Man will be a month short of 36 by fight time).

“I’m expecting what he is,” said Algieri. “He’s an explosive guy, very quick. In and out, I think he’s one of the best in and out, side to side guys out there. He puts on pressure without just going forward. Ruslan is a straight ahead guy and puts on pressure. Manny puts on pressure too but it’s more like an ebb and flow, he cuts an angle and moves laterally. He can use his jab when he needs to, he can box. He fires fast combinations moving in and out.”

Will Algieri be faster?

“We will find out that night,” countered Algieri. “You know what the great equalizer is, and I say this all the time, the jab. I don’t care if he’s faster, I don’t care if he hits harder, I don’t care if he’s bigger, stronger; I got a jab and I got a brain. That’s the great equalizer. Not power, it’s the jab.”

He said that the biggest thing that he learned about himself against Provodnikov was that strategy comes before pride.

“I learned that I’m not too proud to take a knee,” admitted the fighter. “When I was younger I would have been too proud to go down. He (Provodnikov) didn’t knock me down a second time, I took a knee. I was trying to figure out what was going on. At the time my eye was still blurry. After I got up I could see. So my vision returned. I don’t think I would have done that back in my kickboxing days.”

It may be to the advantage of Algieri that due to the time differential between Macao and the US, he will be entering the ring at 10 AM local time so that HBO PPV can broadcast the event in the evening hours in the US.

“I’m a morning person,” said Chris. “I hate having to fight at midnight.”

He said that he feels fine now, but he is not sparring yet, and won’t until doctors clear the broken nose he also suffered in that first round.

Algieri is healing fast. “The eye was opened on the second day,” he recalled. “The swelling was gone in the first week. I was on FOX Business on Wednesday. I put shades on and you couldn’t tell.”

He anticipates he’ll begin training in earnest about eight to ten weeks before the big fight.

“The end of August or early September.”

An admitted gym rat: “This is the longest I’ve been out of the gym,” admitted Algieri, “Because the doctors advised me to.”

THE PRESS TOUR

He is already looking forward to the press tour, the travel to China, and the training that awaits him.

“I like the fact that we will have a civil tour,” said Algieri. “We are not going to get aggressive, there’s not going to be some ugly stare downs.”

After a tour of Asian cities including Shanghai, Macao, and others, it’s off to a tour of the United States. So far DeGuardia is sure of only Los Angeles and New York as tour stops, with more to be added later. DeGuardia called this the biggest fight in that part of the world since Tyson-Douglas back in 1990 in Tokyo.

A FAMILY NOTE

Chris’ dad was at this interview and attends all his fights including the Provodnikov fight. His mother stays home. How did she react when she saw his damaged eye?

“Funny story,” stated Chris. “This guy here,” pointing at his father, “Almost had a heart attack. Mom? Cool, just happy I won. It didn’t faze her one bit.”

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/talking-with-newly-crowned-wbo-jr-welterweight-champion-chris-algieri-253617

Date:  Saturday, June 14, 2014

WBO Jr. Welterweight Championship Title

Location:  Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Promoter:  Banner Promotions / Star Boxing

Supervisor:   Jose Izquierdo II, Esq.

Referee:  Harvey Dock

Judges:   Don Trella (112-114);  Tom Schreck (112-114);  Max DeLuca (117-109)

Results:    Chris Algieri won the WBO Jr. Welterweight Title by Split Decision over the champion Ruslan Provodnikov.

TV:  USA HBO / Hungary Sport 1

Corpus Christi, Texas  —  “TRIPLEHEADER” —  Two-time WBO junior lightweight champion Roman “Rocky” Martinez, and undefeated challenger Mikey Garcia, work out during media day for their upcoming world championship tripleheader fight on Saturday, November 9.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Foreman Boys Promotions, PR Best Boxing, Arthur Pelullo’s Banner Promotions, Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing and Tecate, this world championship tripleheader will also feature 2012 Fighter of the Year and former world champion Nonito “Filipino Flash” Donaire ,former two-division world champion Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan , undefeated former U.S. Olympians — Vanes “The Nightmare” Martirosyan and Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade.

All three fights will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark®, beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.  — Photos by Chris Farina/Top Rank.

http://www.boxingscene.com/photos-mikey-garcia-roman-martinez-media-workouts–71362

In a great traditional battle between Puerto Rico and Mexico, No. 1 Contender Orlando Cruz, in his first world title shot, will battle former two-time World Champion Orlando Salido for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Featherweight Championship. The two fighters are on the call today from their training camps. Orlando Cruz is in Buffalo, NY and Orlando Salido in Mexico. In three weeks they will face each other in the ring. Also on the call is All Star Boxing’s Tuto Zabala, Jr., who is Cruz’ promoter and Todd duBoef, President of Top Rank, the promoter of the card.

For Cruz (20-2-1, 10 KOs), of San Juan, Puerto Rico, boxing’s first openly gay fighter and a member of Puerto Rico’s 2000 Olympic team, this will be his first world title shot. Salido (39-12-2, 27 KOs), of Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, México, will be looking to complete a hat trick in regaining the title he previously held for nearly two years They will be fighting for the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight title on the pay-per-view undercard of the Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley, Jr. vs. Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Márquez WBO welterweight championship fight on Saturday, October 12, at the Thomas & Mack Center, on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.

TODD duBOEF: We are getting ready and the fighters are gearing up for an incredible show on October 12 in Las Vegas. We talk about the great rivalry between Puerto Rico and Mexico and this is going to be showcased on October 12 and between the two of them, Salido, a seasoned veteran who has been in with everyone in the featherweight division and Cruz, who has earned his title shot and is a profile in courage.

TUTO ZABALA: Thanks to Top Rank and to the WBO for giving us a shot. Orlando is preparing himself in Buffalo, NY with Juan Carlos De Leon and he’s going to have a media workout in Manhattan on Tuesday the 24th. When we signed Orlando Cruz he had lost two fights in a row with his former promoter and he was looking for help. We got him four fights on the Telemundo Network and the championship shot within two years. I am very proud of him and the job we have done for him and also embraced how he came out of the closet like he did last October. It has changed a lot and it is amazing the happiness that we have in our team. Finally he has the world title shot and everything is set for him. I now want to hand it over to the WBO Latino Champion from Puerto Rico, Orlando Cruz.

ORLANDO CRUZ: I am very happy. Thank you HBO for the opportunity and Top Rank and my promoter Tuto Zabala, my manger Juan De Leon. I am excited and I am ready for the fight.

ORLANDO SALIDO: It’s been great preparation and I am grateful for the opportunity that Top Rank has given me to win another world title. I know that Orlando Cruz is a very difficult fighter, he’s a great boxer, and I know that he has a lot of abilities. I have been getting real good sparring here because I know it is going to be a very difficult fight.

A lot of people thought you were done after your fight with Mikey and now you have another opportunity…

ORLANDO SALIDO: I know the fight with Mikey I wasn’t myself. It was a tough night. But that’s in the past and I know what I’m capable of doing. Right now I feel like I did before my fight with Juan Manuel Lopez and I think you’re going to see that same type of fight from me on October 12.

You’ve been waiting a long time for this opportunity – how have you been preparing for it?

ORLANDO CRUZ: It’s been a while. I have been working hard and I never said “no” to any opponent. I worked really hard to get to this point and my team has been really good. Everybody is healthy and I am very happy to get this opportunity. I have a lot of respect for Orlando Salido. I am not going in there thinking that it’s an easy fight. I know how hard he has worked to get to where he is. I know how hard I worked to get where I am. I think we are both really hungry and we both want to do a really great job. I want to take the title back to Puerto Rico for all my fans.

Salido, how is your eye?

ORLANDO SALIDO: I have had injuries in the past but I have not had one injury in the training camp. So all I have to think about is this fight against Orlando Cruz and winning that fight.

How do you feel about Cruz’ style compared to [Mikey] Garcia?

ORLANDO SALIDO: They are totally different fighters. Orlando is a boxer and he tries to move around the ring. My job is to put pressure on him. I will try to cut him off and I will be throwing so many punches I will hit him somewhere. Then I will go to the body to cut him down and eventually I will make him fight my fight.

Does you think your experience will be the difference?

ORLANDO SALIDO: Without a doubt I have been in there with some great champions. I won some and I lost some and I did gain great experience fighting them. I just feel for this fight it will be whoever is better prepared. We are both hungry. We both want it. It’s just a question of who is going to be the best that night and I think I will be.

Jim Lampley, who has a gay brother, called you a hero to him…

ORLANDO CRUZ: I am happy with the situation and I have a lot of support from all around the world. It is great news for me to know about Jim Lampley and his brother. I just want to thank all of the people that have supported me. I have been working hard for this, it is something that I have been waiting a long time for. I want to win this fight for Puerto Rico and for my community. I want to dedicate my fight to the LGBT and all of Puerto Rico because they are going to have a new champion.

Are you ready for a fight with Salido’s experience?

ORLANDO CRUZ: I am ready for the challenge to face Orlando Salido on October 12 even with all of his experience. He faced great champions like Juan Manuel Marquez, Gamboa and Juan Manuel Lopez. I worked very hard for this and am grateful for all of the support that I have, from Tuto, the WBO and Top Rank. Carlos DeLeon, the four-time world champion has been working in the gym with me giving me a lot of experience. People don’t understand how much experience you get while training in the gym. You get experience from working hard and doing what the coach tells me. I have been following what the coach tells me and on October 12 I will become champion for Puerto Rico and for all of my people.

What is the challenge in Salido’s style?

ORLANDO CRUZ: The pressure he will bring. The way he comes that is the way I will fight with Salido. I am not going to run. When I need to fight I am going to fight. When I need to box I am going to box. I am going to be the smartest guy in the ring. I am not taking anything away from Salido but on October 12 we are going to make history.

What do you think about Emille Griffith?

ORLANDO CRUZ: I want to dedicate this fight to Emille Griffith and his family. This fight will be for his community (LGBT) and all the fans of Orlando Cruz.

Mexico vs Puerto Rico rivalry…

ORLANDO CRUZ: The rivalry between Puerto Rico and Mexico, this will be another fight that will bring a lot of excitement in the ring between me and Saldio and I am so happy that it happened because it makes it bigger when I beat a Mexican to bring the belt to Puerto Rico once again.

ORLANDO SALIDO: This is a great rivalry between the two countries and I know when I get in the ring I have to give my best. I always give my best because it’s important to take that victory home. Mexico vs Puerto Rico is always special and a victory over a Puerto Rican is always special for the people of Mexico.

ORLANDO CRUZ: I never refused to fight anybody. Any person Tuto Zabala put in front of me I signed the contract. If they said ‘fight King Kong’ I would fight the person no matter if it was going to be at 126 pounds or above. I don’t care who I fight inside the ring because this is what I love to do – box.

What about Mikey Garcia rematch?

ORLANDO SALDIO: I would love to get a rematch with Mikey Garcia either at 126 or 130. I know I wasn’t myself. I don’t know what happened that night but I wasn’t feeling comfortable in the ring. I would love to fight him again and I feel I would do much better and it would be a much better fight.

Is this going to be the year of Orlando Cruz?

ORLANDO CRUZ: I am sure this is going to be my year. The end of 2013 and going into 2014 will be my time.

How as your life changed since you made the announcement?

ORLANDO CRUZ: My life has changed completely. I am now a different person. I am happy with the support that all of the people have given me and I just want to continue to work hard doing the things that I need to do to make history.

Salido, has Orlando Cruz ever been on your radar for a fight?

ORLANDO SALIDO: It looked to me like he was probably going to be an opponent for me. He has always been there in the top ten. As he was moving up I knew the possibility existed so I was keeping an eye on him.

What have you been thinking about since the loss to Garcia?

ORLANDO SALIDO: After that fight I had a long time to reflect on what happened. I had to take a look at my career to see if this was still what I wanted to do. I still want to do this because I still have a lot left and I think I can still do a lot of things in boxing. But on October 12 I have to show everyone that I am back and what I am capable of doing then go from there. I am not thinking about the future, I just want to show everyone that I am back.

You were supposed to have a fight in June that got canceled – how was that transition to this fight?

ORLANDO CRUZ: All of the work I was doing for June 28 I continued to do. I just changed it up a little because of the type of fighter that Salido is. All I had to do was make some adjustments and I am ready for October 12.

If you win, along with Miguel Cotto and Ivan Calderon, you’d be the only country to boast three world champions from the 2000 Olympic class….

ORLANDO CRUZ: It is going to be great when I become a champion on October 12. It is going to be a great honor for me to be part of the three, to be with Cotto and Calderon, when I become champion to be part of history in Puerto Rico.

Since your announcement, has media demand taken away from your training?

ORLANDO CRUZ: It has not. I have concentrated on the October 12 fight. I understand the press wants to know about my personal life but I have a team I just want to say thank you to all the Puerto Rican people and all of my friends and to not worry, I am going to be ready for the fight. I understand that all of those questions will come and I will answer the best I can but it will not take me away from the focus that I have for Orlando Salido.

After the tough fight in January many people thought you might retire. Did that enter your mind?

ORLANDO SALIDO: As far as I am concerned the opportunity came at the perfect time. I know what I am capable of doing and I know this is one of my last opportunities to win a championship so I worked very hard for this fight. I am going to be ready to win the fight.

You were knocked down a few times in your last fight – is that a worry for you?

ORLANDO SALIDO: You know, everybody in boxing, if you get hit, there are some strong punchers out there. The question is, what are you going to do? I am going to get up and try my hardest. It happens in boxing. You just have to get ready. You prepare yourself by training for each fight – do the best you can in the ring so you can do the best you can in the ring.

What do you think about Mikey [Garcia] going up to 130 especially because it seemed as though you were catching up to him in the later rounds?

ORLANDO SALIDO: I always thought he was a big guy for 126 and I think he will be even bigger and stronger at 130. I look at him like one of those guys that can go up and have no problem with it.

How do you feel about Salido beating fellow Puerto Rican fight, Juan Manuel Lopez, twice?

ORLANDO CRUZ: I have been working hard and am taking this fight more seriously than any other I have had. I know Salido is a strong fighter and I know every round he becomes stronger and stronger and I am preparing myself for that challenge on October 12.

Since your announcement in October, have the events you have been invited to taken away from your training?

ORLANDO CRUZ: I have been training hard and focusing on this fight for October 12 and nothing will take me away from that. Every day I work harder and harder. I want to thank the WBO President Paco Valcarcel and my promoter, Tuto Zabala, who work hard with me every day to keep me motivated so I will become champion on October 12.

Puerto Rico now only has one champion…

ORLANDO CRUZ: The Puerto Rican community has been supporting me and has respected my decision. Puerto Rico has one champion in Rocky Martinez and now they are going to have a second champion on October 12. Puerto Rico will soon have another champion in Danny Garcia.

There is another fighter on October 12, Lomanchenko who could be a next opponent for him…

ORLANDO CRUZ: The only one I am looking at right now is Mr. Salido. I am not looking at anyone else. When the time comes to look at my next fight, I will sit down with my promoter and my team to discuss. That will be great but my focus right now is on Salido.

What is your opinion on the landscape of Puerto Rico boxing. Mexicans have been successful as of late…

ORLANDO SALIDO: I think about what I have done against Puerto Rican fighters. I am 5-0 against them and looking to make it 6-0. I know how to fight them and my experience helps me to do that and I’ll be ready for anything that happens in the ring based on my experience on what I have done in the ring against them.

TODD du BOEF: It is great to hear this dialogue from these two great warriors as they get ready for the fight. Right now we are going to ramp up an incredible promotion with Timmy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez. A release will be going out this afternoon announcing the rest of the undercard. We will have Seanie Monaghan against Anthony Caputo Smith for the WBC Continental Americas title and the Olympian Lomanchenko fighting in his pro debut in a ten-rounder against top-10 contender Jose Luis Ramirez out of Mexico. There is a lot of interest in all of the competitive fights on the show and the response has been terrific. The main event between Bradley and Marquez is one of those sit-around-a-bar or table and no one can pick a winner. We know how competitive it is and how closely matched it is. In the next few weeks we will have numerous promotional activities. Also, tomorrow I will be in Los Angeles for the Cotto media day, so if you are in LA, show up.

ORLANDO SALIDO: I think you are going to see another great fight between two guys that really want it and leave everything they have in the ring. I want to wish Orlando Cruz luck and you cant’ beat Puerto Rico vs. Mexico in the ring.

TUTO ZABALA: Thank you everyone for joining the call and we are looking for a great fight. We have the greatest promotional team in the world, Top Rank. Two of the best featherweights in the world. You have Puerto Rico vs. Mexico. You have a great main event. I am very proud of Orlando Cruz and Puerto Rico will have a new champion on October 12.

ORLANDO CRUZ: I want to thank all of the press for joining us today. I want to thank All Star Boxing, Top Rank and the WBO. I wish all the luck to Orlando Salido and Puerto Rico will have a new champion on October 12.

http://philboxing.com/news/story-87137.html

Former U.S. Olympian Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade of Providence gets his first crack at boxing hardware Feb. 10 when he takes on Philadelphian Derek “Pooh” Ennis for the vacant North American Boxing Organization (NABO) junior middleweight title at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn.

The fight will be the main event on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights series.

Since we last wrote about Andrade after a lackluster win last August over Grady Brewer, Andrade showed a lot more aggressiveness in an impressive third-round TKO over former world title challenger Saul Duran and has climbed into the top 15 rankings of all four major boxing organizations.

“This is going to be a breakout year for Demetrius,” said Joe DeGuardia, president of Star Boxing, which co-promotes Andrade with Banner Promotions. “Ennis is a tough Philadelphia fighter who figures to give Demetrius the toughest test of his young pro career.”

The undefeated Andrade (15-0, 11 KOs), who rose from the Southern New England Golden Gloves Tournament in Fall River to a world amateur boxing championship and a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, is curently ranked ninth in the junior middleweight division by the WBO, 11th by the IBF, 13th by the WBC and 15th by the WBA.

Ennis (23-3-1, 13 KOs) is a former USBA champion who is ranked ninth by the IBF. He won the vacant USBA title in 2009 against former world title challenger Ermosele Albert.

Tickets are $75, $40 and $30 (plus a $5 facility fee for all tickets) and are on sale at the Mohegan Sun box office and through Ticketmaster. For further information, call Star Boxing at (718) 823-2000.

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