Archive for January 30, 2010
ANDRE DIRRELL vs. ARTHUR ABRAHAM
Jan 30th
Group Stage 2 – Saturday, March 6, 2010
From the Agua Caliente Casino, Resort, Spa
In Rancho Mirage, Calif.,
LIVE on SHOWTIME® at 9 p.m. ET/PT
NEW YORK (Jan. 29, 2010) —Tournament point leader “King” Arthur Abraham will kick off Group Stage 2 of the Super Six World Boxing Classic when he faces Andre “The Matrix” Dirrell on Saturday, March 6, 2010, at the Agua Caliente Casino, Resort, Spa in Rancho Mirage, Calif., in greater Palm Springs, live on SHOWTIME® at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).
The Armenian-born, German sports icon Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs) currently leads the Super Six World Boxing Classic point standings with three (3) by way of his final-round knockout victory over American Jermain Taylor on Oct. 17 in Berlin. Dirrell, the former middleweight bronze medalist (2004 Olympic Games) from Flint, Mich., dropped a close, disputed 12-round split decision to defending champion Carl Froch in his Group Stage 1 match for the World Boxing Council (WBC) World Championship the same night in Nottingham, England.
The event is being promoted by Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, and Sauerland Event. Tickets go on sale to the public tomorrow/Saturday, Jan. 30, at 10 a.m. and are available at The Show box office, online at www.HotWaterCasino.com/TheShow or by calling 1.800.585.3737. Prices are as follows: Floor $180; Loge $140; Mezzanine $85.
“I need two more victories to secure my place in the semifinals and I will start with Dirrell,” said the 29-year-old Abraham, who is training in Zinnowitz (Baltic Sea). “He is a very skilled, yet very awkward fighter. It will be a difficult challenge but together with my coach Ulli Wegner we have developed an idea how to beat him.”
Dirrell (18-1, 13 KOs) is eagerly awaiting the showdown. “The end of Camelot is near,” he said. “It’s off with ‘King Arthur’s’ head on March 6.”
Said Shaw, “Andre is going to pull the sword out of the stone and stab it straight into King Arthur’s ego.”
This will be Abraham´s second fight in the United States. He previously defeated Edison Miranda by fourth-round KO in June 2008. “I have said it before and I will say it again: It is my goal to become a star in America,” Abraham stated. “That is where boxing legends are made, and I want to become a boxing legend. That is what the Super Six (World Boxing Classic) tournament is all about for me. The victory over Taylor was a good start, but I am not finished yet.”
Abraham is counting on the support of the huge Armenian community in Los Angeles as the fight will be held just 90 miles east in the Palm Springs desert. “A lot of Armenians live in L.A. and I hope they all come and support me against Dirrell. I will put on a great show just like I did against Taylor,” he said.
Abraham’s promoter Kalle Sauerland is thrilled to give the American boxing fans a first-hand look at who he believes is “the most explosive fighter in World Boxing”. He said: “Abraham kicked off the Super Six World Boxing Classic in style. Once again, he showed his incredible punching power. He is undefeated in 31 fights with 25 KOs including 10 successful defenses of his middleweight championship.
“He can’t wait to get his stateside campaign going in the U.S. and he will deliver another spectacular fight against Dirrell. Gary Shaw and his troops better watch out — the Abrahammer is on his way to catch Dirrell. Here come another three points.”
SUPER SIX WORLD BOXING CLASSIC SCOREBOARD
Record Fighter Points
1-0 Arthur Abraham 3
1-0 Carl Froch 2
1-0 Andre Ward 2
0-1 Andre Dirrell 0
0-1 Mikkel Kessler 0
For information on all SHOWTIME Sports telecasts, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries from its events and complete information on the Super Six World Boxing Classic, please visit the website at http://www.sports.sho.com
ABOUT SUPER SIX WORLD BOXING CLASSIC
The inaugural Super Six World Boxing Classic is a ground-breaking, six-fighter tournament from SHOWTIME Sports® featuring the class of the super middleweight (168-pound) division from around the world. All bouts in the Super Six tournament will be contested under the Unified Rules of Boxing. Each boxer fights three bouts against different opponents in the field in the points-based Group Stage of competition (Win – 2 pts with a 1-pt bonus for KO/TKO; Loss – 0 pts; Draw – 1 pt.). After the Group Stage, the four fighters with the highest point totals will advance to the single-elimination Semi-Finals. The winners of the Semi-Final bouts will advance to the Finals and fight for the inaugural Super Six World Boxing Classic trophy.
Will anyone fight Ikeke?
Jan 30th
(Tacoma, WA.) Kingsley Ikeke is the current NABA Champion and will be ranked #10 by the WBA this month. It seems nobody will fight the Nigerian Super Middleweight, who trains with Eric Brown at the world renowned Wildcard Boxing Gym. “We tried to get Ikeke into the Super 6 when we heard that Jermaine Taylor was out,” said Ikeke’s promoter, Brian Halquist. “They understandably chose Allen. It seems that Kingsley is in no man’s land right now. I have received phone calls to see if King is interested in a fight and when we say yes, people come back with, we found another opponent. Not many people will fight Ikeke,” continues Halquist.
Ikeke’s three losses have been to current WBC title holder Jean Pascal in 2007, former IBF middleweight champ and current favorite to win the Super Six World Boxing Classic, Arthur Abraham in 2005 and Anthony Hanshaw back in 2001; in what was Ikeke’s first attempt to fight at super middleweight.
Ikeke (26-3, 14 KO’s) fought Emmett Linton (33-6-2, 15 KO’s) in June 2009. After the fight Halquist signed him. “Ikeke had already beat Kenny Ellis in Tacoma in 2002. Kenny was our fighter. He was ranked 3rd in the world by the WBO. We had three titles on the line, the NABO, NABA and NABF. When he came into town and beat Emmett, I had seen enough. We signed him immediately,” stated Halquist.
In August 2009, Ikeke returned to Tacoma to fight Mark Woolnough (19-6-1, 6 KO’s) for the NABA Super Middleweight title. Ikeke came up with the win and a world ranking. “I thought, OK we are right where we need to be. Ranked, have a regional belt, and ready to fight,” Halquist said. But the phone isn’t ringing. “I’ve got calls for Roger Cantrell (15-1, 8 KO’s) who’s only loss was to Super 6 fighter and current WBA World champion Andre Ward. When I say that Cantrell has moved to light heavyweight but that I have Ikeke and he’ll fight the answer is we’ll pass,” concluded Halquist.
“Ikeke is always in the gym and within 4-5 pounds of weight. Maybe that’s the only way we are going to get a shot.” said manager Steve Feder.
“We just keep working on the fundamentals and staying sharp in case we get a call,” stated trainer Eric Brown. “The way it looks, no one wants to fight us and set up something four to six weeks out. So we are doing what we have to do and not letting him regress and not letting him over-train either. I think he matches up well with just about anybody out there. The biggest reason they don’t want to fight him is that they are worried about getting upset. Kingsley is a dangerous fighter for any of the super middleweights out there,” concluded Brown.
“I’ve been fighting for a long time. I just love to fight; to be a fighter,” said Ikeke. “I don’t run from anybody. I will fight anybody. Let the people come to the fight and judge if I am the opponent.
So the question must be asked, will anyone fight Ikeke?
Ikeke and his team are trying to make fights. They are also waiting for the phone to ring.
Undefeated World Boxing Council 140-Pound Champion Devon Alexander Meets International Boxing Federation 140-Pound Champion Juan Urango
Jan 30th
World Championship Boxing Unification At Mohegan Sun on Saturday, March 6
Undefeated World Boxing Council 140-Pound Champion Devon Alexander Meets International Boxing Federation 140-Pound Champion Juan Urango
UNCASVILLE, Conn.—Two world champions from one of the most active and exciting weight divisions in boxing will meet in a unification bout on March 6 when undefeated World Boxing Council super lightweight champion Devon Alexander “The Great” faces International Boxing Federation junior welterweight champion Juan Urango at Mohegan Sun Arena. (HBO 9:30 p.m. ET/PT)
Tickets priced at $175, $95, $50 and $35 go on sale Friday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun Box Office and through Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster customers may log on to ticketmaster.com; call Ticketmaster’s national toll free Charge By Phone number (800) 745-3000; or visit any Ticketmaster outlet.
Alexander (19-0, 12 KOs), from St. Louis, won the vacant WBC 140-pound championship by stopping a former holder of that crown, Junior “The Hitter” Witter, when they met on Aug. 1 in Southern California.
Always a hot prospect, the 22-year-old Alexander successfully emerged from the shadow of fighting his entire career out of the Cory Spinks camp by displaying elusive defensive skills—no doubt picked up from his mentor—while unloading enough firepower to cause a tough Brit to quit on his stool.
Urango (22-2-1, 17 KOs), a Colombian native now fighting out of Cooper City, Fla., also won his first world championship in his last fight by rising from the canvas to stop noted knockout artist Randall Bailey on Aug. 28 in South Florida.
Bailey, long known for having one of the best right hands in the sport, sent Urango to the mat in the sixth round. The Colombian showed great fortitude to survive the round, then rallied to floor Bailey three times, leading Bailey’s corner to throw in the towel in the 11th round.
Alexander has been building his unblemished record since high school. He served notice that he would soon be a force to be reckoned when he won a unanimous decision over former world champion DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Jan. 19, 2008.
The 29-year-old Urango’s two losses came against fighters at the top of the sport: Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton in 2007 and Andre Berto—in Urango’s lone foray up to the 147-pound limit—on May 30, 2009.
The event is being promoted by Don King Productions. Doors will open at 5 p.m. to accommodate a full undercard, to be announced soon.
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