January 29 (Merrillville, IN) - Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana fight fans are invited to Langel’s Pizza, 2833 Highway Avenue in Highland, Indiana, this Thursday at 6 p.m. for the official boxer weigh ins for One In A Million’s six-bout card the following night. Sponsored by Miller and Miller Lite, the Miller Girls will be at Langel’s taking photos and awarding prizes including tickets to Friday night’s six-bout boxing card at the Radisson at Star Plaza in Merrillville. “We’re looking forward to another great year with Octavius James’ One In A Million and Miller,” said Rodney Langel, owner of Langel’s Pizza. “Boxing and Miller is the perfect one-two combination.” In Friday night’s main event, One In A Million’s franchise player, Michael “The Midnight Stalker Walker” (17-0-1, 11 KOs) looks to keep his unbeaten streak alive by making quick work of Jerome Elder of Indy. Highly touted by boxing insiders, Walker is a top middleweight prospect in a division deep in talent.When asked who he wants next, Walker responded, “Ronald Hearns. He says he’s the ‘Chosen One.’ Let’s see him choose to step in the ring with me. We’ll see if he’s made of the same stuff that his daddy (Thomas Hearns) was. I doubt it.”At 5′1″, featherweight Evette Colazzo may be the smallest fighter on the card, but she may be the biggest in action. A two-time Chicago Golden Gloves Champ, “KO Queen” Colazzo (2-0, 2 KOs) faces a very brave Kim Colbert on Friday.

Just 45 minutes from downtown Chicago, the Radisson at Star Plaza is located at I-65 and US 30 in Merrillville, IN. Doors open at 7 p.m. First bout at 8 p.m. 

HBO Sports

HBO’s late-night boxing series kicks off the new year with a high-powered heavyweight showdown when HBO Boxing After Dark: Alexander Povetkin vs. Eddie Chambers is seen Saturday, Jan. 26 at 10:00 PM. (ET/PT), from the Tempodrome in Berlin, exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team of Bob Papa, Max Kellerman and Lennox Lewis will be ringside for the event, which will be available in HDTV, as well as closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

Other HBO playdate: Jan. 27 (9:00 AM)

HBO2 playdates: Jan. 27 (4:45 PM.) and 29 (midnight)

With two undefeated records on the line, Alexander Povetkin (14-0, 11 KOs) takes on Eddie Chambers (30-0, 16 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round heavyweight eliminator bout. A gold medalist at the 2004 Olympics, Povetkin, from Tschechow, Russia has taken the heavyweight division by storm. Coming off an 11th-round knockout of former heavyweight champion Chris Byrd, he’s out to secure a shot at the heavyweight crown.

Just 25 years old, fast-handed Pennsylvania native Chambers is already a seasoned ring veteran with 30 pro bouts under his belt. Scoring a 12-round decision victory over heavyweight contender Calvin Brock in his last fight, Chambers has proven himself one of the top talents in the division.

“Champions of Tomorrow” Friday night at Foxwoods Resort Casino

Press Release

PROVIDENCE (January 22, 2008) – One sure sign of respect in boxing is when a fighter calls out a potential opponent in the media. It’s rare for a boxer with only 11 pro fights to be such a target, especially one coming off of a 15-month inactive stretch due to an injury, but that’s exactly where Manchester favorite Matt “Sharp Shooter” Remillard (11-0, 7 KOs) finds himself.

Remillard is preparing for Friday night’s (Jan. 25) 10-round title bout against WBC Youth featherweight champion Manuel Perez (11-3, 2 KOs) in the co-main event on “Champions of Tomorrow,” promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc., at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Remillard has been out of the ring since suffering a wrist injury, twice requiring surgery, after he won the WBC Youth super featherweight (September 23, 2006) that Matt was unable to defend and relinquished because of his aforementioned injury.
Perez’ first lost was in 2006 to Rashiem Jefferson, who is now 15-0-1 (6 KOs) and reportedly has been in Denver sparring with Perez, who surprisingly chose to defend his title belt on the road. According to an Internet report, Jefferson claims that he has been trying to fight Remillard for quite some time but Matt hadn’t accepted, and that Rashiem was familiar with Remillard and would give Perez a great look at Matt’s style.
“If he (Jefferson) has been calling me out,” Remillard responded, “I don’t know who he was supposedly contacting. I’ve been out of action for 15 months. If he had called my promoter, Jimmy Burchfield, we’d probably be fighting him for his title (USNBC) this Friday night. I saw Jefferson around in the amateurs. He’s a respectable fighter, but for him to call me out and talk like I’m nobody, well, that’s a slap in my face.
“He’s helping Perez but I couldn’t care less. Jefferson doesn’t fight anything like me and if they think he can imitate me, they’re both in for a big surprise. I’m just focused on Perez right now. I’ve had the best training camp of my career preparing to fight him. Jefferson sounds like a clown.”
Jefferson and his manager plan on accompanying Team Perez to Foxwoods. “I hope they have tickets,” Remillard’s promoter, Jimmy Burchfield, remarked. “They’ve never contacted me about fighting Matt or for anything else. After Matt beats Perez we can talk about Jefferson possibly being next on Matt’s dance card.”
2004 U.S. Olympian Jason “Big Six” Estrada (10-1, 2 KOs) squares-off against former world heavyweight title challenger Charles Shufford (20-7, 9 KOs) in the other 10-round, co-main event on “Champions of Tomorrow.”
Two other Connecticut fighters will be in action. Hartford light welterweight Addy Irizarry (3-1, 2 KOs), a corrections officer at a Connecticut prison, faces Tonya Gallegos (4-6, 2 KOs), while recent University of Connecticut graduate Brian Macy, a poker card dealer at Foxwoods who is from Ledyard, makes his pro debut versus super middleweight Pete Guthy (1-1-1, 1 KO).
Unbeaten cruiserweight prodigy and 9-time U.S. amateur champion, Aaron Williams (15-0-1, 11 KOs), battles former world kickboxing champ Manu Ntoh (17-13-1, 10 KOs) in an eight-round match.
New England fans have waited quite a few years for Friday’s light heavyweight showdown between Iraqi War-veteran Chris Traietti (7-0, 4 KOs) and “Irish” Joey McCreedy (5-1, 4 KOs) in a six-round bout. Throwback middleweights Richard “Bobo” Starnino (8-2-1, 1 KO), of Providence, and New Bedford’s Eric Pinarreta (1-1, 1 KO) bring an old-fashioned border war brawl into the ring for their four-rounder.
Also on the undercard in four-round bouts are undefeated Rhode Island super middleweight Angel Camacho, Jr. (8-0, 4 KOs) versus Terrence “TJ” Jones (10-10, 6 KOs) and unbeaten Brockton super middleweight Manuel Antonio Lopes (4-0, 1 KO) meets John “The Baptist” Michael Terry. All bouts and fighters are subject to change.
Former world title contender “Sucra” Ray Oliveira will be inducted into the CES Ring of Honor in a ceremony during the “Champions of Tomorrow.” Unbeaten heavyweight contender “Baby” Joe Mesi (36-0, 29 KOs), promoted by CES, will make a special presentation to Oliveira.
“Champions of Tomorrow” will be taped live and air on Saturday, February 2 at 7:30 p.m. on CN8 and will also stream online at www.CN8.tv. Following the broadcast, the show will be available ON DEMAND to Comcast Digital Cable customers for at least one week. “Champions of Tomorrow” will also air on Cox Sports Television on February 1 at 8:30 p.m.
Tickets for “Champions of Tomorrow” are priced at $40.00, $65.00 (Silver), $100.00 (Gold) and $150.00 (Jimmy’s Platinum Club). Two VIP Presidential Suites are also available (call CES for details as well as sponsorship opportunities). To purchase tickets or for additional information contact CES (1.401.724.2253/2254 - www.cesboxing.com) or Foxwoods (1.800.200.2882/www.foxwoods.com). Doors open at 6 PM/ET, first bout at 7 PM/ET.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Here’s a RUNDOWN of what you’ll hear on tonight’s BOLO PUNCH BOXING HOUR. . .

* Total recap of Jones-Trinidad, our thoughts on the outcome, what’s next for Roy, and we’ll be taking YOUR calls on the HOTLINE (219-743-9743) or on the Yahoo! Instant Messenger (keyword: bolopunchboxinghour) to get YOUR thoughts LIVE on the air!

* Total recap of Golota-Mollo, along with EXCLUSIVE comments from MIKE MOLLO on the outcome of the fight, his plans for the future, and his personal message to all of his fans.

* We’ll also recap ALL of the fights that happened this past week, including those on HBO PPV, Showtime, and ESPN2.

* Nestor “Garza” Romero’s UPDATES DESK will get you through the week, letting you know what fights will be on and how to see them.

* Our Bolo Punch Trivia Question returns TONIGHT. . . on the line is a coveted PRIZE PACK valued at over $75 in autographed memorabilia, programs, photos, posters, etc!!!

* RUNDOWN of BoxingToday’s Prediction League results. . . . this is the last week for picks in January. . . make sure to get your picks in ASAP!!!

* The popular GOLDEN LEAF CIGARS “Fighter you Should Know”. . . . Tonight, we’ll talk about former Heavyweight World Champion, Ingemar Johannson!!!

* All the boxing, beer, and cigars you can handle, on YOUR Thursday night INJECTION of boxing talk, updates, and all-out arguments. . . . THE BOLO PUNCH BOXING HOUR.

***The Bolo Punch Boxing Hour is, as always, brought to you by George Rogge Insurance.

Welterweight Andre Berto (20-0, 17 KOs), the dynamic 2006 ESPN.com prospect of the year, finally has an opponent for his Feb. 9 HBO appearance on the Williams-Quintana undercard (10 p.m. ET/PT). He’ll face former European champion Michel Trabant (43-2-1, 19 KOs) of Germany. Trabant, 29, whose only losses are a majority decision to Jose Antonio Rivera in a 2003 world title bout and a split decision to Frederic Klose in a 2004 European title fight, represents the stiffest test of Berto’s career. Berto promoter Lou DiBella and HBO discussed numerous opponents who either turned Berto down or were not approved by HBO. Among the names discussed: Steve Forbes, Isaac Hlatshwayo, Jose Luis Cruz, Mike Arnaoutis, Miki Rodriguez, Sebastian Lujan, Oscar Diaz and Vivian Harris. . . as reported by ESPN.com

***Faithful Bolo Punch listeners will recall that we had the good fortune of speaking with Andre Berto a few months back.  This EXCLUSIVE interview is prominently shown on youtube.com and on our homepage under INTERVIEWS.

Briggs returns February 2!

January 21, 2008

“We feel that Shannon is still one of the best heavyweights in the world,” commented promoter Zef Ramirez, “and we are excited about being part of his run for a third world title, Briggs always brings an exciting fight.

In the co-main event, former #1 contender Hector Camacho Jr. (43-3-1, 25 KOs) makes his long awaited debut under the Zeferino Entertainment banner with an opponent to be named. Boxing insiders have been abuzz with rumors of a rededicated Camacho, who has trained with renewed vigor. Watch for a more impressive Camacho Jr in this fight

“Hector realizes how close he came to being world champion,” added promoter Zeferino Ramirez, “and he’s been a new man these last few months. He has a fire in his belly that I have not seen before. Make no mistake about it, on February 2nd we are going to see the real Hector Camacho Jr.”

Rounding off the card, two of Zeferino Entertainment’s top prospects will square off in tough fights against dangerous opponents. In a bout featuring popular and ranked # 20 with the WBC and # 10 with the NABF super middleweight top prospect Carlos De Leon Jr. (19-1-2, 12 KOs), a fighter who comes from royal boxing pedigree, faces veteran journeyman Dhafir Smith (19-16-6, 4 KOs), who will attempt to continue his five-fight undefeated. Although De Leon has looked all the part a world class contender in his last few fights, Smith has scored huge upsets (like his shocking win over top prospect John Johnson in his last fight) that have boxing insiders drooling over this fight.

In another highly anticipated fight, undefeated welterweight prospect Marvin Cordova Jr. (17-0-1, 11 KOs) takes on the durable Darien Ford (11-15, 4 KOs). Ford is back with a huge upset over former world champion Ivan Robinson last year, and he is hoping to find lighting in a bottle again in Arizona. However, Cordova has looked exceptional in his last few fights, and he is promising a knockout over his veteran opponent.

In a four round middleweight fight, Geoffery Spurill (5-5, 1 KO) takes on Alexis Hloros (1-2-2, 1 KO). Spurill is coming in off a stunning upset in his last fight, a decision in Las Vegas over prospect Angel Flores. The win has propelled his career, but a loss to Hloros would all but close the book on his mini-run at establishing himself as a prospect.

Two more fights round off the card, with light heavyweights Akinyemi Laleye (7-1, 3 KOs) taking on William Gill. Undefeated junior middleweight prospect Dante Moore (2-0, 2 KOs) also rounds off the card.

The exciting card is promoted by Zeferino Entertainment in association with Harris De Lorean Corporation with American Dreams Public Relations, 944 Magazine and eXplosive promotions, and is being billed as the ” 944 Magazine Super Village Super Fight.” The fight card will take place on February 2nd at 2 PM as is part of a four day SuperBowl & PGA entertainment extravaganza in Scottsdale (www.944.com). Details and tickets can be purchased at www.944game.com, and VIP tickets can be obtained by emailing lab@944.com. For additional info call 925-998-4946.