06.12.05 – This Saturday night, Chicagoan “Marvelous” Shay Mobley, 12-4-1 (5KO’s) battles 2000 U.S. Olympian Dante “The Inferno” Craig, 13-4 (10KO’s) in a special six round middleweight battle as Dominic Pesoli’s 8 Count Productions’ HOME OF THE BEST IN CHICAGO BOXING and Octavius James’ ONE IN A MILLION, INC along with THE GRAND VICTORIA CASINO present a star studded evening of World Championship Boxing..
The Mobley/Craig showdown is the terrific co-main event for this unique evening which will feature legendary Hall of Fame trainer and HBO analyst Emanuel Steward, Hall of Fame boxing legend Aaron “The Hawk” Pryor Sr. and special guest emcee for the evening, Showtime’s voice of professional boxing, the classy Jimmy Lennon Jr. Pryor Sr. and Steward were both inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996. Steward, Pryor Sr. and Lennon Jr. will take time throughout the evening to take pictures and sign autographs for the fight crowd.
This event at the beautiful Grand Victoria Casino and Resort by Hyatt in Rising Sun marks the first ever World Championship Bout on a casino property in Indiana. Tickets, starting at $25 are on sale in advance by calling 1-800-Grand11, ext. 3, 1-866-438-7372 and 312-226-5800. Doors
for this event open at 8pm with the first bout at 9pm.
The Grand Victoria Casino is located on Indiana 56 in Rising Sun, Indiana, 45 minutes southwest of Cincinnati, 90 minutes northeast of Louisville and 1 hour and 45 minutes southeast of Indianapolis. For more information and directions, please visit their website at www.grandvictoria.com.For more information on 8 Count Productions and to view the poster for this event, please visit their website at www.8countproductions.com
Speaking after a training session at the One in a Million, Inc., complex in Merrilville, IN under the watchful of trainers Henry Sims and Martin McGarry, Mobley discussed the upcoming bout with Craig, “I haven’t seen him fight but we have similar records so it’s really more about needing
to do what I do best. If I’m successful with my game plan I’m confident I’ll be successful” said the heavy handed 28 eight year old.
Continued Mobley, ‘For me it’s a bit of step up from my last couple of fights but it will be a good measure of where I’m at. A win here could lead to bigger fights against guys ranked higher.”
About the distance of the fight, Mobley stated, “It’s only six rounds, so I’m pretty sure the action will start very quick. No time for feeling each other out, it’s time to go from the start of round 1. He’s fought at the casino before so I need to get in there and establish myself very early in the fight. I’ve trained as if it’s a ten round fight so I’m prepared for everything he has.”
Said Mobley’s manager, Octavius James of One In A Million, Inc. “Shay’s worked very hard for this fight. While it’s only a six rounder, it’s high stakes as both him and Dante have much to gain with a win on Saturday night.”
Mobley completed the interview by stated, “I’m just concentrating on this fight. No use thinking about what’s ahead of this, I need to win on Saturday night, the rest will take care of itself.”
Craig has won his last four bouts including his last two at the Grand Victoria Rising Sun Casino. On August 6, 2005, Craig knocked out the previously undefeated James Morrow in the second round on the casino property. Mobley is currently riding a six fight winning streak.
The main event features fellow Chicagoan David Diaz, a 1996 U.S. Olympic teammate of world champions Fernando Vargas, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and David Reid and currently ranked # 8 by the World Boxing Organization is riding a three bout winning streak, most recently stopping former world champion Juan Polo Perez by third round technical knockout in the main event at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, MO on October 21, 2005. Prior to that, Diaz fought on the undercard of the huge HBO televised Fernando Vargas/Javier Castillejo event at the Allstate Arena, winning a decision over John Trigg before a hometown audience of over 10,000 Chicago fight fans.
Diaz’s opponent, the heavy handed Ramazan Palyani, a bronze medalist in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain is coming off a gutty eight round decision win over tough veteran Rafael Ortiz on May 7, 2005 in which Palyani was able to win a unanimous decision despite being able to only use his right hand after his badly hurting his left hand early in the fight. The Palyani win took place at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Neveda on the undercard of the Showtime televised Diego Corrales/Jose Luis Castillo first fight, a legendary slugfest widely recognized as one of the greatest historical boxing matches by a large contingent of international media present at ringside.
Also on the undercard is the return to the ring of hot prospect Aaron Pryor Jr. 1-0 (1KO) of Cincinnati, OH in a scheduled four round middleweight bout. The 6′ 4″ Pryor is the son of Hall of Famer and boxing legend Aaron “The Hawk” Pryor. “The Hawk” was the junior welterweight champion from 1980 to 1985 knocking out Antonio Cervantes at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati on August 2, 1980. Pryor defended the world title eleven times over a five year span including two legendary wins over former champion Alexis Arguello, the first of which was featured recently on the critically acclaimed HBO series “Legendary Nights” series, an epic battle which took place in front of over 60,000 fight fans at the Orange Bowl in Miami, FL on November 12, 1982. Pryor Sr. was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996, the same year as Emanuel Steward.
Pryor Jr. made his pro debut with a first round knockout over Dominique Azeez on August 13, 2005 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hill, Michigan.
Rounding out the undercard is a special attraction six round bout featuring lightweight prospect Octavio Lara, 5-2 (4KO’s) of Detroit, Michigan against
Gary, Indiana native, Joseph Pujo, 4-4-1 (1KO).
Lara is managed and trained by Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward, owner of the legendary Kronk Gym in Detroit, Michigan. Steward has trained numerous world champions including Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, Oscar De Le Hoya, Tommy Hearns, Leon Spinks, Aaron Pryor, Michael Moorer, Julio Cesar Chavez and most recently has worked with heavyweight champions Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko. Steward is also a boxing analyst for HBO World Championship Boxing and widely respected as a noted boxing historian.
This year marks the twenty fourth year for the classy Jimmy Lennon Jr.’s announcing career in the boxing ring following in the footsteps of his world renowned father Jimmy Lennon, Sr. Inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in October 1998, Lennon was voted the World Best Ring Announcer by KO Magazine in 2001. Since 1981, Lennon has become internationally known as the voice of boxing with his trademark “It’s Showtime” to get the evening rolling.