LOS ANGELES, CA (November 2, 2008) Tired of the continuous taunting and excessive calls to fight, World Boxing Council Junior Featherweight Champion and “Pound for Pound” candidate Israel Vazquez has agreed to former world champion Jorge Arce’s demands to fight. “It’s getting ridiculous, at first when he started calling me out I didn’t take him seriously but this has been going on for over a year now, always the same thing with him. It’s like being in a schoolyard with the little guy egging on the bigger kid. Trust me, Jorge, I am not only bigger but better..
Last night I went to see the Darchinyan/Mijares fight and on the way home my friends who watched your fight called and said you were calling me out before and after the fight. I watched the tape of your fight this morning and the announcers even said that during their pre-fight meetings that you were demonstrating to them what you would do to me.”
Acre earned a fourth round stoppage of Isidro Garcia on Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas to raise his record to 51-4-1 (39KO’s) and retain the interim WBA super flyweight title.
Continued Vazquez, “He’s fighting two weight classes below me and he wants to just jump up and face me. If he’s serious, I am more than ready to fight him. We both have a lot of fans and it’s a big fight either in Los Angeles or Las Vegas .
Normally, I wouldn’t even care but I’m tired of Arce, tired of people asking me when I’m going to shut him up. My message to Jorge is watch my last fight with Rafael Marquez, watch very closely and decide for yourself if you really want to fight me. If the answer is yes, you will soon realize when the bell rings that you have made a very big mistake.”
Said manager Frank Espinoza, “This has bothered Israel for a while now. Jorge gives him no respect for his accomplishments. So maybe it’s best they settle it in the ring. But just like Israel says ‘Jorge, be careful what you wish for.”
Vazquez cemented his place in the annals of boxing history over the last two years with his three epic battles against former world champion Rafael Marquez, culminating in his outstanding rubber match win on March 1st at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California .
The Vazquez/Marquez trilogy, thought by many to be amongst the greatest in boxing history, has won numerous accolades by the boxing media with the most recent bout sure to land atop many “2008 Fight of the Year” lists as well as the final round being given consideration for “2008 Round of the Year” as Vazquez scored a knockdown in the terrific final round to win the fight.
Vazquez, 43-4 (31KO’s) is currently ranked on numerous Pound for Pound lists including # 4 by Yahoo Sports, # 5 by Ring Magazine and # 7 by both ESPN and Sports Illustrated. More information can be viewed at his website, www.israel-vazquez.com
Jimmy Lange Wins Comeback Victory Impressively over Grover Wiley at Patriot Center;
“Tattoo” Tom Mitchell Loses Bout, But Earns Respect in Fight for Cancer;
Promotion to Donate $6,000 to Growing Hope Organization
FAIRFAX, VA (November 2, 2008) – In the fight of the night, popular Virginia middleweight contender Jimmy Lange (29-3-2, 20 KOs) scored an impressive, unanimous victory over Grover Wiley (30-12-1, 14 KOs) at the Patriot Center Saturday night in his first action since May 2007. A confident Lange displayed a strong jab and landed effective body shots throughout the ten-round battle, including a fourth-round knock down, to defeat the Midwest veteran who displayed toughness and a no-quit attitude.
Looking fully-recovered from a rotator cuff injury suffered during the first round of his WBC Continental America’s championship title bout held 17 months ago, Lange showed little ring ‘rust’ and provided his loyal and spirited hometown fans their money’s worth with the strong performance.
Even though he was penalized two points for holding, George Rivera (9-3, 3 KOs) avenged an earlier loss to the previously undefeated Jessie Nicklow (19-1-1, 7 KOs) by scoring a unanimous decision in the event’s co-feature. Rivera deftly boxed throughout the eight-round contest, avoiding the constantly-charging Nicklow and landing the more effective jabs.
Despite losing his professional debut to Yieta Johnson (1-2, 1 KO) via second-round TKO, “Tattoo” Tom Mitchell (0-1) earned the respect and admiration of the crowd for his gutsy performance and heartwarming story of fighting to raise awareness of childhood cancer. Mitchell entered the ring led by his 18-year old daughter, Shayla, who was diagnosed with cancer last summer, to thunderous applause. Later she joined her Dad and promoter Jackie Kallen in announcing that $6,000 was raised from the evening which would be donated to Growing Hope, a local non-profit organization that provides outreach and family support programs for children battling cancer. Mitchell donated his purse, while the promotion agreed to donate one-third all of the revenue generated from Mitchell’s personal ticket sales to the cause.
In the evening’s other bouts, Jimmy LeBlanc (12-15-4, 3 KOs) KO’d Luther Smith (22-8-2, 12 KOs) in the first round, Tracy Brewer (3-0, 1 KOs) defeated Calvin Aughty (0-3) in a competitive, four-round slugfest, and Curtis Smith (9-4, 4 KOs) outpointed Carlos Cisneros (9-16-1, 6 KOs) for a win.
Official Results
Lange UD Wiley (100-89, 99-90, 98-91) – 10 Rounds, Jr. Middleweight
Rivera UD Nicklow (76-74, 77-72, 77-73) – 8 Rounds, Jr. Middleweight
C. Smith UD Cisneros (59-55, 59-55, 58-56) * 8 Rounds, Jr. Welterweight
Johnson TKO2 Mitchell (1:46), 4-RD Featherweight
LeBlanc KO1 L. Smith (1:46), 6 Rounds, Middleweight
Brewers UD Aughtry (40-35, 40-35, 40-35), Super Middleweight
* Bout stopped in six-round (went to scorecards) as a result of an accidental head-butt causing a cut on Cisneros
Attendance: 5,817
Familiar Faces in the Crowd:
Notable boxers attending the event included current and former world champions as well as top Beltway area prospects: Paul “The Punisher” Williams, Eric “Mighty Mouse” Aiken, Demarcus “Chop Chop” Corley (Johnson’s trainer), Thomas Snow, Bayan “The Mongolian Mongoose” Jargal, Fontaine Cabell (working with Lange), Perry Ballard, Juan Carlos Robles, Andrew “Doo Man” Farmer, Kay Koroma and Tony Jeter. Also seen were former Redskins linebacker Ken Harvey, Redskins broadcaster Larry Michael and JP Flaim of WJFK’s “The Junkies.”
Cestus Management New Prospect, Robert “The Nighthawk” Luna Jr.: Prepares for Lift Off on November 8th
By: Cestus Press
Cestus Management’s new Junior-Welterweight enforcer Robert “NIGHTHAWK” Luna Jr. is in full preparation for his November 8th, 2008, professional debut against New Orleans veteran Dwayne Jones. The bout is slated to be on a fight card promoted by Jessie Ravelo of Class Act Promotions and will take place in Round Rock, Texas (contact 254 291 33 47 for tickets).
As the weeks have gone by, Robert “NIGHTHAWK” Luna Jr. is anxious to get in the “squared-circle” as his professional debut has been a longtime coming. Luna, from his training camp in San Antonio, Texas, said, “It feels like I have been training forever and now I’m ready to unleash myself on my opponent. I am now making my pro debut, which is a dream come true and have a company like Cestus behind me who are taking care of my career. Now I know i will make it.” Luna added, “I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to be a professional fighter and show the discipline and hard work taught to me by the Air Force (U.S. Military). I served my country in Iraq and Afghanistan as a proud soldier; now i want to serve boxing as a proud fighter. I want to thank Cestus Management (Mike Michael and Gina Iacovou) for believing in me; they have helped me to be in a place where i want to be, so there is no excuses for faliure; I promise i will deliver”.
Cestus CEO Gina Iacovou said, “Robert is a remarkebly, strong and talented fighter with a lot of potential and marketability. Once the other fighters in his weight division see his power punching style, Robert will be well on his way to making his mark as one of the premier prospects at 140-pounds”. Iacovou added, “Cestus is so proud of Robert, he is an ex-active soldier who proudly volunteered to fight for the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan and continues to give to his community by starting and running a non-profit boxing gym for San Antonio’s (Texas) youth who at risk. That really shows the kind of outstanding person that Robert is and I believe that he will also show his class in the boxing ring as his career progresses. We believe that there is no doubt that he will climb the ladder and bring home many championship titles in the not too distant future”.
Mike Michael, who is Cestus Management’s founder and Exclusive Advisor, added, “On November 8, ‘The NIGHTHAWK’ will be D-Day; I know that Robert, who is always in phenomenal condition, will step into that ring in Round Rock (Texas) and take care of business. The fans will see power, speed and true boxing ability from this exceptionaly talented fighter. SO LOCK THE DOORS AND RUN FOR COVER because on November 8th the “NIGHTHAWK will invade Round Rock Texas, ready to rumble and make an electrifying professional debut!”
In closing, Michael said, “I would also like to give my gratitude to my good friend Anthony Velasquez of Gente Entertainment for his non-stop support and also a big thank you to Jessie Ravelo of Class Act Promotions for working with us”.
Cestus Management’s main office is located in Vineland, New Jersey, and works with fighters of distinction from all across the world. For further information, on the company its fighters, media or otherwise, log onto www.cestusmanagement.com