GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE . . . According to the New York Post, the world middleweight championship belt Rocky Graziano lifted from Tony Zale on July 17, 1947, will be auctioned off on Nov 15 at a Louisville, KY sports memorabilia show. It is expected to sell for as much as $75,000. Just 11 months after winning the belt, Graziano would return it to Tony Zale in the rubber match of their epic trilogy. Ironically, that June 10, 1948, bout at Ruppert Stadium was the last world championship fight in Newark, NJ—that is until Dec 11, 2008, when Philadelphia, PA native Steve “USS” Cunningham defends his IBF Cruiserweight Championship against Jersey City’s “Polish Warrior” Tomasz Adamek at the Prudential Center. VERSUS will broadcast the Cunningham-Adamek bout and a co-feature contest beginning at 8:00 pm ET . . . The NY Post article can be found here..
STEVE CUNNINGHAM
On training camp:
· The Philadelphia Phillies fan is a constant fixture at the James Shuler Memorial Gym in West Philly and the Rock Ministries Gym in Kensington. But despite his intensity he and his team keep the atmosphere relaxed with practical jokes: “We like to have fun in camp. Last week when my trainer [Anthony Chase] landed in Philly we told him we rented a nice apartment for him. We took him to the ghetto to a house where the grass was over-grown and the windows were boarded. I walked over to the car with a straight face and gave him the keys and his jaw dropped. I couldn’t stop laughing.”
· Chase has trained Cunningham since the amateurs; although the two did separate for a few years before reuniting. Chase has also trained Cedric Boswell, Sam Reese, Dorin Spivey, Owen Beck, and Dave Hadden
· Chazz Witherspoon and Eddie Chambers are two of the fighters Cunningham is using for sparring because he wants “bigger, stronger guys”. . .
On Adamek:
· “From what it seems I think I’ve fought tougher guys [than Adamek], like Guillermo Jones, Kelvin Davis, and Sebastian Rothmann. But I see a decent fighter in Adamek—solid, pretty strong. I’m expecting a tough fight “
· “I think he’s been in there with good opposition. He fought Chad Dawson. But I’m different than Chad. I’m bigger. That’s what makes this fight so good. Both of us have been there, done that“
· “Adamek was bigger than I thought. We were about the same size. But size doesn’t mean much. Some of my toughest fights were against smaller guys.”
On His Naval Career
· Cunningham served four years in the U.S. Navy and finished as an E-3.
· For the first 2 ½ years of his service he was an aircraft re-fueler for the U.S.S. Enterprise and the U.S.S. America. “I re-fueled everything from F-18s, F-14s, helicopters, you name it.” He visited many places such as the Strait of Gibraltar, the Suez Canal, Greece, Italy, and Malta
· The last 1 ½ years of his tour were spent boxing for the Navy.
· Cunningham is proud of his service and would like to serve as a spokesman for the Navy
TOMASZ ADAMEK
On Training
· Adamek’s co-trainer Mike Skowronski is stunned at how good Adamek looks at this stage of training camp: “He looks awesome and he keeps getting better each day. It’s our inside joke that after every workout he tells me, ‘Wait till next week” . . . Fighting at cruiserweight has made all the difference according to Adamek: “I feel better than I did at light heavyweight. I’m not tired. I feel stronger” . . . Among his training rituals is 45 minutes of road work, four times per week . . .
· Skowronski is particularly impressed by Adamek’s speed and with “the way he’s putting together his combinations and working off his jab. His balance is great. I wish the fight was in two weeks to be honest with you. He is as steady as a rock.”
· Adamek is using top-10 contender Shaun George, former champion Al Cole, and three-time Golden Gloves champion Patrick Farell for sparring. So far he has already logged over 40 rounds of sparring, predominantly with George. Skowronski expects Adamek to spar a total of 60 rounds before they break their Passaic PAL training camp in Passaic, NJ.
On Cunningham
· “Cunningham is a good boxer. He’s a champion. But I think I will win this fight because I feel so much stronger at cruiserweight.” Skowronski adds: “Tomasz knows it’s going to be a tough fight,” says Skowronski. “He expects to catch up with Cunningham and wear him down. He’s looking at this as a 12 round war.”
Miscellaneous
· Adamek has been living in Jersey City, NJ for about two years. In August his wife and children joined him in America.
· Adamek says he might consider moving to heavyweight in the future, but “not to fight the real big guys.” For now all he is concentrating on is Cunningham: “This belt is very important to me. I would like to win this and then unify the titles.”
Tickets
Tickets, priced at $303, $153, $78, $53, $38, are on sale now and can be purchased by calling TicketMaster at 201-507-8900.
TKO FIGHTERS RETURN TO BALTIMORE JOEY GILBERT, KATY KLINEFELTER AND BASTIE SAMIR FEATURED AT BALLROOM BOXING SHOW ON NOVEMBER 20TH ADVANCE TICKETS NOW ON SALE
BALTIMORE, MD. (November 12, 2008) TKO BOXING Promotions has announced that super middleweight Joey Gilbert, female sensation Katy Klinefelter and newcomer Bastie “THE BEAST” Samir have been added to the BALLROOM BOXING show on Thursday, November 20th at Michael’s Eighth Ave. in Glen Burnie, Maryland.
Advance tickets for BALLROOM BOXING, starting at $35, can be obtained by calling 410-766-7474. Michaels’ Eighth Ave is located at 7220 Grayburn in Glen Burnie, Maryland . Doors open at 6:30pm with the first bell at 7:30pm.
Said Chet Koerner, President of TKO BOXING Promotions, “We’re thrilled to work with Scott Wagner and his team to continue to bring world class professional boxing to the terrific Baltimore fight fans.” Further information on the Gilbert, Klinefelter and Samir bouts will be announced shortly.
Gilbert, from The Contender Season 1, raised his record to 16-1 (12KO’s) with a second round stoppage of Dan Wallace in Cockeysville on October 30th at the Jonathan Ogden Foundation Charity Boxing Show. The 21 year old Klinefelter moved to 2-0 (1KO) with a four round unanimous decision over Jasica Rojo on the same card.
The 22 year old Samir, captain of the 2008 Ghanan Olympic team, made his professional debut on November 8th with a first round destruction of Melvin Blair at the Valencia Ballroom in York , PA.
BALLROOM BOXING on November 20th is headlined by a Maryland State Lightweight Title bout between Tyrell Samuel, 10-2 (5KO’s) taking on Ron “TEFLON” Boyd, 5-4 (2KO’s). Their first bout, a BALLROOM BOXING classic on the September 25th card, ended in a hotly contested six round split decision for Samuel.
For further information on TKO BOXING Promotions, please visit their website at www.tkoboxingpromotions.com
Danny Swift Garcia Returns to the Ring November 22
Philadelphia’s undefeated hard hitting Jr. welterweight prospect, Danny “Swift” Garcia (8-0, 7 KO’s) strives to keep his unbeaten streak alive. The Golden Boy Promotions standout slugger returns to the ring November 22, 2008 on the Ricky Hatton vs. Paul Malignaggi spectacle, set to take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
“Each and every time I step into the ring I’m getting more comfortable.” stated Garcia, “I’m looking forward to the next level of competition and this fight will be another test to see where I’m at. My training camp has been great and I feel confident that fighting every other month will be a blessing as I move towards my goal of becoming a world champion. I cant wait to step back in the ring and showcase my skills to the fans.”
An opponent for Garcia will be announced in the near future.
Hatton vs. Malignaggi is a scheduled 12-round battle for Hatton’s Ring Magazine and IBO Junior Welterweight titles and presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Punch Promotions and DiBella Entertainment, and sponsored by Affliction Clothing and Cerveza Tecate. The world title bout will air live on HBO’s World Championship Boxing.
Tickets priced at $1,000, $750, $500, $300 and $150 are still available at any MGM Grand box office outlet and at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and DrugCenters and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.