LOS ANGELES, November 19 – British welterweight star Matthew Hatton and junior featherweight contender Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista will be pushed to the limit in pivotal bouts on the off-television undercard of Saturday night’s showdown between Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton and Paul “Magic Man” Malignaggi at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada..
Matthew Hatton (34-4-1, 13 KO’s) will warm up British fans in attendance for his brother Ricky when he takes on perennial contender Ben Tackie (29-10-1, 17 KO’s) in a 10 round welterweight bout while 22-year-old Bautista (26-1, 19 KO’s) will square off against former world title challenger Heriberto Ruiz (39-7-2, 23 KO’s) in a 10 round junior welterweight bout.
Also stepping between the ropes on November 22nd will be up and coming prospects Danny Garcia, Hylon Williams, Adrien Broner and Adrian Gonzalez. An eight round welterweight battle between undefeated Sirimongkol Singwancha and veteran Rogelio Castaneda will also be part of the show.
The night’s main event, Ricky Hatton vs. Paulie Malignaggi, is a scheduled 12-round battle for Hatton’s Ring Magazine and IBO Junior Welterweight titles, presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Punch Promotions and DiBella Entertainment and sponsored by Affliction Clothing and Cerveza Tecate. In the co-feature James Kirkland vs. Brian Vera, a 10 round middleweight bout, is presented in association with Tournament of Contenders. Both bouts will air live on HBO’s World Championship Boxing broadcast beginning at 7:00pm PT/10:00pm ET. Doors open at 3:00 pm PT with the first bell ringing at approximately 3:15pm PT.
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 Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available for purchase atwww.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
Although he is the little brother of one of boxing biggest stars, Matthew Hatton is well on his way to carving out his own niche in the crowded welterweight division. A proud native of Manchester, the 27-year-old has won six of his last seven bouts including his last bout, a solid win, over Scott Woolford in September of this year. Hatton faces Accra, Ghana’s Ben “Wonder” Tackie who is no stranger to the Hatton family, having fought Ricky in 2003. Although this unyielding warrior has had his share of bad luck in the ring over the last two years, he is confident that the string will end and a winning streak will begin against the younger Hatton on November 22nd.
Tagbilaran’s Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista is already a star in the Philippines, but the highly-motivated youngster wants to achieve the same status around the world as his countryman Manny Pacquiao and knows the only way to do that is to win a championship. After falling short in his first world title shot against Daniel Ponce De Leon, Bautista has roared back with three straight wins. In Heriberto “Cuate” Ruiz Bautista will be facing a rugged warrior who has been in with the best in the world over the last 14 years. Winner of four of his last five bouts, the 31-year-old from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico is ready for a battle with “Boom Boom.”
Former World Super Featherweight Champion Sirimongkol Singwancha (59-2, 34 KO’s) of Thailand will return to fight in the United States for the first time in over three years when he puts his 16 fight winning streak on the line in a welterweight eight rounder against the always dangerous Rogelio Castañeda Jr. (24-14-3, 8 KO’s) of Tijuana, Mexico.
Already 6-0 in 2008 and 8-0 with 7 KO’s overall, Philadelphia’s Danny Garcia will look to keep the momentum going in his busy year when he faces El Paso, Texas’ Adan Hernandez (14-5, 5 KOs) in a junior welterweight six rounder.
Also competing in six rounders will be lightweight Hylon Williams (5-0 1 KO) of Houston, Texas, against Carson, California’s Ramon Flores (2-3-1, 2 KO’s) and hard-hitting Cincinnati lightweight prospect Adrien Broner (3-0, 3 KO’s) making his debut under the Golden Boy Promotions banner against tough veteran Terrance Jett of Las Vegas.
In the opening bout, junior featherweight Adrian Gonzalez will get a chance to perform in front of his hometown fans in his pro debut when he battles an opponent to be determined in a four round contest.
For room packages and availability and event information at MGM Grand, call (800) 929-1111 or (702) 891-7777 or log onto the World Wide Web at www.mgmgrand.com.
For more information visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and www.rickyhitmanhatton.com.
Hatton Malignaggi Quotes
Ring Magazine & IBO World Junior Welterweight Champion Ricky Hatton and former World Junior Welterweight Champion Paulie Malignaggi will meet this Saturday, November 22, in a Junior Welterweight World title bout for Hatton’s Ring Magazine and IBO Junior Welterweight titles. Check out some today’s quotes from both fighters.
PAULIE MALIGNAGGI
“ALL I KNOW IS SATURDAY NIGHT, I AM GOING TO BEAT HIS ASS!”
“EVERYONE HAS A PLAN UNTIL THEY GET PUNCHED IN THE FACE. HE’LL USE HIS PLAN UNTIL I PUNCH HIM IN HIS!”
“LOOK AT HIS RESUME. OTHER THAN MAYWEATHER AND COLLAZO, THE REST OF THE GUYS HE FOUGHT WERE AT LEAST 100 YEARS OLD.”
RICKY HATTON
“I SHOULD BEAT HIM AND IF I DON’T BEAT HIM, I’LL HAVE TO START LOOKING AT THINGS A LITTLE CLOSER!”
“SURE, MY FANS ARE COMING OVER-8,000 TO 10,000 OF THEM WILL BE HERE EVEN WITH THE CREDIT CRUNCH WE’RE HAVING OVER IN ENGLAND!”
The bout, presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Punch Promotions and DiBella Entertainment and sponsored by Affliction Clothing and Cerveza Tecate, will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and air live on HBO’s World Championship Boxing at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
HBO SPORTS PRESENTS A BLUE-RIBBON DOUBLEHEADER UNDER THE VEGAS LIGHTS WHEN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®:
RICKY HATTON VS. PAUL MALIGNAGGI AND JAMES KIRKLAND VS. BRIAN VERA IS SEEN LIVE SATURDAY, NOV. 22 ON HBO
Relentless combatants square off when HBO Sports presents WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: RICKY HATTON VS. PAUL MALIGNAGGI AND JAMES KIRKLAND VS. BRIAN VERA live SATURDAY, NOV. 22 (10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT), from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, exclusively on HBO.
Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton (44-1, 31 KOs) of Manchester, England returns to the States to battle Brooklyn’s Paul “The Magic Man” Malignaggi (25-1, 5 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round junior welterweight fight. Enormously popular back home, Hatton is an aggressive brawler who enters attack mode at the opening bell, swarming his opponent with persistent punches. Raising his profile in America last December when he opposed Floyd Mayweather in a welterweight showdown, Hatton now returns to his natural weight of 140 pounds and seeks to reassert his dominance in the division.
Affable Paulie Malignaggi is known for his flashy style in the ring, where he displays quick combinations and a huge heart, and a larger-than-life personality outside the ropes. Earning a 140-pound title in 2007 when he decisioned Lovemore N’dou, Malignaggi never backs down from a challenge, and now intends to prove that he’s the best at 140 pounds.
Two Texans clash in the opening bout, as hard-hitting James Kirkland (23-0, 20 KOs) returns to HBO to face rugged contender Brian Vera (16-1, 10 KOs) in a ten-round middleweight contest. Undefeated Kirkland is an exciting knockout artist, with 18 of his 20 knockout victories coming in the first three rounds. Vera is fresh off an impressive victory over highly-regarded prospect Andy Lee.
All WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING events are broadcast in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.
The executive producer of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is Rick Bernstein; producer, Thomas Odelfelt; director, Marc Payton.
® WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.
Al Bernstein Boxing Channel to Cover Pre & Post Hatton/Malignaggi Fight Weigh-in Also Broadcast Over iBN Sports Network
Foothill Ranch, Calif. – November 19, 2008 – iBN Sports, a premier Internet-based broadcast sports television network announced that its Al Bernstein Channel (ABBC) will provide full coverage of the November 22nd Ricky Hatton-Paulie Malignaggi junior welterweight championship match from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Al Bernstein and iBN Sports will be on hand to cover the weigh-in on Friday, Nov. 21st and provide coverage of the post fight press conference on Saturday, Nov. 22nd. It can all be seen at http://www.ibnsports.com.
“This match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas has a great international flavor with Hatton and his fans coming over from Great Britain,” Al Bernstein said. He added, “Paulie Malignaggi is a talented and gritty performer and this match has great appeal, we are happy to again to give boxing fans around the world coverage of an important match. We will cover the emerging stories, offer analysis and do interviews with major boxing figures.”
The ABBC is at major boxing matches and will continue that with full coverage of the Dec. 6 Oscar DeLaHoya-Manny Pacquiao match, also from the MGM