NEW YORK, NY (November 20, 2008)… Recognized for its innovative marketing approach to top tier events, HBO Pay-Per-View has designed a non-traditional interactive strategy for the December 6th De La Hoya-Pacquiao event to allow sports fan everywhere to engage the event. HBO Pay-Per-View® is utilizing the social networking site Facebook.com as a promotional tool to reach the site’s 120 million unique users.. The company has partnered with Digital Influence Group, a top agency in the social media space, to create “Dream Fight,” an interactive application to engage the millions of Facebook users who can play the game with their friends and other Facebook users to find out who are “champs or chumps.”
“Dream Fight” (http://apps.facebook.com/dreamfight) allows users to place a photo of a chosen friend’s face on a graphic of a boxer in a virtual ring. The round then begins and with the click of a mouse, the user is practicing their best virtual left hook and taking down their “opponent.” Through a sponsorship with Full Throttle Energy Drink, players who click on the Full Throttle Can earn bonus punches to extend the action in the ring. Following the round, their opponent is notified of the outcome of the fight and is given the opportunity to defend themselves, or fight with other friends. Facebook users can download the application to existing Facebook profiles at http://apps.facebook.com/dreamfight.
“We are always looking for innovative marketing concepts for our pay-per-view events,” said Tammy E. Ross, Vice President of HBO Sports & Pay-Per-View. “Being able to connect Facebook users in a fun and interactive way with a mega-boxing event like De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao provides a platform to help us reach our targeted audience and maximize our effectiveness.”
All eligible players may enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to the see the real “Dream Match”, De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao live at MGM Grand in Las Vegas on December 6th. The more times someone plays, the more times they’re entered for a chance to win.
Promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, Inc. and Top Rank, Inc., presented by Tequila Cazadores and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate, DeWalt Tools, Full Throttle Energy Drink and Southwest Airlines. De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao, a 12-round welterweight battle, will take place Saturday, Dec. 6 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev. The fight will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per View, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
HBO’s all-access reality series “De La Hoya/Pacquiao 24/7” returns with an all new episode on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on HBO.
Otieno faces Acid Test
Kenyan Nick ‘Kanyankole’ Otieno (17-2) will on Saturday 22nd of November face an acid test when he trades leather with Nigerian Ibrahim Adewale in a rare all African unification bout at the Cultural Centre in Ibadan.
Adewale (11-0) is the current holder of the WBC affiliated African boxing Union (ABU) bantamweight title and he will put his African belt on the line. Also for the taking is the vacant WBC International Bantamweight title. Adewale won the ABU title in when he knocked down Charlemagne Agbetoney of Benin 3 times before stopping the fight within the first round in December 2007 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria.
Otieno who left Nairobi yesterday is coming off registering a couple of huge upsets – he knocked down the highly rated former WBO Asia Pacific and Intercontinental Flyweight champion Rexon Florres before stopping the Philipino champ in the 8th of a scheduled 10 rounder in Davao City in the Philipines Islands in October. Previously, Otieno still as an underdog, knocked out the ABU Superflyweight champion, Francis Miyeyusho in a bout in Nairobi in April. Otieno’s only two losses are away from home against IBF Int Champion Eduardo Garcia in Russia and Philipines Z Gorres. Both fights went the whole distance.
Otieno who has been fighting at three different weight – flyweight, superflyweight and bantam is one of the highest rated boxers in Africa according to the respectable boxing website boxrec.com. Rated by boxrec at No. 17 in the world at flyweight, and also the holder of the UBO bantamweight title, Otieno will seek to harvest huge purses if he wins in Ibadan.
The last Kenyan to hold sway over a WBC International title was Sande Otieno who held the Superbantamweight green belt for 20 months before loosing it in a closely scored defence against Philipines Balweg Bangoyan. The fight which was stopped in the 5th round due to bleeding by Balweg and judges scored that fight 48-46, with Sande’s point deficit comming from deductions for the head butt and a knockdown in the first round.Balweg Bangoyan’s victory has resulted in opportunities to fight in Las Vegas – where the big money rolls. Ironically it was on the undercard of the Balweg/Sande fight that Nick Otieno beat all odds and completely overwhelmed a former world champion (Florres). A victory for Adewale or Nick Otieno would open doors for big money fights in a world title fight if either of them wins the two Green Belts at stake.
The WBC takes a keen interest in the African boxing scene, and is the parent affiliate of the ABU championship. Many African boxers have gained invaluable international exposure by their involvement in the ABU championships and the WBC International Championships.
The fight will be promoted by Nigeria’s Remi Aboderin of Freels and Threels Promotions. The referee for the fight will be Adrio Zannoni assisted by judges Alfred Buqwana of South Africa, Atta Eddie Pappoe of Ghana and Nigerian Folorunsho Jacobs. The supervisor of the championship will be non other that WBC Vice President Houicine Houichi.
Horton and Poulsen Are Set To Headline at Café Royal
20.11.2008: When Mayfair Sporting Club, headed by promoter Mickey Helliet, presents their next black-tie professional boxing dinner event at the Café Royal in London on Wednesday November 26, a couple of interesting international contests will top the bill. The sold-out show is set to include:
At super middleweight, undefeated prospect Sam “The Man” Horton (10-0) will take on tough Georgian campaigner Vepkhia Tchilaia (9-7) who in his last fight fared well against another Brit; Kevin Conception in September, dropping a decision after six hard rounds. Horton will be looking to go one better than Conception by stopping the 21-year-old from Tbilisi, but it looks like a tough task to accomplish.
In the co-featured bout, Danish up-and-comer Kim Poulsen (9-1), managed by Risum Boxing, makes his official lightweight debut by squaring off with another Georgian. Poulsen is in with WBU Intercontinental champion Nugzar Margvelashvili (16-4), who, like Tchilaia, did very well on a previous visit to the UK. In November of last year he stopped local hero Barry Hughes in a dominating performance in Glasgow to win the WBU strap in just four rounds, and he will surely be looking to do the same to young Poulsen (21).
Also on the bill will be talented Welshman Jamie Arthur (11-2) who in his last bout won the Welsh Area super featherweight title. At the Café Royal he will stay busy against veteran Steve Gethin (11-38-2), while undefeated welterweight Dean Arnold (2-0) completes the card against British-based South African journeyman Bheki Moyo (0-10-1).