Don Broadhurst has urged promoter Frank Warren to put him in the same dressing room as close pal Frankie Gavin next month – so he can help him through any first-night nerves. Gavin will make his debut in his home city of Birmingham on February 28 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham alongside fellow Olympians James DeGale and Billy Joe Saunders..
And as well as having his 2008 Beijing Games team-mates by his side, Gavin will also be sharing a bill with fellow Brummie and close friend Don Broadhurst.
The unbeaten prospect makes the first defence of his Commonwealth super-flyweight title, and says he is looking forward to fighting with Gavin again after they progressed through the schoolboy ranks together to make it into national amateur squads.
“I knew from back when we were kids that Frankie was going to be a very special talent,” said Broadhurst, who like Gavin won gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
“We’ve always been close and if he needs any advice about the professional side of things then I’ll always be here to help him.
“The one thing I would tell him is to stay patient against the fighters he’ll start out against because they’ll try and mess you around and put you off your game – but I know he’ll be just fine.
“As soon as Frankie steps through the ropes he’s brilliant, but I remember from our amateur days that he used to get a bit nervous beforehand.
“It would be great if we could share a dressing room together because I’ll help him get over any butterflies he might have and make sure he gets his professional career off to a flying start.”
Broadhurst is helping to spearhead the revival of boxing in Birmingham, recently headlining a show in his home city, and also shifting nearly 1,000 tickets for his first fight at home, at the NIA last June.
“Hopefully me and Frankie can put Birmingham back on the map and encourage other people to start boxing as well,” said the 24-year-old.
“There’s such a buzz in the city at the moment. I remember what happened in Manchester a few years ago with Ricky Hatton and all the lads that came through up there, and the same thing can happen in Birmingham.”
Tickets for the Olympian show, priced at £30, £50, £100 and £150, are available from:
Ticket Factory
0844 338 8000
MIKE JONES vs. LARRY MOSLEY
PHILADELPHIA, PA—Unbeaten welterweight prospect Mike Jones, of North Philadelphia, gets his stiffest test as a pro when he makes the first defense of his North American Boxing Association (NABA) title against Larry Mosley, of Los Angeles, CA, in the scheduled 10-round main event Friday evening, March 6, at the Legendary Blue Horizon, 1314 North Broad Street.
Jones, 25, broke into the world ratings in 2008 by scoring knockouts over Juliano Ramos and Luciano Perez, and decisions over Germaine Sanders and Gilbert Venegas. While Ramos is from Boca Raton, FL, Perez, Sanders and Venegas all are from Chicago, which gives Jones and the City of Brotherly Love a decided advantage over the Windy City.
A pro since 2005, Jones is rated No. 12 in the world by the World Boxing Association (WBA), No. 13 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF), No. 27 by the World Boxing Council (WBC). His 16-0 record includes 14 knockouts.
Jones’ sixth-round knockout last Aug. 29 over Ramos earned him the vacant NABA 147-pound title.
Mosley, 29, makes his second start in Philadelphia in three years. Most ringside observers felt he was unlucky to be held to a 12-round draw here by Miguel Figueroa on March 3, 2006.
A pro since 2000, Mosley is 15-3-2, 6 K0s. He followed the Figueroa fight by boxing another 12-round draw, this time with world-rated Golden Johnson in Houston, TX, Johnson’s backyard.
In his last fight Oct. 24 in Carbazon, CA, Mosley lost a unanimous 10-round decision in a solid fight to 18-year-old Mexican prospect Saul Alvarez, who is 24-0-1, 17 K0s. Scores were 96-94, 97-93, 99-91.
This will be Mosley’s second trip to the East Coast. He K0d Alexis Divison, of Miami, FL, on Aug. 4, 2005, at the Borgata Hotel Casino in Atlantic City, NJ. At the time, Divison was 16-1, 12 K0s.
The March 6 card represents a return to the Blue Horizon after eight years for Hall-of-Fame promoter J Russell Peltz, who began his career there as a 22-year-old in 1969. He is promoting this card, the first of six within a 12-month period at the Blue Horizon, with Joe Hand Promotions, Inc.
Tickets for the March 6 card are priced at $45 and $60. They are on sale at the offices of Peltz Boxing Promotions, Inc. (215-765-0922) and at the offices of Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. (215-364-9000). They also can be purchased online at www.peltzboxing.com.
2008 Olympian Raynell Williams to Remain Amateur
(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – 2008 United States Olympian Raynell Williams (Cleveland, Ohio) has made the decision to remain amateur and pursue Olympic medal opportunities for the 2012 London games through USA Boxing. The featherweight representative on the United States team took three months to weigh his options and decided that recommitting to the amateur program is the correct path for him.
“One of the long-term keys to our international success is to retain great young boxers like Raynell so they can compete in the Olympics during the prime years of their ability,” USA Boxing Chief Executive Officer Jim Millman said. “We are delighted that Raynell has decided to focus on London and 2012”.
Williams joins two-time Olympian and 2007 World Champion Rau’shee Warren (Cincinnati, Ohio) in returning to amateur boxing. The duo can be the first Olympic teammates to compete in two Olympic Games. In addition, top ranked super heavyweight and close friend to Williams, Michael Hunter (Las Vegas, Nev.) announced that he would be remaining amateur in October.
“I felt like I didn’t get a fair decision in Beijing, and I want go back one more time,” Williams said. “I hope to get the opportunity to compete in two Olympic Games and my teammates, Rau’shee and Mike, helped convince me to stay amateur.”
The 19-year-old Williams was the second youngest member of the United States Olympic Team and survived a bumpy road to a berth in Beijing. After failing to qualify in several attempts, Williams was planning to forgo competing in the final qualifier before his mother convinced him to box in the Midwestern Trials. Williams won the event and went on to earn the featherweight spot on the Olympic team following a trilogy of bouts with hometown boxer, Hylon Williams, Jr.
Known as one of the most fundamentally sound boxers on the U.S. team, Williams enjoyed a successful start to the 2008 Olympics before dropping his second bout to Khedafi Djelkhir in a controversial decision.
The 19-year-old is currently working at the Cuyahoga County Recorders Office in Cleveland and continues to train with his longtime coaches Clint Martin and Donyelle Bell at the S.A.B.A. boxing gym in Cleveland.
Williams will return to action at the USA vs. Ireland Dual, February 26-March 2 in Dublin, Ireland.
USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). It is responsible for the selection and management of the United States Olympic Boxing Team, and for the governance and oversight of USA Boxing’s national organization of 38,000 members, 1,400 individual boxing clubs, and 1,600 sanctioned events annually.