Santa Ynez, CA (Sept. 17, 2009) – Both combatants for tomorrow night’s ShoBox: The New Generation heavyweight main event appeared trim and ready for fireworks at today’s weigh-in. Travis Kauffman of Reading, PA, 18-0 (15 KO), weighed in at 221 pounds. In the other corner, Tony Grano of Hebron, CT, 15-1-1 (12 KO), tipped the scales at 218, his lightest since 2006. Both men will be fighting in their first scheduled ten-round contest..
The fight will take place at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, CA and will be televised live on the Showtime network, beginning at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). The show will be promoted by Gary Shaw Productions.
Kauffman, age 24, spent the majority of training camp in Deer Lake, PA at the legendary facility first popularized by Muhammad Ali more than 30 years ago. Among his many sparring partners were Matt Godfrey, Ring Magazine’s tenth ranked cruiserweight in the world. Kauffman was a two-time national amateur champion with a record of 51-7.
This will be Kauffman’s second appearance on ShoBox, the first coming last December when he knocked out Malachy Farrell in three rounds, also at the Chumash Casino. Kauffman stopped William Shahan in 80 seconds in his last bout just over a month ago.
“I feel good,” said Kauffman as he stepped off the scales. “The hard part is the training; The fighting is the easy part. I’m not saying the fight is going to be easy, but if I stick to my game plan and box I will make it much less complicated.”
Like Kauffman, the 28-year-old Grano was a decorated amateur as well, winning the US National championship in 2005. Grano’s only defeat came against Mark Brown last September after scoring two early knockdowns. Brown recovered to stop Grano in the eighth round. Grano’s best win came against Leroy Childs the fight prior to that when he knocked out the 13-1 fellow prospect in the opening round. Grano’s last performance was a workmanlike decision victory over trialhorse Jermell Barnes in February.
“He’s probably the heaviest puncher I fought but not the most skilled fighter I’ve ever fought,” Kauffman said. “He’s coming to fight, not lay down. I don’t underestimate him at all. He’s a fighter with two hands just like me. He has one loss and doesn’t want another but he’s never fought anybody like me.”
Kauffman’s father and trainer Marshall Kauffman feels this fight will put the boxing world on notice and thrust his son into the sport’s fast track.
“Being in the main event on ShoBox means a lot. He can’t go anywhere else but up from here. Grano is tough, but he’ll be too tough for his own good.”
Travis shares a similar confidence to his father. “Tune in tomorrow night on Showtime. You’re going to see the next heavyweight champion of the world in action.”
TONY GRANO SAYS TRAVIS KAUFFMAN MADE BIG MISTAKE, CONFIDENT HE’LL DEAL UNBEATEN HIS FIRST LOSS
“SHOBOX: THE NEW GENERATION’’ Friday, Sept. 18; Telecast Begins at 11 p.m. ET/PT
Up-and-coming, undefeated heavyweight Travis Kauffman (18-0, 15 KOs) of Reading, Penn., has rendered unconscious his last eight opponents, but figures to get his sternest test to date when he faces confident, upset-minded, once-beaten Tony Grano (15-1-1, 12 KOs) of Hartford, Conn., in the 10-round main event tomorrow/Friday, Sept. 18, on ShoBox: The New Generation live on SHOWTIME (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast).
“This is just a great opportunity and I’m very confident I’ll come out on top,’’ Grano said. “He hasn’t fought anybody and I think they are underestimating me big time. This is going to be a much tougher fight for Kauffman than he anticipated. By far, this will definitely be his toughest fight. We’ll know after Friday if it’s mine.’’
Counters Kauffman: “I am not underestimating him at all. If I was, I wouldn’t have spent seven weeks at camp, running five-six miles a day.’’
In the opening half of a doubleheader promoted by Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, at Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, Calif., promising, unbeaten Chris Avalos (11-0, 9 KOs), of Lancaster, Calif., meets Giovanni Caro (12-8-3, 11 KOs) of Mexico City in an eight round bantamweight bout.
TRAVIS KAUFFMAN
“Everything has been going really good. I just take it day-to-day and try to improve and progress and learn as I go. This is the next step and one I’m looking forward to taking.
“I know this is a process but I’m here for the long haul. There are a lot of things I need to work on, but once I’m ready, I know I’ll be ready for the best. I’m still a little nervous in the beginning of some fights, but the more experience I get, the calmer I become.
“I’m thrilled to be fighting on SHOWTIME again.’’
TONY GRANO
“We were both very good amateurs, national champions, and both have good power. But he’s in a little too deep this time around.
“This is going to be a really exciting fight and I am extremely excited that it’s on SHOWTIME. We’ll see what he’s made of. I can’t wait for Friday night.’’
CHRIS AVALOS
“This is my second straight fight on SHOWTIME and it is very exciting to be fighting on SHOWTIME again. I dedicated my first SHOWTIME fight to my grandmother because she had suffered a stroke and couldn’t come watch me, and I’m dedicating this fight to her, too.
“Since my first fight on SHOWTIME, I get much more attention from people who recognize me, which is sort of cool.
“But the most exciting part about winning my last fight was how our daughter, Angelina Gisselle, who’s almost three, reacted while watching me on TV. My wife said that Angelina was screaming ‘look at my daddy, look at my daddy, he’s on the TV’ while pointing her finger at the television and jumping around.’’
GIOVANNI CARO
“I have fought so many times in my opponents’ backyards. A lot of my losses are because of that. I got losses in fights I felt I win. That discouraged me for a while and I lost my enthusiasm. But now I am 100 percent ready to fight again.
“I’m prepared to adapt to whatever I have to in this fight to win it.’’
Heavyweight Prospect Travis Kauffman Looks To Remain Unbeaten This Friday on SHOWTIME
NEW YORK (Sept. 15, 2009) – America is always looking for the next top heavyweight. So, in a wide-open division in need of some new, native talent, unbeaten knockout artist Travis Kauffman (18-0, 15 KOs) will look to continue his climb up the heavyweight ladder when he takes on the dangerous Tony Grano (15-1-1, 12 KOs) on Friday, Sept. 18 LIVE on ShoBox: The New Generation at 11 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. The 10-round heavyweight tussle will originate from the Chumash Resort & Casino and will be promoted by Gary Shaw Productions. In the co-feature, unbeaten bantamweight prospect Chris Avalos (11-0, 9 KOs) looks to keep his unblemished record intact when he takes on the more experienced Giovanni Caro (12-8-3, 11 KOs) in an eight round bout.
The hard-hitting Kauffman, of Reading, Penn., sports a knockout percentage of 83 percent with all but three of those KOs coming inside of three rounds.
Kauffman, nicknamed “The GW Hope,” made his national television debut on Dec. 5, 2008 on ShoBox when he scored a third round KO over Malachy Farrell. Both heavyweights went down in the first round, but Kauffman mostly had his way en-route to a dominating victory.
Since the convincing win, Kauffman breezed through three lesser opponents before knocking out once beaten William Shahan in his last fight on Aug. 7.
A two-time national amateur champion, the 6-foot-3, 23-year-old Kauffman is taking another step up in opposition against Grano. Kauffman, who is familiar with Grano from his amateur career, knows that his opponent has the will to fight and keep fighting no matter what challenges await him in the ring.
“The kid comes to fight, but he’s one dimensional,” said Kauffman, who has knocked out his last eight opponents. “It’s a step up for me, but it’s a good fight.
With a knockout ratio of over 80 percent, is the hard-hitting heavyweight gunning for a KO?
“I don’t like making predictions and I don’t come looking for a knockout,” Kauffman said. “I let it come natural to me. My last eight fights have been knockouts and I believe some of the guys have been better than Grano.
“People want to see the knockout, they want to see the streak in tact. If follow my game plan, I do expect to knock him out in the later rounds.”
Kauffman, who has never been floored in his career and says the knockdown in the fight round against Farrell was a trip, won’t be overlooking his opponent, who boasts a 70 percent knockout ratio.
“I’ve never been knocked down, knock on wood,” Kauffman said. “I’ve been stunned a few times, but never been on my back. Is it a possibility? Absolutely. This is the heavyweight division.”
The 28-year-old Grano, who as an amateur won the 2005 U.S. Nationals and was runner-up at the 2005 National Golden Gloves, has an equally devastating knockout percentage of 70 percent. The 6-foot-2 brawler’s only loss came against then once-beaten Mark Brown on Sept. 27, 2008.
Since the loss, Grano, of Hartford, Conn., has rebounded with a win on Feb. 27 against Jermell Barnes in his last fight. But, the unbeaten Kauffman will be his toughest test to date.
The co-feature pits rising prospect Chris Avalos in a fight against journeyman, but game-tested Caro.
The unbeaten Avalos, of Lancaster, Calif., will make his second appearance on ShoBox. In his last fight, on July 31 on ShoBox, Avalos scored three knockdowns in the second round for a TKO victory over Andre Wilson.
Of the 19-year-olds’s nine knockouts, five have come in the first round.
“I go in there with the mindset that I’m going to win,” Avalos said. I really don’t go for the knockout. I just let it come, and if it’s there, its there. If I spend the fighter it’s pretty obvious that I have a chance to knock him out. I just wait for it, I don’t go for it.
“This guy has some experience. He’s a pretty good, pretty aggressive fighter. It’s going to be exciting because we’re both aggressive in there.”
Caro, of Mexico City, Mexico, has only fought twice outside of Mexico and once in the U.S., a eighth round knockout loss to featherweight title contender Bernabe Concepcion on Sept. 25, 2008.
The 27-year-old will be looking for a knockout victory, as 11 of his 12 wins have come via KO. He’ll be looking to score a quick one against fellow power-puncher Avalos.