LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (May 4, 2010) – On Friday May 14, Star Boxing makes its much anticipated return to the Paradise Theater in the Bronx, when it presents its tenth installment of the popular, “Punchin’ at the Paradise”, fight series. The event, which is being co-promoted with Golden Boy Promotions, will be broadcast live on TeleFutura’s, “Sólo Boxeo Tecate”. The evening will feature some of the top undefeated prospects in the world, including Golden Boy’s Adrien “The Problem” Broner (14-0, 11KO’s) and Mike “The Artist” Perez (7-0, 3KO’s), as well as Star Boxing’s Yathomas Riley (8-0, 6KO’s)..
“We couldn’t be any more excited to finally be returning to the Paradise Theater,” stated Joe DeGuardia, CEO of Star Boxing. “This will be our tenth installment at this great venue, but our first in over a year. We have been looking to get back to the Paradise for some time now, and finally we are here. We put on a really good string of shows there a few years back and we are looking to pick up right where we left off starting on May 14. We look forward to working with Oscar de la Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions once again, and hope that this show will be the first of many exciting TeleFutura shows to come to the historical Paradise Theater.”
“We are excited to showcase some of Golden Boy Promotions’ top young prospects in a city so rich in boxing tradition like New York and in a great venue like the Paradise Theater,” said Oscar de la Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. “The TeleFutura ‘Sólo Boxeo Tecate’ series is the perfect platform to showcase young talent like undefeated stars Adrien Broner and Mike Perez, and this is going to be a night of boxing you won’t want to miss.”
The Paradise Theater is located at 2403 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. ET with the first bout scheduled for 7:30 p.m. A complete list of the undercard fights will be announced shortly.
Tickets are priced and available at $100, $50 and $30 and are on sale now. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Star Boxing office at (718) 823- 2000. To find out more information about exclusive tickets please call Star Boxing at (718) 823-2000 or visit www.starboxing.com. Tickets may also be purchased through Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster customers may log on to ticketmaster.com or purchase tickets by calling 1-800-745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased at the Paradise Theater Box Office, or by calling (718) 220-1015.
For more information, please visit www.univision.net, www.goldenboypromotions.com, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing.
Escalante Forced to Withdraw from May 7 ESPN ‘FNF’
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (May 3, 2010) — Antonio Escalante, the #3 world ranked featherweight from El Paso, has withdrawn from his scheduled bout on May 7 at UTEP’s Don Haskins Center due to injury.
The 24 year old Escalante was slated to face Argentina’s Carlos Ricardo Rodriguez in the ten round ESPN Friday Night Fights main event, but was forced to withdraw after suffering injuries to both elbows. According to Escalante, he was diagnosed by Dr. Charles Zaltz as having “nerve entrapment” in one elbow and tendonitis in the other.
“I’ve been having a lot of pain in both elbows and it finally reached a point where it was bothering me so much, it hurt to throw punches, “explained a disappointed Escalante. “I went to the doctor and see what I needed to do to get well enough to still fight on May 7th, but the doctor said my only choice was to take off about six to eight weeks to allow the injuries to heal. No one is more disappointed about me not fighting than I am. I was hoping for a magic solution, but rest and therapy is what I have to do to get well.”
With Escalante now out, his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, sprang into action and teamed up with Danny Romero Productions to combine the May 7 ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights” event with an existing event being promoted by Romero at the Isleta Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Now stepping into the May 7 main event will be 2004 Cuban Olympian Yordanis Despaigne (5-0, 4 KOs), who will face the toughest test of his young pro career when he squares off against former interim WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Richard “The Destroyer” Hall (29-7, 27 KOs).
“While we’re disappointed with having to move our show from the Don Haskins Center due to Antonio Escalante’s injury, we promise to be back in El Paso as soon as he’s ready to go,” said Golden Boy Promotions COO David Itskowitch. “We thank former World Champion Danny Romero and his staff for stepping up and helping us bring a great event to Albuquerque this week. Despaigne vs. Hall is a great main event, and we’re going to make sure the rest of the card is just as exciting for fans at the Isleta Casino.”
In the co-main event, former All-American linebacker and current heavyweight prospect Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell (16-0-1, 10 KOs) puts his unbeaten record on the line when he takes on fellow prospect Johnnie “Lethal” White (22-1, 18 KOs) of Louisiana in an eight round bout.
Ticket prices for this event range from $100 for ringside to $15. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. and the first bout will begin at 7:00 p.m. Attendees must be 21 years of age or older. Tickets can be purchased via the internet at (http://isleta-casino.com/entertain/tickets.cfm). Tickets purchased for the fight originally scheduled at UTEP’s Don Haskins Center, will be refunded at the point of purchase beginning Wednesday, May 5, 2010.
The ESPN “Friday Night Fights” broadcast airs at 10 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. MT on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN360.com.
Former world title challenger Billy Lyell vs. Martinus Clay this Friday on NESportsTV.com
NESportsTV.com online PPV presents John Duddy conqueror and former world title challenger Billy Lyell (21-8, 4 KO’s) vs. North Carolina veteran Martinus Clay (13-24-4, 5 KO’s) in a junior middleweight fight Friday May 7th for $8 USD (International Conversion Rates Apply). You can preorder the PPV today at www.NESportsTV.com.
Lyell, a frequent sparring partner of former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik and junior middleweight contender Harry Joe Yorgey, gained notoriety in 2009 after winning a decision over the previously unbeaten Irish middleweight John Duddy in a stunning upset in Newark, New Jersey. Lyell followed that career best win with a 2nd round TKO over Ohio journeyman Chris Overbey and 8 round decision over Louisiana’s Chris Gray.
Those performances set Lyell up for a shot at IBF middleweight titleholder Sebastian Sylvester. Lyell took the title fight with Sylvester on less than two weeks notice and was TKO’d in the 10th round of a hard fought bout. Lyell took the fight after original challenger Pablo Navascues had to pull out due to testing positive for a banned substance. He’s also been in the ring with former world champion Yory Boy Campos and contenders Vanes Matirosyan and James Kirkland.
Clay is a 10 year veteran who has been in the ring with titleholders such as Andre Berto and Kassim Ouma. He owns a victory over Minnesota fan favorite Matt Vanda and once held junior middleweight contender Harry Joe Yorgey to a draw.
The broadcast will also feature a full undercard including a junior middleweight fight between Morgantown, West Virginia’s Matt Berkshire (10-2-1, 5 KO’s) taking on Indiana’s Vance Garvey (8-31-5, 3 KO’s).
In a heavyweight fight, Adah, Pennsylvania’s Jason Bergman (10-9, 7 KO’s) meets Indianapolis’ Octavius Smith(4-6, 3 KO’s) in a rematch of their 2007 slugfest that Bergman won via unanimous decision.
In another heavyweight bout, West Virginia fan favorite Mel Bankhead (3-1) will be in action against an opponent to be announced.
Another West Virgina fan favorite, Todd Manning (6-5, 3 KO’s) will also compete in a junior middleweight fight with Akron, Ohio’s Dezi Ford (24-28, 9 KO’s). The much more experienced Ford has been in the ring with former world champions Vernon Forrest and Sharmba Mitchell as well as contender Reggie Green and fan favorite Emmanuel Augustus.
Card subject to change.