LAS VEGAS, NEV. (April 18, 2011) – Knockout artists MIKE ALVARADO and “Sugar” RAY NARH will battle for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) Continental Americas super lightweight title on the pay-per-view undercard headlined by the Manny Pacquiao vs. Sugar Shane Mosley World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight championship rumble, Saturday, May 7, at the soldout MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev. Alvarado and Narh have a combined professional record of 54-1 (42 KOs) – a winning percentage of 98% and a victory by knockout ratio of 78%.
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions, Sugar Shane Mosley Promotions, Tecate and MGM Grand, the four-fight Mosley vs. Pacquiao pay-per-view extravaganza will be produced and distributed live on SHOWTIME PPV®, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
Closed circuit tickets, priced at $50, are on sale and available at all Las Vegas MGM Resorts properties.
Alvarado (29-0, 21 KOs), of Denver, enters this having won 11 of his last 13 fights by knockout. He has not had a fight go to the judges’ scorecards in two years. A boxer-puncher, Alvarado boasts knockout victories of former world champion Cesar Bazan, former world title challenger Michael Clark, and world-rated contender Emmanuel Clottey. Alvardo enters this fight fresh from a fourth-round knockout victory of Dean Harrison in February.
Narh (25-1, 21 KOs), a native of Accra, Ghana, who represented his country in the 2000 Olympics, is riding a seven-year 15-bout winning streak, with 12 of those victories coming by knockout. Currently world-rated No. 6 by the WBC, Narh returns to the ring fresh from a 10-round unanimous decision victory over former world champion Freddie Norwood in March. Recent victories over prominent opponents include Angel Hernandez, Francisco Campos Luis Bolano and 2000 Turkish Olympian Ramazan Palyani, who entered their bout undefeated.
The Pacquiao vs. Mosley pay-per-view undercard will also feature a 10-round super middleweight duel between former World Middleweight Champion KELLY “The Ghost” PAVLIK (36-2, 32 KOs), of Youngstown, OH., and undefeated WBC Continental Americas super middleweight champion ALFONSO “El Tigre” LOPEZ (21-0, 16 KOs), of Cut and Shoot, TX; and WBO junior featherweight champion WILFREDO VAZQUEZ, JR. (20-0-1, 17 KOs), of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, in his Las Vegas debut, making his third title defense, against five-time world champion JORGE ARCE (56-6-2, 43 KOs), of Los Mochis, México.
Episode No. 2 of the four-part series Fight Camp 360˚: Pacquiao vs. Mosley, debuts on SHOWTIME This Saturday! April 23, at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
The Pacquiao vs. Mosley pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $54.95, will be produced and distributed by SHOWTIME PPV®. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. For Pacquiao vs. Mosley fight week updates, log on to www.sports.SHO.com or www.toprank.com.
Jeff Lacy responds: Bring it on Nick Diaz, anytime, anywhere!
ST. PETERSBURG, FL. (April 18, 2011) Former super middleweight world champion Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy read with interest last Friday’s edition of the USA Today newspaper in which Strikeforce Champions’ Nick Diaz challenged him to a boxing match.
“Honestly, I was a little stunned. Nick has accomplished a great deal in mixed martial arts and is certainly one of the best in the sport. But getting in the ring with me for a boxing match is a path he needs to be very wary of taking. I’m willing to put it all on the line anytime, anywhere!” said the St. Petersburg resident.
“For the right price, I’m more than interested in heading to his turf and put my fist in his mouth and silencing him.”
Diaz is coming off a dominating win over Paul Daley last weekend in a Showtime televised fight in front of a packed house at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego and is looking for new challenges.
In a fantastic one round bout, Diaz scored a TKO victory Daley with a barrage of punches calling a halt to the action at the end of the initial stanza.
Appearing on HDNet’s Inside MMA Show, Diaz said “They don’t have anybody else for me to fight now; I don’t see much of a future in this sport for me. I honestly don’t, especially if there’s not whole a (crap) load of money going on.”
Strikeforce officially paid Diaz $175,000 for beating Daley, according to the California State Athletic Commission.
According to Diaz’s manager/trainer Cesar Gracie, Diaz is looking to box against a prominent opponent in September or October.
Said attorney/manager of Lacy, Joey Gilbert, “In my opinion Nick Diaz has the best boxing/striking skills in the MMA game today, he’s always in exceptional shape, his comfort level in the pocket and under fire is comparable to any seasoned boxing champion’s and I feel his hands are better than B.J. Penn’s who many believe is the best in the sport.”
”I’d love to see this fight take place in northern California or at the Silver Legacy or Eldorado Hotel & Casino in Reno, Nevada. Nick has a lot of fans around here.”
A participant in The Contender, Season One, Gilbert is a former middleweight contender. He currently is a practicing attorney and founder of Sports Entertainment Unlimited, a diverse sports management firm based in Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Notre Dame’s Mike Lee welcomed at Houston’s gathering of charity event
HOUSTON, TX (April 18, 2011) Notre Dame Boxing Champion Mike Lee was welcomed this past Wednesday night along with numerous world class athletes from the Houston area at the sixth annual “Gathering of Champions”, benefiting Houston Children’s Charities.
Among the other champions of sports gathered were baseball legend Nolan Ryan, pitching great Roger Clemens, former Houston Astros Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio, Heisman trophy winner Charlie Ward, retired NBA greats Julius Erving, Clyde Drexler and Elvin Hayes, NFL Hall of Famers Eric Dickerson and Elvin Bethea, along with numerous members of the NFL’s Houston Texans.
“It was a great evening and I’m honored to assist in raising money for this most worthy cause” said Lee of the event which took place at the Houston home of Paige and Tillman Fertitta.
A native of the Chicago suburb, Wheaton, Illinois, the 23 year old professional boxer has spent the last fourteen months in Houston training with world renowned trainer Ronnie Shields.
Since turning pro in May 2010, the Notre Dame Finance Graduate has won all four of his bouts, three by knockout and is a top rated light heavyweight prospect.
Lee’s next bout will take place on Friday, May 6th at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and will be broadcast LIVE on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights.
ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino is presented by Top Rank Incorporated.
Advance tickets to the May 6th event may be purchased by calling 877-530-4269 during business hours or after 5pm at 630-400-6380.
Lee graduated from the University Of Notre Dame in 2009 at the “top of his class”, with a degree in Finance. He is a native of Wheaton, Illinois and a graduate of Benet Academy.
After winning the Chicago Golden Gloves, Lee was signed by Top Rank, boxing’s premier promotional company.
For more information on Mike Lee, please visit his website at www.mikeleeboxing.com and follow him on Facebook at Mike Lee (Boxer). Further information can also be obtained on the Top Rank Incorporated website at www.toprank.com
More information on Houston Children’s Charities can be viewed at their website, www.houstonchildrenscharity.org.
Additional information on the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino can be found on their website, www.mandalaybay.com