Main Events CEO, Kathy Duva, today officially announced a new opponent for Joel Julio’s May 20th welterweight bout. Julio (36-4, 31KOs) will take on Anges Adjaho, of Cotonou, Benin (Africa), 17-5, 9KO’s. Antwone Smith was forced to withdraw from his fight against Joel Julio because of an elbow injury. For Julio this fight is particularly important because it will be his first test back at the 147 weight class.
Held in the intimate boxing club environment of Prudential Center’s AmeriHealth Pavilion, Newark, New Jersey, the fight will be broadcast on ESPN 2, 9-11 pm EST. The Brick City Boxing Series fight is promoted by Main Events.
Local fighter favorites to be featured on the undercard include: Sadam “World Kid’ Ali of Brooklyn, NY, 12-0, 7 KO’s; Jose “Mangu” Peralta of Jersey City 6-1, 4 KO’s; crowd-pleasing Vinny O’Brien of East Hanover, 2-0, 2KO’s; Newark favorite, Angel Concepcion, 4-0; Bronx, NY’s Joel Castillo, 8-0, 5KO’s; and Tyrone Luckey of Middletown, NJ, 3-0,3 KO’s.
Tickets are on sale now, $100 for ringside and reserved floor seats, $60 general admission bleachers and $30 general admission standing. Tickets are available online through www.ticketmaster.com, Charge-by-phone: 1-800-745-3000, Ticketmaster Express 866-448-7849 and Ticketmaster ticket centers. Tickets are also available at Prudential Center’s Box Office and www.prucenter.com.
WBC Silver Super Middleweight Champion Noe “El Carbonero” Gonzalez vs. Ruben Padilla
Main Event:
World Boxing Council (WBC) Silver, Super Middleweight title holder Noe “El Carbonero“ Gonzalez (Uruguay, 26-1-0, 18 k.o’s) will face Mexico’s knock out artist, Ruben “Cloroformo“ Padilla (18-2-1, 17 k.o.‘s) on Friday, May 13th, 2011 in front of an expected sell out crowd at the Peñarol Palace in Uruguay. For Gonzalez, this will be his first title defense after a third round TKO victory over Gustavo Magallanes which occurred at Conrad Hotel & Casino in Uruguay earlier this year, January 9th. The WBC has announced the highly respected Steve Smoger (New Jersey State Athletic Control Board) to Referee the 12 round scheduled championship bout. The Judges: Marco Godoy, Jorge Basile, and Ramon Cerdan. WBC Supervisor: Carlos Rodriguez.
Under-card:
Featherweight Division: Caril “El Raton” Herrera (27-1-0, 17 k.o.‘s) from Montevideo, Uruguay vs. his compatriot, Cristian “El Terrible” Faccio from Salto, Uruguay (21-6-0, 14 k.o.’s) for the vacant Uruguayan Featherweight title.
Javier “El Abejon” Fortuna (14-0-0, 11 k.o.’s), from the Dominican Republic vs. Hugo Orlando “Polvorita” Gomez (11-3-0, 1 k.o.) from Argentina will battle for the WBC Interim Youth Featherweight title.
Light Middleweight Division: Cesar “Pepa” Sastre from Montevideo, Uruguay vs. Adan “El Galan” Martinez from Salto, Uruguay.
Light Heavyweight Division: Mauricio “El Matador” Barragan from Montevideo, Uruguay (3-0-0, 1 k.o.) vs. Gabriel “El Cirujano” Ramirez (3-4-1, 1 k.o.) from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The under-card fights are scheduled to commence at 9:30 p.m. (local time). The fights will be televised via: VTV in Uruguay, TyC of Argentina and on Dish in Mexico. Tickets are now available at all Abitab locations. General Admission: $150, Top Deck: $300, Lower Reserve: $600. Ringside are $1000 and $1500. This promotion is sponsored by the Abitab family.
Cohen Launches New Promotional Company: Greg Cohen Promotions (GCP
Greg Cohen, formerly the Founder of The Empire Sports and Entertainment Inc., is proud to announce the formation of Greg Cohen Promotions.
Cohen will continue to promote former unified and two-time heavyweight champion Hasim “The Rock” Rahman (49-7-2, 40 KOs); World Boxing Association (WBA) 154-pound champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout (22-0,13 KOs); Queens, New York, junior middleweight contender “Mean” Joe Greene (22-1, 14 KOs); Guilderland, New York, 135-pound prospect Mikey Faragon (14-0, 7 KO’s) and all-time-great multiple-weight class world champion and current IBA Heavyweight Champion James “Lights Out” Toney (73-6-3, 44 KOs); among several others. GCP will also be working with FOX Sports Net on supplying them with boxing programming.
“I couldn’t be more excited about the immediate and long-term future,” said Cohen. “GCP will promote first-class events and give the fans their money’s worth. Boxing is my passion; I love the sport and the business and I will work tirelessly for my fighters to ensure their success. This is going to be great!”
Rahman is not only one of GCP’s marquee fighters; he is also coming on board as a partner in the company.
“Hasim is very involved with USA Amateur Boxing (he has two sons that are amateur boxers) and being the former unified and two-time Heavyweight Champion, he commands a level of respect among his peers that is unparalleled,” says Cohen of his partner. “He has a keen eye for talent and will be a tremendous asset in recruiting new fighters and with fighter relations. Hasim knows the business of boxing as well as anyone, he’s truly seen it all over the years and his experience is invaluable.”
World-renowned trainer and former Light Heavyweight World Champion Eddie Mustafa Muhammad will serve as Vice President of Boxing Operations for GCP.
Before launching The Empire, Cohen was the majority owner of Cedric Kushner Promotions (CKP) and a partner in Duva Boxing. Over the last 20+ years he has been promotionally involved with a number of world champions and top contenders and says he’s happy to be back in sole control of his boxing operations.
“I am looking forward to this new venture and will have several big announcements in the coming weeks regarding some of boxing’s biggest fights
and best fighters.”
For more information, visit www.gcpboxing.com.