LAS VEGAS (July 18, 2011) – Undefeated, world-rated KZ Event Productions fighters Ravshan Hudaynazarov and Gayrat Ahmedov have become as difficult to fight as it is for boxing fans to correctly pronounce and spell their last names.
The dynamic duo from Uzbekistan, now fighting out of Las Vegas, will be defending their respective titles in 10-round bouts on the July 29 “Fire & Fury” pro boxing card, headlined by their promoter Beibut Shumenov’s third title defense against two-time world title challenger Danny “The Bronx Bomber” Santiago, on TeleFutura’s “Sólo Boxeo Tecate” broadcast live from South Point Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Fire& Fury” is promoted by KZ Event Productions (Shumenov and his brother, Chingis, own and operate the Las Vegas-based KZ Event Productions) in association with Golden Boy Promotions, Don Chargin Productions, Guilty Boxing and South Point Hotel Casino and is sponsored by Cerveza Tecate and AT&T. Doors open at 5:30 PM PT, the first bout at 6:00 PM PT and the TeleFutura broadcast begins at 11:30 PM ET / PT (10:30 PM CT).
Tickets, starting at $25, are available for purchase at South Point’s box office, online at www.SouthPointEventCenter.com/tickets.php, or by calling 1.702.797.8055.
Fans at home can also be part of the action by participating in Cinturón Tecate and voting for the fighter in the main event who displays the most character in the ring by sending a text message to 55333. Voting will be open through the end of the weekend.
Shumenov (11-1, 7 KOs), the reigning and defending World Boxing Association (“WBA”) and International Boxing Association (“IBA”) Light Heavyweight Champion, lives and fights out of Las Vegas. The 2004 Kazakhstan Olympian set a light heavyweight record for capturing a world title in the fewest career fights, 10, when (Jan. 10, 2010) he won a 12-round decision against Gabriel Campillo in Las Vegas. He has since successfully defended his WBA/IBA titles twice against No. 1 mandatory challenger Viacheslav Uzelkov (UDEC12) and three-time world champion William Joppy (KO6). In only 11 profights, Beibut has defeated four world champions (Campillo, Joppy, Byron Mitchell and Montell Griffin) and two world title challengers (Uzelkov and Epifanio Mendoza).
WBA #15 ranked Santiago (31-4-1, 19 KOs), fighting out of Ocala, Florida, was featured on the third season of The Contender reality television series.
Hudaynazarov and Ahmedov are trained by Kevin Barry, the 1984 Olympic Silver Medalist, and Dewey Cooper at Team Barry Boxing in Henderson, Nevada. “Both of these guys have had tremendous training camps,” Barry reported. “I expect them to have great performances. Beibut sets the bar high for Ravshan and Gayrat, who train with him, and Beibut has been a great leader for them to follow in the gym.”
Hudaynazarov (14-0, 12 KOs), the WBA FEDALATIN Welterweight Champion who is rated No. 9 by the WBA, defends his title in a 10-round bout against former USNBC titlist Hector “The Hurricane” Munoz (19-5-1, 12 KOs).
“Ravshan has improved so much,” Barry said. “He’s taking it to another level and is stronger than ever before. He’s already right on mark for the 29th. I believe he’s heading towards a world title.”
WBA No. 2-rated light heavyweight contender Ahmedov (16-0-1, 12 KOs) defends his WBA International belt against veteran Max“The Fireman” Heyman (24-11-4, 14 KOs) in another 10-rounder.
“Working as a team has really helped Gayrat prepare for this fight,” Barry noted. “He has stepped up to No. 2 in the WBA and he’s getting very close to a very big fight. He has been motivated by Beibut’s success and his turn will come. I’m veryoptimistic about Gayrat.”
The co-feature between popular Las Vegas super featherweight Lonnie Smith (13-2-2, 9 KOs) and Robert “The King” Vargas(5-1-1, 0 KOs) is also scheduled to air on TeleFutura’s “Sólo Boxeo Tecate” broadcast. Smith, rated No. 13 by the USBA, is riding an eight-fight win streak.
Las Vegas fan favorite Ramon Montano(17-9-2, 2 KOs) faces welterweight Juan Suazo (7-4-3, 5 KOs) in a six-round match. Also on the card against an opponent to be determined is Freddie Roach-trained, unbeaten super featherweight prospect Joel Diaz(4-0, 3 KOs) in a four-round bout. All fights and fighters are subject to change.
Kennedy vs. Lopez on August 13
Atlantic City, NJ—Super bantamweight Teon Kennedy will defend his North American Boxing Association (NABA) title in a scheduled 12-round contest against Alejandro Lopez, of Tijuana, Mexico, on Saturday evening, Aug. 13, in the Grand Ballroom at Bally’s Atlantic City. First of seven fights will be 7 p.m.
The Kennedy-Lopez fight will be televised by Fox Sports Net beginning at 9 p.m. part of the Top Rank Live! Series.
This will mark Kennedy’s first fight since March 26 when he defeated previously unbeaten Jorge Diaz, of New Brunswick, NJ, in a thrilling 12-round fight at Boardwalk Hall. Kennedy retained his United States Boxing Association (USBA) title in that match and moved closer to a world title opportunity.
A pro since 2007, the 25-year-old Kennedy is 17-0-1, 7 K0s. He is ranked No. 3 in the world by the International Boxing Federation (IBF), No. 13 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO), No. 14 by the WBA, No. 20 by the WBC.
Lopez, 23, turned pro in 2003 and is 21-2, 7 K0s. In his last fight May 28 in Mexicali, he earned an eight-round decision over Eduardo Arcos, of Tijuana.
The only foe common to both men is Diaz, who out-pointed Lopez over eight rounds March 20, 2010, in Key West, FL. In that fight, Lopez was down in each of the first two rounds, but rallied to nearly beat Diaz, losing by scores of 76-74 on all three scorecards.
Featherweights Matt Remillard, of Hartford, CT, and Aaron Garcia, of Visa, CA, collide in the scheduled eight-round co-feature.
Remillard, 25, is hoping to rebound from his March 26 loss at Boardwalk Hall to world-rated Mikey Garcia, of Oxnard, CA. A pro since 2005, Remillard is 23-1, 13 K0s. Garcia is 10-2-2, 2 K0s.
Five additional fights complete the card.
Tickets priced at $50 and $75 are on sale at the offices of Peltz Boxing Promotions (215-765-0922) and all Ticketmaster outlets (800-736-1420). They also can be purchased online at www.peltzboxing.com and www.Ticketmaster.com.
Pat McAleese Interview
By Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro: This Saturday Newmarket Light Middleweight prospect ‘Phat’ Pat McAleese gets a much deserved shot at the BBBofC Southern Area title, on the undercard of the highly anticipated British and Commonwealth Heavyweight title clash between Dereck Chisora and Tyson Fury, at the Wembley Arena in London.
Pat, who’s record stands at 12-1-1, will be challenging Northolt’s Ryan Toms for the belt he won against Scott Woolford back in May this year.
For those that have yet to see ‘Phat’ Pat fight he’s an exciting all action box-fighter that throws extraordinary amount of shots, often around a hundred punches a round.
Notable fights from his career to date include a thrilling double header with Barnsley’s Lee Noble. The first, at Goresbrook Leisure Centre in March 2010, was declared a draw.
The rematch, at York Hall some six months later, was for the vacant British Masters title. Pat dominated from the start, he just didn’t give Noble any respite for virtually nine full rounds and then literally one
second before the bell Noble landed a peach of an uppercut to send Pat crashing to the canvas.
After the fight the referee’s score card showed Pat was ahead by a full eight rounds.
Another cracker of a battle was Pat’s showdown with Birmingham’s Dee Mitchell, at Tattersalls Sales Rooms in Newmarket just two weeks before the first Noble bout.
Mitchell, a very tough battler, had come for a fight and a fight is what he got. For six rounds the pair went toe-to-toe, both digging deep into their respective arsenal of punches to thrill the capacity crowd.
Amazingly Pat had let rip with close to seven hundred punches as he marched forward to victory by a 60-55 points margin.
I caught up with Pat at the TRAD TKO Boxing Gym in Canning Town, where he is co-trained by Brian O’Shaughnessy and managed/co-trained by Johnny Eames, to talk about his career and the upcoming showdown with Ryan Toms this weekend.
Rio – Hi Pat, thanks for talking with me today. OK, you’re challenging Ryan Toms for his Southern Area Title next Saturday. Can you please give me your thoughts on the fight?
Pat – Yeah, I mean training has been going well, I’m fit.
He’s a tricky southpaw but I’ve been sparring some excellent southpaws here at the TRAD TKO.
I’m more than confident that I can go in there and do the job on him.
Rio – Your long time coach Johnny Eames is now overseeing your training, with Brian O’Shaughnessy taking on the actual coaching role. How’s is that working for you?
Pat – Yeah, everything’s going well, Johnny still has his input so nothing goes past Johnny that we’re doing.
Brian’s been spending a lot of time with me and trying new things. He’s changing a few bits and pieces, but not too much. He’s adding the best bits from everyone really.
Rio – I’m going to go back over some of your past fights, specifically those against your boogyman Lee Noble, who is the only person to put any form of blemish on your record – a win and draw against you. My question is you thoughts on those fight and what is the likelihood of a third fight?
Pat – If it happens it happens, if not so it goes, I’m over it.
First fight I didn’t think was draw, I know I did enough to win that.
Second fight I was miles ahead on points, I’d won every round until he landed the shot. That’s boxing, it happens no use sitting and dwell over it , move on, move forward, move up the rankings so if it does come back I’m sure I would do a comfortable job on him.
Rio – Which of your fights holds the fondest memories for you?
Pat – I thought I boxed really well against Fran Gonzalez. I’d worked on some new things in the gym and I put them into practice on the night so that was good fight for me.
Rio – We know about your pro career but what about your amateur career?
Pat – I had a short amateur career, I started late, I was seventeen. I was twenty one when I turned pro but managed to rack up forty odd fights, got an England International cap, got to the semifinals of the ABAs, semifinal in the ABCs.
I didn’t have many junior fights, just a handful of junior fights. I moved on pretty quick as I knew from day on that I had a professional style and I was never going to be big in the championships. This showed when I was getting to the higher levels when I was getting out pointed, so turned my hand to the professional ranks where I am more suited and feel more comfortable in that environment.
Rio – Every year you do a fight in your home town of Newmarket, how do you feel to get that chance to fight in front of your home crowd.
Pat – Yeah, it’s great. It’s great for my fans as well as it’s always a big thing in Newmarket.
Being able to sell that many tickets and fight at home is a lot of pressure on me, but it’s all worth while seeing all those people from the area watching me.
Rio – Back to date, fighting on the undercard of Chisora-Fury at Wembley, is this the biggest show you’ve fought on to date?
Pat – Yeah, the biggest venue by a long way. My last fight in Newmarket was seven hundred people so a big difference.
I have boxed on some big shows, but nothing compared to the size of Wembley Arena, that’s sixteen thousand. It’s a big, big place.
Rio – As you’re fighting on the televised part of the show as you are fighting for a title. How do you feel about that?
Pat – Yeah, it’ll be good. I think it’s about time I was doing televised fights now and I haven’t been on TV yet.
It’ll be good to showcase my boxing so people can see what I am about and what I’ve got to bring to boxing.
I think people will like my style, it’s all action, it’s exciting to watch.
Rio – Yeah, talking about your style, you throw something like a hundred punches a round. How do you keep it that up for ten or twelve rounds?
Pat – Yeah, I throw a lot of shots. I’m trying to take it down a bit and throw better quality shots.
You’ll see a few differences coming when I get in the ring on Saturday. I’ve been working with Brian on my shots and different moves. Everything’s coming together, I’m feeling confident about it.
Rio – finally is there anything you would like to say to your fans?
Pat – I’d like to say thanks for supporting me.
This is my big event and they’re coming to support me in huge amounts and I really appreciate every single person that comes to support me at any of my fights.
Pat McAleese versus Ryan Toms, for the Southern Area Light Middleweight title, is a feature fight on the undercard of Dereck Chisora and Tyson Fury’s British and Commonwealth Heavyweight title clash at the Wembley Arena on Saturday 23rd July 2011.
Tickets priced £40, £50 and £150 are available from the TRAD TKO Boxing Gym, Gillian House, Stephenson Street, Canning Town, London E16 4SA or call Pat McAleese on 07852 980593