NEW YORK, NY (July 19, 2011) – The reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) Diamond middleweight champion, reigning 2010 Fighter of the Year, and top three pound-for-pound elite fighter, Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez will return to the ring October 1 from historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Martinez (47-2-2, 26 KOs) will collide with the unbeaten “Dazzling” Darren Barker (23-0, 14 KOs), the über popular product of London, England, and current European middleweight champion.
The co-feature will be a rematch of one of the most exciting fights of 2008, as NABF and NABA middleweight champion Andy Lee (26-1, 19 KOs) attempts to avenge his only loss against the newest member of the DiBella Entertainment stable, Brian Vera (19-5, 12 KOs).
The show will be titled “Noche de ‘Maravilla’”, which translates to “Marvelous Night” in English, a tribute to Martinez’s nickname and the exciting style of fighting all four featured fighters employ in the ring.
“Noche de ‘Maravilla’: Martinez vs. Barker” is being presented by DiBella Entertainment in association with Matchroom Sport, and Caesars Atlantic City, and is sponsored by Corona. The show will be aired live on HBO’s World Championship Boxing®, beginning at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT.
Tickets for “Noche de ‘Maravilla’” are priced at $300, $200, $150, and $50, and will go on sale Wednesday, July 20 at noon. Tickets can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, at any Ticketmaster retail outlet, or in person at the Boardwalk Hall box office.
“Sergio Martinez has never backed down from a challenge, challenges only back down from him,” said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. “This show is about fighters proving themselves when it matters the most. Sergio Martinez is a superstar with more momentum than anyone in boxing, but he must knock off the European champion, Barker, to keep it going. Barker isn’t scared of a challenge; in fact, he begged for one. So, now he gets to prove himself against the best of the best in his division. Andy Lee and Brian Vera are both on the cusp of a fight against the winner of the main event, so Lee must prove that his first fight with Vera was a fluke and Vera must prove that he can do it again. All these storylines will lead to high drama and excitement on October 1.”
“Atlantic City and boxing are synonymous; this city has been built around names like Tyson, Gatti, and Mayweather,” said Don Marrandino, Eastern Division President for Caesars Entertainment Atlantic City. “The October 1 bout between Sergio Martinez and Darren Barker will surely add to Atlantic City’s rich and proud boxing heritage.”
“Sergio Martinez is one of boxing’s brightest stars and it is great to have him back live on the network,” said Kery Davis, senior vice president of programming for HBO Sports. “Darren Barker is another UK fighter looking to make an imprint on the American boxing landscape and he will have his chance in the spotlight on October 1.”
Martinez, 36, a native of Quilmes, Argentina, and now living in Oxnard, California, is coming off a 2010 that can rival any year any fighter has had in a long time, with both of his spectacular wins taking place at Boardwalk Hall. In April, Martinez dominated the heavily favored Kelly Pavlik over 12 rounds to win the unified middleweight championship. He followed up that performance in November by putting a exclamation point on his rivalry with Paul Williams by knocking Williams out cold in the second round of their rematch of the 2009 Fight of the Year. Despite being lauded by publications far and wide as the 2010 Fighter of the Year, Martinez didn’t rest on his laurels, beginning 2011 with a bang when he took on the universally recognized 154 lb. champion, and then undefeated, Sergiy Dzinziruk. Martinez dropped Dzinziruk, who had never before tasted the canvas as a professional, five times en route to an eighth round stoppage win.
“It is an honor to be returning to HBO for the second time this year,” said Martinez. “Just like my nickname and the title of the show say, I will put on a marvelous performance for fight fans worldwide. I know Darren Barker is a tough challenger and will bring a loud contingent of fans, but so did Kelly Pavlik when I fought at Boardwalk Hall last April. Being universally recognized as the pound-for-pound king is my ultimate goal and I won’t stop until I’ve achieved that.”
Barker, 29, a native of London, England, recently completed the trifecta that all fighters from the UK strive for. In 2007, Barker won the Commonwealth title at middleweight by scoring a unanimous decision over then undefeated Ben Crampton at the world renowned York Hall in London, where Barker has fought more than anywhere else.
In 2009, he added the British middleweight title to his collection with a seventh round stoppage of Danny Butler. Finally, on April 30 of this year, in his most recent outing, Barker dominated Italian contender and former world title challenger Domenico Spada over 12 rounds to capture the European championship. Now, Barker has his sights set on the ultimate prize, the world middleweight championship.
“I’ve heard all the hype about Sergio Martinez, but I am not going to let that get in the way of my dream of becoming middleweight champion,” said Barker. “I respect Sergio Martinez as a fighter, but he has what I’ve always wanted and on October 1 I’m coming to take it.”
ESPN to Reair ESPN’s Friday Night Fights’ Rodriquez-Wolak
July 19, 2011: ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Classic will reair the main event of July 15’s edition of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights on July 20 and 22. The special will be the first non-regularly scheduled reair for ESPN’s Friday Night Fights.
The main event featured former welterweight world title challenger Delvin Rodriguez (25-5-3, 14 KOs) and Ring Magazine’s No.7-ranked junior middleweight Pawel “Raging Bull” Wolak (29-1-1, 19 KOs) in a 10-round majority draw. The much anticipated fight originated from New York City’s Roseland Ballroom, where Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas described the action.
“These two fighters exemplified what professional boxing athletes should be: conditioned, determined and passionate about their sport,” said Doug Loughrey, ESPN director of programming and acquisitions. “These boxers gave 100% of themselves by consistently over-coming adversity not only for those in attendance, but a worldwide audience on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights. Their combined performance is exactly what makes this sport so great. We are already looking at schedules for this fall for a potential rematch on ESPN.”
Bout promoter Star Boxing described the fight: “Wolak came out pressuring Rodriguez from the opening bell, looking to swarm the former welterweight world title challenger, but the more he seemed to pressure, the more combinations Rodriguez landed. Wolak excited the crowd by bull-rushing Rodriguez to the ropes, but then Rodriguez would answer with hard combinations that snapped Wolak’s head back.
“Wolak’s face began to show severe swelling in the sixth, with his right eye becoming swollen and the 10th ended with Rodriguez and Wolak exchanging punches in the middle of the ring, ending a potential fight of the year.”
Schedule:
Date
Time (ET)
Network
Wed. July 20
8 p.m.
10 p.m.
ESPN Deportes
ESPN Classic
Fri. July 22
7 p.m.
ESPN Classic
9 p.m.
ESPN2
9 p.m.
ESPN Deportes
VICTOR VASQUEZ TO HEADLINE ROUND FOUR ON AUGUST 12TH AT HARRAH’S IN CHESTER, PA
CHESTER, PA (JULY 19, 2011)—On Friday night August 12th, boxing returns to the beautiful Harrahs in Chester, Pennsylvania where crowd favorite Victor Vasquez will headline for a third time in a eight round Lightweight bout.
The card is promoted by Joey Eye Boxing and David Feldman.
Vasquez of Philadelphia has built up one of the biggest fan bases in Philadelphia due to his exciting style which always has him in the fight of the night whenever he steps into the ring.
Vasquez twenty-eight years old has a record of 13-5-1 with seven knockouts and has been in some memorable fights in his young career.
In his last bout, Vasquez was impressive in disposing of Gustavo Dailey (4-11) in round four to headline ROUND 3 at Harrahs in Chester on June 3rd.
Vasquez waged a terrific back and forth war with Osnel Charles before dropping a six round majority decision as part as ROUND 1 at Harrah’s in Chester.
He holds victories over undefeated Thomas McCuiston (1-0); Tyric Robinson (9-4-1) as well as an exciting six round split decision over Bryne Green (5-3) on October 8th in Philadelphia.
Vasquez opponent will be named shortly.
In the six round co-feature, Tony Ferrante of Northeast Philadelphia taking part in a six round Light Heavyweight bout bout
Ferrante, 27 years old, has a record of 11-2 with six knockouts, won his first nine bouts which included wins over Anthony Pietrantonio (6-1) and he won the WBF United States title with a eight round majority decision over Billy Bailey.
Ferrante lost that title when he dropped a ten round unanimous decision to Chuck Mussachio (15-1-2).
Ferrante will be looking to make it three in a row after disposing of Joe Park as part of ROUND 3 at Harrah’s in Chester in the fourth round on June 3rd.
In his last bout, Ferrante stopped grizzled veteran Andre Hemphill in seven rounds on July 15th.
Ferrante will take on an opponent to be announced.
In a six round Lightweight bout, Angel Ocasio will see action against an opponent to be named.
Ocasio has a perfect mark of 5-0 with one knockout and is coming off a four round unanimous decision over Randolph Scott on June 3rd as part of ROUND 3 at Harrahs in Chester.
Former world amateur champion, Joey Dawejko will be back in action as he takes on an opponent to be announced in a four round Heavyweight bout.
Dawejko of Philadelphia has a record of 4-0 with one knockout.
The twenty-one year old is coming off a four round unanimous decision over Taffo Asongwed as part of ROUND 1 at Harrahs in Chester that took place on January 22nd.
Popular Lightweight Joey Tiberi will be back in action in a four round bout.
Tiberi has competed on the previous three boxing events as Harrahs in Chester has a record of 5-1 with four knockouts.
He is coming off a first round knockout over Nicholas Morris on June 25th in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
The card will be rounded out by returning Jr. Welterweight Oscar Vazquez of New Castle, Delaware.
Vazquez, 4-1 will be making his first ring appearance since scoring a four round split decision over Manuel Jimenez on July 24, 2009.
Tickets are now on sale for $100 (VIP); $60 (Ringside) and $45 (General Admission) and can be purchased at the Harrahs Chester Gift Shop; By calling Joey Eye (267-304-9399); David Feldman (610-291-0806); 800-480-8020 or on www.webtix.net