NORTH BERGEN, N.J. (October 3, 2011) – Cruiserweight knockout artist Emmanuel Nwodo will make his long-anticipated return to the ring this Saturday, October 8 against Gary Lavender at the DC Star Night Club in Washington D.C.
The 6-foot-3 Nwodo (23-5, 19 KO) of Washington D.C. by way of Enugu, Nigeria will make his first ring appearance since August of 2009 against the 8-15 (7 KO) Lavender of Pine Level, N.C., in a six-round bout. The show, promoted by Diva-Rize-N Promotions, LLC and entitled Capital Punishment, will be headlined by former cruiserweight champion O’Neil Bell facing Harvey Jolly in a ten-round bout.
The 37-year-old former USBA cruiserweight champ Nwodo is currently training out of Global Boxing Gym under Aroz “Terrific” Gist to prepare for what may be his last run at a world title. Despite having not fought since 2009, Nwodo says he has been in the gym the whole time preparing for fights that haven’t materialized for one reason or another.
“Working with ‘Terrific’ helps me a lot because he helps me use my reach more, not like before when I used to squat too much,” said Nwodo. “I’m 6-foot-3, which is tall at cruiserweight. I’m using more body movement and head movement. I used to be a guy that put my hands up and stand in front of someone because of my punching power. So it was like punch me, I punch you. This time it’s all about punch and not be punched.”
Nwodo’s career has been exciting, in victory and defeat. In victory, Nwodo scored devastating knockouts over former cruiserweight champ Imamu Mayfield in one round, and ended the career of former world title challenger Ezra Sellers with a second round knockout.
In defeat, Nwodo was equally exciting, giving gutsy performances against top contenders Darnell Wilson and Matt Godfrey that were instant classics on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with first fight at 7:30 p.m. The DC Star Night Club is located at 2135 Queens Chapel Road, Washington DC 20018.
Tickets, priced at $30, $75 and $100, can be purchased by visiting www.diva-rize-n.com or calling 302.543.3705, or at Classic Cuts Barber Shop 301.868.1771 or Elite Heat Boxing Gym 862.772.2532.
Ossie Duran set to take on Brandon Gonzales Oct. 28
LOS ANGELES (Oct. 3) – Brandon Gonzales, the newly signed Goossen Tutor Promotions and Antonio Leonard Productions fighter, will face Ossie Duran (26-8-2, 9 KO’s) in his first bout under his new team.
Gonzales (14-0, 10 KO’s) will also be making his SHOWTIME “ShoBox” broadcast debut on Friday, October 28 at Bally’s Atlantic City. The Gonzales-Duran bout will be the lead in to the main event on the Goossen Tutor card which is headlined by an IBF Heavyweight Title Elimination bout between the #1 Heavyweight World Contender, “Fast” Eddie Chambers of Philadelphia and the #2 Heavyweight Contender, Washington, DC’s Tony “The Tiger” Thompson with the winner facing World Champion, Wladimir Klitschko.
Duran, of Paterson NJ by way of Ghana, Africa, has faced some of the top prospects of the division including James Kirkland and Fernando Guerrero, going the distance with both, losing the Guerrero bout by a close majority decision.
The tough veteran Duran has gone ten rounds or more 15 times in his career. Riding a three fight win streak, Duran is now working with Jersey City based promotional firm “The Gulfstream Group,” headed by promoter Vincent M. Ponte. Earlier in his career, Duran had many impressive victories, as he was a multi-time champion in both Africa and Europe.
The SHOWTIME broadcast will also feature undefeated 2008 US Olympian Javier Molina (9-0, 4 KOs) against his toughest challenge to date, Artemio Reyes (13-1, 11 KOs) in an eight-round Super Welterweight bout.
Tickets for the October 28, 2011 Chambers-Thompson event are on sale now, and are priced at $75 and $50, and can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster retail outlets, Ticketmaster Call Center 800-745-3000 or Bally’s Atlantic City (day of the event).
Competition Opens at the 2011 National PAL Championships
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – 2011 National PAL Championships first round action kicked off in the men’s and women’s open division on Monday at the SeaGate Convention Center in Toledo, Ohio. The 2011 National PAL Championships will be the final qualifying tournament for the first-ever U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Women’s Boxing, tentatively slated for February.
First round action was contested in all three women’s Olympic weight classes on Monday night with bouts being taking place in the flyweight (112 lbs), lightweight (132 lbs) and middleweight (165 lbs) divisions as well as four men’s weight classes.
The top three boxers in each of the women’s Olympic weight divisions will earn berths in the Olympic Trials. Should an Olympic Team Trials qualified athlete finish in the top three at the National PAL Championships, the next highest finisher will win the Trials berth until there are eight qualified boxers in each Olympic weight division.
Preliminary action will continue at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday with a full night of action on tap in Toledo. Tuesday’s bout sheets are attached.
Female
112 lbs: Virginia Fuchs, Kemah, Texas dec. Nicole Pasillas, Aurora, Colo., 5-0
112 lbs: Maryquenn Vellinga, Salt Lake City, Utah dec. Dascia Cilla, Mesquite, Texas, 4-1
112 lbs: Ayanna Vasquez, Las Cruces, N.M. dec. Rianna Rios, Alice, Texas, 5-0
112 lbs: Tyrieshia Douglas, Baltimore, Md., dec. Marina Ramirez, Las Vegas, Nev., 5-0
132 lbs: Vanessa Jackson, Columbus, Ohio stopped Caroline Barry, Fort Carson, Colo., RSCI-3
132 lbs: Bertha Aracil, Yonkers, N.Y. dec. Kymmberli Stowe, Red Lion, Pa., 5-0
132 lbs: Patricia Manuel, Long Beach, Calif., stopped Talanee Tillery, Capitol Heights, Md., RSC
132 lbs: N’yteeyah Sherman, Barberton, Ohio dec. Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif., 4-1
132 lbs: Elizabeth Leddy, Portland, Maine dec. Ariel Beck, Helena, Mont., 4-1
132 lbs: Nakarri Jones, Tampa, Fla., won on walkover Amorena Baca, Denver, Colo.,W/O
132 lbs: Ishika Lay, Jacksonville Beach, Fla., dec. Alycia Baumgardner, Freemont, Ohio, 3-21
165 lbs: Dara Shen, Annandale, Va., won on walkover Allana Huggins, Fort Worth, Texas, W/O
165 lbs: Maria Dominguez, Wauchula, Fla., dec. Tacra Hughes, Cleveland, Ohio, 4-1
Male
132 lbs: Robert O’Quinn, Detroit, Mich., dec. William Flenoy, Cleveland, Ohio, 3-2
132 lbs: Moses Molina, Bridgeton, N.J. won on walkover over Steven Lawrence, Albemarle, N.C, W/O
132 lbs: Sonny Frederickson, Toledo, Ohio dec. Zachary Purdy, Indianapolis, Ind., 5-0
141 lbs: Steve Belmontes, Corpus Christi, Texas dec. Thomas Mattice, Cleveland, Ohio, 4-1
152 lbs: Samuel Vasquez, Colorado springs, Colo., won on walkover over Kirk Bills, Park Forest, Ill., W/O
152 lbs: Verbain Curry, Wellington, Fla., dec. Moshea Aleem, Richmond, Va., 16-12
152 lbs: Richard Gorham, Indianapolis, Ind., dec. Jose Aviles, Howell, N.J., 5-0
152 lbs: Leshawn Rodriguez, Shirley, N.Y. dec. Thomas Hill, Milwaukee, Wis., 5-0
152 lbs: Wesley Tucker, Toledo, Ohio dec. Nick Delomba, Cranston, R.I., 18-14
152 lbs: Sammie Millhouse, Bamberg, S.C., won on walkover Jesse Nares, Oxnard, Calif., W/O
165 lbs: Lamont Johnson, Raddock, Pa., dec. Russell Gaskins, Washington DC, 18-11
165 lbs: Obafemi Bakare, Staten Island, N.Y., dec. Joaquim Lebron, Columbus, Ohio, 27-6
165 lbs: Jermaine Howlett, Chicago, Ill., dec. Rick Graham, Detroit, Mich., 15-6
USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee