Atlantic City (March 12) – Undefeated dynamo Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell and power-puncher Chazz “The Gentleman” Witherspoon are ready to continue their quest to prove that the concept of the great American heavyweight is alive and well when they face each other in their upcoming Saturday, April 28 bout as the 10- round co-main event of the “Bernard Hopkins vs. Chad Dawson: Once And For All” world championship showdown. The fight will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing®. For both of these college graduates, this upcoming bout will not only put regional bragging rights on the line with Mitchell hailing from the Washington, DC area and Witherspoon from the Philadelphia area, but also be the biggest fights of their respective careers as they each look to come one step closer to contending for the heavyweight title.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to fight a great contender like Chazz,” said Mitchell. “I think that our ring experience and comparable size makes us a really good match. Beating Chazz will be a challenge, but I’m going to work hard and prepare for anything. I know my fans are going to come out and support me in full force and they will not be disappointed.”
“He can’t take me lightly and I am not going to let him,” said Witherspoon. This is going to be a big night for both of us, but I am going to be the one with my hand raised at the end of the fight.”
“Hopkins vs. Dawson: Once And For All,” a 12 round bout for Hopkins’ WBC and Ring Magazine light heavyweight world championships, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Gary Shaw Productions and sponsored by Caesars Atlantic City, Corona and DeWalt Tools. Mitchell vs. Witherspoon is the 10-round co-featured bout that will take place from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey and the doubleheader will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing® beginning at 10:15 p.m. ET/7:15 p.m. PT.
Tickets, priced at $300, $200, $100, $50 and $25, are on sale now. Tickets are available for purchase at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at ticketmaster.com.
Widely considered to be the top American heavyweight fighting today, 29-year-old Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell (24-0-1, 18 KO’s) has given fight fans in the United States a reason to be excited about the sport’s glamour division again, and he’s not about to let up on his goal to take on the division’s titleholders. A pro since 2008, the 6-foot-2, 240 pound former standout Michigan State University linebacker took up boxing when a knee injury derailed his plans for a professional football career. Mitchell truly hit his stride in 2011 with three early knockout wins over Charles Davis, Evans Quinn and Hector Ferreyro that were followed by a devastating second round finish of contender Timur Ibragimov, the first time the Uzbekistan native had ever been stopped, in Mitchell’s HBO debut in December. Now he hopes to capitalize on that huge victory by defeating Witherspoon.
A cousin of former heavyweight champion Tim Witherspoon, Philadelphia’s Chazz “The Gentleman” Witherspoon (30-2, 22 KO’s) is doing pretty well in the family business himself, with 22 of his 30 wins coming by way of knockout. The winner of seven of his last eight bouts, including stoppages of Adam “The Swamp Donkey” Richards and Livin Castillo, the 6-foot-4, 234 pound banger has the size, savvy and strength to be the first to blemish Mitchell’s unbeaten record on April 28. A 2005 graduate of St. Joseph’s University, with his hometown fans just a short drive away, expect a huge crowd on hand to cheer on “The Gentleman.”
Marvin Quintero speaks on fighting Al Sabaupan in Manila
March 12, 2012 – Lightweights Marvin “Cachorro” Quintero (24-3, 20 KOs) from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, and Al “Captain A” Sabaupan (18-0-1, 13 KOs), who hails from Agoncillo, Batangas, Philippines, clash in a 12-round title elimination bout this April 14 at the Yñares Sports Arena in Pasig City, Manila, Philippines.
Quintero and Sabaupan, both hard punching southpaws, will battle for the No. 1 ranking in the IBF. The winner will get a shot at IBF 135-pound champion Miguel Vázquez (30-3, 13 KOs). This fight is promoted by Gary Shaw Productions in conjunction Zanfer Promotions.
“Quintero is a very hard puncher as is Sabaupan, so this fight is going to be a slugfest,” Shaw said. “Marvin has four consecutive knockouts and I expect he’ll come out swinging for the fences when he steps in the ring. If he is victorious then I’ll move quickly to get him in the ring with the IBF champion, Miguel Vázquez.”
Said Quintero, “I’ve worked very hard to get in position to fight for the IBF lightweight championship. My dream of becoming a world champion is very close and I’m not going to let anything stop me from accomplishing my goal. After I step in the ring with Sabaupan, my hand will be raised.”
The Mexico vs. Philippines rivalry is once again heating up as Quintero travels to Manilla and battles Sabaupan on his home turf. “I’m a warrior and I’ll fight anyone, anywhere,” said a confident Quintero. “My game plan is to get the knockout early and call it a night.”
IABA UPDATE (39th CHEMISTRY CUP)
March 12th
IRISH AMATEUR BOXING ASSOCIATION
Irish head coach Billy Walsh has confirmed a 9-man squad for the 39th Chemistry Cup which gloves off in Halle, Germany on Wednesday.
The Irish team arrived in Halle on Friday last following an intensive training camp in Hennef, Germany.
Irish 2012 Olympians Michael Conlan and Darren O’Neill are included in the Irish Chemistry Cup panel along with 2010 and 2011 European champions Paddy Barnes and Joe Ward.
David Oliver Joyce, Ross Hickey, Adam Nolan, Steven Ward and Con Sheehan will wear the Irish lightweight, light-welterweight, welterweight, heavyweight and super-heavyweight vests by the banks of the river Saale.
John Joe Nevin, who has also qualified for the 30th Olympiad, has withdrawn from the tournament after picking up a facial injury boxing for Paris United versus Milano Thunder in the World Series of Boxing on Monday week last.
Hosts Germany, Algeria, Austria, Brazil, China, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Romania, Russia and Uzbekistan have registered to compete in Halle.
Seven AIBA World champions will line out for their respective nations at the tournament.
China’s Zou Shiming and Paddy Barnes could renew acquaintances at the Chemistry Cup. Both boxers met in the semi-finals of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Shiming winning en route to claiming light-flyweight gold.
Russia’s 2009 AIBA World champion Egor Mekhontsev, meantime, could be drawn against Joe Ward in a battle of the southpaws. Mekhontsev is currently ranked number 4 in the world by AIBA. Ward is ranked number 3.
Boxing begins at 11am (Irish time) at the Maritim Hotel in Halle on Wednesday. Wednesday’s preliminaries will be decided over three sessions beginning at 11am, 3pm and 7pm (Irish time).
Ireland are preparing for the final Olympic qualifier for European male boxers which begin in Trabzon, Turkey on April 13th and Irish head coach Billy Walsh believes that the Chemistry Cup will play its part in those preparations.
“We had an excellent training camp in Hennef and the Chemistry Cup will give us a great opportunity to get some competitive bouts under our belt against world class opposition, he said.
“The Olympic qualifiers are just a few weeks away now and the Hennef training camp and the Chemistry Cup are all part of our preparations for those qualifiers.”
On the last occasion that Ireland entered the Chemistry Cup, in May 2007, Darren Sutherland (RIP) claimed bronze.
Ken Egan took home silver from the 2006 edition of the prestigious Multi-Nations tournament.
Irish squad 39th Chemistry Cup Halle, Germany March 14th/18th
49Kg: Paddy Barnes (Holy Family)
52Kg: Michael Conlan (St John Bosco)
60Kg: David Oliver Joyce (St Michael’s Athy)
64Kg: Ross Hickey (Grangecon)
69Kg: Adam Nolan (Bray)
75Kg: Darren O’Neill (Paulstown)
81Kg: Joe Ward (Moate)
91Kg: Steven Ward (Monkstown, Antrim)
91+Kg: Con Sheehan (Clonmel)