Tickets Selling Fast For Pavlik-Rubio; Cuban Stars Gamboa, Lara and Solis Victorious – News

By Boxing News - 01/10/2009 - Comments

pavlik42535Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow could keep the Pavlik Nation from the Chevrolet Centre in Youngstown this morning to purchase tickets to World Middleweight Champion KELLY “The Ghost” PAVLIK’S homecoming title defense against No. 1 contender Marco Antonio Rubio.

According to Eric Ryan, the executive director of the Chevrolet Centre, 5,000 tickets were sold within 12 minutes of them going on sale this morning at 10 a.m. ET. Fans braving the cold, wind and snow began lining up at 11:30 p.m. Friday night.

According to The Vindicator, Youngstown’s daily newspaper, “Some 200 people were lined up outside the building by 9 a.m., and that number had doubled by the time tickets went on sale an hour later.” The Chevrolet Centre can accommodate 7,000 seats.

The Pavlik – Rubio World Middleweight Championship fight, along with the MIGUEL COTTO – MICHAEL JENNINGS WBO welterweight title tilt at Madison Square Garden, will headline an exciting two-city, two-title pay-per-view extravaganza broadcast live on Saturday, February 21, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.

Tickets to the Cotto-Jennings Madison Square Garden event go on sale This Tuesday! January 13, at Noon ET. Priced at $500, $300, $200, $100, and $50, they can be purchased at the Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets or online at www.thegarden.com.

Remaining tickets to the Pavlik-Rubio Chevrolet Centre event, priced at $500, $300 and $200, can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com, Retail Locations, including Giant Eagle and Macy’s, or charge by phone at (800) 745-3000 or (866) 448-7849. Tickets are also available at the Chevrolet Centre Box Office. Additional fees may be applicable. There will be a ticket limit of eight (8) per customer.

The Cotto vs. Jennings / Pavlik vs. Rubio pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $44.95. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. For Cotto vs. Jennings / Pavlik vs. Rubio fight week updates, log on to www.toprank.com.

Friday Night Fights in Primm, Nevada – “A great night of boxing!

ARENA-CEO Ahmet Öner was very pleased with the spectacular performance of his rising Cuban stars Yuriorkis Gamboa, Odlanier Solis and Erislandy Lara at the season premiere of ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights” in front of 3,500 spectators at Terrible’s Primm Valley Casino Resorts in Primm, Nevada.

“This was a great night of boxing”, stated Öner. “I think we presented high quality fights and we had a great crowd who turned the arena into a madhouse. I am pretty sure that everybody goes home very happy tonight.”

In the main event fast rising featherweight star Gamboa recovered from an early knockdown again to outclass experienced Roger “Speedy” Gonzalez taking home a 10th round tko-win. If referee Robert Byrd hadn’t stopped the fight only 48 seconds before the final bell “El Ciclon” would have taken home a one-sided unanimous decision win after overwhelming his opponent with his well-known high-speed combinations.

“It’s just fun to watch Yuri move in the ring”, says promoter Öner. “With his aggressive style he is always in for a spectacular show. Some might say that he should have finished his opponent earlier but on the one hand it is very important for Gamboa to go 10 rounds on such a high level, on the other hand you got to give credit to Gonzalez for his heart and his chin. He took some good blows.”

In the co-featured 10-round WBC international championship bout Odlanier Solis defended his title impressively stopping Kevin Burnett after 2:00 minutes of round 8.

“Many people came up to me after that bout and said that they regained a little faith in the heavyweight division”, stated Öner. “And that is exactly what Solis stands for. Surely he can still lose a pound or two but there is no doubt that he got what it takes to become world champion. He is fast and powerful and can handle guys who are way taller than he is.”

Solis was the more aggressive fighter surprising “Big Man” Burnett with fast attacks throughout the fight proving his enormous hand speed. One of those fierce combinations led to the stoppage by referee Jay Nady after the 2004 Olympic gold medallist and three time world amateur champion had stunned his opponent with a hard left hook.

The first TV bout of the night saw 2005 world amateur champion Erislandy Lara score a 1st round tko over Rodrigo Aguiar. Fired up by the enthusiastic mostly Cuban crowd Lara sent his opponent to the canvas at the end of the 1st forcing referee Joe Cortez to stop the bout with only 1 second left in the round.

“Everybody involved in this promotion did a fantastic job”, says Öner. “We will definitely be back in Primm soon – maybe for Gamboa’s first world championship bout.”

“El Ciclon” Gamboa is set to face Elio Rojas for the WBC interim title this spring. The purse bid which was originally set for today has been postponed by the WBC because of the ARENA show in Primm.

Flood City Winter Rumble in Johnstown, PA January 24th!

Don’t let the rest week before the Super Bowl get you down! On January 24, 2009, Team Taylor Made Boxing in association with World Class, Zeferino, and TKO Boxing Promotions presents live from the War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, PA “The Flood City Winter Rumble” featuring Andres Taylor (4W-0L-1D, 1KO) in a WBF Americas’ Cruiserweight Title Fight. Slated for the action packed card include 6-round clashes: Jesse Lubash (8W-0L, 4KO) vs. William “W.W.II” Wilson (5W-4L, 4KO), Durrell Richardson (10W-2L, 4KO) vs. David Thomas (6W-0L, 5KO), and Marvin Cordova Jr. (20W-0L, 1D, 11KO) vs. Thomas Davis (12W-9L-2D, 7KO) whose best known for knocking out current WBO World Champion Kendall Holt. Others scheduled to see action include the pride of York Carney Bowman (12W-0L, 5KO), Dante Moore (2W-0L, 2KO), Heavyweight Jabir Basit (1W-0L, 1KO), and more. Popular world ranked fighter Monty Meza-Clay (28W-1L, 19KO) will make an appearance one week before his IBF World Title Eliminator showdown with Ring Magazine #3 Jorge “Coloradito” Solis (36W-1L, 26KO) whose only career loss was to Boxing Pound-for-Pound King Manny Pacquiao.

The War Memorial Arena is located in the heart of Johnstown at 326 Napoleon Street. The first bout will begin at 7:00 PM and the doors will open at 5:30 PM. Tickets for the event are Golden Ringside $62, Preferred Reserved $42, and General Admission $22 and can be purchased by calling (814) 659-9390 or (724) 513-1416 or at the gate on fight night subject to availability. Front row Ringside Sponsor Tables are available by calling either number above. Addn’l ticket outlets: Giant Eagle (2) Johnstown locations: 1451 Scalp Ave & 1451 Broad St., Watchmakers Diamonds & Jewelry – 1252 Scalp Ave, Johnstown or Call and Charge by Phone at the War Memorial Arena Ticket Office: (800)243-8499 – Visa- MC-Discover. Bouts subject to change.