NEW YORK- Light-heavyweight contender Shaun George tipped the scales at 177.5 for his scheduled 10-round match against Jaffa Ballogou on Wednesday night at BB King Blues Club & Grill in New York City’s Times Square. Ballogou weighed exactly 177. The bout will headline Dibella Entertainment’s first installment of Broadway Boxing of 2009. The fight will be televised by SportsNet NY, with dates and times to be announced shortly.
For the 29-year-old Brooklyn native George, this fight is about sending a message to the light-heavyweight division that they won’t be able to ignore.
“When I saw him at the scales, all I could think about is how much I want to hurt this guy,” said George, 17-2-2 (8 knockouts). “He has to pay for me not getting the fights with the top ten contenders that I want. He has to pay for all the guys that have been ducking me. When I started boxing as a young man, I would take all of my aggressions out on my opponents. That’s what I plan to do with Jaffa tomorrow night.”
George is currently ranked #8 by the WBC, #9 by the IBF and #11 by the WBA. He made his introduction into the world title picture with a stirring knockout defeat of two-time heavyweight champion Chris Byrd last May, winning in 9 rounds after scoring three knockdowns. As an amateur, George was a two-time New York Golden Gloves champ, holding a record of 51-7.
Ballogou’s 46-7 (40 knockouts) record is an accurate representation of the dangerous challenge that he presents. Ballogou has traveled the globe, fighting the sport’s best, including three world champions. Ballogou is known as “The African Assassin” and hails from the West African nation of Togo.
“I want to thank all the fans for their support,” George says. “Come out and support the show. It’s going to be an exciting night. He’s coming to fight, I’m coming to fight, but I will be the last man standing.”
Tickets for the event, priced at $150, $100, and $55 can be purchased by calling 212-947-2577. BB King Blues Club & Grill is located at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 West 42 Street in New York City.
Banner – Mar. 20 Fights in Laredo
Promoters Arthur Pelullo/Banner Promotions and Rodney Berman/Golden Gloves will present a sensational championship fight card on Friday, March 20, 2009, at the Laredo Entertainment Center, located at 6700 Arena Boulevard in Laredo, Texas. The main event and other selected fights will be televised live on ESPN2, ESPN Desportes, their Spanish-Language Network, and ESPN 360.com. It will be the first championship fight card at the LEC since 2005 and the first time that ESPN has televised a fight card from the arena.
Roy Medina, Interim General Manager at LEC, said, “The Laredo Entertainment Center, SMG, and the City of Laredo are proud to work with Banner Promotions and ESPN to bring championship boxing back to Laredo, Texas. This is guaranteed to be an exciting night of boxing action, and with ticket prices starting at just $7, plus facility fee, everyone can afford to attend this spectacular event.”
Doug Loughrey, Director of ESPN Programming and Acquisitions, said, “We are very pleased to bring ESPN’s Friday Night Fights to Laredo, Texas, and serve a passionate audience of boxing fans. We expect to bring our viewers an energetic and electrified arena with this solid night of boxing simulcast on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN360.com.”
Arthur Pelullo said, “We think this is going to be a terrific show for the fans in attendance and those watching on ESPN. In addition to a well-matched, competitive main event that features two Mexican warriors, the fans will get a good look at up-and-coming Russian prospect Ruslan Provodnikov and of course, 2008 Olympian Demetrius Andrade, who many of us feel is one of the top young prospects in the ring today.”
In the main event scheduled for 12 rounds, Fernando Beltran Jr., 31-3-1 with 18 knockouts, of Culiacan, Mexico, will battle Aldo Valtierra, 25-10 with 13 knockouts, of Mexico City, Mexico, for the vacant IBF Latino featherweight title.
Beltran, a 27 year-old lefthander who currently holds the IBO featherweight title, won that vacant title with a 12 round split decision against Takalani Ndlovu of South Africa in his last fight in August, 2008. It was a fast-paced, exciting fight and the momentum shifted back and forth. After six rounds, the fight was scored 58-56 Beltran, 57-57, 57-57, but Fernando rallied in the late rounds and finished the fight strongly. He swept the last three rounds on all three scorecards, although he was penalized one point for low blows in the tenth, and won by scores of 115-112, 115-112 Beltran, 114-113 Ndlovu.
Valtierra, a 38 year-old former WBC Central American super featherweight champion, has been in several exciting fights in recent years, and is coming off an impressive win in his last fight: in December, 2008, he won a 10 round majority decision against previously undefeated New York prospect Jorge Teron (22-0-1 at the time) on Teron’s home turf in New York City. Teron, at six-feet tall, had a five inch height advantage, but Aldo came on strongly in the late rounds to get the win.
In the co-featured bout scheduled for eight rounds, hard-hitting Russian jr. welterweight prospect Ruslan Provodnikov, 11-0 with 7 knockouts, of Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, will face an opponent to be announced.
2008 U.S. Olympian Demetrius Andrade, 2-0 with 2 knockouts, of Providence, Rhode Island, will also be featured on the card in a four-round jr. middleweight bout. Andrade is co-promoted by Joe DeGuardia/Star Boxing and Art Pelullo/Banner Promotions, and is considered by most observers to be the top prospect from the 2008 U.S. Olympic team.
More exciting preliminary fights will complete the card.
All bouts subject to change without notice.
Doors open at: 6:30 P.M. (Central Time)
First fight at: 8:00 P.M.
Tickets prices: $7, $27, $57, $82.
Tickets available at: Laredo Entertainment Center Box Office, and TicketMaster.com.
Weights from Lyndhurst, NJ!
Bobby “The Celtic Warrior” Gunn 197 vs Brad Gregory 192
Nelson Roldan 160.5vs Marcus Bianconi 160
K.C. Cunningham 220 vs Tyyab Beale 236
Carlos Zambrano 126.5 vs Javier Dennis 131
Jose Ortiz 129.5 vs. Jonathan Ocassino 127
Kyle White 166 vs Cornelius Blackwell 164
Doors open at 6:30 pm and first bout is at 7:30 pm.
Venue: “Fight Knight” At Medieval Times in Lyndhurst, NJ
Tickets are still available at the box office or call 201.741.4994.
Promoters: Mike Indri of Dignity Promotions and David Feldman of Felko Promotions.