Yuriorkis Gamboa and Odlanier Solis are ready to shine at the season premiere of ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights” next week (January 9th) at Terrible’s Primm Valley Casino Resorts. The 2004 Olympic gold medallists had no spare time over Christmas or New Year’s but have been working hard at their training camp in Primm, Nevada. “They both did a great job and will be perfectly prepared for their fights”, states coach Ismael Salas. “Odlanier is fired up to show the US public what he is made of. And Yuri knows that this is his last step before going for his first world title. He knows that he has to be focused and concentrated to fulfil his great dream to become champion of the world.”
Fast rising featherweight superstar Gamboa (12-0, 10 kos) will face Roger “Speedy” Gonzalez (27-2, 18 kos). If “El Ciclon” wins this fight he will be lined up next to fight for the WBC interim championship against Elio Rojas.
Heavyweight sensation Odlanier Solis (12-0, 8 kos) gives his US debut against “Big Man” Kevin Burnett (13-1-1, 8 kos). Originally, “La Sombra” was scheduled to face Owen Beck but the former WBA world title challenger pulled out of the fight due to medical reasons.
Doors open at 5.00pm. Tickets are still available for US$ 35.00 and US$ 10.00 (plus fees); call 1-800-FUN-STOP or visit www.primmvalleyresorts.com.
JOEY GILBERT OPENS CAMP IN SAN DIEGO FOR BRINKLEY SHOWDOWN
Super middleweight contender Joey Gilbert has opened camp in San Diego in preparation for his “CIVIL WAR” showdown with Jesse Brinkley on Saturday, February 14th at the Reno Events Center.
“I’ve trained here numerous times, the weather and the facilities are very conducive to a great camp,” said the confident Gilbert.
Working with trainer Richie Ortiz and strength and conditioning coach Matt Pendola, Gilbert has been in serious training mode since September.
“I knew this fight was on the horizon back then and have been training in San Diego and Big Bear with Coach Ortiz on a continuous basis. Now we’ll focus more on Brinkley and preparing for what we need to do to be successful on February 14th.
I’ll also be working in San Diego with (UFC star) Diego Sanchez. He’s got a big fight coming up at the same time and we work very well together. He’s a world class athlete and training with him always pushes me.”
Although he will be training in the scenic, beautiful city of San Diego , Gilbert was quick to point out what the task at hand was, “Yep, it’s nice down here on the ocean, but this fight was appropriately titled “CIVIL WAR” and that’s what the fans in Reno should expect.”
Tickets for “CIVIL WAR”, headlined by the 12 round super middleweight showdown between Jesse Brinkley and Joey Gilbert, are priced at $253.25, $153.25, $78.25 and 43.25 and are on sale now at the Reno Events Center box office and through Ticketmaster. A five dollar discount is available on tickets priced at $43.25 for students, active military, and police and fire department personnel with valid ID. Doors at the Reno Events Center will open the night of the event at 6pm, with the first bell at 7pm.
“CIVIL WAR” is presented by Las Vegas based TKO BOXING Promotions and Reno’s “Let’s Get It On” Promotions.
Formed in early 2008, Chet Koerner’s Las Vegas based TKO BOXING Promotions stable includes; super middleweight Joey Gilbert, middleweights Bastie “THE BEAST” Samir and James Countryman, junior middleweight Anthony Thompson, lightweights Rolando Reyes, Raul Tovar and Terrance Crawford, the sister team of Katy and Emily Klinefelter, featherweight Carney Bowman and super bantamweight Rafael Valenzuela.
Further information on TKO Boxing Promotions can be viewed at www.tkoboxingpromotions.com
Berto Defends Title Against Collazo On January 17th
Undefeated World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion Andre Berto (23-0, 19KO’s) will be defending his title against former welterweight champion Luis Collazo (29-3, 14KO’s) on January 17th at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, in Biloxi, Mississippi. Collazo, a light puncher with excellent hand speed and boxing skills, will be step up for Berto in competition from the mostly B and C-class opponents that Andre has faced thus far. More experienced than Berto, Collazo has been in with excellent fighters like Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosley and Miguel Angel Gonzalez. Apart from the Mosley fight, Collazo has done well, almost beating Hatton and stopping Gonzalez.
Berto has looked good in his last two fights, defeating Miguel Angel Rodriguez and Steve Forbes. The fight was Forbes was especially interesting as it pitted Berto against a fighter with hand speed as good as his own and with a similar size. Initially, Berto had some problems with Forbes, getting hit often in the 1st round, but Berto quickly warmed up and dominated the remainder of the fight and ended up easily beating Forbes by a 12-round decision.
Collazo, 27, lost his WBA welterweight title to Ricky Hatton by a close margin in 2006, losing a 12-round decision. Since then, Collazo was beaten by Mosley in a 12-round decision in 2007. Despite the loss, Collazo is ranked high, number #1 in the WBC, and is hoping that he can win another belt. It figures to be a tough fight for him, as he doesn’t have much in the way of power, and he’s going to have to be able to trade shots with Berto if he expects to have any chance at beating him. Still young, this won’t be Collazo’s last chance to win a title should he lose, but win or lose, he needs to look good against Berto to increase his chance for television exposure in the future.
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