WBA heavyweight “Champion in Recess” Ruslan “White Tyson” Chagaev has all of his boxing ducks, so to speak, lined up in a row but first he has to get past unbeaten No. 10 rated Carl Davis Drumond in the 12-round main event February 7, headlining “The Champion Returns” in Rostock, Germany.
“The Champion Returns” card, presented by Universum Boxing-Promotion, will broadcast three 12-round bouts. Integrated Sports is distributing it in the United States for live viewing at 2 PM/ET – 11 AM/PT on cable pay-per-view via iN Demand and TVN for a suggested retail price of only $24.95.
A same day replay will be shown at 9 PM/ET – 6 PM/ET. The event will also be available in Canada on TSN. Hall of Fame announcer Col. Bob Sheridan will handle blow-by-blow duties and Benny Ricardo, former NFL placekicker, will serve as color commentator.
2000 Uzbekistan Olympian Chagaev (24-0-1, 17 KOs), The Ring’s No. 3 rated heavyweight, captured the WBA crown on April 14, 2007 by 12-round decision against Nikolai Valuev (46-0). However, an Achilles tendon injury prevented Chagaev from defending his title last year against Valuev and the WBA regulated Ruslan to its “Champion in Recess.”
WBA No. 10 rated Drumond (26-0, 20 KOs), promoted by Warriors Seminole Boxing, is a boxing mystery outside of fan in his native Costa Rica. His most notable win to date was in 2007, when he won a 10-round decision against former world champion Kelvin Davis.
“It is one year since my last fight (win by 12-round decision against 21-1 Matt Skelton), so I am very motivated for this fight,” Chagaev said from his training camp in Hamburg. “From now on I want to have fight after fight; I can’t wait for the next tasks. First, I will beat Drumond. He is a strong man and I must be careful. But he wants to knock me out? That’s a joke, isn’t it? Nobody can knock me out. Sorry, Carl. This fight will be a big surprise for you.
“Than (after defeating Drumond) I will show who the real champ is by beating Valuev for the second time. Then I want to unify all of the belts. I want to fight the Klitschkos. I respect them for what they’ve reached in the heavyweight division, but I know then very well and I can beat them. 2009 will be my year.”
WBA light welterweight champion Andreas Kotelnik defends his title belt versus unbeaten Argentinean knockout artist Marcos Rene “El Chino” Maidana, the WBA No. 1 contender, in the 12-round co-feature. Styles make fights and Kotelnik-Maidana shapes-up as a potential classic featuring a pure boxer, Kotelnik (30-2-1, 13 KOs), against a dangerous power puncher, Maidana (25-0, 24 KOs).
Undefeated Russian heavyweight Denis Boytsov (23-0, 18 KOs), fighting out of Germany, meets Puerto Rican veteran Israel “King Kong” Garcia (19-2, 11 KOs) in a 12-round bout for the WBA Intercontinental title. The 22-year-old Boytsov, rated No. 11 by the WBA, is the latest prospect in a long line of Russian heavyweight contenders.
Integrated Sports: North America’s leading distributor of International Pay-Per-View and Closed Circuit sports events is Integrated Sports. Among the many events brought to North American viewers by Integrated Sports include World Championship boxing matches featuring Ricky Hatton, Christian Mijares, Evander Holyfield and Roy Jones, Jr. In addition, Integrated Sports has distributed numerous International soccer matches showcasing teams like Club America of Mexico and the National Team of Argentina. For more information on upcoming Integrated Sports events visit www.integratedsportsnet.com.
THE TIME FOR NGOUDJO HAS ARRIVED! URANGO VS NGOUDJO JANUARY 30 IN MONTREAL
It was with great surprise that the #1 IBF contender Hermann Ngoudjo (17-2-0, 9KO) read the press release where former IBF champion Juan Urango (20-1-1, 16KO) claimed he was going to knockout “The Black Panther” Ngoudjo. Ngoudjo will take on the Colombian for the vacant IBF Super lightweight world championship in Montreal next Friday,
For two years Hermann Ngoudjo has fought the elite of the division, and no one has hurt or come close to a knockout win against him!
First a controversial split decision loss against former world champion Jose Luis Castillo (57-9-1, 49KO), the best brawler in the division, then a split decision win against former World champion Randall Bailey (38-6-0, 34KO), the best puncher in the division. Last year another controversial loss against then IBF world champion Paul Malignaggi (25-2-0, 5KO), the fastest boxer in the division, and in June another win against former World champion Souleymane Mbaye (37-3-1, 21KO), the most skilled boxer in the division.
So Hermann out-brawled the brawler, overpowered the puncher, out-speeded the speedster and out-skilled the best! In fact, 6 of his opponents have fought in world championships, 5 of them won the title and together they have a combined 36 world championship bouts (20-14-2). Compare that to Urango who, with the exception of Ricky Hatton (45-1-0, 32KO) who lost decisively against him during their encounter 2 years ago, not one of his opponents ever won a world championship fight! Ngoudjo has had to pay his dues, fought the best and is ready to get on top of the super lightweight division. It is not Juan Urango who will stop him.
“Urango is a strong fighter and always comes very well prepared,” said Ngoudjo, “but he is not near me in terms of the quality of the opponents he has beaten! He claims he will knock me out like his last opponents, but they were scared of him and that is certainly not the case for me! I am willing to mix with you “Iron twin”, to back you up and beat you at your own game and we will see who has got the best chin, the best stamina. Next Saturday morning Juan Urango will have a very bad wake up call because he will leave Montreal empty-handed and the Black Panther will be world champion…this is the beginning of my era!”
Juan Urango is arriving today in Montreal from his training camp of Puerto Rico.
The two will meet for the first time tomorrow at a press conference that will be held at the Bell Center at 11:00 AM.
Tickets are priced at $40, $75, $125 and $200 and can be purchased at the Bell Center Box Office: 1-877-668-8269 or online at www.geg.ca
Hall Flags at Half-Staff for Reg Gutteridge
The International Boxing Hall of Fame announced its flags will fly at half-staff in memory of boxing broadcaster
and journalist Reg Gutteridge. He passed away yesterday. He was 84.
Regarded as Britain’s “Voice of Boxing,” he was born into a fighting family in Islington, London. His grandfather (Arthur) was a renowned boxer, while his father (Dick) and uncle (Jack) were skilled trainers during the golden
era of British boxing. Reg become one of England’s most popular boxing scribes and radio and television broadcasters. For over 45 years, he traveled the globe covering boxing for British audiences. He has worked as
boxing correspondent for the London Evening News and as commentator for Independent Television among others. Gutteridge has won countless awards, including the Sam Taub Award for Excellence in Broadcasting Journalism from the Boxing Writers Association of America. In 1995 Queen Elizabeth II awarded Gutteridge an Order of British Empire for his service to boxing.
“Reg Gutteridge was one of boxing’s most respected voices,” said Hall of Fame Executive Director Edward Brophy. “He had a vast knowledge of the sport and will be truly missed by the boxing community.”
In 2002, Gutteridge was elected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
O’Connor fighting Friday night in Montreal
2008 U.S. Olympic first alternate Danny O’Connor heads north of the border to fight pro-debuting Greg Jimenez off-television on this week’s ESPN Friday Night Fights show, headlined by the IBF light welterweight title fight between Herman Ngoudjo and Juan Urango, at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
In his last fight, the 23-year-old O’Connor (2-0, 2 KOs) pitched a shutout last November against 16-fight veteran Anthony Woods, winning all four rounds on each of the three judge’s scorecards (40-35, 40-36, 40-36), at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
“I’m happy to be making a trip to Canada,” O’Connor said. “I can’t wait to fight. I’ve been working hard in the gym….training, training and training. I’ve come to realize that sometimes it’s difficult in the pros because opponents get switched around. It’s all part of the learning process. I train the same for all opponents, assuming that they’re going to bring their A game. I’m ready to fight. I’m in great shape and I can’t wait to show everyone there what I’ve been working on in the gym (401 Gym in Cranston, Rhode Island).”
O’Connor, fighting out of Framingham (MA), won last year’s US Future Stars National Championship, in which he was named Most Outstanding Boxer, as well as the 2008 National Golden Gloves Tournament. Danny, who signed a promotional contract with Seminole Warriors Boxing, defeated 2008 Olympic Gold medalist Felix Diaz, of the Dominican Republic, last May as an amateur in a USA-Dominican Republic dual meet.
“I love Montreal and the opportunity for Danny to fight there makes a lot of sense,” added O’Connor’s head trainer, Dave Keefe, who also co-manages Danny with Rob Valle. “I’m happy we’re fighting on the undercard of an IBF light welterweight title fight, which we hopefully will be fighting for in a couple of years.”
For more information about Danny O’Connor go online to www.dannyoconnorboxing.com.