BATON ROUGE, LA (November 19, 2013) Former world champion Jeff “Left Hook Lacy will return to the ring on Saturday, NOVEMBER 30 against battle-tested veteran Martin Verdin in a scheduled eight round super middleweight clash at the Belle of Baton Rouge Casino in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Advance tickets for “Battle at the Belle/WFC 15” priced at $50 for Ringside and $25 for General Admission can be purchased by calling (530) 521-5807 or through World Fighting Championships (WFCFights.com). VIP Tables are also available for advance purchase.
The Belle of Baton Rouge Casino is located at 103 France Street in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70802. Doors on the night of the event will open at 7pm with the first bell at 8pm.
“I’m anxious to get back in the ring,” said Lacy. “I’ve been training diligently for this fight and see this as the first step to becoming a world champion again.”
“We’re very excited to promote Jeff’s return to the ring. He’s been training for the last few months in Florida and is in excellent shape. The Belle of Baton Rouge Casino is a perfect location for his return and their team has been a pleasure to work with on this event,” said Matt McGovern of World Fighting Championships.
Fighting out of his longtime home of St. Petersburg, Florida, Lacy, 25-4-0 (17KO’s), returns following an almost three-year layoff, which commenced after his disappointing loss to Dhafir Smith on DECEMBER 11, 2010.
Upset minded local fan favorite Verdin, 20-16-2 (11KO’s), will be fighting for the fifth time in 2013 (2-1-1). He comes off a decision win over Rayford Johnson on October 5 in Louisiana.
Lacy won the world title on October 2, 2004 by knocking out Syd Vanderpool in Las Vegas and defended it four times while becoming one of the sport’s biggest stars.
A member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team, Lacy compiled a record of 209-12 as a highly decorated amateur.
A full undercard for “Battle at the Belle/WFC 15” will be announced shortly.
For more information on WFC (World Fighting Championships), please visit their website at www.WorldFightingChampionships.com
Further information and directions for The Belle of Baton Rouge Casino can be located at www.BelleofBatonRouge.com
Melson-King set for December 4!
New York, NY (November 19, 2013) – Popular junior middleweight Captain Boyd “Rainmaker” Melson of New York City looks to take another step in the right direction when he squares off against solid veteran Gundrick “Sho-Gun” King over eight rounds in the main event of Broadway Boxing Wednesday, December 4 at BB King Blues Club in Time Square.
Melson, 12-1-1 (4 KO’s), was originally slated to face unbeaten Chris Gilbert however, the bout fell apart after an unauthorized representative accepted the bout on his behalf.
A four time US Army Champion, 100% of Melson’s purses, thirteen which went to Justadollarplease.org to help support America’s first trial to cure Chronic Spinal Cord Injuries and the other to help a friend who had a young son with cancer, were donated. In his most recent bout, the 2003 West Point grad outpointed tougher than advertised Jason Thompson for a unanimous decision. That night included 8 rounds of exciting boxing for Melson in front of a standing room only crowd, in which Melson knocked Thompson down in the 8th round. Former NBA power forward/Knicks legend Larry Johnson and Academy Award Winner Cuba Gooding Jr., both fans of Melson, went to the fights that night to support him.
King, who is fighting in the Big Apple for a third time, has a solid 18-10 professional ledger with 11 wins by knockout. The 35-year-old Tuscaloosa, AL native’s battled a number of quality fighters including former world champion Yuri Foreman, title challenger Paul Delgado, world rated junior middleweights Jonathan Gonzalez and Charlie Ota and unbeaten Brad Solomon.
The 28 fight veteran is far more experienced than any of Melson’s prior opponents and is expected to test him.
“He’s got a lot of experience against top fighters,” Melson said of King. “This is the kind of opponent that I’ve got to beat in order to get to that level. I’m expecting King to bring the heat and try to use his experience to overwhelm me. Fortunately, I have a strong amateur background that gave me different but important experience as well. I am already prepared for whatever he has to offer, and I love a good scrap.”
Tickets starting at $55 are available on Teamfighttowalk.com but sell fast due to a high demand. Following the bout, Melson will once again donate his entire fight purse to Justadollarplease.org in support of bringing trials to the United States that could help cure chronic Spinal Cord Injuries. It was recently released in the nationwide media that this clinical trial we are raising funds for to bring here to the U.S. has resulted in 15 out of 20 patients walking enrolled in the study in China who were paralyzed an average of 7 years. Unfortunately, there still is not enough money to carry the trial out in the US but it is estimated that it could start sometime in 2014.
Aaron “Gavilan”Garcia Looking for Third Win of 2013!
(San Diego, CA) – If there is one thing that featherweight Aaron “Gavilan” Garcia knows how to do is fight. After a quick incursion into the Asian art of karate, Garcia’s father, Celso, led Aaron, one of eight siblings, and his three brothers to boxing. At the tender age of eight, Garcia took to the sweet science like a fish to water and eventually became one of the most decorated amateur fighters to come out of San Diego County.
Known as a aggressive fighter with very solid skills and a high work rate, Aaron in over 150 amateur fights amassed a number of important accolades such as the bantamweight title in the 1999 National Golden Gloves, the featherweight title in the 2001 National Golden Gloves, the 2003 United States amateur featherweight championship and in the same year Garcia took the featherweight silver medal at the ’03 Pan-American Games. While he traveled the world competing in tournaments and as a U.S.A. Olympic team alternate, Garcia defeated a number of fighters who made a name in the pro ranks such as Vicente Escobedo, Francisco “Panchito” Bojado, Rocky Juarez and Brandon Rios among others.
In 2004 Garcia was one of the first signees of then upstart Golden Boy Promotions led by boxing superstar Oscar De La Hoya. Garcia made his professional debut on September 18th, 2004, with a unanimous decision over Gerardo Robles. Garcia quickly rattled off six more wins before being upset by Saul Ochoa on the under card of De La Hoya vs. Mayorga in May of ’06. After the loss, Garcia decided to take a hiatus from the ring to reassess his career and spend time with his growing family.
Aaron “Gavilan” Garcia Scores a Body Shot in his last fight Photo by Paul Gallegos
The happily married father of two came back in 2008 under the tutelage of renowned trainer Joel Diaz and fought four times going undefeated with wins over veteran Arturo Valenzuela and Gabe Garcia. After two closely disputed draws against then highly touted prospect Jesus “Pollo” Hernandez, some promotional/management issues and the toll of traveling from over a hundred miles to train with Diaz in the Imperial Valley, Garcia once again took a hiatus from the sport to recharge his batteries.
The burst to get back in the ring came from trainer/manager Vince Parra who in 2010 took the reins of Garcia’s career and training and has not let go since. The two of them along with Vince’s father, California state Hall of Famer “Bumpy” Parra, put together an impressive run sprinkled with bitter disappointments.
In his last three bouts, Garcia faced opponents with a combined record of 62-6-1. The first was world title challenger Alejandro “Alex” Lopez of Tijuana, Mexico, who Garcia defeated via unanimous decision on the under card of Brandon Rios vs Miguel Acosta championship fight. On the strength of that win, Garcia went after undefeated prospect Abraham Lopez. Unfortunately, Garcia fell to a hometown majority decision in Ontario, CA, in an eight rounder and in his last fight, Garcia dropped a split decision to Filipino up and coming contender Bernabe Concepcion. The ten round bout was for the vacant WBC Continental Americas featherweight title.
In the fight, Garcia suffered an injury that forced him out of the ring. Fully recovered and now under the Bobby D Presents banner, Aaron Garcia is ready to return on the road to a world titlte, a feat he feels is his destiny. “I would love to win a world title. My main goal right now is just to get the ball rolling and after that, God willing, get a title shot and get that title. I believe I will be ready for it soon. I have the ability and pedigree to get in ther with the top dogs and give them hell.”
Carcia came back wiht a bang and put the boxing world on notice of his return. Not known for his knock out power, he opened some and forced some jaws to drop when after his hiatus he stopped the usual durable Cesar Garcia (no relation) in the first round back in May at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. With a determined look on his face, Aaron went after his prey and relentlessly punished Garcia of Ensenada, Mexico, to the body. Near the end of the first round, “Gavilan” scored a devastating body shot that left his opponent gasping for air. Cesar Garcia made it back to his corner at the sound of the bell but was unable to catch his breath in the alloted minute rest and the fight was called giving Aaron the TKO win.
In his next fight of 2013 and his last prior to tonight’s, Garcia went four quality rounds with Las Vegas workhorse Johnny Frazier last July. Originally slated to headline a fight card across the border in Tijuana, Garcia’s opponent fell out at the last minute and a quick match up was made by Bobby D. Frazier turned out to be no slouch as he was able to to survive the four rounds and take everything Garcia landed. Garcia came out unscathed and took the shut out unanimous decision with scores of 40-36 three times.
Since then and together with his trainer/manager Vince Parra and new stable mate Rolly Lunas, Garcia has been traveling all over the southwest including stops in Los Angeles and Las Vegas preparing for his next assignment, “that is what you have to do to be the best and I am ready for it, I am ready for the big time!”
The Crowne Plaza Hanalei Hotel is located at 2270 Hotel Circle North in San Diego. Tickets are still available at SanDiegoFights.com or by calling 619.420.8866. Doors open at 6:30 with the first punch thrown at 7:30pm.
“San Diego Fights” is proudly sponsored by Mossy Automotive Group, Filippi’s Pizza Grotto, Car Czar, Everlast, David G. Schmidt General Contractor, House of Boxing Gym and Boxing Fraternity Apparel and features the San Diego Bikini Dolls.