TRUFANBOXING EVENT LOG

Hernandez no Angel in ring ready for Manfredo

May 22 IBO Middleweight Title Fight at Mohegan Sun

NEW YORK (May 9, 2010) – Veteran Angel “El Toro” Hernandez is arguably, pound-for-pound, one of the toughest boxers in the business. The Mexican native, fighting out of Chicago, has parlayed impressive back-to-back performances into a May 22 title fight against Peter Manfredo, Jr. at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.

“It’s all in his nickname – ‘Toro’ means bull,” Angel’s trainer “Fearless” Fernando Hernandez describes his fighter. “He is a charger who has evolved into a good boxer. He’s very tough!”

The 34-year-old Hernandez (30-7, 17 KOs) has taken a different road to his upcoming battle against Manfredo (34-6, 18 KOs) for the vacant IBO middleweight championship. His last two fights have been wins against multiple world title challenger Antwun Echols (31-11-4), last August when Echols failed to answer the bell for the seventh round, and a 10-round decision against then hot prospect James McGirt Jr. (19-1-1) on ESPN Friday Night Fights.

During the course of his 14-year pro career, the battle-tested Hernandez has also defeated Randall, Larry Marks, Victor Rosado, J.C. Candelo and Leonard Townsend, in addition to having fought Kassim Ouma, Raymond Joval, Vanes Martirosyan and Rhoshii Wells.

Hernandez, who will be making his debut fighting for promoter Boxing 360, feels that his time has finally come. “This opportunity is long overdue,” Angel said about his first fight in New England. “I’ve proven myself but haven’t had a world title shot since I fought Winky Wright (LDEC12) in 2003. I’m ready and excited about my fight for the IBO title.”

Manfredo was stopped in his two previous world title shots to Joe Calzaghe (IBF super middleweight) and Sakio Bika (IBO super middleweight). His notable victims include former world champions Frankie Randall and Grady Brewer, along with contenders Scott Pemberton, Alfonso Gomez, and Matt Vanda.

“I know Peter,” Angel added. “I remember him from when we both were sparring partners at training camp for Fernando Vargas. And then I heard a lot about him on The Contender (Manfredo lost to Sergio Mora in the Season One finale). He can’t bring anything into the ring that I haven’t seen before and I doubt he’s tougher than the other guys I’ve fought. I’m not underestimating him but I’m a veteran with a lot of confidence I will walk away May 29^th as the IBO middleweight champion of the world.”

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DBE STARS HELP OUT IN COMMUNITY; MALIGNAGGI TO THROW OUT FIRST PITCH

(July 23, 2009) WBC Welterweight Champion Andre Berto has always relied on his heart to give him an extra edge over opponents inside the boxing ring. Now he’s using his heart to make a difference outside the ring.

On Friday, July 24^th, Berto (25-0, 19 KOs) will appear at the Citrus Center Boys & Girls Club in his hometown of Winter Haven, Florida with a check for $10,000 and a special message for the youngsters who use the club as a way to keep themselves off the streets, much the way he did growing up.

Berto will give what is known as a Pride Talk, the same kind of motivational speech he listened to during his days at the Boys & Girl Club. It’s his hope that his words have the same impact on the kids at the Club that the speeches he listened to had on him.

"The Boys and Girls Club was like a second home for me as a kid. I want these kids to see that if they work hard enough, they can make their own dreams come true, just like I have," said Berto. "I have been blessed through boxing and I want to share some of my blessings with the Boys and Girls Club and Polk County."

Berto’s speech, along with the presentation of his donation, will begin at 1pm. The Citrus Center Boys & Girls Club is located at 2400 Havendale Blvd., NW in Winter Haven.

For just one night Paulie Malignaggi will take some time off from boxing to try his hand at another sport. Malignaggi will celebrate Italian Heritage Night at Keyspan Park, home of the Brooklyn Cyclones, on Monday, July 27, by throwing out the game’s ceremonial first pitch.

That night the Cyclones, single A affiliate of the New York Mets, will be taking on the Aberdeen IronBirds (Orioles). The game starts at 7pm and tickets are priced from $8 to $15.

It will be a brief respite from training for Malignaggi (26-2, 5 KOs) who is preparing vigorously for his August 22^nd bout with Juan Diaz in Houston. Malignaggi vs. Diaz will headline a special three fight edition of HBO’s Boxing After Dark.

As Yusaf Mack awaits his next move in boxing, he took time out last week to spend time with some very special people in the place he calls home, Philadelphia.

For Mack (28-2-2, 17 KOs), the day began by visiting the West Philadelphia branch of Education Works, a facility that uses the power of learning to help children and families in low income neighborhoods. While there, Yusaf has the opportunity to speak with a group of kids, and show them a real life example of someone who can find success with the proper determination and focus.

“It’s great to talk to these kids and they know after seeing me with my belts that if they put their mind to anything they can achieve any goal they set for themselves”, said Mack. “This stop was extra special because these are kids in my own backyard and I hope that I can be an influence for these youngsters. Education Works is a terrific program and over the coming months, I want to visit all seventeen locations.”

Despite the positive influence of his first stop, Yusaf’s day was not yet over. After leaving Education Works, he was off to the Magee Rehabilitation Center, to spend time brightening the days of special needs patients who had caught a bad break.

For Mack, the experience was as significant to him as anyone he met, and it made for an inspirational end to an already rewarding day.

“These people are such an inspiration to me. They are the real fighters,” said Mack. “To see what they have to go through really humbles me and it meant so much to me to be able to visit them and to see how receptive they were to me makes me want to train harder than ever because I want to be a bigger presence to these incredible men and woman and bring back the world Light Heavyweight championship.”

“Around The Ring”

Ireland Comes to Brawl

By Bobby Breen

New Jersey vs. Ireland

Schuetzen Park -- ALL PHOTOS CHRIS BROOKS

July 27, 2009. A team of amateur boxer’s from Ireland recently came to the NY/NJ Metro area to compete against our amateur boxers. Arranged and coordinated by the Dover Boxing Club of Dover, NJ the Ireland team boxed in New Jersey Friday night July 17^th and Saturday July 18^th in Long Island, NY. The Friday night show was held at Schuetzen Park in North Bergen, NJ.

Put together by Ed Leahy and Rich Stoltenborg who run the Dover Boxing Club gym, this event was made possible by many sponsors. I do not have a complete list of those sponsors but many thanks go out to them for making this show a reality. A special thanks goes out to the Dr. Teddy Atlas Foundation for their participation. It is a great opportunity for young amateur boxers to compete against each other from another country. This could not happen without the involvement of many people especially behind the scenes. Irish born boxer’s John Duddy and James Moore came out to cheer on the competitors. Both Duddy and Moore showed up and paid a special visit to the Ireland team locker room. Duddy and Moore were great in rooting on the Irish team as they won seven of nine bouts. The Irish team came to fight. The bouts were great.

Irish boxer’s Tyrone McKenna and Steven Donnelly were especially triumphant with wins over NY Daily News Golden Glove champions Raul Lopez and Pedro Sosa respectively. McKenna clearly outpointed Lopez in a 132 lb. Open bout being the quicker with hands and feet. Donnelly got tagged good in round one going up against the power punching Sosa, but was able to punch and move the rest of the way, denying Sosa any work on the inside which is his where he is strongest. Donnelly and Sosa met again Saturday night in Long Island, NY with Sosa getting the decision in what appeared to be a hometown favorite score. Although McKenna didn’t do as good as the first night some in the crowd thought he did enough to win the second bout. The only Americans to beat Irish boxers on the Friday card were Angel Vargas and Anthony Gangemi. Vargas of Middletown PAL pulled out a close decision over Nian McGinley in their 152 lb. Open matchup. Gangemi boxed tremendously against David Walsh in their 165 lb Open matchup winning by decision. AIBA Ireland Official Mike Gallagher accompanied the Irish team.

NJ & NY team of amateur boxers who boxed against Ireland July 17th.

John Duddy and James Moore join Irish team

Five other bouts were featured on the card that had New Jersey Local Boxing Committee (LBC) boxer’s competing. This was a dinner show and fund raiser for the Dover Boxing Club, who plan on bringing a team of New Jersey boxer’s over to Ireland to compete against the Irish team on their own turf sometime next year. Dover BC has had several shows like this in past years featuring boxing teams from Canada, England, and Ireland as well as bringing a team of inner city boxer’s to those countries. Anyone interested in helping out with this worthy cause can contact Ed or Rich at the Dover BC website; http://www.doverboxingclub.com/. See you “around the ring”. BB

The complete results of the Friday July 17^th Ireland vs. NJ card at Schuetzen Park, NJ;

Mar. 14 PPV show also features Maccarinelli-Afolabi & Cook-Martinez title fights

HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 2, 2009) – The 12-round main event March 14th between 22-year-old lightweight prospect Amir Khan and Hall of Fame bound multiple world champion, “The Baby Faced Assassin” Marco Antonio Barrera, shapes up as a potential classic at The M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, United Kingdom.

Khan (19-1, 15 KOs), 2004 Olympic silver medallist, defends his WBA International lightweight crown against Barrera (65-6, 43 KOs) in a 12-round bout. Barrera, rated No. 1 by the WBO, has already captured the WBO super bantamweight (three times), WBC and IBO featherweight, WBC and IBF super featherweight titles. The Mexican icon has defeated a Who’s Who of contemporary world champions and/or challengers during his sensational 19-year pro career such as Erik Morales (twice), Paulie Ayala, Prince Naseem Hamed, Kevin Kelly, Johnny Tapia, Robbie Peden, Mzonke Fana, and Rocky Juarez (twice).

“The reason I took this fight is because a win here puts me in line to realize my top remaining goal to become the first Mexican-born fighter to win world championships in four separate weight divisions,” Barrera said. “I’ve been world champion in three weight divisions (122, 126 and 130) and my goal is to win a world championship in the lightweight division. I don’t want to wait. I want to get there as fast as I can. A win over Khan puts me right where I want to be.

“I will beat Khan because I have more experience than him and I’m still a much better fighter than he is. Khan is tall and has a good jab and hand speed. He is a good young fighter but there’s nothing he can do between now and March 14 to surpass my skills and experience. Jose Luis Balbuena and Kennedy McKinney are two fighters I successfully defended my WBO super bantamweight titles that I can compare to Khan. They were both good fighters with good hand speed that I was able to defeat. McKinney won an Olympic gold medal. Don’t forget what I did to Prince Naseem Hamed, too, another highly-touted guy with fast hands.”

Integrated Sports is distributing three 12-round championship bouts featured on the “Khan-Barrera” pay-per-view card, presented by Frank Warren, in North America for live viewing at 4 PM/ET – 1 PM/PT on cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, TVN, DirecTV and Dish Network in the United States, as well as Viewer’s Choice and Bell TV in Canada, for a suggested retail price of only $24.95. Veteran blow-by-blow announcer Ian Darke and color analyst, former WBC lightweight champion Jim Watt, will be calling the action from ringside for Sky Box Office and Integrated Sports PPV.

In addition to Khan-Barrera, two other fights will be broadcast on PPV: former WBO cruiserweight title-holder Enzo Maccarinelli (29-2, 22 KOs), the No. 1 contender, battles No. 2 rated and NABO champ Ola “Kryptonite” Afolabi (13-1-3, 5 KOs) for the vacant WBO cruiserweight championship; WBO super middleweight champion Nicky “Cookie” Cook (29-1, 16 KOs) defends his title belt against undefeated No. 1 contender Roman “Rocky” Martinez (21-0-1, 12 KOs).

The Ring No. 6 rated Maccarinelli beat Mohamed Azzaoui, Wayne Braithwaite, Bobby Gunn, Marcelo Fabian Dominguez and Mark Hobson (twice) during his WBO title reign (2006-2008). London-born Afolabi, now living in California, captured the NABO crown last April with a 10^th round TKO of previously unbeaten Eric Fields.

Former European champion Cook, rated No.. 6 by The Ring, won the WBO super featherweight title via a 12-round unanimous decision in his last fight against Alex Arthur (26-1). NABO super featherweight title-holder Martinez, fighting out of his native Puerto Rico, is rankd WBA No. 9 by The Ring.

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, Roy Jones, Jr., Nicolai Valuev and Ruslan Chagaev. 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.