UP THROUGH THE RANKS

 OLIVEIRA A PLAYER IN MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION

 

The maturation process for undefeated 21-year-old middleweight Michael "The Brazilian Rocky" Oliveira (15-0, 12 KOs) spiked last Friday night after his impressive eighth-round win against veteran Xavier "The X-Man" Tolliver (23-7, 15 KOs) in the middleweight prospect's first fight on American television. Oliveira won by disqualification on a World Championship edition of Shobox: The Next Generation, LIVE on SHOWTIME® from Cohen Stadium in El Paso, Texas.
Oliveira weathered Tolliver's first-round onslaught, showing tremendous poise for such a young boxer, controlling the remainder of the bout until referee Richard Chapa, who had deducted a point in the fifth from Tolliver for repeated head-butts, disqualified Tolliver for landing a punch after a break. Oliveira led all on the three judges' cards after seven rounds by identical scores of 69-63.

"This was the hardest fight I've ever been in," the well-spoken Oliveira said after the fight. "My conditioning was superior thanks to Orlando (Cuellar, head trainer) and Steve (Arintok, conditioning coach). I'll be even better the next time.

"Everything happens for a reason. My dedication to training and the help I get from my team are responsible for my improvement. I never had anybody to guide me until Orlando and Steve at Thump Fight Gym (in Miami). All I need to do is work hard and listen to my coaches. I really wanted the knockout and would have had it if the referee hadn't disqualified my opponent. I was ready to drop him and got robbed of a knockout."

WBC No. 15-rated Oliveira, the reigning World Boxing Council ("WBC") South American middleweight champion, was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil but moved two weeks later with his family to Miami.

"Michael is improving fight by fight," Oliveira's father/promoter Carlos noted. "We knew he had heart and guts, but I was really impressed by the patience he showed when Tolliver came out swinging in the opening round. Michael didn't panic, listened to his corner, and executed. We will keep Michael fighting often so he can continue improving. We're looking at a fight in January and a big one in New York City in March."

Cuellar, who is best known as Glen Johnson's trainer, has worked with Oliveira for only two fights, but Michael's dramatic improvement is evident to anybody who has watched the once-chunky fighter for any period of time. Orlando gave his pupil a 10-grade for his performance against Tolliver.

"We took a gamble fighting Tolliver," Cuellar remarked. "A lot of people said we were making a mistake, stepping up so much, but we knew how impressive Michael had looked in training camp. We wanted a tough opponent for Michael in his first nationally televised test. Michael used three speeds very effectively - lulling, fast and faster. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 the highest, I give him a 10 because he listened, improved his defense and stayed focused. I told him to go after and put pressure on Tolliver. He's a good listener. He jabbed, feinted and moved his head as I instructed.

"Michael fought a very, very good fight. He may not have much experience having had only two amateur fighters, but he has my experience, as long as he listens and he's been doing that. He listened and did everything we worked on. I couldn't be more pleased. Michael's an aggressive fighter but, defensively, he's improved a lot and like we prepared, everything came off his good jab."

Go to www.MichaelOliveira.com for more information about this exciting, young fighter.

 

 

 

 

 

Edwin ‘La Bomba’ Rodriguez a serious player in the new super middleweight division

 

WORCESTER, Mass. (August 30, 2011) – Unbeaten sensation Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez, eyeing a world title fight in 2012, has successfully advanced from prospect to legitimate contender in the super middleweight division.

 

Granted, the 26-year-old Dominican Republic native (19-0, 14 KOs) may not be ready right now for the likes of Lucian Bute, Andre Ward and Carl Froch, but in another year Rodriguez figures he’ll be ready to challenge the top 168-pound guns and, by then, the overall landscape in that weight class could be completely altered. Rumors have some of the super middleweight elite preparing moves up to the light heavyweight division in the not too distant future.

 

“I need two good fights against top 10 opponents and then I’ll be ready for a world title fight,” Rodriguez said. “I fought on August 20th at 174, but only because my opponent couldn’t make a lower weight. I have no issues making 168. I was able to stay focused the entire fight against Traietti. I wish the fight had lasted longer so I could have thrown more combinations. I’m extremely happy with my performance and have more confidence in my jab. Our game plan was to establish my jab in the first two rounds and then drop my right on him. But I caught him with a good body punch and the fight ended. I need to continue working on putting combinations together and being aware of fighting more defensively. I was disciplined in the gym and listened to Ronnie (Shields). The first time he (Traietti) rushed me, the old me would have tried to take him out right away, but I kept to the game plan.”

 

Rodriguez’promoter, Lou DiBella, feels he has something special in Edwin.

“Edwin Rodriguez is the best 168 lbs. prospect in the United States. His backstory is incredible and soon to be a major documentary. On October 21, Team Rodriguez is proud to be headlining another ShoBox, our home away from home. More details will follow.”

 

Rodriguez is coming off of a devastating second-round victory by technical knockout on August 20th at home, when he broke two of opponent Chris Traietti’s (10-3, 6 KOs) ribs, drilling a vicious right that caused breathing problems that prevented the Iraq War veteran from continuing to fight.

 

Larry Army, Edwin’s trusted manager, believes his ace owns the best body shot to come out of New England since “Irish” Micky Ward, as well as being, arguably, the top contemporary body puncher in the world. “Four of his last five fights ending in knockout were stopped after a single punch to the body against Traietti, (Ibraheim) King, (Kevin) Engle and (George) Armenta. Who else can make that claim? The other knockout was from an accumulation of punches, many to the body, against (James) McGirt. The only fight in Edwin’s last five that went the distance was when he dislocated his shoulder in the second round against Aaron Pryor Jr., who at No. 9 in the WBC ratings is somehow rated three spots ahead of Edwin. Most people in boxing think Bute is the best body puncher in the world and I honestly believe Edwin is his equal in that regard. He throws with such velocity.”

 

The reigning WBC USNBC super middleweight champion, Rodriguez is knocking on the door for a major fight, currently rated # 8 by the International Boxing Federation and the World Boxing Association, as well as #12 by the World Boxing Council and #13 by the World Boxing Organization.

 

Renowned trainer Ronnie Shields has worked with Edwin a little more than two months and only one fight, but the former two-time world title challenger senses greatness in his new protégé. “Boxing is always looking for its next star and I think it is Edwin Rodriguez,” Shields commented. “He has that style fans really love – he throws a lot of punches and is a real fighter. I was very happy with the way he fought against Traietti, even though it lasted only two rounds. Edwin fought on the outside, went to the body, and his jab was consistent. I never wanted to deviate from what he does best – throw a lot of punches. I want him to box more and he did. It’s boxing and he’s going to get hit, but I don’t want him to get hit as much as he had in the past.

 

“I’d say he’s improved 20-25 percent, but give us a few more months working together for his next fight and he’ll be improved 60-70 percent. When he has to go 12 rounds, he has to understand that it doesn’t mean going toe-to-toe for 12. He has to adjust depending on the style of his opponent. We’re going to work on him catching punches and falling back after he punches, but not taking away from his strong, forceful punching. Next, we want to test him against a top-10 fighter, to better judge when he’ll be ready for a world title fight.

 

Go online to www.edwinrodriguezboxing.comor www.dbe1.com for more information about Rodriguez.

 

-ER-

 

 

 

 

 

 

Undefeated Amanda Serrano

Fights for NABF title

 

NEW YORK (June 6, 2011) – Undefeated super featherweight Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano fights at home for her first professional title Saturday night, June 11 at the historic Roseland Ballroom in New York City.

 

The 23-year-old Serrano (9-0-1, 5 KOs), a native of Puerto Rico who is now fighting out of Brooklyn, faces Jennifer Scott in an eight-round bout for the vacant North American Boxing Federation title.

 

“I’m the best female fighter in New York City and I’m going to prove it June 11th,” said the slick-boxing younger sister of former world lightweight contender, Cindy Serrano. “My sister fought for a couple of titles and I won the New York Golden Gloves, but this is my first title shot as a pro and I’m ready and prepared to win. My goal is to win the world title and then fight in Puerto Rico. (Amanda was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Brooklyn when she was one).

 

“This is my first fight in New York City as a professional boxer. I’m very excited to know that I’m going to have a lot of family, friends and fans there supporting me. I want them all to see how far I’ve progressed. It’s going to be a fun night.”

 

Serrano would have preferred to fight the former NABF champion, Maureen Shea, but she was stripped of the belt. “She has no heart,” Serrano blasted Shea. “She was offered a fight against me but turned it down and was stripped. Maybe if she has a heart transplant we can fight in the future. It would have been nice – Brooklyn vs. Bronx – if she took the fight.

 

“I want to be the face of women’s boxing. I can box and brawl. I want to be a role model for girls to look up to. My opponent for this fight doesn’t have a great record (2-3, 2 KOs) but she’s tough and coming to fight. She’s an undefeated MMA fighter, too. I never take anybody lightly. Look what happened to Maureen Shea. She was knocked out by a fighter with a 2-2 record. My last opponent (Ela Nunez) had never been knockout until I stopped her and I want to be the first to knockout Scott.”

 

Serrano also wants to be proudly displaying her new NABF title belt around her waist the day after her fight, hopefully, on a float in the New York City Puerto Rican Day Parade.

 

“No female fighter sacrifices like Amanda,” Boxing 360 Founder & CEO Mario Yagobi noted. “She’s an exciting fighter with a great future. Bob (Duffy, Boxing 360 Director of Boxing) worked very, very hard to make this title fight happen. We’d like to thank the NABF for sanctioning it. Amanda is working hard to be world champion. No woman dedicates herself to boxing like Amanda. Boxing is her life.”

 

Amanda is presently rated No. 4 by independent source WBAN, as well as No. 6 by the WIBA.

 

“Amanda’s main goal is to win a world title and this is her first step,” Duffy commented. “She’s fighting at home the night before the Puerto Rican Day parade. I want to thank the show’s promoters, Lou DiBella and Gary Shaw, for having this title fight on their card.”

Other members of Boxing 360’s stable include USBA heavyweight champion Maurice “Sugar Moe” Harris, WBC #3 super bantamweight Leon “Hurry Up” Moore, former IBF super middleweight champion Alejandro “Naco” Berrio, WBC Caribbean & NY State super middleweight champion Lennox “2 Sharpe” Allen, NY State champion welterweight Danny Sostre, Dominican lightweight champion Eudy “AK47” Bernardo, KO king Tyrone Brunson, Nick “Hands of Gold” Casal, middleweight prospect DonYil Livingston, Joshua “The Juice” Harris, Emad Ali, Mike Mollo, “King” David Estrada and Angel “Toro” Hernandez.

 

-30-

 

 

 

 

 

PROSPECT GETS SERVICE FROM STEWARD

ZBIKOWSKI  INCREASE OUTPUT DURING NFL LABOR STRIFE

Atlantic City, NJ (March 23, 2011)  --  Tommy Zbikowski, former Chicago Gold Gloves finalist, Notre Dame football team captain and All-American, third-round pick of and current Baltimore Ravens safety, improved his professional boxing record to 2-0 on Saturday, March 12 in Las Vegas with a first-round knockout.  Minutes after the win it was announced that his next bout will take place on Saturday, March 26 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on “Featherweight Fury” headlined by Gamboa vs. Solis World Featherweight Championship.


 On Monday, Zbikowski announced he had hired hall-of-fame trainer Emanuel Steward, who will be in his corner on Saturday night.  "I've admired Emanuel's coaching abilities for quite some time.  I'm looking forward to seeing the knowledge and experience he has up close and personal."  What will Emanuel do when if you fight Klitschko?  "He'll work my corner, I'll need more help."  
 
Zbikowski recently increased his boxing training with the chance of the lockout looming, resulting in his ring return.  “Right now, boxing is my number one sport,” Zbikowski said following the March 12 bout.
   
Zbikowski (2-0, 2 KOs), 25-years –old from Arlington Heights, IL, entered the ring March 12 for the first time since his pro debut on June 10, 2001 - prior to his senior year at Notre Dame - when he knocked out Robert Bell in 49 seconds.  His fight on Saturday night against Richard Bryant was stopped at 1:49 of round one.  Bryant was floored with a vicious body shot  and unable to catch his breath after returning to his feet.

TR

 

 

 

Danny McDermott to Face Osnel Charles in "Brick City Brawl" Co-Feature
Jersey City, NJ (February 10, 2011) - Lightweight prospect Danny "Little Mac" McDermott (8-2, 3 KO) of Jersey City, NJ will make his first ring appearance in almost a year when he faces Osnel Charles (6-2) of Atlantic City, NJ at Essex County College in Newark, NJ on February 19.

The six-round bout will be the main supporting fight to "Brick City Brawl", which is headlined by Polish heavyweight Mariusz Wach (23-0, 11 KO) facing Jonathan Haggler (23-3, 18 KO) for the vacant WBC Baltic heavyweight championship. McDermott-Charles and Wach-Haggler will both be televised by FoxSports and Comcast affiliates throughout the country.

The show will be promoted by Prize Fight and Global Boxing Promotions.

McDermott, 31, hasn't fought since his thrilling war with Brian Miller last year, which was named the "Garden State Fight of the Year" by Boxrec. Now training with former middleweight Dominick Scibetta in North Bergen's Global Boxing Gym, McDermott is back in the groove.

"This is the opportunity I've waited for my whole life," says McDermott, an alumni of Paramus Catholic High School. "I'm excited and hope to give the fans the best fight possible. I'm focused on one thing, which is being the best fighter I possibly can be."

Besides being a fighter, McDermott is also a father of two and a graduate of the New York Film Academy.

Charles, 26, was born in Haiti but raised in West Palm Beach, FL. He is coming off his career best performance, an upset of Philadalphia favorite Victor Vasquez, last month.

Accompanying McDermott to the ring will be Joe Gatti, a former world title contender and brother of McDermott's mentor Arturo "Thunder" Gatti.

Tickets for this championship night of boxing can be purchased by calling 1-866-468-7619; logging onto www.ticketmaster.com or www.ticketweb.com as well as Global Boxing Gym (5601-5711 Tonnelle Ave. North Bergen, NJ, 07047)

Doors open at 7PM, first fight is at 8PM.
 

 

 

 

DOUGHLIN SIGNS TO FIGHT AGAIN

 

To face Carrasquillo February 18

 
Morganville, NJ (February 3, 2011) – Unbeaten junior middleweight Denis “Da Mommas Boy” Douglin will look to take another step in the right direction when he battles cement fisted veteran Doel Carrasquillo Friday, February 18 at the Wicomico Civic Center in Salisbury, MD.
 
Douglin, 12-0 (8 KO’s), is scheduled to fight in an eight rounder for the first time as a professional. The Morganville, NJ native stopped his last five opponents, most recently demolishing 11-2 Matt Berkshire in less than two minutes on December 17.
 
Although his counterpart’s record of 14-17-1 with 12 KO’s doesn’t indicate frequent success, Carrasquillo is a proven spoiler that shattered dreams of notable fighters such as Isam Khalil, Wayland Willingham, Keenan Collins, The Contender’s Aaron Torres and Jorge Melendez. The Lancaster, PA based Puerto Rican is Douglin’s most experienced opponent to date, having also gone toe to toe wit the likes of 2000 Olympic Silver Medalist Ricardo Williams, highly touted Willie Nelson, Steve Chambers, unbeaten contender Mike Jones and Tim Coleman amongst others.
 
“I know he is a very rugged and tough guy, so I am training for a hard eight round fight,” said Douglin, the 2008 National Golden Gloves Middleweight Champion. “My goal is to knock him out, impress the fans and leave it out of the judges’ hands!”
 
The Douglin-Carrasquillo bout is part of the untelevised portion of an ESPN Friday Night Fights card promoted by Prize Fight Boxing in association with Global Boxing Promotions.
 
Fans can reach Denis at twitter.com/damommasboy.

 

 
 
 
 
 
London - Thursday, 20th January  2011
 
Light Middleweight Prospect  Eagle ready to soar . . .
 

Stoke Newington’s exceptional Light Middleweight prospect Erick ‘The Eagle’ Ochieng gets his first outing of the new year on the undercard of the Frank Maloney promoted Commonwealth Super Bantamweight title showdown between Jamie Arthur and Jason Booth at the Brentwood Centre on Saturday 5th February 2011.

Young Erick has proved to be one of the most exciting and talented young fighters to emerge over the past couple of seasons. Currently unbeaten in five outings, two by way of stoppage, Erick has had some exceptional wins, including beating Curtis Valentine in a fight dubbed “Battle of the Unbeaten’, but by far his most impressive performance to date was his total domination of Alex Spitko at the Steve Goodwin promoted ‘It’s Personal’ event back in September.

On September 11th at York Hall in Bethnal Green  ‘The Eagle’ put on a classic display of the art of boxing. Dominating from the very start, Erick was able to pick off the heavier Alex Spitko at will. His movement so sublime that Spitko must have thought his opponent was a phantom as his punches met just fresh air.

In round two Spitko somehow managed to corral Erick on the ropes and let rip with a flurry, all of which missed the ‘Matrix’ like moving 23 year old. In a flash ‘The Eagle’ turned the tables by fluidly spinning around Spitko before letting rip with a hurting salvo of his own. The crowd leapt to their feet as one cheering and clapping this awesome display.

Spitko became a moving punch bag in round three, the showman inside Erick came to the fore as he turned the volume up and danced around the hapless Spitko picking him off at will.

To the sound of “Eagle. Eagle, Eagle’ reverberating around the auditorium round four gets underway. Erick plays with Spitko like a cat with a mouse, giving him little room to maneuver before closing the the escape route with a lightning quick jab. With just thirty seconds to go ‘The Eagle’ suddenly stops playing with his prey and goes in for the kill with a head and body combination that sends Spitko crashing to the canvas. Spitko made the count but the referee had seen enough and stopped the fight with just 19 seconds left on the clock.

Erick has had a period of inactivity since that top class win, his last outing was due to have been on the undercard of Sam Webb’s title defense against Martin Concepcion on the 16th October, but as if there was an epidemic sweeping the country one after another his proposed opponents dropped out. The last actually on the day of the fight.

Following a sparring session with Bradley Skeete, under the ever watchful gaze of his trainer/manager Brian Lawrence, at the Ultrachem TKO Boxing Gym in Canning Town, London, a positively buoyant Erick spoke of his upcoming fight, as well as his title aspirations. “My next fight is going to be February 5th so I’ve been back in training over Christmas. I’ve already been sparring a lot, which is good. I feel good.

I’ve been sparring Bradley (Skeete) who is a lot taller than me. He has a good reach. It’s the type of sparring that will help me as at my weight you can get much taller people. Prince Arron for instance. So this kind of sparring is good and I like sparring lots of different fighters.

Before he hurt his shoulder I was sparring Sam (Webb). Sparring Sam is great, he’s experienced. He’s the British Champion so it is good practice as I’ll be getting the title soon. It’s good sparring, you can’t go wrong with such good sparring.

I’m stepping up to a six rounder. I get my rounds done in the gym. Saying that I don’t see the fight going the six rounds, it’s going to be shorter than that.

I’m in good shape and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Brian Lawrence, who had sat next to his talented charge throughout, grinned and then added,  “We haven’t got an opponent yet. Frank Maloney is just putting the bill together at the moment. All we know is Jason Booth and Jamie Arthur top of the bill now Sam’s out and Erick’s in a six rounder.

The first title we’ll be looking for Erick will be the Southern Area, but first we want him to get him a two six rounders and then we’ll go for the Southern Area title.

We’ve been training over Christmas and the New Year, he’s in good shape. He’s not reached his peak yet but we’ve still got a couple of weeks to go.

He’s sure to give value for money on the 5th, he always does.”

The not to be missed Erick ‘The Eagle’ Ochieng against a yet to be named opponent will be on the undercard of the Commonwealth Super Bantamweight title clash between Jamie Arthur and Jason Booth at the Brentwood Centre on Saturday 5th February 2011.

Also featured on the card will be a six round Super Flyweight contest which pits former British Bantamweight Champion Martin Power against the unbeaten Ashley Sexton.



Commonwealth Gold and Olympic Bronze medalist David Price and exciting Cruiserweight prospect Leon ‘Solid’ Williams are also featured, against yet to be named opposition.

Tickets, priced £30, for Arthur vs Booth Commonwealth title fight are available to buy on-line at www.tkoboxoffice.com or call 07960 850645.