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Full card announced for this Saturday, January 24 at the GPG Event Center in Pennsauken, NJ
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The Incredible Fighting Turks – Ozgul Brothers Return To York Hall On Jan 30th
On Friday 30th January boxing fans in London will once again be making their way to the famous York Hall in Bethnal Green, London for the first pro boxing event in the Capital of the New Year – the Shyam Batra promoted ‘Legends and Prospects’, headlined by the Hillyard-Vosyka for the WBU International Middleweight Championship.
A large majority that will be making their regular pilgrimage to the shrine of the pugilistic arts in the Capital, will be doing so to support two Hackney based, Turkish born youngsters, Siar and Onder Ozgul.
Over the past year or so the brothers have been building quite a reputation for themselves, as two of the most exciting, all action fighters in the Capital, their fan base has been growing at an incredible rate, so much so that as soon as it is announced they will be boxing on an event, their ticket allocation is usually sold out in a matter of days.
So just what makes these two lads so special and such a draw for fight fans you may ask, well for a start the older of the two, Onder, was dubbed ‘Little’ Mike by the Turkish fight fans back in his homeland, as he has is likened, fight style, to a certain ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson.
He was a regular member of the Turkish team that competed on the ‘World Series Of Boxing’ circuit, as well as racked up a numerous national and international accolades as an amateur.
Younger sibling, Siar, who also has a trophy cabinet crammed to the gills with the trophies and medals from his amateur career, is a little more refined in his boxing style, but still as with Onder presents an incredible forceful style of boxing that his opponents find very hard to cope with.
With five top class wins already under his belt, young Siar is the first to be stepping up to six rounders, as his team begin focusing on preparing him for the rigors of Championship boxing in the near future.
Following a normal day at the office, at the recently rebranded Champions TKO Gym in Hackney, Onder, Siar and their well known coach, former Commonwealth Lightweight Champion Mo Hussein, took a little time to talk about their upcoming fights as well as what the future may hold for the young stars.
Onder was the first to speak, “I’m comfortable with my training, I’m feeling really good and I’m determined to give a very good performance.
I don’t know about my opponent, I know he will come to fight and that is good for the fans, I’m ready for him and that’s good for the fans.
I’m ready to move forward, I came to England to fight for titles, I want to fight for titles that’s why I box, in the past things have happened that stopped me progressing but now I’m ready.
I’m not looking to be just an area champion, I want to be British, European and more than anything to be the World Champion.
When I am training that’s in my mind, train like a champion, I have big targets, I will be Champion.
The fans call me ‘Little Mike’ and I will not let them down, just like Mike Tyson I will be the Champion of the World, it doesn’t matter who they put in front of me I will win, boxing is my life.”
The highly affable Siar then spoke, “I have no problems moving up to six rounds, I was ready for six rounds before.
Now the opportunity has come up I’m very comfortable to do six rounds, even when I boxed at Light Middleweight, now I’m Welterweight I’m more ready than ever.
My aims are the same as Onder, I want to be World Champion, I will fight the best I can and earn the right to fight for titles.
God willing I will get the chance to fight for a title this year, English or International, I don’t care I just want to fight for a title as soon as Mo (Hussein) says I’m ready.
I’m ready for whoever they put in front of me to fight, I’m ready, no problem.
I’m happy with everything Mo is doing in training, I’m really, really happy, he’s a top trainer.”
Finally a smiling Mo Hussein spoke briefly about his young charges. “My thoughts on the two boys is I think they are both excellent prospects, I think the sky’s the limit and they are going to go all the way to the top.
They’ve already proved themselves, they train hard, they fight hard and live the life, there’s nothing to stop them.
The transition to the new Champions TKO Gym has been easy for them, it’s a nice gym and it’s local to them, it’s a bit more traveling for me but as long as the fighters are happy, I’m happy.”
Onder Ozgul versus Karel Horejsek and Siar Ozgul versus Vladimir Fecko will feature on the Shyam Batra promoted ‘LEGENDS & PROSPECTS event, headlined by George Hillyard versus Michal Vosyka WBU International Middleweight title clash, that takes place at York Hall in Bethnal Green, London, on Friday, 30th January 2015.
Sanctioning for this event will be provided courtesy of the Malta Boxing Commission (MBC) –www.maltaboxingcommission.com
Tickets, priced £30 (Standard Seated), £40 (Gallery) and £65 (Ringside) – are available direct from Tasif – tel: 07756 311857 – from any of the boxers taking part in the event, on-line at www.tkoboxoffice.com or call the box office on 07960 850645
Raymond Serrano decisions Jerome Rodriguez in Philadelphia
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Charity Boxing Show For Amateurs
Bellator’s British Invasion Has A New King
“King Mo” Lawal vs. Cheick Kongo replaces Bobby Lashley vs. James Thompson and Andre Santos steps in for Douglas Lima to battle Paul Daley at “Bellator: The British Invasion”
Easy Tweet: “
@KingMoFH vs @kongo4real – Feb 27th @MoheganSun #SuperFight #Bella
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (January 21, 2015) – Injury has forced the delay of a heavily anticipated matchup between Bobby Lashley (12-2) and James Thompson (20-14) but Bellator MMA officials have announced a blockbuster fight to replace it in Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (14-4) vs. Cheick Kongo (22-9-2). Also Andre Santos (37-9) has stepped in for the injured welterweight champion Douglas Lima (26-5), and will now face the always-dangerous Paul Daley (35-13).
The new contest is scheduled for the televised portion of “Bellator: British Invasion,” which takes place on Friday, February 27, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The night’s main card airs live on Spike TV, while preliminary bouts stream on Spike.com.
Tickets for “Bellator: British Invasion,” which start at just $25, are already on sale at Ticketmaster.com and Bellator.com. Additional bouts are expected to be announced shortly.
“We’re disappointed we had to delay these fights between Bobby Lashley and James Thompson, and Douglas Lima and Paul Daley, but I have no doubt that these matchups will be fantastic once they eventually come to fruition,” Bellator MMA CEO Scott Coker said. “Fortunately, we’re able to replace the bouts with equally entertaining contests for our fans.”
“King Mo” Lawal fights for the 10th time for Bellator MMA and has established himself as one of the most recognizable superstars in the sport. A standout wrestler who normally competes at light heavyweight, the former NCAA Division I All-American and Pan American gold medalist has earned 11 of his 14 career MMA wins by knockout, including recent striking stoppages of Joe Vedepo and Dustin Jacoby. The former Bellator MMA tournament winner and Strikeforce light heavyweight world champion now moves up to heavyweight for the first time since 2009 to challenge himself against Kongo.
Kongo, a 6-foot-4 Frenchman, is a former professional kickboxer who boasts black belts in both Karate and Kendo. A multiple-time world champion in kickboxing, Kongo now focuses solely on MMA and has built a 4-1 record under the Bellator MMA banner. Training at Wolfslair MMA Academy in London, Kongo most recently flashed his well-rounded game by scoring a first-round submission over fellow striker Lavar Johnson in a September matchup. Kongo’s lone Bellator loss came in a five-round contest for the Bellator MMA Heavyweight World Championship, in which he went five full rounds with Vitaly Minakov but came up short in a decision result.
Paul Daley is a highly feared and respected veteran with dynamite in both fists, which earned him the nickname “Semtex”. The 31-year-old from Nottingham, England has won an impressive 74% of his 35 victories by way of knockout. Having fought for Scott Coker under the Strikeforce banner, rejoining him at Bellator was a no brainer. Daley took to the internet to share his feelings on the injury to Lima, stating: “Nervous, Scared??…..I understand, preparing to fight me…. I would be. It’s ok…. guess you get to have a few more photo shoots with the belt…. My focus has shifted, same date, new opponent…. British Invasion at Bellator 134.”
The new opponent his focus has shifted to is Andre “Chatuba” Santos. A veteran of the sport in his own right, the Rio De Janeiro fighter has two more wins than Daley in four less fights. Santos defeated James Terry at Bellator 129, in what was his first fight on American soil. He now has his sights set on Daley, with hopes to win his seventh straight fight.
About Bellator MMA
Bellator MMA is a leading Mixed Martial Arts organization featuring many of the best fighters in the world. Under the direction of veteran fight promoter Scott Coker, Bellator is available to nearly 500 million homes worldwide in over 140 countries. In the United States, Bellator can be seen on Spike TV, the MMA television leader. Bellator MMA is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations. Bellator is based in Santa Monica, California and owned by entertainment giant Viacom, home to the world’s premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms.
About Spike TV:
Spike TV is available in 98.7 million homes and is a division of Viacom Media Networks. A unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), Viacom Media Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV’s press site at http://www.spike.com/press.
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®: BERMANE STIVERNE vs. DEONTAY WILDER DRAWS RECORD VIEWERSHIP
Main Event Becomes The Highest Rated Bout On Any Premium Network In The Past Year;
The Three-Fight Telecast Draws The Highest Rating on SHOWTIME®In More Than Two Years;
All Three Fights On The Live Telecast Rank In The Top-20 Most Watched Bouts On Record For The Network
NEW YORK (Jan. 21, 2015)—SHOWTIME Sports garnered a record audience for Saturday’s2015 SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING premiere telecast headlined by newly minted WBC Heavyweight World Champion Deontay Wilder in his breakout win over Bermane Stiverne. The main event ranks as the highest-rated fight on any premium network in the past 12 months while the entire three-fight telecast becomes the highest rated on SHOWTIME in more than two years. The Jan. 17 telecast attracted the second largest audience since 2004* behind the Miguel Cotto vs. Austin Trout event from Dec. 2012. (*since Nielsen began to separately measure premium television multiplex channels)
Wilder’s impressive win captured an average audience of 1.24 million viewers, ranked as the fourth highest-rated fight on record for the network, with a peak audience of 1.34 million viewers.
The average individual audiences for each of the three fights on the telecast now rank in the top-20 of the most watched bouts on SHOWTIME since 2009. WBC Super Bantamweight World Champion Leo Santa Cruz’s eighth-round TKO of Jesus Ruiz ranks 12th highest while the telecast opener, super lightweight Amir Imam’s fifth-round TKO of Fidel Maldonado Jr. ranks 20th.
The event was co-promoted by Don King Productions and Golden Boy Promotions and took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
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SHOWTIME releases Stiverne vs. Wilder Round 7 in its entirety! http://s.sho.com/1J52G55
Plus, catch the entire SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast again on SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and on mobile devices via SHOWTIME ANYTIME®
Photo Credit: SHOWTIME/Esther Lin
Suggested Tweet
Entire Rd7 from #StiverneWilder http://s.sho.com/1J52G55; Catch the replay ON DEMAND & SHO ANYTIME. @BStiverne vs @BronzeBomber
# # #
“RETURN TO GLORY”: STIVERNE VS. WILDER, a 12-round fight for Stiverne’s WBC Heavyweight Championship took place Saturday, Jan. 17 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and and sponsored by Corona and Mexico – Live It To Believe It!. In the 12-round co-feature, unbeaten WBC Super Bantamweight World Champion Leo Santa Cruzdefended against Jesus Ruiz and undefeated Amir Imam faced Fidel Maldonado Jr. in a 10-round super lightweight bout for the WBC Continental Americas Super Lightweight Title. The event took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., and will aired live on SHOWTIME (10:00 p.m. ET/ 7:00 p.m. PT). The telecast was also available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP). Preliminary bouts were televised live onSHOWTIME EXTREME® (8:00 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).
For more information visit www.donking.com, www.goldenboypromotions.com andwww.sports.sho.com, follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing, @BStiverne, @BronzeBomber, @SHOSports and @MGMGrand and become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing, or visit SHOWTIME Boxing Blog athttp://theboxingblog.sho.com/.
M-1 Challenge 55 card getting stacked; Fioravanti vs. Kudukhashvili & Vitruk vs. Coga added
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Guram Gugenishvili Memorial Show, Feb. 21 in Tbilisi, Georgia |
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ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (Jan. 21, 2015) – M-1 Global’s 2015 season-opening event, M-1 Challenge 55: Guram Gugenishvili Memorial Show, is gradually developing into an exciting, stacked event on February 21 in Tbilisi, Georgia.
The latest fights to be added to M-1 Challenge 55, dedicated to the memory of the first M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion, Guran Gugenishvili, is an intriguing middleweight clash between American invader Luigi “The Italian Tank” Fioravanti and Georgian favorite Nodar Kudukhashvili, along with undefeated featherweight prospect Pavel Vitruk taking on upset-minded Max Coga.
Last week, M-1 Global announced two heavyweight fights for M-1 Challenge 55: past M-1 Challenge title challenger Denis Smoldarev (9-1-0, 3 KO/TKO, 4 SUB), of Estonia, vs. Croatian challenger Maro Perak (23-4-1, 12 KO/TKO, 7 SUB), as well as former M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion Kenny “Deuce” Garner (14-8-0, 7 KO/TKO, 3 SUB), of America, vs. Chechen prospect Aslambek “Titan” Musaev (5-1-0, 1 KO/TKO, 2 SUB).
M-1 Challenge 55 will be streamed live in high definition on www.M1Global.TV. Viewers will be able to watch the preliminary fights and main card by logging on to register at www.M1Global.TV. Fans may watch all of the action on their computers, as well as on Andriod and Apple smart phones and tablets.
Fioravanti (25-12-0, 10 KO/TKO, 6 SUB), fighting out of Florida, is coming off of an impressive first-round stoppage (punches) of
Ruslan Khaskhanov this past December at
M-1 Challenge 54 & ACB 12. He recently signed a new promotional contract with M-1 Global.
The 33-year-old Italian-American joined the U.S. Marines after graduating from high school. He started training in kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in California and Iraq while active in the military. Fioravanti, who holds a second-degree black belt in Pancrase Pankration, has won three of his last four fights
Kudukhashvili (7-1-0, 2 KO/TKO, 3 SUB) is considered one of the strongest of a new generation of Georgian MMA fighters. In 2013, he won the WMMAA championships, defeating Russian champion Shamil Abdulaev in the final competition.
In eight professional MMA fights to date, Kudukhashvili has lost only once, by third-round decision to Jamaican-born Uriah “Prime Time” Hall, winner of the The Ultimate Fighter 17. Kudukhashvili will be making his M-1 Global debut against Fioravanti.
The 24-year-old Vitruk (12-0-0, 3 KO/TKO, 2 SUB) , fighting out of Ukraine, is a rising M-1 Challenge star with a perfect 5-0 record in M-1 Challenge competition dating back to 2013 at M-1 Challenge: Fedor vs. Rizzo. Considered one of the best featherweight prospects in the MMA world today, Vitruk was 2-0 last year, defeating a pair of Brazilians challengers, Rafael Miranda (KO/TKO1 – punches) at M-1 Challenge 53 and Clayton Santos (SUB1 – punches) at M-1 Challenge 46.
Training out of the famed Alexander Nevsky Club in St. Petersburg, Russia, Vitruk has his sights firmly set on M-1 Challenge featherweight champion Ivan Buchinger, who is a Team MMA Spirit stablemate of Coga.
A lightweight champion at home in Germany, Coga will be in fighting in his second M-1 Challenge event having lost last May by first-round knockout (kick) to lightweight contenderMax Divnich at M-1 Challenge 47.
The loss to Divnich resulted in a Team Coga decision for him to drop down one weight division to featherweight. In his last action, Coga bounced back strong with an impressive victory in his featherweight debut this past November at Fair FC 2, stopping previously undefeated (5-0-0 pro, 4-0-0 amateur records) Gabriel Sobo in the third round.
All fights and fighters are subject to change.
Fight Network will air M-1 Challenge 55 live on Cablevision’s Optimum TV, Grande Communications, Shentel Cable and Armstrong Cable in the U.S., as well as nationwide in Canada, Roku devices across North America, and globally in more than 30 countries throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
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BOXING LEGEND OSCAR DE LA HOYA ANNOUNCES NEW COMBAT SPORTS, TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE NETWORK
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Shyam Batra Presents LEGENDS & PROSPECTS
30th January 2015 @ York Hall, London
London – Wednesday, 21st January 2015
Khan Returns To The Fray On Jan 30th – Faces Voros at York Hall In London
On Friday 30th January 2015, Bradford’s Tasif Khan makes his most welcome return to the fray, following a two year sabbatical from the sport, when he faces Hungarian Richard Voros on the Shyam Batra promoted Legends & Prospects event at York Hall in London.
First time around Tasif, who turned professional in 2005, proved not only to be an exciting prospect but also highly popular with the fans, so much so that after just his sixth fight young Khan became a regular on events, at the Reebok Stadium in Bradford and at the M. E.N. Arena in Manchester, promoted by Ricky Hatton, including the Amir Khan versus Paul McCloskey WBA World Championship bout in April 2011.
For his return bout Tasif is set to face the Hungarian #4 ranked Richard Voros, a tough globe trotting fighter, who is more than comfortable competing in his opponents own backyards, including those in the UK, such as current IBF Inter-Continental Super Flyweight Champion Khalid Yafai, who he fought back in 2012.
Speaking from his Bradford home Tasif spoke briefly about his impending return to the ring on the 30th January.
“I’m really looking forward to the fight, I’ve been itching to be back in, it’s been way too long I’ve been out of the ring.
Mentally I feel good, physically I feel good and I’m more motivated and more hungry than ever.
I don’t know too much about Richard Voros, other than he’s an experienced fighter, I know he’s had quite a few fights and has fought all over in a number of countries.
I don’t doubt he’s going to bring his A-Game, so am I and I’m hoping to put on a really good display for my comeback fight.
This fight means so much to me, almost as much as when I fought at the M.E.N. on the undercard of Amir Khan-Paul McCloskey.
That was a great experience, I’ll never forget that night as long as I live, it was a great experience and great people.
I get on really well with Amir Khan and his family, they are great people, they really made it a great experience for me, all of it even during the build up to the fight.
I put in a really good performance on the night, it went really well and was a great experience and puts me in a good position for fights in the future, hopefully get to fight on more big events like that in the future.
At the time I didn’t really take it all in because of the moment of the fight and everything like that.
This should be a really good night and will be the first time I have fought at York Hall, really looking forward to that, as well as watching George Hillyard when he fights for the WBU International title.
I would like to say thank you to all my fans for traveling down to London, I know it’s a fair trek so really appreciate everyone for their support, whether they make it or not.
My family and friends have been great, by my side from day one, even with the absence I’ve had I’ve still had great support from everyone and want to say that I am dedicating this fight to my fans because they have been great and stood by me.
Also a big thank you to my sponsors Kingsland Business Recovery and Vyomax Nutrition, they have been great from day one, even through my absence and the injuries that have kept me out of the ring.
Finally I’d like to say thank you to Rio (Malta Boxing Commission VP Gianluca Di Caro) and Johnny (Champions TKO head honcho Johnny Eames) for their support and the work they have been putting in behind the scenes, it’s much appreciated, cheers.”
Tasif Khan versus Richard Voros will feature on the Shyam Batra promoted ‘LEGENDS & PROSPECTS event, headlined by George Hillyard versus Michal Vosyka WBU International Middleweight title clash, that takes place at York Hall in Bethnal Green, London, on Friday, 30th January 2015.
Sanctioning for this event will be provided courtesy of the Malta Boxing Commission (MBC) –www.maltaboxingcommission.com
Tickets, priced £30 (Standard Seated), £40 (Gallery) and £65 (Ringside) – are available direct from Tasif – tel: 07756 311857 – from any of the boxers taking part in the event, on-line at www.tkoboxoffice.com or call the box office on 07960 850645