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PBC på ESPN & ESPN Deportes Doubleheader
Torsdag, Juli 21
From Foxwoods Resort Casino – 8 p.m. OCH/5 p.m. PT
Mashantucket, CT (Juli 19, 2016) — Connecticut may not have equal status with New York City or Las Vegas in terms of being a fight capital, but the Nutmeg State has produced five Hall-of-Famers with Foxwoods Resort Casino, located in Mashantucket, CT, hosting many of the sport’s greatest fighters and fights over the past two decades.
The tradition continues on Torsdag, Juli 21, as rising middleweight contender Sergiy “The Technician” Derevyanchenko (8-0, 6 Kos) faces former world champion Är “Kung” Soliman (44-13, 18 Kos) i 10-round main event av Premier Boxning Champions på ESPN & ESPN.
Televised täckning börjar på 8 p.m. OCH/5 p.m. PT, and features a 10-round middleweight clash between powerful Ievgen Khytrov (13-0, 11 Kos) and California’s Paul Mendez (19-2-2, 9 Kos).
Connecticut’s all-time greatest boxer is the late Willie “Will ‘o the Wisp” Pep (229-11-1, 65 Kos), who was born in Middletown and lived in Rocky Hill. Pep, who fought professionally between 1940 och 1966, was a two-time world featherweight champion who had an epic rivalry with Sandy Saddler.
Other Hall-of-Famers from Connecticut are world heavyweight champion (1926-28)Gene “The Fighting Marine” Tunney (65-1-1, 48 Kos), of Greenwich, who defeated the legendary Jack Dempsey två gånger; Ukrainian-born world featherweight (1925) titlist Louis “Kid” Kaplan (108-22-12, 72 Kos), from Meriden; world light heavyweight champion (1933) “Slapsie” Maxie Rosenbloom (222-42-31, 2 NC, 19 Kos), of Leonard Bridge; world light heavyweight titleholder (1926-27) Domkraft “Bright Eyes” Delaney (73-11-2, 43 Kos), who was born in Canada but lived in Bridgeport.
Over the year, many other Connecticut fighters have made an impact on the sport including Hartford’s NBA featherweight champion Battling Battalino (57-26-3, 26 Kos), who was the first world champion to lose his title on the scale, Hartford’s two-time world welterweight titlist marlon “Magic Man” Starling (45-6-12, 27 Kos), Norwalk’s WBA junior middleweight champion “Tremendous” Travis Simms (28-1, 21 Kos), New Haven’s three-time world light heavyweight champion “Illa” Chad Dawson (33-4, 18 Kos) and world welterweight contender Gaspar “El Indio” Ortega (131-29-6, 69 Kos), Stamford’s world No. 1-rankad weltervikt Chico Vejar (92-20-4, 43 Kos), and Bloomfield’s 1996 Olympic Team USA captain Lawrence Clay-Bey (21-3-1, 16 Kos).
The No. 1 Foxwoods fight of all-time, held on April 16, 2011, was also promoted by DiBella Entertainment, and was selected as the 2011 Ring Magazine and BWAA Fight of the Year. Defending champion Andre Berto (27-0) och utmanare Victor Ortiz (28-2-2) battled for 12 rundor, each getting dropped twice, with Ortiz winning a hard-fought decision (114-111, 114-112, 115-110) for the WBC welterweight title.
A close second place is the 2003 BWAA Fight of the Year, in which future Hall-of-FamerJames Toney (65-4-2) won a 12-round decision over reigning IBF cruiserweight champion Vassiliy Jirov. The action started days earlier at the pre-fight press conference when a skirmish erupted as tables were overturned and glasses thrown. The animosity continued between the two fighters and their respective camps right up to the final bell. Previously undefeated, Jirov (31-0) started fast but faded, getting decked in the final round.
I 2004, New England favorite Scott “The Sandman” Pemberton, hailing from nearby New Bedford, MA, was involved in a great 12th runda, come-from-behind knockout of always-tough Omar Sheika in a rematch of a previous draw, for a regional super middleweight title.
Two other N.E. fan favorites who fought regularly at Foxwoods were multiple-time world champion Vinny Paz (Pazienza during his boxing career), fighting out of Cranston, RI, and New Bedford’s all-action “Sucra” Ray Oliveira. Paz had a 13-3 record at Foxwoods, highlighted by his 1998 decision over Glenwood Brown and his 50thcareer win in his retirement fight against Tocker Pudwill i 2004. Oliveira was only 6-7-1 fighting at Foxwoods, but he faced nothing but iron and he did defeat a world champion, Vince Phillips, i deras 2000 non-title fight that produced the second-most total punches (2,989) recorded at that time.
Brazilian boxing fans always turned out in force when countryman Acelino “Butt” Freitas fought at Foxwoods, primarily because of the large Brazilian community in Connecticut. Freitas fought there four times, all in lightweight world title fights, besegraZahir Raheem och Artur Grigorian och förlorar till Juan Diaz och Diego Corrales.
Other great fights at Foxwoods include future world middleweight champion Andy Leecoming back from the brink of possibly getting knocked out to stop Craig McEwan i 10th runda av deras 2011 slagsmål, Carl Froch‘s dramatic late surge in 2009 to knock outJermain Taylor (who was well ahead on the scorecards) i 12th round for the WBC super middleweight championship, Pernell Whitaker taking a close decision fromAndrey Pestryaev (115-113, 115-112, och 114-113) i deras 1997 WBA eliminator (later ruled a No Decision due to Whitaker’s failed drug test), och Ike Quarteyovercoming two knockdowns to successfully defend his WBA welterweight title versusJose Luis Lopez i 1997 (Quartey was originally awarded a win by majority decision, but a scoring error was discovered and the fight was ruled a majority draw).
Two of the greatest boxers in modern boxing history, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. och Roy Jones, Jr, both fought at Foxwoods in 1998. I hans 15th pro-kamp, Mayweather registered a third-round technical knockout of Miguel Melo, while Jones successfully defended his WBC/WBA light heavyweight titles with a 10th-runda TKO av Otis Grant. In the Jones-Grant co-feature, IBF lightweight champion Shane Mosley successfully defended his title against Jesse James Leija, who was unable to answer the bell for the 10th runda.
Biljetter för live-event, vilket främjas av DiBella Entertainment, är prissatta på $150, $75 och $45, tillämpliga serviceavgifter och skatter exklusive, och finns det erbjudanden nu. Biljetter finns på www.ticketmaster.com och www.foxwoods.com eller genom att besöka Foxwoods’ Box Office. För att ladda via telefon, call Ticket vid (800) 745-3000. |
