Tag Archives: William Foster III

ST. PATRICK’S DAY CLASH 3: DANNY O’CONNOR VS. STEVE CLAGGETT

                  
WBC Silver International Junior Welterweight Championship

March 17, 2018 * House of Blues * Boston, Massachusetts

LIVE ON PPV & SUPER CHANNEL
10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT
St. Patrick’s Day Clash 3
 
Danny O’Connor vs. Steve Claggett title fight &
No. 1 junior featherweight contender T.J. Doheny
 
Mar. 17 on PPV & Super Channel
LIVE from Boston
 
Plus, special Dropkick Murphys live acoustic set
NEW YORK CITY (March 7, 2018) – “St. Patrick’s Day Clash 3” will air on Pay-Per-View, as well as on Super Channel in Canada,starting at 10 p.m
. ET / 7 p.m. PT, Saturday night, March 17, live from the House of Blues in Boston, featuring a championship match between hometown favorite Danny “Bhoy” O’Connor and Canadian challenger Steve “The Dragon” Claggett. A special Dropkick Murphys acoustic set will be aired live prior to the main event.
“St. Patrick’s Day Clash 3”, presented by Murphys Boxing, will be distributed in the United States by Integrated Sports Media on cable, satellite and digital PPV via iN Demand, Vubiquity, DISH and FITE.TV app and website for a suggested retail price of only $24.95.
Viewers in Canada will be able to see it live on Super Channel which will showcase Calgary’s rising star Steve Claggett to the entire country on Saturday, Mar. 17.
Fans around the world can also order “St. Patrick’s Day Clash 3 via FITE TV live streaming platform (excluding Canada) for $24.95. For details visit www.fite.tv
“We can’t wait for this show,” offered promoter Ken Casey, also the front-man for Dropkick Murphys. “This is going to be our best St. Paddy’s Day show. Danny O’Connor-Steve Claggett is a ShoBox or HBO Boxing After Dark quality fight. Plus, the No. 1 world contender, T.J. Doheny, is fighting a former top contender; undefeated featherweights Irvin Gonzalez and Sula Segawa are 17-0 between them, and William Foster, one of the most talented young fighters in the country, fights a veteran of 44 pro fights who has never been stopped. This is truly a world-class event at the most fun venue in Boston, House of Blues. The Dropkick Murphys will be playing a set before the main event. This is a show you don’t want to miss!”
The 10-round main event between extremely aggressive junior welterweights O’Connor and Claggett figures to be a barn-burner from the opening bell to the end. Neither fighter takes a step backwards, nor do they ever stop firing punches, which makes for an incredibly entertaining, can’t miss showdown.
“I’m going to pick Claggett apart,” the 32-year-old O’Connor predicted. “A lot is at stake and that’s why I pushed for this fight. I could have fought an easier opponent, but I didn’t want to. I’m going to break into the elite level of boxing and this is a step towards that.”
O’Connor (29-3, 11 KOs), fighting out of Framingham, MA, will defend his World Boxing Council (WBC) Silver International junior welterweight title for the first time. The popular boxer was a 2008 U.S. Olympic Team alternate, as well as the 2008 National Golden Gloves and US Future Stars champion as an amateur.
The aggressive Irish-American southpaw has won his last three fights, including a third-round knockout of previously unbeaten Daniel Gonzalez (14-0-1) for the vacant WBC Silver Intercontinental strap last November at Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut.
“I’m happy to be fighting at home in front of my support system,” the affable O’Connor said. I have a great fan-base and it’s motivating to know I will again have the chance to showcase my talent in front of them. I’m grateful for the continued support along my boxing journey.”
The 28-year-old Claggett (26-4-1, 17 KOs) has resurrected his career since he decided to drop back down to super lightweight three fights ago, all victories,including a pair of title-winning 10-round decisions over previously unbeaten opponents, Yves Ulysse, Jr. (14-0) for the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) North American super lightweight title, as well as Emmanuel Robles (15-0-1) for the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) NABA USA super lightweight crown. Neither of Claggett’s titles will be at stake versus O’Connor.
“Many people are under the impression that I’ve been brought in as a B-side opponent for this match up, but that couldn’t be further from the truth,” the non-stop Claggett explained. “We selected Danny O’Connor shortly after my last fight in October and have worked tirelessly to make it happen. I’m looking forward to facing someone who fights moving forwards. Nobody is going to try and tap dance on St. Patrick’s Day.”
Much like his last fight this past October, in which he traveled to Montreal and Ulysse, Jr. in his backyard, Montreal, Claggett is fighting in his opponent’s backyard again, only this time against a popular Irish-American in Boston on St. Patrick’s Day.
“No problem,” Claggett commented, “bring it on. I have no fear of any man! My team will sit down with my promoter, KO Night Boxing, after this fight to look at the next move. I expect that I’ll be positioned to fight for a world junior welterweight title soon enough.
“I’m very excited for this opportunity to showcase my talents, live on Super Channel, for my large, supportive fanbase in Canada. I appreciate Super Channel stepping up to allow its viewers and my fans to join us on this big night. Subscribe to Super Channel for your front row seats on St. Patrick’s Day.”
In the eight-round co-feature event, Irish junior featherweight T.J. “Power” Doheny (18-0, 13 KOs), fighting out of Australia, puts his undefeated record and status at risk as the mandatory No. 1 contender in the International Boxing Federation (IBF), against former International Boxing Organization (IBO World champion “Machine-Gun” Mike Oliver (26-7-1, 8 KOs, of Hartford.
Two of New England’s most promising, undefeated prospects, “The Silent Assassin” William Foster III (6-0, 6-0 (5 KOs) and Irvin Gonzalez, will be showcased in a pair of six-round matches.
A gifted junior lightweight fighting out of New Haven, CT, Foster takes on former WBC International bantamweight champion Nick “Kanyankole” Otieno (31-13, 13 KOs), while UBF All-American super featherweight champion Gonzalez, of Worcester, MA, meets fellow unbeaten featherweight prospect, Ugandan Sulaiman Segawa (9-0, 3 KOs), who now lives and trains in Silver Springs, Maryland.
All fights and fighters are subject to change.
INFORMATION:
Twitter: @IntegratedPPV, @SCSportsTV, @FiteTV, @konightboxing, @DropKickMurphys, @StarBoxing, @MurphysBoxing
Follow these fighters on Twitter: @Doc_Boxing, @SDragonC

ATLANTIC CITY BOARDWALK BOXING FEATURING LAMANNA VS. BRACERO WRAPS UP FACEBOOK FIGHTNIGHT LIVE WEEKEND TRIPLEHEADER ON SATURDAY

Ray Flores and Paulie Malignaggi call the action live from the boardwalk; Ten month-old fan-friendly fight series averages 88,952 views per show and recently eclipsed 1,000,000-view milestone
NEW YORK (Feb. 21, 2018) – Recently reaching 1,000,000 views for the series, Facebook FIGHTNIGHT LIVE looks to establish another benchmark this FridaySaturday, Feb. 23-24, with back-to-back-to-back shows spanning from the casinos of New England to the Boardwalk of Atlantic City. A red-hot card from the Jersey Shore caps the epic weekend, as the fan-friendly streaming service partners with Rising Star Promotions on Saturday night, Feb. 24. Fans from across the globe can catch seven bouts beginning at 7 p.m. wherever Facebook is available, including a crossroads main event battle featuring Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna (25-2, 9 KOs) and Gabriel “Tito” Bracero (24-3, 5 KOs).
“We’re excited to be taking this next step for the series, and to be capping the weekend with an outstanding card that will delight fight fans, called by Ray Flores and Paulie Malignaggi,” said Mark Fratto, Principal of Linacre Media. “Boardwalk Boxing at The Showboat will be back in a big way on Saturday night with names like LaManna, Bracero, Rainone, Julan, Varmall and hot prospects and local favorites all displaying their talents and passion on Facebook. As a bonus, we’re proud to produce the PPV and pro debut of Mike Rashid, who has conquered the worlds of fitness and digital media and is looking to do big things in the fight game.”
In the main event on Saturday night, New Jersey’s LaManna fights for the 19th time in the shore town, as he takes on the battle tested, Brooklyn-based Bracero. The card will feature some of the best prospects in the region that includes Jahmal Dyer of Baltimore, Md. (4-0, 2 KOs), Donald “No Love” Smith (5-0, 3 KOs) of Philadelphia, Frederick Julan (8-0, 6 KOs) of Brooklyn and Alvin Varmall, Jr. (14-0, 12 KOs) of Catskill, N.Y.
“We are excited to be bringing this great event and our first Boardwalk Boxing card from The Showboat to the fans all over the world on FIGHTNIGHT Live.  We have a main event that everyone is talking about, and we are featuring some terrific prospects on an outstanding undercard,” said Debbie LaManna, President of Rising Star Promotions.
Over the first nine-plus months of programming, the numbers on the 12-show FIGHTNIGHT LIVE series have showed promise and potential for the new platform with an average of close to 90,000 fight fans tuning in per event and more than one-million fans served.
The Sept. 9 “Real Deal Promotions: Empire State” from Resorts World Casino (225,000), the August CES “Super Saturday” from Foxwoods (203,000), the Sept. CES “Twin River Twinbill” from Lincoln, R.I. (157,000) all topped 150,000 views, and collectively the 12-show series saw a total of more than 21,000 total hours of Facebook video consumed by 1,067,435-plus users across all devices.
In addition to the raw viewership numbers, the fully-interactive, fan-friendly productions have seen more than 142,000 collective live post engagements (nearly 12,000 per show), including almost 97,000 “likes” or “loves,” more than 22,000 comments and almost 6,000 shares.
FIGHTNIGHT LIVE broadcasts are viewed by 76 percent men, 24 percent women. The top demographic is comprised of males ages 25-34, which encompasses approximately 30.0 percent of the audience, on average.
The Sept. 9 “Real Deal Promotions: Empire State” set a new bar with 224,658 views and the Sept. 15-16 DiBella-CES doubleheader carried the series to three-quarters-of-a-million views in just over four months. The Feb. 10 Hard-Hitting Promotions “Philly Fight Night” show stands out individually with 3,421 live hours of content viewed, while the Sept. 15 DiBella card saw more than 40,000 viewer interactions including almost 39,000 “likes” or “loves.”
The FIGHTNIGHT LIVE page on Facebook has more than 80,000 fans and more than 82,000 followers. And Facebook itself has taken notice – the world’s No. 1 social network recently profiled FIGHTNIGHT LIVE on its “Success Stories” media blog, noting the series’ use of industry best practices for production and interactivity:
            Facebook FIGHTNIGHT LIVE has been delivered to fans absolutely free since its May 2017 launch courtesy of series corporate partners like Elite Heat WaterMontauk Iced Tea (montaukbev.com), Mr. Custom Made(mrcustommade.com) and BallWash (ballwash.com).
On Saturday night, Feb. 24, live from live from The Showboat in Atlantic City, N.J., fans can expect a high-impact, multi-camera streaming experience complete with graphics, animations, replays, interviews and an announce team anchored by blow-by-blow announcer Ray Flores of Premier Boxing Champions, Showtime Boxing, HBO Boxing and CBS Sports Network and former IBF and WBA World Champion Paulie Malignaggi, now of Showtime, Sky Sports and CBS Sports Network. To provide spectators with a fully-interactive ringside experience, commentators will ask and respond to questions from the Facebook audience throughout the broadcast.
Created and produced by Linacre Media out of New York City, the FIGHTNIGHT LIVE series features professional announcers, multiple camera angles, television graphics, replays and behind-the-scenes access and interviews. The streamed shows are available globally wherever Facebook is available. The initiative not only enables fans from around the world to tune in, but also gives up-and-coming fighters a global platform to showcase their abilities, gives promoters an accessible “broadcast” solution and gives sponsors the ability to reach a mass audience via branded content.
More FIGHTNIGHT LIVE Winter/Spring 2018 dates will be officially announced in the coming weeks.
FIGHTNIGHT LIVE is available online at: https://www.facebook.com/FaceFIGHTNIGHTLIVE/
Follow all the action via social media at FaceFIGHTNIGHTLIVE on
Facebook, @FaceFIGHTNIGHTLIVE on Instagram and @FIGHTNIGHTLIVE_ on Twitter, or by using the hashtag #FIGHTNIGHTLIVE. For the latest Linacre Media events and broadcast schedule, follow @LinacreMedia across all social platforms or use the tags #LinacreMediaEvents or #LinacreMediaOnTV.

FIGHTNIGHT LIVE ROCKS ON SATURDAY, FEB. 24 WITH MURPHY’S BOXING MATINEE AS WEEKEND TRIPLEHEADER CONTINUES

Dropkick Murphy’s Boxing Card runs from 3-7 p.m. on Saturday as part of a big weekend of free boxing on Facebook.
NEW YORK (Feb. 20, 2018) – Facebook FIGHTNIGHT LIVE continues its tripleheader weekend with a Murphys Boxing matinee on Saturday, live from the Mohegan Sun Ballroom in Connecticut. Fight fans from across the nation and around the globe can catch an outstanding card with international appeal on any device wherever Facebook is available from 3-7 p.m., brought to fans by the promotion born out of the Dropkick Murphys popular Celtic punk band.
“Times are changing for boxing just like streaming changed music. With the built-in audiences we have we are reaching a higher viewership with our streams than many of the televised fight cards are these days. We are proud of the fights we are putting on and the big audiences we are drawing, and it’s great for our fighters to get the exposure,” said Ken Casey, Dropkick Murphys Frontman and President and Founder, Murphys Boxing.
Recently hitting the 1,000,000 views mark, Saturday afternoon’s show continues FIGHTNIGHT LIVE’s historic Feb. 23-24 back-to-back-to-back Friday and Saturday shows spanning from the casinos of New England to the Boardwalk of Atlantic City. The Dropkick Murphys are live in concert at Mohegan Sun Arena for fans onsite after Murphys Boxing, but ringside access on the Facebook FIGHTNIGHT LIVE channel takes viewers to the Jersey Shore after the closing bell in Uncasville, Conn.
“We’re excited about Saturday, and also to begin a two-fight promotion with Murphys Boxing,” said Mark Fratto, Principal of Linacre Media. “The card is filled with undefeated up-and-comers with international appeal, and Facebook is a terrific medium to deliver these great fights and outstanding athletes to a global audience. We’re thrilled that the Murphys are part of the action and can’t wait to hoist a pint with them during our St. Patrick’s Day show in Boston as well.”
Murphys Boxing action at Mohegan Sun on Saturday afternoon features a battle for the WBA-NABA light heavyweight title between undefeated Charles Foster (14-0, 8 KOs) of New Haven, Conn. and Justin Thomas (19-3, 7 KOs) of Baton Rouge, La. A bevy of unbeaten battlers will be featured on a packed undercard that includes heavyweight Niall Kennedy (10-0, 6 KOs), super featherweight William Foster III (4-0, 3 KOs), super middleweight Carlos Gongora (10-0, 8 KOs), super featherweight Abraham Nova (9-0, 8 KOs) and super lightweight Ray Jay Bermudez (2-0, 1 KO).
Over the first nine-plus months of programming, the numbers on the 12-show FIGHTNIGHT LIVE series have showed promise and potential for the new platform with an average of close to 90,000 fight fans tuning in per event and more than one-million fans served.
The Sept. 9 “Real Deal Promotions: Empire State” from Resorts World Casino (225,000), the August CES “Super Saturday” from Foxwoods (203,000), the Sept. CES “Twin River Twinbill” from Lincoln, R.I. (157,000) all topped 150,000 views, and collectively the 12-show series saw a total of more than 21,000 total hours of Facebook video consumed by 1,067,435-plus users across all devices.
In addition to the raw viewership numbers, the fully-interactive, fan-friendly productions have seen more than 142,000 collective live post engagements (nearly 12,000 per show), including almost 97,000 “likes” or “loves,” more than 22,000 comments and almost 6,000 shares.
FIGHTNIGHT LIVE broadcasts are viewed by 76 percent men, 24 percent women. The top demographic is comprised of males ages 25-34, which encompasses approximately 30.0 percent of the audience, on average.
The Sept. 9 “Real Deal Promotions: Empire State” set a new bar with 224,658 views and the Sept. 15-16 DiBella-CES doubleheader carried the series to three-quarters-of-a-million views in just over four months. The Feb. 10 Hard-Hitting Promotions “Philly Fight Night” show stands out individually with 3,421 live hours of content viewed, while the Sept. 15 DiBella card saw more than 40,000 viewer interactions including almost 39,000 “likes” or “loves.”
The FIGHTNIGHT LIVE page on Facebook has more than 80,000 fans and more than 82,000 followers. And Facebook itself has taken notice – the world’s No. 1 social network recently profiled FIGHTNIGHT LIVE on its “Success Stories” media blog, noting the series’ use of industry best practices for production and interactivity:  https://www.facebook.com/facebookmedia/success-stories/fightnight
            Facebook FIGHTNIGHT LIVE has been delivered to fans absolutely free since its May 2017 launch courtesy of series corporate partners like Elite Heat WaterMontauk Iced Tea (montaukbev.com), Mr. Custom Made(mrcustommade.com) and BallWash (ballwash.com).
On Saturday afternoon, Feb. 24, live from live from Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn., fans can expect a high-impact, multi-camera streaming experience complete with graphics, animations, replays, interviews and an announce team anchored by blow-by-blow announcer Vladimir Lik of The RING, Round By Round Boxing and the Russian language newspaper Russkaya Reklama, and analyst Xavier Porter of BrooklynFights.com and Notorious Boxing. To provide spectators with a fully-interactive ringside experience, commentators will ask and respond to questions from the Facebook audience throughout the broadcast.
Created and produced by Linacre Media out of New York City, the FIGHTNIGHT LIVE series features professional announcers, multiple camera angles, television graphics, replays and behind-the-scenes access and interviews. The streamed shows are available globally wherever Facebook is available. The initiative not only enables fans from around the world to tune in, but also gives up-and-coming fighters a global platform to showcase their abilities, gives promoters an accessible “broadcast” solution and gives sponsors the ability to reach a mass audience via branded content.
More FIGHTNIGHT LIVE Winter/Spring 2018 dates will be officially announced in the coming weeks.
FIGHTNIGHT LIVE is available online at: https://www.facebook.com/FaceFIGHTNIGHTLIVE/
Follow all the action via social media at FaceFIGHTNIGHTLIVE on Facebook, @FaceFIGHTNIGHTLIVE on Instagram and @FIGHTNIGHTLIVE_ on Twitter, or by using the hashtag #FIGHTNIGHTLIVE. For the latest Linacre Media events and broadcast schedule, follow @LinacreMedia across all social platforms or use the tags #LinacreMediaEvents or #LinacreMediaOnTV.