Boxing Sensation Thomas Wu Turns Pro; Signs with Tim VanNewhouse

August 6, 2021 FNU47 Leave a comment

Cleveland, OH (July 28, 2021)–Tim VanNewhouse has announced the signing of highly touted 21-year old Thomas Wu to a managerial contract.

Wu, who resides in Arcadia, CA, is of Chinese and Vietnamese heritage. He is a four-time amateur national champion, and had an overall amateur mark of 85-11.

“Aside from his incredible talent, he brings an outside ring presence that
most fighters are striving for,” said VanNewhouse, who believes that Wu has all the intangibles to be a star along with the requisite talent to succeed in the pro ranks.

In 2018 Thomas Wu created the floating ball challenge on social media that garnered over 100 million combined impressions on ESPN and Sportscenter, Barstool Sports and Ridiculousness.

VanNewhouse stated, “In the fight game we tend to get excited about the
next big prospect and most of the time it’s too early to tell how far
someone will go. However, I can’t help but to be enthusiastic about this
kid. He has star-power looks, is charismatic and has all the ability I look
for in a young aspiring champion. I’m thrilled to be working with his team.”

Wu, who graduated from Temple City High says, “I’m excited to be working with Tim and the team he is building for me to take the next step in my career. This is a thrilling new journey for my father and I to be on. We worked hard to get to these next steps”.

To help get prepped for the pro-ranks Wu competed in his first pro-style
exhibition where he fought against MTK Globals Australian pro boxer Michael Pengue.

Official Infamous Wu vs Micheal Pengue Victory 8 Boxing “Legends of Hoan Kiem” <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9uuOjRmGQA>

2-2-2

“The past several years we have had many offers to turn professional from guys like PBC, Cameron Dunkin and Top Rank, ” said his father, Tommy, who trains him. “But it’s still been a challenge for us to find the right person to take my son into the pros. Tim is someone I have followed and known for years and he’s that guy for us. We trust in him and going forward he will guide us into making the best business decisions for us in boxing.”

An announcement will be forthcoming on Wu’s professional debut, and who will be promoting him.

Wu is the second signing by VanNewhouse since his resignation from Split-T Management this past spring.

His first signing was two-time U.S. amateur champion Najee Lopez. VanNewhouse is regarded as one of the sport’s rising managers and among the best talent scouts in America.

# # #

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https://www.instagram.com/timvannewhouse/

Bellator, mixed martial arts, MMA, Showtime

BELLATOR ANNOUNCES BLOCKBUSTER EVENT FOR THEIR RETURN TO LONDON FRIDAY, OCT. 1

August 6, 2021 FNU47 Leave a comment

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Description automatically generated with medium confidence — THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED REMATCH BETWEEN DOUGLAS ‘THE PHENOM’ LIMA AND MICHAEL “VENOM” PAGE TO HEADLINE *BELLATOR LONDON: LIMA VS. MVP 2*

TICKETS ON SALE THIS FRIDAY

LONDON, UK – Today, BELLATOR MMA announced it will be returning to The SSE Arena, Wembley in London on Friday, October 1, with BELLATOR London, a card headlined by a must-see rematch between No. 1 ranked Douglas “The Phenom” Lima (32-9) and No. 2 ranked Michael “Venom” Page (19-1).

Fans in attendance at The SSE Arena, Wembley and those tuning in from around the world can expect an explosive night of elite MMA action in the capital, with two of the world’s best welterweights going toe-to-toe in a high-stakes match-up. Lima and Page will be putting everything on the line in pursuit of a win, with the fighter who emerges victorious booking themselves a fast-track ticket to a title shot against newly crowned welterweight champion, Yaroslav Amosov.

For the first time since February 2020, BELLATOR MMA fans in Europe will be able to fill the arena for the event that features a showcase of top international and homegrown athletes.

Tickets for BELLATOR London: Lima vs. MVP 2 go on sale on Friday, July 30, with a special pre-sale Thursday, July 29 and can be purchased online from axs.com/uk and BELLATOR.com.

The BELLATOR London main card action will kick off at 9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET, while the preliminary card begins at 5:30 p.m. BST/12:30 p.m. ET. BELLATOR fans can watch the event live on SHOWTIME (US), BBC iPlayer (UK), as well as both Virgin Media Two and Virgin Media Sport (Ireland).

Lima and Page first met inside the BELLATOR Cage in May 2019 at BELLATOR 221 in the semifinals of BELLATOR’s Welterweight World Grand Prix. After an even first round, Lima sent Page to the canvas with a sweeping leg kick, which he then followed up with a spectacular punch and ground and pound strikes to finish the fight.

Lima will be looking to cause an upset for the hometown faithful and stop Page for a second time, denying the Londoner his chance for gold, and earning himself an immediate shot at recapturing the welterweight title which he lost to Yaroslav Amosov via unanimous decision in June of this year.

“MVP has put together an impressive string of wins together, but when he gets back in the cage with me, the end result is going to be the same as the first time,” said Lima. “Right now, I’m on a mission to put the BELLATOR belt back around my waist. Anyone standing in my way will be dismantled.”

Widely regarded as the poster boy of MMA in the UK, Londoner Michael “Venom” Page, or ‘MVP’ as he is known to his fans, will step into the BELLATOR cage fresh off the back of his spectacular first round TKO victory over Derek “The Barbaric” Anderson this past May. Currently riding a five-fight win streak full of highlight real knockouts, the only defeat on Page’s MMA record to date came at the hands of Lima, a loss that he is hungry to avenge.

“The comeback is always bigger than the setback. It was always gonna happen, it’s written in the stars,” said Page. “The one and only MVP is back, and I will have my redemption in front of my hometown the only way I know how – in venomous style.”

The current fight card is available below with additional bouts to be announced in the coming weeks.

BELLATOR London: Lima vs. MVP 2 MainCard:

SHOWTIME (US) / BBC iPlayer (UK) / Virgin Media Two & Virgin Media Sport (IRELAND)

Friday, October 1 – 9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT

Welterweight Main Event: #1-Douglas Lima (32-9) vs. #2-Michael Page (19-1)

Featherweight Bout: Robert Whiteford (16-4))vs. Andrew Fisher (18-8-1

Lightweight Bout: Yves Landu (16-8) vs. Tim Wilde (13-4)

Light Heavyweight Bout: Luke Trainer (4-0) vs. Yannick Bahati (9-5)

Preliminary Card:

BELLATOR MMA YouTube channel | SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel | Pluto TV (US)

BBC iPlayer (UK) | Virgin Media Two & Virgin Media Sport (IRELAND)

5:30 p.m. BST/12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 a.m. PT

Welterweight Bout: Lewis Long (18-6) vs. Uros Jurisic (11-1)

Lightweight Bout: Kane Mousah (13-3) vs. Davy Gallon (18-7-2)

Flyweight Bout: Lucie Bertaud (3-2) vs. Elina Kallionidou (7-4)

Lightweight Bout: Charlie Leary (17-11-1) vs. Gavin Hughes (10-2)

Featherweight Bout: Fabacary Diatta (7-0)vs. Nathan Rose (7-3)

Bantamweight Bout: Khurshed Kakhorov (7-0) vs. Mike Ekundayo (8-1)

*Card subject to change

Please visit Bellator.com for additional information.

****

boxing

The Comeback of Heavyweight Contender JD Chapman Continues

July 27, 2021 FNU47 Leave a comment

July 28, 2021, Fort Smith, Arkansas—American Heavyweight Contender JD “The Natural” Chapman (30-0, 26 KO’s) continues his surprise comeback on July 31, 2021 when he takes on veteran gatekeeper Terrell Jamal Woods (24-49-9) at home, in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Woods recently had a draw with Russian heavyweight contender Alexander Ustinov (36-4) and is renown for testing top fighters, having taken to the distance former world champion Dominick Quinn, and top prospects such as Michael Hunter (21-1) any Nicholas Musterek (9-0).

JD “The Natural” Chapman (30-0), returned to Boxing on June 5, 2021, after a thirteen year layoff. At the time of his retirement, Chapman was ranked by just about every rating organizing and was considered one of America’s best chance at reclaiming the Heavyweight title. With his return, Chapman immediately became one of the most talked about heavyweight contenders.

Asked whether it is not too soon to fight such a dangerous opponent as Terrell Jamal Woods so early in his comeback, Chapman said with his usual humility, “Jamal Woods is tough and will be a good test for me as I’m rusty and nowhere close to where I used to be. However, if I can’t go through guys like Jamal, I might as well hang up my gloves and retire for good this time.”

Says his promoter Edward Mendy, “JD Chapman is the ‘Next Great American Hope.’ No offense to Deontay Wilder and Andy Ruiz, but no American heavyweight today has a better shot at the world title than Chapman Period. JD has the size, the power, the skills and the experience to take on any of the top five heavyweights today. I’m so pleased with his progress, I would gladly to put him up against any other top ten heavyweight today. But first, he has to pass the Wood test.”

Chapman’s next fight, July 31, 2021 fight Terrell Jamal Woods, will take place at the River Valley Combat Academy in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

**About JD Chapman**
Born John David Chapman in March of 1983, JD Chapman did not fight as an amateur. Instead, he started fighting in Toughman Contest competitions before he turned pro in 2002. Chapman chose the name “The Natural” as he hails from Arkansas, “The Natural State”.

After fighting mostly guys with losing records his first fourteen fights, JD Chapman stepped it up and never fought another opponent with a losing record. In the process he has accumulated 30 wins with 26 of the wins by way of knockout (knockout ratio greater than 90%). Also, Chapman has beaten several known contenders and gatekeepers. His most notable opponents were Chicago-based Edward Gutierrez who was 15-0-1 coming into the bout, New York veteran John Carlo who then possessed a 14-1 record, and fellow undefeated Mid-West prospect Matt Hicks then 7-0.

Chapman further captured several regional heavyweight titles including the IBF Southern Regional title, the North American Boxing Council title, the WBC Latino title and the Arkansas State title. Just when it seemed that Chapman was at the cusp of stardom, he hung it all up and rode into the sunset.

At the time of his retirement in 2008, Chapman was considered a major heavyweight contender and was the darling of the boxing press. He received tremendous coverage and exposure in the boxing press and was featured repeatedly on television. More importantly, Chapman was rated Top Ten by every major sanctioning body except the WBC, which gave him a World Rating of 14.

He is being trained by former MMA Champion Brian Foster. Chapman’s return is being guided by Edward Mendy of Lion Heart Boxing Productions.

boxing

Split-T Management signs Heavyweight Devon Young

July 27, 2021 FNU47 Leave a comment

NEW YORK (July 26, 2021) – Split-T Management has signed heavyweight Devon Young to a managerial contract.

The 22 year-old Young is from Aiken, South Carolina, and compiled an impressive 42-12 mark as an amateur.

“I think this is great. Dave McWater is one of the top managers in boxing, This will put me in a great position to get to my dreams, and that is to become world champion,” said Young. “Split-T has many talented fighters, and I am grateful to join them. I expect to make my pro debut on September 4th in Columbia, South Carolina. I am a boxer-puncher that is more aggressive and I like to come forward. I am very athletic, I can’t wait to show the world my talents”

As an amateur fighter, Young made it to the 2020 Olympic Trials, and was a Western qualifier champion in 2017 & 2018, and the 2015 Youth Open Champion. He also was a 2014 Junior Olympic champion.

Young has the distinction as being the last fighter to defeated current United States Olympic Super Heavyweight Richard Torrez

Young’s athletic prowess extends beyond the ring as he was a star football player on both sides of the ball who earned a scholarship to Georgia Military College as a Running Back and Defensive End.

Devon is trained by his uncle Terry Cade, who himself was a former professional boxer.

boxing

Nahir Albright and Mark Dawson Win Main Events During Back-to-Back Shows on RDR Promotions Crossroads weekend

July 27, 2021 FNU47 Leave a comment

PHILADELPHIA (JULY 26, 2021)-This past weekend, RDR Promotions staged two incredible night’s of boxing that featured fighters from all over the world.

Both events, which originated from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia were streamed live to a worldwide audience on www.bxngtv.com.
The weekend, dubbed “Crossroads” saw two spectacular main events that saw Nahir Albright win the NABA Lightweight title with an eight-round lightweight title over Jeremy Hill on Friday. In Saturday’s main event, Mark Dawson Jr. won a eight-round unanimous over tough Ivan Pandzic in a battle of undefeated welterweights.

FRIDAY NIGHT’S RESULTS

Nahir Albright scored the biggest win of his career as he pounded out an eight-round unanimous decision over Jeremy Hill to capture the NABA Lightweight Title at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.

There were some close rounds with each guy pressing the action at different points of the fight. Albright seemed to get the better of the action as they headed down the stretch. The final rounds saw Albright take control and clearly get the better of the action and he came home with the victory by scores of 79-73 twice and 78-74.

Albright, 133.6 lbs of Sicklerville, NJ is 13-1. Hill, 135.2 lbs of New Orleans, LA is 15-2.

Muhsin Cason demolished Tristan James by scoring a third-round stoppage of their four-round cruiserweight fight.

Cason landed a left hook that put James down hard on the canvas and the bout was stopped.

Cason, 197.3 lbs of Las Vegas is now 8-0 with five knockouts. James, 194 lbs of Des Moines, IA is 4-4-2.

Julian Smith scored an explosive first round stoppage of Derrick Whitley Jr in a scheduled welterweight.

Smith landed a booming overhand right that sent Whitley down for the count at 2:58.

Smith, 144.8 lbs of Country Club Hills, IL is 5-0 with four knockouts. Whitley, 147.6 lbs of Springfield, MA is 6-2-1.

Ryan Schwartzberg scored an upset as he stopped previously undefeated Ryan Umberger in the 2nd round of their four-round junior middleweight clash.

Schwartzberg caught Umberger with a big left hook that hurt Umberger. Schwartzberg continued to batter Umberger, but Umberger caught Schwartzberg with several hard shots of his own.

Umberger was still wobbly from the first barrage and got caught with several hard shots on the ropes and the bout was stopped at 1:41.
Schwartzberg, 156.3 lbs of Dania, FL is 1-1-1 with one knockout. Umberger, 155.3 lbs of Bensalem, PA is 4-1.

Du-Shane Crooks won a six-round majority decision over Bernard Thomas in a super middleweight bout.

Crooks, 167.7 lbs of May Pen, JAM won by scores of 60-54, 59-55 and 57-57 and is now 16-2. Thomas, 168.8 lbs of Kansas City, MO is 6-11.

Steve Galeano remained undefeated with a six-round unanimous decision over Marquis Hawthorne in a junior welterweight bout.
Galeano, 143.1 lbs of Bronx, NY won by scores of 60-54 twice and 59-55 and is now 8-0. Hawthorne, 138.8 lbs of Waco, TX is 8-15.

Raekwon Butler remained undefeated with a four-round unanimous decision over Diemerci Nzau in a welterweight bout.
Butler, who dominated the fight at range, was deducted a point for spitting out his mouthpiece in the final frame. He was also cut over his right eye in round three.

Butler, 138.8 lbs won by 39-36 scores on all cards, and is now 3-0. Nzau, 144 lbs of Silver Spring, MD is now 11-15.

Saturday Night’s Results

It was a battle of undefeated welterweights that highlighted RDR Promotions 2nd night of back-to-back shows as Mark Dawson won an eight round unanimous decision over towering Ivan Pandzic at the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia.

The opening rounds saw Pandzic trying to use his 6’4″ frame with shots from the outside. His shots were largely ineffective, and Dawson was able to get to the distance where he was able to land solid counter shots. Pandzic was drawn into a firefight on several occasions, which was much to the delight of Dawson as he got the better of the exchanges which led to Pandzic being sent home with his first loss by scores of 79-73, 78-74 and 77-74.

Dawson, 148 lbs of Philadelphia is 9-0-1. Pandzic, 146.2 lbs of Rancho Cucamonga, CA is 13-1-1.

Sean Hemphill remained undefeated as he systematically beat down Robert Burwell in a super middleweight bout.

The time of the stoppage was 2:39 for Hemphill, 171 lbs of New Orleans, LA who is now 13-0 with eight knockouts. Burwell, 173 lbs of Orlando, FL is now 9-5.

Jabril Noble made a successful pro debut with a second round stoppage of Deijerro Revello in a super featherweight bout.
Noble dropped Revello in round two with a left hook. He finished it up seconds later with another left hook that dropped Revello and the fight was halted at 1:12.

Noble, 132.2 lbs of Philadelphia is 1-0 with one knockout. Revello, 131.2 lbs of Brighton, CO is 0-2.

Rasheen Brown remained undefeated with a six-round unanimous decision over Prisco Marquez in a featherweight fight.
Brown dropped Marquez with a straight left at the end of round one.
In round five, it was a left to the body that put Marquez on the deck.
Brown, 129 lbs of Philadelphia won by scores of 60-52, 59-53 and 58-55 and is now 10-0. Marquez, 127.9 lbs of Austin, TX is 4-4-1.

Edgar Joe Cortes won a six-round unanimous decision over Roberto Pucheta in a super bantamweight bout.
Cortes, 122.8 lbs of Millville, NJ won by scores of 58-56 on all cards and is now 9-6-1. Pucheta, 121.9 lbs of Jalisco, MEX is 10-19-2.

Joe Jones took out veteran Dhafir Smith in round three of a scheduled six-round cruiserweight bout.

In round two, Jones dropped Smith with a hard right hand. In round three, Jones landed 10 consecutive blows that forced referee Shawn Clark to stop the bout 18 seconds into the round.

Jones, 194.6 lbs of Jersey City, NJ is 12-4 with nine knockouts. Smith, 198.6 lbs of Upper Darby, PA is 28-26-7,

David Stevens remained undefeated with a four-round unanimous decision over Montrel James in a light heavyweight fight.
Stevens, 174.8 lbs of Reading, PA won by scores of 40-36 on all cards, and is now 6-0. James, 173.8 lbs of Saint Louis, MO is 1-6.

boxing, ShoBox, Showtime, Showtime Boxing

SHOBOX: THE NEW GENERATION 20TH ANNIVERSARY FIGHT NIGHT RESULTS

July 27, 2021 FNU47 Leave a comment

Text

Description automatically generated with medium confidence — **ISAIAH STEEN SCORES CLOSE UNANIMOUS DECISION WIN AGAINST KALVIN HENDERSON ON 20^TH ANNIVERSARY OF *SHOBOX: THE NEW GENERATION*^®**

*Janelson Figueroa Bocachica Fights Shinard Bunch to a Split Draw in Co-Feature; Martino Jules Registers Unanimous Decision Win Over Aram Avagyan in Telecast Opener on SHOWTIME*^®

**Click** **HERE** **for Photos from Esther Lin/SHOWTIME**

**GRAND ISLAND, Neb. – July 23, 2021 –** Super middleweight prospect **Isaiah Steen** remained unbeaten, registering a close unanimous decision victory over **Kalvin Henderson** on the 20^th anniversary of ***ShoBox: The New Generation*** on **SHOWTIME**^®Friday night in front of a raucous Cornhusker crowd at the Heartland Events Center.

It was the 258^th *ShoBox* show and a night of celebration for the long-running and storied series that began in 2001 and has seen 84 *ShoBox* alum go on to win world titles. The night consisted of three hard-fought contests featuring young prospects matched tough, which has been a signature of the series for the past 20 years.

Cleveland’s 24-year-old Steen (16-0, 12 KOs) won the main event by just two rounds on one scorecard, 96-94, and 97-93 on two other cards against the 31-year-old Henderson (14-1-2,10 KOs) of Fayetteville, Ark., in the first 10-round fight of both fighters’ careers.

“It was a close decision because in the first few rounds I wasn’t going by the game plan and was just trying to get him out like I usually do in my fights,” said Steen, who is the half-brother of 2016 U.S. Olympian Charles Conwell, who cheered Steen on from ringside. “It would have looked good to have the knockout, but beating him like I did was more amazing.”

Henderson narrowly edged out Steen in two of the three punch-stat categories, out-jabbing him 20% (47-236) to 18% (50-281) and earning a 2% edge in total punches, 28% to 26%. Steen barley nudged past Henderson in the power-punching department, 42% to 41%, with Steen landing 58 of 138 and Henderson 59 of 144.

“I thought it was a close fight and that I lost by a close decision,” Henderson said. “I lost my right hand in Round 4 because I tore my shoulder and from then on, I used the left to try and control the pace.”

Henderson added: “I could have cut the ring off a little bit more. I didn’t want to let him know I couldn’t use my right hand because I knew he would try and take advantage of it. My coach told me to try and fake the right hand like I was going to throw it, and then hit him with the left hand. We followed our game plan, and everything we wanted to do.”

Steen knows his future is bright and he wants to share the limelight with his brother on August 29 as Conwell is fighting on the undercard of a highly anticipated SHOWTIME PPV event in Cleveland.

“I want to get added to the undercard of my brother’s fight on the Jake Paul-Tyron Woodley card in my hometown,” he said. “I want to bring it back to Cleveland next month.”

In the co-feature pitting a pair of 22-year-olds, **Shinard Bunch** (15-1-1, 13 KOs) and **Janelson Figueroa Bocachica** (17-0-1, 11 KOs) fought to a controversial split draw in a 10-round welterweight bout. One judge scored the fight 97-93 in favor of Bunch, one 96-94 in favor of Figueroa Bocachica and the final judge 95-95.

Bunch of Trenton, N.J., and Figueroa Bocachica of Detroit were both close in punches thrown with 399 for Bunch and 390 for Figueroa Bocachica. Bunch used his jab throughout the fight, landing 68 of 217 and landed 30.8% of his power punches.

“Of course I thought I won the fight,” said Bunch. “I honestly feel like I won it. Even his coach said I won the fight. I landed the more powerful shots, even boxing-wise; sticking and moving. The only thing I could do better was get a knockout. I feel like I hurt him plenty of times. I don’t know what the judges were watching.”

Figueroa Bocachica said he thought he won the fight. “I felt like he didn’t land anything that hurt me and I applied the pressure. I didn’t agree with the judges, but I’m the fighter not the judge. I could have put pressure from beginning instead of the end. I could have used the jab more. I was being lazy with my right hand because I was going to knock him out. Those are things I need to learn.”

He added: “Oh yeah, there will be controversy after this. It comes with the sport.”

The telecast opener featured a highly competitive fight in a battle of unbeatens with **Martino Jules** (11-0-2, 2 KOs) scoring a unanimous win over *ShoBox* veteran **Aram Avagyan** (10-1-2, 4 KOs) in an eight-round featherweight affair. The judges scored the fight 77-74, 78-73 and 79-72 all in favor of Jules.

The 24-year-old southpaw Jules from Allentown, Pa., scored a key knockdown in the last 45 seconds of the eight-round fight. Following a solid counter left hand landed by Jules, Avagyan slipped, stumbling to his knees in what was ruled a knockdown by referee Mark Nelson.

“What a turn of events in the last minute of the fight!” said *ShoBox* blow-by-blow commentator Barry Tompkins immediately following the knockdown.

“He kept jumping right toward me, so I just kept listening to my corner and going with the left,” said Jules, who landed 85 of his 295 power punches to Avagyan’s 122 of 316. “As soon as he got caught with the left he was off-balance and the left leg slipped and that was it.”

Fighting under the Salita Promotions banner, the 30-year-old Avagyan originally from Yerevan, Armenia, and now residing in California, was fighting on *ShoBox* for the third time and facing his fourth consecutive unbeaten fighter.

Jules knew it was close entering the final round. “I think the knockdown really helped me secure the round,” he said. “Once he got knocked down he was rushing in to try and get the back, which helped me since I could control the pace a little bit more.”

International Boxing Hall of Famer Tompkins called the action from ringside with fellow Hall of Famer Al Bernstein and former world champion Raul Marquez serving as expert analysts. The executive producer was Gordon Hall with Rich Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.

The event, which was promoted by Marshall Kauffman’s Kings Promotions in association with Holden Productions, Salita Promotions and DiBella Entertainment, brought together fighters from seven different boxing promotional and management teams.

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For more information visit **www.sho.com/sports** follow on Twitter @ShowtimeBoxing, @SHOSports, #ShoBox, or become a fan on Facebook at **www.Facebook.com/SHOSports**

boxing, Olympics, USA Boxing

Split-T Management signs Heavyweight Prospect Antonio Mireles; 2020 USA Super Heavyweight Olympic Trial Champion

July 21, 2021 FNU47 Leave a comment

2020 USA Super Heavyweight Olympic Trial Champion

Bellator, mixed martial arts, MMA, Showtime

Cheick Kongo Set to Rumble With Sergei Kharitonov in Heavyweight Main Event of BELLATOR MMA 265 on Aug. 20 at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, SD

July 21, 2021 FNU47 Leave a comment

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Description automatically generated — **LOS ANGELES –** Today, BELLATOR officials confirmed a must-see main event pitting hard-hitting heavyweights **Cheick Kongo** (30-11-2) and **Sergei Kharitonov** (32-8) against one another tops *BELLATOR MMA 265* on Friday, August 20 from the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. and airs live on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

The card has also confirmed top featherweights No. 3 **Adam Borics** (17-1) and No. 4 **Jay-Jay Wilson** (8-0) will meet for the right to face the winner of the BELLATOR Featherweight World Grand Prix Final between **Patricio “Pitbull”** (32-4) and **AJ McKee** (17-0), which takes place on Saturday, July 31.

Tickets for the event go on sale this Thursday at 10 a.m. CT and are available at Sanford Pentagon Box Office & Ticketmaster.

The preliminary portion of *BELLATOR MMA 265: Kongo vs. Kharitonov* currentlyfeatures a flyweight bout pitting No.5-ranked **Alejandra Lara** (9-4) against **DeAnna Bennett** (10-7-1) and willbegin at 6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT and stream live on the BELLATOR MMA YouTube channel, SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel and Pluto TV. Additional preliminary bouts will be announced in the near future.

Holding an impressive MMA record of 30-11-2, 1 NC, No. 3-ranked Cheick Kongo returns to action for the first time since headlining the first-ever major MMA event in his native France last October. The former kickboxer remains a force to be reckoned with and holds records for the most fights (16) and wins (12) in BELLATOR heavyweight history. With high-profile victories over **Vitaly Minakov**, Mirko Cro Cop, Antoni Hardonk, and Matt Mitrione, the Parisian is keen to pad his current promotional records, set new ones, and earn his shot at BELLATOR gold.

The man nicknamed “The Paratrooper,” Kharitonov is the owner of an equally notable MMA resume, with the Russian scoring vicious wins against some of the sport’s marquee names, such as Fabricio Werdum, Andrei Arlovski, Pedro Rizzo, Murilo “Ninja” Rua, Matt Mitrione, and Alistair Overeem. Now, fresh off two championship victories on the regional circuit, Kharitonov returns to the BELLATOR cage with the intention of climbing the heavyweight rankings and asserting himself as a BELLATOR title contender.

28-year-old Hungarian Adam “The Kid” Borics has won 17 of 18 fights to begin his professional career, bouncing back from his only loss with three straight victories. Training out of South Florida’s Sanford MMA gym, Borics has firmly established himself as a true threat to anyone in the 145-pound division, where he is currently ranked third.

Undefeated in his first eight fights as a professional, New Zealand’s Wilson has won in style, accumulating six finishes in those eight wins. Following a split decision win against Tywan Claxton, Wilson scored a violent knockout of Sergio DeBari, then followed that victory up with an equally vicious spinning backfist stoppage over SBG’s Pedro Carvalho in April. The Kiwi fighter will be looking to secure a high-stakes victory over Borics with a world title shot awaiting the winner.

# # #

*BELLATOR MMA 265: Kongo vs. Kharitonov* Main Card:
**SHOWTIME**
Friday, August 20 – 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT

*Heavyweight Main Event: #3-***Cheick Kongo** (30-11-2) vs. **Sergei Kharitonov** (32-8)
*Featherweight No. 1 Contender’s Bout: #3-***Adam Borics** (17-1) vs. #4-**Jay-Jay Wilson** (8-0)

**Preliminary Card:**
**BELLATOR MMA YouTube channel | SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel | Pluto TV**
6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT

*Flyweight Bout: #5-***Alejandra Lara** (9-4) vs. **DeAnna Bennett** (10-7-1)

For more information on upcoming BELLATOR MMA events, visit BELLATOR.com.

boxing

Irish light heavyweight Thomas O’Toole Shipping up to Boston Signs with Ryan Roach’s Fighter Locker

July 21, 2021 FNU47 Leave a comment

Irish light heavyweight Thomas O’Toole
Shipping up to Boston
Signs with Ryan Roach’s Fighter Locker

BOSTON (July 20, 2021) – Like so many of his fellow Irish boxers, amateur standout Thomas O’Toole is following the green and gold path from Ireland to Boston, after signing a managerial contract with Ryan Roach’s Fighter Locker.

The 23-year-old O’Toole is a promising light heavyweight prospect who captured top honors at the 2019 Irish Elite Championships. Last year, the Irish southpaw upset pre-tournament favorite Tony Browne in semifinals of the Irish Elite Championships, and he lost by split decision in the final to Emmet Brennan, who is representing Ireland in Tokyo at the Olympics.

Irish boxers who’ve moved to the Boston area as a base for their professional careers include WBO World Super Middleweight Champion Stevie “Celtic Warrior” Collins (36-3, 21 KOs – 1986-97), WBA World light middleweight title challenger Sean Mannion (42-14-1, 13 KOs) – 1979-93), and heavyweight Kevin “The Clones Colossus” McBride (35-10-1 (29 KOs) – 1992-2011), best known as the man who knocked “Iron” Mike Tyson into retirement.

“I’ve only heard good things about Ryan, and I like the family aspect he talked about for his fighters,” O’Toole explained why he signed with Fighter Locker. “I know every manager will talk about how they will take care of you, but I really believed you, and I trust you will get a great promoter for me when the time comes. Plus, you have some Olympians, so you’re not taking just any and all fighters to sign. You want champions, which was the main thing for me. Knowing I’m in a stable with Olympians/national champions is great.

“I always intended to turn pro after Tokyo and had interest in waiting around for 2024 (next Olympics in Paris). It all worked out. I achieved more than I had hoped as an amateur an at just 23, I can’t wait to see what the next few years bring.”
O’Toole is tentatively scheduled to make his pro debut September 25^th in Boston.
“Signing Thomas was very special to me,” manager Ryan Roach said. “He is one of the best in Ireland and in a very elite class. We talked a few times and we really hit it off. Last Friday, he shot me a message saying, ‘I’m all yours.’ I was ecstatic.

He really is a great fighter with a lot of skill. He’s a southpaw with some serious pop. Thomas is very young, so we will see which weight class suits him well. Boxing fans in New England, particularly in Boston, will love him. He’s a great person and fighter.”

Fighter Locker’s growing stable of gifted boxers include California super flyweight Rocco “So Cal Kid” Santomauro (21-1, 6 KOs), Troy, NY ABF American West super lightweight Ray Jay “The Destroyer” Bermudez (12-0, 9 KOs), ABF USA super welterweight Jimmy “Quiet Storm” Williams (18-5-2, 6 KOs), ABF American West super middleweight champion “The Amazing” Shawn McCalman (8-0, 4 KOs), super bantamweight Daniel “G.D.F.E.” Bailey, Jr. (7-0, 4 KOs), lightweight Leonel de los Santos (3-0, 3 KOs), a 2-time Dominican Republic Olympian, Boston featherweight Troy Anderson, Jr. (1-0, 1 KO), pro-debuting Dominican Republic welterweight Juan Solano, Salt Lake City, 2016 Brazilian Olympic silver medalist Yuberjen Martinez, Brazilian Olympian Jorge Vivas, Colorado super middleweight Marvin “Too Much” Cordova, Jr. (23-2-1, 12 KOs), West Palm Beach, FL light heavyweight Robert Daniels, Jr. (4-0, 4 KOs), Utah brothers, ABF American West lightweight champion Ignacio Chairez (9-0-1, 5 KOs) and lightweight Gabriel Chairez (4-0-1, 2 KOs).

INFORMATION:
WEBSITE: fighterlocker.com, punch4parkinsons.com
FACEBOOK: /fighterlocker
TWITTER: @RoachRyan
INSTAGRAM: @RyanRoach82

ABOUT FIGHTER LOCKER: Established in 2019, Fighter Locker is a comprehensive sports agency that manages professional boxers. Fighter Locker also helps to brand boxers by finding their voice with a 100-percent customized service. Fighter Locker does not really believe in working models. It believes in partnership optimization models in motion.
Fighter Locker uses four creative steps because it believes in “the foundation is everything”: 1. wisely conceived, 2. creatively restrained, 3. Proudly judged, 4. sharply targeted.

Bellator, mixed martial arts, MMA, Showtime

Official Fight Night Results, Quotes & Photos for BELLATOR MMA 262: Velasquez vs. Kielholtz

July 21, 2021 FNU47 Leave a comment

A group of people in a wrestling ring

Description automatically generated with low confidence — **COMPLETE FIGHT NIGHT PHOTOS HERE – (PLEASE CREDIT: BELLATOR MMA / LUCAS NOONAN)**

**POST-FIGHT VIDEO INTERVIEWS HERE**

C-**Juliana Velasquez** (12-0) defeated #3-**Denise Kielholtz** (6-3) via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)

***Juliana Velasquez:***
“I think I would be clinching a bit more, her striking didn’t surprise me, but I felt that I did enough to retain the title.”

“I beat her with my jab, if you look at her face, it’s messed up, if you look at mine, my face is fine. I think people in the audience favor her because she has a kickboxing style and I counter, but I think it was my boxing that was the difference tonight.”

“When I come in here, I don’t think of myself as a champion, I think of myself as someone who needs to earn the belt and tonight I felt that I did that.”

#5–**Tyrell Fortune** (11-1, 1 NC) defeated #7-**Matt Mitrione** (13-9, 1 NC) via submission (strikes) at 1:45 of round one

***Tyrell Fortune:***
“I feel great coming out of the fight. He stepped forward so I went for the shot instead of throwing the punch and I guess I made contact with my head. Besides that I was running through him for the takedown. As you saw, I finished on top, and the fight went from there.

“I didn’t feel it (the clash of heads), I can only go off of what he was saying at the time. Like I said, I was just looking to get on top and continue to fight so I didn’t really know what else to do. I thought if there was a contact that the ref would have saw and we would have stopped that’s why I paused for a second on top of him. I didn’t go right to punching. Once the ref said to continue, I was continuing to fight.

“I want Tim Johnson. I don’t want a title shot. I’d rather have Tim Johnson first. That’s really the only fight I’ve been training for since that loss. To me, with him taking that loss (against Valentin Moldavsky) and me getting this win, it should line us right up… I’m gonna’ try to knock his a– out just like he did me.”

**Matheus Mattos** (13-2-1) defeated **Cee Jay Hamilton** (15-9) via TKO (strikes) at 1:33 of round two

***Matheus Mattos:***
“He’s a wrestler. So, he could have done the boring game and taken me down. But he chose to go for the striking. Fortunately, he did it because it was a beautiful knockout. If Bellator could send more strikers to me, then they would be welcomed.”

“I feel great, perfectly strong. But I felt my knee go ‘thwack.’ And I stopped moving a lot. I didn’t do much footwork. I knew this was going to be on my hands, because my leg was painful. Hopefully, everything went well.

“My two losses were to two of the best in the world. So, I’ve been fighting at a high level a long time and I’m prepared for everyone. They can see that this fight welcomed me to Bellator, and now they know me. They know Matheus Mattos is a striker and he’s coming for us.

“I’m in my prime now so I’m prepared for everyone.”

#2–**Arlene Blencowe** (14-8) defeated **Dayana Silva** (9-6) via TKO (punches) at 1:00 of round three

***Arlene Blencowe:***
“I feel great. I want to give a shout out to my kids at home. I’ve been away from home for nine weeks and it’s the longest I’ve ever been without my kids. So, this win is for you.”

“I was just trying to gauge my distance. It was starting to be a little bit of a slow fight, so sorry about that fans. I could hear you yelling. But I was determined to keep my pace and not rush into anything. We knew that she swung with power and that the overhand right and the left hook came pretty quick. We’ve been working a lot on kicks, and I’m going to have a lot of bruises tomorrow. And hopefully her calves will be sore too.”

#5-**Johnny Eblen** (9-0) defeated **Travis Davis** (10-5) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)

***Johnny Eblen:***
“My coaches when I came back to the corner told me not to brawl. So, I took their advice and I thought I wrestled smart.”

“He was talking s— saying, ‘Hey, let’s brawl in the corner.’ I’m like, ‘Bro, that’s stupid.’ That’s why you’re not where I’m at. Because you don’t fight smart. You’re trying to come out here and brawl. You can do that all you want, but you’re not going to be a world champion like me.”

**Preliminary Card:**
**Said Sowma** (7-2) defeated **Ronny Markes** (19-9) via KO (punches) at 1:09 of round one
**Cody Law** (4-0) defeated **Theodore Macuka** (1-1) via TKO (punches) at 1:54 of round one
**Diana Avsaragova** (4-0) defeated **Gabriella Gulfin** (2-3) via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
**Adil Benjilany** (6-3, 1 NC) defeated **Johnny Soto** (4-2) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
**Charlie Campbell** (4-1) defeated **Nicholas Giulietti** (2-2) via TKO (punches) at 1:30 of round two

Please visit Bellator.com for additional information.

**About BELLATOR**
BELLATOR MMA is a leading global mixed martial arts and kickboxing organization featuring many of the best fighters in the world. Under the direction of veteran fight promoter Scott Coker, BELLATOR events take place in major cities worldwide and can be seen on television in over 160 countries to an available audience of over one billion people. In the United States, BELLATOR can be seen on SHOWTIME. BELLATOR 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 Hollywood, Calif. and owned by entertainment giant ViacomCBS, home to the world’s premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms.

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