Walker vs. Waite Heating Up For "Tinley Park Rumble" Friday, June 12th

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Walker And Waite Finally Get Their Chance To Settle In The Ring At The "Tinley Park Rumble"

May 28 (Merrillville, In) - The glares that Michael "Midnight Stalker" Walker (19-2-2, 12 KOs) and "Iron" Orphius Waite (5-0, 3 KOs) shoot towards each other while training at the Octavius James' One In A Million Inc. training facility would knockout any regular man, but these two talented middleweight prospects aren't your average men nor fighters.

These are two of the world's top middleweights and there is a bitterness amongst one another that has leaked over from their days of sparing, but on Friday, June 12 at the Holiday Inn/Tinley Park Convention Center they will have an opportunity to put all the talking aside in the Main Event of the "Tinley Park Rumble."

"I could tell Orphius (Waite) was sizing me up during our sparring sessions, he wants to be me and he is trying to fight like I do, I'm ready and he is ready so let's get it on," said Walker. "(Waite) is messing with a different level of fighter and I don't feel any respect at all, but I will get that respect when I whoop him."

The powerful pair of fighters were originally meant to battle it out on the spectacular "Date With Destiny" card back in April, but Walker took a fight against unbeaten and highly touted Daniel Jacobs (15-0, 14 KOs) on the Manny Pacquiao- Ricky Hatton pay-per-view while Waite battled a very solid veteran of the ring Cedric Johnson (10-3, 8 KOs).

"(Walker) had his chance to shine and he didn't do too well and now it's my turn," added Waite. "When we walk into the training facility we both get that weird vibe and when we sparred I left his face battered a few times even with the head gear."

"Walker vs. Waite is one of those Main Events that will have the world of boxing talking, because you have two guys that know each other so well and aren't willing to budge even a little bit," said Octavius James, C.E.O. of Octavius James' One In A Million Inc. "It's going to be a bruising and brutal fight and it's going to definitely be worth the price of admission."

Also scheduled as part of another sensational undercard are undefeated welterweight sensation Ed "2 Fast 2 Furious" Ochoa (8-0, 8 KO's) vs. rugged veteran Jessie Davis (11-12, 8 KO's), the electric Angel Hernandez (12-3, 10 KOs) is facing the always tough Guadalupe Diaz (5-4, 1 KO), Chicago's Bobby Jaskierny (3-1, 2 KOs) faces Mexico's Jose Guzman (5-2, 4 KO's), unbeaten Josh Crouch (4-0, 4 KOs) will fight the ring savvy Josh Rodriguez (4-8, 3 KO's), middleweight Meegel Harper (1-0, 1 KO) and female sensation Evette Collazo (4-0, 2 KOs) returns to the ring with opponents to be named soon.

Tickets for "Tinley Park Rumble" are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased at VIP $100, VIP ringside $75, ringside $50 and general admission $30 and they are available from any Ticket Master location at (800)745-3000, (866) 438-7372 or http://www.ticketmaster.com/.

The Tinley Park Convention Center, which is just 25 minutes from Northwest Indiana, doors will open at 7 p.m. with the first bout at 8 p.m.

PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS NOW!!!

Berto easily retains welterweight title

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP)—Andre Berto retained his World Boxing Council welterweight title with a unanimous decision over Colombia’s Juan Urango on Saturday night.

The undefeated Berto’s quickness frustrated Urango throughout their bout at the Hard Rock Live Arena.

Preferring to keep his distance, Berto landed repeatedly with lead left jabs to the head, and also was effective with rights to the head.

Urango continued to pursue Berto, but only found quick lefts and rights to the head for his strategy.

Berto, of Winter Haven, Fla., won on two judges’ scorecards 118-110 and 117-111 on the third.

In the fourth round, Urango finally pinned Berto and enjoyed one of his best rounds, landing lefts to the head and body. Berto also countered with rights to the head.

Berto (25-0) didn’t allow Urango the space for infighting situations in the middle rounds as he connected repeatedly with right uppercuts and lefts to the head. Berto also was effective at landing a lead right, immediately clinching Urango and avoiding any possible counter shots.

The crowd became bored with an action-lacking ninth, booing during what appeared a round in which Berto reduced his punch volume while Urango (21-2) kept chasing the defensive-minded champion.

Berto picked up the pace in the final three rounds and again landed lead rights to the head.

Although he moved up to the 147-pound welterweight class, Urango retains the International Boxing Federation junior-welterweight title he won Jan. 30.

Berto weighed 145 pounds for Saturday’s bout, one less than Urango.

In another bout, former IBF welterweight champion Kermit Cintron ended Alfred Angulo’s unbeaten record with a convincing unanimous decision.

Cintron (30-2-1) scored with lead left jabs, keeping Angulo at a distance for most of their 12-round junior-middleweight bout. Using his quickness, Cintron also outpointed the pressure minded Angulo (15-1) with rights to the head.

Angulo did his best work in the middle rounds, when he shortened the punching range and connected with combinations to the head.

But Cintron resumed his lead left jab strategy in the closing rounds and didn’t let Angulo get close to him.

All three judges scored the bout for Cintron 116-112. There were no knockdowns.

Cintron and Angulo both weighed 153 pounds.

Mosley eager to face Filipino Pacquiao

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - World Boxing Association welterweight champion Shane Mosley says he is eager to fight Philippines superstar Manny Pacquiao and is willing to change weight classes to do it.

Mosley, the WBA's 147-pound champ, is hopeful he and Pacquiao can come to a compromise on an ideal weight (or catch weight) to make the fight happen.

"There are conflicting reports from the Pacquiao camp an upcoming fight between me and Manny Pacquiao," Mosley said.

"I want it to be known that I want to fight Pacquiao and I want to fight him now. I'm willing to meet at a catch weight to make that happen.

"I know this is what Freddie Roach wants as well. I am the best fighter in boxing and I am ready to reclaim the title of number one pound-for-pound fighter."

In his last fight, Mosley pounded Antonio Margartio in January, registering a ninth-round knockout.

Pacquiao, considered the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, is coming off a second-round knockout of Ricky Hatton in May.

Valuev’s title defense against Chagaev called off

By STEPHAN NASSTROM, AP Sports Writer
HELSINKI (AP)—Ruslan Chagaev failed a “medical requirement” on Friday, forcing his challenge for Nikolai Valuev’s WBA heavyweight title to be called off a day before the fight.

Finnish officials said “Chagaev has been unable to fulfill the Finnish Boxing Federation’s medical requirements” but gave no further details.

“It was a big shock for us today,” said Wilfried Sauerland, Valuev’s manager.

Federation president Pertti Augustin and press spokesman Pekka Kaidesoja refused to offer explanations, saying “it’s against Finnish law to do so.”

Chagaev would have earned 55 percent of the $2.8 million purse.

It’s the third time their rematch has been canceled since Chagaev gave the 7-foot Russian his only pro defeat in April 2007. The previous two rematches were called off because Chagaev ruptured an Achilles’ tendon in training.

After Chagaev, as WBA titleholder, withdrew from the two scheduled rematches he was named “champion in recess,” and the WBA vacated the title.

Because of that status, Chagaev had to fight Valuev by the end of June.

Before boarding a flight from New York to Helsinki, promoter Don King said the WBA should announce Valuev as its undisputed champion.

“Nikolai has been patient in waiting for Chagaev to become medically fit to fight,” King said. “We applaud the WBA for making every effort to allow Chagaev to return, but it is clear now that we must move on.”

It was unclear what the sanctioning body would decide.

“It’s a decision that the board of the directors of the WBA has to make,” WBA official George Martinez said. “We will meet as soon as possible and address the problem. We have to collect all the facts and in a proper time we’ll make a decision.”

Valuev won the vacant title last August by beating American John Ruiz in Berlin. Four months later, he defended the title against 46-year-old Evander Holyfield, who had arrived in Helsinki earlier Friday for the scheduled bout dubbed “The Revenge of the Giant.”

Chagaev returned from his injuries in February and won a technical decision over Carl Davis Drumond at Rostock, Germany—the Uzbekistan-born boxer’s first fight in more than a year.

The bout Saturday at 15,000-seat Hartwall Arena would have been only the second world title fight in the Finnish capital. Davey Moore of the United States knocked out Olli Maki of Finland in 1962 to retain his world featherweight title.

Associated Press Writer Matti Huuhtanen contributed to this report.

Barrera denied rematch vs. Khan despite head clash

LONDON (AP)—Marco Antonio Barrera has been denied a rematch with Amir Khan by the WBO despite a clash of heads before the English fighter won.

Barrera’s promoter, Don King, had hoped the “tainted” lightweight bout in March at Manchester would be declared a no-contest. But the British Boxing Board of Control cleared the referee on Friday of making a mistake by not stopping the bout in the second minute of the first round when their heads collided.

The Mexican received a huge cut on the left side of his head, and the ring doctor in Manchester later stopped the contest in the fifth round. Had the fight been stopped in the fourth round, it would have been declared a no-contest to automatically force a rematch.

Ortiz relishing potential title fight

By SOLANGE REYNER, Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP)—Victor Ortiz says he’s already been through the wringer, so a fight with title implications against a knockout-happy fighter won’t be too big of a challenge.

The 22-year-old Ortiz will fight Argentine Marcos Maidana on June 27 for the World Boxing Association light-welterweight interim title. The winner will get a shot at either Amir Khan or Andreas Kotelnik for the WBA title. Kotelnik and Khan also are fighting June 27.

Maidana (25-1) has knocked out 24 opponents in 26 fights and has taken out 10 fighters in the first round. Twenty-one of his opponents have not made it past the third round.

Those numbers don’t phase Ortiz, a Kansas native who says he was abandoned by both parents before he was 12.

“My life is hell most of the time, but its OK,” said Ortiz (24-1-1, 19 KOs). “It’s still hell everyday I wake up, that’s why I don’t mind getting in the ring with one of these guys.”

Ortiz’ journey to this stage is one that many probably wouldn’t envy. He said he came home at age 7 to find his mom gone. Five years later, his dad also was out the door.

From there, Ortiz carved his own way. He made a living by either working in the fields picking corn, alfalfa and beans or “slanging things,” and lived in a trailer with no electricity where his parents left him.

“Stuff happens,” Ortiz said. “My sister raised me for a while, I lived on my own from 12 and on. From there, I started slanging some stuff here and there, not the best of things to do, but I was 12.”

He made his own way in boxing, too. He won the 2003 PAL amateur national championships without a trainer and made it to the 2004 Olympic trials before falling short.

That year, Ortiz moved to California to train with ex-world champion Robert Garcia. In 2008, he signed on with Golden Boy Promotions to garner more recognition. Now, he’s being touted as one of the strongest prospects to come out of Oscar de la Hoya’s camp.

To get a shot at a potential title 25 fights into his career is something he is relishing.

“Honestly, it didn’t happen fast enough but I’m very patient,” said Ortiz, who uses his past to fuel him. “I guess at the end of the day, I appreciate life. Sometimes I get caught up in the whole mist of my parents, but it’s reality. I’m not the only one going through it so I can’t sit back and curl up like a little pansy. I know there’s kids out there that get left everyday so it’s not a big deal you have to learn how to channel it and deal with it and take it to the top.”

Golden Boy is hoping he’ll do just that.

“Their stars are either retired or don’t have long in the sport, so as they retire, naturally, there will be a void. Victor is being built, groomed and positioned to fill that void,” said Rolando Arellano, Ortiz’s manager.

Ortiz could face his toughest test in Maidana, who fought Kotelnik—the top dog in the division—to a split decision Feb. 7.

Ortiz isn’t the only fighter headlining the event at Staples Center. Chris John and Rocky Juarez will fight in a rematch for John’s WBA featherweight championship belt.

John (42-0-2, 22 KOs) fought Juarez (28-4-1, 20 KOs) to a draw in an exciting bout in late February and Juarez is seeking his first world title.

Cotto-Clottey fight selling well for MSG

By DAVE SKRETTA, AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP)—So much for all that discussion that boxing is dead. Or that the recession will finally finish it off, for that matter.

Bob Arum of promoter Top Rank said Thursday that more than 13,000 tickets have been sold for Miguel Cotto’s welterweight title fight against Joshua Clottey, and a sellout is expected on June 13 at Madison Square Garden.

“The response has been absolutely tremendous,” Arum said, adding that $500 ringside seats are already gone. Among those who plan to be in the crowd are Brandon Jacobs and several of his New York Giants teammates.

“The Mets and Yankees are playing that afternoon,” Arum said, “and hopefully the game will be over in time and a lot of them are coming to the fight.”

This will be the sixth time that Cotto, the WBO champion, will fight at the place that bills itself as the sport’s Mecca. It will also be the fourth time he’s fought on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day parade, when thousands of his countrymen typically turn out to support their hero.

Cotto (33-1, 27 KOs) knocked out Zab Judah to their delight two years ago, and beat Paul Malignaggi in his final fight at junior welterweight in 2006. The year before that, Cotto made his Garden debut by knocking out Mohamad Abdulaev in the ninth round.

Cotto is coming off an easy victory over Michael Jennings in February, a rebound fight after a stoppage loss to Antonio Margarito that many now view with skepticism. In the months that followed, Margarito was found to have a plaster-like substance on his hand wraps before a loss to Shane Mosley.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a loss, every kind of event in your life teaches you something, you know?” Cotto said. “I learned a lot from my first loss of my career.”

Clottey (35-2, 20 KOs) represents a significant step up in class from Jennings, whose 34-1 record looked good on paper. Like Margarito, Clottey is considered large for a welterweight and has a style that could cause Cotto problems.

“I never expect an easy fight,” said Cotto, who’s been training in Tampa, Fla., since early April. “I always train very hard for every type of fighter.”

Cotto has been working with Joe Santiago, who took over as trainer after a much-publicized fallout between Cotto and his uncle Evangelista a few months ago.

The two family members had been arguing at the Bairoa Gymnasium in Caguas over where to hold camp and eventually came to blows, and Evangelista later drove to his nephew’s home and threw a cement block through his car window, police said.

Neither decided to pursue criminal charges, and Cotto declined to discuss the current state of their relationship, calling it a family matter.

“I don’t want to talk about that situation,” he said. “I’m here just to prepare myself to fight Joshua Clottey.”