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.”

(Washington, DC) May 27, 2009- Women in Support Together (W.I.S.T.) along with Rosecroft Raceway will be hosting a series of ALL FEMALE amateur boxing shows beginning on Saturday, June 20, 2009 at 6 p.m. Ms. Bruce has a long history in boxing and was the first to bring an All Female Boxing show to Washington, DC. Amateur female boxers from around the country will be competing in 15 officiated bouts. The main event will be 8 year old Mia Ellis from Baltimore, MD fondly known by fans as “Killer Bee”. Winners will receive trophies.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for the community to see female amateur boxers in action,” said Wanda Bruce, Female Boxing Promoter. “Everyone is welcomed to attend and show support for our female boxers who often get overlooked,” Bruce added. Rosecroft Raceway is located at 6336 Rosecroft Drive, Ft. Washington, MD 20744. Admission to the event is $20-Adults, $10- Kids under 10. There is lots of parking. A portion of the proceeds goes to help Diabetes Association of MD. It is all about the females and helping them with boxing competitions and with life in general.
For more information on this event and to get your fighter registered, log on to www.fightlady.org.

Dawson vacates IBF belt to pursue richer fight

PANAMA CITY, Panama (AP)—Light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson has decided to vacate his IBF title after the organization refused to grant an exception to an immediate defense against mandatory challenger Tavoris Cloud.

It’s the second time in recent weeks that one of the federation’s most visible champions has given up its belt to pursue more lucrative bouts. Welterweight Josh Clottey vacated his title last month to fight WBO champ Miguel Cotto on June 13.

Promoter Gary Shaw informed the IBF of Dawson’s decision at its annual convention Wednesday.

“No major television network was willing to buy the fight, (and) the IBF left us little choice,” Shaw said in a statement. “I respect the IBF’s decision, but the fight they were forcing us to do was commercially unviable.”

Dawson (28-0, 17 KOs) easily defended his IBF and IBO titles in a rematch against Antonio Tarver earlier this month. Rather than defend against Cloud, the hard-punching 26-year-old is reportedly eyeing a fight with former champ Glen Johnson, whom Dawson beat in a close unanimous decision early last year.

Dawson has a history of giving up belts for richer fights. He defended the WBC title three times before vacating it to fight Tarver rather than mandatory challenger Adrian Diaconu.

Cloud (19-0, 18 KOs), an exciting but relatively obscure prospect, hasn’t fought since knocking out Julio Cesar Gonzalez in a title eliminator last August.

Tyson family asks for privacy after tot’s death

By JONATHAN J. COOPER, Associated Press Writer
PHOENIX (AP)—The death of Mike Tyson’s 4-year-old daughter in a bizarre accident adds an awful chapter to the boxer’s troubled life.

Exodus Tyson died at a hospital Tuesday, a day after her neck apparently got caught in a cord dangling from a treadmill at her Phoenix home, police said.

Police said Exodus either slipped or put her head in the loop of a cord hanging under the console and suffocated. She was pronounced dead just before noon after being on life support, said police Sgt. Andy Hill, who called the injury a “tragic accident.”

“There are no words to describe the tragic loss of our beloved Exodus,” the family said in a statement. “We ask you now to please respect our need at this very difficult time for privacy to grieve and try to help each other heal.”

Tyson, who has been living in Las Vegas, flew Monday to Phoenix, where he was seen entering the hospital.

The modest house where his daughter was injured contrasts starkly with the lavish lifestyle Tyson had through his tumultuous years of boxing, when he spent tens of millions of dollars and says he had millions more stolen from him by unscrupulous associates.

During two years at the height of his career, he earned $140 million—but he filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in 2003.

He has been promoting a new documentary about his life and told The New York Times earlier this month he had been sober for 15 months after years of drug and alcohol abuse.

“I don’t know who I am,” he told the newspaper. “That might sound stupid. I really have no idea. All my life I’ve been drinking and drugging and partying, and all of a sudden this comes to a stop.”

Tyson first began boxing in a facility for juvenile delinquents in upstate New York at the age of 12. Eight years later, he became the youngest heavyweight champion ever when he knocked out Trevor Berbick in 1986. But in 1990, he was defeated by James “Buster” Douglas in one of the biggest upsets in boxing history, and soon after was convicted of raping a beauty pageant contestant in Indianapolis.

Tyson, who still denies he raped the woman, served three years in prison.

A few years later, he served three months in jail for beating up two men after a minor car crash in suburban Washington.

As his career continued, so did his bizarre behavior. He bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear during a boxing match and once threatened to eat the children of heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.

Although Tyson’s children had lived in their unassuming neighborhood for several years, he purchased a separate home in the tony Phoenix suburb of Paradise Valley in 2005 for $2.1 million, selling it two years later for $2.3 million.

In November 2007, Tyson spent 24 hours in Maricopa County’s “Tent City” jail after pleading guilty to one count of cocaine possession and one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence. Police found the drug when they pulled over Tyson’s car after he left a Scottsdale night club.

According to police, Tyson said after his arrest that he bought cocaine “whenever I can get my hands on it.”

At Tyson’s sentencing hearing, nearly a year after the arrest, his attorney David Chesnoff said his client had taken 29 drug tests without a relapse and was attending Alcoholic Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

Tyson had become an example of how a person overcomes problems with drugs, a violent past and poor upbringing, Chesnoff said.

“He’s tried his hardest,” his attorney said, “despite coming from almost impossible beginnings.”

Associated Press writers Bob Baum and Terry Tang contributed to this report.

Japan’s Naito retains WBC flyweight title

TOKYO (AP)—Japanese champion Daisuke Naito has defended his WBC flyweight title with a unanimous decision over China’s Xiong Zhaozhong.

Xiong sent Naito to the canvas with a right in the sixth round of Tuesday’s fight, but the Japanese champion recovered despite being cut above both eyes.

Naito improved to 35-2-3 with 22 knockouts while Xiong fell to 12-2-1 (eight KOs).

At 34 years, 8 months, Naito becomes the oldest Japanese boxer to defend a world title.

The match was originally scheduled to take place in Shanghai but was moved to Tokyo three days ago due to promoter-related problems.

Tyson daughter ‘extremely critical’ after accident

By AMANDA LEE MYERS, Associated Press Writer
PHOENIX (AP)—The near-fatal strangulation of boxer Mike Tyson’s 4-year-old daughter appears to be a “tragic accident,” police say.

Exodus Tyson was on life support Tuesday after apparently accidentally hanging herself on a cord dangling from a treadmill in her modest central Phoenix home.

“Somehow she was playing on this treadmill, and there’s a cord that hangs under the console—it’s kind of a loop,” police Sgt. Andy Hill said. “Either she slipped or put her head in the loop, but it acted like a noose, and she was obviously unable to get herself off of it.”

Exodus’ 7-year-old brother found her Monday and told their mother, who was in another room. She took Exodus off the cord, called 911 and tried to revive her.

Responding officers and firefighters performed CPR on Exodus as they rushed her to a nearby hospital, where she was in “extremely critical condition” and on life support, Hill said.

Hill said former heavyweight champion Tyson, 42, had been in Las Vegas but flew to Phoenix immediately after learning of the accident.

“The Tyson family would like to extend our deepest and most heartfelt thanks for all your prayers and support, and we ask that we be allowed our privacy at this difficult time,” the boxer said in a statement.

Brief footage from local TV station KTVK showed Tyson arriving at the hospital in a white button-up and black pants, and looking around with a frown before going inside.

Hill said everything in the investigation pointed to a “tragic accident,” adding that calls involving children is an officer’s most difficult duty.

“Those are the things that stay with you in your career,” he said. “We always hope for a miracle—not to have the worst happen to a child.”

Neighbors said they were surprised and saddened when they heard what had happened.

“It’s terrible,” said Abby St. Jermain, who grew up in the neighborhood and is house-sitting for her parents down the street. “The kids are so sweet. We always see them riding their bikes, playing. They’ve just been wonderful people.”

Dinka Radic, who lives across the street, described Exodus as smart and sweet.

“The little girl, she says ‘You got chocolate in your house?”’ Radic said. “I say ‘Yes,’ and she says, ‘OK, give me some.”’

When she gives the girl the chocolate, Radic said “she just kisses me on my knees. Kiss, kiss, kiss. Very nice.”

Police: Mike Tyson’s daughter on life support

By AMANDA LEE MYERS, Associated Press Writer
PHOENIX (AP)—Boxer Mike Tyson’s 4-year-old daughter is on life support after she was found with her neck caught in a cord of a treadmill machine Monday, police said.

Exodus Tyson’s 7-year-old brother found her on a treadmill with her neck in the cord that dangles from the console of the exercise machine at their Phoenix home, police Sgt. Andy Hill said, calling it a “tragic accident.”

The boy told Exodus’ mother, who was in another room. She took Exodus off the cord, called 911 and tried to revive her.

Responding officers and firefighters performed CPR on Exodus as they rushed her to a nearby hospital, where she was in “extremely critical condition” and on life support, Hill said.

“Somehow she was playing on this treadmill, and there’s a cord that hangs under the console—it’s kind of a loop,” Hill said. “Either she slipped or put her head in the loop, but it acted like a noose, and she was obviously unable to get herself off of it.”

Hill said former heavyweight champion Tyson had been in Las Vegas but flew to Phoenix immediately after learning of the accident. Police didn’t release the girl’s name.

Tyson could not immediately be reached for comment but 42West, a New York City public relations firm representing him, released a statement on the family’s behalf.

“The Tyson family would like to extend our deepest and most heartfelt thanks for all your prayers and support, and we ask that we be allowed our privacy at this difficult time,” the statement said.

Brief footage from local TV station KTVK showed Tyson arriving at the hospital in a white button-up and black pants, and looking around with a frown before going inside.

Hill said everything in the investigation pointed to an accident. “There’s nothing in the investigation that revealed anything suspicious,” he said.

He added that responding to calls involving children is an officer’s most difficult duty.

“Those are the things that stay with you in your career,” he said. “We always hope for a miracle—not to have the worst happen to a child.”

Naito’s fight against Xiong moved to Tokyo

TOKYO (AP)—Daisuke Naito’s fifth defense of his WBC flyweight title against China’s Xiong Zhaozhong next week has been moved to Tokyo.

The fight was originally to be held in Shanghai on Tuesday, but will now take place in Tokyo on the same day, the Nikkansports newspaper reported Sunday.

Officials at Naito’s Miyata gym were quoted as saying the move was due to a “promoter-related problem.”

Miyata gym had been approached about staging the fight in China by the WBC, which is looking to make inroads in the world’s most populous nation.

Naito, 34, stopped compatriot Shingo Yamaguchi in the 11th round to retain his crown at Tokyo in December, improving his record to 34 wins—22 of them by knockout—two defeats and three draws.

Champ of underdogs: Douglas healthy, happy at 49

By RUSTY MILLER, AP Sports Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)—Every now and then a few words in a newspaper or on TV take James “Buster” Douglas back 19 years to a Tokyo boxing ring.

He smiles at that memory, and everything he has survived since.

“It’s like I made my mark, it’s proof that I existed on this planet,” he said. “That’s a good thing. I’m really, really proud about that.”

A happy family man, healthy after nearly dying during a diabetic coma 15 years ago, Douglas spends his days in the present. Still, what took place inside the ropes on Feb. 10, 1990, continues to amaze and confound. Even those who lived it have difficulty believing it.

“To tell you the truth, it’s almost something that didn’t happen,” said J.D. McCauley, Douglas’ uncle and corner man. “Then I look at the championship rings on my fingers. It’s funny, it didn’t seem like it happened. You know what I mean? But it did.”

On that winter night in Japan, the largely unknown and mostly ignored Douglas had a broken heart when he touched gloves with the unbeaten and seemingly invincible Mike Tyson.

Iron Mike, long before a spell in prison sent his career and life into a tailspin, was considered a knockout machine. He had a 37-0 record—decking opponents 33 times. The oddsmakers took one look at Douglas’ erratic career and established Tyson as a 42-to-1 favorite. Even that didn’t draw much action on the underdog.

Nicknamed “Buster” by his grandmother because of his youthful spunk, Douglas came into the fight shaken by the death of his beloved, doting mother, Lula Pearl, who had died while he was training for the fight.

Douglas, an athletic 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, had shown flashes of skill in compiling a 29-4-1 record, but most observers felt he was too passive—some even called him too “nice”—to stay upright for long against the vicious, hard-charging and violent Tyson.

They were so wrong. Instead, Douglas pulled off one of the greatest upsets in sports history.

He fought on even terms with Tyson for the first five rounds, gradually gaining in confidence. Then, in the eighth, Tyson caught him with a thunderous uppercut that leveled him. But he got up an instant before the 10 count.

Tyson, overconfident, unfocused or maybe not in top shape, seemed as surprised as the grizzled scribes and announcers at ringside when Douglas continued to hold him at bay. Even those closest to Douglas wondered if he would have the stamina, let alone the heart, to stand up to Tyson because he had had the flu 24 hours before the fight.

Then, in the 10th, it was all over.

Douglas, five inches taller and 11 pounds heavier, flicked jabs in Tyson’s face to keep him from pounding away at his midsection and taking head shots, then countered with punches that dizzied the champ. The lingering image is of Tyson crawling on the mat while struggling to find his mouthpiece as referee Octavio Meyran counted down the final seconds of Tyson’s invincibility.

Amid the chaos in the ring, Douglas was asked how he had pulled off the massive upset. “My mother,” he said, fighting back tears. “My mother.”

When Douglas looks back on that magical year, he fast-forwards through the next nine months. There were appearances on late-night TV, lengthy magazine pieces, countless photo ops and business proposals. In the days when a heavyweight champion was among the most recognized faces in the world, Douglas enjoyed himself and lost his focus. He was out of shape and uninspired when he collected $24.5 million in his title defense against Evander Holyfield, who KO’d him in the third round on Oct. 25, 1990, in Las Vegas.

The years after were not kind. He ate and drank too much and the former high school and college basketball player ballooned to more than 400 pounds, nearly dying after going into diabetic shock in the summer of 1994.

He made it through that trauma, but continued to drift. His once close relationship with manager John Johnson, who had guided his boxing career, ended badly.

His little brother, 35-year-old Robert, was killed in a gunfight in a parking lot outside the Orchid Cleaning Center on Columbus’ Cleveland Avenue in December of 1998. Less than a year later, his father and mentor, former middleweight Bill “Dynamite” Douglas, died of colon cancer at the age of 59.

It took time, but Douglas again got up off the mat.

He and Johnson have mended fences, occasionally meeting to remember the good days. Douglas and his wife, Bertha, moved to Johnstown, a small town not far from Columbus, to raise sons Cardae, known better as B.J., and Artie. Both play football and run track, while B.J., who is about to graduate from high school, also wrestled. Artie, like his dad, was a basketball player as a freshman.

Now 49, Douglas is content watching his kids’ games. He also has a development company that he said will begin construction of retail and housing units next month not far from where he grew up in a tough, downtrodden neighborhood East of Columbus’ thriving downtown.

Douglas said he is happy that his one-time adversary, Tyson, has gotten his due with a recent documentary and a prominent cameo in a soon-to-be-released film. He wishes him nothing but the best.

He’s also regained his health. He weighs only 20 pounds or so more than he did in Tokyo, and tries to fit in time on a treadmill each day. He even has his diabetes under control and has recently co-written a cookbook, “Buster’s Backyard Bar-B-Q Knockout Diabetes Diet.”

Nineteen years later, Douglas’ remarkable upset of Tyson continues to be mentioned as proof that anything’s possible.

“It’s been so long ago, but then you look at those rings and you know it happened,” McCauley said. “As long as you live, they can never take that away from you.”

Occasionally his kids will see a clip of boxing’s biggest upset. It’s a teaching moment for their father.

“I always tell them, ‘You know what? There’s nothing that you can’t do. Whatever you want to try, try, do it. Because you never know,”’ Douglas said with a laugh. “I’m a prime example of that. Never say never, right?”

Rigondeaux wins pro debut

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP)—Two-time Olympic gold medalist Guillermo Rigondeaux won his professional debut with a third-round technical knockout over Juan Noriega on Friday night.

Rigondeaux, who defected from Cuba in February, was not as busy with his punches but still wore down Noriega in their junior featherweight bout at the Fontainebleau Hotel and Resort.

In fact, referee Sam Burgos stopped the fight at 1:09 of the third round after Rigondeaux landed a right to the head without any follow-up shots. Noriega, of Danville, Ark., didn’t dispute Burgos’ call.

“Everything turned out fine,” Rigondeaux said. “My shots landed exactly where I wanted them.

Rigondeaux, 28, immediately showed his dominance when he dropped Noriega with a right to the head 30 seconds into the bout for the fight’s only knockdown.

Rigondeaux carefully measured his punches and the bout had its moments of inaction.

“I didn’t rush my shots but I believe they were effective,” Rigondeaux said. “It was a brief fight and there were no injuries. Hopefully I can fight again very soon.”

Rigondeaux weighed 122 pounds, two more than Noriega.

An Olympic champion in 2000 and 2004, Rigondeaux, 28, left Cuba with Yudel Johnson and Yordanis Despaigne, teammates on the country’s amateur team. Johnson and Despaigne also fought their first professional bouts Friday night.

Johnson barely broke a sweat, scoring a first-round knockout over Greg Weathers of Louisville. Johnson dropped Weathers with a left to the head soon after the opening bell and didn’t let up his attack and floored Weathers with a right-left combination to the head.

Weathers (3-1) failed to shake off the knockdown’s effects and Burgos stopped the middleweight fight at 52 seconds.

Ochoa Looks To Stay Undefeated On "Tinley Park Rumble"

Ochoa Takes Next Step At "Tinley Park Rumble" Towards Reaching Goal

May 21 (Merrillville, In) - On Friday, June 12th at the fight card dubbed "Tinley Park Rumble," welterweight Ed "2 Fast 2 Furious" Ochoa (8-0, 8 KOs) will square off against a rugged ring Jesse Davis (11-12, 8 KOs).

Ochoa vs. Davis is one of the electric fights scheduled for the "Tinley Park Rumble" with Michael "Midnight Stalker" Walker (19-2-2, 12 KOs) vs. "Iron" Orphius Waite (5-0, 3 KOs) as the main event, but it has been Ochoa stealing the shows with his devastating knockouts lately.

"This is definitely an incredible card to follow up the instant classic that was 'Date With Destiny' card," said Octavius James, C.E.O. of One In A Million Inc. "(Ed) Ochoa is definitely going to be in for a war with Savannah, Tennessee's Davis, but this is just one of those steps he has to take to become the next world champion."

The 27 year-old Hobart resident is coming off a destructive 1st round knockout (2:10) of Chris Hill at "Date With Destiny" that rattled the Hammond Civic Center, but Ochoa looks to bring down Davis and the Tinley Park Convention Center to their foundations.

"We want to step it up every time and Davis has been in there with some really good fighters including Derrick Findley," said Ochoa. "I just know what I possess and what I'm capable of, if fighters want to go through six rounds and they want a beating that long- fine. It takes a lot more to take my zero (in the loss column) away."

Ochoa's dream of eventually becoming a world champion got a shot in the arm when fellow O.I.A.M. stable mate "Merciless" Mary McGee staked claim to her second world title at "Date With Destiny." "It gives me a little more motivation and inspiration and puts a boot under your butt, I just thank Octavius for the opportunity" added Ochoa of seeing McGee win another title.

Also scheduled as part of another sensational undercard are Chicago's Bobby Jaskierny (3-1, 2 KOs), the unbeaten Josh Crouch (4-0, 4 KOs), Female Sensation Evette Collazo (4-0, 2 KOs), the always exciting Angel Hernandez (12-3, 10 KOs), and middleweight Meegal Harper (1-0, 1 KO).

Tickets "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 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.

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Undefeated Heavyweight Ashanti Jordan
8countNews.com ~ Brad Cooney

8CountNews sat down with Golden Boy Promotions undefeated heavyweight prospect, Ashanti Jordan. This young heavyweight will step back into the ring on May 21st, against David Johnson. Jordan is definitely a fighter that everybody needs to be keeping a close eye on, his future in the heavyweight division is looking very bright. Jordan looks to keep very busy in 2009 and has high hopes of one day becoming the heavyweight champion of the world. Join 8CN and Ashanti Jordan in this exclusive podcast interview! Listen Now.

Interview with Ashanti Jordan
MightyGloves.com ~ Sylvana Ambrosanio and Katschiri Schwalm

Ashanti Jordan is an exciting heavyweight from San Francisco, California who turned pro in March of 2007 after compiling an amateur record of 36-6 and attaining a ranking of number two among heavyweight amateurs nationwide while also competing in the National Golden Gloves tournament. Read More..

Mario Serrano
Publicist
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