News On: Boxing After Dark, Omar Henry, Dana Rosenblatt, More

Two of the hottest divisions take the spotlight when HBO BOXING AFTER DARK: VANES MARTIROSYAN VS. ERISLANDY LARA AND MIKEY GARCIA VS. JONATHAN BARROS is seen SATURDAY, NOV. 10 at 9:45 p.m. (ET/PT) from the Lafite Ballroom at the Wynn Casino in Las Vegas, exclusively on HBO. The team of Bob Papa, Max Kellerman and Roy Jones Jr. will be ringside for the event, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

Other HBO playdates: Nov. 11 (10:00 a.m.) and 12 (11:45 p.m.)

HBO2 playdate: Nov. 13 (11:00 p.m.)

Undefeated Vanes Martirosyan (32-0, 20 KOs), from Glendale, Cal., goes up against top contender Erislandy Lara (17-1-1, 11 KOs) of Guantanamo, Cuba, now living in Miami, Fla., in a scheduled 12-round super welterweight title elimination bout. A member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic boxing team, Martirosyan scored impressive wins over future champions Austin Trout, Andre Berto and Timothy Bradley as an amateur before launching his unblemished pro career. He’s trained by Hall of Famer Freddie Roach.

Lara, who captured world amateur titles in 2005 and 2006 before defecting from Cuba in 2008, has just one professional loss – to Paul Williams in a hotly debated decision last year – and is determined to prove he is next in line for the title opportunity.

First up for the night, top contender Mikey Garcia (29-0, 25 KOs) of Oxnard, Cal. takes on former featherweight champ Jonathan Barros (34-3-1, 18 KOs), from Mendoza, Argentina, in a scheduled ten-round bout. The undefeated Garcia comes from a boxing family: He’s trained by his older brother Robert, while his father and uncle, both former fighters, are also trainers. Barros was a featherweight titleholder in 2007 but relinquished it in his first defense, and looks to reestablish himself in the highly competitive 126-pound division.

Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.
All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.

The executive producer of HBO BOXING AFTER DARK is Rick Bernstein; producer, Dave Harmon; director, Marc Payton.

® HBO BOXING AFTER DARK is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla.—Don King’s Omar “El Boricua” Henry (12-0-1, 9 KOs), from Oakland, Calif., will fight at 160 pounds when he faces World Boxing Association No. 15-ranked middleweight Juan Ubaldo Cabrera (20-0, 14 KOs), from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in a main event battle of unbeatens on ShoBox: The New Generation (live at 11 p.m. ET/PT, on SHOWTIME, delayed on the West Coast) set for Friday, Nov. 16 from Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The four fighters appearing on SHOWTIME-televised doubleheader are currently undefeated. In the co-featured main event, lightweight Angelo “La Cobra” Santana (13-0, 10 KOs), from Miami, will face Juan “Johnny” Garcia (13-0, 8 KOs), from Holland, Mich. Both matches are scheduled for 10 rounds.

Tickets priced at $25, $50, $100 and $200 are on sale and can be purchased online at www.gulfstreampark.com or by calling the Gulfstream Park box office at (954) 457-6201.

Henry, 25, has long been considered one of the top prospects in boxing. A proud Puerto Rican, he compiled a stellar amateur record of 60-5. The promising Henry is on the verge of realizing the greatness that so many have predicted for him.

Cabrera defeated future pro world champion Jean Pascal and Yordenis Despigne in the amateurs and also participated in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic games representing the Dominican Republic. Now 33 years of age with a perfect record, Cabrera will face the toughest challenge to date against the talented Henry.

In the co-feature, Santana and Garcia will both be risking their perfect records—both are 13-0—In the lightweight scrap.

Santana was a two-time national champion in Cuba before defecting to Miami to follow his girlfriend, Anay, and dreams of winning a world championship. Now married to her, Santana is closing in on his first world-title shot. At 24, he has developed to the point where he has stopped his last six opponents in four rounds or less. In his last appearance, Santana earned his best win against a quality opponent, world-class contender Justin Savi, who he dispatched with a third round technical knockout on June 23.

Garcia seeks to spoil Santana’s rags-to-riches story. No stranger to facing undefeated prospects, Garcia defeated William Jackson (10-0-1) last year. On March 23 he scored a shocking upset over highly touted Cuban Yordenis Ugas, who was 11-0 before they met.

Sunshine State Showdown is promoted by Don King Productions. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. A full undercard will be presented. Henry vs. Cabrera and Santana vs. Garcia will be televised on ShoBox: The Next Generation live beginning at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) on SHOWTIME.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (August 16, 2012) – Former World Boxing Union middleweight champion “Dangerous” Dana Rosenblatt, who is an incoming member of the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame's (CBHOF) Class of 2012, retired 10 years ago from the ring and has become a highly successful mortgage broker.

All of the 2012 CBHOF Hall of Fame inductees, as well as this year's CBHOF award winners, will be honored on Saturday night, November 17 at the 8th annual Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame (CBHOF) Gala Induction in the Uncas Ballroom at Mohegan Sun.

The 40-year-old Rosenblatt (37-1-2, 23 KOs) was forced to hang up his gloves due to a series of injuries that, unfortunately, hampered his effectiveness and kept him out of the ring for long stretches.

“I never finished all I wanted to do and stopped fighting at 30, not because I wanted to, but I had to because of my hand and shoulder injuries,” Rosenblatt explained. “It just got so inconsistent (fighting) and then I got a shot (mortgage broker) at what I could consistently do for the rest of my life. I would have kept boxing if I could but it was injury after injury. I hit the mortgage business at the right time and built it to where it is today. I hit it right.”

The newest class of CBHOF inductees also include former World Boxing Association (WBA) light middleweight champion “Tremendous” Travis Simms, five-time Trainer of the Year Freddie Roach, promoter Jimmy Burchfield (Classic Entertainment and Sports, Inc.), manager George Cruz and the late manager/promoter Lou Viscusi.

The 2012 award winners are Tony “TNT” Grano, Conn. Professional Boxer of the Year; Elvis Figueroa, Conn. Amateur Boxer of the Year; Dick Flaherty, Official of the Year; Mitchell Etess, Contributor To Boxing

Rosenblatt fought 13 times as a professional in Connecticut, winning 12 with one draw. He fought out of Malden (MA), resides with his family in Brookline (MA), and works at Reliant Mortgage in Beverly (MA).

In 1996, Dana won the WBU middleweight title in 1996, stopping 1976 U.S. Olympian Howard Davis in the second round at the Fleet Center in Boston. Dana added the International Boxing Association (IBA) middleweight title belt to his collection in 1998 with a win by 12-round decision over four-time World champion Terry Norris. A year later, Rosenblatt avenged his lone loss as a pro by way of a 12-round decision against 2011 CBHOF inductee Vinny Paz at Foxwoods Resort Casino for the International Boxing Organization (IBO) super middleweight championship.

“I've been going to the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame induction dinner for 6 years,” Rosenblatt said. “It's a nice ceremony. I think it's good that they reached out to guys who aren't from Connecticut but who made an impact fighting at the casinos (Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun) there. I fought there a lot and had some of my most significant fights there. I'm happy to be going in the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame.

“I have nothing to do with boxing today. I still watch and go to some fights, but I'm not involved in boxing. I spend most of my time working, it's an hour drive to and from home to my office, and watching my two daughters – ages 11 and 6 – grow up.”

Tickets for the CBHOF 8th annual Gala Induction Dinner, reasonably priced at $75.00, are on sale now by calling Kim Baker at Mohegan Sun (1.860-.862.7377) or Sherman Cain at the Manchester Journal Inquirer (1.800.237.3606 X321). Doors open at 5:30 p.m. ET, cocktails at 6 p.m. ET, followed by dinner.

Go online to www.ctboxinghof.com for more information about the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame.

HOUSTON, TX (November 7, 2012) Former Notre Dame Boxing Champion Mike Lee will look to stay undefeated as he returns to action on Saturday, DECEMBER 15 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

Lee, 11-0-0 (6KO’s), will be featured in a six round light heavyweight bout on the undercard of the HBO televised Junior Featherweight World Championship clash between Nonito Donaire and Jorge Arce.

Since early 2010 Lee has trained with the renowned Ronnie Shields in Houston, most recently at the state-of-the-art Plex Performance Facility in Stafford, Texas alongside performance coach Danny Arnold.

“This is a terrific opportunity to fight in Houston for the first time” said the Chicago born and raised Lee. “Training down here with Ronnie and Danny has been great for my career and I’m excited to fight in front of all of my supporters and friends in the Houston area.”

Lee is coming off his HBO Pay-Per-View debut, looking dominant in a unanimous decision win over Paul Harness on SEPTEMBER 15. Fighting in front of a large crowd of Notre Dame alums and Team Lee supporters, the win took place on the undercard of the World Middleweight Championship bout between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Sergio Martinez at the sold-out Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

A Subway Restaurant spokesperson, Lee can be also be seen in numerous nationally broadcast commercials as part of their “Famous Fan” campaign alongside Olympic Swimming Legend Michael Phelps, World Series Champion Ryan Howard and NFL Pro-Bowler Ndamukong Suh.

Tickets for Mike Lee’s return to action may be purchased by calling (630) 400-6380.
Lee is a graduate of Notre Dame where he earned a Finance Degree from the Mendoza School of Business while finishing at the top of his class.

?BROOKLYN, NY (November 7, 2012) – Israel's President Shimon Peres will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday to open the Russian Jewish Tolerance Museum, the world's largest Jewish museum. ??The Russian Jewish Museum of Tolerance is designed to bring together different cultural traditions through the prism of Jewish culture, to develop ideas of tolerance and harmony. ??Dmitriy and his family immigrated to Brooklyn, NY from Odessa, in the former Soviet Union (USSR) during a historic period called “Perestroika”. After relocating to Brooklyn, Dmitriy found Starret City boxing club and shortly thereafter a Chabad House Synagogue. ??While competing at the US Nationals at the age of 18, Dmitriy chose not to compete on Shabbos in accordance with Jewish law. Facing disqualification, Dmitriy stayed true to his convictions and eventually went on to win the championship becoming US Under 19 Champion. Shortly there after he turned pro becoming the first Orthodox Jewish boxer in the history of the sport. ??Dmitriy's story of winning the US Championship will be a permanent feature in the “PERESTROIKA” section of Moscow's Jewish Museum of Tolerance. ??”Sport is an international language of tolerance and understanding. It can be used to bridge gaps, represent an idea and social justice. I am grateful and honored that my story is part of the museum and this timeless project,” said Salita. ??The center also includes state-of-the art technology that teaches the story of creation, the giving of the ten commandments on Mount Sinai, the holy temples, life in the Diaspora and Jewish suffering throughout the generations. It will be the biggest Jewish museum in the world, with an area of 17,000 square meters or approximately 170,000 square feet, while the area of exposition dedicated to history of the Jewish people is 4,500 square meters or approximately 45,000 square feet. It will house several museum expositions, a library, a scientific center, conference halls and exhibition galleries.