News On: Monte Carlo Fights, Willie Nelson, Jorge Maysonet

New York, NY (2/25/13) – With just more than a month until the “Monte-Carlo Million Dollar Super Four” boxing tournament in Monaco, the organizers have been swamped for ticket requests and information on the mega-event.

“I’ve been in this business a long time and I’ve never known anything like it,” said Rodney Berman, chief executive of Golden Gloves, which is promoting the tournament.

“All the major fighters, among them Gennady Golovkin, Nobuhiro Ishida and Edwin Rodriguez, are bringing out supporters while Zsolt Erdei has asked for a special block booking at the venue for his Hungarian supporters.”

Golden Gloves, in partnership with the Monte-Carlo SBM Group, is planning week-long festivities leading up to the fights.

The preceding Sunday (March 24) will start with a meet-and-greet function at the Casino de Monte-Carlo featuring Golovkin, followed by a public media conference featuring all the boxers on Tuesday and public sparring on the Wednesday, from 3pm.

The weigh-in will take place on Friday (March 29) at 6pm with the invitation-only post-fight conference set for March 30. While the tournament will be held at the Chapiteau de Fontvieille, all the parallel events will take place at the elegant and historic Casino de Monte-Carlo.

The elimination event features Edwin Rodriguez (22-0, 15 KOs) against Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna (19-0, 13 KOs) and Erdei (33-0, 18 KOs) versus Denis Grachev (12-1-1, 8 KOs) with the two winners advancing to the final at the second leg of the tournament on July 13. They will square off for a 60/40 split of US $1-million.

In the headline bout, Golovkin will defend his WBA middleweight belt against dangerous Ishida of Japan. The European junior-middleweight title bout featuring champion Sergei Rabchenko (Russia) and Adriano Nicchi (Italy) also features on this historic card.

Tickets can be puchased while contacting the SBM Reservations Department by phone at: +377 98 06 36 36 (10 am to 7 pm) or email: ticketoffice@sbm.mc

• Tickets will on sale directly on the internet later this week. Details to be advised.

ST. LOUIS (February 24, 2013) – Veteran boxing trainer Jack Loew has been to the top of the boxing mountain with former world champion Kelly Pavlik and now he’s heading back there with rising star Willie “The Great” Nelson (19-1-1, 11 KOs), North American Boxing Federation (NABF) super welterweight champion, who makes his first title defense against Michael “El Magnifico” Medina (26-3-2, 19 KOs) in the 10-round co-feature on this week’s ESPN Friday Night Fights, airing live (9 p.m. ET) from MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

DiBella Entertainment and 50 Cent’s SMS Promotions are co-promoting this week’s ESPN Friday Night Fights show. Nelson vs. Medina NABF title fight is being promoted in association with Steve Smith’s Rumble Time Promotions, also Nelson’s co-promoter with DiBella Entertainment.

Nelson(19-1-1, 11 KOs), who is the top-ranked American in the World Boxing Council (WBC) ratings at No. 5, is coming off impressive back-to-back wins by 10-round decisions over a pair of previously unbeaten Olympians – two-time Cuban National champion Yudel Jhonson (12-1), on ShoBox, and previously unbeaten Virgin Islands-native and WBC Youth champion, John “Dah Rock” Jackson (13-1, 12 KOs), for the vacant NABF super welterweight title.

Back in 2007, Pavlik got his first big break by stopping Edison Miranda in the seventh-round of an HBO Championship Boxing card in Memphis, headlined by Jermain Taylor and his decision victory over Cory Spinks. The nationally televised win positioned Pavlik for his next fight, in which he captured the World Boxing Council (WBA) and WBC middleweight titles by knocking out defending champion Taylor in the seventh round, propelling Kelly into stardom.

Loew, respectfully, believes that Medina could be a stepping-stone for Nelson like Miranda was for Pavlik. “I know it’s a waiting game, Loew said. “I’ve been there with Kelly. We waited until he got Miranda. Willie knows I’ve been there before and he trusts me in his corner. Medina is a tough, dangerous kid who has a golden opportunity fighting Willie. Medina is coming to fight but he’s wide open, fighting a taller opponent (Nelson is 6′ 4″) who has a long reach (84″). If he does what he’s told and follows our game plan, Willie wins hands down, probably by knockout.”

Medina, ranked No. 17 by the WBC, has been stopped only once, by Saul Roman. He now has a hot trainer, Eric Brown, working his corner as chief second. Brown, who is a top trainer at Freddie Roach’s famed Wild Card Gym in Hollywood (CA), gained international attention last year for his work with world champions Peter Quillin and Paulie Malignaggi.

“Jack can hold his own with any trainer in boxing,” Smith commented. “In Willie Nelson, he has the best pure boxer he’s ever worked with and Willie, a highly-decorated amateur boxer, in Jack, has a trainer who has proven his ability to develop a world champion. Jack has Willie sitting down on his punches and using his monstrous reach, working everything off his jab and throwing lethal body punches. Jack has Willie using every bit of his many God-given gifts. When I say Jack has turned Willie into a frightening, imposing fighter, I really mean it, because Jack has built Willie into a complete fighter. Willie’s going to look like a million bucks too thanks Rival Boxing for designing Willie’s new custom trunks. Team Nelson wants to thank Anthony and Russ for doing that.”

Gatorade Media Lab video link: http://vimeo.com/60297175

Nelson had nearly 250 amateur matches, losing only 22, highlighted by gold medal performances in the PAL National Championships twice and U.S. Under-19 Tournament. He has dramatically improved since he moved from his Cleveland home to train with Loew in the fighting town of Youngstown, Ohio, known for producing outstanding prize-fighters such as Pavlik, Ray Mancini, Tony Janiro, Jeff Lampkin, Greg Richardson and Craig Snyder.

“Willie is like Bernard Hopkins in terms of always being in the gym and in top condition,” Loew noted. “He makes my job easier by being that way. This is a big fight for Willie because the WBC dropped Vane Martirosyan from No. 2 in the ratings (for refusing to fight No. 1 contender Erislandy Lara in a rematch of their box-off that ended in a draw to become the mandatory challenger to champion Saul Alvarez) and Willie moved up to No. 5. Maybe a big win against Medina gets us up to No. 3. It’s just a matter of time for Willie; I’ve been telling him no slip-ups, no mistakes at this stage.

Tickets priced at $200, $100, $75 and $40 may be purchased online at foxwoods.com, by calling the Foxwoods’ box office at 800-200-2882, or in person at the Foxwoods’ box office.

Go online to www.RumbleTimePromotions.com for more information about Nelson or any of his Rumble Time Promotions stable-mates.

FEBRUARY 25, 2013 – Cataño, Puerto Rico – Jorge “Machito” Maysonet ( 11-0, 10 KO’ ) managed to become the first boxer to knock out experienced fellow Puerto Rican, Pedro Salcedo (3-6, 2 KO’s) in a fight held at the Cosme Beitía Salamo Coliseum.

“This is my first knockout victory in the second round, before that, all my knockouts have come in the first, and it was because I hurt my right elbow little bit, so I could not keep landing solid shots like I wanted to. I recovered in the second round, and quickly landed good rights to the body to end the fight” said Maysonet, who is promoted by Warriors Boxing, Universal Promotions, and Gary Shaw Productions.

A couple of years ago, Salcedo defeated the undefeated Juan Herrera of Naguabo,PR and was in competitive fights in a losing effort against José Pedraza (12-0, 8 KO’s) and Emmanuel Gonzalez (11-0, 7 KO’s).

?Last October in Guayama, PR Maysonet scored the biggest win of his career when stopped the rough and rugged Ramesis Gil by want of a first round knockout, who had huge victories ovr Carney Bowman (16-1, 7 KO’s) of Philadelphia and Luis Joel González (9-1-1, 5 KO’s) from Bayamón, PR bayamonés. Both wins were by decision.??The undefeated 135-pound explosive fighter is trained by his father, Jorge Maysonet Sr., who represented Puerto Rico in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles ( 1984 ), and as a professional boxer, scored all his victories (22) by way of knockout and was a world title contender.