News On: Weigh-In Beef, Main Events Cards, Froch-Mack, Sartonk

The fighters who’ll compete in the co-feature tomorrow/Nov. 16, on ShoBox:
The New Generation live on SHOWTIME® (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West
Coast) from Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., had to be separated by their camps after a mini-melee broke out Thursday during the weigh-in.

The fracas between super welterweights Joey “Twinkle Fingers” Hernandez
(22-1-1, 13 KOs), of Miami (pictured at the left), and James “Shotgun”
Winchester (15-5, 5 KOs), of Greensboro, N.C., came after Hernandez shoved
Winchester before they were to pose for cameras after they both weighed in.

Their 10-round clash, which will open the telecast, was just added to the
televised portion of the event late Wednesday.

No one enjoyed the commotion more than Hall of Fame promoter, Don King.

Both fighters made weight; Hernandez tipped the scale at 156 pounds,
Winchester 155¾.

Undefeated lightweights Angelo “La Cobra” Santana (13-0, 10 KOs), of Miami,
Fla., and Johnny Garcia (13-0, 8 KOs), of Holland, Mich., collide in the ShoBox main event.

Garcia made the contracted weight (135 pounds) easily, coming in at 133¾
pounds. Santana came in 1¾ pounds overweight, however, and had two hours to
shed the excess poundage.

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.

 
TOTOWA, NJ – November 14, 2012 – NBC Sports Network's popular “Fight Night” TV boxing series starts 2013 off with a bang on January 19th when Sergey Kovalev, 19-0-1, 17 KOs, takes on Gabriel Campillo, 21-4-1, 8 KOs, in an international 10-round light heavyweight main event. The nationally televised fight will be held at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT.  The NBC Sports Network telecast will begin at 9PM ET.
 
Kovalev, the 175-pound punching machine from Chelyabinsk, Russia, aptly nicknamed “Krusher”, always brings the power when he steps into the ring. Only three of his opponents have gone the distance during his three year career. His last start was a typical Kovalev affair, a three round blowout of Lionell Thompson in Bethlehem, PA. He will look to make similar short work of Campillo in January.

Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev
 Campillo is Spanish southpaw from Madrid who once reigned as the WBA 175-pound world champion. In his last fight, he boxed circles around undefeated IBF champ Tavoris Cloud, but lost a highly controversial split decision. Campillo, known as the “Handsome Man” is a beautiful boxer looking to get back to another world title bout. Kovalev is standing in his way. 

Gabriel “Chico Guapo” Campillo
 
This caliber of competition has become the benchmark for the NBC Sports Network “Fight Night” series. “Fight Night” matchmaker, J Russell Peltz said, “This is a classic boxer-puncher fight between world-class fighters. On paper it doesn't get any better than this, in person it could be even better.”
Tickets go on sale to the public Saturday, November 17 at 10AM ET. They are priced at $125 and $40 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster 1-800-745-3000. Ticketmaster Link to January 19 NBCSN Fight Night at Mohegan Sun. For ADA accessible sales, call Mohegan Sun Box Office 1-800-862-8499.

PHILADELPHIA – The NBC Sports Network's nationally televised Fight Night boxing series returns to the city where it all began last January – the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, PA. After five important and exciting boxing events throughout 2012, the series closes out the year with another Philly Fight Night on December 8th at Temple University's Pearson / McGonigle Hall. Headlining in December is Bryant Jennings, the winner of the very first Fight Night main event. The NBC Sports Network telecast will begin at 9PM ET. 
“We are very excited about the success we have had with Fight Night on NBC Sports Network. The collaboration with Main Events and J Russell Peltz has allowed us to produce strong match-ups and compelling shows.” said Jon Miller, President, Programming, NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network. “The NBC Sports Group is committed to the property and we are looking forward to our Fight Night schedule in 2013.”
Kathy Duva of Main Events said, “I love the idea that we are closing out the first NBC Sports Network Fight Night year with the fighter who helped us start the series.” Duva added, “We have fulfilled our promise to deliver competitive, crossroad fights. I'm really looking forward to December 8th and I can't wait for everyone to see what we have coming next year!”
The series kicked off January 21st in South Philly when Jennings and Maurice Byarm rumbled for the Pennsylvania state title. Both fighters entered the ring with unbeaten records, but after a nip-and-tuck, all action 10-rounder, Jennings left with his “0” intact and the PA State Belt around his waist. An NBC Sports Network star was born. In the co-feature that night Philly's Gabriel Rosado kicked his career into high gear with a head-turning performance against the tough Jesus Soto Karass in a junior middleweight bout. No one had ever stopped Karass before this fight, but Rosado pulled off the feat in round five.
The series returned in March from Brooklyn, NY with former multi-champion, and hometown hero, Zab Judah dominating rugged and undefeated Vernon Paris in a scheduled 12-round IBF junior welterweight title eliminator. Judah turned back the clock and secured another crack at the title with a convincing TKO in round nine. Bryant Jennings also won that night, beating former heavyweight champion Sergei Liakovich by ninth round stoppage. The win for Jennings brought him a world ranking, and prompted broadcast analyst and trainer Freddie Roach to call Jennings the best American heavyweight on the scene. Also on the card that night, former two-time champion Tomasz Adamek bounced back from his heavyweight title challenge with a solid win over Nagy Aguilera.
Gabriel Rosado returned to the NBC Sports Network airwaves by popular demand on June 1st, and won the WBO Intercontinental junior middleweight title with a TKO over Sechew Powell in nine rounds in Bethlehem, PA. The victory cemented Rosado's reputation as a world-class all-action fighter with KOs on his mind. He dismantled Powell that night with his aggressive 'take no prisoners' style. Also on the card that evening, Bethlehem's Ronald Cruz remained undefeated with a mature points win over fellow rising star Prenice Brewer. The thrilling chess match brought Cruz the vacant WBC continental Americas welterweight crown, and won him new fans all over the USA.
Two weeks later, Tomasz Adamek and Eddie Chambers fought a memorable fight at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, in the fourth installment of the series. Chambers injured his left arm in the first round and had to fight the remaining eleven rounds one-handed. He came close to winning the fight, but the always-pressing Adamek took the decision and defended his IBF North American heavyweight title. Bryant Jennings returned to the series with a dominant unanimous decision over Steve Collins to capture the USBA heavyweight title. This third appearance on NBCSN showed the boxing world that Jennings was a real title threat, and pushed him further up the rankings.
On September 21st, Fight Night returned to Bethlehem, PA again with Gabriel Rosado in the spotlight. He fought the wily Charles Whittaker in an IBF title eliminator, and with another brutal beat down, became the mandatory challenger for IBF champion Cornelius Bundrage. Whittaker fell in round ten, and Rosado rose to #1. Bethlehem's Ronald Cruz faced seasoned Antwone Smith in the welterweight co-feature, and after ten tough rounds lost for the first time in his career. Smith fought a little more slick and smart to go home with the victory. In the third feature of the night, Russian light heavyweight bomber Sergey Kovalev brought the pain to Lionell Thompson with a third round TKO.
Five big fight cards down and just one more to go for 2012. On December 8th, Fight Night returns with another terrific double feature. Series staple Bryant Jennings, 15-0, 7 KOs, defends his USBA heavyweight title against Bowie Tupou, 22-2, 16 KOs, in a 12-rounder. For Jennings, now ranked #5, the homecoming fight caps his breakthrough year that took him from prospect to contender. A win over the hard-punching Tupou just may set him up for a title shot in 2013. In the co-feature, Philly's Teon Kennedy, 17-2-2, 7 KOs, clashes with undefeated Texan, Jerry Belmontes, 17-0, 5 KOs, in a 10-round junior lightweight fight. Kennedy, one of Philly's most exciting boxers, is coming off a world title try and will have his hands full against the undefeated “Corpus Christi Kid”, who is looking to make a name for himself on national television the way so many others have done this year on the NBC Sports Network.
 
      
HOBOKEN, N.J. (October 30, 2012) — With a rematch against former World champion Lucian Bute still on the cards, as well as potential grudge rematches against Andre Ward and Mikkel Kessler in International Boxing Federation (IBF) super middleweight champion Carl “The Cobra's” Froch's future, the 34-year-old British favorite admitted that his November 17th title defense against Yusaf Mack, headlining the “True Brit” pay-per-view event (in the U.S.), could be his last fight at home in Nottingham, England.
 
“If the Bute fight happens,” Froch explained, “it will be in Canada, and rematches with Ward and Kessler could well happen in America and Denmark, so this could well be my last fight in Nottingham.”
 
Froch and Mack headline an exciting night of boxing on Nov. 17 with Tony Bellew aiming to seal his second World light heavyweight title shot in a World Boxing Council (WBC) title eliminator against Argentine invader Roberto Bolonti.
 
“True Brit,” presented by Matchroom Boxing, will be distributed in the United States by Integrated Sports Media for live viewing at 3:00 PM/ET – 12:00 PM/PT on both cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, DIRECTV, DISH Network and Avail-TVN for a suggested retail price of only $29.95.
 
“True Brit” will also be available to view via Fight Now TV, America's only 24-hour combat sports and entertainment channel, on Cablevision channel 464 as part of the iO Gold package.
 
Froch (29-2, 21 KOs), rated by The Ring Magazine as the No. 1 contender in the world, captured the IBF title in his last fight on May 26 with an impressive fifth-round technical knockout of previously undefeated champion Bute (30-1). In the past four years, his last eight fights have been against a Who's Who of the 168-pound division with victories over Bute, Glen Johnson (DEC12), Arthur Abraham (DEC12), Andre Dirrell (DEC12), Jermain Taylor (TKO12) and Jean Pascal (DEC12). Froch's only losses were by 12-round decisions to unbeaten World Boxing Council (WBC)/World Boxing Association (WBA) king Ward in the final of the Super Six Tournament, and four-time World champion Kessler during the aforementioned tournament. Seven of his last eight opponents, excluding Dirrell, have been world champion.
 
IBF No.5-ranked Mack (31-4, 17 KOs) has been fighting as a light heavyweight since 2008. He lost his only world title shot to IBF 175-pound champion Tavoris Cloud by eighth-round technical knockout in 2006.
 
“I'm in fantastic shape and itching to get in there again,” Froch said. “The Bute fight was special and the best night of my career, but there's no chance I'll take my foot off the pedal on November 17. Yusaf is a dangerous customer and he has nothing to lose coming here and everything to gain. Yusaf has fought for a World title at light heavyweight and he is going to be doing everything he can to prove himself at super middleweight.”
 
Bellew (18-1, 12 KOs) and South American champion Bolonti (30-1, 19 KOs) will fight in the 12-round co-feature, an official WBC eliminator to become champion “Bad” Chad Dawson's mandatory challenger, with the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) Silver light heavyweight championship on the line.
 
Bellew, rated No. 10 by The Ring Magazine and No. 14 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO), has lost only once as a professional, last year in his only World title challenge fight to undefeated WBO champion Nathan Cleverly by 12-round majority decision.
 
Bolonti will be going for his 27th consecutive victory on Nov. 17. Fighting outside of his native Buenos Aires, Argentina for the first time, Bolonti is rated No. 5 by the WBC, No. 10 by the WBA and IBF.  
 
The PPV card, pending time restrictions, will also showcase some of Britain's top, young fighters, including bantamweight prospect Khalid “Kal” Yafai (3-0, 2 KOs), a 2008 Great Britain Olympian, vs. TBA, lightweight Scott “Scotty” Cardle (5-0, 1 KO) vs. Joe Elfidh (7-2), former European middleweight champion Kerry Hope (17-4, 1 KO) in a six-round tune-up vs. TBA prior to his December 8th showdown with Darren Barker, lightweight Martin J. Ward (2-0) vs. TBA, middleweight Ryan “Tank” Aston (7-1, 3 KOs) vs. Tyan Booth (11-6-1, 2 KOs), and featherweight Leigh “Leigh-thal” Wood (4-0, 1 KO) vs. Gavin Reid (6-16-1, 3 KOs). All fights and fighters are subject to change.
 

November 15, 2012, Union City, NJ — Ardash Sahaghian, the man responsible for designing boxing's championship belts, was inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame on the evening of 8 November 2012. In a beautiful banquet and ceremony held at The Venetian in Garfield, New Jersey, Sahaghian was recognized for creating the emblematic belts of the boxing industry.

Edward S. Majian, President of Sartonk Designs, the company founded to preserve Sahaghian’s legacy, introduced his grandfather. Indicating that his grandfather values a person’s character above anything else, Majian spoke not only about Ardash Sahaghian’s accomplishments in boxing, but also “the person — his character.” He described Sahaghian’s long journey from Romania to New Jersey, with striking examples of his humanity and compassion: “He is a man who responded to apartheid in South Africa by driving his workers home each night, so they wouldn’t sleep in the factory away from their families. He is a man who nurses birds back to health, who feeds stray alley cats daily because, as he once said to me, we need to leave the earth a better place.”

Majian highlighted Sahaghian’s commitment to his family and to his craft. “For as much as Ardash Sahaghian has melted, filed, and polished metal into iconic symbols, the metal has also shaped his character. Working with his hands has taught him the virtue of patience… For Ardash, work is problem-solving, creation, meditation and dedication.”

Majian thanked New Jersey fans and supporters for “lifting [Sahaghian] up, and documenting the Armenian man from Romania, who came to America and crafted ‘those belts’ — those belts that are now iconically worn all over the world.”

To thunderous applause, Sahaghian approached the podium where a translation of his remarks were read. He thanked the NJ boxing community, particularly “long-time friend,” Henry Hascup, President of the NJ Boxing Hall of Fame Committee, for his friendship and support. He expressed his heartfelt appreciation to family, friends, and clients. Sahaghian was especially grateful to and proud of his grandson for “keeping my work alive and taking this company to places that I couldn’t have even imagined.”

The Sahaghian family and Sartonk Designs thank the NJ Boxing Hall of Fame Committee for recognizing Ardash Sahaghian’s unique contributions to boxing. As Hascup remarked aptly, “Ardash is a part of boxing history!”

Pictures from the event can be seen at SARTONK's Facebook and Twitter pages: www.facebook.com/sartonk and www.twitter.com/sartonk.