NEWS ON: Czar Glazkov, Gallo-Carlson, Boxing Fan Expo

Heavyweight Vyacheslav “Czar” Glazkov competed at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China and despite an injury that prevented him from competing in the finals he won the Bronze medal.

Currently in training camp for his March 15th battle on NBCSN Fight Night against Tomasz Adamek, Czar watched last night's closing ceremonies in Sochi (which is not far from his native Ukraine). He reminisced about his own Olympic experiences in 2008.

Q: How did it feel to proudly represent your country at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China and earn yourself the Bronze medal?

VG: It was a huge win for me and the transition to professional boxing. It was a great motivational moment in my career. It was my dream to represent my country in the Olympics and now I have a dream to take the championship belt.

Q: How does it feel to stand on the podium?

VG: I had a feeling of great happiness but I was also saddened by the injury to my hand that stopped me from going further.

Q: What is it like to represent your country?

VG: I had a deep feeling of patriotism. It was an honor and I feel great pride to wear our nation's colors. p

2008 Olympics Photo from

Vyacheslav Glazkov Fan Page

Q: How much pressure did you feel? Did that make it easier or harder for you

VG: I felt a lot of pressure but I learned how to stabilize and balance the pressure to ensure best results.

Q:

What is it like to live in Olympic Village?

VG: It was a great experience. Everything was at the top level. Inside the village everything is set up to provide athletes with the best accommodations for them to succeed. The best thing about the village is that it is an opportunity to meet athletes from all over the world and sports starts such as Kobe Bryant and many others.

Q: Did you meet anyone there with whom you have remained friends?

VG: Yes of course. I met Andrei Kirilenko the basketball player and Elena Esonbayeva. Also Sergey Bubko and other legends of the sport.

Q: How did it feel to participate in the opening and closing ceremonies?

VG: It was over the top emotions a great and amazing feeling. It was the greatest spectacle I have ever seen.

Q: As you know the closing ceremonies for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics was last night, did you follow the Olympics this year and if so, how do you feel about your native country of the Ukraine's performance.

VG: I am very happy for my country especially in such hard times.

Q: You earned a gold medal in 2004 at the first ever World University Boxing Championships, held in Antalya, Turkey. Over 120 boxers from 27 different countries participated in this tournament, how does this accomplishment compare to being awarded the Bronze medal just 4 years later at the 2008 Olympic Games?

VG: In 2004, the win was my first great accomplishment and it was the first step in the final push to the bigger fights, a higher level of competition and a step closer to my 2008 Olympic medal.

Q: At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, you were forced to pull out your semi-finals match-up with Zhang Zhilei due to a shoulder injury. You were awarded the Bronze medal and Zhilei would be awarded the Silver medal, do you ever think about how that match-up would have played out if you were not forced to withdraw from the bout?

VG: I beat him twice already before the Olympics. If not for the injury I strongly believe that I would have beat him again.

Q: What was your favorite thing and least favorite thing about the Olympics?

VG: My most favorite thing about the Olympics was winning my medal and the organization of this mega-sporting event. My least favorite thing about the Olympics was the huge pressure and responsibility and of course the injury to my hand.

Q: Did you have a lot of friends/family that travelled with you to the Games to support you? What was that like for you?

VG: My father came to support me as well as the president of the boxing federation and of course my dear wife. It made me feel good and warm to have someone in the stands to root for me.

Q: How did your Olympic experience prepare you for professional boxing?

VG: At the Olympics I got a lot of experience and knowledge: I learned how to handle pressure and responsibility, how to train tough and boxing skills from other great boxers.

About March 15th:

The March 15th edition of NBCSN Fight Night at Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem features the twelve-round heavyweight match-up between Tomasz “Goral” Adamek and Vyacheslav “Czar” Glazkov for the IBF North American Heavyweight Title and IBF #2 Position Eliminator.

The Co-Feature is a ten round light heavyweight match-up between Isaac “Golden Boy” Chilemba and Denis “The Pirate/Drago's Son” Grachev.

Doors open at 6:00 PM ET. The Co-Feature and Main Event will be broadcast live on NBCSN Fight Night at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT.

Tickets start at $55 and are available through TicketMaster.com (key word: Peltz Boxing). The card is presented by Main Events, Peltz Boxing, Ziggy Promotions, and Pushka Promotions in association with BAM Boxing and Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem. The remaining undercard bouts will be announced shortly.

NBC Sports Live Extra:

NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will live stream Fight Night at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT on March 15th.

Coverage will be streamed via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry's effort to make quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

ORANGE, Calif. (Feb. 24, 2014) – Thompson Boxing Promotions hosted an open to the public workout over the weekend that featured a handful of boxers that will take part in Friday's loaded “New Blood” fight card from the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, Calif. In the main event, all-action knockout artist Carlos Carlson (12-0, 9 KOs) and the upset-minded Javier Gallo (21-8-1, 12 KOs) battle for the vacant WBC Latino Bantamweight Title. The bout is scheduled for eight rounds.

The co-feature showcases another pair of exciting bantamweights. Once-beaten Issac Zarate (6-1) of Los Angeles takes on Christian Torres (3-4) of Guadalajara, Mex. in a six-round fight.

Tickets priced $100, $60 and $40 are on sale now and can be purchased by calling (714) 935-0900 or online at www.ThompsonBoxing.com.

Special guest and top welterweight contender JOSESITO LOPEZ was in attendance to show his support. After the workout, Lopez and the boxers participated in a meet and greet autograph session for the hundreds of fans in attendance.

CARLOS CARLSON

“One of the coolest things about being a professional athlete is participating in fan appreciation events like these,” Carlson said. “They get an inside look at how we prepare for fights.”

“This fight is very important to me,” Carlson continued. “It is my first headlining event as a Thompson boxer and the pressure in on me to perform at a high level. My opponent, Javier Gallo, is a veteran with a good looking resume. He is going to come after me and try to give me my first loss. That will not happen because on Friday I am gong to become the WBC Latino bantamweight champion.”

JUSTIN DAVENPORT

“I am ready for a good, exciting fight,” Davenport said. “I am not interested in playing patty-cake with my opponent. My goal is to knock him out and give the fans something to clap about.”

“My training camp went as good as it possibly could have,” Davenport explained. “I train at high altitude at the Valencia Boxing Camp in Lake Arrowhead. Oscar de le Hoya made that a popular training destination and training in the thin air does make a great deal of difference. I have a lot more energy than I normally do and its almost impossible for me to get tired.”

CESAR VILLARRAGA

“I have been back in the U.S. for about a month training with Danny Zamora here in the Los Angeles area (off-season home is in Colombia)” Villarraga said. “I had already been training back at home before arriving here. All we are doing now is just putting the finishing touches on what has been an excellent training camp. I am looking forward to starting the year with a nice win.”

ISAAC ZARATE

“The fans were excited to see us train and the autograph signing session was fun for all of us,” Zarate said. “Little things like these make us feel very lucky that we get paid to play a sport that we love.”

ERIC ITUARTE

“This was my first public workout as a professional fighter,” Ituarte said. “I hope I can do more of these in the future because it was refreshing to get outside of a gym and train outdoors. I thought it was going to be a distraction, but it never felt that way. All of us treated it like a legitimate training session. I can tell that everyone is excited to fight this Friday.”

NEECO MACIAS

“I can't wait to fight on Friday,” Macias said. “The week of the fight is actually when I am most restless because I get so pumped to get in the ring. Last time I fought at the Doubletree Hotel the crowd really liked what I did. I am hoping I can replicate that kind of energy on Friday.”

For additional information please visit ThompsonBoxing.com. For regular updates on our fighters, events, and promotions, please check our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter @ThompsonBoxing and Instagram. 

To follow the conversation on social media, please use hash tags #ThompsonBoxing, #NewBlood.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the first bell rings at 7:45 p.m. The Doubletree Hotel is located at 222 N. Vineyard Dr. Ontario, CA 91764 and can be reached at (909) 937-0900.

Las Vegas (FEBRUARY 24, 2014)–Two-Time world champion Jesse James Leija and Leija Battah Promotions has committed to attend the inaugural Box Fan Expo this September at the Las Vegas Convention Center.Since acquiring his promotional license with successful entrepreneur Mike Battah, Two-Time World Champion Jesse James Leija has produced some of the most successful fight cards in San Antonio, Texas, in collaborative effort with Golden Boy Promotions.“I can't wait to meet the true boxing fans at the Box Fan Expo! It's so much fun for me to meet boxing fans and make new friends.”

Every year, one of the biggest boxing weekends of the year is Mexican Independence Day. In 2014, that weekend has just got bigger, better and more fan accessible with the announcement of the FIRST-EVER BOX FAN EXPO.

Box Fan Expo will take place on Saturday, September 13th, 2014 at the Las Vegas Convention Center and will run from 10am to 6pm.

To Purchase tickets click: www.BoxFanExpo.eventbrite.com/

Box Fan Expo is the ultimate fan experience that was created to promote the entire boxing industry and to allow fans to celebrate and join their favorite boxers and boxing celebrities. The event will feature boxing legends, today's superstars, Hall of Famers, future prospects and the stars of today all under one roof.

The event will also feature major promoters, ring card girls, sanctioning organizations as well as trainers, referees, commentators and announcers. Anyone that directly or indirectly represents the sport of boxing will have a chance to showcase themselves to the boxing fans and whole industry. Also in attendance will be exhibitors, sponsors, television broadcasters and media.

Box Fan Expo will also feature different activities such as meet and greets, autograph sessions, photo ops and you can weigh in and face off with your favorite fighters.

Throughout the next several months, there will be weekly updates on the many stars that have already committed their appearance at the Box Fan Expo.

For anyone in the industry who would like to be involved and reserve a booth, contact

Box Fan Expo at:

U.S.A Telephone Number: (702) 997-2099 or (514) 572-7222

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