News On: Marquez-Alvarado, Mansour, Dulorme

JUAN MANUEL MÁRQUEZ vs. MIKE ALVARADO CELEBRATES BOXING’S RETURN TO

THE “FABULOUS” FORUM SATURDAY, MAY 17, LIVE ON HBO^®

Tickets Go On Sale Tuesday, April 1 at 3:00 P.M. ET / Noon PT

With a Special Limited Offer To Receive a Complimentary Companion Ticket!

INGLEWOOD, CALIF. (March 26, 2014) – Boxing is back at the Forum (3900 West Manchester Blvd., Inglewood, Calif. 90305) and the historic inaugural brawl will feature four-division world champion and Méxican icon JUAN MANUEL “Dinamita” MÁRQUEZ battling former junior welterweight world champion and the pride of Colorado “Mile High” MIKE ALVARADO.

Márquez (55-7-1, 40 KOs), of México City, a longtime Forum stalwart who never lost a fight at the legendary boxing venue, and Alvarado (34-2, 23 KOs), of Denver, CO., will collide in a 12-round World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title elimination bout on Saturday, May 17. The Márquez-Alvarado welterweight rumble will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing^®, beginning at 10:15 p.m. ET/PT. The winner will challenge the victor of the upcoming WBO welterweight championship rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley, Jr. Márquez and Alvarado boast a combined record of 89-9-1 (63 KOs) — a winning percentage of 90% and a victory by knockout ratio of 71%.

Promoted by Top Rank^® in association with Zanfer Promotions, Márquez Boxing and Tecate, tickets to Márquez vs. Alvarado will go on sale Tuesday, April 1 at 3:00 p.m. ET / Noon PT. Priced at $400, $250, $150, $75 and $35, tickets can be purchased at the Forum box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (800-745-3000), and online at www.ticketmaster.com or www.fabulousforum.com. And to celebrate boxing’s return to the Forum, any $150 or $75 ticket, purchased at the box office or via Ticketmaster on April 1, between Noon and 4:00 p.m. PT, will include a complimentary companion ticket to the inaugural brawl. Limit six (6) tickets per order.

“The opportunity to go back and fight at the Forum where I developed as a professional fighter was too great to pass up,” said Márquez. “I expect a tough fight against Mike Alvarado and one that the fans will truly enjoy.”

“I am so excited. We have been training already for four weeks. Márquez has always been on our radar and he is the one I always wanted to fight,” said Alvarado. “This fight is my redemption to all of my fans. I know how important this fight is. What a fight with such a reward – to fight the winner of Pacquiao vs Bradley. This is an incredible opportunity. I will be fully prepared to fight Márquez on May 17.”

“Márquez vs. Alvarado should be a battle from bell to bell. Both really need this fight and that will make for an exciting encounter,” said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum.

“On May 17, World Championship Boxing delivers a must-see, high-stakes, all-action event,” said Peter Nelson, director of programming, HBO Sports. “In a welterweight showdown between two of boxing’s great warriors, Juan Manuel Márquez and Mike Alvarado will rekindle a Forum tradition: fights between men who defy physics, weighing so little while having hearts so big. It will be a familiar atmosphere for Márquez as he’ll return home, both to the Forum for the first time in 15 years and live on HBO for the first time in four. On May 17, we’ll see if Alvarado can upend Márquez’s homecoming to make it his own house-warming. Don’t miss it.”

Márquez, who is trained by Hall of Famer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristáin, is undefeated at the Forum, winning all 12 bouts he fought there, from 1995 through 1999, with nine of those victories coming by way of knockout. Márquez is one of only a rare few fighters from México to have won world titles in four different weight divisions. He captured his first world title — the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight championship — with a seventh-round stoppage of three-time featherweight champion Manuel Medina in 2003. He unified that title that same year with a decisive victory over World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight titlist Derrick Gainer. Márquez successfully defended the titles three times during his three-year reign, which included unanimous decision victories over Victor Polo and Orlando Salido and a Draw with Manny Pacquiao. After losing the crown to Chris John, and winning the interim featherweight crown, both in 2006, Márquez moved up in weight to dethrone the legendary Marco Antonio Barrera and claim his World Boxing Council (WBC) super featherweight championship belt in 2007. After successfully defending the title, by a unanimous decision over Ricky Juarez, he lost the title in his 2008 rematch with Pacquiao by the slimmest of margins — a one point split decision. Since that fight, Márquez has won seven of his last ten fights, including knockout victories of Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz, and Michael Katsidis — the latter two in WBA/WBO lightweight championship fights. In 2012, he won his fourth world title in as many divisions, capturing the WBO interim junior welterweight title with a dominant 12-round unanimous decision over Sergey Fedchenko. He ended that year with his most satisfying victory, a sixth-round knockout of professional nemesis Pacquiao, which was voted the 2012 Fight of the Year and the 2012 Knockout of the Year. Last October 12, in his first attempt at winning a record fifth world title in as many weight divisions, Márquez came up short, losing a split decision to defending WBO welterweight champion Bradley.

Alvarado (34-2, 23 KOs) of Denver, had won 10 of his last 14 bouts by stoppage en route to his rematch victory over Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios, on March 30, 2013, which not only avenged Alvarado’s loss to Rios in 2012’s Fight of the Year, but also made Alvarado a world champion. Alvarado had lost to Rios on October 13, 2012, via a seventh-round technical knockout in one of the most action-packed fights of the millennium. Going into round seven, two of the three judges’ scorecards had it 57-57. In the sequel, which was as action-packed as the first fight, Alvarado made subtle adjustments to eke out a narrow but unanimous decision and the WBO junior welterweight world title. Notable Alvarado knockout victims have included Breidis Prescott, Ray Narh, Emmanuel Clottey and Cesar Bazan. In 2012 Alvarado fought in two Fights of the Year-nominated fights. On April 14, 2012, Alvarado went toe-to-toe for 10 brutal and exciting rounds winning a unanimous decision over Mauricio Herrera (18-1, 7 KOs). Herrera entered that fight world-rated No. 7 and riding a two-year, five-bout winning streak, highlighted by victories over future world champion Ruslan Provodnikov (17-0) and Mike Dallas, Jr. (17-1-1). That was followed by his first fight with Rios in October. Alvarado’s world title reign ended in his first defense, last October 19, where he suffered a12th-round TKO to Provodnikov in front of a sold-out crowd in his Denver homecoming.

Philadelphia, PA: Yesterday members of the media gathered at the Joe Hand Boxing Gym in Philadelphia, PA for Amir “Hardcore” Mansour’s (20-0-0, 15 KOs) workout where the heavyweight claimed to be in the best shape of his career as he gears up to defend his USBA Heavyweight Title against Philadelphia’s own Steve “USS” Cunningham (26-6-0, 12 KOs) Friday, April 4 on NBCSN Fight Night live from the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia at 10:00 PM ET/7 PM PT.

Moses Robinson (Amir’s Trainer) & Mansour

Photo Credits:

Bryanna Carzo/

BAM Boxing Promotions

Despite being undefeated, Mansour, 41, of Wilmington, DE has been struggling with health issues his last two fights. In his last fight he stopped Kelvin Price in the seventh round at Resorts International Casino and Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ on December 14, 2013. However, he said, “I was about 60% my last fight. I had a fracture in my wrist. Believe it or not the day I fought Price I could not do a push up. I almost failed the physical when the doctor asked me to do a push up so I had to do it on my fist. That is how little power I really had in my right hand. Even a month after the fight I couldn’t grip the pads.”

Prior to his fight with Price, Mansour won his USBA Heavyweight Title when he defeated Maurice Harris at Dover Downs in his home state of Delaware on August 23, 2013, only several days after battling the flu. He said, “When I fought Harris I was 208 pounds. I went from 229 to 208 in about nine days. I was in the emergency room about six days before the fight. I really should not have taken that fight but I am a fighter. That’s what I do.”

Amir “Hardcore” Mansour

Photo Credits: Bryanna Carzo/BAM Boxing Promotions

Now Mansour has allowed his body time to heal and claims he is in the best shape of his career. He said, “I took off and they gave me a nice rest. I got some braces for my wrist and my hand. This is really the first fight that I have been injury free probably in my whole career. And, as far as conditioning is concerned, I got a very strong twelve rounds in me.”

His challenger, two-time cruiserweight world champion Steve “USS” Cunningham also claims to be in great shape, “This camp has been grueling. Brother Naazim [Richardson, Steve’s trainer] has been really taxing on my body. We have been putting different stuff in there. We feel very confident that we are going to get in there and do our job which is to win.”

Mansour does not think Cunningham will be able to survive 12 rounds with “Hardcore.” He said, “I’m on my mission I am not going to let somebody that has had several chances already to become successful in this sport take my chance away from me. I don’t think he is going to last and if he does you might see a real damaged guy. I just hope to God that he is ok after the fight, that he can fight another day or just walk and talk normally. If he goes that distance with me, it is going to be brutal. I have trained hard for this fight. I am good and ready. I am going to this fight with my A game and to give it all I got. There is not a heavyweight on this planet that can go the distance with me because they are just not ready to go to hell and back and I am.”

Amir’s promoter, Joe Hand Jr. President of Joe Hand Promotions, said “We are very happy with the training camp he has had. He is as healthy as he has ever been in his career. We are grateful to Main Events for giving him this opportunity and to Steve Cunningham for taking the fight. We promise this will be the best Amir Mansour anyone has ever seen.”

About April 4th:

The event features a ten-round bout for the USBA Heavyweight Title between Steve “USS” Cunningham and USBA champion Amir “Hardcore” Mansour live on NBCSN Fight Night from the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA. The Fight Night broadcast will begin at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT. The card is presented by Main Events and Peltz Boxing in association with BAM Boxing and Joe Hand Promotions. The undercard will include a ten round middleweight match-up between Curtis “Showtime” Stevens and Tureano Johnson. The remaining undercard fights will be announced shortly. Tickets are on sale now at www.comcastTix.com and the Liacouras Center Box Office.

KARIM MAYFIELD

ARRIVES IN ATLANTIC CITY FOR DULORME SHOWDOWN

Mayfield vs. Dulorme, 10-round bout for the NABF Super Lightweight title, will take place in Atlantic City, New Jersey Saturday, March 29 on the undercard of Sergey Kovalev (23-0-1, 21 KOs) vs. Cedric Agnew (26-0, 13 KOs). Both fights will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark® beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

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