News: Malignaggi, McGirt, Solo Boxeo, Tyson

Malignaggi Update
Cast off, rehabilitation begins, ready for Hatton in the Fall

NEW YORK CITY (July 7, 2008) – IBF junior welterweight champion Paulie “The Magic Man” Malignaggi (25-1, 5 KOs) had a cast removed from his right hand last Tuesday and he has started rehabilitation.

Malignaggi underwent hand surgery May 28 to repair a fractured metacarpal bone of the middle finger on his right hand, suffered during his title-defense win by 12-round decision against Lovemore N’dou.

“I feel good about the whole situation,” Malignaggi said yesterday from his Brooklyn home. “Getting the cast off was the first step, now rehabilitation starts. There’s no pain or swelling of the hand. I’m moving forward, thanks to Dr. Margles, who has saved my career several times. I’m looking ahead to a big showdown in the fall. I’ll be ready to rock ‘n roll against Ricky Hatton.”

Renowned boxing hand specialist, Dr. Steven Margles, operated on Paulie at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts. He has also repaired the hands of former world champions Vinny Paz, “Irish” Micky Ward and Harry Simon, to name a few of his more notable boxing patients.

“I removed his cast and took x-rays,” Dr. Margles explained. “There was no pain and the fracture is healing like magic. Right now, he’s on or ahead of schedule.”

McGirt headlines first ESPN show vs. Joval on July 25 in Saratoga

VERO BEACH, Florida (July 8, 2008) – Coming off of his first pro loss, James McGirt, Jr. (18-1, 9 KOs) very well could have settled on his next opponent being a confidence builder. However, instead of fighting somebody brought in to lose and make James look good, Team McGirt jumped at the opportunity to fight former IBO and WBU middleweight champion Raymond “Hallelujah” Joval (37-4, 16 KOs) in the 10-round main event on the July 25th ESPN Friday Night Fights show at Saratoga Springs, New York.

Back on April 11, Carlos “Baby Sugar” DeLeon, Jr. (20-2-2, 12 KOs), like James another son of a former world champion, stopped McGirt in the seventh round of their nationally televised fight. McGirt had floored DeLeon at the end of the preceding round but he got careless going for a knockout.

“I learned that I have to be focused at all times,” McGirt said of his last fight. “I started lollygagging and got caught with a shot. When they offered Joval, I said let’s take it. My first loss was a bad experience. I was depressed for a couple of weeks to the point where I didn’t want to talk to anybody. But this is what I love to do and I’ve put that loss behind me. It can happen (loss). A lot of fighters think it can’t happen to them but it can.

“Raymond is a very good fighter with a lot of skills. I watched him fight years ago. He has a lot of experience, which he’ll try and use to his benefit against me. I have to use my speed and stay one step ahead of him. I’m very excited to be fighting in my first ESPN main event. I know I am going to be world champion. In this fight I will prove to the world that my last fight was a fluke.”

Joval, who fought in the 1992 Olympics representing The Neatherlands, has beaten the likes of Sam Solivan, Willie Gibbs, and Shannon Taylor. He’s won four in a row since losing a 10-round decision to Fernando Vargas in 2005.

James head trainer and father, 2-time world champion “Buddy,” agreed 100-percent for with the decision for James to fight Joval instead of a walk-over type opponent. “I think with a lesser guy,” Buddy explained, “my son wouldn’t be as motivated. He has to have a fire under him. He needs to prove himself against a more experienced guy like Joval, who is smart and cagey. My son will be more focused against him, a better guy and more of a threat. My first loss (in his 30th fight against Frankie Warren) was devastating and people thought I was crazy coming right back against a former world champ, Saoul Mamby, a better guy than the one who had beaten me. I think Joval is better than DeLeon, who is a puncher; if James didn’t make stupid mistakes, he wins that fight. Everything happens for a reason and James is much more serious now.”

James will also drop down to middleweight – although this fight is contracted at 163 lbs. — after fighting as a super middleweight his last few bouts. Buddy added, “James said, ‘Dad, I’m a small super middleweight and some of these guys are too strong for me.’ Even before his last fight we decided that he was making the move back to middleweight. He weighed in at 166 for his last fight and he didn’t do anything the last few days leading up to the fight. He is on the right program and 163 won’t be a problem. Naturally, Father Time will take its course and eventually James will be a super middleweight. By the, though, he’ll be ranked and will be able to make decisions about fighting as middleweight or super middleweight.”

Responding from adversity is all part of the maturation process for prize fighters such as James. Another sign of maturity is making sound career decisions and that’s what Team McGirt believes is happening now. “We talked about it but we decided not to take the easy way out,” McGirt’s manager Dennis Witherow spoke about fighting Joval on ESPN. We wanted a fight to get us going again. We didn’t think twice about taking on a good fighter and the exposure James will get from fighting Joval on national television.”

The marketing of James McGirt, Jr. may have taken a bump, but just about every fighter suffers defeat, and one loss doesn’t end a promising career. How a fighter reacts to adversity ultimately separates contenders from pretenders and Team McGirt chose to go all in rather than fold.

‘SOLO BOXEO’ RETURNS TO TEXAS FRIDAY NIGHT

LOS ANGELES, July 9 – This Friday night, July 11th, Top Rank, in association with the International Brotherhood of Prizefighters, will turn up the heat on an already hot summer with a night of world-class boxing at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, designed to produce some belated 4th of July fireworks.

In the main event, scheduled for 10 rounds, lightweight contender Miguel Angel Huerta battles Juan Ramon Cruz. The co-featured bout of the evening pits Miguel Roman against Benjamin Flores in a 10 round super bantamweight battle.

Both bouts will be televised live on Telefutura’s ‘Solo Boxeo’, beginning at 8pm ET.

Also in action will be some of the area’s finest prospects, including Corpus Christi’s own Jerry Belmontes and Alfonso “El Tigre” Lopez.

Tickets, starting at just $15, are available at all Ticketmaster locations, or by calling 361-881-8499. Doors open at 5:30pm, and the first bell rings at 6:15pm.

Nicknamed “El Anestesista” for his ability to put opponents to sleep with his heavy hands, Mexico City’s Miguel Angel Huerta (26-9-1, 18 KOs)has his sights set on a world lightweight title shot after winning two of his last three bouts, including a decision win over Efren Hinojosa and a stoppage of Daniel Alicea. In San Juan, Puerto Rico’s Juan Ramon Cruz (15-4-1, 11 KOs), Huerta will be facing a hard-nosed battler who is no stranger to ending his opponent’s night early himself, making this fight a can’t miss when it comes to all-out action.

Juarez super bantamweight Miguel Roman (25-3, 17 KOs) was unbeaten in his first 22 fights, and on Friday, the Mexican super bantamweight champion will look to get back to that early form against Houston resident Benjamin Flores (18-3, 6 KOs), who is currently riding a four fight winning streak.

A highly decorated amateur star and 2006 Under-19 National Champion, Corpus Christi’s own Jerry Belmontes (2-0, 1 KO) threw his hat into the pro ring in January and he has earned a host of positive notices thus far with two impressive pro wins. The 19-year old will try to make it three in a row this Friday when he takes on seasoned Mexican vet Martin Armenta (12-17-3, 8 KOs).

Unbeaten in eight bouts, with six of those wins coming by knockout, light heavyweight Alfonso “El Tigre” Lopez has made quite a name for himself in Corpus Christi with his exciting style and concussive punching power. He will face Florida’s Theo Kruger (8-6, 3 KOs).

Opening the show on July 11th will be a bantamweight bout between former amateur standout Roberto Marroquin (2-0, 2 KOs) of Dallas, and Alvaro Muro (6-7, 5 KOs).

GRANT TO BATTLE KING THIS FRIDAY AT THE NATIONAL GUARD ARMORY IN PHILADELPHIA

PHILADELPHIA (JULY 8, 2008)—Boxing returns to the National Guard Armory on Roosevelt Blvd. in Northeast Philadelphia as Southern Starr Promotions presents a huge night of boxing that is headlined by the continued comeback of former world Heavyweight title challenger, Michael Grant taking on upset specialist Demetrice King in a bout scheduled for eight rounds.

The thirty-five year old Grant, 43-3 with thirty-three knockouts of Blue Bell, PA was once hailed the future of the Heavyweight division until he ran until he was stopped in two rounds to the legendary Lennox Lewis in 2000. He then lost his next bout to Jameel McCline and racked up seven straight knockouts before being stopped in seven rounds by Dominick Guinn in 2003.

Since then Grant has won five consecutive fights, which includes a seventh round stoppage over Kevin Montiy last September 5th.

Despite being just twenty-three years old, King has already fought the whose- who of the Heavyweight division. Weather it’s a title contender such as Shannon Briggs or a rising prospect such as Chazz Witherspoon, Jason Estrada or Kevin Johnson, King will fight anyone at anytime.

After being thrown to the wolves, the native of Flint, Michigan had a record of 9-15. King got two knockout wins over non-descript opposition before upsetting the highly regarded undefeated Don King Promoted Bermane Stiverne. King has scored two knockouts since then to up his record to 14-15 with twelve knockouts.

The co-feature is an eight round Jr. Middleweight bout between Troy Browning and Clarence “Sonny Bono” Taylor.

Browning of Willingboro, New Jersey has a record of 20-2-1 with eight knockouts and is itching to get back in the win column after dropping his last two bouts. He started his career off with a record of 20-0-1 before losing decisions to Delvin Rodriguez and most recently to Pawel Wolak.

Taylor, of Wilmington, Delaware has a record of 13-16-1 with six knockouts. Taylor has been in the ring with quality opposition such as Vanes Martirosyian and former world champion Bronco McKart. He is coming off ten round unanimous decision defeat to Willie Lee.

A third eight-round affair will feature former World title challenger Ross Thompson, 26-12-2 with sixteen knockouts taking on Jameel “Black Gold” Wilson, 13-13-3 with eight knockouts in a Super Middleweight affair.

The card will be rounded out by William Davis making his pro debut against Devon Ellis (0-1) in a four round Super Featherweight bout.

The son of former Heavyweight champion Tim Witherspoon, Tim Witherspoon Jr. (0-1) takes on Juvair Dennis (1-1, 1 KO) in a Lightweight bout.

Debuting Heavyweight, Tanzee Daniels battles Tiffany Woodward (1-0)

Tickets for this fine evening of boxing are available and range in prices of $75 for VIP, $60 for Ringside and $30 for General Admission and can be purchased by calling 609-2029278 or 856-351-0011