Zab Judah - Kaizer Mabuza Press Conference And Photos

On Saturday, March 5th, Zab "Super" Judah (40-6, 27 KO's) looks to recapture the IBF Junior Welterweight title when he squares off against South African Kaizer Mabuza (23-6-3, 14 KO's) for the vacant crown. The bout is scheduled for twelve rounds at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Since 2008, Mabuza's record stands at (8-0-1, 6 KO's). This will be Mabuza's second bout on American soil. Previously, Kendall Holt quit against Mabuza, 31, after the sixth round during their contest in Atlantic City, NJ in 2010.

Judah's record in the past several years has been equally impressive. Judah, 33, has won four in a row and six of his last seven bouts dating back to late 2007.

Today, at the Brick City Bar & Grill in Newark, New Jersey, both fighters expressed enormous confidence heading into their showdown Saturday night.

"We know his strength is his left uppercut," stated Mabuza. "But we came here to take that belt."

Mabuza added, "I feel like New Jersey is my second home now. I think I will come here and fight again if they want me back."

Mabuza believes Judah doesn't bring anything to the table he hasn't seen before. 

"We prepared with many southpaws for his style," declared Mabuza. "My focus is taking that belt home with me. Training camp has been three months now. Everything is going right according to plan."

At the moment, Mabuza feels the 140 lb. division is the strongest in boxing.

"This division has the likes of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather," said Mabuza. "I'm in the right division to make things happen now. The main thing is to take this belt back to South Africa."

"We got a lot of southpaw sparring," claimed Kosie Wiese, trainer and manager for Mabuza. "Zab's southpaw style is not a problem for us. Zab Judah is going to have a problem Saturday night."

Pernell Whitaker, who now oversees Judah's corner, believes Judah is very ready for Saturday night.

"Everything I ask him to do, he does a little more," exclaimed Whitaker. "If he does everything I ask him to do, he'll win the fight."

Judah, who is never shy with words, talked about the opportunity that lies ahead.

"We prepared ourselves well for this opportunity," remarked Judah. "On Saturday night, you will see a 5-time champion of the world once again."

Judah showed a high-respect level for his opponent. 

"I appreciate everything this man has done," said Judah. "But now is not his time, not on Saturday night."

Judah added, "I prepared myself for twelve rounds; I prepared myself 100%."

"As a young kid, I idolized Pernell Whitaker and Mike Tyson growing up," boasted Judah. "Those two styles are different; You got one defensive guy and one aggressive fighter. I added both of them and I got Zab Judah."

Judah also discussed Mabuza's height and reach advantage.

"I'm 140 lbs, he's 140 lbs.," noted Judah. "That's all that matters. We're prepared for anything. I think Jan Bergman may have been a little bit taller than him, a little bit taller and a longer reach. And he went in four rounds."

UNDERCARD

168 lbs. - Tarvis Simms (26-1-1, 11 KO's) vs. John Mackey (13-5-2, 6 KO's), 8 Rounds

147 lbs. - Sadam Ali (11-0, 6 KO's) vs. Juliano Ramos (16-4, 13 KO's), 8 Rounds

Ali explained how he has been able to improve with each fight.

"I try to learn something each and every fight in the ring," stated Ali. I also keep learning in my gym. And, I work hard at getting in better shape. The better your shape, the more comfortable you'll be in the ring."

Ali added, "I've been sparring more, and I have been getting better sparring. I know how to adapt to different fighters. As the rounds go on, I know what to do to win."

135 lbs. - Shemuel Pagan (1-0) vs. Marcos Garcia (0-3), 4 Rounds

Shemuel "The Chosen One" Pagan, a 5-Time New York Golden Gloves champion, wants to look more impressive in his 2nd professional bout.

"There's a lot of improvement as I progress in this career," said Pagan. "I'm excited. I am going to crank it up a bit. I think I'm more excited now than my 1st professional fight, because I'm on the undercard of Zab "Super" Judah. I always wanted to be on his card growing up. It's a big thing to fight on a card with Sadam Ali and Zab. It's time to put Brooklyn back on the map."

147 lbs. - Vinny O'Brien (Pro Debut) vs. David Navarrao (0-1), 4 Rounds

154 lbs. - Greg Hackett (2-5) vs. Joseph Crosby (5-1, 1 KO), 4 Rounds

147 lbs. - Jose Peralta Alejo (4-1, 2 KO's) vs. Clifford McPherson (2-3-1, 1 KO), 4 Rounds

Teen ‘Golden Boy’ Jake Towse Aims For ABA Success On March 12th

Johnny Eames and Jake Towse at the Ultrachem TKO Boxing Gym in London 

London - Wednesday, 2nd March 2011

Following his sensational Gold winning performance, at the British University and Colleges Championships in Coventry last week, Brighton teenager Jake Towse, who fights for the Hastings West Hill Amateur Boxing Club, is hoping to repeat this success in the Southern Counties ABA competition on Saturday 12th March.

Back on the 20th February, at the BUCS competition Jake dominated the 63.5kg final, against Portsmouth’s Richard Tyler, with his superior boxing skills to secure the Gold medal by a 35-26 points margin.

Following a training session with Johnny Eames at the Ultrachem TKO Boxing Gym in Canning Town, London, 19 year old Jake spoke briefly on his Gold winning performance and his future plans. “I just won Gold at the British University Championships, hopefully this will get me going further and people will recognise me more as I want to box for England, hopefully. I want to get into some international competitions.

It was a good fight for me and went well. I knew my game plan when I see that he was quite short and stocky, so when he came out I thought I’d box him.

First round I was doing well, teeing off and keeping him in range. Then he started getting in so I started letting heavy shots go. I was catching him with body shots and everything.

Second round same thing. Third round was toe-to-toe and just warred it out. I didn’t take many punches at all. I had quite a high guard, sticking behind my jab and sinking in the body shots. When his head was free to hit I hit him in the head, scored points. I won by nine points in the end.

My preparations were really good. Been coming down here to the TKO because of the good sparring and trainers. It’s a great opportunity for myself as I’d love to turn pro, obviously the big dream is to be a World Champion, but obviously it’s just to see how far I can go.

I think I am more suited to the pros but right now I’m at University and it’s right full on so I want to get that out of the way and then go straight for the pros. I’ve got this year and next year and then I’ll have finished University”

Jake will next be in action at the 2011 Southern Counties Senior ABA Boxing Finals at Portsmouth Guildhall, Guildhall Square, Portsmouth, on Saturday 12th March 2011.

Quotes From Today’s Media Conference Call Featuring Sergiy Dzinziruk

NEW YORK, NY (Mar. 1, 2011) – Today’s media conference call featured WBO Jr. Middleweight Champion, Sergiy “Razor” Dzinziurk in advance of his “Diamond Elite” clash with Middleweight Champion, Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez on March 12 from the MGM Grand Arena at Foxwoods, airing live on HBO World Championship Boxing. Also on the call were Dzinizruk’s co-trainer, Buddy McGirt; his advisor, Harry Kazandjian; Josh Roy from Banner Promotions, his co-promoter; and Lou DiBella, the promoter of the event.

Below are quotes from the call’s participants:

WBO Jr. Middleweight Champion, Sergiy “Razor” Dzinziruk:

“It makes me very excited to know they think that highly of me. I want to thank HBO for making this fight happen. It’s a lifetime opportunity for me. I’m looking forward to fighting Sergio Martinez.”

“So far, no problems with my weight, and I feel comfortable with this weight. I’m fighting big sparring partners. Yes, I’m a 154-pounder but I’m going to fight at 160 and let’s see what happens. I feel very confident with this weight.”

“I’ve mentioned before that 30 is just a number. I feel like I’m 20 years old and I want to keep fighting and winning titles. I’m very comfortable at my age.”

“I don’t do anything out of the ordinary except live a clean life. I’ve had the same training regimen and have just added to it with experience. The main thing is discipline. If something is not right, I don’t do it. Fighting is my life, my world. All I know is how to box. I make sure my lifestyle – my health – I take care of. I’m healthy. I love fighting and want to win a few more titles. I have great discipline.”

“We have watched (tapes) in the past and more recently of Sergio’s fights. He is a great fighter and a great champion, but there’s nothing special. He is just another fighter in front of me and I hope to win.”

“With Buddy McGirt we have our game plan. We’re not thinking about what Sergio can do, we’re thinking about what we can do. There will be a lot of surprises, lots of pressure on Sergio, (for me) to win the fight.”

Dzinziruk’s Co-Promoter, Josh Roy of Banner Promotions:

“Lou and Team Martinez have reasons to be worried. Everybody knows Lou doesn’t say something like that lightly. Sergiy is the best junior middleweight in the world. He is 37-0 with 24 knockouts. He’s never lost; he doesn’t know how to lose. And it’s not like he’s been protected, he’s 7-0 in world title fights. He has made a concerted effort t to come here (to the United States).”

“I want to credit Lou, Team Martinez and Sergio. He didn’t take a soft touch after fighting Paul Williams. He’s going all out.”

“We have complete confidence in Sergiy. He’s bringing his A game; it’s all he knows. HBO will be pleased with the outcome, how it looks, and it’ll highlight Sergiy as a star.”

“I want to thank HBO, Foxwoods and DiBella Entertainment for the opportunity to get Sergiy this fight, on behalf of Banner Promotions and Gary Shaw Promotions.”

“A lot has been made of weight because Sergiy is a junior middleweight. Sergio was a junior middleweight until (three fights ago when he fought Paul Williams (in their first fight). Essentially, they’re the same weight and have been for most of their careers. It’s not like Manny Pacquiao fighting Oscar de la Hoya.”

Dzinziruk’s Advisor, Harry Kazandjian:

“We’re very excited to be on the air with HBO. As Josh and Lou mentioned, it’s a tough fight for both fighters, Sergio as well as Sergiy. Sergio has proven that he’s the man in the (middleweight) division. We have all of the confidence in Sergiy. There will only be one winner at the end of the night. We wish both, good luck. “

“We hope to win. Sergiy has trained hard and March 12th American fans will see where he’s been all these years. Today is Sergiy’s birthday. We’ll celebrate that a little later, He’s turning 35. A few days ago it was Sergio’s birthday.”

Dzinziruk’s Co-Trainer, James “Buddy” McGirt:

“I want to thank Harry, Sergiy and his camp for bringing me onboard. I respect Sergiy. He said that he wanted to maintain his trainer for the past 37 fights (Olesksander Polishchuk). I said I was here to help, not take anybody’s job. I have no ego and it’s an honor for me to work with guys like him. At the beginning (training together), they looked at me, but as time went on they picked-up everything. I want to thank everyone for the opportunity to work with Sergiy.”

“He (Sergiy) is down with precision punches. You’d think he was a typical European fighter but he isn’t. He has a phenomenal jab and a better left – the difference in this fight. You see guys sparring, no, they’re more awkward than Sergio. It took them a round to figure them out and then Sergiy was dancing to his beat.”

“Sergio Martinezx is a great fighter with great hand speed. We’re working on certain tools to eliminate his speed and make our game plan better than him.”

“The key to defending an opponent with hand speed is to nullify it, not out-speed ‘em. Sergiy has the perfect punch to nullify – his right jab. I heard about it but didn’t believe it until I saw it. The jab controls the temp and makes him (opponent) think and then, it’s a whole different ball game.”

Promoter of “Diamond Elite”, Lou DiBella:

“We have a great event March 12th at Foxwoods. The undercard is terrific with HBO televising the fight between Andy Lee and Craig McEwan in ‘Celtic War’ – top Irishman versus top Scotsman prospects. There’s some tremendous talent on the undercard with Javier Fortuna fighting Golden Boy Promotions’ Derrick Wilson; ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade is one of the best prospects; Thomas Dulorme is one of the best young fighters out there.”

My champion, Sergio Martinez, is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters. He has another beast in front of him for the fifth time in a row. Since the beginning I’ve said I didn’t like this fight. Technically, he (Dzinziruk) is one of the best I’ve seen. The kid is very sound. This is his toughest fight and probably the toughest fighter Sergio has faced. Sergiy isn’t well known here but he is the top ’54 pounder. It’s a terribly difficult fight for Sergio but it’s what he wants. HBO has very good fight. I’m worried but I have faith in my champion who understands the challenge.”

“The $50.00 tickets are completely sold out. Affordable $75.00 tickets are available but I’m anticipating that they’ll be going fast. Tickets are going well.”

Tickets for “Diamond Elite: Martinez vs. Dzinziruk” are priced at $450, $250, $125, $75, and $50 and are available now through the MGM Grand at Foxwoods box office. Tickets can be purchased online at www.mgmatfoxwoods.com, by calling the box office at 1-866-646-0609, or in person at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods box office.

Better Laight Than Never For Boylan

London - Tuesday, 1st March 2011

Carshalton’s Ricky Boylan returned to the Ultrachem TKO Gym in Canning Town this week in order to prepare for his upcoming showdown against Kristian Laight, on the Steve Goodwin promoted ‘Essex Eruption’ quadruple headline show at the Goresbrook Leisure Centre in Dagenham, Essex on Saturday 19th March 2011.

The ‘Essex Eruption’ event should have been the second outing of the year for the former London ABA finalist, who had been due to fight Craig Dyer at York Hall on the 20th February but due to a family crisis had to withdraw.

Following a training session at the Ultrachem TKO Boxing Gym in Canning Town Ricky explained why he withdrew from the February show, “Basically I had a little niggling injury I was working through in the gym but then my Dad had a stroke that week, so I didn’t want to get in the ring in the wrong frame of mind and then get a silly loss, it’s not worth it, so Johnny (Eames) pulled me out.

My Dad’s getting on, he’s doing well. He’s getting much better.”

Ricky then went on to talk about his upcoming fight with Kristian Laight on March 19th, “I’ve been training hard, I come back properly on Monday, I’ve still been ticking over but from Monday I’ve been doing it one hundred percent.

Kristian Laight, he’s massive, truly massive. He’s a tall southpaw so I’ll have to put the pressure on, let plenty of right hands go and hopefully come away with another win.

I always get good sparring here, but for this fight there’s a couple of people really for it, you know tall southpaws. There’s a guy from my area called Tony Owen. I’ve done a few rounds with him recently. Probably do some rounds with Bradley Skeete. There’s Freddie Turner up here obviously, just whoever Johnny thinks will give me the right sparring for the fight really. Whoever he gets me to spar I’ll be happy to spar them.

This should be my fourth fight but it’s going to be the second. To be honest the first one on the George Groves show that wasn’t anyone's fault, that was just Hayemaker boxing. The second one I boxed on that one, and won. The third one, well that couldn’t be helped, because of my Dad. Hopefully the fourth one on the the 19th will be OK and be my second actual fight.”

‘Pretty’ Ricky Boylan versus Kristian Laight will be at the Steve Goodwin promoted ‘Essex Eruption’ Goresbrook Leisure Centre in Dagenham, Essex on Saturday 19th March 2011.

‘Essex Eruption’ is co-headlined by International Masters Light Middleweight champion Yassine ‘The Showman’ El Maachi against a yet to be named opponent, Southern Area Cruiserweight champion Leon ‘Solid’ Williams versus David Vicena, British Master challenger ‘Phat’ Pat McAleese faces Franz Vicena and Romford’s top ten rated Cruiserweight Tony ‘The Conqueror’ Conquest against a yet to be named opponent.

In addition to Ricky Boylan versus Kristian Laight the undercard of the quadruple headlined super show includes a whole host local talent including Ricky’s Ultrachem TKO team mates Daniel Herdman, who faces Kevin McCauley, and the highly rated unbeaten Featherweight prospect ‘Saint’ George Jupp against a yet to be named opponent.

Michael ‘The Zambezi Hitman’ Norgrove will be looking to extend his unbeaten record to five when he faces Czech Republic’s Jan Balog. Another fighter who will be looking to increase his uneaten record is Biggleswade’s Jamie Boness.

Middleweight Kris Agyei-Dua and Danny Brown will be making their second outing in a Month, after both securing wins on their debuts at York Hall on February 20th.

Further fights are expected to be announced shortly to bring the ‘Essex Eruption’ card to fourteen bouts.

Tickets for ESSEX ERUPTION at the Goresbrook Leisure Centre in Dagenham, Essex on Saturday 19th March 2011 are priced £35 (Unreserved) or £60 (Ringside) and on sale NOW.

For tickets book on-line at www.tkoboxoffice.com, call: 07960 850645 or in person at The Ultrachem TKO Gym, Gillian House, Stephenson Street, Canning Town, London E16 4SA.