PHILADELPHIA – Heavyweight contender “Fast” Eddie Chambers, 36-3, 18 KOs, Philadelphia, has decided to campaign as a cruiserweight. It is a move that he believes will bring him a world title belt.
“The cruiserweight division is better because I’ll be fighting guys my size,” Chambers said. “I may have had some advantages at heavyweight, but imagine me at cruiser, fighting against someone my own size.”
Chambers hasn’t weighted over 210 pounds for a fight in more than three years, and feels that the move down to the 200-pound cruiserweight limit will make him more competitive and offer greater opportunity for him to become champion.
“I want to be a world champion,” Chambers said. “That’s what you set out to do when you start boxing. That’s what I want to be, and I’ve worked my entire boxing career, and most of my life, at that. I want to achieve it. I see that title (belt) wrapped around my waist.”
Main Events is currently riding a wave of success with their nationally televised “Fight Night” boxing series on the NBC Sports Network. Chambers looks forward to more national exposure on the popular program.
“I think it’s a great opportunity,” Chambers said. “Main Events puts on nothing but great fights. I’m just happy to be part of it. They really have confidence in my ability, and it led me to believe that these were the people for me.”
Kathy Duva, Main Events CEO, said, “I don’t think anyone in the cruiserweight division can beat Eddie Chambers, period. We are very happy that he has decided to work with us towards his goal of winning the cruiserweight title and I have no doubt in my mind that he will get there very soon.”
PROVIDENCE – World Series of Boxing “graduate” Russell Lamour, a Haitian-American fighting out of Portland, Maine, makes his long awaited professional debut this Saturday night on the “Big Things” undercard at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence
“Big Things,” presented by Big Six Entertainment, is headlined by an eight-round heavyweight bout between hometown favorite and 2004 U.S. Olympian, Jason “Big Six” Estrada (19-4, 5 KOs), and veteran heavyweight Galen “Bad Boy” Brown (38-20-1, 23 KOs).
Lamour was a member of the Los Angeles Matadors of the semi-professional World Series of Boxing (WSB), which allowed top amateurs to compete in a pro-style format against international teams while retaining their amateur status. Lamour was ranked as the No. 1 American middleweight, as well as No. 4 in the world, in the WSB.
A five-time New England Golden Gloves champion, Lamour captured a silver medal at the 2005 Ringside World Championships, bronze medal at the 2009 USA Boxing Championships, and finished his amateur career 79-16 record.
In his pro debut, Lamour squares-off against Issa Coulibaly (0-3), of Washington D.C., in a four-round fight on Saturday night/
Unbeaten Pawtucket (RI) light welterweight Diego Periera (7-0-1, 2 KOs) meets a much more experienced Bryan “The Brick” Abraham (6-14-2, 6 KOs) in the six-round co-feature.
Cape Cod heavyweight Jesse Barboza (4-1-1, 3 KOs) returns to the ring for the first time in two years, facing Kevin Franklin (4-5, 1 KO) in a six-round match. All eyes will be focused on a six-rounder between a pair of unbeaten junior welterweights, Gabriel Deluc (6-0, 1 KO), of Boston, and Waterbury’s (CT) Jair Ramos (3-0-1, 2 KOs).
Also fighting on the undercard in four-round fights are Hyannis (MA) light heavyweight Paul Gonsalves (4-2, 3 KOs) vs. Ahmad Mickens (1-2-1), Providence light welterweight Josh “Bam Bam” Beeman (4-11-3, 2 KOs) vs. Carlos Hernandez (3-2, 2 KOs), former Irish National amateur champion Michael McLaughlin (2-1-1), fighting out of Boston, vs. Hyannis welterweight Robert Hunt (0-2), Providence middleweights Kevin Harrison and Pubilo Pena make their pro debuts fighting each other, and Springfield (MA) super middleweight Reinaldo Graceski (2-0) vs. Michael Mitchell (0-1).
All fights and fighters are subject to change.
Tickets, reasonably priced at $40.00, $60.00 and $100.00, are available to purchase by calling Big Six Boston at 1.617.312.5059, Big Six Providence at 1.401.241.3490 (RI), going on line atwww.bigsixentertainment, com orwww.ticketmaster.com, and at the Rhode Island Convention Center box office.
Doors open at 6 p.m. ET with the first bout scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
Chicago cruiserweight fighter Dimar “Strongman” Ortuz is in heavy preparations for another tough war, this one on Thanksgiving Eve at Hitz Boxing’s “Fight Night at the Horseshoe” boxing event on Wednesday, November 21, 2012, at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana.
The undefeated (5-0, 3 KOs) 31-year-old Ortuz wowed Horseshoe fans last August with his savage battle against then-undefeated (8-0) Donta Woods, grinding Woods down and dropping him twice in an eight-round thriller.
And now he is back in the co-featured bout, taking on UFC veteran and undefeated power-punching fellow Chicago native Terry Martin (5-0, 5 KOs).
To put it mildly, this fight has explosive written all over it.
“He called me out!” explained Ortuz of the dangerous match-up. “I heard through everybody that he wanted this, so it’s on. I don’t back down from any challenge.”
Ortuz, who took eight years off boxing after winning the Chicago Golden Gloves in 2002, has had an added obstacle to face in preparation for this fight.
“I tore my calf muscle about three weeks ago which took me out for a week and a half. I’m slowly getting back into the pace of it, building up cardio to make up for the time I spent off. I’m also doing a lot more running up and down stairs, rebuilding the strength in my calf. I’ll be fine.”
Ortuz says he and Martin are former sparring partners and although he is careful to never seem arrogant, when asked who got the better he replied: “I know he’s got a hard hook and a good inside game and he holds a lot, but I present a difficult style to a lot of fighters. A lot of guys have difficulty sparring me. Put it that way.”
Ortuz intended to relocate to New York City, but had such a great experience at the Horseshoe in his last fight, he’s decided to postpone.
“I sat down and talked to Bobby (Hitz) about leaving and what he can do for me, and I decided to give Bobby a shot and test the waters. If I don’t have to go far from home to fight as much as I want, why go? New York was an option because they had fights scheduled for me throughout the year and I’m looking to fight around eight times a year. Bobby does lots of shows, so he can probably keep me busy.”
A hard-nosed throwback type of fighter who brings relentless pressure, Ortuz says he’s not sure how the fight will unfold.
“My trainer, Sam Colonna, was also Terry’s trainer, so that’s an advantage. We’ve been working on a game plan. Sam knows a lot of his weaknesses and we’ve worked on targeting some of them. I won’t say I’ll get the KO because anybody who goes in saying they’ll KO someone is too confident. I’m going to box. I didn’t expect to put Donta Woods down and I put him down twice. I’ll keep doing what I do. I’m just going to give it all I can for six rounds and really go after him.”
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In the night’s eight-round main event, Hitz will unveil his new heavyweight contender, Andrey Fedosov (22-2, 18 KOs) the former WBC Youth Heavyweight Champion from Shuya, Russia. In his Horseshoe debut, Fedosov will face comebacking former NABA Champion “Rockin” Rodney Moore (17-6-2, 7 KOs) from Houston, Texas.
In another notable six-round encounter, Chicago (via Lithuania) middleweight slugger Donatas Bondorovas (15-3-1, 4 KOs) will take on Evansville, Indiana’s “King” David Thomas (10-2-2, 8 KOs).
The huge undercard (12 bouts are scheduled in total) will feature such popular local names as promising super middleweight prospect Mike “Hollywood” Jimenez (7-0, 4 KOs), who will go six rounds, and Pacquiao sparring partner and undefeated knockout sensation Abdulai “The Classiq” Amidu (20-0, 17 KOs) also going six.
Also featured will be four-round fights for Frankie “Time Bomb” Scalise (4-1, 4 KOs), Genaro Mendez (4-1, 3 KOs), kickboxing and Golden Gloves champ Simon “The Punisher” Buettner (2-0, 2 KOs), Russell “Rocky” Fiore (6-2-1, 6 KOs) and, making their pro-debuts, “Irish” Jimmy Murphy and Jonathan Manos.
Complete match-ups will be announced shortly.
The high-class atmosphere and luxurious surroundings the Horseshoe has to offer make their boxing shows a Las Vegas-style night of boxing that Chicago-area fans don’t have to get on a plane to enjoy.
The Horseshoe Casino has an intimate, comfortable venue with luxurious seats, a spectacular gaming area, free parking, exquisite food and all the amenities — and is just 20 minutes from Downtown Chicago.
Tickets are priced at $90 Ringside & $40 Orchestra and available at all Ticketmaster outlets and ticketmaster.com.
Please Note Early Start Time: On fight night, doors open 6:00 pm and the action starts at 7:00.
All bouts are subject to change.
