The main event of the world championship doubleheader features Lightweight World Champion Nate Campbell vs. Joan Guzman for Campbell’s International Boxing Federation (IBF), World Boxing Organization (WBO) and World Boxing Association (WBA) 135-pound titles.

The Bradley-Cherry fight is being presented by Gary Shaw Productions and Thompson Boxing. The main event is being promoted by Don King Productions from a venue to be determined.

Bradley (22-0, 11 KOs), a four-fight veteran of the SHOWTIME boxing series ShoBox: The New Generation, captured his belt with an upset, split-decision victory over Junior Witter on May 10, 2008, by scores of 115-113, 114-113 and 112-115 on ShoBox.

“I’ll never forget when they read the scores and I was announced as the new world champion,” said the 24-year-old Bradley who lives in Palm Springs, Calif. “It was a dream come true.”

That night, Bradley became one of 28 ShoBox fighters that have gone on to become world champions after appearing on the series.

“Now it’s time to make my first title defense where the big boys fight, on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING,” he continued.

“I’m here to prove that my fight against Witter was just the beginning. I have plenty of exciting fights left and I intend to successfully defend my title against Cherry. I’ve worked extremely hard to become a world champion and I have to admit, I enjoy the view from up here.”

Bradley, who was a long shot to dethrone Witter in England, will have considerable pressure to perform at the championship level against Cherry. Some boxing insiders believe that fighters improve 25 percent when they win a world title as a result of a boost in confidence. If this holds true, Bradley has the chance to be a very special fighter, but the pressure is on to perform.

Cherry, who will be fighting in his first world title fight, is an all-action fighter that can take a punch. Styles make fights and this one has all the ingredients to be a memorable championship scrap.

Cherry (24-5-2, 12 KOs), a chiseled veteran with three straight quality victories, showed tremendous motivation and ability in his last outing by knocking out the crafty Stevie Johnston in the tenth and final round of their lightweight bout in May.

A native of the Bahamas, Cherry now resides in Wauchula, Fla., and has campaigned as a lightweight for most of his career. He’ll be fighting for the first time as a super lightweight on Sept. 13.

Most fighters would prefer a tune up fight before taking on a world champion at a new weight, but Cherry isn’t like most boxers.

“I relish challenges and will never back down from a championship fight,” said the 26-year-old Cherry. “I was considered a big lightweight so moving up five pounds won’t be as a big a deal for me as it would be for others.

“I think I’m in the same position as Bradley was when he fought Witter in May. Bradley had nothing to lose and was hungry for a win since it was his first world title fight. Now it’s me who has the appetite for a world title. The challenger, as Bradley proved, is extremely dangerous in these types of situations.”

After Bradley-Cherry, SHOWTIME delivers what could be the lightweight fight of the year. The brash and colorful Campbell will defend three world title belts against the speedy and undefeated two-division world champion Guzman.

The fighters have verbally slammed each other well before contracts were even signed. With the fight nearing, Campbell and Guzman will likely abandon the trash talk and let their fists speak for themselves.

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING announcers Steve Albert and Al Bernstein will call the action from ringside with Jim Gray reporting from ringside. The executive producer of SHOWTIME Sports is David Dinkins Jr. with Bob Dunphy directing.

For information on SHOWTIME Sports Programming, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, please go the new SHOWTIME Sports website at http://www.sho.com/sports.

He was possibly the greatest light heavyweight of all time, The wily “Old Mongoose” Archie Moore. The man who scored 140 knockouts in a career that spanned from 1936 to 1963 never lost his crown in the ring. Although he unsuccessfully challenged twice for the heavyweight title, he did campaign successfully among the “Big Boys” throughout his tenure as a professional boxer. His record reads lie “Who’s Who” of boxing history. In 228 recorded bouts, Archie was only stopped seven times, a testimony to his courage and uncanny defensive ability.
Born on December 13, 1913, ( or 1916 to Archie) Moore boxed for years without due recognition. He fought all over the country. He even traveled to Australia and Argentina in search of fame and fortune. After six years on the circuit, Archie began to make his move toward the big time. In 1942, he knocked out Shorty Hogue in two rounds. Hogue had decisioned Archie no less than three times earlier in his career. He also beat rugged Jack Chase and drew with Ed Booker. In 1943, he won two out of three against Chase. In 1944, Moore lost by a knockout to Booker and also dropped a decision to the great Charley Burley. 1945 was a good year for Archie as he lost only two of fourteen fights. He beat Clevelander Lloyd Marshall twice. He was stopped by another Clevelander, the outstanding Jimmy Bivins. He lost a decision to Holman Williams but kayoed Holman in a rematch.
By this time Archie was formidable enough to warrant a title shot but it would be seven long years before he was granted one. Along the way, Moore would beat Curtis Sheppard twice and Bert Lytell twice. He would beat Bivins four times in rematches. He would defeat Harold Johnson in three put of four contests. He also scored victories over Ted Lowry, Bob Satterfield, Phil Muscato, Alberto Lovell and Jimmy Slade. The only boxer who could handle Archie was Ezzard Charles. Ezz beat Moore three times. The last time by a spectacular eighth round knockout in Cleveland. Finally on December 17, 1952, presumably just after his 39th birthday, Archie met yet another Cleveland legend, Joey Maxim. With Maxim’s world light heavyweight title on the line Archie won a persuading decision to become a champion at last.
As world champion the legacy of Archie Moore would flourish. He defeated Maxim twice in title rematches. He beat heavyweight Nino Valdes twice, Bob Baker and Bert Whitehurst. He would successfully defend his crown with knockouts over Harold Johnson and Bobo Olson. On September 21, 1955, Archie would get his first crack at the heavyweight crown when he met Rocky Marciano. In the second round Archie sent Marciano to the canvas. Rocky beat the count and lasted out the round. Slowly the tide turned in Marciano’s favor. Rocky proved to be too strong for the gritty Moore who finally succumbed in round nine. He kayoed Yolande Pompey in a title defense and on November 30, 1956, he was matched with Floyd Patterson for the heavyweight championship that Marciano had vacated. Although Archie was given a good chance to win by experts the youthful Patterson was much too fast and stopped Moore in round five.
Archie went back to defending his light heavyweight crown stopping the highly regarded Tony Anthony in seven rounds. Moore continued to meet heavyweights in hope of securing one more shot at that title. Archie defeated Howard King twice, Roger Rischer, Willi Besmanoff and Charley Norkus before putting his title on the line. Moore’s 1958 bout with Canada’sYvon Durelle secured Archie’s place in fistic history. Repeatedly knocked down in the early rounds and then down again in the fifth, Moore refused to surrender. By the middle rounds Durelle began to tire. Archie came on to stop Durelle in the eleventh round to retain his title in a classic thriller. In their 1959 rematch Yvon was a lot less troublesome as he exited in round three. Moore did not defend his title at all in 1960 much to the dismay of the National Boxing Association who withdrew recognition of Archie as a champion on October 25th. Old foe Harold Johnson beat Jesse Bowdry to claim the vacant NBA title. Still recognized be New York State and the European Boxing Union Archie decisioned Giulio Rinaldi in his final title defense. On February 10, 1692, New York and the EBU stripped Archie of his crown. A feat no mere mortal could accomplish in the ring. Finally the ageless wonder began to slow down. Archie still had enough left in 1962 to draw the future protege Cassius Clay. Clay had won the light heavyweight Gold Medal at the 1960 Olympics and had trained briefly under Archie early in his pro career. The brash upstart overwhelmed the aging warrior as he had predicted in round four. Archie had no more illusions of becoming heavyweight champion.
Upon his retirement, Archie did some acting and he also became very involved in helping the youth of America. He started a program called “Any Boy Can” and used this as a vehicle to reach young people in a positive manner. Archie’s book which is aptly titled “Any Boy Can” explains Archie’s views on helping youth as well as Archie covering his life and boxing career.

Wednesday, August 20 – 3:00 P.M. (All times Central Time)

Renaissance Nashville Hotel, Fisk Room

611 Commerce Street, Nashville, Tennessee

WEIGH IN:

Thursday, August 21 – 3:00 P.M.

Renaissance Nashville Hotel, Fisk Room

611 Commerce Street, Nashville, Tennessee

FIGHT NIGHT:

Friday, August 22 - Sommet Center, 501 Broadway – Nashville, Tennessee

Doors open at: 6:00 P.M.

First bout: 7:00 P.M.

Live telecast on ESPN: 8:00 P.M.

MAIN EVENT - 12 ROUNDS, FEATHERWEIGHTS - VACANT IBO WORLD TITLE:

Fernando Beltran Jr., 30-3-1, 18 KOs, Culiacan, Mexico, vs.

Takalani Ndlovu, 28-4, 18 KOs, Johannesburg, South Africa.

CO-FEATURE - 12 ROUNDS, JR. MIDDLEWEIGHTS - VACANT IBF NORTH AMERICAN TITLE.

Harry Joe Yorgey, 20-0-1, 9 KOs, Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, vs.

Jason LeHoullier, 21-0-1, 8 KOs, Portland, Maine.

8 ROUNDS, HEAVYWEIGHTS

Alonzo Butler, 26-1-1, 19 KOs, Knoxville, Tennessee, vs.

Dennis McKinney, 26-45-2, 13 KOs, Ft. Riley, Kansas.

8 ROUNDS, SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS

Jonathan Reid, 35-10, 20 KOs, Nashville, Tennessee, vs.

Maxim Vlasov, 12-0, 4 KOs, Tolyatti, Russia.

6 ROUNDS, WELTERWEIGHTS

Brent Cooper, 20-5-2, Nashville, Tennessee, vs.

Tyrone Wiggins, 8-22-1, 5 KOs, Nashville, Tennessee.

4 ROUNDS, HEAVYWEIGHTS

Kelsey Arnold, 1-0-1, 0 KOs, Jackson, Tennessee, vs.

Roman Kotylo, 0-1, 0 KOs, Ontario, Canada.

6 ROUNDS, LIGHTWEIGHTS

Jose Leonardo Cruz, 12-3-2, 8 KOs, Barranquilla, Colombia, vs. TBA.

4 ROUNDS, HEAVYWEIGHTS

Samuel Brown, 5-3-1, 0 KOs, Cincinnati, Ohio, vs. TBA.

All bouts subject to change without notice.

Tickets prices: starting at $27.50

Tickets available at Sommet Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, charge by phone at 615-255-9600, and online at sommetcenter.com.

For media credentials, contact:

David Kells, Sommet Center Director of Marketing; tel.: 615-770-2096; fax: 615-770-2010; email: DKells@sommetcenter.com.

For media information, contact:

Fred Sternburg, Banner Promotions; office tel: 303-740-7746; cell: 303-548-0707; email:

toofred@aol.com.

Ever since it was announced that Kelly Pavlik was going to meet Bernard Hopkins, I’ve felt that this would be a tough fight for Kelly. I still do. I’ve really thought about this fight. I’ve tried to break it down to its likely conclusion. Here goes…

Pavlik depends on pressure. He applies it from the opening bell until the end. Bernard is famous for his stalling tactics but he will find Kelly a hard man to discourage. In a nut shell, Pavlik will not dance to Bernard’s tune. Kelly will set and dictate the pace of this fight. This is not good news for Bernard’s aging legs and often weary arms. To Hopkins credit he is a crafty old coot. He will have a plan B. One of Bernard’s best assets is his counter punching ability. He is a very cunning fighter. Kelly likes to work behind his jab and then throw long, lethal rights to the head and body. He likes to get full extension on that right to generate maximum power. When Kelly wings the right he is not in the best position to defend himself. Hopkins has a great counter left hook and Pavlik may be opening the door for Hopkins to land it. To me this is Bernard’s best chance to win the fight. Possibly the only chance.

It will not surprise me if Hopkins puts Pavlik down somewhere in the first five or six rounds. It also won’t surprise me when Kelly gets back up. What will surprise Hopkins is the great tenacity of the young man he is fighting. I feel Kelly will have a slight lead over the first half of the fight because of his work rate. I do expect Bernard to have his moments though.

As we get into the second half of the fight the momentum will change at an accelerated rate. You have all heard the adage ” a fighter can grow old overnight “. By this point of the battle Bernard will begin to feel the effects of the pressure. Pavlik is not shy about going to the body and it will be around this time that those thunderous body blows in the earlier rounds sap the spring in Bernard’s time worn legs. His arms will no longer obey his command to throw combinations. A one punch at a time output is a bad recipe when facing a youthful gunslinger like Pavlik. Hopkins will begin to take inhuman punishment. His great pride will not allow him to fall. Either pride will finally be overpowered or a merciful referee will step in. Succumb he will to the young lion before him. On this night, one legend will end and another will begin.

Virgil may be a good guy. Mr. McGuigan too but they were not great fighters and that is what the Hall Of Fame is supposed to be. The absolute elite of a very, very tough profession.

Jim Amato

Lange has fully recovered from surgery to a shoulder injury that occurred in the first round of his May 12, 2007 World Boxing Council (WBC) Continental America’s 154-pound title fight against Fontaine Cabell. Due to his inability to box during the long layoff, Lange voluntarily relinquished his championship belt which is now held by Julio César Chávez Jr., oldest son of legendary three-time world champion Julio César Chávez, who won the title in an elimination bout on February 9, 2008.

“I look forward to regaining the momentum from my last fight and continuing my quest to become a world champion,” said Lange. “I feel physically stronger than ever, fully recovered from the surgery and ready to step back into the ring at the Patriot Center this fall.”

Next month Lange heads down to Vero Beach, Florida to begin his regular, six-week boxing training session with head trainer James “Buddy” McGirt in preparation for the November 1st fight.

Lange’s opponent has not yet been secured for the fight card which will feature five to six additional bouts.

A native of Arlington, Virginia and a Bishop O’Connell High School graduate, Lange has headlined all five professional boxing events at the Patriot Center on the George Mason University campus, including the sport’s debut at the arena on September 17, 2005. The junior middleweight drew national attention as a participant on the first season (2005) of the NBC boxing reality program, The Contender, and possesses an impressive 28-3-2 (20 KOs) record.

Ticket, priced at $30, $50, $75, $100, $150, $200, $300 and $500 (VIP Ringside), are on sale and can be purchased through Ticketmaster by calling phone charge at (703) 573-SEAT (7328), logging onto www.ticketmaster.com or by visiting the Patriot Center Box Office. Group tickets and sponsorship are available by calling (703) 536-6060.

Media Contact:

Brian Bishop – brian@bwfcom.com

Brotman ▪ Winter ▪ Fried Communications

Tel: 703-533-4830

The prestigious Pechanga Resort & Casino will host this year’s eleventh annual “Battle of the Badges” at their impressive Grand Ballroom boxing venue. This event will take place on Saturday, October 11th with doors opening at 5pm and the first bout starting a 6pm.

In addition to the many exciting grudge matches on the fight card, our main event features the best of the Battle of the Badges. Two undefeated and powerful fighters take center stage to see who will obtain bragging rights in Riverside County and beyond as Champion of Battle of the Badges “Main Event.” At 6-5 280 pounds, Former ACO Chief Adam “The Crusher” Colebrook will take on one of Riverside County Sheriff’s Departments finest, Bob “The Bomb” Epps. Blood, sweat and maybe even a few tears is inevitable making this bout one of the most anticipated fights of the night.

Over the past ten years California Police Youth Charities/ Cops 4 Kids has donated over $225,000 to support local charitable organizations that deal with at- risk and underprivileged youth. By supporting these charities we are encouraging an interaction between public safety members and our youth to help them develop self esteem, respect for self and others as well as discipline. This interaction has shown to be very effective in the reduction of crime in our communities.

All of the money raised from this event will benefit California Police Youth Charities and other local youth programs including Oak Grove Institute, E.E.K (Exceptionally Excited Kids) and the Musicians Workshop.

Ticket prices start at only $15 for general admission seating and $20 for ring side seats. You may purchase your tickets by visiting the Pechanga Resort & Casino box office in person or on-line at www.Pechanga.com or call (877) 711-2WIN. Tickets will also be on sale at will call at the Grand Ballroom entrance starting at 4:30 pm on the day of the event.

“Every year this event pulls our community together for these worthwhile charities.” said Jeff Penn, Director of Operations for Sothern California Police Youth Charities. I look forward to continuing this event for many more years,” everyone gets to enjoy the sportsmanship, camaraderie and competition.

Breaking his silence over the weeks-old negotiations with the camp of legend Oscar De La Hoya, Pacquiao said in his newspaper column that he cannot accept the 70-30 deal of the HBO pay-per-view buys as it’s like “a slap on his face” being the world’s most exciting fighter around.

“Mr. De La Hoya, however, has shown little interest by offering me a percentage that only an up-and-coming fighter rightly deserves,” Pacquiao said.

“If he really wants the fight, then he should at least, at the very least give me what I truly deserve, a fair share of the pie. He should understand that we are both superstars in the game and our mere names will sell everything and we stand to break all existing records in the sport, even the one that he established with Floyd Mayweather Jr.”

Last year’s De La Hoya-Mayweather fight reportedly sold 2.4 million buys and earned Mayweather $22 million on a similar 70-30 split, something Roach said is “a great payday” for a fight that would only make Pacquiao an even bigger name in the sport.

In a separate interview by Maxboxing.com, Roach sent across this message to Pacquiao: “I just want to tell him, does he understand what’s on the table? And is the comparison between fighting Oscar and (junior lightweight Humberto) Soto worth the risk?”

Roach said a Pacquiao-Hoya bout could get at least 2 million PPV buys.

Personal coaches retain too much influence, national coach Dan Campbell said yesterday, and that continuing conflict has created a mutinous climate and contributed to what is now sure to be America’s worst Olympic boxing showing in at least 60 years.

“If you look at what happened, a lot of the guys who lost reverted to what they did domestically,” Campbell said at the end of a dispiriting evening at the Workers’ Gymnasium. “You can’t win doing that. You absolutely cannot win here boxing the way you do domestically.

Getty Images
U.S. heavyweight Deontay Wilder (left) was the lone American to advance to the medal round at Beijing. He defeated Morocco’s Mohammed Arjaoui in the quarterfinals.
“(But) a lot of guys would talk to their personal coaches prior to going into the ring and whatever they said to them superseded anything we said.”

Campbell’s characterization errs on the side of euphemism. What we have here is much closer to anarchy than argument: boxers slipping away from the national team for clandestine meetings with their hometown mentors; unscheduled absences; threatened boycotts; desperate discipline.

Chaos.

The net effect finds USA Boxing at its lowest competitive ebb since the Truman administration.

Heavyweight Deontay Wilder was the only American boxer to advance to the medal round in Beijing, and Wilder wouldn’t have made it were he not the beneficiary of a last-minute, two-point head-butt penalty and a judging tiebreaker yesterday (San Diego time) against Morocco’s Mohammed Arjaoui.

Advertisement “I thought they were going to raise (Arjaoui’s) hand,” Wilder said. “I really did. You can see it for yourself. The judges are not on our side. Over and over you can see it.
“I hate to put it that way, but you know the truth is the truth. It is that way. I don’t want the world to remember the USA team as being failures ’cause . . . I can’t express how much hard work we’ve put in, dedication, sacrifice. You know what I’m saying?”

Wilder’s strange and narrow escape is all that separates American boxing from the first medals shutout in any Olympics it has entered. The same program that produced Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Sugar Ray Leonard and Oscar De La Hoya is now a proverbial punching bag.

“I don’t blame anybody,” Campbell said. “I think there is a maturity process in that the majority of (personal) coaches have never even been to an international bout and they’re advising guys how to box in the Olympics and it causes problems.

“You have the kid caught in between his allegiances to his personal coach. We all understand that. And so it becomes, can they trust me enough to not listen to what somebody else is telling them who has never been to an international bout?”

Answer: Not likely. Campbell may have the right idea, but he’s getting the wrong results to build an effective power base. Not all personal coaches are leeches looking for a meal ticket, but even the most altruistic among them is going to want facts to justify his faith.

We’re still at the stage where American boxers are blaming judges rather than recognizing the need to change their approach. Conditioned to throw punches that deliver damage, Team USA has been slow to embrace the strategic model necessitated by amateur boxing’s move to electronic scoring.

Olympic boxing is based on scoring points rather than inflicting pain, an approach that holds little appeal to an aspiring professional and even less when those points are not readily recognized.

“I threw a lot of punches, but the judges (weren’t) giving me my points,” said American welterweight Demetrius Andrade, a 2007 world champion who was eliminated by Korea’s Jungjoo Kim.

“There’s nothing I can do about it. I tried to go to the body, slow him down, (and) it was working, but I wasn’t getting (any) points for it. . . . It was just pointless for me to be in there.”

Campbell’s challenge is to restore confidence to a U.S. boxing team that won eight medals as recently as 1988. To that end, he is considering inviting personal coaches for a seminar on the international scoring system. He also is considering recruiting a lower tier of talent on the theory that such boxers might be more willing to listen.

“You have to go back to the beginnings of computer scoring,” Campbell said. “The reason we are not doing well is nobody wanted to accept it. None of the coaches accepted it, including myself. We didn’t take the approach of how to beat a guy with (computer scoring). We continued to train our guys the same way, and you can’t win like that.”