[Previous entry: "Fighters, Title Dreams Clash for 'Vengeance' at Weigh-Ins!"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "DiBella Entertainment has busy April in store: 2 ESPN2 fights, Broadway Boxing"]
04/11/2006 Archived Entry: "New England Chatta"
New England Chatta
It's Mass Hysteria; Worcester's Jose Rivera Faces Alex Garcia & Luis Collazo Defends Against 2005 CBZ Figther of the Year, Ricky Hatton in Massachusetts!
Just think, the two week period from April 28th to May 13th, there more boxing events in New England than there are Bruins and Celtics games left in their dismal seasons. Duva Boxing is promoting an ESPN2 Friday Night Fights event at Mohegan Sun on the 29th and Showtime will air the return of Brazilian star Acelino Freitas against the upset minded Zahir Raheem on the 29th at Foxwoods the following night.
The following two weekends, the Bay State will play host to an exciting Don King Showtime televised card at the DCU Center in Worcester (May 6th) and the first HBO televised boxing event at the Garden since Marvin Hagler fought Vito Antuofermo in ’81, will take place the following Saturday at the recently named TD BankNorth Garden. Boxing is coming back to the Gahden! It’s HBO’s first appearance in Boston since Daniel Zaragoza defeated Wayne McCullough at the Hynes Convention Center in ’97. On May 10th at Foxwoods, CES has an outstanding ESPN2 Wednesday night fight card featuring Joe "The KO Kid" Spina of Providence versus Contender favorite Jesse Brinkley and Providence hopeful Matt Godfrey against Shaun George.
Yesterday, the The Garden and the DCU Center hosted press conferences officially announcing their upcoming groundbreaking events. Though I shouldn’t say groundbreaking because King hosted a mega-boxing event last April, featuring the cruiserweight unification bout between then champs Jean-Marc Mormeck of France and Wayne “Big Truck” Braithwaite of Guyana and Worcester favorite, Jose “el Gallo” Rivera losing his WBA welterweight title to Brooklyn’s Luis Collazo in a memorable 12-rounder.
Both Rivera and Collazo are central figures in the back-to-back weekend shows though they won’t be facing each other. In fact, this time, Rivera won’t have to kill himself to make the 147-pound limit and Collazo will have more than the two weeks notice he had to face him. At the DCU Center, Rivera will try to claim his second world title when he faces two-time WBA jr. middleweight champion Alejandro “Terra” Garcia and Collazo has his hands full with world jr. welterweight champion and the consensus 2005 Boxer of the Year, Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton.
Though Collazo has been allotted from enough time to train, few if any give him a chance to defeat the 40-0 phenom from Manchester, England. “You may not know me now, but I’m tougher than I look,” assured Collazo, 26-1. “I have a whole new personality in the ring and Ricky will see that come out on May 13th. Ricky is going to be very successful but he’s going back to England with a loss from me on his record.”
Hatton will not only be making his debut on HBO, he will be moving up to welterweight, a weight class that Collazo has been competing in for years. According to those him know him best, Collazo and his style could spell problems for the pasty Brit.
“Ever since I was an amateur, Luis has been 147 pounds,” said longtime stable mate top jr. welterweight contender, Paulie Malignaggi, also of Brooklyn. “When I started boxing, I was 125 pounds and Luis was 147. This man is determined and trains hard. To fight at the same weight all this time, you have to be disciplined and Luis is that. He’s going to surprise a lot of people.”
As far as consistency, not many of today’s pugilists have been as consistent as Hatton. Though Hatton had been criticized of padding his record with European stiffs, those “stiffs” suddenly appear a lot better since Hatton’s remarkable run last year. In forcing the legendary Kostya Tszyu quit on his stool before the 12th and final round and destroying tough Colombian Carlos Maussa for the WBA strap, Hatton proved to be the elite fighter he always claimed and wanted to be.
“People have said that I never wanted to fight the best,” said Hatton. “I have now proven that not to be the case. I could have stayed in England and made a number of more defenses there but I want to be known as the best in British boxing history and obviously doing it here in the states is how I can get that done.”
Though a win over Collazo won’t exactly knock Lennox Lewis or possibly Joe Calzaghe down a notch, it’s a step in the right direction. For aspiring pro’s like Hatton, that step points towards Floyd Mayweather, Jr., whom most believe to be a potential all-time great. But Collazo’s people believe that if Hatton’s thinking about Floyd on May 13th, he could wind up the way Collazo made Rivera feel last year.
“I’m sure everyone can agree that Floyd Mayweather, in most people’s eyes is the best pound-for-pound in boxing. Even though I’m looking for a future fight with him, I’m not looking past Luis Collazo. He just happens to be in the way.”
For Rivera, the man now in his way is the hard hitting Mexican Garcia (27-1, 25 KO’s) and he knows that this opportunity is the most fortuitous of his career. In winning the WBA welterweight title nearly three years ago, Rivera was assigned the task of going to Germany to defeat then undefeated Michael Trabant in his backyard. Now Rivera, who lost his last fight to Collazo over a year ago and is coming off surgery to repair his elbow, will have the treat of staying home, where he won’t have to request vacation time from working at the Worcester Courthouse.
“Not many people, never mind boxers, get a second chance like this,” Rivera said about his opportunity. “Last time I lost a split decision to (Luis) Collazo. There are no excuses. Collazo came into my hometown and won a split decision, but he didn’t fight a 100-percent Jose Rivera. I pride myself on being in top condition so I am stronger in the later rounds, but I didn’t have any energy left in that fight.”
According to Rivera, competing at jr. middleweight is also going to help his chances in winning his second world title.
“Going into this fight some may look at me as a small guy, a welterweight moving up to super welterweight,” said El Gallo. “But come May 6 I’ll be 154 pounds with 5-pecent body fat. I’m glad that (first title fight in Worcester) is over and I’m looking forward to a new chapter in my career. I have big plans in 2006, starting with me winning the WBA super welterweight title. Garcia is a big puncher who comes in and overwhelms his opponents. He can knock guys out in the first or last round. He is very strong, but I’ll be physically and mentally ready for him May 6.”
Rivera (37-4-1 with 24 KO’s) turned 33 last week and for this reason many believe that coupling his age with his inactivity (2 fights since July of 2002) over the past three years could affect his performance but he won’t be facing a slickster like the smooth-boxing Collazo. Preferably, the dangerous Garcia will be in Rivera’s face until either man falls or the final bell sounds.
“At this stage of my career I don’t know how many more opportunities I’ll have to fight for a world title, so May 6th you know I’ll give 100-percent of what’s inside me. If you think last year’s (Luis Collazo-Rivera at the DCU Center) was a great fight, this probably will be the Fight of the Year. When two world champions collide May 6th there’s going to be an explosion.”
Tickets priced at $35, $50, $100 and $250 are on sale at the DCU Center Box Office, all area Ticketmaster locations, online at ticketmaster.com, or charge by phone at (617) 931-2000 or (617) 228-6000. All tickets are subject to a $.50 facility fee.
The entire card has been dubbed “Dynamite at the DCU” by promoter Don King. The Garcia vs. Rivera main event will be broadcast live on SHOWTIME Championship Boxing at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).
Ticket information for Collazo-Hatton is also on sale through Ticketmaster outlets and the TD Banknorth Box Office. HBO’s Kery Davis said that HBO will televise the event at 9:45 EST, but urged fight fans to attend this event. If they only come to Boston once a decade, why the heck not?
On a final note, Don King, who is co-promoting the Garden event with Banner Promotions mentioned yesterday that he’d like to pit newly crowned WBO heavyweight champion Sergei Liakhovich against Irish transplant Kevin “The Clones Colossus” McBride at the Garden. Since Brewster is on the shelf with a detached retina, it makes perfect sense (or cents as they say) to make it happen. McBride, the man who retired Mike Tyson, and his followers who attended the presser nearly leapt out of their seats like it was St. Patty’s Day when King made this recommendation.
