On
Tuesday afternoon at the ESPN Zone at L.A. Live, Golden Boy Promotions
held a press conference to officially announce their November 10th card which will be staged across the street at the Staples Center. This
venue is best known as the home of the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers and
Kings but since it opened its doors more than a decade ago, it’s become
a regular destination for boxing. And the man who presided over the
festivities, Oscar De la Hoya, christened this arena (as it relates to
big fights) back on the night of June 17th, 2000, versus Shane Mosley, in front of a jam-packed house.
What’s
ironic is that while he lost that hard-fought 12-rounder to Mosley,
there is still a statue of him standing outside the arena (perhaps it’s
more an ode to Golden Boy’s partnership with AEG than the result of that
bout). But despite the loss, De la Hoya says he has fond memories of
that evening.
“I
actually have tremendous memories of the Staples Center. It was a
terrific fight, historical fight. I think people remember it by it not
only being a good fight but by all of Hollywood being there,” recalled
the “Golden Boy,” who always seemed to bring out the A-listers to his
events. “It was a special moment. Yes, I came out on the short end but I
was glad we could inaugurate the Staples Center with their first boxing
event when I fought ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley.”
And
from that point on, the Staples Center - and other AEG-owned properties
such as the Home Depot Center in Carson - have ensured that boxing fans
in Southern California don’t always have to make the four-hour trek on
the 15 to Las Vegas to see world-class prizefighting. It’s hard to
imagine Los Angeles having a regular rotation of fights without the
Staples Center and AEG.
The
next offering sees a fight fan’s delight as WBC 122-pound champion
Abner Mares takes on the slick and dangerous Anselmo Moreno who, like
Mares, was a distinguished bantamweight beltholder. Also on this
Showtime telecast (which will be a quadruple-header) is IBF 118-pound
titlist Leo Santa Cruz and the return of Alfredo “Perro” Angulo, along
with another bout that will soon be announced by Golden Boy.
Moreno
is very reminiscent of a boxer De la Hoya faced back in 1997, Pernell
Whitaker. When told of that comparison, Oscar opined, “I think Anselmo
Moreno is more confident with his punching power. He’s willing to
exchange; he’s willing to come forward more but he’s very slick. He’s an
excellent, excellent boxer. It’s not an easy fight.”
Indeed,
many boxing insiders are tabbing the Panamanian stylist to outbox
Mares, who has more promotional upside (being a Mexican-American from
the Los Angeles region). So why did Golden Boy make this fight?’ “I
think the only thought we had was to make the best fight possible,”
explained De la Hoya.
“I
think when you put two champions inside that ring, you’re going to get a
terrific fight. That’s what the fans want; that’s what we want - a
terrific fight.”
TIX INFO
OK, here’s how you can purchase tickets for this card (from a Golden Boy press release):
Tickets priced at $200, $100, $50 and $25, not including applicable service charges and taxes, are on sale now and available for purchase at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at (800) 745-3000 or at the STAPLES Center Box Office.
COLD WAR
I
was told at the press conference that Golden Boy would absolutely love
to match Santa Cruz with Vic Darchinyan early next year (provided it’s
their network date and it’s a main event) and then pair the winner of
that fight against the victor of Mares vs. Moreno.
Most
boxing fans would anticipate this scenario - especially if it
culminates in a Mares-Santa Cruz match-up - but again, what about one of
these guys eventually facing Nonito Donaire? Again, we are seeing a
series of intramural fights from a particular company (in this case,
Golden Boy) and not necessarily the best fights possible. Right now,
this and the winner of Brandon Rios-Mike Alvarado possibly facing “The
Machine” Lucas Matthysse are non-starters.
But
De la Hoya told Maxboxing on Tuesday, “We’re always willing to work
with anybody. So as far as we’re concerned, we want the best for our
fighters and the door’s always open for anybody who wants to work with
us. We’re willing to work with anybody at any given time. So the door is
open.”
Seeing is believing.
STEP ASIDE
Lou
DiBella made the rounds yesterday calling various media outlets
(including this one) to explain that he has cut a deal with Andre Berto
and Al Haymon and will step aside to allow Berto to participate in a
Golden Boy promotion in his next outing (DiBella and Berto will work
together again in the future). Last week, Golden Boy CEO Richard
Schaefer made it clear that he obtained the services of Berto (which was
news to DiBella on Friday) because, well...he did. Schaefer stated that
he was holding a November 24th date on HBO for Berto to face IBF junior middleweight beltholder Cornelius Bundrage.
Basically what happened here is DiBella was told to get out of the way and take a few bucks for his trouble.
It seems rotten but again, those who decide to “promote” Haymon clients should understand just what they are getting into.
NOV 17TH
According
to Gary Gittelsohn, who manages Brian Viloria, the fight against Hernan
“Tyson” Marquez looks like it will land at the L.A. Sports Arena (yeah,
the L.A. Sports Arena) on November 17th, with Univision and
WealthTV televising this card in the States. Gittelsohn also added that
WBA light flyweight champion Roman Gonzalez will be on the card.
Again, all this could change very soon. But that’s the latest on this never-ending saga....
TREME FLURRIES
So
Jermain Taylor is taking on Raul Munoz and they are airing highlights
on “ShoBox”? Uh, OK...That “ShoBox” will feature Jose Pedraza versus
Allan Benitez and Jonathan Cepeda taking on Lamar Russ from the
Ameristar Casino...According to a Top Rank press release, 13,000 tickets
are already accounted for regarding the fourth chapter of Manny
Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez, with just another 3,000 tickets
available for purchase...Mike Brown’s offense this year better be very
simple: whatever Steve Nash wants to run...There’s no other way to say
it; by not making the post-season for the third consecutive season, the
Angels are a bust - but there is hope with Mike Trout...Some strange
things going on with “Hawaii Five-0”....If it’s true that Jets
cornerback Antonio Cromartie will soon be having his 12th (yeah, you read that correctly) child, that means he has enough for a
starting defensive unit and a nickel back...Antonio Bryant has all the
physical tools but he will always be a coach-killer with his mistakes...