Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Mosley vs Berto Undercard

source: eastsideboxing


Boxing fans are well aware that the first big fight of 2010 will be the welterweight championship showdown between Sugar Shane Mosley and Andre Berto at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nev. on Saturday, January 30, which will be televised live on HBO's World Championship Boxing. Now, they're also going to get the first big boxing event of 2010, as Golden Boy Promotions and DiBella Entertainment are pleased to announce a series of intriguing undercard matchups to get the year started in an explosive fashion..

Two of the junior welterweight division's most devastating punchers - Argentina's undefeated Lucas Matthysse and Brooklyn's former World Champion Vivian Harris - collide in a bout not likely to last the scheduled 10 rounds.

An IBF Light Heavyweight World title shot will be on the line when New York's Yusaf Mack clashes with former World Champion Glen "The Road Warrior" Johnson in a 12-round elimination bout.

Adding to the number of former title holders on the card will be former 154-pound World Champion Sergio "The Latin Snake" Mora, who makes his Golden Boy Promotions debut in a 10-round bout against the always tough Canadian Jason Naugler.

Mosley vs. Berto, a 12-round welterweight title unification bout, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and DiBella Entertainment and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate. The bout will air live on HBO's World Championship Boxing from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nev., beginning at 10 p.m. EST / 7 p.m. PST.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50 are now on sale and available for purchase at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith's Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mandalaybay.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

The younger brother of former welterweight title challenger Walter Matthysse, 27-year-old Lucas Martin Matthysse (25-0, 23 KOs) has pounded out his own niche in the fight game thanks to crushing punching power that has led to knockouts 23 of his 25 wins. Born in Trelew, Argentina but now living in Buenos Aires, Matthysse tore through Florencio Castellano (KO4) and Luis Jose (KO2) in his last two bouts, setting the stage for a big showdown with Vivian Harris.

When the list of the most exciting junior welterweights is compiled, you can expect to see the name "Vicious" Vivian Harris (29-3-1, 19 KOs) to be prominently featured. The former World Champion claimed the WBA crown in 2002 with a second-round stoppage of Diosbelys Hurtado and went on to defend it three times in 2005. Since then, Harris is unbeaten in five of six fights, including wins over Stevie Johnston and Juan Lazcano. He begins his run for another shot at the championship on January 30.

29-year-old light heavyweight contender Yusaf Mack (28-2-2, 17 KOs) has received no gifts on the way up the ranks; but after making a decision to compete full-time as a light heavyweight, the former USBA Super Middleweight champ kicked things into another gear. Unbeaten in his five fights at 175 pounds since 2008, Mack has parlayed wins over Daniel Judah, Omar Pittman, Chris Henry and DeAndrey Abron into a title eliminator against his toughest foe to date, Glen Johnson.

One of boxing's most respected competitors, Glen "Road Warrior" Johnson (49-13-2, 33 KOs) earned his reputation the hard way, with 17 years of battles against the best the game has to offer. A former Light Heavyweight World Champion and the consensus Fighter of the Year in 2004, a year in which he beat Clinton Woods, Roy Jones Jr. and Antonio Tarver, the 41-year-old Johnson is eager to get his title back in 2010. This quest begins with his title eliminator bout against Mack.

Former Junior Middleweight World Champion and the winner of the first season of NBC's "The Contender," Sergio "The Latin Snake" Mora (21-1-1, 5 KOs) has gone on to prove that he's more than just a reality show winner. A slick boxing native of East Los Angeles with a warrior's heart, the 29-year-old Mora struck gold in June of 2008 when he defeated the late Vernon Forrest for the WBC Junior Middleweight World title. Though Mora would lose the belt in the rematch with Forrest three months later, a move to middleweight is expected to produce big things for "The Latin Snake."

Jason Naugler (18-11-1, 11 KOs), a Halifax, Nova Scotia native, is a tough out for anyone in the fight game and he's proven his mettle over the last 10 years in bouts against Joachim Alcine, Anthony Thompson, Chad Dawson, James McGirt Jr. and Jesse Brinkley. On January 30, the upset-minded Canadian will look to spoil Mora's first bout of the New Year.

In other undercard action, five of the game's hottest prospects will put their reputations on the line in what surely will be exciting bouts.

Eloy Perez (15-0-2, 4 KOs), from Salinas, Calif., will start 2010 with a 10-round junior featherweight clash against the pride of Oxnard, Calif., "Dangerous" David Rodela (14-1-2, 6 KOs). These California standouts combined for a record of 6-0 in 2009; but on January 30, somebody's winning streak will end.

In a middleweight bout scheduled for eight rounds, New England up-and-comer Edwin Rodriguez of Worcester, Mass. risks his perfect 13-0 (9 KOs) record against Los Angeles' Byron Tyson (9-1-2, 4 KOs).

Opening the event is a four-round junior welterweight bout featuring popular Norwalk, Calif. product Carlos Molina (9-0, 5 KOs) against an opponent to be announced in the near future.

0 comments:

Post a Comment