Star Boxing June newsletter

For Immediate Release

'TSURKAN SCORES CAREER BEST VICTORY'


Ukrainian born and Bronx resident Andrey Tsurkan (26-3-17KO) scored the biggest win of his career on April 25th as he outgunned fellow tough guy Jesse Feliciano (15-7-3 KO), scoring a TKO at 1:17 in the eighth round of a scheduled ten round Jr.Middleweight contest, at The Utopia Paradise Theatre in The Bronx, NY. The fight was as advertised, with both guys locking horns right from the opening bell. Both styles were mirror images of each other as the fighters stood at close quarters trading freely. Tsurkan landed a picture perfect right hand late in round 1 which dropped Feliciano for a short count and then followed up with crisp combinations which had Feliciano on rubber legs as the bell sounded ending the round. Feliciano came out strong in round two as the fighters once again engaged each other, both landing big shots. The fight went back and forth but it was clear that Tsurkan's punches were cleaner and crisper but Feliciano would always try and answer. As the fight entered the eighth round, it seemed Tsurkan had built a clear lead. Midway through the round, with Feliciano refusing to take a step backwards and Tsurkan landing heavy and damaging blows, referee Benji Esteves called a halt to the fight preventing Feliciano from taking anymore punishment. Everyone applauded Esteves' decision in stopping the fight, as Tsurkan was certainly inflicting damage on the game Feliciano, who has proven time and time again what a real warrior he is. This was a thrilling, crowd pleasing brawl, which had the fans in attendance on their feet throughout.

'UNDERCARD FILLED WITH STAR'S YOUNG STARS'


The undercard featured a number of Star Boxing's young rising stars. The evening started off with Heavyweights Joe Hanks (2- 0 1KO) and Corey Winfield (2-4 2KO) locking up in an entertaining four round bout won by Hanks 40-36, 39-37, 39- 37. Hanks, who fights out of New Jersey, had a lot of fans on hand cheering him to victory. Hanks displayed speed and power and is definitely someone to look out for in the near future.

Young Raymond Serrano (5-0 3KO) once again showed why people are talking so highly of him with a near shut out of experienced Damon Antoine (7-23-1 7KO). Serrano, just 18 years old, displayed poise and sharp punching over the course of the fight, winning by scores of 40-36,40- 36, 39-37.

'ARNAOUTIS ROCK'S THE BOARDWALK'


Mike Arnaoutis W 12 Lanardo Tyner: In front of a sold out crowd at the Bally's Casino in Atlantic City, N.J., Star Boxing's "Mighty" Mike Arnaoutis (19-2-2 9KO) retained his USBA Jr. Welterweight title with a spirited, hard fought, 12 round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Lanardo Tyner (19-1 11KO) by scores of 118-110 twice, and 116-112.

"Coming into the fight I had some problems in training camp with my legs," stated current USBA Champ Mike Arnaoutis." I was not able to get off as many punches as I had wanted. He (Tyner) was a very tough opponent. I am not making any excuses, but if I was 100% I feel I would have taken him out." Arnaoutis went on to say, "He punched good but he never hurt me. The cut was not an issue at all. I am fighter and getting cut is part of boxing."

The fight, which was presented by Joe DeGuardia's Star Boxing, was high energy all the way and had the enthusiastic and vibrant crowd on their feet throughout much of the contest. The blue and white colors of Greece were prevalent throughout the crowd as the fans of "Mighty" Mike cheered him on wildly to victory. Both fighters fought extremely well and each gave their all. Arnaoutis certainly showed he is ready for another World title fight.

'VARGAS DOMINATES ON NATIONAL T.V.'


Devin Vargas KO 1 Dave Brunelli: The opening television bout saw 2004 US Olympic Team captain Devin Vargas (16-0 7KO) destroy Philadelphian Dave Brunelli (8-4 3KO) at 1:30 of round 1 of a scheduled eight round Heavyweight bout. Vargas was making his ESPN2 debut and made the most of it as he landed a hard right-left combination which put Brunelli down early. Brunelli tried his best to survive but a right hand bomb by Vargas put an end to matters. It was Vargas' most impressive fight to date.

"I felt great coming into the fight. I knew my opponent was going to be tough, fighting out of Philadelphia, so I put in my hardest training camp to date. I knew he was susceptible to right hands coming into the fight so that was the game plan. I feinted to the body and came up with the big overhand right and he was wide open," said Vargas.

Regarding his big right hand, Vargas stated "I don't really have a best punch, if you watched I also hurt him bad with a left hook. I am a diverse fighter; I have knockout power in both my hands. I am not like other heavyweights out there, I come to fight. I don't come and throw 20-30 punches a round. I want to throw at least 80 punches each round, and each one I am going to try to knock you out with."

Vargas also noted that, "This is the first time I have consistently worked out with weights during my training and I can feel the difference already. I feel much stronger and feel that my punches are much more powerful. I came into the fight telling everyone I was going to knock him out, and I backed it up. 2008 is my year. I look to quickly start moving up the ladder and take over the Heavyweight division."

'STAR PHENOM CONTINUES TO IMPRESS'

Raymond Serrano KO 1 Charles Wade: Young Raymond Serrano Jr. (6-0 4KO) continued to shine as he annihilated Charles Wade (4-6 1KO) in the first round of a scheduled 4 round Welterweight bout. The 18 year old prospect showed poise well beyond his years and dropped his opponent twice in the round, the second coming from a debilitating body shot.

"I felt great coming into the fight. I had a game plan and I stuck to it. I respect Wade. I respect anyone who steps into the ring. I hurt him to the body earlier in the round and decided to stay with that. I look to continue to stay busy and feel that I am ready to step up and start fighting 6 and 8 rounders."

Serrano is one to keep an eye on as he has impressed each time out, and will continue to impress as he starts climbing the professional ranks.

'KEVIN JOHNSON NOW WBA'S LUCKY NUMBER 7'


The new WBA ratings are in and Star Boxing's Heavyweight Kevin Johnson has been bumped up two spots to number 7! After just 19 fights, the 28 year old Johnson has easily climbed up the ranks and made the transition from prospect, to legitimate contender. "Johnson has positioned himself as America's best hope to reclaim the title," said Star Boxing CEO Joe DeGuardia. "He's put the Heavyweight division on notice. With his combination of pure boxing skills and speed I can't see anybody beating him." In Johnson's last fight he easily out boxed and dominated his toughest opponent to date, Terry Smith. Johnson has been compared by many to the likes of the great Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes and according to Johnson himself, the sky is the limit.

'ONE ON ONE WITH DEVIN VARGAS:'

Star Boxing had a chance to sit down for an exclusive interview with 2004 Olympic Team Captain and now hot Heavyweight prospect Devin Vargas. In this interview Vargas talks about his 1st round annihilation over tough Dave Brunelli, the Heavyweight division now and where he feels he falls in the mix.

Q: Devin, how's it going?
A: It's going really good. I feel real good and am very anxious to fight again. After my fight I took a week off and got right back in the gym.

Q: You looked great last time out Devin, did you do anything different in preparation for the fight?
A: Well I trained really hard for it, probably the hardest I have ever trained before. I was mentally and physically 100% prepared for Brunelli and I think the results showed that.

Q: You touched on in a previous interview that you have now started weight training. Has it made a difference?
A: Weight training has made a huge difference in my performance. Again I think the results of my last fight show that. Brunelli was a tough guy fighting out of Philadelphia and I knocked him out a minute and thirty seconds into the first round. I can feel, and even see that my punches are much stronger. I never trained with weights before my last fight. I always was worried that it would slow me down and I would bulk up too much. But my trainer is great. He has me on a regime where I have not lost any of my speed, and gained tremendous power. I was only on the regime for 4 weeks before. Now for my next fight I should have about 8 weeks of weight training and only see myself getting stronger and producing more devastating knockouts. I'm actually scheduled to get back into my weight training regime this coming Monday.

Q: What do you think of the Heavyweight division now and where do you put yourself?
A: A, well the division is mostly made up of big, slow guys. Most of the guys are older guys, the same guys that have been around for awhile. It's almost seems as boxing has not let any of the younger Heavyweights break into the top ten. You look at the top ten and it seems that they have been there forever. Don't get me wrong, some, if not most of the guys are deserving of their spots, I just feel that it's time to let some new guys in. Let's be honest how long is John Ruiz going to be considered a top ten heavyweight? I feel that if given 3 months I could easily beat Ruiz. Ultimately I want to just keep fighting, and keep moving up the ranks. I am very confident that if given the chance I can definitely shake things up a bit. Given my amateur background and what I have done in the pro ranks so far I feel that after 2 more fights there is no reason I shouldn't be considered one of the top Heavyweights in the world. For now though I am just going to continue fighting, continue winning and continue impressing my fans. I just want to show everyone that I belong in mix with the rest of these guys.

Q: Anything you want people to know about you outside of fighting?
A: Well I love kids. I love interacting with them and also coaching them. I coach my oldest son's soccer team and I love it. He is five years old. I used to coach a pee-wee football team for awhile too. I also enjoy helping and working with ill children and doing anything I can to contribute to helping them get better. A few years ago I had a boxing show that was a fundraiser for this child I knew who had Leukemia. We raised over $8000 for him. It was one of my proudest moments to date.

Q: Being from Ohio do you have any relationship with Middleweight Champion Kelly Pavlik?
A: Yes, I know Kelly. My team and I are actually very familiar with his Trainer Jack Loew. My brother has actually sparred with Kelly in the past. Kelly and I were also on the same U.S. National team so we got to spend time then and got to know each other a bit. This region of Ohio is filled with boxing talent. For some time now we have dominated the amateur ranks. I don't see why we can't now dominate the pros. Kelly has the Middleweight championship. I look to follow in his footsteps and capture the Heavyweight belt.

Q: Anything you want to say in closing?
A: I just want to thank all my fans and the people who have supported me so far throughout my career. I also want to thank my promoter Joe DeGuardia and Star Boxing. 2008 is going to be a big year for me. I look to continue to impress and continue to climb the ranks into the heavyweight division.

'MIGHTY MIKE RETURNS TO THE HAMMERSTEIN AUGUST 7TH!'

Star Boxing's USBA Jr. Welterweight champion "Mighty" Mike Arnaoutis returns to action at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on August 7th. The fan favorite Arnaoutis (19-2- 2 9KO) is coming over a spirited, hard fought, 12 round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Lanardo Tyner (19-1 11KO) by scores of 118-110 twice, and 116-112.

Star Boxing president and founder Joe DeGuardia had this to say about Arnaoutis. "We are very happy were Mike is at right now. We plan to have three more extraordinary fights for him within in the next five months." Arnaoutis, known for his crowd pleasing, high punch volume, all action style, looks to use this upcoming bout (opponent TBA) as another step up towards a major world title shot.

'ABOUT STAR BOXING'

Star Boxing has been in operation since 1992. Star Boxing's stable features world-class athletes and has consistently brought credibility, integrity, and exciting fights to the boxing industry.
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