By Norm Frauenheim –

Mike Tyson has been making a fool out of himself and just about everybody around him for decades. Maybe, he’ll do it again, making a fool out of Jake Paul and the rest of us who believe he shouldn’t be in a traditional boxing ring against anybody anywhere.

Any more.

But, of course, he will be Friday night on the Cowboys home field in Texas in front of an expected crowd of 80,000 and who-knows-how-many from Netflix’s subscriber population of 287.2 million, millions more than the nearly 150 million who voted in the recent presidential election. 

Don’t call it a fight, although the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation elected to do so, but only after adding four ounces to the usual 10-ounce gloves while reducing the number of scheduled rounds from 10 to eight and subtracting a minute from each round, from three to two.

Texas, like Netflix, knows a money-maker when it sees one. In this transactional era, traditional rules and regs are just some of the numbers that can be adjusted if the projected financials are big enough. They are. 

Reportedly, Paul will walk away with $40-million, a purse that might make the accomplished Canelo Alvarez — the only traditional boxer left among the wealthy athletes near the top of Forbes’ annual rating — wonder if he’s in the wrong game.

But Tyson-Paul isn’t about boxing, although boxing surely wishes it was. Does anybody in the Tyson-Paul audience plan to watch the Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury heavyweight rematch next month? Guess here: Very few. Truth is, very few probably even know it’s happening.

Usyk-Fury is a real fight. It’s intriguing, but only for a shrinking demographic that still enjoys a craft historically defined as The Sweet Science. Nothing about the 58-year-old Tyson versus a 27-year-old Paul figures to be sweet or scientific.

It’s spectacle, a Tyson speciality. It also happens to be the only thing about Tyson that hasn’t eroded over the decades. He’s feared for his punching power, and perhaps some of that is still there. It’s the last thing to go. 

But the real power, the most durable element in Tyson’s skillset — is his ongoing ability to create the kind of anticipation that precedes a spectacle and sometimes an accident. A crowd will gather for both. 

Tyson’s career as an active fighter is remembered more for what happened in defeat than victory. The infamous Bite Fight — Evander Holyfield lost part of his ear and won the fight in a DQ — defines him. It shut down the MGM Grand and the city of Las Vegas on a hot night in June 1997. 

Cabbies still driving Vegas streets tell stories about it to this day. Meanwhile, Holyfield, one of history’s great heavyweight champions, occupied an almost forgotten role in one of boxing’s most unforgettable moments, infamous because of Tyson and the genuine unpredictability he brings to any event.

Then.

And now.

Twenty-seven years later, that unpredictability is still centered around Tyson. He’ll be 60 in a couple of years. Texas regulators and Netflix can alter the length of rounds and the amount of padding in the gloves. It can tamper with a lot of the numbers. But not that one. 

Father Time doesn’t negotiate. 

On the scale Thursday, Tyson, reported to be at 233 pounds, looked good, especially for a man moving from middle age into old age. Some of the photos posted on social media included one word: SCARY.

Yeah, scary for him.

I’ve been asked to pick the fight. The sure winner, of course, is Netflix. But there’s another pick, really more of a hope. Here’s hoping Tyson emerges unhurt. Guess is, he will. For all of his trash-talk, Paul, reported to be at 220 pounds, is smart enough to know that his fellow Millennials in the crowd and audience are cheering for Tyson. 

They remember him like kids remember their favorite comic-book SuperHeros. They never get old. But Tyson has. 

Father Time beats us all, perhaps because of an unforeseen injury or just because of exhaustion, or an erosion in reflexes, or some problematic pre-condition. Remember, this fight was postponed in May because of an ulcer, which Tyson said was bleeding. Tyson told New York Magazine that he was spitting up blood. He was quoted as saying: “I said to the doctor: ‘Am I going to die?’ ‘’

Scary.

A hint at what might happen, perhaps, comes from his greatest rival, Holyfield. 

Twenty-four years after The Bite Fight, a 58-year-old Holyfield lost to a mix-martial-arts fighter, Vitor Belfort, who agreed to do an exhibition just eight days before the show in 2021. 

Within two minutes of opening bell, Holyfield went down, falling to the canvas in a chaotic crash of uncoordinated legs and limbs. Holyfield got up, but without any of the instinctive reflexes he possessed a couple of decades earlier. They were gone, washed away by the years. He was finished at 1:49 of the first round. It was sad, yet inevitable.

Then. 

And probably now.

ARLINGTON, TX – May 9, 2024 – Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) today announced that tickets for the professional boxing mega-event featuring The Problem Child, Jake “El Gallo de Dorado” Paul (9-1, 6 KOs) vs. the Baddest Man on the Planet Mike Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) and Matchroom’s undisputed super lightweight world champion Katie Taylor (23-1, 6 KOs) vs. boxing trailblazer and unified featherweight champion Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano (46-2-1, 30 KOs) will officially go on sale on Thursday, May 16 at 12pm ET on Seatgeek.com. Over 120,000 fans have signed up for presale access, a testament to the unprecedented global demand and excitement for the Paul vs. Tyson heavyweight mega-fight and Taylor vs. Serrano 2, the most-anticipated rematch in women’s boxing history, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, on Saturday July 20th live globally, exclusively on Netflix. Fans can sign up for advance presale access here. In tandem with general ticket on-sale, Most Valuable Promotions will present various VIP packages including a brand-new exclusive $2 million MVP Owner’s Experience.

VIP packages for Paul vs. Tyson will span four tiers, from the Contender Package, the Champion Package, Ringside VVIP Package, and the brand-new exclusive MVP Owner’s Experience. MVP has partnered with Elevate, a best-in-class sports and entertainment consulting firm, on selling the Owner’s Experience and the rest of these exclusive VIP packages.

The MVP Owner’s Experience package will offer unparalleled seats, access and amenities during fight week and on fight night. The $2 million Experience is anchored by two ringside apron seats (owner’s seats) that have never been offered in boxing before, four first row floor seats, and four second row floor seats for the event. The fight night Experience includes an exclusive stadium arrival experience, security and escort during the night, a pre-fight in locker room photo with each of Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, gloves signed by both fighters, a private green room with a top shelf open bar and all-inclusive food menu, and a post-fight in-ring photo opportunity for the group. 

Ahead of Saturday, July 20, MVP Owner’s Experience ticket holders will be provided exclusive access, accommodations, transportation, and premium gifts, including VIP lounge access and front row tickets to all of fight week events and activations, beginning Wednesday, July 17th. This includes the opportunity to be on stage with fighters during the final Paul vs. Tyson weigh-ins on Friday, July 19th. All ten guests will receive a boxing glove autographed by Jake Paul and Mike Tyson.

The MVP Owner’s Experience will also provide two-night luxury accommodations at the official fight hotel or similar luxury hotel option for 10 guests, featuring a penthouse suite for two, and four rooms to accommodate supplementary guests. Guests will additionally be provided with private luxury mini-coach transportation to and from events on Friday and Saturday.

Also available to ticket buyers looking for exclusive top-tier experiences will be the tiered Ringside VVIP Package, Champion Package, and Contender Package. Ringside VVIP ticket holders will be provided Row 1-2 floor seating on fight night. Access will include an expedited premium stadium entrance and private black car transportation for fight night, along with ringside club hospitality access with a top shelf open bar and all-inclusive food menu, meet and greet appearances from current and former boxing legends and celebrities, and a post-fight in-ring photo opportunity. Ahead of fight night, Ringside VVIP ticket holders will be provided exclusive VIP lounge access and VIP seating for Paul vs. Tyson fight week events and activations from Wednesday, July 17 through Friday, July 19, as well as 1 boxing glove autographed by Jake Paul and Mike Tyson. 

The Champion Package will include premium floor seat locations in row 2-4 on fight night, with a VIP parking pass and expedited premium stadium entrance, along with ringside club hospitality access with a top shelf open bar and all-inclusive food menu, meet and greet appearances from current and former boxing legends and celebrities, and a post-fight in-ring photo opportunity. Champion ticket holders will also be provided VIP lounge access and VIP seating for all Paul vs. Tyson fight week events and activations from Wednesday, July 17 through Friday, July 19.

The Contender Package will feature premium floor seat locations in rows 4-6, with a VIP parking pass and expedited premium stadium entrance. Guests will have access to the fighter walk lounge hospitality on fight night with a top shelf open bar and all-inclusive food menu. Contender ticket holders will be provided VIP lounge access and reserved seating at all Paul vs. Tyson fight week events and activations from Wednesday, July 17 through Friday, July 19.

“Paul vs. Tyson and Taylor vs. Serrano 2 represents a once-in-a-lifetime cultural phenomenon, spanning six generations of fans, that warrants ticketing options for every fan,” said Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of MVP. “To enhance the fan experience even further on Saturday, July 20, we have partnered with Elevate to provide a selection of VIP packages, including a first-ever MVP Owner’s Experience, providing the most expansive and exclusive access to the action throughout fight week and fight night. With over 120,000 presale signups, we anticipate that all tickets and VIP packages will sell out very quickly, and encourage fans to continue signing up for presale access at mostvaluablepromotions.com.” 

Next week, Paul, Tyson, Taylor, and Serrano will meet face-to-face to preview their highly-anticipated Netflix and Most Valuable Promotions mega-boxing event at two press conferences. The first will be held on Monday, May 13th at 5:30pm ET at the iconic Apollo Theater in New York City, hosted by renowned boxing journalist Ariel Helwani and the second will be held on Thursday, May 16 at 7:30pm CT / 8:30pm ET at Texas Live! in Arlington, Texas. Media can apply for credentials to attend the New York press conference here, and the Texas press conference here.

Additional information, including undercard bouts, will be announced at a later date. For the opportunity to sign up for presale tickets, click here.

About Most Valuable Promotions (MVP)

Most Valuable Promotions was founded by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian in 2021. With the mission to provide more creative control to fighters, MVP works to identify, grow, and maximize return for its own events and talent partners. Since inception MVP has consistently produced the biggest combat sports pay-per-view events. One year into its inception, MVP was nominated as one of the prestigious Sports Breakthroughs of the Year in 2022 by Sports Business Journal. The company signed one of the most decorated Hispanic athletes of all time, Amanda Serrano in its first year. Serrano and MVP made history in April of 2022 when Serrano went head to head with Katie Taylor, marking the first female fight to headline at Madison Square Garden, recently earning a nomination for Event of The Year by Sports Business Journal. Co-founder Nakisa Bidarian was an executive producer of the historic Triller Presents Mike Tyson v. Roy Jones Jr., which is the 8th most bought pay-per-view event in history.

About Netflix

Netflix is one of the world’s leading entertainment services, with 270 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, films and games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can play, pause and resume watching as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, and can change their plans at any time.

About Elevate

Elevate is a full-service consulting firm that inspires high-performing organizations to find their limits and push past them. With expertise in brand consulting, sales, strategy, data-driven insights, and talent optimization, Elevate gives its clients a competitive edge in the fight for people’s precious time and attention. Established in 2018, Elevate set out to help sports teams and leagues spark innovation and drive performance. In the years since, the world of sports has transformed, today standing at the convergence of media, entertainment, and consumer brands, with Elevate supporting some of the world’s most ambitious businesses across these sectors. Elevate’s proprietary technology, data sources, and software products give clients a 360-degree view of their customers, underpinning intelligent decision-making on marketing spend, growth strategy, and more. For more information, follow Elevate on X and Instagram @OneElevate_

Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) and Holden Boxing today confirmed that the heavyweight boxing mega-event between The Problem Child, Jake “El Gallo de Dorado” Paul (9-1, 6 KOs) vs. the Baddest Man on the Planet, Mike Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) will officially be a sanctioned, professional fight by Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR). The heavyweight matchup will be contested over 8, 2-minute rounds with 14oz. gloves. In the co-main event, undisputed super lightweight world champion Katie Taylor (23-1, 6 KOs), will step back in the ring for the most anticipated rematch in women’s boxing history against boxing trailblazer and unified featherweight champion Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano (46-2-1, 30 KOs). The event will stream live globally, exclusively on Netflix on Saturday, July 20, 2024 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.

Tickets for Paul vs. Tyson and Taylor vs Serrano 2 will go on sale May 16 at 12pm ET; To sign-up for access to tickets in advance of the on-sale, click here.

“Mike Tyson and Jake Paul signed on to fight each other with the desire to do so in a sanctioned professional fight that would have a definitive outcome,” said Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian. “Over the past six weeks MVP has worked with its partners to satisfy the requirements of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR) to sanction Paul Vs Tyson and we are grateful that we have gotten to this point. MVP has championed fighter choice since its inception, including advocating for women’s boxing to be contested with 2 or 3 minute rounds based on the particular fight matchup. Paul vs Tyson and Taylor vs Serrano 2 will both be contested with 2 minute rounds and each mega-fight will have its winner. Thank you to the TDLR and Holden Boxing for their efforts throughout this process to date and we look forward to working closely with them as we approach fight night.” 

About Most Valuable Promotions (MVP)

Most Valuable Promotions was founded by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian in 2021. With the mission to provide more creative control to fighters, MVP works to identify, grow, and maximize return for its own events and talent partners. Since inception MVP has consistently produced the biggest combat sports pay-per-view events. One year into its inception, MVP was nominated as one of the prestigious Sports Breakthroughs of the Year in 2022 by Sports Business Journal. The company signed one of the most decorated Hispanic athletes of all time, Amanda Serrano in its first year. Serrano and MVP made history in April of 2022 when Serrano went head to head with Katie Taylor, marking the first female fight to headline at Madison Square Garden, recently earning a nomination for Event of The Year by Sports Business Journal. Co-founder Nakisa Bidarian was an executive producer of the historic Triller Presents Mike Tyson v. Roy Jones Jr., which is the 8th most bought pay-per-view event in history.

About Netflix

Netflix is one of the world’s leading entertainment services, with 270 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, films and games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can play, pause and resume watching as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, and can change their plans at any time.

About AT&T Stadium

AT&T Stadium is the largest, most technologically advanced entertainment venue in the world. Designed by HKS and built by Manhattan Construction, the $1.2 billion stadium features two monumental arches, the world’s largest HDTV video board cluster, an expansive retractable roof and the largest retractable end zone doors in the world. Features of the stadium include seating for 80,000 and expandability for up to 100,000, over 300 luxury suites, club seating on multiple levels and the Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop, open to the public year-round. Outside the stadium, the Miller Lite® House is a branded destination that boasts a 70-yard Cowboys turf field featuring field games, four video boards and over 60 television screens, two fantasy football screen walls and over 87,000 outdoor square-footage for event day experiences. The space also features two beer gardens and a walk-in beer cooler. The stadium is also home to a world-class collection of contemporary art, made up of over 92 works of art by 62 established and emerging artists displayed on the walls and in the grand public spaces of the venue. In addition to being the home of the Dallas Cowboys since opening in 2009, the stadium has hosted Super Bowl XLV, the 2010 NBA All Star Game, the annual Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, the 2014 NCAA Men’s Final Four, the 2015 inaugural College Football Playoff Championship Game, the 2015 50th Anniversary Academy of Country Music Awards show and WrestleMania 32 & 38. The venue has also played host to high school and college football, concerts, championship fights, international soccer matches and other special events. For more information, go to attstadium.com.

Netflix and Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) today announced that after two years, Matchroom’s undisputed super lightweight world champion Katie Taylor (23-1, 6 KOs), will step back in the ring for the most anticipated rematch in women’s boxing history against boxing trailblazer and unified featherweight champion Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano (46-2-1, 30 KOs). Taylor vs. Serrano 2 will stream live globally, exclusively on Netflix on Saturday, July 20, 2024 from the 80,000-seat capacity AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. 

Taylor vs. Serrano 2 will be the co-main event to the recently announced heavyweight match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson as part of Netflix and MVP’s first-ever partnership. This will mark Taylor and Serrano’s long-awaited rematch following their historic bout at Madison Square Garden in 2022, where they made history as the first ever women fighters to headline an event in the iconic venue’s history. The bout ended in a narrow split decision in favor of Taylor and garnered global acclaim for both fighters earning Sports Illustrated’s Fight of the Year and The Ring’s Event of the Year for 2022. Taylor vs. Serrano was also nominated for Sports Business Journal’s Event of the Year, a testament to the global reach and power of the event. The rematch between the ESPN-ranked pound-for-pound powerhouses, #2 Taylor and #3 Serrano, will be contested for the undisputed super lightweight championship marking a jump of three weight classes from Serrano’s normal featherweight division as Taylor puts all her super lightweight belts on the line. The women’s undisputed megafight will be contested across 10, two-minute rounds, Serrano’s only break from fighting 12×3, the men’s championship standard, for the remainder of her career. Paul vs. Tyson and Taylor vs. Serrano 2 is anticipated to be the biggest boxing event in modern history, and fans can sign up for presale ticket access at mostvaluablepromotions.com. 

Irish sensation Katie Taylor once again reaches for greatness as she meets Amanda Serrano in a rematch – with Taylor looking to add another remarkable chapter to her incredible boxing career as she defends her undisputed Super-Lightweight title. Taylor defeated Serrano at a sold-out Madison Square Garden in April 2022 in a stunning fight of the year contest that saw Taylor successfully defend the undisputed Lightweight title that she won in the same arena in June 2019 against Belgian Delfina Persoon. Taylor became a two-weight undisputed champion in her last outing in November, overcoming Chantelle Cameron in a rematch of their closely fought battle in April, with both fights taking place at a sold-out 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. She first got her hands on world honors in her seventh pro fight, claiming the vacant WBA Lightweight title in Cardiff against Anahi Sanchez in October 2017, and has been in 17 straight world title contests since that night en-route to becoming a two-weight undisputed ruler.

“This is the rematch the world has wanted to see and I’m delighted that it’s finally happening,” said Katie Taylor. “The first fight in New York was obviously an epic occasion and it more than lived up to the billing, and I’m sure the rematch will be no different. I want to thank Matchroom and DAZN for their help in making the fight possible and I’m looking forward to defending my titles as Undisputed World Champion in Dallas on Saturday, July 20.”

Amanda Serrano, the first-ever Puerto Rican undisputed world champion and seven-division world champion, started her current featherweight title reign by defeating Heather Hardy in a brutal 10-round fight in 2019 to win the WBO belt, and has since defended her WBO belt six times. Serrano offered Hardy a chance at redemption in August 2023, but successfully defended her undisputed featherweight world champion title for the first time in a decisive 10 round unanimous decision victory. Serrano also won a blood-soaked war against WBA featherweight champion Erika Cruz in February 2023, which made her the undisputed featherweight champion. Serrano’s decisive win against Cruz followed her previous win over Sarah Mahfoud in Manchester, England that added the Dane’s IBF title to her WBO, WBC, and IBO featherweight belts. Most recently, Serrano took home a unanimous decision victory against her mandatory WBO challenger Danila Ramos, making history in the first-ever women’s unified world championship to be fought over 12, three-minute rounds, equal to any men’s championship fight, and marking the first time a women’s fight has gone the full 12×3. Serrano threw a career high 1,103 punches in the bout. In a true commitment to change for women’s boxing, Serrano recently vacated her WBC title, as the sanctioning body does not support women’s choice for 12×3. Serrano, whose natural weight is 126 pounds, now steps up to super lightweight to face Taylor for the second time, aiming to add the Irish fighter’s belts to her current featherweight hardware in what would be a championship in her eighth weight class.  

“I promised my fans they would see this rematch after we made history at MSG and it feels like a dream come true to know that Katie and I are finally making it happen on the biggest stage possible to show the world what elite women’s boxing is all about,” said Amanda Serrano. “While my focus continues to be on giving women the choice to fight with the same rules as men, I’ve always said that this is the one fight I’d go back to 10×2 for if that’s what Katie wanted. I’m coming for her belts, she wants 10×2, so that’s what we will do. I believe I won our first fight, but I didn’t get the decision, so this time I’m not leaving it to the judges. I am honored to share this iconic MVP card in the biggest stadium, on the biggest streaming platform in the world. Thank you Nakisa, Jake, Mike and Netflix for making this happen. And to all the young girls and women watching, I want you to know that anything is possible. Keep dreaming, keep working hard, and never let anyone tell you otherwise. It took me 15 years of blood, sweat and tears to get here, but it’s all worth it because I’m living my dreams.”

Taylor vs. Serrano 2 marks the latest in MVP’s series of significant women’s championship fights as the company works to establish equity across the sport. The event follows Amanda Serrano’s first-ever 12×3 unified championship fight vs. challenger Danila Ramos in October and the Paul vs. August special championship feature of MVP’s Shadasia “The Sweet Terminator” Green vs. Franchón Crews-Dezurn for the WBC and WBA super middleweight world titles.

“When we announced Paul vs. Tyson, we stated that this would be the most-watched boxing event in modern boxing history and we’re here to deliver on a card worthy of that greatness,” said Nakisa Bidarian and Jake Paul, co-founders of Most Valuable Promotions. “Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor have proven they are two of the biggest names in the sport, male or female and their rematch is one of the biggest fights in boxing, so it’s only fitting for them to be a part of this massive global event. Anyone who witnessed their first battle knows the unforgettable atmosphere and performance Amanda and Katie bring when they step into the ring together,and this is sure to be a fight of the year contender again. Bringing attention to women’s boxing has always been a priority for MVP and we are thrilled to give the world’s most-anticipated women’s boxing fight ever a crowning moment on Netflix. Thank you to Matchroom and DAZN for working with MVP and Netflix to make this historic fight come to fruition.”

“Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano are two of the best boxers in the world,” said Mike Tyson. “I know they can both put on an incredible show, and I’m thrilled to have them join this card. These remarkable athletes will undoubtedly elevate the event with their global appeal and fan bases. Adding one of the greatest fights in women’s boxing history to this unforgettable event is a true gift to fans. Saturday, July 20 can’t get here soon enough.”

Netflix is the premier home for great sports entertainment with hits like Emmy-nominated Untold that featured Jake Paul the Problem Child episode last year, along with Formula 1: Drive To Survive, Full Swing, Beckham, NASCAR: Full Speed, Quarterback, Tour de France: Unchained, Under Pressure: The U.S. Women’s World Cup Team and Six Nations: Full Contact. And beginning in 2025, Netflix will become the new home of WWE Raw. Paul vs. Tyson and Serrano vs. Taylor II will be Netflix’s third live sports event, following The Netflix Cup and The Netflix Slam. 

“Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano captivated  the sports world during their first fight two years ago, and fans have been clamoring to see them in the ring together again ever since,” said Gabe Spitzer, Vice President, Nonfiction Sports, Netflix. “We are thrilled to partner with MVP to bring this epic rematch to Netflix subscribers all over the world on Saturday, July 20th, in what will be an unforgettable night alongside Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson.”

Additional information, including the additional undercard bouts, will be announced at a later date. For the opportunity to sign up for presale tickets, click here.

About Most Valuable Promotions (MVP)

Most Valuable Promotions was founded by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian in 2021. With the mission to provide more creative control to fighters, MVP works to identify, grow, and maximize return for its own events and talent partners. One year into its inception, MVP was nominated as one of the prestigious Sports Breakthroughs of the Year in 2022 by Sports Business Journal. MVP have produced Jake Paul’s last five global pay-per-view events, including the recent Paul vs. Diaz match. The promotion company also signed one of the most decorated Hispanic athletes of all time, Amanda Serrano in its first year. Serrano and MVP made history in April of 2022 when Serrano went head to head with Katie Taylor, marking the first female fight to headline at Madison Square Garden, earning a nomination for Event of The Year by Sports Business Journal. Co-founder Nakisa Bidarian was an executive producer of the historic Triller Presents Mike Tyson v. Roy Jones Jr., which was the 8th most bought pay-per-view event in history.

About Netflix

Netflix is one of the world’s leading entertainment services with over 260 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, films and games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can play, pause and resume watching as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, and can change their plans at any time.

About AT&T Stadium

AT&T Stadium is the largest, most technologically advanced entertainment venue in the world. Designed by HKS and built by Manhattan Construction, the $1.2 billion stadium features two monumental arches, the world’s largest HDTV video board cluster, an expansive retractable roof and the largest retractable end zone doors in the world. Features of the stadium include seating for 80,000 and expandability for up to 100,000, over 300 luxury suites, club seating on multiple levels and the Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop, open to the public year-round. Outside the stadium, the Miller Lite® House is a branded destination that boasts a 70-yard Cowboys turf field featuring field games, four video boards and over 60 television screens, two fantasy football screen walls and over 87,000 outdoor square-footage for event day experiences. The space also features two beer gardens and a walk-in beer cooler. The stadium is also home to a world-class collection of contemporary art, made up of over 92 works of art by 62 established and emerging artists displayed on the walls and in the grand public spaces of the venue. In addition to being the home of the Dallas Cowboys since opening in 2009, the stadium has hosted Super Bowl XLV, the 2010 NBA All Star Game, the annual Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, the 2014 NCAA Men’s Final Four, the 2015 inaugural College Football Playoff Championship Game, the 2015 50th Anniversary Academy of Country Music Awards show and WrestleMania 32 & 38. The venue has also played host to high school and college football, concerts, championship fights, international soccer matches and other special events. For more information, go to attstadium.com.

By Norm Frauenheim –

Outrage is boxing’s oxygen. So, take a deep breath, because there’s plenty of it in the hours since Netflix announced Mike Tyson-versus-Jake Paul.

Give Netflix some credit. It didn’t call it a fight, which of course it is not.  Netflix is calling it a boxing event. It’s not exactly that either.

Tyson-Paul has about as much to do with boxing as Boxing Day does in the Commonwealth countries, where people box up food and other leftovers for the poor the day after Christmas.

That’s an act of mercy. But there’s none of that in what Netflix, Tyson and Paul are planning for July 20 at Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ big top in Arlington, Tex.

There’s only money.

They’ll grab what they can and move on, leaving only the usual outrage and absolutely no mercy for the crowd that always buys into these events. It’s happening because there’s a market for it and there always will be.

There are reasonable questions, of course. By now, most of them have already been posted on outrage media.

Will Texas regulators call it an exhibition or sanction it? Will Texas drug-test Tyson, a pot farmer and user, after suspending Keyshawn Davis for a positive test in October?

Then, there’s the age debate. Tyson will be 58, if in fact he doesn’t come up lame in the gym before the scheduled date.

Fifty-eight doesn’t exactly make him a senior citizen. He’s still seven years from qualifying for Medicare, which he might need after he subjects his aging, battered body to a workout regimen. But it’s his choice, his life. His payday.

Besides, the last I checked, two guys, one 81 and the other 77, are running for President. Maybe, the loser can face the winner, although I’m guessing only Netflix wins this one.

At the opposite end of the age scale, there’s the 27-year-old Paul. He wasn’t even around for Tyson’s memorable days as a feared heavyweight.

More than 11 years before Paul was born, Tyson, then 20, became history’s youngest heavyweight champ ever with a second-round stoppage of Trevor Berbick in November 1986.

On the street or in the ring, there’d be something unseemly about a young man against an aging one. If it were real, it’d be really wrong. But it’s really not. It’s a made-for-social-media event.

As a boxing writer and fan, I suppose I could join the outrage mob. But anger at Tyson-Paul would be as phony as calling it a fight. Prizefighting’s historical canvas includes lots of scars, yet not one draws a line between right and wrong.

George Foreman once fought five guys, all in one night. Ali once fought a Japanese wrestler to a draw in Tokyo.

Truth is, it happens throughout sports.

Jesse Owens once raced a horse. In the early 1970s, Evel Knievel rode his motorcycle in a jump over an Idaho Canyon, appropriately named Snake River. Bob Arum helped promote that one. ABC’s Wide World of Sports didn’t televise it, but it did televise Knievel jumping over 13 London buses before a crowd of 90,000 at Wembley Stadium in 1975.

Just last month, the East scored 211 points in an NBA All-Star Game devoid of anything resembling defense. In terms of competitive drama, it was about as real as Tyson-Paul will be.

I didn’t watch that.

I won’t watch Tyson-Paul, either. 

TOKYO (April 6, 2022) — Fight week is in full swing and throughout Japan, Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin is being hailed as the biggest name to enter a ring in Japan since heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.   Tyson was knocked out by 40-1 underdog James “Buster” Douglas on February 11, 1990 — arguably the biggest sports upset of the 20th century — a fact not lost on Golovkin.  Boxing’s most dominant middleweight of his era, Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs), from Karaganda, Kazakhstan, is finally in Japan, after several postponements caused by the pandemic, enjoying his first fight week since December 2020.  He has brought the Big Drama Show and his IBF and IBO world title belts to face two-time WBA middleweight champion and Japan’s national hero Ry?ta Murata (16-2, 13 KOs) in a long-awaited world title unification fight.  Promoted by Teiken Promotions, in association with GGG promotions, Golovkin vs. Murata will take place this Saturday, April 9, and will be streamed live from Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, just north of Murata’s hometown of Tokyo, to over 200 countries and territories, including the U.S., exclusively on DAZN (excluding Japan and Kazakhstan), beginning at 5:10 a.m. EDT / 2:10 a.m. PDT, with the main event scheduled to start at approximately 8:00 a.m. EDT / 5:00 p.m. PDT.  Golovkin and Murata boast a combined record of 57-3-1, 49 KOs — a winning percentage of over 93% — with 86% of their victories coming by way of knockout. 

Golovkin’s Big Drama Show has packed iconic arenas around the world, selling out Madison Square Garden, The O2 in London, the Fabulous Forum and StubHub Center in Los Angeles, and T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.  Saitama Super Arena is expected to join that illustrious list.  He has been a middleweight world champion every year since 2010, a testament to his discipline, drive, and talent.  GGG’s résumé includes a division-record 21 title defenses, 20 of them consecutively, also a division record.       

Here’s what Golvkin had to say about Murata, training, fighting in Japan, turning 40 on weigh-in day, and other things.

“Japan is the land of surprises, at least when it comes to boxing.  I remember what happened in the Tyson-Douglas fight.  It has been in the back of mind throughout training camp.  I already had a lot of respect for Ry?ta Murata, but Tyson-Douglas is a reminder to never  give less than 110% every day in training camp.  The last time I fought in Japan was over 20 years ago.  It was in the East Asian Games in Osaka.  I had a great time.    

“I have been in my Florida training camp — off and on — since October because of postponements.  First the fight was going to be last December, than there was a chance of it happening in February, and finally this Saturday.  I chose to train in south Florida because of the warmer weather and it was easier to get good sparring partners.  A lot of the fighters get sick in the cold climate of Big Bear in the late fall and winter months.  I really enjoyed training in Florida.  The biggest obstacle in these postponements, other than the frustration of not fighting, is peaking before the December and February dates and then pulling back and building up again.  It wasn’t easy, but every time I would break camp and go home, I would stay in shape by doing light conditioning and speaking with my trainer Johnathon Banks daily.  Johnathon would remind me every day, ‘Go steady.  Do not go heavy.’  between training camps. He was right.  I always returned to training camp energized and ready to go.  This last training camp resumed in early February.

“It is a challenge when fighting in a different country, especially if that country happens to be my opponent’s homeland.  But it spurs me on even more in training camp.  Now that I am in Japan, the adrenaline is starting to pump.  I am really excited to be here and to fight in front of the fans in Japan.  They really love and appreciate good boxing.

“Murata is a good, solid fighter.  There is a reason he has been an Olympic gold medalist and is a two-time WBA world champion.  He came to my training camp in Big Bear many years ago.  We sparred a little.  He was a very serious fighter.  He worked very hard in everything he did in camp, inside and outside the ring.  We got along very well.

“I am going to be 40 on Friday but I feel good.  I will continue fighting as long as I feel good and can train hard to fight at the level I have come to expect of myself.  Living a healthy lifestyle keeps me feeling good, strong.

“Murata is the most important fight.  Period.  I do not look ahead.  I have been fully invested in training for the fight I have in front of me.  I have too much respect for Murata and his body of work.  My focus is on him and winning his title.  That is why I am in Japan.  I look forward to fighting in a packed arena.  I have missed that energy.  It is going to be exciting because we both have similar styles of fighting.  We are both power punchers, we are aggressive and we come forward.  Diamonds cut diamonds and on Saturday, there will be two diamonds in the ring.  It will be a boxing gift to the fans  I expect it to be the fight of the year.

“Yes, I have been told by several reporters that Canelo wants to fight me again and that this time ‘it is personal.’  If it is so ‘personal,’ why has it taken him four years since our last fight?  He pretends it is personal.  I find it puzzling he would make such a claim.”                  

Hot From GGG – Murata Media Central

Fight Week Wednesday Edition

·         Nearly 40, Gennadiy Golovkin’s clock is tick, tick, ticking for Canelo Alvarez | Jerry Izenberg – nj.com

·         ‘Age gives me additional edge’ – Gennadiy Golovkin all set for unification fight | Press Association

·         Golovkin’s blockbuster Canelo trilogy at stake in Murata showdown (Agence France-Presse)

·         Boxing betting: Gennadiy Golovkin favored to win by knockout (yahoo.com)

During the early years of Atlantic City boxing, the fight game was bustling. An array of ring talent, from club fighters to champions, came to the shore to compete at thriving venues like the Northside’s Waltz Dream Arena and Convention Hall on the Boardwalk. Although ring action was plentiful, the biggest fights were still happening elsewhere. However, everything changed once gambling came to town. As casinos popped up along the Boardwalk, Atlantic City fights got bigger and bigger. By the late 1970s, boxing was on the rise, and within a few years, business was booming. Heavyweight champion Mike Tyson ushered in the city’s peak era in the late 1980s, a time when more than just fight fans turned their attention to Atlantic City for some of the biggest sporting events ever. A decade later, Arturo Gatti ushered in another rise in AC’s prominence with a series of thrilling appearances in the city. Although AC never again topped the impact of those days, boxing action at the shore remained vital for decades to come.

John DiSanto and Matthew H. Ward have co-authored a book that tells the story of Atlantic City boxing from 1865 to 2020. The image-driven book includes more than 200 photos, many of them previously unpublished and seen for the very first time. This book is now available for sale and can be ordered directly from the authors (ACBoxingBook.com) or your favorite bookseller including Amazon.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
John DiSanto is the founder of PhillyBoxingHistory.com and the Briscoe Awards and is the chairman of the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame. Matthew H. Ward is a historian and journalist who specializes in boxing, Jersey Shore, and Philadelphia history.

ABOUT THE BOOK
Boxing in Atlantic City, released on November 1, 2021, is a 128-page soft cover book that includes 230 photographs. The cover price is $23.99.

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
Arcadia Publishing and History Press is the nation’s leading publisher of books of local history and local interest. Arcadia has an extraordinary catalog of more than 15,000 local titles and publishes 500 new books each year.

Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (April 30, 2021)—WBA Heavyweight Champion Trevor Bryan is chomping at the bit to take on all comers as he continues training in Florida following winning the title.

“I’m the only heavyweight champion in the United States,” said Bryan, who calls himself “The Dream”.  “I’m the young lion and I’m hungry.  “Bring on Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.  I’ll take their belts and become the undisputed heavyweight champion.  I’ll even give Iron Mike Tyson the opportunity to come back and fight me for my title.”

“I’m more than ready, so let’s get it on.  We are ready to go.  I’ll take on Mike Tyson for a tune-up and then I’ll fight either Joshua or Fury the same night.”

Bryan’s promoter, Don King, is ready to get Bryan back into the ring with his belt.

“Let’s make a deal,” said King.  “Trevor is ready to get back into the ring and claim the other belts.”

The 31-year-old Bryan won the regular WBA championship on Jan. 29 of this year as he stopped Bermane Stiverne in the 11^th round.  Bryan is 21-0 with 15 KOs.

By Norm Frauenheim-

Mike Tyson isn’t back in the news. He never left. He’s there this week with a swift succession of contradictory headlines that would leave you with whiplash if it weren’t for what we already expect from him.

He has more moods than weather has fronts. It’s impossible to forecast what he’ll say or do next. One minute, he’s fighting Evander Holyfield. The next minute, he isn’t.

The best question is to ask whether anybody cares. But the answer only raises more question. Turns out, plenty of people do care and most of them don’t read The Ring

Boxing has run out of crossover fans. But Tyson still has them. They’re there, following TMZ, which broke the latest story. No, TMZ reported Wednesday he won’t fight Holyfield in a May 29 exhibition in Miami despite other reports that, yes, he would.

The week began with news from the Holyfield camp that the fight was off. It continued Tuesday with Tyson saying it was on during an Instagram interview with Haute Living.  Haute Living’s masthead advertises a publication that reports on Lifestyle, Celebrity, Travel and Fashion. No mention of pound-for-pound ratings.

·       Yeah, it’s confusing. Then again, what could be more confusing than plans for a fight between two men, each older than half a century? Tyson is 54; Holyfield is 58. A license to fight isn’t a license to drive. But that’s another story

The story here is Tyson’s celebrity. It’s durable, which is another of way saying you can bank on it. Tyson, the personality, still fascinates. Hence, the headlines in TMZ and Haute Living. Most of their audience would never be interested in the reasons Errol Spence-versus-Terence Crawford hasn’t happened. Come to think of it, they probably have never heard of Spence or Crawford.

But Tyson? Stupid question. Everybody knows Tyson for all the usual reasons, both crazy and compelling. They were there four months ago for his exhibition against Roy Jones Jr. The Triller-staged pay-per-view production on Nov. 28 did numbers that boxing hasn’t done in years. Reportedly, 1.6 million bought the telecast. Reportedly, it generated $80-million in revenue. They weren’t buying to see Jake Paul slam-dunk Nate Robinson like a basketball.

They were buying Tyson.

Still are.

The guess here is that they’ll still get a chance to buy Tyson in a show that might include Holyfield. Might not. Holyfield beat him twice in the 1990s and only lost a piece of his ear. But the show belongs to Tyson no matter who’s in the supporting cast. Even if the rounds are limited to two minutes and the gloves are pillow-sized, there’s a suspicion that Tyson really doesn’t want to fight Holyfield anyway.

Fighting is in Holyfield’s DNA. There’s a good chance he’ll be as serious, mentally and physically, at 58 as he was at 34 in the 1997 Bite Fight. Who knows with Tyson? He’s an entrepreneur at 54 and as unpredictable as ever. He hopes to succeed with his Legends Only League, a concept that defies the clock and how it erodes ankles, arms and athletes.

Tyson might be his league’s only legend, mostly because of his hold on the public imagination. If widespread reports are accurate, it’s strong enough to spawn a planned television series, a biopic starring Jamie Foxx as Tyson.

It sounds crazy, as in crazy money. That’s the only sure thing with Tyson.

MIAMI (March 22, 2021) – Representatives of Evander Holyfield expressed frustration after Mike Tyson’s representatives refused to accept a $25,000,000 guarantee from Team Holyfield to participate in Tyson v Holyfield 3 at the Hard Rock Stadium to kick off Memorial Day weekend. The parties have been in intense negotiations for several months and Team Holyfield sincerely believed a deal was imminent, especially after the Hard Rock threw its support behind the project, and there were multiple other offers conveyed to Team Tyson. However, Team Tyson’s demands recently became untenable, and not what Mike Tyson had originally agreed on in direct conversations with Holyfield.

The event was to occur at the beautiful Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins NFL franchise, Super Bowl games, and many other world class sporting events and entertainment, and would have been the ideal setting for the trilogy finale of this great rivalry between two of the greatest legends in the history of boxing. While neither side has announced publicly that the fight is not going to happen, with negotiations at a standstill and the date rapidly approaching, it seems unlikely that this fight will occur as planned.

“We thought this was a done deal but it quickly fell apart when Tyson’s people declined all offers,” said Kris Lawrence, Evander Holyfield’s manager. “We were negotiating in good faith all along and it appears we just ended up wasting our time.”

By Kyle Kinder-

When Brownsville and boxing are mentioned in the same sentence, the name Mike Tyson usually emerges from someone’s mouth.  And if it doesn’t, there’s a good chance the name of another Brownsville champion does; perhaps Riddick Bowe or Shannon Briggs, maybe Zab Judah or Daniel Jacobs.

There’s another Brownsville though, some 2,000 miles from the boxing-rich Brooklyn streets of Tyson’s youth.  Just across the border from Matamores, Mexico, this Brownsville has yet to produce a world champion.  At 8-0 with 5KO’s, junior welterweight Omar “El Relampago” Juarez is on a mission to change that.

With a population north of 182,000 people, Brownsville claims the southernmost point on mainland USA and is the most populous municipality comprising Texas’ Rio Grande Valley.  And while boxing’s roots run deep in Brownsville, it wasn’t until recently that the city and surrounding region have begun to produce world-class fighters. 

In the Rio Grande Valley, like the rest of Texas, football is king.  Most boys grow up playing youth football with the dream of one day achieving glory under Texas’ famed Friday Night Lights.  So perhaps it was a bit of a divergence then, that at 8 years old, Omar Juarez stuffed his fists into padded gloves and committed himself to boxing.  

“My father was a huge fan of boxing,” Juarez, now 21, said.  “It all started with me just wanting to make my parents proud.”

Just a year later Juarez began boxing competitively…if you can call it that.  He got walloped in his first ten amateur bouts, losing them all. 

“I got knocked down twice in my first fight,” he recalled.  “I would lose left and right..and of course I was knocked down left and right…but I just stuck to it.  It was a very bumpy road, but I stuck to it.” 

Juarez’s persistence, combined with a steady diet of hard-work and discipline eventually paid off.  After a cruel introduction to the world of amatuer boxing, Juarez started to win…and win often.  He went on to claim victory in 90 of his final 110 amateur contests before turning pro in September 2018 under Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) promotional banner. 

In his first six fights, which spanned September 2018 to November 2019, Juarez faced opponents with a combined record of 11-21-5, stopping three of them inside the distance.  

But in 2020, PBC matchmakers upped Juarez’s opposition level, pitting the Mexican-American against four boxers whose combined record read 59-34-3.

In February Juarez squared off against his toughest foe yet,  Mexico’s Martin Angel Martinez; a gritty veteran who had shared the ring with former world champions Lucas Matthysse and Marcos Maidana.  After eight hardfought rounds, all three judges awarded Juarez a wide decision. 

“I learned a lot in that experience especially from a fighter that had over 40 fights and fought a lot of good fighters,” said Juarez. “Originally, we thought we were going to fight someone else, but I told myself whoever it is, it doesn’t matter.  I trained hard, I put in all the hard work in camp.  It turned out to be one of my hardest fights, but I definitely learned a lot.”  

Riding high after the biggest win of his career, Juarez hoped to get back in the ring in early spring.  In a perfect world, he wanted to fight five more times in 2020.  

But less than a month later, COVID-19 thrust the majority of the country into lockdown.  Although his plans for the year were altered, Juarez knew boxing would likely resume in the summer.  He made certain that when it did, he’d be ready to fight.

“We actually quarantined here for about two to three months,” Juarez said.  “During the quarantine I was getting up every day, there was nothing open, I was here in my backyard, in my garage…using the resources we had to stay in shape to be ready.

“Something told me this was not going to last,” he continued.  “Eventually it will go back to normal and they were going to call me and ask if I’m ready and that’s exactly what happened.  About four weeks before my August fight, which was the first fight after the pandemic….I said I’m ready.”

In that August fight, Juarez, who is trained by his father Rudy, earned a wide six round unanimous decision against once-defeated Willie Shaw.  He picked up another convincing eight round decision in a slugfest against West Virginia’s Dakota Linger the following month.  And on December 26, Juarez closed out 2020 with a bang, dropping veteran Raul Chirinos four times in the opening round en route to a first round TKO. 

As his national profile grows with each win, the Brownsville-born fighter remains grounded, vowing to be a force for good in his south Texas community.  

Roughly three years ago, Juarez decided to delve into the world of motivational speaking.  As a boxer who dropped his first ten amateur contests, yet persisted to become a top junior welterweight prospect in the pro ranks, Juarez felt his story could inspire others.  He wanted to let kids in the Valley know that with hard work, dedication, and persistence, they could do the same. 

“I was fresh out of high school…I wanted to start motivating students,” said Juarez.  “What motivated me a lot was listening to motivational speeches by famous athletes and motivational speakers…specifically Eric Thomas and David Goggins.  I said to myself, you know, if these guys can help me fight adversity in life, I’m more than sure that I can help somebody else.

“So we started with elementary schools at first to see how it went,” he continued.  “And from there, just with word of mouth, it blew up by itself.  And from there we had gigs left and right speaking at middle schools, high schools, pep rallies.  We were sometimes doing three schools per day.  Every single time we have an event I have to speak at, I’m always getting up with a smile on my face ready to speak from my heart and that’s why I like it.”

It’s unsurprising that Juarez’s motivational speaking events combined with his in-ring success, have coincided in a boxing boom of sorts in the Valley.  

Juarez is humble enough to not claim any credit himself, but acknowledges the Valley’s interest in boxing is peaking.  

“The sport is growing a lot here in the Rio Grande Valley,” Juarez said.  “We have champions and I feel like we have a lot of talent coming up with the amateur fighters that are training currently and fighting all over the place.”

Although already in the throes of amateur boxing as a young teen, Juarez himself was inspired by a fellow Valley boxer, former WBC World Lightweight Champion Omar Figuroa, who hails from nearby Weslaco.

“I remember growing up when Omar was getting pretty big…watching him did motivate me,” Juarez said.  “I remember going to I think it was in Corpus [Christi] to watch him….and seeing all the lights, all the action, it was everything I ever dreamt of.

“I was still an amateur and just watching would bring a spark inside of me,” he went on.  “I’d come back from a fight and go want to workout….it would pump me up.”

Though Omar Figueroa is now inactive, his younger brother Brandon picked up the mantle, and as the current WBA Regular Super Bantamweight world titlist, is the Valley’s lone world champion.

And while Juarez and the Figueroa brothers represent the present and future of boxing in the Valley, there have been recent efforts to celebrate the region’s fighting past.  In Fall 2018 the RGV Boxing Hall of Fame was founded and five local boxers and physicians were inducted in the first inaugural class:  Dr. Benjamin Salinas, Alfredo “Chicken” Gomez, Herberto “Beto” Carr, Tomas Barrientes, and Andrew Maynard.  Juarez’s younger brother Sebastian took home the first annual RGV Amateur of the Year award.

There is little doubt that Juarez will one day himself be inducted into the RGV Hall of Fame, but not anytime soon.  Juarez has his immediate sights set on competing in lengthier fights this calendar year against increasingly tougher opposition.

“A perfect 2021 would be four to five fights,” Juarez said. “I don’t doubt I’ll get four, hopefully we squeak in five.  I want to become a world champion as soon as possible.”

He continued, “This year I’m looking to get into ten or hopefully twelve rounders and start making some noise. But I know that I’m not ready, I’m only a prospect, but I believe in two or three years, it’s [becoming a world champion] going to happen.  I just have to continue to be consistent, stay patient, and continue to work hard.”

If Juarez’s dream ever becomes reality, he’ll join a long, illustrious list of world champions from Brownsville. 

But he’ll be the first and only one from Brownsville, Texas. 

WORCESTER, Mass. (December 14, 2020) – Prior to his sensational performance on the recent Mike Tyson-Roy Jones, Jr. pay-per-view event, undefeated lightweight prospect Jamaine “The Technician” Ortiz was boxing’s best kept secret. No more, though, as Ortiz firmly established himself as a rising star in front of countless fans among the 1.6 million PPV buys.

Ortiz flew from Boston to Los Angeles on Thanksgiving. He was driven to his hotel, where he immediately saw Jones, checked his weight, and walked to Staples Center. “I was comfortable from the start,” said the young fighter who was fighting for the first time as a professional outside of New England. “I was there to get the job done. I was on a mission. I walk to see the Staples Center and that was cool. I later took my run around the Staples Center and there were a lot of statues. It was beautiful. It was cool seeing the Lakers locker-room.”

The 24-year-old Ortiz (14-0, 8 KOs), the reigning World Boxing Youth World champion, knocked out Sulaiman Segawa (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a bruising body attack, hurting his opponent in the sixth round, and closing the show in spectacular fashion in the seventh for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) USNBC (U.S) Silver lightweight title. Segawa had never been stopped before as a professional.

Ortiz displayed his overall arsenal: stiff jab, lightning quick hands and feet, switching back and forth effortlessly from orthodox to southpaw stances, punishing hooks up and down, and the most lethal body shots seen from a New Englander since “Irish” Micky Ward.

“I was calm and cool before the fight,” Ortiz added. “I like to go into a fight, mentally, like it was a sparring session and I always do good. I started out in an orthodox stance, established my jab and used it a lot. I think I should have used it more and could have beaten him with it. I listened to my coach (Rocky Gonzalez) and he told me when to switch. Body punching is the No. 1 thing with Rocky. I may not have shown it nearly as much in other fights, but he drills that into me all the time. In the sixth round, he told me to go more to the body, not looking to catch him, and in the seventh I really hurt him to the body.

“Segawa was definitely tough. He had beaten a lot of guys, including a few he upset. Every fight is a stepping-stone and I’m my worst critic. I felt that I could have knocked him out in the second round, but I didn’t want to go off the game plan.”

Ortiz set-up Segawa from the opening bell, broke him down, and finished the show in grand style as Seqawa was hurt and trapped on the ropes, drawing kudos from highly respected people in the industry such as “Sugar” Ray Leonard, Teddy Atlas, and others. Ortiz’ fan-base grew exponentially as boxing fans rushed to sign up to follow Jamaine during and after his breakout fight.

“Once people saw me perform and my style,” Ortiz continued, “they liked me. I could have shown more and thrown more combinations. I really needed to fight in front of the world. I got 5,500 new Instagram flowers that night. I guess, I’m no longer the best kept secret in boxing.”

“Our main goal is to win a world title,” Gonzalez commented. “This was fun and a great opportunity, but the motivation to be world champion is stronger. He dealt with this fight as just another fight, and he followed our game plan.

“His body shots set up the ending. I’m always telling him about Micky Ward’s body shots. You know, boxing is a dance, a salsa. Boxers need to dance; I don’t think they should just be orthodox. They all need to fight the other way and when Jamaine switched stances in the third, he never let up. I’ve trained him hard. I’m always on him and what better way to shut me up than ending it like he did on pay per view? It was a drop the microphone moment!”

Ortiz is promoted by Jimmy Burchfield (Classic Entertainment and Sports) and advised by Richard Shappy and Eddie Imondi.

Because of the uncertainty in boxing due to the pandemic, Ortiz’ 2021 schedule is unknown, but he isn’t boxing’s best kept secret anymore, “The Technician” is a bonafide rising star.

EVAN HOLYFIELD (4-0, 3 KOs) talks about his training camp, return to the ring against Donnis Reed in Jonesboro, GA, his dad and Holyfield-Tyson 3.

“I am with a whole new training staff right now, back down in Atlanta where I came up through the amateur ranks, with my former trainers and a new addition of Mark Breland. Everyone around here is like family, even Mark as I got to know him a little better and I’m happy and there is nothing more dangerous than a happy fighter. I am round a lot of good energy and a lot of good people. There have been some tough sparring days and some tough training days. I’ve been working on some new tools with Mark and adding some elements to my game. I feel like I really sacrificed for this camp and I’m anxious to see the results. You are going to see something different and I can’t wait to get in there to show people what I have learned. I’m pretty excited to see what happens.

Above L-R: Bert Wells, Mark Breland, Evan, Courtney Williams, Tony Williams
Below: Breland and Evan Courtesy Evan Holyfield

“I feel like it’s an early Christmas gift and I understand that everybody has not had the opportunity to get a fight this year and I feel like I am really blessed to get the opportunity.

“On Saturday, I know he is going to try and push me but being pushed comes with an evolution of yourself. The last three fights have been a tremendous experience for me, especially the last one going the distance.

“It’s a blessing to have my last name but it is also a blessing to be working towards living up to it

“Could my dad train me? My dad couldn’t train me because he understands it is an investment in time and that’s hard being the way he is and with what he possibly has coming up (Tyson?). Plus it’s not always easy to have the business in the family. If you are a trainer you have to be there all the time. Mark Breland is a dedicated trainer and he is going to be there no matter what part of the day as well as my other trainer Bert Wells. But my dad and me from talking regularly and he is always out there to help when needed. He always tells me to keep a level head, and the work I put in will be the results I get out, be in shape and to do what I do best – always throw combinations and don’t be there to be hit. He’s been by to see training and is pretty impressed with what we’ve been working on. He said to stay focused and work hard and that’s the name of the game. It’s all about staying ready and not getting ready.

“So, my dad training me is out but I do want to spar him one time.”

“I don’t feel like I am following in my dad’s footsteps, I feel like the sport has chosen me. I had my first fight at 8 years old but then my mom took me out of it – she didn’t like seeing her 8 year old child getting hit, so then I went to Taekwondo and was #1 in the nation for about a year. Then I got DQ’d for hitting someone too hard in the head so my dad said maybe you should try boxing where you can’t get DQ’d for hitting someone in the head. But I was getting kicked so I had to put the equalizer on him.

In high school all the kids were investing in one sport and one day I came downstairs and told my mom and dad “I want to do boxing and this is the only sport I want to do.” My dad said, ‘you know people are going to want to hurt you and compare you to me so if you are going to do this do it for yourself.’ I had my ups and downs in the beginning. My mom offered me many times to quit but this is really what I stuck to.

On Tyson and Holyfield-Tyson 3
“I was really impressed with Mike Tyson not having fought for as long as he has. I’ve been watching his YouTube videos and he’s been smoking a lot of weed so I was surprised that he had some wind too. It was good to see because everybody likes Mike Tyson. I didn’t think it was a draw but as long as they came out with good health and had a good time.

“My dad’s been training and getting back into shape and I know it’s something that he’s been wanting. So all of his training we thought was for no reason but it may be paying off. My dad will do what he did the first two times. You know, water and oil don’t always mix. My dad just seems to be Mike Tyson’s oil, so we will just have to see.

“I feel like a third fight with Mike Tyson would be great especially if his ear stays in tact. Of course, I got my pop.

CASSIUS CHANEY (19-0, 13 KOs) fights Jason Bergman (27-18, 18 KOs).

“I had training camp in Miami with Luis Ortiz’ trainer German Caicedo. Training camp was HARD, it was good though, but tough. I know that the sacrifice was there and as long as I am pushing through it and get through the training, I know when I fight it’s going to be easy. But it’s tough on everybody. I know that people are going through those days, like dang, but I’m cool with it.

“German has been around a long time – he has trained Shannon Briggs and has had Luis Ortiz basically his whole career since he came to the America. I went down to German in April to try it out. We stay in the gym. We are in a warehouse. There are seven of us that live there but I am the only American fighter – there is a Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Panamanian and an African. We are in West Miami and the only place I have ventured out to is Walmart – (laughing) I know where everything is in Walmart now.

“I’m just happy to get back in there, I need to keep busy. My body is getting stronger. The stuff I have been going through in the gym makes me realize, ‘hey, if I can get through this, when I fight, that’s the prize.’ That’s the fun part – when I put it together. I’m rounding out as a professional now.

“I think in 2021 I should have a couple of step up fights. There are some guys out there that make sense but it also has to make sense to them. I’m in a tricky situation. Main Events wants to be careful but they also want me to show them I’m getting better. I think once I hit the TV stream, the fans will enjoy my style. It’s just a matter of me putting in the work.

“I don’t watch the video (of me knocking Joe Caudle out of the ring) but people show it to me all the time or tag me in it. I don’t watch it because I threw so many punches that were so wrong, because I was mad at him. He was talking trash for so long, we were supposed to fight two years prior and it started then. He was going on social media saying he had a body bag for me and my mom saw it and my brother saw it, then after the fight he turns right around and asks me for advice! And I gave it to him!

“So I was sitting on that trash talk for so long that when the fight came around, that’s why my reaction was what it was then I was like, ‘wow, he went out of the ring.’ Then I was like ‘dang, it’s over’ then he tried to get back in the ring and I’m like “this dude is crazy.” I was in shock but then I was more in shock that he was trying to get back in the ring. I think there was a ghost next to him or something to save him from a horrible fall. Then the referee did the right thing.”

Regarding Bergman: “He’s a veteran and seems quite durable. I have to make my presence felt right away, to overwhelm him. I really want to use my jab and work on my range and he really shouldn’t touch me but I really want to be able to get some rounds in and show that I am learning as a professional and doing things different than I did in my last fight – getting better.”

By Norm Frauenheim–

A business always in search of an audience moves on to Errol Spence-Danny Garcia one week after Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. left questions about where it is headed:

Back to the future.

Or back to nowhere.

For now, at least, it might not be limited to either-or. There are other potential options, like say a stop at the senior-citizen center. A dangerous sport, one seemingly limited to the young and fearless, drew a huge audience last Saturday for a couple of fighters older and vulnerable. Only their name recognition hasn’t eroded. The numbers don’t lie.

I called Tyson-Jones, an exhibition featuring a couple guys in their early fifties, “mostly frivolous.” I was wrong. Nothing frivolous about a reported 1.59 million pay-per-view buys and counting. At $49.99-a-buy, that’s $74.985 million and counting. That’s some serious business.

Spence and Garcia, who are a couple of decades younger, won’t approach that number, especially at a pay-per-view price tag $25 more than the Tyson-Jones fee. At $74.99, it’s hard to guess how many potential PPV customers just won’t buy. Even at the more reasonable price offered by the Tyson-Jones promoter, it’s safe to say that most in the Tyson-Jones audience won’t reach into their pocket.   

Too expensive? Maybe. Still, the most optimistic guess is that the Spence-Garcia welterweight bout this Saturday on Fox will get a fraction of the buys that Tyson-Jones did. Plug in your own guesstimate here. But the reason for the expected small fraction exposes a perilous fault line in today’s boxing business.

There are no proven stars. The potential stars remain unproven, because they don’t fight each other anymore. There’s nothing new about that statement. But the numbers for Tyson-Jones, an exhibition in nostalgia, punctuates it with some powerful evidence. And urgency.

Maybe, Terence Crawford-versus-Spence emerges as a realistic possibility, post-Pandemic, from the Spence-Garcia fight on the Dallas Cowboys homefield in Arlington, Tex. But there are a couple of big ifs attached to that one. Spence has to win while also looking like the fighter he was before he was thrown from his Ferrari in October 2019. He hasn’t fought since then.

Garcia might have been at his best at a lighter weight, 140 instead of 147, but he’s been a giant killer and his counter left could do some real damage in early rounds when a tentative Spence is still trying to regain familiarity with his old work place.

Meanwhile, more senior citizens are bound to get out of their rockers for just a chance at a fraction of the money collected by Tyson, whose purse was reported to be $13 million. Call the bout an exhibition. Call it two guys in a brawl at a backyard barbecue, Snoop Dog’s apt description. Call if whatever. They didn’t pay Monopoly money. The cash real, enough to buy a lot of ribs.

Before Tyson-Jones, Oscar De La Hoya said he would watch carefully. De La Hoya, who turns 48 on Feb. 4, has been talking about a comeback. He had to like the numbers he saw from Tyson-Jones. He could have seen a new revenue stream for his company, Golden Boy Promotions, since the split with Canelo Alvarez.

Already, there are headlines about Evander Holyfield calling out Tyson for a rematch. After all, Holyfield still has one ear to give. There’s Buster Douglas, too, in what would be the inevitable rematch of his 1990 stunner over Tyson, one of the biggest upsets in the last century.

For a few years, there are endless possibilities. No telling what would happen to the rules. Endless possibilities there too. The Tyson-Jones rules were written to prohibit a knockout. In a few more years, a state commission might have to include a rule that you can’t hit your opponent over the head with a cane. OK, I’m getting carried away.

But the point is this: Boxing among seniors with name recognition and notoriety is not sustainable. The business goes nowhere without the younger generation that will fight this Saturday night. The young guns were there in the late 1970s and into the 1980s.

An aging Muhammad Ali fought a wrestler in Tokyo in 1976. George Foreman fought five guys in Toronto in 1975. But the circus came and went, mainly because Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran and Thomas Hearns were there and preparing to fight each other through an era as rich as any in history.

It’s time for history to repeat itself. If it doesn’t, only the business will be history.  

December 1, 2020 (Miami, FL). Former undisputed heavyweight champion Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield says he was confused when Mike Tyson chose to face Roy Jones Jr. and not him for his exhibition-bout comeback… then he watched their fight Saturday night.

“My side tried to make the fight happen and we got nothing but excuses,” said Holyfield. “Now I can see why he wanted a tune-up fight before thinking about fighting me.”

“The Real Deal,” says the idea of an exhibition bout was his. Still in supreme physical condition in his 50s, and training in the gym for months, Holyfield feels Tyson took a practice run Saturday night, but there is only one fight the world wants to see.

“Roy Jones was a good local opponent for Mike,” said the unimpressed Holyfield. “But a fight with me would be a global event and the only fight that anyone wants to see is a fight between us. There is absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t make it happen.”

By consensus, Tyson got the better of Jones during the eight-round exhibition match at STAPLES Center Saturday night, a fact that Holyfield says clears the way for the pair to finish their historic rivalry the only way they can.

“No more excuses. This is the fight that must happen for both our legacies. Saturday night you said you were ready to fight me, so sign the contract and get in the ring, Tyson. The world is waiting and it’s on you now. I’m ready.”

Legends Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. fought to a draw in their exhibition bout at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Tyson looked to land power shots while Jones fought mostly on the outside. There was a lot of clinching, and neither man was ever in serious danger throughout the fight which consisted of eight-two minute rounds.

Tyson landed 67 of 193 punches. Jones was 37 of 236.

Jake Paul destroys Nate Robinson in 2

Youtube star Jake Paul destroyed former NBA Slam Dunk champion Nate Robinson in round two of their scheduled six-round cruiderweight fight.

Paul drilled Robinson with a booming right that sent him hard to the canvas. Seconds later, Paul landed a perfect combination that sent Robinson out cold and the fight was stopped.

Paul, 189 lbs is 2-0 with two knockouts. Robinson is 0-1.

Jack decisions McKernan

Former world champion Badou Jack pounded away and won an eight-round unanimous decision over Blake McKernan in a cruiserweight bout.

Jack landed 203 of 520 punches; McKernan was 92 of 471.

Jack, 188 3/4 lbs won by scores of 80-72 on all cards, and is now 23-3-2. McKernan, 186 3/4 lbs is 13-1.

Ortiz Stops Segawa in 7

Jamaine Ortiz remained undefeated by stopping Sulaiman Segawa in round seven of their scheduled eight-round lightweight bout.

Ortiz dropped Segawa with a body shot. Segawa tried to fight on but the e fight was stopped at 2:50.

Ortiz, 133 1/2 lbs is now 14-0 with eight knockouts. Segawa, 131 3/4 lbs is 13-3-1.

Edward Vazquez remained undefeated with an eight-round split decision over Irvin Gonzalez in a featherweight bout.

Vazquez, 125 1/4 lbs won two cards 77-75. Gonzalez won a scorecard 77-75.

Vazquez is 9-0. Gonzalez is 14-3.

By Norm Frauenheim—

It’s not exactly clear what Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. will be doing Saturday night. Best guess: It’s part boxing, part nostalgia and mostly frivolous.

But the circus never loses its appeal, especially if the pay-per-view money buys a few laughs. Not enough of those these days. Twelve-ounce gloves, eight two-minute rounds, and no official winner, all for $49.95.

The California State Athletic Commission also has included no knockouts in rules and regs for an exhibition that might have been a cellar fight, so-called during an era when boxing was mostly an underworld pursuit.

The no-KO rule sounds like a necessary precaution — the legal fine print perhaps — for a couple of legends who are a couple of decades beyond their head-knocking best. Tyson is 54, Jones 51. But the KO prohibition is also absolutely ridiculous, especially for Tyson, whose feared identity has always been defined by scary power.

No KO chance, no real drama, fewer PPV buys.

The California Commission (CSAC) knows that, of course. That’s why executive director Andy Foster offered an explanation when updated rules were reported this week.

“So, technically, there won’t be a winner unless a knockout somehow occurs, or either fighter is deemed unfit to continue,’’ Foster said.

Somehow is the operative word here. Triller, the exhibition’s promoter, responded, saying that a KO could happen. Of course. The only way to prohibit one is to prohibit the exhibition altogether.

“A knockout is allowed,” Triller co-owner Ryan Kavanaugh told Variety, a show-biz publication that will never be confused with The Ring.  “We heard someone say there’s no knockouts. A knockout is absolutely allowed.  …

If someone’s bleeding, the fight’s not going to stop.”

Kavanaugh also had his own explanation for 12-ounce gloves instead of the usual 10-ounce.

“That’s like putting in an extra Kleenex between two trucks crashing,” he said.

Also, there will be judges, although they won’t be working for the Commission. They won’t even be in the building, the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. They’ve been appointed by the World Boxing Council. Former women’s great Christy Martin, ex-light-heavyweight champion Chad Dawson and former lightweight and junior-middleweight champ Vinny Pazienza will judge from a studio. No franchise belt for the winner. But there is a WBC title, the Frontline Battle Belt, which will honor Black Lives Matter, also inscribed on the belt.

If reports about the purses are accurate, they’re astonishing. Reportedly, Tyson will collect $10 million, Jones $3 million. Remember, when this exhibition was announced it was supposed to be

for charity.

Triller also announced Wednesday that DraftKings is the event’s “official sports-betting partner.” However, sports books reportedly began to take down the line Thursday, an expectation perhaps of further controversy. Off-shore betting sites had Tyson as a slight favorite over Jones, who held titles from 160 to 175 pounds and took a heavyweight title from John Ruiz in March 2003.

The wager here: Fatigue. The hope: Both fighters get tired before they can land a knockout punch. Call it a safe bet.

WORCESTER, Mass. (November 24, 2020) – Many if not most Americans will be enjoying a traditional Thanksgiving meal this Thursday, eating turkey, stuffing and pie, along with watching pro football all day and night. Not so, though, for undefeated lightweight prospect
Jamaine “The Technician” Ortiz (13-0, 7 KOs), who will be flying from Boston to Los Angeles, to fight on Saturday night’s high-profile Mike Tyson-Roy Jones, Jr. show at Staples Center.

Ortiz, the reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) Youth World lightweight champion, will take on Ugandan southpaw Sulaiman Segawa (13-2-1, 4 KOs), fighting out of Maryland, in an 8-round match for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) USNBC (U.S) lightweight title.

The 24-year-old Ortiz will travel with his head coach, Rocky Gonzalez, and cut-man Kendrick Ball, who will fill in for “The Godfather of Worcester (MA), boxing,” Carlos Garcia. He will not travel cross-country during the COVID-19 pandemic because of his advanced age. A National Golden Gloves Hall of Fame trainer, Garcia was Ortiz’ first boxing coach as an amateur, and he has worked his fellow Worcester resident’s corner during Ortiz’ 4 ½-year professional career.

“Carlos will be with us in spirit,” Ortiz said. “We understand. Fighting is my career and part of that is missing out on Thanksgiving this year. I’ll be eating on the plane. This is more important, just business, part of my job. It is what it is. I’m a big family person and I see them on a regular basis, not just on holidays. I’ll get to eat my turkey when I return home.”

Ortiz like most boxers hasn’t been active due to the pandemic. His last fight was this past February at home in Worcester when he stopped Luis Ronaldo Castillo (22-5) in the second round.

Segawa’s last fight was an 8-round split draw with Zhora Hamazaryan (9-1-1) in January. In 2018, he lost decisions to Abraham Nova (12-0) for the vacant NABA super featherweight title and William Foster (7-0) for the vacant crown. Ortiz knows both of those fighters well having defeated Nova in the amateurs and New Haven’s Foster is a fellow New Englander.

“He’s a tough dude,” Ortiz spoke about Segawa. “His fight with Nova was close (96-94, 96-94, 97-93). He took both the distance; they couldn’t take him down. And he’s beaten some undefeated fighters (10-0 Godwin Rosa, 6-0 Brian Gallegos).

“He’s a good fighter who can win rounds. A slick fighter, but he can be a little wild, and that can be dangerous. It’s going to be challenging for me. I need to be smart, listen, and be tight. I can’t get caught when he throws wild punches.”

Although Segawa is a replacement and the opposite of his original opponent, Jamaine isn’t overly concerned that Segawa is a southpaw, even though he’s only fought one lefty as a pro (Victor Rosas in 2018), because to some extent he is ambidextrous.

“Luckily,” Ortiz concluded, “I had good sparring with a southpaw. I fight left-handed a lot myself. I shoot basketballs left-handed, bat left-handed in baseball, and arm wrestled with my left hand. A friend just sent me a picture from 2007 and I was in a southpaw stance.”

Ortiz is promoted by Jimmy Burchfield (Classic Entertainment and Sports) and advised by Richard Shappy and Eddie Imondi.

WORCESTER, Mass. (November 17, 2020) – Undefeated lightweight prospect Jamaine “The Technician” Ortiz (13-0, 7 KOs), the reigning World Boxing Youth World champion, hopes to steal the show on the November 28th Mike Tyson-Roy Jones, Jr. pay-per-view card, presented by Tyson’s Legends Only League, at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The 24-year-old Ortiz, fighting out of Worcester, Massachusetts, will fight on the undercard against Maryland southpaw Sulaiman Segawa (13-2-1, 4 KOs) in an 8-round bout for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) USNBC (U.S) lightweight title.

“I feel good and I’m ready,” Ortiz said. “I’m privileged for this opportunity to fight on the Tyson-Jones card and get good exposure. I hope to steal the show. As a kid, I followed them both, especially Jones. I tried to imitate him”

Like all fighters, the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected his career, although he has managed to train, albeit in various gyms and mostly by himself.

“It wasn’t too bad,” added Ortiz, who is an apprentice carpenter. “Not all of the facilities I use to train were open. Early on, I trained by myself, and did a lot of running. We were quarantined until late June, early July, but then I was able to get good sparring. So, overall, it wasn’t too much of a change.”

(picture by Emily Harney)

Ortiz is promoted by Jimmy Burchfield (Classic Entertainment and Sports) and advised by Richard Shappy and Eddie Imondi.

“We’re happy our fighter, Jamaine Ortiz, will be getting such great exposure and he will show the world what we already know here in New England,” Shappy commented. “Jamaine ‘The Technician’ Ortiz is a force that will have to be reckoned with.”

Providence, RI (November 9, 2020) – CES Boxing is stepping into the producer’s booth for its latest endeavor, embarking on a new journey and teaming with global venture creation group Eros Innovations in the production of the upcoming “Iron”Mike Tyson–Roy Jones Jr. megabout later this month to provide the opportunity of a lifetime for three of its top fighters.

Under the guidance of CES Boxing president and CEO Jimmy Burchfield Sr., reigning WBC World Youth Champion and NABF No. 10-ranked lightweight Jamaine Ortiz (13-0, 7 KOs), current WBC World Youth Featherweight Champion Irvin Gonzalez Jr. (14-2, 11 KOs), and hard-hitting heavyweight contender Juiseppe Cusumano (18-3, 16 KOs) will compete in separate 8-round championship bouts Saturday, November 28 on the preliminary card of the Tyson-Jones Jr. showdown in Los Angeles, presented by Tyson’s Legends Only League in association with entertainment platform Triller.

The event will take place at the Staples Center two days after Thanksgiving with boxing legends Tyson and Jones headlining a star-studded fight card beginning live at 9 pm ET on pay per view via FITE TV, or on the newly-launched Triller app, available both on Apple or Android devices. Visit tysonontriller.com for more information.

Tyson, the youngest heavyweight world champion in boxing history and a dynamic box-office draw during his prime, returns to the ring for the first time since 2005 to face Jones, a pound-for-pound all-time great who boasts multiple world titles in four different weight classes.

Through CES Boxing’s collaboration with Eros, three of boxing’s top rising prospects will showcase their talents to a worldwide audience November 28. Ortiz, a Worcester, MA, native and 2015 National Golden Gloves silver medalist, battles 24-year-old Philadelphia native Nahir Albright (8-1, 2 KOs) for the WBC USNBC Silver Title.

The undefeated Ortiz captured the vacant WBC Youth title in 2019 and recently defended the belt in his 2020 debut at The Palladium in Worcester with a second-round knockout win over Mexican challenger Luis Ronaldo Castillo in February.

Ranked No. 9 among lightweights in the NABF, Ortiz enjoyed a stellar amateur career before making his professional debut in 2016, winning more than 100 fights and advancing to the semifinals of the U.S. Olympic Trials in Nevada. The 24-year-old right-hander is also an apprentice carpenter and member of the Local 107 carpenter’s union. In his third year as a pro, he won the Youth title with a dominant win over unbeaten California native Ricardo Quiroz, then blasted 15-4 Vitor Jones before piecing together another dominant against French challenger Romain Couture in August of 2019.

Cusumano, a winner of 16 of his last 18 bouts, faces Mississippi’s Nick Jones (9-3, 6 KOs), who has won his last two. The bout will be contested for the vacant WBC USNBC Heavyweight Title.

A native of Carini, Sicily fighting out of Danville, VA, the 6-foot-4 Cusumano won 13 consecutive bouts during an impressive stretch between 2012 and 2018, which included 11 knockouts – five in the first round. He joined CES Boxing in 2017 and made his promotional debut with a knockout win over Dan Biddle. Cusumano also notched impressive wins over 9-1-2 Fred Latham, whom he stopped in just under three minutes, and 8-3-1 southpaw Bernardo Marquez via fourth-round knockout. Since October, the heavy-handed Cusumano has lived and trained in Rhode Island under the tutelage of noted trainer Roland Estrada; and his son, former Olympian Jason “Big Six” Estrada.

Gonzalez, also from Worcester, battles undefeated Forth Worth, TX, prospect Edward Vazquez (8-0, 1 KO) for the vacant WBC USNBC Featherweight Title. The 24-year-old prospect signed a promotional agreement with CES Boxing in November and has since won back-to-back bouts, including a thrilling, sixth-round knockout victory over Yeuri Andujar to capture the WBC Youth title in February. Gonzalez amassed an amateur record of 90-15 and joined his CES Boxing stablemate, Ortiz, at the 2016 Olympic Trials in Nevada.

Vazquez earned his eighth win as a pro in September, recovering from an early knockdown to defeat Adan Ochoa by unanimous decision at the MGM Grand “Bubble” in Las Vegas live on ESPN. Nicknamed “Kid,” Vazquez began boxing at 8 years old, amassed an amateur record of 82-8 and advanced to the Junior Olympic semifinals before launching his pro career in 2016 under the guidance of Roy Jones Jr. Promotions.

In addition to the highly-anticipated Tyson-Jones exhibition bout, the main card November 28 features a cruiserweight showdown between unbeaten British prospect and internet personality Viddal Riley and former UFC mixed martial arts pro Rashad Coulter. YouTube sensation and unbeaten pro Jake Paul faces former NBA star and three-time Slam Dunk Contest winner Nate Robinson and former two-time world champion Badou Jack battles unbeaten California native Blake McKernan in an 8-round bout.

Visit CESBoxing.com for more information, or follow CES Boxing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter at @CESBOXING.
INFORMATION
CES Boxing is one of the top promotions in the northeast and one of the few to successfully promote both mixed martial arts and professional boxing. Launched in 1992 by longtime boxing judge Jimmy Burchfield Sr., the promotion is the only in professional boxing to boast two reigning WBC Youth world champions in lightweight Jamaine Ortiz and featherweight Irvin Gonzalez. CES Boxing recently teamed with UFC Fight Pass, the world’s No. 1 streaming platform for combat sports, to showcase its events to a worldwide audience.

Mike Tyson’s Legends Only League is a sports league created and owned by Mike Tyson and Eros Innovations. The Legends Only League is a next-generation sports venture that provides full support and infrastructure to the world’s greatest athletes, bringing the best of the best back to the ring, onto the court, and back on the field. The league will span live sporting events including tennis, basketball, boxing, and more in addition to creating consumer products, live events, premium content, and full-service management for the greatest sports stars the globe has ever known.

Eros Innovations is a global venture creation group led by Sophie Watts that invests in and creates globally recognized businesses for celebrities across premium content, consumer products and live experiences.Owners of Eros Innovations include Eros Investments, a media and tech investment holding company whose affiliate companies include Eros Now, India’s leading OOT platform with 186 million registered users.

Triller is an entertainment platform built for creators. The app allows users to create music videos, skits, and lip-syncing videos containing background music. Launched in 2015 by co-founders David Leiberman and Sammy Rubin, Triller uses an AI-based video editing tool that automatically adds effects like overlays, fast or slow motion, and basic text to videos. Triller has more than 65 million active users and has been downloaded over 250 million times worldwide. It also boasts some big names among its users, like Cardi B, Chance the Rapper, DJ Khaled, Alicia Keys, and others. Triller is owned by Proxima Media, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and Universal Music Group with other investors like Snoop Dog, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne, and The Weeknd.

+++For Immediate Release+++ Calabasas, Calif. – On Thursday it was announced that former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson will return to the ring against former pound for pound king Roy Jones on September 12th. The event will be distributed via pay-per-view and will take place in Carson, California.

The undercard will also be jam packed with interesting bouts and none more exciting that the co-feature bout which pits Youtube sensation turned boxing prospect Jake Paul against former NBA star Nate Robinson.

Paul burst onto the boxing scene in January when he knocked out Ali Eson GIb. His trainer BJ Flores is happy to see his pupil in another big event.

“I am looking forward to September 12th. For Jake and Nate to be on the undercard of two of my favorite fighters in Mike Tyson and Roy Jones is a tremendous honor. I think Nate’s background makes this interesting with his NBA background as a professional athlete. Good look to him,

Flores, a former world title challenger couldn’t be more pleased with the work Paul has put in and said that the improvements he has made with be on full display in September.

“He is ready to fight right now. He has been training since February 22nd and he has been sparring twice a week. We thought this fight would happen in May or June so we have been ready and the couple extra months has only been beneficial,” said Flores.

“Jake is real calm and real chill, real relaxed. He is totally focused and ready to go. He is he first one in the gym and the last one to leave. You can see the improvement and progress. He is very dedicated and very focused and that makes my job very easy. I only have to tell him things one time.”

While Paul is a relative newcomer to the sport, Robinson is even more of a novice after dedicating most of his life to perfecting his craft as a basketball player.

Flores said that the plan is to make an example out of Robinson for other athletes who are thinking of transitioning to the squared circle.after their career in their previous sport has ended.

“Boxing is a very tough sport to learn at the age of 34. I have a lot of respect for him but he is going to see first hand why professional athletes should never retire and then go to professional boxing,” said Flores.

As for Paul, all of his focus is on the task at hand.

“Look, I am just ready to go and do my job,” said Paul

By Norm Frauenheim-

Go ahead, wear a mask, stay away from crowds, stay at home and maintain social distancing. That might be enough to keep the COVID away. But the craziness? There’s no protection from that.

Example:

Mike Tyson versus Roy Jones Jr.

Apparently, it’s going to happen. I say apparently, because it looks as if a lot of things still have to happen after Thursday’s headlines about the planned event subside. Here’s what we do know:

The Dignity Heath Sports Park in Carson, Calif., has been reserved for Sept. 12, according to a story first reported by Yahoo. Tyson, 54, and Jones, 51, will wear 12-ounce gloves. The three-hour show is set to be distributed on pay-per-view on a new entertainment platform called Triller

Andy Foster, executive director of the California State Athletic Commission, told Yahoo that Tyson has put a hold on the date. Foster also said he spoke to Tyson and Jones via Zoom.

But details about financial backing and other significant details weren’t included. It’s being called an eight-round exhibition. As of Thursday, however, it was only an exhibition in how to generate headlines. Nobody better at that than Tyson. 

From pre-pandemic to pandemic, his power to generate publicity remains undiminished.

But buyer beware. I’m not sure this gets past the first drug test. That of course, presumes that there will be testing at all. That issue wasn’t addressed Thursday. But, safe to say, it will be for a bout between two legends already eligible for their AARP cards.

Tyson, of course, has been marketing himself and his ring resurrection for months through videos that display his punching power. Yeah, it’s still scary. It’ll be scary 10 years from now. Punching power is the last thing to go. George Foreman still had it when he regained a heavyweight title in a comeback at age 45 in 1994. Foreman, now 71, could probably still rattle the heavy bag with enough impact to light up message boards.

The surprise in Thursday’s news was that Tyson approached Jones about the exhibition. All of the speculation had been about a Tyson-versus-Evander Holyfield exhibition, a nostalgic look back on their infamous 1997 Bite Fight. Holyfield has posted his own videos, all of which showed that the retired heavyweight champ is in as good shape as any 57-year-old man could expect to be.

Instead, Tyson reached out to Jones, who had an almost mythic hold on the pound-for-pound crown during his middleweight, super-middleweight and light-heavyweight reign. Jones did win a heavyweight belt, scoring a unanimous decision over John Ruiz in 2003. Jones was the much smaller man, but Ruiz was no match for his blend of footwork and hand speech.

That blend is long gone, a fact that proved to be Jones’ undoing late in his career and now a potential danger against Tyson if the power in those videos is indeed real.

“I’m looking to be 100% of Mike Tyson in the ring,’’ Tyson said on ESPN’s First Take after plans for the exhibition were announced Thursday. “ … I’m a neophyte in taking it easy. I don’t know how to do it that way.

“I am one speed — forward. I don’t know, Roy is just going to have to deal with that.”

There’s still power in Tyson’s sales pitch, too.  He says he is launching a Legends Only League for retired athletes in all sports. Maybe, his planned exhibition with Jones is a beginning.

For Jones’ part, however, it was not clear that the exhibition was a done deal.  In a video posted on Twitter with Dr. Beau Hightower before a workout, however, Jones confirmed he had been contacted.  He’s interested.

“I still want to see these hands go,’’ Jones said. “I mean, I don’t know how to say no. So, don’t make me do it.  

“Mike is still a hell of a specimen.

“Still a problem to deal with.’’

A problem he might never face if a litany of other problematic details aren’t dealt with. 

LAS VEGAS, NV- Mike Tyson captured the world’s attention recently with a short video clip hitting the pads.  He showed that he still has his trademark power that helped him become a global star in the 80s and 90s.  

The 53 year old former world champion is in tremendous shape and has stated that he is planning on making a comeback to the sweet science with his goal being to raise money for charity.

American Dream Presents, Sterling Promotions and  James Wilent of J3G Global would like to help him achieve his goal and have presented Iron Mike with a substantial offer for  a series of multiple exhibition fights that he is reviewing.

“Mike looks like he is in tremendous shape and has the fire back.  What is better than a motivated Mike Tyson in the ring?  He has always been must see tv and we want to help him reach his goals to raise money for his various causes,” said American Dream  Presents CEO Ron Johnson.

Under the terms of the agreement, Tyson would receive a hefty deposit when his services are secured with the remainder of the purse for the first fight held in escrow. His purses would increase throughout the remainder of his contract.  

If the offer is accepted, all of the entities involved will immediately get to work to bring the, “Baddest Man on the Planet,” back to the forefront of the boxing and sports world in general. More details will be revealed in due time. 

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (May 28, 2020) — Classic Entertainment and Sports (CES), founded and operated by veteran boxing promoter Jimmy Burchfield, Sr., is offering “Iron” Mike Tyson $1,000,000 to square-off with Juiseppe Angelo Cusumano, plus a percentage of closed circuit receipts to be negotiated, as well a $200,000 donation to whatever charity Tyson’s wife prefers.

Jimmy Burchfield, Sr., known as “The Hardest Working Promoter in Combat Sports”
“If Mike Tyson is serious about making a comeback,” Burchfield said, “we’re prepared to make him a legitimate offer to fight Cusumano in a 6 or 8-round fight, whichever Mike chooses. After three months of the COVID-19 pandemic, boxing fans are hungry to watch real fights, not exhibitions. Tyson is a boxer and a damn good one at that! He’s not a bare-knuckle fighter or wrestler. A real boxing match is what we’re interested in promoting!”

Tyson (50-6, 49 KOs) hasn’t officially fought since June 11, 2005.

The 6′ 4″ Cusumano (18-3, 16 KOs) is an Italian heavyweight who fights out of Carini, Sicily.

CES needs to make sure that Tyson is medically cleared before proceeding. His complete medical exam results are required by CES to be submitted with a June 25, 2020 deadline. The date and venue for Tyson vs. Cusumano is to be determined, but open to negotiations once CES has spoken to Tyson or his representatives.

“Cusumano will be a true gauge for Tyson’s first fight in 15 years,” Burchfield added. “This is a fight boxing fans want to see, not an exhibition, because it will let everyone know exactly where he’s at today and whether or not he can truly challenge a (Tyson) Fury, (Anthony) Joshua, or (Deontay) Wilder. We’re ready to negotiate in good faith right now.”

CES has been promoting boxing events for nearly 30 years and its stable of fighters has included 5-time world champion Vinny Paz, who was a very close teammate of Tyson’s when they were amateurs, 3-time world titlist Chad Dawson, Peter Manfredo, Jr., Ray Olivieria, Jason Estrada, Matt Godfrey, Gary “Tiger” Balletto, and Matt Remillard, among the more notables.

INFORMATION:
Website: www.CESBoxing.com
Twitter & Instagram: @cesboxing

NEW YORK – May 28, 2020 – SHOWTIME Sports^® has announced today its SHOWTIME BOXING CLASSICS June slate, featuring a collection of Mike Tyson fights, Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko and other memorable moments from the network’s deep archive of world championship bouts. SHOWTIME BOXING CLASSICS airs every Friday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME and is also available via the SHOWTIME streaming service and SHOWTIME ANYTIME^®.

In June, the weekly series includes four nights of edge-of-your-seat boxing action featuring some of the most unforgettable bouts in recent years, including 2017’s unanimous Fight of the Year – Joshua vs. Klitschko – and a dramatic matchup between Adrien Broner and Marcos Maidana. In addition, Mike Tyson’s legendary knockout power will be on display with five fights in one night on June 12, and the semifinals and final of the Super Six World Boxing Classic will air on June 19 and June 26.

The full schedule is as follows:

• Friday, June 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
  • Joshua vs. Klitschko
  • Broner vs. Maidana
• Friday, June 12 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
  • Tyson vs. Frans Botha
  • Tyson vs. Julian Francis
  • Tyson vs. Lou Savarese
  • Tyson vs. Brian Nielsen
  • Tyson vs. Clifford Etienne
• Friday, June 19 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
  • Andre Ward vs. Arthur Abraham
  • Carl Froch vs. Glen Johnson
• Friday, June 26 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
  • Ward vs. Froch

Combat sports analysts Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell will host live companion episodes of their digital talk show MORNING KOMBAT on the Morning Kombat YouTube Channel for select SHOWTIME BOXING CLASSICS telecasts. They will watch the fights along with viewers, give their real-time reactions and take questions from fans throughout the replay. Viewers can follow along and participate in the discussion by using the hashtag #FightFromHome on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

SHOWTIME is currently available to subscribers via cable, DBS, and telco providers, and as a stand-alone streaming service through Amazon, Apple^®, Google, LG Smart TVs, Oculus Go, Roku^®, Samsung Smart TVs and Xbox One. Consumers can also subscribe to SHOWTIME via Amazon’s Prime Video Channels, Apple TV Channels, AT&T TV Now, FuboTV, Hulu, The Roku Channel, Sling TV and YouTube TV or directly at www.showtime.com.

ESPN will open its extensive library of vintage boxing matches this weekend to present four hours of “Iron” Mike Tyson in some of the most iconic fights of his legendary career on Saturday, May 23, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET.

The four-hour block starts with “Mike Tyson’s Greatest Hits – Volume I” followed by four classic fights highlighting the early part of Tyson’s career, which began with 19 straight knockout wins by an average of less than two rounds per fight, before a dominating 10-round unanimous decision over James “Quick” Tillis in 1986. Two of Tyson’s most iconic fights – a heavyweight title bout versus Michael Spinks in 1988 and his first fight with Frank Bruno in 1989 – will round out the night. Six of the fights featured during the four-hour Tyson block are available to stream now on ESPN+ for on-demand viewing.

In addition to early Tyson fights, ESPN+ is presenting a special collection of classic “blockbuster” matches to kick start Memorial Day weekend. The special collection includes legendary boxers Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard,  Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and more.

Saturday, May 23, 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on ESPN

• 7:00 p.m. Mike Tyson’s Greatest Hits – Volume I
• 7:30 p.m. Tyson vs. Mike Jameson (Available to stream on ESPN+)
• 8:00 p.m. Tyson vs. Jess Ferguson (Available to stream on ESPN+)
• 8:30 p.m. Steve Zouski (Available to stream on ESPN+)
• 9:00 p.m. James Tillis (Available to stream on ESPN+)
• 10:00 p.m. Tyson vs. Michael Spinks (Available to stream on ESPN+)
• 10:30 p.m. Tyson vs. Frank Bruno I (Available to stream on ESPN+)

Special Collection of Blockbuster World Championship Fights on ESPN+ | https://es.pn/3gad7Lc

• Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns (Middleweight, 1985)
• Foreman vs. Evander Holyfield (Heavyweight, 1991)
• Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns II (Super Middleweight, 1989)
• Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel  Cotto ( Welterweight, 2009)
• Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao (Welterweight, 2015)
• Ali vs. Spinks 1 (Heavyweight, 1978)
• Ali vs. Frazier 1 (Heavyweight, 1971)
• Ali vs. Frazier 2 (Heavyweight, 1974)
• Ali vs. Frazier 3 (Heavyweight, 1975)

About ESPN+

ESPN+ is the leading direct-to-consumer sports streaming service from Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown quickly to 7.9 million subscribers in less than two years, offering fans thousands of live events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, as well as premium editorial content. 

Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) through the ESPN App, (on mobile and connected devices), ESPN.com or ESPNplus.com. It is also available as part of a bundle offer that gives subscribers access to Disney+, Hulu (ad-supported), and ESPN+ ­— all for just $12.99/month.