Tickets for Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Brian Vera at Staples Center on sale Friday

Tickets for the super middleweight main event between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Brian Vera slated for Sept. 7 at Staples Center (on HBO) will go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Chavez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) is coming off a unanimous-decision loss to Sergio Martinez, who took Chavez’s middleweight title on Sept. 15 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Afterward, Chavez tested positive for marijuana and was fined and suspended nine months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Vera (23-6, 14 KOs) is from Austin, Texas. He is on a four-fight winning streak.

Tickets are priced at $50, $75, $100, $150 and $250. They can be purchased by calling 888-929-7849, by going online at www.axs.com or through the Staples Center box office.

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Mike Tyson will make debut as promoter on ESPN’s ‘Friday Night Fights’

Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson has joined the promoter’s ranks and on Aug. 23 will make his debut when his Iron Mike Productions stages two title fights at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, N.Y., according to ESPN.com. The fights will be televised on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights.”

A story on ESPN.com said Tyson joined forces with Garry Jonas, whose company, Acquinity Sports, out of Florida had been around for two years and already had several fighters under contract. Acquinity Sports was re-named Iron Mike Productions.

The two title bouts will feature Argenis Mendez of Brooklyn defending his junior lightweight belt against Arash Usmanee of Canada, and Claudio Marrero of the Dominican Republic and Jesus Andres Cuellar of Argentina squaring off for a vacant interim featherweight belt.

 

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Mickey Bey looks to get back on track against John Molina of Covina

After knocking out Robert Rodriguez in the third round in February at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, super featherweight Mickey Bey of Cleveland sported a record of 19-0-1 with 10 knockouts. But he tested positive for elevated testosterone levels afterward and that victory was changed to a no-contest, leaving him at 18-0-1 with nine knockouts.

It was a setback for the 30-year-old Bey, who still maintains he was not guilty of taking banned substances. But he has moved on and Friday he will take on John Molina of Covina in the lightweight main event at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino (on Showtime).

That fight against Rodriguez was Bey’s first under the Mayweather Promotions banner.

“I should have been champion many years ago,” said Bey, who once again is being trained by Floyd Mayweather Sr. “When I’m on point, there isn’t anybody who can hang in there with me.  It’s just a relief to be signed with Mayweather Promotions, who’s got my best interests in mind on every level.  You’re going to see better performances out of me just because of that.”

Bey knows one thing, Molina (25-3, 20 KOs) can crack, even if his technical boxing skills are not the best.

“I think John Molina is a good fighter, tough and strong,” Bey said. “He’s got a lot of punching power and he’s got a lot of knockouts. I think he’s a real solid opponent. He’s not the best technically, skill-wise, but he’s got experience and a lot of power.  That’s always dangerous, although I’ve got a great defense.  People fought him thinking they would beat him and left with a KO on their record.  That’s one thing I’m aware of.”

 

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Bob Arum doles out high praise for flabby, Mexicali heavyweight Andy Ruiz Jr.

When ultra-flabby heavyweight Andy Ruiz Jr. of Mexicali first started fighting on some noteworthy cards, his opponents must have been licking their chops as soon as he came into the ring. This guy makes Chris Arreola look svelte.

They don’t any longer, of course, because by now Ruiz has shown that his many rolls of fat notwithstanding, he can flat-out fight. At about 6-foot-1 1/2, he weighs about 245 to 250 pounds. That’s after starting his pro career at nearly 300.

Don’t look now, but he’s ranked as high as 12th in one of the major governing bodies.

Promoter Bob Arum talked about Ruiz last week at Freddie Roach’s gym in Hollywood.

“Like, his opponent comes into the ring and his opponent says, ‘Fat boy, I’m going to knock your (butt) out,’ ” Arum said. “But this kid, he takes an unbelievable punch and has the fastest hands of any heavyweight since (Muhammad) Ali. Unbelievable. That’s what everybody says.”

Ruiz is 19-0 with 13 knockouts and has won his past five fights by knockout. He will take on Joe Hanks (21-0, 14 KOs) on July 27 at Venetian Casino & Resort in Macao, China (on UniMas).

 

 

 

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Alejandro Perez knocks out Edgar Riovalle at Hollywood Park Casino

Alejandro Perez of Salinas knocked out Edgar Riovalle of Mexico City with a left hook to the body in the seventh round of their main event Saturday at Hollywood Park Casino.

According to a report on BoxingScene.com, Riovalle had a few positive moments, but Perez was in control most of the way. After Perez connected with the body shot, Riovalle went down and was counted out by referee Dr. Lou Moret at 1:14 of the round.

Perez, 27, is 18-3-1 with 12 knockouts. Riovalle, 26, is 35-15-2 with 25 knockouts.

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Los Angeles’ Leo Santa Cruz says he lives to fight for his fans

Former bantamweight champion Leo Santa Cruz is not shy when it comes to talking about how much it means to him to please his fans while he’s working.

After making the third defense of his title, Santa Cruz – of the Lincoln Heights area of Los Angeles – moved up in weight and stopped Alexander Munoz in the fifth round in May on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Robert Guerrero welterweight title fight at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Santa Cruz on Aug. 24 will get a chance to win another title when he challenges Victor Terrazas of Mexico for his super bantamweight belt at StubHub Center in Carson (on Showtime). That he might be able to become a two-time champion in his hometown makes the opportunity that much sweeter for Santa Cruz, 24.

“The only pressure on me when I fight is the pressure I put on myself to please the fans,” Santa Cruz said. “They’re who I fight for. I want them to see tremendous action and great fights each time.  I really want to give them what they want. I never want to disappoint them.

“When I hear fans say they like me, it only encourages me to work harder and show them what I’ve got.”

Santa Cruz is 24-0-1. Terrazas, 30, is 37-2-1 with 21 knockouts.

The card is being staged by Golden Boy Promotions. Tickets are priced at $25, $50, $75 and $150 and can be purchased by calling 888-929-7849, by going online at AXS.com or through the StubHub Center box office.

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Freddie Roach: A Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight still hot item

While it’s true that Manny Pacquiao was knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez in the sixth round last December in Las Vegas,  Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach believes that a fight between Pacquiao and pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. remains a hot ticket if they both get past their next fights.

Mayweather will take on Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Sept. 14 in a junior middleweight title fight at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (on Showtime pay-per-view). Pacquiao will square off with former lightweight champion Brandon Rios on Nov. 23 in Macao, China (on HBO pay-per-view).

“Yeah, I think the world is still very interested in that fight,” Roach, who trains Pacquiao, said Thursday at his Wild Card gym in Hollywood. “We don’t hear as much about it as we once did, but the thing is it’s still the biggest fight in the world, I think. Mayweather’s got like four fights left after this on his contract (with Showtime). He doesn’t have four opponents without putting Manny Pacquiao in there as one of them. I think he’ll have to fight him sometime within the next year.”

Roach suggested anything less than a sterling performance against Rios could hurt the chances of that fight finally being made.

“The thing is,” Roach said, “we need to look good in this fight.”

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Chris Avalos victorious over Drian Francisco on ESPN’s ‘Friday Night Fights’

Chris “The Hitman” Avalos of Lancaster is now 22-2 with 16 knockouts after winning a unanimous decision over Drian Francisco of the Philippines in the super bantamweight main event Friday at Texas Station Casino in Las Vegas.

Avalos won by scores of 96-94, 97-93, 97-93. Avalos, just 23, has won three consecutive fights since dropping a split decision to Jonathan Romero in December 2011.

Francisco, 30, is 24-2-1 with 19 knockouts.

 

 

 

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Manny Pacquiao to do all training for Brandon Rios in his native Philippines

Manny Pacquiao typically trains at the Wild Card gym in Hollywood, which is home to his trainer Freddie Roach. Sometimes Pacquiao will start training in his native Philippines, then come to Wild Card for the last month to six weeks.

However, Roach told this newspaper Thursday that Pacquiao will do all his training in the Philippines for his Nov. 23 fight against Brandon Rios (on HBO pay-per-view). That’s because the fight venue, the Venetian Resort Casino in Macao, China, is not far from the area of the Philippines in which Pacquiao will train.

“We have to consider the jet-lag issue,” Roach said. “Macao is only an hour and a half away (by plane).”

Roach said he didn’t relish the idea of being away from his gym for an extended period of time, but that this is what’s best for Pacquiao, who is coming off a devastating sixth-round knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez this past December in Las Vegas.

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Bob Arum: Floyd Mayweather will be too much for Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez

Bob Arum was Floyd Mayweather’s promoter for the first several years of Mayweather’s professional career, so he knows a thing or two about the fighter formerly nicknamed “Pretty Boy,” but who now uses “Money” as his moniker.

Arum on Thursday was asked to chime in on the upcoming Sept. 14 showdown between Mayweather and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez of Mexico. They will tangle in a junior middleweight title fight at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (on Showtime pay-per-view).

“I think Floyd is way too experienced for him,” Arum said during lunch at Off Vine in Hollywood. “And I wouldn’t be that surprised if late in the fight Mayweather knocks him out. That’s how I see it.”

The fight is being co-promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. Arum has an ongoing feud with Golden Boy, but Arum said he will order the pay-per-view feed, which will cost $64.95.

“Sure, Yom Kippur is over (the evening of Sept. 14),” said Arum, who is Jewish. “We do a breakfast at our house for over 100 people, so we’re going to buy the fight and it comes to less than a dollar a person.”

Arum and his guests laughed.

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