Peters expresses disappointment at Egan withdrawal
Promoter Brian Peters has expressed his disappointment at Kenny Egan’s withdrawal from the Hunky Dorys World Title Fight Night at The O2, Dublin on Saturday, March 21st. The 2008 Beijing Silver medallist had been set for a rematch of his Olympic final on the undercard of Bernard Dunne’s World title bid but he withdrew yesterday admitting that he would not be ready for the fight.
Speaking following Egan’s pullout Peters said, “Clearly Kenny is going through a difficult time right now in his life and he needs all the help and support he can get at the moment because his health and well being is obviously paramount.
“It’s unfortunate because Xiaoping Zhang had accepted the fight and Kenny’s coach Gerry Fleming and the Irish Amateur Boxing Association were instrumental in working with the President of the Chinese Boxing Federation Chang Jianping to secure the fight for The O2 on March 21st.”
A 6 man delegation from China including Xiaoping Zhang and the Chinese head coach had been all set to arrive in Dublin early on the week of the fight but Peters believes that Egan ultimately made the right decision for himself.
“A lot of hard work had gone into securing the Olympic final rematch from all parties,” revealed Peters. “We had finalised all the details late last week and Kenny was due to announce the bout on a planned appearance on Tubridy Tonight last Saturday. Clearly Kenny has issues that he needs to address before getting back in the ring and he felt that the March 21st date was simply too soon.
“It’s disappointing for everyone involved including Xiaoping Zhang who was really looking forward to coming to Dublin. However I’m sure it’s even more disappointing for Kenny to have to withdraw but in this case his health and well being must come before everything else.”
KHAN AIMS TO RETIRE BARRERA
Amir Khan has vowed to end the career of Marco Antonio Barrera on March 14 in Manchester.
The legendary Mexican has claimed that Khan is nothing special - and has promised to school him like he did Naseem Hamed at the start of the Millennium.
"I will beat Khan because I have more experience than him and I'm still a much better fighter than he is," said Barrera, a three weight world champion.
"He is a good young fighter but there's nothing he can do between now and March 14 to surpass my skills and experience.
"Don't forget what I did to Prince Naseem Hamed, too, another highly-touted guy with fast hands."
But Khan, who returned to the UK over the weekend after an intensive, six-week training camp in California, has hit back ahead of the pair's clash, which will be broadcast live on Sky Box Office in the UK.
"Barrera is a great fighter but it's my time now," he said.
"I had a great training camp in LA with Freddie Roach, everything is beginning to fall into place and I'm 100% up for this fight.
"I've got a lot to prove to the critics. It's not going to be easy at the M.E.N, but the sparring I had in LA has really boosted my confidence.
"I don't think I am going to win this fight - I know I'm going to win it."
Khan has also been having in depth talks with Manny Pacquiao, who has twice beaten Barrera, as well as a host of other Mexican fighters, and is known as "The Mexican Slayer".
"Manny's been giving me some great advice," said 22-year-old Khan. "We sparred a lot ahead of my last fight, and he's had some input this time around as well.
"Obviously he's beaten Barrera before, and he's given me some good tips.
"He knows how tough these Mexicans can be and what it takes to beat them, and fingers crossed a bit of his magic can rub off on me."
Tickets, priced at £40, £50, £75, £100, £150, £200 and £300, are available from the following outlets:
See Tickets
0871 220 0260
www.seetickets.com
Ticketline
0844 888 9991
www.ticketline.co.uk
M.E.N Arena
0844 847 8000
www.men-arena.com
Amir Khan Boxing
01204 535 332
07817 559 450
www.amirkhan-boxing.com
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***PAY PER VIEW DETAILS***
Amir Khan v Marco Antonio Barrera is live on Sky Box Office and in high definition on Sky Box Office HD on Saturday 14 March from 9pm. The bill also includes Nicky Cook v Roman Martinez and Enzo Maccarinelli v Ola Afolabi . To order 'Coming of Age', a night of live boxing call: 08442 410 888
Integrated Sports is distributing three 12-round championship bouts featured on the "Khan-Barrera" pay-per-view card, presented by Frank Warren, in North America for live viewing at 4 PM/ET - 1 PM/PT on cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, TVN, DirecTV and Dish Network in the United States, as well as Viewer's Choice, Shaw Cable, Star Choice and Bell TV in Canada, for a suggested retail price of only $24.95. Veteran blow-by-blow announcer Ian Darke and color analyst, former WBC lightweight champion Jim Watt, will be calling the action from ringside for Sky Box Office and Integrated Sports PPV.
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***FIGHT CARD***
FRANK WARREN In Association With DON KING
PROUDLY PRESENT
CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2009
M.E.N ARENA, MANCHESTER, ENGLAND
THE WBA INTERNATIONAL AND VACANT WBO INTERCONTINENTAL LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIPS
12 X 3 Minute Rounds at 9st 9lb (135lb)
AMIR KHAN (Bolton, England) vs. MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA (Mexico City, Mexico)
THE INTERIM WBO CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE WORLD
12 X 3 Minute Rounds at 14st 4lb (200lb)
ENZO MACCARINELLI (Swansea, Wales) vs. OLA AFOLABI (California, USA)
THE WBO SUPER-FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE WORLD
12 X 3 Minute Rounds at 9st 4lb (130lb)
NICKY COOK (Dagenham, England) vs. ROMAN MARTINEZ (Puerto Rico)
THE COMMONWEALTH LIGHT-MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
12 X 3 Minute Rounds at 11st (154lb)
BRADLEY PRYCE (Newbridge, Wales) vs. MATTHEW HALL (Manchester, England)
THE VACANT WBA INTERNATIONAL SUPER-MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
12 X 3 Minute Rounds at 12st (168lb)
PAUL SMITH (Liverpool, England) vs. RASHID MATUMLA (Tanzania)
8 X 3 Minute Rounds International Cruiserweight Championship
DENNIS LEBEDEV (Moscow, Russia) vs. MATHEW ELLIS (Blackpool, England)
8 X 3 Minute Rounds Welterweight Contest
DENTON VASSELL (Manchester, England) vs. EDDIE CORCORAN (Wembley, London)
6 X 3 Minute Rounds Super-Featherweight Contest
ANTHONY CROLLA (Manchester, England) vs. TBA
4 X 3 Minute Rounds Light-Welterweight Contest
LIAM SMITH (Liverpool, England) vs. KEVIN McCAULEY (Stourbridge, England)
4 X 3 Minute Rounds Bantamweight Contest
CRAIG LYON (St Helens, England) vs. TBA
Red Hot Prospect Edmonds Added To Moore vs. Piccirillo Bill
Big hearted bantamweight Matthew Edmonds has been added to the mouth-watering Wigan, England bill this Friday, March 6, headlined by Jamie Moore's long awaited European light middleweight title opportunity against Italy's former world champion Michele Piccirillo at Robin Park Arena.
25 year old Edmonds, 9-2 (2), has been on a tear since losing a valiant Commonwealth title clash against the far more experienced Jason Booth in December, 2007.
The Newport battler has proved his meddle by walking through three durable fighters from Ghana along with a dominating victory over the iron-chinned "Tasmanian Devil", Romanian hard man Gheorghe Ghiompirica last October.
But for Edmonds to continue his promising career trajectory, he'll have to overcome durable 19 year old Georgian Kakhaber Avetisian, 10-8-1 (1), at Robin Park Arena on Friday, which will not be an east task.
Despite still being a teenager, the seasoned Avetisian has competitively shared the ring with current European flyweight champion Bernard Inom, current Commonwealth super flyweight champ Don Broadhurst and former European Union bantamweight titlist Eugen Sorin Tanasie.
Edmonds has vowed to bring home a British title back to his faithful fans in Wales but without a good win over the Georgian Avetisian, who has nothing to lose on this English vacation, he might not even get the opportunity to fight for the coveted Lonsdale Belt.
Frank Maloney Promotions in association with VIP Promotions presents Jamie Moore vs. Michele Piccirillo for the Light Middleweight Championship of Europe with full supporting undercard including Irish sensation and 2008 Olympic Bronze Medallist Darren Sutherland at Robin Park Arena in Wigan, England on Friday, March 6, 2009.
Tickets, priced at £90 for VIP Ringside, £80 for Ringside and £35 General Admission are available by logging onto www.frankmaloney.com or by calling the Box Office at 0871 226 1508.
Sky Sports will televise the action live on SS2 starting at 10PM.
