“Come have BIRTHDAY drinks with me TONIGHT at Market Bar – The ROOF TOP is a great spot to have drinks and mingle.” – Rick Ramos

People should arrive at 8pm – Ask for the “Rick Ramos Party!”

Market Bar

1113 West Randolph Street  Chicago, IL 60607

Footage of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, training plus interviews with both Junior, Senior and Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum. Chavez, Jr. just started training in Las Vegas in preparation for his upcoming defense of his world middleweight championship vs. Andy Lee on June 16 at the Sun Bowl in El Paso. Video courtesy of Top Rank.

Undefeated World Middleweight Champion and the Son of the Legend, Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. landed in Las Vegas to set up training camp at the Top Rank Gym in preparation of his next fight. On June 16, Chavez will headline “Viva Chávez!” on Saturday, June 16, at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas, when he defends his WBC title against No. 2 world-rated contender Andy Lee, marking the first world championship fight to be held in the Sun Bowl Stadium since June 13, 1998 when Oscar De La Hoya knocked out Patrick Charpentier in the second round to retain his welterweight crown. The Chávez Jr. vs. Lee world championship rumble will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing®, beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET. “Viva Chavez” is presented by the University of Texas at El Paso and Promoted by Top Rank in association with Zanfer Promotions, DiBella Entertainment, The City of El Paso, AT&T and Tecate.

 

 

Photo: Jeff Young/Showtime

Less than three weeks before Antonio Tarver steps into the ring to continue his campaign at cruiserweight by taking on the unbeaten power puncher Lateef Kayode, the “Magic Man” held an open workout on Tuesday before a packed house of his hometown media at Calta’s 24/7 Fitness. “This guy is predicting he’ll knock me out in the fifth round. If Kayode comes in with that type of recklessness, he can be out before that because he has never been hit by someone who can punch as hard as me,” said Tarver.

“And not just punching hard, I’m a sharpshooter. I punch organs. I target organs: liver, kidney, heart. I don’t just punch mass, I punch organs and I punch that chin. Remember that the chin is not a muscle so you can have all the muscles surrounding your neck and body, chest and abs, because if I touch that chin the right way, it’s lights out, baby. There are no more guys like myself. Shane Mosley lost. Bernard Hopkins lost. I’m the last Mohican. I’m the last guy who is 40-plus.”

“We have a storyline here: A young guy who took offense to what I was saying as a commentator. I was just doing my job. I think the youth, the inexperience got the best of him. He’s got his handlers saying that he’s ready to roll the dice. But you’ve got to respect his position. He’s a young fighter coming up that has nothing to lose. So Kayode is in a beautiful position and if he loses to me, what has it done? It’s going to set him back a little bit but he can regroup. I can’t regroup if I lose to Lateef Kayode. There would be an asterisk and a question mark by my name and we can’t have that.

“He’s only got two hands and he can’t throw them but one at a time. We’re going to simplify it. I’ve fought a lot of strong guys that didn’t get lucky, that couldn’t hit me, couldn’t find me. So he’s coming in here trying to get lucky. I’m coming in here to rely on my skills, my experience and my conditioning to win this fight. I’ll take Kayode places he’s never been. And that’s in deep waters. He’s never been in there with a fighter like me and I’m going to show him what it’s all about.

“This is what sparring is all about. I’ve got young guys in here. I don’t have any old punching bags in here. Because if I can’t get it done in the gym, I can’t get it done June 2.

“We’re putting everyone on notice. Expect the unexpected. Kayode said the fight is going to end, that he’s going to knock me out in the fifth round. He might have a good prediction in the fifth round but I think he’s got the storyline a little twisted.

“We’re in a phone booth in camp. That’s definitely what we think the fight will represent, a phone booth. We like it in close quarters. I’m too old to run.

“I had a chance to commentate a few of his fights and he didn’t like the things I was saying. But as a young fighter, you can’t always feed them cake and ice cream. Sometimes you’ve got to put something in the back of his head so he could say, ‘You know what? Maybe there is something I can go back and work on.

“It’s about skill and I got it. We’re not going to wait for anyone to tell us how great we are because if you wait for someone to give you a compliment, you’ll be waiting forever and a day. We know who we are and we are going to continue to display it. We’re going to kill our critics with success. We got the skill, us throwback fighters. And I’m a throwback fighter because I’m older now, I’m sitting down [on my punches] more and I’m a fan friendly fighter.

“What keeps the fire burning? Critics, naysayers and my own personal achievement. People can laugh now when I tell them I’m going to become heavyweight champion. They don’t want to buy into it but they will because at 210 pounds, I’m elusive. I’m powerful. I’m strong and they can’t hit what they can’t see. I’m not a big, robotic fighter that can’t move. So those are they’re advantages. The only hope they got is to hit me on the chin and knock me out. And that’s never been done before. .

“I’m going to get that heavyweight title. Wladimir Klitschko, here I come. I’m going to get that heavyweight title. That’s coming back to America, baby. Trust it. Stamp it. Write it down.”

* * *

Joining Tarver at the workout on Tuesday was his good friend Ronald “Winky” Wright, who will fight in the co-main event, making his return to the ring against rising star “Kid Chocolate” Peter Quillin. “Young guys, young guys,” said Winky. “Inexperience and all of that. The nervousness is getting to them and they want to prove this and prove that. The only time you’ve got to prove something is in the ring. Fans cans expect a great fight. They can come to see Winky Wright knock Kid Chocolate’s head off – not knock him out – knock his head off. He thinks I’m going to run? We’ll see. I’m going to show him a fight.”

* * *

Antonio Tarver (29-6, 20 KOs) vs. Lateef Kayode (18-0, 14 KOs) will headline a Showtime Championship Boxing telecast on June 2 from The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

“My heart goes out to Nick and his family. I would like to wish Nick Casal a speedy recovery. God Bless you.”

-Rick Ramos

Jr welterweight Nick Casal (22-4-1, 17 KOs) was brutally attacked last night in Buffalo, New York. Casal was out with his girlfriend when from he was brutally attacked from behind by a gang wielding golf clubs. The attackers were identified as her ex-boyfriend and his friends. Medical reports are that Casal has a possible broken arm, multiple lacerations, including one at least 12 inches long. Casal was in preparation for the biggest fight of his career on June 29th in his hometown of Niagara Falls against Ruslan Provodnikov (21-1, 14 KOs) for the WBO Inter-Continental title. The fight was to be the main event of a nationally televised card on ESPN2′s Friday Night Fights. Obviously Casal will now not be able to fight on this date.

Boxing360 founder/promoter Mario Yagobi who promotes Casal released the following statement. “First of all I just want to thank God Nick Casal is alive and we ask everyone to pray for his health and a full recovery. We hope the boxing community will come together to help a fellow fighter in time of need. Donations can be made out to Boxing 360 in care of/Nick Casal and sent to 183 Bleecker St. New York, New York. 10012.”

The whole story and pictures:
http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/nick-casal-brutally-attacked-fight-cancelled-115277

Ticket refunds for “Peterson vs. Khan II” will be available at your point of purchase. Ticketmaster may be reached at (800) 745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com. Event ticket refunds for fans traveling from the United Kingdom are available at www.sportscorporation.comor by calling +44 (0)845 163 0845.

Roger Romo (younger brother of the Aztec Warrior – Fernando Vargas) is making his own  noise in the boxing world. With a record or 6-0, Romo has proven he is on his way to becoming a top contender. Ramos travels Oxnard, California to show his support to the young fighter.

The fight is :  May 26th -

“A lot of fighters, some famous, some not.. help me as I still come up in the boxing world so I like to show MY support to them and build relationships in the sport I love. I dont mind traveling to see fights and  fighters, I like to learn and get ideas form other trainers and fighters.  My goal on this trip is to stop in LA to see Freddie Roach and then travel to Oxnard to see some people I know out there. I am excited to see young Romo in his hometown!!”  - Rick Ramos

Follow Roger on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/roger.romo.14

Cardio Boxing

Class times:  Mon 7-8pm, Wednesday 7-8pm and Saturday 9-10am

Location: Chicago Boxing Club

3508 s. Halsted (2nd floor)

 (May 7th through the 14th)

When Floyd Mayweather emerged in the press room after his unanimous decision over Miguel Cotto with his left eye slightly puffy, his world title belts set neatly across the conference tables, Roger Mayweather reclined to his right and 50 Cent seated to his left, he wore a smile on his face that said “I gave you guys exactly what you wanted.”

Yes, the man known as “Money” made sure that he earned every penny of his record setting $32 million purse.

Twelve grueling rounds of fighting is something many aren’t accustomed to in a Floyd Mayweather fight. Wars aren’t something that Mayweather allows himself to be a part of. But against Miguel Cotto, Mayweather stood in the pocket and traded punches with the bigger man. Instead of using his skill set to outbox the Puerto Rican, Mayweather opted to engage in heated exchanges where both fighters would give their best and see who was left standing. It was thrilling, it was exciting and it damn sure was dangerous. But at this point in his career, Mayweather isn’t simply about winning titles, he wants fans to enjoy his fights.

“I could have just outboxed him, moved and make it a boring fight,” Mayweather said. “But it’s a recession and you guys spent your hard earned dollars. So I said f*ck it and gave you want you wanted.”

Mayweather was hit flush probably more than he has in his entire career, but it seemed like that was by design. At one point in between rounds, Mayweather sat on the stool and looked up at an image of himself bleeding from the nose. Instead of being horrified at this unusual visual of himself, a wicked smile spread across his face. In some sort of sick and twisted way, he was enjoying this. This, coming from a man who once upon a time said that toe to toe wars were nonsensical. “I think tonight was a cool fight,” the new WBA Super Light Middleweight champion said. ‘I want to preserve myself first but I want to impress my fans.”

It was impressive, even though the 16,000+ at the MGM were vehemently against him and booed the 117-111, 117-111 and 118-110 scores. But deep down in their hearts they knew that what they saw was special. A gracious Mayweather wouldn’t take all the credit for himself, he was well aware that he needed a dancing partner to deliver one of the defining moments of his sixteen year career. “Miguel Cotto fought his ass off tonight and I want to congratulate him and his team,” he said as he admitted that Cotto won some rounds and gave him his fare share of lumps. There were many times in the fight where Mayweather would catch Cotto with brisk combinations that would have made a lesser man wilt, but the 43-0 champ said he saw a man across from him that was determined to give him a run for his money (pun intended). “I thought he was breaking down but he would come back stronger. A couple of times I hit him to the body and (Mayweather advisor) Leonard Ellerbe said he was slowing down but he didn’t see what I saw.”

But in the end, it was Mayweather’s night and perhaps a defining moment in his career. “It’s about winning and that’s what I did. I’m not going to fold to pressure. Cotto can keep his head high as we are both winners tonight in our own way.”

With the fight behind him and a 87-day jail sentence beginning on June 1st, Mayweather will have some downtime to think about his next move. He knows what we want and decided to get candid about what is really standing in the way of the only fight left that matters — Mayweather-Pacquiao.

“I’m tired of the media and the people being fooled,” Mayweather exhaled on the podium. His smile dissolving briefly as he shook his head. “The truth is that Bob Arum is not going to let the fight happen. It’s not on me. I offered him $40 million. I told him I’d wire him $20 million in 48hrs. He wanted 50% of the earnings. But he doesn’t earn record breaking numbers to deserve that. He doesn’t know what he wants. The public is being fooled. Once he is free from Bob Arum the fight will happen because Arum doesn’t care about the fighter making money. This sport is grueling and I want Pacquiao to make money.”

It is perhaps the first time that Mayweather has said what many boxing journalists have long felt is true. It may not be 100% true as we know that there are two sides to every story, but given Mayweather and Arum’s tumultuous relationship, there is certainly a sliver of truth in his words. Although he has said he wants to fight again at the end of the year, given the war that he was just in and the lack of quality opposition, Mayweather is aware that taking on lesser opposition may be a waste of the public’s time. “There’s really not anybody for me to fight out there anymore,” he says when asked who he could fight if it’s not Pacquiao. “I don’t know where we go from here.”

For now, Mayweather will focus on his jail sentence and giving back to the community. He spoke in great detail about feeding the hungry, non-profit projects with 50 Cent and making sure that he spreads his wealth to disadvantaged youth. You can say what you want about him not fighting Pacquiao and hate him for being the seemingly pompous and narcissistic asshole that he portrays on television, but when you see Mayweather in moments like this, you get a man who lets down his guard briefly. “We’ve been giving back to others for many years but viewers don’t want to see that side of me. On HBO 24/7 they want us being wild because that entertains you,” Mayweather explained. “I don’t want be on TV and not give you guys [the fans and media] what you deserve.”

Love him or hate him, Mayweather is one of the most charismatic and polarizing fighters boxing has ever seen. Who knows what is next for him, but one thing is for sure, when he is gone, boxing just isn’t the same.