Former world title challenger “Big” Michael Grant continued his comeback Saturday night with a lop-sided unanimous decision win over hometown favorite Paul Marinaccio in Niagara Falls.

Niagara Falls, NY – “Big” Michael Grant, former NABF Champion of Chicago, IL, will attempt to claim the North American Boxing Association (NABA) US Championship heavyweight title when he takes on Paul “The Italian Hit Man” Marinaccio, one of Western New York’s favorite sons, over 12 rounds on Saturday November 15th at 7:00 p.m., at Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel’s Seneca Niagara Events Center.

The November 15 card is the second boxing event held at Seneca
Niagara Casino & Hotel and is presented by X-Cel Worldwide in
conjunction with Iroquois Promotions. The event begins at
7:00 p.m. and will feature The Grant-Marinaccio title fight, as well
as a six-fight undercard headlined by the 8 round, super middleweight
fight featuring Byron “The Slama from Bama” Mitchell vs.
Etienne “ET” Whitaker. A weigh-in event will take place Friday
November 14.

Grant (43-3, 33 KOs) pounded out a unanimous eight-round
Decisions over streaking Demetrice King in his last outing, while
Marinaccio’s (24-3-3, 11 Kos) only losses in the past five years have
Come to former world champion Chris Byrd and top contender
Timur Ibragimov.
-MORE-
Brawl in the Falls/2

The co-feature is between former two-time WBA world champion Byron “The Slama from Bama” Mitchell and Etienne “ET” Whitaker.

Five preliminary fights complete the November 15th card:

• Ross Thompson of Buffalo, NY, vs. Jameel “Black Gold” Wilson of Philadelphia, PA - 6 rounds, light heavyweight
• Adrian “Juanito” Mora (19-1) vs. TBA - 8 rounds, junior welterweight
• James Ventry (6-5) of Buffalo, NY vs. Jamar “Sandman”Saunders (1-1) – 4 rounds, junior welterweight
• Scott Paul (3-1) of Canada vs. TBA – 4 rounds, junior welterweight
• Guillermo Sanchez of Buffalo, NY vs. Harvey “Chi-Chi” Murray of Rochester, NY – 4 rounds, heavyweight

Seneca Gaming Corporation brought boxing back to Western New York on August 31, 2007 to a sold-out Seneca Niagara Events Center. The non-televised fight was the first-ever boxing event held at Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel.  The event featured the Edwards-Hernandez title fight, as well as a six-fight undercard headlined by welterweight Mike Jones and Martinus Clay. Boxing debuted in the Seneca Allegany Events Center on March 28, 2008 as part of the “ESPN Friday Night Fights” series. The ESPN-2 televised fight featured the Ouma-Bundrage title fight and a six-fight undercard headlined by Mike Jones and Gilbert Venegas.

“The history of outstanding boxing in Western New York is well known,” said Brian Hansberry, President and CEO, Seneca Gaming Corporation. “Seneca Gaming Corporation started a new chapter in that history when we brought championship boxing back to this area last year. We know the legion of boxing fans in the area are excited, and so are we.”

“The quality of this boxing card will only add to the reputation Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel has built as the premier entertainment venue in the region,” said Robert E. Victoria, Senior Vice President of Marketing. “The fans in the Seneca Niagara Events Center are going to enjoy intense action from the sound of the opening bell until the last bout is finished, particularly with five fighters from Western New York.”

“We’ve got a terrific night of boxing for the fans at the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel on November 15,” said revved up promoter Nick Garone. “The main event is a world-class heavyweight showdown that pits the rejuvenated Michael Grant against Marinaccio, a very tough kid, in his own backyard. Michael has shown tremendous improvement from working with Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, but Marinaccio will be there to win at all costs in front of his hometown.”

Tickets for the November 15th card, which is being promoted by Iroquois Promotions, LLC, and

X-Cel Worldwide go on sale WEDNESDAY October 22 at NOON and are priced at $30, $55, $90. Tickets can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets and at the Eight Clans Gift Shop at the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel.  To charge by phone, call 716-852-5000.  From Canada, call 416-870-8000.

The Seneca Niagara Events Center is located in Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel, 310 Fourth Street, Niagara Falls, NY 14304. www.SenecaNiagaraCasino.com 1-877-8SENECA (73-6322)

For interviews/more information, please contact:
Nick Garone X-Cel Worldwide
201.951.0076
Xcel123@aol.com

Michael Grant Returns!

Former NABF Champion and #1 contender “Big” Michael Grant (43-3, 33 KOs), returned to action in the main event last night at the National Guard Armory in Philadelphia and scored an impressive victory over a difficult foe.

In his first fight in just under a year, Grant pounded out a unanimous eight-round decision over Detroit’s always dangerous Demetrice King by three identical judges’ scores of 79-73.

Promising he was fighting with a renewed confidence from the expert tutelage of new trainer Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and career guid ance of promoter Nick Garone of X-Cel Worldwide, the 35-year-old Grant imposed his will on his younger opponent. “In hindsight we really picked the right guy. King made him work hard, but Michael looked good and handled him well,” Garone revealed post-fight. “King, was on a five-fight knockout streak over tough guys like (then 12-0, 12 KOs) Bermane Stiverne and the Canadian Champion, Raymond Olubuwale but Michael stayed focused and controlled the action.”

Garone, who acknowledges that time is of the essence if his fighter is ever to reach his enormous potential, says he will look to keep Grant extremely active in the coming months, with an eye on securing a big fight or title opportunity in the near future.

Former heavyweight contender Grant returns, ready to 'make statement'

By BERNARD FERNANDEZ
Philadelphia Daily News
fernanb@phillynews.com
It's fashionable these days to go green, so why shouldn't it continue to be so for boxing, that most recyclable of entities?

According to former heavyweight contender Michael Grant, the American heavyweight most capable of capturing a world championship is . . . Michael Grant.

"I'm more mature and experienced," said Grant (43-3, 33 KOs), the Blue Bell resident who takes on Demetrice King (14-15, 12 KOs), of Flint, Mich., in the scheduled eight-round main event of promoter Mike Miles' nine-bout professional fight card tonight at the National Guard Armory in Northeast Philadelphia. "I have my emotions more under control. I won't unravel."

Grant is 35 now, more than 8 years removed from his grab at the brass ring that saw him unravel like a dropped spool of thread. He was floored three times in the first round in losing by second-round knockout to WBC/IBF heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis on April 29, 2000, in Madison Square Garden.

Possibly still reeling from that loss, Grant was stopped even quicker, in only one round, by Jameel McCline in his next bout. After regrouping to put together a seven-bout winning streak, he seemingly was forever eliminated from contention on June 7, 2003, when Dominick Guinn blasted him out in seven rounds in what was Grant's last high-profile ring appearance.

The impressively muscled 6-7, 250-pound former football and basketball player - called "the most athletic heavyweight ever to put on gloves" by his former trainer, Don Turner - became an afterthought, a guy whose rise to prominence, in retrospect, was widely considered a fluke.

But Grant, who has won his last five fights - albeit against second- and third-tier opposition - said he's still the same guy who many predicted would become the next great heavyweight.

"In all honesty, that wasn't my time," he said of his failed challenge of Lewis. "That was Lennox' era. But his era has passed; now it's my time to propel myself back up to that level.

"Right now is the perfect time for an American heavyweight like myself to step up and make a statement. I know I've had some setbacks, but those were learning experiences."

Now trained by former light-heavyweight champion Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, Grant said he has drawn inspiration from an unlikely source - 41-year-old swimmer Dara Torres, who recently qualified for her fifth U.S. Olympic team.

"That lady showed me that anything is possible," Grant said. *

 

By Andre Courtemanche
Minutes after being on the losing end of one of the more controversial decisions in recent memory, jr. middleweight Sam Garr sounded devastated. "I feel like I’ve been robbed," he said. "I’ve been deprived of a victory that I deserve. When you train hard and break your body down and then come here and get a decision like that..." Garr had turned in what looked like a career-rejuvenating performance in seemingly sweeping his ten-round main event against Matt Vanda on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights. Unfortunately, Judges Jack Hayden (97-93) and Butch Anderson (97-95) chose to overrule judge Vern Sweeney (97-95 Garr). "Ten years I’ve been in this business," said Garr manager Nick Garone, "and I’ve never fought a decision, but I’m going to fight this one. These guys don’t even have a commission in this state! I’m taking this to the Association of Boxing Commissions. (ESPN2 commentator) Teddy Atlas came up to me after the fight and said that those two judges should never work another fight. He handed me a card that he had scored the fight on and he had it 10-0 for Garr." "I clearly won eight out of ten rounds,” said dejected Garr. "There were three close rounds, max. What can I do?"
Saturday, January 17 2004

Garr Bringing Heat to Snowbrawl!

Friday's ESPN2 televised match with undefeated Matt Vanda, 29-0 (20), could be the most crucial in the career of longtime welterweight fringe contender Sam Garr, 33-7 (20). "This is it," said Garr. "I had the two setbacks against Ishe and Chris Smith, so if I lose to Matt Vanda, I'm all done." Garr, the former WBC Continental Americas champion, who gave a spirited challenge to then WBA world champion James Page in 1999, says he didn't want to come back against just anyone and collect a win. "I wanted to fight a tough opponent and I feel Matt Vanda poses that kind of challenge," he said. Garr's longtime manager Nick Garone agrees that it's time for his brave warrior to prove he still belongs in the upper echelon of the division. "We're aware that we're going into this guy's backyard, but at this point in his career, Sam has to take these kinds of chances to try and land one last big fight." Garr vs. Vanda is slated as the co-feature on this Friday's show at the at The Mall of the America, in Minneapolis, MN., headlined by the 12-round IBA championship fight between Juan Garza and Koba Gogoladze.

Juuko decisions Munika!

By Moses Mugalu

www.fightnews.com

Justin ‘The Ugandan Destroyer’ Juuko was taken a distance by Kenyan opponent Godfrey ‘Tiger” Munika but he won on points in a tune-up, non-title contest in an outdoor Arena at Nakivubo Stadium in Kampala, Uganda on Friday night. Juuko won a unanimous decision by scores of 99-97, 99-93 and 98-95. In pre-fight interviews, Juuko had promised to stop Munika but that never was the case in the thrilling 10-round lightweight main event which was a tune-up for the Ugandan boxer preparing for a USBA title contest on July 26.  Juuko, who was taller, used his reach advantage to keep the much shorter Munika on the outside for much of the ten rounds. He dominated Munika with his strong jab but the hard Kenyan fighter took the punches and stood firm always. “He has given me a very good test ahead of my title contest (against David Santos),” Juuko said after the fight. Munika said, “Juuko is a good boxer, his punches are hard but he needs to improve on speed and stamina and, next we meet he should come with stretcher because he won’t win again.” With the victory, Juuko improves to 37-6, 26KOs while Munika drops to 15-4, 7kos.

Fringe contender Justin Juuko has signed a managerial contract with X-Cel Sports & Entertainment. "I am looking forward to working with Nick Garone and X-Cel and hopefully getting back into some bigger fights, I usually take fights on a weeks notice and haven't been put in the best situations in the past, I just want to have a chance to compete when I am prepared," said Juuko. "I have known Nick for a few years now and he has always impressed me with what he has done for his other fighters." Juuko has been a strong contender over the past few years and has fought some of the division's best fighters, such as Floyd Mayweather, Diego Corrales and Carlos Hernandez. "We look forward to getting Justin back in action over the next two months, he is currently coming off of two knockout wins and seems excited about his future with X-Cel," said Garone. Juuko is currently, 38-6 with 28 KOs).

X-CEL SIGNS JUUKO

 www.realboxing.com

GSP INKS ROSS THOMPSON

 www.realboxing.com

It turned into a very Merry Christmas at the home of former world title challenger Ross Thompson as word broke that he had signed a promotional contract with Gary Shaw Productions and will appear on the big January 25 card at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. "Ross has a a lot of heart," promoter Gary Shaw told RealBoxing. "He asked me after the Lacy fight if I could help him out and I want to be part of his comeback. I have great respect for his trainer, Tommy Parks and I know that if I believe in Ross, he will start to believe in himself." Thompson, 25-7-1 (17), dropped a twelve-round decision to Lacy in November and lost his WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight title in the process. Ironically, it was Thompson that landed a right hand on Shaw's chin during a pre-fight scuffle with Fernando Vargas back in 2000. Although the punch landed clean, Shaw showed a good chin and took it well.

GARR STILL WANTS A CRACK AT REID

www.realboxing.com

Former world title challenger and current WBC Continental Americas Super Welterweight champion Sam Garr was supposed to face Teddy Reid on ESPN2 last week for Reid's NABF Welterweight title. However, only days before the fight, Reid was forced out with an injury suffered in training and Garr was left without a fight. Some people have confided in Garr's management that Reid might have been injured as early as a few week's earlier and it was kept from public knowledge to benefit Reid.

"If they told ESPN weeks ago that Reid was injured, they could have found Garr an opponent and they could have fought for the interim title with the winner facing Reid next year," Garr's manager Nick Garone told RealBoxing this week.

As it happened, ESPN accepted a ten round featherweight bout between Art Simonyan and Radford Beasley as it's co-feature on the show. Garr, who challenged James Page for his welterweight belt in 1999, trained through Thanksgiving and was away from his family while training for his crossroads fight. Now he wants his revenge.

"We had been offered other fights after we accepted the Reid fight. If we knew he was injured, at least Sam would have been able to get another payday before the holidays. Regardless of what has happened, the facts are that Sam should be given assurances that he gets the next shot at Reid. We are still waiting for that," Garone added.

Former Champions Collide!

www.fightnews.com

Ex-champions Charles "The Natural" Murray (44-7, 26 KOs) and Frankie "The Surgeon" Randall (58-13-1, 42 KOs) will battle February 6 at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, NY. Murray won the the IBF belt in 1993 and held it for one year. Randall is a three-time former champ who has held the WBC and WBA belts between 1994 and 1996. Also in action are cruisers Jermal Barnes (15-3-0, 4 KOs) vs Gary Wilcox (18-3-1, 6 KOs), middleweight Les Ralston (9-0, 5 KOs) and heavyweight Jo-el Scott (19-1, 18 KOs). Tickets are $20, $30, $50. Promoter Steve Nelson is testing the waters in Rochester for a possible Hasim Rahman-Joe Mesi fight in 2003.

Oliveira-Johnson Jan. 11!

www.fightnews.com

After a week of negotiations, it has been announced that "Sucra" Ray Oliveira (43-8-2, 20 KOs) will take on "14 Karat" Golden Johnson (22-7-2, 16 KOs) in the 12 round main event of "Winter Warriors," a seven bout card to be held on January 11 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence.

The bout will be contested for the vacant IBU world welterweight title. "We just received confirmation through his manager Nick Garone, that Golden Johnson has agreed to all terms and will face Ray Oliveira in the 12 round IBU world welterweight title main event on January 11th," said promoter Jimmy Burchfield. Lightweight Gary Balletto (25-1-2, 22 KO's) looks to rebound from his first professional loss in the co-feature when he battles former world title challenger Wilson Galli (31-8, 13 KOs) in a ten round lightweight battle.

Tickets for the event are $51.50, $31.50 and $16.50. Call 401-724-2253.

NABF welterweight champion Teddy Reid injured his left shoulder while sparring Saturday and has withdrawn from his title defense against Sam Garr at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula...

Thompson looking for more!

November 24, 2008

www.fightnews.com

“Marco Antonio Barrera, I’d say he is probably, as far as for using all of his ability, the best fighter in the sport. He’s not as talented as Shane Mosley, or Roy Jones Junior, but he uses his ability so much, and so good. He boxes when he has to and slugs when he has to. I respect him so much. He really lives up to his potential.”
--Ross “The Boss” Thompson

While he hasn’t reached “Camacho-ian” levels as of yet, WBC C/A Supermiddleweight champion Ross Thompson can still be counted among the ranks of boxing’s classic underachievers. Where fighters like Micky Ward, or Evander Holyfield made a lot out of a little in their careers, Thompson has taken his natural talent… well, not nearly as far as he should have.

“The Boss” doesn’t always work enough hours.

When he steps into the ring at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City for a Showtime-televised crossroads fight with hot prospect Jeff Lacy, Thompson, a respectable 25-5-1 (17), is hoping all that will change.

“I‘ve got too much talent to lose to the guys I’ve lost to, said the 29-year-old Buffalo, NY native during a break in training at the Red Brick Gym in Newark, New Jersey. “It’s about putting it all together for me. I can go real far in the game, but I’ve always been an underachiever. I’ve never lived up to my ability. I don’t know if it’s a combination of maturity, working harder, training harder and doing extra little things to put everything together, but when I fight to my ability, I surprise a lot of people.”

Another surprise is the high regard Thompson has for his opponent Lacy. For a fighter with a claim to fame of having punched Gary Shaw and Fernando Vargas at a press conference, there is certainly no animosity hiding behind this matchup. “He’s a good little fighter, a young up-and-coming guy, but he’s an easy fight for me,” said Thompson. “He’s a good prospect, but they’re moving him a little too fast. Too far to step up, but I still think he’ll be good after that. I don’t think it’ll hurt him. He’ll probably learn a lot from it.”

Still, niceties aside, “The Boss” knows the importance of this fight. “It definitely is a must win for me. If I can’t beat a young guy with only 12 fights, there is really a problem there. I watched tapes on Lacy when he went ten rounds and a couple of his one-round fights and I watched his Olympic loss. He’s good, but he’s going to be in there with somebody who can hit back with power. I’ve seen everything he’s going to try. He’s a good puncher, but if you can’t hit what you think you can, what good is it? I still think the guy has a lot of promise. He shouldn’t get frustrated after our fight, because he can still come back. I think it was poor matchmaking by his management, they are moving these guys to the big money way too quick.”

In retrospect, Thompson, an articulate man who calls himself a “true student of boxing,” says that his highly publicized press conference melee with “El Feroz” was a case of Vargas’ reputation preceding him when it came to intimidation tactics (Thompson lost his challenge for Vargas’ IBF Jr. Middleweight title by TKO4). “We had a dislike for each other. I knew it would be a clash of personalities. He tries to get in people’s faces. He’s always trying to intimidate opponents and I knew it wasn’t going to go too good because I don’t let guys do that. People always say I started that stuff, but I didn’t. He got in my face first. He walked over to me and said ‘what’s up punk?’ I knew because of his rep, he was going to hit me, so I hit him before he could. He did it to Oscar De La Hoya; he did it to Raul Marquez, and to Howard Clark. He is known to start a lot of stuff. He was already giving me looks. He got out of his chair to hit me.”

Those antics eventually led to Vargas spitting on Thompson at the conclusion of their fight. “I know when I was down he was talking stuff, but I never saw him spit. If he did, it didn’t land on me. He did talk stuff while I was down though. Every time I got knocked down in that fight, I jumped back up, probably too quickly. I had never been knocked down before; I was shocked! He took my legs and they were gone. I never got them back and that’s what happened in that one.”

As for his recent loss to former world champion Aaron “Superman” Davis, a fight in which he had Davis on the brink of defeat, only to run out of steam and lose a tight decision, Thompson blames improper conditioning. “I got tired against Davis. The thing is I didn’t run at all for that fight. I had done that before because I have back and knee problems. I felt confident about being able to go the distance because I was cruising in sparring, but I wasn’t going all out. I would spar twelve rounds and not get tired, but my mistake was that you don’t turn it up in sparring because you don’t jump on a guy who is hurt. By the third round, I was tired. If I would have run, I would have stopped him inside of six. When I saw he was hurt, I went all out, and when you do that, you’re going to burn out and then all you can do is wait for your second wind. I never got it that night.”

Thompson says he has his manager Nick Garone to thank for the places he has been and the sights that he has seen during his hot/cold career. Since teaming with Garone, “The Boss” has been number one contender to Fernando Vargas, challenged for Vargas’ world title, challenged for the NABA Middleweight Title, and won the WBA North American Jr. Middleweight and the WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight Titles. “He has definitely moved me real good. Before Nick, I was with managers who wouldn’t politic to get me in the ratings. Their attitude was Ross is good, so he deserves it, that’s all they would ever say and that isn’t enough. You have to go meet with the people. Nick has done the right things as far as moving me. He put me in with the right opposition. Nick laid the red carpet out for me. He’s put me in a lot of good situations. It’s up to me to make the best of it.”

“What will I do after I beat Lacy?” continued Thompson. “I hope I can get a bigger fight with one of the top contenders, or one of the champions. The way I look at it, maybe they’ll say “he lost to Aaron Davis, but he beat this up-and-coming guy. I just have to win the fights once I get through the door and this fight will help a lot. The media has pushed this kid, so when I beat him, I’ll be in a good situation.

I would like to fight (WBO champion Joe) Calzaghe because he’s the best, but I also would like (WBC champ) Eric Lucas. I toyed with him when we sparred. The only way he’d fight me is in a mandatory. After the way I hit him, he’d only fight me if he had to. He’s so ordinary, and he can’t punch. He’s a solid pro, but somebody like me; it’d be easy for me.

Having dropped three of his last four, albeit to high-quality opposition, Ross Thompson knows the time is now if he is ever going to live up to his own expectations. He knows that every morning he must run. He knows that every day he must train. Whether or not he does it has always been up to him. “What can I say? I’m an underachiever man. I can go far if I do the right things.”

Posted on Tue, Aug. 27, 2002

Burnett is still learning the ropes
Dolphins DE finds perspective with boxing business
BY JASON COLE
jcole@herald.com

Golden Johnson Inks with X-Cel!