Marcus Upshaw reborn for Oct. 23 fight vs. Aaron Pryor Jr.

MIAMI (Oct. 13, 2014) - Modern day road warrior Marcus "Arillius" Upshaw (17-13-2, 8 KOs) plans to jumpstart his career October 23 against fellow gatekeeper and upset specialist, Aaron Pryor Jr. (19-7, 12 KOs), in the 10-round main event on a private (no tickets sold or media coverage) Alarm Charity Boxing fundraiser event at Renaissance Mayflower Hotel in Washington D.C. "I've fought everybody," Upshaw said from training camp. "It seems like I've fought forever as a super middleweight but I'm a middleweight and this fight is going to help me get a fight against a top middleweight. My mind is right for this fight and I know what I need to do. I'm not going to leave fights in the hands of the judges anymore. "I went the distance with some big dogs (David Lemieux, Marcos Antonio Rubio,Gilberto Ramirez Sanchez, Lamar Russ, Patrick Majewski, Tarvis Simms and Edwin Rodriguez). I didn't get knocked out or quit in those fights and my mind is set now. You're only as good as your camp and I'm having a great one, sparring with Jermain Taylor and some other good fighters for this fight." In 2008, Upshaw impressively derailed the rise to the top of the then 19-1 James McGirt with a controversial 10-round majority draw, in which, most fans felt Upshaw should have won. Two fights later, he upset 10-0 prospect Ashandi Gibbs (10-0) by way of a fourth-round technical knockout for the Florida State middleweight championship. Upshaw traveled to Quebec City in 2010 and registered his most significant victory to date, a stunning 10-round decision over 21-1-1 local hero Renan St. Juste in his opponent's backyard, pushing Upshaw up in the world ratings (IBF #6, WBO #9, WBC #11). "Announcers always say it's really all about which Marcus Upshaw would be fighting," Upshaw added. "It's really all about my mind set. I went back to Ground Zero and I'm just going to be me from now on. I'm positive and have built myself back up from scratch. I want to get back to where I was at my peak, against St. Juste, and then get a rematch with Lemieux or Rubio, but not in Mexico again." Like Upshaw, Pryor has been in against the iron during his career, primarily fought in the shadows of his Hall-of-Fame father, Aaron "The Hawk" Pryor. The 36-year-old Pryor Jr., who went the distance in losing efforts against Rodriguez, Dyah Davis, Will Rosinsky and Thomas Oosthuizen, defeated three-time world title challengerLibrado Andrade (DEC10) in 2011, and the only fighter to stop him is World Boxing Council (WBC) light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson. "I'm not going into my opponent's backyard for this fight," Upshaw concluded. "Pryor is from Cincinnati. I don't plan to leave this fight in the hands of the judges. He won't be able to handle me. I've fought a lot tougher guys than him. If I don't stop him it's going to be a long ass-whipping I give him." Upshaw, like Pryor, also has rich athletic bloodlines. His uncle, the late Gene Upshaw, was an NFL Hall of Fame offensive guard for the Oakland Raiders. "Marcus is a big, tough, strong middleweight who hasn't always used his size advantage," Upshaw's longtime manager Si Stern remarked. "This is a very big fight for him. His problem has been not finishing off guys. He has a whole new attitude. Marcus was misused earlier in his career fighting guys much bigger than him. He's really a 160-pound fighter and that's weight class Marcus should be fighting at as he is in this fight. I'm confident that Marcus will put on a good show and, if he wins, his career will be a lot brighter." Damian Frias preparing for Ring return Another one of Stern's fighters, always dangerous welterweight Damian "Devo" Frias (19-8-1, 10 KOs), is ready to return to the ring before 2014 concludes. The Cuban southpaw, fighting out of Miami, has been hampered by hand injuries during the past few years. Frias hasn't been stopped in 28 fights, including losses to present International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior middleweight champion Carlos Molina (19-5-2),Mikael Zewski (19-0), Ionut Dan Ion (30-2), Vitaliy Demyanenko (21-0) and Freddy Hernandez (25-1). The highlight of the 38-year-old Frias' career remains a ninth-round TKO of Henry Crawford. "I injured my left hand in sparring for my last fight against Zewski," Frias explained. "It was the biggest fight of my career, fighting for the first time on an HBO undercard, so I didn't say anything and kept icing it. I felt I could stop him but I lost a decision and aggravated my hand injury. It hurt badly after that fight (June 15, 2013). I could have had surgery but we decided to rest it and have cortisone treatment. I hope to be back fighting in November, at least by the end of this year. My hand has held up in sparring and we'll have to wait and see if it holds up in a real fight. "I've had injuries with my hands. They're real small for a guy my size and chronically swollen. I already had surgery on my right hand. It's been real difficult and aggravating. My hands are wrapped good and I've blocked out the pain during fights once the blood gets flowing, but I was just throwing punches at a target instead of punching through 'em. I fought with damaged hands against Zewski, Ion, and Demyanenko but I'm optimistic now. I'm going for broke. This is my last run; I'm not a young buck anymore." Stern added, "Of all the fighters I've been around, nobody is tougher than Damian, who's never been afraid of fighting anybody. In most of the fights he's lost, Damian was strong in the early rounds, until his hand swelled and he couldn't use his left hand. His hand is stronger now after rest, medication and rehab. We're all hoping his hands hold up in a fight." INFORMATION: Marcus Upshaw Twitter @MarcusUpshaw or @MarcusArilliusUpshaw www.facebook.com/pages/Marcus-Upshaw/260365894066319 Damian Frias www.facebook.com/damian.frias.5

Adonis 'Superman' Stevenson ready to Conquer super middleweight division

MONTREAL (May 17, 2012) -- Based on his last five fights, sensational super middleweight Adonis Stevenson (18-1, 15 KOs) is more than living-up to his nickname, "Superman." Stevenson and his promoter, Yvon Michel, as well as his Hall of Fame manager/trainer, Emanuel Steward, believe he's ready to fight any of the 168-pound world champions or top contenders. Stevenson's last five fight fights been against opponents who had had a combined professional record of 107-8 prior to stepping in the ring to fight "Superman"  - 28-1 Noe Gonzalez (TKO2), 27-1 Jesus Gonzales, 16-3 Aaron Pryor, Jr. (TKO9), 11-1Shujaa El-Amin (TKO1) and Derek Edwards (KO3). All but Gonzales (only once) had never been knocked out before fighting "Superman." Stevenson's display case has collapsed from the added weight of all his stored title belts: (reigning) WBC Silver, IBF Inter-Continental, NABA, NABO, plus WBC International, WBC Continental Americas, and Canadian straps Adonis formerly held. All he's missing now is a world title belt, something he hopes to acquire this year, given a legitimate shot to challenge.  "Superman" is qualified to fight any of the world super middleweight champions as a world-rated contender in each of the four major governing bodies:  #2 IBF, #3 WBC, #7 WBA & WBO. The dream match for the Haitian-born Stevenson, who lives in the Montreal of Longueuill, is, of course, a showdown in Montreal with IBF champion Lucian Bute. But he's making a title defense May 26 against Carl Froch.  WBA Super and WBC champion Andre Ward is practically locked into a fight with WBC light heavyweight title-holder Chad Dawson, likely in September.  "My goal is to become world champion," Stevenson said.  "I don't care who I fight for the world title - (Lucian) Bute, (Andre) Ward or any world champion.  I want to prove that I'm the best super middleweight in the world. I have the best trainer in the world, Manny Steward, and he's trained me to be much more than just a big puncher.  I've improved a lot since I've been with him and I'm using my speed and movement to become more of a complete fighter. If none of the world champions are willing to fight me, I'll continue improving, fighting top 10 opponents, hopefully in a title eliminator, until I become a mandatory challenger." WBO and WBA (regular) champions Robert Stieglitz and Akardy Balzsay, respectively, seem to only fight hand-picked opponents and are reluctant to fight out their comfort zones in Germany. "Adonis Stevenson has proven that he's one of the best super middleweights in the world," Michel added.  "He's better than ever since he teamed up with Manny.  We know that he's ready for anybody and is the most deserving contender.  If the WBC is seeking a replace for injured No. 1 rated Anthony Dirrell, 'Superman' is ready to fight in a title eliminator against anybody.  It's only matter of time before 'Superman' adds a world title to his belt collection." For more information about Stevenson or any of the GYM fighters and upcoming shows, go online to www.groupeyvonmichel.ca.