Huge Victory Friday Night for Puerto Rico's Roberto Acevedo

Bayamon, Puerto Rico's Roberto J. Acevedo (8-1, 5 KO's) returned to the ring in sensational fashion last Friday night at Resorts International in Atlantic City, New Jersey, by crushing highly touted Russian prospect Ilshat "The Sheriff" Khusnulgatin in less than a round. Appearing for the first time since suffering a controversial decision last March in Chicago, Acevedo made his first fight as a light heavyweight count by dropping and stopping Khusnulgatin (11-1, 6 KO's) with an impressive series of powerful right hands. The end came at 2:09 of the first round. With the stunning victory, 26-year-old Acevedo reasserted himself as one of the top Puerto Rican prospects. "I felt strong," said Acevedo. "My hands went well and I could hurt him and finish him off. With the blessing of God, we were able to work and show that we are here to stay." Acevedo, who took the fight on only seven days' notice, spoiled Khusnulgatin's promotional debut with top boxing outfit Main Events. The 23-year-old Khusnulgatin stands nearly six feet four inches tall, and was being touted as a new star in boxing. Ranked #14 by the WBA, Khusnulgatin shares the same management and trains with WBO Light Heavyweight Champion Sergey Kovalev. Acevedo is managed by Free Agent Boxing Management. He will be returning to the ring in March, looking for a regional title. You can follow Acevedo on social networks:  Twitter @RobertoJAcevedo @FreeAgentBoxing  Facebook   Fb.com/RobertoacevedofanpageFb.com/FreeAgentBoxing

All or Nothing for Don George: 'If I Never Win a Title or Get Close, my Whole Career is a Bust'

Chicago middleweight  Donovan "Da Bomb" George says there will be more than a win or a loss on the line when he steps in the ring against former world title challenger David "The Destroyer" Lopez this Friday, March 22. According to George, he must win or his boxing career has been a waste. George (24-3-1, 21 KOs) will drop down to middleweight to face Lopez (41-13, 23 KOs) of Nogales, Mexico, in the 10-round middleweight main event, at Chicago's UIC Pavilion and televised live on ESPN Friday Night Fights. Presented by 8 Count Productions, Round 3 Productions and Warriors Boxing the night's co-main event will pit former world champion Kermit "EL Asesino" Cintron (33-5-1, 28 KOs) dropping back down to welterweight to face Chicago slugger Adrian "EL Tigre" Granados (11-2-1, 7 KOs). "If I never win a title or get close, my whole career is a bust," explained George. "I've done some local things and some national things but I'm not going to brag to my kids about being a former USBA Champ. I want to be world champion. I want to leave a legacy in this sport." With every fibre of his being, George says he wants to wear a championship belt, so he's taken the unusual step of dropping down in weight midway through his career. "If I look back at my career if don't want to wish I had done things differently. I'm going to do everything I possibly can, so I can look at myself in the mirror. Right now, I'm not content with what I've done. I feel like the last six years, I've been in the wrong weight class. I step up and lose. I don't know if it's because I'm too small, but we're going to find out. Normally as a fighter is getting older they go up in weight, but I'm making the suicidal move to go down. If I want to be world champ I have to make sacrifices." In addition to his drop in weight, George travelled to Detroit to train at the Kronk Gym with Sugar Hill and spar with such notables as former opponent Adonis Stevenson and former heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev. "I worked on a lot of the technical side with Sugar. He put in a lot of time and effort with me and I really appreciate it. If I can catch anybody I'll hurt them, but first I have to hit them. That meant re-learning Boxing 101 and going back to the basics with Sugar. My dad has been my trainer my whole career and he learned to train by reading books. He's brilliant to have been so successful with no tutelage at all, but Sugar has been able to show me some new things, technically. I'm going to try and show all the improvements I've made on Friday. I'm going to obviously fight smart and pick my shots and land my right hand, my best punch. I'm working on not telegraphing it. I hope I can set it up and land it. If I do, it will be an early night." George also says it's "so far so good" with his experiment at middleweight. "I have sparred some middleweights, and found that I did extremely well. I'm way too strong. I had a couple knockouts in the gym. I'm really excited to see how I do at 160 lbs." Lopez will be George's third southpaw in the past three fights, a fact he isn't thrilled with, but says after 29 pro fights, he has to take any and all comers from every side. "I've got some tapes on him. I know he's only lost once in nine years. There's reason for that. He can fight. He's a tough, tall southpaw from Mexico and he'll bring it. He's at his best at 154. Coming up nine pounds to fight me will make a big difference. I'll be a lot stronger than him. I'll be about 185 lbs. by fight night.  I really respect the guy. Anyone with almost 60 pro fights, you have to. And when I look at his career, he didn't get his first title shot until 34 years old. I can relate. I've been a pro almost nine years and haven't come close. He doesn't give up either. I respect that." Every fight is now make or break for Donovan George. Sacrificing and suffering to get down to a smaller weight class with one dream in mind. He is a man on a mission. "What I'm doing is very difficult, but I'm so passionate it about it. You invest your whole life into something. Some people have a career, but boxing for me is not a career; it's my whole life. I have no backup plan. I don't have this or that to fall back on. I want to make it. If I don't, it'll be hard to live with. I don't care if I'm rich or famous. I just want a world title. That's all I want. I'll fight for free. I just want a title. I must win this fight. It's really 'do or die.' If I lose to a 35-year-old guy, where am I going? I must win this fight. Donovan George sends his thanks and well wishes to Mike "Hollywood" Hernandez and his Uncle, Mike Apa. ### Presented by 8 Count Productions, Round 3 Productions, Warriors Boxing and Blue Wave Boxing, advance tickets to ESPN Friday Night Fights are priced at $150, $100, $50 and $30 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster (Ticketmaster.com, 1-800-745-3000), the 8 Count Productions Offices, 312-226-5800 or the UIC Pavilion Box Office, 312-413-5740. Doors will open on the night of the event at 7 pm CT with the first bout scheduled for 8:00 pm CT. The UIC Pavilion is located at 525 S. Racine, at the corner of Harrison and Racine on the campus of the University of Illinois-Chicago. A full undercard featuring many of Chicago's best prospects and fan favorites will be announced shortly for this event.

Quotes from George vs. Lopez Media Conference in Chicago

A media conference was held yesterday (Tuesday, March 20) to discuss this Friday's (March 22) night of ESPN-televised boxing, live from Chicago's UIC Pavilion and presented by 8 Count Productions, Round 3 Productions and Warriors Boxing. In the 10-round middleweight main event, Windy City favorite Donovan "Da Bomb" George (24-3-1, 21 KOs) will take on former world title challenger David "The Destroyer" Lopez (41-13, 23 KOs) of Nogales, Mexico. And in the other featured bout, former world champion Kermit "EL Asesino" Cintron (33-5-1, 28 KOs) will drop back down to welterweight to face Chicago slugger Adrian "EL Tigre" Granados (11-2-1, 7 KOs). Also present at the conference were Puerto Rican prospect Roberto Acevedo (7-0, 4 KOs) and his opponent that night, Chicago's undefeated Paul Littleton (6-0-1, 4 KOs). The pair will meet in a six-round middleweight bout. The following are quotes from the conference: Frank Muggs, Round 3 Productions Thanks to everyone involved. We have a great card. We're making Chicago the destination city for boxing. It just keeps getting better. First we had four thousand people at a show. Then we had 5000. Now we're at almost 6000. Chicago is the best fight town in the world for boxing. Dominic Pesoli, 8 Count Productions We've got an action-packed card for Friday, the fans are really getting their money's worth. Be ready for plenty of fireworks. Leon Margules, Warriors Boxing I've known Dominic for 15 years and it's been a great run. He's truly one of the great regional promoters in the country, soon to be national. The fights we've been putting on just keep getting better and better and the crowds keep getting bigger and bigger. Chicago is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and their ethnic fight fans definitely support their boxers. This is our first event without a Polish presence on it. We're doing this one with Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Irish, etc. These fights are so well matched. In a four-rounder, we have Hairon Socarras, who is 6-0-1, 5 KOs, taking on Sergio Montes de Oca, who is 7-1-1, 2 KOs. So those two guys will fight to see who gets to step up and who stays at the club level. Then we've got a young, talented guy in Paul Littleton from Chicago taking on a young, talented guy from Puerto Rico. They're both undefeated, so it's the proverbial 'somone's 0 must go!' The co-main event is going to be terrific. Adrian Granados never takes a backward step and can't be in a bad fight. Kermit Cintron is a former world champion who realized he doesn't like to be the smaller man and can be the best he can possibly be at 147 lbs. And then the main event. What a classic this fight will be. Just look at all the upsets on David Lopez's record. He's won 17 of his last 18 fights. Don George has dropped down to middleweight because he's tired of being the smaller guy in the ring too. Don George can't be in a bad fight either. I will be watching Friday night as a fan because of all the great matchups. Luis DeCubas, Blue Wave Boxing First of all, thank you to all my promotional partners and to Doug Loughrey from ESPN for making this possible. We have a great main event put together. David Lopez is a rough guy. Donovan George is a rough guy. It's going to be like an old-school fight like when Rocky Graziano fought Tony Zale. I'm also very excited about Kermit Cintron dropping down in weight. He's the world's biggest welterweight and the biggest puncher at the weight. His opponent, Granados, was an Olympian, so that's going to be a great fight. Roberto Acevedo (7-0, 4 KOs) Thanks to everyone. It's going to be an exciting fight. I am very motivated and thank you to Paul for making it happen. I'm here in his backyard, putting my record on the line. Paul Littleton (6-0-1, 4 KOs) I'm very excited to be competing in my hometown against such a good opponent as Roberto. Adrian Granados (11-2-1, 7 KOs) Thank you Kermit for giving me this opportunity. I know it's going to be a great fight. I grew up watching Kermit on TV. I'm ready and so is he to put on a great show. Kermit Cintron (33-5-1, 28 KOs) Thank you everyone for this opportunity. I'm going back to basics for this fight; back to my roots. I feel it is the best for me. I had a great camp. Adrian, I appreciate you taking this challenge and let the best man win! I'm back to welterweight where I belong. I can do what I do best at this weight. David Lopez (41-13, 23 KOs) I'm very well prepared. Donovan George has never fought anyone like me. Donovan, thank you for the opportunity and may God bless you. Let the best man win! Donovan George (24-3-1, 21 KOs) It's going to be a great night. Every fight is competitive. I made a lot of sacrifices in preparing for this fight. Mr. Lopez is very battle-tested, but he's had his time. This is my time now. I'm going to make a statement with this fight. Mr. Lopez has fought all the top guys so when I beat him it'll be a message to the other middleweights in the world. ### Presented by 8 Count Productions, Round 3 Productions, Warriors Boxing and Blue Wave Boxing, advance tickets to ESPN Friday Night Fights are priced at $150, $100, $50 and $30 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster (Ticketmaster.com, 1-800-745-3000 ), the 8 Count Productions Offices, 312-226-5800 or the UIC Pavilion Box Office, 312-413-5740. Doors will open on the night of the event at 7pm CT with the first bout scheduled for 8:00pm CT. The UIC Pavilion is located at 525 S. Racine, at the corner of Harrison and Racine on the campus of the University of Illinois-Chicago. A full undercard featuring many of Chicago's best prospects and fan favorites will be announced shortly for this event.

Acevedo Ready for Littleton Test

Although it may be the first big test of his professional boxing career, Puerto Rican prospect Roberto Acevedo (7-0, 4 KOs) says he's treating it like just another fight when he takes on Chicago's also undefeated Paul Littleton (6-0-1, 4 KOs) on Friday, March 22, 2013, at Chicago's UIC Pavilion. The pair will meet in a six-round super middleweight bout on the undercard of the ESPN Friday Night Fights televised night of boxing presented by 8 Count Productions, Round 3 Productions and Warriors Boxing and in support of the night's 10-round middleweight main event between Windy City favorite Donovan "Da Bomb" George (24-3-1, 21 KOs) and former world title challenger David "The Destroyer" Lopez (41-13, 23 KOs) of Nogales, Mexico. In the other featured bout, former world champion Kermit "EL Asesino" Cintron (33-5-1, 28 KOs) will drop back down to welterweight to face Chicago slugger Adrian "EL Tigre" Granados (11-2-1, 7 KOs). How did training camp go?  My training camp has gone as always: great. I'm learning something new every day! I'm at a level where I'm like a sponge; taking in everything my trainers Chico Rivas and John David Jackson show me. I'm getting great sparring with great fighters like Sergey Kovalev and Marcus Upshaw. You're heading into the biggest test of your career, are you ready? I don't consider this fight to be the biggest test of my life, since I did my pro-debut against a guy that had a great amateur background and was part of the Junior Olympic also he competed at the AIBA Semi-Pro tournament. But I still train hard for Littleton since I know that he's as hungry as I am.     What made you want to take this fight? I was encouraged to take the fight to show everyone that my career is not a given or made-up record. I always want to fight with the best to prove to myself that I'm the best!     What do you know about Littleton? I know he's human and his nothing supernatural. He has the same things that I have. I let my manager and team do their work on studying him, I concentrate on my training and winning March 22. I also know that he want to create his own weight division by requesting to fight at a lower weight 164lbs... I know super middle weight is at 168.  How do you handle pressure? There's no pressure, I apply the pressure... I'm easy and calm. This is just one more fight; one more W to my record.    What would a victory mean to you? When I win this fight, I will be a step more in my career. I will prove to everyone that there is a new face taking over in the super middleweight division and that face has a name: Roberto Acevedo! ### Presented by 8 Count Productions, Round 3 Productions, Warriors Boxing and Blue Wave Boxing, advance tickets to ESPN Friday Night Fights are priced at $150, $100, $50 and $30 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster (Ticketmaster.com, 1-800-745-3000 ), the 8 Count Productions Offices, 312-226-5800 or the UIC Pavilion Box Office, 312-413-5740. Doors will open on the night of the event at 7pm CT with the first bout scheduled for 8:00pm CT. The UIC Pavilion is located at 525 S. Racine, at the corner of Harrison and Racine on the campus of the University of Illinois-Chicago. A full undercard featuring many of Chicago's best prospects and fan favorites will be announced shortly for this event.