Boxcino 2014 Lightweights Photo Gallery

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE LAUGHLIN, NV (FEBRUARY 23, 2014)--The much anticipated Boxcino 2014 kicked off at the Edgewater Casino with a rousing beginning as Chris Rudd, Petr Petrov, Miguel Gonzalez and Fernando Carcamo all advanced to the semi-final round in the lightweight division on March 28th at the 4 Bears Casino in Newtown, North Dakota. Below are images from the great night of Boxing. Photo Credit:  Shane Sims / Banner Promotions               The Boxcino 2014 middleweight tournament kicks off next Friday night at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana at 9pm eastern on ESPN, ESPN Deportes+ and WatchESPN.

Rudd, Petrov, Gonzalez and Carcamo advance in Boxcino opening round

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE LAUGHLIN, NV (FEBRUARY 21, 2014)--The much anticipated Boxcino 2014 kicked off at the Edgewater Casino with a rousing beginning as Chris Rudd, Petr Petrov, Miguel Gonzalez and Fernando Carcamo all advanced to the semi-final round in the lightweight division on March 28th at the 4 Bears Casino in Newtown, North Dakota. Chris Rudd opened the tournament with a "Drawbreaker" decision over Yakubu Amidu. Both guys landed tremendous power shots with Amidu getting better in the second but Rudd came back the next round.  In round four it became a war of attrition with Amidu landing with Rudd on the ropes.  It was a nip and tuck fight down the stretch and when the scores were announced it was ruled a draw on the scorecards.   The fighters went to the overtime round it was the activity level that got Rudd the victory. Officially it goes into the record books as a split decision for Rudd by scores of 67-66 twice and 68-65 for Amidu.  Rudd, of Covington, Tennessee and he is now 13-1.  Amidu of Los Angeles via Ghana is now 19-5-1 Rudd will meet Petr Petrov, who scored a 6-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Fedor Papazov. It was a close competitive fight with both guys landing hard shots early in the bout. Petrov got the better in round's five and six as he utilized counter punching ability to land with pinpoint accuracy.  He did well despite having some swelling around the right eye. Petrov of Madrid, Spain via Russia won by scores of 58-56 on all cards and is now 33-4-2.  Papazov, of Los Angeles via Russia is now 14-1. Miguel Gonzalez scored a 6-round split decision over Miguel Angel Mendoza. Gonzalez boxed very well through the fight and landed some good shots.  Mendoza pressed the fight and in round six he had Gonzalez on defensive as he pounded away on him ropes.   The crowd tried to urge Mendoza on but it was not enough as Gonzalez took two cards by 58-56 tallies while Mendoza won a card at 58-56. Gonzalez of Cleveland, Ohio is now 23-3.  Mendoza is 21-3-2. Gonzalez will meet Fernando Carcamo, who destroyed previously undefeated Samuel Neequaye in two rounds. Carcamo dropped Neequaye in round one and then wobbled and buckled Neequaye for most of the 2nd frame and the fight was stopped as Neequaye was going down to the canvas at 1:58 of round two. Carcamo is now 16-5 with 11 knockouts.  Neequaye of Ghana is now 21-1. 2012 Olympic Bronze Medal winner Taras Shelestyuk  battered Francisco Flores as he scored a knockdown en route to a 1st round stoppage in a scheduled 4 round Jr. Middleweight bout. The time of the stoppage was 1:45 for Shelestyuk, who improves to 7-0. Cornelius Whitlock needed just 35 seconds to dispose of Luis Hernandez in a scheduled 4 round Jr. Welterweight bout. Whitlock landed a perfect right hand that knocked Hernandez stiff and the bout was waved off. Whitlock of Baltimore is now 3-0-2 with 2 knockouts.  Hernandez, of San Bernadino, CA is now 2-7. Despite being knocked down in the 2nd round, James Walos scored a 4-round unanimous decision over Robert Hill. All three judges ruled 38-37 for Walos, who is now 2-0.  Hill is 1-4. The Boxcino 2014 middleweight tournament kicks off next Friday night at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana at 9pm eastern on ESPN, ESPN Deportes+ and WatchESPN.

2012 Bronze Medal winner Shelestyuk plus Whitlock highlight Boxcino undercard this Friday in Laughlin

Philadelphia, PA (February 20, 2014)-- Tomorrow night at the Edgewater Casino in Laughlin, Nevada, Boxcino 2014 kick offs with the opening round in the lightweight division.  In addition to the four quarterfinal lightweight bouts, two members of the Banner Promotions stable will be in action. 2012 Olympic bronze medal winner Taras Shelestyuk will fight Francisco Flores in a jr. middleweight bout scheduled for four rounds.  Also seeing action will be undefeated jr. welterweight Cornelius Whitlock battles Luis Hernandez in a 4-round bout. Shelestyuk, of Sumi, Ukraine, has a record of 6-0 with 4 knockouts and will be making his first start of 2014 after a busy eight-month stretch in 2013 when he turned pro and racked up those six wins, including a decision over then undefeated Travis Hanshaw (7-0). Shelestyuk fights out of the famed Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, California, and is managed by Vadim Kornilov. Flores of Mexico City is 2-3 with 1 knockout. Whitlock, of Baltimore, Maryland, has a record of 2-0-2 with one knockout and is coming off a first-round stoppage over Josue Rivera on November 14 in Washington, D.C. Hernandez of San Bernadino, California has a record of 2-6 with two knockouts. "We are very excited to have this great night of boxing," said Banner Promotions CEO Arthur Pelullo. "Obviously this is going to be a great tournament but we are also looking forward to seeing the continued development of Taras and Cornelius." February 21st lightweight quarter final FIGHT WEEK SCHEDULE: HOTEL & EVENT LOCATION:             Edgewater Casino 2020 South Casino Drive, Laughlin, Nevada 89029 Phone: (702) 298-2453 Thursday, Feb. 20th Weigh-in: 5:00 PM Location: Edgewater Casino - Rio Vista Room (down stairs next to the Buffet) Friday, Feb. 21st Fight Night: E Center at the Edgewater Casino Doors open - 4:30 PM First fight (and first fight on ESPN) - 6:00 PM

BOXCINO 2014 BY THE NUMBERS

For Immediate Release Philadelphia, PA (February 19, 2014)--This Friday night at the Edgewater Casino in Laughlin, Nevada, Boxcino 2014 will kick off with the quarterfinals in the lightweight division.  Next Friday the scene will shift to the Horseshoe Hammond Casino in Hammond, Indiana for the quarterfinals in the middleweight division. What makes the tournament unique is the varied styles and experience of the participants and  below are some statistics that show just that. Lightweights: Oldest: Petr Petrov 30 (3/28/83) Youngest:  Fernando Carcamo 23 (11/2/90) Most Fights: Petr Petrov 38 (32-4-2) Least Fights: Chris Rudd 12 (12-1) Most Rounds: Petr Petrov 213 Least Rounds: Chris Rudd 45 Most KO's: Miguel Angel Mendoza 21 Winning %: Samuel Neequaye (21-0) & Fedor Papazov (14-0)  100% KO%:  Miguel Angel Mendoza (84 % and 100% of wins are by stoppage) The total record of the 8 lightweights is : 158-19-6 with 115 KO's  World Champions and Challengers faced: Yakubu Amidu Has faced two-division world champion Ricky Burns as well as world title challengers Juan Carlos Burgos, Ji-Hoon Kim and Ali Funeka Petr Petrov Has faced two-division champion Marcos Maidana and Vitalli Tajbert Miguel Gonzalez Defeated former world champion Miguel Acosta and fought Michael Dallas Jr. (who fought for an interim world title) Miguel Angel Mendoza Fought former world title challengers Rey Bautista and Ricardo Alvarez (who will fight for a world title on March 8th) Fernando Carcamo Holds a 2nd round stoppage over former world title challenger Vicente Escobedo Middleweights: Oldest: Donatas Bondorovas 34 (11/12/79) Youngest: Sena Agbeko 21 (3/1/92--Will turn 22 day after his quarterfinal bout) *Most Fights: Daniel Edouard 29 (23-4-2) *Least Fights:  Brandon Adams 12 (12-0) Most Rounds: Daniel Edouard 144 Least Rounds:  Brandon Adams 38 Most KO's: Sena Agbeko 15 Winning %:  Vitalii Kopylenko (22-0); Sena Agbeko (15-0) & Brandon Adams (12-0)  100% KO%:  Sena Agbeko (100%...15-0, 15 KO's) * Edouard and Adams will face each other in the quarterfinals. The Total record of the 8 middleweights is: 135-13-4  World Champions and Challengers Faced:   Ramond Gatica  Has faced former world title challenger Fernando Guerrero Daniel EdouardHas faced former undisputed middleweight champion Jermain Taylor.  He has faced former challengers Miguel Espino, Eromesele Albert, Alfonso Mosquera and former two-time challenger Peter Manfredo Jr. February 21st lightweight quarter final FIGHT WEEK SCHEDULE: HOTEL & EVENT LOCATION:             Edgewater Casino 2020 South Casino Drive, Laughlin, Nevada 89029 Phone: (702) 298-2453 Thursday, Feb. 20th Weigh-in: 5:00 PM Location: Edgewater Casino - Rio Vista Room (down stairs next to the Buffet) Friday, Feb. 21st Fight Night: E Center at the Edgewater Casino Doors open - 4:30 PM First fight (and first fight on ESPN) - 6:00 PM

Pelullo talks Boxcino 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  PHILADELPHIA (FEBRUARY 17, 2014)--This Friday night at the Edgewater Casino in Laughlin, Nevada, the quarterfinals of the lightweight portion of Boxcino 2014 will get underway on ESPN's Friday Night Fights.   The concept of the tournament was hatched in 1996 by Banner Promotions Arthur Pelullo and the idea came to fruition a year later.   "17 years ago, I was 41-years old and I was trying to figure a way to find fighters to advance my business,"said Pelullo.   "I came up with an idea to do a tournament.  That tournament consisted of 4 weight divisions and 8 countries."   "I was fortunate to find several fighters that went on to make a good living in boxing.  One of the fighters we thought that would become a big star was JC Candelo."   Candelo has had a nice career as he competed for a world title, but it was one fighter in particular that went on to super-stardom.   "Out of all the fighters, there was a young kid from Brazil named Acelino "Popo" Freitas.  He was 9-0 with 9 knockouts."   "He went on to a record of 39-2 with 33 knockouts and he won 4-world titles.  Freitas has one of the highest knockout percentages in history and he defended the title 10 times. He turned out to be my most successful fighter to date.  I now promote his nephew Vitor Jones de Olivera (1-0, 1 KO)."   Pelullo believes that another Freitas or two could be among the roster of fighters that have entered in the lightweight and middleweight tournament.   "I am hoping that Boxcino 2014 will find us some young fighters that we can take their careers to the top of the sport."   "I believe that within this crop of young fighters there could be a few of them that will take their careers to the very top of boxing."     The show will begin at 9pm eastern / 6pm Pacific on :  ESPN2, ESPN Deportes+, WatchESPN The 1st round of the lightweight tournament will feature: Yakubu Amidu (21-4-2, 19 KO's) vs Chris Rudd (12-1, 8 KO's) Fedor Papazov (14-0, 9 KO's) vs Petr Petrov (32-4-2, 15 KO's) Miguel Gonzalez (22-3, 16 KO's) vs Miguel Angel Mendoza (21-2-2, 21 KO's) Fernando Carcamo (15-5, 12 KO's) vs Samuel Neequaye (21-0, 15 KO's)      February 21st lightweight quarter final FIGHT WEEK SCHEDULE: HOTEL & EVENT LOCATION:             Edgewater Casino 2020 South Casino Drive, Laughlin, Nevada 89029 Phone: (702) 298-2453 Thursday, Feb. 20th Weigh-in: 5:00 PM Location: Edgewater Casino - Rio Vista Room (down stairs next to the Buffet) Friday, Feb. 21st Fight Night: E Center at the Edgewater Casino Doors open - 4:30 PM First fight (and first fight on ESPN) - 6:00 PM

BOXCINO 2014 FIGHT WEEK SCHEDULE IN LAUGHLIN, NV

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  PHILADELPHIA (FEBRUARY 14, 2014)--Below is the fight week schedule for next Friday's opening round of Boxing 2014 that will take place at the Edgewater Casino in Laughlin, Nevada. The show will begin at 9pm eastern / 6pm Pacific on : ESPN2, ESPN Deportes+, WatchESPN The 1st round of the lightweight tournament will feature: Yakubu Amidu (21-4-2, 19 KO's) vs Chris Rudd (12-1, 8 KO's) Fedor Papazov (14-0, 9 KO's) vs Petr Petrov (32-4-2, 15 KO's) Miguel Gonzalez (22-3, 16 KO's) vs Miguel Angel Mendoza (21-2-2, 21 KO's) Fernando Carcamo (15-5, 12 KO's) vs Samuel Neequaye (21-0, 15 KO's)    February 21st lightweight quarter final FIGHT WEEK SCHEDULE: HOTEL & EVENT LOCATION:             Edgewater Casino 2020 South Casino Drive, Laughlin, Nevada 89029 Phone: (702) 298-2453 Thursday, Feb. 20th Weigh-in: 5:00 PM Location: Edgewater Casino - Rio Vista Room (down stairs next to the Buffet) Friday, Feb. 21st Fight Night: E Center at the Edgewater Casino Doors open - 4:30 PM First fight (and first fight on ESPN) - 6:00 PM

ESPN Friday Night Fights & Noche de Combates to Televise Boxing Tournament: Boxcino 2014

ESPN will televise the Boxcino 2014 tournament, a new boxing tournament presented by Banner Promotions, that will air on ESPN Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra and ESPN Deportes™ Noche de Combates presented by Corona Extra. The first of five shows will be held Friday, Feb. 21, at the Edgewater Casino in Laughlin, Nevada, and will air live at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2, broadband Spanish-languageESPN Deportes+ and WatchESPN. ESPN Deportes will televise the fights on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 8 p.m. The competition will be a single-elimination, two-weight class tournament that will feature eight fighters in both the Lightweight and Middleweight divisions.   

"We are looking forward to showcasing this tournament on Friday Night Fights and Noche de Combates," said Brian Kweder, ESPN senior director of programming and acquisitions. "It will give fans the opportunity to see some of the best up-and-coming fighters in the sport and follow them throughout the Friday Night Fights and Noche de Combates season. ESPN did a similar tournament back in 1997, which was won by future four-time world champion Acelino Freitas. We hope to find another diamond in the rough like we did that year."  

"This will be one of the most unique tournaments that boxing has seen in a long time," said Arthur Pelullo, Banner Promotions CEO. "We are excited at the concept and we believe that new stars will be born. The fans will be able to watch these fighters grow and the fighters know that with a great performance, they have a chance to become a major player in the sport."

The tournament will include a quarterfinal round, semifinals and finals in each division, which will take place throughout the Friday Night Fights and Noche de Combatesseason. Each quarterfinal round will feature four six-round bouts. The winners will move on to the semifinals, which will be eight-round bouts. The finals of both the Lightweights and Middleweights will each be 10 rounds. At the conclusion of the tournament, the Boxcino 2014 Champion in each weight division will receive a championship belt. 

Commentators:  

Joe Tessitore will be ringside with Teddy Atlas describing the action for ESPN2 on the opening night of the tournament, while studio host Todd Grisham (@GrishamESPN) will present all the latest boxing news and highlights. Delvin Rodríguez and Pablo Viruegawill call the fights for Noche de Combates (Fight Night) on both ESPN Deportes and ESPN Deportes+, while Leopoldo González and Claudia Trejos will anchor the studio. Bilingual reporter BernardoOsuna (@osunaespn)will present live interviews and reports for both shows.

Boxcino 2014 Fighters:  Matchups will be announced on this week's edition of FridayNight Fights and Noche de Combates(boxer matchups are determined by a random drawing and the tournament bracket will be structured based on this drawing), which will air live Friday, Jan. 31, at 9 p.m. on ESPN2, broadband Spanish-language ESPN Deportes+ and WatchESPN. 

 Lightweight Division:

Yakubu Amidu: Los Angeles (22-4-1, 18 KOs)

Fernando Carcamo: Ciudad Obregon, Mexico (15-5-0, 12 KOs)

Miguel González: Cleveland (22-3-0, 16 KOs)

Miguel Angel Mendoza: Aguascalientes, Mexico (21-2-2, 21 KOs)
Samuel Neequaye: Accra, Ghana (21-0-0, 15 KOs)

Fedor Papazov: Russia (14-0-0, 9 KOs)

Petr Petrov: Madrid, Spain (32-4-2, 15 KOs) 
Chris Rudd: Covington, Tennessee (12-1-0, 8 KOs)

  Middleweight Division:

Brandon Adams: San Diego, California (12-0-0, 7 KOs)

Sena Agbeko: Accra, Ghana (15-0-0, 15 KOs) 
Donatas Bondorovas: Chicago (18-4-1, 6 KOs)

Daniel Edouard: West Palm Beach, Florida (23-4-2, 12 KOs) 
Cerresso Fort: St. Paul, Minnesota (17-2-1, 11 KOs)

Raymond Gatica: Austin, Texas (13-1-0, 7 KOs) 
Willie Monroe, Jr.: Rochester, New York (15-1-0, 6 KOs) 
Vitalii Kopylenko: Kiev, Ukraine (22-0-0, 12 KOs)

TV Schedule:

Date	Time(ET)	Round	Location	Networks
Fri, Feb. 21	9 p.m.	Lightweight Quarterfinal Round	Edgewater Casino,  Laughlin, Nev.	ESPN2, ESPN Deportes+, WatchESPN
Fri, Feb. 28	9 p.m.	MiddleweightQuarterfinal Round	Harrah's Horseshoe, Hammond, Ind.	ESPN2, ESPN Deportes+, WatchESPN
Fri, Mar. 28	9 p.m.	Lightweight Semifinal Round	4 Bears Casino, New Town, N.D.	ESPN, ESPN Deportes+, WatchESPN
Fri, Apr. 18	9 p.m.	Middleweight Semifinal Round	Turning Stone Casino,  Verona N.Y.	ESPN2, ESPN Deportes+, WatchESPN
Fri, May 23	9 p.m.	Lightweight & Middleweight Final Round	Turning Stone Casino,  Verona N.Y.	ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Deportes+, WatchESPN

 Follow ESPN Friday Night Fights on Twitter @ESPNFNF or like it on Facebook. Follow ESPN Deportes' Noche de Combates on Twitter @ESPNBoxeo.  Also score the fights round-by-round with the "Live Friday Night Fights Facebook Voting App," an application on the ESPN FNF Facebook page that allows viewers to score the fight round-by-round. For the latest ESPN.com boxing news and analysis follow @ESPNBoxing.   
-- 30 --