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Spina promises to KO Manfredo
Source: Press Release
September 20, 2006 |
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PROVIDENCE (September 20, 2006) -
Outspoken super middleweight Joey "KO Kid" Spina promises to knockout
Providence cross-town rival "Peter "The Pride of Providence" Manfredo,
Jr. on October 14 in the 12-round main event on "The Contender Special -
Put Up or Shut Up" at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode
Island.
"It was business but now it's personal because of what Peter and his
father have said about me like being nothing more than a club fighter,"
Spina said from his training camp in Las Vegas. "I don't really like all
of the yapping, but I'm going to knock 'The Pride of Providence' out,
right in the middle of the ring, in our hometown. I learned how to box
block to block, not on a television show; if he's the 'Pride of
Providence,' I'm the 'King of Providence.' I earned that name. Manfredo
doesn't even live in Providence anymore.
"I've only had about 20 amateur fights and he's had more than 300. He's
a better boxer, a better technician than I am. Peter's going to bounce
in and out and in the first couple of rounds he may make me look bad.
But once he sits in the pocket, his lights will go out when my bombs
start landing."
Spina (19-0-1, 14 KOs), rated No. 16 by the World Boxing Council, is the
reigning WBC USNBC and IBF Intercontinental super middleweight
title-holder. Joey and Manfredo (25-3, 11 KOs), a finalist in Season 1
of The Contender, grew-up within a mile of each other in the
Italian-American section of Providence, Silver Lake. They later sparred
as amateurs and during Spina's early pro career.
"I didn't know him very well growing up because he moved," Joey
explained, "I got to know him later. We never fought but did spar and he
got the better of me. I'm a much different fighter today. For the first
nine or 10 fights of my pro career I didn't train. I didn't take boxing
serious and fought because I needed money. Hey, Peter's a good fighter
and great guy, but this fight means everything to me. I'm using my bonus
to get my father out of a nursing home to live with me. The winner of
this fight will be rated high and get a big fight next year.
"Our fight is being presented as he's the good guy and I'm the bad guy.
I really don't care. But I'm being made out to be a party guy. I'm only
29 and when I'm not in training, I love to have a good time, but I've
never been more serious in training than for this fight against him. I'm
sparring with (former Contender) Ishe Smith (18-1, 8 KOs) and Anthony
Hanshaw (20-0, 13 KOs). I want a lot in life that I don't have right
now, so this fight means much more to me than it does to him. I'm
motivated to fight for my family. And when the _____ starts, I can back
it up."
The former NABO super middleweight champion Manfredo, rated No. 14 by
the WBC and No. 15 by the International Boxing Federation, is coming of
a devastating third-round TKO win against former world No. 1 contender
Scott "The Sandman" Pemberton this past February before nearly 10,000
Providence fans at The Dunk.
"I think Joey is too strong and hits too hard for Manfredo," Spina's
manager Pat Doljanan remarked. "I don't think Peter is a 12-round
fighter, more like six to eight. Peter and his dad think Joey's a soft
touch and the fight against (Jessie) Brinkley is a template to beat
Joey. But Joey was super-hyped for that fight and he couldn't relax. How
strong is he to stop a guy with a body punch in the 11th round? Joey
brought his power down to super middleweight from light heavyweight and
I feel Peter is a blown up junior middleweight. He lost to a
welterweight (Alfonso Gomez) and twice to (Sergio) Mora, who's not a big
middleweight. I think Joey's sparring partners, Smith and Hanshaw, are
better guys than Joey's fighting October 14.
"Peter has a house and money; Joey doesn't even own a car. This kid is
hungry and 'who-wants-it-the-most' is going to be a factor in this
fight. Joey bench-presses 320-350 pounds. How many super middleweights
can do that? Joey has the size, strength and power. Maybe not in the
early part of the fight, but as the fight wears on and Joey gets on top
of him, Peter won't have anyplace to run, slip or slide. That's when
Joey will knock him out."
The Tournament of Contenders, in association with Classic Entertainment
& Sports, is promoting "The Contender Special - Put Up or Shut Up".
Two other world class super middleweights fight in the eight round
co-feature, unbeaten super middleweight Allan "Sweetness" Green against
2000 Olympian Jerson Ravelo in the eight-round co-feature. Green (22-0,
15 KOs), fighting out of Tulsa (KO), is the No. 1 contender in the North
American Boxing Federation and NABO, as well as rated No. 6 by the World
Boxing Organization and No. 18 by the WBC. Ravelo (17-1, 12 KOs), of
Newark (NJ) by way of San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, defeated former
world champion Jeff Lacy as an amateur.
Also featured on this card will be The Contender favorite Alfonso Gomez,
who defeated Manfredo is the first bout of Season 1 The Contender,
against an opponent to be determined. The Mexican-born Gomez (15-3-2, 6
KOs), rated No. 8 by the NABF, was scheduled to fight on the Providence
card last February, but he fell out due to illness and is very excited
about fighting on this show.
The fights will be televised on ESPN2 from 10:30PM - 12:30 AM/ET. It
will be tape-delayed as the main event will begin LIVE at 9:00 PM/ET
inside the Dunkin' Donut Center.
Tickets priced at $502.00, $302.00, $202.00, $102.00, $77.00 and $42.00
are on sale through www.Ticketmaster.com, all local Ticketmaster outlets
or by calling Ticketmaster direct at (401) 331-2211 or (617) 931-2000.
Tickets are also available through CES Boxing at (401) 724-2253,
www.cesboxing.com and the Dunkin' Donuts Center Box Office.
THE CONTENDER
The Contender is an unscripted drama about the lives, fears and hopes of
16 professional boxers as they compete for the chance to change their
lives and the lives of the people they love forever. The Contender will
air July 2006 under the ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE) banner and be
executive produced by Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Apprentice, Rock Star:
INXS), Jeffrey Katzenberg and Sylvester Stallone. For more information
visit www.espn.com.
ESPN Original Entertainment
Launched in 2001, ESPN Original Entertainment is ESPN's award-winning
original programming banner. The EOE brand spans ESPN's sports-themed
original movies, scripted and unscripted dramatic series, daily talk and
debate series, documentaries, game shows, and such groundbreaking
televised events as the X Games, Winter X Games, and The ESPY Awards.
EOE's daily lifestyle and entertainment-themed series are also the
cornerstone of ESPN2's new programming lineup, featuring the flagship
shows ESPN Hollywood, Quite Frankly, and Cold Pizza. With more than100
new scripted and unscripted projects in development, EOE continues to
plant itself firmly on the cutting edge of sports and entertainment
television and event creation. Serving both the passionate sports fan
and the more casual viewer, EOE strives to expand ESPN's already
industry-leading offerings in live events and sports news & information
programming.
Mark Burnett Productions
Mark Burnett Productions (MBP) is a leading production company in the
world of
primetime non-fiction television. MBP revolutionized television with
hits such as Eco-
Challenge, Survivor, The Apprentice, The Contender, and Rockstar:INXS.
MBP
also successfully reintroduced product placement as an integral part of
each of its shows
and has garnered a total of 24 Emmy nominations since 2001. Mark Burnett
was listed
as the #1 Most Valuable Player by TV Guide and in Time Magazine's Top
100 most
influential people in the world today.
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Television is a division of DreamWorks SKG which was founded
in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen.
DreamWorks Television is currently in production on season three of the
hit NBC series "Las Vegas" as well as season two of the critically
acclaimed FX drama "Rescue Me," and the upcoming ABC reality series "The
Miracle Workers." DreamWorks Television recently produced "Into The
West" for TNT, which was the highest rated mini-series for the season
with 81 million unique viewers. Other DreamWorks
Television projects include: "Spin City," "Band of Brothers," "Taken."
"Father of the Pride," "Freaks and Geeks," "The Job," "Boomtown," and
"Undeclared." |
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