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Tickets
now on sale for Diaz vs. Morales on August 4th at Allstate Arena
(JUN 16) ROSEMONT, Illinois – It will be the Battle of Midway when
three-division world champion ERIK “El TERRIBLE” MORALES, making his
Chicago debut and seeking his record fourth world title in as many
weight divisions, rumbles with WBC lightweight champion and Chicago
native DAVID DIAZ in the main event of “The War for 4!” Promoted by Top
Rank Inc., in association with Dominic Pesoli’s 8 Count Promotions, “The
War for 4!” world championship extravaganza will take place Saturday,
August 4 from the Allstate Arena.
The event will also feature two additional world title fights and the
Chicago debut of undefeated welterweight contender Julio Cesar Chavez,
Jr., son of the legendary three-division world champion and Mexican icon
Julio Cesar Chavez. In additional, a full under card featuring some of
Chicago's hottest prospects will be announced shortly.
Tickets for the fight, priced at $300, $200, $100, $50 and $30 are now
on sale through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling
312-559-1212. The Allstate Arena is located 6920 N. Mannheim in
Rosemont. Further information can also be obtained at their website,
www.allstatearena.com
“Erik is out to grab some history,” said promoter Bob Arum, CEO and
founder of Top Rank. “He is already one of the all-time greats. If he
can win this title it would be a fitting conclusion to what has already
been a Hall of Fame career, but it won’t be easy. Diaz is no walk in the
park and Morales needs to be at the top of his game for this fight.”
Said Dominic Pesoli, President of 8 Count Productions, "I'm thrilled to
work with Top Rank on this event. The Diaz/Morales fight is going to be
an outstanding fight between two great warriors. And we're putting
together a terrific undercard for this event which
will be announced shortly.
We're also very happy to return to the Allstate Arena. The crowd at the
Fernando Vargas/Javier Castillejo fight two years ago was terrific and
we're expected a huge crowd for this event."
Morales (48-5, 34 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico will be seeking to become the
first Mexican boxer in history to win four world championships in four
different weight classes, a feat not even achieved by the legendary
Chavez . Morales held WBC world titles at 122, 126 and 130 pounds.
Recognized as one of the best and most exciting fighters in the world,
Morales is 18-2 in world championship fights and his pair of trilogy
fights against Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera produced some of
the best fights in boxing history. His three fights against Pacquiao
exceeded one million pay-per-view buys, a record for that weight class.
"I will always fight for the people," declared Morales. 'I have given
them all I can inside the ring and hope that they will believe in me one
more time as i try to accomplish my biggest personal goal in boxing to
become Mexico's first four-time world champion."
At age 21, Morales became a world champion for the first time when he
stopped Hall of Famer Daniel Zaragoza to win the WBC super bantamweight
championship in El Paso, Texas in 1997. He successfully defended the
belt seven times. In February of 2000, he unified the title, beating WBO
champion Marco Antonio Barrera, which was awarded “Fight of the Year,”
by The Ring magazine.
He added a second world title to his trophy case, winning a unanimous
decision over Guty Espadas, in February 2002, for the WBC featherweight
title. Morales joined the great Julio Cesar Chavez as a three-division
world champion by defeating Jesus Chavez to win the WBC super
featherweight championship in February 2004, a title he would unify in
his next fight, in July 2004, when he won a unanimous decision over IBF
champion Carlos Hernandez.
Morales became the only Mexican to beat Manny Pacquiao, giving the
Filipino icon a true boxing lesson, in their March 2005 fight, in what
many consider Morales’ best performance of his great career.
Diaz (32-1-1, 17 KOs), a 1996 U.S. Olympian, will be making the first
defense of his title. He waited a long time to get his opportunity for a
world title and when it came he was ready. Diaz stopped the then interim
world champion Jose Armando Santa Cruz in the 10th round of a fight he
was losing before knocking out Santa Cruz.
“Winning the world championship was very special, but facing a great
champion like Morales is just as special. This will be a fight to
remember”, said Diaz. |
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