Thursday, August 25, 2005

"Battle Of Virginia" Update!

Here is an update on the "Battle of Virginia" coming to the George Mason University Patriot Center in Fairfax on Saturday, Sept. 17. This is an article I have written for Fightnews.com.

If Jeff Foxworthy and his friends ever wanted to add sports to their “Blue Collar” comedy tour, they may want to start with the boxing card slated for September 17th at George Mason University’s Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA. Some of the boxers scheduled to appear on this card also work as letter carriers, carpenters and trash collectors.

The letter carrier is former USBA and NABA Super Featherweight champion Lamont “Bay” Pearson of Capitol Heights, MD. Pearson (21-3-1, 11 KO’s) will be fighting for the vacant USBA Lightweight title against an opponent to be named later. Pearson has not fought since his eight-round unanimous decision win over Ivan Alvarez on January 27 in Glen Burnie, MD.

The carpenter is welterweight Jose Luis Almanzar of Woodbridge, VA. After Almanzar, a native of the Dominican Republic won his first four bouts and seven of his first eight, Almanzar has gone 0-4 with 1 NC. Almanzar lost his last contest by six-round unanimous decision over Jaime Palma on February 5 in Washington, DC. Almanzar will face DC’s Spencer Harsley (1-3).

The trash collector is middleweight Orazio “The Razor” Robinson of Woodbridge. Robinson gets up at 4:30 every weekday morning to collect trash for Fairfax County, VA. After losing his first bout, Robinson is 5-0-2 in his last seven bouts. Three of his last four wins have been by knockout. Robinson will take on Jesse Orta (4-5-1, three KO’s.) Orta is looking to break a five-bout losing streak.

Headlining the “Battle of Virginia” is the return of Great Falls, VA’s Jimmy Lange in his first bout since his appearance in NBC’s “The Contender.” Lange will battle Perry Ballard of Martinsburg, WVA in a 12-round match for the vacant World Boxing Empire (WBE) Junior Middleweight title.

Two highly touted Virginia amateurs will make their pro debut on this card. Junior middleweight “Money” Mike Sawyer, a George Mason University graduate from Fairfax, is waiting for an opponent to be confirmed. Sawyer is a loan officer and majored in Finance at George Mason. Also 140-pounder Kay Koroma will make his debut against Terrell Davis of DC (0-2).

The card is promoted by Keystone Boxing of Temple Hills, MD. The matchmaker is Chris Middendorf.

The tickets are priced at $30, $50, $75, $150 (reserved ringside), $225 (premium ringside) and $350 (VIP ringside) and are available through all Ticketmaster outlets including the Patriot Center box office and online at www.ticketmaster.com Also, you can purchase tickets via Phonecharge at 703-573-SEAT, 202-397-SEAT or 410-547-SEAT. GMU students receive $10 off the $30 general admission ticket by presenting a valid student ID (up to four tickets) at the Patriot Center box office.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

HEY GARY, PER A CONVERSATION AT OLD SCHOOL BOXING GYM. "MONEY" MIKE SAWYER AND ADRIAN DAVIS ARE DONATIONG HALF OF THE PURSE TO FLOOD RELEIF VICTIMS FROM THE CATASTROPHE IN NEW ORLEANS. THIS IS THE KIND OF PRESS BOXING NEEDS. I'M SURE THE KID AIN'T MAKING MUCH BUT HE'S GIVING WHAT HE CAN. HAVEN'T MET HIM, BUT YOU GOTTA RESPECT AN UNDERCARD FIGHTER TAKING THE INITIATIVE LIKE THAT. I BET A LITTLE PRESS ON FIGHTNEWS WOULD GET OTHERS INVOLVED IN THE VA PROMOTION AND MAYBE THE BOXING WORLD IN GENRERAL INVOLVED.

Gary Digital Williams said...

Thanks for the info on that. I will follow up on this as soon as I find out how many boxers on that card are doing the same thing.