Red Hot Chili Peppers playing Bernie Sanders benefit at Ace Hotel!

Red Hot Chili Peppers playing Bernie Sanders benefit at Ace Hotel!
Mark E. Ortega
Grimygoods.com
January 27, 2016

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are playing a benefit show for Bernie Sanders as part of the Feel the Bern effort to raise money for the presidential candidate at the Theatre at the Ace Hotel on Friday, February 5. Pre-sale tickets are on sale now and are priced between $40 and $2,000.

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Detroit Lions hire Bob Quinn as general manager

Detroit Lions hire Bob Quinn as general manager
Mark E. Ortega
NFL.com
January 8, 2016

The Detroit Lions have found their new general manager.

Detroit will hire Patriots director of pro scouting Bob Quinn to fill the role and has an agreement in principle, Lions president Rod Wood announced Friday. The soon-to-be new GM had the support of Patriots coach Bill Belichick, NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported.

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Bashaud Breeland cited for possession of marijuana

Bashaud Breeland cited for possession of marijuana
Mark E. Ortega
NFL.com
August 13, 2014


Washington Redskins rookie cornerback Bashaud Breeland was cited for misdemeanor possession of marijuana on Monday night, according to a statement obtained by NFL Media from Virginia Commonwealth University PIO Corey Byers.

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Boxing Around the Bay

Boxing Around the Bay
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
March 9, 2014


Sacramento’s Robb signs with manager, fights Apr. 5

Sacramento featherweight Guy Robb has proven himself to be one of the most consistently exciting fighters in northern California since his professional debut in 2010. Due to the lack of pro shows in the region, Robb only fought twice in 2013. The inactivity will hopefully come to an end as Robb signed with local manager Herb Stone on Tuesday, the fighter told the Gazette. The 25-year old Robb (12-1, 5 KOs) put on a gutsy display for a nationally televised audience in his lone defeat, a January 2012 loss to fellow unbeaten Joel Diaz Jr.

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CSAC provides stance on TRTs

CSAC provides stance on TRTs
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
March 1, 2014


Thursday, the combat sports world was shaken by the news that the Nevada State Athletic Commission has banned testosterone-replacement-therapy (TRT) in all combat sports.

That ruling was passed by a unanimous vote, also eliminating the potential for fighters in the future to apply for an exemption for therapeutic use of testosterone.

The news left many wondering how commissions in other large and influential states would react.

Saturday afternoon, the California State Athletic Commission provided RingTV.com with their stance on TRT moving forward, through CSAC executive director Andy Foster.

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Omar Figueroa off Mar. 8 card with left wrist injury

Omar Figueroa off Mar. 8 card with left wrist injury
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
March 1, 2014

The Mar. 8 WBC lightweight title bout pitting champion Omar Figueroa against Ricardo Alvarez has been scrapped, according to Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker Eric Gomez.

Gomez told RingTV.com on Saturday afternoon via email that Figueroa suffered a injury that will take him off the Showtime PPV card.

Figueroa's trainer Joel Diaz informed RingTV.com that the injury was to the fighter's left wrist, which occured during sparring Friday. Alvarez will stay on the card, and Golden Boy currently is looking for a new opponent, per Gomez, but there is "no replacement yet."

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Hand injury delays ring return of Erik Morales

Hand injury delays ring return of Erik Morales
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
March 1, 2014


Mexican ring legend Erik Morales will have to wait a little bit longer to make his return to the ring.

Friday, it was confirmed that Morales (52-9, 36 knockouts) suffered a hand injury in preparation for his Mar. 22 bout against Jorge Paez Jr., which was supposed to take place in Monterrey and end a 17-month absence for the four-division titlist.

Instead, it is likely that Jose Miguel Cotto, the older brother of Miguel Cotto, will take the place of Morales against Paez Jr., according to a source at Zanfer Promotions, who handles Paez Jr. This is contrary to reports stating that Colombian slugger Breidis Prescott will be the replacement.

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Vivian Harris fails medical, out of Bradley Skeete fight

Vivian Harris fails medical, out of Bradley Skeete fight
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
February 12, 2014


A boxing commission has finally stepped up to the plate and denied former junior welterweight titleholder Vivian Harris a fight.

Harris (31-9-2, 19 knockouts) was due to fight unbeaten British welterweight Bradley Skeete this weekend on the undercard of a doubleheader featuring heavyweight rivals Tyson Fury and Dereck Chisora in separate bouts. Harris was scratched from the card when he failed a pre-fight medical. Skeete (14-0, 4 KOs) will now face Christopher Sebire of France.

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Mosley-Mundine likely off

Mosley-Mundine likely off
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
October 21, 2013


A source close to the situation has indicated that the junior middleweight bout between Shane Mosley and Anthony Mundine, set to happen Wednesday in Australia, is likely off.

The source told RingTV.com on Monday afternoon that the promoter, in this case, Vlad Wharton, breached the contract and that Mosley would not be fighting.

The Daily Telegraph reported early Tuesday that the bout was in peril, claiming that Mosley wanted a sizable percentage of his purse to be paid up front, as there was concern the money wouldn't arrive otherwise.

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Shane Mosley Pulls Out of Mundine Fight

Shane Mosley Pulls Out of Mundine Fight
Mark E. Ortega
Aus-Boxing.com
October 21, 2013


Wednesday’s junior middleweight clad between Anthony Mundine and Shane Mosley is off after Mosley’s side demanded a sizable percentage of his guaranteed purse be paid up front.

The condition wasn’t met and Mosley flew out of Sydney airport at 11am this morning with his team.

Ticket sales hadn’t gone as well as they were expected to, with an estimated 2,000 seats or so being sold with just a few days left to go. Mosley didn’t turn up at the early press conference and has declined to speak with the media.

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Garcia clarifies Chavez Jr. arrangement

Garcia clarifies Chavez Jr. arrangement
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
October 17, 2013


It was just a few weeks ago that Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. had every conceivable advantage against Bryan Vera in an HBO-televised bout in Carson, Calif. Chavez Jr. needed the benefit of the doubt from the three ringside judges in order to earn a unanimous decision.

That's applying the loosest form of the definition of the word “earn.” Fight score collector Bobby Hunter tallied 59 media scores after the fight and found that none of them scored the fight for Chavez Jr. Six people scored the fight a draw while 53 found it in favor of Vera.

The poor performance by Chavez Jr. came in his first fight without Freddie Roach since the loss to Sergio Martinez last September on pay-per-view. He had his famous father helping in the corner on fight night, but it was clear that was just a quick fix as they likely anticipated a less game opponent than Vera turned out to be.

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HBO Sports boss divulges Legendary Nights details

HBO Sports boss divulges Legendary Nights details
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
September 27, 2013


HBO Sports president Ken Hershman confirmed some details about the upcoming Legendary Nights documentary based on the Arturo Gatti-Micky Ward trilogy while in Los Angeles for the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Bryan Vera fight.

“It'll air on Oct. 19 after the fight between Mike Alvarado and Ruslan Provodnikov,” Hershman told RingTV.com on Friday after Chavez Jr. and Vera weighed in ahead of tomorrow's fight in Carson, Calif.

It'll be the first installment of the acclaimed series since the first set of episodes ran in 2003. Incidentally, Gatti and Ward waged 30 rounds of war against each other between 2002 and 2003 before becoming the best of friends. Now a decade removed from the fights and the last run of Legendary Nights, it could be considered perfect timing for the series' return.

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Shafikov signs with Top Rank, makes U.S. debut Aug. 17

Shafikov signs with Top Rank, makes U.S. debut Aug. 17
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
July 24, 2013


Lightweight contender Denis Shafikov of Russia signed a deal with Las Vegas-based promotional giant Top Rank Boxing, RingTV.com learned on Wednesday.

Shafikov will make his Top Rank and American debut on the Aug. 17 card headlined by Juan Diaz-Adailton de Jesus, which takes place in Laredo, Tex.

The card will be televised by UniMas on Solo Boxeo, but no word yet whether or not Shafikov's fight will make air. Along with the Diaz bout, Olympian Jose Ramirez fights.

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Cotto-Rodriguez agreed to in principle, manager says

Cotto-Rodriguez agreed to in principle, manager says
Mark E. Ortega
July 18, 2013
RingTV.com


The proposed Oct. 5 fight between Miguel Cotto and Delvin Rodriguez has essentially been agreed to by both sides, according to Rodriguez's manager A.J. Galante.

"Delvin's promoter, Joe DeGuardia, and I, have an agreement in principle with Cotto's people," Galante told RingTV.com on Wednesday evening.

"We are working on finalizing the documents. It's not 100 percent, but I would be surprised if it's not done by the weekend. But I stress that it is not 100 percent done yet."

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Frampton out of Saturday fight with Briceno

Frampton out of Saturday fight with Briceno
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
July 16, 2013


Belfast junior featherweight contender Carl Frampton announced via Twitter on Tuesday that he will be unable to fight Everth Briceno this Saturday at London's Wembley Stadium as scheduled, due to an ear injury.

Frampton's tweets read:

"I'm upset to have to announce that I have been ruled out of my fight on Saturday by the BBBofC. An old injury mildly reoccurred in a spar. A specialist initially informed me I was fit to box. Today, the BBBofC ruled me out. I'm so, so sorry, especially to the people who were coming to support me. It has been an amazing camp and I'm gutted I won't be able to showcase my improvement in Wembley."

The bout was to take place on the monster Frank Warren card featuring Dereck Chisora against Malik Scott and Billy Joe Saunders against Gary O'Sullivan. Frampton was making his debut with Warren after jumping ship from Matchroom Sport following his win over Kiko Martinez in February.

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Bits & Pieces: Friday Night Fights notes

Bits & Pieces: Friday Night Fights notes
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
July 12, 2013


Tonight, a well-matched ESPN2 Friday Night Fights card takes place in Las Vegas at Texas Station Casino as Chris Avalos meets Drian Francisco in the 10-round junior featherweight main event while unbeaten prospects Abie Han and Glen Tapia put their “0s” on the line against each other in a 154-pound bout.

Top Rank matchmaker Brad Goodman shared the story on how Han-Tapia came together.

“Louie Burke (Han's trainer) informed us they were ready for a step up, so we offered Mat Korobov (who is coming off a career-best stoppage of Ossie Duran),” Goodman told RingTV.com shortly after Thursday’s weigh-in finished up.

“They told us, ‘No, we want Glen Tapia,’ and I said, ‘but Louie, Tapia is a 154-pounder.’ Louie told me Abie can make 154 pounds easy and that they wanted the fight.”

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EPIX taking a break from boxing--at least for now

EPIX taking a break from boxing--at least for now

Mark E. Ortega

RingTV.com

July 5, 2013

Beginning with March 2011's heavyweight title fight between Vitali Klitschko and Odlanier Solis, little-known premium cable network Epix jumped headfirst into the boxing game, televising European cards that were getting passed on by HBO and Showtime.

However, since this past May's heavyweight title fight between Wladimir Klitschko and Francesco Pianeta, the network has been mum regarding any new fights on their schedule. In fact, the Epix Sports Twitter account has been silent since May 16, causing one to wonder if the network has decided to bow out of the fight game for good.

"There are no boxing events planned this summer, but we remain interested in great opportunities that are a good fit for Epix," said Epix chief of staff Nora Ryan on Friday afternoon after being reached by e-mail.

Ryan continued by saying they are expanding their Epix Sports documentary programming, with several documentaries currently in development. Ryan said a few of these involve boxing and that she would notify RingTV of an impending announcement.

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Guzman fails to make weight--again

Guzman fails to make weight--again
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
June 27, 2013

There aren't many fighters that have been blessed with as much natural talent as Joan Guzman of the Dominican Republic. Of that crop, few have squandered their talent away as badly as Guzman, a former titleholder at 122 and 130 pounds.

Thursday evening, Guzman added to his list of career woes as he missed the junior welterweight limit of 140 pounds for his WBA interim title bout against Vicente Mosquera (himself attempting to rebound from career demons).

Guzman didn't just miss the 140 pound limit. If this were a welterweight bout, he would have tipped the scales heavy by 1.2 pounds, as he came in at 148.2.

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Foreman returns July 24

Foreman returns July 24
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
June 26, 2013


Comebacking junior middleweight Yuri Foreman will return to action on July 24, taking on journeyman Tony Hirsch in an eight-round bout at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City. Marlon Sullivan, Hirsch's manager, confirmed the information to RingTV on Wednesday afternoon.

This will mark Foreman's third fight since returning to the ring following a nearly two-year layoff. He announced his retirement after losing to Pawel Wolak in March of 2011. The loss was Foreman's second in a row, having lost his previous bout to Miguel Cotto in front of a raucous crowd at Yankee Stadium.

Foreman (30-2, 8 KOs) lost to Cotto after injuring his leg during the fight but showed tremendous heart in continuing on one leg until the fight was stopped in round nine. Cotto picked up Foreman's WBA 154-pound title with the win.

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Final chapter, final Page likely written for former champ

Final chapter, final Page likely written for former champ
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
June 18, 2013

A week ago today, former WBA welterweight titlist James Page was arrested in Northern California in connection to six bank robberies that took place around the Bay Area over the past six months. According to the Bay Area News Group, he is being held on $395,000 bail.

It was just over a year ago that Page emerged from prison following an 11-year sentence stemming from a bank robbery in Atlanta in 2001. After serving his time, Page left prison a cut and ripped 159 pounds, intent on returning to the ring in an attempt to find old glory.

Page's comeback received little fanfare, though he took it much more seriously than most fortysomethings coming off more than a decade of inactivity. Page sparred with the late Omar Henry at King's Gym in Oakland, as well as junior middleweight contender Alfredo Angulo under the watchful eye of Angulo's trainer, Virgil Hunter.

In doing a story for the February edition of the UK publication Boxing Monthly, this writer recalls discussing Page with Hunter when it first became apparent that he was out of jail and looking to return to the ring. Hunter instantly brushed off the idea of it. He'd had a change of heart after seeing Page go toe-to-toe with Angulo in sparring.

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