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Philippines, 08 Feb 2026 |
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Arizona Boxing News & Notes With Don Smith: Two Events Bite The Dust, BMBP Card & More By Don Smith PhilBoxing.com Sat, 11 Jul 2015 Boxing fans, It is quite obvious to me that the much ballyhooed ?Celebrity in the Making, Reality Boxing Show ?introduced by Miss Gwen Ran?cher was going nowhere when the concept was announced several months ago. In reality, it was more of a hyped rumor that never materialized into anything worth circling the forever changing calendar dates. Miss Gwen recently condemned the Arizona boxing community for not backing her proposed venture or misadventure which was never fully explained and had most people thinking the vague project was more of a mid-boggling scam than a principled idea with merit. She threw out some awesome names in her online PR releases, Carbajal, Tyson, Ali, but none of these boxing superstars gave the mysterious Miss Ran?cher permission to use their names in any reality show campaign. At last report, she was scrapping the ?Reality Boxing Show ?project in favor of a filmed tribute to the late Blues Hall of Fame singer and guitarist B. B. King. One of my readers threatened to report Miss Gwen to the office of the Arizona Attorney General for what he thought was a fraudulent scheme. I have a direct contact number to one of Jerry Springer?s producers if reality show viewers want to have some fun with the flamboyant Miss Gwen. If you are wondering what happened to the MMA USA Expo 15 event scheduled for June 13-14 at the Phoenix Convention and then moved to July 25 at the same venue; so am I! I met Mark Green (associate team member of the event) at the Arizona Boxing & MMA Commission earlier this year and he told me that Iron Boy, Top Rank was in lock step with his organization to present MMA USA Expo 15 at the Phoenix Convention Center. Mr. Green was the epitome confidence during our chat at the commission and we talked on a regular basis until someone from the MMA community called me and described Green as a bit of a con artist. The informant said Green had made numerous promises he didn?t keep and his onetime allies were beginning to cast doubt about an Expo that was to showcase professional boxing, amateur boxing, wrestling, MMA, body building contest, Tattoo exhibit, bikini contest and hundreds of vendors. He (Green) promised a lot and I was surprised he didn?t mention a tightrope walk by Nik Wallenda across the majestic Phoenix City skyline while being attacked by hostile fire ants. Dates changed and co-promoters (Iron Boy & Top Rank) scrapped their involvement in the project. Green continued to insist the Expo was on track even though the date was changed twice and the Phoenix Convention Center and Arizona Boxing & MMA Commission pulled the show from their calendar list of events. I continue to dial his number (pun intended), but he doesn?t respond nor does his voice message mention anything about the Expo which has become an expose on him. How many people got burnt is hard to say; but no tickets were sold, so that?s good. Boxing News: Undefeated Light Heavyweight Contender Trevor McCumby, Busted Knuckle Boxing, is scheduled to fight in Fallon Nevada on August 15. Fighting action in the summer is lighter due to the menacing heat in Arizona?Super lightweight Luis Oliveras is back sparring after suffering rib cartilage injury. He was seen working out with Jesus ?El Martillo Gonzales and Joey Ruelas, both middleweights. Ruelas fights on the Iron Boy XXIII card at the Celebrity Theatre on July 25 in Phoenix. Gonzales is more or less retired, but spars occasionally to stay in shape. His retirement isn?t official, so who knows what the former NABF super middleweight champion is up to?....Arizona boxing favorite Andrew Hernandez takes on NABF middleweight champion Louis Rose at FT. McDowell (WE KO PA Resort & Conference Center) in Fountain Hills Arizona on August 15. According to an inside source, it will be carried on LA TV; check your cable carrier to see if it is available in your area. If your schedule negates watching it live, delayed version hits the tube on 8/22?.Mario Esparza?s issues with making weight led some boxing insiders to suggest his boxing career might be over; not so according to Mario who was scheduled to fight in El Paso Texas on Friday July 10; don?t bet the farm on his fighting.?.. Hammer boxing prot?g? Cliff ?The Gift? Jordan (1-0) won his debut fight on the Steve Ayala boxing card (private show) last month in Phoenix. The 140 lb. fighter has no confirmed date for his next bout?enigmatic lightweight Ray Lampkin Jr. (8-0) was seen at a local gym (Phoenix) hinting that he wanted to restart his career only to retreat from his promise and disappear again. Lampkin a very talented fighter fought and won in May, but at age 32, he needs to get busy or drop the pretense?.Results from the 7/11/15 amateur boxing show (Ray Kroc Center) in Phoenix will be reported in out next issue?.Boxing Coach Damien Stone returns to Maricopa County Superior Court (7/13/15) to face his ongoing case of alleged sexual solicitation charges filed by a Tempe, Arizona undercover police officer. The arrest was made in the spring of 2014; no trial date announced! Scottsdale amateur boxer Lily Keating has an offer to fight in California; more details in next column?.Please Floyd, fight GGG or Thurman, next! Boxing Update: Bout Maker Boxing Promotions released press release announcing their ?Rumble in the Desert? Card on August 29 (La Princesa in Phoenix) and Walter Santibanes has been removed from the card for an unexplained reason. Mr. Santibanes failed to make weight his last fight; but we can?t speculate on the reasoning behind his latest scratch. BMBP CEO Maritza Miranda Saenz confirmed the scratch and went on to state the fighter/promoter relationship with Santibanes (a former headliner for BMBP) is officially kaput( no mas for the French speaking Italian) for now! Ms. Saenz did forward the following names of fighters inked for the card: Cesar Valenzuela, Elihu Soto, Francisco Chavez, Tim Riddell, Misael Chacon, David Demore, Roger Davis, hard luck Jesse Ruiz and Jose Luis Gallegos, who won via early knockout in his last boxing encounter in Tucson, Arizona. BMBP will once again partner with VET TIX, a valley organization that channels tickets to qualified veterans for a very moderate delivery fee (four tickets). BMBP will also donate a portion of event proceeds to One Way Only Sports League, a valley non-profit organization that provides low-cost sports programs to both youth and adults. Event doors will open at 6 PM with the first bell chime set for 7 PM. Tickets are priced at $40.00 & $65.00 with children five years of age and under, admitted at a reduced price. Parking for the event at the La Princesa venues is free and ticket purchases and additional info is available at the BMBP office, 3614 N. 15th Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona; suave announcer JR Cardenas will handle mike chores for the third consecutive show. Trivia question, how many times has a promoter used the word ?desert? in promoting a boxing show in Arizona? Answer: too many times! As a former headline writer, I understand the temptation to use a quick fix; Battle at the Princesa sounds too sexy. Iron Boy News: Roy Jones Jr. Promotions is co-promoting their August 15 Ft. McDowell show with Iron Boy Promotions and Iron Boy prot?g? Francisco C. De Vaca is penciled in as the co-main against a to be determined opponent. Iron Boy is hoping to feature four (including de Vaca) of their fighters on the Ft. McDowell card. It is one card collaboration, at least for now. Former WBA flyweight; Paul Romero (4-0-1) and Jose Herrera (2-0) are two other IB signed pugilists mentioned for the card. Former WBA Flyweight Champion Giovanni Segura has been added to the Iron Boy XXIII card at the Celebrity Theatre on July 25 in Phoenix; tickets available online and at the Celebrity box-office. Until Next Time Click here to view a list of other articles written by Don Smith.  |
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