Its promoters may be gilding the lily a bit in describing it as ?the hottest New England pro boxing show of the 21st century,? but, top to bottom, Lou DiBella?s March 12 ?Diamond Elite? card at Foxwoods ? which has at least one undefeated fighter in each of the eight bouts -? looms as the most attractive these parts have seen in a few years.
In addition to the co-main events, in which 2010 Fighter of the Year Sergio Martinez defends his middleweight title against 37-0 Ukrainian Sergiy Dzinziruk and Ireland?s Andy Lee takes on 19-0 Freddie Roach-trained Scottish middleweight Craig McEwan, the undercard will showcase half a dozen prospects, including two New Englanders -? Providence junior welterweight Demetrius Andrade (12-0) and Quincy lightweight Ryan Kielzcewski (9-0).
The sleeper on the card could be 13-0 Dominican featherweight Javier Fortuna. Like Martinez, Fortuna is trained by Gabriel Sarmiento. He made an impressive New York debut in December, knocking out previously unbeaten Victor Valenzuela inside two rounds.
Also on the bill are 3-0 Greek-American heavyweight Sonya Lamonakas, a schoolteacher and four-time New York Golden Gloves champion, along with Long Island light heavyweight Seanie Monaghan (5-0) and Puerto Rican welterweight Jonathan Gonzalez (11-0).
For ticket information, call 866-646-0609.
Card Pacs a punch
Tickets for the Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley fight May 7 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas went on sale at 10 a.m. on Jan. 31, and within three hours, the first 16,000 disappeared.
Even as Pac-Man and Mosley were in the midst of a cross-country tour hyping the pay-per-view event, WBC president Jose Sulaiman announced that he (or, officially, his ubiquitous Board of Governors) had relieved Pacquiao of the organization?s junior middleweight title he won by beating Antonio Margarito three months earlier.
One would assume the only title at stake in Pacquiao-Mosley will be the WBO welterweight belt Pacquiao won from Miguel Cotto two years back. . . .
Pacquiao?s new hairstyle appears to have received more attention than the fight itself during the first two stops of the tour. Perhaps it?s a generational thing, but what is frequently described as a ?Justin Bieber bob? looks more like a retro George Harrison, circa 1963, to us. . . .
The Showtime/CBS alliance will initiate its fullcourt press April 2, when the first Boxing 360 promo touting the Pacquiao-Mosley Showtime PPV card is scheduled to air on CBS at noon as a lead-in to the network?s Final Four coverage.
Jewel of a prize
Pacquiao won the first ?Diamond Belt? from the WBC, but there soon will be another.
Los Bandidos trotted out the second (unless it?s the same one) for the Martinez-Dzinziruk press conference in New York last Wednesday. The trinket, which will be on offer to the winner at Foxwoods next month, supposedly is encrusted with 500 precious diamonds, out of which, Martinez? adviser, Sampson Lewkowicz, proposed, ?Sergio could make many engagement rings.?
WBC official Mauricio Sulaiman didn?t think much of our suggestion that we take the Diamond Belt five blocks uptown to have it appraised by a 47th Street jeweler. The Diamond Belt, along with Sulaiman fils, went straight back to Mexico City.
Pole no sitter
That strange contract under which Tomasz Adamek will fight a Klitschko ? any Klitschko ? in September doesn?t mean the Polish heavyweight intends to remain idle for the next seven months.
Adamek has chosen a familiar face ? and a Klitschko-sized (and Klitschko-aged) opponent ? for a spring tune-up. Kathy Duva of Main Events announced that 37-year-old Dorchester-based heavyweight Kevin McBride will face Adamek on April 9 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Adamek-McBride originally was announced for April 23, but when the proposed Juan Manuel Marquez-Erik Morales fight was canceled, it left a new date free from PPV competition, so Main Events took it. . . .
Another erstwhile Adamek opponent, Providence heavyweight Jason Estrada, was granted a release from his promotional contract with Bob Duffy?s 360 Boxing. Estrada, who has dropped three of his last four fights, was stopped in 10 rounds by Franklin Lawrence last month in a fight billed for the Caribbean Boxing Federation heavyweight title. Now 30, Estrada returned to his roots and signed with Rhode Island matchmaker Ted Panagiotis.
Splits-ville
HBO hopes to show a split-feed doubleheader April 16, with Amir Khan defending his WBA 140-pound belt against Ireland?s Paul McCloskey in Manchester, England, coupled with an Andre Berto WBC welterweight title defense in the United States, supposedly against Victor Ortiz.
Ortiz, who would be moving up in weight, has yet to sign for the bout, and the prospect of someone else assuming the opponent?s role increases with every day. DiBella, Berto?s promoter, has no firm site arrangement, but there remains an excellent chance the bout could wind up at Foxwoods. . . .
New Haven?s Chad Dawson, who had a rematch clause in the contract when he lost to WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal last year, will be rewarded for his patience with a spot on the undercard of what looms as a more compelling rematch ? Pascal-Bernard Hopkins II, probably in Montreal on May 21. . . .
Condolences to Dangerous Dana Rosenblatt, who lost his No. 1 fan when his dad, Steve, died at age 67 two weeks ago. . . .
Happy Birthday, Larry Merchant. . . .
For an interview with George Kimball and ?At The Fights? co-editor John Schulian go to www.loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=342
