By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse
NEW YORK -- Starting with Saturday night's HBO-televised featherweight championship double-header at Madison Square Garden, Top Rank Promoter Bob Arum told FanHouse that "one dollar for every ticket we sell to our boxing matches for the rest of the year will go to Haitian relief, starting with Jan. 23."
On Saturday night at MSG's WaMu Theater, Arum is promoting WBA champ Yuriorkis Gamboa (16-0, 14 knockouts) and southpaw WBO king Steven Luevano (37-1-1, 15 KOs) against Rogers Mtagwa (26-13-2, 18 KOs) and Juan Manuel Lopez (27-0, 24 KOs), respectively, in title bouts.
Luevano is pictured above, at far right, with Lopez on the near left.
The proceeds will come from events that are included in Top Rank Promotions' 36-show "Top Rank Live" series with Fox Sports and Fox Sports en Español, as well as the March 13 defense of his WBO welterweight (147 pounds) belt by seven-division champion Manny Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) against Joshua Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs).
"Pacquiao and Clottey should have around 60,000 people, so by the end of the year, this is going to mount up to a significant amount of money," said Arum. "All Americans should do their part to help the Haitians in their hour of need. We're doing a little bit ourselves."
Arum also said "we're definitely doing" a fight between WBA junior middleweight (154 pounds) champion Yuri Foreman (28-0, eight KOs) and former two-time welterweight champion Miguel Cotto (34-2, 27 KOs) on June 12 at Madison Square Garden.
Felix Sturm vs. Ricardo Mayora?
Former world champion, Ricardo Mayora (28-7-1, 22 KOs), could be in line for a title shot against Germany's middleweight (160 pounds) champion, Felix Sturm (33-2-1, 14 KOs), "sometime in the middle of this year," said Mayorga's attorney, Tony Gonzalez, adding that the bout could take place in June or July.
"Ricardo has been in Florida, just taking a sabbatical at this point. He's there, and he's going to be back in the gym shortly," said Gonzalez of the 36-year-old Mayorga. "We'll see if he can pull that off, he'll be back in the mix. It will be interesting."
Mayorga dethroned Andrew Lewis for the WBA welterweight (147 pounds) crown by fifth-round knockout in May 2002, then twice defeated the late Vernon Forrest, adding the WBC welterweight title.
Mayorga lost both belts to then-IBF king Cory Spinks by decision in December 2003, then earned the vacant WBC junior middleweight crown via decision over Michele Piccirillo in August 2005 before being dethroned in May 2006 with a fifth-round knockout loss to Oscar De La Hoya.
Mayorga has not been in the ring since September 2008, when he was stopped in the 12th round by Shane Mosley in a junior middleweight bout for the vacant WBA inter-continental belt.
Arvin returns vs. Wolak
Baltimore's 34-year-old Ishmael Arvin (15-1-4, seven KOs) will end a 17-month layoff when he enters the ring for his Madison Square Garden debut on Saturday night opposite Polish-born, 28-year-old Pawel Wolek (25-1, 17 KOs) of Mount Arlington, N.J.
"I feel great. I'm ready to fight. No butterflies yet. I know that they'll probably come, but you can't control that. But I'm ready to fight," said Arvin, who is 1-1-2 in his past four bouts, including a sixth-round knockout of Anthony Thompson in his last fight in August 2008.
"I've known about the fight for two months, and I've probably sparred 80 rounds. I know I've been picked as 'the opponent, but I'm in great shape and I'm ready," said Arvin. "Come on, this is Madison Square Garden, so you know, I feel like Sugar Ray Robinson."
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
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