Posts Tagged ‘Jake Giuriceo’

Things are falling into place for the first-ever “Ghost Productions” card to be held this Friday, July 1, at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio.  Thursday afternoon, Jack Loew and Kelly Pavlik addressed the media and the fighters were officially weighed-in by the governing body of Ohio boxing.  Loew (pictured above ,with Rumble Time’s Steve Smith, Dannie Williams, and Kelly Pavlik), commented that the tickets are still on sale at the Covelli Centre box office and there are still seats remaining.  He also announced that there will be an intermission after the fourth fight, but because of the unique setting (the Covelli Centre Parking Lot), there will be a grand display of fireworks.  Can’t have those in Atlantic City.

When Pavlik took the podium, he said he was excited because this card has some really good fights on it and that the Youngstown fans will get to see some great boxing.  Ghost Productions’ initial endeavor will be good for the ring action.  Many local up-and-coming boxers are on the card and the fan support should be good for the home team.

The Darnell Boone vs Romaro Johnson fight has been cancelled, but the rest of the card is intact and there will be many great things to look forward to.  Youngstown’s Juan Salinas will finally get the spotlight in a professional ring when he has his first pro bout.  Loew has ranted about Salinas for the past three years.

Billy Lyell, from Niles, Ohio is pumped about being on the card.  “I feel great, I am in the best shape of my life.  The fights I was in against world champions has helped me.  I’m not going to see too many new looks that I already haven’t.  I’m real excited about fighting at home, it’s going to be a great event.”

Lyell has had some fierce competition in his path the past couple of fights, most notably a 10-round decision loss to undefeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. that he took on short notice.  He has sprung back since the January 29 setback earlier this year and defeated Brian Paul in Oklahoma on May 5.  Lyell is a very active fighter who gives his all each time out, not known as a knockout threat, he is very crowd-pleasing because he moves forwards and throws a lot of punches.

Speaking of local fan favorites, Jake Guiriceo (11-0-1) will be fighting Winston Mathis.  Giuriceo, from Campbell, Ohio has a strong and passionate local following and is another busy fighter who keeps active for three minutes at a time.

“I’m definitely ready, I have trained very hard.  I’m not looking for a knockout, I’m not a perfect athlete, I just want to win a good, safe fight”, claimed The Bull.  “I’m fighting for some kind of a title at Cene Park in Struthers on August 13, so I want to use this opportunity to sharpen things up.  It’s an absolute blessing to have a majority of my fights in Ohio.  I love the fans here, they are supportive and give me a boost when they are behind me.”

The Main Event will feature new WBC Continental Americas Champion, Dannie Williams.  Williams is 17-1 with 14 KO’s and is coming off of a title-winning effort in St. Louis, where he knocked out Manuel Leyva in the first round to secure his first major belt.  Williams is ranked in the Top-15, 135 pound fighters in the world and has no pushover in facing Oscar Cuero in the feature contest.  Cuero is 13-6 but his losses have been for the most part have come to some big time opponents (Monty Meza Clay, Jonathan Maicelo, and Emmanuel Lucero).  The three fighters mentioned have a combined record of 75-9-1, he is no pushover.

Williams has been training hard.  In fact it’s about all he is focused on these days.  “I get up and train, I eat, then I run.  After that I train some more.  Being in Youngstown has been great, I’m really looking forward to fighting on a big card like this one here in front of the hometown fans.”

The first bout is at 7 p.m. and it will be worth checking out.  The tickets are affordable, the setting is unique, and the action will speak for itself.  Hence, this card is “The Real Deal“.

Ghost Productions has announced the entire final card for the Friday Night Fights to take place at the Covelli Centre on July 1.  Jack Loew, Kelly Pavlik, and Mike Pavlik, Sr., make up the new promotional team.  They have the local map pretty well-covered with young professional talent for the debut card.

The tickets are very affordable, the matches were made to be competitive, and the card is set as follows:

Main Event

Dannie Williams (17-1, 14 ko’s) Yo, OH vs Oscar Cuelo (13-6, 1 ko) Brooklyn, NY

Undercard

Darnell Boone (18-17, 7 ko’s) Yo, OH vs Romaro Johnson (11-3, 6 ko’s) Cleveland

Billy Lyell (23-9, 5 ko’s) Niles, OH vs Michael Walker (19-8, 12 ko’s) Chicago, IL

Jake Giuriceo (11-0-1, 3 ko’s) Yo, OH vs Winston Mathis (7-3) Stockebridge, GA

Anthony Pietrantonio (6-7, 5 ko’s) Yo, OH vs William Prieto (5-5-1, 2 ko’s) Lorain

Juan Salinas (above) (0-0) Youngstown, OH vs David Burns (0-2) Cleveland, OH

Marco Hall (0-0) vs Emil Brooks (0-3) Buffalo, NY

Vincent O’Neil (1-1-1, 1 ko) Las Vegas vs Kenneth Addison (0-0)

Kevin Dotson (0-0) vs Daniel Crabtree (0-2)

With a great card in place and the area buzzing, this should be a great night of boxing that the Youngstown Area fans need to come out and enjoy!

On July 1, 2011, a brand new Youngstown business will be open for business.  “Ghost Productions” is the promotional combination of Jack Loew, Mike Pavlik Sr., and Kelly Pavlik.  The trio who run the promotion will hold their first event, simply called Friday Night Fights.  The event will be held outdoors, weather permitting, at the Covelli Centre.  If there is a threat of rain, the event will be moved inside the Centre.

“There is an awful lot of local talent and this is a way to let them showcase their skills”, commented Loew.  “Don’t get me wrong, it is a professional boxing card featuring Dannie Williams in the main event, but we would rather fill the card with as many local fighters as we can.”

Loew said that some of the other local fighters who will compete on July 1 will be Marco Hall, Anthony Pientono, Darnell Boone, Billy Lyell, and possibly Jake Giuriceo and Durrell Richardson.  One young man who Loew has been high on for a couple of years, Juan Salinas, will make his professional debut on the card.

Tickets for the inaugural Friday Night Fights go on sale Friday, June 3.  Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster and are very reasonable at $10 and up (plus Ticketmaster fees and tax).  Tickets go onsale to the public at 10 a.m.

The absence of the Golden Gloves, formerly held at the Struthers Fieldhouse in the 80’s and 90’s, could make the ticket even more appealing for local boxing fans.

“It is a fairly priced ticket for a very good lineup of young local fighters,” said Loew.  “We would like to get television coverage as we continue to grow using some of the connections that Kelly [Pavlik] and I have made along the way.  Stations like ESPN, VS, and Showtime who air boxing regularly are targets.”