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Training Camp Notes: Sullivan Barrera
From Cuban Defector to Rising Prospect in the Light Heavyweight Division
Big Bear Lake, CA: On July 25, 2015 undefeated Cuban light heavyweight Sullivan Barrera (15-0, 10 KOs) will face his biggest challenge to date in the ring since his professional debut in 2009, Vasily "The Professor" Lepikhin (17-1, 9 KOs), but for the 33 year-old from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the hardest time in his life is most definitely in his past.
In 2009, Sullivan defected from Cuba with four other fighters from the Cuban National Team. It was his third attempt to flee Castro's regime and become a professional fighter in the United States. After many days at sea, the five men finally landed in Mexico where they were detained for more than three months. Eventually, Sullivan was able to make it over the Mexican border into the United States.
Shortly thereafter, he made his professional debut, a first round TKO over Anthony Adorno in Miami, Florida. For several years after his debut, he would reside in Florida and continue to fight on many local cards until he met his manager, Luis Molina. Barrera and Molina then met Egis Klimas, manager to Main Events' stablemate Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev and countless other young prospects, who helped Sullivan sign a promotional contract with Main Events.
According to Sullivan, "I ran into some promotional issues and did not fight for a year and a half. When I was 11-0, with the help of Egis Klimas, we approached Main Events about possibly signing with them." Then last year, after he knocked out Lee Campbell in the sixth round, Sullivan began to work with world-renowned trainer, Abel Sanchez at Sanchez' compound in Big Bear Lake, California, The Summit.
After his first training camp with Sanchez, Sullivan decided to leave Miami and take up permanent residence in California at The Summit. Barrera said, "This will be my fourth fight with Abel Sanchez. Technically I live in Big Bear now because I spend most of my time here. I have nobody with me here, all of my family is still in Cuba. I like living in Big Bear because I am by myself and I am comfortable training. I can stay focused. I am around other world-class fighters who push me to want to get to that next level. Most importantly, I am in a place where I am focused daily."
On July 25, Sullivan will face previously undefeated light heavyweight and Main Events' stablemate Vasily "The Professor" Lepikhin (Lepikhin is co-promoted by Main Events, German Titov Promotions and Interbox). Lepikhin suffered his first career loss on the Kovalev-Pascal undercard in March at the hands of WBC #1 contender Isaac "Golden Boy" Chilemba. Sullivan hopes this fight will be a stepping stone to take him to the next level in the division. He said, "I wanted a fight against Pascal but he didn't want to accept the fight against me. At this point I have to settle for the opponents that come my way. I understand that it is only going to get tougher and tougher to get the fights I want, but I am fighting a guy that is obviously coming with everything. He's got a good record and I am sure he is coming to try and redeem himself."
When asked about the hot light heavyweight division he added, "It is great that it is a busy division. After this fight I hope that I can demonstrate that I am ready to fight any of the top tier guys. As long as there is action in the division that is good for me." About Kovalev vs. Mohammedi
WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev (27-0-1, 24 KOs) will compete in his first mandatory title defense against Nadjib "Irondjib" Mohammedi (37-3, 23 KOs) on Saturday, July 25 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada. The co-feature will include a ten-round light heavyweight match-up between Jean Pascal (29-3-1, 17 KOs) and Yunieski Gonzalez (16-0, 12 KOs). Tickets are on sale now and start at $25. Tickets can be purchased through TicketMaster and all MGM Resorts Properties Ticket Offices. The HBO World Championship Boxing® telecast begins at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. |
SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT CHRIS Chatman (left) of Jersey City, N.J., will face Providence, R.I., vet Vladine Biosse on Friday, July 17th, 2015 in the 10-round main event of CES Boxing's "Rhode To Redemption" show at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I. Chatman has guaranteed a win and predicted a "massacre" in the long-awaited showdown between the two northeast rivals.
Chatman on July 17th Twin River showdown: 'I will massacre Biosse'
LINCOLN, R.I. (July 2nd, 2015) – A fight nearly two years in the making will finally come to fruition Friday, July 17th, 2015 as super middleweight Vladine Biosse faces Chris Chatman in the main event of CES Boxing’s “Rhode To Redemption” show at Twin River Casino.
Those familiar with Chatman’s no-nonsense, outspoken bravado know the Jersey City native is never one to mince words. The 5-foot-8 southpaw guarantees a win over “Mr. Providence” in a fight he’s lobbied for since his most noteworthy victory at Twin River, a 2013 split-decision win over hometown favorite Thomas Falowo.
“I’m going to fuck Vla up, plain and simple,” Chatman said. “This is personal for me, and I need to thank Vla, actually, because it’s been a while since I’ve had this rage in me. I’ve always had a love for the sport I’m in, but it’s been a while since I’ve had that fire that’s burning, that killer instinct.
“Right now, you throw sportsmanship out the window. This is going to be a fight. It’s not even going to be a fight. I’m going to massacre Vladine.”
“I’m not about to talk trash,” Biosse countered. “Ever since I’ve been doing this, I’ve never talked trash about anybody. That’s just my motto. One thing I’ll say is I work hard and bring the best out of myself. Whoever my opponent is that night, I’m going to work harder than you and bring better work than you.
“It’s your job to top that. If he can top that, props to him, but I doubt it.”
The 10-round super middleweight main event headlines another stacked card for CES Boxing, featuring eight exciting bouts and a special ceremony in which former Providence Olympian Jason Estrada will be inducted into the CES Ring of Honor.
Tickets for “Rhode To Redemption” are priced at $40.00, $100.00 and $125.00 (VIP) and available for purchase online at www.cesboxing.com or www.twinriver.com, by phone at 401-724-2253/2254 or at the Twin River Players Club. All fights and fighters are subject to change.
The bad blood between Biosse (15-6-2, 7 KOs) and Chatman (12-5-1, 5 KOs) stems primarily from online chatter via social media, culminating in a chance meeting between the two while Biosse was in New Jersey participating in a training camp.
“I’m at the mall with my son and Vlad shows up. He walked up to me and I said, ‘Man, who are you?’ because I’m not making the connection that it’s Vladine Biosse because Vladine Biosse lives all the way in Providence, Rhode Island,” Chatman said.
“I said, ‘Man, what the fuck you want?’ and he says, ‘Listen, I just want to let you know I’m down here for a camp.’ I knew that was bullshit because if they’re looking for a middleweight southpaw I’m the first motherfucker they should be looking at anyway.
“I told him, ‘I apologize for things getting out of hand, but I want to fight you, so when’s it going to happen?’ He said, ‘I don’t know …’ and started talking about managers and this and that. That pissed me off. I had to swallow my pride for the sake of my son. If it weren’t for my son, that fight would’ve happened on the street.”
Biosse acknowledges he and Chatman crossed paths, but denies ever refusing a showdown in the ring.
“I approached him because of the things he was saying online about me,” Biosse said. “If he was an honest man, he’d say the same thing. He apologized to me and said it was just for the fans and that he does what he does to hype the fight.
“I spoke to him about not mentioning my name in his beef because I’m not an internet fighter. If you want to fight me, we’ll make it happen. I told him, ‘As far as right now, you’re not on my level. You have to get a few wins to get on my level.’”
“If he’s a real man, he’ll speak the truth.”
Finally, on July 17th, the Biosse-Chatman feud will end between the ropes, where it was destined to end all along. A fixture at Twin River since his first appearance in 2009, Chatman owns a lifetime 3-2 record in Rhode Island and will be fighting at the same venue for this second time this year, whereas Biosse is returning to familiar territory for the first time since a majority draw against Rich Gingras in 2013.
“I really appreciate my fan base,” Biosse said. “If people love what you do and follow and support what you’re doing, there’s nothing that makes you feel better. When people heard ‘Mr. Providence’ is back, they told me, ‘We’re coming to support you and show some love,’ and, ‘We’ve been waiting on you.’ It feels great. It gives me that motivation.
“I’ve got to put on a show for these people. They love me and love what I do.”
Stylistically, facing Chatman will be a difficult task. The diminutive southpaw likes to work on the inside and has been known to break down his opponents to the body, but Biosse is confident now that he’s reunited with his original trainer, Orlondo Valles, who actually trained Gingras when Gingras and Biosse fought one another in 2013.
“Orlondo is always sharp with what he does, and I could feel the difference after the first week,” said Biosse, who acknowledged he and Valles are also working with trainer Paul Andrade in preparation for this bout. “I was like, ‘Damn, I’ve been slacking a little bit.’
“After the first week, things picked up,” he continued. “It’s been great ever since. I’ve got my timing and rhythm back as a boxer, the way I used to fight. With the things I learned from Paul, putting that together with what Orlondo does, I’m on a different level.”
For Chatman, it’s now or never, an opportunity to seize the moment in a fight he’s coveted since his gradual rise from familiar out-of-towner to sudden fan-favorite in Rhode Island. The emotions are running high, but he remains focused on the task at hand.
“I’m aware of that and need to keep that aspect in check, but I’ve got a blood lust for this fight. For whatever reasons he shut this fight down, it’s happening now,” he said.
“This is very emotional for me because this is no Facebook, jibber-jabber shit. You came to my home. I honestly thought he’d ring my doorbell, I don’t think he had the balls to do it at the moment of truth.”
Never one to back down from a tough fight, Chatman considers himself the eternal underdog, willing to fight anyone anywhere at any given time.
“He has all the advantages on paper,” Chatman said. “He’s heavier. I’m already coming up in weight and then he decided to go up in weight. If anything, I should be asking for a catchweight. But I’m going to do what I do. I’m going to come in and beat his sluggish, fat ass from post to post.”
“He comes to fight,” Biosse acknowledged. “He doesn’t box. He fights. He comes forward. I hope he does on the 17th. I hope comes forward and fights. That’s exactly what I want from him.”
“Rhode To Redemption” also features a dynamic, six-round welterweight co-feature between undefeated Nick DeLomba (7-0, 1 KO) of Cranston, R.I., and Union City, N.J., southpaw Juan Rodriguez Jr. (12-2, 5 KOs), plus the long-awaited return of unbeaten Worcester, Mass., junior middleweight Khiary Gray (7-0, 5 KOs) in a six-round bout.
The undercard features several regional rivalries, starting with a four-round junior middleweight bout between Harford, Conn., vet Joe Wilson Jr. (3-2) and Andy Gonzalez (1-0, 1 KO) of Worcester, Mass., and a four-round heavyweight rematch between Jean Pierre Augustin (4-0-1, 2 KOs) of Lawrence, Mass., and Solomon Maye (1-4-1, 1 KO) of New Haven, Conn. The two fought to a draw in April.
Also on the undercard, Framingham, Mass., super lightweight Julio Perez makes his pro debut against Boston’s Rafael Francis (0-4) and New Bedford, Mass., welterweight Scott Sullivan (1-1, 1 KO) returns to face Providence’s Angel Valdez (0-2), both four-round bouts. Lawrence, Mass., lightweight Jacob Solis (1-0) will make his Twin River debut and fight for the first time since 2012 when he faces Salem, Mass., vet Matt Doherty (2-1, 2 KOs) in a four-round bout.
For more information on “Rhode To Redemption” visit www.cesboxing.com, follow @CESBOXING on Twitter and Instagram and “like” the official CES Boxing Facebook fan page.
Welcome to the official website of Amadoune GOMIS, a photographer specializing in commercial, special events and personalities photography. Amadoune’s photographs reflect creativity, patience, and great attention for detail. Here you can find everything you want to know about Amadoune, as a photographer and as a person. You can also view Amadoune’s portfolio, request rates and order Amadoune’s services online, and personally ask Amadoune any questions about his work.
Welcome to the official website of Amadoune GOMIS, a photographer specializing in commercial, special events and personalities photography. Amadoune’s photographs reflect creativity, patience, and great attention for detail. Here you can find everything you want to know about Amadoune, as a photographer and as a person. You can also view Amadoune’s portfolio, request rates and order Amadoune’s services online, and personally ask Amadoune any questions about his work.
In a career that spanned the entire history of the NBA and beyond, Harvey Pollack carved out a unique place in basketball lore. On Tuesday evening, Pollack passed away at the age of 93. Kristen Ledlow remembers a beloved member of the NBA Family
NAACP President/CEO Cornell William Brooks in Charleston, SC, discusses the Confederate flag. Take it down
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While in New York, Justise Winslow gets in one last workout before the 2015 NBA Draft.
Trey Songz Breakfast Club: Trey Songz stops through to discuss his tour with Chris Brown, Slow Motion becoming the 4th 1 single of his current album, crazy things his fans have done and much more with The Breakfast Club
Thousands of people gathered at a vigil in downtown Charleston to remember the nine people who were slain at a historic black church
A Message from the President:
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| Classic Entertainment & Sports CEO Jimmy Burchfield Sr. |
From all of us at Team CES, we hope that you are having a wonderful start to the summer and that you enjoy this season with friends and family.
Here at CES, we have been busy putting together our next installment of CES MMA on AXS TV Fights, which takes place next Friday, June 12th, right here at the beautiful Twin River Casino!
We have stacked the card with the best fighters around and we are confident the fans will leave wondering when and where they can purchase tickets to the next event!
In the main event, we have CES MMA welterweight champion Chuck "Cold Steel" O'Neil defending his title against tough Ohio veteran Dom Steele! If you want to be inspired, read the story below about co-feature Matt Bessette's battle with cancer and then watch next Friday as he takes on the always exciting Khama Worthy.
If that isn't enough, we have a major cruiserweight bout between the two best big men around, Tyler King and Greg Rebello! Also on the card, Eric Spicely faces Harley Beekman, Dinis Paiva battles Bruno Marques, Nate Andrews takes on Jay Bakanowski, James Murrin faces Joe Pingitore, Pete Rogers squares off against Evan Parker, and so much more! I hope to see you all at the fights!
Thank you for being the BEST fans in the world!
We'll see you at the fights!
Much respect,
Jimmy
cancer survivor Bessette continues remarkable journey
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The victory outside of the cage may always be the biggest for Hartford's Matt Bessette.
He's won 14 times as a professional in mixed martial arts, many under the bright lights of national television on the sport's biggest stage, but the 30-year-old featherweight has gained crossover appeal for battling and conquering Leukemia at a young age.
Open and honest about his struggles as a child -- the doctor's visits, the sleepless nights with his mother at his bedside --Bessette has drawn a new legion of fans both in and out of the MMA community, a concept he still struggles to grasp every now and then.
"Every time someone reaches out to me," Bessette said, "I think to myself, 'Who the hell am I? I'm just a fighter.'"
But to many, he's more than just "The Mangler," the name most people know him as on fight night. To the young college student with Leukemia whom he visited on campus at the University of Connecticut, or the countless others whose day he's brightened with something as simple as a reply, Bessette is an inspiration, an example of how life's roadblocks don't always have to derail your dreams.
"It's inspiring for me, too," said Bessette, who returns to the cageFriday, June 12th, 2015 on the main card of "CES MMA XXIX" live from Twin River Casino on AXS TV, "but at the same time, I'm lucky to be here myself. We're all in this together."
To read the rest of the story, click here!
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Mayor Harp is having a fundraiser Wednesday, 6/10, 7:30 PM, Graduate Club, 155 Elm St. Featuring Kevin KJ Johnson, Phoenix Suns, currently the Mayor of Sacramento. $100 per person. Please bring others to meet and greet KJ. Photos will be taken. We need to make this a success! Please be advised that This event came together at the last minute. Please come out and support our Mayor. Thank you.
Andrea Scott
