'St. Valentine's Day Massacre' Pits IBF, WBO and WBA Lightweight
Champion Nate 'Galaxxy Warrior' Campbell Against Ali 'Rush Hour' Funeka;
Interim WBC Super Welterweight Champion Sergio 'Maravilla' Martinez
Defends Title Against Former World Champion Kermit 'The Killer' Cintron;
And Undefeated WBC/WBO No. 1-Ranked Super Welterweight Alfredo 'Perro' Angulo
Will Face Former No. 1-Ranked Welterweight Cosme "Chino" Rivera
SUNRISE, Fla.—Boxing promoter Don King's "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" lands at BankAtlantic Center on Saturday when International Boxing Federation, World Boxing Organization and World Boxing Association unified lightweight champion—and Jacksonville native—Nate "Galaxxy Warrior" Campbell (32-5-1, 25 KOs) defends his crowns against IBF No. 1-ranked mandatory challenger Ali "Rush Hour" Funeka, from East London, South Africa, in the main event.
Interim World Boxing Council super welterweight champion Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez (44-1-1, 24 KOs), from Buenos Aires, Argentina, will take on former IBF welterweight champion Kermit "The Killer" Cintron (30-2, 27 KOs), from Reading, Pa., in a bout of great importance at 154 pounds.
Mercurial former three-time world champion Ricardo "El Matador" Mayorga was to have faced undefeated WBC/WBO No. 1-ranked super welterweight Alfredo "Perro" Angulo (14-0, 11 KOs), from Mexicali, Mexico, but pulled out 10 days before the match. Dangerous veteran Cosme "Chino" Rivera (31-11-2, 23 KOs), from Huatabampo, Mexico, has stepped in to challenge Angulo on five days notice.
The BankAtlantic Center will be configured in a fan-friendly half-house configuration with only the best seats in the lower bowl and floor areas being placed for sale. In addition, promoter Don King has created a special "Valentine's Day 2-for-1" ticket promotion where almost everyone who buys a seat will get an additional ticket for free, starting at just $25 (except a small number of golden circle seats).
"A two-for-one ticket offer and setting up the arena so all fans will be as close to the ring as possible are innovative and great ideas for this card," King said. "This way, more of my Florida neighbors can afford to bring their sweethearts, family or friends to see this great night of boxing on Valentine's Day at BankAtlantic Center."
Florida Panthers President Michael Yormark is excited to have boxing at BankAtlantic Center, the Florida Panthers home arena.
"Don King is one of the biggest names in sports and we are honored to welcome him to the BankAtlantic Center," said Yormark. "His track record for promoting world-class events speaks for itself. That said, it is a great thrill to bring boxing to the BankAtlantic Center for the first time, which once again reinforces our ability to successfully host nearly any type of event."
Tickets priced at $200, $75, $40 and $25 (with all seats 2-for-1 excepting a limited number of golden circle seats) are on sale now and can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets, charge by phone at (800) 745-3000, by visiting www.ticketmaster.com or at the BankAtlantic Center box office.
The event is promoted by Don King Productions in association with Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler Attorneys at Law, V Georgio Vodka, The BOVA Restaurant Group, Renato Watches and QTask. Campbell vs. Funeka is presented in association with One Punch Productions. Martinez vs. Cintron is presented by DiBella Entertainment. Angulo vs. Rivera is a co-promotion with Gary Shaw Productions. Campbell vs. Funeka, Martinez vs. Cintron and Angulo vs. Rivera will also be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark beginning at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Doors open at BankAtlantic Center at 5 p.m., and a full, domestically non-televised, undercard will begin at 5:30 p.m. with 12 bouts in total scheduled.
Campbell picked up his world titles in a tremendous, upset victory over then-undefeated lightweight champion Juan "Baby Bull" Diaz. Campbell outgunned and battered the previously unbeaten Diaz for 12 rounds on March 8 in Cancun, Mexico. He won the fight by split decision but there was little doubt among the Mexicans assembled in an outdoor bull ring that Campbell had made good on his pre-fight prediction to take his younger-but-more-heralded opponent into deep water to defeat him.
His win culminated a made-in-Florida dream that saw Campbell escape from his violent upbringing in a Jacksonville ghetto, embark on an improbable career in boxing at the late age of 24 and reach the pinnacle of his sport at 36.
The fast-handed, and even-faster-talking, new champion's first defense of his titles was slowed by Joan Guzman, who failed to make weight the day before the two were scheduled to meet on Sept. 13 in Biloxi, Miss. Guzman said he was too weak to fight over the limit, scratching the match altogether.
The road gets no easier for Campbell, who must now meet his IBF mandatory challenger in Funeka, who Campbell claims has been trash-talking him in the press.
"Funeka said he sees nothing special in me," Campbell said of pre-fight boasts. "He said he knows me like the back of his hand. That's rhetoric but he's going to pay for it. I'm going to beat him like he tried to steal something from me."
Campbell's comments caught the attention of the assembled media and his promoter, Don King.
"He's not fooling around," King said of Campbell's comments. "Don't forget what this man did to Juan Diaz, and he did that partly on my behalf. I hope Funeka knows what he's getting into."
This will be the first time the South African has appeared outside of his country, but he was able to stop highly regarded Zahir Raheem in the fourth round when they met on July 25 to earn the right to face Campbell.
Interim WBC super welterweight champion Sergio Martinez looks to defend his belt against the most high-profile fighter he has ever faced, former IBF welterweight champion Kermit Cintron. The 29-year-old Cintron brings title-fight experience and considerable skills to his first fight at 154 pounds.
Martinez, 33, earned his interim title in his last appearance on Oct. 4 when he dominated Alex Bunema, making him quit after eight rounds. Martinez must make a point to avoid Cintron's power punches that have resulted in 27 of his 30 wins coming by knockout.
Another significant bout at 154 pounds showcases undefeated Alfredo Angulo, who brings the customary Mexican all-out approach to his opponents. At 26, boxing insiders have been impressed by Angulo's power and burgeoning boxing skills. They see great things ahead for Angulo.
Fight-week replacement Cosme Rivera, 32, would like nothing more than to play the role of spoiler in his first appearance at 154 pounds. Rivera went the 10-round distance against future world champion Andre Berto—flooring Berto in round 6 before losing by decision on July 7, 2007.
Rivera also met then-unified welterweight world champion Zab "Super" Judah in 2005 when he was the IBF No. 1 ranked welterweight. Rivera fought bravely but Judah was able to stop him in the third round.
Rivera has appeared in 45 prizefights and fought in nearly 350 rounds. By contrast, the 26-year-old Angulo will be entering just his 15th professional match and has participated in less than 50 rounds.
BankAtlantic Center was recently recognized by trade publication Pollstar as the No. 11 ranked arena in the United States and was also nominated for 'Arena of the Year' as part of the annual Pollstar Awards. Home to more than 185 events annually and the Florida Panthers Hockey Club, the BankAtlantic Center is consistently a top 15 worldwide venue according to Pollstar. The BankAtlantic Center welcomes more than two million guests each year and is also the home of Sawgrass Live presented by BankAtlantic and two monthly magazines Unrestricted and Panthers Insider.
Don King Productions has promoted over 500 world championship fights with nearly 100 individual boxers having been paid $1 million or more. DKP also holds the distinction of having promoted or co-promoted seven of the 10 largest pay-per-view events in history, as gauged by total buys, including three of the top five: Holyfield vs. Tyson II, 1.99 million buys, June 1997; Tyson vs. Holyfield I, 1.6 million buys, November 1996; and Tyson vs. McNeeley, 1.58 million buys, August 1995.
DKP has promoted or co-promoted 12 of the top 20 highest-grossing live gates in the history of the state of Nevada including four of the top five: Holyfield vs. Lewis II, paid attendance: 17,078, gross: $16,860,300 (NOTE: Also second-highest live-gate gross for any event in the history of the world.), date: Nov. 13, 1999; Holyfield vs. Tyson II, paid attendance: 16,279, gross: $14,277,200, date: June 28, 1997; Holyfield vs. Tyson I, paid attendance: 16,103, gross: $14,150,700, date: Nov. 9, 1996; and Tyson vs. McNeeley, paid attendance: 16,113, gross: $13,965,600, date: Aug. 19, 1995.
