Knockout Publicity

New York, NY (April 23, 2013) –Edgar Perez has replaced veteran Troy Lowry as the opponent for New York’s Boyd “Rainmaker” Melson in a six round junior middleweight bout Saturday, April 27 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

Born on the boxing-crazed island of Puerto Rico and based out of the fighting city of Chicago, Illinois, Perez won his first five professional bouts, three of which came by way of knockout. Perez, whose only defeats came against blue chip prospects Luis Arias, Jermall Charlo and Steven Martinez, will look to pull off an upset against his popular foe.

With a solid record of 10-1-1 with 4 knockouts, Melson’s one of the most talked about fighters in New York. On April 16, Melson, who donated all of his fight purses and is heavily involved in helping finding the cure for chronic Spinal Cord Injuries, earned additional notoriety when he was featured with his best friend Christan Zaccagnino on HBO’s critically acclaimed series Real Sports. Originally scheduled to fight in February as part of the postponed Danny Garcia-Zab Judah headlined card, Perez is Melson’s third scheduled opponent.

“This is the part of boxing that nobody likes,” said Melson, who battled to a disputed draw in his last bout back in October. “The truth is guys get hurt at every level of this sport and opponents change. I’ve had a challenging training camp with a freak scratched cornea in my sleep as well as a reoccurring throat infection, but nevertheless I am in good shape with a strong mind ready to compete. I‘ve been working with my new head coach Simon Bakinde, who has my former Assistant Coach Bernie Lenahan still by my side now assisting him, and we’ve worked together as a new team for some time now. I am extremely confident about our adjustments to my technique that we have made. I’m extremely thankful that so many people enjoyed the story about Christan and I, but now it’s time to get back to work!”

Melson-Perez is scheduled for 6 rounds.

Tickets and merchandise are available on Teamfighttowalk.com. Following the bout, Melson will once again donate his entire fight purse to Justadollarplease.org in support of bringing trials to the United States that could help cure chronic Spinal Cord Injuries.

In association with the 501 (C) 3 nonprofit Justadollarplease.org, Melson and his best friend Christan Zaccagnino created Team Fight to Walk, whose mission is to raise awareness within the boxing community as well as the entire nation about the importance of bringing Clinical Trials to the United States to help cure Spinal Cord Injuries. Team Fight to Walk is comprised of Melson, Zaccagnino, former Rutgers football player/ESPY honoree Eric LeGrand, two-time cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham, former junior middleweight titlist Austin “No Doubt” Trout, title contender DeAndre “The Bull” Latimore, Edgar “El Chamaco” Santana, Hector “Machito” Camacho Jr., 2008 US Olympians Demetrius “Boo” Andrade and Shawn Estrada along with prospects Sid “The Messenger” El Harrak, Jeff “TNT” Spencer, Denis “Da Momma’s Boy” Douglin, Will “Power” Rosinsky, Floriano “Italiano” Pagliara, Danny “Little Mac” McDermott, Vinny “The Lion” O’Brien, Ahmed “Prince of Egypt” Samir and Delen “Sniper” Parsley.

For more information or to make a donation, go to teamfighttowalk.com or Justadollarplease.org. All specific questions about the nature of the Clinical Trial to cure Spinal Cord Injury can be sent to boydmelson@yahoo.com.

Oklahoma City, OK (April 17, 2013) – Earlier today, Kevin Cunningham, trainer of IBF welterweight titlist Devon Alexander, took a shot at contender Carson Jones.

Less than 24 hours ago, Jones, the IBF’s 7th rated contender and a former USBA champion, offered to face Alexander May 18 after his original opponent Kell Brook withdrew for a second time due to an injury. Jones, who has a deceptive record 34-9-3 with 24 KO’s since he took many fights earlier in his career as an opponent, was abruptly rejected by Cunningham.

“Hey Carson, I wish I could help you out,” Cunningham told a popular boxing website. “But we already have all our sparring partners for this camp. Maybe we’ll consider bringing you into camp for Devon’s next fight. That’s the only use we would have for a guy with 9 losses and 3 draws.”

Jones, who said he respected Cunningham as a trainer before he hurled insults in his directions, believes that he only said that to keep his fighter away from a tough bout.

“These guys claim to be tough and from the streets of St. Louis, but how tough are they?” “The truth is that boxing wise, Devon’s anything but tough. Aside from quitting against Bradley, he’s been protected by his promoters and the premium cable networks. They want to talk about my 9 losses but forget what tough really is. I lost a few controversial fights and the only time Devon’s had any controversy, he received gift decisions in hometown. Cunningham and Alexander know deep down that records are overrated and there are plenty of 25-0 guys who can’t fight a lick. I earned my way up the rankings by knocking out quality fighters when my back was against the wall and that is something they can’t dispute no matter how hard they try.”

Jones also views his close loss to the aforementioned Kell Brook as a reason of why he’s more than worthy for the title shot.

“I went into Brook’s hometown, gave him hell and lost a very close decision. From what I’ve heard, Brook offered good money to face him in England but Team Alexander was too scared. I proved that I am a real fighter time and time again by facing whoever, wherever and whenever. Can Devon do the same or are you guys into playing the matchmaking game and pretending all the people in boxing are idiots and actually believe these undefeated stiffs can fight. They call him Devon “The Great” Alexander, but he’s acting like a coward. Man up and take the challenge. I’m ready to go!”

Palm Beach, FL (April 17, 2013) – Lou Martinez, owner of the Palm Beach Boxing Center, announced that he is running and sponsoring the 2013 Florida State Golden Gloves.

A 12,000 sq ft facility that is quickly becoming one of boxing’s hotspots, the Palm Beach Boxing Center’s held camps for world champions Lucian Bute, Devon Alexander, Cory Spinks and Nate Campbell as well as 2008 Olympian Matt Korobov. The gym’s also hosted Andre Dirrell, Kassim Ouma, Riddick Bowe, Jameel McCline and Oleg Maskaev amongst others.

During the last 40 plus years, the Florida Golden Gloves served as a competitive tournament for male and female fighters of all skill levels. Participants range from everyday people to future boxing champions. Notables include boxing legend Roy Jones Jr., Hall of Famer Mike McCallum, former world champions Andre Berto and Nate Campbell and unbeaten prospect Daquan Arnett among others.

“I feel like a kid in a candy store,” Martinez said of running the gloves. “I’ve had a number of my fighters participate and there have been so many greats that showcased their skills in this event before going to the pros. It’s always been a dream to run this great event. Luckily, I had the opportunity to take over the event this year and did so without hesitation.”

Athletes and coaches can register now on Floridagoldengloves.net and the tournament takes place April 20-21. Weigh-ins take place at 7 AM sharp on the 20th at the Ramada Inn at 1901 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd in West Palm Beach and all participants must bring their USA Boxing Passbook. The opening round starts the very same day just minutes away at City Soccer, located at 1016 Clare Ave in West Palm Beach, FL.

For more information on the Florida Golden Gloves, go to Floridagoldengloves.net. To sign up for the Palm Beach Boxing Center or purchase tickets to the Florida Golden Gloves visit Palmbeachboxing.com

Oklahoma City, OK (April 16, 2013) – In an age where fighters build their records up by partaking in gross mismatches, Oklahoma City based welterweight contender “Mr.” Carson Jones is a boxing rarity.

The youthful but experienced 26-year-old began his career without true direction, taking a number of early losses against world class opposition. Since March 2009, Jones has an excellent 18-2-1 record with 13 wins by knockout. Along the way, Jones, whose overall professional ledger is 34-9-3 (24 KO’s), steamrolled previously unbeaten knockout king Tyrone Brunson, 2000 Olympic Silver Medalist Ricardo Williams, welterweight contender Said Ouali and former title challenger Michael Clark.

In July 2012, Jones lost a hotly contested majority decision in the hometown of Kell Brook in one of the best fights during that calendar year. Dubbed as “Special K” due to his diverse talents, Brook dominated all 27 of his opponents up to that point. Against Jones, a bruised and bloodied Brook survived a number of rough moments and never considered a rematch.

Fast forward to 2013, where Brook found himself pitted against IBF welterweight champion Devon Alexander; or so we thought. The two were scheduled to fight on multiple occasions, with each man pulling out of the fight due to an injury. On Saturday, May 18, Brook-Alexander was finally scheduled to take place on Showtime, but Brook suffered another injury that forced him to withdraw, leaving the champion without an opponent.

“I know a lot of guys are calling out Alexander and I can’t blame them,” said Jones, the IBF’s 7th rated contender. “But how many of them have been through hell in a gasoline suit? Which one of them went overseas and got the short end of a decision against a fighter that is considered one of boxing’s next bright stars? Can anybody else out there vying for this fight claim to have faced the level of opposition I have? The answer is no.”

Jones also believes that his fan-friendly style would make for a great fight and a bout with Alexander would produce two winners; Carson Jones and the spectators.

“After Alexander’s sleep-induced fight with Randall Bailey, I think the boxing world needs an exciting fight. I do not run from my opponents. Unlike Bailey, I will cut the ring off and force him to fight my fight just like Tim Bradley did. Alexander’s known as Devon “The Great” but does his name mean anything? If he’s true to his moniker and wants to show how great he his, all Team Alexander has to do send me a contract and see me in the ring on May 18!”

Jones is currently in training with the hopes of facing Alexander or another top welterweight in the immediate future.