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ESPN Boxing The Contender: Latin Warriors
May 4, 2006 Aladdin Resort & Casino Las Vegas, Nevada
Middleweight Bout (10 Rds) Sergio Mora (17-0, 3 KOs) vs. Archak TerMeliksetian (15-3, 12 KOs)
Super Welterweight Bout (8 Rds)
Alfonso Gomez (14-3-1,
5 KOs) vs. Jesse Feliciano (14-5-2, 8 KOs) ________________________________________________
Warriors,” held at the Aladdin Resort & Casino, celebrates the Hispanic fighters of season one of “The Contender.” Presented by ESPN and Tournament of Contenders the fights will air live on ESPN Thursday, May 4 at 9:30 p.m. ET (6:30pm PT).
Tickets priced at $50, $75, $100, $150, $225, and $300, including applicable service charges and live entertainment tax, went on sale Saturday, April 1 at 10 a.m. (PST) at The Aladdin Theatre box office, www.ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster locations. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000 or the Aladdin Theatre box office at (702) 785-5055. All dates, acts and ticket prices are subject to change without notice.
The action packed night of boxing will showcase “The Contender” champion, Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora, in a 10-round middleweight showdown against Archak “Shark Attack” TerMeliksetian. Alfonso S. Gomez will take on Jesse “El Rayo” Feliciano from Puerto Rico in an eight-round super welterweight match up.
As “The Contender” champion, Mora is undefeated in his quest for greatness, boasting a 17-0-0 record. “The Latin Snake” will strike again in Las Vegas, returning to the city where he won the “Contender” belt.
“I feel like I’m coming full circle,” said Mora. “’The Contender’ was my launching pad to a better career, and I see this upcoming fight as another step towards greatness. I learned a lot from boxing icon and host of ‘The Contender,’ Sugar Ray Leonard. The Shark’s bite won’t stop my venom.”
Armenian-born Archak TerMeliksetian was raised in Brazil but now resides in Los Angeles. TerMeliksetian holds a 15-3-0 record and has fought in the Boxing World Championships and the Pan American Games.
Alfonso Gomez fought his way into the hearts of “Contender” fans around the world. In October 2005, in front of a packed house at Staples Center, Gomez defeated Luciano Perez and improved his record to 14-3-1. On May 4, 2006, his fight against Jesse Feliciano will mark a rubber match between the two. Another victory would continue his journey toward becoming the next great Latino fighter, in the image of Julio Caesar Chavez.
The fight card also includes fellow “Contender” Latin hero, Miguel Espino against Gabriel Holguin from Laredo, Texas, and another “Contender” favorite, Jonathan Reid, fighting Ryan Davis from Chicago.
“Contender” specials have been enormously successful. After selling out Caesar’s Palace for the May 2004 finale in slightly more than five minutes, they later drew a crowd of more than 10,000 in their first special event at Staples Center in October 2005. In February of this year, Tournament of Contenders and ESPN held “The Contender Special: East Coast Pride” in Providence, RI, featuring hometown hero Peter Manfredo Jr. Despite a blizzard dropping 26 inches of snow, causing the event to be postponed one day, 9,000 loyal fans poured in to the Dunkin Donuts Center arena while the rest of America tuned in to watch Manfredo Jr., devastate Scott Pemberton in a third-round TKO. The two specials to date were the most- viewed boxing telecasts on ESPN since 1997, with the second special also being the highest-rated telecast since 1997.
Mark Burnett, executive producer of ‘The Contender’ and co-founder of Tournament of Contenders, LLC stated, “All of the ingredients are coming together in this recipe for success. ESPN and Tournament of Contenders continue to provide these brave young men with the platform to tell their story in and out of the ring. The attendance and the response of the fans at our live events show that people genuinely care about the sport and the popularity of our fighters is growing.”
Ron Semiao, senior vice president, ESPN Original Entertainment, said, “Only Las Vegas can match the excitement and energy this bout will deliver to viewers and ticket holders alike. Boxing fans have an insatiable appetite for The Contender storyline and these fighters. As the company committed to giving
fans what they want, when they
want it, we’re more than happy to oblige them.”
ESPN Original Entertainment Launched in 2001, ESPN Original Entertainment is ESPN’s award-winning original programming banner. The EOE brand spans ESPN's sports-themed original movies, scripted and unscripted dramatic series, daily talk and debate series, documentaries, game shows and groundbreaking televised events such as the X Games and The ESPY Awards, and is delivered across multiple media platforms. With theatrical releases such as Through the Fire about basketball phenom Sebastian Telfair and Once in a Lifetime about the 1970’s New York Cosmos, EOE continues to plant itself firmly on the cutting edge of sports and entertainment television and event creation. Also, EOE's daily lifestyle and entertainment-themed series Cold Pizza and Quite Frankly are cornerstones of ESPN2’s programming lineup. With many new scripted and unscripted projects in development, EOE serves both the passionate sports fan and the more casual viewer, and strives to expand ESPN's already industry-leading offerings in live events and sports news & information programming.
Mark Burnett Productions Mark Burnett Productions (MBP) is a leading production company in the world of primetime non-fiction television. MBP revolutionized television with hits such as Eco-Challenge, Survivor, The Apprentice, The Contender, and Rockstar:INXS. MBP also successfully reintroduced product placement as an integral part of each of its shows and has garnered a total of 24 Emmy nominations since 2001. Mark Burnett was listed as the #1 Most Valuable Player by TV Guide and in Time Magazine's Top 100 most influential people in the world today.
DreamWorks DreamWorks Television is a division of DreamWorks SKG which was founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. DreamWorks Television is currently in production on season three of the hit NBC series “Las Vegas” as well as season two of the critically acclaimed FX drama “Rescue Me,” and the upcoming ABC reality series “The Miracle Workers.” DreamWorks Television recently produced “Into The West” for TNT, which was the highest rated mini-series for the season with 81 million unique viewers. Other DreamWorks Television projects include: “Spin City,” “Band of Brothers,” “Taken.” “Father of the Pride,” “Freaks and Geeks,” “The Job,” “Boomtown,” and “Undeclared.”
Aladdin Resort & Casino The Aladdin Resort & Casino, the future Home of Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino is a full-service resort located in the heart of the world-famous Las Vegas Strip. Offering the complete Las Vegas experience, the Aladdin includes more than 2,500 oversized rooms and suites; the famous Theatre for the Performing Arts, featuring top headline entertainment and home of the Radio Music Awards; a dozen award-winning dining experiences; 75,000 square feet of meeting space; more than 100,000 square feet of non-stop gaming action, including the elegantly appointed High Limit Casino; and Desert Passage with more than 140 retail shops. The Aladdin is also home of Elemis Spa, Curve ultra lounge and the Aladdin Wedding Chapel. The Aladdin is a member of Starwood Preferred Guest program. For more information, visit the web site at
www.aladdincasino.com,
or call 1-877-333-9474.
- Press Release issued by the Aladdin Casino with a little editing from us (color, etc...)
Subject to change
(5/02/06) |
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