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SHOBOX
on Showtime
Santos
vs. Mendoza
Green vs.
Smith

May 20, 2005
Buffalo Run Casino
Miami, Oklahoma
11:00 PM ET/PT*
Line-up:
Jr. Welterweight Bout
Americo
Santos
(20-0, 17 KOs) vs.
Isaac Mendoza (13-0, 5 KOs)
Light Heavyweight Bout
Allan
“Sweetness” Green (15-0, 11 KOs) vs. Rocky “The
Hawaiian Nightmare” Smith (11-2, 9 KOs)
__________________________________
“ShoBox: The New
Generation”
Of Undefeated Junior
Welterweights
And light
Heavyweight Brawl
NEW YORK
– SHOWTIME continues its tradition of sensational match-ups when unbeaten
junior
welterweights Americo Santos and Isaac Mendoza square off on
“ShoBox: The New Generation” Friday,
May, 20,
2005. In the co-feature from Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Okla.,
undefeated Allan Green will take
on tough
Hawaiian Rocky Smith in a light heavyweight clash.
SHOWTIME will televise the Gary Shaw Productions doubleheader at 11 p.m.
ET/PT (tape delayed on the
west
coast). The telecast represents the 62nd in the popular “ShoBox” series,
which debuted on
SHOWTIME
in July 2001.
Santos
(20-0, 17 KOs), of Garland, Texas, scored a second-round TKO in his
professional debut over
Freddie
Gomez on May 10, 2002, in El Paso, Texas. The heavy-handed slugger won
his initial 10 fights by
knockout,
including six in the opening round.
"I have
been in boxing since I was nine years old," Santos said. "If I was not
fighting in the streets, I was
boxing in
the ring. It does not end here. I want to get to the top. I want to take
the world by surprise."
Fighting
almost exclusively in Texas, Santos captured the Lone Star state title
with a fifth-round knockout
over
Rudolfo Lunsford on Nov. 15, 2003, from San Antonio. After Santos
landed a searing left hook to his
opponent’s
body, Lunsford remained sprawled on the canvas for a few minutes after the
referee had counted
him out.
Most
recently, Santos kept his perfect record intact by knocking out Jaime
Palma in the fifth round of a
scheduled
eight-rounder on April 22, 2005, in Santa Ynez, Calif. A left hook to the
body in the third round
dropped
Palma to the canvas. The courageous fighter managed to recover and survive
the round. Santos
found his
range again and landed a solid right uppercut to the head in the fifth.
Palma went down and was
counted
out at 1:48 of the round.
"I have
been doing this all my life," Santos said. "It is not a game to me. This
is do or die. I am not flashy in
the ring.
I just come out, fight and put on a great show."
Mendoza
(13-0, 5 KOs), of Tulsa, Okla., has entertained fight crowds while
maintaining an unblemished record.
“I am in
it to win it,” Mendoza said. “Do not go to the bathroom when I am out
there because you might miss
something
you have never seen before. On May 20, boxing fans will get a treat.”
Mendoza
made his pro debut at age 24 on Dec. 20, 2002, and recorded a first-round
TKO over Michael
Fontana
in Tulsa. The relative newcomer proved he could go 10 rounds on July 20,
2004, when he punished
Robert
Delgado and won 98-92 on all three scorecards in Joplin, Mo.
Green (15-0, 11 KOs), of Tulsa, broke the two-decade-old eight-second
knockout record of Mike Tyson,
knocking
out Tommy Krupe in the 2002 Golden Gloves National Championships in
June 2002.
He won his
first three fights with opening-round KOs, including a brutal TKO in his
pro debut over Robert
Dykes
on Nov. 9, 2002, from Oklahoma City, Okla.
In his
fourth bout of 2004, the boxer-puncher shut out Willard Lewis
across eight rounds on March 27,
2004, in
Tustin, Calif. The judges each scored it 80-72.
On Feb.
25, 2005, Green registered a third-round TKO over Sebastian Hill in
Miami, Okla. Green dropped
his
opponent with a barrage of punches in the first round. Two successive
right hands to Hill’s face put him
down on
his back again in the second. In the third, Green pinned Hill to the ropes
and unleashed a barrage of
shots that
prompted the stoppage.
Smith
(11-2, 9 KOs), of Honolulu, Hawaii, flipped the switch. Although he
compiled an 8-2 record through his
first 10
fights, Smith had not fought anyone who had more than three victories. So,
when Smith battled Nick
Cook
(13-0 going in) on March 19, 2004, in San Diego, Calif., he made a major
leap in competition. After
going
toe-to-toe for much of the fight, Smith registered a ninth-round knockout
at 2:14.
In his
next fight on July 6, 2004, Smith took on veteran Anwar Oshana
(23-3 going in) from Muskegon,
Mich.
Smith pummeled his opponent to two standing-eight counts. Between the
fourth and fifth rounds,
Oshana and
his corner decided they had seen enough and threw in the towel.
In his
most recent battle on Sept. 11, 2004, Smith returned to Muskegon to
challenge Tim Bowe. Smith
boxed
brilliantly and registered an eight-round unanimous decision by the scores
79-73 twice and 78-74.
Smith
backed his foe into the corner repeatedly, feeding him right hands.
Nick
Charles will call the action from ringside, with Steve Farhood
serving as expert analyst. The executive
producer
of the telecast is Gordon Hall, with Richard Gaughan
producing.
For
information on “ShoBox: The New Generation” and SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP
BOXING telecasts,
including
complete fighter bios, records, related stories and more, please go the
SHOWTIME website at
http://www.sho.com/boxing.
*tape
delayed on the west coast
-
Press Release issued by Showtime's Shobox (with a little editing from us -
color, highlights).
(5/20/05)
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