Tickets may be purchased in advance by calling the 8 Count Productions box office at 312-226-5800. Cicero Stadium is located at 1909 S. Laramie, just minutes from the Eisenhower and Stevenson Expressways. Doors for this event will open at 7:00pm with the first bell at 8:00pm.

EURO NEWS CORNER (05-8-2008)... by Per-Âke Persson
Just hours after Arena Box Promotion had announced an interesting heavyweight fight between Konstantin Airich and British veteran Danny Williams May 30 in Istanbul where Sinan Samil Sam and Matt Skelton were all set to battle for the vacant EBU title in the main event came the news from Sports Network, Skelton's promoter, that Sam is injured and the show is postponed.
Cuban Erlandis Lara has, according to Bild Zeitung, fled the country by boat with Arena Box Promotion financing it and is hiding in Mexico while awaiting the paper work to be done to travel to Germany. Meanwhile Guillermo Rigondeaux was supposed to have been on the boat but jumped off at the last moment.

VALUEV-CHAGAEV RESCHEDULED FOR JULY 5!
The WBA heavyweight title fight between champion Ruslan Chagaev and challenger Nikolay Valuev has been rescheduled for July 5.
The bout had initially been slated for May 31, but was postponed earlier this week when Chagaev was forced to stop training because of a viral infection of the upper respiratory tract.

-For more on this story, go here-

ROUND 2 WITH ALFONSO GOMEZ... by Dominic Nicosia
When a person suffers a setback in his or her ultimate plans, that person often feels compelled to take a bit of a break. It’s natural to want to go explore other things and get away for a while. With the amount of talent Alfonso Gomez has going for him, he could have easily made a career transition after his recent and rather decisive loss to Miguel Cotto. Instead, he took it on the chin, took a mini-vacation and went right back to the drawing board to work toward his next in-ring endeavor. Horace Greeley once told the world to go west, Gomez took a slightly different approach and found catharsis and relaxation in the Big Apple with his girlfriend. He is now back in his hometown of Whittier, focused on finding and winning his next fight.
-Photo Credit: Jose Hernandez/BRC-

BOXING'S FUTURE STARS ON DISPLAY MAY 16 AT MORONGO CASINO
Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa has showcased some of boxing’s top fighters in the past year, but what many don’t realize is that Morongo is showcasing some the sport’s top up-and-coming prospects.  Morongo’s May 16 fight card is no different, featuring four top fighters many predict to be future stars in the sport, including undefeated lightweight Michael “The Little Warrior” Franco from Riverside. 

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TO HEAVYWEIGHT DEBATE - NATURAL WEIGHT JUMP FOR MANY, NATURAL WEIGHT DROP FOR FEW...by Stephen Jones

Money and respect I suppose are great reasons to make the move up, but how often have we seen ex-heavyweight champs move down? We have had a few slide down to cruiserweight to attempt to fit in with the smaller division's finest and theoretically bring heavyweight strength with them to gain a powerful advantage, Herbie Hide is a great example (now contending with Arena Boxing as a Cruiserweight) but Heavyweight to light heavyweight??

Art Pelullo/Banner Promotions, Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, and UNLVtickets.com will present a sensational fight card on Friday, May 16, in the PH ring at the Cox Pavilion, which is connected to the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event and co-featured bouts will be televised live on ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights.”

In the light heavyweight main event scheduled for 10 rounds, former two-time heavyweight world champion Chris Byrd, 40-4-1 with 21 knockouts, of Las Vegas, will fight Shaun George, 16-2-2 with 7 knockouts, of Brooklyn, New York.

WBC champion Cristian Mijares and WBA title-holder Alexander “El Explosivo” Muñoz will fight May 17 in the first super flyweight unification title bout in more than 10 years, headlining the “Noche de Campeones” pay-per-view event live from the Auditorio Centenario in Gomez Palacio, Durango, Mexico.
“Noche de Campeones,” promoted by KO Entertainment in association with DiBella Entertainment, will be produced and distributed by Integrated Sports for live viewing in the United States (9 PM/ET) on both cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, TVN, DirecTV and DISH Network, as well as on The Fight Network in Canada, for a suggested retail price of only $29.95.

RODRIGUEZ & HINKEY READY TO SHINE ON 'DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH' CARD MAY 17 IN BOSTON
Pro boxing returns to Boston on May 17 when promoter Peter Manfredo, Sr., in association with Let’s Get It On Promotions, presents “Diamonds in the Rough” at Freeport (I.B.E.W.) Hall in Dorchester, Massachusetts.
Worcester (MA) middleweight prospect Edwin Rodriguez (4-0, 3 KOs) and super middleweight Derek Hinkey (4-1, 4 KOs) are in separate 6-round co-main events. The Dominican Republic-born Rodriguez, winner of the 2006 National Golden Gloves Championships and 2005 United States Championships, is a potential rising star. Hinkey, fighting out of McDermitt, Nevada, is a Native American fighter with a rich amateur career.

MANDINGO'S HBO DEBUT MAY 17TH...
James "Mandingo" Kirkland will be making his first appearance on HBO Boxing on Saturday, May 17th.

After the media circus that was Hatton V Mayweather, Ricky Hatton, (43-1, 31 KOs) returns to the more familiar light welterweight division with a defense of his IBO title against Juan 'Hispanic Causing Panic' Lazcano, (37-4-1, 27 KOs).   Hatton won the hearts of a lot of fans over the Atlantic with his honest charm and sheer British bulldog spirit, and with a potential re-match with "Pretty Boy" Floyd on the horizon, it is important that the Mancunian gets back to winning ways quickly if he is to cement his legacy in the sport.
The bout will take place in front of a packed City of Manchester Stadium on May 24th, which is Ricky's way of saying thank you to the thousands who followed him out to Las Vegas for that fateful night against the pound for pound best fighter in the world.  

N'DOU STRICTLY BUSINESS FOR CHAMP MALIGNAGGI...
“I’m just working on getting the job done May 24th,” Malignaggi explained. “I’m focused on doing my job on this card, not looking any deeper than I have to. I’m training in Sicily to get acclimated to the time change (like England, 6 hours difference from the East Coast of the U.S.). I have connections here and everything was set-up for me, including my sparring partners. I trained two weeks in Vero Beach with Buddy (McGirt, head trainer) and he’ll catch up with us in Sicily.
“N’dou is a pressure fighter who fights at a high pace. I just have to stay consistent and fight like I did our first fight. I’ll force him into making adjustments. He has to try and get to me, come to me, not stay on the outside.

MAY 24: HATTON-LAZCANO, MALIGNAGGI-N'DOU II OFFICIAL!
The Empire Casino in London, promoter Frank Maloney officially announced Ricky Hatton's next fight, an IBO defense against ex-world title challenger Juan Lazcano at City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England on May 24, 2008.
Maloney also unveiled a Commonwealth welterweight title clash between reigning champion Craig Watson and challenger Matthew Hatton, younger brother of "The Hitman" as well as IBF Light Welter Champion Paulie Malignaggi defending his crown against former titlist Lovemore N'dou in a rematch.