Mohegan Sun Newsroom

Dinner to honor six will be held November 21st at Mohegan Sun

John Scully, who fought for two world light heavyweight titles, heads the 2009 induction class for the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame. Vito Tallarita, Sal DiMartino, Dan Cosgrove, Julie Kogon and Jack Delaney will also be inducted at the fifth annual dinner on Saturday, November 21st in Mohegan Sun’s Uncas Ballroom.  The evening will be hosted by Showtime’s Steve Farhood.

Tickets for the dinner on November 21st are $75.00 and are available now by calling Mike Murtha at Mohegan Sun at 860.862.7586 or Sherman Cain at the Manchester Journal Inquirer at 1.800.237.3606 ext. 321.  The evening will begin with a cocktail hour from 6:00pm – 7:00pm with dinner to follow.
                             
Scully, 42, lost a decision to Henry Maske in Germany in an International Boxing Federation world light heavyweight title fight in 1996. He lost to Drake Thadzi in 1998 in a bout for the International Boxing Organization world title. The lifelong Windsor resident won a New England middleweight crown and was also an Eastern Regional amateur champion.  Scully had a 38-11 record as a pro. Scully currently trains lightweight contender Mike Oliver.
          
Tallarita was the matchmaker for Marlon Starling’s first 20 pro bouts. Tallarita, who lived in Enfield after moving from Italy at age seven, was the matchmaker for all five of Sugar Ray Leonard’s bouts in New England before Leonard became a world champion.  He was inducted into the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996 and also did the wildly successful closed-circuit promotions of the first Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier bout and the Ali-George Foreman fight.    
 
DiMartino, 80 and living in Florida, was the 1952 Connecticut state middleweight champ and won 27 of his first 31 pro bouts. Based in Hartford , DiMartino once beat Vic Cardell, inducted into the CBHOF in 2007. DiMartino retired in 1953 with a record of 38-11-7.                
 
Cosgrove, 91, won 31 of 34 fights between 1934 and 1937. The Branford native had a very successful construction company and had been a prominent figure in politics in the New Haven area.                      
 
Kogon was a popular fighter out of New Haven in the 1930s and 40s. He won the New England lightweight title in 1947. He was ranked the #10 lightweight by Ring Magazine in 1944. Kogon, who died in 1986, had an 83-38-17 professional record.                                                                                        
 
Delaney won a world light heavyweight title in 1926. He relinquished his title without defending it to pursue a career as a heavyweight. He lived in Bridgeport most of his career, compiling pro wins over CBHOF inductees Maxie Rosenbloom and Lou Bogash. Delaney, who died in 1948, finished with a 77-12-1 pro record.                                             

For more information on this and other great events at Mohegan Sun, visit mohegansun.com.  For information on this week’s schedule, call the Entertainment and Special Events hotline at 1.888.226.7711, ext. 27163.

Spina & Del Valle headline Halloween night fight card on October 31st

World-rated light heavyweight Joey “KO Kid” Spina plans to live up to his nickname by knocking out goblins, ghosts, former world champion Lou “Honey Boy” Del Valle and anybody (anything) else that steps into the ring Halloween night at Mohegan Sun Arena.  The event begins at 7:30pm.

Tickets are $75.00, $45.00 and $25.00 and are on sale now at the Mohegan Sun Box Office and through Ticketmaster.  Ticketmaster customers may log on to ticketmaster.com; call Ticketmaster’s national toll free Charge By Phone number 1.800.745.3000; or visit any Ticketmaster outlet. 

Spina (25-1-1, 17 KOs), fighting out of Providence, takes on Del Valle in the 10-round main event. Joey is rated among the top 15 contenders by all four major boxing organizations – WBC #12, WBA #13, WBO #14 and IBF #15. The rugged Italian-American has defeated former world champion Carl Daniels, The Contender star Jesse Brinkley, Anwar Oshana and Manu Ntoh, among the notables.

Del Valle (36-6-1, 22 KOs), a New York southpaw, has never been stopped in 43 pro bouts. He captured the vacant WBA light heavyweight title in 1997 against European champion “Fast” Eddy Smulders by an eighth-round technical knockout. Lou, who fought Bruno Girard to a draw in their 2001 WBA title fight, went the distance with Roy Jones, Jr. (1998 WBC/WBA unification bout), Virgil Hill (1996 WBA title fight) and Girard (2002 WBA title rematch) in three other world championship matches.

“Joey Spina, pound-for-pound, remains one of the hardest-hitting fighters in the world,” promoter Jimmy Burchfield claimed. “He’s very exciting to watch and fans never know when he’s going to put his opponent to sleep with one big shot. Del Valle has a great chin, though, and he’s held his own against future Hall of Famers like Jones and Hill. A solid performance by Joey against a former world champion like Del Valle should put Spina in line for a major fight. It’s going to be a haunting experience, for sure.”

Also scheduled to fight at Fright Night At The Sun is New England and Eastern Boxing Association super bantamweight champion “Machine Gun” Mike Oliver (22-2, 7 KOs), of Hartford, against upset specialist Andre Wilson (11-3-1, 9 KOs) in the 8-round co-feature. A pair of popular, undefeated lightweight prospects are scheduled to be in action, but in 4-round separate bouts, Quincy’s (MA) Ryan “The Polish Prince” Kielczewski (5-0, 2 KOs) and Philadelphia’s Frank Trader (6-0, 2 KOs). All fights and fighters are subject to change.

“We will be announcing the rest of the card very soon,” Burchfield noted. “CES is excited to be returning to the beautiful Mohegan Sun. We’re encouraging fans to dress up for Halloween and enjoy an evening of boxing, entertainment and some spooky moments. Mohegan Sun is like a second home for Mike Oliver and Ryan K. has a strong fan-base within driving distance.”

Mohegan Sun Arena is ranked the 4th best venue by Billboard Magazine and was the 2008 recipient of a Country Music Award for “Casino of The Year.” For more information on concerts and other great events at Mohegan Sun, visit mohegansun.com.  For information on this week’s schedule, call the Entertainment and Special Events hotline at 1.888.226.7711, ext. 27163.

Delvin Rodriguez vs. Isaac Hlatshwayo II for IBF Belt

On Saturday, August 1st, IBF #2 rated Delvin Rodriguez (24-2-2, 14 KOs) of Danbury, CT will fight for the Vacant IBF Welterweight Championship of the World when he takes on IBF #3 rated Isaac Hlatshwayo (28-1-1, 10 KOs) in a rematch of their highly entertaining draw that took place last November in Hlatshwayo’s home country of South Africa. Rodriguez vs. Hlatshwayo is promoted by Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing and is set to take place at Mohegan Sun beginning at 7:30pm.

Tickets are $125.00, $75.00, $45.00 and $30.00 and are on sale now at the Mohegan Sun Box Office and through Ticketmaster.  Ticketmaster customers may log on to ticketmaster.com; call Ticketmaster’s national toll free Charge By Phone number 1.800.745.3000; or visit any Ticketmaster outlet. 

“Of course I was not happy after the first fight. I know I won the fight, most people who watched the fight, including the South African press know I won the fight, the only people who didn’t seem to know were two of the three judges,” stated Rodriguez. “I went into his backyard and fought him and then we set the rematch to be over here in the states and he wouldn’t come. So instead of waiting around for him I took on Shamone Alvarez and beat him, earning the #2 spot in the IBF ratings. Isaac is rated # 3, so the only way he can win the title is by going through me and I promise you that there is no way that is going to happen.”

“I know I am going to knock him out this time around so the scorecards won’t matter. I know that I can take his best punches and that he can not take mine. In the rematch I am going to go right at him from the opening bell until I knock him out. It is going to be great to have all my fans there supporting me and cheering me on to victory. I have a bad taste left in my mouth from November 17th. I plan on getting rid of it in spectacular fashion come this August and fulfilling my life long dream of being the Welterweight Champion of the world.”

“The first fight was a good fight, definitely worthy of a rematch. While I think its noteworthy that the press in South Africa thought Delvin won the fight, as did I, it is going to be a great rematch and I am looking forward to August 1st, not backward,” stated Rodriguez promoter Joe DeGuardia of Star Boxing who was ringside for the bout.

In their first encounter, the two battled to a twelve-round split draw. Those watching the fight, including many of the South African press, felt that although the fight was close, Rodriguez did more than enough to pull out the victory. Rodriguez was the busier fighter; landed more punches and even dropped Hlatshwayo hard in the 9th. Unfortunately for the Dominican native Rodriguez, who now resides in Danbury, CT, it was still not enough in the judges’ eyes to award him with the victory.

“Delvin promised me that if he gets a rematch against Hlatshwayo in the U.S. that he is going to knock him out. We delivered on our end by winning the purse bid, now Delvin must deliver on his, and trust me when I tell you I couldn’t be more confident that he will,” stated DeGuardia.

An extremely exciting and talent-packed undercard, with Providence, RI native and 2008 Olympian Demetrius Andrade, will soon be announced.

For more information on this and other great events at Mohegan Sun, visit mohegansun.com.  For information on this week’s schedule, call the Entertainment and Special Events hotline at 1.888.226.7711, ext. 27163.