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Lem’s latest: Tyson to be inducted into NVHOF on Aug. 10

Fighters Network
26
Jul

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Former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, who was inducted into The International Hall of Fame in 2011, will receive similar honors from The Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame, organization director and longtime boxing commentator and historian, Rich Marotta, announced on Friday.

Tyson, 47, will be inducted along with former titleholder Mike McCallum and the late Diego Corrales.



“I am truly honored by this induction. It’s an extraordinary feeling to be recognized for my accomplishments by the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame,” said Tyson, a resident of Henderson, Nev. “It’s very nostalgic at this stage of my life to look back with dignity on my career and how much the state of Nevada has contributed to my legacy.”

Once dubbed “the baddest man on the planet” and the youngest man, at the age of 22, to become heavyweight champion, Tyson retired with a record of 50-6 (44 knockouts).

Since then Tyson has reinvented himself. He has had memorable roles in Hollywood films, including the Hangover franchise, and has taken his talents to the stage as the star of a one-man show.

Tyson has also started a company, Iron Mike Promotions, which will promote a card on Aug. 23 with featherweight contender Jesus Cuellar (22-1, 18 KOs), of Buenos Aires, Argentina, against the Dominican Republic’s Claudio Marrero (14-0, 11 KOs) at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, New York, on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights.

In the co-main event, IBF junior lightweight titleholder Argenis Mendez (21-2, 11 KOs) will face Arash Usmanee (20-1, 10 KOs).

Also a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, McCallum, 56, turned pro in Las Vegas, where he was 6-1 in seven fights starting with a fourth-round knockout of Rigoberto Lopez in his professional debut in 1981. McCallum’s signature triumph was a devastating, one-punch knockout of Donald Curry at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 1987.

Corrales, who died at the age of 29 in a motorcycle accident in 2007, was one of boxing’s top action fighters of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Corrales knocked out Jose Luis Castillo in the 10th-round of a lightweight title fight at Mandalay Bay in 2005, regarded by many as one of the greatest bouts in boxing history.

Corrales (40-5, 33 KOs) twice rose from the canvas in the 10th and appeared to be on the verge of being stopped before rallying behind a big right hand that had Castillo reeling before ending the fight with a brutal display of power punching.

Tyson, McCallum and Corrales are among 19 inductees over eight categories who will be honored by the Nevada Hall of Fame.

ZOU SHIMING, EVGENY GRADOVICH, JUAN ESTRADA WEIGH IN

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Two-time Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming (1-0) weighed 111.4 compared to 111.6 for Mexican rival Jesus Ortega (3-1, 2 KOs) on Friday in advance of Saturday’s flyweight bout on Top Rank’s second card in Macau, China.

Also, IBF featherweight titleholder Evgeny Gradovich (16-0, 8 KOs) tipped the scales at 125.75, the same as rival Mauricio Munoz (26-3, 12 KOs), in advance of Gradovich’s first defense of his belt.

In addition, WBA and WBO flyweight beltholder Juan Estrada (24-2, 18 KOs) and challenger Milan Melindo (29-0, 12 KOs) each weighed 111.6, and heavyweights Andy Ruiz (19-0, 13 KOs) and Joe Hanks (21-0, 14 KOs) were 254.5 and 236.8, respectively.

ANTHONY DIRRELL CONTINUES TO COMBAT THE ODDS

It seems like little, if anything, has come easily for Anthony Dirrell, a talented boxer-puncher from Flint, Mich.

The 28-year-old younger brother of 168-pound contender Andre Dirrell, the undefeated Anthony has endured cancer, a broken leg from a motorcycle accident, and a much more difficult than expected outing in his most recent fight in May.

On Saturday, Dirrell (25-0, 21 knockouts) will return to action by rising from super middleweight into the light heavyweight division when he takes on the durable Anthony Hanshaw (23-3-2, 14 KOs) on the undercard of a Showtime-televised tripleheader at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Three other bouts on the card, promoted by Golden Boy, feature Florida welterweights Andre Berto (28-2, 22 KOs) and Keith “One Time” Thurman (20-0, 18 KOs) as well as lightweight prospect Omar Figueroa Jr. (21-0-1, 17 KOs).

Meanwhile, Dirrell will be after his 10th knockout in 11 fights against Hanshaw, who was stopped in the fifth round by Andre Dirrell in May of 2008.

“It doesn’t matter what happened when I fought his brother,” said Hanshaw, 35, who lost his last fight by unanimous decision to Farah Ennis.

“The fact that I lost to Andre just gives me extra motivation. When I fought Andre, I wasn’t in shape at all. But I’m in some of the best shape of my career to fight Anthony. I had a great camp, and I’m ready to give him the first loss of his career.”

Anthony Dirrell’s last fight was on May 3 in Las Vegas, the night before Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s unanimous decision over Robert Guerrero in defense of his WBC 147-pound title at the MGM.

In that bout, Anthony returned from a 17-month ring absence from the motorcycle accident in May of 2012 to overcome the rugged Don Mouton in a toe-to-toe battle for an eight-round unanimous decision.

“I needed work. I knew that he hadn’t been knocked out. I knew that he could stand up to the power that I had, and he was giving it back to me,” said Dirrell, at ringside, after facing Mouton.

“I knew what I was getting into. He’s a heck of a fighter and I knew that he had been robbed a lot of times. So I knew he was a good fighter. Big ups to him.”

Dirrell was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma shortly after he stopped James Hopkins in December 2006, and didn’t return to the ring until October 2008, when he decisioned Andy Mavros over four rounds.

From there, Dirrell went on a tear, scoring nine consecutive knockouts, ending with a fourth-round stoppage of Renan St. Juste in December of 2011 that made him the WBC’s No. 1 contender.

Then came the accident.

“I battled cancer, and it didn’t hold me down,” said Anthony Dirrell. “I’m still here and I’m ready. Coming up this Saturday, I’ll win with by knockout.”

In the other bouts Saturday, Berto will face Jesus Soto Karass (27-8-3, 17 KOs) in his first fight under new trainer Virgil Hunter. Thurman meets hammer-fisted Diego Chaves (22-0, 18 KOs), who is in pursuit of his sixth consecutive knockout victory. Figueroa is matched with Japan’s Nihito Arakawa (24-2-1, 16 KOs).

BERTO-VICTOR ORTIZ, FIGUEROA-PEREZ ON FOX DEPORTES GOLDEN BOY CLASSICS

On Friday at 9 p.m. ET/PT, Golden Boy Classics will air on Fox Deportes, both Berto’s unanimous decision loss to Victor Ortiz that dethroned him as WBC beltholder and which featured two knockdowns by each fighter in April of 2011, as well as Figueroa’s sixth-round stoppage of previously unbeaten Michael Perez in January of last year.

Photos / Jeff Haynes-AFP, John Gurzinski-AFP

Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]

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