Hollywood Casino, Bay St. Louis, MS, and Promoter Leslie Bonano of BRAWLIN’ IN N’AWLINS have teamed up to produce an outstanding Professional Boxing Card scheduled for January 22, 2011 at the Casino Property located at 711 Hollywood Blvd., Bay St. Louis, MS, 39520. This action-packed event will help prepare fans for SUPERBOWL XLV which will take place on February 6, 2011.
The Main Event will feature Will “KID FIRE” McIntyre (40 wins, 4 losses, 1 draw) from Covington, LA, who will battle Blake “CANDYMAN” Prevost (15 wins, 2 losses) who hails from Lafayette, LA.
McIntyre, the pride of the North Shore, is the former North American Boxing Association Super Middleweight Champion. He defeated Shawn Lanberg in a 12-round decision to capture the NABA Title. He also earned the IBA Light Heavyweight Championship by out pointing Zane Marks in their 12-round battle at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner, LA. McIntyre is currently a Sergeant with the Folsom, LA Police Department.
McIntyre has twice fought for Major World Boxing Championships. He lost to Dana Rosenblatt in a tough 12-round for the IBA World Title at Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, CT. Joe Calzaghe, a former unbeaten “pound for pound” Champion, stopped McIntyre in his quest for the WBO Title in their bout which was held in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Blake Prevost has an outstanding career both in and out of the ring. He fought in the Olympic Trials and lost a close bout with Jermaine Taylor, the eventual Gold Medal Winner. Prevost is a Marine Corps Veteran who was crowned ALL MARINE CORPS CHAMPION Three of the four years in which he represented the Corps. Prevost, a slick southpaw, is a dedicated professional who has run up an impressive Pro Record of 15 wins against only two losses. He lost his last bout on September 24th at the Paragon Indian Casino, Marksville, LA, due to a massive head butt. Prevost is looking forward to a possible rematch with Romero Johnson, who was awarded the win by Technical Decision. Whether or not he gets the rematch, Blake Prevost plans to make a serious run at a World Championship in 2011 – provided he can find a way to defeat McIntyre. This bout should be a real SLUGFEST!
Heavyweight Bobby O’Bannon (8 wins 3 losses), a devastating puncher who moves with the agility of a Middleweight, will slug it out with Mixed Martial Arts Specialist John Brown (7 wins 3 losses) in a six-round battle that highlights the undercard. O’Bannon from Mobile, AL is a crowd favorite, who has kept fans on their feet in previous Hollywood Casino Events, could have all he can handle as he goes face to face with Brown from Biloxi, MS. This bout is rapidly becoming the talk of the Gulf Coast because it features an experienced Boxer vs. an aggressive MMA Fighter.
The FEMALE bout is a 4-round match- up between two 185 pound ladies. Sidney Leblanc from New Orleans, LA, will be making her Pro Debut against Lamar Iverson (1 win 0 losses), who hails from Akron, OH.
Marcus McDaniel (4 wins 0 losses) will be returning to Hollywood Casino to take on an as yet to be determined opponent. This 163 pound New Orleans pugilist is already gaining a reputation for being the best pound for pound Boxer in the area.
Vincent Burkhalter, now under the new management of the Dupree Strickland Gym will be traveling from Slidell, LA, and looking to upset New Orleans Boxer Jamont “Do Wop” Bourgeois (2 wins 1 loss) in their 4-round bout.
Medzhid Vbektemirov (4 wins 0 losses), a native of Wakachola, Russia, who is fighting out of Houston, TX, is looking to improve his record by battling Cleoney Fuqua (2 wins 3 losses) of Columbus, MS. The 163 pound Fuqua, who fought a great battle in his last Hollywood Casino appearance, is looking to upset the highly touted Russian.
Don’t miss live boxing at Hollywood Casino, Bay St. Louis. Tickets are $20, $50 and $100; and are on sale at TOKENS Gift Shop or call 1-800-229-2683
The Weigh In will be held in the Magnolia Room of the Hollywood Casino Hotel at 3 PM on January 21, 2011.
ALL BOUTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE – YOU MUST BE 21 TO ATTEND
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
