Sept. 21 boxing card at the Sands should be good one

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/ FROM KEITH GROLLER The first boxing card at the Sands Event Center on June 1 was impressive. The promoters and the NBC Sports Network were thrilled with the sellout crowd and the atmosphere at the Sands. Ronald Cruz of Bethlehem was largely responsible for providing the crowd and the atmosphere and he's back on another boxing card set for Sept. 21 at the Sands, which will probably be better than the June 1 card: Here are the details from a Russell Peltz Promotions releases: Bethlehem, PA—Junior middleweights Gabriel Rosado, of Philadelphia, PA, and Charles Whittaker, of the Cayman Islands, will battle for the No. 1 spot in the IBF rankings on Friday evening, Sept. 21, at the Event Center of the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem. The Rosado-Whittaker bout has been added to the NBC Sports Network Fight Series card, which already includes: light-heavyweights Gabriel Campillo, of Madrid, Spain, against Sergey Kovalev, of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 10 rounds; welterweights Ronald Cruz, of Bethlehem, PA, against Antwone Smith, of Miami, FL, 12 rounds. First TV fight at 9 pm (ET). Main Events, which is promoting the Sept. 21 card with Peltz Boxing and Sampson Boxing, won a purse bid on July 26 for the right to promote Rosado vs. Whittaker and added the match to the Sept. 21 card. The winner of the Rosado-Whittaker fight will become the mandatory challenger for IBF world champion Cornelius Bundrage, of Detroit, MI. Rosado, 26, earned the No. 3 slot in the IBF ratings this year with knockout victories over Jesus Soto-Karass, of Mexico, and over Sechew Powell, of Brooklyn, NY. The win over Powell topped the June 1 card in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the 2,000-seat Event Center at the Sands. A pro since 2006, Rosado (above right) has a 20-5 record, 12 K0s. He has won his last six fights and also has defeated ex-IBF champ Kassim Ouma, of Uganda, and contender Saul Roman, of Mexico. Whittaker, 38, is 38-12-2, 23 K0s, since turning pro in 1993. He gained the No. 2 slot in the IBF by beating Keenan Collins, of Reading, PA, and Giorbis Barthelemy, of Cuba. He currently holds the USBA title at 154 pounds. ABOUT SEPTEMBER 21 The Campillo-Kovalev, Cruz-Smith and Rosado-Whittaker fights top a seven-bout card at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem. First fight is 7.15 pm (ET). Television portion begins at 9 pm (ET). Tickets priced at $80 and $55 can be purchased through the offices of Peltz Boxing (215-765-0922, all Ticketmaster outlets (800-745-3000) or at the box office at the Sands Event Center (610-297-7414 Tickets also can be purchased online at www.peltzboxing.com, www.SandsEventCenter.com and www.Ticketmaster.com. Luxury suite tickets at $130 apiece also are available. In Bethlehem, tickets are available at Deja Brew, Inc., 101 West 4th Street (610-865-2739and at Pronto Insurance Notary, 232 East 3rd Street (610-419-6790. NBC Sports Network will televise the Campillo-Kovalev, Cruz-Smith and Rosado-Whittaker fights, beginning at 9 pm. The card is being promoted by Main Events and Peltz Boxing Promotions, Inc., in association with Sampson Boxing and the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem. CAMPILLO AND KOVALEV HEADLINE SEPT 21st NBC SPORTS NETWORK "FIGHT NIGHT" Totowa, NJ - July 13, 2012 - Gabriel "Chico Guapo" Campillo, 21-4-1, 8 KO's, the #3 light heavyweight in the world, will take on Russia's tough Sergey Kovalev, 18-0-1, 16 KO's, rated #13, on Friday, September 21st when the critically acclaimed NBC Sports Network Fight Night Boxing Series returns to the Events Center at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The 2,000 seat arena was sold out with standing room only for the June 1st NBCSN Fight Night show at the Sands. The show, which is slated to begin at 9 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network, will be a co-promotion among Peltz Boxing, Sampson Boxing and Main Events. Managed by World Middleweight Champion Sergio Martinez, Campillo of Madrid was last seen in February losing a razor-close highly controversial split decision to IBF Champion Tavoris Cloud in Texas. In 2010 Campillo, (21-4-1, 8 KO's) lost another disputed decision to current IBF Light Heavyweight title holder Beibut Shumenov in Las Vegas. Last year he drew with Karo Murat in a title eliminator in Murat's adopted home of Germany. "Campillo has arguably beaten two world champions and the number one contender without receiving the decisions," said promoter Kathy Duva of Main Events. "After he stopped Darnell Boone on NBCSN in June, Kovalev stated that he is ready to fight for the world title. On September 21st he will get the opportunity to prove to the world that he is worthy in a very tough fight. A win for Campillo would put him right back into the title picture." Campillo's promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz said, "Campillo is very happy about this fight. This is well deserved. He got robbed in his last 3 - 4 fights, including Vegas, Germany and Texas." Lewkowicz added, "Campillo will spend the next two months training very hard with manager Sergio Martinez and trainer Pablo Sarmiento. He is a very tough fighter. This will be a great fight and I guarantee that no one in that arena will know who the winner will be until the end." In the twelve round defense of his WBC Continental Americas Welterweight belt, popular welterweight Ronald Cruz of Bethlehem, 17-0, 12 KO's, will make his second "Fight Night" appearance when he faces Antwone Smith, 21-4-1, 12 KO's, in a classic crossroads match-up. Cruz won his belt on the NBCSN Fight Night show on June 1st with a unanimous 12-round decision over Prenice Brewer, of Cleveland, OH. Smith is a walk-in styled fighter like Cruz and this fight promises to be a boxing fan's contest. Cruz is currently ranked No. 12 IBF and No. 15 WBC as a welterweight.