12/9/04
FOR RELEASE: IMMEDIATE
CONTACT: TAMARA PETTIT
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
304-387-8335 (OFFICE) 304-479-8097 (CELL)
CHESTER, WV – A night of five title bouts will end
the year with a bang and a boom at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort. Three West Virginia State Title Bouts,
an NABC America’s Title and an IBC America’s
Title will be on the card when Mountaineer and World Class
Promotions presents “Wars of 2004” on December
30 at THE HARV. The card will also feature two non-title
contests.
The Main Event will be of huge local interest when a local
boxer and rising national star takes on a legendary former
World Heavyweight Champion. Brian “The Beast”
Minto will defend his West Virginia Heavyweight Title when
he battles Tony “TNT” Tubbs. Minto has not fought
since July when he knocked out 21-1 Vinnie Madalone in the
10th round with a single left hook. The bout, broadcast
live on ESPN 2, was a back and forth contest, but had Minto
needing to knockout to win. The one-punch KO made ESPN’s
Plays of the Week and ESPN 2’s Knockouts of the Year.
Minto, who hails from Butler, PA, is 18-0 with 11 knockouts
and is without a doubt a prospect to be watched in the Heavyweight
division. He is promoted by DUVA Boxing and will have Boxing
Hall of Fame member Lou Duva on hand to watch his new star.
Minto is trained by Tom Yankello.
Minto’s contender is no stranger to boxing fans worldwide.
A former WBA World Heavyweight Champion, Tony Tubbs makes
his Mountaineer debut in his attempt to capture Minto’s
title. Tubbs (48-10, 25 KOs) won the Heavyweight Title from
Greg Page and has stayed active of late stopping 16-13 Brian
Sargeant with an overfight in round one. He has fought a
“Who’s Who” of the heavyweight division
and also sports wins over Jimmy Young, former World Champion
James “Bonecrusher” Smith, former World Champion
Mike Tyson, Tim Witherspoon and Riddick Bowe.
Current NABC Americas Featherweight Champ Verquan Kimbrough
will vie for his second title with Terrell Hargrove of Louisville
who scored a knockout over Scott McCracken. Kimbrough (9-0-1)
will battle Hargrove (7-7) for the NABC Jr. Lightweight
America’s Championship Title in a co-feature bout.
Current West Virginia Jr. Lightweight Monty Meza-Clay brings
his unbeaten record to the ring when he attempts to add
the West Virginia Lightweight Title to his resume. The 23-year-old
Rankin, PA native is 13-0 with nine knockouts. He will battle
a fellow crowd favorite at Mountaineer when “Irish”
Davey McBride of Salem, Ohio comes to keep Meza-Clay from
being a two time West Virginia champion. McBride has two
knockout wins at Mountaineer, a third-round KO of Jim Gruber
and a one-round stoppage of Margaro Senquiz. McBride was
a National Amateur kick boxing champion and sports an 8-4
record as a pro.
The West Virginia Welterweight Championship will be at
stake when a local favorite takes on a fighter who has been
a spoiler at Mountaineer. George “da Butcher”
Klinesmith will display his perennial crowd pleasing style
when he takes on Tony Black of Columbus, Ohio. Klinesmith,
a Bloomdale, Ohio native, is 19-8-3 with 12 knockouts. He
recently fought for the West Virginia Jr. Middleweight Title,
but came away with a disputed draw against 9-1-1 Jeremy
Brown. Black, (7-3-1) has all his wins coming by a knockout
and has never been stopped as a pro. Black recently shocked
the crowd at Mountaineer’s Grande Ballroom by stopping
14-2 Jacy Kuhn 23 seconds into the sixth and final round.
Black was behind on all cards when he landed a left right
combination that left Kuhn on the canvas for the ten count.
The newly crowned IBC America’s champion Mike “Fully
Loaded” Carr of Pittsburgh will defend his title against
8-1 contender Kyle Patrick of Columbus, Ohio. Carr is 13-1-2
with eight knockouts and won the title with a ten-round
unanimous decision over 16-5 Gary Wolfe.
The card gets underway at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $125 –
VIP, $60 – Gold, $40 – Reserved and $20 –
General Admission and are available through all Ticketmaster
locations or on site at Mountaineer’s Roarin’
20’s Players Club in the Downtown Speakeasy.
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