MANFREDO TO RETURN ON MAY 11
By Alex Stone
Moments ago, Boxingtalk was informed by Peter Manfredo Sr. that his son, Peter Manfredo Jr., less than two weeks removed from his loss to super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe, will be returning to the ring in an off-TV bout on May 11. The chosen opponent for Manfredo, 26-4 with 12 KO’s, will be journeyman Ted Muller.

Muller, sporting a less than spectacular record of 19-10-2 with 9 KO’s, is obviously a tune-up fight for Manfredo, who is now in comeback mode. However, one should not take Muller lightly. The seasoned veteran has been in the ring with many high class opponents, going the distance with Alan Green and in his most recent fight, Bronco McKart. In his 10 losses, Muller has only been stopped twice; once by hard hitting Jerson Ravelo, and once by cruiserweight prospect Zack Walters. The fight will take place in the new Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island.

Manfredo’s loss to Calzaghe was questionable at the least, as many saw the third round stoppage as questionable. When asked about the issue, Manfredo Sr. was, as usual, not shy. “Should my son have thrown more punches? Yes,” stated Manfredo Sr. “However, was my son at all hurt at any point in the fight? No,” Manfredo Sr. added. “A lot of things were messed up that night. Freddie (Roach) just pulled out on us, our strength and conditioning never showed up, I had to fly in a brand new cut man, and a bunch of other shit. There were problems with an issue about the gloves the day before the fight, and I most certainly did not want that referee. They gave us neutral judges but I tried to get that ref changed, and now you see why.”

It was early and they should have let Manfredo go out on his shield.......and gone out on his shield is exactly what he would have done

Manfredo Looks To Impress on May 11

PROVIDENCE - World title Contender "The Pride of Providence" Peter Manfredo, Jr., bouncing right back from his April 7 loss by controversial stoppage to undefeated WBO super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe, returns to the ring May 11 headlining "The Pride Is Back" against veteran Ted Muller in the 10-round main event at the new Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, Rhode Island.

"The Pride Is Back," promoted by Jimmy Burchfield's Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc. (CES), is the inaugural show in "The Budweiser Night at the Fights" series, promoted by CES at Twin River.

Manfredo (26-4, 12 KOs), star of The Contender Season One, holds wins against Scott Pemberton, Joey Spina, Grady Brewer, Alfonso Gomez, Anthony Bonsante, Frankie Randall and Sherwin Davis.

Muller (19-10-2, 9 KOs), fighting out of Moline, Illinois, fought a draw against top prospect carlos De Leon, Jr. in 2005 and has become a gate keeper of the super middleweight division having fought Elvir Muriqi, Bronco McKart, Allan Green and Jerson Ravelo.

"Manfredo is all about home cooking," promoter Burchfield said about Manfredo fighting once again in Rhode Island. "This is where he's from. Peter was 21-0 fighting out of this area. Fans are excited because he's fighting again in Rhode Island. Everybody knows his last fight was stopped too early. Peter Manfredo, Jr. is 'The Pride of Providence' and 'The Pride Is Back.'

"I've provided a lot of surprises for boxing fans over the years and May 11th is going to be the biggest surprise of all. Twin River is a beautiful facility and I guarantee that it will be the mecca for boxing in New England. I'm so excited about having our boxing series in this venue, which is only 10 minutes away from my house. It's been great working with Craig Sculos (Vice President & General Manager) and Clyde Callicott (Vice President of Marketing) at Twin River and having our inaugural show there broadcast on CN8, The Comcast Network and into its 9 million households."

"The Pride Is Back" will air on Sunday, May 20 at 7 PM on CN8, The Comcast Network. The CN8 broadcast will air network wide, reaching 9 million homes in 12 states and 20 television markets. The event can also be viewed online at www.CN8.tv. Following the CN8 broadcast, "The Pride Is Back" will be available ON DEMAND at no charge to Comcast Digital Cable customers. "The Pride Is Back" will also air on Cox Sports Television at dates and times to be determined. The announcing team will be comprised of play-by-play announcer Nick Charles, five-time world champion Vinny Paz as color commentator, and boxing reporter Ron Borges.

Also scheduled to fight on "The Pride Is Back" is nine-time U.S. amateur champion Aaron Williams (12-0-1, 8 KOs), the unbeaten 21-year-old cruiserweight making his CES debut in the six-round co-feature; Providence's 2004 U.S. Olympian Jason "Big Six" Estrada (8-1, 1 KO) in a six-round Special Heavyweight Attraction; Providence's popular Richard "Bobo" Starnino (7-2-1, 1 KO) against New Bedford super middleweight Eric Pinarreta (1-1, 1 KO), undefeated Johnston (RI) super middleweight Angel Camacho, Jr. (5-0, 3 KOs), New Hampshire cruiserweight prospect Rich Gingas (2-0, 2 KOs), exciting Philadelphia light welterweight "Hammerin'" Hank Lundy (4-0, 3 KOs), and come-backing Providence super middleweight Jarrod Tillinghast (7-0, 2 KOs).

Three CES fighters will be honored at "The Pride Is Back" for their achievements in the ring: WBC No. 3 rated cruiserweight Matt "Too Smooth" Godfrey (15-0, 9 KOs), the NABF, NABA, USNBC and WBC Continental Americas champion; 3-time world champion and reigning IWBF lightweight title-holder Jaime "The Hurricane" Clampitt (17-4-1, 7 KOs), WBC Youth super featherweight king Matt "Sharp Shooter" Remillard (11-0, 7 KOs).

Tickets for "The Pride Is Back" go on sale this Saturday morning (10 AM/ET) at the Twin River Event Center, any TicketMaster location, or by going on line at www.cesboxing.com or www.twinriver.com. Ticket prices are $50.00 (Bronze), $65.00 (Silver), $100.00 (Gold) and $150.00 (limited Jimmy's Platinum Club). For more information contact CES (401.724.2253/2254 or www.cesboxing.com) or Twin River Event Center (877.82.RIVER or www.twinriver.com). Doors open at 6 PM/ET, first bout at 7 PM/ET.

-CES-

RHODE ISLAND PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES

Peter Manfredo, Jr.: "I'm just happy to be on the card and happy to be fighting. Everybody who watched knows I wasn't able to fight April 7. I grew-up watching and sparring Vinny Paz, Scott Pemberton, Ray Oliveira and guys like that. I never saw anything like that. To lose I wanted to be carried out on a stretcher. I didn't realize boxing had turned into golf. All of the posters had Calzaghe-Manfredo 20/20. I never understood what it meant until after the fight: 20 title defenses, 20 wins (for Calzaghe). I think it was set-up in the cards. He broke his hand, probably before the fight because he didn't hit me during the fight. All champions lose; real champions come back. I've got to start over. Ted Muller's going to get beating of his life, whether it goes the 12 rounds or not. I'm glad he's a tough kid. I'm angry. I want to stay busy. This is what we do - fight! Everybody's going to enjoy a good fight card."

Ted Muller (via phone from Moline, IL: "I think Peter and I are going to put on a good advance. I'm being severely underestimated. You can expect fireworks May 11. I understand Peter doesn't expect it to go the distance, but I'm going to have something to say about that. I have a lot of respect for Peter for what he did on The Contender. But he wasn't the runner-up; he was the No. 1 loser. Maybe he should consider going back to middleweight or junior middleweight."

LOL @ Manfredo.

Can you guys send over a real boxer next time please?

thats bad ass.