NEW YORK (AUG 10) – World Boxing Organization (WBO) Junior Middleweight Champion Daniel “El Pillin” Santos will seek to extend his unbeaten streak in world title bouts to 10 (with one no-contest) when he defends against former WBA welterweight champion Jose Antonio “El Gallo” Rivera in the main event on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2005, at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).
In a must-win fight for a pair of talented, once-beaten heavyweights who aspire to box for a world title, World Boxing Council (WBC) No. 7/World Boxing Association (WBA) No. 9 contender Owen “What the Heck” Beck faces International Boxing Federation (IBF) No. 8 contender Sergei “The White Wolf” Liakhovich in the co-feature. Don King Productions will promote the explosive doubleheader from The Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Santos (29-2-1, 20 KOs), of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, will be making his first start in nearly a year and the fifth defense of the WBO 154-pound belt he won with a come-from-behind 11th-round TKO over Luis Ramon “Yory Boy” Campas on March 16, 2002, in Las Vegas.
In his last outing, September 2004, Santos retained his title when he won a rematch with highly regarded Antonio Margarito on a ninth-round split technical decision in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. A hard-fought battle was stopped due to a Margarito cut caused by Santos. The defending champion kept his belt by the narrow margin of 87-85, 86-85 and 85-86. Their first fight, which took place on July 21, 2001, in Bayamon, on SHOWTIME, came when Santos was WBO welterweight champion. It ended in no contest after a clash of heads at 2:11 of the first round.
“Margarito is a former world welterweight champion and that was a tough fight,” Santos said. “But I was better. There are a lot of great fights at 154 pounds. I am willing to defend against anybody.”
Santos captured the WBO 147-pound crown with a fifth-round knockout over Ahmed Katejy in a rematch on May 6, 2000, in Neuss, Germany. The previous Nov. 27 in Lubeck, Germany, Santos came away on the wrong end of a controversial 12-round split decision.
Rivera (37-4-1, 24 KOs), of Worcester, Mass., by way of Philadelphia, claimed the vacant WBA welterweight crown with a majority decision over Michael Trabant on Sept. 13, 2003, in Berlin, Germany.
“It was an amazing feeling,” said Rivera after winning by the scores of 116-111, 116-114 and 114-114. “I still get goosebumps thinking about it. I remember training for that fight, and having tears coming out of my eyes while doing roadwork because I was finally fighting for a world championship. The whole plane ride home I was like, ‘Wow, I did it.’
“Honestly, I never expected to be fighting for the 154-pound title so soon. I had planned to defend my welterweight title a few times. But I sure appreciate this opportunity and plan to make the best of it.”
After winning the WBA belt, Rivera did not defend for a year and a half. He was inactive, but not by choice. He was slated to meet Thomas Damgaard, but Damgaard lost his father and did not fight. Rivera was then matched against Ricardo Mayorga, but Mayorga did not make weight before the fight.
Rivera was set to face Damgaard again, this time on April 2, 2005, before the hometown fans in Worcester. But when the Dane pulled out again, Brooklyn’s Luis Collazo stepped in as a late replacement. In a major upset, Collazo outpointed Rivera by the scores of 115-113 twice and 113-115 in a tremendous, crowd-pleasing slugfest that featured numerous, non-stop exchanges round after round.
“I pushed the whole fight,” Rivera said. “I do not know how he got the split decision, but they gave it to him.”
Beck (24-1, 18 KOs), of Nashville, Tenn. by way of Kingstown, Jamaica, is making his first start since suffering his lone defeat on a ninth-round TKO to the more experienced Monte Barrett on Feb. 5, 2005, on SHOWTIME. Beck fought hard in the IBF eliminator in St. Louis and landed many solid shots. After going down in the second round, he rallied to perform exceedingly well to make the battle of top 10 fighters close. But Beck began to falter down the stretch and got floored twice in the ninth. The bout was stopped at 2:52.
“That fight was a great learning experience for me,” Beck said. “I learned more in that one loss than in my 24 wins combined. I have worked harder since that fight than ever before. This will be a good fight with Liakhovich, but I am ready to go. I will be a legitimate force in the division.
“My goal and dream is still to win the heavyweight championship of the world.”
Beck compiled a record of 73-5 in the amateurs. A natural middleweight, he won the Caribbean Championship three times and was the national champion six times. He also captured the Central American & Caribbean silver medal and earned a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia as a super heavyweight in 1998. It was in Jamaica that Beck picked up his nickname.
“‘What the Heck’ was mentioned as a possible nickname, so my brothers and I took a vote and it won,” Beck said. “It was not my choice. I did not like the name. I did not think it was tough enough.”
Liakhovich (22-1, 14 KOs), of Phoenix, Ariz., by way of Minsk, Byelorussia, will be making his 2005 debut. The latest heavyweight from East Europe to make a strong impression on United States soil, Liakhovich is coming off a close, unanimous 10-round decision over Dominick Guinn on Dec. 3, 2004, in Atlantic City, N.J. In an impressive outing, Liakhovich got off first, consistently outworked Guinn and triumphed by the scores of 97-93 and 96-94 twice.
“I like being the underdog,” Liakhovich, who has won six in a row, said. “If a fighter wants to look past me, fine, but there is no looking past my fists once I am in the ring. Guinn was supposed to be too good for me, but I showed him.
“Beck is a big talker, but I will silence him once and for all on September 3”
In one of the toughest tests in his career, Liakhovich captured the North American Boxing Association (NABA) heavyweight title with a hard-fought 12-round decision over previously undefeated Friday Ahunanya, Nov. 17, 2001, in Las Vegas.
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING’s Steve Albert and Al Bernstein will call the action from ringside with Jim Gray serving as roving reporter. The executive producer of the SHOWTIME telecast will be Jay Larkin, with David Dinkins Jr. producing and Bob Dunphy directing.
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