Tampa, Florida – Due to the Covid 19 lockdown, the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame has rescheduled the 2020 Class of 2020 Induction Weekend to Friday, Saturday, Sunday August 21-23. The event will still take place at the Westshore Grand Hotel in Tampa, Florida.
The inductees are:
Fighters: Eliseo Castillo, Buster Mathis Jr., Robert Daniels, Jeff Lacy, Glenn Wolfe, Rocky Torres, Bonnie Canino, Jeff Sims*
Trainers: Ben Getty*
Promoters: Jeff Gibson
Media: Alan Hopper, Joe Bruno, Dalia Duran
Participants: Charles Mooney, Lou Martinez, Lou Harris*, Floyd Self*
Officials/Commission: Mark Streisand, Emil Lombardi Jr., Phyllis Garry
Special Achievement Award: Orlando Cuellar, Phil Alessi Jr.
IBF Board Member and former professional boxing referee, passed away this morning April 17, 2020.
According to his wife Ruby, Eddie was hospitalized 2 weeks ago with pneumonia. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 at the hospital.
Eddie’s career as a professional boxing referee started in Atlantic City, NJ in 1992 and it was quite a remarkable one. He refereed over 50 world title fights, some of the most notable bouts being Riddick Bowe vs. Andrew Golota (2), Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson and George Foreman vs. Shannon Briggs. His last professional boxing match as a referee, Felix Sturm vs. Sam Soliman, was on May 31, 2014 in Germany. At that time, Eddie had just been elected as a new member of the IBF Board of Directors. Eddie was also involved with several organizations dedicated to youth boxing such as the American Association for the Improvement of Boxing, YCS Foundation and the Lou Costello Sportsmen Club located in his hometown of Paterson, New Jersey. Not only was he active in the boxing community, but along with his wife Ruby, both were very involved in their local community and their local government.
Eddie Cotton was an asset on the IBF Board of Directors, and to the organization as a whole. He had a lot to offer, and we are heartbroken and deeply saddened by his passing. He was a big guy with a big personality, and always positive. He gave back to his community, and was appreciative of his peers in boxing. He will be missed. Eddie is survived by his wife Ruby and his two children, Candace and Edward III.
Miami, FL – Top Female Amateur Standout Isamary Aquinofrom San Antonio, TX has turned professional signing with renowned boxing manager Peter Kahn, it was announced today.
The 19-year-old Aquino, currently a college student at Texas State University in San Marcos, TX, will compete in the 118lb. division as a professional where she will make her pro debut later this year. Most recently she competed in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials.
“Initially I was very disappointed in not making the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team,” said Aquino. “However, once the opportunity came to turn professional I was definitely headed in that direction. I’m very excited to get started with Peter Kahn and look forward to putting on great fights for my current fans and boxing fans all over the world while continuing my college studies.”
“When I was five years old, my Dad took me to the gym to show me some self-defense and boxing moves. By the time I turned 15 I had made Team USA and really fell in love with the sport.”
Aquino had an illustrious amateur career compiling a record of 80-10, losing a highly controversial decision to Lupe Gutierrez in the semi-finals of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials. She is trained by Arturo Ramos in her hometown.
Said Peter Kahn, “I’m very excited to be working with Isamary and her team. Her success as an amateur competing for USA Boxing including the recent Olympic Trials and her international success illustrates she has everything it takes to have a prosperous career as a professional. What interests me the most is that her exciting style of fighting is built more for the professional ranks than amateurs and I see her being a world champion in a few years. Isamary will also be a great ambassador for female fighters and I feel she will serve as an inspiration for young Latina girls and girls around the world.”
Signing with Kahn, Aquino joins a team that includes 17-year-old phenom Xander Zayas and world ranked contenders Emmanuel Tagoe, George Kambosos, Chris Van Heerden, Amir Imam in addition to amateur standouts Aaron Aponte and Trinidad Vargas.
Said Xander Zayas, “I have known Isamary Aquino since the amateurs when she represented Team USA in multiple International tournaments. I believe she is a great boxer with a lot of room to grow and learn, also she is working with the best manager in the game, Peter Kahn. He is going to guide her down the right path to becoming a world champion. I’m very happy for her and for my manager Peter.”
Continued Vince Gatti, Peter Kahn’s Director of Amateur Scouting, “We’re very proud to work with Isamary; having the opportunity to add someone with her experience, boxing IQ, and exciting fighting style. Along with her Puerto Rican and Mexican roots, I truly believe Isamary is going to be one of the most exciting females to come into the sport of women’s boxing in a long time.”
Stated Mike Campbell, USA Boxing Events and Operations Manager, “She’s special to me. My biggest event that I ever did in the Gulf LBC was the first Texas Women’s Championships. Isa came and competed on her birthday! She faced a national champion and that meant a lot to a show host.”
“She’s been blessed with a wonderful support system around her with an attentive father. She has definitely become better from learning her boxing fundamentals at the Ramos Boxing Club in San Antonio which has been a true Texas powerhouse gym producing top Junior Olympians in the talent rich South Texas area, many who now fill the pro prospect ranks.”
Rising Super-Featherweight prospect Aqib Fiaz has signed a multi-fight promotional deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.
Trained by renowned coach Jamie Moore at the VIP Gym in Astley alongside two-weight World Champion Carl Frampton and former WBA Super-Middleweight ruler Rocky Fielding, Oldham’s Fiaz is rapidly improving with every fight and has already amassed an impressive following in his hometown.
He made the decision to turn professional in March 2019 following a successful stint in the amateur code in which he represented his country at Senior level twice. In 75 amateur bouts, Fiaz won nine Area Titles and a National Youth Title at 60kg in 2017.
Fiaz fulfilled a life-long dream when he fought at Manchester Arena last month on the undercard of Jono Carroll vs. Scott Quigg, earning a shutout points with over Dean Jones to move to 5-0, and the 20-year-old is hoping for more big nights in the North West following his link-up with Matchroom.
“I’ve worked my whole life for a deal like this,” said Fiaz. “I’d like to thank Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing. I can’t thank them enough for giving me this opportunity. I’m only 20-years-old and I’m already being trained by one of the best trainers in the country in Jamie Moore. Now on top of that I’ve been signed to the best boxing promoters in the world.
“I’m really excited and I can’t wait to get back out there and cracking on with the next chapter of my career. I feel like a caged animal with this isolation and I’m ready to go now. I’m still training in my garage at home, keeping fit and ready to make my big Matchroom debut later this year.
“I’m a come-forward pressure fighter and I’ve always studied the likes of Michael Gomez, Ricky Hatton and Jamie Moore. I can also box as well because I boxed for England, I’ve boxed at a high level as an amateur and there’s a lot of sides to my game that I haven’t shown in the ring yet.
“I started boxing around the age of eleven which was when I had my first fight. I was very overweight as a kid. At first it was all about losing weight, but I ended up falling in love with the sport. I lost my first amateur fight but I enjoyed the competition, being punched in the face and punching someone back.
“I was first invited to the VIP Gym as a sparring partner for Carl Frampton when he boxed Josh Warrington. From there I asked Jamie if he’d like to train me and he said yes. I’ve been there since the beginning of 2019 and I’m constantly improving. I’m learning loads from Carl, Jack and Rocky and soaking it all up.
“Dillian Whyte vs. Alexander Povetkin is the next show in Manchester, so I’d love to get on that one for my first fight with Eddie. It’s absolutely massive and one of the shows that I’d be at as a fan if I wasn’t boxing. You’ve got Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano and Callum Johnson in a European Title fight. If I’m on that then it will be the icing on the cake.”
“I’m delighted to add exciting Super-Featherweight prospect Aqib Fiaz to our growing stable of talent,” said Eddie Hearn. “I was very impressed with his performance on the Jono Carroll vs. Scott Quigg undercard last month and Jamie Moore has been raving about his talents for a while. It always helps being a big ticket seller in this game and Aqib has already got a huge following in Oldham. I’m looking forward to watching his career develop over the next few years.”
You can follow Aqib’s journey on Twitter: @AqibFiazBoxing and Instagram: aqib_fiaz
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