“Show Me Something Great” Fight Card

Tavoris “Thunder” Cloud
vs. Yusaf “Mack Attack” Mack
IBF Light Heavyweight Championship
 
Tavoris Cloud returns to the Gateway City after successfully defending his IBF light heavyweight crown in a slugfest against former world champion Glen Johnson on Aug. 7 at Scottrade Center.  Cloud won a unanimous decision by the identical scores of 116-112.
 
Cloud possesses an 81-percent knockout ratio, even though his last three fights were won by unanimous decisions.  Possessing an aggressive style and a plethora of power in both hands, Cloud is a throwback fighter that likes to overwhelm his opponents with brute force.
 
His tenacity and vaunted power have caused other world champions to avoid facing him.  Yusaf Mack does not have that luxury as he has been named by the IBF as the mandatory challenger to Cloud.
 
Mack is a 31-year-old veteran from Philadelphia.  He remained unbeaten in his first 24 matches, fighting between middleweight and super middleweight.  Mack settled in at the 175-pound light heavyweight limit beginning in 2008, and he promptly reeled
off five straight victories.
 
He fought well in a pivotal fight with respected former light heavyweight world champion Glen Johnson in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., on Feb. 5, 2010, before being stopped by technical knockout in the sixth round.
 
In his last appearance, Mack defeated Otis Griffin on March 4 in Los Angeles.  This was an IBF elimination bout, which put Mack in line to next face Cloud.  He is also the reigning USBA light heavyweight champion; former NABA and NABF light heavyweight champion; and former USBA super middleweight champion.
 
Bermane “B-Ware” Stiverne
vs. Ray “The Rainman” Austin
WBC Silver Heavyweight Championship
 
Emerging heavyweight Bermane Stiverne and title-tested veteran Ray Austin will meet for the WBC Silver heavyweight championship, which will have ramifications at the top of the division.
 
Stiverne has a staggering 86-percent knockout ratio with an equally stunning 14 first-round knockouts.  Only two of his fights have gone the distance.  Most of his victims have fallen prey to his powerful right hand.
 
Austin has hovered at the top of the heavyweight division for the last five years, having faced Wladimir Klitschko, Andrew Golota, Sultan Ibragimov, Odlanier Solis and DaVarryl Williamson, among others.
 
This will clearly be the toughest opponent yet for Stiverne.  A win here would set up bigger fights in the future.  Austin will be trying to prove that he is still a force in the heavyweight division.
 
Ryan “The Irish Outlaw” Coyne
vs. “King” David McNemar
Battle of the Undefeated for Cruiserweight Belts
 
WBA cruiserweight champion Guillermo Jones was to have defended his title against undefeated Ryan Coyne, but Jones suffered an injury in the final week of training.  Coyne will now risk his WBC-USNBC national cruiserweight championship against
undefeated David McNemar, from Parkersburg, W.Va.  The WBA announced Coyne vs. McNemar will also be for their FEDELATIN international title.
 
Coyne graduated from St. Charles High School where he was named “St. Charles County Football Player of the Year” in 2001.  He played collegiate football at University of Missouri from 2001 to 2002.  Injuries shortened his football career, and he returned to St. Charles to pursue a boxing career while earning a bachelor’s degree from Lindenwood University in 2005.
 
He has made steady progress in his boxing career, maintaining an unblemished record
since turning professional in 2006.  He won the WBC-USNBC national title last summer at Scottrade Center in St. Louis by knocking out Warren Browning in the ninth round. Coyne also is known for having fought into the semi-finals during the fourth season of The Contender, televised on Versus, before suffering an accidental headbutt that forced him to leave the competition.
 
Coyne trains out of the Sweat Pound 4 Pound Gym in Clayton, Mo., under the tutelage of trainer Jose Ponce.  The addition of strength and conditioning expert Matt Brown has helped increase his power.
 
Cornelius “K9” Bundrage vs. Sechew Powell IBF Junior Middleweight Championship
 
IBF junior middleweight champion Cornelius “K9” Bundrage has an old score to settle with Sechew Powell.  After a stunning fifth-round technical knockout over Cory Spinks in St. Louis on Aug. 7 to win his first world title, the Emanuel Steward-trained Bundrage immediately looked to avenge his first loss as a professional, which came at the hands of Powell in 2005.
 
Powell is a southpaw who won his first 20 fights before running into Kassim Ouma at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 2006, where he lost by decision.  His only other loss came against Deandre Latimore in 2008, a defeat he avenged in his last appearance on March 3, 2010,winning a majority decision over St. Louis’s Latimore in an IBF elimination bout that earned Powell the right to face Bundrage, the newly crowned champion.
 
Bundrage was also a fast starter, having won his first 21 fights before running into Powell.  He later did what Powell was unable to do, winning a unanimous decision over Ouma in 2008.
 
Bundrage went on to face future world champion Yuri Foreman in 2009.  The bout was ruled no contest after an accidental clash of heads in the third round left Foreman unable to continue.  Bundrage immediately went on to take the title from Spinks in
his next match.
 
About The Family Arena
Since its opening in October of 1999, The Family Arena has been the stage for a
number of entertainment and sporting events.  A state-of-the-art performance center,the 10,467-seat facility has played host to collegiate and high school basketball events, professional football, hockey and soccer, a wide variety of concerts, and trade shows and conventions.  Located just fifteen miles from Lambert International Airport, The Family Arena is owned and operated by the County of St. Charles, Mo.

About Don King Productions
Don King Productions has promoted over 600 world championship fights with nearly 100 individual boxers having been paid $1 million or more.  DKP also holds the
distinction of having promoted or co-promoted seven of the 10 largest pay-per-view
events in history, as gauged by total buys, including three of the top five:
Holyfield vs. Tyson II, 1.99 million buys, June 1997; Tyson vs. Holyfield I, 1.6
million buys, November 1996; and Tyson vs. McNeeley, 1.58 million buys, August 1995.

DKP has promoted or co-promoted 12 of the top 20 highest-grossing live gates in the history of the state of Nevada including four of the top five: Holyfield vs. Lewis II, paid attendance: 17,078, gross: $16,860,300 (NOTE: Also second-highest live-gate gross for any event in the history of the world.), date: Nov. 13, 1999; Holyfield vs. Tyson II, paid attendance: 16,279, gross: $14,277,200, date: June 28, 1997; Holyfield vs. Tyson I, paid attendance: 16,103, gross: $14,150,700, date: Nov. 9,1996; and Tyson vs. McNeeley, paid attendance: 16,113, gross: $13,965,600, date: Aug. 19, 1995. 

 Yusaf Mack, Ryan Coyne And Sechew Powell Media Workouts

All Three Fighters Are in Title Fights on Saturday

ST. CHARLES, Mo.—IBF No. 1-ranked light heavyweight Yusaf “Mack Attack” Mack (29-3-2, 17 KOs); WBC-USNBC undefeated national cruiserweight champion Ryan “The Irish Outlaw” Coyne (16-0, 6 KOs); and IBF No. 1-ranked junior middleweight Sechew “Iron Horse” Powell (26-2, 15 KOs) participated in media workouts today at the Sweat Pound 4 Pound Gym in Clayton, Mo., in support of Don King’s history-making fight card on Saturday at The Family Arena in nearby St. Charles (HBO: 9:45 p.m. ET/PT).

Mack will face undefeated IBF light heavyweight champion Tavoris “Thunder” Cloud (21-0, 18 KOs); Coyne will risk his WBC-USNBC national title (and the WBA just added their FEDELATIN international title) against undefeated David McNemar (13-0, 10 KOs); and Powell will tangle with IBF junior middleweight champion Cornelius “K9”Bundrage (30-4, 18 KOs).

“Tavoris Cloud is rough, tough and a ready-to-rumble-type guy, but I’ve got a plan for him,” Mack, a defiant Philadelphian, said.  “He’s not all kicked up like he seems to be.  Anybody can be beaten, and I’ll beat Tavoris on Saturday night. I want to show the world that I am worthy.”

Coyne planned to be appearing in his first world title match against WBA cruiserweight champion Guillermo Jones, but Jones suffered a training camp injury late last week that scuttled his appearance.  Coyne, from St. Charles, Mo., will face undefeated David McNemar, from Parkersburg, W.Va.

“After [WBA champion] Guillermo Jones backed outlast week with an injury, it did hurt because this was supposed to be my first world title fight,” Coyne said of his initial reaction.  “But I have an undefeated opponent in David McNemar opposing me on Saturday night, so I have to stay focused on the matter at hand. 

“I’ll deal with Guillermo Jones and appearing in my first world championship only if I stay focused and win on Saturday night.  That’s exactly what I plan to do.”

Powell, from Brooklyn, N.Y., will be making his first world championship appearance against Bundrage, the champion, from Detroit.

“Cornelius Bundrage waited a long time to get his title, and he picked the wrong guy to make his first defense against.  It’s going to be Brooklyn against Detroit in St.

Charles on Saturday night, and Brooklyn is going to come out victorious with the belt.”

Devon Alexander will face Lucas Matthysse in the main event.

Tickets priced at $25, $50, $125 and $300 are on sale now and can be purchased at the Family Arena Box Office, all MetroTix outlets including online at metrotix.com or charge by phone at (314) 534-1111.  All tickets include parking.  The event is being promoted by Don King Productions. 

Raw Quotes

Yusaf Mack: “It feels good to be fighting for my first world title on Saturday night.  I’ve worked hard to earn this, and I want to show the world that I am worthy.

“Tavoris Cloud is rough, tough and a ready-to-rumble-type guy, but I’ve got a plan for him.  He’s not all kicked up like he seems to be.  Anybody can be beaten, and I’ll beat Tavoris on Saturday night.”

Ryan Coyne: “After [WBA champion] Guillermo Jones backed outlast week with an injury, it did hurt because this was supposed to be my first world title fight.  But I have an undefeated opponent in David McNemar opposing me on Saturday night, so I have to stay focused on the matter at hand.

“I’ll deal with Guillermo Jones and appearing in my first world championship only if I stay focused and win on Saturday night.  That’s exactly what I plan to do.”

Sechew Powell: “I plan to make the most of my first chance at a world championship. Cornelius Bundrage waited a long time to get his title, and he picked the wrong guy to make his first defense against.  It’s going to be Brooklyn against Detroit in that ring on Saturday night, and Brooklyn is going to come out victorious with the belt.”



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