U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago will host the "main event" of the Aug. 16 season finale of ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights" series, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN.com. The "last time a Chicago baseball stadium hosted a professional boxing card was on Sept. 25, 1962, when Sonny Liston knocked out Floyd Patterson" at Comiskey Park. Round 3 Productions and card promoter Frank Mugnolo said, "Chicago used to be the greatest fight town in the world, and we want to make it that way again." 8 Count Productions President Dominic Pesoli and Warrior Boxing Exec Dir Leon Margules are the "other promoters of the event." Margules said that the stadium would "be configured to accomodate a crowd of about 16,000, with the ring being erected behind the home plate area" (ESPN.com, 6/11).
POWER PUNCH: REUTERS' Keith Weir reported London's Olympic Park "will host top-level professional boxing bouts" starting in September, "boosting efforts to ensure that Games venues remain a lasting part of the British sporting scene." Promoter Frank Warren has "signed an agreement to stage six fights" in the 7,000-seat Copper Box Arena, which was used for handball and modern pentathlon fencing during the '12 Olympics. Warren said, "The Copper Box is what all the investment in the Olympics was about -- legacy and giving London a fantastic arena." The London Legacy Development Corp. said that proceeds from putting on the fights "will be used to subsidise other sports such as swimming in the Olympic pool" (REUTERS, 6/10). In London, Mike Dawes reports the "first bout will be staged" on Sept. 21, and Warren said that the venue "should stage fights about every two months." Warren: "You have got Wembley which is 12,500 (capacity) and you have got nothing else from that. This is half that capacity and a fabulous arena" (DAILYMAIL.co.uk, 6/11).
