Boxing Title Fights

Angola's national team boxer, Pedro Manuel, missed Saturday night's fighting in the category of 64 kilograms of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) games, Angop learned.

The player did not turn up to the competition venue following a medical advise. "Mateus has signs of unstable and hereditary hypertension, said doctor Stela, with the National Team.

The athlete was to play Saturday night, at Katutura school, in Windhoek, Namibia.

Due to this situation, Angola is to use Kilombo Masala (54) and Mudicai Muacazanga (57). The former beat a Botswana opponent, whereas Muacazanga is to fight another from Lesotho, on Monday.

Lou DiBella, Harvard Law School graduate, former HBO boxing czar and promoter of middleweight champion Jermain Taylor, chose interesting verbiage to assure television executives Saturday's fights at Little River Casino Resort would be competitive.

"I told Showtime that it wasn't going to be cowboys and Indians," he said.

Evidently not, given the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians' delight with its first foray into live televised boxing.

The casino hosted three club shows before Saturday's tent-covered event on its parking lot, beginning in November 2005 with the first casino-hosted professional boxing card on the Lower Peninsula since 2002 at Soaring Eagle Casino in Mount Pleasant.

The tribal boxing commission expects to gain certification this week from the Association of Boxing Commissions. And construction is under way on a 1,500-seat venue, opening next spring, for boxing and other high-end entertainment.

"Boxing has been successful for us, and we're going to continue to do it," said casino general manager Jim LaPorte. "I think it's important for us to have this kind of event come here. It shows we can offer something different to people, we can bring in larger events, and we can pull them off."

Fighters groused about being flown into Detroit, then bused five hours each way.

Otherwise, there were few complaints after about 800 fans saw "Night of the Rising Sons" produce three victories by the favorites -- heavyweight Chazz Witherspoon and middleweights Ronald Hearns and James McGirt Jr. -- and a new major player in Michigan boxing.

"It wasn't like any economic score coming here," DiBella said, "but it's nice to establish a new relationship with a new venue. This can be a good area for boxing. It was a great crowd, and I thought they did a professional job on a nationally televised show. I think they should be proud."