MACAO, Nov. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Sands China Ltd. and Top Rank held a press conference Wednesday at The Venetian® Macao, featuring the exciting superstar boxers of the upcoming Nov. 23 Clash in Cotai II main event -- Fighter of the Decade Congressman MANNY "Pacman" PACQUIAO, boxing's only eight-division world champion, and undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior welterweight champion CHRIS ALGIERI.
"Sands China and Top Rank are delivering another incredible line-up of sports entertainment with Clash in Cotai II," said Edward Tracy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sands China Ltd. "The world will be watching this Sunday, and we are certain this event will be shining a global spotlight on Macao, and that it provides a platform for some of Asia's rising boxing stars to further develop their professional careers."
"Pacquiao vs. Algieri has captured the world's imagination," said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum. "You cannot find two better stories in boxing, much less sports, than what we are presenting on Sunday. And I think it is only fitting that The Venetian Macao, which has become one of boxing's biggest international stages, hosts this world championship event."
Clash in Cotai II is the latest offering of Sands China's multi-tiered entertainment strategy, which brings the world's biggest and best superstar entertainment to Macao, raising the profile of the city as a world centre of tourism and leisure, and one of the region's premier destinations for entertainment. International superstars expected to be in the Cotai Arena audience watching the action live include Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jessica Jung, Shannon Lee, Melody Thornton and several others.
Pacquiao (56-4-3), the Filipino icon, defends his WBO welterweight title against Algieri (20-0), the scholar-fighter, Sunday, November 23, at The Venetian® Macao's Cotai Arena. Promoted by Top Rank® and Sands China Ltd., in association with MP Promotions, Joe DeGuardia's Star Boxing, Banner Promotions and Tecate, the Pacquiao vs. Algieri world welterweight championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®.
Six different nations will be represented by the eight fighters on the live pay-per-view undercard. Top-five contenders ZOU SHIMING, of China, and KWANPICHIT ONESONGCHAIGYM, of Thailand, will be battling in a 12-round WBO flyweight world title elimination bout -- giving the winner an automatic shot at a world title. Ukrainian VASYL LOMACHENKO will make the first defence of his WBO featherweight title against No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger CHONLATARN PIRIYAPINYO of Thailand. JESSIE VARGAS, of Las Vegas, Nevada, will be defending his WBA super lightweight title against former world champion ANTONIO DEMARCO of Mexico. These six gladiators boast a combined record of 142-5-3 (79 KOs), a winning percentage of 95 per cent and a victory by knockout ratio of 56 per cent.
Also fighting will be Hong Kong's REX "THE WONDER KID" TSO and "THE MACAO KID" NG KUOK KUN, each looking to extend their undefeated records. Tso (14-0, 9 KOs), of Hong Kong will battle ESPINOS SABU (11-2-1, 5 KOs), from Manado, Indonesia, in an eight-round super flyweight bout. Ng (5-0, 2 KOs), from Macao, will take on STEPHEN ATTARD (4-0-2, 1 KO), from Preston, Australia, in a six-round super welterweight fight.
See appendix that follows for fighter profiles for key fights
A limited number of tickets for Clash in Cotai II are still available via Cotai Ticketing™. The multi-bout event kicks off Nov. 23, 2014 at 8 a.m. at the Cotai Arena. For details, visit www.venetianmacao.com/macau-entertainment/clash-in-cotai-ii.html.
For fight updates go to www.toprank.com, or www.hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/trboxing, facebparook.com/trboxeo, or facebook.com/hboboxing, and on Twitter at twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, or twitter.com/hboboxing. Use the Hashtag #PacAlgieri to join the conversation on Twitter.
Bouts and times subject to change
Entertainment at Sands China Ltd. Properties
Sands China Ltd. has as a clear vision to establish Macao as Asia's top entertainment destination.
The 15,000-seat Cotai Arena is the only venue in Asia ranked in Pollstar's Top 100 Worldwide Arena Venues based on ticket sales. It is the top entertainment destination in southern China, hosting the world's and the region's biggest names in music, sports and awards shows. Superstars frequently choose the venue as the starting point of their Asian tours.
The 1800-seat, multi-purpose Venetian Theatre is one of the most luxurious entertainment venues in greater China. Featuring ushers in black-tie, champagne service, gourmet food and beverage items and other unique, premium amenities, it offers an intimate, luxurious and exclusive venue experience. The Venetian Theatre is playing a key role in bringing the best in international and Chinese entertainment to Macao, with a luxury theatre experience like no other in the region.
The 650-seat Sands Theatre regularly features internationally-renowned singers, performers and artists of the highest calibre. From traditional Chinese-costumed dancers to modern performances, and from singing troupes to contemporary bands, everything from Western rock to Cantonese pop is covered.
With an unbeatable diversity, the entertainment offering of Sands China Ltd. is ushering in a new era of entertainment in Macao.
For information about upcoming shows and events, visit www.venetianmacao.com/entertainment.html.
About The Venetian® Macao
Opened in 2007, The Venetian® Macao is Macao's first integrated resort featuring stunning replicas of the famous canals and architectural icons of Venice, Italy. The Venetian Macao features 3,000 suites, 1.2 million square feet (111,000 square metres) of convention and meeting facilities as well as a 15,000-seat Cotai Arena designed for world-class sports events and electrifying entertainment. The Venetian Macao is also home to the unique, 1,800-seat luxury Venetian Theatre, hosting the best in international and Chinese entertainment; more than 30 renowned restaurants; TAIVEXMALO Day Hospital & Spa; the incredibly fun QUBE indoor playground and more than 300 retailers at Shoppes at Venetian. Outdoor recreation areas include swimming pools and cabanas and a mini-golf course.
For more information, please visit www.venetianmacao.com.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (Media):
TOP RANK
Lee Samuels: +1-702-378-1083 / Lee@toprank.com
Ricardo Jimenez: +1-909-615-3436 / Ricardoej@aol.com
Fred Sternburg: +1-303-548-0707 / TooFred@aol.com
Ed Keenan: +1-609-399-1330 / Keenan@emcevents.com
VENETIAN MACAU LIMITED
Mabel Wu
Tel: +853-8118-2268
Email: mabel.wu@sands.com.mo
APPENDIX
Fighter profiles for key fights
Pacquiao vs. Algieri -- 12 Rounds -- WBO World Welterweight Title
Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs), the lone congressional representative from the Sarangani province in the Philippines (he was reelected to a second term, running unopposed last year), is the only fighter to win eight world titles in as many different weight divisions. A three-time Fighter of the Year and the Boxing Writers Association of America's "Fighter of the Decade," Pacquiao made his Cotai Arena debut last Nov. 24, pasting former world champion Brandon Rios with a unanimous decision beatdown. Pacquiao's resumé features victories over present and future Hall of Famers, including Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Marquez. From 2008 to 2010, five of his seven victories were world title victories in five different weight classes, from 130 to 154 pounds. No active boxer has sold more live tickets in the U.S. than Pacquiao, who is also credited with nearly 13 million domestic pay-per-view buys. He returns to the ring after avenging his controversial 2012 split decision loss to undefeated two-division world champion Timothy Bradley, Jr. on April 12. Pacquiao won a scintillating unanimous decision to regain the WBO welterweight crown back from Bradley.
Chris Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs), from Huntington, NY on Long Island, has become boxing's No. 1 story, as well as being hailed as the 21st century real-life Rocky. Over the last 22 months, Algieri, a former kickboxing champion, has elevated himself from a prospect to a world-class contender to a world champion. After accumulating significant victories over top prospect Jose Alejo, former USBA champion Mike Arnaoutis, and highly-rated contender Emmanuel Taylor, Algieri, stepped up in his HBO debut and challenged WBO junior welterweight champion "The Siberian Rocky" Ruslan Provodnikov on June 14. Despite suffering two knockdowns in the first round which closed his swollen right eye, Algieri, who entered the fight as a 5-1 underdog, eschewed the natural instinct to panic and resolutely stuck to his game plan, expertly using his jab and supreme athletic ability to pick apart the defending champion to claim a split decision victory and the world title. The live, first-time airing of the fight on HBO averaged 1.1 million viewers placing it among the most-viewed fights on cable this year. In what could be a first for any professional boxer, Algieri used his purse from the Provodnikov bout to pay off his student loans. He is as much a scholar as he is a brawler. Algieri graduated from Stony Brook University with Honors in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Care Management and then went on to receive his Master's degree in Clinical Nutrition from the New York Institute of Technology. He aspires to attend medical school.
Zou vs. Onesongchaigym -- 12 Rounds -- Flyweight
Zou Shiming (5-0, 1 KO), from Guizhou, China, and trained by Hall of Famer Freddie Roach, returns to the ring fresh from his most impressive professional victory -- a 10-round unanimous decision victory over Top-10 contender Luis De La Rosa to capture the vacant WBO International flyweight title. Stepping up to his first 10-round bout, Zou vs. De La Rosa took place on July 19 at the Cotai Arena and showed the world that Zou had developed into a world title contender. Zou is currently world-rated No. 4 by the WBA, No. 5 by the WBO and No. 7 by the WBC. He won his professional debut April 6, 2013 at Fists of Gold, via a dominant four-round unanimous decision over gritty Eleazar Valenzuela. He followed that up with six-round unanimous decision victories last year over Jesus Ortega and Juan Toscano July 27 at Fists of Gold II and November 24 at The Clash in Cotai, respectively, and celebrated his 2014 debut with his first professional knockout February 22 at Ring of Gold, stopping Yokthong Kokietgym in the seventh round. All of his professional bouts have taken place at the Cotai Arena. One of the most popular Olympic athletes in China, Zou was the world's greatest amateur light flyweight, capturing gold medals in the World Amateur Championships in 2005, 2007 and 2011, along with gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympic Games. He also owns an Olympic bronze medal from the 2004 games, making him his nation's first Olympic medallist in boxing as well as its first boxing gold medallist in the World Amateur Championships and the Olympics.
Kwanpichit Onesongchaigym (27-0-2, 12 KOs), of Buriram, Thailand, made his professional debut in 2010 and captured the WBO Oriental junior bantamweight title the following year knocking out Fredirex Rodriguez in the seventh round. After one successful defence he moved down one division where he captured the WBO Oriental flyweight title in 2012, which he has held for the past two years. Six of his last 10 victories have been by knockout, including his last one, a seventh-round TKO of Oscar Raknafa on June 6, to retain his title. Onesongchaigym is currently world-rated No. 3 by the WBO.
Lomachenko vs. Piriyapinyo -- 12 Rounds -- WBO World Featherweight Title
The greatest amateur boxer of his era and arguably of all time, two-time Ukrainian Olympic gold medallist Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1 KO), of Odessa, captured the vacant WBO featherweight title on June 21, winning a scintillating majority decision over the previously unbeaten Gary Russell Jr. It was Lomachenko's third professional bout, tying him with Thailand's Saensak Muangsurin for fewest fights to win a world title. Muangsurin won a junior welterweight title in 1975, also in his third professional fight. Russell, a former U.S. Olympian, was totally blitzed by Lomachenko, battered around the ring throughout the fight. From the outset of his professional career, Lomachenko made it known that he was ready for the best in his division. He made his professional debut in 2013 knocking out the WBO's No. 7-rated featherweight contender Jose Luis Ramirez (24-2-2, 15 KOs) in the fourth round of a bout that was scheduled for 10. Last March, in his second professional bout, he challenged WBO featherweight champion Orlando Salido, losing a split decision to the heavier defending champion whose title had been stripped because he could not make the weight limit. Lomachenko first gained international renown by winning gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Games as a featherweight and a lightweight, respectively.
Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo (51-1, 33 KOs), made his pro debut in 2003 and captured the Asian featherweight title the following year in just his fifth professional bout. His only blemish is a world title decision loss to the legendary defending WBA featherweight champion Chris John in 2012. He enters his second world championship fight world-rated No. 1 and riding a two-year, eight-bout winning streak, including six victories by way of knockout.
Vargas vs. DeMarco -- 12 Rounds -- WBA World Super Lightweight Title
Jessie Vargas (25-0, 9 KOs), of Las Vegas, Nevada, will be fighting outside the U.S. for the first time in his professional career. He captured the WBA super lightweight title on the April 12 Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley Jr. world welterweight title rematch in Las Vegas, winning a unanimous decision over undefeated defending champion Khabib Allakhverdiev. It was a close and competitive fight that proved Vargas' grit as he bit down hard during the championship rounds to pull away with the victory and the world championship belt. His impressive resume includes victories over former world champions Stevie Forbes and Vivian Harris and top contenders Josesito Lopez, Lucky Boy Omotoso, Ray Narh and Lanardo Tyner. In his last fight, on Aug. 2, Vargas successfully defended his title against undefeated contender Anton Novikov via a unanimous decision.
Antonio DeMarco (31-3-1, 23 KOs), of Tijuana, Mexico, captured the WBC lightweight championship crown on his second try, winning the vacant title with an 11th-round stoppage of top-rated contender Jorge Linares in 2011. DeMarco successfully defended the title twice during his one-year reign – both by knockout -- against Miguel Roman and John Molina. Since moving up in weight, he has won three straight fights, with two of those victories coming by way of knockout. In his last fight, on Aug. 23, DeMarco won a 10-round unanimous decision over Landro Tyner.
