USKBA World Champion and Promoter Angelo Di Bella will host SUPERKICKS USKBA CHAMPIONSHIP KICKBOXING - CANADA versus USA this Saturday (Jan 29, 2000) at the Pompei Church Hall in Montreal Canada. The card will feature a Main Event of USKBA Amateur Junior North American Champion Anthony Rossi (CAN) versus Pablo Correa (USA). The Co-Main Event will be USKBA Amateur Female North American Champion "Lightning" Laura Cordileone (CAN) versus Martha Rhea Nelson (USA). The featured Bout will be for the USKBA Amateur Canada-USA Regional Championship Title and will feature "Crazy" J.C. Volpi (CAN) going against Francisco Caba'n (USA).

The undercard will showcase Tanya Rossi (CAN) versus Maritza Miranda (USA), Mary Gareffa (CAN) versus Vanessa Beckwith (USA) and Peter Della Serra (CAN) versus Carlos Rios (USA). There will be a special Bo Demonstration by Frank Capitanio (CAN), a special Samurai Sword Demonstration by Duong Hoang (USA) and a special Grappling Match.

For tickets and additional information, call 514-385-5075.
 

In a hard fought Main Event battle, Henry "The Hitman" Nieves outscored Brian "Ice" Hollins on two of the three judge's scorecards to win the USKBA Cruiserweight World Championship Title by a split decision. The bout saw both fighters hitting the canvas...Nieves in the first round, Hollins in the sixth round. In the first round, a cut opened near Nieves right eye as a result of an unintentional headbut. Nieves corner was able to keep the damage to a minimum and Nieves was able to complete the fight without further damage to his eye. Hollins came out kicking and punching from the sound of the first bell. The judges gave the first two rounds to Hollins with the third round going to Hollins on one of the judge's scorecard and the remaining judges calling the round even. The fourth through seventh rounds went to Nieves with one judge scoring the fourth round even and all judges giving Nieves a 10-8 sixth round due to a knockdown of Hollins. The eight, ninth and tenth rounds were divided with one judge giving Hollins all three rounds and the remaining judges giving Nieves two out of the three rounds. Both fighters came to fight and win the Championship Title. Nieves' twenty plus years in kickboxing was a definite advantage. Hollins proved he is a worthy opponent and a championship caliber kickboxer. Both fighters gave the audience a performance that will be tough to match.

On January 15th, USKBA Promoter Michelle Conhaim, and her Winning Image Productions, brought a spectacular Millennium opening kickboxing event to renowned restaurant and sports club Jimmy's Bronx Cafe in The Bronx New York. From the first fight to the last, the audience at "THE BATTLE IN THE BRONX" was on their feet enjoying the ambiance of the venue and the action of the bouts. The event was videotaped by BRONXNET and a one hour TV special will be created to air on their network. The commentators for TV were USKBA World Champion Luis "Bad Boy" Ruiz and kickboxer and world ranked boxing contender Rick Frazier. Frazier was last seen fighting Roy Jones Jr. at Madison Square Garden. Ruiz was scheduled to fight Nieves before an injury sidelined him. Negotiations are under way between USKBA Promoter Michelle Conhaim, Henry Nieves and Luis Ruiz to feature Nieves vs Ruiz on the next card at Jimmy's Bronx Cafe.

The exciting professional Featured Bouts saw Heavyweights Dan "The Lizard" Lucas and Jason "The Trooper" Bonacorsi fight to a draw. It should be noted that these two heavyweights each threw an average of 16 kicks per round. In another Featured Bout, Welterweight newcomer Tim Lane stopped Tommy "The Warrior" Rodriguez at 1:29 of the third round. Referee Trent Norman stopped the fight when he felt that Rodriguez could not continue after a non-stop attack by Lane.

In the amateur undercard:

Junior Division
Andres Vidal def John Gilliam by unanimous decision.
Female Featherweights
Santina Motyka def Patty O'Rourke by unanimous decision.
Super Light Heavyweight Eastcoast Championship Title Bout
Tom Libonati def Peter Morales by majority decision.
Light Heavyweight Tri-State Championship Title Bout
Ken Hewski def Steven Berkolayko by unanimous decision.
Super Welterweights
Michael Colon def Jerry Hibbard by unanimous decision.
Super Heavyweights
Sean Thompson def Troy Bower by split decision.
Heavyweights
Vladimir Mrinsky def Bill Hawken by TKO at :34 of the first round.
Super Light Heavyweights
Antonio Toribio def Anthony Cruz by unanimous decision.
Light Heavyweights
George Johnson def Dimitri Palikhovitch by TKO at 1:15 of the third round.
Featherweights
James Chaliz Jr. def Eric Rodriguez by unanimous decision.
Junior Division
Juan Lopez and Dennis Murphy Jr. engaged in a hard fought exhibition that excited the crowd.

Special appreciation is given to; USKBA Referees Donnie Carolei and Trent Norman; USKBA Judges Frank Torlone, Charlie Morse and Ellwin Roberts; Timekeeper Janet Conhaim and Scorekeeper Dina Davis.  To reserve a copy of the videotape BATTLE IN THE BRONX, e-mail the USKBA at info@uskba.com.

For information on future Winning Image Productions events, contact USKBA Promoter Michelle Conhaim at 908-558-0400.
 

Two USKBA sanctioned kickboxing shows will be aired on TV, marking the beginning of a regular schedule of USKBA kickboxing on TV. The January 15, 2000 kickboxing show entitled BATTLE IN THE BRONX will be produced for TV by BRONXNET and aired on their Cable TV network. BRONXNET will produce a one hour TV special headlining the Main Event for the USKBA Cruiserweight World Championship Title featuring Henry "The Hitman" Nieves and Brian "Ice" Hollins. Selected bouts from the event will also be aired. USKBA Promoter Michelle Conhaim and her Winning Image Productions will be the promoter of BATTLE IN THE BRONX. The dates of airing will be announced after the event.

BRONXNET's Executive Director, Jim Carney, issued the following statement: "BRONXNET, The Bronx Community Cable Programming Corporation, is pleased to partner with the United States Kickboxing Association in providing coverage of the special event taking place at Jimmy's Bronx Cafe on January 15, 2000. BRONXNET's Sports will provide coverage of the day's action and activities, and will interview participants and supporters about their role in making the event a success. BRONXNET is available to over 250,000 households in the borough and BRONXNET Sports has produced programming ranging from live call-in programs to live play by play of basketball and tennis. BRONXNET's award winning programs are nationally recognized and the station is known as a leader in community television and media."

In addition, USKBA Promoter World Champion Louis Neglia and his February 26, 2000 event at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City NJ will be produced and aired by Martial Art World on the MSG TV Network. This event marks the first full event by Mr. Neglia sanctioned by the USKBA. KICK will also co-sanction some of the bouts.

The Madison Square Garden Network is the nation's largest regional cable sports network. MSG provides coverage of the NFL's New York Giants and New York Jets through the football shows Heineken Jets Journal and Giants Online. Additional programming includes telecasts of high school and college basketball and football, in-depth coverage of the tri-state high school sports scene with MSG High School Weekly, the Chase Championships of the Corel WTA Tour, Golden Gloves boxing, MSG Night at the Fights, International Sunday and several shows geared towards children during the "MSG for Kids" Saturday morning lineup. The MSG Network has delivered quality sports television to an audience that has grown each year to a current total of over 7.56 million subscribers and 270+ affiliates, making MSG one of the largest and oldest regional sports networks in the country.

The air dates of this program will be announced shortly. The MSG Network can be seen on Cable TV and Satellite TV. Mr. Neglia's future kickboxing shows will also be aired on Martial Art World on the MSG Network.
 

USKBA Member Club TNT Kickboxing Academy of New Bedford MA, owned and operated by Tony "TNT" Ventura (pictured at left), issued their first newsletter giving well deserved praise to some of their members and USKBA licensed kickboxers.

Among those receiving praise were; Jason Arruda - winner of the prestigious TNT Kickboxing "Fighter of the Year" award. Arruda earned 5 amateur kickboxing titles in the Middleweight Division during the year; Joey "Bad Boy" Bradley - winner of the TNT Kickboxing "Most Improved Fighter of the Year" award. Bradley has won his last 3 fights and earned 2 amateur kickboxing titles during the year in the Lightweight Division; Octavio "Octane" Almeida - winning his last 2 fights and an  amateur kickboxing title in the Super Welterweight Division.

Amateur Super Heavyweight kickboxer Paul Mello is still looking for his debut fight and kickboxers Joey Bradley, Jason Arruda, Octavio Almeida and Eric Pinneretta will enter the boxing Golden Gloves beginning in January 2000. Ken Sylva and Kyle Demmello will be assisting with their training.

The USKBA is proud of the effort put forth by Tony Ventura and his students. We look forward to reporting on the next issue of the TNT Kickboxing Newsletter.
 

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KICKBOXING BOUT TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING WILL HAVE TO WAIT LONGER

The long awaited World Championship Kickboxing bout between Luis "Bad Boy" Ruiz and Henry "The Hitman" Nieves, scheduled for January 15, 2000 on BATTLE IN THE BRONX, will be put on hold. Ruiz suffered an injury during training. USKBA Promoter Michelle Conhaim was disappointed that this bout will have to wait, but she agreed that both fighters should be 100% fit for this bout..

The show will go on at Jimmy's Bronx Cafe in the Bronx NY on January 15, 2000. According to Ms. Conhaim, advance ticket sales have been great and the people are enthusiastic about the show. Ms. Conhaim (Winning Image Productions) can be reached at 908-558-0400.

USKBA Promoter Michelle Conhaim was quick to make certain that her Winning Image Productions' BATTLE IN THE BRONX will not disappoint kickboxing fans due to the pullout of Luis Ruiz. The Main Event will now be a USKBA World Championship bout featuring Henry "The Hitman" Nieves fighting top ranked kickboxer Brian "Ice" Hollins. Last year, Hollins fought Nieves in what Hollins considers a "controversial loss" to Nieves. Hollins wants his chance at redemption. Nieves wants his chance at a World Title. Both fighters will get what they want.

Also featured on the card will be professional kickboxers: "Diesel" Dave Buglione versus Peter Kaljevic; Dan "The Lizard" Lucas versus Jason "The Trooper" Bonacorsi; Tommy "The Warrior" Rodriguez versus Tim Lane. This event will have an amateur undercard including the following kickboxers: Tom Libonati, Antonio Torbio, Mike Colon, Santina Motyka, Anthony Cruz, Juan Lopez, Ken Hewski, Troy Bowers, Patty O'Rourke, Peter Morales, Chuck McDermott, Frank D'Ambra, Bill Hawken, John Gilliam, Sean Thompson, Eric Rodriguez, George Johnson, Steven Berkolayko, Vladimir Mrinsky, Dmitri Borodine, Yuri, Adam Resnick, David Alvarez, James Chaliz Jr. and Daniel Gorochov.

This will mark the first time a kickboxing event of this magnitude will be held in the Bronx. This event will feature some of the best professional and amateur kickboxers in the sport today. A one hour TV Kickboxing Special will be produced by BRONXNET and aired on their Cable TV network.

A limited amount of tickets are available. For more information on tickets and the show, call Winning Image Productions at 908-558-0400.