An unusually active week for Chicago boxing finds cards slated for Wednesday in Hoffman Estates and Friday in Cicero and marks the return of promoter Bobby Hitz to the local scene.
Former heavyweight fighter Hitz has not promoted a boxing card in 13 months. He says he intends to stage a Wednesday show every other month at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.
This Wednesday’s card will feature Chicago-born Al Gonzalez (16-2-1), coming off nearly a two-year layoff, against Nelson Romine (7-1-1) in a junior welterweight main event, backed by Chicago veteran Pat Coleman (29-11) against newcomer Ottu Holifield (7-2), a three-time Chicago Golden Gloves champion.
The scheduled main event Friday at Cicero Stadium will pit Antonio Escalante (14-1) against ex-champion Mauricio Pastrana (33-7-2) in a 122-pound super bantamweight bout. The card will launch the 2007 season for promoter Dominic Pesoli, who put on 16 shows in the Chicago area last year.
Among them was a card at Cicero Stadium last January in which Escalante won a narrow unanimous decision over Jose Hernandez of suburban Round Lake. Hernandez (22-3) has since distinguished himself with an eighth-round knockout of previously unbeaten Jason Litzau last month in Miami.
Hitz said he began searching for a permanent venue months ago.
“I’ve been in negotiations with the Sears Centre since groundbreaking,” he said.
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Of his hiatus from promoting, he said, “After 20 years as a fighter and a promoter, I just decided to take a year off.”
After seeing “Rocky Balboa,” the movie in which Sylvester Stallone’s character steps back into the ring in his 50s, Hitz, 44, said he thinks about taking another fight.
“I haven’t fought since 1990, but there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about boxing again,” he said. While promoting fighters keeps him in the sport, “My appetite to fight has never been completely satisfied through these other guys.”
If Hitz does return to the ring, he cannot promote his own fight.
For now, he will have to be content with his role outside the ropes. Steve Hyman, executive director of the Sears Centre, said he is enthusiastic about the bimonthly schedule for Hitz’s events.
“I had boxing at a previous multipurpose building in Moline, and I think it has an audience,” Hyman said. “Especially with Eastern European and Hispanic fighters, I feel we can have a good mix for our demographic population base in Chicago and suburbs.”
For starters, he said, only the lower tier’s 5,000 seats, about half the Sears Centre’s capacity, will be available for boxing shows. “We hope to see it grow from there,” Hyman said.
Lost weekend
Next time, junior welterweights Ricky Hatton and Jose Luis Castillo had better be better than they were on Saturday, when each won a less-than-dazzling tuneup for their expected head-to-head encounter June 2.
And 7-foot Russian heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev got a gift from 6-6 challenger Jameel McCline, who swung and missed and dislocated his kneecap, giving Valuev a third-round technical knockout. The crowd booed as McCline was taken from the Basel, Switzerland, arena on a stretcher. Unbeaten Valuev’s 46th win moved him within three of Rocky Marciano’s record.
In winning a unanimous decision over strong but slow Juan Urango, Hatton had an easier time than Castillo, who won a split decision over Hermann Ngoudjo earlier on the card in Las Vegas.
Hatton fought conservatively and held excessively in the late rounds to ensure his advance to a bigger payday against Castillo, who struggled against a surprisingly fast and aggressive Ngoudjo.
Previously unbeaten champion Urango seemed less enthusiastic about fighting Hatton than he was about raising his arms triumphantly after rounds that he had clearly lost.
Moving attraction
In a Feb. 3 doubleheader moved from Miami to Kissimmee, Fla., Chicago-born Jesus Chavez will defend his International Boxing Federation lightweight title against Julio Diaz, and Thomas Adamek puts his World Boxing Council light heavyweight title on the line against Chad Dawson.
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