DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS: HANSHAW-MENDY ENDS EVEN-STEVEN,
UNDEFEATED IZQUIERDO DEALS CASAL HIS FIRST PRO DEFEAT
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Friday, Jan. 5, 2007, at 11 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME
Desoto Civic Center, Southaven, Mississippi
SOUTHAVEN, Miss. (Jan. 6, 2007) – Rematch, anyone?
The boxers, Tony Hanshaw and Jean Paul Mendy, definitely want one; promoter Gary Shaw is
willing to do it, too.
But whether Hanshaw and Mendy, who fought to an exciting, hard-fought 12-round draw Friday
in the main event on “ShoBox: The New Generation,” meet again may depend on a few things.
The main obstacle is the condition of Hanshaw and how long it will take for a horrific, diagonal
cut above the brow of his right eye to heal. The ugly gash came from an obvious, albeit accidental clash of
heads early in the 12th round. It could be a few months before Hanshaw is cleared to box again.
In a co-feature Friday that featured a pair of undefeated lightweight boxers with strikingly similar
pro careers, Jose Antonio Izquierdo (16-0-1, 13 KOs) of Chihuahua, Mexico, via Havana, Cuba, rallied to
register a unanimous eight-round decision over Nick Casal (15-1-1, 1 NC, 12 KOs) of Niagara Falls, N.Y.
The action-packed doubleheader, co-promoted by Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, and Round One
Entertainment, took place at the DeSoto Civic Center. It aired on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed
on the west coast).
Hanshaw (21-0-1, 14 KOs),of Summerlin, Nev., by way of Warren and Mansfield, Ohio, and
Mendy (23-0-1, 12 KOs) of Las Vegas, by way of Mante la Jolie, France, competed as hard as anyone
could expect in a grueling, physically exhausting 12-round championship bout in the “ShoBox” super
middleweight tournament.
There were no knockdowns, but both valiant 168-pound warriors had their moments. Each landed
clean, meaningful shots throughout an often furiously paced affair that had the appreciative crowd on its
feet and cheering the last couple sessions.
At the conclusion of a brutal battle engaged mostly in the trenches, however, the judges could not
decide on a winner. One favored Hanshaw by two points, 115-113, one scored it for Mendy by the
identical score and the third judge had it even at 114-apiece.
“I came to fight and I did my best,” Hanshaw said. “He definitely got me with a headbutt. He was
coming in with his head a lot. But I would love to do it again.’’
Said Mendy, who swept the final two rounds on the judges’ scorecards: “I congratulate Hanshaw.
He was a very tough fighter, but I would definitely fight him again.’’
(more)
2-2-2
”SHOBOX: THE NEW GENERATION” – JAN. 5, 2007
Shaw would match the fighters again “once Hanshaw fully recovers. It could be in another main
event on “ShoBox” or maybe in an opening fight on Show(time) Champ(ionship Boxing),’’ he said.
The strong and fast-handed Izquierdo rebounded from a flash knockdown in the first round to
outpoint the courageous Casal in a one-sided slugfest by the scores of 78-73, 78-74 and 77-74.
“I was very prepared because I knew he was a tough guy,” said Izquierdo, who mostly had his way
from the match’s mid-point to the final bell. “But I can do better. I need to do more than just slug like I
did tonight. I know I need to relax and jab more.’’
Casal was cut and bleeding from the nose, mouth and both eyes at the finish, yet never quit trying
to land his trademark bombs. “He was a really, really strong guy,” Casal said. “I am disappointed, but
there are no excuses.’’
Nick Charles called the action from ringside with boxing historian Steve Farhood serving as
expert analyst. The executive producer of “ShoBox” is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing.
Friday’s bouts will re-air this week as follows:
DAY
Saturday, Jan. 6, at Midnight ET/PT
Monday, Jan. 8, at 10 p.m. ET/PT
Tuesday, Jan. 9, at Midnight ET/PT
Thursday, Jan. 11, at 11 p.m. ET/PT
CHANNEL
SHOTOO
SHO EXTREME
SHO EXTREME
SHOTOO
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING begins its 21st year of televising fights tonight,
Saturday, Jan. 6, at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast) on SHOWTIME. In the main event,
Samuel Peter and James Toney box a rematch of their exciting fight Sept. 2, 2006, on SHOWTIME and
Jose Antonio Rivera defends his WBA super welter belt against Travis Simms.
For more information on “ShoBox: The New Generation” and SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP
BOXING telecasts, including complete fighter bios, records, related stories and more, please go to the
SHOWTIME website at http://www.sho.com/boxing.