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Photos © Tom Casino
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“You better start getting ready now because I’m coming to get you.” – ‘Mighty’ Mike’s message to Miguel Cotto.
For most of the internet generation, me included, the name of Anton Christoforidis, a 1930’s-40’s middleweight/light heavyweight contender, really does not call our attention. I’ve never seen film on him, but by all accounts, Christoforidis was a very competent boxer who possessed good skills and got the most out of his ability. Since he did not possess heavy hands, having only recorded eleven knockouts in sixty-five fights, he relied on ring savvy and work-rate to get the job done. The fruits of his labor were finally realized on January 13, 1941, when Anton met and defeated Melio Bettina via fifteen-round unanimous decision to capture the NBA world light heavyweight title. Christoforidis would lose the title in his first defense and slowly started to fade away into obscurity, recording his last professional fight in February of 1947. By then, it did not matter because Anton Christoforidis had already made history in his homeland and would be remembered by millions of his countrymen for decades to come.
Now, I know what you guys are thinking, “What does any of this have to do with Arnaoutis and Greece?” Well, Anton Christoforidis is the only boxer in Greece’s history to win a professional world boxing title. Since Christoforidis lost the title in May of 1941, Greece has been waiting for another one of Her warlords to step up and crown the entire country as a world champion. This fact has been a driving force for Cestus Management and ‘Mighty’ Mike Arnaoutis.
“I was discovered by English Greece Cypriots Mike Michael (Cestus Management) who had a vision for me to become the second boxing world champion in the history of Greece,” said ‘Mighty’ Mike Arnaoutis to DoghouseBoxing.com. “I left my home in Greece with the dream of winning a world title. That is the reason Cestus took me to the U.K. and then to America. I am as determined as ever to become a world champion and am ready to take the next step on January 27, to ensure that I get my shot.”
The “next step on January 27” that Arnaoutis is referring to is his scheduled bout against Marc Thompson which is going to be the co-feature of the ‘Collision Course Night of the Champions’ pay-per-view. The event is to be hosted by the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey and represents ‘Mighty’ Mike’s first pay-per-view appearance; an opportunity that he is very excited about. “It’s a big event and I feel honored and proud to be such an important part of it. My team at Cestus Management did a great job in positioning me and ultimately getting me this great opportunity. I think it’s the right time in my career to be a part of a pay-per-view event because I am going to show everyone that I’m capable of participating and carrying this type of event. I will win on January 27, and I will continue on my way to our goal of a world title.”
With a growing fan base, and continued exposure on major fight cards such as the Collision Course pay-per-view event, ‘Mighty’ Mike continues his march towards what appears to be an unavoidable showdown against WBO 140-pound champion Miguel Cotto, upon whom Cestus Management has officially declared war. A win is critical as ‘Mighty’ Mike is knocking at the front door as the number two ranked 140-pound fighter in the world by the WBO. He had this to say about the possibility of facing Cotto, “I came to the U.S. to win a world title. I will win a world title for my fans. If I was not going to do that for my fans, I would have stayed back in Greece and stayed in my house. I want Cotto! My management team has done a great job in positioning me and the ratings are speaking for themselves as I’m ranked number two by the WBO. I’ve done everything that Cestus has told me to do and it has worked. I’ve fought guys that others did not want to fight to get here. Cotto holds the belt that I want and I’ll beat him and become a world champion for me and everyone else that is concerned.” Arnaoutis continued, “Every time I step into the ring, twelve million Greeks step into the ring with me. This is all for my country and to my fans everywhere. We are closer and closer to the vision that Cestus Management has of me becoming the second world champion of Greece and nothing will stop us. I will be a world champion soon.”
In closing, ‘Mighty’ Mike said, “Whoever sees this event on January 27 will be very happy because there are going to be in for a wonderful night of boxing. I will give my fans a great show and I am going to give my all. This win is going to get me even closer to a world title shot and I will be crowned a champion in 2006.”
‘Mighty’ Mike continued, “Miguel Cotto, make sure that you rest as best as you can and you better get ready to be in the best condition of your life because I don’t want any excuse when I beat you later this year. I want you to be ready and very rested because you are going to need to be in the kind of shape to fight the fight of your life. I will beat you and then I will apologize to your fans for beating their hero, but a job has to be done and I’m going to do it without a doubt. You better start getting ready now because I’m coming to get you.”
(Translation by Cestus Management’s Mike Michaels.)
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© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing 1998-2006
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By Sergio Martinez (January 26, 2006)
