Boxing-MMA event’s fighters ‘hungry’

As pleased as Roy Englebrecht was with the turnout for his boxing card last month at Primm Valley Resorts, he believes Saturday’s boxing-mixed martial arts tournament at the Star of the Desert Arena will trump the 4,000 who turned out to watch Yuriorkis Gamboa fight.

The Southern California promoter, who is teaming with former world champion boxer Fernando Vargas to present “Worlds Collide,” a six-event tournament that runs through November, is more about developing stars than furthering established fighters’ careers.

Three weight divisions are in each discipline, and the champions in both the boxing and MMA tournaments will earn $10,000. All of the competitors are from either Las Vegas or Southern California, with none having more than 10 bouts of experience.

“These are hungry fighters looking to make a name for themselves,” Englebrecht said. “To them, $10,000 is a fortune.”

Vargas said he was sold on the idea after watching MMA events and gaining an appreciation for what those fighters can do. “They’re great athletes, very dedicated,” he said. “My first love is boxing. But I’ve learned to appreciate mixed martial arts.”

The crossover concept has been tried before in Nevada. Last year, Banner Promotions put on two boxing-MMA cards at Cox Pavilion and the Thomas & Mack Center, the latter doing fairly well because of a free ticket giveaway that attracted 16,000 fans.

However, Englebrecht’s event is different.

First, it is not a one-night stand; it’s a tournament. Second, unlike the Banner cards, which started with boxing and ended with MMA with a 30-minute intermission in between to change the ring, Englebrecht plans to alternate between the two. Each boxing match will be followed by an MMA fight, with the ring being set up in advance with a fifth rope added near the canvas.

“We know the MMA fans like to show up early, so we want to keep them there throughout and not have them wait,” he said. “We also want the boxing fans to show up early.”

Free tickets to the tournament are available to Terrible’s Resort slot club members, who can obtain them online through the property’s Web site: primmconcerts.com.

• HEIR TO THRONE? — Joe Calzaghe’s retirement announcement Thursday surprised no one but pleased one fighter in particular.

Chad Dawson was glad to see Calzaghe step aside. In his mind, it paves the way for him to become the undisputed light heavyweight champion.

“I’m only 26 years old, and I’m ready to fight the best at 175 pounds for a very long time,” he said. “Welcome to the Dawson Era.”

Dawson (27-0, 17 knockouts), the current IBF and IBO light heavyweight champion, is training for his March 14 rematch with Antonio Tarver at the Palms. Dawson routed Tarver in October in their first meeting, winning a 12-round unanimous decision. The only reason he’s fighting Tarver again is because the contract had a rematch clause and Tarver exercised the option.

Calzaghe retired at 46-0 with 32 knockouts. He was a former super middleweight champion with 21 successful title defenses and beat Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. at light heavyweight.

• LATIN FURY 8 — Top Rank’s popular “Latin Fury” series returns March 28 with a card in Tijuana, Mexico, that will feature Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Humberto Soto and Fernando Montiel.

The official announcement for the card, which will be televised on pay per view, will come Monday in Los Angeles.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@ reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.