Now we know why his nickname is "Money." (Photo by Tom Briglia)

The above photo, captured by Atlantic City Weekly contributor Tom Briglia during the after party for the Diddy concert on July 3 — not the one at The Pool at Harrah’s that was canceled — at the House of Blues, features boxing star Floyd “Money” Mayweather chillin’ with some good old H20.

Now check out his watch.

He’s just asking for someone to try and snatch that $100 bill. Like anybody would ever try.

Leavander Johnson

Lifelong Atlantic City resident Leavander Johnson, who honed his boxing skills at the Atlantic City Police Athletic League and earned an IBF lightweight boxing world championship, will be honored Wednesday, Sept. 22, on the fifth anniversary of his passing.

In partnership with the City of Atlantic City and the Leavander Johnson Foundation — a non-profit, community-based empowerment organization designed to improve the quality and circumstances of life for present and future generations — a statue honoring Johnson will be commissioned by classically trained master sculptor Brian Hanlon. A media event and artistic rendering of the statue will unveiled on Friday, July 9, at 10am at Center City Park, Atlantic and North Carolina avenues in A.C. Attending the ceremony will be Bill Johnson, Craig Johnson (Leavander’s brother and manager), Floyd Williams (CEO of the Leavander Johnson Foundation), Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford, A.C. Second Ward Councilman Marty Small, and Hanlon.
“This is a fitting tribute to someone that made the entire city proud,” said Langford in a media release. “World Champions come far and few between, and Leavander has represented himself, his family, and the community very well. I am proud of him.”
Johnson tragically lost his life in the ring, at the pinnacle of his career and doing the job he loved, defending his championship belt and representing the city in which he was raised. Johnson compiled a professional career record of 34-5-2, with 26 knockouts, and was trained at the PAL by his father, Bill Johnson, who continues today to coach young boxers in after-school programs and provide them with the life skills needed to be successful in and out of the ring.
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(Photo by Lou Perri)

Last Friday, April 30, Resorts Atlantic City hosted the first evening of a two-night MMA event, which featured the New Breed Fighters. The event also featured some gorgeous ring girls as the above photo, taken by Lou Perri, illustrates. Pictured are Jen Smith, Elizabeth Snow and Melanie Schwartz.

Since we ran a feature on the fighters it seemed only right that we didn’t leave the ring girls out.

The site boxingscene.com has a report from TVNZ saying that heavyweight fighter David Tua’s “next fight has been pushed back from June 26 to July 17.”

Tua’s trainer says the fight will no longer take place in Brazil, but possibly at an “Atlantic City venue.”

Kelly Pavlik is quickly becoming the new favorite among fight fans in Atlantic City, and many plan to migrate down from Pavlik’s hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, to see his World Middleweight Championship bout against Sergio Martinez on April 17 at Boardwalk Hall.
Youngstown native Jim Davis is offering a weekend-long bus trip to Atlantic City from Youngstown for $275. The package includes bus transportation for two people, two-night hotel accommodations and two fight T-shirts. Unfortunately, the package does not include tickets to the fight, however many tickets are still available. Ticket prices range from $50 to $350 and can be purchased by clicking here.

According to ESPN’s Web site, fighter Paul Williams has found a replacement for the injured Kelly Pavlik for his scheduled Dec. 5 bout in Atlantic City. ESPN notes:

“After a two-week search for a new opponent, Paul Williams has one. He will meet junior middleweight titlist Sergio Martinez in a non-title middleweight bout Dec. 5, Williams promoter Dan Goossen told ESPN.com Wednesday.

Williams and Martinez, both southpaws, will meet in the 12-round main event of HBO’s “World Championship Boxing” in Atlantic City, N.J., at the Adrian Phillips Ballroom, the smaller, upstairs arena inside Boardwalk Hall.

Kelly Pavlik

It has been announced that Kelly Pavlik’s scheduled title defense against Paul Williams on Dec. 5 at Boardwalk Hall has been called off. Pavlik’s problem with a staph infection in his left hand has not been completely resolved. Williams, however, may still fight at Boardwalk Hall on that date if a suitable opponent can be found. For more information go here.

Rants and raves about burning topics that have caught my attention midweek, be it greedy corporate shenanigans, frustration or joy in regards to the Philly sports teams, a movie, show or DVD that has fired up my imagination, an intriguing personality, or my on-going battle to lose weight in our fast food world. — Lori Hoffman, Associate Editor, Atlantic City Weekly

This is the best time of the year to be a Philadelphia-area sports fan. Despite a few stumbles down the stretch, the Phillies will be in the hunt to repeat as World Series Champions. With the Eagles three games in, the Flyers opening their season this Friday (Oct. 2) and the Sixers soon to follow on Oct. 28, we could have a

I hope to carve another pumpkin this year.

four-team day of victories, assuming the Phillies make it to the World Series, scheduled to begin on Oct. 28.
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In addition to all the excitement generated by the Eagles and Phillies, we have some exciting sports news in the Atlantic City region. It has just been announced this week that ice hockey is returning to Boardwalk Hall. It is not a pro team, but college’s ECAC Hockey will have its Men’s Championship at the Hall rink in 2011 through 2013. The event will bring the elite ECAC Hockey conference, comprised of 12 of the most prestigious men’s ice hockey programs in the nation, to town. Schools in the ECAC are Brown, Clarkson, Colgate, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Quinnipiac, Rensselaer, St. Lawrence, Union and Yale.  The two most recent sites for the tournament have been Albany and Lake Placid, New York. Tickets for the tournament are expected to go on sale mid-2010. For more information about ECAC Hockey, visit here

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Arturo “Thunder” Gatti, the popular boxer and former two-time world champion who died tragically on July 11, was one of Atlantic City’s “adopted sons.” He was sort of a man of the world — born in Italy, raised in Canada, lived and trained in northern New Jersey, and died in a Brazilian hotel room — but the city that embraced him more than any other was here, and there are essentially two main reasons.
Gatti was well liked by the masses because he was friendly and approachable outside the ring, and in the ring he always gave valiant efforts, whether pitted against opponents he outclassed (like previously unbeaten Leonard Dorin), who outclassed him (Oscar de la Hoya and Floyd Mayweather) or against whom he was evenly matched, like Tracy Harris Patterson and Mickey Ward. It was a thrilling trilogy against Ward that cemented Gatti’s legacy in A.C., and helped him sell out Boardwalk Hall nine straight times.
Next Saturday, Sept. 19, Bally’s Atlantic City will present a “Night of Thunder” tribute to Gatti prior to the main event of a boxing card headlined by unbeaten bantamweight Teon Kennedy of Philadelphia (13-0, 5 knockouts) and Lante Addy of Ghana, the current West African Bantamweight champion. Afterward, 32 Degrees Luxe Lounge in The Quarter at Tropicana will host a “Night of Thunder” after-party as a tribute to his life. Gatti was a frequent guest at 32 Degrees, and even had his own VIP bottle-service storage locker.
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Kelly

After being announced and then postponed due to a staph infection, The Kelly Pavlik-Paul Williams mega-fight has a new date: December 5 at Boardwalk Hall.
“Pavlik has been completely medically cleared by the Cleveland Clinic in terms of the staph infection he had on his left hand,” according to the fight’s promoter, Bob Arum.