According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, WBA Featherweight champion Yuriorks Gamboa will now face IBF beltholder Orlando Salido after WBC champ Elio Rojas had to withdraw due to shoulder and hand injuries.

The fight will take place on September 11 at The Palms in Las Vegas.

“The doctor recommended that he be out for two months, so the fight is off,” said Rojas’ manager Tony Tineo. “Elio is very disappointed because he wanted to fight Gamboa and prove to the world that he is the best featherweight. He is very, very disappointed. He told me yesterday, ‘Oh, Tony, I have all my plans on how I’m going to beat Gamboa and then it all goes down.’ I told him, ‘We can fight him in the future.’ ”

“The hand was injured in that fight and that is why he didn’t knock Espadas out,” Tineo said. “Now it’s still giving him problems. Elio wants to fight, but as the manager, I spoke with the doctor and we made the decision. We decided no fight because the arm and hand were bothering him too much. We have to follow the doctor’s instructions. This is his future. I can’t send him into a fight with damage. I can’t let him fight with an injury.”

“We had Salido and wanted to make that fight. HBO wanted Rojas,” Said Bob Arum, who promotes both Gamboa and Salido. “So they went to [Rojas’ promoter] Don King and they got Rojas done. And then Rojas got hurt and he can’t fight and now we’ve gone back to Salido and HBO has OK’d Salido. Salido is a big puncher and it probably will be a more exciting fight than Rojas anyway because Rojas is more of a boxer. The fight with Gamboa should be a really good fight between two big punchers.”

Arum said HBO asked Top Rank to reconsider trying to make a deal for Gamboa to face Celestino Caballero, the former unified junior featherweight titlist who moved up in weight and made his HBO debut with a tremendous performance against Daud Yordan in April.

“We said, ‘Listen, it’s only about a month until the fight and the big guy [Caballero] towers over everybody,’ ” Arum said. “You have to get the right sparring partners. It’s not fair to do that to Gamboa on short notice. But what I told HBO is that we have no problem fighting the guy next as long as the money is right. I even told them we’ll do a nice Caballero fight on one of our pay-per-view undercards as long as it doesn’t cost me a lot of money and we can set up the fight next.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Wladimir Klitschko will indeed defend is IBF/WBO/Ring magazine Heavyweight title on September 11th in Frankfurt, Germany in a rematch of a 2005 bout.

“The Sam Peter thing has been agreed to,” Top Rank’s Bob Arum, Peter’s promoter, said. “They’re coming into the [Las Vegas] office to sign [on Thursday]. It was a relatively easy negotiation.”

Bernd Boente, Klitschko’s manager, told ESPN.com in an email, “We found an agreement which is not signed yet, but hopefully [Thursday] so that we can send out a press release.”

“Peter came close last time. This time he has the experience that if he gets Klitschko in trouble again, he can finish him,” Arum said. “If Peter happened to upset Klitschko that would really start a lot of talk in the heavyweight division.”

Said Boente, “This is a very interesting fight especially with the history of the first one in 2005. By the way, we have already sold 15,000 tickets in the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt without an opponent.”

“We’re going [Thursday] morning to sign. We’re good to go,” said Ivaylo Gotzev, Peter’s manager. “My prediction has always been the same if we got a rematch. This time we’re going to finish the job and not leave it to the judges’ scorecard. We are going into the lion’s den to take him out.”

LAS VEGAS – Oscar De La Hoya said Wednesday that the Arizona immigration law is racist if it is allowed to stand as it was written.

“We’re looking at racism,’’ De La Hoya said during a news conference to promote the Juan Diaz-Juan Manuel Marquez rematch Saturday night at Mandalay Bay. “We really are.’’

De La Hoya made the comments while U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton filed an injunction in Phoenix against parts of SB 1070, delaying provisions that require immigrants to carry documentation and prohibits them from seeking employment on street corners or in parking lots. The law was scheduled to go into effect Thursday.

De La Hoya, president of Golden Boy Promotions and a fulltime promoter since he retired after a loss to Manny Pacquiao in 2008, said he would not stage cards in Arizona if the law is reinstated through likely legal fights, including an expected appeal by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer.

Golden Boy promoted at Desert Diamond Casino near Tucson for a few years. The last Golden Boy card in southern Arizona was in the summer of 2009.

When asked if he could return to the state and promote again, De La Hoya said: “If they do lift the law, I would. But I don’t know now. If they don’t lift the law, then I don’t think we have business there.’’

Both Diaz and Marquez have fought in Arizona. Diaz, a Mexican-American lightweight, beat Fernando Angulo in 2006 at Chase Field in Phoenix. Marquez, a Mexican, has fought in Arizona twice, both in 2007 and both in Tucson. In his last Arizona bout, he beat Rocky Juarez, also of Houston, is also on Saturday night’s card at Mandalay Bay.

Six of the eight fighters on HBO’s pay-per-view portion have fought in Arizona, including middleweight Daniel Jacobs of New York junior-welterweight Robert Guerrero of Gilroy, Calif., and Joel Casamayor, an Olympic gold medalist from Cuba.

Diaz, an aspiring attorney, was born in Houston to parents, Olivia and Fidencio, who at the time were undocumented immigrants from Mexico.

“I talk about it with them and it hits home for them a little bit more,’’ said Diaz, whose parents took him back to Mexico briefly before returning to Houston. “They experienced it first-hand as far as crossing the border, dealing with border patrol and sometimes running from immigration. Those are some interesting stories.’’

The stories are also full of reasons to fear the SB 1070 if the courts allow it to be enforced, Diaz said.

“It’s a rough law,’’ he said. “It’s gonna infringe on a lot of human rights. Local law enforcement is going to take a little bit too much of the power that it has and abuse it. There’s going to be so many cases in which families and people are going to be abused that we’re not even going to hear about.’’

Despite his concern about the law’s potential abuse, Diaz said he would not rule out fighting in Arizona again.

“I’d have to look at the circumstances,” said Diaz, who Saturday hopes to avenge a loss to Marquez in the 2009 fight of the year. “I’m not going to sit here and say: ‘No, I’m never going to go fight.’

“You look at each, specific situation. If the situation is that they want to put on a show to raise money for immigrants, then it would be different. A lot of people automatically assume that they won’t fight there because of the law. But, like I said, I’d have to look at the circumstances. Then, say yes or no.’’

Marquez, who is from Mexico City, said the Arizona law has been talking point in his country ever since Brewer signed it in late April.

“It is bad, bad for me and bad for the Mexican people,’’ Marquez said. “Many Mexicans live in Arizona. I want to support them, help them through this.’’

De La Hoya said he understands those who argue that the United States has to defend its borders and maintain a process through which immigrants can gain legal entry.

“If you are illegal in this country and you’re a person who doesn’t come here to work and to help build America and to be in gangs and commit crimes and this-and-that, then, you-know-what, maybe you should go back,’’ said De La Hoya, who fought at then-America West Arena in Phoenix twice early in his career.”But if you are a person who is this country to help build America the way immigrants built America back in the day, then I think they do have a chance, that there should be fairness.

“I understand that there has to be a process, of how that is regulated.’’

De La Hoya says the law targets Mexicans and Americans of Mexican descent.

“They were thinking that this is meant for European immigrants, this is meant for the Asian immigrant,’’ said De La Hoya, who grew up in Los Angeles before becoming the world’s most popular and richest boxer after winning an Olympic gold medal for the U.S. at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

De La Hoya points to Arizona large Hispanic community, which is estimated to be about one-third of the state’s population.

“So, to a certain extent, I call it racism,’’ De La Hoya said. “I really do. What happens now? I got to Arizona. I look Hispanic. They pull me over and ask for my ID? It’s not fair.’’

Back when things were in Black and white and Boxing had only 8 weights classes, Lightweight was one of the toughest division’s to make a name for yourself fast forward to today things haven’t changed much. Lightweight still has some of the elite performers in the game. Granted things aren’t as hot at 135 as they have been in the past years. That could all change this weekend when Juan Manuel Marquez heads back to the more cosy confines of Lightweight after his sojourn to a Welterweight catchweight against Floyd Mayweather. His opponent this time at least seems mortal, a rematch with Juan Diaz. Last February Diaz’s youth, size and strength seemed as though they would help him gain the biggest win of his career to date. Slowly but surely Marquez refined and tuned his considerable skills, creating gaps in Diaz defence until landing two howitzer right hands that dropped Diaz before conclusively ending the argument with a devastating right uppercut. It was ultimately one of the top fights of 2009.

Also on Saturday’s card will be Robert Guerrero & Joel Casamayor, though the fight is a few pounds above the Lightweight limit the winner will most likely look to fight the winner of the main event. Just a few pounds south at 130 Jorge Linares and Rocky Juarez duel in an intriguing fight in which the loser has no place to go. It’s not quite the Lightweight Lightening that took place last April when eight of the top Lightweights were scheduled to face off, though it never quite worked out. This could end up having more of an effect on the Lightweight demigraphic.

A few months ago Michael Katsidis scored possibly the best win of his career to date when he went into the lions den and stopped unbeaten Kevin Mitchell in three. Afterwards Katsidis declared he wants to fight the winner of Marquez-Diaz 2 this fall. The Lightweight confines also house the legendary Marco Antonio Barrera who recently ended a year long hiatus, he’s expected to return again in late summer before fighting another Mexican Humberto Soto for Soto’s WBC crown. Soto himself is angling for a big fight and would be a handful for anyone at 135.

In the past the Lightweight division has been the home to a murders row of greats including Joe Gans, Benny Leonard, Tony Canzoneri, Carlos Ortiz, Roberto Duran, Pernell Whitaker and Shane Mosley, even briefly Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather & Manny Pacquiao.

Here’s a look at some of the guys who created havoc at 9 stone 9 pounds.

The Old Master Joe Gans fought in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, reigning from 1902-1908 making 15 defence’s. He died of tuberculosis in 1910, at just 35 years old with a record of 138-10-15(96) and considered one of the greats of Boxing. Sadly Gans passed away at just 35 from tuberculosis.

A year after Gans sad demise Benny “Ghetto Wizard” Leonard made his debut, losing a third round KO. It was hardly the start to a career that would make anyone forget Joe Gans. Over the next 6 years Leonard learnt his trade and stayed busy developing his skills. It was at this stage he won the Lightweight crown beating Freddie Welsh making 9 defence’s reigning from 1917-1925. In 1918 he even dared to go up to Welterweight where he drew with Ted “Kid Lewis, he again made that move in 1922 though lost a thirteenth round disqualification to Jack Britton, when he hit Britton while Britton was down. Leonard retired as the reigning Lightweight champion in 1925. Before briefly trying to make a return in 1931.

Like Leonard before him Tony Canzoneri fought out of New York. Canzoneri won the Featherweight world title in the late 1920’s before heading up to Lightweight where he demolished Al Singer in the first round in late 1930. He even went up to Light Welterweight where he beat Jack “Kid” Berg reigning at both weights consecutively. Canzoneri would reign until the summer of 1933 when he lost a majority decision to another Lightweight legend Barney Ross then losing a split decision 3 months later. It was at this stage he really showed his metal staying busy when most though he’d seen better days and winning his old Lightweight title back nearly 2 years later against Lou Ambers though he eventually lost it back to Ambers.

Puerto Rico Carlos Ortiz fought for 17 years and won the Light Welterweight crown four years after debuting in 1959 after one defence he lost the title. Ortiz then dropped to Lightweight where he had even more success beating Joe Brown for the title then reigning for 3 years making 4 defence’s before losing a very close decision Ismael Laguna in Panama. Not deterred Ortiz reclaimed the crown 7 months later outpointing Laguna in Panama making a further 5 defence’s until he lost to Carlos Teo Cruz in 1968. He continued until 1972 when he lost to Ken Buchanan.

The Pride of Panama Roberto “Manos De Piedra” Duran was a force of nature that for over 5 years in the 1970 was a wrecking machine. He devastated all before him, that version of Duran many believe was the greatest Lightweight to ever draw breath. He bludgeoned all 12 title challengers into defeat with only one lasting the course. Duran went onto become a 4 weight world champion fighting well into his forty’s and decades past his prime. His relentless pressure, unbridled ferocity coupled with no lack skill saw off all comers. Similar to Mike Tyson years later Duran beat many opponents before they stepped in the ring with him. Through out his storied career Duran beat some fantastic fighters most notably Sugar Ray Leonard thought that was up at Welterweight.

Having won Gold at the 1984 Olympics Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker was long known for his outstanding boxing skills, fantastic defensive ability along with an uncanny knack of making Hall of Fame Fighters look like novices. Whitaker was so gifted that it was difficult to find rounds he would lose let alone fights. Whitaker like Duran would go on to become a 4 Weight world champion. Both fighters were poles apart with Whitaker a modest puncher at 135 though he would end up using his mastery to conquer 140, 147 & 154 defeating many good fighters including Azumah Nelson, Jose Luis Ramirez, Buddy McGirt and in the eyes of everyone except the two judges who scored it a draw he beat Julio Cesar Chavez Snr.

After a stellar amateur career in which “Sugar” Shane Mosley narrowly missed out on taking part in the 1992 Olympics he embarked on a pro career starting out at Lightweight. Though many insiders and Los Angeles aficionados knew Mosley’s potential fans and media alike seemed to miss out on the secret that was Shane Mosley. Infact he arguably didn’t gain his full adulation until he relinquished the IBF crown he had defended 8 times all inside the distance, going straight to Welterweight where he posted an outstanding victory over a prime Oscar De La Hoya. Mosley joined Duran missing out Light Welterweight and heading straight to 147.

In the last decade or so Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather & Manny Pacquiao all had brief layovers at 135 before heading to Light Welterweight and then Welterweight.

De La Hoya lasted 18 months and 7 fights before he out grew the division. Though in that time he did post impressive stoppages over Rafael Ruelas, Jesse James Leija & Genaro Hernandez & a points win over seasoned veteran and former world champion John John Molina.

After an outstanding run at Super Featherweight Floyd Mayweather won his second world title at his second weight class when he barely squeezed past Jose Luis Castillo in early 2002. To shut up all the doubters he fought Castillo in a rematch and was far more convincing 8 months later. After two defence’s against average opponents in Victoriano Sosa & Phillip Ndou, Mayweather abdicated his thrown.

In the summer of 2008 Pacquiao made a brief pit stop of just a single fight when he flattened David Diaz to collect the WBC crown.

Another shooting star Edwin Valero threatened to join the elite at Lightweight before his untimely demise.

Just who joins the list of immortals in the future remains to be seen but one thing is likely to continue and that is that the Lightweight division will thrive as one of the strongest weight classes in Boxing just as it has over the past 100 or so years.

PHILADELPHIA (July 28, 2010)—World ranked (WBO #7); and once beaten Lightweight, “Hammerin” Hank Lundy is now a promotional Free Agent after leaving Jimmy Burchfield CES Boxing.

Lundy, 18-1-1 with ten knockouts has become a fan favorite because of his action style and many television appearances on ESPN 2 Friday Night Fights, will be looking to get back in the win column after his first professional setback which took place on July 9th after getting stopped by Johnny Molina in a bout that Lundy was dominating.

“Certain obligations were not met in his contract”, said Lundy’s manager, Ivan Cohen.

“We believe that Hank is still one of the best Lightweights in the world and we will be looking for another promoter who we believe will advance his career to world championship status.”

The Friday before last, Team Mayweather handed Bob Arum and Top Rank a bunch of lemons. Instead of trying to make lemonade, Arum passed the lemons off to boxing fans in the form of Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito.

Now it’s up to the boxing community to determine what to do with them.

During his now-infamous conference call, Arum made it clear that his intentions were to pursue fights with possible opponents other than Mayweather, specifically Miguel Cotto or Margarito.

Less than two weeks later the “Tijuana Tornado” emerged as the next opponent for the Filipino Congressman.

In fighting Pacquiao (51-3, 38 KO) on November 13, Margarito (38-6, 27 KO) is receiving a “hand-wrapped” gift from Arum and Top Rank. In taking care of his own, Arum is granting Margarito what will most likely amount to the biggest pay day of his career. He is awarding “Tony” the chance of a lifetime simply for fighting under the Top Rank banner.

During his conference call, responding to an inquiry about a potential Pacquiao-Tim Bradley fight, Arum immediately dismissed the possibility.

“Tim Bradley is a tremendous fighter and he’s a great young man,” Arum said. “But the problem with a guy like Tim Bradley is that even though you and I know what a superb fighter he is, the public really doesn’t know.”

He continued, “The other promoters don’t really promote their fighters. They take money from HBO or Showtime or a little Indian casino and they think they’re doing the kid a big service. I’m not going to give them a free ride on the work we have done.”

That same logic applied to a question about a potential Paul Williams fight with Pacquiao.

“Paul Williams is a tremendous fighter – a great fighter, but he hasn’t been promoted correctly — he doesn’t have any following, can’t sell any tickets,” Arum said. “Nobody is financing the pay-per-view fight. On an HBO fight – HBO pays the money. I’m the one that’s financing the pay-per-view and don’t want to give anyone a free ride.”

Arum’s thinking, which in this specific case is reasonable, has ultimately left us with a mid-Autumn clash between Pacquiao and Margarito. It has also left us disappointed with the realization that a Mayweather-Pacquiao superfight won’t be taking place any time this calendar year.

It’s left us with a decision about what to do with these lemons.

It’s true that Margarito, or as many in the fistic community have comically renamed him, “Margacheato”, was caught with loaded hand-wraps before his bout with “Sugar” Shane Mosley.

It’s also true that he doesn’t deserve the big pay day that will come when he faces the world’s number one pound-for-pound boxer.

Margarito is a cheater who was caught and is still being punished. He is a fighter who, presumably, was willing to endanger the lives of his opponents for a win inside the ring.

He is still not licensed to prizefight in the United States ] and the last time most boxing fans saw him, he was being battered around the ring for nine rounds by Mosley.

So what are we to make of Pacquiao-Margarito?

Lemonade?

Let me try.

Margarito is a battle tested warrior. Having suffered early defeats in his career, Margarito had to work twice as hard to prove the crooked numbers in the loss column were due to the fact that he turned professional at the ripe young age of 15, not necessarily due to lack of skill.

After years of compiling win after win, Margarito fought his way to the top. He has held, at some point or another, the WBA, WBO, and IBF welterweight championships.

He walks through the best punches his opponents have to offer just so he can fire off a few of his own.

This past decade alone, Margarito has stopped Sergio Martinez, Antonio Diaz, and twice stopped Kermit Cintron.

He was awarded a decision over Joshua Clottey. He has battled in tough losses against Paul Williams and Daniel Santos, proving that even in defeat, he still possesses the heart of a true Mexican warrior.

He has fought in fights that looked like they belonged in bars, specifically the hellacious brawl with Miguel Cotto — a fight that left Cotto’s face almost unrecognizable.

Truth be told, plaster-wraps aside, Margarito is an entertaining fighter to watch.

To add to the fan-friendly style of Margarito is the always-entertaining Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao, the seven division world champion and current WBO welterweight champion, is the world’s number one pound-for-pound fighter and arguably the most entertaining boxer on the globe.

Pacquiao’s “Energizer Bunny” style is enough to draw most boxing fans’ interest. In recent years, Pacquiao’s domination of opponents has tended to end fights in spectacular fashion — such as the Ricky Hatton knockout, Cotto stoppage, and David Diaz knockout.

But even in fights where the endings weren’t as exciting, Pacquiao is still a pleasure to watch.

Take the Clottey fight, for instance. It was a fight that was dominated by Pacquiao from the opening bell, a fight in which Clottey suffered a slow, twelve round death. In a unanimous decision win, where two judges somehow awarded Clottey a single round, Pacquiao still made the fight entertaining. Pacquiao’s tireless work-rate was something to marvel at. He averaged over 100 purposeful punches a round throughout the twelve round bout and finished the fight looking like the he could fight twelve more.

Any time the best fighter in the world is fighting, I am going to be watching. It’s as simple as that.

The number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world versus a Mexican warrior, who can take an inordinate amount of punishment, but always seems to dish out just more than he receives. This has all the makings to be an intriguing fight.

End of squeezing lemons.

Do I buy into the hype I just tried to create in an attempt to excite myself?

I’m not so sure.

But at least I was trying to make lemonade. With the immediate dismissal of a potential Bradley or Williams fight with Pacquiao, that’s more than Arum and Top Rank can say. They simply handed off the lemons to boxing fans to let us decide what to make of them.

Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank

Rendell Munroe was last night given the date for his world title showdown against Japanese star Toshiaki Nishioka. Munroe (21-1) will challenge for Nishioka’s (36-4-3) WBC super-bantamweight title at Tokyo’s 10,000 capacity Sumo Hall on Sunday October 24.

Munroe, 30, will take eight weeks off from his binman’s job to prepare for the biggest fight of his career. The Leicester southpaw, promoter Frank Maloney, manager Mike Shinfield and trainer Jason Shinfield, will spend 12 days in Tokyo before the fight.

Maloney explained: “Tokyo is about eight hours ahead so we need to be there well in advance to make sure everything is spot on. “People are writing Rendall off, but there are far more hostile places than Japan for a fighter to travel to. “Nishioka’s camp have been complete professionals to deal with and I am sure Rendall will get a fair deal if the fight goes 12 rounds.”
The fight will take place early afternoon British time and UK television rights will be announced at a later date.

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (July 27, 2010) – With G&P Fitness and Boxing Center officially opened, President and CEO Mike Brestle is continuing his quest to make a difference in the community of Atlantic City as well as the boxing and fitness industries. With a brand new state of the art boxing and training facility, located squarely in the heart of Atlantic City, Brestle is ready to launch Spartan Fight Promotions. Spartan Fight Promotions’ goal is to be Atlantic City’s premier sports and entertainment promotional company. “Our main focus and vision is to bring the sport of boxing BACK to Atlantic City, just as it was not too long ago during the times of Iron Mike Tyson and Arturo Gatti,” says Brestle.

Spartan Fight Promotions mission is to provide their fans with an exciting, competitive and entertaining evening of world class boxing action. What makes Spartan Fight Promotions unique is their willingness to work with any and all promoters, managers and fighters in the sport to help achieve their vision of making the best and most entertaining fights for the fans on a consistent basis. As Spartan Fight Promotions continues to grow and build their brand, their focus will remain to present fan friendly fight cards, while building and sustaining long lasting relationships that are based on trust, loyalty and mutual respect. This vision is the key to the success of Spartan Fight Promotions and their ability to represent the sport’s top talent on a local, national and international level.

The Spartan Fight Promotion team will be comprised by some of the sport’s brightest and freshest talent. Jim Kurtz is the President of Boxing Operations at Spartan Fight Promotions and will handle many of the day to day responsibilities. Kurtz is well versed in many areas of the sport and he is highly respected by his peers within the sport. He is one of the sport’s youngest and most well respected managers and advisors. He has vast promotional experience and he has even handled matchmaking responsibilities. Working along with Kurtz will be former Main Events matchmaker, Brian Little. Little has established an impeccable reputation within the boxing community. With over the fifteen years of experience and having worked hand in hand with some of the sports most respected talent, Brian brings a wealth of knowledge to Spartan Fight Promotions. Brian has experience handling everything from matchmaking, arranging boxer travel, public relations and site coordination.

“Kurtz and Little will coordinate the day-to-day and event operations for Spartan Fight Promotions,” according to Brestle. “Their extensive experience, combined with the rest of our dedicated staff, will help lead Spartan Fight Promotions towards achieving our goal, to ‘bring boxing back to Atlantic City’ while establishing a reputation throughout the boxing world for staging world class boxing events. Kurtz and Little will be key components to achieve our goal of signing, developing, and mentoring talented boxing professionals and helping them achieve their dreams of becoming World Champions!”

The Spartan Fight Promotions plan is to promote 6-8 boxing shows per year while establishing a well defined presence in New Jersey and the Atlantic City region in particular. To reach these lofty goals, Spartan Fight Promotions is committed to dealing with any promoter, manager and fighters in the sport to make the most competitive and entertaining fights for the fans. With each and every Spartan Fight Promotions experience boxing fans will be able to see and feel the Spartan Fight Promotions difference.

Brestle concluded, “We look forward to seeing everyone at the fights. I am sure the attendees will become loyal fans of Spartan Fight Promotions and they will continue to be a part of our future. Spartan Fight Promotions strives to be the best in all that we do and we look forward to providing our fans with events that they will remember!”

On August 21, the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey will play host to “The Big Challenge” fight card, presented by Main Events, Ziggy Promotions and X-Cel Worldwide. The main event will feature North Jersey’s adopted son, Tomasz “Goral” Adamek, against “Big” Michael Grant. Adamek (41-1, 27 KO), who is coming off an impressive majority decision victory against heavyweight contender Chris Arreola, will look to continue building his heavyweight resume and retain his IBF International Heavyweight Title when he takes on his 6’7” opponent. Grant (46-3, 34 KO), who has already defeated a Polish icon in Andrew Golota, will look to disappoint a sure to be packed Prudential Center with a victory over Adamek.

The card will also feature a junior middleweight bout between Colombia’s Joel Julio (35-4, 31 KO) and Philadelphia’s Jamaal Davis (12-6, 6 KO). Julio will look to bounce back from a violent KO loss that came at the fists of Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo back in April.

Also fighting on the undercard will be former United States Olympian Sadam Ali (8-0, 4 KO). Most recently, Brooklyn’s Ali defeated Julias Edmonds by third round TKO on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights, as part of the Zab Judah-Jose Santa Cruz undercard. “The Big Challenge” will also feature Paterson, New Jersey’s Jeremy Bryan. The two-time national Golden Gloves Champion, Bryan (13-1, 6 KO), will look to rebound from his only professional, which came back in April.

Adam “Baby Face’ Kownacki and Shemuel Pagan will join Ali as other Brooklyn fighters on the card.

Kownacki (4-0, 4 KO), who was born in Lomza, Poland, will return to the Prudential Center, where he viciously defeated Damon Clement by second round KO less than two weeks ago.

As for Pagan, August 21 will mark the date of his professional debut. The twenty-two year-old is a 5-time New York Golden Gloves Champion and has compiled an impressive amateur record of 85 wins and only 19 defeats.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at Prudential Center Box Office, by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or www.PruCenter.com. Tickets are priced at $53, $78, $103, and $253 (ringside).

The bout will also be distributed as a Pay-Per-View card by Integrated Sports Media. It will be available on both cable and satellite Pay-Per-View via iN Demand, DIRECTV, Avail-TVN and DISH Network. The price for the event is listed at $29.99.

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NOTES FROM THE PRESS CONFERENCE: Kathy Duva:
“Tomasz is moving along in his career very nicely…This is Tomasz’s first PPV fight in the United States, we are pretty excited about that. His opponent is Michael Grant, 6’7” “Big” Michael Grant. The title of it is “The Big Challenge.” That is what this is going to be for Tomasz…the biggest challenge of his career, as he will fight the biggest opponent of his career.” Roger Bloodworth: “This is a very important fight for Tomasz…Grant is trained by a very good trainer, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad. I haven’t seen Grant’s fights since he last lost (which was in 2003 to Dominick Guinn). He presents a difficult problem in that he’s 6’7”…he’s got a long reach. So what I think you are going to see is a hell of a fight.”

“I don’t want to give you the impression that this is rehearsal because I’m taking Michael Grant very seriously. He needs this fight desperately, so I don’t want to give the impression that he is taken for granted or he is a dress rehearsal. It is going to show us what Tomasz can do against an extremely tall guy.”

“In the heavyweight division, you don’t have tremendous knockout power, but you have to have the ability to hurt people with combinations. Evander Holyfield wasn’t a great one-punch [boxer], but he put enough punches together, he made you quit. That’s the way I see Tomasz. I think eventually he’ll put enough punches together he will make you quit.” “One advantage of his weight having settled in at 220-222 lbs. is that he is still able to carry his body around. He has very good legs. When you start getting up around 240-250 lbs., sometimes it’s tough.”
*For his last fight, Tomasz Adamek was trained by both Roger Bloodworth and Ronnie Shields. When Bloodworth left camp to train with David Tua, Adamek worked exclusively with Ronnie Shields. This time around, Shields was not figured into the Adamek equation at all.

In an interview with Beats, Boxing, and Mayhem, Ronnie Shields admitted he doesn’t really know why Adamek decided not to work with him again. “You’ll have to ask his manager Ziggy Rozalski,” Shields explained. “I got a call from someone else [not] Tomasz or Ziggy telling me that he wasn’t coming to Houston. I have no idea what happened.” I asked Bloodworth about it all and he replied by saying, “It doesn’t have to do with anything except that Tomasz wanted to train up here and Ronnie trains in Houston. Simple as that.”

Tomasz Adamek:
“I’m very excited to come back to the Prudential Center…I think we will make a good fight with Michael Grant, for my fans. I would like to invite everyone to see my fight in Newark. Thank you very much, see you August 21.” No other boxers spoke at the press conference. Michael Grant attempted to phone in from Las Vegas, but due to technical problems, it was inaudible.

Jr. Middleweight contender, Gabriel Rosado talks about his July 30th showdown with USBA Jr. Middleweight champion Derek “Pooh” Ennis in an ALL PHILLY WAR that will be broadcasted LIVE on www.gofightlive.tv
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USBA Jr. Middleweight champion, Derek “Pooh” Ennis talks about his July 30 showdown with Gabriel Rosado that will be shown live on www.gofightlive.tv.
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Watch the final press conference that took place in advance of Derek Ennis defending the USBA Jr. Middleweight title against Gabriel Rosado this Friday night in a bout that can be seen LIVE on www.gofightlive.tv
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USBA Light Heavyweight Champion Otis Griffin spoke to 15rounds.com after the Beibut Shumenov-Vyacheslav Uzelkov fight at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California on July 23rd. Griffin, the WBA #10 ranked light heavyweight, gives his take on Shumenov’s WBA title defense and discusses his career and the state of the 175-pound division. Griffin (22-6-2, 9 KOs) recently scored an eighth-round knockout of Byron Mitchell and his headed for an August 28th fight against Billy Bailey.

Watch Otis Griffin Interview with 15rounds.com

15Rounds.com caught up with “The Celtic Warrior” Bobby Gunn who was in attendance at the Tomasz Adamek-Michael Grant press conference earlier today. Here’s what Gunn (21-4, 18 KO) had to say about the prospect of fighting undefeated Israeli, Ran Nakash (25-0, 18 KO).

“In order for Nakash go on and be 26-0 and fight the best in the world, he has to be battle tested. In my opinion, he’s never been battle tested…So step up to the plate and fight the fight. There’s no hesitations from my team to make the fight. Anywhere, any place, let’s make the fight. Please, please, lets make the fight.”

“It isn’t complicated. Here’s the bottom line. It’s very simple. Either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. If you want to fight, let’s not talk about it, lets do it!”

“I’ve been after him [Nakash] for about eight months. As far as now, it’s just talk. If his team wants to put pen to paper, he doesn’t have to push me too hard, I’ve been calling him out for more than six months.” “He’s a nice fellow. I wish him the best, but he’d be fighting a whole different league of a fighter. I’ve fought the best in the world [nods at Adamek]. It would be a good fight, I hope it would be for a title…they are talking about that.” “I’ve been training my ass off, I’m ready for the fight. I’ve been training since I fought Tomasz Adamek. I’ve had six fights that all fell through, so I’m more than ready. Let’s get it on!” “I’m waiting for them this week…let’s not play around anymore, let’s get it done!”

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Philadelphia, PA—United States Boxing Association (USBA) junior middleweight champion Derek ‘Pooh’ Ennis and challenger ‘King’ Gabriel Rosado both spoke with confidence Monday evening at the final press conference for their all-Philly showdown on Friday, July 30, at the Arena in South Philadelphia.

An overflow crowd at Champps Americana restaurant on Columbus Boulevard in South Philadelphia—less than one mile from the Arena—turned out to hear both fighters and their respective managers and trainers discuss the biggest local fight in years.

“Bragging rights in the city is all well and good,” said Rosado, the 24-year-old challenger from North Philadelphia, “but what I’m really after is the USBA title and the world ranking that comes with it. When I win this fight, I’m going to take that belt home with me and I’m gonna sleep with it in bed.”

Ennis, 29, of the Germantown section of Philadelphia, has other ideas.

“You can borrow it for now and see how it feels,” he told Rosado as they sat at the head table, “but it will only be temporary. Sooner or later you’ll have to bring it back to where it belongs—around my waist.”

Ennis is ranked No. 12 in the world by the International Boxing Federation (IBF). His record is 21-2-1, 13 K0s. He won the USBA title last year by beating Eromosele Albert, of Miami, FL, over 12 rounds at the Blue Horizon.

Rosado, unranked, is 14-4, 8 K0s, but he has beaten ex-world champ Kassim “The Dream” Ouma, of Palm Beach Gardens, FL, and Saul Roman, of Mexico.

Moz Gonzalez and Eddie Woods, who manage Ennis, were looking forward to Friday’s matchup.

Gonzalez: “Bring it on! We can’t wait until Friday. Derek is in the best shape of his career and I’ve never had a fighter who was so easy to work with. He had some issues earlier in his career with making weight, but that’s all in the past.”

Woods: “I was a pro fighter in the late 1950s and early 1960s when Kitten Hayward and Dick Turner and Percy Manning and all those guys from different neighborhoods took turns fighting each other. I have no problem with two Philly fighters getting it on. Just wait and see! There’s no way we’re losing this fight.”

Billy Briscoe, who trains Rosado, sees a different ending to this one.

“Gaby works so hard in the gym I have to tone him down,” Briscoe said. “He knows what this fight means to his career and he doesn’t think anyone can stop him. That USBA belt is all the motivation he needs.”

To commemorate the occasion, John DiSanto, of www.phillyboxinghistory.com, made casts of each fighter’s fist.

Also on hand were most of the local undercard fighters. They included: junior lightweight Anthony Flores (8-1-1, 5 K0s); super middleweight Dennis Hasson (9-0, 3 K0s); light-heavyweights Garrett Wilson (7-5, 2 K0s) and Reshawn Scott (2-4, 1 K0), who fight each other; super middleweight Farah Ennis (14-0, 8 K0s); heavyweight Bryant Jennings (3-0, 2 K0s); lightweight Angel Luis Ocasio (2-0).

Hall-of-Famer J Russell Peltz, who has been promoting fights since 1969, hopes the Ennis-Rosado match will be the catalyst that helps to bring Philadelphia back to its glory days when fighters like Hayward, Turner, Manning, Joey Giardello, George Benton, Bennie Briscoe, Cyclone Hart and many, many others took turns fighting each other in matches that still are talked about today.

The eight-bout card begins at 7.30 p.m. and will be televised by www.gofightlive.tv.

Tickets priced at $50 and $75 are on sale at the offices of Peltz Boxing Promotions (215-765-0922) or online at www.peltzboxing.com.

On the 18 September Frank Warren Promotions will present one of the biggest bill’s in recent British Boxing history, known as “The Magnificent Seven”. One half of the main event is Karo Murat 22-0(13) who know’s he wont have to much support when he enters the ring at The LG Arena to face’s fellow unbeaten Nathan Cleverly. Murat 26, will be looking to make history for his country of birth Iraq by becoming there first World Champion. He fights out of Germany these days having turned pro in September 2006, starting out at Super Middleweight where he won the European title before deciding to move up to Light Heavyweight. He’ll be looking to continue the run of German transplants at 175 after Dariusz Michalczewski and more recently Zsolt Erdei who reigned supreme as champions for the WBO. The fight with Cleverly will be for the Vacant Interim Light Heavyweight crown. The winner could be made up to full champion depending on what happens with a court case that currently surrounds current champion Jurgen Braehmer.

Hello Karo, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly you beat Tommy Karpency over 12 rounds on 1 May what can you tell us about that win and what do you looking back think of that performance?

Karo Murat – Karpency is a good, a strong fighter. You could see that he can box. He moved well. And he did well to get back on his feet after the knock down in the second round. It was a good fight.

Anson Wainwright – Your next fight is supposed to be against Nathan Cleverly. What do you think of the fight? What do you know about Cleverly?

Karo Murat – I have already seen a couple of his fights. I try to internalize his movements and style. He is tall and he is strong, and he has good movements.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your team. Who is your trainer, manager & promoter? Also what gym do you use regularly to train at?

Karo Murat – I am trained by Ulli Wegner in Berlin´s famous Max-Schmeling Gym. My manager is Wilfred Sauerland and my promoter is Sauerland Event.

Anson Wainwright – Your originally from Iraq, you must have a fascinating story to tell. Can you tell us abit about how you found growing up there? Where you living there through all the Gulf War? How did you get involved in Boxing from there?

Karo Murat – Our family original has Armenian roots. And to be honest I do not remember too much about that time because I was too young. I kept asking my father about it but he does not like to speak about it too much. I came to Germany when I was ten years old and at first I did not understand much but I learned the language and quickly found friends. I grew up in Germany so can I tell you a lot about it. I started boxing with 13.

Anson Wainwright – Did you have an amateur career? If so what titles did you win and what was your final record?

Karo Murat – I boxed in the Bundesliga. There were world-class opponents such as Vitali Tajbert or Eduard Gutknecht as well as a lot of strong fighters from abroad. I made around 120 fights, winning 95 of them.

Anson Wainwright – It was only late last year that you stepped up from Super Middleweight having held the European title there. How did you come to step up to Light Heavyweight?

Karo Murat – I kept growing and getting stronger. I always had to make a lot of weight for super-middleweight, so this is much more natural for me. Now I don´t have to focus on losing weight, I can eat whatever I wish to eat. That is a great feeling. All my focus is on my opponents now, not on the food. Light-Heavyweight is a great weight class for me with a lot of great fighters. I am determined to stamp my authority on the division. My goal is to beat the best.

Anson Wainwright – Who do you consider the best fighter you have fought to date and why?

Karo Murat – Gabriel Campillo was very strong. He later became a world champion. But my other opponents also were pretty good, too. Like Karpency, even though he did not have the best ranking, he was tough to beat. His style reminded me of Andre Dirrell – it was a good win for me!

Anson Wainwright – What do you like to do when you are not fighting?

Karo Murat – I like to spend time with my family and my friends. I love BBQs or just chilling out, having fun!

Anson Wainwright – Who was your hero growing up?

Karo Murat – Prince Naseem Hamed.

Anson Wainwright – Finally what goals do you have in Boxing?

Karo Murat – I want to become the best, beat the best and be world champion soon!

Thanks for your time Karo.

Anson Wainwright

15rounds.com

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PHILADELPHIA / NEW YORK (July 25, 2010)—This Friday night one of the most anticipated fights from the boxing hotbed of Philadelphia in nearly a decade will take place at the Arena as Derek “Pooh” Ennis will defend his USBA title and world ranking against “King” Gabriel Rosado in an important Jr. Middleweight bout that can be seen exclusively on www.gofightlive.tv

That bout plus a seven bout undercard is promoted by Peltz Boxing and begins at 7:30pm for just $9.99 by clicking :

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=709
Ennis of Philadelphia has a record of 21-2-1 with thirteen knockouts won the USBA Jr. Middleweight title with an exciting unanimous decision over Eromesele Albert on October 16th in a bout that was named the IBF/USBA Fight of the year in 2009 and was also broadcasted LIVE on www.gofightlive.tv

This will be his first title defense after two non-title bouts against Edwin Vazquez and Jose Gonzalez, which was also broadcasted on www.gofightlive.tv

Rosado has faced top competition while compiling a record of 14-4-1 with eight knockouts and is coming off a terrific win over Saul Roman (32-5) on February 27th in Atlantic City.

Rosado, twenty-four years old of Philadelphia, scored a major upset on June 4th, 2008 when he scored an eight round unanimous decision over then undefeated prospect James Moore (15-0).

He then lost to major Middleweight prospect Fernando Guerrero (12-0) in a bout where Rosado had Guerrero on the canvas.

Two fights later, Rosado defeated former IBF Jr. Middleweight champion Kassim Ouma which was followed by disappointing second round stoppage defeat to interim WBO Middleweight champion Alfredo Angulo.

Rosado has won two in a row, which includes his last bout with Roman.

A packed seven bout undercard that will feature some of the best prospects in the Northeast

6 Rounds Super Middleweights,F arah Ennis (14-0, 8 KOs) vs. Demetrius Davis (20-23-5, 8 KOs)
6 Rounds Super Featherweights, Anthony Flores (8-1-1, 5 KOs) vs Gustavo Dailey (4-8, 1 KO)
6 Rounds Super Middleweights, Dennis Hasson (9-0, 3 KOs) vs. Alberto Merceds (14-15-1, 10 KOs)
6 Rounds Light Heavyweights, Andre Hemphill (8-16-2, 5 KOs) vs. Anthony Piettrantonio (6-5, 5 KOs)
6 Rounds Crusierweights, Garrett Wilson (7-5, 2 KOs) vs. Reshawn Scott (2-4)
4 Rounds Heavyweights, Bryant Jennings (3-0, 2 KOs) vs. Bernell Stewart (1-1)
4 Rounds Lightweights, Sidell Blocker (0-2) vs. Angel Ocasio (2-0)

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, attempts to make a fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather did occur through intermediary Ross Greenburg of HBO despite denials from the Mayweather camp.

“Fights like Mayweather vs. Pacquiao are significant because of these fighters’ ability to connect with sports fans around the world. It’s unfortunate that it won’t happen in 2010,” Greenburg said in a statement. “I had been negotiating with a representative from each side since May 2nd, carefully trying to put the fight together. Hopefully, someday this fight will happen. Sports fans deserve it.”

Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather’s other adviser and the public voice because Haymon refuses to speak to the press, said a few days after Arum outlined how the talks went that there had never been any negotiations.

He released a statement a few days after Arum’s teleconference that said, “Here are the facts. Al Haymon, (Golden Boy Promotions CEO) Richard Schaefer and myself speak to each other on a regular basis, and the truth is no negotiations have ever taken place, nor was there ever a deal agreed upon by Team Mayweather or Floyd Mayweather to fight Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 13. Either Ross Greenburg or Bob Arum is not telling the truth, but history tells us who is lying.”

Arum was pleased that Greenburg supported his version of events and cut him slack for taking a week to say so publicly.

“He works for a major public company and he has to clear this sort of thing with his bosses,” Arum told ESPN.com. “I understand that he had to get his statement cleared.

“The one you should all be taking to task is Schaefer for lying to the press,” Arum said. “You don’t do that. You can say ‘no comment’ or say nothing. Richard Schaefer owes an apology to the press, not to me, because I’ve written him off a long time ago. But now anything he says will be suspect. I don’t feel vindicated by Ross’ statement because that’s what happened. I knew what happened because I know I lived through the negotiations. I knew what I said about them was absolutely truthful so I didn’t give a damn who believed me. No skin off my back.

“Indeed, when I made the statement about the negotiations on the conference call, I wasn’t looking for controversy. I was kind to Mayweather. But Mayweather is the boss on his side and when he says, ‘jump,’ you’re supposed to ask, ‘how high.’ That’s why none of them have any credibility. Schaefer and Haymon and Ellerbe, they cling to the Mayweather boat because that’s the source of their riches. So the fact is that Ellerbe, who is not a bad guy, will do anything that Floyd asks, but Floyd is not quite a rational person. For Schaefer to be part of this drinking the Kool Aid is really pathetic. It’s really sad. Doesn’t he have any pride?”

“I think it’s unfortunate that Ross made that statement,” Schaefer told ESPN.com. “I fully stand behind the statement I made. I have not negotiated with Ross and I am not aware of any negotiations that have taken place.

“If Ross or Arum wants to go through a lie detector test, we can arrange that. I can only tell you I have regular contact with Al and Leonard and there were no negotiations going on. I don’t know exactly what Ross is referring to or what he is talking about. But I have been very consistent. There were none going on. Arum should just get a life and stop attacking me on a nonstop basis. This is really childish.”

Arum is now focused on finalizing the Pacquiao-Margarito fight, which if completed, will take place at a maximum weight of 150 pounds for the WBC’s vacant junior middleweight title. If Pacquiao wins, he would extend his record of winning world titles to an eighth weight class. Pacquiao has won titles from flyweight to welterweight.

“There’s a lot of pressure on me to get it done in Las Vegas from everyone in town,” Arum said. “The fight is important to the city. But I want it known that if it is not in Las Vegas, it’s not because of Bob Arum. I live there and I feel the town needs this. It’s not because of me if the fight is caused to go elsewhere.”

LEMOORE, CALIFORNIA — Beibut Shumenov may have only eleven pro fights to his name, but Friday night at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino he strengthened his claim as a title holder at 175-pounds with a dominant twelve-round decision over previously unbeaten mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Uzelkov.

Shumenov (10-1, 6 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada by way of Chimkent, Kazakhstan was making the first defense of the WBA Light Heavyweight title he won in controversial fashion earlier this year. Uzelkov (22-1, 14 KOs) of Vinitza, Ukraine was expected to provide a stern test for the unproven champion. Outside of one punch in the first round, the fight was completely controlled by Shumenov, who also defended his IBA Light Heavyweight title.

Shumenov, 175, outworked Uzelkov, 172, for the first minute-and-a-half of the fight before the Ukrainian unleashed a left hook to score a knockdown. Uzelkov’s greatest moment in the fight may have been to his detriment, because he seemed content looking to land that same punch throughout the remainder of the contest and his success would not be repeated.

Shumenov’s aggression took over the fight in the second round against a completely defensive Uzelkov. Shumenov pressed the fight as Uzelkov covered up and offered little in return. Uzelkov seemed to be looking for the opening to counter with an overhand right, but most times his attempt would miss the mark. Then, just before the end of the third, Uzelkov stood in front of Shumenov after throwing a shot and was met with a straight right hand the sent him to the canvas.

Through the first three rounds, their fight had the potential to turn into a back-and-forth classic. By the end of the fight, the competitive beginning was a distant memory. Shumenov continually placed precision shots, especially to the body, as a reluctant Uzelkov remained in a defensive posture.

The pace slowed in later rounds, as Shumenov was even more selective with his shots and took breaks by clinching or moving. Still, Uzelkov was far too inactive to take any advantage of the lull in Shumenov’s output. In the eighth, Uzelkov turned to taunting Shumeov, as he feinted that the champion’s punches did not hurt. Shumenov quickly landed a solid right uppercut that hurt Uzelkov against the ropes.

Shumenov turned up the heat to start the eleventh before cruising to the decision victory. Scores were deservedly one-sided, reading 117-109 and 118-108 twice for Shumenov. “The first round knockdown was a lucky punch and I improved every round after,” said Shumenov. “My opponent was very good, he was 22-0 and he knocked out my last opponent which shows you how much I have improved in one fight.” When asked who he would like to fight, Shumenov responded, “I want a unification fight.”

According to the WBA, Shumenov must defend his title against his next official challenger within the next nine months, but may make an interim defense. Shumenov’s next mandatory is Gabriel Campillo, the man who he won the title from earlier this year.

Rising super bantamweight contender Rico Ramos (17-0, 9 KOs) of Pico Rivera, California outclassed Cuahtemoc Vargas (15-4-1, 10 KOs) of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico to score an eight-round unanimous decision. Ramos, the WBO #3/IBF #15 ranked 122-pounder, was too complete a fighter for Vargas to handle.

Ramos, 121, set the tone from the start, flashing his speed and athleticism against the straight-ahead style of Vargas, 121.5. Ramos gave Vargas a moment of hope early in the fourth, as he backed himself into a corner. However, Vargas was tentative to open up offensively and was quickly boxed back into the center of the ring. By the sixth, Ramos began to move Vargas back with some stinging shots. In the end, all three judges scored the fight in favor of Ramos, 79-73 and 80-72 twice. With the victory, Ramos successfully defended his WBO NABO Youth title.

2008 U.S. Olympian Shawn Estrada (7-0, 7 KOs) of East Los Angeles ended a twelve-month layoff, but got only 53 seconds of work against Eddie Hunter (3-4-1, 1 KO) of Kent, Washington. Estrada, 167.2, dropped Hunter, 167.5, with a cuffing punch just a few ticks into the bout. Hunter got up, but was downed twice more inside the first minute, prompting the referee to wave off the fight.

In the opening bout of the evening, Stan Martyniouk (10-0, 1 KO) of Sacramento, California used his size and range to outbox Jonathan Bobadilla (4-3) of Los Angeles, California over four rounds en route to a unanimous decision. The much taller Martyniouk, 135, kept a busy pace and kept Bobadilla, 134.8, away with his jab. By the fourth round, Bobadilla’s face looked the worse for wear. Scores read 40-36 and 39-37 twice all for Martyniouk, who is penciled in fight on the August 13th undercard of the Chris Arreola-Manuel Quezada fight at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California.

In a rematch, Michael Ruiz Jr. (4-0, 1 KO) of Fresno, California scored a dominant six-round unanimous decision over the game as always Juan Tepoz (4-4-1) of Santa Rosa, California. Ruiz Jr., 118, was punishing Tepoz, 120.6, with combinations by the third round. Still, Tepoz refused to back down or turn defensive. Finally, Ruiz broke through Tepoz’ armor with a left hook in the fourth and dropped his durable foe to a knee with the follow-up barrage.

Many fighters would have bowed out of the fight in after rounds like the third and fourth, but Tepoz continued on and tried his best to turn the fight around. Ruiz, a former amateur star, refused let Tepoz back into the fight and closed out the final two rounds by outboxing his adversary. Final tallies read 59-54 and 60-53 twice for Ruiz. Last month, Tepoz dropped Ruiz for the first time in his career, but dropped a unanimous four-round decision. Ruiz is tentatively scheduled to return to the ring on the August 13th card in Ontario.

Ravshan Hudaynazarov (13-0, 11 KOs) of Las Vegas by way of Andijan, Uzbekistan remained undefeated with a fifth-round stoppage over Pavel Miranda (16-6-1, 8 KOs) of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Hudaynazarov, 148.4, applied a punishing inside attack from the onset of the fight. Miranda, 148.2, was able to withstand unrelenting pressure before remaining on his stool before the sixth. Official time was 3:00 of the fifth round.

Gayrat Ahmedov (15-0-1, 9 KOs) of Las Vegas by way of Andijan made short work of usually durable Dallas Vargas (22-5, 16 KOs) of Toledo, Ohio in the final fight of the evening. Ahmedov, 174.2, ended the fight with a left to the body of Vargas, 174.4, late in the first round. Official time of the stoppage was 2:43 of the first round. After the fight, Ahmedov, the WBA #9 ranked light heavyweight, grabbed the house microphone and called out Glen Johnson. It is unlikely Johnson will get word of Ahmedov’s request, considering the crowd was fairly scarce by the time the final bout’s winner was declared. Ahmedov and Hudaynazarov are slated to fight November 13th in Kazakhstan.

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com.

“How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly.” – Ernest Hemingway, “The Sun Also Rises”

And so it is with a prizefighter’s energy and legs. He begins a championship fight doing as he planned. He loses strength at predictable intervals, familiar intervals, intervals commensurate with his opponent’s. Then suddenly he finds himself weak and discomfited.

So go championship prizefights. So go champions’ careers.

That race, right there, who gets from gradual bankruptcy to sudden first, will determine the loser of “The Rematch” at Mandalay Bay. That is what they’re calling the second fight between Ring magazine lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz, to remind us Marquez-Diaz I was 2009’s Fight of the Year.

Think of this fight as a race – Marquez’s legs against Diaz’s energy – where the loser will be lightweight champion of the world. The gradual bankruptcy of Marquez’s legs can be measured in years. The gradual bankruptcy of Diaz’s energy will be measured in minutes. And then, suddenly, one of those will be measured in instants.

Something like that happened when Marquez and Diaz fought the first time, in Diaz’s hometown of Houston, 17 months ago. Few of us knew it at the time, and no one knew it at ringside. The closest anyone came, probably, was Marquez’s trainer Nacho Beristain. He couldn’t be sure his fighter’s legs wouldn’t wilt under the heat and humidity of Diaz’s relentlessness, but he knew his fighter’s spirit was implacable and courage unquestionable. And he knew he wasn’t going to stop the fight regardless.

“Juan is not fragile.” That’s how Beristain explained it an hour after his fighter knocked-out Diaz in round 9. Beristain was certain to a point of dismissive about his charge’s fortitude in those opening rounds when Marquez’s mouthpiece was visible for two of every three minutes. He was amused by an inquiry about his own state of mind when Marquez was bullied to the ropes by the “Baby Bull” time and again. No, Beristain wanted it understood, he couldn’t have been less preoccupied by what he saw.

He was about the only one. Diaz appeared to have his way with Marquez in the fight’s opening half. He had me fooled; I scored the opening six rounds 4-1-1 for Diaz. And after round 6, when an esteemed fight scribe leaned over and said Marquez wouldn’t get out of the eighth, I nodded.

But by then Marquez had begun to do something we mistook for a ruined spirit. He’d begun to pivot away from Diaz rather than fighting Diaz off him. It was uncharacteristic of Marquez. He was the more accurate puncher in every minute, of course, but he was also the smaller and older man. His sudden change of strategy appeared, if not a surrender, certainly the opening sentence of an unfavorable treaty: You let me finish on my feet, and I’ll stay out of your way.

What had really happened, though, was different. Marquez had seen the first cracks in Diaz’s relentless spirit. Those cracks lent Marquez time enough to take a look around. And when he did, he realized he was not being outmaneuvered but cowed. Diaz was not pinning him to the ropes with superior footwork but merely corralling him with activity. And that reminded Marquez he hadn’t survived the rings of Mexico City without discouraging a few relentless left-hookers.

That was when the 35 year-old switched from brawler to dancer to assassin. He pivoted away from Diaz and struck the younger man now searching for an abruptly elusive target. He stopped trying to break Diaz on Diaz’s terms and began to stretch him on the rack of fundamental boxing: straight punches hurt more than crooked ones.

Diaz must have been surprised. He had, after all, faced larger, tougher men at lightweight, wearing each down with his knuckles, the cuffs of his gloves, the commitment of his blows, his self-belief. Here was a smaller man whose temples he’d assaulted with 20 minutes of hooks. Here was a lighter man whose neck he’d whiplashed with battering-ram jabs. Here was a boxer, a craftsman, whose sensibilities he’d surely offended.

And now he pivots away on fresh legs? And now my knees are suddenly hollow?

But Diaz did the right thing when bankruptcy visited him suddenly: He pressed forward. He was either about to fool Marquez, or bring a mercifully quick conclusion to his evening. And Marquez wasn’t fooled.

Marquez is hard to fool. Ask Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather apologists – a species the great man himself is rendering extinct – may still insist that after knocking Marquez down in the second round of their mismatched fight, Mayweather didn’t press because he “needed rounds.” But that’s inane. Rounds to do what, sharpen his potshots on a man 15 pounds smaller? Mayweather could get better work in the gym.

No, Mayweather didn’t press Marquez because, 15 pounds or 50, you don’t stop Marquez without making a slow tour of hell to get there. That’s not Mayweather’s style. Even when Marquez was hurt, especially when he was hurt, he fought back with harshest intentions. Mayweather was against the best counterpuncher he’d ever faced, and he backed off. Mayweather couldn’t stop Marquez in 100 rounds of trying.

Diaz, on the other hand, hasn’t Mayweather’s luxury of reflexes or class. He will have to go straight at Marquez because it affords him the best chance of making Marquez’s now-36-year-old legs go bankrupt. And in so doing, Diaz will afford Marquez a chance to take Diaz’s energy to bankruptcy, by pivoting away earlier and finishing Diaz quicker than the first time.

Marquez has been losing his legs gradually since he moved from featherweight. So is it possible they could go bankrupt suddenly on Saturday? Yes. Does Diaz have the style to cause it? Yes. Does Diaz have the energy to do it? I don’t think so.

I’ll take Marquez: KO-7.

Bart Barry can be reached at bbarry@15rounds.com

On July 30, 2010 , Cestus Management’s 147-pound contender Ashley Theophane headlines a major fight card that will be televised on ESPN’s FNF boxing series. The event will be live from the Buffalo Run Casino in Miami , Oklahoma .

Theophane, who is a veteran of 31 fights, will take on perennial contender Devlin Rodriguez in a bout scheduled for 10 rounds. It is a fight that pits both veterans at the crossroads in their career.

Theophane, who is training at the legendary Gleason’s Gym, said, “I’m training as hard as ever as I completely understand that my time is now and I have to seize this opportunity. I know (Delvin) Rodriguez has heart but his time is up as he’s had his chances.

I’m not going to let my team down(Cestus) and no disrespect to Delvin but I’m going to beat him!”

Mike Michael, who is Cestus’ Chief Advisor, said, “Ashley is looking phenomenal and he is ready and understands what this fight means for his immediate future.

After he was robbed in the Danny Garcia fight, Ashley promised that he was not going to leave any room for doubt and he is determined to prove it against Rodriguez.”

Michael added, “I want to thank ESPN and the Buffalo Run Casino for this great opportunity. I know that the fans are in for a great night of boxing.”

CLICK TO WATCH THE FIGHTS
NEW YORK/TUNICA, MS.(July 24, 2010)—TONIGHT!!! Prize Fight Promotions will put on a five bout card that will be headlined by a terrific Lightweight encounter between Ty Barnett and Tyrese Hendrix and all the action can be seen LIVE and FREE on www.gofightlive.tv

The show, which will originate from the Fitzgerald’s Casino and Hotel can accessed LIVE at 8pm eastern by clicking http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=747

In the main event, Barnett of Washington, D.C. will risk his impressive ledger of 17-1-1 with twelve knockouts against Hendrix of Gainesville, GA who is looking to rebound from his first professional loss and is now 18-1-1 with seven knockouts.

Barnett was 16-0-1 in his first seventeen bouts as he defeated the likes of former world title challenger John Brown, Pavel Miranda (15-1); Jose Leonardo Cruz (12-3-2); Johnnie Edwards (14-2-1) before being shocked by being stopped by Juan Santiago in one round.

Barnett rebounded in his last bout by scoring a seventh round stoppage over the durable Broderick Antoine on April 16th.

Hendrix has a very similar resume as after a draw in his first bout, he went on to win eighteen in a row which included wins over capable veterans such as Moises Pedroza (25-11-1); former world title challenger Luis Bolano (41-10) and Robbie Cannon (12-3-1) before losing for the first time to then undefeated Hank Lundy on April 16th in a bout that was televised on ESPN 2.

An outstanding undercard has been assembled of several undefeated Prospects:

6 Rounds Jr. Middleweights Mario Mina (5-0, 3 KO’s) vs. Tim Connors (9-1, 7 KO’s)
6 Rounds Light Heavyweights Donta Woods (7-0, 6 KO’s) vs. Terry Porter (16-24-3, 9 KO’s)
4 Rounds Jr. Middleweights Taureano Johnson (3-0, 3 KO’s) vs Roy Ashworth (5-9, 1 KO)
4 Rounds Jr. Welterweights Rohan Wilson (4-2-1, 1 KO) vs. Keuntray Wilson (PD)

Program Lineup Through Friday July 30
Date Sport Event Price
Sat Jul 24 12:30PM ET Boxing Hall vs Power $FREE! More info
Sat Jul 24 6:00PM ET Boxing Gleason’s Gym – Amateurs $FREE! More info
Sat Jul 24 8:00PM ET Boxing Fights at the Fitz: Ty Barnett v Tyrese Hendrix $FREE! More info
Sat Jul 24 8:30PM ET MMA Wild Bills Fight Night 29:Guest Rich Franklin $9.99 More info
Sun Jul 25 14:00PM ET KickBoxing LIKO VI Fight for a Cure Kickboxing Show $FREE! More info

Boxing

Fights at the Fitz: Ty Barnett v Tyrese Hendrix
Sat Jul 24 8:00PM ET
Click here to watch this event on GoFightLive!

Prize Fight Promotions will put on a five bout card that will be headlined by a terrific Lightweight encounter between Ty Barnett and Tyrese Hendrix, from Fitzgerald’s Casino and Hotel. Barnett of Washington, D.C., will risk his impressive ledger of 17-1-1 with twelve knockouts against Hendrix of Gainesville, GA who is looking to rebound from his first professional loss and is now 18-1-1 with seven knockouts.

Barnett was 16-0-1 in his first seventeen bouts as he defeated the likes of former world title challenger John Brown, Pavel Miranda (15-1); Jose Leonardo Cruz (12-3-2); Johnnie Edwards (14-2-1) before being shocked by being stopped by Juan Santiago in one round. Barnett rebounded in his last bout by scoring a seventh round stoppage over the durable Braderick Antoine on April 16th. Hendrix has a very similar resume. After a draw in his first bout, he went on to win eighteen in a row which included wins over capable veterans such as Moises Pedroza (25-11-1); former world title challenger Luis Bolano (41-10) and Robbie Cannon (12-3-1) before losing for the first time to then undefeated Hank Lundy on April 16th in a bout that was televised on ESPN 2.

An outstanding undercard has been assembled of several undefeated Prospects: 6 Rounds Jr. Middleweights Mario Mina (5-0, 3 KOs) vs. Tim Connors (9-1, 7 KOs) 6 Rounds Light Heavyweights Donta Woods (7-0, 6 KOs) vs. Terry Porter (16-24-3, 9 KOs) 4 Rounds Jr. Middleweights Taureano Johnson (3-0, 3 KOs) vs Roy Ashworth (5-9, 1 KO) 4 Rounds Jr. Welterweights Rohan Wilson (4-2-1, 1 KO) vs. Keuntray Wilson (PD)

For full fight card and more details about this event, visit GoFightLive.tv or click here

Gleason’s Gym – Amateurs
Sat Jul 24 18:00PM ET
Click here to watch this event on GoFightLive!

Gleason’s Amateur Boxing Series continues this Saturday evening (7/24/10) from legendary Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn NY with the best young amateurs making their bones in the world reknowned Gleason’s Gym, where over 100 World Champions have trained.
For full fight card and more details about this event, visit GoFightLive.tv or click here

Hall vs Power
Sat Jul 24 12:30PM ET
Click here to watch this event on GoFightLive!

Stuart Hall will battle Martin Power for the British Bantamweight title in a rematch of a great fight that occurred just ten months ago.

In the first fight, Hall came back to stop Power in eight rounds, despite suffering a cut on his head in the very first round. Hall has a record of 8-0-1 with four knockouts and won the British title with an eighth round stoppage over the much more experienced Ian Napa on June 4th.

Power has a record of 21-5 with nine knockouts and is a former British Bantamweight champion himself. Power won his first sixteen fights before winning the British crown with a twelve round unanimous decision over Dale Robinson (17-1) on May 20, 2005. Power defended the belt twice, including a win over Napa before stepping up and being stopped in nine by Tshifhiwa Munyai for the vacant Commonwealth title. Seven months later, Munyai stopped Power in four in the rematch.

Despite the losses, Power still had British title but that was short lived as Napa came back to take a twelve round unanimous decision to claim the British title. After losing to Hall, Power won his last bout when he stopped Matthew Edmonds (10-3) on December 11th in five rounds.
In the ten round co-feature, Dean Harrison will battle Nigel Wright for the vacant English Jr. Welterweight title. Harrison has a record of 16-3 with five knockouts and will be fighting for the fourth time with a belt on the line. This past March 14th, Harrison captured the Midlands Jr. Welterweight title with a first round knockout over Ben Lawler. Wright has a record of 21-6 with nine knockouts. He is no stranger to championship fights himself as this will be his ninth fight for a belt. After going 12-1 in his first thirteen bouts, Wright won the English Light Welterweight title with a seventh round stoppage over Dean Hickman in 2005. He reclaimed the English Light Welterweight title with decision over Gary Reid and retained it with a draw with Daws in the rematch. In his last bout, Wright scored an eight round decision over former world champion, Alex Arthur (27-2) on December 5th in New Castle.

Another exciting bout featuring 2008 Olympic Bronze Medal winner, Tony Jeffries (8-0, 5 KOs) will battle Michael Banbula (10-25-3) in a Light Heavyweight bout scheduled for eight rounds.
For full fight card and more details about this event, visit GoFightLive.tv or click here

All Philly War / USBA Title
Fri Jul 30 7:30PM ET
Click here to watch this event on GoFightLive!

All Philly War /USBA Title – Derek ‘Pooh’ Ellis vs ‘King’ Gabriel Rosado.

For full fight card and more details about this event, visit GoFightLive.tv or click here

Two months from the biggest fight of his life Nathan Cleverly already looks in fantastic shape. Cleverly 23, puts his perfect 19-0(9) record on the line against fellow unbeaten Karo Murat 22-0(13) when the clash for the Vacant WBO Interim Light Heavyweight crown as the headline fight of the “Magnificent Seven” Bill. Last Saturday Cleverly invited 15rounds.com to his gym to watch him sparring 6 rounds with young amateur Alex Wright also doing 4 rounds on the pads with his father Vince who wore a body protector, followed by 2 more rounds one each with his father and fellow trainer Alan Davies on the pads. Afterwards Cleverly said he estimates he’s around a half a stone over the Light Heavyweight limit now. This represents a step in class for Cleverly but early signs are that he’s very much in the mood to make himself Wales eleventh World Champion.

LEMOORE, CALIFORNIA — WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Beibut Shumenov will attempt to further legitimize his claim to the 175-pound throne tonight as he takes on mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Uzelkov on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights emanating from the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California. Fighters weighed in Thursday afternoon at the casino’s Den Sports Bar.

Shumenov (9-1, 6 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada by way of Chimkent, Kazakhstan claimed the title in just his tenth pro bout with a highly questionable split decision over Gabriel Campillo in January. Last August, Campillo had scored a closely contested majority decision over Shumenov in Kazakhstan. In that bout, a knockdown scored against an off balance Shumenov in large part decided the result.

Despite the controversial scoring in the second Campillo bout, Shumenov did show his heart in surviving a vicious barrage in the ninth to find success in the championship rounds. It is that mentality and ability to persevere that may lead to some exciting fights and should eventually endear him to American fight fans. Shumenov, who will also be defending the IBA title he claimed with a devastating knockout of Byron Mitchell in May of last year, weighed in at 175-pounds.

Uzelkov (22-0, 14 KOs) of Vinitza, Ukraine loomed as the next official challenger while Shumenov and Campillo were battling it out for the WBA title over the course of the last year. The result that jumps off of the page on Uzelkov’s pro ledger is a sixth-round stoppage over a then undefeated Campillo to claim the regional WBA Intercontinental title in 2007. Uzelkov continued to flex his punching power by scoring stoppages in four of his last five fights. Uzelkov, the WBA #2 ranked light heavyweight, weighed in at 172-pounds.

Another factor that could play into how tonight’s card plays out is the weather. The boxing action will take place outdoors in a specially constructed stadium instead of the cozy indoor bingo hall as is the norm. According to Weather.com, it will be 95º in Lemoore at the 6 PM first bell. Add in the bright ESPN2 ring lights and conditions inside the squared circle will likely be less than comfortable. By 8 PM, when the main event is scheduled to begin, the forecast predicts an 89º temperature.

WBO #3/IBF #15 ranked super bantamweight Rico Ramos will appear in the televised co-feature, taking on Cuahtemoc Vargas (15-3-1, 10 KOs) of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico in an eight-round bout. Ramos (16-0, 9 KOs) of Pico Rivera, California will be defending the WBO NABO Youth title he won late last year. Vargas, a member of the famed fighting family that includes former titleholder Gregorio Vargas, scaled 121.5-pounds, while Ramos came in at 121 even.

Gayrat Ahmedov (14-0-1, 9 KOs) of Las Vegas by way of Andijan, Uzbekistan goes against Dallas Vargas (22-4, 16 KOs) of Toledo, Ohio in a ten-round light heavyweight fight. Ahmedov, the WBA #9 ranked light heavyweight, is 2-0 since moving to the United States. Vargas ended a nearly two-year layoff with a third-round kayo of Kevin Engel to score a minor upset in February of last year. However, Vargas, who weighed in at 174.4, has not fought since. Ahmedov, holder of two regional titles not on the line, weighed in at 174.2-pounds.

2008 U.S. Olympian Shawn Estrada (6-0, 6 KOs) of East Los Angeles, California will end a twelve-month layoff by taking on late replacement Eddie Hunter (3-3-1, 1 KO) of Kent, Washington in a four-round super middleweight fight. Estrada’s career has been sidetracked by a hand injury which forced the cancellation of several scheduled bouts over the last year. Hunter, whose three losses came against prospects, weighed in at 167.5-pounds. Estrada, who had been scheduled to fight Alex Armenta, weighed in at 167.2.

Michael Ruiz Jr. (3-0, 1 KO) of Fresno, California will take on Juan Tepoz (4-3-1) of Santa Rosa, California in a bantamweight rematch scheduled for four or six rounds. Ruiz, a decorated former amateur star, got off the deck in the opening round of their first meeting last month to box his way to a four-round unanimous decision. Ruiz, who had been originally scheduled to fight Adrian Aleman, weighed in at 118-pounds, while Tepoz scaled 120.6.

Stan Martyniouk (9-0, 1 KO) of Sacramento, California will meet Jonathan Bobadilla (4-2) of Los Angeles in a lightweight swing bout that may be four or six-rounds depending on the length of the other fights. Martyniouk is coming off of his toughest test to date, as he came off of the canvas in the first round to outbox a determined Brian Ramirez en route to a six-round split decision in May. Bobadilla scored a spilt decision over the same Brian Ramirez back in 2007, but has largely been inactive since. Martyniouk weighed in at 135-pounds, while Bobadilla scaled 134.8.

Welterweight prospect Ravshan Hudaynazarov (12-0, 10 KOs) of Las Vegas by way of Andijan will open things up in a step up bout against Pavel Miranda (16-5-1, 8 KOs) of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico scheduled for eight. Hudaynazarov, who along with the aforementioned Gayrat Ahmedov is promoted by Beibut and Chingis Shumenov’s KZ Event Productions, weighed in at 148.4-pounds. Miranda, who scaled 148.2, has hit a skid, losing four out of his last six and three by stoppage.

Tickets for the event, promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions and KZ Event Productions, are available online at Tickets.com.

Quick Weigh-in Results:

WBA Light Heavyweight Championship
IBA Light Heavyweight Championship, 12 Rounds
Shumenov 175
Uzelkov 172

WBO NABO Youth Super Bantamweight Championship, 8 Rounds
Ramos 121
Vargas 121.5

Super Middleweights, 4 Rounds
Estrada 167.2
Hunter 167.5

Light Heavyweights, 10 Rounds
Ahmedov 174.2
Vargas 174.4

Super Bantamweights, 4 or 6 Rounds
Ruiz, Jr. 118
Tepoz 120.6

Welterweights, 8 Rounds
Hudaynazarov 148.4
Miranda 148.2

Lightweights, 4 or 6 Rounds
Martyniouk 135
Bobadilla 134.8

Photos by Chris Ronquillo/FUNews.net

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com.

The Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz sequel to the 2009 Fight of the Year on July 31 at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay has a simple marketing label: The Rematch. Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya and CEO Richard Schaefer also could have called it The Relief.

Let’s just say that Marquez-Diaz II and its compelling undercard are a timely refuge from talks – or whatever they were – for Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. A couple of testaments, old and new, could be filled with all that has been said, written, rumored, alleged and denied about a fight that has yet to happen and perhaps never will.

Attention on Pacquiao-Mayweather is sucking the wind out of a sport full of good stories, of which there are many on the Diaz-Marquez card. There is Robert Guerrero, who faces Joel Casamayor. He fights for his wife, Casey, who has fought leukemia and knocked the cancer into remission.

There’s Diaz, an aspiring lawyer and proud son of Mexican immigrants who is fighting to keep his career alive while he argues for rights that he believes are under assault in the wake of Arizona’s tough new immigration law.

There’s Rocky Juarez, who faces Jorge Linares. Juarez, who is 0-5-1 in world title fights, was robbed at the 2000 Olympics of a gold medal and left with silver that he says reflects a career full of frustration. Yet, he is still pursuing a world title, still trying turn silver into gold.

Guerrero, Diaz and Juarez are just a few of the stories that once put a gritty face on a sport that, in large part, has been about comebacks, second chances and redemption. Now, however, all of the focus appears to be on nothing, which worked on Seinfeld but won’t in boxing.

It’s been there before, following Mike Tyson to nowhere. Tyson was the train wreck that kept everybody looking only for the next accident instead of the next prospect. Tyson moved on and mixed martial arts moved in.

De La Hoya, Pacquiao and Mayweather helped boxing diversify and it began to recover. Yet, suddenly it is back at an intersection where one story, and only one, seems to matter. Who to blame? From promoters to regulators, the usual suspects are there.

But the internet, the only media that covers the sport regularly anymore, also deserves its share. Determining a good story isn’t much of a choice anymore. It’s all about numbers, hits. Plug in the right words and you’ve got a winner recognized by the Google algorithm. That means Pacquiao and Mayweather, over and over again.

The internet equation often means the media follows the mob instead of the stories. Guerrero, Diaz and Juarez offer an old-school, perhaps quaint opportunity to reverse that trend during the next week. Each has different motivations. Yet, each is confronted with a fight the looms as decisive in what they do next.

“I see this as a win-win situation,’’ Diaz said during a conference call when asked about the significance attached to chances at avenging his 2009 loss by knockout to Marquez. “This fight is going to prove to me whether I have it or I don’t. This fight right here is what’s going to take me to the top and make me the super star that I’ve been wanting to be in the lightweight division.

“But if it doesn’t happen then that means it’s not meant to be and I’ll move on to bigger and better things, which could be start from the bottom and pick up the pieces to rebuild myself up or just completely do a 360 – I mean a 180 – and just go in the opposite direction.

“This fight here, a lot of people have been mentioning to me that it’s a do-or-die fight. Well, I don’t think it is do-or-die. I think it’s win-win because either I become a world champion once again and become a super star or it opens up doors for me to do other things and focus on other aspects of my life.’’

Real-life.

For now and perhaps forever, that represents a real chance at future business, unlike Pacquiao-Mayweather, which is beginning to look like fantasy that will never be more than a video game.

In the main event at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, 2008 Olympian Gary Russel Jr, undefeated at 10-0, met former two-time world champion Mauricio Pastrana, 35-14-2. Russell made quick mincemeat of Pastrana when he got him in the corner and landed a furious combination to the head and body that ended the bout at 1:46 in the first round.

The opening televised bout was a four rounder, junior lightweight but between out of LA. Ramon Valadez, of East Los Angeles and Oscar Andrade. Both fighters are 1-0 coming into it. The first round was full of action, both fighters landed huge shots as Valadez pressed most of the round. Andrade seemed to suffer a cut over his right eye due to an incidental head butt. The second round was more of the same. Andrade found a home for his left hook…on the side of Valadez’s face! The third round topped them all, huge action, and Andrade was hurt toward the end of the round. He went on to survive and stagger to his corner. In the fourth, Valadez seemed to run out of steam, but still put up a valiant effort. The scorecards read as follow: 39-37 on all three for Andrade.

I’m not sure if any fight can live up to the Andrade/Valadez bout, but the next fighters are sure to give it a shot. 21-2 Nestor Rocha was to fight Benji Garcia 14-15-3 in the co-main event. This was a scheduled six rounder in the bantamweight division. Benji raced across the ring to get into Rocha’s chest but he paid for his aggression as he got caught a few times coming in. The bout came to a quick end at 45 seconds. in the second round as Rocha landed a kidney shot…ala Hopkins/De La Hoya, that ended the bout.

The second bout was another amateur, three round battle in the lightweight division between Jose Iguinega of Stockton, CA, and Xavier Montelongo, also hailing from East Los Angeles. These fighters were far more skilled than their predecessors, throwing far more jabs and even faintin before they let hands fly. The last round was a brawl, both fighters letting their hands fly recklessly! The bout went to Xavier Montelongo (by karen). Both of our amateur winners were Golden Boy fighters.

The first bout was an amateur fight, a three rounder, junior lightweight bout between Gerardo Hernandez of Pasadena and Rogelio Ramirez of East Los Angeles. As to be expected from amateurs, there was little defense and even less jabs thrown. A lot of wild combination’s and head hunting was the norm. In a bout that could have gone either way, Ramirez came out on top.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the proposed September 11th showdown between world Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin is off due Povetkin missing a press conference earlier in the week.

The IBF mandated that Klitschko start negotiation with the next highest available contender Samuel Peter and all indications is that fight will be made for the same date.

K2 Promotions, Klitschko’s company, complained to the IBF about Povetkin missing the news conference because it had won the promotional rights to the fight with a purse bid of $8.313 million. With so much money on the line, K2 needed him there to promote the fight, which was to take place at the 55,000-seat Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt.

The IBF sided with Klitschko (54-3, 48 KOs) and ordered him to begin negotiating with the next available contender, Peter. The former titleholder knocked Klitschko down three times but lost a decision in their 2005 title elimination fight in Atlantic City, N.J.

“The IBF ruled that Povetkin had violated its rules by failing to come to the press conference this past Monday,” John Hornewer, Klitschko’s attorney, told ESPN.com. “The IBF had told him he needed to attend based on his duty to provide reasonable promotional support to fight and he didn’t get on the plane. Then the next day, he went to the doctor to get a doctor’s excuse. The IBF has instructed us to begin negotiating with the next available contender.”

“They were told beforehand that they had to be at the press conference to help promote the event,” Said Bernd Boente, manager of Klitschko. “That was their obligation after the purse bid.”

One of the theories behind the pullout was that Povetkin’s trainer Teddy Atlas felt his pupil wasn’t ready for the challenge.

“I think he deseves the chance to develop,” Atlas said. “I’m in the middle of training this kid, which is obviously an important time in his life for the future of his career. I’m doing my job. I am not moved by the title fight and what the biggest fight is out there. My job is to do the best job I can for the fighter and to make sure he is the best he can be when he’s in a situtation to fight, whether to fight Klitschko, Samuel Peter, [Tomasz] Adamek or Joe Shmoe.

“I am not controlled or dictated by anything other than that. I told him from the beginning I wanted more time. I was never really for the fight right now. Let me have more time with him. Does the mandatory dictate when he fights or do the circumstances of him having the best chance to win the fight?”

“I get 10 percent of that, but I decided the most important thing was to do what was the best for the fighter,” Atlas said. “My judgment was is the fighter ready for this moment? My opinion was more time would be good.”

“Wladimir felt honestly that Povetkin would not show up because Teddy Atlas kept telling people he didn’t think he was ready for the fight, so Wladimir was concerned,” Boente said. “He wants to fight Sept. 11 and we appreciate the IBF making a decision quickly so we can save the date, because if Wladimir wins in September, he wants to come back and fight for a third time this year in December.”

“Wladimir and myself think the Peter fight is a great matchup,” Boente said. “It’s a rematch of a good fight. There are a lot of people more interested in that fight than the Povetkin fight.”

“The IBF has done the right thing and we are negotiating a deal. I expect it to go a lot smoother and a lot quicker than the previous negotiation Klitschko had with Povetkin because we actually want the fight,” Said Ivalo Gotzev, who manages Peter. “This is a very big fight for the German population and we’re going to make it a very big fight for the heavyweight fans around the world.

“You have an exciting matchup that has already proven to be a competitive one. I still get people asking me how Samuel lost when he knocked the guy down three times. We are going to finish what we started in September 2005. This year, it will be a September to remember.”

NEW YORK (July 21, 2010)—This weekend the first of two big fight cards on separate sides of the Atlantic Ocean will be showcased on www.gofightlive.tv that will originate from two separate continents and both will be available for FREE!!!

First on Friday night in England, Stuart Hall will battle Martin Power for the British Bantamweight title in a rematch of a great fight that occurred just ten months ago.

The show is promoted by Frank Maloney Promotions

This card can be seen FREE of charge on July 29th by clicking:

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=735

In the first fight, Hall came back to stop Power in eight rounds, despite suffering a cut on his head in the very first round.

Hall has a record of 8-0-1 with four knockouts and won the British title with an eighth round stoppage over the much more experienced Ian Napa on June 4th.

Power has a record of 21-5 with nine knockouts and is a former British Bantamweight champion himself.

Power won his first sixteen fights before winning the British crown with a twelve round unanimous decision over Dale Robinson (17-1) on May 20, 2005.

Power defended the belt twice, including a win over Napa before stepping up and being stopped in nine by Tshifhiwa Munyai for the vacant Commonwealth title. Seven months later, Munyai stopped Power in four in the rematch.

Despite the losses, Power still had British title but that was short lived as Napa came back to take a twelve round unanimous decision to claim the British title.

After losing to Hall, Power won his last bout when he stopped Matthew Edmonds (10-3) on December 11th in five rounds.

In the ten round co-feature, Dean Harrison will battle Nigel Wright for the vacant English Jr. Welterweight title.

Harrison has a record of 16-3 with five knockouts and will be fighting for the fourth time with a belt on the line.

After winning his first twelve bouts, Harrison lost in a bid to win the English Light Welterweight title to Scott Haywood when he lost a decision by one point.

After two more wins, Harrison was stopped in four rounds by Paul McCloskey (18-0) in an attempt to win the British Jr. Welterweight title.

This past March 14th, Harrison captured the Midlands Jr. Welterweight title with a first round knockout over Ben Lawler.

Wright has a record of 21-6 with nine knockouts. He is no stranger to championship fights himself as this will be his ninth fight for a belt.

After going 12-1 in his first thirteen bouts, Wright won the English Light Welterweight title with a seventh round stoppage over Dean Hickman in 2005. He defended that belt twice before challenging for the British title and dropping a unanimous decision to Lenny Daws.

He reclaimed the English Light Welterweight title with decision over Gary Reid and retained it with a draw with Daws in the rematch.

In his last two title opportunities, Wright challenged the undefeated Ajose Olusgun (21-0 & 26-0) twice for the Commonwealth title before losing close hotly contested decisions. In his last bout, Wright scored an eight round decision over former world champion, Alex Arthur (27-2) on December 5th in New Castle.

Another exciting bout featuring 2008 Olympic Bronze Medal winner, Tony Jeffries (8-0, 5 KO’s) will battle Michael Banbula (10-25-3) in a Light Heavyweight bout scheduled for eight rounds.

As innovative and interesting as Showtime’s Super 6 is there is one glaring omission that keeps the winner from being crowned the King of Super Middleweight division. When it was originally announced a year a go many believed Lucian Bute should of been amongst the entrants, his two fights since that have added further fuel to that fire. Bute 30, boasts a perfect 26-0(21) cementing the belief that he should of been included. The reason for his omission is differs depending on whether you believe Team Bute or Showtime. The move hasn’t been as detrimental to Bute’s career as it first appeared with HBO picking up Bute’s last two fights, which were coincidentally the most impressive of his career to date. First came the rematch with teak tough Librado Andrade who a year before had given Bute the toughest fight of his career. This time Bute triumphed when he dropped Andrade in the fourth before later in the round delivering a debilitating bodyshot that nearly broke Andrade in two. Then most recently back in April Bute was matched with swing from the fence’s Colombian KO machine Edison Miranda. Once again Bute found the perfect punch when he landed a devastating uppercut that starched Miranda in the third. This October Bute returns to action and makes the sixth defence of his IBF Super Middleweight crown against his mandatory former Contender alumini Jesse Brinkley again in front of his hometown fans who flock to the Bell Center in Montreal in there thousands. Here’s what Bute had to say.

Hello Lucian, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly can i congratulate you on a terrific performance last time out when you demolished Edison Miranda. What are your thoughts on that fight looking back in particular the ending of the fight?

Lucian Bute – I’m very proud of how i end this fight. I stay focused during all the fight even when Miranda try to distract me. I practiced that with my coach Stephan Larouche during my training camp. I also worked hard on this uppercut and it work !!

Anson Wainwright – It was reported for awhile that you were going to fight in your homeland of Romania in July. Was this ever the case, if so what happened to prevent this happening, it seemed a great idea and opportunity of your people to see you fight live? Will you look to do this at some point in the future?

Lucian Bute – We tried hard to fight in my home country but due to the economic crisis it finally won’t happen. InterBox and I work hard on this but it will happen one day!

Anson Wainwright – I believe we will see you in the fall against an as yet unnamed opponent, it must be hard to find opponents with many of the top guys involved in the Super 6? Do you have any idea who you may face and when?

Lucian Bute – It’s now confirmed, I will face Jesse Brinkley for my mandatory defence on Friday October 15th. It’s gonna be an interesting fight, I already watched some videos of him. I took him seriously, I will be well prepared as every fight.

Anson Wainwright – Much has been said on the Super 6. Your obviously a glaring omission from the tournament. What can you tell us from your point of view why you weren’t involved was?

Lucian Bute – It’s out of my control. To be not involved in the Super six give me the chance to be with HBO. They came for my last 2 fights and I’m very happy with that. I will fight the winner of the tournament to reign on my division!

Anson Wainwright – The second round of fights has just taken place, what are your thoughts on how it has gone so far? How do you see the tournament panning out?

Lucian Bute – Every fight was interesting since the beginning. I think Andre Ward will defeat Dirrell and win the tournament.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your team and handlers. Who is your manager, trainer & promoter? Also what gym do you regularly use ahead of a fight?

Lucian Bute – During my training camp I go to Miami. I love this place, there a very nice gym (Thump GYM). I go there with my coach Stephan Larouche and Andre Kulesza, responsible for my physical condition. I’m with them since the beginning and we have a very nice relationship. My promoter is InterBox who also promote Adrian Diaconu and former World Champion Leonard Dorin and Eric Lucas. Both are retired.

Anson Wainwright – Romania isn’t to well known from a Boxing point of view, can you tell us how you first became interested in Boxing and how the love affair with boxing began? Also can you tell us a little about your career from the amateur’s?

Lucian Bute – I wasn’t interested by boxing till the age of 14 when one of my friend bring me to a boxing gym. After that it was a really love affair and I never stop training and fight. I hope to do it for many years!!! In 1999 I won the Bronze Medal at world championships, the Gold medan at Francophony Games in 2001 and represented Romania at the World Championships in Bangkok, Thailand as a Middleweight.

Anson Wainwright – How did you end up fighting in Canada, can you tell us about how this relationship started? Where are you more popular Canada or Romania?

Lucian Bute – Popular at both place’s !!!! I arrived in Canada to be a sparring partner for Eric Lucas during his preparation for his rematch with Markus Beyer. We had a plan, my promoter, my coach and I to be World Champion in 4 years and it happened.

Anson Wainwright – What are your future Boxing goals? Maybe move up to Light Heavyweight or defend your title in Romania etc

Lucian Bute – My main goal is to be recognized by everyone in boxing. I want to retire undefeated and to be immortalised at the Boxing Hall of fame.

Anson Wainwright – What do you like to do with your time away from Boxing? What are your hobbies and Interests?

Lucian Bute – To spend time with my friends and family, travelling and have a good dinner at the restaurant. I watch also football games!

Anson Wainwright – If you weren’t a boxer what would you be doing?

Lucian Bute – I don’t know! Since i’m fourteen I know I wanted to be a boxer.

Anson Wainwright – What would you like to do when you retire from Boxing?

Lucian Bute – I want to finish my master at the University and will see after. I want to stay in boxing as a fighter as long as I can.

Anson Wainwright – Finally do you have a message for your fans?

Lucian Bute – I want to thank them very much to supported me at every fight. I’m lucky to have a huge fan base across the world and I really appreciated that. I want to give them excellent shows every fight

Thanks for your time Lucian, keep up the good work.

Thanks! It’s a pleasure

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com