In one of the Biggest Bantamweight fights of all time Hozumi Hasegawa 28-3(12) squared off against Fernando Montiel 41-2-2(31). The fight too place in Nihon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan in front of Hasegawa’s adoring fans. For the first three rounds saw Hasegawa box smartly and picking off Montiel with smooth combination however late in the fourth Montiel threw a picture perfect right hand as Hasegawa was coming in doubling the impact. Hasegawa’s knee’s dipped and he went reeling backwards, Montiel could smell blood he chased Hasegawa to the ropes where he unloaded several more shots. With Hasegawa seemingly out on his feet referee Laurence Cole called the fight off at 2.59 of the fourth round. With the win Montiel 31, added the WBC title to the WBO crown he already held.

On the undercard Toshiaki Nishioka 36-4-3(23) retained his WBC Super Bantamweight title when he stopped previously unbeaten Filipino Balweg Bangoyan 15-1(6) in the fifth round.

Come backing Takahiro Aoh 19-2-1(9) won his second fight up at Super Featherweight since he moved up from Featherweight after losing the WBC title to Elio Rojas last summer. Aoh beat two time former World title challenger Whyber Garcia 22-8(15) when he stopped him in 8.

This Friday in Tokyo, Japan the Biggest Bantamweight fight in decades takes place between long time WBC champion Hozumi Hasegawa and three weight world champion and current WBO holder Fernando Montiel. It will be Hasegawa’s eleventh defence and Montiel’s second defence since he moved up from Super Flyweight. Not since the days of Alfonso Zamora & Carlos Zarate have two Bantamweight’s title holders collided, it could well be the defining fight of both guys career’s. Unfortunately as the WBO isn’t recognised in Japan only Montiel can unify the title’s. Just days before this huge fight Hasegawa took some time out to share a few thought’s with us. Here’s what he had to say.

Hello Hozumi, welcome back to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – After your last fight you said you may go up to Super Bantamweight or even Featherweight. What’s the lastest on that?

Hozumi Hasegawa – If the opportunity comes for me to move up I will go move up to featherweight.

Anson Wainwright – Would you fight countryman and fellow Teikken fighter Toshiaki Nishioka or would you prefer to go another way to a world title at Super Bantamweight?

Hozumi Hasegawa – No

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your team, who is your trainer, manager & promoter? Also where do you regularly train for fights?

Hozumi Hasegawa – Masahito Yamashita is my trainer, manager and promoter. I train at the Shinsei Boxing Gym in Kobe.

Anson Wainwright – Several fights back you looked to be a boxer and then almost over night you developed into a power puncher. What do you think happened to make this happen?

Hozumi Hasegawa – I have not changed anything. It is the result of my training.

Anson Wainwright – What do you think of the other champion’s at 118 WBA Anselmo Moreno, IBF Yonny Perez & WBO Fernando Montiel?

Hozumi Hasegawa – I believe all are skilled and good champions

Anson Wainwright – Though they are at a lower weight what is your impression of The Kameda Brothers? Do you think there

good for Boxing?

Hozumi Hasegawa – No comment

Anson Wainwright – What’s the best part about being a boxer?

Hozumi Hasegawa – Being able to become a World Champion

Anson Wainwright – Who was your hero growing up?

Hozumi Hasegawa – Hajime no ippo (Japanese manga)

Anson Wainwright – Do you have a message for fight fans in America who want to see you fight over there?

Hozumi Hasegawa – I want to fight in the United States, Please look for me to fight there in the future.

Thanks for your time Hozumi, good luck with the fight Friday.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

Every great fighter who ever lived have one common opponent they couldn’t beat…Father Time. Through out the annals of Boxing history there came a time when a fighter just couldn’t “Pull the trigger” anymore. Some fighters recognise this and are able to get out with all there faculties and live a good life while the majority have to go to the well that one time to many. The fighter always seems to be the last one to know.

No man has probably tried to stave off Father time for a long as Evander Holyfield. Many believe he he was in his prime in the early 90’s. He last held an alphabet title in 2000. He has always maintained he wouldn’t retire until he becomes the Unified World champion. Even though he just beat a former world champion in Frans Botha it’s nearly impossible to see him beating any of the current holders whether it be David Haye or both Klitschko’s to win one more championship let alone all of them to realise his dream. It would probably be the greatest story in sporting history if he managed to do this.

The week before Holyfield fought two other aged greats Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr fought for the second time. In there primes Jones was one of the most gifted fighters in history while Hopkins while also skilled was incredibly perseverant and resilient.

Jones won world titles in 4 weight classes looking unbeatable from the start of his career in 1989 through 2003 when he was far to gifted for the naturally bigger John Ruiz. Losing the weight to drop back to Light Heavyweight seemed to reek havoc on his body and from that point onwards he looked and fought like a mortal man.

One of Philadelphia’s finest Hopkins now 45 defied Father time for better part of a decade winning when he wasn’t supposed to against Felix Trinidad, Antonio Tarver & Kelly Pavlik. It’s always dangerous to write of Hopkins but it appears his last great performance may of been when he posted a near shut out against Pavlik in 2008. Though he’s still a tough night out for anyone at 175 with probably only Chad Dawson a favourite against him. The thing that motivates him is winning a version of the Heavyweight against David Haye who would hold all the advantages in size, speed and power the only advantage Hopkins would have would be his experience and guile. You never want to tell him he can’t do something because you can bet he’ll move heaven and earth to prove you wrong but this looks very tough even for him.

During the 90’s Felix Trinidad was a wreaking ball through out the Welterweight division setting a record of 15 defence’s over 7 years he even moved up to Light Middleweight and in consecutive fights ruined the careers of both David Reid & Fernando Vargas. Next he moved up to Middleweight where he brutally KO’d William Joppy at Madison Square Garden in front of his adoring fans. His coronation as Unified Middleweight champion was waiting when as a 3-1 favourite he was not only stopped but routed by Bernard Hopkins. We never saw the genius that was “Tito” after that night he fought 4 more times going 2-2 before he finally admitted what we knew a few fights before that he just didn’t have that special quality to compete at the level he had previously dominated at.

It happens to all the greats, Sugar Ray Leonard was a phenom in the late 70’s and through the 80’s though he was slipping toward the late 80’s be after umpteen retirements he came back in 1991 and was thoroughly thrashed over twelve by Terry Norris. Not convinced Leonard made his final comeback in 6 years later only to be stopped in 5 by Hector Camacho. Neither Norris or Camacho both whom were very good fighters, would of lived with a prime Leonard. At nearly 42 Leonard finally realised that he just couldn’t cut it at the highest level anymore and bowed out.

Through out the 70’s Roberto Duran was one of the most ferocious fighters ever to lace gloves and arguably the best Lightweight in history. He went straight to Welterweight and won a world title and even up to Light Middleweight and Middleweight where he also rained supreme. He was unbeatable at 135 as he moved through the weights and got older, he wasn’t quite the embodiment of perfection he was at Lightweight but if properly motivated he could still mix it with the best. After going 1-2 in 1982 many believed we had seen the last of “Manos De Piedra”. They didn’t know what he was made of. He came back in better shape mentally and physically and demolished big punching Pipino Cuevas who was supposed to put the final nail in Duran’s coffin as a top fighter. Next came Davey Moore a young guy who looked primed for the big time, Duran took exception to this and beat Moore so savagely Moore was never the same again. He even gave a prime Hagler fits for fifteen rounds. That looked to of been his last stand but every great fighter has one last big fight effort and Duran saved his for 1989 when as a 37 year old he took on Iran Barkley. Duran in one last act of defiance kept coming and wouldn’t be denied. Thought it took 12 years and another 27 fights where Duran went 18-9 before he finally admitted it to himself and hung up the gloves.

Not all of the fighters go out the hard way some realise it’s time to go out at the top. Way back in the day Rocky Marciano retired while still champion and undefeated in the 80’s Marvin Hagler knew it was time to go after the controversial loss to Leonard and more recently Lennox Lewis & Ricardo Lopez retired and took up working as a commentator for various tv company’s. Only last year Super Middleweight and Light Heavyweight champion Joe Calzaghe decided to call it a day at 37 with an undefeated record.

On Saturday night from the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California in front of 6,256 patrons the pride of Poland Tomasz “Goral” Adamek 41-1(27) proved he belongs amongst the Heavyweight elite when he posted a majority decision over hometown favourite Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola 28-2(25) in his second defence of the IBF International Heavyweight title.

Both guys came out in the first round and took a look at the other for a minute or so, by the end of the round both guys had exchanged several blows as they looked to make a statement of intent. The second saw Arreola bring lots of pressure and by the end of the round it was noticeable that Adamek’s left cheek was growing redder and a little swollen. Adamek has evolved from his days in the Light Heavyweight division and more recently Cruiserweight where he was more of a seek and destroy fighter, at Heavyweight he knows he has to fight smarter and that’s what he started to do in the third when he gave Arreola movement and picked away at the local native, landing one eye catching left hand. The fourth was similar with Arreola starting to bleed from his nose. One thing Arreola can never be criticised of is showing heart and in the fifth he let it all hang out when his pressure finally told as he rocked Adamek twice, Adamek showed he too isn’t lacking in heart too when he managed to see his way through both barrages of punches. In the sixth frame Adamek again stayed away from Arreola’s vaunted power only to be rocked late on. After some frenetic action both guys took things a little easier in the seventh which only set them up for a big finish. Adamek won the eighth & ninth with his skills. The topsy turvy nature of the fight swung back Arreola’s way when he managed to walk Adamek into a monster right hand, the tough New Jersey based Pole wouldn’t be denied and some how stayed on his feet and away from Arreola’s desperate late charge in the twelfth.

When the scores were in Tony Crebs scored it 114-114 but was outvoted by Barry Druxman & Joseph Pasquale 115-113 & 117-111 respectively for Adamek. The 117-111 looked a little of base. 15rounds.com scored it 115-113 Adamek from Ringside.

Afterwards thankfully there was no trouble as both sets of fans disbursed the auditorium.

At the Post fight press conference it was revealed Arreola had hurt his hand in the fifth and it got worse in the ninth or tenth. Though he graciously acknowledged that he had no problem with the decision.

Dan Goossen said he’d like a rematch but Kathy Duva said if so this time it would have to take place in New Jersey. Kathy Duva continued adding that HBO want Adamek back on the airwaves in the fall.

Fellow Heavyweight contender Tony Thompson who attended the fight and then visited the press conference asked if he could fight Adamek next to which he was told only in New Jersey.

In chief support Alfredo “Perro” Angulo upped his record to 18-1(15) when he stopped the very game Joel “The Love Child” Julio 35-4(31) at 1.39 of the eleventh round to retain his Interim WBO Light Middleweight title. Angulo did what he does best he kept coming while Julio backed up and potshoted from the outside landing his share of punches swelling Angulo’s face. By the middle rounds Angulo had started to take the steam out of Julio and charged after him. Finally when the fight looked heading for the cards Angulo landed a monster right hand that dropped Julio. To his credit the game Colombian got to his feet but Benjie Esteves had seen enough and waved of the fight, which in some people’s eye was a little early. A disgruntled Julio was pacing the ring less then 30 seconds and clearly thought it was premature.

At the time of the stoppage Angulo was up 96-94 on Adelaide Byrd’s card & 97-93 on both Pat Russell & Steve Morrow’s cards. All three judges had given Angulo the last three rounds prior to the stoppage.

Punch stats showed Angulo had thrown 880 and landed 167 a 19% accuracy while Julio had thrown 762 landing 175 a 23% hit rate.

Afterwards Gary Shaw said he’d like to match his man Angulo with Miguel Cotto if he beats Yuri Foreman or Antonio Margarito if Margarito beats Roberto Garcia.

In an 8 round Super Bantamweight fight Rico “Suavecito upped his ledger to 16-0(9) when he out pointed Reynaldo Lopez 29-9-2(21) from Colombia 80-70, 79-71 & 78-72. Lopez was down at the end of both the second and seventh rounds.

Californian Chris Avalos 16-0(13) continued his impressive form bludgeoning Colombian John Alberto Molina 27-13-3(18) into defeat when Molina retired in his corner after two rounds. With the win Avalos picks up the vacant WBO NABO bantamweight title.

John Molina Jr 19-1(15) impressively stopped Cuban Jose Antonio Izquierdo 17-6-1(14) at 2.55 of the second round in a scheduled eight round fight at Lightweight.

In Light Middleweight action Raul Rodriguez 2-4-1 and Marquise Bruce who was making his debut fought to a majority draw over four stanzas.

Natu Visinia moved to 4-0(3) when he won a four round technical decision over debutant Geovani Sarran at Heavyweight.

Also at Heavyweight Nate James 3-0(1) won a split decision over Alvaro Morales 4-7-5(0).

In attendance were new Middleweight king Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez, the legendary Sugar Ray Leonard & Lennox Lewis who worked the broadcast for HBO.

The number one prospect in Nicaragua is widely thought to be Carlos “Chocorroncito” Buitrago. He’s only just 18 and had also ready been a pro for 22 months going 14-0(10). Buitrago is the WBO 1# & WBA 14# at Strawweight and hopes to stay busy and improve his rankings in the remainder of the year. The Managua native will next be back in action on 30 April. Here’s what he had to say.

Hello Carlos, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – How are things? Any news on when you’ll be back in action?

Carlos Buitrago – Hello Anson, thank you for taking the time to talk to me. I really appreciate it. Its one of the first times I have had an interview for an English speaking site. I am going to fight again on the 30th of April in a show to be held in Nicaragua. I am really happy to be back in action again.

Anson Wainwright – Your last fight you went 8 rounds which is the furthest you’ve had to go so far as a pro, how did you find it?

Carlos Buitrago – I had to work a lot for that win. I was in the ring with a veteran who has been in the ring with some of the best fighters in the world at that weight such as world champions Eduardo Marquez, Juan Palacios and Roman Gonzalez. I had a good victory but he made me work hard every round. I was able to knock him down in the early rounds but was not able to knock him out.

Anson Wainwright – Your perhaps a bit of a secret outside of Nicaragua. Can you tell us a bit about your fighting style?

Carlos Buitrago – I try to style myself after Jorge Linares and Tito Trinidad. I use my jab a lot, a lot of lateral movement, and throw punches in spurts. I practice a double hook like Trinidad and I am getting quite accurate with it. I am however, working on adding more variety to might fight style. There are some clips of my fights on youtube.com and the guys from my promotion company PRODESA regularly web stream their shows thru their website www.prodesa.com.ni.

Anson Wainwright – You turned pro very young. What persuaded you to go professional at just 16? In the last 18 months how much do you feel you have grown as a fighter?

Carlos Buitrago – I wanted to turn pro at around the age of 15. I was tired of being an amateur boxer. I had more than 174 fights as an amateur and felt that things were no longer very challenging. I wanted a challenge and the chance to earn a little money. My family is poor and I was seeing how other kids in our gym were earning fame, status and good money through boxing. I started sparring with some pros and I soon realized that I was a better boxer than most of them. After I saw that I knew that I wanted to become a professional boxer. In the past 18 months I have improved a lot. I understand better now how important lateral movement and a fast jab can be to open up your offense.

Anson Wainwright – You are from the same team as WBA 105 champion Roman Gonzalez. You are both at the same weight, do you spar together at all? If so how did you find it and in your opinion how good is Gonzalez?

Carlos Buitrago – Gonzalez is extremely talented. He does not have very many weaknesses hence his standing as a world champion. I think he is the best 105 pound boxer in the world. He is super strong and naturally gifted. I spar with him as well as IBF Youth Champ Yader Escobar (23-2, 15 kos, WBA #3, IBF #5) quiet often. They are both very strong fighters with good technique. Even though they beat me up quite often, sparring with them as helped me improve as a fighter. I have also sparred with former WBC minimum weight interim champ Juan Palacios.

Anson Wainwright – What are your hopes for your career in 2010? Perhaps some regional titles? Maybe fight on Gonzalez undercards possibly abroad to gain experience?

Carlos Buitrago – I have high expectations for 2010. Not only do I expect to fight between 5 and 6 times this year but I also want to have the chance to defend my WBO Youth World Championship belt. I know that my management team has spoken with the head of Teiken Promotions of Japan and a possible debut on Asian soil is not out of the question before the year is over. Basically I just want to keep as active as possible and develop the most that I can as a fighter.

Anson Wainwright – Your nickname is Chocorroncito. Where does that come from and how did you get that nickname?

Carlos Buitrago – My nickname roughly translates into English to “Roach”. I inherited that nickname from an uncle of mine who was a professional soccer player in the 60’s and 70’s. My family is full of athletes. My father Mauricio used to be a professional boxer. My brother Julio and I followed in his footsteps. My father currently is one of the head trainers of the Prodesa Boxing team to which I belong.

Anson Wainwright – Who was your hero growing up?

Carlos Buitrago – My hero and my mentor is Alexis Arguello. He helped train me since I was 8 until a few days before his death. He is the standard which I want to measure my career by. Before his death I promised him that I would become world champion and I plan to keep my promise.

Anson Wainwright – What do you like to do away from Boxing when your not training or fighting?

Carlos Buitrago – My family and I are very religious. We go to church quiet often and I participate actively in my community. Besides that I like to hang out with my friends and try to keep a balanced life between recreation, studies, religion and boxing.

Anson Wainwright – When you were younger it must of been tough on the streets of Managua, can you tell us about your early years and how you got into Boxing?

Carlos Buitrago – While my family is poor, our situation has been gradually improving. As I mentioned before my father is one of the head trainers for Prodesa as well as a boxing trainer for the municipality of Managua. My mother is a merchant who sells clothing in the market. My brother is a professional boxer who has done part of his career in Europe. The combined income of all of us, plus the support I have received from various sponsors has helped us lived a more comfortable life. We have slowly been able to fix our household. I never had it as difficult as some of my other team mates who are a lot poorer.

I got into boxing because of my father. I remember watching him box when I was very young. He also has a few fights taped that we occasionally watch. He is in the WBC Fecarbox Boxing Hall of Fame. I started accompanying my father when he started working as a trainer along with my brother. We liked it very much, we showed some talent and we decided it was something that we wanted to pursue as a career.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us a bit about your promotional company Prodesa?

Carlos Buitrago – I am very proud to be a part of this company. They have kept me very active in my short career promoting all 14 of my fights. They don’t have that many fighters but they have the best fighters Nicaragua has to offer. In total we are 18 fighters out of which 11 of them are ranked in at least one of the four main boxing organizations. We have two WBA world Champions as well as Youth World Champions in the IBF and WBO. The important thing is that PRODESA fighters have participated in world titles for the four main boxing organizations. We truly believe that we are one of the better boxing organizations in Latin America.

Anson Wainwright – Finally what are your goals in Boxing?

Carlos Buitrago – My goal is for some day to become a world champion quiet possibly in more than one weight class and be a model citizen.

Thanks for your time Carlos I look forward to seeing your development in the coming months.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

Anytime a fighter as heavily decorated in the amateurs as Matt Korobov opts to go professional it’s a safe bet he’ll be highly sort after commodity. That certainly was the case for Korobov who had 311-10 amateur record winning Gold at the 2005 & 2007 World amateur championships at Middleweight. Though he was unable to parlay that into the ultimate honour of a Gold at the Olympics in Beijing in 2008 he is still one of the top prospects to come through the programme in recent years.

The journey for Korobov now 27 started way back in late 1991 when he first stepped foot in the gym. It was love at first site for Korobov who instantly took to Boxing. He enrolled in the Military at 19 where he stayed for 7 years. Even when his father George, mother Larisa and brother Alex all decided to move to Florida from their home in Orotukan, Russia in 1998.

It wasn’t a good time for Korobov who missed his family “I missed my family, it was difficult time for me. I just focused on my Boxing career” He knew his work wasn’t complete, electing to stay in Russia where he hone his skills. Until the opportunity came for him to make his impact at the top of the amateur game.

First he won European Junior Championship in 2001. Though he was highly regarded and expected to go to the 2004 Olympics the Russian Federation decided that Korobov was to young and inexperienced and sent Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov who repaid there faith winning gold.

That proved to be Gaydarbekov’s last International tournament as Korobov continued to grow showing the world his skills when he won the 2005 World Championships in Mianyang, China where he defeated among others future Olympic Bronze & Silver medallists Darren Sutherland and Emilio Correa in the Quarter and Semi finals respectively. In the final Korobov destroyed current unbeaten pro Ismayl Sillakh in the second round to win his first title.

Two years later in Chicago Korobov successful defended his title, really catching the eye of his now manager Cameron Dunkin. Korobov won the first three fights inside the distance, then the next three comfortably proving he was the class of the division.

At home Korobov was just as successful winning the Russian National Championships four times from 2003-2007. He didn’t win the 2005 National title because it clashed with the World championships. In 2008 internal politics couldn’t prevent Korobov representing his homeland on the biggest stage of all the Olympics.

The best laid plans rarely work out though and Korobov lost a razor thin decision to 2004 Welterweight champion and winner of the Val Barker trophy Bakhtiyar Artayev who had moved up to Middleweight. It was very disappointing for Korobov “I had no reason to stay in the amateurs and wait 4 more years” also adding “They have to many International and National tournaments and i wasn’t as young as some of the other guys. Also there are politics in Russia with the Boxing Federation”

It lead to Korobov deciding to make the leap from the amateur game to the professional side of Boxing. He decided to link up with award winning manager Cameron Dunkin who teamed him up with Dan Birmingham who was based in Florida like his family. The alliance didn’t last long, only 4 fights.

Since then he has moved onto Kenny Adams who was the 1988 Olympic team trainer and has since trained 18 World Champions. Adams is impressed with his charge “Talent wise he’s comparable to anyone i ever had” though he doesn’t believe he needs to do much to Korobov “The key is fine tuning him”

Adams an Army veteran who served in Vietnam for two years in the 101st Airborne division is a strict disciplinarian, who takes no messing and rigorously puts his guys through their steps each day at the TKO gym in Las Vegas goes on when asked about how Korobov has improved since he came to train with him “His defence has improved and his movement, also he’s able to deal with fighters who shake and bake”. Coach Adams continues “I think he hasn’t shown everything he’s capable of. Last time he was very explosive, we’ll keep building”

Korobov is happy with Adams and says of there training session’s “He knows what i need to do, he has a lot of experience. He is the same as my Russian coach he was also an Army man”

The transition to the pro’s has been seamless for Korobov “After the first couple of fights i have found it ok, in the pros there are more styles and tactics’

Away from Boxing Korobov is a family man, married to Anna who he married a year ago he enjoys walking, going shopping, the cinema, going the beach. He also enjoys Soccer keeping an eye out for Liverpool, Manchester United and CSKA Moscow’s result’s In fact it is with the afore mentioned CSKA club that he was part of. The CSKA club was actually founded by Joseph Stalin. He worked out there several years back with current Heavyweight contenders Dennis Boytsov & Alexander Dimitrenko. Things are much more low key when he’s in training camp he stays away from the bright lights and keeps his head down playing computer games and watching movie’s, he’s also improving his English.

Dunkin enthuses about him at any chance “I was crazy about him the first time i saw him, he’s terrific, he can be whatever he wants a top Pound for Pound fighter” Top Ranks matchmaker Bruce Trampler echo’s Dunkin’s sentiments “He’s a heck of a fighter, who always gives fans his best and is a pleasure to work with”

His next fight will be on the Kelly Pavlik-Sergio Martinez show in Atlantic City where he squares off against Joshua Snyder 8-4-1(3) in what will be his first 8 rounder. From there Dunkin says “By the end of the year he’ll be ready for 10/12 rounders, we’re looking at 3 or 4 more fights this year get him to something like 15-0 then he’ll be ready”

It remains to be seen if Korobov can turn his 11-0(9) record in the pro’s into a title run and then win a World Championship to add to his two in the amateur’s. He’s given himself every chance by aligning himself with an impressive support team along with Top Rank who are widely recognised as the best prospect builders in Boxing.

Top Rank Live proudly presented and evening of Boxing from The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. The card was shown live on Fox Sports Espanol which allowed around 80 Million homes to tune in. Headlined by Filipino Mark Melligan squaring off against tough Mexican Norberto Gonzalez. Also on making the tv was up and coming Diego Magdeleno against Manny Perez.

Going into the Main Event it looked evenly matched between Mark Melligen 18-2(13) & Norberto Gonzalez 18-2(12) however the 23 year old Filipino had a different idea as he continually beat Gonzalez to the punch round after round. The southpaw jab caused Gonzalez trouble through out. Full credit to Gonzalez as he continued to press, this suited Melligan who got the better of most exchanges and used his overhand right to both head and body with good effect. Gonzalez would go back in straight lines which made it easier for Melligan to pick him off. Towards the end of the eighth round in Gonzalez corner both guys clashed heads leaving the Mexican with a bad cut under his right eye. To Gonzalez credit he kept trying but it wasn’t his night. Again in the tenth they clashed heads leaving Gonzalez with another cut this time on his right eye lid. When all was said and done Robert Hoyle, Patricia Morse Jarman & Dave Moretti were all in agreement posting a shut out for Melligan.

Backed by a Partisan home support Las Vegas own Diego Magdeleno advanced to 15-0(3) with a solid showing against Manny Perez 14-6-1(2). Magdeleno looked sharp from the first bell and picked apart Perez with his superior speed of hand and foot. Glenn Trowbridge saw it 100-90 while Eric Cheek had it 99-91 and Al Lefkowitz handed in a 97-93 card. Magdeleno rated his performance as an 8 or 9 while beaming trainer Pat Barry said it was a 10. Magdeleno was happy with his continued development adding “I’d like to say thank you to Top Rank, i’ll fight whoever they put in front of me”

Hot prospect Jose Benavidez Jr 4-0(4) scored an impressive second round KO over Scott Paul 5-5(1). Paul was down twice before Robert Byrd called it off at 1.30.

Lamont Peterson 28-1(14) got back to winning ways when he stopped Damien Fuller 30-7-1(14) at 1.10 of the seventh when his corner threw the towel into the ring with Peterson pummelling away and Fuller not throwing anything back.

Cortez Bey 8-1-1(4) & Marcos Herrera 5-1-1(1) fought to a majority six round draw. Tim Cheatham had it 58-56 for Bey but was out voted by Al Lefkowitz & Glenn Trowbridge who had it 57-57.

Anthony Lenk 7-1(4) stopped Wilson Rivera 3-4(1) at 1.19 of the third round in Light Welterweight action.

Russian Heavyweight Vladimir Tereshkin 13-0-1(7) outpointed journeyman Joseph Rabotte 7-12(3) over six all three judges had it 60-54. Rabotte was marked under the left eye and back peddled looking to avoid anything heavy from Tereshkin who couldn’t find the stoppage though did wobble Rabotte late in the fourth.

In the opening bout of the night Japan’s Hiromitsu Miura successfully made his debut in Light Heavyweight action when outhustled Isaac “Iceman” Atencio 2-3-1(2) over four 40-36 & 39-37×2.

On 29 May Luis “El Mosquito” Lazarte 46-9-1(18) gets an unprecedented sixth world title shot when he faces Carlos Tamara for the IBF Light Flyweight title. At 39 this is almost certainly Lazarte final chance to win a world title, he’ll also get the chance in front of his hometown fans in Mar Del Plata, Argentina. He has won the Argentinean & South American Light Flyweight & Strawweight titles in an eventful career and is currently ranked #7 by the IBF at 108. Lazarte is a down to earth guy who still works a day job as a Road Sweeper and enjoys spending time with his family. Here’s what he had to say ahead of his big chance.

Hello Luis, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly could you tell us when you maybe back in action next?

Luis Lazarte – According to my managers it would be on May 29 against Carlos Tamara for the IBF Light Flyweight Title in my hometown (Mar del Plata, Argentina). It would be my 6 World Title shot.

Anson Wainwright – Your debuted way back in 1996 and have had 57 fights since at 39 how much longer do you feel you can carry on fighting?

Luis Lazarte – I know I am not young but I am always in good shape and I love training, so I will keep boxing until I feel I can.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your team, who is your manager, trainer & promoter? Also what gym do you use?

Luis Lazarte – My trainer and manager is Mr. Hector DiPilato but I don’t have a promoter. I train in DiPilato’s gym (Raul Santos Villalba).

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us how life was for you when you were young in Mar Del Plata & how you got into Boxing?

Luis Lazarte – I left my house when I was very young, at the age of 12 so I grew up in the streets. Once I fought a boxer in the street and after that I wanted to learn how to box so I went to a gym and I started practising, I liked it so much that I have never stopped.

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

Luis Lazarte – As an amateur I did around 40 fights and I lost only 5. I was Argentine Champion and I represented my country in several international tournaments.

Anson Wainwright – You have had 5 title shots firstly against Kermin Guardia, Pongsaklek Wongjongkam, Omar Narvaez, Edgar Sosa & Daniel Reyes. What can you tell us about those fights from your point of view?

Luis Lazarte – On 1999, against Kermin Guardia at Minimumweight, I was very nervous because it was my first title shot, moreover it was in my hometown and his style (southpaw) was very difficult for me.

Against Pongsaklek I was taken as a last minute substitute, I had a very long trip and I didn’t know anything about his style.

Against Narvaez, once again I was called at last minute, however I think the referee was unfair disqualifying me.

Against Sosa, I consider it was a nice fight but I started becoming anxious when they read the scorecards during the fight, referee started cautioning me and finally I was disqualified in the 10º round.

Finally against Reyes, I was in very good shape, very confident and I had a good start but then he started boxing very well with his jab and he fought better than me.

Anson Wainwright – Who do you think was the best? How do you think a fight between Pongsaklek & Narvaez would of gone?

Luis Lazarte – I think the best one was Kermin Guardia. And in my opinion, a fight between Narvaez and Pongsaklek would be very interesting as both as great boxers but I can’t give a result.

Anson Wainwright – You have lost 9 times 4 of them were via Disqualification, can you tell us what happened in these fights?

Luis Lazarte – The fights I lost by disqualification were because I used to get nervous very often but now I have learned that lesson.

Anson Wainwright – What do you consider you best fight & win?

Luis Lazarte – I have done many good fights but I consider that my best wins were against Raul Medina (second fight) and Adrian Rodriguez (second fight).

Anson Wainwright – What do you like to do when your not Boxing?

Luis Lazarte – I like to be with my family. In summer we go to the beach in my hometown, then the rest of the year, go to the cinema, shopping center.

Anson Wainwright – Do you have a job apart of Boxing?

Luis Lazarte – Yes, I work as road sweeper in my hometown, I have been working in that position for many years.

Anson Wainwright – Who do you consider as the up and comers of Argentinean Boxing at the moment?

Luis Lazarte – For sure, the best one is Marcos Maidana, current Junior Welterweight World Champion and there also some good prospects like Diego Chaves, Jesus Cuellar & Maxi Marquez.

Thanks for your time and good luck with your upcoming title challenge.

Anson Wainwright

15rounds.com

Mark Melligen 146 -V- Norberto Gonzalez 147 10 Rounds Welterweight
17-2(13) 18-1(12)

Diego Magdeleno 132 -V- Manny Perez 134.5 10 Rounds Super Featherweight
14-0(3) 14-5-1(2)

Lamont Peterson 143 -V-Damien Fuller 143 10 Rounds Light Welterweight
27-1(13) 30-6-1(14)

Vladimir Tereshkin 241 -V- Joseph Rabotte 254 6 Rounds Heavyweight
12-0-1(7) 7-11(3)

Anthony Lenk 138 -V- Wilson Rivera 138 6 Rounds Light Welterweight
6-1(3) 3-3(1)

Cortez Bey 137 -V- Marcos Herrera 137 6 Rounds Light Welterweight
8-1(4) 5-1(1)

Jose Benavidez Jr 138 -V- Scott Paul 137 4 Rounds Light Welterweight
3-0(3) 5-4(1)

Isaac Atencio 173 -V- Hiromitsu Miura 174 4 Rounds Light Heavyweight
2-2-1(2) Pro Debut

TONY JEFFRIES wants to land his first professional title by the end of the year.

The Olympic bronze medallist has fully recovered from a spate of injuries and returns to action at Coventry Skydome on Friday April 23.

‘Jaffa’, 25, will be bidding to stretch his unbeaten record to six when he tackles tough Welshman Nathan King on the bill being televised live by Sky Sports.

Jeffries said: “It would be nice to have an English title belt by the end of 2010, but it is a slow process and I am still learning.

“The injuries meant that I haven’t boxed since December so the aim is for Frank Maloney to keep me busy.”

Sunderland’s favourite sporting son has just returned from a week sparring with WBC super-middleweight champion Carl Froch.

Jeffries added: “I got to know Carl well after we did a television show recently and the sparring was fantastic.

“Working with soemone like him only added to my desire to become a world champion. His dedication is fantastic and I learnt so much being around him.”

Promote Frank Maloney said: “Top prospects like Tony and David Price will learn more from quality sparring than anything else.

“There are not many better fighters in Britain than Carl to learn from.”

King’s 12-15 record might not be impressive, but he owns one of the sturdiest chins in British boxing.

He has fought numerous champions and in December went the distance with Olympic gold medallist James DeGale.

Top of Maloney’s blockbuster bill is Rendall Munroe’s WBC world super-bantamweight title final eliminator against Mexican star Victor Terrazas.

The winner is guaranteed a crack at Japan’s formidable world title holder Toshiaki Nishioka later this year.

Tickets are on sale, prices £30, £50 and £70 by logging onto www.frankmaloney.com or by calling 0871 226 1508. Boxers on the bill are also selling tickets.

On Friday night TKO Promotions & Guilty Boxing proudly presented an evening of Boxing from the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV.

In the Main Event Sharif “THe Lion Warrior” Bogare moved to 15-0(9) after a clash of heads late in the first opened up a cut on the right eye of his opponent Martin Tucker 7-6(3). When Tucker got back to his corner at the end of the round he told his corner he couldn’t see, however the referee and doctor said he was ok to continue thus meaning the fight was called off at the 3.00 mark with Bogare winning by first round KO.

As usual Bogare 21, was carried to the ring in a cage decked out as Lion surrounded by singers and dancers with to load cheers by his fans. Bogare now lives in Las Vegas but originally hails from Kampala in Uganda.

Robert “Big Rob” Rodriguez 3-0(0) kept his perfect record when he scored a comprehensive four round points win over Manuel Delgado 1-4(0) when Adelaide Byrd, Lisa Giampa & Ricardo Ocasio all scored it 40-36 in a Super Bantamweight fight.

The fight of the night was between a come backing Eddie Salas 7-3-1(5) and Mike Alexander 1-4-2(0). The last time Salas fought America was still under the administration of George W Bush & Black Eyed Peas song “Where is the Love” was number one in the Music charts.

The action started right away with Salas taking the fight to the taller Alexander from the first bell though Alexander had his moments. In the second Alexander was pinned for a large part of the second round in a neutral corner where Salas threw several hard overhand rights. The action continued through the third. By the fourth it looked as though Salas was in control only to walk into a hard left that clearly hurt him, forcing him backwards. Alexander poured on the pressure but was unable to force the stoppage. When the scores came in Robert Hoyle scored it 39-37 to Salas but was over ruled by Dwayne Ford & Lisa Giampa who both had it tied at 38-38.

Las Vegas own Bradley Blankenship failed to win on his debut when he was forced to settle for a four round draw against Abram Espinoza 0-1-1(0). The first round seemed fairly close, it then appeared that Blankenship took over in the second before having a strong third round. Again in the fourth Blankenship seemed to do enough to take the round. Dwayne Ford scored it 40-36 for Blankenship however he was over ruled by Al Leferwitz & Ricardo Ocasio who couldn’t separate either man posting scores of 38-38.

In his second bout Michael Finney moved to 2-0(2) when he blasted out Jordan Washington 1-2(1) out in 2.49 of the opener. Washington was down three times. Joe Cortez presided over the action.

The opening bout of the night saw Fidel “Atrisco Kid” Maldonado keep his perfect 2-0(2) record when he proved to much for Blake “Trouble” Franklin 3-4-1(1). Maldonado started fast and quickly dropped Franklin, two more knock downs followed before Joe Cortez waved the fight off at 1.29.

The next TKO/Guilty Promotion is on 22 May at Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT headlined by Peter Manfredo verses Angel Hernandez for the Vacant IBO Middleweight crown along with Matt Remillard making a defence of the NABF Featherweight title.

In his own words “Don’t call it a comeback…i’ve been here for years” However Saturday will become the maiden voyage of phase two of Sergio “The Latin Snake’s” Mora’s career. The pride of East L.A now 29, gets back to work after a 18 month hiatus when he makes his Golden Boy debut. In the opposite corner will be tough veteran Calvin Green. Mora 21-1-1(5) has fitted a lot into his career winning the Contender and then going onto win the WBC Light Middleweight title against the late Vernon Forrest. Here’s what Mora had to say.

Hello Sergio, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly how are things? Your back after an 18 month hiatus, what can you tell us about that and what have you done with your time since?

Sergio Mora – Well it’s going to be a 19 month hiatus but if it sounds familiar Floyd Mayweather Jnr did it. If he can do it i can do it. I’ve been busy with commentating on professional fights and doing appearances and just staying in the gym and staying focused. I haven’t been inactive i’ve been in the gym sparring 3 times a week. I had 3 fights cancelled last year so it’s not because you know i’m stagnant on purpose. It’s because i was forced to be inactive. I was with a promoter who didn’t fight me. But know i’m with Golden Boy who are going to fight me and keep me busy. You guys are going to see me at least 3 times this year.

Anson Wainwright – You will be fighting veteran Calvin Green 21-4-1(13), what do you know about him? What are you looking for from this fight?

Sergio Mora – I know absolutely nothing about him. This is the fourth opponent they’ve replaced him with. First i was supposed to fight Daniel Edouard, then it became a Canadian Jason Naugler then a guy from Baltimore Ishmail Arvin and now this guy. I couldn’t get no youtube video’s or DVD’s in time to study him. From what i can see it looks like he’s a hard puncher and i’m expecting a tough good fight. He’s a Texan everything is big from Texas so i’m expecting him to want to win.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your team who is your manager, trainer and Promoter? Also what gym do you use regularly to train at?

Sergio Mora – I train at Montebello Police Athletics. My coach who used to be my manager is John Montelongo he’s a police officer in Montebello. My trainer, my long-time trainer, the only trainer i ever had is Dean Campos and my newly assigned manager is Cameron Dunkin.

Anson Wainwright – Growing up in East Los Angeles as a kid, can you tell us about your early years and how you first became involved in Boxing?

Sergio Mora – I got involved in Boxing in East L.A there’s a lot of gyms in East L.A there’s a lot of liquor stores too! I chose the former and went that route. Me and my friends used to get together like little rascals and fight in alley’s and backyards. I beat up all my friends…i was like 15-0! Haha
So from that i decided to go into sanctioned Boxing travelling to other countries and states got me hooked to Boxing and that i was good at it naturally.

Anson Wainwright – You turned pro in August 2000 what can you tell us about your amateur career? What titles you won and who you fought? Also what was your final record?

Sergio Mora – As an amateur i had about 40 wins 10 loses. I had about 50 fights i’m estimating. I won the state Golden Gloves twice. I won the Blue & Gold national. I made it to the National trials and lost in the finals to Jermain Taylor who won a bronze medal (At the 2000 Olympics). So i got very far with only 50 fights as an amateur.

Anson Wainwright – You were the winner of the inaugural Contender series back in 2004/2005 that really put you on the map. What can you tell us about how you look back at the tournament and what it did for you?

Sergio Mora – Wow i could tell you so much, one day i probably will and write a book, because that changed my life. A lot of people ask me what was bigger winning a world title or the contender but it’s just different dreams. One changed my life and one was a dream come true. The contender in my eyes opened so many doors. People around the world watched the show from England to Africa to Latin America to South East Asia. I get e-mails & fan mail. The Contender was huge in retrospect. I don’t regret anything except the inactivity.

Anson Wainwright – Obviously before you had this break away you won the WBC 154 title from the now sadly departed Vernon Forrest. Those fights must of been great learning curves for you?

Sergio Mora – Unbelievable learning experience. I can’t really put it into words. Just something i’m going to display Saturday because this is my first after i fighting Vernon Forrest. Going 24 rounds with a man of his experience and stature is just unbelievable. Like i said I can’t put it in words but i will display it this Saturday.

Anson Wainwright – Hopefully all being well Saturday you’ll get the victory and back in the win column, what are you looking to do next? Who are your targeting at 154?

Sergio Mora – I’m just looking to have a great performance Saturday. I can’t just win have to win with flying colours and i expect to do that. I expect to put on a show and if god has everything on my favour and he opens the next door. I’d love to fight Kelly Pavlik. That’s the one i want at Middleweight. But at Jnr Middleweight whatever Golden Boy presents in front of me i’m going to take down.

Anson Wainwright – Since you last fought at 154 the landscape of the division has changed quite a bit with several young guns coming through like Alfredo Angulo, Vanes Martirosyan & Erislandy Lara all breaking through. How do you see the Light Middleweight division now?

Sergio Mora – I think it’s finally picking up. I think it was really dry for a long-time. Guys like Paul Williams, Sergio Martinez umm Perro Angulo but he hasn’t really fought any big names and when he did he lost to Cintron. Cintron’s up there. Lara isn’t really experienced yet so i won’t throw his name in there. It’s a lot better more exciting. James Kirkland that’s a guy you guys missed. I sparred with him several times and he’s a beast at 54. So hopefully it can pick up and be one of the Marquee division’s.

Anson Wainwright – For you what do you think is the best part about being a boxer? And the worst?

Sergio Mora – The best part about being a boxer is the appreciation of every athlete in the world. After winning the show (Contender) i had huge Basketball stars, Baseball stars, Hockey stars. Football stars especially their the biggest Boxing fans you know. They want to talk to me, hang out with me, take pictures with me. It was real flattering because everyone respects a guy who can put his body on the line especially in a dangerous sport like Boxing and as historical Boxing that’s the good part. People also respect a fighter. The bad part about being a fighter is that your doing just that for a living. Your taking punches to the head, your denting your nose your hurting your hands your getting injury’s everywhere else. People say your shortening your health. So that’s the bad part.

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

Sergio Mora – I have a message for the fans, real simple and plain. This isn’t a comeback because i’ve been here a very very time like i said in the press conference. I’m finally at the peak the zenith of my maturation as a man as an athlete and professional fighter and i’m ready to show the world. It’s my time i’m 29 years old, i’m in my prime.

Thanks for your time Sergio.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

Roy Jones Jr -V- Bernard Hopkins
175* 175

Rocky Juarez -V- Jason Litzau
129 130

Sergio Mora -V- Calvin Green
161 161

Ishmayl Sillakh -V- Daniel Judah
175 175

*Jones Jr was initially 0.5 over but stripped naked and weighted exactly 175.

On the undercard of David Haye’s WBA Heavyweight title defence against mandatory challenger John Ruiz will be the returning Jamie Moore 32-4(23). Back last October Moore then European Light Middleweight champion was close to a world title fight but like the best laid plans things didn’t quite work out and he was stopped in seven by Ryan Rhodes. Since then Moore 31, has decided enough is enough boiling down to 154 and he’ll return up at Middleweight. Here’s what one of Britain’s most exciting fighters had to say.

Hello Jamie, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Your about to embark on a comeback at Middleweight where you’ll fight Sergey Khomitski 21-7-1(8). He seems durable having only been stopped once and that to Gennady Golovkin. What do you think of this fight and how has training gone?

Jamie Moore – Yes training’s gone great, especially because i’m in a lot better shape health wise not having to drag myself down to 11st. As you say Khomitski is durable and gave my gym mate Martin Murray a tough fight over 8 rounds, and with me coming back from surgery on my shoulder again, it’s the right fight for me at this time.

Anson Wainwright – How much better do you feel now not having to make 154? When did you start to struggle to make Light Middleweight?

Jamie Moore – I feel 10 times better in the gym than i have done over the last 2-3 years because of the struggle to make 154, simply because i’m able to eat a healthier diet. I didn’t realise how bad i had been performing in the gym until i started training for this fight, i was training at 50% because of my energy levels, but it’s my own fault for being stubborn. People have been telling me to move up for the last 2 years because of my struggles, Oliver, Kerry, Frank Maloney, Steve Wood, but i was that close to fighting for a world title i didn’t want to give it up. But losing was a blessing in disguise because i could have got hurt fighting in that condition at world level.

Anson Wainwright – All being well this weekend against Khomitski, what are your plans for the rest of the year? who are you targeting?

Jamie Moore – I’m not targeting anyone in particular, i just want to be involved in big fights, give the fans what they want to see. But i also want to go and fight in America, i think they’d love my style over there and it would bring greater opportunities.

Anson Wainwright – Of course your old nemesis Matthew Macklin is now fighting and successfully at Middleweight. Is that a a fight you’d like to do again?

Jamie Moore – As i said i’m not looking for 1 particular fight but if that fight could be made then i think it would be great for british boxing, but as i’ve said in the past we’d have to be paid right for it because for the 1st fight we got peanuts, and for what we went through we deserve more.

Anson Wainwright – Your from Salford which has a reputation as been a tough place can you tell us about how things were for you as a youngster and the path it took you into Boxing?

Jamie Moore – Salford has a bad reputation but it’s a good place. The people of salford are great, down to earth people. Things growing up we’re great, we didn’t have a lot but my mam and dad worked there arses off for us and made it work. I’m the 1st person from Salford to have ever had a Lonsdale belt in his possession never mind own it outright, so for me that is a massive achievement in itself. Salford builds characters and it’s made me, along with my parents, the man i am today and i wouldn’t change that for anything.

Anson Wainwright – So far what has been your proudest moment in Boxing?

Jamie Moore – My proudest moment so far was winning the British title from Michael Jones, I came in at 5 days notice and no one gave me a chance, but i beat him in every department that night and it set me on the road to where i am today. It was a life changing moment and one i’ll never forget.

Anson Wainwright – What is the best thing about being a boxer? What about the worst?

Jamie Moore – The best thing about being a boxer is that i’m doing a job that i love and it gives me the chance to fulfil my childhood dreams, which not many people get the chance to do. I’m very grateful for that. The worst part…..F!%?£?* DIETING!!!!!!!!!

Anson Wainwright – What do you like to do when your not Boxing?

Jamie Moore – Spend time with my wife and kids, when your training you’ve gotta be very selfish and my wife is great and helps me out no end, so when i get chance i just love spending time with them. I miss my kids like crazy so love spoiling them after it’s all over.

Anson Wainwright – Who was your Boxing hero and why?

Jamie Moore – Nigel Benn and Arturo Gatti, both absolute warriors and just my cup of tea!

Anson Wainwright – Finally do you have anything you’d like to add?

Jamie Moore – Just that i hope the fans have enjoyed my career so far and hopefully i can fulfil my dream of fighting for, and winning, a world title. After some of the up’s and down’s i’ve had so far it would be some story and a great ending to it.

Thanks for your time Jamie, good luck on Saturday

Anson Wainwright

15rounds.com

After the initial introduction and proceedings both fighters took there turns at the dais. Jones Jnr now 41, vowed to repeat history and once again come out victorious. Commenting “I guess he is what they call my rival I don’t like it, but it is what it is, Saturday I am going to clear that up.”

For his part Hopkins maintained that Jones Jnr had run from him for 17 long years and now he will finally get the win over his old rival. At one point Hopkins in keeping with it being Easter weekend gave Jones an Easter bunny complete with Easter eggs playfully adding “He has been running like a rabbit for 17 years” Things ended dramatically when Hopkins said to Alton Merkerson (Jones Trainer) along the assembled media and fans “It is going to be up to Merkerson whether he lives or dies”

Tail of the tape

JONES JNR – V- HOPKINS

Hometown Pensacola, Fl Philadelphia, Pa
Record 54-6(40) 50-5-1(32)
Rounds Boxed 392 406
KO% 66.67 56.14%
Age 41 45
Height 5’11 6’1
Reach 74 75
Nickname The Terminator The Executioner
Titles IBF Middleweight IBF Middleweight
IBF S. Middleweight WBC Middleweight
WBC Lt Heavyweight WBA Middleweight
WBA Lt Heavyweight WBO Middleweight
IBF Lt Heavyweight
WBA Heavyweight
World title 23-3(15) 20-3-1(13) 1 No Contest
Record

Much has been said a made of two guys in the early 40’s with a combined age of 86 squaring off 17 years after there original fight. However there is still a certain intrigue as to what will happen between these two guys who appear destined to be linked forever in history like Ali-Frazier, Leonard-Hearns & Ward-Gatti etc

The odds with the Bookies have Hopkins a big favourite at -575 while Jones Jnr is +375.

Tickets are still available ranging from $750 down to $100. Also worth noting is that while it will be on HBO PPV live Saturday it will not be repeated the following week.

Back in 2005 Keandre Letherwood was a highly touted young fighter who was part of the American team that successfully took part in the Under 17 World Championships. Fast forward five years and Letherwood is looking to end his near year long hiatus from the ring and build on his 5-0(3) record. Here’s what he had to say.

Hello Keandre, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly how are you? You turned pro in June 2008 going 5-0(3) but only fought once in 2009 that being last April, why the long lay off?

Keandre Letherwood – I’m doing good. I’ve had different personal issues that have kept me out of action. I had a lot of things that i had to get straight. The time off has been good for me but i’m looking forward to getting back in action.

Anson Wainwright – Any news on when you will be back in action?

Keandre Letherwood – I hope to fight in the next month or so.

Anson Wainwright – Your a fighter who is quite under the radar, can you tell us about your fighting style and what you consider your biggest strengths as a fighter?

Keandre Letherwood – I have good hand and foot speed and now my power has really come along, so now i feel like i can box when i need to and take you out if the opportunity presents itself. I’m a boxer-puncher.

Anson Wainwright – Who is your manager, trainer & promoter? Where do you train for upcoming fights?

Keandre Letherwood – I’m training with Mark Murdock in Atlanta. He also trains Kevin Johnson. I’m still working out things as far as manager and promoter go. That’s the main reason i’ve been off so long.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your gym? Training with Deontay Wilder must be a help to you as you both develop as fighters?

Keandre Letherwood – The gym is good. I was at Sky gym in Tuscaloosa and worked out alongside Deontay Wilder for a couple of years and had a good experience there. Now i’m in Atlanta and things are good here.

Anson Wainwright – You were part of a successful American team that took part in the World U17 championship’s in 2005. How did you do personally and what can you tell us about this experience?

Keandre Letherwood – When i travelled overseas to Liverpool, England it was the first time i ever had been that far and i got beat by a Cuban by a couple of points. He had stopped or dominated everyone but barely beat me. Between fighting the best guy and jet lag and all it was a good experience but really more of a learning experience.

Anson Wainwright – You represented your country at Junior level, did you do so as a Senior? What title’s did you win in the amateur’s? What was your final record?

Keandre Letherwood – As a Senior i went to the nationals several times. I think i should have made the Olympic team but there were a lot of personal things going on in my life at the time that kept me out of the gym. I ended up with about 120-125 fights and won about 100 of them.

Anson Wainwright – Growing up in Alabama can you tell us how you first became interested and then involved in Boxing?

Keandre Letherwood – I was born in Alabama and moved to Cincinnati as a young kid. I got into boxing there. I sparred with Raushee Warren, Adrian Broner and Brandon Bennett and took some real beatings, but i got better and better. I trained with Mike Stafford (2 time national coach of the year), then moved to Atlanta and trained under my step-dad Pete Crumpley, then moved to Tuscaloosa Alabama and trained with Jay Deas (National coach of the year- coach of Deontay Wilder) and now in Atlanta with Murdock (Kevin Kingpin Johnson). So i’ve had good coaches along the way and they all have their own styles.

Anson Wainwright – What are your interests away from Boxing?

Keandre Letherwood – I enjoy cooking. My Grandfather has a great restaurant in Mississippi, so i guess it runs in the family.

Anson Wainwright – Do you have a nickname?

Keandre Letherwood – No nickname as of yet.

Anson Wainwright – Who was your favourite fighter growing up?

Keandre Letherwood – Roy Jones, Jr. was the guy i always loved to watch.

Anson Wainwright – Finally is there anything you’d like to add?

Keandre Letherwood – I want to mention that Alabama has a Boxing commission now and will be doing pro fights in a few months. I’m excited to be working with jay deas again to bring boxing back to Tuscaloosa. I’ve got a lot of family there and friends and can’t wait to fight again in front of them. I think me and Deontay in a co-feature would be a great ESPN or Showtime type thing in a couple of years. He can handle the heavyweights and i’ll handle the 154-160.

Thanks for your time Keandre

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

Just a few weeks back Wilfredo Vazquez Jnr 18-0-1(15) joined his father as the first Puerto Rican father/Son combination to win a world title when he KO’d Marvin Sonsona in 4 rounds to capture the vacant WBO Super Bantamweight crown. Going it is was seen by many as a 50-50 contest, clearly Vazquez was paying attention to this and demolished his younger Filipino opponent who was thought to be the second coming of Manny Pacquiao. Vazquez 25, came into the fight with without any amateur experience and only 77 rounds in the pro’s however what he does have is a big punch something he’s inherited from his father of the same name who in the late 80’s early 90’s won 3 world title as three weight’s including Super Bantamweight. Here’s what Vazquez had to say.

Hello Wilfredo, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Congratulation’s on winning your first World title. Looking back at the fight what can you remember about the fight & What did it mean to you personally to realize your dream?

Wilfredo Vazquez Jnr – Thanks, I remember all of my fans supporting me, this was my biggest accomplishment in my life, being able to win the title and make history with my Father it was a big dream.

Anson Wainwright – You’ve only fought once in Puerto Rico so far in your career but what did it mean to you that you won the title in front of your own people?

Wilfredo Vazquez Jnr – I fought only once before but I’m use to fight with the fans behind me in Kissimmee, Florida where a lot of Puerto Rican’s live and I made most of my career.

Anson Wainwright – Word is that you have to make your first defence against Zsolt Bedak of Hungary. Though it’s early days for you what are your feelings about that fight and the possibility that you may end up travelling to Europe to defend your title?

Wilfredo Vazquez Jnr – Yes we made a commitment with the WBO to fight mandatory challenger Bedak, my Promoter (Tuto Zabala Jr) is working hard with my Father to bring the fight to Puerto Rico.

Anson Wainwright – As many people know your the son of Wilfredo Vazquez Snr. Can you tell us what it meant to you to follow in your fathers foot steps as he was a 3 weight world champion?

Wilfredo Vazquez Jnr – I will take it step by step, I will love to do it but we are only starting.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us what it was like growing up with famous father in Puerto Rico? Can you tell us how and when you first become drawn to Boxing?

Wilfredo Vazquez Jnr – It was nice but also some pressure, I became interested in becoming a fighter after my daughter was born and I was without a job, I saw it like an opportunity to support my family and everything has come out well.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about the team behind you, your manager, trainer & promoter as well as where you regularly train for your fights?

Wilfredo Vazquez Jnr – I train in my Father’s gym in Bayamon, My Father is my manager and trainer, Tuto Zabala Jr my promoter, Angel Rosario my assistant trainer and Roberto Quesada my cut man.

Anson Wainwright – Your father fought in 20 world title fights and many of them took place around the world. Were you with him for any of these fights and what can you tell us about those experience’s?

Wilfredo Vazquez Jnr – I only went to a couple of fights, the one I remember most was the Orlando Canizales in San Antonio (Vazquez Snr was the underdog but won a twelve round decision).

Anson Wainwright – When your not fighting what do you like to do to relax?

Wilfredo Vazquez Jnr – Spend time with my wife and daughter.

Anson Wainwright – Did you have an amateur career before you turned pro?

Wilfredo Vazquez Jnr – No amateur fights, I only fought in school and on he street.LOL

Anson Wainwright – Finally do you have a message for your fans in Puerto Rico & the rest of the world?

Wilfredo Vazquez Jnr – I want to send my best and keep supporting WV2.

Thanks for your time Champ.

Thanks to you for the opportunity.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

Germany’s Golden Boy is former amateur star Jack Culcay 2-0(1). He sprang to prominence in 2007 as an amateur when he came from know where to lose in the final of the Chemistry Cup which saw Culcay 24, win a place on the national team for the 2007 World Championships where he lost a Quarter Final match to American Demetrius Andrade. He followed that with Silver in the 2008 European Championships, however it was when he took home the Gold from last years World Championships that he really came into his own. Since then he’s signed professional forms with Klaus-Peter Kohl’s Universum, fighting twice winning both. He appears to have a bright future. Here’s what one of Europe’s rising stars had to say.

Hello Jack, welcome to 15rounds.com

Hi Anson

Anson Wainwright – You debuted last last year and have taken your record to 2-0(1) when can we expect to see you back in the ring?

Jack Culcay – My next fight will be on the 24th of April, its my first fight in Hamburg so I am really excited.

Anson Wainwright – How have you found the move from the amateur’s to the pro’s? What have you found the biggest change?

Jack Culcay – I am glad that I finally turned pro end of last year. The biggest change now is the atttention from the media which really lacks in the german amateur boxing.

Anson Wainwright – Last year you won Gold in the World Amateur Championship’s. What can you tell us about the tournament from your point of view and what it meant to you?

Jack Culcay – It was a great tournament with very competitive fights. This tournament was my greatest achievement so far, you have to keep in mind that I am the first german amateur world champion in 14 years.

Anson Wainwright – What sort of reaction did you get in Germany for winning the World Championship? Did you get sponsor deals appearance’s on TV? How popular are you in both Ecuador & Germany?

Jack Culcay – The reaction in Germany was amazing, they were saying in the papers that no other fighter in Germany ever got as much attention in the press before his first fight as I did. I also got offers from various sponsors, however I only want sponsors that perfectly fit me. Me and my manager Moritz Klatten believe that only like that you can create long term partnerships. The reaction in Ecuador was also great and believe me I havent forgotten where I was born. My dream is to fight for a world title in Ecuador and also in the USA one day.

Anson Wainwright – You also fought in the 2008 Olympics but lost in the first round. What are your thoughts on the Olympics?

Jack Culcay – When I fought Kim Jung Joo the end result was 11:11, but because his world ranking was better then mine I lost the fight. That was the hardest point in my career. However I was still happy at least to be part of the olympics.

Anson Wainwright – Who was your toughest opponent in the amateur’s? What current pro’s have you fought in your amateur career?

Jack Culcay – My toughest opponent was Andrej Zamkojov in the final of the World Championships in Milano. I fought plenty of fighters that turned pro including Demetrius Andrade, Karo Murat and Oliver Güttel

Anson Wainwright – You were born in Ecuador and have moved to Germany where you now live. Can you tell us how this came about?

Jack Culcay – My mother is German and when I was young my parents thought that I can get more opportunities in Germany. So when I was 5 we all moved to Germany.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your younger years? Ecuador isn’t known for it’s Boxing background, how did you get into Boxing?

Jack Culcay – I got into boxing through my father. He attached a heavybag to the ceiling of our living room and the rest is history. My father was my trainer in the beginning of my career and he still works my corner now in the pros.

Anson Wainwright – What do you like to do with your time when your not Boxing?

Jack Culcay – I love hanging out with my family and my girlfriend and playing with all my nephews.

Anson Wainwright – Several fighters from other countries currently fight in Germany and are world Champions but word is that TV companies in Germany are clamping down on the dates. What are your thoughts on this and how it may effect you?

Jack Culcay – They are saying that a few stations are going to clamp down but so far it didnt happen and if you look at the viewership of boxing I dont see any reason why.

Anson Wainwright – Who was your favourite fighter growing up?

Jack Culcay – I had three favorite fighters growing up. First it was Muhammed Ali, then Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jnr.

Anson Wainwright – What are your goals in Boxing?

Jack Culcay – My goal is obviously to become world champion. And when I say world champion I really mean it on a international level, I am not afraid to fight outside Germany.

Thanks for your time Jack.

Thanks Anson, all the best

Arguably the best pure boxer in the game today Ivan “Iron Boy” Calderon 33-0-1(6) will look to end his 9 month hiatus from the ring when he reappears on 29 May in Bayamon, Puerto Rico against WBO Interim champion Johnriel Casimero 14-0(8). The fight will be Calderon’s 6th defence of the WBO Light Flyweight title he won in 2007 when he bested Hugo Cazares. Altogether mighty mite Calderon 35, has taken part in 18 World title fights going 17-0-1(2) beating 9 past or present world champions a along the way. So far collected 2 world titles previously the WBO Strawweight crown & currently the WBO Light Flyweight title. Here’s what he had to say.

Hello Ivan, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly it has been mentioned that your next fight will be against your Interim champion Johnriel Casimero. What is the target date & where will it be? What do you think of him as a fighter?

Ivan Calderon – Yes, my next fight will be with Johnriel Casimero. This fight is scheduled for May 29, 2010 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. I think Casimero is a young good and strong fighter.

Anson Wainwright – How have you recovered from the cut on your forehead from your previous fight with Rodel Mayol? Did you have to have plastic surgery?

Ivan Calderon – Yes, I believe I have recovered from the cut on my forehead. No, I just had eight stitches.

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

Ivan Calderon – Team Calderon is composed of Jose Sanchez, my trainer along with Felix Pagan Pintor. My physical trainer is Angel Cotto and my cut man is Miguel Diaz. My manager and promoter is Puerto Rico Best Boxing Promotion with Peter and Ivan Rivera. I train at Wilfredo Gomez Arena Gym in Guaynabo.

Anson Wainwright – You had an impressive amateur career in which you appeared in the Olympics. Can you tell us what titles you won & what your final record was?

Ivan Calderon – As an amateur I competed in the Central American Games in 1998 winning a bronze medal. I also competed in the Pan-American Games in 1999 and was the only Puerto Rico boxer to win a medal [bronze].I went to the Olympic Games in Sydney Australia in 2000. My amateur record was 110 wins and 20 lost.

Anson Wainwright – Your thought of as one of the best pure boxers in the sport. What can you tell us about how you go into fights knowing that your going to have to box and go the full 12 as you don’t really have a big punch?

Ivan Calderon – I dedicate myself to training very hard. I train not for 12 rounds but for 15 rounds. My punch is not that big, but my ability to out box my opponent. Over passes my punch.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your early years growing up in Guaynabo and how you first became involved in Boxing?

Ivan Calderon – I moved to Guaynabo with my father at the age of fourteen. I did a lot of street fighting and one day my brother invited me to a gym. He quit and I stayed. I recognized that I was born to box. At the age of 17 I decided to get serious about my career in boxing.

Anson Wainwright – What do you like to do away from Boxing? What weight do you walk around at between fights?

Ivan Calderon – When I’m not boxing I’m dancing. I love to dance. I also spend my free time with my children. We have a four track and bikes. We do a lot of outdoor sports. When I’m not in training I weight about 118-120 pounds.

Anson Wainwright – Your nickname is Iron Boy why is that?

Ivan Calderon – I was called Tyson in the early years, but it was changed to Iron Boy by my promoter.

Anson Wainwright – You have won 2 world titles in 2 different weight classes beating 9 world champions. What goals do you still have in Boxing?

Ivan Calderon – My goal in boxing is winning in another weight class [112].

Anson Wainwright – Thirty five is thought of as old for a Light Flyweight, what are your thoughts on that? Do you look at things and have a time in your head that you’d like to retire? What would you like to do with your time then? Will you stay involved in Boxing?

Ivan Calderon – I think the age factor is not important. It is how you feel and your ability that counts. Retiring is not in my thoughts right now. When I retire, I will keep on training young boys to become good boxers and world champions.

Anson Wainwright – Who was your Boxing hero growing up?

Ivan Calderon – My boxing hero was Iron Mike Tyson and Wilfredo Gomez.

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

Ivan Calderon – To my fans I say, always follow your dreams. Believe in yourself, work hard, live clean, believe in God and your dreams will come true.

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

Thanks Ivan Calderon Marrero.

While the Light Heavyweight division is largely dominated by 40+ year old veteran’s in the shape of Bernard Hopkins, Roy Jones Jnr, Antonio Tarver & Glen Johnson there are a few younger guys who are looking to break through. One of these is Welshman Nathan Cleverly who is a former protege of Joe Calzaghe having learnt his trade early on with his his countryman. However when the Calzaghe’s relationship with Sports Network deteriorated Cleverly had to decide what he was going to do. He chose to stay with Frank Warren who promptly rewarded his young charge with a shot at the vacant Commonwealth title which Cleverly impressively won. Fast forward 16 months and it’s been onwards and upwards as Cleverly has dominated all in his way winning the British Title last summer and most recently claiming the European crown. Cleverly took time out of a hectic schedule. As well as being a Boxer he’s in Cardiff University where he’s studying for a Maths degree. Next up he hope’s to become Wales 10th World Champion.

Hello Nathan, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly Nathan, you won the European Light Heavyweight title last time out. What can you tell us about the fight? How did you rate your performance?

Nathan Cleverly – Yeah it was a great fight, a great occasion for me being the main event on such an occasion. It was such a big night of Boxing. A lot was on my shoulders, a lot of pressure, a lot of expectation. I think i showed a mature performance and pulled off a very good victory, in very good fashion. It was a very good display.

Anson Wainwright – It’s been a whirlwind 12 months since you won Commonwealth title and then added the British title last summer and now the European crown. What can you tell us about what has happened?

Nathan Cleverly – It’s happened so quickly in the space of 16 months i’ve had 7 Championship fights within those 7 fights i’ve picked up the Commonwealth title. I beat Tony Oakey, he was one of the toughest guys out there at the time. That was my first championship fight at Light Heavyweight, my first 12 rounder, i was 21 years of age. That was a massive break through onto the championship scene. I followed that with a series of KO victories. Followed by the British title fight, that was on ITV4 a lot of the Boxing public were able to see it with it being on terrestrial tv.

Anson Wainwright – Some people liked McIntosh going into your fight, seeing it as a 50-50 fight.

Nathan Cleverly – Yeah i think it was the manner in which i beat McIntosh. It was a standout fight which i dominated, another great performance. That was for the British title. Then obviously a nice defence against Courtney Fry who was a star amateur (Fry fought at 2000 Olympics) that was a nice defence for the Lonsdale belt that set me up nicely for the European title which i won in good fashion. So yeah it’s been a tremendous 16 months. Which has happened so quickly, it’s great it’s become reality. I’ve put my dreams into reality.

Anson Wainwright – Any idea when you’ll be back in action?

Nathan Cleverly – I think it’ll be around June time now. I’ve had a bit of a break since the last fight because it’s been such a busy year. I’ve Freshened up and I’ll comeback even stronger. So yeah, i think June time.

Anson Wainwright – Your currently a Maths Student as well as a Boxer. How do you divide your time between the two?

Nathan Cleverly – It’s challenging but at the same time very enjoyable. It’s nice that the Maths studies draws me away from Boxing sometimes which can be a good thing. It can be to much and get on top of you. Maths pulls me away an vice versa with the stress of the studies. Yeah it’s challenging around exam time and fight time. But the rewards are there when i pass my exams and have success in my title fights. All the hard work is worth it for that one moment.

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

Nathan Cleverly – Frank Warren who i’ve signed a contract with is my promoter & manager. Obviously my dad Vince and Alan Davies are my co-trainers. At the moment it’s working out to be a great team. The results are there to show.

Anson Wainwright – Your record of 19-0(9) doesn’t suggest you are a big puncher however you have stopped your last 6 opponents all inside 8 rounds. What do you attribute this too? How much do you think your power has come on over the last year?

Nathan Cleverly – Yeah it’s to do with a number of things. I couldn’t put my finger on one thing. Growing into a true Light Heavyweight with natural development, age, moving from a young man to a seasoned pro. Your going to get stronger with that. And a few changes in training with my Dad and Alan have obviously worked. I’ve probably turned into a world class puncher as well as a technical and fast boxer.

Anson Wainwright – Earlier in your career you were with The Calzaghe’s. Though you are no longer with them do you still speak or have any sort of relationship with Joe or Enzo or any of the other fighters from that camp?

Nathan Cleverly – Yeah, obviously i lost a bit of contact with them at the start when we went our separate ways. But Joe has always dropped me a text before every fight wishing me all the best. Obviously we don’t live far from each other. I see him out in the local town over a couple of nights. We get on great. They know i made the right decision and it’s no point Boxing ruining our friendship. We’re still friends. It’s a pity we had to break away. I had to do what was best for my career.

Anson Wainwright – Your from Cefn Forest in Wales, can you tell us about your younger days and how you first got into Boxing?

Nathan Cleverly – I was brought up in a place called Phillipstown in New Tredegar which is a notorious rough area. There aren’t many facilities around, so i found myself involved in street fights. I was very competitive. I wanted to channel my aggression & excess energy into a controlled environment which was the boxing gym. I found i had a talent for fighting. Since my first amateur fight i’ve never looked back. I knew my career was in Boxing.

Anson Wainwright – What do you like to do with your spare time when your not Boxing or studying?

Nathan Cleverly – I just try to relax and take my mind away from Boxing. Sometimes it’s nice to get away from my books and stress of study. I just try to get away from them when i can. I have a few games of Football with my mates locally. A few nights out, it’s good to have a healthy social life. I go away on a few weekends around the country. Anything really that gets me away from Boxing and studying.

Anson Wainwright – Who is your Boxing hero?

Nathan Cleverly – I’d say Joe Calzaghe & Oscar De La Hoya. Joe was an inspiration to me when i first started Boxing. De La Hoya was a brilliant fighter. He has a brilliant attitude he takes on everyone. He’s a great speaker, looks good. He’s a good role model.

Anson Wainwright – What are your goals in Boxing?

Nathan Cleverly – To be undisputed Light Heavyweight champion. I think that’s would be great would be great. That’s where i see myself really. Maybe in a couple of years holding all the titles at Light Heavyweight. Beating all the top names out there. That’s the ultimate.

Anson Wainwright – Finally do you have a message for your fans in Britain and for people who may see this in America?

Nathan Cleverly – Just sit up and take note of my career. Everytime i step into the ring i excite, put a good show for the supporters & fans. I put my heart on the line. I look to entertain and put on a show. I hope the fans enjoy the journey to collect a world title.

Thanks for your time Nathan & good luck with your studies and Boxing.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

Word out of Chris John’s camp is that the 30 year old WBA Featherweight champion will return to the ring on 22 May in his native Bali, Indonesia against an as yet named opponent. who will be selected from the WBA top 15. John 43-0-2(22) will be making his 13th defence of which 6 have taken place on home soil, though this will be his first since January 2008. It will also be John’s first fight since he came down with Dengue fever after his last fight.

Much is made of Boxers fight at the Olympics and using them as a spring board to monetary gain once they opt to make there way in to the proffessional sport. Here’s a look at the guys who have won gold at a said Olympics and then gone on to enjoy further success in the way of World titles. Boxing first took place in the Olympics in the 1904 games and has remained ever since with only breaks for World War 1 & 2. In total 35 fighters have gone on to win a World title in the pro’s after winning Gold at the Olympics

Super Heavyweight – Over 201 – Lennox Lewis 1988 Olympic Champion (BRI) 3 time Heavyweight Champion. Wladimir Klitschko 1996 Olympic Champion (UKR) 2 time Heavyweight Champion.

Heavyweight – 201 – Joe Frazier 1964 Olympic Champion (USA) World Heavyweight Champion 1970-1973. George Foreman 1968 Olympic Champion (USA) World Heavyweight Champion 1973-1974 & 1994-1995. Ray Mercer 1988 Olympic Champion (USA) Heavyweight Champion 1991.

Light Heavyweight – 178 – Muhammad Ali 1960 Olympic Champion (USA) World Heavyweight, Mate Parlov 1972 Olympic Champion (YUG) World Light Heavyweight 1978. Leon Spinks 1976 Olympic Champion (USA) World Heavyweight Champion 1978. Slobodan Kacar 1980 Olympic Champion (YUG) World Light Heavyweight Champion 1985-1986. Vassiliy Jirov 1996 Olympic Champion (KAZ) Cruiserweight Champion 1999-2003. Andre Ward 2004 Olympic Champion (USA) Super Middleweight 2009-.

Middleweight – 165 – Floyd Paterson 1952 Olympic Champion (USA) Heavyweight Champion 1956-1959 & 1960-1962. Michael Spinks 1976 Olympic Champion (USA) 2 weight World Champion. Henry Maske 1988 Olympic Champion (USA) Light Heavyweight 1993-1996.

Light Middleweight – 156 – Frank Tate 1984 Olympic Champion (USA) Middleweight 1987-1988. David Reid 1996 Olympic Champion (USA) Light Middleweight 1999-2000.

Welterweight – 152 – Nino Benvenuti 1960 Olympic Champion (ITA) World Light Middleweight Champion 1965-1966 & Middleweight Champion 1967 & 1968-1970. Mark Breland 1984 Olympic Champion (USA) 2 time Welterweight champion 1987 & 1989-1990.

Light Welterweight – 141 – Sugar Ray Leonard 1976 Olympic Champion (USA) 5 weight World champion. Patrizio Oliva 1980 Olympic Champion (ITA) Light Welterweight Champion 1986-1987.

Lightweight – 132 – Pernell Whitaker 1984 Olympic Champion (USA) 4 weight World Champion. Oscar De La Hoya 1992 Olympic Champion (USA) 6 weight World Champion

Featherweight – 126 – Jackie Fields 1924 Olympic champion (USA), Meldrick Taylor 1984 Olympic Champion (USA) Light Welterweight 1988-1990 & Welterweight 1991-1992. Giovanni Parisi 1988 Olympic Champion (ITA) 2 weight World Champion.

Bantamweight – 119 – Maurizio Stecca 1984 Olympic Champion (USA) 2 time WBO Featherweight Champion. Kennedy McKinney 1988 Olympic Champion (USA) 2 time Super Bantamweight. Joel Casamayor 1992 Olympic Champion (USA) 2 weight World Champion. Istvan Kovacs 1996 Olympic Champion (HUN) Featherweight 2001.

Flyweight – 112 – Frankie Genaro 1920 Olympic champion (USA), Fidel La Barba Olympic champion 1924 (USA), Pascual Perez 1948 Olympic Champion (ITA) World Flyweight Champion1954-1960. Leo Randolph 1976 Olympic Champion (USA) World Bantamweight 1980. Yuriorkis Gamboa 2004 Olympic Champion (CUB) Featherweight 2009-

Light Flyweight – 106 – Brahim Asloum 2000 Olympic Champion (FRA) Light Flyweight Champion 2007-2008.

Here we look at the number of different weight classes and the number of fighters who won gold that turned pro.

Olympic Gold medallist to pro
Year & number of weight classes

1904 – 1/7
1908 – 1/5
1920 – 5/8 Frankie Genaro
1924 – 5/8 Jackie Fields, Fidel La Barba
1928 – 6/8
1932 – 6/8
1936 – 4/8
1948 – 6/8 Pascual Perez
1952 – 7/10 Floyd Paterson
1956 – 4/10
1960 – 5/10 Muhammad Ali, Nino Benvenuti
1964 – 3/10 Joe Frazier
1968 – 5/11 George Foreman
1972 – 2/11 Mate Parlov, Ray Leonard
1976 – 5/11 Leon Spinks, Michael Spinks, Leo Randolph
1980 – 3/11 Slobodan Kacar, Patrizio Oliva
1984 – 10/12 Frank Tate, Pernell Whitaker, Meldrick Taylor, Maurizio Stecca
1988 – 9/12 Lennox Lewis, Ray Mercer, Henry Maske, Mark Breland, Giovanni Parisi, Kennedy McKinney
1992 – 4/12 Oscar De La Hoya, Joel Casamayor
1996 – 5/12 Wladimir Klitschko, Vasiliy Jirov, David Reid, Isvan Kovacs
2000 – 4/12 Brahim Asloum
2004 – 6/11 Andre Ward, Yuriorkis Gamboa
2008 – 3/11

– 109/228

106 fighters who won Gold turned pro out of 228 fighters who have won Gold. Lazslo Papp won Gold in three consecutive Olympics & Guillermo Rigondeaux won Gold in two consecutive Olympics meaning 48% of fighters who won gold turned pro of that 33% of those fighters went onto to successfully win world titles.

One of the most underrated boxers in world Boxing Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez 44-2-2(24) is just six weeks from the biggest fight of his career when he challenge’s Kelly Pavlik for his WBC/WBO Middleweight titles. Originally from one of the tough suburbs of Buenos Aires in Argentina Martinez has carefully honed his skills since making his debut in late 1996. He quickly raced to 16-0-1(6) with all his fights taking place in his homeland. Then he got the call to take on another young gun a certain Antonio Margarito it was on the undercard of Marco Antonio Barrera-V-Erik Morales 1. Despite his lack of pro experience it was a great chance for Martinez. It proved to be to soon for him and he was dually stopped in the seventh. Not one to be perturbed he was back in the ring 2 months later and remained active and winning the Argentinean Welterweight title the following year. He moved to Europe in 2002 and after 3 fights in Britain he bided his time with several stay busy fights until he caught the attention of promoter Lou DiBella who brought him to America in 2007 where he won a WBC eliminator at Light Middleweight. Over the next year he stayed active though couldn’t force a fight with then champion Vernon Forrest. In October 2008 he fought Alex Bunema for the WBC 154 Interim Championship, it proved to be a coming out party when he stopped Bunema in the eighth round. In 2009 his star rose higher in two fights even though he won neither…officially. First came Kermit Cintron in the February, Cintron was down and out in the seventh. Inexplicably Frank Santore Jr. allowed the fight to continue. When Martinez appeared to of done enough to of won but again was foiled this time by two of the judges who scored the fight a draw. When the much anticipated Kelly Pavlik-Paul Williams fell out for the umpteenth time Martinez got his chance and faced Paul Williams up at Middleweight. In one of the fights of the year both guys put it all on the line and though many ringside thought “Maravilla” had done enough to take the fight he was again taken away from him by the judges. Leaving Williams to take the majority decision. After a break when Martinez went on a cruise before Christmas he got the call to fight Pavlik for the titles. It provides Martinez with his ultimate opportunity, if he can take this one it’ll go along way to undoing the two wrong’s in his mind from last year.

Hello Sergio, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – I believe you will be fighting Kelly Pavlik on 17 April In Atlantic City. That looks a tremendous fight. How do you see it? What do you see as Pavlik’s strengths and weaknesses?

Sergio Martinez – I think it will be a great fight; it can be a tremendous battle as I had with Paul Williams. Kelly Pavlik is a big puncher with a lot of power. He has an explosive right hand and I will have to take all precautions to avoid it. I see few weaknesses in Pavlik, but the few that he has I will exploit. In a few days my team and I will begin to discuss Pavlik’s past performances and set up a game plan to beat him.

Anson Wainwright – Last year your profile increased though you didn’t win either fight. First you drew with Kermit Cintron then lost a majority decision against Paul Williams. Looking back how do you see both of those fights now?

Sergio Martinez – For the Cintron fight he waited for me to attack and tried countering me all night; he needed to do more to win my world title… the ruling was an embarrassment to boxing, first to cancel my KO in the 7th round and then giving me a draw.
In the Paul Williams fight we both laid down all our cards in the ring, when you get two great competitors like that you get a classic fight. It was a close fight and we both wanted a victory that night but, I believe I was the better fighter that night. How can we forget that horrible judges score card (Mr. Benoist) giving me only one round the whole entire fight, WOW!! That’s was crazy.

Anson Wainwright – You were 35 on 21 February but seem to have become a better fighter with age. What do you put this down too?

Sergio Martinez – Personally, I believe I am in the best shape of my life. As I have gotten older I notice that my fitness has improved and my boxing has quantum leaped. I always knew to have success in this sport you need to be fully committed, disciplined, and have a relentless preparation program. I guess all my learning experiences and pitfalls has brought me to this point of my life which means that today I am entering the prime of my career.

Anson Wainwright – How do you feel fighting at Middleweight last time out? Do you intend to go back to 154 or are you a Middleweight from now on?

Sergio Martinez – I feel really good fighting at Middleweight; I need to continue training hard to maintain my muscle mass to keep my strength at middleweight. Not sure wants going to happen after April 17th my managers, my team, and I will evaluate my options I have for my future after the fight.

Anson Wainwright – I believe you live in Spain now? What made you decide to leave your homeland of Argentina to live in Spain? Do you get recognised in Madrid by people or are you relatively unknown?

Sergio Martinez – In the year 2002, I decided to migrate to Europe. Due to the bad economy in Argentina I went to Spain for work and boxing and decided to stay. I am not very popular in Spain because boxing is not as popular as other sports like soccer. I currently live in Oxnard, California which I love but it’s very different and low key.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about the team that you have around you. Who is your manager, trainer & promoter? Also what gym do you use to get ready for a fight?

Sergio Martinez – My team is Lou Dibella (promoter), Sampson Lewkowicz (matchmaker), Ricardo Atocha (manager), Juan Leon Diaz (coach), Cicilio Flores (2nd), and Daniel Sanchez (2nd). I do all my preparations and conditioning at World Crown Sports Training Centre located in Oxnard, CA.

Anson Wainwright – Your from Buenos Aires originally, can you tell us about how life was in your early years and how it took you towards a career in Boxing?

Sergio Martinez – I grew up in a very humble home in a low poverty neighbourhood. At age 14 I started working because the economic situation at home was like any poor family. At age 20 I started to box, my first day at a boxing gym was the May 2, 1995 I tried it once and I was hooked, I have not stopped ever since.

Anson Wainwright – When you’re not boxing what do you like to do with your spare time?

Sergio Martinez – If I am not in California training or relaxing I am in Spain hanging out with friends and family. One of my greatest pleasures in my life is to travel the world and get to visit different countries and meet new people. I try to visit my family in my country Argentina as much as possible. I am constantly moving and staying active. I never stop training; I like to stay in shape all year round.

Anson Wainwright – Looking back at the Antonio Margarito fight in 2000 do you think he was loading his gloves back then or was it just a bad night at the office?

Sergio Martinez – The night of February 19, 2000 when I fought Margarito, I did not think he had his gloves loaded. He was the better fighter that night and he was better prepared than I was. I have no regrets and it was early in my career; I have become a better fighter because of it.

Anson Wainwright – When you retire from Boxing do you intend to still be involved with the sport in some capacity or do you have other business venture’s? If so what?

Sergio Martinez – I am 100% focused in my boxing career; I am taking it one step at a time right now.

Anson Wainwright – Who was your Boxing hero?

Sergio Martinez – Muhammad Ali and Carlos Monzon.

Anson Wainwright – Do you have a message for Pavlik & your fans ahead of the fight?

Sergio Martinez – First, I would like to thank Kelly Pavlik for giving me the opportunity to fight for his titles. It is an honour to confront a great champion that he is. He is considered by many to be the best in the world and it only makes sense for me to fight the best.
I also want to thank my fans for their loyalty, their support and I promise another great performance the night of April 17th in Atlantic City NJ. I want to send a big hello to my family and friends back home in Argentina. This is my best training camp ever, I feel great, and I can’t wait till fight night.

Thanks for your time Maravilla

Thank you very much, Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez

Anson Wainwright

15rounds.com

One of Boxing most outspoken characters James “Lights Out” Toney 72-6-3(44) took time out from training to speak with us earlier this week. Originally from the tough streets of Grand Rapids, MI, Toney was brought up the hard way first entering the ring as a pro in 1988 now a full 22 years later he’s still plying his trade in the squared circle as he approaches his 42 birthday this August. In that time he won the IBF Middleweight which he defended six times before vacating to move up to Super Middleweight where he won the IBF title and made three defence’s before losing the crown to Roy Jones Jnr in 1994. Though he remained active sometimes fighting at Heavyweight nobody believed Toney would ever win another world title however he got his chance against IBF Cruiserweight champion Vasilliy Jirov 9 years after the Jones fight. Toney rolled back the years and posted one of his best wins ever when he outboxed his younger foe even punctuating the victory with a twelfth round knock down. That win reinvourated him and he made a run up at Heavyweight beating living legend Evander Holyfield and then John Ruiz for the WBA Heavyweight title only to be stripped of it later for taking a banned substance. He ran Hasim Rahman close when they drew in 2006 before losing twice to Samuel Peter. Since then Toney has won 3 with one no contest and hopes to get back in the mix…if he can get a chance that is. Here’s what the straight talking 3 weight world champion had to say.

Hello James, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly you last fought in September when you beat Matthew Greer in two rounds. Were you happy with how it went?

James Toney – Oh very happy. I you know I wanted a better opponent, you know what i’m saying. Klitschko’s, Valuev, David Haye, someone of there calibre. But i did what your supposed to do, i beat who was in front of me.

Anson Wainwright – Do you have anything in the works that you can tell us about?

James Toney – We’re trying our best to get everyone in the ring. The Klitschko Brothers, excuse me Klitschko sisters, they keep running from me. David Haye he keeps running from me. I’ll fight anybody place or anytime that’s my moto you know that.

Anson Wainwright – It has been rumoured that you may face Antonio Tarver, what can you tell us what the current situation is with that fight?

James Toney – That was going to happen but Tarver ‘s a chicken like everyone else you know what i’m saying, no balls. Like European fighters haven’t got balls, come fight me they say i’m old well put me out of my misery, don’t go being scared. There all hiding behind there momma’s skirt, there scared to death, there chicken sh1ts! They don’t wanna come fight in the States and if they do they fight soft opponents.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your team. Who is your manager, your trainer & promoter & also where do you regularly train for fights?

James Toney – I’m self managed, my advisor is John Arthur and my wife. I train at 360 that’s my main gym. But i’m going to work with Freddie Roach in the near future.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about how things were for you growing up in Grand Rapids, Ma and how they took you into Boxing?

James Toney – As you know they call Grand Rapids fighters row because all on one street we had the Mayweather family, The Tony Tucker family, Buster Mathis we all live on one street. That’s how i grew up but i left there early.

Anson Wainwright – It’s funny how both you and Floyd Mayweather Jnr come from the same place did your paths ever cross back in those days?

James Toney – We talk, his family we’re cool. Floyd’s doing his thing, i’m doing mine.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us what still motivates you to fight at 41? What are you still hoping to achieve in what is already a Hall of fame career?

James Toney – My motivation is to unify the World Heavyweight Championship. I got one, i been Heavyweight Champion. They didn’t recognise me. The title didn’t make me i made the belt. I want every title there is David Haye, Klitschko sisters they got no balls. If they have balls come see me.

Anson Wainwright – Is there ever a fighter that you would really like to fight that you’ve never be able to so far? Maybe Bernard Hopkins who you were linked with in 2003. How come that never came off?

James Toney – I’m an old school fighter, he’s an old fool! If you look at Bernard Hopkins old school fighters do not run in there with there head and hit and hold. That’s what he does, he’s a coward. Bernard Hopkins is a straight up coward. Antonio Tarver coward, The Klitschko sisters coward, all of them. I pride myself on fighting the best opposition out there.

Anson Wainwright – Your an old school fighter who uses very subtle moves defensively like the shoulder roll and the way you tuck up. Can you tell us a little about how you learnt all those things that have preserved you so well over these years?

James Toney – The shoulder roll came from the 50’s & 60’s the great Jersey Joe Walcott. Well basically i learned it from my first trainer Bill Miller. He trained me as a child. We practiced old school moves all the time until one day it just came off. I can fight in the middle of the ring, i can fight going forward, i can fight going backwards. That’s where i got my skills from watching them guys. Archie Moore, Ray Robinson. All the greats, that was a great era for Boxing. I love my Boxing.

Anson Wainwright – In which fight do you think it all came together and was your best in your career to date?

James Toney – It aint happened yet, it’s coming. In the passed Evander Holyfield because everyone saying i couldn’t beat a real Heavyweight. I beat him real good.

Anson Wainwright – You have fought 14 World Champions in 5 weight classes. Who do you consider the best fighter you ever fought?

James Toney – Mike McCullum.

Anson Wainwright – You’ve been a pro for over 20 years and had 83 fights, what was your proudest moment in Boxing so far and why?

James Toney – Winning my first world title. I was a 20-1 underdog. I shocked the world.

Anson Wainwright – You must of trained with many good young fighters is there one who stands out that you could mention who you think has a big future?

James Toney – I aint noticed any great fighters. There babied to much. I don’t see anyone of my calibre. Manny Pacquiao yeah, i love watching him he trains with Freddie.

Anson Wainwright – What do you like to do when your not Boxing James?

James Toney – Oh play with my kids. My family is everything to me. I love my family, i cherish it.

Anson Wainwright – Do you have a message for your fans?

James Toney – I love you guys. I appreciate you guys. Keep watching my fights. For all the haters keep hating on me and spread hate.

Thanks for your time James, it’s much appreciated.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

When you think of the Wild Card in Los Angeles you think of Manny Pacquiao first and formost, however there are fighters behind the scene’s who though only fledgling pro’s would appear to have obvious talent. One of those guys is Dean “The Irish Lightening” Byrne 11-0(4). Bryne 25, hails from Crumlin in The Republic of Ireland first debuted in early 2006 in Australia having had his first six fights there he moved to California and hooked up with Freddie Roach and has had 5 fights so far in America. Here’s what one of The Wild Card’s top up and coming prospects had to say on various things.

Hello Dean, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly congratulation’s you have very recently just become a proud father. How are things going?

Dean Byrne – Yeah its so great being a dad I have been blessed, he’s so good eats and sleeps. He was 2 hours old and posing for a picture with his fists like a fighter I guess he takes after his dad! Haha

Anson Wainwright – Your currently back in London because of the birth of the baby. When do you intend to head back to Los Angeles and then fight next?

Dean Byrne – I’m heading back to the States next week Wednesday my flight is. I can’t wait to get straight in to some hard work possibly fight in April I don’t no exacted date.

Anson Wainwright – You had your first 6 fights in Australia but then moved to Los Angeles and fight and live there now. How did a guy from Ireland end up fighting so far from home?

Dean Byrne – I travelled a lot as I was fighting for Ireland as an amateur we boxed in Australia and I met Johnny Lewes out there he saw me fight and asked me if i’d like to go pro and stay in Oz. It was a lovely place so I started my journey with a legend who trained Jeff Fenech Kostya Tzsyu and then wanted to work with me which was a good boost at the time and within 5 fights I became Australian champion so I proved him right I guess.

Anson Wainwright – Do you have any aspiration’s to one day fight in Britain?

Dean Byrne – Fight in Britain sure why not my boy was born here so I would probly like to fight here some day the 02 headlining a World title defence give the English fans an Irishman to talk a bout not just any Irishman Irish lightning.aka right now my dream is in America to be world champion and prove Freddie Roach right.

Anson Wainwright – Who is your manager, trainer & promoter?

Dean Byrne – Freddie Roach he’s my trainer and manager. Also Steven Feder manages me with Freddie and they have big plans for my future. I’m in talks now with big promoter in the States so I haven’t signed just yet in negotiations.

Anson Wainwright – Training at the Wild Card is obviously very exciting and beneficial to you because of the impressive clientele. What are you feeling about the guy and what it does for you as a person and fighter?

Dean Byrne – As a fighter in Wild Card it feels like nothing else, so many champions and so much respect it really makes you feel good to be part of that and you learn from the best what it feels like to train like the best and be humble and enjoy it.

Anson Wainwright – Your a Light Welterweight so you right in the thick of things as far as being the same size as Manny, Amir & Jose Benevidez. Do you train and spar with them? Can you tell us about these experience’s?

Dean Byrne – I’ve sparred with Pac-Man for 2 World title fights. Amir Khan for 2 of his big fights. It’s great to be part of a team that at such a world class level. I haven’t sparred Jose Benevidez yet I will do when i’m back there. It’s great to train and spare with pound for the pound best on the planet when I know I can hold me own and learn from them. It wont be long be for Irish Lightning is World champion and i’ll be a name people will know.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your amateur career. What titles you won and what was your final record?

Dean Byrne – My amateur career was not to bad over 100 fights have won 80% of them. I’ve had Silver and Bronze medals in multi-nation competitions representing my country at Senior level Irish champion Leinster Senior Champion.

Anson Wainwright – What are your goals in Boxing?

Dean Byrne – My goals are to be world champion and move up weights like Pac-Man and win as many as I can and be a name people will always remember.

Anson Wainwright – Who was your favourite fighter growing up?

Dean Byrne – My favourite fighters were Roberto Duran, Ray Leonard, Ali. Today my favourite is many Pacquiao.

Anson Wainwright – So far what is your best memory as a boxer?

Dean Byrne – Best memory is beating the Australian champion and winnng my first belt. Being Champion is a great memory.

Anson Wainwright – Finally when your not Boxing what do you like to do?

Dean Byrne – What I like to do when not boxing, play poker like the game only when i’m not in training for a fight of course.

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

Thank you for your time and wanting to no bout Irish lightning talk soon take care an god bless.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

When Edison “Pantera” Miranda 33-4(29) steps into the ring next month and will try to win a world title at the second attempt when he faces Lucian Bute for Bute’s IBF Super Middleweight title. The fight will take place on home territory for Bute in Montreal. Miranda hopes capitalise on this fantastic opportunity which goes out on HBO. Miranda is used to fighting with his back to the wall in both life and the ring, the bigger the challenge the more he likes it. He’s an all action knock out artist who can back up his words more often than not. Miranda 29, is a highly entertaining fighter who fans and media a like enjoy watching. Previously he’s come up short in some of his biggest fights losing twice to Arthur Abraham PTS12 where he broke Abraham’s jaw and then LKO4. He also lost to Kelly Pavlik KO7 & Andre Ward PTS12. This fight gives Miranda the chance to prove he’s not a nearly man anymore. You can bet on one thing there will be fireworks in Montreal on 17 April.

Hello Edison, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly congratulation’s on getting the opportunity to fight Lucian Bute for the IBF 168 title. What do you think of that fight?

Edison Miranda – I am very excited for this opportunity. Bute is a great fighter and has a big heart. I will need to be at my best to defeat him.

Anson Wainwright – What do you think Bute does well and what do you think you can capitalize on?

Edison Miranda – He likes to fight and so do I. It will be a very good fight for the fans. He makes mistakes and we are working on taking advantage of these.

Anson Wainwright – You were scheduled to fight Robert Stieglitz for his WBO title in January but became ill. What can you tell us about this?

Edison Miranda – I was very upset having to cancel that fight. I was so much looking forward for the chance to fight in Germany again and in front of all the European fans. We had been training very hard and I had gotten sick. We tried to work through it slowly, but it just kept getting worse. I finally got to the point where I couldn’t even get out of bed. I wanted to train and stay in shape but it was not possible.

Anson Wainwright – Since we last spoke i believe you have changed trainers and now train with Joe Goossen in L.A. How did the change come about? What difference has this made to you?

Edison Miranda – I have always had great respect for Joe Goossen. I got to meet him and talk with him when I was in Oakland to fight Andre Ward. After that fight I felt in my heart it was time to make a change. Jose Bonilla is a fantastic trainer and he is like a father to me. I still talk to him almost every day. My managers and I both liked Joe Goossen for me and we set up a time to meet and it felt great. I knew very quickly that Joe would be a trainer that could get me to the next level. I feel like a new boxer already. People will see what Joe Goossen has done for me on April 17th.

Anson Wainwright – What do you think of the Super Six tournament that they are showing on Showtime? Who has impressed you and who do you think will win it?

Edison Miranda – I have said from the beginning that Andre Ward will beat Abraham in the finals.

Anson Wainwright – You have inside information having fought three of the six fighters in the Super Six. Who do you think will win the upcoming fights between Abraham-Dirrell, Ward-Green & Froch-Kessler?

Edison Miranda – Abraham will KO Dirrell. Ward will beat Green, but it will not be as easy as most people think. Don’t sleep on Allen Green. He is a very strong fighter. Froch will beat Kessler.

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

Edison Miranda – Andre Ward is the best fighter. I was in great shape for that fight. I would have beaten almost anyone else. He surprised me with his incredible athleticism. Andre will go on and be a great fighter for many years. After I beat Bute, maybe we can have a rematch when the tournament is over! With Joe Goossen helping me, I think we can expose his weakness.

Anson Wainwright – You are known as a big puncher having KO’d 29 of your 37 opponents leading to a 78% KO rate but which knock out do you consider your best and why?

Edison Miranda – Although my knockout of David Banks is considered to be one of the highlight KOs of all time, I still consider my stoppage of Howard Eastman to be my most memorable stoppage. That was the day people learned the name Edison Miranda and my power was no longer questioned. After April I may have a different answer for this question (laughing).

Anson Wainwright – You fought in Britain last March, can you tell us about that experience?

Edison Miranda – The people in London are very friendly and supportive. It was a small fight in York Hall. A place with much history in boxing. My hopes were to maybe return there someday and face Carl Froch. He and I would put on a great fight for the fans in Britain.

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

Edison Miranda – I want to thank my fans for sticking with me. It has been a rough ride these past few years and I know that I have let them down. My concentration since my loss to Andre Ward has been on boxing and I stay very focused. My switch to Joe Goossen has been better then I could have ever dreamed. If anyone is going to be in my corner to help me become a champion, Joe is the right man for the job. I am sure that Bute is training very hard and not looking past me. I promise to give him the fight of his life and a war for the fans to enjoy.

Thanks for your time Pantera, good luck on 17 April.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

Scotland’s Craig McEwan has made his home in Los Angeles, Ca since turning pro 3 and a half years ago where he has run his record to an impressive 17-0(9). The 27 year old originally hails from a tough part of Edinburgh. He had an impressive amateur career that got the attention of Freddie Roach who brought him to Los Angeles where he still trains at the Wild Card. McEwan trains with a galaxy of Boxing superstars lead by Manny Pacquiao, the supporting cast isn’t to shabby either with Amir Khan & Guillermo Rigondeaux plus an assortment of other fighters at various points of there career’s. McEwan doesn’t currently have a fight lined up but he’s ready and raring to get back into action.

Hello Craig, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly can you tell us what your up to at the moment? Do you have any fights lined up? If so can you give us the details?

Craig McEwan – Right now there’s nothing concrete. Hoping to fight soon. I’m training hard and I’m ready to go. I’m currently sparring with Edison Miranda. Great sparring so I should be well prepared for any thing that comes my way!

Anson Wainwright – It’s been the better part of three and a half years since you decided to go pro, how do you assess your development?

Craig McEwan – I’ve learned so much since I’ve been over here in Hollywood. Being in the WildCard, training with world-renowned fighters, getting great sparring really keeps you motivated. I’ve been lucky enough to have the opportunity to spar with so many great fighters, from world champions like Bernard Hopkins, Winky Wright, Tony Margarito, Kingsley Ikeke, Edison Miranda, as well as great prospects like Shawn Porter, Vanes Martirosyan, Peter Manfredo, Enrique Ornelas, Librado Andrade. If I take something from all of these guys and use it in my own game then hopefully it’ll help me get to where I want to be. All of these opportunities have helped me develop as a fighter. I’ve still got a lot to learn but I hope I’m improving with every fight.

Anson Wainwright – Your from Scotland but decided to base yourself in Los Angleles. Can you tell us how this came about? Would you ever like to go back to Britain and fight?

Craig McEwan – Well, as an amateur in 2005, I came over to spar in the Wild Card ahead of the Commonwealth Games. Freddie and I have a mutual friend, Terry McCormack (another boxing coach). Terry had been over to the WildCard gym a few times and would come back and tell me all about it. He recommended I come here. I loved it. I have been training since I was 7 years old and training at home was getting a bit repetitive. The WildCard was so different and the sparring was brilliant. After the month-long training camp Freddie wanted me to stay and turn professional in the States but I had made a promise to compete for Scotland in the Games, which I did. I came over here in August 2007 and Freddie signed me immediately. He is now my co-manager and trainer.
I would really like to fight in Britain, especially Scotland, but I’m not sure that’s going to happen any time soon. You never know, with Amir signing with Golden Boy they may start promoting shows in Britain and I’ll get my chance then. At this moment in time I’d be happy to fight anywhere!!

Anson Wainwright – You obviously get to see many top fighters like Manny Pacquiao, Amir Khan, Guillermo Rigondeaux etc work out. What have you learnt from being around some of these guys in the gym?

Craig McEwan – With Manny, it’s the way he trains, he’s a different species!! He doesn’t know the word tired! It encourages me to train harder. I was also lucky enough to be in the gym when Floyd Mayweather was there. He is another one that trains really hard. He trained non-stop for 2 hours without pausing for even a minute. Unbelievable!! It show how hard you need to work to be a champion. Amir has a similar attitude too. I’ve seen him mature so much since he’s been here. A nice guy, doesn’t deserve any of the bad press he gets. Even guys like Kingsley Ikeke who is in the gym every day without fail even when there is no sign of a fight on the horizon…that’s dedication for you!
Anson Wainwright – You train at the Wild Card gym that is obviously a tremendous experience for you with the host of stars that have come through those doors. Can you tell us about some of those?

Craig McEwan – I’ve mentioned a few already. There’s a lot of boxing stars who train there but also a lot of celebrities about. I was a bit star struck at the start but you soon get used to seeing guys such as Mickey Rourke, Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale hanging around. Obviously the biggest boxing superstar is the Pacman but you would barely know it because he’s one of the most down to earth guys you will ever meet. He’s forever trying to imitate my accent!! Floyd was actually a really nice guy too. He’s not as he comes across in the media.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about Team McEwan, who is your manager, trainer and promoter and also anyone else who may help you out?

Craig McEwan – Well, I am trained and co-managed by Freddie Roach. My other co-manager is Billy Keane, who also manages veteran Pilipino fighter Gerry Penelosa, and UFC fighter Andrei Arlovski. I work a lot with Freddie’s assistant Jesse Arevalo on a day to day basis. He makes sure I’m working hard! I’m promoted by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. You know, if Freddie Roach and Oscar De La Hoya keep telling you, you can be a World Champion then you start to believe it.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about how it was for you growing up in Scotland and the path that took you into Boxing?

Craig McEwan – It was my dad who got me into boxing. He started boxing at 32 and would fight anyone! He tried to get my two older brothers into boxing. They got fed up, he stuck at it. He had 100 fights as an amateur and boxed for Scotland. He now has his own amateur gym in Edinburgh and has produced a number of champions. When I started boxing at 7, my dad’s hero was Sugar Ray Leonard. He taught me how to move before I could punch! Boxing just came naturally to me and 20 years later I’m still fighting!!

Anson Wainwright – You had an impressive amateur career, can you tell us about the titles you won and what your final record was?

Craig McEwan – Well, I had about 378 amateur fights. I would fight more than twice a week sometimes!! To tell you the truth, I have no idea what my final record was but I definitely won more than I lost…I think, haha! I fought for the Scottish National team since I was 15. Travelled the world! I think I won 10 gold medals in international tournaments, one of them the European U19’s, as well as a bronze at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. My amateur experience stood me in good stead for the pro game. I have learned to adapt my amateur style into something more suited to a pro.

Anson Wainwright – What do you like to do away from Boxing?

Craig McEwan – Eat and spend time with my family…in that order, haha!! My wife, Sally, and my son, Callum are out here with me. We take advantage of the California sun as much as possible, trips to the park, zoo, beaches, anything outdoors. My wife is due our second son in June so we’re going to have our hands full! We have no other family here so we’re going to be busy – no babysitters! Mind you, I’m going to be even fitter, chasing after two boys!!

Anson Wainwright – The Middleweight division looks pretty weak at the top with only Pavlik, Sturm, Williams and Martinez however it looks as though there is a new wave of talent coming through including Korobov, Jacobs, Guerrero, Golovkin, N’Dam N’Jikam etc How do you assess the division and where do you think you sit with the new wave of guys coming through?

Craig McEwan – Yeah, it’s going to be tough at the top in the future but this is a good thing. You know, I take every fight seriously. It’s exciting just to be among those names that you mentioned. I’m just waiting for my chance then I’ll train hard and my time will come!

Anson Wainwright – What goals do you have in Boxing?

Craig McEwan – I have trained all my life to win a world title. I would love to win one and defend it in Edinburgh, at Easter Road or the castle!! I just want to be involved in great fights, know that I’ve done my best and to have a long and healthy career. I also want to keep my good looks intact, haha! That’s not too much to ask for, is it?

Anson Wainwright – Finally do you have a message for your fans back in Britain and the one you have in America?

Craig McEwan – Just thanks for all their support. There’s a lot of people who have been working hard to keep me in the Scottish and British press and that support really means a lot to me especially when all of my fights have been over here in America. Any time any one is in L.A come in and see me at the Wild Card!

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

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

This Friday marks the return of the hugely popular Prize-Fighter in Britain. This time it’s the turn of the Light Middleweight’s. It starts with 8 men who fight over 3×3 minute rounds with the winner advancing to the next round until one man is left standing. One man hoping that is him is Londoner Steve O’Meara 11-0(2). In the first round the 26 year old faces battle hardened Martin Concepcion 16-6(10). O’Meara has packed some interesting things into his 2 years as a pro he’s already fought at two of the most famous boxing venue’s in the world The York Hall in London and The Blue Horizon in Philadelphia. He’s also been to Las Vegas and trained and sparred with Floyd Mayweather Jnr. Since returning home he has begun training with Olympic Gold medallist James Degale. However Prize-fighter gives him his chance to put his own name up in lights. On Friday we’ll find out if he can write another interesting paragraph in his storied career.

Hello Steve, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly you are fighting in the upcoming Light Middleweight Prize-fighter. What do you think of this concept? Who do you see as the danger men?

Steve O’Meara – The concept is great its like the FA Cup (A famous Soccer competition in Britain) of boxing were you’ll see underdogs beating the favourites more often than usual. With the experience an KO% you would say Sinclair and Pryce but i don’t think the experience will come into play as much in this tournament.

Anson Wainwright – Early in your career you fought in America. How did this come about?

Steve O’Meara – I had links with some good people in Philly. Ron Boddie was friends with Tom Moran who managed Kassim Ouma and Tim Witherspoon. So that lead me to be trained by Tim Witherspoon, which was great. I trained at Shulers.

Anson Wainwright – What happened to make you come back to Britain?

Steve O’Meara – I went over to America 2 or 3 times. I was supposed to debut at Madison Square Garden (On 15/3/08 on a card hedlined by James Moore-V-J.C Candelo) but that feel through. I went home and made my debut before coming back to America. I was supposed to fight in Atlantic City but my opponent didn’t turn up, before i got the fight in Philly. I wasn’t fighting regularly enough an probably a bit of home sickness. After the fight at The Blue Horizon i came back Mick Hennessy got in touch and said i fight regular with him. So i stayed.

Anson Wainwright – Your second pro fight was at the world famous Blue Horizon in Philadelphia. Looking back at that experience what can you tell us about it?

Steve O’Meara – Well i knew nothing of my opponent other than what i had seen on the net (which was him KO in a guy in an amateur bout) so thought i was in for a hard nights work. I was also feeling a lot of pressure as a lot of people at home were watching live. So when i stopped him in the second i celebrated like i had won a title but really i was just so relieved i hadn’t let everyone down. Looking back now it makes me laugh at it a bit.

Anson Wainwright – Since coming back to Britain you have aligned yourself with James Degale. How did this come about and how has this helped you personally?

Steve O’Meara – Me an James boxed at the same club as amateur’s so have been friends for years so when he was looking to turn pro i told him my trainer Jim McDonnell was a great trainer who he should work with, they automatically gelled together. Obviously sparring James everyday is great for me to progress as a fighter too.

Anson Wainwright – You went to Las Vegas and trained with Floyd Mayweather Jnr. What can you tell us about this? Did you spar with him? What did you make of him having been up close and personal with him?

Steve O’Meara – Yes this is something i will remember forever, it was a great experience, we had a good spar an he gave me some positive compliments. Floyd is a machine, he trains like no one i’ve ever seen. I would love to one day go back an train an spar with him again.

Anson Wainwright – Who is your manager, trainer and promoter? Also what gym do you use for your training?

Steve O’Meara – My manager is Tony Sims, trainer is Jim McDonnell and promoter is Mick Hennessey. I train at the Loughton Academy in Essex.

Anson Wainwright – What is the best part about being a Boxer? and the worst?

Steve O’Meara – The respect between fighters, worst for me is the traveling i do to the gym i travel about 130-150 miles a day.

Anson Wainwright – So far what is your best memory you have as a Boxer?

Steve O’Meara – Sparring with Floyd Mayweather.

Anson Wainwright – What do you like to do away from Boxing in your spare time?

Steve O’Meara – I like watching football (soccer) my teams Tottenham Hotspur and i’m a movie buff. I like all sorts comedies, action anything. My favourite movies are Friday, 300, Oldboy etc.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your amateur career and what titles you won? What was your final record?

Steve O’Meara – I won the national Middleweight novices, London opens at Welterweight, 26 bouts 22 wins 4 losses

Anson Wainwright – What are your goals in Boxing?

Steve O’Meara – I don’t like to say to much about this because it can come across as arrogant so I’ll go with to be remembered as a good fighter.

Anson Wainwright – Who was your favourite fighter growing up?

Steve O’Meara – Nigel Benn and Roberto Duran

Thanks for your time Steve, good luck in the Prizefighter. Make Philly proud Haha

Thank mate

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

One of the most celebrated amateurs of all time, Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux, decided in 2009 it was time to leave his homeland of Cuba and get paid for his undoubted talents.

Having had to abort his initial attempt in August 2007, Rigondeaux finally defected in February 2009. After undergoing a rigorous training programme that helped get him back into the best fighting shape of his life, he made his much anticipated debut in May 2009. Since then, he has run his record to an impressive 5-0 (4). The latest win took place at a recent edition of “Friday Night Fights” where he was matched with Adolfo Landeros.

Landeros had clearly seen better days but was expected to bestow Rigondeaux a few rounds. The 30 year old Mexican was known for his toughness sporting a 20-12-1(13) ledger going in but, he’d never fought anyone of Rigondeaux’s immense quality and was dually bowled out in just 28 seconds. Rigondeaux threw a combination that saw his beleaguered opponent looking to cover up prior to being thrown a picture-perfect left hook to the body which saw Landeros writhing around in agony for several minutes.

Going in to this fight, some had questioned Rigondeaux’s ability to fight on the front foot and go for the kill. Even his trainer, Freddy Roach, was unsure about Rigondeaux having to carry the fight and not look to play the role of counterpuncher. However, if this performance was anything to go by, he is most certainly the dynamic fighter that audiences want to see time and time again. He says of this and the win over Landeros, “I didn’t even get going but I have been working on fighting more aggressively and I showed Friday night how I can be as effective when attacking as defensively”.

Last September, Roach spoke about Rigondeaux’s forthcoming fight with Giovanni Andrade, where he waxed lyrical about his charge’s defensive skills adding that the Cuban would win a world title inside of 10 fights. It is something Rigondeaux firmly believes he can achieve, “I am a novice-pro but ready to fight for a world title that should answer your question. I am preserved and seldom hit because of my defensive skills so I will be champion into my late 30s”.

Interestingly, going into his last fight he weighed just 1lb over the Bantamweight limit, while a beefier Landeros was 6lbs heavier. Rigondeaux rationalises this, “I will fight in March this year for the 118lbs title and then I will move back up to 122lbs and then 126lbs. I will be a three weight champion in the next 18 months”. This is undeniably a hectic schedule but, the experience of regularly fighting every other day during competitions for sustained periods of time, should benefit him considerably.

Rigondeaux’s impressive skills were in evidence in the Amateurs for the best part of a decade when, in addition to several other titles, he twice won both the celebrated Olympic and World titles. When asked of which title he was most proud, he stated unequivocally, “Olympic Gold because it is the most prestigious and very competitive”. However, he was far more reticent when asked about his toughest opponent, “I fought many tough guys so I would not like to single one out in case I disappoint some of the others. There are a lot of very tough amateurs on the world circuit”. During his amateur tenure, several different records have been published for him but he claims his record was 247 fights with only 3 losses.

Since joining Roach in Los Angeles at the famed Wild Card gym, Rigondeaux has become somewhat of a gym rat and affirms, “In the pro game I have to train very hard and be very disciplined. I love training hard and sparring with experienced opponents”. When asked about sparring with those experienced opponents he added “Manny and Amir are very exciting fighters. I would love to spar both of them because I will gain a lot from them and they will from me but, we are in the same team so the competitiveness will be there but it’s not the same as actual combat”.

Rigondeaux is well practiced in two of boxing’s lost arts; bodypunching and slick defensive moves that only Floyd Mayweather Jnr, Ivan Calderon are capable of today. His hero Pernell Whitaker, who briefly worked with Rigondeaux when he first arrived in America, was also slick and brought a ton of old school tricks to every fight. The Boxing I.Q that these two possessed make the mind boggle.

Since going pro, there have been a few documented problems behind the scenes in relation to ascertaining the identity of Rigondeaux’s manager. Following arbitration late last year, it was revealed that Irish businessman Gary Hyde holds this position. Rigondeaux commented, “Gary was the first manager to sign me and looked after me when I had nothing in Cuba. When I left Cuba I met with some other people who took advantage of my situation but all the problems are behind me now and I have a good team around me”.

When talking about his early years and how it moulded him mentally and physically as a fighter he says “I used to pull large tanks of water for many miles to my family home from the village so I think that’s where I get my base strength. As for the boxing in Cuba, if you don’t get on the national team life is very difficult so when I joined boxing first, I found it very natural and spent most of my days practicing”. Rigondeaux’s self-discipline ensures that he trains religiously three times a day and whilst he is left with little time for other enjoyments, when he does have chance to relax, he enjoys Rega Bo music – both listening and dancing to it!

One of the brightest young prospects in world Boxing will be back in action in just over a week for his first fight of 2010. “Marvellous” Marvin Sonsona 14-0-1(12) goes into the lions den when he faces Wilfredo Vazquez Jnr 17-0-1(14) who is the son of his namesake father. It provides Sonsona only 19 with the chance to become a two weight world champion himself with the fight being for the vacant WBO Super Bantamweight title. Over the past few months Sonsona has hit a growth spurt that has seen him skip the Bantamweight division altogether moving up 7 pounds from his days at Super Flyweight and growing 2 inches. Here’s what he had to say on several subjects.

Hello Marvin, welcome back to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – How do you feel about being called the next Manny Pacquiao? Is there added pressure?

Marvin Sonsona – I really feel honored being called the next Manny Pacquiao. Who wouldn’g be? But then, there is only one MANNY PACQUIAO.

It is however to my advantage being called that way. Now, I have all the reasons to work harder in terms of training, discipline and dedication to my career. I can aim high and dream big. I am still young and I know that there are still lots of things to learn. I am still very, very, very far from what Manny has achieved.

Anson Wainwright – Why move up in weight and fight Vasquez instead of an easier foe first?

Marvin Sonsona – My management team and I believes that it is better to move up in weight and fight a high-caliber opponent than fight an easier foe. It will not take me anywhere fighting easy opponents because I will never know my capabilities – where I stand – how far I can go – and I might get used to fighting easy opponents hence, take things easy, too. I will never make use of my God-given talent.

Fighting good and de-caliber opponents will make me a better boxer because I will always try to improve my boxing skills.

Anson Wainwright – Can you breakdown your opponent for me – strengths, weaknesses, etc.?

Marvin Sonsona – Physically, he looks stronger. But he does not have the rich amateur experience that I have. So, come fight night – I will let my fists do the talking.

Anson Wainwright – Are you concerned about fighting Vazquez in his hometown? If so what can you do?

Marvin Sonsona – I am not concerned where the fight is. As far as I know, I come to fight and I will fight. There will be a good fight come February 27th.

Anson Wainwright – You will be fighting on PPV in North America. How important is it for you to showcase your skills to US and Canadian fans?

Marvin Sonsona – It is very important for me to showcase my skills to US and Canadian fans because I know that this is where I will be known internationally. It is very important not to disappoint them again after my performance last November 21st in Rumble X, Ontario, Canada. I have learned my lessons and I promise them that they will see what they want to see on February 27th – a very good fight from me.

Anson Wainwright – For those watching you fight for the first time, what can they expect to see? What kind of a fighter are you?

Marvin Sonsona – I am a fighter – I come to fight – so they will see a good boxer in me.

Anson Wainwright – Any prediction?

Marvin Sonsona – Considering that Vasquez is a good boxer and he is from Puerto Rico where the fight is – this will be a good fight. Vasquez will surely put up a good fight for his countrymen just a I come to fight for my country too. Both of us will fight the best we could.

Thanks for your time Marvin, good luck in your quest to becoming a two weight world champion.

Anson Wainwright
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