It’s hard to know whether September’s promise is a new dawn or just a familiar set of oncoming headlights in another head-on collision with a demise predicted and heightened by August’s doom and gloom.

No matter how you look at Andre Ward-versus-Chad Dawson Saturday in Oakland, Calif., and a dueling Las Vegas’ twin bill on Sept. 15 featuring Sergio Martinez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at Thomas & Mack Center and Canelo Alvarez-Josesito Lopez at the MGM Grand, however, it is hard not to see potential for a comeback that is a boxing specialty. No business does it better.

Reliable resiliency is there in a shifting alignment that offers a way out of the never-never land of talk and only talk about Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Yeah-yeah, it could still happen. But a generation of lost fans doesn’t care anymore. The good news is that there is always a new one. In part, chances at winning over generation-next rest in what happens with fighters poised to succeed Pacquiao and Mayweather.

For now, the intriguing battle is for No. 2 spot in the pound-for-pound debate. The fading Pacquiao, second on most lists behind Mayweather, is in jeopardy of falling to third or even fourth after evidence of decline in his last two fights, controversial decisions over Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley.

“Me, I believe I’m No. 2 at this moment,’’ Martinez said Wednesday in a conference call for his showdown with Chavez Jr. in a HBO pay-per-view bout for the middleweight title.

A better argument might come from Ward, if he remains unbeaten (25-0, 13 KOs) Saturday in a HBO-televised bout against light-heavy champion Dawson (30-1 17 KOs), who agreed to come down in weight for a 168-pound fight in Ward’s hometown. Mayweather stays at No. 1 because of his perfect record (43-0, 26 KOs). Martinez can’t make that claim. Even if he beats Chavez Jr., there are still losses to Antonio Margarito and Paul Williams and two draws on his resume (49-2-2, 28 KOs).

Predictably perhaps, the more circumspect Ward isn’t as bold about his place in the pound-for-pound debate as Martinez, who has become more outspoken in an escalating exchange of trash talk with Chavez Jr.

For the most part, Ward’s attention isn’t easily diverted by anything beyond the challenge immediately in front of him. That means the dangerous Dawson. Everything else is just talk that would take him away from the task at becoming an equal of fighters he admires, including Mayweather and Sugar Ray Leonard.

“They’re masters,’’ Ward said. “I’m trying to be a master.’’

The guess is that Ward will never quit trying. The goal will be there for as long as he is fighting. It’s a motivational piece to a Ward persona that in a couple of years could put him at the top of the pound-for-pound crowd.

Even in the build-up for Dawson, he seemed to look for something that would drive him to knock out slights, imagined or real. Dawson’s camp praises him. But the skeptical Ward deflects it.

“I think they’re giving us some superficial credit because they have to,’’ he said. “…To listen to them tell it, they have every advantage in the book. I think they’ll discover that isn’t the case.’’

Ward’s insightful trainer, Virgil Hunter, had his own spin.

“Our advantage is being at a disadvantage in their eyes,’’ Hunter said.

If there’s a disadvantage during the next nine days, it is expected to be in betting odds against Chavez Jr. and Dawson. But even those are slim. Spring an upset, and one or both will suddenly leap to the front of a line in the fight for spots at the pay window long occupied by Pacquiao and Mayweather.

Bob Arum, Chavez Jr.’s promoter, said an earlier opportunity for big money against Martinez was resisted precisely for the moment that will transpire on Sept. 15.

“We could have taken a chance against Martinez a year ago,’’ Arum said. “If he wins – and we believe he will, he will become an attraction on the level of Pacquiao, Mayweather.’’

Meanwhile, a hint at Mayweather’s immediate future could unfold at the Canelo-Lopez fight at the MGM Grand. Canelo keeps talking about how he wants to fight Mayweather. His representatives at Golden Boy Promotions have advised caution. At least, Golden Boy President Oscar De La Hoya did on May 5 in the wake of Canelo’s victory over Shane Mosley. But an impressive victory over a smaller Lopez on Showtime might sweep aside concern that Canelo is getting ahead of himself.

If Mayweather decides he wants to fight the popular Mexican redhead now instead of later, there’ll be no waiting.

Another future will have arrived.

Saturday evening in Oakland, Calif.’s Oracle Arena super middleweight world champion Andre Ward will defend his title against light heavyweight world champion Chad Dawson. I will be there, I’m happy to report, and eager to make the trip. What follows is an opinion-laden exploration of why.

Ward-Dawson will be a match between the world’s two very best prizefighters between 161 and 175 pounds. That is enough for the purist in me to make the trip from South Texas. It is a rarity anymore the best fight the best, regardless of popular demand, or its absence, and when that happens, it merits a celebration oblivious of subjective or aesthetic concerns.

Oakland’s Andre Ward is a chance to see a better version of a young Bernard Hopkins. Ward does nothing spectacularly but everything quite well. He hasn’t chloroform on either fist but keeps stronger men the hell off him. His footwork is steady, not inventive. He is confident more than stylish. He is self-conscious in the best sense of the term; thousands of concentrated hours have taught him how to keep comfortable in a fight, and the man who can discomfit him has yet to be found (a boy in his 12th year, Jesus Gonzales, was the last to do it, in 1996). And Ward likes to smoke where another man lives, as Joe Frazier put it, to fight on an opponent’s chest – a singularly endearing quality.

Today’s Bernard Hopkins apologists, kids who were usually too young to know or care about Hopkins when he stopped Segundo Mercado 17 years ago and began his middleweight title reign, have little interest in Ward. He is not confrontational enough. He is a careful father rather than a reformed crook. He does not fill a three-minute answer with five minutes of self-aggrandizement. He conforms to the system rigidly, and the system takes care of him. Nothing dangerous there. He is a professional who, by his own estimation, took boxing training too seriously in his youth and now, as he matures, has learned to remand it to a less dominating place – consider for a second how different from the average prizefighter’s career trajectory that is. Ward is not particularly charismatic, and there is little to discover about him outside the ring: Loving dad, religious devotee, proud man, disciplined citizen. Yawn.

Connecticut’s Chad Dawson is less knowable still. Surely there are a few dangerous corners in New Haven, Conn., and Dawson was right to avoid them as a teenager, but there is an element to the Dawson biography, as told by HBO anyway, that feels effortful. Not Victor-Ortiz effortful, of course, but effortful just the same.

Dawson is not a bad guy. Ward is not a bad guy. Both are excellent fighters, the very best in their divisions, and that is not enough? For me it is. I did not believe Ward was at all special when the Super Six tournament began. I expected Mikkel Kessler to prove how meaningless an Olympic gold medal is these days – meaningless as the advisors of each member of our last two Olympic teams did, and will, tell us. But the very opposite was true, wasn’t it? There is a reason Andre Ward is both our country’s last gold medalist and very best prizefighter over 154 pounds.

Ward is a winner. He has a sense of exactly where he stands in relation to another man and where their performances stand in relation to one other. The day a man bests him, Ward will know it and likely concede it, publicly. Chad Dawson does not have this sense. Dawson is talented enough to beat anyone put in front of him, and beat him convincingly, but Dawson does not know how good he is. He does not trust himself or the roster of trainers hired over the years, and how could he? They tried to make him what he is not, he laments. It is hard to imagine Andre Ward mouthing those words.

I am going to the Bay Area, in part, for the same reason I went to Michigan 20 months ago for Bradley-Alexander: as a silent challenge to the black community to support its fighters. In conversations with black boxers and trainers, there is a confidence, or conceit, that relies on a belief that, at any time in the last century, one of their own was the best prizefighter in the world, recognized or not. That’s a conceit I share. But if black men, as a community, are not supporting boxing’s ecosystem, will it always be so? Timothy Bradley does not touch your souls, OK; I do not understand that but accept it. If a community turns away from Bradley, Ward and Dawson to celebrate Floyd Mayweather’s comic-book id or Adrien Broner’s hairbrush, though, that’s another thing entirely, one that raises a question of perspective.

I am also going to the Bay Area because, culturally, it is one of our country’s richest places. I spent two years there as a young, overpaid, Silicon Valley software developer during the dot-com boom and haven’t been back since 2001. There’s a nostalgia for those lovely, hopeful times.

No, this is not a full-throated or objective endorsement of Ward-Dawson, which is why I chose to write it in the first person. I do not expect a great fight. I expect each man to employ his very best technique, and for those techniques to offset each other. I expect Ward to win by using his head – make of that what you will – but think Dawson is uniquely qualified to upset him. Yet I am nearly as excited about seeing Oracle Arena, Saturday, as Thomas & Mack Center seven days after. Call it wanderlust.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

What’s known about Kazakhstan by a U.S. audience that gets most of its news from late-night comedians probably comes from the film, Borat, a so-called mock-u-mentary. If Gennady Golovkin has his way however, his homeland will be remembered for its boxing more than jokes about potassium and clean prostitutes. It won’t be easy. Perceptions are as durable as a memorable punch line. But maybe — just maybe — Golovkin has a chance. The journey from a Central Asian nation as faraway as a remote planet for geographically-challenged Americans has already been attempted. Vassiliy Jirov did it a decade before Borat landed in American theaters..

Jirov arrived in the U.S., upset Antonio Tarver at the 1996 Olympics, won a gold medal for Kazakhstan, was awarded the Val Barker trophy for being the best boxer at the Atlanta Games, learned English, got an Arizona driver’s license and lost in 2003 to James Toney in one of the best fights during the last decade. Jirov never got a rematch with Toney. He never got a shot at the money that might have been there in a bout with Roy Jones Jr. Big dollars eluded him. So, too, did many of the dollars owed him for fights he won and contracts he signed.

No, the American dream wasn’t there for Jirov, who is the first of what has become a Kazakhstan tradition for great Olympic boxers. But he served as a pathfinder, a guide perhaps for Golovkin (23-0, 20 KOs), who introduces himself to the U.S. Saturday night against Poland’s Grzegorz Proksa (28-1, 21 KOs) in Verona, N.Y., at Turning Stone Casino in a middleweight title fight televised by HBO’s Boxing After Dark.

“They’ve talked,” said trainer Abel Sanchez, who once worked Terry Norris’ corner, yet says Golovkin is the best he has ever trained. “Gennady says Vassiliy just told him to be himself. Every fighter is different. He told Gennady to use his own strengths.”

Jirov, who lives in Phoenix and works as a trainer in the city’s many gyms, said he didn’t try to advise Golovkin on what and what not to do during their first meeting about two years ago.

“My experience is not anybody else’s,” said Jirov, whose Barker Award in 1996 was followed by two more for Kazakhstan with welterweight Bakhtiyar Arkyev in 2004 and Serik Sapiyev, also a welterweight, at the London Games a couple of weeks ago. “My experience was a good one. I’m happy with what happened. I’m happy that Gennady is trying. I like anybody who tries something new. That’s what creates opportunities.

“From talking to him, I really think he has very good chance of being very good as a pro in this country. With his power and skill, his potential in this country is great. He’s smart, very smart.”

He also has at least a couple of advantages that Jirov did not.

One is the weight class.

“A key difference, I think, is that Gennady is a middleweight and Vassiliy fought mostly as a cruiserweight,” Sanchez said.

Jirov was at his best in a lost division. There’s a reason fighters like David Haye are quick to to move up and out. No matter what the passport says, nobody pays much attention to the snoozerweights. For Jirov, that meant an even more difficult task at becoming known in the American market. He was always most comfortable at 190 pounds. A move to heavyweight, a business decision, led to mixed results with a TKO loss to Michael Moorer and a strange fight in 2004 with Joe Mesi, who won a decision, yet suffered a dangerous head injury — reported bleeding on the brain. The Mesi bout cemented Jirov’s fate. He wasn’t known by many fans, yet was feared by every potential rival. On the reward scale, Jirov wasn’t worth the risk.

Golovkin, the World Boxing Association’s 160-pound champion, is employed at a much more marketable weight. He also is working in a world-wired era. Although he lacks the name recognition of the known Americans, Mexicans and at least one Filipino, he fights for the first time in the U.S. with the internet and social media as an introduction. Digital hype has preceded him. Jirov didn’t have that advantage. Of course, Golovkin has to fulfill the promise.

“Gennady understands that the American public wants knockouts,” Sanchez says. “Whichever round it is, they want to see a knockout.”

Intriguing knockout power is evident both in anecdotes from Golovkin’s training camp and his record. Twenty knockouts in 23 victories add up to a hint of power that is hard to resist for even a casual fan. Golovkin is worth a look. But Jirov had plenty of marketable power himself. A missing element in Jirov’s marketing plan was an interim step. Golovkin has taken it. Instead of jumping straight into the American market in the transition from amateur to pro, the 30-year-old silver medalist from the 2004 Olympics first created a European market for himself. He moved to Germany and pounded out an unbeaten record impossible to ignore in any language and on any continent.

Can Golovkin take that next step with an entertaining style that will make him known, feared and worth the risk for familiar names always seeking the biggest reward?

“I really hope so,” said Jirov, who deserves a thank-you if Golovkin completes what he began 16 years ago.

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – The long-running fight series at the Four Points by Sheraton San Diego ends the summer with a bang as it plays host to a promising six-fight card tonight. In the main event, light welterweight prospect Jonathan Garcia hopes to continue to build towards something meaningful as he goes up against tough Pedro Arcos in a six-rounder. Fighters weighed in Thursday at the hotel.

Garcia (8-0, 6 KOs) of Watsonville, California returns to his home state three fights into his 2012 campaign and looks to be taking a modest step up against Pedro Arcos (8-2, 6 KOs) of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Garcia, who scaled 139-pounds Thursday night, was last seen dropping Leo Martinez en route to a decision win in Columbus, Ohio in late May. Arcos, who also came in at 139, has fought outside of his native Mexico only once and it accounted for one of his two losses.

The supporting card features some promising young talent from mostly out of town in four-round attractions. Unbeaten Eduardo Rivera (7-0-1, 3 KOs) of Merida, Yucatan, Mexico makes his U.S. debut against longtime journeyman opponent Adolfo Landeros (22-26-2, 10 KOs) of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico in a four-round super featherweight bout. Rivera, who scaled 132-pounds, was last seen in a scheduled eight-rounder, as he stopped 10-0-2 Luis Solis in six. Landeros, weighing in at 133-pounds last night, scored a rare win two fights back against 4-10 Cesar Garcia on June 28th. However, any thoughts of a winning streak were dashed by 18-0 Horatio Garcia, who scored a ten-round decision over Landeros just two weeks later.

In the most competitively-matched bout on the card at least on paper, Oscar Godoy (7-2, 3 KOs) of Watsonville, California will take on 2009 U.S. Championships bronze medalist Richard Hargraves (3-0-1, 2 KOs) of San Francisco, California in a four-round welterweight bout. Godoy thrilled area fight fans in defeat, as he traded knockdowns with Joshua Marks at the Gonzalez Sports Academy in nearby Chula Vista in January. Hargraves is coming in off of a big road win against fellow former national amateur standout Michael Faulk via six-round unanimous decision in Minnesota in June. Both Godoy and Hargraves scaled 147-pounds.

Co-promoter Jorge Marron has imported two of his fighters from Columbus, Ohio for this event as light heavyweight Donald Anderson and debuting light flyweight Jesus Rojas will see action in separate four-round bouts. Anderson (1-0, 1 KO) will take on Jose Jesus Hurtado (3-5, 3 KOs) of San Ysidro, California. Anderson, who turned pro in May with a first-round KO, scaled 175-pounds. Hurtado, coming off of a first-round stoppage to Rudy Puga Jr. last November, weighed-in at 177-pounds.

Rojas meets Christian Salgado (1-3) of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico to open the event. Rojas, making his debut many miles from the comforts of home, weighed 107 ½-pounds Thursday. Salgado, who had the unenviable task of going up against prospect Matthew Villanueva in his third pro bout, weighed-in at 110-pounds

Scheduled to hit the scales at noon today, Emmanuel Robles (4-0-1, 2 KOs) of San Diego by way of Coyuca de Benítez, Guerrero, Mexico will take on career opponent Jaime Orrantia (26-27-5, 14 KOs) of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico in a four-round light welterweight bout. Orrantia had not yet arrived in town by the time of Thursday’s scheduled weigh-in. Orrantia has lost three straight, which accounts for his entire 2012 campaign. Robles will be returning to the site of his first three professional bouts.

Tickets for the event, promoted by Don Chargin Productions in association with Bobby D. Presents and Jorge Marron Productions, are available online at SanDiegoFights.com.

Quick Weigh-in Results:

Light Welterweights, 6 Rounds
Garcia 139
Arcos 139

Super Featherweights, 4 Rounds
Rivera 132
Landeros 133

Welterweights, 4 Rounds
Godoy 147
Hargraves 147

Light Heavyweights, 4 Rounds
Anderson 175
Hurtado 177

Light Flyweights, 4 Rounds
Rojas 107 ½
Salgado 110

Light Welterweights, 4 Rounds
Robles*
Orrantia*

*will weigh-in at noon tomorrow

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

Javier pulls open the matte-gray door and sees the fresh black and yellow paint and so much heat. The gym’s heat is palpable, visible even. The heater’s flat hum leans on the beeping timer as three sounds pierce the haze of summer South Texas humidity. There is a deep stench of old perspiration and new latex sealant.

“He wanted it bad the other night,” Javier says to himself, “now we’ll see what the little bitch’s got.”

He snickers at the formality of gloving-up, headgear, vaseline. His first three overhand rights push Enrique backwards, landing: shoulder, shoulder, collarbone. But the little guy straightens and raises his gloves, white mouthpiece protruding.

Javier’s hands weigh 40 pounds each now.

The timer beeps thrice, someone calls “Tiempo!” and Javier spits his bloody mouthpiece out the ring and bites down on the top of his left glove, gnawing and tugging.

“C’mon, dude,” Enrique says, “we’re just starting to move around.”

*

Javier starts at how full the gym is inside. There must be 10 guys for every car in the lot out back. He recognizes no one but everyone looks familiar. No one talks. A few take terse instructions – “yab, gancho; no upper” – from a round coach with thick, prickly black hair. He squirts water in their mouths.

There is little sound except smacking, rope on rubber, wet leather on wet leather.

Soon as both gloves are tied tight round Javier’s wrists, his left palm starts to itch. The little brown guy who puts one strip of tape over his laces smiles and shrugs. Then he theatrically slaps the knuckles of each glove and says, “Listo!”

The bleeding parade down the four steps from the ring is embarrassment tempered by exhaustion, and shaking legs underneath a forehead enveloped by unnatural heat, the veins in his temples throbbing hundreds of times that minute.

*

Javier pauses at the top of the ramp to reminisce on the smacking sound it made when he cuffed Enrique behind the ear outside Bar Cielo last Thursday morning round two. One of Enrique’s crew, tatted on the neck with a sleeve to his left wrist, stepped between Javier and the putito.

“Vamos al gimnasio, mejor,” he said.

“Que sea, cabrón,” said Javier. “Tuesday, don’t be late.”

Javier feels stung and even a little concussed by Enrique’s left hook. Those gloves looked so round and soft, shapeless and dumb, till Enrique put the center of the left one on Javier’s right nostril.

Yup, that’s what blood tastes like. Warmer’n you’d think.

Mostly Javier feels fatigue. His hip bones hollow-out and everything below, clear to his heels, starts to shake.

*

Javier strides down the ramp, eyes fixed on the table with piles of headgear and 16-ounce gloves. So old, used and putrid, that gear, smack-faded red and sweat-yellowed white. The leather spokes atop the headgear were gone years ago, and got replaced with elastic bands that say “why bother?”

Get in quick. That’s how you do at Bar Cielo. Then go all maníaco on him. Hit him till the bouncers pull you off. Make him take the steps back. Just beat him down, it don’t matter where, but go for the head. It ain’t gonna last but five minutes. Hold and smack. Make him bleed, take a souvenir of shirt collar or something. Shake it at las pollitas, show’em what you did to their man.

*

Javier likes that nobody stirs when he gets to the table. Nobody shows him his respect. You’re just making it worse for your bitch, he thinks. Enrique and his boy are there, but neither does more than tip his forehead slightly upwards. Settle this like men?

“You are ready, or you want the warm-up?” says a little brown guy in a white t-shirt, worn green sweatpants and scuffed oxblood penny loafers. “I hit you the pads, yes?”

“Just put the gloves on,” Javier says. “Nice shoes.”

“I go to the work after,” the little brown guy says, and he shrugs.

Javier doesn’t bother to touch gloves when the bell rings. He flies at Enrique. First three rights land somewhere. Easy work.

*

Javier climbs the blue-painted steps on the opposite corner of the ring. It’s elevated a little. He pushes through the narrow space between the third and top ropes. He sees Enrique use the space between the second and third. Use my height, he thinks.

Wherever he puts his head, now, Enrique smacks it. Javier points his face at the gray mat and pulls his palms against the headgear. Just make myself tiny, he thinks. So Enrique smacks Javier’s gloves.

Javier comes out his crouch and lashes at Enrique with a right haymaker. But Enrique is evasive, now, without moving. There is no available air. Javier’s eyes bulge. Enrique nearly fits three knuckles of his left glove in Javier’s mouth.

The little brown guy in the penny loafers smiles, shakes his head and waves at Enrique’s friend in the other corner.

“Basta, ya,” he says, and he pulls the strip of blood speckled medical tape from round Javier’s left wrist. “Ya.”

*

Javier notes how rough-taped the ropes are, like shaking strings with full rolls of shiny white and red wrapped their lengths. Give him a burn when I mash him against them, he thinks.

He is sure they extended the round on him. He was so strong that first minute. Chasing Enrique, smacking him. They extended the round, los cabrones!

There had to have been five minutes, then, before that single beep made the little brown guy yell “30 segundos!”

Everyone looks at Javier, shaking and scuffing up the ramp to the matte-gray door. None of them says a thing.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

FAIRFIELD, CALIFORNIA – Welterweight prospect Alan Sanchez survived some tense moments but kept his impressive recent run rolling with a tenth-round stoppage of fading Manuel Leyva in the Telefutura Solo Boxeo main event at the Fairfield Sports Center on Saturday night.

Sanchez (11-2-1, 5 KOs) of Fairfield gave Leyva (21-8, 12 KOs) of Downey, California by way of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico more respect than was likely necessary in the fight’s opening rounds. With all the glove-touching at the start, during and conclusion of each round, one would think these were two old amigos engaging in a friendly sparring session.

Finally when Leyva, 147, got the gumption to press the action midway through the fight, the usually freer-swinging Sanchez, 146, turned up his aggression to match. When Sanchez eventually pressed Leyva back the Fairfield resident left an opening for a counter to his midsection. At one minute of the sixth round, the more natural 140-pound Leyva landed perhaps the hardest shot he could to Sanchez’ body which nearly folded the fan favorite in half. The left hand came from long distance, but hit its target just right.

Sanchez protected his body as much as possible as Leyva swung away, hoping to catch that same sweet spot he had found moments earlier. Once he could figured he could not find Sanchez’ body again, Leyva landed some clean head shots that if he had any power at welterweight could have posed a more serious problem for his opponent.

With Sanchez still nursing a sore body, the Fairfield resident managed to come back and turn the tables, catching Leyva with some stiff head shots while pressing him around the ring. Leyva had obviously missed his one opportunity at turning the fight in his favor, and just like that Sanchez took over.

With the battle-weary Leyva quickly losing steam, Sanchez was no longer struggling to figure out his opponent’s southpaw style and began bringing the type of fight that has made him such a gate attraction in his adopted hometown. By the end of the seventh, Leyva was cut on the forehead and finding it hard to stay on his feet.

After wearing down Leyva to a nub of the fighter that entered the bout, Sanchez landed a clean right counter over the top that forced the Mexican import to a knee against the ropes. Referee Dan Stell, who had kept close watch during the preceding flurry, leaped in immediately and stopped the bout. Time of the stoppage was 1:46 of the tenth and final round.

In the televised co-feature, super bantamweight prospect Manuel Avila (9-0, 3 KOs) of Fairfield gave one of the better performances of his career with a third-round stoppage of previously once-beaten Vicente Alfaro (5-2, 1 KO) of Northfield, Minnesota.

Avila, 122, still seems to neglect his defense in spots, but looked like a much more complete offensive force as he scored two official knockdowns of Alfaro, 120.5, en route to the technical knockout. In the second round, Alfaro’s glove grazed the canvas after an Avila power shot. In the fourth, Avila forced one of Alfaro’s knees to touch the mat, according to referee Edward Collantes anyhow. From a distance Alfaro looked clear-headed, but Avila rushed in and went for the kayo with a flurry, prompting Collantes to leap in and save the Minnesotan from any further punishment. Time of the stoppage was 2:04 of the third.

Avila, who had just fought on the July 28th undercard of Robert Guerrero-Selcuk Aydin in San Jose, California, will return to the ring on September 22nd as the main event of a Telefutura Solo Boxeo emanating from the Woodland Community Center in Woodland, California.

In a wholly unnecessary rematch, Paul Mendez (9-2-1, 3 KOs) of Delano, California scored a second victory over the always game journeyman Loren Myers (8-17-1, 2 KOs) of Fresno, California – this time via corner stoppage.

Mendez, 168.5, had just fought the last weekend of July and thus was much sharper than the first time he and Myers, 170, met back last October. Mendez was also six pounds lighter than in their first meeting and much closer to his long planned weight division. Myers, who has a reputation for having a strong chin, seemed to handle Mendez’ power but at no point was he in the fight. After three one-sided rounds, Myers’ manager Andy Nance informed referee Dan Stell he had seen enough and the fight was stopped.

Mendez, pegged for Telefutura date on September 22nd in Woodland, California, had won every round on every card of his initial six-round encounter with longtime friend and fellow Central California resident Myers last year in Salinas, California.

Jonathan Chicas (6-0, 3 KOs) of San Francisco, California worked his way through a wide four-round unanimous decision over Mexican import Jose Mendoza (7-6, 3 KOs) just before Telefutura went on the air.

There was some good back-and-forth throughout the four rounds, but Chicas, 139.5, was clearly the winner of each. In the second it looked as though Chicas may have scored a knockdown, but referee Edward Collantes decided that Mendoza, 139, had slipped. Scores read 40-36 three times for the undefeated Chicas. For Jamay, Jalisco’s Mendoza it was his sixth consecutive defeat, but his first in the stretch to not come by way of a stoppage.

Knockout artist Joe Gumina (3-1, 2 KOs) of San Bruno, California was taken the distance but took a clear four-round decision over Sacramento, California’s Payton Boyea (0-2) in the opening bout of the night.

Gumina, 188.5, rushed out and pounded Boyea, 191.5, in the early going. The Sacramento native managed to weather the early storm and settled in as Gumina slowly calmed down his attack in the latter moments of the round.

The two exchanged strong hooks midway through the second, but it was clear Boyea’s shot did not bother Gumina, while the opposite was not so true. Gumina stunned Boyea again with a hard jab late in the third round that started off and offensive rally which resulted in a cut left eye. The cut was ruled to be from a headbutt, but the end result was unchanged by the ruling.

A one-two from Gumina early in the fourth seemed to stun Boyea again, but the San Francisco favorite failed to follow up on the moment. Boyea mounted a short burst of offense, but Gumina shrugged it off and swung back. After a brief respite, Gumina fired away at the ten second warning as the fight came to a close. Scores read 39-37 and 40-36 twice.

Photos by Stephanie Trapp

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

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – One would have to think coming so close to a crack at a world title and coming up just short would be the end of things for many a fighter in the same place in life as longtime light heavyweight contender Otis Griffin. Financially stable outside of boxing and with little left to prove outside of winning the big one, Griffin is not ready to walk away just yet. World ranked for many of his eight-plus years as a professional, Griffin looks to take a small step back towards the top of the heap at 175-pounds against journeyman Adam Collins in the eight-round main event tonight in his adopted hometown at the inaugural fight night for the DoubleTree Hotel. Most fighters for the six-bout card weighed in Thursday afternoon at Sandra Dee’s Bar-B-Que & Seafood.

Having clawed his way back up the rankings after some terrible decisions, Griffin (23-10-2, 9 KOs) of Sacramento moved his way into a world title eliminator against Yusaf Mack in September of last year. It was not Griffin’s night, as Mack took a twelve-round split decision and the crack at IBF Light Heavyweight titleholder Tavoris Cloud. Unfortunately for Griffin, the loss to Mack touched off a four-fight skid marred by even more horrific scoring, namely in fights against Shawn Hawk and Cedric Agnew.

Putting those unfortunate road losses in the rearview, Griffin is back at home in Sacramento and finds himself beginning again in many ways against Collins (11-7, 8 KOs) of Ironton, Ohio. Collins with some of the best prospects in the division over the last year, but admittedly not fared very well. After his recent run of bad luck, it would be hard to blame Griffin for not taking on the stiffest test out there, especially for a homecoming return. Despite his record, Collins looked the part of a legitimate contender at the weigh-in, scaling a fit-and-trim 173 ½-pounds. Griffin, always in shape, scaled 176 ½-pounds.

The rest of the card, the first offering from upstart promoters O.P.P. Presents, features local area fighters in four-round bouts. Debuting light welterweight Juan “Chico” Martinez of Sacramento will take on Alonso Loeza (1-6-1, 1 KO) of Gilroy, California. Martinez, a fighter promoter Mark Nanney has high hopes for, scaled 142 ½-pounds. Loeza, who has a deceiving record considering most of his defeats came against well regarded prospects on short notice, weighed-in at 145-pounds.

In a pairing of debuting super featherweights, Alberto Torres of Sacramento takes on Sun Valley, California’s Christian Silva in a four-rounder. Torres weighed in at 128-pounds on Thursday afternoon, while his opponent Silva came in a pound lighter at 127.

Hot local ticket seller John Abella (1-0) of Sacramento will take on Misael Martinez (0-5) of Los Angeles, California by way of Managua, Nicaragua in a four-round super bantamweight bout. Abella impressed with drawing power and his performance in his debut four-round decision over Johnny Mancilla in Sacramento this past June. Martinez looks to have a tough road to hoe, as he is coming up in weight and ending a three-year layoff. Abella scaled 123 ½, while Martinez came in at 121 ½-pounds on Thursday.

Jose Alvarez (2-1) of Sanger, California will take on Gregorio Viramontes (0-2-1) of Woodbridge, California in a four-round super middleweight bout. Alvarez, who went all the way up to 178-pounds for his last fight, is back down where he belongs at super middleweight. Viramontes, who is coming off of a kayo loss to Sacramento’s Mike Guy, weighed-in at 168-pounds, as did Alvarez.

Rounding out the card was supposed to be Sacramento’s Mike Ortega (2-0, 1 KO) against Sacramento product Velvet Malone in a four-round light middleweight bout. However, Malone suffered a training injury earlier in the week. Taking his place on short notice is battle-tested Cleven Ishe (3-8, 1 KO) of Long Beach, California. Ortega, ending a layoff of over a year, weighed-in Thursday at 156-pounds. Ishe, who just fought two weeks ago, arrived into Sacramento late on Thursday and will weigh-in at the California State Athletic Commission’s office at noon today. Ishe must weigh no more than 162-pounds.

Tickets for the event, promoted by O.P.P. Presents, are available by calling 925-787-9586 or online at OPPBoxing.com.

Quick Weigh-in Results:

Light Heavyweights, 8 Rounds
Griffin 176 ½
Collins 173 ½

Welterweights, 4 Rounds
Martinez 142 ½
Loeza 145

Super Featherweights, 4 Rounds
Torres 128
Silva 127

Super Bantamweights, 4 Rounds
Abella 123 ½
Martinez 121 ½

Super Middleweights, 4 Rounds
Viramontes 168
Alvarez 168

Middleweights, 4 Rounds
Ortega 156
Ishe*

*will weigh-in at noon today

Photos by Stephanie Trapp

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

The dog days of August, an unexpected offseason, is full of more idle speculation than medal winners among the American men at the London Olympics. There’s little to celebrate and much to anticipate before it starts all over again next month. A busy September includes one night — the 15th — with two good cards: HBO’s telecast of Sergio Martinez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center and the Showtime telecast of Canelo Alvarez-Josesito Lopez down the street at the MGM Grand. A couple of miles of Vegas neon will separate the two. After a barren August, an embarrassment of riches awaits. Or maybe just embarrassment. Until then, it’s just a guessing game.

A few more guesses:

Manny Pacquiao. Further uncertainty is about the only way to interpret his latest decision. Reports about him moving his next bout from Nov. 10 to Dec. 1 seem to say he doesn’t really know what he wants. Advisor Michael Koncz says the new date is a political necessity. It eliminates a potential interruption of training by allowing Pacquiao time in October to refile his candidacy for re-election to the Filipino Congress, according to Koncz, who was quoted as saying he has to be in the Philippines to file the documents. But Filipino media reports that he does not have to be there. He can mail in the documentation, according to the reports. The contradictions only muddy uncertain waters. Just who does he plan to fight? Reported options are Juan Manuel Marquez, Miguel Cotto and Timothy Bradley. There would be a lot less uncertainty about Pacquiao if he had announced the opponent along with the new date. As it is, there are questions about whether retirement is another option.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. It’s been three weeks since he walked out of a Las Vegas jail after serving about two months for domestic violence. There’s still no word on what his plans are. Pacquiao doesn’t seem to be among them, at least not during the final months in 2012. Keep an eye on Twitter, Mayweather’s favorite way to communicate. Also keep an eye on Canelo-Lopez. It’s not the biggest fight on Sept 15. Martinez-Chavez is. But Golden Boy Promotions has dropped hints that Canelo might be Mayweather’s next opponent if Lopez doesn’t score an encore of his upset of Victor Ortiz.

50 Cent. Keep another eye on the rapper whose birth name, Curtis Jackson, is included on the promotional license that sets him up as a potential rival to Golden Boy and Top Rank. He might have some very different ideas about who Mayweather, his friend and confidante, should fight next.

Juan Manuel Marquez. He plans to write a book. At least three of the chapters figure to be about how he says he got
robbed against Pacquiao, who won two disputed decisions after a draw against the tactically-skilled Mexican. A fourth chapter looks doubtful, if only because the proven risk isn’t worth an iffy reward for Pacquiao

Ricky Hatton. Yeah-yeah, we read the rumors about a Hatton comeback, possibly against Paulie Malignaggi. Can another Oscar De La Hoya rumor be far behind?

Andre Ward and Chad Dawson. It looks like the best of September. Martinez-Chavez Jr. is getting most of the attention, which also means all of the expectations. Those might be very hard to fulfill. Ward-Dawson on Sept. 8 in Oakland, Calif., isn’t surrounded by all of the hype, in part because neither fighter engages in much braggadocio. But the fight, an All-American bout, might introduce a new argument to a pound-for-pound debate grown stale by the unresolved blather about when or whether Pacquiao and Mayweather will fight. Ward-Dawson “sells itself,” Ward told the media Thursday in hometown Oakland. It does.

Gennady Golovkin. Never heard of him? That’s a question Golovkin, an unbeaten middleweight and Olympic silver medalist from Kazakhstan, hopes to quit hearing in the U.S. sometime after he fights for the first time in America on Sept. 1 when he kicks off next month’s schedule on HBO After Dark against Grsegorz Proksa at Turning Stone Resort in Verona, N.Y. “We’ve made it clear we’ll fight anybody in the middleweight division,” Tom Loeffler of K2-Promotions said of Golovkin. In a month that includes middleweight Chavez Jr. and Martinez, Golovkin needs to make his American debut a memorable one.

Devon Alexander and Randall Bailey. Showtime and HBO will stage a preliminary Sept. 8 to their Sept. 15th duel for viewers. That’s when Showtime will televise the Bailey-Alexander welterweight at Las Vegas’ Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on the same night as HBO’s telecast of Ward-Dawson. Alexander-Bailey has the makings of a classic boxer-puncher confrontation. Bailey already is making it fun. Bailey, who says his one-punch KO power makes him the last of a kind, has little patience for Alexander’s speed and boxing skill. “Everybody gets hit with that right hand,” Bailey said during a conference call. “Question is, when you get hit with that right, what are you gonna do?”

In September, at least, we’ll get the chance to find out.

FORT WORTH, Texas – Our beloved sport continues its mid-year recess, a deserted time before the mania of September. There were no fights here Friday or Saturday. There will be none here next weekend. What is here, though, are collections – those of The Modern, Kimbell Art Museum, and Amon Carter Museum of American Art – so detailed, well-presented and complete, only an ambitious, energetic fool would traverse them in seven hours’ time.

But indulge anyway, why not, because you must attend works of art the same way you must attend fights. A piece of fruit tastes nothing like a picture of a piece of fruit. There are art books and exhibition catalogues galore, works of careful photography and prose, but they encourage what literary critic Harold Bloom termed “misprision” – a sort of fundamental misreading that, if imitated, will cause an original interpretation. Original interpretations by dilettantes are mostly rubbish.

How many trainers in how many American gyms have seen dilettantes’ original interpretations of Floyd Mayweather, recently, and of Roy Jones before him, and of Muhammad Ali before him? These are the artistic equivalents of one who sees the works of a single artist in a book, goes to a supply store, and begins hurling paint that same afternoon.

Much contemporary American art, like much contemporary American prizefighting, looks haphazard and improvised, when seen upclose, like the work of people trained by people who watch videos but never put themselves in the loneliness of a ring with another man then consign themselves to a week alone on a heavybag to solve technical problems. It is a derivative of a derivative; a shallow misreading of another’s shallow misreading of an original style.

These are what thoughts happened as I walked through a different collection – Dallas Museum of Art’s abstract expressionism – Saturday. Works by people more concerned with being artists than making art; persons who sought the straightest possible line to acclaim, men who suffered from a want of solitude, seeking companionship and affirmation at every turn – with a work by their patron saint, Andy Warhol, supervising the entrance.

There was a Warhol self-portrait, too, at The Modern, thirty miles west of Dallas. It was neon, lineless, loud and famous but suffered a genuine misfortune: It hung outside this city’s astounding new exhibition of Lucian Freud’s portraits. Warhol and his t-shirt-ready screen prints of Marilyn and Jackie look insubstantial set beside a contemporary like Freud’s works (if perhaps not Freud’s early, is-that-a-Modigliani efforts).

Walking round Saturday, I thought of Marco Antonio Barrera, as I often do. I thought of the rarity of what he did to “The Prince” Naseem Hamed in 2001 and the three years and seven fights that separated Barrera’s second loss to Junior Jones and only loss to Erik Morales – the solitude of those matches in Caesars Tahoe and Fantasy Springs. I thought of his stylistic overhaul in the three fights between Morales and Hamed, the solitude of New Orleans Arena or an opponent like Jesus Salud. Then I thought of how, after undressing the astonishingly overrated Hamed for a half hour, Barrera summoned the fury of those years in the woods to ram The Prince’s goofy face in a turnbuckle, risking disqualification, caring not a whit.

The careless chance-taking of a master craftsman; that is what one sees in Freud’s 1997 work “Sunny Morning – Eight Legs,” hung expertly at The Modern adjacent to 1993’s “And the Bridegroom.” In both paintings, a dressing screen stands in the background, and when one looks at the way the middle of the piece is protuberant while its floor and ceiling distend, one sees what Freud was after: He is behind the screen, painting what is reflected by a large, convex mirror. In Freud’s work one sees a thing most rare in contemporary paint: a direct link to Van Gogh and his collapsed space between foreground and back; the Spanish master, Velazquez, and his use of mirrors; the Italian master Caravaggio and his genius for human form; and the German master, Durer, and his compulsion for movement. The grandson of another and more famous genius, Freud had the influences and resources and talent to absorb masterworks then retreat to solitude, puzzle them out, and repeat their techniques. Only then, his toolbox complete, did Freud set about going where the daemon took him.

Great artists fail. One sees dreadful works by Cezanne and worse by Picasso. Failure in boxing is different from losing, just as artistic failure is sometimes subjective. There are informed critics who see genius in Pollock’s works like “Cathedral,” which hangs at Dallas Museum of Art; but if one has been to Museum of Fine Art, Houston, and seen young Pollock’s attempts at more academic painting, he can be forgiven for saying “That’s why he evolved to drizzles and splatters.”

Barrera’s failures were not his knockout loss to Jones in 1996 or Manny Pacquiao in 2003 or unofficial loss to Rocky Juarez in 2006. Barrera’s failures were his too-cautious performance with Juan Manuel Marquez in 2007 and his cash-on-delivery, rematch showing against Pacquiao seven months later.

But indulge anyway. Attend the fights; attend the canvases. You can see a prizefighting masterpiece on television no better than a Rembrandt in a book, after all. Plan trips. Do not worry about outcomes. A master’s failure is ever more informative than a dilettante’s triumph.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

Warriors Boxing Promotions presented Miami Warfare II at the Miami Airport Convention Center in Miami tonight and the crowd was treated to a delight of a card which was headlined by a very entertaining bout between hard hitting Colombian Breidis Prescott 26-4(18KO)and Bronx native Gato Figueroa 20-5-1(13KO).

Prescott is often noted for handing Amir Khan his first shocking knockout loss and has been since dubbed as the Khanqueror. However, the tall and lean Prescott had not followed up strong; he was 5-4 in his last 9 fights. Figueroa the former NABF Welterweight champion, recently faced tall and very tough opposition in dynamite fisted Randall Bailey and rangy brawler undefeated Alex Perez. The slick southpaw found himself with another taller strong fighter tonight.

Prescott started strong in the first round and was firing heavy shots where he knocked an off balanced Figueroa down twice. Gato returned the favor in round five with a straight left hand that deposited the Colombian to the canvas. Where the much taller rangier Prescott set the pace winning the early rounds it was a hard charging Figueroa who came on strong late to keep it competitive and interesting. The two tangled often with the bigger Colombian fighter leaning on and holding the Puerto Rican, Figueroa pushing him down trying to work his legs. A deep cut was caused to the back of Gatos head by some sort of an elbow while engaging the typical entanglement often seen in a southpaw orthodox skirmish. Figueroa came on strong at the end of the fight, he was catching the tiring taller fighter with straight lefts however Prescott used his feet to stay out of reach for follow up punches. The final judges’ cards were 79-71, 77-73, 78-71 all for Prescott.

In the Co-main event prospecting slowly turning contender super featherweight Rances Barthelemy 17-0(11KO) knocked Mexican Alejandro Rodriguez 14-7(7KO) down in the first round in what appeared to be an easy and quick night for the Cuban fighter. In turn, the iron chinned Rodriguez made him work for it over hard fought 8 rounds where Barthelemy earned a unanimous decision. Rodriguez showed a ton of heart as he was hit with everything often and kept coming with true Mexican pride. In the final two rounds Barthelemy toyed with Rodriguez with his hands down slipping punches, more impressively would have appreciated a stoppage. With his perfect record now growing I would assume Barthelemy will start stepping up the competition to get closer to the titles.

In the opening bout of the night Cuban fighter Leosvy Mayedo 3-0(2KO) made easy work of Altantas’ Joseph Benjamin 3-22-2(3KO). Mayedo dropped the over-matched Benjamin in the first and last round however was unable finish off his opponent. Mayedo was clearly looking for a knockout as he was reaching with big punched rarely throwing more than one or two and usually all power punches. More boxing to set up the power punches could have yielded the KO in this fight.

Malcom Stimthil 1-0 dissected Tampa based Cassius Clay throughout a four round entertaining welterweight bout and looked very composed for a debuting fighter. Stimthil rocked Clay often and cut him over his left eye in the second stanza. Stimthil who had 28 amateur bouts, fights out of Palm Beach Boxing in West Palm Beach and is trained by Adam Bram. All three cards read 40-36

Light Heavyweight Radivoje Kalajdzic 7-0(6KO) from Zenica Bosnia went right to work on Jerrod Caldwell 2-1-1(1KO) from Gainesville Florida and scored a blistering first round TKO. Kalajdzic landed a pair of laser fast straight right hands followed by an unanswered flurry that prompted Sam Burgeos to step in and call it a night at 1:49 of the first round.

Middleweight Roberto Acevedo from Puerto Rico improved to 6-0(4KO) with a convincing unanimous decision win over Pnesacolas’ Donald Clark who fell to 2-3(1KO). The card read 60-54 twice and 59-54.

Cuban Super Bantamweight Hairon Socarras, fighting out of Miami, scored a four round unanimous decision win over southpaw Socarras DeWane “The Pain” Wisdon from Indianapolis, IN. The Pain kept it competitive and was caught in the third round in which the tide turned slightly, however not overly impressive and Wisdom did a great job defensively to avoid the big punches from the Cuban fighter, who seemed to be loading up on hopeful punches one at a time, never really putting a meaningful combination together. The cards read 39-37 and 40-36 twice.

In the final bout of the night, Light heavyweight Yunieski Gonazlez improved to 9-0(5KO) with a long and hard fought ten round unanimous decision win over tough, tested and iron willed, Jermaine Mackey 18-6(14KO) fighting out of Nassau Bahamas. Gonzalez threw his heaviest punches at the feisty southpaw Mackey who refused to go away. The two brawled to the fans delight at the end of the fight, leaving this animated Miami crowd begging for more. All three judges saw the fight 100-89.

CLICK TO ORDER THE FIGHT CARD
Joel Diaz 130 – Guillermo Sanchez 129
Glen Tapia 159 – Franklin Gonzalez 159
Patrick Farrell 217 – Wayne Hampton 263
Joey Dawejko 238 – Dorsett Barnwell 248
Thomas LaManna 157 – Yolexcy Leiva 155
Anthony Gangemi 151 – Jimmy Ellis 150
Tyrone McKenna 143 – Anthony Morrison 145
Tyrell Wright 202 – Dennis Benson 249
Tioka Kahn Klary 132 – Jamil Winfield 132

VENUE: Ballys Atlantic City
PROMOTER: John Lynch’s Pound for Pound Promotions
1st Bell: 7:30 pm
Live Broadcast on www.gfl.tv

USA Boxing’s search for a national coach might be as futile as winning an Olympic medal. After the American men came home from the London Games without even a bronze and about as much respect, the proposed job hunt looks like mission impossible. Then again, it can’t get any worse. If the sell-high-and-buy-low strategy applies, there might be an opportunity lurking in the mess.

Anybody who dares take the job, however, faces a big challenge in trying to convince young Americans that Olympic boxing is even worth it anymore. For the last couple of decades, the best have been moving away in an exodus that kept the American men off the medal stand for the first time ever. The 15-year-old who watched the 2012 debacle could not have seen a reason to try in 2016.

Only a competent cornerman with the right name has a chance at rebuilding an American franchise. By the right name, we’re talking about a resume that includes professional champions, some celebrity and credibility that comes with being a teacher. If Olympic boxing trashes computer scoring for pro-style cards and the international ruling body (AIBA) doesn’t become another pro acronym, there’s much to gain for somebody willing to assume the risk.

Three nominations:
Freddie Roach. Can we try this again? Please. Roach was never given much of a chance at helping the 2012 team as a consultant because of American coaches jealous of their turf. Then, there was turmoil that led to a staff shuffle just months before opening ceremonies. Roach’s busy schedule with Manny Pacquiao and Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., looms as a problem. But give him the funds to hire a staff this year, and he could have time to develop medalists four years from now. As the best trainer of his generation, he’s known to emerging prospects who hope to forge pro careers. Roach’s name recognition and clout could go a long way in re-establishing an Olympic medal as a steppingstone to the pros. After all the confusion over his role with the 2012 team, Roach also knows what’s wrong. Only a real boxing guy can fix it.

Emanuel Steward. Steward was the American choice to coach the 2004 team at the Athens Games until politics knocked him out of the job. Turns out, it was a sign of what would happen eight years later in London. Steward wanted the 2004 Americans to re-emphasize KO power. HIs old-school idea was to take the judging out of the equation. Given the bizarre decisions made by key-punch operators posing as judges at every Olympics since 1992, what could make more sense? Even if computer scoring is trashed in favor of a 10-point-must system, decisive power is the answer. Power also retains the element demanded by young Americans, who want to learn how to deliver it as they prepare to go pro. Like Roach, Steward has a busy schedule, including ringside analysis for Home Box Office and corner work with Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko and Irishman Andy Lee. He has become something of an ambassador for boxing. Steward in the job would mean the Americans are serious, which they were not in London. Subjective judges, whether punching a computer pad or writing on a scorecard, notice those kind of things

Teddy Atlas. He’s a lot less diplomatic in his talk and opinions than either Roach or Steward. But maybe that hard-nosed approach is what’s needed. Atlas’ uncompromising commentary for NBC in London left no doubt about what he thinks of USA Boxing, AIBA and international judging. All of those bureaucrats and officials heard it the way Michael Moorer heard it from Atlas, then Moorer’s trainer, during a 1994 loss to George Foreman for a heavyweight title. Atlas couldn’t stand what he was witnessing.

It’s time to hire somebody who won’t stand for what happened to American boxers in London.

Notes, Quotes
Timothy Bradley chose the wrong word, but had the right idea when he told The Desert Sun that “a lot of people on that side are scared” about Pacquiao fighting him on Nov. 10 at Las Vegas MGM Grand in what would be an immediate rematch of his controversial victory by split decision on June 9. A better word than scared? How about worried? Juan Manuel Marquez and Miguel Cotto are Pacquiao’s other options. Pacquiao’s corner should be worried about any of the three. Unless there’s a reversal in the evident erosion of hand speed, Pacquiao is vulnerable.

And Chavez Jr. weighed 176 pounds 30 days before his middleweight showdown against Sergio Martinez on Sept. 15 at Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center, according to news reports from Chavez’ training camp. Reaction: What do you want to bet that Chavez is 180-plus at opening bell, 24 hours after the formal weigh-in?

He didn’t start out as most in the boxing business but Vinny LaManna has accomplished a lot in his twenty-plus years in boxing.

LaManna, who now resides in Toms River, New Jersey wasn’t even particularly a sports fan until he walked into a bar in Northern New Jersey and was captivated by what he saw what was playing on the television.
“It was the 1988 Seoul Olympics and they were showing a fight involving (eventual Gold Medalist) Ray Mercer and thought to myself wow what an exciting athlete and from there my love and passion for the sport was born”, said the forty-eight year old father of three.

LaManna then became friends with Greg Pessolano who was an agent with Triple Threat boxing who just happened to be the management company of Mercer.

Through the mutual friends, LaManna was introduced to Mercer and that sparked LaManna’s interest in getting into the business.

“Any fool with $20 can get a managers license” and then LaManna preceded to manage a Light Heavyweight named Anthony Sutton.

“Sutton lost his first fight with me and he never fought again”

That didn’t deter LaManna as he has gone on to manage over forty-plus fighters that included His only world champion, IBF Cruiserweight champion Imanu Mayfield, Leo Loiacano, Michael Covington, Derrick Graham, and his influence into boxing Ray Mercer.

“I have done shows with the biggest names. We have been involved with fights with Don King, Bob Arum, Goossen, you name it”

Mayfield, who was LaManna’s only champion was actually brought to him after his manager Curtis Ford had a brain aneurysm.

Loiacano was big ticket seller in North Jersey so that brought LaManna a name in his home area.
Graham was the one that LaManna could have been great as he said that he had all the talent but never took the sport serious.

“Mercer and Mayfield were able to make handsome livings”

LaManna has had his battles and detractors over the years but has mostly good things to say about the business.

On the present New Jersey Boxing Commission “Larry Hazzard knew the sport and currant Aaron Davis is a fair man and because of his regulating we have seen an increase in live events”

LaManna has been at the championship level but now he is involved in his most personal project in managing his own son, Twenty-year old undefeated Jr. Middleweight Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna.

“I don’t have to be as careful and he is learning more and more. All of my decisions are business and the fights we make, I have to take the mindset that he was any other fighter that I have managed”

The younger LaManna will be back in the ring this Saturday night at Ballys in Atlantic City (www.gfl.tv -$9.99 at 7:30 pm) when he takes on Yolexcy Leiva in a bout scheduled for six rounds.

LaManna has seen some distract changing in the game in his two decades in the business.

“There are some bad people and the sport needs to be regulated. There are too many people running around the business who don’t understand it and that leads to lots of fighters getting screwed”

Like everyone else, LaManna has his own opinion of the continued failed negotiations between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

“They should just be able to come to some kind of fair split when you are talking hundreds of millions of dollars. To me it just looks like two guys making excuses not to fight each other”

“Being from New Jersey, I am big proponent of the State Title. I think it’s a great way to promote and give fighters on the way up an opportunity to fight for a title”

LaManna took matters into his own hands when he and longtime Philadelphia cutman/promoter Joey “Eye” Intreri formed the BAM (Boxing Association of Machismo )

“It’s a title for kids to fight for something, it’s more of a trophy but the winners of these fights get belts and there are no sanction fees. When we feel two guys want to step up in an era when nobody wants to fight each other, we try to reward those fighters”

LaManna, also runs and operates Starwaste Service, which is a large sanitation company in New Jersey

CLOVIS, CALIFORNIA – Tonight at the Table Mountain Casino in Friant, California, two longtime rivals square off in what is being billed as the last fight for both, as Christy Martin aims to defend her WBC Light Middleweight title against Mia St. John in a rematch of their memorable 2002 encounter. Fighters for the five-bout event weighed-in Monday at the Bod-e² Shop in nearby Clovis.

Martin (49-6-3, 31 KOs) of Orlando, Florida is going for elusive win number fifty as she caps what has been perhaps the most important career in the history of women’s boxing. Martin’s first attempt at the big 5-0 came in June of last year, as she took on Dakota Stone in Los Angeles, California. Martin had defeated Stone to claim the WBC title two years prior and was on her way to a points win in the rematch. However a broken hand forced referee David Mendoza to award the fight to Stone, despite the fact the fight had reached the sixth and final round.

Martin’s difficulty in defeating St. John back in 2002 led some to question what she had left in the tank way back then. Martin has been less than active in the years since for a variety of reasons, but the lady that put the sport on the map is not too concerned with her naysayers. “People have said all kinds of different things,” explains Martin. “I have been on the downslide since I started. I don’t care what the commentators or sports writers have to say. My job is to go out there and fight my hardest and that’s what I am going to do. I am going to go out there and be entertaining to the crowd like I’ve done for almost sixty fights now.”

St. John (46-11-2, 18 KOs) of Oxnard, California has kept much more active in the years since their 2002 meeting and proven herself to be a top notch fighter, having taken on some of the best opposition in and around her weight division. Few would have likely predicted that St. John would have had as successful a career as it has turned out to be back when she was fighting in four-rounders on pay-per-view undercards. “I went into the first fight with people thinking I would get knocked out in the first round and obviously that didn’t happen,” recalls St. John. “I went on to fight the best women in boxing. I fought Holly Holm, Jessica Rakoczy and the list goes on. I fought them all. People know by now that I am not just a novelty. I can walk away from the sport knowing the truth. I know I wasn’t the best female boxer in women’s boxing, but nor was I the worst. I was damn good. I know the truth, because I have fought the worst, the mediocre and the best, so I know where I stand. I don’t regret any move in my career. I feel that I did what was right.”

An issue before their first fight and again heading into the rematch was weight. The fight is for the WBC’s 154-pound title. The last recorded weight for St. John was 137 ¼, so right away it is easy to see who the naturally bigger fighter is going to be. “There is still a huge weight difference,” said St. John. “There is a bigger weight difference now than there was ten years ago. That doesn’t bother me because I feel that she is going to be bigger and stronger, but I am faster and a better technician. I feel the better boxer prevails. Not always, but in this case that will be true.” Martin weighed in at 150.2-pounds Tuesday, while St. John scaled 146.6.

In undercard action, Former amateur standout Luis Villagomez of Fresno is still on the bill and will take on Manuel Ortega (1-4) of Seattle, Washington in a four-round featherweight bout. Villagomez, who scaled 125.4 on Monday, has a quickly improving record. His pro debut, which ended on a cut, was recently changed from a loss to a no contest, based on the finding that a headbutt was the original cause of the laceration. Ortega, who came in at 126.2, has lost four straight, but did go the distance with prospect Randy Caballero.

Yoshi Fuji (2-3-1, 2 KOs) of Fresno ends a five-year layoff against Jose Garcia (0-2) of Santa Ana, California in a four-round lightweight bout. Fuij, who scaled 132-pounds, has fought at Table Mountain Casino twice before. He hopes to begin his return with a victory that would end a three-fight skid. Garcia, who came in at 131.8, has gone the distance in both of his two pro bouts, which each took place last year.

In a four-round lightweight affair, Aaron Acevedo (1-0-1, 1 KO) of Moreno Valley, California will take on Angel Torres (2-10-2, 1 KO) of Yonkers, New York. Acevedo, who scaled 132.2, fought just over a month ago, earning a draw against debuting Daniel Martinez. Torres, who weighed-in at 133, has been stopped four straight times.

Fleshing out the card, David Barragan (1-0-1, 1 KO) of National City, California will take on Beau Hamilton (0-2) of Montague, California in a four-round middleweight fight. Barragan, who weighed 157, comes in off of a draw with Marquise Bruce in March. Hamilton, who scaled 156.8, was last seen going the distance with debuting Antonio Tarver protégé Juan Reynoso in June.

Tickets for the event, promoted by Roy Englebrecht Events, are available online at Tmcasino.com.

Quick Weigh-in Results:

WBC Light Middleweight Championship, 12 Rounds
Martin 150.2
St. John 146.6

Featherweights, 4 Rounds
Villagomez 125.4
Ortega 126.2

Lightweights, 4 Rounds
Fujii 132
Garcia 131.8

Lightweights, 4 Rounds
Acevedo 132.2
Torres 133

Middleweights, 4 Rounds
Barragan 157
Hamilton 156.8

Photo by Marty Solis/California Advocate

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

Back in December of 2002, the two most well-known faces in women’s boxing at the time squared off in a crossroads bout of sorts, as Playboy cover girl Mia St. John squared off against Sports Illustrated cover girl and long respected fighter Christy Martin before a pay-per-view audience. To the surprise of many, St. John proved she could hang with a top level fighter as she boxed well but lost a wide decision. Both women have had their ups and downs professionally and personally, but still remain two of the most recognizable faces in the history of their sport. Another thing remains the same – neither seems to like the other all that much. The two meet this coming Tuesday at the Table Mountain Casino in Friant, California with Martin’s WBC Light Middleweight title on the line.

Martin (49-6-3, 31 KOs) of Orlando, Florida was the heavy favorite going into their first encounter. Martin was the fighter and St. John was supposed to be the novelty act. However, by lasting the distance with Martin and winning a handful of rounds, St. John (46-11-2, 18 KOs) of Oxnard, California legitimized herself as a solid pro and used the showing to launch the rest of her fighting career. Fast forward to the present day and Martin seems to give little credit to St. John for how well she performed back in 2002.

“I don’t think that the [first] fight was competitive, but she did take some great shots,” says Martin. “I was convinced in my mind that I was going to knock her out with a body shot, so that’s what I did. For ten rounds I worked on her body and stayed on her body. Whether or not she had on something under her clothes, I don’t know, but that is what I tend to believe. I didn’t hear a little moan or groan from Mia when she took those body shots. I hear that from my male sparring partners, that I have good body shots. So to see no reaction from Mia, makes me wonder what she had on.”

Under armor theories aside, Martin has seemed to forget that late in their first fight, it was “The Coal Miner’s Daughter” that asked her corner who they had winning the fight, not St. John. “Clearly she knew she was not easily winning the fight,” said St. John when that moment from their first fight was brought up. “I have a style that Christy does not do well with and many fighters don’t do well with. I’m a mover and I use a lot of angles, very difficult to land a clean punch. This is why I have only been knocked down once in my career and that was by a southpaw.”

It is almost hard to believe it took nearly ten years for a promoter to put together the rematch, as Roy Englebrecht has done. Both fighters spoke as though it was a fight they have wanted to make, and one that they look forward to. “This has been ten years in the making,” St. John said. “I am excited about it. I feel like I outboxed her in the first fight. And now that I know her even better, I feel that not only will I outbox her again, but I will actually stop Christy Martin and I will retire with the WBC belt.” Martin seemed extra juiced to be coming to California for the rematch. “It has been ten years in the making,” said Martin. “I am excited to have the opportunity to beat her again and this time in front of her hometown fans.”

A theme throughout the telecast of their initial encounter was how both Martin and St. John dealt with complications relating to the promotion of their first bout and how it could have affected them on fight night. “The first time around, there were a lot of distractions with the fight being scheduled and rescheduled,” Martin recalled. “It was going to happen. Then it was not going to happen. The day before I found out I was not going to be paid and I was going to have to sue the guy. My trainer at my time was my ex-husband, who was more interested in making sure that Mia got paid than I got paid. It was a bunch of bullshit basically.”

Admittedly both fighters have dealt with their share of distractions in the lead up to Tuesday’s rematch. The fight had been scheduled for earlier in the year, but with Martin still dealing with the legal entanglements surrounding the vicious attack by her ex-husband, the fight was postponed. Meanwhile St. John dealt with the grief of losing her mother to illness. Despite the hardships, both fighters seemed to have put their issues in their proper place and focused on the task at hand.

“We both went into that first fight not being able to spar and not being able to train,” recalled St. John. “We both had distractions having to do with the promoter of the first fight. With this fight, it is no different. She’s had distractions and so have I. My mother spent all of 2011 battling lung cancer and passed away five months ago. So we both have had major distractions in our lives, but at the end of the day we are fighters and that’s what we do. It is not going to be any different. None of that stuff is going to matter once the bell rings.”

Martin gave similar sentiments relating to her issues. “This time is altogether different,” says Martin, comparing the distractions before fight one and two. “I am training in Las Vegas with Miguel Diaz, a number one quality trainer. I am getting great sparring, so I will be more than prepared and ready to go. I am 100 percent. All the injuries from being shot and stabbed were all healed before I got in the ring last year. I broke my hand in nine places, but it is all healed. The doctor released me months ago, and I am ready to try it out on Mia’s head.”

Tuesday’s fight has been billed as “Final Victory.” Both St. John and Martin have kept in the tradition of their male counterparts, having both had more than one “final fight” in their career up to this point. However, it does seem like they recognize Tuesday’s fight at the Table Mountain Casino provides them a chance to go out with a bang, so maybe this will be it for them. Maybe.

“I know that when I win, she is going to want a rubber match,” said St. John, offering a scenario that could see her return to the ring another time. “Her ego is too big to let her just say ‘Mia beat me, I’m retired.’ She won’t do that. I will be willing to give her a rubber match, but I won’t fight anybody else, so stop calling me out. That is going to be it.”

Martin left the door slightly less open to another fight beyond August 14th, “I’m 99.9 percent sure of retirement at the end of the fight, win, lose or draw,” said Martin. “I’m a fighter, so it is hard to say 100 percent that I am done. But the end is definitely very, very near.”

Tomorrow’s undercard was originally meant to feature local Fresno-area fighters from top to bottom, but some late pullouts left the promotion scrambling to piece together the supporting card. Former amateur standout Luis Villagomez of Fresno is still on the bill and will take on Manuel Ortega (1-4) of Seattle, Washington in a four-round super featherweight bout. Yoshi Fuji (2-3-1, 2 KOs) of Fresno will end a five-year layoff against Jose Garcia (0-2) of Santa Ana, California in a four-round lightweight bout. Aaron Acevedo (1-0-1, 1 KO) of Moreno Valley, California will take on Angel Torres (2-10-2, 1 KO) of Yonkers, New York in a four-round lightweight bout. Rounding out the card, David Barragan (1-0-1, 1 KO) of National City, California will take on Beau Hamilton (0-2) of Montague, California in a four-round light middleweight fight.

Tickets for the event, promoted by Roy Englebrecht Events, are available online at Tmcasino.com.

SAN ANTONIO – Saturday saw the return of national figures and national Spanish-language television, Telefutura this time, to the northernmost fraction of Alamodome, a pastel-highlighted and becurtained area called Illusions Theater. Seven undercard matches whose blowouts were either unexpected or presented local prizefighters doing the blowing-out rallied an enthusiastic Alamo City crowd for what was an entertaining main event.

Rugged Texan Brian Vera decisioned crafty Sergio Mora, a national figure who won the first “Contender” program and briefly held the WBC’s light middleweight title in 2008. The judges’ decision was correct, if unfairly wide in two cases, and Mora stormed to his dressing room and had a conniption. As neither Vera nor Mora, nor their rematch, provided new insights about prizefighting, it should prove more constructive to examine local shows and the promoters who host them.

One needn’t cover the sport of prizefighting for a decade to see his first dozen promoters fail. The pattern becomes familiar: A man successful in some other venture decides his hometown’s consumers have not been adequately tapped. He has an angle of some kind, often an assumed familiarity with his city, a familiarity whose supposed lack caused other promoters’ previous failures. Occasionally his angle is a direct line to a stable of talented local prospects, and in the best scenarios it is access to a prizefighting grandee.

The new promoter sets out to make his first card a conquest. He leases the talent and services of a national outfit or at least a well-regarded matchmaker. He rents a noteworthy venue. He begins to employ what salesmanship made his other venture a success. Everything runs crisply. Press releases get released. Open workouts open on time. Promotional events promote relentlessly. Advance ticket sales advance. The local promoter loses between $20,000 and $40,000.

But the debut gets good reviews. He has already promised to do a minimum of five shows or more because he understands the importance and finickiness of momentum – even if his burn rate has already trebled startup estimates. His second card goes much like the first. The local promoter approaches a crisis stage and thinks maybe conjuring a reliable audience for prizefights is not as his initial calculus concluded.

Boxing is filled with local freelancing operatives who haven’t succeeded at previous business ventures but believe, on the strength of their betrothing common observations and uncommon vocal cords, boxing is where a fortune, their fortune, can be made. If it’s not an impossible scenario, it’s neither a probable one. The promoter turns to these freelancers for enthusiasm if not advice because optimism is at least infectious.

For his third card, the new promoter decides he’s learned much about the business from national outfits as he’s likely to. He cuts PR costs dramatically, though keeps the matchmaker and venue. Reviews are not raved as before, but of course expenses are lower. He stocks the card with local talent – the national guys, after all, sell television licensing (which their national promoters keep), not tickets – and maybe attempts affiliation with his city’s thriving amateur scene. Keep things homegrown and intimate.

But even small events are more expensive than they feel to attendees. Members of the local media, wary of a diminishing infrastructure they’ve seen before, lose some interest. They’ll be there fightnight, perhaps, but no longer have an impetus to act as tools in the promotional apparatus. This brings a capitulation stage, wherein the local promoter leaves boxing, feeling in no small part bamboozled, and tries his luck with amateur MMA or writes-off entirely his errant undertaking.

Leija-Battah Promotions, by all appearances, approached a crisis stage after its second show, a small Cinco de Mayo event that drew a reasonable crowd to the bullring of a large San Antonio dancehall but nevertheless featured talent more national in price than notoriety. Then came a kickoff press conference in June for its third show, Mora-Vera II, a press conference made complete by an appearance from the Golden Boy himself, Oscar De La Hoya, beside his one-time rival and new promotional partner Jesse James Leija. Locals reasonably anticipated future Golden Boy sightings. But the June press conference – despite promises of a Thursday “meet & greet” and Friday weighin at 1 PM – was the last De La Hoya was seen in South Texas. His June affair was about selling the event to Leija-Battah Promotions.

Friday’s weighin was inexplicably moved to 3 PM, Thursday night, which did not correspond to blue-collar dads’ lunch breaks. Saturday’s card featured a media section nothing like the first Illusions Theater configuration Top Rank’s Lee Samuels arranged in March. Rather than two consecutive rows of tables, there was one row, restricted mostly to television personalities who never materialized, and a second table well back of it. Between the two tables were five or six rows of “media seating” that featured black cocktail dresses in lieu of notebooks – which was good because had these credentialed writers brought so much as a pen with them, they’d have had to balance the reports they scribbled on their spectacular, shapely knees.

The card itself left one hopeful, nonetheless. It showcased local talent like Adam Lopez, Javier Rodriguez, Steve Hall and Benjamin Whitaker. The main event was excellent too. There were 17 amateur bouts before the professional show, and each of those amateurs was tasked with selling 25 tickets. Attendance was estimated above 3,000, and while it is not likely so many tickets were sold, seeing more than 1,500 people gathered for boxing in a local venue is always edifying.

What comes next for the promotional partnership between local businessman Mike Battah and local hero Jesse James Leija is unknowable. Being a prizefighting promoter, a profitable one, is unlike any other venture.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

Dan Rafael of espn.com reports that Lamont Peterson will be able to keep his IBF Jr. Welterweight belt after a failed test for elevated Testosterone.

“I’m thankful and I’m thrilled with the IBF’s decision,” Peterson said in a statement. “I want to thank my manager, Barry Hunter, for all of his support throughout this ordeal. There were a lot of naysayers out there, but Barry and the rest of my team never doubted me. My team fought non-stop to ensure that I was cleared.”

“After concluding the review of all the documentation provided by Peterson’s camp and the Nevada State Athletic Commission, the physician determined that the testosterone levels noted in the VADA report are consistent with the therapeutic use of the hormone and not for the purpose of performance enhancement.

“Therefore, these levels would not have enhanced Lamont Peterson’s training for or performance during the bout on Dec. 10, 2011, nor for his training for the bout that was scheduled for May 19, 2012, as a specimen collected by VADA on April 13, 2012 tested negative on May 2, 2012.”

“I’ve known Lamont his whole life and always had faith in him,” said Peterson’s manager/trainer/ father figure Barry Hunter. “We were certain that when all of the details were reviewed, Lamont would be cleared and allowed to move on with a title defense and his career. We never stopped training. Lamont looks great and we’re looking forward to a great fight once we work out the details with Judah and his team.”

It’s hard not to think about Jose Benavidez Jr. while watching the sad and inevitable demise of American boxing at the London Olympics. In another time, Benavidez would have been there. But today that time looks lost in the collapse of an American tradition. For nearly a century, the American men dominated the medal count. In London, they couldn’t count one. They were shut out for the first time ever.

Some of the best Americans just don’t go anymore. Pick the reason: Disarray in USA Boxing or computer-based scoring system, or coaching, or 24 years of controversy since Roy Jones Jr. and Michael Carbajal were robbed of gold at the infamous 1988 Games, or all of the above.

“It’s just not the way it used to be anymore,’’ said Benavidez, 20, an unbeaten junior-welterweight prospect from Phoenix who was projected to be a star for the 2012 U.S. team before he signed with Top Rank as a 17-year-old. “A lot of guys just go pro. That gold medal isn’t worth what it used to be.’’

The computer-scoring, Benavidez says, is the biggest reason he went pro.

“I decided I didn’t want to continue boxing as an amateur because of that system,’’ said Benavidez (16-0, 13 KOs), who on Nov. 4 fought in Las Vegas instead of London, winning a fourth-round stoppage over Javier Loya. “It’s just throw- throw-throw, throw as many punches as fast as you can. But sometimes, you might land two shots and they won’t score them. It was just frustrating, real hard to understand.

“All along, I’d been taught to fight like a pro. I like to take more time, set up my shots. It just made more sense to go straight to the pros when Top Rank made me that offer. I don’t have any regrets. None at all.’’

Benavidez knows all about the long run of Olympic controversy, which continued in London with a referee who was expelled from the Games after he failed to rule a single knockdown in a round when the same fighter was on the canvas six times. But the controversies are older than he is. Benavidez wasn’t even born when Jones and Carabjal, also of Phoenix, lost at the Seoul Games in controversial scoring by judges who were linked to suspected bribes in the subsequent disclosure of old East German secret police files.

Still, the uninterrupted controversies have devalued the gold medal once so important in launching a pro career. For the best American amateurs, it also has created a culture in which the Olympics are no longer a priority.

Before the 2004 Olympics, I recall an interview with Rafael Valenzuela, then a terrific amateur with the kind of hand speed that might have been able to score with keypad punchers posing as judges. Valenzuela, a Phoenix featherweight, represented the U.S. in the 2003 World Championships in Thailand. In the ready room before a preliminary bout, Valenzuela said a Cuban looked at him and told him:

“You’re an American. Why did you Americans even come here? You’re going to get screwed.’’

Valenzuela came home and quickly went pro.

USA Boxing has a lot of work to do and perhaps a few good ideas about how to rebuild its Olympic fortunes. One plan includes a permanent national coach, instead of the patchwork collection of coaches. The revolving door continued to cripple American chances in London with the April dismissal of Joe Zanders and the late hiring of his replacement, 2004 coach Basheer Abdullah, who wasn’t allowed to work any American corner in London reportedly because he worked with a pro.

Lost in the shuffle was Freddie Roach, the Hall of Fame trainer who amid much fanfare had offered to work as a consultant, yet ultimately was rebuffed. Roach worked with a few of the Americans. Yet, Roach never made it to London.

No wonder the Americans looked confused. From day-to-day and perhaps from round-to-round, they didn’t know who would be in their corner. A permanent national coach might be a good step. But that coach will have to change a culture in which an Olympic medal has mattered less and less. After London, it doesn’t matter at all.

QUOTES, ANECDOTES

· There’s been a lot of talk about sending pros in a bid to re-assert American dominance in the same way USA basketball did in 1992 with the Dream Team. Even a roster including America’s best pros, however, might have had a tough time in London. “Most of our pros would lose, because they don’t understand that scoring system,’’ Roach said. Muhammad Ali, now an Olympic icon and a light-heavyweight gold medalist in 1960, might have had a tough time winning if the computer had been at ringside for the Rome Games.

· In terms of media perception, America’s failure to medal is devastating. But mainstream media in the U.S. doesn’t care about boxing anyway. No American medal figures to have no impact on the pro game. Here’s why: Mexico didn’t win a medal either. Medal hopeful Oscar Valdez, a bantamweight from Nogales on the other side of the border from Arizona, was eliminated, 19-13, by Ireland’s John Joe Nevin. Mexico is the world’s best boxing country. Without Mexican fighters and fans, the pro game wouldn’t be the same. For boxing’s most important audience, the medal count doesn’t count.

Photo by Stephanie Trapp

Super featherweight prospect Diego Magdaleno continued his run through the lower rungs of the division with a fourth-round stoppage over faded trial horse Antonio Larel Davis in defense of his NABF title at the Texas Station Gambling Hall & Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night.

Magdaleno (23-0, 9 KOs) of Las Vegas, who once had a streak of nine consecutive decision wins, scored his second consecutive stoppage, but over an opponent in Davis (29-8, 13 KOs) of Atlanta, Georgia that had been stopped in each of his last four defeats.

Magdaleno, 130, made sure to put in his work to the 40-year-old Davis’ body in the early going. At first, Davis, 130, seemed to take the shots well, but quickly it became apparent the damage was accumulating. By the fourth round the writing was on the wall. Magdaleno fell back on his jab and pried an opening for a right uppercut that badly rocked the weary Davis. Magdaleno ran in for the finish, pummeling Davis around the ring.

With their guy taking punishment, Davis’ corner began to inch up the ring steps, but it would be referee Joe Cortez that ultimately ended the onslaught as Magdaleno swung away. Official time of the stoppage was 2:59 of round four.

A member of Top Rank informed 15rounds.com that Magdaleno is in the running for a shot at the WBO 130-pound title recently vacated by Adrien Broner. Apparently former champ Roman Martinez will meet Miguel Beltran Jr. in an eliminator in September, with the winner a possible match for Magdaleno.

Already 16 fights into his career and mega prospect Jose Benavidez Jr. (16-0, 13 KOs) of Phoenix, Arizona has yet to fight a live body as a professional. On Saturday, Benavidez took care of business over novice styled Javier Loya (7-1, 6 KOs) of Phoenix via fourth-round stoppage.

Loya, 143, was unorthodox and routinely came rushing in with his head up and defense relaxed – a terrible plan of attack against any fighter, especially a schooled former amateur star. Bendavidez, 143 ½, took and early opening to score a knockdown with a left hook in the first round.

Somewhat surprisingly that would be the only knockdown for Bendavidez, but the end would come in the fourth with a series of unanswered blows that forced the hand of referee Tony Weeks. Official time of the stoppage was 1:41 for Bendavidez, who is definitely ready for a fairer fight.

Another Top Rank prospect was fed well, as Notre Dame alum Mike Lee (10-0, 6 KOs) of Chicago, Illinois pasted journeyman Tyler Seever (13-12-1, 11 KOs) of Saint Joseph, Missouri inside of two rounds.

After a nondescript opening round, Lee, 177 ½, let his hands go and landed a combination punctuated with a chopping right that dropped Seever, 175, down hard. When action resumed, Lee rushed in and landed a thunderous one-two combination that sent Seever backwards. With the Missouri native in trouble, referee Russell Mora opted to end the mismatch at 1:36 of the second round.

Lee is slated to return to the ring on September 15th on Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Sergio Martinez bill at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Photos by Stephanie Trapp

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

For a brief time Friday, the hours between the elimination of Team USA’s last male boxer and his reinstatement on appeal, the 2012 Men’s Boxing team was, by record, the worst in American history. If welterweight Errol Spence is able to win Tuesday and Friday, assuring himself at least a silver medal, the 2012 Men’s Boxing team will be redeemed: By medal count, it will be the second-worst in American history.

This team is not the aesthetic disaster that 2008 brought. Kids like Spence, Joseph Diaz, Jose Ramirez, Jamel Herring and Terrell Gausha fight in a physical, forward-pressing, ineffective-aggressiveness-is-better-than-inactivity style that makes them easier to cheer than our last Olympiad’s counter-hook specialists were. If that’s a comfort, though, it’s a frigid one.

Americans were furious enough Friday to demand substantive change. Begin the housecleaning Saturday, not Monday! Oscar De La Hoya, in a fit of sincerity CNBC reported without irony, recruited himself and Mark Breland and Sugar Ray Leonard to coach the 2016 squad, on Twitter. The usual calls for professional trainers went out. A call for existing American pros – Dream Team style – got dusted off. None of these is a solution, of course, but they at least represented Americans’ readiness for radical reform.

Put the military in charge, then. An answer to each riddle insiders pose about how to reform USA Boxing lies in Department of Defense’s Armed Forces Sports Council (AFSC), whose directors are culled from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. Soldiers, airmen and marines already clean-up at many regional Golden Gloves tourneys round the country, and if they are not our sport’s very best athletes, they’re close enough. The AFSC can then set about resolving reform riddles like:

“There are too many warring factions in USA Boxing.” Anyone who’s ever asked any authority what is wrong with our Olympic team hears this sort of thing early and often. The cited factions usually organize round ethnic and geographic loyalties. The Armed Forces has a pretty good record of razing such loyalties in the name of a cohesive fighting unit.

“USA Boxing does not have enough money.” Setting aside the economic realities of those countries whose boxers routinely best ours and going along with this canard for a second, Americans can now sigh with relief, for once, after a glance at the annual budget over at DoD.

“Our kids do not get enough international experience.” A child to the funding explanation, this point is actually an essential one and worthier than its predecessors. International experience, after all, was the difference in Friday’s match between Team USA’s Errol Spence and Indian welterweight Vikas Krishan – a match Krishan had won until Americans, made rabid by the decision, browbeat the International Amateur Boxing Association into reversing itself on confounding hypothetical grounds. Good for Errol, though; he’s one of ours, and physical too.

How did he lose the initial decision? By corruption! No, actually, Spence lost by driving Krishan to dead spots on the mat – places where few of the five judges, perhaps not even three, could see his punches land cleanly. Once there, Spence taught the judges to see his punches as non-scoring blows, repeatedly assaulting Krishan’s raised guard with all manner of ferocity, such that when an occasional scoring blow did sneak through for Spence the judges were desensitized to it. Behind after two rounds, Spence allowed himself to be held in the third, and then, in the moments after the ref broke the fighters – the very moments the judges’ eyes were best focused – he allowed Krishan to leap in with single, looped blows that were easy to detect. Spence absolutely outfought Krishan, yes, but he did not understand international scoring the way Krishan did, and neither did his coaches.

The next time you’re in a gym that is part of USA Boxing’s network – you do go to the gym, right? – ask any of the kids where the judges were positioned for his last fight. Ask him where the dead spots on the canvas were, where the judges’ viewing was likely obstructed. Ask his coaches. Count the blank looks you get.

That’s because they’re not preparing for international competition! But why not? Every Cuban is. Why don’t we have an American boxing system crafted to please international judges’ eyes the way successful countries do? Because for the last 20 years we’ve been busy teaching “fundamentals” and “preparing them for the pro game”? Well.

American civilians do not like to learn new systems that do not promise quick and vast riches. We’re all ferocious individualists, often in a way inversely proportionate to our talents, and we pass that along to American children. Much of what ails Team USA ails USA in general.

Put AFSC in charge of boxing, then. For the next three Olympiads at least, make only boxers who are on active duty in the Armed Forces eligible for international competition. These kids will represent us proudly; they already box full-time, they pass drug tests, they successfully adjust to what excellent coaches like USMC’s Jesse Revelo teach them, they are uniform in every way – which Team USA, during its Las Vegas appearances in June, was not – they do not bat their lashes at professional promoters, and it is a metaphysical impossibility the Pentagon will run out of money.

For everyone else, here’s an even better option: Promoter-run farm systems. Like they do in baseball and hockey, kids who think they’ve got a chance at making a living in boxing can join a new Golden Boy league or qualify to fight at Top Rank’s Double- or Triple-Gloves levels. These kids will gain valuable experience and insight from knowledgeable professional trainers and matchmakers. They will learn a pro fighting style and skip the inconvenience of international-scoring clinics. They can make professional debuts on their 18th birthdays, enriching their families and managers and advisors.

You were mad enough Friday to demand something radical. There it is.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

CANYONVILLE, OREGON — On a Saturday night that featured excellent fights, but horrendous scoring nearly all the way through, unbeaten and wholly untested Mike Gavronski was lucky to escape the Seven Feathers Hotel Casino & Resort with win number ten over a shocked, deserved victor in Kevin Hand.

Gavronski (10-0-1, 8 KOs) of Tacoma, Washington got off to a slow start and was sporadic at best with his offense. Hand (3-3-1, 3 KOs) of Albany, Oregon clearly took the first two rounds, highlighted by a head-snapping right hand that seemed to hurt Gavronski in the second. Hand’s uppercuts landed with regularity in the round as well.

Entering the third round, the pro-Gavronski crowd was nearly silent, with only a few mutters of ‘Come on, Mike’ to be heard. After Hand tired for a moment midway through the round, Gavronski came on a bit to quite possibly earn the nod in scoring. However, Hand got his wind back in time for the final three rounds. Over the course of those frames, Hand seemed to be clearly the harder, more active puncher. Gavronski did little in stretches other than cover up, waiting for Hand to take a break in punching.

When lopsided scores of 58-56 and 59-55 twice were read, the overwhelming thought in the ring and in the building was that Hand must have been the winner. If Gavronski somehow won the fight, it would have to been with very close scores. But alas, the winner turned out to be a previously dejected-looking Gavronski. Unfortunately, the decision only continued a theme that plagued most of the scoring over the course of the night.

Decorated former amateur star Mike Wilson (7-0, 3 KOs) of Central Point, Oregon finally had the opportunity to fight before his supportive local fan base for the first time as a professional and sent his huge crowd home happy with a four-round unanimous decision over determined slugger Harry Gopaul (1-4, 1 KO) of Sacramento, California.

Wilson, dropping down well below the cruiserweight limit after fighting as a heavyweight throughout his pro run, used his natural size advantage against the more natural 175-pounder Gopaul. Wilson flashed the boxing skills that made him a national amateur champion some years ago as he kept the onrushing Gopaul out at range as much as possible.

In the third, Gopaul made inroads to close range, but Wilson did well enough for the most part, tying the Sacramento resident up and moving back out behind his jab. Aiding Gopaul’s aggression was a minor hand injury Wilson began showing signs of in the third stanza, which likely prevented him from committing to some of his blows. Still Gopaul is to be commended for bringing the fight to the bigger fighter, which was his only hope going into the bout.

When the final scores were read, Wilson had taken every round on every card, for tallies of 40-36 across the board. Given his strong local following, it is more than likely Wilson will be returning to the Seven Feathers Hotel Casino & Resort sooner than later.

In a fight more competitive than the scores indicate, Guillermo Delgadillo (3-2-1, 1 KO) of Walla Walla, Washington hammered out a four-round unanimous decision over Corben Page (4-4, 1 KO) of Springfield, Oregon in an action-packed super featherweight encounter.

The bout featured many give-and-take moments, but it was Delgadillo that was more consistently effective throughout the fight. In the end, all three judges had the fight a shutout, 40-36.

Marco Antonio Cardenas (4-3) of Salem, Oregon impressed in front of his home crowd with a well deserved four-round unanimous decision victory over Danny Martinez (2-2-1, 2 KOs) of Azusa, California.

Martinez, 129, was in trouble from the early going, as Cardenas, 129 ½, staggered him with a flush right hand midway through the first round. Despite the damage, Martinez refused to stop throwing his own arsenal, a theme that made for an entertaining contest all the way through.

After a solid comeback round for Martinez in the second, Cardenas seized complete control of the bout in the third as he began breaking down the Azusa resident slowly. The action went both ways, but it was clear Cardenas’ power shots were taking their effect. Martinez was badly wobbled again later in the third, but managed to throw enough back so that the referee could not rightfully stop the fight. After another solid round for Cardenas, scores read 40-36 and 39-37 twice.

Manuel Mendez (2-1) of Ontario, Oregon pounded out a four-round majority decision over boxer-mover Ronnie Reams (1-1) of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Mendez, 139 ½, worked over Reams, 139, from the outset in a fight that was undeserving of the even score handed in by one of the official scorers.

Reams looked to counterpunch, but was simply not aggressive enough to take any of the four rounds. Mendez continually pressed the action, often forcing to defend himself off the ropes. Mendez took what potshots Reams offered up well, and continued to move forward. In the second half of the fight, Reams seemed inclined to avoid the combat rather than trying to pull out the victory. Mendez again forced him to the ropes and pounded away as the bout came to a close. One judge surprisingly had an even score, 38-38, but was thankfully overruled by scores of 39-37 twice.

In one of several excellently matched fights on the card, Kevin Davila (1-1-1) of Puyallup, Washington outworked Gerardo Reyes (1-2-1) of Salem early, but faded late en route to a four-round split decision draw.

Reyes, 129 ½, boxed well in the first, outworking the tentative Davila, 129 ½, for the three minutes. Despite wobbling from a headbutt in the early going of round two, Davila came back and controlled the round with his constant pressure and relentless output. By the third, Davila looked a little spent which seemed to spark a fire underneath Reyes. After four hard-fought rounds, judges had it 39-37 for Davila, 39-37 for Reyes and 38-38 even.

From ringside it looked as though George Thompson (1-1, 1 KO) of Bellingham, Washington had done more than enough to edge out his second pro victory, but it was not to be as it was Sylvester Barron (6-1, 1 KO) of Anacortes, Washington that won over the official scorers in a wildly entertaining fight.

The two southpaw heavyweights slugged it out early, as Thomspon, 238, managed to press Barron, 219, into the ropes and launch and all-out attack. However, Barron quickly regrouped and soon had Thompson taking unanswered blows.

The second round looked a lot like the first, as both big men took their turns unloading on one another and playing to the crowd in between exchanges. Finally by the third, fatigue began to play a part as Barron began to show signs of slowing down. Thompson took full advantage and landed some clean left hands while Barron had his hands lowered. The two slugged it out throughout fourth as the packed house cheered until the final bell. In the end, scores were somewhat surprisingly unanimous for Barron, 39-37 across the board.

David Courchaine (1-2) of Spokane, Washington claimed his first professional victory in emphatic fashion, stopping Rafael Umarov (1-5) of Seattle, Washington 1:44 into the opening round. Courchaine, 170, connected with a clean straight right hand that sent Umarov, 163, crashing to the canvas. Though Umarov was clearly out on his feet when he beat the count, the referee allowed the fight to continue. However, it only took one more one-two before the fight was mercifully stopped.

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

We were hoping for a rebirth. Instead, we got another robbery.

On a day when I had hoped to write that three-time heavyweight gold medalist Teofilo Stevenson was a greater Olympian than swimmer Michael Phelps, boxing continued to trash its own legends and any chance at credibility with a referee and judges who didn’t even bother to wear ski masks in the attempted heist Wednesday of Japan’s Satoshi Shimizu at the London Games.

No reason to hide. The undisguised spree has gone on, without interruption and without an apology, since 1988. That’s when judges in Seoul robbed Roy Jones Jr. of a gold medal that went to South Korea’s Park Si Hun. The theft was subsequently proven when the judges’ fingerprints were found throughout files kept by East Germany’s old secret police.

Yet, the Seoul scandal was allowed to stand. Jones never got the medal he rightfully won and Olympic boxing never got the message that it was time to clean up its act. Instead of gold, the International Olympic Committee gave Jones a conciliatory trinket. The IOC awarded him something called an Olympic Order, which didn’t include an order for the judges to pose for mug shots.

It was outrageous 24 years ago, yet as current as Twitter Wednesday while watching Shimizu knock down Magomed Abdulhamidov of Azerbaijan six times in the third round. Somehow, referee Ishanguly Meretnyyazov of Turkmenistan missed all six. It was as if Meretnyyazov thought that Abdulhamidov had slipped on a wet London sidewalk. The bout should have ended there, a stoppage as clear cut as any.

But no, oh-no.

Not only did Meretnyyazov fail. The scorecards, compiled by computer operators posing as judges, did too. Abdulhamidov won a 20-17 decision. The Japanese protested. The decision was reversed. Meretnyyazov was banned from working the rest of the 2012 Games. Boxing’s ruling cartel, AIBA, fired an international technical official.

Yet, no action was reported against the judges. For all we know, they are still there for the next round of outrage between now and the gold-medal bouts on August 11 and 12. With some of the usual suspects still in place, a BBC story about money for medals has re-emerged. In September, the BBC reported that Azerbaijan, host for the World Championships last fall, loaned AIBA $10 million. The payback was reported to be two gold medals for Azerbaijan.

There was an investigation, conducted by AIBA. Surprise, surprise, the cartel dismissed the BBC report. At this point, it’s hard to know where the IOC is in all of this. Then again, it’s hard to know where the acronym was more than two decades ago in the aftermath of a Seoul scandal that still makes Olympic boxing look as if the ring is surrounded by yellow crime tape instead of those traditional ropes. If history is a guide, the IOC is MIA.

There’s an argument that it’s time to just drop boxing from the Olympic program. On the politically-incorrect scale, however, the 2012 introduction of the women makes elimination unlikely. Major endorsement money and media attention for American Marlen Esparza might make it impossible.

The real problem might come from the boxers themselves. The London controversy is fueled by suspicions that the referee and judges acted together in an attempt to fulfill a reported loan that, if accurate, will surely mean that good boxers, like fans, will stay away. In an interview with Jones for the August issue of The Ring, I asked him if he would have fought in the Olympics today.

“If I saw what I went through, I’d say: ‘Hell no, I won’t go,’ ’’ the former pound-for-pound champ said. “No way. You invest too much of your time and yourself to take that chance. I mean not only can they cheat you. They’ll stick to it if they do.’’

Before long, they might have only themselves to stick it to.

The on again, off again return of former amateur star Mike Wilson is on again. After days in which it looked as though the fight was in jeopardy, Wilson will indeed take on free-swinger Harry Gopaul in a four-round cruiserweight special attraction on Saturday night at the Seven Feathers Casino Resort in Canyonville, Oregon.

Wilson (6-0, 3 KOs) of Medford, Oregon ended a long layoff in May with a four-round decision in Rhode Island and had been pegged to make his first home state appearance as a professional this Saturday night. Several opponents opted not to take on the former national amateur champion, but luckily rugged Harry Gopaul (1-3, 1 KO) of Sacramento, California has stepped up to the challenge and will meet Wilson this Saturday night.

For Wilson, who has fought all over the country and even in Australia, fighting at home is a dream come true. “It feels great,” exclaimed Wilson about coming back to Oregon. “I’ve been overseas and fought and we’re usually packing onto a plane to get to wherever I have fought. You are kind of going over there to no man’s land by yourself. Sometimes I have to look at the weigh-in for someone to work my corner and you are kind of a one-man team. Here being at home, you have the support of everybody – your friends and your family and all these people that have only read about you through the years. It is sort of like a home field advantage in the NFL. When you are tired, you have all these people hooting and hollering for you, it can really make the difference and pick you up. It gives a little more fuel to the fire.”

Wilson, who fought at 201 in his last fight and has come in as high as 220 as a pro, this fight also marks a move down to the cruiserweight division. “This is the start of a new run,” explains Wilson. “I dropped down a weight class. I have always fought at heavyweight and I was always considered a really small heavyweight. So I had to fight these really big guys. By today’s standards, heavyweights are about 250-pounds. So I started living right and making the right decisions as far as not being out there screwing around or drinking or anything like that. My whole body has tightened and I feel great, like a whole new person.”

Looking at the cruiserweight division rankings, it is definitely a weight class that has room for some new faces. “I just want to campaign at cruiser and I feel I definitely could move up the ranks a lot faster at cruiserweight than I could have at heavyweight. We’ll campaign at cruiser, hopefully get a cruiserweight title and then at the tail end of my career move on and go up to heavyweight. If you have a cruiserweight title, you are already pretty much in the top ten. So hopefully make some noise up there before I call it a career.”

Helping to keep Wilson motivated through the trials and tribulations any young fighter has in their career has been the success of other fighters the Oregonian competed against at the top amateur level. “It’s tough,” explains Wilson. “You are seeing all these guys fight on Showtime, and I would go, ‘Hey, that was my roommate at this camp or I beat that guy at this tournament.’ You feel like you have fallen off the radar. It is not really anything I’ve done, but being from the Northwest it seems you can sort of fall off the map. It has been tough so to speak, watching these guys come up. But I’ve never let it get me down. It has just given me fire.”

Though Gopaul does not sport a glossy record, he has a reputation for being a tough guy that will bring the fight to whoever he is in the ring with. “I expect him to be right at my face and come right at me,” says Wilson. “I know he is shorter than me, so I am going to keep him at the end of my reach. It is going to be like a bull and a matador. I just have to use my angles and I think I have superior boxing skills than him. I am not looking for a knockout, but if it comes then great. I am just looking to box and give him a boxing lesson. That’s what I do best is I box and that’s what I have done forever.”

Should the fight get tough, for once Wilson will have the support of the crowd. The Medford resident expects a crowd of over a 100 out to support him on Saturday. “It’s an honor to be able to fight before my hometown fans and bring them a fight that they want to see,” says Wilson. “We used to have a really big following as amateurs and had some shows with sellout crowds here. The people really enjoyed it and it is just a big deal. It is a big opportunity for me to hopefully get my foot in the door with this casino and hopefully do this on a regular basis.”

With all the ups and downs he has encountered in his career and in just making this fight, Wilson has always had a positive mindset and never given up, even when he was told no. It is the sort of determination you would want in any fighter. Wilson’s positive outlook has brought him to a place some others would have never found, “I took off two years, but I still got up and did my road work almost every day and I never let myself get out of shape because I knew there would be a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Wilson steps into the light this Saturday as part of a seven-bout card headlined by a Northwest Light Heavyweight title bout between Seattle, Washington’s Mike Gavronski and Kevin Hand of Salem, Oregon. Tickets for the event, promoted by Patrick Ortiz’ Ringside Ticket, are available online at StarTickets.com.

As a child born and raised in South Africa, Thomas Oosthuizen, dreamed of fighting in New York City. Even at a young age, it was not difficult for him to understand what that meant. His father was Charles Oosthuizen; the pride of South African boxing, and their middleweight champion. Thomas idolized his father, and it wasn’t long before he laced up the gloves himself to continue in his father’s footsteps.

Despite being the son of a hero, Oosthuizen did not take the easy road up the rankings. Since turning professional in 2008, he has compiled a 19-0-1 record against some stiff opposition. Observers of the sport have grown accustomed to fighters facing off against poor opposition in their early years. Oosthuizen did not take this route. Instead, his opponent’s record in his first twenty fights was 197-46-7, which is a 78.8% win percentage. To put that into perspective, former Olympic gold medalist and current #1 super middleweight in the world, Andre Ward, faced opponents with a 79.9% winning percentage in his first twenty fights.

Oosthuizen faces a very tough test on Thursday night when he defends his IBO super middleweight title against Rowland Bryant (16-1, 11 KO’s). Bryant is coming off of a shocking third round TKO victory over Librado Andrade. Thursday night’s showdown is the best Broadway Boxing event New York has seen in some time.

“It’s the heart of Boxing in the world,” stated Oosthuizen on Tuesday afternoon at a press conference. “Before coming here, I told my sponsor that I couldn’t imagine that I would be here.”

Oosthuizen credits his success to his training. He is trained by Harold Volbrecht, another South African hero who is no stranger to guiding a fighter to the United States. “The easy work comes on [fight night],” stated Oosthuizen at a press conference on Tuesday. Train hard enough and the fights will be the easiest part.

The co-feature of the evening features the ever-improving Sean Monaghan (14-0, 9 KO’s) against George Armenta (14-9, 11 KO’s). If Mr. Armenta happens to be reading this, don’t point out any flaws. “It insults me and then it motivates me,” stated Monaghan on Tuesday. What does he do when motivated? “He trains three times a day half the week, and twice a day the other half,” stated Monaghan’s trainer.

Monaghan had a short amateur career of fewer than twenty fights before turning professional. Many pundits have been quick to make judgments on Monaghan’s style without realizing that he is still an extremely young boxer. With only about fifteen amateur fights and fourteen professional fights, Monaghan is as inexperienced as they come. The improvements that Monaghan has made in his technique and approach to boxing are amazing when things are put into perspective. He expects to showcase new improvements to his arsenal on Thursday against Armenta, who has long experience against young and undefeated fighters.

Managhan’s last statement at Tuesday’s press conference was a confident, “I got more to show you.”

Also on the card will be a number of the New York area’s most exciting and popular fighters, including Boyd Melson (8-1, 4KO’s), Floriano “L’ Italiano” Pagliara (13-4-1, 7KO’s), former amateur standout Zach Ochoa (1-0, 1KO), and Heather Hardy in her professional debut.

Tickets are priced at $125, $85, $65, and $45, and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased through any Ticketmaster outlet, visiting Ticketmaster.com, or calling (800) 745-3000.

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• Ligula dolor sodales lorem, blandit phasellus nulla cras.
• Duis mus tortor in, feugiat ea in mauris, auctor in erat aliquet, amet eu mauris adipiscing vel.

Aenean in pharetra arcu class in, justo orci varius, sociosqu in ante massa wisi, vestibulum vitae aenean ante. Lectus neque congue, mi mi natoque vivamus nostra. Cras enim ultricies, commodo sed vivamus. Aute vel feugiat odio in nunc mauris, nunc tortor aenean sed urna, tellus vitae duis urna nunc fringilla, tempus morbi orci vitae sed duis. Vulputate in ipsam lacus vivamus ut turpis, vitae nulla ipsum, dignissim maecenas aliquam donec aliquet ipsum elit. Elit condimentum, augue placerat pellentesque cras. Parturient ornare tortor donec sem, maecenas nunc eget elit, ligula a mattis lectus, justo tempor arcu in dolor per. Rutrum neque molestie nulla accumsan risus a, commodo lorem mi nonummy nulla mus, placerat rhoncus tempus quam ac suspendisse justo.

Diam wisi quam lorem vestibulum nec nibh, sollicitudin volutpat at libero litora, non adipiscing. Nulla nunc porta lorem, nascetur pede massa mauris lectus lectus, in magnis, praesent turpis. Ut wisi luctus ullamcorper. Et ullamcorper sollicitudin elit odio consequat mauris, wisi velit tortor semper vel feugiat dui, ultricies lacus. Congue mattis luctus, quam orci mi semper ligula eu dui, purus etiam in doloribus, semper convallis faucibus omnis donec, lorem id ligula in vulputate proin rhoncus.

Suscipit sed at montes at tellus. Aliquam nisl penatibus commodo massa mi rutrum, ut massa mollis dolor dui at, tortor ullamcorper vel diam pretium sit leo, pellentesque in leo eu mauris mollis aliquam, ultricies adipiscing eu a dui sollicitudin posuere. Massa vivamus ac ipsum, pede enim quam sit, mus aliquam amet pede quis laboriosam.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, nullam sapien erat tristique tempor nulla, blandit sit metus volutpat integer wisi. Sed elementum, nec nec inceptos vestibulum diam proin erat, sociosqu et sit provident pellentesque sed aenean. Faucibus per turpis est pellentesque potenti, tristique iaculis adipiscing mauris, ante velit et massa donec facilisis, sed felis sed est.

Molestias ultricies, ante quam urna ut volutpat, egestas dolor dui, nec hac ultrices nulla non netus. Placerat vehicula donec non suscipit egestas, augue vel suspendisse. Et felis venenatis blandit sed est ultrices, adipiscing urna, at aliquam nullam facilisis aliquet sapien, eget duis consectetuer tristique nunc vitae erat, mi purus nisl lorem. Ac magna lobortis non, vulputate vitae viverra. [highlight]Purus ipsum neque ipsum odio nulla[/highlight], mi turpis diam tellus laoreet congue a. Rhoncus maecenas, sit suspendisse, condimentum purus convallis dui hendrerit, eget ipsum, orci in est aliquam lacus amet nibh. Sit quam massa diam sit rhoncus, semper vitae. Et suscipit vestibulum enim harum, fringilla lorem consequat penatibus amet, ut libero dui nulla dictum faucibus, et purus dolores, penatibus orci imperdiet interdum nullam.

Posuere class eget sollicitudin vitae, commodo libero nascetur. Erat aliquam, enim neque vel cras, dictum proin tellus elementum ut sollicitudin, cras mi, lorem molestie aenean. Augue eu illum sed ac wisi. Felis id cursus vestibulum lorem quam vivamus. Nonummy eget maecenas, mi donec et, etiam quam ultrices. Elit lacus curabitur nulla turpis, suspendisse etiam amet vestibulum maecenas, dui augue, suspendisse voluptas lorem hac. Morbi sed, fusce quis nam. Vestibulum vel nunc vitae pede. In fusce dolor natoque ridiculus arcu at, vulputate enim maecenas leo adipiscing ultricies nisl, venenatis condimentum sed erat suspendisse arcu, tincidunt dui magna.

• Sed lorem aliquam eget, vehicula voluptate et eaque nec.
• Odio hac volutpat in malesuada, vulputate facilis imperdiet nec.
• Ligula dolor sodales lorem, blandit phasellus nulla cras.
• Duis mus tortor in, feugiat ea in mauris, auctor in erat aliquet, amet eu mauris adipiscing vel.

Aenean in pharetra arcu class in, justo orci varius, sociosqu in ante massa wisi, vestibulum vitae aenean ante. Lectus neque congue, mi mi natoque vivamus nostra. Cras enim ultricies, commodo sed vivamus. Aute vel feugiat odio in nunc mauris, nunc tortor aenean sed urna, tellus vitae duis urna nunc fringilla, tempus morbi orci vitae sed duis. Vulputate in ipsam lacus vivamus ut turpis, vitae nulla ipsum, dignissim maecenas aliquam donec aliquet ipsum elit. Elit condimentum, augue placerat pellentesque cras. Parturient ornare tortor donec sem, maecenas nunc eget elit, ligula a mattis lectus, justo tempor arcu in dolor per. Rutrum neque molestie nulla accumsan risus a, commodo lorem mi nonummy nulla mus, placerat rhoncus tempus quam ac suspendisse justo.

Diam wisi quam lorem vestibulum nec nibh, sollicitudin volutpat at libero litora, non adipiscing. Nulla nunc porta lorem, nascetur pede massa mauris lectus lectus, in magnis, praesent turpis. Ut wisi luctus ullamcorper. Et ullamcorper sollicitudin elit odio consequat mauris, wisi velit tortor semper vel feugiat dui, ultricies lacus. Congue mattis luctus, quam orci mi semper ligula eu dui, purus etiam in doloribus, semper convallis faucibus omnis donec, lorem id ligula in vulputate proin rhoncus.

Suscipit sed at montes at tellus. Aliquam nisl penatibus commodo massa mi rutrum, ut massa mollis dolor dui at, tortor ullamcorper vel diam pretium sit leo, pellentesque in leo eu mauris mollis aliquam, ultricies adipiscing eu a dui sollicitudin posuere. Massa vivamus ac ipsum, pede enim quam sit, mus aliquam amet pede quis laboriosam.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, nullam sapien erat tristique tempor nulla, blandit sit metus volutpat integer wisi. Sed elementum, nec nec inceptos vestibulum diam proin erat, sociosqu et sit provident pellentesque sed aenean. Faucibus per turpis est pellentesque potenti, tristique iaculis adipiscing mauris, ante velit et massa donec facilisis, sed felis sed est.

Molestias ultricies, ante quam urna ut volutpat, egestas dolor dui, nec hac ultrices nulla non netus. Placerat vehicula donec non suscipit egestas, augue vel suspendisse. Et felis venenatis blandit sed est ultrices, adipiscing urna, at aliquam nullam facilisis aliquet sapien, eget duis consectetuer tristique nunc vitae erat, mi purus nisl lorem. Ac magna lobortis non, vulputate vitae viverra. [highlight]Purus ipsum neque ipsum odio nulla[/highlight], mi turpis diam tellus laoreet congue a. Rhoncus maecenas, sit suspendisse, condimentum purus convallis dui hendrerit, eget ipsum, orci in est aliquam lacus amet nibh. Sit quam massa diam sit rhoncus, semper vitae. Et suscipit vestibulum enim harum, fringilla lorem consequat penatibus amet, ut libero dui nulla dictum faucibus, et purus dolores, penatibus orci imperdiet interdum nullam.

Posuere class eget sollicitudin vitae, commodo libero nascetur. Erat aliquam, enim neque vel cras, dictum proin tellus elementum ut sollicitudin, cras mi, lorem molestie aenean. Augue eu illum sed ac wisi. Felis id cursus vestibulum lorem quam vivamus. Nonummy eget maecenas, mi donec et, etiam quam ultrices. Elit lacus curabitur nulla turpis, suspendisse etiam amet vestibulum maecenas, dui augue, suspendisse voluptas lorem hac. Morbi sed, fusce quis nam. Vestibulum vel nunc vitae pede. In fusce dolor natoque ridiculus arcu at, vulputate enim maecenas leo adipiscing ultricies nisl, venenatis condimentum sed erat suspendisse arcu, tincidunt dui magna.

• Sed lorem aliquam eget, vehicula voluptate et eaque nec.
• Odio hac volutpat in malesuada, vulputate facilis imperdiet nec.
• Ligula dolor sodales lorem, blandit phasellus nulla cras.
• Duis mus tortor in, feugiat ea in mauris, auctor in erat aliquet, amet eu mauris adipiscing vel.

Aenean in pharetra arcu class in, justo orci varius, sociosqu in ante massa wisi, vestibulum vitae aenean ante. Lectus neque congue, mi mi natoque vivamus nostra. Cras enim ultricies, commodo sed vivamus. Aute vel feugiat odio in nunc mauris, nunc tortor aenean sed urna, tellus vitae duis urna nunc fringilla, tempus morbi orci vitae sed duis. Vulputate in ipsam lacus vivamus ut turpis, vitae nulla ipsum, dignissim maecenas aliquam donec aliquet ipsum elit. Elit condimentum, augue placerat pellentesque cras. Parturient ornare tortor donec sem, maecenas nunc eget elit, ligula a mattis lectus, justo tempor arcu in dolor per. Rutrum neque molestie nulla accumsan risus a, commodo lorem mi nonummy nulla mus, placerat rhoncus tempus quam ac suspendisse justo.

Diam wisi quam lorem vestibulum nec nibh, sollicitudin volutpat at libero litora, non adipiscing. Nulla nunc porta lorem, nascetur pede massa mauris lectus lectus, in magnis, praesent turpis. Ut wisi luctus ullamcorper. Et ullamcorper sollicitudin elit odio consequat mauris, wisi velit tortor semper vel feugiat dui, ultricies lacus. Congue mattis luctus, quam orci mi semper ligula eu dui, purus etiam in doloribus, semper convallis faucibus omnis donec, lorem id ligula in vulputate proin rhoncus.

Suscipit sed at montes at tellus. Aliquam nisl penatibus commodo massa mi rutrum, ut massa mollis dolor dui at, tortor ullamcorper vel diam pretium sit leo, pellentesque in leo eu mauris mollis aliquam, ultricies adipiscing eu a dui sollicitudin posuere. Massa vivamus ac ipsum, pede enim quam sit, mus aliquam amet pede quis laboriosam.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, nullam sapien erat tristique tempor nulla, blandit sit metus volutpat integer wisi. Sed elementum, nec nec inceptos vestibulum diam proin erat, sociosqu et sit provident pellentesque sed aenean. Faucibus per turpis est pellentesque potenti, tristique iaculis adipiscing mauris, ante velit et massa donec facilisis, sed felis sed est.

Molestias ultricies, ante quam urna ut volutpat, egestas dolor dui, nec hac ultrices nulla non netus. Placerat vehicula donec non suscipit egestas, augue vel suspendisse. Et felis venenatis blandit sed est ultrices, adipiscing urna, at aliquam nullam facilisis aliquet sapien, eget duis consectetuer tristique nunc vitae erat, mi purus nisl lorem. Ac magna lobortis non, vulputate vitae viverra. [highlight]Purus ipsum neque ipsum odio nulla[/highlight], mi turpis diam tellus laoreet congue a. Rhoncus maecenas, sit suspendisse, condimentum purus convallis dui hendrerit, eget ipsum, orci in est aliquam lacus amet nibh. Sit quam massa diam sit rhoncus, semper vitae. Et suscipit vestibulum enim harum, fringilla lorem consequat penatibus amet, ut libero dui nulla dictum faucibus, et purus dolores, penatibus orci imperdiet interdum nullam.

Posuere class eget sollicitudin vitae, commodo libero nascetur. Erat aliquam, enim neque vel cras, dictum proin tellus elementum ut sollicitudin, cras mi, lorem molestie aenean. Augue eu illum sed ac wisi. Felis id cursus vestibulum lorem quam vivamus. Nonummy eget maecenas, mi donec et, etiam quam ultrices. Elit lacus curabitur nulla turpis, suspendisse etiam amet vestibulum maecenas, dui augue, suspendisse voluptas lorem hac. Morbi sed, fusce quis nam. Vestibulum vel nunc vitae pede. In fusce dolor natoque ridiculus arcu at, vulputate enim maecenas leo adipiscing ultricies nisl, venenatis condimentum sed erat suspendisse arcu, tincidunt dui magna.

• Sed lorem aliquam eget, vehicula voluptate et eaque nec.
• Odio hac volutpat in malesuada, vulputate facilis imperdiet nec.
• Ligula dolor sodales lorem, blandit phasellus nulla cras.
• Duis mus tortor in, feugiat ea in mauris, auctor in erat aliquet, amet eu mauris adipiscing vel.

Aenean in pharetra arcu class in, justo orci varius, sociosqu in ante massa wisi, vestibulum vitae aenean ante. Lectus neque congue, mi mi natoque vivamus nostra. Cras enim ultricies, commodo sed vivamus. Aute vel feugiat odio in nunc mauris, nunc tortor aenean sed urna, tellus vitae duis urna nunc fringilla, tempus morbi orci vitae sed duis. Vulputate in ipsam lacus vivamus ut turpis, vitae nulla ipsum, dignissim maecenas aliquam donec aliquet ipsum elit. Elit condimentum, augue placerat pellentesque cras. Parturient ornare tortor donec sem, maecenas nunc eget elit, ligula a mattis lectus, justo tempor arcu in dolor per. Rutrum neque molestie nulla accumsan risus a, commodo lorem mi nonummy nulla mus, placerat rhoncus tempus quam ac suspendisse justo.