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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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.

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.

Just south of Tucson in November 2007, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero made the definitive statement of his prizefighting career. Defending an actual world title – IBF featherweight, as opposed to NABO this or “intercontinental” that or “interim” the other – against a proven contender, Mexico’s Martin Honorio, Guerrero, fighting for a wife recently diagnosed with leukemia, charged out his corner, moved elegantly, and with the first left hand he landed, knocked Honorio silly.

Honorio rose from the blue mat, staggered across the canvas and allowed referee Tony Weeks to save him, only 56 seconds in the contest. That was almost five years ago. Guerrero has never improved on the form he showed in Arizona, but his PR team sure has – explaining away inactivity, accusing sundry champions of avoiding him, and making Casey Guerrero the centerpiece of its marketing strategy. Or aren’t we allowed to call it that?

Robert and Casey’s story was retold once more Saturday, this time by Showtime, as the leadin for Guerrero’s interim WBC welterweight title match with the WBC’s Silver welterweight titlist, Selcuk Aydin of Turkey, in San Jose, Calif.’s HP Pavilion, a match Guerrero won by fair, unanimous-decision scores. The Guerreros’ tale is one of privation, commitment and resilience, and medical triumph. That it should become grist for a press-release mill is an apt commentary on this unfortunate era.

Robert Guerrero is not a welterweight, even if he is now an interim welterweight titlist. Guerrero does not belong in the division because his best punches are not forceful enough to keep a middling opponent off him, and this fact is more important than any tactical counsel he may or may not receive and may or may not heed. The layman’s favorite advice to his favorite fighter is to “move” and “use angles” or “box” more. But because the ring is only so large and three minutes within it is a disproportionately long time, fleeing an opponent whom one is unable to hurt is both an evolutionarily obvious tactic and a rarely successful one. A prizefighter must find a way to hurt his opponent, or else.

This is the difference between the sport Guerrero engaged in Saturday night in San Jose and what amateurs did Saturday night in London. Punches in Olympic boxing are judged by aesthetics, not effect; a punch that passes unobstructed from one man’s shoulder to another’s head is the best kind in the Olympics, regardless of shape or consequence. Olympic boxing, and the effects its scoring has wrought, are often and appropriately compared to fencing.

Fencing provided the shuffle step Selcuk Aydin preceded his jab with in the opening rounds Saturday – one of several clever and overlooked techniques Aydin featured. It was a similar step to what Miguel Cotto used against Shane Mosley a week after Guerrero blitzed Honorio in 2007, when much to onlookers’ surprise Cotto’s jab was consistently quicker than Mosley’s.

Guerrero has plenty of class and showed a good bit of it Saturday, and the earlier the better. His best combination – because it is boxing’s best combination – was uppercut/hook. As Guerrero is a southpaw, the combination began with a left uppercut thrown at Aydin’s lowered, charging head.

The uppercut transfers its thrower’s weight to his front foot and pushes his back shoulder forward. The hook then returns all the weight to his back foot, snapping the front hip round and pulling on the back shoulder. The front hand follows its hip and collides with an opponent’s just-raised head. The beauty of this combination, along with the leverage it generates, is that a fighter who lands the uppercut is unlikely to miss with the hook.

Guerrero did not miss with his left uppercut or right hook in the opening rounds of Saturday’s match. And neither punch had any meaningful effect on Aydin because Guerrero does not punch like a welterweight. Aydin walked through Guerrero’s blows. There were times Guerrero used activity and footspeed, and clinching and more clinching, to fluster Aydin and reduce the Turk’s activity, but there were very few moments Aydin stepped backwards because of anything Guerrero did.

Afterwards, Gilroy, Calif.’s Guerrero, goaded by his hometown followers’ euphoria at his victory, did something a wee bit maniacal. He called-out Floyd Mayweather, last seen bouncing right hooks and crosses off the head of a 154-pound Miguel Cotto. Against Aydin, Guerrero showed a large susceptibility to right hands. By insistently dipping to his left, Guerrero put his head in a place even a sloppy orthodox fighter could find it. Mayweather is not a sloppy orthodox fighter. Mayweather may well be boxing’s most accurate puncher, putting the middle knuckle of his right fist within a dime’s radius of wherever he aims it, with terrible frequency.

Guerrero needs to revisit what thoughts and emotions he experienced in the second half of Saturday’s 10th round, when the only way he precluded Aydin’s punches from moving him round the ring was by placing both hands behind Aydin’s back and doggy-paddling to the ropes, then ask himself if welterweight is really the place to make his living. If somehow he decides the answer is yes, he should fight Victor Ortiz before Ortiz’s jaw heals or hope Andre Berto fails another drug test. Guerrero ought to return to lightweight, instead, and work on winning a meaningful title there.

One thing he cannot be allowed to do is face Floyd Mayweather. Guerrero is a good guy, as we’ve been told so very many times, and he doesn’t deserve what Mayweather would do to him.

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

TIJUANA, BAJA CALIFORNIA – Local favorite Jesus “Bombardero” Valadez and returning former U.S. amateur standout Aldwayne Simpson thrilled the spirited fight crowd on hand at the Salon Mutualista with devastating first-round stoppages in their featured attractions as Diego “Pelucho” Morales’ Promociones PM returned to the border city on Friday night.

In what was a face-paced bout for as long as it lasted, Valadez (6-1, 3 KOs) of Tijuana scored a frightening knockout of aggressive swinger Edgar Vazquez (4-3-1, 2 KOs) of Tijuana, ending the night’s main event in just 1:13 of the first.

Vazquez, 140, charged out at Valadez, 140, as the bell sounded to begin the fight. Valadez, just 18-years-old, kept composed as he defended Vazquez’ onslaught. Once Vazquez began to slow his output, Valadez seized an open opportunity by connecting with a vicious short right hand. Vazquez was out immediately, but found himself tangled in the ropes near a neutral corner. Vazquez’ team rushed from his corner and spectators assisted in removing his unconscious body from the strands as referee Juan Morales Lee rushed in and waved off the bout. After some scary moments, Vazquez regained consciousness as his team removed his shoes and fanned him with a towel.

Aldwayne Simpson (2-0, 2 KOs) of Richmond, California, United States by way of Kingston, Jamaica worked off just a bit of ring rust with a first-round knockout of tough Jorge Sillas Amor (1-3) of Tijuana.

Sillas Amor, 135, looked to exchange early, but the difference in strength and hand speed were apparent immediately. When Sillas Amor leaned in to throw a body shot, Simpson, 142.9, grazed the top of his head with a left hand. Referee Manuel Rincon gave Sillas Amor a short reprieve to warn Simpson for the borderline infraction.

Shortly after action resumed, Sillas Amor came rushing in again, but soon found himself on the wrong end of straight lefts and straight rights as Simpson switched effortlessly from orthodox to southpaw and back. Sillas Amor continued to exchange, but when a counter left hook took him off his feet, the Mexican opted to stay flat on his back as Rincon counted to ten.

Sillas Amor replaced originally scheduled opponent Miguel Nava, who had failed to appear at Thursday’s weigh-in. Sillas Amor took to the scales Friday morning and came to fight, but was simply overmatched in skills and natural physical ability. Simpson, who is scheduled to return to the ring at the Craneway Pavilion in his hometown of Richmond on August 17th, had recently wrapped up a training stint alongside new WBC Interim Welterweight titleholder Robert Guerrero at high elevation in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, United States.

Former Tijuana amateur champion Erick Cebreros (3-0, 1 KO) methodically broke down a much shorter Benny Guevara (0-1) of Tijuana en route to a fourth-round referee’s stoppage. Cebreros, who turned professional only in April, had the most vocal following of any fighter on the card and sent his contingent home happy.

Cebreros, 127.2, began the bout using his advantages in height and reach by boxing the undersized Guevara, 123.5, at a distance. By the time round one was coming to a close, Cebreros began letting go with power shots to the head and body. Guevara attempted to get into the fight, at times unloading looping rights that would find their mark, but do little to faze Cebreros.

The Raul “Jibaro” Perez-trained Cebreros had completely wore down Guevara by the time the fourth round came along. With the fight out of Guevara, referee Juan Morales Lee opted to end the contest at 1:26 of the fourth, giving the young prospect his first career knockout as a pro.

In a rare all-Tijuana heavyweight attraction, Juan Manuel Dominguez (3-0, 2 KOs) halted Rodrigo Ramirez (0-2) in the second round for a scheduled four. After a fairly even first round in which both Dominguez, 229.3, and Ramirez, 260.1, landed their share of power shots, Dominguez pressed the fight in the second. After a series of unanswered blows from Dominguez, Ramirez winced, shaking his right hand to signal to his corner that he was injured. Dominguez refused to let up, swinging away with his foe back into his own corner. Eventually Ramirez’ corner opted to throw in the towel, forcing the hand of referee Manuel Rincon. Official time of the stoppage was 2:58 of the second. Ramirez had been out of action since a second-round stoppage loss back in September of 2010.

In a competitive action fight, Ciro Arrellanos (2-0) of Mexico City, Distrito Federal moved past Tijuana’s debuting Martin Gomez (0-1) via four-round majority decision. Arrellanos, 141.1, was solid all the way through, but Gomez, 141.1, seemed to have an edge in the middle two rounds. In the end, one judge had the fight even, 38-38, but was overruled by scores of 39-37 twice for Arrellanos.

In the opener, two fighters looking for their first pro victory fought their hearts out attempting to get into the winner’s circle, but it was Pedro Garcia (1-2) of Tijuana that ultimately achieved his goal with a four-round majority decision over Luis Contreras (0-3) also of Tijuana. Defense was a concern for neither Garcia, 134.5, nor Contreras, 135.7, but what the two lacked in boxing skill they made up for in heart and determination. Ultimately it was the harder-punching Garcia that won over two of the judges, 39-37. The lone dissenter had it 38-38 even.

Photos by Felipe Leon

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

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA — Some questioned whether former 126, 130 and recent 135-pound titleholder Robert Guerrero could handle a true welterweight in his first appearance above the lightweight limit. Guerrero answered those questions in fine form as he outfought previously unbeaten and longtime WBC #1 ranked Selcuk Aydin to claim the vacant interim version of the 147-pound title on his home court, the HP Pavilion.

Guerrero (30-1-1, 18 KOs) of Gilroy, California looked like a physical equal to career-long welter Aydin (23-1, 17 KOs) of Hamburg, Germany by way of Trabzon, Trabzon, Turkey. Guerrero, 145.8, surprisingly opted to stand and trade rather than rely on his superior boxing ability for much of the fight. Despite getting the type of fight he needed, Aydin, 146.6, could not handle Guerrero’s output. Aydin, who had held the WBC Silver title before signing on for the Showtime-televised bout with Guerrero, just did not have a Plan B when his Plan A was clearly not going to get it done.

The fight started with frantic action, as both men looked to take the initiative early. Guerrero placed some shots to the body and timed a couple combinations, but Aydin did not take more than a couple steps back.

The fight got rough as round two came to a close. Both challengers looked to get the edge on the inside, and both took a shot after the bell with Guerrero throwing last. After the late exchange, Guerrero and Aydin stood and stared each other down before their cornermen came to pull them away from each other.

The roughhousing continued through the third, as both combatants looked for any advantage possible. This round it was Aydin that got the better of it on the inside, as he landed a solid two-punch combination starting with the body and ending upstairs.

Guerrero became the first to hurt his opponent when he landed a picture-perfect counter left hand that violently snapped Aydin’s head back in the fourth. Guerrero followed up and controlled the round, but Aydin seemed to recover from the shot fairly quickly.

Guerrero controlled round five, but two right hands that landed for Aydin served as a reminder of the danger that will exist throughout fights as the Gilroy native and former 126-pounder moves up in weight.

Aydin broke through to hurt Guerrero for the first readily apparent time in the fight, highlighting a combination with a right uppercut that landed clean in close late in the seventh. Likely egged on by his corner between rounds, Guerrero stormed out and rocked Aydin back to open the eighth. Aydin came back with a right uppercut again in close, took some more from Guerrero and returned fire after the bell.

Midway through the tenth, Aydin bothered Guerrero with something in close and that had the local hero holding on inside. Aydin had trouble giving himself room to follow up, and Guerrero made it out of the round without taking anything else flush.

After a tough tenth, Guerrero found his range again in the eleventh and did well to keep Aydin at the end of his jab, A frustrated Aydin pulled down Guerrero’s head and attempted a downward strike to the back of the head right at the bell to end the round.

The fight started fast again in the twelfth as Guerrero opted to fight inside again. Aydin, unable to land the type of blow to rescue the bout, showed his frustration again, rubbing his laces against the Gilroy resident’s face and repeatedly attempting to land behind the head. Guerrero continued to fight unfazed and battled with Aydin to close the round.

When all was said and done, scores read 117-111 and 116-112 twice for the new WBC Interim Welterweight titleholder Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero. Of course, pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. holds the full version of the title. It is unclear what sort of timeframe Mayweather has with the WBC to decide if he is going to return to 147-pounds after his prison stint, or keep the 154-pound belt he won from Miguel Cotto last time out. Guerrero and his team have aggressively pursued the “Money” Mayweather fight for years, but it has never appeared that Floyd has any interest in the prospective bout.

Shawn Porter (20-0, 14 KOs) of Cleveland, Ohio remained unblemished with a fairly dominant ten-round unanimous decision against gatekeeper Alfonso Gomez (23-6-2, 12 KOs) of East Los Angeles, California by way of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico in the televised co-feature.

Porter, 146.2, just had too many facets for the one-dimensional former title challenger and reality star Gomez, 146.4, to keep up with for ten frames.

The first round had its moments. An accidental headbutt opened a cut over one of Porter’s eyes. At the sight of his own blood, Porter upped his output in retort, only to have Gomez come right back as the bell sounded. The steady action continued into the second, as did the accidental headbutts. Despite the vastly apparent deficit in hand speed, Gomez got the better of Porter as the second round winded down. The right hook especially looked good for Gomez, and may have been enough to seal it for him.

Porter picked up his output again in the third, giving Gomez trouble with his hand speed. Gomez looked to place one or two when Porter paused, but the Ohio native’s breaks were brief. By the time Gomez threw or landed, Porter had an answer. Another heated exchange highlighted the fourth, but this time it was clear who was landing the harder shots – Porter. Gomez especially had trouble handling Porter’s right hand.

Porter again had the game as always Gomez in trouble in the fifth, landing loaded combinations at close range. Just when it looked like Gomez would wilt against the ropes, the longtime underdog fired back for an entertaining exchange. However, the momentum was still clearly with the surging Porter.

Gomez rebounded to a degree in the sixth, due in part to Porter’s decision to fight on his toes. Gomez was allowed to come forward without paying much of a price, and appeared to be the aggressor throughout the round.

The fight began to fall into the rhythm as the rounds wore on. Gomez continued to hang tough, but the cumulative punishment had left him a step or two slower than he already was heading into the contest. At that point, there was not much Gomez could do to turn around the fight.

Perhaps a small ray of hope entered into the bout, as an accidental head clash opened a nasty gash over Porter’s left eye in the tenth. After referee Edward Collantes brought Porter over for a long examination, the fight resumed and Gomez seemed to have renewed interest in the fight. The swing was fleeting, as Porter handled the blood well and returned to his close range attack to close the fight.

In the end, scores read 96-94, 97-93 and 98-92 for Porter. With the victory, Porter claims the vacant WBO NABO Welterweight title, which will more importantly lead to a world ranking with the WBO at 147-pounds.

Super bantamweight prospect Manuel Avila (8-0, 2 KOs) of Vacaville, California moved past Raymond Chacon (4-4) of Los Angeles, California in less-than-thrilling fashion in a bout shortened to four-rounds to fit the Showtime Extreme undercard television time slot.

Just as he has in other recent bouts, Avila, 122.5, had too much class for his overmatched opponent Chacon, 121.6, but the Cameron Dunkin-managed prospect failed to really make a lasting statement. Scores read 40-36 and 39-37 twice for the still undefeated and untested Avila. The Vacaville resident, who trains in nearby Fairfield, returns to the ring in the latter city’s Sports Center on August 25th.

In a dreadful fight, heralded prospect Hugo Centeno (15-0, 8 KOs) of Oxnard, California simply went through the motions against the much smaller Ayi Bruce (22-8, 14 KOs) of Albany, New York by way of Accra, Ghana en route to an eight-round unanimous decision.

Centeno, 152, went for the stoppage in the first and had Bruce, 151.4, in a bit of trouble early. However, from round two through the end, Centeno was satisfied to step around Bruce while placing one or two shots at a time. When the fight ended, much to the delight of the crowd, scores read for Centeno 79-73 and 80-72 twice.

WBC #5/IBF #9/WBA #11 ranked super middleweight contender George Groves (15-0, 12 KOs) of Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom showed resilience before ending the night of Francisco Sierra (25-6-1, 22 KOs) of Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico at 2:15 of sixth-round in the first televised fight of the night.

Groves, 169.4, opted to slug it out with the brawling Sierra, 170, for an entertaining close to the third round. The round saw Groves’ face opened up, but the injury never seemed to be a factor in the fight. An overhand right started the trouble for the underdog, as Sierra was downed in hard in the sixth. The Mexican fringe contender gamely returned to his feet. However, two clubbing rights were enough for Sierra’s cornerman to hurry up on the steps and sidearm the white towel through the ropes. Groves had been reportedly scheduled to fight September 14th in Wembley Arena in London, England, but it remains to be seen if the cut he suffered will prevent that date from sticking.

Paul Mendez (8-2-1, 2 KOs) of Delano, California took a workmanlike six-round unanimous decision over weathered journeyman Leshon Simms (5-11, 3 KOs) of Hemet, California in the second warm-up of the card. Mendez, 160.2, picked his way to the win, but never went in for the kill against Simms, 161.4, who goes by the nickname of “Scrappy Mix.” All three official cards read 59-55 for Mendez. The Delano resident, now fighting out of Salinas, California, returns to action August 25th at the Fairfield Sports Center in Fairfield, California.

Imposing heavyweight Gerald Washington (1-0, 1 KO) of Vallejo, California pounded hopeless Blue DeLong (0-4) of Glendale, Arizona for about two-and-one-half minutes en route to a first-round stoppage in the night’s opening bout. Washington, a mammoth figure at 246.6 pounds, scored one official knockdown of Delong, 254.4, who spent much of the night on the canvas. Referee Ray Balewicz ended the clobbering after Delong fell to the mat one too many times 2:36 into the fight. Ironically Washington shares the same nickname as Paul Mendez, the fighter in the fight that followed his – “El Gallo Negro.”

Photos by Stephanie Trapp

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

Boxing attempts to become more than just Olympic history in London during the next couple of weeks in a fight to reclaim an identity that just hasn’t been the same since the Seoul scandal in 1988.

Muhammad Ali, a 1960 gold medalist, is in London like royalty. He is attached to the Olympics like a sixth ring, a ceremonial symbol of what they were and boxing was. But Roy Jones Jr. is the current symbol of what the Olympics have become for a sport that has fallen off the marquee and into the margins in the 24 years since gold was stolen from the former pound-for-pound king.

In a story for the August edition of The Ring, Jones confirmed what I have always believed. To

wit: Boxing’s long decline – in the Olympics and pros – began on that infamous afternoon in Seoul when judges robbed him of light-middleweight gold with a decision unequalled in outrage.

It happened before the internet and long before the immediate anger at Timothy Bradley’s split decision over Manny Pacquiao in June. Imagine if twitter had been around when Jones was left with silver and judges were suspected to have collected some.

The tweets, digital graffiti, might have been enough for Olympic officialdom to finally banish a sport it has never much liked anyway. As it was, the ringside corruption, confirmed in the subsequent disclosure of East Germany’s secret-police files, was enough to push boxing into a medal sport seemingly on perpetual probation. Squeamish officials tolerate it, mostly because they have to. Even the poorest nations in the third world can send a boxer to London. But countries without swimming pools can’t compete with Michael Phelps.

With boxing shoved out of the Olympic limelight and away from the NBC cameras, however, the pro ranks were robbed of a significant step in development and marketing.

“At the time, I didn’t really realize what had happened,’’ Jones told me in an interview for The Ring. “What I didn’t realize was how much it hurt boxing. The reason I say that is because, truthfully, the Olympics was where boxing kind of gets a little jump start.’’

http://ringtv.craveonline.com/images/toc/ring_aug12_contents.pdf

That jump start is gone, Jones says, because of 1988 and the subsequent move to computerized scoring. There’s no way to correct what happened in Seoul. But there are lessons. An intriguing step will come after London when computerized scoring will end. At the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, boxing will go back to traditional scorecards instead of computer operators who act as judges by punching a button as way to count the punches they see land.

Jones welcomes the move, although it reopens the possibility of the 1988 scoring in one of the greatest scandals in Olympic history. Nevertheless, it’s a step that Jones says will regenerate Olympic interest in amateurs who have a chance at pro careers.

There’s also been talk about bringing pros into the Olympics. Who knows, maybe, Floyd Mayweather Jr., can turn the bronze he won in 1996 into gold in 2016?

However, George Foreman, a 1968 gold medalist at the Mexico City Games, doesn’t like the prospect of pros at the Olympics.

“The Olympics have always been a chance for a nobody to become somebody,’’ said Foreman, a former heavyweight champ who is The Ring’s super-heavyweight on a Dream Team, an all-time American Olympic roster. “For me, other things were probable. But the gold medal? It was impossible. For me, that was the beginning.’’

Foreman is convinced that, in time, boxing will find the young fighter who will resurrect an Olympic sport known for him, Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Patterson, Jones, Andre Ward and a light-heavyweight named Cassius Clay, now known simply as Ali.

“We don’t even know who he is yet,’’ Foreman said. “But he’s out there. Look at what Michael Phelps has done for swimming. More than 30 years after Mark Spitz, he turned it in the sport people want to see. It only takes one person. Nothing is wrong with Olympic boxing.’’

Nothing but a comeback.

Notes, Anecdotes
· Trainer Freddie Roach, already busy training Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for his Sept.15 middleweight clash with Sergio Martinez at Las Vegas Thomas & Mack Center, has no plans to be in London for Olympic boxing. He worked with some of the American s as a consultant to the U.S. team. But that was before a late shuffle in the U.S. coaching staff.

· Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is already in London. If he can sign some of the best prospects, he hopes to introduce them to the pro ranks on an Oct. 14 card, a Sunday, at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay. On Oct. 13, Schaefer has plans for a card that might include junior-featherweight champion Abner Mares, also at Mandalay.

· Just wondering: Could NBC’s renewed deal for pro boxing lead to more network coverage of Olympic boxing? After years of seeing more ribbon-waving girls in rhythmic gymnastics than boxers, any boxing coverage at all would be a lot.

TIJUANA, BAJA CALIFORNIA – Former world champion turned promoter Diego “Pelucho” Morales is back giving young aspiring fighters in the border city opportunity to show their skills before their local followings beginning tomorrow night with a six-bout offering at the Salon Mutualista. Fighters weighed-in Thursday afternoon at the offices of the Comision de Box, Lucha Libre y Kickboxing de Tijuana next door to the famed Auditorio Municipal.

In the main event, local favorite Jesus “Bombardero” Valadez (5-1, 2 KOs) of Tijuana takes on determined Edgar Vazquez (4-2-1, 2 KOs) of Tijuana in a six-round light welterweight bout. Valadez, just 18-years-old, has become known for his crowd-pleasing action style. Vazquez is looking to rebound from a March stoppage loss to more experienced Miguel Zuniga. Both fighters weighed-in at 63.5 kilograms or about 140-pounds.

In a heavyweight attraction, Juan Manuel Dominguez (2-0, 1 KO) of Tijuana hopes to keep rolling against Rodrigo Ramirez (0-1) of Tijuana in a four-rounder. Dominguez, who scaled 104 kilograms (229.3-pounds), will already be fighting for the third time since turning pro in March. Ramirez, who came in at 118 kilograms (260.1-pounds), has been out of action since a second-round stoppage loss back in September of 2010.

Another active newcomer, former Tijuana amateur champion Erick Cebreros (2-0) will take on debuting Benny Guevara of Tijuana in a four-round featherweight fight. Cebreros, who turned professional only in April, scaled 57.7 kilograms (127.2-pounds). Guevara, faced with a tough assignment for his premier outing, came in at 56 kilograms (123.5-pounds).

Former U.S. amateur standout Aldwayne Simpson (1-0, 1 KO) of Richmond, California by way of Kingston, Jamaica ends a nearly three-year hiatus in a four-round light welterweight bout against Miguel Nava (0-3) of Tijuana. Simpson scaled 64.8 kilograms (142.9 pounds). Nava, never in an easy fight, was not present at Thursday’s weigh-in and will take to the scales Friday morning. Simpson recently wrapped up a training stint alongside former world champion Robert Guerrero.

Ciro Arrellanos (1-0) of Mexico City, Distrito Federal meets Tijuana’s debuting Martin Gomez in a four-round light welterweight fight. Arrellanos, one of three fighters on the card out of the Ray Solis Boxing Gym, scaled 64 kilograms (141.1-pounds). Gomez, fighting out of the Torito Gym, weighed-in at 64 kilograms as well.

Two fighters looking for their first win square off as Pedro Garcia (0-2) of Tijuana takes on Luis Contreras (0-2) in a four-round lightweight fight. Garcia, of the Chavez Gym, scaled 61 kilograms (134.5-pounds). Contreras, of the Xico Gym, came in at 61.4 kilograms (135.7-pounds).

Tickets for the event, promoted by Promociones PM, are available at the Perro Salado Billiards Hall, the offices of Box Latino and Hollywood Beauty Supply.

Quick Weigh-in Results (in pounds):

Light Welterweights, 6 Rounds
Vazquez 140
Valadez 140

Heavyweights, 4 Rounds
Dominguez 229.3
Ramirez 260.1

Featherweights, 4 Rounds
Cebreros 127.2
Guevara 123.5

Light Welterweights, 4 Rounds
Simpson 142.9
Nava*

Light Welterweights, 4 Rounds
Arrellanos 141.1
Gomez 141.1

Lightweights, 4 Rounds
Garcia 134.5
Contreras 135.7

*will weigh-in Friday morning

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

Cincinnati’s Adrien Broner (24-0) is not the next Floyd Mayweather. At best, he is New Mayweather, a product that compensates for recent layoffs in R&D by hiring an outside marketing team. Broner does not have Mayweather’s pedigree: he did not win an Olympic bronze medal at age 19, he did not come from an immediate family of talented prizefighters, and he sure as hell did not just stop an undefeated Diego Corrales (33-0, 27 KOs) to remain champion at 130 pounds.

That’s what Mayweather did in his 24th professional fight – after becoming a world champion by beating Genaro “Chicanito” Hernandez into retirement, blitzing Angel Manfredy and making five successful title defenses. Broner, conversely, picked up a vacant 130-pound belt from unknown guy with an 0-1 record outside his native Argentina, made one title defense, and then missed weight by 3 1/2 pounds, Friday, before stopping an outmatched and outweighed Vicente Escobedo (26-3, 15 KOs) Saturday.

There was an uncomfortable lack of adult supervision in Cincinnati last weekend, as Broner jeopardized his first HBO main event by missing weight twice. The one adult present was Broner’s manager, Al Haymon, who, reports say, was embarrassed by what his charge pulled. Haymon is exceptionally good at what he does – identifying marketable athletes, outsmarting network executives – but in his roots, he is a concert promoter, not a boxing guy. His eye for fighter talent is arguable. He is, in some senses, Bob Arum without matchmakers Teddy Brenner and Bruce Trampler – which makes him a lot like Richard Schaefer.

Which means nobody knows exactly how to develop Broner as a fighter; he is more AndreBerto2.0 than a second coming of Money Mayweather, whose development as a prizefighter, some might recall, was handled by Top Rank. Broner does some things very well. One is throw the counter right uppercut against plodding Latino fighters who were taught at a young age every confrontation reduces to a game of Left Hook to the Liver. Broner whipped the right uppercut at Escobedo in round 2 and took most of the fight right out of him.

One sees this in the gyms of the Southwest. Every Mexican kid, or at least every kid with Mexican parents, is taught to keep his right hand high on his cheek when he swoops in to throw his left hook. This defensive posture assumes his opponent will be throwing a left hook of his own at the same instant, and whoever lands first will invariably corkscrew the other guy in the canvas. But none of them, as he sets his weight too far forward and gets his chin over his left knee, has a defense for a right uppercut right up the middle. Some guys in Detroit have noticed this. Someday, Mexican trainers will give their fighters Joe Frazier’s advice – set your right fist palm down, between your chin and the top of your chest, when you throw the 3 – but that day isn’t arrived yet.

Besides, there may be only one way to overcome the shell defense Broner learned from watching Mayweather, and Roy Jones Jr. is not about to tell us what it is. This column has no such loyalty: A long jab is what picks the shell’s lock. Designed to catch the right cross with a high lead shoulder and thwart the left hook with a high right hand, the shell can either slip the jab or counter it, but not both. Jab the shell effectively enough, and the right hand moves from cheek to chin – and then interesting things happen. This is why Escobedo’s most effective punch Saturday was a jab, and it’s why, of the names Broner said “can get it” next, Antonio Demarco, a lightweight titlist who stands 5-feet-10, is most interesting.

Broner is an altogether lesser fighter than Mayweather, but the biggest difference between them is not a stylistic one; it is something measured by the way others react to them. Other prizefighters like Mayweather. He is one of them, and better than they are. There was a mishap with the Juan Manuel Marquez weighin, yes; Mayweather borrowed more advantage than he needed then saw how tiny Marquez was and paid him handsomely for the difference, all the while acting annoyed by his contracted promoter.

Other fighters don’t seem to like Broner. It takes a whole lot for a guy like Vicente Escobedo, Saturday’s sacrifice, to come out of a beating and still be frustrated by an opponent – as opposed to begrudgingly impressed. But frustrated is what he was. In Escobedo’s postfight tears was a statement like this: You could have beaten me fair and square, but you chose not to, which means you are not one of us.

What happened with Broner, his outgrowing a weight class, is nothing new. That it was preceded and followed by such classlessness, though, is a bit novel. Broner has a man’s body, a man’s strength, and perhaps a man’s ring IQ, but emotionally he is a 14 year old. He does not connect actions to consequences and does not appear particularly adept at pattern recognition. He is not, in other words, intelligent or mature. Most professional athletes aren’t – they stop maturing the day a coach or parent recognizes their exceptional reflexes – but Broner’s case appears predetermined for unpleasantness because there are no adults to provide the guidance needed by someone of his temperament.

Adrien Broner’s dad needs to put the hairbrush down, then, cancel his son’s Twitter account, and say, “Boy, stop acting a fool.” For if his dad doesn’t, Broner’s manager just might.

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

SANTA YNEZ, CALIFORNIA — In by far his toughest test to date, lightweight prospect Art Hovhannisyan remained unbeaten with a ten-round split decision over former titleholder Miguel Acosta in the Showtime-televised main event emanating from the Chumash Casino Resort on Friday night.

Hovhannisyan (15-0-2, 8 KOs) of Glendale, California by way of Gyumri, Armenia got off to a strong start, and it looked as though he may make it a short night. Near the end of the first round, Hovhannisyan, 132, caught Acosta, 134, with a clean right hand to score a knockdown. Acosta (29-6-2, 23 KOs) of Santiago de Leon de Caraca, Miranda, Venezuela appeared to be in trouble, but lucky for the former champion the bell sounded before Hovhannisyan could really capitalize.

Though Hovhannisyan maintained in control for the next few rounds, Acosta got his legs under him and slowly worked his way back into the fight. In the fifth, Acosta countered Hovhannisyan with a right hand, dropping the Armenian to a knee for a knockdown of his own. It appeared to be a flash knockdown, but may have been motivation for Acosta to believe a decision was still possible.

Acosta carried some momentum into the final two rounds, but it was apparent he was running low on gas. Hovhannisyan closed stronger, though both fighters had some great moments in action-packed tenth-round. When the final bell sounded, both fighters found themselves on the shoulders of their team members.

In the end, it was Acosta’s team that would be disappointed. Scores read 95-93 twice for Hovhannisyan, with the lone dissenting judge having 96-92 for Acosta. With the victory, Hovhannisyan will likely find himself ranked in the top fifteen by one or more of the major sanctioning organizations.

“I’m very happy to get the win,” said Hovhannisyan. “Acosta can still fight. I think my conditioning played a great role in my performance, but at this level you need to be good in all facets. This fight was definitely a great learning experience for me.”

In the televised co-feature, Roman Morales (11-0, 6 KOs) of San Ardo, California used his size and skill advantages to move past tough Alexis Santiago (11-3-1, 5 KOs) of Phoenix, Arizona via eight-round unanimous decision.

It was apparent from the early going that Morales, 122, was not going to be much affected by the punches Santiago, 122, landed. Morales, who normally displays stellar defense, was more willing to take one in order to landed his three or four-punch combinations. Though outgunned, Santiago made it a fight and stood up to some hard shots. Only one was able to put him down, as a picture-perfect left uppercut from the southpaw stance dropped Santiago in the third.

By the final two rounds, it looked as though Santiago may not make it to the final bell. Towards the end of the final round, Santiago showed his grit again as he fired and traded with the still strong Morales. It turned out to be a treat for the fans despite the lopsided scores of 80-71, 80-72 and 79-72.

“I thought this was a good performance,” said Morales. “I’m glad I could go eight hard rounds because that is what I expected. I got a little tired, but I knew I had to keep working. I’ll be back in the gym soon and I’ll be ready to fight whoever my team wants me to.” Next up for Morales is tough Jonathan Alcantara on August 24th at the Tulare County Fairgrounds in Tulare, California.

Jonathan Maicelo (17-0, 10 KOs) of North Bergen, New Jersey by way of Callao, Peru demolished normally durable, but aging former title challenger Daniel Attah (26-12-1, 9 KOs) of Washington, District of Columbia by way of Calabar, Nigeria inside of three rounds.

Maicelo, 135, pressed the action, landing with power shots in regularity from the opening bell. By the third, Attah, 135, was on the way out. Maicelo landed a straight right upstairs to score a knockdown moments into the round. The veteran Attah returned to his feet, only to take more punishment from Maicelo, who closed the show with a right hook-left hook combination. Referee Lou Moret called a halt at 2:45 of the third.

Longtime local favorite Rufino Serrano (13-4) of Santa Maria, California by way of Morelia, Michoacan de Ocampo, Mexico did what he does and boxed his way to a six-round unanimous decision over Rob Diezel (8-5, 3 KOs) of Seattle, Washington.

Diezel, 125 ½, attempted to match boxing skills with the adept Serrano, 125 ½, from the early going. While Diezel did well in the opening stages, Serrano’s class took over as the rounds progressed. However, Diezel was never in any trouble, unless you count a cut he suffered from an accidental head clash. Serrano took all three cards 59-55.

In a fight where somebody’s ‘0’ had to go, nobody’s did as winless Edgar Alvarado (0-1-1) of Riverside, California and winless Erick Prado (0-2-1) of nearby Santa Maria battled to a draw in a slugfest. From the opening stanza, Alvarado, 157 ½, and Prado, 161, fought their hearts out much to the delight of the packed house. Prado landed the cleaner shots in the early rounds, but Alvarado often closed better by landing his own telling blows. By the look of things, Alvarado needed to take the final round and he did so in impressive fashion. Scores read 40-36 for Alvarado, 39-37 for Prado and 38-38 to force the draw. The only unfortunate result is neither fighter gets their deserved first victory.

Tureano Johnson (10-0, 7 KOs) of Atlanta, Georgia by way of Nassau, Bahamas made short work as was expected against inactive journeyman Arturo Rodriguez (12-12, 8 KOs) of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Johnson, 160, outworked Rodriguez, 159, by applying pressure with punishing shots to the body and head. Finally, Johnson dropped Rodriguez with a clean uppercut, which ended matters. Referee Marcos Rosales called a halt at the 1:49 mark of round one.

Johnson’s next bout was already scheduled, as he will take on DonYil Livingston (8-1-1, 4 KOs) of Palmdale, California in an eight-rounder on August 10th ESPN2 undercard at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Morongo, California.

In the walkout bout, which was reduced from eight rounds to six, Francisco Santana (13-3-1, 6 KOs) of Santa Barbara, California cruised to a unanimous decision over journeyman Larry Smith (10-12, 7 KOs) of Dallas, Texas.

Smith, 150, looked to stay at range with his long wingspan from the outset. However, it was the onrushing Santana, 148, that dictated the fight. Santana, a recent Manny Pacquiao sparring partner, threw combination with short hooks and chopping shots from over the top.

Halfway through the fight, Smith began to concentrate more on posturing and mugging for the crowd than attempting to win the fight. In the end, Smith managed to duck and dodge enough to last the distance. Scores unsurprisingly read for Santana, 60-54 and 59-55 twice.

For the first time in his illustrious career, world renowned ring announcer “Generous” Joe Antonacci handled those duties for a West Coast event, in addition to conducting post-fight interviews for the off-TV fights.

Boxing returns to the Chumash Casino Resort on September 21st for another Gary Shaw Productions-promoted edition of Shobox: The New Generation.

Photos by Dwight McCann/Chumash Casino Resort

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rounds.com.

SANTA YNEZ, CALIFORNIA — In tonight’s edition of the Showtime prospect series Shobox: The New Generation, unbeaten Art Hovhannisyan aims to make the move into contender status against former lightweight title holder Miguel Acosta in a ten-rounder at the Chumash Casino Resort. In the co-feature, rising super bantamweight Roman Morales takes a litmus test against tough Alexis Santiago in an eight-rounder. Fighters weighed in Thursday at the casino.

Hovhannisyan (14-0-2, 8 KOs) of Glendale, California by way of Gyumri, Armenia has not seen action since a cut-shortened technical draw against former featherweight champion Cristobal Cruz last August. Prior to that false start, Hovhannisyan made his name off of a eye-opening sixth-round stoppage of heralded Archie Ray Marquez in June of last year. Hovhannisyan, who scaled 132-pounds for tonight’s lightweight bout, appears to be taking a big step up in class against Acosta, depending on what the former champion has left in the tank.

Acosta (29-5-2, 23 KOs) of Santiago de Leon de Caraca, Miranda, Venezuela is best remembered for scoring a minor upset of previously unbeaten Urbano Antillon to claim the interim version of the WBA Lightweight title in July of 2009. Acosta bumped off Paulus Moses a year later to get full recognition as champion before eventually running into Brandon Rios and losing his title via an entertaining tenth-round stoppage. In his last appearance, Acosta tasted the canvas three times against Richard Abril en route to a twelve-round decision defeat last October. Acosta scaled 134-pounds Thursday.

When the originally scheduled junior middleweight attraction between Julian Williams and Said El Harrak was a late scratch, the Morales-Acosta bout was elevated from televised opener to co-feature. Looking to make the most of the exposure is super bantamweight prospect Morales (10-0, 6 KOs) of San Ardo, California. Morales, making his premium cable debut, has quietly built himself a reputation as one the top prospects in the country and appears primed for a coming-out party. Morales, fighting for the sixth time at the Chumash Casino Resort, weighed-in at 122-pounds on Thursday.

Santiago (11-2-1, 5 KOs) of Phoenix, Arizona gained a small measure of notoriety in defeat last July. In a Telefutura-televised main event, Santiago gave well publicized prospect Randy Caballero his toughest test to date, although the scorecards did not accurately reflect his effort. If there is a red flag on Santiago’s resume, it would be an eight-round majority decision loss to .500 fighter Evaristo Primero this past February. Santiago also came in at the super bantamweight limit of 122-pounds.

In other action off television, Francisco Santana (12-3-1, 6 KOs) of Santa Barbara, California returns to his home area against perennial opponent Larry Smith (10-11, 7 KOs) of Dallas, Texas in an eight-round light middleweight bout. Santana, coming in off of a hard-fought decision defeat to unbeaten Jermell Charlo last October, scaled 148-pounds. Smith, loser of his last six to quality guys, came in at 150-pounds.

Touted Jonathan Maicelo (16-0, 9 KOs) of North Bergen, New Jersey by way of Callao, Peru takes on faded former contender Daniel Attah (26-11-1, 9 KOs) of Washington, District of Columbia by way of Calabar, Nigeria in an eight-round lightweight bout. Despite his advanced boxing age, Attah still usually provides rounds even against quality opponents. Maicelo, a celebrity in Peru, has been taken the distance in three of his last four outings. Maicelo and Attah both scaled the division limit of 135-pounds.

Longtime venue favorite Rufino Serrano (12-4) of Santa Maria, California by way of Morelia, Michoacan de Ocampo, Mexico takes on Rob Diezel (8-4, 3 KOs) of Seattle, Washington in an six-round featherweight bout. Serrano, who scaled 125 ½, comes in off of a one-sided defeat to tonight’s co-main eventer Roman Morales this past March. Diezel, who weighed-in at 125 ½-pounds as well, has strung together three straight wins since a first-round knockout defeat to Ramon Valadez last year.

Edgar Alvarado (0-1) of Riverside, California hopes to erase the memory of his pro debut as he goes up against Erick Prado (0-2) of nearby Santa Maria in a four-round light middleweight battle. Alvarado, stopped in one by Thomas Turner in April, scaled 157 ½-pounds Thursday. Prado, a split decision loser in his two bouts to Louis Rose and Victor Manuel Medina respectively, weighed-in at 161-pounds.

Recently signed by Gary Shaw Productions, Tureano Johnson (9-0, 6 KOs) of Atlanta, Georgia by way of Nassau, Bahamas will take on Arturo Rodriguez (12-11, 8 KOs) of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico in a four-round middleweight bout. Johnson, a 2008 Bahamian Olympian, weighed-in at 160-pounds. The 36-year-old Rodriguez ended a nearly seven-year layoff with a third-round stoppage of winless David Orozco on June 1st. On Rodriguez’ resume: a second-round stoppage loss to a 5-0 Miguel Cotto in 2001 and a first-round knockout loss to a 20-0 Paul Williams in 2003.

Tickets for the event, promoted by Gary Shaw Productions, are available online at StarTickets.com.

Quick Weigh-in Results:

Lightweights, 10 Rounds
Hovhannisyan 132
Acosta 134

Super Bantamweights, 8 Rounds
Morales 122
Santiago 122

Light Middleweights, 8 Rounds
Santana 148
Smith 150

Lightweights, 8 Rounds
Maicelo 135
Attah 135

Featherweights, 6 Rounds
Serrano 125 ½
Diezel 125 ½

Middleweights, 4 Rounds
Alvarado 157 ½
Prado 161

Middleweights, 4 Rounds
Johnson 160
Rodriguez 159

Photos by Tom Casino/Showtime

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

CLICK TO ORDER THE FIGHT

NEW YORK, NY (July 19, 2012) Popular welterweight prospect Cletus “The Hebrew Hammer” Seldin headlines the undercard of Star Boxing’s “ROCKIN FIGHTS 4” on Saturday, July 28th at The Paramount in Huntington, New York.

Sporting an undefeated record of 7-0-0 with five knockouts, the

25-year-old Seldin has become a staple at The Paramount, with three straight wins by knockout at the consistently sold-out venue.

At “ROCKIN FIGHTS 4”, Seldin will battle San Juan Puerto Rico’s Jonathan Garcia, 3-2-1 (1KO), in a scheduled six round bout.

“Cletus has had three spectacular knockouts in a row at The Paramount and has become a true fan favorite. The interest from fans and media alike about his return to the ring has been very impressive,” said Joe DeGuardia, President of Star Boxing.

“Along with Cletus’ return we’ve put together a very strong undercard at “ROCKIN FIGHTS 4″ to ensure that the terrific boxing fans at The Paramount get a full evening of entertainment.”

In the main event at “ROCKIN FIGHTS 4”, “The Fighting Pride of Huntington, New York”, undefeated junior welterweight prospect Chris Algieri, 14-0-0 (7KO’s), will battle tough Texas veteran Raul Tovar,10-5-1 (4KO’s).

Advance tickets for “ROCKIN FIGHTS 4”, priced at $50 and $100, are available through Ticketmaster, (www.Ticketmaster.com, 800-745-3000) or through The Paramount Box Office, (631) 673-7300.

Special VIP/Red Carpet Seating along with advance tickets are also available by calling Star Boxing at (718) 823-2000 or on their website www.StarBoxing.com.

Also featured on the undercard will be a New York State Junior Lightweight Title bout between undefeated Bronx native Manny Gonzalez, 10-0-0 (7KO’s) and cross-town rival Chazz McDowell, 6-1-0 (1KO) of Yonkers, New York.

The 24-year-old Gonzalez heads back to the ring following his unanimous decision win over Jesus Bayron on February 10th at the Mohegan Sun Casino.

Also returning to The Paramount is junior middleweight newcomer Raul Nuncio, 2-0-1 (1KO), of Glen Cove, New York in a four round tilt against Enver Halili, 1-0-0 (1KO) of Bronx, New York. Nuncio is coming off a four round decision win on March 31st over Valdrin Muriqi.

Local pro debuter Alan Gotay of Huntington will face off against Brooklyn’s Ian James, 2-3-0 (1KO), in a four round junior welterweight clash.

Rounding out the undercard, Hicksville, New York junior welterweight Anthony Karperis, 1-0-0 (1KO), will challenge Travis McElhaney, 0-1-0, of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The Paramount is located at 370 New York Avenue, Huntington, New York, 11743. For directions and more information, please visit their website at www.paramountny.com

Amir Khan, who wears lightning bolts on his dark trunks, is a lightning rod for controversy, especially in the week after Danny Garcia stopped him in the fourth round of an upset that few foresaw.

The attention on Khan is unfair to Garcia, but that’s built into a modern star system created and sustained by social media. Khan, a designated star since the 2004 Olympics, knows how to use it. Garcia, a relative newcomer with an annoying trash-talker for a dad, does not.

Stardom looms for the unbeaten Garcia.

It’s not quite so clear for Khan.

But here is a scorecard, a guide of sorts, on what Khan should do and not do:

Retire: Ridiculous. Fellow Brit Carl Froch said he was misquoted by the BBC. Whatever Froch said or didn’t say, it’s safe to assume Froch would have a more damning comment if the 25-year-old Khan did in fact retire. There’s another way to describe a young fighter who retires a few years from his prime. He’s called a quitter. Khan is not. He proved that by fighting back after the third-round knockdown and getting up from a knockdown early in the fourth.

The chin: Golden Boy promoters insist that Khan proved he could withstand power in 2010 when he survived Marcos Maidana’s crushing blows in the 10th round. But the Maidana fight created a dangerous illusion that Khan could take a big punch. Khan believed it. That’s why he decided to brawl in the fourth against Garcia, who dropped him twice in the round. Remember, Maidana’s punches landed late. Garcia’s biggest punch landed early – in the third. If it hadn’t ended in the fourth, it would have in the fifth or sixth or seventh. Khan fought as if he thought Maidana had inoculated him from having a weak chin. No, he just needs to know he must use superior skills to protect it with his reach, jab and feet. A fragile chin, which Khan leaves high and exposed, is not a career-ender. From Floyd Patterson to Lennox Lewis, history is full of fighters who have learned to fight despite it and perhaps succeed because of it.

Freddie Roach: Don’t fire him. UK media are full of stories about Khan hiring a new trainer who can teach defense. Roach is known for emphasizing offense. Hard to blame him. A little more offense from Manny Pacquiao might have resulted in a stoppage that would have averted the flap over his split-decision loss to Timothy Bradley. It’s an insult to say Roach can’t teach defense. Boxing isn’t football. Offense and defense aren’t played by different squads and coached by different coordinators. They are inseparable. Khan just has to suspend a confidence bordering on arrogance and remember to execute a Roach plan with tactics defending the chin while augmenting the offense.

Time: There is still plenty of it left. It’s too easy of think of Khan as much older, perhaps because he’s been a star since the Athens Olympics when he was a 17-year silver medalist. He is still maturing. In a couple of years, Pacquiao will probably be a full-time Filipino politician. A couple of more fights are left in Pacquiao’s career. Pacquiao’s retirement would mean more time for, say, a rematch with Garcia.

Quotes, Anecdotes
· A sign of Khan’s over-confidence can be found in what was missing in his contract with Garcia. It didn’t include a rematch clause. A loss to Garcia never seemed to be even a remote possibility to Khan, who in pre-fight interviews often talked about fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. in December.

· Several possibilities have been mentioned for Garcia’s next bout, including Zab Judah and Paulie Malignaggi. A rematch with Khan was eliminated by Garcia’s dad, Angel, who in pre-fight exchanges insulted Khan’s Pakistani roots. “Why should we give him a rematch when he didn’t give us any respect?’’ Angel said.

AZ Notes
Phoenix super-bantamweight Alexis Santiago (11-2-1, 5 KOs), nicknamed Beaver, is scheduled Friday night for an 8-rounder in Santa Ynez, Calif., against Roman Morales (10-0, 6 KOs) of San Ardo, Calif., on a ShoBox-televised card featuring former World Boxing Association lightweight champ Miguel Acosta (29-5-2, 23 KOs) of Argentina against Armenian Art Hovhannisyan (14-0-2, 8 KOs).

You know the cliché. It’s trotted out after nearly every controversial decision. Yeah-yeah, reasonable people can disagree. Trouble is, that’s all they ever seem to do in boxing.

As the business approaches a potential fiscal cliff of its own making on Sept. 15, however, there’s an opportunity for reasonable minds to actually work in behalf of the customers who just seem to be in the way of promoters hell-bent on destroying each other with dueling cards — the Golden Boy-promoted Canelo Alvarez-Josesito Lopez at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand and Top Rank’s Julio Cesar-Chavez Jr.-Sergio Martinez just a fast-break away at Thomas & Mack Center.

Here’s a way out of the conflict: The Grand Garden Arena at the MGM Grand is available Friday night, Sept. 14.

How hard would it be to re-schedule Alvarez-Lopez from Sept. 15 to Sept. 14 as a way to kick off a weekend celebration of Mexican Independence on Sunday, Sept. 16? First, Canelo-Lopez on Friday. Then, Chavez- Martinez on Saturday. Finally, Mana, a concert featuring the popular Mexican rock band scheduled for Sunday at the Grand Garden Arena.

The weekend-long fiesta sounds simple enough. Perhaps too simple. It hasn’t been suggested, at least not by the reasonable people who only know how to disagree. The topic dominated conversation before and after Danny Garcia’s stunning fourth-round stoppage of Amir Khan last Saturday at Mandalay Bay. From bar-tenders to serious fans, it was the same question: How come nobody is talking about making that move?

Above-all, it’s a win-win for fans, regardless of whether they prefer Canelo or Chavez Jr. They’ll have a chance to see each fight live, rather than being forced to pick one instead of the other. For the respective television networks, it’s a chance at attracting the biggest possible audience. Showtime will carry Canelo-Lopez. HBO plans a pay-per-view telecast of Chavez Jr.-Martinez for the middleweight title. If on the same night, each figures to lose some of its audience.

Then, there’s the MGM Grand and Wynn-Las Vegas, which will be the hotel site for news conferences and other pre-fight events in its role as a sponsor of Chavez-Martinez. All customers can’t be at both places at the same time.

There has been a suggestion that maybe one main event can be scheduled a few hours before the other. To wit: On Sept. 15, schedule Canelo-Lopez for 5:30 p.m. and Chavez Jr.-Martinez for 8:15 p.m. But that is fraught with potential headaches. Logistically, there might be an impossible crush to get a cab and rush hour-like traffic on the short road from one parking lot to the other. There’s also talk that Televisa, the Mexican network aligned to Canelo, wants the fight only at night instead of late-afternoon or early evening.

Even if that one doesn’t work, there’s still a way out of the dilemma. But so far a possible solution has been ignored and reason set aside for a winner-take-all confrontation that Golden Boy and Top Rank are promoting more than any fight and at any cost, even to themselves.

Philadelphia junior welterweight Danny Garcia was gradually fading against Erik Morales in March. The old Mexican master was coming forward in Houston’s Reliant Arena, and having taken away one of Garcia’s best punches, winning rounds and remembering his legacy. Then Morales began a right uppercut, moving forward and from distance – two mortal sins in one punch – and Garcia put his life behind a left-hook counter, and Morales crumbled.

In the final minute of the third round of his fight with Amir Khan Saturday in Mandalay Bay, Garcia was gradually missing Khan by wider and wider margins. Then Khan, catalyzed by the prospect of not being hit, began a right uppercut, moving forward and from distance, and Garcia put his life behind a left-hook counter, and Khan crumbled. The rest were details that ended with this line: Garcia TKO-4 Khan.

Danny Garcia used proper footwork to stand his ground from the opening bell, Saturday, choosing to be a fighter – not merely an athlete. The slower-reflexed man, Garcia took Khan’s first shot over and again and threw a dozen counter left hooks and overhand rights, which landed or barely missed, before he got the definitive punch of his career to come home. It struck Khan on the neck, arriving from an overshot place behind the ear, and rattled Khan’s stem enough to shake his brain, claim his equilibrium, and give him a storefront on Queer Street memorable as where Zab Judah set up shop against Kostya Tszyu in 2001. Khan’s footwork was worse with communication severed from his central nervous system to his lower body, yes, but only marginally so.

It’s not that Khan is a victim of brave choices – a man like that, after all, would have re-fought Marcos Maidana a couple Aprils ago instead of cherrypicking Paul McCloskey – rather it’s that Khan has enormous technical flaws boxing’s star system continues to overlook because it does not fit the narrative of a handsome, multicultural “warrior” with “fast hands” and “so much heart”

That is the confection boxing’s star system tried, and tried again, and will try at least one more time, to make of Khan. But boxing, bless its dark and easily corruptible heart, always finds the truth in its ring eventually, and the truth is this: Amir Khan, while a very decent and telegenic young athlete, is not a championship caliber fighter. He never has been because he is missing something, and it is not the obvious thing.

What Khan is missing is a certain willingness to be hit, and that is a flaw that unless one is a defensive specialist, professionals like Garcia and Maidana and Lamont Peterson will discover with an almost audible “Eureka!” and exploit. Even Garcia, a light hitter requiring an opponent’s wrong-leaning momentum to score a knockdown, threw haymakers, both counters and leads, from the fight’s opening minute. Why? Because he realized that, unlike Morales before him, Khan is not wired to step inside a wild punch and abuse its mania. Khan is hardwired to show athleticism – to leap backwards and demonstrate for euphoric onlookers how quick he is of hand and foot from the (way) outside. So long as Garcia threw threatening punches, then, he could trust Khan’s counters would be late-arriving and halfhearted when they got there.

Give Khan a chance to step forward, front-run and lead, and he’ll make a heavybag of you. But hurl crazy punches his way, and Khan’s first instinct, one trainer Freddie Roach has been unable to overcome, much to his reputation’s chagrin, is to flee momentarily and return once the craziness abates. It takes an opponent of incredibly little power across from him, a Paulie Malignaggi, say, for Khan to commit to a proper counter.

Khan’s handlers and their enablers thought they had that guy, again, with Garcia, a man who’d needed the full 36-minute distance to beat a fat and semiretired Erik Morales, and had only stopped 14 of his first 23 opponents. They were wrong, but do not expect them to admit it. Danny Garcia is not the guy they want. He’s prickly in his garish tiger stripes. He’s more Philadelphian than Puerto Rican but just Puerto Rican enough to not invoke images of Joe Frazier or Bernard Hopkins. “I want to thank God, I want to thank Al Haymon,” Garcia said immediately after stopping Khan, “he changed my life!”

And Garcia’s dad is a racist and a bigot, too. Goodness gracious, but when did boxing become about nonviolent expressions of offense? Yet, as part of Saturday’s HBO event, viewers were treated to broadcaster-cum-advocate Jim Lampley laying into Garcia’s dad like it was a cable talkshow. It was a better time when networks’ prefight meetings were candid affairs, and someday their programmers will rue broadcasting such footage.

It was a better time to be an aficionado, too, when broadcasters were not advocates, when they simply called both fighters’ punches and did not try to sell an audience the narrative most favorable to their last, or next, side project. But bad as Lampley was Saturday, that’s how good Max Kellerman was. He was the one member of HBO’s team who saw Garcia land several significant punches before the one that dropped Khan in a heap and made it a technical impossibility to celebrate Amir any further.

Saturday Garcia unified three titles in the junior welterweight division, though the path to that “unification” – as outlined by David Greisman on Twitter – does brings a chuckle. This Garcia knockout win, then, was not what was planned or promised, but aficionados are nimble enough to pivot like the Philadelphian, celebrate a great performance by an underestimated talent, and enjoy whatever comes next. We’ll see if the star system’s footwork is good as Khan’s.

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

A zero on the right side of a rare won-lost ledger can be a doughnut hole full of illusions. It’s hard to confront and harder to learn from something that amounts to nothing. Amir Khan doesn’t have that problem.

There’s opportunity on that side of the equation for Khan, who is coming off a loss to Lamont Peterson in a decision as controversial as any, including the latest twitter-driven flap over the split scorecards favoring Tim Bradley over Manny Pacquiao. Without returning to the grassy knoll full of lousy decisions and subsequent suspicions, let’s just say that Khan has another chance to define himself in the way great fighters always have.

They are remembered for their victories, but they are measured by how they respond to the adversity that comes with a loss, no matter how controversial. Defeat is the great divide between good and great. Khan (26-2, 18 KOs) won’t make the leap in one night Saturday against the unbeaten and untested Danny Garcia (23-0, 14 KOs) in a HBO-televised bout at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay.

But Khan can re-assert his potential, eliminate doubt left in the wake of the Peterson performance and show that he is ready to move on, from junior-welterweight to welter. Don’t expect him to send any thank-you notes to Peterson, who was forced to withdraw from a scheduled rematch because of a positive test for synthetic testosterone. Without Peterson and the timing of the loss last December in Washington D.C., Khan might not have been forced to acknowledge and presumably correct mistakes that could have set him for more significant trouble later one.

“At times, we got lazy and stuff,’’ Khan said in a conference call. “We weren’t feeling the effects of his punches, so we just stood there and took punches that we shouldn’t have taken. I think we were too brave really. That’s why I knew in the rematch I was not going to do what I did in the first fight and make the silly mistakes I did make. There are some things that we did in the fight that I shouldn’t have done.

“Also, outside of the ring there were a few things in training camp I did that I’ll never do again. I’ve changed them around and I feel like a totally different fighter now.

“It was a great learning curve for me, the Peterson fight, because it made me realize that, ‘Look, I need to do things and I have to be more professional and I can’t do this and I can’t do that.’

“Sometimes, it’s a good wake up call.’’

A willingness to change has already been evident in Khan’s camp, which was interrupted by news of Peterson’s positive test and the announcement he would fight Garcia instead. Khan fired conditioning coach Alex Ariza and hired Ruben Tabares.

“Yeah, we’ve changed from Alex to Ruben Tabares and it was just a change I needed because it’s always good to have a change and work on new things,’’ said Khan, whose chin has been suspect ever since his first loss – a first-round KO to Breidis Prescott in 2008 . “There are a few things in camp I changed and I didn’t change. It was a big wake up call for me after the Peterson fight and there were a few things I could change. This was one of the things that changed.’’

Tabares, he says, has forced him to re-focus by altering routines.

“It’s a new challenge, as well, which kind of drives me and I think that’s what young fighters need because you can get bored doing the same thing.’’

In dumping Ariza, Khan did what Pacquiao, his stable mate at trainer Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym, would not. Tension between Arizona and Roach muddied the waters before the Bradley fight.

On HBO’s 24/7, Roach said Ariza would not be in the corner. Then, however, Pacquiao stepped in and said that Ariza would be there. Pacquiao, a Filipino Congressman, often acts like that politician who wants to please all of the people all of the time. The impossibility of that task is no secret, especially in the contentious boxing business. The controversial Ariza was in Pacquiao’s corner on June 9, but there was still speculation about lingering tension between him, Roach and cutman Miguel Diaz. Ariza repeatedly insulted Diaz after the Diaz-trained Marcos Maidana lost to Khan in the 2010 Fight of the Year.

Unlike Pacquiao, Khan eliminated any chance of Ariza becoming an issue against Garcia or presumably anybody else. It’s a sign that he has moved on in perhaps one small, yet significant step toward crossing that great divide.

QUICK HITS
· The U.S. economy is headed for a fiscal cliff on Jan. 1 if politicians can’t agree. By then, the boxing business will already have driven off its own fiscal cliff if the Top Rank-promoted Sergio Martinez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight at Thomas & Mack Center and Golden Boy’s Canelo Alvarez-Josesito Lopez bout go off on the same night, Sept. 15, in the same city, Las Vegas.

· Any odds on who will outweigh whom by more on Sept 15? Chavez, a 160-pound champion has been entering the ring at 180 pounds and more at opening bell. Lopez, who has never been at more than 144 pounds, is facing a junior-middleweight (154) in Canelo.

In February local fans attended “Welcome to the Future” in San Antonio’s Alamodome to see how Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. would finally fare against a fellow Mexican. Aficionados, though, attended the event to see the “Filipino Flash” – a man whose talents were large enough to place his name among prizefighting’s elitist. Nobody was disappointed, and nobody was overwhelmed.

Saturday in what appeared to be a half-filled Home Depot Center tennis stadium in Carson, Calif., Nonito Donaire returned to HBO’s airwaves, this time a headliner, against a tall South African super bantamweight named Jeffrey Mathebula. Donaire won a unanimous decision, dropping Mathebula in the fourth round and generally outclassing the gangly South African throughout, and again nobody was disappointed and nobody was overwhelmed.

But the birdy hop made another appearance. It was its third apparition in as many fights for Donaire, a thing that happened before the midway point of each fight, within a round or two of Donaire’s realizing he’d be unable to stop his opponent in the spectacular, one-shot way he stopped Vic Darchinyan five years ago or Fernando Montiel two Februaries past.

The birdy hop happens when Donaire squares his feet, drops his hands to his sides, sets his face forward, and begins to hop frantically about an opponent, like an incited goldfinch, flapping his gloves threateningly. Sometimes he throws punches, occasionally he lands them cleanly, but mostly he hops hither and yon in an expression of frustration intended to provoke an opponent’s reciprocal frustration.

It is a wonder Donaire’s trainer Robert Garcia allows the birdy hop; it seems antithetical to what Garcia’s gym of seriously striving Mexican journeymen tries to be about. One imagines if the birdy hop came out in sparring with another of Garcia’s charges, five or six of his mates would gang up on Donaire in the restroom of an Oxnard restaurant and deliver schoolyard justice. Or is that “bullying”? The reason that doesn’t happen seems to be that Donaire doesn’t belong in Garcia’s gym as much as Kelly Pavlik does, and Pavlik – a long pressure fighter with a once-stupendous right cross – belongs there only insomuch as Oxnard, Calif. is not Youngstown, Ohio.

In San Antonio, Donaire did a mitts session with retired champion Jesse James Leija, and Leija came away from the session impressed by Donaire’s interest in trying new things – an informal curiosity betrayed by Donaire’s casual employment of the word “fun” in fight descriptions. Donaire’s pursuit of fun in the ring, though, now begins to undo his pursuit of stardom.

Local newspaper reporters always come away from boxing’s prefight promotions impressed by a B-side’s charisma and how much more time he has for them than the A-side fighter does. Donaire has a special gift for being an A-side fighter who makes himself B-side accessible during a promotion. He performs a public-workout routine where he invites youngsters to join him in the ring. He dresses well and speaks so respectfully most overlook his saying the same things everyone else does.

All of this is tolerable, nay, commendable, when Donaire blows through highly regarded opponents. The façade’s plastic shell, though, become less impressive the more time Donaire spends across from men like Omar Narvaez (UD-12) and Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (SD-12) and Jeffrey Mathebula (UD-12). HBO viewers, three times now, have turned on a Donaire fight to see a prodigy and instead have seen talent shy of prodigious, shy of the mark set by the man whose image is meant to be conjured by the “Filipino” part of the Flash’s nickname.

Against Narvaez, Donaire’s elite talents were stymied by his opponent’s defensive posture – what Carlos Acevedo, with characteristic panache, called “airplane-crash position” – against Vazquez it was a broken hand or blood vessel, and against Mathebula it was a pair of sleepy legs.

Much has been made of Donaire’s noble choice to subject himself to year-round Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) testing. The group’s evangelists hope Donaire’s example will become a standard in prizefighting. Donaire’s unripped physique, stay-at-bantamweight power and dead legs, though, do not thus far bode well for the group’s prospects. There is an important balance to be struck between entertaining spectacle and fighter safety – which are not allies – and it remains to be seen if year-round drug testing is the way to accomplish it.

Balance is also part of what has claimed Donaire’s power in his most recent three fights. His balance was perfect when he clipped Montiel 17 months ago in one of his career’s two signature knockouts, but it has been imperfect since. Some of this is performance anxiety; as a man who nears his 30th birthday, Donaire realizes he’ll not be a “young superstar” in boxing much longer and tries to force a spectacular knockout in the first five minutes of each match. Some of it, too, is the nature of added weight. Just three years ago, Donaire fought 10 pounds lighter than he does now.

Quite a bit of Donaire’s newly imperfect balance, though, is attributable to his being hit more often. After Saturday’s fight, he said imperfect balance was the only thing that came between his dropping Mathebula with a round-4 counter left hook and taking Mathebula’s consciousness entirely. That’s true, but so is this: Donaire’s balance was compromised by catching most of Mathebula’s right cross with the left side of his head before throwing the counter hook over Mathebula’s outstretched arm.

Postfight talk turned to Donaire’s next opponent and his trying to become the next Asian fighter to accumulate titles of all different kinds in all different weight classes. It will not be lost on historians, however, that Donaire did not unify the bantamweight division before moving on to 122 pounds, missing quite notably the winner of Showtime’s Bantamweight Tournament. And it will not be lost on anyone if Donaire grows his way out of the super bantamweight division without first fighting Guillermo Rigondeaux.

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

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — Rising featherweight prospect Javier Fortuna flashed the speed, athleticism and power that combine to make him one of the most talked about prospects in the game in a two-round destruction of former champion Cristobal Cruz at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Friday night.

Fortuna (20-0, 15 KOs) of Oxnard, California by way of La Romana, La Romana, Dominican Republic came out swinging in the first before eventually landing a left on the top of Cruz’ head to score a knockdown. Cruz (39-14-3, 23 KOs) of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico got up and looked to hold, but wound up tripping to the canvas, which was ruled a slip. Cruz returned to his feet, but was soon rocked by a wild left. Fortuna, almost coming out of his shoes with some of his swings, shortened up on a right to Cruz’ ear that hurt the Mexican late in the round.

Fortuna, 129, continued to rely on his left to great effect in the second. Fortuna, the WBA #3/IBF #6/WBC #8 ranked featherweight, hurt Cruz, 128, with a left hand over the top early in the round. Seconds later, Fortuna decided to lead with his left, which came at Cruz like a laser. Cruz, clearly not coping with Fortuna’s speed, tried to roughhouse and grapple, but Fortuna made room with a backwards step and landed a hard short left to drop the Mexican flat on his face. Referee Robert Byrd counted, but his efforts were not really necessary. Time of the stoppage was 2:22 of the second round.

With the kayo, Fortuna became the first to stop Cruz in nearly ten years. Though Cruz his not the same fighter that defeated Orlando Salido to claim a featherweight strap four years ago, Friday’s win was an impressive result for Fortuna nonetheless.

What looked to be a solid, competitive co-feature on paper turned out to be a one-sided drubbing, as Magomed Abdusalamov (15-0, 15 KOs) of Oxnard by way of Makhachkala, Republic of Dagestan, Russia remained perfect with a second-round stoppage of Maurice Byarm (13-2-1, 9 KOs) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Both landed some sweeping shots in the early going, but Abdusalamov, 229, appeared to be unfazed by anything Byarm, 239, managed to land. By the end of the first, Abdusalamov had broken through Byarm’s guard as the Philadelphian covered up in a neutral corner. When the bell rang to end the first, Byarm had weathered a storm, but found his corner as if he was taking a sobriety test after a few too many drinks.

Abdusalamov’s corner saw Byarm’s struggle to find his stool, and instructed their man to come out and finish his opponent. Abdusalamov landed a crushing left that put down Byarm, who gamely rose before referee Tony Weeks could finish his count. However, it was just a matter of time before Abdusalamov flurried, forcing Weeks’ hand for the stoppage at 36 seconds of the second round. With the win, Abdusalamov retains his WBC USNBC Silver Heavyweight title and will likely find himself in the WBC’s top fifteen world rankings next time they are released.

Still searching for his first professional knockout, local favorite Rocco Santomauro (9-0) of Las Vegas pleased the crowd on hand in taking a four-round unanimous decision over awkward southpaw DeWayne Wisdom (2-4, 1 KO) of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Santomauro, 124 ½, pressed perhaps looking for the stoppage and came close to scoring a knockdown in the second round, but Wisdom, 125, was never in any serious danger. After closing the show in the fourth, Santomauro went on to win by scores of 40-36 and 39-37 twice.

Sampson Boxing prospect Ronald Gavril (3-0, 2 KOs) of Los Angeles, California by way of Bucharest, Romania gave the crowd little time to warm-up in the show’s opener, as a series of unanswered punches were enough to warrant a stoppage in referee Joe Cortez’ eyes against Kenneth Taylor Schmitz (2-3, 1 KO) of Saint Joseph, Missouri.

Gavril, 167, pressed Schmitz, 169 ½, from the early going, eventually forcing him against the ropes. Schmitz did little more than cover up for a half round. Realizing such, Gavril kept throwing until Cortez leaped in at the 1:53 mark of the first. Though he did not appear hurt, Schmitz seemed at peace with the referee’s call.

In what became a four-round war of attrition, William Mitch Williams (6-2-1, 4 KOs) of Jackson, Michigan survived a rocky third round en route to a four-round unanimous decision over Manuel Otero (2-4, 1 KO) of Peralta, New Mexico in the walkout bout.

Williams, 181, controlled the first two rounds before Otero, 184, caught him in the third. Williams was in trouble, but made it out of the round. Otero left nearly all he had in the third, leaving little to get him through the fourth and final round. Williams, rejuvenated, punished him for most of the three minutes, but the New Mexican resident made it the distance. Despite his solid third round showing, all three judges gave the fight to Williams via shutout, 40-36.

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

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — Tabbed by boxing insiders as one of top prospects in all of the sport, undefeated Javier Fortuna looks to make a statement against one of the longtime measuring sticks in the lower weight divisions, former featherweight champion Cristobal Cruz in tonight’s ESPN2-televised main event emanating from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Fighters for the five-bout card weighed-in Thursday at the casino’s Vanity Night Club.

When the originally scheduled main event of Marvin Sonsona-Luis Cruz was scratched, the spotlight shifted from a former champion and contender to what was to be the co-feature, featuring one of boxing’s likely future stars. Fortuna (19-0, 14 KOs) of Oxnard, California by way of La Romana, La Romana, Dominican Republic has been impressive since stepping up his level of competition in March of last year.

Derrick Wilson was one of the first fellow prospects to discover Fortuna’s power, as he lasted into the eighth round before the bout was stopped after his fourth knockdown. Most recently, previously unbeaten Yuandale Evans had the unenviable task of attempting to halt Fortuna’s ride to prominence. Evans, well regarded as a U.S. amateur, failed to make it out of round one against the pride of La Romana. Now Fortuna will attempt to do the same against a former world champion for the first time in his career.

Cruz (39-13-3, 23 KOs) of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico became one of the unlikeliest world champs back in October of 2008 as he edged Orlando Salido to claim the vacant IBF Featherweight title via split decision. After three defenses, Cruz ran up against a reinvigorated Salido and lost the rematch and his title in wide unanimous decision in May of 2010. In his last time out, in a bout that was televised by ESPN2, Cruz failed in an attempt at claiming the WBC Silver 130-pound title from Juan Carlos Burgos this past February. Cruz weighed in for the ten-round bout at 128-pounds Thursday, while Fortuna made 129.

Both fighters seemed pumped for the fight at yesterday’s press conference. “It’s a tough fight,” admitted the WBA #3/IBF #6/WBC #8 ranked featherweight Fortuna. “I know he has a lot of experience, but this is my time.” Cruz on the other hand sees the fight as a potential launching pad into the next chapter of his career. “I am ready for anything tomorrow night because I am hungry to be world champion again,” proclaimed Cruz.

In the televised co-feature, promoter Sampson Lewkowicz’ heavyweight prospect Magomed Abdusalamov (14-0, 14 KOs) of Oxnard by way of Makhachkala, Republic of Dagestan, Russia takes on what looks to be the toughest assignment of his pro career in Maurice Byarm (13-1-1, 9 KOs) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in a ten-round bout. Byarm was last seen as he took on undefeated prospect Bryant Jennings on short notice, losing a competitive ten-round decision televised by NBC Sports Network this past January. Abdusalamov, the WBA #13 ranked heavyweight, scaled 229-pounds Thursday, while Byarm weighed-in at 239.

The rest of the card is filled out by three four-round bouts. Local favorite Rocco Santomauro (8-0) of Las Vegas takes on DeWayne Wisdom (2-3, 1 KO) of Indianapolis, Indiana in a featherweight scrap. Santomauro, who has never fought outside of Las Vegas as a pro, scaled 124 ½-pounds. Wisdom, fighting for the fourth time this year, weighed-in at 125-pounds.

William Mitch Williams (5-2-1, 4 KOs) of Jackson, Michigan takes on Manuel Otero (2-3, 1 KO) of Peralta, New Mexico in a four-round cruiserweight contest. Williams, hoping to extend his five-fight unbeaten streak, weighed-in at 181-pounds. Otero, fighting for the first time this year, came in at 184.

Promising super middleweight prospect Ronald Gavril (2-0, 1 KO) of Los Angeles, California by way of Bucharest, Romania will take on Kenneth Taylor Schmitz (2-2, 1 KO) of Saint Joseph, Missouri in a four-rounder. Gavril, a top AIBA amateur from 2007-2010, weighed-in at 167-pounds. Schmitz, fresh off of a four-round unanimous decision loss to undefeated Antowyan Aikens on June 1st, scaled 169 ½-pounds.

Tickets for the event, dubbed “Moment of Truth” and promoted by Sampson Boxing and Greg Cohen Promotions, are available online at HardRockHotel.com.

Quick Weigh-in Results:

Super Featherweights, 10 Rounds
Fortuna 129
Cruz 128

WBC USNBC Silver Heavyweight Championship, 10 Rounds
Abdusalamov 229
Byarm 239

Featherweights, 4 Rounds
Santomauro 124 ½
Wisdom 125

Cruiserweights, 4 Rounds
Williams 181
Otero 184

Super Middleweights, 4 Rounds
Gavril 167
Schmitz 169 ½

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

Kelly Pavlik is somewhere in the middle of that comeback story few can resist, especially in a business with a soft spot in its battered heart for an attempt as perilous as it is compelling. It’s impossible to know where it will end. It’s also impossible to ignore.

A sign of its destination will be there Saturday night on HBO’s Boxing After Dark in a Pavlik bout against an unknown, who for now is best known for wearing a T-shirt that mocks his own anonymity. Who Is Will Rosinsky?, says the shirt worn by an entertaining super-middleweight from New York with the same name.

Lose to Rosinsky (16-1, 9 KOs), and Pavlik (39-2, 34 KOs) might as well open up a T-shirt shop. The guess is that he won’t. Rosinsky is just the third step in Pavlik’s fight to come back from a messy bout with alcohol and subsequent erratic behavior, including an abrupt withdrawal from a fight last year with Darryl Cunningham, reportedly because he was unhappy with a purse worth more than $50,000. Had he beat Cunningham, he was in line for $1.35 million against Lucian Bute.

“I know there are some things Kelly wants to accomplish on this comeback, and we do call it a comeback because of all the changes that he made,’’ said manager Cameron Dunkin, who stood by Pavlik through all of the turmoil.

In the wake of two stays at the Betty Ford Clinic, Pavlik left old temptations and former trainer Jack Loew home in Youngstown. Then, he moved to Oxnard, Calif., and into Robert Garcia’s busy gym.

“The move out here to Oxnard was the best move I could make,’’ Pavlik said during a conference call about 10 days before facing Rosinsky on a Carson, Calif., card that includes Nonito Donaire (28-1, 18 KOs) against South African super-bantamweight Jeffrey Mathebula (26-3-2, 14 KOs). “I didn’t think I was ever going to get this opportunity again if I stayed back home training. We had to make that move.’’

It’s one among many in a plan that puts routine back into a lifestyle gone awry. Pavlik, who beat Scott Sigmon on June 8 in Las Vegas, is fighting Saturday for the second time within a month. Staying busy means a couple of things: There’s the patient re-discovery of fundamentals. And there’s staying sober. Sobriety is a difficult question, yet also inevitable after all the headlines about what went wrong after a loss to Bernard Hopkins in 2008.

Pavlik doesn’t like the question. Hard to blame him. But publicity has made it inevitable and perhaps turned it into just another opponent for the former middleweight champ in what might be his last chance.

“Right now I am in training,’’ Pavlik said when asked what he knew was coming. “You see people mentioning the last couple of incidents. But that is a three-year-old question. I will talk about my fight coming up and the opponent I am fighting.’’

Move on. It’s all he can do.

A sign of progress was there, in tone and words, when he talked about his victory over Sigmon. Before the seventh-round stoppage, it looked as if Pavlik got tired. But it wasn’t fatigue that kept the fight going a couple rounds after some at ringside thought it should have ended. It was fun.

“I wasn’t tired,” Pavlik said. “I was having a little bit of fun in that fight with Sigmund. I kind of made it look that way and that was my fault. Robert kept telling me: ‘Keep your distance, keep your distance.’ If he had some power to threaten me or keep me on my toes I wouldn’t have fought that way. But he didn’t have anything. I was enjoying what I was doing in there.’’

A rediscovery of simple joy in an old craft might be an intangible, yet it is no less significant than the re-application of a consistent jab and skillful defense. Pavlik is glad to be back and ambitious for a return to the big stage he once occupied.

“I am ready for the big fight now,’’ said Pavlik, who hopes his horizon after Rosinsky opens up to include Carl Froch or Bute or even pound-for-pound contender Andre Ward. “…Ward impressed me the most. He won the Super Six hands down and his overall boxing is good. I would love to fight him because he is the man. But he’s got a fight with (Chad) Dawson right now (Sept. 8). Froch, I would love to fight. Bute, also.

“There are a lot of opportunities out there.’’

And each a reason to hope that this comeback ends the way it was intended.

AZ Notes
In his first fight since a unanimous decision over Josh Sosa on May 26 in Tucson, Phoenix junior-welterweight prospect Jose Benavidez Jr. (15-0, 12 KOs) is scheduled for an Aug. 4 bout at Las Vegas’ Texas Station against Raul Tovar (10-5-1, 4 KOs) of Mission, Tex.

However, Benavidez’ opponent might change. Tovar has a July 13 bout scheduled against emerging Chris Algieri (14-0, 7 KOs) in Huntington, N.Y. An injury could force Tovar to withdraw. Benavidez was somewhat tentative in May in his first bout since surgery on his right wrist. Top Rank wants to ensure that his hands stay healthy with the right gloves and proper taping. Then, it hopes to step up the level of competition with tougher opponents.

NEW YORK – July 2, 2012 -NBC Sports Group will partner with Main Events to produce a second season of the network’s successful primetime boxing series Fight Night. The Saturday night boxing series will expand from six telecasts to-up-to 16 and will showcase compelling match-ups between some of the world’s best fighters.

NBC Sports Group will continue to work with Main Events and Hall-of-Fame matchmaker J Russell Peltz, to once again feature a multi-promoter strategy for the series. Designed to produce the best quality fights, the collaboration allows any promoter the opportunity to get their boxers involved in these programs and allows viewers the ability to see world class match-ups that would not otherwise take place.

“We are once again reaching out to all promoters to get involved in the series.” said Kathy Duva, president, Main Events. “The multiple promoter format worked incredibly well during season one and we are hoping to continue to build on the momentum. All fighters who are willing to further their careers by engaging in compelling, interesting, meaningful matches are welcome.”

“This series is the best thing that has happened to boxing in years,” said Hall-of-Fame promoter/matchmaker J Russell Peltz. “In just four shows, we have seen the emergence of US heavyweight prospect Bryant Jennings and junior middleweight contender Gabriel Rosado. We have shown matches between world-rated fighters and that’s something you rarely see these days on television. On top of that, the fights have been promoted the old-fashioned way, in sold-out noisy venues in Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Bethlehem and Newark. This is the way boxing was meant to be.”

“Fight Night has been a tremendous success. The unique approach to have multiple promoters competing to put fights on the NBC Sports Network has allowed us to produce compelling match-ups and incredibly exciting shows” said Jon Miller, President, programming, NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network. “NBC’s is committed to the property and we are looking forward to expanding the series from six telecasts to-up-to 16.”

Two dates have already been scheduled for the 2013 calendar, and additional dates will be announced as they are confirmed. A minimum of six telecasts will take place each year on the NBC Sports Network, and up to two broadcasts will air each year on NBC.

As part of the agreement, an additional Fight Night telecast has also been added to the 2012 calendar. The show will air on Saturday, December 22 on NBC, from 4-6 p.m. ET. The fight card will be announced at a later date.

2012-2013 NBC SPORTS NETWORK FIGHT NIGHT SCHEDULE

(All Times ET and subject to change)

Saturday, December 22 4-6 p.m. NBC

Saturday, January 19, 9-11 p.m. NBC Sports Network

Saturday, March 9, 2013 9-11 p.m. NBC Sports Network

Kenny Rice will continue to serve as the play-by-play commentator for all telecasts, and will be

joined by Hall-of-Fame boxing trainer Freddie Roach and cruiserweight contender B.J. Flores. Chris

Mannix will continue to serve as the ringside reporter for each telecast.

FIGHT NIGHT 36: The NBC Sports Network will continue to use its all-access 36 series to compliment the Fight Night telecasts. In 2012, individual Fight Night 36 episodes featured fighters Zab Judah and Eddie Chambers. The collaboration between Fight Night 36 and Fight Night allowed fans a unique opportunity to go behind-the-scenes prior to each fight and see how the boxers train, spend time with their family and interact with fans.

About Fight Night: NBC Sports Network’s Fight Night series is collaboration between NBC Sports, Main Events and J Russell Peltz. The series premiered on January 21, 2012 with Freddie Roach and BJ Flores on the call, and Kenny Rice serving as reporter.

The first Fight Night telecast featured heavyweight contenders Bryant Jennings and Maurice Byarm and originated from Philadelphia’s historic Asylum Arena. In 2013-2014, the series will feature 12 original telecasts on the NBC Sports Network and up to four broadcasts on NBC.