Sunday, July 4th marks the 100th anniversary of the Jack Johnson-James J. Jeffries World Heavyweight title fight. In the history of our sport, perhaps only the 1938 Joe Louis-Max Schmeling rematch surpasses the bout in terms of historical significance. Johnson was the controversial first black heavyweight champion, having defeated Tommy Burns in Australia less than two years prior. Spearheaded by famed writer Jack London, racially-motivated calls rang out from all over the country for the former champion Jeffries, retired since 1904, to return to the ring and unseat Johnson.

Promoter Tex Rickard had hoped to place the fight in Jeffries’ hometown of San Francisco, California, but the controversial nature of the fight and the sport of boxing in general at the time forced it out of the state. Rickard quickly found Reno, Nevada to be an excellent fit, as many east-west railroads met in the city. Rickard had a specially constructed stadium erected to host the fight, which would be known as the ‘Fight of the Century.’

July 4, 1910, less than 50 years since the end of the Civil War, Johnson would take on “The Great White Hope” in a bout scheduled for 45 rounds. Where the United States stood racially at the time, made the fight much bigger than boxing. That much goes without saying. However, it is interesting to note that the fight would have been significant under any circumstances. Well into the late 1960’s, Nat Fleischer would rank Jack Johnson as the greatest heavyweight champion of all-time. Fleischer, co-founder of The Ring Magazine in 1922 and its editor-in-chief until he passed away in 1972, rated him ahead of Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano and the early reign of Muhammad Ali. Who did Fleischer rank second behind Johnson? James J. Jeffries.

The fight itself would end brutally one-sided. The time away from the ring had eroded Jeffries, who according to some reports had ballooned up to 300-pounds in his retirement. Johnson, in his physical prime, would pound away on the would-be white man’s hero for fifteen rounds before dropping him twice, the first two knockdowns of Jeffries’ career. According to some sources, it would be former champion James J. Corbett, who had been shouting back-and-forth with Johnson all fight, that would order Rickard, acting as the referee, to stop the fight.

With the press fanning the flames with their coverage of the bout, race riots would break out all over the country over the result. It would be Jeffries final bout. Johnson would go on to defend his title just once more in the U.S., before being convicted of violating the Mann Act, or “transporting women across state lines for immoral purposes.” Johnson was convicted even though the instances which prompted the charges took place before the Mann Act went into effect. Johnson was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, but skipped out on bail and left the country.

After two defenses in France, and a non-title bout in Argentina, an aging Johnson would lose the title to Jess Willard in Havana, Cuba. Johnson fought on for four years, in Spain and Mexico, before returning to the U.S. and turning himself in on July 1920. Johnson was imprisoned until July 9, 1921.

Johnson returned to the ring nearly two years after his release, fighting into his fifties. Johnson, known to drive at high speeds, died on June 10, 1946 in a car crash in North Carolina. Johnson was reportedly headed to New York to witness Joe Louis, the next black fighter to fight for and claim the heavyweight title, defend his laurels against Billy Conn.

In recent years several attempts have been made to exonerate Johnson of his violation of the Mann Act. Most recently, in April of 2009, Senator John McCain of Arizona and Representative Peter King of New York appealed to President Barack Obama for a posthumous pardon for Johnson. However last December, the U.S. Justice Department recommended against the pardon, as Justice Department pardon attorney Ronald Rodgers wrote King a letter which stated it is general policy not to process posthumous pardon cases for the reason that pardon resources “are best dedicated to requests submitted by persons who can truly benefit from a grant of the request.” President Obama has not made a public comment on the matter.

Reno-based promoters Terry and Tommy Lane of Let’s Get It On Promotions have organized a centennial celebration weekend to honor a monumental event in both the history of boxing and our country, Jack Johnson vs. James J. Jeffries. It had been the original hope that the weekend would celebrate the pardon of Johnson, as well as commemorate the 100th anniversary of the fight.

In any event, the jam-packed weekend begins this Friday with a gala hosted by boxing commentators Al Bernstein and Rich Marotta. Beginning Saturday morning, several discussions will be held by noted authors and journalists, leading in to a live boxing event held at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino, headlined by former IBF Light Flyweight Champion Ulises Solis and televised by Fox Sports Net and Fox Sports en Espanol. On Sunday, an honorary ten-count will take place using the original ring bell at the original fight site.

For more information on the series of events, visit JohnsonJeffries2010.com.

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

Former two time Strawweight World champion Katsunari Takayama 23-4(9) embarks on his attempt to add the IBF Strawweight championship to the WBC & WBA he’s already won. He’ll fight in South Africa against local Tshepo Lewele in a title eliminator. Takayama 27, previously held the WBC crown briefly in 2005 for four months & WBA Interim title from late in 2006 until he fought full champion Yutaka Niida in a bid to unify the WBA championship in April 2007. Though he’s been a pro since 2000 and has fought many of the top fighters in and around his weight class he still remains a top contender rated 10 by the IBF & 11 by the WBO. Here’s what he had to say.

Hello Katsunari, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly you recently signed to fight under the ALA Boxing Promotional company. How did this move come about? What can you tell us about this deal, it’s especially interesting because few Japanese fighters leave Japan and fight for other company’s outside there homeland?

Katsunari Takayama – As for the relationship with ALA Boxing Promotional, our team developed a good relationship with them through the daily practice at ALA Gym. Then, that contract was concluded.

Anson Wainwright – It’s reported you will fight Lucky Lewele in an IBF Eliminator at the end of August in South Africa. What can you tell us about this, is it the case? If so what do you think of Lewele?

Katsunari Takayama – As for the fight with Tshepo Lefele, we plan to hold it in Johannesburg in South Africa on August 27. The contents reported by news agencies are correct. I think I can win the fight with Tshepo Lefele.

Anson Wainwright – Japanese fighters don’t normally fight for a title that’s not by the WBC or WBA. However that’s what your attempting to do. Can you tell us about this move, it seems pretty ground breaking?

Katsunari Takayama – I have a dream of winning titles in 4 leagues and several classes. The Japanese commission does not approve IBF and WBO, and so we have no choice but to leave Japan to actualize my dream. Then, we are taking the first step. As for boxing weight classes, I am okay with 105 lb. Of course, I am thinking about the 108-lb class, too.

Anson Wainwright – You’ll of been off over a year by the time you fight Lewele, how are you preparing yourself for such a big fight without ring rust coming into play? Who will you spar with?

Katsunari Takayama – As for practice and adjustment, I plan to do one-month training at ALA Gym from June 21, and make final adjustments in Japan.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your team, who is your manager, trainer & Promoter?

Katsunari Takayama – Manager: Ken Matsumoto, Chief trainer: Hiroaki Nakade, Physical trainer: Hideki Aoki & Promoter: ALA Promotions

Anson Wainwright – You have fought three of the best Strawweights of the last few years Eagle Kyowa, Yutaka Niida & Roman Gonzalez unfortunately you lost to them all. Can you assess how good each one was for us? Who was the best of them? Who was the best boxer & who hit the hardest?

Katsunari Takayama – The strongest boxer I have ever encountered is Roman Gonzalez.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your younger days growing up in Osaka and how you first came across Boxing and the path you have since taken?

Katsunari Takayama – I was motivated to start boxing after the following experience. Invited by my friend, I visited a boxing gym. My first boxing practice was all new and enjoyable to me, and since then, I have been addicted to boxing.

Anson Wainwright – What do you like to do away from Boxing? What hobbies do you have? What do you think you’d be doing if it was for Boxing to make a living?

Katsunari Takayama – I cannot lead my life without boxing, and so my lifestyle is filled with boxing.

Anson Wainwright – Who was your Boxing hero growing up? What fighters today do you admire and why?

Katsunari Takayama – I like Yoko Gushiken & Sugar Ray Leonard. I like boxing style of Sugar Ray Leonard

Best Wishes and thank you for your time

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

SAN ANTONIO – Here’s something you didn’t know. Saturday afternoon round 3:30 P.M., a young Texas amateur named Adam Reynolds almost didn’t make his boxing debut at a 34-bout smoker in San Fernando Gym. Despite his youth and fitness, Reynolds’ blood pressure was too high for a ringside doctor to let him answer the opening bell.

The prospect of being struck in the face can play havoc with your heart.

Eight hours later, about a mile southeast of San Fernando, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. put the finishing touches on the best match of his 42-fight career. It was a performance marked unexpectedly by Chavez’s relaxation under fire.

There’s something to be said for growing up around the sport. There’s something to be said for knowing boxing.

Saturday at Alamodome, before a few fans more than 8,000, Chavez headlined “Latin Fury 15” and beat Ireland’s John Duddy in an entertaining 12-round middleweight scrap that saw sustained action in every round. It also saw Chavez win by two proper scores – Judge Crocker’s 116-112 and Judge Lederman’s 117-111 – and Juergen Langos’ unacceptable tally of 120-108.

For those who watched on pay-per-view or the south side of the ring, if the Texas crowd sounded unenthusiastic, here may be an acoustical explanation. Alamodome, which is cavernous, was configured to seat fans in its northernmost 1/3. That meant cheers had to go through a curtain and then across 200 feet of emptiness before they could hit the south wall and reverberate back to themselves.

There were plenty of folks there, though, and they cheered plenty too. Some cheered the Chavez brand, recalling fondly the night 17 years before that Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. posted a record attendance number in Alamodome. Some, no doubt, went to see a Mexican child of privilege get his ass beat by a tough Irishman. But all were there, in part, because they had no idea what was going to happen.

Chavez was considered soft by even some of his admirers, heading towards the ring Saturday. Among those who didn’t admire him, there was a belief that a 12-round match absolutely favored any Chavez opponent but especially a man rugged as John Duddy. Both were wrong.

“We took (Chavez) into deep water,” Duddy said at the post-fight press conference. “And, yes, he can swim. He’s a tough kid. A tough kid.”

Duddy wore dark sunglasses as he spoke those words. He wore them because Chavez had left bruises and shallow lacerations around his eyes. And there was a good metaphor in those glasses for anyone who had been at Wednesday’s press conference.

There, Chavez sauntered on stage like a kid hoping to become a matinee idol – jeans, open-collared shirt, stylish blazer, sunglasses. Duddy, meanwhile, watched him in a business-casual getup of khakis, belt, dress shirt and green Chuck Taylors. The contrast was stark: Working class meets spoiled brat.

At Saturday’s post-fight press conference, on the other hand, Chavez wore no sunglasses. He didn’t hide the damage round his eyes Duddy’s fists had inflicted; he’d completed a rite of passage in his own mind from novelty to contender.

“Now I am more – how to say it,” Chavez said in Spanish, and he paused. “I am more convinced of myself.”

And to prove it, he employed self-deprecation – the sign of a secure identity. Asked what difference his new trainer Freddie Roach had wrought, Chavez said he’d just needed someone to take out of him the “huevón.”

“Huevón” is a wonderful Mexicanism. It begins with the Spanish slang for a man’s balls, eggs, adds the augmentative “ón” and suggests a man with balls so big he doesn’t bother himself with trying at anything. It’s like laziness on PEDs.

Roach took that from Chavez in their four-week training camp, transforming him from a lazy fighter. Saturday night, in the opening three rounds, Chavez retreated behind an occasional jab and let Duddy impose himself. But at the start of the fourth, confident Duddy could not hurt him, Chavez went out and began to walk the Irishman down.

Duddy couldn’t have asked for more. He got a fair battle with a man who would not run from him. Had you told Duddy before the fight that Chavez would stand in the middle of the ring and trade with him for nine rounds, Duddy might have said, “Then I’ll have me way with him.”

But he didn’t. Duddy managed to buckle Chavez with a counter right hand in the sixth round, but after that, Chavez’s confidence grew in proportion to Duddy’s age; one man got quicker while the other got older. Take nothing away from Duddy’s character, though. After losing the ninth badly enough to justify a stoppage, Duddy went on to win the 12th on one judge’s card.

But Chavez was not in danger. He was entirely untroubled. It surprised a number of folks at ringside. It didn’t surprise Freddie Roach.

“Not at all,” Roach said afterwards. “That’s how he is in the gym. I’m telling you, he knows the ring. He knows boxing.”

Now all Chavez needs is more discipline and some improved balance. He has the right teacher for that. And he has most of the tools he’ll need to contend.

Boxing is a harsh master, of course, but it’s also one that teaches those who wish to learn.

Look at Adam Reynolds. After a second opinion from a ringside nurse allowed his first bout to happen Saturday afternoon, Reynolds fought a tense opening round. But by the third, he was loosened up – enough to win his debut with a knockout.

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

Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank

No telling who was first to say that fathers fight so their sons don’t have to. But I’m guessing it was a mom, who from a ringside seat sat like a horrified witness on that inevitable night when dad got bloodied, bruised and stitched up.

It is a powerful sentiment, as simple as it is sensible. But sorry, mom, it doesn’t always apply. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the most notable example. From his father and uncle, he inherited instinct and skill, perfected them and transformed them into a family business. Mayweather Jr. makes it work. Marvis Frazier didn’t. Former heavyweight great Joe Frazier’s son should have listened to mom before Mike Tyson sprinted out of a corner in 1986 and launched him into unconsciousness. Joe would have lasted longer.

On the scale between Mayweather and Marvis, it’s hard to say where Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. belongs. A better idea, perhaps, is forthcoming Saturday night when the son with his dad’s legendary name, athletic royalty in Mexico, faces Irish middleweight John Duddy at The Alamodome in San Antonio on a pay-per-view card.

Duddy’s credentials (29-1, 18 KOs) say that Chavez (40-0-1, 30 KOs) is finally being weaned off a sliver-spoon diet of soft opposition. It’s a step or two in an attempt to quell impatience with a young fighter whose name represents an impossible collection of expectations. Chavez’ dad is a scarred personification of Mexican pride in a stubborn willingness to endure punches and punishment in the battle to fight, always fight on.

But it’s only a name. I’m not sure whether Chavez’s 24-year-old son will ever become a good fighter. But I am sure that he will never be his father. He can’t change his name to World B Free, but he can begin to abdicate expectations that he become a chip off of Mexico’s indestructible myth. After only a four-week camp, the move to trainer Freddie Roach is still in the experimental stage. If it begins to work against Duddy, however, it might be another step in allowing him to forge an identity, a fighter in his own right instead of just Jr.

“It came to a point in my career that if I wanted to do better,’’ said Jr., whose doubters grew after he tested positive for a banned substance after his last fight seven months ago against unknown Troy Rowland. “If I wanted bigger and better things I had to make a change. I did it because I knew I needed it for my career, I still want to do great things in boxing and that’s what motivated me. I thought: Do I want to stay where I am or do I want to get better? This opportunity came and I took it and I’m very happy that I did.

“Any time you make a move to the unknown you get nervous. I wasn’t sure what to expect but once I made the decision I knew I would be capable of doing anything he asked of me. I knew I could a lot of things and wouldn’t be here now if I couldn’t.”

Unlike his compact father’s heavy-handed style of fighting on the inside in a battle of attrition, the son is longer and seemingly built for tactics dictated by a long jab and agile footwork. The knowledge, perhaps instinct, is there, Roach said in a conference call Wednesday from San Antonio.

“He has enjoyed the work, he really has,’’ Roach said, almost as though he was surprised.

Roach, like everybody else, had heard the stories about a questionable work ethic. Doubts about Jr.’s willingness to fight on were further fueled by a late arrival to Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles. It was beginning to look as if Jr. had inherited only his father’s diva-like reputation for arriving for news conferences or workouts whenever it suited him. But, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said, Jr. was late only because of a paperwork delay in acquiring a visa.

“There were a lot of warning signs about how he is lazy and doesn’t want to work and would last a week with me,’’ said Roach, who agreed to work Jr.’s corner after Arum and Top Rank matchmaker Bruce Trampler pointedly urged Jr. to watch the work ethic exercised by Manny Pacquiao in training for Joshua Clottey. “He is a great kid, great to work with, and is very disciplined. He gets up in the morning and does his roadwork every day, comes in the gym and sparred up to 12 rounds with three sparring partners. Overall, it was a real good experience and we enjoyed each other’s company and it was a pleasure.

“I was going to give him one more day to arrive in camp before deciding I wasn’t going to have enough time with him, but then he showed up. We had four weeks together and obviously it would have been better to have more but next time around we’ll get better and better. We know what we have in front of us and we’ll be ready for it.’’

For Jr., San Antonio represents a time and place, a career cross roads, for his father and maybe one for him. He was seven years old in 1993, when his father escaped from the Alamodome with a draw with Pernell Whitaker. Most of the ringside media scored it for Whitaker. The record crowd, about 60,000 Chavez partisans, didn’t boo. They left quietly, also knowing they had just witnessed a great escape. It was a moment when there were some sure signs of erosion in the Mexican icon. JC Superstar was neither super nor a star.

Seventeen years later, the son returns to the scene with a chance to show that he is his own man, a grown-up instead of a Jr.

Even mom couldn’t argue with that.

SAN ANTONIO – Wednesday afternoon in Alamodome’s cavernous but air-conditioned arena, “Latin Fury 15” participants, managers and trainers joined Top Rank’s Bob Arum on stage for their final press conference before Saturday’s card. Some wore jeans, others wore t-shirts, three even wore blazers. But only one had green Chuck Taylors on.

That would be Ireland’s John Duddy, of County Derry in the North, proudly wearing a color that’s as universally associated with Ireland as any color is with any land. Duddy will fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for the WBC Silver middleweight title in Saturday’s main event.

And yes, Top Rank knows what you might think about that.

“A lot of people say, ‘What the hell is the WBC Silver belt?’” said Bob Arum from the stage on Wednesday. “The winner becomes the WBC mandatory challenger, so it has great significance.”

Duddy confirmed the significance when his turn at the podium came, describing a world title shot – in this case with Sergio Martinez, the middleweight champion – as being a dream of his since childhood. But first he must beat Chavez.

“I’ve had this fight on my mind for a long time,” Duddy said of battling the son of Mexico’s most famous champion. “It’s a crossroads fight for us both.”

One of the themes of this week’s promotion has been Duddy’s family in Northern Ireland, specifically the uncle after whom he was named, John Francis Duddy, who was killed during a demonstration on Jan. 30, 1972 that came to be known as “Bloody Sunday.” Last week, a 10-volume tribunal report exonerated the Irish citizens killed that day, concluding all were unarmed. Duddy’s uncle, known colloquially as Jackie, will be honored with the tolling of a 10-count before Saturday’s main event.

While last week’s Saville Report brought joy to long-suffering members of Duddy’s family, on Wednesday Duddy emphasized how important it was to him to have their permission before using his prizefight as a way of honoring Jackie Duddy.

“My family were thrilled with this decision,” Duddy said when asked about the tribunal’s finding. “But I was never a part of that (struggle). I don’t want to seem to be jumping on the bandwagon.”

Duddy confirmed, though, that he would be fighting in his uncle’s honor with the blessing of his aunts and uncles Saturday, and also the blessings of his father – who will be in Alamodome.

But neither father nor son is likely to see much green in the Alamo City, at least not without it accompanied by Mexican red and white. Asked if he thought maybe his opponent would be the crowd favorite at an event alternately called “La Furia de Mexico,” Duddy was quick but charming in his answer.

“No maybe about it,” he said. “They better be for Chavez.”

Then he smiled and promised there was a chance he’d convert the crowd and have them “singing ‘Juan’ Duddy” by the end of the night.

SALVADOR SANCHEZ REMEMBERED
Leading Saturday’s “Latin Fury 15” telecast will be Salvador Sanchez II, the nephew of Salvador Sanchez, a Mexican fighting legend who made nine professional appearances in Texas, including four in San Antonio. The younger Sanchez is eager to garner a fraction of the acclaim his uncle won in a career defined by 10 world title fights.

“To be here, where my uncle defended his title, is an honor,” said Sanchez, Wednesday afternoon.

RAUL MARTINEZ WANTS TO BE YOUR CHAMPION
Local interest will also focus itself on Saturday’s second televised card when Raul Martinez and Gabriel Elizondo, two friends who grew up together in San Antonio’s amateur program, put their camaraderie aside and prove there are no friends in the prizefighting ring.

“It’s a great privilege, a great honor, to be fighting on this card,” said Martinez from Wednesday’s podium. “I want to show San Antonio they’ve got a future world champion here.”

Martinez also acknowledged the city’s last world champion, Jesse James Leija, whose Championfit Gym hosted an open workout Tuesday.

ALAMODOME CONFIGURED FOR 15,000
Saturday night, Alamodome will have roughly half its seats curtained-off. An upcoming convention will take the south side of the building, with the north side reserved for boxing. This is great news for local fans. A quick peek at the ringside area Wednesday revealed that upper-deck seats are also covered in curtains, meaning that every seat Saturday will be a good one.

Top Rank officials confirmed ticket sales have been pleasantly brisk, but plenty of seats still remain available.

FRIDAY WEIGH-IN ON THE RIVER
The weigh-in for “Latin Fury 15” will happen along the River Walk at 1:30 P.M. on Friday afternoon at the Arneson River Theatre, just north of La Villita. It is open to the public.

Anyone willing to brave June’s humidity will be rewarded with perhaps the most picturesque setting in which any boxing weigh-in has yet been conducted.

So it’s a case of repeat or revenge, Manchester’s Tyson Fury fights for his old title this Friday at the Brentwood International centre just off the A12 against the man he won it from John Mcdermott last September in a highly controversial decision that the fight fraternity deemed a robbery that lent in favour of the Mancunian beanpole!

The villain of the peice was referee Terry O’Connor who awarded the decison along with the vacant belt to Fury, and it caused outrage let alone fury amongst many a fan let alone those in boxing.
It was almost Henry Cooper v Joe Bugner revisited, as the much younger Fury was adjudged the winner, clearly through out the contest Fury seemed to run out of ideas has Mcdermott was clearly outfighting and out hustling his far more inexperienced fellow protagonist through the ten rounds, but Fury unlike Bugner has’nt been on the end of the public’s disgust and rightfully so, then again neither should have Joe in the first place.

It was even believed that the ref O’Connor had a long running grudge with Mcdermott’s father Stan whom O’Connor boxed when he was a pro heavyweight himself and this was possibly the reason behind the ridiculous scoring, {for the record I gave Mcdermott the decision by six rounds}.
None the less Fury was stripped of the belt due to the nature of the decision and now finds himself challenging again for the vacant crown against his old nemesis, the decision even warranted a meeting with the British Boing Board of Control and they made a rematch compulsory.

In the post fight interview Mcdermott said “what do I have to do to win” well now he has the chance to get justice, at a earlier press conference Fury failed to show much to the annoyance of promoter Frank Maloney, but now the press conference has been rescheduled for the Wednesday before the actual fight and should be interesting to say the least.

So to the fight and to tell the truth I see Mcdermott exact revenge and the fight flow in a similar vein to there first meeting, Fury has boxed twice since then and injured his hand in doing in his next fight that caused a postponement of the rematch that should have taken place before Christmas last year, Mcdermott has not boxed since but should’nt be too rusty despite the lay off, I see Mcdermott being that too experienced and winning as wide if not a wider points decision this time around, and if we have a similar kind of decision, just like the billing of there first fight ‘collosal’ and the billing of this the rematch ‘conspiracy Fury’ look for it too be a collosal conspiracy and a lot of fury chucked in for good measure!

Despite my view Lenny Lee one of the most famous faces in British boxing, {you’d know his face, his the old chap on the apron in the corner of many a big fight and many a small fight, okay literally any fight on t.v and not on t.v}, Lenny thinks it’ll go in favour of Tyson, and while on the subject of old timers and Tyson, remember it was Cus D’amato Mike Tyson’s former guardian and trainer that once said it took ten years to make a good ten round fighter, that’s why I’m going for Tyson to lose, Fury that is not Mike!!!!!!!!!!

Also featured on the undercard is Dave Ferguson going up against Larry Olubamiwo the Southern Area heavyweight champ, in what is a final eliminator for the Fury-Mcdermott rematch, though it was reported it was a final eliminator for the British title, this is obviously nonsense as neither man is out of the novice stage yet, despite Larry becoming Southern Area champ in his last fight when he beat Southampton’s Colin Kenna inside of a round on the Shinny Baayar- Ashley Sexton card at Dagenham, and talking of Sexton, he will also be appearing on this show since that disapointment against Bayaar that ended in a draw, hoping to get a rematch with the Mongolian, Sexton’s the grandson of former West Ham footballer and Manchester United manager Dave Sexton and also the great grandson of former pro light heavy Archie, dad of Dave naturally.

Also featured are light heavy Menay Edwards, Olympic bronze medalist David Price who hopes to one day challenge for the richest one.

Also featured are heavyweights Damian Campbell making his debut and prospect Tom Dallas, lower down the scales you have Tony Hill at middle, Lewis Pettitt at super bantam and Ben Jones at super feather

Tickets available are £40, if you’d like to purchase then go to www.frankmaloney.com for more details.

I hope to see you there

I’ve been Michael Angelo Serra and you’ve been reading for the last couple of minutes!

any comments to micksnice@aol.com

SAN ANTONIO – Tuesday afternoon, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and his new trainer Freddie Roach conducted an open workout for local media that was much more than advertised. Far from the scripted, lather-me-up-for-the-press exercises these events usually comprise, Chavez and Roach worked long and hard. And it looked like one of them needed it.

Chavez (40-0-1, 30 KOs) arrived later than initially planned at Jesse James Leija’s Championfit Gym – part of “Latin Fury 15” fight week festivities – though not for the reasons some might expect. Originally scheduled to walk through the paces before Saturday’s co-main event star Marco Antonio Barrera, Chavez instead had his costar go first so that Chavez could have more time for stretching, shadow boxing and lots of pad work.

Before working on his new charge’s balance, timing and occasionally questionable defense, Freddie Roach answered questions with typical honesty.

“More time would have been better,” Roach said of his short training camp with Chavez. “He’s not lazy. He’s trying. But he doesn’t have all the moves yet.”

Asked to list Chavez’s strengths, Roach treated his guy’s height and reach.

“He has a great jab, but he doesn’t use it as much as I want him to,” Roach said. “He’s not 100 percent there right now.”

If Roach thought he was getting a lazy underachiever in Chavez – a label that has haunted the young Mexican with the country’s most famous name – he was pleased to learn that was not the case.

“He’s actually a very nice kid,” Roach said. “I was really surprised.”

When asked what most concerns him about Ireland’s John Duddy (29-1, 18 KOs), Chavez’s Saturday opponent, Roach was candid.

“Duddy has a pretty good right hand,” he said. “My guy tends to get hit with those.”

Probably a few left hands, too. Once Alex Ariza, Roach’s strength and conditioning coach, was done stretching Chavez and watching him shadow box, Roach put on the hand pads and began a session with Chavez that could best be called instructive. Trainer and fighter looked well-rehearsed and tightly in-sync while doing 1-2s but quickly stumbled on dead patches when their focus turned to hooks and defense.

As Roach promised, Chavez looked particularly susceptible to right crosses, as his left hand strayed low much of the time. More troublesome still were the balance issues Chavez showed while trying to come off the ropes by pivoting leftward on his lead foot. A rudimentary move, the pivot’s requisite weight shift befuddled Chavez enough for Roach to spend the better part of a round on it, belying the merits of Chavez’s pristine record and making ringsiders wonder what will happen if Duddy forces Chavez to the ropes Saturday.

That match will be the main event of a nine-fight card promoter Top Rank will stage at Alamodome, downtown.

MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA BACK IN FIGHTING TRIM
Also present Tuesday afternoon were Mexican three-division world champion Marco Antonio Barrera (65-7, 43 KOs) and undefeated Phoenix hopeful Jose Benavidez (6-0, 6 KOs). Barrera will fight little-known Brazilian lightweight Adailton De Jesus (26-4, 21 KOs) in Saturday’s co-main event, while Benavidez will face Rhode Island’s Josh Beeman (4-6-2, 2 KOs) in the card’s opening bout.

After skipping rope, doing some light shadow boxing and saluting gathered fans, Barrera took a shower, changed and greeted the media, looking trimmer than he had during a press conference last month.

Asked how high his weight had climbed after his loss to Amir Khan 15 months ago, Barrera was truthful if not proud.

“One forty-seven,” Barrera said. “I let it go a little. It was the highest it has ever been. But I have lost the weight slowly, little by little. I feel good.”

At some point a word for the art of inducing black magic, “mojo,” became a synonym for momentum. Today there’s even a popular Hollywood website that tracks movies’ box-office momentum and calls it mojo. Boxing has its own such mojo.

It’s a variation on the risk-reward ratio that keeps managers awake at night. A fighter with mojo makes lots of money relative to the risk his competition poses. If you were to take a fighter’s purse, then, and divide it by his opponent’s assumed risk rating, what you would have left is a fighter’s mojo.

Well, this weekend somebody’s mojo is going to go in San Antonio. That’s where Mexican Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. battles Ireland’s John Duddy for something called the “WBC Silver Middleweight Title” in the 15th installment of promoter Top Rank’s “Latin Fury” pay-per-view series. Marco Antonio Barrera will also be there, accompanied by local prospect Raul Martinez, Mexican namesake curiosity Salvador Sanchez, and Phoenix superstar-in-the-making Jose Benavidez.

Top Rank is as much a participant in this show as any fighter because the risk-reward ratio of its main event has an uncharacteristically asymmetrical look to it. Neither Chavez nor Duddy will see his mojo improve greatly with a victory, and either Chavez or Duddy will see his mojo vanish with a loss.

This event will happen in a stadium, Alamodome, and feature two Top Rank fighters. It will be the third time Top Rank has employed this formula in 2010. Earlier this month, it put Yuri Foreman and Miguel Cotto in Yankee Stadium. Earlier this year, it put Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey in Cowboys Stadium. Top Rank takes some deserved criticism for using only its own fighters in major events, but it also deserves credit for being an anomaly: It’s the only promoter better at selling tickets than pitching television executives.

Both of Saturday’s Top Rank fighters have fan bases disproportionate to their achievements. Duddy has built a large following among Irishmen, both in the Old Country and the new, with his handsomeness, charisma and an action fighting style that in any other context could be called Mexican. He’s also benefitted from a paucity of prizefighters in shamrocks; the turn of this century gave Irish eyes fewer men to smile on than the turn of the 20th.

Chavez, meanwhile, built his following the real-old-fashioned way: He inherited it. Trafficking in his father’s name, Chavez has become the biggest draw in the “Latin Fury” franchise. How much genuine affection Mexicans feel for Junior is debatable. Mexicans’ brand loyalty, though, is not; they cheer the name of the one man who gave them anything to cheer about during Mexico’s abysmal stretch from 1988 to 1996. In return for such loyalty, Chavez often treats them to a rousing impersonation of someone uninterested in fighting.

Chavez made his professional debut almost seven years ago as a super featherweight. Without once challenging for a world title, he has climbed five weight classes. That distinction is remarkable when you consider the WBC’s profligacy with championship belts, the WBC’s Mexico City headquarters, and what the Chavez name means to Mexican athletics.

Most of Chavez’s wins have been “Big” – in the collegiate sense of the word. Junior recently finished up a five-year reign of terror on the Big 10 and Big 12 conferences. After back-to-back-to-back bludgeonings of Hoosiers, Chavez vanquished a total of 11 representatives from Indiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota and Michigan. Not since Pancho Villa’s raid in 1916 has a Mexican made so many Midwesterners so nervous.

And perhaps not ever has a Mexican prizefighter been so protected. Possibly, Top Rank is fed up with Chavez and done protecting him. His latest caper was a failed drug test in November, when he apparently needed diuretics to make 160 pounds.

Chavez’s recent hiring of perennial Trainer of the Year Freddie Roach only makes things more curious. Right now, Chavez could don a Philthy Rich Records t-shirt and boast, “Forty-two have tried, and forty-two have failed.” Isn’t a prospect supposed to lose before a rehabilitation tour with his new trainer?

All signs would point to a victory for John Duddy, were it not for Duddy’s performance against Mexican Michael Medina in Cowboys Stadium three months ago. Duddy looked rather hittable in that affair and won a close split decision. But both fighters wore green gloves, prompting one ringside handicapper to quip, “When a Mexican wears green gloves into a fight with an Irishman, bet the Irishman.”

Saturday in San Antonio, on the other hands, both fighters will wear the equivalent of red, white and green gloves. Or will they?

There’s a curious affinity between the Mexicans and Irish – two peoples that love battle with only a secondary interest in victory. A bottle of tequila, a bottle of whisky and a good row; really, you’d be hard pressed to find a frown in that crowd of Mexicans and Irish, whatever the result.

And that’s before you consider Los San Patricios, a battalion of Irish artillerymen conscripted to fight as U.S soldiers in the Mexican American War of 1846. Told to kill fellow Catholics, Los San Patricios deserted the American army, fought on the side of the Mexicans, and were hanged for treason by the man who would become America’s 12th president.

In South Texas, the way men acquit themselves in battles with Mexicans still means plenty. Which is why Alamodome is a proper venue for this match. It is also the place Chavez’s father fought before the largest indoor crowd a domestic prizefight has yet recorded, in 1993. That record will not be in jeopardy this week.

Wither Saturday’s fight? Duddy will fight as he always does, reducing the match to a question of courage, if he’s able. Chavez will fight something like a child of privilege – a “fresa” in Mexican parlance – who resents usurpers. And odd as that combination might sound, Chavez-Duddy will be a hell of a fight.

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

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA — Light heavyweight Billy Bailey has been in this role before. In fact, he has made it a habit to find himself starring across the ring at an undefeated prospect, or a tough contender, in a situation where he is not the guy expected to win. It has not always gone his way, but sometimes it does. Two things are for sure however. That prospect will be tested, perhaps like never before, and Billy Bailey will have given the ticket buyer ringside their money’s worth when the fight is over. Tonight on the Andre Ward-Allan Green undercard at the Oracle Arena, Bailey takes on emerging light heavyweight prospect Mark Tucker.

Bailey (10-7, 4 KOs) of Bakersfield, California comes into this fight with the bitter taste of a controversial eight-round majority decision loss to Danny Santiago less than one month ago. The fight took place in Santiago’s home state of Florida. “I kind of learned to pick and choose the places that have the reputation of having a good commission, and a fair and straight-up commission,” said Bailey, who has fought in six different states or provinces in his last six fights. “Florida is one of those places, they have a good reputation. You try to do that, but sometimes it doesn’t turn out that way. That wasn’t fairness at all.”

After eight-rounds that Santiago helped make look ugly, Bailey was denied victory by two points on one card, and a head-scratching four points on another. “The ref called the guy at least twenty times for holding and there was never a point deduction, which I believe would have changed the whole course of the fight. That is all the guy did, run and hold, and I don’t know how you can win a fight that way.”

Putting the Santiago fight quickly in the rearview mirror, Bailey makes a long overdue return to California tonight against Tucker. “It is nice to fight in my home state, so much so that I realize when I see the Commission they recognize me, but so much time has gone by, there is no real recent conversation,” said Bailey Friday. “It is great to fight California. It has just been so long since I have done they hit me with the sixty dollar licensing fee. It has been so long since I have paid it.”

In Mark Tucker, Bailey will be fighting a bit of an unknown to him. “I haven’t seen too much film of him,” admitted Bailey. “There has been a few brief clips, but I think they pulled most of what there was on him off [of the internet]. He’s had some close decisions and there was some decent wins against guys kind of on their way down. I guess we will find out tomorrow night, but I feel pretty good about the fight.”

If his quote from a recent press release is accurate, Tucker watched some tape on Bailey. “Billy comes to win and has pulled off upsets in the past, so I had a terrific camp to properly prepare,” said the taller Tucker (13-0, 7 KOs) of Eldersburg, Maryland. The fight is for the vacant WBO NABO Youth Light Heavyweight title, which is an indication to Bailey that he may have not been their first choice for the fight. “It means that I am just the guy to fill the card on that slot basically,” said Bailey, 32-years-old. “You know they weren’t thinking about me. This guy just signed with DiBella, so it is all about him.” Age and experience could play a factor in the fight, and Bailey feels both favor him. “California, regardless of what anybody says, has a lot tougher circuit than most places, regardless of where you go. I think he is used to the guys out there, and I believe this is a different story, but we will find out tomorrow night.”

Over the course of his career, Bailey has earned a reputation for seeking tough fights and giving tough fights to good fighters. Tomorrow should prove no different. “When I see a guy that has the same experience level as I do, I am not intimidated about that,” states Bailey. “I don’t think so much about my reputation, I think more about wanting to go in and do my best and train hard and win the fight. And wherever that takes me I believe that is up to God.”

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

Thus far, the Super Six World Boxing Classic has lived up to both its hype and intentions. Every match-up has produced a solid, if not exciting, fight. Outside of a draw, just about every possible outcome of a professional bout has occurred once. Some controversy, some thrills and some upsets. Other than Arthur Abraham, who scored the only knockout in the tournament to this point, every fighter involved is still at risk of being eliminated after Group Stage 3. The idealistic concept has turned into a reality. However, surely the main purpose when this whole thing began was to create one, if not more than one, boxing megastar. If that goal does come to fruition, the Super Six could truly be deemed a success. After only five fights, if you were to pick one fighter that could turn that objective into reality, that one fighter would be Andre Ward, the pride of Oakland, California, who takes on Allan Green tonight on Showtime.

This writer came to choose Ward as the potential “breakout star” of the tournament for many reasons, some obvious and some not. Let us start with the obvious. Andre Ward (21-0, 13 KOs) is the sole remaining undefeated fighter left in the Super Six. While often times too much weight is placed on that “O,” it does seem to mean a lot to the casual fan and the casual fan is the one a breakthrough star needs to attract. The diehard fans can decipher an undefeated record that is built up and one that has been earned. Ward has earned his undefeated record, most especially by supplanting Mikkel Kessler as the WBA Super Middleweight Champion and the top gun at 168-pounds last November.

Ward’s rise to the super middleweight throne was the realization of promise, and the disproving of doubt and it is that road which enriches his back-story. As one would expect for any Olympic Gold Medalist, the highest of hopes were held for Ward when he turned professional in 2004. However, shortly after he entered the paid ranks with an HBO-televised win, whispers started circling Ward. After getting buzzed by Kenny Kost in his second pro bout, and hitting the canvas in his seventh against Darnell Boone, the pundits began questioning his chin. When injuries to his hands or his knees stalled his career, some wondered if he would ever be physically able to reach the upper levels of the sport.

Much like the skinny-legged, junior lightweight version of Oscar De La Hoya who hit the canvas in the early stages of his career only to prove to have a sturdy chin, Ward seemingly did the same when he moved up from middleweight to 168-pounds in 2007. And while injuries can creep up at anytime, the fact that Ward healed quickly enough from a recent setback with one of his knees to make this weekend’s fight against Allan Green is a good sign for his future. Nothing can endear a fighter more to his fans than the ability to overcome, and Ward has proven he can do that.

Ward has an opportunity to take another leap towards superstardom when he defends his WBA title against Allan Green before his rapidly growing fan base at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. Just as styles make fights, differing personalities can add an intriguing side story to a prizefight. Ward has been a breath of fresh air for a sport that too often showcases fighters as they turn up their braggadocio to the nth degree. A modest, deeply spiritual family man that likes to let his fists do his talking, Ward shies away from boasting about his accomplishments at nearly any cost. Allan Green in many ways is the anti-Ward, a cocky trash-talker if there ever was one. This contrast, which has been played up to some degree by the Fight Camp 360° documentary series on Showtime, adds a second layer to an already intriguing fight. Should Ward win, it could be perceived by some, unfairly perhaps, as a victory of good over evil.

The general sporting public is always a sucker for a good human interest story and over the years boxing has provided many. When a fighter allows light to be shed on an emotional personal story it can go a long way in connecting them with fight fans. In recent weeks, some in the media have pointed out that Ward will defending his title, for the first time, on Father’s Day weekend. Frank Ward, Andre’s father, a former amateur fighter himself, introduced his son to boxing before passing away suddenly in 2002.

Andre never saw his father fight, since home video cameras had not yet made their way into widespread use, but that did not stop Frank from inspiring his son to pick up the sport he loved. “Listening to my dad, he was the ultimate competitor, like I feel I am,” Ward told Comcast SportsNet Bay Area’s Greg Papa earlier this week. “And he did not like to lose. That being said, all I had to hear was some of my dad’s old war stories, and that was enough to introduce me and get me to want to start boxing. Just hearing his stories alone, and how passionate he was about preparing for fights and fighting in general, that was enough to make me want to become a boxer.”

Fighting on Father’s Day weekend does add additional motivation for Ward. “Father’s Day was [my dad’s] favorite holiday,” revealed Ward. “He never wanted me and my brother to buy him a card. He always wanted us to make him a card. Father’s Day was his day, so I am going to dedicate this fight to Nick Charles, the Showtime analyst battling cancer, but also to my father because Father’s Day was his day. Those are the type of things you use as a champion, and as a challenger, to drive you and push you to victory and I am going to use that Saturday night.”

Sports athletes are often propped up as heroes or role models, and more often than not they should not be. While no one should be held to the standard of being a role model for simply making their living in sport, Ward’s character allows you to feel comfortable tagging him in that way. It is for that reason more so than any other, that Ward has a chance to be the brightest star that emerges from the Super Six World Boxing Classic. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that he can fight too.

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

CLICK TO ORDER
HAMILTON, NEW JERSEY (June 18, 2010)—He has long been known as one of the most exciting fighters in the world. He is a former four-time world title challenger and has shared the ring with the legendary Roy Jones Jr.

The card is promoted by Nedal Boxing

Omar Sheika is always in fan friendly fights and this Friday night it looks to be no exception as he will take on Jim Strohl to headline an eight bout card TONIGHT!! at Cedar Gardens in Hamilton, New Jersey with all the action being seen LIVE on www.gofightlive.tv

Sheika of nearby Paterson, New Jersey has a record of 29-9 with twenty knockouts.

He has challenged for the world Super Middleweight title four times, coming up short on each occasion. Sheika has long been known as one of the best action fighters around as each of his fights provides excitement, blood and knockdowns.

Since moving full-time to Light Heavyweight, Sheika is 3-1 with all wins coming via knockout with the only loss being to Jones.

Sheika has two consecutive knockouts with his previous fighting being a fourth round stoppage over Garrett Wilson on March 26th in a bout that was seen all over the world on www.gofightlive.tv

Strohlhas a very respectable record of 27-8 with twenty-one knockouts and like Sheika has faced top competiton.

Strohl, of Las Vegas won his first sixteen bouts before dropping a split decision to Calvin Lampkin (16-2).

Srohl went on to win nine straight fights before dropping seven of nine to world class opponents as he has fluctuated between Super Middleweight and Heavyweight.

Those losess have come to Heavyweight contender Cedric Boswell (20-0); former Heavyweight title challenger Calvin Brock (14-0); Rob Calloway (52-6); Currant IBF Light Heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud (14-0); Perennial contender Joey Spina (22-1-1) and his most recent effort, Strohl dropped a ten round unanimous decision to undefeated prospect, Mark Tucker (11-0).

The eight round co-feature will pit former U.S. Olympian, Terrance “The Heat” Cauthen taking on upset-minded Cleotis Pendarvis

Cauthen of nearby Trenton, NJ has a very glossy record of 34-6 with nine knockouts.

Like Sheika, Cauthen has been on the brink so many times and at age thirty-four he feels he has one last good run in him.

Cauthen is known as a slick boxer and has shown the skills that made him an Olympian in 1996.

He has some solid wins such as a unanimous decision over former world title challenger Ricky Quiles (33-5-3) and former U.S. Olympian Dante Craig (17-4) and then undefeated prospect Alexis Camacho (16-0)

Cauthen has dropped decisions to pound for pound top-10 Paul Williams (25-0); Contenders Sechew Powell (21-1) and undefeated Canadian Antonin Decarie (22-0)

In his last bout, Cauthen took an eight round unanimous decision from Isam Khalil (15-1-2) in a bout that was broadcast all over the world in www.gofightlive.tv

Although Pendarvis doesn’t have a long resume, just 10-2-2 with four knockouts, he has proven that at age twenty-three he doesn’t fear any man.

In his last two bouts, the native of Los Angeles has took on undefeated foes in Mauricio Herrera (12-0) and Hector Sanchez (18-0).

He narrowly lost a majority decision to Herrera and then stopped Sanchez in five rounds back on April 2nd in Las Vegas.

Those are just two of the eight bout scheduled for Friday; Here is the rest of the card:

Charles Heyward (3-2, 1 KO) vs Reshawn Scott (2-3)—4 Rounds Light Heavyweights
Ramon Ellis (0-5) vs Osnel Charles (2-2)—4 Rounds Lightweights
Marcus Smith (0-2) vs Rami Ibraham (2-8-1)—4 Rounds Jr. Welterweights
Khalil Farah (6-4, 1 KO) vs Alando Swain (0-1) 4 Rounds Light Heavyweights
Francisco Ortiz (1-0) vs Benjamin Morales (PD)—4 rounds Featherweights
Jose Calderon (PD) vs TBA – 4 Rounds Jr. Welterweights

ALL THE ACTION BEGINS AT 7:30 PM EASTERN/4:30 PM PACIFIC FOR JUST $9.99 BY CLICKING:

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=705

It was 2004 in Athens. The city’s ancient temples and columns seemed to be a symbol of what had happened to American boxing at the Olympics. It was in ruins. But there was Andre Ward, who a few hours before closing ceremonies won a gold medal. He’d didn’t figure to win then. But he did in a dramatic surprise that also was a parting shot at anti-American sentiment that filled the Greek arena for a couple of weeks.

Not much has changed.

Six years later, U.S. Olympic boxing is still in ruins and Ward is still finding motivation in critics, doubters and trash-talkers who unwittingly become his greatest allies. There’s something else: Ward is still winning with a quiet poise that is as effective as a feint. Everybody who sees the poise and looks for weakness have instead run headlong into a stubborn streak of quicksilver skill that has kept Ward unbeaten. The last man standing in Athens is favored to be the last one standing in the Super Six Classic.

First, Ward (21-0, 13 KOs) has to win a second-round bout in the first defense of his World Boxing Association’s title Saturday night in hometown Oakland, Calif., against tough Allan Green (29-1, 20 KOs), who collects knockouts when he isn’t collecting comic books. Green, a sub for the whatever-happened-to Jermain Taylor, is dangerous. His record says that. He does too.

Green’s talk is a mystery, if not a mistake. He has called Ward “a hummingbird,’’ which apparently means he intends to knock him out with simple swat. Why arm Ward with further motivation? Hasn’t he already used it effectively throughout a career that — after all — hasn’t been a secret since he planted the American flag onto the medal stand’s top pedestal? The guess here is that Green is just talking himself into defeat.

“Bother me?’’ Ward said of comments from the Green corner during Showtime’s in-depth look at each super-middleweight in Fight Camp 360. “No. Use them? Absolutely. I don’t read a lot of press before the fight, but I get people coming up to me all the time saying, ‘Did you hear this or did you hear that?’ It’s been like that since the amateurs. For some reason I look like a lamb before the fight. I’ve heard his comments on Fight Camp 360 and you better believe I use that. It bothers me in a good way because I constantly have something to prove and that’s what not a lot of people realize.

“I think a lot of people think I’m coming in here really well rested and really enjoying the fact that I’ve got a championship. But it’s been all work. For me, I try to say as little as possible before a fight. I’m not going to stand there and get pushed down or get bullied. But at the end of the day, I just shut my mouth, work hard and take care of business.’’

Green, himself an accomplished amateur minus the Olympic gold, is considered as big a threat as any faced by Ward, America’s only gold medalist since David Reid in 1996. He is, may be because of a lethal left hook that could put an abrupt end to Ward’s unbeaten status, especially if Ward continues to let his lead hand drift down, out and away from a vigilant defense. Also, Green’s toughness was displayed in surgery to have most of his colon removed a couple of days after a victory over Darrell Woods three years ago. His colon was leaking toxins into his body. It is believed he was suffering from the condition four months earlier in his lone loss to Edison Miranda, whom Ward beat.

But Mikkel Kessler of Denmark also was thought be dangerous enough to shatter promoter Dan Goossen’s plans to turn Ward into a pay-per-view star. Ward beat Kessler thoroughly in Oakland, despite complaints from Kessler’s corner about intentional head butts and home-cooking.

Form the Kessler victory, there was a significant sign that Ward is improving all the time. There have always been questions about his durability. The powerful Kessler landed a few big shots, but Ward never buckled. A bigger question perhaps is the condition of Ward’s right knee. He underwent surgery for an injury that forced a postponement of the Green fight, originally scheduled for April. The injury’s severity has been questioned by the Green camp.

Green also has had his date of knee problems, which in the wake of gimpy Yuri Foreman’s loss to Miguel Cotto is more in focus now than perhaps it has ever been. But Green doesn’t rely on lateral movement the way Ward does.

“My right knee is fine.’’ Ward said. “We’ve had no issues with the knee throughout our entire training camp. Coming off of surgery there are certain things you need to do in rehabilitation just to keep the muscles and the hamstring and all the different muscles that wrap around the knee; just keeping them strong. The knee has really been a non-issue.’’

It will have to be, because Green promises to move forward, always forward, in pursuit of delivering an upset with his left hand. If the knee is strong and stays strong, Ward should be able to move his quick feet and quicker hands at rates that figure to leave Green confused in the later rounds and speechless in the end. In the ring, there are a lot of ways to look at Ward, who forces opponents to make adjustments that can make them change plans and commit errors.

In his second straight fight before hometown fans, Green’s representatives are upset at the appointment of referee Raul Caiz, who is from California. Through an associate, Green promoter Lou DiBella said a couple of days ago that he and Goossen had agreed on a referee from Nevada. Goossen denied there was any agreement. Goossen said he tried to contact DiBella in an attempt to get an agreement. DiBella was unable to participate in a recent conference call and did not attend a news conference Wednesday because of a family illness.

The judges will be from California, Mexican and Connecticut, Goossen said.

Ward? Yeah, he’s from Oakland. But he’s at home any where there are critics. In boxing, that’s everywhere.

A month ago one of Boxing’s least known World Champions Omar “El Huracan” Narvaez 32-0-2(19) moved up to Super Flyweight and added the WBO title to his WBO Flyweight crown which he has held for nearly 8 years making 16 defences. Normally when a fighter has a achieved that sort of notoriety he’s zeroing in on a place at Canastota in the Hall of Fame. However for Narvaez who’s been a pro for 10 years that’s probably not the case as he continues look for his defining fight that will prove that the longevity and number’s he’s wracked up aren’t merely against also rans. It’s something Pongsaklek Wongjongkam achieved when he beat Koki Kameda while Joe Calzaghe finally got his respect when he beat Jeff Lacy others such as Sven Ottke were never able to achieve it though. Now into his 30’s which is old for the lighter weights Narvaez contacted 15rounds.com with the hope that people would see his name and he may get the attention his skills deserve thus garnering the Boxing publics interest, ultimately helping him get one of the bigger names around his weight class into the ring.

Hello Omar, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly congratulations on becoming a two weight world champion. What can you tell us about your fight with Everth Briceno? What did it mean to you and how did it feel when they announced you had won?

Omar Narvaez – About the fight with Briceño I felt very comfortable and thought that I would need to require a little more and that he was more dangerous. At times I felt that I could have won before the limit but he stopped me with his infringements (Briceno was deducted three points during the fight). When I devoted super flyweight champion, I felt very happy and very proud. I never imagined in my life that would be able to achieve so much as a boxer.

Anson Wainwright – Though it is still early days what would you like to do next? When would you like to be back in action and who would you like to fight?

Omar Narvaez – I’d like to fight as soon as possible that because I am in good shape and a desire to do it. I’d like to fight with the best to show the world I’m the best.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your team, who is your manager, trainer & promoter?

Omar Narvaez – My team is made by my brothers as coaches and physical coach named Roperto Riz and my manager is Osvaldo Rivera.

Anson Wainwright – You had a very good amateur career that saw you fight at the Olympics. Can you tell us what titles and tournaments you fought in as an amateur? What fighters who are now pro’s did you fight? Also what was your amateur record?

Omar Narvaez – I made 103 amateur fights of which I lost 25. I achieved four gold medals in national tournaments. 1998 ODESUR Games win gold in Ecuador. I won the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg in Canada, participate in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics beating Joan Guzman and lost the second match. I won gold in Cordoba Cardin, Cuba 1998, a bronze medal in world championship of Hungary, Budapest in 1997 and World Silver medal in Houston, Texas 1999, participated in the Goodwill Games in New York in 1998, participate in the World Cup bronze medal in Beijing, China 1998. I participated in the 2000 Sydney Olympics in which I lost in the second round with Wladimir Sidorenko. I beat several boxers who today are world champions in different categories. Joan Guzman, José Navarro, and several that at this moment I can’t remember their names.

Anson Wainwright – Your not very well known outside of your home country of Argentina what can you tell us about yourself? What do you like to do when your not Boxing?

Omar Narvaez – During the free time I like to ride motorcycles.

Anson Wainwright – You have been a world champion since 2002. Have you ever received offers to fight any of the other top guys at 112 or even up at 115? A few years ago in the press it said you had turned down a fight with Vic Darchinyan? Can you tell us what happened and why you didn’t fight him?

Omar Narvaez – About Darchinyan I never received a serious proposal, all it was a supposed fight but it never came up to nothing .

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

Omar Narvaez – As a child I loved playing football and I always played for clubs in my area and started boxing at age 17. My love for boxing began at 16, but never before I imagined I would become a fighter and less world champion.

Anson Wainwright – Some people don’t think you have tested yourself against the best fighters around and that you have fought several guys who weren’t a challenge to you. What are your thoughts on that and why you haven’t been able to as yet fight one of the big names?

Omar Narvaez – I never received offers to fight with the best and I hope I will fight with them one day.

Anson Wainwright – You will be 35 in July, which is thought of as old in the lower weights for a Boxer, however you still seem to close to your prime. How do you feel about that?

Omar Narvaez – Today at 34 years I feel very well and very eager. I feel I get increasingly better, and that the experience I have managed to get gives me a big edge over my rivals.

Anson Wainwright – What do you still hope to achieve in Boxing?

Omar Narvaez – Now I would like to continue in Super Flyweight and have tougher fights and fight the best in the category because I think I can beat them.

Anson Wainwright – Finally do you have a message for the Boxing world and the Super Flyweight division?

Omar Narvaez – My message is that I want to fight with the best, because I feel capable, and I feel that with my boxing and my experience I am better than most. I know that they are not easy to beat, but I can solve many problems because I have a very intelligent Boxing, and when I have to, I can fight to, and be dangerous doing it.

Thanks for taking time to speak with us Omar.

Best Wishes

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

“Now is my time. I have to show and prove.” – Allan Green, June 8, 2010

“The non-resistible, non-competible – no, no, I’m not sayin’ I’m the best! . . . I’m just sayin’ I’m f–kin’ incredible.” – Big Daddy Kane, “Show & Prove,” 1994

There’s something witty and even charming about Allan “Sweetness” Green. Whether it’s his Sooner upbringing, his zigzagging career path or his willingness to say unpopular things, Green is the sort of self-scripted character American athletics needs more of. He’s also an American athlete who has come, somewhat suddenly, to a dream opportunity.

We’ll see what he does with it.

Saturday, in the third and final fight of Group Stage Two of Showtime’s “Super Six” tournament, Oklahoma’s Allan Green will battle California’s Andre “S.O.G.” Ward in Oakland. Oracle Arena, a 20-minute drive from Ward’s home, will play host to a match for both the WBA super middleweight belt and an almost certain advancement to the semifinal round for Ward.

For Green, things will be more complicated. Green is, after all, a replacement. After a violent knockout loss to Arthur Abraham, Jermain Taylor withdrew. Green inherited Taylor’s spot in the tourney and Taylor’s accumulated points – zero.

“No offense against Jermain,” Green said last Tuesday about an April 2009 Showtime telecast. “But we fought on the same show, and I won my fight, and he lost his fight. I got pushed back to ‘ShoBox,’ and he got put into the tournament.”

But Green’s here now, and he bears something of a grudge. So does Andre Ward – whose nickname is an abbreviated “Son of God.” Neither man feels properly respected in his profession.

Ward is America’s last Olympic Gold Medalist boxer, a title he’s held for six years and might well hold for six more. He has been handled judiciously, building a strong hometown following in Oakland without challenging for a world title until his last match. He is a humble and likable man. Accusations of coddled treatment, though, have followed him, with many observers mistakenly using “coddled” as a synonym for “soft.” It isn’t. And it sure wasn’t on Nov. 21.

That day, Ward manhandled Mikkel Kessler, whom most considered the tournament favorite. Ward took the “Viking Warrior,” roughed him up, and reduced him to blaming dirty tactics and bad refereeing for his second career loss. It was a more conclusive performance than anyone expected.

But then a recurrent knee injury led Ward to postpone his match with Green, and Green was unhesitant in speculating about the seriousness of Ward’s next opponent, if not his injury. Green said, had that opponent still been Jermain Taylor, there would be no delay. Ward took the comments personally – as they were intended. Asked Tuesday if the comments bothered him, Ward responded with typical seriousness and grace.

“Bother me? No,” Ward said. “Use them? Yes.”

There’s no telling how much Green intended to rile Ward. Frankly, there’s no telling lots of things about Green. If you’re just now tuning in to the Allan Green show, you’ll quickly learn: Green is a little off his rocker.

But he has a sense of timing and self-deprecation, and a powerful punch, so you want to watch. Things like that fantastic stare-down picture with Carlos De Leon Jr. last April, one in which Green looked like a lunatic frightened by De Leon’s fist, the day before he went through De Leon in about five minutes. And then there was that memorable speech Green gave on Nov. 4, 2005.

That day Green fought on “ShoBox” against New York City’s Jaidon Codrington, one half of a posse calling itself the “Chin Checkers.” Codrington, in keeping with his blossoming professional identity, gave Green little respect in pre-fight comments. Green caught him with a left hook in the opening 10 seconds and then beat him to stiffened unconsciousness in the eight that followed. Mayhem ensued, as doctors and officials tried to get through Codrington’s people to the unconscious fighter.

And while this happened a few feet away, Green did his post-fight interview. Having just scored Ring magazine’s 2005 Knockout of the Year, Green – in lieu of showing concern for Codrington – began a radio-style advertisement for a local car dealership.

It was a bizarre gesture that made Green look oblivious. But he wasn’t oblivious. More like ironical. Green’s post-fight interview, in retrospect, was the work of a person who stood beside himself and noted life’s absurdity.

Still, it wasn’t until Green used “show and prove” last week that any sort of a line could be drawn to another unlikely American ironist: Big Daddy Kane, a Brooklyn rapper, who despite recording hits in the late 1980s and launching a number of other stars’ careers, never quite achieved the acclaim he deserved. He was another man with a touch of self-deprecation, and a mock-epic style.

“I won’t say I’m the baddest or portray that role,” Kane wrote in 1990. “But I’m up to Top 2, and my father’s gettin’ old!”

You can almost hear Green saying something like that.

Something Green actually did say in the last episode of Showtime’s “Fight Camp 360,” last week caused the conference-call equivalent of what Kane derisively labeled “half-steppin’.” It was Green’s use of the word “jive” to describe Ward’s style. A few people wanted to know what Green meant, but no one wanted to talk about race.

Let’s deal in good faith, folks. Allan Green was saying that, as a black-American prizefighter, he will not be confounded by Andre Ward’s black-American-prizefighting style, the way that Green believes Kessler was. Green was saying that, where Ward’s reflexes, athleticism and slipperiness disarmed Kessler, they will have no effect on him because he comes from the same tradition as Ward. Green considers himself a native “jive” speaker. Big Daddy Kane would approve.

So now, Mr. Green, it’s time to show and prove.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter.com/bartbarry

Hot middleweight prospect David Lemieux remained undefeated by stopping former world title challenger Elvin Ayala at 2:44 of round one of a scheduled twelve round bout at Uniprix Stadium in Montreal.

Lemieux dropped Ayala three times including just seconds into the bout when he landed a big left that sent Ayala to the canvas. Ayala was dropped for a second time when Lemieux landed three big lefts that was followed by an uppercut and flurry that dropped Ayala. Lemieux closed the deal when he landed hard right that was followed by a left hook that sent Ayala down for a third and final time.

Lemieux, 160 lbs of Montreal is now 23-0 with twenty-two knockouts. Ayala, 160 1/4 lbs of East Haven, CT is now 20-5-1.

Tough veteran Brian Vera scored a third round stoppage over Sebastien Demers in a scheduled ten round Super Middleweight bout.

After two non discript rounds, Vera landed a left that was follwed by a big right that sent Demers down to the canvas. Vera was all over Demers and scored a second knock down from another right hand. With a cut over the left eye, Demers was in bad shape and took another couple shots before referee Marlon B. Wright stopped the bout at 1:57 of round three.

Vera, 168 lbs of Austin, TX is now 17-4 with eleven knockouts. Demers of Quebec is now 31-3.

Tony Luis remained undefeated by scoring a fifth round stoppage over Adrian Valdez in a six round Lightweight bout.

Luis took control of the bout during the third round as began to land flurries and body shots on the Mexican veteran. In round five, Luis landed a wicked left that sent Valdez down. When he got to his feet he didint seem eager to continue and referee Marlon B. Wright stopped the bout at 1:16.

Luis, 135 1/2 lbs of Montreal is now 9-0 with three knockouts. Valdez, 135 lbs of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico is now 19-8-3.

Kevin Lavalle made a sucsessful pro debut with a first round stoppage over Carlos Martinez in a scheduled four round Jr. Lightweight bout.

Lavalle landed a big left that sent Martinez down for the ten count at 2:26 of round one.

Lavalle of Montreal is 1-0 with one knockout. Martinez, 129 3/4 lbs of Mexico City is 4-7.

In the last year Rodel Mayol 26-4-2(20) has been involved in a career’s worth of controversial endings. His last four fights to be exact all World title fights have had unsatisfactory conclusions. First he fought Ivan Calderon for the WBO 108 crown it was his third attempt at a world title, the fight was stopped due to a terrible cut on Calderon’s forehead. It went to the scorecards and after six completed rounds it was declared a draw. Mayol’s gutsy display earned him a straight rematch, incredibly the same cut was again opened up on Calderon’s forehead. With the fight stopped in the seventh it was again it was in the hands of the judges who scored it narrowly for Calderon. Finally things went in Mayol’s favour last November when he beat long reigning WBC Light Flyweight champion Edgar Sosa. Midway through the second stanza the two fighters clashed heads violently, Sosa was badly hurt and dropped. He was ultimately stopped and left with a broken cheek bone. While many believed it should of been declared a No Contest the referee missed it and declared Mayol the victor. Last time out he fought another Mexican Omar Nino. In the third round when they were separated from a clinch and Nino cold cocked Mayol knocking him out, with the fight declared a technical draw. On 19 June they will have a rematch again in Mexico, here’s to hoping we can have a conclusive result without a hint of controversy this time.

Hello Rodel, welcome to 15rounds.com

Hi Anson, thank you for taking time to interview me. I appreciate it.

Anson Wainwright – Firstly your scheduled to make the second defence of your WBC Light Flyweight title against Omar Nino on 19 June in Mexico. You fought in February but the fight was called a no contest after you were hit late. What is your take on what happened?

Rodel Mayol – Regarding the decision on my last defence against Nino, I would sincerely would want it a disqualification for Nino if it was me to decide. Since it was what WBC has decided- I fully respect and accept it.

Anson Wainwright – Your last 4 fights have ended strangely the two with Calderon had unsatisfactory ending due to cuts and so did the Edgar Sosa fight. What are your thoughts on both Calderon fights and then the Sosa fight?

Rodel Mayol – Strange as it maybe, but these bouts are the only bouts I have ever encountered headbutts in my list of bouts. I guess it is due to clash of boxing styles between them and me. But I would like to stress out that all of these headbutts have been unintentional.

Anson Wainwright – Who is in your team. Who is your manager, trainer & promoter? Also what gym do you train at?

Rodel Mayol – My coach is Jesus Arevalo. He is Freddie Roach’s assistant coach in WILDCARD GYM. Jeremiah Quijano my long-time and trusted friend is also my assistant coach. My cutman is Dr. Edgardo dela Vega. My team is small but they are very loyal and supportive to me in any way I could ask for. My manager is Mr. Manny Pacquiao and I am under MP Promotions and Top Rank.

Anson Wainwright – Could you tell us how things were for you when you were young growing up in The Philippines and how it took you into Boxing?

Rodel Mayol – It all started with my love of basketball. I never knew that I be a boxer out of it and become who I am right now.
I had a fight with a fellow player that made a bully out of me. I was beaten since I am a small boy. I lived very close by a neighbouring boxing gym, so I trained to take revenge and beat the guy in the future when we meet again. I never had the chance to beat him-I ended up being busy in boxing.

Anson Wainwright – You turned pro in 2000 and for several years looked like you may not win a World title coming up short against Eagle Kyowa & Ulises Solis & then the two fights with Ivan Calderon. How did it feel to finally win the title against Sosa?

Rodel Mayol – Every boxer wants to be a champion. I think that is the ultimate goal you need to achieve to be successful and happy in this career. I have been on a very long journey. But perseverance, hard work, love of the sport and having the heart of a champion is what it takes to bring you into this position. Sosa fight maybe the perfect timing for me- and I have been very patient and I never gave up. The defeats and heartbreaks I encountered in the shortcoming of my previous world title bouts made me stronger.

Anson Wainwright – You have fought many very talented fighters who do you feel was your toughest opponent?

Rodel Mayol – It would be Ulises Solis.

Anson Wainwright – What do you consider your best performance and why?

Rodel Mayol – I would say it was my fight with Edgar Sosa. Nobody believed me at that time any longer. I guess just got tired believing. It was the perfect timing, I was in the best condition in my entire career, and i shocked everybody.

Anson Wainwright – If you could fight anyone who would it be? What goals do you still have in Boxing?

Rodel Mayol – I do not have preference on who. But I would love to fight big names in my weight division. I intend to keep the WBC belt and defend it whatever it takes. And if God gives me more blessings, I would love to collect other belts as well.

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

Rodel Mayol – I love to go fishing. It gives me a lot of time to relax, enjoy and time to think. It has also helped me build patience and perseverance. Other than that, I spend my time with my family and friends.

Anson Wainwright – Recently Manny Pacquiao won the race to congress in The Philippines. That is a fantastic achievement. What are your thoughts on that?

Rodel Mayol – I am very happy for his success. He deserves all of it. Because of Manny, boxers especially in the Philippines has been given a higher elevation in society. Boxers are intelligent – -not mere brawlers in the ring.

Anson Wainwright – Do you have a message for Omar Nino?

Rodel Mayol – I am excited to defend my WBC belt against him the 2nd time around and I have no plan in letting anyone borrow my belt (LOL!)

Thanks for your time Rodel, good luck in your upcoming fight.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

The silence isn’t exactly deafening. But it is encouraging. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer isn’t saying anything at all. Bob Arum is commenting only on location- location- location, which was one piece of real estate agreeable to all before negotiations for Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. got messy enough to demand that everybody go straight to drug testing.

It even looks as if Mayweather has sidestepped questions about Pacquiao by saying he has retired all over again. Yeah, right. Believe that one and you’ll believe British Petroleum’s early assertions that spewing oil from the Gulf of Mexico’s sea floor was as easy to fix as a leaky toilet.

After a noisy and abrupt end to talks late last year, the absence of chest-thumping, defiant headlines is as good a place to resume as any. The mystery is whether there been any substantive talk at all about a proposed fight on Nov. 13 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand or Thomas & Mack Center.

The guess here: Not much.

But the beginning, a, potential foundation, of a deal looks to be in the works where it should have been all along:

The Nevada State Athletic Commission.

On Wednesday, the Commission heard from U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart, former chief U.S. Olympic Committee medical officer Dr. Robert Voy, commission physician Dr. David Watson and others about random blood testing, the deal breaking issue in December.

Then, the Commission got about as much respect as a tar ball when Mayweather suddenly demanded Olympic-style testing and Pacquiao balked. Despite the Nevada’s agency’s regulatory duties, it didn’t appear to have much of a role months later in the USADA-supervised blood-testing before Mayweather’s victory over Shane Mosley on May 1. Mayweather and Mosley were represented by the same entity, Golden Boy, instead of feuding promotional concerns.

There was progress in Mosley-Mayweather, perhaps, because the random testing went on with few complaints from either fighter. But it will never work in negotiations between Top Rank-promoted Pacquiao and representatives for Mayweather without a supervisory agency that so far only conducts urine testing.

It will be very hard – make that impossible — to put together a deal without a buffer between USADA and Mayweather, whose demand initiated talk ,if not momentum, for Olympic style testing in boxing. If Mayweather can take himself – retire his mouth – from the process long enough for he Nevada Commission to make some kind of accommodation with USADA, then there’s chance.

Some of what was said Wednesday was intriguing. In boxing circles, random blood testing for a variety of drugs is often described in terms that make it sound unbeatable. Voy pointed out that it is not.

Testing for human growth hormone (HGH), he said, is unreliable and impractical. For anybody who has spent times at the Olympics, those are two words often used at pool side during the swimming or at the track between heats.

Instead of guarantees, there are only suspicions.

But a framework for blood-testing sanctioned by the Nevada Commission could create a springboard for negotiations between Arum and Schaefer, Pacquiao and Mayweather. The meeting Wednesday was only a beginning. Between Arum and Schaefer, Pacquiao and Mayweather, there is no room for compromise over the method or the timetable or even the concept. We already know that.

However, Pacquiao has said he would be willing to undergo a blood test within two weeks of opening bell, or within the reported window when HGH can still be detected.

Pacquiao has shown signs that he willing to compromise. But he also has shown that he will just say no to demands from Mayweather or Schaefer or Mayweather advisor Leonard Ellerbe.

For now, he must like what he is hearing.

Or not hearing.

Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank

As Cotto returns to former glory, his fans return to full pitch at Yankee Stadium.

It was a great site to behold; thousands of fans at legendary Yankee Stadium waiting to see the once bright up-and-comer, Miguel Cotto return to glory after suffering severe losses at the (loaded) hands of Antonio Margarito and the seemingly invincible Manny Pacquiao.

People had considered Cotto down for the count after those monumental losses and the injuries endured even during his winning fight against Joshua Clottey, but Cotto came to the ring with something to prove, and he knew he had to deliver. Perhaps it was the new trainer in Emanuel Steward or perhaps it was the shiny WBA Light Middleweight title belt on the line, but whatever it was, it worked. Cotto, fighting most recently at Welterweight, seemed a natural Light Middleweight, bossing Yuri Foreman around the ring for the duration of the fight. Foreman, a game yet arguably untested world title holder did little to stave off the aggressive and powerful Cotto. Emanuel Steward’s training was evident right off the bat as Cotto’s footwork and movement seemed vastly improved since his last fight against Pacquiao, (though Pacquiao can make anyone look like they’re dancing in cement.)

It is clear that Cotto has come to fight as soon as the bell rings. Aggressively sticking his jab, Cotto turtles up only for a moment during the 1st round. The 2nd round sees more of Cotto’s jab and also a more aggressive Foreman, working his jab as well. Cotto lands more punches, working Foreman’s body with his left hook and takes the round. The 3rd round is more about the body and hooks from both fighters. Strangely enough, Foreman’s mouthpiece falls out and referee Arthur Mercante Jr. demands Cotto’s corner to clean it off while adamantly telling trainer, Emanuel Steward not to speak to the fighter.

The 4th round sees the best exchanges of the fight, with both fighters landing stiff jabs and powerful exchanges. Cotto’s defense also seems to have improved under Steward’s tutelage and it’s a toss-up as to who wins the round. Foreman seems to weaken in the 5th and 6th rounds, though there are some good hooks landed by both fighters.

A slip in the 7th round has Foreman limping and Cotto rushing in to finish the job, but Foreman’s heart wins out the round. Foreman falls and limps his way through the first half of the 8th round until a towel comes flying into the ring from his corner. Cotto’s corner comes rushing in and starts celebrating their victory until referee Mercante announces that the fight isn’t over and everybody needs to clear the ring. Apparently, Foreman’s corner denies throwing the towel in, although it was clearly a corner towel, and so the fight goes back on. Mercante gets respect for taking control of the situation and clearing the ring so quickly, even though the fight should have been ended at that point.

Slightly confused, both fighters regain composure and continue fighting until it becomes blatantly obvious to referee Mercante that Foreman isn’t in any shape to keep fighting, so the fight is stopped for real this time.

Miguel Cotto wins the WBA Light Middleweight Title and wins his fans the world over…again. Foreman gains new fans by showing incredible heart in the ring and can hold his head high. Where will each fighter go from here? Can’t wait to find out.

Congratulations on an awesome victory Cotto!!!

For more, click www.broadcastboxing.com

It’s been a busy first year for L’Jeon Love, the Detroit native has quickly taken his record to 5-0(4) in just 5 months. It’s something he likes and is thankful to his handlers at TKO Boxing for allowing him to stay so active. His manager Cameron Dunkin hopes to keep Love active this year saying “First we wanted to fight him constantly but after this year we’ll slow him down and pick his fights against certain styles and maybe next year he’ll fight 5 or 6 times”. The award winning manager who has handled 23 world champions in his time has high hopes for his charge adding “He has a chance to be a champ, he’s got lots of ability and growing up around the Kronk certainly helps”. At just 22 Love has time on his side and will continue to develop his skills over the next few years before hopefully embarking on a title run and emulating many top fighters from yester year from Detroit.

Hello J’Leon, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly congratulation’s on your win last weekend, you went the distance for the first time. What can you tell us about that fight?

J’Leon Love – Well i fought Fernando Calleros and that was my first time going the distance. I felt pretty good, i’m used to the four rounds from gym and the amateur’s. My body is used to that, i’m in shape. I fought a tough a very tough guy, he was a very awkward opponent. He was very strong, he was there to be hit, but he could take a punch. After the first round i knew i was in for the distance. I was setting him up for so many great shots with precise punches and it was catching him off guard where he didn’t know they were coming. But he took every shot whether it was a body shot or head shot. I was happy to get the rounds in. I enjoyed it and had a lot of fun fighting him.

Anson Wainwright – It’s early days but when can we expect to see you fight next?

J’Leon Love – I was supposed to of had a fight on June 4th in Tampa, Florida but that was cancelled. I’m just waiting to hear when i’ll fight next.

Anson Wainwright – You’ve been very active so far fighting on a roughly once a month schedule. How have you found fighting this often?

J’Leon Love – I think it’s great it keeps me busy. I’m glad because TKO has done a great job of promoting and keeping me busy. A lot of fighters get shelved and they fight every few months or don’t fight so often. I’m glad and happy that TKO Boxing has given me a chance to show my talent and keep me busy.

Anson Wainwright – For those who perhaps haven’t seen you fight, how would you describe your style and best attributes?

J’Leon Love – I’m a typical fighter. A brawler at times, when the time is needed i can sit and exchange and box and be smart and use my skills i can do that also. Either way it depends on the opponent or the style of guy in front of me.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about the team that you have? Who is your manager, trainer & promoter? Also what gym do you use to train at? How did you meet those guys?

J’Leon Love – It started off where i was training in Detroit at the Kronk gym and i was being trained by Javonn Hill the amateur trainer there and i had competed in the 2008 Golden Gloves and i wanted to take the next step to turn professional. Things were moving real slow for me after the amateurs, i had a lot of pro debuts set but things didn’t follow through. But god had blessed me with Cameron Dunkin & TKO Boxing Productions, they came through almost like word of mouth. They heard about a good fighter out of Detroit, which was me. I received a call from Cameron Dunkin who was interested in signing me. It went from there, and i got put with a great promotional team TKO Boxing. That’s how I landed with them. My trainers are Angelo Cabrio & Nelson Figueroa. Nelson is more for strength and conditioning and speed. Angelo is more for basics, working on my punches and my mistakes. I train at the Detroit Boxing Jungle, it’s about a mile from the Kronk gym.

Anson Wainwright – What can you tell us about your amateur career?

J’Leon Love – My first was a Silver medal at the 2007 Golden Gloves that was the first National tournament i ever fought in. I fought Shawn Porter in the final. It was a close fight but his experience kicked in the last round and he outpointed me but it was a pretty good fight. I was in the mix with Danny Jacobs though we never fought and all these prospects. I think we’ll all meet down the stretch, the top champions fighting each other. I had a great amateur career i had 125 fights maybe, i say about 10 loses at most. I fought at the National PAL, Olympic trials. I trained at the Olympic training centre.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your younger years in Dearborn Heights and how you got involved in Boxing?

J’Leon Love – I grew up in a small town right next to Dearborn. I was a typical kid, i had a few street fights. I asked my mum one day of i could box, i saw the Army and Navy competing on TV and she told me no not to ever ask her again. As the years passed i had an allowance from my mother and i was saving up and i had a cousin who took me down to the Kronk gym in Detroit i paid my monthly fee. I started training, my mom found out and was pretty supportive of me and over protective of me but protective as a mother would be.

Anson Wainwright – In your first 3 fights you fought at 165 in the next two you have got down to as low as 156. Are you looking at fighting regular at Light Middleweight?

J’Leon Love – My ultimate goal is to get to 160 that would be a better weight for me. 168, or Light Middleweight is great for me. I athletic, i’m in shape, i’m working hard so you know it just takes time. I’m still growing. Eventually i will fight at 160 though.

Anson Wainwright – What do you like to do away from Boxing? What are your hobbies? What do you think you’d be doing for a living if it wasn’t for Boxing?

J’Leon Love – I have a girlfriend, i’m always hanging out with my brothers and my girlfriends brothers we do whatever Bowling, swim, horse riding. We’re real competitive with each other whether it’s video games or Bowling. I’m all for fun, i’m not a club type of guy.

Anson Wainwright – What do you think you’d be doing if you weren’t a professional boxer?

J’Leon Love – I’d be a computer graphics designer. I was very good with computers in school. So that would be my second plan after boxing because i know i wont be a boxer for ever. I want to be an entrepreneur i want to own my own business. To be something big, i want to be something inside and outside of the ring. So i have a lot of plans.

Anson Wainwright – Who are your Boxing hero’s?

J’Leon Love – I like Marvelous Marvin Hagler he was a destroyer, it didn’t matter who was in front of him he gave them his best and most of the time his best was destroying guys. There’s a lot, Felix Savon the Cuban he was great.

Anson Wainwright – Can you say Hagler being being from Detroit after what he did to Thomas Hearns? Haha

J’Leon Love – I like Tommy Hearns he was also a great fighter but not one of my favourite’s. I look up to him, i actual saw him a few times and sparred with his son a few times.

Anson Wainwright – Finally what are your goals in Boxing?

J’Leon Love – To become the undisputed pound for pound world champion. Also to be just a great fighter for people to say J’Leon Love from Detroit was a great fighter. If that’s how i can have people remember me like a Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson or Floyd Mayweather at the top of Boxing.

Thanks for your time and good luck next week.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

CORPUS CHRISTI, TEX. – All’s clear on the bay. While most boxing writers dined together and canvassed Yankee Stadium in the Bronx this weekend, I was in the heavy, salty air of South Texas. In this part of the Gulf of Mexico, it’s good to report, there’s no oil on the beaches – thank the currents – or flotillas to board, though there is an aircraft carrier.

That would be the USS Lexington, a vessel that holds the American record for “catches” – planes landed on her flight deck. Commissioned in 1943, the Lexington existed before the State of Israel did, before there were Israeli blockades or Israeli world champions. It’s not the stretch you might think; sitting on a humid beach and contemplating sea craft wasn’t a bad way at all to prepare for Yuri Foreman’s first title defense.

Saturday, Foreman, a Belarusian-born Israeli who lives and trains in New York City, met Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto in the first fight of the new Bronx edifice called Yankee Stadium, to contest the WBA light middleweight title. Cotto won at 0:42 of round 9 when Foreman, whose knee gave out twice in round 7, collected a shot to the liver, and referee Arthur Mercante Jr. waved an end to the match.

It was an odd ending that merits an oddly fashioned treatment.

Yuri Foreman came in the ring wearing a brace on his right knee. He didn’t appear to favor the right knee, though; his somewhat brittle circles seemed no harder on that side than the other. But a minute or so into round 7, his right foot hit a wet spot and slipped from beneath him. He rose and limped about. Were it not for the telltale brace, you’d have thought he’d sprained his ankle.

His knee gave out a second time, and Foreman dropped to the canvas again. It was an appropriate time to stop the fight – however badly New York officials wanted a grand show for boxing’s Yankee Stadium debut. But the referee really, really wanted the fight to go on. Mercante Jr. implored Foreman to “suck it up!” and “walk it off!” like a dad trying to make a man of his son. Foreman obliged because he’s a fighter.

The next round saw Foreman, whose mobility was his only asset against the better, stronger Cotto, rendered immobile. He limped about, straight legged, and hit Cotto hard as he was able – which wasn’t that hard even when he could still bear weight on his power leg. Joe Grier, Foreman’s trainer, threw a white towel in the ring after crying “stop the fight!” from his corner, ascended the ring steps, and said his charge was through. Mercante Jr. said he wasn’t.

Mercante Jr. asked Foreman if he wished to continue. Foreman said he did. Mercante Jr. cleared the ring of trainers, officials and hangers-on, and insisted the fight continue.

Foreman fought on, nobly, for a few more minutes. Then Miguel Cotto found him with a left hook to the liver, the button, and the fight ended. What was gained by subjecting Foreman to those additional two or so minutes of abuse is anyone’s guess. He proved his mettle and won some transient new fans, perhaps, but most of those fans were already Foreman’s – after hearing his intriguing life story and seeing him defend his title in baseball’s most-celebrated venue.

HBO analyst Max Kellerman, himself a New Yorker with what can fairly be called a rooting interest in the event’s success, was ecstatic with Mercante Jr.’s decision. HBO’s ringside scorekeeper Harold Lederman, also a New Yorker, explained that Mercante Jr.’s ignoring of the thrown towel was kosher; referees never know who throws a towel in the ring.

Fair enough. But what about a chief second standing on the apron? When did a trainer climbing in the ring and calling an end to the match become a starter’s gun for negotiations with the referee?

But Foreman said he wanted to continue! Well of course he did.

This is not a good precedent. We’ve spent years decrying cornermen who are too brave on their fighters’ behalves. We’ve said a fighter’s judgment is impaired by courage, and blows to the head, and his trainer must be willing to stop a fight he feels his charge cannot win. Then a trainer does exactly that, a referee disregards him completely, and we lionize the referee? Call me unconvinced.

And keep calling me that when it comes to the revitalized Miguel Cotto. This match’s calculus went like so: Cotto is a much better fighter than Foreman, but Cotto’s faded, and Foreman doesn’t hit hard for a man of 154 pounds, and Cotto has a new trainer and a new look. It was typically astute matchmaking by promoter Top Rank. It led to a fight that was much better than expected. Far as Cotto’s concerned, though, it proved little more than this: When a light-hitting and taller fighter retreats, Cotto is very good at tracking him down. Oh, and let’s not pretend Cotto learned to throw that left hook in this last training camp.

A lot of very knowledgeable boxing people wanted this show to work. Two large New York City ethnicities – Jewish and Puerto Rican – were represented in its main event. Attendance was announced at 20,272, a fairly good showing.

But in South Texas, we’re a bit shy of persuaded. About 400 miles north of here in Cowboys Stadium, 50,994 Texans showed up to watch a fight with no ethnic interest whatever – Filipino versus Ghanaian – in March.

Still, Top Rank’s stadium tour of the United States remains a wonderful idea that should be applauded. In fact, I think I’ll scout Padre Island for a baseball field before I head back to the Alamodome City.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter.com/bartbarry

Emanuel Steward in a corner is a little bit like seeing an old soldier back in uniform. It fits. Amid the clutter and craziness along the ropes of boxing’s front lines, Steward belongs there a lot more than he belongs in a tux at ringside for Home Box Office. Make no mistake, Steward is a good commentator. So is Jim Lampley.

But Lampley couldn’t train a fighter, much less guide one through adversity any more than I or anybody else could in a media section full of egos that rival the waistlines. I’ve never wondered what Lampley or Larry Merchant or Max Kellerman could have done for Shane Mosley or Juan Manuel Marquez or Ricky Hatton against Floyd Mayweather Jr. But I have wondered whether Steward might have made a difference.

I won’t have to Saturday night, not with Steward in Miguel Cotto’s corner against Yuri Foreman in a junior-middleweight fight that is historic for its place, Yankee Stadium, and intriguing for what it means to Foreman as the first Israeli champion, Cotto as a symbol of Puerto Rican pride and Steward at a crossroads in a vanishing trade. There is Freddie Roach and Nazim Richardson and Nacho Beristain. Sorry, Roger Mayweather. Floyd, Jr., is so good, he could train himself.

Great trainers are becoming as endangered as the heavyweights, who have become the Klitschko division since – and perhaps because — of Steward’s work with Wladimir. Steward will probably never get the credit he deserves for Wladimir Klitschko’s dominance because of a weight class empty of a real threat. The Klitschko division has value only in the Euro zone.

In Yankee Stadium, however, Steward takes his own trip back in time to his historical corner with the welterweight and middleweight who launched him to fame in the 1980s. Steward is forever linked with Thomas Hearns, known for classic battles with Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler, to name just two. With his 66th birthday approaching on July 7, nobody has to ask Steward about the significance of his role in Cotto’s attempt to come back from a loss to Manny Pacquiao, whose bloody victory in November made the Puerto Rican look irreparably damaged.

“It is a major challenge to me at this stage of my career,” said Steward, whose spot on the HBO broadcasting team will be filled by Roy Jones Jr.

Steward recalled a time in the post-Hearns era when he was considered a “hired gun.” There’s a mixed message in that label. On one side, it is an acknowledgement of proven skill and accomplishment. On the other, it suggests an opportunist who sweeps in for a big fight and big payday before moving on to the next target.

Steward recalled working with Evander Holyfield and Oliver McCall. He also had one fight in Oscar De La Hoya’s corner. He came in with the ability to provide a quick fix. Sometimes, however, there is no fix. A hired gun is always in danger of getting shot down. To wit: Steward also was in Naseem Hamed’s corner on a night in 2001 when The Prince was transformed into a frog in a punishing lesson delivered by Marco Antonio Barrera.

In Cotto, however, Steward’s words and tone say he desperately walks to make this corner in his career work. There is pressure because of Puerto Rican hopes, especially in New York. Steward has always been a fan of Cotto, whose admirable honesty and toughness are as evident as his scars. But he didn’t realize how much Puerto Ricans have embraced Cotto until he left the arena in Atlantic City on April 17 after working the HBO broadcast of Sergio Martinez’ upset of Kelly Pavlik.

“I was bombarded by so many Puerto Rican fans, many of whom hadn’t even come to the fight,’’ said Steward, whose second in the corner Saturday will be Cotto’s former lead trainer, Joe Santiago. “But they were waiting for me and I never had any idea that this man was so popular with the Puerto Rican fans, even though I had known of his record crowds at (Madison Square) Garden.

“I had to tell Larry Merchant and Jim Lampley to go ahead and I had to walk on the boardwalk, in the rain.’’

Soaked by the downpour and surrounded by Cotto fans, the talk was Cotto, only Cotto. Seward’s hotel was only about a 10-minute walk away. But not on this night

“It took over an hour to get there,’’ Steward said. “They were telling me that Miguel was all that they have and it really has put a burden on me. So I have put my heart and soul into this training camp, not just to win the fight. There is a lot on the line in this fight for Miguel Cotto. It is a very emotional fight in a lot of ways for our camp.’’

Emotional enough, perhaps for Steward to be more than a hired gun. His long-term relationship is just another example of how trainers and fighters are linked almost like a left jab and a right hand. It is an inseparable combination that woks instinctively. But instinct isn’t immediate. It takes time to evolve as it has with Roach and Pacquiao.

Steward knows that as well, perhaps better, than anyone. It’s why he is forever linked to Hearns. It’s why he belongs in that corner.

Mt. Arlington’s Pawel Wolak is a man on a mission to throw his name in the hat of top 154 pound fighters in the world. Wolak, 26-1 (17 KO’s), is amongst the most popular fighters in the Garden State and feels he is on the cusp of a big fight.

This Saturday, Wolak looks to take another step in the right directions since his lone defeat to Ishe Smith when he battles fellow brawler James Moore in a highly anticipated ten round bout as part of the Miguel Cotto-Yuri Foreman untelevised undercard at the new Yankee Stadium.

MY: You are going to be taking on James Moore Saturday on a big card at Yankee Stadium. Tell us about it.

PW: I am excited for the fight and am definitely ready for it. I have trained extremely hard for seven weeks, have done the proper weight training and proper running, so this should be a great fight for me. I can’t wait!

MY: What is your assessment of James Moore? Have you watched any tapes?

PW: Yes I have seen a number of tapes. James is tough and he definitely brings the fight, but I have seen some mistakes so I am going to try and expose them.

MY: James Moore is somewhat similar to you in the sense that he likes to come forward and has bleed in past fights. With that said you have been boxing a lot more lately and did a good job doing so in your most recent bout against Ishmail Arvin. Against Moore, are you planning to fight fire with fire or box and move like Yuri Foreman did when he defeated him?

PW: I am going to do a little bit of both and adjust as the fight goes on and we will see what works better. I am definitely a fighter that likes to come forward and land big shots but it all depends how the fight goes.

MY: A fight between Moore and yourself had been discussed over the last few years locally. Both of you have since suffered defeats and are somewhat on different paths at the current moment. Do you feel this is a good time to face him or do you wish you faced him earlier?

PW: It’s definitely a good time! This is the first card at the new Yankee Stadium plus its taking place in New York where it should be.

MY: Both Moore and yourself are big ticket sellers. This is a huge card with Puerto Rican fans coming for Cotto, Jewish fans supporting Foreman, the Irish backing Moore, and of course, the Polish fans who follow you. Will the crowd size play a factor since it’s such a big card?

PW: There is always pressure, but the pressure for me is to win and be impressive in doing so. The stadium isn’t going to add any extra pressure, but I just have to win and that’s it.

MY: I know you work with trainer Aroz “Terrific” Gist in Paterson. Yuri Foreman also trains in Paterson with Joe Grier. Have you two ever sparred?

PW: I have been in the gym with him but we haven’t ever sparred together. I have been doing a lot of work with (unbeaten prospect) Steven Martinez for this fight.

MY: Tomasz Adamek is the biggest draw amongst Polish fighters. Being that he is a heavyweight on the cusp of a huge payday, he is likely going to have to fight in a casino or over in Europe, so Newark may very well be out of the picture. Would you feel comfortable being billed as the next big time Polish fighter and do you think you can draw sizeable numbers in Newark like Adamek?

PW: Of course that is the whole point! I want to move into that spot. Hopefully my fights can be exciting and the fans will want to come and see them.

MY: Shortly after your bout against Moore ends, a junior middleweight match up between Vanes Martirosyan and Joe Greene will air on HBO. If Vanes wins, do you see a match up between you two happening since you have been working with Top Rank?

PW: Definitely! I would love to face Vanes for a title or in an eliminator or something of that nature. I am not looking past Moore, but if I look good, the next step is going to be a top guy at 154!

MY: In your only defeat, you were outpointed by a slick boxer in Ishe Smith. What have you learned since then?

PW: I learned that at the top level, I have to be smarter. I knew that I was strong but I made some changes since then and my style has changed since training with Terrific. I am definitely going to be ready for a big shot a few months after the Moore fight.

MY: What do you most likely see happening next? Is there a specific fight or scenario in your mind?

PW: I see a title eliminator coming next.

MY: You are in a 154 lb division which does have some good fighters along with guys moving in and out of the division such as Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez. There is also Sergiy Dzindiruk, Yuri Foreman and Cory Spinks along with exciting contenders like Alfredo Angulo. Where do you feel that Pawel Wolak fits in?

PW: The division is tough and there are a lot of good fighters, but I also believe it is anybody’s division. Whoever prepares properly and lives the best outside of the ring (amongst the elite) will be on top. I definitely feel I belong with the elite at 154 lbs!

MY: As a fan of the sport, what is your take on the main event?

PW: I don’t know what is going to happen, but I am good friends with Yuri so I wish him the best. Yuri has to box and move, while Cotto will have to cut of the ring, fight on the inside and bang to the body to slow Yuri down, so whoever executes better will be the victor.

MY: Pawel, thanks for the interview. Do you have anything to add in closing for your fans and the readers of 15rounds.com?

PW: Thanks to all my fans out there and make sure to come out to Yankee Stadium Saturday night.

For more New Jersey boxing news, go to gardenstatefightscene.com

Ward, Green Talk up Title Fight

On June 19th at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, Andre Ward will defend his WBA Super Middleweight title for the first time against longtime contender Allan Green as part of Group Stage 2 of the Super Six World Boxing Classic. Ward and Green, a replacement in the Showtime-televised tournament for the departed Jermain Taylor, discussed their upcoming fight at a press conference held in Oakland on May 10th.

Green (29-1, 20 KOs) of Tulsa, Oklahoma decided against making the cross country trip from Fort Lauderdale, Florida where he is training to Oakland for the presser, but appeared on screen via a live stream. The normally self-aggrandizing Green was a bit more subdued than was expected, but he still exuded confidence in regards to the June bout. “Andre Ward is a good young fighter. Very skilled, very talented and I do respect his skills. But against a fighter like myself, he is going to have to bring a lot more to the table than he did against Mikkel Kessler,” said Green referring to Ward’s title-winning effort. “I did admire what he did to Kessler; no disrespect there, but at the same time, come June 19th I will be WBA Super Middleweight Champion.”

Ward (21-0, 13 KOs) of Oakland refused to talk down Green in anyway, and if anything built up the Tulsa native. “In my opinion, Allan Green is a beast,” said Ward. “That’s what I am preparing for. That’s what I am eating, sleeping and drinking. I’m getting ready to fight a monster, that’s how I am looking at it.”

Fighting in Oakland for the third time in a row, which accounts for all of the fights he has had in his hometown, Ward sounded eager to get back in front of his supportive fan base. “We have a date, June 19th. When you have a date and you got a dancing partner, there not much else that needs to be said. We have that, and I look forward to putting on another tremendous performance for the fans and, believe it or not, I am going for three points in this fight,” said Ward in reference to the points a knockout victory would earn him in the tournament.

Ward’s reserved, but well stated trainer Virgil Hunter was a bit more tongue-in-cheek in his assessment of the June 19th fight. “We understand what we have to do,” claimed Hunter. “It didn’t take much to go back to the drawing board because, basically, you are getting ready to fight a guy that specializes in knocking out people that have been knocked out before several times. So you have to ask yourself that when you are making your preparation. How do you prepare for a guy that specializes in knocking out people who have been knocked out? So it gets pretty simple after that.”

Tickets for the event, promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions, Antonio Leonard Productions and DiBella Entertainment, are available online at Ticketmaster.com.

Schlienz Out; Nave Lines up New Opponent for Friday

Paul Nave, three fights into his return to boxing, was tabbed to rematch journeyman Daniel Schlienz this Friday, June 4th at the Marin Center Exhibit Hall in San Rafael, California. Nave defeated Schlienz by decision back in November, and had hoped to improve upon that outing by taking the rematch in more decisive fashion. However, Schlienz was ruled out after suffering a stoppage defeat last month, which left Nave and his matchmakers looking for a new opponent to fill the slot.

Two weeks and three days before the fight, Nave received a phone call from Assistant Chief Athletic Inspector Che Guevara informing him that his opponent would not be approved by the California State Athletic Commission. Nave was especially frustrated with the ruling coming so close to fight date, and because he disagreed with the commission’s decision.

“Their job is whether, in their eyes, the fight is safe or not,” said Nave (18-8-2, 7 KOs) of San Anselmo, California. “Is it a mismatch or a blow out, or is it safe. I already fought the guy. There was no knockdowns and it went all six rounds. He is not suspended and I had a competitive fight with him, it was no blow out.”

At the time of our interview, local journeyman Dario Castillo (5-10-1) of Pittsburg, California was tabbed to replace Schlienz in the main event. Should Castillo be the guy, Nave will have some adjustments to make. “He is left handed I hear now, and I have probably not fought a left hander in twenty years and now I will be fighting a left handed kid,” said Nave about the southpaw Castillo. “My preparation is going pretty good, but it is just frustrating that I am not sure who I am fighting now.”

Nave is not only preparing for a fight, in which his company Liberty Boxing Enterprises is the promoter, but he is the co-producer and subject of the reality television series Paul Nave: Goin’ The Distance which airs on Sunday nights on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. The series has followed his family life and documented all the preparation it takes to promote and get ready for a fight. For many, this would be an impossible workload and balancing act. “It is a lot of work, and it is not easy,” admits Nave.

In the co-feature Friday night, Jaime Rodriguez (5-6-3, 2 KOs) of Reno, Nevada will fight Jose Alfredo Lugo (9-13-1, 5 KOs) of Richmond, California by way of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico in a six-round lightweight rematch. They originally met in a highly entertaining bout on the November undercard, with Rodriguez taking a contested six-round unanimous decision.

All-action super bantamweight Jonathan Alcantara (4-1-1) of Novato, California will take on Danny Pantoja (0-3-2) of Fairfield, California in a four-round bout. Alcantara is coming in off of an upset unanimous decision over former amateur standout David Clark on April 1st. Pantoja, who has been matched quite tough in his career, comes in off a decision loss to former National Golden Gloves Champion Efrain Esquivas on April 23rd.

Ending an eight-year layoff, Ulyses Caballero (4-0-1, 3 KOs) of San Pablo, California will take on former amateur standout Jason Montgomery (1-0-1) of San Leandro, California in a four-round light middleweight fight.

Also slated for the card is debuting Herman Bacho of Santa Rosa, California who will take on John Dunham (0-5-1) of Stockton, California in a four-round welterweight fight.

Tickets for the event, promoted by Liberty Boxing Enterprises, are available online at Ticketmaster.com.

Julaton Takes on Villalobos June 30th

Looking to rebound from a decision loss to Lisa Brown in March, Ana Julaton will return to the site of that recent defeat, the Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario, Canada to take on Maria Elena Villalobos on June 30th. Their fight, for the vacant WBO Super Bantamweight title, will be shown live nationwide in Canada on TSN.

Julaton (6-2-1, 1 KO) of Daly City, California is not only returning to the Casino Rama, but the June bout will mark the return of Freddie Roach to her corner. Julaton had been trained by either Nonito Donaire Sr. or Rick Noble before her past three fights. At a recent press conference Julaton sounded excited to return to Rama and rejoin Roach. “I am hoping to provide amazing boxing,” said Julaton. “I feel that is what the fans want. On June 30th that is what I provide, especially with Freddie back in the corner. He is the first guy I started out with for my first six professional fights. Just to be reunited with him. The chemistry is not only there, it is a lot stronger.”

Villalobos (6-3, 3 KOs) of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico is coming off of a failed attempt at the WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Marcela Acuna in Argentina in April. In that fight Villalobos went the full ten round distance, but lost a unanimous decision to perhaps the top fighter in the division.

Tickets for the event, promoted by Orion Sports Management, are available online at Ticketmaster.com.

Two Strong Showings at 2010 National Golden Gloves

Northern California was represented by two boxers at the 2010 National Golden Gloves in Little Rock, Arkansas last month. Eros Correa, a 108-pounder out of San Jose, California, and Eric Altamirano, a 132-pounder out of Concord, California, both advanced to the quarterfinals at the national tournament.

Correa, who fights out of the San Jose PAL Sports Center, notched a decision victory over David Carlton of Cincinnati, Ohio in the preliminary round. In the quarterfinals, Correa was defeated by Santos Vasquez of Sun Valley, Nevada by decision.

Altamirano, who trains at the Community Youth Center in Concord, scored two victories en route to the quarterfinals. In his first bout, Altamirano scored a decision win over Ryan Martin of Knoxville, Tennessee. The following day Altamirano scored a first round stoppage of Christopher Singleton of Gonzales, Louisiana. In the quarterfinals, Altamirano lost a decision to Duran Caferro of Helena, Montana.

Photo by Jan Sanders/Goossen Tutor Promotions

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

Earlier this year Vitali Tajbert 20-1(6) achieved his goal when he was named WBC Super Featherweight champion. Based in Germany but of Kazakhstan decent the 28 year old had beaten Mexican puncher Humberto Gutierrez on points late last year for the Interim title but when another Mexican Humberto Soto abdicated his thrown Tajbert was declared full champion. A few weeks back Tajbert made the first defence of his crown when he turned back perennial contender Hector Velazquez on points when the fight was stopped due to an accidental headbutt in the ninth. Tajbert is a tough European fighter with solid skills who despite a quality amateur resume wasn’t highly though of and had lost his biggest fight when he fought European champion Sergei Gulaykevich in 2008. But you know what they say about what doesn’t break you makes you stronger it worked for Tajbert who while others dismissed him refocused and rebounded to win a world title. Here’s what Tajbert had to say after his recent fight with Velazquez.

Hello Vitali, welcome to 15rounds.com?

Hello, it’s nice to be here and thanks for having me.

Anson Wainwright – Congratulations on making your first defence, what can you tell us about the fight with Hector Velazquez?

Vitali Tajbert – It was a tough job. I was under pressure and the cut in the beginning confused me a little bit. At some point it was difficult to see something with my left eye. But I was lucky as i have two eyes. Sure, it’s a handicap to get such a cut so early but I focussed on my boxing, especially starting from Round 5. Before the bout, I was afraid of a headbutt because of that I wanted highly variable.

Anson Wainwright – How is the cut from that fight healing? Will you need plastic surgery?

Vitali Tajbert – Directly after the bout I went to a hospital. The cut needed 14 stitches. The cut was very deep. But anyway, there are always a solution. Cut or no Cut. A real fighter have to survive everything. That is my attitude.

Anson Wainwright – You were awarded the WBC Super Featherweight title. What can you tell us about the moment you were told you were the full champion? How does it feel now?

Vitali Tajbert – It was the luckiest moment in my life. I worked more than 17 years to win this belt. Many people ask me how it feels to have this belt. It is still amazing. The last 5 years as a pro I worked so hard to get this belt. Now I am the champion and you can be sure that I want to keep this belt for a long time. To me it is the oldest and best boxing association in the world. They’ve had Champions like Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis.

Anson Wainwright – How were you received in Kazakhstan after becoming the WBC Super Featherweight champion? How popular are you at home?

Vitali Tajbert – Sure, the people know me but they see me as a German not as a Russian. And my German is a little bit better like my Russian. I am German, but i’m very happy about the support from Kazakhstan und Russia too.

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

Vitali Tajbert – First of all my promoter is Universum Box-Promotion and I am very happy about that. I feel like a million dollars. Dietmar Poszwa is my manager. He is great. My trainer is Magomed Schaburow. If I would have had Magomed Schaburow at the Olympic Games in 2004, I’m sure that I would have been the Olympic champion. Usually I train in Stuttgart if I have no bouts. During the intensive stage I train in Hamburg.

Anson Wainwright – Do you make 130 easily? What weight do you walk around at? Can you tell us about your dieting for a fight?

Vitali Tajbert – I quit my dinner. I only eat in the morning and after my first training in midday. Of course i eat a lot of un-greased food with vitamins.

Anson Wainwright – You were a successful amateur boxer, you won the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics. Looking back on that what do you feel about your experience of having fought at the Olympics?

Vitali Tajbert – Olympic Games are fantastic. It’s a very special atmosphere. It is very difficult to describe this feeling.

Anson Wainwright – What other titles did you win in the amateur game? What top fighter that are now in the pro’s did you face?

Vitali Tajbert – As Amateur: x 7 German Champion, Junior World Champion 2000, Gold medal International Chemie-Pokal / Halle 2001, Vice-World Champion / Bangkok 2003, European Champion 2004, Bronze medal Olympic Games in Athens, Gold medal European Championship in Pula / Croatian 2004, Gold medal Military Championship Pretoria / South Africa (Best Boxer of Tournament) 2005

Anson Wainwright – Away from Boxing what do you like to do with your time? Do you have any hobbies you can tell us about?

Vitali Tajbert – I love Soccer. I am a very hard-running and a good midfielder. My friends and i meet us once a week to play soccer together. Some Friends playing in the 3rd German League and i keep up with them. I like the club of my hometown VFB Stuttgart and Hamburger SV too. I am very interesting in international soccer like Barcelona, Madrid, Chelsea etc. But my decision pro boxing was the right decision. Boxing 1st everything for me and gave me a lot.

Anson Wainwright – How did you first get into Boxing?

Vitali Tajbert – I started Boxing when i was a young boy in Stuttgart. My first box-club was VFK Germania. Later, i changed to Velberter BC. Next was the German armed forces and my contract with Universum Box-Promotion.

Anson Wainwright – What do you hope to achieve from Boxing? Who are your favourite fighters to watch?

Vitali Tajbert – I don’t have a Idol or something like that. Everyone is on his or her way unique. I like Boxer’s who are not punchers. I like to watch technical boxing on a high level. Of course, i love to see fights in my weight class.

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

Vitali Tajbert – Thanks for your support. I really appreciate that. I hope that i still show great bouts for and with you. I want to show the most proud boxing as possible. If you are satisfied, i am double satisfied. Still believe in me. I will return a blow of interest to you guys. Take a look on Youtube.com/UBPboxing and watch all my Fights in Full Length. And keep clicking on 15rounds.com!

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

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

It’s easy to find a professional athlete who will talk to you about his strengths. It’s only slightly harder to find one who will tell you about his peers’ weaknesses. A professional athlete who will speak to you in good faith about his own weaknesses, though, is a rare thing.

Those were my thoughts Thursday afternoon as I walked up the Alamodome ramp to Parking Lot A. They were thoughts that came courtesy of an interview with Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera. Still under the spell of Barrera’s courteousness, friendliness and apparent openness, I was about an hour from noticing something I’d missed with Barrera.

He hadn’t told me half as much as I’d imagined.

Barrera was at Alamodome to help Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. promote Top Rank’s “Latin Fury 15,” which happens June 26 in San Antonio. Until last week, “La Furia de México” had a different Mexican in the co-main event. Jorge Arce was scheduled to fight Puerto Rican Eric Morel but sustained a fight-canceling gash in sparring. That meant Barrera’s match with Brazilian lightweight Adailton De Jesus acquired a new importance and mandated his presence at a rescheduled press conference, Thursday.

Barrera, dressed in a striped charcoal suit with a raspberry-sherbet tie, arrived late and strode in the arena with his wife. He stood on stage beside Chavez and posed for pictures, looking darker and duller than usual. He spoke in the hastily acquired English he’s been using since Golden Boy Promotions decided he had crossover potential five years ago, and he told us his goal was to win a fourth world title. Then he switched to Spanish and became Barrera once more.

His upcoming match with De Jesus will add nothing to his legacy, a legacy that includes a historic trilogy with fellow Mexican Erik Morales, a legacy that will win him a first-ballot vote to the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He understands his role in this promotion; he lends his name, a famous one in Mexico, to the name of Chavez’s dad, a more-famous one in Mexico.

Certain people radiate with intellectual horsepower. You find them occasionally on college campuses, rarely in corporations, and almost never in professional athletics. It is not the athlete’s place to supply such radiance, and to look for it is often a sign of envy: What kind of society values this guy a thousand times more than me?

Barrera is an exception. As you interview him in Spanish, a language he’s mastered, you feel him examining you right back. There’s no moral intent, per se; he doesn’t seem to care if you’re honest or will treat him honestly. Rather, he examines you as a rival, as though he wants you to challenge him with a question. He’s confident you can’t, of course, confident to a point that is often taken for arrogance. He shows no defensiveness.

Now that he’s done protecting the Golden Boy Promotions brand as a “partner,” he is accessible. Now that he’s temporarily under Top Rank’s banner, he is even more accessible.

Top Rank lets you put hands on its people. It understands the importance of access better than its rivals. It allows public arguments within, or even against, the media, because it understands what a younger generation of promoters has yet to learn: So long as people talk about you and your event, whatever they say, they promote your event.

Thursday, I didn’t want the interference of a translator, and I sure as hell didn’t want Barrera’s English-speaking imposter. I wanted the most eloquent prizefighter I’ve met, alone, and in Spanish. I approached the table where Barrera and his wife waited for print media to finish interviewing Chavez, shook Barrera’s hand and told him that whatever he opined of my questions, he should understand they were good-faith inquiries from someone who admired him.

“Of course,” he said, and he smiled.

I asked him why, demons, he returned. What did he hope to gain by fighting on?

“Something to prove, there is not,” he said. That sentence was about as different in Spanish as it looks in English. He didn’t say there was nothing to prove, in the double-negative way of pedestrian, if still proper, Spanish. He used an alternative emphasis.

“The open television in Mexico permits more people to see me now,” Barrera said. “People who did not, before, have the opportunity to see Barrera. There are Mexicans who know solely the Barrera from that last time.”

In 2006, just before its presidential election, Mexico passed the “Ley Federal de Radio y Televisión.” This law effectively deregulated Mexican television, in the name of bringing digital cable to the people, and eventually returned boxing to free channels. Like most deregulation ploys, though, it disproportionately enriched a very small number of people. A Mexican Supreme Court ruling in 2007 delayed its implementation. And there would be further delay in converting average Mexican cable viewers’ hardware. Barrera’s contention, then, is that very few of his countrymen were able to see him for most of his career.

Since 2007, Barrera has fought thrice. A 2008 fight happened in China. An early 2009 fight was the Mexican equivalent of an Off-Off-Broadway show, in Zapopan, Jalisco. And then there was that U.K. fight 14 months ago.

“That was a bad experience,” Barrera said, of his match with English sensation Amir Khan. It saw Barrera’s upper forehead sliced opened and bleeding freely in the first round. U.K. officials, though, allowed the fight to continue until the fifth round, at which time the result went from a no-decision to a technical-decision in Khan’s favor.

“It is an experience that I am going to erase,” Barrera said. “If a fourth championship comes along the way, good. But I return to erase that fight.”

At this point in our interview, someone handed Barrera a cell-phone with a picture of the cut. It was a scripted move, and as a script is beneath Barrera, I moved away from it:

As someone who admires you for your intellect as well as your boxing, I am nervous, if not sad, about your return, I said. Tell me how I am mistaken.

“To the contrary, friend, you are not mistaken,” Barrera said. “Boxing is filled with bad experiences. Many bad experiences.”

And when you bade farewell to “this beautiful sport” at Mandalay Bay in October of 2007?

“That was all about my promoter,” Barrera said, and he laughed. “I was not happy with my promoter, and I did that to escape them.”

The day after Barrera easily survived 12 rounds with Manny Pacquiao, never imperiling himself or Pacquiao, en route to a unanimous-decision loss, I wrote of his relationship with Golden Boy Promotions: “Barrera had become an overqualified employee in De la Hoya’s company, a guy who was too smart for the corporation, quietly resenting each new workday and the boss who caused it.”

“Exactly,” Barrera said, when I paraphrased this for him.

A better reporter would have plumbed the depths of Barrera’s resentment for his former promoter, a resentment he didn’t seem at all interested in hiding. Instead, I asked Barrera about a curious relationship he’d developed with a man whose life ended terribly last month.

On that night of your goodbye to boxing, I reminded him, you brought Venezuelan Edwin Valero on stage with you. You complimented him at length and called him a friend more than a sparring partner.

“We invited him to the city,” Barrera remembered of that training camp. “It was a friendship. A very good friendship. That night, I said he would beat Pacquiao. That was true. Unfortunately, they were never able to have that fight.”

And when he heard that Valero had murdered his wife, on April 19, before apparently committing suicide in a Venezuelan jail cell?

“I regretted it, I felt very badly,” Barrera said. “We waited to hear confirmation of the news. I regret it even now. I flee that date. But none of it surprised me. (Valero) had many psychological problems.”

I thanked Barrera and his wife, both, for being the people they have been, and for handling their celebrity with such grace.

On my way out, I stopped and spoke to Carlos Hernandez – who now resides in San Antonio – because on my way in, Jesse James Leija had told me Hernandez and Edwin Valero had trained together and been friends in Los Angeles. Few prizefighters are charismatic or likable as Hernandez. When I asked him if he were surprised by the news of Valero’s end last month, Hernandez shook his head.

“I wasn’t surprised,” Hernandez said. “But we didn’t talk about family much in the gym. We talked about other things.”

Such as?

“Venezuelan politics,” Hernandez said, and we both smiled at the oddity of such a conversation in the gym. “He was really into it.”

“Too into it,” Hernandez’s wife added.

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

North Olmsted, Ohio – Warner Promotions is bringing professional boxing back to northeast Ohio for the third time in 2010, with a pro/am scheduled for June 26 at the Soccer Sportsplex (31515 Lorain Road) in North Olmsted, Ohio. The competitive night of boxing titled “Pugilism at the Plex,” will feature Cleveland’s best professional and amateur boxers. Headlining the evening will be a four round professional fight featuring “The Pride of Lorain” Wilkins Santiago (1-0), coming off a scintillating pro-debut in April. Santiago is one of the area’s best middleweights and is a promising prospect with a hard-punching style to please all fans. His opponent will be French native Hedi Bouaziz (1-2), now fighting out of Los Angeles, Calif.

In the supporting bout, Julius Leegrand, of Cleveland, will be looking to stay undefeated in a four round professional bout in the lightweight division. The motivated Leegrand was a 2005 Cleveland Golden Gloves champion and a representative of the U.S. in the 2008 Eastern Trials as an amateur. The 22-year-old slick boxer most recently knocked out Francisco Portillo on April 24th to improve his record to three wins, no losses, and one win by way of knockout. Leegrand will be testing his skill against the rugged Ricky Thompson, from Odessa, Texas and a veteran of eight professional fights.

Also being featured on the card is Cleveland junior middleweight Michael Moore (1-0, 1 KO) in a four round fight. Moore last fought in January travelling to Michigan to stop his opponent in the first round. Moore is matched against Rogelio Sanchez (0-1) of Fort Wayne, Ind. Also seeing action scheduled for four rounds is the Puerto Rican sensation Ivan “The Hurricane” Hernandez by way of Dunkirk, N.Y. Hernandez, 21, will be making his long awaited professional debut. As an amateur he was a two-time Junior Olympian and Empire State Games participant and won 49 of his 56 fights. His first professional opponent has yet to be determined.

In addition, there will be a minimum of six amateur bouts featuring the Cleveland area’s best young talent. The amateur participants will be announced shortly.

“Pugilism at the Plex” is presented by Warner Promotions. Doors for the event open at 6 p.m. with the first bell to ring promptly at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are on sale now and start at just $20. Tables seating eight are available for $400 or $50 per person. Floor seats are just $25. All tickets are $5 extra at the door. Tickets can be purchased at the North Olmsted Soccer Sportsplex, online through www.warnerpromotionsllc.com or by calling Jeff Richie at 216.854.0485 or Antonio Castro at 440.258.8117. All bouts are subject to change.

About Warner Promotions

Warner Promotions is a boxing promotional company, based out of Cleveland. They served as the co-promoter for the ESPN Friday Night fights event at the Wolstein Center on February 19th. A newly formed, Cleveland based company, owned by Ron Warner, and run by Antonio Castro, Warner Promotions has five boxing events planned for 2010, and will be signing the top local boxers to compete in their events. For further information, please visit www.warnerpromotionsllc.com.

NEW YORK (May 27, 2010)—This Saturday three world titles will be contested on two continents as part of a packed day of boxing on www.gofightlive.tv

The action kicks off Saturday at 2:30 pm eastern time with Vitali Klitscchko defending the coveted WBC Heavyweight champion against Albert Sosnoswki.

Klitshcko has been nothing short of perfect since his return to the ring in 2008 after a four year absence. He reclaimed the WBC crown in his first fight back he dominated and eventually stopped reigning champion Samuel Peter. He then stopped former cruiserweight king Juan Carlos Gomez in nine and then undefeated U.S. hopeful Chris Arreola in ten. In his last bout, Klitschko again dominated an American challenger in Kevin Johnson as Klitschko basically took every second of every round against the boastful Johnson.

Klitshcko, 39-2 with thirty-seven knockouts is generally regarded as the number-two ranked Heavyweight in the world behind his brother Wladimir who is the Recognized champion.

Sosnowski had a very gaudy record of 45-2-1 with twenty-seven knockouts and from all indications is in incredible shape as many have not given this huge underdog a chance.

The native of the United Kingdom received this opportunity mainly on the strength of going 2-0-1 in his last three bouts which included a eighth round knockout over former Klitshcko victim Danny Williams. In his last bout, Sosnowski won the European Heavyweight championship with a twelve round unanimous decision over Paolo Vidoz.

A two fight undercard will be part of the broadcast as former Cruiserweight title challenger Jonathon Banks (24-1-1, 17 KO’s) will take on Jason Gavern (19-7-3, 8 KO’s) for the NABF Heavyweight title.
Rounding out the card will be cruiserweight battle between undefeated Nenad Borovcanin (25-0, 18 KO’s) battling Raymond Ochieng (21-10-3, 17 KO’s)

Fans should check the listings in their country on the availability of this great event by clicking:

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=682

UNDEFEATED CHAMPIONS—SATURDAY 9PM EST
Two of Puerto Rico’s world champions put their belts on the line as in the main event, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. defends the WBO Super Bantamweight crown against Zsolt Bedak. The co-feature will pit WBO Super Featherweight champion Roman “Rocky” Martinez against Nicaraguan Gonzalo Munguia.
Vazquez has developed into one of the more exciting fighters in the lower weight classes as he has compiled a undefeated mark at 18-0 with fifteen knockouts.

Vazquez won the championship with an emphatic fourth round stoppage over Filipino wunderkind, Marvin Sonsona.

That fight was a pick’em fight going in but Vazquez quickly established his dominance and punded Sonsona to win the vacant crown.

In Bedak, Vazquez will face another undefeated fighter as he is ranked number-one by the WBO. After registering just three knockouts in his first thirteen bouts, Bedak has stopped his previous two opponenst which includes his last victim which was then 38-3 Ramie Lupat.

Like Vazquez, Bedak is perfect with a record that reads 15-0 with five knockouts.

In the Super Featherweight co-feature, Martinez is quickly establishing himself as one of the top 130 pounders in the business. He will be attempting to make his second successful defense of his crown.
He won the title fourteen months ago with a highlight reel Fourth round stoppage over Nicky Cook in Cook’s homeland in the United Kingdom. Martinez made his first defense this past September with a ninth round stoppage over late replacement Feidor Viloria.

Martinez of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico has a record of 23-0-1 with fourteen knockouts.

Munguia of Leon, Nicaragua showed tremendous power early in his career as he took out eight of his first nine opponents. After going through a few ups and downs, Munguia has been on quite a roll as he has won four in a row and three by knockout which includes his bout when he took out Jose Gutierrez (12-6-2) in six rounds on February 6th.

A third world title has been added to the card as Hanna Gabriel (9-0-1, 5 KO’s) takes on Gardy Pena (9-1-2, 6 KO”s) for the vacant WBO woman’s Jr. Middleweight bout.

Fans can also see the Arroyo twins (McWilliams and McJoe in separate bouts).

To order this world championship tripleheader, click
http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=682

SAN ANTONIO – The son of legendary Mexican prizefighter Julio Cesar Chavez was at the Alamodome Thursday morning. He shared the stage with Mexican prizefighting legend Marco Antonio Barrera. He posed for pictures with famous American prizefighters Jesse James Leija and Carlos Hernandez. His name was the most recognizable, though. Even if his resume was the shortest.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. can take a big step toward finally justifying his celebrity and paychecks next month when he fights Ireland’s John Duddy in the main event of Top Rank’s “Latin Fury 15.” Chavez, who dressed in an open-collared shirt and fashionable jeans that appeared bloodstained, at Thursday’s press conference, said the right things, looked trimmer than usual, and expressed a long-overdue desire to become a great fighter.

“We are going to prove that I am ready to prove that I am ready to fight for a world title,” Chavez Jr. said from the podium.

June 26 will mark Chavez Jr.’s second match in Alamodome, his first as a headliner. And the venue has been good to La Familia Chavez.

“I am happy to be coming back to San Antonio,” Chavez Jr. said. “This is where my father set the attendance record (against Pernell Whitaker). This city has been good to us.”

Top Rank president Todd DuBoef, too, had good things to say about his company’s return to the Alamo City.

“In this show, we felt, nothing better than the Alamodome,” DuBoef said Thursday. “San Antonio is an incredible hotbed for boxing.”

ENTER FREDDIE ROACH
Chavez Jr. and his people seem to realize that John Duddy is by far the best opponent Chavez has faced in his 41-fight career of beating setup men from the Midwest. To prepare for Duddy, then, Chavez Jr. acquired the services of esteemed trainer Freddie Roach and moved his training camp to Los Angeles.

“They’ve been in L.A. the past couple of days,” DuBoef said Thursday.

Asked for an early opinion of his new trainer, Chavez Jr. didn’t wait for a translation, and even switched from Spanish to English.

“Best trainer in the world,” Chavez Jr. said of Roach.

Asked how familiar he was with John Duddy’s style, though, Chavez Jr. was a bit less emphatic.

“I know he is a fighter with a punch,” Chavez Jr. said. “He is strong. He has had many fights at middleweight.”

Next month’s fight will happen at junior middleweight, though, the lowest weight at which Duddy has ever fought. That will be six pounds lighter than Duddy was the night he decisioned Yory Boy Campas at Madison Square Garden in 2006. Chavez Jr. has yet to prove himself anywhere near Campas’ caliber. What, then, does Chavez Jr. believe he’ll have on June 26 that Campas did not?

“Campas didn’t have his youth in that fight,” Chavez Jr. said. “And I am going to be in my best form.”

Finally, Chavez Jr. listed his current weight as 175 pounds. Asked if that were a normal weight for him, one month from a fight, Chavez Jr. and his manager Fernando Beltran were both adamant.

“Better!” said Chavez Jr.

“Much better!” said Beltran.

TOP RANK’S SILENCE STILL GOLDEN
Nothing newsworthy was said Thursday of Top Rank’s negotiations with Golden Boy Promotions for a November fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

“Nothing,” said Todd DuBoef, when asked what might be new.

And those rumors that DuBoef is in constant communication with Richard Schaefer to ensure the fight gets made?

“I haven’t had a conversation with him since December,” DuBoef said.

Last year when just 17 Jose Benavidez Jr caught many people’s attention when sparring with Amir Khan and appeared to get the better of the the British Superstar. From then on Benavidez has enjoyed the attention and works out of The Wild Card with many stars but takes it all in his stride. He debuted in January and has since fought at roughly once a month schedule building his record to a perfect 5-0(5). Though he is still a work in progress and should be someone worth keeping an eye on. He has undoubted skills that will be sharpened by Freddie Roach and his team and moved along by Top Rank who build better prospects than anyone else in the game. He seems a star in waiting, with fast hands a smooth style, personable ways and handsome hispanic looks. Here’s what Benavidez had to say.

Hello Jose, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – You moved to 5-0(5) with a First KO over Arnoldo Pacheco in Aguascalientes, Mexico. What can you tell us about the fight and what it was like fighting in Mexico?

Jose Benavidez Jnr – It was great fighting in Mexico, people were nice and cheerful. The guy i fought was shorter than me and threw haymakers so i tried to keep away from them by using my jab. I caught him with a jab straight right to the head and a body shot after that he was down and no longer continued.

Anson Wainwright – While it’s early days do you know when you’ll be in action next? How many fights are you looking to have this year, what is your schedule?

Jose Benavidez Jnr – I’m actually fighting this up coming Saturday in Chicago May 29th. I probably might fight 2, 3 more then take it a little slower pace maybe start fighting every 2 or 3 months instead of every month.

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

Jose Benavidez Jnr – I have a great team consisting of Freddie Roach as a trainer, my dad Jose Benavidez Sr as co trainer and manager and also Jim Murphy as my adviser. My promoter is Bob Arum Top Rank.

Anson Wainwright – At the Wildcard you never short of sparring partners. Can you tell us how about some of the session’s with Manny Pacquiao & Amir Khan? Also what other guys have you sparred with?

Jose Benavidez Jnr – Yes you are correct Wild Card is the place to be if you want to get the best sparring. Working with Manny Paqcuiao and Amir Khan was great considering their both world champions I learned a lot from them. Their fast, strong and by far the best sparring I could ever ask for.

Anson Wainwright – What is your earliest Boxing memory?

Jose Benevidez Jnr – My earliest boxing memory would probably be the 1st time i stepped into the gym when i was 6 years ago i still remember it like It was yesterday.

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

Jose Benavidez Jnr – When i’m not at the gym training I go home and get on youtube to look at cars which i also love. I like working on my cars and doing research on them. As you can see, I guess I like speed and cars that are fixed up with turbo’s, superchargers etc just hearing those turbo’s spool and the superchargers whine its amazing.

Anson Wainwright – Who is your favourite fighter growing up?

Jose Benavidez Jnr – My favourite fighters growing up were prince Naseem Hamed, Diego Corrales, Sugar Ray Leonard, Julio Cesar Chavez and Oscar De La Hoya. I liked them because they all had different styles and they were all great in their own ways.

Anson Wainwright – What are your goals in Boxing?

Jose Benavidez Jnr – My goals for boxing are hopefully one day be a world champion and give back to the people that were always their to support me. Hopefully have the chance to take a world title back home to Pheonix AZ.

Anson Wainwright – Your 5’11 do you make weight easily enough?

Jose Benavizez Jnr – I’m actually 6’0 now almost 6’1 and yeah right now making weight is easy because i’m young and have a fast metabolism so I can basically eat whatever I want and wont gain weight. But when I have a fight coming up I do try to eat more healthy and try to watch what I eat.

Anson Wainwright – Do have any message for the Boxing World?

Jose Benavidez Jnr – I want to thank everybody for being their to support me and I’m gonna keep training hard and hopefully one day i can be world champion.

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

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com