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

Hello Hozumi, welcome back to 15rounds.com

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

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

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

Hozumi Hasegawa – No

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

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

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

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

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

Hozumi Hasegawa – I believe all are skilled and good champions

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

good for Boxing?

Hozumi Hasegawa – No comment

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

Hozumi Hasegawa – Being able to become a World Champion

Anson Wainwright – Who was your hero growing up?

Hozumi Hasegawa – Hajime no ippo (Japanese manga)

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

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

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

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

LAS VEGAS – Only news conferences are supposed to be predictable. But one Wednesday for Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Shane Mosley wasn’t. It was tame, almost as peaceful as a church picnic.

Mayweather’s appearance at a press luncheon is almost always a screaming succession of four letters from erupting into a food fight. But Kumbaya was the main course at the MGM Grand.

Mayweather, perhaps in another one of his many roles, sprung an upset by just being nice. Who knows? Maybe, Mosley has a chance to spring another one Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena over Mayweather, a 4-1 betting favorite Wednesday afternoon and an overwhelming pick in an informal poll of writers to win by decision.

“Maybe, you’re going for the safe bet,’’ Mosley told a circle of writers after the news conference.
Maybe, safe is for suckers.

Or, maybe, Mayweather as Mr. Nice Guy is just a con, a feint before the counter.

Nobody can ever be sure what side of Mayweather will show up from day to day. It’s just that a low-key Mayweather was almost out of character for a stage that seemed to demand an over-the-top personality that has been there before.

Mayweather’s unpredictability might be one mechanism in a defense that has kept him undefeated and mostly unmarked.

“It’s not cool to take punishment,’’ he said, repeating a comment that has almost become his mantra.

When asked if he ever just wanted to abandon the defensive mechanisms and indulge in a free-for-all exchange of punches, Mayweather started chuckling.

“Ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha,’’ Mayweather said. “Nobody is messing up this nice face.’’

It’s hard to hit what you don’t know, and it is virtually impossible to know what move or mood is about to appear from Mayweather, who is either mercurial or maddening or both. Let’s just says that Mosley and trainer Naazim Richardson don’t sound as if they’re sweating it out. In fact, if there was a theme to the news conference it was simply the absence of nerves. Both fighters played it cool.

At 38, Mosley seems to be enjoying his moment back on the big stage. He doesn’t have to act. Unlike Mayweather, he doesn’t tell anybody he is the face of boxing or better than Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson.

“Shane Mosley is an HBO fighter,’’ Mayweather said, suggesting that Mosley has bit part in his ascendance. “Floyd Mayweather is a mega-superstar.’’

All the better, Mosley seemed to say.

Mosley has been cast in the support role often. Consider a couple of results: He upset Oscar De La Hoya and then Antonio Margarito. It’s almost as if he has spent his career rehearsing for Saturday, although even he might be surprised if he delivers the knockout he promised.

“I’d be shocked to see him there, flat on his back,’’ Molsey said. “Happy, but shocked. I’d also be concerned. Fighting me can be hazardous.’’

Safe to say, Mayweather wasn’t concerned. There’s plenty of talk about Mosley’s perceived weaknesses, including an inconsistent jab and a layoff of more than 15 months since his stunner over Margarito.

“I’ve already read him,’’ Mayweather said as if he has studied, cover-to-cover, everything there is to know about Mosley.

However, Mayweather conceded one detail remains unknown, which at a news conference was exactly what Mayweather wanted. Molsey’s widely-reported links to Balco and performance-enhancers have dogged him since 2003.

“We don’t how many fights he was in when he was clean,’’ Mayweather said. “Even against Margarito, we don’t know.’’

At Mayweather’s insistence, he and Mosley are undergoing random Olympic-style drug testing – urine and blood. As of Wednesday, Mosley had undergone eight and Mayweather seven. The testers, showed up, unannounced, at Mosley’s door.

“Eight times at my house is a little excessive,’’ said Mosley, who says he has been eating natural and feeling stronger than ever over the last several years. “This thing (Balco controversy) has been played out, over and over again. I don’t know why.

“But I’m a clean product.’’

A confident one, too.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Don’t be afraid of the player with a good grip and a bad swing. Don’t be afraid of a player with a bad grip and a good swing. The player to beware of is the one with the bad grip and the bad swing. If he’s reached your level, he has grooved his faults and knows how to score.” – Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book

That comes from a short but sage hardback of golf instruction. Harvey Penick was a Texas club pro who taught hall of famers Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite and Betsy Rawls how to play. There are more than a few parallels between golf and boxing, and Penick’s warning is one that pertains well to Carl Froch. Beware the world champion who delivers punches awkwardly as he stands; if he’s got to this level, he’s somehow better than he looks.

Saturday, though, Froch wasn’t quite good enough.

In an outstanding fight broadcast from Denmark as part of Showtime’s “Super Six” tournament, and in defiance of an Icelandic volcano, Mikkel Kessler took Carl Froch’s WBC super middleweight title by unanimous decision. The official result was fair if imbalanced. Judge Guido Cavalleri’s 115-113 card was right. The others – 116-112 and 117-111 – were progressively less so.

My card did not concur with the official result. I had it 116-114 for Froch, to whom I awarded rounds 1, 4, 5, 9, 10 and 11. I gave Kessler rounds 2, 6, 7 and 8. I had rounds 3 and 12 even. But if you gave the rounds that were close enough to be even to Kessler, my card was a draw. If you gave Kessler the first round, too, my card was the same as Cavalleri’s. I’ll not file any protests.

Nor will Carl Froch. That’s both troubling and reassuring. The former WBC champ was yielding in his post-fight interview, conceding that he’d not “put it on (Kessler) more,” that he’d “sat back a little bit,” and that he might have been tardy in “biting down on (his) gumshield.” It did not escape Froch that, after the fifth round, it was his fight if he wanted it badly enough.

Froch’s post-fight demeanor also reassured, though, because of the dignity he showed in defeat. It was not a challenge to Froch’s class to fear what might be uttered by an expressively proud man who’d just lost his title in a close fight on foreign soil. Or, for the Yanks in attendance: Does anyone think Floyd Mayweather will react so temperately if his first loss happens that way Saturday night?

Froch was not stunned by losing to Mikkel Kessler. It seems Kessler was the man Froch had circled in his mind as one who might be worthy of vanquishing him. Froch may have seen that Kessler was “quite conclusively outboxed” by Andre Ward, but he didn’t absorb it. He didn’t infer the possibility Kessler was not the same man he’d been a couple years ago.

Because Kessler is not that guy any more. He is no longer the agent of a classic 1-2 that battered Librado Andrade in 2007. As noticed immediately by Antonio Tarver – a fantastic new commentator, by the way – Kessler no longer blasts you with his 2, a straight right cross. Now it’s alternately looped and pushed. Among Kessler’s best punches Saturday was a right hand in round 7 that landed to the back of Froch’s head. Froch is awkward, yes, but a prime Kessler never floated his right elbow enough to hit someone there.

Unsurprisingly, Kessler’s power has gone with his form. His most effective punches Saturday were the ones Froch ran into. Kessler won on determination and hustle. He outworked Froch. He did not outhit him. Kessler used Froch’s momentum to supply his power, the sort of power Kessler once had from a standing start.

There are no standing starts for Froch. So here comes another golf analogy. Carl Froch throws right crosses the way Gary Player used to hit fairway woods. He crosses over. Froch commits all of his weight, all of his person, to the right hand. He starts in an orthodox stance and finishes as a southpaw. If he doesn’t hit you with the right cross, he fires a left hand while correcting his stance, then tries the cross-over right again. It’s combination punching in its most awkward sense and hardly what you’d teach a beginner.

How the hell does it work, then? Partially because it’s planned, partially because Froch believes in it, and partially because combination punching – however it’s accomplished – is never a bad thing. Froch’s stellar run as an amateur makes him the embodiment of Penick’s warning: He has a bad grip and a bad swing, but he’s grooved it. He knows how to score.

He also knows a way to keep you from scoring. How does he barge into a puncher like Kessler’s wheelhouse, arms dangling at his sides, and keep from getting beheaded? The secret is in the dangling. After he tags you with his cross-over right, Froch’s entire body goes limp. Anything but a direct hit, like Kessler’s in round 8, gets harmlessly absorbed by Froch’s body. It’s like punching a sponge.

Still, a little more overall tension from Froch after round 5 likely would have won him the fight. He knocked Kessler backwards with a right hand in the final minute of the fifth. Then he held his glove up and showed it to the Danes, without deigning to press his advantage. He should know better next time.

What happened Saturday made a great tournament better. Kessler-Froch was the best fight of the “Super Six” thus far. And round 12 was the best three minutes in prizefighting’s first third of 2010. What’s next? Kessler may get stretched by Allan Green, the quirky Oklahoma slugger, or he might not. And Froch against Arthur Abraham? No earthly idea.

But know this: “Super Six” will continue to surprise and satisfy.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter.com/bartbarry

Tomasz Adamek is just one day away from what is literally the biggest test of his career. The former light heavyweight and cruiserweight titleholder jumped to the heavyweight division in October 09′ with dreams of capturing a belt in a third division. The Secaucus based Pole has had success thus far in the 201 plus pound weight class, stopping badly faded countryman Andrew Golota and earned a competitive decision over 2004 US Olympian Jason Estrada.

Tomorrow night many think his heavyweight run could come to an end against hard hitting contender Cristobal “The Nightmare” Arreola at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, CA. The bout, which will air at 11:15 pm, looks to be a fight of the year candidate with the winner likely securing a title shot. Heres what Adamek had to say about his toughest fight since his lone defeat to Chad Dawson in 2007.

MY: Tomasz, in your last bout, you scored a tough decision over crafty boxer Jason Estrada. Tell us about the fight as well as what it was like to have 10,000 fans backing you at the Prudential Center?

TA: The fans are something that I always cherish, without the fans boxing means nothing. I of course fight for money, this is my job, but I would never fight in empty arena. Hopefully I will be back in Prudential center soon.

MY: Tomorrow you are taking on a top ten heavyweight in Cris Arreola. What do you think of him as a fighter?

TA: He is one of the best I will have ever fought, although you never know before you fight somebody. I never wanted to take the easy way. If you want to be the best, you fight all of them.

MY: Cris’ weight ranges from 240-260 lbs and he is heavy handed. Are you worried at all/planning to change your game plan since Cris is naturally bigger and you are known for slugging it out with your opponents?

TA: In(the) heavyweight division everybody hits with power. Arreola wants a slug fest, but I always believed that you win in the ring with your head first. I will impose my way of fighting. He will have to fight my way. Weight doesn’t matter. What I will do (in the ring) does.

MY: On the contrary, you have a terrific jab for a brawler. Is the jab going to be one of your main weapons on the 23rd?

TA: Speed and ring movement will be my weapon. Plus everything I have. Let him guess (what I will do).

MY: Arreola refused to fight you in New Jersey and now you have to fight him his backyard. Is the possibility of getting robbed by the judges something you are worried about?

TA:. You cannot think about what you cannot control. IBF is in charge, millions will be watching. I expect fair judging.

MY: Even though you are always in exciting fights, this is your first fight on premium cable (HBO/Showtime) in a few years. Does it upset you that both networks have put on insignificant fights and left you off the schedule previously?

TA:. Again, it was outside my control but I knew they have to acknowledge what I’d doing in the ring, why people wanted to see my fights. Somebody told me that last year only Mayweather and Pac man brought more people to arenas. I can live with this comparison.

MY: For the last few years, fight fans were anxious to see a match up between you and current WBA Heavyweight Champion David Haye. If you get by Arreola, is David Haye somebody on your radar?

TA:. Haye talks a lot and now he’s got a title. We both started as a cruiserweight, both have entertain styles. It’s up to TV to put us against each other. They know I will be ready.

MY:. Does a fight with either of the Klitschko’s interest you at this point in time or do you want a few more fights before facing either of them?

TA:. I already had 2 offers to fight Klitschkos but my team decided that we need more time before we fight them. Two more fights, maybe. I will fight them not for a payday but to win.

MY: What is your outlook for 2010 and beyond?

TA:. This year could be crucial for me, so I don’t really think about what happens in 2011. Winning brings more interest, it takes care of everything else.

MY: Tomasz, thanks for stopping by. What do you have to say in closing to all your fans and the readers of 15rounds.com?

TA. I would like to say a warm “thanks” for all the support. I wanted to fight in Prudential Center, Newark, but Arreola declined, maybe he decided it would be too much to face me and my rabid fans in my home arena.

For more New Jersey boxing news, check out Gardenstatefightscene.com

Maybe, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was celebrating Earth Day. Or, maybe, he was being a good dad. His daughter was said to be nearby. Whatever the occasion or motivation, a thoughtful, likable side of Mayweather showed up Thursday without the profanity that pollutes so many of his other dates with the media.

“Thanks,” he said.

Huh, I thought.

I was tempted to suspect that the voice on the conference call was Frank Caliendo doing Mayweather in a planned addition to an act already well-known for impersonations of Charles Barkley, John Madden and Donald Trump. But, no, this was exactly the Mayweather many encounter and would like to hear more often. Mayweather’s best known role, heavily bleeped by HBO in early-evening versions of 24/7 for kids still in the audience, is reason to hit the mute button even for bored adults who have heard it all. Mayweather has said it all, ad nauseam, which also means the edgy potential to outrage has been deleted from the expletives.

Mayweather is good at playing the bad guy. He knows the lines. That’s for bleeping sure. But there’s also a sense that he too has grown weary of it. Perhaps, he has outgrown it. Shane Mosley has been cast in the good-guy role for their May 1 showdown at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand. Yet, even Mosley is skeptical about a story line that is as old and clichéd as a movie script for an old Western.

“Good versus evil?” Mosley said Tuesday. “I don’t know. I don’t really think so. I think that Floyd just acts out because that’s just him being himself. But you know, probably outside of the fight, you probably could see some good qualities Floyd has. He can charm up a little bit and be more friendly or whatever. It’s just when the fight happens. He just starts getting a little crazy and starts going back to the things that he’s used to doing.

“…Some of the things that he says, it’s bad and it reflects and looks bad on him when he says the different things. Some of the things he says I don’t really think he means. He just kind of says it to get a reaction out of you to see what happens and see what you do and that’s probably part of his plan or his strategy before the fight. It’s like fighting before the fight. He’ll just say what’s on the top of his head and just get a reaction out of you. If he gets a reaction out of you, then he’s done a good job, he’s won. So, I don’t perceive him as being a real, like an evil person. That’s just sometimes his nature.’’

If true character is revealed by what happens in a fight, however, Mayweather is as careful and calculating as anyone has ever been. The bad guy is Tyson-like, raging at everyone and everything before opening bell and after it. That guy is not Mayweather, a tactician who doesn’t let emotion interfere with the dangerous business of ducking and delivering punches. A lot comparisons have been made in the buildup for Mayweather-Mosley, which Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer believes will set a pay-per-view record. Other than the ring they will share on May 1, however, Mayweather says there are no similarities between him and Mosley.

“We’re totally different,’’ Mayweather said while attending a school function for his daughter.

Mayweather made the fight sound like target practice. It’s all about location, location, location.
“I look at my opponent and where I’m punching,’’ Maywather said.

Mosley doesn’t, he said. Instead, Mayweather said Mosley closes his eyes when he throws a punch with power, which is thought to be a Mosley advantage.

“I think he’s a fighter who worries about landing a big shot,’’ said Mayweather, whose father, Floyd Sr., and uncle/trainer Roger already have said that they believe Mosley doesn’t have the smarts to win a welterweight fight that is being hyped as the modern-day sequel to Sugar Ray Leonard’s victory over Thomas Hearns in a 1981 classic.

The suggestion is that Mayweather can do more. Maybe, he can. Until opening bell, however, Mayweather’s verbal sparring, as well-rehearsed as it is well-known, is expected. Its impact, if any against the 38-year-old Mosley, is harder to figure. Mayweather is confident it has had its intended effect. He repeated Thursday that Mosley is acting out of character, including reports about comments a few days ago on a Los Angeles radio show in which he wondered whether Mayweather had dabbled in steroids and questioned his sexuality.

“…He wanted to talk about my suit, curls in my hair, getting a nose job …is he funny? Is he gay or something,’’ Mosley said on ESPN 710 in Los Angeles.

The comment might have angered a lot of fighters. Not Mayweather. He didn’t even mention it during the conference call. But Mayweather’s comment fits like another piece in the puzzle that Mayweather methodically puts together in training camp, at press conferences, in E-mail and on twitter. It’s all business, which means everything is an opportunity.

“His trainer said he wouldn’t trash-talk,’’ Mayweather said of Naazim Richardson’s plan to keep Mosley from getting distracted by “hysteria” from Mayweather. “We’re up one, I guess, cause we baited him into talking trash.’’

Maybe, that’s why Mayweather didn’t talk trash Thursday. He didn’t have to.

St. Paul, MN (April 21, 2010) – When Osseo’s Caleb Truax dropped a devastating decision to Minneapolitan Phil Williams in the 2005 Minnesota Golden Gloves, his sights were set on immediate revenge. Mission failed. Williams jolted to the professional ranks just one year later and Truax followed shortly thereafter.

“I always wanted payback”, Truax said looking back to the defeat from five years ago. “The problem was he turned pro before the next Golden Gloves tournament so it wasn’t possible.”

This Friday at the St. Paul Armory, Truax will have his long awaited shot at redemption; though it won’t be easy. As professionals, the two Minnesotans have taken different paths. Williams, 11-3 (10 KO’s), is recognized for his devastating one punch power. He knocked a number of opponents out cold, becoming a YouTube hit in the process, but has suffered three setbacks of his own.

At 14-0 (9 KO’s), Truax is a gifted boxer-puncher known for thoroughly punishing opponents before ending their night. With the always dangerous Williams eager to get back on track following two tough defeats, Truax recognizes the importance of sticking to the game plan.

“I feel that I will outbox him” said the University of Minnesota graduate. “I respect his power but he doesn’t throw the sharpest punches, so I don’t think he will be able to catch me. He will feel my power if anything because I have nine knockouts and have stopped some rugged opponents.”

In addition to personal bragging rights, the winner can claim to be the top local fighter with Minnesota’s State Super Middleweight championship set to be on the line in this highly anticipated ten round main event.

The co-feature matches up dynamic power punching heavyweight Joey “Minnesota Ice” Abell of Coon Rapids, MN against Iowa based veteran Josh Gutcher. Abell, 25-4 (24 KO’s), is amongst the hardest hitters in boxing. The bout is scheduled for eight rounds, but most expect the outcome to be out of the judges’ hands.

Also scheduled to appear on the undercard are Ismail Muwendo, David Laque, Antwon Robertson, James Owen, Charles Meier and Dan Copp.

In addition, two MMA bouts as well as a four round boxing exhibition are slated to take place on this action packed night.

Tickets for the “St. Paul Brawl” are $25 for general admission and $75 for VIP and are available at ticketweb.com. Doors open at 7 pm and the first bell is slated for 8.

The St. Paul Armory is located at 600 Cedar Street St. Paul, MN 55101.

When retired professional boxer Tony Grygelko found himself unable to stay out of the gym, he realized that his passion for boxing was undeniable. At age 29, Grygelko formed Seconds Out Promotions. By utilizing the vast boxing knowledge of world-class trainer Ron Lyke, Grygelko and Seconds Out quickly became a hit.

Through determination, integrity and hard work, Seconds Out strives to become a top promotional firm by giving young fighters the ability to showcase their talents to a worldwide audience, along with offering fans the highest quality of entertainment. Seconds Out is committed to recruitment and development of the best and brightest young fighters to help achieve our mission.

Seconds Out Promotions’ current stable of pugilists includes undefeated prospects “Golden” Caleb Truax, Marcus Oliveria, Michael Faulk, Ismail Muwendo, dynamite fisted Heavyweight Joey “Minnesota Ice” Abell, Willshaun Boxley, Charles Meier, Jon “The Ironman” Schmidt, and Mohammed Kayongo.

For more information, go to www.soboxing.com or text “fights” to 95495.

To see Sergio Martinez’s exuberance after Saturday’s fight, to hear him call a feeling inspired by the world middleweight championship “a tremendous and incredible pride that is impossible to describe,” was to feel nostalgia for the days Kelly Pavlik inspired the same in fans. So long ago.

Instead, by the time of Martinez’s ecstatic proclamation, the larger part of the smaller Youngstown contingent that made the trip to Atlantic City sadly filed out of Boardwalk Hall, many for the last time. Pavlik protested that he was still a young man, but by then he was protesting too much to an almost empty arena.

So it went Saturday. In an excellent fight broadcast by HBO, Argentine Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez decisioned Ohio’s Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik to become the lineal middleweight champion of the world. And for once the ringside judges had it right and unanimous: 115-112, 115-111, 116-111.

My scorecard concurred. I had it 116-112 for Martinez, to whom I gave rounds 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Rounds 5, 6 and 7 went to Pavlik – with the seventh being a 10-8 round because of a missed tripping call by referee David Fields. I had round 8 even, 10-10.

That wasn’t a ring-side scorecard. It wasn’t even a live-TV scorecard. Instead it was a two-hours-later-via-DVR scorecard. I forewent the live action to attend a San Antonio Symphony Orchestra “Fiesta Pops” performance at Majestic Theatre, which featured Los Tres Reyes and Campanas de America. Fiesta is a big deal in my new hometown. I suppose I like orchestral music and mariachis, too.

But had you told me in 2007 I would forego a live Kelly Pavlik broadcast to watch guys in tight pants accompanied by a woodwinds section, I’d have hit you with a right cross – then snapped my wrist back over the ear like “The Ghost” himself.

Thirty-eight months ago, Pavlik blasted Jose Luis Zertuche, and a lot of us got excited. He then knocked out Edison Miranda. After that fight, I wrote that Pavlik’s simple style was perfect for undoing Jermain Taylor. It was indeed. Pavlik flattened the undefeated, undisputed world middleweight champion in seven rounds. Nothing has been the same since.

I have no regrets about attending last night’s concert in lieu of Pavlik’s fight. Sergio Martinez might have deserved better, though.

Martinez, after all, is the closest thing we’ve seen to a prime Roy Jones Jr. in about a decade. Ten years of combing urban American gyms – 100 “RJJ” imitators in each – turned up nothing. We were looking in the wrong country; an Argentine soccer player who tried boxing at age 20 was the professional we sought. Go figure.

Martinez’s secret? His legs. They never stop firing. He has good head movement. He punches well enough to keep much bigger guys like Pavlik and Paul Williams honest, obviously. But his legs are what make him exceptional. He eschews the skittish upper-body flinching of American boxers and all their talk about “angles” and “footwork” for the more reliable force of his quadriceps. He keeps his hands down – never a great idea in prizefighting – but he makes that play the only way you can: with a tucked chin and constant legwork.

That’s what discouraged Pavlik Saturday. And “discouragement” is the perfect word to describe what has plagued Pavlik in his two career losses, and one borrowed from Pavlik’s trainer Jack Loew. So long as he is engaged in a test of courage with an opponent, Pavlik prevails. You hit me, I hit you, and we keep doing this till one of us is unconscious; there’s still not a 160-pounder in the world who’s going to beat Pavlik at that game. But once you disengage from battle with Pavlik, you remove courage from the equation – almost as if Pavlik were raised in Culiacán, Sinaloa instead of Youngstown, Ohio.

Martinez disengaged Pavlik’s bravery early in the fight and left him discouraged throughout. That’s how an inflated super welterweight beat the hell out of a shrunken light heavy.

Pavlik did rally to make the fight interesting. In the fifth round, Martinez stumbled into a straight left – the very way Loew promised he would – and that emboldened the champ. In the sixth, Pavlik tried to follow Loew’s directions by corralling Martinez with left hook/right cross combos, those “three-twos” Loew demanded. But ultimately Martinez was too fast and countered too hard for that gambit. In the seventh, Pavlik combined a right uppercut and a left leg to send Martinez to the mat. Both guys knew it wasn’t a real knockdown, though, and Pavlik didn’t gain any advantage from it but an extra point.

Martinez cut Pavlik three ways in the ninth: long, deep and often. It changed everything about both men. Afterwards, Pavlik pushed off his jab – nervously moving his glove and body in opposite directions. Then Martinez outhit and outclassed him through the championship rounds.

After the 11th, Pavlik, pale face bright with blood, walked with his shoulders slumped to a somber corner that looked discouraged as he did. Martinez, on the other hand, caught a flurry of verbal abuse from his trainer; why hadn’t he pressed the attack and stopped Pavlik? From impossibility to expectation in 33 minutes.

Whither Kelly Pavlik? Promoter Top Rank will stick with him – hell, they’re sticking with Antonio Margarito, aren’t they? – and at some point, as a heavy underdog, Pavlik might just surprise the eventual winner of Showtime’s “Super Six” tournament. For now, though, he’s off the radar. But he’s still a class act, and so he might well prefer it that way.

Sergio Martinez, meanwhile, is boxing’s new thing. He has a rematch clause with Pavlik and an unofficial mandate for one with Paul Williams. But since neither of those guys can now sell tickets in Atlantic City, here’s an idea: Fight both in Buenos Aires. Put the “world” back in world middleweight champion, Sergio, why not?

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter.com/bartbarry

Photo by Claudia Bocanegra

We had the opportunity to catch up with highly regarded junior middleweight prospect Glen Tapia of Passaic. Tapia, 5-0 (4 KO’s) faces the toughest opponent of his career in James Winchester Saturday in AC as part of the Pavlik-Martinez undercard. For more on Tapia and other New Jersey fighters, check out Gardenstatefightscene.com

MY: Saturday night you will be taking on James Winchester and will once again appear on a big card. Does fighting on a big card add any pressure or do you think it brings out the best of Glen Tapia?

GT: It doesn’t add any pressure at all. I am ready to go. I love having people watch me, I love boxing and fighting; this is what I do best.

MY: Your opponent has a 10-3 record but is from North Carolina. Those that know boxing will tell you that fighters from his region with good records aren’t what they are made out to be. What are you expecting from him come Saturday night?

MY: I don’t know but I can tell you what I expect from me. Everyone tells me he hasn’t been knocked out and just fought a good opponent, but he hasn’t fought Glen Tapia! If he comes out thinking he isn’t going to get caught or hurt, he has something coming!

Editors Note: Winchester’s last opponent was 2008 Olympian Matt Korobov.

MY: I know you had a great amateur background and were one of the more heralded prospects coming up. Tell us about your career as an unpaid boxer with headgear.

GT: I had 143 fights and finished 130-13. I won the Silver Gloves in 2003, the Ringside Tournament, USA Junior Olympics in 06, Bronze Medal (while competing) in Turkey and the Junior Golden Gloves.

MY: Your last bout was nationally televised on Fox Espanol. The fight was entertaining and you scored a stoppage, but you were a little wild and got hit with a few punches you shouldn’t have. Did you slug it out because you knew you were stronger than him?

GT: I honestly felt a little tense. I should have tried to get him out of there earlier, maybe been a little quicker with my shots but he didn’t hurt me so I knew I was going to stop him.

MY: You are also recognized for your work as a sparring partner. Previously, Joshua Clottey used you as his main guy for the Miguel Cotto fight. As a young fighter, what was it like working with a big, strong, experienced world class guy like that?

GT: I love sparring with him and I was actually his only sparring partner. We worked 4 days per week 8 rounds per day. We ran in the morning too. It was a great experience to see how he trains and the kind of shape a world champion is in.

MY: On a side note, Clottey disappointed a lot of people with the way he fought Pacquiao. Seeing how he trains, spars and how hard he works, were you let down with how he fought?

GT: Yes I was very disappointed! He could have done a lot more. When he threw punches he hit Pacquiao. He should have committed more but may have been scared of getting counter punched. If he did commit he would have had a much better chance to win. Honestly I don’t know who is going to watch him now but still, he is a good fighter.

MY: Three of your five fights have been in Jersey or New York. What does it mean to you to be able to fight in front of a lot of your fans while many other fighters have to travel to fight?

GT: it means a lot since I can show them what I can do. Since I have been fighting close to home its easier for them to get to me. I love it and they (they love it too)

MY: I know you are with the Pound 4 Pound team and are a tight knit group, training in Passaic and Hoboken. Most of the crew is trained by Mikey Red (Mike Skowronski) and you workout alongside Jeremy Bryan, Victor Valenzuela Jorge Diaz and Pat Farrell. What does it mean to have a close training circle? How does it help you prepare?

GT: It’s great! We all train so hard and push each other. I feel we will all be world champions and it’s going to be crazy! If we all win belts at the same time, that would be crazy, especially because we come from the same gym. We push each other daily so hard to be the best. That’s how it is! We are all A class fighters so this is the best gym to be in for me.

MY: Glen Tapia fighting out of Passaic at 5-0 with 4 knockouts. What is your outlook for 2010 and beyond?

GT: I want to be one of the best prospects coming up this year and for the future, I want to become one of the best world champions. My dream is to be considered a legend.

In simply doing his job, Naazim Richardson already has done more to clean up boxing than any grandstanding proclamation from Floyd Mayweather Jr., who has anointed himself as the game’s undisputed savior with Olympic-style drug-tests that apparently happen as often as conference calls before his May 1 showdown with Shane Mosley at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

If not for Richardson’s due diligence before Mosley’s last victory more than a year ago, Antonio Margarito might have continued to fight with hand wraps described as everything from irregular to criminal. Whatever they are called, there would be no debate and perhaps no movement for regulatory change in how wraps are applied and provided if not for Richardson. His instinctive eye for detail is about survival, which he learned on the street and practices in a corner. Ropes don’t confine the task. It doesn’t begin or end with an opening or closing bell. It’s just the job, which is as challenging as ever for Richardson in preparing for a May Day that Mosley says will belong to him.

As Richardson proved before Mosley’s stoppage of Margarito more than 15 months ago in Los Angeles, fights often turn on what happens before they ever begin. It’s a lesson not lost on the heavily-favored Mayweather, who launches his sharp-edged rhetoric like artillery-fire long before the fighters invade the ring. Mayweather is at it again. He wonders if Mosley already is feeling pressure.

Why else, he says, would he suddenly show with a Polynesian-style tattoo across one shoulder.

“Why would someone wait until they are 38 years old to get a tattoo?’’ Mayweather said Wednesday during a media day while working out in Las Vegas.

Crank up the volume. Mayweather, trainer-and-uncle Roger and father Floyd Sr. are just getting started.

“Hysteria,’’ Richardson says of the predictable storm of expletives and insults.

That’s a good description. It’s also been a good weapon for Mayweather, a cautious, clever and unbeaten fighter who waits on the other guy to make a mistake. If his jab and defense don’t create one, maybe anger from a well-timed insult will. From day-to-day through the next two-plus weeks, the detail-oriented Richardson will try to guard against exactly that.

“I will keep him focused on the task at hand and not let him get caught up in the Mayweather hysteria,’’ Richardson said at Mosley’s media day Monday in Los Angeles.

Easier said than done, perhaps, simply because the Mayweathers will say whatever they can for as long as they can in a noisy attempt to find a chink in Mosley’s psychological armor. If there is a silencer, however, it might be Richardson. Listen to him and you get the idea that specifics matter. Noise doesn’t.

During a conference call Tuesday that included Roger Mayweather and some contentious give-and-take about drug testing, Richardson: “If you asked me to respond to everything Roger is saying. I wouldn’t have time to train my athlete.’’

Richardson’s stubborn adherence to detail — and only detail — looms as an effective counter to the many distractions inevitable in any fight against Mayweather. One important detail is character. It’s a lot more subjective than, say, a problem in an opponent’s hand wraps. But it is there, fundamental to the job and getting it right. In Mayweather, he sees a fighter who loves to talk and uses negotiations, media days and conference calls as if they were the early rounds. In Mosley, he sees somebody who just wants to fight.

“I respect Shane and I love his approach as an athlete, how he does his job and takes it on,’’ Richardson said when asked if Mosley conceded too much at the bargaining table when he agreed to random drug testing and a rematch clause for Mayweather. “But I tell him to his face: I think he is a poor negotiator. He wants to fight so bad he doesn’t care. He’d let Roger be one of the judges.
“Shane would agree to it. He just wants to fight.’’

The trainer went on to say that Mosley would agree to fight with one hand tied behind his back. He was exaggerating. Kind of. It couldn’t happen. Richardson. Who has Mosley’s back, wouldn’t let it happen any more than he would have let Margarito fight armed in altered hand wraps.

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

Hello Carlos, welcome to 15rounds.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anson Wainwright – Who was your hero growing up?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anson Wainwright – Finally what are your goals in Boxing?

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

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

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Recent criticisms of Showtime’s “Super Six World Boxing Classic” are beginning to make a pattern, faint but detectable. The tournament’s critics appear not to be actual Showtime subscribers. That is, to justify the 10 monthly dollars they save on cable bills, otherwise thoughtful observers now discount the network’s innovative concept by implying it hasn’t met expectations.

Whose expectations? How not?

Among writers, smart ones at least, there’s ever a pessimistic bent to resist. Failure, for being quantifiable, attracts intellect. Smart people like to sort and group things, and success is more elusive than failure. And the writer’s job, often, is to say anything at all even when he can’t say something nice. So it goes.

But it’s time to check that pessimism and take another look at this tournament. And then another and another. A couple Saturdays from now, on April 24, the second fight in Group Stage 2 features Carl “The Cobra” Froch against Mikkel Kessler – to whose surname Hamlet fans might attach “The Dane.” The fight happens in Herning, Denmark. It will likely be the most consequential prizefight in that country’s history.

Last week the Nottinghamshire Cobra and Kessler the Dane joined a conference call without many American writers. They were counterprogrammed by a Kelly Pavlik call in what appeared to be part of HBO’s strategy for undermining Showtime’s tournament, regardless of long-term consequences. Those writers that went for the bigger domestic name missed a chance to learn more about Froch and Kessler. Kelly Pavlik, meanwhile, is strong and ready. Got it.

Asked for an opening comment, Carl Froch began in the third-person beloved by megalomaniacal dictators and prizefighters: “This is the WBC super middleweight champion.” Froch went on to say lots more in the hour that followed, but far as opening comments went, that was it.

Froch is a person of no extraordinary intelligence who speaks eloquently. The ideas he expresses are no larger than other prizefighters’. To his workaday ideas, though, he brings a surprising flamboyance and authority.

Goodness me, might that be an apt metaphor for his fighting style? Come to think of it, yes.

Here’s another thought about Froch’s eloquence. It is a high commentary on the English school system’s deservedly fine reputation. There is no tradition of unintelligent eloquence in America; instead, we revel in smart people expressing themselves badly and call it “egalitarianism” or something. But Froch is a boxing epitome of the peculiar English tradition whose standard bearer is Jane Austen, a writer of no particular intelligence who was still a genius. Solve that riddle, and you’re an Anglophile.

Asked about Mikkel Kessler’s allegations of roughhousing and otherwise dirty tactics by Andre Ward in his last fight – to hear Kessler tell it, Ward only stopped clinching long enough to head butt him – Froch was unwilling to lend Kessler’s excuses credence or Ward any bona fides as a roughhouser. About Kessler, Froch said, “From what I saw, he was quite conclusively outboxed.”

“Quite conclusively outboxed”; how rich is that? It’s precise, short and brooks no disagreement. It doesn’t say anything folks outside the Kessler camp didn’t already think in more expansive ways. But it says it just right. And it also implies there’s more to Froch, as a man and a fighter, than just a surplus of pride and awkwardness – which is about all American writers have credited him with having.

Froch should be exposed by Kessler in his next fight. But Froch should have been exposed by Andre Dirrell in his last fight. He should have been exposed by Jermain Taylor in his penultimate fight. He should have been exposed by Jean Pascal in the fight before that. Had you shown an American bookmaker a tape of any one of Froch’s first 23 fights and asked for Pascal-Taylor-Dirrell parlay pick, there’s no way you would have gotten: Froch 3-0. But that’s exactly where Froch stands.

Froch is proudest of three things: his championship belt, his unblemished record and his high knockout ratio. It’s the third that makes the least sense, though, when you watch Froch’s awkward, often-unbalanced and always unorthodox approach to punching. Asked for a mechanical explanation of the concussion that nevertheless affixes to the ends of his fists, Froch had little insight but plenty of well-chosen words.

“It’s a biological mystery,” he said before exploring, then dismissing, other possibilities such as lower-body strength: “But I have skinny chicken legs, so it’s not that.” So he settled on a combination of mystery and good genes.

Whatever it is mechanically, psychologically it’s about commitment. Carl Froch punches with power because Carl Froch believes he punches with power. There’s more to it than that, of course – accuracy helps, and so do his odd angles – but belief has to be the foundation. Froch hits opponents hard for the same reason Mickey Ward was a great body puncher: He believes.

Someone has to. Whoever was the favorite pick among experts when the Super Six tournament began – Kessler or Arthur Abraham, mostly – no one outside Nottingham had Froch to win. And yet, Froch began by decisioning Dirrell while Dirrell searched for a professional identity. He now faces Kessler in the throes of an identity crisis. And in Group Stage 3, he’ll face an Arthur Abraham who might be more tentative than usual. Get in the playoffs, as they say, and anything can happen.

Which is exactly the point of this tournament. It is unpredictable. It is dramatic. And it’s supported by a “Fight Camp 360” program blessedly focused on boxing and devoid of Mayweathers. The episodes move well and filter the noise some think prizefighting is about. Unlike HBO’s “24/7” programs, then, “Fight Camp 360” is made for people who care about boxing those other 50 weeks of the year.

The Super Six remains the best thing to happen to our sport since Vazquez-Marquez III.

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

Hello Luis, welcome to 15rounds.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anson Wainwright

15rounds.com

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (April 10, 2010) — Electrifying lightweight prospect “Hammerin’” Hank Lundy of Philadelphia will face his toughest test to date Friday night, April 16, in the co-feature of ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights” at the Omni New Daisy Theater in Memphis, Tenn.

Lundy (17-0-1, 10 KOs) will battle fellow unbeaten lightweight Tyrese ”Head Honcho” Hendrix (18-0-1, 7 KOs) in a 10-round NABO title bout. The event is co-promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports and Prize Fight Boxing Promotions in conjunction with Goossen Tutor.

The main event Friday will feature heavyweights Owen “What The Heck” Beck (29-4, 20 KOs) and Tony Thompson (33-2, 21 KOs) squaring off in a 10-round bout, but Lundy and Hendrix could steal the show in what is expected to be a hard-fought battle. Lundy is currently ranked No. 2 in the NABO while Hendrix is ranked sixth.

Lundy last fought on Jan. 22 at The Roxy in Boston, Mass., beating tough challenger Richie Abril (12-1-1) by split decision. Hendrix hasn’t fought since November of 2009 when he earned a unanimous decision victory over Marteze Logan. Lundy has won each of his last seven fights — four by knockout — with the only blemish on his record being a controversial draw against Darnell Jiles Jr. in 2008.

Visit CESBoxing.comfor more information on Lundy’s quest for the title, in addition to news and information about CES’ upcoming events, including “Spring Fever,” which will be held Friday, May 7, 2010 at the Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, R.I. Tickets for that event ($35, $50, $75 and $100) are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting the Website or calling 401-724-2253.

Photo by Emily Harney/CES

Nobody has to tell Kelly Pavlik about The Great Recession. He lived it. His career declined like the economy from late 2008 through 2009. It’s hard to say whether projections from so-called business experts are bearish or just more bull. But at least Pavlik has a chance in hand, now healthy, to restore fundamental confidence in an attempt to forget the last 18 months and perhaps re-create a promising future.

Pavlik’s first fight in 2010, a Home Box Office-televised date on April 17 against Sergio Martinez in Atlantic City, is being called the most important middleweight fight in several years by promoter Bob Arum.

Important means it is an indicator about whether it is time to re-invest in Pavlik, whose future was knocked sideways in October, 2008 by Bernard Hopkins and almost knocked out a few months later by a dangerous infection on the middle knuckle on the index finger of his left hand. The infection and maybe Hopkins are gone. But some of the questions aren’t. Pavlik knows that. He has the scars he can see. But professional maturity is often about dealing with the unseen. Second-guessing and unfounded speculation leave their own scars.

“Flak,’’ Pavlik said Thursday during a conference call in a matter-of-fact tone that also seemed to say that he has come to terms with it

Flak is the price of stardom these days and perhaps in any day. Manny Pacquiao has had to endure it in rumors about performance-enhancers that were planted by Floyd Mayweather Sr. and have continued in the wake of negotiations for a March fight that fell apart when Floyd Jr. demanded Olympic-style drug testing. Hopkins is dealing with it all over again from critics and allies urging his retirement after a messy victory over Roy Jones, Jr. Pick the star and you’ll find the flak. Like big money, it’s part of the guarantee.

Along Pavlik’s career path, it may have landed early. But his apparent understanding of it is a good sign for a business that could use him.

“If the flak is going to be there, there’s nothing I can do,’’ said Pavlik, who questioned the quality of opposition Arthur Abraham beat for the International Boxing Federation’s version of the middleweight title before his super-middleweight loss by disqualification to Andre Dirrell. “Abraham got the middleweight world title by vacancy. He didn’t fight nobody to win the world title. Who did Arthur Abraham defend his title against? Why didn’t he get the flak?’’

In Martinez, Pavlik hopes rumors about his willingness to fight Williams.

“Next to Williams, Martinez is the toughest guy out there,’’ Pavlik said

Still, Martinez doesn’t register much on marquee, the marketing scale that measures name-recognition. He also doesn’t represent the career-defining fight that seemed to be Pavlik’s destiny after knocking out Jermain Taylor three years ago. Nonetheless, Martinez is there, in his way and dangerous enough to crush him beneath a burden that will collapse if Pavlik can’t prove he is as good as everybody thought he was before his recession. In December, Martinez lost a debatable decision to Paul Williams, whom Pavlik was supposed to fight before MRSA — a virulent staph infection — put him in the hospital.

“I thought he won the fight,’’ said Pavlik, who went on to say that Martinez’s impressive performance also some weaknesses. ‘I was impressed, but I wasn’t impressed.’’

Martinez left himself open to punches that Pavlik intends to land. However, there are questions – big ones in that collective burden of proof – about Pavlik’s hand speed and ability to deal with punches thrown from angles. They’ve been there since Hopkins upset him at heavier weight, 175 pounds instead of 160.

“From mind-to-fist, I just couldn’t let it go,” said Pavlik, who said he wasn’t feeling well on the night of his only loss in 37 bouts. “It was just a bad fight. Nothing we could do about it. I was lethargic.’’

If Pavlik wins, the guess is that he will finally face Williams in a bout that has been talked about for a while. It might not be quite the showdown it might have been, however, because Williams was disappointing against Martinez.

If not Williams, Arum hinted at what might await Pavlik if he beats Martinez and, in the process, is impressive enough to eliminate the doubts. Pavlik’s future, Arum said, might be at 168 pounds, the super-middleweight division that currently is being decided by the on-again, off-again World Classic Tournament. People are bigger and so are the real middleweights, Arum said. The best, he says are working as super-middleweights, which could mean the emerging Americans, Andre Ward and Dirrell, are in Pavlik’s future.

“After he cleans up the middleweights, then he moves up,’’ Arum said of a post-recession path through flak and now fertile for the beginning of a Pavlik renewal.

Fathers know best
Jack Mosley, Shane’s dad, and Floyd Maywather Sr, Floyd’ Jr.’s father, held court in conference call last week about their son’s welterweight clash on May 1 at Las Vegas MGM Grand in the year’s most anticipated fight.

Floyd Sr. made a lot of noise. Jack Mosley made a lot of sense. That was predictable, unlike the fight.

Jack Mosley says his son’s superior punching power gives him.

Shane, he said, is “fast enough to hit Floyd over-and-over again. That will be a problem for Floyd.’’
Floyd Sr. laughed. Floyd Jr., he said, has superior brain power.

“Shane’s not smart,’’ said Floyd Sr., who believes his son is the more complete fighter.

Floyd Sr. also was no impressed with Shane Mosley stoppage of Antonio Margarito more than a year ago in Los Angeles.

“Margarito was a walking mummy,’’ Floyd Sr. said not long after suggesting that Shane Mosley was a dummy

Notes, anecdotes
· Andre Berto will fight for himself and a cause Saturday in south Florida against Carlos Quintana. Proceeds will go to Haiti’s efforts to rebuild from the February earthquake, which forced Berto to withdraw from a bout with Mosley. Berto has family in Haiti. Money is designated for Project Medishare, a health-care fund. Berto, has been active in trying to help Haitians, also has a Dynasty Foundation in his name at www.AndreBerto.com.

· Margarito isn’t helping himself in the court of public opinion by not accepting some accountability for gauze described irregular by his attorney Daniel Petrocelli and rock-like by others before he was forced to re-wrap hands in the loss to Mosley in Los Angeles. Margarito, who returns to the ring on May 8 in Mexico and hopes to be re-licensed in the United States, again said Tuesday at a news conference in Los Angeles that he had no idea disgraced trainer Javier Capitello had inserted an illegal pad The media will never buy the repeated claim that he had no clue. Writers know that fighters treat their hands the way a master carpenter cares for his tools. They protect their hands so much that some won’t even engage in a simple handshake. Some of the media will never believe him. But a campaign to restore Margarito’s reputation can gain some traction, if he at least says he’s sorry. If he didn’t know, he should have.

· And I can’t help but think of Mike Tyson while watching Tiger Woods at The Masters. It isn’t about golf as much as it is a Tyson-like spectacle. Late in his career, Tyson wasn’t about boxing either. The media would gather at ringside, waiting for an accident to happen. Now, that media are in Augusta, waiting for another one.

LEMOORE, CALIFORNIA — In the years following a Summer Olympics, the top amateur boxers must make the decision to either stay in the unpaid ranks for another four years and attempt making the next Olympic team, or turn professional and begin their hopeful journey to fame and fortune. Over the past couple of months, some highly touted former U.S. amateur stars have made the leap of faith and turned professional. Tonight at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, one of the top 112-pound fighters in the nation over the last two years Michael Ruiz Jr. takes that first step on the road to prominence.

Ruiz, who hails from nearby Fresno, California, will take on Jose Luis Mares (0-2) of Lompoc, California in a four-round bantamweight bout. Despite being just shy of his 21st birthday, Ruiz handles himself like a veteran and appears to be completely satisfied with his decision to put his amateur days in the rearview mirror. “This is just the perfect time,” said Ruiz yesterday. “The Olympics are 2, 3 years away, and they wanted me to get away from my pro style and go more towards the amateur style. I have more of a pro style, and I wanted to keep it, so I decided to go pro.”

Despite what he describes as a pro style, Ruiz’ did just fine in that style as an amateur. Ruiz came close to winning a national title on several occasions, claiming the silver at both the 2008 National PAL Championships and 2009 National Golden Gloves. Currently Ruiz is ranked #3 at 112-pounds by USA Boxing.

“I believe I went about as far as I could go in the amateurs,” says Ruiz, before qualifying that statement. “I could go further, and I appreciate everything they did for me in amateur boxing. The last couple of years I was one of the top amateurs in my weight class, and there were some nationals I could have won, and some I felt I did win, but that is the amateurs. It is time to turn pro. I did as much as I could.”

The United States boxing team had its worst showing in history in claiming just one bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. That showing may serve as reason for many of the best American amateurs to turn pro and start earning a paycheck, rather than waiting it out for 2012. While Ruiz says 2008 had no bearing on his decision, he pulls no punches when talking about the American showing.

“The people that made the Olympics, they just didn’t have the heart to fight more for their country,” surmises Ruiz. “They already knew that they were going to go places, so they didn’t have their heart fully into it as amateurs. So they should have decided to go pro a long time ago, and let people with heart look forward to it. Right now I have my heart more into being a pro and not as much as being an amateur, so shouldn’t keep myself as an amateur when this is where my heart is at.”

Competing at the highest level in the same 112-pound weight class for two years, Ruiz undoubtedly has some amateur rivals he will likely see in the pro ranks. But has history has taught us, what happens in the amateurs does not always necessarily translate to the pros. “There’s a lot of guys that I fought already, that they know if it was pros, it would be a different story,” says the ultra-confident Ruiz. “And we will just leave it at that because I have love for everybody in the amateurs. It’s all competition, it’s all good. But now it’s the pros, it’s more serious.”

Adding incentive, if there wasn’t enough already, Ruiz will be fighting close to home as he fights without headgear for the first time. “It is amazing that I get to fight my first pro fight, and all my friends and family get to see me. It helps me feel really confident.” Ruiz promises not to disappoint the local supporters, who unquestionably have high hopes, as he launches his pro campaign. “It is going to be a good show, a really good show,” claims Ruiz. “[My supporters] can expect to see me do what I have trained to do, and what I do in the gym. I am not going to let them down.”

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

I didn’t spend last weekend at Mandalay Bay. I couldn’t afford to. Even with the “media rate” for a room, it was too pricey – before airfare from San Antonio. Hopkins-Jones II was the main event of a $49 pay-per-view card called “The Rivals.” I couldn’t afford that either. Apparently history was made. Sorry I missed it.

Friday, May 21, though, I’ll board a flight to Los Angeles ($110). Then I’ll stay in a hotel near Staples Center Friday ($80) and Saturday ($80). Then I’ll fly home Sunday ($110 again). I can afford Vazquez-Marquez IV.

After food, “Once and Four All” should cost me eight times more than I couldn’t afford to spend on “The Rivals.” I know what you’re thinking because I’m thinking it too: “Eight times? Even at 10x, Vazquez-Marquez is a steal!”

Indeed it is, friends. On May 22 at Staples Center, Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez will make the fourth fight of their rivalry – the finest of my lifetime. Three Thursdays ago, Golden Boy Promotions held a kickoff press conference to announce it. Whenever the officers of that company come out of hiding for what happened last weekend, do congratulate them: Vazquez-Marquez III deserved a larger venue than Home Depot Center’s tennis stadium, every prizefight deserves a better venue than a casino, and Golden Boy Promotions is the reason “Once and Four All” is in a large stadium where real fans can purchase real tickets.

A quick note about the tagline. “Once and Four All” is very much better than “Who R U Picking?” but you’re right to fear that “four” will play too large a role in coverage of this event – as in “Fourward Four You!” or “Fourever UnFourgettable.” Here’s why. The word “trilogy” is well known, while the word “tetralogy” doesn’t come standard in the MS Word dictionary. But a tetralogy is what this fight will make. That word can be added to the custom dictionary to ensure spell check doesn’t ding it and send you careering back towards “Fourtunate Foursome!”

Now a note or two about ambivalence.

I was in the camp that didn’t want to see this fight happen. I was ringside for Vazquez-Marquez III. It was wicked. Israel Vazquez’s face was a grotesquerie in the post-fight press conference – and he was the winner. Selfishly, too, I was content with having written about the finale of a series that will be the standard by which aficionados still judge prizefighting rivalries in 2035.

Great writing chooses solely great figures for subjects. Words are elevated by their topics. Even an average writer could put together a very good piece were he present for, say, Marvin Hagler’s match with Tommy Hearns. Meanwhile, Hopkins-Jones II would hamstring a ringside report by Shakespeare on lede and Cervantes on sidebar.

We should choose carefully, then, and Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez are great as sport makes men.

But unlike in Vazquez and Marquez’s fights at super bantamweight, it’s very hard to believe that, come May 22, we’ll be looking at the world’s two best featherweights. This fourth fight will happen at 126 pounds, where neither Vazquez nor Marquez could be ranked in the Top 6. Both men are now years past their 30th birthdays, and if they can no longer be asked to make 122 they shouldn’t either be asked to make fights with Juan Manuel Lopez or Yuriorkis Gamboa.

Which brings us to this: No matter how competitive the fourth fight is, it won’t be great as the third. Fighters don’t improve after what Vazquez and Marquez did to one another two years ago. The most we can hope is that 25 consecutive rounds together eroded the men equally.

There’s evidence that suggests this. Vazquez did not look very good in his October fight with Angel Antonio Priolo, 19 months after his third fight with Marquez. He looked hittable as ever. He ground out a win by grinding Priolo into a dusty film on the Nokia Theater canvas. It took him nine rounds and more scars over his oft-damaged left eye, though.

But if you’re only exposure to Rafael Marquez’s win over Colombian Jose Francisco Mendoza in May comes from BoxRec.com – Result: TKO-3 for Marquez – you’re incompletely informed. That fight happened in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon and was available on TV Azteca 7, a channel nary an American had access to. Marquez did not look well-adjusted to his new weight. And Mendoza’s 21-2-2 (17 KOs) record was a Bogota fiction; he’d gone 0-2-1 just before Marquez stopped him, and he’d go out like a light 100 days later when Jhonny Gonzalez starched him thrice as fast as Marquez had.

Still, I think I’ll pick Marquez. He is a special talent with a special trainer in Nacho Beristain; on paper, he should have won the second fight and the third one, too. Just like I picked. That’s the insincere part. I’d hate to jinx Vazquez by picking him now.

I’ve written more words about other fighters. But there is no one – perhaps no subject – I’ve enjoyed writing about more than Israel Vazquez. By May 22 he’ll have fought once in 26 months, but I’ve still made him the subject of four columns since he beat Marquez in Carson, Calif.

So let’s end with a Vazquez anecdote.

At last year’s BWAA dinner, I sat across the table from Israel. He was with his brother-in-law, and PR ace Bernie Bahrmasel. Late in the night, Israel’s brother-in-law went to get his picture taken with some of the glamorously clad gals who’d presented awards. Vazquez nodded in his direction and said, “Look at him.”

“He tells them he’s with Vazquez, and they all want a picture,” I said.

“But I am Vazquez!” Israel said, pointing at his chest and smiling.

Three was enough. Four is too many. But if Izzy and Rafa must fight on, may the exchange rate be fair. And may they be paid properly, too. See you in Los Angeles.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter.com/bartbarry

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

Hello Sergio, welcome to 15rounds.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for your time Sergio.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

PHILADELPHIA (April 2, 2010)- Weights for TONIGHT’S Spring Fling Boxing event at The Legendary Blue Horizon.

Derek Ennis 157.5 – Jose Gonzlaez 155
Farah Ennis 169 – Frankie Santos 173
Clenete Bethea 139.5 – Jason Sia 139
John Bolden 237.5 – Bryant Jennings 221
Luis Esquilin 126 – Jose Ortiz 129
Duane King 154 – Kamel Al-Olabi 159

Promoter: Blue Horizon Boxing Promotions LLC
Start Time: 7:30 pm est
Tickets: 215-763-0500

Ticket prices for this great night of boxing are $200 for Queen Seating, $125 for Presidential Seats, $65 for VIP Seating, $55 for Ringside Seating and $45 for General Admission Seating. Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-763-0500 or through PayPal by clicking www.legendarybluehorizon.com/html/tickets.html Doors open at 6:30 PM / First Bout begins at 7:30 P.M.

The Legendary Blue Horizon™

1314 North Broad Street in Philadelphia, PA

The entire fight card can be seen LIVE!! On www.gofightlive.tv beginning at 7:30 pm for just $6.99 by clicking http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=576

14-0(8) Sharif Bogere -V- Martin Tucker 7-5(3)
139 143

7-3(5) Eddie Salas -V- Mike Alexander 1-4(0)
164 164

1-0(1) Fidel Maldonado Jr -V- Blake Franklin 3-3-1(1)
136 137

2-0(0) Robert Rodriguez -V- Manuel Delgado 1-3(0)
124.5 124

1-0(1) Michael Finney -V- TBA
143.5

Debut Bradley Blenkenship -V- Abraham Espinoza 0-1(0)
157 158

Advance tickets for HOMETOWN HEROES, priced at $100, $50 and $30, can be purchased through Ticketmaster www.ticketmaster.com., 1-800-745-3000) and the Rio Casino box office www.riolasvegas.com., 1-888-746-7784).

It’s easy to be outraged. It’s easy to be sad. It’s even easy not to care at all. But nothing will be easy Saturday night for Alton Merkerson, whom Roy Jones Jr. calls “coach” with the kind of affection a kid has for mom and dad.

Other than the piece of square canvas that Jones and Bernard Hopkins will contest, no spot at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas figures to be as difficult as the corner Merkerson will occupy.

Concern for Jones, more than confidence in his chances, has been the flashing red light, the warning sign, throughout talk preceding a rematch of a 1993 fight. Merkerson has heard it, acknowledges it and repeats it.

“My concern is the same concern that everybody else has,’’ said Merkerson, whose 22-year-old friendship with Jones started when he as an assistant U.S. Olympic coach at the infamous Seoul Games in 1988 when Jones was robbed of a gold medal.

Despite acquiring a Nevada license after passing a battery of tests that included a brain scan, the 41-year-old Jones steps through the ropes against the older, yet-seemingly ageless Hopkins, 45, stamped with anecdotal evidence that he is damaged enough to be in serious peril.

The medical tests have been criticized on at least two fronts:

· Either they failed to account for three stoppages in six years that indicate Jones has lost the reflexes he needs to defend himself.

· Or, they have been diagnosed as business as usual. To wit: Las Vegas’ struggling casino industry needs the action.

Whether it’s one or both or none of the above, the controversy has shifted the focus onto whether Jones should be fighting at all in the rematch of a forgotten bout, a Jones victory that happened when Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. were teenagers.

The talk might prove to be a timely diversion for Jones, who has promised to knock out the heavily-favored Hopkins in what would be an upset and a role reversal. Instead of Jones, the worry would be for Hopkins. On a night not long after April Fools Day and a few hours before Easter, it’s hard to say what will happen. But the controversy is a certainty and it raises questions about whether it will influence Merkerson and perhaps referee Tony Weeks.

At the first sight of trouble, will Merkerson be quick to throw in the towel? Or Weeks quick to stop it?

Merkerson’s loyalty for Jones is as evident as it is admirable. Some trainers express their concern for a fighter in apparent decline by leaving the corner altogether. But Merkerson is always there for Jones, almost like a concerned parent.

“Yes, it’s getting close to the time where Bernard and Roy are going to give this thing up because you can’t do it forever,” Merkerson said in a conference call. “But right now, from a medical standpoint, he’s fine. I stick with Roy, and I’ve been with him for 20 years, and I’m going to continue to be with him.

“I’m not afraid to stop a fight. If in fact he was getting punished and didn’t get caught with one shot clean, I would stop the fight, and that’s what another young, inexperienced trainer probably wouldn’t do just to worry about their credibility and what people say about them. But it’s not going to be long before we give it up and do some other things, but Roy is fine right now.”

Right now is just one punch from forever wrong, however

That’s true for anybody who answers an opening bell, not just Jones or Hopkins or some other forty-something fighter. The repeated concern for Jones is that age has turned his reflexes into stone. He has become a stationary target for that disabling blow. For years, he fought with his hands down, yet his instincts, anticipation and unrivalled speed kept dancing in, out and always mere inches from harm. Through 12 rounds, the only sure bet is that those hands will fall and leave him defenseless.

Quickness might vanish, but habits rarely do.

Jones argues that Australian Danny Green’s hands were wrapped illegally before Jones suffered a first-round stoppage last December. Maybe, they were. But Jones’ protest misses the point the way punches missed him so long ago. Alter or unaltered, the relatively-unknown Green quickly and easily hit somebody that nobody could a decade ago.

Worried? You bet. There is no easy way out of that. In the end, Merkerson might be Jones’ only defense.

NOTES, ANECDOTES
· There was only one class act last Saturday in another stage of the super-middleweight tournament. It was delivered by Andre Dirrell, who was accused of acting when a desperate Arthur Abraham teed off with shot to the jaw with Dirrell on one knee after slipping on ice in Abraham’s corner. A disqualification of Abraham resulted in a victory for Dirrell, who was leading on the scorecards. The DQ was incomplete. Abraham should have been suspended. Now, it looks as if Dirrell will fight Andrew Ward, his 2004 Olympic teammate. Ward-Dirrell would re-ignite interest in the on-again, off-again tournament.

· Jose Benavidez Jr., a junior-welter-weight prospect from Phoenix, has an opponent for his fourth pro fight on April 10 at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas on a Top Rank card televised by Fox Sports Espanol. Expect Benavidez to go 4-0 against Scott Paul (5-4) of Ontario, Canada. The 17-year old Benavidez turns 18 on May 15.

· Is there an AARP convention scheduled for Las Vegas next week? Eight days after Jones-Hopkins, 47-year-old Evander Holyfield is scheduled to fight 41-year-old Francois Botha at Thomas & Mack Center. That adds up to two main events with an average age of 43-plus years.

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

Hello Jamie, welcome to 15rounds.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anson Wainwright – Who was your Boxing hero and why?

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

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

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

Thanks for your time Jamie, good luck on Saturday

Anson Wainwright

15rounds.com

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

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

Tail of the tape

JONES JNR – V- HOPKINS

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

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

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

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

PHILADELPHIA (March 29, 2010)—There have been some slight changes to the two main events that will takes place this Friday night’s big “Spring Fling” boxing event that will take place at the Legendary Blue Horizon.

The new main event will still feature USBA Jr. Middleweight champion, Derek “Pooh” Ennis. He will now face Jose Adelaydo Gonzalez of Garden City, Kansas.

Ennis was originally supposed to do battle with Frankie Santos. Santos will still fight Ennis but he will now face Derek’s brother Farah Ennis in an eight round Super Middleweight bout.

Gonzalez brings in a record of 13-6-1 with eleven knockouts and despite facing top competition has only been stopped one time.

On March 7th, 2008 he fought then undefeated Jason LeHoullier (21-0) for the NABA Super Welterweight title in LeHoullier’s backyard in Connecticut and held LeHoullier to a disputed draw.

He twice went the distance with highly regarded Carson Jones as well as fringe contender Joaquin Zamora. Gonzalez went seven rounds with then undefeated Ronald Hearns.

In his last bout, Gonzalez lost an eight round unanimous decision to Jones on October 24, 2009 in Joplin, Missouri.

Santos has a record of 17-8-4 with eight knockouts.

The native of Salinas, Puerto Rico will be looking to get back into the win column after dropping an eight round unanimous decision to prized Cuban prospect Yudel Jhonson (8-0) on September 18th.

He was unbeaten in his first fourteen bouts (13-0-1) before stepping up the competition and has lost to notables Francisco Bojado (10-1), Irving Garcia (9-2); Lamont Peterson (21-0) and Matthew Hatton (32-3-2).

In a battle of undefeated Heavyweights, John Bolden (1-0, 1 KO) of New York, who scored a sensational knockout over Nathan Perrot on December at The Legendary Blue Horizon

Jennings (1-0) of Philadelphia is coming off a four round unanimoud decision over Zeferino Albino on February 27th at The Arena in Philadelphia.

In a four round battle of Philadelphia based Cruiserweights, Heath Harris (1-6, 1 KO) takes on Taneal Goyco (3-1, 1 KO).

In a four round battle of Philadelphian’s, Clement Bethea (1-0) takes on Jason Sia (0-1) in a four round Jr. Welterweight bout.

Jose Ortiz (2-2, 1 KO) of Jersey City, NJ takes on Luis Esquilin (1-2-1) of Philadelphia in a Four Round Featherweight bout.

In a four round Light Heavyweight bout, Duane King (0-1) of Reidsville, NC takes on Kamel Al-Olabi (0-2) of New York City.
Ticket prices for this great night of boxing are $200 for Queen Seating, $125 for Presidential Seats, $65 for VIP Seating, $55 for Ringside Seating and $45 for General Admission Seating. Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-763-0500 or through PayPal by clicking www.legendarybluehorizon.com/html/tickets.html Doors open at 6:30 PM / First Bout begins at 7:30 P.M.

The Legendary Blue Horizon™

1314 North Broad Street in Philadelphia, PA

The entire fight card can be seen LIVE!! On www.gofightlive.tv beginning at 7:30 pm for just $6.99 by clicking http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=576

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

Hello Keandre, welcome to 15rounds.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anson Wainwright – What are your interests away from Boxing?

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

Anson Wainwright – Do you have a nickname?

Keandre Letherwood – No nickname as of yet.

Anson Wainwright – Who was your favourite fighter growing up?

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

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

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

Thanks for your time Keandre

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

Keep Andre Dirrell in your prayers. What happened to him Saturday is graver than a disqualification victory. It’s about Dirrell being struck with a right uppercut on the chin and then reaching for a spot over his left eye. It’s not about a breach of sportsmanship by Arthur Abraham. It’s about Dirrell needing ice eight inches from where Abraham hit him.

It’s about Dirrell’s incoherence after the fight. It’s about his crying, “I’m hurt, man!” It’s about the way he winced and scrunched the left side of his face. It’s about an ambulance ride to the hospital for a CT scan – apparently negative, thankfully.

What a terrible way to get two points in Showtime’s Super Six World Boxing Classic.

Saturday in Detroit, American Andre Dirrell got those two points when Armenian Arthur Abraham got disqualified for an intentional foul at 1:13 of round 11. Behind by prohibitive margins on all scorecards, Abraham landed a perfect right uppercut with Dirrell on the seat of his trunks after he slipped on a Cemex Tolteca ad on the canvas.

Abraham still leads the tournament with the three points he won in October. That’s the best that can be said after his second trip to the United States from Germany, where he resides. The rest comprises the derogatory things now being thought about him in America, a country that’s still pretty important to the prizefighting world.

In some sense both men were victims of Abraham’s concussive power Saturday. Had Abraham missed with his right hand he might have stopped Dirrell in the five minutes that remained. Dirrell was fading. Had Abraham caught Dirrell with a glancing, or anyhow less-effective, punch he would have lost a point that didn’t matter anyway – à la Marco Antonio Barrera against Juan Manuel Marquez. Instead he knocked Dirrell senseless and left referee Laurence Cole no choice but to disqualify him. His record is now blemished in more than one way.

That’s nothing compared to what Abraham’s right hand may have done to Dirrell, who was on the precipice of a career-defining victory.

Gone were so many of the bad habits that had ruined Dirrell’s last fight with Carl Froch. In Saturday’s first six rounds Dirrell damn near threw a shutout against an undefeated former world champion. He threw leveraged, scientific punches, looped correctly round Abraham’s customarily high guard. He slipped punches like he wanted to counter them, not just impress his boys back home. He did almost everything the professional way.

Almost everything. There was one glaringly amateurish trait that survived Dirrell’s training camp. It happened five or six times. It was his move to the right. It was all wrong. Hands at his waist, feet crossed, chin pointed skyward, Dirrell leaped away from Abraham’s left hook. It made Abraham look ridiculous and slow. But to learned eyes, it made Dirrell look ridiculous, too.

Guess what Dirrell was doing when he slipped in the first minute of the 11th round. Dropped in the 10th from a right cross, Dirrell began the 11th wisely intending to play Keep Away. But he unwisely switched from Andre Dirrell to “The Matrix” – the kid with too much athleticism for his own good – and began to bounce back and forth, hands low. He Matrixed rightward. His right foot landed on the ‘x’ in Cemex – the sticker wet and frictionless – and his legs splayed.

That has to be the last thing Dirrell remembers from Saturday.

His hands on the canvas, Dirrell looked at Abraham’s onrushing right fist. The punch landed on the left side of his chin. Dirrell appeared disappointed, betrayed. Then the left side of his face contorted. Dirrell closed his left eye and brought his left glove to his forehead. He did not rub where he’d been struck. Rather he rubbed the place his jarred brain would have struck its protective shell. He rolled on his back. His legs began to shake involuntarily. It was ugly and frightening.

Abraham stood to the side, believing Dirrell was being theatrical – a belief he confirmed afterwards – and disbelieving he was about to lose by disqualification. What Abraham did was intentional. He deserved the result he got. But what Abraham did was not premeditated. That must be remembered.

Imagine you are Arthur Abraham. Like any man in the 31st minute of a championship prizefight, you’re more than a little buzzed from your opponent’s punches. You are desperate to sink your knuckles in the other man’s flesh. He has hit you repeatedly. He has taunted you. He has also been to the canvas minutes before. He is weakened and slowing. You have to render him unconscious or you lose.

For a half hour, he has evaded you with unorthodox moves. He drops his hands, changes levels and swoops away. You have cornered him. He struck the top of your chest with a jab after his head dropped oddly away. Now his hands are down. He is absolutely defenseless. That is a green light for you, not a red one. You throw the right hand you have cocked. You finish the defenseless man because that’s your job.

Moral judgments on Abraham need not apply here. Within the relative world of prizefighting, Abraham broke the rules and received a proper punishment. Had Dirrell been just as defenseless while standing, though – out on his feet, hands down – we’d be applauding Abraham as a great finisher for throwing that right hand.

None of this relativity helps Dirrell – a fighter about whom many things became more serious Saturday in Joe Louis Arena. If he is able to return to previous form, if subsequent tests come back negative, that is, expect the last vestiges of “The Matrix” to go away. Expect a far less playful guy in the ring. Expect a man who uses his athleticism to hurt other men. Expect some resentment at the end of those punches.

Expect that everything about Andre Dirrell just got a lot more serious.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter.com/bartbarry

This past December, rising Fil-Am star Ana Julaton claimed her second world title in just her eighth professional bout with a comprehensive ten-round decision over veteran Donna Biggers. On Saturday, Julaton will look to make it three-for-three, as she battles world class 122-pounder Lisa Brown for the vacant WBA Super Bantamweight title at the Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario, Canada. Their ten-round title fight, the chief supporting bout to the Steve Molitor-Takalani Ndlovu rematch, will be streamed live on GoFightLive.tv as part of “Rumble at Rama XI.”

Julaton (6-1-1, 1 KO) of Daly City, California continues to take the road less traveled en route to prominence in the realm of professional boxing. With only a handful of pro bouts under her belt, Julaton knocked off one of the mainstays in women’s boxing last year when she decisioned Kelsey Jeffries to claim the IBA 122-pound title. Next up is another respected, perennial division leader and reigning WIBA kingpin Lisa Brown (16-4-3, 5 KOs). Adding additional intrigue, Julaton will be attempting to win the title on what amounts to Brown’s home turf. Brown, who has fought all over the world, resides in nearby Scarborough, Ontario.

The fact that the fight takes place near Brown’s home may be a sign of karmic justice. Brown, who has not fought in Canada in over three years, traveled all the way to South Korea for her last bout. In one of the worse decisions of recent years, Brown lost a ten-round decision to South Korea’s Hyo Min Kim. The highly controversial loss ended a four-fight winning streak for Brown.

To prepare for Brown, Julaton returned to train under the architect of her title victory over Jeffries, Nonito Donaire Sr. A scheduling conflict precluded Donaire from training Julaton for her last bout, but the team was been able to pick things up right from where they left off. “She is a very hard-working fighter,” says Donaire. “So I don’t have any problems training her.”

Donaire’s son, world class flyweight Glenn Donaire, was Julaton’s chief sparring partner in camp. “[Ana] is a hard working person, and it really makes you work hard,” said Glenn. “She is ready for this fight, and I know she can knock that girl out.” The younger Donaire was able to emulate the southpaw Brown’s style after studying the champion on film. “It is not hard emulating Lisa Brown, because she stands right here,” said Glenn a couple weeks ago. “I was happy about that. I don’t have to do too much. All I do is emulate her movement and how she throws her punches.”

Saturday’s fight marks the first time that Julaton has traveled outside of the western part of the United States for a fight as a professional. Julaton, the WBO/IBA Super Bantamweight Champion, feels that travel should be part of a world champion’s job description. “I feel the fans out there want to see a world champion that is willing to travel to other countries and fight the best fighters and beat them,” said Julaton. “It is very exciting for me, and I feel it is a great experience.”

If Julaton is able to defeat Brown on her home turf on Saturday and claim the WBA title, it would be perhaps the most impressive victory on an already impressive resume. “She is experienced, she’s game. She is a world champion, and that should say enough about her,” said the respectful Julaton of her opponent. “She wants to fight me, and I want to fight her, and we are going for the world title.”

The fight can be seen LIVE on www.gofightlive.tv

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

It is fascinating to listen to Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. They might not belong on a pound-for-pound list these days, but word-for-word they could challenge Charles Barkley. In the interview game, Hopkins and Jones are as good as anybody.

They provided an insightful double-feature a couple of days ago in a conference call about an April 3 fight. Their rematch at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay has generated everything from outrage to concern. The mixed response from media and fans is at least predictable and perhaps inevitable whenever legends closer to Hall of Fame induction than their primes prepare to fight.

A couple of examples:

Jones, as wise as he once was quick, acknowledged he is aware of fears some have for his well-being.

“I take my hat off to them,’’ said Jones, 41, who has been stopped three times in the last six years. “I thank them for being concerned about me, because that’s a great thing.’’

Then, there was Hopkins, funny, controversial and just as wise.

“This is not some clown reality-show where two wrestlers, two boxers, two old entertainers, two old singers square off,’’ said Hopkins, 45, who is favored to avenge a 1993 loss by decision to Jones. “This is the real deal.’’

I suspect the call will prove to be better than the fight.

It also is important for a lesson left unsaid, yet current and perilous if ignored by the best-and brightest in today’s generation. I hope Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr., were – are — listening. The Jones-Hopkins rematch should have happened a decade ago. Pacquiao-Mayweather should have happened on March 13.

For each should-have, the circumstances are different. But Jones and Hopkins can’t redo the specifics — an unresolved dispute over money – that led to a breakdown of a rich, relevant rematch that might have led to another.

“I was the undisputed middleweight and he was the undisputed light-heavyweight,’’ Hopkins said. “It would have been great.’’

It could have been one or two for the books.

But Hopkins, Jones and the sport were robbed of that opportunity by financial percentages that today are forgettable, if not petty. The real loss, perhaps, was in a percentage of fans. Nobody remembers the first fight on a dreary night at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. on the undercard of a main event featuring a Riddick Bowe stoppage of Jesse Ferguson.

“I still remember Larry Merchant saying that if the wind wasn’t blowing in the stadium, everybody would have gone to sleep,’’ Hopkins said.

Many of them did during the years when Jones and Hopkins matured into the best of their trade. Nearly 10 years ago, they were the fight the public wanted, yet didn’t get. It would have been a rematch only in name. In fact, it would have been an awakening for a public and media increasingly turned off by boxing.

Since then, the sport has repeatedly attempted to resurrect itself. There are promising signs, but the state of the game returns to the critical list if Pacquiao-Mayweather follows the path of the Hopkins-Jones rematch.

Throughout the conference call Wednesday, I couldn’t help but imagine another call, 10 years from now, with Mayweather and Pacquiao, both forty-something and both trying to sell their first fight in 2020 with awkward explanations about why they didn’t fight in 2010.

The issue has been Mayweather’s demand and Pacquiao rejection of Olympic-style drug testing. In a few months, it might be about money, especially if Mayweather beats Shane Mosley on May 1 in front of a bigger pay-per-view audience than the announced 700,000 for Pacquiao’s victory over Joshua Clottey.

There are projections of three million for Mayweather-Mosley. Even if it is half of that at 1.5 million, Mayweather could return to the bargaining table with an argument that he deserves the lion’s share, instead of the 50-50 which had been agreed upon before talks broke down over random blood tests.

Ten years from now, that and who-knows-what-else could be hard to explain. But the lesson is there, thanks to Hopkins and Jones, whose fight is all about timing. It’s the wrong time for them, but still the right one for Pacquiao and Mayweather.

NOTES, QUOTES
· Andre Dirrell might be poised for stardom. He has tough challenge in the super-middleweight tournament Saturday against Arthur Abraham on Showtime. But Dirrell, who grew up in Flint, Mich., will have a hometown crowd and plenty of motivation against the rugged Abraham in Detroit. Dirrell, who is anxious to prove he was robbed by a decision in a loss to Carl Froch in his last outing, is versatile enough to upset Abraham.

· The annual Celebrity Fight Night, Muhammad Ali’s fund-raiser for research in the battle against Parkinson’s, raised $5 million Saturday night in Phoenix. In 16 years, the event has raised $65 million.

· Top Rank is keeping Jose Benavidez, a 17-year-old junior-welterweight from Phoenix, busy. After pushing his record to 3-0 in Dallas on March 12 — the night before Pacquiao’s victory over Clottey at Cowboys Stadium, Benavidez is scheduled for a fight on April 10 against an undetermined opponent at The Hard Rock in Las Vegas.
· And as a Golden Boy partner, Hopkins is also a promoter, but he didn’t have anything to do with the promotional label for the fight with Jones. It’s called The Rivals. “I would have named it Personal,’’ said Hopkins, who says his anger for Jones is real.

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

Hello Wilfredo, welcome to 15rounds.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for your time Champ.

Thanks to you for the opportunity.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com