Victor Ortiz has been tabbed to take on WBC Super Welterweight champion Saul Alvarez provided he wins his June 23rd fight with Josesito Lopez.

“These are two young fighters in the prime of their careers fighting each other,” Said Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer said of the match.

Should Ortiz lose or be unavailable for the September 15 bout, Schaefer has an unknown Plan B.

“We have contingency plans in place, which we have worked out with Showtime, because you never know what will happen,” Schaefer said. “Of course, Josesito Lopez would be part of those contingency plans.”

Golden Boy Owner Oscar De la Hoya Said: “This fight June 23 does concern me because Josesito Lopez is no walk in the park. It’s a huge opportunity for him and it puts more pressure on Victor Ortiz to go out there and prove he deserves to be in the same ring with Canelo Alvarez. This June 23 fight is very important and people are expecting a very difficult and tough fight at the Staples Center.”

“Victor is the kind of guy who wants to fight everyone,” Schaefer said. “He mentioned to us that he wanted to fight Canelo. That was always something on his mind and when the opportunity presented itself he jumped on it and he knows he needs to win (on June 23). Josesito Lopez also knows what’s at stake.”

“Canelo Alvarez is one of the most entertaining and charismatic fighters in the sport and there’s nobody better to headline the card on Mexican Independence Day,” Said Showtime Sports CEO Steven Espinoza. “Canelo is one of the biggest superstars in Mexico and we have full confidence he will develop into one in the United States.”

“That is the kind of relationship we look forward to developing with Canelo,” Espinoza said.

“After this weekend, we wanted to put together a fight card where we can leave the judges at home,” Schaefer said. “‘Knockout Kings’ is the perfect title. Every fight we put on TV, even off TV, there should be no judges needed.”

“Sept. 15 (I hope) you can leave you’re scorecards at home. (I hope) you won’t need them,” said Schaefer, adding that the card would also be available in movie theaters around the country like most of his company’s major pay-per-view cards.

LAS VEGAS –Things did not go according to plan for Manny Pacquiao. He was more aggressive than he had been in years. He threw with abandon, luring his opponent into maniacal exchanges. He fatigued only slightly down the homestretch. And he lost for the first time since 2005.

In an enormous upset whose scorecards will remain hotly debated, Californian Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley (29-0, 12 KOs) decisioned the Philippines’ Manny Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs) by scores of 115-113, 115-113 and 113-115, Saturday at MGM Grand, to become recognized as the world’s best welterweight.

The 15rounds.com ringside scorecard concurred, marking 116-115 for Bradley – scoring rounds 1, 5 and 8 even.

While there were almost no rounds that one fighter won clearly on a neutral card – and only five rounds, of 12, were scored unanimously on the official cards – a number of patterns emerged early that appeared destined to favor Pacquiao. Las Vegas judges, long known to reward activity over effectiveness, were expected to see all close rounds for Pacquiao, who was nothing if not the more active fighter.

But Bradley, throughout the fight, landed the cleaner, and usually harder, punches. Most of the Pacquiao punches that brought feral howls from the partisan-Pacquiao crowd were grazing, at best, and clean misses at worst. Neither fighter was dominant. Either fighter might have won all but the final round, and that round, with the fight on the line, was Bradley’s, unanimously.

JORGE ARCE VS. JESUS ROJAS
The match intended to save Saturday’s undercard began well, with a knockdown in the first round, but ended in profound disappointment and ultimately a no-decision caused by an unintentional foul.

Mexican Jorge Arce (60-6-2, 46 KOs) versus Puerto Rican Jesus Rojas (18-1-1, 13 Kos), a 10-round featherweight scrap that started with Arce dropping Rojas in the opening minute, ended at 0:09 of round 2, when Rojas, lunging-in and trapped under Arce’s elbow, threw what became a low blow, and followed it with a crisp right hand behind the left ear of Arce’s turned head.

Arce went straight down, later citing disequilibrium, and remained on the mat for the entirety of what five minutes referee Kenny Bayless allotted for his recovery. The match was declared a no-decision when Arce was unable to continue. Both fighters expressed interest in a rematch afterwards.

MIKE JONES VS. RANDALL BAILEY
Mike Jones came to Las Vegas wearing the IBF welterweight belt and hoping to change people’s minds about what many considered a dull style. He took care of the dull part. But he’ll be going home without his belt.

In Saturday’s most dramatic knockout, Floridian Randall “The Knock-Out King” Bailey (43-7, 37 KOs) stopped Philadelphia’s Jones (26-1, 19 KOs) at 2:52 of round 11.

Jones began the fight in a fashion so timid that boos rained down from the half-full Garden Arena before the bell to end the first round h’d had a chance to clang. Rounds 2, 3, 4 and 5 saw more of the same, as neither Jones nor a man who calls himself “Knock-Out King” engaged one another in even a moment of sustained combat.

In round 6, having landed nary a telling blow between them, Jones and Bailey began to feint at each other – and react to one another’s feints – as though hard punches were somehow on the way. Finally, in round 9, Jones landed a balance-shot right hand that made Bailey appear to stumble, but rather than press his advantage, Jones quickly retreated, hands high, to ensure he didn’t get caught with any of the punches Bailey had not thrown for 26 minutes.

Everything changed at the end of round 10, though, when a perfectly leveraged right cross from Bailey stretched Jones on the blue mat. Jones leaped to his feet in time for the bell to ring and end the round and then came out moving tentatively in the 11th. But it took the “Knock-Out King” only 2 1/2 minutes to find him again, this time with a counter right uppercut that sent Jones, splayed and ruined, to the canvas.

Referee Tony weeks began a 10-count over Jones’ writhing, rising, falling and rolling body but soon saw the futility of it and waved the match off at 2:52 of round 11.

“I just put it in God’s hands,” Bailey said afterwards, choking on tears of joy, “and did what I had to do.”

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX VS. TEON KENNEDY
Cuban super bantamweight Guillermo Rigondeaux appears to have every tool except fan-friendliness, and that’s nothing a few knockouts can’t cure.

Rigondeaux (10-0, 8 KOs) took apart Philadelphian Teon Kennedy (17-2-2, 7 KOs) in the first fight of Saturday’s “Pacquiao-Bradley” pay-per-view telecast, dropping him several times with a left cross thrown from his southpaw stance, and eventually causing referee Russell Mora to wave an end to the WBA title match at 1:11 of round 5.

If Rigondeaux can continue blitzing good, if light-hitting, challengers like Kennedy, the Cuban may soon see his following get on track with his evident talent.

UNDERCARD
Doing his best to entertain what Filipino fight fans gathered hours before their hero’s arrival, General Santos City’s Ernie Sanchez (13-3, 5 KOs) decisioned Minnesota featherweight Wilton Hilario (12-3-1, 9 KOs) by scores of 78-74, 78-74 and 79-73. The fight was a lackluster affair that saw uneven contact and bursts of activity from Sanchez followed by long stretches of neither guy chancing anything.

Before that, undefeated Canadian welterweight Mikael Zewski (15-0, 11 KOs) turned an initially tentative affair into a decisive victory, stopping Coloradoan John Ryan Grimaldo (8-2, 5 KOs) at 0:59 of round 3.

Saturday’s second bout saw undefeated California junior welterweight Andrew Ruiz (2-0, 1 KO) stun but not stop Nevadan Taylor Larson (0-3-1) in a four-round match Ruiz won by unanimous scores of 39-36, 40-35 and 39-36.

Highly touted Top Rank prospect Jesse Hart (1-0, 1 KO), a middleweight Philadelphian, made a definitive debut in the evening’s first bout, drilling New Mexico’s Manuel Eastman (0-2) with a right cross that was followed by a few more right crosses, and brought referee Joe Cortez racing in to end Hart’s assault, at 0:33 of round 1.

Saturday’s opening bell echoed through MGM Grand Garden Arena at 3:17 PM local time.

LAS VEGAS – When Kelly Pavlik fought in March, his first time in a prizefighting ring in 23 months, the match was about seeing where he was. Friday, Pavlik was in a prizefighting ring for the second time in three months to answer the same question.

And the answer went: About the same place as before.

In the main event of ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights,” broadcast from The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Pavlik (39-2, 35 KOs) put in solid work and went rounds with super middleweight Scott Sigmon (22-4, 12 KOs), a Virginia opponent who was initially afraid to punch but later proved himself possessed of a better chin, and heart, than set of fists. Ultimately, Pavlik did what was expected of him, if a little less, left-crossing and right-hooking his way to a second consecutive victory – this time a seventh-round technical knockout caused by his opponent’s profuse bleeding.

“He did a lot of good things,” Pavlik’s manager Cameron Dunkin said after the fight. “He just worked. He didn’t want to load-up.”

With little more than a timid punching bag before him in the fight’s opening round, Pavlik did initially load-up on left hook-right cross combinations – right wrist flipping back whenever he landed – and supplied a fair number of emotional moments for the Vegas fight crowd.

“I’m not heard-headed,” Pavlik said afterwards about stylistic adjustments made under new trainer Robert Garcia. “I’m learning.”

As the rounds grinded along, though, and Pavlik’s occasional left-hook leads to the body brought no decisive end to the fight, Pavlik’s mouth gradually opened, his spacing gradually worsened, and his punching power gradually lessened. Pavlik had too much of everything for Sigmon, in the end, but Pavlik did not show the same head-snapping power he once used in terrorizing the middleweight division.

“Any of the top guys,” Pavlik said about future opponents, after the fight. “As long as it’s a better guy.”

Time will tell if a better guy is what Pavlik’s career actually needs.

MIKE LEE VS. ELISEO DURAZO
Fighting before a crowd that was almost all his – a gaggle of ringside dwellers in navy blue and gold t-shirts – Chicago light heavyweight Mike Lee (9-0 5 KOs) was prepped to make a sensational statement against soft Mexican setup man Eliseo Durazo (3-3) in the opening bout of ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights” program. But the statement Lee made was less than hoped for, winning by three unanimous-decision scores of 59-54, in a fight that exposed more defects in Lee’s attack than planned.

Appearing to struggle with a belly-jiggling opponent who nevertheless did not know he was there to lose by spectacular knockout, Lee committed well to his punches and defended best he was able throughout.

If Lee is destined to show himself as more than a novelty act, though, he did not bring himself any closer to doing so, Friday.

UNDERCARD
Friday’s last pre-television bout was its most entertaining, as undefeated California super middleweight Rudy Puga (3-0, 3 KOs) made a hellacious five-minute scrap with hardnosed Idahoan Tommy Turner (2-2, 1 KOs). Despite being dropped with right hands thrown from most every angle, Turner continued to rise and fight on until a Puga right uppercut violently ended his night at 2:19 of round 2.

Before that, in the card’s largest surprise, unheralded Kansas lightweight Gerardo Robles (18-10, 9 KOs) dropped Californian Roger Gonzalez (27-6, 18 KOs) in each of the first two rounds of a fight whose round count showed “8/6” on the night’s bout sheet, and sneaked his way to a majority-decision victory: 76-74, 76-74, 75-75. The match’s oddest turn came after round 6, when Robles, believing the fight had reached its conclusion, mounted the turnbuckle in triumph, only to be told he would have to fight two rounds more. Those rounds were ultimately academic, though, and Robles won an upset victory.

The evening began with a good four-round scrap between two undefeated super featherweights – Californian Saul Rodriguez (4-0, 3 KOs) and Washington’s Kevin Davila (1-1) – in a fight Rodriguez won by unanimous scores of 40-36, 40-36 and 39-37. Despite losing most rounds by narrow margins, Davila, trained by 2000 U.S. Olympic head coach Tom Mustin, caught Rodriguez with enough quality punches to make ringsiders speculate about what could happen the first time Rodriguez is matched with a heavier-handed foe.

Opening bell rang at The Joint in Hard Rock Hotel at 5:31 PM local time.

Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank

LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao is a heavy favorite. Heavier than ever.

Pacquiao was at 147 pounds, a career high, at the official weigh-in Friday for his welterweight fight Saturday night at the MGM Grand with a chiseled Tim Bradley, who looked bigger across the shoulders, yet was a pound lighter at 146.

It’s impossible to know whether Pacquiao’s weight was by design or just the result of a late snack.

“It just means he ate breakfast and ate lunch,’’ Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum said. “That’s all it means.’’

In the never-ending rounds of gamesmanship in the hours before opening bell, however, one pound is worth tons of speculation. Perhaps, Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KOs) intends to augment his power in an attempt to score an early stoppage of Bradley (28-0, 12 KOs). Maybe, Pacquiao is out of shape. Maybe, the white socks he wore on to the scale accounted for that pound. Before anybody calls Jenny Craig, maybe it’s all just 16 ounces of hot air.

Whatever the theory, the famed Filipino Congressman was two pounds heavier than at weigh-ins for Shane Mosley last May and Joshua Clottey in March, 2010. He was at 145 pounds both times. For Antonio Margarito in November, he was at 144.6.

“I’m happy,’’ said Pacquiao, who in his last appearance at the MGM Grand talked about “a not so happy fight” after his controversial decision over Juan Manuel Marquez last November.

Pacquiao, often enigmatic, can be hard to read before any opening bell. For those who like to interpret body language – and there are plenty of those up and down the Vegas Strip, there’s talk that Pacquiao is headed for a defeat, despite 4-to-1 betting odds that favor him over Bradley.

HBO commentator and Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward is one who expects an upset. He is picking Bradley, who will be fighting as a welterweight for only the second time in his career. Steward likes Bradley’s smarts, overall competence and ability to adjust.

“He is tough, tough, tough and, unlike a lot of guys Manny has fought, he’s his own man,’’ Steward said. “He thinks for himself.’’’

Pacquiao’s has had trouble against fighters who think and adjust from round to round. Just go back to November. In Pacquiao’s last fight, Marquez, a thinking man’s fighter, threw subtle change-ups at Pacquiao, an instinctive fighter who is at his devastating best once he is allowed to establish a rhythm. Marquez’ adjustments and counters forced Pacquiao to hesitate just long enough to keep him out of his comfort zone.

But if he’s worried, it wasn’t apparent when he flashed a friendly smile at Bradley during the stare-down in the ritual pose for the cameras after the weigh-in. Bradley wore the mask of an angry man. He urged the Pacquiao fans in the reported crowd of 4,000 to boo, please, boo some more. Bradley bounced his glistening head at Pacquiao menacingly, almost as if it will be a weapon, which is what it has been in many of his fights.

“I’m ready for war,’’ he said. “It don’t matter, these boos. I’ve been here before.’’

Truth is, however, Bradley really hasn’t. His bid to upset Pacquiao, the World Boxing Organization’s welterweight champion, is his first appearance on a major stage. His inexperience is a factor in the odds stacked against him. His inexperience also means he is a relatively anonymous. He has none of the star power possessed by Floyd Mayweather, Jr., or Miguel Cotto, or even Marquez. That might explain a somewhat subdued scene for the weigh-in. The crowd actually did the wave, which is often a sign of boredom in baseball or football. It also might explain why there were still about 1,500 tickets available late Thursday.

Doesn’t matter, Bradley said. At opening bell, only two people will count anyway, he said.

“That’s when I’m going to prove all these people wrong,’’ he said. “I’m going to shock the world, baby.’’

Pacquiao was asked why Bradley appeared to be so angry.

“I don’t know,’’ he said, almost laughing.

Then, Pacquiao pressed his hands together and looked up in an expression of his born-again faith. Bradley has called his training camp “hell,’’ as if that is where he intends to take Pacquiao throughout a scheduled 12 rounds. Pacquiao called his camp “heaven.’’ Maybe, that’s why he prayed at the weigh-in. He prays he’ll still be there late Saturday night.

Manny Pacquiao 147 -Timothy Bradley 146
(WBO Welterweight Championship)
Jorge Arce 123.5- Jesus Rojas 123.5
Mike Jones 146.5 – Randall Bailey 146
(IBF Welterweight championship)

LAS VEGAS — Antonio Margarito is retiring.

Margarito announced the decision Thursday on his Facebook page.

“After much thought and extended conversations with my family and team, we have all agreed that the time to hang up my gloves and begin a new chapter in life has arrived,’’ Margarito wrote in a nine-paragraph statement. “I always told my family and team that I would walk away from boxing when I felt I could no longer compete at the level I believed I needed to be, in order to be successful. Although the passion and drive are still there, I have to accept that my time to walk away has arrived.’’

Margarito is the third fighter to retire within the last week. Winky Wright and Shane Mosley retired on Sunday. The former welterweight champion had been considering the decision for several days. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to fight in a ceremonial farewell bout for his Mexican fans. His promoter, Top Rank’s Bob Arum, said he heard last week that he wanted to walk away from the sport.

“He should be remembered as a real warrior, a guy who was afraid of nobody, whose athletic skills were limited, but never quit,’’ said Arum, who defended Margarito in the controversy about whether he knew his former trainer had tried to put altered wraps on his hands before a loss to Mosley in 2009. “I think he’s a great guy. I wish him luck with whatever he’s going to do.
Margarito had been scheduled for a fight on July 20 at Casino Del Sol in Tucson against Abel Perry of Colorado Springs in his first bout since a 10th-round TKO loss in December to Miguel Cotto, who left Margarito’s surgically-repaired right eye badly bloodied and swollen during a dramatic rematch at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

The bout against Perry, which Margarito saw as a potential step toward a middleweight fight with fellow Mexican Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., had been postponed from May 26 to July 7 and then July 20 because of a reported injury to an Achilles tendon that Margarito sustained while training in Tijuana, his hometown.

There were also fears that his problematic right eye might sustain further damage, especially against Chavez, a 160-pound champion who reportedly has been as heavy as 180 pounds at opening bell for his last few fights. That could have given Chavez a powerful advantage of at least 20 pounds against Margarito, who has fought at 154 since 2008.

Margarito underwent surgery to correct the vision after the orbital bone was fractured in his 2010 loss to Pacquiao. But scarred skin surrounding the eye was vulnerable to further cuts, said his manager Sergio Diaz. In the Cotto rematch, those cuts led to a stoppage that Margarito and Diaz believed was premature.

Questions about the condition of the eye led to doubts about whether the New York State Athletic Commission would license him for Cotto. It finally did on Nov. 22, 12 days before the fight.

Margarito underwent surgery to correct the vision after the Pacquiao loss, but scarred skin surrounding the eye was vulnerable to further cuts. Those cuts led to the stoppage against Cotto. Arum had his family opthamologist do the surgery to correct any problems in the eye itself.

“The eye is 100 percent,’’ Arum said in a media room for the Pacquiao-Tim Bradley fight Saturday at the MGM Grand.

There was speculation that Margarito was considering retirement on May 26 when he accompanied his brother-in-law, Hanzel Martinez, to Tucson for a victory over Felipe Rivas for a minor bantamweight title, also at Casino Del Sol. Margarito did not make himself available for comment. His former trainer Robert Garcia, who was in Martinez’ corner, said he had spoken to Margarito, but had not been working with him. Garcia then hinted that retirement was a possibility. He said that “Margarito had a lot to think about.’’

Margarito earned about $22 million over a 46 fights (38-8, 27 KOs). His career as a tough, stubborn brawler took a controversial turn in January 2009 when altered hand wraps were found before losing to Mosley at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The California State Athletic Commission banned his trainer, Javier Capetillo, and revoked his license.

Margarito, re-licensed in Texas for the Pacquiao fight at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, has always said he didn’t know that Capetillo tried to tape his hands with the wraps – which reportedly included plaster-like inserts. There was never any evidence of altered wraps in any bout before they were discovered by Mosley trainer Naazim Richardson. Nevertheless, it was suspected that Margarito used altered wraps in his 2008 upset of Cotto, who got his revenge in the rematch.

“I’ve always strongly believed in his innocence,’’ Arum said. “So, I’m happy that I helped make him financially secure with the Pacquiao fight and then the Cotto fight. We feel like we did our responsibility for Margarito. ‘’

ShowDown Promotions still plans to stage a card at Casino Del Sol in late July, possibly with Top Rank junior-welterweight prospect Jose Benavidez Jr. of Phoenix. If not July 20, the card might be scheduled for July 27.

LAS VEGAS – Born-again Manny Pacquiao has been more of a diplomat than a preacher for the last few days. He played the peacemaker Wednesday in an attempt to ensure a unified front instead of civil strife in his corner Saturday night against Tim Bradley at the MGM Grand.

After a formal news conference, Pacquiao planned to talk with trainer Freddie Roach and conditioning coach Alex Ariza about their differences and how to get beyond them, at least for one night. It appeared that Ariza had been banished by Roach, who said Saturday on HBO’s 24/7 that he wouldn’t be in the corner. A few days after Roach’s comments signaled a significant shuffle and perhaps turmoil, Ariza was back.

“Manny’s call,’’ Roach said.

Pacquiao, who confirmed that it was his decision, made it clear that there won’t be any confusion. If you want democracy, go to a voting booth. In this corner, Pacquiao will listen to only one voice.

“Freddy’s,’’ he said.

Roach repeated his criticism of Ariza, who was seated on the stage for Wednesday’s news conference. The outspoken Ariza left Pacquiao’s training camp in the Philippines a few weeks ago to work with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., who is in training for Andy Lee in El Paso, Tex.

“I thought it was a bad choice,’’ Roach said.

Another trainer was hired, Filipino Marvin Somodio, who was introduced Wednesday as Ariza’s assistant.

Pacquiao’s corner includes another subplot, also involving Ariza. Miguel Diaz will work as the cut man. Diaz and Ariza exchanged insults during a post-fight news conference following Amir Khan’s victory over Marcos Maidana in December, 2010. Diaz was Maidana’s trainer. Ariza, then Khan’s conditioning coach, called Diaz a “fraud.” Ariza repeatedly mocked Diaz, a former maître ’d at a Las Vegas restaurant, by yelling “table for four.’’

For Bradley, reports of potential discord in the corner represent just another distraction for Pacquiao.

“I knew, sooner or later, it would catch up to him’’ said Bradley, who was confident and relaxed despite being a 4-to-1 underdog just days before the biggest fight in his career.

Notes, Quotes, Anecdotes
· Bradley again said he has been working hard to eliminate the head-butt from his arsenal. “I definitely want to keep my head out of the mix,’’ said Bradley, who promises to win, yet doesn’t want a victory to be tarnished by controversy.

· Top Rank promoter Bob Arum introduced Bradley manager Cameron Dunkin as “Cameron Diaz” during the news conference. “I wish he looked like Cameron Diaz,’’ Arum in a quick comeback from his own misstep.

· Bradley is a practicing vegetarian, which he says gives him strength and endurance. He said he heard about the diet from a physician. “This doctor tells me, “You know, those 300-pound gorillas don’t eat meat,’ ‘’ he said. “That’s when I decided I’m going to go vegan. I’m going to eat grass, trees, bark, whatever.’’

· Roach is scheduled for induction to the International Boxing of Fame in Canastota, N.Y. Sunday, the day after Pacquiao-Bradley. “I rented a plane,’’ said Roach, whose overnight jet to nearby Syracuse will cost him $26,000. “I’m not happy about that.’’ Roach should be able to afford it after he collects his share of Pacquiao’s guarantee, $6 million, according to contracts filed with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Bradley is guaranteed $5 million.

· And Pacquiao has shed at least one diversion. Basketball isn’t exactly a distraction. But Roach said he has quit playing pick-up games after training. “I asked him why he gave up basketball,’’ Roach said. “He told me, ‘After training all morning, maybe I shouldn’t play basketball.’’ Maybe without the basketball, Pacquiao won’t suffer from further cramps in his calves. The cramping bothered him in his last two fights – a controversial decision over Juan Manuel Marquez and a one-sided decision over Shane Mosley. After hearing Pacquiao’s answer, Roach said “Thanks, Manny, that’s the best answer you ever gave me.’

Photo by Chris Farina / Top rank

Sadam Ali (14-0, 8 KO’s, 147lbs) unveiled the debut of his new promotional company, Worldkid Promotions, in his backyard of Brooklyn, NY with great success. He faced off against Franklin Gonzalez (15-9, 10 KO’s, 146lbs), who is no stranger to fighting in Brooklyn against a local favorite. Ali, with his amateur pedigree as a 2008 US Olympian, took a calculated approach to this fight. He hasn’t been in the ring in nine months (His longest layoff), and was not going to give away any openings to his veteran opponent.

Despite his extremely loud and boisterous fanbase urging him, Ali took his time finding openings. Gonzalez gave him those openings with right hands in an attempt to catch the elusive Ali, but the former Olympian did not give anything away. Ali worked the body, knowing that Gonzalez’ veteran tendencies wanted Ali to waste punches upstairs.

Throughout the fight, Gonzalez would duck low in order to avoid Ali’s blows. It didn’t seem to frustrate Ali much, but it did prevent him from throwing as many punches as he probably could have. Still, it was Ali in total control of the fight, as Gonzalez’ punches came few and far between. As the bout progressed, Ali’s plan of breaking Gonzalez down was working perfectly. Finally, in the eighth round, a right hand stunned Gonzalez. Ali followed up with a combination that sent Gonzalez down. After beating the count, Gonzalez fought hard to survive, but Ali was too quick and Gonzalez’ legs were too spent. Another combination saw Gonzalez go down, and this time the referee waved it off. Ali won with a TKO at the 2:22 mark of the eighth round.

Jennifer Santiago (119lbs) made her professional debut as the co-feature of the night. She took on Mikayla Nebal (0-1, 120lbs) in an entertaining scrap scheduled for four rounds. Both fighters fought very well and were able to showcase some impressive defensive head movement. It was Santiago who had the heavier hands, though, as she was able to back Nebal up frequently with her punches. The fourth and final round saw lots of action, but the final bell rang, and it came to the scorecards. Two judges had it 40-36, while one had it 39-37, all in favor of Santiago.

Steven Gamache (2-0, 1 KO, 151lbs) put in good work against a savvier than expected Willie Bryant (0-3-1, 152lbs). Gamache took his time and stalked Bryant into the ropes, where he put in his best work. By the third round, Gamache began utilizing an uppercut that was very effective against his tiring opponent. The final scores all read 40-36 in favor of Gamache for the unanimous decision victory.

Armin Mrkanovic (2-1, 1 KO, 189lbs) dominated Daniel Pietch (180), who was making his professional debut. Mrkanovic began the fight looking sharp with his counter punches. Despite his impressive physique, Mrkanovic does not utilize any brawling tactics. Instead, he takes a calculated approach at his craft, violently taking advantage of openings made by his opponent. Pietch did not seem too shaken by Mrkanovic’s punches early on, and even tried taunting to get Mrkanovic to make a mistake. That did not work well, and by the fourth round, Pietch was exhausted and not throwing any punches. Mrkanovic began landing combinations at will, with nothing in return, and the referee was forced to call a halt to the action. Mrkanovic was credited with a TKO victory at the 1:10 point of the fourth round.

Akil Frederick-Auguste (159lbs) and Jamil Gadsden (156lbs) made their professional debuts to open up the evening’s event. A talent differential was evident right away as Fredrick-Auguste landed an early overhand right that sent Gadsden crashing onto his back. Gadsden, utterly outmatched, somehow managed to make it out of the round, but it didn’t take much longer for Fredrick-Auguste to put him away. Two more knockdowns in the second forced the referee to end the bout at the 2:26 point in the second. Fredrick-Auguste received a TKO victory.

On the heels of his rival Winky Wright retiring on Monday, former three division world champion Shane Mosley followed suit in announcing his retirement on Monday.

“Good morning everybody. Just want to thank you for showing me so much love,” Mosley tweeted. “Had a great career and loved every moment of it, win, lose or draw.”

“I’m going to leave it alone,” Mosley, 40, told ESPN.com of fighting. “I’m good. I’m going into the promotional world, I’m training my son [21-year-old amateur Shane Mosley Jr.]. It was a helluva career. I’m happy for all the great memories and all the great fighters that I fought. Now it’s time give back. I’m ready to train my son full-time now.”

“That’s life, that’s getting older,” he said. “When you get older, you see what happens. You think you can do things. You see stuff that you think you can do, that you want to do, but you just can’t do it anymore.”

“I have to credit a lot of those wins to [the late] Genaro Hernandez and Zack Padilla,” Mosley said. “They were both world champions fighters and they sparred with me every day and molded me into the fighter I was. So did my father [Jack, who also trained him for most of his career]. I owe a lot to him.

“Being recognized as pound-for-pound, especially when Roy Jones was there at that time, was an honor. To be considered in the same breath as Roy was great for me. Not many people can say they were the pound-for-pound best, but I’m one of those people.”

“I remember [then-HBO boxing chief] Lou DiBella wasn’t very happy with the Holiday fight,” Mosley said. “I was under the weather for that fight and he told me he didn’t like the fight. I told Lou if there’s anyone you feel can beat me at lightweight, put ’em in front of me because I don’t want to have the belt if I’m not the best.”

“I always wanted to knock guys out. It was a mindset that I had when I tuned pro — knock everybody out and it’s never going to a decision,” Mosley said.

“That 2000 fight with Oscar was huge for me,” Mosley said. “He gave me the opportunity when he didn’t have to and I thank him for that. Everything from there was gravy for me.”

“I have no regrets in my boxing career. Vernon was a great fighter and I was ready to fight anybody,” Mosley said. “I gave Vernon that big chance because I got that big chance against Oscar. Vernon Forrest needed the chance and I said, ‘Let me give him the opportunity.’ I did the same thing with Winky Wright, who was a lot bigger than me. But I said let’s do it. No regrets.

Mosley invoked his immediate rematch right against Forrest and while the second fight six months was more competitive, Forrest won another unanimous decision. Mosley then moved up to junior middleweight and, in his second fight in the division, challenged champion De La Hoya in a big-money rematch. Mosley won a controversial decision and two title belts, although it came to light later that he testified before a grand jury that he had used BALCO mastermind Victor Conte’s undetectable steroids “the clear” and “the cream” during his training.

Mosley has said all along that he was unaware that what he took was illegal and that it was given to him by former conditioning coach Darryl Hudson.

“I wasn’t aware that it was ‘the clear’ or ‘the cream’ or other such craziness,” Mosley said. “If I knew it was illegal I wouldn’t have taken it. I’ve always lived my life clean. That whole situation made me upset and still has me upset to this day.

“I’m still upset with the people I had around me that led me into that. I was always a clean boxer. Never tested positive for anything. For them not to protect me — Darryl Hudson — it sickened me. In 2003, he put a blemish on me. He led me to something that wasn’t good. It wasn’t like I asked for it. I didn’t ask for it, I didn’t need it.”

“Margarito was pretty big, especially with all the things going on in my life at the time,” Mosley said. “It was a big victory to be able to go out there and dominate and then knock him out.”

“My son is getting older. He’s 21 and after I fought ‘Canelo,’ I thought about that he was 21 and I thought I should spent more time training my son, getting the new generation ready,” said Mosley, who said he will also spend time trying to get his Sugar Shane Promotions off the ground.

“I hope they remember me as a great fighter, a great person and somebody that cares about boxing,” Mosley said. “I hope they remember that I loved to fight. It’s been fun.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former Jr.Middleweight champion Winky Wright has retired following his ten round unanimous decision defeat to undefeated Middleweight Peter Quillin lasts Saturday in Carson, California.

“I’m gonna call it a day. I’m gonna chill out and play golf and live life,” the 40-year-old Wright told ESPN.com.

“I figured I’m 40 and if I can’t be champion again, I don’t want to do it anymore,” Wright said. “I’m not here just fighting to be fighting. Boxing is supposed to be fun and if it ain’t fun anymore I don’t need to do it so I am done for good. I had fun. I fought a good fight [against Quillin], I didn’t get hurt, I was in shape. My timing was off but I take nothing away from Quillin. He fought a good fight. He was strong. So I’m going to go ahead and get out of the game.

“I accomplished a lot. I want to be true to my fans. I don’t want to be fighting just to be fighting. I don’t need that. I got money, but if I can’t be champion again, I’ll do something else. I’m retiring from the ring. The ring didn’t retire me. If I wanted just to fight I would have come back with an easier fight. I always wanted to challenge myself which is why I took a tough fight like I did.”

“Being in fights on the road helped me to know I could fight anywhere against anyone, no matter what,” he said. “That overseas thing worked out great for me. I got a lot of European fans. If I wanted to, I could still fight. A lot of people have wanted me to come back over there to fight.”

Wright became a regular on HBO and then moved up to middleweight. Felix “Tito” Trinidad, one of boxing’s biggest stars, had ended a retirement by beating Ricardo Mayorga in his comeback fight. For his second fight of the comeback, Trinidad surprisingly picked Wright to fight in what was a major HBO PPV event.

“Tito had destroyed Mayorga and nobody gave me a chance. They thought he’d knock me out and we just did what we did,” Wright said.

What Wright did was put on a clinic in a virtual shutout that sent Trinidad back into retirement for nearly three years before he fought one more time against Roy Jones Jr.

“That fight with Tito was a big fight. That was No. 2 to me because it got me a lot of fans,” Wright said. “Tito was a good guy and everything worked for me in that fight. We still respect each other. Tito became good friends with me after that fight.”

“He came to my dressing room before and after the Quillin fight,” Wright said. “I probably wouldn’t be where I’m at if Shane didn’t give me a shot. So I thank him a lot for that. Before that nobody would fight me, nobody with a name would fight me, so I owe a lot to Shane.”

“I’m glad people know me and respect my accomplishments. It was a great career,” he said. “I always tried to carry myself like a champion and respect people.”

“I got my man, Jim Wilkes, my friend and my attorney who I do some business with. We’ll make sure my money is right and I’ll enjoy my life. I think I had a great career. I love my fans, I love how they stayed behind me no matter if the boxing world wasn’t behind me. They were behind me.

“That motivated me to want to beat everybody and become undisputed champion. But there is life after boxing. So you’ll see me around. You’ll still me at ringside. You’ll see me in Las Vegas. I can relax and watch all the young kids come up and do what they need to do.”

Beibut Shumenov scored a lopsided unanimous decision over Enrique Ornelas to retain the WBA Light Heavyweight bout at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas.

Shumenov was aggressive from the outset as he threw punches in volume and just about every round looked the same as Ornelas was clearly outclassed.

Shumenov won by scores of 120-108 on all cards and is now 13-1. Ornelas of Guanjato, MX is now 31-8.

Joseph Elegele scored an eight round majority decision over Lanard Lane in a fight featuring once-beaten Jr. Welterweights.

It was a good back and forth battle with each man having their moments. The difference on one card with the fifth round knockdown that Elegele scored.

Elegele, 143 lbs of Melbourne, FL won by scores of 77-74, 76-75 while once card read even at 76-76 and he is now 13-1. Lane, 142 1/2 lbs of Philadelphia is now 13-2.

Daquann Arnett scored a second round knockdown en route to a four round unanimous decision over Yosmani Abreu in a Jr. Middleweight bout.

Arnett, 153 lbs of Pine Hill, Orlando Florida won by scores of 40-35, 39-36 and 39-36. Abreu, 154 1/2 lbs of Las Vegas is 2-3-1.

Andrew Cancio scored the biggest victory of his career by scoring a ten round unaninous decision over former multiple time world title challenger Rocky Juarez in a Jr. Lightweight bout at the Fantasy Springs Hotel and Resort in Indio, California.

The two traded knockdowns as Juarez scored a hard knockdown when he dropped Cancio with a thudding three punch combination in round two. Cancio evened up the knockdown count in round five when he sent the usually iron chinned Juarez with a combination in round five.

Cancio dominated the rest of the fight as he was more active and landed the more telling blows and cruised to the 98-89; 97-90; 97-90 decision.

Cancio, 128 lbs of Blyth, CA is now 14-1-2. Juarez, 129 lbs of Houston, TX is virtually done and is now 28-10-1.

Hugo Centeno scored a fourth round stoppage over Rahman Yusubov in round four of a scheduled eight round Middleweight bout.

The time was 2:29 when Centeno was rocking Yusubov on the ropes and the bout was stopped.

Centeno, 158 lbs of Oxnard, CA is now 14-0 with eight knockouts. Yusubov, 157 lbs of Dallas, TX is 8-8.

Jose Cayetano scored a fifth round stoppage over Arturo Badillo in a scheduled eight round Bantamweight bout in Tijuana, Mexico.

Cayetano dropped Badillo in the first round and then again in the fifth for which Badillo didn’t beat the ten count.

Cayetano is now 12-1 with five knockouts. Badillo is now 20-4.

Jose Zepeda scored a sixth round stoppage over Abner Lopez in the sixth and final round of their Welterweight bout.

Zepeda is now 10-o with eight knockouts. Lopez is 6-2.

Jesus Badillo remained perfect by winning a four round unanimous decision over Jorge Sillas.

Badillo is 7-0. Siillas is now 1-8.

Sergio Ortega won a four round split decision over Ezequiel Avilez in a Jr. Welterweight bout.

Ortega is 5-0. Alvilez is now 3-1.

Just a day after agreeing to a September 15th world title bout with Saul Alvarez, James Kirkland has bowed According to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“It was uncomfortable and he was concerned,” said Kirkland’s manager Cameron Dunkin said. he called me and said he wasn’t going to fight. The doctor said his shoulder was healing fine but James was afraid he was going to tear it again. He felt tightness and felt he shouldn’t fight. He said it feels bad, that he couldn’t use it properly. He said, ‘I can’t train right, so I won’t be ready by Sept. 15.’

“He is sick about it. He needs the money. He’s been doing rehab on the shoulder and the doctor said he was ahead of schedule, but the doctor also said you can’t tell how fast you’re going to heal. But he was ahead of schedule and his mobility was ahead of schedule. James told me how much he wanted the fight, the opportunity and the money.

“He’s been stretching it and doing his therapy, but when he began snapping punches, he said he felt a twinge and that it didn’t feel right and that he could tell it wasn’t right. That’s not going to change in a week or two. He said, ‘I can’t train 100 percent, and for a guy like this, I have to be 100 percent.’ He knew he was rushing it.”

“You have to trust the managers and doctors when they say he is OK to go,” said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said. “So now, he’s not going to be ready and the last thing we want is to start a promotion if the guy is not going to be 100 percent.”

Later on Thursday, however, Kirkland’s story began to change, according to Dunkin. Dunkin said he and co-manager Michael Miller were sent an email by Austin’s Curtis Meeks, a former professional fighter and friend of Kirkland’s who was 9-1-2 with three knockouts in his 2001 to 2008 career. Dunkin said Meeks recently began serving as an adviser to Kirkland and that in the email he told them that Kirkland “would sign the contract today for $2.5 million and that he is ready to go for the right money.”

“Our answer was that James is injured,” Dunkin said. “We won’t fight him if he’s injured, and said he’s obviously not going to be ready to fight Sept. 15. His answer was that James could fight later in the year, but that it would have to be for $2.5 million. This guy is obviously telling him he is getting screwed on the money, which is not the case.

“So James is out of the fight. I can’t get him $2.5 million. That’s ridiculous. I’d love to get him that much because I get a percentage, but it’s not reality. James is a great kid but he’s getting really bad advice. And if he can’t fight, he shouldn’t fight at any price. So it’s just crazy. It’s totally insane. We told James, ‘If you’re healthy, fight. If you’re not healthy, don’t fight.’ But don’t make it about the money because the money he was getting for the fight was very, very good money.”

“So Kirkland has a new adviser who told him not to take the fight unless he gets $2.5 million. That is what I was told. It is unbelievable,” Schaefer said. “I don’t get it. That’s not how we do business. We agreed to a deal with him and he was being paid very, very well.”

“Canelo is the big Mexican superstar and he will be fighting at the MGM Grand on pay-per-view and we will be looking at other names for him to fight,” Schaefer said. “The good news is there are other names out there. It’s a deep division.”

Gabriel Rosado continued his hot streak as he scored an impressive ninth round stoppage over Sechew Powell in a Jr. Middleweight bout at the Sands Casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Rosado landed some solid shots early but Powell matched him by using his experience and used an educated left hand to keep him virtually even on the scorecards.

The fight changed in round eight as Rosado came out in relentless fashion as he tried to jump all over Powell and landed some hard flurries. Rosado may have briefly punched himself and let Powell get in some offense with the left hand.

That would be Powell’s last stand as Rosado came out guns a blazing in the ninth and attacked Powell with some hard shots and was awarded a knockdown. Rosado closed the show in an action packed fashion as he continued to pummel Powell on the ropes which prompted referee Steve Smoger to stop the fight at 2:43 of the ninth frame.

Rosado, 154 lbs of Philadelphia will now look for a title opportunity with a record of 20-5 with twelve knockouts. Powell, 150 3/4 lbs is now 26-5.

Ronald Cruz remained perfect by scoring a twelve round unanimous decision over Prenice Brewer.

Cruz was active and landed thudding body shots throughout the fight in an effort to slow down Brewer, who was using his legs in order to create angles. Cruz trapped Brewer several times on the ropes. In round nine,Cruz landed some hard shots and Brewer, who felt the affects of the body work was moving less. Brewer had a solid round eleven as he landed some quick combinations. Both guys fought hard down the stretch with Cruz being egged on by his raucous supporters as Cruz lives just blocks from the Sans Casino in Bethlehem.

Cruz, 147 lbs of Bethlehem won by scores of 118-110 on all cards and is now 17-0. Brewer,147 lbs of Cleveland, OH is now 16-2-1.

According to Dan Rafael rising heavyweight contender Seth Mitchell will not be able to compete against Jonathon Banks on July 14th due to an injured hand.

“He injured his right hand in his last fight, which was five weeks ago, but he thought the (injury) would go away,” said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer. “He went to see the doctor and the doctor said that nothing is broken but he recommended that Seth not do any sparring or have any contact for the next 6 to 8 weeks. He is scheduled to see a hand specialist next week and he will be evaluated to see if anything additional needs to be done.”

“If the doctor says the hand needs to be in splint, obviously there is not going to be a fight,” Schaefer said. “You want to make sure he takes care of the injuries and comes back when he’s ready. So I informed HBO about what is going on and we will see what the best way is to replace the fight and take it from there. We have a very good stable of fighters and we will come up with a fight worthy of an HBO ‘World Championship Boxing’ opening bout for July 14.”

“This fight was a great opportunity for Seth in his progress, but our plan remains to get him, within the next 12 months or so, a heavyweight title shot. This is a setback, but it happened. It’s disappointing for the fans, for us and certainly for Seth Mitchell. But I think it is a momentary setback and as soon as he’s cleared to fight he’ll be back on TV.”

Earlier Thursday, Sharif Salim, Mitchell’s manager, denied there was any serious issue with Mitchell’s hand when asked about it by ESPN.com.

“We’re in camp and we’re moving forward,” he said. “Seth fights through a lot of things. There are always bumps and bruises from the last fight, but we are preparing for the fight on July 14. We’re not here to talk about injuries or make excuses.”

After the unfortunate accident to former two division champion Paul Williams, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will now take on James Kirkland on September 15th in Las Vegas for the WBC Super Welterweight champions that will be the headline bout of an HBO PPV card according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“That’s not the way you want to get the fight, but it wasn’t like James wasn’t in the running in the first place,” said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer. “You have to deal with injuries and setbacks even as severe and tragic as this one is for Paul.

“James Kirkland was always on the short list of potential opponents for Canelo Alvarez and it came down to two names, guys which are exciting and are known, and that was Paul Williams and James Kirkland,” Schaefer said. “When we were told James couldn’t fight until the end of September, that eliminated him as a potential opponent because it was important for Canelo and for us for the fight to be on Sept. 15, the Mexican Independence Day weekend, which is traditionally reserved for the biggest Mexican stars to fight on.”

“About a week ago, I was informed by (Kirkland co-manager) Michael Miller that James had made tremendous progress and that he could fight sooner than we originally thought,” Schaefer said. “But there was nothing I could do because we had already agreed to a Williams fight.

“When the tragedy happened with Paul Williams, I called Michael to see if James had been medically cleared and he was and he very much wanted the fight. It was a matter of working out the numbers, which we did in the last few days. I’m excited because it is one of those fights where you can leave the judges at home. I would bet anyone this will end in a knockout, one way or the other. This is not going to the scorecards, and that’s what fight fans like.”

Schaefer said the card will be called “Knockout Kings” — which he said he got clearance to use even though that it is the name of a popular boxing video game series — figuring that Alvarez-Kirkland and the potentially explosive co-feature — a featherweight title bout between Mexican countrymen Jhonny Gonzalez (52-7, 45 KOs) and former junior featherweight titleholder Daniel Ponce De Leon (43-4, 35 KOs) — would end in stoppages.

“Gonzalez-Ponce De Leon is another barnburner where you can leave the judges at home because you know it will end up in a knockout,” Schaefer said. “We will look to add other fights to the card that we think will end in knockouts.”

“Canelo was very saddened,” Schaefer said. “He couldn’t believe it and was in shock. God-permitting and health-permitting Canelo told me he would like to invite Paul to be ringside but we don’t know if it is going to be feasible. But Canelo was really shaken up. He was speechless. We had to explain what happened a couple of times. It was a nice gesture for him to offer to fly Paul and his family out for the fight. Canelo believes Paul will always be fighter and a champion and he told me he is going to dedicate the fight to Paul Williams.”

Former world champion Paul Williams was Paralyzed from the waist down due to a motorcycle accident that happened near his Atlanta home on Sunday.

In a statement to espn.com, George Peterson who is a Williams Manager/Trainer/Father Figure said “”They’re saying he won’t walk again or box again,” said Peterson, who flew to Atlanta from Washington, D.C., where they were training for Williams’ next fight, on Sunday. “Paul is in denial right now. It’s been that way with him. You tell him he can’t or won’t do something, and he wants to prove you different. So whatever the doctors say, he’s not listening. But they say that (walking and boxing) is not going to happen.”

Peterson said Williams, who lives about an hour outside of Atlanta, had ridden his motorcycle from his home to Atlanta to attend the Sunday wedding of one of his brothers.

Peterson said Williams, 30, is scheduled to have surgery Wednesday to stabilize the portion of his spinal cord that is intact and allows him to move his hands, arms, torso and head.

“The other part of his spinal chord is damaged and has eliminated his lower body movement,” Peterson said.

Peterson continued by saying that Williams is coherent and even joking while in his hospital bed.

Williams, who just signed for a major Pay Per View bout against WBC Super Welterweight champion Canelo Alvarez on September 15th.

Former five-time world champion Johnny Tapia was found dead in his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Sunday.

Tapia who was one of the most charismatic fighters for much of the 1990’s and 2000’s was forty-five years old.

Besides his ring excellence, Tapia had a myriad of problems outside the ring which included many bouts with drugs.

Tapia won his first title in 1994 when he won the WBO Super Flyweight title with an eleventh round stoppage of Henry Martinez. He defended the title times for capturing the IBF belt when he defeated his cross town rival Danny Romero in 1997. Tapia defended those two belts two more times before moving up to Bantamweight and winning the WBA belt in 1998.

Tapia fought memorable fights with Paulie Ayala and Marco Antonio Barrera before retiring in 2011.

15rounds.com spoke to Tapia in November where he told us that he was training fighters and working for Showtime.

TUCSON – There was no comeback from Antonio Margarito. That will have to wait. But there was a split decision, a couple of split lips, controversy and a tentative comeback from a leading prospect whose fight with fragile hands continues.

Margarito could only watch Saturday night, first from a seat and then from a corner behind trainer Roberto Garcia at Casino Del Sol’s outdoor arena where the former welterweight champion is expected to fight on July 20 in his first bout since his dramatic loss to Miguel Cotto in December.

Margarito, who had been scheduled to fight Abel Perry Saturday night, was there for his brother-in-law, Hanzel Martinez (18-0, 15 KOs), who won a minor World Boxing Council bantamweight title when Felipe Rivas (13-10-1, 7 KOs) suddenly quit before the seventh.

Rivas, who agreed to the fight only two days before opening bell, scored a third-round knockdown and was leading on the scorecards when he abruptly checked out. Rivas said he decided he couldn’t continue because of the difference in weight.

“The pounds were just too much,’’ Rivas, a Mexican, said through an interpreter.

Rivas weighed in on Friday at 116.2 pounds. Martinez’ official weight was 118.

Rivas, whose compact punches left Martinez bleeding from the nose and lip, said he knew he was winning.

“But it wasn’t worth for me to continue in a fight like this,’’ said Rivas, who is from the border town of Nogales, about 60 miles south of Tucson.

Martinez’ corner believed that Rivas, penalized a point in the third for spitting his bloodied mouthpiece at Martinez, just ducked the inevitable. Martinez, who appeared to get stronger in the sixth, would have scored a knockout within the next two rounds, said Garcia and Sergio Diaz of ShowDown Promotions.

The in-laws, it turns out, fight the same way. Both Margarito and Martinez are notorious slow starters.

Diaz said he hopes to have Martinez back at Casino Del Sol on a card scheduled for July 20, when Margarito’s comeback has been re-scheduled for a second time. It was postponed the first time, from May 26 to July 7, because of a strain to an Achilles tendon suffered while training in Tijuana about a week after the fight with Perry was formally announced. It was re-scheduled again, this time to July 20, to accommodate TV Azteca, which has other bouts scheduled for July 7.

“Tony’s been running and is in good shape,’’ said Diaz, who said Perry is still Margarito’s opponent.

However, It’s not clear who will train Margarito, who was in Martinez’ dressing room and not immediately available for comment. Garcia was in Margarito’s corner for losses to Cotto and Manny Pacquiao. Some have urged Margarito to retire because of damage suffered to his right eye, which was surgically-repaired after the orbital bone was fractured by Pacquiao. Margarito said in March that he hopes for a shot at fellow Mexican Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in September.

“He’s still working out in Tijuana,’’ Garcia said. “This is not just about me. He has lot of thinking to do.’’

In a main event put together after Margarito’s injury in early May, Mexican super-welterweight Jesus Soto Karass (25-7-3, 16 KOs) battled to a split decision over Said El Harrack (1-2-1, 4 KOs) of Henderson, Nev.

“It was tough fight,’’ said Soto Karass, who rocked El Harrack, a Moroccan, with uppercuts to the stomach. “That guy is a good fighter. My body assault won it for me.’’

Before Soto Karrass-El Harrack and the Martinez-Rivas controversy, Phoenix prospect Jose Benavidez Jr.’s tested his right wrist for the first time since undergoing surgery for a misplaced bone in January. Benavidez (15-0, 12 KOs) was cautious early, throwing only three right hands in the first round en route to a unanimous decision over Josh Sosa (10-3, 5 KOs). Benavidez relied on a powerful jab, head to body and body to head, throughout most of the next five rounds, until rocking Sosa with rights in the bout’s final moments.

There was no further pain in the right hand or wrist, Benavidez said. However, there was swelling and bruising on the middle knuckle of the left. Benavidez has had problems with both hands. The 20-year-old junior-welterweight will have a physician look at the left hand sometime within the next week, his dad-and-trainer, Jose Benavidez Sr. said.

Best of the undercard

Super-lightweight Abel Ramos (4-0, 3 KOs) of Arizona City displayed a prospect’s power with a second-round stoppage of Cassius Clay (0-4,), a Las Vegas fighter who has the legend’s original name and a photo of himself as an infant in the arms of the heavyweight champ better known as Muhammad Ali.

In the first, Ramos threw an overhand right that lifted Clay up and dropped him on to the canvas as though he had fallen off a one-meter diving board. At 1:54 of the second, Ramos threw another right. Clay spit out his mouthpiece in a gesture that needed no interpretation. He was finished.

The rest
· Lightweight Javier Garcia (8-2-1, 7 KOs), of trainer Robert Garcia’s gym in Oxnard, Calif., scored four knockdowns, forcing Juan Jaramillo (8-11-2, 3 KOs) of Salem, Ore., to quit after the fifth round.

· Lightweight Eric Flores (3-1-1, 1 KO) of Los Angeles scored a unanimous decision over Rudolfo Gamez (1-2) of Tucson.

· Lightweight Andrey Klimov (14-0, 7 KOs) stayed unbeaten with a unanimous decision over Alejandro Rodriguez (13-6, 6 KOs) of Mexico.

· Phoenix super-middleweight Andrew Hernandez (4-0-1 scored a unanimous decision over Katrell Strauss (2-2, 1 KO) of Denver.

Photo by Phil Soto / Top Rank

Former pound for pound king Roy Jones Jr. will take on Dawid Kostecki in Poland on June 30th according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“Roy has set his goal to win the cruiserweight title. That is his new thing,” said Square Ring CEO John Wirt . “He wants to win the cruiserweight title, and with Wlodarczyk not available right now because he has to fight Palacios again, he wanted to stay active. And now Poland has pay-per-view and Roy is a huge star here. His fights were all shown here for many, many years, so he is one of the few big American stars here. There’s a market here and Kostecki is a pretty big fighter here too. So this fight, knock on wood, should do very well on pay-per-view here. So that’s what we’re doing.”

“If this fight does well on pay-per-view in Poland and Roy wins, and if Wlodarczyk beats Palacios again, there is a possibility we could come back here and Roy could challenge him for the title. His goal is to win the cruiserweight title. It’s the only belt he hasn’t won (from middleweight to heavyweight).”

After the disclosure of Lamont Peterson’s positive for a banned substance that canceled his May 19th rematch, Amir Khan has found a new dance partner in WBC Super Lightweight champion Danny Garcia as they have agreed to meet on July 14th according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

The bout will take place at The Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas

“You have two young guys, two of the best in the division,” said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer,who promotes both fighters.. “Danny Garcia is undefeated and a champion and Amir Khan is one of the biggest names in the sport, so I am really excited about this fight and lucky we were to be able to put it together considering what happened (with Peterson).”

Schaefer said heavyweight prospect Seth Mitchell (25-0, 19 KOs) of Brandywine, Md., will open the HBO telecast. He could face Detroit’s Johnathon Banks (28-1-1, 18 KOs), a former cruiserweight title challenger who has been at heavyweight since 2009 and gone 8-0-1 in the weight class

“I feel like this is how its supposed to be — the best versus the best, both of us in our prime and giving the fans a great fight,” Garcia told ESPN.com. “I’m just happy. Its going to be a great fight and I feel like I have what it takes to beat this guy.”

“When I heard about the possibility I strapped on my shoes and went out running. I want to be ready,” Garcia said. “I believe everything happens for a reason. I guess that (Peterson-Khan II) wasn’t meant to be. I feel like Khan and me are young fighters taking it back to the old days when the best mixed it up with the best.

“I’ve watched Khan a lot. He’s a good fighter, but I don’t think he’s what people say he is, getting all this credit. I’ll expose all that stuff July 14. I know I’m going to win this fight. I feel like he will leave himself open for some big shots and we’ll see if he can take them. I can box and I can punch. I’m going to hit him with stuff he won’t see. I can’t wait.”

Popular WBC Super Welterweight champion Saul Alvarez will defend his title against the dangerous former world champion Paul Williams to help celebrate the Mexican Independence weekend on September 15th in a bout that is ticketed for Pay Per View according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

The bout will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“Canelo and Williams is done. Signed, sealed and delivered,” said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, who got the deal done on Wednesday. “I think Williams is the biggest name in the division we could get and he has been known for years as one of the most avoided fighters in boxing. He’s awkward, he’s tall, he’s a dangerous fighter and that’s what you need on a pay-per-view. You need to give fans fights where they don’t know who’s going to win the fight.

“So, yes, it’s a risk for Canelo because Paul Williams is a terrific fighter. But it’s also a dangerous fight for Paul Williams. Some people still underestimate Canelo Alvarez but he can compete with anyone and he wants to compete with everyone. People have to remember that Canelo is still only 21 years old, but if you want to earn a shot at Floyd Mayweather, you need to be able to pass this kind of test, this tall test.”

Originally, Golden Boy had looked to James Kirkland, an exciting brawler whom it promotes, as Alvarez’s opponent and offered him the fight. However, Kirkland suffered a shoulder injury in a fight in March, had surgery and will not be ready to go by Sept. 15. So they looked to Williams (41-2, 27 KOs), 30, of Augusta, Ga.

“Kirkland is not going to be able to fight in September,” Schaefer said. “I want to make sure he is healthy and ready to go before a fight like this. So now people are saying, ‘Why are you putting Canelo in with Paul Williams?’ Some people think we are nuts. But I know one thing — it’s going to be a good fight. These guys both come to fight. I think one of these guys will get knocked out. If it’s an exciting fight I don’t think there are any losers.”

“We’ve been looking for something of this magnitude. We’ll be prepared for it,” said Williams trainer George Peterson. “He is going to put on a boxing clinic against Alvarez. This is what Paul has been wanting. We know Canelo is a good boxer. He has good footwork, good power and the will to win. That’s what I think about Alvarez. But Paul has been in the ring with the best and done really well. Paul can get up for this fight. There’s been one or two fights he couldn’t get up for.”

“What has happened is a few people have written Paul off, have said that he’s on his last legs. We’re glad about that, or we wouldn’t get no activity at all,” Peterson said. “It’s gonna be a real interesting fight and Paul is excited about it. It’s an opportunity to show the boxing community that Paul Williams is back. He’s never ducked a fighter and when the bell goes ‘bing,’ the fans will see a very exciting fight. Boxing needs something like this where who the winner will be is a mystery.

“I wanted to get the fight done and now I’ll see what I will do as it relates to which network is involved in the pay-per-view,” Schaefer said.

Super Bantamweight world champions Nonito Donaire & Jeffrey Mathebula have agreed to meet on July 7th in Carson, California according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“Any time you can unify a title it’s a good thing,” said Top Rank’s Carl Moretti. “And any time you can unify the title in a meaningful division, which junior featherweight is, it’s an even better thing. It’s a legit fight. Mathebula is a little awkward and he’s taller than Donaire. Matheubula is always in shape and has no reservations about coming to the United States for the fight.

“It’s a fight that Nonito asked for,” said Donaire’s manager Cameron Dunkin. “Top Rank was offering us other fighters, Mijares and Marroquin to name two, but he wanted a unification fight. Nonito thought this guy (Mathebula) was a great fighter and would push him to the limit. Nonito said, ‘I want something that will fire me up and this guy presents me with a challenge.’

“Nonito is usually the taller guy. He won’t be for this fight, so I asked him if he wanted that problem,” Dunkin said. “He said he did. He said, ‘I want somebody that will really motivate me.’ I said, ‘OK.’ I think this will motivate him but it’s a dangerous fight, a scary fight. But it’s what he wanted. He specifically asked for it.”

“I have worked with Top Rank before and again these negotiations were fair and we reached the deal,” said Mathebula’s promoter Branco Milenkovic. “Now I am excited that Jeffrey is getting an opportunity to fight a great fighter like Nonito Donaire. I know there were some other names being mentioned. I am not downplaying Mijares, but Jeffrey has more ability.

“If I believed Jeffrey had no chance to win this fight, I wouldn’t make the fight. He can win the fight and he is excited to make his first trip to America to fight a big fight and be on HBO. Without a doubt, Nonito is the favorite. He’s a great fighter, but I believe Jeffrey will come to win. My fighters always come to put on a good performance.”

The HBO undercard has not been set yet but former lightweight titlist Brandon Rios, who is also managed by Dunkin, likely will open the telecast in a junior welterweight bout. Moretti said Rios’ appearance was not locked in but Dunkin said he thought it would be Rios.

Dunkin said the most likely opponent for Rios is Mauricio Herrera (18-2, 7 KOs), 31, who is coming off a competitive 10-round decision loss to Mike Alvarado in an all-action slugfest that is a fight of the year candidate.

Ivan Cano scored a ten round unanimous decision over Mauricio Pintor in a Jr. Welterweight bout in Ciudad, Mexico.

Cano dropped Pintor from a hard left hook in round one. The fight was sloppy and rough as Pintor was deducted a point for hitting in the break in round three while Pintor was deducted a point for headbutts in rounds five and nine.

Cano, 140 lbs won by scores of 99-91, 98-90 and 98-91 and is now 21-4. Pintor, 139 lbs suffered his first loss and is now 17-1-1.

Alfonso Epazote scored a six round unanimous decision over Jorge Urias in a Lightweight bout.

Epazote, 132 lbs was making his pro debut. Urias, 131 lbs is now 3-9-1.

Ernesto Ortiz scored a first round stoppage over Juan Carlos Cortez in a scheduled four round Jr.Welterweight bout.

Ortiz stopped Cortez with a body shot and is now 2-0 with two knockouts. Cortez was making his pro debut.

Karim Mayfield scored a fifth round stoppage over Raymond Serrano in a battle of undefeated Jr. Welterweight at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York.

Not much happend over the first two rounds and then in round three Mayfield landed a right hand that sent Serrano to the canvas. Mayfield landed a big right to punctuate the round. Both guys were cut due to a headbutt. Just before the end of round four, Mayfield landed a booming right hand flush on the jaw and Serrano crumbled to the canvas. Serrano stumbled back to corner and chaos ensued as Serrano’scorner began arguing with each other on weather to stop the fight. That conflict lead to the stool no getting into the corner and Serrano was not able to get the proper attention needed.

Mayfield capitalized on that as he jumped on Serrano and landed a big right hand and the fight was sopped.

Mayfield, 139 lbs of San Francisco is now 16-0-1 with ten knockouts. Serrano, 139 lbs of Philadelphia is now 18-1.

Jason Escalera and Nick Brinson fought to an entertaining eight round draw in a Middleweight bout.

Brinson boxed well early as he landed some decent right hands and flurries. Escalera came on late and had Brinson in trouble in the seventh round. The fought hard down the the stretch with each guy gaining the nod on a card by 76-75 tallies while a third card read 76-76.

Escalera, 160 lbs of Union City, NJ is now 13-0-1. Brinson is 9-1-2.

Anthony Jones scored two knockdowns en route by scoring a four round unanimous decision over Kevin Rooney Jr. in a Middleweight bout.

Jones hit Rooney with a right hook in round one that drove Rooney into the ropes that was ruled a knockdown. In round two, Jones landed a perfect straight left that sent Rooney down to the seat of his pants. Rooney fought well in the last two rounds but the knockdowns were the difference.

Jones, 161 lbs of Newark, NJ won by scores of 39-35; 38-36 and 38-36 and is now 2-0-1. Rooney, 160 lbs of Catskill, NY is now 4-2.

Photo by Ed Diller/Star Boxing

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former two-time Welterweight world champion Andre Berto has tested positive for a banned substance which no puts in doubt his June 23rd rematch with Victor Ortiz.

Promoter Lou DiBella told ESPN.com he was unsure of what Berto tested positive for but confirmed the result.

“I know he tested positive,” DiBella said. “I have nothing else to say. I don’t know all of the details so I have nothing else to say.”

“Obviously, we are disappointed that Berto’s ‘B’ sample came back positive,” Schaefer, Ortiz’s promoter, told ESPN.com. “I was informed late Saturday of the ‘A’ sample testing positive and urged an immediate testing of the ‘B’ sample. We just got the results that the ‘B’ sample tested positive as well. It’s unfortunate. We have to see what happened because I don’t know.

“This is obviously a very unpleasant situation to say the least, but at the same time, there is no room for any form of performance-enhancing drug use in boxing. I am not accusing Berto of anything, but that happens when you want to clean up the sport and you agree as a fighter and promoter to go through these kinds of procedures. I hope this will lead athletes to be more careful with what they eat or drink or take. Everybody needs to educate themselves more about what is permitted and what it is not permitted. But if it takes two or three or four fights to be canceled, so be it. There can be zero tolerance for the use of banned substances.”

“At the present time, I cannot explain the positive drug test, which was provided as part of a voluntary anti-doping program in which I agreed to participate,” Berto said in a statement. “I know that I have never used any steroids or other banned substances, and I am investigating all possible causes of the positive test with my attorney, Howard Jacobs. I have never cheated, and all of my success has come from hard work and dedication.”

Berto has had Victor Conte, founder of the notorious Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, in his training camp for this fight.

Conte, however, denied he had any involvement in the positive test.

“Andre Berto’s positive test for (norandrosterone) has absolutely nothing to do with me or any supplements I provided. Likely trace contamination,” Conte tweeted. “Andre has admitted to taking supplements other than what I provided without my knowledge. Apparently, something was contaminated.”

“We did our job. We stand by the integrity of the test and the testing process,” said Dr. Margaret Goodman, who heads VADA and is a former chief ringside physician for the Nevada State Athletic Commission. “It’s not our role to determine what comes next for Mr. Berto. At this point it would be inappropriate for me to discuss the matter further with the media.”

After the fight last year, Berto accused Ortiz of using performance-enhancing drugs in his upset victory. Now it is Berto who has tested positive, an irony not lost on Rolando Arellano, Ortiz’s manager.

“When you point the finger there’s three pointing back at you, but we will take the high road,” Arellano said. “We’re going to give this guy the benefit of the doubt.

“We want to fight him and he wants to fight us, so we are going to wait until there is a complete fact finding in this case. We know what VADA has to say and we’re curious what about what Berto has to say. Hopefully, there is something that went wrong. Maybe the jars got mixed up. But it doesn’t look that way. Victor will go on, but this is awful for boxing fans who wanted to see another fight of the year.”

Arellano said he informed Ortiz of Berto’s positive test and his response was “complete and utter silence. Then he said, ‘I’m going to the gym.'”

Schaefer and Showtime both told ESPN.com they have no intention of canceling the card. “This means another terrific fight that fans were looking forward to appears like it’s not going to happen,” Schaefer said. “I want to know what the origins of this (positive test) are. I have been told that it could have something to do with food contamination. But I’m not going to go and cancel the event. Let’s learn more, let’s see what will happen. In the meantime, my team is working behind the scenes to come up with an alternative opponent.”

Photo By Claudia Bacanegra

FAIRFAX, VA – It was a pro-Korean Zombie crowd in Fairfax, VA and their man surely didn’t disappoint. Fighting in front of a supporting group of Korean Americans and hardcore MMA fans, Chan-Sung Jung (13-3) of South Korea put on a heck of a show, going toe-to-toe with the technically sound Dustin Poirier (12-2) over four scintillating rounds before emerging victorious with a perfectly executed d’arce choke.

After a quick clinch in the opening seconds, Jung secured a takedown and drew blood on the American’s head with sharp elbows from the top. Poirier’s tricky guard got him the reversal for a bit before the two stood back up in the final seconds to trade blows.

Jung dropped Poirier again in the beginning of the second and hurried to go for a ground and pound. Poirer pulled guard and eventually got back up. A flying knee followed by a series of uppercuts and a scramble led to Jung gaining full-mount. In another fast paced scramble, Poirier almost got caught in an arm bar, but managed to escape. Seconds before the bell, Jung nearly ended the fight again with a triangle lock.

Poised to box in the third, Poirier threw jabs and found his mark with well timed right hands. But call him the Arturo Gatti of MMA if you will, the man they chanted, ‘Zombie’ can’t seem to stay out of a brawl if he wanted to. Forcing the action against his tiring foe, Jung walked through punches to dish out punishment of his own, hurting Poirier against the cage before the bell.

The fourth saw another flying knee from Jung that had Poirier collapsing to his knees. Jung then immediately locked up a d’arce choke, which rendered Poirier unconscious. The referee stepped in at 1:07 to call a halt to the contest.

In the post fight interview, Jung alluded that his last win against Mark Hominick could’ve been a fluke, so he was reluctant on calling out the champ. But this time around, he begged to differ.

‘I want to thank all the Korean fans. He (Poirier) had me in trouble in the beginning of the third, but I just kept going and came up with the win. I want Jose Aldo!’ said Jung .

SADOLLAH EDGES LOPEZ

The main supporting bout evening saw a duel between welterweights Amir Sadollah (7-3) of Richmond, VA and Las Vegas, NV’s Jorge Lopez (11-3), won by Sadollah after three close, competitive rounds. Official scores were 29-28, 28-29, and 29-28.

After a feel out start to the round, Lopez was able to takedown Sadollah and attempted to maneuver a kimura. Sadollah got back to his feet and escaped the submission attempt, but didn’t do much else to take the round.

Lopez, a Wanderlei Silva’s protégé based out of Las Vegas, NV, went for the takedown again in round two, but was countered by a guillotine attempt from Sadollah, followed by a scramble that led both guys back to their feet. Just when Sadollah appeared to be in control of the final minute, Lopez caught a leg and finished with a takedown.

The third frame saw another arduous effort from Lopez to take Sadollah down, but the Ultimate Fighter 7 winner displayed solid defense against the cage. Sadalloh was briefly taken down and pull guard before standing back up. It was almost seemed like a stall tactic for Lopez to push his foe against the cage, garnering a loud jeer of boos from the crowd in the closing seconds. To Sadollah’s credit, he tried to keep the fight standing and contributed more in the striking department.

CERRONE BREEZES THROUGH STEPHENS

Fan favorite Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone (18-4-0, 1NC) didn’t disappoint the crowd, pounding out an easy yet still exciting unanimous decision (30-27 3x) win over San Diego, CA’s Jeremy Stephens (20-8). Cerreone, an Albuquerque, NM product, goofed and danced around in round one, but landed some sharp punches and leg kicks in the process. By the end of the round, the shorter Stephens appeared battered as his face was already busted up. In the second, Cerreone landed a crisp one two combination and launched a series of leg kicks that hurt his opponent. The third and last round was no different as the Greg Jackson trained fighter continued to dissect Stephens in every aspect of the game.

This was Cerrone’s first comeback fight since the disappointing loss to Nate Diaz at UFC 141. With the win, Cerrone keeps himself relevant in the lightweight picture.

With the great Georges St. Pierre nearby his corner, Montreal’s Yves Jabouin added himself to the red hot bantamweight mix with a brutal, impressive three round beat down of Enumclaw, WA’s Jeff Houghland.

Jabouin initiated action with a quick right hand and a spinning back kick that kept Hougland at bay. Towards the end of the round, Jabouin landed a hard kick to the midsection, dropping Hougland hard before relentlessly going for the finish with a series of hammer fists. The Washington native showed tremendous heart in absorbing the furious ground and pound attack before getting saved by the bell. Hougland regrouped in the second round, but Jabouin was the one on the offense, scoring with jabs and kicks to the body. A hard left hook dropped Hougland again and another assault from the top ensued. Managing to scramble out of position, Houghland hung on from half to full guard and eventually heard the final bell. Still, it was a dominant performance by Jabouin, who improves to 18-7. Scores were 30-27 (2x) and 30-26. ‘It feels awesome. Once that back kick sinks in, a lot of guys can’t withstand it. UFC does a great job matching me up with tremendous opponents.’ said the victorious Jabouin.

In a thrilling light heavyweight war, Croatia’s Igor Pokrajac (25-8) outlasted pro boxer Fabio Maldonado of Brazil (18-5) over three heated rounds.

The opening stanza saw Pokrajac quickly taking his boxer foe to his back, sustaining top position for the first half of the round. Maldonado eventually escaped and unleashed a barrage of unanswered combinations to the head that had Pokrajac in trouble. However, the Croatian was no slouch when it came to striking, coming back in the second round with combination punching of his own, staggering Maldonado and then going for a double leg, followed by a strong knee during a clinch. But the better boxer was Maldonado, who has an unbeaten professional boxing record of 22-0, 21KOs. Maldonado was landing hard shots to the body before stealing a takedown in the final seconds before the bell.

Maldonado was adamant in digging deep to the body in the third, something not commonly seen in the game of MMA. Pokrajac was more than just game, being able to fight off the fence and land hard shots of his own. The two hitters exchanged furiously in the closing seconds, but it was Maldonado who landed the cleaner shots with his superior boxing technique. Decision was met with a jeer of boos from the crowd as Pokrajac escaped with a controversial but unanimous scores of 29-28 (2x) and 30-27.

The animated Tom Lawlor (8-4, 1NC) of New England kicked off the FUEL telecast with an explosive first round stoppage win over rugged veteran Jason MacDonald (26-16) of Canada. Lawlor wasted very little time forcing the engage before landing a hard left and followed by a right to send his Canadian foe to the canvas. Before any further damage was inflicted, the referee stepped into call the bout to a halt at :50. Along with the win, Lawlor also celebrated his twenty ninth birthday. ‘It feels great (the win). I came back here started signing the checks — forgot what it was like to win and almost walked off without it. I really needed this win coming off a bad loss, a long layoff, switching camps and moving basically my whole life. I really needed something to validate that I’m making the right decisions in life.’ said Lawlor following the win.

In a crossroad bout between two fighters desperately in need of a win, Brad Tavares (7-2) of Las Vegas, NV edged Seoul, Korea’s Dongi Yang (10-3) in a three round middleweight contest. In round one, Yang was the aggressor, but Tavares was more versed in his attack, able to land leg kicks and cleaner punches. On three occasions, the bout paused abruptly, due to thumbing from both fighters. Yang was more composed in the second, landing a crisp front leg kick on the chin of Tavares. Both guys traded and checked leg kicks. Yang hurt Tavares with a straight left and moved forward with hard leaping hooks. The last two minutes of the round saw some clinching against the cage although neither guy held the clear upper hand. Tavares scored the first effective takedown of the fight in the opening seconds of the third. Yang was held down for nearly two minutes, which appeared to have taken some steam out of the South Korean. Tavares then followed with a kick to the groin, making matters worse for the fatiguing Yang. Not much happened in the final two minutes, but Tavares may have won that round based on the takedown early on in the round. When Bruce Buffer announced the decision, Brad Tavares was awarded with the unanimous verdict of 29-28 (3x).

‘It feels good to get back in the win column. It wasn’t the prettiest fight but I really did try to take his head off. I kicked him a lot and my shins are sore from kicking his elbows. He’s no chump, no walkover. Look at his record — he’s never been stopped and has only stopped people. I’m just glad I got the victory.’ said Tavares who was relieved with the unanimous decision win.

The first bout of the evening saw bantamweights Alex Soto (6-2-1) and Francisco Rivera Jr. (8-2) go head to head in a battle of Californians. From the opening round, Rivera was the aggressor, trying to time his right hand while Soto moved and circled to pick his Muay Thai kicks. Soto was wild in his attempt to shoot in for a takedown and paid the price when Rivera countered with punches. Rivera was more methodical in his approach in the second frame, still playing the aggressor, but effectively landing leg kicks. Soto was persistent in going for takedowns and Rivera seemingly took the round with harder shots. Soto briefly secured a takedown in the first minute of round three, but Rivera rose back shortly after and resumed in control with constant pressure and more accurate striking. All three judges at cageside scored the bout 30-27 in favor of Rivera.

Long time veteran Jeff Curran (35-15-1) is still winless in the UFC, after dropping a decision loss to Brazil’s Johnny Eduardo (26-9). Both veterans fought cautiously in the first round, but it was the Brazilian who consistently landed low kicks throughout. A lot of bobbing and weaving took place, but no major punches were landed in the first two rounds. In the third, Curran showed urgency by throwing more punches and was able to land something that seemingly bothered Eduardo. Eduardo briefly stopped engaging, claiming he was thumbed, but the ref did not intervene. Regardless, Eduardo kept landing his right kick while Curran continued to press the attack and headhunted. Neither guy was able to score a takedown. After three rounds, scores were 29-28 (3x), all in favor of Eduardo.

Northern Virginia’s own Kamal Shalorus (7-3-2) was looking to put on a showcase in front of his home crowd, but a left kick to the head from Brazil’s Rafael Dos Anjos (16-6) sent him crashing to the canvas, followed by a tight rear-naked choke to seal the deal. With another explosive first round win, Anjos again keeps himself relevant in the lightweight picture.

GRANT OUTHUSTLES PRATER

In a collision of two seasoned combatants, Nova Scotia’s TJ Grant (18-5) emerged victorious after out-working Brazil’s Carlo Prater (30-11-1) over three rounds. Grant worked the clinch early on, but the Brazilian defended well against the cage. After a quick scramble, Grant secured the top position and transitioned to side control seconds before the round had ended. Grant gained side control again in the second and landed some punches and elbows in a crucifix-like position. The Canadian quickly went for the takedown in the third but got caught in a guillotine choke. The choke was not fully sunk in and Grant was able to pop his head out. Prater’s back was then exposed and Grant went in for a rear naked choke and later, an arm bar, but to no avail. In the end, Grant’s superior work rate and dominant grappling earned him the unanimous nod. Scores were 30-27 (3x).

MCKENZIE STUNS LEVESSEUR

The anticipated UFC debut of former NCAA standout Marcus LeVesseur (21-6) turned out to be disastrous as Cody McKenzie (13-2) survived a furious onslaught in the opening minutes before turning the tide to claim victory in the first round. A determined McKenzie charged across the cage as soon as the bout began, but LeVesseur demonstrated his wrestling prowess with an immediate takedown to retaliate. Levesseur also displayed quickness on his feet, tagging his awkward foe with hard shots and got on top before going for a modified guillotine choke. McKenzie weathered the storm and moved to full guard and locked in a guillotine of his own, forcing the former unbeaten four time NCAA champion to tap.

‘He was really strong. It’s a fight. I kind of blacked out. ‘, said the jubilant McKenzie in the post fight interview.

Vicente Escobedo tuned for a potential world title opportunity with a ten round unanimous decision over Juan Ruiz in a Jr. Lightweight bout in Woodland, California.

Escobedo was very aggressive and was in control from the outset.

Escobedo, 129 lbs of Woodland, CA won by scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 99-91 and will now look for a Summer world title bout with WBO champion Adrien Broner with a record of 26-3. Ruiz, 129 lbs of Santa Clarita, CA is now 23-10.

Oscar Godoy scored a stoppage over Jamie Del Cid did not come out for the third round of their scheduled four round Middleweight bout.

Godoy, 152 lbs of Watsonville, CA is now 5-2 with three knockouts. Del Cid, 156 lbs of Sonoro, MX is now 5-7

Ulises Soriano and Gabriel Pineda fought to a four round majority draw in an entertaining Lightweight bout.

The two traded heavy shots during the fight with Soriano, 136 lbs winning a card at 39-37 while the two other cards read 38-38.

Soriano is now 2-0-1. Pineda, 136 lbs is now 1-0-1.

Late replacement Willie Nelson turned in his performance as a professional by scoring a ten round unanimous over previously undefeated Yudel Jhonson in a Jr. Middleweight bout at the Texas Station Casino in Las Vegas.

It was an action packed fight that featured Nelson dropping Jhonson from a hard right hand in round two. Nelson was able to land some hard right hand shots as the fight progressed.

The fight turned in round four as Jhonson landed a booming straight left to the middle of Nelson’s head that sent the 6’4″ Nelson crashing down to the canvas. It was such a perfect shot that it was surprising that Nelson was able to beat the count.

Jhonson was able to box well over the next couple rounds until Nelson was able to start landing some long lefts and rights that kept Jhonson on the outside. Those shots caused some swelling around the right eye of Jhonson. Nelson had a good round nine by landing some solid combinations. Nelson put an exclamation on the fight in the final round by landing a good left that staggered Jhonson.

Nelson outpunched Jhonson to the tune of 136 of 534 while Jhonson landed just 77 of 377.

Nelson, 151 1/2 lbs of Cleveland won by scores of 97-92 on two cards and 95-94 and is now 18-1-1. Jhonson, 151 1/2 lbs of Santa Clara, CUB is 12-1.

“It was my fighter’s instinct that got me back to my feet after that knockdown,” said Nelson. “But once I got up, I was only hurt for a couple more seconds.”

Jhonson felt differently about the knockdown. “The referee did a poor job. He gave [Nelson] a lot of time to recover from that knockdown,” said Jhonson. “I thought I did enough to win.”

Nelson added, “I will definitely be staying at 154 pounds. I felt great in there. I can’t be beat at this weight.”

Badou Jack scored a razor thin split decision over Alexander Brand in a eight round battle of undefeated Super Middleweights.

It was a close battle the could have gone either way that saw Jack trying to box more conventional but was befuddled by the unorthodox Brand.

It was appear ant early that Brand was going the be in the fight as he rocked back, jumped in and threw punches from all angles. Jack did his best work on the ropes while Brand was able to score best in the middle of the ring.

Jack, 167 lbs of Stockholm, SWE won by scores of 77-75 on two cards while a third card had Brand ahead by a 77-75 tally. Jack is now 11-0. Brand, 166 1/2 lbs of Bogota, COL is now 17-1

“[Brand] was awkward and he didn’t want to fight. I had to press him to get to him,” said Jack after the fight. “I will do better next time.”