After first saying he would not fight WBA Welterweight champion Vyacheslav Senchenko for the allotted $250,000 from a purse bid, Former Jr. Welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi changed his mind and will travel to the Ukraine and take on Sanchenko on April 29th according to espn.com’s Dan Rafael.

“I’m making this a real-life ‘Rocky’ story, I’m going to the Ukraine to bring that title back to the United States of America,” Malignaggi said on his Twitter account. “This fight is for the people who have supported me from day one. I’m bringing the belt back to New York.”

Union Boxing Promotions bid $1,000,010 on the fight, while Malignaggi’s promoter, Golden Boy, bid only $250,000, and no television outlet was interested in buying it. Under the bid terms, Malignaggi is due 25 percent, with the rest going to Senchenko (32-0, 21 KOs), who will be making his fourth title defense.

“Once again I am going into enemy territory, but that’s life,” Malignaggi said. “Gotta do what you gotta do.”

Golden Boy’s Richard Schaefer, Malignaggi’s promoter, told ESPN.com that the deal was done.

“We have a signed contract, so he is going to Ukraine,” Schaefer said. “We worked everything out and now we have a fight. Paulie has a hell of a chance to become a world champion again. We like our chances and we are fully supportive of Paulie. A lot of credit goes to Paulie for taking this fight and going to Ukraine and we are convinced he will come back with a world title.”

“We gave up our percentage to help get this deal done. That is how much we believe in Paulie,” Schaefer said.

“I did pay my dues, but no one wants to fight me here,” Malignaggi said. “I gotta do what I gotta do and fight this dude in the Ukraine. No one wants to throw Paulie Malignaggi a bone, but they throw bones left and right to cheaters. So now I have to go bone-collecting in the Ukraine. I am making a ballsy decision by going to the Ukraine, but life is a risk. Take a risk or sit back and watch someone else take that risk.

“My whole life, nothing was handed to me. I had to go out in the world and get it. So going to the Ukraine is nothing new.

Fairfax, VA – More than six years have gone past since jr. middleweight Jimmy Lange has embarked on the Patriot Center era in Fairfax, VA and his loyal fanbase proved to remain just as strong as thousands were in attendance to support their hero making his fourteenth appearance at the arena often referred as the ‘house that Jimmy built’. Lange surely didn’t disappoint, dominating the workhorse veteran Ruben Gaivan (27-21-4, 10KOs) to capture the WBU and NABU jr. middleweight championships.

Lange was in command from the opening round, targeting his much shorter opponent with consistent jabs and work to the midsection. Gaivan, who was as unorthodox as an opponent could be, did his best to clown his way to befuddle the fan favorite by constantly taunting and clowning. The crowd seemed to enjoy the villainous tactics however, but the rounds were stacking up in favor of Lange who was one hundred percent business. Gaivan’s clowning gradually reduced in the fifth frame while Lange continued to execute his game plan, connecting with hard right hands.

In the sixth, a hard right hook to the body, followed by a combination to the head briefly stopped Gaivan on his tracks. But the Hammond, IN native played possum and later dished back with two hard right crosses of his own and closed out the round strong with last second flurries.

Gaivan might have had his best round in the eighth, successfully outmaneuvering his charging foe and landed short crisp hooks and right hands. Lange answered with a more disciplined strategy in the ninth and focused on keeping the distance to land more jabs.

Championship rounds also belonged to Lange who stuck to his textbook boxing of executing well timed one-two straights. The peppering jabs and straight rights took an obvious toll on Gaivan, whose face begun to redden although he was never in danger of being stopped.

All three judges were in an agreement, unanimously scoring the fight in favor of Lange. Official cards read 120-108 (3x). With the win, Lange improves to 38-4-2, 25KOs.

STEWART EDGES WYATT TO LIFT WBU WELTERWEIGHT STRAP

In the co-feature, long time veteran and Delaware’s popular Mike ‘No Joke’ Stewart (49-7-3, 25KOs) claimed the vacant WBU welterweight trinket with a lackluster technical majority decision win over Pittsburgh, PA’s Joe Wyatt (23-3, 15KOs). It was a difficult contest for the most part with neither guy being able to land effectively. As Stewart stalked, Wyatt circled and the clash of two opposite styles simply did not mesh for an action packed fight that the fans were clamoring for. There were occasional one-twos from both fighters, but constant clinching and tying-up frustrated the fans, drawing a jeer of boos at times. After eight monotonous rounds that saw plenty of feints and clinches, the ref stopped the bout in the ninth at the ringside physician’s advice due to a severe cut on Wyatt’s right eye caused by an accidental headbutt. Joe Wyatt arguably held the edge in measuring the distance, but Stewart was the aggressor. Scores were 76-76, 79-73, and 78-74.

WILSON DODGES BULLETS, OVERCOMES ‘THE WHIP’

Local unbeaten prospect Todd ‘White Lightning’ Wilson (12-0, 3KOs) continued to show progress in his fruitful career, entertaining the Fairfax crowd with a thrilling unanimous win over Bronx, NY’s Fernando ‘The Whip’ Basora (8-8-1, 7KOs). Wilson, fighting from his southpaw stance, controlled the action in the first two stanzas. However in the third, the popular local ran into a Basora counter that put him in perils and on unsteady legs. Wilson regained position in the fourth, but all hell broke loose in the fifth when Basora unleashed a series of attack that prompted Wilson to backpedal on shaky legs. But showing heart and courage, Wilson fought back and finished the round landing head-snapping shots. In another exchange, a right hand buckled and dropped Basora to his knee. Wilson jumped on his wounded foe, but undeterred, Basora fought back and finished in what turned out to be a fantastic slugfest that had the crowd up on their feet. Two judges scored the bout 59-54 while the other saw it 58-55, all for Wilson who extended his unblemished record.

YORGEY BREEZES THROUGH

Bridgeport, PA’s Harry Joe Yorgey (24-1-1, 11KOs) resumed his journey back to title contention by outworking Lawrence Jones (4-6-2, 1KO) of Washington D.C. over six one-sided rounds. Yorgey was the aggressor, moving forward to force action. Jones was reluctant to engage, mostly moving backwards aiming to counter. Yorgey found his rhythm in the third round, focusing on his southpaw counterpart’s body and continued to do so throughout. Jones made some effort to retaliate, but with minimal success and began to tire in the fifth as his Pennsylvanian foe began to pour on. Jones took a beating in the sixth as Yorgey went for the finish, but held on to hear the final bell. Yorgey won by the scores of 59-55 (twice) and 58-56. The bout was contested above the jr. middleweight limit.

NELSON AND LIVING STEAL THE SHOW

Fighting mom and world middleweight champion Tori ‘Sho Nuff’ Nelson (6-0-1) of Ashburn, VA denied the lively effort and challenge of the younger Vashon ‘Lady V’ Living (5-3-1) to claim the vacant WIBA jr. middleweight crown over ten rounds. Living, a Houston, TX native wasted very little time in bringing the heat from the opening bell, but the resilient Nelson responded with a counter that dropped her opponent to the canvas. The third saw Living doing her best to sustain her greater work-rate, but again paid for it by getting knocked down in the process. Two warriors slugged it out in the fourth, battling toe-to-toe and it seemingly favored Nelson, who clearly held the edge in power. As Living was staggered by a hard right hand, Nelson followed up violently with an onslaught of winging body shots and hooks to the head. A huge barrage of punches came in the beginning of the fifth and a thudding right hook dropped Living again for the count. Showing tremendous courage and determination, Living vied to fight on and managed to stay in the war. ‘Lady V’ in spurts appeared to be superior in terms of technique, but the brute strength of Nelson proved to be the factor in winning the exchanges at close quarters. The verdict was unanimous in favor of Nelson who won by 97-90 (twice) and 99-88.

Two unbeaten jr. welterweight newcomers collided to kick off the event, but it was Kevin ‘The Scarecrow’ Womack who downed Richie ‘The Rock’ Andrews (3-1-3) to keep his zero intact. It was a fierce battle between two contrasting styles. Womack proved to be the conventional boxer against an aggressive, more offense minded brawler in Andrews. Womack utilized his reach in the first round and stunned his shorter opponent with ranging shots from the outside and inside uppercuts. Andrews increased the tempo in rounds two and three with wild swinging haymakers, some that landed effectively. Womack closed the gap in the fourth and final round, tying up his foe to find his mark. Official scores were 38-38, 39-37 (twice) in favor of Womack who now improves to 3-0, 1KO.

Upper Marlboro, MD’s Duane Mobley made his professional debut in a satisfying fashion, upending Norfolk, VA’s Dennis Benson (1-1, 1KO) after four tightly contested rounds. Both heavyweights were looking to pot shot, but Mobley appeared to be a step ahead, initiating more with lead left hooks and following up with right hands. Benson, a southpaw, made his effort to remain in pocket and counter, but lacked in work-rate. Scorecards were read unanimously for Mobley who is now 1-0.

Orlando Cruz scored an eleventh round stoppage over Alejandro Delgado in a twelve round Featherweight bout.

Cruz dropped Delagado with a flurry of punches in that eleventh round. Delgado was able to fight on until eating another of flurry that was punctuated by a perfect straight left that sent Delgado flat on his back and the fight was stopped just as the bell rang to end round eleven.

Cruz is now 18-2-1 with nine knockouts. Delgado is 15-6

In the ESPN Friday Night Fights main event, former U.S. Olympian Demetrius Andrade made short work of late sub Angel “Toro” Hernandez; knocking him down and then out inside of two rounds. Hernandez, who was woefully outclassed from the opening bell, took the fight on two days notice when Andrade’s original opponent Derek Ennis pulled out with the flu. Perhaps thinking his only chance lay in an early knockout, Hernandez came charging out of his corner straight into the fists of Andrade. Almost immediately, Hernandez was staggered by right hook and straight left hand counters from Andrade. Hernandez took a beating all throughout the first round and at the bell, walked back to his corner on shaky legs. About a minute into the second, a straight left hand from Andrade dropped Hernandez hard. Up at the count of two, Hernandez was clearly hurt. Had Hernandez not risen so quickly, the fight would most likely have been stopped. But referee Steve Smoger allowed it to continue and seconds later Hernandez caught another flush left hand on the chin, teetering momentarily before falling face forward to the canvas. No count was necessary as it was clear Hernandez was out. The fight was a classic example of a late sub facing an up and coming prospect and neither fighter strayed far out their assigned roles. With the win, Andrade improves to 16-0 with 11 Kos. Hernandez drops to 30-11 (17Kos.)

Junior welterweight Raymond “Tito” Serrano of Philadelphia, PA put on a surprisingly lackluster performance against Rochester, NY native Kenny Abril in the ESPN Friday Night Fights co-feature. Serrano started well and was backing Abril up with good hooks and body shots over the first two rounds, but his momentum came to a grinding halt when Abril caught him in the third with a right hand going backwards. Serrano hit the deck but was up quickly and was seemingly more off balance than hurt, yet his output following the knockdown wasn’t anywhere near that of the previous two rounds. The fight then diminished into a clinch fest, with Abril doing most of the holding and Serrano doing little to avoid it. For the most part Serrano had the higher output but Abril managed to keep the fight somewhat close with good showings in rounds 6 and 8. When the final bell rang, Serrano had done enough to get the win but not enough to gain any new fans. He took the unanimous decision by scores of 97-92 (twice) and 95-94. He improves to 18-0 (8Kos) while Abril drops to 11-2-4 (6Kos.)

Junior welterweight “Mighty” Mike Arnaoutis of Astoria, Queens, NY, scrapped his way to an entertaining 6 round unanimous decision over Norwalk, CT’s Shaka Moore. The two southpaws were evenly matched through three, with Moore putting in good bodywork and Arnaoutis landing well to the head. The fight turned in round 4 when Moore visibly began to tire mid round. Arnaoutis took advantage of the increasingly stationary Moore and began to land flush lead lefts that took the remaining fight out of Moore. Despite a few spirited flurries, Moore never regained the energy he showed over the first 3 rounds and ate flush shots for the remainder of the bout. In the end, Arnaoutis picked up a unanimous decision by scores of 60-54 (twice) and 59-55; improving to 23-7-2 (10Kos.) Moore drops to 11-17-3 (2Kos.)

In one of the most exciting fights of the night, local super featherweight Joseph “Chip” Perez (Hartford, CT) waged a 6 round war with Rochester, NY’s Jamell Tyson. Both fighters threw with reckless abandon from the opening bell, ignoring defense and simply letting their hands go. The fight was close until the 4th round when Perez, spurred on by the crowd, began to overpower the fading Tyson with his sheer volume of punches. At the end, Perez simply had a little more in the tank and managed to take the unanimous decision by scores of 59-55 and 58-56 (twice.) Perez now stands at 7-1 (2Kos) while Tyson falls to 2-5-1 (1KO.)
Super middleweight Charles Foster (2-0 1KO) overcame a first round knockdown to sneak by with a decision win over Borngod Washington (3-10 1KO.) Foster was dropped early by a right hand but fought hard over the remaining 3 rounds to remain unbeaten. Scores were 38-37 on all three scorecards.
Unbeaten super featherweight Emanuel Gonzalez kept his record intact with a 4 round unanimous decision over Jesus Bayron. Gonzalez had the more accurate punches throughout the bout and won by scores of 39-37 (twice) and 40-36. He remains perfect at 10-0 (7Kos) while Bayron slides to 5-4-1 (4Kos.)
In the opening bout of the evening, junior welterweight Jair Ramos (2-0 2Kos) of Waterbury, CT easily dispatched Philadelphia, PA native Miguel Rodriguez (0-2) in the second round of a scheduled four. Ramos felt out his opponent in the first round before unleashing a string of rights early into the second that sent Rodriguez to the ropes. Stunned, Rodriguez absorbed three more flush right hands and a window dressing uppercut before taking a knee. Although Rodriguez rose at the count of 9, referee Steve Smoger wisely stopped the fight at 53 seconds of round two and handed Ramos his second pro victory.

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that WBC Super Welterweight champion Saul Alvarez will take on future Hall of Famer Shane Mosley on May 5th in Las Vegas as part of the Floyd Mayweather – Miguel Cotto Pay per View undercard.

“This is more of a fight to prove myself. I know I didn’t look good in my last couple of fights and I really to make a statement in this fight,” Mosley told ESPN.com on Friday night. “I just want to get in the ring, fight a world champion and win another belt.

“I’m very excited and happy. It’s another chance for me to show that I still belong. He’s a young guy and it’s a tough fight, but I’m excited to get the fight. A lot of guys want to be in the position I am in to have this type of fight.”

Said Alvarez, “This is the fight I was looking for. Shane Mosley is a tremendous fighter with a lot of experience and big victories in his storied career. Even though I have enormous respect and admiration for Mosley, because he is a great person outside of the ring, my goal is to defeat him with a great performance.

“It’s Cinco de Mayo, so when you add Mexico’s biggest star to a card that already has Mayweather, the pound-for-pound king, and Cotto, Puerto Rico’s biggest star, and ‘Canelo’ is fighting Mosley, who is a legend, that is a huge night,” said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, who had been working for weeks on the fight.

“It was not an easy fight to put together because it is really a main event on its own and could have sold out a venue on its own or even been its own pay-per-view,” he said. “But this takes a mega event with Mayweather and Cotto, which is a huge fight and didn’t need any help at all, and takes it to a totally different level. With these two fights on the card, it’s one of the biggest events we’ve ever promoted. It will be a celebration of the sport of boxing, a shining moment for the sport. To have Mayweather, Cotto, Canelo and ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley all on the same card, I get the chills thinking about it.”

“I have to give a lot of credit to Oscar,” Schaefer said. “He worked very hard on this to get this done. He did a terrific job. He pulled it together. He dealt with Canelo. It was challenging to secure the spot than getting the actual fight done. But Canelo knows it’s a big fight. When we met with him, he said he knows it’s a dangerous fight. Shane Mosley knows he has his back against the wall. He knows it’s do or be done and that makes a veteran that much more dangerous.” “Canelo said he’s going to go into the fight and make a statement and that would be to stop Mosley, because nobody has ever done that before.”

“I didn’t have any negativity about being the co-main event,” he said. “I know I am not a co-main event fighter, but I want to get in the ring. To fight someone like Canelo Alvarez will be tremendous for me at this stage of my career. I believe I’m a lot more experienced that he is. It’s youth against experience. It’s ‘Sugar’ against ‘Cinnamon.'”

“I have no grudges against Golden Boy, they’re a good company,” he said. “I can do business with them. I can do business with Top Rank, whoever is going to be fair. I wanted this fight, so we did what we had to do to get it. It would be great to beat somebody like Canelo to kind of show that the naysayers that say I’m old and can’t do it anymore and should retire are wrong. This will be the victory to show I am still here and I haven’t left yet.”

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that 140 lb world champion Timothy Bradley has signed on the dotted line for his June 9 showdown with Manny Pacquaio that will take place in Las Vegas.

“It’s a very tough fight. Stylistically, Timmy poses a real threat,” Top Rank president Todd duBoef said. “I think Timmy is an incredibly skilled fighter. He has quick hands, quick feet, he’s undefeated and he doesn’t know how to lose. Tim Bradley is a winner. Manny will have to be on top of his game against Tim Bradley, who is in his prime. Manny has always taken on those challenges.”

“Manny and his team understand that in order to put on these big events you need the most skilled fighters in the world and competition, and that’s why he respects all of his opponents and what they bring to the table,” duBoef said.

“In Timmy Bradley, you’re dealing with an accomplished fighter,” duBoef said. “He’s a premier fighter in the 140-pound division and he’s on everyone’s pound-for-pound list in the top 5 to 10. He had a destruction of Peterson (in a one-sided decision in December 2009). He played with Peterson, who just beat Khan, and I was on the other end in that fight because I was Peterson’s promoter. Bottom line — Timmy Bradley is a terrific fighter.”

Abner Mares relinquished his IBF Bantamweight title rather then face mandatory challenger Vusi Malinga and will abandon the division in order to compete at Super Bantamweight according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“The whole team came to a decision to give up the title when we sat down and talked with Richard (Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions) and the staff,” Mares told ESPN.com on Wednesday. “The IBF ordered the mandatory against Malinga and the team asked me, ‘What do you think?’ We knew TV didn’t want the fight because the guy is not known and I didn’t really want to go back fighting on a smaller show.

“I’m in a great position and I want to continue to fight the best. So no disrespect to Malinga, but I just feel there’s more fights at 122 pounds, and I am struggling to make 118 anyway, so why not move up to 122 and fight the best up there?”

“(The IBF was) forcing the South African guy and there was no interest here in the fight,” Schaefer said. “The money is not there. You have to decide if you want to go for the title or the money. Abner has a big name and a good following and we have Televisa in Mexico interested in him and Showtime.

“Every fighter wants to have a belt and be called a world champion, but they have to make a living as well, and that was important to him — to do a fight commercially more viable than fighting a South African mandatory

Mares is scheduled to return April 21 on Showtime in a fight that is supposed to take place in Mexico City. Although Mares (23-0-1, 13 KOs) grew up in Southern California and lives in Lakewood, Calif., he was born in Mexico and has wanted to fight there.

“I’m really excited and thrilled that I can fight in Mexico City,” Mares said, adding that he would head to Mexico in the next week or so to train there in order to get used to the altitude. “What I told (manager Frank) Espinoza and my team is that even though I can make 118, I would rather have this April 21 fight be my debut at 122.”

“I think it’s just the way the business goes,” Mares said. “I did fight the best at 118. I fought four tough opponents back to back and I don’t think anyone could take that away from me. It’s the right decision to fight at 122 now.”

“I have no problem moving up and fighting the best fighters at 122,” he said. “This is the best decision we could have made. There’s no use for us to fight at 118 for this next fight. I don’t want to struggle making 118 anymore. Why kill myself to make 118?”

Mares does not yet have an opponent for the April 21 bout but he said Golden Boy has brought up three names: former flyweight and interim bantamweight titlist Eric Morel (46-2, 33 KOs) of Puerto Rico; former junior bantamweight champion Cristian Mijares (44-6-2, 20 KOs) of Mexico, who has been fighting at junior featherweight; and junior featherweight contender Victor Terrazas (32-2-1, 18 KOs) of Mexico, who is coming off an upset decision win against former bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel in November.

Schaefer said Mares probably would face Morel.

“It will be a classic Mexico versus Puerto Rico rivalry fight and it’s a fight that means more to Abner than fighting the South African,” Schaefer said.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Super Bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire hurt his left hand during his Saturday night title win over Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. but that hand was deemed ok after x-rays were negative.

“My hand is swollen and there is damaged soft tissue, but everything is good,” Donaire said. “The doctor said I need three or four weeks to get the proper healing and then I can go.”

“The blood was because I popped a little vein in there, near the knuckle area, but it was nothing major, just bloody,” Donaire said. “It was a vein and that’s why it was bleeding a lot. It kept bleeding and didn’t stop bleeding until the next day. My hand kept bleeding after the fight. I guess from all the impact, I popped a vein.

“It looked really bad and it felt so painful for a couple of days, but it was unbearable in the later rounds of the fight. I’m just very thankful that there’s nothing seriously wrong and that I will be ready to go when we get our next date from Top Rank.”

Top Rank, Donaire’s promoter, plans to match him with Mexican star Jorge Arce, who vacated the title Donaire (28-1, 18 KOs) won to move down and claim one of the bantamweight belts Donaire had relinquished. Arce (59-6-2, 45 KOs) would move back up to 122 to challenge Donaire.

“I’m fine with fighting Arce next. That’s a fight I’ve been looking at,” Donaire, 29, said. “Whoever it is, I will be ready. Tell me who I am fighting and I will train to the best of my ability. In three or four weeks my hand should be healed and I will be ready to go. Everything is good. My hand is OK, I got my title and I’m happy.

1996 Olympian Terrance Cauthen will step in for the ill Derek Ennis and face 2008 Olympian Demetrius Andrade this Friday night at the Mohegan Sun on ESPN 2 according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

Ennis fell ill Monday and was forced to pull out of the elimination bout

“I’m lucky to get a guy with the pedigree of Cauthen on such short notice,” said Star Boxing matchmaker Ron Katz said. “It’s not often you’ll see two former Olympians fighting each other.”

“He’s not happy because he trained six weeks for a right-hander and now he is faced with a completely different style,” Katz said. “But being the type of kid he is, he is stepping up to the plate. Some fighters can be a wuss about it, but he said if it’s what he has to do, it’s what he has to do.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com the rematch scheduled for this weekend between former Welterweight champions Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto is looking to be rescheduled for June 30th.

The fight will now take place at the Mandalay Bay instead of the MGM Grand.

“Being cautious, Berto should be prepared to fight in about four months,” said Berto’s promoter Lou DiBella. “The fight is going to happen and the fight is going to happen next. My expectation is it will happen next within about four months, somewhere between late May and late June. I’ve talked to Showtime and they’ll accommodate it. This is a fight they want very much.”

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said he was unsure what would happen with the other two bouts that were scheduled to be part of the Showtime tripleheader — junior middleweight contender Erislandy Lara against Ronald Hearns and featherweight Gary Russell Jr., the 2011 ESPN.com prospect of the year, against Dat Nguyen — but that he was working on it.

“We don’t want to wait until June,” said Luis DeCubas Jr., Lara’s manager. “If he did, that would be just about a year since his last fight (a highly controversial decision loss to Paul Williams last July). That’s too long. Either we’re hoping to reschedule Hearns as quickly as we can or we hope to move on to a bigger fight. But we need to start working things out. Right now they don’t know, but I know Richard is working on it.”

Photo by Claudia Bocanegra

15rounds.com has learned that Jr. Middleweight Derek Ennis was forced to pull out of this Friday Night’s elimination bout with Demetious Andrade at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut due to a bout with the flu.

Ennis started feeling iil on Sunday and saw a doctor on Monday he was ruled out after seeing a doctor and told to do nothing but rest for the next couple days.

“It’s very disappointing because Derek trained his ass off and was in great shape”, said Ennis manager Moz Gonzalez.

Ronny Rios scored a fourth round stoppage over Jeremy McLaurin in round four of a scheduled eight round Jr. Lightweight bout at Club Phoenix in Anaheim, California.

It was entertaining battle with McLaurin being competitive over the first three frames. Rios then battered McLaurin on the ropes and dropping him. Mclaurin got up only to suffer an unanswered fury from Rios and the fight was stopped at 2:31 of round Four.

Rios, 128 lbs of Santa Ana, CA is now 17-0 with eight knockouts. Mclaurin, 127 1/2 lbs of St. Paul, MB is now 9-3.

ALejandro Perez scored a knockout over Derrick Wilson in the eighth and final round of their Featherweight bout.

Wilson came out firing in round one in effort to take Perez out early. It was Perez who landed a big left hook that sent Wilson to the canvas in round two. Perez dropped Wilson again in round four from a combination that was punctuared by another left hook. In was the right hand that sent Wilson down for a third time just a round later. Perez suffered a cut above his left eye in round seven from a head butt.

The two came out standing tow to toe which thrilled the crowd and then Perez landed a booming right hand that sent Wilson on his back and the fight was stopped without a count at twenty-seven seconds of the final frame.

Perez, 126 lbs of Salina, CA is now 16-3-1 with eleven knockouts. Wilson, 125 1/2 lbs of Fort Myers, FL is now 9-3-2.

Julian Ramirez stopped Javier Damian in one round which was a contest of debuting Featherweights

Joe Sanchez dropped Manuel Sarabia twice in the first round and scored a stoppage victory in the same round of their Jr. Lightweight affair.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. retained the WBC Middleweight title with a hard fought twelve round unanimous decision mandatory challenger Marco Antonio Rubio in front of an enthusiastic crowd as the Alamo Dome in San Antonio, Texas.

Chavez swept through early rounds by landing the crisper shots inside. It was a solid performance for Chavez as he was dealing with struggling to make the 160 pound weight limit and the recent reports of an alleged DUI charge in Mexico.

The fight heated up in the last three rounds with the two guys standing to toe with Chavez landing some solid head shots which was a deter from his noted body assault.

Although Rubio threw over 400 more punches he landed about twenty less and the less powerful shots then the son of the legend.

Chavez, 159 1/2 lbs of Cuilcan, MX won by scores of 118-110; 116-112 and 115-113 and is now 45-0-1. Rubio, 159 lbs of Terron, MX is 53-6-1.

Nonito Donaire claimed the WBO Super Bantamweight championship with a twelve round split decision over former champ Wilfredo Vazquez Jr.

Donaire controlled the fight with power shots as he worked the body and head. In round three he had Vazquez against the ropes as he landed a hard left hook and followed up with a flurry on the ropes. That caused a mouse under the left eye of Vazquez which was visible as early as round four. Vazquez had good round’s five and six as he started popping the jab that he followed with some straight rights.

Donaire started landing some hard shots in eight and nine that culminated with a huge uppercut that was followed by a left hook that sent Vazquez to the canvas for the first time in his career. Donaire coasted down the stretch as he switched between orthodox and southpaw picking Vazquez apart from distance.

Donaire, 121 1/2 lbs of General Santos City, Philippines won by scores of 117-110 on two cards while a third judge somehow saw the fight 115-112 in favor of Vazquez.

Donaire is now 28-1-1. Vazquez, 122 lbs of Bayamon, Puerto Rico 21-2-1.

SAN ANTONIO – The final undercard match of Alamodome’s “Welcome to the Future” card featured Mexican super bantamweight Raul Hirales (16-0-1, 8 KOs) against Colorado’s Shawn Nichol (5-9, 5 KOs), in a six-round match that was the evening’s least-inspired, one in which Hirales prevailed by curious split-decision scores of 59-55, 55-59 and 58-56.

ALEX SAUCEDO VS. JEAN COLON
The undercard’s best knockout was scored in its sixth bout when Mexican-born Oklahoman Alex Saucedo (2-0, 2 KOs) stretched Florida welterweight Jean Colon (0-2) at 1:03 of the first round, with a devastating left hook.

ADAM LOPEZ VS. RICHARD HERNANDEZ
In the night’s biggest match of local interest, San Antonio amateur superstar Adam Lopez (1-0, 1 KO) made his professional debut and did it emphatically, stopping fellow Texas bantamweight Richard Hernandez (0-2) at 2:53 of round 1. Lopez showed the speed and technique that made him a finalist for the U.S. Olympic team, snapping Hernandez’s head leftwards with hooks and dropping him twice.

VANES MARTIROSYAN VS. TROY LOWRY
Saturday night, undefeated perma-prospect Vanes Martirosyan (32-0, 20 KOs) of California knocked out oft-defeated Minnesotan Troy Lowry (27-12-0-2, 15 KOs) at 2:53 of round 3, successfully hoisting the WBC Silver super welterweight belt overhead.

WALE OMOTOSO VS. NESTOR ROSAS
In the evening’s third match, Nigerian welterweight Wale “Lucky Boy” Omotoso (21-0, 18 KOs) remained undefeated if not particularly enthralling, stopping Texan Nestor Rosas (9-3, 6 KOs) at 0:55 of round 6. After establishing a superiority of craft early, Omotoso gradually wore Rosas down until the referee could abide no more.

IVAN NAJERA VS. DAVID CASTILLO
Before that, local lightweight Ivan Najera (6-0, 6 KOs) of host city San Antonio remained both undefeated and unchallenged, scoring a technical knockdown at 2:54 of round 2 over New Mexico’s David Castillo (2-4).

JEREMY LONGORIA VS. RICARDO VALENCIA
Saturday began with an exciting four-round featherweight match between two Texans. In a mild upset, theretofore un-victorious Ricardo Valencia (1-2-1) of Houston decisioned theretofore unbeaten Jeremy Longoria (3-1, 1 KO) of Corpus Christi by unanimous scores of 38-37, 39-36 and 39-36, dropping him with a body shot in round 2.

First bell sounded on a half-full Alamodome at 6:15 PM local time.

Isaac Chilemba scored the biggest win of his career when he took a ten round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Edison Miranda at The Texas Station Casino in Las Vegas.

Chilemba controlled the action using his height as he moved in and out. Miranda was cut badly around the left eye that was caused from a headbutt.

Miranda never seemed to get into the fight as it was Chilemba who did was he pleased. Both guys were docked points in round five for Rabbit Punching.

With being a bloody mess, Miranda was not able to mount much offense and the lead that Chilemba had built up was safe from the once-feared punching Miranda.

Chilemba, 174 lbs from South Africa is won by scores of 97-91; 96-92 and 96-92 and is now 19-1-1. Miranda, 174 1/2 lbs of Hollywood, FL is now 36-7

In a battle of undefeated Jr. Lightweights, Rances Barthelemy scored an eight round unanimous decision over Hylon Williams Jr.

Barthelemy mixed up an assortment of punches and styles as he used his length and jab and at other times he worked well on the inside by featuring an uppercut. Williams did not have many answers. It was a spirited effort by Barthlemy as he switched from orthodox to Southpaw and Williams never seemed to get any type of rythem.

Barthelemy, 130 lbs of Las Vegas via Cuba won by scores of 80-72; 79-73 and 79-73 and is now 15-0. Williams, 130 lbs of Houston, TX is now 15-1.

Undefeated knockout artist Magomed Abdusalamov scored a second round stoppage over Pedro Rodriguez in a scheduled four round Heavyweight bout.

Rodriguez had an effective first round before getting hammered on the ropes by eating about ten shots that was punctuated by a big left hand that sent Rodriguez to the canvas and the fight was stopped by referee Russell Mora.

The time of the stoppage was 1:04 for Abdusalamov, 227 lbs of Oxnard, CA and is now 13-0 with all wins coming via knockout. Rodriguez, 243 lbs of Miami is now 7-1.

SAN ANTONIO – There was Bob Arum. There was Wilfredo Vazquez Sr. There were Nonito Donaire and Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. There were Jose Sulaiman and Lupe Contreras. There were Marco Antonio Rubio and a mariachi band adorned in tight rose-colored garb and silver buckles. They were all waiting – waiting for Junior.

Friday at Alamodome, 25 minutes after he was scheduled to take the scale, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (44-0-1, 31 KOs), who will face fellow Mexican Marco Antonio Rubio (53-5-1, 46 KOs) for the WBC middleweight title Saturday night, led his entourage to the stage. In a moment it was over; Chavez Jr. had weighed 159 1/2 pounds and Rubio had made 159, and the last of their prefight rituals was finished.

Chavez Jr. arrived in royal-blue workout attire – every thread of which he removed before taking the scale – and arrived looking drawn but otherwise unworried. After skipping an open workout Tuesday, under orders from his fitness trainer, Alex Ariza, Chavez did not hurry to endear himself to Alamo City fans. Instead he went through the motions, did no more than necessary, and did little to disabuse those who commented on his arrogance this week.

Chavez Jr., who has not faced another Mexican national since stopping Raul Munoz five years ago, might be surprised how transient his fans’ collective loyalty can be – if he gets in trouble against Rubio, Saturday. Chavez Jr. is absolutely the ticket-seller for this event, one expected to attract 12,000-14,000 fans, but fighting, as he will, before a South Texas crowd, more than a partisan-Mexican one, he could find more than a few in attendance cheer his opponent.

Before Chavez Jr. and Rubio took the scale, Friday, “Filipino Flash” Nonito Donaire (27-1, 18 KOs) and Puerto Rican Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (21-1-1, 18 KOs) each made weight for their WBO super bantamweight title match. Donaire weighed 121.6 pounds, and Vazquez Jr. weighed 122.

Donaire, who strolled through the Alamodome crowd in what appeared to be a Tampa Bay Lightning hat cocked sideways, was his usual picture of quiet confidence. Vazquez, though, possessed the more chiseled physique onstage and did not tire of showing it to a small Puerto Rican contingent gathered behind the barrier.

Alamodome doors for “Welcome to the Future” will open at 5:30 PM local time, Saturday, with first bell scheduled to ring at 6:30.

Sources have confirmed the death of ninety year old legendary trainer Angelo Dundee today in Florida.

Dundee was most known for being the trainer of Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard and was widely one of the most beloved figures in the sport.

At today’s Licensing hearing for Pound for Pound king Floyd Mayweather, it was revealed that he will take on Miguel Cotto May 5th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Part of the licensing hear for Mayweather was to make sure he had an opponent and when asked, Mayweather responded with Cotto.

The hearing took place due to Mayweather’s plea to a assault charge that will land him in jail for eighty-seven days.

If granted the License, the fight will bring in major revenue for Las Vegas, which was part of the rationale for Mayweather’s delayed sentence.

It’s official. Boxing superstar Floyd “Money” Mayweather will return to the ring, step up in weight and challenge three-division World Champion Miguel Cotto for his WBA Super Welterweight World title in what will be a gargantuan showdown between two future Hall of Famers who bring excitement and fierce competition every time they step into the ring. Mayweather vs. Cotto will take place on Saturday, May 5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. and will be televised live on pay-per-view.

Mayweather, a seven-time world champion in five weight classes, is excited to be facing the heavier, much-tested Cotto, who is the pride of Puerto Rico and has the experience, heart and determination to give pound for pound king Mayweather the toughest fight of his career.

“Miguel Cotto is a world class fighter who can never be taken for granted and continues to prove he is one of the best in boxing,” said Mayweather, whose only other fight at super welterweight came in a World Boxing Council (WBC) world title win over Oscar de la Hoya in May 2007. “It will be a challenge for me to compete with him at this weight, but this is the type of test I thrive on and gives me the motivation to train even harder. I have no doubt in my mind that my title belt collection will increase once again and Cotto’s reign as champion will come to an end on May 5.”

Cotto, coming off of the second defense of his title, a spectacular tenth-round technical knockout win over Antonio Margarito in December 2011, is ready to face Mayweather and believes he is Mayweather’s most competitive career challenge to date.

“I am here to fight the biggest names in boxing,” said Cotto who true to his warrior spirit that has distinguished his entire career has accepted this challenge to face the undefeated Mayweather. “I’ve never ducked anyone or any challenge in front of me. I have accepted everything to give the fans what they like…great and exciting fights. That is what the sport of boxing is all about; making the fights that the fans want and deserve to see. On May 5, stay tuned, because I will convincingly beat Floyd Mayweather.”

In addition to agreeing to the terms of the bout which will take place on Cinco de Mayo, one of boxing’s biggest weekends, both fighters have agreed to Olympic-style drug testing for the fight.

“Floyd always asks us to find the best available competition for him to fight and we have found that in Miguel Cotto,” said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO, Mayweather Promotions. “This is a very risky fight for Floyd as Miguel is a solid 154-pound champion who has already proven to have great boxing abilities and to be a very competent and strong puncher. This is a big test for Floyd, but as always I believe, he is the superior fighter with unmatched skills. This will make the difference and lead to another Mayweather victory the night of May 5.”

“What we have here are two champions of amazing caliber set to meet in the ring on May 5 and give boxing and sports fan one of the most compelling match-ups in the sport’s history,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO, Golden Boy Promotions. “Floyd Mayweather has already achieved worldwide recognition as one of the best fighters ever and Miguel Cotto is one of the greatest fighters of this era. I commend both fighters for agreeing to the fight each other on one of the biggest weekends for boxing and also commend them for agreeing to participate in Olympic style drug testing, a precedent set by Floyd, which continues to uphold the integrity of the sport.”

The undefeated Mayweather, (41-0, 25 KO’s), a seven-time world champion in five weight divisions, remains boxing’s biggest attraction, wowing crowds and generating record pay-per-view numbers each time he steps into the ring. During his extraordinary career, he has amassed wins over world champions such as Diego Corrales, Jose Luis Castillo, Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley. His last fight against then WBC Welterweight World Champion Victor Ortiz on September 17, 2011 not only showed his boxing skills, as he took the younger Ortiz to school in the first three rounds before knocking him out in the fourth stanza. He is also no stranger to appearing on the classic Mexican celebratory weekends such as Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day as his fight with Cotto will mark the fifth fight of his career to land on one of those weekends. Mayweather returns to face Cotto in an attempt to capture his eighth world championship.

Cotto (36-2, 29 KO’s), from Caguas, Puerto Rico, has held a world title every year since 2004 while winning 16 of the 18 world championship bouts in which he has fought. Puerto Rico’s most exciting fighter and one of its greatest of all time, Cotto held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Junior Welterweight crown from 2004-2006, successfully defending it six times before vacating it to capture the WBA Welterweight title at the end of 2006, a title he held for nearly as long. After losing the WBA title to Margarito in July 2008, Cotto won his second welterweight belt in February 2009, knocking out Michael Jennings in the fifth round to become the WBO Welterweight champion. He lost the title in his second defense in November 2009, but captured the WBA Super Welterweight title in June of 2010 at Yankee Stadium in New York by stopping then-undefeated defending champion Yuri Foreman. Cotto successfully defended that title by stopping Two-Division World Champion Ricardo Mayorga in the 12th round in March of 2011 and, in his last fight, finally avenged his loss to Margarito, once again retaining his title and giving him true peace of mind.

Mayweather vs. Cotto, a 12-round fight for Cotto’s WBA Super Welterweight World title, is presented by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and Miguel Cotto Promotions. More information on Mayweather vs. Cotto, including ticket prices, pay- per- view information as well as press tour dates and cities, will be announced shortly.

Dan Rafael of espn.com has confirmed that WBA/WBC Super Middleweight champion ANdre ward has been named the 2011 Fighter of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA)

“I want to thank God for giving me the strength to put in the work year after year to get to this point. I also want to thank my manager, James Prince, my promoters Antonio Leonard and Dan Goossen, everyone who is a part of Team Ward, as well as all of my family, friends, and loyal fans who have been behind me all these years,” Ward, 27, of Oakland, Calif., said. “This award is just as much for them as it is for me.

“Even in the midst of receiving this tremendous award, Team Ward is not going to let up. In 2012 and beyond we’re going to push forward and, God-willing, we can be considered for these awards every year. It’s easy to get comfortable at a time like this, but I can assure everybody that I’m going to continue to put in the work to be the best that I can be. I’m going to stay humble, keep God first and, with that, the best is yet to come.

Ward, who was also named ESPN.com fighter of the year, won the award over nominees Nonito Donaire, Wladimir Klitschko, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

“I’m very proud of all of what he has accomplished since the day we signed him,” said Goossen, who has promoted Ward for his entire career. “He’s been a joy to work with and a tremendous fighter inside the ring. It’s been a great ride, but the irony of it all is I think we’ve just begun. There’s a lot more to accomplish and showcase with Andre. You don’t have an athlete like this that comes around too often in the history of our sport. He has the fabric and makeup of the great ones. I just think he’s headed for greatness.”

Ward will have familiar company when he receives his award. Virgil Hunter, who has trained Ward since he picked up gloves as a boy, won the Futch award for trainer of the year.

“I’m very happy for my trainer and Godfather, Virgil, for winning this prestigious award,” Ward said. “I’m probably more excited for him than I am for myself. I’ve always wanted him to win this award because he is one of the hardest working trainers in the game.”

Said Goossen, “As proud of Andre as I am, I am equally proud to see Virgil get something I believe he is due. He’s a different breed of trainer. From the fundamentals to the mental aspect, he is right there with the best.”

Junior middleweights Delvin Rodriguez and Pawel Wolak will share the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier award for fight of the year. Their first bout, which headlined on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights” on July 15 at the Roseland Ballroom in New York, was a rousing all-action slugfest that ended in a majority draw. Many view it as the best fight in the history of “Friday Night Fights” and it will be remembered as an intense battle during which Wolak fought through massive swelling that closed his right eye.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Former two-time Welterweight champion Andre Berto injured his arm in training today which now puts in doubt his February 11th rematch with former champion Victor Ortiz.

“He had to go the hospital to get it checked out and he is hurt. I know the fight is in jeopardy of not happening on that date. It didn’t sound good,” one source said.

On whether the fight would be postponed, another source said, “When one of the guys in the fight is in the hospital for an arm injury two weeks before the fight, that is bad news.

Photo by Claudia Bocanegra

According to TMZ.com, former undisputed Heavyweight champion Mike Tyson will be inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame.

Tyson will be inducted during the ceremony at American Airlines Arena in Miami, FL on March 31. As has become tradition, WrestleMania XXVIII takes place the following day.

Iron Mike tells TMZ, “I am honored to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. I was the youngest heavyweight champion of all time, but the most fun I ever had in the ring was with WWE.”

Tyson’s history with the WWE goes back to 1998 when, after a confrontation with Stone Cold Steve Austin on Monday Night Raw, Tyson served as special enforcer for the main event at WrestleMania XIV between Austin and Shawn Michaels (see above).

Tyson made his return to the WWE last year, when he hosted Monday Night Raw.

Other non-wrestlers in the WWE Hall of Fame include Drew Carey, Pete Rose and William “The Refrigerator” Perry.

Ruslan Provodnikov scored a sixth round stoppage over David Torres in a scheduled ten round Jr. Welterweight bout in Airway Heights, Washington.

It was noticeable early that Provodnikov’s size and strength was going to be a problem for Torres as Provodnikov dropped Torres midway through round one with a perfectly timed right. Provodnikov continued to power forward with a diversity of punches with Torres only able to fend off with an occasional uppercut. Provodnikov started using more of a bodt attack in the fourth and fifth and it was wearing on Torres.

In round six, Provodnikov landed a huge right hand that sent Torres down for a second time. Clearly hurt but trying to fight back, Torres showed a lot of courage only to be blasted on the ropes that sent him down for a third and final time and the fight was stopped at 2:53 of round six.

Provodnikov, 140 lbs of Berezoa, Russia is now 21-1 with fourteen knockouts. Torres, 137 lbs of Othello, Washington is now 21-3-2.

Former world title challenger Ji-Hoon Kim scored a ten round unanimous decision over Yakibu AMidu in a Lightweight bout.

It was an entertaining fight with Amidu have a little success with his right hand and body work. Kim started to rev up the engines and landed some solid right hand that drover Amidu back to the ropes and Kim took most of the later rounds.

Kim of South Korea won bu scores of 98-92; 97-93 and 96-94 to raise his mark to 23-7. Akibu, 132 lbs of Los Angeles is now 17-3-1.

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that former world Heavyweight title challenger Chris Arreola will be in action on February 18th against once-beaten Eric Molina in Corpus Christie, Texas.

The bout will be part of a card that will feature Paul Williams battling Nobuhiro Ishida and IBF Light Heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud taking on Gabriel Campillo.

“We’ve come to an agreement with (Molina promoter) Don King to have Molina challenge Cris,” Dan Goossen, Arreola’s promoter said Thursday. “Cris is a world class heavyweight and we’ll find out where Molina is. We expect a good fight, a good challenge and we certainly believe Cris will come out on top. And between Molina, his camp and Don, they believe they will pull the upset.”

“The game plan is simple — we’re looking to fight for the world title this year, end of story,” Goossen said. “Cris has every opportunity to make history and accomplish the goal that was set many years ago when he started out, to have him to be the first Mexican-American to hold a heavyweight championship.”

“This fight is very important because it will tell me where I’m at,” Molina said. “If I win, it’ll mean greater things ahead for me. If I lose, I’ll know that I had my shot. But I don’t plan to lose.

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that pound for pound king, Floyd Mayweather must reapply for a Nevada License of February 1st before being able to fight as planned on May 5th in Las Vegas.

Mayweather, who is due to report to prison on June 1st will most likely have to answer questions about his pleas before the five member board granting him permission to fight on May 5th

PHILADELPHIA–Bryant Jennings scored an impressive ten round unanimous decision over Maurice Byarm in a battle of Philadelphia based Heavyweights at the Asylum Arena.

Jennings outworked Byarm for most of the fight. Jennings came out moving around the exterior of the round with Byarm just following Jennings around the ring. that gave Jennings an opportunity to use his reach and land several blistering combinations on Byarm. That same scenario played out for much of the first half of the fight.

Byarm got going in round five as he started to let his hands go and begin to land combinations as he focused on some body work before coming upstairs.

Neither man had gone more than six rounds in any fight and both seemed to have just brief periods of fatigue but did a nice job of getting second and third winds.

Jennings came on at the end of alot of the rounds and finished strong which enabled him to get the verdict in most of the rounds. Jennings came out blistering in round eight as he landed a huge right hand that Byarm not only shook off but came back with a nice combination of his own.

Both guys fought well down the stretch, but Jennings had a solid lead and came away with the victory.

Both fighters should be commended for taking the bout on less than a week’s notice after the sudden pullout of Eddie Chambers who was supposed to fight Sergei Liakhovich.

Jennings, 220 lbs of Philadelphia won by scores of 97-93; 96-94 and 96-94 to remain perfect at 12-0. Byarm, 244 1/2 lbs of Philadelphia is now 13-1-1.

Gabriel Rosado scored a fifth round stoppage over veteran Jesus Soto Karass in round five of a scheduled ten round Jr. Middleweight bout.

Rosado was dominant throughout as he landed some solid shots with both hands. Rosado featured solid straight rights and uppercuts on the crouching Soto Karass. The domination really started in the third round as as a right hand opened up a nasty cut over the left eye of Soto Karass. the momentum continued in round four with Rosado landing big combinations that was followed by a big uppercuts. the cut worsened towards the end of the round. In round five, Rosado landed a huge combination that sent a visibly beaten Soto Karass back to the corner where Rosado landed six hard shits that forced referee Steve Smoger to stop the bout at 2:06 of round five.

Rosado, 153 1/2 lbs of Philadelphia is now 19-5 with eleven knockouts. Soto Karass, 154 lbs of Los Angeles is now 24-7-3.

In a battle of undefeated Light Heavyweights, Sullivan Barrera scored a six round unanimous decision over Damar Singleton.

Barrera was much more active in this uninspiring fight as there was a lot of holding and clinching but it was Barrera’s lead right hands that were getting through before much of the clutching would commence.

Barrera, 174 1/2 lbs of Miami via Cuba won by scores of 60-54; 60-54 and 59-55 and is now 9-0. Singleton, 176 1/2 lbs of Toeldo, OH is now 7-1.

In the opening bout of the evening, Naim Nelson kept his undefeated mark in tact with a four round unanimous decision over Pedro Andres.

Scores were 40-36 on all cards for Nelson, 137 1/2 lbs of Philadelphia and is now 4-0. Andres, 136 lbs of Bridgeton, NJ was making his pro debut.

Jose Peralta ALejo scored a six round unanimous decision over Lenwood Dozier in a Welterweight bout.

Alejo, 145 lbs of Jersey City, NJ won by scores of 60-54 on all cards and is now 7-1. Dozier, 146 lbs of Glen Burnie, MD is 7-4-1.

Ray Robinson boxed well and scored a eight round unanimous decision over grizzled veteran Doel Carrasquillo in a Welterweight bout.

Robinson, 148 1/2 lbs of Philadelphia won by tallies of 79-73; 79-73 and 78-74 and is now 13-2. Carrasquillo is now 16-19-1.

This show was the first event of the new NBC Sports Network boxing series and was promoted by Main Events and Peltz Boxing with the main event co-promoted by Greg Cohen Promotions

NEW YORK–It was upset city in New York as DeMarcus Corley (38-10-1, 22 KOs) shocked the previously undefeated Gabriel Bracero (18-1, 3 KOs) in the main event of “Broadway Boxing” promoted by Lou Dibella. The fight was for the NABF Super Lightweight title. Corley, who is 37 years young and coming off of a six match losing streak was not expected to win the fight. Bracero’s handlers felt that Corley’s experience and elusiveness would give him trouble, but not THIS much trouble. From the outset, Corley was in control of the ring. He was, as always, fighting defensively, but surprisingly was the one coming forward; something that Bracero shouldn’t have allowed. In the second round, a straight left hand landed flush on Bracero’s face, opening up a cut that began to squirt blood. The referee had the ringside doctor look at it immediately, but the doctor ruled that he was safe to continue. Corley smelled blood. In an exchange, corley landed with a more crisp combination, finishing up with a picture perfect right hook that landed right on Bracero’s chin. Bracero was down and looked very hurt. He somehow beat the count and was able to get out of the round.

The third saw Bracero quickly regain composure, but he was still on the wrong side of nearly every exchange. A powerful straight left landed flush on Bracero, and he was down again. Hurt, but Bracero beat the count a second time.

Two rounds passed in which Bracero seemed unable to take control, and he found himself on the canvas a third time. It was another straight left, but this did not do much damage. Entering the second half of the fight, Bracero changed his gameplan a bit. Instead of walking straight backwards, he was moving from side to side. He made room instead of giving it up. It worked well. He took control of the fight.

Still, the fight seemed in the bag for Corley as three knockdowns seemed impossible to overcome in a ten round fight. Bracero was never considered a puncher. Then came the eighth round where he landed a straight right that knocked Corley back. The ref ruled it a knockdown saying that Corley’s glove touched the canvas. Bracero was unable to capitalize in that round or the final two. When the scores were announced 96-90, 94-92, and 94-92 for Corley, the classy Bracero applauded his victor.

The popular Seanie Monaghan (12-0, 8 KOs) took on a very entertaining Billy Bailey (11-14, 4 KOs) in a light heavyweight fight. Monaghan wanted to go rounds to showcase some new techniques his team had been working on in the gym. He was always known as a face first brawler, but came out with a different game plan. This time he stalked his opponent and picked his shots in a much better manner. His body punching improved as well. Monaghan was always a volume puncher when it came to the body, but this time he used it to force his opponent to drop his hands. It worked perfectly in the second round where he landed two crushing blows to Bailey’s mid-section and then followed up with a huge right hook that sent Bailey down.

Bailey beat the count and made it out of the round with a little help from the bell. The rest of the fight saw Monaghan continuing his method with Bailey responding with taunts and playing to the crowd. The crowd loved it, and both fighters seemed to be responding well to eachother. Monahghan dominated the rest of the fight, winning a unanimous decision by scores of 79-72, 80-71, and 80-71.

Boyd Melson (7-0, 3 KOs) made easy work of Sean Rawley Wilson (6-6, 1 KO) in their junior middleweight bout. Melson used quick reflexes and speed to overwhelm his opponent over the course of the six rounds en route to a shutout unanimous decision victory with all scores reading 60-53.

Luis Del Valle (15-0, 11 KOs) fought a tougher than expected Jose Angel Beranza (34-21-2, 26 KOs) in their junior featherweight bout. Del Valle was in control the whole fight, but Beranza was not there just for a payday. He fought hard with his much younger opponent and had some very impressive moment while stealing some rounds. But Del Valle just punches too hard, is too fast, and can defend himself too well. The entertaining fight went the full eight rounds and the final scores read, 80-72, 78-74, 79-73 for Del Valle. Some felt that the fight could have been closer.

Ran Nakash (26-1, 18 KOs) made his return after a disappointing loss to Marko Huck. He fought the tough Derek Bryant (20-7-1, 17 KOs). Bryant had nothing for Nakash, as he was bullied around the ring for eight rounds en route to a shutout. The three judges scored the bout 80-72 in favor of Nakash.

Danny McDermott (8-3-2, 3 Kos) took on Terry Buterbaugh (6-6-3, 3 KOs) in a junior welterweight matchup. The style matchup looked good on paper. Buterbaugh is someone who throws a whole lot of punches, while Mcdermott is someone who has a great chin while landing more precise blows. It was a bit sloppy at times when reality hit that their styles did not really gel as we all had hoped. The fight ended up being scored a draw, with scores reading 55-59, 59-55, 57-57.

Sonya Lamonakis (6-0-1, 1 KO) fought an all out brawl with Carlette Ewell (15-7-1, 9 KOs) in their heavyweight bought. Both fighters landed big punches throughout the fight and gave them a standing ovation when it was all over. The judges ruled it a draw with scores of 58-56, 56-58, 57-57. Many at ringside thought Ewell should have gotten the nod.

In a sloppy affair, heavyweights Thomas Hardwick (4-0, 2 KOs) and Richard Mason (0-4) squared off for four rounds. Hardwick was the more polished fighter of the two and won an easy unanimous decision victory based off of his harder and more accurate punching. The scores read 40-36 in his favor.

The opening fight of the night was a surprise as the very talented Alex Perez (15-0, 9 KOs) squared off against Josh Sosa (10-2, 5 KO’s). Most Broadway Boxing cards open with young fighters, new to the professional ranks, but Perez is a legitimate welterweight prospect in the region. From time to time, Dibella enjoys catering to the hardcore boxing fans that show up early no matter what. This time, we saw the knockout of the night. After scoring a spectacular knockdown in the first round off of combination punching, Perez only needed half of the second round to fishing Sosa off. An absolutely perfect right hand landed on the point of Sosa’s chin, sending his head snapping back as his knees buckled underneath him. The time of the stoppage was 1:39 of the second round, giving Perez a TKO victory.

Las Vegas, NV- Cuban star Guillermo Rigondeaux (9-0 ) and previously undefeated American Rico Ramos(20-1) brought fans a forgettable show Friday night at the Palms in Las Vegas, for all but about 20 combined seconds of round one and six. Two meaningful exchanges was all Rigondeaux needed however to score a stoppage.

An overwhelming majority of the bout saw both fighters staring eachother down, looking for an opportunity to counter punches that never happened. Rigondeaux looked to be on his way to a quick victory, as he dropped Ramos with a Right hand in the opening round, and pressed the action until the bell saved Ramos from first round stoppage.

After an intriguing first round, it didn’t take long for fans to not only lose interest, but join together in a chorus of boos from a lack of action. For as little as Rigondeaux did, Ramos did far less. The fight’s second interesting occurrence came in round six, when Ramos complained of a rabbit punch, that looked from the outside to have hit the top of his forehead. When Ramos was instructed to continue fighting Rigondeaux wasted no time, pressing the gas, hurting “Suavecito” with a body shot, and pressing on from there until he was on the canvas for a ten count.

Rigondeaux walked away with a stoppage, and his WBA Super Bantamweight title still in hand, while Ramos walked with his first career defeat, and a lackluster national television showing under his belt.

“Rico Ramos is a very good fighter,” said Rigondeaux. “But I train very hard and when I train, no one can beat me.”

“2012 is going to be my time. I’ve got the greatest promoter of all time, Bob Arum. I just want them to open the doors for me.”

“He showed he was a true champion, he was real tough. I showed I was a true champion by getting up. He caught me the first round and I went down. Then in the third he started to slow down.

He hit me in the back of the head and I got dizzy. The referee told us to fight and I wanted to take my time. That’s when he caught me with the head butt and I fell. I’m gonna bounce back harder. I’ll be up in that gym next week. It don’t stop.”, Said Ramos

While the main event had all the makings of tactical chess match, fans at the Palms might have had their expectations raised by the all out war between Guy Robb(7-1) and Joel Diaz(7-0) treated them to in the televised opener.

Robb opened up going strong to the body, but eating a high volume of right hands, as Diaz capitalized on the opportunity to tag his unprotected left side. Robb flipped the momentum in round two, dropping Diaz with a thunderous right hand. The pace of the bout wouldn’t belong to Robb long as he went down in round three twice in the midst of back and forth exchanges.

Northern California native Guy Robb went back to the game plan that brought him success early on and hammered away at Diaz’s body in the fourth round, and seemed to get the better of the exchanges making for an interesting situation on the scorecards.

With both men visibly gassed, Diaz seemed to have just a little bit more left as the fight continued. In round seven Diaz bombed away on the open left side of Robb, who’s defense worsened as the bout wore on. The pressure seemed to overtake Robb, who stopped firing back during a strong rally from Diaz with just under a minute left, and referee Vic Drakulich stopped the action, giving Diaz a KO7 win.

“It was much harder than I thought. I was expecting it to be more like my previous fights, but not everybody’s the same. I can’t hit everybody with one punch and knock them down.”, Said Diaz

This was my first time going 8 rounds. One of my fights before went 4 rounds, and all of the others ended in the first.

They gave us a call last Wednesday, to fill a spot as the co-feature on the Rico Ramos card, and who would turn that down? So we took the fight, we were already training, might as well

First time I’ve ever been knocked down. It was a lucky punch that caught me off guard, and I got up really quick. Hopefully it will never happen again. We’re gonna go back to the gym and continue working on my chin, like I’ve been doing”

In the opening televised bout, Burbank native Matt Villanueva(7-0-1) looked impressive in a seventh round stoppage of Mike Ruiz(8-2-1). Ruiz was gritty, and won a new crop of fans with his heart but was ultimately undersized and turned out to be tailor made for Villanueva.

A picture perfect left hook wobbled Diaz in round 7 and Villanueva’s killer instinct offered no time for recovery, prompting a stoppage from Russell Mora.

“I felt perfect, as far as my conditioning, this is the best I’ve ever felt. This was my first time going 8 rounds, and it was no problem. I was surprised that it went this long. He took a lot of my punches, and survived an early knockdown. He was able to get up and fight a few more rounds, and that surprised me.”, Said Villanueva

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that Floyd Mayweather placed a phone call to Manny Pacquiao in an effort to make a mega fight between the two superstars for May 5th.

“They spoke,” Leonard Ellerbe, one of Mayweather’s advisers, told ESPN.com on Thursday.

Mayweather provided details of his conversation with Pacquiao in an email to ESPN anchor Stan Verrett.

“I called him and asked him about us fighting May 5 and giving the World what they want to see,” Mayweather’s email read. “I also let him know we both can make a lot of money. He ask about a 50/50 split and I told him no that can’t happen, but what can happen is you can make more money fighting me then you have made in your career. I also let him know I’m in control on my side but he needs to get on the same page with his promoter so we can make this fight happen.”

The message continued: “I told him to tell his promoter that he only wants to fight Mayweather and that this fight will be the biggest fight in history. His manger came to my boxing gym a few months ago and we spoke about getting the defamation of character lawsuit dropped against me and about both fighters taking the random blood and urine test. I spoke to his manager again last night about the same thing. The call last night lasted 15 or 20 minutes. I mainly spoke to his manager he got on and off the phone real quick.”

Ellerbe said he was unsure how Mayweather obtained Pacquiao’s direct line but added, “I’m sure that’s not hard to get or find out because there have been members of Manny Pacquiao’s camp who have reached out to me and other members of our team in the past. It wouldn’t be that hard.”

On Thursday in Las Vegas, where Mayweather donated $100,000 to the Southern Nevada affiliate of the Susan G. Komen breast cancer charity as part of his promise to the judge, he spoke about his desire to face Pacquiao with a handful of media on hand.

“There is no fight I want more than the Manny Pacquiao fight,” Mayweather told the gathered media. “I guess he said he agreed to fight. The only thing that is stopping this fight right now, that I truly believe is stopping the fight, is Bob Arum.”

PHILADELPHIA–Once beaten Super Middleweight Farah Ennis rebounded from his first professional loss with a very solid fifth round stoppage over durable Grover Young that highlighted a ten bout card at the National Guard Armory.

Ennis had a gameplan of working the body of the southpaw and he executed that strategy to a tee, as he placed some perfect shots to the flanks of Young. Ennis continued to back Young up with the body work and occasionally mixing up shots upstairs. The end came when Ennis drilled Young with a left to the body which made Young take a knee for the referee’s ten count at fifty-nine seconds of round five.

Ennis of Philadelphia ups his mark to 18-1 with twelve knockouts. Young of Tennessee is now 5-5-1.

The co-feature was a six round Welterweight tussle that matched unblemished Angel Ocasio and once beaten Jason Sosa.

The was a fight that proved that some geography could be the key to fights as Early Ocasio showed superior handspeed as he picked Sosa apart from the outside. A clash of heads caused a cut from the corner of Sosa’s left eye in the opening frame. It was more of the same over the next couple rounds as clearly Ocasio seemed in control. Feeling desperate, Sosa started to get inside and land some nice combinations and scored some telling uppercuts. Seeing that Ocasio was moving backwards, that may have swayed the judges to pull Sosa even on the score cards as the bout ended in a majority draw that read 58-56 for Ocasio while the two other cards were tallied at 57-57.

Ocasio of Philadelphia is now 6-0-1. Sosa of Camden, NJ is now 4-1-2.

Tim Witherspoon Jr. and Tevin Farmer waged an old school Philly War in their six round Lightweight bout.

Witherspoon, The taller southpaw looked to box from outside while fellow southpaw Farmer got inside with great success. Much like the Ocasio-Sosa bout, this was about where each fighter needed to be. Both guys got their preferred distance at times. The crowd was on their feet for most of the bout as the action was fast throughout with Framer picking up the majority decision by scores of 58-56; 58-56 and 58-57.

Hot shot Bantamweight prospect Miguel Cartagena was impressive in disposing David Rodriguez in sixty-eight seconds of their scheduled four round bout.

Cartagena landed a big right that sent Rodriguez to the canvas ans the bout was stopped when Rodriguez got to his feet. Cartagena is now 4-0 with three knockouts. Rodriguez was making his pro debut.

Heavyweight’s John Lennox and Riley Brooks waged a four round war with Lennox coming put on top with a unanimous decision.

Both guys stood toe to toe landing tremendous shots that drew “oohs and Ahhs” from the capacity crowd.

In the end, It was Lennox better boxing ability that proved to be the difference as he took the fight by scores of 40-36; 40-36 and 39-37 and is now 9-1. Brooks of Baltimore falls to 1-3.

Former world amateur champion scored a four round unanimous decision over huge Corey Winfield.

Dawejko landed some nice body shots that were followed by some hard shots to the head.

Dawejko, 230 lbs of Philadelphia won by 40-36 scores on all cards and is now 6-0. Winfield, 302 lbs of Winston-Salem, NC is now 4-9.

Brian Donahue came off a five year hiatus to scored a four round unanimous decision over Randy Campbell in a Super Middleweight bout.

Donahue dropped Campbell in the final round with a big right hand. Scores were 40-35; 39-36 and 39-36 for Donahue who is now is 2-1.

Todd Unthankmay landed a huge right hand that knocked out winless Phillip Hannah in round one of their scheduled four round Light Heavyweight bout.

Unthankmay, 175 lbs of Philadelphia is now 2-0 with one knockout. Hannah, 169 1/2 lbs of Bronx, NY is now 0-7.

Jaywoon Woods came back after an eighteen month layoff to pound out a four round unanimous decision over Rayshawn Myers in a Cruiserweight bout.

Woods landed a right hand in round three that sent Myers down for the bout’s only knockdown.

Woods, 199 lbs of Danville, VA won by scores of 40-35 on all cards and is now 9-1-1. Myers, 182 1/2 lbs of Cleveland is now 4-12.

Tal Middleweight John Thompson used his height to easily outbox Aaron Williams over four rounds.

Scores were 40-36 on all cards for Thompson of Newark, NJ and is now 4-0. Williams of Kinston, NC is now 0-3.

Sources have told 15rounds.com, that after much scrambling, two undefeated young Heavyweights will be the co-feature this Saturday night as Bryant Jennings will take on Maurice Byarm as one of the featured bouts on the inaugural NBC Sports Network Broadcast from Philadelphia.

The bout was made only after the original bout between Eddie Chambers and Sergei Liakhovich was scrapped because of a rib injury to Chambers. Several scenarios were kicked around with end result being that the two undefeated Heavyweights agreed to fight.

Jennings, 11-0 with five knockouts ids a Philadelphia resident and Byarm, 13-0-1 with nine knockouts of Washington, D.C but grew up in Philadelphia, where his father Lionel was the first man to oppose Evander Holyfield

The other scheduled television bout will pit Jr. Middleweight Gabriel Rosado and Jesus Soto-Karass

“This series is about giving the fans exciting, action-packed fights where the outcome is in doubt,” said promoter Kathy Duva of Main Events. “It is truly a shame that Chambers and Liakhovich cannot fight on Saturday, but athletes get injured. We tried all weekend to find a suitable replacement to face Liakhovich, but truly competitive opposition could not be found on such short notice. Last night we decided that it would be in the best interests of the fans and the series to go in another direction and present a fight that will live up to the standards that we have set for this project. We are thrilled to have come up with such a compelling bout. The fans in Philadelphia and those watching on TV will have plenty to cheer about on Saturday night.”

“I often hear people say that there are no American Heavyweights,” said Russell Peltz of Peltz Boxing, matchmaker for the NBC Sports Network “Fight Night” Series. “We are presenting a terrific fight on Saturday night at the Asylum between two promising American heavyweights who are willing to test themselves sooner rather than later.”

“I am really excited to get the chance to show what I can do on national television,” Jennings said about the sudden turn of events. “I’ve wanted to fight Byarm for a long time. I’m not worried about dealing with a southpaw. This is a perfect match for me.”