Former world title challenger Juan Carlos Burgos scored a second round stoppage over Frankie Archuleta in a scheduled ten round Featherweight fight at the Million Dollar Elm Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Burgos dropped Archuleta three times in the second round. The first was was with a big right that was followed up by a left. Archuleta’s legs were clearly gone after that but still he was dropped with a hard one-two combination and finally for a third time with a right hand.

The fight was called off at 2:33 of round two.

Burgos, 128 lbs of Tijuana, Mexico is now 26-1 with nineteen knockouts. Archuleta, 124 lbs of Albuquerque, NM is now 27-8-1

South African Isaac Chilemba survived two eighth round knockdowns to outlast previously undefeated Maxim Vlasov by winning a unanimous decision in a ten round Super Middleweight fight.

It was a close fight early with Chilemba using his jab with range and going to the body of Vlasov. Vlasov started picking up some steam in the middle rounds as he used his experience as he used his full arsenal of punches.

In round eight, Vlasov landed a perfect right hand that sent Chilemba to the canvas in the first thirty seconds of the round. Chilemba was dropped again as Vlasov landed a flurry of punches that was culminated by a right hand. Chilemba actually did well in the final moments of the round by jabbing and landing some solid right hands. Chilemba carried that momentum into round nine as again it was a long jab that was mixed in with some rights and a nice uppercut. The two fighters went for it in round ten with Chilemba getting the better of the action filled round.

Chilemba, 171 lbs of Johannesburg, South Africa won by scores of 96-92; 96-92 and 95-94 to go to 16-1. Vlasov, 170 lbs of Samara, Russia is now 19-1.

Simphiwe Vetyeta scored an impressive third round stoppage over former IBF Minimumweight champion Roberto Leyva in a scheduled six round Featherweight fight.

Vetyeta dominated the fight until he landed a perfect left to the body that sent Leyva down for the ten count at 2:32 of round three.

Vetyeta, 121 lbs of South Africa is now 22-1 with twelve knockouts. Leyva, 125 lbs of Puerto Rico is now 27-13-1.

Michael Stewart and David Torres fought to a ten round majority draw in a Jr. Welterweight bout at Dover Downs in Dover Delaware.

In round three, Torres landed a heavy right hand that buckled Stewart. Torres came out strong in round four by landing a hard left and right at the outset of the round. Stewart came back by ducking under some punches and landing a big right. Torres rocked Stewart early in round five with a pair of hard left hooks. Stewart got through with a hard right of his own only to get nailed by a big left hook.

Stewart came out strong in round six by landing a pair of big right hands. In round seven, Stewart landed a nice right off the ropes only to get caught by a Torres right hand. In round nine, Torres landed a nice left to the head out of a break. He then started to work the body with a three punch combination. With both guys tired down the stretch, It was Torres who was a bit more active despite getting hit by a Stewart right at the bell.

Scores were 96-94 for Torres and 95-95 on two cards. Stewart, 140 lbs of New Castle, DE is now 46-7-3. Torres, 140 lbs of Othello, WA is now 21-2-2.

In a terrific back and forth slugfest, Mike Tiberi scored a razor thin unanimous decision over Eloy Suarez in a eight round Middleweight bout.

Tiberi did enough to win the early rounds with his jab and right hands behind it.

Suarez pushed the action in some of the rounds and started finding a home with his jab. In round eight he got through again but it wasnt enough as Tiberi won by 77-75 tallies on all cards.

Tiberi, 163 lbs of Smyrna, DE is now 16-1. Suarez, 163 lbs of San Antonio, TX is now 11-10-1.

Amir “Hardcore” Mansour scored his third straight explosive knockout since returning after nearly a nine year absence when he destroyed Alexis Mejias in round two of their scheduled eight round Heavyweight bout.

Mansour drilled Mejias with a straight left that stopped Mejias in his tracks before a booming left plummeted Mejias to the canvas where he lie motionless for several minutes.

Mejias had a neck brace applied but started moving and walked out under his own power.

The time was thirty-five seconds of round two for Mansour, 223 lbs of Penns Grove, NJ and is now 12-0 with nine knockouts. Mejias, 235 lbs of Paterson, NJ is now 11-7

Anthony Caputo Smith scored a second round stoppage over Shawn Kirk in a sxheduled six round Light heavyweight bout.

Smith dropped Kirk three times in round two all with body shots and the was waved at 2:16 of round two.

Smith, 181 1/2 lbs of Kennett Square, PA and is now 9-0 with seven knockouts. Kirk, 186 lbs lbs of Lexington, KY is now 4-9.

Ronica Jeffrey remained undefeated with a four round unanimous decision over Carla Torres in a Jr. Lightweight bout.

It was a competitive fight with Jeffrey getting the better of the exchanges.

Jeffrey, 126 lbs of Brooklyn won by scores of 40-36; 40-36 and 39-37 to go to 5-0. Torres, 128 lbs of Cleveland is now 1-1

In the opening bout, Dan Biddle rocked Kenneth Farr all over the ring in scoring a four round unanimous decision.

Biddle had Farr in trouble a few times but no knockdowns were scored.

Scores were 40-36; 40-35 and 40-34 for Biddle, 196 lbs of Hockessin, DE and is now 6-1. Farr, 199 lbs of Rocky Mount, NC is now 0-5

DALY CITY, CALIFORNIA — WBO Super Bantamweight Champion and media darling Ana Julaton defends her title against respected veteran Franchesca Alcanter tonight at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond, California. Their ten-round title clash, which will be televised in both the United States and the Philippines, headlines a four-bout card as part of a sports and music expo geared towards the Filipino-American community. Fighters weighed in Thursday night at the Mink Bar & Lounge in nearby Daly City.

Julaton (7-2-1, 1 KO) of Daly City has been out of the ring since reclaiming the WBO title via ten-round split decision over Mexico’s Maria Villalobos back in June of last year. Julaton, who is immensely popular both locally and in the Philippines, and her team picked a very respectable opponent for the first defense of her second reign in Alcanter. “From being a three-time world champion, I know I am in a position that people are trying to take what I have, and that is just the name of the game,” said Julaton. “I just have to make sure that I don’t take anything lightly and stay grounded.”

Alcanter (18-9-1, 9 KOs) of Kansas City, Missouri has been around the block and taken on some of the biggest names in women’s boxing in her twelve-year pro career. In her last ring appearance, Alcanter went the ten-round distance in a failed attempt at claiming a 126-pound title from Ina Menzer in Germany. Alcanter does hold two clear advantages in the fight, her experience and the fact that she is the naturally larger fighter.

After Thursday’s weigh-in, it is still hard to figure how far Alcanter came down in weight, because the scales seemed to read about three to four pounds light. Julaton, who has routinely weighed in between 120 and 122-pounds in her career, scaled 116 ½-pounds at Thursday’s weigh-in. Alcanter, who has fought as high as 140-pounds in her career, weighed in at 118 ½ on Thursday night. “I trained really hard for this fight, and I know I scaled in at the actual weight class,” Julaton explained simply after the weigh-in. “The last time I weighed-in at 116, I was fifteen-years-old.”

Also on the card, former amateur standout Bruno Escalante Jr. (1-0-1) of San Carlos, California by way of Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines will take on Martin “Tarzan” Sandoval of Oakdale, California in a four-round featherweight fight. While Sandoval will be making his professional boxing debut, he has already been successful as a mixed martial artist, posting a 6-3, 3 KOs, 3 Submissions record. Escalante, the 2008 National PAL Champion at 112-pounds, trains out of the same Undisputed Boxing Gym in San Carlos as Nonito Donaire Jr. Escalante weighed in at 122 ½, while scaled Sandoval 124 ½-pounds.

Amateur Kickboxing

Two amateur kickboxing bouts complete the card tonight. In a three-round pairing of heavyweights, Gary Grant of Antioch, California will take on Xavier Vigney of Pleasant Hill, California. The long and lean Vigney, who trains out of Team Black in Pleasant Hill, scaled 206-pounds. Grant, who trains out of Guila Hawaiian Kajukenbo-Kickboxing in Antioch, weighed in at 222 ½-pounds Thursday night.

Rounding out the card, Dee Alhadi of San Jose, California will take on Marc Talledo of Milpitas, California in a three-round super lightweight bout. Talledo, who trains out of the Unlimited Training Center in Milpitas, weighed in at 134 ½-pounds. Alhadi, who trains out of the famed American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, scaled 130-pounds Thursday.

The event, dubbed “Return of the Hurricane,” will also feature musical performances by the A.J. Rafael Band and Sway Penala. MYX will televise in United States and TV5 will broadcast in the Philippines. Tickets for the event, promoted by CP Presents, Phantom Promotions and Orion Sports Management, are available online at BrownPaperTickets.com.

Quick Weigh-in Results:

WBO Super Bantamweight Championship, 10 Rounds
Julaton 116 ½
Alcanter 118 ½

Featherweights, 4 Rounds
Escalante Jr. 122 ½
Sandoval 124 ½

Amateur Kickboxing Weigh-in Results:

Super Lightweights, 3 Rounds
Alhadi 130
Talledo 134 ½

Heavyweights, 3 Rounds
Grant 222 ½
Vigney 206

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

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that world light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal has reached an agreement with his promoter Yvon Michel which was the final minor hurdle to proceed with his May 21 rematch with former two-division champion and legend Bernard Hopkins

“We went to the bid because we had a deadline,” Michel said. “But Pascal has a minimum for each fight and a percentage [of profit]. We had to adjust the numbers for him to be happy, so we needed more time to come to the agreement, but there was never a doubt that he wanted to fight Hopkins again. There was never a doubt in our mind. He trusted us and his team. We just needed time. I already spoke to Richard and we will sit down and see the pros and the cons of where the show should be.”

CLICK TO ORDER FIGHT
Mariusz Wach vs. Jonathan Haggler — 10 Rounds, heavyweight

The bigger they are, the harder the fall. That theory checked out tonight when Mariusz “The Polish Giant” Wach kayoed North Carolina’s Jonathan Haggler in front of a passionate crowd at Essex County College in Newark, New Jersey.

In the first round, the 6’8” Wach, who is trained by former heavyweight champion, Michael Moorer, effectively established his jab and set the pace for the fight.

Haggler, for the duration of the bout, had trouble getting inside the reach of “The Polish Giant” and often threw his punches on-the-move, with little on them.

The breakthrough for the Krakow, Poland native came about one minute into the third round when he connected with left-right combination that staggered Haggler and sent him retreating to the ropes. Wach hunted down his opponent and started dropping bombs on his hurt counterpart.

After connecting with a straight right, Haggler bent over to avoid another one. Smartly, Wach greeted him an uppercut instead, which was followed by a left hook and another final flurry, which ultimately sent Haggler crashing to the canvas, where he failed to beat referee Sparkle Lee’s ten count.

The official time of the stoppage was 1:22 seconds into round three.

With the win Wach, 24-0, 12 KO is now the new WBC Baltic heavyweight champion, while Haggler’s record falls to 23-4, 18 KO.

Danny McDermott vs. Osnel Charles — 6 Rounds, lightweight

In a thrilling co-feature, Jersey City’s Danny McDermott was upset by Atlantic City’s Osnel Charles via unanimous decision.

This bout was action packed from the opening bell as both fighters made it clear they were willing to get hit to land a few shots of their own.

McDermott started strong, finding Charles more frequently than Charles found him. Although he clearly won the first round, McDermott’s timing seemed slightly off. Time and time again, McDermott tried to land a big straight right, but Charles consistently bent over backward–Matrix style–to avoid it every time.

In the second round, Charles rebounded nicely, snapping jabs and landing rights that whipped McDermott’s head back. After Charles lost his mouthpiece, there was a momentary break in the action to put it back in. After the break McDermott landed some good shots of his own, but it was not enough to carry the round.

McDermott scored well in the third and fourth rounds, eating some punches, but landing the more effective, more powerful punches.

The tide turned early in round five, however, when the two fighters were tied up in the center of the ring. McDermott clearly intentionally head-butted Charles, who crumpled to the canvas as a result of the blow. The referee saw this and rightfully took a point away from McDermott.

For the rest of the round, when he wasn’t on the receiving end of a Charles punch, McDermott was talking at the referee, expressing his displeasure with his decision to deduct a point. By the time the round concluded, McDermott was sporting a seemingly bad cut over his right eye.

The sixth round belonged to the Haitian import, Charles, who dominated from bell to bell. Charles pressed the action in this round more-so than any previous round, coming forward more frequently.

When it concluded, all three judges scored the bout in favor of Charles. One judge scored the bout 57-56, one saw it 59-54, and another 59-53.

With the win, Charles improves to 7-3, 1 KO, while McDermott drops to 8-3, 3 KO.

Wanzell Ellison vs. Jimmy Smalls — 4 Rounds, lightweight

In the night’s opening bout of the evening, Brick City’s own Wanzell Ellison spoiled Ohio’s Jimmy Smalls professional debut by stopping the Panamanian-born Smalls within two rounds.

In the second round, Ellison, who was finding his target with regularity, nailed Smalls with a huge right cross that momentarily wobbled his opponent and drew blood from his eye. About one minute later, with Smalls clearly reeling from punishment sustained earlier in the round, Ellison turned up the heat and thew his punches with murderous intentions.

Sensing his opponent was nearing the end, Ellison threw a flurry of punches that ultimately forced Smalls to drop to a knee. He would fail to get to his feet within ten seconds, and the bout was called to a halt.

With the win, Ellison improves to 4-0, 3 KO, while Smalls drops his professional debut and is now 0-1.

Rashad Bogar vs. Miguel Corcino — 4 Rounds, welterweight

In a bout that was about two minutes too long, Newark’s Rashad Bogar violently knocked out his previously undefeated opponent, Miguel Corcino, in the second round.

In the first round, Bogar stunned Corcino with a huge right hand that sent him to the canvas. After beating the referee’s ten count, Bogar rushed forward to immediately greet his opponent with a left hook that wobbled Corcino once again.

Bogar chose to spend the rest of the round stalking his prey, and took his off the gas pedal a little bit. Subsequently, Corcino was able to weather the storm and survive to hear the bell at the end of round one.

Most of the second round was unnecessary. Unfortunately for Corrino, neither the referee or his corner thought that.

Seconds into round two, Bogar stumbled Corcino again with a left hook, and followed up quickly with a straight right that sent Corcino crashing to the mat. After barely beating the ten count, when the action resumed, he was met with a crushing left hand that sent him into permanent retreat.

Bogar chased his opponent down and with a vicious one-two, knocked Corcino down in the corner, his body sent halfway through the ropes. Finally, at the 2:13 mark of the second round, the bout was called to a halt.

With the win, Bogar improves to 3-2, 2 KO, while Corcino tastes defeat for the time, falling to 2-1, 2 KO.

Eddie Edmonds vs. Charles White — 4 Rounds, junior middleweight

For the third straight fight, a Newark fighter stopped his opponent inside two rounds. This time it was Eddie Edmonds defeating North Carolina’s Charles White via second round TKO.

In the first round, Edmonds dropped White with a left hook to the body that forced White to drop to a knee in order to recover.

Edmonds caught White once more at the bell, with a left to the body, right to the head combination that sent White down. He beat the referee’s ten count and was able to continue.

In the second round, as the two were tied up, Edmonds threw a right cross that caught White clean and sent him down for the third time in the fight. After beating the ten count, White sent himself to the canvass after missing with a wild punch and his moment him sent himself down.

Eventually, one more right cross sent White crashing to the canvas for the final time. The bout was called to a halt by referee Benjy Esteves Jr., at the :57 mark of round two.

WIth the win, Edmonds improves to 2-1-1, 2 KO, while White falls to 0-2.

Scott Burrell vs. Antonio Parker — 4 Rounds, lightweight

It was evident from the opening bell that Antonio Parker was not a good boxer. He was awkward, his footwork was terrible, his balance was worse, he was hesitant, and he seemed scared.

All of those characteristics that Parker possessed made for an easy day at the office for Scott Burrell.

Burrell, with the help of an inept Parker, broke from the theme of the night and decided to stop his opponent in the first round, not the second.

Three separate times during the 1:39 second bout, Parker was sent to the ground by a combination of a Burrell punch/terrible balance. Parker actually sent himself to the ground during this fight as a result of him hitting only air with a wild punch that sent him off balance to the point of crashing to the canvas.

All things considered, given the level of opposition standing across from him, Burrell stayed composed and focused, letting the knockout ultimately come to him.

With the win, Burrell improves to 2-0, 2 KO, while Parker drops to 0-3.

Rafael Jastrzebski vs. Randy Campbell — 4 Rounds, super middleweight

Atlantic City by way of Bydgoszcz, Poland’s Rafael Jastrzebski easily outpoint Ohio’s Randy “The Rattlesnake” Campbell in a four round super middleweight bout.

Jastrzebski cruised to a unanimous decision victory behind a stiff left jab and well-placed right hands that followed. Campbell proved to be an easy target — especially for Jastrzebski’s jab — and finished the fight sporting a bright red, marked-up face.

All three judges scored the bout 40-36 for Jastrzebski.

With the win, Jastrzebski improves to 4-6-1, 1 KO, while Campbell drops to 3-4.

LAS VEGAS –He called himself No. 2 on the Filipino ticket, but Nonito Donaire was No. 1 in the ring Saturday night. As a bantamweight, he is all by himself. A guessing game will soon ensue about how long he will stay at 118 pounds. Bigger things await Donaire.

Within seven minutes, however, General Santos City in The Philippines emerged on the boxing map like no other piece of modern real estate. It is more than Manny Pacquiao’s hometown. Donaire was born there, too.
There must be some punch in the water.

Donaire threw a huge one to stop the accomplished Fernando Montiel in the second round of a bout for two pieces of the bantamweight title. Montiel missed with a right. Donaire countered with a left, which traveled in an orbit-like loop and landed on Montiel’s chin with the impact of a baseball bat.

“I’m very surprised he got up,’’ said Donaire (26-1, 18 KOs), who earned $350,000, $100,000 more than Montiel’s purse.

Montiel (44-3-2, 34 KOs), who lost the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization versions of the title, went down as if he had been dropped onto the canvas from a diving board. The Mexican landed on his back in a flop. His legs twitched one way, then another. His arms and upper body moved, almost as if he were trying to regain control of nerve endings that connected him to consciousness. He did, long enough to get up and onto his feet. He stumbled in a futile attempt to re-gain his balance.

Referee Russell Mora must have thought that he had. Mora signaled for the fight to continue.

It did for a maybe a couple of seconds. Donaire threw a couple of punches that quickly indicated Montiel was defenseless. Mora ended it, calling it a TKO at 2:25 of the second.

But there was nothing technical about a knockout that makes Donaire the world’s best bantamweight, a future contender in the featherweight divisions, a rising factor in the pound-for-pound debate and the second-best fighter from General Santos City.

Mike Jones and Jesus Soto-Karass got it right the second time around.

The controversy of Jones victory by majority decision in November was swept away Saturday night at Mandalay Bay with poise Jones and guts by Soto-Karass.

Jones (24-0, 18 KOs) won another decision. But this one was unanimous on the scorecards and unanimous for its brilliance. Duane Ford scored it 115-113, Robert Hoyle 116-112 and Ricardo Ocasio 117-111, for Jones. The crowd roared in approval for both.

Cuts near each eye in the third seemed to put Soto-Karass (24-6-3, 16 KOs) in early jeopardy. Before the fourth, it looked as if Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer and one of the four ringside physicians were about to stop a bout, scheduled for 12 rounds on a card featured by Nonito Donaire’s second-round stoppage of Fernando Montiel for two pieces of the bantamweight title.

Blood poured from a cut near the outside of Soto-Karass’ left eye. That one was caused by a head butt. There was more blood flowing from another cut near the outside of his right eye. It looked as if a Jones’ punch caused that one. Blood flowed like tears. But Soto-Karass wasn’t crying.

If anything, he appeared energized, emboldened by his wounds. He could taste the sense of urgency. He jumped off his stool and raced at Jones throughout the fourth, gesturing at him as if he were inviting him inside for a closer look at the carnage. Jones played it smart.

He stayed away, backed away, from the dangerous, courageous Soto-Karass. While Soto-Karass saw less and less. Jones could see what was happening. He waited with patience and enough quickness to score with range and precision.

In the ninth, a long Jones punch opened up another cut on the inside of Soto-Karass’ left eye. By then, it was only a matter of time before the end, before Jones celebrated a victory and everybody else celebrated a great fight.

Four hours before Nonito Donaire and Fernando Montiel entered the Mandalay Bay ring, the card began in a chilly and empty arena Saturday with Denver junior-welterweight Mike Alvarado (29-0, 21 KOs) in a bid to restore his chances at being a contender in the crowded 140-pound division after a stretch in jail on a parole violation.

Alvarado, who did time on a domestic violence charge and driving offenses, needed some work. He got four rounds. Alvarado’s tune-up turned into target practice against Englishman Dean Harrison (16-5, 5 KOs), a TKO loser who was left bloodied, beaten and unable to continue after the fourth of a scheduled eight.

The undercard’s best: Welterweight Mark Melligen (21-2, 14 KOs), who had the Filipino flag on his trunks and Filipino fans in his corner, didn’t disappoint his countrymen with a unanimous decision over Mexican Gabriel Martinez (27-2-1, 14 KOs), who staged a ninth-round rally that was too late to save him from a one-sided loss on the scorecards.

The worst: Dallas lightweight Jose Hernandez (10-4-1, 4 KOs) had the fans screaming Si Se Puede, Si Se Puede. Either the judges don’t speak Spanish or they didn’t hear a chant that means Yes We Can, Yes We Can. Hernandez’ bid for an upset of unbeaten Mickey Bey of Cleveland (16-0-1, 8 KOs) fell a few points short. CJ Ross and Glenn Trowbridge scored it even, 76-76, each. Lisa Giampa gave it to Bey, 78-74, for a majority draw booed by a majority of the fans.

The rest: Welterweight prospect Yordenis Ugas (6-0, 3 KOs), a Cuban bronze medalist at the 2008 Olympics, continued his apprenticeship with a unanimous decision over a Sacramento opponent, Carlos Musquez (3-3-4, 3 KOs), who rocked Ugas in the opening round, yet did little throughout the next five.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA — On the cusp of world title contention, super featherweight contender Eloy Perez scored a comprehensive eight-round unanimous decision over veteran Roger “Speedy” Gonzalez in the main event at the Longshoremen’s Hall on Friday night. In the co-main event, Filipino prospect Mercito Gesta lit up journeyman Genaro Trazancos for the second time in six months.

Perez (20-0, 5 KOs) of Salinas, California showed his class as he failed to lose a round against the once-determined former contender Gonzalez (27-4, 18 KOs) of Indio, California. Perez, the WBO #2 ranked super featherweight, boxed intelligently throughout and Gonzalez had no answers.

Perez, 130, targeted Gonzalez’ soft body early in what was a feeling out first round. Gonzalez, 133, had come in three pounds over the contracted weight, thus forfeiting 20 percent of his purse at yesterday’s weigh-in, and Perez looked to capitalize on his opponent’s apparent lack of conditioning.

As the fight progressed, Perez applied pressure in spots, but boxed carefully for the most part. Though Perez opened up a bit late in rounds two and three, the difference in class between the two combatants became more readily apparent in round four. Gonzalez continually looked to land a counter, but it was impossible for him to win rounds in that style against a volume puncher such as Perez.

With the fight moving into the later rounds, Gonzalez continued to only offer up his offense once Perez had ceased firing. However, the active Perez left Gonzalez few openings to shoot for and simply kept piling up on points. With the fight well in hand in the eighth, Perez looked to close the show in style and sat down on a combination that rocked Gonzalez.

In the end, all three judges scored every round for Perez, for tallies of 80-72 across the board. Perez is penciled in for the April 29th edition of Telefutura Solo Boxeo, which is ticketed for Reno, Nevada. The fight could potentially be a WBO Super Featherweight title elimination bout.

“I want Vicente Escobedo now,” pronounced Perez’ manager Kathy Garcia after Friday’s fight. Escobedo recently announced plans to campaign at the 130-pound super featherweight class, and hails from Woodland, California. A Perez-Escobedo clash would be a hot ticket almost anywhere in Northern California. Also on the hit list for Team Perez: Rocky Martinez, Rocky Juarez and Jason Litzau.

Mercito Gesta (21-0-1, 11 KOs) of San Diego, California by way of Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines had no trouble dismantling the weathered Genaro Trazancos (22-14-1, 13 KOs) of Fort Myers, Florida by way of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico.

Gesta, 140, was landing freely by a minute into the bout. As was the case last August, Trazancos, 138 ½, could not find an answer for the speed or boxing ability of Gesta, and it was evident from the outset. By the last minute of the first, it was clear Gesta could land a flurry at any time of his choosing.

Gesta rocked Trazancos early in the second with two right hands, and then calmly went back to boxing. A two-handed Gesta flurry hurt the Mexican against the ropes seconds later. Still on shaky ground, Trazancos moved and covered up enough to make it out of the round.

With the end in sight, Gesta landed a straight left that stunned Trazancos early in the third. Gesta flurried to follow-up and appeared to have a stoppage on his mind. The slippery Trazancos moved and flailed, but eventually got caught again and looked to cover-up. Again, Gesta calmed down and began to pick his shots.

In between rounds three and four, Trazancos expressed that he did not want to continue, which forced referee Ray Balewicz to stop the bout. Trazancos left the ring favoring his ribs. It was the second stoppage of Trazancos for the Filipino prospect, the first coming in the seventh round six months ago. For Trazancos, it was his ninth loss in his last ten bouts. His only win during that stretch came against Waldo Vela, a reported 0-6-3 fighter.

For Gesta the future looks bright. The Filipino plans to make his stand in the 135-pound lightweight division, a weight he has not made since April 2008. Gesta, currently the WBO #12 ranked lightweight, had hoped to fight Hector Velazquez tonight, but that did not come together. Based on recent performances, Gesta appears ready for the next step up in competition.

In a bout where somebody’s ‘O’ had to go, nobody’s did as Adolfo Gonzalez (1-0-1) of Salinas and Jose Leon Jr. (1-0-1) of Visalia, California fought to a four-round draw. Gonzalez, 149, started the bout looking to touch gloves, but was met with an unsportsmanlike right hand from Leon, 150.

Both fighters had their moments in a difficult fight to score, as was evidenced by the final official scores. One judge had it 40-36 in favor of Gonzalez, while another had it 40-36 the other way. The third judge had it even, 38-38, thus forcing the draw. Though Leon showed poor sportsmanship in the opening, he very classily raised the arm of Gonzalez after the decision was read.

Making his professional debut, local favorite Joe Gumina (1-0, 1 KO) of San Bruno, California pleased his hometown crowd with a first-round stoppage of Jose Jesus Hurtado (3-3, 3 KOs) of San Ysidro, California.

It ended up being both a long and short night for the two fighters, who originally entered the ring as the first fight of the event. Shortly after their introductions, it was announced that required paramedic had not yet arrived at the building. After waiting in the ring for over twenty minutes, they were sent back to the dressing room.

The raucous pro-Gumina crowd stuck around until the night’s first walkout bout, and Gumina, 182, took little time giving them what they wanted. Gumina came out in his trademark free-swinging style, forcing Hurtado, 186, to quickly cover-up. The chubby Hurtado defended well before a right uppercut landed clean and sent him backing up. The following barrage sent him to the ropes and eventually down to a knee for the first knockdown. Two hard lefts and another right forced Hurtado down to a knee again, prompting referee Dan Stell to stop the fight at the 1:02 mark of the first.

Former amateur standout Richard Hargraves (2-0-1, 2 KOs) of San Francisco ended an eleven-month layoff in his hometown, but came up with a draw against a determined Clint Coronel (3-1-2, 1 KO) of San Jose, California.

Hargraves, 151, reportedly held two amateur wins over Coronel, 152 ½, who fought professionally as a mixed martial artist before returning to boxing in 2009. In rounds one and two, Hargraves boxed and moved, avoiding the swings of Coronel for the most part. When on the inside early in the bout, Hargraves was quick to tie up in shorter opponent.

Coronel came out more aggressively in the third and quickly caught Hargraves with two solid right hands. Hargraves fell out balance, but regained his footing as he stepped back towards the ropes. Coronel took more chances coming into range, which resulted in a bloodied right eye, but also gave him an opportunity to turn around the fight. An energetic Coronel remained standing for much of the rest period before the fourth.

Sensing he needed the round, Coronel game out guns blazing to start the final stanza. Hargraves weathered the early rush and began to settle back into his box from outside, tie up when on the inside game plan. However, Coronel may have caught the eye of the judges with the one or two hard right hands he landed later in the round. In the end, one judge had the fight for Hargraves, 39-37, while the other two had it even, 38-38.

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

Fernando Guerrero remained undefeated by scoring a ten round unanimous decision over Derrick Findley in front of a packed house at the Wicomico Center in Salisbury, Maryland.

Guerrero was very effective with the jab which set up numerous straight lefts that kept the 5’6″ Findley out of range. Findley became discouraged and came forward but more often then not he would not throw punches. When he did throw he didint land many effective punches. In the meantime it was all Guerrero as he dominated from start to finish by winning by scores 100-90; 99-91 and 99-91.

Guerrero, 157 1/2 lbs of Salisbury, MD is now 21-0. Findley, 160 lbs of Gary, IN is now 17-5.

Now Welterweight Shawn Porter scored a ten round unanimous decision over Anges Adjaho.

Porter was a lot more active and landed some quick combinations. Ironically it may have been Adjaho who landed the more telling blows as he landed some perfect counter rights on five occasions but that was basically the only offense the he mounted as Porter was more consistent with his workrate over the ten ten round bout.

Porter, 144 lbs of Cleveland, OH won by scores of 99-91; 99-91 and 97-93 to remain perfect at 18-0. Adjaho, 146 lbs of Geneva, NY is now 17-5

Good looking nineteen year old Dominic Wade scored a four round unanimous decision over feisty Grover Young in a Super Middleweight bout featuring two undefeated fighters.

Wade was very active as he landed many hard combinations and Young showed good courage by taking and ocassionally giving back.

Wade, 165 1/2 lbs of Washington, DC won by scores of 40-36 on all cards to remain perfect at 10-0. Young, 166 1/2 lbs of Memphis, TN is now 4-1.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Golden Boy Promotions won the purse bid to stage the anticipated rematch between World Light Heavyweight champion Jean Pascal and Bernard Hopkins that will take place on May 21st.

“(Pascal’s promoter) Yvon (Michel) could not come to an agreement with Pascal, so this means he will go back to Canada to meet with Pascal and try to work something out, but the plan is still for the fight to happen May 21 on HBO,” Golden Boy’s Richard Schaefer said. “I don’t know what Yvon offered to Pascal, but I know it was more than what he would be entitled to from the purse bid.”

“The potential sites I listed on my bid were Montreal, Quebec City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles or Philadelphia,” Schaefer said. “We want to see where we can maximize the revenues. Yvon is going back to Pascal to work out a deal. Bernard and Golden Boy, we have a deal, so we are ready to go.

“As Bernard has said, he is willing to go back to Canada, assuming that it’s neutral officials. Bernard was very impressed with the fan support he got in Quebec City. By the end of the night the crowd was cheering, ‘Hopkins! Hopkins!’ So he has no problem going back to Canada, but it has to be neutral officials. If not, the fight will take place in the United States.”

“I am convinced the fight will happen,” Schaefer said. “It’s the fight they both want and we already have television lined up and interest from venues. Yvon and Pascal couldn’t agree on a purse amount, so it went to a bid and now it is settled.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that a highly anticipated rematch between world Jr. Flyweight champion Giovanni Segura will take on former two division champion Ivan Calderon on April 2nd in Mexico.

Mexico’s Segura traveled to Calderon’s native Puerto Rico for the first fight on Aug. 28 and knocked Calderon out in the eighth round in one of the leading Fight of the Year candidates. He handed longtime champion Calderon his first defeat, unified alphabet belts and claimed the lineal championship of the 108-pound division.

“Now it will be different because I’m going to fight with better training and without injuries,” Calderon said Tuesday at a news conference in his hometown of Guaynabo to announce the bout, which will be televised on Integrated Sports pay-per-view in the United States. “We are working right now and no matter that the fight is in Mexico, I’m going to show my boxing, my movements to win this title again. I want to thank Segura for giving me this opportunity.”

Said Segura, “He gave me the opportunity and now we give him the same opportunity, but I’m going to the fight in the best condition to retain this title against a great boxer like Calderon.”

“I guess it’s the biggest fight for the most money for him,” said Richard Mota, Segura’s manager. “When you’re in the small weight classes there are not too many options. Giovani said, ‘He wants the rematch, I’ll give it to him.’ He knows he will struggle to make the weight, but he’ll give it to him. He said he could make the weight one more time. He really wanted to move up to 112, but this is the right fight. Everyone wants to see the rematch, and it’s the biggest money fight for him.

“I know we’re getting more money than Calderon and we got a good deal with the pay-per-view [upside] and all that. We couldn’t say no, so we’re going to do the rematch. We have nothing but respect for Calderon. He’s a great champion. He’s proven it. Giovani has nothing bad to say about Calderon. I know Giovani is very excited to come back to Mexico for a big fight like this. He’s training very hard. He’s already in shape. It’s just the weight. He’ll struggle a little bit.”

ON this coming Sunday afternoon Febraury 20th in London’s East End at the famed spiritual home of boxing Miranda Carter promotes a nine fight card in this her eleventh show of her so far short but successful promotional career as British boxing’s busiest female promoter!

Headlining is Albanian hero Kreshnik Qato whom tops the bill at middle where he faces a yet to be anounced opponent over six rounds.
Also booked for action at lightweight are Mark McCullough and Thamesmead’s Ryan Barrett who once fought current W.B.A light welter champion Amir Khan, plus also there’s prospect Tony Owen whom impressed last time out against Johnny Greaves in the Strand just before Christmas.
Also featured at lightweight is Danny Brown, however up a weight you have Duane Grimes at light welter and moving up to light middle is Gavin James, also
at middle to finish an impressive line up is debutant’s in Kris Agiya-Dua who hope’s to do-a number on his first professional opponent! as doe’s Ricky Boylan who makes his pro bow on this a Sunday afternoon show that starts at 3pm.
All feature in good value for money matchup’s that seasoned matchmaker Jim Evans has expertly put together.
All face selected opposition in what should be a terrific show.

Tickets for this show are priced at just £30 balcony, £50 and £75 for ringside.
If you would like to book your ticket{s} online then please do so at www.leftjab.co.uk/buytickets
Or alternatively phone 07825 795616

Please note door’s open at 2pm and first fight commences at 3pm, so don’t be late!

FAIRFIELD, CALIFORNIA — Rising middleweight Peter Quillin outclassed and busted up Dennis Sharpe on his way to a fourth-round stoppage in the Telefutura Solo Boxeo main event at the Fairfield Sports Center on Friday night.

Quillin (23-0, 17 KOs) of Brooklyn, New York set the tone for the fight in the opening moments of the first round, as he landed a jab, straight right hand combination to back up Sharpe (17-6-3, 4 KOs) of Bayonne, New Jersey. The right hand would be the primary weapon for Quillin, 166, throughout the fight.

Any time Sharpe, 159, would throw a punch, which was not all that often, Quillin seemed to have a perfectly timed counter waiting for him. Having lost the boxing match in the first, Sharpe decided to get into an exchange with Quillin in the second. Quillin got the better of that too, as he tagged Sharpe with two right hands.

By the third round, Sharpe’s nose was bleeding heavily due to Quillin’s right handed attack. In the fourth, two hard rights, followed up by a left hook rocked Sharpe. Another right snapped the Bayonne native’s head back near the ropes. Quillin closed in and landed another right and followed up with a flurry, which prompted referee Marcos Rosales to stop the contest. Official time was 1:54 of round four.

Fairfield’s Alan Sanchez (7-2-1, 2 KOs) dropped John Ryan Grimaldo (6-1, 5 KOs) of Denver, Colorado twice en route to an eight-round unanimous decision victory. Grimaldo, 142, flashed an unbeaten record coming in, but it had been built up against mostly soft opposition. Despite his lack of credentials, Grimaldo showed his heart as he stood up to the varied assault of Sanchez, 144.

The bout began with a cautious and somewhat tentative first round for both combatants. Grimaldo had his best round in the second, as he outworked the inactive Sanchez. The fight changed in the third, as Sanchez caught Grimaldo with a left hook in an exchange. Grimaldo went down, but made it back up and avoided enough of the wild Sanchez attack to last the remaining minute-and-a-half of the round.

Grimaldo seemed to regain his legs in time for the start of the fourth, but he did not mount much of an offense. In the fifth, Sanchez rocked Grimaldo again, this time with a straight right hand. Grimaldo refused to surrender and landed a solid left hook that seemed to bother Sanchez in the sixth. Grimaldo was having one of his better rounds, but Sanchez turned the momentum back in his favor with a left hook of his own late in the sixth.

Grimaldo showed his resolve again in the seventh. The Denver resident stunned Sanchez with a left early, but Sanchez quickly retorted. The local favorite snapped Grimaldo’s head back with a straight right and buckled his knees with a short left hook. In the eighth, Sanchez landed a chopping right and followed with a left hook to drop Grimaldo for a second time. Still game, Grimaldo fought on, even landing a looping right late in the final round. In the end, all three judges scored the bout for Sanchez, 80-70, 79-72 and 78-72.

Fidel Maldonado Jr. (8-0, 7 KOs) of Albuquerque, New Mexico kept his promising career rolling in fashion, as he brutalized late replacement opponent Carlos Hernandez (3-5-2) of San Fernando, California en route to a second-round stoppage.

Maldonado, 145, scored three knockdowns in under four minutes. The first came from a clean, sweeping left hook, which put Hernandez down to the seat of his pants. Hernandez, 142, gamely rose to his feet and fought back, but appeared to have much of his will sapped by another stiff left hand. Moments later Hernandez was on the mat again, this time from a couple rights to the body that did not look to be all that damaging.

The fight could have been halted after the second knockdown, but with the bell following close behind, the fight lasted into the second. Seconds into the round, two quick shots downed Hernandez again. Referee Marcos Rosales called the fight without a count at the time of 37 seconds of the second round.

Manuel Avila (2-0, 1 KO) of Fairfield remained unbeaten with a fourth-round stoppage over willing adversary Jose Garcia (0-3) of Bakersfield, California. Avila, 121, was aggressive at the outset and hurt Garcia, 119, with a right, left combination in the first. In the second Garcia managed to land clean in spots, but his shots did not seem to both Avila too much.

The third round featured some two-way action as well, but Avila landed harder and more often. Avila did not pay too much attention to defense in exchanges, perhaps feeling Garcia did not have the power to hurt him. In the fourth, Avila cornered Garcia into the ropes after landing a hard left hook. A left hook-uppercut hybrid backed Garcia into the turnbuckle and the follow-up flurry prompted referee Ed Collantes to the stop the bout. Official time was 2:28 of round four.

Former amateur star Guy Robb (2-0, 1 KOs) of Sacramento, California scored two official knockdowns and outpointed the naturally larger Omar Sanchez (0-2) of Fairfield via four-round unanimous decision.

Robb, 132, controlled most of the first round with his movement and well-timed punching. The most telling punch of the round was a solid right by Robb, but Sanchez, 138, fought back and landed well just before the bell. The second round was give-and-take. Robb landed a solid right early, and Sanchez landed a hard left hook late in the round.

As the third round progressed, Robb completely took control of the fight. An overhand right from Robb dropped Sanchez midway through the round. Robb kept up the pressure, but Sanchez continued to fire back. In the fourth, Robb staggered Sanchez into the ropes with a left hand. With Sanchez a bit tangled up, referee Ed Collantes ruled it a knockdown. Even without the knockdown ruling, the fight was already Robb’s. In the end the scores read 40-34 and 39-35 twice, all for Robb.

Tonight’s promotional team of Golden Boy Promotions, Don Chargin Productions, Jorge Marron Productions and Paco Presents will promote next Friday’s offering of Telefutura’s Solo Boxeo from the Longshoremen’s Hall in San Francisco, California. There are plans to return to Fairfield, or go to Vacaville, for an event on March 25th.

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

Number-one ranked Super Bantamweight Rico Ramos scored a solid yet not spectacular ten round unanimous decision over two-time world title challenger Alex Valdez at Ballys in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Ramos was effective at times with the right hand but their were many lapses for Ramos who in recent fights had picked up momentum as he is graduating from prospect to contender.

With his experience, Valdez did the things that prospects get asked to see if they are ready for championship level opposition as he was more then competitive throughout the ten round affair.

The action picked up slightly over the last few rounds with Ramos handspeed being the difference in the bout .

Said Ramos, “After that head butt, I had to come back because I didn’t want it to dictate my fight.”

“It was tough. I didn’t think it would be this tough,” said Ramos. “There were a lot of head butts and holds but I’ve got no complaints.”

Despite dropping the decision, Valdez said after the bout, “I exposed that [Ramos] is still very green and protected.”

Don George came off his first professional loss in style as he annihilated previously undefeated knockout artist Cornelius White in one round of their scheduled eight round Super Middleweight bout.

George dropped White for the first time with a huge right hand. Clearly hurt, White continued to eat a huge flurry that was culminated by a big right hand that sent White to the canvas for a second time. George jumped on White and yet another twenty punch flurry sent White into the ropes and eventually down and thats when referee Randy Neumann stopped the fight just 2:02 into the fight.

George, 168 lbs of Chicago, IL is now 21-1-1 with eighteen knockouts. White, 167 1/2 lbs of Houston is now 16-1.

After the fight, an ecstatic George exclaimed, “I’m back. Some people are pretty upset out there because I was paid to lose. They thought I was an opponent.

“I feel great. I’ll fight for SHOWTIME again next week, if they want.”

In what was the most anticipated bout on the card Eddie Chambers made his first appearance since his his disappointing title challenge to Wladimir Klitschko last March as he took on Derric Rossy in a rematch of a bout that took place almost three years to the date.

The bout was mandated as part of an IBF elimination bout.

It was Rossy who looked to be more the active fighter early as he would throw short combinations that got his loud cheering section into the bout.

But after round three, it was Chambers who won majority of the rounds and by decisive margins as he used his still lighting quick handspeed to befuddle Rossy. The fight started getting repetitive and Rossy started bleeding from the nose in round four.

At the beginning of round six, Chambers landed a booming overhand right that sent Rossy to the canvas. Chambers had Rossy in trouble but for some odd reason Chambers momenterily took his foot off the gas pedal but landed another big right and left at the bell.

The punch of choice were rights that were piston-like that continuously found a landing spot on Rossy’s face.

Rossy would mount some offense here and there as he basically lived on the ropes for the entire fight as he tried to dodge the artillery that Chambers was firing off. The fruits of Chambers work showed up as a cut started steaming down the right of Rossy in round nine.

Chambers gave two more big efforts as he sent Rossy to the ropes with big rights in round ten and rocked him once more as Rossy was able to make it to the final bell.

Chambers, 208 lbs of Philadelphia won by scores of 120-107; 117-110 and 115-112 to raise his record 36-2. Rossy, 237 1/2 lbs from Medford, NY is now 25-3.

Former U.S. Olympian Ricardo Williams dropped veteran and former world title challenger John Brown two times in the final round of their scheduled six round Welterweight bout before the bout was mercifully stopped at 1:37 of that final round.

Williams battered Brown all over the ring for five rounds of the bout that was never competitive. Brown was cut over his right eye as early as round one and the bout did not get any better for the Atlantic City native.

Williams, 147 1/2 lbs of Cincinnati, OH is now 17-2 with ten knockouts. Brown, 146 lbs of Atlantic City is now 24-19-2.

Thomas LaManna needed just fifty-one seconds to take out Anthony Williams in a scheduled four round Jr. Middleweight bout.

LaManna and Williams came out winging shots that pleased the crowd until LaManna drilled Williams into the ropes and on the canvas. When Williams got to his feet referee Randy Nuemann stopped the bout.

LaManna, 155 1/2 lbs of Milville, NJ is 1-0. Williams, 153 1/2 lbs of Wilson, NC is 0-3

Antonin Decarie scored a ten round unanimous decision over fringe contender Shamone Alvarez in a welterweight bout at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.

Alvarez has some success early as he moved in and out and got through with some left hands. Decarie started taking over as early as round three has began to get through with some good right hands. In round five, Decarie sent Alvarez to the canvas with one of those sharp rights and again sent Alvarez down at the end of round eight eight. The plethora of right hands opened up a cut over the left eye of Alvarez. Alvarez was not much of a threat heading down the stretch as the native son Decarie performed well in his first major headlining appearance.

Decarie, 147 lbs of Laval, Canada won by scores of 99-89; 98-90; and 97-91 to raise his record to 25-1. Alvarez, 147 lbs of Atlantic City, NJ is now 21-4.

Jo Jo Dan scored a sixth round technical decision over former world champion Steve Forbed when a headbutt opened up a nasty cut over the left eye of Forbes.

Dan scored well with some decent shots while Forbes tried to work the body. In round six, Forbed came forward and two fighters clashed heads that opened up the cut and the fight was stopped.

Dan, 146 1/2 lbs of Montreal won by scores of 58-56 of all cards and is now 28-1. Forbes, 147 lbs of Detroit is 35-9.

Ghislum Maduma remained undefeated with a four round unanimous decision over Isaac Bejarano in a Lightweight bout.

Maduma dominated the action with an assortment of punches against a tough but overmateched Bejarano.

Maduma, 133 lbs of Montreal won by scores of 40-34; 40-36 to go to 3-0. Bejarano, 135 lbs of Ciudad, Mexico is now 9-9-1.

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that Nathan Cleverly will battle Juergan Brahemer for a Light Heavyweight belt on April 2nd at Wembley Arena in London.

“I’m delighted that I’ve been able to secure home advantage for Nathan,” said Frank Warren. “It wasn’t cheap to get Brahmer over here, but it will be worth it because I really believe in Nathan and he has a big future ahead of him. It looked like the fight was going to go to purse bids, but we made a substantial offer the night before and it was enough to persuade Brahmer to say yes.”

“Nathan has worked incredibly hard for this opportunity, and waited patiently to get his shot,” Warren said. “He’s getting this fight at exactly the right time, and it could be a massive moment in his career. This is a huge fight. Brahmer is a proven champion and belongs at elite level, while Cleverly is young and hungry and could be the next big thing in the UK. Don’t forget that light-heavyweight is a very sexy division right now.

“You’ve got Chad Dawson, Bernard Hopkins, Tavoris Cloud and Jean Pascal out there, and Nathan has the chance to make a name for himself both here and in the [United] States.”

“I always thought that I would get my shot at Brahmer,” Cleverly said. “There was talk that he might be stripped or would vacate the title, but I never wanted that to happen. He’s the champion and the only way I would consider myself a true champion is if I took the belt from him, rather than picking up the vacant title. I’m going to take the fight to Brahmer, walk through him and give him some serious punishment. I feel that this fight has come at the perfect time for me and I want to make a big statement.

“You only have to take a look at Brahmer’s record to realize just how dangerous he will be. He’s a genuine champion and a genuine talent, but I think I have enough in my armory to beat him. Before my last fight I was only sparring amateurs, but this time around I’ve got some big professional cruiserweights in and I’ve been knocking them out. I’m going to significantly better against Braehmer than I was against Mohammedi, and I’m predicting a spectacular performance.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com former three time world champion Erik Morales will takes on Marcos Maidana to headline an HBO PPV card on April 9 in Las Vegas.

“I got the ‘Fight Freak’ card done,” Said Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions, referring to the hardcore boxing fans he hopes to please with the lineup. “Everything is locked in.”

The other televised bouts on the show:

• Robert Guerrero, a former featherweight and junior lightweight titlist, and Australian action star Michael Katsidis will meet in the co-feature matching lightweight contenders.

• Middleweight Winky Wright will face Matthew Macklin of Great Britain in a previously announced bout.

• Junior middleweight James Kirkland, one of boxing’s hottest rising stars before his career was sidetracked by an 18-month prison stint, will open the card against an opponent to be named. Kirkland’s fight is contingent upon winning and not being injured in a fight scheduled for March 5, his first fight since being released from a halfway house where he recently completed his sentence.

“I can tell you what Erik Morales said to me, that he feels like this is an early Christmas present,” Schaefer said. “It’s really the fight he wants. He feels that he has the style to beat Maidana and he feels with Maidana, he is taking on the most dangerous 140-pounder. He said, ‘I don’t want to just do a fight. I want to do a fight where a win will take me back to where I was.’ I agree with Erik that a win against Maidana will do exactly that. Maidana is one of the most credible 140-pounders and an exciting fighter. Most people rank him third in the division [behind Timothy Bradley Jr. and Khan].”

“He and his father were begging us for this fight,” Schaefer said. “He did take some time off and there is a history of fighters who took time off and came back and did write another chapter in the career, and not only pick up where they left off but go to bigger heights.

“Erik has had three fights [on his comeback], not against the easiest opponents, but not against the toughest opponents. But that shows how serious he is about his comeback. Each opponent was a gradual step up and it allowed him to measure where he stands. I’m happy for him that we were able to deliver that early Christmas gift to him. Not many fighters would sign up to fight Maidana.”

“It’s one of the most exciting fights one can make in boxing and I’m really looking forward to it,” Schaefer said. “Helluva fight. The winner will come out as a major guy.”

When touching on the Wright-Macklin fight, Schaefer said “There’s a lot at stake for both guys,”

“James Kirkland will open up the show,” Schaefer said. “The plan is that we have James fighting on March 5 in a non-televised bout and then he’ll come back on April 9 on the opening bout of the pay-per-view.”

Gabriel Bracero once again thrilled his large and loyal fan base and is quickly becoming “Mr Broadway Boxing” as he scored a eight round unanimous decision over veteran Chris Fernandez at BB Kings in Midtown Manhatten on Wednesday night.

Gabriel Bracero vs. Chris Fernandez — 8 Rounds, junior welterweight

In the main event at BB King’s Bar & Grill in Times Square, Brooklyn’s Gabriel Bracero outpointed Salt Lake City’s Chris Fernandez to stay undefeated.

The first two rounds of the fight served as feeling-out rounds, as both fighter’s tried to establish their jabs. Both rounds were fairly uneventful and difficult to score.

In the third round, with the pro-Bracero crowd chanting “Tito! Tito!” Bracero picked up the pace a bit, putting together more combinations, and finally connected with his best punch of the round — a straight right hand — as the bell sounded to end round three.

In the fifth round, Bracero hurt Fernandez with a right hand and had his opponent backing up against the ropes. Bracero followed up and landed a nice combination while Fernandez was still gathering himself against the ropes. To his credit, Fernandez ate Bracero’s best shots and fired back with uppercuts and short punches. Again, the best action came in the final ten seconds of the round, as the two stood in the pocket, trading punches, with Bracero seemingly getting the better of Fernandez.

Round six looked much like the first two rounds, with both fighter’s throwing mostly ineffective jabs. Bracero won the round, however, when he threw — and landed — combinations. Just like the previous rounds, Bracero broke through late, and found success just before the bell with a left to the body, right the head combination.

The seventh round proved to be close, with Bracero slightly outworking his counterpart. The eight and final round opened with the fans serenading their fighting with melodic chants of “Tiiiiito! Tiiiiito!” Fernandez pressed the action, coming forward more this round than any of the previous seven. It was mildly effective, but Bracero still got the best of Fernandez, opening up a cut over his right eye.

When it was all said and done, all three judges scored the bout in favor of Bracero. The three scores were 80-71, twice, and 79-72.

With the win, Bracero improves to 14-0, 1 KO, while the loss drops Fernandez’s record to 19-12-1, 11 KO.

In the co-feature, Light Heavyweight Mark Tucker remained undefeated with an uninspiring six round unanimous decision over Ray Smith.

Tucker came out very active as he started pumping the jab from the southpaw stance. Smith started to get through with some good shots and started smothering Tucker on the ropes in round two. Smith started landing rights and left that bounced Tucker’s head back and forth and seemed to be finding a rhythm. It was more of the same in round four but Tucker showed signs of life and began picking up the tempo in round five before the two had a action filled round six.

Tucker, 174 lbs of Eldsburg, MD won by scores of 59-55 on all cards to remain undefeated at 15-0. Smith, 176 lbs of Little Rock, Arkansas deserved better and is now 9-5.

Allan Benitez vs. Joseliz Cepeda — 4 Rounds, Featherweights

Before the first bout of the evening, promoter Lou DiBella, announced to the media that Allan Benitez is a fighter to watch. Benitez has a very strong amateur pedigree, and was hoping to showcase his skills in front of a very critical New York media. His opponent was Joseliz Cepeda, who was sporting a record of two wins and one loss. The featherweight bout was scheduled for four rounds.

The bout opened with Cepeda landing a strong right to the body that knocked Benitez back, and then following up with strong overhand rights. Benitez stayed strong, working with a body attack and not allowing himself to get caught up in a sloppy fight. The second round opened up with Benitez going hard to the body and eventually bringing it upstairs. A flurry that pinned Cepeda on the ropes seemed to take some of his confidence, because Benitez was met with much less resistance afterwards.

Despite being in control, Benitez still has a very amateur style in that he does not have any jab whatsoever, and all of his punches are good scoring blows that come in flurries, but there is not punch power behind them. By the end of the third, Cepeda regained some confidence and began landing short left hooks on the inside, and finishing off the round with two strong overhand rights. The last round saw lots of action, with Benitez starting very strong, and Cepeda landing a left hook that knocked Benitez back into the ropes. In the end, the scorecards read 40-36, 39-37 and 39-37 for Cepeda. We scored it 39-37 the other way. It seems as if Cepeda’s harder punches were favored over Benitez’ higher output but soft punches. — Arben Paloka

Steven Martinez vs. Ishwar Amador — 6 rounds, Jr. Middleweights

In a junior middleweight fight scheduled for six rounds, Steven Martinez (7-0, 6 KO’s) took on Ishwar Amador (11-8, 7 KO’s). Martinez is managed by New York Giants halfback Brandon Jacobs and is coming in with lots of support from the crowd and from his handlers.

Neither fighter needed much time feeling eachother out. Martinez started the fight with a hard left hook, and then followed up with a right hand. Shortly afterwards, a right hand, left hook, right hand combination floored Amador. He beat the count, but was greeted with a vicious beating from Martinez that knocked him from one side of the ring to the other. Powerful rights and lefts were landed at will. The referee jumped in to save Amador at the 1:11 mark of the first round giving Martinez a TKO victory. — Arben Paloka

Deano Burrell vs. Sidell Blocker — 4 Rounds, Lightweights

In a major upset at the lightweight division, previously winless Sidell Blocker scored a unanimous decision victory over heavily favored, Deano Burrell.

In the opening round, Blocker was intent on making a statement. The winless fighter came out firing, swinging wildly, looking to land big punches. Burrell looked a bit flustered, and wildly returned fire, often missing. Midway through the first round, Blocker opened up a gash above Burrell’s right eye, courtesy of a left hook. With about thirty ticks remaining int he first stanza, Blocker floored Burrell with a quick right hand.

The second round picked up where the first left off. Blocker and Burrell trading ill-intentioned blows. Just when Burrell was beginning to find success, he stunned Burrell with another overhand right. A quick flurry of punches put Burrell on the canvas for the second time in two rounds. To his credit, Burrell shook off the knockdown and scored big to close out the round. As round two was coming to an end, Burrell landed a bullet-like straight left right on the chin of Blocker, who took it surprisingly well.

The third round opened up with Burrell showing desperation. He began throwing wild, looping power punches, hoping to hit a fistic home run. Blocker, who was a bit reckless for a fighter with a four-point lead through two rounds, traded with Burrell throughout the third.

When the rang for the fourth, Burrell once again pressed the action, constantly coming forward, engaging Blocker. The London-import, visibly tired, continued to through wide left. Once again, Blocker decided to play with fire and instead of tightening his defense, or riding his bike to victory, he stood and traded with the decorated amateur. In a shocking upset, Blocker was able to weather the storm and earn his first victory.

All three judges scored the bout in favor of Blocker, 38-37 twice and 37-36.

With the win, Blocker improves to 1-3-1, while Burrell drops his first professional loss falling to 1-1, 1 KO. — Kyle Kinder

Ryan Kielczewski vs. Wilshaun Boxley — 6 Rounds, junior lightweights

Quincy, Massachusetts’s Ryan “The Polish Prince” Kielczewski impressed over six rounds en route to an easy unanimous decision victory over Minnesota’s Wilshaun Boxley.

From the opening round, Kielczewski established a crisp and effectively jab that created the distance necessary for him to go to work. A conscious commitment to the body from the “Polish Prince” proved to be an effective strategy to stop Boxley before he started.

Kielczewski beautifully pieced combinations together, most prominent in the middle rounds, and behind his tight defense, was rarely touched in this fight.

In the sixth round, it was clear that Kielczewski wanted to make a statement and not let this fight go to the scorecards. He came out firing, wailing heavy rights and lefts at the hard-to-miss Boxley. But no matter how hard Kielczewski’s punches landed — and they did indeed land — Boxley hung on to hear the decision read by the judges.

All three judges scored the bout a shutout for Kielczewski, 60-54.

With the win, Kielczewski improves his already unbeaten record to 9-0, 2 KOs, while Boxley drops to 6-8-1. — Kyle Kinder

Boyd Melson vs. Marquise Bruce — 4 Rounds, junior middleweights

The former Army man, Boyd Melson (1-0 1KO), hit the ring against Marquise Bruce (0-0-1) in a lightweight bout. Melson had many of his fellow West Point members in attendance for support. In his debut, Melson was very trigger happy to showcase his power in front of his friends, and ended up getting dropped. This time around, he took a very calm approach to start the fight and looked for his opponent to make a mistake. Melson, a southpaw, set the pace of the fight with his jab and straight left. Bruce tried turning the fight into a brawl, but Melson used his footwork to maintain a favorable style of fight.

In the second things got more heated as each fighter tried hurting the other. Left hooks were traded and neither fighter seemed phased. bruce landed another left hook that briefly stunned Melson, and now it was Melson on the retreat. Melson landed a right to even things out afterwards. The third round was absolutely wild as Melson decided to turn the fight into a brawl. Bruce obliged, but found himself against the ropes. Nothing serious was landed, but Melson was looking to make a statement. The pace slowed down by the middle of the round.

entering the fourth round, both fighters knew the fight was close and that the fight could possibly come down to wh owins the round. Bruce started things by landing a hard shot. Melson followed up with a higher volume of punching, but Bruce was able to land solid blows to counter. Both fighters traded hard straight punches. Melson’s nose began to bleed. The fight ended, and the scores read 38-38, 39-37, and 39-37 giving Melson a majority decision victory. — Arben Paloka.

Keisher McLeod-Wells vs. Melissa McMorrow — 6 Rounds, flyweight

In a female fight scheduled for six rounds and to be fought in the flyweight division, Keisher McLeod-Wells (3-1, 1KO) took on Melissa McMorrow (4-1-3).

McLeod-Wells started the fight utilizing her jab, while McMorrow, who was considerably shorter, tried getting beneath the jab in order to get inside. McLeod-Wells, a golden gloves champion, was too good and didn’t let down her guard. The second round saw McMorrow pick up ground as was finally able to land overhand punches. McMorrow began to work even harder as the fight progressed, and was able to turn the tables and turn the fight into more of a brawl. As the fight progressed, McLeod-Wells stayed disciplined and stuck to her game plan of keeping McMorrow at the end of her punches. In the sixth round, a stong straight right stunned McMorrow and she briefly touched the canvas. The pace of the fight remained the same afterwards, and McLeod-Wells rolled on to a unanimous decision victory with scores of 58-55, 57-56, and 57-56. — Arben Paloka

Seanie Monaghan vs. Angel Gonzalez — 4 Rounds, light heavyweight

In a bout scheduled for four rounds, Long Beach’s Seanie Monaghan squared off against Yonker’s Angel Gonzalez.

Good action was present throughout the first round, as both fighter’s were willing to engage one another. In the first half of the first round, Gonzalez outworked Monaghan, who ate a few powerful left hooks to the body and a series of uppercuts to the chin courtesy of his counterpart.

With an already marked-up face, Monaghan turned it on in the second half of the inaugural round, scoring with meaningful power punches to Gonzalez’s face. Perhaps the most significant punch landed by the fan-favorite, Monaghan, came at the rounds close, when he landed a perfectly placed straight right on the button.

In the second round, both fights came in close and never left. Both fighter’s went to work ont he inside and neither proved to be particularly elusive. Monaghan was able to land straight rights at will, while Gonzalez consistently landed his uppercuts. Midway through the first round, Monaghan cranked it up a gear again. He scored with a series of right hands, one so powerful it violently snapped Gonzalez’s head around. To his credit, Gonzalez came firing back, landing a series of punches while Monaghan was backed into the corner. Similar to the end of round one, Monaghan hurt Gonzalez with only seconds to spare in the round — this time it was a left hook to the body that had Gonzalez in pain.

Round three opened up with Monaghan once again finding a home for his straight right hand. Overall, round three belonged to Monaghan, but it didn’t come without him being on the receiving end of some punishment. With about a minute left in the round, a gassed Monaghan took a quick rest against the ropes. Gonzalez, who was equally as exhausted lost tons of steam on his punches by the third round.

When Gonzalez returned to his stool, he sat slumped over, his head resting just above his knees. The ringside doctor caught site of this, examined Gonzalez, and ordered the referee to call a halt to the bout before the fourth round began.

With the win, Monaghan improves to 5-0, 4 KOs, while Gonzalez drops to 2-5, 2 KOs. — Kyle Kinder

Photo by Claudia Bocanegra

In what looks to be shaping up as the fight card of the year, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. will defend the WBO Super Bantamweight championship against former world champion Jorge Arce on May 7th underneath Manny Pacquiao defending the WBO Welterweight championship against Shane Mosley

“We’re done, we’re good to go,” said Carl Moretti of Top Rank of the deal with Vazquez promoter Tuto Zabala. “We’ve agreed on everything. We’ll be doing a lot of fights with Tuto and Vazquez.”

We could sign the papers on the night of the fight for all I know. I’ve known Tuto for 24 years. This deal is a result of a relationship that goes way back,” Moretti said. “I trust him and he trusts us and because of what we do on the island, and the opportunities we have coming up, it’s a win, win for everyone, especially [Vazquez].”

“Tuto has seen how we can take guys to the next level on the island and then cross them over in the [heavily Puerto Rican] New York market,” Moretti said. “We’ll make joint decisions on everything about Vazquez. We do what makes sense for the fighter first.”

“Vazquez is in a perfect weight class,” Moretti said. “We have guys who can come up and challenge him, and eventually he will move up to featherweight where there are a lot of good fights. It’s a great situation. He is well liked in Puerto Rico and he has his father’s name as part of the package.”

In addition to the main event, this fight could be on a card that will be a rematch of a fight of what many called the 2010 fight of the year between WBC Lightweight champion Humberto Soto and Urbano Antillon as well as the return of former Middleweight world champion Kelly Pavlik

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com a much anticipated rematch between world Light Heavyweight champion Jean Pascal and Bernard Hopkins has a just a few hurdles to clear before it comes to fruition on May 21st.

The two fought a controversial draw on December 18th in a bout most people believe that Hopkins deserved the nod.

The fight was broadcasted on Showtime and the rematch will be headed to HBO if completed.

“The deal, as far as the fight itself, we have the date,” Hopkins said, adding that he also had worked out his financial agreement with Golden Boy promoter Richard Schaefer. “Now we have to find a site. I’d love to fight in Montreal. I’d love to go where the best offer is for the fight. Montreal, fine. In Las Vegas, fine. I’m ready and I just want to settle the score. I want to set the record straight.”

Said Schaefer, “Bernard is on board with everything. Now I just need to work out the venue with [Pascal promoter] Yvon Michel.”

Michel said he was confident he would come to terms with Pascal on their side of the deal.

“We haven’t finalized with Jean Pascal yet but we are working on the details,” Michel said. “It will be a few days before we finish that. And we have to meet with Richard and talk about some other things, but overall we are pretty happy that we could do this.”

The WBC, whose belt Pascal holds, ordered an immediate rematch with the winner mandated to fight Chad Dawson next. However, there was the thorny issue of a contractual rematch that Pascal already owed Dawson, who lost to Pascal in August. The rematch clause allowed the 28-year-old Pascal (26-1-1, 16 KOs) to take an interim fight, which he did against Hopkins, before he would be obligated to face Dawson again.

However, Pascal-Hopkins II is a far more lucrative fight than Pascal-Dawson II. So Gary Shaw, Dawson’s promoter, quietly worked with Golden Boy, Michel and HBO to work out a deal under which Dawson will pass on the rematch for the time being, fight on the televised undercard of Pascal-Hopkins II and then get a shot at the main event winner if he also wins.

“I believe Gary was able to get his own license fee from HBO to have a fight with Dawson on the show with the guaranteed license fee for Dawson to fight the winner of Pascal-Hopkins,” Michel said. “Overall, I believe Gary Shaw understood what was the most popular thing to do and he negotiated for his side to make sure Dawson was taken care of. He was very cooperative. He fought for his guy, but he understood the complexity. I really appreciated how he worked on the agreement. He helped make sure we could do this rematch, which is the best for the weight division and for the fighters and the fans.”

According to Schaefer and Michel, Dawson’s undercard fight could come against either Montreal’s Adrian Diaconu (a former titleholder) or Librado Andrade, the Southern California resident from Mexico who is popular in Quebec; he considers Quebec a second home. Andrade has challenged Montreal’s Lucian Bute for his super middleweight title twice in the province.

“I believe that it’s a historic situation for me and things worked out the way I expected,” Hopkins said. “I think it’s good for boxing and good for us to settle the score. I’m just very excited and looking forward to breaking George Foreman’s record and making history. I can’t wait [until] May 21 to show people I beat him the first time and I will beat him the second time. I’ll be a few months older than I was last time, which should put [the record] even more out of reach.”

I changed my opinion of fighting in Canada when it comes to Montreal,” Hopkins said. “I’ll go to Montreal. Everything is based on the referee and the judges. It wasn’t the fans that voted in the fight. The Canadian people treated me very well in Quebec City. The thing was the referee and the judges, mainly the judges. The judges didn’t do the right thing and the WBC agreed with us and ordered the rematch. I can’t punish Canada for what the judges see or don’t see. As long as the judges are straight and the referee is straight with the way he handles things, I will go back to Canada.

“Richard and I got the money done. That was not an issue with us. But looking for a fight sight, Richard asked me if I would go back to Canada. I said yes, as long as the judges and referee are neutral.”

“The date is very important to Bernard. He does not want to wait,” Schaefer said.

“I’m glad HBO invited me back home to end my historic career,” he said. “I still have a few things I want to do. My dream hit list is Pascal, Chad Dawson if he wins and then I would like to clean out Canada by beating Bute at light heavyweight. That’s an impressive list put together for an old man.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Manny Pacquiao wull relinquish his WBC Super Welterweight championship as his promoter Bob Arum said he wont be fighting in that division anymore.

Pacquiao’s 154-pound title was “declared vacant, following the unanimous voting of the WBC board of governors, due to the inability of the champion to defend his WBC title,” according to a statement from the Mexico-based organization.

Pacquiao had no intention of defending the title, which was vacant when he won it by easily outpointing Antonio Margarito at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

In line to fight for the now-vacant junior middleweight belt are mandatory challenger Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and a contender to be appointed by the WBC.

MAYWOOD, CALIFORNIA — In what would have been a mild upset, Dyah Davis looked to have a decision victory in his grasp, but had to settle for a majority draw with world ranked super middleweight contender Francisco Sierra in Saturday’s main event at the Maywood Activity Center.

The actual fight will not further the career of either fighter, but Davis should have the victory on his record. Davis (18-2-1, 9 KOs) of Coconut Creek, Florida seemed to win a minimum of seven rounds, but two judges managed to find the fight even after ten rounds.

Sierra (23-3-1, 21 KOs) of Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico never got unhinged in the fight, which was not a crowd pleaser. Sierra, 170 ¾, could not get the bat of his shoulder and only managed to land one punch at a time whenever he did land. Davis, 169, worked well in spots from the outside, but most of the fight consisted of a lot of falling in and clinching.

Davis began to get more effective work done in the second half of the fight. A left hook forced Sierra to stumble coming in twice in the seventh, with the second having more power behind it. Davis’ confidence continued to rise, as he held his left hand down low and pursued Sierra in the eighth. Another lead left hook scored for Davis in the ninth and a left jab, straight right landed clean in the tenth. Sierra showed signs of life, landing a right late in the round, but as was the case for much of the fight, the Mexican could not maintain any sort of momentum.

In the end, only one judge had it for Davis, by the correctly wide tally of 98-92. The other two judges seated ringside unfortunately must have fallen asleep, deciding perhaps no one deserved the win, as they handed in scorecards of 95-95. Sierra entered the bout the WBO #10 ranked super middleweight, based solely on his knockout of prospect Donovan George last year.

Oscar Meza (21-4, 17 KOs) of Van Nuys, California by way of El Dorado, Sinaloa, Mexico moved past game journeyman Leo Martinez (15-15, 7 KOs) of Columbus, Ohio by way of Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl, Estado de Mexico, Mexico by unanimous eight-round decision.

After a feeling out round one, Meza, 136 ¾, turned up the heat in round two, as he put his punches together a little more. Martinez, 135 ½, became more offensive in round three, but it was still Meza landing the harder shots. Meza really began to put a hurt on Martinez in round five, which was evidenced by the marks on his face. Martinez did not fare any better in the sixth either, as Meza kept up the pressure.

Early in the seventh, a left hook dropped Martinez hard to the canvas. The Ohio-based warrior got right back up and gamely made it out of the round and actually may have won the eighth with his activity level. In the end, all three judges had the bout for Meza, 80-72, 78-73 and 79-72.

Andy Ruiz Jr. (7-0, 5 KOs) of Imperial, California by way of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico battered Kelsey Arnold (4-6-2, 1 KO) of Lexington, Tennessee en route to a third-round stoppage. Ruiz, 257 ½, got rough in round two, bloodying the nose of Arnold, 241, and flooring him with a jab on a break. The potential knockdown was correctly waved off by referee David Mendoza. In the third, Ruiz relentlessly pounded Arnold, who was leaking crimson quite heavily, before Mendoza called a halt to the violence at the 2:19 mark of the third.

Fighting before a vocal supporting crowd in the first walkout bout, debuting Raymond Chacon (1-0) of Los Angeles scored a four-round unanimous decision over Manuel Machorro (0-3) of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. Chacon, 121, was the aggressor in an awkward fight, which was more than enough to get the unanimous verdict over Machorro, 119. All three judges handed in tallies of 40-36 for Chacon.

Jose Roman (9-0, 7 KOs) of Garden Grove, California remained unbeaten with a six-round unanimous decision over Johnny Frazier (2-5-3, 2 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada in the night’s final bout. Frazier, 132, coming off of a four-round decision loss to Jose’s younger brother Jessie Roman, was dropped in the first. A right hook stunned him and set the table for a left hook that cleaned up for the knockdown.

Roman, 133, rocked Frazier with another sweeping left hook in the second. Frazier came alive in the third as he landed well with Roman’s back to the ropes. Roman shut down his offense for a bit after getting buzzed, but awoke late in the fight. The sixth featured some tense action, but in the end Roman had no need to worry, the fight was already his on the cards. In the end, Roman won by scores of 60-53 and 59-54 twice.

In a closer than anticipated contest, Patrick Teixeira (12-0, 10 KOs) of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil just got by Nampa, Idaho’s David Lopez (3-4) via six-round split decision. Lopez, 155 ½, won over the crowd with his active pace, but it was Teixeira, 155, that won over the majority of the official judges in the end. Two had it 59-55 for Teixeira, while one had it the other way, 58-56 for Lopez.

Davis-Sierra Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Additional Photos by Mark Ortega

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

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, WBA Super Lightweight champion Amir Khan will battle Paul McCloskey on April 16th in Manchester, England in a fight between two fighters from the United Kingdom.

“I am delighted that this fight has finally been put together following some tough negotiations,” Khan said in a statement Saturday. “This is a matchup the British public want to see and will be a fantastic fight between two of the best light welterweights in the country.”

HBO will televise Khan-McCloskey on same-day tape in the United States while Sky Box Office will carry it live on pay-per-view in Britain. HBO plans to pair the fight with live coverage of Andre Berto’s welterweight defense against Victor Ortiz, who would move up from junior welterweight, from a site to be determined in the U.S. Berto-Ortiz is close to being finalized.

“Amir is back. The ‘King’ is back. It’s his homecoming, his first fight at home in over 12 months,” said Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, Khan’s promoter. “He is excited to take on an undefeated fighter in Paul McCloskey. He is looking forward to the showdown. I am still working with [Berto promoter] Lou DiBella to finalize the live fight from the U.S., Berto-Ortiz. It will be a great night of boxing.”

“McCloskey is European champion and he has been calling out Amir,” Schaefer said. “Amir had other fighters on his mind, but for his homecoming, to fight a guy from Northern Ireland who is undefeated, it makes sense. It’s an important showdown for the British fight fans and for Sky. McCloskey has yet to taste defeat. That makes him dangerous and motivated because he doesn’t know how to lose. McCloskey is licking his chops to get his hands on Amir.

“I heard that he wants to go and finish what Maidana started. Of course, Amir will have something to say bout that.”

SANTA YNEZ, CALIFORNIA — Making the move from prospects to contenders, featherweight Luis Franco and cruiserweight Lateef Kayode were matched tough, but well as they passed their most demanding tests to date at the Chumash Casino Resort on Friday night.

Competing for just the ninth time as a professional, Franco (9-0, 5 KOs) of Miami, Florida by way of Havana, Cuba moved past veteran Leonilo Miranda (32-3, 30 KOs) of Huatabampo, Sonora, Mexico with an entertaining ten-round split decision.

Things did not start out well for Franco, 126, in the first. Miranda, 126, buzzed him early in the round and seemed to score a knockdown with straight left as Franco backed up. Though Franco looked hurt, referee Marcos Rosales ruled it a slip.

After a first round that was all Miranda, Franco came out and boxed in the second as if the fight was starting over. When the former Cuban Olympian utilized his superior boxing skills, he seemed to be on a completely different level than Miranda. Through the fourth round, Franco kept his range and frustrated the free-swinging Mexican with his constant movement.

Inexplicably, with the fight going his way, Franco decided to stand and trade with Miranda in spots. Franco was giving Miranda his only chance for victory, because when the Cuban boxed and moved, the Mexican had no answer. In the fifth, Miranda seemed to stun Franco with a left hook at one such instance, but the Cuban came back and closed out the round well.

In the sixth, Franco, the WBO #9/IBF #13 ranked featherweight contender, went back to his bread and butter style and controlled the next few rounds. Franco closed out the eighth pressuring Miranda against the ropes has he sat down on a flurry. However, in the ninth, Franco again decided to stand his ground and trade with the Mexican puncher. It was a risky move, but Franco was outworking the tiring Miranda.

Franco fought the tenth much the same as the ninth, and Miranda obliged as the round featured some excellent two-way action. Both warriors were visibly tired, but still throwing a ton of punches. Franco’s higher output and movement gave him an edge in the round as they closed out the ten-round bout.

Judge Ray Balewicz saw the fight for Miranda, 96-94. Judges Ralph McKnight and Steve Morrow had Franco the winner, 97-93 and 96-94 respectively. With the win, Franco retained his WBO Intercontinental Featherweight title and likely improved upon his world rankings.

In the co-feature, WBA #4/WBO #4/WBC #6 ranked cruiserweight Lateef Kayode (16-0, 14 KOs) of Hollywood, California by way of Lagos, Nigeria saw his 14-fight knockout streak snapped, but he did score a ten-round unanimous decision over Nicholas Iannuzzi (16-2, 9 KOs) of Tampa, Florida.

Iannuzzi, 198, probably fought the best fight he could have, but it was not enough to win over the official scorers seated ringside. The first two rounds featured little action, as Iannuzzi moved and moved, and Kayode, 199, was far too patient. The fight began to pick up a bit in the third, after Iannuzzi gained some confidence after landing a solid counter right. Iannuzzi began to mix in some offense with his constant movement, as he landed well in spots and wisely got out of danger.

In the fourth, Iannuzzi was even braver, as he stood his ground at times and landed well. Kayode was slow to pick up his work rate until late in the fifth round. The sixth round told the story of the fight. Iannuzzi landed a good combination after countering Kayode and picked his spots at other times in the round. However, the most telling blow was landed by Kayode, a short left that rocked Iannuzzi. It would be up to the judges if they preferred Iannuzzi’s higher output, or Kayode’s one or two power punches.

Iannuzzi continued to stick to the game plan in the seventh, as he landed a quick combination upstairs and quickly got out of range. At one moment, Kayode feinted being hurt to try and entice Iannuzzi forward. Late in the round, Kayode landed a solid hook upstairs and then placed another to the body. The second one seemed to take a little steam out of Iannuzzi for a bit.

Iannuzzi had his moments in the final two rounds, most notably a left hook that snapped Kayode’s head back in the ninth, but the Nigerian’s pressure seemed to win him the rounds. Iannuzzi was not moving as well as earlier in the bout, which allowed Kayode to get more work done. They traded at the bell to close the fight, with Iannuzzi getting one or two in after.

In the end, Iannuzzi had won over the crowd, but had lost the fight. Judge Ray Balewicz had it close, 95-94, but judges Ralph McKnight and Steve Morrow had it rather wide, 97-92 and 98-91 respectively. With the win, Kayode retained his WBO NABO and NABF Cruiserweight titles and gained some much needed experience.

Francisco Santana (12-2, 6 KOs) of Santa Barbara, California returned to action with a devastating first-round stoppage over Adan Leal (6-3, 5 KOs) of Nogales, Arizona by way of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. Santana, 156, quickly got Leal, 158, to retreat to the ropes and uncorked a picture perfect left hook that absolutely wreaked Leal. Referee Marcos Rosales began his count while Leal gamely tried to get to his knee. When Leal fell into the ropes, Rosales waved off the fight at the 1:57 mark of the first.

Welterweight prospect Michael Anderson (10-0, 8 KOs) of New York, New York scored a come from behind victory of sorts, stopping determined journeyman Octavio Narvaez (7-8-1, 4 KOs) of Chinandega, Nicaragua in the fourth round of a scheduled eight.

Narvaez, 148, was an aggressive adversary from the outset as he repeatedly pressured Anderson, 147, to the ropes. Narvaez did not seem to have all that much on his punches, but the sheer volume kept Anderson on the defensive for much of the four rounds. Anderson employed a Floyd Mayweatheresque defense, and was very selective with his shots.

Before the start of the fourth, Anderson was down 30-27 on two cards and 29-28 on the third. Scoring would not matter, as Anderson unleashed a left hook to the body that took the wind and all of the determination out of Narvaez. Official time of the stoppage was 2:42 of the fourth round.

Rufino Serrano (8-3) of nearby Santa Maria, California outboxed Jose Morales (6-3, 1 KO) of Denver, Colorado en route to a six-round unanimous decision. Serrano, 128, had both the better boxing skills and conditioning, which was more than enough to get the better of Morales, 128.

After controlling most of the first three rounds with his jab and movement, Serrano began to sit down on his punches more in the fourth. An exchange of hooks late in the round sent Morales to the ropes where Serrano landed a clean left hook just before the bell. Serrano highlighted the fifth with an attempted bolo punch and a clean uppercut. Morales seemed to be danger of getting stopped in the sixth, but Serrano did not have the power to get him out of there. In the end, two judges scored it 59-55 and the third had it 60-54, all for Serrano.

In his debut under the Gary Shaw Productions promotional banner, Kurtiss Colvin (3-0, 3 KOs) of Austin, Texas wowed the crowd with a first-round knockout of accomplished mixed martial artist-turned boxer Tony Hervey (0-2) of Detroit, Michigan. Hervey, 159 ½, stood up to the onslaught early, but eventually Colvin, 162, caught him with a combination upstairs that sent him bouncing against the ropes on two sides of the ring. Referee Raul Caiz Jr. stopped the bout with the official time of 2:12 of the first.

Former amateur standout Roman Morales (1-0, 1 KO) of San Ardo, California looked impressive in his debut without headgear as he stopped Shaun Solomon (1-2-1) of Moreno Valley, California in the first round. Morales, 123, landed a left hook, followed by a straight right hand up the middle that downed the southpaw Solomon, 124, early in the round. Another left upstairs forced a wobbly Solomon to touch one of his gloves to the canvas and thus another knockdown. Referee Marcos Rosales allowed the fight to go on, but when Morales landed two more hard rights, he leaped in to stop the bout at 2:59 of the first.

Two amateur exhibitions began the night. In spirited bouts, Francisco Ortega, fighting out of the Santa Rita Boxing Club, took on Brandon Gutierrez of the Santa Rita PAL and Maggie Soares of the Santa Rita Boxing Club met Erika Guaderama of the Santa Rita PAL to open up the evening.

Photos by Mark Ortega

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

Emerging super middleweight prospect Vladine Biosse of Providence, RI scored the biggest win of his fledgling career tonight at the Mohegan Sun Arena, knocking out former junior middleweight titlist Santiago Samaniego in the third round.

Samaniego, despite once holding a WBA title, was years removed from his best (he has only 1 win since 2002) but still represented a significant step up in class for the 28 year old Biosse. 30 of Samaniego’s 37 wins were by knockout, so at the very least he had a proverbial “punchers chance” coming into the bout. None of Samaniego’s achievements seemed to matter to Biosse though and from the opening bell, he stalked his opponent around the ring behind a southpaw jab; occasionally putting a straight left behind it for good measure. Biosse cut down the ring well and quickly had Samaniego along the ropes where he strafed him with two fisted combinations; firing them from different angles to keep Samaniego guessing. By the second round it was obvious that Samaniego had little chance against his younger opponent and despite his best efforts, Samaniego’s punches were simply too slow to come close to connecting with the ever-moving Biosse. Throughout the second round, Biosse continually utilized angles to turn Samaniego to the ropes where he would punish him with both hands. 25 seconds into the third, a flurry from Biosse dropped Samaniego along the ropes. Samaniego rose looking more tired than shaken and moved away from his pursuer to avoid more punishment. Biosse showed poise and didn’t go for broke on the follow up. He patiently waited for his moment, forced Biosse to the ropes and unleashed a left uppercut that dropped Samaniego to the canvas. Clearly out-classed and with no hope of winning, Samaniego took the full ten count while on one knee. Biosse has a lot to be proud of with the win and displayed that he is now ready to begin taking on the tougher challengers in the super middleweight division. The win improves his record to 10-0 5KOs. Samaniego, who looked about 10 pounds too heavy, ought to seriously consider his future as a professional fighter. His latest loss leaves him at 37-13-1 30KOs but with only 1 win in the last 9 years, his days as an effective fighter are clearly behind him.

Eight months after being KO’d in one round by rising middleweight prospect David Lemieux, New Haven CT’s Elvin Ayala got back into the win column with a 6 round unanimous decision over Indianapolis, IN’s Mustafah Johnson. Ayala controlled most of the bout from the outside, utilizing a crisp jab to keep Johnson at bay. Ayala also mixed in left hooks to good effect and was able to slip most of what Johnson threw back in return. The fight progressed in much the same way until the 4th round when Johnson was able to catch up to Ayala and force his back to the ropes. In response Ayala began fighting more and boxing less, opening up with stinging left hooks and using angles to spin Johnson onto the ropes. Johnson was game and continued to press the action, but Ayala proved too fast and accurate for Johnson to mount any significant offense. When the scorecards were read, it was no surprise all three favored Ayala by scores of 60-54. Although Johnson was a soft touch, Ayala deserved an easy win after the nature of his knockout loss to Lemieux. Ayala is now 21-5 9KOs. Johnson drops to 8-10-1.

Prior to the 4 round middleweight bout between New Haven CT’s Greg McCoy and Pawtucket, RI’s Thomas Falowo, the ring announcer warned the crowd: “Watch out. This fight just might steal the show.” The statement couldn’t have been more accurate. The 4 rounds between McCoy and Falowo had everything the crowd had paid to see: non-stop back and forth action, big punches and a definitive winner. At the opening bell, both fighters charged from their corners throwing (and landing) every punch in the book. Hooks, uppercuts, straight right hands; every punch either fighter threw landed and on multiple occasions both fighter looked to be on shaky legs. The crowd was on their feet at the end of the first and though the action in round 2 was no less impressive, Falowo began to out-land McCoy. As the round progressed, McCoy began to steadily tire and his punches had less and less effect on Falowo, who began to press the action and land hard right hands. By the 4th, McCoy was still fighting back valiantly but it was clear he was all but spent. Falowo backed him into the ropes and hurt him with an overhand right. Sensing the end was near, Falowo poured out everything he had and landed 10 plus unanswered punches before referee Dick Flaherty jumped in and stopped it at 1 minute 40 seconds of the fourth round. With an impressive display of stamina, Falowo picked up his second professional win and now stands at 2-0 2KOs. McCoy drops to 2-2-1 1KO but no doubt did well to secure a good pay day in his next fight with his incredible display of heart.

If there were an award for punch of the night, it would belong to Hartford, CT’s Javier Flores. Flores, who was matched against Rochester NY welterweight Marcus Hall, was being out-boxed though much of the first 2 of a scheduled 4 rounds when he began to launch left uppercuts that landed hard on the chin of Hall. As Hall was backing up to escape them, he became trapped against the ropes and ate another crunching lead left uppercut that dropped him to the floor. Referee Eddie Cotton didn’t bother with a count and called the fight at 2 minutes 5 seconds of the second round. With the impressive display of power, Flores bumped his record up to 5-0 5KOs. Hall, who fought well up until the stoppage, drops to 4-3-1 2KOs.

In an ugly bout, welterweight Sean Eklund of Lowell, MA was able to muscle his way to a 4 round unanimous decision over Springfield, MA’s Noel Garcia. From the opening bell both fighters appeared nervous and came at each other winging punches. Neither fighter was able to land anything of note, although Eklund settled in as the aggressor and began to press the action. Each round appeared to be a mirror image of the last, with Eklund pressing forward with wild abandon and Garcia flailing punches when Eklund came in close. With the amount of punches being thrown, it was surprising that very little was landing for either fighter. The difference in the fight was Eklund’s commitment to coming forward and no doubt was the deciding factor on the judges scorecards. At the end of 4, all three judges had it 39-37 in favor of Eklund, improving his record to 8-4 1KO. Garcia notches another loss and stands at 2-7-1 1KO.

Local junior welterweight favorite Edwin Soto (6-0-1 2KOs) of New Haven, CT, easily won a six round unanimous decision over his game opponent from Niagara Falls, NY James Ventry (7-13 4KOs.)
Soto began the fight moving and boxing well, getting in and out with two fisted combos to the body and head of Ventry. Ventry was consistently coming forward but did not utilize a jab and paid the price for not working his way inside; often taking 4 or 5 shots to land one. Soto began to slow in the 4th round and as a result, found himself with his back to the ropes and Ventry looking to tee off on him. Soto responded well though and countered Ventry successfully from the ropes with left hooks to the body and head. Ventry had his best round in the 6th when his shots finally began to find the chin of the tiring Soto. At that point though, it was too little too late and Soto had already secured his victory. Scores at the end gave little credit to Ventry as all three judges scored it a shutout at 60-54.

One of the unfortunate realities of the heavyweight division is that in comparison to every other division in boxing, the skill level of the average practitioner is markedly lower. As I watched heavyweight’s Theron Johnson of Chicago, IL and Billy Mofford of Randolph, MA fight for six rounds, there seemed little reason to question this. Mofford appeared out of shape and seemed to have no game plan outside of throwing single shot hay-makers and praying for a knockout. Johnson easily out-worked Mofford by throwing in combination, but won nearly all of the six rounds on the strength of his overhand right. One of his overhand rights in round two caught Mofford in the nose and caused him to bleed off and on for the rest of the fight. Mofford’s only moment came in the 5th when he managed to connect with a solid right hand that buzzed Johnson momentarily. Johnson shook it off and out-boxed Mofford through the rest of the fight. Scores at the end read 60-54 and 59-55 (twice) in favor of Johnson who improves his record to 5-3 1KO. Mofford slips to 9-2-2 4KOs.

Ledyard, CT middleweight Brian Macy returned from a two year layoff to lose a surprising 4 round split decision to Fort Myers Florida’s JC Peterson. Peterson, who was 0-8 going into the bout, started impressively by dropping an off balance Macy with a left jab to the face early in round one. Over the course of the next 3 rounds, both fighters stood shoulder to shoulder and traded punches to the body and head which made for difficult scoring. The close nature of the bout was reflected by the scorecards at the end: 38-37 for Macy and 38-37 (twice) for Peterson. With the win, Peterson picked up his first professional win and now stands at 1-9. Macy drops his second in a row and falls to 5-2 2KOs.

In the opening bout of the evening, New Haven, CT super bantamweight Luis Rosa (5-0 4KOs) dismantled Cape Coral, Florida’s Justin Goodall (1-2 1KO) in 3 lopsided rounds. Rosa dropped Goodall in the opening 15 seconds with a sweeping left hook, and Goodall appeared all but spent when he rose on shaky legs. He managed to survive Rosa’s follow up barrage and was able to make it through rounds one and two on his bicycle, offering little more than a keep away jab to discourage Rosa. By round 3 Goodall has lost his legs completely and coming out of one of the numerous clinches of the round, Rosa landed a sharp left hook that dropped Goodall flat on his back. Referee Eddie Cotton immediately waved off the fight, stopping it at 1:14 of Round 3 and giving Rosa his 3rd KO victory in a row.

Michael Perez remained undefeated with an eighth round stoppage over Marcos Herrera in the final scheduled round of their Lightweight bout in Lares, Puerto Rico.

Perez bloodied Herrera as early as round two and continued to the pressure until round eight when he rocked Herrera with a barrage of punches that sent him to the corner and the bout was stopped at 1:36 of the final round.

Perez, 136 lbs of Newark, NJ via Puerto Rico is now 12-0-1 with six knockouts. Herrera, 135 lbs of Denver, CO is now 6-4-1.

Good looking Featherweight prospect Jayson Velez stopped John Molina after five rounds in a scheduled eight round bout.

Velez, 123 1/2 of Juncon, Puerto Rico is now 15-0 with twelve knockouts. Molina, 123 1/2 lbs of Cartegna, Colombia is now 28-15-3.

Eddie Gomez remained undefeated with a second round stoppage over Jose Ramon Sanchez in a scheduled four round Middleweight fight.

Gomez floored Sanchez with an overhand right and the referee waved off the fight at 2:31 of round two.

Gomez is 3-0 with three knockouts. Sanchez is now 2-9-1.

Braulio Santos needed just sixty-seven seconds to win his pro debut over Jose Padilla in Super Featherweight bout scheduled for four rounds.

Padilla is now 0-3.

Brian Vera scored an upset split decision over former world champion Sergio Mora in ten round Middleweight bout at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

It was a close fight throughout with Vera being the aggressor while Mora looked for spots to counter and he did that very nicely at times. Vera would get inside consistently with short combination’s and flurries. At times Mora would set combination’s up with his jab but he did not do that enough.

Late in the fight, the blood was flowing as in round seven Mora was cut around left eye from a punch and in round eight the right was split open due to a headbutt. There were some good exchanges in the final round with Vera being cut around his right eye just moments before the final bell sounded.

Vera, 163 of Fort Worth, Texas won two cards by a 96-94 tally while Mora won a card 96-94.

Vera, who also scored an upset over Andy Lee is now 18-5. Mora, 163 of East Los Angeles, California was coming off a draw with legendary Shane Mosley and is now 22-2-2.

Chris Chatman needed a last round knockdown to fight a majority draw with heralded and previously unblemished in an eight round Jr. Middleweight bout.

Hatley scored a knockdown in the first minute of the fight and almost had Chatman out before the opening frame was complete as he peppered Chatman with clean shots. The fight never seemed to get a good rhythm to it as Chatman regained his composure and continued to press the action started getting through with some good shots. Hatley won most of the middle rounds until he seemed to tire late.

Chatman scored a knockdown with a left hand with over a minute to go in the fight and had Hatley holding on until the final bell to get the draw.

18 year old Ray Ximenez Jr. scored a four round unanimous decision over Alfredo Berto in a Bantamweight fight.

Scores were 40-36 on all cards for Ximenez, 117 lbs of Dallas and is 2-0. Berto, 118 lbs is now 1-4.

Hatley, 153 lbs of Dallas, Texas was a former national amateur champion won a card by 77-73 but that was over ruled by the two remaining judges at 75-75.

Hatley is now 14-0-1. Chatman, 153 lbs of San Diego was fighting his third consecutive undefeated fighter and now 9-1-1.

Since its 2001 debut, Showtime’s long-running series Shobox: The New Generation has been a proving ground for several of the sport’s brightest prospects on their way to claiming world championships. Tonight the series showcases two more unbeaten potential future champions looking to move forward in their careers in separate bouts at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California. Former Cuban Olympian Luis Franco takes on his toughest challenge to date in the form of 34-fight veteran Leonilo Miranda in the main event, while cruiserweight knockout artist Lateef Kayode meets Nicholas Iannuzzi in the co-feature. Fighters weighed in Thursday evening at the casino.

Just four fights ago, Franco (8-0, 5 KOs) of Miami, Florida by way of Havana, Cuba was fighting in a four-rounder. Now, just entering his ninth pro bout, Franco is just a win or two away from serious contention. Franco is coming off of a disqualification victory over once-beaten Eric Hunter in December and now finds himself the WBO #9/IBF #13 ranked featherweight.

Franco, who represented Cuba at the 2004 Olympic Games, plans to fall back on his amateur experience to get past the veteran puncher Miranda. “I won’t have an issue fighting a southpaw,” said Franco. “I fought plenty as an amateur. “I think he’s knocked out guys who just stood in front of him. We won’t be doing that.” Franco will look to outbox the forward-moving Miranda, but the Mexican will be dangerous for every frame of their scheduled ten-rounder. Franco, who will be defending his WBO Intercontinental Featherweight title, scaled 126-pounds.

Miranda (32-2, 30 KOs) of Huatabampo, Sonora, Mexico rebounded from an 0-2 run in 2009 to score two knockouts in 2010, one of which was a short-notice stoppage of Andre Wilson on ESPN2. With an upset victory tonight, Miranda would catapult himself into the world rankings at featherweight. Miranda has to force the fight and try to rough up Franco in order to make his puncher’s chance prove fruitful. “I’m coming to fight ten rounds, but I have the punching power to change the fight at any time,” understands Miranda. “We’ll try for the kayo if it’s there.”

Kayode (15-0, 14 KOs) of Hollywood, California by way of Lagos, Nigeria has allowed only one opponent to last the distance, and that was in his pro debut. Last time out, Kayode, the WBA #4/WBO #4/WBC #6 ranked cruiserweight, stopped Ed Perry with a perfectly place uppercut to the body in the sixth. “These knockouts have been a blessing for me,” said Kayode. “I’m aggressive. If I land a good shot I’m not going to stop. I’ll keep coming until the kayo comes, until they are down.” Kayode, defending his WBO NABO/NABF Cruiserweight titles, weighed 199-pounds for the ten-round encounter.

Iannuzzi (16-1, 9 KOs) of Tampa, Florida has bounced back from his sole defeat to reel off four consecutive victories. The last came against former Kayode knockout victim Jose Luis Herrera, as Iannuzzi scored a six-round unanimous decision this past October. Iannuzzi feels his one loss has served him well. “My only loss was good for me,” said Iannuzzi. “It was a huge stepping stone for me and I won’t let it happen again. I learned a lot from it.” Iannuzzi weighed in at 198-pounds.

In off-television action, Rufino Serrano (7-3) of nearby Santa Maria, California will take on Jose Morales (6-2, 1 KO) of Denver, Colorado in a six-round super featherweight fight. Serrano, who closed out 2010 with a six-round decision over Rodrigo Aranda at the Chumash Casino Resort in December, scaled 128-pounds. Morales, out of action since a first-round stoppage to Gabriel Tolmajyan last April, weighed in at 128-pounds.

Francisco Santana (11-2, 5 KOs) of Santa Barbara, California will take on Adan Leal (6-2, 5 KOs) of Nogales, Arizona by way of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico in a six-round middleweight bout. Santana, coming off of a kayo loss to prospect Karim Mayfield back in November of 2009, scaled 156-pounds, while Leal, a kayo victim in his last two, came in at 158-pounds.

Recently signed by Gary Shaw Productions, Kurtiss Colvin (2-0, 2 KOs) of Austin, Texas will meet Tony Hervey (0-1) of Detroit, Michigan in a four-round middleweight fight. Colvin weighed in at 162-pounds, while Hervey scaled 159 ½-pounds.

Undefeated welterweight prospect Michael Anderson (9-0, 7 KOs) of New York, New York will meet Mexican journeyman Octavio Narvaez (7-9-1, 4 KOs) of Chinandega, Nicaragua in an eight-round bout. Anderson, looking for his seventh straight knockout, scaled 147-pounds, while Narvaez, normally a durable opponent, weighed in at 148-pounds.

In the opener, former amateur star Roman Morales of San Ardo, California makes his pro debut against the capable Shaun Solomon (1-1-1) of Moreno Valley, California in a four-round super bantamweight bout. Morales scaled 123-pounds, while Solomon was 124.

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

Quick Weigh-in Results:

WBO Intercontinental Featherweight Title, 10 Rounds
Franco 126
Miranda 126

WBO NABO Cruiserweight Title
NABF Cruiserweight Title, 10 Rounds
Kayode 199
Iannuzzi 198

Super Featherweights, 6 Rounds
Serrano 128
Morales 128

Middleweights, 6 Rounds
Santana 156
Leal 158

Middleweights, 4 Rounds
Colvin 162
Hervey 159 ½

Welterweights, 8 Rounds
Anderson 147
Narvaez 148

Super Bantamweights, 4 Rounds
Morales 123
Solomon 124

Photos by Tom Casino/Showtime

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

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that a terrific undercard is being assembled underneath the May 7th showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley that could feature the rematch of one of the best fights of 2010 as well as the return of former world Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik.

The co-feature in the works would match lightweight titlist Humberto Soto (54-7-2, 32 KOs) against Urbano Antillon (28-2, 20 KOs) in a rematch of their epic Dec. 4 slugfest, which Soto won via tight unanimous decision.

“There’s no paperwork done yet, but the sides are aware of it and have [verbally agreed to the rematch],” Top Rank’s Carl Moretti told ESPN.com Thursday. “We’ve talked to both sides and the camps are both up for the date and we’re trying to get it closed up.”

Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs) has not fought since losing the middleweight championship to Sergio Martinez last April. He pulled out of a comeback fight scheduled for Nov. 13 on Pacquiao’s last undercard and checked into an alcohol rehabilitation clinic for the second time. He spent two months at the Betty Ford Center before coming out in early January.

“He’s itchin’ to fight,” Moretti said.

“All indications are that Kelly would like to take advantage of that,” Moretti said, adding that there has been no discussion yet of a specific opponent.

Cameron Dunkin, Pavlik’s co-manager, said Pavlik is planning to fight on the card.

“The idea is that is he going to fight on May 7,” Dunkin told ESPN.com. “We’re just taking it one step at a time, but he’s scheduled. He’s terrific. He’s working out and very happy, spending time with his family. Everything is wonderful right now.”

“I would think he will fight at 168 or 169 pounds,” Dunkin said. “He says he wants to be a super middleweight now. There’s no way he can go back the other way [to 160]. He realized he is just too big.”

When Moretti is in Puerto Rico for a news conference on Tuesday to formally announce featherweight titlist Juan Manuel Lopez’s April 16 fight with Orlando Salido, he said he is going to meet with promoter Tuto Zabala Jr., who promotes Puerto Rican junior featherweight titlist Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (20-0-1, 17 KOs).

Moretti said he and Zabala will try to close the deal that they have been working on to match Vazquez in a title defense against Mexico’s Jorge Arce (56-6-2, 43 KOs), a former flyweight and junior bantamweight titlist. Part of that deal could be Top Rank coming aboard as Vazquez’s co-promoter.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, World Featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez will defend his title against former champion Orlando Salido in Lopez native homeland of Puerto Rico and the bout will be televised on Showtime.

” ‘Juanma’ is one of the top four television fighters today. He makes great fights,” Top Rank’s Carl Moretti said. “No matter who he is in with, you’re going to be entertained. We’re at a great arena in Puerto Rico that will have 8,000 to 10,000 people and I think it will be a good evening all around.”

“I think it’s a tough fight for Juanma,” Top Rank president Todd duBoef said. “Salido is a really solid, durable guy. Yuriorkis Gamboa had to work really hard to get past him and with this fight we will be able to see comparatively where the two hot, young featherweights are. Salido is going to be there all night. Juanma is really going to have to work for it.”

“Salido is a hard-nosed, grizzled Mexican with a great chin and good power [and] this could be his last shot at a title,” Moretti said. “And Juanma has been known to catch better sometimes than fellow Puerto Rican Jorge Posada.”

Said Salido: “It’s a tough fight, but for me it’s an opportunity to win a title belt and become a world champion again.”

“It’s going to be a measuring stick on where both of them stand against each other, so what Juanma has to protect against is fighting the guy and thinking, ‘I gotta look good. Can I knock him out? Do I get out of my game plan just to prove a point because Gamboa went the distance with him?’

“There’s a feel for when it’s ready to go,” DuBoef said. “I think sometimes there’s a road map and sometimes it’s a sixth sense when it’s time to match them up. We’re working to get there with these guys and to make this as big as it can be. We’re creating a business around both guys. Lopez is more advanced in that sense because he’s become a big draw, especially in Puerto Rico. But we’re working on it with Gamboa. There is something naturally that happens where fighters are on two independent paths and they eventually merge into one, and the fight happens.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that former four-time Heavyweight champion, Evander Holyfield will now take on Danish star Brian Nielson in May 7th instead of March 5th after Holyfield suffered a cut around his left eye in his January 22nd bout with Sherman Williams.

“I had hoped to be fully fit to fight Brian on March 5 but after another close examination this week the doctor said I could not do sparring until the end of the month,” said Holyfield, who is due to earn $500,000 against Nielsen. “My good physical shape and my meticulous preparation have been my biggest advantages throughout my career, and I will not enter the ring against a determined opponent like Nielsen when I am not 100 percent prepared.

“I take Nielsen very seriously. I need a convincing victory to put myself back in line for another shot at the world title, so I will give the cut enough time to heal before resuming practice. I will be in top shape on May 7 and defeat Brian Nielsen.”

“Always look on the bright side of life,” Nielsen said. “The more training I get, the stronger I will become. I would have been ready to give Evander a great fight on March 5. I have worked my butt off in practice where [trainer] Karsten Rower has been torturing me twice a day.

“Although I am not exactly thrilled to be in his German training hell for two more months, every single practice session will only make me better,” he added. “I will make sure Evander gets a nice souvenir from his trip to Copenhagen. I will cut his other eye, too. He will be good friends with the doctor he has been seeing.”

“We fully understand Evander’s decision. It is the right thing to do,” promoter Kalle Sauerland said. “We have stressed from the very beginning that we would never let a fighter inside the ring if he is not 100 percent ready, and that includes a perfect preparation. As we have learned from Brian, let’s look at the bright side. Two more months of professional boxing training and sparring will make him even better.”