Manager Nelson Fernandez informed 15rounds that unbeaten New Jersey based featherweight prospects Carlos “Mina” Zambrano, of North Bergen via Peru, and Passaic’s Victor “The Viper” Valenzuela will meet in a ten round bout Saturday, October 16.

The announcement comes as a pleasant surprise to local fight fans, as Zambrano-Valenzuela is amongst the best possible match ups between two fighters from the Garden State, but one that wasn’t expected to take place at the present time.

Zambrano, 11-0 (5 KO’s), is regarded as a a top young local prospect and was one of Peru’s all time greatest amateur fighters. He’s a gifted boxer with excellent conditioning and ring smarts. His last two victories have came via first round knockout in his native Peru.

Valenzuela, a solid amateur in his own right, is 8-0 with 1 knockout. The former National Golden Gloves participant has fought just once in the last year, earning a split decision over Delvin Placencia June 4 in Atlantic City.

“Valenzuela’s camp has been sending messages that they were willing and interested in fighting us,” said Fernandez. “I always had the courtesy of saying (that since we all train out of the same area) we are all friends and friends don’t (fight each other), but we were told they wanted to fight no matter what so we took it.”

While many see the bout as risky both both sides, Fernandez had no second thoughts about letting his fighter accept the challenge.

“There is no risk here.” “Zambrano has the experience, the speed, desire, dedication and punching power that Valenzuela does not have.”

According to Fernandez, the bout will be televised in Peru on ATV and the network will start airing a HBO 24/7 type series featuring Zambrano and Fernandez’ two other fighters Jonathan Maicelo and Juan Zegarra, both of whom are fighting on the card.

The the Zambrano-Valenzuela bout will serve as the co-feature to Jonathan Maicelo-Oscar Cuero at Washington School in Union City, NJ.

LEMOORE, CALIFORNIA — Fresh off of his career-best win, light welterweight prospect Mike Dallas Jr. finds his name at the top of the marquee for the first time in his career as he takes on venerable journeyman Lenin Arroyo in an eight-rounder at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino tonight. Fighters weighed in at the casino’s Den Sports Bar on Wednesday.

In his last time out, Dallas (15-0-1, 5 KOs) of Bakersfield, California burst onto the national scene with a decisive eight-round decision over fellow unbeaten Lanard Lane in a Showtime-televised bout in July. Dallas has fought at the Tachi Palace seven times in his pro career, but never before as the headliner. The Central Valley’s brightest young star will look to inch closer to a world ranking with a victory tonight. Dallas scaled 142.2-pounds at Wednesday’s weigh-in.

Arroyo (20-13-1, 4 KOs) of Miami, Florida by way of San Jose, Costa Rica has seen his career take a downturn, as he has dropped his last six fights. The previously solid chin of Arroyo failed to hold up in his two most recent fights, knockout losses to contender Mike Alvarado and prospect Sadam Ali. Prior to those two outings, Arroyo lasted the distance against power-punching prospects Mike Jones and James De La Rosa. Should Dallas outdo any of Arroyo’s recent opposition it will be quite the statement. Arroyo, once a fringe contender, came in at 143-pounds.

2008 U.S. Olympian and former resident of nearby Hanford, Shawn Estrada will appear in a featured bout on the undercard. In his third outing since returning from a year-long layoff, Estrada (8-0, 8 KOs) of East Los Angeles, California takes on Nathan Bedwell (3-4, 2 KOs) of Jackson, Tennessee in a four-round super middleweight fight. Estrada, who weighed in at 164.8, used attempted a little intimidation by going nose-to-nose with his opponent on Wednesday. The baby-faced Bedwell, grinning at Estrada’s bravado, came in at 165.2-pounds.

Estrada’s Olympic teammate Javier Molina (3-0, 3 KOs) of Norwalk, California has experienced similar injury-induced setbacks, but will look to get his career rolling again against Marco Antonio Arauz (3-6-2, 1 KO) of Palmdale, California in a four-round light middleweight fight. Molina, 154.8, has not been in the ring since last November. For his part, Arauz, 149.2, has not seen action since September of 2008, and had previously been inactive since early 2003.

Promising prospect Michael Ruiz Jr. (5-0, 2 KOs) of Fresno, California will move back down to super flyweight to take on Frank Gutierrez (2-7-2, 1 KO) of Highland, California in a six-round bout. Already competing for the sixth time as a professional having turned pro just in April, Ruiz came in at 115.8-pounds. Gutierrez, making his 2010 debut, weighed in at 114.8-pounds.

Joe Goossen-trained super flyweight Matt Villanueva (2-0, 2 KOs) of Van Nuys, California will look to remain unbeaten against Christian Salgado (1-1) of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico in a four-round contest. Villanueva came in at 114.8-pounds, while Salgado, fighting in the United States for the first time, weighed in at 114.4.

Jonathan Arrellano (5-0-1, 1 KO) of Ontario, California will take on Abel Gomez (3-3, 1 KO) of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico in a four-round bantamweight fight. Arrellano weighed in at 118.2, while Gomez scaled 117.4-pounds.

The seventh undefeated fighter on the card, Kevin Hoskins (2-0, 2 KOs) of Moreno Valley, California will meet Rene Torres (0-3-1) of Pomona, California in a four-round super featherweight fight. Hoskins came in at 129.8-pounds, while Torres scaled 128.6.

Tickets for the event, promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions, are available online at Tickets.com.

Quick Weigh-in Results:

Light Welterweights, 8 Rounds
Dallas Jr. 142.2
Arroyo 143

Super Middleweights, 4 Rounds
Estrada 164.8
Bedwell 165.2

Bantamweights, 6 Rounds
Ruiz Jr. 115.8
Gutierrez 114.8

Light Middleweights, 4 Rounds
Molina 154.8
Arauz 149.2

Super Flyweights, 4 Rounds
Villanueva 114.8
Salgado 114.4

Bantamweights, 4 Rounds
Arellano 118.2
Gomez 117.4

Super Featherweights, 4 Rounds
Hoskins 129.8
Torres 128.6

Photos by Jan Sanders/Goossen Tutor Promotions

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

Gabriel Bracero pounded out an eight round unanimous decision over Terry Buterbaugh in a jR. Welterweight bout that highlighted an entertaining night of boxing at BB Kings restaurant in Times Square in the heart of New York City.

The night looked to be a short one for Bracero as he hurt Buterbaugh early in round one from a hard left hook. Bracero rocked Buterbaugh against the ropes but the visitor form Colorodad punched just enough to keep the referee from stopping the fight. The fruits of Bracero’s work showed in round two as Buterbaugh wa beginning to swell around the left eye. Bracero was in total control despite a clash of heads produced a trickle of blood from around his right eye. In what was an odd moment, Bracero had his mouthpiece knocked in round four. The gum shield laid on the ground for a good ninety seconds before the referee called time and took a point from Bracero.

The second half of the fight was fought at a slower pace. Buterbaugh began to gyrate a little bit after landing a couple punches that had Bracero’s left eye swelling up. Buterbaugh had his best round in the sixth as he landed more frequently but was debatable that he won the frame. Bracero closed the show in the eighth by landing a big combination that thrilled his overwhelming fans, who were chanting “TITO TITO TITO” throughout the contest.

Bracero, 141 lbs of New York won by scores of 79-71; 79-72 and 79-72 to remain undefeated at 12-0. Buterbaugh, 140 /4 lbs of Denver is now 6-4-1.

In the six round Heavyweight co-feature, popular heavyweight Tor Hamer rebounded from his first loss in May to destroy Terrell Nelson in just under one round.

Hamer dropped Nelson early in the fight from a big uppercut. Hamer followed that up just seconds later by dropping Nelson with a big right. He ended the show with three huge shots that dropped Nelson for a third a final time at 2:11 of round one.

Hamer, 223 ½ lbs of New York is now 12-1 with nine knockouts. Nelson, 243 ½ lbs of Plainfield, NJ is now 8-11.–Marc Abrams

Seanie Monaghan scored a four round majority decision over Borngod Washington in a Light Heavyweight bout.

Despite coming in with a record that read 0-5, Washington fought very competitive and made the rounds very close.

Monaghan, 174 ¼ lbs of Long Beach, NY won by scores of 40-36, 39-37 and 38-38 and is now 3-0. Washington, 175 lbs of Astoria, NY is now 0-6.

Dennis Douglin remained undefeated by scoring a first round stoppage over Orphius White in a scheduled six round Middleweight bout.

Douglin rocked White all over the ring until the bout was stopped at 2:10 of the opening frame.
Douglin, 159 ¼ lbs of Morganville, is now 11-0 with seven knockouts. White, 160 ¼ lbs of Chicago is 5-2-1.–Marc Abrams

In a four round war, Sonya Lomanakis scored a crowd pleasing four round unanimous decision over Alysia Williams-Stevenson in a Heavyweight bout.

The two stood toe to toe exchanging huge bombs with Lomanakis getting the better as he drilled Stevenson on the ropes end round one. The second was more of the same as neither Lomanakis nor Stevenson gave a millimeter in distance but it was still Lomanakis controlling this two way brawl. Lomanakis started pounding away at the body of Stevenson in an effort of tiring her out. Even though she was behind, Stevenson tried very hard and put up a great effort in defeat.

Both fighters received bonus money from promoter Lou DiBella for the terrific fight.

Lomanakis, 223 ¾ lbs of New York won by scores of 40-36 on all cards to go to 2-0. Stevenson, 207 ½ lbs of Winter Haven, FL lost her pro debut.

Isiah Thomas systematically boxed his way to six round unanimous decision over Anthony Pietrantonio in a Light Heavyweight bout.

Thomas used his quick hands from the southpaw stance to always be a couple steps ahead of Piertrantonio . Thomas dropped Pietrantonio twice in round one with a hard left and once again with a right hook. Thomas scored a third knockdown in round six with a perfect uppercut that he caught Pietrantonio while rushing in.

Thomas, 177 lbs of Detroit won by scores of 60-51 on all cards to remain undefeated at 8-0. Piettantonio, 175 lbs of Youngstown, Ohio is now 6-7.–Marc Abrams

Stibins Bujaj dropped Raymond Brown once in the first round from a body shot and then ended things a round later with a hard left hook to score his second straight knockout in a scheduled four round Cruiserweight bout.

Bujaj, 199 ½ lbs of Bronx, NY is now 2-0 with two knockouts. Brown, 192 ¼ lbs of Houston, TX is now 1-1.–Marc Abrams

Steve Martinez made it a perfect six knockouts in an many outings as he scored a sixty-seven second destruction over Cheyene Ziegler in a scheduled four round Jr. Middleweight bout.

Martinez landed a double left hook to the body that sent Ziegler down for referee Steve Willis ten count.

Martinez, 154 ¼ lbs of Bronx, NY is 6-0 with six knockouts. Ziegler, 152 ¼ lbs of Mitchell, ID is now 3-6-1.–Marc Abrams

PHOTO BY CLAUDIA BOCANEGRA

Super Middleweight Andre Dirrell is the latest casualty of the snake bitten Super Six tournement.

It was announced on a conference call that Dirrell has withdrawn due to an undisclosed injury and will not fight Andre Ward on November 27th.

Showtime’s Ken Hershman announced that the tourney would go on with a replacement for Dirrell to be announced shortly.

Dirrell is the third of the six original contestants after Jermain Taylor and Mikkel Kessler bowed out due to injuries in the past year.

They were replaced by Allan Green and Glen Johnson.

May were skeptical that Dirrell and Ward would ever fight due to a close friendship and even had the original September 25th fight date pushed back for no appear ant reason

Once-beaten heavyweight prospect Travis Kauffman was preparing to take on Bowie Tupou as part of the ESPN2 boxing special emanating from Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina on November 8th. However, Kauffman received word that the network would not approve of the bout, which forced its cancellation.

“All I heard was ESPN wouldn’t accept the fight, which makes no sense,” Kauffman told 15rounds.com. “We are both top contenders with winning records and it would have made for a great heavyweight fight.” Kauffman (20-1, 16 KOs) of Reading, Pennsylvania knows something about making good TV fights, as the last time he fought on national television he lost a somewhat controversial thriller to Tony Grano on Showtime in 2008. “I offered lucky ass Tony Grano a rematch many of times, and to top it off I offered to give him my purse, which he also turned down,” says Kauffman. “Well that offer is out the door, but I’m still willing to rematch his sorry ass if he wants. It was the best heavyweight fight of ’09, so why not make another great fight for 2010?”

Outside of a rematch against Grano, Kauffman would love to get into the ring with one of the more recognizable faces of the heavyweight division. “I need a bigger name and I would love to fight Chris Arreola for his comeback fight, maybe in the main event on ESPN or Shobox,” said Kauffman, who has sparred Arreola in the past. “I know that it will be an awesome fight. We are both friends, but this is a business and I know I’m the better fighter.”

Recently, a 6’7” British heavyweight made his U.S. television debut, and Kauffman has added his name to the hit list. “I’d also love to fight that big ugly rudiment Tyson Fury, but the big boy has to come to the States, unless they want to double my pay in England,” said Kauffman. “Look I’m not one to talk shit, but I’m tired of beating C-level fighters. I want nothing but big names.”

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

On Friday night at Capitale in the heart of New York City’s Chinatown, Dino Duva and Global Sports Entertainment presented “Empires Collide” — a showdown between the U.S. and Chinese national boxing teams. Those in attendance witnessed eleven bouts total, including three female fights. All mens bouts were three rounds apiece, three minutes per rounds. All female bouts were four rounds apiece, two minutes per round. 15Rounds.com was there to cover the action.

Zhilei Zhang vs. Danny Kelly (Washington, D.C.) — 201+ lbs.

Ref. Michael Rosario

In what could be considered one of the “co-main events” of the night, Beijing Olympic’s silver medalist Zhilei Zhang squared off against Washington D.C.‘s Danny Kelly in the 201+ weight division. Heading into the fight, which was the last of the night, USA and China were tied with five victories apiece. Understanding that a win by Zhang would be a win for the Chinese national team, the overwhelmingly pro-Chinese crowd erupted into a “China! China!” chant before the first bell.

Immediately Zhang assumed control of the fight and backed Kelly to the ropes with a steady stream of jabs. Kelly, who looked soft and out of shape, also looked like he wasn’t interesting in winning this fight for the first two rounds. Zhang controlled the ring, walking Kelly down and unloading on his counterpart while his back was pinned against the ropes. This trend continued through round two, as Kelly refused to mix anything up and seemed content to lay against the ropes. To his credit, he was able to pickoff many of Zhang’s punches and land occasionally counters.

Finally in round three, something the USA corner said must have registered with the D.C. native as he started round three moving forward for the first time in the fight, and not coincidentally, finding his first bit of success. Spending three minutes against ropes. Kelly comes out aggressive, finding success for the first time in the fight. Zhang catches kelly with straight left. In the end, it was too little too late for Kelly as the Beijing silver-medalist won this bout fairly easily. With Zhang’s win, China defeated Team USA 6-5.

Winner by decision: Zhilei Zhang — China. 16-8.

Zou Shiming vs. Santos Vasquez (Reno, Nevada) — 108 lbs.

Ref. David Llarado

In the other “co-main event,” Beijing gold medalist Zou Shiming took on Reno, Nevada’s Santos Vasquez. Vasquez, who was at a significant disadvantage in the height and reach department, struggled to find an answer for Shiming’s quick combinations and well-placed jab. Shiming, a southpaw, looked every bit of a gold medalist — continually putting his jab in Santos’ face, usually coupling it with a lightning-fast left, and then moving away from his shorter opponent. In round three, Shiming continued to impress by throwing — and landing two crisp uppercuts placed perfectly on his opponents chin.

Winner by decision: Zou Shiming — China. 15-1.

Fanglong Meng vs. Marquice Weston (Tacoma, Washington) — 178 lbs.

Ref. Ray Russell

In what was perhaps the most lopsided fight of the night, Fanglong Meng made easy work of USA’s Marquice Weston. Round 1 was highlighted by two straight lefts from Meng that landed flush on Weston’s face. Meng was able to keep Weston at distance, and his quick jab was never intercepted or avoided and landed at will. In round 2, Meng went back to the well and landed two more straight lefts, one of them causing blood to trickle out of Weston’s nose. In round 3, Watson tried to change gears and force the action, but Meng countered Weston’s attack and landed a looping right that deterred Weston from mounting any further offensive-minded attack. No matter what Weston tried, Meng was always one step ahead.

Winner by decision: Fanglong Meng — China. 18-2.

Jianting Zhang vs. Jesse Hart (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) — 165 lbs.

Ref. David Llarado

In one of the night’s more entertaining bouts, Philadelphia’s Jesse Hart took on China’s Jianting Zhang. From the opening bell, Hart tried to impose his will on his counterpart, throwing meaningful jabs and following them up with bullet-like rights. His aggressiveness seemed to stun Zhang a bit as he never seemed comfortable in round 1, spending a lot of the round in defensive positions. When Zhang did try to engage, he came out on the losing end, as Hart rocked Zhang with a right, forcing Zhang to stumble as he regained his balance.

In round 2, Zhang put forth a better effort, landing a flurry of punches while Hart’s back was against the ropes. In an impressive showcasing of skill, Hart — who was once again backed into a corner — was able to slip a barrage of punches from Zhang, whose momentum from his whiffs almost threw himself over the ropes. Hart finished the round strong, landing one of his best combinations of the night, resulting in a loud thud on the headgear of Zhang.

In round 3, Zhang tried to be the aggressor and found success and times, but it was too late for the Chinese national.

Winner by decision: Jesse Hart — USA. 15-7.

Jinzi Li vs. Alyssa Defazio (Phoenix, Arizona) — 165 lbs.

Ref. Ray Russell

In a fantastic female fight, Alyssa Defazio of Phoenix, Arizona eked out a victory over Jinzi Li. This fight was one of the more evenly matched bouts, with both fighters matching up well stylistically. In round 1, Defazio seemed to score more than her counterpart, with a steady jab and solid rights. She created angles and moved well-laterally, but Li was not afraid to engage and exchange with her opponent. Round 2 was Li’s round, as she was able to land the cleaner shots. The final round, Defazio, who was seemingly behind in the fight turned it up a notch and was able to score with a slew of combinations. With the addition of women’s boxing to the Olympics starting in London in 2012, I would keep my eye on both Defazio and Li as they seemed to be two of the more polished fighters tonight.

Winner by decision: Alyssa Defazio — USA. +15-15.

Blige Huricha vs. Michael Reed (Waldorf, Maryland) — 141 lbs.

Ref. Ray Russell

In a close bout at the 141-pound weight class division, Chinese national, Blige Huricha, was able to hold-off Michael Reed of Waldorf, Maryland for a 18-15 victory. Reed, who gave up significant height and reach to his opponent, was able to get creative and find ways to get inside his opponents jab to connect and score points. In round 2, the crowd became electric after chants of “China! China!” were countered by the American fans who chanted “USA! USA!” In rounds 2 and 3, both fighters had their moments. As round 3 came to a close, Reed was able to land his best combination of the fight, a sharp jab followed up by a straight left right on the nose.

Winner by decision: Michael Reed — USA. 18-15.

Cheng Dong vs. Patricia Manuel (Commerce, California) — 132 lbs.

Ref. Michael Rosario

In a close bout at 132-pounds, Patricial Manuel edged out Cheng Dong with a late rally in the final round to win 11-10. In round one, both fighters landed a few good shots, the best coming from Dong, who landed a hard right on Manuel. In round 2, roles reversed as Manuel got the better of Dong, with the best punch being a huge left hook that landed just as the bell sounded. In round 3, Manuel forced the action, sending Dong back against the ropes. As Manuel continued to press the action, Dong waited patiently until she finally caught manuel with a beautiful counter that deterred further aggression for the time being. Rd. 1 — fair share of exchanges. Rd. 2 — Manuel getting the better of Dong, best punch landed right before the bell…big left hook. In the final round, Manuel rocked Dong with a huge right sending her flying into the ropes where she continued to pummel the Chinese national. Most likely behind on the scoresheet, Manuel’s fourth round propelled her to a comeback win over Dong.

Winner by decision: Patricia Manuel — USA. 11-10

Qing Hu vs. Eric Flores (Ingle, California) — 132 lbs.

Ref. David Llorado

In another bout where a Team USA was smaller than their Chinese opponent, Eric Flores was able to overcome the height disadvantage to defeat Qing Hu by decision. Hu’s awkward style and “hand on my hips” defense allowed to Flores to neutralize the reach disadvantage and lay some leather on Hu. Hu liked to throw a jab and follow it up with a left to the body, which was successful throughout the fight, but it apparently was not enough, as Flores outscored Hu for the victory. Perhaps a late final round rally that saw Flores landed a vicious jab that violently snapped Hu’s head back added to scoresheet that ultimately resulted in the Flores victory.

Winner by decision: Eric Flores — USA.

Jiawei Zhang vs. Ricky Rodriguez (Greeley, Colorado) — 123 lbs.

Ref. Ray Russell

In the most action-packed fight of the night, China’s Jiawei Zhang squared off against fellow southpaw, Ricky Rodriguez. Zhang was definitely pressing the action from the opening bell, but Rodriguez wasn’t going to run. He made it clear he was going to be easy to find and stood toe to toe with the Chinese national, both fighters landing big-time power punches. Towards the end of round one, however, Rodriguez must have been rethinking this strategy as a a huge right hook stunned Rodriguez forcing his clumsy legs to fold until he was on one knee.

In round 2, Zhang pressed the action once again and landed an onslaught of right hooks and straight lefts. Once again, both fighters found each other standing right in front of them exchanging punches, except this time it was Rodriguez who stunned sending him down. In the last minute of round 2, Zhang turned up the heat again and was able to land a big right hook right on the button as the bell rang. Rodriguez collapsed to the ground, was able to get back to his feat, but Referee Ray Russell called a hault to the bout, giving Zhang the TKO victory.

Winner by TKO Jiawei Zhang — China.

Cancan Ren vs. Tyreishia Douglas (Baltimore, Maryland) — 112 lbs.

Ref. David Llarado

In the night’s first bout, Cancan Ren and Tyreishia Douglas kicked off the night by continually engaging each other in violent exchanges. Both fighters — throughout the four rounds — were willing to stay in the pocket and throw punch for punch with one-another, but it was clear that Ren was getting the best of her opponent. Perhaps a reason that Douglas struggled in this bout was because her headgear continually slid down to cover her face. All throughout the final two rounds, Douglas was forced to keep pushing her headgear up so that she could see.

Winner by decision: Cancan Ren — China. 21-10.

Photos by Claudia Bocanegra

He wont be fighting Miguel Cotto, but popular Middleweight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. will be in the ring on December 4 as he will take on former world title challenger Alfonso Gomez as part of a Top Rank Pay Per View card in Anaheim, Californina, that according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

• Former flyweight titlist Nonito Donaire (24-1, 16 KOs), a top-10 pound-for-pound fighter, will move up from junior bantamweight to face former bantamweight titlist Wladimir Sidorenko (22-2-2, 7 KOs) for a vacant interim belt.

• Lightweight titlist Humberto Soto (53-7-2, 32 KOs) will make his third defense against Urbano Antillon (28-1, 20 KOs) in a bout that had been slated to take place in May but was called off when Soto elected to take a different fight.

• Lightweight contender Brandon Rios (25-0-1, 18 KOs), coming off a breakout performance in which stormed past favored Anthony Peterson for a dominant seventh-round disqualification win on Sept. 11 in his HBO debut, will face an opponent to be determined.

“I think it’s a nice card. I like that card. It should be a fun show.” Said Top Rank boss Bob Arum , adding that the Honda Center will be configured for a crowd of about 10,000. “We have priced the tickets very reasonably — $200, $100, $50 and $30 — so we’re expecting a good crowd.”

“I’m excited to fight someone who has a good resume like Sidorenko, who’s been champion,” Donaire said. “I’m excited to fight somebody at this level rather than the guys I’ve been fighting. It’s good to be challenged and it makes me better. I’m facing a guy who knows how to win and is experienced. The challenge is there for me. Sidorenko is not a joke.”

Should Donaire prove victorious he would be in line to fight Fernando Montiel in early 2011

If Soto and Rios each win their bouts, Arum said he plans to match them in the first quarter of next year.

“That’s the idea, and maybe we could do Rios and Antillon, too, if Antillon wins,” Arum said. “We’ll try to make the fight for HBO or Showtime.”

“Rios is a lovely kid and now he’s a hard-working guy,” Arum said. “I think he’s going to go far and I’d love to give him a chance to fight for a world title on one of the premium networks.”

“Chavez is taking the fight seriously,” Arum said. “He’s going to spar with Manny and it’s perfect. Chavez is bigger than Manny, but Chavez is getting ready for a smaller guy [Gomez] and Manny is getting ready for a bigger guy [Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13]. Chavez being in the Philippines sparring with Manny will help sell both fights.”

One of the fighters who did not make the cut for the pay-per-view, junior middleweight contender Vanes Martirosyan, will still get a televised opportunity. Arum said he plans to have Martirosyan fight in his hometown of Glendale, Calif., in the headline fight on a Fox Sports “Top Rank Live” card Dec. 18, possibly against Pawel Wolak — who had been in the running to face Chavez.

“We’ll save people from having to watch Bernard Hopkins’ fight that same night,” Arum cracked, taking a dig at Hopkins’ light heavyweight title challenge to Jean Pascal, which is scheduled the same day on Showtime PPV.

Roy Jones Jr. cruiserweight debut scheduled for October 7th against Danny Santiago has been postponed due to a hand injury according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“Roy’s manager, McGee Wright, informed me [Wednesday] that Roy injured his left hand while sparring on Saturday and that on Monday, he went to the doctor and X-rays were taken,” said John Wirt, CEO of Square Ring Promotions. “While the X-rays do not show a fracture, his hand is swollen and continues to bother him to such an extent that we have no choice but to postpone the fight.”

“At this point, we are planning on rescheduling the fight and will make an announcement regarding the new date as soon as possible,” Wirt said.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former IBF Jr. Welterweight champion, Paulie Malignaggi has inked a promotional deal with Golden Boy Promotions.

“This is the best career move I’ve made and I’m thankful to Golden Boy Promotions for giving me this opportunity,” said Malignaggi, who intends to move up and fight at welterweight. “I know they can give me the biggest and best fights out there and that’s what I want at this point in my career. This is the start of a new stage of my career. A new promoter, a new weight class and a new opportunity to face the best, beat the best and win a world championship.”

The signing of Malignaggi, who is from Brooklyn, N.Y., makes sense for Golden Boy, which is based in Los Angeles, because the company recently announced a three-year deal to promote monthly cards at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The arena, which will be home to the NBA’s Nets, is due to open in 2012.

“That establishes me more in my hometown and helps establish them in New York,” said Malignaggi, who added he was looking forward to the promotional aspects of his deal.

“We are very excited to add Paulie to our roster of fighters,” said Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya, who once considered Malignaggi as one of his opponents before ultimately deciding to fight Steve Forbes in 2008. “We have worked with him on numerous fights and his flashy style is exciting to watch both in and out of the ring. We have big plans in store for him and are thrilled that he is in our corner.”

“The contract I got is a contract I am very happy with,” Malignaggi said of his new deal. “It’s a contract that makes me realize the slave contract I was in for nine years. They gave me pretty much everything I wanted. I don’t want to harp on the past. I had a nine-, 10- year relationship with Lou. I have some fond memories, but it was always business.”

“I just got back in the gym and I’m weighing about 160 pounds,” he said. “I’d like a tune-up on one their undercards, off TV, just to get back in the ring, and then I’d like to have a big fight next year.” Malignaggi first won a 140-pound title when he easily outpointed Lovemore N’Dou in 2007. He made two defenses, including beating N’Dou in a rematch, before vacating his belt in order to facilitate the fight with Hatton, the lineal champion at the time.

“I think these guys will re-establish me in the States,” Malignaggi said. “Golden Boy outlined a game plan where they could establish me in the welterweight picture. I liked the ideas they have. There’s a lot of angles they have with me.”

CLICK TO ORDER THE FIGHT ON DEMAND
Another night of pro boxing at Bally’s Hotel Casino, another top notch Peltz Boxing card, and another packed house in Atlantic City with the North American Boxing Association
(NABA) Super Bantamweight Title up for grabs.

In the main event Philadelphia’s Teon “The Technician” Kennedy (16-0-1 6KOs) took on Alex “El Diablo” Becerra (20-9 9 KOs) out of El Paso, Texas for the vacated NABA title. The IBF #6 ranked Kennedy dominated right from the start with effective counterpunching and a defense Becerra could not find a way around. The young man from Philadelphia almost ended the bout in the second when he staggered his opponent with a right hand in round 2.

Round 5 saw The Technician taking command of the fight, he could not miss with the jab and scored effective power shots with both hands that had the gutty Texan reeling and caused notable swelling over both eyes. At the end of the tenth round, veteran referee Steve Smoger had seen enough and called it a night.

Hasson Tops Speller

The night’s co main event featured two Super Middleweight combatants from the fighting city of Philadelphia, Dennis “The Assassin “ Hasson (11-0 4 Kos) and Tommie “Big Papa” Speller (5-5 3 Kos) both fighters sported beards in the ring reminding me of a ZZ Top concert
.
After suffering a cut over the left eye in round 1, Hasson turned this into another one sided event, pounding combinations to Big Papa’s midsection. Speller’s facial expressions’ made it clear to anyone in attendance that he does not like getting hit to the body.
The Assassin scored at will in the later rounds and almost ended the fight with a right hand in round 6 before cruising to a unanimous decision win.

DeJesus draws with Hurd

Julio DeJesus (4-2-1 3 KOs) out of Franklinville, NJ and Linwood Hurd (2-2-4) of Atlantic City gave the fans a great show in a 4 round junior welterweight bout. In an action packed classic toe-to-toe battle they slugged it out in the center of the ring. One judge had it 40-36 in favor of DeJesus while the other two saw it 38-38 for the majority draw.

Wiggins stuns Sosa

In the upset of the evening Treysean Wiggins (2-0 2KOs) of Newburg, NY, stunned the crowd when the Southpaw sent Camden, NJ resident Jason Sosa (3-1-1 1 KO) to the canvas twice in the first round before sealing the deal with a crushing left hand. Referee Ricardo Vera stopped the contest at 2:02 of round 1.

Green decisions Beaton

In a clash of Jersey Shore lefthanders, Chris “Smooth Operator” Green (4-2 1 KO) sent greetings from Asbury Park to Toms River, New Jersey’s and native of Guyana Deroy Beaton in the form of a 39-37 unanimous decision on all three cards in the lightweight battle. Green used every bit of the 24 foot ring to potshot and move confounding Deroy who was unable to mount an offence.

Brown bests Hackett

In the opener, another all Philadelphia contest, Super Middleweights Gregg Hackett (0-3) won the early intimidation battle but lost the war to Rashad Brown making his professional début.

Hackett was saved by the bell as the newcomer had him laying on the ropes and looking vulnerable when time ended in the second round and seemed to save most of his aggression for between round jawing with the rookie Brown.

Rashad was unfazed by Hackett’s antics and won a 40-36 unanimous decision.

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

In an entertaining two way contest, Ramon Garcia retained the WBO Light Flyweight championship with a twelve round majority decision over Manuel Vargas in Tijuana, Mexico.

The traded some furious exchanges throughout the bout. Neither man was ever in serious trouble.

Scores were 115-113; 115-113 and 114-114.

The was some confusion as ring announcer Lupe Contreras inadvertently read the scores in favor of Vargas but he quickly caught himself and announced Garcia the winner.

Garcia, 108 lbs of La Paz, Mexico made the first defense of his crown and is now 14-1-1. Vargas, 108 lbs of Lagos De Moreno, Mexico is a former minimumweight champion and is now 28-601.

Former Jr. Lightweight champion Humberto Gutierrez scored a ten round unanimous decision over Rene Gonzalez.

Gutierrez was more effective as he pressed from the southpaw stance and won by scores of 99-91, 98-92 and 98-92.

Gonzalez, 135 lbs of Los Mochis, Mexico is now 28-2-1. Gonzalez, 132 lbs of Managua, Nicaragua is now 27-3-1.

RENO, NEVADA — Former junior middleweight titleholder Kassim Ouma scored a come from behind stoppage victory over Contender alum Joey Gilbert to announce his presence as a middleweight contender at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino on Saturday night. In a must-win fight for both, Ouma overcame a knockdown to quickly turn the fight in his favor and ultimately score the technical knockout to claim the vacant NABA Middleweight title.

Ouma (27-7-1, 17 KOs) of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, United States by way of Kampala, Uganda and Gilbert (20-3, 15 KOs) of Reno made the fight an inside fight at the outset. The style favored Gilbert, the harder puncher and bigger man. Gilbert smothered a fair amount of Ouma’s offense early on and flurried his opponent against the ropes to close a dominating opening round.

Gilbert, 160, landed a straight right counter that appeared to hurt Ouma, 158, in the second round. The former champion slowly picked up his work rate, and began to outwork Gilbert in some exchanges. There was great action late in the round, and it was Gilbert landing a few hard shots with Ouma against ropes to close the stanza.

Both fighters decided to stand and trade in the third. Ouma would land more often, but it was clearly Gilbert landing the harder shots. The fight continued to be fought on the inside through the third. By the sound of the bell, Gilbert’s face began to show the wear of Ouma’s continuous offense. Round four was the fight in microcosm. Gilbert continued to land a stiff straight right, but Ouma just kept his hands going, and was always coming forward.

In round five, Gilbert extended his apparent lead in the fight after landing with a grazing straight right that caught Ouma off balance, but counted as a knockdown. Ouma was clearly not hurt, and more or less tripped over his own feet, as Gilbert landed. Back-and-forth action closed out the round.

The fight, firmly in Gilbert’s grasp entering round six, quickly took a turn early in the round. Ouma came out of his corner on a mission, and forced Gilbert, cut and swollen, to the ropes with his aggression. With Gilbert covering up, Ouma unloaded with an unrelenting flurry until the Reno native fell to one knee. Undoubtedly ahead on the cards, despite the knockdown, Gilbert got to his feet, before signaling to referee Vic Drakulich that he could not continue. Shortly after the fight, Drakulich informed us ringside that Gilbert had told him he was seeing double.

Gilbert, who was immediately taken to a local hospital for observation, fought well, but ultimately wilted under Ouma’s pressure. Ouma, who claimed the WBA-affiliated NABA title, will likely see his name appear in that sanctioning body’s next rankings and should be in line for a meaningful fight not too far down the road. “I am going to stay at middleweight,” said the former IBF Light Middleweight Champion after the fight. “And I want that champion Felix Sturm. I am ready for it.” Felix Sturm, the reigning WBA Middleweight Champion, is a name that was mentioned by some of Ouma’s team in the aftermath of his victory last night.

Another fight on Ouma’s wish list is a shot at current IBF Light Middleweight Champion Cornelius Bundgrage. Bundrage scored a closely contested upset decision over Ouma back in 2008, before eventually taking the title from Cory Spinks. “Bundrage beat me, come on, put your belt on the line and I will fight you tomorrow,” Ouma told 15rounds.com. “I will crush him. It will not go six rounds like Gilbert.”

Super middleweight prospect Mark DeLuca returned to the ring, ending a two-year layoff with a second round knockout over Alex Rivera (2-4, 2 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada. DeLuca (7-0, 5 KOs) of Whitman, Massachusetts joined the Marine Corps shortly after his last bout, which also took place in Reno.

Southpaw DeLuca, 167, dropped Rivera, 165, with a one-two combination early in the second round. DeLuca landed a straight left and a couple more in follow-up to drop Rivera again seconds later. Rivera gamely got up to his feet, but another straight left counter ended it in emphatic fashion. Referee immediately waved off the fight with the official time of 2:02 of the second.

In a heated battle of Reno-based pro debutants, Nelson Lopez (1-0) earned a hard-fought shutout decision over Bubba Dupree (0-1). Dupree, 180, had the better boxing skills, but he was out-slugged by the relentless Lopez, 176, for most of the fight. A wild first round featured two-way action early. Late in the round, Lopez caught Dupree with a shot that forced him to the ropes. In the last minute Lopez continued to swing away at a dodging Dupree against the ropes. Dupree threw just enough punches and held just enough to not get stopped.

After a second round that was slow by comparison to the first, Lopez continued to land the cleaner punches, eventually dropping Dupree with a straight right. Dupree slumped to his knees, but made it up before referee Vic Drakulich finished his count. The fourth heated up early, with Dupree boxing well. But as was the case anytime Dupree got into a rhythm, Lopez answered back. In the end, all three judges scored the bout for Lopez, 40-35 and 40-34 twice.

MMA

Jerel Clark (5-0, 1 KO, 3 Submissions) of Sparks, Nevada pleased his raucous supporters on hand with a second round submission over Jack Montgomery (9-9, 2 KOs, 7 Submissions) of Winnemucca, Nevada.

Montgomery, 170, was badly bloodied after taking a serious ground-and-pound beating for much of the first round. Clark, 170, maintained control of the fight in the second round, taking Montgomery to the ground. Eventually Clark forced a tapout with a rear naked choke at the time of 2:03 of the second.

Reno’s Joe Baros (3-5, 3 KOs) scored an explosive second-round knockout of Josh Rabedeaux (5-8, 1 Submission) of Phoenix, Arizona. Baros, 135, landed a swift high kick that landed clean on the head of Rabedeaux, 135, to procure the instant stoppage from referee Kim Winslow. Official time was 3:15 of the second round.

John O’Donnell (3-0, 2 KOs) of Fallon, Nevada scored a second-round knockout over John Corstorphine (6-4, 1 KO, 5 Submissions) of Sacramento, California in the night’s opener. O’Donnell, 171, punished Corstorphine, 173, with a vicious series of strikes on the ground. With Corstorphine unable to protect himself, referee Kim Winslow stopped the fight. Official time of the stoppage was 3:55 of round two.

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

RENO, NEVADA — In an intriguing crossroads bout, Joey Gilbert will attempt to leap back into contention while defending his home turf against former titleholder Kassim Ouma at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino tonight. Their regional title clash headlines “Reno Xtreme Fights VI,” an evening of boxing and mixed martial arts. Fighters weighed in Friday at the casino’s Xtreme Sports Bar & Lounge.

Gilbert (20-2, 15 KOs) was a ranked middleweight by two of the major sanctioning organizations heading into a fight at this same venue three years ago. Despite scoring a quick knockout that evening, Gilbert would lose those rankings after his Nevada State Athletic Commission conducted post-fight drug test revealed the presence of banned substances. After a lengthy legal battle, Gilbert was cleared of all but one positive, which resulted in a one-year suspension. It has taken him three years, but Joey Gilbert finds himself one win away from making up for lost time and likely finding himself at the doorstep of a major fight.

Standing in Gilbert’s way is the most accomplished foe he has ever faced, in former IBF Light Middleweight Champion Ouma (26-7-1, 16 KOs) of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, United States by way of Kampala, Uganda. Ouma has dropped five of his last six fights, but two were split decisions and the last was a controversial defeat suffered at the hands of rising contender Vanes Martirosyan earlier this year. Ouma will also be stepping up to the middleweight division for only the second time in his pro career.

Both of these fighters, Ouma especially, are known to have a high work rates and solid chins. Considering their styles, this fight could turn out to be a corker, especially if Gilbert decides to utilize his size and strength advantage while standing his ground. The term “must win” is an often overused expression, but it applies to tonight’s fight. The winner of the bout will claim the vacant NABA Middleweight title, which is affiliated with the WBA. The new champion will likely see their name listed among the top fifteen middleweight contenders when the next WBA rankings are released. Gilbert weighed in at 160, while Ouma came in at 158.

In undercard action, super middleweight prospect Mark DeLuca returns to the ring after having joined the Marine Corps in 2008. DeLuca (6-0, 4 KOs) of Whitman, Massachusetts has not fought since scoring a first round knockout in Reno in June of 2008. Opposing DeLuca will be Alex Rivera (2-3, 2 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada in a four-round bout. DeLuca weighed in at 167-pounds, while Rivera came in at 165.

In a pairing of pro debutants, Bubba Dupree of Reno will take on Nelson Lopez, also of Reno, in a four-round light heavyweight fight. Dupree came in at 180-pounds, while Lopez scaled 176.

Mixed martial arts action will include a battle of locals, as Jerel Clark (4-0, 1 KO, 2 Submissions) of Reno will take on Jack Montgomery (9-8, 2 KOs, 7 Submissions) of Winnemucca, Nevada in a three-round middleweight fight. Both fighters weighed in at 170-pounds.

In the another MMA bout, Reno’s Joe Baros (2-5, 2 KOs) will take Josh Rabedeaux (5-8, 1 Submission) of Phoenix, Arizona in a three-round bantamweight fight. Baros scaled 135, as did Rabedeaux.

A late addition to the card, John O’Donnell (2-0, 1 KO) of Fallon, Nevada will take on John Corstorphine (6-3, 1 KO, 5 Submissions) of Sacramento, California in a three-round welterweight fight. O’Donnell came in at 171-pounds, while Corstorphine weighed in at 173.

Tickets for the event, promoted by Let’s Get It On Promotions, are available online at GrandSierraResort.com.

Quick Weigh-in Results:

NABA Middleweight Championship, 10 Rounds
Gilbert 160
Ouma 158

Super Middleweights, 4 Rounds
DeLuca 167
Rivera 165

Light Heavyweights, 4 Rounds
Dupree 180
Lopez 176

MMA Weigh-in Results:

Middleweights, 3 Rounds
Clark 170
Montgomery 170

Bantamweights, 3 Rounds
Baros 135
Rabedeaux 135

Welterweights, 3 Rounds
O’Donnell 171
Corstorphine 173

Photos by Mike Searson/Examiner.com

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

The fight poster for Boxing 360’s promotional debut featured Ronson Frank, Amanda Serrano, Lennox Allen and Tommy Rainone. Frank spent the evening as a spectator. The other three weren’t on hand and had fights fall out for various reasons.

In the case of Frank, a counter punching light heavyweight, his opponent Anthony Ferrante scaled in at 180 lbs; 4 over the contracted limit. According to the Brooklyn based prospect, his attempts to make the fight happen were unsuccessful.

“Initially, we offered him the fight at 178 lbs, but he refused and wanted the fight 175 lbs,” stated Frank. “We agreed (to fight at) 176 lbs, I made the weight and he came in at 180 lbs. He refused to try and make the weight and only when I threatened to walk out he made a half a** effort (when he re weighed in) and lost two ounces. We tried to renegotiate so (Ferrante) could weigh in (on fight night) at 182 but he took off and left town.”

But as they say, the show must go on.

Although there were only four bouts last night at the upscale Plattduetsche Park Restaurant in Franklin Square, New York, props must go out to Director Bob Duffy for salvaging the card from getting TKO’ed. In addition, this writer can claim to have seen one of the most interesting but yet embarrassing knockouts in history (more on that later).

In the evening’s main event, dynamite fisted cruiserweight Josh “The Juice” Harris overcame a slow start to defeat gritty Kamarah Pasley. Harris was making his debut under the Boxing 360 banner and struggled to let his hands go on a consistent basis during the first few rounds as Pasley was the busier fighter.

Harris picked up the pace in the fifth round, landing a number of vicious hooks to the head while Pasley picked his spots with jabs and right hands. With his confidence beginning to grow, Harris decked Pasley with an enormous right hook that looked as if it were going to end the night in the sixth. Pasley, who hit the canvas like a fighter who wasn’t going to recover, impressively made it back to his feet en route to being saved by the bell seconds later. Harris continued to throw hard hooks at his game opponent during the next two rounds en route to taking a competitive decision.

Scores were 76-75 twice and 78-73. 15rounds scored the contest 77-74 for Harris.

“I should have been a bit calmer in the ring,” said Harris, who spent most of the eight rounds working off of hard hooks. “I made a few mistakes and am going to work on putting together combinations (in future bouts).”

Harris of Providence, RI by way of Youngstown, OH, improves to 7-3-1 with 5 KO’s. Pasley, who hails from the fighting city of Philadelphia, PA, is now 5-5 (2 KO’s).

The co-featured bout of the evening pitted unbeaten welterweight Issouf Kinda against tougher than advertised Noel Garcia in an eight round affair.

Kinda, a rangy boxer with a good jab and respectable straight right hand, controlled the action and buzzed Garcia on a few occasions. Garcia had minor success in close quarters, but was unable to land the more telling blows. The Springfield, MA based fighter started to tire in the fifth round, where he lost a point for holding and hitting. Kinda dominated the next stanza and a stoppage appeared likely; this was until a grotesque headbutt in the seventh caused blood to stream from Garcia’s left eye, halting the contest one round early.

All three judges and 15rounds awarded Kinda the bout via technical decision by the score of 70-62.

Kinda, of New York via West Africa, is a perfect 9-0 with 4 wins by knockout. Garcia, who is trained by boxing lifer and former title contender John “Iceman Scully” returns to Springfield, MA 2-6-1 (1 KO).

Junior welterweight Mike Brooks of Freeport, NY upped his record to 2-0 (1 KO) following a one sided UD over Toledo, OH’s Calvin Pritchard. The crowd favorite controlled the action from bell to bell, outworking his taller opponent with a strong body attack in close range.

All three judges scored the bout 39-37.

Brooks is now 2-0 (1 KO). Pritchard slides to 0-2-2.

Newark, NJ junior middleweight Thomas Baldwin improved to 2-0-1 (1 KO) after scoring an embarrassing third round knockout of Rameil Shelton. Baldwin beat his opponent to the punch during the first two rounds, which led up to one of the most humorous endings ever.

In the third, Shelton literally turned away from Baldwin to shout an expletive at a ringside heckler. His moronic decision to let the crowd get in his head was a major no no. Before he could continue his verbal assault, Baldwin shut his lights out with a huge right hand.

Time of stoppage was 1:50.

“I was completely in shock (to see him do that),” Baldwin said after his victory. “Of course I was going to take advantage, but it was only a matter of time (until the fight ended) anyways.”

Shelton heads back to Providence, RI at 0-2 following the humiliating defeat.

Boxing 360’s next card is slated for November.

On Thursday, in the heart of New York City’s Chinatown, Dino Duva and his business partners held a press conference to promote the Oct. 1 “Empires Collide” amateur boxing fight card between Team USA and China at Capitale in Chinatown.

In attendance were Chinese Olympian’s Zhang Jianting and super heavyweight Olympic silver medalist Zhang Zhilei. The 114 lb. prospect Miguel Cartagena representative of Team USA.

15Rounds.com was present at the press conference and had an opportunity to participate in a conversation with Dino Duva in which he spoke about the upcoming event and boxing in China.

— Duva said he has traveled to China fourteen times since the Beijing Olympics in 2008, where he has developed a working relationship with the Chinese Boxing Federation.

— According to Duva, the success of the 2008 Chinese Olympic Boxing Team, who scored four medals in while competing in their home country, has inspired a new wave of Chinese interest in the sport of boxing. Further, the Chinese government has invested more money into the sport.

— With regards to the amateur boxing system in China, Duva explained that each Cinese province has their own boxing team, with a designated boxing coach. As the fighters travel to the United States, various provincial coaches have accompanied their fighters.

— Duva said the October 1st fight card will feature thirteen bouts, three of them being female matches, since women’s boxing will now be included in the Olympics, starting with London in 2012.

Tickets for “Empire Collide” are priced at $120 for ringside, $70 for reserved, and $25 for standing room/general admission. The reserved and ringside seats include two complimentary beverages. They may be ordered by calling 973-291-4529 or by email at tickets@empirescollide.com. For more information, fans can go to EmpiresCollide.com. Special VIP and sponsor packages are also available.

On Thursday, Goossen Tutor Promotions and DiBella Entertainment held a press conference in New York City to promote the Nov. 20 rematch between Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez and Paul “The Punisher” Williams. The bout will take place in Atlantic City, New Jersey at Boardwalk Hall and is hosted by Caesars Atlantic City.

15Rounds.com was there to cover the press conference. Notes & quotes below.

Sergio Martinez:

— At the beginning of the press conference, Martinez was awarded the Ring Magazine middleweight championship belt.

— Martinez said, “Nobody wants to fight Paul Williams and nobody wants to fight “Maravilla” Martinez, so we have no choice but to fight each other.”

— “What we did the first time, I want to do it again,” Martinez said with regards to the excitement the first fight brought. “I want this fight to be a reflection of my career in the ring.”

— With regards to violence against women, Martinez said, “I love my mother and I want everyone to respect women. Every time I have a camera or microphone, I will always say to stop the violence.” Martinez has clearly taken this issue to heart and it is not the first time he has spoken out about the issue. Following the Edwin Valero tragedy, Martinez immediately spoke out calling for the need to treat all women with respect.

Paul Williams:

— “Exchanges aren’t [necessarily] good for me, but they are for the fans,” Williams said.

— Williams mentioned that in the first with Martinez he wasn’t prepared for all the lateral movement and the quickness. He said all the talk was “Pavlik, Pavlik, Pavlik” and he was preparing for someone to stand right in front of him. This time around, he is sparring with boxers that mirror “Maravilla’s” style.

— With regards to his weight, Williams said the losing weight and getting to 147 lbs. in the future would not be a problem. He also noted that depending on the purse size, money is the ultimate motivator if he needs to lose weight.

— A reporter asked Williams if he were to lose this fight, would a trilogy be in the works? Williams’ answer: “Most definitely.”

George Peterson, trainer of Paul Williams:

— Peterson said the he doesn’t believe Williams will ever step into the ring with either Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao, but noted that Pacquiao would be the more likely of the two fighters if a fight with Williams ever comes to fruition.

Information:

Martinez enters the fight as the WBC and Ring Magazine middleweight champion and sports a record of 45-2-2, with 24 KOs. Williams enters the rematch with a 39-1 record with 27 KOs.

Tickets for the event are priced at $400, $200, $100, and $50 and go on sale Friday, September 24. Tickets can be purchased at the Boardwalk Hall box office or by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at Ticketmaster.com

Photos by Claudia Bocanegra

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former world Super Bantamweight champion Celestino caballero will make his first appearance at Jr. Lightweight when he takes on perennial contender Jason Litzau on November 27th in Las Vegas underneath the world Lightweight championship between Juan Manuel Marquez and Michael Katsidis

Details are also being worked out to add welterweight titlist Andre Berto (26-0, 20 KOs) in a mandatory defense against Selcuk Aydin (20-0, 15 KOs) to the card, promoter Lou DiBella, who promotes Caballero and Berto, told ESPN.com.

DiBella said he and Aydin co-promoter Don King are getting closer on the money. If they make a deal, then HBO will expand the card to a tripleheader.

“Caballero is moving up because he basically has to,” DiBella said of the 5-foot-11 Caballero. “He’s outgrown the 122-pound weight class. At 126, he is unquestionably being avoided. If we could have worked out suitable opposition we could have made a reasonable deal, and he would have stayed at 126. It didn’t happen.”

“We had been kicking around Litzau as a possibility if Caballero had to move up again,” DiBella said. “When it became clear there wasn’t an alternative HBO liked better, we did it. Caballero wanted to fight a name, somebody people have heard of and Litzau is that guy. He’s coming off maybe the best win of his career against Juarez. So Caballero is making a statement — he was the best 122, one of the best 126 and now he’s willing to go to 130 to fight a real guy for TV. He believes he is the best and will do what is necessary to prove it.

“I think it’s an excellent matchup,” Wirt said. “Litzau always come to fight. A lot of people wrote Litzau off, but he stood up to the plate and delivered in the Juarez fight and now we’re planning on another upset.”

Sources close to the situation have informed 15rounds.com that the November 8th boxing special to air on ESPN2 from Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina on November 8th will be headlined by a pairing of heavyweight prospects. Once beaten big men will look to regain some of their luster, as Travis Kauffman is pegged to take on Bowie Tupou.

Kauffman (20-1, 16 KOs) of Reading, Pennsylvania has won two straight against journeymen opponents since suffering a nationally televised setback against Tony Grano last September. Despite an accomplished amateur career, Kauffman made the mistake of slugging with the crude Grano, which made for an entertaining fight for Showtime, but ultimately helped lead to a somewhat controversial fourth-round stoppage defeat. In his last bout, Kauffman knocked out the well traveled Chris Koval in two rounds this past May.

Tupou (19-1, 15 KOs) of Los Angeles, California by way of Nuku?alofa, Tonga quietly built himself into a prospect by scoring a string of quick knockouts in mostly non-televised fights before running into longtime opponent Demetrice King in August of last year. King caught Tupou with a counter off the ropes to score a knockdown late in the first that swung the fight in his favor. Tupou, who had been signed by prominent promoter Gary Shaw, did not recover during the minute rest between rounds and was ultimately stopped in the second round. In his one fight since, Tupou stopped Alexis Mejias in four rounds in May.

The Veterans Day themed card has become an annual tradition for ESPN. Tickets will not be sold and the crowd will be comprised of servicemen and women.

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

York, PA Super Featherweight Eric Nemo thrilled his hometown fans with a dominant six round unanimous decision over southpaw spoiler Stephan Alexander at the elegant Valencia Ballroom last Saturday evening.

Backed by nonstop chants of “Nemo, Nemo”, the local product was effectively aggressive from the opening bell, tagging Alexander in close quarters en route to dropping him with a short left hand in the second. The lanky Alexander attempted to work his way back into the fight by boxing from the outside, but had minimal success.

Despite a significant height disadvantage, Nemo consistently landed flush punches on the inside en route to taking a one sided victory.

Judges Bernard Bruni and Tony Wolfe scored the contest 60-53, while John Gradowski’s tally read 59-54. 15rounds.com also scored it 60-53 in favor of Nemo.

“I knocked him down and controlled the fight. but I didn’t feel like I was that sharp tonight,” Nemo surprisingly said following an adequate performance. “I didn’t train for a tall southpaw and he was very awkward.”

Nemo, whose lone defeat came in 2005 to future world champion Juan Manuel Lopez, improves to 10-1-1 with 5 KO’s. Alexander returns to Norfolk, VA at 4-3 with all four wins coming by knockout.

In the co-featured bout of the evening, tough but predictable welterweight Doel Carrasquillo was unable to capitalize on a rare hometown appearance, dropping an eight round majority decision to rugged Ghanaian Ayi Bruce.

Carrasquillo stood directly in front of Bruce from bell to bell firing hard hooks, but his lack of speed and movement gave his counterpart plenty of opportunities. With a close friend recording the fight near ringside while shouting instructions in his native tongue, Bruce landed the majority of the clean punches and avoided most of Carrasquillo’s return shots.

Scores were 78-74, matching 15rounds’ tally, 77-75 and a questionable 76-76.

“I knew he was a hard puncher, so I kept my hands up and countered him,” said Bruce, who resides in Albany, NY. “He was very tough and is a good fighter.”

Bruce is now 16-3 (11 KO’s). Carrasquillo, of Lancaster, PA, slips to a decisive 14-16-1 with 12 wins by KO.

Pro debutant and York native Jesus Saucedo successfully entered the paid ranks with a crowd pleasing four round UD over a very game Mike Denby. All four rounds of the welterweight contest were fought at a toe to toe pace, with both men throwing power shots as if there were no tomorrow. Although he was outweighed by 4.5 lbs, Saucedo was clearly the stronger puncher and hurt Denby on a few different occasions.

Judges Gradowski, Wolfe and Bruni all scored the bout 39-37.

Denby, of Dover, DE, falls to 3-5-3 (2 KO’s).

Entertaining middleweight Mike Moore of Cleveland, OH kept his perfect record alive following a close four round majority decision over gritty Robert Sockwell of East Stroudsburg, PA. The shorter Moore consistently brought the fight to Sockwell, who fought back valiantly and buzzed Moore with a hook in the third. Moore closed the show in style, dominating the final stanza with an impressive array of punches in close range.

Scores were 39-37 twice and 38-38.

“I saw him yesterday at the weigh in and tried to size him up, but he was a little bit more awkward than I thought he would be,” Moore said after the victory. “I came into the fight in great shape, am looking for my next fight already and am ready for whomever!”

Sockwell falls to 2-2 (2 KO’s).

In the opening bout of the evening, lightweight prospect Julius Leegrand of Cleveland moved to 4-0 with a unanimous decision over fellow Ohioan Eric Ricker. Leegrand worked behind a snappy jab throughout the contest, while mixing in left hooks and straight right hands in a solid showing.

Scores were 40-36 and 39-37 twice.

Leegrand is now 4-0 with 2 KO’s. Toledo’s Ricker slides 3-6.

Headed by Julio Alvarez, who worked double duty as the trainer of Nemo, Carrasquillo and Saucedo, the card served as A&D Promotions’ debut.

One of the most highly anticipated rematches has finally been inked as according to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Middleweight world champion Sergio Martinez will defend his crown against Paul Williams on November 20 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

“It’s nice to get it completed,” Dan Goossen, Williams’ promoter, said. “It’s not a matter of whose fault it is [that the fight took so long to make], it’s a matter that you have two of the most feared fighters in the world facing each other. It doesn’t just get made overnight. There’s a lot more to it. That’s what took time.”

Said Lou DiBella, Martinez’s promoter, “Martinez is not afraid of anybody and we did the deal that HBO wanted us to do. My take on the fight it’s the best f—— fight the rest of the year. Period. It’s the best fight for fight fans and they don’t have to fork over $60 to watch it on pay-per-view.”

The fight will be contracted at 157 pounds.

“It’s at 157 because we didn’t have a choice,” DiBella said. “Williams wanted the catch weight. There was an issue on the weight and we gave on the weight.”

When they met for the first time on Dec. 5 in the smaller arena upstairs at Boardwalk Hall, both fighters were knocked down in the first round of what turned out to be a rousing, slugfest and one of the most action-packed fights of the year. Williams won a heavily disputed majority decision in the nontitle bout.

“The fight can’t miss,” DiBella said. “You saw the first fight but I thought my guy won the first fight and I think he’ll win this one easier. I don’t think you’ll ever fight Paul Williams and have an easy fight, but I think this time he will win more clearly.”

“Sergio has just wanted to get back in the ring and wants to be treated like the middleweight champion,” DiBella said. “He knows what this fight means. He knows it’s the last time he will be bullied by anybody in a business sense. That won’t happen again if he wins. If he can beat Paul Williams after what he did to Pavlik and the damage he and Williams did to each other in the first fight, people should give him his props and he should be considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world below Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. Sergio can establish himself at that level if he can perform in this fight. This is the prime of his career. This fight is everything to him.”

“Paul is very excited about the fight, so is [trainer] George [Peterson],” Goossen said. “It’s the type of fight boxing needs and wants and one that we’re looking to deliver. When everything is said and done, this is the fight everyone wants. But we never made any bones about the fact that we were looking for a welterweight fight. It wasn’t that we didn’t want a Sergio Martinez fight. We were hoping for the big fight at 147 pounds. We didn’t get it and therefore we went for the next biggest fight, and that was obviously against Sergio.

“The great thing about is it Paul will have more than three weeks to train for Martinez, which is what happened last time when Pavlik pulled out and we had to change opponents and train for a southpaw.”

Photo by Claudia Bocanegra

Despite a disastrous stretch, former world champion “Vicious” Vivian Harris of Carlstadt, NJ isn’t ready to hang up the gloves just yet.

Harris, 29-5-1 (19 KO’s), was on the wrong end of a third round knockout to Victor Ortiz Saturday night in Los Angeles, CA as part of an HBO pay per view telecast. Against the well regarded Ortiz, Harris got dropped four times and was unable to work his way back into the fight.

Prior to that, Harris, who was once considered an elite junior welterweight, lost a controversial fourth round TKO to Lucas Matthysse. To make matters even worse, the Matthysse fight was preceded by a scary no contest against Noe Bolanos in 2009, where he left the ring on a stretcher following a grotesque clash of heads.

While Harris has been sent to the hospital after two of his last three fights and is without notable victory since 2007, he refutes any assertion that he is going to call it quits.

“People just like to talk and they don’t know boxing,” exclaimed the always animated Harris. “This is a dirty and crazy sport. I was forced to fight (at or) around 140 and I can’t make that weight anymore. I am going to continue as a full fledged welterweight and you will never see me fight below (147 pounds) again!”

He also cites the contract weight for the Ortiz fight as a major issue.

“We tried to make it at 144 lbs, give or take a pound, but his people said no.” “They wanted to call this a welterweight fight, but (if that was the case) than why couldn’t I (fight at the) weight I wanted to? I am not trying to take away anything from his victory he did what he had to do, but (the issue over the weight) is complete bulls**t.”

Although he was also stopped in the two aforementioned fights and to Junior Witter via one punch knockout in 2007, Harris believes his punch resistance will only improve in his new weight class.

“I will be stronger at welterweight” I had to lose a good amount of to make 140 and it drained me. I (spar) with heavier guys and taking their punches (has never been) a problem.”

Upon completing his mandated suspension for the knockout loss, the former WBA champion, who is still under contract with Golden Boy Promotions, will actively seek fights with a notable welterweight.

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

On an a stacked card from Birmingham, England in front of around 8,000 at the LG Arena Frank Warren matched several of his up and comers in intriguing fights. Notably Nathan Cleverly beat Karo Murat in a WBO Light Heavyweight eliminator & Olympic gold medallist James Degale put on his best performance so far vanquishing Carl Dilks easily. Both appear to have the star power to follow on from here to win World Titles.

The bumper PPV started at 6pm with James “Chunky” Degale 8-0(6) getting things underway against Carl Dilks 14-3(5). Though he was favoured to win, it was expected to be Degale‘s, toughest test to date and provide him with rounds and more experience. It turned out to be anything but that as Degale had far to much speed and power for a shell shocked Dilks. In the final 10 seconds of the round Degale opened up sending Dilks back into the ropes, he followed up before referee Howard Foster Jnr stepped in for what looked a premature stoppage at 2.54 of the first. However Dilks was already bleeding from the left eye and nose and seemed not to have a problem with the stoppage.

Originally Ryan Rhodes was supposed to defend his European title against Lukas Konecny 45-3(21) however when Rhodes fell out with injury Matthew Hall 23-3(16) who was due to fight a week later was drafted in to face Konecny for the vacant EBU crown. It was a fight that promised much, both guys appeared mirror images of each other both short, with shaved heads and similar all action styles. From the first bell both stood in close and fought at close distance. Hall was busier early on while Konecny was more accurate. The Czech Konecny picked his way through dropping Hall near the ropes mid way through the sixth, Konecny used his greater experience to quickly follow up and drop Hall for a second time prompting the stoppage at 1.53 of the sixth.

The third fight of the PPV was Wales rising star Nathan Cleverly 20-0(10) against fellow unbeaten Karo Murat 22-1(13) an electric crowd responded to both men’s entrance’s. From the first bell Cleverly neutralised his greater hand and foot speed picking his way through Murat’s high held guard. After three rounds Cleverly looked fantastic picking apart Murat who showed considerable resolve taking so many shots. Murat who is an Arthur Abraham hybrid looked to close the distance and though he did land some punches he had to take 3 or 4 to land one. Things got worse for Murat in the eighth when a slashing punch cut him across the nose. Finally Murat was retired at the end of the ninth round on the advice of the ringside doctor. It was vintage Cleverly all the way he later admitted he took a few chances because he believes in his own ability and wants to be exciting.With the win Cleverly became the mandatory for Jurgen Braehmer who has to face Cleverly next. The status of Braehmer is up in the air, because of a previous indiscretion he could be incarcerated. He’s currently appealing against this if he successful he has to face Cleverly next if not Cleverly will be named the new WBO Champion.

The much anticipated Kell Brook 22-0(15) & Michael Jennings 36-3(17) fight finally took place however it ended anticlimatically when Jennings was cut in the fifth soon after the fight was called off. After a quite start in which Brook seemed to take a look at what Jennings had to offer he slowly picked his way through until the cut forced an end to the fight at 47 of the fifth. With the win Brook retained his British & WBO Inter-Continental Welterweight titles also reaffirming himself as the number 1 contender for the WBO title currently held by Manny Pacquiao. It is hoped Pacquiao will vacate because of the Margarito fight taking palce at Light Middleweight allowing Brook to fight for the next available contender.

In a rematch from 2 years ago Heavyweights Sam Sexton 13-2(6) & Dereck Chisora 14-0(9) met for the British & Commonwealth titles. There was bad blood between the two, Frank Warren had to stand between them at the Weigh in when it threatened to boil over. The action began when both guys got involved early both having there moments. By the midway point Chisora was getting the better of things. In the final minute of the ninth Chisora put his punches together hurting Sexton who dropped to the canvas though he rose he was allowed to carry on, Chisora who’s an excellent finisher jumped on him and fired away until referee stepped in and called a holt to the action with Sexton in no position to defend himself with seven seconds left in the round.

The knockout of the night maybe the year came in the action packed Enzo Maccarinelli 32-5(25) & Alexander Frenkel 23-0(18) fight. After a lively start in which Maccarinelli appeared to be getting the better of things stalking his European title challenger. Though the wild shoot out expected by many never took place it seemed more a war of attrition. In the seventh both guys threw punches Frankel’s left hook landed hard pitching Maccarinelli backwards and down hard. Always a proud warrior he rose on unsteady legs and much to many in attendance chagrin was allowed to carry on. Frenkel charged over landing another monster left hook that nearly decapitated Maccarinelli who went down heavily. The fight was instantly waved over at 2.30. There were a few anxious moments as Maccarinelli received oxygen thankfully he appeared ok leaving the ring under his own steam. While Frenkel can look to fight the big names at Cruiserweight it must be the end for Maccarinelli who won the WBO title in a storied career.

The final fight of “The Magnificent Seven” saw local Matthew Macklin 27-2(19) win the European Middleweight title for the second time when he dismantled game but over matched late substitute Shalva Jombardashvili as he systematically broke him down over 5 rounds before the fight was called off early in the sixth. Macklin who hadn’t fought in nine months showed no signs of ring rust.

Former World Amateur champion Frankie Gavin improved to 8-0(7) with a workmanlike fifth round stoppage over game Michael Kelly for the Vacant Irish title. Gavin dictated the action behind a steady jab and picked apart Kelly before the stoppage at 2.59 of the fifth.

Also in action Light Middleweight Joe Selkirk 5-0(3) stopped Jan Cernouskis 4-8(4) at 2.17 of the fourth and final round.

At Welterweight Ronnie Heffron 3-0(2) went the distance for the first time against Billy Smith 12-82-2(7).

Afterward Frank Warren said his 30 year anniversary of promoting will be this December when he will stage another bumper bill on the 11th presumably as the British leg before Khan-Maidana. He said he intends to once again have a big show with Cleverly, Macklin, Brook among others appearing along with a come backing Kevin Mitchell with Billy Joe Saunders hopefully coming back from injury.?

Arthur Abraham, Sebastian Sylvester & Marco Huck were in attendance to support Kurat & Frenkel. Also watching were Naseem Hamed supporting friend Kell Brook, Paul & Stephen Smith, Tony Bellew, Billy Joe Saunders, newly minted WBO 130 champion Ricky Burns who was presented the title in the ring between on of the fights, Amir Khan who worked the PPV for Sky TV, David Haye & George Groves were also ringside.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, talks have re-heated for a proposed January showdown between 140 lb titlists Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander.

Alexander has already agreed to the January 29 fight as well as a proposed rematch in the late spring.

Bradley was balking that he would have to sign a contract extension with his promoter Gary Shaw.

However, Bradley and his managers, Cameron Dunkin and Michael Miller, have not been able to come to terms with Shaw.

The issue has been Shaw’s demand that Bradley agree to an extension of their promotional contract beyond its May 10 expiration as part of the deal to get the fight with Alexander, which Bradley and his team rejected.

However, the breakthrough came Friday, when the managers said Shaw offered Bradley a two-fight deal — the Alexander fight plus an automatic rematch, win or lose — and agreed to end his demand for a contract extension.

“HBO is willing to do both fights and so are we, as long as the rematch takes place by May,” Miller said. “But we’d give them until June 4.”

“We talked to Tim and he’s interested in the deal, but he wants to talk it over with is wife,” Miller said. “He thinks the money is still short, but he wants the fight. He’s supposed to get back to us Monday.”

“I won’t tell my fighter to sign a long-term agreement before he listens to other offers,” Dunkin said. “But this is going to be Timmy’s call on what he wants to do. He’ll tell us what he wants to do and we’ll go from there.”

Former world champion, Jorge Arce and Lorenzo Parra battled to a draw in a ten round Super Bantamweight fight in Culican, Mexico

Arce stalked for the most part with Parra coming on late and seizing some of the late rounds to get the draw.

Arce, 122 lbs of Los Mochis, Mexico is now 55-6-2. Parra of Venezuela is now 31-2-1.

Humberto Soto retained the WBC Lightweight championship with a twelve round unanimous decision over Fidel Monterrosa.

It was an action filled fight at times with the challenger trying to exchange with the classy champion. The two fighters slipped numerous times on the wet canvas. Soto was very effective going to the challengers body while Monterrosa was looking for one shot in effort to wrestle away the title.

Scores were 118-109, 115-112 and 115-112 for Soto, 135 lbs of Los Mochis, Mexico and is now 53-7-2. Monterrosa, 135 lbs of Barranquilla, Colombia is now 23-2.

Omar Chavez scored a fourth round stoppage over Ricardo Juarez in a scheduled six round Welterweight bout.

Chavez dominated the action and in round four he landed four hard shots to the head that sent Juarez to his knees and was counted out at2:47 of round four.

Chavez., 147 lbs of Culican, Mexico is now 24-0-1 with seventeen knockouts. Juarez, 147 lbs of Tijuana, Mexico is now 16-12-1.

In front of the many boxing aficionados in the house such as former greats such as Pepino Cuevas and Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley and Sergio Mora fought to a highly debatable draw in the main event at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Sergio Mora (22-1-1, 6KO’s) made his way to the ring first to a huge applause. Followed shortly after by Sugar Shane Mosley (46-6, 39KO’s) to meet in a 12 round, Jr. middleweight battle.

In round one, The taller Mora danced around the ring as Mosley chased him around trying to land a jab. Mora seemed very cautious as he only threw one maybe two combination’s the entire round. Mosley couldn’t catch him so he didn’t fair much better. In round two, it was more of the same. Mora switched from Orthodox to southpaw many times as he continued to dance and faint his way around the ring. Whenever Shane got too close, Mora would tie him up. There was a small exchange at the bell, which was have been the most action of the fight. In round three, after landing a somewhat meaningful right hand, Sergio got on his horse and ran around the ring as Shane chased him, attempting to land a shot. After he got off of his bike, he seemed to want to trade a bit more but still, no meaningful punches were thrown or landed. Round 4 started with Mosley becoming more aggressive and attacking at the onset. He trapped Mora on the ropes and began to do work. Mora would clinch and and try to get off all at once. The two began to fight in a phone booth…great strategy change by Mosley. He threw more punches and landed more when he forced Mora to fight him. Mora landed a big right that didn’t seem to phase Mosley, but Mora now has a visible cut over his right eye that is leaking blood fro, an inadvertent. Round five saw a much more aggressive Shane as he would not give Mora any breathing room. Mora seemed to want to exchange more, so it made the fight pick up a bit. As slick as a snake, Mora began to play to the crowd, as he stood in front of Shane daring him to punch him. It may have looked good, but he wasn’t letting his hands go. Round six Mora seemed to revert to his running ways in the first half of the round, as he backed up and jabbed. Mosley tried hard to get him on the ropes and do work but Mora was not a willing participant. Once on the ropes, Mosley was unloading when Mora caught him with a clean, counter left hook to the chin. If Mora had any power, it may have affected Shane. The round ended in a clinch with both fighters landing body shots.

A visibly gassed Mosley came out in round seven, which seemed to give Mora a license to fight as he was more apt to stand and trade. This may have been the most punches landed from any round up until this point. It seems as if Mora got the better of Mosley that round as they exchanged combination’s. Round eight looked like a wresting match. there was a ton of holding and clinching. The tired Mosley seemed to want to lean on Mora and pot shot him. Meanwhile, Mora landed some meaningful punches in this round. Perhaps the tide is changing but it may be too late. Mosley seemed to get the edge in round nine as he had a nice flurry against the ropes. may have been his best round yet. A very nice exchange toward the end of round ten that Mora seemed to get the better of. The two guys stood toe to toe and just let their hands fly. Neither fighter would back up or give in.much more energy than Shane. The round, in my opinion, went to Mora. As we delve deeper into the championship rounds, round eleven looked like round ten. Constant body contact with an array of big punches scattered throughout the round. The older Mosley is breathing heavily out of his mouth, you have to wonder how much gas is left in the tank. Yet he keeps pressing forward (by corcelli). Mosley landed four huge shots to end the round that seemed to wobble Mora somewhat. In the twelfth and final round, it started off as somewhat of a brawl. Both boxers where throwing many punches and pushing each other around. Mosley was head hunting attempting to get Mora out of there while Mora seemed to be attempting the same while fighting with his back on the ropes! The bout ended in the corner with both guys throwing big shots trying to end it before the final bell tolled. As we go to the scorecards, 115-113 Mora, 116-112 Mosley, 114-114 for a draw!

Sugar Shane Mosley

“We both fought hard. It was a good fight so it was a good decision.

“He is not a good puncher so we had to box more.

“This was a different fight because he had to come down in weight and I had to go up.

“It would have been different if I was fighting someone my height and weight.

“Mora moved, ran away, rested and held. There were lots of head butts and that effected me.

“He was moving too much so it was hard for me to get my shots in.

“I still want to fight someone more my weight and height like Cotto.”

Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora

“I came to win and I wanted to win, but my respect for Shane Mosley got in the way.

“I got hard headed and should have listened to my corner. They were telling me it was close and I thought I was winning the fight and my respect for Shane got in the way.

“He threw really good punches. He hit me with some hard shots.

“Going 12 rounds with Shane Mosley says something in and of itself. Honestly, I thought I won the fight.”

Making his way to the ring first Carlos “Tata” Baldomir, looking to pin the first loss on Saul Alvarez’s record. This is a scheduled 10 rounder in the super welter division. Alvarez, out of Mexico, was easily the crowd favorite as they roared as he made his way to the ring in the co-main event of the evening. There was really no hesitating in the fight. Both fighters threw many punches and came at each other, not many landed. There were a few exchanges in the second round. It seemed when one fighter would land, the other would jump right back as to say, I’m not going anywhere! The third saw more action and more exchanges but it seems to be an even match or Baldomir is slightly ahead. No huge action or huge shots to speak of as of yet. Baldomir looked like a grizzled old veteran as he landed a sneaky right in between the gloves of Canelo many times. Alvarez, however has a left hook/uppercut that seems to land whenever he fires it. Baldomir seemed to take one of Canelo’s biggest punches and urged him to bring more!

Alvarez landed big shot after big shot in the fifth round, but Baldomir would not budge. He stayed on the inside and loaded up his right hand, waiting to fire it. Canelo is clearly the faster fighter though which is to be expected given that he’s 19 years Baldomir’s junior. Towards the end of the round, Alvarez landed a series or huge power shots! Baldomir tried his best but the onslaught was way too much for him to handle! The youngster has power in both hands and he proved it as he dropped Tata with a left hook. Baldomir fell down face first and as he tried to recover, he was counted out at 2:58 of the fifth round. Alvarez is still undefeated as he improves to 34-0-1 with 26 knockouts. Baldomir fades into the darkness with a record of 45-13-6.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez

“I told you guys I was going to come with experience. I didn’t talk very much. I just showed you.

“I came to give it my all. This is for Mexico and all of my fans.

“I was prepared for the distance. Sometimes the knockout comes when you prepare for it, and it did tonight.

“He wasn’t very fast and I used that to my advantage.

“I want to fight at welterweight and be a welterweight champion. I am going to do my best to be the best in the world.”

Carlos “Tata” Baldomir

“It is true that he hits hard. I was surprised by his power.

“I am going to go home and think about what I am going to do next.

“He is the real deal. He is oing to be a real champion.

“No one has hit me like he did. No one has knocked me down like he did. He is definitely the real deal.”

The next bout was to determine who was more “Vicious”….Vicious Victor Ortiz or Vicious Vivian Harris. East Coast vs West Coast! Victor fighting out of Ventura, CA while Vivian is representing Brooklyn. The bout was scheduled for 10 in the 147 pound division. Not much action to speak of in the first. Both guys looked somewhat timid, while Harris was looking to counter. Early in the second round, Ortiz dropped Harris with what seemed to be more so a result of Harris being off balance. But moments later, Ortiz landed another right and floored Harris for a second and a long left that dropped him a third time! Harris did not seem hurt, but he was visibly confused. In the third round, Mr. Ortiz landed a mini Mike Tyson-esque combo…a short right to the body and even shorter right to the head, dropping Harris for the fourth and final time at :45 seconds in the third round. Ortiz is now 28-2-1 with 22 knockouts while Harris drops to 29-5-1

“Vicious” Victor Ortiz

“The fans either love me or they hate me, but hopefully they love me now.

“I sensed his bluff at the weigh in and I called him out on it.

“I have progressed and learned a lot since the fight with Maidana. I still want him wherever he is.

“I want a shot at a world championship. I am not dodging anyone. I am ready for anyone.

“I listened to what my coaches said and I got the victory.”

“Vicious” Vivian Harris

“He caught me with some great punches. He looked very different. He was very sharp and accurate.”

.

Antonio Escalante (23-2, 15KO’s) met Daniel Ponce De Leon (39-2, 32KO’s), in the WBO Featherweight Eliminator. The first round was the typical feeling out routine. Both fighters kind of measured the other to see where they were. Escalante landed a few big shots in the second round and did a semi-good job of avoiding the return fire of De Leon. De Leon is very aggressive and relentless and throws punches from many different angles. The third round saw both guys throwing many combonation’s that would drop many men. Nearing the end of the third, De Leon landed a mean left upstairs immediately followed by a right hook to the face that floored Escalante. The referee didn’t waste a second in waving the fight off, declaring De Leon the victor at 2:40 of round 3.

“My timing was off, but once I loosened up and got in my groove it was over”, Said De Leon

“I didnt feel his punches at all and I am gonna be a world champion again.”

“De Leon was very poweful and strong and he deserved to win the fight”, said Escalante

So what did we learn today?? Nothing! I think everything that we expected came to fruition. Daniel Ponce De Leon is a stud and is a top contender in the featherweight division. Victor Ortiz and Saul Alvarez are the future of Golden Boy boxing. Alvarez made a huge impression and will be a force in the 154 division. An old, and tired Mosley still has enough in the tank to draw a powerless Sergio Mora.

The next big thing to come out of the Golden Boy stable put on a show for the fans in Los Angeles. Frankie Gomez of East Los, improved his record to 6-0 all by knockout as he pushed around and bullied Ricardo Calzada of Las Vegas. The first round, Gomez felt the power of Calzada and once he knew he couldn’t be harmed, he seeked and destroyed! Calzada did his best to hold on and made it out of the second round, but the third round was a different story. Gomez came out head hunting and got right in Ricardo’s kitchen. He landed a few tough shots on the inside, to the head, that put Calzada on his butt. He rose only to meet an onslaught of punches from all different angles that bloodied his nose and once again saw him on the canvas. The ringside doc stood on the edge of the canvas before the ref even started his count, and at 1:06 of round three, the fight was over. Calzada heads back to Vegas with a record of 2 up and 3 down.

Our next fight was a scheduled six rounder in the lightweight division. David Rodela of nearby Oxnard met Juan Manuel Montiel of Mexico City. This was one of the first bouts of the night where it seemed as if both fighters were using their boxing skills and not a flat out brawl. There were many jab-led combination’s from both fighters. This also made for a boring fight and left the crowd jeering and booing, begging for more action. It seemed like a sparring session and that both guys were going through the motions. The final round did see somewhat of a spike in action which somewhat energized the restless crowd but still, no one really stood out. The fight went the distance, and according to the scorecards which were 59-55 Rodela and the others had it 57-57 resulting in a majority draw, basically indicative of what both fighters displayed. Rodela is now 15-3-4 while Montiel is 6-3-2.

For the only female bout of the night, local lady Kaliesha “Wild Wild” West met Angel Gladney of South Carolina in a scheduled 10 rounder. The first round was a feel out round but West ladned a few meaningful punches as she pressed the action. The next few rounds were all uneventful, not much action, but a lot of faints and jabs. It seemed as if neither fighter wanted to take a chance. In the fourth round, West opened up a bit and started throwing, and landing, meaningful combination’s. Near the beginning of round seven, Wild West landed a huge left that floored Gladney. Gladney rose but the ref waved the fight at :59 seconds in round 7. West, now 13-1-2 with 4 KO’s, is the new bantamweight champion while Gladney drops to 6-3-1.

The third bout was in the junior middleweight division. Undefeated Keith Thurman walked across the ring in the opening seconds and was dropped by a humongous right to the head by Quandray Robertson. Thurman returned the favor at the end of the round as he dropped Robertson with a flurry of punches. Robertson survived the round. This bout was an all out brawl, both boxers swinging wildly when Thurman landed a sneaky body shot that dropped Robertson for the second time midway through round two. In a somewhat uneventful third round, out of nowhere, Thurman landed a left hook inside and up top floored Robertson. The ref immediately waved the fight off and at 2:40 of the third round, Thurman maintained his undefeated record improving to 14-0 with 13KO’s. Robertson drops to 15-10.

Undefeated Sharif Bogere from Nevada made an impressive entrance into the ring as he was donning the fur and head of a lion. Got the few people that are actually in attendance excited. He is facing Julian Rodriguez in a six round, junior welterweight battle. All the action was pressed by Bogere as he landed a thunderous left hook up top at 1:42 of the second round to win by KO and improve his record to 17-0 with 11 KO’s. Rodriguez drops to 17-20-4.

In our first bout, Eric Areola of Mexico met Missael Nunez, also of Mexico, in a four round, featherweight battle. In what was a lopsided fight, Areola improved to 1-1 with a majority decision as the judges called it 38-38 on one card and 40-36 on the other two. Nunez drops to 4-9-2.

Nestor Rocha pounded out an eight round unanimous decision over Jose Navarro in a bantamweight fight between former world title challengers that took place outside LA Live in downtown Los Angeles.

The two stood in the pocket and fought at close quarters with Navarro’s eye shutting as early as round three.  Rocha continued to pressure and by the eighth round, the right eye of Navarro was grotesquely shut.

Scores were 79-73 on all cards for Rocha, 118 1/4 lbs of Montebello, CA and he is now 23-2.  Navarro, 118 lbs of South Central Los Angeles, CA is now 27-6

Luis Ramos Jr. scored a last round knockdown en route to an eight round unanimous decision over John Figueroa in Jr. Welterweight bout.

Ramos Jr. dropped Figueroa with a left in the final round and coasted to the victory.

Ramos Jr., 138 1/2 lbs of Santa Ana, CA is 17-0.  Figueroa, 137 1/2 lbs of Salina, PR is now 7-7-3

WBO Welterweight Eliminator (10st 7lbs)
Michael Jennings – 10st 6lbs 8oz
Kell Brook – 10st 6lbs 8oz

European Middleweight title (11st 6lbs)
Shalva Jomardashvili – 11st 5lbs
Matthew Macklin – 11st 5lbs

WBO Cruiserweight Interim title (12st 7lb)
Karo Murat – 12st 5lbs 8oz
Nathan Cleverly – 12st 5lbs 8oz

12 Rounds Super-Middleweight (12st)
Carl Dilks – 11st 13lbs 8oz
James DeGale – 12st (at second attempt)

European Cruiserweight title (14st 4lbs)
Alexander Frenkel – 14st 0lbs 12oz
Enzo Maccarinelli – 13st 13lbs 8oz

British and Commonwealth Heavyweight title (No limit)
Sam Sexton – 17st 2lbs 8oz
Derek Chisora – 17st 6lbs 8oz

European Light-Middleweight title (11st)
Lucas Konecny – 10st 13lbs 12oz
Matthew Hall – 10st 12lbs 12oz

According to Dan Rafael the WBC/Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight champion Jean Pascal will take on Bernard Hopkins on December 18th in Quebec City, Canada and it will be televised on Showtime PPV.

“Showtime will be using their announcers and doing it like a first-class Showtime broadcast. Showtime is excited about it and so are we,” Said Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer.

Hopkins said he weighed 182 pounds on Thursday and was anxious to begin training for the 175-pound fight. He usually prepares for fights in Miami, but said he would instead train in either Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains or New York’s Catskill Mountains.

“I’m doing that because of the climate and the conditions,” Hopkins told ESPN.com just before signing on the dotted line. “I’m not going to train in 80-degree Miami and then go to Canada, where it will be five below.”

“This is the fight where I see if I can go forward or does it end for me,” said Hopkins, who routed nemesis Roy Jones in a lopsided decision in April in a rematch of Jones’ middleweight title win 17 years ago.

“I know what I gotta do to pull out another surprise,” Hopkins said.

Fighting on his 29th birthday, Jhonny Gonzalez dropped Jackson Asiku three times in less than six rounds to wrest the IBO Featherweight title and validate his standing among the top 126-pounders in the main event of a pay-per-view telecast emanating from the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada on Wednesday night.

What ended up becoming a dominate showing for Gonzalez (46-7, 40 KOs) of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico, was actually a highly competitive fight for the first three rounds. Asiku (26-4, 14 KOs) of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia by way of Uganda traded on even ground with the Mexican free-swinger, and may have deserved the nod in the first and third rounds. The third round especially featured some excellent two-way action.

Gonzalez, 125.8, turned the fight completely in his favor with a picture-perfect left hook that landed squarely on Asiku’s chin halfway through the fourth round. The punch rocked Asiku, 125, with Gonzalez’ follow-up swings leading to the first knockdown. Asiku returned to his feet and stayed on his toes the remainder of the round. Gonzalez closed the gap late, but time ran out before he could really punish him any further.

Early in the fifth, Gonzalez, the WBC#3/WBA #3/IBF #4 ranked featherweight, dropped the defending IBO titlist with another clean left to the chin. Asiku showed great heart in getting up again, but he would taste the canvas after another left late in the round. Referee Kenny Bayless looked to have thoughts about stopping the fight then, Asiku still had the foot work to maneuver around the ring and out of the round.

Asiku’s bravery would be for not, as Gonzalez rocked the Ugandan into a corner with a two-handed flurry early in the sixth, leaving Bayless with little other choice but to leap in and stop the fight. The official time of the stoppage was 1:09 round of round six. The victory netted Gonzalez the IBO title and could put him in line for a crack at one of the major title holders or other top featherweights. “I am ready for anybody,” boldly proclaimed Gonzalez after the fight.

All-action super featherweight Miguel Roman (31-7, 23 KOs) of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico notched a quality win over Tyrone Harris (24-7, 16 KOs) of Lansing, Michigan via fifth-round stoppage. Roman, 131.8, began asserting himself in the second round, pressuring Harris, 130, and landing a few big shots.

Even though he took control early in the bout, it looked as though Roman may get himself into trouble with fouls. Referee Jay Nady warned him twice for headbutts and called a timeout for a low blow in the third. Harris took his time recovering from the low blow, which may have been an indication that his dedication to the fight was waning.

Roman continued to press the action into the fifth, before landing a rib-caving left to Harris’ body that prompted a delayed knockdown. At 2:03 of round five, Nady counted Harris out. This fight was put together on short notice, when Harris’ originally scheduled opponent Juan Carlos Salgado pulled out of their fight with an injury. Roman had been slated to fight Cuauhtemoc Vargas on the undercard. By weighing in over the super featherweight limit, Roman may have cost himself a fight against Salgado, which would have been for the IBO Super Featherweight title.

Middleweight prospect Marcos Reyes (17-1, 15 KOs) of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico made short work of journeyman Victor Villereal (9-6-2, 5 KOs) of Longmont, Colorado, scoring a second-round technical knockout. Reyes, 159, opened up early in the second, eventually hurting Villereal, 158, with a right to the body and dropping him with a follow-up barrage upstairs. Villereal beat the count, but was soon down again from another body shot. When Villereal rose again, Reyes pounced looking for the knockout. With Villereal covering up and moving against the ropes, referee Russell Mora stopped the fight at 2:57 of the second.

Khadaphi Proctor (6-5-1) of Hesperia, California took advantage of his reach advantage to score a four-round unanimous decision over Rynell Griffin (6-3-1, 2 KOs) of Las Vegas. Griffin, 133, boxed well to open the fight as he outworked the longer Proctor, 135.2. As the fight wore on, Proctor began to move his hands and stay out of the shorter Griffin’s punching range. One judge scored the fight even, 38-38, but was overruled by the other two judges who had the fight a shutout 40-36 for Proctor.

In the televised opener, Yohan Banks (4-4-3, 1 KO) of Redwood City, California rescued a decision defeat with a right uppercut induced knockout over ESPN The Magazine cover boy Quadtrine Hill (1-1, 1 KO) of Sunrise, Florida with less than a minute to go in the fight. Hill, 228, controlled the pace for much of the bout and landed two hard left hands which may have left him overconfident. With one swift right, Banks, 272, made all of Hill’s hard work for not. Officially the knockout came at 2:24 of round four.

Photo by Naoki Fukuda/Roy Englebrecht Promotions

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

According to Promoter John Lynch of Pound 4 Pound Promotions, super bantamweight phenom Jorge “King” Diaz of New Brunswick, NJ will headline Saturday, October 30 from Bally’s in Atlantic City against former world title challenger Emmanuel Lucero.

The always entertaining Diaz, 14-0 (9 KO’s), was scheduled fight James Owen this Thursday in New York, but the card was postponed. Diaz is becoming a familiar face amongst local fight fans, scoring impressive victories over 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Yan Barthelemy and rugged Korean Jae Sung Lee amongst others.

Although he has fought just once since 2007, the Bronx, NY based Lucero will be Diaz’ most experience foe to date. At 24-5-1 (14 KO’s), Lucero battled the likes of boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, Rocky Juarez, Daniel Ponce De Leon, Jason Litzau and Valdemir Pereira. He also has a victory against contender Rogers Mtagwa.

Slated to appear on the card are Paterson, NJ based junior welterweight Jeremy “Hollywood” Bryan (14-1, 7 KO’s) and Passaic, NJ junior middleweight Glen Tapia (7-0, 5 KO’s). P4P is expected add more local talent on the undercard shortly.

Sources have also notified 15rounds that the card will air on a Fox Sports affiliate.

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