LAS VEGAS – A trip to the hospital is no victory.

But that’s about all Jean Paul Mendy won in a scary moment Saturday night against Sakio Bika before the Juan Diaz-Juan Manuel Marquez rematch at Mandalay Bay.

Mendy was hospitalized for tests and observation after Bika was disqualified for hitting him while he was down on one knee 79 seconds after the opening bell of a super-middleweight bout.

“He put his life on the line,’’ Michael Bazan of the Mendy promotional team said.

Mendy was face down for several seconds after Bika threw an uppercut that landed like a baseball bat. Mendy never saw it coming. He was on one knee, dazed, after he had been rocked by an overhand right from Bika.

Mendy, a stationary target, was looking down at the canvas when Bika wound up and delivered the uppercut. Mendy, declared the victor by disqualification, had to be helped onto a stool.

“I’m really disappointed,’’ Bika said through a member of the publicity staff for Golden Boy Promotions. “I was very excited. I didn’t see him go to a knee.’’

It looked as if Bika would win easily in a 12-round eliminator for a shot at the International Boxing Federation title held by Lucian Bute of Montreal.

“We’re happy at the official call,’’ Gabriel Gaide, also of Mendy’s promotional team, said. “But I don’t want him winning that way. Jean Paul came to fight the right way.’’

Mendy didn’t come for the money. His purse was $12,000, according to Bazan, who said most of that went for expenses. Bazan said Mendy was fighting only for an opportunity that didn’t include a doctor’s bill.
No Maidana for Ortiz

Surfing has taught junior-welterweight Victor Ortiz something about boxing. Fights are like waves. There’s always another one.

Ortiz, a surfer when not in the gym, expressed disappointment Saturday at not getting a rematch against Marcos Maidana on Sept. 18 on the Shane Mosley-Sergio Mora card at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

But Ortiz — who has boxing gloves and his nickname, Vicious, inscribed on to his surfboard — was already looking forward, toward the horizon, for another opportunity. Maidana is gone, but it looks as if Vivian Harris will be there. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said Harris, a former World Boxing Council champion

“Sept. 18 was supposed be about a fight with Maidana,’’ Ortiz said at Mandalay Bay before Diaz-Marquez. “He turned it down.’’

Golden Boy President Oscar De La Hoya said Ortiz was anxious for some redemption in a rematch with Maidana, who scored a stunning 6th-round stoppage of Ortiz in 2009.

“I know the truth and Victor knows it too,’’ said De La Hoya, who also introduced Mosley, Mora, and emerging Mexican star Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. “He wants to redeem himself.’’

But Ortiz talked as if he only wants to continue his career, which has proceeded with three successive victories after Maidana. Questions about his will have lingered since the loss. Some in the media said Ortiz quit in the fight and that perhaps it’s time to leave the ring for the beach.

“Why retire?’’ said Ortiz, who promises that one loss didn’t wipe out the potential he displayed a few years ago. “I’m only 23.’’
NOTES, QUOTES

· Alvarez, a Guadalajara welterweight called the Mexican James Dean by Schaefer, is expected to face former WBC champ Carlos Baldomir on the Mosley-Mora undercard, which is being marketed as a celebration of the 200-year anniversary of the Mexican Revolution.

· WBC light-heavyweight champion Chad Dawson also met with the media Saturday to talk about his Aug. 14 against Jean Pascal on Pascal’s home ice in Montreal. “It’s my coming out party,’’ Dawson said of his appearance on HBO and an expected capacity crowd at Montreal’s Bell Centre.

· And Arizona’s tough immigration law continues to be a hot talking point among Mexican and Mexican-American boxers. De La Hoya told 15rounds.com Wednesday that he saw “racism” in the state’s controversial law, SB 1070. Mora wasn’t asked about the law at Saturday’s news conference. But he ripped it anyway. “Lots of ignorant laws are being passed in Arizona,’’ Mora said. “There’s a lot of bigotry and latent racism being expressed down there.’’

LAS VEGAS – It was entertaining as a one-sided fight could be, but finally, “The Rematch” was a one-sided fight. Blame it on Marquez’s class – the ageless type.

Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, in a rematch of 2009’s Fight of the Year, Mexico City’s Juan Manuel Marquez (51-5-1, 37 KOs) and Houston’s Juan Diaz (35-4, 17 KOs) squared up to determine the lineal lightweight champion of the world. Twelve rounds later, it was the same guy as it was when the night began, with Marquez winning by unanimous decision scores of 116-112, 118-110 and 117-111.

The 15rounds.com scorecard concurred, scoring it 118-110 for Marquez.

Diaz’s strategy, to box and keep his weight from falling over his front foot, was a sound one for survival. But starting in round 1, and with only a brief exception in rounds 2 and 3, it was not a strategy that would ever bring him victory.

For his part, Marquez was the same master craftsman he has always been, riddling Diaz with left uppercut-right cross-left uppercut combinations whenever the younger man’s enthusiasm brought him within range. The rest of the time, Diaz was safe, but he wasn’t in the fight.

Afterwards, Diaz hinted at the possibility of his retirement, saying he still wasn’t sure about his future and thanking his hometown of Houston for its undying support.

Marquez, meanwhile, addressed the possibility of a rubber match with pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao, after his victory.

“I think the third fight with Pacquiao is the one the aficionados want,” Marquez said. “And it’s the best thing for the fans.”

Class tells: Pirog ruins Jacobs
Golden Boy Promotions’ eye for talent has been questioned often since its inception. What Russian Dmitry Pirog did to Golden Boy prospect Daniel “Golden Child” Jacobs in the co-main event of “The Rematch” will make such questions all the more prevalent.

Pirog (17-0, 14 KOs) outclassed Jacobs (20-1, 17 KOs) in each round, using fundamental boxing to solve the speedy Brooklynite, before catching him flush with a perfect right cross, knocking Jacobs out cold at 0:57 of the fifth round to become the WBO middleweight champion of the world.

After a fairly even opening stanza, round 2 began with Pirog marching forward behind a right cross and extremely efficient footwork, entirely neutralizing Jacobs’ reflexes. Then Jacobs wisely began the third on his bicycle, circling away from Pirog, fighting part of the round as a southpaw and regaining his composure. Round four, too, passed in a somewhat even fashion.

Pirog came out in the fifth, however, backed Jacobs to the ropes and waited for him to start a tentative punch. At that moment, Pirog stepped fully into a right cross that landed on Jacobs’ chin and dropped him to the blue mat in a pile. Referee Robert Byrd wisely forwent his 10-count, waving an immediate conclusion to the fight.

Guerrero brushes away “Cepillo”

Boxing may never know Joel Casamayor’s true age, but Saturday it learned how old he now is: Too old.

In a junior welterweight scrap some in Mandalay Bay’s Events Center hoped would be competitive, California’s Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (27-1-1, 18 KOs) easily decisioned Cuban Joel “El Cepillo” Casamayor (37-5-1, 22 KOs) by lopsided unanimous scores of 98-89, 98-89 and 97-90.

Down in each of the match’s first two rounds and penalized a point for holding, the previously resilient Casamayor looked old and spent, Saturday, as Guerrero hurt him with every landed left hand. In round 2, a Guerrero left cross even stunned Casamayor to the point of dropping both gloves and looking around in disbelief before rallying to wrap his arms round Guerrero’s trunks.

Never a strict adherent to the Queensbury rules, Casamayor looked particularly sad in his opening six minutes against Guerrero, when he was reduced to fouling to survive rather than win.

After such a shaky start, though, Casamayor, whose chin has never been doubted, found enough of his stride to give Guerrero quality rounds. Still, a Guerrero left hand or two seemed to buckle Casamayor’s old knees in almost every round.

But as the fight progressed, and Casamayor threw more punches, Guerrero began to holster his left hand, gradually sapping the match of its emotion. By the ninth round, a few vocal fans began to boo the action in the ring while the large majority of the Events Center crowd expressed its displeasure with abject silence.

The final stanza, though, saw Guerrero over-commit to a left hand and impale himself on Casamayor’s outstretched right glove. But the suspense passed quickly when Guerrero rose and boxed to a comfortable victory.

Linares plays bus driver, takes Juarez to school

Venezuelan Jorge Linares literally towered over Houston’s Rocky Juarez at Friday’s weigh-in. Saturday night, Linares towered over him figuratively too.

In the first fight of “The Rematch’s” pay-per-view telecast, Linares (29-1, 18 KOs) easily decisioned Juarez (28-7-1, 20 KOs) over 10 one-sided rounds to win the WBA’s vacant lightweight title by unanimous scores of 99-90, 97-92 and 99-90.

The fight began as Juarez fights always do, with Juarez doggedly chasing his opponent, eating punches and unable to let his own hands go. Linares, who would look nimble in the ring with anyone, looked positively balletic across from the heavy-footed Juarez. Snapping jabs and dancing away, Linares gave Juarez a boxing lesson in the fight’s first four rounds.

Towards the end of round 5, Linares landed one of many left uppercuts, and this one caused Juarez to stumble backwards and drop to the blue mat, a place one rarely finds him. Unable to hurt Linares and now worried that Linares might hurt him, Juarez, who’s hesitant even when he’s winning, began trading two Linares uppercuts for his every landed jab – a formula destined to fail.

What few vocal fans there were gave a number of halfhearted “Rocky, Rocky” chants as the fight progressed, and Juarez’s eyes continued to close, but the arena was otherwise silent enough for the bell to cause echoes at the end of each round.

The final round saw most of the fight’s sustained action, but those three minutes did not feature nearly enough pressure from Juarez to undo the 27 minutes that preceded them. The problem for Juarez, finally, is not just that he is now 0-6 in world title fights. It’s that he’s losing by larger margins in his every subsequent challenge.

Undercard

It was a case of dog attacks man in “The Rematch’s” final off-television match, as undefeated junior welterweight Los Angeleno Frankie “The Pit Bull” Gomez (5-0, 5 KOs) went through Minnesota’s Ronald Peterson (2-3, 2 KOs) without a modicum of resistance. A Gomez left hook to Peterson’s liver ended the match at 2:14 of round 1, when Peterson chose not to continue.

The fourth match on the untelevised undercard might well have been its best, as unheralded Mexican lightweight Juan Manuel Montiel (6-3-1, 1 KO) swapped blows and taunts with Nevadan Mike Peralta (4-6, 1 KO) in a well-matched six-round bout, which Montiel won by unanimous scores of 58-55, 60-53 and 58-55.

Despite spitting blood for half the fight and appearing fatigued throughout, Peralta nevertheless entertained the local crowd with his heart and will. Finally, though, Montiel had too much class, and the judges did not see the fight competitive as fans did.

The night’s third bout came to a rapid and ugly end when Australian Sakio Bika (28-4-2, 19 KOs) fouled undefeated and unarmed Frenchman Jean Paul Mendy (29-0-1, 16 KOs) at 1:19 of the first round of their IBF super middleweight eliminator, losing by disqualification and bringing some well-deserved hostility from the desert crowd.

In a maneuver disappointingly reminiscent of a different super middleweight – Arthur Abraham and his right hand to a kneeling Andre Dirrell in March – Bika knocked Mendy to the canvas and then stepped forward and fired a point-blank right uppercut at the defenseless Frenchman. Mendy, who had almost no power to speak of while upright, tilted forward and landed on his own forehead. Referee Joe Cortez called an immediate end to the match.

Mendy was later able to walk from ringside unassisted.

At Friday’s weigh-in, ESPN commentator (and cruiserweight contender) BJ Flores said the man to watch on Saturday’s undercard was a Brit by the name of George Groves. Flores was right. Accompanied to ringside by heavyweight titlist David Haye and favoring a left hook-right cross combination, Groves (10-0, 8 KOs) chopped away at Mexican Afredo Contreras (11-8-1, 5 KOs) until a somewhat early intervention by referee Russell Mora halted the match at 0:48 of the sixth round.

While Contreras did not appear to be in any trouble, and never went down, Groves, for his part, appeared to be committing fully to each of the right crosses with which he tagged Contreras with increasing frequency.

Before that, “The Rematch” got off to a quick and violent start Saturday afternoon as Maryland heavyweight Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell (18-0-1, 12 KOs) went directly through overmatched Philadelphian Derek Bryant (20-6-1, 17 KOs), stopping him at 1:45 of the first round.

After firing a succession of left hooks to Bryant’s body, Mitchell went upstairs with lefts and rights to the head and continued his assault till referee Kenny Bayless had seen enough.

The opening bell rang on a sparse Events Center crowd at 2:40 PM local time.

Photo by Tom Hogan/Hogan Photos

Jr. Welterweight prospect Danny Garcia remained undefeated by stopping Jorge Romero in round nine of a scheduled round fight in Cancun, Mexico.

Garcia boxed very well as he picked his spots over the course of the bout. Garcia started focusing on the body through the middle rounds. In round nine, Garcia landed a perfect left hook to the jaw that viciously dropped Romero to the canvas. Romero was able to continue to only eat a barrage of punches that had the referee quickly stop the fight.

Garcia, 143 lbs of Philadelphia is now 18-0 with twelve knockouts. Romero, 142 lbs of Culican, Mexico is now 17-3.

Ashley Theophane scored a controversial majority decision over former world title challenger Delvin Rodriguez in a ten round Welterweight bout at the Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Oklahoma.

Rodriguez seemed to control the first half of the fight, mostly with his jab while mixing in some right hands. Theophane came on a bit late and had good spots over the last four rounds but it seemed like Rodriguez had easily banked enough rounds to get the nod.

When the scores were read, Rodriguez was stunned to hear 95-95, 96-94 and 96-94 for Theophane as the crowd and ESPN 2 broadcast team as it looked like Rodriguez should have had his hands raised for the win.

Theophane, 147 1/2 lbs of London, England is now 27-4-1. Rodriguez, 148 1/2 lbs of Danbury, CT is now 25-5-2

Francisco Sierra battered and bloodied previously undefeated Don George in a scheduled ten round Super Middleweight bout.

George had a good first minute of the fight and it was completely downhill from there when what appeared to be an inadvertent elbow hit George and blood began to leak from his nostrils. In round two, George was rocked from a big right hand that had George stumbling across the ring. The fight was never competitive after that.

In round six, Sierra continued to rock George all over the ring and blood was now all over the face of the native of Chicago. In round seven, Sierra landed a huge right that sent George to the canvas. At the end of round seven, Sierra landed a crushing left-right combination that sent George to the deck for a second time. Referee Gary Ritter correctly ruled that the second punch came after the bell. George was in bad shape as he had to be helped to his corner.

After a deliberation, Ritter ruled to take two points away from Sierra and then went to the score cards.

Sierra, 170 1/4 lbs of Tepic, Mexico won by scores of 69-62, 69-62 and 68-63 to raise his record to 22-3. George, 167 lbs of Chicago is now 20-1-1

York, PA’s Carney Bowman informed 15rounds.com that he will battle Union City, NJ’s Roberto Acevedo tomorrow night at Sovereign Bank Stadium in the ten round main event of the “Battle of York 5”.

Acevedo, 9-10-3 (1 KO), is a tough veteran who has not been matched easy. The rugged Puerto Rican import battled both Bey Brothers (Mickey and Cortez), Jose Gonzalez, Chris Howard, Vincent Arroyo, Ramesis Gil, Adrien Broner, Kenny Galarza, Abi Santizo, Joshua Cordero, Ray Robinson and Khabib Allakhverdiev, all of whom were unbeaten at the time. Acevedo has victories over both Santizo and Cordero by decision, while also holding a decisioning the tough Lenin Arroyo. His most recent bout came against the aforementioned Howard, who beat him by decision.

Bowman was a highly touted amateur prior to turning pro. He won medals at a number of amateur tournaments and at 14-0 (6), is one of TKO Boxing Promotions’ prized prospects. This will be the local favorite’s first fight in 364 days.

The bout is slated to take place at 130 lbs, five pounds less than Acevedo has ever fought.

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

USBA Jr. Lightweight champion, Argenis Mendez scored an eight round unanimous decision over Shamir Reyes in an eight round non title Jr. Welterweight bout that headlined a six bout card at BB Kings in New York City.

Mendez dropped Reyes with a counter right to the head in the first round and never looked back as he used he decided height advantage and scored against the hard charging Reyes.

Scores were 80-71, 80-71 and 79-72 for Mendez, 131 1/2 lbs of Brooklyn, NY and is now 17-1. Reyes, 136 1/4 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is now 18-7-2.

Gabriel Bracero scored four knockdowns en route to a fourth round stoppage over late-sub Raymind Betancourt in a scheduled six round Jr. Welterweight bout.

Bracero scored the first knockdown in round one from a right to the body. In round two, Bracero rocked Betancourt with a hard right and dropped him with a big left.

Bracero was all over Betancourt in round four as he landed a big seven punch flurry that was ended by a left hook that sent Bentancort to the canvas. Bracero ended things by landing a four punch flurry that had Betancourt holding on and then dropped him with a left and the fight was halted at 2:53 of round four.

Bracero, 140 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is now 11-0 as he scored his first stoppage. Betancourt, 137 lbs of Boca Raton, FL is now 8-5.

Phillip Jackson Benson put on a power display in round three as he dropped previously undefeated Alexander Santana with a big combination and finished him off shortly after by scoring a third round stoppage in a scheduled six round Super Middleweight bout.

Benson, 165 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is now 6-1 with five knockouts. Santana, 165 lbs of the Dominican Republic is now 6-1.

Joe Smith Jr. kept his knockout streak alive as he scored a second round stoppage over Charles Wade in a scheduled four round Light Heavyweight bout.

Smith of Long Island is now 6-0 with six knockouts as he scored the stoppage at 1:10 of round two.

Willie Monroe Jr. scored a fourth round stoppage over Loren Myers after a bad gash on the forehead of Myers forcedc the fight to be stopped after the fourth.

Monroe, 158 1/2 lbs of Ithaca, NY is now 9-0 with three knockouts. Myers, 157 1/2 lbs of Fresno, CA is now 7-9-1.

The opening bout saw Stivens Bujaj make a successful pro debut with a stoppage at the end of round two of Calvin Rooks in a scheduled four round Cruiserweight bout.

Bujaj, 200 lbs of Brons, NY is 1-0 with one knockout. Rooks, 193 lbs of Las Vegas is now 1-2-1.

Earlier today in Cardiff, Wales whilst attending the WBC “Night of Champions” Shannon Briggs 51-5-1 (45) confirmed to 15rounds.com that he had signed to fight Vitali Klitschko for Klitschko’s WBC title on 16 October in Hamburg, Germany.

Briggs 38, returned to the ring in late 2009 and has won three straight this year all by first round KO since his two and a half year lay off. He will be hoping to become a two time champion and seems highly motivated to achieve that goal.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, WBA Featherweight champion Yuriorks Gamboa will now face IBF beltholder Orlando Salido after WBC champ Elio Rojas had to withdraw due to shoulder and hand injuries.

The fight will take place on September 11 at The Palms in Las Vegas.

“The doctor recommended that he be out for two months, so the fight is off,” said Rojas’ manager Tony Tineo. “Elio is very disappointed because he wanted to fight Gamboa and prove to the world that he is the best featherweight. He is very, very disappointed. He told me yesterday, ‘Oh, Tony, I have all my plans on how I’m going to beat Gamboa and then it all goes down.’ I told him, ‘We can fight him in the future.’ ”

“The hand was injured in that fight and that is why he didn’t knock Espadas out,” Tineo said. “Now it’s still giving him problems. Elio wants to fight, but as the manager, I spoke with the doctor and we made the decision. We decided no fight because the arm and hand were bothering him too much. We have to follow the doctor’s instructions. This is his future. I can’t send him into a fight with damage. I can’t let him fight with an injury.”

“We had Salido and wanted to make that fight. HBO wanted Rojas,” Said Bob Arum, who promotes both Gamboa and Salido. “So they went to [Rojas’ promoter] Don King and they got Rojas done. And then Rojas got hurt and he can’t fight and now we’ve gone back to Salido and HBO has OK’d Salido. Salido is a big puncher and it probably will be a more exciting fight than Rojas anyway because Rojas is more of a boxer. The fight with Gamboa should be a really good fight between two big punchers.”

Arum said HBO asked Top Rank to reconsider trying to make a deal for Gamboa to face Celestino Caballero, the former unified junior featherweight titlist who moved up in weight and made his HBO debut with a tremendous performance against Daud Yordan in April.

“We said, ‘Listen, it’s only about a month until the fight and the big guy [Caballero] towers over everybody,’ ” Arum said. “You have to get the right sparring partners. It’s not fair to do that to Gamboa on short notice. But what I told HBO is that we have no problem fighting the guy next as long as the money is right. I even told them we’ll do a nice Caballero fight on one of our pay-per-view undercards as long as it doesn’t cost me a lot of money and we can set up the fight next.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Wladimir Klitschko will indeed defend is IBF/WBO/Ring magazine Heavyweight title on September 11th in Frankfurt, Germany in a rematch of a 2005 bout.

“The Sam Peter thing has been agreed to,” Top Rank’s Bob Arum, Peter’s promoter, said. “They’re coming into the [Las Vegas] office to sign [on Thursday]. It was a relatively easy negotiation.”

Bernd Boente, Klitschko’s manager, told ESPN.com in an email, “We found an agreement which is not signed yet, but hopefully [Thursday] so that we can send out a press release.”

“Peter came close last time. This time he has the experience that if he gets Klitschko in trouble again, he can finish him,” Arum said. “If Peter happened to upset Klitschko that would really start a lot of talk in the heavyweight division.”

Said Boente, “This is a very interesting fight especially with the history of the first one in 2005. By the way, we have already sold 15,000 tickets in the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt without an opponent.”

“We’re going [Thursday] morning to sign. We’re good to go,” said Ivaylo Gotzev, Peter’s manager. “My prediction has always been the same if we got a rematch. This time we’re going to finish the job and not leave it to the judges’ scorecard. We are going into the lion’s den to take him out.”

Rendell Munroe was last night given the date for his world title showdown against Japanese star Toshiaki Nishioka. Munroe (21-1) will challenge for Nishioka’s (36-4-3) WBC super-bantamweight title at Tokyo’s 10,000 capacity Sumo Hall on Sunday October 24.

Munroe, 30, will take eight weeks off from his binman’s job to prepare for the biggest fight of his career. The Leicester southpaw, promoter Frank Maloney, manager Mike Shinfield and trainer Jason Shinfield, will spend 12 days in Tokyo before the fight.

Maloney explained: “Tokyo is about eight hours ahead so we need to be there well in advance to make sure everything is spot on. “People are writing Rendall off, but there are far more hostile places than Japan for a fighter to travel to. “Nishioka’s camp have been complete professionals to deal with and I am sure Rendall will get a fair deal if the fight goes 12 rounds.”
The fight will take place early afternoon British time and UK television rights will be announced at a later date.

On August 21, the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey will play host to “The Big Challenge” fight card, presented by Main Events, Ziggy Promotions and X-Cel Worldwide. The main event will feature North Jersey’s adopted son, Tomasz “Goral” Adamek, against “Big” Michael Grant. Adamek (41-1, 27 KO), who is coming off an impressive majority decision victory against heavyweight contender Chris Arreola, will look to continue building his heavyweight resume and retain his IBF International Heavyweight Title when he takes on his 6’7” opponent. Grant (46-3, 34 KO), who has already defeated a Polish icon in Andrew Golota, will look to disappoint a sure to be packed Prudential Center with a victory over Adamek.

The card will also feature a junior middleweight bout between Colombia’s Joel Julio (35-4, 31 KO) and Philadelphia’s Jamaal Davis (12-6, 6 KO). Julio will look to bounce back from a violent KO loss that came at the fists of Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo back in April.

Also fighting on the undercard will be former United States Olympian Sadam Ali (8-0, 4 KO). Most recently, Brooklyn’s Ali defeated Julias Edmonds by third round TKO on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights, as part of the Zab Judah-Jose Santa Cruz undercard. “The Big Challenge” will also feature Paterson, New Jersey’s Jeremy Bryan. The two-time national Golden Gloves Champion, Bryan (13-1, 6 KO), will look to rebound from his only professional, which came back in April.

Adam “Baby Face’ Kownacki and Shemuel Pagan will join Ali as other Brooklyn fighters on the card.

Kownacki (4-0, 4 KO), who was born in Lomza, Poland, will return to the Prudential Center, where he viciously defeated Damon Clement by second round KO less than two weeks ago.

As for Pagan, August 21 will mark the date of his professional debut. The twenty-two year-old is a 5-time New York Golden Gloves Champion and has compiled an impressive amateur record of 85 wins and only 19 defeats.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at Prudential Center Box Office, by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or www.PruCenter.com. Tickets are priced at $53, $78, $103, and $253 (ringside).

The bout will also be distributed as a Pay-Per-View card by Integrated Sports Media. It will be available on both cable and satellite Pay-Per-View via iN Demand, DIRECTV, Avail-TVN and DISH Network. The price for the event is listed at $29.99.

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NOTES FROM THE PRESS CONFERENCE: Kathy Duva:
“Tomasz is moving along in his career very nicely…This is Tomasz’s first PPV fight in the United States, we are pretty excited about that. His opponent is Michael Grant, 6’7” “Big” Michael Grant. The title of it is “The Big Challenge.” That is what this is going to be for Tomasz…the biggest challenge of his career, as he will fight the biggest opponent of his career.” Roger Bloodworth: “This is a very important fight for Tomasz…Grant is trained by a very good trainer, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad. I haven’t seen Grant’s fights since he last lost (which was in 2003 to Dominick Guinn). He presents a difficult problem in that he’s 6’7”…he’s got a long reach. So what I think you are going to see is a hell of a fight.”

“I don’t want to give you the impression that this is rehearsal because I’m taking Michael Grant very seriously. He needs this fight desperately, so I don’t want to give the impression that he is taken for granted or he is a dress rehearsal. It is going to show us what Tomasz can do against an extremely tall guy.”

“In the heavyweight division, you don’t have tremendous knockout power, but you have to have the ability to hurt people with combinations. Evander Holyfield wasn’t a great one-punch [boxer], but he put enough punches together, he made you quit. That’s the way I see Tomasz. I think eventually he’ll put enough punches together he will make you quit.” “One advantage of his weight having settled in at 220-222 lbs. is that he is still able to carry his body around. He has very good legs. When you start getting up around 240-250 lbs., sometimes it’s tough.”
*For his last fight, Tomasz Adamek was trained by both Roger Bloodworth and Ronnie Shields. When Bloodworth left camp to train with David Tua, Adamek worked exclusively with Ronnie Shields. This time around, Shields was not figured into the Adamek equation at all.

In an interview with Beats, Boxing, and Mayhem, Ronnie Shields admitted he doesn’t really know why Adamek decided not to work with him again. “You’ll have to ask his manager Ziggy Rozalski,” Shields explained. “I got a call from someone else [not] Tomasz or Ziggy telling me that he wasn’t coming to Houston. I have no idea what happened.” I asked Bloodworth about it all and he replied by saying, “It doesn’t have to do with anything except that Tomasz wanted to train up here and Ronnie trains in Houston. Simple as that.”

Tomasz Adamek:
“I’m very excited to come back to the Prudential Center…I think we will make a good fight with Michael Grant, for my fans. I would like to invite everyone to see my fight in Newark. Thank you very much, see you August 21.” No other boxers spoke at the press conference. Michael Grant attempted to phone in from Las Vegas, but due to technical problems, it was inaudible.

15Rounds.com caught up with “The Celtic Warrior” Bobby Gunn who was in attendance at the Tomasz Adamek-Michael Grant press conference earlier today. Here’s what Gunn (21-4, 18 KO) had to say about the prospect of fighting undefeated Israeli, Ran Nakash (25-0, 18 KO).

“In order for Nakash go on and be 26-0 and fight the best in the world, he has to be battle tested. In my opinion, he’s never been battle tested…So step up to the plate and fight the fight. There’s no hesitations from my team to make the fight. Anywhere, any place, let’s make the fight. Please, please, lets make the fight.”

“It isn’t complicated. Here’s the bottom line. It’s very simple. Either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. If you want to fight, let’s not talk about it, lets do it!”

“I’ve been after him [Nakash] for about eight months. As far as now, it’s just talk. If his team wants to put pen to paper, he doesn’t have to push me too hard, I’ve been calling him out for more than six months.” “He’s a nice fellow. I wish him the best, but he’d be fighting a whole different league of a fighter. I’ve fought the best in the world [nods at Adamek]. It would be a good fight, I hope it would be for a title…they are talking about that.” “I’ve been training my ass off, I’m ready for the fight. I’ve been training since I fought Tomasz Adamek. I’ve had six fights that all fell through, so I’m more than ready. Let’s get it on!” “I’m waiting for them this week…let’s not play around anymore, let’s get it done!”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, attempts to make a fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather did occur through intermediary Ross Greenburg of HBO despite denials from the Mayweather camp.

“Fights like Mayweather vs. Pacquiao are significant because of these fighters’ ability to connect with sports fans around the world. It’s unfortunate that it won’t happen in 2010,” Greenburg said in a statement. “I had been negotiating with a representative from each side since May 2nd, carefully trying to put the fight together. Hopefully, someday this fight will happen. Sports fans deserve it.”

Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather’s other adviser and the public voice because Haymon refuses to speak to the press, said a few days after Arum outlined how the talks went that there had never been any negotiations.

He released a statement a few days after Arum’s teleconference that said, “Here are the facts. Al Haymon, (Golden Boy Promotions CEO) Richard Schaefer and myself speak to each other on a regular basis, and the truth is no negotiations have ever taken place, nor was there ever a deal agreed upon by Team Mayweather or Floyd Mayweather to fight Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 13. Either Ross Greenburg or Bob Arum is not telling the truth, but history tells us who is lying.”

Arum was pleased that Greenburg supported his version of events and cut him slack for taking a week to say so publicly.

“He works for a major public company and he has to clear this sort of thing with his bosses,” Arum told ESPN.com. “I understand that he had to get his statement cleared.

“The one you should all be taking to task is Schaefer for lying to the press,” Arum said. “You don’t do that. You can say ‘no comment’ or say nothing. Richard Schaefer owes an apology to the press, not to me, because I’ve written him off a long time ago. But now anything he says will be suspect. I don’t feel vindicated by Ross’ statement because that’s what happened. I knew what happened because I know I lived through the negotiations. I knew what I said about them was absolutely truthful so I didn’t give a damn who believed me. No skin off my back.

“Indeed, when I made the statement about the negotiations on the conference call, I wasn’t looking for controversy. I was kind to Mayweather. But Mayweather is the boss on his side and when he says, ‘jump,’ you’re supposed to ask, ‘how high.’ That’s why none of them have any credibility. Schaefer and Haymon and Ellerbe, they cling to the Mayweather boat because that’s the source of their riches. So the fact is that Ellerbe, who is not a bad guy, will do anything that Floyd asks, but Floyd is not quite a rational person. For Schaefer to be part of this drinking the Kool Aid is really pathetic. It’s really sad. Doesn’t he have any pride?”

“I think it’s unfortunate that Ross made that statement,” Schaefer told ESPN.com. “I fully stand behind the statement I made. I have not negotiated with Ross and I am not aware of any negotiations that have taken place.

“If Ross or Arum wants to go through a lie detector test, we can arrange that. I can only tell you I have regular contact with Al and Leonard and there were no negotiations going on. I don’t know exactly what Ross is referring to or what he is talking about. But I have been very consistent. There were none going on. Arum should just get a life and stop attacking me on a nonstop basis. This is really childish.”

Arum is now focused on finalizing the Pacquiao-Margarito fight, which if completed, will take place at a maximum weight of 150 pounds for the WBC’s vacant junior middleweight title. If Pacquiao wins, he would extend his record of winning world titles to an eighth weight class. Pacquiao has won titles from flyweight to welterweight.

“There’s a lot of pressure on me to get it done in Las Vegas from everyone in town,” Arum said. “The fight is important to the city. But I want it known that if it is not in Las Vegas, it’s not because of Bob Arum. I live there and I feel the town needs this. It’s not because of me if the fight is caused to go elsewhere.”

LEMOORE, CALIFORNIA — Beibut Shumenov may have only eleven pro fights to his name, but Friday night at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino he strengthened his claim as a title holder at 175-pounds with a dominant twelve-round decision over previously unbeaten mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Uzelkov.

Shumenov (10-1, 6 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada by way of Chimkent, Kazakhstan was making the first defense of the WBA Light Heavyweight title he won in controversial fashion earlier this year. Uzelkov (22-1, 14 KOs) of Vinitza, Ukraine was expected to provide a stern test for the unproven champion. Outside of one punch in the first round, the fight was completely controlled by Shumenov, who also defended his IBA Light Heavyweight title.

Shumenov, 175, outworked Uzelkov, 172, for the first minute-and-a-half of the fight before the Ukrainian unleashed a left hook to score a knockdown. Uzelkov’s greatest moment in the fight may have been to his detriment, because he seemed content looking to land that same punch throughout the remainder of the contest and his success would not be repeated.

Shumenov’s aggression took over the fight in the second round against a completely defensive Uzelkov. Shumenov pressed the fight as Uzelkov covered up and offered little in return. Uzelkov seemed to be looking for the opening to counter with an overhand right, but most times his attempt would miss the mark. Then, just before the end of the third, Uzelkov stood in front of Shumenov after throwing a shot and was met with a straight right hand the sent him to the canvas.

Through the first three rounds, their fight had the potential to turn into a back-and-forth classic. By the end of the fight, the competitive beginning was a distant memory. Shumenov continually placed precision shots, especially to the body, as a reluctant Uzelkov remained in a defensive posture.

The pace slowed in later rounds, as Shumenov was even more selective with his shots and took breaks by clinching or moving. Still, Uzelkov was far too inactive to take any advantage of the lull in Shumenov’s output. In the eighth, Uzelkov turned to taunting Shumeov, as he feinted that the champion’s punches did not hurt. Shumenov quickly landed a solid right uppercut that hurt Uzelkov against the ropes.

Shumenov turned up the heat to start the eleventh before cruising to the decision victory. Scores were deservedly one-sided, reading 117-109 and 118-108 twice for Shumenov. “The first round knockdown was a lucky punch and I improved every round after,” said Shumenov. “My opponent was very good, he was 22-0 and he knocked out my last opponent which shows you how much I have improved in one fight.” When asked who he would like to fight, Shumenov responded, “I want a unification fight.”

According to the WBA, Shumenov must defend his title against his next official challenger within the next nine months, but may make an interim defense. Shumenov’s next mandatory is Gabriel Campillo, the man who he won the title from earlier this year.

Rising super bantamweight contender Rico Ramos (17-0, 9 KOs) of Pico Rivera, California outclassed Cuahtemoc Vargas (15-4-1, 10 KOs) of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico to score an eight-round unanimous decision. Ramos, the WBO #3/IBF #15 ranked 122-pounder, was too complete a fighter for Vargas to handle.

Ramos, 121, set the tone from the start, flashing his speed and athleticism against the straight-ahead style of Vargas, 121.5. Ramos gave Vargas a moment of hope early in the fourth, as he backed himself into a corner. However, Vargas was tentative to open up offensively and was quickly boxed back into the center of the ring. By the sixth, Ramos began to move Vargas back with some stinging shots. In the end, all three judges scored the fight in favor of Ramos, 79-73 and 80-72 twice. With the victory, Ramos successfully defended his WBO NABO Youth title.

2008 U.S. Olympian Shawn Estrada (7-0, 7 KOs) of East Los Angeles ended a twelve-month layoff, but got only 53 seconds of work against Eddie Hunter (3-4-1, 1 KO) of Kent, Washington. Estrada, 167.2, dropped Hunter, 167.5, with a cuffing punch just a few ticks into the bout. Hunter got up, but was downed twice more inside the first minute, prompting the referee to wave off the fight.

In the opening bout of the evening, Stan Martyniouk (10-0, 1 KO) of Sacramento, California used his size and range to outbox Jonathan Bobadilla (4-3) of Los Angeles, California over four rounds en route to a unanimous decision. The much taller Martyniouk, 135, kept a busy pace and kept Bobadilla, 134.8, away with his jab. By the fourth round, Bobadilla’s face looked the worse for wear. Scores read 40-36 and 39-37 twice all for Martyniouk, who is penciled in fight on the August 13th undercard of the Chris Arreola-Manuel Quezada fight at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California.

In a rematch, Michael Ruiz Jr. (4-0, 1 KO) of Fresno, California scored a dominant six-round unanimous decision over the game as always Juan Tepoz (4-4-1) of Santa Rosa, California. Ruiz Jr., 118, was punishing Tepoz, 120.6, with combinations by the third round. Still, Tepoz refused to back down or turn defensive. Finally, Ruiz broke through Tepoz’ armor with a left hook in the fourth and dropped his durable foe to a knee with the follow-up barrage.

Many fighters would have bowed out of the fight in after rounds like the third and fourth, but Tepoz continued on and tried his best to turn the fight around. Ruiz, a former amateur star, refused let Tepoz back into the fight and closed out the final two rounds by outboxing his adversary. Final tallies read 59-54 and 60-53 twice for Ruiz. Last month, Tepoz dropped Ruiz for the first time in his career, but dropped a unanimous four-round decision. Ruiz is tentatively scheduled to return to the ring on the August 13th card in Ontario.

Ravshan Hudaynazarov (13-0, 11 KOs) of Las Vegas by way of Andijan, Uzbekistan remained undefeated with a fifth-round stoppage over Pavel Miranda (16-6-1, 8 KOs) of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Hudaynazarov, 148.4, applied a punishing inside attack from the onset of the fight. Miranda, 148.2, was able to withstand unrelenting pressure before remaining on his stool before the sixth. Official time was 3:00 of the fifth round.

Gayrat Ahmedov (15-0-1, 9 KOs) of Las Vegas by way of Andijan made short work of usually durable Dallas Vargas (22-5, 16 KOs) of Toledo, Ohio in the final fight of the evening. Ahmedov, 174.2, ended the fight with a left to the body of Vargas, 174.4, late in the first round. Official time of the stoppage was 2:43 of the first round. After the fight, Ahmedov, the WBA #9 ranked light heavyweight, grabbed the house microphone and called out Glen Johnson. It is unlikely Johnson will get word of Ahmedov’s request, considering the crowd was fairly scarce by the time the final bout’s winner was declared. Ahmedov and Hudaynazarov are slated to fight November 13th in Kazakhstan.

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

Two months from the biggest fight of his life Nathan Cleverly already looks in fantastic shape. Cleverly 23, puts his perfect 19-0(9) record on the line against fellow unbeaten Karo Murat 22-0(13) when the clash for the Vacant WBO Interim Light Heavyweight crown as the headline fight of the “Magnificent Seven” Bill. Last Saturday Cleverly invited 15rounds.com to his gym to watch him sparring 6 rounds with young amateur Alex Wright also doing 4 rounds on the pads with his father Vince who wore a body protector, followed by 2 more rounds one each with his father and fellow trainer Alan Davies on the pads. Afterwards Cleverly said he estimates he’s around a half a stone over the Light Heavyweight limit now. This represents a step in class for Cleverly but early signs are that he’s very much in the mood to make himself Wales eleventh World Champion.

LEMOORE, CALIFORNIA — WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Beibut Shumenov will attempt to further legitimize his claim to the 175-pound throne tonight as he takes on mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Uzelkov on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights emanating from the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California. Fighters weighed in Thursday afternoon at the casino’s Den Sports Bar.

Shumenov (9-1, 6 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada by way of Chimkent, Kazakhstan claimed the title in just his tenth pro bout with a highly questionable split decision over Gabriel Campillo in January. Last August, Campillo had scored a closely contested majority decision over Shumenov in Kazakhstan. In that bout, a knockdown scored against an off balance Shumenov in large part decided the result.

Despite the controversial scoring in the second Campillo bout, Shumenov did show his heart in surviving a vicious barrage in the ninth to find success in the championship rounds. It is that mentality and ability to persevere that may lead to some exciting fights and should eventually endear him to American fight fans. Shumenov, who will also be defending the IBA title he claimed with a devastating knockout of Byron Mitchell in May of last year, weighed in at 175-pounds.

Uzelkov (22-0, 14 KOs) of Vinitza, Ukraine loomed as the next official challenger while Shumenov and Campillo were battling it out for the WBA title over the course of the last year. The result that jumps off of the page on Uzelkov’s pro ledger is a sixth-round stoppage over a then undefeated Campillo to claim the regional WBA Intercontinental title in 2007. Uzelkov continued to flex his punching power by scoring stoppages in four of his last five fights. Uzelkov, the WBA #2 ranked light heavyweight, weighed in at 172-pounds.

Another factor that could play into how tonight’s card plays out is the weather. The boxing action will take place outdoors in a specially constructed stadium instead of the cozy indoor bingo hall as is the norm. According to Weather.com, it will be 95º in Lemoore at the 6 PM first bell. Add in the bright ESPN2 ring lights and conditions inside the squared circle will likely be less than comfortable. By 8 PM, when the main event is scheduled to begin, the forecast predicts an 89º temperature.

WBO #3/IBF #15 ranked super bantamweight Rico Ramos will appear in the televised co-feature, taking on Cuahtemoc Vargas (15-3-1, 10 KOs) of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico in an eight-round bout. Ramos (16-0, 9 KOs) of Pico Rivera, California will be defending the WBO NABO Youth title he won late last year. Vargas, a member of the famed fighting family that includes former titleholder Gregorio Vargas, scaled 121.5-pounds, while Ramos came in at 121 even.

Gayrat Ahmedov (14-0-1, 9 KOs) of Las Vegas by way of Andijan, Uzbekistan goes against Dallas Vargas (22-4, 16 KOs) of Toledo, Ohio in a ten-round light heavyweight fight. Ahmedov, the WBA #9 ranked light heavyweight, is 2-0 since moving to the United States. Vargas ended a nearly two-year layoff with a third-round kayo of Kevin Engel to score a minor upset in February of last year. However, Vargas, who weighed in at 174.4, has not fought since. Ahmedov, holder of two regional titles not on the line, weighed in at 174.2-pounds.

2008 U.S. Olympian Shawn Estrada (6-0, 6 KOs) of East Los Angeles, California will end a twelve-month layoff by taking on late replacement Eddie Hunter (3-3-1, 1 KO) of Kent, Washington in a four-round super middleweight fight. Estrada’s career has been sidetracked by a hand injury which forced the cancellation of several scheduled bouts over the last year. Hunter, whose three losses came against prospects, weighed in at 167.5-pounds. Estrada, who had been scheduled to fight Alex Armenta, weighed in at 167.2.

Michael Ruiz Jr. (3-0, 1 KO) of Fresno, California will take on Juan Tepoz (4-3-1) of Santa Rosa, California in a bantamweight rematch scheduled for four or six rounds. Ruiz, a decorated former amateur star, got off the deck in the opening round of their first meeting last month to box his way to a four-round unanimous decision. Ruiz, who had been originally scheduled to fight Adrian Aleman, weighed in at 118-pounds, while Tepoz scaled 120.6.

Stan Martyniouk (9-0, 1 KO) of Sacramento, California will meet Jonathan Bobadilla (4-2) of Los Angeles in a lightweight swing bout that may be four or six-rounds depending on the length of the other fights. Martyniouk is coming off of his toughest test to date, as he came off of the canvas in the first round to outbox a determined Brian Ramirez en route to a six-round split decision in May. Bobadilla scored a spilt decision over the same Brian Ramirez back in 2007, but has largely been inactive since. Martyniouk weighed in at 135-pounds, while Bobadilla scaled 134.8.

Welterweight prospect Ravshan Hudaynazarov (12-0, 10 KOs) of Las Vegas by way of Andijan will open things up in a step up bout against Pavel Miranda (16-5-1, 8 KOs) of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico scheduled for eight. Hudaynazarov, who along with the aforementioned Gayrat Ahmedov is promoted by Beibut and Chingis Shumenov’s KZ Event Productions, weighed in at 148.4-pounds. Miranda, who scaled 148.2, has hit a skid, losing four out of his last six and three by stoppage.

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

Quick Weigh-in Results:

WBA Light Heavyweight Championship
IBA Light Heavyweight Championship, 12 Rounds
Shumenov 175
Uzelkov 172

WBO NABO Youth Super Bantamweight Championship, 8 Rounds
Ramos 121
Vargas 121.5

Super Middleweights, 4 Rounds
Estrada 167.2
Hunter 167.5

Light Heavyweights, 10 Rounds
Ahmedov 174.2
Vargas 174.4

Super Bantamweights, 4 or 6 Rounds
Ruiz, Jr. 118
Tepoz 120.6

Welterweights, 8 Rounds
Hudaynazarov 148.4
Miranda 148.2

Lightweights, 4 or 6 Rounds
Martyniouk 135
Bobadilla 134.8

Photos by Chris Ronquillo/FUNews.net

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

In the main event at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, 2008 Olympian Gary Russel Jr, undefeated at 10-0, met former two-time world champion Mauricio Pastrana, 35-14-2. Russell made quick mincemeat of Pastrana when he got him in the corner and landed a furious combination to the head and body that ended the bout at 1:46 in the first round.

The opening televised bout was a four rounder, junior lightweight but between out of LA. Ramon Valadez, of East Los Angeles and Oscar Andrade. Both fighters are 1-0 coming into it. The first round was full of action, both fighters landed huge shots as Valadez pressed most of the round. Andrade seemed to suffer a cut over his right eye due to an incidental head butt. The second round was more of the same. Andrade found a home for his left hook…on the side of Valadez’s face! The third round topped them all, huge action, and Andrade was hurt toward the end of the round. He went on to survive and stagger to his corner. In the fourth, Valadez seemed to run out of steam, but still put up a valiant effort. The scorecards read as follow: 39-37 on all three for Andrade.

I’m not sure if any fight can live up to the Andrade/Valadez bout, but the next fighters are sure to give it a shot. 21-2 Nestor Rocha was to fight Benji Garcia 14-15-3 in the co-main event. This was a scheduled six rounder in the bantamweight division. Benji raced across the ring to get into Rocha’s chest but he paid for his aggression as he got caught a few times coming in. The bout came to a quick end at 45 seconds. in the second round as Rocha landed a kidney shot…ala Hopkins/De La Hoya, that ended the bout.

The second bout was another amateur, three round battle in the lightweight division between Jose Iguinega of Stockton, CA, and Xavier Montelongo, also hailing from East Los Angeles. These fighters were far more skilled than their predecessors, throwing far more jabs and even faintin before they let hands fly. The last round was a brawl, both fighters letting their hands fly recklessly! The bout went to Xavier Montelongo (by karen). Both of our amateur winners were Golden Boy fighters.

The first bout was an amateur fight, a three rounder, junior lightweight bout between Gerardo Hernandez of Pasadena and Rogelio Ramirez of East Los Angeles. As to be expected from amateurs, there was little defense and even less jabs thrown. A lot of wild combination’s and head hunting was the norm. In a bout that could have gone either way, Ramirez came out on top.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the proposed September 11th showdown between world Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin is off due Povetkin missing a press conference earlier in the week.

The IBF mandated that Klitschko start negotiation with the next highest available contender Samuel Peter and all indications is that fight will be made for the same date.

K2 Promotions, Klitschko’s company, complained to the IBF about Povetkin missing the news conference because it had won the promotional rights to the fight with a purse bid of $8.313 million. With so much money on the line, K2 needed him there to promote the fight, which was to take place at the 55,000-seat Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt.

The IBF sided with Klitschko (54-3, 48 KOs) and ordered him to begin negotiating with the next available contender, Peter. The former titleholder knocked Klitschko down three times but lost a decision in their 2005 title elimination fight in Atlantic City, N.J.

“The IBF ruled that Povetkin had violated its rules by failing to come to the press conference this past Monday,” John Hornewer, Klitschko’s attorney, told ESPN.com. “The IBF had told him he needed to attend based on his duty to provide reasonable promotional support to fight and he didn’t get on the plane. Then the next day, he went to the doctor to get a doctor’s excuse. The IBF has instructed us to begin negotiating with the next available contender.”

“They were told beforehand that they had to be at the press conference to help promote the event,” Said Bernd Boente, manager of Klitschko. “That was their obligation after the purse bid.”

One of the theories behind the pullout was that Povetkin’s trainer Teddy Atlas felt his pupil wasn’t ready for the challenge.

“I think he deseves the chance to develop,” Atlas said. “I’m in the middle of training this kid, which is obviously an important time in his life for the future of his career. I’m doing my job. I am not moved by the title fight and what the biggest fight is out there. My job is to do the best job I can for the fighter and to make sure he is the best he can be when he’s in a situtation to fight, whether to fight Klitschko, Samuel Peter, [Tomasz] Adamek or Joe Shmoe.

“I am not controlled or dictated by anything other than that. I told him from the beginning I wanted more time. I was never really for the fight right now. Let me have more time with him. Does the mandatory dictate when he fights or do the circumstances of him having the best chance to win the fight?”

“I get 10 percent of that, but I decided the most important thing was to do what was the best for the fighter,” Atlas said. “My judgment was is the fighter ready for this moment? My opinion was more time would be good.”

“Wladimir felt honestly that Povetkin would not show up because Teddy Atlas kept telling people he didn’t think he was ready for the fight, so Wladimir was concerned,” Boente said. “He wants to fight Sept. 11 and we appreciate the IBF making a decision quickly so we can save the date, because if Wladimir wins in September, he wants to come back and fight for a third time this year in December.”

“Wladimir and myself think the Peter fight is a great matchup,” Boente said. “It’s a rematch of a good fight. There are a lot of people more interested in that fight than the Povetkin fight.”

“The IBF has done the right thing and we are negotiating a deal. I expect it to go a lot smoother and a lot quicker than the previous negotiation Klitschko had with Povetkin because we actually want the fight,” Said Ivalo Gotzev, who manages Peter. “This is a very big fight for the German population and we’re going to make it a very big fight for the heavyweight fans around the world.

“You have an exciting matchup that has already proven to be a competitive one. I still get people asking me how Samuel lost when he knocked the guy down three times. We are going to finish what we started in September 2005. This year, it will be a September to remember.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former Cuban amateur standout and undefeated Bantamweight Guillermo Rigondeaux has signed a promotional deal with Top Rank and will be trained by Rinnie Shields.

“We finally got it finished,” Bob Arum told ESPN.com. “It had gotten bogged down over some details but finally everybody has signed off on it. No more legal problems over this right or that right.”

“The kid was the greatest amateur fighter ever and fits in with all these great featherweights,” Arum said. “A guy like that could fight for a title by his 10th fight. In less than a year, he could be in a big event. I saw him in the gym and he’s one of these terrific-trained Cuban fighters, well-schooled, and he technically is better than Gamboa. I don’t know if he punches as hard, but he’s a marvelous prospect. He’s certainly a lot better than a lot of our American kids.”

“It became obvious that the Arum deal was the best deal,” Said Pat English, who is the attorney for Gary Hyde who is Rigodeaux’s manager. “Arum believed he could reach a deal with the DeCubas group, so then people had to work to get a deal that was acceptable to everybody. It’s a deal that is expected to advance Mr. Rigondeaux’s career substantially and quickly.”

“One of the attractive things is that he can fight from 118 pounds to 122 and can easily move up to 126, which opens up tons of potential fights. He just fits in,” Said Carl Moretti of Top Rank. “So we’re bringing in a guy who the TV networks like, who clearly can fight and doesn’t need a lot of development. One or two fights and you put him into the mix and see where it shakes out.”

“We found him an apartment and we’re going to put a lease on it and he should be here by Wednesday,” said Shields, who also trains junior middleweight prospect Erislandy Lara.

“This kid is a really good fighter,” Shields said. “He can fight. I’m trying to get everything situated so when he gets here everything will be set. I looked at some tape of him and went over a few fights and, just looking at him, I know what his style is. He’s a southpaw, but I worked with Pernell, who was also a southpaw. I don’t have any trouble training southpaws. I know what they like to do and what they don’t like to do. [Rigondeaux] is 29 years old, and with as many amateur fights as he has had, it’s like he’s been a professional for a long time. He’s ready to go. He knows how to fight.”

The World Boxing Council will be heading to the capital of Wales, Cardiff at the end of July. Cardiff will be hosting the WBC Night of the Champions a 3 day event that the WBC hope will break the world record for most past or present World champions under one roof at the same time. So far over 80 have confirmed there attendance including Roberto Duran, Vitali Klitschko, Azumah Nelson, Miguel Cotto, Ken Buchanan, Joe Calzaghe & Nigel Benn.

The event kicks off on Thursday 29 July at the Cardiff International Arena where the movie premier of Risen will air. The motion picture is of former Welsh World Champion Howard Winstone. It shows how Winstone over came adversity rising to become Featherweight World Champion. The cast contains around 15 former World champions, notably Erik Morales, John H Stracey & Tim Witherspoon.

Tickets are priced at £20 whilst the V.I.P section will be £125 which includes access to a private function room with food and beverage’s provided with various champions in attendance. Doors open at 6.30pm.

You can view the movie trailer on the link provided http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzmcE7QnJtU&feature=player_embedded

The second day of the event will see a night of Amateur boxing with Team GB against a Rest of the World team. It is widely thought that this will pit some of Britain’s 2012 hopeful’s against some of the best amateurs from around the world at the moment. It promises to be a real showcase for the potential stars of tomorrow.

Tickets are available from £25 (Second Tier), £30 (First Tier), £40 (Floor), £50 (Second Ringside) & £100 (Ringside) also again hospitality boxes can be provided. Doors open at 6pm with the first bell at 7pm.

Finally on Saturday 31 July the WBC host the prestigious The Night of Champions Gala Awards Dinner. It is hoped that over a hundred past or present World Champions will be in attendance for the show piece event. It promises to be a once in a life time chance to meet and greet many of the very best fighters though out Boxing history.

Tickets for this are £250 per person and the doors open at 6pm.

The WBC will also be helping several charities including The Noah’s Ark appeal which supports children’s hospitals in Wales.

World Boxing cares which is a non profit organisation which the WBC set up at the last Night of Champions convention in Cancun, Mexico in 2006. They send it’s fighters to Youth centre’s, hospitals and orphanages where they make a donation. It is thought that the Champions help bring hope and inspiration to the children and their family’s in 163 countries.

WBC Sporting chance which is designed to support young people and help them with various schemes that will help them towards a better future.

Tickets can be purchased on +44 02920 224488 for all 3 days. Hospitality packages are available on +44 02920 234567

For the latest developments about the event you can visit http://wbcnightofchampions.com/

Any question’s or queries i can be contacted on elraincoat@live.co.uk

Paulie Malignaggi is now a free agent after leaving the only promoter he has had during his professional career after buying himself out his contract with Lou DiBella confirmed Dan Rafael of espn.com

The buyout fee was $75,000 said sources.

“It was a good run,” said Malignaggi, who is coming off an 11th-round knockout loss to junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan on May 15. “I’ve had my ups and downs with [DiBella Entertainment] but in the end you want to finish your relationship having made money and I did that. No hard feelings. There were some things we disagreed on, so it’s probably better to part amicably so the relationship remains. If we remained together, we’d probably end up hating each other and neither of us wanted that. So the best thing to do is part ways and remains friends. But it’s not like I’m just walking away. I’m paying $75,000 to get out of the deal. I think it’s the best-case scenario for both parties.”

Said DiBella, “When I met Paulie he was a 19-year-old kid. Now he’s [close to being] a 30-year-old man. So there’s a different dynamic, like in a family almost. I guess he feels it’s time to take it in another direction. I can respect that.”

“Paulie wants to be the master of his own boxing career and we worked out an amicable split,” DiBella said. “I’ve been approached by promoters for fights for Paulie and I am noting those inquiries and will forward them to his camp. This split is totally amicable. I love that kid. We had a great 10-year run. Sometimes it’s a good time to end a business relationship with somebody and it’s time for them to start fresh with no hurt feelings or bad feelings on either side. It’s the end of the business relationship, but not the end of our relationship.

“We had a lot of fun together and we’ve been very close. It’s not the kind of situation where you want to see it end and blow up in bad feelings. So we got something done with the settlement and called it a day.”

“I think I still have a lot of options,” Malignaggi said. “I’m not going to buy out my contract and not fight. The intention is to fight. I’m taking a chance because I am probably not going to make $75,000 in my next one or two fights. But to get this release, it was a risk I was willing to take. We’ll see where it goes. But so we remain on friendly terms, this was the best way to go.”

“I’ll try to pursue the European market,” said Malignaggi, adding that he hopes to fight there before the end of the year. “On this side of the pond there are a lot of people who think Paulie has seen better days and I want to avoid being an opponent. Over in Europe it will be different and fresh. I still like the rush of fighting and it’s something I won’t always have the option to do. So while I can still pursue this, I will.

“I don’t have a new promoter yet, but I will weigh my options. I’ll be a free agent see what the best-case scenario is. I’m not looking to be an opponent and have a promoter match me with their up-and-coming star. Ultimately, this is a business and there is still some money to be made.”

“To win a European title would mean a lot to me,” Malignaggi said.

“If he wants honest advice from me, he knows my phone lines are always open to him,” DiBella said. “He and I are ending this business relationship as well as you can.”

Widely regarded as the best 140-pound fighter in the world, Timothy Bradley jumped into the Welterweight division with a twelve round unanimous decision over Luis Carlos Abregu in a batt;e of undefeated fighters at the Agua Caliente Hote and Resort in Palm Springs, California

In round one, Bradley suffered a cut over his right eye from an accidental headbutt. Bradley got things going in round two as landed a pair of flush rights on the chin. In round four, Abregu was cut over his right eye from a punch.

In round seven, Bradley bent down to throw a hook to the body but again clashed heads with Abregu and the fighter from Argentina slumped to one knee for just a moment. Sensing that his opponent was hurt, Bradley jumped all over Abregu by landing a furious combination. In round nine, Bradley upped the temp as he landed flush with a a pair of lefts and a good right. After a few rounds that was void of action, the two stood toe to toe which excited the near capacity crowd in the ballroom which saw their man coast to the victory by scores of 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112.

Bradley, 147 lbs of Palm Springs, CA is now 26-0. Abregu, 146 1/2 lbs of Argentina is now 29-1.

Alfredo Angulo continued his positive momentum as he scored a first round stoppage over former WBA Super Welterweight champion Joachim Alcine in a bout scheduled for twelve rounds.

Midway through the round Angulo and Alcine got tangled up which left Angulo’s right hand free. Angulo pounded on Alcine that got him hurt. Late in the round Angulo landed a left and a flush right hand that had Alcine out on his feet. Angulo landed three hard punched that was cluminated by a huge left hook and big right which forced referee Lou Moret to stop the bout just one second before the end of the opening frame.

Angulo, 153 1/2 lbs of Mexicali, Mexico is now 19-1 with sixteen knockouts. Alcine, 153 1/2 lbs of Montreal is now 32-2

Carlos Velazquez remained undefeated as he scored a fifth round stoppage in Puerto Rico over Luis Arcos.

This was an entertaining bout throughout at the the two traded from the outset. Velazquez won most of those exchanges and finally got Arcos out of the way after he landed a clipping left hook that staggered Arcos and Velazquez humped on him an began to batter Arcos all over the ring until the referee stopped the bout at 1:119 of round five.

Velazquez, 129 1/2 lbs of Puerto Rico is now 13-0 with eleven knockouts. Arcos, 130 lbs is now 16-2-1.

Jonathan Vidal scored a sixth round knockdown en route to a six round unanimous decision over Felix Perez in a Bantamweight bout.

Vidal, 116 lbs of Guaynambo, PR is now 9-0. Perez of Carolina, PR is now 7-2.

Juan Gonzalez remained undefeated as he scored a second round stoppage over Christopher Rivera in a scheduled four round Lightweight bout.

Gonzalez scored a knockdown early in round two for a hard left cross. He finished the fight by backing up Rivera, who took a knee and began shaking his hand in discomfort and the fight was waved off.

The fight was waved off at 2:40 of round two for Gonzalez, 132 lbs of Toja Baja, PR and is now 9-0 with eight knockouts. Rivera, 129 3/4 lbs of San Juan, PR is now 3-5.

Jamiel Rivera won his pro debut with a unanimous decision over Manuel Torres (0-2) in a four round Light Flyweight bout.

In what was one of the more exciting Heavyweight clashed, Monte Barrett and David Tua fought to a spirited draw in a twelve round Heavyweight bout of former Heavyweight title challeng at The Topicana Hotel and Resort in Atlantic City.

Round two heated up with both guys looking to land hard shots. In round three, Barrett got in a nice counter right and Tua started to breathe heavy from his wild attempta to end the bout with one punch. Barrett continued to stand up to the heavy assault. In the sixth, Tua began the round by landing a thudding right to the body. Barrett landed his punch over the first half of the fight with a crisp over hand right. Tua culminated the frame with a hard left hook along the ropes.

In round nine, Tua came out by landing a vicious three punch combination that had Barrett holding on. Later in the round, Tua came back to land two more explosive rights with the first coming to the body and the latter coming at the end of the round with a flush right on the face. The fight turned in round ten as Barrett started to back up Tua and landed some hard flush shits and even rocking Tua with a big over hand right. Tua rebounded nicely in round eleven as he landed a booming left hook on the ropes that would have put just about anyone down but somehow Barrett stood up to that as well another big left hook late in the round. The last round was a big round for Barrett as he took a big shot early in the round and then was thrown down to canvas by Tua and referee Randy Neumann took a point away from Tua. that lit a fire under Barrett as he landed a flush uppercut that sent Tua down the canvas for the first time in his fifty-six fight career. Tua barely made it to the finish line as Barrett jabbed his way to the bell.

Scores were 115-111 for Tua, while two other judges ruled 113-113 (same as 15rounds.com card) Tua of Auckland, NZ is now 51-3-2. Barrett of Queens, NY is now 34-9-1

Welterweight prospect Raymond “Tito” Serrano scored an eight round majority decision over Ayi Bruce in a nip and tuck battle. Serrano did well by boxing early and then the tough fighter from Ghana came on by making the tussle a dogfight and started getting through with good combinations. Serrano may have sealed the fight with a good eighth round as he landed some good combinations on the ropes. Serrano, 145 lbs of Philadelphia won by scores of 77-76, 78-74 and 76-76 to remain undefeated at 13-0. Bruce, 144 lbs of Accra, Ghana is now 6-3.

In a big upset, perennial spoiler Carlos Vinan scored an eighth round stoppage over IBF #2 Lightweight, Anthony Mezaache in the final round of their Lightweight bout. Mezaache controlled the action by jabbing and moving asnd built ip a lead on the cards. Vinan came out top start round eight like a house of fire and was all over Mezaache and dropped with a furious combination. Vinan ended the fight by jumping on Mezaache and his corner threw in the yowel at thity-seven seconds of round eight. Vinan of Newark, Nj is now 10-8-4 with two knockouts. Mezaache of Clichy, France is now 18-6-3.

In a bit of a upset, undefeated Bayan Jargal had to settle for an eight round draw with James Hope in a Jr. Welterweight bout. Hope landed the cleaner blows while Jargal tried to box more until the later round where he rushed in more and by agression may have won rounds to earn the dubious draw that was scored 76-76 on all cards. Jargal, 138 lbs of Arlinton, VA is now 15-0-3. Hope, 137 1/2 lbs of Rock Hill,SC is now 6-5-1.

In a wild slugfest, Khedafi Djelkhir scored a first round stoppage over Jorge Cordero in a Featherweight bout scheduled for six round. Djekhir dropped Cordero early in the first from a big left hand. Just as soon as Djelkhir thought he had it in the bag, Crodero landed a huge right hook dropped Djelkhir. Djelkhir gathered himself to land a huge right that dropped Cordero into the bottom rope. Cordero got to his fight but stumbled all over the place which prompted the referee to stop the fight at 2:20 0f round one. Djelkhir, 126 lbs of Besancon, France is now 7-0 with six knockouts. Cordero, 126 lbs of San Juan, Pr is now 4-3.

Jason Escalera scored a stoppage over Amador Acevedo at the end of round three in a scheduled six round Light Heavyweight bout. Escalera controlled the action over the first three rounds especially working the body of Acevedo. Acevedo put up one last stand in the third but Escalera’s offense was too much as Acevedo failed to answer the bell for round. Escalera, 173 lbs of Union City, NJ is now 9-0 with eight knockouts. Acevedo, 177 lbs of Moca, Puerto Rico is 3-8-1

Young Prospect Mike Perez scored an explosive first round stoppage over Jorge Ruiz in Lightweight bout schedule for six rounds. Midway through the round Perez dropped Ruiz with a left to the body. Ruiz got to his feet at the count of eight only to each a big right that was followed by a massive left hook. Referee David Francioci began to count but stopped at six as Ruiz had no shot to beat the count. The time was 2:29 of round one for Perez, 135 lbs of Jersey City, NJ and is now 9-0 with four knockouts. Ruiz, 137 lbs of Miami is now 7-13-1.

Photo By Claudia Bocanegra

Fernando Guerrero remained undefeated with a highly entertaining unanimous decision over Ishe Smith in a Middleweight bout at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi.

Smith started out well early as used a punishing body attack in an effort to slow down the the twenty-three year old Guerrero. Round three was especially competitive as the two stood toe to toe. Guerrero seemed to forge ahead slightly as he took the middle rounds in what was very competitive and high paced action.

In round six, Smith was docked for low blows by referee Randy Phillips. Guerrero and Smith continued to pound away at each at close quarters with Guerrero getting the better of the action by the slightest of margins. Guerrero was having a good round eight until he walked into a right hand that sent Guerrero to the canvas. Guerrero rebounded nicely to have a nice round nine as the two continued to land some heavy shots with Smith continuing his vicious body assault. Guerrero started the tenth more aggressive as but Smith did well with his counters and the fight seemed close enough where the winner would be in doubt.

Coming in to tonight’s matchup, Smith (21-5, 9 KOs) was quoted as saying, “I’m going to take Guerrero into deep waters and see if he can swim.” Guerrero (19-0, 15 KOs) proved to be a buoyant battler by withstanding an eighth round flash knockdown and ten rounds of body shots from Smith. Though most of the body work was legitimate, referee Randy Phillips twice warned Smith, of Las Vegas, Nev., for repeated low blows before deducting a point in the sixth round.

It wasn’t the case at the judges had wider then it looked scores of 97-91, 96-93 and 95-03 for Guerrero, 159.7, lbs of Salisbury, MD and is now 19-0. Smith, 158.9 lbs of Las Vegas is now 21-5.

Shawn Porter used a six round knockdown to catapult himself to a ten round unanimous decision over Ray Robinson in a Welterweight bout.

Robinson seemed to be the more consistent fighter as he used cominations to the body as Porter would come in. Porter landed the more telling blows and rocked Robinson on several occasions.

In round six, Porter dropped Robinson from a combination along the ropes. That seemed to have turned the tide as Robinson was not as effective heading down the stretch as he was earlier in the fight.

Scores did not indicate the competitive nature of the bout as the judges turned in cards that read 99-89, 98-91 and 97-92 for Porter, 147 lbs of Cleveland and is now 16-0. Robinson, 148 1/2 lbs of Philadelphia is now 11-2.

“It was a hard fought victory. My dad (and trainer, Ken Porter) asked a lot of me and I did what I could to deliver. It took a lot of heart and we’re going to keep going from here.”

Michael Dallas Jr. scored the best win of his career with an eight round unanimous decision over Lanard Lane in a battle of unbeaten Jr. Welterweights

Dallas was quicker and constantly landed some nice combination’s, especially to the body of Lane as Lane never really got into the fight.

Scores were 78-74 on all cards for Dallas Jr., 141.8 lbs of Bakersfield, CA and is now15-0-1. Lane, 142 lbs of Houston, TX is now 12-1.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said early Saturday that he had not heard from Floyd Mayweather, Jr., by a midnight deadline about whether he would fight Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 13, but Arum said the fight could still happen on the proposed date.

Arum said the deadline – midnight Friday in Las Vegas – was only the end of a period of exclusive negotiations for Mayweather-Pacquiao. Arum said he will now embark on talks with Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto.

“The fight we want to do is Mayweather,’’ Arum said. “We haven’t said anything different. We haven’t acted any different. …Absolutely, that’s the fight we want.’’

Mayweather-Pacquiao could still happen if Mayweather says he wants it during talks for an alternate bout, also on Nov. 13, with either Margarito or Cotto. Arum said he expects those talks to last 10 days.

“Floyd, for whatever reason and I’m sure he has a valid reason, did not want to commit,’’ Arum said after minutes after the midnight deadline passed without a decision from Mayweather

Arum said he was told by Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports, that Mayweather had agreed to terms, including a timetable for random drug testing. A deal for Pacquiao-Mayweather last March fell apart late last year when Pacquiao balked at Mayweather’s demand for Olympic-style blood-testing.
Arum said he heard from Greenburg a few days after Mayweather’s victory over Shane Mosley in early May. Arum said Greenburg then spoke to Mayweather advisor Al Haymon. It’s no secret that that Mayweather-Pacquiao could set pay-per-view records for HBO. It’s estimated that each fighter could earn between $40 million to $50 million each.

Arum continued to speculate that Mayweather might not want to fight this year because his uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, is facing a trial on an assault charge. If Mayweather decides not to fight in November, Arum has said he hopes the bout will happen in May.

Margarito has yet to regain a license in the United States since his California license was revoked for altered hand wraps discovered before a loss to Mosley in January, 2009 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The Nevada State Athletic Commission tabled a Margarito application last week. Arum said he will again try to get Margarito licensed in Nevada. If successful and there is still no word from Mayweather, Margarito-Pacquiao could happen in Las Vegas. If unsuccessful, the fight could happen in Monterrey, Mexico.

If Cotto gets the nod and there still is no decision from Mayweather, possible sites are Las Vegas, Cowboys Stadium in Dallas and Dubai.

*Zab Judah twice referenced the date October 2nd as a possible date for his next bout.

*Judah expressed his desire to fight the cream of the crop at 140 lbs. and to be mentioned with in the same breath as the best of the division: Timothy Bradley, Devon Alexander, and Amir Khan. “Don’t forget about me,” Judah said. “I’m here, I’m coming back. I’m going to be like the ghost in the night…The old Zab Judah is back!”

*Judah credited his maturity to both having a child, as well as developing a deeper relationship with God. According to Judah, his hands are so quick he now punches at “GodSpeed.”

*He talked about his conditioning and attributed his fitness to training at high altitude in the Nevada mountains, which he believes will help him in the later rounds of fights.

Former two-division world champion Zab “Super” Judah made a very successful return to his home area as he scored a devastating third round stoppage of former world title challenger Jose Armado Santa Cruz at The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Judah began to open it up in round two as he landed a pair of solid straight left hands.

In round three, Judah landed a tremendous left uppercut that sent Santa Cruz to the seat of his pants. When Santa Cruz regained his feet, he was greeted by a barrage of punches that was capped off by a pinpoint straight leftthat drove Santa Cruz to the ropes and forced referee Benji Esteves to stop the bout at 2:33 of round three.

Judah, 141 lbs of Las Vegas, NV via Brooklyn, NY is now 39-6 with twenty-seven knockouts. Santa Cruz, 143 lbs of Lincoln Heights, CA is now 2805.

Brooklyn’s Saddam Ali stayed undefeated with a TKO victory over Philadelphia’s Julius Edmonds.

Ali made easy work out of his counterpart, dominant the fight from the opening bell.

In round 1, Ali sent Edmonds to the canvas with a devastating right uppercut. Edmonds was able to weather the storm for the time being, however, and survive the round.

Round 2 featured more domination by Ali, as he once again sent Edmonds to the canvas. Ali hurt Edmonds with a left hand and as Edmonds was falling backwards, added an uppercut for good measure.

Round 3 last only 1:14 before Eddie Cotton saw fit to stop the bout after Ali hurt his opponent with a left hand and sent him stumbling back into the ropes. — Kyle Kinder

With the win, Ali improves to 9-0, with 5 KOs, while Edmonds falls to 7-8.
In an eight round bout at the Welterweight division, native Newarker Alex Perez scored a unanimous decision victory over Brazlian Edvan Barros to increase his already perfect record to 12-0.

The fight was a tough one for Perez, who was forced to fight at a distance and on the inside.

In the early going, Perez was able to land his right with some frequency. However, as the fight prolonged, it was clear that Barros’s strategy was to keep the fight on the inside.

Not surprisingly, it was on the inside that Barros was most effective, throwing powerful uppercuts to the chin of Perez, forcing his head to snap back.

When Perez did create distance, he proved to be dangerous, as he landed a big left hand in round 4 that clearly hurt his opponent.

In round 6 an overhand right by Barros caught Perez, as he then found himself up against the ropes — a position Barros forced his counterpart into consistently throughout the bout. At the end of the round — as the bell sounded — the two exchanged convincing blows to one another. Barros then attempted, for the second time, to touch gloves with Perez, who purposely failed to acknowledge his opponent.

Round 7 saw Perez in trouble with his back against the ropes and Barros finding success with uppercuts and looping right hands. The tide turned about a minute into the round however, as Perez as able to create some space between he and his opponent and land combination on Perez.

After 8 rounds of action, all three judges scored the bout in favor of the hometown fighter, Perez. The scores were: 77-75, 78-84, and 80-72.

With the win, Perez added to his perfect record, increasing it to 12-0, while Barros fell to 10-10-1. — Kyle Kinder

In a Heavyweight bout scheduled for four rounds, Adam Kownacki scored a second round stoppage over Damon Clement in what amounted to three-plus minute shootout.

Kownacki was in control of the opening moments until he walked into a big left that rocked him back into referee Eddie Cotton, who in-turn ruled a knockdown. Kownacki gathered himself to rock Clement and put him on the seat of his pants with a huge flurry of punches. The round ended with Clement being battered in the corner by twenty unanswered shots. Round two picked up where round one ended with each guy nailing each other all over the ring until a huge right that decked Clement for Cotton’s ten count at forty-two seconds of round two.

Kownacki, 231 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is now 4-0 with all wins coming by knockout. Clement, 243 lbs of Dayton, Ohio is now 0-3.

Jersey City’s Patrick Farrell fought New York City’s Newton Kidd to a majority decision draw in a six round bout in the Cruiserweight division.

Two judges scored the bout even, 57-57, while one judge saw the bout in favor for Kidd, 57-56.

Barbaric exchanges between the two were frequent, both fighters taking a good deal of punishment throughout all six rounds.

Farrell seemingly outworked Kidd in the early rounds, getting the better of the exchanges, but faded towards the later rounds, allowing Kidd to land more frequently.

Late in round 5, during a flurry of wild and wide punches from both fighters, Kidd was able to land a left hook flush on Farrell’s face, causing a cut to open up over the Irish-American’s right eye.

When the bell rang to signal the end of the fight, both fighters were granted a well-deserved round of applause by the Prudential Center crowd, acknowledging the heart both boxer’s exhibited in the bout.–Kyle Kinder

Angel Concepcion remained undefeated by scoring a four round unanimous decision over Shannon Anderson in a Light Heavyweight bout.

Concepcion controlled the action and rocked Anderson twice in round three first wobbling him with a left hook and a big right in the corner in the middle of a furious flurry.

Scores were 40-35, 40-36 and 40-36 for Concepcion, 178 lbs of Newark, NJ and is now 2-0. Anderson, 178 lbs of Coatesville, PA is now 4-2.

In the final bout of the evening, Staten Island, New York’s Nickey Demarco improved his record to 3-2, with a unanimous decision victory over the Bronx’s Jose Guzman, who, with the loss, dropped to 5-8-1.

The first three rounds belonged to Demarco who continually forced Guzman to the ropes.

To his credit, Guzman never gave up and in the fourth round came out firing dangerous punches at his opponent. However, it was not enough to persuade the judges he deserved the win.

All three judges scored the bout in favor of DeMarco: 40-36 and 39-37 twice. — Kyle Kinder

PHILADELPHIA — In front of his Israeli supporters, the WBC’s 13th ranked Cruiserweight, Ran Nakash, successfully navigated by Oxnard, California’s Victor Barragan to stay undefeated.
With the win, Nakash — who hails from Haifa, Israel, but has fought eleven bouts in Philadelphia — improved to 25-0 with 18 KO, while Barragan fell to 11-6 with 3 KO.

The bout was slow to develop as neither fighter was able to establish themselves as the superior fighter in the ring. After spending the first round feeling one another out, Nakash began to land lead left hooks, which was a trend that continued throughout the fight. By round 3, Nakash had Barragan bleeding from what looked to be the bridge of the nose. While Nakash found success with left hooks, Barragan did most of his damage in the early rounds with combinations and counterpunches. By the mid-rounds, both fighters looked exhausted, lacking in lateral movement, thus making themselves an easy target for one another. Both fighters took advantage of the fact that their opponent was easy to find, but it was Nakash with his barrage of left hooks and straight rights that left their impressions on the judges.

The late rounds saw Barragan eating more and more of Nakash’s punches, but to his Barragan’s credit, he never failed to fire back.

In the end, it was Nakash whose hand was raised by the referee after all three judges scored the bout in the Israeli’s favor. All three judges scored the bout differently: 96-94, 97-93, and 99-91.

The fight was a gut check for both Nakash and Barragan — and both passed. It was a tough fight, and at times a sloppy fight, but Nakash outworked Barragan to stay undefeated.

The co-feature on tonight’s card was between Dominican gold-medalist, Felix Diaz, square off against Troy, New York’s Broderick Antoine. In the first two rounds of the fight, the shorter Diaz, was able to impose his will Antoine, getting within range and firing strong left hands at the face of his opponent.

It wasn’t until round 3 that Antoine started to use his reach to his advantage and stop fighting with Diaz and start boxing. However, just when Antoine had a taste of success in round 3, a nasty cut was opened above his right eye the very next round. When the bell rang for round 5, Antoine’s corner had failed to fully stop the bleeding, and Diaz was able to have even more success with his left hand.

By the time the round 7 came around, blood was flowing freely from the gash above Antoine’s right eye, along with a new stream of blood spewing from the fighter’s mouth. When the bell rang to signal the 8th round, Antoine was inexplicably allowed by the ringside physician to get up off his stool and continue to box. Luckily the referee saw that there was no sense in risking any further damage to Antoine and stopped the bout just :35 seconds into round number 8. Diaz improved his record to 5-0 with 3 KO and Antoine fell to 10-11-1 with 5 KO.

In an entertaining heavyweight bout, Ukrainian bronze medalist, Vyacheslav Glazkov, defeated fan-favorite, Mark “Oak Tree” Brown of Salem, NJ, by TKO in the third round.

Glazkov looked impressive in his win against “Oak Tree,” showing both impressive technical ability and maturity. In the first round, Brown came out unloaded wide, heavy-handed, punches at the Ukrainian, who calmly avoided his opponent’s punches. Glazkov took a very calculated approach to this fight and waiting until Brown fired wide punches before countering with straight rights and lefts.

In round 2, Glazkov troubled Brown by throwing lead left hooks that continued to connect. Finally, in round 3, after stunning Brown, the Ukrainian was able to pin his opponent up against the ropes and finish him with an onslaught of lefts and rights that forced the referee to stop the fight.

Glazkov improved his record to 6-0 with 3 KO, while “Oak Tree” Brown fell to 15-4 with 7 KO.

In perhaps the most entertaining fight of the night, Russian Maks Liminov outpointed North Carolina’s Julius Fogle to stay undefeated. The fight was 6 rounds full of action — both fighters dishing out some punishment, as well as receiving some. In this end, this fight came down to who wanted it more, and by split decision, the judges awarded the victory to Liminov. In the early goings, Liminov was the aggressor, hunting Fogle down, cutting off the ring. Eventually when his back neared the ropes, Fogle would settle in and fire at his opponent. Both fighters landed good, clean punches that undoubtedly got the attention of their opposition. In round 3, Fogle decided to try and push the action, and instead of being the hunted, he started to move forward. Once again both fighters found success, landing straight punches, as well as hooks, seemingly at will.

The later rounds featured an extremely fatigued Julius Fogle, who was able to hit Liminov, but not do any damage. Fogle’s punches had little on them and Liminov was able to walk through them and inflict his own damage on his opponent. In the end, Liminov maintained his perfect record, and improved it to 13-0 with 8 KO, while Fogle’s dropped to 15-6, 10 KO. The judges who scored the bout for Liminov both had the fight 59-55 and the judge who scored the bout in favor of Fogle saw the fight 58-56.

In his professional debut, former Penn State football player, Imani Bell stopped Michigan’s Lee Thomas after two rounds of action in the heavyweight division. The first round saw both fighter’s come out swinging wildly at one another seemingly trying to go for the knockout. Thomas struck first by sending his 282 pound opponent crashing to the canvas after a devastating blow.

However, when Bell returned to his feet, there was little follow up by an exhausted and out-of-shape Thomas to try and stop the fight in the first round.

In the second round, Bell caught a second wind and delivered crushing blows to Thomas. As the result of Bell’s punches, Thomas was sent back to his stool after round 2 with blood streaming from his nose. It was on his stool where Thomas declined to continue the fight. Bell won his professional debut, moving to 1-0 with 1 KO, while Thomas fell to 1-4.

In a fight that took place after the Nakash-Barragan main event, Russia’s Rustam Nabeev squared off against California’s Alejandro Solorio in a super flyweight bout. In the first round, Solorio came out swinging wildly trying to shock and overwhelm Nabeev. Nabeev was able to initially ward of the attack, but midway through the round was caught with a punch that sent him to the canvas. Nabeev would never fully recover and Solorio easily decisioned his opponent. All three judges scored the bout in favor of Solorio. They saw the bout: 39-36, 39-36, and 40-35.

In the night’s first fight, Israeli Oz Goldenberg faced off against Camden, New Jersey’s Marcos Garcia. Both fighters were successfully able to touch up their opposition, but it was Goldenberg who did the more convincing damage. This fight feature a ton of inside work as all four rounds were flooded with tie-ups and holding. To the referee’s credit, he allowed the fighters to work on the inside until they worked their way out of it. In the end, Goldenberg was awarded a majority decision victory. Two judges scored the bout 39-37 for Goldenberg, while the other judge saw the fight a 38-38 draw. Goldenberg improved to 2-0, while Garcia fell to 0-3.

Cruiserweight contender Ran Nakash remained undefeated by pounding out a ten round unanimous decision over Victor Barragan at the Arena in Philadelphia.

Nakash was more active and boxed effectively against Barragan, who gave a good account pf himself despite fighting much of the bout with a bloody nose.

Nakash, 204 1/2 lbs of Haifa, Israel won by scores of 99-91, 97-93 and 96-94 and is now 25-0. Berragan, 198 lbs of Oxnard, CA is now 11-6.

2008 Olympic Gold medal winner, Felix Diaz scored an eighth round stoppage over Broderick Antoine due to cuts in their scheduled eight round Welterweight bout.

Antoine was cut over his left eye and the fight was stopped thirty-five seconds into the final round.

Diaz, 146 1/2 lbs of the Dominican Republic is now 6-0 with 4 knockouts. Antoine, 145 1/2 lbs of Troy, NY is now 10-11-1.

2008 Olympic Bronze medal winner Vyacheslav Glazkov stopped Mark Brown in round three of their scheduled six round Heavyweight bout.

Glazkov dominated the bout until a big barrage on the ropes forced Benji Esteves to stop the bout.

Glazkov, 219 lbs of Ukraine is now 6-0 with 4 knockouts. Brown, 223 1/2 lbs of Salem, NJ is now 15-4.

Oz Golenburg remained undefeated by scoring a four round majority decision over Marcos Garcia in a Lightweight bout.

Scores were 39-37, 39-37 and 38-38 for Goldenburg, 129 1/2 lbs of Israel and is now 2-0. Garcia, 132 lbs of Camden, NJ is 0-3.