Ji-Hoon Kim scored an explosive one punch knockout over Ameth Diaz in a scheduled twelve round Lightweight bout at The Laredo Energy Center in laredo, Texas.

It was actually Diaz who was winning the first frame as he landed a couple of nice rights and booming uppercut that got Kim’s attention early in the round. With just seconds remaining in the round, Kim landed a crunching right to the top of the head and Diaz went down on his stomach. Diaz got to his feet but referee Robert Gonzalez ended the fight with just one second remaining in the round.

Kim, 132 1/4 lbs of Goyang City, Korea has now won thirteen in a row with twelve by knockout and his record is now 21-5 with eighteen knockouts. Diaz, 135 lbs of Panama City, Panama is now 27-10.

Ruslan Provodnikov scored an impressive ninth round stoppage over late-sub Emanuel Augustus in a scheduled ten round Jr. Welterweight bout.

For the first four-plus rounds the fight was competitive as Provodnikov landing a series of rights while Augustus jabbed and moved well in spots. In the middle of round five, Provodnikov landed a booming right hand that sent Augustus to the seat of his pants. Provodnikov landed some vicious shots in an effort to end the fight but the grizzled vet Augustsus got in a right of his own that briefly sent Provodnikov back. Augustus was able to survive the round but things did not get any better.

Provodnikov won the subsequent rounds as he was effective with hard right hands and Augustus began to leak blood from his nose starting in the sixth round. In the ninth frame, Provodnikov landed two huge shots to the head and Augustus slumped in the corner. Augustus showed guts be getting to his feet but he would only endure a vicious assault that included a flush right-left-right combination that put Augustus down for a third and final time as the referee stopped the bout at 1:50 of the ninth frame.

Provodnikov, 141 1/2 lbs of Berzova, Russia is now 15-0 with ten knockouts. Augustus, who took the bout on four days notice after original opponent Francisco Figueroa dropped out is now 38-32-6.

Orlando Gomez scored a four round majority decision over Jose Martinez in a four round Jr. Middleweight bout.

Scores were 40-36, 39-37 and 38-38 for Gomez, 136 lbs of Houston, TX and is now 2-1. Martinez, 140 lbs of San Antonio, TX is now 5-1.

In a battle of Luna’s, Rafael Luna, 129 lbs of Corpus Christie, TX scored a four round unanimous decision over Rene Luna, 129 lbs of Laredo, Texas.

Rafael Luna scored a knockdown in the first round in the battle of pro debuter’s.

Vazquez – V- Marquez
Hometown Huntington Park, Ca Mexico City, Mexico
Record 44-4(32) 38-5(34)
Rounds Boxed 278 192
KO% 66.67 % 79.07%
Age 32 35
Height 5?4 5’5
Reach 66 68
Nickname Magnifico
Titles IBF Super Bantamweight IBF Bantamweight
WBC Super Bantamweight x2 WBC Super Bantamweight

World title Record 8-2(6) 9-2(7)

The odds with the Bookies have Marquez a slight favourite at -162 Vazquez while is +125.
Tickets are still available ranging from $250 down to $25.
Doors open at 3PM with Perez-V-Mares scheduled for 6PM

In the main event of the evening living legend Hector Macho Camacho 79-6 from Puerto Rico and NY came out to face Mexican Saul Duran 37-16-2 (30KO) in style setting the stage for a nostalgic war of Puerto Rico versus Mexico. In the first round Camacho came out jabbing but caught with a straight right hand flash knocking down Camacho who recovered to win the rest of the round with straight left hands. The second round was nothing of significance with both fighters not connecting with much more then jabs. The third round had no one fighter getting the better of the scrum with both fighters effectively working off the jab and not getting caught with anything much of substance. The 4th and 5th rounds showed the age of both the fighters some with Camacho getting a point deducted in the 5th for holding. The sixth round had Camacho coming out with more energy and landing some shots. The 7th round was a fairly even round with Camacho using the ring wisely and getting his jab off. The ninth round was a spirited round for Macho who made Duran spit his mouth piece. The 8th round was a seemingly even round as both fighters were able to land some jabs. The 9th round had Duran coming out the aggressor and he stayed the aggressor throughout the round hitting Macho man with body shots all throughout the round. Every round in the fight was marred with lots of holding often instigated on the part of Camacho to conserve energy. The final bell was met with chants of MACHO MACHO MACHO giving Hector a burst of energy in the first few seconds. The round was status quo with a lot of jabbing and hugging. In the end the judges had it 97-91, 97-91, 96-91 all for the winner Saul Duran. In the end there was only thing that could put an end to Camacho’s illustrious career and he goes by the name of Father Time….

In a Co-Main Event, former National amateur champion Patty “Boom Boom” Alcivar 2-0(2KO) and Laura Gomez 3-2 from Mexico stepped into the ring to battle and indeed they did just that. Alcivar hails from New York City’s Trinity gym and is trained by Martin Snow, also in her corner was Pete Kid Chocolate Quillin and Billy Padden. In the first round Patti Boom Boom came out with a tenacity not often seen in a fighter in only her second professional fight. Gomez the southpaw was befuddled by Alcivar‘s well executed game plan of moving left off the jab and setting up left hook to the body and head and occasionally throwing her big right hand. Round one was won by Alcivar but the game Gomez was a worthy opponent and she came to fight as well. The second round was more non-stop aggression on the part of Alcivar who started to work the right hand in the mix more and connect with it as well. She moved with the skill of much more seasoned fighter and slipped many of Gomez’s right hands and followed with a double left to the body and then the head and started connecting more and more as the round wore on. The third round we saw Alcivar’s overall talent level start to supersede Gomez’s and Boom Boom starting landing at will mixing in 4 and 5 punch combinations and taking the sap out of Gomez’s tree. The fight was stopped at -___ of the third round as Gomez’s corner had seen enough and threw in the towel. Alcivar moves to 2-0 and Gomez to 3-2. Alcivar credits her faith in god, great corner and hard work in her victorious effort.

In another Co-Main event Liliana Martinez 8-10(4KO) hailing from Dominican Republic got in with Jena “Cowboy” Shiver 11-4-1(2KO) hailing from St. Petersburg Florida for a 6 round bout. In the first round the “Cowgirl as Shiver is called got the best of Martinez using hard lead left hooks to set the pace. A minute in the second round the Cowgirl launched a solid right hand that momentarily staggered Martinez who recovered but that right followed by a couple more intermittently through the round. In the third round Martinez came out with a little more starch in her trunks and caught the Cowgirl with a few good punches probably winning her the round. It was another good busy round for both fighters as well. In the fourth and final round Shiver caught Martinez with a straight right hand putting Martinez on previously starched shorts from the last round. The fifth round started with both girls trying to set up a right hand but neither connected with anything of real substance and the Cowgirl got the better of the round landing more solid jabs and lead left hooks. The 6th was more of the same with the Cowgirl winning a unanimous decision over the very tough Martinez in a very entertaining match up.

For the undercard…..

In a very entertaining opening bout of the night lightweights Cesar Cisneros from Bradenton Florida and Jesus Lule from Ft Myers Florida brawled while they both made their professional debuts. Cisneros showed more technical skill while Lule showed an iron chin and huge heart. Cisneros won a very close majority decision with the cards reading 38-38 and 39-37 twice. The winner here.. the fans.

Paul Marfort made a successful debut with a dominating TKO1 over Nathon Oritz fighting out of Lakeland Florida. Marfort fighting out of Winter Haven FL had Cruiserweight contender Francisco Palacios took the first round over with a big right hand that put Ortiz into a shell and took many shots until downed at 1:47 of there first.

Former Cuban amateur standout Rances Barthelemy 5-0(3KO) won spirited unanimous decision over Milwaukee’s “Superstar” James Owens 4-1 (2KO). Barthelemy overwhelmed previously undefeated Owens early in the first. Owens survived the first and made the second round a bit more competitive but was clearly the less skilled fighter. The cards read all the cards read 40-35.

Danny Pastrana 2-1 fought hard with a unanimous decision win over Carmelo Almodovar 0-1. A bloodied Almodovar was knocked down in the second round and seemed to never regain his legs however showed amazing heart to finish the fight and fought hard to the final bell. The cards read 40-35.

Adrian Perez 5-2-1(1KO) hailing from Brazil went to work on Roger Rosa 1-2 hailing from Brazil. In a very competitive fight both fighters showed flashes of brilliance mixed with inexperience. Perez should the typical heart and valor of his Mexican brethren but ran into an equally tough Brazilian in Rosa. Rosa used straight left hand hands from his southpaw style to catch Perez and Perez was pretty effective with the lead right hand against the lefty. Both fighters put forth a very spirited effort with a very close decision going to the score cards. In the end the cards read 38-38, 38-36, and 39-37 for the winner by majority decision Adrian Perez. The crowd was both excited and equally upset with the outcome.

At the WaMu Theater in Madison Square Garden, the hotly contested war of words between Amir Khan (22-1, 16 KO’s) and Paulie Malignaggi (27-3, 5 KO’s) finally reached it’s pinnacle in this match-up for Khan’s WBA Super-Lightweight title. After weeks of verbal attacks from both camps and a full scale brawl that broke out at the weigh in, the atmosphere in the arena was nothing short of electric. Flags of England and Pakistan were seen in the crowd showing support for Khan, while American and Italian flags were being waved for Malignaggi. The world’s melting pot of New York City was the perfect setting for the fight.

The first round was a scrappy affair as each fighter was eager to show off their lightning-quick hand speed. The boisterous crowd was on their feet for every glancing blow. It was clear from the outset that Malignaggi hoped to disturb his opponent by getting low and clinching on the inside while landing short punches to Khan’s belt line, while the bigger Khan was keen on keeping the fight at a safe distance for his hard punches.

Throughout the first three rounds, neither fighter was able to land any hard punches, but each made their mark with crisp punches from a distance. The action picked up as the fight progressed, with Paulie throwing more combinations, while Khan threw the harder punches.

Midway through the fourth, Khan was able to land a left-right-left combination that seemed to annoy Malignaggi more than hurt him. Still, it showed the course that the fight could take. Thirty seconds later, a hard uppercut snapped Malignaggi’s head back and brought the crowd back to their feet. Ten seconds later, a hard left had Malignaggi against the ropes. He was not visibly shaken, but Malignaggi was getting a serious taste of Khan’s power, and Khan’s control of the fight was clear.

An abrasion over Malignaggi’s left eye that would eventually turn into a bad cut was visible to those at ringside.

Early into the fifth round, we saw Malignaggi on the canvas after a tangle on the inside. It was not a knockdown, but the crowd certainly showed that they were hungry for blood. Khan’s lead right hand output slowed, as Malignaggi was able to counter it with a short left hook. That led to Khan using a more proper right hand that followed a jab. The sixth round was a jab-fest with both fighters once again showcasing their amazing hand speed. Khan continued to follow his jabs with right hands with success and was maintaining control of the fight.

Entering the seventh round, it was Khan’s power advantage that was the deciding factor throughout. His output grew as the fight progressed, and Malignaggi had no answer. Two minutes into the eighth, Khan was able to snap Malignaggi’s head back with two very stiff jabs. Thirty seconds later, he landed a right hand followed by a left while Malignaggi was up against the ropes. The difficulty with the cut over Malignaggi’s left eye was beginning to show in his performance, as he was falling hopelessly behind.

Entering the ninth, a more confident Khan was in the ring against an opponent who was keen on re-establishing his jab in the hopes of putting together a more potent offense. The problem with Malignaggi is that he has never been a very feared fighter offensively. Khan walked through Malignaggi’s hard jabs and was able to land a right hand the knocked Malignaggi into the ropes.

While the action was not constant, Khan was consistantly landing hard shots throughout the fight. It was at this time that the damage became very visible as the cut grew to a dangerous level.

Most experts believed that this fight would go the distance, so as both fighters entered the championship rounds, the expectations in the crowd grew even more. Those expectations were delayed for a moment as the ringside physician took some extra time to examine a cut and some serious swelling that had been developing on Malignaggi. He seemed disappointed in himself, and while not having an ounce of quit in him, he was emotionally not in the fight at this point.

Khan saw this and decided to pounce. Malignaggi had no response. He was not hurt, but esteemed referee, Steve Smoger, immediatly jumped in and stopped the action at the 1:25 mark of the eleventh round giving Khan a TKO victory.

The co-feature of the evening featured a very interesting crossroads matchup between junior welterwights, Victor Ortiz (26-2-1, 21 KO’s) and Nate Campbell (33-5-1, 25 KO’s), scheduled for ten rounds. Ortiz, at 140lbs, plays the role of the emerging up and comer looking to prove himself against a savvy veteran in Campbell, at 139lbs. The first round opened up at a decent pace. Ortiz took no time in showing off his power, as he was able to land a right hook around Campbell’s high guard. In the final thirty seconds of the round, Campbell got into his groove and was able to get inside where he works best. That plan backfired, as Ortiz was able to land two uppercuts followed by a right hook that acted more like a push than a punch. Campbell’s gloves touched the canvas, and the referee ruled it a knockdown despite Campbell’s valid argument.

The second round opened up at a brisk pace, as Campbell was out to prove that he wasn’t hurt. He got right inside and was able to land some strong uppercuts. Ortiz, feeling better suited working from the outside, stepped back and brought the fight to the center of the ring, where he was able to land. A strong southpaw lead.

The battle of ring generalship continued into the third round, but for the moment, Ortiz seemed in control. When Campbell used his patented technique of using savvy smarts and footwork to force his opponent into the ropes, Ortiz would showcase his southpaw right hook to take advantage. When the fight went into the center of the ring, Ortiz would utilize his lead southpaw straight left. Early in the fight, Ortiz was showing the New York City fans that he was just as crafty as his veteran counterpart.

But would it last against a fighter that has no problem maintaining a grueling pace for twelve rounds?

By the fourth round, Ortiz was moving more than usual, but was able to prevent Campbell from planting his feet and throwing punches. Campbell did not seem concerned with this tactic, as he was able to land long straight right hands. Ortiz maintained control, but Campbell was slowly bringing the action to a pace he is more accustomed to.

In the sixth, Ortiz managed to work Campbell into the ropes and unleash a barrage of punches to the body and head. None of the punches did any serious physical damage to Campbell, but it definitely did some damage to his scorecard. Campbell managed to retaliate by landing a long right hand flush on Ortiz’ chin, but that might have proved that Campbell does not carry much power at the higher weight.

By the eighth round, Ortiz was very much in control of the pace of the fight, as Campbell was unable to pin him onto the ropes and get into a grueling type of affair that he normally excels in. The ninth stanza saw some exciting back and fourth anction. Ortiz unleasged multiple punch combinations on an opponent that could do nothing but cover up and weather the storm. Campbell was able to get in closer and land long hooks that sent Ortiz’ perspiration flying into the paying customers at ringside. Still, Campbell’s offensives were few and far between.

The last round of the fight saw Campbell chasing down the very mobile Ortiz to no avail. Ortiz decided to play it safe in a fight that he was comfortably leading in. As the final bell rang, the crowd gave both fighters a very appreciative applause for the style match-up that they displayed over ten rounds. The final scores read 100-89, 100-89, and 99-90 all in favor of Victor Ortiz.—Arben Paloka

Good looking Middleweight prospect Daniel Jacobs annihilated an over matched Juan Astorga in under two rounds in a scheduled ten round bout.

Jacobs scored two knockdowns in round one, first from a body shot than a right hand. It was only time before a vicious body shot sent Astorga down in round two. Jacobs closed the show with two hard shots that sent Astorga to his knees and the fight was waved off at fifty-one seconds of round two.

Jacobs, 160 lbs of Brooklyn is now 20-0 with seventten knockouts. Astorga, 164 1/2 lbs of Brownfield, TX is now 14-5-1.

In a six round battle of undefeated Heavyweights, Kelvin Price scored a split decision over Tor Hamer

Price landed a grazing left hook that sent Hamer into the ropes in round two for which referee Benji Esteves ruled a knockdown. After that it was mostly Hamer landing some solid over hand right and body punches. Price was mildly effective was jabs but the judges saw it in his favor

Price 243 lbs of Pensacola, FL won by scores of 58-55 on two cards while Hamer won a card 57-56.

Price is now 7-0. Hamer is 11-1.

Former Amir Khan conqueror Bredis Prescott stopped Jason Davis at 1:11 of round three of a scheduled eight round Welterweight bout.

Prescott dropped Davis twice in the third round with the second knockdown being a hard body shot that forced Davis to retire at the 1:11 mark.

Prescott, 140 1/2 lbs of Miami is now 22-2 with nineteen knockouts. Davis, 144 1/2 lbs of Vancouver, WA is now 11-7-1.

Jamie Kavanaugh made a successful pro debut as he stopped William Wade in round two of a scheduled four round Jr. Welterweight bout.

Kavanaugh dropped Wade with a right to the body and again with a left to the body in round two. Moments after that, Kavanaugh scored a third and final knockdown with a winging left to the head and referee Sparkle Lee stopped the contest at 1:39.

Kavanaugh, 139 1/2 lbs of Dublin, Ireland is now 1-0 with one knockout. Wade, 141 lbs of Augusta, GA is now 1-3.

In the opening bout Dennis Douglin took apart veteran Joshua Onyango at 1:10 of round two of a scheduled six round Middleweight bout.

Douglin dropped Onyango twice in round two from hard straight left hands and referee Sparkle Lee waved the contest off immediately after the second knockdown.

Douglan, 156 lbs of Morganville, NI is now 9-0 with five knockouts. Onyango, 157 lbs of Trenton, NJ is now 13-19-1.

It’s been a month since Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez won the WBC & WBO Middleweight titles to add to his WBC Light Middleweight crown. Since then Martinez has enjoyed the fruits of his labour. He has attended ceremonies in Puerto Rico when he was officially awarded the WBO crown and then in Mexico where he was also belted by the WBC. He also fitted in visit’s to Ontario, Ca where he attended the Arreola-Adamek fight. He was mobbed by fans and seemed to enjoy his new found fame. He followed that with a trip to Las Vegas with his advisor Sampson Lewkowicz to watch the much anticipated Mayweather-Mosley fight, which could ironically end up being a spying mission as he has been linked with fighting both since.

Tomorrow in Madrid he has another engagement this time it’s not for him it’s for former stablemate and friend Javier Castillejo the former WBC Light Middleweight champion, a title now held by Martinez. The award for Castillejo who retired last year is recognising him and his achievements as a great champion.

It was also revealed exclusively that Martinez has been invited and prompted accepted a trip to Canastota to attend the Boxing Hall of fame from the 10-13 June.

Boxing returned to The Paradise Theater in the Bronx, New York with a co-promotion between Golden Boy Promotions and Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing that was televised on Telefuture

The main event of the evening was a Lightweight bout scheduled for ten rounds that saw up and coming prospect, Adrien Broner, take on Rafael Lora in a lightweight bout. The fight initially began as a slow one, but it was immediately clear that Broner’s hand speed would make a huge difference. Halfway through the round, a strong and crisp left hook rattled Lora’s knees. He wasn’t badly hurt, but it showed how outmatched Lora was.

As soon as Lora refrained his bearings, Broner landed another left hook that had his opponent reeling into the ropes. Broner took his time and refused to get into a wild firefight. Eventually, another left hook had Lora hurt and backed into the corner, and Broner followed it up with a right hand that sent Lora down. The bell to end the round had rung, and Lora waited to the count of nine to clear the effects of getting his bell rung. Lora (11-3) stood up, but was not all there, and the referee called the bout, giving Broner (15-0, 10 KO’s) a TKO at three minutes into the first round.

The co-feature of the evening was a Lightweight bout scheduled for six rounds that saw Mike Perez, backed by about one hundred of his loyal fans, take on Francisco Reyes. Perez quickly took control behind a quick jab and strong right. Reyes did not seem fazed, but Perez was landing his punches first, and they were much harder. In the second, Perez picked up right where he left off; peppering Reyes with crisp punches, and now using a left hook to seal the deal. It wasn’t long before Reyes found himself on the canvas after a strong punch landed flush. He quickly beat the count and did not seem too shaken, but with blood streaming out of his nose and mouth, he was looking like a beaten fighter. He managed to finish the round on his feet, but took many hard punches in the process.

The third saw more of the same, but a hard right opened up a bad gash over the left eye of Reyes, forcing the doctor to take a look. Behind on the cards and on talent, Reyes began throwing desperate punches in the hopes of landing something big, and he surprisingly began to land; even staggering Perez briefly. The forth saw both fighters in an even back and forth brawl, as Perez began to show fatigue. The action remained that way into the sixth round, as both fighters began swinging for the fences. A short right hook on the inside from Perez sent Reyes (5-1) down. He was able to beat the count, but Perez laid on the pressure throughout. The final scores read 60-52, 59-53, and 59-53 giving Perez (8-0-1) a unanimous decision victory.

Popular female fighter, Maureen Shea, outclassed the game Norma Faris over three rounds in a scheduled six round Super Featherweight bout. Immediately, Shea came out and went blazing for Faris’ body. Faris had no response, and was effectively a heavybag for three rounds. Shea would occasionally shoot her punches upstairs, catching Faris off guard, as the referee closely watched. Occasionally, Faris (3-3) would land a blow, but they had no effect and they were few and far between. Shea continued to tear through her opponent, and the body blows were really beginning to take their toll. Finally, just as the bell to end the third round rang, the referee stepped in and stopped the fight. Shea (14-2, 8 KO’s) was credited with a third round TKO.

Ahmed Samir stepped into the ring against the very awkward John Douglas in a scheduled six round Cruiserweight bout.. How does someone look good against an opponent who wings his punches and flies wildly off balance each time? Ahmed certainly tried, but it was a very sloppy affair. Douglas flew off balance with every punch he threw, and they were so wild that when they landed, they were often borderline behind the head. One punch that wasn’t borderline landed square on the back of Samir’s head that sent him reeling towards the ropes. No warning from the ref. The disgusting display continued. A headbutt opened up a gash on Samir’s hairline. At the end of the round, in a frustrated manor, Samir shoved Douglas onto the canvas. A small cut opened up over the left eye of Samir (9-0) in the opening of the sixth round. This was mostly due to Douglas occasionally being able to land a looping left hook. The slop-fest continued until the fight finally ended. The scores read 59-55 on all the judges’ scorecards. This writer hopes he will never see Douglas (7-14-3) and his terrible style in the ring again.

The emerging super middleweight, Shqiprim Muriqi, took on Rondu Campbell. At two wins with four losses, Campbell’s record does not look like much, but he brings with him a reputation of being a tough gym fighter and highly touted by successful professionals.

The first round saw lots of action as Muriqi refused to stick his jab and worked behind a strong straight right hand. Campbell was able to respond with some strong right hands of his own, and by the end of the round, the crowd cheered the action. It wasn’t until the second that Muriqi began to throw his left hook, winning him the round. Campbell’s response was to clinch, which made Muriqi uncomfortable. The third continued the action, and Muriqi began landing combinations. The forth saw Campbell (2-5-1) being very aggressive, but that seemed to work in Muriqi’s favor as he was able to land powerful left and right hand counters. The ring announcer read the scores, and they all read 40-35 in favor of Muriqi (4-0).

The first fight of the evening saw two undefeated prospects against each other. Hometown hero, Raul Lopez took on Daniel Aquino in a Super Bantamweight scheduled for four rounds. The fight showcased some thrilling back and forth action with Lopez (3-1-1)winging hard punches, and Aquino utilizing technique to throw shorter and more precise punches. In the end, the scores of 38-38, 39-37, and 39-37 read in favor of Aquino (4-0), much to the dismay of Lopez and his fans.

Former two-time Lightweight champion, Julio “Kidd” Diaz scored a unanimous decision over former world title challenger Herman Ngoudjo in a ten round Jr. Welterweight bout at Buffalo Bill’s Star Arena in Primm, Nevada.

Diaz landed quick combinations throughout the fight. Despite swelling under his left eye, Diaz was very effective and had the quicker hands.

Diaz seemed to get stronger as the fight went on as in round six he took a couple of short shots to start the round but came back to land a nice four punch combination that was followed by a couple of hooks. Round nine saw a good exchange that was followed up by a good right hand from Diaz. The two fought hard down the stretch as they duked it out in the final moments with Diaz getting the better of the action.

Diaz, 140 lbs of Cochella, CA won by scores of 99-91, 97-93 and 97-93 to raise his record to 37-6. Ngoudo, 140 lbs of Montreal is now 18-4.

“Ngoudio could take a punch, his style was very difficult for me to adjust to because of his elbows, he comes forward with his head. But I was able to change things up and fight on the inside, it’s what my corner knew would work and we did just that.”

Dominic Salcido scored an eight round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Guillermo Sanchez in a Jr. Lightweight bout.

Salcido was the more steady fight as he was consistent with little combination’s and where Sanchez seemed to be more concerned with showboating rather than throw punches. That was ironic because it was Salcido who was known throughout his career as being a flashy fighter. The only sort of offense that Sanchez could muster was landing a hard left hand that briefly shook Salcido in round four.

Besides that, it was all Salcido as he pressed the action and won by scores of of 78-74, 77-75 and 77-75. Salcido, 129 lbs of Ralito, CA is now 18-2. Sanchez, 128 lbs of Buffalo, NY is now 11-1-1.

“I came and proved what I need to, I am back in the game and back to business” said Salcido.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, world Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez is plotting his next move and two names have come to the forefront in Winky Wright and Shane Mosley.

“I have to pursue all possibilities for Sergio, and Richard and I have discussed both Winky Wright and Shane Mosley,” said Lou DiBella, Martinez Promoter, adding that Wright was the one they discussed more seriously.

“I like Martinez. He has very good skills, a very smart fighter. That’s the kind of fight I am looking forward to and to show why I was the undisputed junior middleweight champion,” Wright told ESPN.com on Thursday.

“It all depends on my management and promoter and what they can bring to the table,” Martinez said. “Whoever they bring, I will fight them. Either division would be OK.”

“Martinez is a guy I would get up for, a guy I would be motivated to train hard for,” Wright said. “I know I haven’t fought for a while, but every time I go to the fights people ask me, ‘When are you getting back into the ring?’ I tell them there really hasn’t been anyone to fight. I couldn’t get a fight with Pavlik. Who else was there to fight? Martinez is the fight we’re looking for. He really beat Paul and then he beat Pavlik.

“When I fought Paul Williams I was coming off an even longer layoff, more than two years. People gotta realize the position I was in. I didn’t come back and pick and choose an easy opponent. Of course, I could fight and get three or four easy wins, but I want to fight the people that people think I will lose to. Williams was so tall and awkward. He was hard to fight, especially coming off a two-year layoff.”

“I’ve been fighting almost 20 years and for me to really get up and fight on an undercard it ain’t no challenge,” Wright said. “The money is low and the stakes aren’t high, so I am not driven to do it. In boxing you have to feel it. If I can’t get a challenge there is no need to be in the sport. I need a good, tough opponent. Fighting just anyone ain’t me.

“I talked to Richard and we’re definitely going to do what we can do to get the Martinez fight. I don’t see myself fighting too much longer unless we can come up with a good opponent. If I can’t get a big fight, I will leave the game. I love boxing, but boxing is not all I want to do. I had a great career. I can say I ran from no one. There are not too many who can say that. I fought everyone. I hope I can get another good fight before I leave the game.”

Sources from South Africa indicate that Simphiwe Nongqayi 16-0-1(6) will look to make his second defence of his IBF Super Flyweight title against mandatory challenger Juan Alberto Rosas 31-5(25) in Rosas homeland of Mexico in late July on a date to be announced at a soon.

Though in his mid thirty’s Nongqayi didn’t turn pro till 2002 after a solid amateur career. “The Golden Master” won the first 10 fight before stopping Khulile
Makeba in eight to claim the WBF 115 crown. After three successful defence’s he stepped up in class to win an IBF eliminator against Francisco Arce in February 2009 before being matched with Francisco’s elder brother Jorge for the vacant title in September of the same year. Though a heavy underdog Nongqayi surprised Arce in Mexico winning a comfortable decision. Last time out on 9 April Nongqayi travelled to France where he drew with Malik Bouziane.

It will be Rosas 25 of Navojoa, Sonora, first World title fight having debuted back in 2001 winning the first 25 fights all in Mexico winning the Mexican & NABF Flyweight title’s along the way. Things tailspan from their for Rosas as he lost three on the bounce over a five month span to future World champion Jose Lopez, journeyman Sergio Espinoza and contender AJ Banal. He took time off and then regrouped winning three consecutive fights collecting the Mexican Super Flyweight title along the way. Rosas was then offered the chance to move up to Bantamweight division where he lost to teak tough Rodrigo Guerrero who later went on to go twelve with Vic Darchinyan. Then it he lost a non title fight to WBO Bantamweight holder Fernando Montiel. Since then he’s again regrouped and picked up three more wins including last time out when he won an IBF title eliminator leading to this challenge.

The first seeds were planted for a potential mega showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather as Dan Rafael of espn.com reported that Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum is looking at a November 13th date for the newly elected congressman from the Philippines.

“Manny is definitely going to fight in November,” Arum said during a teleconference in which he addressed a handful of media members upon his return from the Philippines, where he had spent the past week supporting Pacquiao in the final days on the campaign trail and also talking a little business.

“The fight we want to do is the Mayweather fight,” Arum said. “There is no question that is the fight the public wants. I’m very optimistic once we start we will conclude this time [but] you never know.”

“My belief, based on my conversations with him, is that he will engage in probably three more fights,” said Arum, noting that if the Mayweather fight can’t be made Plan B is to match Pacquiao with former welterweight titlist Antonio Margarito.

“It’s amazing how many people came up to me as I was leaving the Philippines and asked me when is the Mayweather fight going to happen,” Arum said. “That’s the fight people want to see. That’s the fight and I will do my darnedest to make it happen.”

“The people are requesting that I fight Mayweather before I retire,” Pacquiao told The Associated Press. “If I ever fight again, I think I will give in to the request of the people.”

“People don’t realize that this victory over the candidate that he beat was a tremendous upset that nobody expected him to pull off,” Arum said. “The Chiongbian family holds all of the major businesses in his province. Every major elected official in the province, congressman, mayor, are related to the family or are associates of the family. Manny was running against the elder son in the family and they hadn’t been defeated. Manny Pacquiao is a fighter and with his grit and determination was not only able to win, but win by a landslide. … To me it is incredible.”

“I don’t want to discuss the issues involved in making the fight because we will be involved in negotiations. Our goal is to make that fight happen,” said Arum, who would not discuss Pacquiao’s stance on the drug testing. “We’re not going to negotiate in the press. If we do, given the egos of both camps, it will never happen.”

“Right now the lawsuit is still in play. The lawsuit is still being actively pursued,” Arum said. “All these issues are on the table and they’ll be negotiated. I assume in the negotiation the issue of the pending lawsuit will be discussed.

“Once you start negotiating through the media it becomes an ego contest. Then each side can’t wait to give its statement to the press and the flames just shoot up and there is no real opportunity for rational behavior to take over. Everybody is so interested in setting forth his position to the media that that becomes the contest, and that involved me as well as everybody else [last time].”

“Negotiations are negotiations and a lot of nice things happen if people negotiate in good faith and people want something to happen and negotiate without going through the media,” he said. “Let’s see what happens.”

“Is it the fight everyone would like to see? Yeah, it is,” Schaefer said. “But everyone would like to see as well LeBron James against Kobe Bryant in the NBA Finals, or [Roger] Federer against [Rafael] Nadal in the Wimbledon final, or now that World Cup soccer is coming up, the Brazilians against the Italians in the World Cup soccer final.

“Does it always happen? No, it doesn’t. But I don’t think the success of one event is really the beginning or the end of a sport.”

“Jerry [Jones] is certainly interested and so is the MGM,” Arum said. “It will be, if the fight happens, and I hope it will, in mid-November. It would be in one of those two places.”

“I’m not married to Dallas,” he said. “I love Jerry Jones. He’s a terrific guy but I am going to advocate putting any fight of Manny’s where it will do the best and make the most sense and that is not necessarily Dallas.”

“Obviously, there is a plan and we haven’t started negotiations yet,” Arum said. “There is a plan. I don’t want to go into what’s happening but there are things happening on the ground.”

“I have my marching orders and it will be sooner rather than later,” Arum said.

“There will be a [congressional] session during the month of July and then they are off for a few months,” Arum said. “When he is training he runs in the morning, then sleeps, then trains in the gym and then eats dinner and then he has all his free time. He sings, he’s around with his people. A lot of that free time will be devoted to his political responsibilities. He’ll have plenty of time to do his politics while he is in training and out of training.”

“The one activity I know it will affect is his time playing billiards,” Arum said jokingly. “He will have to slow down on that.”

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

SAN ANTONIO – Whoever turns out to be the better prizefighter on June 26, one thing is already certain. Puerto Rican Eric Morel is a much better pool hustler than Mexican Jorge Arce.

That much was established on Tuesday afternoon at Dave & Buster’s restaurant where participants in Top Rank’s “La Furia de México 15” gathered for a rescheduled press conference in the northern part of the city. Morel and Arce posed for pictures, answered questions and expressed lots of mutual fondness both before and after their impromptu pool match, as part of the promotion for their co-main-event fight at the Alamodome in June.

The two rivals confessed to being good friends outside the ring and admiring one another’s accomplishments. Both assured local fans and members of the press, however, they would not fight that way when facing one another for the WBO’s interim bantamweight title.

“Very hittable,” is how Morel described Arce’s appearance in recent fights. He also called Arce a “great fighter who’s very, very tough.”

For his part, Arce emphasized Morel’s background as a Puerto Rican, saying, “All know that when a Mexican and a Puerto Rican fight, it is always a battle.”

Arce, who goes by the nickname “El Travieso” (Naughty One) also spoke of the recent birth of his son, Nazareth. Asked about the name, Arce explained, “It was a promise I made to God that if he gave me a son, I would name him after the birthplace of His son.”

More interesting still was Arce’s explanation for his poor showing against Vic Darchinyan last year in Anaheim, Calif. Arce held up the back of his right hand, which sports a noticeable bump at the attachment of his thumb, and explained, “I have to have my hand wrapped extra tight, with extra wraps of tape, or it hurts when I punch. The week before (the fight with Darchinyan), all those things happened in California with (Antonio) Margarito and the wrapping of his hands. So, before my fight, they’re all standing over me, as a Mexican fighter, and saying ‘no, no, no’ about the extra tape. . . . It hurt every time I hit Darchinyan.”

Whatever happens against Morel next month, Arce, one of prizefighting’s most colorful personalities, is certain to have a colorful explanation.

RAUL MARTINEZ & GABRIEL ELIZONDO
Also taking the stage at Tuesday’s press conference were local bantamweight standouts Raul Martinez and Gabriel Elizondo. Much like Arce and Morel before them, Martinez and Elizondo spoke of their close friendship, with Elizondo saying, “(Martinez) is a good friend of mine. We have been friends for a very long time.”

Martinez took the podium and agreed. He then thanked his team and assured the gathering he would be ready for a “very difficult fight.”

He had better be. Very often when two longtime friends make a match together, the fighting is clean but savage, with the lesser man giving more than expected and the better man having to transcend previous performances.

LATIN FURY 15
The Top Rank pay-per-view event will feature Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. John Duddy as its headline fight and is expected to be the most successful event of the “Latin Fury” brand. The card takes place at Alamodome on June 26.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former world middleweight champion, Kelly Pavlik will forgo his proposed rematch with Sergio Martinez according to his manager Cameron Dunkin.

Pavlik, who lost a unanimous decision and his title belts to Sergio Martinez on April 17 in Atlantic City, N.J., declined his contractual option for an immediate rematch on Tuesday and will move up to the 168-pound super middleweight division or the 175-pound lightweight heavyweight division.

“My take is that Kelly has been struggling to make weight. He made a comment the other day that he wished he had told us this five fights ago,” Dunkin said.

The decision to abandon the middleweight division was reached Monday when Pavlik, trainer Jack Loew and father and co-manager Mike Pavlik met together in their hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, with Dunkin on the telephone from Las Vegas.

“We sat down and talked,” Loew said. “We don’t know where we’re going. Kelly was 178 pounds yesterday. It’s not 178 pounds of fat. It’s 178 pounds of muscle. We’ll look at what’s the most attractive offer and go from there, 168 or 175. I think we’ll be comfortable in either weight class.

“It will be nice to train for the fight instead of battling the weight the last couple of weeks of camp. For this last fight, we hit a wall and it was hard to budge,” Loew explained. “It was horrible what we had to do to make the weight, sweating it off. It was really hard to get off. We had to get on the treadmill and then get in the sauna. We had to do that repeatedly

“In my own mind, there are several places we could go,” Dunkin said. “I don’t think he’ll have a problem with 168 but he may go to 175. It’s wide open. We want to take the best opportunities. We know what we’ve seen from Kelly, he doesn’t have the same snap he had earlier at 160, before [the weight loss] finally drained him. You want a guy to fight at his best weight.

“When we got to weigh 166 for the rematch with Jermain, it started where Kelly had to go from working out two times a day to three times a day to maintain his weight,” Loew said. “Then when we got to weigh 170 for Bernard, after that it was four times a day. We were training more for the weight than the fight. We have no excuses.

“We were 110 percent ready for Martinez and we really thought the weight would come down easier,” Loew said. “We were battling the weight and it cost us. We kept food in him, but not much. There is no reason to go through that anymore.

“Nobody can ever take away that he was middleweight champ of the world,” Loew said. “He’s still healthy, he still has that drive. But not to work out four or five times a day. That caught up to us. He’s got to train like regular fighter — get up, go running and go to the gym to box. Let’s concentrate on fighting again, not losing the weight. He’ll enjoy it more. It wasn’t good what we had to do.”

“I think Chad Dawson and Kelly Pavlik would be a very interesting fight. Chad is a great kid and fighter,” Loew said. “I think that would be a great fight for him and Kelly. Maybe we’ll be sitting ringside for Pascal-Dawson.”

Photo By Chris Farina/ Top Rank

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, The May 1st mega bout between Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley drew an estimated 1.4 million Pay Per View buys making it the second largest grossing non-heavyweight bout of all-time.

The buy total ties the fight with the 1999 welterweight unification showdown between Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad. However, Mayweather-Mosley generated more money because pay-per-view costs more. Trinidad-De La Hoya grossed $70.6 million.

Mayweather’s 2007 decision win for the junior middleweight title against the now-retired De La Hoya, the reigning pay-per-view king in terms of total dollars, set the all-time pay-per-view record with 2.446 million buys and nearly $137 million in revenue.

CARSON, CALIFORNIA — After the most unusual of endings, Paul Williams was declared the technical decision victor over Kermit Cintron due to an injury before the end of four rounds in the HBO World Championship Boxing main event at the Home Depot Center.

Williams (39-1, 27 KOs) of Augusta, Georgia now has a win over Cintron (32-3-1, 28 KOs) of Houston, Texas on his record, but even he is not happy with how it got there. Both fighters got their licks in to end a round one that started out slow, as both looked to have some nervous energy. The action began to heat up in round two. Cintron, 154, caught Williams, 152 ½, with two good right hands in an exchange early in the round. Later in the round, Cintron caught Williams over swinging again with another solid counter.

Round three offered little action, as Williams refused to play into Cintron’s apparent plan of playing the counter puncher. Things changed in round four, as Cintron landed a clean right that woke up Williams and the crowd. Williams quickly responded with a head-snapping shot. For a brief moment, it looked as though the fight may turn from a boxing match to a slugfest. Shortly after a heated exchange, Williams lost his footing and grabbed onto Cintron a bit as he fell to the canvas. As Williams went down, the momentum toppled Cintron through the ropes, on to a table and eventually down to the hard floor.

In moments it was clear that Cintron was injured, but it was unclear how bad the injury might be. Cintron remained in the same position that he fell for some time, as a ringside physician watched over him. According to sources on the side of the ring that he fell, Cintron told the ringside physician Paul Wallace that he was able to fight on, but it was the decision of the doctor to not allow him to continue.

Most ringside in press row assumed the fight would be declared a no contest. However, in the state of California, the start of the fourth round makes the fight official and thus the scores were read. One judge had the fight a shutout for Cintron, 40-36. The other two scored the fight for Williams, 40-36 and 39-37 respectively. Ring announcer Michael Buffer read the scores as Cintron, protesting with his gloved fists, was carried out on a stretcher.

Not only did most ringside assume that fight would be ruled a no contest before the decision was announced, so did Cintron’s promoter. “That rule is ridiculous, it was three rounds,” said Lou DiBella. “That is not a fight. How do you call a fight after three rounds?” Cintron’s trainer Ronnie Shields told the press that he had objected to using the California rules instead of the generally used ABC rules prior to the fight.

“I don’t know what to say,” said Williams after the fight. “It’s a strange way to get a win and I’ll try to get a better one next time.” Just as there was before the fight started, there should be many options for both fighters, including the obvious one – a rematch. Cintron entered the ring as the WBO #2/IBF #3/WBC #3 ranked light middleweight, and his promoter seems to want the rematch. “That should have been a no contest, and it should happen again,” said DiBella at the post-fight press conference.

Williams, WBC #3 middleweight and the WBO #1/IBF #5 ranked 154-pounder, could go the rematch route, but there are other fights out there for him as well. Williams’ promoter Dan Goossen seemed less inclined to make a Cintron rematch right of the bat. “There was nothing that happened in that ring that was compelling enough that would lead me to believe that we want to see the fight again,” claimed Goossen. Lou DiBella vehemently disagreed with Goossen’s assessment of the potential rematch. While Goossen would go onto say Cintron is always a possibility for Williams, it looks as though he has his eyes set on bigger fish.

As he mentioned in the build-up to Saturday’s fight, Goossen made mention of plans to see if the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight is made or not. “If a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight doesn’t get made, then obviously we will be standing there and hopefully we would be one of the fighters to take that place,” said Goossen, who added Williams will not sit and wait on the shelf as talks for that superfight do or do not resume.

Styles make fights, and sometimes styles make dull fights. In what looked to be an attractive super featherweight scrap on paper and turned out to be a lackluster bout, Argenis Mendez claimed the vacant USBA Super Featherweight title with a majority decision over Martin Honorio.

Mendez (16-1, 9 KOs) of Brooklyn, New York by way of San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic proved to be an elusive target for the forward-moving Martin Honorio (28-4-1, 14 KOs) of Bell, California by way of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. Honorio, 130, took the fight to Mendez, 130, in the opening round and appeared to be ahead after two rounds.

Mendez, the WBA #10 ranked super featherweight, scored well with hard body shots in round three and the fight began to turn. As the fight went on, Mendez stood his ground less and less, picking his shots and moving out of range. Honorio, the WBO #3 ranked lightweight and IBF #6 ranked 130-pounder, did not display the same boxing skills that led him to a win over John Molina Jr. last year. Too often, Honorio found himself chasing Mendez instead of effectively cutting off the ring.

While he did not exact any sort of dominance in the bout, Mendez did enough to get the nod on two of the judges’ scorecards 116-112. The third official scorer had it even, 114-114. With the win, Mendez may have earned a better ranking, but it is unlikely he gained many fans ringside.

Former amateur standout Walter Sarnoi (6-0, 2 KOs) of Monterey Park, California boxed his way to a four-round majority decision win over Adrian Aleman (6-7-3, 4 KOs) of Cathedral City, California. Sarnoi, 123, was the naturally bigger man, but decided to box and move rather than put his size advantage to use. Aleman, 123, went rounds as usual, but was unable to get much done in the fight. One judge found two rounds to give to Aleman, to make the even score of 38-38. The other two judges scored the fight 40-36, 39-37.

Stan Martyniouk (9-0, 1 KO) of Sacramento, California rebounded from a flash knockdown in the first round to pull out a six-round split decision over Brian Ramirez (5-3, 3 KOs) of Los Angeles, California. Ramirez, 133, charged out of his corner to open the fight, backing Martyniouk, 133, to the ropes. As the round progressed, Martyniouk settled into a boxing rhythm. Just before the bell to end the round, Ramirez caught Martyniouk with a left uppercut to score the knockdown.

Martyniouk, who did not appear to be hurt from the knockdown, began round two with a sense of urgency, as he pressed the fight. As the fight progressed, the rounds were competitive, but it was Martyniouk that was able to maintain his punching power, while Ramirez’ pace slowed. Martyniouk took the fight after a decisive sixth round which the Sacramento resident swept on all three judges’ cards. Two judges scored the bout 57-56 for Martyniouk, with the lone dissenting judge scoring it 57-56 the other way. Martyniouk hopes to return to the ring June 19th at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.

Michael Ruiz Jr. (2-0, 1 KO) of Fresno, California blew away Jose Pacheco (2-13-6) of Cudahy, California in the second round of a scheduled four. Ruiz, 118, downed Pacheco, 122, with a straight right hand early in the second. Pacheco rose to his feet, but was clearly not the same. Moments later, a brutal right hook dropped Pacheco hard, prompting referee David Denkin to immediately call a halt to the bout without need for a count. Official time of the stoppage was 1:37 of the second. Ruiz is slated to return to the ring June 19th at the McDermont Field House in Lindsay, California.

Unbeaten Jeremiah Wiggins (8-0-1, 3 KOs) of Newport News, Virginia scored a unanimous decision win over game free-swinger Juan Carlos Diaz (0-3) of Ciudad Neza, Estada de Mexico, Mexico. Wiggins, 152 ½, showed his superior boxing skills in the first, but found himself slugging it out in some heated exchanges by the second round. Diaz, 153 ½, stood in and took some hard shots, but landed some of his own. The underpowered Diaz was simply out of his league with the more skilled Wiggins. In the end, two judges scored the bout 59-55 and the third 60-54 all for Wiggins.

After less than two one-sided rounds, Mike Dallas Jr. (14-0-1, 5 KOs) of Bakersfield, California was declared victorious over journeyman Daniel Gonzalez (9-28-2, 3 KOs) of Billings, Montana. Dallas, 149 ½, was just too much of everything, speed and power, for Gonzalez, 151. With no reason for the mismatch to continue, referee David Denkin saw fit to call halt to the bout at 2:03 of the second round before Gonzalez could absorb any more punishment.

Before the card, Goossen Tutor Promotions announced the signing of WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Beibut Shumenov, who is slated to defend his title sometime in July against mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Uzelkov.

Photos by Jan Sanders/Goossen Tutor Promotions

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

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA — Top ten pound-for-pounder Paul Williams takes on perennial contender Kermit Cintron in a non-title twelve-round light middleweight fight tonight at the Home Depot Center in nearby Carson. The fight will be broadcast live by HBO alongside the replay of the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Shane Mosley fight from last week. Fighters for tonight’s event weighed in Friday afternoon at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Los Angeles – International Airport.

Williams (38-1, 27 KOs) of Augusta, Georgia is the heavy betting favorite Saturday according to most online sportsbooks, but the odds that the fight will be exciting would have to be listed just as strong. Cintron (32-2-1, 28 KOs) of Houston, Texas by way of Carolina, Puerto Rico may have displayed new found boxing skills in his decision win over Alfredo Angulo last year, but he knows he will need to revert back to the slugger of old in order to have a chance against a supreme boxer-puncher like Williams.

The event has been dubbed “Over the Weight,” because both Williams and Cintron have long campaigned as welterweights, and Williams especially has expressed his desire to get a big money fight at 147-pounds. Williams currently holds the WBC #3 middleweight ranking, and the WBO #1/IBF #5 rankings at 154-pounds. Considering Cintron is currently the WBO #2/IBF #3/WBC #3 ranked light middleweight, one would think this fight would have some interim title or alphabet eliminator sanctioning attached to it, but alas it is just a twelve-round scrub between two top fighters with no promises of championships to the winner.

Both Cintron and Williams know that winning eliminators or even titles are not always what they are cracked up to be. Cintron’s win over Angulo was a sanctioned WBC Light Middleweight eliminator, but he did not get a title shot since Sergio Martinez has been tied up with middleweight fights. Meanwhile, Angulo claimed the Interim WBO 154-title over Harry Joe Yorgey. Williams has held titles at welterweight and light middleweight, but his handlers have never been overrun with offers from top notch fighters.

In any event, the winner of Saturday’s fight should be in line for the big money fight they have desired. For Cintron, the upset would be by far the biggest win of his career and catapult himself into the upper echelon of the sport. For Williams, he must win impressively in order to have any bargaining power as he chases the money men of the welterweight division. Williams scaled 152 ½-pounds, while Cintron came in at the division limit of 154.

The off-television undercard is headed by an attractive and meaningful twelve-rounder. Resurgent contender Martin Honorio (28-4-1, 14 KOs) of Bell, California by way of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico will take on 2004 Dominican Olympian Argenis Mendez (15-1, 9 KOs) of Brooklyn, New York by way of San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic for the vacant USBA Super Featherweight title.

Honorio, the WBO #3 ranked lightweight and IBF #6 ranked 130-pounder, leaped back onto the national stage with an upset decision win over previously unbeaten prospect John Molina Jr. last November. Mendez, the WBA #10 ranked super featherweight, has revitalized his career since suffering his only defeat in October 2008, posting three consecutive victories. The winner would likely be in line for a world title or world title elimination bout. Honorio and Mendez both scaled 130-pounds.

In a six-round lightweight bout, Stan Martyniouk (8-0, 1 KO) of Sacramento, California will meet Brian Ramirez (5-2, 3 KOs) of Los Angeles, California. Martyniouk, who came in at 133-pounds, has not seen ring action since posting a four-round decision over Anthony Martinez in November. Ramirez, who weighed in at 133 as well, suffered his second defeat last time out after a point deduction cost him a draw.

Unbeaten light middleweight Jeremiah Wiggins (7-0-1, 3 KOs) of Newport News, Virginia will make his West Coast debut against Juan Carlos Diaz (0-2) of Ciudad Neza, Estada de Mexico, Mexico in a six-rounder. Wiggins, who scaled 152 ½, was a chiseled and imposing figure at the scales Friday. Diaz, who sports a far more slender build, weighed in at 153 ½-pounds. Diaz’ two defeats were by knockout to undefeated foes. Wiggins last fought on the Paul Williams-Sergio Martinez undercard in December, scoring a unanimous decision over Manuel Guzman in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Well regarded bantamweight prospect Michael Ruiz Jr. (1-0) of Fresno, California will take on game trial horse Jose Pacheco (2-12-6) of Cudahy, California in a four-round bout. Ruiz, who weighed in at 118-pounds, turned pro last month with a comprehensive decision victory after a distinguished amateur run. Pacheco, who weighed in at 122-pounds on his initial try, fought on the same card last month and dropped a four-round decision. Pacheco was given more time to lose an additional pound.

Former amateur standout Walter Sarnoi (5-0, 2 KOs) of Monterey Park, California will tangle with the naturally smaller Adrian Aleman (6-6-3, 4 KOs) of Cathedral City, California in a four-round super bantamweight fight. Sarnoi, who scaled 123-pounds Friday afternoon, was a member of the U.S. National Team as an amateur before turning professional in 2008. Aleman scaled 123-pounds at the weigh-in, but has fought as a flyweight earlier in his career. Should Aleman, who has never been stopped, be able to handle Sarnoi’s power, he could provide a test for the young pro.

Light welterweight prospect Mike Dallas Jr. (13-0-1, 4 KOs) of Bakersfield, California was a late re-addition to the card and will now open the evening in a four-rounder against well traveled journeyman Daniel Gonzalez (9-27-2, 3 KOs) of Billings, Montana. Given the short notice these fighters will be fighting nearly as junior middleweights today. Gonzalez, weighing in at 151-pounds, is coming in off of twelve straight defeats, but with only two of those coming by way of the knockout. Dallas, who had been penciled in for a step-up fight against Josesito Lopez, scaled 149 ½-pounds Friday.

A last minute scratch from the card was an interesting ten-round heavyweight rematch between Jason Gavern (19-7-3, 8 KOs) of Kissimmee, Florida and Manuel Quezada (29-5, 18 KOs) of Wasco, California. Gavern scored a minor upset over the world ranked Quezada last month, claiming the regional WBC CABOFE Heavyweight title with the decision victory. According to Gavern, who was present at the weigh-in, Quezada pulled out just an hour prior.

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

Quick Weigh-in Results:

Light middleweights, 12 Rounds
Williams 152 ½
Cintron 154

USBA Super Featherweight Championship, 12 Rounds
Honorio 130
Mendez 130

Lightweights, 6 Rounds
Martyniouk 133
Ramirez 133

Light middleweights, 6 Rounds
Wiggins 152 ½
Diaz 153 ½

Super bantamweights, 4 Rounds
Ruiz Jr. 118
Pacheco 122*

Super bantamweights, 4 Rounds
Sarnoi 123
Aleman 123

Light Middleweights, 4 Rounds
Dallas Jr. 149 ½
Gonzalez 151

*attempting to lose one pound at press time

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

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA — Former amateur star DonYil Livingston and former Contender series star Deon Elam each scored knockout wins to highlight a night of both boxing and mixed martial arts before an energetic crowd at the Circus Disco on Thursday night.

Taking on Lamar Horne in his professional debut, Livingston (1-0, 1 KO) of Palmdale, California started out the fight aggressively. Horne (2-6, 1 KO) of San Diego, California was competing for the first time in three years and seemed to be caught a little off guard by Livingston’s determined start. Livingston, 166 ¼, varied his attack to the head and body of Horne, 170, and landed in combinations.

Midway through the second round, Horne was stunned by a straight right, and began to hold on. Soon enough Livingston was able to break loose on the inside and landed four unanswered left hooks with Horne against the ropes, prompting referee Raul Caiz Jr. to call a halt to the bout. Official time of the stoppage was 2:57 of round two.

The most recognizable name on the card was that of cruiserweight Deon Elam (12-1, 6 KOs) of Van Nuys, California, a member of the season four cast of The Contender, who took on Vashon Daniels (6-5, 4 KOs) of San Antonio, Texas. Elam, 192, had a sizeable height and reach advantage over Daniels, 202, who had trouble finding his way to close quarters without getting caught with hard shots en route.

A stiff jab, right hand combination was successful early for Elam, but it would be a left to the body that would first drop Daniels to one knee. Daniels was able to reach his feet, however Elam soon found a home for a few more body shots to score a second knockdown. Referee Raul Caiz Jr. immediately waved off the fight without a count at 2:35 of the first round. For Elam, it was his second win in two weeks after ending a more than one year layoff following the taping of The Contender in Singapore.

In other action, Artur Bernetsyan (3-0, 2 KOs) of Glendale, California scored a second round stoppage over Nichoulas Brannies (1-5) of Bend, Oregon. Bernetsyan, 142, scored a knockdown in the first after hurting Brannies, 144, with a right hook and following up with a flurry. Bernetsyan focused on the body of Brannies early in the second round, eventually doubling him over with his attack. With Brannies in trouble, Bernetsyan again followed up with a flurry to score another knockdown and the fight was waved off at 1:09 of the second round.

In the fight of the night, debuting Richard Contreras (1-0, 1 KO) of Riverside, California scored a minor upset over former amateur standout Vachik Avagyan (2-1, 1 KO) of Glendale via third-round knockout. Avagyan, 117, got off to a solid start and outboxed the taller, lanky Contreras, 116, in the both first and second rounds. Avagyan, a former member of the Armenian National Team, displayed a hit-and-run style that suited him well as an amateur. Avagyan landed a hard left hand in the second that could have been scored a knockdown had he not fallen over on top of Contreras.

For two rounds Contreras could not pin the southpaw Avagyan down long enough to land more than one or two blows in succession. Finally in the third, Contreras countered Avagyan with a clean right hand to drop his opponent hard to the mat. Avagyan rose and quickly returned fire, rather than hold on or move away to completely clear the cobwebs. Both fighters went toe-to-toe for a stretch, before a vicious right uppercut dropped Avagyan again to end the fight. It was clear that Avagyan, who had gamely battled back toward the end of the round, was not going to get up and no count was needed. Time of the stoppage was 2:14 of the third round.

MMA

In the featured MMA attraction, Noad Lahat (4-0, 1 KO, 3 Submissions) of Glendale scored a quick submission victory over Richard Schiller (6-1, 5 Submissions) of Torrance, California. Lahat, 145, quickly gained control of the fight on the mat. Before Schiller, 144, could get acclimated to the ground game, Schiller cinched in with a rear naked choke. Schiller, displaying the will of an undefeated fighter, was able to get to one knee with Lahat locked in on his back. Unable to break free, Schiller had no choice but to tap out at 2:15 of round one.

In other mixed martial arts action, Andy Dermenjyan (4-1, 2 KOs, 2 Submissions) of Van Nuys scored a first-round stoppage over Jason Williams (1-6, 1 KO) of San Bernardino, California. Williams, 153, came out swinging, but was quickly taken to the mat by Dermenjyan, 150 ½, who immediately took control of the fight. Dermenjyan eventually worked his way to Williams’ back and locked in a choke hold for the tap out. Time of the stoppage was 2:50 of the first round.

In a competitive three-rounder, Jared Papazian (8-5-1, 3 KOs, 1 Submission) of Glendale took a hard-fought unanimous decision over Tyler Weathers (6-5, 4 Submissions) of Lakewood, California. The fight included some roughhousing, including an instance in the second round when Weathers, 144, ducked out of the ropes only to get hit by Papazian, 144, from a punch over the top rope. The fight was won in the third, as Papazian completely controlled the action. All three judges scored the bout 29-28 in favor of Papazian, who returns to the ring June 4th at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California.

Local favorite Cooper Gibson (1-1, 1 Submission) of Hollywood scored a quick submission victory over Ulises Figueroa (1-2, 1 Submission) of Lakewood. Gibson, 145, forced Figueroa, 145, to the ground a quickly applied a guillotine choke to get the victory. Time of the stoppage was 1:22 of the first.

Haik Tsaturyan (1-0) of Glendale made a successful pro debut with a unanimous three-round decision win over Chris Wolf (0-4) of San Bernardino. Tsaturyan, 135, controlled most of the first round, outside of one shot that sent him down to the mat. Tsaturyan quickly got up continued his success over Wolf, 135. Rounds two and three were turned completely into wrestling matches, where Tsaturyan had a decided advantage over Wolf. In the end, two judges scored the fight a shutout for Tsaturyan, 30-27, with one judge finding a round to give to Wolf with the score of 29-28.

Thursday’s card was the first offering of upstart promoters King Of The West Promotions.

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

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Steve “USS” Cunningham will take on Troy Ross for the vacant IBF Cruiserweight championship, June 5th in Neubrandenburg, Germany.

“This is a chance of a lifetime for Troy and we are confident he will win the title,” said Yvonne Michel, who is Ross’s promoter. “The fight being in Germany we believe it will be an even playing field for both.”

“He is very skilled, powerful and mature,” Michel said of Ross. “We know Steve Cunningham and we have a lot of respect for him. It is going to be a very spectacular and contested fight but Troy will prevail.

Just a week after he lost a gruelling Heavyweight fight Chris Arreola was in Las Vegas to watch the Welterweight Super fight between Floyd Mayweather & Shane Mosley. When asked about where he goes next Arreola told me that he will be having a rematch with Tomasz Adamek in New Jersey at the end of August.

It seems a logical fight, both guys were well matched and can make good money in a rematch. It’s also interesting that the fight will go to the East coast where Adamek is extremely popular. Arreola lost a majority decision by scores 117-111 & 115-113 against 114-114. Though he hurt Adamek on several occasions.

Professional boxing returned to the Rubber City of Akron, Ohio as Hall of Fame Boxing and Promotions hosted their inaugural event. The Chapparell Center, which has been home to many professional boxing and MMA events over the years, once again played host to a action packed 6 bout card.

Andy “Magnifico” Mejias remained undefeated 6-0 (2) with a 3rd TKO victory over Randy “The Rattler” Campbell.

John “Tex” Stallings defeated Jerome “Joe Thunder” Black with a 3rd round TKO. Stallings a accomplished MMA fighter captured his first victory as a professional boxer.

Kimdo “X-Factor” Boykins remained undefeated 3-0 (3) as referee George Nichols reached the count of 10 late in the 1st round as C.J. “Heavy Hands” Glover could not withstand the punishing assault by Boykins.

Fan favorite Jason “Big Daddy” Massie remained undefeated 4-0 (3) with a 2nd round TKO over “Lethal Lee Thomas.

Kenyon Graham evened his record 1-1 with a 4 round majority decision of debuting Dominic “The Punnisher” Qurazzo. Judges Jim Price and Mike Wick scored the contest 40-36 for Graham as Judge John Kikta saw the contest 38-38.

The main event saw ring veteran Joseph “The Most Beautiful Thing In Boxing” Rabotte tweak out a 6 round majority decision over fan favorite DeAndre “Showtime” McCole. Judges John Kikta and Mike Wick scored the contest 57-55 and Judge Jim Price saw it even at 56-56.

Hall of Fame Boxing and Promotions will be returning in early July 2010. For more information on Hall of Fame Boxing and Promotions visit their web site at www.hofboxingandpromotions.com

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, WBA Featherweight champion Chris John’s upcoming title defense against Fernando Saucedo after suffering a shoulder injury, John’s adviser, Sampson Lewkowicz, told ESPN.com.

John (43-0-2, 22 Kos) was scheduled to make the 13th defense of his 126-pound belt against Argentina’s Saucedo (38-4-3, 1 KO) on May 22 in Bali. It would have been John’s first fight in his home country since January 2008.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the rematch of 2009’s fight of the year between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz will take place July 31st in Las Vegas on Pay Per View.

Marquez-Diaz I took place in front of a wild crowd of more than 14,000 on Feb. 28, 2009, at the Toyota Center in Diaz’s hometown of Houston. It turned out to be an unforgettable fight and was named fight of the year by ESPN.com, the Boxing Writers Association of America and Ring magazine.

“These two guys are made for each other,” Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer said. “The first fight was fight of the year and I have no doubt the rematch will be another great fight.”

“I came back to lightweight because at welterweight I lost a lot of speed,” Marquez said.

“I know that 140 is not my weight class,” Diaz said. “It didn’t take anything away from me.”

“I am going to forget our first fight. It is like it never happened,” Marquez said. “I am going in as if this were our first meeting. A lot of people are asking me, ‘Why Juan Diaz again?’ There are two reasons. No. 1 is that he is a great fighter and deserves a rematch. No. 2, the people deserve a great fight like this.

“Our fight was the fight of the year in 2009 and it may be the fight of the year again in 2010. Finally I want to give the people a great fight, especially the Mexican people. You are all going to see two warriors who will give everything they have and leave everything in the ring.”

“I am very excited because I have two things going on in these next couple of months,” Diaz said. “I have the second biggest fight of my career. I have some career defining decisions. On June 7, I am going to take the LSAT and those logic puzzles are kicking my butt. I am excited because this is going to be a great summer for myself, for my family and for my team.

“People are saying this is going to be a must win fight for me. But I don’t see it that way. I see this as redemption. Redemption for what I was going to accomplish in 2009, but it wasn’t meant to be. Come July 31, I am going to pick up in the ninth round. I left off in the ninth round last time, and I am going to pick it up from there.”

LAS VEGAS – Who R U Picking?

Dumb question.

Turns out, Shane Mosley picked the wrong guy. He picked Floyd Mayweather Jr. as an opponent. But it’s hard to beat a legend, which is what Mayweather became Saturday night at the MGM Grand with a unanimous decision that backed up years of bragging about how he deserves a share of the fame that belongs to the greats who fought before him.

Mayweather, 41-0, 25 KOs) survived a dangerous second round and went on to dismantle Mosley (46-6, 39 KOs) in a fashion that was thorough as it was surprising. Mayweather didn’t knock out anybody but his critics. But his one-sided victory said it all, over and over again. Other than perhaps Manny Pacquiao, there is nobody better than Mayweather.

“If he wants to fight,’’ he knows where to find me,’’ Mayweather said of a showdown that didn’t happen in March because Pacquiao would not agree to Olympics-style drug testing.
Mayweather said again that he would fight Pacquiao only if he agrees to random drug testing. It looks as if a resumption of resumption of the controversial talks with Pacquiao will be Mayweather’s next fight. For now, there is only his latest addition to his claim that he has to be considered the best in today’s pound-for-pound world. It’s safe to say he will gte no argument from Mosley, who lost by 119-109, 119-109 and 118-100 on the scorecards.
“I did what the fans came here to see, a toe-to-toe’’ Mayweather said. “That’s not my style. But I wanted to do it.’’
In expectation of Mayweather’s promise, the building buzzed for about 30 minutes before Mosley and Mayweather left their dressing rooms and made that ritual walk, down the aisle, up the steps and through the ropes. Muhammad Ali was there. Sugar Ray Leonard was there. Mike Tyson was there. Thomas Hearns was there. Anticipation was everywhere.

Mosley was the first to enter. His robe was trimmed in a light blue that matched the turquoise shade of his eyes. On the back, there was the image of warrior mask sewn into the silk.

Then, there was Mayweather, choreographed like a concert and overdone like a circus. First, there were the OJs, singing an old-school version of rhythm-and-blues with the emphasis on Money, Mayweather’s nickname. Then, there were clowns and dancing girl on stilts tossing bills of what had to be – what else? Money. Finally, there was Mayweather, who didn’t look as if he was embarrassed by any of it.

Mayweather’s showmanship was predictable. His first round wasn’t.. At the opening bell, he began moving forward, instead of waiting for for Mosley to come to him. If it wasn’t out of character, it was dangerous.

In the second round, Mayweather found out just how dangerous. Mosley landed a head-rocking right. It hurt, hurt enough for Mayweather to hold on for several seconds. Then, there was a left-right combination from Mosley. The combo’s power buckled Mayweather’s knees.

For the first time in Mayweather’s pro career he staggered and stumbled, almost as if he were about to embark on his first fall to the canvas. He didn’t. He stayed upright even on uncertain feet that moved across a padded surface that must have felt as if it were shaking from a quake in some unseen fault line.

That triumph over momentary adversity set the stage for the victory that backs up so much Mayweather’s claim on being a legend. He overcame what many though he could not. He was still stading. Everything else, or at least the next 10 rounds, would belong to him.

From round to round after the dramatic second, Mayweather employed a right hand that grew progressively more accurate against Mosley, whose jab appeared to become as progressively erratic. Stinging rights, one after another, seemed to fuse Mosley. If he had foreseen a plan, he didn’t see anything but that right whistling at him from the fifth until the twelfth.

In the end, there were no surprises. Mosley looked like an old man and Mayweather, still unmarked, looked like the legend he said he has always been.

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer calls Saul Alvarez the Mexican James Dean. Schaefer is looking for stardom. He’s still looking.
Alvarez, a much-hyped welterweight from Guadalajara, won, scoring a ninth-round TKO of Puerto Rican Jose Miguel Cotto in the last fight before Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley stepped into the ring at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. But Alvarez’ performance in his Las Vegas debut was uneven, at best.

Alvarez (32-0-1, 24 KOs) went from almost getting knocked out in the first round, to nearly scoring a second-round KO, yet not finishing job until the final second of the ninth.

If not for the ropes, Alvarez would have been knocked down by a powerful left in the first from Cotto (31-2-1, 23 KOs), Miguel’s brother. Alvarez stayed on his feet and regained his wits in time to deliver a three-punch combo in the second that had Cotto stumbling across the canvas. It was scored as a knockdown. But Alvarez could not turn it into a knockout, at least not until late in the ninth when Tony Weeks stopped the fight after a succession of right hands from Alvarez.

Mexican featherweight Daniel Ponce De Leon retained the World Boxing Council’s Latino title by surviving a late rush from Cornelius Lock of Detroit for a unanimous decision in a close bout on the Floyd Mayweather Jr.- Shane Mosley undercard.

De Leon (39-2, 32 KOS) built up a lead on the scorecards with consistent aggressiveness and straight shots up the middle. Lock (19-5-1, 12 KOs) appeared to tire in the middle rounds, although he rocked De Leon with a couple of right hands in the ninth and 10th. By then, however, it was too little, too late. Scores were 97-93, 96-94 and 96-94.

Within a couple of minutes, Las Vegas welterweight Said Ouali was down once and threw five punches. If you think that adds up to defeat, you’d be surprised. You’d also be wrong. Ouali (27-3, 19 KOS) won, getting up from the knockdown and making the most out of those five punches for a first-round stoppage of Argentina’s Hector Salvida (31-2, 24 KOS).

“He surprised me when he hit me with that first punch,’’ said Ouali, who would go on to deliver a much bigger surprise after he was floored by a sudden right hand.

Ouali quickly scored two knockdowns, first with a left hand and then with a combination. Salvida got up from the second knockdown, but then staggered into his corner where he began collapse. That’s when referee Russell Mora stepped in, stopping it at 1:47 of the first.

In the final off-tv bout, it was a battle of pro debuter’s from Las Vegas that saw Daniel Reece, 136 lbs score a unanimous decision over Angel Soto, 137 lbs. Scores were 39-37 on all cards—Marc Abrams

There’s no secret to staying unbeaten. Sometimes, there’s just a combination. Las Vegas welterweight Jessie Vargas (10-0, 5 KOs) put the right combo together in an untelevised bout before the Floyd Mayweather Jr.- Shane Mosley showdown.

Vargas threw a left hook and followed with a straight right, backing Arturo Morua (25-14-1, 14 KOs) Mexican into the ropes and leaving him dazed long enough for referee Tony Weeks to declare Vargas a winner by TKO at 1:20 of the sixth round.

North American Boxing Organization junior-lightweight champion Eloy Perez (7-0-2, 4 KOs) of Salinas, Calif., retained his title with stubborn pursuit and punishing left hands for a majority decision over lanky Gilberto Leon (25-14-1, 14 KOs) of Mexico.

In the card’s second bout, super-middleweight Dion Savage (8-0, 5 KOs) of Flint, Mich., scored a unanimous decision over Tommie Speller (5-4, 3 KOs), a Philadelphia fighter who left the ring with his white trucks and dark beard covered in blood. A Savage right hand early in the second round opened up a nasty cut above a left eye that troubled Spiller until the decision was announced after the eighth.

The card began with angry complaints echoing through the an empty building. Junior-welterweight Allen Litzau (13-5, 7 KOs) of St. Paul, Minn., wasn’t happy at second-round TKO loss to Luis Ramos Jr. (15-0, 8 KOs) of Santa Calif. Ramos knocked down Litzau early in the second with a left hand. Seconds later, Litzau, with trainer Roger Mayweather in his corner, got rocked again.

Referee Russell Mora had seen enough. He stopped it at 59 second of the rounds. Litzau howled in protest. He even hit the canvas again, this time rolling around like a kid angry at his parents. Lucky for him, nobody, other than Mora and a few ushers, saw the temper tantrum

In one of the Biggest Bantamweight fights of all time Hozumi Hasegawa 28-3(12) squared off against Fernando Montiel 41-2-2(31). The fight too place in Nihon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan in front of Hasegawa’s adoring fans. For the first three rounds saw Hasegawa box smartly and picking off Montiel with smooth combination however late in the fourth Montiel threw a picture perfect right hand as Hasegawa was coming in doubling the impact. Hasegawa’s knee’s dipped and he went reeling backwards, Montiel could smell blood he chased Hasegawa to the ropes where he unloaded several more shots. With Hasegawa seemingly out on his feet referee Laurence Cole called the fight off at 2.59 of the fourth round. With the win Montiel 31, added the WBC title to the WBO crown he already held.

On the undercard Toshiaki Nishioka 36-4-3(23) retained his WBC Super Bantamweight title when he stopped previously unbeaten Filipino Balweg Bangoyan 15-1(6) in the fifth round.

Come backing Takahiro Aoh 19-2-1(9) won his second fight up at Super Featherweight since he moved up from Featherweight after losing the WBC title to Elio Rojas last summer. Aoh beat two time former World title challenger Whyber Garcia 22-8(15) when he stopped him in 8.

Top amateurs from the Northern California, both male and female, will compete at the 2010 USA Boxing Senior National Championships Northern California Regional today and tomorrow, beginning their quests for national titles. The event takes place at the USF Koret Recreation Center in San Francisco, California.

Although the USA Boxing Senior National Championships is the most crucial amateur tournament each year, the Regionals often do not receive the fanfare that one would expect. Tournament Director Ben Bautista hopes that trend can change beginning this weekend. “This tournament does not get as much publicity as the Golden Gloves, but it is more important as far as getting a national ranking or qualifying to compete in the Olympics,” says Bautista. “The Golden Gloves are not a qualifier for the Olympics. So this is the biggest amateur tournament. These fighters are fighting for national rankings and a position at the Olympic Box-offs. Families, friends and fans come out and support. It would mean a lot for these fighters.”

Adding greater significance to the tournament this year is the fact that there will be a women’s division at the Olympics for the first time in 2012. Female fighters competing can now look toward the possibility of making the U.S. Olympic Team. Among the hopefuls from Northern California is Janelle Gonzales, who competes at 125-pounds and fights out of the Golden State Bloodhounds Boxing Club in Sacramento under trainer Ray Woods. Janelle is the wife of undefeated middleweight prospect Brandon Gonzales.

Among the male prospects is longtime amateur standout Cymone Kearney, who fights out of King’s Gym in Oakland and trains under Virgil Hunter. Kearney advanced to the semi-finals of the 2007 U.S. Olympic Team Trials before losing to eventual winner Christopher Downs. Another touted prospect is Manuel “Tino” Avila who fights at 123-pounds and trains out of the Vacaville PAL. Avila impressed observers during the California Golden Gloves tournament earlier this year, before losing to Victor Pasillas of East Los Angeles in the finals. Avila was the USA Boxing #6 ranked amateur bantamweight following the 2009 USA Boxing National Championships.

From up north is Joaquin Lopez, who fights out the Pride Boxing Club in Ukiah and competes at 165-pounds. Lopez advanced to the finals of the Northern California Golden Gloves Regional before losing to Ricardo Pinelle of San Francisco. Two other prospects train out of Bautista’s Straight Forward Boxing Club in San Francisco. Greg Good fights at 152-pounds and advanced to the finals of the Northern California Golden Gloves Regional this past February. John Chicas fights at 141-pounds and won the Northern California Golden Gloves Regional.

The Regionals will continue June 5th in Sacramento, with the 2010 USA Boxing Senior National Championships taking place in July at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Last year two Northern California representatives, Fresno’s Michael Ruiz Jr. and San Francisco’s Richard Hargraves, medaled at Nationals. “Both of them medaled last year, earned national rankings and had the opportunity to fight for Team USA,” said Bautista. “They got international experience, got to fight at Colorado Springs, which are all good experiences for them.” Both Ruiz, who took the bronze at 112-pounds and Hargraves, who earned the bronze at 152, have moved on to the paid ranks.

The USA Boxing Senior National Championships not only lead to potential international experience and world rankings, but a good showing could also attract the attention of professional promoters. Look no further than last year’s 141-pound finalists Frankie Gomez and Jose Benavidez Jr., both of whom recently signed deals with Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank respectively.

Today’s event, which takes place at the Hagan Gym at the USF Koret Recreation Center, begins at 2 PM, with weigh-ins beginning at 10 AM. For more information, contact Ben Bautista at 415-573-5791.

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

Former two division world champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero stepped up to the lightweight division that culminated a turbulent three months of his life by scoring a decisive eighth round stoppage over Roberto Arrietta in a scheduled ten round bout at the Tropicana in Las Vegas.

Guerrer dominated the bout as he dropped Arrietta three times including the first knockdown from a right hook in round two. Guerrero was effective was his straight left hand and that was the punch of choice that dropped Arrietta in the third round. Arrietta was game but outclassed and his night came to an end in round eight as he was dropped in the opening seconds from a hard straight left. Guerrero wasted no time and jumped over his wounded foe that forced referee Jay Nady to stop the fight just twenty-nine seconds into the contest.

Guerrero, 135 lbs of Gilroy, CA has been through turmoil in recent months as his wife Casey has had a relapse of Leukemia that she has been battling courageouslyover the last couple of years.

Guerrero is now 26-1 with eighteen knockouts and could possibly be eying a third world title as he could be in line to face the winner of the much anticipated rematch of the 2009 fight of the year between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz that will take place on July 31st just yards away at The Mandalay Bay.

Arrietta, 134 lbs of Santa Rosa, Argentina is now 35-16-4.

“I feel great and wanted to get some rounds in. I made a statement at 135 and I want the winner of Marquez-Diaz”, said Guerrero.

“This fight means alot to me. Casey’s fight is for her life. I just had fun in there.”

Toddy Junior and Rene Torres fought to a four round majority draw in a Jr. Lightweight bout.

Scores were 39-37 for Torres and 38-38 on two cards.

Junior, 129 lbs of Las Vegas was cut over the left eye in round two is now 2-0-1. Torres, 129 lbs of Los Angeles is now 0-1-1.

In a four round Lightweight bout, Abner Cotto scored a unanimous decision over Juan Sandavol.

Scores were 40-36 on all cards for Cotto, 133 lbs of Caguas, PR who is now 7-0. Sandavol, 131 lbs of San Bernandino, CA is now 1-3.

Cotto is the cousin of former two-division world champion Miguel Cotto and Jose Miguel Cotto, who fights tomorrow night against unbeaten Saul Alvarez on the Mayweather – Mosley PPV undercard

Heralded prospect Frankie Gomez scored a second round stoppage over Ricardo Malfavon in a scheduled four round bout.

Gomez dropped Malfavon with a hard right early in round two and followed up with a barrage of punches that had referee Russell Mora stop the bout at 1:06 of round two.

Juan Velasquez scored a four round unanimous decision over Robert Gullien in a Featherweight bout.

Velasquez, 126 lbs of Guaynabo, PR won by scores of 40-36 on all cards and is now 10-1.

Gullien, 124 lbs of Glendale, AZ is now 5-7-3.

Former U.S. Olympic bronze medlaist Deontay Wilder notched his tenth consecutive stoppage in bizarre fashion as he and Alvaro Morales got tangled up in round three of their scheduled eight round Heavyweight bout.

When the two fighters tangled, Morales fell to the ground and was down for several minutes. When he got to his feet he was willing to continue but his corner threw in the towel at 1:23 of round three.

Up until that point, Wilder looked very raw and unimpressive but the 219 lb Wilder of Tuscaloosa, AL is now 10-0. Morales, 291 lbs of Las Vegas is now 4-8-5.
Gomez, 140 lbs of Los Angeles is 2-0 with bot wins coming by knockout. Malfavon, 143 lbs of Santa Ana, CA is 0-2.

Floyd Mayweather 146 – Shane Mosley 147
Saul Alvarez 150 – Jose Miguel Cotto 149

San Antonio’s Casey Ramos puts on a great performance Thursday night at the Texas Motor Speedway Club in beautiful Ft. Worth, TX. Promoted by Ring Magazines 1999 Fighter of the year, Paulie Ayala. Ramos headlined the five bout card against Angel Rodriguez of Houston, TX.

Ramos started the fight with a thundering right hand lead in the first minutes of round one that sent his opponent helplessly to the canvas and would set the tone for the rest of the fight. Casey was able to show good head movement and body work through out this eight round fight and didn’t seem to lose a round as he controlled the pace of the fight with his hard hooks and right hand leads. Rodriguez could night match the skill and power of Ramos but showed plenty of Mexican Machismo as there was no quit in him despite the onslaught of solid punching done by the San Antonio fighter. Ramos ended the night with a unanimous decision and improved his unblemished record to 11-0.

Former WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight Champion Kirk Johnson was the co-main event attraction as he made his comeback after more than a four year layoff against Douglas Robertson of Longview, TX. Johnson made this a very short night as he TKO’d his out-classed opponent in 1:45 of round number one. It will be very interesting to see if Johnson can make such a mark as he once did in the heavyweight division as he starts his 2010 return.

LAS VEGAS – Interpreting body language is an inexact science at best, but Shane Mosley’s camp thinks it might have detected doubt – perhaps fear — in Floyd Mayweather Jr. at a formal news conference Wednesday before their welterweight confrontation Saturday night at the MGM Grand.

“I didn’t see it, but somebody told me that Floyd turned and flinched,’’ Mosley said of a moment when the two posed for photos in the ritual face-to-face, eyeball-to-eyeball showdown. “I was told he looked a little nervous. Like I said, I didn’t see it. But it’s interesting.’’

In a roundtable with writers Thursday, Mosley and his trainer, Naazim Richardson sounded as if Mayweather’s surprisingly polite appearance was a sign that the pre-fight rounds were at least a draw.

Suddenly, there was none of the usual profane trash-talk from Mayweather, who also can play as many roles as an accomplished actor. At the final news conference, he was so polite he could have been Mosley.

“He was acting like Shane,’’ Richardson said. “He lost those early battles.’’

An accurate nickname
Here’s a very big reason Mayweather calls himself Money:

According to contracts filed with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Mayweather’s guarantee for Saturday night is $22.5 million. It is the biggest guarantee for a non-heavyweight. Mike Tyson and Buster Douglas had bigger guarantees. Douglas’ contracted guarantee for a 1990 loss to Evander Holyfield was $24 million.

The record for earnings for a single fight is $54 million, which is what Oscar De La Hoya collected after a percentage of pay-per-receipts were added to his check for his loss in 2007 to Mayweather.

Mosley is guaranteed $7 million. Do this Mayweather is making more than three times as much, according to Nevada Commission record. No wonder Richardson said a couple of weeks ago that Mosley was a lousy negotiator.

Putting on a show
Richardson calls Mayweather a genius in the ring. But he also said that Mayweather’s reputation for trash-talk is rooted in his desire to be a showman, which might mask his real character. He behaves in a way he might not if a camera wasn’t pointed at him, Richardson said.

“Point a camera at some guys and they’’ pull their pants down and slap their cheeks against the lense,’’ Richardson said. “If somebody applauds, they’ll do it again.’’

Mayweather has been the star of the Home Box Office’s popular 24/7 series in pre-fight programming.

“24/7 is his show,’’ Richardson said. “Now, he has to win the fight. But on the night of the fight, he has already entertained us.’’

Professional Boxing made its return to Northeast Ohio Saturday night as Warner Promotions presented “The Jimmy Bivins Classic”. Warner Promotions, in only their second show, placed Ohio back in the boxing radar with a show that left the fans cheering for more.

In the main event, Cleveland’s Yuandale Evans improved to 7-0 (4ko) with a first round knockout over Ray Hernandez 6-8 (6ko). This was the young professionals first fight in his hometown since turning professional.

The co-main event saw the long awaited, highly anticipated professional debut of Wilkins Santiago 1-0 as he tattooed his opponent Torrence King 2-6 for four rounds winning a once sided unanimous decision. Santiago, a fan favorite, had the crowd on their feet for the entire fight and graciously thanked all those in attendance for their support through some trying times.

Julius Leegrand improved to 3-0 with a first round knockout of Francisco Portillo
Reggie Scott remained undefeated 2-0 with a majority decision over MMA fighter, turned boxer Chris Lozano.
Stephen Scott improved to 2-0 with a unanimous decision over Rogelio Sanchez.
James Hope 6-4 defeated Gabriel Morris in the opening fight.

The Jimmy Bivins Class was a complete success. Antonio Castro of Warner Promotions informed us that their next show will be in June in Youngstown, Ohio.

15rounds.com was notified that Team Bryan filed a formal protest on Jeremy’s behalf surrounding the outcome of his April 17 fight with Vincent Arroyo. The Paterson based Bryan was clearly ahead going into the final round when Arroyo put him down with a solid punch. Arroyo landed a few more flush head shots that knocked Bryan out cold, giving the Amherst resident a stunning upset. That is where the controversy began.

Many ringsiders claim that the knockout blow came when Bryan was down on the canvas, while others state that the finishing shot was landed AS he was going down, therefore it was the fighter’s duty to defend himself. Referee Samuel Viruet and the New Jersey State Athletic Commission saw nothing unusual about the ending, thus treated it no differently than any other bout that ended in a knockout.

Managers Sal Alessi and Pat Lynch each notified us immediately after the bout in Atlantic City that they were going to file a protest and have now officially done so.

“He got buzzed with a hook and took a knee”, Alessi said shortly after filing the protest. “When he was down (Arroyo) hit him twice. I still have to look at the tape so I can verify what happened but (Jeremy getting hit when he was down) is what I saw as did most ringsiders.”

Even though Alessi is yet to review the official outcome, he is confident that the right ruling will be made once the New Jersey commission discusses the fight in their next meeting.

“I am sure that the tape will tell the story and they will rule accordingly.”

Bryan, who is 13-1 with 6 KO’s following his lone defeat, displayed a true fighting spirit by expressing more interest in a rematch than the official result.

“I am telling you, I want this rematch real bad!” “Right now (I am accepting it as) a loss, but he hit me twice when I was on my knee, (so) it’s up to the commission to (overrule) that.”

Alessi wasn’t willing to commit to his fighter’s next move, but did say that a return bout with Arroyo wasn’t completely out of the picture.

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