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

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former two-time Heavyweight champion, John Ruiz announced his retirement.

“I’ve had a great career but it’s time for me to turn the page and start a new chapter of my life,” Ruiz said in a statement. “It’s sad that my final fight didn’t work out the way I wanted, but, hey, that’s boxing. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished with two world titles, 12 championship fights, and being the first Latino heavyweight champion of the world. I fought anybody who got in the ring with me and never ducked anyone. Now, I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family.”

“With my experiences in boxing I want to go home and open a gym where kids will have a place to go, keeping them off of the streets, so they can learn how to box and build character,” Ruiz said. “Someday, I’d like to see one of them go on to represent the United States in the Olympics. I want them to have the same opportunity to see the world that I had as an amateur. I’ve always tried to be involved in community and charity work in the past and now I’ll have more time to work with kids.

“Maybe, someday I’ll get into training, but right now I just want to spend time with my wife, Maribelle, and my children. I wasn’t around as much as I would have liked for my two oldest children, John and Jocelyn, because I was away training or fighting. Now, I’ll be around for them and my 3-year-old son, Joaquin, as he grows up,” he said.

“I’m going back to my roots in Massachusetts, where a lot of my family and friends live, and look forward to helping young boxers avoid some of the bad things that I experienced in the sport but help them to experience the good times, too. Boxing is brutal but also beautiful. As I look back, I’m happy about my career, and my future is very bright.”

“I want to thank all of my fans for staying in my corner through a long, up-and-down ride, as well as members of my family and team — my manager and legal advisor, attorney Tony Cardinale, my brother [and cornerman], Eddie, and [strength coach] Keith McGrath, who’ve been with me so long,” Ruiz said. “I also want to thank my trainer Miguel Diaz and [assistant] Richie Sandoval for teaching an old dog new tricks, and my promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, the fairest promoter in boxing.”

On Saturday night from the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California in front of 6,256 patrons the pride of Poland Tomasz “Goral” Adamek 41-1(27) proved he belongs amongst the Heavyweight elite when he posted a majority decision over hometown favourite Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola 28-2(25) in his second defence of the IBF International Heavyweight title.

Both guys came out in the first round and took a look at the other for a minute or so, by the end of the round both guys had exchanged several blows as they looked to make a statement of intent. The second saw Arreola bring lots of pressure and by the end of the round it was noticeable that Adamek’s left cheek was growing redder and a little swollen. Adamek has evolved from his days in the Light Heavyweight division and more recently Cruiserweight where he was more of a seek and destroy fighter, at Heavyweight he knows he has to fight smarter and that’s what he started to do in the third when he gave Arreola movement and picked away at the local native, landing one eye catching left hand. The fourth was similar with Arreola starting to bleed from his nose. One thing Arreola can never be criticised of is showing heart and in the fifth he let it all hang out when his pressure finally told as he rocked Adamek twice, Adamek showed he too isn’t lacking in heart too when he managed to see his way through both barrages of punches. In the sixth frame Adamek again stayed away from Arreola’s vaunted power only to be rocked late on. After some frenetic action both guys took things a little easier in the seventh which only set them up for a big finish. Adamek won the eighth & ninth with his skills. The topsy turvy nature of the fight swung back Arreola’s way when he managed to walk Adamek into a monster right hand, the tough New Jersey based Pole wouldn’t be denied and some how stayed on his feet and away from Arreola’s desperate late charge in the twelfth.

When the scores were in Tony Crebs scored it 114-114 but was outvoted by Barry Druxman & Joseph Pasquale 115-113 & 117-111 respectively for Adamek. The 117-111 looked a little of base. 15rounds.com scored it 115-113 Adamek from Ringside.

Afterwards thankfully there was no trouble as both sets of fans disbursed the auditorium.

At the Post fight press conference it was revealed Arreola had hurt his hand in the fifth and it got worse in the ninth or tenth. Though he graciously acknowledged that he had no problem with the decision.

Dan Goossen said he’d like a rematch but Kathy Duva said if so this time it would have to take place in New Jersey. Kathy Duva continued adding that HBO want Adamek back on the airwaves in the fall.

Fellow Heavyweight contender Tony Thompson who attended the fight and then visited the press conference asked if he could fight Adamek next to which he was told only in New Jersey.

In chief support Alfredo “Perro” Angulo upped his record to 18-1(15) when he stopped the very game Joel “The Love Child” Julio 35-4(31) at 1.39 of the eleventh round to retain his Interim WBO Light Middleweight title. Angulo did what he does best he kept coming while Julio backed up and potshoted from the outside landing his share of punches swelling Angulo’s face. By the middle rounds Angulo had started to take the steam out of Julio and charged after him. Finally when the fight looked heading for the cards Angulo landed a monster right hand that dropped Julio. To his credit the game Colombian got to his feet but Benjie Esteves had seen enough and waved of the fight, which in some people’s eye was a little early. A disgruntled Julio was pacing the ring less then 30 seconds and clearly thought it was premature.

At the time of the stoppage Angulo was up 96-94 on Adelaide Byrd’s card & 97-93 on both Pat Russell & Steve Morrow’s cards. All three judges had given Angulo the last three rounds prior to the stoppage.

Punch stats showed Angulo had thrown 880 and landed 167 a 19% accuracy while Julio had thrown 762 landing 175 a 23% hit rate.

Afterwards Gary Shaw said he’d like to match his man Angulo with Miguel Cotto if he beats Yuri Foreman or Antonio Margarito if Margarito beats Roberto Garcia.

In an 8 round Super Bantamweight fight Rico “Suavecito upped his ledger to 16-0(9) when he out pointed Reynaldo Lopez 29-9-2(21) from Colombia 80-70, 79-71 & 78-72. Lopez was down at the end of both the second and seventh rounds.

Californian Chris Avalos 16-0(13) continued his impressive form bludgeoning Colombian John Alberto Molina 27-13-3(18) into defeat when Molina retired in his corner after two rounds. With the win Avalos picks up the vacant WBO NABO bantamweight title.

John Molina Jr 19-1(15) impressively stopped Cuban Jose Antonio Izquierdo 17-6-1(14) at 2.55 of the second round in a scheduled eight round fight at Lightweight.

In Light Middleweight action Raul Rodriguez 2-4-1 and Marquise Bruce who was making his debut fought to a majority draw over four stanzas.

Natu Visinia moved to 4-0(3) when he won a four round technical decision over debutant Geovani Sarran at Heavyweight.

Also at Heavyweight Nate James 3-0(1) won a split decision over Alvaro Morales 4-7-5(0).

In attendance were new Middleweight king Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez, the legendary Sugar Ray Leonard & Lennox Lewis who worked the broadcast for HBO.

Jorge Arce tuned up for a world title shot this June with a seventh round stoppage over Cecilio Santos in a scheduled ten round Bantamweight fight in Ciudad, Sinaloa, Mexico.

It was an action filled fight with the bigger Arce getting through and trying to impose his will but Santos, who has three times fought for a world title washitting Arce and even caused a cut over Arce’s right eye.

The two came out firing in round seven until Arce caught Santos with a thudding left to the body that sent Santos on his knees for the ten count at fifty-eight seconds of round seven.

Arce, 119 lbs of Los Mochis, Mexico will now face Eric Morel for a Bantamweight crown on June 26th on the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. – John Duddy card in San Antonio with a record of 54-6-1 with forty-one knockots. Santos, 119 lbs of Mexico City is now 24-14-3.

Joksan Hernandez got through two first round knockdowns to score a stoppage victory over Miguel Beltran in the tenth and final round round of their Super Featherweight bout.

Beltran dropped Hernandez in round one with a left hook and then a left to the body dropped Hernandez for a second time as Beltran seemed to be in control of the contest. Hernandez seemed to be coming on late in the bout as in round seven he got through with two hard uppercuts that knocked out the mouthpiece of Beltran. In the final frame, Hernandez just continued to move his hands and a tired Beltran crumbled to the canvas and took the ten count at 2:08 of the final round.

Hernandez, 131 lbs is now 18-2 with eleven knockouts. Beltran loses for the first time and is now 22-1.

Alonso Lopez remained undefeated with a close unanimous decision over debuting Misael Juarez.

Lopez, the son of former minimumweight king and Hall of Famer Ricardo Lopez, is now 4-0.

Mikkel Kessler won the WBC Super Middleweight championship and muddled up the Super Six World Boxing Classic standings as he took a twelve round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Carl Froch at the MCH Arena in Herning, Denmark.

The fight was a boxing match early as Kessler tired to establish his jab by coming forward in an effort to make an imprint on the awkward style of Froch. Froch’s punch of choice was the right hand and he landed several of them early including a thudding right in round four. Froch had a solid round five as he was dominant with the right hand as he landed at least three good ones in that frame. The punches were starting to show their effect as blood appeared on the face of Kessler in the sixth round.

The fight turned in round eight as Kessler landed his own right hands and staggered Froch with a big shot. That punch caused bleeding on the bridge of Froch’s nose. Kessler landed some nice counter shots over the next few rounds with Froch landing hard looping rights but one at a time. Kessler opened up round eleven with a nice three punch combination. Froch answered that with a nig right of his own. The fight picked up in that round as Kessler would gain some advantage by landing a big right/left hand combination. Round twelve was frenetic as both fighters went for it as they put everything on the line as they stood at war toe to toe. They both landed huge shots and rocked each other in desperation, Froch to keep his title and Kessler fighting to still be a factor in the Super Six Classic. These two great champions fought hard and with the class right until the final bell with back and forth action.

“There was a lot of desperation coming off the Ward fight,” said Kessler, who resides in Copenhagen, Denmark. “But this was my night. I had a lot of people from my country say that I was finished. It is nice to get my belt back and show them.”

“I (studied) his fights and he isn’t good fighting backwards,” Kessler continued. “I hurt him with the straight right hand (eighth) and I saw it turn. Then he fought my fight instead of his.”

“In my last two fights I’m starting to look like a fighter,” joked Kessler after the fight. “No more modeling! I have to be careful of the cuts. I have to move my head more.”

“I thought I did enough to win,” said Froch, a proud Englishman who showed little sign of disappointment. “I had him hurt two or three times. Actually, I know I had him badly hurt three times. It’s my fault though. If I had put it to him more and if I had sustained the pressure I could have gotten him out of there. No one has been able to do that. I wasn’t able to do that.

“It was very close but if we were in my hometown in Nottingham, it would have gone my way with the same scores. There will be people who say it was robbery but I won’t take anything from Mikkel Kessler. I thought I did enough but that’s boxing.”

Kessler, 167 lbs of Copenhagen, Denmark became a three-time champion as he won by scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113 to raise his impressive mark to 43-2.

Froch, 167 1/4 lbs of Nottingham, England loses for the first time and is 26-1

SUPER SIX WORLD BOXING CLASSIC SCOREBOARD

Record Fighter Points

1-1 Arthur Abraham 3

1-1 Mikkel Kessler 2

1-1 Carl Froch 2

1-1 Andre Dirrell 2

1-0 Andre Ward 2

0-0 Allan Green 0

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com the proposed Welterweight showdown between former WBA champ Luis Collazo and Selcuk Aydin will not happen due to Collazo not feeling he can make the weight plus he is unhappy with the financial terms of the fight.

“We are not fighting at 147 [pounds] anymore,” daid Collazo’s trainer Nirmal Lorick. “We told Don (King) a couple of weeks ago he was having trouble with the weight and that we’re not fighting at 147 anymore. The inactivity has been a real problem for Luis. He feels his body has been through enough and he’d rather move up in weight to fight someone else. We’re looking for a fight with [junior middleweight titlist and new middleweight champ] Sergio Martinez.”

“We waited around for months thinking we’d have the rematch with Berto while the purse bid kept getting rescheduled,” Lorick said. “Then Berto got an exception to fight Mosley [in a January fight that was ultimately canceled] and we were supposed to fight Aydin for the interim [title].

“Then the fight was delayed over and over,” Lorick continued. “It’s ridiculous. Now, they say Luis should go over there, lose the weight and fight for no money? By the time Don gets paid, they take out the taxes, Luis ends up with nothing. Training camp alone costs us $15,000 to $20,000. But the weight is really the issue. We are not going to put Luis’ health in danger by making that weight anymore.”

Looks like Cris Arreola and his trainer didn’t keep true on their promise that the hard hitting Californian would weigh in under 240, but he manage to scale in 12.5 lbs less than his last bout. The naturally smaller Adamek, who is likely to go after a title in a third division if he is victorious Saturday, was 3 lbs down from his fight with Jason Estrada.

15ROUNDS’ EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ADAMEK WILL BE POSTED SHORTLY SO MAKE SURE TO STAY TUNED!!!

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

According to various published reports, currant WBC Lightweight champion hung himself in a jail cell just one day after confessing to stabbing his wife to death in Venezuela.

According to the Associated Press, the former lightweight champion used the sweat pants he was wearing to hang himself from a bar in the cell, said his lawyer, Milda Mora.

Valero’s 24-year-old wife, Jennifer Carolina Viera, was found dead in a hotel room halfway across the country Sunday, and police said the fighter emerged from their room telling hotel security he had killed her.

Valero was found hanging in his cell early Monday by another inmate, who alerted authorities in the police lockup in north-central Carabobo state, Federal Police Chief Wilmer Flores told reporters. He said Valero still showed signs of life when they took him down, but they were unable to save him and he died about 1:30 a.m. ET.

Last month, he was charged with harassing his wife and threatening medical personnel who treated her at a hospital in the western city of Merida. Police arrested Valero following an argument with a doctor and nurse at the hospital, where his wife was being treated for injuries including a punctured lung and broken ribs.

The Attorney General’s Office said in a statement that Valero was detained March 25 on suspicion of assaulting his wife, but his wife told a police officer her injuries were due to a fall. When the boxer arrived moments later, he forbade Viera from speaking to the police officer and spoke threateningly to the officer, prosecutors said in a statement.

A prosecutor had asked a court to keep Valero in jail, the Attorney General’s Office said. But a judge instead allowed him to remain free under certain conditions, including that he appear in court every 90 days, said Mora, his lawyer.

Mora told The Associated Press that after the incident, Valero was held for nine days in a psychiatric hospital in Merida, where he underwent police-supervised rehabilitation. She said people close to the fighter posted bail on April 7 and he was allowed to go free.

Promoter Bob Arum, the founder of Top Rank who had been promoting Valero, said the fighter had never displayed such behavior and was “very polite, well spoken, sort of funny.”

“It’s obvious now, in retrospect, that he should have been institutionalized during this period, but it’s silly to play the blame game,” Arum said. “Now, in retrospect, he clearly should have been getting help.”

Boxing can be a difficult field to make your name in, and even more difficult to crack the mainstream code, but at 20 years old Michael Perez will have an opportunity to lay the groundwork when he takes to the ring on May 14 at Paradise Theater in the Bronx.

“Well I’m the first televised bout of the night on Telefutra, so I’ve been stepping up training. A lot of hills, a lot of different things in this camp” Perez said in regards to his training.

The 20 year old captured a Golden Gloves title in 2008 and has since put together an unblemished record of 7-0 with 3 ko’s. Signing a deal with Golden Boy Promotions, the young fighter is optimistic on the road ahead, and making his television debut, will be a major building block. Currently campaigning at lightweight, Perez notes that the division has its share of exciting prospects that could make the coming years interesting for fighters and fans alike.

“I see a lot of young guys coming up that could make for good fights soon. Hylon Williams, he’s a Golden Boy Prospect as well, I’d like to fight Saddam Ali, there are a lot of different guys at lightweight.”

No opponent has been named thus far for May 14, but Perez remains excited at the prospect of making his t.v. debut. While still getting his feet wet in the pro’s, Perez is already no stranger to the big stage. Signing with Golden Boy promotions has brought Perez the opportunity to fight on the undercards of major events including Mayweather vs. Marquez, Malignaggi vs. Diaz, and Kirkland vs. Julio.

Making his debut in late 2008, Perez has been dubbed with the nickname “Michaelangelo The Artist”and as a Newark, New Jersey resident will have an opportunity to build on his East Coast following when he does battle in the Bronx.

“I’d just tell anyone who doesn’t know me yet to follow me. I’m coming up, I have a crazy work ethic, and I’m going to have some good fights coming up”

Multiple published reports have been reporting that WBC Lightweight champion Edwin Valero was arrested today for the murder of his wife in Venezuela.

The Associated Press reported that Venezuelan Federal Police Chief Wilmer Flores said Valero was arrested after police found the body of his 20-year-old wife in a hotel in Valencia. Valero left the hotel room around dawn on Sunday and allegedly told security that he had killed Jennifer Viera, Flores said.

Flores told state television that police found three stab wounds on Viera’s body. He said Valero was transferred to a local police precinct, “where we are headed to take samples needed for the investigation of the case” and to question the boxer.

Prosecutors will charge Valero in the killing “in the coming hours,” the Attorney General’s Office said in a statement.

Valero’s lawyer, Milda Mora, did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment.

The 28-year-old fighter is a household name in Venezuela and he has a huge image of President Hugo Chavez tattooed on his chest, along with the country’s yellow, blue and red flag.

His all-action style and 27-0 record — all by knockouts — earned him a reputation as a tough, explosive crowd-pleaser. Venezuelans call him “Inca,” alluding to an Indian warrior, while elsewhere he has been called “Dinamita,” or dynamite.

The former WBA super featherweight and WBC lightweight champion has been in trouble with the law before.

Last month, Valero was brought up on charges of harassing his wife and threatening medical personnel who treated her at a hospital in the western city of Merida. Police arrested Valero following an argument with a doctor and nurse at the hospital, where his wife was being treated for a series of injuries, including a punctured lung and broken ribs.

Valero entered a Venezuelan rehab center March 28 for treatment of drug and alcohol addiction, Mora said at the time. The boxer’s attorney said Viera was injured when she fell down a flight of stairs at the couple’s home while checking a water tank on the roof.

The Attorney General’s Office said Valero was detained March 25 on suspicion of assaulting his wife, but his wife told a police officer her injuries were due to a fall. When the boxer arrived moments later, he forbade Viera from speaking to the police officer, and spoke threateningly to the officer, prosecutors said in a statement.

The Attorney General’s Office said a prosecutor had asked a court to order Valero jailed but that the judge instead placed him under a restraining order that barred him from going near his wife, a condition he repeatedly violated.

The Venezuela daily El Universal also reported that Valero had been arrested recently after a neighbor called authorities and claimed the boxer struck his mother and a sister.

“I’ve never hit my little sister and much less my mother,” Valero responded at the time, in comments published by Venezuelan television station RCTV’s Web site.

Valero shot to fame when he won his first 18 fights by first-round knockout, setting a record that has since been eclipsed by Tyrone Brunson. Valero last fought in February, stopping Antonio DeMarco in an entertaining fight in Monterrey, Mexico.

Valero was involved in a motorcycle accident in 2001 that resulted in a cerebral hemorrhage, and because most jurisdictions refused to license a fighter who sustained a brain injury, he was unable to fight in the United States. The boxer wound up fighting mainly in Japan and Latin America, where he won his first title in 2006.

While Valero had little trouble in the ring, outside of it was another matter.

Along with accusations of domestic violence in Venezuela, Valero was charged with drunken driving in Texas, which is the primary reason he was denied a U.S. visa.

Lucian Bute scored a third round stoppage over Edison Miranda on an explosive uppercut in front of a raucaus crowd at the Bell Center in Montreal, Canada.

Bute boxed well over the first two rounds until the action heated up in the third frame. Miranda landed his best punch of the fight early in the frame when he got through with a solid straight right. That only upped Bute’s pace as he landed a nice combination that was followed by that heard turning uppercut that put Miranda on the canvas. Miranda got to his feet but staggered backwards and the fight was stopped at 1:20 of round three.

Bute, 167 lbs of Romania is now 26-0 with twenty-one knockouts. Miranda, 167 lbs of Carolina, Puerto Rico is now 33-5.

Some thought Sergio Martinez was robbed out of a victory just four months ago at the Adrian Phillips Ballroom in Boardwalk Hall when he fought Paul Williams. Well just a few yards away in the same building and a different opponent, Martinez got his just due as he won the undisputed Middleweight championship of the world by scoring a unanimous decision over Kelly Pavlik at historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

After a non-descript round one, Pavlik was cut from a possible butt around the left eye. That gave Martinez confidence as he began to drop his hands and land some slick combinations to take the second. Pavlik had a dcecent round three as he scored with some right hands. Round four saw Martinez gain alot of confidence as he began to showboat around as he landed some hard hooks and than he buckled Pavlik with a hard 1-2. In round five, Pavlik started getting through with solid rights over the top and the incited the pro-Pavlik crowd of chants of “Kelly Kelly Kelly”..

In round seven, Pavlik landed a little uppercut on the inside and combined with the feet of the two men getting tangled, Pavlik was awarded a knockdown. Pavlik punctuated the round with a hard right over the top. Martinez got back to boxing in round eight as he landed some nice small combinations to steal the round. The fight turned in round nine as Martinez battered Pavlik with hard quick combination’s with the champions face being reduced to a crimson mask as blood streamed down from both side of his face. It was much of the same in the tenth as Martinez landed some nice straight lefts that had the face of Pavlik looking like mince meat. Martinez started the twelth by moving in but landed some nice straight lefts and Pavlik looked the like the same fighter who lost to Bernard Hopkins in the very same ring nineteen months ago.

Martinez, 159 1/2 lbs of Madrid, Spain won by scores of 116-111; 115-111 and 115-112 (15rounds.com had it 115-113) to become a two-time champion and is now 45-2-2.

Pavlik, 159 1/2 lbs of Youngstown, OH is now 36-2.

Glen Tapia remained undefeated with a spirited four round unanimous decision over James Winchester in a Jr. Middleweight bout.

Tapia got the better of the action as he landed several barrages and had Winchester in trouble on a couple of occasions. Tapia dropped Winchester early in round two with a big right hand and almost ended the fight with one of those flurries that had Winchester bleeding from both the nose and mouth. Winchester tried to giad the young Tapia with some “smack talk” and the end of round tghree, but Tapia stayed composed and cruised home for the victory of 40-35 on all cards.

Tapia, 152 lbs of Passaic, NJ is now 6-0. Winchester, 153 1/2 lbs of Greensboro, NC is now 10-4.

Prized prospect Matt Korobov was less than impressive yet cruised to an eight round unanimous decision over Joshua Snyder in a Middleweight bout.

Korobox was slicker and landed the cleaner combinations but seemed ti run out of gas midway through the fight. Snyder was unable to capitalize with the exception of a few brief moments when he was able to trap Korobov against the ropes.

Korobov, 160 lbs of St. Petersburg, FL won by scores of 79-73; 79-73 and 78-74 to remain undefeated at 11-0. Snyder, 159 1/2 lbs of Berlin, MD is now 8-5-1.

Mike Jones remained undefeated as he battered Hector Munoz all over the ring and the bout was stopped in round five of their scheduled ten round Welterweight bout.

Jones ripped Munoz with hard shots to the head and body while using an effective jab to keep the gritty Munoz off og him. Munoz showed a terrific chin as he endured many vicious shots without ever going down.

The fine came when Jones landed some hard shots to the head that had Munoz rocked all over the ring and one huge right to the head that was preceded by four big power shots had referee Benji Esteves stop the bout at 2:03 of round five.

Jones, 146 lbs of Philadelphia will now look for a possible HBO debut on June 5th at Yankee Stadium with a record of 21-0 with seventten knockouts. Munoz, 146 lbs of Albuquerque, NM is now 18-3-1

Chris Hazimihalis dropped Ramon Ellis in round one and needed just eighty-eight seconds to score the first round knockout in their scheduled four round Lightweight bout.

hazimihalis dropped Ellis with a big right hand. Ellis got to his feet and when the action resumed Hazimilhalis swarmed Ellis and the fight was stopped.

Hazimihalis, 136 lbs of Youngstown, OH is now 2-0 with two knockouts. Ellis, 138 lbs of Philadelphia is 0-5

The son of the legend, Ronald Hearns annihilated Delray Raines inside of one round of a scheduled eight round Jr. Middleweight bout.

Hearns dropped Raines with a big right hand in the first minute of the bout. Hearns finished the deal off with a booming right that sent Raines down for the ten count at 1:47 of round one.

Hearns, 155 lbs of Southfield, MI is now 25-1 with nineteen knockouts. Raines, 157 lbs of Paris, AR is now 17-8-1.

In a mild upset, Vincent Arroyo stunned previously undefeated by scoring a knockout in the final round of their scheduled eight round Jr. Welterweight bout.

Bryan dominated the first seven round as he boxed very well using a nice right hand behind singe and double jabs. Bryan knocked out Arroyo’s mouthpiece on two ocassions as he got through with solid hooks.

Seemingly well ahead on the cards, Arroyo caught Bryan with a big left hoof that sent Bryan back towards the ropes. With Bryan squatting on the bottom rope and on his way down, Arroyo blasted Bryan with two hard shots and knocked him at 1:13 of the final round.

Arroyo, 142 lbs of Amherst, NY is now 10-1 with seven knockouts. Bryan, 142 lbs of Paterson, NJ suffers his first defeat and is now 13-1.

Former hot Heavyweight contender, Dominick Guinn stopped Terrell Nelson after round seven of a scheduled eight round bout.

Guinn Dropped Nelson in round one from a big over hand right. Guinn dominated the actionm for most of the fight with exceptions of brief offense from Nelson. In round seven, Guinn landed two huge right hands that drove him back and in trouble. Nelson failed to answer the bell and Guinn got the stoppage victory.

Guinn, 229 1/2 lbs of Houston, TX and is now 33-6-1 with twenty-two knockouts. Nelson, 252 lbs of Plainfield, NJ is now 8-10.

Photo by Claudia Bocanegra

Fernando Guerrero thrilled the hometown fans as he stopped Michael Walk in round two of a scheduled ten round Middleweight bout at the Wicomico Civic Center in Salisbury, Maryland.

Walker tried to crowd Guerrero early in the first but Guerrero got some distance and began to land some hard shots late in the round. Guerrero then turned it up in round two as he landed about thirty unanswered blows (some were blocked by Walker’s gloves) on the ropes for which Walker showed little resistance for and the bout was stopped at 1:49 of round four.

Guerrero, 160 lbs of Salisbury, MD is now 18-0 with fifteen knockouts. Walker, 161 lbs of Chicago, IL is now 19-4-2

“The crowd was a little bit off so I had to spice things up,” Guerrero joked. “I said I was going to go with him and fight an exciting fight. I’m going to be the new face of boxing, that’s a promise. I work hard like I’m going for a world title in every fight.”

“I’m pretty disappointed,” Walker said. “I think I could still go. He caught me with a shot but I was recovering. I should have moved when he was hitting me. It’s just a lesson learned.”

Shawn Porter remained perfect as he took out Raul Pinzon at 2:39 of round one of a scheduled eight round Middleweight bout.

Porter landed some solid head and body shots and used his jab. Porter landed a perfect right that sent Pinzon down on his stomach for the ten count at 2:39 of the opening frame.

Porter, 158 1/2 lbs of Cleveland, OH is now 14-0 with eleven knockouts. Pinzon, 161 lbs of Barranquilla, Colombia is now 17-5-1.

“I tried to follow the gameplan, use my speed and set up the body shots,” Porter said. “I set him up for the overhand right with the body shots.

“I can’t said I’m disappointed that I didn’t get that many rounds. It was a great effort and performance. I know his weight slowed him down. He was definitely too slow for me tonight.”

Tony Thompson dominated Owen Beck by scoring a fourth round stoppage in a scheduled ten round Heavyweight bout of former world title challengers at The New Daisy Theater in Memphis, Tennessee.

Thompson scored a knockdown in the first frame as he caught Beck with a right hand that staggered Beck and then a right to the top of the head sent Beck to the canvas. Thompson continued land solid shots as Beck was reaching in with his punches. Thompson landed at least three thudding right hands on the ropes that forced the corner of the over matched Beck to throw in the towel at 2:50 of round one.

Thompson, 248 lbs of Washington, D.C. is now 34-2 with twenty-two knockouts. Beck of Nashville, TN is now 29-5.

“Hammerin” Hank Lundy scored three knockdowns en route to ten round unanimous decision over Tyrese Hendrix in a Lightweight bout of undefeated fighters.

The fireworks started early as Lundy scored a knockdown from a huge left. Both men fell down but Lundy’s punch was more emphatic. Replays showed the it should have been ruled a double knockdown. Lundy then landed a big left that dropped Hendrix for a second time in the opening frame. Lundy kept up the power punching and hurt Hendrix throughput the affair.

In round six, it was the right hand that floored Hendrix for a third time in the fight. Hendrix showed a lot of courage and tried to fight back and even landed a few solid shots but it was Lundy who thwrarted any chance of a miracle come back from Hendrix as he landed some solid head shots and mixed in some body work.

Lundy, 135 lbs of Philadelphia won by scores of 100-88; 99-88 and 98-90 to remain undefeated at 18-0-1. Hendrix, 134 1/2 lbs of Gainesville, GA is now 18-1-1.

Lanard Lane remained undefeated as he scored an easy six round unanimous decision over former four-time world title challenger, John Brown in a Jr. Welterwerigt bout.

Lane boxed well and was never tested and even had Brown in trouble in the waning seconds of the contest.

Lane, 142 lbs of Houston, TX won by scores of 60-54 on all cards and is now 12-0. Brown, 142 lbs of Atlantic City, NJ is now 24-18-2.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, WBC Welterweight champion Andre Berto slightly tore a bicep muscle in his eighth round stoppage win over Carlos Quintana this past Saturday in Sunrise, Florida.

“But my tendons are still intact as they can see,” Berto said. “So I am gonna have to ice it and rest for a few weeks so the swelling can go down [and] then start rehab.”

“But the doctor said it should be fine,” Berto said. “Not a serious tear, just needs time to heal.”

The report indicated that Berto would need six to eight weeks to recover.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, WBA Interim Super Lightweight champion, Marcos Maidana injured his back and his June 19th bout with WBO champion, Timothy Bradley has been postponed.

“Maidana got hurt and the fight will be postponed for about a month,” said Bradley’s promoter Gary Shaw.

“They confirmed that Maidana hurt his back but that he still wants the fight, but that he’s needs roughly 20 days [off],” Shaw said. “They said he still wanted the fight, otherwise, I could have switched back to [Luis Carlos Abregu]. I will take them at their word that it’s Maidana’s back and that he still wants to fight Tim.”

“I’ve been on the phone with HBO but we need to work with HBO and Agua Caliente to find the right date that works,” Shaw said.

Top Rank Live proudly presented and evening of Boxing from The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. The card was shown live on Fox Sports Espanol which allowed around 80 Million homes to tune in. Headlined by Filipino Mark Melligan squaring off against tough Mexican Norberto Gonzalez. Also on making the tv was up and coming Diego Magdeleno against Manny Perez.

Going into the Main Event it looked evenly matched between Mark Melligen 18-2(13) & Norberto Gonzalez 18-2(12) however the 23 year old Filipino had a different idea as he continually beat Gonzalez to the punch round after round. The southpaw jab caused Gonzalez trouble through out. Full credit to Gonzalez as he continued to press, this suited Melligan who got the better of most exchanges and used his overhand right to both head and body with good effect. Gonzalez would go back in straight lines which made it easier for Melligan to pick him off. Towards the end of the eighth round in Gonzalez corner both guys clashed heads leaving the Mexican with a bad cut under his right eye. To Gonzalez credit he kept trying but it wasn’t his night. Again in the tenth they clashed heads leaving Gonzalez with another cut this time on his right eye lid. When all was said and done Robert Hoyle, Patricia Morse Jarman & Dave Moretti were all in agreement posting a shut out for Melligan.

Backed by a Partisan home support Las Vegas own Diego Magdeleno advanced to 15-0(3) with a solid showing against Manny Perez 14-6-1(2). Magdeleno looked sharp from the first bell and picked apart Perez with his superior speed of hand and foot. Glenn Trowbridge saw it 100-90 while Eric Cheek had it 99-91 and Al Lefkowitz handed in a 97-93 card. Magdeleno rated his performance as an 8 or 9 while beaming trainer Pat Barry said it was a 10. Magdeleno was happy with his continued development adding “I’d like to say thank you to Top Rank, i’ll fight whoever they put in front of me”

Hot prospect Jose Benavidez Jr 4-0(4) scored an impressive second round KO over Scott Paul 5-5(1). Paul was down twice before Robert Byrd called it off at 1.30.

Lamont Peterson 28-1(14) got back to winning ways when he stopped Damien Fuller 30-7-1(14) at 1.10 of the seventh when his corner threw the towel into the ring with Peterson pummelling away and Fuller not throwing anything back.

Cortez Bey 8-1-1(4) & Marcos Herrera 5-1-1(1) fought to a majority six round draw. Tim Cheatham had it 58-56 for Bey but was out voted by Al Lefkowitz & Glenn Trowbridge who had it 57-57.

Anthony Lenk 7-1(4) stopped Wilson Rivera 3-4(1) at 1.19 of the third round in Light Welterweight action.

Russian Heavyweight Vladimir Tereshkin 13-0-1(7) outpointed journeyman Joseph Rabotte 7-12(3) over six all three judges had it 60-54. Rabotte was marked under the left eye and back peddled looking to avoid anything heavy from Tereshkin who couldn’t find the stoppage though did wobble Rabotte late in the fourth.

In the opening bout of the night Japan’s Hiromitsu Miura successfully made his debut in Light Heavyweight action when outhustled Isaac “Iceman” Atencio 2-3-1(2) over four 40-36 & 39-37×2.