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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nearly one year ago Allan Green was featured by Showtime in what many considered a “bullpen” type of fight, before Green was asked to enter the Super Six Tournament. Green’s opponent that night, Tarvis Simms was brought in on short notice, and expected to play the role of a tune up. Simms had other plans.

“I proved I can compete with anyone that night. I went into his promoter’s show, in his backyard, and I thought I won the fight” Simms said of his performance that night.

Scorecards aside (Green won a decision), Simms looked impressive, especially considering the situation he was up against. Given his performance that night one would have imagined Simms would be poised for another opportunity in the coming months. That assumption would prove to be deadly inaccurate. Simms is approaching 12 months of inactivity and he insists that has not been by choice.

“Believe me it has nothing to do with me. I’m ready able and willing to get in there and fight the best of them”

Simms says that his promotion has dropped him by the wayside, while he remains in top notch form, and is physically and mentally prepared for a premiere fight. While a rematch with Green doesn’t seem to be written in the stars Simms has said he would have liked to have done battle with a fighter like Kelly Pavlik.

“We wanted Green again but they didn’t want to entertain the idea. I’d like to fight Pavlik, I think the fans would love it, I do well with bigger fighters” the Connecticut native said.

Tarvis also told me a story of a fight being presented to him with a purse offer intact, Tarvis referred the offer to his management, who later suspiciously presented it back to him with a smaller purse attached. It’s no secret that boxing is home to some ill practices behind the scene, but Tarvis seems to be a case that simply cannot catch a break. With Green remaining his only loss, Simms holds impressive wins over Marcus Upshaw and Carl Daniels, but can’t seem to get the attention of fighters at the next level.

Simms’ situation seems to be another example of boxing’s all too familiar dark side. After putting forth an impressive effort in October of last year, perhaps he drove opportunities away by proving to be a riskier opponent. Either way, his performance has not been rewarded and Simms has been stung by the business of boxing.

While talking with Tarvis Simms I got the impression that he is sincere in his message to the boxing community, that he is ready to fight anyone at any time or place. If you said boxing was struggling, you may be right, you may be wrong, but you wouldn’t be the first. You could search for flaws within the game all day long, but Tarvis Simms is not one of them. If there were more fighters like Tarvis Simms there would be fewer fights that should have but didn’t happen. While Tarvis Simms current situation is difficult to understand, for anyone familiar with him, he is not difficult to root for.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sugar Shane Mosley

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez

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

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

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

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

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

Carlos “Tata” Baldomir

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

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

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

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

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

“Vicious” Victor Ortiz

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

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

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

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

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

“Vicious” Vivian Harris

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

.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CLICK TO WATCH FOR FREE
Come to Gleason’s gym tonight and watch some exciting amateur boxing.

The bouts tonight are sanctioned by USABoxingMetro and are part of Gleason’s monthly boxing series.

The bouts will include junior, senior and master boxers. Both male and female bouts are on tap.

The price of admission is $20.

Gym members and amateurs with their books in hand pay $15.

If you can not make it to the gym tonight, you can watch the bouts for free on:

www.gofightlive.tv

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The self-proclaimed face of boxing was captured last week in a booking photo. Floyd Mayweather Jr. looks as if he has a chance to go to the senior prom instead of prison. He’s smiling.

Or is that a sneer? Whatever it is, it’s no joke.

It turned deadly serious Thursday with news that the Clark County Attorney’s office in Las Vegas has charged Mayweather with four felony counts of coercion, robbery and grand larceny in addition to four misdemeanor counts on battery and harassment for an alleged incident involving former girlfriend Josie Harris on Sept. 9.

Just a couple of months ago, it looked as if Mayweather, who faces 34 years behind bars if convicted on all charges, would be busy in early November. He will be, but not against Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather is scheduled for arraignment in Las Vegas on Nov. 9, four days before he was supposed to have Pacquiao on his schedule.

Instead, Pacquiao faces Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. Instead of a record-setting payday against Pacquiao, Mayweather has a chance at being O.J. Simpson’s roommate. Why-oh-why is he smiling? There’s a theory that none of this would have happened if Mayweather had agreed to the fight. He would have been in training. The regimen would have keep him busy and out of trouble.

It’s a good argument, but not convincing, at least not from this corner. He is always training. It’s routine, Mayweather’s lifestyle. So, too, is trouble, which has always lurked like a bad rumor. Yet, Mayweather has been able to elude serious consequences, including assault complaint in 2003 from Harris, who backed off the allegation at a trial in 2005. Oscar De La Hoya, a regular target of Mayweather’s trash-talk, has taken the high road, expressing sympathy for his former rival and current promotional client.

Maybe, Mayweather’s troubles are a cry for help, De La Hoya said while promoting the Shane Mosley-Sergio Mora fight Saturday night at Los Angeles’ Staples Center in a week-long celebration of the 200-year anniversary of the Mexican Revolution.

Maybe, but Mayweather’s self-destructive spiral might be a symptom of something predicted a couple of years ago by Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum, Mayweather’s former promoter. Months before two rounds of failed negotiations, Arum said Mayweather wouldn’t fight Pacquiao because the welterweight didn’t want to take a chance at jeopardizing his unbeaten record.

Late last year, Mayweather suddenly shattered an apparent agreement for a bout in March by parroting unconfirmed gossip that Pacquiao used performance-enhancers. The deal fell apart with Mayweather’s demand for random, Olympic-style drug-testing.

A couple of months ago, there was a flurry of speculation, including a midnight media call with Arum. Again, there was no deal, yet many denials from the Mayweather camp about whether there were any talks at all.

A couple of weeks ago, Mayweather unleashed a racist, homophobic video directed at Pacquiao. The alleged incident at the Harris’ residence in Las Vegas quickly followed.

If there is a parallel, maybe it is Mike Tyson. During his days of rage, commentator Teddy Atlas, who also trained the retired heavyweight, theorized that Tyson’s behavior was the expression of a fighter doing everything he could not to fight.

Sound familiar? It’s beginning to.

Mayweather acts as if he is doing all he can not to fight Pacquiao.

Maybe that explains the smile.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jesse Nicklow 159 Julius Kennedy 158.5 (WBF All-Americas and Maryland State Middleweight Championship Bout)

Jed Phipps 218.5 Theron Johnson 227

Steve Wheeler 199 Donald Crawford 206

Maxell Taylor 177 Francois Ambang 183

Promoter: Jake Smith; Baltimore Pro Boxing

Venue: Du Burns Arena (doors open at 6:30 first fight is at 8 pm)

Tickets: 410-675-6900

NEW YORK (Sept. 16, 2010)—SHOWTIME Sports officially announced today a series of high-profile fights amongst four of the world’s elite fighters in the exciting and deep bantamweight division. The two-round, single-elimination tournament to determine the best fighter at 118 pounds will begin with two semifinal bouts on Saturday, Dec. 11, live on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast) from Leon, Mexico.

The talented and willing field comprises unbeaten International Boxing Federation (IBF) 118-pound champion Yonnhy “El Colombiano” Perez, undefeated, world-ranked rising star Abner Mares, former IBF bantamweight champion Joseph “King Kong’’ Agbeko, and two-division world champion Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan.

Each bout will be scheduled for 12 rounds. The winners of each semifinal will clash in the final in 2011 with the losing fighters competing in a consolation fight.

“Meaningful match-ups with high stakes in boxing’s most competitive divisions—that’s our promise to boxing fans,” said SHOWTIME Sports Executive Vice President and General Manager Ken Hershman. “I hold these four world championship competitors in the highest regard for taking the fights that the fans want to see; for risking their status as one of the world’s best, to prove they are the sole champion in the division. When you consistently fight and defeat the best, you deserve to be recognized as such.”

The bantamweight tournament is promoted by Gary Shaw Productions for Darchinyan and, in association with Thompson Boxing Promotions, for Perez, Golden Boy Promotions for Mares, and Don King Productions for Agbeko. The venue in Leon, Mexico for the Dec. 11 telecast is to be announced. The semifinal matchups are as follows:

IBF Bantamweight World Championship

Yonnhy Perez vs. Joseph Agbeko

20-0-1, 14 KOs 27-2, 22 KOs

Santa Fe Springs, Calif. Bronx, New York

By way of Colombia By way of Ghana

Abner Mares vs. Vic Darchinyan

20-0-1, 13 KOs 35-2-1, 27 KOs

Montebello, Calif. Sydney, Australia

By way of Guadalajara, Mexico By way of Armenia

Each of the participants in the bantamweight tournament has previously fought at least one of the other fighters in competitive bouts, all on SHOWTIME.

Perez unanimously outpointed then-defending champion Agbeko to capture the IBF belt on Oct. 31, 2009, and retained it with a disputed majority draw over Mares last May 22. Agbeko, in his outing before getting dethroned by Perez, retained the same title with a close, unanimous decision over Darchinyan on July 7, 2009.

The beauty of a tournament is that rankings and past performances can be dismissed once it begins. Each boxer starts with the same chance to make, and win, the final.

The humble, hard-working, 5-foot-11, 31-year-old Perez is looking at the tournament as a chance to continue to stamp himself as perhaps the premier bantamweight boxer on the planet.

“I’m excited to be included in the 118-pound tournament that SHOWTIME has put together,” said Perez, who held onto his belt by the narrowest of margins (114-114 twice and 113-115) against Mares.

“SHOWTIME has helped me reveal my ability to the world and I’m honored they will televise my next two fights. I knew the instant I earned my IBF bantamweight championship title that it would open a lot of doors for me. This is the first of many opportunities. I am going to get through this tournament as the reigning champion.”

The gifted, handsome Mares, who showed his class with a highly proficient performance against Perez, doesn’t anticipate any dull moments in the ring once the first tournament bell rings.

“Boxing fans know that the little guys always make for the best fights and this tournament is guaranteed to prove that again,” said the personable 5-foot-5, 25-year-old Mares. “This is a great opportunity for all of us to prove ourselves in the spotlight and I am excited that this fight will take place in Mexico with all of the support of my people for the first time in my career.

“Of course, I am also grateful and looking forward to having a rematch with Yonnhy in the final. I felt I did enough in our first fight to win a unanimous decision. I know if I do my best again, I’ll come away with the IBF belt.”

The 5-foot-5 ½-inch, 30-year-old Agbeko hasn’t fought since falling short against Perez in Oct. 2009, but feels he is ready to step in and re-establish himself as the man to beat at 118 pounds.

“I’ve always said, and believed in my heart, that I am the best bantamweight in the world,” Agbeko said. “Now it is time to prove it once and for all.

“I’m beyond happy and excited that SHOWTIME is doing a tournament in this weight class. This truly is an opportunity that I never expected, and I am going to take full advantage of it. It is my destiny to win it all.”

Darchinyan is by far the most experienced boxer in the foursome and has participated in more than twice as many world title fights (14) as the others have combined. He is as confident as always.

“I think that this is a beautiful thing that SHOWTIME is doing, but it isn’t a bantamweight tournament, it’s The Darchinyan Tournament,” said the 5-foot-5½-inch, 34-year-old Darchinyan, a former world champion at 112 and 115 pounds who’ll be making his 12th appearance on SHOWTIME. “Everyone who faces me will feel my power and be a loser.

“I owe Agbeko because he got away with one last time. But it doesn’t matter who I fight. Even the winner in the other bracket will be a loser because he will eventually have to face me and lose.”

For information on SHOWTIME Sports, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, please visit the website www.Sports.SHO.com.

About Showtime Networks Inc.
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD™, SHOWTIME 2 HD™, THE MOVIE CHANNEL HD™, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMAND™ and FLIX ON DEMAND®. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks™, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution which recently launched SMITHSONIAN CHANNEL™. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo by Naoki Fukuda/Roy Englebrecht Promotions

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

CLICK TO WATCH THE FIGHT LIVE
Atlantic City, NJ–Undefeated super bantamweight Teon “The Technician” Kennedy is wrapping up his training for his North American Boxing Association (NABA) title fight with Alex Becerra, scheduled for Saturday evening, Sept. 25, in the Grand Ballroom at Bally’s Atlantic City.

The scheduled 12-rounder for the vacant 122-pound belt tops a seven-fight card which begins at 7.30 p.m. The card will be televised by www.gofightlive.tv.

Kennedy, 24, of North Philadelphia, works out nightly under the guidance of trainers Randy and Wade Hinnant at Joe Hand’s Gym in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia. The gym is owned by Joe Hand, who co-manages Kennedy with Doc Nowicki.

Now ranked No. 6 in the world by the International Boxing Federation (IBF), Kennedy is 15-0-1, 6 K0s. This will be his fourth fight at Bally’s, where he has beaten Lucian Gonzalez and Jose Angel Berranza and boxed a draw with Lante Addy.

Kennedy also holds the United States Boxing Association (USBA) super bantamweight title.

Becerra, 29, finishes up his sparring this week in his El Paso, TX, hometown with handlers Ruben Garcia and Adan Hernandez. He will arrive in Atlantic City on Wednesday, Sept. 22.

Tickets priced at $50 and $75 are on sale at the offices of Peltz Boxing Promotions (215-765-0922) and also can be purchased online at www.peltzboxing.com.

NEW YORK (Sept. 15, 2010) – Top-10 world-ranked welterweight, Paul Daley, has signed a multi-fight deal with world championship Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion STRIKEFORCE.

The 5-foot-9, 27-year-old native of London who fights out of Nottingham, England, has won two straight and six of his last seven. Overall, the cocky, brash seven-year pro is 25-9-2.

Nicknamed “Semtex” after an explosive that British armed forces use to demolish large structures, Daley is coming off a unanimous three-round decision over recent STRIKEFORCE signee, Jorge Masvidal, last Saturday, Sept. 11. It was the first time since July 1, 2006, that Daley had won a fight on points.

Daley is a freelance mixed martial artist whose style is an aggressive mix of striking, striking and more striking.

“I am a striker – there is no secret about that,” the exciting British bomber said. “I like to knock people out aggressively and quickly. That’s my game and no opponent’s going to change that. Almost all my fights are exciting and memorable with non-stop action.”

Daley specializes in Muay Thai (Dutch style). He utilizes lead leg kicks often and possesses devastating knees and quick, heavy hands.

“I’m looking forward to fighting for STRIKEFORCE and would really love to fight (current STRIKEFORCE welterweight champion) Nick Diaz,” Daley said. “He’s a big name and a great fighter. Diaz would bring out the best in me and would be a great test.”

Daley, who has compiled a highlight reel of impressive knockout victories, has competed against some of the best since turning professional in June 2003. Three of his most significant victories came against Masvidal, a 2:24, first-round KO (punches) over Dustin Hazelett on Jan. 2, 2010, and a 2:31, first-round TKO (punches) over Martin Kampmann on Sept. 19, 2009.

A former Cage Rage champion, Daley appeared on a STRIKEFORCE co-promoted card on June 22, 2007. On the undercard of Frank Shamrock vs. Phil Baroni in San Jose, Calif., he registered a second-round TKO (punches) over Duane “Bang”Ludwig.

Daley was introduced to martial arts when he began taking karate at the age of 7. Besides England, he also trains in Holland. For a time several years ago, Daley was involved in a project with Mothers Against Guns in London.

About STRIKEFORCE
STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com ) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265. Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE, sanctioned by ISKA, has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts (MMA) series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.” In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose. In March 2009, STRIKEFORCE signed a multi-year agreement with SHOWTIME® to stage live events on the premium cable television network. The promotion has since also produced two live, primetime events on the CBS Television Network.

In what may be the most ambitious move in boxing since an Attorney General told Frankie Carbo that the sport would be better off without him, a world league has formed.

And it pays. Scheduled to begin in November of 2010, it calls itself the World Series of Boxing (WSB) and with 12 teams scattered across the globe in places like Azerbijan, China, Los Angeles, Paris, India and Milan it may, unlike its Americentric baseball namesake, actually live up to that billing.

There are three divisions: Europe, Asia and the Americas, with four teams in each—though the exact location of the would be teams has been somewhat fluid. Sites in London, New York, Chicago and Boston have fallen through, but the current lineup of American cities does include Los Angeles, Miami, Mexico City and Memphis, Tennessee.

Boxers in the WSB are required to sign three year contracts and salaries are said to range around $25,000 per year, with an additional $5,000 for each win, $1000 for each loss—though there is talk of adjustments to take account of the cost of living differences across the world that sound like significantly less dollars if you live in Bombay: “We have been struggling to regulate salaries and a salary cap. India’s money is worth different from the United States and France. It will be about $25,000 a year not including prize money per boxer,” said a Mr. Ivan Khodabakhsh, the Chief Operating Officer of the WSB in a recent interview. There is also talk in some of the dailies about a pay ceiling of $300,000—but it is not clear to me how one would get there from here—unless the championships pay big.

Participation is limited to boxers who have yet to fight a pro bout, and, with the league owned primarily by the International Boxing Association (AISA)— the governing body of Olympic boxing—perhaps not surprisingly, participation will not exclude a league boxer from later fighting in the Olympics. The league is a for profit affair— or at least it seeks to be.

The bouts are scheduled for 5 rounds, three minutes apiece without headgear. Scoring is on a ten point must system and will be visible after each round. There will be no draws and Olympic anti-doping rules will be in effect.

The four teams in each division are scheduled to engage each other (teams or not, no one “plays” boxing) four times during the course of the regular season, which will run from November 19th to March 19th—which equals out to twelve matches over the course of 14 weeks. The top two teams from each division enter the playoffs, culminating in a championship match scheduled in the Chinese city of Macau—gambling capital of The East.

The league will also hold individual championships—7 rounds— at each of its only five weight classes. That’s right, only five: bantamweight , 54kg/ 119lbs; lightweight 61kg/135lbs; middleweight 73kg/160lbs; light heavyweight 85kg/187lbs; and heavyweight 91kg/201+ lbs. The five individual champions will be awarded automatic berths into the Olympics.

Having seen Olympic boxing, or more pointedly, the judging in Olympic boxing, I’m a little reluctant to throw my proverbial hat into the league’s ring. But truth be told, I’ve seen judge’s cards in a number of pro fights these last few years that might have made even Frankie Carbo blush. Having said that, if there were a match anywhere closer to Newark, New Jersey than Memphis, Tennessee I’d find a way to get ringside.

Exercising what the poet Keats called “negative capability,” or the capacity for accepting uncertainty and the unresolved (yes, I’m thinking about the judges again), I find myself intrigued and heartened by the prospect of the WSB.

Even beyond the fact that winning will be at least five times better than losing for a boy wearing gloves, the league has a number of things to recommend it— not the least of which is that it’s the culmination of an idea uttered back in the 1950’s by the denizens of Stillman’s Gym and the Neutral Corner, the famous New York boxing bar a few blocks down from Stillman’s.

The great A.J. Liebling wrote:

“The immediate crisis in the United States, forestalling the one high living standards might bring on, has been caused by the popularization of a ridiculous gadget called television. This is utilized in the sale of beer and razor blades. The clients of the television companies [advertisers], by putting on a free boxing show almost every night of the week, have knocked out of business the hundreds of small-city and neighborhood boxing clubs where youngsters had a chance to learn their trade and journeyman to mature their skills. Consequently the number of good new prospects diminishes with every year, and the peddlers’ public is already being asked to believe that a boy with perhaps ten or fifteen fights behind him is a topnotch performer. Neither advertising agencies nor brewers, and least of all the networks, give a hoot if they push the Sweet Science back into the period of genre painting. When it is in a coma they will find some other way to peddle their peanuts.”

Fifty some-odd years later with Liebling’s coma circuit complete, the Heavyweight Champion of the World is fighting only on the internet here in the United States. Peanuts peddled decidedly elsewhere.
And the managers, trainers and ex-fighters at Stillman’s and the Corner? Liebling writes:

One school of savants holds that if the television companies are going to monopolize boxing they should set up a system of farm clubs to develop new talent. Another believes the situation will cure itself, but painfully. ‘Without the little clubs, nobody new will come up,’ a leader of this group argues. ‘The television fans will get tired of the same bums, the Hooper will drop, the sponsors will drop boxing, and then we can start all over again.’”

And maybe that’s what the World Series of Boxing is: a system of farm teams looking to start all over again.

Rocky Graziano’s manager, Irving Cohen, put it well: “Fighting is like education. The four-round fights are elementary school. Six rounders is high school. Feature bouts is college, but nowadays without the small clubs we got too many boys in college without sufficient preparation.”
So maybe we can look at the WSB as a kind of global prep school— teaching sweet science.

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

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

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

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

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

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

This Saturday several of the best fighters in Britain appear on a bumper Frank Warren promotion called “The Magnificent Seven” Though a few weeks back we had Darren Barker & Ryan Rhodes pull of there respective fights some good work behind the scene’s saw both fights saved with replacements stepping in. Here we look at the fights that make up an exciting night of Boxing that kicks off at 6pm on SKY PPV.

Nathan Cleverly –V- Karo Murat

WBO Light Heavyweight Title Eliminator.

http://www.15rounds.com/q-a-with-nathan-cleverly-031610/

http://www.15rounds.com/q-a-with-karo-murat-072710/

Hometown; Cefn Forest. Wales Kitzingen, Germany

Record; 19-0(9) 22-0(13)

Rounds boxed; 101 121

KO% 47 59

Age; 23 27

Height; 6’3 5’10

Rankings; The Ring Cleverly 8 Murat 6, Neither fighter rated in the top 15 by WBC or WBA. IBF Cleverly 4 & Murat 11 & WBO Cleverly 2 & Murat 3.

Betting 1/4 11/4

This fight is see’s both guys fighting the best fighter they have to date. Cleverly will look to dominate with the jab and put Murat on the back foot using his height and reach advantages. By the mid rounds Murat will become marked up and frustrated at being repeatedly caught trying to get inside. To Murat’s credit he’ll continue to try, while Cleverly will build up the points on way to a comfortable decision.

Enzo Maccarinelli –V- Alexander Frenkel

European Cruiserweight Title

http://www.15rounds.com/q-a-with-enzo-maccarinelli-082610/

http://www.15rounds.com/q-a-with-alexander-frankel/

Hometown; Swansea, Wales Wurzberg, Germany

Record; 32-4(25) 22-0(17)

Rounds Boxed; 128 74

KO% 69 77

Age; 30 25

Height; 6’4 6’1

Rankings; Neither fighter ranked in the Ring top 10; WBC Maccarinelli 8 Frenkel 7; WBA Maccarinelli 3 Frenkel 2; IBF Maccarinelli 11 Frenkel 6 & WBO Maccarinelli unranked Frenkel 12.

Betting 4/7 11/8

One thing that you can always guarantee with a Maccarinelli fight is fireworks. Both guys will start cautiously of the others power. That wont last long as they’ll quickly engage. I’d be surprised to see this one go beyond half way with Maccarinelli’s edge in power seeing him score an impressive stoppage.

Matthew Macklin -V- Shalva Jomardashvili

Vacant European Middleweight Title

http://www.15rounds.com/q-a-with-matthew-macklin-091410/

Hometown; Birmingham, England Gori, Georgia

Record; 26-2(18) 27-2-1(19)

Rounds Boxed; 133 139

KO 64 63

Age; 28 23

Height; 5’10 5’9

Rankings; The Ring Macklin 5, WBC 5, WBA 5, IBF 9, WBO 8. Jomardashvili unranked by any of the organisations.

Betting 1/25 10/1

The always professional Macklin wont have a problem finding Jomardashvili who’s a come forward brawler. Look for Macklin who can be a quick starter to get off to a good start and make an impression by pushing Jomardashvili backwards from there he’ll methodically breakdown the tough durable Georgian until finally around the fifth or sixth he’ll bludgeon his brave but outgunned opponent to the canvas before seeing the fight called off.

Matthew Hall –V- Lucas Konecny

Vacant European Light Middleweight Title

Hometown; Manchester, England Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic

Record; 23-2(16) 44-3(21)

Rounds Boxed; 91 287

KO 64 45

Age; 26 32

Height; 5’7 5’8

Rankings; Both unranked by The Ring, Hall is also unranked in any of the organisations while Konecny is ranked 8 by the IBF & 6 WBO.

Betting 6/5 8/13

Pocket dynamo Hall was already in training for a fight when Ryan Rhodes pulled of this fight so sharpness shouldn’t be a problem Konecny could be a whole different ball game though. Konecny is battle hardened and has two wins over Khoren Gevor (who went on to challenge for world titles at 160 & 168) & only lost a split decision to the super talented Sergei Dzindziruk. The signs all point to Konecny being a bit to seasoned and having to much no how for Hall who will start well but fade by the middle rounds before coming on down the stretch before losing a spirited unanimous decision that will raise his profile while Konecny will be able to push for a second World title fight.

Kell Brook –V- Michael Jennings

British Welterweight Title

http://www.15rounds.com/q-a-with-kell-brook-081010/

Hometown; Sheffield, England Chorley, England

Record; 21-0(14) 36-2(17)

Rounds Boxed; 78 213

KO 67 45

Age; 24 33

Height; 5’9 5’9

Rankings; Both unranked by The Ring, WBO Brook 1 & Jennings 10.

Betting 1/6 4/1

Arguably the fight that most people are looking forward too on the card. A battle of youth (Brook) verses experience (Jennings) could be a changing of the guard of sorts with Brook’s star ascending while Jennings could be perhaps on the wane. Brook is very confident and to some may come across as brash even arrogant it’s not though it’s complete belief in his ability, he see’s this as a fight that can help him break out and make a statement. For his part Jennings is a very proud warrior who was out of his league against Miguel Cottobut is determined to prove many wrong and cause the shock. Though he’ll have his moments slowly but surely Brook will chip away until around the ninth Brook will put the shots together and get the stoppage.

Derek Chisora –V- Sam Sexton

British & Commonwealth Heavyweight Title

Hometown; London, England Norwich, England

Record; 13-0(8) 13-1(6)

Rounds Boxed; 54 70

KO; 62 43

Age; 26 26

Height 6’1 6’2

Betting 2/5 15/8

In a rematch two and a bit years after they first met both guys have improved considerably. It looks nicely poised, however Chisora has been more active of late he possess the better chin and knows he can hurt Sexton having previously stopped him in 6 that makes me think he can repeat it probably around the same time.

James Degale –V- Carl Dilks

WBA International Super Middleweight Title

Hometown; London, England Liverpool, Eng

Record; 7-0(5) 14-2(5)

Rounds Boxed; 20 84

KO 71 31

Age; 24 26

Height; 6’0 5’11

Betting 1/9 11/2

Last time out Degale fought very aggressively walking down Sam Horton as soon as he realised he couldn’t be hurt. This fight wont be much different Dilks doesn’t have the fire power to make Degale respect him though he is very tough and that should see him give Degale the rounds he needs. Degale will either force a late stoppage or coast to a comfortable decision.

Frankie Gavin –V- Michael Kelly

Vacant Irish Light Welterweight Title

http://www.15rounds.com/q-a-with-funtime-frankie-gavin-090210/

Hometown; Birmingham, England Dundalk, Ireland

Record; 7-0(6) 8-2-1(2)

Rounds Boxed; 24 41

KO 86 20

Age; 24 35

Height; 5’10 5’8

Betting 1/50 12/1

Fighting at home is an added pressure, that doesn’t seem to phase Gavin in fact he thrives on it. He’ll get some good work in an entertaining fight before scoring a stoppage in the seventh while comfortably ahead.

The weight in will take place at 2pm at the LG Arena on Friday 17 September.

The Running Order

Gates open at 4.30 with the first bell at 5.15

Joe Selkirk-V-TBA 4×3 Light Middleweight
Ronnie Heffron-V-Billy Smith 4×3 Welterweight

PPV Starts at 6pm

James Degale-V-Carl Dilks 12×3 Super Middleweight
Matthew Hall-V-Lucas Konecny 12×3 Light Middleweight
Nathan Cleverly-V-Kuro Kurat 12×3 Light Heavyweight
Kell Brook-V-Michael Jennings 12×3 Welterweight
Derek Chisora-V-Sam Sexton 12×3 Heavyweight

Swing Bout to be used before 10pm
Craig Evans-V-Mickey Coveney 4×3 Super Featherweight

After 10pm

Enzo Maccarinelli-V-Alexander Frenkel 12×3 Cruiserweight
Matthew Macklin-V-Shalva Jombardashvili 12×3 Middleweight
Frankie Gavin-V-Michael Kelly 10×3 Light Welterweight
Don Broadhurst-V-Najah Ali 10×3 Super Flyweight

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that WBA Super Lightweight champion Amir Khan will battle interim champion Marcos Maidana on December 11 in Las Vegas.

“We came to an agreement [Tuesday] night. Khan is on board. Maidana is on board and I am finalizing everything with Mandalay Bay,” Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said outside of Staples Center during a news conference promoting Saturday night’s Shane Mosley-Sergio Mora HBO PPV card.

“Amir wanted to have this fight in the U.K. and Maidana wanted the fight to be in the United States, but we worked on things and I was informed by Amir’s lawyer that he would fight in the U.S.,” Schaefer said. “There was some urgency for us to make a deal because of the purse bid coming up, but now we have a deal and I will inform the WBA that the fighters have reached agreement.”

“We worked it out financially where everyone was happy,” Schaefer said. “It was a difficult fight to put together but this was the fight I kept hearing from fans and media that they wanted to see. Golden Boy made some concessions and we got the fight done.”

“I want this fight and the fans want to see this fight,” said Khan, who had called Schaefer’s cell phone from England and spoke to ESPN.com. “It’s two explosive styles meeting up. It’s the explosive puncher [Maidana] against the quick and explosive boxer. They say Maidana has a style to beat a boxer, so let’s see how good he is. Maidana wants to stop me from having my legacy, but that is not going to happen. But let him try.”

“I’m coming to fight him where he wants to fight. But I want this fight, so I am going where he wants to fight,” Khan said. “That’s how much I want this fight.”

PHILADELPHIA (September 15, 2010)—On Friday night October 8th, one of the hottest prospects in boxing, undefeated Danny “Swift” Garcia will take on his toughest challenger to date when he battles former world title challenger, “Mighty” Mike Arnaoutis in ten round Jr. Welterweight bout that will highlight a night of world class boxing at The Arena (Formally The New Alhambra) in South Philadelphia.

The show is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Joe Hand Promotions.

Garcia of Philadelphia has quickly risen up the short list of potential world champions as he has amassed a perfect mark of 18-0 with twelve wins coming by knockout.

In just his fourth pro bout, Garcia fought and scored a six round unanimous decision over former four-time world title challenger, Julio Gamboa (28-12-2) on May 3rd, 2008.

Garcia made an emphatic statement as he returned to his hometown to score a “Highlight Reel” second round destruction of Enrique Colin (29-5-3) on December 2nd at The Liacouras Center on the Bernard Hopkins-Enrique Ornelas undercard.

The twenty-two year then headlined in Philadelphia for the first time and took out rugged Christopher Fernandez (18-9-1) in round seven of a scheduled ten round bout that was seen all over the United States on Telefutura.

In his last bout, Garcia took on Jorge Romero (17-2) in Cancun, Mexico. Garcia scored a ninth round knockout that was highlighted by a left hook that made the fight a candidate for Knockout of the year and in the process gave Garcia the WBC Interim Youth Championship.

“I’m very excited to give my home town another great show and put the city of Philadelphia back on the boxing map”, said Garcia

“I’m very excited to be fighting Mike and after this win, all the top Jr. Welterweights in the world will know Danny “Swift” Garcia is for real.”

Arnaoutis of Atlantic City, New Jersey by way of Athens, Greece has been in many big fights over the past five years.

Arnaoutis had his “coming out party” as he engaged with undefeated future world champion Juan Urango (13-0) in what was one of the best bouts of 2004.

The bout was ruled a draw in the action packed contest where many watching around the country on SHO BOX felt Arnaoutis should have received the nod.

He received a world title fight against power punching Ricardo Torres (29-1) on November 18, 2006 as part of the Manny Pacquiao – Erik Morales III undercard in Las Vegas.

Arnaoutis scored a knockdown but came up just short as he lost a razor thin split decision.

Arnaoutis then lost WBO title elimination bout to Kendall Holt.

It has been a roller coaster for Arnaoutis since that fight as he has gone 5-4 with quality wins over Lanardo Tyner (19-0) and Doel Carrasquillo.

Arnaoutis recently tried his luck in the Welterweight division but fell short against the likes of former world title challenger Delvin Rodriguez (24-4-2) and in his bout he lost a ten round unanimous decision to the highly regarded Demetrious Hopkins (29-1-1) on July 2nd, 2010 in Ontario, California in a bout that was broadcasted on ESPN 2.

The co-feature will showcase undefeated Lightweight Michael Perez (9-0-1, 4 KO’s) of Newark, New Jersey in a six round bout.

Anthony Flores (9-1-1, 6 KO’s) will see action in an eight round Super Featherweight bout

Exciting lightweight, Victor Vasquez (11-4-1, 6 KO’s) will take on Edward Valdez (3-8-2) of Brooklyn, New York in a six round bout.

Alex Sanchez (1-1, 1 KO) of Camden, NJ will take on Joe Dunn (0-1) of Philadelphia in a four round Middleweight bout.

Lightweight Kareem Cooley (1-1); Super Feather weight Jason Sosa (3-0-1, 1 KO) and Lightweight Angel Ocasio (3-0, 1 KO) will all see action in separate bouts against opponent to be named

Tickets for this memorable night of boxing are priced at $100; $65; and $45

The Arena (Formally The New Alhambra) is located at: 7 W. Ritner St. (Corner of Swanson and Ritner), Phila, PA. 19148

Tickets for this great night of boxing can be purchased at:

The Arena (Formally The New Alhambra)
7 West Ritner Street
267-687-7560

Joe Hand Promotions
407 E. Pennsylvania Blvd.
Feasterville, PA 19053-7847
215-364-900

Joe Hand Boxing Gym
543 – 547 North 3rd Street
Philadelphia, PA
215-271-4263

“Between the optimist and the pessimist, the difference is droll. The optimist sees the doughnut; the pessimist the hole” — Oscar Wilde.

Simply put, to date, 2010 has not been a great year for the sweet science. Much has been made — and written — about what could have been. The superfight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. never came to fruition. David Haye settled for bouts with John Ruiz and Audley Harrison instead of taking on one of the Klitschko brothers and one of boxing’s bright spots, Showtime’s Super Six tournament, has hit monumental speed bumps, perhaps discouraging promoters and fighters from entering tournaments in the future.

Further, negative press has cast a shadow over boxing in recent weeks as a direct result of misguided actions by boxers outside of the ring. We can hope it has all come to a head with the recent Mayweather debacle and Ricky Hatton drug-binge.

With regards to the action, like any year, there have been entertaining brawls and there have been snooze-fests. Recently, in back-to-back weekends, two Fight of the Year candidates took place outside of the United States. Ricky Burns upset Rocky Martinez in a twelve round slugfest in Scotland that saw Burns overcome a first round knockdown and ultimately capture the WBO super featherweight title in front of his hometown fans. The other took place a week prior when Giovanni Segura — playing the role of hunter — went into Ivan Calderon’s backyard of Puerto Rico where he stalked his prey for seven-plus rounds until the formerly undefeated Calderon was unable to continue after eating a barrage of devastating body shots. As a result, Segura and his team traveled back to Mexico with the WBO light flyweight and the WBA Super World light flyweight titles in tow.

Unfortunately, recent media coverage — including my own — has not focused on these two superb bouts. Rather, the recent focus on the sport of the boxing has primarily been dominated by the negative actions of both Mayweather and Hatton.

I, for one, do not subscribe to the theory that all press is good press. That is why the rest of this article will be dedicated to shining a light on fights to look forward to before the year’s end.

This upcoming weekend’s HBO Pay-Per-View card at the Staples Center in Los Angeles is a decent fight card that is being marketed toward Mexican fans with the lure that on the weekend that celebrates Mexican Independence, three fighters of Mexican decent will look to provide their Mexican brethren with one more reason to celebrate.

Victor Ortiz looks to continue on the comeback trail after he was stopped by Marcos Maidana in June of last year when he faces off against veteran Vivian Harris, who in his last fight was the victim of an extremely premature stoppage in Mexico at the hands of Argentinian, Lucas Matthyse. Prized Mexican prospect Saul “Canelo” Alvarez confront his toughest challenge yet when he fights aged veteran Carlos Baldomir and the main event will feature Sergio Mora against Shane Mosley.

By no means is this a card to be thrilled about, but there is some intrigue with regards to both the Alvarez and Mosley bouts. Alvarez was rocked in the first round of his last fight against Jose Miguel Cotto, but ultimately recovered to get the TKO victory. We’ll have the chance to continue to watch him mature and see if he can stop the grizzled veteran Baldomir for the first time in sixteen years.

The Mosley fight is interesting because Las Vegas says it is interesting. The Sin City betting lines for this fight opened with Mora a +280 underdog. Since then, the action has moved in the “Latin Snake’s” direction changing the line to Mora a +220 underdog — meaning a majority of the betting public believes Mora pulls off the upset.

On Oct. 15, arguably the best super middleweight in the world, Lucian Bute, squares off against his mandatory challenger, Jesse Brinkley in a bout that can be seen on ESPN3.com. That same night, boxing fans can witness Antonio Tarver’s foray into the heavyweight division when he faces Nagy Aguilera in a fight televised on Showtime.

The next day, ESPN3.com will air Vitali Klitschko’s title fight with Shannon Briggs, live from Hamburg, Germany.

Nov. 6 is a big day for boxing when Juan Manuel Lopez (JuanMa) takes on Rafael Marquez live on Showtime from Las Vegas. If JuanMa successfully navigates by Marquez, it will hopefully set up a bout between him and Yuriorkis Gamboa for sometime in early 2011.

That same night, HBO will televise a “Boxing After Dark” card live from Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center that will be headlined by Zab Judah against Lucas Matthyse. Judah looked extremely impressive on ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights” earlier in the year and one or two more dominating performances can make him a player at 140 lbs.

The Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito bout from Cowboys Stadium speaks for itself. HBO’s 24/7 will certainly drum up drama and help create storylines leading up to the November 13 PPV. Kelly Pavlik will battle with Daniel Edouard on the undercard. This marks Pavlik’s first time in the ring since he donned a stomach-churning crimson mask courtesy of Sergio Martinez back in April when he lost his title. We’ll get another glance at Cuban sensation Guillermo Rigondeaux and also get a peak at highly-touted welterweight prospect, Mike Jones.

On Nov. 27, Juan Manuel Marquez returns to the ring to take on battle-tested Michael Katsidas in a bout that should feature great action. An exciting Panamanian fighter, Celestino Cabellero will be featured on the undercard, and rumors continue to swirl that Andre Berto may be placed on this card as well, making it a triple-header.

A Nov. 20 fight in Atlantic City that has yet to be finalized would feature Sergio Martinez-Paul Williams II and be shown on HBO.

Dec. 4 may play host to an interesting bout between Miguel Cotto and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Chavez Jr. is fresh off arguably his most impressive performance of his career against John Duddy and a win over Cotto will finally earn him the respect he has insisted he deserves.

Dec. 11 may mark the biggest night of all as Showtime kicks off the semi-finals of it’s bantamweight tournament when Abner Mares faces off against Vic Darchinyan and Yohnny Perez takes on Joseph Agbeko. This date is also a tentatively scheduled date for what would be a much talked about fight between Amir Khan and Marcos Maidana.

Finally, scheduled to take place on Dec. 18 in Quebec City is a bout between Bernard Hopkins and Jean Pascal. Pascal is fresh off his upset victory against Chad Dawson, while the “Executioner” looks to regain relevancy and prolong his outstanding career.

Perhaps it’s foolish to view the remaining 2010 fistic schedule as whole doughnuts. The doughnuts would have been the Super Six proceeding flawlessly, a bout between a Klitschko brother and David Haye, as opposed to Klitschko-Briggs and Haye-Harrison, and of course, the elusive super fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather, among other wishes.

It is equally foolish to view the remainder of 2010 as the empty hole in the doughnut, failing to acknowledge the interesting fights that have yet to take place, and instead choosing to dwell on what could and should have been.

The remaining 2010 boxing schedule is the equivalent to munchkins — made popular by doughnut chain, Dunkin Donuts. They are not the whole doughnut, nor are the empty center of the pastry. However, they are born from the center of the doughnut and serve as a sample of the whole doughnut — an appetizer of sorts. They are enjoyable, but not filling. They are enough to hold you over until the bigger meals arrive.

You can reach Kyle Kinder at Twitter.com/KyleKinder

Baltimore, MD (September 14) – Legendary warrior Vinny Paz will be the special guest of honor this Friday, September 17 at the “Baltimore Bad Boys” fight card from the Du Burns Arena.

Paz, who participated in a number of thrilling bouts during the 1990’s, defeated the likes of Roberto Duran, Lloyd Honeyghan, Gilbert Dele, Greg Haugen and Dana Rosenblatt among others. A two time world champion, Paz miraculously returned to the ring following a horrific car crash en route to going down amongst most entertaining and barbaric pugilists in history.

Headlining the card is a ten round middleweight showdown between two of the Beltway’s most warrior-esque fighters in Baltimore’s Jesse “The Beast” Nicklow and Windsor Mill’s “Vicious” Julius Kennedy.

Nicklow, 20-2-1 (7 KO’s), has been involved in various entertaining fights including victories over Scott Sigmon, George Rivera, Matt Berkshire and Joshua Snyder amongst others. Nicklow, who is also 1-0 as a mixed martial artist, put forth a tremendous performance on National TV last December in a heart filled loss to highly regarded Fernando Guerrero.

The all-action Kennedy has won seven straight bouts, including victories over previously unbeaten Inka Laleye and 12-1 Aaron Pryor Jr., defeating the latter in his hometown. Following a number of his victories, Kennedy openly challenged Nicklow, creating a high demand for the bout amongst local fans and media.

Nicklow and Kennedy will square off for the WBF America’s and Maryland State Middleweight Championships.

“I am excited to have Vinny back in Maryland and he couldn’t have picked a better fight to attend,” said promoter Jake Smith of Baltimore Pro Boxing. “There has been bad blood between Nicklow and Kennedy during the last few years, so I think that there will be Vinny Paz type fireworks on Friday night!”

Also appearing on the undercard are local Free State favorites Steve “Show Stealer” Wheeler of Catonsville, Capital Heights’ Thomas “KO” Snow and Baltimore natives Jed Phipps and Maxell Taylor.

Tickets start at just $35 and are available by calling 410-675-6900. All ticket holders will have the opportunity to meet and greet Paz.

The Du Burns Arena is located at 1301 S. Elwood Ave in Baltimore. Doors open at 6:30 and the first bout is slated for 8 pm.

PHILADELPHIA (September 14, 2010)—On Wednesday night October, 13th brother Derek and Farah Ennis will headline an International boxing card that will originate from the National Guard Armory in Northeast Philadelphia.

The show will be promoted by No Limits Promotions and Fingermann Promotions

Derek Ennis, the current USBA Jr. Middleweight champion will be in the main event scheduled for ten rounds in a non-title bout against an opponent to be named later.

Ennis of Philadelphia has a record of 22-2-1 with thirteen knockouts and is coming off one of the most exciting victories of his career as he outlasted Gabriel Rosado on July 30th at the Arena in Philadelphia in what was one of the most anticipated fights in Philadelphia in a decade.

The two went toe to toe over twelve rounds and thrilled the sellout crowd and will go down as another classic battle between Philadelphia fighters.

When the scores were tallied, Ennis gained the victory by scores of 117-111; 116-112 and 114-114 to make the first defense of the USBA belt.

Ennis won the USBA Jr. Middleweight title with a tremendous back and forth brawl and won a hard fought twelve round unanimous decision over Eromosele Albert on October 16th and The Legendary Blue Horizon.

Ennis and Albert exchanged hard combinations in close and the near-sellout crowd at The Legendary Blue Horizon was entertained as the fight was one of the best in Philadelphia in the past few years.

Ennis won by scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113 in the bout for which most ringside observers thought could have gone either way.

That win catapulted Ennis into the world rankings as he is now ranked number ten by the IBF.

The win over Rosado was Ennis’ tenth straight victory and he holds win over Albert (22-3-1), John Mackey (11-3-2) and Troy Browning (20-2-1) in that streak.

The co-feature will pit Ennis’ brother and undefeated Super Middleweight, Farah Ennis in an eight round bout against an opponent to be named.

Farah has a record of 16-0 with ten knockouts and is coming off a third round stoppage over Reggie Pena on August 28th in Atlantic City and is quickly becoming a force in the loaded Super Middleweight division.

He has been one of the most active fighters around as this will be his sixth fight in 2010 and he has stepped the competition with each bout. His previous five bouts have produced knockout victories for Ennis.

The twenty-seven year old has a very diverse style as he has won fights by displaying his terrific boxing ability while in other bouts he has shown awesome knockout power like the aforementioned bouts.

In those bouts, Ennis has stopped Emanuel Gonzalez (9-6) in three rounds, Frankie Santos (17-8-4) in two rounds, Steve Walker (24-24) in one round and Ennis stopped grizzled veteran Demetrius Davis (20-23-5) in three rounds on July 30th in Philadelphia.

The twenty-seven year old Ennis turned pro in February of 2006 by scoring a second round stoppage over Sylvester Golding in Philadelphia.

He has fought up and down the east coast by fighting in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Tennessee and this will be his first fight in New Jersey.

A full undercard will be announced shortly.

The National Guard Armory is located at 2700 Southampton in Philadelphia

Tickets priced at $40, $60 & $90 can be purchased at:

Peltz Boxing
2501 Brown Street
Philadelphia, PA
215-765-0922

No Limits Promotions
124 Chestnut Street
Suite 7
Philadelphia, PA
215-925-4130

The eagerly awaited clash between Matthew Macklin & Darren Barker was disappointingly cancelled when Barker was forced to pull out with a hip injury a couple of weeks ago. It was seen by many in the trade as a 50-50 battle that as well as being for the European title would also before British bragging rights. Thankfully some nifty work by Frank Warren has seen Barker be replaced by Shalva Jomardashvili 27-2-1(19) who will now meet Macklin for the now vacant European Title. Macklin 28, enjoyed a big 2009 when he demolished both Wayne Elcock & Amin Asikainen. Both wins firmly established him in the top 10 of the world rankings at 5 in both the WBC & WBA 6 with the IBF & 10 with the WBO. After being beset by cancellations finally the force of nature that has been “Mack the Knife” gets back to what he does best. Here’s what he had to say.

Hello Matthew, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly you have a big fight coming up on the bumper 18 September show against Shalva Jomardashvili. What are your thoughts on him and that fight?

Matthew Macklin – I’ve not seen a lot of him. I’ve just heard he’s very tough, very strong and keeps coming basically. He gave Martin Murray (20-0(7) Current Commonwealth champion) a very tough fight. It was very close, some people thought he was unlucky not to get the decision (Murray won a six round decision 58-56) I didn’t see the fight myself so I don’t know a great deal. But I’m in great shape, I trained hard for the Barker fight. He (Barker) was more of a mover, this guy is more come forward type. I’ve boxed all over the world as an amateur in multi tournaments and boxed different styles, I had four fights in four days. I’m pretty experienced & seasoned now, you just have to be professional. The main thing is obviously not to be deflated after the Barker fight (was cancelled), it was then back on for a European title that was a boast. I’ve gotten over the disappointment of the Barker fight, I can’t dwell on it now it’s in the past. I have to focus on this guy because I don’t want it to be a banana skin.

Anson Wainwright – Obviously this fight is a late replacement for Darren Barker, what are your thoughts on what happened with that fight?

Matthew Macklin – People were saying the fight wasn’t going to happen but from my point of view it was 100% going to happen. With regards the injury I couldn’t answer, as far as I know he signed the contract, said he wanted the fight and I was going he was good to his word. But he pulled out and you think mmm it’s a bit coincidental. But at the same tune I’ve had injury’s in the past and had to withdraw from fights, so I don’t want to accuse him of anything without really knowing the facts. At the end of the day he’s pulled out and has his reasons whatever they are.

Anson Wainwright – It’s almost as if you scared everyone off with two very impressive performance when you demolished Wayne Elcock & Amin Asikainen last year. Is that how you feel and what has happened regarding other fights because you last fight was just before Christmas? Pirog/Barker/Mora etc

Matthew Macklin – Not even just that when I was European champion Dmitry Pirog was my mandatory challenger. He actually withdrew from the fight to sit on his WBO ranking. In fairness to him it ended up being a smart move because he’d of fought me and gotten beaten and where would he of been then. He was number 2 with the WBO (Gennady) Golovkin moved in for the WBA title that elevated him to fight Jacobs for the vacant belt, fair play to him what a performance. That was one fight, (Khoren) Gevor was mandatory when he withdrew. I was going to make a voluntary defence injured my nose but ended up vacating and parting with Hatton Promotions. There was a deal on the table with Golden Boy to fight Winky Wright then Sergio Mora. Winky Wright agreed then changed his mind, Mora just flat refused the fight. So it was getting to the stage where some fighters gather hype and momentum and everybody wants to fight them because there not as good as the hype. I’m one of the fighters all the other fighters know I can really fight and they don’t want to fight me. When I was European champion 2 mandatory’s withdrew. Whenever I’ve fought for a title Elcock, Jamie Moore, Asikainen I’ve always been mandatory. When I was champion the mandatory’s did want to fight me. Winky Wright & Mora whatever there reasons I’m not saying they didn’t think they could beat me who know what there reasons were but they pulled out of the fight or they refused to fight me. Now we have Barker saying he can’t wait for the fight blah blah blah the proof is in the pudding. Low and behold people said he was gonna pull out and what happens he pulls out. It’s frustrating, I put myself out there. I believe I’ll do any Middleweight in the world. In all honesty I think there’s 4/5 of us there’s me, Gennady Golovkin, Dmitry Pirog, Sergio Martinez & Sturm. On any given day we could probably all beat each other. But I’m certainly in the mix. I can beat all of those and I will beat them when it comes down to it. I’ll want it more than them & I will be in better shape. I just want the opportunity to prove I can be the best Middleweight in the world. I’m prepared to put myself out there and have been putting myself out there, it’s other people refusing to step up to the plate and fight me is preventing me proving myself.

Anson Wainwright – You didn’t mention Kelly Pavlik or Sebastian Sylvester?

Matthew Macklin – I didn’t mention them because I believe even though Sylvester is a world champion I don’t believe he’s as good as Pirog, Martinez, myself or Sturm. Sturm beat him. To be honest I don’t believe he beat Gevor. Gevor was unlucky against Sylvester not to get the decision. I’d say its between Golovkin, myself & Martinez the best 3 Middleweights in the world. If we could do the old box offs if you add Pirog. Pavlik had the big profile, he beat the man who beat the man but for whatever reason he’s not quite firing on all cylinders or maybe he’s had better days.

Anson Wainwright – Looking back at those fights with Elcock & Asikainen from your point of view what clicked into place for you on those nights?

Matthew Macklin – Yeah well if you go through my record the best people I’ve fought I’ve blew away. When I fought Alexey Chirkov he was 17-1(11) it was on the Hatton-Maussa card. I didn’t have a promotional agreement with Dennis Hobson so that was thrown in as a 50-50 fight, a good undercard fight. I wasn’t the house fighter because they had no interest in me. That was supposed on paper to be 50-50. He’d only lost once over 8 rounds to Khoren Gevor on points. I knocked Chirkov out in a round, I was up for a really hard fight same with Asikainen and I knocked him out in a round. I knew I’d do Elcock to be honest. I thought I’d knock him out in 5 or 6 rounds (Macklin ended up stopping Elcock in 3) It was a big local derby, a good local fight. Sometimes you fight a guy and hit him with a few good shots in the first and they go into a shell, they go into survival mode and you beat them on points, it’s almost like you go through the motions. I’m one of those fighters the better the opposition the better I fight. I’m like that in sparring that’s why I take better guys. If I spar guys a level below me I drop to there level. That’s why I don’t want easy fights. Ask Golden Boy, Richard Schaefer will tell you I wanted these fights with Winky Wright & Mora. I’ll fight anyone, you ask my manager Brian Peters a couple of years ago I wanted to fight Andy Lee & John Duddy. I never shied away from any fights. I could of fought in June against Giovanni Lorenzo but I wanted the Barker fight. Barker pulls out, I believe in myself and that I’d beat any Middleweight in the world.

Anson Wainwright – Word was that you were going to America to train at the Wild Card under Freddie Roach’s tutelage, what happened?

Matthew Macklin – I have trained there. Freddie maybe coming for the fight I’m waiting to here back from my manager Brian Peters. I did four and a half weeks at the Wild Card for this fight. I sparred over 70 rounds over there between “Kid Chocolate” Peter Quillen 21-0 Middleweight, Michael Medina he’s lost a couple in twenty odd, he lost a split decision to John Duddy on the Pacquiao undercard. I also sparred with the 28-0 Ukrainian (Stanyslav Kashtanov) who’s mandatory for Brian Magee (Current European Super Middleweight champion) and another kid called Rashad Holloway who’s 11-1-2 Welterweight. So I was over there, great sparring. I was doing pads with Freddie every other day. It’s a case of Freddie’s a great trainer, we work well together when he’s training me. But he does train Manny Pacquiao and fights can clash. It’s also important Joe Gallagher’s still part of the team. I’m happy and comfortable with Joe but I’m always going to be going to Freddie for fights.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your team who is your manager, trainer & promoter? Also what gym and where will you base yourself for the Barker fight?

Matthew Macklin – Manager is Brain Peters, my trainer is Freddie Roach but Joe Gallagher is very much involved. I did 4/5 weeks with Joe. I was over there 4 1/2 weeks and Joe came over for 2 weeks with me. A lot of fighters go there to work with Freddie. Senchenko was working with Freddie but also had his trainer from the Ukraine who’s a fundamental part of his training.

Before I went to America I got myself nice and fit with Joe Gallagher in Manchester and Joe came over (To America) with me and when I came back I was working with Joe as well. In between a 10 week training camp I just tick over.

Anson Wainwright – Your big friends with Ricky Hatton, can you tell us about how you first became friends? How close are you these days?

Matthew Macklin – Well like you said we were good friends we sparred a lot together. I was in his corner when he fought Mayweather and lots of fights. He worked my corner with Billy Graham on a few of mine and we were good buddy’s. I signed a 3 fight promotional deal, I only had the one. It didn’t quite work out I think for me or them and we agreed to part ways.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your early years growing up in Birmingham and how it took you into Boxing?

Matthew Macklin – I played a lot of sports when I was younger. I played Football (Soccer), Rugby, Gaelic Football, Hurling. I was into all sports but I also started Boxing at the age of 10. I think I started watching a few of the fights Larry Holmes against Tyson the Benn-Eubank kind of fights and just wanted to Box.

Anson Wainwright – When your not training for a fight what do you do with your time? What are your hobbies?

Matthew Macklin – I just enjoy not having to diet, get up and go running. I could do with getting a few more Hobbies, I have Boxing on the brain! I like Hurling & Gaelic Football in Ireland there sports I follow through the summer. This year believe it or not I haven’t fought since last December I was out in America for 7 weeks in February & March when I came back every week there was something new happening, this fight, that fight, this deal, that deal. I was over for the Khan fight, the Cotto fight. Literally every week there was something going on so it was hard to switch off from it because I was constantly thinking this fight or that fight might happen. So I was ticking over and on the phone talking to my manager all the time.

Anson Wainwright – At the start of your career you were a Light Middleweight, you struggled massively. What can you tell us about that? How comfortable are you at Middleweight? What is your walk around weight?

Matthew Macklin – I walk around about 185-190 which is around 13.3/13.4 when I go up there it’s when I’ve had a long break and you’ve over indulged in the fridge. Otherwise i walk around somewhere between 12/13 stone otherwise. I’m strong a Middleweight i feel strong and comfortable, at Light Middleweight it was just a bridge to far. I made the weight but couldn’t perform at it. I think even in the amateur’s I was at Light Middleweight I was winning gold medals all over. When the World Junior’s came about I brought myself down to Welterweight. Won my first fight, lost my second and although it was a bad decision I didn’t perform particularly well. When I won the Senior ABA’s I moved to Light Middleweight and went to a tournament in Greece I lost in the final to the number one in the world and he only beat me by a couple of points. Before the Moore fight the 8 rounder’s the signs were there I was doing 4 pounds in the sauna to make 11.3/11.4 so common sense would tell you move up 3 pounds not down 3. But sometimes your so in the zone that you just ignore it “I’ll be ok, I’ll do 10 weeks” But you live and learn.

Anson Wainwright – Who was your favourite fighter growing up?

Matthew Macklin – Sugar Ray Leonard, though completely different in styles Roberto Duran. I remember watching the DVD “The Fabulous Four” and loved all four fighters. All very different but Leonard was probably my favourite. I’ve come to like Mayweather. Obviously Manny Pacquiao is very exciting. Umm Marquez he’s coming to the end of the road but he’s been a very underrated fighter, he’s a great technian. David Haye’s very exciting to watch. I watch them all really.

Anson Wainwright – Finally do you have a message for the fans ahead of your fight?

Matthew Macklin – Just shame the Barker fight didn’t happen but I’m in great shape and we’ve had great sparring. This guy comes to forward and comes to fight. He’s not going to take a backward step and neither will I. I’m going to make sure it’s exciting. A win first and foremost. Because of my nature and style I don’t think I’m ever going to be in a really bad fight. I’m pretty aggressive, I throw punches and this guy doesn’t take a step backwards so it should be exciting. I hope everyone enjoys it and continues to watch my progress because I’m ranked in the top five by I think the WBC, WBA & IBF and with The Ring. It’s not a case of if, it’s a case of when. I’m going to take it with both hands. Other fighters might have the hype but I’m the real deal. I don’t only think I can win a title but dominate for 3 or 4 years to come.

Thanks for taking the time to speak to us Matthew.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

LOS ANGELES (SEPTEMBER 13, 2010)—This past Saturday night, undefeated Light Heavyweight prospect Sergey Kovalev kept his perfect knockout record intact with a first round stoppage over Kia Daniels at the famed Playboy Mansion.

Kovalev is quickly becoming one of the fastest risers in the Light Heavyweight division with his record now standing at 9-0 with nine knockouts.

All of Kovalev’s knockouts have come either in the first and second rounds.

The twenty-seven year old is a native of Chelyabinsk, Russia but has relocated to the United States and now resides in Los Angeles.

“We are very pleased with his progress”, said Egis Klimas who represents Kovalev.

“Not only has he shown great power by scoring all of these knockouts but he continues to improve and it won’t be long before we step up the competition in a major way and we believe that Sergey has what it takes to become a major force in the Light Heavyweight division”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, The October 2nd Super six Super Middleweight showdown between Arthur Abraham and Carl Froch will be postponed due to an Injury to Froch.

“We were informed [Monday] morning of a back injury that prohibits him to fight on Oct. 2, but that would allow him a fight about seven or eight weeks later,” Chris Meyer of Sauerland Event, Abraham’s promoter, told ESPN.com.

There is no new date set for the fight, however. Sauerland Event and Froch promoter Mick Hennessy need to huddle with Showtime as well as with their European broadcast partners to figure out a new date.

“Froch claims he has a back injury and the promoters are talking to [Showtime’s] Ken [Hershman] about a new date,” Showtime spokesman Chris DeBlasio told ESPN.com

SAN JOSE, CALIF. (Sept. 13, 2010) – Five months after their initial encounter, an exciting battle that ended prematurely due to an accidental poke in the eye, “Relentless” Roger Bowling will put his unbeaten record on the line one more time against “Vicious” Bobby Voelker in a collision of welterweights (170 pounds) in the main event of a STRIKEFORCE Challengers Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight card presented by Rockstar Energy Drink at Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif., live on SHOWTIME® at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast), on Friday, Oct. 22.

Undefeated prospect and Fresno resident Billy Evangelista will make his long-awaited return to the cage when he faces Waachiim “Native Warrior’’ Spiritwolf in a 165-pound catch weight bout. Heavyweight star and Madera, Calif. native Lavar “Big” Johnson will continue his miraculous return to the sport in a matchup against an opponent to be determined.

A special pre-sale ticket purchase opportunity for the event will take place for “STRIKEFORCE Insider” e-newsletter subscribers (http://STRIKEFORCE.com/insider.html), beginning at 10 a.m. PT on Wednesday, Sept. 15, and ending at 10 p.m. PT. on Thursday, Sept. 16. STRIKEFORCE Insiders will receive a special e-newsletter with the pre-sale code.

Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. PT on Friday, Sept. 17, and will be available for purchase at the Save Mart Center box office, select Save Mart Supermarkets, all Ticketmaster locations (800) 745-3000, Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com) and STRIKEFORCE’s official website (www.strikeforce.com).

The 5-foot-8, 27-year-old Bowling (8-0), of Columbus, Ohio, won a unanimous three-round technical decision over the 6-foot, 31-year-old Voelker (22-8), of Kansas City, Kan., during a STRIKEFORCE Challengers presentation on May 21 in Portland, Ore., on SHOWTIME.

Bowling, who trains in Cincinnati with, ironically, Team Vision, was ahead by the scores of 29-28 on the three judges’ scorecards when an excellent, crowd-pleasing fight was halted at 1:38 of the third round after he could not continue due to an unintentional poke in the right eye he had received.

The talented, aggressive-minded Bowling entered the fight, his STRIKEFORCE debut, with high expectations and the rising star lived up to the billing and his nickname as he punished Voelker, particularly during the majority of the first two rounds.

This will be the first start since for Bowling, a pro since June 2007 who had won his seven previous fights inside the distance, six of which came in the first round.

Voelker, who was in the midst of a major rally against Bowling when the bout came to a disappointing end, has maintained a busy schedule since turning pro in February 2006. He has fought once since the Bowling match, winning a hard-fought, three-round split decision over Cory Devela last July 23 on STRIKEFORCE Challengers at Everett, Wash.

It was the eighth victory in 11 starts for the hard-trying, determined Voelker, who registered a dramatic, come-from-behind second-round TKO (punches) over Erik Apple at STRIKEFORCE: Challengers on Nov. 20, 2009, in Kansas City.

“It was unfortunate and frustrating my last fight had to finish that way,’’ Bowling said. “I felt it ruined the first couple rounds that I worked really hard for. But it was just one of those things that can happen. If you get poked in the eye, you can’t open it. And if you can’t open your eye, they’re not going to let you fight.

“Both Roger and I have great hearts and I’m looking forward to doing it again with him.’’ said Voelker, whose left eye was cut in the first. Like he did against Apple, Voelker showed an incredible chin, heart and remarkable resolve and resiliency by staging a dramatic comeback in the third stanza after absorbing an inordinate amount of punishment in the first two rounds.

At the end of the second round, a seemingly exhausted Voelker impressively managed to take down Bowling. It was still going Voelker’s way at the outset of the third as he rocked Bowling, who had never had a fight go past two rounds, with combinations.

But shortly thereafter, moments after the referee had separated the fighters when they were clinched against the cage, one of the seams on the outside of Voelker’s gloves grazed Bowling’s right eye. Unable to continue, the fight went to the scorecards and Bowling got a decision based on the strength of the first two rounds.

“It’s an unfortunate thing,’’ Voelker said. “We had a great war and we just wanted to end it with a great war in the last 3:22. Things happen, accidents happen. He wasn’t able to see and couldn’t continue. He won the first two rounds so he got the decision. There it is. We can do it again. We’ll both be back.’’

The start for Evangelista (10-0, 1 No Contest), a Muay Thai specialist, will be his first since Nov. 6, 2009, when the 5-foot-8, 29-year-old earned a unanimous decision over hard-hitting brawler Jorge Gurgel at STRIKEFORCE Challengers at Save Mart Center. An injury sustained in the bout with Gurgel has kept Evangelista sidelined.

In his outing before last on May 15, 2009, on STRIKEFORCE Challengers, Evangelista fought Mike Aina. The result was initially ruled a victory by disqualification for Aina, but it was later overturned and ruled a no contest by the California State Athletic Commission after Evangelista appealed. Replays showed Evangelista’s knee struck Aina in the shoulder, not the head, as the referee originally believed.

Spiritwolf (8-6-1), a resident of San Diego, Calif., will make his debut for STRIKEFORCE. A two-fight winning streak and three-fight unbeaten streak (2-0-1) in 2010 ended for the 5-foot-8, four-year pro when he lost a decision to Delson Heleno on Sept. 4.

A Native-American who is of Navajo and Yaqui descent, Spiritwolf registered an impressive first-round TKO over Crafton Wallace in his outing before last on May 22.

Johnson, a second-round TKO (punches) winner over then-undefeated Lolohea Mahe last March 26 in the main event of STRIKEFORCE Challengers at Save Mart Center, will be making his second start since he was gunned down while attending a family barbeque during the July 4 holiday in 2009.

The 6-foot-2, 33-year-old Johnson survived three gunshot wounds sustained during the walk-by shooting that led to the death of a cousin. A father of two boys, ages eight and five, Johnson spent 30 days in a hospital, fighting for his life, and several more months rehabilitating.

Taking all that into consideration, he was pleased with his comeback performance, “I felt great,” he said. “The whole comeback thing was rough, but I took baby steps and came along. Now, I’m ready to fight again.’’

Save Mart Center doors will open for the STRIKEFORCE Challengers event at 4:45 p.m. The first preliminary bout will begin at 5:30 p.m. PT. The first main card bout will start at 8 p.m.

About STRIKEFORCE
STRIKEFORCE (www.STRIKEFORCE.com) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265. Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE, sanctioned by ISKA, has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts (MMA) series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.” In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose. In March 2009, STRIKEFORCE signed a multi-year agreement with SHOWTIME® to stage live events on the premium cable television network. The promotion has since also produced two live, primetime events on the CBS Television Network.

NEW YORK (Sept. 13, 2010) – Two-time champion and top world-ranked heavyweight superstar Josh “The Babyfaced Assassin” Barnett has signed a multi-fight agreement to compete for world championship Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion STRIKEFORCE.

“STRIKEFORCE is the home of the best heavyweight division in the world and I’m proud to be able to call it my home now,” said the 32-year-old Barnett (29-5), an expert in catch wrestling who hails from Seattle, Wash.

“I’m looking forward to competing amongst the greatest fighters in the world and fighting my way to another world title.”

The 6-foot-3, 255-pound Barnett became the youngest UFC champion in history at age 24 when he scored a second-round TKO (4:35) on MMA legend Randy “The Natural” Couture in Las Vegas, Nev., on March 22, 2002. In his sixth career fight, Barnett submitted wrestling and MMA legend Dan “The Beast” Severn with an armbar in the fourth round (1:21) in Hawaii.

In addition to his achievements in America, Barnett has spent a good portion of his career competing in top tier promotions overseas, including the now defunct PRIDE Fighting Championships in Japan where he notched memorable victories over the likes of Aleksander Emelianenko, Mark Hunt and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. On Oct. 21, 2006, Barnett took part in PRIDE’s first event on U.S. soil, submitting Pawel Nastula with a toe hold in the second round (3:04) at Las Vegas’s Thomas & Mack Center.

In 2008, Barnett competed in another Japanese promotion, Sengoku. After submitting (heel hook) Hidehiko Yoshida in Tokyo on March 5, 2008, Barnett returned to action on May 18, 2008, and earned a unanimous decision over top-ranked rival and fellow American Jeff “The Snowman” Monson.

Barnett signed an agreement to compete in Japan’s DREAM promotion earlier this year. Last March 22, he made his debut with the organization, submitting former K-1 tournament champion and devastating power puncher, “Mighty Mo” Siligia, with a kimura at 4:41 of the first round.

On July 10, Barnett followed up the strong showing with a first-round TKO (punches) over Geronimo dos Santos in the main event of a fight card in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

About STRIKEFORCE
STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265. Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE, sanctioned by ISKA, has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts (MMA) series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.” In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose. In March 2009, STRIKEFORCE signed a multi-year agreement with SHOWTIME® to stage live events on the premium cable television network. The promotion has since also produced two live, primetime events on the CBS Television Network.

Passaic, NJ’s Glen Tapia (7-0, 5 KO’s) was slated to take on rugged veteran Edvan Barros last night in Las Vegas, NV, but the bout was scrapped due to a scheduling issue.

Tapia had a solid training camp and was ready to go however, the cancellation of another card prompted promoter Top Rank to put some of their fighters under contact on last night’s show, which forced them to can the Tapia-Barros fight.

Luckily for Tapia, his hard work and dedication to training wasn’t wasted. Tapia informed GSFS that he is leaving for Los Angeles this evening to spar with pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao leading up to his November 13 bout with Antonio Margarito.

The former amateur standout, who previously served as a sparring partner for Miguel Cotto, views everything that happened as a blessing.

“I am excited to get this opportunity to train with one of the greatest in the world,” said Tapia. “I am going to learn a lot from him and this will be a great step towards bettering my career.”

Tapia is also thrilled to share the squared circle with a fighter he admires and strives to model himself after.

“I am a big fan of (Pacquiao) and I really like the intensity he fights with because he goes in there to give the fans a show, beat his opponents up and knock them out. I like to do the same so working with him will make me better at what I do.”

Tapia’s next fight will take place October 30 in Atlantic City against an opponent TBA.

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

Mexican icon Erik Morales did not dare disappoint the crowd of over 50,000 on hand at the Monumental Plaza de Toros in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico celebrating in advance of Mexican Independence Day Saturday night, as he stopped Willie Limond in six rounds to notch his 50th career victory. Just two fights into his comeback, Morales seems to have shaken off much of the rust left from his retirement.

Limond (33-3, 8 KOs) of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom got off to a solid start. Limond, 143, showed solid defense as he blocked and parried a fair amount of the Morales, 143, offense for the first two rounds. While Limond may have been the naturally bigger guy, his eight kayos indicate that he is not much of a puncher. Morales (50-6, 35 KOs) of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico was the heavy hitter in the fight, and that became clear as the fight progressed.

By the fourth round, Morales was asserting himself in the fight. Whereas Limond returned fire on even ground for the first few rounds, he was left defensive against Morales’ offensive pressure as the bout moved into the fifth round. In the sixth, Morales broke through with a vicious body shot that dropped Limond. While the Scot was clearly in pain, he was able to muster the energy to angrily punch the ground while taking referee Jay Nady’s count. Before the conclusion of the round, Morales dropped Limond twice more prompting the stoppage at 2:46 of the sixth.

Strangely, even though both fighters weighed in at the contracted 143-pounds, it was announced that the bout was for the WBC Silver Light Welterweight title. The light welterweight division limit, or super lightweight as the WBC calls it, is 140-pounds. Maybe even stranger, the WBC issued a press release earlier in the month that if Morales, the WBC #2 ranked light welterweight, defeated Limond, the Mexican legend would be made the mandatory challenger for the WBC Lightweight title. Morales has not made the lightweight limit of 135-pounds since August of 2007.

After the fight, Morales clearly stated his desire to campaign at lightweight. Looking ahead for Morales, the current WBC Lightweight Champion is Humberto Soto, who fights unheralded Fidel Monterrosa Munoz on September 18th in Mexico. Reportedly, Soto has a title defense against Marco Antonio Barrera in the offing. Should Barrera defeat Soto, it goes without saying that a Barrera-Morales IV would be the biggest fight either fighter’s handlers could make.

In a thrilling fight, WBC #1 ranked flyweight/IBF #5 108-pounder Edgar Sosa (40-6, 23 KOs) of Mexico City stopped game Filipino Ryan Bito (18-7-3, 6 KOs) of Sucat, Muntinlupa City, Philippines to win the WBC International Flyweight title.

Bito, the WBC #16 ranked flyweight, fought on even ground with Sosa, 111.76, early on in the bout, but eventually wilted to the Mexican’s vicious attack. Sosa supporters had reason to worry early on, as an accidental head clash opened a cut on his forehead in the third round. The blood seemed to give Bito, 110.26, additional confidence, as he landed several hard shots in the third and fourth.

Another accidental clash late in the fourth opened another cut on Sosa’s forehead late in the fourth. With two bad cuts bleeding steadily before the fight had gone long enough to become official, the bout was in danger of being stopped as a no contest. Especially considering Bito, fighting in North America for the first time, was having considerable success – it would not have been a surprise if the Mexican official stopped the fight at that convenient juncture.

Just as it seemed Sosa was in trouble, he rocked Bito just before the bell to end the fourth. As the fight entered into the middle rounds and the blood coming from his cuts stopped flowing, Sosa began to control the action. Sosa, in his third fight as a flyweight since dropping his WBC 108-pound title in controversial fashion to Rodel Mayol, varied his attack to Bito’s body and head, and started backing up the Filipino.

One minute into the tenth, Sosa dropped Bito with a horrid left body shot. Bito looked done, but gamely rose to his feet, and immediately entered into a fiery exchange with Sosa. A minute later, Sosa dropped Bito again with the same exact shot. Again Bito got up before the count of ten, but referee Guadalupe Garcia wisely stopped the contest. Official time of the stoppage was 2:05 of round ten. “I’d like to have one more fight before I fight for the title,” said Sosa after the fight.

Ana Maria Torres (22-3-2, 13 KOs) of Mexico City pleased her compatriots on hand at the bullring with an almost shockingly dominant ten-round unanimous decision over Alesia Graf (24-2, 9 KOs) of Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany to retain her WBC Super Flyweight title. Torres, 114.4, dropped Graf, 114.4, twice in the third round and continued to control the entire fight. Graf, the reigning WIBF/GBU 122-pound title-holder, not only had the superior boxing skills of Torres to deal with, she slipped at several instances on the rain dampened mat. Torres seemed on the verge of scoring a stoppage in the ninth, but Graf managed to make it the distance. All three judges scored the bout for Torres, 100-88.

Photos by Notimex

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