First, an anecdote. The night before Ghana’s Joshua Clottey fought Miguel Cotto, we took a cab from the BWAA awards dinner to Times Square. The driver was a Ghanaian. When I told him we were in town for Saturday’s big match at Madison Square Garden, he said, “Who’s fighting?”

The morning after Clottey lost to Cotto, I went to Central Park in a different Ghanaian’s cab. When I told him I’d stayed up late to cover Saturday’s big match at Madison Square Garden, he said, “Who fought?”

Joshua Clottey can bring a violent end to such anonymity Saturday night by beating Manny Pacquiao. The fight happens in Arlington, Tex. That can mean only one thing: Cowboys Stadium – the House that Jerry Built, and the anticipatory roar of 45,000 spectators. A tip of the cap to Mr. Jones and promoter Bob Arum for having a long enough view of things to make it happen.

Now let’s treat vulnerability. Pacquiao hasn’t been this vulnerable since the last time he fought in Texas, which was the last time he ran for congress in the Philippines. On Friday, Norm Frauenheim examined Pacquiao’s distracting political aspirations but couldn’t divine a reason for them. Neither can the rest of us.

Joshua Clottey is Pacquiao’s least-noteworthy opponent in the 35 months since Pacquiao’s last fight in Texas. Oh, Clottey’s more formidable than David Diaz turned out to be – more formidable than Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, too – but not better known.

If you were Pacquiao, then, how excited would you be about a guy who lost his last fight to the guy you stopped in November?

Well, there’s the stadium. Surely that gets Pacquiao’s attention? Not necessarily. Cowboys Stadium means more to the rest of us, as Americans, than it means to Pacquiao. After all, the Cowboys aren’t “Philippines’ Team” and Pacquiao could draw 45,000 folks to a “Wapakman” DVD release party in Manila.

Then how about a chance to preserve his undefeated streak in the Lone Star State? Pacquiao’s 2-0 (2 KOs) in Texas. His first fight was the breakthrough event of his career. In November of 2003, he blitzed Marco Antonio Barrera when many of us thought Barrera was invincible. Still, Pacquiao’s second knockout in Texas is more important to this week’s fight – and not because you missed it.

Both Pacquiao’s previous fights in Texas happened at Alamodome, the cavernous venue named after a Catholic mission that hosted a battle 174 years ago last Saturday. Alamodome is a mile east of where this column is now written, which puts it about two miles east of Pico de Gallo restaurant – where Jorge Solis sat anonymously sipping menudo the morning of his fight with Manny Pacquiao on the second Saturday of April 2007. As I recall, Solis looked kinda hopeless 10 hours before he faced Pacquiao.

He didn’t look hopeless in the opening rounds, though. Pacquiao was less than himself that night. His trainer Freddie Roach had been in Puerto Rico working with Oscar De La Hoya for “World Awaits” or “Fight to Save Boxing” or whatever it was called. Pacquiao had been in the Philippines campaigning for congress; “Vote for Manny” buttons were all over San Antonio. Team Pacman was out of sync.

Then an accidental clash of heads made Pacquiao see his own blood. That did it. Pacquiao went directly through Solis after that. Order was restored.

Which returns us to Joshua Clottey. There are only two things to break Clottey’s concentration in a prizefighting ring: Rules infractions, and a belief he’ll win.

A head butt, a hip toss, clinching, a low blow – any of these can send Clottey’s mind spiraling away from the matter at his hands. Against Cotto, he reacted theatrically to roughhousing. Then he did some corner-stool calculus, decided he’d won the fight and didn’t do much after the 10th round.

Clottey might never get convinced he can win Saturday. But with Pacquiao leaping at him from a southpaw stance, there’s a good chance Clottey’s head is going to get bumped by Pacquiao’s. Cotto tells us how Clottey reacts to such infractions. And Solis tells us how Pacquiao reacts to the sight of his own blood.

Does Clottey have the physical toolbox to beat Pacquiao? Sure does. Clottey’s much bigger than Pacquiao. He’s rugged as hell. He starts fast. He outboxed both guys who decisioned him. He’s got good power, good defense and a great chin.

Does Clottey have the mental toolbox to beat Pacquiao? Doubtful.

You have to think Pacquiao’s promoter Top Rank knows this. They might have been scrambling after the Mayweather fight fell through; they knew Pacquiao in Cowboys Stadium was an idea not to be squandered. But there’s exactly no chance they would risk boxing’s one globally transcendent commodity in a fight they thought he might lose. They had Cotto pegged, didn’t they?

We know what Clottey is. We know what Pacquiao is. Pacquiao could possibly lose to Clottey – en route to winning a congressional seat in the Philippines – but Clottey is not going to beat Pacquiao. At least, I don’t think he is. Besides, whatever I know about Clottey or Pacquiao, I don’t know nearly enough about Cowboys Stadium.

Can’t wait to see it. Can’t wait for the moment the lights dim before the main event and the fighters begin their ringwalks. The electricity of those four or five minutes is the one part of a prizefight television will never adequately capture.

After that, Pacquiao will hit Clottey with a variety of unexpected punches. Clottey will block many more. Pacquiao will do enough to win most rounds. Clottey will do enough to believe he won most rounds.

Or maybe something unexpected will happen. I’d love to see Clottey become famous. I’d love to see Pacquiao tested. I believe these things could happen or I wouldn’t go to Dallas. But I sure don’t expect them to happen.

I’ll take Pacquiao: UD-12.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter.com/bartbarry

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Vic Darchinyan retained the WBA/WBC Super Flyweight championships with a twelve round unanimous decision over game Rodrigo Guerrero at The Agua Caliente Hotel and Resort in Palm Spring, California.

Drachinyan started early by showing some decent boxing skills by deviating from his usual “Seek and Destroy” style by landing shome nice body shots and right hooks. In round five, the effects of Darchinyan’s shots were showing as a small cut opened around the left eye of Guerrero.

In round seven, Darchinyan really turned up the gas as he landed several thudding left hands that would have knockoed most men out but Guerrero showed a granite chin and continued in attempt to come forward. In round, eight Darchinyan landed several more shots that drove Guerrero back for just a moment. Guerrero showed Grade A toughness as he ate shot after shot from the heavy handed Darchinyan. For good measure, Darchinyan landed four more big shots in the final seconds of the fight but yet he stood on his feet to hear the final bell.

Darchinyan, 115 lbs of Sydney, Australia won by scores of 118-110; 117-111; 120-108 and is now 34-2-1. Guerrero, 114 lbs of Mexico City is 13-2-1.

Lenny Zappavigna scored a twelve round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Fernando Angulo in a Lightweight bout.

Zappavigna controlled the early rounds as he worked the body well as he featured the left hook and added some nice right hands. The fight seemed to change in Angulo’s favor in round six as Angulo cut Zappavigna around the right eye from a punch.

In round eye, the blood became very prevalent as it started to stream out of the eyelid. Angulo landed the more telling blows. In round nine, Angulo was deducted a poing for hitting on the break. There wasnt much to choose from over the final rounds but it seemed that Angulo deserved better, especially since the verdict was unanimous by scores of 116-111, 116-111 and 114-113 for Zappavigna.

Zappavigna, 135 lbs of Sydney, Australia is now 23-0. Angulo, 138 lbs of Sucumbios, Ecuador is now 22-7.

On the cusp of boxing’s super-season the world’s focus remains on Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. While we await their hopeful showdown both men have tall tasks in front of them this spring. Mayweather will face Shane Mosley on May 1, a bout that will be touched off on in the coming weeks, while Pacquiao dukes it out with the upset minded Joshua Clottey. I have compiled the thoughts of a number of boxers, and am lucky enough to be able to put together an amazing list of predictions. I consulted fighters from lightweight to heavyweight, male and female, amateur prospect to world champion, from America to Australia to see how they see this event playing out. Some were elaborative, while some kept it short and sweet. See how their predictions match up with mine and your own, and tune in March 13 to see who’s vision plays out.

I think Pac will overwhelm Clottey with a lot of activity, I look for a late stoppage or unanimous decision. I also see very game and tough Clottey throughout. – Steve Forbes, former super featherweight world champion

Manny is too fast and elusive for Clottey. Clottey is Strong, stronger than Cotto but he doesn’t throw enough punches. Pacquiao’s speed will be too much. –Bobby Gunn, cruiserweight world title challenger

Pac is too fast and too strong for Clottey, too awkward to be honest. I love Josh but he had Cotto and let him get away, if he doesn’t have the killer instinct with Pac he is done. It will be a great fight but I give Pac the edge. –Ishe Smith, junior middleweight contender

I pick Manny by decision because Clottey fights safe enough not to be ko’ed but too safe to win the fight.- Jeff Mayweather, world class trainer, former lightweight contender

This is a much more difficult fight for manny than people think. It will be a hard fought bout with pac winning on points. –Billy Dib, featherweight contender

I like Clottey by a twelve round decision. He’d have to be able to take the punishment then work. –A.K. Laleye Contender Season 4 participant

It will go the distance and it will go to Pac-Man. – Jason Litzau, NABF super featherweight champion

I like Clottey’s relentless pressure. I think Pac-Man’s fire is going to ignite Clottey, it will be a close fight but Clottey comes out with the decision. –Hasim Rahman Jr. world class amateur fighter.

I’m Going with Pacquiao by U.D. 🙂 – Mia St. John former female lightweight world champion

A dangerous fight for Pac-Man because of Clottey’s size and strength but I think the speed will be too much for Clottey to overcome. I’m going with Pac Man and I will be VERY impressed if he wins by stoppage. – Caleb Truax, WBF International super middleweight champion.

Mmmm, I don’t know, this is a pick ‘em – Nate Campbell, former undisputed lightweight champion

My only thoughts are do I get to fight the winner? – Emanuel Augustus, former IBA champion

This is a tough one. Clottey is such a physical terror for any welterweight to handle and he boasts an iron jaw. Still, I think Pacquaio will get by him. Not because of speed, power, or combination punching, but because he’s got too much riding on a potential showdown with Mayweather/Mosley. Great fighters find a way to win and I think Pacquaio will do just that. –Ryan Coyne, cruiserweight prospect, Contender Season 4 participant.

I said it prior to the Cotto fight, and it proved obsolete but I’ll say it before this one too, Clottey has to knock Pacquiao out. If you think Mayweather-Pacquiao isn’t still in HBO’s fold this fall you’d have to be punch drunk. For Clottey to derail this event he’s going to have to stop Pacquiao which I don’t see happening. I thought Oscar, and Cotto would both be too big for Pac-Man but I’m not making that mistake again, Pacquiao at his best is not too small for anyone. It will come down to aggression and Pacquiao will win that war every time, I’ll take Manny via wide UD. – Brett Mauren, 15rounds, Phantom Punch Productions

Final Tally

Pacquiao : Mauren, Forbes, Gunn, Smith, Mayweather, Dib, Litzau, St. John, Truax, Coyne

Clottey: Laleye, Rahman Jr.

Neutral: Campbell, Augustus

With as many different viewpoints as we have just seen, someone’s call is bound to play out, and we will find out which one on March 13. Please support these exciting fighters as their careers unfold and stay tuned for the Mayweather-Mosley prediction piece in the coming weeks.

After an evening of uninspiring undercard bouts, the main event between Devon Alexander and Juan Urango delivered in a big way. Two 140 pound titles were at stake: the IBF held by Urango and the WBC held by Alexander. The fight was competitive from the start as Alexander worked behind a crisp jab while Urango, in usual fashion, steamed forward headfirst throwing punches. What was surprising was how often Urango was able to land his sweeping right hook on the chin of the slick Alexander. Equally surprising was how little effect any of Urango’s punches, which are know for their power, seemed to have on Alexander. There was hardly a pause from Alexander when one of Urango’s rights connected and despite the frequency with which Urango landed, Alexander seemed determined to follow his gameplan of boxing from the outside. Initially, this seemed to be a bad strategy as Urango was able to get the best of the exchanges but as the fight unfolded, Alexander’s composure proved to pay off. He began to land jab straight right hand combos that kept Urango off balance and by the sixth, Alexander was unleashing 3 and 4 punch combos on the chin of Urango. By the 8th, the fight was very close and it seemed like it was going to remain that way for the rest of the fight as neither fighter was able to fully impose his will on the other. All that changed when Alexander was able to catch Urango with a perfectly timed right upper cut that punctuated a 3 punch combination. The upper cut put Urango down hard but in a scene reminiscent of Urango-Bailey, Juan was able to make it to his feet and continue fighting. Unfortunately for Urango, Alexander was a much better finisher than Bailey and dropped him with another flurry. Urango struggled to regain his footing and was wisely deemed unfit to continue by referee Benjy Esteves. The time of the stoppage was 1:12 of round number 8. Alexander is the division’s only unified champion and now stands at an impressive 20-0 13KOs. Urango’s record is now 22-3-1 17KOs but despite the loss, will no doubt still be able to land significant fights in a division that is beginning to make a serious case as being the best in boxing.

In a stunning upset, former super featherweight world titlist Steve Forbes (now fighting at welterweight) dropped an 8 round decision to journeyman Harrison Cuello. Forbes was simply outworked over much of the bout and seemed content to try and potshot Cuello with little result. To his credit, Cuello was there to fight and repeatedly hammered Forbes with left hands to the body and head. Forbes managed to pick up a few rounds with some body work and the occasional lazy jab, but Cuello was the busier fighter and his punches carried more steam. Thankfully the judges got it right and awarded the ecstatic Cuello the well deserved majority decision by scores of 78-74, 77-75 and 76-76. Cuello ups his record to 19-12-3 14KOs while Forbes, who should start thinking about retirement, drops to 34-8 10KOs.

Heavyweight Derric Rossy won a solid yet unspectacular unanimous decision over journeyman Zack Page and picked up the WBC USNBC title in the process. Rossy easily controlled the fight behind his jab and Page, who has scored a number of upsets in the past, seemed reluctant to offer up any kind of resistance. The sole moment of drama came in the sixth when Rossy stunned Page with a right upper cut and put him down moments later with a straight right hand. It was a hard knockdown and Page showed real determination to simply get up. It was to little avail though as Rossy continued to dominate the rest of the fight, claiming victory by scores of 117-110, 120-107 and 118-109. Rossy is now 25-2 14KOs while Page adds another L to his record which stands at 20-28-2 7KOs.

Contender alum Ryan Coyne kept his unbeaten record as he scraped by fellow crusierweight Paul Jennette over 8 rounds. Jennette took the first two rounds on activity alone as Coyne seemed reluctant to throw. Early on, Jennette simply walked in and banged away as Coyne did little to deter him from getting in close. By round three though, Coyne seemed to sense that he needed to pick up the pace and he began mount his offense in earnest. Coyne began to find a home for his straight left hand and staggered Jennette a number of times with it throughout the fight. Jennette fought back bravely though and managed to do enough to keep the fight close. Ultimately, Coyne was more effective and took the unanimous decision by scores of 77-75 (twice) and 78-74. He runs his record to 14-0-1ND 4KOs while Jennette falls to 11-3 8KOs.

Junior welterweights Andres Navarro and James Hope put on one of the most entertaining bouts of the evening as they slugged their way through all four rounds. Although both fighters threw with abandon, Hope was the busier and more effective fighter throughout. He managed to land a number of good left hook, right hand combos that caught the eye of the judges and the crowd. A left hook, right hand, left hook combo in round four staggered Navarro badly and put an exclamation point on Hope’s performance. He wasn’t able to finish Navarro but when the scores were handed in, they read 40-36 across the board in favor of Hope. With the win, Hope improves to 5-4 4KOs while Navarro slips to 4-3-1 4KOs.

Former Cruiserweight titlist Wayne Braithwaite made short work of his opponent Adam Harris, blowing him out in under a round. Braithwaite started slowly but upped the intensity mid-round, strafing Harris with body shots along the ropes. He then brought his attack upstairs, stunning Harris with a straight left to the head. Just before the bell, Braithwaite shot a left uppercut that dumped Harris to the canvas where he was counted out at 2:59 of the first round. Braithwaite improves his record to 24-4 with 20KOs while Harris drops his third in a row, falling to 10-3 7KOs.

The opening bout of the evening was a four round welterweight scrap between Angelo Santana (3-0 3KOs) and Darien Ford (11-19-2NC 4KOs.) Santana dominated the fight from bell to bell, dropping Ford twice in the third round and a final time right before the bell to end the fourth. Ford, more displeased than hurt, sat on the ground after the final knockdown while referee Arthur Mercante Jr. counted over him. Ford began to rise at 9 but was counted out before he got to his feet. Time of the stoppage was 2:59 of round 4.

Post-Fight Ring Quotes

Devon Alexander: “My coach told me to stay focused when Urango started bleeding [from the nose in the third round]. My coach said, ‘Don’t stand there and get hit.’

“His [Urango’s] punches did not hurt at all. I was surprised by that. Speed kills everything and that’s what I have.

“We trained all camp throwing the right uppercut.” Kevin Cunningham [trainer and manager] to Devon Alexander: “Did you hear me yell to you to throw the uppercut?” Alexander: “Yeah, I heard you!” Cunningham: “I told Devon to throw the uppercut, and he heard me. It was the magic shot. We trained all camp to throw that punch. We used speed to set up the power.”

Alexander: “I can beat anyone: Zab, Timothy Bradley, you name it. I want to come back to St. Louis and sell out the Scottrade center. I’m coming back to good old St. Lou with two world titles. This is very sweet.”

Juan Urango: “I’m very happy and satisfied with my performance tonight. Devon is a great champion and he came out and did his job. I performed well but Devon won tonight.”

Derric Rossy: “Page is a crafty, veteran fighter that can take a punch, no doubt about it. He knew how to take away the space I need to land my best shots. I dropped a big right hand on him in the sixth round and had him down and almost out. I think I tried too hard for the knockout instead of just letting it come.

“I could have let my hands go more in the closing rounds, but, like I said, he’s a crafty guy.”

Zack Page: “I wasn’t as good as I wanted to be tonight. I wasn’t in my best condition. I know that now. Rossy is a good fighter. He deserved the win tonight.”

Ryan Coyne: “I had him [Paul Jennette] hurt and almost out four of five times. I wish I could have knocked him out, but my power is getting better. I’ve been working with a strength and conditioning coach and it’s starting to come. I’m undefeated with 14 wins, so I’m happy.

“He [Jennette] came to fight, had a good chin and was in condition, but so am I.”

On Saturday night, at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, NJ, Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing presented a thrilling, action-packed night of professional boxing, that had the packed house in attendance asking for more. The five bout card was headlined by Atlantic City’s own, Shamone “The Truth” Alvarez taking on hard hitting Alexis Camacho.

The bout was seen LIVE on www.gofightlive.tv Fans can catch the on-demand replay for just $6.99 by clicking:

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=589

Alvarez and Camacho wasted no time getting acquainted, as they both came out in the first firing.

In the 2nd, the southpaw Alvarez began finding the range for his left hand, landing two short overhand lefts that rocked Camacho.

As the fight progressed from each round to the next, Alvarez got stronger and stronger. To Camacho’s credit, he showed guts, and a very good chin, as he continued to press forward as Alvarez’s punches found their mark time and time again.

In the 7th Camacho seemed to be tiring and Alvarez began pouring it on. Just when it looked as though Camacho might be getting back into the fight, landing some vicious punches to the body of Alvarez, a huge straight left hand from Alvarez sent Camacho flat on his back. The referee began his count, but the ringside doctor had seen enough and climbed through the ropes, halting the contest at 1:30 of the 7th round.

It was a very impressive showing for Alvarez as he looks to get himself back into title contention. With the win Alvarez improves to 21-2, 12KO while Camacho drops to 17-3, 16KO.

MADDALONE DOMINATES

In the co-feature bout of the evening, heavyweight fan-favorite, Vinny Maddalone, improved his record to 33-6, 24KO, with a vicious five round beat down of Dominique Alexander (19-8-1, 9KO).

Maddalone came out in the first, stalking Alexander. It was evident that Alexander was going to look to box and stay on the outside against the heavy-handed Maddalone. Maddalone had an answer for that though as he began unleashing thunderous right and lefts to the body of Alexander.

In the third round the body shots began to take their toll and Alexander’s movement slowed, allowing Maddalone to pin him against the ropes and bomb away. A big overhand right dropped Alexander just as the third round was coming to an end.

Maddalone continued where he left off in the 4th, dropping Alexander with a barrage of punches midway through the round and again at the end.

In the 5th a huge left hook to the body dropped Alexander for the fourth time, and the referee had seen enough, calling a halt to the contest at 1:09.

Other Results:

Chuck Mussachio W6 Richmond Dalphone
Ismael Garcia W4 Josh Mercado
Joey Dawejko W4 Kimani Cunningham

ABOUT STAR BOXING:
Star Boxing, Inc. has been in operation since 1992. Star Boxing has worked to produce some of the most exciting and memorable boxing events in recent history. Star has continued to work with and develop a number of very exciting world champions, world rated contenders and young prospects. Star has consistently brought credibility, integrity, and exciting fights to the boxing industry. For more information on Star Boxing, visit the official website at www.starboxing.com.

ABOUT TROPICANA CASINO & RESORT:
The Tropicana Casino & Resort is a 24-hour gaming destination located on the beach and Boardwalk. Featuring more than 2,100 rooms and suites and home of The Quarter, a 200,000 square foot entertainment complex, Tropicana is the premier resort in Atlantic City. With more than 20 restaurants, 25 shops, 12 bars and lounges, 2 pools, an IMAX Theatre and a spa, Tropicana is consistently rated as the “Must-See Attraction” in Atlantic City. For more information, visit the new official Web Site at www.tropicana.net For more exclusive discounts, current information, pictures, and video, be sure to check out the Tropicana on the Web at www.facebook.com/TropAC or follow us on Twitter twitter.com/TropicanaAC.

Star Boxing

Tropicana Resort and Casino

Star Boxing Exclusive Merchandise

MYSPACE/STARBOXING

Facebook/Star Boxing

twitter.com/starboxing

Former world title challenger Martin Honorio scored an easy unanimous decision over undefeated Wilton Hilario in a twelve round Super Featherweight bout at The Pechanga Hotel and Resort in Temecula, California.

Honorio dominated as it was easy pickings being that Hilario would come straight in without the showing of any type pf jab so Honorio was able to landed two and three punches to a squared up Hilario.

In round six, Honorio scored two big knockdowns from a hard right-left combination. With Hilario hurt, Honorio landed a similar blistering combination.

Honorio cruised down the stretch as Hilario gave little resistance even though he continued to come forward.

Honorio, 129 lbs of Mexico City won by scores of 120-106; 119-107; 119-107 and is now 28-4-1. Hilario, 128 1/2 lbs of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic is now 12-1-1

Rico Ramos remained undefeated with a third round stoppage over former three-time world title challenger Cecilio Santos in a Super Bantamweight bout scheduled for eight rounds.

Ramos dominated the action as he scored hard with the left hand in round one. In round four, Ramos landed a perfect left hook to the body that caused a delayed reaction before Santos went down to both knees and took referee David Mendoza’s count of ten at 1:19 of round four.

Ramos, 123 1/2 lbs of Los Angeles is now 15-0 with nine knockouts. Santos, 122 1/4 lbs of Mexico City is now 24-13-3.

Michael Dallas Jr. scored a first round knockout over Fabian Luque at the end of round one of a scheduled four round Welterweight bout.

Dallas stepped to the side and landed a big right hand that sent Luque to the canvas. Luque got to his feet but very unsteady and referee James Jen Kin stopped the fight at 2:58 of round one.

Dallas Jr., 144 lbs of Bakersfield, CA is now 12-0-1 with three knockouts. Luque, 144 lbs of Los Mochis, Mexico is now 21-10-4.

All participants for Star Boxing’s show at the Tropicana Casino and Resort Saturday night, weighed-in today. The card, being shown live on GoFightLive.tv, is headlined by Atlantic City’s, Shamone “The Truth” Alvarez (20-2, 11KO) taking on knockout artist, Alexis Camacho (17-2, 16KO). Below are the official weights.

Welterweights
10 Rounds

Shamone Alvarez – 147 1/2 lbs.
Vs.
Alexis Camacho – 147 1/2 lbs.
__________________________

Heavyweights
8 Rounds

Vinny Maddalone – 232 1/2 lbs.
Vs.
Dominique Alexander – 222 1/2 lbs.
__________________________
Light Heavyweights
6 Rounds

Chuck Mussachio – 172 1/2 lbs.
Vs.
Richmond Dalphone – 176 lbs.
__________________________

Jr. Middleweights
4 Rounds

Josh Mercado – 149 lbs.
Vs.
Ismael Garcia – 151 lbs.
__________________________

Heavyweights
4 Rounds

Joey Dawejko- 225 1/2 lbs.
Vs.
Kimani Cunningham – 236 lbs.
__________________________

The card, promoted by Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing and sponsored by Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club, will be broadcast live on GoFightLive.tv . Tickets are priced at $100 (ringside), $50 and $30. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Star Boxing office at (718) 823-2000 or visiting www.starboxing.com. Tickets may also be purchased at any Ticketmaster outlet, www.ticketmaster.com, or at the Tropicana North Tower Box Office. The Tropicana Casino and Resort is located at 2831 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ and can be contacted by calling (609) 340-4000.

ABOUT STAR BOXING:

Star Boxing, Inc. has been in operation since 1992. Star Boxing has worked to produce some of the most exciting and memorable boxing events in recent history. Star has continued to work with and develop a number of very exciting world champions, world rated contenders and young prospects. Star has consistently brought credibility, integrity, and exciting fights to the boxing industry. For more information on Star Boxing, visit the official website at www.starboxing.com.

ABOUT TROPICANA CASINO & RESORT:

The Tropicana Casino & Resort is a 24-hour gaming destination located on the beach and Boardwalk. Featuring more than 2,100 rooms and suites and home of The Quarter, a 200,000 square foot entertainment complex, Tropicana is the premier resort in Atlantic City. With more than 20 restaurants, 25 shops, 12 bars and lounges, 2 pools, an IMAX Theatre and a spa, Tropicana is consistently rated as the “Must-See Attraction” in Atlantic City. For more information, visit the new official Web Site at www.tropicana.net For more exclusive discounts, current information, pictures, and video, be sure to check out the Tropicana on the Web at www.facebook.com/TropAC or follow us on Twitter twitter.com/TropicanaAC.

Star Boxing

Tropicana Resort and Casino

Star Boxing Exclusive Merchandise

MYSPACE/STARBOXING

Facebook/Star Boxing

twitter.com/starboxing

What a scene it was, downtown Los Angeles across from Staples Center, where two of the best fighters of the last decade met to have it out in a war or words. Welterweight champion “Sugar” Shane Mosley, a native of the Pomona, CA, about 30 miles outside of Los Angeles, received much love and support from the crowd. The hometown fighter appeared to be very confident in his money green suit as he acknowledged the cheers from the fans. His nemesis, Floyd “Money” Mayweather, on the other hand, lived up to his role as the bad guy, as he was greeted by boos from most of the crowd. The two guys faced off and there was some jawing back and forth, but no pushing and shoving like a few days prior in New York. Both sides, as expected seemed confident, but the usually subdued Brother Naazim Richardson was the outspoken one. “Floyd is going to have to learn to deal with his first loss, and we will see who is still in his corner and on his bandwagon on May 2,” quoted Naazim. The overall theme of the press conference was that this is a fight for the ages…Ala Ali/Foreman or Leonard/Hearns. Whether or not it lives up to that billing, we won’t know until May 1st, but this will be as big a fight as we’ve seen in the last 10 years.

PHILADELPHIA (March 5, 2010)—This past Saturday night at The Roadway Inn in Allentown, PA., one of the most exciting up and coming prospects, Coy “Pretty Boy” Evans, remained undefeated with a six round unanimous decision over tough veteran Robert DaLuz.

In the fight, Evans showed lightning quick hands and divided his shots up nicely between the head and body of DaLuz..

Evans dominated the action by winning every round on all three judges score cards to the tune of 60-54 across the board.

Evans is now 7-0-1 and will look towards his next bout on April 9th at The Arena in Philadelphia where he will headline a big night of boxing as he will compete in his first eight round bout.

“We are very happy with Coy’s performance. He has eight pro fights and he fought a guy who was in his 40th pro fight and I feel he handled himself great.” says Eddie Woods, co-manager of Evans

“I’m very happy with the win. Coy matured a lot in this fight. It’s another step towards our goal to get him to 15 – 0 by the end of 2010, with hopes for a shot at the USBA or another sub-divisional title early next year.” said Greg Robinson promoter.

Evans has high hopes with his new team. “I’m happy to finally have an opportunity to Unleash my talents and pursue the road to becoming a world champion. I’m living my dreams, doing what I love to do, and I’m gonna make the best of this opportunity for myself, my family, and those that believe in me. With my promoter Greg Robinson, Unleash Energy Drink, E&M Management, and Team Evans, the sky is the limit ”, says Evans.

Friday April 9th, in his first Main Event at The Arena in South Philly, Coy “Pretty Boy” Evans is UNLEASHED! Doors open at 6:30 pm, First bout at 7:30 pm. Unleash The Power In You!

One of the most underrated boxers in world Boxing Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez 44-2-2(24) is just six weeks from the biggest fight of his career when he challenge’s Kelly Pavlik for his WBC/WBO Middleweight titles. Originally from one of the tough suburbs of Buenos Aires in Argentina Martinez has carefully honed his skills since making his debut in late 1996. He quickly raced to 16-0-1(6) with all his fights taking place in his homeland. Then he got the call to take on another young gun a certain Antonio Margarito it was on the undercard of Marco Antonio Barrera-V-Erik Morales 1. Despite his lack of pro experience it was a great chance for Martinez. It proved to be to soon for him and he was dually stopped in the seventh. Not one to be perturbed he was back in the ring 2 months later and remained active and winning the Argentinean Welterweight title the following year. He moved to Europe in 2002 and after 3 fights in Britain he bided his time with several stay busy fights until he caught the attention of promoter Lou DiBella who brought him to America in 2007 where he won a WBC eliminator at Light Middleweight. Over the next year he stayed active though couldn’t force a fight with then champion Vernon Forrest. In October 2008 he fought Alex Bunema for the WBC 154 Interim Championship, it proved to be a coming out party when he stopped Bunema in the eighth round. In 2009 his star rose higher in two fights even though he won neither…officially. First came Kermit Cintron in the February, Cintron was down and out in the seventh. Inexplicably Frank Santore Jr. allowed the fight to continue. When Martinez appeared to of done enough to of won but again was foiled this time by two of the judges who scored the fight a draw. When the much anticipated Kelly Pavlik-Paul Williams fell out for the umpteenth time Martinez got his chance and faced Paul Williams up at Middleweight. In one of the fights of the year both guys put it all on the line and though many ringside thought “Maravilla” had done enough to take the fight he was again taken away from him by the judges. Leaving Williams to take the majority decision. After a break when Martinez went on a cruise before Christmas he got the call to fight Pavlik for the titles. It provides Martinez with his ultimate opportunity, if he can take this one it’ll go along way to undoing the two wrong’s in his mind from last year.

Hello Sergio, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – I believe you will be fighting Kelly Pavlik on 17 April In Atlantic City. That looks a tremendous fight. How do you see it? What do you see as Pavlik’s strengths and weaknesses?

Sergio Martinez – I think it will be a great fight; it can be a tremendous battle as I had with Paul Williams. Kelly Pavlik is a big puncher with a lot of power. He has an explosive right hand and I will have to take all precautions to avoid it. I see few weaknesses in Pavlik, but the few that he has I will exploit. In a few days my team and I will begin to discuss Pavlik’s past performances and set up a game plan to beat him.

Anson Wainwright – Last year your profile increased though you didn’t win either fight. First you drew with Kermit Cintron then lost a majority decision against Paul Williams. Looking back how do you see both of those fights now?

Sergio Martinez – For the Cintron fight he waited for me to attack and tried countering me all night; he needed to do more to win my world title… the ruling was an embarrassment to boxing, first to cancel my KO in the 7th round and then giving me a draw.
In the Paul Williams fight we both laid down all our cards in the ring, when you get two great competitors like that you get a classic fight. It was a close fight and we both wanted a victory that night but, I believe I was the better fighter that night. How can we forget that horrible judges score card (Mr. Benoist) giving me only one round the whole entire fight, WOW!! That’s was crazy.

Anson Wainwright – You were 35 on 21 February but seem to have become a better fighter with age. What do you put this down too?

Sergio Martinez – Personally, I believe I am in the best shape of my life. As I have gotten older I notice that my fitness has improved and my boxing has quantum leaped. I always knew to have success in this sport you need to be fully committed, disciplined, and have a relentless preparation program. I guess all my learning experiences and pitfalls has brought me to this point of my life which means that today I am entering the prime of my career.

Anson Wainwright – How do you feel fighting at Middleweight last time out? Do you intend to go back to 154 or are you a Middleweight from now on?

Sergio Martinez – I feel really good fighting at Middleweight; I need to continue training hard to maintain my muscle mass to keep my strength at middleweight. Not sure wants going to happen after April 17th my managers, my team, and I will evaluate my options I have for my future after the fight.

Anson Wainwright – I believe you live in Spain now? What made you decide to leave your homeland of Argentina to live in Spain? Do you get recognised in Madrid by people or are you relatively unknown?

Sergio Martinez – In the year 2002, I decided to migrate to Europe. Due to the bad economy in Argentina I went to Spain for work and boxing and decided to stay. I am not very popular in Spain because boxing is not as popular as other sports like soccer. I currently live in Oxnard, California which I love but it’s very different and low key.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about the team that you have around you. Who is your manager, trainer & promoter? Also what gym do you use to get ready for a fight?

Sergio Martinez – My team is Lou Dibella (promoter), Sampson Lewkowicz (matchmaker), Ricardo Atocha (manager), Juan Leon Diaz (coach), Cicilio Flores (2nd), and Daniel Sanchez (2nd). I do all my preparations and conditioning at World Crown Sports Training Centre located in Oxnard, CA.

Anson Wainwright – Your from Buenos Aires originally, can you tell us about how life was in your early years and how it took you towards a career in Boxing?

Sergio Martinez – I grew up in a very humble home in a low poverty neighbourhood. At age 14 I started working because the economic situation at home was like any poor family. At age 20 I started to box, my first day at a boxing gym was the May 2, 1995 I tried it once and I was hooked, I have not stopped ever since.

Anson Wainwright – When you’re not boxing what do you like to do with your spare time?

Sergio Martinez – If I am not in California training or relaxing I am in Spain hanging out with friends and family. One of my greatest pleasures in my life is to travel the world and get to visit different countries and meet new people. I try to visit my family in my country Argentina as much as possible. I am constantly moving and staying active. I never stop training; I like to stay in shape all year round.

Anson Wainwright – Looking back at the Antonio Margarito fight in 2000 do you think he was loading his gloves back then or was it just a bad night at the office?

Sergio Martinez – The night of February 19, 2000 when I fought Margarito, I did not think he had his gloves loaded. He was the better fighter that night and he was better prepared than I was. I have no regrets and it was early in my career; I have become a better fighter because of it.

Anson Wainwright – When you retire from Boxing do you intend to still be involved with the sport in some capacity or do you have other business venture’s? If so what?

Sergio Martinez – I am 100% focused in my boxing career; I am taking it one step at a time right now.

Anson Wainwright – Who was your Boxing hero?

Sergio Martinez – Muhammad Ali and Carlos Monzon.

Anson Wainwright – Do you have a message for Pavlik & your fans ahead of the fight?

Sergio Martinez – First, I would like to thank Kelly Pavlik for giving me the opportunity to fight for his titles. It is an honour to confront a great champion that he is. He is considered by many to be the best in the world and it only makes sense for me to fight the best.
I also want to thank my fans for their loyalty, their support and I promise another great performance the night of April 17th in Atlantic City NJ. I want to send a big hello to my family and friends back home in Argentina. This is my best training camp ever, I feel great, and I can’t wait till fight night.

Thanks for your time Maravilla

Thank you very much, Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez

Anson Wainwright

15rounds.com

It’s hard to know when Manny Pacquiao got interested in politics. Maybe, it happened at about the time he added a right to his left. It’s also hard to understand why. But Pacquiao is serious, even after he lost by a reported 37,000-to-38,000 votes in his last and only run in 2007 for an anonymous seat in the Filipino Congress.

Maybe, Pacquiao just hates to lose. Ask Eric Morales, who discovered just how much he detests defeat after Morales’ initial victory was followed by two devastating losses to the motivated Filipino. Three years ago, Pacquiao’s political ambitions looked like a lark. Between fights, politics was like shooting hoops and singing. It was something to do. But by now, we know he’ll never be in the NBA or play Carnegie Hall.

But Congress is beginning to look about as good as a victory over Joshua Clottey on March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in the Dallas metroplex.

Thirteen days after Pacquiao is expected to sack Clottey like a linebacker in a blitz of a poorly-defended quarterback, he will be back on the campaign trail. He is running in a different district, Sarangani instead of General Santos City. There is different opponent. By all accounts, there also will a different result.

This time, Pacquiao is expected to prevail against Roy Chiongbian. I’m tempted to send Chiongbian a campaign contribution, although he apparently doesn’t need one. Chiongbian is reported to be a billionaire, which makes him even richer than Pacquiao, who has become a multi-millionaire in a string of rich fights, including a 2008 upset of Oscar De La Hoya.

Let’s just say that I’m a member of the Filipino party that reportedly cheered when Pacquiao lost in 2007 to incumbent Darlene Antonino-Custodio.

Memo to would-be Congressman Pacquiao: The Philippines need another politician about as much as Imelda Marcos needed another pair of shoes. A Congressional seat will always be there. A chance at enduring stardom as a fighter will not.

Yet, the quixotic seriousness of Pacquiao’s political pursuit is unmistakable, both in a conference call and in subsequent media reports. If a congressional seat forces him out of the ring and eliminates any renewed possibility of a showdown with Floyd Mayweather, Jr, Pacquiao seemed to say:

So be it.

“I don’t need to fight him,’’ Pacquiao said in a conference call when asked about negotiations that failed when Mayweather demanded Olympic-style blood testing. “What I believe is Floyd Mayweather is not ready at this time to fight with me. That’s why he makes the reasons to cancel the fight. I feel bad and disappointment because he is accusing me of using drugs or whatever and trying to ruin my name in boxing. People know I have been successful through God and hard work.

““I don’t really need Floyd Mayweather because what I have achieved in boxing is good enough for me and people know that by comparing my achievements in boxing to his achievements.’’

Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum and trainer Freddie Roach are skeptical that the Filipino whirlwind will leave one ring and enter another. But neither rules it out either.

In the gym, Roach said he has witnessed some ferocious flashes of anger at Mayweather. The frustration is rare for Pacquiao, who walks into the ring with a shy, somewhat enigmatic smile on a face that always seems to say he doesn’t dislike anybody. But Mayweather altered that with demands that imply Pacquiao abuses performance-enhancers.

“Sometimes, when Manny is shadowboxing, he will show me how Mayweather fights and how he will take care of the problem,’’ Roach said. “ I’ve never seen Manny do that before. He was trying to ruin our reputation with those allegations, so we do want to fight him and we do want to knock him out.’’

But, yeah, Roach says, the Clottey fight could be his last if Mayweather continues to make the drug-testing demands without an approved process from a state Commission, or if Shane Mosley upsets Mayweather on May 1, or if a victory at the ballot box takes Pacquiao out of the gym and into office for good.

If, if and if.

The biggest one could be what Pacquiao might have been. Arum, Roach and much of the media have been saying that Pacquiao is poised to become something special, meaning he is about to occupy the same orbit as Henry Armstrong, Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali. But as an active Congressman and a retired fighter, anything special would be speculative. Pacquiao is good. Make that great. He will be in the Hall of Fame. But he is still a fight with Mayweather, or maybe a Mosley, from being special

Then, there is the potential for cynicism. If Pacquiao leaves boxing for politics, I can already hear the Mayweathers — Floyd Jr., Floyd Sr. and Roger. All together now:

“See, I told you so.”

Pacquiao has undergone and passed every required drug test. If a Commission tells him there are new rules, I believe he will agree to a more rigorous process. Fair or not, it is the only way he can definitively answer a question that the Mayweather chorus raised. There are a variety of interpretations as to the motivation for the Mayweather demand. Maybe, he was trying to bully Pacquiao by trying to dictate terms. Maybe, Mayweather was trying to get out of the fight. Maybe, it was gamesmanship.

But there’s only way to answer and it’s not from a seat in the Filipino Congress.

WHAT PROBLEM?
Vic Darchinyan (33-2-1, 27 KOs) is sick of hearing about a rematch of his loss to Nonito Donaire. Still, he was asked about it repeatedly this week before the defense of super-flyweight titles on Showtime Saturday against Mexican Rodrigo Guerrero (13-1-1, 9 KOs) at Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

Darchinyan, knocked out by a Donaire three years ago, has dismissed the rematch possibility by saying he is moving up in weight.

Funny, but that’s the same thing Donaire said last month before his third-round stoppage of Manuel Vargas in Las Vegas. Then, Donaire said it was “now or never,” because he was moving up to bantam and featherweight.

On the scale, Darchinyan and Donaire are heading in the same direction, which should also include a rematch.

NOTES, QUOTES FROM THE SUPER SIX
· Arthur Abraham almost made it sound as if Jamaican sprinter Usian Bolt was a sparring partner in training for Andre Dirrell at Detroit in a Super Six Classic bout on March 27, which was rescheduled from March 6 because of a back injury suffered by Dirrell. “I have sparring partners who run,’’ Abraham said from Germany during a conference call Thursday.

· Dirrell is out of the tournament if he loses because of a controversial loss by split decision to Carl Froch in his last bout. “I call it a do-or-die situation,’’ said Dirrell, who believes he was robbed on the scorecards against Froch. He also said Froch engaged in “dirty tactics” that took him out of his fight plan.

· Promoter Gary Shaw predicts that Dirrell will be the first to beat Abraham, an Armenian who speaks German and hopes to become an American star. Shaw said that Abraham, the tournament’s leader in points with three, is more comfortable at middleweight, 160 pounds. That, Shaw said, is one reason he beat Jermain Taylor, also more comfortable at 160. At 168 pounds, Dirrell has an advantage, he said. “The bigger and faster man always wins,’’ Shaw said. “In this fight — although I have a world of respect for Arthur Abraham for his record, his style, his abilities and his demeanor — I believe Andre Dirrell will win and possibly stop Abraham.’’

Photo by Chris Cozzone/ Top Rank

Joshua Clottey,Ghana hits the mitts during media day Thursday at Kingsway Gym in New York. Clottey is getting ready for the fight of his life against seven-time world champion and “Fighter of the Decade” Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao on Saturday,May 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas,Texas on HBO Pay-Per-View

Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank

One of Boxing most outspoken characters James “Lights Out” Toney 72-6-3(44) took time out from training to speak with us earlier this week. Originally from the tough streets of Grand Rapids, MI, Toney was brought up the hard way first entering the ring as a pro in 1988 now a full 22 years later he’s still plying his trade in the squared circle as he approaches his 42 birthday this August. In that time he won the IBF Middleweight which he defended six times before vacating to move up to Super Middleweight where he won the IBF title and made three defence’s before losing the crown to Roy Jones Jnr in 1994. Though he remained active sometimes fighting at Heavyweight nobody believed Toney would ever win another world title however he got his chance against IBF Cruiserweight champion Vasilliy Jirov 9 years after the Jones fight. Toney rolled back the years and posted one of his best wins ever when he outboxed his younger foe even punctuating the victory with a twelfth round knock down. That win reinvourated him and he made a run up at Heavyweight beating living legend Evander Holyfield and then John Ruiz for the WBA Heavyweight title only to be stripped of it later for taking a banned substance. He ran Hasim Rahman close when they drew in 2006 before losing twice to Samuel Peter. Since then Toney has won 3 with one no contest and hopes to get back in the mix…if he can get a chance that is. Here’s what the straight talking 3 weight world champion had to say.

Hello James, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly you last fought in September when you beat Matthew Greer in two rounds. Were you happy with how it went?

James Toney – Oh very happy. I you know I wanted a better opponent, you know what i’m saying. Klitschko’s, Valuev, David Haye, someone of there calibre. But i did what your supposed to do, i beat who was in front of me.

Anson Wainwright – Do you have anything in the works that you can tell us about?

James Toney – We’re trying our best to get everyone in the ring. The Klitschko Brothers, excuse me Klitschko sisters, they keep running from me. David Haye he keeps running from me. I’ll fight anybody place or anytime that’s my moto you know that.

Anson Wainwright – It has been rumoured that you may face Antonio Tarver, what can you tell us what the current situation is with that fight?

James Toney – That was going to happen but Tarver ‘s a chicken like everyone else you know what i’m saying, no balls. Like European fighters haven’t got balls, come fight me they say i’m old well put me out of my misery, don’t go being scared. There all hiding behind there momma’s skirt, there scared to death, there chicken sh1ts! They don’t wanna come fight in the States and if they do they fight soft opponents.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your team. Who is your manager, your trainer & promoter & also where do you regularly train for fights?

James Toney – I’m self managed, my advisor is John Arthur and my wife. I train at 360 that’s my main gym. But i’m going to work with Freddie Roach in the near future.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about how things were for you growing up in Grand Rapids, Ma and how they took you into Boxing?

James Toney – As you know they call Grand Rapids fighters row because all on one street we had the Mayweather family, The Tony Tucker family, Buster Mathis we all live on one street. That’s how i grew up but i left there early.

Anson Wainwright – It’s funny how both you and Floyd Mayweather Jnr come from the same place did your paths ever cross back in those days?

James Toney – We talk, his family we’re cool. Floyd’s doing his thing, i’m doing mine.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us what still motivates you to fight at 41? What are you still hoping to achieve in what is already a Hall of fame career?

James Toney – My motivation is to unify the World Heavyweight Championship. I got one, i been Heavyweight Champion. They didn’t recognise me. The title didn’t make me i made the belt. I want every title there is David Haye, Klitschko sisters they got no balls. If they have balls come see me.

Anson Wainwright – Is there ever a fighter that you would really like to fight that you’ve never be able to so far? Maybe Bernard Hopkins who you were linked with in 2003. How come that never came off?

James Toney – I’m an old school fighter, he’s an old fool! If you look at Bernard Hopkins old school fighters do not run in there with there head and hit and hold. That’s what he does, he’s a coward. Bernard Hopkins is a straight up coward. Antonio Tarver coward, The Klitschko sisters coward, all of them. I pride myself on fighting the best opposition out there.

Anson Wainwright – Your an old school fighter who uses very subtle moves defensively like the shoulder roll and the way you tuck up. Can you tell us a little about how you learnt all those things that have preserved you so well over these years?

James Toney – The shoulder roll came from the 50’s & 60’s the great Jersey Joe Walcott. Well basically i learned it from my first trainer Bill Miller. He trained me as a child. We practiced old school moves all the time until one day it just came off. I can fight in the middle of the ring, i can fight going forward, i can fight going backwards. That’s where i got my skills from watching them guys. Archie Moore, Ray Robinson. All the greats, that was a great era for Boxing. I love my Boxing.

Anson Wainwright – In which fight do you think it all came together and was your best in your career to date?

James Toney – It aint happened yet, it’s coming. In the passed Evander Holyfield because everyone saying i couldn’t beat a real Heavyweight. I beat him real good.

Anson Wainwright – You have fought 14 World Champions in 5 weight classes. Who do you consider the best fighter you ever fought?

James Toney – Mike McCullum.

Anson Wainwright – You’ve been a pro for over 20 years and had 83 fights, what was your proudest moment in Boxing so far and why?

James Toney – Winning my first world title. I was a 20-1 underdog. I shocked the world.

Anson Wainwright – You must of trained with many good young fighters is there one who stands out that you could mention who you think has a big future?

James Toney – I aint noticed any great fighters. There babied to much. I don’t see anyone of my calibre. Manny Pacquiao yeah, i love watching him he trains with Freddie.

Anson Wainwright – What do you like to do when your not Boxing James?

James Toney – Oh play with my kids. My family is everything to me. I love my family, i cherish it.

Anson Wainwright – Do you have a message for your fans?

James Toney – I love you guys. I appreciate you guys. Keep watching my fights. For all the haters keep hating on me and spread hate.

Thanks for your time James, it’s much appreciated.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

Exciting Philadelphian heavyweight, Joey Dawejko (2-0, 1KO) has been added to the Star Boxing promoted card, this Saturday night at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City. Dawejko will square off against Kimani Cunningham (0-2) over four rounds. The card is headlined by Shamone “The Truth” Alvarez (20-2, 11KO) taking on Alexis Camacho (17-2, 16KO) and will be broadcast live on GoFightLive.tv.

The 19-year-old Dawejko, who goes by the nickname “The Polish Thunder”, turned pro in September of last year after a very accomplished amateur career. As an amateur, Dawejko compiled a 56-12 record, winning the National Silver Gloves three times, the Ringside World Tournament twice, the National PAL tournament three times, and the 2008 Junior World Championship along the way. Dawejko has also gained valuable experience in the gym, sparring with former heavyweight champions, Samuel Peter and Hasim Rahman (Rahman along with Damien Klinger are managing Dawejko).

Dawejko has a very fan friendly style, which has made him a big local attraction throughout the Philadelphia area. With an impressive showing Saturday, Dawejko hopes to further expand his rapidly growing fan base.

“We were excited to be able to add Joey to the card,” stated Joe DeGuardia, CEO of Star Boxing. “We have heard he is a very exciting fighter, and really knows how to put on a great show, and those are exactly the type of fights we want to bring to our fans each and every time out.”

The card, promoted by Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing and sponsored by Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club, will be broadcast live on GoFightLive.tv . Tickets are priced at $100 (ringside), $50 and $30. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Star Boxing office at (718) 823-2000 or visiting www.starboxing.com. Tickets may also be purchased at any Ticketmaster outlet, www.ticketmaster.com, or at the Tropicana North Tower Box Office. The Tropicana Casino and Resort is located at 2831 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ and can be contacted by calling (609) 340-4000.

ABOUT STAR BOXING:

Star Boxing, Inc. has been in operation since 1992. Star Boxing has worked to produce some of the most exciting and memorable boxing events in recent history. Star has continued to work with and develop a number of very exciting world champions, world rated contenders and young prospects. Star has consistently brought credibility, integrity, and exciting fights to the boxing industry. For more information on Star Boxing, visit the official website at www.starboxing.com.

ABOUT TROPICANA CASINO & RESORT:

The Tropicana Casino & Resort is a 24-hour gaming destination located on the beach and Boardwalk. Featuring more than 2,100 rooms and suites and home of The Quarter, a 200,000 square foot entertainment complex, Tropicana is the premier resort in Atlantic City. With more than 20 restaurants, 25 shops, 12 bars and lounges, 2 pools, an IMAX Theatre and a spa, Tropicana is consistently rated as the “Must-See Attraction” in Atlantic City. For more information, visit the new official Web Site at www.tropicana.net For more exclusive discounts, current information, pictures, and video, be sure to check out the Tropicana on the Web at www.facebook.com/TropAC or follow us on Twitter twitter.com/TropicanaAC.

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Seven-time world champion and “Fighter of the Decade” Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao,General Santos,Philippines works out during media day at the Wildcard Boxing Club Wednesday as he winds down his training camp for his upcoming World Welterweight championship against challenger Joshua Clottey of Ghana. Top Rank’s “The Event”, will be held on Saturday,March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas,Texas and televised live on HBO Pay-Per-View

Photos by Chris Cozzone/ Top Rank

In the biggest fight of his life Bobby Gunn showed up, fought his heart out, and was told he had had enough. With a world title opportunity lost, at age 35 it may have looked as though Bobby Gunn was finished, He’d like people to know he is far from.

“That fight was for the Ring world title, there are a lot of titles but everyone knows the Ring title is the only real one, very few men can say they have fought for it”

Thomasz Adamek earned a victory over the game Gunn, but failed to knock the New Jersey native down or stop him completely, as the Gunn corner made their desire to continue clear. Something of a consolation can be found in Adamek’s last two outings, where he stopped veteran Andrew Golota and outpointed Jason Estrada, at heavyweight.

“There were no knockdowns in that fight and I felt like I could have kept going and won a couple more rounds if it would have continued. I got to see him recently and he was about 220, I told him I was glad he wasn’t that big when we fought! He laughed and gave me a hug I really like the guy, it’s nothing against him but I didn’t agree with the ruling that night.”

Gunn may have had a chance to peer into his own future that night however, when he watched Ran Nakash do battle on the same card.

“A fight with Ran Nakash is in negotiations and I really like that fight. He’s 22-0 and it will be a great opportunity for me, it will be a great fight.”

A win over the undefeated Nakash would springboard Gunn right back into title contention and that is something he goes into this fight fully aware of.

“If I fight this guy Nakash and get the win I could be fighting for a world title again by the end of the year, I’d love to fight the Cunningham- Godfrey winner.”

Prior to the whisperings of a showdown with Ran Nakash Gunn was offered a bout in Nigeria with Bash Ali, an opportunity he also would have savored. Traveling to Africa would have been a rare opportunity, and a nice pay day.

“They offered me a number I couldn’t refuse but just my luck the fight fell through because of the things going on with their president. How would the president effect boxing? Well the fight was funded by the Nigerian government so things just didn’t work out.”

If anything can be learned through Bobby Gunn’s story it is that it’s never over until you decide it is. Having a world title opportunity fall through his fingertips by way of controversial stoppage, and missing out on a major pay day in Nigeria, Gunn still finds himself in the driver’s seat. In a sport where one shot can make or break an outcome Bobby Gunn has more than a puncher’s chance against Ran Nakash, but with Gunn’s power one shot may be all it takes. Now in position to put himself back into title contention Gunn offers east coast fans, and boxing enthusiasts across the country something that is easy to root for.

At 36 years old Gunn insists he feels the best he ever has and aims for another run at the title. With his previous conqueror finding success in the heavyweight division , he sees the cruiserweight door as wide open and has a message to relay to his fans.

“Just when you think it’s over, it’s just beginning”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the April 10th co-feature bout between IBF Light Heavyweight champion Yavoris Clous and Glen Johnson is off citing a hamstring injury to Cloud plus the champion signing a promotional deal with Don King.

“I got a call at literally 10 at night [Monday] from a representative of King [Roy Langbord] saying King did a deal with the kid,”Said Lou DiBella told ESPN.com on Tuesday night from Miami, site of the Wednesday news conference. DiBella is promoting the April 10 double header that will also feature AndreBerto defending hs WBC Welterweight title against Carlos Quintana. “I told him that Richie Boy Promotions was the kid’s promoter of record and that I had made deal for the fight with Glen. [Langbord] said there were issues and that King did a deal with Cloud, but that King would talk to me about doing a deal for the fight. I already had a deal for the fight. So I’m sitting there — I have a show on April 10, a press conference on Wednesday and a flight to Miami in 12 hours. What the [expletive] is going on here? I told [Langbord] to tell Don I have nothing to talk to him about.

“Ten minutes later I get a call back [from Langbord] saying Cloud is hurt. I was on the phone with his lawyer, with his manager and with his adviser. They said they had no idea about him being with King. They were in the blind about him doing a deal with King and to their knowledge he was healthy. He must have gotten hurt walking up the steps to King’s mansion to sign that deal.”

“I don’t know anything about any of that,” King told ESPN.com when told of DiBella’s version of events. “All I know is that the guy came to me five weeks ago and him and his manager [Jerry Attardi] told me they had no deal with anybody and they asked me to help and I said, ‘OK.’ We finalized the details. He signed with me and I didn’t know nothing about any of this.”

“This guy is hurt. He can’t even fight if he wanted to,” King said. “I told Lou [through Langbord] I’d be happy to have him fight Glen, but he can’t do it April 10. We’ll jump through hoops to fight Glen Johnson. But we asked for a medical exception from the IBF, the IBF granted an exception. It’s just a postponement of the fight. With or without me, Cloud wouldn’t be able to fight on April 10. So he’ll fight Glen Johnson as soon as the doctor clears him.”

“I had to make a decision in the middle of the night on whether I could save this fight and I didn’t think it could, so I turned to the most meaningful thing I could do and something that would also work for HBO,” DiBella said. “I was on the phone with Caballero’s people and we were in touch with Yordan’s people in Indonesia.”

“They got back to me quickly and they weren’t interested in the fight in this time frame,” DiBella said. “I had already locked in a doubleheader with the site and the promotional materials were done. So we made Caballero-Yordan overnight and changed everything.”

“There may be some lawsuits. I suffered damages,” DiBella said. “I don’t like litigating, but what went down was wrong and the way it went down was wrong.”

15rounds.com Claudia Bocanegra was on the scene when all the sparks flew between Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley as they announced their May 1st Mega Fight at a press conference in New York City—Click to see the biggest photo Gallery anywhere–also click each individual picture for enlarged pictures

15rounds in association with Gardenstatefightscene.com brings you our inaugural New Jersey pound for pound list, which will be updated on a regular basis. Unlike regular P4P lists, this one was a bit tricky, as many fighters are at different stages. In compiling the list, we factored resume with potential and what each fighter has left. Without further ado, here is who we think are New Jersey’s best.

1. Tomasz Adamek Heavyweight Secaucus: Adamek, easily Jersey’s best fighter, has impressed thus far since vacating his IBF/Ring Magazine Cruiserweight titles to move up in weight. The beloved Pole most recently took a competitive decision over 2004 US Olympian Jason “Big Six” Estrada, where he was hit a few more times than one would have liked.

Next up is an April 24 HBO showdown with heavyweight contender Cris Arreola in Arreola’s home state of California. This is fight fan’s dream, thus had been discussed within boxing circles in recent months since both men like to mix it up and have tremendous chins. Outside of a matchup with WBA champion David Haye, is there anything better that we could have asked for?

NEXT FIGHT: April 24 vs Arreola

2. Carlos Tamara Junior Flyweight North Bergen: Tamara went from a virtual unknown to one of the most talked about fighters locally after his stunning 12th round TKO over IBF Junior Flyweight champion Brian Viloria in the Philippines. Viloria, a Filipino-American, was up on points early, but Tamara rallied back late to end the fight in devastating fashion, giving him one of the best wins by a local fighter in years.

The 2004 Colombian Olympian was chasing a fight with WBO champion Ivan Calderon, but reports indicate Calderon has a fight lined up against another opponent in May.

NEXT FIGHT: TBA

3. Kendall Holt Junior Welterweight Paterson: Holt was shockingly stopped after six rounds by unknown South African Kaizer Mabuza last Saturday in Atlantic City. Holt was expected to win the fight – an IBF 140 lb eliminator – en route to taking on the winner of this weekend’s Juan Urango-Devon Alexander fight, but this wasn’t the case. Holt had a good opening round but after that, it went all down hill.

Mabuza took the fight over and Holt’s corner stopped the fight following the sixth. With back to back losses, especially considering how he lost to Mabuza, Holt has a tough road back. With that said if he can refocus himself and get back to the Kendall Holt who beat Demetrius Hopkins, he can still be a major player at 140 lbs.

NEXT FIGHT: TBA

4. Pawel Wolak Junior Middleweight North Arlington: The rapidly improving Wolak impressed in a virtual shut out victory January 23 at Madison Square Garden over once beaten Ishmail Arvin. Wolak’s defensive adjustments make him a potential player in the 154 lb division with another win or two. Since his last two fights have been on Top Rank’s most recent cards at MSG, expect him to return on the Miguel Cotto-Yuri Foreman undercard.

NEXT FIGHT: June 5?

5. Mike Arnaoutis Junior Welterweight/Welterweight Atlantic City: Arnaoutis dropped a debatable split decision to Tim Coleman December 3 in New York City. The bout wasn’t pretty, but Arnaoutis appeared to do enough to warrant a close decision. Unfortunately, two of the judges didn’t think so. Arnaoutis, who has struggled to make 140 lbs recently, is taking a risk by moving up to 147 lbs to challenge contender Delvin Rodriguez April 2 on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights. In addition to taking a tough fight in a new weight class, Arnaoutis is fighting at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT, where Rodriguez is a fan favorite. The cards are really stacked against him in this one.

NEXT FIGHT: April 2 vs Rodriguez

6. Shaun George Light Heavyweight Wayne: George is yet another local fighter who suffered a devastating loss last time out when he was stopped on July 10 by fellow 175 lb contender Chris Henry. George got off to a strong start but faded after the second round en rout to being viciously in round six. After some time off, George is reportedly back in the gym and close to signing with a new promoter. The talent is definitely there with George and at age 30, he can get right back into contention with a few notable wins.

NEXT FIGHT: TBA

7. Shamone Alvarez Welterweight Atlantic City: Alvarez fell just short last March against the aforementioned Rodriguez, dropping a split decision in an entertaining fight. The volume punching Alvarez also lost a decision to Joshua Clottey a few years back, which has caused some to question if he can truly hang with a top welterweight. He returns to the ring Saturday night in AC against hard hitting Alexis Camacho. A loss would likely destroy his career while a victory can help push him towards a minor title fight.

NEXT FIGHT: March 6 vs Camacho

8. Prince Badi Ajamu Light Heavyweight Camden: Ajamu was scheduled to face fringe contender Daniel Judah November 20, but surprisingly missed weight by 10 lbs, canning the fight altogether. Since then, he has been on a hiatus and his next move is unknown. Whether he fights on at cruiserweight (which appears likely since he is 38) or light heavy, he will be a handful for any contender/up and comer.

NEXT FIGHT: TBA

9. Jeremy Bryan Junior Welterweight Paterson: If this list was purely on potential, Bryan would easily be number one. He is a good boxer and has shown the ability to apply pressure as well. In his most recent bout, Bryan demolished Darren Fallen, decking the experienced veteran three times en route to a second round TKO.

Bryan is scheduled to return April 17 in AC as pat of the Kelly Pavlik-Sergio Martinez undercard and is definitely ready for a step up in competition. If he is victorious on the 17th, hopefully we can see him on an ESPN, ShoBox or Top Rank Live (who have a good relationship with Bryan’s promoter Pat Lynch) card in the near future.

NEXT FIGHT: April 17 vs TBA

10. Vivian Harris Junior Welterweight Carlstadt: Once upon a time Vivian Harris was the WBA champion and the most avoided man in the 140 lb division. Unfortunately for Harris, it seems all too long ago. Harris’ skills have greatly diminished and he honestly hasn’t been the same since getting viciously knocked out by Junior Witter in 07’. Since then, Harris had to come off the canvas twice to beat journeyman Octavio Narvaez, battled to a scary no contest with Noe Bolanos and was controversially stopped by unbeaten power puncher Lucas Matthysse on February 20.

Harris had a few good moments against Matthysse, but it’s clear he isn’t what he once was. Due to the controversial stoppage (the referee strangely halted the bout after Harris was buzzed by a single punch) a rematch appears in place for April 2 on ShoBox. His resume can get him a notable fight if he wins the rematch, but a loss would all but likely end his career.

NEXT FIGHT: April 2 vs Matthysse?

Honorable Mention:

Jorge Diaz Featherweight New Brunswick: Outside of Adamek, Diaz is the most entertaining fighter in Jersey. He returns March 20 against unbeaten Alejandro Lopez on a Top Rank Live card from Florida. His October 2009 knockout over Olympic Gold Medalist Yan Barthelemy was one of the best in recent memory.

Francisco Contreras Junior Welterweight Irvington: Contreras made a major statement in his National TV debut February 5, blowing away Juan Castaneda inside of one round on ShoBox. The cement fisted Contreras has been kept busy by promoter TKO Boxing. Hope to see more of him soon.

Bobby Gunn Cruiserweight Rochelle Park: Gunn captured the hearts of local fight fans with his gutsy performance against Tomasz Adamek on July 11. Gunn’s chin and willingness to mix it up with Adamek earned him more respect than all of his wins put together. Gunn recently notified us that he is targeting a showdown with unbeaten Ran Nakash and hopes the bout will take place in AC.

Patrick Majewski Middleweight Atlantic City: Majewski, an all action Pole, has solid wins over Latif Mundy and Jimmy Lubash. Like Adamek, his willingness to mix it up makes him worth the price of admission.

Jerson Ravelo Super Middleweight Newark: Talent wise, Ravelo is as good as anybody in Jersey, but many have questioned his ability to beat a top fighter (three of his four losses came to world champion Andre Ward along with contenders David Lopez and Allan Green) and how much he has left in the tank due to injuries. A self proclaimed refocused fighter, Ravelo hopes to surprise his harshest critics and show why he was a highly touted prospect coming out of the 2000 Olympics.

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

HAMILTON, NJ (MARCH 2nd, 2010)—On Friday night, March 26th a big night of boxing will commence from beautiful Hamilton Manor in Hamilton, New Jersey as Nadal Promotions LLC will showcase former four-time Super Middleweight world title challenger Omar Sheika, Cast member of the Contender Ahmed “Baby Face” Kaddour and perennial Welterweight contender Terrance “The Heat” Cauthen in separate co-features that will headline the eight bout card.

In one co-feature, Sheika of nearby Paterson, New Jersey will battle rugged vet, Jose “Macho” Medina in a eight round Light Heavyweight bout.

Sheika has a record of 28-9 with nineteen knockouts and is looking for one more big run as he is now campaigning in the Light Heavyweight division.

The thirty-three year old Sheika won his first fourteen bouts as he became a fan favorite by appearing on many nationally televised shows. After suffering his first loss, Sheika racked up six impressive wins in a row that included victories over two world champions in Simon Brown and Glen Johnson. Those wins catapulted Sheika into his first world title bout where he was stopped in five by the legendary Joe Calzaghe.

After the Calzaghe fight, Sheika went 3-1 and earned a shot at WBC champion Eric Lucas. Sheika dropped the unanimous decision and then went on two lose his two successive bouts.

Sheika went on a three fight winning streak to set up a shot at IBF champion Jeff Lacy. Sheika fought very well before dropping the unanimous decision (Sheika lost by just two points on two cards). That fight earned a trip to Germany and a fight with WBC Markus Beyer.

One again, Sheika came up just short and dropped a very close unanimous decision.

Since that fight, Sheika has gone 2-1 with the lone defeating being a stoppage loss to the great Roy Jones Jr. In his last bout, Sheika stopped Theo Kruger in eight rounds on Septermber 23rd in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Medina of Philadelphia has a very deceiving record of 15-17 with eleven knockouts.

Medina won his first nine fights, including eight by knockout.

After dropping back to back fights to Tybius Flowers and Nurhan Suleyman, Medina scored two more wins.

Medina started upping his level of competition and his wins became fewer and further in between.

Medina has lost to fighters such as Shamone Alvarez (10-0); Roberto Garcia (17-2); Perennial Middleweight contender David Lopez (29-12); Rasheem Brown (17-3); Marcus Johnson (13-0); Julio Garcia (40-3); Anthony Dirrell (14-0); Adam Hubinger (12-0); Isaac Rodriguez (13-0); Tyrone Brunson (20-0-1) and his last bout to Dyah Davis (16-1) on January 16th in Macon, GA.

In the second co-feature, former star of The Contender Season 1, Ahmed “Baby Face” Kaddour will battle underappreciated Jerome Ellis in a Jr. Middleweight bout scheduled for eight founds..

Kaddour is of Lebanese decent and spent time in Demark, Houston and has been training in New Jersey for this fight and he will bring in a record of 21-2 with nine knockouts.

Kaddour very quietly built up a record of 18-0 with nine knockouts before being picked for the Inaugural season of The Contender.

On the show, Kaddour showed an outgoing personality and quickly gained fans worldwide.

Unfortunately, Kaddour dropped his only fight on the show when he lost a unanimous decision to Ishe Smith (13-0). Kaddour came back on the show and dropped a five round unanimous decision to future Welterweight title challenger Alfonso Gomez (11-2-1).

Since the show, Kaddour’s career has been littered with inactivity as he has only fought four times in almost six years.

Kaddour won a eight round unanimous decision over Maxell Taylor (12-1) as part of the popular SHO Box series.

After a fourteen month layoff, Kaddour fought to a disputed draw with Jesus Valverde and just two months later he took an eight round split decision in the rematch.

Then after almost a three year break, Kaddour came back scored six round unanimous decision to Mike Ermis (6-7-2) last September 12th in Denmark.

Kadoour will be taking on the tough Jerome Ellis.

Ellis has a record of 12-10-2 with ten knockouts and like Medina, he has fought some very tough competition.

Ellis won his first five fights (including a split decision over Ed Peredes, who is now 24-3). Ellis then dropped two in a row which included a unanimous decision to then 14-2 Said Ouali.

After a 2-0-1 stretch, the native of Coconut Creek, FL lost to then hot prospect Anthiny Thompson (17-1) by unanimous decision. Ellis then scored an eighth round stoppage over Kevin Cagle (16-1) before dropping a six round unanimous decision to Irving Garcia (10-2).

Ellis scored three straight wins including upset stoppages over Felix Cepeda (7-0) and Neil Sinclair (28-4).

Ellis stepped up the competition as he has gone 1-6-1 in his last eight with some of those losses being to Future Middleweight title challenger Billy Lyell, Future Welterweight title challenger Miguel Angel Rodriguez (28-2); then undefeated prospect Henry Crawford (18-0-1); Hot welterweight prospect Antowne Smith (12-0-1). Ellis has a draw with welterweight contender Richard Gutierrez (24-2.) in Ellis last outing, he was stopped by hot prospect Shawn Porter (10-0) in four rounds on November 21st in Tunica, Mississippi

In the third eight round co-feature, Terrance “The Heat” Cauthen of nearby Trenton, New Jersey will battle Isam Khalil of Sweden.

Cauthen is a former U.S Olympian who has had a solid career fighting some of the better welterweights in the world and sports a record of 33-6 with nine knockouts.

Cauthen, a fourteen year pro started his career by winning fourteen consecutive bouts before being stopped by Teddy Reid on August 6th, 1999.

That did not deter Cauthen as he then went on to reel off eleven more victories to push his record to an impressive 25-1.

Cauthn then stepped it up and dropped two in a row including losing a decision to pound for pound resident Paul Williams.

Cauthen then went 6-0-1 including win over former U.S. Olympian Dante Craig.

He has gone 1-3 in his last four bouts as he has been in with Sechew Powell (21-1); Cauthen then defeated undefeated Alexis Camacho (16-0); but losses to Shamone Alvarez (19-1) and his most recent fight, which he was stopped by undefeated Canadian Antonin DeCarie (21-0) last October 3rd in Montreal.

This will be a huge step up for Khalil, who has an impressive record of 15-1-2 with nine knockouts.

He was undefeated in his first fifteen fights (13-0-2) until he was stopped in four rounds by rugged Doel Carrasquillo.

Since then, Khalil has won two in a row including a four round unanimous decision over Serjejs Savrinovics on March 27th, 2008 in Sweden.

This will be Khalil’s fourth fight in America after fighting in Sweden, England, Hungary, Germany, Finland and Spain.

That is not all the action scheduled for the card an exciting undercard has been put together which includes:

Alando Swain will make his pro debut in a four round Super Middleweight bout against an opponent to be named.

Billy Salser (3-0, 2 KO’s) battles Joe Njau (0-3) in a four round Light Heavyweight bout.

Marcus Smith (0-1) takes on Rami Ibraham (2-8-1) in a Lightweight bout scheduled for four rounds.

The big boys will get it on as Tomas Cabrera (1-2, 1 KO) and Bryant Jennings (1-0) will fight in a Heavyweight bout scheduled for four rounds.

Tickets for this great night of boxing can be purchased are priced at $125 (VIP with Dinner); $80 (Ringside) and $50 (General Admission) and can be purchased by calling The Hamilton Manner (609-581-6782); Nedals Inc. (609-396-3005); Kaars Inc (609-396-3000); and Nedal (609-227-6959)

First bout is 7:30 with doors opening at 6:30

The card will be broadcast on www.gofightlive.tv

The Hamilton Manner is located on 30 Route 156 off of Rout 130 in Hamilton, NJ

Vazquez-Sonsona; Mayol-Nino plus Allentown fights featuring Travis Kauffman now available on www.gofightlive.tv

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK (MARCH 1, 2010)—This weekend’s biggest boxing events were captured by www.gofightlive.tv and it featured two world title fights that may have produced a new star in one and the second world title ended with controversy.

In Puerto Rico, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. made history as he followed in the footsteps of his father as he destroyed highly regarded Marvin Sonsona from the Philippines.

Vázquez went after his man in the fourth and pinned him several times against the ropes using his jab and straight right hand until one of those right hands broke through Sonsona’s defense and hurt him. A follow up left hook to the body put Sonsona down for the full count and tonight, it was the Puerto Rican who made history by becoming part of the first ever Puerto Rican father and son duo to win world titles.

With the impressive victory, Vázquez earns his first belt and improves his record to 18-0-1 15KO’s while Sonsona loses his first one and goes to 14-1-1 12KO’s. After the fight, Sonsona told the press he made the mistake of trading with the man he now knows to be a strong puncher. Still he insisted he would remain in the weight class where he says he feels strong.

The scene then shifted to Mexico as Rodel Mayol and Omar Nino battled for the WBC Light Flyweight title.

It was a solid fight until Nino hit Mayol with a low blow in round three. While Mayol stopped and waited for referee Vic Drachulich to intervene, Nino knocked Mayol out cold with a vicious left hook. Mayol left the fight on a stretcher and the bout was ruled a draw.

Those bouts plus four more big fights can be viewed for just $9.99 on www.gofightlive.tv by clicking:

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=604

outside of the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Philippines.

Kauffman, Cintron Dominate in Allentown, PA

Two of Reading, PA’s native sons made their triumphant returns to the ring last night as Travis Kauffman and Jason Cintron scored dominant wins over their opponents at the Rodeway Inn & Conference Center in Allentown, PA. King’s Promotions, who promoted the first boxing event in Allentown in two years, were proud to announce the event was a tremendous success as all 800 available seats were sold out.

In the heavyweight main event, Travis Kauffman boxed and banged his way to a shutout unanimous decision over Mike Miller. Kauffman, 228, came out in the first round looking to make a physical impression on the much larger Miller, 276, as he hammered hard body shots in the first round. Those body shots began to take their toll in the second round as Miller began to slow precipitously and allowed Kauffman to work his jab consistently.

Kauffman switched stances effortlessly and landed hard right hooks to the head and body. The durable Miller of Akron, OH absorbed thudding shots but remained standing for the duration of the fight. All three judges scored the fight 60-54 for Kauffman.

The win was Kauffman’s first fight back since losing a controversial fight with Tony Grano on Showtime last year.

“I was a little rusty and I wanted to get my rounds in,” said Kauffman, now 19-1 (15 KO). “I wish I had a little longer to train so I could have stopped him.”

Jason Cintron continued to put distance between himself and his only career loss by defeating Maurice Chalmers by unanimous decision. Cintron, 144, put Chalmers down hard with a right cross a minute into the first round but the defensive minded Chalmers held and survived. Cintron continued to box effectively and land hooks and right hands throughout that solidified the victory. Cintron moves to 12-1 (3 KO) while Chalmers drops to 7-10-1 (4 KO).

In other action, super-middleweight Farah Ennis of Philadelphia moved to 12-0 with a third round TKO of Emmanuel Gonzalez. Featherweight Coy Evans 7-0-1 (1 KO) of Philadelphia won a unanimous decision over a game Robert DaLuz. Allentown’s Eluid Torres raised his record to 3-1-2 (2 KO) with a third round knockout of John Willoughby. Derrick Webster of Glassboro, NJ moved to 5-0 (4 KO) with a fourth round stoppage of Pete Guthy.

The show can be seen in its entirety for just $4.99 by clicking:

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=626
———————————————————————————————————————

STAR BOXING THIS SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE FROM THE TROPICANA IN ATLANTIC CITY

Headlining the card is Atlantic City’s own former top rated contender, Shamone “The Truth” Alvarez (20-2, 11KO) taking on Lou Duva trained knockout artist, Alexis Camacho (17-2, 16KO) in a ten round welterweight showdown. In the co-feature bout of the evening, fan favorite, Vinny Maddalone (32-6, 23KO) will look to turn in one of his classic warrior-like performances when he squares off against Dominique Alexander (19-7-1, 9KO), in an exciting heavyweight matchup.

To Order the event live for just $6.99 Click:

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=589

Fresh off bringing ESPN Friday Night fights to Cleveland, Warner Promotions is teaming up with the Men’s Auxiliary from VFW Post 7647 & Old School Boxing Club, to bring boxing to northeast Ohio again, this time at the Soccer Sports Plex in North Olmsted on Saturday, April 24th!

This boxing event will have 12 fights, featuring both professional and amateur bouts! Headlining the card will be Dante Moore, a former USA Boxing Junior Olympic National Champion with a perfect professional record of 6-0, 4 KO’s! Also featured on the professional side of things will be Wilkins Santiago and Julius Leegrand! More pro fighters will be added to the card in the coming weeks as well!

There will also be live music performed by Jackie!!

Doors will open for this event at 6:00 PM, with the first fight scheduled to begin at 7:30.

Be sure to get tickets early as there are only 1,000 available! Warner Promotions last event drew over 2,000 people!!!

Tickets start at just $20! Tables are $600 and seat 8 guests. There are also limited $50 ringside seats available!

Tickets are available by calling 440-258-8117 or 216-854-0485. You can also pick up tickets at the North Olmsted VFW Hall or at the North Olmsted Soccer Sportsplex.

When you think of the Wild Card in Los Angeles you think of Manny Pacquiao first and formost, however there are fighters behind the scene’s who though only fledgling pro’s would appear to have obvious talent. One of those guys is Dean “The Irish Lightening” Byrne 11-0(4). Bryne 25, hails from Crumlin in The Republic of Ireland first debuted in early 2006 in Australia having had his first six fights there he moved to California and hooked up with Freddie Roach and has had 5 fights so far in America. Here’s what one of The Wild Card’s top up and coming prospects had to say on various things.

Hello Dean, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly congratulation’s you have very recently just become a proud father. How are things going?

Dean Byrne – Yeah its so great being a dad I have been blessed, he’s so good eats and sleeps. He was 2 hours old and posing for a picture with his fists like a fighter I guess he takes after his dad! Haha

Anson Wainwright – Your currently back in London because of the birth of the baby. When do you intend to head back to Los Angeles and then fight next?

Dean Byrne – I’m heading back to the States next week Wednesday my flight is. I can’t wait to get straight in to some hard work possibly fight in April I don’t no exacted date.

Anson Wainwright – You had your first 6 fights in Australia but then moved to Los Angeles and fight and live there now. How did a guy from Ireland end up fighting so far from home?

Dean Byrne – I travelled a lot as I was fighting for Ireland as an amateur we boxed in Australia and I met Johnny Lewes out there he saw me fight and asked me if i’d like to go pro and stay in Oz. It was a lovely place so I started my journey with a legend who trained Jeff Fenech Kostya Tzsyu and then wanted to work with me which was a good boost at the time and within 5 fights I became Australian champion so I proved him right I guess.

Anson Wainwright – Do you have any aspiration’s to one day fight in Britain?

Dean Byrne – Fight in Britain sure why not my boy was born here so I would probly like to fight here some day the 02 headlining a World title defence give the English fans an Irishman to talk a bout not just any Irishman Irish lightning.aka right now my dream is in America to be world champion and prove Freddie Roach right.

Anson Wainwright – Who is your manager, trainer & promoter?

Dean Byrne – Freddie Roach he’s my trainer and manager. Also Steven Feder manages me with Freddie and they have big plans for my future. I’m in talks now with big promoter in the States so I haven’t signed just yet in negotiations.

Anson Wainwright – Training at the Wild Card is obviously very exciting and beneficial to you because of the impressive clientele. What are you feeling about the guy and what it does for you as a person and fighter?

Dean Byrne – As a fighter in Wild Card it feels like nothing else, so many champions and so much respect it really makes you feel good to be part of that and you learn from the best what it feels like to train like the best and be humble and enjoy it.

Anson Wainwright – Your a Light Welterweight so you right in the thick of things as far as being the same size as Manny, Amir & Jose Benevidez. Do you train and spar with them? Can you tell us about these experience’s?

Dean Byrne – I’ve sparred with Pac-Man for 2 World title fights. Amir Khan for 2 of his big fights. It’s great to be part of a team that at such a world class level. I haven’t sparred Jose Benevidez yet I will do when i’m back there. It’s great to train and spare with pound for the pound best on the planet when I know I can hold me own and learn from them. It wont be long be for Irish Lightning is World champion and i’ll be a name people will know.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your amateur career. What titles you won and what was your final record?

Dean Byrne – My amateur career was not to bad over 100 fights have won 80% of them. I’ve had Silver and Bronze medals in multi-nation competitions representing my country at Senior level Irish champion Leinster Senior Champion.

Anson Wainwright – What are your goals in Boxing?

Dean Byrne – My goals are to be world champion and move up weights like Pac-Man and win as many as I can and be a name people will always remember.

Anson Wainwright – Who was your favourite fighter growing up?

Dean Byrne – My favourite fighters were Roberto Duran, Ray Leonard, Ali. Today my favourite is many Pacquiao.

Anson Wainwright – So far what is your best memory as a boxer?

Dean Byrne – Best memory is beating the Australian champion and winnng my first belt. Being Champion is a great memory.

Anson Wainwright – Finally when your not Boxing what do you like to do?

Dean Byrne – What I like to do when not boxing, play poker like the game only when i’m not in training for a fight of course.

Thanks for your time Dean, keep up the good work.

Thank you for your time and wanting to no bout Irish lightning talk soon take care an god bless.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

A few weeks ago, on February 5th and 6th, a monster snowstorm dumped over two feet of snow on Atlantic City, bringing much of the city to a standstill. The storm forced Star Boxing’s exciting event at the Tropicana Casino and Resort, to be postponed until Saturday March 6th. Although the storm was unfortunate, the majority of the card, including both the main event and co-feature bouts of the evening as well as almost the entire undercard, which feature many of the New Jersey area’s up and coming talent, remain intact for the March 6th date.

Headlining the card is Atlantic City’s own former top rated contender, Shamone “The Truth” Alvarez (20-2, 11KO) taking on Lou Duva trained knockout artist, Alexis Camacho (17-2, 16KO) in a ten round welterweight showdown. In the co-feature bout of the evening, fan favorite, Vinny Maddalone (32-6, 23KO) will look to turn in one of his classic warrior-like performances when he squares off against Dominique Alexander (19-7-1, 9KO), in an exciting heavyweight matchup.

“It was an unfortunate circumstance that we had to postpone the show in February,” stated Joe DeGuardia, CEO of Star Boxing. “Fortunately though, we were able to lock in the March 6th date at the Tropicana Casino and Resort, and the card has basically stayed the exact same as it originally was. I applaud the fighters for maintaining their focus and handling the postponement like the true professionals they are.

The card, promoted by Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing and sponsored by Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club, will be broadcast live on GoFightLive.tv . Tickets are priced at $100 (ringside), $50 and $30. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Star Boxing office at (718) 823-2000 or visiting www.starboxing.com. Tickets may also be purchased at any Ticketmaster outlet, www.ticketmaster.com, or at the Tropicana North Tower Box Office. The Tropicana Casino and Resort is located at 2831 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ and can be contacted by calling (609) 340-4000.

To Order the event live for just $6.99 Click:

http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=589

ABOUT STAR BOXING:
Star Boxing, Inc. has been in operation since 1992. Star Boxing has worked to produce some of the most exciting and memorable boxing events in recent history. Star has continued to work with and develop a number of very exciting world champions, world rated contenders and young prospects. Star has consistently brought credibility, integrity, and exciting fights to the boxing industry. For more information on Star Boxing, visit the official website at www.starboxing.com.

ABOUT TROPICANA CASINO & RESORT:
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“Regard friendship as the greatest thing in the world; for there is nothing which so fits in with our nature, or is so exactly what we want in prosperity or adversity. But I must at the very beginning lay down this principle: Friendship can only exist between good men.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero, “Treatises on Friendship and Old Age”

There is a certain refreshing selfishness about prizefighting. Rare is the fighter who is admonished by the boxing community for pursuing his own best interests. The most we do is criticize a prizefighter for misapprehending those interests and allowing shortsighted greed to send him careering away from what’s memorable.

Because boxing has no league, there’s no chance for the disingenuous spectacle of a television spot in which a participant recounts his selfless donation of time to children or elderly folks (when he’s told he has to). The boxing ring abides no half truths, and as a rule you should believe all sacrifices in prizefighting end at the apron’s edge.

But there are exceptions. One happened a couple of Thursdays ago in Brooklyn. Friends gathered at New York’s St. Francis College to announce the creation of the Arthur Curry Scholarship Fund on what would have been Curry’s 50th birthday had he not perished from a staph infection on April 6. Curry was a long-time employee of HBO’s. The nature of his position, colleagues and friendships at the network provides a different perspective on our beloved sport.

Following his beginning in the mailroom – a corporation’s least auspicious starting line – Curry worked his way into a self-made position of liaison between his employer and its talent. That is, Curry represented HBO to the prizefighters that fought under its banner. Often his job was to join under the tent of his credibility those who practice the sincerest profession – prizefighting – with entertainers whose insincerity is high art, and managers and promoters whose insincerity is lowest art.

The role was essential because by the time a prizefighter gains esteem enough to fight on HBO, he’s distrustful – not always because he started that way. Most prizefighters come from backgrounds in which their would-be perpetrators don’t trifle with stylish presentations; those who would do them harm rush across the street and do so.

Not until a fighter has shown a superlative spark, then, does he get introduced to men who assure his best interests before they fleece him with punches he can’t see. The unscrupulous manager or promoter may be among the first men in a young prizefighter’s life who say they give a damn about him. That sort of hard-won trust gets violated, and the prizefighter finds it easiest to distrust everyone going forward.

Arthur Curry’s job was to speak to prizefighters in their language and establish enough trust between them and his employer that mutually beneficial shows could be put together. His role was not without self-interest. Curry was a company man, in the best sense of the term. He kept a closet’s worth of HBO apparel. He was immensely proud of his opportunity. He represented his network from a position of gratefulness impossible to fake.

Curry had seen enough fakes. Those who would remember him on his 50th birthday mentioned how deftly he detected a hustle. Curry’s youth had been a picture of urban inhumanity, a portrait of the cruelty perpetrated on young folks by areas overcrowded with poverty and immorality. So he saw instantly the sorts of hustles fighters might see and try to exploit, or fear.

What made Curry’s position unique, though, was that he offered prizefighters a good deal. Think of all the criticism HBO Sports has taken in the last decade, and ask yourself: Does any of it reduce to profiteering at fighters’ expenses? To its viewers’ occasional dismay, HBO has made a habit of overpaying for talent. Curry may have represented a large corporation that made money by broadcasting prizefights, but he sure didn’t represent any ruinously one-sided deals.

That’s part of the reason Roy Jones Jr. was the keynote speaker at Curry’s 50th birthday party. As distrustful a champion as we’ve seen in a generation, a man whose legacy was made on HBO, a man who was later fired by HBO, Jones spoke happily of his close association with a person introduced to him by HBO. That said a lot about Curry’s character. It also said a lot about the character of Roy Jones.

Today fundraising efforts for Chile officially commence. They enter a life-and-death struggle with efforts in behalf of Haiti. Both countries suffered earthquakes. Both countries are about to suffer man’s finite capacity for caring about others’ misfortunes. A last commentary on what made the St. Francis College event special: It happened almost 11 months after Curry’s passing.

In the days that immediately follow a friend’s death, we all make memorial plans. We often renege as time passes. No one blames us. Commemoration promises are part of grieving’s calendar and sometimes go better unobserved. But Roy Jones, HBO commentator Jim Lampley and writer Thomas Hauser, among others, deserve recognition for remembering and exemplifying Henry Ford’s definition of quality: “Doing it right when no one is looking.”

None of this says you need to cheer Jones in his next fight. You don’t need to agree with Lampley’s play-by-play. Go right ahead and rebut Hauser the next time he fires a broadside at HBO management. But also acknowledge the friendship they shared with Arthur Curry by nodding to Cicero and giving them the benefit of the doubt as good men.

Too, when you get a chance, google “Roy Jones, Jr. & Jim Lampley Celebrate Life of Arthur Curry” and watch their video. Boxing needs more men like Curry. You didn’t need me to tell you that.

But boxing also needs more of the men that make guys like Curry possible – the very purpose of the Arthur Curry Scholarship Fund.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter.com/bartbarry

WBC Light Welterweight Champion Devon Alexander takes time out of camp to talk to the guys on the Sunday Sizzler! Alexander will face Juan Urango who is currently the IBF title holder. Catch this excellent interview from focused and humble Alexander. In addition, JSizzle and New York Dan will bring your the top boxing stories,and 15Rounds.com Marc Abrams will be LIVE on air with fight recaps and previews! Catch the live show Sunday 4pm est, and On Demand replays anytime afterwards.

Bayamón, P.R. – History was to be made when “Marvelous” Marvin Sonsona of the Philippines fought Bayamón’s own Wilfredo “Papito” Vázquez Jr. for the WBO super bantamweight title. Sonsona was aiming to be the youngest two division champion from the Philippines while Vázquez Jr. was aiming to become part of the first father and son duo from Puerto Rico to be world champions. Apparently the near capacity crowd at the Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum was aware of this as they went crazy when Vazquez Jr. entered the ring flanked by local hip-hop stars and his father, former three division world champion, Wilfredo Vázquez and again when announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. presented the boxers.

Vázquez jabbed and avoided most of Sonsona’s single shots in the first and both fighters landed their respective straights but neither scored with any significant punches. Vázquez landed a counter right hand off the ropes in the second that appeared to cut Sonona under his left eye and ended the round landing several jabs and powerful right hands. Sonsona seemed distraught by the end of the round. In the third, Sonsona landed a straight left that gave him some confidence as he let his hands go a little more. Still, the Puerto Rican managed to work the body and land rights of his own on the now swelling eye of Sonsona.

Vázquez went after his man in the fourth and pinned him several times against the ropes using his jab and straight right hand until one of those right hands broke through Sonsona’s defense and hurt him. A follow up left hook to the body put Sonsona down for the full count and tonight, it was the Puerto Rican who made history by becoming part of the first ever Puerto Rican father and son duo to win world titles.

With the impressive victory, Vázquez earns his first belt and improves his record to 18-0-1 15KO’s while Sonsona looses his first one and goes to 14-1-1 12KO’s. After the fight, Sonsona told the press he made the mistake of trading with the man he now knows to be a strong puncher. Still he insisted he would remain in the weight class where he says he feels strong.

The newly crowned champion was very thankful to his father Wilfred Vázquez, his promoter Tutico Zabala, to his fans and to God whom he says is the one who deserves the glory. As emotional as he was, he was still very clear in the fact that this is his job and his purpose in boxing is not to be famous but to make a living for his family. Regarding his future plans, he stated that he would most likely oblige with the WBO’s mandatory defense in ninety days.

The night started off with Osenohad “Cano” Vázquez (2-1), 141lbs. of Vega Baja, P.R. taking on Jorge Pérez Adorno (1-2), 140.2lbs. of Bayamón, at the junior welterweight division and set for four rounds. Round one lacked any significant action. The second one saw both fighters let their hands go with Vázquez landing more efficiently with his straight right and left hooks. Pérez Adorno tried to be more active in the third but was persuaded otherwise by several powerful left hooks. The fourth was a more even round where Pérez Adorno managed to make “Cano” fight going backwards at which he was still fairly effective. Scores were 39-37 for Vázquez on all three judge’s cards.

Next up and also set for four rounds was Marcos Adorno (0-2), 155.2lbs. of Vega Alta, P.R. against southpaw Giovanni “Tarantula” Rodríguez (2-0, 2KO’s) 154.8lbs., Trujillo Alto, P.R. Rodríguez quickly got to his over matched and visibly out of shape opponent with several lefts and put him down in the very first. The referee stopped the bout at 1:58 after seeing Adorno wasn’t up for it.

Lightweights Efigenio Pérez (0-1), 145.8lbs. of Aguada, P.R. and Luis Joel González (3-0, 2KO’s) 140.4lbs. of Bayamón were next in a fight originally set for the lightweight limit. Rounds one and two were slow in action and drew boos from the crowd even though González seemed to be boxing well and landing often but refusing to stay in the mix. Pérez managed to land some good shots in the third but not enough to dissuade his opponent who put him down in the fourth with a powerful one-two combination. Pérez got up but the referee stopped it at 2:47 of the final round.

Kicking off the televised portion of the card were José Angel Beranza (32-16-2 25KO’s), 121.4lbs.of Ciudad Mexico, Mexico and Jonathan “Polbo” Oquendo (17-2 11KO’s), 122lbs.from Vega Alta, P.R. fighting for the WBO Super featherweight title. In the first, Oquendo scored a flash knockdown and worked the body well. The second and third saw “Polbo” use good movement to evade Beranza’s punches and one-two’s to set up nice uppercuts. In the fourth Beranza landed solid counter punches and managed to open a small cut under Oquendo’s right eye.

In the fifth and sixth rounds, Beranza started pressing the action and stalking Oquendo who was breathing through his mouth and seemed tired. Both rounds provided good exchanges but Beranza showed better condition. In the seventh round, Oquendo tried to box a little more but ended up trading rights with his opponent and scoring a dubious knockdown. Going into the eighth, Oquendo seemed gassed but came back with powerfull rights that got the crowd to its feet.

Rounds nine and ten were dictated by Beranza who, even when missing, was pressing the action and stalking a tired Oquendo who seemed content with only landing counter right hands. In the eleventh Beranza tried to take his man down but was caught with several good counters and over hand rights. The final round was definitely a Beranza round as Oquendo didn’t want to trade or take chances and simply survived the round. Scores were 118-108, 114-112 and 117-109 all for Oquendo.

Former Puerto Rican amateur star McJoe Arroyo, 118lbs., of Fajardo made his pro debut against Giovanni Rivera (0-2),118.2lbs. of Arecibo, P.R. in a bout set for four rounds. Southpaw Arroyo made himself felt quickly scoring a knockdown halfway through the round with a solid left hook. After being warned for a borderline low blow Arroyo tried to finish the bout but Rivera’s holding gave him another round. In the second, Rivera tried in vain to run but was again caught by a left hand that ended the bout. Time of stoppage was 0:25 of the second.

Arroyo said he felt comfortable and was ready to go six rounds. He promised his fans he would give his best to please them and thanked the crowd for the massive support they showed. The future hopeful started his career with a sweet stoppage although against an overmatched opponent.

Up next was former Puerto Rican Olympian Carlos Negrón, 186lbs.of Villalba facing Roy Ashworth (5-7, 1KO’s) 185lbs. of Louisiana in a bout set for six rounds. Negrón tagged Ashworth with a right hand and a left hook that sent the American down a minute and fifteen seconds into the fight. With 50 seconds left, Negrón again put his man down with a left to the body that made Asworth spit out his mouthpiece. With several seconds left in the round, two flush lefts to the chin ended the fight in spectacular fashion for the Puerto Rican who moves his record to 8-0 6KO’s. Negrón desperately needs better opposition and agreed with 15rounds.com when asked about it.

Next up was McWilliams Arroyo, 113lbs. brother of McJoe and the other half of the promising duo of amateur boxers from the island. He was set to face Eliecer Sánchez 114.1lbs of Corozal, Puerto Rico also making his pro debut for four rounds. Arroyo stalked Sánchez from the opening bell and eve though he missed several right hands, when two of them landed the bout ended. The referee called it off as soon as Sánchez went down as he appeared seriously hurt. Time was 1:45. Arroyo said he wanted to impress as much as his brother had two fights before and was happy with the outcome.

Mike Jones got off to a bit of a slow start but turned up the offense to cruise to a unanimous decision over Henry Brusles in a ten round Welterweight fight in front of a sold out crowd at Ballys in Atlantic City.

It was Bruseles who came out and boxed well in round one as he moved in and out and landed a couple shots to Jones’ 5’11” body. Jones started to get things going a little bit in round two when Jones started to land some quick shots inside. Over the next couple rounds, each man took turns controlling the action with Jones winning his round with the more emphatic punching while Bruseles would squeak by with by getting through using angles and pot shotting.

The fight clearly turned in round seven with Jones landing some quick lefts and then rocking Bruseles with a hard three punch combination. Over the final part of the fight, Jones was in control as he started pumping the jab two and three times to set up quick one-two combination’s and he began to pull away on the cards. Jones was very solid in the fight but probably wasn’t the dominating performance that many of the sold out crowd came to see.

Nonetheless, Jones won by scores of 98-92, 98-92 and 97-93 (same as the 15rounds.com/gofightlive.tv ringside card).

Jones, 146 ¾ lbs of Philadelphia is now 20-0. Bruseles, 147 lbs of Guarbo, Puerto Rico is now 28-4-1.

In the television co-feature, Gabriel Rosado and Saul Roman hooked up in an entertaining ten round Jr. Middleweight clash.

Rosado and Roman fought very hard with Roman coming forward for most of the bout and Rosado doing a tremendous job of countering with the right hand.

The action really picked up over the last half of the fight with Rosado firing off right hands that caused a stream of blood from around the left eye of Roman. For his trouble, Rosado was cut from the forehead. This was a battle of geography as Roman wanted to make this an inside tussle while Rosado wanted and most of the time successfully had his way at distance. In round eight, Rosado landed countless counters to offset a big left hand that Roman got through at the beginning of the round.

The last two rounds did not provide as much action as the previous entertaining eight frames but Rosado’s out was more than enough for Rosado who won the bout by split decision.
Scores were 96-94 on two cards for Rosado (15rounds.com/gofightlive.tv liked the counterpunching Rosado to the tune of 99-91) while a third card read 97-93 for Roman.

Rosado, 155 ½ lbs of Philadelphia is now 14-4. Roman, 155 lbs of Tijuana, Mexico is now 32-6.
The opening bout of the night could have been the end of the line for former WBO Jr. Welterweight champion Kendall Holy as Kaiser Mabuza bludgeoned him over six rounds of their scheduled twelve round IBF Jr. Welterweight elimination bout.

Holt actually had a decent first round as he landed some body shots and combinations. After that it was a downhill freefall for Holt as Mabuza would just walk Holt down and pound away on the ropes for the next five rounds. Holt began to bleed from the nose in round three. If one saw round two, then he saw all rounds after that as Holt did next to nothing basically let Mabuza have his way. The sixth round was a bad round for Holt as he spent nearly the whole round eating punches and swelling around the left eye was starting to form.

Holt’s corner decided to save their man from any more damage and called a halt to the action before round seven could commence.

Mabuza, 140 lbs of Johannesburg, South Africa now awaits the winner of next Saturday’s Juan Urango – Devon Alexander unification battle with a record of 23-6-3 with fourteen knockouts. Holt, 139 ½ lbs of Paterson, NJ is now 25-3.

Ariel Espinal landed two big rights in round three to drop Anthony Pietrantonio and in round four Espinal finished the job by landing four big head shots that forced referee Benji Estevez to call a halt to the action at 1:38 of round four of their scheduled six round Light Heavyweight bout.

Espinal, 181 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is now 7-12-3 with three knockouts. Pietrantonio, 171 lbs of Youngstown, OH is now 6-5.

Local favorite (and 15rounds.com blogger) Troy Maxwell made his large local throng of fans happy by scoring a four round unanimous decision over Todd Erkisson in a Super Middleweight bout.
Maxwell landed some big right hands and kept Eriksson at bay to cruise to the decision via 39-37 on all cards.

Maxwell, 168 lbs of Galloway, NJ is now 2-0. Eriksson, 166 ½ lbs of Dover, NJ is 0-3-1.
Good looking nineteen year-old prospect Glen Tapia scored a vicious knockdown just seconds into his scheduled four round Jr. Middleweight bout with Tyrone Miles and finished him off with a series of power punches that forced Esteves to stop bout just seconds into the fight.

Tapia, 152 lbs of Passaic, NJ is now 4-0 with three knockouts. Miles, 153 lbs of Camden, NJ is now 1-3.

Rugged vet, Ossie Duran scored a four round unanimous decision over Jamaal Davis in a Jr. Middleweight bout.

Scores were 40-36 on all cards for Duran, 155 lbs of Paterson, NJ and is now 24-8-2. Davis, 156 ½ lbs of Philadelphia is now 11-6.

Photos by Tom Brigila/ Top Rank

Antonio Escalante scored a ten round unanimous decision over Miguel Roman in a thrilling fight at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas.

Escalante showed his class throughout as he brawled very nicely against the tough as nails Roman, who kept coming forward. Escalante consistently landed combinations andwas especilly effective with the left hook. He mixed up his shots evenly to the head and body. The two engaged in many exchanges where Roman would come forward winging wide shots and Escalante would get through with crisper punches.

Escalante continued to land flurries and that did not deter Roman from coming forward. In round eight, Escalante landed a body shot that was followed by a leaping right hand that sent Roman to the canvas which thrilled Escalante’s hometwon fans. All that work briefly fatigued Escalante because over the next four minutes, Roman had his best output of the fight as his aggressive nature was not met with the same resistance of the previous eight rounds. The one minute respite in between round’s nine and ten seemed to do the trick for Escalante as he finished strong as he and Roman battled all the way to the bell.

Escalante (Ranked # 8 by 15rounds.com at 122 lbs) 126 lbs of El Paso, Texas won by scores of 97-92, 97-92 and 96-93 to raise his record to 22-2. Roman, 126 lbs of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico is now 28-7.

Unbeaten Jr. Welterweight prospect Danny Garcia was in with his toughest foe to date and his fight with Ashley Theophane but Garcia hung on to win a split decision in a ten round bout.

This fight was about what the judges liked between Garcia’s punching in and out with some solid counter punching or Theophane’s awkward style. Garcia was a bit more active and landed the more telling blows and got the nod despite being docked a potentially critical point in round nine for a low blow and won by scores of 96-94, 95-94 while Theophane took a card 95-94.

Garcia, 141 lbs of Philadelphia is now 16-0. Theophane, 140 3/4 lbs of London, UK is now 25-4-1.

Carlos Vinan scored a debatable split decision over local favorite Victor Vazquez in the six round Lightweight main event at The Arena in South Philadelphia.

Vazquez came out early firing some solid combination’s and punctuated round one with a nice uppercut at the bell. Vazquez landed some nice right hands in round two. He was getting through with the over hand right and seemed to be finding a home for that punch. Vinan finally started getting into the fight as he started to be effective with shots to the body. The action really picked in round four as both landed some good shots before a furious final half minute where the two stood toe to toe that delighted the Pro-Vazquez crowd.

Over the last two rounds, Vinan landed several solid straight right hands down the middle as the tough veteran continued to press the action. The rounds were very close and the fight could have gone either way but it felt like Vazquez did a little more for the victory.

When the scores were read, it was surprising to hear that Vinan took two cards by scores of 59-55 and 58-56 while a third card was almost as absurd as it was ruled that Vazquez took every round via a 60-54 tally. 15rounds.com/gofightlive.tv card saw 58-56 for Vazquez.

Vinan of Newark, New Jersey scored his second upset in The Arena (he previously beat undefeated Featherweight Prospect, Eric Hunter in the same venue) and is now 9-8-3. Vazquez of Philadelphia falls to 11-4.
In the co-feature, Kareem “Cool Breeze” Cooley took the decision out the judges hands as he scored a third round stoppage over Sidell Blocker in their scheduled four round Lightweight bout.

Cooley moved well and was effective the right hand. In round three, Cooley landed a perfectly timed counter right over the top that dropped Blocker. Blocker got to his feet but the fight was waved off at 1:12 of round three.

Cooley of Philadelphia, trains out of the Joe Hand Boxing Gym and is now 1-0. Blocker is 0-2.
Juan Rodriguez scored a third round knockdown en route to a four round unanimous decision over Dontre King in a Welterweight bout.

Rodriguez dropped King with a flurry of huge shots to the head and never looked back as he win by scores of 40-35 on all cards.

Rodriguez of Union City, NJ is now 2-0. King of Cumberland, MD is 1-6-1.

In a female four round Featherweight bout, Elizabeth Sherman scored a four round unanimous decision over Karen Dulin.

Sherman, 124 lbs of Philadelphia is 2-0. Dulin, 126 ½ lbs of Mystic, CT is now 1-5.

Anthony Yoder Jr. scored a four round unanimous decision over Francisco Portillo in a Lightweight bout.

Scores were 40-36, 40-36 and 39-37 for Yoder, 134 lbs of Vineland, NJ to win his pro debut. Portillo, 132 lbs of West Virginia is now 0-2.

Bryan Jennings made a successful pro debut by outpointing Zeferino Albino over four rounds in their heavyweight bout.

Scores were 40-36 on all cards for Jennings, 218 lbs of Philadelphia. Albino of Philadelphia is now 3-10-2.

Lavarn Harvell made quick work of Randy Campbell by scoring a first round stoppage in their scheduled four round bout featuring undefeated fighters.

Harvell dropped Campbell early in the round from a straight right hand. Harvell then jumped all over Campbell and landed a barrage of punches that forced referee Blair Talmidge to call of the bout just 1:52 into the fight.

Harvell, 173 lbs of Atlantic City, NJ is now 5-0 with two knockouts. Campbell, 171 lbs of Bowertown, OH is now 3-1.

In an action filled four round Lightweight bout, Angel Ocasio remained perfect on the strength of a second round knockdown to score a unanimous decision over Osnel Charles.

Ocasio dropped Charles in round two from a solid left hook. Charles showed a lot of moxey as he came on strong and was involved in some nice exchanges but Ocasio’s work rate combined with the knockdown were the catalysts for the unanimous decision by scores of 39-36, 39-36 and 38-37.
Ocasio of Philadelphia is 2-0. Charles of Atlantic City is now 1-2.

Boxing returns to Philadelphia on Friday night April 2nd with a big night of action presented by Vernoca L. Michael and Blue Horizon Boxing Inc. at The Legendary Blue Horizon

The following week, Greg Robinson’s Power Productions returns to The Arena on Friday Night April 9th