The January 25 edition of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra will feature former Junior Middleweight titlist Sergiy “The Razor” Dzinziruk (36-1-1, 24 KOs) and Brian “The Warrior” Vera (21-6, 12 KOs) in the 12-round main event. Friday’s show will air live at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2 HD, and will be available online through WatchESPN.com and on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app. The card will also air live on ESPN Deportes+, the new digital extension of ESPN Deportes and ESPN3, and will air tape delayed on ESPN Deportes at 10:30 p.m. The card from Verona, N.Y., is promoted by Banner Promotions.

Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas will be ringside at Turning Stone Casino describing the action for ESPN2 HD, while studio host Todd Grisham will present all the latest news and boxing highlights. Alex Pombo and Delvin Rodriguez will call the fights for ESPN Deportes’ Viernes de Combates (Friday Night Fights) with Leopoldo Gonzalez and Pablo Viruega in the studio. Bi-lingual reporter Bernardo Osuna will present live interviews and reports for both shows.

Main Event:
The Ukraine’s Dzinziruk is coming off a September draw to Jonathan Gonzalez. Manager Harry Kazandjian said of Friday’s fight, “Sergiy’s got to win this fight. Brian Vera is a tough guy, but Sergiy needs to beat him and look good. He’s got to win convincingly.”

Vera, a native of Texas and participant in the third season of The Contender, is coming off one of his best wins, a 12-round majority decision win over former Junior Middleweight titlist Sergio Mora.

“I think Dzinziruk is good, he’s technical,” Vera said. “I think my style is perfect for him. I’ll put a lot of pressure on him and I don’t think he likes that. I think he likes to dictate the fight and kind of control things. But somebody that’s going to stay on top of him and put a lot of pressure on him, is going to throw him off his game a little bit. I’m going to be the bigger, stronger guy, and am going to impose my will on him and take it from him.”

Co-Feature:
Friday’s co-feature will pit undefeated Junior Welterweight Tony “Lightning” Luis (15-0, 7 KOs) of Ontario, against Texas’ Jose “El Loco” Hernandez (13-6-1, 5 KOs) in a 10-round bout. Luis will look to build momentum after a first-round knockout win over Andres Ledesma, while Hernandez will look to rebound from a 10-round majority decision loss to Robert Osiobe.

Follow ESPN’s Friday Night Fights on Twitter @ESPNFNF or like it on Facebook. Follow ESPN Deportes’ Viernes de Combates on Twitter @ESPNBoxeo

January 22, 2013 – Southpaw middleweight contender Sergiy Dzinziruk is preparing for his January 25th contest against hardnosed Texan Brian Vera on a Banner Promotions and Gary Shaw Productions promoted edition of ESPN 2’s Friday Night Fights. The bout is scheduled for 12 rounds at the middleweight limit and will be televised live from the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York. A win over the gritty Vera could mean big things for Dzinziruk as he looks to put himself in position for a world title opportunity.

Dzinziruk defeated Daniel Santos in 2005 to win the WBO junior middleweight championship, a title he successfully defended 6 times. The former junior middleweight champion from the Ukraine by way of Hamburg, Germany will be looking to impress in front of a national audience, using his high level boxing ability to out maneuver his opponent Vera, a fighter with a more brute style.

“I’ve been working very hard in the gym, but specifically I’ve been working at getting the most out of my natural abilities. I have all the tools needed to become the very best and being aware in the ring doesn’t just come from the defensive side of things, you have to know your limits and capabilities offensively and be willing to push yourself further each time,” Dzinziruk said.

In his last outing, Dzinziruk took on Puerto Rican prospect Jonathan González and the two fought to a draw, although Gonzalez missed weight and had a 7lb weight advantage over Dzinziruk. Still, Dzinziruk was able to negate the weight disadvantage and stifle Gonzalez, boxing his way around the bigger man.

“I felt like my last time out I didn’t capitalize on every opportunity that was presented to me, it was my fight to grab and it slipped away because I let it. I’ve prepared to get back into the win column and anything less is unacceptable, I will define the moment and not let the moment define me,” Dzinziruk said.

This time around Dzinziruk will be fighting an opponent in Vera that has made a career out of digging deep in his most dire moments. Vera is coming off of an impressive victory over perennial contender Sergio Mora in August of last year.

“I respect every opponent, but Vera is a different monster,” Dzinziruk said. “The guy never quits and he is always willing to take the fight to the most uncomfortable places possible. I’m willing to go wherever is necessary, but it won’t be Vera calling the shots because I’m going to dictate the pace and control the fight. My preparation for this fight has put me in the best possible shape, and with my conditioning I will systematically break my opponent down and reestablish my position amongst the division’s elite.”

Gary Shaw, Dzinziruk’s co-promoter, is excited to get his fighter back in action and in front of a large commercial audience. Shaw feels that his fighter is in title contention right now and a win would only bolster those chances.

“Sergiy is a dangerous fight for any of the belt holders in the division and I could see him in a title fight by the end of 2013,” Shaw said. “If you look at the landscape of the division you realize it’s a deep division filled with opportunity, Sergiy fits right in that picture and his abilities make him easy to matchup with just about anybody. A win over a guy like Vera puts him right there in title contention.”

SAN ANTONIO – If you come to Texas and fight a Texan you have to beat that Texan down. Californian Sergio Mora returned to Texas and did not beat Austin’s Brian Vera down (though he probably outboxed him), and again the result went Vera’s way.

Saturday in the main event of a “Solo Boxeo” card promoted by local outfit Leija-Battah Promotions within Alamodome’s Illusions Theater, in an excellent rematch of their 2011 fight Vera (21-6, 12 KOs) decisioned Mora (23-3-2, 7 KOs) by split scores of 114-114, 118-110 and 117-111. The first score was accurate, the others were likely too wide by half.

Afterwards, a furious Mora, who goes by the moniker “Latin Snake,” had venomous things to say about the decision and the state of Texas.

From the opening bell, insiders knew the fight would be determined by Mora’s accuracy or Vera’s activity. Vera’s activity won. Though Mora landed a multitude of right crosses from his shifting stance, and often had Vera outclassed, Vera’s relentlessness impressed the local judges more.

After an opening three rounds that saw Vera busier and Mora significantly more accurate, Vera’s busyness began to tell. Mora, who’d successfully set up shop in both neutral corners and snapped Vera’s head back with counter uppercuts, found his mouth open and his activity diminished as the middle rounds came and went.

But as the championship rounds approached in a match for a vacant NABO middleweight title, and as Vera’s pace slowed slightly, Mora appeared to become the aggressor, landing with hard combinations in the fight’s closing six minutes. Ultimately, though, it was an effort by Mora ineffective as it was tardy, and Vera had his second victory over Mora in as many fights.

ANTONIO ESCALANTE VS. LEONILO MIRANDA
An old saw goes: The man is most dangerous when he is hurt.

That old saw proved itself true once more Saturday when El Paso featherweight Antonio Escalante, retreating on buckling knees, stopped, planted and connected with a short right cross from which Mexican Leonilo Miranda could not rise.

The official end came at 1:19 of round 2, after an uneventful first round saw neither Escalante (27-4, 19 KOs) not Miranda (26-5, 25 KOs) land anything meaningful. Early in the second, though, Miranda connected with a left hand that affected Escalante, putting him on stiff legs.

Then Miranda leaped in, emboldened by Escalante’s retreat, and Escalante snapped a perfect right hand. The 10-count was unnecessary.

BENJAMIN WHITAKER VS. GERMAIN CARSON
Saturday’s first match featured a professional debut by Benjamin Whitaker, a local welterweight, against an awkward fellow Texan named Germain Carson – an entirely successful debut by Whitaker that saw him win by stoppage at 2:33 of round 2.

After a first round that found Whitaker (1-0, 1 KO) leaning with right-hand leads on the southpaw Carson (0-2), leads Carson picked up and evaded for the most part, Whitaker began to move forward and look for openings. With Carson’s high chin, Whitaker found a big opening quickly enough.

“I felt better, actually,” Whitaker said of using lighter gloves and fighting without headgear for the first time. “My hands felt lighter. I liked it.”

A left hook from Whitaker caught Carson late in the second round and dropped him for the full count of 10. It was an excellent debut for a likable local prospect before a lively crowd.

DAQUAN ARNETT VS. ISHWAR AMADOR
The evening’s second bout, a junior middleweight match between undefeated Floridian Daquan Arnett (6-0, 4 KOs) and many-times-defeated Mexican Ishwar Amador (11-11, 7 Kos) did not last long. In fact, it lasted only so long as it took Arnett, an Al Haymon-advised fighter with a Floyd Mayweather style, to land his first right hand.

That right hand was a crisp cross that found its home on Amador’s chin and resulted in a no-count-needed knockout for Arnett at 0:36 of round 1. Arnett, who has both talent and proper management, is a fighter to keep an eye on.

ADAM LOPEZ VS. MARIO DELGADO
The evening’s third match found former local amateur standout Adam Lopez (4-0, 2 KOs) making quick work of fellow Texas bantamweight Mario Delgado (0-3) of Brownsville, stopping him with a left hook to the belly at 1:21 of round 1. Lopez, who suffered a flash knockdown in the first round of his last appearance at Illusions Theater, fought more effectively Saturday, though his competition has diminished considerably lately.

STEVE HALL VS. MILTON RAMOS
In the undercard’s most entertaining match, a battle between Texas welterweights, local fan favorite Steve Hall (5-3, 5 KOs), an Englishman who wears a sombrero and serape to the ring, went through six hellish rounds with Milton “Bad Boy” Ramos (8-3-2, 2 KOs) of Waco, in a match Ramos won by unanimous scores of 60-54, 59-55 and 58-56.

From the opening minute, when a balance shot stunned Hall, Ramos found his San Antonio opponent with most every right hand he threw. Hall was game, though, wading into whatever Ramos served, and tasting three or four of them at a time, in the hopes of landing a right of his own or a left hook behind Ramos’ right elbow.

The match was closer than six-rounds-to-one, but the right man was victorious, much to local fans’ dismay.

UNDERCARD
Saturday’s fifth match saw local junior featherweight Javier “Pitbull” Rodriguez (3-0-1) decision fellow San Antonian Kermit Hendricks (1-3) by three scores of 39-37.

The penultimate match of the evening, a swing bout between Texas featherweights Jerren Cochran (5-0, 3 KOs) and Jesus Rocha (3-3), began on a very entertaining note and ended in a unanimous decision for Cochran – scores of 40-35, 40-35 and 39-36 – who got hit with a surprising number of punches for a man who fights out of a shell.

Opening bell rang on the card’s professional bouts at 7:10 PM local time. Attendance was estimated by someone associated with the promotion at about 3,000.

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ–Sergio Martinez retained the undisputed Middleweight title with a eleventh round stoppage over previously undefeated Englishman Darren Barker at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

Martinez boxed well over the first two frames using his quickness. Barker got into the fight in round three as he landed a couple nice right hands but probably wasnt enough to take the round. In round four, Barker landed numerous right hands that had blood squirting out of the nose of the champion. Martinez settled in once again by flicking shots from his unorthodox “Hands Down” defense. Martinez started putting more punches in bunches in round six only to have Barker land a big right at the bell.

Martinez started getting comfortable by sticking and moving while Barker was looking for the one big score. Round eight was an action filled fight with Martinez and Barker standing toe to toe for much of the last ninety seconds of the frame with Martinez landing four and five punch combinations while the challenger landing a solid left hook and yet another good right.

Martinez had a big round nine as he rocked Barker with a huge right hook that buckled Barker across the ring. Martinez threw and landed some of the twenty some odd punched that were to follow and had Barker in trouble for the first time in the fight.

Martinez ended things with a huge right hook to the side of the head that sent Barker down on his back and he could not beat referee Eddie Cotton’s ten count

Andy Lee got even with Brian Vera by scoring a ten round unanimous decision in a Middleweight bout.

Lee started round one trying to establish the jab. In round two Landed a huge left that sent Vera sprawling to the canvas just before the bell sounded to signal the end of the round. Lee continued to dominate in round three as that frame was highlighted by a monstrous left uppercut that Vera took well. Round four saw the effects of Lee’s work by a cut that was formed around the left eye of Vera. The fight was fought at a fast pace with both guys getting good shots. Despite the cut, Vera came back to have a strong round five as he blasted Lee with a couple of hard right hands.

Lee landed a beautiful check hook that sent Vera head first into the corner post in round six and then buckled Vera with a hard left in round seven. Round was a great action round with Lee continuing to land solid left hands while Vera pounded away with a handful of right hands.

The two continued to slug going down the stretch and it was Vera who continued to land the bigger shots but a visibly exhausted Lee hung and was able to avenge his only career loss

Lee, 163 lbs of Limerick, IRE won by scores of 99-90; 99-90 and 98-91 to raise his mark to 27-1. Vera, 160 lbs of Austin, TX is now 19-6

In a mild upset, Daniel Lugo scored a four round unanimous decision over Kevin Rooney Jr. in a Jr. Middleweight bout.

Scores were 39-37 on all cards for Lugo of Harrisburg, PA and is now 1-1. Rooney of Catskills, NY is now 2-1.

J’Leon Love remained perfect by scoring a six round unanimous decision over Eddie Hunter in a Middleweight bout.

Scores were 60-54; 60-53 and 60-53 for Love of Detroit and is now 9-0. Hunter of Kent, WA is now 5-7-2.

In the first bout of the evening, Troy Artis sprun an upset by dropping Israel Dufus three times in round three to gain the stoppage in that round which was a scheduled four round Middleweight bout.

Dufus controlled the first two round with good boxing skills.

In round three, Artis dropped Dufus with a hard left-right combination. He dropped him a second time from a straight right. Dufus was reeling when he ate several unanswered blows and dropped to his knees and referee Steve Smoger stopped the bout at 2:03.

Artis of Bronx, NY is now 3-2-1 with two knockouts. Dufus of Panama is now 2-1.

15rounds.com Claudia Bocanegra attended a unique press event where Middleweight contender Andy went to several bars in New York City to promote his October 1st rematch with Brian Vera as part of the Sergio Martinez – Darren Barker Middleweight title card

NEW YORK, NY (August 3, 2011) – DiBella Entertainment has added Irish middleweight contender Matthew “Mack the Knife” Macklin to its ever-growing stable of fighters. Macklin, 29, is an intelligent boxer-puncher, who has shown that he is not afraid to engage or press the action when necessary. He is currently ranked #4 by the WBA, #7 by the WBO, and #12 by the IBO, and has nothing but big fights on his mind as he joins the same promotional roster as middleweight champion Sergio Martinez and middleweight contenders Andy Lee, Brian Vera, Ronald Hearns, Peter Manfredo, Jr., and Ishe Smith.

There are times when a loss brings more positive attention to a fighter’s career than any of his previous victories. Coming off his most recent fight, a controversial loss to “Super” WBA middleweight titlist Felix Sturm, that statement could not be truer of Macklin, 28-3 (19 KOs). But now, Macklin is looking for redemption under a new promotional banner, a deal to bring him to the United States that was facilitated by Brian Peters, his manager since 2005.

“I am really happy to be signing with DiBella Entertainment,” said Macklin. “I’ve known Lou DiBella for many years. I met him in Manchester when Paulie Malignaggi fought Lovemore Ndou in 2008. We spoke about doing something together last year, but the timing wasn’t right. I feel that we’re now on the same wavelength. I’m excited about the future and I feel that I am in very good hands with Lou.”

Born in Birmingham, England, to Irish parents, Macklin was studying law at Coventry University while simultaneously competing as an amateur boxer. After winning the national senior Amateur Boxing Association of England welterweight title in 2001, Macklin made the decision to put his studies on hold, to the ire of his parents, in order to pursue a professional boxing career.

In Glasgow, Scotland, on the undercard of future featherweight champion Scott Harrison, Macklin stopped Ram Singh in just 112 second, on November 17, 2001. Going on to win his first nine bouts, six by knockout, Macklin built up enough of a reputation to challenge for the British junior middleweight title. Fighting Andrew Facey on November 6, 2003, Macklin lost a razor-thin 10-round decision by one point, with a score of 96-95.

Macklin bounced back from that defeat winning three straight before fighting professionally in Ireland for the first time against Michael Monaghan for the Irish middleweight title, on May 14, 2005, his 23rd birthday, at National Stadium in Dublin. Macklin won the belt with a fifth-round knockout, at 1:28 of the frame.

Three months after winning the Irish middleweight title, Macklin traveled across the pond to get his first taste of fighting in the United States, winning two bouts by knockout, stopping Leo Laudat in three in Atlantic City, and Anthony Little in two in Philadelphia.

Three fights later, Macklin would engage Jamie Moore in one of the best fights of 2006, in his second attempt to win the British junior middleweight crown. Fighting Moore at George Carnall Leisure Centre in Manchester on September 26, Macklin was quickly drawn into a brawl and the two continued to fight in the trenches for over nine brutal rounds, before the Irishman would succumb to a knockout halfway through the 10th frame.

“I fought Jamie Moore at the wrong weight,” said Macklin. “Although I shouldn’t have fought Moore’s fight, making weight was the problem in that bout. I felt weak, I had no stamina and no reflexes. I stayed at welterweight and junior middleweight for far too long. I am a middleweight.”

Maintaining a busy schedule over the next two years, Macklin would win his next six fights, three by knockout, including a 10-round decision over veteran Yori Boy Campas. Macklin then returned to his hometown of Birmingham to challenge Wayne Elcock for the British middleweight title on March 14, 2009, winning by TKO in the third. Macklin followed that up with a fight against Finnish Amin Asikainen six months later and destroyed him inside one round to add the European title to his collection.

After defending the European title in two of his next three victories, Macklin was poised to make a big slash on the world-boxing scene with a bout against former junior middleweight champion Winky Wright set for Las Vegas. However, that bout did not come to fruition when Wright pulled out after suffering an injury in training. A WBA eliminator against Khoren Gevor next presented itself with the winner to face Felix Sturm. Contractual issues led to Macklin pulling out of that contest, but he was rewarded with a direct shot at Sturm and, despite losing a highly controversial split decision on the champion’s home turf, made a statement with his dynamic performance.

“I went over to Germany and I proved myself. I felt that I won,” said Macklin, who lost the split decision by two votes of 116-112 for Sturm and a 115-113 tally in his favor. “I feel that if we fought 100 times, I would beat him every time. If it were up to me, I’d fight him next, although I don’t think he has any intention of pursuing a rematch with me. If he wants to fight me again, it’s an easy fight to make, as he is his own promoter. I think he knows that he cannot beat me. He’s not going to come to Ireland or England. Fighting Sturm in New York would be great, but I would go back to Germany if I had to. I’d expect a fairer crack at the fight. I think the German officials would be under a lot more pressure to make sure things were on the level, given the controversy of our first fight.

“I think the Sturm fight was an eye-opener for the boxing public at large. Sturm is a leading man in the middleweight division and I think I proved that I am among the top three middleweights of the world.”

DiBella Entertainment President Lou DiBella is excited about his new recruit.

“I viewed signing Macklin as a no-brainer,” said DiBella. “I have Sergio Martinez, the real middleweight champ, the best in the world. But clearly Matthew handled Sturm with ease and he has a claim at being the second-best middleweight in the world. He’s going to want a shot at Sergio and eventually that will make sense.

“I’m very, very happy with the deal,” he continued. “I happen to like the kid very much and that is part of it. There are certain guys who have very pleasing styles for TV. This guy rumbles but he also has skills. He’s fun to watch and made a case that he stands near the top of the middleweight division with the way he fought Sturm.”

“I know he’s [Brian Vera] motivated, I know he wants this win big…[but] I’m not 100% super-motivated with [fighting] Brian Vera.”

You don’t say!

The day before stepping in the ring and dropping a split decision loss to Brian Vera, Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora spoke to Joe Tessitore on ESPN’s Heavy Hitting Boxing Podcast.

After stating that he lacked motivation, “The Latin Snake” went on to tell Tessitore, “Yet, I fear that he’s going to be stronger than me and hit harder than me. There are going to be moments in this fight when he’s actually going to connect and who knows how I’m going to react to these shots.”

So, Mora knew there were times where he would be tested. He knew Vera was a banger, and could dish out some punishment. And he knew Vera would be the crowd favorite, fighting in his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. Yet even with all of this knowledge, Mora was still lacking 100% motivation.

Going into the Vera fight, Mora was fresh off a draw with future hall-of-famer Shane Mosley — a fight that headlined a PPV card.

Perhaps it was the lesser name, Vera, or the fact that this fight was on ESPN, not PPV, that Mora was unable to get fully motivated. Or maybe it was the massive drop in pay that Mora would receive from the Mosley to Vera fights. Or perhaps it was the fact that the tough Texan had just one win in his last five bouts.

Whatever his reasons may have been, I found Mora’s admission to be quite telling and extremely honest.

In my brief thirteen months covering the sweet science, I have interviewed countless fighters. In most instances, before a fight, myself or other media members will ask how training has been going. Never once have I heard that a fighter is lacking motivation.

In fact, the answer we get is usually the exact opposite. More times than not it’s, “This is one of the best training camps I’ve ever had…I’m hungry to go out and get the win…etc, etc.”

I expected to hear something similar from Mora, as well. So when he admitted that he wasn’t fully motivated, I wasn’t sure if his words were refreshing or red-flag raising.

During the course of the twelve minute interview, Mora also confirmed to Tessitore that he trained by himself for this fight, ditching trainer Dean Campos in favor of doing it the old-fashioned way.

So as I watched the first stanza unfold, I saw a Mora who was a bit surprised at how relentless Vera was. “The Latin Snake” wasn’t particularly elusive early on, and was a bit befuddled by Vera’s early early success.

As the fight progressed, it was really just more of the same. Constant, non-stop pressure from gritty hometown kid. Mora had his moments throughout the thirty minutes between the ropes — landing some nice combinations in the middle-rounds — but they were few and far between. He was consistently inconsistent throughout.

When the bout concluded, one judge scored the fight 96-94, Mora, while two saw it the other way, 96-94, Vera, awarding him a hard-earned split decision win.

In a sport where so much rides on any single fight, there never should be a lack of motivation. This wasn’t supposed to be an easy fight for Mora, and like he said, he had his fears entering the bout. Unfortunately for Mora, Vera turned Mora’s fears into a reality.

While credit must be given to Vera for pulling off what was arguably the biggest win of his career, a fully motivated Sergio Mora with Dean Campos in his corner, beats the best Brian Vera nine times out of ten.

While we don’t know how Mora will rebound after this loss, one thing we can bet on is that this was the last fight “The Latin Snake” would have struggled to find motivation.

Kyle Kinder can be reached at Twitter.com/KyleKinder or KyleKinder1@gmail.com

Brian Vera scored an upset split decision over former world champion Sergio Mora in ten round Middleweight bout at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

It was a close fight throughout with Vera being the aggressor while Mora looked for spots to counter and he did that very nicely at times. Vera would get inside consistently with short combination’s and flurries. At times Mora would set combination’s up with his jab but he did not do that enough.

Late in the fight, the blood was flowing as in round seven Mora was cut around left eye from a punch and in round eight the right was split open due to a headbutt. There were some good exchanges in the final round with Vera being cut around his right eye just moments before the final bell sounded.

Vera, 163 of Fort Worth, Texas won two cards by a 96-94 tally while Mora won a card 96-94.

Vera, who also scored an upset over Andy Lee is now 18-5. Mora, 163 of East Los Angeles, California was coming off a draw with legendary Shane Mosley and is now 22-2-2.

Chris Chatman needed a last round knockdown to fight a majority draw with heralded and previously unblemished in an eight round Jr. Middleweight bout.

Hatley scored a knockdown in the first minute of the fight and almost had Chatman out before the opening frame was complete as he peppered Chatman with clean shots. The fight never seemed to get a good rhythm to it as Chatman regained his composure and continued to press the action started getting through with some good shots. Hatley won most of the middle rounds until he seemed to tire late.

Chatman scored a knockdown with a left hand with over a minute to go in the fight and had Hatley holding on until the final bell to get the draw.

18 year old Ray Ximenez Jr. scored a four round unanimous decision over Alfredo Berto in a Bantamweight fight.

Scores were 40-36 on all cards for Ximenez, 117 lbs of Dallas and is 2-0. Berto, 118 lbs is now 1-4.

Hatley, 153 lbs of Dallas, Texas was a former national amateur champion won a card by 77-73 but that was over ruled by the two remaining judges at 75-75.

Hatley is now 14-0-1. Chatman, 153 lbs of San Diego was fighting his third consecutive undefeated fighter and now 9-1-1.