Los Angeles (Jan. 23) – Golden Boy Promotions held a press conference at the Golden Boy Building in Los Angeles on Thursday, Jan 22., to announce the Feb. 27 IBF Bantamweight World Championship fight between the titleholder Randy “El Matador” Caballero and Alberto “Metro” Guevara. The event was hosted by Oscar De La Hoya, Founder and President of Golden Boy Promotions and was attended by more than 50 local and international media outlets. Seven-time world champion in four weight classes, Erik Morales and former WBC and IBF Super Bantamweight World Champion Isreal Vasquez were also in attendance.

Other fighters featured on the card participated in the press conference including Mexicali’s Diego De La Hoya (8-0, 6 KOs) who fights in his first eight-round bout as the co-main event against Los Angeles’ Manuel “Suavecito” Roman (17-3-3, 6 KOs). Plus, Chinese heavyweight sensation Taishan (2-0, 2 KOs) spoke about his upcoming opening telecast bout on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes, a four-round fight against Roy McCary (3-2, 3 KOs). Also, newcomer Nick Arce (1-0, 1 KO) and the undefeated Oscar “Jaguar” Negrete (7-0, 3 KOs) discussed their upcoming fights, both against opponents yet to be announced.

Tickets for the event, priced at $105, $75, $55, $45 and $35 are on sale now, at the Fantasy Springs Box Office, by calling (800) 827-2946 or online at www.fantasyspringsresort.com.

Below is what the fighters had to say today at the Golden Boy Building, in downtown Los Angeles:

Oscar De La Hoya, Founder and President of Golden Boy Promotions:

“I’m really excited to be presenting to you what we call a homecoming. ‘The Homecoming’ will consist of a champion who traveled all the way to Monte Carlo and brought the world title back to Coachella. Back to where he grew up, where he trained. Back to all his people that always supported him at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino

“[Randy] is a champion that has always represented his roots from Nicaragua. That for many years another great champion, my idol, Alexis Arguello represented. For Randy it will be a great honor to fight in front of his public, his hometown.

“Thank you to FOX for this great opportunity. It’s going to be a tremendous showdown on FOX Sports 1. This is what FOX Sports 1 is all about giving you the best action not only from the future champions, but as we can see now ‘The Champion,’ Randy Caballero.

“We will be bringing back Fight Night Club live from downtown. That will be an exciting series. It will give us an opportunity to cultivate the next generation of Los Angeles champions.

“We believe in Taishan, we believe in his ability. He has talent, speed and tremendous power as demonstrated in his last two fights. We know how to build champions; therefore we have no doubt in our mind that Taishan can become the heavyweight fighter that everyone dreams to of.

“It goes to show you the character in Manuel [Roman]. He’s chasing after his dream, he wants that world title, but he has to get through the next young fighter.

“This next fighter has the same last name as me, De La Hoya; yes he is my cousin. But this is a serious fight. This is a real fight. This is a dangerous fight. Diego is all about facing the toughest challenges. He wants to go as fast as he can towards a world title.

“[Alberto Guevara] has recent wins that have put him back on that championship level and now he is back challenging for a world title at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino.

“[Randy] has fought 12 times at Fantasy Springs Casino and every single time he comes out more explosive, hungrier than ever, working harder and harder, all for the fans. All to make sure that the fans leave satisfied having witnessed some great fights.”

Randy “El Matador” Caballero, Undefeated IBF Bantamweight World Champion

“I want to thank Alberto for taking this fight, it’s going to be a war.

“I went around the world to win this title. Trust me, it wasn’t easy and I am not ready to give it up. I am going to make sure to keep it right by my side and we are going to conquer 118 pounds one fight at a time.

“The people on this card are great. We are glad to have it at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino.

“I’m going to make sure I am the fight of the night and you guys leave satisfied. Hopefully he is ready, because I am going to be giving it my all. I’m not letting this title go anywhere.”

Alberto “Metro” Guevara, Bantamweight Contender

“I am prepared, happy, excited, and motivated. I think that on the February 27 we will win, I come with that attitude.

“Thanks to the champion, thanks to Golden Boy for giving me this opportunity. It is my time. I deserve it. I have worked very hard. I have the attitude. I have the talent to win the world title.

“I can assure you that February 27 will be a very good fight, a fight you don’t want to miss. It will be explosive and, at the end of the night, I will be the new world champion.”

Diego De La Hoya, Super Bantamweight Prospect

“I’m very happy to be here and very happy with my promoter that is taking me and guiding me in the right way. I’m very happy to be a part of this card and with a companion, a stable mate like Randy and to have it be at Fantasy Springs, which is like a second home to me is very exciting.

“I’m training hard. I’m fighting an opponent with a lot of experience. There is no other way than victory for that night. I am going to win.

“I want to make it clear: I’m not afraid to be fighting with fighters at this level and this much experience because I’m confident of what I’ve done: De La Hoya is going to win.”

Manuel “Suavecito” Roman, Super Bantamweight Contender

“I want to thank Golden Boy for this opportunity and all the media for supporting this event.

“I’m in great shape for this fight. I just recently changed trainers, I’m with Isreal Vasquez and I think he is going to benefit me a lot. Having a world champion in my corner, you’ll see some changes

“I know my opponent comes as an undefeated fighter so I’m getting ready for everything.”

Taishan, Heavyweight Prospect

“I’m so excited to see you all here to support this upcoming fight at Fantasy Springs.

“I want to thank Fantasy Springs Casino Resort for inviting me back into the ring. Thank you Oscar De La Hoya for giving me this opportunity to fulfill my dream in boxing.”

“I will do my best to fight each fight, I want everyone to come out on February 27 to support me.”

Nick Arce, Super Featherweight Prospect

“First, I want to thank you all for being here today. I also would like to thank my team at West Side Boxing and my promoter Golden Boy Promotions for giving me this opportunity”

“I’ll give a great show on February 27 so that people can start knowing who Nick Arce is.”

Oscar “Jaguar” Negrete, Bantamweight Prospect

“I want to thank Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar, Leo Santa Cruz and my management team.

“I invite you all to come and meet the ‘Colombian Jaguar’ on February 27.”

John Carvelli, Vice Chair of the California State Athletic Commission

“I want to reiterate our pride and support for Golden Boy Promotions a California born and bred company, they are our most active promoter in the state. We are proud of Golden Boy Promotion’s professionalism.”

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Caballero vs. Guevara, a 12-round bout for Caballero’s IBF Bantamweight World Championship is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona Extra, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Mexico, Live It To Believe It! and Golden Ram Group. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. and the first bell rings at 5:30 p.m. The FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes broadcast airs live at 10:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. PT.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.FOXSports.com/FOXSports1, www.FOXDeportes.com, follow on Twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @Swanson_comm, @FOXSports, @FOXSports1, @FOXDeportes and, become a fan on Facebook at Golden Boy Facebook Page, www.facebook.com/FOXDeportes and visit us on Instagram @GoldenBoyBoxing.

LAS VEGAS (Aug. 28, 2014) – Aggressive, determined and fearless. Proud Argentine and former welterweight champion Marcos “El Chino” Maidana has won the respect of some of the greatest Mexican world champions of our time for the fiery intensity he brings each time he steps through the ropes.

The fact that Maidana is the only boxer to defeat Adrien Broner and one of the very few in history to give 11-Time World Champion and perennial No. 1 pound-for-pound superstar, Floyd “Money” Mayweather, a legitimate test only adds to the anticipation heading into their upcoming rematch.

Here’s what the Mexican champions have to say about Maidana as we inch closer to “MAYHEM: Mayweather vs. Maidana 2” on Saturday, Sept. 13 live on SHOWTIME PPV® from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ, three-division World Champion and Boxing Hall of Famer
“We all know Marcos Maidana is not a technical fighter, but nobody can deny he is a very dangerous one, perhaps one of the most dangerous fighters Mayweather has ever faced.

“I must confess I was amazed to see how courageous Maidana was; he squared up in front of Mayweather and just went at it with everything he had.

“Maidana possesses a singular characteristic that we usually see only in Mexican fighters – he is simply fearless. He is brave and powerful and from the moment he steps into the ring he fights like there’s no tomorrow.”

ERIK “EL TERRIBLE” MORALES, first Mexican-born boxer to capture World titles in four different weight classes

“When you think of what makes a great Mexican Champion, you think of determination, aggressiveness, heart and the guts to get the job done. That’s what it means to be a great Mexican warrior; you leave everything in the ring, your heart and soul are out there.

“I remember watching the first Mayweather vs. Maidana fight back in May and I can say, Maidana left his heart in the ring. He fights with passion and aggressiveness. He leaves it all out there.

“There’s no boxing in Las Vegas or anywhere without great Mexican fighters. We all know that. And Maidana has the heart of a Mexican warrior.”

ISRAEL “MAGNIFICO” VAZQUEZ, former super bantamweight World Champion
“Marcos Maidana’s boxing style resembles that of the great Mexican fighters. He is fearless, doesn’t stand down, he likes to pressure his opponent and has a very powerful punch.

“You have to give Maidana some credit for his boxing skills; he has won the lead role in a rematch fight against one of the best fighters in the world, Floyd Mayweather.

“Besides being a very good fighter, Marcos has a very nice characteristic, he’s truly humble. That’s a feature you don’t find that often in boxers of his caliber.

“This is a very tough fight for the both of them; that’s why I’ll refrain from any predictions. Both fighters have a big test in front of them.

RAUL “DIAMANTE” MARQUEZ, Former IBF 154-Pound World Champion
“Maidana is a fighter that takes the lead and doesn’t back up. He comes prepared and he comes to fight.

“Nobody thought that he was going to stand up to Mayweather like he did. He left his heart in the ring.

“He made all Latinos proud. He stood in front of Mayweather like true Mexican champions do.

“He can go the distance if he wants, he’s aggressive. He fights with the determination of a Mexican.”

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In other PPV fights, undefeated Leo “El Terremoto” Santa Cruz (27-0-1, 15 KOs), of Los Angeles, will defend his WBC Super Bantamweight World Championship against Mexico’s Manuel “Suavecito” Roman (17-2, 6 KOs), Miguel “Títere” Vazquez (34-3, 13 KOs), of Tijuana, will defend his IBF Lightweight World Championship against Mickey “The Spirit” Bey (20-1-1, 10 KOs), a Mayweather Promotions’ rising star from Las Vegas, and Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo (22-4, 18 KOs) will move up to middleweight to face James De La Rosa (22-2, 13 KOs) in a 10-round bout. .

Preceding the PPV telecast, SHOWTIME will present a live 10-round junior welterweight bout between John Molina (27-4, 22 KOs) of Covina, Calif., and Humberto “La Zorrita” Soto (64-8-2, 35 KOs) on “COUNTDOWN LIVE” (SHO, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT).

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“MAYHEM: Mayweather vs. Maidana 2,” a 12-round world championship bout for Mayweather’s WBA Welterweight Belt and WBC Welterweight and Super Welterweight World Titles takes place Saturday, Sept. 13 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas and is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona Extra, O’Reilly Auto Parts and “The Equalizer” in theaters Sept. 26. The event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV® (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT) and is the fourth fight of a six-fight deal between Mayweather and Showtime Networks Inc. In the co-main event, Leo Santa Cruz defends his WBC Super Bantamweight Title against Manuel Roman in a 12-round bout and Miguel Vazquez faces Mickey Bey in a 12-round bout for the IBF Lightweight World Championship. In the PPV opener, Alfredo Angulo squares against James De La Rosa in a 10-round middleweight bout (162 lbs.). The event will be available in Spanish through secondary audio programming (SAP).

Tickets for the live event are on sale now and are priced at $1,600, $1,200, $850, $600 and $350, not including applicable service charges and taxes. Tickets are limited to eight (8) per person with a limit of four (4) at the $350 price range. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

Mayweather vs. Maidana will be shown on the big screen in over 500 movie theaters across the country via Fathom Events. For more information visit www.FathomEvents.com

Legendary former world champion Erik Morales was forced to postpone his March 22nd bout with Jorge Paez Jr. due to a hand injury suffered in training according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

LOS ANGELES, August 7 – The biggest boxing event of 2013 is a little over a month away and with anticipation rising, FOX Deportes will do their part to get fight fans ready for “THE ONE: Mayweather vs. Canelo” with three hours of “Golden Boy Classics” on Saturday, August 10 beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

First up is the 2010 battle between former World Champion Zab Judah and WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Champion Lucas Matthysse. Then at 10:00 p.m., Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Danny Garcia challenges the legendary Erik Morales for his first World Championship in 2012 and in the main event at 11:00 p.m., Floyd “Money” Mayweather meets former World Champion Miguel Cotto in their epic May 2012 clash.

Dominant against anyone and everyone put in front of him for years, Floyd Mayweather’s boxing dominance was internationally recognized. But on May 5, 2012, “Money” gave the fans an even more impressive show as he stood and traded with hard-hitting Puerto Rican icon Miguel Cotto, pounding out a 12 round unanimous decision that proved Mayweather’s ability to do it all in the ring once again.

Despite his success on the way up the 140-pound ladder, no one outside of his team knew how Danny Garcia would react to facing a legend like Erik Morales in Houston, Texas on March 24, 2012. But in his first world title fight, Philadelphia’s Garcia rose to the occasion, dropping Morales in the 11th round en route to a 12-round decision win that earned him the WBC 140-pound crown.

Two Division World Champion Zab Judah had to walk through fire when he faced off with Lucas Matthysse at New Jersey’s Prudential Center on November 6, 2010. Judah rose from the canvas in the 10th round against his then-unbeaten foe to pound out a 12-round split decision. Many left the arena that night believing Matthysse was the victor, but the Argentinean banger would get his shot at glory soon enough.

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“THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO,” a 12-round fight for Canelo’s WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Championships and Mayweather’s WBA Super Welterweight Super World Championship taking place Saturday, Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Valvoline, Mexico Tourism, Fred Loya Insurance and Nature Nutrition. In the 12-round co-featured attraction, WBC, WBA Super and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Champion Danny Garcia and thunderous punching WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Champion Lucas Matthysse square off in a fight presented in association with Swift Promotions and Arano Box Promotions. The mega-event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP).

Less than 24 hours after going on sale on June 25, the event was sold out, but six MGM Resorts properties will host live closed circuit telecasts of “THE ONE.” Properties showcasing the event include ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo and New York-New York. General admission tickets for the closed circuit telecasts are priced at $100, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and also are available for purchase by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711. Closed circuit ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. Tickets also will be available through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets for closed circuit viewing at MGM Grand, ARIA, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo and New York-New York are now on sale.

For more information visitwww.goldenboypromotions.com, www.FOXDeportes.com and follow on Twitter atwww.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing andwww.twitter.com/FOXDeportes and visit on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, and www.facebook.com/FOXDeportes

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com former four division world champion Erik Morales has been banned for 2 years following at least 2 positive tests in the wake of his bout last October 20th against Danny Garcia

“USADA conducts testing programs for professional boxing matches only when both athletes contractually agree to participate in the anti-doping program, which stipulates agreeing to abide by the applicable anti-doping rules, including the rules regarding the adjudication process and sanctioning,” USADA said in its statement announcing the ban. “Morales’ contractual agreement for this anti-doping testing program included his acknowledgement that USADA would be the results management authority to adjudicate any adverse analytical findings in accordance with the rules.

“In addition, the appropriate boxing commission was notified prior to the fight, and within 48 hours of USADA receiving the information, that there was a potential anti-doping rule violation.

“Morales has been offered the opportunity to participate in the full, fair legal process under the rules, but has indicated to USADA that he would not like to move forward with the independent arbitration process, and as a result, has received a two-year period of ineligibility and the disqualification of all competitive results obtained subsequent to October 3, 2012, including the forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes.”

This is not a grateful farewell to Erik Morales. That column happened six years ago, when it was still merited. This, rather, is an acknowledgement “El Terrible” has fully amortized his legend and no more is due him. No longer must his failures in the ring be treated in reverent, hushed words wrapped with dignity. Anymore, the dignified aura Morales wears is a projection – some combination of a recently more approachable self when his gloves are off, and aficionados’ appreciativeness for what he gave us the first 50 matches of his career.

There was nothing dignified about Morales’ performance Saturday in the inaugural main event of Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Barclays Center, and there was nothing dignified about the maneuvering last week to ensure it went off. And there was nothing dignified – splendid, perhaps, but not dignified – about the way Danny “Swift” Garcia defended his junior welterweight titles by screwing Morales into the blue mat with a gorgeous left hook at 1:23 of round 4, after taking Morales’ measure in the final minute of the opening round by nimbly retreating from Morales and noticing he did not bother to give chase.

Morales is Erik the Terrible no longer. He is Erik the bloated, today, Erik the uninterested, Erik the mercenary, Erik the unmotivated salesman who tells you he’s got a product that sells itself. The “El Terrible” to remember and tell kids about ended his career with aplomb March 19, 2005. That night Morales, having lost the third match of his trilogy with Marco Antonio Barrera fewer than four months ago, beat back the man becoming known as “The Mexicutioner.” That night, in a show of mindless bravery, Morales, leading on all scorecards after 11 rounds, fought Manny Pacquiao as a southpaw for the 12th, an act in contemporary prizefighting without equivalent.

Since then Morales’ record in world title fights is 1-6. The best part of Morales’ career was over when Barrera was through with him, though no one suspected it. The prime Morales looked starved, his ribs countable on a skinny, almost weird body that conjured paeans to malnutrition more than athleticism. He looked frail enough for his fellow Mexicans to go for those ribs, and his liver, and get served right-uppercut counters unlike anything their palates knew before.

Within six months of his signature victory over Pacquiao, though, Morales’ face was puffy in a way it has been ever since, flesh glommed onto the pits where his cheeks were once hollow – when his lightweight debut saw him undressed by Philadelphian Zahir Raheem. Saturday it was Garcia, a different Philadelphian, who undressed him. More accurately: Morales got stripped, not undressed, Saturday, the remnants of his greatness in a prizefighting ring yanked from one arm, spinning him rightwards, then snapped off his legs, spinning him left.

In a merciful twist Morales should find absurd on reflection, the lower two ropes preserved years on the end of his life. Had Garcia’s seeing-eye left hook caught Morales in the center of the ring, Morales’ torqued shoulders would have pushed into the blue mat and bounced the back of his head off of padded plywood, jostling his brain and ageing it still further. The knockout was violent enough to bring Morales’ chief second rushing at the same ropes that now tangled his charge and struggling through them as the 10-count commenced. If Morales wanted an exclamation point on the end of a sentence that told him to give up boxing, Garcia put two punctuation marks on it in homage to their Spanish heritage: ¡Retírate ya!

It is no longer easy to doubt Morales’ capacity for absurdity as it once was, because Morales is no longer as honest a prizefighter as he once was. There was a time his then-promoter Bob Arum rightly compared El Terrible to Marvelous Marvin Hagler – a professional who showed up and fought whomever under whatever circumstances. There was a refreshing obliviousness about Morales then; if he knew what others opined of him, he did not let on. He has long been more self-aware than that, long been fluent enough in English to know exactly what is written and said of him and react to it, but this awareness of himself as a legendary figure whom tradition stopped constraining years ago, the awareness he now brings beneath a layer of fat to each weighin, is unseemly.

Did he take the banned substance clenbuterol to suppress his appetite during training camp – as U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s samples A and B and C and D but apparently not E and F indicated last week? More must be learned on that score, but no disinterested observer can put banned substances outside the reach of any modern athlete, much less one whose name has long cashed checks his body was unable to cover. Most disinterested observers should admit, too, American sportsfans don’t care a bit about PEDs, deep down, as the NFL’s popularity in America would be said to have grown proportionately with its players – had the league’s 53,200-percent increase in 300-pound players between 1970 and 2010 not made that a mathematical impossibility.

Nutritional pharmacology is a science like economics, not physics – filled, that is, with invented constructs, like “metabolism” and “caloric value,” used to obfuscate more than clarify – but this much about the effects of central nervous system (CNS) stimulants like clenbuterol can be proved: They suppress appetite and race the heart. Coming off them, though, is a horror of deep headaches and malaise. It is an understatement, indeed, to say a suddenly clean athlete whose body has acclimated itself to CNS-stimulant use might begin a competition, or even the perusal of a morning newspaper, “sluggishly.”

Would clenbuterol, known colloquially as “clen” in boxing gyms everywhere, make it easier for an aged fighter like Morales to starve himself but still have adequate energy and concentration for the daily toil and boredom of a training camp?

Does Antonio Margarito like ephedrine with his coffee?

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

BROOKLYN, NY–There was a a lot of doubt weather the fight would go on as scheduled but Danny Garcia left no doubt by scoring a spectacular fourth round knockout over future hall of famer Erik Morales to retain the WBA/WBC/Ring Magazine Super Lightweight title that highlighted the first ever boxing card at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Morales showed some spunk and craftiness in the first round but Garcia started getting his shots especially ti the body. At the end of of round three, Garcia landed a big right that rocked Morales to the point that he walked to the wrong corner. Garcia landed a vicious left hook that spun Morales around and crashing into the ropes that had Morales father/trainer Jose jump into the ring and stop the fight at 1:23 of round four.

Garcia, 139.8 lbs of Philadelphia is now 25-0 with sixteen knockouts. Morales, 139.2 lbs of Tijuana, MX is 52-9.

The fight almost did not come off after a failed drug test for a diuretic was discovered that Morales and it took last minute negotiating weather the fight would go through

“That left hook, I got that from my mom,” said a jubilant Garcia after the fight. “Her side of the family is all left handed.”

The 36 year old Morales was dejected and humble after the fight. He graciously accepted the loss and said (through a translator), “Time goes by. This is a sign that the end is near.”

“He’s a crafty veteran,” said Garcia of his opponent, a virtual lock for the Hall of Fame. “I really thought we’d go 12 rounds. He hit me with a couple of good shots, but I came back strong.

“In our first fight, I laid back a little too much. In this fight, I was more confident and I knew I could set up my punches and land some big shots.

“You know I’ll fight anyone. I never duck anyone and I know those guys want all these belts. They have to come get them from me.”

Paulie Malignaggi won a twelve round split decision over Pablo Cesar Cano to retain the WBA Welterweight championship.

Cano was not able to win the belt as he weighed in a pound over 147 pound weight limit in Friday.

It was a tactical fight that saw Malignaggi box in his patented style by jabbing up and down and moving. He caused a cut over the left eye of Cano. That did not deter Cano as he started to come forward and the overhand right was his punch of choice.

The two traded rounds with Cano landing the harder blows until Cano landed a huge booming right that sent malignaggi to the canvas. The made the action heat up in the twelth with both guys cut and giving as good as they received.

Malignaggi won two cards by 114-113 tallies while Cano grabbed a third card at 118-109.

Malignaggi is now 32-4. Cano is now 26-2-1.

Peter Quillin dropped reigning champion Hassan N’Dam six times en route to capturing the WBO Middleweight championship via twelve round unanimous decision.

N’Dam showed some sneaky boxing skills over the first three rounds that may have befuddled Quillin. In round four, Qullin landed a booming right hand that sent the champion to the canvas. Clearly shaken, N’Dam tried to fight fire with with but was being bounced all over the ring until he ate a massive left hook that put him on his back at the end of the frame. After steadying himself in round five, Quillin dropped N;Dam from a big left hook in the corner a second knockdown in round six came from a right which could have been ruled a slip.

The second half of the fight saw some terrific back and forth action with the champion showing a tremendous heart after being rocked and coming back. In the final round, Quillin sealed the deal by dropping N’Dam twice and came home with a 115-107 win on all cards.

Quillin, 159.2 lbs of New York is now 28-0. N’Dam, 159 lbs of Pantin, FRA is now 27-1.

Devon Alexander wrestled the IBF Welterweight championship with a lackluster twelve round unanimous decision over champion Randall Bailey.

The fight was void of action with the exception of round two where Bailey landed a big right hand. ALexander boxed and moved and threw more punches and cruised to the 117-109, 116-110 and 115-111 victory.

Alexander, 146.8 lbs of St. Louis, MO is now 24-1. Randall Bailey, 147 lbs of Miami, FL is now 43-8.

Former world title challenger Dmitry Salita pounded out a six round unanimous decision over Brandon Hoskins in a Welterweight bout.

Salita bloodied the left side of Hoskins face and won by scores of 60-54, 59-55 and 59-55.

Salita, 150 lbs of Brooklyn is now 35-1-1. Hoskins, 147.2 lbs if Hannibal. MO is now 16-3-1.

In the past year Danny Jacobs knocked out cancer, tonight Jacobs knocked out Josh Luteran in sixty-nine seconds of theire scheduled eight round Middleweight bout.

Jacobs landed a hard right hand that sent Luteran down with his has pounding off the canvas and the fight was stopped.

Jacobs, 161.2 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is now 23-1 with twenty knockouts. Luteran, 161.8 lbs of Blue Springs, MO is now 13-2.

Former world champion Luis Collazo scored a eight round unanimous decision over Steve Upsher Chambers in a Welterweight bout.

Collazo repeatedly beat Chambers to the bunch and landed hard combinations on the ropes and picked Chambers apart in the center of the ring. Chambers put up a valiant effort and landed some good shots but Collazo won by scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 77-75.

Collazo, 146.8 lbs of Brooklyn is now 32-5. Chambers, 148.6 lbs of Philadelphia is now 24-2-1.

Hot shot prospect Eddie Gomez scored a second round stoppage over Saul Benitez in a scheduled four round Jr. Middleweight fight.

One knockout was scored and the bout was stopped at 1:23 of round two.

Gomez, 151 lbs of Bronx, NY is 11-0 with eight knockouts. Benitez, 149.6 lbs of Phoenix, AZ is now 2-3.

Boyd Melson & Jason Thompson christened the building by fighting to a six round draw in a Jr. Middleweight bout

Thompson dropped Melson with a hard right hand in round one. Melson got even in round three when he landed a big right hook that sent Thompson to the canvas. Melson boxed well down the stretch and landed some decent punches but it wasn’t enough to offset the quick start from Thompson and the bout was a ruled a draw by scores of 56-56 om cards

Melson, 155 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is now 9-1-1. Thompson, 151 lbs of Brooklyn is now 5-6-2.

We already covered tonight’s Garcia vs. Morales main event. Now on Showtime, it is the main event, but in the Barclays Center there is another main event.

Brooklyn’s main event.

Paul Malignaggi (31-4, 7 KO’s) vs. Pablo Cesar Cano (25-1, 19 KO’s)
Paul Malignaggi was once a young talent begging for a title shot. Now he’s the veteran about to face a talented young fighter. Pablo Cesar Cano is no joke. His one loss came against Erik Morales in a fight that he took on very short notice, and had to stop the match due to a cut. Otherwise, his record is virtually blemish proof against some very stiff opposition.

But Malignaggi has a not so secret weapon. He is fighting as the titleholder in his hometown of Brooklyn, NY. This is something he never imagined happening to himself. Mostly due to the fact that Brooklyn never had a venue to facilitate world title fights. At the pre-fight press conference, Cano made a mention of this fight being a war. This doesn’t phase Malignaggi.

“Listen, man, we can do wars. We can do boxing matches. I have done it all. I have 35 pro fights. I’ll be 32 next month, and I have been in there with the best and fought some of the best, won some, lost some. Won two world titles as you know. There is nothing that I have not seen. So, be at war, a tactical match. So, there is nothing new on Saturday night that I can expect to see that I haven’t already seen and that I’m not prepared to deal with.”

Peter Quillin (27-0, 20 KO’s) vs. Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (27-0, 17 KO’s)
For those in the know, this match-up is the one that most believe will be the fight of the night. Both fighters are undefeated and both are very good. For anyone able to view fight footage of N’Dam, one thing stood out. He is the real deal. He isn’t your typical euro-fighter that has faced soft opposition. Quillin, a native New Yorker, is poised to impress. He has been yearning for a big opportunity on this stage. Both fighters can box and are very capable of keeping things technical, but don’t be surprised if you see them showcasing power punches.

“But, I know that I have the skill to pay the bills. And come October 20, I will look you in the eye, Hassan, and you will see all the pain I will endure on you,” stated Quillin. N’Dam’s response was, “I do want you to see a show on Saturday night. I am a French showman.”

Randall Bailey (43-7, 37 KO’s) vs. Devon Alexander (23-1, 13 KO’s)
This match-up is the perfect clash of styles. Bailey is one of the most feared punchers in the game while Alexander is one of the fastest stylists in the game. While Alexander looks to be the favored fighter, Bailey is not concerned. He has been the underdog against young gunners in the past. And he prevailed.

“I am still going to prove myself by taking on Randall Bailey. You guys say that he’s Knockout King Bailey, but Saturday night I will show you what I’m going to do to him. I don’t run from anybody. I will fight anybody. I’m a throwback fighter. And I’m ready to rock ‘n’ roll. I have been ready since September 8,” said a confident Alexander. Bailey, a man of few words, stated, “So, I’m looking way too forward to Saturday night. It will be a great show. I plan on putting on a great show, along with all of the other fighters come Saturday night.”

Four division world champion Erik Morales allegedly tested positive for a banned substance just days before his rematch with world Super Lightweight champion Danny Garica this Saturday night in Brooklyn according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“As far as I know, the fight is going on,” one of the sources told ESPN.com. “There is nothing that can be done to stop it” because the “B” sample test result has not yet been disclosed.

“(USADA) said it could be a false positive,” one of the sources with knowledge of the disclosure said. “But from what I understand, they won’t know until the test on the ‘B’ sample comes back, but that probably won’t be until after the fight.”

NEW YORK (Oct. 18, 2012)—Undefeated WBA Super Welterweight Champion Austin Trout will take his skills to ringside for this Saturday’s SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® quadruple-header from Brooklyn’s brand new Barclays Center.

Trout, who is currently training for an upcoming title defense against superstar Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 1 on SHOWTIME, will serve as an expert analyst on Saturday. He will join host Brian Kenny, announcers Mauro Ranallo (blow-by-blow) and Al Bernstein (color commentary), ringside reporter Jim Gray and recently retired Hall of Fame referee Joe Cortez on the live SHOWTIME telecast beginning at 8 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Trout will offer his observations from ringside for all four world championship fights on the historic, first-ever boxing event at Barclays Center. Cortez, the subject of a feature story in Wednesday’s New York Times (read here), will be on hand to offer the expertise that comes from being the third man in the ring for more than 3,000 fights during a distinguished 35-year career.

Said Trout, who’ll be making his broadcast debut, “I’m excited to step behind the microphone for a major card like this quadruple-header on SHOWTIME. Broadcasting is definitely something I would like to pursue in the future so I want to make the most of this opportunity. I know many of the guys on the card personally and that, along with my insight as an active fighter, will help me give the viewers a unique perspective on what they are seeing in the ring.”

Trout (25-0, 14 KO’s), of Las Cruces, N.M., is currently in training camp for the fourth defense of his crown, but the 25-year-old southpaw has personal ties to Brooklyn.

“My mother and grandparents grew up in Brooklyn, so I’m always excited to come here. It’s like coming home,” he said.

Before turning professional in September 2005, Trout was an elite-level amateur and competed alongside Danny Garcia, Devon Alexander and Daniel Jacobs. He captured the WBA belt with a unanimous decision win over Rigoberto Alvarez in February 2011.

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World championship boxing returns to Brooklyn with an inaugural night of fights at the new Barclays Center on October 20 headlined by Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Danny “Swift” Garcia against future Hall of Famer Erik “El Terrible” Morales presented by Golden Boy Promotions and supported by Golden Boy Promotions sponsors Corona, DeWalt Tools and AT&T. In the co-featured attractions, Brooklyn’s own Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi puts his WBA Welterweight World Championship on the line against hard-hitting Pablo Cesar “El Demoledor” Cano, undefeated number one rated WBO middleweight contender Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin of Manhattan takes on unbeaten Hassan N’Dam for N’Dam’s WBO Middleweight World Championship and Devon Alexander “The Great” faces Randall Bailey for Bailey’s IBF Welterweight World Championship in a bout presented in association with DiBella Entertainment. The SHOWTIME® CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins live at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Preliminary fights will air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

The undercard is loaded with many of New York’s top fighters, including Brooklyn’s hot middleweight prospect Daniel “The Golden Child” Jacobs, former World Champion Luis Collazo, the Bronx’s rising star Eddie Gomez, former world title contender Dmitriy Salita and Brooklyn prospect Boyd Melson.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $100 and $50 are available at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling 800-745-3000. Doors open at Barclays Center at 4:30 p.m. The first live fight is at 5:00 p.m.

Golden Boy Promotions hosts one of the biggest events this year on Saturday at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York City.
Brooklyn is my home away from home as I have been staying there for training camps since 2005.
My old foe WBC world champion Danny Garcia is coming off a stunning knock out win of Britain’s Amir Khan.
Danny fights the Mexican legend Erik Morales who he won the title off at the turn of the year.
Their first fight was a cracker and I expect another spectacular fight.
The winner can look forward to fights against Brandon Rios, Juan Manuel Marquez and Lucas Matthysse.

Ricky Hatton comes back on Saturday 24th November in Manchester so I’m sure he will have his eyes on his former victim WBA Welterweight champion Paul Malignaggi. Paul fights Pablo Cesar Cano in the chief support bout. I sparred Paul years ago in Brooklyn. I enjoyed our sparring session at Gleason’s gym.
Paul has been in some great fights against Cotto, Diaz, Hatton and Khan. He should get past Cano as Erik Morales disposed up him very routinely.
There has been talk of me fighting WBA number six Johan Perez who Cano beat for the interim WBA 140lb title in his last fight. I’m just waiting on Hatton promotions to finalize the deal with Golden Boy Promotions.

Devon Alexander against Randall Bailey looks like a fight you don’t want to take your eyes off. Devon has great speed and skills but Randall has the one punch knock out power. He was losing against Mike Jones in his last fight but Jones took his eye off the ball and Bailey knocked him out. That’s what he does best. I was due to fight Randall Bailey in 2010 in an IBF 147lb world title eliminator. I beat world number 3 to get the opportunity. In the end I fought Lenny Daws for the British title as Mick Hennessey made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.
I beat Demarcus Corley after Devon Alexander beat him. I was at Madison Square Garden for that fight and I was impressed with Devon. I knew he would go onto win a world title. I thought he was a special talent after watching his performance.
Kell Brook will fight the winner of Alexander v Bailey. Kell has a good skill set but would he be able to take Bailey’s power and would he be able to match Devon’s skills and speed. I guess we will find out soon.

World title challenger Dmitriy Salita makes an appearance on the card. He is looking for another world title shot. He has Paulie in his sights. It would be a big fight for New York City with the Italians and the Jewish fans coming out to support their own. Dmitriy is undefeated since losing to Amir Khan. He has been preparing for this fight at the Kronk in Detroit. I have been training camp many times with him. Florida, Pennsylvania and New York are just a few of the places we have had our camps.

Former world champion Luis Collazo is another New Yorker on this amazing card. I’ve also sparred him. He has fought Andre Berto, Shane Mosley and Ricky Hatton. He has a tricky fight against hungry Steve Upsher Chambers. He will have to get past him to make another world title fight a reality.

Golden Boy have pulled out the stops for their first show at the Barclays Center.

I’ve sparred three of the fighters on this show, in Paul Malignaggi, Luis Collazo and Dmitriy Salita. I fought Danny Garcia and I was meant to have an IBF 147lbs world title eliminator with Randal Bailey. I also have a mutual opponent with Devon Alexander.

Amir Khan has fought Danny Garcia, Paul Malignaggi and Danny Garcia.
Ricky Hatton has fought Luis Collazo and Paul Malignaggi.

2013 will see some blockbuster shows at the Barclay’s center and us Brits could be part of it.

Boxnation TV will be televising the show in Britain and Showtime will be televising in the States.

It looks like an action packed event and I’m looking forward to it.

NEW YORK (Oct. 17, 2012) – Just three days before they step into the ring as part of world championship boxing’s historic return to Brooklyn, Saturday’s fighters worked out in a ring erected in Barclays Center Daily News Plaza, in front of the arena that will host Saturday’s world championship quadruple-header, live on SHOWTIME (8 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).

Fans cheered for the fighters who will take part in the first world championship event in Brooklyn in over 80 years and the kickoff boxing event at the brand new Barclays Center.

Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Danny “Swift” Garcia, of Philadelphia, will defend his crown against future Hall of Famer Erik “El Terrible” Morales, of Tijuana, Mexico, in the main event. In co-featured attractions, Brooklyn’s own Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi puts his WBA Welterweight World Championship on the line against hard-hitting Mexican Pablo Cesar “El Demoledor” Cano, undefeated No. 1 rated WBO middleweight contender Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin, of Manhattan, takes on France’s unbeaten Hassan N’Dam for N’Dam’s WBO Middleweight World Championship and Devon Alexander “The Great,” of St. Louis, faces Miami’s Randall Bailey for Bailey’s IBF Welterweight World Championship.

Here’s what the fighters had to say on Wednesday:

DANNY GARCIA:

“I feel strong, I’m well prepared and I can’t wait to show case my skills.

“I expect a lot of fans from Philadelphia to come. Everyone is coming to this fight. It’s big.

“I always go for the knockout, the fans love it. That’s what I do, I bring knockout power.

“Definitely expect a win. I’ve been training so hard. I’m too smart and I can’t see myself losing to anyone anytime soon.”

ERIK MORALES:

“Lots of people have seen my fights. Even though I’m not at home, I know lots of people will watch and they will see my hard work and effort in the ring.

“We’re totally prepared. We are ready and anticipating stepping in the ring. We’re very hurt over what happened in March and we have done everything possible to be ready for this Saturday.

“You don’t want to miss it. It will be an explosive and historic fight. You will see an Erik Morales who is ready.”

PAULIE MALIGNAGGI:

“It’s surreal that the time is almost here to put on the show. I have goose bumps every time I think about it. It’s a chance for Brooklynites to put Brooklyn on the map.”

PETER QUILLIN:

“This is something that I’ve been fighting for my whole life. For a guy who never had anything to have something, it’s a blessing.

“Expect chocolate after I win and get my belt. Expect me to inspire. All you guys and gals that want to do something in your life and think that you’re not a fighter, you are a fighter as long as you have your spirit and your hard work behind you.”

DANNY JACOBS:

“Mentally, I’m ready for battle especially after training for six months. It’s long overdue. Physically, I made weight three weeks ago so I’m ready to go. I’m just waiting for Saturday night.

“I am living proof of what hard work and determination can get you. I’ve suffered, been paralyzed and doctors told me I would never be able to box again.”

ABOUT “GARCIA VS. MORALES”:

World championship boxing returns to Brooklyn with an inaugural night of fights at the new Barclays Center on October 20 headlined by Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Danny “Swift” Garcia against future Hall of Famer Erik “El Terrible” Morales presented by Golden Boy Promotions and supported by Golden Boy Promotions sponsors Corona, DeWalt Tools and AT&T. In the co-featured attractions, Brooklyn’s own Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi puts his WBA Welterweight World Championship on the line against hard-hitting Pablo Cesar “El Demoledor” Cano, undefeated number one rated WBO middleweight contender Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin of Manhattan takes on unbeaten Hassan N’Dam for N’Dam’s WBO Middleweight World Championship and Devon Alexander “The Great” faces Randall Bailey for Bailey’s IBF Welterweight World Championship in a bout presented in association with DiBella Entertainment. The SHOWTIME® CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins live at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Preliminary fights will air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

The undercard is loaded with many of New York’s top fighters, including Brooklyn’s hot middleweight prospect Daniel “The Golden Child” Jacobs, former World Champion Luis Collazo, the Bronx’s rising star Eddie Gomez, former world title contender Dmitriy Salita and Brooklyn prospect Boyd Melson.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $100 and $50 are available for purchase at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling 800-745-3000.

15rounds.com Photographer Claudia Bocanegra was present at the famed Brooklyn Bridge where fighters from this Saturday’s historic fight card at the Barclay Center took part in a photo shoot under the Bridge. The fight will feature four world title bouts and will be shown Live on Showtime
CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE

Brooklyn, NY will be the center of the Boxing world this Saturday as the brand new Barclays Center will play host to one of the most loaded events in a very long time. 15rounds will be your one stop shop for everything that is Brooklyn Boxing and today, we will provide to you a cheat-sheet for the main event of the evening. Throughout the week, we will do the same with the rest of the televised portion of the card that will air on Showtime. And to add some icing on the cake, we will also preview the non-televised portion, which also features some competitive match-ups.

Let’s get started.

Danny Garcia (24-0, 15 KO’s) vs. Erik Morales (50-8, 36 KO’s)
WBA/WBC light welterweight titles

These two squared off a little over a year and a half ago in what turned out to be a very entertaining bout. Much to our surprise, it was Garcia that was more aggressive throughout the night, throwing over two hundred more punches throughout the fight. And his output finally paid off when he managed to floor Morales with a powerful left hook. Before this bout, Garcia was virtually unknown to anyone that was not a hardcore fan.

Here is what we could expect out of both fighters. Despite not having huge power, Garcia likes to take the fight to his opponent. He has shown that he can experience some difficulty against more defensive minded opponents. Morales seemed to make some attempts at this on their first go around, so we could expect to see him counterpunch off of his back foot. Morales saw some success bringing his right hand over the top of Garcia’s left hook. Garcia has one advantage that is quite literally a game changer. Both fighters know that Garcia is capable of knocking Morales down.

In the end, we could expect to see a very different fight between both fighters. Most of it is riding on how Morales has prepared his strategy for this bout. Garcia certainly has the advantage, which is why he is favored so highly.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $100 and $50 are available for purchase at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, the Barclays Center box office, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling 800-745-3000. Or you can tune into Showtime Extreme where the boxing broadcast will begin at 7:00PM Eastern Time and then Showtime at 8:00PM for the fight broadcast.

TEOMAYA, ESTADO DE MEXICO (October 12) – Erik “El Terrible” Morales, the first Mexican fighter to become a four division world champion and who is preparing for his rematch against Danny “Swift” Garcia taking place next Saturday, is closing his camp and is ready to travel to New York for the inaugural night of fights at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn on October 20. Morales’ unified lightweight world championship title challenge against Garcia headlines a night of four world championship bouts that will be telecast live on SHOWTIME®.

Morales, one of the few Mexican fighters, still maintaining his camp at the high altitude of the Centro Ceremonial Otomi located in Temoaya, Estado de Toluca, Mexico, has spent already 12 grueling weeks in the mountains under the guidance of his father/trainer Jose “Olivaritos” Morales.

“I had a very good training camp and I am ready,” said Morales. “All I have to say is that I am ready to put a great show next Saturday night.”

His training routine included running at 8:00 a.m., working out in the gym at 5:30 p.m. with four sparring partners including Rodrigo Juarez and Saul “Cobra” Carreon. Last Monday Morales impressed his team with his stamina and tenacity during an intense 12 round sparring session.

The rest of the team includes Tiburcio Garcia [assistant coach], Fernando Fernandez [mitts], Carlos Mera [publicist] and a cook, who prepares Morales’ meals, which consists of pasta, chicken, fish and meat on occasion.

“Training camp was excellent and I strongly believe I will have no problems making my mark on the division [140 pounds]. My body responded well to my training regimen and I feel that this time the outcome will be different. I want to be a world champion again.”

“I have to be honest and say that Erik [Morales] is very well motivated for his rematch against Danny Garcia,” said Jose Morales, father and trainer of Morales. “My son did a great job for almost 12 weeks to make sure that the result will be different. For this fight, he has had more time to plan everything and do different things.”

He added: “I know my son and I know he had problems due to the gallbladder surgery before the first fight. This time has to be different because there are no excuses or injuries.”

# # #

World championship boxing returns to Brooklyn with an inaugural night of fights at the new Barclays Center on October 20 headlined by Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Danny “Swift” Garcia against future Hall of Famer Erik “El Terrible” Morales presented by Golden Boy Promotions and supported by Golden Boy Promotions sponsors Corona, DeWalt Tools and AT&T. In the co-featured attractions, Brooklyn’s own Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi puts his WBA Welterweight World Championship on the line against hard-hitting Pablo Cesar “El Demoledor” Cano, undefeated number one rated WBO middleweight contender Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin of Manhattan takes on unbeaten Hassan N’Dam for N’Dam’s WBO Middleweight World Championship and Devon Alexander “The Great” faces Randall Bailey for Bailey’s IBF Welterweight World Championship in a bout presented in association with DiBella Entertainment. The SHOWTIME® CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins live at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Preliminary fights will air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $100 and $50 are available for purchase at www.barclayscenter.com,www.ticketmaster.com, the Barclays Center box office, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling 800-745-3000.

LOS ANGELES, October 11 – World championship boxing returns to Brooklyn on Saturday, October 20 with a star-studded event featuring four world championship fights at the brand new Barclays Center headlined by the Unified Super Lightweight World Championship between titleholder Danny “Swift” Garcia and the legendary Erik “El Terrible” Morales. Before these two warriors meet on the 20th, FOX Deportes will give them the “Classics” treatment on Thursday, October 11 at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT and again on Saturday, October 13 at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.

In the “Classics” main event, we revisit April 9, 2011 when Garcia made a splash on the international fight scene as he defeated former World Champion Nate Campbell to move from prospect to contender. Plus, we travel back to September 17, 2011 to see that Morales doesn’t let a late switch in opponents keep him from victory, when he handed rising Mexican star Pablo Cesar Cano his first defeat in capturing a world title in a fourth weight division, becoming the first Mexican fighter to accomplish the feat.

When Philadelphia’s Danny Garcia took on former World Champion Nate Campbell at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. on April 9, 2011, it was an opportunity for “Swift” to take the next step in his career and prove that he could hang with the elite. He did both, winning a clear-cut 10 round unanimous decision over Campbell and just two fights later, Garcia was a world champion.

The man Garcia defeated for the belt in that fight in March of 2012 was future Hall of Famer Erik Morales, but just before that fight on September 17, 2011, “El Terrible” showed that he was as dangerous now as he was back when he was tearing up the lighter weight classes, when he defeated unbeaten Pablo Cesar Cano. Cano stepped in as a late replacement for Lucas Matthysse and 10 exciting rounds later, Morales stopped Cano at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

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World championship boxing returns to Brooklyn with an inaugural night of fights at the new Barclays Center on October 20 headlined by Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Danny “Swift” Garcia against future Hall of Famer Erik “El Terrible” Morales presented by Golden Boy Promotions and supported by Golden Boy Promotions sponsors Corona, DeWalt Tools and AT&T. In the co-featured attractions, Brooklyn’s own Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi puts his WBA Welterweight World Championship on the line against hard-hitting Pablo Cesar “El Demoledor” Cano, number one rated WBO middleweight contender Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin of Manhattan takes on unbeaten Hassan N’Dam and Devon Alexander “The Great” faces Randall Bailey for Bailey’s IBF Welterweight World Championship in a bout presented in association with DiBella Entertainment. The SHOWTIME® CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins live at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Preliminary fights will air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

The undercard is loaded with many of New York’s top fighters, including Brooklyn’s hot middleweight prospect Daniel “The Golden Child” Jacobs, former World Champion Luis Collazo, the Bronx’s rising star Eddie Gomez, former world title contender Dmitriy “Star of David” Salita and Brooklyn prospect Boyd Melson.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $100 and $50 are available for purchase at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, the Barclays Center box office, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling 800-745-3000.

For more information on Golden Boy Promotions, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxingor visit us on Facebook at Golden Boy Facebook Page. For more information on FOX Deportes visit www.FOXDeportes.com, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/FOXDeportes or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FOXDeportes.

Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Danny Garcia (Right) and his father and trainer Angel Garcia (Left) pose on October 11, 2012 in Philadelphia during a media workout in preparation for his October 20, 2012 world title rematch against Erik Morales at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn which will be televised live on SHOWTIME Championship Boxing.

Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Danny Garcia (Right) hits the mitts help by his father and trainer Angel Garcia (Left) on October 11, 2012 in Philadelphia during a media workout in preparation for his October 20, 2012 world title rematch against Erik Morlaes at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn which will be televised live on SHOWTIME Championship Boxing. Photo credit: Rich Kane – Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Promotions

Philadelphia (October 11) – Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Danny “Swift” Garcia and his father/trainer Angel Garcia held an open workout at Harrowgate Boxing Club in Philadelphia today as Garcia prepares to face former Four-Division World Champion and Mexican legend Erik “El Terrible” Morales on Saturday, Oct. 20 at the brand new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Garcia vs. Morales headlines a night of four world championship fights live on SHOWTIME® as world championship boxing returns to Brooklyn for the first time in 81 years.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $100 and $50 are available at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, the Barclays Center box office, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling 800-745-3000.

Danny Garcia, Unified Super Lightweight World Champion

“I think people are taking me more seriously now. It took some time for everyone to realize how serious I am. Then my last few fights showed them that I think and fight like a champion, which is what I am now.

“It is great to have a fight on the East Coast. It is my comfort zone knowing that I will be able to fight in front of my fans, people from Philly and New York and especially all of the Puerto Ricans that are huge boxing fans and know my background and that I am fighting for them too.

“I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to open Barclays Center in Brooklyn. They haven’t had world championship boxing in Brooklyn for more than 80 years and it’s going to be a really special night for me and the rest of the fighters on the show.

“I can handle my success so far. I try to see everything around me and pay attention to what is going on. That helps me stay in the moment and appreciate what is right there in front of me. I want to enjoy all of it.

“Erik Morales is a legend and in the first fight, I probably gave him more respect than I should have. This time I am the champion and he is the challenger.

“Last time I stood in front of him too long and let him think. I can’t let him think. I want to go in there and destroy him.

“That was my first big fight at such a high level and I learned a lot from it. Morales definitely gave me a harder fight than Khan and also gave me a chance to fight for a title. If anyone deserved a rematch, it’s Erik Morales for giving me the first chance. That is boxing respect.

“My Dad and I have a great relationship. I know he loves me and has my best interest at heart. We believed when I started boxing at 10 years old that I could be a world champion and our dream came true.

“My Dad and I have a relationship without conflict. He is my best friend and sure, we bump heads, but we always work it out. We understand each other really well and that helps a lot.”

Angel Garcia, Garcia’s Trainer and Father

“Danny and I both dreamed of having him be a world champion. It’s so hard to describe how it really feels for me and him.

“We have a partnership. Sure I am his Dad and I love him like a son. We used to watch fights together when he was about five years old and he would always imitate the fighters on television. So when he was eight, I took him to the gym for a day and I left it alone and waited for him to show me he wanted to do it. When he was 10, he asked if he could go back to the gym and then we started from there.

“It’s not about me. It’s about Danny. Sure I have an outgoing personality and what you see at the press conferences is just me saying how I feel. It’s me showing my heart. I am not trying to take the spotlight because it really is about him as a fighter and that’s me as his coach.

“I get him ready mentally, physically and spiritually and that is why he is going to be undefeated for a very long time.”

# # #

World championship boxing returns to Brooklyn with an inaugural night of fights at the new Barclays Center on October 20 headlined by Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Danny “Swift” Garcia against future Hall of Famer Erik “El Terrible” Morales presented by Golden Boy Promotions and supported by Golden Boy Promotions sponsors Corona, DeWalt Tools and AT&T. In the co-featured attractions, Brooklyn’s own Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi puts his WBA Welterweight World Championship on the line against hard-hitting Pablo Cesar “El Demoledor” Cano, undefeated number one rated WBO middleweight contender Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin of Manhattan takes on unbeaten Hassan N’Dam for N’Dam’s WBO Middleweight World Championship and Devon Alexander “The Great” faces Randall Bailey for Bailey’s IBF Welterweight World Championship in a bout presented in association with DiBella Entertainment. The SHOWTIME® CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins live at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Preliminary fights will air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $100 and $50 are available for purchase at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, the Barclays Center box office, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling 800-745-3000.

LOS ANGELES, August 8 – As the younger brother of legendary and future Hall of Famer Erik “El Terrible” Morales and former World Champion Diego “Pelucho” Morales, unbeaten junior bantamweight prospect Ivan Morales has some of the best bloodlines in the sport. Now with the signing of a promotional agreement with Golden Boy Promotions, he will also have the best backing as he chases after a world championship.

“As the brother of Erik and Diego Morales, you know that Ivan Morales learned to fight from the best, but he’s proven himself in the ring as well and I can’t wait to see how far he can go in the future,” said Oscar De La Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. “When you mix his technical skills, power and speed with his youth and determination, I have no doubt that Ivan will eventually be a world champion in multiple divisions.”

“Everyone knows that the best fighters in the world are on the Golden Boy team and I’m proud to be associated with them,” said Morales. “It’s an honor and I’m willing to put in the work and fight anyone they put in front of me to get there.”

Twenty-year-old Ivan Morales (17-0, 12 KO’s) pays homage to his eldest sibling with the nickname “Terrible II” and he’s now starting to build his own legacy in the family business. A southpaw with impressive power, the Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico native turned professional in 2009 and has yet to taste defeat in the ring. In 2011, he went 7-0 with five knockouts and he’s expecting to have another busy year in 2012, which has started with knockout wins over Ricardo Armenta in February and Edgar Martinez in April, the latter victory earning him his first pro title, the WBC International Silver Super Flyweight belt.

Morales’ Golden Boy Promotions debut will be announced soon. For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com; follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing or visit us on Facebook at Golden Boy Facebook Page.

Philadelphia junior welterweight Danny Garcia was gradually fading against Erik Morales in March. The old Mexican master was coming forward in Houston’s Reliant Arena, and having taken away one of Garcia’s best punches, winning rounds and remembering his legacy. Then Morales began a right uppercut, moving forward and from distance – two mortal sins in one punch – and Garcia put his life behind a left-hook counter, and Morales crumbled.

In the final minute of the third round of his fight with Amir Khan Saturday in Mandalay Bay, Garcia was gradually missing Khan by wider and wider margins. Then Khan, catalyzed by the prospect of not being hit, began a right uppercut, moving forward and from distance, and Garcia put his life behind a left-hook counter, and Khan crumbled. The rest were details that ended with this line: Garcia TKO-4 Khan.

Danny Garcia used proper footwork to stand his ground from the opening bell, Saturday, choosing to be a fighter – not merely an athlete. The slower-reflexed man, Garcia took Khan’s first shot over and again and threw a dozen counter left hooks and overhand rights, which landed or barely missed, before he got the definitive punch of his career to come home. It struck Khan on the neck, arriving from an overshot place behind the ear, and rattled Khan’s stem enough to shake his brain, claim his equilibrium, and give him a storefront on Queer Street memorable as where Zab Judah set up shop against Kostya Tszyu in 2001. Khan’s footwork was worse with communication severed from his central nervous system to his lower body, yes, but only marginally so.

It’s not that Khan is a victim of brave choices – a man like that, after all, would have re-fought Marcos Maidana a couple Aprils ago instead of cherrypicking Paul McCloskey – rather it’s that Khan has enormous technical flaws boxing’s star system continues to overlook because it does not fit the narrative of a handsome, multicultural “warrior” with “fast hands” and “so much heart”

That is the confection boxing’s star system tried, and tried again, and will try at least one more time, to make of Khan. But boxing, bless its dark and easily corruptible heart, always finds the truth in its ring eventually, and the truth is this: Amir Khan, while a very decent and telegenic young athlete, is not a championship caliber fighter. He never has been because he is missing something, and it is not the obvious thing.

What Khan is missing is a certain willingness to be hit, and that is a flaw that unless one is a defensive specialist, professionals like Garcia and Maidana and Lamont Peterson will discover with an almost audible “Eureka!” and exploit. Even Garcia, a light hitter requiring an opponent’s wrong-leaning momentum to score a knockdown, threw haymakers, both counters and leads, from the fight’s opening minute. Why? Because he realized that, unlike Morales before him, Khan is not wired to step inside a wild punch and abuse its mania. Khan is hardwired to show athleticism – to leap backwards and demonstrate for euphoric onlookers how quick he is of hand and foot from the (way) outside. So long as Garcia threw threatening punches, then, he could trust Khan’s counters would be late-arriving and halfhearted when they got there.

Give Khan a chance to step forward, front-run and lead, and he’ll make a heavybag of you. But hurl crazy punches his way, and Khan’s first instinct, one trainer Freddie Roach has been unable to overcome, much to his reputation’s chagrin, is to flee momentarily and return once the craziness abates. It takes an opponent of incredibly little power across from him, a Paulie Malignaggi, say, for Khan to commit to a proper counter.

Khan’s handlers and their enablers thought they had that guy, again, with Garcia, a man who’d needed the full 36-minute distance to beat a fat and semiretired Erik Morales, and had only stopped 14 of his first 23 opponents. They were wrong, but do not expect them to admit it. Danny Garcia is not the guy they want. He’s prickly in his garish tiger stripes. He’s more Philadelphian than Puerto Rican but just Puerto Rican enough to not invoke images of Joe Frazier or Bernard Hopkins. “I want to thank God, I want to thank Al Haymon,” Garcia said immediately after stopping Khan, “he changed my life!”

And Garcia’s dad is a racist and a bigot, too. Goodness gracious, but when did boxing become about nonviolent expressions of offense? Yet, as part of Saturday’s HBO event, viewers were treated to broadcaster-cum-advocate Jim Lampley laying into Garcia’s dad like it was a cable talkshow. It was a better time when networks’ prefight meetings were candid affairs, and someday their programmers will rue broadcasting such footage.

It was a better time to be an aficionado, too, when broadcasters were not advocates, when they simply called both fighters’ punches and did not try to sell an audience the narrative most favorable to their last, or next, side project. But bad as Lampley was Saturday, that’s how good Max Kellerman was. He was the one member of HBO’s team who saw Garcia land several significant punches before the one that dropped Khan in a heap and made it a technical impossibility to celebrate Amir any further.

Saturday Garcia unified three titles in the junior welterweight division, though the path to that “unification” – as outlined by David Greisman on Twitter – does brings a chuckle. This Garcia knockout win, then, was not what was planned or promised, but aficionados are nimble enough to pivot like the Philadelphian, celebrate a great performance by an underestimated talent, and enjoy whatever comes next. We’ll see if the star system’s footwork is good as Khan’s.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

HOUSTON – Finally, Erik “El Terrible” Morales, at age 35, did not have enough of what once made him great to wrest a victory from a well-prepared young challenger. There was no shame in Morales’ losing, and there was enough pride in his effort to make Danny “Swift” Garcia’s victory a meaningful one.

Saturday in Reliant Arena, Philadelphia’s Garcia (23-0, 14 KOs) decisioned Tijuana’s Morales (52-8, 36 KOs) by unanimous scores of 117-110, 116-112, 118-109, in a fight for a junior welterweight title that Morales lost on the scale Friday, when he missed the fight’s contracted weight by two pounds.

Saturday, after an uneventful first round that Garcia nevertheless won with quicker hands, both fighters became slightly more active in the second. Despite a trio of right uppercuts landed by Morales at the midway point of round 2, though, the second belonged to Garcia much as the first had.

The end of the third round saw Garcia land a succession of right hands to Morales’ chin that forced the Mexican icon to drop his gloves, hold onto the ropes and look startled. Morales resumed his hesitancy in the opening third of round four before being caught with one Garcia right hand too many. Morales then adjusted his left guard, promised himself he’d not lower it again, and promptly had his best round of the fight.

After an even fifth that saw Garcia warned for a low blow, the Philadelphian pinned Morales to the ropes and assaulted him with lefts and rights for the opening 90 seconds of round 6. Then Morales, showing some of his world-class wiles, set a trap for the younger man and beat him back in the round’s final minute.

After that, Garcia made an adjustment of his own. He stopped endeavoring to hurt or stop Morales and merely tried to outbox him. The adjustment worked, and Garcia won the seventh, eighth and ninth.

Round 10, though, saw Morales find Garcia with right hands enough to begun a stream of blood from Garcia’s nose, marking the first round Morales convincingly won in four.

In the eleventh, Morales’ confidence led him to launch a right uppercut from distance, a classic no-no, and Garcia capitalized by dropping him with a left hook. Morales rose at the count of eight and made it to the end of the round, but his legs were not sturdy.

The fight ended much the way it began, with Garcia too young and fast for the Mexican veteran.

Ringside judges marked a wide unanimous decision for Garcia. And the 15rounds.com card concurred, scoring the match 117-111 in his favor.

KIRKLAND VS. MOLINA
A remarkable fight was stopped prematurely in Saturday’s co-main event. The culprit was a cornerman or referee, depending on one’s feelings about enforcing the letter of a regulation.

Texas super welterweight James Kirkland (31-1, 27 KOs) defeated Chicago’s Carlos Molina (19-5-2, 6 KOs) by 10th-round disqualification, in a fight Molina was winning, when Molina’s cornerman improperly stepped on the ring apron before the 10th round had officially concluded.

Afterwards, both Kirkland and Molina said they would like a rematch.

Molina started the fight boxing and moving well, circling away from Kirkland’s power and keeping himself out of reach with range-finding jabs and crosses to Kirkland’s body. After an even second round, Molina worked his way back on to Kirkland’s chest in the third, slowing the Texan’s pace and discomfiting him for at least two of the round’s three minutes.

In round 4, a trend emerged clearly: James Kirkland was fading after the first minute of each stanza. Kirkland would have little trouble finding Molina with left crosses and uppercuts, from his southpaw stance, but then would lose his pace after 60 seconds. Kirkland, his mouth open, would start taking breathers, and Molina would move forward, land scoring punches and steal rounds.

The fifth and sixth, both very close, were marked by Kirkland’s loading-up on aggressiveness and punches early, in the apparent hopes of making an impression enough on the judges that Molina’s lighter, though more sustained, offense would not sway them in the final 90 seconds of each round.

Rounds 7 and 8 saw declining activity from both men, but enough activity by Molina to win them. The eighth, particularly, saw Kirkland exposed in some ways as a prizefighter who is uncomfortable on the inside and incapable when pushed backwards.

Even the ninth round, which may have been Kirkland’s best, saw the Austin prizefighter fade late and collect light but effective right hands from Molina.

The 10th saw both men exhausted enough to land on the blue mat, Kirkland from exhaustion, Molina from a punch. And that was when the fight fell apart. Beating referee Jon Schorle’s count comfortably after the bell to end the round had rung, Molina walked back to his corner, where his trainer had already entered the ring. Enforcing a rule that mandates a fight must be stopped if a cornerman climbs on the apron before the end of a round, referee Schorle disqualified Molina, awarding a 10th round victory to Kirkland.

At the time of the stoppage, Molina was winning by majority-decision scores of 87-84, 88-83 and 85-86. The dissenting scorecard belonged to Texas judge Gale Van Hoy. The 15rounds.com ringside scorecard concurred with the other two judges, marking the match 88-85 for Molina.

“I’ve been refereeing 29 years,” said Schorle after the fight. “That’s the first time I’ve ever had to do that.”

UNDERCARD
In the last pre-television fight of the night, Houston super welterweight Jermell Charlo (17-0, 8 KOs) did what his brother Jermall could not earlier, dropping his opponent, Chicago’s Chris Chatman (10-2-1, 5 KOs), and stopping his match in a thrillingly concussive way. After an interesting pair of opening rounds, six minutes that saw Chatman look lively and Charlo slip most of his punches, Charlo floored Chatman, whose head slammed the blue mat, causing the fight to be stopped at 1:22 of round 3.

Irish lightweight Jamie Kavanaugh (9-0-1, 4 KOs), who fights out of California, needed none of his people’s fabled luck in the evening’s fourth match, working his way through Florida’s Cesar Cisneros (3-4-2, 1 KO) and stopping him at 2:28 of round 5. After being cut in the match’s opening stanza, Kavanaugh sat down on his punches, opened a gory gash over Cisnero’s right eye and finished the match with aplomb.

Local welterweight Lanard Lane (13-1, 8 KOs) completed Saturday’s third fight with an exclamation mark of sorts, beating on game but overmatched Milton Ramos (7-3-2) of Waco, Texas, and stopping him at 1:34 of their eighth and final round. In claiming the eighth knockout of his career, Lane showed every tool but stopping power, landing numerous right crosses without quite claiming Ramos’ consciousness and ultimately leaving the referee to stop the bout.

The second match of the night, a super welterweight match between undefeated Houstonian Jermall Charlo (9-0, 5 KOs) and Nebraskan Shawn Wilson (5-9, 1 KO), was a mismatch from its opening moments, as Charlo was too long, too well-schooled and too fast for Wilson, who fought with a certain strong-jawed resignation through the first four rounds before succumbing to a sustained assault and losing by technical knockout at 2:21 of round 5.

Saturday’s action began with a quick stoppage, when Florida super welterweight Daquan Arnett (2-0, 1 KO) dropped San Antonio’s Fabian Cancino (0-4) with a left hook to the liver. After an enthusiastic start, Cancino was unable to rise before the 10-count, and Arnett scored his first career knockout at 1:51 of round 1.

Opening bell rang on an empty Reliant Arena at 5:12 PM local time.

Danny Garcia’s greatest challenge Saturday night at Houston’s Reliant Arena might be one of the biggest intangibles of all. Awe is dangerous. Tough to control, too. But that’s what Garcia faces in Erik Morales, a fighter he watched when he wasn’t watching cartoons. Morales won his first major title when Garcia was a restless nine-year-old.

Until he reached his mid-teens, Garcia witnessed Morales’ skillful tenacity throughout his epic series against Marco Antonio Barrera and the trilogy against Manny Pacquiao. No doubt, there’s much to admire. Morales is a good example for any young fighter. From this corner, he also provides a look, scars and all, at what separates the Mexican fighter from the American.

North of the border, only victory matters. To wit: Floyd Mayweather, Jr., whose career seems to start and end with a plan to stay unbeaten. South of the border, performance is often as important as victory. Some of Mexico’s legends are created in defiant battles that happen to end in defeat. Morales has won many more than he’s lost, but he was applauded for the way he fought in defeat by majority decision last April to Marcos Maidana. He has always been willing to take as much punishment as he delivers. It’s an exchange that is dangerous, dramatic and bloody well worth the price of admission.

Garcia (22-0, 14 KOs), an emerging junior-welterweight from Philadelphia, has seen enough of Morales (52-7, 36 KOs) to know he will encounter the resilience that is there now just as surely as it before the comeback. Dealing with it, I suspect, will prove to be as daunting as adjusting to Morales’ tactical expertise, especially in the early rounds. At 47, light-heavyweight Bernard Hopkins has said that his age is one of his prime advantages. It’s simple: The younger fighter is afraid of losing to an old man, Hopkins says.

Morales is 35, yet much older in terms of wear, tear and stitches. Surgery for gall stones forced a postponement of the HBO-televised bout, which had been scheduled for Jan. 28. Morales says he has recovered from the procedure. But 12 rounds aren’t exactly ordinary rehab. Then again, Morales has never been ordinary.

There’s a temptation to pick Morales, because of his extraordinary career. But that would be a mistake, not unlike the one Garcia would make if he succumbed to hero-worship. Before opening bell, Garcia seems to understand.

“Erik Morales is a great fighter,’’ Garcia said in a conference call on Tuesday, also his birthday – he’s 24. “He did a lot for the sport. He had great fights with Barrera and Pacquiao. He had his time to shine. Now it’s my time.’’

If Morales were working Garcia’s corner against another legend, he might tell him about his first title. It was 1997 in El Paso. Morales was 21, facing World Boxing Council super-bantamweight champion Daniel Zaragoza, then 39 and with a Morales-like record of 55-7-3 with 28 KOs. Like Garcia is today, Morales was unbeaten then at 26-0. Any awe of Zaragosa was conquered. Morales knocked out the Hall of Famer in the 11th round. Zaragosa never fought again.

Garcia’s blend of power, speed and youth is enough for him to do the same. The guess here is that experience and knowhow will allow Morales to endure the full 12 rounds. Garcia will win a unanimous decision. Then, he can ask Morales for an autograph.

AZ Notes
Phoenix junior-welterweight prospect Jose Benavidez is back in the gym and undergoing conditioning drills after having a cast removed from his right hand on March 14. Benavidez underwent surgery for a troublesome injury to his right wrist. The procedure forced him off a ShoBox televised card Friday night in Tucson at Casino del Sol.

“It’s cool to be back in the gym,’’ Benavidez said Wednesday from Los Angeles where he resumed workouts at trainer Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym. “There’s some stiffness. But we’ll let it heal.’’

Benavidez is scheduled to see doctors for a routine check on April 2. His dad and trainer, Jose Benavidez Sr., said there’s a chance his son’s next bout could be on the Manny Pacquiao-Tim Bradley undercard on June 9 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

“We’ll just see how it goes,’’ the senior Benavidez said.

Meanwhile, another Benavidez prospect might be on the horizon. David Benavidez, who fights at between 185 and 190 pounds, is scheduled for an amateur bout on April 21 at Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix on hybrid — pro-and-amateur — card staged by Iron Boy Promotions. David, a 15-year-old student at Hollywood High School, has done some sparring with former middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik, who has been training for a comeback against Aaron Jaco on March 31 in San Antonio.

“It’s hard to compare the two,’’ their dad said. “In terms of style, they’re just a little bit different.’’

I started to write about boxing because of Erik “El Terrible” Morales, whose face, along with those of Israel Vazquez and Juan Manuel Marquez, is the first my mind associates with the word “prizefighter.” Morales was not my first favorite fighter. He wasn’t even my favorite fighter in his first two matches with fellow Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera. Morales’ charms were not immediate or obvious as other prizefighters’. But they were lasting.

Morales’ third match with Barrera was the first time I wrote about prizefighting – in an email exhaustive enough for a friend to post on his website. Columns followed. My seventh treated El Terrible’s victory over Manny Pacquiao. Morales UD-12 Pacquiao induced a euphoria, even through television’s bastardizing lens, that I innocently assumed would be a regular compensation for journalizing the sport. How naïve. I’ve revisited that euphoria scarcely more often since March 2005 than Morales has visited the indomitable form he showed against Pacquiao seven years ago.

And yet. Saturday I will cover El Terrible from ringside for the first time. It is an honor I did not believe would happen, a privilege for which, had you presented me a contract 380,000 words ago, I would have gladly written volumes about prizefighting. Morales will fight undefeated Philadelphian Danny Garcia for something called the WBC light welterweight title, in Houston’s Reliant Arena in a fight HBO will televise, though the fight itself is mostly beside the point. That point, championship-level violence, will be lent support by a 10-round undercard scrap between Texan James Kirkland and Mexican Carlos Molina. The main event needs help because nobody should follow any sport in which a 35-year-old Erik Morales is the greatest 140-pound practitioner.

We didn’t grow up together though we’re close in age. The first time I wrote seriously about El Terrible, he was at the apogee of his prime, already the bloated, dehydrated/rehydrated victim of a fair and unfavorable decision in his rubber match with Barrera. What Morales presented was an initial catalyst, a first promise that struggling to describe boxing holds a private reward of its own, independent of others’ affirmation. That late-prime Morales remains a standard against which I judge prizefighters and find most deeply wanting.

Morales was an unlikely standard. He was not eloquent as Barrera. He was not thrilling or durable as Pacquiao. He was steered wide of Marquez. He didn’t throw the hook like a Mexican but used instead a deceptive and jarring right uppercut triggered by the touch of a glove on his elbow, a punch to dissuade his countrymen’s voracious, liver-feeding left hands. He was awkwardly skinny, too, a gawky, rib-tallied Tijuananense with a big nose.

Good God, but he made the masculine choice every time.

Masculine, macho, entertaining – Morales was all of these words, not one a synonym for “prudent.” His finest moment was imprudent as hell. Ahead on official scorecards after 11 rounds against Manny Pacquiao, Morales fought the 12th as a southpaw, several times realizing his folly before willing himself back in an awkward stance that assured Pacquiao every chance to hurt him. This, just after his father pleaded with him not to do anything crazy – y nada estupido. Before you compare your favorite fighter to Morales, ask first: Would my guy offer his head to Pacquiao for three minutes of a fight he is winning, just to entertain someone like me?

Six months after such unforgettable boldness, Morales moved up to lightweight to fight Zahir Raheem and proved, definitively, that a man who cannot make super featherweight is by no means a lightweight. Then Pacquiao blew him out, twice, and the David Diaz match came nine months after Pacquiao KO-3 Morales. By then I’d published enough to be credentialed for Chicago, but see, El Terrible had said goodbye thrice against Pacquiao – once when he winked at his dad from the canvas and twice in an interview bungled by HBO’s former interpreter – and I took him at his word.

Morales’ comeback, after 2 1/2 years of retirement, has a whiff of boredom to it, as if El Terrible were sitting at home one night, tired of domesticity and grown fluffy, and saw Amir Khan hightailing from Marcos Maidana while being called great, and said “¡Ya basta!” to his television set. Morales has a Twitter account for combating boredom, too, one he uses to retweet wife jokes and regularly post, of his training regimen, “The mouse likes cheese.” There has been no reason to board a plane for a Morales fight since 2007, as any aficionado knows, but Houston is within driving distance.

Morales’ comeback also feels a little like Julio Cesar Chavez’s “Adios” tour. Chavez was 12 years and pounds beyond his prime, at age 42, further beyond his prime, by far, than Morales is at 35, and came back in pursuit of money. A few tilts in, Chavez found himself a patron to pay for the tour and promote his son. In a fine show of incremental audacity, Chavez’s one “Adios” fight became “Adios Los Angeles” then “Adios Arizona” then “Adios Phoenix” – with “Adios Tucson” and “Adios Flagstaff” lurking – before someone named Grover Wiley put an end to the silliness in America West Arena.

Danny Garcia should decision Morales, Saturday – and what ever happened to Grover Wiley, anyway? So long as Morales acquits himself nobly, though, he’ll be presented a WBC silver or diamond belt before April Fools’ Day, and his comeback will go on till he tires of training or being beaten on. Or maybe Morales will win Saturday like he did in September, in a fight you probably watched, even if you can’t now remember Morales’ opponent or its official outcome.

It will be an honor to sit ringside at a Morales fight, regardless. A feeling of pride, a certain personal indulgence, will wash over me when the name “El Terrible” rings through Reliant Arena. We made it, kid.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

Dan Rafael od espn.com is reporting that the postponed bout between WBC Super Lightweight champion Erik Morales and undefeated Danny Garcia has been rescheduled for March 24th with the bout remaining in Houston.

The bout was postponed earlier this week from the original January 28th date after Morales had to have emergency Gallbladder surgery last week in Mexico.

“We were able to get a date from Reliant Arena. The idea was to keep the card in Houston,” Said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer. “The Houston fight fans enthusiastically embraced the card and we already had a tremendous amount of tickets sales. We were able to work out something with the arena because they had another event there on that date, but they were able to clear the date. They worked that out on their side and they were very excited about keeping the event there. I coordinated the date with HBO. The fighters have been informed and they’re excited about it.

“Morales is going to be in perfect shape. He could have fought in the second half of February but there were no dates,” Schaefer said. “Now that it’s going to be on March 24, Erik very much likes the time to prepare as well. It worked out. I’m happy that over the holiday, when most people were gone, we were still able to put the show back together and keep it in the same place because when you have an event which the local boxing community really embraced you want to keep it there.”

Dan Rafael of espn.com reports that the entire January 28th HBO televised doubleheader that would have saw WBC Super Lightweight champion Erik Morales defend against undefeated Danny Garcia and James Kirkland – Carlos Molina Super Welterweight clash from Houston has been postponed to a later date.

“I talked to HBO and we are looking at different dates in February and March, so the card as a whole will just be postponed,” Said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com. “It’s still going to be Morales-Garcia and Kirkland against Molina. The only thing changing is the date and maybe the venue depending on the availability. We’ll check in Houston first. We want to just make sure that Erik Morales is going to have enough time to be fully healed from his surgery. So my feeling is that March is more likely when we’ll reschedule the fight.

“We are looking at different venue availability and we hope to have something to announce on that soon. But we’ll still do this card. HBO wants to do it, just on a different date than Jan. 28. Everybody is on board.”

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that WBC Super Lightweight champion Erik Morales will be unable to defend his title against undefeated Danny Garcia due to Morales Gallbladder surgery last week.

“He’s not going to fight. He called me and told me the doctor said he feels he needs a little more time to heal internally,” said Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker Eric Gomez. “He said the doctor said everything looks fine on the outside but he needed more time. Could he fight? Erik said he could fight, but the doctor said he doesn’t want him to fight.”

“He said, if necessary, he would go against his doctor’s orders but we wouldn’t let him do that, and he probably wouldn’t pass his medicals anyway if they knew he just had surgery,” Gomez said.

Junior middleweight contenders James Kirkland (30-1, 27 KOs) and Carlos Molina (19-4-2, 6 KOs) are due to meet in the televised co-feature.

“I don’t think HBO wants to do a replacement fight or go with a stand-alone (televised) fight,” Gomez said. “In an area like Houston, with a lot of Latinos, a lot of Mexicans, you need Erik Morales on that card, so it’s a big blow to us. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“The doctor would like him to rest for about a month, so Erik wanted to know if we could just postpone it for a month,” Gomez said. “It all depends on HBO and what their schedule is like and what they want to do. Erik just wants to put it off for a month, but I told him it’s not that easy. It doesn’t work that way with HBO with their schedule.”

“He said his weight is down and he is feeling good now that the surgery is over,” Gomez said. “It just came about and he had to take care of it with the procedure.”

WBC Super Lightweight champion Erik Morales had emergency Gallbladder surgery in Mexico and that put in doubt his first defense against Danny Garcia that is scheduled for January 28th in Houston on HBO according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“I spoke to (Morales). He asked us to please wait (until) Friday,” said Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker Eric Gomez about the time frame for him to make a decision. Gomez said Morales would talk to his doctor before deciding what to do.

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that a solid doubleheader will take place on January 28th in Houston when WBC Super Lightweight champion Erik Morales will take on undefeated upstart Danny Garcia while the co-feature will pit Jr. Middleweights James Kirkland and Carlos Molina.

“Everything has been agreed to. These are two excellent fights,” said Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions. “I think Morales-Garcia is definitely a crossroads fight. Erik is excited about going back to Texas. For Danny, it is an amazing opportunity to fight a legend like Erik Morales. He is thrilled beyond belief. He is going to want to make the best out of it.”

“I think it’s going to be a good fight because of the styles of these two guys,” Schaefer said. “It can only be an exciting fight, a toe-to-toe battle. You know the way Erik fights and the way Danny fights.

“Erik was ringside at Danny’s fight against Holt and Erik has never turned down anybody. He feels he’s going to teach the youngster a lesson. He feels that this is a very winnable fight for him otherwise he wouldn’t take it.”

“You saw the performance against Maidana. Erik made it clear that he is back,” Schaefer said. “Let’s see what he can do against a young, strong fighter like Danny Garcia. It’s a dangerous fight for Erik and for Danny. Erik is one of the most experienced fighters and has shown that the time he took off was good for him. He is back, his body is back and he feels good.

“Erik Morales fights everybody and he said he feels Danny Garcia is very mechanical and he will expose him. He said, ‘I have the style and skills and experience to beat the young, mechanical guy.’ Let’s see. Danny is one of the young guns.”

“I really couldn’t believe it, it’s a like a dream come true,” Garcia told ESPN.com. “I am happy for the opportunity. Erik Morales was a great fighter, but now it’s time for a new generation. It’s time for a new champion. We haven’t signed a contract yet, but the fight is verbally agreed to and I feel like this is the perfect time for me.

“I just fought one of the hardest punchers (Holt) in the division. I feel Erik Morales is a great fighter, but I feel like he had his day. He is the champion because of politics. I will be champion because I will take that belt off of him. I grew up watching Morales. Me and my friends were big fans. He is a great fighter, so to be in the ring with him will be a pleasure. I guess he’s looking at me like his last fight, fighting a young guy to use his experience against. But I am not the same fighter as the last kid. Why he took the fight with me I don’t know, but he is in for a tough fight.”

“We like the fight. Carlos is busy, he’s slick and he’s durable,” promoter Leon Margules said. “He is also a legitimate 12-round fighter. He has good stamina. We know Kirkland is a great puncher, but if he gets through the first couple of rounds when Kirkland is dangerous, then I think he can outwork him.”

Said Schaefer, “James Kirkland has clearly established himself again in the 154-pound weight class with his thrilling performance against Alfredo Angulo. He showed everything. James Kirkland is back. With Carlos Molina, you have a very skilled fighter who has come up with the biggest wins of his career recently and he feels this is a winnable fight. Both fights on this card are explosive. That’s the right word.”

Morales is 52-7 with thirty-six knockouts. Garcia is 22-0 with fourteen knockouts and ranked number seven by 15rounds.com

Kirkland 30-1 with twenty-seven knockouts is ranked number nine by 15rounds.com Molina is 19-4-2 with knockouts is ranked number seven by 15rounds.com

Follow all the action as Victor Ortiz defends the WBC Welterweight championship and gets future Hall of Famer Floyd Mayweather. The “Star Power” Undercard will begin at 7pm eastern and will have two more world title fights as living legend Erik Morales takes on Pablo Cesar Cano for the WBC Super Lightweight title and young sensation Saul Alvarez takes on Alfonso Gomez for the WBC Super Welterweight title.

12 ROUNDS–WBC WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP–VICTOR ORTIZ (29-2-2, 22 KO’S) VS FLOYD MAYWEATHER (41-0, 25 KO’S)

Round 1 Mayweather lands a body shot…Straight right…Ortiz lands a body shot…Ortiz gets in a left…10-9 Mayweather

Round 2 Ortiz lands a left…right hook.,.right to the body…Good right from Mayweather..Mayweather lands 2 rights…Ortiz trying to muscle mayweather on the ropes..19-19

Round 3 Mayweather landing good right hands…Ortiz lands a good left…29-28 Mayweather

Round 4 Mayweather coming out winging hard shots…Big hook…Ortiz lands a good flurry on the ropes…Huge flurry…Ortiz jumos in a and headbutts Mayweather and is docked a point…...ORTIZ IS TOUCHING GLOVES…AND MAYWEATHER DRILLS HIM WITH A LEFT AND RIGHT AND DROPS ORTIZ AND HE CANT GET UP AND THE FIGHT IS OVER

12 ROUNDS–WBC SUPER WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP–SAUL ALVAREZ (37-0-1, 27 KO’S) VS ALFONSO GOMEZ (23-4-2, 12 KO’S)
Round 1 RIGHT TO THE TOP OF THE HEAD AND DOWN GOES GOMEZ 10-8 Alvarez

Round 2Alvarez coming forward…20-17 Alvarez

Round 3 Alvarez being aggressive…Gomez landing lefts…right..Right 29-27 Alvarez

Round 4 Alvarez right…Good uppercut…39-36 Alvarez

Round 5 Alvarez starting to land power shots...49-45 Alvarez

Round 6 ALVAREZ LANDS A HUGE BODY PUNCH THAT WAS FOLLOWED UP BY A BARRAGE AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

WINNER and still champion SAUL ALVAREZ

12 ROUNDS WBC SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP–ERIK MORALES (51-7, 35 KO’S) VS PABLO CESAR CANO (22-0-1, 17 KO’S)
Round 1 Cano landing and moving…10-9 Cano

Round 2 Cano landing hard rights…20-18 Cano

Round 3 Good right cross from Morales…29-28 Cano

Round 4 Cano lands a good right…Blood from Cano’s left eye…good right from Morales…38-38

Round 5 Straight right from Cano..Right over top …Hammering him on the ropes…Morales lands a right…48-47 Cano

Round 6 Hard right from Morales…Multi punch combination from Cano…Left hooks from Morales…Good left hook..57-57

Round 7 Morales bleeding from left eye…67-66 Cano

Round 8 Morales coming forward despite the blood…76-76

Round 9 Right from Morales…Good left from cano…Morales answers..86-85 Morales

Round 10 Morales lands a big shot…Cano hurt and very bloody…Doctor checking on Cano…Hard right from Morales...96-94 Morales

Round 11 CANO’S CORNER STOPS THE FIGHT—WINNER BY TKO END OF 10–ERIK MORALES

10 ROUNDS WELTERWEIGHTS–JESSE VARGAS (16-0, 9 KO’S) VS JOSESITO LOPEZ (29-3, 17 KO’S)
Round 1 Vargas lands a left…10-9 Vargas

Round 2 Vargas lands a good jab…20-18 Vargas

Round 3 Lopez backing up Vargas up with hooks and body shots…Vargas lands a jab…Lopez lands a solid uppercut…29-28 Vargas
Jab
Round 4 Lopez coming forward…38-38

Round 5 Vargas combination…48-47 Vargas

Round 6 Lopez lands 2 lefts to the body..Vargas looking tires…Lopez cut around the right eye…57-57

Round 7 Lopez lands a solid left hook and right hand…67-66 Lopez

Round8:…Vargas lands a hard low blow…Vargas deducted a point…Lopez lands a hard right…Lopez lands a big right…Good left hook…77-74 Lopez

Round 9: 87-84 Lopez

Round 10 Vargas being very active…Hard left hook stuns Vargas…96-94 Lopez

95-94 Lopez; 96-93 Vargas; 95-94 Vargas

10 ROUNDS WELTERWEIGHTS–SAID OUALI (28-3, 20 KO’S) VS CARSON JONES (31-8-2, 21 KO’S)
Round 1 Ouali lands a body shot…Jones lands a left hook to the body..Body shot…Short right hook from Ouali..left..Body…Ouali lands an uppercut…10-9 Jones

Round 2 Jones lands a hard uppercut..Ouali lands a big combination that hurts Jones…19-19

Round 3 good round for Ouali 29-28 Ouali

Round 4: Hard combination hurts Ouali…Ouali coming back with bidy shots…SHORT LEFT HOOK AND DOWN GOES OUALI…Big uppercut..uppercuts…38-37 Jones

Round 5 Jones landing some hard body shots…48-46 Jones

Round 6 Hard right from Jones…Nice combination…Uppercut…2 good rights…Ouali bleeding from the right eye..58-55 Jones

Round 7 Jones landing some hard shots…Ouali’s eye getting worse…68-64 Jones

Round 8 FIGHT STOPPED BEFORE THE ROUND BEGINS…WINNER…CARSON JONES

6 ROUNDS SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS–ADONIS STEVENSON (14-1, 11 KO’S) DION SAVAGE (11-1, 6 KO’S)
Round 1: Stevenson lands a big SHOT AND THE FIGHT IS OVER ….TIME 1:57