And Bika just dropped a fight by DQ, I don't think his name was even in the mix for the vacant spot especially after the recent death of his father (RIP). At least Showtime isn't letting the replacement inherit Kessler's points. But, I don't see the point in having Green/Johnson. They should have just made Ward/Dirrell and Froch/Abraham the semi-finals and if they were so worried about giving Green a fight to make up on him no longer being in the tournament then put him on the Marquez/JML undercard as the co-feature against a Bika and give him the exposure there.
2010 Official Boxing Thread: Soto/Antillon, 2010 Fight of the Year.
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by proshares,
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Via Dan Rafael's Twitter:
"We have a winner of the @AndreBerto sweepstakes. Freddy Hernandez will be offered the fight for 11/27 on HBO."
Freddy who? Miki Rodriguez or Norberto Bravo aren't avail to fight him again? SMH...Come on Andre, aren't we beyond tomato cans at this point?
He can't be a boxer cause he clearly ain't bout that life...esp since Collazo.
Gunna, I know you don't vouch for dude anymore...
"We have a winner of the @AndreBerto sweepstakes. Freddy Hernandez will be offered the fight for 11/27 on HBO."
Freddy who? Miki Rodriguez or Norberto Bravo aren't avail to fight him again? SMH...Come on Andre, aren't we beyond tomato cans at this point?
He can't be a boxer cause he clearly ain't bout that life...esp since Collazo.
Gunna, I know you don't vouch for dude anymore...
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^^^Forreal?? Real disappointed in Berto. And I don't know about you but for me Collazo beat him, just another fight where HBO made sure their guy won to push him...for what....
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Hernandez has had a couple good showings on ShoBox recently, including a KO over Corley. He's not a total can. I'd like to see Berto fight someone of a higher caliber but who else is available right now?
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FF to 8:00
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^^^^^
x 1000000000,
HBO just protecting their fighters once again, I don't even know where my anger should be directed at..Berto's camp or HBO? Both? Wow, man, I know that @!@$ in Haiti was an absolute tragedy and he had every reason not to fight but from Shane to Freddy Hernandez....just a big fat
for now, Berto was my dude. Hopefully this is a stepping stone to defend the belt against a bigger name ( I mean we all know if this goes 12 there's no way HBO let's Andre lose
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Your anger should be directed at HBO , Berto and Al Heymon for spoiling young fighters and promising them dates with no reason to fight top tier guys . Hey at least James Kirkland is free lets hope he can get his life straight .
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you god damn !!!%!%% kidding me
Super middleweight contender Andre Dirrell has withdrawn from Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic due to neurological problems that could end his career, Leon Lawson Jr., Dirrell's uncle and trainer, told ESPN.com on Thursday.
Not only is Dirrell's career in jeopardy, but his medical issues are yet another blow to the fast-fading six-man tournament, which has been beset by numerous delays and has now seen half of the original field withdraw because of injuries: Dirrell, Mikkel Kessler and Jermain Taylor.
Dirrell had been scheduled to fight Andre Ward, his good friend and fellow 2004 U.S. Olympic medal winner, on Nov. 27 in Group Stage 3 of the tournament with a semifinal berth at stake.
Showtime's Ken Hershman announced Dirrell's withdrawal on a teleconference with reporters Thursday, but declined to say what the nature of Dirrell's injury was, instead referring those questions to Dirrell's team. However, Hershman did say that with Dirrell out, the tournament would continue and that Ward would instead defend his 168-pound world title against an opponent to be determined on the date, probably in his hometown of Oakland.
[h4]Rafael's Boxing Blog[/h4]
Get the latest scoop and analysis on the world of boxing from ESPN.com's Dan Rafael in his blog.
Hershman said Ward's fight might not be a formal tournament bout, however. He said Showtime and the promoters hoped to have a resolution on Ward's opponent and if it would be a tournament fight on Friday. The agreements outlining the tournament rules allow for a fight to take place outside of the tournament.
"We're just making an internal calculation," Hershman said. "We're really trying to preserve the integrity of the tournament."
Ward promoter Dan Goossen did not return phone messages.
Because Ward has already earned enough points to advance to the semifinals, the outcome of his next bout does not impact his standing in the field, although he could lose his title.
"I want to be clear -- the Super Six will go on," Hershman said. "Obviously, we're disappointed by this development, but we still believe in the Super Six. Really, the circumstances we were confronted with were really unprecedented. As a boxing fan and somebody who really believes in the tournament structure, it can't be anything but disappointing."
Lawson said that Dirrell's symptoms of "headaches and dizziness" began shortly after his March fight against Arthur Abraham in Group Stage 2 of the modified round-robin tournament. In that fight, Dirrell was on his way to a lopsided decision when he slipped to the canvas in the 11th round and Abraham nailed him with a flush right hand to the temple while he was down. Dirrell, who never saw the punch coming, was knocked out and declared the winner on a disqualification because of the flagrant foul.
"Andre was saying he was having headaches and dizziness," Lawson said. "My father [Leon Lawson Sr.] and me asked him how long it was going on and he said periodically since after the fight. It was something we suspected. We saw slight changes in his normal being. It alarmed us. We're going to take it serious. He's not only a fighter, he's our family.
"We took him to a doctor and then a neurologist. When we took him to the neurologist, he was alarmed. He said Andre wasn't fit to fight right now. Before he would even consider letting him fight, he would need three months symptom-free. It would get to the point where Andre would have to sit down. He couldn't lay down because [the symptoms] would get worse."
Ward-Dirrell was originally scheduled for Sept. 25, but called off for reasons that were never announced, although a site had never been finalized, no tickets had ever been put on sale and no promotion had ever taken place. There had been rampant speculation that Ward and Dirrell, who are good friends, did not want to fight each other.
However, Lawson denied that was an issue.
"That delay was promoter issues and the site," Lawson said of the Sept. 25 postponement. "But it couldn't have happened then anyway because of [the medical situation]."
Lawson said he understood the speculation about Dirrell and War not wanting to fight.
"For people who say that this is fake or they just didn't want to fight, I understand," Lawson said. "They're just fight fans and want to see a good fight. But you got to understand these are human beings and things like this can happen. Anyone who doubts this at all, just turn on the TV and watch the last fight, and see how he was hit while he was down and defenseless. I was there. I seen it first hand. I was very worried. The cameras didn't show everything. There was some damage done."
Al Haymon, Dirrell's manager, declined to comment when reached by ESPN.com. Promoter Gary Shaw, who said he was informed of the withdrawal on Wednesday and was upset because Showtime did not notify him of Thursday's teleconference, wouldn't discuss the specifics of the injury.
"Andre is out of the tournament because we don't know when he will be available to fight or if he will be available at all," Shaw said. "I hope he's OK, that's the most important thing."
Lawson said he and his father had been concerned about Dirrell since the fight with Abraham.
"He just wasn't the same since that fight," Lawson said. "That's what it's from. It happened in the Abraham fight. The problems definitely came from that. It's not something someone else would notice, but we're family and we noticed things after the Abraham fight. This was something me and my father discussed. So when Andre came to us and told me, my father, his brother [pro fighter Anthony Dirrell] and his wife, it alarmed us because it was already something we were thinking."
Lawson said that Dirrell suffered a concussion against Abraham and that when he recently saw a neurologist, he underwent a battery of tests, including a CAT scan and MRI and MRA exams.
"And the neurologist determined he was unable to fight," Lawson said. "Andre wanted to fight and get back in the ring like any normal fighter. They want to fight. But what's most important is his safety. That's my whole thing. Even his attitude now, we had to tell him, 'Man, you better respect this game.' He just wants to fight, but we told him we got to respect the doctor's opinion. This is not nothing to play with. It's really not a game.
"Of course, Andre is disappointed with it. He just wants to fight. We sat down and told him this is something that has to happen. He has to take a break and maybe come back at a later date."
The first Group Stage 3 bout takes place Nov. 6 with Glen Johnson, who replaced Kessler on Sept. 29, facing Allan Green, who replaced Taylor after Group Stage 1.
Abraham and Carl Froch meet in another Group Stage 3 fight on Nov. 27 in Helsinki, Finland, on the same broadcast on which Ward will fight an opponent to be determined.
"The wind gets taken out of the sails for sure," Hershman said of upheaval. "I can't argue with that. I feel like that. I am sure the fans feel like that."
Fresh off his spectacular knockout of former welterweight champ Carlos Baldomir, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez has his next fight lined up against another former titleholder.
Alvarez, the 20-year-old Mexican sensation, will face former junior welterweight titlist Lovemore N'Dou in a scheduled 12-round welterweight bout Dec. 4 in Cancun, Mexico, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com.
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AP Photo/Jae C. HongSaul Alvarez, who crushed former welterweight champ Carlos Baldomir in September, already has his sights set on bigger game.
Alvarez (34-0-1, 26 KOs) scored a highlight-reel knockout on Sept. 18 in a performance that had the crowd of 13,591 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles cheering wildly, as he hammered Baldomir with a left hook to knock him out in the sixth round.
N'Dou is a South Africa native based in Australia who, like Baldomir, has vast experience. N'Dou held a 140-pound world title for four months in 2007 before losing it via decision to Paulie Malignaggi. N'Dou (48-11-2, 31 KOs), 39, has also faced quality opponents in Miguel Cotto, Junior Witter, Sharmba Mitchell and Kermit Cintron, going the distance in losses to each. N'Dou has never been stopped.
Schaefer said the bout will "definitely" be available on American television, although he said the deal he is working on has not been completed and he declined to identify the network.
Schaefer said the plan is for Alvarez to gain experience against N'Dou and then return in March to fight in the United States on HBO, possibly against European welterweight champion Matthew Hatton, the brother of former junior welterweight champ Ricky Hatton.
Alvarez has designs on an eventual fight with former champ Shane Mosley, who drew with Sergio Mora in the main event of the card on which Alvarez knocked out Baldomir.
Golden Boy matchmaker Eric Gomez said he, Hall of Fame matchmaker and promoter Don Chargin (a Golden Boy consultant) and Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya -- who has taken a hands-on approach to Alvarez's career -- came up with N'Dou as the opponent.
"It's a development fight," Gomez said. "It's a style that he's not all that familiar with. Canelo has been knocking out guys with typical come-forward styles and he's mastered that. But now it's time to start mixing it up a little bit and getting fighters who can box and punch a little bit. I think this is the perfect guy. Lovemore is a very good fighter. He can box, he can attack and he can be aggressive. But he's not just stationary and he moves well. That's what [Alvarez] needs, to be eased into a different kind of style than he's been facing.
"The kid is 20, and we're trying to develop him and get him the experience he's going to need in the next couple of years to be able to fight guys like a Mosley or the top guys. It helps that N'Dou is a former world champion and that he's well known and he's never been knocked out. He's no spring chicken, but the guy can still fight at a decent level. I just think it's the right fight. The kid needs a lot of work, and we're going to develop him and we all felt Lovemore was the right guy."
• If Nonito Donaire (24-1, 16 KOs) and unified bantamweight titlist Fernando Montiel (43-2-2, 33 KOs) win fall fights, they will meet Feb. 19 on HBO's "Boxing After Dark," Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said. "We have agreed on money, date, everything," Arum said of his talks with HBO. "It's a done deal." He still needs to come to terms with each fighter, though. And, of course, Donaire and Montiel have business to attend to first. Donaire, a former flyweight titlist and interim junior bantamweight titlist from the Philippines, is moving up to bantamweight to face former titleholder Wladimir Sidorenko on Dec. 4 on Top Rank's "In Harm's Way" pay-per-view card in Anaheim, Calif. Mexico's Montiel, who had been slated to fight Oct. 30 in Colombia on a card being staged in conjunction with the WBO's annual convention, will instead fight in Mexico in November on a "Top Rank Live" card (Fox Deportes) instead, Arum said. HBO has rarely been involved in fights below the featherweight division in recent years, but is making an exception for Montiel-Donaire, one of boxing's most significant matches in the small divisions. Arum said he would like to stage the fight in Las Vegas.
• Junior welterweight contender Victor Ortiz (28-2-1, 22 KOs), coming off a smashing third-round knockout of former titlist Vivian Harris on Sept. 18, is penciled in to open the Dec. 11 HBO card headlined by Amir Khan's junior welterweight title defense against Marco Maidana. If a deal can be ironed out, Ortiz would face former titlist Andriy Kotelnik, Golden Boy's Schaefer told ESPN.com. Kotelnik (31-4-1, 13 KOs) is the only man to defeat Maidana, but he lost his title via lopsided decision to Khan in 2009. Kotelnik returned in August and lost a close fight to titleholder Devon Alexander. Many thought Kotelnik won. "We'd love to make the fight, and I've been talking to [Kotelnik's promoter] Don King," Schaefer said. "Hopefully we can make it. I gave Don a final offer. There's not another penny. So he's got to talk to his fighter and see what they want to do, or HBO has to come up with more money. But hopefully we can make that fight. That would be a big statement for Victor to beat somebody like Kotelnik, especially if he could knock him out, which nobody has ever done." Schaefer said there are two other possibilities: England's John Murray and South Africa's Kaiser Mabuza. HBO has approved Mabuza, but his promoter has a date for Mabuza in January on a South African TV network and the fighter might not be interested in coming to the United States. If Ortiz-Mabuza comes off, it would likely be for a belt that is about to be stripped from Alexander, who is close to taking a unification match against Timothy Bradley Jr. in January instead of fighting Mabuza in a mandatory defense for a fraction of the money.
[h4]Rafael's Boxing Blog[/h4]
Get the latest scoop and analysis on the world of boxing from ESPN.com's Dan Rafael in his blog.
• James Kirkland (25-0, 22 KOs), who was released from a Texas prison into a halfway house in his hometown of Austin to serve the rest of his sentence last week, will make his ring return on Dec. 11 in Las Vegas on the undercard of Khan-Maidana. Schaefer said HBO will show highlights of his scheduled eight-rounder. "I'm sure all fight fans will appreciate the return of James Kirkland," Schaefer said. "I'm really happy about it and I know James is very anxious to get back to boxing." Kirkland, 26, was originally scheduled to return Nov. 6, but his release was delayed by a couple of weeks because a spot at the halfway house was not available. Cameron Dunkin, Kirkland's co-manager, said Kirkland will probably face Delray Raines (18-8-1, 13), who has lost to several prospects and contenders, including David Lemieux, Ronald Hearns and Joe Greene. Kirkland, a junior middleweight contender before going to prison in April 2009 after pleading guilty to gun possession by a convicted felon, probably will weigh in the 160s, Dunkin said.
• The final numbers have not been determined, but Golden Boy's Schaefer told ESPN.com that the Sept. 18 HBO PPV card headlined by Mosley's draw with Mora generated "about 150,000" buys. "There's nothing to complain about with that," said Schaefer, adding that with that number, the show would turn a profit. "I think it will be in the 150,000 range and I don't think it will deviate much from that. We looked at the satellite numbers and they were very strong, but the cable numbers reported so far have been a bit less." Although the main event was a disappointment, with little action and lots of holding and booing from the crowd at Staples Center, the undercard featured three exciting knockout performances from rising welterweight star Alvarez, junior welterweight contender Ortiz and featherweight contender Daniel Ponce De Leon. "Those three guys made huge statements, so you take that and look at the numbers the card did and it was a good night for us," Schaefer said.
• Cruiserweight contender Ola Afolabi (14-2-3, 6 KOs) has parted ways with co-promoters Dino Duva and Gary Shaw, and has signed with K2 Promotions, the company owned by heavyweight champions Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko. Afolabi's return is scheduled for Oct. 16 in Germany against Sandro Siproshvili (22-6, 9 KOs) on the undercard of Vitali's title defense against Shannon Briggs. If Afolabi wins, K2 plans to put him on Wladimir's Dec. 11 undercard. Afolabi has not fought since losing a tight decision to titleholder Marco Huck in Germany 10 months ago. "We are excited to have signed Ola to a promotional contract," said Tom Loeffler, K2 Promotions' managing director. "Ola has sparred with Vitali Klitschko many times, and we feel he has the talent to become world champion. He is now also working with Vitali's world-class trainer, Fritz Sdunek, and with Fritz's guidance, he will be well-prepared to win a title. Ola is not afraid to fight anyone, and we will put him on the fast track to fight for a title."
• Canadian cruiserweight contender Troy Ross (23-2, 16 KOs), the 2009 winner of "The Contender," returns to action Oct. 30 against Montreal's Carl Handy (24-7-2, 15 KOs) at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario. The fight will be Ross' first since June, when he suffered a fifth-round TKO loss against Steve Cunningham in a fight for a vacant title. Ross, 35, a two-time Olympian, had knocked Cunningham down in the fourth round and was in control when he suffered a terrible cut in the corner of his eye later in the round. The fight was eventually stopped in the fifth round because of the cut.
• Mexican promoter Fernando Beltran has scheduled a pair of title bouts, both of which will be televised in the United States on "Top Rank Live" cards (Fox Deportes). On Oct. 16, flyweight titlist Julio Cesar Miranda (33-5-1, 26 KOs) of Mexico makes his second title defense against Colombia's Michael Arango (31-9-3, 25 KOs) in Monterrey, Mexico. On Oct. 30, Mexico's Raul Garcia (28-1-1, 17 KOs) faces Colombia's Luis De La Rosa (14-0-1, 8 KOs) for a vacant interim strawweight belt in Cartagena, Colombia. The strawweight bout will headline a card being staged in conjunction with the WBO's annual convention. It replaces a bantamweight title defense by Fernando Montiel, who will instead fight in Mexico in November.
• Former middleweight titlist William Joppy (39-6-1, 30 KOs) fights on. Now 40 and having lost two fights in a row (a 10th-round knockout to Lucian Bute in a 2008 super middleweight title bout and a decision loss to Sebastien Demers in March), Joppy, of Washington, D.C., will face Baltimore's Cory Cummings (17-4, 13 KOs) in a scheduled 10-rounder Nov. 6 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. Former "Contender" participant Jimmy Lange, from Great Falls, Va., headlines the show against Joe Wyatt (23-1, 15 KOs) in a junior middleweight bout.
• Although super middleweight contender Andre Dirrell has been sidelined from the Super Six tournament because of a neurological issue, his younger brother, super middleweight prospect Anthony Dirrell (19-0, 16 KOs), returns to action Oct. 15 in Miami, Okla., to face Daryl Salmon (16-5, 4 KOs) in a scheduled eight-rounder on the untelevised portion of the Antonio Tarver-Nagy Aguilera undercard. "We're going to continue to go forward and focus on Anthony while we all wait for Andre to get better," said Leon Lawson Jr., the uncle and trainer for the brothers.
• Junior lightweight titlist Ricky Burns (29-2, 7 KOs), who claimed his title on a decision against Roman Martinez in a fight of the year candidate on Sept. 4, will make his first defense at home in Glasgow, Scotland, on Dec. 4, promoter Frank Warren announced. Burns will face Norway's Andreas Evensen (13-1, 5 KOs), whose record is devoid of a notable opponent. ... Junior flyweight titlist Juan Carlos Reveco is ill and has withdrawn from a scheduled Oct. 24 defense against strawweight titlist Roman Gonzalez in Tokyo. Instead, Gonzalez reportedly will face Francisco Rosas in a rematch for a vacant interim belt, with the winner slated to face Reveco upon his return. In 2009, Gonzalez retained his strawweight title via majority decision against Rosas. ... Junior lightweight contender Argenis Mendez and former titlist Cassius Baloyi have been mandated to meet in a title eliminator for the right to face titleholder Mzonke Fana, who outpointed Baloyi for the vacant belt in September. If the sides do not reach agreement by Oct. 21, the IBF will order a purse bid. ... Former heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield's scheduled Nov. 5 bout against Sherman Williams at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena has been pushed back to Nov. 12, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press.
[h3]Quotable[/h3]
"Maidana is a big name. If I want to unify the division, I have to fight the best. I believe if you want to be known as a great fighter, you have to clean up divisions -- and that's what I'm going to do." -- Junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan, at a press conference in Los Angeles this week announcing his Dec. 11 HBO fight against interim titlist Marcos Maidana.
"I've worked nine long years to get a shot at a world title and I have every intention to make the most of it. I consider Andre Berto to be the true welterweight champion of the world and a top-10 pound-for-pound fighter. This is the fight I have wanted more than anything." -- Freddy Hernandez, on his Nov. 27 title shot against Berto.
"I just figured I walk around at 215 pounds, I'm a young 41, so why not? I'm eating properly and will have no stress of losing 25 pounds to make weight. I can fight harder and smarter and possibly become the next heavyweight champion of the world." -- Former light heavyweight champ Antonio Tarver, on his impending move to heavyweight to face Nagy Aguilera on Oct. 15 (Showtime).
lightweight champion
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Not good hearing that about Dirrell
@ what the Super Six has become
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This is pretty random but didnt JLC Jr. decline to fight Cotto because he didnt want to go to the Phillipines to train with Roach, but now is going to train over there to prepare for Alfonso Gomez?? Sorry if Im wrong.
lightweight champion
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Double
[table][tr][th=""]Saturday at Tlalnepantla de Galeana, Mexico[/th][/tr][tr][td]Junior bantamweight[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Cazares, 33-6-2, 24 KOs; Rossel, 24-8, 11 KOs
Hugo Cazares TKO9 Alberto Rossel
Retains a junior bantamweight title
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Mexico's Cazares, 32, a former junior flyweight titleholder, made the second defense of his 115-pound belt and did it in dominant fashion. Rossel, 32, of Peru, had lost whenever he previously stepped up in competition, including to Ivan Calderon, Luis Lazarte and Vusi Malinga. So it was no surprise to see him dominated here.
Cazares stalked him throughout the fight, and in the fourth round landed a right hand that dropped Rossel to his back. Other than a bloody nose, Rossel appeared OK, but his chances of winning seemed nonexistent. Rossel was game, but the taller Cazares was clearly much stronger. Cazares wasn't throwing a ton of punches, instead opting to pick his shots, but he was making the most out of them with his accuracy. Hopelessly behind, Rossel tried to make a stand in the ninth round. He began throwing wild shots and going for a knockout, but Cazares was fine with exchanging shots and gave as good as he got. During one of the exchanges, Cazares landed a combination that dropped the spent Rossel to his knees, prompting referee Gustavo Padilla to call off the fight. Rossel saw his six-fight winning streak since 2007 come to an abrupt end.
Cazares is one of three titleholders that the horrible WBA recognizes in the junior bantamweight division. However, with so-called "super champion" Vic Darchinyan and interim beltholder Nonito Donaire both moving up in weight, those belts will soon be vacant. So it's back to just one titlist in the weight division. But this is the WBA, so don't expect that luxury to last long.
[/td][/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Saturday at Tepic, Mexico[/th][/tr][tr][td]Junior middleweight[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Alvarez, 26-2, 19 KOs; Ishida, 22-6-2, 7 KOs
Rigoberto Alvarez W12 Nobuhiro Ishida
Wins a vacant junior middleweight title
Scores: 115-112, 114-113 Alvarez, 114-113 Ishida
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: One of the hottest prospects in boxing is 20-year-old Mexican sensation Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. His older brother Rigoberto, 32, is a nondescript club fighter who had been knocked out in the ninth round by former middleweight title challenger Marco Antonio Rubio in January in the first fight Alvarez ever had against a remotely notable opponent. Now, thanks to the insanity of the WBA, Alvarez has a title after winning his third in a row since the loss to Rubio. Alvarez eked out the split decision on his home turf against Japan's Ishida, a fighter who is just about as nondescript as Alvarez. The difference in the fight was Alvarez scoring a knockdown in the seventh round.
Ishida, 35, of Japan, had owned one of the WBA's many interim trinkets, winning one in August 2009 on a decision in a rematch with Marco Antonio Avendano. After one defense in December, Ishida was matched with Alvarez for the WBA's vacant belt. And just why was it vacant? No particular reason. Miguel Cotto legitimately won that title in June with his knockout of Yuri Foreman at Yankee Stadium. But he was recently "promoted" to the organization's "super champion" -- even though he is not a unified titleholder, which is the reason the WBA made up for creating such a nonsensical title in the first place. The reality is that the WBA can collect a second sanction fee in the same division by adding multiple titles, especially while Cotto is on a break until March. Gotta keep the cash flowing in, right? To call the WBA a disgrace is an insult to all things that really are a disgrace.
[/td][/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Saturday at St. Louis[/th][/tr][tr][td]Cruiserweight[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Coyne, 16-0, 6 KOs; Steele, 7-3, 5 KOs
Ryan Coyne KO2 Shane Steele
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: St. Louis prospect Coyne, who participated in the final edition of "The Contender" reality series, was coming off a highlight-reel ninth-round knockout of Warren Browning in August in Coyne's hometown. Back in St. Louis again, Coyne, 28, a former Missouri linebacker, worked Steele over like a heavy bag. He landed a variety of punches in the second round before scoring another highlight-reel knockout. Coyne pounded Steele to the body, clipped him with a right uppercut and cracked him with left hands to send Steele, of Louisville, Ky., falling facefirst in a heap by the ropes. Referee Steve Smoger immediately -- and appropriately -- called off the fight. It was an easy night for Coyne, who, according to business advisor Mike Garrett, will return on the undercard of the expected Devon Alexander-Timothy Bradley Jr. welterweight championship fight on Jan. 29.
[/td][/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Saturday at Mendoza, Argentina[/th][/tr][tr][td]Junior lightweight[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Barros, 30-1-1, 17 KOs; Bermudez, 10-5, 4 KOs
Jonathan Victor Barros KO1 Gustavo David Bermudez
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Barros made a bit of a name for himself in March when he gave featherweight titlist Yuriorkis Gamboa a tougher-than-expected fight in a decision loss in Germany. He had been offered an HBO fight in November against Celestino Caballero, but his handlers declined the fight. So instead, Barros, 26, fought in his hometown and won his second fight in a row since the loss to Gamboa, needing less than a round to blow out inexperienced countryman Bermudez, 22, who lost his third fight in a row.
Not much happened for most of the round that the fight lasted, but with about 40 seconds left, Barros found his target and unloaded a flurry of punches, including a left hook that dropped Bermudez to his side. He rolled over to his knees, listened to the count and conveniently rose only after the referee had reached 10 with 15 seconds left in the round. Barros is next expected to face Panama's Irving Berry in December for the WBA's vacant interim featherweight belt. Why? Because this is the WBA, which can't get enough titleholders in the same division. It has "super champion" Chris John with a 126-pound title and Gamboa. So why not liven up the party with a third belt in one division? Maybe someday there will even be four or five world titles in the same weight class. Now that would be fun.
[/td][/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Friday at Philadelphia[/th][/tr][tr][td]Welterweight[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Garcia, 19-0, 13 KOs; Arnaoutis, 22-7-1, 10 KOs
Danny Garcia KO4 Mike Arnaoutis
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Rafael's remark: Golden Boy Promotions is moving Garcia along nicely. Slowly but surely, the matchmakers are stepping him up -- and he's responding. The 22-year-old former amateur standout looked terrific in crushing Arnaoutis in the main event of Telefutura's "Solo Boxeo Tecate." Fighting in his hometown of Philadelphia for the third time as a professional, Garcia did not disappoint.
Garcia was cruising along when he cracked Arnaoutis with a right-left combination just as the third round was ending. Arnaoutis went down to his backside and immediately popped back up. But then he took a few steps and, still dizzy, collapsed to the mat. He beat referee Gary Rosato's count, but the round had already ended, so he had a minute to try to regroup. He could not. Garcia staggered him with a right hand early in the fourth round and then knocked him to all fours with a left hook. As Rosado was reaching the finish of the count at 1 minute, 5 seconds, Mike Michael -- Arnaoutis' manager and one of his cornermen -- entered the ring to stop the fight. It was a good victory for the improving Garcia, who is probably only a couple of fights way from facing a quality contender.
At one time, Arnaoutis was a top junior welterweight contender. He lost a highly debatable split decision to Ricardo Torres in a fight for a vacant belt in 2006. But now Arnaoutis, 31, a native of Greece based in New Jersey, has become little more than a stepping-stone opponent. He represented a step up in competition for Garcia, who did what he was supposed to do in handing Arnaoutis his fourth loss in a row and fifth defeat in his last six fights.
[/td][/tr][tr][/tr][td][/td]Middleweight[tr][td]Records: Samir, 5-0, 5 KOs; Dunn, 0-2
Bastie Samir TKO2 Joseph Dunn
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Rafael's remark: Samir, 24, of Ghana, turned pro in November 2008 after representing his country in the Beijing Olympics. He seemed better suited for the pro game than the amateurs because of his aggressive style and body attack. He came to the United States after signing with manager Cameron Dunkin and quickly reeled off three wins in a row. But after a trip back to Ghana, he was unable to return to the U.S. because of visa problems that kept him there -- and out of the ring -- for nearly two years. Samir finally got his paperwork ironed out and came back to America this past summer, notching a first-round knockout on a Golden Boy undercard in August. Shortly after that, he signed with Golden Boy and became one of 10 Dunkin-managed prospects the company recently signed.
Samir got some television time on Telefutura's "Solo Boxeo Tecate" as he routed Dunn, 26, of Philadelphia, who had nothing to keep Samir off of him. Samir, who is based in Las Vegas and trains with Kenny Adams, pounded Dunn's body, put his punches together well and generally beat the crap out of his opponent until dropping Dunn after a series of shots (including some thudding uppercuts) in the second round. Dunn showed heart to get up, but the fight didn't continue for long. Samir went back to nailing him repeatedly, and referee Benji Esteves stopped it at 2 minutes, 39 seconds.
Welterweight prospect Rock Allen (15-0, 7 KOs), the 2004 U.S. Olympian who had not fought since April 2009, was supposed to end his long layoff on this card, but his fight was canceled, supposedly because Golden Boy could not find an opponent for him.
[/td][/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Friday at Muang, Thailand[/th][/tr][tr][td]Flyweight[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Wonjongkam, 77-3-1, 40 KOs; Chockchai, 14-5-1, 4 KOs
Pongsaklek Wonjongkam W12 Suriyan Por Chockchai
Retains a flyweight title
Scores: 115-114, 115-112, 114-113
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Rafael's remark: During his first reign with a flyweight belt, from 2001 to 2007, Wonjongkam, 33 -- a hero in Thailand and a probable Hall of Famer -- made 17 title defenses. In March, he unexpectedly regained the belt by outpointing Koki Kameda on his turf in Japan. Making his first defense, Wonjongkam struggled far more than anyone figured he would against heretofore unknown and untested 21-year-year-old countryman Chockchai.
The margin of victory came in the eighth round, when Wonjongkam was the beneficiary of one of the stupidest rules in boxing history -- one brought to us by the foul WBC, which penalizes an uncut fighter one point in the event of an accidental head clash that leaves one man cut but not the other. The fighters clashed heads in the eighth round and Wonjongkam suffered a cut around his left eye, according to the Bangkok Post. Chockchai was docked a point by referee Bruce McTavish, but had the rule (which American commissions thankfully do not recognize) not been used, Chockchai would have had a draw -- although Wonjongkam would have still retained the title. According to the Bangkok Post's report, the 10th round was a fierce three minutes of toe-to-toe action and a round of the year candidate.
[/td][/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Thursday at Lemoore, Calif.[/th][/tr][tr][td]Junior welterweight[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Dallas, 16-0-1, 6 KOs; Arroyo, 20-14-1, 4 KOs
Mike Dallas Jr. TKO2 Lenin Arroyo
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Rafael's remark: Promoter Dan Goossen has high hopes for Dallas, 23, of Bakersfield, Calif., and kept him busy headlining his regular show at the Tachi Palace resort. Dallas was coming off an eight-round decision win against previously undefeated fellow prospect Lanard Lane on Showtime's "ShoBox: The New Generation" in July. Dallas had no problems with Arroyo, dropping him three times in the second round for the stoppage 90 seconds into the round. Arroyo, 30, a Miami resident originally from Costa Rica, lost his seventh in a row and has become fodder for prospects such as Dallas, Mike Jones, Sadam Ali and James De La Rosa.
Goossen also featured some of his other prospects on the card. Los Angeles super middleweight Shawn Estrada (8-0, 8 KOs), a 2008 U.S. Olympian, needed just 28 seconds to knock out Nathan Bedwell (3-5, 2 KOs) of Jackson, Tenn. Estrada, 25, has only been past the first round once. Junior middleweight Javier Molina (4-0, 4 KOs), 20, of Norwalk, Calif., also on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, needed just 39 seconds and a right hand to blow out Marco Arauz (3-7-2, 1 KO). Molina, who has had a hand injury, was fighting for the first time in 11 months. Fresno, Calif., bantamweight Michael Ruiz Jr. (6-0, 3 KOs), 21, stopped Frank Gutierrez (2-8-2, 1 KO) in the fourth round.
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Unified bantamweight titlist Fernando Montiel suffered a right leg injury Sunday when a dirt bike he was riding on as a passenger crashed.
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Zanfer PromotionsUnified bantamweight titlist Fernando Montiel suffered a right leg injury in dirt bike accident Sunday.
Montiel and a friend were riding in Alamos, Mexico, a resort town a couple of hours from his home in Los Mochis that he was visiting for the weekend, when the accident happened. Montiel (42-2-2, 33 KOs) suffered several bad cuts and bruises and had a bone fragment cleaned out of the leg.
"He got very scared and is very sad by the accident, but the leg is not fractured," Top Rank spokesman Ricardo Jimenez said.
Jimenez said Montiel had a "deep wound" and that he was advised to stay off the leg, which is heavily bandaged, for three weeks.
It seems likely that the injury will scuttle a November fight that was in the works for Montiel, 31, against an opponent to be determined.
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The November bout was supposed to serve as a final tune-up before a major fight on HBO against former flyweight titlist and interim junior bantamweight titlist Nonito Donaire on Feb. 19.
Donaire (24-1, 16 KOs), who is moving up to bantamweight and must win against former bantamweight titlist Wladimir Sidorenko on Top Rank's Dec. 4 pay-per-view card in Anaheim, Calif., to preserve the fight.
Montiel has won titles in three weight classes from flyweight to bantamweight. He claimed a bantamweight belt in 2009 and has made three defenses, including stopping Japan's Hozumi Hasegawa in the fourth round in April to unify to belts.
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The possible inclusion of Bika has raised more eyebrows because both Bika and Dirrell are managed by the very influental Al Haymon. Some of the other promoters, including those within the Super Six, are convinced that Ward and Dirrell had no intention of fighting each other. One Haymon fighter replacing another Haymon fighter has certainly added fuel to the fire, especially since Bika had recently turned down the opportunity to replace the withdrawing Mikkel Kessler as the Super Six opponent for Allan Green on November
that %$+# is Obvious...
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is it just me? or does it seem this year just seems so weak for boxing
