2010 Official Boxing Thread: Soto/Antillon, 2010 Fight of the Year.

When middleweight champ Sergio Martinez and Paul Williams stepped on the scale recently for the 30-day weight check in advance of their much-anticipated rematch Nov. 20 (HBO) at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., some people may have done a double take.

With a month to go, Williams was almost on weight. The man who says he would prefer to fight at welterweight was 162 pounds at his training camp in Washington, D.C. Making the contract weight of 158 should be no problem. Despite some confusion and initial comments from the promoters that the maximum weight was 157 pounds, it is 158, promoters Lou DiBella and Dan Goossen said.

Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KOs) lost a debatable majority decision to Williams (39-1, 27 KOs) in December in a nontitle fight that was one of the most thrilling bouts of the year. He went on to win the 160-pound world championship against Kelly Pavlik in April in the same ring in which he will face Williams, whose handlers insisted on the 158-pound limit.

Martinez said "No problem" and accepted the catch weight.

"I never made a big deal out of this weight," Martinez said this week. "They're the ones who brought up the 158. The fight should be at 160. To me, 157, 158, 159, 160 -- I'll make the weight. I just wanted to fight him again."

But he surprised many when he weighed 176 pounds during his prefight weight check late last week at his training camp in Oxnard, Calif.

That's 18 pounds to go before the Nov. 19 weigh-in.

"Dropping weight has never been an issue for me. It hasn't been hard," said Martinez, adding that as of Wednesday he was down to 169. "It's more difficult to get in the ring and battle against Paul Williams or Kelly Pavlik. Cutting weight, that's easy.

"My weight loss won't slow me down. On the contrary, I gain speed. The speed will bring more of the element of surprise. With more surprise brings more potential and ability. I'll be stronger than my last fight against Williams and Kelly Pavlik."

Nobody in Martinez's camp seemed concerned either.

Adviser Sampson Lewkowicz said Martinez did the weight check after eating lunch and while wearing clothes, figuring that added at least three or four pounds.

"There is nothing abnormal and nothing to worry about," Lewkowicz said. "We signed a contract based on the request of Williams to be 158 at the most and we will not be an ounce over."

Said DiBella: "He used to weigh that much before the fight when he was at a junior middleweight, so no issue. He's going to be the bigger stronger man in that ring. He's a pro. He has a system and it doesn't involve losing 10 pounds in a week and doing it in a stupid way. He'll lose approximately four pounds a week, which is what he needs to do."

Williams said he was not concerned about Martinez's weight either.

"I don't see Sergio's weight making a difference," Williams said. "He's been doing this his entire career and he has been prevailing and performing. If he weighed in at 176 then he must have started the camp weighing 200 pounds. Ultimately what matters is that he comes in at [158] at the official weigh-in."

• So what happens if there is a draw or a no-contest in the semifinals of Showtime's four-man bantamweight tournament, which begins Dec. 18 in Leon, Mexico, with Vic Darchinyan facing Abner Mares and Yonnhy Perez defending his title in a rematch against Joseph Agbeko? According to Showtime spokesman Chris DeBlasio, the fighter to advance would be up to the network. "Each man gets two fights regardless," DeBlasio said. "Showtime would work with all parties in the tournament, and ultimately pick the fighter who would face the winner of the other bout." The semifinal winners are due to meet in 2011 with the semifinal losers also due to meet in a third-place bout.

• Golden Boy has added several prospects to its Nov. 27 card at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. HBO will carry the top three fights -- lightweight champ Juan Manuel Marquez against Michael Katsidis, welterweight titlist Andre Berto against Freddy Hernandez and Celestino Caballero moving up to junior lightweight to face Jason Litzau -- but several of the company's top prospects are also on the card (all against opponents to be determined): junior middleweight Erislandy Lara (13-0, 8 KOs), junior middleweight Keith Thurman (14-0, 13 KOs), middleweight Bastie Samir (5-0, 5 KOs) and junior welterweight Michael Finney (5-0, 5 KOs).

• Junior middleweight contender Vanes Martirosyan is back on Top Rank's Dec. 4 pay-per-view card in Anaheim, Calif., but not slated to be part of the broadcast headlined by middleweight Julio Cesar Chavez against Alfonso Gomez. One of the fights under consideration for the pay-per-view was Martirosyan against Pawel Wolak but it did not make the cut for the pay-per-view. So Top Rank was planning on having Martirosyan headline a "Top Rank Live" card on Fox Deportes on Dec. 18, but Fernando Beltran, Top Rank's Mexican partner on the series, is going to do the show that night from Mexico. So Martirosyan (28-0, 17 KOs) has been moved to the Dec. 4 undercard in an eight-rounder against an opponent to be determined.

• Former super middleweight titlist Jeff Lacy (25-3, 17 KOs), out of action since Roy Jones Jr. stopped him in the 10th round of an August 2009 light heavyweight bout, is scheduled to return to the ring Dec. 11 against journeyman Dhafir Smith (23-19-7, 4 KOs). Lacy, 33, who is moving back down to super middleweight, where he held a belt from 2004 until being routed by Joe Calzaghe in a 2006 unification fight, will fight the scheduled 12-rounder in his hometown of St. Petersburg, Fla. Although Lacy has fought in nearby Tampa, it will be his first pro fight in St. Petersburg. Lacy said he was hampered by a left shoulder injury in the Jones fight and after therapy, it is healthy again.

• Former welterweight champ Carlos Baldomir of Argentina will be rooting for countryman Lucas Matthysse (27-0, 25 KOs) when he faces Zab Judah (39-6, 27 KOs) on Nov. 6 (HBO, 11:15 p.m. ET/PT) in Newark, N.J., in a junior welterweight elimination bout. Baldomir, of course, upset Judah to win the undisputed welterweight championship in 2006 and believes Matthysse can pull another upset. "Lucas is stronger than me and has the power to hurt Zab at any point during the fight," Baldomir said. "I think he will eventually knock him out if he takes control of fight from the first round. He has the power and heart to be victorious on Nov. 6." Matthysse, 27, is training for the fight in Oxnard, Calif., and sparring for the fight against southpaw Judah against one of the best left-handers in the world, middleweight champ Sergio Martinez, who is getting ready for his defense Nov. 20 against Paul Williams in their rematch. "I'm coming to win," Matthysse said. "I'm very motivated for this fight and have worked extremely hard in camp. I want to bring the victory back to my country."

• Junior lightweight contender Argenis Mendez (17-1, 9 KOs), a native of the Dominican Republic based in New York, will meet former junior lightweight titlist Cassius Baloyi (37-5-1, 19 KOs) in a title eliminator in Baloyi's native South Africa, promoter Lou DiBella, who promotes Mendez, told ESPN.com. The fight will take place at a date to be determined in January with the winner becoming the mandatory challenger for titlist Mzonke Fana, who avenged a loss to Baloyi with a decision win to claim the vacant belt Sept. 1. DiBella said he and Baloyi promoter Branco Milenkovic made a deal to avoid a purse bid, but the date is not set because Milenkovic is waiting to get the schedule from the television network he works with in South Africa. "I think it's a good fight for Mendez and even though we'd prefer to have the fight in the United States, it's a fight he can win there," said DiBella, who owns the San Francisco Giants' Double-A farm team, the Richmond Flying Squirrels, and has been a guest of the big team this week at the World Series.

• Former two-time junior flyweight titlist Brian Viloria (27-3, 15 KOs) of Hawaii continues his comeback at flyweight when he fights in the Philippines on Nov. 5 against Thailand's Liempetch Sor Veerapol (19-7-1, 12 KOs). Viloria lost his belt to Carlos Tamara via 12th-round knockout in January and rebounded with a decision win against Omar Soto in July. Viloria is at flyweight to stay, manager Gary Gittelsohn told ESPN.com. "After years of straining to make 108, Brian is now campaigning as a flyweight," he said. "Brian has renewed confidence at this more comfortable weight and he has looked spectacular during this training camp. If Brian performs as well as we expect against Sor Veerapol, we will look to put Brian in a world championship flyweight bout in or around the first quarter of 2011."

• Junior middleweight contender Sechew Powell (26-2, 15 KOs), who avenged a 2008 seventh-round knockout loss to Deandre Latimore in March, returns Nov. 19 to face Tim Connors (10-1, 7 KOs) in a scheduled eight-rounder. Junior welterweight prospect Danny O'Connor (13-0, 3 KOs) headlines the Warriors Boxing-promoted card in his hometown of Framingham, Mass., against Humberto Tapia (15-15-1, 8 KOs) of Mexico in an eight-rounder. The card will be available as a pay-per-view on NESportsTV.com.

• Paul Spadafora (44-0-1, 18 KOs), who held a lightweight belt from 1999 to 20003 before giving it up to move up in weight, has an opponent for his Nov. 20 bout at the Mohegan Sun resort in Uncasville, Conn. Spadafora will face Argentina's Diego Jesus Ponce (19-5-3, 3 KOs), who will be making his American debut. He's 8-1-1 in his last 10 bouts and has won his three bouts of 2010. Featherweight prospect Matt Remillard (22-0, 13 KOs), whose handlers turned down a Nov. 27 HBO fight against Celestino Caballero, is also on the card in a 10-rounder against an opponent to be named.
[h3]Quotables[/h3]
"I lost a fight, big whoopee. I will say over and over, it is what it is. Great fighters lose fights. It is how you bounce back, and I didn't lose any confidence. I know what happened in the fight and know what I need to do from now on and it is a learning experience." -- former middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik, on losing his title to Sergio Martinez in April and his comeback fight against Brian Vera, scheduled for Nov. 13 (HBO PPV) on the Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito undercard.

"I'm going to send him back to Norway nursing a couple of black eyes, busted ribs and some unhappy memories." -- junior lightweight titlist Ricky Burns, on Andreas Evensen, whom he defends against Dec. 4 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Click to expand...
 
Pro told me he had tickets, hell, he asked me if I wanted to come
pimp.gif

stand up dude right there!

I wish I was able to get away for that +%!$  
 
Word up.

If I end up going, my buddy who has a place nearby may have a scheduling conflict, I will let you know.  I will buy you a beer or a prostitute, whatever we come across 1st.
 
Dan Rafael got a sneak peek of the Fight Camp tomorrow night:

@danrafaelespn Nice scene of Glen Johnson and Lucian Bute in the Florida gym together. As close to the Suprer Six as Bute will get.

@danrafaelespn Gotta be honest -- Dirrell and his family do not come off well in this episode in their interview.

@danrafaelespn According to Glen Johnson manager Henry Foster it's a $30,000-a-pound penalty for every pound if Johnson is overweight for the Green fight.
 
Nters...

Anyone looking for tickets to the Pacquiao/Margarito fight?

My names Chris, I work for Cowboys Stadium in the group sales department and I've got discount tickets for the fight. Tickets start at $50. Ringside is $500. No service charges or fees.

Let me know - [email protected]

Thanks,

Chris
 
From the fightnews report Glen Johnson will make weight pretty easy is is already at 171 he said hes goit a nutritionist now so he has been eating right .
We boxing fans have a a tough year but thses next couple of months should make up for it in a big way .
 
Said he was at 169 this morning
laugh.gif


Sergio being at 178 was crazy to me.

Only thing that sucks is we have quite a few cards going head to head starting next week.
 
El Chacal is a problem... dude is slick. His speed is so deceiving. He appears to move slow... but then all of a sudden, he springs for 2-3 punch combo.. 2:04 in the vid
eek.gif
 
Originally Posted by Mistadobalina

holy %$@@ @ david limieux (sp?) vs camacho jr.

what a punch!
Click to expand...

I missed it, what happened ...


btw, Im thinking its time for concern about Pacman.

the boy Amir Khan was landing everything he threw at  him  while sparring on 24/7
 
I was watching 24/7 and I saw Pacquiao's ear is he starting to develop Cauliflower ear? In his fight against Cotto his ear was messed up. This is recent pic of Pac:.  
 
Originally Posted by GUNNA GET IT

Originally Posted by Mistadobalina

holy %$@@ @ david limieux (sp?) vs camacho jr.

what a punch!
Click to expand...

I missed it, what happened ...


btw, Im thinking its time for concern about Pacman.

the boy Amir Khan was landing everything he threw at  him  while sparring on 24/7
Click to expand...
Ringsidereport.com even reported that Khan "stopped" Pacquiao in sparring.  Not sure how reliable that site is though. 
http://ringsidereport.com/?p=5280
 
Lenny Z
pimp.gif


Dude got the Kostya ponytail
laugh.gif


After watching the new fight camp...I'm having doubts about Dirrell.
 
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Sunday at Sydney, Australia​
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Middleweight
Daniel Geale TKO12 Roman Karmazin
Title eliminator​
[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Geale, 24-1, 15 KOs; Karmazin, 40-4-2, 26 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]




Rafael's remark: Former junior middleweight titlist Karmazin, 37, a native of Russia based in Los Angeles, fought to a split draw with middleweight titlist Sebastian Sylvester in Germany in June. Karmazin hoped for an immediate rematch, but the best he could get was the opportunity to fight an eliminator with the winner getting a shot at Sylvester. So Karmazin went to Geale's turf in Australia for the opportunity. But Geale, 29 and in his prime, was too much for the old warhorse. He was in command most of the way against Karmazin, who got cut under his eye by an accidental head butt in the sixth round of the fast-paced fight. Going into the final round, Geale had leads of eight, seven and three points on the scorecards, but he made those scores unnecessary when a flurry of punches hurt Karmazin and convinced American referee Pat Russell to stop the fight with 30 seconds left. Most likely, Geale will have to go to Germany for his shot at the belt held by Sylvester, who held on to it with a successful defense on Saturday. Geale won his third fight in a row since a controversial split decision loss to countryman Anthony Mundine in May 2009.




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Lightweight
Leonardo Zappavinga TKO1 Ji Hoon Kim
Title eliminator
​
[tr][td]Records: Zappavinga, 25-0, 17 KOs; Kim, 21-7, 18 KOs
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Rafael's remark: On paper, this figured to be an exciting fight, but Australia's Zappavinga -- known to most as Lenny Z -- did not allow that to happen. Instead, he blew away South Korea's Kim in 1 minute, 41 seconds, dropping him three times in an authoritative destruction. The win makes Zappavinga, recognizable because of his Kostya Tszyu-like ponytail -- the mandatory challenger for 135-pound titlist Miguel Vazquez of Mexico. Kim, 23, who has appeared multiple times on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights," was coming off a lopsided decision loss to Vazquez in a battle for the vacant belt in August. For whatever reason, he was allowed to fight in an eliminator in his next fight and Zappavinga, 23, had his way with him. There were still two minutes left in the round when Zappavinga dropped him hard with a combination. Kim popped up very quickly and was a bit wobbly, but the fight resumed and moments later a monstrous right hand to the side of the head knocked Kim sideways and down for the second time. Again, he popped up but was clearly still dazed. Zappavinga went right at him and battered him with approximately 10 unanswered blows until referee Wayne Kelly jumped in to stop the fight. Zappavinga, a four-time national amateur champion in Australia, sure looked a lot better than he did when he fought on Showtime's "ShoBox" in March and escaped with a debatable decision against Fernando Angulo.




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Saturday at Rostock, Germany​
[/th][/tr][tr][td]
Middleweight
Sebastian Sylvester W12 Mahir Oral
Retains a middleweight title
Scores: 119-106, 117-107 (twice)​
[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Sylvester, 34-3-1, 16 KOs; Oral, 28-3-2, 11 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]




Rafael's remark: Germany's Sylvester, 30, turned in a dominant, three-knockdown performance against Oral, his countryman, to retain his belt for the third time. Sylvester's performance was far better than in his last defense in June, when he was held to a draw by former junior middleweight titlist Roman Karmazin. Oral, 30, was getting his second title opportunity. In June 2009, he challenged then-titlist Arthur Abraham and was stopped in the 10th round. Although Sylvester could not stop him, he came pretty close. After the first few rounds were competitive, Sylvester took over, despite suffering a cut over his right eye as the result of an accidental head butt. In the fourth round, Sylvester rocked Oral and pounded him for a good portion of the round. In the eighth, ninth and 11th rounds, Sylvester dropped Oral courtesy of a brutal body attack. Somehow Oral survived each time and afterward gave Sylvester credit. "His body shots really killed me," Oral said. "I am very tall for a middleweight so I am quite open to body shots. He fought very well and deserved to win. I am obviously very, very disappointed." The day after the fight, Sylvester learned who his next mandatory challenger would be: Daniel Geale, who stopped Karmazin in the 12th round of their title eliminator.
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Heavyweight
Kubrat Pulev W8 Dominick Guinn
Scores: 80-72 (twice), 79-73​
[tr][td]Records: Pulev, 9-0, 5 KOs; Guinn, 33-7-1, 22 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]




Rafael's remark: Pulev, 29, of Bulgaria, had a long and productive amateur career, although he just missed making the 2004 Athens Olympics and was upset in his first bout in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He turned pro in 2009 after the world amateur championships and is being moved quite quickly. There's really no need to wait given his amateur pedigree. In his fifth pro fight in January, he knocked out experienced former world title challenger Matt Skelton in the fifth round. Matched with another veteran former contender in Guinn, Pulev easily routed him in the near shutout. Guinn, 35, of Hot Springs, Ark., was once one of the top American contenders, but never reached his potential after his own standout amateur career. He saw his five-fight winning streak end.




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Saturday at Cartagena, Colombia ​
[/th][/tr][tr][td]
Strawweight
Raul Garcia W12 Luis De La Rosa
Wins a vacant interim strawweight title
Scores: 114-113 (twice) Garcia, 115-112 De La Rosa​
[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Garcia, 29-1-1, 17 KOs; De La Rosa, 14-1-1, 8 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]




Rafael's remark: Garcia, 28, of Mexico, made four defenses of an alphabet strawweight belt before losing it to South Africa's Nkosinathi Joyi on a lopsided decision in South Africa in March. After a comeback win in September, Garcia was going to get a shot at titlist Donnie Nietes. However, when Nietes suffered a cut, the WBO approved Garcia to face Colombia's De La Rosa for an interim belt in the main event of the "Top Rank Live" card being put on in conjunction with its annual convention. Garcia prevailed on a split decision in a very tough fight, physical fight against a seemingly bigger puncher. Neither fighter could really establish control as they traded back and forth, especially in the excellent 11th round. Just when it looked like Garcia might take over at various points in the fight, De La Rosa would came back and vice versa. Garcia, a slicker fighter and a southpaw, was rocked several times, but was able to keep himself together and use his boxing skills to win enough rounds to claim the tight decision. Nietes will be obligated to face Garcia upon his return.




[/td][/tr]



[tr][/tr]

[td][/td]
Junior flyweight
Jesus Geles W12 Omar Soto
Wins a vacant interim junior flyweight title
Scores: 115-113 (twice), 114-1114​
[tr][td]Records: Geles, 11-1-1, 5 KOs; Soto, 15-6-1, 6 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]




Rafael's remark: When titlist Ramon Garcia suffered an injury he withdrew from a defense against Colombia's Geles on the "Top Rank Live" card at the WBO's annual convention. So Puerto Rico's Soto, 28, was brought in on short notice and the bout was sanctioned for an interim belt. Garcia used to have that interim belt but was, for reasons that remain unclear, elevated recently to the full WBO titlist when Giovanni Segura (who had won the WBO belt, along with the real belt -- the Ring title -- when he knocked out Ivan "Iron Boy" Calderon in August) was stripped. So with Garcia on the sideline, Geles and Soto turned in a competitive and fan-friendly fight. An accidental head butt in the second round opened a cut over Soto's left eye. After it was examined by the ringside doctor, Geles and Soto resumed their slugfest. There were a lot of close rounds and a lot of wild swings that landed and missed. In the end, the scores reflected the close nature of the fight that could have gone either way, but ultimately went to the hometown fighter. Soto, now 3-5 in his last eight fights, dropped to 0-3 in world title bouts. Juan Palacios knocked him out in the 10th round in a 2008 interim strawweight title bout and Edgar Sosa knocked him out in the sixth round of a junior flyweight title bout in 2009. If the WBO follows its rules, Garcia will have to face Geles upon his return to action.






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Saturday at Atlantic City, N.J.​
[/th][/tr][tr][td]
Featherweight
Jorge Diaz W10 Emmanuel Lucero
Scores: 99-92 (twice), 96-94​
[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Diaz, 15-0, 9 KOs; Lucero, 24-6-1, 14 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]




Rafael's remark: On paper, Lucero did not seem like he would pose too much danger to Diaz, a 23-year-old prospect from New Brunswick, N.J. But despite two of the lopsided scores, Lucero gave him a very tough fight. Pat Lynch, Diaz's manager, admitted he was a bit concerned as the fight at Bally's Hotel and Casino wore on. "Lucero gave him everything he could handle and it got a little scary in there, especially in the eighth round," Lynch said. "But this was a big step up for Jorge." Diaz and Lucero battled through a crowd-pleasing fight, but Diaz was gassed late in the fight and had to survive some tough spots in the final few rounds, including absorbing some hard body shots in the ninth round. Lucero pounded his body to take away some of Diaz's energy, but Diaz willed his way to the end. Lucero, a native of Mexico living in Scranton, Pa., was once a rising contender. He was 21-0-1 before Manny Pacquiao blew him out in the third round of a junior featherweight title bout in 2003. From the Pacquiao fight until the loss to Diaz, Lucero, who turns 32 next week, is 3-6, but he was inactive during a three-year layoff from 2007 until returning in August.




[/td][/tr]



[tr][/tr]

[td][/td]
Junior middleweight
Glen Tapia W6 Quinton Whitaker
scores: 59-55 (three times)​
[tr][td]Records: Tapia, 8-0, 6 KOs; Whitaker, 7-8, 5 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]




Rafael's remark: Just 20, Tapia, of Passaic, N.J., is a quality prospect who had spent the past month serving as one of Manny Pacquiao's chief sparring partners in his training camp in the Philippines. He had only been home for about a week and was a little sluggish going into the fight with Whitaker, according to manager Pat Lynch. But Tapia still cruised to the decision win despite suffering a broken jaw in the third round. Lynch said it was a "small fracture" after Tapia had his jaw wired shut on Sunday. Lynch said Tapia will be able to return to training in about four weeks, but that he would not fight again until early next year. After Tapia suffered the injury, he stepped up his offense and was close to stopping Whitaker, 30, of San Antonio, in the final round. When Tapia returns, the finishing touches should have been put on a four-year promotional contract that Lynch is finalizing with Top Rank to co-promote Tapia with Pound-For-Pound Promotions, the company run by John Lynch, Pat's brother. Top Rank, which has a close relationship with Lynch, has been using many of his fighters on its cards. But when Top Rank chief Bob Arum was at Pacquiao's training camp and watched Tapia spar with the pound-for-pound king he was so impressed he wanted to get him on paper, so that's what they are doing. As a reward for the good training camp in the Philippines and the victory, Tapia is headed to Dallas in two weeks as a guest of Pacquiao.








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[/table]

[table][tr][th=""]
Saturday at Rama, Ontario ​
[/th][/tr][tr][td]
Cruiserweight
Troy Ross W10 Carl "Kojak" Handy
Scores: 100-90 (twice), 99-91​
[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Ross, 24-2, 16 KOs; Handy, 24-8-2, 15 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]




Rafael's remark: Ross won the final season of "The Contender" reality series in February 2009 and parlayed that success into a shot at a vacant world title. The two-time Canadian Olympian faced Steve Cunningham for a belt in Germany in June and appeared on his way to a victory. Ross, 35, of Toronto, had knocked Cunningham down in the fourth round and seemed in control. However, he suffered a severe cut under his eye later in the round and the fight was stopped due to the injury in the fifth round. It was a bad cut and a bitter disappointment for Ross, who made his return against Handy, 35, an experienced veteran journeyman from New Orleans who lives Montreal and had won five fights in a row coming into the bout. Ross, who has sparred with Handy, was in fantastic shape for the fight. One of his sparring partners to get him ready was former heavyweight contender Donovan "Razor" Ruddock, who is contemplating a comeback. Handy was durable and put up a good fight, but Ross was utterly dominant, doing as he pleased for virtually the entire fight. Handy clipped him with a few decent shots, but this was all Ross, who took it to him from the opening bell. Ross was overpowering Handy on the inside with brutal body shots and uppercuts. That continued for much of the fight. Ross would often trap Handy on the ropes and pound away. To Handy's credit, he went the distance in a decent fight, despite the lopsided scores. It was a nice homecoming for Ross, who had not fought in his home province since 2005. Ross could return on the undercard of the Jean Pascal-Bernard Hopkins light heavyweight championship fight in Quebec City on Dec. 18. Ross deserves another title shot after that.




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[table][tr][th=""]
Friday at Montreal ​
[/th][/tr][tr][td]
Middleweight
David Lemieux KO1 Hector Camacho Jr.​
[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Lemieux, 24-0, 23 KOs; Camacho Jr., 52-4-1, 28 KOs
[/td][/tr][tr][td]




Rafael's remark: Lemieux looks like a superstar in the making, especially after this awesome knockout performance against Camacho, the son of the former champion with the same name. Lemieux, 21, is the most promising prospect in Canada and he has already begun to draw good crowds when he fights in his hometown of Montreal. A three-time Canadian national amateur champion, he has been tearing apart his opponents as promoter Yvon Michel and trainer Russ Anber gradually step up his competition. Clearly, the kid has punching power to go with his charisma. Only 32-fight veteran Jason Naugler has taken Lemieux the distance, lasting 10 rounds in a shutout loss in February. Other than that, nobody has been able to take Lemieux past the fifth round. Over his past three fights, Lemieux has looked particularly good while facing solid opponents. In April, Lemieux crushed Walid Smichet (who had gone seven rounds with Peter Manfredo Jr. and gone the 10-round distance with John Duddy) in the second round. In June, Lemieux dusted Elvin Ayala in the first round, and Ayala had made it into the 12th round in a middleweight title fight against Arthur Abraham in 2008. Camacho, 32, of New York, had been stopped only once previously, an eighth-round knockout against Andrey Tsurkan in 2006. Camacho, who was riding a nine-fight winning streak, has a reputation for having a good chin and for being able to dance and move when he might be in some trouble. But Lemieux did not allow that. He simply blasted him out just as the first round was ending. Lemieux wobbled Camacho with a left hand to the top of the head and had him holding on in short order. A few moments later, Lemieux had Camacho backing up toward the ropes when he unloaded a right hand that creamed him in the face. In a knockout of the year candidate, Camacho went down to a knee and fell backward, seemingly in slow motion. He was gone and referee Michael Griffin stopped the fight. Thank goodness for ESPN3.com, which carried the fight live in the United States. If you did not see the knockout, go to ESPN3.com and find it on demand. It's worth it. Can't wait to see Lemieux back in the ring, hopefully on "Friday Night Fights" multiple times next season.




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[table][tr][th=""]
Friday at Charlotte, N.C. ​
[/th][/tr][tr][td]
Heavyweight
Kevin Johnson KO4 Charles Davis​
[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Johnson, 23-1-1, 10 KOs; Davis, 19-21-2, 4 KOs).
[/td][/tr][tr][td]




Rafael's remark: The last time Johnson was in the ring he was stinking out the joint doing absolutely nothing other than trying to survive against heavyweight titlist Vitali Klitschko in December. He lost every round and did not appear to ever try to do anything but make it to the final bell. The promising contender pretty much ruined his career because following the abysmal lack of effort, he was essentially unwelcome on the television networks. Returning to fight a journeyman on a club show for what probably amounted to gas money, Johnson, 31, of Atlanta, tried to pick up the pieces as he stopped Davis. According to Star Boxing, Johnson's promoter, he dominated Davis, 39, of Tucson, before dropping him in the third round and knocking him out in the fourth. Davis lost his fourth in a row.




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[/table]

[table][tr][th=""]
Thursday at Los Angeles ​
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Featherweight
Gary Russell Jr. W6 Guadalupe De Leon
Scores: 60-54 (three times)​
[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Russell Jr., 13-0, 9 KOs; De Leon, 8-12, 4 KOs
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Rafael's remark: Russell, 22, of Capitol Heights, Md., is an elite prospect and just might have the fastest hands in boxing. In 2008, he was on the U.S. Olympic team but never fought in Beijing because he passed out on the eve of his first bout making weight and was disqualified from the tournament. But as a pro, he's a featherweight instead of a bantamweight. He has looked outstanding in recent fights and was riding a seven-fight knockout streak. Although he did not stop De Leon, 31, of Mission, Texas, he easily outboxed him in a shutout decision in the main event of Golden Boy's "Fight Night Club" card. Russell's speed was an obvious factor and he hurt De Leon in the third round with a right hand. Russell could move quickly up the rankings and it would not be a shock to see him in a title bout sometime late next year. De Leon lost his third in a row and dropped to 1-10 in his past 11, but he was not stopped in those defeats, probably a reason he was brought in to face a young prospect who needs professional rounds as he moves up the ladder.
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