2011 Official Boxing Thread: 12/30 Jermain Taylor + Andre Dirrell return on ShoBox.

Originally Posted by MAKITA

Originally Posted by RKO2004

Originally Posted by MAKITA


Broner looked pretty good.
Just needs to work on his shoulder roll much more. 

On a side note, Cincy doesn't have a bad list of fighters, you guys got: Ezzard Charles, Tim Austin, Aaron Pryor, and Adrien Broner.
Click to expand...


Yeah our boxing scene is nice but should be better. Some guys here could have made it but got lazy or caught up. I hope Broner keeps progressing and stays out of trouble. Some people don't know who to cut loose or when to cut them loose.
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Yeah man. 
A lot of guys hate on Broner because of his personality (or fake one at that).

But the kid really has the talent to get at the top, he just needs to stay focused and work on his D quite a bit more.

I always thought he should go to Mayweather Sr. or Roger Mayweather to perfect that shoulder roll.
Click to expand...

I can see that. I was thinking with his persona/attitude, he should be around May and company.
 
Originally Posted by MAKITA

Originally Posted by RKO2004

Originally Posted by MAKITA


Broner looked pretty good.
Just needs to work on his shoulder roll much more. 

On a side note, Cincy doesn't have a bad list of fighters, you guys got: Ezzard Charles, Tim Austin, Aaron Pryor, and Adrien Broner.
Click to expand...


Yeah our boxing scene is nice but should be better. Some guys here could have made it but got lazy or caught up. I hope Broner keeps progressing and stays out of trouble. Some people don't know who to cut loose or when to cut them loose.
Click to expand...
Yeah man. 
A lot of guys hate on Broner because of his personality (or fake one at that).

But the kid really has the talent to get at the top, he just needs to stay focused and work on his D quite a bit more.

I always thought he should go to Mayweather Sr. or Roger Mayweather to perfect that shoulder roll.
Click to expand...

I can see that. I was thinking with his persona/attitude, he should be around May and company.
 
Originally Posted by MAKITA

Also,

I think Canelo was smart to backtrack from his Austin Trout callout...
Click to expand...

That kid is going to be something good, 154 has quietly gotten very deep.
 
Originally Posted by MAKITA

Also,

I think Canelo was smart to backtrack from his Austin Trout callout...
Click to expand...

That kid is going to be something good, 154 has quietly gotten very deep.
 
So is Hopkins still fighting? I'd still like to know what would have happened if his last fight continued 
laugh.gif
 
Originally Posted by Proshares

Originally Posted by MAKITA

Also,

I think Canelo was smart to backtrack from his Austin Trout callout...
Click to expand...

That kid is going to be something good, 154 has quietly gotten very deep.
Click to expand...

Pro, that kid is the goods.
He's a big problem for ANYONE at 154.
 
Originally Posted by Proshares

Originally Posted by MAKITA

Also,

I think Canelo was smart to backtrack from his Austin Trout callout...
Click to expand...

That kid is going to be something good, 154 has quietly gotten very deep.
Click to expand...

Pro, that kid is the goods.
He's a big problem for ANYONE at 154.
 
Article Link - http://www.boxingscene.co...e&id=46529#ixzz1f31JOSfE
This is a legal waiver. By copying and using the material from this article, you agree to give full credit to BoxingScene.com or provide a link to the original article.

By Chris LaBate

WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (42-0, 26KOs) is pushing harder than he's ever pushed in the past, to get WBO champ Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38KOs) in the ring. Mayweather has a lock on the HBO date, May 5th, and the venue has been placed on hold - the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

After several periods of failed negotiations, and years of anticipation from fans, Mayweather wants the bout agreement in hand and he is ready to sign it immediately. But, Mayweather states that he won't sit around forever for a deal to get ironed out.

"May 5th, I'm ready. I'm ready to sign. I'm ready to sign today. If I sign today, you [referring to Pacquiao] better sign tomorrow," Mayweather told fighthype.com.
 
Article Link - http://www.boxingscene.co...e&id=46529#ixzz1f31JOSfE
This is a legal waiver. By copying and using the material from this article, you agree to give full credit to BoxingScene.com or provide a link to the original article.

By Chris LaBate

WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (42-0, 26KOs) is pushing harder than he's ever pushed in the past, to get WBO champ Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38KOs) in the ring. Mayweather has a lock on the HBO date, May 5th, and the venue has been placed on hold - the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

After several periods of failed negotiations, and years of anticipation from fans, Mayweather wants the bout agreement in hand and he is ready to sign it immediately. But, Mayweather states that he won't sit around forever for a deal to get ironed out.

"May 5th, I'm ready. I'm ready to sign. I'm ready to sign today. If I sign today, you [referring to Pacquiao] better sign tomorrow," Mayweather told fighthype.com.
 
Fights from this past weekend.

Spoiler [+]
Saturday at Mexico City

Saul Canelo Alvarez TKO5 Kermit Cintron
Junior middleweight
Retains a junior middleweight title
Records: Alvarez (39-0-1, 29 KOs); Cintron (33-5-1, 28 KOs)

Rafael's remark: Alvarez, the 21-year-old Mexican star, turned in a strong performance and is most definitely a crowd-pleasing fighter to watch, but this latest easy win came against yet another second-rate opponent in Cintron, a 32-year-old former welterweight titlist who has not done anything of consequence for a few years. He hardly deserved a title opportunity, but got one just based on the fact that he has a name. We've all heard Alvarez's handlers preach about how he is only 21, so give him time. But here's the issue: He may be only 21, but he has a world title, and once you get to that position you are expected to face serious challengers, not name opponents who are no longer legitimate contenders, which is the category that Cintron falls into.

Alvarez claimed a vacant belt in March with a lopsided win against the pedestrian (and smaller) Matthew Hatton and has now made three defenses against Cintron, Alfonso Gomez (another good name who gave him some trouble but had little chance to actually win) and Ryan Rhodes (another nice name who showed himself to be over the hill). Cintron, of Puerto Rico, who does have some pop, presented no problems for Alvarez. Alvarez was faster and more accurate with his punches while Cintron was content to follow him around and not truly go for the victory, which trainer Ronnie Shields barked at him about in the corner between rounds.

In the fourth round, Alvarez badly hurt Cintron, dropping him with a pair of quick right hands to the head with about a minute to go. Cintron was awfully shaky when he got up and Alvarez went for the knockout. Cintron survived the round, but was getting hammered with left hands, bleeding from a cut on the bridge of his nose and sagging along the ropes when it came to an end. Cintron showed a little life in the fifth round and landed some decent shots, but Alvarez cranked up the pressure and was tagging him. Alvarez landed several shots and had Cintron against the ropes and in big trouble again when he landed a left and a right as Cintron bent over and clearly was in serious trouble. That is when referee Hector Afu jumped in to stop the fight at 2 minutes, 53 seconds. Cintron was done.

So after Alvarez racked up the expected victory, and did so even a little quicker and in more dominant fashion than many expected, talk turned to his next assignment. The 154-pound division is chock full of quality opponents that could test Alvarez, but he called out Floyd Mayweather Jr., the welterweight champion who brings the big bucks. Mayweather used to hold the belt Alvarez now has and that is a match Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes Alvarez and works with Mayweather, has discussed, although not in a serious manner at this point. But with Mayweather saying he is fighting May 5 -- the Mexican holiday of Cinco De Mayo -- a fight with Alvarez would be a blockbuster pay-per-view event. The problem is that Alvarez truly is not ready for that kind of fight and if the match was made it would be simply a case of Golden Boy throwing him to the wolves, his bright future be damned. Besides, competitively at least, Alvarez does not deserve a fight with Mayweather yet.

There are plenty of good opponents at junior middleweight and Alvarez should prove himself by fighting at least one of them before being matched with Mayweather. Take your pick: the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito II winner, Sergiy Dzinziruk, fellow Golden Boy fighters Erislandy Lara or James Kirkland, Carlos Molina (who dominated Cintron in July and had to sit by and watch him get the undeserved shot), Vanes Martirosyan, Paul Williams and titleholders Austin Trout and Cornelius "K9" Bundrage. Of course, if Alvarez does not face any of them and does not get handed a fight with Mayweather, there is also the other big potential fight for him, a showdown against fellow Mexican star and middleweight titleholder Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. But that one seems a lot more talk than a legitimate next fight, especially with the ongoing issues between Golden Boy and Top Rank, who have a better relationship than maybe they did a few months ago, but it still isn't very good.
Nobuhiro Ishida KO1 Edson Espinoza
Middleweight
Records: Ishida (24-6-2, 9 KOs); Espinoza (0-1)

Rafael's remark: On April 9 in Las Vegas, Ishida, 36, of Japan, a former interim junior middleweight titlist with an extraordinarily light résumé, scored perhaps the upset of the year when he knocked down James Kirkland three times en route to a first-round knockout on the Marcos Maidana-Erik Morales HBO PPV undercard. It was an utter shocker. A planned fight with Paul Williams in July fell through for Ishida after HBO approved the bout and then changed its mind, so Ishida was fighting for the first time since the knockout of Kirkland. Ishida, a southpaw, registered another first-round knockout on a right hand against a far less formidable opponent in Espinoza, who was apparently making his professional debut.

Saturday at Cincinnati

Adrien Broner KO3 Martin Vicente Rodriguez
Junior lightweight
Wins a vacant junior lightweight title
Records: Broner (22-0, 18 KOs); Rodriguez (34-3-1, 19 KOs)

Rafael's remark: Since turning professional in 2008, Broner has looked like he would be a future titleholder. He has speed, power, defense and an impressive fighting instinct. And he sure doesn't lack for self-confidence. Golden Boy Promotions moved him quickly and stepped up his competition this year as he outpointed former junior featherweight titlist Daniel Ponce De Leon in March (albeit in a terrible fight that could have gone either way) and then blew away Jason Litzau in an explosive first-round knockout in June.

Back on HBO for the third consecutive fight, Broner got a shot at the 130-pound title vacated by Scotland's Ricky Burns, who made a sound business decision to give up the belt and move up in weight rather than face Broner. That left the obscure Rodriguez, 26, of Argentina, to get a crack at Broner for the vacant belt even though there is nothing on his résumé to warrant a title opportunity (unless you are impressed by numerous fights against sub-.500 opponents). In fact, 17 of Rodriguez's opponents had losing records going into their fight. That is not Broner's fault, however, and he dispatched him with relative ease. Fighting in his hometown, Broner became the newest Cincinnati sensation, which has produced such top fighters as Hall of Famers Aaron Pryor and Ezzard Charles and titlist Tim Austin, among others. Rodriguez was game, but utterly outclassed.

Smaller and slower, Broner did basically as he pleased, although there was a brief moment in the second round when Rodriguez landed some decent shots. In the third round, Broner ended the mismatch -- a fight HBO bought only in order to facilitate Broner getting a belt the network claims is not important to it. Broner was measuring Rodriguez in a two-handed attack and landing almost at will. Finally, Broner landed a smashing left hand that swiveled Rodriguez's head and dropped him to his rear end. As he leaned against the ring ropes with blood streaming from his nose, referee Frank Garza counted him out at 1 minute, 43 seconds. Good win for Broner, but it came against a guy who was about a 30-1 underdog. Now, as Broner and his handlers look for opponents for title defenses, they will quickly come to the realization that the junior lightweight division is one of the worst in boxing with no major fights of interest with one exception -- if a match between Broner and Yuriorkis Gamboa could be made. Don't count on that, though. That's a Golden Boy-Top Rank thing and neither side figures to have any interest and since neither fighter generates a lot of money in ticket sales, it's a pipe dream at this point. So Broner has his belt and very well may be the most talented fighter in the world at 130 pounds. It's just too bad there are no meaningful fights in the weight class for him or the fans.
Gary Russell Jr. KO1 Heriberto Ruiz
Featherweight
Records: Russell Jr. (19-0, 11 KOs); Ruiz (48-12-2, 30 KOs)

Rafael's remark: Although the fight was an utter mismatch (on paper and in reality), you could not help but be impressed with the clinical and poised manner in which Russell destroyed Ruiz. Originally slated to be only a highlight package on HBO's broadcast, the fact that Adrien Broner ended his fight early and that Russell had scored a quickie knockout earlier meant there was time for HBO to show all of Russell's fight on a slight tape delay. A 2008 U.S. Olympian and blue chip prospect, Russell, 23, of Capitol Heights, Md., displayed his polish and a set of, perhaps, the quickest hands in boxing. Russell, a southpaw, seemed to be sizing up Ruiz for a big shot from the outset. He tagged the body, worked his jab and basically stood right in front of Ruiz, defying him to try to land something. But Ruiz could not land anything of consequence and was defensive because of the speed with which Russell connected. And then the fight ended spectacularly in the blink of an eye. Russell threw an overhand left, landed a right to the body and immediately came upstairs with a right hook that exploded off Ruiz's jaw and knocked him dead as he landed on the mat on the side of his face. As he rolled over onto his back, Ruiz's eyes were open but he was gone and referee Randy Jarvis called it off without finishing his count at 2 minutes, 21 seconds.

This is a knockout of the year kind of knockout. Golden Boy Promotions and adviser Al Haymon really need to step up Russell's competition. He is not being tested whatsoever by the veterans he has been matched with in his past couple of fights. Ruiz, 34, of Mexico, had been a late replacement for Dat Nguyen, who withdrew with a knee injury a week before the fight. Although Ruiz is a former bantamweight title challenger (who was knocked out in the third round by then-champ Rafael Marquez in 2004), he has dropped to journeyman status and is 3-3 in his past six fights.
Deontay Wilder TKO1 David Long
Heavyweight
Records: Wilder (20-0, 20 KOs); Long (11-2-2, 7 KOs)

Rafael's remark: As you probably know by now, Wilder, 26, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., claimed a bronze medal in the 2008 Olympics and was the only member of the U.S. squad to come home with any hardware. The 6-foot-7, 215-pound Wilder remains, however, a raw pro with potential, a massive right hand and a great record, but still has yet to fight anyone with a pulse. Fighting for the second time this month, Wilder blew away Long, scoring the 13th first-round knockout of his career. This amounted to little more than an exhibition as Long, 39, fighting in his hometown, went down -- and went down very, very hard -- from the first real shot of the fight. Wilder landed one of his powerful right hands to Long's head and he fell backward in what looked almost like slow motion. He was out as he came to rest on his back with one leg twitching and raised off the canvas as the fight was immediately called off at 1 minute, 17 seconds. It was yet another big knockout for Wilder, but one that proved absolutely nothing and cannot even be considered a learning experience. After three years and 20 fights as a pro, it is not unreasonable to expect Golden Boy to step up Wilder's competition level at least a little bit.

Saturday at Mazatlan, Mexico

Jorge Arce W12 Angky Angkota
Bantamweight
Wins a vacant bantamweight title
Scores: 118-110 (twice), 117-111
Records: Arce (59-6-2, 45 KOs); Angkota (25-6, 14 KOs)

Rafael's remark: In January 2010, Arce won a seven-round technical decision against Angkota to claim a vacant junior bantamweight title after Angkota was cut over his eye from an accidental head butt and could not continue. Arce never defended the belt and instead moved up to junior featherweight, where he upset Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. via 12th-round knockout in May to win a title. After one defense, Arce vacated the title and moved down to bantamweight to meet Angkota in a rematch for the 118-pound title recently vacated by Nonito Donaire, who is going up to junior featherweight, where he will likely fight for the belt Arce just gave up.

Angkota, 30, of Indonesia, felt like he was robbed in the first fight with Arce, 32, of Mexico, even though he lost by shutout on two scorecards and was down 58-56 on the third card. He had his chance to set the record straight in the rematch and was instead soundly beaten again in a very physical and crowd-pleasing fight. When is Arce ever in a fight that is not crowd-pleasing?

Arce came into the ring singing with a band and doing interviews like the showman that he is and then he went to battle, as always. Arce suffered a small cut to his nose in the second round, but rebounded to badly hurt Angkota with a two-fisted attack in the brutal, action-packed third round in which Angkota took massive punishment. Referee Jose Hiram Rivera looked like he was very close to stopping the fight as Angkota amazingly stayed upright. Angkota got himself back into the fight during the middle rounds, but if there were any doubts about the outcome of the bout, Arce put it away with a huge 11th round that included a nasty body attack. With the victory, Arce, who is unbeaten in eight consecutive fights (7-0-1), claimed a world title in his fourth weight class, joining Erik Morales as the only Mexican to win an alphabet belt in that many divisions. Arce has won titles at junior flyweight, junior bantamweight, bantamweight and junior featherweight. At flyweight, he never won a full title, only an interim belt.
Juan Alberto "Topo" Rosas W12 Zolani Tete
Junior bantamweight
Title eliminator
Scores: 115-112 (twice), 113-113
Records: Rosas (36-6, 27 KOs); Tete (15-2, 13 KOs)

Rafael's remark: Rosas, 26, of Mexico, had claimed a junior bantamweight belt with a sixth-round knockout of Simphiwe Nongqayi in July 2010 but lost it in his defense against Cristian Mijares five months later. Since that loss, Rosas has won four in a row and, by beating South Africa's Tete, moved into position to challenge titlist Rodrigo Guerrero for the belt he once owned. This was an entertaining fight as Rosas and Tete swapped plenty of punches, but Rosas (with one ugly facial tattoo!) was on the offensive more even though the taller Tete appeared to be a little quicker. Rosas used his uppercut well and applied constant pressure, which finally had Tete wilting in the second half of the fight. Rosas really hurt Tete with a volley of shots near the end of the seventh round and it was impressive that he did not go down. He also nailed him and hurt him in the eighth round. Referee Ray Corona docked a point from Tete in the 12th round for ticky tack holding, which was a weak call. The fact that the result was a majority decision was surprising because Rosas -- the aggressor and obviously the heavier puncher -- clearly seemed to have won the fight. Tete's only previous defeat came in a flyweight title bout to countryman Moruti Mthalane, who stopped him in the fifth round in September 2010.

Saturday at Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Humberto Soto KO4 Adailton De Jesus
Junior welterweight
Records: Soto (57-7-2, 34 KOs); De Jesus (29-7, 23 KOs)

Rafael's remark: Soto, 31, of Mexico, is a former junior lightweight and lightweight titlist who vacated his lightweight title in the late summer and split from promoters Top Rank and Zanfer Promotions and eventually signed with Golden Boy. In his second bout since moving up to junior welterweight full-time, Soto rolled through De Jesus, a veteran trial horse with a lot of experience, including losses to Marco Antonio Barrera and Yuriorkis Gamboa. Although one-sided, the fight had plenty of action, but De Jesus, 33, of Brazil, was mainly on the receiving end. Soto really hurt De Jesus with about a minute left in the third round, rocking him repeatedly with a series of left hooks. With about 30 seconds left, Soto landed three more left hands -- two to the head and the third to the body -- that sent a hurt De Jesus to the canvas. He beat referee Gelasio Perez's count, but had lost his mouthpiece and the round ended as it was being retrieved. In the fourth round, Soto was all over him from the beginning of the round. He was winging shots with De Jesus pinned on the ropes and landed a left-right combination to the face that dropped him, and Perez immediately called it off 26 seconds into the round. If titlist Amir Khan beats Lamont Peterson on Dec. 10 and decides to stick around at junior welterweight, it would not be a shock if Golden Boy tried to match Khan and Soto. De Jesus entered the fight having won two bouts in a row, but is now 2-2 in his last four, losing both by knockout.

Saturday at Trabzon, Turkey

Selcuk Aydin W12 Jo Jo Dan
Welterweight
Title eliminator
Scores: 115-111, 113-112 (twice)
Records: Aydin (23-0, 17 KOs); Dan (29-2, 16 KOs)

Rafael's remark: The first time Aydin and Dan met was in June 2010, also in Aydin's native Turkey, and it resulted in a controversial decision. Aydin, 28, knocked down Dan, a southpaw from Romania based in Montreal, in the first round and wound up claiming a disputed decision many viewed as home cooking. Finally, they met again (and once again in Turkey), but this time the 30-year-old Dan and his crew should have no issue with the decision going again to Aydin, who moved a step closer to a title opportunity (although it is in the alphabet organization where Floyd Mayweather Jr. holds the welterweight title and there's no way he is facing Aydin, a nonentity in terms of commercial appeal in the United States). This time it was less of a chess match than the first fight and that suited the more aggressive and physical Aydin, who once again dropped Dan in the first round. Aydin landed the harder shots throughout the fight and, according to promoter Arena Box, broke Dan's jaw in the fourth round. Aydin added another knockdown on a clean, wide-open right hand in the 11th round, although the extra point he had earned was negated when referee Massimo Barrovecchio docked a point from him for hitting behind the head in the 12th round. According to Arena Box, Dan had surgery on his jaw on Sunday. Aydin said after the fight he had no problem coming to the United States to face top opponents and specifically mentioned Mayweather (no surprise) and Devon Alexander, the former junior welterweight titlist whose next fight will mark his debut at 147 pounds.
 
Fights from this past weekend.

Spoiler [+]
Saturday at Mexico City

Saul Canelo Alvarez TKO5 Kermit Cintron
Junior middleweight
Retains a junior middleweight title
Records: Alvarez (39-0-1, 29 KOs); Cintron (33-5-1, 28 KOs)

Rafael's remark: Alvarez, the 21-year-old Mexican star, turned in a strong performance and is most definitely a crowd-pleasing fighter to watch, but this latest easy win came against yet another second-rate opponent in Cintron, a 32-year-old former welterweight titlist who has not done anything of consequence for a few years. He hardly deserved a title opportunity, but got one just based on the fact that he has a name. We've all heard Alvarez's handlers preach about how he is only 21, so give him time. But here's the issue: He may be only 21, but he has a world title, and once you get to that position you are expected to face serious challengers, not name opponents who are no longer legitimate contenders, which is the category that Cintron falls into.

Alvarez claimed a vacant belt in March with a lopsided win against the pedestrian (and smaller) Matthew Hatton and has now made three defenses against Cintron, Alfonso Gomez (another good name who gave him some trouble but had little chance to actually win) and Ryan Rhodes (another nice name who showed himself to be over the hill). Cintron, of Puerto Rico, who does have some pop, presented no problems for Alvarez. Alvarez was faster and more accurate with his punches while Cintron was content to follow him around and not truly go for the victory, which trainer Ronnie Shields barked at him about in the corner between rounds.

In the fourth round, Alvarez badly hurt Cintron, dropping him with a pair of quick right hands to the head with about a minute to go. Cintron was awfully shaky when he got up and Alvarez went for the knockout. Cintron survived the round, but was getting hammered with left hands, bleeding from a cut on the bridge of his nose and sagging along the ropes when it came to an end. Cintron showed a little life in the fifth round and landed some decent shots, but Alvarez cranked up the pressure and was tagging him. Alvarez landed several shots and had Cintron against the ropes and in big trouble again when he landed a left and a right as Cintron bent over and clearly was in serious trouble. That is when referee Hector Afu jumped in to stop the fight at 2 minutes, 53 seconds. Cintron was done.

So after Alvarez racked up the expected victory, and did so even a little quicker and in more dominant fashion than many expected, talk turned to his next assignment. The 154-pound division is chock full of quality opponents that could test Alvarez, but he called out Floyd Mayweather Jr., the welterweight champion who brings the big bucks. Mayweather used to hold the belt Alvarez now has and that is a match Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes Alvarez and works with Mayweather, has discussed, although not in a serious manner at this point. But with Mayweather saying he is fighting May 5 -- the Mexican holiday of Cinco De Mayo -- a fight with Alvarez would be a blockbuster pay-per-view event. The problem is that Alvarez truly is not ready for that kind of fight and if the match was made it would be simply a case of Golden Boy throwing him to the wolves, his bright future be damned. Besides, competitively at least, Alvarez does not deserve a fight with Mayweather yet.

There are plenty of good opponents at junior middleweight and Alvarez should prove himself by fighting at least one of them before being matched with Mayweather. Take your pick: the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito II winner, Sergiy Dzinziruk, fellow Golden Boy fighters Erislandy Lara or James Kirkland, Carlos Molina (who dominated Cintron in July and had to sit by and watch him get the undeserved shot), Vanes Martirosyan, Paul Williams and titleholders Austin Trout and Cornelius "K9" Bundrage. Of course, if Alvarez does not face any of them and does not get handed a fight with Mayweather, there is also the other big potential fight for him, a showdown against fellow Mexican star and middleweight titleholder Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. But that one seems a lot more talk than a legitimate next fight, especially with the ongoing issues between Golden Boy and Top Rank, who have a better relationship than maybe they did a few months ago, but it still isn't very good.
Nobuhiro Ishida KO1 Edson Espinoza
Middleweight
Records: Ishida (24-6-2, 9 KOs); Espinoza (0-1)

Rafael's remark: On April 9 in Las Vegas, Ishida, 36, of Japan, a former interim junior middleweight titlist with an extraordinarily light résumé, scored perhaps the upset of the year when he knocked down James Kirkland three times en route to a first-round knockout on the Marcos Maidana-Erik Morales HBO PPV undercard. It was an utter shocker. A planned fight with Paul Williams in July fell through for Ishida after HBO approved the bout and then changed its mind, so Ishida was fighting for the first time since the knockout of Kirkland. Ishida, a southpaw, registered another first-round knockout on a right hand against a far less formidable opponent in Espinoza, who was apparently making his professional debut.

Saturday at Cincinnati

Adrien Broner KO3 Martin Vicente Rodriguez
Junior lightweight
Wins a vacant junior lightweight title
Records: Broner (22-0, 18 KOs); Rodriguez (34-3-1, 19 KOs)

Rafael's remark: Since turning professional in 2008, Broner has looked like he would be a future titleholder. He has speed, power, defense and an impressive fighting instinct. And he sure doesn't lack for self-confidence. Golden Boy Promotions moved him quickly and stepped up his competition this year as he outpointed former junior featherweight titlist Daniel Ponce De Leon in March (albeit in a terrible fight that could have gone either way) and then blew away Jason Litzau in an explosive first-round knockout in June.

Back on HBO for the third consecutive fight, Broner got a shot at the 130-pound title vacated by Scotland's Ricky Burns, who made a sound business decision to give up the belt and move up in weight rather than face Broner. That left the obscure Rodriguez, 26, of Argentina, to get a crack at Broner for the vacant belt even though there is nothing on his résumé to warrant a title opportunity (unless you are impressed by numerous fights against sub-.500 opponents). In fact, 17 of Rodriguez's opponents had losing records going into their fight. That is not Broner's fault, however, and he dispatched him with relative ease. Fighting in his hometown, Broner became the newest Cincinnati sensation, which has produced such top fighters as Hall of Famers Aaron Pryor and Ezzard Charles and titlist Tim Austin, among others. Rodriguez was game, but utterly outclassed.

Smaller and slower, Broner did basically as he pleased, although there was a brief moment in the second round when Rodriguez landed some decent shots. In the third round, Broner ended the mismatch -- a fight HBO bought only in order to facilitate Broner getting a belt the network claims is not important to it. Broner was measuring Rodriguez in a two-handed attack and landing almost at will. Finally, Broner landed a smashing left hand that swiveled Rodriguez's head and dropped him to his rear end. As he leaned against the ring ropes with blood streaming from his nose, referee Frank Garza counted him out at 1 minute, 43 seconds. Good win for Broner, but it came against a guy who was about a 30-1 underdog. Now, as Broner and his handlers look for opponents for title defenses, they will quickly come to the realization that the junior lightweight division is one of the worst in boxing with no major fights of interest with one exception -- if a match between Broner and Yuriorkis Gamboa could be made. Don't count on that, though. That's a Golden Boy-Top Rank thing and neither side figures to have any interest and since neither fighter generates a lot of money in ticket sales, it's a pipe dream at this point. So Broner has his belt and very well may be the most talented fighter in the world at 130 pounds. It's just too bad there are no meaningful fights in the weight class for him or the fans.
Gary Russell Jr. KO1 Heriberto Ruiz
Featherweight
Records: Russell Jr. (19-0, 11 KOs); Ruiz (48-12-2, 30 KOs)

Rafael's remark: Although the fight was an utter mismatch (on paper and in reality), you could not help but be impressed with the clinical and poised manner in which Russell destroyed Ruiz. Originally slated to be only a highlight package on HBO's broadcast, the fact that Adrien Broner ended his fight early and that Russell had scored a quickie knockout earlier meant there was time for HBO to show all of Russell's fight on a slight tape delay. A 2008 U.S. Olympian and blue chip prospect, Russell, 23, of Capitol Heights, Md., displayed his polish and a set of, perhaps, the quickest hands in boxing. Russell, a southpaw, seemed to be sizing up Ruiz for a big shot from the outset. He tagged the body, worked his jab and basically stood right in front of Ruiz, defying him to try to land something. But Ruiz could not land anything of consequence and was defensive because of the speed with which Russell connected. And then the fight ended spectacularly in the blink of an eye. Russell threw an overhand left, landed a right to the body and immediately came upstairs with a right hook that exploded off Ruiz's jaw and knocked him dead as he landed on the mat on the side of his face. As he rolled over onto his back, Ruiz's eyes were open but he was gone and referee Randy Jarvis called it off without finishing his count at 2 minutes, 21 seconds.

This is a knockout of the year kind of knockout. Golden Boy Promotions and adviser Al Haymon really need to step up Russell's competition. He is not being tested whatsoever by the veterans he has been matched with in his past couple of fights. Ruiz, 34, of Mexico, had been a late replacement for Dat Nguyen, who withdrew with a knee injury a week before the fight. Although Ruiz is a former bantamweight title challenger (who was knocked out in the third round by then-champ Rafael Marquez in 2004), he has dropped to journeyman status and is 3-3 in his past six fights.
Deontay Wilder TKO1 David Long
Heavyweight
Records: Wilder (20-0, 20 KOs); Long (11-2-2, 7 KOs)

Rafael's remark: As you probably know by now, Wilder, 26, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., claimed a bronze medal in the 2008 Olympics and was the only member of the U.S. squad to come home with any hardware. The 6-foot-7, 215-pound Wilder remains, however, a raw pro with potential, a massive right hand and a great record, but still has yet to fight anyone with a pulse. Fighting for the second time this month, Wilder blew away Long, scoring the 13th first-round knockout of his career. This amounted to little more than an exhibition as Long, 39, fighting in his hometown, went down -- and went down very, very hard -- from the first real shot of the fight. Wilder landed one of his powerful right hands to Long's head and he fell backward in what looked almost like slow motion. He was out as he came to rest on his back with one leg twitching and raised off the canvas as the fight was immediately called off at 1 minute, 17 seconds. It was yet another big knockout for Wilder, but one that proved absolutely nothing and cannot even be considered a learning experience. After three years and 20 fights as a pro, it is not unreasonable to expect Golden Boy to step up Wilder's competition level at least a little bit.

Saturday at Mazatlan, Mexico

Jorge Arce W12 Angky Angkota
Bantamweight
Wins a vacant bantamweight title
Scores: 118-110 (twice), 117-111
Records: Arce (59-6-2, 45 KOs); Angkota (25-6, 14 KOs)

Rafael's remark: In January 2010, Arce won a seven-round technical decision against Angkota to claim a vacant junior bantamweight title after Angkota was cut over his eye from an accidental head butt and could not continue. Arce never defended the belt and instead moved up to junior featherweight, where he upset Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. via 12th-round knockout in May to win a title. After one defense, Arce vacated the title and moved down to bantamweight to meet Angkota in a rematch for the 118-pound title recently vacated by Nonito Donaire, who is going up to junior featherweight, where he will likely fight for the belt Arce just gave up.

Angkota, 30, of Indonesia, felt like he was robbed in the first fight with Arce, 32, of Mexico, even though he lost by shutout on two scorecards and was down 58-56 on the third card. He had his chance to set the record straight in the rematch and was instead soundly beaten again in a very physical and crowd-pleasing fight. When is Arce ever in a fight that is not crowd-pleasing?

Arce came into the ring singing with a band and doing interviews like the showman that he is and then he went to battle, as always. Arce suffered a small cut to his nose in the second round, but rebounded to badly hurt Angkota with a two-fisted attack in the brutal, action-packed third round in which Angkota took massive punishment. Referee Jose Hiram Rivera looked like he was very close to stopping the fight as Angkota amazingly stayed upright. Angkota got himself back into the fight during the middle rounds, but if there were any doubts about the outcome of the bout, Arce put it away with a huge 11th round that included a nasty body attack. With the victory, Arce, who is unbeaten in eight consecutive fights (7-0-1), claimed a world title in his fourth weight class, joining Erik Morales as the only Mexican to win an alphabet belt in that many divisions. Arce has won titles at junior flyweight, junior bantamweight, bantamweight and junior featherweight. At flyweight, he never won a full title, only an interim belt.
Juan Alberto "Topo" Rosas W12 Zolani Tete
Junior bantamweight
Title eliminator
Scores: 115-112 (twice), 113-113
Records: Rosas (36-6, 27 KOs); Tete (15-2, 13 KOs)

Rafael's remark: Rosas, 26, of Mexico, had claimed a junior bantamweight belt with a sixth-round knockout of Simphiwe Nongqayi in July 2010 but lost it in his defense against Cristian Mijares five months later. Since that loss, Rosas has won four in a row and, by beating South Africa's Tete, moved into position to challenge titlist Rodrigo Guerrero for the belt he once owned. This was an entertaining fight as Rosas and Tete swapped plenty of punches, but Rosas (with one ugly facial tattoo!) was on the offensive more even though the taller Tete appeared to be a little quicker. Rosas used his uppercut well and applied constant pressure, which finally had Tete wilting in the second half of the fight. Rosas really hurt Tete with a volley of shots near the end of the seventh round and it was impressive that he did not go down. He also nailed him and hurt him in the eighth round. Referee Ray Corona docked a point from Tete in the 12th round for ticky tack holding, which was a weak call. The fact that the result was a majority decision was surprising because Rosas -- the aggressor and obviously the heavier puncher -- clearly seemed to have won the fight. Tete's only previous defeat came in a flyweight title bout to countryman Moruti Mthalane, who stopped him in the fifth round in September 2010.

Saturday at Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Humberto Soto KO4 Adailton De Jesus
Junior welterweight
Records: Soto (57-7-2, 34 KOs); De Jesus (29-7, 23 KOs)

Rafael's remark: Soto, 31, of Mexico, is a former junior lightweight and lightweight titlist who vacated his lightweight title in the late summer and split from promoters Top Rank and Zanfer Promotions and eventually signed with Golden Boy. In his second bout since moving up to junior welterweight full-time, Soto rolled through De Jesus, a veteran trial horse with a lot of experience, including losses to Marco Antonio Barrera and Yuriorkis Gamboa. Although one-sided, the fight had plenty of action, but De Jesus, 33, of Brazil, was mainly on the receiving end. Soto really hurt De Jesus with about a minute left in the third round, rocking him repeatedly with a series of left hooks. With about 30 seconds left, Soto landed three more left hands -- two to the head and the third to the body -- that sent a hurt De Jesus to the canvas. He beat referee Gelasio Perez's count, but had lost his mouthpiece and the round ended as it was being retrieved. In the fourth round, Soto was all over him from the beginning of the round. He was winging shots with De Jesus pinned on the ropes and landed a left-right combination to the face that dropped him, and Perez immediately called it off 26 seconds into the round. If titlist Amir Khan beats Lamont Peterson on Dec. 10 and decides to stick around at junior welterweight, it would not be a shock if Golden Boy tried to match Khan and Soto. De Jesus entered the fight having won two bouts in a row, but is now 2-2 in his last four, losing both by knockout.

Saturday at Trabzon, Turkey

Selcuk Aydin W12 Jo Jo Dan
Welterweight
Title eliminator
Scores: 115-111, 113-112 (twice)
Records: Aydin (23-0, 17 KOs); Dan (29-2, 16 KOs)

Rafael's remark: The first time Aydin and Dan met was in June 2010, also in Aydin's native Turkey, and it resulted in a controversial decision. Aydin, 28, knocked down Dan, a southpaw from Romania based in Montreal, in the first round and wound up claiming a disputed decision many viewed as home cooking. Finally, they met again (and once again in Turkey), but this time the 30-year-old Dan and his crew should have no issue with the decision going again to Aydin, who moved a step closer to a title opportunity (although it is in the alphabet organization where Floyd Mayweather Jr. holds the welterweight title and there's no way he is facing Aydin, a nonentity in terms of commercial appeal in the United States). This time it was less of a chess match than the first fight and that suited the more aggressive and physical Aydin, who once again dropped Dan in the first round. Aydin landed the harder shots throughout the fight and, according to promoter Arena Box, broke Dan's jaw in the fourth round. Aydin added another knockdown on a clean, wide-open right hand in the 11th round, although the extra point he had earned was negated when referee Massimo Barrovecchio docked a point from him for hitting behind the head in the 12th round. According to Arena Box, Dan had surgery on his jaw on Sunday. Aydin said after the fight he had no problem coming to the United States to face top opponents and specifically mentioned Mayweather (no surprise) and Devon Alexander, the former junior welterweight titlist whose next fight will mark his debut at 147 pounds.
 
Maidana/Alexander close to being made for February.

Spoiler [+]
Marcos Maidana and Devon Alexander, stalwarts of the loaded junior welterweight division, both plan to move up to welterweight and intend to begin their campaigns at 147 pounds against each other, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com Monday.

Schaefer said the fighters and their managers have agreed to the match. He has not presented either side with a formal offer, however, because he is soliciting offers from HBO and Showtime, both of which were interested in buying the fight, he said.

Rafael's Boxing Blog

Get the latest scoop and analysis on the world of boxing from ESPN.com's Dan Rafael in his blog.

Schaefer said he would like to put the match on by the end of February.

"Both guys want the fight," Schaefer said. "It's a good style matchup because you have Maidana, who comes forward and throws a lot of punches and has great power, and you have Devon, who is a very skilled boxer. Their styles mesh very well. They've both been champions and they know it's a tough fight, but that is what they want.

"I'm in the business of making fights and this is a good one."

Argentina's Maidana (31-2, 28 KOs), one of boxing's most feared punchers, holds a junior welterweight belt, but wants to move up in weight.

"They offered us that fight and we liked the idea," Sebastian Contursi, Maidana's adviser, said. "Alexander is one of the best out there. So is Marcos. Marcos knows Alexander, as he closely watched him against (fellow big puncher from Argentina Lucas) Matthysse. We are at the early stages of the negotiations but confident that we will reach an agreement."

Said Maidana: "He's a slick, talented fighter, so you have to put as much pressure as you can against him. I like the challenge. Hopefully it will be done.

"I'm excited to have the chance to campaign in a new division where huge names like Floyd Mayweather, (Manny) Pacquiao and (Juan Manuel) Marquez are. They are the best of the best. When I think of them, I feel like I still have to prove myself in order to have a crack at them, and the only way to get it is by knocking out everyone else."

St. Louis' Alexander (22-1, 13 KOs) lost his title to Timothy Bradley Jr. via 10th-round technical decision in a January unification bout, but rebounded to claim a split decision against Matthysse in June, after which Alexander's promotional agreement with Don King expired and he signed with Golden Boy.

"We agreed to fight Maidana," Kevin Cunningham, Alexander's manager and trainer, told ESPN.com Monday. "I'm waiting on Richard to get back to me (with particulars)."
 
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