Boxing Insider Notebook: Chavez, Martinez, Ali, and More..

By: William Holmes

The following is the boxinginsider.com notebook for the week of August 20th to August 27th, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing.

Roberto Ortiz Stops Castellano

On Saturday night in Tulum, Mexico Roberto Ortiz (26-0-1) stopped Florencio Castellano (16-7) in the second round of a junior welterweight bout. The bout, televised on Fox Deportes, saw Ortiz having little problem dispatching a clearly overmatched foe. The fight was waived off at 2:27 of the second round after Ortiz had Castellano wobbled in the corner.

Raul Martinez improved his record to 29-2 with a third round TKO over Juan Jimenez (10-4) in the bantamweight division. Martinez knocked Jiminez down in the third round with a straight right hand that caused Jiminez to fall face first. The referee stopped the bout at 0:37 of the third round.

Gilberto Ramirez (23-0) also fought on the undercard in the middleweight division. He won a clear 10 round sweep, 100-90 on all three judges scorecards, over Richard Gutierrez (26-10-1).

Sanchez Stops Leyva

Alan Sanchez (11-2-1) stopped Manuel Leyva (21-8) in the 10th round of a bout held in Fairfield, California. Sanchez was fighting in front of his hometown on Telefutura’s Solo Boxeo. Sanchez punished Leyva throughout the fight and forced the referee to stop it in the 10th round at 1:16.

Sam Soliman Defeats Giovanni Lorenzo

Sam Soliman refuses to go away, and he scored a twelve round decision over Giovanni Lorenzo (31-5) in the middleweight division in Geelong Australia. Soliman improved to 42-11 and won the fight easily with scores of 118-109, 118-108, and 117-110. Soliman knocked Lorenzo to the ground in the 12th round.

2 Days: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Premiers on HBO

HBO Sports debuted a new installment of 2 Days on Saturday, August 25th with a behind the scenes look at Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. The show is a look into the 48 hour span in the life of a boxer in the lead-up to one of his fights. Immediately following the show a premier of Face Off With Max Kellerman: Chavez Jr/Martinez was broadcast. If you missed Saturday’s show you can catch the replay On Demand or on the following dates: Aug. 25 (12:30 a.m.), 28 (9:15 a.m.), 30 (10:30 a.m.), and 31 (12:00 a.m.) and Sept. 3 (5:35 a.m.), 6(9:15 a.m.), 7 (11:15 a.m.), 8 (1:15 a.m.), 9 (11:30 a.m.), 10 (2:30 a.m.), 13 (8:45 a.m.), 14 (4:00 p.m.) and 15 (12:45 p.m.).

Braehmer Signs With Sauerland

Juergen Braehmer signed with Team Sauerland this weekend right before Saturday’s bout between Arthur Abraham and Robert Stieglitz. Braehmer is a former European and WBO Light Heavyweight World Champion. Braehmer is 38-2, and has stated that he is excited to have such a professional partner in Sauerland, and is looking forward to working with them.

Martinez Media Day Event Canceled After Threats

Sergio Martinez had a media event day scheduled for Tuesday, but it was canceled after he received verbal threats and a team member’s car was vandalized. Lou Dibella had this to say:

“This past weekend Sergio received threats from an unknown source and the car in front of his home was vandalized. Unfortunately, until we have a security team in place, we are going to have to suspend any and all public and media appearances for Sergio, including the upcoming media day scheduled for tomorrow in Oxnard. We apologize for the inconvenience to the media and fans that have planned on attending tomorrow’s event.”

Antwone Smith and Charles Whittaker Eye Upsets on September 21st

Antwone Smith eyes his upcoming fight with Ronald Cruz as his last chance to get back into the big time. Smith and Cruz meet in a 12 round contest on Friday, September 21st, at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, PA as part of the NBC Sports Network Fight Series card. Gabriel Campillo will be fighting Sergey Kovalev in a light heavyweight bout, and Charles Whittaker will be fighting Gabriel Rosado in an IBF junior middleweight eliminator.

Smith said the following: “I’m ready and I feel this is my last opportunity to get the big fights I’ve wanted and worked for,” Smith said. “Come Sept. 21 you all will see a very determined man in the ring.

“It is a dream fight on NBC. I’m very excited. I want to thank my manager Don Herron and my trainer Chills Davis for getting me prepared for this opportunity.”

Whitaker stated:

“This fight means the world to me,” Whittaker said. “I have paid my dues and ready to be number one in the world. After this fight I will challenge for the IBF 154 world title.”

Fight Night Productions Return for WingHouse Fight Night

On Friday, September 14, 2012 Fight Night Productions and Ker’s WingHouse Bar & Grill continue Tampa’s longest-running boxing series, “WingHouse Fight Night” at the A La Carte Event Pavilion. The card will be broadcast on Telemundo Network’s popular boxing series Boxeo TELEMUNDO Ford. Flyweight contender Glenn “The Bomber” Donaire (19-4-1) will be fighting Omar “Lobito” Soto (22-9-2) for the vacant NABO Flyweight title.

Burns Stirred By Scotland’s Historic Rugby Win to Beat Mitchell

Ricky Burns is fired up for his showdown with English rival Kein Mitchell by watching Scotland’s epic 1990 Five Nations Victory over England. He’ll be putting his WBO World Lightweight Title on the line against Mitchell at Glasgow’s SECC on Saturday September 22 on BoxNation.

After watching a video of the classic match, Burns had this to say:

He added, “As the fight between me and Mitchell gets closer, the hype and tension is building up. I know that this is probably the biggest fight in Scottish boxing history between the two nations and it’s the biggest fight of my life, so I know at times I’m going to have to dig deep and beyond to beat Mitchell and keep hold of my world title.”

Julio Diaz Set to Battle Hector Sanchez on September 29th

Julio “The Kidd” Diaz and Puerto Rico’s Hector Sanchez are set to fight in the main event of the September 29th edition of TeleFutura’s Solo Boxeo Tecate from the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino. Andrew “Change” Cancio will be fighting veteran contender Roger “Speedy” Gonzalez in a junior lightweight co-feature matchup. Tickets are available at www.fantasyspringsresort.com

2008 US Olympian Sadam Ali Announces October 27th PPV Show

World Kid Promotions, owned and operated by undefeated welterweight Sadam “World Kid” Ali (15-0) announced that the 2008 Olympian will headline an Integrated Sports pay-per-view event on October 27th in Brooklyn at the Aviator Sports Complex. Ali’s opponent has not been named. The co-feature will showcase unbeaten Colombian cruiserweight Santander “Acucar” Silgado (22-0).