Author Archives: staff

Posted on 03/22/2017

Oscar Valdez: The New Generation of Mexican Boxing
By: Francisco Martinez

April 22nd WBO 122lbs champion Oscar Valdez is set to defend his title for the second time as he headlines his first PPV trough Top Rank promotions. An opportunity Oscar Valdez is more than excited for “Right now I’m living the dream. I dream about these moments, being a main event, on great cards, I’m living it right now so I’m enjoying the ride. I’m doing everything with passion, letting everything go on it’s own” and in return everything is going right for the 2 time Mexican Olympian.

Colombian Miguel Marriaga is the rival who that will meet Oscar Valdez in the other end of the ring in Carson, California at the StubHub Center a venue known for fan friendly match ups and spoilers, potential upsets of the year. Which is what Marriaga is aiming for come this 22nd of April. Having shared the ring with former 126lbs king Nicholas Walters, Marriaga feels that kind of experience with that level of opposition gives him the upper hand over the young fast & powerful Valdez who doesn’t care much for the quality of opposition Marriaga has faced.

“I feel good in the gym. I feel good that I’m doing my work. The people around me they got faith in me and that’s all that matters. I’m a family guy and that’s the most important thing to me to worry about my family and not other people’s opinions about me. Do my job in the gym and do my best to win every fight” direct but humble words from the young 126lbs phenom.

Oscar Valdez has great talent and a very humble approach to when speaking about his position as arguably the best 126lbs fighter today but also spoke his mind at the podium when addressing the media during the official press conference to announce the April 22nd Top Rank PPV triple header “My trainer Manny (Robles) & Edgar Jasso we put in the time and I haven’t seen a manager like Frank (Espinoza) that goes to the gym everyday or Frankie, to see how their boxers are doing so that means a lot to me. We’re not only a team we’re a family. Working with Jessie Magdaleno and also seeing Zurdo Ramirez in the gym we all help each other out. We’re a great team. We know that we’re the face off Mexican boxing right now so we gotta take that very seriously so we work hard, help each other out and we get the job done at the fights”

No doubt on paper Miguel Marriaga looks to be the toughest test for Oscar Valdez to date however Valdez has his own beliefs as to how he approaches not just this fight in particular but all his 21 previous fights leading to this exact one “Like Manny (Robles) says, every fight is more important than the last one. Marriaga, he’s no easy opponent, they don’t exists, an easy opponent. Marriaga, he’s a strong, strong fighter, has a lot of experience inside the ring so I know it’s gonna be a tough fight but that’s why we train hard in the gym so we can win these fights”

Trainer Manny Robles adds this to the conversation “For those people who don’t know Marriaga, Marriaga is a great fighter, he’s a solid fighter, solid contender. This guy can crack, he can come forward. The match up itself is great. Styles make fights, this is a great match up. This is a fight the public should not miss. It’s gonna be a great night of boxing” styles do make fights and this match up is a evenly matched up bout and even better that the venue itself really helps make this fight that much more intriguing being that the StubHub Center is known for its action packed fights and electric atmosphere that can make both rivals more aggressive and abandon their game plans. Just something about the warrior like chemistry the StubHub Center has deeply rooted in it.

In this Top Rank promotions triple header fans will also get Jessie Magdaleno who’s defending his 122lbs WBO title against Brazilian Adielson Dos Santos who’s coming in with 2 consecutive knockouts to a total of 14 K.O.’s in 20 professional fights. Also on the card Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez who is the 168lbs WBO title holder who is matched up with Max Bursak a 38 fight professional from the Ukraine along with the debut of 2016 American Olympian silver medalist Shakur Stevenson who’s hope to bring a knockout and leave with a few of those loyal Mexican fans that will be in attendance at the StubHub Center.

So don’t miss it April 22nd Top Rank promotions PPV triple header live at the StubHub Center that’ll bring you a glimpse of the next generation of Mexican boxing.

Follow all coverage of the fight via #TopRankBoxing

Posted on 03/22/2017

Boxing Insider Notebook: McGregor, Mayweather, Golovkin, Jacobs, Crolla, Linares, and more…
Compiled By: William Holmes

The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of March 14th to March 21st, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.

Photo Credit: Lawrence Lusting/Matchroom

TMZ Sports Reports that There’s Still Hope Conor Fights Floyd

Dana White Says Conor vs. Floyd is Still a Real Possibility—Telling TMZ Sports, “It doesn’t make a lot of sense for my business, but I would never keep Conor from making that kind of money.”

The UFC boss was out in Beverly Hills when he laid out Conor’s Opportunities…some real big fights. He also said Conor’s waiting for his kid to be born before his fights again.

Read more at http://www.tmz.com/2017/03/15/dana-white-conor-mcgregor-floyd-mayweather-nate-diaz/

HBO to Replay Golovkin vs. Jacobs

HBO Sports presents WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®: GENNADY GOLOVKIN VS. DANIEL JACOBS AND ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO GONZALEZ VS. SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI, the exclusive replay of their highly anticipated world championship title fights, SATURDAY, MARCH at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT). The HBO Sports team, which was ringside at New York’s Madison Square Garden on March 18, called all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

Other HBO playdates: March 26 (10:30 a.m.) and 28 (11:00 p.m.)

HBO2 playdate: March 26 (3:45 p.m.) and 27 (11:20 p.m.)

The two-fight combo will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO® and HBO On Demand®.

Among the sport’s top pound-for-pound performers, Golovkin put his undefeated mark, extraordinary ring record and collection of 160-pound world title belts on the line against hometown hero Daniel Jacobs of Brooklyn in a fight originally carried live on HBO Pay-Per-View®. The co-feature marked a super flyweight title bout between reigning champ and pound-for-pound ace Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez and challenger Srisaket Sor Rungvisai of Thailand.

Mikey Garcia to be Guest Analyst for Linares vs. Crolla

WBC Lightweight World Champion Mikey Garcia will join the SHOWTIME announce team as a guest analyst for the rematch between WBA Lightweight World Champion Jorge Linares and Anthony Crolla on Saturday, March 25 live on SHOWTIME at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

Three-division world champion Garcia, (36-0, 30 KOs), will join host Brian Custer and analysts Al Bernstein and Paulie Malignaggi in New York for the SHOWTIME BOXING INTERNATIONAL® presentation of Crolla vs. Linares II, which will air live from Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

“I’m excited to participate as guest analyst for this rematch,” said Garcia. “These are two of the most competitive boxers in my division. Jorge Linares won the first fight, but Crolla can create a different outcome.

“Linares has good hand speed, timing, reflexes and has power in both hands. Crolla has a good right hand and has shown some solid body work in his recent fights. While Crolla is getting better with each fight, Linares is likely still the better boxer, and should edge him out in a close fight.”

Linares (41-3, 27 KOs) dethroned Crolla (31-5-3, 13 KOs) in a thrilling battle last fall in Manchester to capture the WBA crown. The Sept. 24 match was the first time the three-division titlist Linares, who also holds the WBC Diamond and Ring Magazine lightweight belts, was pushed the 12-round distance in his career.

The WBC has mandated that the winner of Linares-Crolla II must face the hard-hitting Garcia, who knocked out defending champion Dejan Zlaticanin on Jan. 28 on SHOWTIME in just his second fight back following a 30-month layoff.

Linares-Crolla II is the second lightweight world title bout on SHOWTIME in 2017 and an important fight toward potentially unifying the resurgent 135-pound division.

Jorge Linares vs. Anthony Crolla Media Workout Quotes

WBA Lightweight Champion Jorge Linares and former Champion Anthony Crolla partipicated in a public workout at National Football Museum in Manchester, England in preparation for their rematch on Saturday live on Showtime.

Linares defeated Crolla last September to capture the WBA crown. Below are some fight week quotes from Crolla and Linares.

JORGE LINARES:

“Crolla could come better prepared than last time. Maybe he will throw more punches, maybe he will box more, I don’t really know. The most important thing is I hope he has worked really hard and comes in great condition so there are no excuses and no doubts after the fight.

“I can fight even better this time. Before the first fight I had a broken right hand and I hadn’t fought for a while. That’s always a factor, you know? Inactivity. I haven’t had any issues physically or mentally, so the preparation has been great. We did 129 rounds of sparring and everything has gone well up to this point.

“I know he has been quiet in the build-up, I don’t mind if he hasn’t spoken much lately. Let’s just hope it’s a clean fight like the first one.”

“The plans are in the future to get the biggest fights. Obviously the priority right now is to stay focused on Saturday but then I’ll look towards the big fights like against Mikey Garcia.

“I really think coming to train with Ismael Salas made the difference. It’s what helped me really establish myself as a professional fighter and to gain more experience. We learn ‘old school’ as Salas always says. It really has worked well for me in the two years I’ve been with him.”

“I feel really good because this time we had a lot more time to prepare. We did some of the training camp in Japan and then eight weeks in Las Vegas.

“I’m happy to be back here in England again and have another opportunity. I get treated very well, I feel comfortable fighting here. The fans here have a lot of boxing knowledge and they know me well. It’s nice, I feel at home.”

ANTHONY CROLLA:

“It will be another good fight, that’s for sure. Our styles gel really well and I don’t see how it can’t be another good fight, but this time I see a different winner. The key will be adapting. I might need to adapt a number of times in the fight but it is something I have trained for.

“I learned a lot from that fight. Linares has very good speed, very good ring craft and he used his big fight experience for when to take a rest, when to turn it on for the judges.

“This time I know I need to deal with the flashy combinations better, cut the ring off better and capitalize when he is open for shots.

“He has said he will come with another game plan but so will we. Last time I gave it everything, left it all in the ring, but I came up short. The right man won on the night and now I have a second chance at winning back the belt and beating a great fighter.

“I was disappointed I lost – you should never be happy with losing – but I was satisfied I gave everything on the night. When I watched it again there were things in the fight where I thought, ‘why didn’t I do this, why didn’t I do that’, but that is what I did do in the heat of the battle.

“You see people online saying Linares is a level above and that he outclassed me – he obviously didn’t outclass me because two of the judges only had a point in it. The right man won and now I need to show my improvements and make sure the result is different.

“Last time out in Manchester I lost a close fight but with the improvements I have been making in the gym I believe this time it will be a different result.

“The rematch was always top of my list. Linares is top of the pile in the lightweight division and if there was a chance of having a rematch that was always more important to me than any other fight. I want to fight the best and be involved in the big fights and that’s what this is.

“I want the chance to stake my claim as the best lightweight in the world by going out there and beating him.

“I wasn’t going to turn down a rematch to try and ease myself back into title contention. I want these big fights; these big nights in Manchester are what I thrive on.

“I feel better than I have ever felt. Camp has gone really well and there will certainly be no excuses. I have had no distractions outside of camp and everything is good. It is a matter now of showing in the ring tonight the improvements I have been showing in the gym.

“I have had no social life for the past few months and I will walk to the ring knowing that, knowing I have prepared in the best way I possibly can. There will be no ‘what if I had done this’, ‘what if I had done that’ – I have prepared the best I possibly can.”

Josesito Lopez to Battle Saul Corral in Main Event of PBC on FS1

Former world title challenger Josesito “Riverside Rocky” Lopez (34-7, 19 KOs) will face Mexico’s Saul “Navajo” Corral (22-8, 13 KOs) in the 10-round main event of Premier Boxing Champions on FS1 and FOX Deportes Sunday, April 9 from The Novo at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles.

Televised coverage begins at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT and features unbeaten lightweight contender Alejandro “El Charro” Luna (21-0, 15 KOs) battling former title challenger Andrey Klimov (19-3, 9 KOs) in a 10-round bout plus the pro debut of 2016 U.S. Olympian Karlos Balderas in a six-round super featherweight fight.

“I’m excited to get back in the ring as the main event and put on a show for the fans in Los Angeles,” said Lopez. “I’m looking for a world title shot and I believe I have the skills to beat any welterweight out there. This is going to be a great night of fights from start to finish. I’ve been training like never before and I can’t wait to show everybody.”

“I can’t wait to get in the ring and make the most of this opportunity to make a name for myself,” said Corral. “I’ve been training hard to be ready for anything Josesito brings. It’s going to be an exciting fight but I’m prepared to leave everything in the ring and get the victory.”

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by Ringstar Sports, are priced at $30 general admission, $60 balcony reserved, $100 VIP balcony reserved and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased through AXS.com.

“I’m thrilled to be able to promote a great night of California-based PBC action here in Los Angeles headlined by the return of a local fan favorite, Josesito Lopez,” said Richard Schaefer, Chairman and CEO of RIngstar Sports. “Also we have Alejandro Luna, who is in a tough fight with his sights set on a world title and I can’t wait for U.S. Olympian Karlos Balderas to make his pro debut in what will be the start to a great career. This is a night at The Novo that you don’t want to miss.”

Always in action-packed fights and known for his exciting style and ability to triumph against the odds, Lopez is coming off of a dominant decision victory over Todd Manuel in December 2016. Proudly representing Riverside, California, Lopez has fought at the highest level of competition for years including challenges of Andre Berto, Canelo Alvarez and Marcos Maidana plus triumphs over Victor Ortiz, Mike Arnaoutis and Mike Dallas.

Representing Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, Corral is the winner of 10 of his last twelve bouts entering April 9. The 30-year-old has fought professionally since 2006 and most recently went the distance in a 10-round decision loss to U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali. He won a Mexican title in July 2016 with a fifth-round stoppage of Francisco Medel and also challenged former champion Mike Alvarado amongst his 30 career bouts.

At just 25-years old, Luna has already put together an impressive 21 professional wins since turning pro in 2010. Fighting out of Bellflower, California he began his 2016 campaign by stopping veteran Alan Herrera before dominating previously once-beaten Naim Nelson on his way to a 10-round decision in August. He had previously defeated former world champion Cristobal Cruz and veteran Sergio Lopez on the way to amassing his perfect record.

Originally from Russia but now living and training in Beverly Hills, Klimov was unbeaten in his first 16 pro fights as he climbed up the world rankings. After dropping a decision to Terrence Crawford in 2013, he won three straight fights to earn his world title opportunity against Jose Pedraza. Klimov owns victories over John Molina Jr., Gabino Cota and Guillermo Avila.

Fighting out of Santa Maria, California, the 20-year-old Balderas is the son of Mexican parents who immigrated to the United States to give their children a better life. Balderas had an impressive amateur career that included a 2014 Youth National Championship, four National PAL championships and an impressive run in the World Series of Boxing. His amateur career culminated in a trip to the 2016 Olympic Games where he represented the U.S. and defeated fighters from Kazakhstan and Japan before a decision loss in the quarterfinals.

If Tapia Wants a War I’ll Give Him a War, States Jason Quigley

The long awaited debut of Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN is nearly here. On Thursday, March 23, Irish middleweight contender Jason “El Animal” Quigley (12-0, 10 KOs) will showcase his skills against the hard-punching Glen “Jersey Boy” Tapia (23-3, 15 KOs) in a 10-round main event battle for the vacant NABF middleweight title. In the co-main event, Coachella’s Randy “El Matador” Caballero (23-0, 14 KOs) will campaign to become a two-division world champion as he combats for the NABF super bantamweight title against Jesus “Estrella” Ruiz (35-7-5, 24 KOs) in a 10-round affair; and making her pro-debut on the national TV broadcast, 2012 Olympic Bronze medalist and highly decorated amateur Marlen Esparza will participate in a four-round flyweight fight against Rachel Sazoff (0-2).

The fighters shared their final thoughts ahead the fights, which will air live from Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.
Below is what the fighters had to say:

Jason “El Animal” Quigley, Middleweight Contender:

“I’m delighted to be headlining on ESPN on Thursday; it’s a great honor and opportunity. My camp has been amazing – all the hard work has been put in, and I’m ready. I plan on putting on a great show for my American audience and my friends, family and fans back home in Donegal, Ireland.

“If Tapia wants a war, I’ll give him a war…I’m prepared for anything. Winning this fight brings me one step closer to my dream, winning the NABF title will be fantastic, I still have a long way to go, and am dedicated to making my dream of being a world champion come true.”

Glen “Jersey Boy” Tapia, Former WBO NABO Super Welterweight Champion:

“I’m honestly really excited for this fight. Not only because it’s a televised ESPN fight for the NABF title but because it’s been a tough couple of years for my career. People are looking at this like this a make or break fight for me, and even though most people would hate to be in this position, I look at it as an opportunity to bounce back and show the world who Glen Tapia really is!

“I have a lot of fans that believe in me and have been waiting for my return, but I also have a lot of critics that question if I can do this, and that’s a challenge that I’m more than ready to take. My job is not to listen to the critics; my job is to handle my business in that ring and show them why I belong here.At the end of the day, I can sit here and talk about what I’m going to do to Quigley, but the truth is you guys don’t want to hear that. Actions speak louder than words so I’ll just show you guys on March 23rd.”

Ringside Network to Begin 24/7 Television Network Dedicated to the Sport of Boxing

Ortiz Media Group, Inc. has signed an agreement with RingSide Network to Provide on-air operations, cable representation and distribute its signal through Cable, Satellite, OTT, Set Top Boxes, Smart devices, and other platforms throughout the United States and the world.

RingSide Network is an American specialty sports channel headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA) with programming devoted exclusively to the sport of boxing. Ortiz Media Group will operate the channel 24 hours per day and 7 days a week with programming featuring up-to-date boxing news, one-on-one interviews, highlights, talk shows featuring sport celebrities, expert boxing analysis, documentaries, pre-fights and post-fight press conferences, live weigh-ins, round table panel discussions, skills instructions, and classic professional fights from 1920’s to the present.

RingSide Network programming will include local, regional, national and international content from today’s and tomorrow’s contenders and champions.

“We are excited to bring RingSide Network from Philadelphia, PA, known as the boxing capital of the world. We will play a pivotal role in bringing world-wide boxing to our cable and satellite homes as well as all platforms available directly to our consumers,” said Mr. Alex Hamer, CEO of Ring Side Network.

RingSide Network plans to cover amateur events include Olympic boxing, Olympic boxing trials, National Golden Globes, National Police Athletic League Championships and U.S. Collegiate Boxing Championships, as well as boxing related movies.

Boxing is gaining popularity in the United States. Statista.com reported that in 2015 the number of people in the United States who watched pro boxing amounted to 20.29 million within a period of 12 months.

“Ortiz Media Group is a leader in operations and cable/satellite distributions and we are very excited to be expanding our relationship with RingSide Network with operations, distribution, branding, and revenue generation,” said Mr. Clark Ortiz, President and CEO of Ortiz Media Group.

The sport of boxing makes a great impact in the U.S. economy. Over 54 million Americans paid gym/fitness membership fees in 2014, and for the second year in a row actual visits to the gyms exceeded 5 billion. In 2014, the annual review of $24,2 billion was also a sharp 7.5% increase of $22.4 billion in 2013.

According to the Bureau of Labors Statistics, fitness and recreation sports centers employed 533,200 in 2014, and jobs are expected to grow 8% by 2024.

In 2010, wholesale sales of boxing equipment amounted to about $106 million in the United States. The Title Boxing Clubs grew from 10 locations to more that 100 between 2011 and 2013 and is part of the fitness industry that has approximately 60 million customers in the United States. According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association there were over 5.1 million boxing for fitness participants in the US in 2014 and according to Statista that number grew to 6.39 million in 2015. In 2016, 5.9% of respondents who came from a household where the annual income was $200,000 or more stated that they are a fan of boxing.

Ring Side Network’s website is www.ringsidenetwork.tv

Posted on 03/22/2017

“The New” Ray Robinson & Jaron “Boots” Ennis – Philly’s Finest!
By: Ken Hissner

They train in the same gym called “Bozy’s Dungeon” in North Philly on Venango Street over the Harrowgate Gym. They both have the same trainer in “Bozy” Ennis the father of “Boots”. They have been sparring partners since “Bozy” took over as the trainer for Robinson.

Robinson is No. 13 in the WBC welterweight rankings down from No. 5 without losing a fight since July of 2010. His only losses were back to back while with Star Boxing losing first to Brad Solomon, 8-0, (now 26-1) by 8 round majority decision in December of 2009 in New York. Then in July of 2010 he lost to Shawn Porter, 15-0, (now 26-2-1) in 10 rounds in Mississippi. In 2013 Porter won the IBF welterweight title. He is currently No. 3 in the WBC rankings.Robinson is managed by David McWater and promoted by Hard Hitting Promotions.

Since his last loss in 2010 Robinson has gone 11-0 with 7 stoppages. In May of 2012 he defeated former Olympian Terrance Cauthen, 36-7, by TKO2 in Newtown Township, PA, for the vacant PA State title. In February of 2013 he won the interim WBA-NABA title in 10 rounds over Nicaragua’s Alberto Morales 11-1-1 in Wilmington, DE. In August of 2013 he won the USBA title by TKO7 over “Sugar” Ray Nahr, 26-2, of Ghana in Newark, DE.

In February of 2014 Robinson won the vacant WBO NABO title over 12 rounds defeating Russia’s Aslanbek“The Lion” Kozaev, 25-0-1, in Dover, DE. In May of 2014 he won by TKO4 over George “El Terrible” Sosa, 13-7, of NJ in Dover, DE. In November of 2014 he again won the vacant WBO NABO title by RTD6 over Puerto Rico’s Daniel “Hudson Valley Kid”Sostre, 13-9-1, in Wilmington, DE. In Sostre’s previous two fights he defeated Chris Gilbert 11-0 and Kenny Galarza, 16-3.

In April of 2015 Robinson defended his WBO NABO title defeating Kyrgyzstan’s SherzodbekAlimjanov, 22-2, out of Uzbekistan, at Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, CT., over 10 rounds. Then after 18 months of inactivity due to an auto accident he returned in October of 2016 to defeat Nicaragua’s Santos Benavides, 25-10-2 by TKO4 at the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia. In his last fight he won by TKO2 over Nicaragua’s Eddie Palacios, 12-4-1, at the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia. On March 24th he will take on Brazil’s former champion ClaudineiLacerda, 18-16-1 at The Fillmore in Philadelphia, in the main event. There was a press conference there on Wednesday night.

From a contender in Robinson to the best looking prospect Philadelphia has seen since 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist Meldrick Taylor is19 year-old Jaron “Boots” Ennis, 9-0 (8) who has won all 9 fights in 9 months and scheduled March 31st at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. He is managed by Cameron Dunkin and promoted by Victory Promotions. At the 2016 US Olympic Trials he defeated Gary Antuanne Russell, Tyrek Irby and Rahim Gonzales. He then lost back to back decisions to Russell. He was 43-3 in the amateur’s and is a former Golden Gloves champion.

In turning professional in St. George, Utah in April of 2016 Ennis rejected being the Olympic alternate. He won his first 5 fights by stoppage. He has also fought in Springfield, VA, and Rio Rancho, New Mexico while in Pennsylvania once in Bristol and 5 times in Philadelphia with a sixth coming up the end of the month.

After fighting in six 4 round bouts Ennis has fought his last 3 fights in scheduled 6 round bouts. He has scored 4 first round stoppages including in his last fight knocking out Nicaragua’s Elvin Perez, 28-16-4, the former WBC Latino super welterweight champion who has fought 34 of his 49 fights in Costa Rica. Ennis has only gone into the sixth round once.

Posted on 03/21/2017

GGG already preparing for next fight
By: Matthew N. Becher

​As boxing fans still debate the outcome from last Saturdays PPV fight between Gennady Golovkin and Danny Jacobs, one thing that for certain is, GGG got the win and is looking to get back in the ring no later than June.

​Golovkin won on Saturday at Madison Square Garden to retain his WBA, WBC & IBF Middleweight titles. It was the first time in Golovkins career that he was taken to the 12th round of a fight and it ended his record 23 consecutive fight KO streak.

​Most people are now waiting for the outcome of Canelo v. Chavez Jr. before Canelo and Golovkin can make it official to share a ring later this year in September. Canelo’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, was not quick to say that his man would be jumping at the bit to fight GGG.

“I actually believe [the percentages of making the fight] decrease. It all depends on the negotiations – and we’ll continue talks – but now obviously we clearly know who the ‘A’ side is and that’s obviously Canelo. So I’m going to instruct my president, Eric Gomez, to continue talks and, hopefully, it can get done,” said De La Hoya to the latimes.com.

One thing that may happen before any mega fight with Canelo, is another fight for Golovkin this June, in his native Kazakhstan. One man who would love to see GGG fight in June is his trainer Abel Sanchez, who likes his man to be in the ring rather than only fighting twice a year.

“We’re not gonna hold Gennady back on the chance that there is a fight in September…This year we hope to fight four times, that’s what he wants…” Sanchez told Badlefthook.com

​The fight on the table right now would be against the WBO middleweight champion, Billy Joe Saunders. Saunders has been extremely inactive as a fighter, only fighting once in 2016, which was also his lone title defense. He has recently spoken about being ready to travel to Kazakhstan and fight Golovkin to unify the entire division.

“I’ll travel anywhere. I’m not bothered about fighting him in Kazakhstan — I’ll fight him in a field for all I care.
“He wants the WBO belt and I’m willing to put it on the line. Golovkin is strong but a boxer always beats a puncher and he’s never faced anyone as tricky as me.

“Jacobs gave him a real fight on Saturday but he isn’t in my class when I’m on form.”

​The one downfall about all this recent talk from Saunders is the fact that he spoke on his twitter page that he was giving the GGG camp only until the end of this week to sign a contract or else he was looking elsewhere for a fight. Very strange demand for a man who has only fought 2x in the last couple years. We will wait and see.

Posted on 03/20/2017

Golovkin-Jacobs Was A Close Fight. Why Is That A Surprise?
By: Sean Crose

Lots of talk about this past weekend’s Gennady Golovkin-Daniel Jacobs battle for middleweight supremacy. The fact that it was something of a high-level affair rather than a blowout seems to have impacted boxing fans and analysts in an odd way. Apparently, some feel Golovkin, who won by a unanimous decision after clearly having a tough time of it, was “exposed.” Others feel the man showed his age (he’s well over thirty), while others feel he simply lost. No doubt there are those who believe a combination of all those things. One thing is certain, people were not expecting things to work out like they did in the ring on Saturday.

Not to pat myself on the back, but I’m most distinctly NOT stunned things played out like they did. Before the bout, I discussed the possibility of Jacobs winning with other writers at Madison Square Garden. I explained that my mind told me there was no way Jacobs could win, but that my gut told me otherwise. And, in a sense, my gut may have been right, as I gave the Jacobs the nod after the final bell rang (though I clearly felt it could have gone either way). Obviously, the judges (who, let’s face it, are the ones who matter in these cases) disagreed with my initial assessment of the bout, but many others in the press box at the Garden gave the nod to Jacobs, as well.

There’s something irksome, however, about all the talk that Golovkin isn’t all he was cracked up to be. The guy had a tough fight. It happens. Not only is such nonsense insulting to Golovkin, it’s insulting to Jacobs, who put on a masterful performance. This was one of those rare fights where I would have been happy no matter what the decision was. In that sense, it reminded me of the first Floyd Mayweather – Marcos Maidana bout, where I afterwards felt pretty much any decision could be justified. Even more so than in the case of Mayweather-Maidana, though, this was a case of two of the best men in their division getting it on.

The truth is that Daniel Jacobs was under-rated right from the very beginning. More than anything else, there was a seriousness to the man in the lead up to this bout which should have given people pause. Here was a fighter who could hit like thunder and who, more importantly, was smart enough to know he had to come up with a sharp game plan for this one. The combination of ability and IQ should have convinced people that Jacobs would pose a threat to Golovkin, that he would come in with a cerebral mindset and apply the best strategy possible. Few focused on the potentiality of a very competitive fight, though. Just look at the pre-fight predictions for confirmation.

This was never going to be a walk in the park for Golovkin. The surprise shouldn’t be that a close battle was waged in the ring, but that people are taken aback that GGG didn’t make easier work of his opponent this time around. Jacobs was the real article, something some are belatedly starting to realize. For what it was worth, Jacobs himself was cool and easygoing in the post-fight press conference. Sure, he felt he should have won, or at least gotten a draw. He didn’t seem disappointed, though. That’s because he knew he was in the ring with an exceedingly serious opponent.

“This was my first test at 12 rounds,” Golovkin himself said during the press conference. “I needed a quality fight, not just the 12 rounds.”

Posted on 03/20/2017

Where Do Philly Boxers Garcia, Cunningham and Hopkins Go From Here?
By: Ken Hissner

Starting with Danny “Swift” Garcia, 33-1 (19) the former super lightweight and welterweight champion who just lost to his toughest opponent in Keith “One Time” Thurman and his WBC belt. As a super lightweight Garcia he scored wins over Amir Kahn, 31-4 (19), in a shootout who gets to who first and gave overblown featherweight Erik Morales a rematch? How about Kahn? How about Herrera? How about Peterson? His win over Lucas Matthysse was possibly his biggest accomplishment.

Garcia took on Rod Salka a 132 lightweight and made him come in at over 140 in a non-title bout. When asked who made this choice he said “my manager.” Al Haymon? What about “The New” Ray Robinson or “Hammerin” Hank Lundy who have been calling him out since their sparring days with Garcia? Two Philly fighters who could have brought some fans out even in Philly.

As the No. 2 welterweight contender in the WBC Garcia won’t fight No. 1 Kahn so “he gets” No. 6 the over the hill Robert Guerrero in a vacant title fight? He finally steps up and takes on Thurman and we saw how that turned out in not a great fight but an interesting one. Where does Garcia go from here? No rematch I’m sure with Thurman. No. 5 Shawn Porter and No. 7 Andre Berto have “an elimination bout” coming up? Granted Kahn is No. 1 but is supposed to get a shot at WBO champion Manny “Pac Man” Pacquaio’s title though Kahn hasn’t fought since May of 2016 getting knocked out by Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and isn’t even in the WBO ratings. So where is Garcia going to land in the next WBC ratings? No. 1 is not automatic for former champs. Ask Sergey Kovalev about that.

Lamont Peterson, 35-3-1 (17), is now holding WBA World belt. IBF champion Kell “Special One” Brook, 36-1 (25), is tentatively going to defend against his No. 1 contender in Errol Spence, 21-0 (18), having not fought since September when Gennady “GGG” Golovkin injured his eye socket in an interesting fight.

Then there’s former 2-time IBF champion Steve “USS” Cunningham, 29-8-1 (13), who entered last Saturdays ring in Reading, PA, in a scheduled 8 round bout reduced to a 6 winning every round from overweight former light heavyweight Felipe “El Indio” Romero, 19-12-1 (13), so Cunningham can “get the rust off” after with a promise from his manager Al Haymon getting him a title fight. He isn’t ranked anymore and all four champs are from outside the US. Cunningham had to go to Europe to get those titles so it won’t be like a first time for him.

Starting with WBC champion Tony “The Bomber” Bellew, 29-2-1 (19), of the UK who just stopped former champion David Haye and whose No. 1 challenger is MairisBriedis, 21-0 (18), from Latvia who is scheduled to fight for the interim WBC title April 1st against former champion Marco Huck in Germany whom Cunningham stopped in 2007.

The WBA champion Denis Lebedev, 29-3 (22), only defended his IBF title in Russia against fellow Russian Murat “Iron” Gassiev, 24-0 (17), losing a split decision. There may be a rematch in that one. The IBF doesn’t have any challengers in the number one or two spot but have No. 3 Noel Gevor, 22-0 (10), an Armenian out of Germany who is also the No. 1 contender in the WBO where the champion if OleksandrUsyk, 11-0 (10), of the UKR. He is defending his title in Oxon Hill, MD, April 8th against Michael Hunter, 15-0. So Cunningham may be able to get the winner in the US. Gevor is scheduled to go to Poland to fight the former champion Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, on May 20th who split it two fights with Cunningham.

So it’s a matter of Cunningham getting ranked again which shouldn’t take much based on his record and being a former champion. Who knows he may not have to leave the US to get that shot. The man is always in tip top shape and though having fought at heavyweight a bit makes 200 easily.

This leaves us with 52 year-old Bernard “the Executioner” Hopkins, 55-8-2 (32), who is from Philly and was living in Hockessin, DE, but also I understand had a place in Philly and may be back there. After witnessing former 3-division champion another “ageless” boxer pack them in at the Chase Center in DE recently could there be a “rubber match” between Jones and Hopkins at the Chase Center? Jones is 48 but you would never know it in his win over Bobby Gunn in his last fight. Neither he nor Hopkins may never get another title fight but then who knows. Both are future IBHOF boxerswho don’t seem to go away.

I’m sure Hopkins would like to retire with a win in his last fight that seems to have been difficult to do since losing his last two fights to Sergey Kovlev and Joe Smith, Jr. Just prior to that he held the IBF and WBA titles defeating Shumenov but lost those titles to Kovalev who got robbed by Andre Ward losing all three titles and may never get a deserved rematch. Though both are no longer ranked don’t be surprised if their names appear in a title fight in the near future.

Philadelphia is again without a champion but has a ton of young prospects with “champion” written all over them such as 19 year-old Jaron “Boots” Ennis, 9-0 (8), who fights March 31st back in Philly. It will be ten fights in twelve months for this talented welterweight whom this writer calls “the best Philly prospect since 1984 Olympic champion Meldrick Taylor”. His brothers “Pooh” and Farah held USBA and NABF titles while their father “Bozy” is the best trainer in Philly and one of the best in the world.

Posted on 03/19/2017

​Errol Spence, Jr. to Get Title Shot in May
By: Eric Lunger​

​In late May of this year, American welterweight Errol Spence, Jr. (21-0, 18 KOs) should be on his way to Sheffield, England, for a world title clash with Kell Brook (36-1, 25 KOs), the charismatic and popular British IBF champion. Brook suffered a broken orbital bone last September during a brave, if reckless, move up to middleweight against feared Kazakh brawler Gennady “GGG” Golovkin. The Spence vs. Brook clash is still in negotiations, although Errol himself seem confident that the fight was going ahead. Interviewed last weekend on the CBS prefight broadcast, Spence promised the bout would take place in late May, and sources at PBC hope to make an official announcement soon.

​I hope the two sides can sort out the details because this is a very attractive fight. Spence is a young and talented southpaw looking to make a statement in the ever-exciting welterweight division, while Brook is a seasoned pro with a huge following in his native England. Brook won the IBF strap from Shawn Porter by majority decision, in a rough and scrappy bout at the StubHub Center in California back in August of 2014. He has defended it three times since, all bouts taking place in England, but Spence will clearly be a step up in opposition and class.

​I like the symmetry of this fight, as well. Brook came to the US and fought in Porter’s backyard to win the belt, and now Spence would travel to England to try to bring the belt back here.

Objectively, Brook is a complete fighter: cagey defense, excellent footwork, can score with both hands, difficult to hit. His willingness to fight Golovkin testifies to his courage.

​But here’s the thing. With the exception of Anthony Joshua, British fighters have been on a skid recently, at least against US or Mexico based opponents. Brook got blasted out by Golovkin in five rounds, albeit after landing a few good shots on the middleweight boss. Liam “Beefy” Smith took a number of vicious body shots from Canelo Alvarez, and was stopped in the 9th round. Smith spent most of the fight in survival mode, guard up and not throwing. Highly touted Amir Khan looked ordinary and outmatched by Canelo from the opening bell in their bout in Vegas, and when Canelo landed a perfect right on Khan’s chin, it was lights out.

So Brook has some questions to answer, and he (unfairly or not) needs to be the face of British boxing in May. He needs to make a big statement as THE British welterweight, as a fighter who can compete with Garcia, Spence, Thurman, etc. In addition, he has to answer the question: did the Golovkin loss damage him or make him stronger? My guess is the latter, but you never know what a tough defeat like that the Golovkin loss will do to a fighter’s psyche.

​Errol Spence has some questions to answer, too. Is he ready to move up to this level of opposition? Can he travel? How will he handle the pressure of fighting in Brook’s home ground, in front of the rabid British boxing public? Is he ready for a fighter of Brook’s savvy and ring experience?

​We will find out the answers to all these questions in May, hopefully, with the winner of this bout in position to further unify the red-hot welterweight division.
​

Posted on 03/19/2017

Big Surprises At The Garden: Gonzalez Stunned, GGG Sneaks By With Decision Win
By: Sean Crose

The crowd at Madison Square Garden erupted Saturday evening when Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, the already legendary, 46-0, four time titlist, entered the ring to defend his WBC super flyweight strap against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, 44-4-1. Needless to say that very crowd was shocked when, late in the first round, Gonzalez was sent to the mat with a patented Rungvisai body blow. Cholcolatito survived the round, but the second proved to be a brutal affair at times, with both men banging away at each other. A serious looking cut stopped the action a bit in the third, but Gonzalez came back and went to war with Rungvisai in the middle of the ring.

By the fourth, Gonzalez started firing with deadly accuracy. At times it looked like he was using his opponent’s head as target practice. The fifth round saw the action seesaw, as Rungvisai became aggressive, but then Gonzalez started banging away with uppercuts and his brutal straight overhand right. Indeed, it looked for a moment like the fight might be stopped. Rungvisai kept fighting, though. It was an absolute war. A head butt stopped the action a bit in the sixth, but the two men soon returned to swinging away at each other. The end of the round saw Gonzalez grinding away to the body and head. Yet a head butt put things on pause again in the final seconds.

By the seventh and eight things went apace as the bout was now a war of attrition. Things were so brutal that the doctors took a look at Gonzalez in the beginning of the ninth. Rungvisai went on to largely dominate the round…or, rather, get the better of it, as Gonzalez, his face butchered, was still nailing his man with clean, hard, shots. Chocolatito may well have taken the tenth, and by the eleventh, both fighters will still swinging away. The final round saw things ending as they had been waged from the early going – bloody and in a flurry of fists.

In a shocking upset, the decision went to Rungvisai.

A few minutes later it was time for the main event. Suffice to say, Gennady Golovkin’s entrance was unblievably loud and thrilling, as the 36-0 WBA, WBC and IBF world middleweight champ made his way to the ring. His opponent, the 32-1 Daniel Jacobs, looked ready to do battle himself, however. In under forty minutes, the better man would be known.

Jacobs did good offensive work by keeping clear of the man called GGGs power in the first. Would the trend continue, though? Well, it continued through the second, and perhaps even the third. Then, in the fourth, Jacobs went down. The Brooklyn native got up and held his man off, but Golovkin was patient. He also now knew he could get to his man. And get to his man Golovkin did in the fifth, though with nothing as damaging as he had thrown in the fourth. Jacobs certainly had his moments, but it was GGGs round. Jacobs looked good in the sixth, though Golovkin’s shots had more pop.

Jacobs went on, in the opinion of this author, to win the seventh. The eighth was an extremely close affair, with Jacobs getting the combinations in, but Golovkin landing stronger. It was becoming a hard fight to call. Golovkin, however, clearly landed hard and often enough to take the ninth. The tenth was extremely close and could, frankly, have gone either way. The eleventh, also, was razor thin. Golovkin hit harder. Jacobs proved to be the more skilled and active. Pick your poison. For the final round I thought Jacobs squeaked through.

No matter. GGG won a unanimous – though far from wide – decision.

Posted on 03/18/2017

GGG-Jacobs Undercard Results: Cuadras Victorious
By: Sean Crose

New York was home to one of the year’s top fight cards on Saturday as middleweight terror Gennady Golovkin threw down with the man who was widely regarded by many as his preeminent threat, Daniel Jacobs. There was also a fairly stacked undercard to behold, starting with former middleweight titlist Andy Lee, who returned from a lengthy layoff to face KeAndre Leatherwood. The southpaw Lee, 34-3-1, came out with a probing jab against Leatherwood, 19-3-1, in the first. It proved to be a tentative affair early on, with the still-arriving crowd starting to boo. Lee remained patient, however.

Things remained quiet throughout the second, as Lee tried to rid himself of ring rust and Leatherwood struggled with what seemed to be uncertainty. As the fight progressed, there looked to be an unwillingness on the part of Leatherwood to work the body, or to truly instigate any action. Perhaps it was due to the bright lights and a big name opponent, but he wasn’t challenging Lee a great deal. Halfway through the eight round affair, it became obvious that Lee might be willing to simply put in rounds.

Lee came alive in the 6th, however, landing clean and closing in effectively. Not an enormous amount of action came from it, though, and Lee essentially cruised to a unanimous decision win in a disciplined, if not exactly thrilling affair.

Next up was up and coming lighweight Ryan Martin, who put his undefeated, 17-0 record on the line against Bryant Cruz, 17-1-0 in a scheduled ten round match. Martin, who goes by the name of Blue Chip (get it?) looked sharp throughout the first four rounds, but Cruz was definitely game. By the fifth Martin was banging away, but Cruz – to his credit – showed he had a beard. That being said, there was little doubt Martin was the man in charge. And so the slow breakdown continued. Cruz was brave, but he couldn’t hold on forever. By the eighth, referee Harvey Dock stopped the bout.

It was time for Carlos Cuadras. The charming rogue of a super flyweight walked in the ring with a 35-1-1 record to face the 20-3-5 David Carmona. Cuadras was patient in the first and continued to dominate through the first three. Carmona had come to fight, though, which meant Cuadras had to box smart rather than whaling away. Things continued along at a fast pace throughout the next few rounds. By the seventh, though, it looked like Carmona might be coming on. And, to be sure, the following two rounds were competitive.

The last one was no blow out for either fighter, either. The judges gave Cuadras the nod – but he didn’t look like he did against Roman Gonzalez not all that long ago.

Posted on 03/18/2017

Mansour Wins Over Kauffman and Cintron Draws with Grayton!
By: Ken Hissner

At the Santander Arena, in Reading, PA, Friday night Premier Boxing Champions, Kings Promotions and Corona Extra over Bounce TV put on a major heavyweight fight Friday night.

Heavyweight southpaw Amir “Hardcore” Mansour, 23-2-1 (16), of Wilmington, DE, won a majority decision over Travis “My Time” Kauffman, 31-2 (23), of Reading, PA, over 12 rounds for the USNBC and PA State Titles.

After four rounds it looked even and by the sixth both fighters seemed to have slowed down. Mansour complained on at least three occasions of low blows and referee Shawn Clark would have none of it. Kauffman fought most of the fight southpaw trying to offset the southpaw advantage of Mansour. Down the stretch Mansour seemed to have more left in the tank taking the last two rounds and the fight.

Judge Steve Weisfeld had it 114-114, Anthony Mundy 117-11 and Mike Somma and this writer 115-113 for the winner. Whether this showing on both parts is enough to get back into the ratings is questionable.

Former IBF welterweight champion Kermit “El Asesino” Cintron, 39-5-3 (30), of Reading, PA, and David “Day Day” Grayton, 15-1-1 (11), Wash, DC, fought to a majority draw after 5 rounds. An accidental butt opened a cut over Cintron’s right eye and he couldn’t continue so they went to the scorecards.
Judges had it 49-46 for Cintron and 47-47 twice. This writer had it 48-46 for Grayton based on a knockdown. Grayton turned it into a brawl and Cintron tried to counter him but couldn’t keep him from rushing in and bullying him to the ropes.

It was an ugly fight and referee Gary Rosato had his hands full trying to keep the two apart throughout. Cintron seemed fortunate to get a draw considering he was down once.

Former 2-time IBF cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham, 29-8-1 (13), of Philadelphia, won an easy decision over Felipe “El Indio” Romero, 19-12-1 (13), from Baja, MEX, over 6 rounds of a scheduled 8 round bout. This was to get the rust off of Cunningham who returned to the ring after 11 months. His manager Al Haymon promises Cunningham a title fight while all four cruiserweight champions are from out of the US.

Judges had it 60-54 as did this writer. Referee was Rosato.

Super welterweight Chordale Booker, 6-0 (3), of Brooklyn, NY, won a 6 round decision over Moshea Aleem, 4-1-1 (2), of VA.

It was Booker coming forward and Aleem loading up and being outworked. All 3 judges had it 59-55 while this writer had it 57-57. Referee was Clark.

Super featherweight Chris Colbert, 6-0 (2), of Brooklyn, NY, won a decision over tough Wilfredo Garriga, 3-5-1 (2), of Juana Diaz, PR, over 6 rounds.

Colbert did more moving and jabbing than anything while Garriga tried to make a fight of it but the judges didn’t see it that way. All 3 had it 60-54 while this writer had it 57-57. The fans were not happy with the performance of Colbert. Referee was Clark.

Super welterweight southpaw Erik Spring, 9-1-2 (1), of Reading, PA, decisioned Jeremiah Wiggins, 10-5-1 (5), of Newport News, VA, over 6 rounds.

Spring used his reach advantage well and was willing to mix it up when necessary. Judges had it 60-53 as did this writer and 59-54 twice. Referee was Dali.

Middleweight Nicholas Hernandez, 6-2 (1), of Lebanon, PA, won a hard fought decision over Nick Valliere, 5-2 (2), of Forked River, NJ, over 6 rounds.

This was a swing bout and no decision was announced but referee Rosato raised the hand of Hernandez whom seemed fortunate to get the decision.

Super lightweight Kashon Hutchinson, 2-2 (1), of Reading, PA, did more posing than fighting allowing Darius“I Am King” Ervin, 4-1 (0), of L.A., walk away with the decision over 4 rounds.

Judges had it 39-37 twice and 38-38 as did this writer.

Super lightweight Matt Quirindongo, 1-0 (0), of Reading, PA, won a decision over Weusi Johnson, 2-3 (0), of Wilmington, DE, over 4 rounds.

Quirindongo scored a knockdown and was too strong for Johnson who showed little power in both hands. Referee was Dali.
Two judges had it 40-35 as did this writer and one judge 40-36.

Super lightweight Jesus Perez, 2-0 (1), of Reading, PA, decisioned Titos Matthew Gosalves, 0-1 (0), of Lancaster, PA, over 4 rounds.

A knockdown seemed to be the difference with all 3 judges scoring it 39-36. This writer gave Gosalves a 10-8 round offsetting the knockdown calling it 37-37.

Posted on 03/17/2017

Conlon Wins Pro Debut As McGregor Proclaims He’ll Take Over Boxing
By: Sean Crose

Super bantamweight Michael Conlon had quite a pro debut for himself on Friday night in New York. Entering the ring in grand Irish fashion while being accompanied by MMA star Conor McGregor (who, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN, started screaming at some point during the evening about how he was going to take over boxing), the Belfast native was treated to a hero’s welcome at the Theater in Madison Square Garden. The wildly pro Conlon crowd cheered as if he was battling in his native Ireland rather than on the eastern American seaboard. His opponent? Tim Ibarra, an unknown with a record of 4-4. People weren’t at the Garden to see an epic match. They were there to watch a decorated amateur with a promising future make his first foray into the pro ranks.

Conlon instigated the action with one/two, jab/right hand combinations. Ibarra, however, didn’t offer much in the way of a challenge. Conlon looked sharper in the second and was was clearly determined to impress in his first big league bout. He was somewhat slower than one might expect, and perhaps his timing was a bit off, but the guy was dominating nonetheless. What’s more, Conlon showed as the fight entered the first half of the third round that he could do some damage to the body.

That damage gave way to head shots that Conlon started landing throughout the course of the third with alarming frequency. With just over a minute to go in the round, Benjy Estevez, the referee, stepped in and halted the bout. Ibarra had, simply put, become a punching bag. Conlon jumped on the ropes and spread out his arms as if he had just won a world title…and the crowd ate it up. So, how was this well regarded prospects’ debut? Not bad. Conlon showed he could hit – though it took him a bit of whaling on a man who wasn’t really fighting back to get the job done.

Conlon also showed determination, which is of primary importance. Here was a fighter who clearly wanted to put the world on notice. And as a potential money earner, Conlon certainly did just that. The man is bold, he’s Irish and he’s not without talent. That, as his friend McGregor could tell anyone, is catnip to contemporary American audiences. Still, Conlon certainly didn’t appear to be breathtakingly impressive in a professional fight. It’s a tall order to be breathtakingly impressive, though. Only a rarefied few can reek of greatness their first time out. And besides, time is on Conlon’s side – along with some big name support. Time, however, will also tell if the hype surrounding the man is legitimate.

Posted on 03/17/2017

The Friends Of Daniel Jacobs
By: Sean Crose

I just recently caught the classic 70s crime film “The Friends of Eddie Coyle,” starring Robert Mitchum and Peter Boyle. Eddie Coyle’s friends in the movie aren’t exactly the kinds of friends you and I would ever want, as Eddie and his associates are Boston based crime figures. What’s interesting about the film, however, is the way these dysfunctional characters are, for better or (more likely) worse, all a part of a group that works towards a common goal (robbery). Middleweight slugger Daniel Jacobs is no criminal, but, like Coyle, he’s surrounded himself with an essential group of friends of his own. And like Coyle’s associates, the friends of Daniel Jacobs are driven by a single goal.

That goal? Not robbery, but a single victory against the most feared man in boxing. For Gennady Golovkin is widely regarded as the king of the middleweight division. Should he prove victorious upon meeting Jacobs in combat Saturday at Madison Square Garden, all doubts regarding the guy’s supremacy may well be erased. With potential celebrity opponent Canelo Alvarez preparing to face Julio Caesar Chavez Jr, there’s really no greater challenge for Golovkin around the 160 pound mark at the moment than Jacobs.

And Jacobs means to rise to the occasion – with, of course, a little help from his friends. Aside from loyal trainer Andre Rozier, Jacobs has created a unique team from a diverse group of people to help him prepare for the Everest that is the fearsome Golovkin. He’s been training out in Oakland, in the gym of notable ring general Virgil Hunter. That means getting input not only from Hunter but potentially from Hunter’s stable of name fighters. Amir Khan, Peter Quillin, Andrzej Fonfara, Andre Berto – even Andre Ward – have been around. Just being in the presence of such a high-end element can up one’s confidence. And taking the opinions of serious members of the boxing community can prove invaluable.

Then there’s Chris Algieri. Yes, Jacobs has hired his fellow Empire State native to be his nutritionist. Those familiar with Algieri know the fighter (and former junior welterweight champ) is a master of nutrition and fitness (as well as cooking). And so he’s become a cook and running partner for Jacobs during camp. People can roll their eyes at Jacobs’ chances against the feared fighter known as GGG, but he’s clearly surrounded himself with people who know what they’re doing.

Come Saturday night in Manhattan, however, the friends of Daniel Jacobs won’t be there to help him. It will just be Jacobs and a certain destructive force other name fighters have chosen to avoid. No doubt those friends of Jacobs will hope they’ve prepared him well.

Posted on 03/17/2017

Already A Legend, Roman Gonzalez Still Wants To Challenge Himself
By: Sean Crose

“I have already accomplished a lot,” undefeated multi-division champion Roman Gonzalez said on a recent conference call. Without doubt, the Nicaraguan slugger known as Chocolatito has earned some well deserved accolades. Last November the man won a world title in his fourth weight class by grinding out a grueling win against Carlos Cuadras for the WBC world super flyweight title. His legacy assured, Gonzalez is turning his attention towards other matters. “Now,” he claimed on the call, “my goal is to hold onto my fourth world title in order to gain higher purses and more money.” Fighting at 115 pounds isn’t exactly easy for Gonzalez, however.

“Never did I think it was going to be easy campaigning in this division at 115,” Gonzalez said. “It takes time to get used to and I think that’s what is happening at the moment but I think I will be fine.” His battle against Cuadras certainly was no walk in the park. Defending champ Cuadras wasn’t in it to lose. Indeed, the undefeated Mexican made it clear that he saw Gonzalez was his ticket to the big time. And even though Cuadras lost the fight, he gained an enormous amount of respect from the fight world.

And now people, including, it seems, Gonzalez, are looking forward to a rematch. “As I look at a fight coming up against Carlos Cuadras again,” Gonzalez claimed, “I realize I have to train harder. Every opponent presents different challenges. I do believe that the second fight, the rematch, will be better.” First, however, Gonzalez has business to attend to in Madison Square Garden this Saturday. For, Gonzalez will be featured in the co main event of the Gennady Golovkin-Daniel Jacobs card. His opponent? The hard hitting former champ Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, the man who Cuadras won the super flyweight title from.

In other words, it’s not necessarily easy going for Chocolatito this weekend. Sor Rungvisai may not have faced a murderer’s row throughout his career, but he goes to the body like it’s no one’s business. What’s more, Sun Rungvisai, like Cuadras, undoubtedly sees a great future ahead of him should he beat the Nicaraguan legend. Then there’s the matter that Gonzalez’ last fight was an absolutely brutal affair. Such things can have an impact. Add all this to the fact that the man has already reached Olympian heights and it’s worth wondering if an upset might be in the air.

Still, this is Gonzalez fighting here, the fighter widely regarded as the best pound for pound boxer on earth. Whether that’s really true or not, Gonzalez is a force to be reckoned with. What’s more, he knows what it’s like to be on a big stage. “On any other show,” promoter Tom Loeffler said of Gonzalez-Sor Rungvisai, “it would clearly be the main event.”

Posted on 03/17/2017

The Cuban Heavyweights Professional and Amateur!
By: Ken Hissner

TEOFILO STEVENSON was 6:03 andin 1972, 1976 and 1980 won Olympic Gold Medals.He won World Gold Medals in 1974, 76 and 1980. He won Pan Am Gold in 1975 beat future WBA championMichael Dokes, 79 and a Bronze in 1971. He stopped Duane Bobickin 1972 after losing to him in 1971. He won the Val Barker Trophy in 1972. In 1976 he KO1 John Tate, future WBA champion andin 1981 defeated Jimmy Clark 1978 twice and in 1980 once and in 1982 he lost tofuture WBO champion Francesco Damiani. In 1984 he defeated future 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist Tyrell Biggs and in 1986 beat Alex Garcia. He also defeated future WBA champion Tony Tubbs, Marvin Stinson and Phillip Brown. Stevenson was awarded the Merited Master of Sport of the USSR in 1972, 1976 and 1980. He is the only boxer to have received this. He died in June of 2012 at age 60 from heart failure.

FELIX SAVON was 6:00 and in 1992, 96 and 2000 won Olympic Gold Medals as a heavyweight. In Pan Am Games in 1987, 1991 and 1995he won Gold Medals. He won4 Central American& Caribbean Games and 4 World Cups. He was 362-21 with all losses avenged. He defeated RuslanChagaev twice. He KO’d DaVarryl Williamson. In 2000 Olympics he defeated Michael Bennett and retired at age 33. He won 6 world championships and aSilver Medal. He defeated Danell Nicholson and David Izon in 1992 Olympics. In 1996 he defeated Georgi Kandelak, Luan Krasniqi and David Defiagbon. In 2000 he defeated Michael Bennett, Sebastian Kober and Sultan Ibragimov. He defeated in Pan Am Games Michael Bentt, Shannon Briggs and Lamon Brewster. He is 67.

ALEXIS RUBALCABA was 6:08 and in 1999 he wonthe Pan Am Gold Medal. He representedCuba in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics at Super heavyweight. In 1997 World Games he won a Silver Medal. He is 44.

JORGE LUIS GONZALEZ at 6:07 was 31-8 as a professional. In 1983 won Pam Am Gold. He defeated Tyrell Bigss. In 1987 he won Pan Am Gold defeating Riddick Bowe and Lennox Lewis. In 1987 North American Championships he lost to Lewis.
ROBERT BALADO was 6:00 and was the 1992 Olympics super heavyweight Gold Medalist defeating Larry Donald and Brian Nielsen. He was World Championship Gold Medalist in 1989, 1991 and 1993. He was Pan Am Games Gold Medalist in 1991. He died in 1994 at age 25 in car accident.

JULIO CARLOS “BLACK PANTHER” GOMEZ was 6:03 1/2 and was the WBC cruiserweight champion and finishing at 55-4-1nc (39). He had 10 successful title defenses and moved up to heavyweight fighting twice with former heavyweight champion Oliver McCall winning the first which got reversed to NC but winning the second. He lost to VitaliKlitschko for the WBC heavyweight title and moved back to cruiser. He was 158-12 as an amateur and moved to Germany as a professional. He reversed 2 of his losses as a professional.

MIKE “THE REBEL” PEREZ at 6:01 won the World Junior championship in 2004. In 2007 he defeated Louis Ortiz in the Cuban National championships but lost to Osmay Acosta in the final. In 2007 he defected to Cork, IRE. He was 21-2-1 (13) as a professional finishing up in 2015 losing to Alexander Povetkin for the WBC Silver title at age 30.
ODLANIER SOLIS FONTEat 6:01 ½ was 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist defeating Sultan Ibragimov and David Haye. He won 3 consecutive World Championships in 2001, 03 and 05. In 1999 he defeated Felix Savon for the Cuban title and took 2 of 3 from him. He won the 1999 and 2003 Pan Am Games Gold Medals. His amateur record was 227-14. He is 22-3 (14) as a professional losing to WBC champion VitaliKlitschko in 2011. He won the WBC International, IBF Inter-Continental and the WBA Fedelatin titles. He is 36 and lives in North Miami, FL.

YANQUI DIAZ at 6:04 in 2002 came to Mexico and then Las Vegas, NV, and won 13 of his first 14 fights stopping Juan Carlos Gomez and defeating Vaughn Bean while losing to Tony Thompson. Then in 2005 and 2006 losses to Samuel Peter and Kirk Johnson followed by a pair of nc’s before losing to Damian Wills and Oliver McCall retiring at 30 the end of 2006 with a 13-5 (8) record.

ERISLANDY SAVON the nephew of Felix Salon in 2016 was Olympian Bronze Medalist. He won the Pan Am Games in 2015 and a Silver in the World championships. He won the World Junior championships in 2008. At the National Championships he lost in semi-final by DQ to Osmay Acosta. He is 26.

OSMAY ACOSTA DUARTE won the 2007 Pan Am Games Gold Medal and was the 2008 Olympic heavyweight Bronze Medalist. In 2009 he was the Silver Medalist in the World Amateur championships. At the 2006 National Senior championships he lost to Odlanier Solis at super heavyweight and dropped back to heavyweight winning the Central American Games. He qualified for Beijing in an Olympic qualifier defeating current WBC champion Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder. He retired in 2009 after finishing with a Silver Medal in the World Amateur championships at age 24.

LOUIS “KING KONG” ORTIZ at 6:04 was 343-19 as an amateur. In 2005 he won the PAN AM championships. In 2010 he came to Miami, FL, and won 5 minor titles as a professional in 2010 the FECARBOX, 2011 the Fedelatin, in 2012 the Inter-American, WBC and WBO Latino titles. In 2015 he won the interim WBA World title. He is currently 27-0-2 nc’s (23). He is the current No. 1 WBA, No. 2 WBC and No. 6 IBF contender at 37 turning 38 this month.

NANCIO CARRILLO represented Cuba in the 1968 Olympics losing in the first round to East German Bernd Anders.
Other Cuban heavyweight professionals: Nino Valdez, 48-18-3 (36), OmelioAgramonte, 50-21 (32), Federico Malibran, 34-22-1 (25), Antolin Fierro, 8-8 (8), Santiago Esparraguera, 46-21-4 (42), RoleauxSaguero, 25-21-1 (23), Goyito Rico, 28-12-1 (25), Young John Herrera, 42-22-3 (28) and trained Stevenson, Elieser Castillo, 30-7-2 (17), Julio Mederos, 21-19-3 (14) who was managed by Jake LaMottaand Jose Ribalta, 38-1-1 (27), 55-8 (26) as an amateur in Cuba.

Posted on 03/16/2017

HBO PPV Preview: Golovkin vs. Jacobs, Chocolatito vs. Rungvisai
By: William Holmes

On Saturday night one of HBO’s biggest stars, Gennady Golovkin, will face off against one of the PBC’s biggest stars, Daniel Jacobs, in a WBA/WBC/IBF Middleweight Title Unification bout live on HBO Pay Per View.

This bout will take place at the legendary Madison Square Garden and will also feature a WBC Junior Bantamweight Title fight between Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.

Photo Credit: Tom Hogan-Hoganphotos/K2 Promotions

The Golovkin vs. Jacobs fight is one of the biggest fights that could be made in the middleweight division and is pay per view worthy. The winner will put himself in good position to possibly face Golden Boy Promotions’ cash cow Canelo Alvarez in the fall.

The following is a preview of both world title bouts on the HBO PPV telecast on Saturday.

Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (46-0) vs. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (41-4-1); WBC Junior Bantamweight Title

Roman Gonzalez fought a close match with Carlos Cuadras the last time he stepped inside the ring and Cuadras fights on the undercard of Saturday’s PPV card. However, Gonzales has to get past Rungvisai before he can rematch Cuadras.

The undefeated Gonzalez has stopped thirty eight of his opponents and has never tasted defeated. Rungvisai has four losses but has stopped thirty eight of his opponents, including winning his past thirteen fights by stoppage.

Both boxers are roughly the same size at 5’3” and Gonzlaez has a very slight half an inch reach advantage. Rungvisai has been more active than Gonzalez and fought four times in 2016 and six times in 2015, while Gonzalez only fought twice in 2016 and three times in 2015.

Gonzalez won the light flyweight gold medal in the 2004 Central American Championships and turned pro at the age of 18. Rungvisai has no notable amateur background and a lot of his wins came against opponents with losing records.

Gonzalez is considered by many to be on e of the top pound for pound boxers in the world. He holds victories over Carlos Cuadras, Brian Viloria, Edgar Sosa, Akira Yaegashi, Juan Francisco Estrada, Omar Salado, and Rocky Fuentes.

Rungvisai has spent most of his career fighting in Asia, and three of his losses came in the first five fights in his career. His last loss was in 2014 to Carlos Cuadras. His other notable loss was to Akira Yaegashi. His notable victories pale in comparison to Gonzalez, but he has defeated the likes of Jose Salgado, Yota Sato, and Alvin Bais.

This isn’t a hard fight to pick the winner, and unless Rungvisai is able to use his power to stun Gonzalez in the early rounds it will be nearly impossible for him to win. If Gonzalez can survive the power shots of Brian Viloria, he can survive the power shots of Rungvisai.

Gennady Golovkin (36-0) vs. Daniel Jacobs (32-1); WBA/WBC/IBF Middleweight Title

This is the best fight that Golovkin could have made outside of Canelo Alvarez. Daniel Jacobs also represents the biggest challenge to Golovkin’s titles ever.

Both boxers are known to be knockout artists. Golovkin has stopped thirty three of his opponents and his past twenty three opponents failed to make it to the final round. Jacobs has stopped twenty nine of his opponents and has twelve straight stoppage wins.

Both boxers also have good amateur backgrounds. Golovkin won the Silver Medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics and Jacobs is a former Golden Gloves Champion, a US National Amateur Champion, and a US Olympic Trials Runner Up.

Jacobs lone loss was by TKO to Dmitry Pirog in a major upset at the time. He has defeated the likes of Sergio Mora, Peter Quillin, Caleb Truax, and Ishe Smith.

Golovkin has never been defeated and nobody has ever come close. He has defeated the likes of Kell Brook, Dominic Wade, David Lemieux, Willie Monroe Jr., Martin Murray, Marco Antonio Rubio, Daniel Geale, Curtis Stevens, Matthew Macklin, and Gabriel Rosado.

Two things should be pointed out about both boxers. Jacobs has only fought once since the beginning of 2016 and may be rusty. The other is that Golovkin is thirty four years old and will be turning thirty five in less than a month. Age may be catching up with him and he didn’t look like his usual dominant self when he last fought Kell Brook.

However, Jacobs lone loss was by stoppage to a boxer who isn’t known for his power like Golovkin is. Also, Jacobs is a good boxer, but his competition has been suspect at best. His best victory came against Peter Quillin, his other wins were against pedestrian and above average at best opponents.

This should be an exciting bout and is one of the best bouts to be put on pay per view in awhile, but it’s a fight that Golovkin should win.