Boxing Insider Notebook: Pacquiao, Mayweather, Mansour, Jennings, Boxcino, Cotto, Geale, and more

By: William Holmes

The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of April 28th to May 6th, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.

Cinco De Mayo Kicks off Canelomania

Cinco De Mayo unleashed “Canelomania” as Canelo Alvarez and James Kirkland arrived in Houston to kickoff fight week for the clash on May 9th at Minute Maid Park and live on HBO World Championship Boxing. The fighters were greeted by Houston fans at a special Cinco De Mayo Fan Fiesta hosted by Corona and HEB and then went to the ceremonial coin toss for the Houston Dynamo vs. San Jose Earthquakes game along with Oscar De La Hoya.Tickets are priced in the range of $25 to $350 and are available for purchase online at www.ticketmaster.com

Juan Dominguez Headlines May 22nd Card at the Claridge in Atlantic City

On Friday night, May 22nd boxing returns to the Claridge in Atlantic City with a 10 bout card promoted by King’s Promotions in association with DeeLee Promotions. The main event will be between undefeated super bantamweight Juan “Baby Tito” Dominguez (18-0) and Jonathan Perez (33-10) in a bout scheduled for eight rounds.
Bryant Perella (11-0), John Magda (9-0), and Gervonta Davis (10-0) are scheduled to take part in eight round co-features and are a part of a nine fight undercard. Tickets can be purchased online at www.claridge.eventbrite.com

Mayweather vs Pacquiao Hinders Avengers Opening Weekend

Brent Lang of the Variety.com reported that “Avengers: Age of Ultron” fell short of projections and opened up to a $191.3 million opening. Polling conducted by C4-R&D discovered that 52% of those who didn’t see a movie this weekend said it was because of the fight, and that 24% of those said there wasn’t enough time to see both the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight and watch the Avengers.

Jennings and Santana to be Back on the Big Stage

HBO World Championship Boxing had one of their highest rated shows since 2012 with the Klitschko vs. Jennings championship bout on April 25th, and Gary Shaw feels his fighters Bryant Jennings (19-1) and Francisco Santana (22-4-1) can make quick comebacks to the big stage.

“There is no doubt in my mind that Bryant Jennings and Francisco Santana are fighters the fans want see,” said Gary Shaw. “The viewership that HBO had on April 25th was fantastic and I believe Jennings and Santana had a lot to do with those high ratings. Jennings because of his activity on social media. Santana because he has a tremendous amount of Latin fans that support him. With that being said, I believe both fighters, will be back on the big stage in the future.”

“Bryant Jennings proved he’s an elite heavyweight contender with his performance against Klitschko,” Gary Shaw continued. “Santana is a Mexican warrior and both fighters gained a lot of fans that night. Both fighters pressed the action, taking the fight to their opponents, bringing excitement to the bout. Many in attendance felt the scores for both Jennings and Santana were not reflective of their fights. It was a lot closer then what the judges scorecards read. Jennings and Santana both love being HBO fighters. I have plans to bring them back to HBO.”

Boxcino Finals Set for May 22nd in Corona, California

Junior middleweight Brandon Adams (16-1) is returning to Boxcino finals after competing in last year’s championship fight in the middleweight division. This time he will be facing off against John Thompson (16-1) on Friday, May 22nd from the Omega Products Outdoor Arena in Corona, California in the Boxcino 2015 Junior Middleweight Championship. “Everything is good, training is going well,” Brandon Adams said. “I’m still in shape from my last fight and I’m coming to get what is mine. I’m going to put on a performance that will make everyone proud. “My training camp has been great,” John Thompson said. “I’ve been working hard, staying hungry. I have one day on my mind and that is May 22nd.”

Donovan Dennis (14-2, 11 KOs) of Cleveland, Ohio and Andrey Fedosov (27-3, 22 KOs) of Russia will meet in a 10-round fight to determine the Boxcino 2015 heavyweight champion. “I’ve been in Los Angeles for training camp, getting good sparring,” Donovan Dennis said. “I know Andrey will be ready, and so will I.” “I’m glad that I’ve made it into the finals of this great tournament on ESPN,” Andrey Fedosov said. “I’m training very hard in Los Angeles and I’m confident that I will win the fight.” Tickets are available online at Thompsonboxing.com.

Heavyweights Mansour and Dawejko Headline ESPN Friday Night Fights

The May 8th edition of ESPN Friday Night Fights will feature veteran heavyweight Amir “Hardcore” Mansour (21-1) and Joey “The Tank” Dawejko (14-3-2) in a ten round main event live from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.
“My style, I know how to adjust to whatever is going on in the ring- ring generalship, power, speed,” Mansour said. “I can really do it all. When I’m in the ring, I feel like I can do anything.”

Added Dawejko, “I guess you could say I’m a boxer-puncher, or a puncher-boxer. I could do it all.”
The co-feature of the night will be between DeCarlo Perez (13-3-1) and Jesse Nicklow (24-5-3) in the middleweight division.

Showtime Sports “All Access” Wins Sports Emmy Award

Showtime Sports original documentary series “All Access” earned a Sports Emmy for the second consecutive year, taking home the honors for “Outstanding Sports Documentary Series” at the 36th Annual Sports Emmy Award Ceremony in New York City.

The documentary series won its first Sports Emmy at last year’s ceremony for Outstanding Edited Sports Event Coverage with “ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Canelo Epilogue”.

Daniel Geale Wraps Up Training Camp in Australia in Preparation for Cotto

Former Two-Time World Champion, Daniel Geale (31-3, 16 KO’s) is finalizing his last days of training in Australia as he prepares for his upcoming June 6 world championship bout against WBC and Ring Magazine Middleweight World Champion Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KO’s) which will be televised live on HBO from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
“Training camp has started off on the right track,” said Daniel Geale. “I’m super focused on Miguel Cotto and we have a nice game plan were working on. My countrymen have shown a tremendous amount of support since I came back from the press conference. I’m getting some good work with some mates here at home and my body feels good. I’ll be leaving to start training in the United States shortly and it’s something I’m looking forward too. Cotto is a great champion, but I’m coming to win and bring that belt home to Australia.”

“Daniel Geale and his team have assured me that he’s looking real sharp in camp,” said co-promoter Gary Shaw. “We have everything set up once he arrives in the United States. This is a fight the fans won’t want to miss.”

Atlantic City Police Athletic League
The Atlantic City Police Athletic League is hosting the first boxing card in the city this year with an amateur event on Saturday to raise money for its children’s programs.

The event titled “The Best of the Best” will feature several amateur fighters from South Jersey and the tri-state area. It starts at noon at the PAL gym, 250 N. New York Avenue in Atlantic City. Admission is $20 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under. For more information, call 609-347-5478.