Tag Archives: arias

Posted on 11/16/2018

By: William Holmes

On Saturday, November 17th Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing will put on a stacked card live from the Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane, Kansas on the DAZN streaming service.

The card was originally scheduled to take place in Atlantic City, but the addition of Olympic Bronze Medalist Nico Hernandez, already a big draw in Kansas, was a factor in the change of venues.

The card is stacked with talent, including fighters such as Anthony Sims, Gabriel Rosado, Luis Arias, Nico Hernandez, and Canelo’s older brother Ramon Alvarado.

The main event of the evening is a heavyweight bout between Jarell Miller and Bogdan Dinu, with future title implications on the line. The co-main event of the evening is between Claressa Shields and Hannah Rankin for Shield’s IBF and WBA titles as well as the vacant WBC Middleweight Title.

The following is a preview of the co-main event and main event of the night.

Claressa Shields (6-0) vs. Hannah Rankin (5-2); IBF/WBA/WBC Women’s Middleweight Titles

Claressa Shields is one of the biggest names in woman’s boxing, and she has her sight set on some possible big money matches against Christina Hammer, she first has to get past Scottish boxer Hannah Rankin.

Photo Credit: DAZN USA Twitter Account

Shields is easily one of the top pound for pound female boxers in the sport today. She’s a two time Olympic Gold Medalist and her only loss as an amateur was to Savannah Marshall. She’s never tasted defeat and has two stoppage wins on her record. She’s the same size as Rankin, both stand at about 5’8”. But she’s five years younger than Rankin as Shields is only 23 years old.

Rankin only has one stoppage win on her resume and she did not have the amateur success that Shields enjoyed. Rankin however, has never been stopped but did lost her last bout

Both boxers have been fairly active. Shields fought twice in 2018 and three times in 2017. Rankin fought three times in 2018 and four times in 2017.

Shields only has six professional fights but has never faced an opponent with a losing record. She has defeated the likes of Nikki Adler, Tori Nelson, Hanna Gabriels, and Szilvia Szabados. Rankin’s best win to date was against Sanna Turunen. She has lost to the likes of Joanna Ekedahl and Alicia Napoleon. Her wins include wins against opponents with records of 10-47-3 and 2-21-1.

Shields is an exciting fighter to watch, but Rankin is an opponent with little to no shot of winning. Shields should win easily on Saturday.

Jarrell Miller (22-0-1) vs. Bogdan Dinu (18-0); WBA “World” Heavyweight Title

Jarrell Miller is a very large heavyweight boxer who had a prior successful career as a kickboxer. He’s thirty years old, two years younger than his opponent, but will be giving up about one inch in height to Dinu. But Miller will undoubtedly be heavier than Dinu.

Photo Credit:DAZN USA Twitter Account

When he fought Gerald Washington he weighed in at 298 pounds.

Miller is known for his knockout power. He has stopped nineteen of his opponents, and only one of his past ten opponents made it to the final bell. However, Dinu also has considerable power. He has stopped fourteen of his opponents and is currently riding an eight fight win by stoppage streak.

Miller had some success in the United States as an amateur. He was a NY Golden Gloves Finalist. Dinu had some success on the European Amateur Circuit as a child, but neither boxer was highly successful on the international stage.

Miller has fought twice in 2018 and twice in 2017. Dinu has yet to fight in 2018 and had two fights in 2017 and two fights in 2016. Inactivity may be an issue for Dinu.

Dinu has fought exclusively in Romania and Canada and has not faced the level of competition that Miller has faced. His best wins to date were over Marino Goles and Kertson Manswell.

Miller has never tasted defeated and has beaten the likes of Tomasz Adamek, Johan Duhaupas, Mariusz Wach, Gerald Washington, and Fred Kassi.

This is a fight that Miller should win, but Dinu has the power to test Miller’s chin and the height to match Miller. A win for Miller could lead to a future showdown with fellow DAZN fighter, Anthony Joshua.

Posted on 11/16/2018

By: Sean Crose

“That’s his only stab at me,” Luis Arias says of this weekend’s opponent, Gabe Rosado, “to say that I ran like a bitch against Jacobs.” The Jacobs Arias is referring to is middleweight titlist Daniel Jacobs, one of the top fighters in one of boxing’s most dominant divisions. Arias dropped a unanimous decision to Jacobs, the man many felt was the first person to best the feared Gennady Golovkin. It was a defeat Rosado was happy to bring up after Arias mentioned Rosado’s number of losses in pre fight trash talk.

“But I didn’t get KO’d,” says Arias in his own defense. “He’s had two feet against plenty of guys and got KO’d, beaten up badly. I had a little scratch on my face after the Jacobs fight.” Still, the 18-1 Arias is looking for redemption. “I am putting pressure on myself ,” he says, “to erase the bad taste I left last time, that’s the task this weekend.” Rosado’s words have clearly hit their mark. “I need to prove that I am not a little bitch. It may have looked like I ran like one but I am not – I had to do that to survive and make the 12 rounds.”

“I am a true warrior and I love the wars,” says Arias. “I love to bang it out – I just wasn’t physically capable of doing that in the Jacobs fight.” Arias is particularly bothered by the fact that fans may have been upset by his performance against Jacobs. “I left a sour taste in the mouths of the fans in the Jacobs fight,” he says, “but I am a better and more mature fighter now, I’ve learned from it and I think that this is the fight that changes my career.”

Arias isn’t totally dismissive of Rosado, a hardened and respected 24-11 vet. “I’m a warrior,” says Arias, “he’s a warrior – it’s going to be bloody but the blood is not going to be mine.” Arias actually feels he would have performed better against Jacobs had he met Rosado earlier in his career. “He’s got a lot of miles on the clock but he’s durable. If I’d had this fight before the Jacobs fight then I would have been readier for that stage, but it didn’t work out that way. I get a fresh chance and a do-over now, and I’m going to do this right this time.”

Arias-Rosado will be part of a loaded card which will go down Saturday at the Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane Kansas. The card will be aired live on the DAZN streaming service.

Posted on 11/12/2017

By: William Holmes

Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Sports put on their first HBO card featuring their newest signee, middleweight Daniel Jacobs, at the NYCB Live, Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

Three bouts were televised tonight. The opening bout was between Cletus “The Hebrew Hammer” Seldin and Roberto Ortiz in the junior welterweight division, the second bout was between Jerell Miller and Mariusz Wach in the heavyweight division, and the main event was between Daniel Jacobs and Luis Arias in the middleweight division.

Photo Credit: HBO Boxing Twitter

The first bout of the night was between Cletus Seldin (25-0) and Roberto Ortiz (35-1-2) in the junior welterweight division.

Cletus Seldin wasted no time and took the pressure right to Roberto Ortiz and knocked him down with a big overhand right in the first twenty seconds of the opening round. Ortiz was able to get back up and had to withstand an aggressive assault by Seldin. Seldin as able to land two good uppercuts that forced Ortiz to take a knee, who complained about getting hit behind the head.

Seldin continued his pressure into the second round and opened up a bad cut over the left eye of Ortiz from a hard right hook. The ringside doctor took a look at the eye of Ortiz but allowed the fight to continue.

By the third round blood was pouring out of the cut above Ortiz’s eye, and Seldin was loading up with his right hands and was looking for a stoppage. An elbow to the nose by Seldin forced Ortiz to take a knee, but his cut above his eye was bleeding badly.

The ringside doctor took another look at the cut over Ortiz’s eye and told the referee the fight should be stopped.

Cletus Seldin wins by TKO at 2:43 of the third round.

The next bout of the night was between Jarrell Miller (19-0) and Mariusz Wach (33-2) in the heavyweight division.

Wach was active with his jab in the first round and was able to use his height advantage to keep Miller at bay. Miller was able to land a few jabs of his own, but Wach was more accurate with it in the opening round.

Miller was landing more punches in the second round, including some good short right uppercuts. Miller’s hand speed controlled in the third and fourth rounds and he was showing a good variety of punches and combination.

Wach was able to have some success with his straight right hand in the opening four rounds, but stopped throwing it midway through the fifth after lading a good straight right hand.

Wach complained to his corner that he hurt his right hand before the start of the sixth and basically stopped throwing it during that round. Miller was greatly outlanding Wach by this point and even had Wach momentarily stunned in the middle of the seventh round.

Wach’s corner could have stopped the fight before the start of the eighth round, but they allowed Wach to continue fighting while only using one hand. Wach’s right hand hurt so bad that he showed visible signs of pain even when he blocked a punch by Miller.

Wach came out for the start of the ninth round but he was still not using his right hand. The referee jumped up to the ring canvas and told the referee to stop the fight.

Miller wins by TKO at 1:02 of the ninth round.

Daniel Jacobs (32-2) and Luis Arias (18-0) met in the middleweight division in the main event of the night.

Jacobs was the taller fighter and had the obvious power advantage going into this fight. His power was evident in the opening round when he landed a hard right cross that forced Arias to try to tackle Jacobs to keep from taking more punishment. Jacobs landed a good lead left hook at the end of the first.

Arias was warned to keep his punches up in the second round but he continued to focus to the body. Jacobs ended the second round with a good combination.

Jacobs walked Arias down in the third and fourth round and was able to land some good right uppercuts. Arias had a good right hand in the fifth round, but that was his only effective offense displayed in the first half of the fight.

Jacobs looked extremely confident in the seventh and eighth round as his accuracy gradually increased. Arias was fighting while moving backwards in the ninth round and Jacobs did not look worried about Arias’ power at all.

Arias needed a knockout or at least a flurry of knockdowns in the championship rounds in order to win the fight, but that never came. Jacobs just continued to apply pressure and land hard shots to the body and head and was able to score a knockdown in the eleventh round, even though it was a clipping hook that landed behind the head.

The judges scored it 118-109, 120-107, and 119-108 for Daniel Jacobs.

Posted on 11/10/2017

By: William Holmes

On Saturday night Eddie Hearn’s latest acquisition, Daniel Jacobs, will be on display on HBO. He will be facing Luis Arias in the main event of the evening. Two other bouts are also planned to be broadcast, a heavyweight fight between Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller and Mariusz Wach in the heavyweight division and a junior welterweight bout between Cletus Seldin and Roberto Ortiz.

The NYCB Live, Home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York will be the host site for Saturday’s boxing card.

Photo Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing

The following is a preview of Saturday’s HBO card.

Cletus Seldin (25-0) vs. Roberto Ortiz (35-1-2); Junior Welterweights

The opening bout of the night will be between Cletus “The Hebrew Hammer” Seldin and Roberto Ortiz in the junior welterweight division.

Seldin is a local fighter with a large, supportive fan base. He’s fought in New York for most of his career with a large majority of his fights taking place at the Paramount Theatre. He’s undefeated, but he is currently thirty one years old and his window of opportunity for a legitimate world title fight is getting smaller.

His opponent Roberto Ortiz is the same age and has fought mainly in Mexico. He fought one time in the United States and was stopped by Lucas Matthysse. Ortiz will have a slight two and a half inch height and reach advantage.

Neither Seldin or Ortiz has a notable amateur background in boxing. However, Seldin does have experience in wrestling and judo. He also was a finalist in the New York Golden Gloves tournament.

Both boxers have decent power. Seldin has sixteen stoppage wins on his resume while Ortiz has twenty six. Seldin has never tasted defeated while Ortiz was stopped in his one fight against a big name opponent.

Neither boxer has any big name victories. Seldin’s best wins were against Jesus Selig, Johnny Garcia, and Bayan Jargal. Ortiz’s best wins were against Reyes Sanchez and John Aparicio.

This is an excellent test for Seldin and it will be the toughest of his career. Ortiz has a good record, but lost the only fight in which he faced a good opponent. Seldin should be able to win a close victory, but we’ll definitely have a better idea if he’s a legitimate contender on Saturday night.

Jarrell Miller (19-0) vs. Mariusz Wach (33-2); Heavyweights

Jarrell Miller is an intriguing heavyweight prospect in that he has experienced some surprising success in another combat sport, that being kickboxing.

He was able to defeat UFC veteran Pat Barry in a kickboxing match and went 19-0 in Muay Thai before going to kick boxing. He found some success in kickboxing’s prestige league, K1, and lost to UFC veteran Mirko Cro Cop twice by decision.

He has been very successful since switching to boxing. He’s undefeated and has seventeen stoppage wins, including eight stoppage victories in a row. He fought once in 2017 and three times in 2016.

Miller does have some amateur boxing experience. He made it to the finals of the New York Golden Gloves and lost to Tor Hammer on points. His opponent, Mariusz Wach, also had a successful amateur career and was a Polish National Champion and an Olympic alternate.

Miller will have an eight year age advantage on Wach, who is currently thirty seven years old. Wach will have a height advantage of about three and a half inches and a reach advantage of four inches.

In addition to being tested as a kickboxer, Miller also has defeated some notable heavyweights. His notable wins include Gerald Washington, Fred Kassi, and Donovan Dennis.

Wach’s biggest wins have come against Tye Fields, Kevin McBride, and Jason Gavern. His losses were to Alexander Povetkin and Wladimir Klitschko.

Wach’s age and relative inactivity is a concern. He fought only once in 2017 and once in 2016, against less than impressive opposition.

There’s been a lot of talk recently about a potential heavyweight fight between Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua, but an impressive win by Miller could result in him getting a title shot before Wilder and Joshua meet inside the ring.

Daniel Jacobs (32-2) vs. Luis Arias (18-0); Middleweights

Daniel Jacobs earned the title of “Miracle Man” after defeating a diagnosis of bone cancer in 2011. He was previously signed to Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) but has recently decided to sign with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Sport.

Jacobs had a very successful amateur career. He was a Junior Olympics National Champion, a Police Athletic League (PAL) National Champion, and a National Golden Gloves Champion. His opponent, Luis Arias, also had a very successful amateur career. He was a US National Champion at middleweight in 2008 and 2010 and was also a Gold Medal PAL winner.

Arias is twenty seven years old and three years younger than Jacobs. Jacobs will have a very sleight half an inch reach advantage over Arias.

Jacobs has a large edge in power over Arias. Jacobs has stopped twenty nine of his opponents and nine of his past ten fights were TKO victories. Arias only has nine stoppage victories, but three of his past four fights were TKO victories.

Jacobs has the better professional resume of the two boxers. He has defeated the likes of Ishe Smith, Jarrod Fletcher, Caleb Truax, Sergio Mora, and Peter Quillin. His losses were a close decision loss to Gennady Golovkin and a shocking knockout loss to Dmitry Pirog.

Arias has defeated the likes of Arif Magomedov, Scott Sigmon, and Jorge Silva.

Arias does have an edge in activity. He already fought twice in 2017 and fought three times in 2016. Jacobs has only fought once in 2016 and once in 2017.

This should actually be a tougher fight for Jacobs than most expect. Arias has the amateur background to match Jacobs and he has never tasted defeat. He’s also been in the ring more often than Jacobs and won’t have to worry about ring rust.

However, Jacobs was very impressive in his defeat to Gennady Golovkin and is filled with confidence. Arias has never felt the power of a boxer like Jacobs and has never been in the ring as a professional with someone of Jacobs’ caliber.

This is Daniel Jacobs’ fight to lose, but Arias has enough talent to make it closer than expected.

Posted on 06/03/2017

Luis Arias Interview: “The goal is to be the number one contender by early next year”
By: Matthew N. Becher

​Luis Arias is a young (26), undefeated (17-0 8KO), American middleweight boxer who will be appearing on the June 17th HBO pay per view showing of the rematch between Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev.

Arias will look to make a big statement in the division as he takes on top ten ranked Arif Magomedov. Boxing Insider was able to speak with Arias as he took a break from his training camp in Florida.

Boxing Insider: Tell the fans a little about yourself and your fighting style.

Luis Arias: I was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I picked up boxing at a young age, at about 7, 8 years old. I then had my first amateur fight at 8. I was an American amateur, seven time national champion, Olympic trial finalist. I’m currently 17-0 as a pro and ranked in more than one of the sanctioning bodies organizations. I have a very fan friendly style. Considered more of a boxer puncher, but I like to be more of a puncher first. I’m a little aggressive, I like breaking my opponent down. I like to go to the body like no other, I feel like I’m one of the best body punchers in the game and I’m ready to prove it.

Boxing Insider: You are a young fighter, what does it feel like to be fighting on the undercard of such a big event?

Luis Arias: It feels great. It’s a fantastic opportunity. It’s like every fighters dream to make it to HBO. To have my first televised fight to be on a HBO pay per view card is amazing. It’s just truly a blessing and goes to show you that hard work really pays off. I’ve been working hard for this and my time has come.

Boxing Insider: What do you know about your opponent Arif Magomedov?

Luis Arias: Well, I know everything there is to know about him. I studied him, my team has studied him. I know he’s a tough guy, young, aggressive. I know he comes to fight. But he does already have a blemish in his record, he’s been beat before and come June 17th I have the perfect game plan to beat him again.

Boxing Insider: Do you feel that a win against Magomedov puts you as one of the top 20 middleweights in the world?

Luis Arias: Well, I’m already one of the top 20 middleweights in the world, but once I get this guy out of the way I will definitely be in the top ten. All I have to do is put on an A class performance, show the crowd that I am a threat to anyone in the division. I will be defending my belt (USBA) for the second time and I will definitely be in the top ten. The goal is to be the number one contender by early next year.

Boxing Insider: That leads into my final question, what are your overall goals for 2017.

Luis Arias: My goal is to creep up that ranking, keep climbing and to be the number one contender. GGG and Canelo are having a big showdown in my weight division. Once their fight is over with both are going to have to fight someone early next year, and my plan is to be the number one contender and force the winner of that fight to fight me. I want top 10 after June, by the end of the year be at least top 5 and just keep climbing and go from there.