Tag Archives: bounce

Posted on 08/02/2018

By: William Holmes

Floyd Mayweather’s TMT Promotions will televise a card on Bounce TV live from Sam’s Town in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The main event of the evening will be between Ladarius Miller and Dennis Galarza in the lightweight division, and the co-main event of the evening will be between Juan Heraldez and Kevin Watts in the junior welterweight division.

The undercard will feature several solid contenders and up and coming boxers, including Sharif Bogere, Omar Douglas, Kevin Newman, and others.

Photo Credit: Mayweather Promotions

The following is a preview of the two main fights of the night.

Juan Heraldez (13-0) vs. Kevin Watts (12-2); Junior Welterweights

Both Heraldez and Watts are in the middle of their athletic prime and have under fifteen fights under their belts. Watts is twenty six years old and Heraldez is twenty nine years old. Watts is a little tall for the junior welterweight division, he stands at 5’10” with a 70 ½” reach.

Watts’ activity has been ok. He’s fought once in 2018, once in 2017, and twice in 2016. Heraldez hasn’t fought yet in 2018, but fought twice in 2017 and twice in 2016.

Neither boxer has a notable amateur career to write of.

Watts has gone 1-2 in his past three fights. He has losses on his resume to Jose Miguel Borrego and Eddie Ramirez. He had an impressive win over Ryan Karl in his last match, and also has defeated the likes of Michael Chuedcki, and Manuel Damairias Lopez.

Heraldez has already defeated on opponent that Watts has lost to, and that’s Jose Miguel Borrego. He has also defeated the likes of Alfonso Alvera, Reyes Sanchez, and Adam Mate.

Watts length and reach could be an issue for Heraldez, but Watts’ two losses were by stoppage and they came recently. Heraldez has a decent amount of power with eight stoppage wins, so it seems like he should be the favorite going into their bout on Friday night.

Ladarius Miller (16-1) vs. Dennis Galarza (16-3); Lightweights

The main event is between two contenders that are twenty five years old and are gunning for title shots in the near future.

Miller’s is one of Floyd Mayweather’s better fighters in his stable. He’s been fairly active and fought twice already in 2018, twice in 2017, and four times in 2016. He’s been on a solid seven fight win streak and is looking to make it eight in a row against Galarza.

Galarza has also been fairly active. He fought once already in 2018 and three times in 2017. However, he’s gone 3-2 in his last five fights and struggles against good competition.

Neither boxer has a notable amateur career. Miller will be giving up about one inch in height to Galarza but will have a two inch reach advantage.

Miller’s lone loss was to Rolando Chinea early on in his career. He has beaten the likes of Carlos Padilla, Jesus Gutierrez, and most impressively he beat Jamel Herring.

Galarza has losses to Edner Cherry, Cesar Alan Valenzuela, and Vincent Jennings His notable victories include Omar Tienda, Jonathan Perez, and Bernado Gomez.

Mayweather seems high on Miller, perhaps because Miller reminds him of himself. Miller only have five stoppage wins on his resume, but he’s known as an excellent defensive fighter.

Galarza has some power, as he has stopped nine of his opponents, but on paper it looks like he’ll need a knockout to win against Miller, because Miller is the better technical fighter.

Posted on 05/12/2018

By: Bryant Romero

Tony Harrison got a much needed victory to build some momentum in his career as he scored a clear but somehow only a split verdict over the game but outgunned Ishe Smith at the Sam’s Town Hotel in Las Vegas on Friday night. Harrison (27-2, 21 KOs) used his superior size, reach, and punching power to offset the very durable and always tough Ishe Smith as Harrison displayed his jab throughout the fight.

Photo Credit: Chris Farina/Mayweather Promotions

The change in momentum of the fight was in the third round as Harrison scored a knockdown with a clean overhand right that buckled and dropped the former champion. The 27-year-old got the confidence boost he needed as he seemed to run away with the bout thereafter. He hurt Smith on multiple occasions throughout the fight and seemed to be on verge of a stoppage win in some of the later stanzas.

Smith who dropped to (29-10, 12 KOs) with the defeat, showed tremendous toughness by be able to last the distance. However, he had trouble with the length and range of the younger challenger and was limited to only spurts of success has he tried all night to get inside of Harrison’s reach and land devastating punches. Despite getting dropped and stunned in the contest on multiple occasions, one judge had in his favor by the score of 95-94.

Harrison almost made a statement by being very close to being the first to stop Ishe Smith, but it wasn’t to be and settled for the split decision victory. With the win, Harrison moves closer to title contention and perhaps will get opportunity for a title eliminator in his very next bout.

In the co-featured bout Andrew “The Beast” Tabiti kept his undefeated record intact with a knockout win over Lateef Kayode in their scheduled ten round bout. The first five rounds was an ugly hugfest fight as Tabiti (16-0, 13 KOs) spared the audience by ending it with a right uppercut in the sixth round and scoring an impressive knockout victory. Kayode (21-3, 16 KOs) dropped to his knees and was unable to beat the count. With the victory, Tabiti moves closer to title contention in the talented cruiserweight division.

Posted on 05/10/2018

By: Bryant Romero

Super welterweight contenders Tony Harrison and former world champion Ishe Smith will face off with one another on Friday May 11 at the Sam’s Town Hotel in Las Vegas with the winner of this bout inching closer to title contention. A lot is on the line for both combatants heading into this crossroads bout as the winner will move on to better things, which could mean a title eliminator in the near future. The loser will suffer another setback and will have to rebuild towards fighting at the world class level again.

Photo Credit: Chris Farina/Mayweather Promotions

The 39-year-old Smith (29-9, 12 KOs) is an 18 year veteran of the fight game and has been in the ring and sparred with the best in the world from different generation of fighters. Smith is looking to keep his momentum going as he’s coming off a close debatable loss to Julian Williams in his last bout, though many in attendance felt Smith was the deserved winner despite the scorecards awarding Williams with the unanimous decision win. Smith will now look to use his experience and veteran tactics to upset another young fighter who is looking to get back in title contention.

““Nobody has put on for Las Vegas like I have. I’ve done everything in my career the hard way. I took Cornelius Bundrage’s belt in his hometown. I’m not going to be beat on Friday night.

“I’ve been in this game two decades and I’ve seen the highs and the lows. If everything works out, I’ll be victorious on Friday night. I’m ready to go on the road and take on anyone,” Smith said.

Tony Harrison (26-2, 21 KOs) from Detroit is the odds favorite in this fight, though Harrison at the top level hasn’t proved whether he deserves to be as high as a 4-1 favorite heading into this bout and fighting in the hometown of Ishe Smith. Harrison showed promise early in his career and the Promotion had hoped with the charisma that he has, that perhaps they could’ve developed him into a marquee star, but he’s suffered setbacks in his two step up fights that would have taken him into another level had he won those fights.

Harrison has since bounced back with two wins in stay busy fights since the devastating stoppage loss to current unified super welterweight champion Jarrett Hurd in Harrison’s only world title opportunity thus far in his career. The 27-year-old is very still motivated to get into the ring and get back into title contention with a win over Smith this Friday night.

“Every time I step into the ring I’m extremely motivated. I’m fighting to feed my family. I’m from Detroit so we go through wars all the time. I was ready to jump on this fight as soon as they asked me about it.

“This is a fight that will get me back to a world title fight. This can get me right back into a title eliminator. What better place to do it than the boxing capital of the world? Everybody who fights wants to be in the main event fighting in Las Vegas,” Harrison said.

In the co-feature bout, Andrew Tabiti (15-0, 9 KOs) will look to keep his undefeated record intact when he takes on veteran Lateef Kayode (21-2, 16 KOs) in a ten round cruiserweight bout.

Posted on 11/19/2017

by B.A. Cass

Julian Williams defeated Ishe Smith tonight by unanimous decision. The scores were too lopsided to be taken seriously.

Photo Credit: Mayweather Promotions

In the first round, Williams used his quick, powerful jab to keep Smith at bay. But Smith didn’t back down and kept walking Williams down.

During the second round, it became clear that all Williams has to offer is the jab. Smith, on the other hand, is a multi-dimensional fighter. He put in work to the body while also throwing jabs and rights to the head.

Williams did utilize his right hand in the third round, but that was because Smith made him use it by bringing the action to Williams. During this round, Williams head-butted Smith causing a cut to open to the side of Smith’s left eye.

During the fourth round, Smith slipped and immediately got up. But Smith was soon reprimanded for hitting Williams with a low blow. Smith continued to work the body of his opponent during the third round, but his cut opened again.

The fight really started to get fun in the fifth round. Smith went for it—letting his hands go and hitting to the body and the head. Williams didn’t buckle, and he deserves credit for that. Just before the round ended, Smith landed a great right hand to the head.

For some inexplicable reason, Williams stopped using his jab during the sixth round. His jab had previously been his only defense against the more aggressive Smith. During the seventh, Williams head-butted Smith again, opening a new cut, this time above the left eye. This time the cut was bad, and the blood was coming down into Smith’s eye. In the next round, the referee paused the fight to get the doctor to look Smith’s cut, which was bleeding. “I can see,” Smith said, and the doctor gave his okay.

In the ninth round, Williams was more active, and the Smith’s hometown fans started chanting, “Ishe, Ishe, Ishe.” Williams was still forgoing the use of his jab, and because of this, Smith was able to land a series of clean combinations.

And then in the tenth round, Williams landed another headbutt. I say “landed” because it’s hard to believe that this third headbutt was accidental. Williams came at Smith like a soccer player trying to go for a header. Smith was hurt and stood for a moment doubled over. But the fight continued, and Smith was more active, as he had been for much of the fight. Smith ended strong.

It was a very close fight, but the scores did not reflect that at all. The scores were 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93 for Williams. But bad scoring is something fight fans have come to expect when a fight takes place in Las Vegas.

However, the fight between Earl Newman and Lionell Thompson was judged fairly.

In the first round, Thompson was more active but inflicted no damage to his opponent. Newman landed jabs, mostly to the chest, and seemed to be controlling the movement of the fight.

The second round was uneventful, except for the fact that Floyd Mayweather—wearing a white turtle and grey sportscoat—began offering advice to Thompson from his ringside seats.

Everything changed in the third round. It was during this round that Thompson landed a solid uppercut that staggered Newman. Thompson got his opponent against the ropes and may have finished him, had not the referee, Robert Byrd, interceded. Byrd didn’t stop the fight but instead offered Newman an eight count. It was unclear why Byrd decided to do this as Newman hardly touched the ropes.

During the fourth round, Newman was knocked down. He took his time getting up and once the fight resumed it appeared Newman’s legs had yet to recover. Byrd told him, “Got to show me something, son.”

By the fifth round, it became clear that Thompson was now controlling the movement of the fight. He was making Newman follow him around. Worse, Newman wasn’t letting his hands go. During the sixth round, Thompson began throwing combinations to the body and Newman was staggered once.

Newman started to pick up the pace a bit starting in the seventh round. He was throwing more combinations, but he was still too slow. For example, in the eighth round, he hit Thompson with a solid right but then paused before landing body shots, giving Thompson time to protect himself. Thompson wasn’t damaged by any of Newman’s shots.

Thompson performed much better than probably anyone expected. He was faster, more aggressive, and, baring the eighth and ninth rounds, more active than Newman. Thompson also showed brilliance in backing up and using the ropes to evade his opponent’s punches.

And so, it was no surprise when all three judges gave Lionell Thompson the win. It was the right choice, even if it put the dreams of the top-heavy Earl Newman, two-time NY Golden Gloves winner and formally undefeated fighter, on hold. It’s hard to see where Newman goes from here. He needed a decisive win to progress to the next level, but he has shown that he just isn’t that impressive.

Follow B.A. Cass on Twitter @WiththePunch

Posted on 03/16/2017

Kauffman & Mansour in Showdown at Reading Friday!
By: Ken Hissner

There was a time when they were sparring one another. Then came the Facebook trash talking back and forth. Now the rubber has hit the road on March 17th at the Santander Arena in Reading, PA. Travis “My Time” Kauffman, 31-1 (23), of Reading, PA, takes on southpaw Amir “Hardcore” Mansour, 22-2-1 (16), of Wilmington, DE, over 12 rounds for the WBC US (USNBC) and PA State heavyweight titles.

This writer is not a fan of two boxers I like fighting one another but I have to say it will be an interesting match-up on Premier Boxing Champions: The Next Round on Bounce TV starting at 9pm. Doors open at 6pm and first bout 6:30pm. It is a ten bout card! It’s quite unusual to have 20 boxers on a card with only one with a losing record. Kings Promotions and Corona are promoters.

Wednesday in Reading a press conference was held at the Doubletree Hotel with David Feldman at the microphone. He started with the co-feature with former IBF welterweight champion Kermit “El Asesino” Cintron and David “Day Day” Grayton. Cintron’s trainer Joe Pastore said “Kermit has re-discovered the style he once had. His right hand after surgery is now fine”. “I am well prepared and come Friday it will be my night,” said Cintron. Grayton had little to say.

Mansour is the former USBA and PA State champion. Kauffman is the No. 1 rated USBA contender. “Everything is great. I was in Houston since December 20th and came home March 5th. I have been motivated knowing that I have a killer in front of me. Amir wants what I want and that’s a shot at the heavyweight title.I knew if I beat Arreola it would open eyes, but if I beat Mansour it will open doors,” said Kauffman.

Trainer of Kauffman Naziim Richardson said “I think it will be worth for both. One word for Mansour and that is “dangerous” guy. He can blow your brains out with a good shot. You can’t lose your focus for a second.”
In pertaining to his age Mansour said “I’m selling youth juice at 1k a bottle if anyone is interested. I like to see sparks fly and this is a great opportunity for both of us.”

In the co-feature former IBF welterweight champion Kermit “El Asesino” Cintron, 39-5-2 (30) will be seeking win number 40. He is 6-0-1 in his last seven fights. He is taking on David “Day Day” Grayton, 15-1 (11), of Wash., D.C., in a scheduled 10 round super welterweight bout. Grayton was the 2010 National Golden Gloves champion defeating Errol Spence who is now the No. 1 IBF contender and former 2016 Olympian. This will be Cintron’s biggest test since coming back in 2013.

The undercard features the former 2-time IBF cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham, 28-8-1 (13), of Philadelphia, back after an almost a year lay-off taking on Felipe “El Indio” Romero, 19-11-1 (13), in a scheduled 8. He is from Baja, MEX. He twice defeated Julio Cesar Gonzalez who stopped Poland’s DariuszMichalczewski win streak when he was 48-0 and in Germany winning the WBO light heavyweight title. Romero was the Mexican cruiserweight champion at the time. In his next fight he won the Mexican heavyweight title. Then he defeated Gonzalez in a rematch.
A pair of unbeaten Brooklyn boxers will be on the undercard in Chordale Booker, 5-0 (3), and Chris Colbert, 5-0 (2), in separate bouts. Local Reading product southpaw super welterweight Erik Spring, 8-1-2 (1), will be meeting Jeremiah Wiggins, 10-5-1 (5), out of Newport News, VA. Another local middleweight Nicholas Hernandez, 5-2 (1), meets Nick Valliere, 5-1 (2), of Forked River, NJ. And another Reading boxer super lightweight Kashon Hutchinson, 2-1 (1), takes on Darius “I Am King” Ervin, 3-1 (0), of L.A. While another in Jesus Perez makes his debut.

Posted on 02/16/2017

Bounce TV Gets A Surprise(And Huge) Ratings Win With It’s PBC Broadcast
By: Sean Crose

Boxing fans and analysts can be a mean bunch. They can be a great bunch, sure, but they can be mean as hell at times. Indeed, some Twitter cranks I know might well openly admit their less than pleasant take on all things boxing. Here’s the thing, though – the nastiness can be grating as much as it can be (let’s face it) genuinely funny. Case in point: Bounce TV, a little-known cable network, has been running Premiere Boxing Champions fights for some time now. And it’s practically been laughed out of Dodge by the fight world’s know it alls.

The fights were crap. The broadcast team was crap. The production values were crap. There was nothing redeeming at all about such a joke of an operation and fight fans were essentially better off checking out bowling instead. So essentially went the word around the sewing circle. Then came last weekend. I wrote about Bounce TVs PBC card that Friday, and it was a doozy. Rising star Robert Easter did his thing, of course, but it was the two lead up fights before Easter’s appearance that made for truly thrilling television. The middleweight throwdown between Terrell Gausha and Luis Hernandez was most impressive. Same with Rau’shee Warren’s upset defeat at the gloves of Shanat Zhakiyaof in a bantamweight title scrap.

What’s, more the audience in Toledo, Ohio was alive and kicking, something fight fans don’t see much of outside of Europe these days. Oh, and the broadcast team, which included Austin Trout, was very likeable and not the least bit grating (unlike some broadcast teams can be at times). Little wonder, then, that Friday’s card did good ratings. What IS a surprise, however, is that the card actually did far better than good ratings. It did great ratings. Over a million pairs of eyeballs tuned into little known Bounce last weekend. That’s big news.

And good news, as well. Not just for Bounce and Al Haymon, the man behind Premiere Boxing Champions, but for the sport of boxing in general. When people in the seven figure range are going down the channel guide to watch some boxing, it’s always a good thing. Perhaps the most important element of last weekend’s success, however, was the fact that the fights were high quality. People talk when there’s exciting matches on television. They tell the internet, and all who read their words, what’s happening. And then people tune in. That’s something this sport’s powers that be seem to have forgotten.

Those of us who are of a certain age remember a time when, late on a winter Saturday afternoon, great boxing could be seen in less than glitzy locations, with live wire crowds and a genuine sense of excitement permeating throughout the broadcast. Last Friday’s Bounce card reminded me of those forgotten times. Which is why the joke is most certainly NOT on Bounce TV right now. Good boxing brings in good numbers. Sometimes that simple message happens to be delivered in unexpected ways.

Posted on 02/11/2017

Robert Easter Dominates, Tops Off Entertaining PBC On Bounce Card
By: Sean Crose

Terrell Gausha stepped into the ring in Toledo, Ohio on Friday night with a perfect record of 19-0. His opponent, Luis Hernandez, was 15-3, a slightly less impressive resume. Still, Hernandez took it to his opponent right off the bat in the ten-round middleweight affair. Gausha may have had the better talent and pedigree, but Puerto Rico’s Hernandez had come to win. Indeed, Hernandez was reminiscent of Marcos Maidana as he bulled forward, every part the warrior. Gausha, however, wasn’t simply going to lose in front of his home town. After being dropped in the third, he went on to land thudding shots of his own.

Hernandez truly entered the “Maidana Zone” in the seventh when he started to fight dirty enough to lose himself a point due to low blows. He kept coming, though…and the sharper punching Gausha kept firing back. It was a grinding affair, to be sure. Indeed, the fight was a war. When all was said and done, it was Gausha who walked off with a unanimous decision win.

Next up at the bustling and lively Huntington Center, Rau’shee Warren did battle with Shanat Zhakiyaof for the WBA super world bantamweight title in a scheduled 12 round affair. Warren started with blinding speed and subsequently went through his opponent like a lawnmower through foot long blades of grass. Before the end of the first round, Zhakiyaof was down twice. The Kazakh composed himself better in the second round, but Warren was proving to be an incredibly fast nemesis.

Speed does not equal invincibility, though. By the third round, Warren found himself on the mat. The referee claimed it was a slip, but there was little doubt the man was getting tagged. Blood flowed from Warren’s nose after the round, and it was worth wondering whether or not the nose was broken. Zhakiyaof continued to whack away through the fourth. It was clear the tide had changed, at least for the time being.

Warren seemed to get a second wind by mid fight, using his superior footwork to his advantage. He was never fully able to reassert control however, as the fight raced along its violent path into the later rounds. It was truly hard to tell who was in the lead entering the last portion of the bout, or even if either man would be able to last until the final bell. Indeed, both men made it to the end. It was exceedingly hard to tell who had won the fight, but the judges gave it to Shakiyaof by split decision. For the record, Warren was a gentleman in defeat – always something worth noting.

It was then time for the main event. Rising 18-0 star Robert Easter Junior was defending his IBF world lightweight title against 22-4 Luis Cruz. With the crowd in a terrifically intense state, the two men began to do battle. The fight started in competitive fashion, with Easter still having a clear edge after the first few rounds. After four rounds, however, it became clear that Cruz was not going to lay down and collect a paycheck. The man was there to fight. Indeed, Cruz looked impressive in the fifth.

Yet all the willpower in the world can’t be relied upon to bring about victory. Easter started coming on strong in the sixth and the shots were clearly beginning to take their toll on his overmatched opponent. Easter thundered away in the seventh. Cruz was able to stay on his feet, but the bout was a one-sided affair by that point. And so, the match went on, with Easter maintaining the lead while Cruz gamely struggled. Perhaps Easter realized that Cruz had too strong a beard to try to finish off. Or perhaps he felt it wasn’t yet time. Either way, Cruz no longer seemed in danger of being stopped as the match moved onto its later stages.

Then, as if on cue, Easter took his man down early in the tenth. Cruz got up and, once again, Easter banged away. Cruz was incredibly durable, but it was now clear that he could be folded. By that point, all Cruz was doing was surviving. Barring something short of a miracle, the fight was essentially over. Cruz, simply put, was taking a terrible beating.

To his credit, however, Cruz was still throwing punches in the eleventh. A howitzer from Easter put the man down on the mat yet again. Once again, though, Cruz got up…and was allowed to keep fighting. Cruz decided to run in the twelfth. Easter caught him, however, and laid on more of a beating. A murderous shot sent Cruz down once more. Cruz got up again, though – and, of course, was allowed to continue. Needless to say, a thoroughly thrashed Cruz made it to the final bell, only to predictably lose by a wide decision.

Was it worth it?