Tag Archives: caparello

Posted on 04/29/2016

PBC on Spike Results: Guzman and Anthony Dirrell Win by Stoppage, Andre Dirrell Cruises to a Decision
By: William Holmes

Atlantic City hasn’t held a major fight since Sergey Kovalev took on Bernard Hopkins back in November of 2014, but Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions put on a competitive card with some strong contenders and solid prospects to be broadcast on Spike TV.

Photo Credit: Brett Wiley

The opening bout of the broadcast was between Jonathan Guzman (20-0) and Daniel Rosas (20-2) in the super bantamweight division. Guzman had stopped every opponent he had faced going into tonight’s bout.

The opening round featured Rosas pressing forward and attacking the body. He was able to get his punches off first in the opening half of the first round, but Guzman started to get more accurate in the second half of the round.

Guzman appeared to be more settled down in the second round and was sharp with his counters and landed several good, clean, uppercuts. A left hook by Guzman at the end of the second round momentarily stunned Rosas.

Guzman had Rosas stunned twice in the third round with hard left hooks. He wasn’t able to knock Rosas down though, as he was swinging wildly and recklessly.

Rosas kept up the pressure in the fourth round and was effective with his work to the body and landed multiple strong lead left hooks.

Rosas kept on pressing the pace in the fifth round and Guzman looked like he was beginning to tire. Rosas was winning the round until the last thirty seconds, when a vicious left hook by Guzman sent Rosas stumbling backwards to the ropes, and he followed that up with a vicious left look that sent Rosas to the mat as the round came to an end.

Rosas was able to recover by the start of the sixth round, but Guzman battered him throughout the round and was able to take the best shots of Rosas well.

Guzman continued to batter Rosas in the seventh and eighth rounds and Rosas was able to offer little offense in return. Rosas scored another knockdown as the eighth round came to a close, and Rosas looked defeated as he walked back to his corner.

The referee checked in on Rosas before the start of the ninth round and waived off the bout.
Jonathan Guzman wins by TKO at 3:00 of the eighth round.

The next bout of the night was between Anthony Dirrell (28-1-1) and Caleb Truax (26-2-2) in the super middleweight division.

Truax, a native of Minnesota, walked into the ring with Prince playing in the background. Dirrell, despite being a native of Michigan, had a good number of fans in attendance.

Dirrell was sharp with his jab in the opening minute of the first round and focused his attacks to the body and head of Truax. Dirrell later landed a sharp straight right hand that buckled the knees of Truax, and then followed it up with a combination that sent Truax to the mat. Truax was able to beat the count, but took another hard combination that ended with a left hook that sent Truax to the mat for a second time.

The referee was quick to stop the bout after the second time. Anthony Dirrell wins by knockout at 1:49 of the first round.

The main event of the night was between Andre Dirrell (24-2) and Blake Caparello (22-1-1) in the super middleweight division.

Both Caparello and Dirrell came out in a southpaw stance for the opening round. Dirrell was sharp with his counter left hook early on and Caparello was short with his punches. Both boxers spent most of the opening round trying to feel each other out.

Caparello got backed into the corner at the start of the second round and covered up while Dirrell unloaded with a quick combination. Dirrell got a little reckless in the second round and allowed Caparello to score a flash knockdown near the end of the round with an overhand left.

Dirrell came out aggressive in the third round and pressed Caparello back towards the ropes while landing accurate shots. Caparello spent much of the round fighting with his back against the ropes and was able to land a few shots of his own, but Dirrell was landing the harder and cleaner punches.

The action slowed a bit in the fourth round, and Caparello held onto Dirrell whenever he pressed forward instead of fighting with his back against the ropes. Dirrell completed dominated Caparello in the fifth round and landed his power shots at a high percentage.

Caparello’s frustration was visible in the sixth and seventh rounds as he wasn’t able to threaten Dirrell, while Dirrell peppered Caparello with his jab and short body shots.

Caparello was able to surprise Dirrell with a clean straight left hand in the eighth round, but Dirrell went back to a steady rain of jabs to keep Caparello on his back foot and on the defensive.

Dirrell looked like he was closing to scoring a knockdown in the ninth round when he had Caparello backed into a corner and taking some heavy damage from blistering combinations, but that knockdown never came.

Caparello clearly needed a knockout in the final round to win the bout, but that knockout never came.

Andre Dirrell bounced back from a second round knockdown to win by decision with scores of 98-91 on all three scorecards.

Undercard Quick Results:

Anthony Young (12-2) defeated Juan Rodriguez (6-5-1) by decision with scores of 59-55, 59-54, and 58-55 in the welterweight division.

Chordale Booker (2-0) defeated Tolutomi Agunbiade (3-7) by KO at 2:26 of the first round in the super welterweight division.

Luther Smith (5-0) defeated Solomon Maye (1-6-1) by split decision with scores of 39-37, 39-37 for Luther Smith, and 40-37 for Solomon Maye in the heavyweight division.

Abraham Nova (1-0) defeated Weusi Johnson (1-1) by TKO at 2:56 of the first round in the super lightweight division.

Chris Thomas (2-0) defeated Jessie Singletary (0-2) by KO at 2:26 of the first round in the middleweight division.

Eddie Ramirez (13-0) defeated Osumanu Akaba (32-10-1) by TKO at 2:33 of the second round in the super lightweight division.

Titus Williams (5-0) defeated DeWayne Wisdom (6-29-1) in the super featherweight division by decision with scores of 60-52, 59-53, and 59-53.

Posted on 04/27/2016

PBC on Spike Preview: Dirrell Brothers Take on Truax and Caparello in Atlantic City
By: William Holmes

On Friday night Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions will broadcast a live boxing card from the Taj Mahal Casino and Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey live on Spike TV.

The Dirrell brothers, along with the Charlo brothers, are perhaps the most recognizable pair of American brothers in the sport of boxing today. However, neither of them holds a title and both came up empty handed in their last title bout.

They will both face decent opponents on Friday that should not be considered an easy fight. The following is a preview of both of the televised bouts on Spike TV.

Anthony Dirrell (28-1-1) vs. Caleb Truax (26-2-2); Super Middleweights

Anthony Dirrell is the younger of the Dirrell brothers and will be thirty one years old at the time of the fight. Many consider Anthony to be the more powerful puncher of the two, as he has twenty two knockouts on his resume. His opponent, Caleb Truax, is one year older than Dirrell and only has sixteen knockouts on his record.

Dirrell will have about a two and half height advantage over Truax, but they have the same reach. Dirrell also holds a significant edge in amateur success. Dirrell is a former national champion as an amateur and had over 190 amateur bouts. Truax had experienced some success as an amateur, but only got into boxing after entering a local tough man tournament.

Anthony Dirrell’s heart should never be called into question, as he had battled non-hodgkins lymphoma and went through chemotherapy before returning to the ring.

Dirrell has not been very active in the past two years, as he had fought once in 2014 and twice in 2015. He has gone 2-1-1 in his last four bouts. He has beaten the likes of Sakio Bika, Marco Antonio Rubio, and Anthony Hanshaw. He lost his world title to Badou Jack, in a close bout, and had a split draw to the always tough Sakio Bika.

Truax has gone 3-1 in his past four fights. He fought once in 2016, once in 2015, and twice in 2014. His biggest wins to date have come against Melvin Betancourt, Scott Sigmon, Derek Ennis, and Donovan George. He has lost to Jermain Taylor and Daniel Jacobs. His loss to Jacobs was by TKO.

Truax really don’t have the power to threaten Dirrell and his last loss was a knockout loss. Dirrell has the power to test Truax’s chin and it will be tested on Friday night. It will be a tough fight, but it should be a bout that Dirrell wins.

Andre Dirrell (24-2) vs. Blake Caparello (21-1-1); Super Middleweights

Andre Dirrell was originally scheduled to face Blake Caparello in October of 2015, but had to withdraw due to medical reasons.

Dirrell is the older of the two brothers, and is considered by many to be the better boxer of the two, but he doesn’t have the same number of knockouts as Anthony. Andre Dirrell has sixteen stoppage victories to his resume. That number still dwarfs the paltry six knockouts that Blake Caparello has on his record.

Dirrell will be giving up a slight ½ an inch height advantage to Caparello, and will have about a one inch reach advantage. Dirrell is a southpaw, but Caparello has been sparring with southpaw Derrick Webster in preparation for Friday’s bout.

Caparello is actually three years younger than his opponent and has experience fighting as a light heavyweight. He should be the naturally bigger man inside the ring.

Andre Dirrell clearly has the edge in amateur experience. He won the bronze medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics, while Caparello has no notable international amateur accomplishments.

Dirrell’s two losses were to James DeGale for the IBF Super Middleweight Title and to Carl Froch by split decision. His wins have come against Derek Edwards, Nick Brinson, Arthur Abraham (by DQ), Derrick Findley, Anthony Hanshaw, and Curtis Stevens.

Caparello has only fought outside of the United States once, and when he did he lost by TKO to Sergey Kovalev. All of his other fights occurred in Australia, and his only notable victories have come against Evlir Muriqi and Alan Green.

Andre Dirrell appears to have the easier fight of the two brothers and he should be able to dispatch Caparello quite easily.