Tag Archives: city

Posted on 08/03/2017

By: Ken Hissner

Mis Downing Promotions and Square Ring Promotions will have a nine bout card at the Claridge Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, NJ, Saturday night! In a ten round boutunbeaten 2008 Olympic heavyweight Silver Medalist from China southpaw Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang, 16-0 (12), who has scored nine knockouts in his last ten fights. He is No. 13 in the WBO rankings. His opponent is Nick “2 Gunz” Guivas, 13-7-2 (9), out of Topeka, KS.

Headlining in an eight round bout is Glassboro, NJ, Super middleweight southpaw Derrick “TakeIt to the Bank” Webster, 23-1 (12), seeking a ranking in one of the four organizations taking on Lamar Harris, 9-13-4 (5), of St. Louis, MO, in an eight round bout.

In the co-feature 6 round bout returning to the ring after an eight year layoff and holder of the WBC Continental Americas, WBO NABO, World Boxing Foundation, CABOFE, IBC Inter-Continental and PA State titles is Camden, NJ, cruiserweight Prince BadiAjamu, 27-3-1 (15), who won eight of his last nine fights only losing to Roy Jones, Jr., taking on Edgar Perez, 7-21 (3), of Chicago, IL. Perez holds a win over Atlantic City’s Lavarn “Baby Bowe” Harvell, who was 13-0 at the time. “What better way to bring the attention to child abduction which is a big problem in this country than to be in the ring and get this message out there”. He would also like a rematch with Jones who as co-promoter will be in attendance.

Another match-up of two NJ middleweights is former Olympian Terrance “Heat” Cauthen, 36-8 (9), of Trenton, NJ, after a five year absence taking on Nick Valliere, 5-2 (2), of Forked River, NJ. Trenton’s cruiserweight Mike Hilton, 6-0 (6)trying to make it seven straight ko’s against Willis Lockett, 14-20-6 (5), of Takoma Park, MD, who holds a win over Wildwood, NJ, boxer Chuck “The Professor” Mussachio.Camden, NJ, unbeaten featherweight Vidal Rivera, 6-0 (4), is listed against tba. These three are over six rounds. In four round bouts Newark, NJ, super lightweight Dion Richadson, 3-1 (2), meets FelipNazario, 0-7, of the Bronx, NY. Shady Gamhour, 1-0 (1), of Pensacola, FL, meets Jesse Singletary, 0-2, of D.C. and Philly cruiserweight Lamont McLaughlin, 0-1, meets Tahlik Taylor, 1-7, of Freeport, NY.

There will be a press conference at 5pm Thursday at the Flagship Hotel, 60 North Main Avenue in Atlantic City. The first bout Saturday will be at 7pm.

Posted on 07/01/2017

“New” Ray Robinson Wins at Tropicana in Atlantic City Friday
By: Ken Hissner

Hard Hitting Promotions with Manny Rivera and Will Ruiz brought their Philadelphia promotion to Atlantic City’s Tropicana Hotel & Casino Friday night featuring Philadelphia’s “New” Ray Robinson and a cast of young talent who will be the future of Philadelphia boxing!

Welterweight southpaw “New” Ray Robinson, 24-2 (12), of Philadelphia, defeated by technical decision Columbian Breidis “Braidys” Prescott, 30-11 (22), of Miami, FL, into the seventh round.

In the first two rounds Prescott was the aggressor while Robinson showed pin point counter punching. In the third round it was Robinson backing up Prescott with a solid jab and hurting him with a right hook to the chin near the end of the round.

In the fourth round both rocked one another at the same time. Robinson was out punching Prescott. In the fifth and sixth rounds Robinson became much more aggressive in trying to take Prescott out. In what referee Harvey Dock ruled a clash of heads in the seventh round Prescott went down and didn’t make any effort to get up. The EMT’s had to remove Prescott from the ring. The judges went to the scorecards. Robinson hasn’t lost since 2010. His trainer “Bozy” Ennis seemed quite pleased as was his manager David McWater.

All 3 judges and this writer had it 70-63.

Luis “Popeye” Lebron, 9-0-1 (4), of San Juan, PR, defeated in a real battle Manuel “El Zombie” Botti, 22-1-1 (18), of DR, for the WBA Fedelatin featherweight title, over 10 rounds.

In the opening round it was all Botti. In the second round Lebron came back to control while both gave a good account of themselves. In the third round it went back and forth with Lebron pulling it out. In the fourth and fifth rounds both were rocked. Botti kept coming forward getting the better of the two inside.

In the sixth and seventh rounds they continue to take turns getting the better of the action. It turned into a war as uppercuts from both boxers were flying. Neither would give an inch in a real slugfest. In the eighth round Lebron landed three left hooks to the head of Botti. As Botti came back he was stunned by a Lebron left hook to the head.

In the ninth round it continued to be a savage fight. In the tenth and final round Lebron seemed to have pulled it out.

Judge Carter had it 98-92, Constatino 99-91 and Cheeks 100-90. This writer had it much much closer at 96-94.

Super lightweight Liberian Samuel “Tsunami” Teah, 11-1-1 (5), of Philadelphia, knocked out Dominican Ken Alvarez, 8-6-2 (3), of PR, at 1:48 of the third round.

In the first two rounds both boxers mixed it up well especially to the body. In the third round Teah landed a hard right to the head of Alvarez. Seconds later Teah landed a chopping right to the head of Alvarez and out he went.

Bantamweight Christian Carto, 10-0 (10), of Philadelphia, continued his knockout streak and now up to 10 as he stopped Juan Guzman, 22-8 (12), of DR, 2:30 of the first round.

In the first round Carto dropped Guzman twice to a knee while referee Lee never acknowledged them. In between those Carto scored a knockdown. The unofficial fourth knockdown referee Lee couldn’t miss as Guzman went down and referee Lee finally called a halt.

17 year old lightweight Branden Pizarro, 6-0 (3), of Philadelphia, in a brilliant performance stopped Angel Hernandez, 2-4 (1), of PR, at 0:26 of the sixth.

In the opening round Pizarro controlled with good body work but Hernandez got in several of his own but was completely outclassed. In the second round it was all Pizarro landing pin point punches breaking Hernandez down. In the third round though Hernandez got several good body shots in Pizarro completely controlled the round working both body and head with punches.

In the fourth round Pizarro showed his skills while on the ropes landing uppercuts. A pair of uppercuts by Pizarro hurt Hernandez backing him up several steps. In the fifth round Hernandez tried pushing Pizarro over the ropes getting a warning from referee Lee. Pizarro landed 3 left hooks to the body of Hernandez on several occasions. A left hook from Pizarro to the chin of Hernandez dropped him. He got up and held on as the bell sounded. In the sixth and final round a vicious body shot made Hernandez step back and drop to a knee taking the full count from referee Lee. It was a brilliant performance from Pizarro.

Bantamweight Ariel Lopez, 7-0 (5), of Pueblo, MEX, won a split decision over Charles Clark, 1-3-1 (1), of Dallas, TX, in a 6.

In the opening round after a minute of no punching Lopez landed a double right hook to the head of Clark. In the second round things started heating up with Lopez using his combinations and Clark landing a solid lead right to the head. In the third round Clark drove Lopez into a neutral corner landing well until a punch went south of the border. Lopez landed a 3-punch combination with Clark coming back with a solid left hook to the head of Lopez.

In the fourth round Lopez landed a solid double left hook to the body of Clark who countered with a solid left hook to the head of Lopez. In the fifth round a Clark left hook to the head rocked Lopez. Clark had a point taken away for a low blow after several previous warnings from referee Eddie Claudio. In the sixth and final round both looked tired.

Judge Barnes had it 58-55 and George Hill 57-56 for Lopez while Rubenstein 57-56 for Clark. This writer had it 58-55 Lopez.

Featherweight Jose “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, 8-0-1 (2), of New York City, in a hard fought fight won a split decision over Mexico’s Guadalupe “Lupe” Arroyo, 2-5 (0), of Huntington Beach, CA, in a 6.

In the first two rounds Arroyo came in low throwing wild punches as Gonzalez the southpaw picked him off with uppercuts. In the third and fourth rounds Gonzalez was warned several times for infractions. He hurt Arroyo several times with body shots. In the fifth round Arroyo did much better while Gonzalez continued to get away with pushing off without warning from referee Claudio. In the sixth and final round Arroyo landed a solid uppercut to the chin of Gonzalez knocking his head back. It got sloppy in the final round with both boxers tiring.

Judge Barnes had it 58-56, Rubenstein 59-55 for Gonzalez and Hill 58-56 for Arroyo. This writer had it 59-55 for Gonzalez.

Jeremy Cuevas, 4-0 (3), of Philly knocked out Jonathan Valarezo, 0-2 (0), of Ecuador at 2:08 of the first round.

In the first round both mixed it up well until an overhand left from Cuevas to the head of Valarez and down he went and out.

Welterweight Mark Dawson, 4-0-1 (3), of Philadelphia won over William Hill, 2-4 (0), of Detroit, MI, in a bloody 4.

In the opening round it was too much holding. In the second round Dawson landed a right hook causing a cut on the upper eye lid of Hill. Dawson was using a good uppercut when Hill came in low. In the third round the blood is covering the face of Hill on the left side. Dawson due to a head butt had a cut over his left eye. In the fourth the ring physician took a long look at Dawson who was obviously ahead before she allowed the fight to continue. In the final round Hill was chasing Dawson knowing he was behind and ran into a straight left to the chin from Dawson. Hill’s left eye was closed by the end of the round.

Judges Barnes, Hill and Rubenstein and this writer had it 40-36.

It was a good and competitive show for Hard Hitting’s first NJ event.

Posted on 06/21/2017

Boxing Insider Notebook: Canelo, Golovkin, Pacquiao, Shields, Atlantic City, Hernandez, and more..
Compiled By: William Holmes

The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of June 13th to June 20th covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.

Canelo vs. Golovkin Tickets on Sale June 22nd

Tickets for the Saturday, Sept. 16 showdown for supremacy between lineal and RING Magazine Middleweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) and IBO/IBF/WBA/WBC Middleweight World Champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs), for which fans have been clamoring, will go on sale Thursday, June 22 at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET. In what may be boxing’s best, most competitive fight in 2017, the mega-event will feature two of the most popular and powerful fighters in the storied middleweight division fighting for ultimate supremacy and glory.

Tickets for Canelo vs. Golovkin are priced at $5,000, $2,500, $2,000, $1,500, $800, $700, $500 and $300, not including applicable service charges and taxes. There will be a limit of 10 per person at the $5,000, $2,500, $2,000, $1,500, $800, $700 price levels and a limit of two (2) per person at the $500 and $300 price levels. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call 888-9-AXS-TIX (888-929-7849). Tickets also will be available for purchase at www.t-mobilearena.com or www.axs.com.

Canelo vs. Golovkin is a 12-round fight for the middleweight championship of the world presented by Golden Boy Promotions and GGG Promotions and sponsored by Tecate, BORN BOLD, Hennessy, Never Stop, Never Settle, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Tsesnabank and Capital Holding. The event will take place Saturday, Sept. 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®

Claressa Shields Dominates to Win WBC Silver Belt

In just her first eight-round fight, Claressa “T-Rex” Shields scored a spectacular unanimous decision victory last Friday, June 16, at the Masonic Temple in Detroit to win the WBC Silver Super Middleweight Title.

Shields (3-0, 1KO) dominated tough Sydney “Ginger the Ninja” LeBlanc (4-2-1), winning all eight rounds on all three judges’ scorecards en route to adding the WBC Silver belt to her NABF Middleweight Championship belt. LeBlanc was simply no match for the blazing fists of crowd favorite Shields, who has convincingly established herself as a world championship-class contender in women’s boxing after just three professional fights.

Shields’ bout was the main event of a jam-packed Detroit Brawl event which set a new gate record for promoter Dmitriy Salita’s popular Detroit-based series.

“Claressa is one of the best boxers in the world!” said Dmitriy Salita. “Regardless of gender, her skills and experience are that of the elite fighters in the world. She is improving with each fight and the sky is the limit. Claressa is ready for the top fighters in her division and we will work on making a big championship fight happen next.”

In the 10-round co-main event, transplanted Detroit cruiserweight Alexey Zubov moved to 15-1, 9 KOs with a surprisingly easy 10-round decision over Detroit’s highly regarded Demetrius Banks (9-1, 4 KOs).

From the opening bell, the superior work rate of Zubov told the story, as the confused Banks had no answers for the big Russian’s jab. All three judges scored the fight 99-91. There were no knockdowns.

“Two of the best cruiserweight prospects in the world met in Detroit,” continued Salita. “The winner is now a real contender, ready to fight the best in the world. Alexey is much improved since his time training with Sugar Hill at the Kronk Boxing Gym. The magic of Kronk is alive and came to life in Alexey’s performance. Great things on the horizon for him!”

Another of Salita’s growing stable of promising contenders, Detroit bantamweight Ja’Rico O’Quinn (7-0, 5KOs) had too many tools for the outgunned David Martino (2-3, 2 KOs) and won by dominant unanimous decision (60-54, all three judges). A talent to watch, O’Quinn basically walked the determined Martino into his lightning-fast shots for six rounds.

“Ja’Rico’s defense was superb in his fight. His opponent was rarely able to even touch him. He is going to be a force at 118 lbs. in the not-too-distant future.”

Another surging contender from the Salita stable, junior welterweight wrecking ball Bakhtiyar Eyubov (13-0, 11 KOs) needed just 1:41 of round one to chew up and spit out Mexico’s Cesar Soriano. Eyubov targeted the body of Soriano and took away his breath with thudding left hoods to the liver that ended things quickly. Eyubov is an animal.

“Bakhtiyar went up a weight class because no one will fight him. This fight showed why,” said Salita. “He is too strong for most fighters to stay in with for very long. He will be in a big fight in the near future. He’s ready.”

ESPN and ESPN Deportes to Exclusively Air Manny Pacquiao Fight Live from Brisbane, Australia

Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, boxing’s only eight-division world champion and the only sitting Senator to capture a world championship belt, will add another first to his burgeoning list of Hall of Fame-caliber accomplishments with his live debut on ESPN and ESPN Deportes (also streaming live on the ESPN app) on Saturday, July 1 at 10:00 p.m. ET. The fight will be called ringside by ESPN commentators Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas. They will be joined by guest analyst Timothy Bradley, Jr., a former two-division world champion recently trained by Teddy Atlas who has met Pacquiao three times in the ring, winning their first match in a decision. ESPN Deportes will pair Jorge Eduardo Sanchez and Juan Manuel Marquez to call the main event in Spanish, with prefight commentary from Pablo Viruega, Leopoldo Gonzalez, Claudia Trejos and Juan Manuel Marquez.

Pacquiao, the Boxing Writers Association of America’s reigning Fighter of the Decade, will defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown against undefeated No. 1 contender and Brisbane’s favorite son Jeff “The Hornet” Horn at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia. This will be the first time Pacquiao has not fought on pay-per-view since Sept. 10, 2005, when he stopped Hector Velazquez in the sixth round — 12 years and four weight divisions ago.

ESPN’s coverage of “The Battle of Brisbane” will begin on Friday, June 30th, and includes live coverage of the Pacquiao and Horn weigh-in at 7 p.m. ET within SportsCenter on ESPN and within Golpe a Golpe on ESPN Deportes. During the week of June 26, classic Pacquiao fights will also be available on demand and streaming via the ESPN app, on both ESPN and ESPN Deportes, including Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton (5/2/2009), Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (11/12/11) and Pacquiao vs. Tim Bradley (4/12/14).

The July 1 telecast will also feature Irish Olympic hero Michael Conlan (2-0, 2 KOs), from Belfast, in a six-round featherweight bout against Jarrett “Juarez” Owen (5-4-3,2 Kos), of Brisbane, and International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior bantamweight world champion Jerwin “Pretty Boy” Ancajas (24-1-1, 16 KOs), of Cavite City, Philippines, defending his title against top-rated contender Teiru Kinoshita (25-1-1, 8 KOs), of Kobe, Japan. The live telecast will open with an eight-round middleweight rumble between Shane Mosley, Jr. (10-1, 7 KOs), of Pomona, Calif. and son of former three-division world champion “Sugar”
Shane Mosley, and David Toussaint (10-0, 8 KOs), of Canberra, Australia.

Olympic Bronze Medalist Nico Hernandez Stops Jose Rodriguez in the Third Round

Wichita hero and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, Nico Hernandez, dominated Jose “Mexican Diablo” Rodriguez in last night’s “KO Night Boxing: Rapid Fire” main event, which aired on CBS Sports Network live from Hartman Arena in Park City, Kansas.

“KO Night Boxing: Rapid Fire” was a presentation of KO Night Boxing LLC. TITLE Boxing is the official apparel and gloves partner for Knockout Night Boxing.

The 21-year-old Hernandez (2-0, 2 KOs) came out fast, rapidly firing combinations that consistently landed to his opponent’s head and body. Hernandez was as electric in the ring as the sky outside, battering the over-matched Rodriguez, finally dropping him midway through the second round.

The extremely sharp Hernandez floored Rodriguez again in the third with a right-left combination but the tough Mexican rose again. The onslaught continued briefly as the Olympian pounded Rodriguez (2-1, 2 KOs), knocking him down for the third time and final time as referee Kevin Champion counted him out at 2:38.

“I came out with a victory, it can’t get better than that,” Hernandez said after the fight. “I put him down a few times. I was happy with my performance. I was trying to get out of her to celebrate with my family and friends.

“I didn’t expect him to keep coming, getting up and still coming forward. I’ll talk to my promoter and coaches and see what’s next.”

Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame Inducts 24 Charter Class Members

Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame (ACBHOF) Inaugural Induction weekend held on May 26, 27 and 28th was a smorgasbord of boxing royalty, celebrity guests and legions of boxing fans. ACBHOF mission is to create visibility and awareness through annual inductions ceremonies; boxing champions, as well as the boxing community at-large will have their names enshrined into immortality by being inducted into the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame.

“Watching my vision come together with the assistance of Rodrick Green, the VP of Business Strategy, and Angela Crockett our Communications Director, along with the rest of my team and countless other supporters and fans across the country, who’ve embraced this endeavor has been overwhelmingly impressive.” – Ray McCline, Founder & President

The trio of events, which were sponsored by the Claridge – a Radisson Hotel, kicked-off May 26th with a pre-reception and welcome address in the VÜE Rooftop Bar. The 150 guests included: Red Carpet Host Whitney Ullman, Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian, Councilman Frank Gilliam, Dr. Nina Radcliff, Flo Anthony, Aaron Snowell, Lillo Brancato, Alan Goldberg, Ray Mercer, Mark Breland, Iran Barkley, Iceman John Scully, Tracy Patterson, Milton Luban, Chuck Zito, Grandy Twins, sponsors and stakeholders alike.

“The Claridge – a Radisson Hotel was proud to have hosted Atlantic City’s first Boxing Hall of Fame induction class. It’s events like this that make hospitality and history come to life in this city. From the Fight Fan Expo to the Gala it was a pleasure to see new faces and passion throughout a weekend of exceptional events. We look forward to hosting the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame events for years to come at The Claridge – a Radisson Hotel.”- Cem Erenler, V.P. of Hotel Operations & Business Development
On May 27, the festivities continued into the Fight Fan Experience, a festive boxing themed environment that included a Boxing Fantasy Camp, Pop-Up Barber Shop, Jack Johnson Exhibit Icons of Boxing, The Legacy Exists Joe Frazier Scholarship Fund, James O’Neal Sculptures, The Press of Atlantic City Exhibit, Food vendors and music by DJ Young Hitta.

The evening of May 27th concluded with an Honoree Gala in the Art Gallery celebrating “Women in Boxing.” Host for the evening, Nino Del Buono. Honorees included: Cathy Burke, Marian Muhammad, Joan Pierce, Renee Aiken and Althea “Vern” Saunders.

The culminating Induction celebration concluded Sunday, May 28th with a little over 500 guests. The master of ceremonies for the ceremony, President of NJ Boxing Hall of Fame, Henry Hascup. The star-studded Charter Class members included: Don King, Michael Spinks, Larry Hazzard, Steve Smoger, Mike Rossman, Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Frank Gelb, Don Elbaum, J Russell Peltz, Dave Bontempo, Ken Condon, Robert Lee, Sr., Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson.

“I would like to sincerely congratulate Mr. Ray McCline, Roy Foreman, Rodrick Green, Angela Crockett and all of the wonderful people responsible for the great Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame weekend which took place on May 26th, 27th, and 28th. The event was an astounding success and it allowed many of us, who attended, the opportunity to relive some of the exciting moments of our past boxing history. The establishment of the ACBHOF will also ensure that the great legacy of Atlantic City Boxing, will be remembered and celebrated for many years to come!! Once again congratulations and I look forward with great anticipation to next year’s celebration. God Bless!!” – Commissioner Larry Hazzard, NJ State Athletic Control Board

Posthumous Inductees: Arturo Gatti (received by Sofia Bella Gatti); Leavander Johnson (received by his Son); Mathew Saad Muhammad (received by Mustafa Ameen); Lou Duva (received by Dino Duva); Jack Obermayer (received by his daughter Ellen Kaplan); Bert Sugar; Dennis Gomes (received by his daughter Danielle Gomes and Mrs. Gomes); Mike Hall, Sr. (received by his son Mike Hall, Jr.) and Dr, Frank Doggett (received by his daughter Yvonne “Missy” Doggett).

“It was such an incredible honor to be part of such a historic event. We had a blast at the HARD Kickoff party with Michael Spinks and Ray Mercer. It was so amazing to see all the young kids enjoying the Boxing experience. They are the new generation of Atlantic City Boxing. The Highlight of the weekend for us was the Gala, it was truly a memorable evening. Congratulations to Ray McCline and the inductees on a successful Inaugural Induction. The Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame will be a staple destination for Boxing Fans in the years to come.” – Gregory V. Posella, President & Co-founder HARD Beverage
Former Miss America, Suzette Charles, Chicken Bone Beach Jazz Band and saxophonist Parris provided entertainment for the evening. Entertainment was coordinated by Kevin Crump.

Title Sponsors: Hard Lifestyle Beverages, Designer Wraps and Hammer Fiber Optics. The Atlantic City Police Athletic League is ACBHOF’s charitable arm. Keebler Media was the official ACBHOF videographer.
Other sponsors and supporters: City of Atlantic City; Triax 57; 2300 Arena; FantaSea Resorts; Adams Boxing; Rumble TV Network; Tina Davido Promotions; Abrams Boxing, Adams Boxing, Plush Vodka, Punzoné Organic Vodka, House of Genesis and WBC.

While the menus consisted of scrumptious passed hors d’oeuvres and signature drinks, the Honoree cake designed by Cake King of Queens and the unveiling of Commemorative Paintings by Nicolosi were stunning show stoppers.

Another extraordinary highlight from the weekend was when Arturo Gatti’s 11-year old daughter Sofia Bella Gatti accepted her father’s award alongside his longtime friends Chuck Zito and Mike Sciarra.

Posted on 06/16/2017

STANLEY SCOTT: Knock Him Out or Be Knocked Out Was His Game!
By: Ken Hissner

“He was one of the most exciting kids I had at the Tropicana. He would walk in and knock his opponent out or get knocked out. He was a fan favorite,” said Don Elbaum.

Cleveland light heavyweight Stanley Scott, 11-16 with 11 knockout wins and 13 knockout losses is whom Elbaum is talking about. He was 8-2 when the losses starting mounting up. In January of 1982 Elbaum brought Scott into Atlantic City for his New Jersey debut since Elbaum was matchmaking regularly at the Tropicana Casino. He got a good start going 3-2 in A.C.

In April of 1982 Scott scored his career biggest win by knocking out Salvatore San Felippo, 17-2, of Jersey City in the third round in A.C. putting him into retirement. Scott’s last career win was over Tony Mesoraca, 10-2, of Philadelphia putting him into retirement in November of 1982 at the Tropicana in his last bout there. Scott seemed to have a way of “putting opponents into retirement” like in his third fight when he knocked out Greg Lamour, 8-2, of Chesapeake, VA, who hadn’t been knocked out before.

In 1980 Scott was put in 3 consecutive fights with Len Hutchins, 26-3-1, Murray Sutherland, 19-5 and Jeff Lampkin, 6-0, the last two being world champions before retiring.

Leave it to Don Elbaum to find a boxer like Stanley Scott!

Posted on 06/09/2017

Thomas “Cornflake” Lamanna Returns to the Claridge in AC Saturday!
By: Ken Hissner

Rising Star Promotions returns to the Claridge Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ, Saturday night with a 9 bout boxing event. Thomas “Cornflake” Lamanna will be in the main event with Anthony “Juice” Young from Atlantic City in the co-feature.

Welterweight Lamanna, 22-2 (9), faces Mexican southpaw Carlos Winston Velasquez, 24-28-2 (14), now out of Union City, NJ, over 8 rounds. “I am looking forward to a great fight on Saturday. I am not taking a 54 fight veteral like Velasquez lightly,” said Lamanna. In the co-feature there will also be Atlantic City’s welterweight Anthony “Juice” Young, 16-2 (6), against George “El terrible” Sosa, 15-8 (15), out of NJ, over 8 rounds.

There will be 7 other bouts featuring Atlantic City’s super middleweight Gabriel “GPHAM” Pham, 8-1 (4), heavyweight southpaw Dan Pasciolla, 9-2-2 (0), of Brick, NJ, super middleweight Chris “Sandman” Thomas, 6-0 (3), of Beachwood, NJ. From New York will be light heavyweight Frederick Julian, 4-0 (2), of NY, all in 6 round bouts and lightweight Tomas Romain, 2-1 (0), of Brooklyn in a 4.

From Philadelphia will be super featherweight Donald “No Love” Smith, 4-0 (3), and super welterweight Elijah Vines, 3-0 (3), in 4 round bout’s. First bout will be at 7pm.

Posted on 05/30/2017

Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame Celebration a Big Success!
By: Ken Hissner

Ray McCline’s idea of creating the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame was a big success over the weekend. Especially on Sunday night with 24 inductee’s before a large crowd at the Claridge Hotel in Atlantic City!

Master of Ceremonies was the New Jersey Hall of Fames President Henry Hascup who did an excellent job. There were some excellent acceptances starting with legendary matchmaker Don Elbaum’s stories. He has worked in over a thousand shows over the years. “This is incredible. My mentor J Russell Peltz is here and the man I got started Don King!” He went onto say how Jimmy Carter was running for president at the time and how King called him Jimmy and Carter called King “President!” In King’s hometown of Cleveland Carter won big taking not only the black vote but the Jewish vote. King took credit for both! He brought in then Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) for an exhibition to help a children’s hospital.

Hascup first brought up Mike Hall, Jr. whose father Mike was being inducted. He trained world champion Virgil Hill amongst others. This writer saw him earlier and said “it’s good to see you are still alive” not knowing I was talking to the deceased’s son. Another Atlantic City native Bill Johnson came forth whose brother Leavander was the IBF lightweight champion winning in Italy and passed away shortly after a battle in NV losing his title but going out like a warrior! “My brother loved the sport and the people involved with it,” said Johnson. Hascup said “Leavander gave his life for the sport!”

Althea Saunders sang the national anthem. She is still an active boxer from Atlantic City. As expected Larry “The Easton Assasin” didn’t show and “Iron” Mike Tyson didn’t either but was seen via video accepting his induction from AZ. Inductee Ken Condon known for his PPV work talked about being in Barbados when he left his wife upstairs to go downstairs in the hotel to watch Spinks-Holmes II. It caused an obvious argument he said.
Michael Spinks drew the most attention afterwards signing autographs, getting pictures taken by many fans of his and being interviewed. Press members included AC Press writer David Weinberg, John DiSanto of Philly Boxing History, Bernard Fernandez formerly with the Philadelphia News, Joe

Sangrito formerly of Ring Magazine, Frank Bartolini of the Rinaldi Brothers newspaper, Marc Abrams and his beautiful wife, with Abrams doing an excellent job with the PR work for the event. Keebler Media was taping the event and this writer representing Boxing Insider.

Representing his father Lou Duva was Dino Duva still an active manager saying “today would have been my father’s 95th birthday.” Duva put on the first world title bout in Atlantic City with Joey Giardello fighting Dick Tiger. “My father always said never forget your roots,” said Duva.

Accepting for the absent Holmes was one of “Smoking” Joe Frazier’s daughters Weatta.

An emotional wife and daughter of the head physician in Atlantic City was none other than Dr. Frank Doggett. “He graduated from Howard Universities Medical School in 1948 and was chief surgeon for the Atlantic Police and Fireman. He referred to the boxers as his boxers. If he was here he would simply say thank you.”

Nicoli the artist was on hand showing a portrait of Don King which went up for bid with no takers. One of the VP’s of the board who did the electing was Rodnick Green VP Strategy & Business Development for the ACBHOF who proclaimed how another well-known inductee Steve “Double S” Smoger who was inducted into the IBHOF in 2016 helped the kids at the AC PAL! Smoger known to be one of the best speakers in the business talked about how Elbaum ran weekly shows at the Tropicana Hotel & Casino for five years and how he worked many of them as a referee. He has received many awards and is one of the best of all time.

Fan and press favorite writer Jack “KO” Obermayer who passed away approximately a year ago was well represented by Freddy Blumstein one of the best timekeepers in the business who said “my wife curses the day I met KO because I am away from home so much.” Eric Bottjer one of the best well known matchmakers in the business called Obermayer his best friend. Obermayer’s daughter and his partner Darlene, who flew in from Wyoming, saying “he was the love of my life!”

Roy Foreman another VP who managed his brother George and who lives in the area and is now promoting shows in Houston, TX, was well received by the audience saying “without the boxers we wouldn’t be here!”

Mustafa Ameen spoke in behalf of inductee Matthew Saad Muhammad how the nuns found him on the Philadelphia’s Ben Franklin Parkway at the age of 4 left there by his brother at his mother’s request due to having too many kids. Saad’s adopted brother Joe Johnson was in attendance. Ameen talked how Saad put up a 10k award if anyone would come forward telling him who would know anything about his identity. As it turned out someone did and told him his real name was Antonio Loach. They appeared on Good Morning America and Saad was not too fond of being called Antonio. Ameem talked of Saad’s religion of being a Muslim. When Saad passed away there was a funeral at a mosque and then at the Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. Saad told me personally during an interview “I’m no longer a Muslim.”

Elbaum spoke how he got King into the business as the first black promoter and took him to New York introducing him to Madison Square Garden’s promoter and matchmaker. King said “they are all white!” Elbaum told him “don’t say that again for we are all Americans adding Kings famous known phrase Only In America!” Elbaum went onto say how Tropicana gave him a two year contract, living quarters and agreed to run every Tuesday night.

Current NJ Commissioner of boxing Larry Hazzard, Sr. did an excellent job speaking of how he spent 13 years in the amateurs working as a referee and becoming one of the tops in the world and becoming commissioner. After leaving office the current governor of NJ Chris Christy brought Hazzard back for his old job.

Smoger talked about starting out as a timekeeper from 1978 to 1982 and starting to ref in 1984 and becoming the referee in a world title fight just two years later. He said how he worked shows for Peltz, King, Frank Gelb and Duva. He gave a large amount of credit to Deputy Commissioner Bob Lee who couldn’t make the event. “He treated me like gold,” said Smoger. He also gave a lot of credit and would expect the next induction to be the then commissioner and former heavyweight champion “Jersey” Joe Walcott. He went onto say except for referee Pat Russell he was the longest serving referee in the country.

Former world light heavyweight champion Mike “The Jewish Bomber” Rossman accepted his award and walked off the stage without saying a word. He had his Local 30 Roofers jacket on and the roofers bought 40 tickets.

Dave Bontempo another inductee spoke well and how ESPN recruited him from AC and how the game has changed since the Atlantic City Press had him cover boxing. He went onto say how boxers like Bennie Serrano became well known fighting at the Tropicana for Elbaum. He added it was 20 years ago today he met his wife Suzie and being married for 32 years.

Peltz, a well-known matchmaker and promoter as well as being one of the few promoters doing his own matchmaking spoke as well as anyone at the podium. He ran shows while attending Temple University at the age of 22 in 1969 and brought in “Bad” Bennie Briscoe on his first show. He said “we didn’t need any med’s in those days only a boxer with a heartbeat or without.” How in 1970 he brought in IBHOF trainer George Benton to headline a show and paid him 1k while the show itself cost $800 to run prior to this. Benton’s manager insisted Benton’s return but Benton was not to be found at the gym he trained so Peltz got another headliner. When Benton showed up with his old yellow suitcase weeks before the event Peltz told him he was replaced because he wasn’t ever in the gym. Benton called his manager Gramby who got Peltz on the phone and said “isn’t your word good enough?”

Peltz remembered that and once brought in Gramby’s prize attraction heavyweight Tex Cobb to headline. He was to get 20k but got a bigger offer of 500k from MSG and Peltz reminded him of “isn’t your word any good?” Cobb fought for Peltz. Peltz said Cobb once said “I didn’t lose to Larry Holmes, I just lost the first 15 rounds.”

Gelb talked about how over 500 shows were run in AC from 1982-85 and how “Russell stole half of my stories.” Gelb’s sons were also in attendance. He said “when the NFL went on strike NBC decided to put on boxing in its place and how inductee Arturo Gatti sold out the Boardwalk Hall six consecutive times. Gatti’s beautiful daughter Sophia was there who was 3 when her father passed away. She spoke well of her father and how blessed she was to have him for a father.

King gave credit to Arthur Goldberg as “his boss who called King the light of the boardwalk starting him off at Bally’s.”

Chuck Zito formerly a Hell’s Angel’s biker accepted for Gatti. “He fought here 23 times and got Fighter of the Year from Ring Magazine 5 times. Bill Johnson talked about his brother winning his first 23 (including a draw) fights. “My oldest son’s wanted to box and the youngest was Leavander.

Former world heavyweight champion Bruce “Atlantic City Express” Seldon and Qawi were two who learned to box at the PAL.

Former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi said “someone saw my work on the streets of Camden and fought with their fists, no guns.” Spinks who defeated him along with being the first present light heavyweight champion to win the heavyweight title from Holmes thanked his Lord and Savior. The Lord worked through me and gave him all the honor and glory.

Hazzard had played the part in the Ali movie of Zack Clayton. He thanked McCline and Foreman and gave thanks to his wife Patricia along with their family. “She married me and the sport of boxing,” said Hazzard. “We had 3 fights in one day by USA Boxing, CBS all at different places like the Tropicana and the Boardwalk. Hazzard went on to say “it was better to stop a fight a little early than too late.”

Lindsay Tucker of the IBF spoke in accepting Lee’s award who was President of the first IBF with Tucker saying “Bob couldn’t make it tonight but was elated.”

King would be the final speaker giving one of his shortest speeches. “I started in Atlantic City in 1972 thanks to Elbaum. We had 8 world title bouts in Atlantic City promoted for and about the people. I started at the top with Ali,” said King. He said how current President Donald Trump helped him and what a great job he is doing now as President.

Current mayor Don Guardian spoke to close the event.

Posted on 05/19/2017

A Weekend to Remember at Atlantic City’s Boxing Hall of Fame!
By:Ken Hissner

Coming to Atlantic City the weekend of May 26, 27 and 28 is a weekend to remember among boxing royality as the 2017 Atlantic City inductees will be inducted into their Hall of Fame. The Claridge a Radison hotel will be the place to go.

The inductees go on and on such as “Iron” Mike Tyson, *Arturo “Thunder” Gatti, *Leavander Johnson, Michael Spinks, *Matthew Saad Muhammad, Larry “the Easton Assassin” Holmes, Mike “the Jewish Bomber” Rossman, Dwight Muhammad Qawi, *Lou Duva, Mike Hall Sr. *Bill Johnson, Don King, Frank Gelb, Russell Peltz, Don Elbaum, Larry Hazzard Sr., Dr. Frank Doggett, Steve “Double SS” Smoger, Dave Bontempo, *Jack “KO” Obemayer, *Bert Sugar, *Bob Lee, Ken Condon and Dennis Gomes. *posthemous

The ACBHOF was established in 2014 and at the Vue the doors open at 5pm to 8pm on Friday May 26th. Also the same day presented will be “The Art of Music & Boxing” at the Celebrity Theatre doors open at 7pm and show starts at 8pm to 11pm.

On Saturday May 27th “Fight Fan Experience” at the Conference Center doors open at 9:00am and will run from 10am to 4pm. “2017 Honoree Gala” at the Art Gallery doors open at 7:00pm and event 7:15 to 11pm.

On Sunday May 28th “Inaugural Induction Ceremony” at Brighton Park from 9:00am to 1pm. Go to www.acbhof.com for information.

Posted on 05/18/2017

HBO World Championship Boxing Preview: Raymundo Beltran vs. Jonathan Maicelo, Terence Crawford vs. Felix Diaz
By: William Holmes

On Saturday night the under appreciated Terence Crawford will defend his WBO and WBC titles against former Olympic Gold Medalist Felix Diaz. This bout will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The co-main event of the night will be between Raymundo Beltran and Jonathan Maicelo in an IBF Lightweight eliminator. American prospect Shakur Stevenson will also be featured on the undercard.

Top Rank will be the lead promoter on Saturday night and HBO will be televising the fights. The following is a preview of Saturday’s card.

Raymundo Beltran (32-7-1) vs. Jonathan Maicelo (25-2); IBF Lightweight Eliminator

The opening bout of the night will be between the rugged and entertaining Raymundo Beltran and contender Jonathan Maicelo.

Beltran is always a tough fight, but at thirty five years old his best days physically are likely behind him. He’s two years older than Maicelo and will be about one inch taller than him but will also be given up one inch in reach.

Beltran has the edge in power over Maicelo. He has twenty victories by stoppage and his last three wins have been by KO or TKO. Maicelo has twelve wins by stoppage but his last four fights were decision victories. Both boxers are able to be stopped, as Beltran has two stoppage losses and Maicelo has one.

Neither boxer has any notable international success as an amateur, though Maicelo did compete in several regional amateur tournaments in South America with a moderate amount of success.

Beltran’s last fight was a sensational knockout victory over Mason Menard. He has also defeated the likes of Arash Usmanee, Ji-Hoon Kim, Henry Lundy, and David Torres. His losses were to Terence Crawford, Luis Ramos Jr., Sharif Bogere, and Ammeth Diaz. He stopped Takahiro Ao in the second round, but that bout was overturned due to a positive test for steroids.

Maicelo has defeated the likes of Jose Felix Jr., Samual Amoako, and Art Hovannisyan. His losses were to Darleys Perez and Rustam Nugaev.

Beltran is that type of contender that will seemingly always be in the title hunt and has a pressure style that is difficult for some boxers to overcome. Maicelo has never defeated a high level opponent and doesn’t seem suited to handle the forward pressure that Beltran is known for.

This should be a good fight, but despite his age Beltran has enough gas in his tank to squeak out a decision victory.

Terence Crawford (30-0) vs. Felix Diaz (19-1); WBO/WBC Junior Welterweight Title

Terence “Bud” Crawford is considered to be a possible future opponent for Manny Pacquiao and is one of the top talents on the Top Rank roster.
He’s twenty nine years old and is in the middle of his athletic prime. His opponent, Felix Diaz, is thirty three years old. Crawford will also have a three inch height advantage and a three inch reach advantage.

Crawford has been fairly active the past two years. He has fought three times in 2016 and twice in 2015. Diaz fought twice in 2016 and twice in 2015.

Both boxers have strong amateur backgrounds. Crawford had success on the national level as an amateur and won the Police Athletic League Championship as well as the United States Pan American Games. Diaz won the gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics for the Dominican Republic.

Crawford has looked sensational throughout his career and nobody has come close to defeating him. He has defeated the likes of John Molina Jr., Viktor Postol, Henry Lundy, Dierry Jean, Thomas Dulorme, Raymundo Beltran, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Ricky Burns, and Andrey Klimov. Even though Crawford has fought many fights in his native Nebraska, he has shown a willingness to travel to fight as evident in his past fight with former champion Ricky Burns in Scotland.

Diaz is a technician but lacks power. He only has nine stoppage wins while Crawford has twenty one. The best opponents Diaz has defeated so far are Sammy Vasquez, Gabriel Bracero, Adrian Granados, and Emmanuel Lartei Lartey. His lone loss was a disputed loss to Lamont Peterson.

This writer thinks Diaz be one of the most difficult fights in Crawford’s career. He’s a technician and has a deep and successful amateur background. But Crawford has faced elite talent several times in his career and has defeated every opponent put in front of him. Diaz’s resume is void of any elite talent, and the one time he did face a legitimate title contender in Lamont Peterson he came up short.

Crawford should win the fight by decision.

Posted on 04/23/2017

Keenan “The Killer” Smith Stopped Edgar Gabejan in A.C.!

At the Claridge Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, NJ, Saturday night promoters GH-3 and D&D Promotions put on a 6 bout card before a full house.

In the Main Event super lightweight southpaw Keenan “The Killer” Smith, 11-0 (5), of Philadelphia, scored a technical stoppage over overmatched Edgar “Koki” Gabejan, 27-34-7 (9), of Rizal, PH, at 1:46 of the seventh round.

In the opening round Smith put on the pressure landing 6 unanswered punches than pushing Gabejan down from behind the head. Smith followed up with a grazing left hand dropping Gabejan and given the 8-count by referee Ricky Gonzalez. In the second round Smith drove Gabejan into the ropes and was quickly tied up. It was all Smith in the round. In the third round an over anxious Smith wrestled Gabejan to the canvas. Smith continued to dominate over the shorter Gabejan who was being outgunned. In the fourth round Gabejan started throwing more punches than in the previous rounds. Smith drove Gabejan across the ring into a corner and jumped on him landing a flurry of punches.

In the fifth round a Smith double right hook to the chin of Gabejan dropped him for the 8-count given by referee Gonzalez. A solid right hook to the chin by Smith rocked Gabejan at the bell. In the sixth round Gabejan rushes in only to be hit with a straight left by Smith causing a bit of blood to come out of his nose. A right hook by Smith to the chin buckled the legs of Gabejan just prior to the bell. In the seventh round a short left hand to the chin of Gabejan dropped him for an 8-count given by referee Gonzalez. Shortly afterwards referee Gonzalez had seen enough and wisely stopped the mismatch.

“I hit him with hard shots. He was awkward. I knew I had him after the second round,” said Smith. His right hand was in ice. His brother and trainer coach Marty said “It’s a great step up fighting against a veteran who hadn’t been stopped since 2010.”

Heavyweight Tyrell “The King” Wright, 9-0-2 (6), of Jersey City, NJ, and Dan Pasciolla, 9-2-2 (0), of Brick, NJ, fought to a split decision draw over 6 rounds.

Wright did a lot of holding throughout the bout keeping referee Dave Francisosi busy breaking the fighters. Pasciolla took the opening round with Wright taking the second and third rounds. Pasciolla outworked Wright in the last 3 rounds and deserved the win.

Former boxer Bobby Rooney worked Wright’s corner while former cruiserweight world champion Al “Ice” Cole worked Pasciolla’s.

Judge Constatino scored it 58-56 for Wright. Judge Wallace 57-57 a draw and judge Stewart had it 58-56 for Pasciolla as did this writer.

Super lightweight southpaw PR John “El Torrito” Bauza, 6-0 (3), of Bergen, NJ, scored a sensational one-punch stoppage over PR Francis Gakpetor, 4-4-1 (3), of Accra, GH, at 0:17 of the first round of a scheduled 6.

Southpaw Bauza set up Gakpetor by holding his right hand out and landed a right hook to the head dropping Gakpetor with the only punch of the fight. Referee Dave Franciosi didn’t even have to count as he waved it off. “I lined him up with my right and hooked him to the head,” said Bauza.

Bauza is managed by Dino Duva.

Super lightweight southpaw Kenneth “Bossman” Sims, Jr., 11-0 (4), of Chicago, IL, scored a technical stoppage over game Israel Villela, 6-5 (2), of Cancun, MEX, at 1:30 of the third round.

In opening round Sims took it to the shorter Villela with a two fisted attack. He had Villela backing up throughout. In the second round Sims landed a hard right hook to the head of Villela who came back with a right uppercut to the mid-section of Sims. Sims landed a power shot right hook to head of Villela. Sims landed a 4-punch combination after opening up a small cut on right eyebrow of Villela. In the third round with Villela coming forward Sims countered well. Sims landed a flurry of punches and referee Gonzalez stepped in what seemed a premature stoppage.

Super flyweight prospect and former star amateur Dylan “The Real Deal” Price, 2-0 (2), of Sicklersville, NJ, used a vicious body attack scoring a technical stoppage over Christopher Nelson, 1-4 (0), of Louisville, KY, via PR, at 2:37 of the third round. Referee was Mary Glover. Price’s father Dave Price worked the corner.

In the opening bout bantamweight Manuel Rodriguez, 1-0 (0), of Newark, NJ, won a split decision over Jaxel Marrero, 1-8-2 (0), of PR, over 4 rounds.

In a hard fought first round it was give and take with Marrero having an edge. In the second and third rounds Rodriguez came back countering well against the aggressive Marrero. In the fourth and final round Rodriguez started out fast but Marrero took over the second half of the round.

Judge’s Mark Constatino and Paul Wallce had it 39-37 for Rodriguez while John Stewart had it 39-37 for Marrero. This writer had it 38-38. Raul “Chino” Rivas worked the winner’s corner. Mary Glover was the referee.

The ring announcer was Nino Del Buono.

Next at the Claridge on June 10th will be Rising Star Promotions featuring Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna, Anthony “Juice” Young, Gabriel Pham and Donald “No Love” Smith on the card.

Posted on 04/20/2017

Muhammad Ali In Fat City History
By: Jorge Martinez

Recent events have exposed fissures in our union and rocked our national identity. It is in this venue that I share the following story of two “Fat City” residents and Muhammad Ali. One is Mayor, Joan Darrah, the other is Ralph Lee White, a man she called, the most hated man in Stockton. Although not true, White is undoubtedly a controversial, outspoken and adversarial figure. Some might say he got rich by promoting unhealthy habits in the population. He has nevertheless played a pivotal role in the shaping of Stockton’s reputation. Ask the hundreds of people that line south Stockton streets to celebrate the end of slavery, a parade he funds without city support. This is also an unknown chapter in the life of Mohammad Ali, once known as “The Most Hated Man in America”. White was a civil rights advocate who served as a city councilman from 1971-87. Ralph’s challenges to the status quo embarrassed the Mayor. After self-described personal affronts Joan Darrah, stripped White of power by changing the city charter, specifically to prevent him from running for office. The sheer un-American-ness of this is stunning and remains a black mark on her legacy. The manipulation of the law is explained in her book that identifie as done for the greater good. See complete story in Boxing Heroes, 2016, Amazon.com

We must revisit another time of great uncertainty, the Vietnam War. Many rebelled against the draft and American foreign policies. One of these was Muhammad Ali, who inspired many young amateur boxers like myself. Suffering under the whip of Jim Crowe in the southwest, I dreamed of Olympic gold and a world title. I fought with an unrelenting desperate need to succeed, prepared to bleed and die if necessary. I was reaching for the stars that although shined brightly, were just beyond my reach. Without means of getting an education, I enlisted in the Army in 1971, and prepared for war in Vietnam against a people who as Ali said, “ I an’t got no fight with no Vietcong”. The gym was my church and boxing my religion. It saved me by releasing the fury that might have exploded destructively. As history records, Ali refused to serve and was arrested, held for a period, released and stripped of his title. Ali’s refusal sparked the country’s ire and he became “the most hated man in America”. The Viet Nam war ripped the country apart and intensified the divide that still affects our nation. The war eventually ended and a small measure of healing was obtained, meanwhile life in Stockton continued as usual.

Unimpressive in social improvements or economic growth, Joan Darrah’s tenure included the killing of Mr. Ramirez, victim of a mistaken SWAT invasion of his home. It also included The Cleveland Elementary School massacre in January of 1989 that rocked the nation. This was one of many school shootings to come and 28 years latter it’s still under investigation. The culprit was Patrick Edward Purdy a 26-year-old racist with a criminal record that used an AK-47 to kill five children and wound 31 others. It was the worse massacre of children in history before the 12-14-12 shooting at Sandy Hook School in Newtown Connecticut. Many questions remain as some believe Purdy had accomplishes. Interviews with a teacher at the event suggest there may have been another person who was not identified. Attempts to gain information via the Freedom of Information act were denied by the attorney general. My amateur sleuth research suggests Patrick Edward Purdy may have been a serial killer responsible for other murders across the country. This has been denied nor verified.

In her book, Darrah Joan Getting Political, QuillDriver Books 2003, 27, refers to Ralph as “ the star performer, clown, high flyer, and lion tamer in one, at the Monday Night Circus. (City council meetings) The story of White’s gradual transformation from respected and energetic young activist to a man many Stocktoinans saw as corrupt and self serving, unfolded over two decades from roughly 1966 to 1986 “. The pot calling the kettle black, Darrah conveniently forgot the rich typically use wealth to influence politics, like her husband Jim Darrah, a local judge. Without wealth or prestige Ralph Lee White, known as the most hated man in Stockton, recruited Mohammad Ali, the most hated man in America, to assist in a fundraiser. Something no one thought he could do. Although the mayor did not support the White-Ali Match at the University of the Pacific, nine hundred other people did. The event was an overwhelming success and raised thousands of dollars. An excited audience watched as Ali allowed Ralph Lee White to show off and kind enough to feign a knock down, on July 1, 1982. To his credit, Ali never rebutted Ralph’s claims of a real knock down. To my amazement Ralph still claimed it was real in 2016. Today, I am saying his retelling of the event is comical, amusing and intended as innocent humor. The fundraiser made Fat City Boxing history.

Surprising little has been said about Ali’s time in Stockton or this historical event. I accidently learned of it years later. The Mayor referred to it as a “staged fight”, not a public service. Her last attempt at regaining the spot light faded away with her cloudy legacy.

Mohammad Ali is gone and although Ralph Lee White has slowed down with age, yet continues, who knows what chapters remain unwritten. Like Ali, Ralph is full of life and surprises. He has rebuked several mayors including, Ed Chavez, Ann Johnston and current Mayor Michael Tubbs 2017. In retrospect, fundraisers have come and gone, but no one has matched White’s achievement of having Mohammad Ali come to Fat City. The infamous book Fat City, 1969 by Leonard Gardner, described Stockton as hopeless. Gardner unpardonably made the main antagonist white, which can only be interpreted as catering to his readership. It certainly has nothing to do with reality. White fighters in Stockton are a myth. There has not been a serious white contender from Fat City in my 30 years as a boxing journalist.

In 2016, famous, but never a champion Yaqui Lopez convinced the Spinks Brothers to visit Fat City to raise funds for his boxing program. Michael Spinks knocked out Yaqui Lopez in seven rounds in 1980. The event was mildly successful. Thanks to the gods of violent sports that give birth to a new crop of warriors, Fat City has never lacked for brawlers. Today, we have Nate and Nick Diaz, world-class UFC fighters. There are several up and coming boxers such Gabriel Flores, an international golden glove champion. Gabriel will make his professional debut on May 5, 2017 in Reno Nevada. I will cover the event live from ringside and bring details to Fat City. My ringside commendation will be made available to local radio stations throughout the central valley at no charge. I yearn for the days when average Americans knew the names of young lions that made history with their fists. The poorest of Fat City know what movie hero Rocky Balboa said, (paraphrase)” The world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean nasty place. Life isn’t about getting hit, its about how hard you can get hit, then get up and keep going forward, but you gotta be willing to take the hits.” I dream of a new TV reality series, like The Contender to help us along. As a former boxer, referee, amateur coach, professional trainer, promoter, sportswriter and finally author of Boxing Heroes, 2016. I got to say; Thank God for Boxing!

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Posted on 01/21/2017

Roman, Ellis and Sims Win at Bally’s in Atlantic City Friday!
By:Ken Hissner

GH3 and Kings Promotions and SHO BOX promoted nine competitive bouts at Bally’s in Atlantic City, NJ, Friday night!

In the main event super bantamweight Adam “Mantequilla” Lopez, 16-1-1 (8), of San Antonio, TX, suffered his first loss not coming out for the tenth round losing to Danny “Baby Face Assassin” Roman, 22-2-1 (8), of Golden Grove, CA, in a WBA eliminator bout.

In the first round there was little to choose from the fighters but Lopez seemed to have an edge. In the second round Lopez landed a hard right to the chin of Roman getting his attention. In the second round Lopez looked the sharper of the two. In the third round Roman dropped Lopez with a left hook to the chin. He went after Lopez and dropped him again with a pair of lefts and a right. Lopez had a bloody nose and staggered back to his corner at the end of the round after taking a beating on the ropes. In the fourth round Roman let Lopez back into the fight and he came back and seemed to edge out the round.

In the fifth and sixth rounds were close in a back and forth fight as Roman kept his cool while Lopez is showing the wear and tare with his nose bleeding again. In the eighth round Roman was landing power punches hurting Lopez who is bothered by his nose injury.

In the ninth round Roman continued with hard left hooks to the body and right uppercuts to the chin of Lopez who had a mouse under his left eye. The corner of Lopez stopped the fight at the end of the ninth.

Super middleweight Ronald “Flatline” Ellis, 14-0-1 (10), of Lynn, MASS, defeated Christopher “Ice Cold” Brooker, 11-3 (5), of Philly, by a close decision.

In the opening round Ellis came right out and nailed Brooker with a right to the chin. He followed up with another right to the chin of Brooker. Halfway through the round Brooker landed three straight short right hands to the head of Ellis. It was a big round for Ellis. In the second round Brooker had a better round but not good enough to outscore Ellis. In the third round Brooker turned the fight around pinning Ellis against the ropes landing heavy punches especially to the body and short rights inside to the chin of Ellis. In the fourth round Brooker continued to get the better of Ellis inside.

In the fifth round it continued an inside fight with Brooker keeping it a brawl to his advantage. Ellis is allowing his early start to play into the hands of Brooker’s inside fighting. In the sixth round Ellis landed a flurry of punches getting Brooker’s attention. Brooker has slowed down. In the seventh round it was another close one with Brooker having a slight edge. In the eighth and final round again it was close with Brooker continuing to keep it inside. Ellis had his moments.

Judges Barnes and Grant had it 79-73 with Hill and this writer at 77-75 except this writer had it for Brooker. Referee was David Fields. “I thought I won the fight keeping him on the ropes most of the fight,” said Brooker.

Super bantamweight southpaw Stephon “Showstopper” Young, 16-0-3 (6), of Chicago, IL, defeated Olimson Nazarov, 14-4 (8), UZB, over eight tough rounds of boxing.

In the first round southpaw Young boxed well outworking Nazarov. In the second round Nazarov opened up landing a lead overhand right to the head of Young and followed up with a combination. Young continued to use his jab. In the third round Young was landing with lead left hands to the head of Nazarov. Nazarov only fought in spurts but landed well when he did. In the fourth round Nazarov was landing three punch combinations to the head and body of Young having his best round.

In the fifth round Young used his hand speed while Nazarov was landing with combinations in a close round. In the sixth round the action was going back and forth with the last ten seconds the best part of the fight with both landing well. In the seventh round things slowed down a bit with Young outworking Nazarov. In the eighth and final round in was action packed with Young rocking Nazarov with a left uppercut to the chin. Nazarov always bounces back with combinations.

Judges George Hill and Eugene Grant had it 78-74 as did this writer while Debra Barnes had it 77-75 all for the winner. David Fields was the referee.

Welterweight southpaw Kenneth “Bossman” Sims, Jr., 11-0 (3), of St. Diego, CA, defeated southpaw Emmanuel “Renegade” Robles, 15-2-1 (5), of San Diego, CA, in a hard fought eight rounds of action.

In the first round of action Sims hurt Robles with a fight uppercut to the chin that had Robles hurt, but he came firing back. In the second round the action continued with both boxers getting control throughout the round. In the third round the inside fighting continued with Sims getting the best shots in on Robles. In the fourth round the action continued with Sims landing the better inside. This fight could have been taken in a phone booth.

In the fifth round Robles landed a solid left to the head of Sims. Shortly later it was Sims landing a sold lead right to the head of Robles. In the sixth round the action continued in a hard fight for both taking turns mostly punching to the head. In the seventh round the action slowed down in a close round. In the eighth and final round both fighters had their moments. Robles controlled the first half and Sims controlled the second half of the round.

Bantamweight southpaw Leroy “Lucious” Davila, 6-0 (4), of New Brunswick, NJ, impressed with a stoppage at 0:53 of the third round over southpaw Anthony “Tiger” Taylor, 4-1 (1), of Warren, OH.

In the first round Davila was dominating and dropped Taylor with a left to the chin with about 15 seconds left in the round. Taylor beat the count of referee Esteves as the bell sounded. In the second round a left and right combination drove Taylor into the corner of the ring. Davila has Taylor missing quite a few punches. In the third round a straight lead left to the chin by Davila dropped Taylor who bounced up instantly. A solid combination knocked Taylor’s head back with referee Esteves wisely stopping the fight. This a six shortened to a four. “I saw tapes of him knowing he will land a punch and back up so I was just taking my time knowing I would eventually get to him,” said Davila.

Judges Barnes and Grant had it 79-72 while Hill scored it 78-73. This writer had it 78-74. The scoring did not reflect on the closeness of the rounds. Referee was Esteves, Jr.

Super lightweight southpaw “Killer” Keenan Smith, 10-0 (4), of Philly, stopped Marquix “Hawk” Hawthorne, 4-6 (1), of Waco, TX, who didn’t come out for the sixth and final round.

In the first round it was all Smith outworking Hawthorne. In the second round a lead left by Smith to the head of Hawthorne froze Hawthorne. Smith didn’t seem to know how he hurt his opponent and was too slow to follow up. In the third round a lead left by Smith to the head had Hawthorne holding on. In the fourth and fifth rounds Smith dominated. Hawthorne’s corner stopped the fight before the sixth round.

Super welterweight Anthony “Juice” Young, 15-2 (6), of Atlantic City, NJ, came won a decision over James Robinson, 4-6-4 (1), of York, PA, to the displeasure of the fans. Young was saved by the bell in the last round.

In the first round Young drove Robinson into the ropes with a solid right hand to the chin. He dominated the round with Robinson clinching too much. In the second round Young landed well to the body forcing Robinson to hold. In the third round it was more of the same with Young forcing the action.

In the fourth round referee Esteves rightfully took away a point from Robinson for holding. It was a big round for Young. In the fifth round after losing his mouthpiece Robinson landed his best punch of the fight a left hook to the head of Young. Young rocked Robinson with a right to the head forcing him to clinch. In the sixth and final round Robinson hurt Young with a solid right hand to the head having Young out on his feet. Then Robinson followed up and dropped Young with another right hand at the bell. Referee Esteves looked like he was waving the fight off when the bell rang with Young barely beating the count.

Judges Barnes and Grant had it 58-55 with Hill 57-55 and this writer 58-54. Referee was Esteves, Jr.

Heavyweight Darmani “Rock Solid” Rock, 7-0 (5), of Philly, knocked out Solomon “Solo” Maye, 3-8-2 (3), of New Haven, CT, at 0:34 of the fifth round in a scheduled six rounder.

In the first round both boxers were feeling each other out. Rock landed some good jabs and controlled what little action there was. In second round Rock hit Maye the with a right to the head getting his attention. In the third round Rock continued to set Maye up with his jab but didn’t pull the trigger enough but enough to take the round. In the fourth round Rock switches to southpaw several times and continued to win with a jab and good right hand body shots hurting Maye on occasions. In the fifth round Rock landed a right hook and left hand knocking Maye out to the delight of the fans. Referee Fields immediately waved it off.

In the opening bout super bantamweight Malik “Action” Jackson, 2-0 (2), of DC, scored a pair of knockdowns stopping Christian Foster, 0-3 (0), of Alexanderia, VA., at 2:20 of the first round.

A pair of body shots dropped Foster twice before referee Benjy Esteves, Jr. called a halt.

All in all it was a good if not late of boxing at Bally’s in A.C.

Posted on 01/17/2017

Atlantic City and Trenton Shows in New Jersey Friday and Saturday!
By: Ken Hissner

New Jersey boxing is off to a fast start with two shows scheduled this week. Friday at Bally’s Event Center, in Atlantic City with 11 bouts scheduled over Sho Box. The main event features two topsuper bantamweights in Adam “Mantequillo” Lopez, 16-0-1 (8), of San Antonio, TX, against Daniel “Baby Face Assassin” Roman, 21-2-1 (7), of Garden Grove, CA.

The co-feature has Ronald Ellis, 13-0-1 (10), out of Lynn, MASS against Philly’s Christopher Brooker, 11-2 (5), in a cruiserweight bout. Two other Philly boxers on the card are Keenan Smith, 9-0 (3), returning after 14 months of inactivity. Also, top former amateur star super heavyweight Darmani “Tight” Rock, 6-0 (4) making his first fight near home.

Top New Jersey prospect Leroy “Lucious” Davila, 4-0 (2), of New Brunswick is againstAnthony Taylor, 4-0 (1), of Warren, OH. Stephon “Bossman” Young, 15-0-3 (6), of Chicago, IL, is against Elton Dharry, 20-5-1 (13), of Guyana living in Brooklyn, NY. FinallyKenneth “Showstopper” Sims, Jr., 10-0 (3), of St. Louis, MO, is against Emmanuel “Renegade”, 15-1-1 (5), of San Diego, CA.

In Trenton Saturday at the Sun National Bank Center, Rene Aiken of Boss Lady Promotions, and Honorable Mayor Eric Jackson returns for her second show at this facility“Bridge Wars” featuring her nephew the return of 3 division champion “Super” Zab Judah, 42-9 (29), headlines against Jorge Luis Munguia, 13-7 (5), of Hondoras. “I’m coming in at 143 and expect to go down to 140”. The co-feature has Derrick “Take it to the Bank” Webster, 21-1 (11), against Thomas Awimbono, 25-5-1 (21), of Accra, GH, for the vacant USBO super middleweight title. Trenton’s own cruiserweight Mike Hilton, 4-0 (4), returns back to this facility again. Camden’s Vidal Rivera, 4-0 (3), in the featherweight division meets James Early, 2-1 (0), of Seat Pleasant, MD. Also, on the undercard middleweight Jimmy Kelleher, 2-0 (2), of Scranton, PA, Philly’s Donald Smith, 3-0 (2), and Darin Holiday, of Philly making his debut against the grandson of “The Easton Assassin” Larry Holmes. In a female bout Carla Torres, 5-3 (0), of PR and Cleveland, OH, is featured. This will be a pro-am with boxers from NJ, NY and PA.

Posted on 12/18/2016

GGG-Jacobs Set For March 18th…On PPV
By: Sean Crose

First, the good news. Middleweight kingpin Gennady Golovkin will be facing middleweight powerhouse Daniel Jacobs next March 18th at Madison Square Garden in New York. This after negotiations which seemed to drag on forever. Indeed, the fight was originally supposed to occur this month, but – this being boxing – things moved at the pace of a snail going in reverse. To be sure, there were those who were starting to feel the match might not happen after all. Now, however, fans can breath a sigh of relief, for Golovkin is finally getting to face an opponent who could prove to be a challenge.

The flip side of this shiny coin, of course, is that the bout is going to take place on pay per view. That’s right, pay per view. Make no mistake about it, GGG-Jacobs is a big fight, it’s a legitimate one, too. That, however, does not make a bout pay per view worthy. At least it didn’t used to. Today, however, all bets seem to be off. HBO, under whose banner the fight will take place, once put on the Tyson-Holmes heavyweight title fight free for subscribers. Those days are long gone. Today we are told the network has budget issues. Needless to say, fans are paying for it.

Or not.

For fans are actually turning away from pay per view these days…and it’s doubtful GGG-Jacobs is going to break that trend. Indeed, Golovkin’s last fight – a huge affair against Britain’s Kell Brook – was on HBO. So was the Kovalev-Hopkins fight of just a few years back. Subscribers and boxing nuts are having a hard time accepting the fact that HBO is now the place for tuneups and low level matches. The fact that HBO hasn’t been too open about it’s recent boxing issues hasn’t exactly endeared it to fans, either. There have even been whispers that HBO is getting out of the boxing business – though it’s easy to see that assertion as being something of a stretch.

One fight that fans will indeed be willing to see on pay per view is a potential GGG fight with Canelo Alvarez. That particular pairing seems to be coming next fall, provided neither man loses in the interval. Canelo may fight Julio Caesar Chavez junior in what would surely prove to be a cash cow. By taking on Jacobs, however, GGG is arguably facing the more daunting challenge. To be sure, some might go so far as to say Jacobs may prove to be more of a challenge for Golovkin than Canelo might be.

Posted on 10/13/2016

The Questionable Career Path of Danny Garcia
By: William Holmes

On September 14th, 2014 Danny Garcia scored one of the biggest wins of his career when he defeated the hard hitting Argentinean Lucas Matthysse by decision to retain his WBA and WBC Super Lightweight World Championship.

Garcia’s biggest win prior to this fight was a stunning knockout over a two loss Amir Khan. The sky was the limit for the Philadelphia prize fighter and many considered him to be the best boxer in the junior welterweight division and Philadelphia’s best world champion since Bernard Hopkins. His other big victories were over faded veterans such as Erik Morales and Zab Judah, but those types of fights were to be expected for a rising boxing superstar trying to establish a name for himself.

However, Garcia’s path to stardom has sputtered since that fight and the opportunities to grow his fan base have largely been ignored or have failed.

Garcia’s first fight after his win against Matthysse took place in Puerto Rico against Mauricio Herrera, an opponent with three losses that many felt Garcia should beat easily. It was thought that Garcia, a Philadelphia native with Puerto Rican decent, would gain more fans by fighting in Puerto Rico and winning impressively. Unfortunately for Garcia and his handlers, he looked lackluster in this bout and squeaked out a decision in a fight that many felt he lost. Herrera threw more punches, landed more punches, and landed them at a higher percentage than Garcia, but somehow still lost the decision.

Garcia failed to capitalize on the momentum from his major victory over Lucas Matthysse.

Five months after that bout Danny Garcia knocked out Rod Salka, a blown up lightweight that was one win removed from a loss against the unheralded Ricardo Alvarez, and who had two other losses to an aged Dorin Spivey and another unknown Guillermo Sanchez. Even though the knockout of Salka was highlight reel material, Garcia and his handlers are still mocked for selling that terrible mismatch to the public.

His next bout was against the always exciting Lamont Peterson in Brooklyn, New York. This was one of Garcia’s most exciting fights, but it was another fight that many felt he lost. Peterson came on strong at the end and looked like the fresher fighter, while Garcia’s face was badly bruised and swollen.

Garcia’s handlers had him fight in Brooklyn several times in order to build up his popularity with the Puerto Rican fan base that resided there, and he was beginning to develop a large following in Brooklyn. But Garcia heard a sound that was foreign to him in Brooklyn when the scorecards were read in his favor after his bout with Peterson…

Danny Garcia heard boos from the Brooklyn crowd.

Garcia had a plethora of good fights that could have been made in the junior welterweight division after his questionable win over Peterson. Adrien Broner also fought for Premier Boxing Champions and would have been a good choice as an opponent. Cross promotional foes such as Terence Crawford or even Timothy Bradley would have made fight fans salivate at thoughts of that matchup.

Even the legendary Manny Pacquiao was brought up by many in boxing circles as a possible future foe for Danny Garcia.

Instead, Garcia chose to fight a six loss Paulie Malignaggi, an excellent talker and great boxing commentator, but he was coming off of a devastating TKO loss to Shawn Porter. Garcia won that bout, but it did nothing to elevate his career.

Even though good options remained for Danny Garcia at the junior welterweight division, he bumped up in weight and took on Robert Guerrero, a man that previously held a featherweight title and had only won two of his previous four fights. One of those wins included a split decision victory over the unheralded Aaron Martinez in a bout that many thought he lost.

Garcia won the fight with Guerrero, but Guerrero went on to lose his next bout to David Peralta, a boxer who’s full time job was that of a cab driver in Argentina.

But despite all of these missteps and uninspiring victories by Danny Garcia, his biggest misstep was announced this week.

Danny Garcia, despite being a WBC Welterweight World Champion, will take part in a tune up fight against Samuel Vargas.

Who’s Samuel Vargas? That’s a good question, because he’s not well known. He played the role of punching bag to Errol Spence Jr. in April of 2015. The same Errol Spence that Danny Garcia said wasn’t ready for him, because Errol Spence had to prove himself to get big names in the ring.

Samuel Vargas’ other loss was to Pablo Munguia. Pablo Munguia has lost six of his past seven bouts, and has been stopped in over half of his eleven losses.

Samuel Vargas has done nothing to prove he belongs in the ring with Danny Garcia.

What’s even more outrageous about this fight is its timing. Boxing is struggling to find and grow new fans, and this is evident in the noticeable decrease in number of boxing gyms nationwide and the lack of boxing on US television in the month of October.

Danny Garcia is a Philadelphia fighter, and Philadelphia is a major player in the sport of boxing. Garcia has not fought in Philadelphia since 2010, and at first glance one would think that letting Garcia fight in front of his home town is a good idea.

Except for there’s another Philadelphia fighter fighting on November 12th, and he holds the UFC Lightweight Title. He’s also fighting the world’s most popular MMA fighter in Connor McGregor, for the first UFC card ever in the media capital of the world, New York City.

There’s no overlap of fans in boxing and MMA amongst the older generations, but you’d be foolish to think an overlap doesn’t exist in the coveted younger demographics. Fight fans under the age of thirty five that live in Philadelphia would pay attention to Danny Garcia fighting in their city on most nights, but not on a night that Eddie Alvarez is fighting McGregor.

You’d also be foolish to think the Philadelphia media won’t cover a local native like Eddie Alvarez taking on the biggest name in the UFC over a bout between Danny Garcia and an unknown in boxing like Samuel Vargas.

That fact alone, defeats the purpose of having Danny Garcia fight in his hometown.

I’m sure the promoters will stack the card with local fighters in an effort to get the local gyms to pack the Liacouras Center at Temple University to make it seem like it’s a triumphant homecoming for Danny Garcia.

But the majority of fight fans in Philadelphia will have their eyes on New York.

Win or lose, this fight for Danny Garcia is already a failure, and just another questionable decision in Danny Garcia’s career.

Posted on 09/30/2016

GGG-Jacobs? It May Just Happen This December
By: Sean Crose

“I understand my situation,” Gennady Golovkin told me some time ago, before his match with Daniel Geale. Since then, the man has become less patient, and with good reason. Still, it seems like now a big name middleweight will finally be willing to get in the ring with the feared GGG. For word is out that Golovkin may get it on with Brooklyn’s Daniel Jacobs, a hard hitting, exciting slugger who holds the WBA middleweight world title (Golovkin is WBAs super world middleweight champion, but let’s not get hung up on the silly details) this December.

The truth is that HBO, which would air the bout, is going through some money woes – at least as its boxing broadcasts are concerned – so it hasn’t been able to air as many fights as it usually does. The injury Canelo Alvarez received fighting Liam Smith recently, however, means Canelo won’t be fighting again this year on HBO as planned. Hence talk of this potential middleweight unification. Should the fight be made, it will likely go down December 10th at Madison Square Garden in New York. After what will be a slow October for boxing, the more good news there is for fight fans, the better.

Golovkin, as most fight followers know, is the most avoided man in boxing with the possible exception of Guillermo Rigondeaux. Sure enough, men like fellow middleweight titlist Billy Joe Saunders have openly admitted to being hesitant to face the Kazakh warrior. Boasting a record of 36-0 with 33 knockouts, Golovkin brings an impressive, patient skill set to go along with his furious punching power. Indeed, GGG can not only win a fight, he can beat an opponent severely. Case in point – welterweight champ Kell Brook, who went up in weight to fight GGG recently and had to have surgery as a result of his encounter with the man.

Jacobs, however, is no joke. Here is a fighter, after all, who has not only licked cancer, but who has earned himself a record of 32-1 with 29 knockouts. Sure enough, Jacobs is skilled as well as powerful. Peter Quilin, for instance, was dusted by Jacobs within one round and that was supposed to be a relatively evenly matched fight. Perhaps most importantly, though, Jacobs appears to be willing to fight Golovkin, a man even top fighters like Alvarez appear to be content avoiding.

That in an of itself is worthy of some kind of praise in this era of low risk/high reward.