Tag Archives: Machado

Posted on 02/10/2019

By: William Holmes

The Fantasy Springs Resort Casino was the host site of tonight’s Golden Boy Boxing on DAZN offering as two world title fights were on the line.

The undercard featured victories by Joseph Diaz Jr., over Charles Huerta and Avat Hovhannisyan over Lolito Sonsona.

Tureano Johnson and Fernando Castaneda fought a rugged bout to the end with an unsatisfying draw with scores of 77-75, 77-75, and 76-76.

The co-main event of the evening was between Rey Vargas (32-0) and Franklin Manzanilla (18-4) for the WBC Super Bantamweight Title. Manzanilla, a Venezuelan, had 17 of his wins come by way of knockout. Vargas had stopped 22 of his opponents.

Both fighters looked to be in excellent shape and Vargas was the taller fight of the two. Manzanilla did well fighting on the inside but Vargas found his range by the end of the first and was able to land some good left hooks.

Vargas continued to land some good shots to the body and head in the second round, before Manzanilla landed a vicious left hook to the chin that sent Vargas crashing to the mat. Vargas was able to get back to his feet, but had to frantically hold on in order to survive the round.

Vargas stayed behind his jab and straight right hands in the third round and had Manzanilla hurt from combinations including a vicious right hand left hook combo in the fourth.

Vargas maintained control in the fifth, sixth, and seventh rounds and was able to maintain a safe distance with his jab and body shots, though Manzanilla was able to rough him up in tight and land some decent shots to the body.

Manzanilla rough fighting cost him two points in the fight, including for throw a punch after a break in the eighth round. Vargas had cuts by both of his eyes in the eighth round.

A doctor had to check Vargas in the ninth round, but Vargas was able to battle on and continue to outbox Manzanilla. Vargas did eat a heavy straight left hand in the eleventh round, but was placed in any trouble for the remainder of the fight.

The final scores were 117-108 on all three scorecards for Rey Vargas.

The WBA Super Featherweight Title was on the line in the main event as Alberto Machado (21-0) faced off against Andrew Cancio (19-4-2) in the main event of the evening.

Machado, a southpaw, was a heavy betting favorite in this fight and was able to drop Cancio early with a right uppercut to the chin. Cancio was able to get up by the count of nine, and had to hold off a pressing Macahdo for the remainder of the round.

Machado was looking for the uppercut in the second round but Cancio looked recovered from the earlier knockdown and was landing good punches to the body. His body work opened up some heavy shots to the head of Macahdo and was able to end the second round very strong, but not without having a cut near his left eye.

Cancio had all the momentum in the fight in the third round as he was battering Machado with combinations to the body and head and pressed forward with heavy shots. He had a very dominating third round and was able to attack from all angles.

Macahado started off the fourth round by circling away from Cancio, but Cancio pressed forward with his body attacks and was able to knock Machado down with a right to the body. Machado go up before the count of nine but succumbed to another body attack for the second knockdown of the round. Machado barely beat the count and was still badly hurt before another combination to the body sent Machado down for the final time as the referee quickly waived off the fight.

Cancio wins by KO at 2:16 of the fourth round in a stunning upset.

Posted on 02/08/2019

By: Hector Franco

This upcoming weekend two Super Featherweight titles will be on the line in the state of California. Further cementing the new era’s boxing divide amongst promoters, networks and now streaming services WBA “Super” 130-pound champion Gervonta Davis (20-0, 19 KOs) will be defending his title against Hugo Ruiz in Carson, California and “Regular” WBA 130-pound champion Alberto Machado (21-0, 17 KOs) will be defending his title against Andrew Cancio (19-4-2, 14 KOs).

The fact is that Machado and Davis should be fighting each other to determine who is the real WBA 130-pound champion. Regardless, Machado will be attempting to make his third straight title defense. Machado who hails from Rios Piedras, Puerto Rico is one of the three current male Puerto Rican boxing champions. The list includes WBO Light Flyweight champion Angel Acosta and IBF Bantamweight champion Emmanuel Rodriguez. The man known as “El Explosivo” is one of the tallest 130-pounders in the sport standing at 5’10 with a 72-inch reach to accompany his southpaw stance. In his previous title defense, he was able to showcase his tremendous punching power by scoring a first-round knockout against Yuandale Evans on the undercard of Daniel Jacobs’ IBF middleweight title win over Sergiy Derevyanchenko.

Machado’s opponent Cancio has struggled with consistently staying active for large portions of his career. Cancio is a single father who currently works full-time for the Southern California Gas Company. Cancio did not fight in all of 2010 and 2017 including fighting just once in 2013, 2014 and 2015. At this point of his career, Cancio has faced tougher competition than Machado including facing the likes of Rocky Juarez, Jerry Belmontes, Ronny Rios, and Joseph Diaz.

Following Cancio’s stoppage loss to Diaz in September 2016, he made his return in April 2018. The California native took on highly touted prospect and decorated amateur Aidar Sharibayev in a bout that not many gave him a chance to win. In one of the most significant upsets of that year, Cancio was able to drop the Kazakhstani fighter in the third and fifth rounds in route to a 10th round stoppage victory. Cancio followed his victory over Sharibayev with a ten-round unanimous decision over Albania’s Dardan Zenunaj last August.

The fighter known as “El Chango” was not expecting to return to boxing and get a title opportunity as quickly as he did. Looking at how much trouble and determination he has shown in his bouts in the past, Machado will have his hands full on Saturday night.

Observing the Puerto Rican’s physical dimensions, it is unclear as to how long he will remain in the Super Featherweight division. Should Machado move up to the Lightweight division, he will have fighters such as Vasyl Lomachenko, Richard Commey and fellow countrymen Jose Pedraza awaiting him. It will be interesting to see how Machado fairs against the other champions at Super Featherweight such as Miguel Berchelt, Tevin Farmer and Masayuki Ito.

The main supporting bout for the card will feature another championship bout as WBC Super Bantamweight champion Rey Vargas (32-0, 22 KOs) will be attempting to make his fourth successful title defense against Venezuela’s Franklin Manzanilla. Vargas won his title in February 2017 when he traveled to the United Kingdom to take on Gavin McDonnell. The Mexico native was able to pull off the upset victory with a majority decision. Since winning the title, Vargas has gone one to score three dominant victories including wins over Ronny Rios, Oscar Negrete, and Azat Hovhannisyan.

Vargas’ opponent, Manzanilla earned his title opportunity by defeating Mexico’s Julio Ceja in May 2018 after four rounds of action. The Venezuelan puncher was brought in for Ceja to get some rounds and stay sharp while he awaited a title fight. At 30 years of age, Manzanilla will be making his United States debut against the best opponent of his career.

As we have seen throughout boxing history upsets can happen on any night. We saw earlier this year when Manzanilla’s fellow Venezuelan countryman Jorge Linares was upset with a first-round stoppage at the hands of Pablo Cesar Cano. While not much is known about Manzanilla, he at the very least has a punchers chance against Vargas.

The card will take place at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California. The show will be streamed on DAZN at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT

Posted on 10/28/2018

By: William Holmes

HBO’s run as one of boxing’s premier destinations is coming to an end, and tonight may have been their last telecast from New York City.

HBO’s World Championship Boxing put on a triple header live from the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden.

The opening bout of the night was rematch between Heather Hardy (21-0) and Shelly Vincent (23-1) for the vacant WBO Women’s Featherweight Title. Their first fight was considered by many to be a fight of the year candidate in 2016.

Hardy walked into the ring with a four inch height advantage.

Both boxers started the fight right where the left off, by throwing a large number of punches and landing several good shots. Hardy appeared the be winning the early rounds with more accurate punches and good body shots, but Vincent kept up the pressure.

Photo Credit: HBO Boxing Twitter Account

Hardy appeared to have slowed down a little bit in the fourth round and may have given that round to Vincent, but she picked up her pace again in the fifth and sixth rounds and used a good consistent jab and strong hook to the body to win these rounds.

Hardy had a bad cut open up over her left eye in addition to an earlier cut over her right eye by the seventh round but she continued to fight on. Vincent had some blood coming from her nose at the end of the round and the volume of punches that both women were landing were showing it’s effect on their faces.

Vincent continued to press the action in the eight round and was able to land a few good shots to the body of Hardy, but Hardy landed harder counters and appeared to be landing with more power.

Vincent probably needed a knockout in the final two rounds to win this bout, but neither boxer were known for their power and neither came close to a knockdown, but still threw an incredible number of punches.

Heather Hardy remains undefeated with a decision victory by scores of 97-93, 97-93, and 99-91.

The next bout of the night was between Alberto Machado (20-0) and Yuandale Evans (20-1) for the WBA “Regular” Junior Lightweight Title.

Machado is a rising star in boxing and looked to be the taller fighter in the ring.

Photo Credit: HBO Boxing Twitter Account

Machado was able to land a good straight left hand early on to the chin of Evans that sent Evans to his butt on the floor. Evans was able to get back to his feet, but was staggered by a right hook and was met with a flurry of punches that forced Evans to touch the mat with his gloves for a second knockdown.

Evans returned to his feet and was checked quickly by the referee and indicated he could go on, but was met with another Machado combination that ended with a clean left hook that knocked Evans out and sent him crashing backwards to the canvas.

Alberto Machado wins by knockout at 2:25 of the first round.

The main event of the evening was between Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-0) and Daniel Jacobs (34-2) for the IBF Middleweight Title.

Both boxers showed they knew each other well in the opening round and respected each other’s power. Derevyanchenko let Jacobs know he was in a fight by landing a short right immediately after a break. Jacobs jab kept a good distance and he was able to score a knockdown with an over the top right hand. Derevyanchenko got to his feet and survived a Jacobs onslaught as the round came to an end.

Derevyanchenko was the aggressor in the second round and recovered well from his earlier knockdown. Derevyanchenko was pressing forward on Jacobs which forced Jacobs to switch to a southpaw stance to better keep a distance from Derevyanchenko’s right hand.

Photo Credit: HBO Boxing Twitter Account

Jacobs did good work to the body in the third and fourth rounds but both boxers were loading up on their punches and landing hard shots.

Derevyanchenko attacked the body of Jacobs in the fifth round and had Jacobs walking backwards into a corner or rope several times throughout the round. Jacobs was able to land a few good shots this round, but Derevyanchenko was the aggressor.

The sixth round featured a lot of fireworks as both boxers threw with reckless abandon and landed hard shots to the body and head. Jacobs though appeared to be a little more accurately, but was still being uncharacteristically wild.

Derevyanchenko was breathing heavily by the seventh round but still coming forward. The body work of Jacobs was showing signs of paying off in this round as Jacobs still had snap in his punches while Derevyanchenko appeared to be losing steam.

Jacobs defense was much more effective in the eighth and ninth rounds and he was finding a home for his uppercuts. Jacobs had pulled ahead to a comfortable lead by the tenth round, but Derevyanchenko may have stolen that round with some successful flurries.

Jacobs looked like he would have been ok with boxing safely in the final two rounds, but Derevyanchenko made Jacobs work for his victory as Derevyanchenko continued to press forward and aggressively go for a knockout and had Jacobs looking exhausted as the fight came to an end, but Derevyanchenko took some hard shots in the process.

Daniel Jacobs wins the decision with scores of 114-113 Derevyanchenko, 115-112 Jacobs, 115-112 Jacobs.

Posted on 10/26/2018

By: William Holmes

On Saturday night the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden in New York City will host an IBF World Middleweight Title fight between Daniel Jacobs and Sergi Derevyanchenko.

The undercard will feature two other world title bouts. The co-main event of the evening will be a WBA Regular Junior Lightweight Title fight between Alberto Machado and Yuandale Evans. The first fight of the telecast will be a rematch between Heather Hardy and Shelly Vincent for the vacant WBO Women’s Featherweight Title.

The fight between Hardy and Vincent was just recently added to the telecast and was originally scheduled to be on the untelevised undercard. Their first fight was a 2016 Ring Magazine Female Fight of the Year, and saw Hardy win by a majority decision.

Even though this writer does not remember their first fight being as close at the judges scored it, it was an action packed fight that should be entertaining for fight fans.

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

Alberto Machado (20-0) vs. Yuandale Evans (20-1); WBA “Regular” Junior Lightweight Title

Alberto Machado is currently co-promoted by both Golden Boy Promotions as well as Miguel Cotto Promotions. He holds the WBA Regular Junior Lightweight Title and is considered one of Golden Boy’s top prospects.

Photo Credit: Matchroom Boxing Twitter Account

He’s in the midst of his athletic prime at 28 years old and is one year younger than Evans. He has 16 stoppage victories on his resume, two more than Evans, and has been more active. Machado has stopped three of his past five opponents. Saturday will be his second fight of 2018, after fighting three times in 2017 and four times in 2016. Evans will be fighting for the first time 2018, fought twice in 2017, and didn’t fight at all in 2016.

Both boxers have been fairly successful as amateurs. Machado was a national champ at the Junior, Junior Olympics, and Cadet Categories. Evans won a bronze medal in the National Golden Gloves Tournament.

Machado has never tasted defeated and has beaten the likes of Rafael Mesnah, Jezreel Corrales, Carlos Morales, and Juan Jose Martinez. Every opponent that Machado has defeated since 2014 had a winning record.

Evans’ lone loss was to Javier Fortuna by TKO way back in 2012. He has notable wins against Luis Rosa and Billel Dib. Two of the past four fighters that Evans has faced had losing records.

Machado should win by a comfortable margin on Saturday, as Evans doesn’t have the experience of Machado and has been fairly inactive in the past few years.

Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-0) vs. Daniel Jacobs (34-2); IBF Middleweight Title

Daniel Jacobs is one of Eddie Hearn’s top middleweights and he’s looking at potential bouts with either Canelo Alvarez, Demetrius Andrade, or Billy Joe Saunders in the future on the DAZN network.

Photo Credit: Matchroom Boxing Twitter Account

But first he has to get past an under the radar Sergiy Derevyanchenko, who is better than most people realize.

Jacobs has 29 stoppage wins on his resume and nearly triple the number of professional fights than Derevyanchenko. Derevyanchenko only has 10 stoppage wins, but Derevyanchenko spent most of his early career fighting under the World Series of Boxing Banner, which don’t technically count as professional fights.

When Derevyanchenko fought for the World Series of Boxing he had over 23 fights and only lost once.

Both boxers had successful amateur careers. Jacobs was a Junior Olympics, Golden Gloves, and US National Champion. Derevyanchenko competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, the most prestigious amateur event for boxing.

Jacobs two losses were a monumental upset to Dmitry Pirog back in 2010, and a close decision loss to Gennady Golovkin. He has defeated the likes of Maciej Sulecki, Luis Arias, Sergio Mora, Peter Quillin, Caleb Truax, Jarrod Fletcher, and Ishe Smith.

Derevyanchenko has never tasted defeat as a pro, but he did lose a World Series of Boxing match. He has beaten the likes of Dashon Johnson, Tureano Johnson, Sam Soliman, Kemahl Russell, Elvin Ayala, and Vladine Biosse.

The biggest notable difference on Saturday will be size. Daniel Jacobs will have at least a two and a half inch height advantage as well as a five and a half inch reach advantage. He looked even bigger when they faced off with each other. Both guys are still in their athletic prime, with Jacobs being 31 and Derevyanchenko being 32.

Jacobs shouldn’t overlook Derevyanchenko, for his amateur pedigree indicates he will be a tougher opponent than most expect. But Jacobs will be fighting in front of a friendly crowd with big fights on the horizon, this writer has a hard time imagining a scenario where he doesn’t walk out the victor.

Posted on 10/24/2018

Compiled By: William Holmes

The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of October 17th to October 24th; covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.

Team Fury Take in the Sights of Bulgaria Ahead of Landmark Showdown on Saturday Night

Having landed in Sofia on Saturday evening, British boxers Hughie Fury and Savannah Marshall took in the sights and sounds of Plovdiv- some 150km away in Southern Bulgaria on Monday afternoon, as they took time out from their preparations for Saturday’s ‘Fire & Fury’ event, which is live at 9pm on free to air Channel 5.

British heavyweight champion Fury, 24, and women’s super-middleweight sensation Marshall, 27, visited the ancient city- the second largest city in Bulgaria, taking in some of the cultural landmarks that reflect more than 2,000 years of history including the Roman Antique Theatre, Saint Ludvik Cathedral, Alyosha Monument and the Plovdiv Roman stadium.

After visiting the famous landmarks, the British pair turned their attention to how they could make their own history on Saturday night.

Hughie Fury said: “Since we arrived here on Saturday we’ve had such a warm and friendly welcome from the people of Sofia. They’re genuinely excited about the fight on Saturday. I know the majority of the fans out here will be supporting Pulev but that doesn’t faze me. I’m just going to do my thing and show them what I’m all about.”

Savannah Marshall said: “Bulgaria is a beautiful place. I’d like to get out and see a little bit more but I can’t take anything for granted, my focus is 100% on taking down Yanina Orozco this Saturday night.”

Fury takes on Bulgarian native Kubrat Pulev in an IBF Heavyweight Final Eliminator at the Armeec Arena on October 27. Marshall will face Argentina’s Yanina Orozco in a 10-round bout on the undercard.

For more information or current fight news, visit or www.hennessysports.com/ or follow @HennessySports on Twitter.

Tripleheader Action on HBO’s World Championship Boxing this Saturday Live from New York City

HBO Sports heads to the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City for the explosive tripleheader WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: DANIEL JACOBS VS. SERGIY DEREVYANCHENKO, ALBERTO MACHADO VS. YUANDALE EVANS AND HEATHER HARDY VS. SHELLY VINCENT 2 presented SATURDAY, OCT. 27 at 10:00 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT) on HBO. The HBO Sports team will call the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

In an intriguing middleweight showdown, Brooklyn-born headliner Daniel Jacobs (34-2, 29 KOs) takes on an opponent he knows well – Ukraine native Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-0, 10 KOs), who now resides in Brooklyn – in a scheduled 12-round battle for a vacant title. Set to train in the Bay area, Jacobs, 31, is determined to regain a 160-pound title belt. Making his HBO debut, Derevyanchenko, 32, looks to keep his perfect record intact, showcase his considerable ring skills and pull off a stunner. In a red-hot division, this is one of the most anticipated bouts of the fall.

Both fighters have been trained by Andre Rozier. For the Oct. 27 showdown, Rozier will be in Jacobs’ corner, while Gary Stark Sr. mans the corner for Derevyanchenko.

The middle bout of the telecast bout is a scheduled 12-round super featherweight title bout between Alberto Machado (20-0, 16 KOs) of Puerto Rico and Cleveland’s Yuandale Evans (20-1, 14 KOs). Defending champ Machado, 28, is making his third HBO appearance. With back-to-back wins in 2017, the 29-year-old Evans seeks to take the title back to Ohio.

Leading off the tripleheader is a 10-round thrilling rematch of two fierce competitors: Heather Hardy of Brooklyn, NY (21-0, 4 KOs) and Shelly Vincent from Providence, RI (23-1, 1 KO). This battle renews their hot rivalry which resulted in the 2016 women’s fight of the year. The vacant world featherweight belt is on the line.

Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.

All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.

The executive producer of HBO Sports is Rick Bernstein; producer, Jonathan Crystal; director, Johnathan Evans.

Badou Jack’s “Ripper Nutrition” Lands Multimillion-Dollar Asian Distribution Deal

Two-division world boxing champion Badou Jack’s burgeoning nutrition line Ripper Nutrition has announced a multi-year multimillion-dollar deal across Asia with Hong Kong-based ERS Ventures (HK) Ltd., a company specializing in marketing and distributing consumer products globally, for his line of premium pre-workout OXY RIPPER and post-workout AMINO RIPPER sports supplements.

Jack, who is one of the most accomplished fighters in the Mayweather Promotions stable, is a two-division world champion having held the WBC Super Middleweight Title and WBA Light Heavyweight Title. Outside of the ring, the continued growth of Ripper Nutrition is an important aspect of Jack’s success as he continues to promote health and fitness worldwide.

“My team and I are very excited to partner with ERS Ventures and introduce Ripper Nutrition to the Asian market,” said Jack, who is the co-owner of Ripper Nutrition. “We are proud to offer the most advanced and cleanest supplements ever formulated and taking the Ripper Nutrition brand global is something that we wanted to do from day one. I strive to be an international ambassador for the sport of boxing through my projects outside of the ring and this deal is another huge step in that direction.”

OXY RIPPER and AMINO RIPPER are the first sports supplements to combine the highest quality Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) with the revolutionary plant based peptide LUNASIN, a powerful antioxidant that clinical studies have shown to reduce inflammation, support heart health, and boost your immune system. LUNASIN is the first peptide that has been discovered to positively affect gene expressions and has a multitude of large-scale scientific studies done to prove its positive effects.

“Having launched Ripper Nutrition just a few months ago, this deal speaks volumes about the progression of our company, the science behind our products and the future of Ripper Nutrition,” said Amer Abdallah, co-founder of Ripper Nutrition. “We have some more major announcements coming soon and this is just the beginning.”

Under the terms of the agreement, ERS Ventures (HK) Ltd. will be the exclusive distributor in Asia for Ripper Nutrition LLC., OXY RIPPER and AMINO RIPPER sports supplements.

“We’re very excited to be working with Badou Jack ‘The Ripper’ and his team in representing and distributing Ripper Nutrition Sports Supplements in Asia,” said Robert Schwartz, President of ERS Ventures (JK) Ltd. “Badou is a world champion and having his name on these supplements allows us to share his incredible back story of how Ripper Nutrition started. We also share his passion to introduce to the world an effective and incredibly powerful American made premium sports supplement.”

Arizona’s First Seven Round Fight-Ramirez vs. Valdez
When Tucson’s Jensen Ramirez (6-2-3, 1KO) squares off with Nogales’ Thomas Valdez (16-4-2, 6KO) at the Casino Del Sol’s AVA Amphitheater, it will be the first seven-round bout in Arizona’s history. The featherweight bout headlines the Nov. 17 event, dubbed Guerra De Gallos.

Raging Babe’s Michelle Rosado had to think outside the box when negotiating the card’s main event. One camp wanted an eight-round fight and one wanted a six. Rosado, consulting with her mentor, Hall-of-Fame Promoter J Russell Peltz, lamented the potential loss of a solid, local main event. Peltz had a solution. “Why not meet in the middle and make it seven rounds?” Rosado was skeptical. “I told him to get outta here,” Rosado said. “I was laughing, but Peltz wasn’t joking. School was in session.”

There was a precedent. Peltz told the story of “The Long-Haired Boxer” Edwin “Chu Chu” Malave vs. Harold Weston, Jr. in a welterweight bout that took place in August of 1971 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Malave wanted the bout to be eight rounds, and Weston wanted 10. The New York State Athletic Commission proposed that the bout be nine rounds. Malave went on to win a split decision, with two judges scoring the fight 5-4 in his favor, and the third scoring it 5-4 for Weston.

Rosado had her fight.

“I bought right into it when Russell told me about the Malave-Weston bout,” she said. “I knew we had a good fight, and there was something special about having a seven-round main event.” Both Ramirez and Valdez’s teams agreed, and the Pascua Yacqui Commission sanctioned the seven-round bout. On Nov. 17, Tucson boxing fans will see Arizona’s first seven-round bout between two local “gallos.”

Raging Babe will host a press conference this Thursday, October 25 at Casino Del Sol’s Paradiso Lounge at 2 p.m. The presser will be open to the public and will include a tribute to promoter Don Chargin.
Stars of Creed II, Legends of Boxing to Assemble for 29th Annual Fight Night DC
Fight For Children, the Washington D.C. based non-profit that has improved the health and well-being of at-risk children throughout the area for three decades, today announced an exciting lineup for its 29th annual Fight Night fundraiser. One of the most storied charity events of the year, the star-studded affair on Thursday, November 1 at the Washington Hilton will bring together nearly 2,000 leaders of business, government, philanthropy, sports, and entertainment for a memorable evening of fundraising, networking, boxing, and musical performances.

The organization’s mission is to provide at-risk children in Washington with access to high quality youth sports programming, and ensure they are active, socially and emotionally engaged, performing well in school and on a path to a successful future. Since the inaugural event in 1990, Fight Night has become one of the premiere events of the year and, through the generosity of its supporters and contributors, has raised more than $65 million.

“Fight Night is the engine that drives Fight For Children,” said Raul Fernandez Vice Chairman and Owner, Monumental Sports and Entertainment and Chairman of Fight For Children. “The overwhelming support we receive from our partners enables us to provide thousands of children in DC with incredible opportunities each year.”

Fight Night 2018 highlights: (#FightNightDC)

• “CREED II” integration. Thehighly anticipatedsequel from Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures (MGM) and Warner Bros. Pictures hits theaters on November 21, 2018. Guests will be treated to special appearances by “CREED II” star Florian Munteanu (“Viktor Drago”) along with acclaimed “CREED II” director, Steven Caple Jr.

• Live boxing includes the main event, a USBA Jr. Welterweight Championship fight between Sonny Fredrickson (19-1) and Manuel Mendez (16-2-3). Leading up, guests will enjoy the women’s Jr. Welterweight Fight between Jessica Camara and Jenna Johlin Thompson, and an amateur bout featuring light heavyweights Joel Tchantchung out of Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing and Keon Burroughs from Washington’s Headbangers gym.

• Special appearances by legends of boxing including former Heavyweight Champion Buster Douglas, Ray Mancini, Gerry Cooney and Earnie Shavers; pro athletes includingformer Washington Redskins greats Ken Harvey, Gary Clark and Santana Moss; Pro boxing champion Ava Knight; Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Army (retired) Captain Florent Groberg; “Ballers” actors Omar Miller, Donovan Carter, Kris Lofton and Carl McDowell.

• MGM National Harbor presents the entertainment for the evening; including musical performances by E3, a special performance of the National Anthem from Bob McDonald and Caleb Green, and the evening’s headliner, multi-platinum rap performer Flo Rida

• Featured Fight Night partners include The Fernandez Foundation, The Joseph E. Robert Jr. Charitable Trust, MGM National Harbor, Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, FedEx, Washington Capitals, Washington Nationals, Washington Wizards, and Mystics.

• Fight Night 2018-2019 grantees include Beacon House, DC Scores, STEER For Student Athletes, Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, Washington Tennis
Bounty Placed on Aussie Stars for Victory 8 Saigon
Vietnam has named an imposing line up for their battle with a crack Australian squad at the Victory 8 Fight Night in HCMC November 3rd. The Vietnam Boxing Federation (VBF), which administer to the successful running of the amateur version of the sport, have managed to lure some of the most talented boxers in the country for this historic event to be conducted under professional rules.
Their efforts have not gone unnoticed by local promoter VSP Boxing. “We are super excited by the depth of talent in this Vietnam team, which have a huge challenge in store against an International squad loaded with national amateur and professional champions.” Headlining for Australia will be unbeaten wunderkid Mateo Tapia and 3x world champion Gretchen Abaniel. VSP Boxing spokesman Mr. Lim Song said it was a major coup to secure boxers of such high calibre and bring them to the country for the first time. “I’m a huge fan of Tapia and Abaniel. I have seen Gretchen Abaniel fight live in China and Korea and she hits fast and hard! Mateo Tapia is a freak. To do what he has done and he’s only 20 is quite amazing. He is definitely world class potential.”
Gretchen Abaniel matches up with national champion Nguyen Thi Thu Nhi whilst Mateo Tapia faces dangerous SEA Games winner Truong Dinh Huong in the main event. To add to the interest that these two showdowns are already creating, and in recognition of the task facing the local fighters, VSP Boxing has placed a bounty on the heads of the Aussie stars. “VSP Boxing is offering 400,000,00 dong ($20,000USD) to the Vietnamese warriors if they can conquer their opponents in these two bouts. This is the biggest prize ever offered in Vietnam, and believe me, we are more than happy to pay it!”
The Australian team will fly to Saigon next Tuesday in early preparation for the Victory 8 Fight Night. The talented young boxers are under the expert tutelage of Tony Del Vecchio and Tommy Mercuri. The two trainers are amongst the most respected in the industry. Del Vecchio won a world title in Japan recently with stable star TJ Doheny, whilst Mercuri is former trainer of international star Lenny Zappavigna. When told of the bounty placed on his top fighters’ heads, Del Vecchio was unfazed. “We train hard, and we train our fighters to be champions. All these kids have skills – and they all know how to dig deep and go to war! Don’t get me wrong, we are extremely excited to see Vietnam for the first time and we know the big challenge that lies ahead.” When questioned on the subject of the Vietnamese opponents he was circumspect “The job of coach Tommy Mercuri and myself is to give each of our team a solid preparation and game plan. We don’t want to elaborate publicly on the perceived strengths and weaknesses of our opponents. I will say this though, from what i have seen, the Viet fighters are very strong and exciting to watch.” But when pushed on the topic, and asked had he been impressed by any members of this Vietnam team he offered “Clearly Truong Dinh Hoang and Nguyen This Tam are quality. TDH is a smart boxer that has timing, great chin and heavy hands. Nguyen Thi Tam medalled at ASIAD then won well in Budapest. She is fast and has a great work rate. But this Nguyen Van Duong – man, this kid has got me worried!” Tommy Mercuri interjected “ Nguyen Van Duong is dangerous. The kid is 56kg and is a beast! He is fast, he is strong – he can easily go pro! In fact I will go as far to say, if Vietnam legalises professional boxing, Nguyen Van Duong is maybe the hottest talent in the country!” High praise indeed from two world class trainers.
Victory 8 Saigon Fight Night will be shown live on HTV digital in Vietnam, and streamed internationally by Epicentre TV. http://www.epicentre.tv/events/victory-8-saigon-fight-night/
The full fight card for the event held at the Nguyen Du Stadium on Saturday November 3rd is:
Jayden Buan v Pham Duc Doan
Jye Lane Taylor v Nguyen Ngoc Hai
Tommy Mercuri v Vu Than Dat
Mickey Pengue v Tran Duc Tho
Gretchen Abaniel v Nguyen Thi Thu Nhi
Kamil Syed v Nguyen Van Duong
Linn Sandstrom v Nguyen Thi Tam
Mateo Tapia v Truong Dinh Hoang

Posted on 10/20/2017

By: Sean Crose

Saturday’s HBO Boxing After Dark card will showcase bouts from two distinct locations. The main event, which will be broadcast from the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, New York, will feature Panama’s 22-1 Jezreel Corrales facing San Juan, Puerto Rico’s 18-0 Alberto Machado in a 12-round super featherweight affair. Machado, whose knocked out all but three of his opponents, is hoping to win the WBA World Super Featherweight Title off Corrales, who has only fought in the United States once before. This will be Machado’s first attempt at winning a world title.

Corrales has held his WBA belt since knocking out Takashi Uchiyama back in April of 2016. This will be the Panamanian’s third defense of that belt.

As HBOs Harold Lederman says: “Corrales, the champion, is a bit wild. When you watch him, he throws punches from every angle you can think of.” Yet Lederman gives the edge to Machado due to the fact that the Puerto Rican “boxes beautifully.” Says Lederman: “I think it’s going to give him (Machado) an advantage in this fight.”

Also competing at the Turning Stone that evening will be two time junior middleweight titlist Demetrius Andrade, who will be moving up to middleweight to put his 24-0 record up against fellow undefeated fighter Alantez Fox, 23-0-1. HBO describes former Olympian Andrade as having “a deep amateur resume, having won a gold medal at the 2007 AIBA World Boxing Championships.” Meanwhile, “the six-foot-four Fox will look to exploit his height advantage over the six-foot-one Andrade.” Rhode Island’s Andrade is hoping to move successfully onto the next phase of his career, while Maryland’s Fox is looking to shock the world.

HBO will start it’s program on Saturday with a replay of the Ryan Burnett-Zhanat Zhakiyanov 12 round bantamweight unifier, which will have gone down earlier in the day at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Burnett, the undefeated 17-0 local, will have hoped to defend his IBF World Bantamweight Title while gaining Zhakiyanov’s WBA Super World Bantamweight Title strap. With a record of 27-1, Zhakiyanov “has compiled a 22-bout win streak since his only ring loss.” And that loss was back in 2008 against Sakhib Usarov – ancient history career-wise for a contemporary fighter. As for Burnett, the 25 year old fought as recently as last June, when he bested Lee Haskins via unanimous decision at Belfast’s Odyssey Arena. The fight will be HBO’s maiden voyage for covering bouts from Northern Ireland.