Tag Archives: pennsylvania

Posted on 02/13/2018

By: Ken Hissner

The 2018 Inductees were announced at the Ring One Veteran Boxer’s Association monthly meeting Saturday by Chairman John DiSanto. There will be 16 boxing people inducted into the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame in May at their annual banquet.

Heading the list will be former middleweight contender Frank “The Animal” Fletcher, 18-6-1 (12). He won USBA and ESPN titles. One of the opponents he knocked out Ernie Singletary, 26-6 (8), will also be inducted. Both are in the Modern Boxers category. Singletary defeated Tony Braxton, Teddy Mann and Al Styles.

Also in that category inducted are Bethlehem’s Angel Cruz, 26-6-2 (7), who defeated one-time world champions Alfredo Escalara and Saoul Mamby. This writer’s first boxing main event promotion in 1981 with Cruz and Sammy Goss in a draw. Pittsburgh’s Johnny Morris, 27-11 (16), was the PA State Middleweight champion. He defeated Tony Dupas, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter and split with George Benton. Flyweight Larry Torpey, 14-4-1 (2), won a National AAU Championship in 1941. They are the 5 inductees in the Vintage category.

Inducted in the Modern Boxers category are led by Mike “No Joke” Stewart, 48-8-3 (25), from DE, who fought in PA some 18 times. He held the USBA title and defeated Ivan Robinson, Terron Millett, Chucky T and Ebo Elder. Featherweight Tony “Dynamite” Green, 23-6-1 (15), was the PA State champion and fought for the WBC featherweight title. He defeated Myron Taylor, Julian Solis, Tommy Barnes and Harold Rhodes.

Super Middleweight Marvin Mack, 18-8-1 (10), fought for the IBF world title in South Korea losing a disputed decision to Chong-Pal Park. He won the WBC Continental Americas title knocking out “Poncho” Carter. Mark Holmes, 38-1 (17), of Easton defeated one-time world champion “Buster” Drayton, Ben Serrano and Mike Baker. The brother of Frank Fletcher inducted is Anthony Fletcher, 24-4-1 (8), who was the PA State lightweight champion. He defeated one-time world champions Freddie Pendleton and Livingstone Bramble.

In the Non-Boxers category they were led by cut-man Stan Maliszewski, and followed by trainer “Pop” Bates, promoter Mike Acri, Dr. George Bonner and trainer Willie Reddish, Jr.

In the Old Timer’s category the lone inductee was former world heavyweight champion “Jersey” Joe Walcott, 51-18-2 (32). He defeated Ezzard Charles, Harold Johnson, Joey Maxim, Jimmy Bivins and Curtis Sheppard.

This meeting went well. This writers Friday didn’t go so well waiting for former WBC 2-division world champion Danny “Swift” Garcia to make an appearance at his gym for close to an hour with other members of the press. He finally showed 50 minutes late and went directly to his dressing room and was still there at 3pm when I left.

Then straight to the press conference for Saturday’s boxing event at the 2300 Arena. Boxing Director Greg Sirb decided to put the weigh-in in place of the press conference which was scheduled for 5:30 and at 6:30 it was still not started as this writer left the 2300 Arena. When there are obligations made by Garcia and Hard Hitting Promotions pushed aside by Sirb it isn’t fair to the public or the working press but that’s Philadelphia’s boxing for you.

Posted on 11/13/2017

By: Ken Hissner

The Philly based writers like this one are quite upset with what Boxing Director Greg Sirb with the Pennsylvania Boxing Commission has permitted. Both promoters Marshall Kauffman of King’s Promotions and Manny River of Hard Hitting Promotions have no problem with it for both may sell out which Hard Hitting has done at all Sugar House promotions and King’s is the busiest promoter in Pennsylvania at this time. Whoever scheduled that date first should be the only promoter working that night. Why not have one on Friday and the other on Saturday of that week?

BUT, the writers who choose one show will probably be in the “doghouse” of the other promoter. Both shows look good. Christian Carto 12-0 (11) is on the Hard Hitting show and Jaron “Boots” Ennis, 16-0 (14), was just got added to the King’s Promotion’s show. Both are the two most popular and skilled young talents in the state and possibly the country.

This writer contacted the “Right to Know” Department in Harrisburg, PA, wanting an answer to such a thing happening in the same city. No results as of yet which is no surprise. Then, called Boxing Commissioner Rudy Battle who didn’t seem to know about this move by Sirb but I could hear in his voice he wasn’t for it and said he would to contact Sirb about it. It will do no good since Sirb runs the commission.

There are fans of boxers on both cards who also will be shortchanged. On the King’s show a good boxer in Tyrone Brunson is fighting a no name that lost to Kermit Cintron a year ago. Brandon Robinson against Christopher Brooker will be a possible barn burner. Joe Hanks, 21-2, is fighting one of those North Carolina boy’s with a 7-0-1 record. Popular Omar Douglas out of DE is looking to bounce back from his back to back losses though he got shortchanged in the last one. Another favorite DE fighter Kyrone Davis who trains in Philly is in with a 19-12 guy but who lost his last 5 of 6 fights. The rest are young boxers with 1 or less fights.

Hard Hitting has no opponents yet but has popular Joey Dawejko on top and rumors are he might be fighting for a minor title. There are 4 Spanish well known ticket sellers on the undercard in Branden Pizarro, 8-0, Jeremy Cuevas, 5-0, Angel Pizarro, 3-0 and Gadwin Rosa, 4-0. In addition former top amateur heavyweight Darmani Rock is making his Philly debut at 9-0. With just over 3 weeks to go Hard Hitting has to come up with opponents for a comparison.

Since Sirb, I admit is hard working though always has a good assistant and overworks his officials along with bringing in out of state one’s looks down on the press, especially this writer, and he could care less if we are shortchanged. My memory doesn’t come up with the last time this happened in Philly. Sirb has already allowed this writer to be removed from a Joe Hand Promotions weigh-in and threatened to ban me from ringside for reminding him of it at the next scheduled show. Like the phrase from a Jack Nicholson movie I can say “you can’t stand the truth!” That goes to all who read my articles and show results!

Posted on 06/21/2017

Big Time Main Event with Cintron vs Brunson in Philly Saturday!
By: Ken Hissner

There was a Tuesday night press conference at the 2300 Arena where former world IBF champion Kermit Cintron meets Philly’s Tyrone Brunson Saturday night at the 2300 Arena with a bang-up undercard.

Kings Promotions CEO Marshall Kauffman was at the mic “this main event should be on television. We have two hard hitting fighters in former IBF champion Kermit Cintron, 39-5-3 (30) of Reading, PA, and Tyrone Brunson, 24-6-2 (22), of Philly fighting for the PA Super welterweight title Saturday,” said Kauffman.

He went on to talk about how competitive the undercard is with Anthony Burgin 10-3 vs Victor Vasquez 7-3; Marcus Bates 6-0-1 vs Roberto Pucheta 10-11-1; Jerome Conquest, 7-2 vs Jae Ho Kim, 6-3-1, Steven Ortiz 6-0 vs Tyrone Jones 4-0; Gregory Clark 2-1-1 vs Darryl Bunting 3-1-2; Colby Madison 4-0 vs Joel Caudle 7-0; Brandon Robinson 3-1 vs Rafael Valencia 3-7-1; Chaise Nelson 5-1 vs Jordan Peters 2-0-1; Nick Valliere 5-2 vs Randy Hedderick 2-7-1.

“The winner of the main event will move into the IBF’s top 15 at super welterweight,” said Kauffman.Trainer of Cintron Joe Pastore said “Kermit did this before working back to top. Everyone in boxing takes a risk when they enter the ring.” Brunson said “Thank God. I’ve been in training camp for 7 weeks. We sparred once and the winner Saturday will be from Philly.” Cintron chimed in “he’s a big puncher. I’ll do the job I’m supposed to do and come out the winner.”

Doors open 6:30pm and first bout 7:00pm.

Posted on 05/25/2017

Once 48-0 Lee Sala of Donora, PA, Inducted Into PA BHOF!
By: Ken Hissner

Donora, PA, home of one of the greatest baseball players in the history of the game was Stan “The Man” Musial who played from 1941 to 1963. He would overshadow another Donora resident who would become a professional boxer in 1946.

In 1944 Donora’s Lee Sala served two years in the US Navy on the battleship Iowa during World War II and would turn professional in the sport of boxing in 1946. He won his first 48 fights taking a 48-0 record into the ring in February of 1949 against Tony DeMicco, 46-24-5, of Schenectady, NY, in Buffalo, whom he defeated in October of 1948, losing this time for the first time by majority decision. Just 13 days later they had a rematch in Pittsburgh, PA, and Sala took a 10 round decision win in the rubber match.

Sala was 61-1, in August of 1950 when he took on deaf mute Gene “Silent” Hairston, 36-6-2, in Scranton, PA, losing a 10 round decision. He won 6 in a row after this then facing Joey DeJohn whom he knocked out in August of 1950 and was 67-2 when in September of 1951 he lost to DeJohn, 67-8-2, of Syracuse by knockout in 2 in Syracuse. Then 4 wins later at 71-3 he would lose in 10 rounds to Billy Kilgore, 21-11-3, of Delan, FL, in May of 1952 in Miami, FL. He would go onto win 3 more when at 74-4 facingthe future middleweight champion in November of 1952 Carl“BoBo” Olson, 53-6, in San Francisco, CA, getting knocked out in 2 rounds. A pair of wins later he would end his career with a pair of losses in September of 1953 and retire with a record of 76-7 with 48 knockouts at the age of 26. Some of his highlight wins had been over Sonny Horne 71-16, Georgie Small 35-4 and in their first meeting Joey DeJohn 61-4-2.
After retiring from boxing Sala and his wife Adeline would move to Tampa, FL. He would become a referee. In December of 2012 at the age of 85 Sala would pass away.

Posted on 11/10/2016

Mark Holmes “Living in the Shadow” But Good Enough on His Own!
By: Ken Hissner

Too many times when a boxer has an older brother or even a father like “Smokin Joe” and Marvis Frazier the one who “Lives in the Shadow” could be good enough to make it on their own. That was the career Mark Holmes had following in his brother Larry’s shadow, who was the world heavyweight champion! Mark finished with a 38-1 record with 17 knockouts.

Mark Holmes did well in the amateurs winning the 1977 PA Golden Gloves at #147 and turned professional in July of 1980 when the USA was boycotted by then President Carter. Between July and November Holmes won all of his 5 fights. He made his debut in Bloomington, MN, when his brother defended his WBC against Scott Le Doux. In Mark’s sixth fight he defeated Randy Rivers, 5-1-2 on the undercard of Holmes and Ali.
In Mark’s sixth fight came the future IBF light middleweight champion Buster Drayton, 8-1-1, of Philadelphia in Atlantic City, NJ, with Holmes taking a decision win. “I thought it should have been a draw,” said Drayton. In his ninth fight he knocked out Kenny Hodges, 5-1-2, on the Holmes and Berbick card.

In 1981 Holmes went 11-0 in such places as Las Vegas, Scranton, Atlantic City, Cleveland and Detroit. He was offered a chance in May of that year by this writer to appear in an exhibition because I knew I couldn’t afford to pay him what he was making he said “I’d love to. I haven’t fought in Easton yet.” This was on the show I was promoting at Easton H.S. with 10% of the profits going to St. Anthony’s where both Larry and Mark boxed as amateurs. Being told by Mark I’d have to get permission from his manager, Larry I did just that. I was told by Larry “I ain’t putting my brother on some rinky dink show!” Shame because it would take 6 years and the “last fight” of his career in August of 1987 for him to appear for the first and only time in Easton.

Though Mark fought 9 times in Pennsylvania it was only once in Easton. He fought in Scranton 4 times, Bethlehem 3, Allentown 1 and Easton 1. His brother fought in Scranton 8 time of which 5 were at the start of his career. Mark fought in Nevada 15 times. He fought on the undercard of 8 times.

In Mark’s twentieth fight in the main event he stopped Mike Baker, 42-16-1, in Las Vegas. Less than 3 weeks later he fought on the undercard of Holmes and Cooney defeating William Page. In July of 1982 he had a second fight with Fred Reed whom he had decisioned 11 months previously knocking him out in Madison Square Garden it being his only time he fought in New York.

In November of 1983 Mark stopped Henry Walker, 19-22-1, on the undercard of Holmes and Frazier and I don’t mean “Smokin” Joe. His brother may have counted that as a title defense but Marvis was 10-0 and not rated against the 44-0 champion.

In 1984 Mark only fought 3 times but in 2 of them he stopped rick Noggle, 15-5, in Canton, OH, and defeated Odell Hadley, 13-3-1, on the undercard of Holmes and Bonecrusher Smith. In March of 1985 he defeated Cecil Pettigrew, 20-7-1, on the Holmes and David Bey undercard.

In August of 1985 Mark had his biggest fight against USBA middleweight champion John Collins, 32-1-1, with 28 knockouts while Mark was 32-0. It was held in Scranton, over NBC Sportsworld. Collins had defeated former champion Oscar “Shotgun” Albarado, 57-11-1, Bill Bradley, 16-1, Teddy Mann, 26-9, Lenny LaPaglia, 19-0, Ken Whetstone, 22-1 and two fights prior to meeting Mark he drew with contender Alex Ramos, 21-2-1. So Collins came in with a very good resume. He was taller and had the reach on Mark.

In the corner for Collins was well known trainer Carmen Graziano and the best cut-man in the business Philly’s Eddie Aliano. In the corner of Holmes was his trainer and his brother Floyd, along with another great cut-man from Philly in Milt Bailey. In the first round Collins came across the ring throwing a right hand trying to catch Mark right away. Collins was throwing the harder punches while Mark used his jab well and landing a solid right to the right cheek of Collins with about 15 seconds to go in the first round causing an abrasion under his right eye.

In the second round Collins came out more aggressively landing a hard right to the jaw over the jab of Mark and down he went. It was doubtful he ever regained himself after that first knockdown. Collins would go right after Mark landing 4 punches and throwing Mark to the canvas that referee Frank Cappuccino ruled a slip. Collins was right on him landing a two-punch combination and a right on the way down of Mark. Cappuccino immediately and wisely waved the fight off at 2:05 of the second round.

Collins was asked by Ferdie Pacheco if Collins thought the first knockdown punch would land that cleanly? No I didn’t think it would land that cleanly but I am glad it did. He had a good jab. He was quick you know,” said Collins. Pacheco asked why he was standing right in front of a puncher, “my jab was working good in the second round but I just got caught. I feel I will go back to the gym and work harder,” said Mark. His brother said “I know he’s a better boxer than Collins but he has to be more disciplined.

Mark would return 13 months later at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem defeating Doug Mallett, 9-2. A month later back at Stabler he stopped Brian Porreca, 6-1. Several month later he defeated Philly’s Ernest Jackson, 13-7-1 the end of 1986. He would win his last 3 fights over 3 months starting in Jacksonville, and Ft. Myers, FL, before having his final fight in Easton defeating Jerome Kelly, 8-4-3. Mark was 28 years of age upon retiring from the ring.

This writer will be nominating Mark for the PA BHOF with inductees being known in February of 2017.

Posted on 09/10/2016

Danny “Miracle Man” Jacobs and Robert Easter, Jr. Win in Reading!
By: Ken Hissner

Big time boxing returned to Reading, PA, at the Santander Arena with two world title fights. Marshall Kauffman’s King’s Promotions and Corona brought the show here and aired it over SPIKE TV. An estimated attendance was about 4,000 fans.

Middleweight WBA World champion Danny “Miracle Man” Jacobs, 32-1 (29) out of Brooklyn, NY, in a mismatch and a rematch with Sergio “the Latin Snake” Mora, 28-5-2 (9), out of L.A., scored a stoppage with 3 knockdowns in the seventh round.

When this rematch was signed the WBA placed Mora in at No. 15 so it would be sanctioned as a title fight. The other 14 contenders must be asking “what do we have to do to get a title fight?”

In the opening round Mora was hitting “air” for over a minute while Jacobs wasn’t throwing a punch just stalking. By the end of the round less than a half dozen punches landed. In the second round Jacobs went to the body hurting Mora who almost hit the canvas. Jacobs switched to southpaw. In the third round Jacobs continued to stalk but is less impressive as a southpaw. He rocked Mora just prior to the bell with a right hook to the jaw.

In the fourth round a left uppercut on the chin by Jacobs dropped Mora. In the fifth round a chopping right by Jacobs was half on the side and half behind Mora’s head knocking him down. In the sixth round you knew by now Mora didn’t have the power to hurt Jacobs. In the sixth round Jacobs went back to orthodox trying for the knockout. A frustrated Jacobs pushed Mora to the canvas when he came in low and ruled a no knockdown. In the seventh round a pair of right hands by Jacobs dropped Mora twice. On the third knockdown referee Gany Rosato put us out of our misery. At best this should have been a non-title fight. No. 6 Tureao Johnson would be a much better opponent in Jacob’s next outing. For Jacobs to “call out” Gennady “GGG” Golovkin is a joke! If he is serious sign on the bottom line.

Lightweight 2012 Olympic alternate and ranked No.4 Robert Easter, Jr., 18-0 (14), out of Toledo, OH, took the vacant IBF lightweight title by split decision over No. 3 ranked Richard Commey, 24-1 (22), from Ghana, over 12 rounds. The No. 1 and No. 2 spots are vacant.

In the opening round Easter’s height and reach seem to be bothering the shorter Commey in a feeling out round. In the second it was more of Easter up until the final seconds of the round when Commey landed a left upper cut that rocked Easter. In the third round Commey went after Easter and having a good round. There are as many misses as hits.

In the fourth round of a non-descript fight the fans are standing in the aisles cheering Easter on shouting “USA, USA”. In the fifth round Easter controlled with his jab while Commey kept ducking to get inside. In the sixth round Easter was scoring well with the jab and an occasional right. He rocked Commey with a lead right at the bell.

In the seventh round Easter landed 4 unanswered punches to the body of Commey. In the eighth round a short right by Commey to the jaw of Easter rocked him making his right glove touch the canvas counting as a knockdown by referee Benjy Esteves, Jr. The knockdown in the previous round seemed to wake him up. He had Commey covering up.

In the tenth and eleventh rounds Easter continued to have his way with Commey who was doing more retreating than fighting. In the twelfth and final round Easter had Commey’s knees buckled forcing him to hold on. At the bell the fans were on their feet yelling for an Easter knockout that didn’t come. Neither fighter looked like a champion. Anthony Peterson is 37-1 and can’t get ranked. Go figure. Maybe this 72 year-old writer has been around too long and seen so many good fighters in the past like my all-time favorite Carlos Ortiz.

The judges had it 115-112 Easter, 114-113 Commey and 114-113 Easter with this writer having it 116-111 Easter.

Heavyweight Travis “My Time” Kauffman, 31-1-1 nc (29), out of Reading, PA, stopped Josh “Jaw Breaker” Gormley, 22-6 (21), Torrence, CA, at 0:47 of the second round when Gormley took a knee with what seems to be an injured left shoulder by a Kauffman right. “I don’t think he wanted to fight. I wanted someone better but we had a lot turning us down. I will be lighter the next fight,” said Kauffman.

Kauffman entered the arena to a hugh reception to the hometown fighter. In the opening round Kauffman controlled switching to southpaw and back after landing a good right on the head of Gormley. In the second round Kauffman landed a power right to the left shoulder of Gormley dropping him. When he got up he was holding his shoulder and moved about 10 feet away from Kauffman and took a knee without getting hit. Referee Clark waved it off. It was a disappointment for both Kauffman and the fans.

Super Middleweight Christopher “Ice Cold” Brooker, 11-1 (5), out of Philly, won a majority decision over Elvin Ayala, 28-8-1 (12), out of New Haven, CT, over 8 rounds.

In the opening round the much larger Brooker against the slick Ayala didn’t live up to what we hoped to possibly be the fight of the night. In the second round the usually exciting Brooker was having his hands full with the much more experienced Ayala but still did enough to take the round. In the third round there was too much holding. In the fourth round Ayala seemed to out work Brooker inside.

In the fifth round they could have held this one in a phone booth. Ayala has taken away the power of Brooker but not good enough to be ahead. In the sixth round Brooker continues to maul Ayala but can’t get enough space to land a big punch. Ayala continues to be the stalker though he is the lighter puncher. In the seventh round the mauling continued. Brooker usually runs over his opponents so this fight will be a learning fight. This one could have been on WWE. In the eighth round the fans are once again yelling “Elvin, Elvin” who was raised in Reading before moving up to New England. There was very little action in the last round. “This was a learning experience and he had many more fights than me and even though I thought I won 7 rounds I was glad to get the win,” said Brooker. He’s a very likeable young man.

Judges had it 76-76, 77-74 and 79-73 while this writer had it 77-74.

In the final fight of 11 bout the former IBF welterweight champion Kermit “El Asesino” Cintron, 38-5-2 (29), out of Reading, stopped Manny “Shake em’ Up” Woods, 15-6-1 (5), out of St. Petersburg, FL, at 2:28 of the seventh round of a scheduled 8.

In the first round Cintron did enough to pull out the round in a feeling out round. In the second round it was close with Woods best punch so far was a left hook to the jaw of Cintron. In the third round a clash of heads opened up a small cut along the left eyebrow of Woods. In the fourth and fifth rounds Cintron continued to control the fight but it seems he’s not pulling the trigger. It’s possibly to an old hand injury. It’s his third fight back and he’s a fan’s favorite in Reading. In the seventh round Cintron hurt Woods who fell into Cintron and both went down. Shortly thereafter Woods decided to retire for the night. Cintron did not go without injury but his cut-man the ever popular Rich Ormsbee sealed up the cut by his left eye.

“I felt better tonight than I did in my two previous fights and the opponent was even better this time,” said Cintron. His trainer had this to say “the first three rounds were excellent for he did exactly what I told him to do. In the fifth and sixth he let his opponent get his way. I got a flash of his greatness tonight and his punching power showed well,” said Joe Pastore, Jr.

Light heavyweight Earl “Flash” Newman, Jr., 10-0 (7), out of Brooklyn, NY, won an easy 6 round decision over Leo “Young Guns” Hall, 8-2(7), out of Detroit.

In the first round Newman controlled with a jab. They took turns who was the aggressor. In rounds two and three it was more of the same with Newman landing a hard right to the jaw of Hall in the third. In the fourth round a right hook by Newman dropped Hall. In the fifth round Hall rocked Newman with a straight right to the jaw driving Newman back several feet into the corner and with that had Newman holding on. In the sixth and final round it was Newman going for the knockout while Hall danced around like he had the fight won.

Scores were 60-54 and 59-54 twice with the writer having it 59-54.

Super featherweight southpaw Frank Santos De Alba, 20-2-2 (9), out of Reading, PA, scored two knockdowns with right hooks and Evans could not beat the count of referee Esteves, Jr. at 3:04 of the second round over Kiun Evans, 12-3-1 (6), out of Little Rock, ARK, in a scheduled 8. It was a good showing for De Alba who is a local favorite.

In the first round De Alba got started after about a minute and was having his way with combinations. In the second round De Alba scored a pair of knockdowns with right hooks. Evans struggled to get up while referee Esteves wisely waved it off.

No. 1 WBC middleweight contender, southpaw Jorge Sebastian
“El Gaucho” Heiland, 28-4-2 (15), out of Buenos, Argentina, scored 3 knockdowns stopping Angel “The Upset” Hernandez, 17-19-1 (13), Gary, IND, in the second round at 0:46 in a scheduled 6. I can’t see Heiland challenging Gennady “GGG” Golovkin at this stage of his career being No. 1 or not.

Heiland got off to a slow start but dropped Hernandez halfway through the round when a left uppercut from Heiland dropped him. In the second round Heiland scored a pair of knockdowns causing the fight to be stopped by referee Benjy Esteves, Jr.

Super welterweight southpaw Nicholas Hernandez, 5-1 (1), out of Lebanon, PA, scored an easy 4 round decision over Randy Hedderick, 1-6 (1), out of Gulfport, MS.

Hernandez took the first two rounds with accurate punching over the shorter Hedderick who had no quit in him. In the third round it was all Hernandez until halfway thru the round Hedderick landed a good lead left to the head. Hernandez landed another lead left causing Heddericks nose to start bleeding. In the fourth and final round it was all Hernandez trying for a knockout but Hedderick hung right in there.

All 3 judges and this writer had it 40-36. Clark was the referee.

Super lightweight southpaw Kashon Hutchinson, 2-0 (1), out of Reading, PA, won a hard fought decision over Jordan Morales, 1-2 (1), out of Bethlehem, PA, over 4 rounds.

In the first round the taller Hutchinson used a good jab while Morales landed lead rights to the chin of Hutchinson. In the second round Hutchinson landed more punches. In the third round a right from Morales to the chin of Hutchinson rocked him. In the fourth and final round they exchanged punches on several occasions. Morales got a right hand in just before the bell.

All 3 judges had it 39-37 as did this writer. Shawn Clark was referee.

In the opening bout super welterweight southpaw Erik Spring, 8-1-1 (1), Reading, PA, won a majority 6 round decision over Simon “Bullet” Henriksson, 4-1 (1), out of Ystad, SW.

“It was a good opponent and a good win for me,” said Spring.

In the first round both boxers had their moments. In clinches Henriksson is getting away with hitting behind the head without warning from referee Clark. In the second round Spring went to the body with success taking a close round. In the third round both boxers were letting it all hang out at the bell after a round dominated by Spring.

In the fourth round Spring was still having his way but it wasn’t easy. At the 10 second warning Spring landed a four punch combination. In the fifth round Henriksson came back well though Spring used his long jab and lead left’s to the head. In the sixth and final round Henriksson seemed to tire but still used his best punch “the rabbit punch” right up to the end. Spring just had too much energy for Henriksson.

Judge Braslow scored it 57-57. He was overruled by Bruni and McKaie had it 58-56 as did this writer for Spring. “It was a good win for me tonight,” said Spring. This was probably the most competitive fight of the night.

Posted on 09/07/2016

Jacobs vs. Mora II and Easter vs. Commey at Santander Arena in Reading, PA, Friday!
By: Ken Hissner

Two World Title fights headline Friday night at the Santander Arena in Reading, PA! King’s Promotions bring’s big time boxing to Reading on SPIKE TV with co-features starting at 9pm. Jacobs-Mora II and Easter and Commey for vacant title should be nothing but fireworks!

Danny “Miracle Man” Jacobs, 31-1 (28), of Brooklyn, NY, defends his WBA World middleweight title against former WBC super welterweight champion and No. 15 contender Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora, 28-4-2 (9), of L.A. in a rematch from August of 2015. In December Jacobs scored a sensational knockout over former WBO champion Peter Quillin in the first round. Mora has not fought since August. Several weeks ago on a conference phone call Jacobs said “If he’s saying I didn’t knock him down that caused him to twist his ankle I felt the contact it in my hand,” said Jacobs. “He grazed the back of my head but my ankle was already twisted,” said Mora. Both boxers are managed by Al Haymon. The call ended with “Go F yourself. I’ll see you in two weeks old boy,” said Mora. “Well let’s do it on September the 9th. You already know Sergio I’m coming for you brother,” said Jacobs. There is obvious bad blood between the two since their first fight which should make for a very interesting contest.

In the other co-feature 2012 Olympic alternate Robert Easter, Jr., 17-0 (14), of Toledo, OH, and Richard Commey, 24-0 (22), of Accra, GH, fight it out for the vacant IBF Super lightweight title.

“Yeah I am very excited coming to Reading and fight for the IBF title. I hope Richard Commey is bringing his A game because I will be bringing mine,” said Easter. “I’ve worked very hard to get this opportunity as I’m sure Robert Easter, Jr. has too so it should be a great fight,” said Commey. Commey is No. 3 and Easter No. 4 with both the No. 1 and No. 2 vacant.

There are a dozen bouts on the undercard at this point but several will fall out or the Boxing Director Greg Sirb will see to it you don’t have much more than 7 bouts. In 8 round bouts former IBF welterweight and interim WBC champion Kermit “El Asesino” Cintron, 37-5-2 (28) of Reading continues his comeback. Local favorite super featherweight Frankie De Alba is in an 8. Another local favorite super Heavyweight Travis “My Time” Kauffman, 30-1 (22), of Reading is in a 10.

In a pair of 8 round bouts from Philadelphia crowd pleaser super middleweight Christopher “Ice Cold” Brooker, 10-1 (5) steps up to meet Elvin Ayala, 28-7-1 (12), of New Haven, CT. Light heavyweight Earl Newman, 9-0 (7), of Brooklyn will meet Leo Hall, 8-1 (7), of Detroit. Also scheduled yet without an opponent is Argentina’s Jorge Sebastian Heiland, 27-4-2 (14), who is the No. 1 WBC middleweight contender.

Super welterweight Erik Spring 7-1-1 (1), super welterweight Miguel Martinez, 2-2 (0), and super lightweight Kashon Hutchinson, 1-0 (1) all of Reading are in 6 round bouts. Also, from Philadelphia, the popular super featherweight Thomas “T.J.” Velasquez, 5-0 (4) out of the Danny “Swift” Garcia camp is in a 4 round bout. He is still without an opponent.

Posted on 08/23/2016

PBC on Fox Sports Results: Plant Cruises to Victory, Grayton and Gongora Win by TKO
By: William Holmes

The Sands Bethlehem Events Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania was the host site for tonight’s broadcast of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Fox Sports 1.

Three bouts were televised tonight, and the opening bout was between Carlos Gongora (5-0) and Ronald Mixon (7-0) in the light heavyweight division.

Mixon had a three inch in reach and height on Gongora, but both boxers were the same age. Gongora was a former two time Olympian for Ecuador.

Both boxers tried to feel each other out in the opening minute of the round, but Gongora was able to land a hard straight left hand by the ropes that momentarily stunned Mixon. Gongora followed that up with another straight left hand seconds later and Mixon dropped to the mat.

Mixon struggled to get back to his feet, but he was still clearly shot and struggled to even get to his knees. The referee waived off the fight 1:16 of the first round, giving Gongora a TKO victory.

The next bout was between Kareem Martin (8-0-1) and David Grayton (14-1) in the welterweight division.

Martin and Grayton were former sparring partners and they wasted no time in going after each other. Martin was the better defensive boxer and landed cleaner and harder counters. Grayton, a southpaw, had difficulty avoiding the counter rights of Martin.

Martin’s counter punching was on point in the second round and he was able to open up a cut over the right eye of Grayton. Grayton’s pressure was much more effective in the third round and he was able to walk through the punches of Martin.

There were some very good exchanges in the opening minute of fourth round, but Martin was able to land the harder shots. Martin showed more movement in the fifth round and was able to counter while avoiding risky exchanges.

Grayton came out firing at the start of the sixth round and had Martin backing up and holding on to try to slow the assault down. Martin was able to land a few hard shots, but Grayton took them well and kept up the intense pressure. Martin looked tired at the end of the round.

Grayton was told by his corner to walk Martin down before the start of the seventh round, and he responded to his corner with a high volume of punches to the body and head of Martin. Martin just could not keep up with Grayton.

Grayton jumped on Martin at the start of the eighth and scored a knockdown with a good left hand. Martin got back to his feet but was on wobbly legs and covered up while Grayton unleashed another combination on him.

Martin wasn’t able to answer and the referee jumped in and stopped the bout.

David Grayton defeats Kareem Martin by TKO at 0:41 of the eighth round.

A swing bout between Eric Newell (8-3-3) and Wes Triplett (3-1) in the heavyweight division was also shown. Wes Triplett won it by TKO at 0:27 of the third round.

Caleb “Sweet Hands” Plant (13-0) squared off against Juan De Angel (18-4-1) in the main event of the night in the middleweight division.

Plant, a Tennessee native, established control of the center of the ring in the opening round and was able to pop shot De Angel with jabs and lead hooks. De Angel was not able to mount much of an offensive attack.

De Angel was a little more aggressive at the start of the second round, but a good left to the body by Plant quickly slowed down De Angel. Plant had De Angel backing up in the third round and his right hand was finding it’s target with regularity.

Plant’s pressure paid off in the fourth round when he scored a knockdown with a left hook to the jaw of De Angel. De Angel was able to get back up before the count of ten and was able to survive the round.

Plant looked extremely comfortable in the fifth round and was battering De Angel from corner to corner while deftly avoiding any counter shots. Plant continued to outbox De Angel in the sixth round and was never seriously threatened. He mixed up his combinations well to the body and head in the seventh round.

De Angel was in pure survival mode in the eighth round and rarely went on the offensive attack. The only question in the final two rounds of the fight was whether or not Plant could stop De Angel, but that stoppage never came.

Caleb Plant won comfortably on the judges scorecards with scores of 100-89 on all three scorecards.

Posted on 07/02/2016

PBC on ESPN Results: Shafikov Batters and Stops Herring, Szymanski Decisions Campfort
By: William Holmes

Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) was broadcast from the Santander Arena in Reading Pennsylvania and featured two televised bouts with a rising prospect facing off against former world title challenger.
King’s Promotions was the lead promoter for the card.

Reading, Pennsylvania is not known for having nationally televised bouts, but they stacked the undercard with local fighters including former world title challenger Kermit Cintron

Photo Credt: Nabeel Ahmad/Premier Boxing Champions

The first televised fight of the night was between Wilky Campfort (21-2) and Patryk Szymanski (15-0) in the middleweight division.

Szymanski had the height and size advantage, and used it in the opening round with a steady diet of jabs followed by an occasional cross. Campfort had trouble finding his target with his punches in the first round, but was able to land an occasional body punch in the second. Szymanski jabs and right crosses were effective in the second.

Campfort pressed the action in the third round and had a good showing. He seemed to be feel comfortable taking the power shots of Szymanski and had some good body shots. Szymanski, however, took control in the fourth round with hard overhand rights that stunned Campfort and had him backing into the ropes.

Campfort continued to press in the fifth round and was likely able to win it with some thunderous right hands. Szymanski’s pace was slowing down and Campfort’s pace was picking up.

The sixth round was action packed and both boxers landed their fair amount of punches, but Campfort looked like the fresher man and his body work was paying off.

Szymanski was able to settle down in the seventh and eighth rounds and used his reach to his advantage by sticking with his jab and keeping Campfort away from his body.

A small mouse formed over the left eye of Campfort by the ninth round and he was unable to get in tight and land body shots like he was in the early part of the fight. Szymanski wisely stuck to boxing and avoided brawling in the final two rounds and used his jab well to close out the fight.

The judges scored it 98-92, 99-91, and 99-91 for Patryk Szymanski.

The main event was between ex United States marine and former Olympian Jemel Herring (15-0) and Denis Shafikov (36-2-1) in the lightweight division.

Shafikov and Herring both fight out of a southpaw stance. Herring stayed on the outside in the opening round and circled to his right for most of the round while sticking his jab in the face of Shafikov. Shafikov was able to land some hard body shots, but did not land enough to win the round convincingly.

Shafikov kept up the pressure in the second round and was not bothered by the jabs of Herring. He was able to catch Herring with a glancing right hook at the end of the second that sent Herring backwards in the ropes. He would have hit the mat if the ropes weren’t there and the referee ruled it a knockdown.

The third round was close, as Herring landed more punches but Shafikov clearly landed the harder shots. Shafikov’s corner was screaming at the referee and claimed Herring was landing low blows, but they appeared to be clean body shots at ringside.

Herring threw a high volume of punches in the fourth round and landed some hard body shots, but he was rocked by a straight left in the fifth round by Shafikov and was almost knocked down. Herring’s mouth was bleeding and wide open by the sixth round. Shafikov’s kept up his relentless pressure and battered Herring when his back was against the ropes.

Shafikov was able to open up a cut by the right eye of Herring in the seventh round and continued to batter his opponent from corner to corner. By the eighth round Herring hardly had any snap in his punches.

Shafikov had Herring on wobbly legs in the ninth round with some brutal combinations. There were some in the crowd who were calling for the referee to stop the fight, but Herring somehow was able to survive the round.

Shafikov opened up the tenth round with a hard over the top right hand, and Herring’s corner wisely stopped the fight. Herring had nothing left in his punches and was taking a lot of punishment.

Denis Shafikov wins by TKO at 0:36 of the tenth round.

Undercard Quick Results:

Kashon Hutchinson (1-0) defeated Robert Ramos (1-5-1) by TKO at 2:44 of the second round in the super lightweight division.

Miguel Martinez (2-1) defeated Antonio Allen (0-2) by unanimous decision with scores of 40-36 on all three cards in the super welterweight division.

Christian Carto (1-0) defeated Rahkeam Parker (0-3) by TKO at the end of the third round in the flyweight division.

Frank DeAlba (19-2-2) defeated Jonathan Perez (35-15) by TKO at 1:50 of the third round in the super featherweight division.

Kermit Cintron (37-5-2) defeated Carlos Garcia (10-16-1) by unanimous decision in the junior middleweight division with scores of 80-72, 79-73, and 79-73.

Posted on 06/30/2016

PBC on ESPN Preview: Shafikov vs. Herring, Szymanski vs. Campfort
By: William Holmes

On Saturday night at the Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series will partner up with ESPN to broadcast the next installment of their series. Kings Promotions will be the lead promoter of the card.

At least two fights are expected to be televised. Denis Shafikov will face off against undefeated prospect Jamel Herring in a ten round lightweight bout in the main event of the night. The co-main event will be between Patrick Szymanski and Wilky Campfort in the junior middleweight division.

The following is a preview of both televised bouts.

Patrick Szymanski (15-0) vs. Wilky Campfort (21-2); Junior Middleweights

On paper, this appears to be an evenly matched fight.

Campfort is thirty one years old and eight years older than his opponent. They are both 5’11 and have similar builds. They both have traveled the globe to fight. Szymanski has fought in places such as Poland, Germany, Puerto Rico, and the United States. Campfort has fought in places such as Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cayman Islands, and the United States.

Szymanski appears to have a slight edge in amateur experience, as he was a former Polish Amateur Elite Boxing Champion.

They are also both about even in power. Szymanski has nine stoppage victories and Campfort has twelve, but Campfort has been in eight more professional fights than Szymanski.

Both boxers have been active the past two years. Szymanski fought three times in 2015 and 2014, while Campfort fought three times in 2015 and four times in 2014.

Szymanski has not faced any significant opposition so far. His best wins have come against Richard Gutierrez, Andrei Abramenka, and Mate Hornyak; and none of them are well known. Campfort has been in the ring with better competition. He has defeated the likes of Ronald Montes, Richard Guiterrez, Molton Nunez, and DeCarlo Perez by split decision.

One of Campfort’s two losses came early on in his career, in his second professional fight. His other loss was the Jermall Charlo in a world title bout.

It’s a hard fight to pick a favorite, and not many have seen enough of Szymanski to get a good gauge of his talent. Campfort is coming off of a knockout loss to Charlo and it can be quite difficult for a boxer to bounce back from that. But Campfort has to be given a slight edge based solely on experience.

Denis Shafikov (36-2-1) vs. Jamel Herring (15-0); Lightweights

The main event will feature a similar story line to the opening televised bout of the night. It will feature a rugged, tested veteran facing off against a relatively untested prospect.

Shafikov’s professional experience is far superior to that of Herring. Shafikov has fought all over the world, including places such as China, Russia, the United Kingdom, Finland, Latvia, Belarus, and the United States. Herring has fought exclusively on US soil as a professional.

Shafikov is thirty one years old, and despite the fact his professional experience far outweighs Herring’s, he is only one year older than his opponent. Shafikov will have a large physical disadvantage in that he will be giving up five inches in height to Herring.

They both has successful amateur careers, but Herring was able to compete in the Olympics for the United States in 2012.

Both boxers are southpaws, and both boxers have been fairly active the past two years. Herring has fought four times in 2014 and 2015, and once in 2016. Shafikov has fought twice in 2015 and three times in 2014.

Shafikov has defeated the likes of Roy Mukhlis, Miguel Mandoza, Alisher Rahimov, Albert Mensah, and Brunet Zamora. His losses were to Miguel Vasquez and Rances Barthelemy in world championship fights. Herring has defeated nobody of note, but his most notable victories have come against Luis Eduardo Florez and Yakubu Amidu.

Shafikov has nineteen stoppage victories while Herring has eight.

Both boxers seem to realize that this is a big fight for them if they want to fight for a world title in the near future.

They stated, “I am just excited about the fight. I have been looking for a big step up to get me in title contention,” said Herring. “I started training before I got the call before the fight. I have been training in D.C. with Mike Stafford, Barry Hunter, Patrice Harris and Levi Smith and I feel after this fight, it will get me up to a championship fight. He is a tough guy. If you train hard and stay ready, you can make the fight a lot easier on yourself.”

“I am looking forward to facing Jamel Herring,” said Shafikov. “He is undefeated and a former Olympian. I have the experience of fighting for a title and I know with a win, it will get me another opportunity.”

Even though Herring doesn’t have the professional experience of Shafikov, his amateur experience should not be discredited and neither should his experience serving as a United States Marine.