Tag Archives: Perez

Posted on 05/18/2018

By: Ken Hissner

At the Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, CA, Thursday night over ESPN Oscar de La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions put on a five fight card.

In the Main Event Lightweight Romero “Ruthless” Duno, 17-1 (14), of General Santos City, Philippines, living in L.A. defeated Gilberto “El Flaco” Gonzalez, 26-5 (22), of Mexico City, MEX, in an all action 10 rounds.

Photo Credit: Golden Boy Boxing Twitter Account

In the first round it was all Gonzalez who switched to southpaw after half a minute. Duno was pressing and finally landed rights to the body and head of Gonzalez. In the second round it was all Gonzalez until an overhand right from Duno landed on his head. Gonzalez pinned Duno in a corner with a flurry of punches until Duno worked his way out with several rights to the head of Gonzalez who suffered a cut by the right eye.

In the third round Gonzalez started out fast going from southpaw to orthodox and back. Duno landed a solid right to the head of Gonzalez putting him on the run. Gonzalez landed a good lead left to the chin of Duno. Referee Edward Hernandez, Sr. finally warned Gonzalez about using his shoulder.

In the fourth round Duno hurt Gonzalez with a right to the mid-section. Both boxers landed well. Near the end of the round Duno landed a hard right and left to the chin of Gonzalez drawing blood from the nose. In the fifth round Duno backed Gonzalez up with several rights to the chin. Gonzalez continues to be busy especially with his jab. Duno had a good round.

In the sixth round both boxers were letting it all hang out in a terrific exchange of punches. Both boxers were getting their licks in at a non-stop pace. Gonzalez drove Duno into a corner but fought his way out. They slugged it out right to the bell. Gonzalez had quite a bit of swelling under his right eye. In the seventh round Duno landed several rights to the body of Gonzalez ending with a left hook to the chin. Gonzalez came fighting back landing the final punch of the round.

In the eighth round Gonzalez was landing well until Duno countered with a right to the body backing Gonzalez up. Both landed left hooks at the bell to the head. In the ninth Duno landed well to the body with uppercuts continually backing Gonzalez up. Gonzalez seemed to take a breather in the round with Duno easily outscoring him.

In the tenth and final round Duno was loading up with lead rights to the chin of Gonzalez fighting southpaw. Gonzalez used his jab well with an occasional left to the chin of Duno. With less than a minute left in the round Duno hurt Gonzalez with a right to the chin.

Judges had it 97-93 twice and 98-92 with this writer having it 97-93.

In the co-feature Lightweight Oscar Duarte, 14-0-1 (9), of Chihuahua, MEX, defeated Rey “The Technician” Perez, 22-10 (6), of Santa Rosa City, Philippines, in a good 10 rounds of action.

In the first round Perez was lining up Durate with his left and got in a left hook to the head of Durate. Durate almost at the halfway point of the round landed a right to the head rocking Perez. Just prior to the bell, Durate landed a hard right to the head of Perez. In the second round Durate went right after Perez landing a flurry of punches until he got hit with an uppercut by Perez causing a red mark under the eye. Durate kept pushing Perez but got hit with a left hook.

In the third round Perez landed the first punch a right to the chin of Durate. Perez kept Durante at bey with his jab and and occasional right body shot. With seconds to go in the round Durate landed a big right to the chin of Perez. In the fourth round Durate landed a double left hook to the chin of Perez who was moving backwards. When in the middle of the ring Perez landed a combination to the head of Durate. Durate continued pressing the action landing half of his punches.

In the fifth round Durate landed a good left hook to the body. He followed up with a flurry of body shots until a left hook from Perez landed on his chin. Perez countered with a right to the head of Durate. At the end of the round Perez had a red mark over his right eye from the left hooks by Durate.
In the sixth round Durate landed three left hooks to the head of Perez. Perez turned southpaw landing a right uppercut to the chin of Durate. He then switched back to orthodox. Durate drove Perez against the ropes with body shots until he was hit by a chopping right from Perez on the chin. Durate ended the round with a left hook to the chin of Perez.

In the seventh round Perez landed a lead right on three separate occasions to the head of Durate. Durate came back with a right of his own to the head of Perez. Both boxers mixed it up well in the middle of the ring at the halfway point of the round. In the eighth round Perez came out strong landing punches to the head of Durate before going backwards. Durate landed well with several body shots dropping Perez.

Perez jumped on him landing a double left hook to the body and head. Another flurry of body punches dropped Perez again. He was up fighting back but was being overwhelmed by Durate with body shots. Perez ended the round with a right to the chin of Durate.

In the ninth round Durate was encouraged by his trainer Joe Diaz, Sr. to finish him. Durate kept after Perez halfway through the round but got countered with a right to the chin of Perez. Durate couldn’t land a big punch as Perez did well to get through the round. In the tenth and final round a minute into it Durate landed a flurry of head shots. Perez never gave up and was a good opponent for the young Durate and hung into the final bell taking plenty of body shots from Durate.

Scores of the judges were 98-90, 99-89 twice. This writer had it 97-91.

Featherweight Francisco “Alacran” Esparza, 8-0-1 (3), of Las Vegas, NV, shut out Edgar Cantu, 7-4-2 (1), of Laredo, TX, over 8 rounds.

Super Middleweight Georgian Jaba Khositashvili, 3-0 (2), of Philadelphia, PA, knocked out Fabian Valdez, 2-3 (0), of Sonora, MEX, at 0:26 of the second round.

Posted on 12/01/2017

By: Eric Lunger

The MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, MD, was the venue for Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN this evening, and featured undefeated prospect Lamont Roach, Jr. (15-0, 6 KOs) in a ten-round super featherweight bout against Filipino Rey Perez (21-8, 6 KOs). Roach, 22, the hometown Maryland fighter with an extensive amateur background, brought a technical and polished style into the ring. Perez, a determined and veteran orthodox fighter, was making his debut in the United States.

Undefeated Super Featherweight prospect Lamont Roach, Jr. (Right) lands a right hand en route to a unanimous decision victory over Rey Perez (Left) on November 30, 2017 in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
PHOTO CREDIT: Tom Hogan – Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Promotions

Round one was a professional feeling-out round with Roach landing the more effective jabs. In the second, Perez erupted with a body attack in the latter half of the round. While Roach caught a lot of the punches on his arms, Perez let Roach know he came to compete. In the third, the poised and patient Roach landed several good combinations, bringing the crowd to life. The fourth saw Roach’s hand speed and accuracy start to dictate the direction of the fight, and forcing Perez to keep his hands at home. In the middle rounds, Roach’s skill level began to really show, allowing him to catch Perez with consistent power shots. Game and none daunted, Perez continued to come forward but the punches were taking their toll.

The seventh round erupted with some fierce exchanges in the last thirty seconds, but the Filipino took the majority of the damage. In the late rounds, despite the pressure of fighting in front of his home fans, Roach remained poised and professional, fighting behind his jab and show a full kit of offensive tools. It was an impressive, elite level performance by Roach against a tough and gritty Perez. The judges scored it unanimously nine rounds to one for Roach.

In the co-main event, Jose “Wonder Boy” Lopez (19-1, 14 KOs) took on Avery Sparrow (8-1, 3 KOs) of Philadelphia in a ten-rounder at the super featherweight limit. Lopez, 23, is five-foot-nine, tall and rangy with good knockout power. Fighting out of an orthodox stance, Lopez is aggressive and prone to taking risks in the ring. Sparrow, also 23, was the less experienced fighter, and taking on Lopez presented a significant challenge.

Sparrow started fast, throwing a jab on differing planes and seeking to land a wide right around Lopez’s high guard. Lopez, for his part, remained patient and content to take the measure of his opponent. The Puerto Rican fighter was more active in the second, but Sparrow’s activity and awkward style forced Lopez to keep his hands home. Sparrow’s offense came to life in the fourth round, landing two straight rights and a good left hook. Lopez was still unable to time Sparrow or combat his dipping head movement.

Round six was Sparrow’s best, with his confidence and ring showmanship growing with each successful combination. His movement, his jab, his aggression, his shoulder roll defense – all were too much for Lopez, who could not find the necessary adjustments in the ring. Despite the deficit in experience, it was Sparrow who put on a clinic, and Lopez who looked confused and tentative. After a full ten rounds, the judges saw it 96-94, 96-94, 97-93 unanimously for the Philadelphia fighter, Avery Sparrow.

The undercard featured Manuel Avila (22-1, 8 KOs) taking on Diuhl Olguin (11-8-3, 9 KOs) of Mexico in an eight-round featherweight bout. Avila, fighting out of Vallejo, CA, was looking to bounce back after his first defeat last May at the hands of undefeated Joseph “Jo Jo” Diaz.

Avila fought a controlled and patient bout, while Olguin gave him plenty of challenges to figure out, mounting a decent body attack with the left hook and occasionally switching to the southpaw stance. Avila piled up rounds but certainly never dominated his opponent, even cruising a bit in the seventh. The fight went to the cards after eight: Avila took the unanimous decision 77-75, 78-74, 78-74.

Posted on 11/29/2017

By: Eric Lunger

On Thursday night, Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN presents two ten-round bouts featuring some of the brightest prospects in the super featherweight division. The broadcast will be live from the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, MD, on ESPN Deportes (8:00 p.m. ET), with a tape delay rebroadcast on ESPN 2 (11:00 p.m. ET).

Photo Credit: Golden Boy Promotions

Lamont Roach, Jr., (15-0, 6 KOs) is an undefeated prospect from Marlboro, Maryland, with an extensive amateur pedigree, including two National Junior Golden Gloves championships. Roach has been brought along carefully by his manager/father Lamont Roach, Sr., and Thursday will mark his third test at the ten-round distance. At 22 years old, the five-foot-seven orthodox boxer is a busy young man: he currently attends the University of Maryland, where he is pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. Stylistically, Roach is a tight and controlled fighter, with an accurate and short lead left hook. Lamont will appeal to boxing purists who appreciate technical proficiency and attention to defensive fundamentals.

Ray Perez, 27, hails from Santa Rosa City in the Philippines. As his record (21-8, 6 KOs) indicates, he’s had a mixed career. He has been in the ring against some high-level opposition – notably a seventh round KO loss to Jesse Magdaleno in February of 2016 – but he has yet to achieve that signature win to propel his career forward. The five-foot-six orthodox fighter offers a fairly uncomplicated style, staying in the pocket and relying on his innate toughness to take a shot in order to land one. He is not to be underestimated, however. Perez can throw an effective uppercut if his opponent gets lazy and leans in. Can Perez bring more aggression than Roach’s technique can handle? Or will Roach’s skill level be too much for the Filipino?

Jose “Wonder Boy” Lopez (19-1, 14 KOs) vs. Avery Sparrow (8-1, 3 KOs) is also set for ten rounds at the super featherweight limit. Lopez, 23, is five-foot-nine, tall and rangy with good knockout power. The Puerto Rico native fights out of the orthodox stance with a come-forward aggressive style. His overhand right is very dangerous, but he can leave himself open while seeking to land it. Nonetheless, Lopez is as dynamic and exciting as they come.

Sparrow, 23, represents the great fighting tradition of Philadelphia, PA, and has been busy in 2017, as Thursday will mark his fourth tilt of the year. Sparrow can be overly aggressive to the detriment of his defense, and he will need to tighten up the wide, loopy hooks he tends to throw if he wants to be successful against Lopez. If styles make fights, Lopez vs. Sparrow promises to be wide open and full throttle.

The other notable bout of the evening features Manuel Avila (22-1, 8 KOs) taking on Nick Otieno (31-12, 13 KOs) of Kenya in an eight-round featherweight bout. Avila, fighting out of Vallejo, CA, is looking to bounce back after his first defeat last May at the hands of undefeated Joseph Diaz.

Posted on 10/04/2017

By: Ste Rowen

On Saturday night the Baltic country of Latvia hosted its first ever world championship fight as the World Boxing Super Series came to town. However, neither the pre-fight hype, nor the electric atmosphere inside Arena Riga could turn this highly anticipated match-up into an exciting fight.

The third quarter final of the Cruiserweight World Boxing Super Series saw WBC World Champion Mairis Briedis step into the ring with former heavyweight contender Mike ‘The Rebel’ Perez, with Oleksandr Usyk awaiting the winner in the semifinals.

The early rounds set the tone for what descended into an ugly scrap. In round one ‘The Rebel’ seemed the busier fighter, throwing more frequently and forcing Mairis onto the backfoot.

Round two was when the Latvian started to lay the groundwork for his own game plan. This time Briedis seemed comfortable on the backfoot, initiating a jab and hold tactic that continued relentlessly throughout the fight. The bout looked like it would set alight in round three as Briedis was cut on his left eye by a head clash, which the referee ruled Perez to be at fault for and docked the Cuban a point. For a brief period, Briedis seemed apprehensive, even causing a second-head clash which seemed to effect Perez more than it did the champion.

From round five however, the Latvian regained his composure and dominated right into the championship rounds. His holding wasn’t pretty but it was a strong enough base to work off as he started to land more frequently. By round nine, and arguably earlier, Mike Perez, 22-2-1 heading into tonight, seemed all out of ideas and was caught by a big right uppercut underneath the chin which, although he seemed to recover quickly, definitely shook him up. Enough for him to incorporate Briedis’ tactics of holding long enough to avoid any further damage.

In round ten Briedis was finally docked a point for persistent holding after much protest and frustration from Perez but by then the Latvian had an air of superiority about him. Perez began to rush forward with no real effect and he needed a knockout going into the final round. It never looked like coming.

There was the question of whether Mike’s power would have the desired effect coming down in weight, but in truth we still don’t know if it can. Briedis frustrated Perez throughout, never taking a clean hit from the Cuban nor veering away from his own game plan. Jab-Hold with the occasional combination flurry or eye-catching shot was enough to see Briedis pick up a clear points win, 116-110, 115-111, 114-112.

It’s hard to watch Briedis, now 23-0-0. Tonight, along with his last outing against Marco Huck to win the WBC title, prove why, but up next is tournament, fan favorite, Usyk. It’s a match-up touted for early 2018 and as well as a place in the WBSS final, Usyk’s WBO and Briedis’ WBC Cruiserweight world titles will be at stake. There’s enough there for us to forget about how tonight played out and salivate over how good the upcoming semifinal should be.

Krzysztof Glowacki v Leonardo Bruzzese

The main undercard bout of the night saw World Boxing Super Series reserve, and former WBO World Cruiserweight world champion Krzysztof Glowacki, 27-1-0 before tonight, ease to a stoppage win over Italian Leonardo Bruzzese (18-3-0).
The Polish southpaw dominated from the first bell, landing almost every time with a perfect left hand. And the domination continued through the second. Bruzese, who had fought all but one of his fights outside of Italy, began to land slightly more but it wasn’t a problem Glowacki couldn’t deal with.

The Pole almost ended it at the end of the second and then again through rounds three and fourth. His punches consistently sending Bruzzese onto the ropes, with only a solid chin keeping Leonardo in the fight. But he was never truly ‘in’ the fight as Glowacki hammered at his opponent with precision, power and most tellingly, ease.

Krzysztof finally landed a punch with the desired effect, firing a left hook in round five which dropped Bruzzesse and then again soon after, forcing the Italian to drop down on both knees as the referee waved the bout off.

Glowacki would’ve been a worthy participant in the World Boxing Super Series with or without tonight’s win but what tonight shows is that he’s a clear number of levels above the fringe fighter status. Let’s hope he’s not called upon but if he is, people would be wise to not overlook him as a world class contender at the 200lb limit.

Posted on 07/10/2017

The World Boxing Super Series Begins
By: Matthew N. Becher

Over the past weekend, the newly created World Boxing Super Series held its very first draft, for its very first tournament. The premise of the new tournament is an open competition for any professional boxer that is ranked in the top 15 of the major sanctioning bodies systems.

In theory the best fighters would face off against one another, until the last man was standing, thus making him the #1 boxer in that weight class. Simple. That is the easy part, the hard part is getting the best fighters to all participate in such a tournament, with everyone having different promoters and so forth. Fortunately, it seems to have worked out for the initial Cruiserweight Tournament.

The seeding of the tournament went as follows. The top 4 fighters were ranked 1-4 by the WBSS, with the four belt holders getting the top rankings.

1: Oleksander Usyk (WBO)
2: Murat Gassiev (IBF)
3: Mairis Briedis (WBC)
4: Yunier Dorticos (WBA)

Then from 1-4, the fighter was allowed to pick or draft his opponent from a group of 4 boxers, for their first round fight. (An exception was made for Gassiev, who had a mandatory against Krzysztof Wlodarczyk. That fight was picked for him)

The first round of the tournament looks like this.

Oleksander Usyk (12-0 10KO) v. Marco Huck (40-4-1 27KO)
Murat Gassiev (24-0 17KO) v. Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (53-3-1 37KO)
Mairis Briedis (22-0 18KO) v. Mike Perez (22-2-1 14KO)
Yunier Dorticos (21-0 20KO) v. Dmitry Kudryashov (21-1 21KO)

Literally the best of the best in the Cruiserweight division will be competing against each other, until one is standing with all the belts, the inaugural Muhammad Ali Trophy and possibly a $1 million dollar bonus for advancing though semifinals and the championship round.

The tournament is slated to begin in early September and rap up by Mary of next year. The location of the fights have yet to be determined and will be placed in locations that match up well for each fight.

“To unify a division and spotlight a division that has clearly been underappreciated, even though the fights in the ring are always among the most exciting in the sport, irrespective of the division, that those four champions, if you look at the record – they are all undefeated. Most of their wins, the vast majority have come by knockout. So these are all big punchers, undefeated. I’m really excited,” said Richard Schaefer, the Chairman of the Americas for Comosa, who helped put this field together alongside fellow promoter Kalle Sauerland (the Chief Boxing Officer for Comosa).

This is a very exciting tournament for boxing and especially for the roll out of the new World Boxing Super Series. With formats like this, expect many division to start falling in line and possibly getting to see the best match up against the best in the near future.

Posted on 04/21/2017

Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN Results: Perez Squeaks By Lopez, Ellis Defeats Sosa
By: William Holmes

On Thursday night Golden Boy Promotions televised a card from the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York on ESPN Networks.

ESPN used to televised Friday Night Fights until Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions came along. However, ESPN appears to have stopped televising PBC events and the PBC has since taken over.

Photo Credit: Emily Harney/Hogan Photos/Golden Boy Promotions Photos

Eddie Gomez (20-2) faced Dennis Dauti (14-2) in the welterweight division.

Gomez is from nearby Bronx, New York and was once considered by many to be a high level prospect but two losses to Rashidi Ellis and Francisco Santana has since damaged his stock.

Gomez had a tougher bout than expected against Dauti, but he showed that he’s still a good technician and won the decision with scores of 79-73, 77-74, and 77-74.

The co-main event of the night was between Rashidi Ellis (18-0) and John Karl Sosa (13-3) in the welterweight division.

Sosa started the bout off aggressively and was throwing wild punches, but he was unable to find his target. Ellis remained calm and was able to use his hand speed and elusive movement to keep Sosa uncomfortable and landing clean quick shots.

Sosa was able to hurt Ellis in the second round which forced Ellis to hold on, but Ellis was able to recover by the third round and take over the fight. Ellis was in control in the middle rounds but he did have a brief scare in the eighth round from hard uppercuts. Ellis however showed he was willing to change power shots with Sosa in the ninth and did enough in the tenth to likely win the final round.

Ellis won the majority decision with scores of 95-95 and 97-93 on the remaining two cards.

The main event of the evening was between Michael Perez (25-2-2) and Marcelino Lopez (32-2-1) in the junior welterweight division.

Perez was landing the cleaner punches in the early parts of the fight but Lopez was the aggressor and was pressing the pace. Perez did better work when Lopez was in tight, but Lopez was clearly the more aggressive fighter.

Perez was taking some hard shots in the final moments of the fourth round and Lopez continued to land hard blows in the fifth round. Perez went back to sticking and moving in the sixth round and was able to keep Lopez off balance.

Lopez connected with a beautiful left hook in the eighth round that sent Perez to the mat. Perez was able to beat the count and recover, but by the ninth round his right eye was damaged and had a cut above it.

Lopez was the more aggressive boxer and landed the harder shots, but Perez showed more movement and defensive ability.

It was a close bout that could have been scored either way, but the judges scored it 96-93 for Lopez, and 97-92 and 96-93 for Perez.

Posted on 03/17/2017

The Cuban Heavyweights Professional and Amateur!
By: Ken Hissner

TEOFILO STEVENSON was 6:03 andin 1972, 1976 and 1980 won Olympic Gold Medals.He won World Gold Medals in 1974, 76 and 1980. He won Pan Am Gold in 1975 beat future WBA championMichael Dokes, 79 and a Bronze in 1971. He stopped Duane Bobickin 1972 after losing to him in 1971. He won the Val Barker Trophy in 1972. In 1976 he KO1 John Tate, future WBA champion andin 1981 defeated Jimmy Clark 1978 twice and in 1980 once and in 1982 he lost tofuture WBO champion Francesco Damiani. In 1984 he defeated future 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist Tyrell Biggs and in 1986 beat Alex Garcia. He also defeated future WBA champion Tony Tubbs, Marvin Stinson and Phillip Brown. Stevenson was awarded the Merited Master of Sport of the USSR in 1972, 1976 and 1980. He is the only boxer to have received this. He died in June of 2012 at age 60 from heart failure.

FELIX SAVON was 6:00 and in 1992, 96 and 2000 won Olympic Gold Medals as a heavyweight. In Pan Am Games in 1987, 1991 and 1995he won Gold Medals. He won4 Central American& Caribbean Games and 4 World Cups. He was 362-21 with all losses avenged. He defeated RuslanChagaev twice. He KO’d DaVarryl Williamson. In 2000 Olympics he defeated Michael Bennett and retired at age 33. He won 6 world championships and aSilver Medal. He defeated Danell Nicholson and David Izon in 1992 Olympics. In 1996 he defeated Georgi Kandelak, Luan Krasniqi and David Defiagbon. In 2000 he defeated Michael Bennett, Sebastian Kober and Sultan Ibragimov. He defeated in Pan Am Games Michael Bentt, Shannon Briggs and Lamon Brewster. He is 67.

ALEXIS RUBALCABA was 6:08 and in 1999 he wonthe Pan Am Gold Medal. He representedCuba in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics at Super heavyweight. In 1997 World Games he won a Silver Medal. He is 44.

JORGE LUIS GONZALEZ at 6:07 was 31-8 as a professional. In 1983 won Pam Am Gold. He defeated Tyrell Bigss. In 1987 he won Pan Am Gold defeating Riddick Bowe and Lennox Lewis. In 1987 North American Championships he lost to Lewis.
ROBERT BALADO was 6:00 and was the 1992 Olympics super heavyweight Gold Medalist defeating Larry Donald and Brian Nielsen. He was World Championship Gold Medalist in 1989, 1991 and 1993. He was Pan Am Games Gold Medalist in 1991. He died in 1994 at age 25 in car accident.

JULIO CARLOS “BLACK PANTHER” GOMEZ was 6:03 1/2 and was the WBC cruiserweight champion and finishing at 55-4-1nc (39). He had 10 successful title defenses and moved up to heavyweight fighting twice with former heavyweight champion Oliver McCall winning the first which got reversed to NC but winning the second. He lost to VitaliKlitschko for the WBC heavyweight title and moved back to cruiser. He was 158-12 as an amateur and moved to Germany as a professional. He reversed 2 of his losses as a professional.

MIKE “THE REBEL” PEREZ at 6:01 won the World Junior championship in 2004. In 2007 he defeated Louis Ortiz in the Cuban National championships but lost to Osmay Acosta in the final. In 2007 he defected to Cork, IRE. He was 21-2-1 (13) as a professional finishing up in 2015 losing to Alexander Povetkin for the WBC Silver title at age 30.
ODLANIER SOLIS FONTEat 6:01 ½ was 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist defeating Sultan Ibragimov and David Haye. He won 3 consecutive World Championships in 2001, 03 and 05. In 1999 he defeated Felix Savon for the Cuban title and took 2 of 3 from him. He won the 1999 and 2003 Pan Am Games Gold Medals. His amateur record was 227-14. He is 22-3 (14) as a professional losing to WBC champion VitaliKlitschko in 2011. He won the WBC International, IBF Inter-Continental and the WBA Fedelatin titles. He is 36 and lives in North Miami, FL.

YANQUI DIAZ at 6:04 in 2002 came to Mexico and then Las Vegas, NV, and won 13 of his first 14 fights stopping Juan Carlos Gomez and defeating Vaughn Bean while losing to Tony Thompson. Then in 2005 and 2006 losses to Samuel Peter and Kirk Johnson followed by a pair of nc’s before losing to Damian Wills and Oliver McCall retiring at 30 the end of 2006 with a 13-5 (8) record.

ERISLANDY SAVON the nephew of Felix Salon in 2016 was Olympian Bronze Medalist. He won the Pan Am Games in 2015 and a Silver in the World championships. He won the World Junior championships in 2008. At the National Championships he lost in semi-final by DQ to Osmay Acosta. He is 26.

OSMAY ACOSTA DUARTE won the 2007 Pan Am Games Gold Medal and was the 2008 Olympic heavyweight Bronze Medalist. In 2009 he was the Silver Medalist in the World Amateur championships. At the 2006 National Senior championships he lost to Odlanier Solis at super heavyweight and dropped back to heavyweight winning the Central American Games. He qualified for Beijing in an Olympic qualifier defeating current WBC champion Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder. He retired in 2009 after finishing with a Silver Medal in the World Amateur championships at age 24.

LOUIS “KING KONG” ORTIZ at 6:04 was 343-19 as an amateur. In 2005 he won the PAN AM championships. In 2010 he came to Miami, FL, and won 5 minor titles as a professional in 2010 the FECARBOX, 2011 the Fedelatin, in 2012 the Inter-American, WBC and WBO Latino titles. In 2015 he won the interim WBA World title. He is currently 27-0-2 nc’s (23). He is the current No. 1 WBA, No. 2 WBC and No. 6 IBF contender at 37 turning 38 this month.

NANCIO CARRILLO represented Cuba in the 1968 Olympics losing in the first round to East German Bernd Anders.
Other Cuban heavyweight professionals: Nino Valdez, 48-18-3 (36), OmelioAgramonte, 50-21 (32), Federico Malibran, 34-22-1 (25), Antolin Fierro, 8-8 (8), Santiago Esparraguera, 46-21-4 (42), RoleauxSaguero, 25-21-1 (23), Goyito Rico, 28-12-1 (25), Young John Herrera, 42-22-3 (28) and trained Stevenson, Elieser Castillo, 30-7-2 (17), Julio Mederos, 21-19-3 (14) who was managed by Jake LaMottaand Jose Ribalta, 38-1-1 (27), 55-8 (26) as an amateur in Cuba.

Posted on 11/19/2016

HBO PPV Undercard Results: Curtis Stevens and Oleksandr Gvozdyk Emerge Victorious, and Hooker Draws with Perez
By: William Holmes

The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada was the host site for tonight’s HBO PPV card featuring a main event betweenSergey Kovalev and Andre Ward for the Light Heavyweight Championship.

Three bouts were featured on the undercard, and the opening bout was between Curtis Stevens (28-5) and James De La Rosa (23-4) in the middleweight division.

De La Rosa was rocked by a rising left hook from Stevens in the first round and he was on the defensive for most of the opening round. Stevens was able to land a left hook that knocked De La Rosa in the last thirty seconds of the round, but De La Rosa was able to get back to his feet.

De La Rosa had a cut by his left eye in the second round and took heavy shots to the body. However, he was able to start to land his jab in the last minute of the round.

Both fighters let it all fly in the third round and both landed several hard combinations. Stevens got the better of De La Rosa and landed the stronger shots, but he may have spent all of his energy.

De La Rosa began to relay on his jab in the fourth round and was able to keep Stevens at bay, and that jab continued to be successful for De La Rosa in the fifth and sixth rounds and even had Stevens trapped in a corner at multiple points.

De La Rosa looked like the fresher fighter in the seventh round and Stevens was short with most of his punches. Stevens crowded v in the eighth and was able to land some heavy hooks to the body, but he was deducted a point by the referee for landing a low blow.

The announcers felt Stevens may have hurt his left hand in the ninth round since he wasn’t throwing his patented left hook counter like he usually does. The HBO cameras were able to capture Stevens telling his trainer he hurt his left hand in the fourth round

Stevens pressed the action in the final round and landed some heavy shots over the top of De La Rosa’s guard which reopened the cut of De La Rosa, but it was De La Rosa who was raising his hands in the air at the final bell as if he won the fight.

The final scores were 98-90, 96-92, and 96-92 for Curtis Stevens.

The next bout of the night was in the light heavyweight division between Isaac Chilemba (24-4-2) and Oleksandr Gvozdyk (11-0).

Both boxers fought out of an orthodox stance and Gvozdyk was backing Chilemba up early with his contant jab. Chilema was able to land his check left hook near the end of the round, but it could have been scored either way.

Chilemba was missing with his hooks in the second round while Gvozdyk was finding a home for his right cross. Gvozdyk was landing at a higher clip than Chilemba in the third round, and he had Chilemba covering up in a defensive shell with his back against the ropes while Gvozdyk unleashed several combinations on him.

Chilemba had a strong fifth round and was able to land some short uppercuts on the inside, but Gvozdyk took back over in the sixth round and looked like he was wearing his opponent down.

Gvozdyk outworked Chilemba in the seventh round and Roy Jones Jr. threatened to stop the fight if he didn’t pick up the action in the eighth round. Chilemba was able to catch Gvozdyk by surprise in the opening thirty seconds of the eighth round, but Gvozdyk took back over in the final minute and had Chilemba’s nose bleeding badly.

Chilemba told his trainer, Roy Jones Jr., before the start of the ninth round that he was done and couldn’t fight anymore, and Jones told the referee the fight was over. Chilemba believed his right hand was broken.
Oleksandr Gvozdyk wins by TKO at the end of the eighth round.

The final fight on the undercard was between Maurice Hooker (21-0-2) and Darleys Perez (33-2-1) in the junior welterweight division.

Hooker was a lot taller than Perez and used it to his advantage by keeping a jab in the face of Perez in the opening round. However, Perez looked comfortable with Hooker’s power in the second round and was able to catch Hooker by surprise with some well timed hooks, and he had him hurt in the opening minute of the third round with a clean looping right hook.

Perez appeared to score a knockdown in the fourth round when he tagged Hooker with a right cross and sent him tumbling backwards and to the mat, but the referee ruled it a slip.

Hooker had a good fifth round with an active jab, but Perez again caught Hooker with looping right hooks in the sixth round.

Perez remained the aggressor in the seventh round and took some of Hooker’s best punches but kept on moving forward. Perez remained the aggressor in the eighth round and had Hooker circling away from his opponent and moving backwards.

The final two rounds played out like the earlier rounds, with Perez pressing forward and landing an occasional right hook or right cross while Hooker would land a number of jabs while moving backwards.

A lot of rounds could have been scored either way, but the judges appeared to agree by scoring the fight 97-93 Perez, 97-93 Hooker, 95-95 making the bout a draw.

Posted on 11/17/2016

HBO PPV Preview: Sergey Kovalev vs. Andre Ward, Hooker vs. Perez, Chilemba vs. Gvozdyk, Stevens vs. De La Rosa
By: William Holmes

On Saturday night Roc Nation Sports and Main Events Promotions will team up to deliver one of the best fights that could be made in boxing on HBO Pay Per View. The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada will be the host site for the WBO/IBF/WBA Light Heavyweight Title fight between Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward.

Ten fights total are featured on this card, including the highly anticipated debut of two time Olympic Gold Medalist Claressa Shields.

HBO appears to be ready to televise four fights on the pay per view, and the following is a preview of all four bouts.

Curtis Stevens (28-5) vs. James De La Rosa (23-4); Middleweights

This bout is on the pay per view card despite the fact it’s highly unlikely that either participant will be fighting for a world title in the near future.

Curtis Stevens is a fan favorite and shocked many in his last bout when he beat undefeated prospect Patrick Teixeira.

He’ll be giving up ½ inch in reach and about three inches in height to De La Rosa. However, he has faced significantly better competition and has a deep amateur background than his opponent.

De La Rosa lost his last two fights and only has thirteen knockout victories. Stevens has twenty one knockout victories and is known for delivering exciting bouts.

Both boxers only fought one time in 2016, zero times in 2015, and three times in 2014.

Stevens has beaten the likes of Patrick Teixeira, Tureano Johnson, Patrick Majewski, Saul Roman, Derrick Findley, and Elvin Ayala. He has lost to the likes of Gennady Golovkin, Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam, Andre Dirrell and Jesse Brinkley. De La Rosa has defeated the likes of Alfredo Angulo but has lost to the likes of Jason Quigley, Hugo Centeno Jr., Marcus Willis, and Allen Conyers.

Stevens has been inconsistent throughout his career, but this is a bout that he should win in a fan pleasing fashion.

Isaac Chilemba (24-4-2) vs. Oleksandr Gvozdyk (11-0); Light Heavyweights

Not many boxers can claim to have lasted twelve rounds with Sergey Kovalev, and Isaac Chilemba is one of them.

However, he’s facing a highly decorated Ukranian amateur that is managed by Egis Klimas, who has an impressive stable of boxers under his control, and many consider Gvozdyk to be future world champion material.

Gvozdyk has nine stoppage victories in only eleven professional bouts and is a 2012 Summer Olympics Bronze medalist. Chilemba has ten stoppage victories in thirty professional bouts, so Gvozdyk has a clear edge in power. Chilemba also does not have the amateur experience of Gvozdyk.

Gvozdyk will be the same height as Chilemba but will also have a two and a half inch reach advantage. They are of the same age. Gvozdyk has also been considerably more active than Chilemba. He fought three times in 2016 and four times in 2015, while Chilemba only fought once in 2016 and twice in 2015.

Gvozdyk has already defeated the likes of Nadjib Mohammedi and Tommy Karpency before he has faced his twelfth opponent. Chilemba has defeated the likes of Doudou Ngumbu, Maksim Vlasov, Edison Miranda, Denis Grachev, and Vasily Lepikhin; but he has also lost to the likes of Sergey Kovalev, Eleider Alvarez, Tony Bellew, and Willbeforce Shihepo.

Chilemba is a tough opponent with a strong chin, but he’s not on the same level of technique as Gvozdyk and he doesn’t have the power to score an upset knockout.

This should be a good showcase fight for Gvozdyk to show off his skills.

Maurice Hooker (21-0-2) vs. Darleys Perez (33-2-1); Junior Welterweights

Maurice Hooker is one of the most intriguing prospects on the undercard, as his reach and height has many people comparing him to Paul Williams.

Hooker will have a four inch height advantage as well as an amazing ten inch reach advantage over Perez. He’s also six years younger than Perez.

Hooker is known for being a hard puncher and has stopped sixteen of his opponents. Perez has twenty one stoppage victories, but his best days appear to be behind him.

Hooker fought three times in 2015 and twice in 2016 while Perez fought one time in 2016 and three times in 2015.

Perez has the edge in amateur experience. He represented Columbia in the 2008 Summer Olympics while Hooker’s biggest claim to fame in the amateurs was when he won the Dallas Regional Golden Gloves Championship.

This bout is a big step up in competition for Hooker. He has defeated the likes of Ty Barnett, Wilfrido Buelvas, and Eduardo Galindo. Perez has beaten the likes of Argenis Lopez, Jonathan Maicelo, and Jaider Parra. His losses have come to Anthony Crolla and Yuriorkis Gamboa.

Perez was the former WBA Lightweight champion, but he’ll be competing at a higher weight class on Saturday and will be facing a good opponent with a ridiculous reach advantage.

The ten inch reach advantage will be too much for Perez to overcome.

Sergey Kovalev (30-0-1) vs. Andre Ward (30-0); WBO/IBF/WBA Light Heavyweight Title

The main event of the night is one of the best fights that could be made in boxing today and the winner will likely have a claim to the top pound for pound spot on the mythical list.

Kovalev, at the age of 33, and Ward, at the age of 32, are nearing the end of their physical primes but neither have shown signs of slowing down inside the ring.

They both are six foot tall, but Kovalev will have a slight one and a half inch reach advantage when they are both inside the ring.

Ward has the deeper amateur background of the two as he won the Olympic Gold Medal in 2004. Kovalev also had success as an amateur and was a former Russian Champion as an amateur, but he never competed in the Olympics and was engaged intense competition with two other Russian amateur standouts, Matt Korobov and Artur Beterbiev.

Kovalev has the edge in power. He has stopped twenty six of his opponents while Ward has only stopped fifteen. However, Ward is a gifted defensive boxer and is excellent with his counters, and Kovalev often leaves himself open for counters after he throws one of his heavy combinations.

Kovalev has defeated the likes of Isaac Chilemba, Jean Pascal, Nadjib Mohammedi, Bernard Hopkins, Blake Caparello, Nathan Cleverly, Ismayl Sillah, Cedric Agnew, and Gabriel Campillo. He has fought twice in 2015 and once in 2016.

Ward has fought twice in 2016 and once in 2015. He has defeated the likes of Alexander Brand, Sullivan Barrera, Paul Smith, Edwin Rodriguez, Chad Dawson, Carlo Froch, Artur Abraham, Sakio Bika, Allan Green, Mikkel Kessler, and Edison Miranda.

This is a tough fight for many to pick, mainly because Ward has never faced a power puncher like Kovalev and Kovalev has never faced a slick boxer like Ward.

However, Ward’s jab is his best weapon and he’ll likely use it often to keep Kovalev at bay. History has shown that a slick boxer will usually beat a power puncher if everything else is reason, and Saturday should be no different.

Posted on 08/28/2016

Alex “Brick City Bullet” Perez and Juan “The Beast” Rodriguez Bring Boxing Back to Bayonne, NJ, with the “Fight of the Year!”
By: Ken Hissner

At the Bayonne Pavillion, in Bayonne, New Jersey, boxing returned to Bayonne for the first time since 1978 some 38 years ago. Nick Jaynes LGM Promotions brought boxing back to Bayonne!

In the Main Event southpaw Alex “Brick City Bullet” Perez, 18-3 (10), of Newark, NJ, and southpaw Juan “The Beast” Rodriguez, Jr., 13-4 (5), of Union City, NJ, put on a great fight for the vacant IBU World Welterweight title with Rodriguez taking a split decision. It was originally called a draw before judge Lawrence Layton’s scorecard was re-checked. Half the people left the building thinking it was a draw.

In the opening round Perez was doing his thing until a right hand from Rodriguez caused Perez’s glove to touch the canvas counting it as a knockdown by referee Dali. Perez was not happy with the call. In the second round Rodriguez rocked Perez making him hold on. Perez is doing fine boxing but the shorter Rodriguez is getting power punches in. In the third round it was much closer but Rodriguez is continuing with the heavier punching. Rodriguez suffered a small cut on his forehead due to an accidental head butt. In the fourth round Perez pinned Rodriguez in his own corner landing half a dozen unanswered punches.

In the fifth round Perez was getting the better of it but Rodriguez landed a power punch left uppercut just prior to the bell. In the sixth round Perez had Rodriguez holding on after landing several combinations. A right hook by Rodriguez stunned Perez who continued to be the aggressor. Rodriguez continued to dig to the body. The fans have been vocal from the opening bell. In the seventh round Rodriguez opened the round landing a hard right to the chin of Perez. This caused Perez to put on a power show dropping Rodriguez in the corner. Upon Rodriguez rising from referee Dali’s count Perez jumped on him and continued to score well but Rodriguez is never out of the fight. This has turned into a great fight. This fight is going down to the wire. In the eighth and final round Rodriguez has stunned Perez on several occasions countering well. Perez continues after Rodriguez as the fans are on their feet.

Judge Steve Weisfeld had it 76-75 Perez, Lindsay Page 76-74 Rodriguez and Lawrence Layton 76-75 for Rodriguez. This writer had it 76-74 Rodriguez.

Heavyweight Tyrell “Juice” Wright, 9-0-1 (6), of Jersey City, NJ, won a 6 round decision over Nicholas Thompson, 5-2 (5), Burlington, NC.

In the opening round Wright was a little more active keeping the fight inside than Thompson was. In the second round there is a lot of holding keeping referee Dali busy. Wright is busier but Thompson got his licks in. In the third round Wright continues to throw more punches all to the body.

In the fourth round of a lack luster fight both boxers tie each other up again and again. Thompson landed a good right uppercut to the chin of Wright. AS the fifth round continued Thompson landed a right uppercut trying to keep Wright off of him. Both boxers look winded. In the sixth and final round Wright continues to punch and hold while Thompson allows him to get away with it. Thompson landed a right uppercut hurting Wright. This was a real “sleeper”. The popular light heavyweight Bobby Rooney worked the corner of Wright.

Judge Lawrence Layton and Steve Weisfeld had it 59-55 while Lindsay Page scored it 60-54. This writer had it 58-56.

Heavyweight Leon Johnson, 2-0 (2), of Newark, NJ, knocked out Alando Pugh, 1-9-1 (0), of D.C. at 2:48 of the first round. A right uppercut ended it as referee Bashir called a halt.

Super lightweight southpaw John Bauza, 3-0 (3), of North Bergen, NJ, scored an easy 4 round decision over Jose Carmona, 1-6 (1), of PR. Al Bashir was the referee.

In the opening round it was all Bauza using the jab. Midway through the round Bauza landed a 4-punch combination. In the second round a lead left by Bauza to the jaw of Carmona stunned him. Carmona was doing quite a bit of “rabbit punching” when the fighters got tied-up. In the third round it was more of the same with Bauza in complete control. In the fourth and final round Carmona was holding trying to go the distance and he made it.

Judges scores were 40-36 and 40-35 twice. This writer had it 40-36.

Middleweight Magdiel Cotto, 5-0 (4), of Comerio, PR, won an easy 4 round decision over southpaw Jermaine Corley, 0-1 (0), of Concord, NC, who showed plenty of guts hanging in there.

In the opening round it was all Cotto except for a low blow with referee Bashir giving Corley several minutes to continue. Cotto hurt Corley with a solid left hook to the chin making him hold on. In the second round Cotto landed three right hands to the mid-section of Corley. Cotto hurt Corley with a combination to the head forcing him to hold on again. Cotto is killing the body of Corley who dropped his mouthpiece for the second time in the round getting a warning from referee Bashir. In the third round Corley finally puts up some offense landing a 3-punch combination to the chin of Cotto. A right uppercut by Cotto to the mid-section of Corley doubled him over. He dropped his mouthpiece for the third time causing referee Bashir to take a point away from him. Somehow Corley made it to the bell taking a beating to the body by Cotto throughout the entire 4 rounds.

Judge Steve Weisfeld had it 40-35 while Lawrence Layton and Lindsay Page had it 40-32. This writer had it 40-35.

Heavyweight Egomir Plevako, 3-2 (1), of Kharkik, UKR, won a close 4 round decision over Kenny Cruz, 0-2-1 (0), of Bayamo, PR.

In the opening round the much taller Plevako used a long jab while Cruz was throwing overhand rights. A solid left hook to the chin by Plevako got the attention of Cruz. In the second round Cruz landed a solid overhand right to the chin of Plevako. In round three both boxers threw right hands with Plevako’s getting there first to the chin. It was a big round for Plevako while Cruz did more pounding on his chest than on Plevako. In the fourth and final round Cruz landed a double left hook to the chin of Plevako while against the ropes. This was the best round of the fight and the fan’s got into it. Plevako finished strong. Plevako had boxed in the World Series of Boxing.

Judge Steve Weisfeld had it 40-35, Lindsay Page 39-37 and Lawrence Layton 40-36. This writer had it 39-37. The referee was Eric Dali.

Welterweight Caleb Hernandez, 3-0 (1), of Paterson, NJ, defeated Lamont White, 0-3 (0), of D.C. at 2:39 of the fourth round by DQ.

In the opening round Hernandez set the pace with left hooks to the body. In the second round White switched to southpaw trying to already protect the right side of his body that was taking a pounding. Hernandez continued taking it to White. In the third round Hernandez continued out punching White who was trying his best. In the fourth and final round they clashed of heads. The referee called a time out and ruled a DQ for White not listening to his commands.

In the opening bout Lightweight Louis Perozo, 3-0 (2), of NYC, NY, knocked out Alexander Foster, 0-2 (0), of Alexandria, VA, at 0:41 of the first round. Referee Bashir waved it off as Foster hit the canvas.

Special guests were 2-time Cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham, the pride of Bayonne NJ BHOF and former NJ Heavyweight Champion Chuck “Bayonne Bleeder “Wepner and also heavyweight title contender Bryant “Bye-Bye” Jennings. The ring announcer was Henry Hascup who heads the NJ BHOF. The promoter’s daughter Caitlyn did a good job singing the National Anthem.