Tag Archives: promotions

Posted on 09/14/2018

By: Ken Hissner

Diane Fischer’s Dee Lee Promotions keeps Delaware boxing alive at the Hockessin PAL Center Saturday night with a 10 bout card. The matchmaker is Nick Tiberi.

In the Main Event Cruiserweight Lamont “The Problem Solver” Singletary, 9-2 (6), of Dover, DE, takes on Demetrius Banks, 9-5 (4), of Detroit, MI, 6 rounds.

In the co-feature southpaw Derrick “Take It to The Bank” Webster, 27-1 (14), of Glassboro, NJ, takes on Milton “El Misil” Nunez, 35-19-1 (31), of Barranquilla, Colombia, 8 rounds.

Super Lightweight “Jolt N” Joey Tiberi, Jr., 15-3 (8), of Bear, DE, takes on Francisco “El Mono” Medel, 12-14 (8), of Urapan, MEX, 6 rounds.

Super Middleweight Schmelle “The Real Deal” Baldwin, 1-0 (0), of Newark, DE, takes on Lashwanda Ellis, 0-1, of Wilson, NC, 4 rounds. Welterweight Vincent “Hollywood” Kirkley, of New Castle, DE, makes his debut taking on Tavares Owens, 0-6, Rocky Mountain, NC, 4 rounds.

Light Heavyweight Maurice “The War Time” Horne, 2-0 (2), of Middletown, DE, takes on Rahim Diggins, from Philadelphia making his debut, 4 rounds. Super Lightweight Justin Riley, Hockessin, DE, making his debut takes on Tyrone Shelton, of Wilmington, DE, making his debut, 4 rounds. Welterweight Emmanuel “The Feorican” Rodriguez, of Selbyville, DE, makes his debut taking on Eric Dean, 0-4, of Warren, OH, 4 rounds.

Welterweight Nigel Fennell, of Richmond, VA, makes his debut, taking on Antonio Allen, 0-8-1, of Philadelphia, 4 rounds. Welterweight Michael “The Hammer” Crain, 2-3 (1), of Smyrna, DE, takes on Dontre King, 7-19-2 (3), of Cambridge, MD, 4 rounds.

Posted on 09/13/2018

By: Sean Crose

“It makes me wonder,” the LA Times on Wednesday quoted Oscar De La Hoya as saying, “if HBO even wants to be in boxing.” The Hall of Fame fighter turned top promoter was expressing a sentiment shared by many over the past several years. Is HBO really interested in the boxing business anymore? The recent activity (or lack thereof) of the pay cable network might suggest the answer is no, that it’s merely easing itself out a way relationship with fight fans slowly, rather than making a clean break. Either that or limiting boxing to such a degree that the few fight broadcasts the network decides to show might no longer warrant a subscription fee from fans.

Yet, with boxing broadcasts suddenly popping up all over television and the internet, breaking up with HBO might not be that hard for those fans to do. Bob Arum’s Top Rank Promotions, for instance, has moved on to ESPN from HBO and has brought down some nice ratings for itself, thanks very much. If HBOs seeming disinterest in boxing is hurting Top Rank or its fighters, there’s little indication of it. In fact, Top Rank just signed a lucrative contract extension with ESPN not that long ago.

All of this, of course, leads to the question of whether nor not HBO’s star boxing attraction, Canelo Alvarez, will remain with the network after his highly anticipated rematch with Gennady Golovkin this weekend, or if HBO is even all that keen on keeping Canelo aboard. After Saturday, Canelo’s current contract with the network will have expired. Win, lose, or draw, there obviously will be plenty of companies and/or outlets ready, eager, and willing to play host to the Mexican superstar, should the relationship with HBO end. “It’s going to be very interesting for us and Canelo to see what HBO can do to keep him,” De La Hoya said.

Along with ESPN, Showtime, Fox and other outlets broadcasting live boxing, streaming services are marking their mark on the fight game in a big way. ESPN+, British Promoter Eddie Hearn’s DAZN, and even Facebook are now involved in the fight game. Still, De La Hoya feels a sense of loyalty to the network that helped make him a legitimate superstar back in his ring heyday. “I’ve always given HBO the first and last opportunity,” he said, making it clear that he plans to continue to do so after Canelo’s contract runs out on Saturday.

Still, De La Hoya let it be known that he’s not in the business of wasting time. “I do want to fight him in December,” he said of Canelo. Speaking of which, there’s another party who will most likely want to fight again in the near future after Saturday’s superbout.

Gennady Golovkin’s contract with HBO is up this weekend, as well.

Posted on 09/02/2018

By: William Holmes

Golden Boy Promotion seven fights on facebook live from the Fantasy Springs Resort and Casino in Indio, California. This is a newer venture for Golden Boy as promotional outfits worldwide are increasingly turning to streaming to deliver their product.

Ryan Garcia was able to sell out the Fantasty Springs Resort and Casino for the second time.

Several undercard fights were shown, but the main event of the evening was between Ryan Garcia and Carlos Morales in the lightweight division and the co-main event of the night was between Marvin Cabrera and Neeco Macias.

Marvin Cabrera (8-0) and Neeco Macias (16-0) met in the junior middleweight division. Both boxers are undefeated, but Cabrera has been the more active fighter the past two years and had former world champion Daniel Ponce DeLeon in his corner.

Macias had a good contingent of fans in attendance, and he made it known immediately why. They both came out swinging in the opening round but Macias took the best shots of Cabrera well and continued to come forward, while smiling. Macias didn’t appear to have a whole lot of power and was taking some good left hands from Cabrera, but he threw over twice the number of punches than Cabrera. Macias threw 147 punches in the opening round while Cabrera threw 72, and it was a sign of things to come.

Macias stayed in tight during the second round and didn’t appear to land many hard punches, but he applied an incredible amount of pressure and appeared to overwhelm Cabrera. He continued that output into the third round when he threw 196 punches and appeared to be visibly wilting Cabrera.

Macias opened up the fourth round with a looping left hand went right back to work. He was swarming Cabrera and was really snapping the head of his opponent.

Cabrera’s back was stuck next to the ropes and corner often in the fourth and fifth rounds and wasn’t really able to throw much in response to the aggression of Macias. Whenever Cabrera backed away in an attempt to escape and breathe Macias would quickly close the distance and pound away at the body and head.

Cabrera looked exhausted in the sixth round and took a hard left hand in the opening seconds of the sixth. Cabrera was stuck in the corner often and was getting beat from corner to corner.

Cabrera’s corner wisely stopped the fight before the start of the seventh round. Macias wins by knockout at 3:00 of the sixth round.

The main event of the night was between Ryan Garcia (15-0) and Carlos Morales (17-2-3) in the lightweight division.

Garcia held the NABF and NABO Super Featherweight Championships while Morales held the NABA Super Featherweight Championship.

Garcia is one of Golden Boy Promotions’ high ceiling prospects and is only twenty years old. Garcia looked like the bigger fighter and was able to establish himself as the boxer with the quicker hands early on. Garcia was able to land some good left hooks in the first two rounds and had a good jab working.

Garcia did trip and fall backwards in the second round but Morales was warned by the referee for pushing his opponent.

Garcia was shifty in the third round and was able to land his counter right hands. One of his punches opened up a cut on the bridge of the nose of Morales.

Morales was able to land some right hands to the body of Garcia in the fourth round, but Garcia appeared to land the better shots and even had Morales shaking his head no after landing a combination.

Garcia’s timing was on point in the fifth and sixth rounds and was able to touch Morales whenever he got into range. Both boxers were warned by the referee for wrestling during these rounds.

Morales’ corner think he hurt Garcia in the seventh round and even wobbled the legs of Garcia after landing a jab. Morales pressed the pace afterwards, but Garcia recovered quickly and lasted the round.

Morales continued to attempt apply the pressure in the eighth and ninth rounds but with the exception of a few body shots wasn’t able to hurt Garcia again. Garcia however appeared to be tiring and looked at the clock continuously.

Morales probably needed a knockout in the final round to win, but Garcia had caught his second wind by then and threw enough punches in the final round to win it.

The judges scored it 98-92, 95-95, 98-92 for Ryan Garcia by majority decision.

Posted on 08/30/2018

By: William Holmes

On Saturday night Golden Boy Promotions will continue their partnership with Facebook Live to broadcast what appears to be seven fights live from Fantasy Springs Resort and Casino in Indio, California.

The undercard will feature fighters such as Sergey Lubkovich, George Rincon, Daniel Perales, Alex Rincon, Patrick Teixeira, and Nathaniel Gallimore.

The main event of the evening will be a lightweight fight between Ryan Garcia and Carlos Morales in the lightweight division. The co-main event of the night will be between Marvin Cabrera and NEeco Macias in the junior middleweight division.

Photo Credit: Hogan Photos/Golden Boy Promotions

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

Marvin Cabrera (8-0) vs. Neeco Macias (16-0); Junior Middleweights

This is a rare bout between two southpaw boxers, so expect some awkwardness at first and tangled up feet.

Cabrera is a young prospect who has been fairly active recently. He fought twice in 2018 and four times in 2017 and started competing as a professional in 2016. He has moderate power and has stopped six of his opponents.

His opponent, Neeco Macias, is two years older than him and has twice the number of professional fights. But he has not been as active as Cabrera in the past two years. He only fought once in 2018 and once in 2017. He has stopped seven of his opponents, including stopping three of his past four opponents. However, his three past opponents had losing records.

Cabrera has the better amateur career of the two. Macias has no notable amateur accomplishments and Cabrera has competed in the Pan American Games as an amateur with moderate success.

Cabrera will have about three inches in height on Macias, but both boxers will have about the same reach.

Cabrera has defeated the likes of Wilfrido Buelvas, Hector Velazquez, and Esau Herrera. Macias’ record is filled with guys with sub .500 records, but he does have notable wins over Rolando Garza and Limberth Ponce.

Macias has a good record, but he hasn’t faced any significant opposition and his lack of activity the last two years is telling. Macias appears to have the power to stop Cabrera, but Cabrera’s amateur background should lead him to a decision victory.

Ryan Garcia (15-0) vs. Carlos Morales (17-2-3); Lightweights

Ryan Garcia holds the NABF and NABO Super Featherweight Championship while Carlos Morales holds the NABA Super Featherweight Championship.

Garcia however, is the prospect with a much higher ceiling and has the promotional muscle of Golden Boy Promotions supporting him.

Garcia is only twenty years old, but has already fought fifteen times and fought twice in 2018 and six times in 2017.

Morales is twenty eight years old and didn’t fight at all in 2018, but fought three times in 2017. Morales isn’t known for his power, he has only stopped six of his opponents.

Garcia will have a sleight one inch height advantage on Morales. They both have a 70” reach and box orthodox.

Garcia has been stepping up his competition recently. He has beaten the likes of Jayson Velez, Fernando Parra, and Cesar Valenzuela.

Morales has beaten the likes of Dardan Zenunaj, Cesar Valenzuela, Charles Huerta ,and Luis Franco. He has losses to Alberto Macahdo and Allan Benitez.

Morales has two losses on his record, but has never been stopped. He’s a good opponent for Garcia in that he should give him some good rounds and good work, but Garcia should be a large favorite on Saturday.

Posted on 08/18/2018

By: Dylan Smith

Golden Boy Promotions put on a live event from the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. ESPN televised their card and it featured two entertaining bouts, including a bloody main event.

The following is a recap of their event.

Photo Credit: Tom Hogan-Hogan Photos/Golden Boy Promotions

The co-main Event of the evening.

A 10 round war! It was a brutal display of heavy shots and relentless pressure by both boxers. Japanese Yoshihiro Kamega stayed true to his form by constantly coming forward and not giving young Vendetti a moment to breath. Greg being the younger guy by 7 years, he held his composure and kept pushing back the Japanese Warrior.

From the first round Kamegai pushed Greg Vendetti backwards to the ropes were he let loose heavy hooks to the body and head.
The first time for The Villain to go past 8 rounds is a testament the Kamegai’s toughness. Yoshihiro gained Vendetti’s respect form the start of the fight as Greg kept a nice tight guard. Until the 7th round where he seemed to lower his guard and become more relaxed into the fight. Vendetti’s corner was pumping him up in between each round to keep him motivated which was a stronghold to aid his performance.

The Villain managed to swell up Kamegai’s left cheek from continued right hands beating him down. Although a lot of heavy shots were thrown and landed, neither man was put down in the fight and it lasted the whole 10 rounds.

In Kamegai’s last 5 fights he has landed 24.6 punches per round 39% of them being power punches. But allowing 26 punches 43.8% of them power punches to land from his opponent. This fight was a lot closer in terms of what landed however as Vendetti landed 37% of power punches and Kamegai landed 36% of his. The total punches thrown was 629 for Yoshihiro and 826 for the Villain Vendetti so he was the busier man. A lot of punches were thrown by each man, only 1% difference in what was actually landed, which is closer than the judges had it scored however.

Both judges had Greg Vendetti winning by a unanimous points decision, one by 98-92 and the other by 97-93. Vendetti did seem to land the better shots but it was a competitive fight as both fighters didn’t stop throwing the whole fight.

Greg ‘The Villain’ Vendetti is at the early stage of his career and will go on to advance to the next stage, performing very well tonight against a seasoned vet in Yoshihiro Kamegai. With it being an entertaining fight, as it was, both boxers can come again I’m sure.

The main even of the Evening

An action packed fight with an aggressive fighter being charged by a juggernaut. Andrew Cancio has been working his day job up until the last week of his fight. Having managed to put in the hours in the gym as well. The hungry fighter had a great opening and towards the end of the 1st round he seemed to hurt Dardan Zenunaj with a big right hand. Cancio threw double the amount of punches as Dardan and landed 48%. Round 1,2 and 3 Cancio continued to throw double the amount of Zenunaj.

El Chango looked strong and composed even in moments where Dardan put pressure on him. Andrew was landing clean crisp counter punches on the inside and outside. Zenunaj absorbing a lot of punches he was relentless in charging forward. Both men utilised the jab well, Andrew however seemed to find his range better and, in some rounds was landing double the amount of punches than Dardan.

The key in this fight was the uppercuts thrown by Cancio. He seemed to be able to land at will to the centre gap in the guard of Zenunaj. El Chango utilised good footwork, evading punches and fighting on the back foot. Zenunaj did land shots of his own however and kept on working throughout the fight.

With great conditioning and mind of a warrior Dardan kept pushing forward. He seemed to get stronger as the fight went on, even when hurt he shook his head to allude he wasn’t. He boxed well, cut off the ring and forced Andrew to work. His work rate wasn’t diminished through the rounds but seemed to improved. His pressure was consistent and although behind on points came out in the 8th with a bounce in his step. With only 2 rounds left he and his corner knew they needed to finish Cancio to win. Wanting to finish the fight he carried on showing his massive heart.

They went at it in the 9th with beautiful left hooks and straight rights from Cancio but Zenunaj kept coming forward. Andrew was spitting blood which covered the face of Dardan. In the 10th Zenunaj had a lot of success and man handled Andrew. As the crowd cheered ‘El Chango’ Andrew stayed in there, his nose bloodied he bit down on the gun shield and water out until the bell.

The two fighters embraced on the final bell and gave it their all. They had a lot of respect for each other and both put on a wonderful performance. The crowd gave them a standing ovation and although not a native of California, Zenunaj seemed to win over the home town crowd of the Monkey.

It lasted the duration of the 10 rounds and went to a points decision. All judges in favour of Andrew Cancio.

Punch stats were Cancio three 994 and landed 356 (36% pct landed) and for Zenunaj 1062 only 278 landed (26% pct landed).

Andrew Cancio has earnt a deserved win, his 19th victory. It makes you wonder What could he achieve if he dedicated his time solely on boxing?

Another great fight from 2 tough fighters who displayed pugilist skills and entertained the crowd who were on their feet.

Posted on 08/01/2018

By: Bryant Romero

Rising lightweight prospect Ladaruis ‘Memphis’ Miller returns to the ring this Friday at the Sam’s Town Hotel in Las Vegas where takes on Dennis Galarza in a ten round bout. Miller is riding off a seven fight win streak after his only blemish back in February of 2016. Boxinginsider recently caught up with the young fighter from Memphis as looks to get closer to title contention with an impressive win over Dennis Galarza this Friday. Miller also talks about his desire to become a world champion, how boxing came into his life, and how his lone defeat actually made him a better fighter.

“Boxing got into my life after my dad,” Miller said. “He took me to the gym when I was 10. It started with my dad. We were always playing sports at a young age me and my brothers.

Photo Credit: Mayweather Promotions

“It was the way we were brought up in a tough city, in a tough neighborhood and my dad just wanted an activity for us to do to try to keep us out the streets.

“One day were watching an espn classic boxing fight and my pops decided to look for a gym for my older brother and I wanted to tag along. It started there and we went to the gym and I haven’t looked back since,” Miller said.

From there Miller complied a solid amateur record of (87-17) and eventually turning pro in 2014. Miller is now (16-1) with 5 KOs as he looks to extend his winning streak to 8 consecutive victories this Friday. The 25-year-old is a southpaw who considers himself to be a pure boxer but doesn’t shy away from a fight if necessary.

“Growing up I always watched the guys like Floyd Mayweather, Pernell Whitaker, James Toney, Roy Jones, Hector Camacho, Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns, and Sugar Ray Leonard,” Miller told me.

“I’m just a pure boxer. I definitely believe in being first and hitting and not getting hit, but if I have to, I can definitely get into a fight sometime, but overall I consider myself to be a boxer.”

Now 4 years into his professional career, Miller feels the Dennis Galarza fight is coming at the perfect time. He’s happy with how his career has progressed thus far and is well aware that an impressive win this Friday will present bigger opportunities in the near future.

“I’m on pace to do exactly what I want to do. I’m living in the moment and trying to take advantage of every opportunity in my career,” Miller said.

Miller is now currently signed to Mayweather Promotions and has been with them since the beginning of his career. He first crossed paths with Floyd Mayweather while still a young amateur. It was in the doghouse that Miller got the attention of Floyd by being able to hold his own with a number of professional fighters.

“He (Floyd) liked my attitude and my personality and the way I fought. He got me an opportunity; he saw something in me to give me an opportunity to turn professional. It all started in the gym by making a name for myself and being a young amateur that could hold my own with a lot of professional fighters,” Miller told me.

Miller also talked about his lone defeat which occurred over two years ago against Rolando Chinea. The 25-year-old insist that he wasn’t at his very best that night, but that the loss only made him a hungrier and better fighter.

“I beat myself. That guy wasn’t better than me, but it was situation where I thought I had everything under control. That was a humbling situation for me. I always say that I loss that fight on the record, but it motivated me and it put me in a different mindset.

“I don’t overlook anybody now. I take every fight like it’s a title fight now. It was just a situation where I was a young fighter who overlooked his opponent. I didn’t show up that fight, I wasn’t focused,” Miller told me.

Miller expects a great fight with Galarza in a high stakes bout. He doesn’t even want to think about what’s next and what potential big fight is out there for him. He’s completely focused on the task at hand as he knows a win this Friday will only get him closer to getting a world title shot.

“He’s (Dennis Galarza) the most important thing in my career right now, it’s this fight on August 3,” Miller said. “At the end of the day I know what can happen for me once I beat him, but at the same time I got to remain focus.

“I know what a win could lead to and I know what a loss could lead to. It’s going to be an exciting fight and I know he’s coming to fight. It’s once step closer to my goal in becoming a world champion. Once I beat this guy, I’m a step closer to getting a title shot. My main focus is on the fight,” he said.

Posted on 07/03/2018

By: Charles Jay

They aren’t the first organization to do it. And they certainly won’t be the last. But Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions intends to be the outfit that makes the greatest strides in developing the ability to capitalize on presenting professional boxing over the internet.

They have announced a partnership with Facebook in which they will present a series of live fight cards, free of charge, through Facebook Watch, the branded live streaming mechanism the mammoth social network has. It all begins on August 11 with a WBA featherweight title fight between Jesus Rojas and JoJo Diaz, taking place in Hollywood, CA. They will also go the next week from the Sands in Bethlehem, PA. And from there it will continue.

There has been a traditional business model for years in boxing, with slight variations. You sell tickets or try to get a casino to pay for the show, and then you see if you can make a deal to go on cable TV. If it’s sufficiently big enough, then pay-per-view (PPV) becomes a possibility. But you probably knew all that already.

Well, casino rights fees have dried up considerably from what they used to be. Television money isn’t spread around as much either, and with Al Haymon having taken a significant position through time buys instead of selling the product itself, you have to wonder how anxious some of these non-premium networks are going to be about giving up money in the future, outside of a couple of vendors.

We’ve seen some trips “out of the box” that might just stick. ESPN Plus is making some fights available through a paid app (also available through other platforms); DAZN is doing live streaming and has a deal in place with Eddie Hearn, the promoter of Anthony Joshua. In one conversation with me a while back, Top Rank’s Bob Arum envisioned that the Chinese, with a billion or so cell phones on hand, might pay a small fee for an attractive product (preferably including one of their countrymen) and that would add up to huge money. Twitter showed a championship fight a couple of years ago, through it was more of an experiment than anything else. There are services in operation right now that show boxing on a pay-per-view basis online, although I’m not sure what their numbers are. Certainly the direct-to-consumer model (“over the top,” as they say) is at some point going to be a major staple of what HBO or Showtime PPV does. It would appear inevitable.

Not everything is going to work. The point, though, is that different methods of distributing the programming are being explored.

And even though Facebook has done live events, like baseball games, what Golden Boy is doing represents the exploration of a legitimate frontier in this particular sport. It can be a winner. Like television, it offers the chance for the same outlet to market and exhibit boxing programming, provided of course they can cultivate an audience. But you see, over the social media channels, there is that built-in mechanism as well. And what is incorporated in this is the ability to get immediate fan feedback and interaction. So in a sense, a lot of this is self-contained. And obviously, the programs are adaptable to mobile devices, which is where the audience is going. Remember, people are moving away from cable, and toward other services. You have to get out front and go where the eyeballs are.

Golden Boy will not only have live fights, but also original programming in support of it; “shoulder” programming, if you will. You can bet that they will be promoting their pay-per-view telecasts as well, and this first fight comes just in time to push the Canelo-GGG fight on September 15. And in order to do this, they don’t have to get TV time cleared, or buy it, as Haymon has.

As part of the deal, Golden Boy is establishing a partnership-within-a-partnership, with Main Events (the New Jersey-based promoter) coming on board, and the CEO of that company, Kathy Duva, hit on something very important when she said, “For too long, promotional companies have been at odds over a limited number of television dates. We look now to a future with Facebook with unlimited opportunity, where promoters can work together to best serve the interests of the fighters and fans all over the world.”

Yes, in time things like this are going to flip the field.

Putting the product online in creative ways can be a great enabler for any number of promotional organizations. That’s because it is the most democratic distribution channel that has come along. Sure, not everybody is going to have a “partnership” with an entity such as Facebook, like Golden Boy has. But anyone has the capability to stream with Facebook Live, and then it just comes down to how many people can be driven to the “telecast.”

Years ago, when putting together a sponsorship proposal, we used to say that a cable channel, or combination of channels, got into X-million homes. Of course, that didn’t mean that X-million homes were going to tune in; it just meant the show had the capability to reach that many. Well, as long as you want to get theoretical about it, an online broadcast has the ability to reach almost every home on earth, or at least the vast majority, right?

That doesn’t mean there is a potential bonanza out there, naturally, but the doors can indeed be unlocked. The real opportunity for small and mid-level promoters probably doesn’t lie in online pay-per-view, truth be told, although I guess that if someone is going to produce a telecast anyway, it could fall into the category of “found money.” But this is more likely a play for enhanced sponsorship, using something similar to the over-the-air TV model (and the one Golden Boy is using), where the fights are free to viewers. If you can get a lot of targeted eyeballs to a piece of content, there should be a way to monetize that. It all depends how creative one wants to be.

Those who can somehow command a presence online, with regard to the actual presentation of the product, should be able to get a leg up on their competitors.

Remember, the technology isn’t going backward. And it’s going to allow even small, independent producers the chance to avail themselves of geo-tracking, instant viewer surveys and precise audience measurements, which provides plenty of ammunition, from the standpoint of data, to take to any sponsor. The challenge as we move forward is that whoever wants to hit big online will have to reach out and cultivate younger viewers, as MMA has done. And technology may be the mechanism through which to do it. Again, it comes down to who is creative about it.

I, for one, am rooting for this Golden Boy venture to succeed, not necessarily for what it will do for the company, but what it might do for an industry. And even in this business, where “schadenfreude” is often the order of the day, I think everyone else might do well to root for them too.

Posted on 04/18/2018

Golden Boy Promotions has issued the following statement in response to Canelo Alvarez’s settlement agreement with the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

“As we have maintained all along, the trace amounts of clenbuterol found in Canelo’s system in February came from meat contamination, and we provided the Nevada State Athletic Commission with a great deal of evidence to support those facts.

Although most professional sports, international anti-doping agencies and United States boxing commissions treat meat contamination differently from other positive tests, Nevada does not. Canelo and Golden Boy Promotions respect the rules of Nevada and are therefore satisfied with the settlement agreement reached today.

“Canelo looks forward to returning to the ring in September for Mexican Independence Day weekend to represent Mexico and boxing in what will be the sport’s biggest event of the year. He is ready to continue his remarkable record of fighting at the highest level.”

Posted on 04/11/2018

By: Ken Hissner

Marshall Kauffman’s King’s Promotions return’s to the Sand’s Event Center Friday night with their second show in a week. It’s been a year since southpaw Frank De Alba, 22-2-2 (9), of Reading, PA, had his last fight in defeating Ryan Kielczweski, 26-2 at the Sands Event Center in Bethlehem, PA. On Friday he will return to the Sands Casino in the main event taking on O’Shaquie “Ice Water” Foster, 12-2 (8), of Houston, TX, over 10 rounds in the Super Featherweight division.

De Alba’s last two fights have been cancelled out to the disappointment of his loyal fans. He is on a five fight win streak since losing to Omar “Big O” Douglas, then 15-0 at the Sands in 2015. That was his only ten rounder and Friday will be his second. His opponent is a former national amateur champion with over 100 amateur fights and was in the 2012 Olympic Trials.

The co-feature features Cruiserweight Luther Smith, 9-2 (8), of Bowie, MD, takes on ever dangerous Elvin “KoKo” Sanchez, 8-3-1 (6), of Paterson, NJ, over 8 rounds. Welterweight Craig Callaghan, 17-1 (7), of the UK fighting out of Houston, TX, takes on Cesar Soriano Berumen, 28-37-2 (17), of Iztacalco, MEX, over 8 rounds.

Featherweight Juan Sanchez, 5-0 (2), of Allentown, PA, takes on Vincent Jennings, 5-4-1 (4), of Grand Rapids, MI, over 6 rounds. Welterweight Jesus Perez, 3-0 (1), of Reading, PA, takes on Anthony Sonnier, 3-0 (2), of Seattle, WA, over 6 rounds.

Welterweight Denis Okoth, 2-0-1 (1), fought a week ago at the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia scoring a mild upset defeating Philly’s Rasheed Johnson, 3-1. He takes on Philly’s Greg “Lil Greg” Jackson 8-5-1 (2), over 4 rounds. Featherweight Martino Jules, 3-0 (0), of Allentown, PA, takes on Phillip Davis, 1-1-1 (0), of Worcester, MASS, over 4 rounds. Super Welterweight Laured Stewart, 3-0 (2), of Guyana fighting out of Sydney, Australia, takes on James Robinson, 4-9-4 (1), of York, PA, over 4 rounds.

Posted on 04/05/2018

By: Sean Crose

“Signed, sealed, and delivered: Proud to officially announce that WBA welterweight world champion @MatthysseLucas will put his title on the line against @mannypacquiao in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Saturday night July 14 (US time).”

So Golden Boy Promoter Oscar De La Hoya Tweeted Monday evening, announcing a summer fight between a former great and an exciting veteran making a second go of his career. Matthysse (39-4) was a rising star until he was bested by Danny Garcia and, some time later, Viktor Postol at junior welterweight. After taking over a year and a half off, the Argentine slugger came back against Emmanuel Taylor in 2017, then won the WBA welterweight strap from Tewa Karam earlier this year.

Pacquiao (59-7-2) clearly needs no introduction to even casual sports fans. One of the greatest boxers of his era, the 39 year old Filipino has recently slowed down his output as politics in his homeland have taken over much of the man’s time. Yet the fighter known as PacMan still wants to ply his trade and, after a highly controversial loss to Jeff Horn last summer, the multi-titlist is now going to battle for another major belt.

All of this is good news for Matthysse’s promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, which has had a hard time lately, since it’s star fighter, Canelo Alvarez, has tested positive for the banned substance Clenbuterol on two occasions. Canelo’s much anticipated middleweight title rematch with Gennady Golovkin was subsequently canceled on Tuesday. With questions surrounding Canelo-GGG 2 now answered, another question is stepping into the forefront:

Will Freddie Roach be in Pacquiao’s corner this July or not? Word is out that Pacquiao’s sidekick, Buboy Fernandez, may end up taking over the role of trainer for the bout with Matthysse. Pacquiao’s manager, Michael Koncz, is quoted in the LA Times as saying:

“Manny will make the final decision on this. He’s contemplating letting Buboy shine at the finish of his career.” It’s clear team Pacquiao may now be setting its sights on the future. “If Buboy can get a stable of boxers out of this,” Koncz said, “no hard feelings to Freddie, but Manny has not made a final decision.” Koncz also indicated that, should Pacquiao defeat the rugged Matthysse, he might next be setting his gaze upon wunderkind Vasyl Lomachenko. It may be unwise to look too far into the future, though, considering the fact that Pacquiao won’t have fought in a year by the time he steps into the ring to face Matthysse.

Posted on 02/22/2018

Lineal and Ring Magazine Middleweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) and WBC/WBA/IBF/IBO Middleweight World Champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs) will return to

T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for a highly anticipated rematch on Cinco de Mayo. The first fight between the two world-class athletes sold out in only two weeks, and tickets will surely be in even higher demand as both fighters have promised they will not leave the rematch in the judges’ hands. Canelo vs. GGG 2 will take place Saturday, May 5 and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at a special time of 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.

Photo Credit: Golden Boy Promotions

Tickets for Canelo vs. GGG 2 will go on sale Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 10:00 a.m. PT, and are priced at $5,000, $2,500, $2,000, $1,500, $800, $700, $500 and $300, not including applicable service charges and taxes. There will be a limit of 10 per person at the $5,000, $2,500, $2,000, $1,500, $800 and $700 price levels with a limit of two (2) per person at the $500 and $300 price levels. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call 888-9-AXS-TIX (888-929-7849). Tickets also will be available for purchase at www.t-mobilearena.com or www.axs.com.

The two fighters will meet for the first time since last September’s controversial draw at an event at Microsoft Square at L.A. LIVE Tuesday, Feb. 27. More details will be announced shortly.

“I am happy to return for the fourth time at T-Mobile Arena for this historic rematch against [Gennady] Golovkin,” said Canelo. “I opened the doors of this place to the world of boxing, and it has become my favorite venue. This is where the fight started, and this is where I’ll end it by doing what I and my fans most desire: knocking him out.”

“It feels right that the rematch returns to the scene of the crime,” said Golovkin. “This time there will be no drama with a decision. I won the first fight and left the ring as world champion wearing all the belts. And I am going to win the second fight. It is going to be a record fight and a golden night for me and boxing at T-Mobile Arena.”

Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya, said, “There is no better place to host the historic rematch between Canelo and Golovkin than T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Las Vegas on a fight weekend during Cinco de Mayo is electric, and I know fans will travel from around the world to be here to participate in the celebratory atmosphere. Historic boxing matches like Canelo vs. GGG 2 belong in a place like Las Vegas, which offers fans the full and rich experience they are looking for on a big fight weekend.”

“The last time they met in the ring, the tie went to the runner — Canelo Alvarez,” said Tom Loeffler, promoter of Golovkin. “I think there is only one place to settle this dispute between the two best middleweights. The most appropriate place for the rematch is back at T-Mobile Arena. The venue was a sensational host to Team Golovkin and the fans were terrific. We’ll see if T-Mobile Arena remains Canelo’s favorite venue after he becomes Gennady’s twentieth and record-tying title defense.”

Richard Sturm, President of Sports and Entertainment for MGM Resorts International, said, “T-Mobile Arena is the ideal venue to host a championship boxing event of this magnitude. We look forward to celebrating Cinco de Mayo weekend with sports fans in Las Vegas and worldwide for what should be one of boxing’s premier rematches.”

Canelo vs. GGG 2 is a 12-round fight for the middleweight championship of the world presented by Golden Boy Promotions and GGG Promotions. The event is sponsored by Tecate, “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING,” Hennessy, “Never Stop, Never Settle,” Fred Loya Insurance, and Fathom Events. The event will take place Saturday, May 5 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at a special time of 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.

Posted on 02/14/2018

By: Ken Hissner

Tuesday night at the Sands Event Center Marshall Kauffman’s Kings Promotion put on an 8 bout card featuring former champion Kermit Cintron and up and coming Mykal Fox in co-feature bouts.

In the co-feature former IBF Welterweight champion now Super Welterweight Kermit “El Asesino” Cintron, 39-6-3 (30) , of Reading, PA, and “Marvelous” Marcus Taylor, 8-1 (0) , of Houston, TX, was ruled no-contest at 0:35 of the third round due to clash of heads with an eye injury to Cintron.

In the first round already too many clinches. Referee Eric Dali warned Taylor for punching in the back and then behind the head of Cintron. In the second round Taylor landed a low blow causing referee Dali to give Cintron several minutes to re-coup. Cintron would lead with a jab but Taylor was not co-operating. In the third round due to an accidental clash of the heads Cintron’s right eye was near closed causing referee Dali to bring in the ring physician. The fight was called off by the ring physician. It was ruled no-contest in a scheduled 8. It could have been a DQ in favor of Cintron.

“I was looking for my 40th win. The referee did his job in warning his dirty tactics,” said Cintron. The first head butt cut Cintron’s forehead and the second a gash over the right eye. Joe Pastore is his trainer.

In the co-feature Super Lightweight southpaw Mykal “The Professor” Fox, 16-0 (4) , of Forestville, MD, won a hard fought decision over Ricardo Garcia, 14-2 (9) , of Dominican Republic, over 8 rounds.

In the first round the taller Fox used his reach jabbing while Garcia came forward going to the body well. In the second round Garcia seemed to come back taking the round with body work. Garcia’s left eye was closing by the end of the round. In the third round Garcia with left eye closing had problems with the southpaw Fox right jab. In the fourth round Garcia came back to even the score with overhand rights and inside body work.

In the fifth and sixth rounds Garcia walked into straight lefts from Fox. Though Garcia’s left eye was near closing he never stopped forcing the action. Garcia took the fifth and Fox seemed to do enough to take the sixth round though close.

In the seventh round a Fox right hook to the chin dropped Garcia who was up immediately taking the 8 count from referee Gary Rosato. In the eighth and final round Fox kept the jab working while Garcia did quite a bit of missing with hay makers.

Judge Poturaj had it 77-74 while judges Morgan and Weisfeld had it 78-73. This writer had it 77-74.

“I used my jab well. I got head butted (cut on forehead) but felt I controlled the fight,” said Fox.

Heavyweight Colby Madison, 6-0-1 (4) , of Owings Mills, MD, defeated southpaw Dante “Mr. Snuggly Time” Selby, 2-4-1 (0) , of Philadelphia, over 6 rounds.

In the first round Selby landed a lead left which was countered by a right of his own by Madison both to the head. Selby went down with referee Gary Rosato waving it off due to Madison stepping on the foot of Selby. In the second round Selby landed several lead lefts to the chin of Madison.

In the third round it took to the halfway point before a solid punch was landed by Madison to the chin of Selby. In the fourth round it was another slow round with Madison landing what little punches there were.

With Larry “The Easton Assasin” Holmes and “Gentleman” Gerry Cooney at ringside it looks like they could take both in the ring in a tag team match.

In the fifth round Selby landed a lead left at the halfway mark to the chin of Madison who came back with a stiff jab. It was another slow round on both parts. In the sixth and final round neither fighter seemed to go for the win. The scoring seemed out of line.

Judge Bernard Bruni had it 60-54 while Kevin Morgan and John Poturaj had it 59-55 with this writer having it 57-57.

Middleweight Blake “Kayo King” Mansfield 6-1-1 (4) , of Burlington, NC, stopped Darryl “Dreamking” Bunting, 3-3-2 (1) , of Asbury Park, NJ, at 0:36 of the fifth round in a scheduled 6.

In the first round Mansfield took it to Bunting driving him into a corner with a flurry of punches. Mansfield landed a left to the head drawing blood over the right eye of Bunting. In the second round Bunting landed a good straight right to the chin of Mansfield who came back with a right of his own rocking Bunting.

In the third round both fighters mixed it up well. Bunting got the best of it up until the final 30 seconds when Mansfield came back. In the fourth round Mansfield drove Bunting into the ropes with a straight right hand. Bunting knocked out the mouthpiece of Mansfield which was the third time costing Mansfield a point by referee Dali. Dali just prior to the bell landed a right to the head having Bunting wobble back to his corner.

In the fifth round Mansfield unleashed a vicious attack driving across the ring into the ropes forcing referee Dali to call a halt.

“I hurt him in the first round. When the referee took a point away in the previous round made me man. So I came out firing,” said Mansfield.

Heavyweight Michael Polite Coffie, 2-0 (1) , of Brooklyn, NY, defeated game Jamaican southpaw Nicoy Clarke, 0-1 (0) , of Jersey City, NJ, over 4 rounds.

In the first round Clarke landed a lead overhand left to the chin of the much larger Coffie. Coffie came back with hard left hook body shots on Clarke. Coffie landed half a dozen punches without return from Clarke. In the second round Clarke charges in trying to swarm Coffie with little success. A grazing left hook from Coffie bounced off the top of Clarke’s head. Inside a Coffie right uppercut on the chin drew blood from the nose of Clarke. Coffie has over a 60 pound weight advantage.

In the third round it was Clarke landing a dozen punches backing Coffie against the ropes. Coffie came back to rock Clarke with a right uppercut to the chin putting Clarke on the defense. Clarke started talking to Coffie and paid the price with half a dozen punches from Coffie. In the fourth and final round Coffie landed a solid uppercut to the chin of Clarke and then warned for a low blow by referee Rosato. A combination from Coffie hurt Clarke. Rosato was the referee.

All 3 judges Poturaj, Bruni and Morgan and this writer had it 40-36.

Featherweight southpaw Martino “Titan” Jules, 3-0 (0) , of Allentown, PA, won a close decision with a knockdown over Malik “Lil Leak” Loften, 1-1 (1) , of Suitland, MD, over 4 rounds.

In the first round both mixed it up good with Jules landing the better of the punches through the first half of the round. Loften came back in the last ten seconds driving Jules into a corner at the bell. In the second round Jules drove Loften into a corner but Loften came back with a left hook to the body. Loften rushed into Jules who landed a straight left to the chin dropping Loften. Referee Dali gave him the eight count and Loften was up and fighting back. It was Jules who came out of the round with a bloody nose smeared his face with blood at the bell.

In the third round Loften came charging out trying to turn the fight around as Jules met him with a combination. Loften drove Jules into a neutral corner with a combination to the head of Jules. Jules slipped a right from Loften and countered with a left to the chin of Loften. Loften landed a solid right to the head of Jules putting him into the ropes causing him to clinch. Again a right hand from Loften rocked Jules. In the fourth and final round both let it all hang out knowing the fight could be in the balance of the round. Loften had Jules holding after landing a solid right to the head of Jules.

Judge Bruni had it 39-38 while Morgan and Weisfeld had it 38-37 with this writer having it 38-37.

Featherweight Juan “Ciclon” Sanchez, 5-0 (2) , of Allentown, PA, stopped Mexican Sergio Aguilar, 2-7 (2) , of Homestead, FL, at 2:55 of the fourth and final round.

In the first round Sanchez came out firing driving Aguilar landing a left hook knocking him to the bottom strand of the ropes ruling a knockdown by referee Rosato. Sanchez landed eight left uppercuts to the body of Aguilar up until the bell. In the second round Sanchez hit Aguilar with a right to the head spinning him around making his glove touch the canvas causing referee Rosato to call it a knockdown. A combination from Sanchez dropped Aguilar a second time. Sanchez pulled a “Roy Jones, Jr.” putting his hands behind his back then throwing a punch. Aguilar got the final punch in as the bell sounded.

In the third round Sanchez rocked Aguilar who gamely came back with several punches of his own. Aguilar drove Sanchez into the ropes with a lead overhand right to the head. Aguilar did well to come back and edge Sanchez in the round. In the fourth and final round Aguilar missed with a wild right hand almost going through the ropes as Sanchez ducked out of the way. In the final minute both fighters let it all hang out with Sanchez hurting Aguilar with a right body shot. Then Sanchez followed up by swarming all over Aguilar driving him to the canvas on his back under the lower rope. Referee Rosato immediately waved it off. The local fans went crazy for Sanchez.

“He was a lot tougher than I thought he was. I did my thing (showboat) with a triple left hook to finish him off,” said Sanchez. His trainer well known in the area Louie Martinez said “he is in college and hasn’t been able to get in the gym as I would like but he did well.”

In the opening bout Cruiserweight Kendall “Smoke” Cannida, 1-0 (0) ,, of Philadelphia, defeated Leroy Jones, 2-2 (2), of St. Louis, MO, over 4 rounds.

In the first round the taller Jones used his jab until Cannida got inside and drove him into the ropes with a flurry of punches. Jones continued to carry his left low not learning Cannida can punch. In the second round Cannida switched to southpaw and back to orthodox. A right hand from Cannida rocked Jones with five more punches putting him against the ropes before Jones returned a punch. Jones landed a left uppercut to the chin of Cannida. Cannida came back with a solid jab just prior to the bell that knocked the head of Jones back.

In the third round Cannida landed a right to the body of Jones. Up until then he was head hunting. Jones came forward and got hit with a right to the chin stopping him in his tracks. Jones was warned for using his forearm for the second time by referee Dali. In the fourth round Cannida rocked Jones with a left hook to the chin. Another left hook from Cannida rocked Jones who hasn’t learned to pick up his left hand. Cannida landed an overhand right to the chin of Jones at the ten second warning.

All three Judges Bruni, Morgan and Weisfeld and this writer hat it 40-36. “I liked it a lot. This is what I trained for,” said Cannida. In his corner were Chucky Mills and former top world contender Bobby “Boogaloo” Watts, all from Philly. Cannida is a prospect.

The Ring Announcer was Alex Barbosa. On Go-Fight-Live were Marc Abrams and Mike Mittman. Timekeeper was Fred Blumstein. Kings Promotion will return to the Sands Event Center on April 17th. Per promoter Marshall Kauffman it may be his son heavyweight Travis Kauffman returning to the ring. Their next show is March 2nd at the SugarHouse Casino in Philly featuring unbeaten Christian Carto.

Posted on 11/03/2017

by.B.A. Cass

Live from the Casino del Sol in Tucson, Arizona, Golden Boy Promotions presented a handful of fights that were aired on ESPN2 and ESPN3.

Photo Credit: Tom Hogan-Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Promotions

In the fourth round of the first televised fight, Cesar Diaz (5-0) forced Pedro Melo (17-18-2) to his knees with a body shot. Melo, however, complained of a shot to the back of the head and the referee did not give him a count. It was at this point that the excuses began for Melo. In the fifth round, he was knocked down again and before he got up started rotating his shoulder. The referee gave him his count. Melo got up and started walking around, still making a theatrical show of his injured shoulder. He had found his “out.” The referee asked if he wanted to continue. Melo shook his head. And so Diaz won by an uneventful TKO.

Up next Rafael Gramajo (9-1-1) fought German Meraz (58-45-2), who was a last-minute replacement for Sergio Najera. A veteran of over a hundred fights, Meraz made this fight fun to watch. He wasn’t there just to collect a paycheck. He was there to win and to entertain the crowd while doing it. The more experienced Meraz may not have dominated, but he did control the fight. Jerky, and a bit hyperactive, Meraz even slipped once, but that did not stop the crowd from rooting for him. The fight was ruled a draw, by majority decision, but one judge had Gramajo winning. Who knows what that judge was thinking.

The Hector Tanajara vs. Jesus Serrano fight was mostly uneventfully, except for an exciting fifth round exchange. Tanajara won, but not as decisively as the judges thought. Serrano was a last-minute replacement and gave Tanajara more trouble than he expected. Tanajara initially prepared to face Oscar Eduardo Quezada, and perhaps he was a bit unprepared to deal with a southpaw.

The co-main event was Ryan Garcia (11-0) vs. Cesar Valenzuela (14-5-1). Garcia’s power was on full display in the first round when he knocked Valenzuela down with a sharp left hook to the head. Garcia calls himself a boxing historian and his short shorts are certainly something from another era. Garcia knocked Valenzuela down two more times before the referee stopped the fight. Garcia has the potential to become a star. He’s veritable force of nature, a kid with enviable speed and power.

The main event was Jesus Soto Karass (28-12-4) vs. Juan Carlos Abreu (19-3-1). The 35-year-old Soto Karass started out slow, spending much of the first-round walking into Abreu’s hardest shots. Abreu ended the 1st round with a shot to the head that landed after the bell. In the 3rd round, there was a great exchange between both men, and Soto Karass landed a solid left hand to the head. Over the next two rounds, the flat-footed Soto Karass kept coming forward as Abreu kept skipping around. The younger Abreu looked fresh and more alive. Soto Karass slowed in the fifth. His punch count was down from previous fights. But he began to open up with his hands by the end of the sixth. Soto Karass kept up the pace into the seventh, but he continued to take punishment. Then, in the seventh round, Abreu knocked him down. Soto Karass staggered to his feet. The referee should have called off the fight then, but he let it continue. Moments later, he jumped in and called the fight off when Abreu caught Soto Karass on the ropes.

Follow B.A. Cass on Twitter @WiththePunch

Posted on 10/18/2017

By: William Holmes

On Thursday night Golden Boy Promotions will present a card live at the Park Theater at the Monte Carlo in Las Vegas, Nevada on ESPN 2.

At least two bouts are currently scheduled to take place. The co-main event will feature KeAndre Gibson taking on Alejandro Barrera in the welterweight division. The main event will be a fight between Philadelphia’s Gabriel Rosado and New Jersey’s Glen Tapia in the middleweight division.

Photo From Glen Tapia’s Twitter Account

Both Rosado and Tapia have been in the ring with some high profile opponents, and a loss for either will likely signal the end of meaningful matchups for either boxer.

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

Alejandro Barrera (29-3) vs. KeAndre Gibson (17-1); Welterweights

KeAndre Gibson was once considered a high level prospect due to his amateur background and success. He won the Junior Golden Gloves National Championship in 2006 and was a bronze medalist in the 2006 Junior Olympics.

However, he lost by TKO to the undefeated Antonio Orozco in April of this year and some of Gibson’s hype has begun to fade.

Gibson will be facing Alejandro Barrera, and opponent that is four years older than him but will have a five and a half inch reach advantage and stands at the same height.

Barrera does not have the amateur experience of Gibson, but he does appear to have a slight edge in power. He has stopped seventeen of his opponents while Gibson has only stopped seven. Both men have suffered on stoppage loss in their career.

Gibson has been fairly active the past two years. He already fought twice in 2017 and twice in 2016. Barrera only fought once in 2017 and zero times in 2016.

Barrera has defeated the likes of Eddie Gomez, Juan Mantiel, and Armando Robles. His losses were to Errol Spence Jr., Ramses Agaton, and Armando Robles.

Gibson has defeated the likes of Dennis Dauti, Mahonry Montes, and Jorge Romero.

It should be noted that three of the past four fights of Barrera were split draws and very close on the scorecards. Gibson’s amateur experience and technical edge should make him the favorite, but he will have to be wary of the power of Barrera.

Glen Tapia (23-4) vs. Gabriel Rosado (23-11); Middleweights

The main event is between two guys known for their heart and willingness to leave it all in the ring, but are also known for coming up short when placed in big time fights.

Glen “Jersey Boy” Tapia, will be giving up a half inch in height and about an inch and a half in reach to Gabriel Rosado. However, Tapia is four years younger than Rosado and has a considerable edge in amateur experience. Tapia has a claimed amateur record of 130-4 while Rosado is alleged to only having eleven fights as an amateur on his record.

Both boxers have similar power numbers. Tapia has stopped fifteen of his opponents while Rosado has stopped thirteen. Both boxers have also been known to be stopped by their opponents. Tapia has three stoppage losses to his resume while Rosado has four.

Tapia fought once in 2017 and once in 2016. He is currently riding a three fight losing streak. He has lost to the likes of Jason Quigley, David Lemieux, Michel Soro, and James Kirkland. Notable victories include Daniel Dawson, Donatas Bondorovas, Abraham Han, and Ayi Bruce.

Roasdo has fought once in 2017 and twice in 2016. He has defeated the likes of Antonio Gutierrez, Joshua Clottey, Charles Whittaker, Sechew Powell, Jesus Soto Karass, and Ayi Bruce. His losses were to Martin Murray, Willie Monroe Jr., David Lemieux, Jermell Charlo, Peter Quillin, and Gennady Golovkin.

Rosado has only gone 2-5 in his past seven fights, but most of those fights were against high level opponents.

Both boxers have had their share of tough losses, but Tapia has suffered more devastating losses than Rosado and has not been as active. Additionally, Rosado’s losses were against some of the best in the business, including Gennady Golovkin and Jermell Charlo, while Tapia has lost to lesser known boxers such as Jason Quigley and Michel Soro.

This should be an entertaining action packed bout. But it won’t be a bout to showcase the technical aspects of boxing. Rosado has an edge in the intangibles, but this is a fight that could go either way.

Posted on 09/23/2017

By: Ken Hissner

Hard Hitting Promotions (Will Ruiz and Manny Rivera) returned to the SugarHouse Casino before a packed house in Philadelphia Friday. This young promotional group has brought back life to a once great city with top notch young talent and crowd pleasers.

In the main event heavyweight Joey “The Tank” Dawejko, 18-4-4 (11), of Philly, stopped Demitrius Banks, 9-2 (4), of Detroit, MI, at 1:42 in the third round of a scheduled 8.

In the first round Dawejko stalked Banks out working and out smarting him. In the second round a hard right from Dawejko dropped Banks. Shortly afterwards a series of punches dropped Banks a second time. In the third round Dawejko with the crowd yelling “Joey, Joey” was all over Banks who all but collapsed from the fury Dawejko put on him before “The Tank’s” fans before referee Shawn Clark rescued Banks from any further punishment.

Welterweight Ray “Tito” Serrano, 23-4 (10), of Philly, came off the canvas to defeat Zack Ramsey, 8-2 (4), of Springfield, MASS, now out of Newark, NJ, over six rounds.

In the first round it was all Serrano digging in with left uppercuts to the body until the final seconds of the round when Ramsey countered with a right to the chin and Serrano went down. In the second round Serrano came out with a vicious body attack keeping Ramsey on the ropes for the most part of the round. In the third round Ramsey kept his arms to his side for the most part being outworked by Serrano. In the fourth round the action slowed to a crawl.

In the fifth round Ramsey stayed on the ropes for the most part while Serrano did his best trying to pinpoint a knockout punch. Halfway through the round with the crowd yelling “Tito, Tito” Serrano hurt Ramsey with a right to the chin. In the sixth round Serrano was warned for landing a low blow by referee Bashir. It was just prior to the bell Ramsey almost knocked Serrano down as the bell sounded. This fight was changed to a six from an eight.

Scores were 57-56 twice and 59-55 while this writer had it 58-56.

Both Dawejko and Serrano are under the management of Rocco Collision’s Mark Cipparone.

Super lightweight 17 year-old Devin “The Dream” Haney, 17-0 (11), of Las Vegas, NV, defeated late sub Enrique Tinoco, 16-5-3 (12), of MEX, over 8 rounds. Bashir was the referee.

In the first round Haney used his reach advantage he keeping Tinoco at bay throughout the round. In the second round Tinoco made more of a fight of it switching back and forth from southpaw to orthodox. Haney who turned pro at 15 in Mexico fights with his mouth open. In the third round it was Tinoco forcing the action fighting Haney to a stand still. In the fourth round it started out all Haney before Tinoco reversed course and pushed Haney back to the ropes.

In the fifth round late sub Tinoco continued to hold his own and in the sixth Tinoco had his moments forcing the action as Haney was moving backwards countering. Haney started showboating landing a windmill uppercut to the chin of Tinoco. In the seventh round it was Haney holding on when a right hand from Tinoco caught him on the chin. Tinoco came coming forward while Haney countered well. In the eighth and final round Haney came rushing out but Tinoco was waiting for him. Haney at the midway point of the round was landing good chopping right’s to the head of Tinoco. Near the end of the round Haney started showboating again. Tinoco did well making a fight of it. Haney did not win the Philly crowd over in this one.

Judges scores were 80-71 and 80-72 twice. This writer had it 78-74.

In the co-feature super lightweight sensation 17 year-old Branden Pizarro, 8-0 (4), of Philly, stopped Tyrone Luckey, 8-8-3 (6), of Neptune, NJ, at 0:24 of the fourth round.

In the first round it was all Pizarro who at 17 is already a fan favorite. In the second round Luckey was on the offense until tangled with Pizarro who got tired of referee Ron Bashir breaking the fighters and landed a low punch getting Luckey off of him. Pizarro went right after Luckey with an assortment of punches without return. In the third round a lead right from Pizarro to the chin rocked Luckey. A follow-up right to the chin from Pizarro dropped Luckey. He beat the count of referee Bashir just prior to the end of the round.

In the fourth round a left hook from Pizarro drove Luckey into the ropes which would have been ruled a knockdown but referee Bashir waved the fight off.

In the fight of the night light heavyweight David Murray, 7-1-1 (6), of Philly, came off the canvas in a real slugfest to stop Attila Koros, 14-12-1 (10), of Salgotarjan, HUN, at 1:53 of the fifth of a scheduled six.

In the first round Murray was having his way when a counter right from Koros right on the chin dropped Murray. Up at referee Clarks 8 count Murray did well to get through the round. In the second round both were throwing bombs when a straight right from Koros dropped Murray who managed to get through the round. In the third round Koros went right after Murray but lost his mouthpiece three times in the round.

In the fourth round it turned into a wild slugfest. Just when it looked like Koros may have punched himself out he landed a powerful right to the chin of Murray. The fans loved the action in this round. In the fifth round Murray punched out the mouthpiece of Koros. Murray was out punching Koros but it seemed to have little effect on Koros who kept coming forward until he lost his mouthpiece causing referee Clark to finally take a point away. Koros went right after Murray until he got caught with a wicked right to the mid-section and dropped for the count of referee Clark while on his knees. It looked like a “Rocky” episode. This one started like a war and ended the same way!

Lightweight Sam Teah, 11-1-1 (5), of Philly, was a late scratch as his opponent Istvan Dernanecz, 10-6 (7), of Nagykonizsa, HUN, didn’t pass his medicals in time.

Super lightweight southpaw prospect Jeremy Cuevas, 5-0 (4), of Philly, easily stopped Justin Savi, 31-14-2 (21), of Cotonou, Benin, now out of Silver Spring, MD, at 1:25 of the third round.

In the first round it was all Cuevas who swarmed all over Savi from bell to bell. Savi covered up and occasionally threw a wild right that never landed. Cuevas used a good body and head assortment. In the second round Cuevas swarmed all over Savi causing referee Clark to administer an 8-count. Savi did all he could to survive the round. In the third round Cuevas continued the onslaught until referee Clark stepped in waving it off.

Super bantamweight Angel Pizarro, 3-0 (2), of Philly returned to action stopping Joseph Cole, 1-3 (1), of Marvero, LA, at 1:54 of the second round.

In the first round Cole missed with a lead right but caught Pizarro with the follow-up left to the chin. With about 30 seconds to go in the round Pizarro dropped Cole with a left hook to the chin. After the bell Cole took a swipe at Pizarro and was warned by referee Bashir. In the second round Pizarro dropped Cole with a left hook to the chin. Upon beating the count Cole was stormed by Pizarro who rocked him with a right hand causing referee Bashir to wisely stop the bout. Angel Pizarro Sr. trains his son.

In the opening bout bantamweight Ernesto Almodovar, 2-0 (1), of Philly, halted Trevir Ballinger, 0-2 (0), of OH, at 1:28 of the fourth and final round.

In the first two rounds Almodovar was busier than Ballinger whose accuracy was off. In the third round Almodvar landed a good overhand right to the head of Ballinger getting his attention. Near the end of the round Almodovar landed a combination to the head of Ballinger who was in the corner of Almodovar making Ballinger hold on. In the fourth and final round Almodovar landed a hard right uppercut making Ballinger hold on and trying to get to the final bell but it didn’t happen. Almodovar landed a flurry of punches having Ballinger in a neutral corner making referee Clark wisely put a stop to it. Angel Pizarro, Sr. trains Almodovar.

3-Division world champion Mikey Garcia entered the ring with Branden Pizarro. Upon being asked he said he was no longer under contract to Cameron Dunkin who still manages Terrance Crawford.