Tag Archives: saturday

Posted on 11/03/2017

By: Eric Lunger

WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs) makes his sixth title defense this Saturday night against former champ Bermane Stiverne (25-2, 21 KOs) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NYC. Wilder won the belt in January of 2015, defeating Stiverne in a 12 round unanimous decision, so what relevance does a second go-round have, especially when the first fight was not very competitive?

The answer to that question lies partially in what happened last weekend in Cardiff, Wales. Anthony Joshua, who dramatically dethroned the great Wladimir Klitschko last April, looked less than spectacular against the crafty and difficult-to-hit Carlos Takam. With a potential showdown with Joshua in the near future on the line, what questions can the Bronze Bomber answer this Saturday night which might help seal the deal?

We know that Wilder has KO power, but can he box? He’ll need more than power to hang with AJ. The Alabama native has a classic (and devastating) one-two, but has Wilder become a more multi-dimensional fighter? It would be great to see some variety from Deontay, some inside game, for example, or some new use of footwork and angles. The knock on Wilder has been that, while he has plenty of power, a technically proficient fighter would exploit those wide and wild punches that Wilder has thrown in the past. A tighter, more controlled performance from Wilder might silence that type of criticism.

Where is Wilder in terms of conditioning? The Bomber is known for staying in fighting trim, whereas at times Joshua looked tired, and seemed to be carrying too much weight for his frame. A lean and efficient Wilder might pose some real trouble for AJ, especially if he can take the British star into the late rounds.

Does Wilder need to score a dramatic knockout in order to stoke interest in a Joshua match-up? English promoter Eddie Hearn will not want to risk his star’s “zero” until conditions are optimal. There is already a high level of interest in the fight among boxing fans on both sides of the Atlantic — an exclamation point by Wilder would only add fuel to the fire. And a dominant win would make it harder for Joshua’s team to justify an interim opponent, especially after taking Takam deep into the fight and winning on a questionable stoppage.

The action will be live this Saturday night on Showtime (9 PM ET/6 PM PT)

Posted on 09/11/2017

By: Ken Hissner

In the first bout of an HBO Triple Header Juan Estrada, 36-2 (25), of MEX, defeated Carlos Cuadras, 36-2-1 (27), of MEX, over 12 well fought rounds, with a knockdown proving to be the difference.

Photo Credit: Tom Hogan-Hogan Photos/K2 Promotions

After 5 rounds of Cuadras controlling the fight in all of the first 5 rounds but in the 6th round it was Estrada’s turn. In the 7th round Estrada with a pair of body shots and a right hand to the jaw of Cuadras rocked him. Shortly afterwards Estrada again rocked Cuadras with a right to the jaw. Even with this finish by Estrada it was Cuadras’ round.

In the 8th round Cuadras seemed to get his second wind doing well until 15 seconds to go in the round when Estrada rocked Cuadras. In the 9th round at the halfway mark Estrada rocked Cuadras with a left hook to the side of the head. Cuadras was on the run switching from orthodox to southpaw but Estrada came forward no matter what Cuadras offered.

In the 10th round Estrada rocked Cuadras with a left hook to the side of the head. Shortly later a left hook to the head followed by a straight right hand by Estrada knocked down Cuadras. The referee started the count but Cuadras got up before 8. Then the referee gave him another 5 seconds before Estrada was permitted to come forward.

In the 11th round Cuadras boxed well keeping Estrada at bay for the most part. With half a minute to go in the round Estrada rocked Cuadras with a left hook to the jaw. In the 12th and final round Estrada landed with left hooks and shortly afterwards with right hands all to the head of Cuadras. Cuadras came back in the second half of the round to possibly pull it out.

All 3 Judge’s had it 114-113 for Juan Estrada though ring announcer Michael Buffer announced the winner was Carlos Estrada confusing everyone. One of the judges handed Buffer his scorecard showing it was Juan Estrada the winner. This writer agreed with the scoring.

In the Main Event in a re-match WBC World super flyweight champion southpaw Sor Rungvisai, 43-4-1 (39), of Bangkok, TH, retained his title knocking out former champion Roman “Chocolito” Gonzalez, 46-2 (38), of NIC, at 1:18 of the 4th round to retain his world title.

In the opening round Rungvisai controlled with his jab and scored more punches. In the second round Gonzalez seemed to come back to take the round. In the third round in a slugfest Rungvisai seemed to pull out the round. In the fourth round twice dropped Gonzalez scoring a knockout. The first knockdown both boxers threw punches at the same time with Rungvisai’s right hook getting there first ending the fight.

WBO World Super Flyweight champion Naoya “Monster” Inoue, 14-0 (12), of JAP, won by stoppage at the end of the 6th round over Antonio Nieves, 17-2-2 (9), of Cleveland, OH, with Nieves not coming out for the 7th round.

In the opening round Inoue started off with jab after jab and then landed an overhand right to the head of Nieves. Inoue kept Nieves on the defense throughout the round. In the 2nd round Nieves landed 3 consecutive right hands to the head of Inoue. A 3-punch combination by Inoue ending with a left hook to the body got the attention of Nieves. With half a minute to go in the round Inoue landed a solid right hand to the head of Nieves. With the 10 second timekeeper warning Inoue buckled the knees of Nieves but then started back to his corner thinking it was the bell after rocking Nieves but it was the timekeepers warning. In the 3rd round a 3-punch combination to the body of Nieves by Inoue got the attention of Nieves.

In the 5th round a wicked left hook by Inoue caused a delayed knockdown. Inoue continued throwing a majority of left hooks to the body of Nieves until the end of the round. With a minute to go Inoue started showboating. Nieves staggered back to his corner where his trainer stopped the fight.

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Posted on 06/09/2017

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

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

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

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

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