Ortiz-Campbell Staged For May 15

It's not often that Rick Reeno's rumors come true, but today he reports that Victor Ortiz (25-2-1, 20 KO) and Nate Campbell (33-5-1, 25 KO) have reached an agreement to face each other on May 15.

In a junior welterweight contest, the fight will likely be put on the undercard of Amir Khan's WBA title defence against Juan Manuel Marquez, probably televised on HBO.

The fight is rumoured to take place in Las Vegas, and it's the true definition of a crossroads bout. The loser will be eliminated from the 140 pound picture, the winner will be quickly thrown in the frame as a fringe-top 10 contender.

Nate Campbell, 38 next month, hasn't fought since his controversial August fight with Timothy Bradley, where the result was changed to a no contest following referee David Mendoza's on the night misjudgment.

Victor Ortiz is still very young at 23, but in June suffered a defeat that could end any talented fighter's career when he quit against Marcos Maidana. He came back in December to stop the experienced Antonio Diaz in seven rounds.

Ortiz will headline a Fight Night Club card on February 25 against durable punchbag, Hector Alatorre (16-8, 5 KO).

This is a great match-up that has a lot of unanswered questions affecting every predictor's theory. I can see how people see Ortiz's hands being raised on May 15, but I can also agree with the fans who believe Campbell will get another victory on his record.

Another good fight added to an already bulky April/May schedule.

Stage 9: Magno vs. Machine Results

There sounds the bell for the end of round 9, and the Machine now has the upper hand in this intriguing battle of boxing knowledge.

Glen Johnson vs. Yusaf Mack

Magno: Yusaf Mack SD 12 Glen Johnson
Machine: Glen Johnson UD 12 Yusaf Mack

Result: Glen Johnson TKO 6 Yusaf Mack

Edwin Valero vs. Antonio DeMarco

Magno: Edwin Valero TKO 3 Antonio DeMarco
Machine: Edwin Valero KO 6 Antonio DeMarco

Result: Edwin Valero RTD 10 Antonio DeMarco

Magno vs. Machine will return in March, when Arthur Abraham takes on Andre Dirrell in the Super 6 Boxing Classic, plus Devon Alexander and Juan Urango will hope to unify titles at 140 pounds.

Current Scores: Magno (13-3, 2 KO); Machine (13-3, 3 KO)

Edwin Valero - Destined For Domination

by Dafs117

If you like to have a nose around different boxing forums before Saturday’s lightweight bout between Edwin Valero and Antonio DeMarco, you would have seen many people backing the 24 year-old Mexican to pull an upset.

Of course, the majority of The BTBC members plumped for Valero before the first bell, but many could see the logic behind the DeMarco backers. The more technically gifted DeMarco would weather the early wild storm to sneak up on the scorecards, or even halt the Venezuelan titlist.

Let’s say I was aware that DeMarco was a live underdog, but I was quick to say that DeMarco was unprepared for what he had coming, and indeed, he was. From the opening bell until the white flag was waved in DeMarco’s deflated corner, a DeMarco upset was never on the cards. Not even when a tremendously deep cut opened on Valero’s forehead, it only seemed to spur the WBC titleholder to concentrate and work harder.

DeMarco simply didn’t get going, or simply couldn’t because of Valero’s relentless offense. Valero’s come-forward attitude nullified anything DeMarco had trained in the gym for several weeks prior to the fight taking place in Monterrey. For being too cautious, he was given a pounding.

Every time a reckless fighter blasts away with their chin hanging out waiting to be exposed by a peach of a punch, some people will never be able to resist the temptation of picking the lesser experience, but better equipped fighter. Very similar to the recent Gamboa-Mtagwa fight where some were touting that Gamboa was there for the taking. They were quickly put in their place.

Valero really impressed me yesterday. Not because he won every minute since he was cut, he seemed to adapt well to variable conditions and situations throughout the fight. Antonio DeMarco was a level below Valero and it was apparent from the get go, but I wondered does someone really have what it takes to tame the Venezuelan beast?

To topple Edwin Valero, you need a quick opponents that’s capable to take and trade with ‘Dinamita’. These days, that style is very rare, even more so in the lightweight division.

If you took a snapshot of the 135 pound division, Valero is nicely placed below legit champion Juan Manuel Marquez. Below Valero stands Michael Katsidis, Juan Diaz, Ali Funeka and Joan Guzman.

The Valero doubters criticise his choice of opponents, and a step-up in class will expose the Venezuelan ‘fraud’ to who he really is. Let’s say he decides to step in with Marquez, are you going to tell me that you would pick an aging slow counter-puncher over a fresh and physical operator?

If Marquez isn’t available would Diaz be able to stay with him, would Guzman, would Katsidis? The only fighter at lightweight I would consider picking over Valero is Ali Funeka, only because his style might be the perfect match to defeat Valero.

The lanky and rangy South African has received nice air time by HBO, in a gutsy effort against Nate Campbell and a highly controversial decision against Joan Guzman. On both occasions, Funeka showed that he causes mountains of problems for the best technicians, and Valero, as special as he is, might not be an exception this time.

It’s the fight that intrigues me the most at 135, it’s really the only one that I see lasting over eight rounds. Another option might be Humberto Soto, a face-first fighter that is a fiery fighter that could frustrate Valero for the earlier stages of the fight. Soto helped DeMarco prepare for Valero, and is favourite to face him next. I would think Valero would come through in the end.

Gary Shaw has again mentioned Timothy Bradley’s name, and I would have no problems with that fight either. Bradley is in need of a tough match-up and Valero could be the guy to hand him the tough test that he needs to elevate himself into a HBO product.

Funeka, Soto and Bradley. Three fighters that I would give a chance of beating Valero. Three fighters that have styles that could bring out the best in Edwin. Three fights that the boxing world will definitely pay attention too.

Certainly, the future is bright for Valero as he proved last night that he is not all hype. There’s nobody like Edwin Valero. To beat him, it would require someone special. In my view, Valero is destined for domination.

Daiki Kameda Dethrones Kaovichit In Rematch

Daiki Kameda (16-2, 11 KO) avenged his close loss to long-reigned titlist Denkaosan Kaovichit (48-2-1, 20 KO) with a unanimous decision victory to capture his first world title.

Now the WBA titleholder, his brother Koki holds the WBC belt and is regarded as the division's number one. Koki defeated Daisuke Naito, who took the "0" away from Daiki's record, with a competitive unanimous decision victory in November.

The fight itself wasn't half as good as the first. It was a messy affair with Kaovichit penalized twice for excessive clinching in the sixth and eighth. Kaovichit controlled the early stages but started to fight Daiki's fight, and the Thai fighter couldn't handle the pace of the bout from the fifth round onwards.

The latter stages was all over the place as Daiki kept on complaining, Kaovichit kept on clinching and I kept on falling asleep at my computer screen. The judges scored the contest 116-110, 116-110 and 114-112. BTBC scored the fight 114-112 also to Daiki Kameda. Don't be shocked if there's a third fight.

There's also a third Kameda brother, Tomoki (12-0, 10 KO), who's the remaining Kameda without a trinket. At just 18, he supposedly has the most exciting style of the three, which is a remarkable feat in itself, so expect to see Tomoki on the world scene later on this year.

Adamek Edges Estrada In Newark

Ready or not, you can't really complain about Tomasz Adamek (40-1, 27 KO) most recent decision to fight against Chris Arreola in April. Based on Adamek's performance tonight, it should be a thriller, a back-and-forth tug of war, finally (for Adamek) on American TV.

The two-weight world champion continued his rise to contender status as he won a hard-fought decision win over Jason Estrada (16-3, 4 KO) in front of a noisy crowd predominantly Adamek fans in Newark.

Adamek opened-up a wide lead in the first half of the bout, quickly underlining the vast difference in class by dominating Estrada's soft body. The early rounds were fairly even, but as the fight progressed, Adamek's dominance was quite clearly visible.

But that's not the full story. Suddenly, Adamek ran out of steam at the end of the ninth allowing Estrada to creep back into the fight, reminding me of Carlos Tamara's upset win over Brian Viloria two weeks ago.

It wasn't to be for Estrada, but it did ring a few bells in Adamek's camp. Estrada clean sweeped the final three rounds to make the scorecards seem competitive, and rightly so as he definitely was no pushover in the early rounds.

Adamek's struggle makes Arreola favourite for me, although he did have the characteristics of a lower-weight fighter, feinting and moving, something clearly lacking from the heavyweight scene.

On the undercard, Peter Quillin (21-0, 15 KO) dominated Fernando Zuinga (28-10, 20 KO) to a wide ten-round unanimous decision. It doesn't portray the full story as Quillin was regularly caught napping by the experienced veteran as Zuinga constantly scored with right hands throughout the fight. Quillin lacked the fundamentals, but ring rust can be blamed as this was his first fight in 17 months.

Valero Shines As Deflated DeMarco Quits

After nine rounds of action in Monterry, Antonio DeMarco (23-2-1, 17 KO) had shown a ton of heart and that he possesses a great chin. As I mentioned earlier this week, DeMarco wasn't ready or frankly good enough against WBC titlist Edwin Valero (27-0, 27 KO) as he was thoroughly out-classed by the Venezuelan.

After a close first round, Valero suffered a nasty cut on his forehead following an accidental elbow, similar to Marco Antonio Barrera's cut against Amir Khan but without affecting Valero's eyesight. DeMarco went on to win that round on my card as he landed some decent shots that made Valero change his approach.

From then on, it was all Valero. The constant pressure, impressive jab to set-up the big left hook and his ever-improving boxing ability saw him nullify everything DeMarco had to offer.

It wasn't that DeMarco had an off-night, he proved a hell of a lot last night, he was just not ready. He came out of the blocks tentative, never got on the front foot and never imposed himself on Valero. At 24, DeMarco still has a lot of miles in the tank and he could be challenging for another title next year, although he has a lot to work on.

Valero was very impressive as he tactically broke and wore down DeMarco. It wasn't your usual Valero performance, 'Dinamita' controlled the fight and threw clever combinations not wild shots that missed half of the time. However, seeing DeMarco take all those power punches from Valero makes you question his level of opponents over the last couple of fights, doesn't it?

In the co-feature, Luis Carlos Abregu (29-0, 23 KO) put on an entertaining show with Richard Guttierez (24-4-1, 14 KO) as both fighters hit the deck in the 10-round thriller. The ringside judges scored the fight 98-90, 97-91 and 97-91 all in favour of Abregu. The BTBC scored it much closer, 95-93 in favour of Abregu.

Michael Katsidis' Open Challenge to Juan Diaz!

Today i propose a challenge to to Juan Diaz !

This is your lifeline !  Lets play who wants to be a millionaire !

It is your turn  to phone a friend , call Golden boy and lets make this happen !

Since our last fight i have regained the WBO light weight championship of the world !

There has been talk for a bout against Robert Guerrero , a junior lightweight with little interest to me and nothing to gain !

Instead i choose a greater task with a personal meaning !

I propose to come Houston on the 27th of March and put everything i have gained on the line !

Juan this is your opportunity and i ask for a public response within the next 24 hours to show your willingness to accept this challenge !

With confidence , I will abide , come to Houston and and in front of 15000 or more fans defend my title !

MICHAEL KATSIDIS .

Johnson Stops Mack In Six

Glen Johnson (50-13-2, 34 KO) scored a sixth-round stoppage victory over a competitive Yusaf Mack (28-3-2, 17 KO) at Fort Lauderdale in Johnson's adopted hometown.

For the chance to face unbeaten IBF titlist Tavoris Cloud later on in the year, Mack started the better of the two by landing the cleaner and more precise power punches on the outside in the opening round.

The second went the same as the first, with both fighters opening up but Mack getting the better of the action. Both fighters landed solid right hands and traded hooks as Johnson pressured the fragile Mack.

After a one-sided third round in favour of the 'Road Warrior', both fighters traded in every corner of the ring as Johnson cut off the escape routes to punish the eleven-year younger Mack with heavy jabs and body shots.

It was obvious in the fifth that Mack was beginning to fall apart mentally as Johnson continued to plod forward not giving Mack a chance to settle down.

The ending came in the sixth, as a solid right-hand over the top floored Mack who was cornered at the time. Mack received his first standing-eight count, before he was on the canvas for the second time as another right hand caught him off balance. Mack continued but not for long as another straight shot caught him off-guard for him to touch down for the third time in the round.

It was a decent scrap while it lasted, but it was pretty obvious that Johnson was out of Mack's league from the fourth round onwards. The style didn't match-up for Mack and he was drawn into the wrong fight. Johnson will now move on to face Cloud in what should be, another exciting fight.

DeMarco's Moment To Shine May Have Come Too Soon

by Dafs117

All the hype has been around Edwin Valero’s (26-0, 26 KO) hotly awaited US television debut; but quietly in the background, Antonio DeMarco (23-1-1, 17 KO) set-up camp and stayed away from the interested media. Occasionally, “Tony” did release trash talking statements aimed at his Venezuelan opponent, but the attention was still firmly focused on Valero.

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Mayweather vs. Mosley: Hard to Hate

by Paul Magno

Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley: May 1st.

I dare you to hate on this one. Go ahead...I dare you.

While Manny Pacquiao is fighting Joshua Clottey, the guy who lost to the guy that he just blew away, Mayweather will be fighting the consensus number one welterweight in the world and a first ballot hall of famer.

Mayweather's opponent is the same one who practically begged Pacquiao for a fight to no avail. Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, even said, "Shane came to the gym twice to ask me to let him fight Manny...I told him 'no' both times, and both times for the same two reasons: First, there isn't enough money there, and second, you're too good a fighter."

Best of all, this fight was signed with no drama about fear of needles, superstitions and blood-letting; No weight stipulations and penalties and no petty lawsuits.

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Adamek’s Long Road For Respect Continues

by Dafs117

Tomasz Adamek (39-1, 27 KO) is a familiar name for even the casual fans. Known for his incredible punch resistance and exciting style, the Pole has built quite a following in his adopted town of New Jersey.

After winning the bronze medal at the 1998 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Minsk, Belarus, losing out to Courtney Fry in the light heavyweight semi-final, Adamek decided to turn pro in 1999.

In four years time, Adamek had notched up 24 wins before the IBF handed him their Intercontinental title after he stopped Ed Dalton in two rounds. The WBO also took notice of ‘Goral’, as he had a connection with the WBO title following a fifth round demolition of Dzhabrail Dzhabrailov.

But it was the WBC who gave Adamek his first title shot. In 2004, Antonio Tarver was stripped of his belt for choosing to fight Glen Johnson rather than Paul Briggs, Adamek’s opponent.

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Stage 9: Magno vs. The Machine

As the late Michael Jackson put it, "This is it." There has to be a change of strategy; something different from Title Bout's corner. We're in round 9 of a scheduled 12, and the Machine is no closer to catching the boxing encyclopedia in human form, Paul Magno.

There's no interim title at stake here, oh no, this is all about pride, bragging rights and who gets first orders at the bar afterwards. Yes folks, we're excited, so without further ado, let round 10 commence.

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Kaos Comes to Twin Town- Fight Night at First Avenue

Minnesota Middleweight Champion Andy “Kaos” Kolle  

Gets Back Into Action on February 5 in the Twin Cities

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA (February 1, 2010) - Minnesota’s middleweight champion is slated to make his return to the ring this Friday. Andy “Kaos” Kolle (19-2 14 KO’s) will take on power punching Pat “The Cat” Coleman (29-15 20 KO’s) on February 5 at First Avenue in Minneapolis.

Kolle is coming off of a highlight reel knockout of Anthony Bonsante in March, and an impressive stoppage of Anthony Shuler in June. Although Kolle has been inactive for six months he insists that February 5th presents an opportunity to not only get back into action, but turn some heads in the Twin Cities.

“I am really looking forward to getting back into the ring, it has been too long! It has been a few years since I have fought in the Twin Cities so I can’t wait to come and show the boxing fans there what I got. I don’t know much about my opponent but that is nothing new to me so I will be ready for whatever he brings to the table”

           

Kolle vs Coleman will be promoted by Midwest Sports Council in association with RDS Company and will bring Boxing to the Venue made famous by Prince in the mid 80’s.

*Co-Main Events:

Heralded prospect and former Olympic prospect Javontae Starks (2-0 2 KO’s) finally gets to fight in his hometown.  Starks, who is already being discussed as a future Title Contender, will do battle for the first time in his native Minneapolis when he takes on Matt Ellis (2-1) in the co-feature.

*Feature Bouts:

Starks’ stable mate Jeremy McLaurin (6-0 4 KO’s) from Coon Rapids will also be in action against local brawler Hector Orozco from Hopkins. Minnesota Bantamweight Champion Antwan Robertson (5-1-1), Minneapolis; Latin Sensation Jose Hilario (1-0) of St. Louis Park; and Don Tierney (1-1) of St. Paul round out this talented fight card.

           

*Fighters subject to change.

Weigh-In Scheduled – February 4^th @ 3:30 p.m. – Target Center

The next scheduled media event for “Fight Night @ First Avenue” is the weigh-in, set for 3:30 p.m., Thursday, February 4^th at First Avenue.  We recommend picking up your Fight Night @ First Avenue media credentials at that time.  Please contact Brett Mauren at (612) 275-2885 for Media Credentials.  Video highlights of featured fighters are available to all media outlets upon request.

Ticket Information:

Tickets for “Fight Night @ First Avenue” (18+) are on sale now at the First Avenue box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, charge by phone at 651-989-5151 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.  Arena seating ticket prices are $25, $35 (reserved-stage).  VIP ring side tables are also available by calling 612-388-5228.

Brace Yourselves America: Tyson Fury Is Coming To Town

You're in for a treat America! Heavyweight prospect, and still undefeated thanks to Terry O'Connor's woeful officiating, Tyson Fury (9-0, 7 KO), will reportedly fight on two shows Stateside.

According to Fury's trainer, Brian Hughes, Fury was supposed to fight on a show in America last week, but as a result of visa issues, the plans had to be re-mapped.

"Mick Hennessey has lined-up two fights for him, one in Atlantic City on 27 February and the other in Vegas on March 12."

Fury recently made a mockery of himself in the British media, issuing a £10,000 reward for any domestic heavyweight who could knock him down in sparring. This immediately triggered a response from Derek Chisora, who's without an opponent for February 13 card after BBBofC champion Danny Williams pulled out with a viral infection.

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Venezuelan Boxing: Out of the Blue and Into The Limelight

by Dafs117

As Edwin Valero prepares for the biggest challenge of his career next Saturday at the Monterry Arena against Antonio DeMarco, The BTBC looks at the recent rise in Venezuelan fighters on the world scene.

*          *          *

With the population of 26 million, Venezuela has recently produced many fighters that have made the jump from backstreet fighting to the world scene. With no real boxing background, Venezuela’s recent rise has simply come out of nowhere.

Three-time world flyweight champion, Beutilo Gonzalez (77-12-4, 52 KO), is probably the most notable Venezuelan figure that has entered the sweet science. In 1978, Gonzalez defeated Guty Espadas by majority decision to capture the WBA title before defending against Martin Vargas later in the year. Two thrillers against Shoji Oguma followed, the first a draw and the second a late knockout, the Venezuelan dropped his title to Luis Ibarra by unanimous decision.

But, bar Gonzalez, Venezuela have struggled to recycle talent from their nation. That’s until now.

Edwin Valero (26-0, 26 KO) is the leader of the revitalised revolution. With his record-breaking stats and raw power, the knockout machine has steamrolled through his first twenty-six opponents as he became a two-weight world champion with a second round pummelling of Antonio Pitalua to fill the WBC lightweight vacancy.

Valero has become a sensation for casual fans, as he’s been hyped up as the monster he is. But he’s yet to have a ‘real’ challenge and Antonio DeMarco is hardly a top 5 fighter yet. Valero will get far just based on his power; anything else he adds to his game is an added bonus. With Juan Manuel Marquez moving up to 140 pounds to face Amir Khan in May, the vacuum at the top needs to be filled, possibly by Valero.

The 28 year-old went eighteen bouts scoring first round stoppages before a brave Genaro Trazancos survived for an extra minute and a half. Valero’s next opponent was Vicente Mosquera, who held the WBA version of the super featherweight championship at the time. The first three rounds were evenly fought with both fighters touching down once. Valero outlasted his opponent, taking him out in the tenth. “Dinamita” racked up four simple defences before an argument with WBA president Gilberto Mendoza gave him enough incentive to move up to lightweight.

He was thrown straight into the limelight at 135, where he knocked down Pitalua three-times in round 2 to win the green belt. In December 2009, Valero was roughed up in his first defence against Hector Velasquez, suffering a cut on the bridge of his nose. Velasquez failed to answer the bell in the seventh round, but Valero might have taken a lot out of that fight.

In the same division as Valero, Miguel Acosta (26-3-2, 20 KO) burst onto the world stage with a stunning upset of Urbano Antillon in a back and forth thriller.

In 2002, Acosta won the Venezuelan super featherweight belt in his tenth pro-fight via majority decision over Santos Rebolledo. But a run of three straight defeats followed, two of them by early stoppage.

Acosta went back to square one and developed a decent run fighting against durable punchbags for five years. In 2007, Acosta faced undefeated Anges Adjaho in a super featherweight eliminator, where Acosta was floored twice late on in the fight. But the Venezuelan finished on his feet to score his first upset victory on the second-tier stage with a hotly disputed split decision victory.

Drafted in as a stepping stone for Antillon, Acosta quickly took the previously unbeaten and undriven Mexican into deep waters, fighting a high paced wild bout. The end came in the ninth, when a barrage of punches from Acosta had Antillon on the canvas for the second time in the round. Acosta should get a title-shot at WBA titlist Paulus Moses this year.

Another Colombian that should get a title-shot in 2010 is Nehomar Cermeno (19-0, 11 KO), in the top 5 bantamweights in every respectable rankings. In 2009, Cermeno twice defeated Cristian Mijares by decision in a breakthrough year for the mandatory challenger. He recorded a stoppage victory over Alejandro Valdez in December to force WBA titleholder Anselmo Moreno to give him a shot this year.

Cermeno could face fellow countryman Alexander Munoz (34-3, 27 KO) before his first title campaign. He holds wins over Nobuo Nashiro and Katsushige Kawashima and his three defeats have been in title-shots against Martin Castillo twice and Cristian Mijares controversially.  Another world class fighter out of Venezuela.

Jorge Linares (27-1, 18 KO) is a quality fighter that suffered a fluke defeat to Juan Carlos Salgado in seventy-three seconds. Light welterweight Patrick Lopez (18-2, 11 KO) now fights out of Londonderry, New Hampshire, and has already one win under his belt for this year with a shutout eight-round decision victory over someone named John Brown.

As eastern Asia countries such as Japan, Thailand and Philippines take all the praise and touted as the next ‘Mexico’ or ‘Puerto Rico’, Venezuela quietly climb themselves up the ranks. With the media predicting big years for Japan and the Philippines, there’s been no mention of Venezuela, maybe as they have no previous background in the sport. If Valero wins on Saturday; Cermeno defeats Valdez; and Acosta, Linares and Munoz keep winning, Venezuela could well find themselves firmly placed on the boxing map in 2010.

Katsidis-Guerrero, Maidana-Cayo Doubleheader For March 27?

by Dafs117

Boxingscene's Rick Reeno reports that HBO are structuring a doubleheader with former lightweight titlist Michael Katsidis (26-2, 21 KO) and IBF super featherweight Robert Guerrero (25-1-1, 17 KO) as the main event on March 27.

With Amir Khan "deep in negotiations" with Juan Manuel Marquez, Katsidis-Guerrero could be for the full WBO title. In the co-feature, Marcos Maidana (27-1, 26 KO) and Victor Manuel Cayo (24-0, 16 KO) will also be filling the vacancy of the WBA light welterweight title left by Khan.

I would prefer to watch Khan-Maidana and Katsidis-Marquez than Khan-Marquez, with the winners of both facing off in an elimination process (dream on). I see Khan picking off Marquez round after round, jabbing and moving with Marquez too slow to counter. Khan-Maidana would at least give us a pop to see how much Khan has developed under Freddie Roach, but if they vacate, my respect for Khan as a champion is out of the window because I see Khan beating Maidana nine times out of ten.
Marquez and Katsidis is a mismatch, but if Marquez is on the slide and suffering mentally since the battering to Floyd Mayweather, Katsidis will at least make it interesting. Katsidis-Gurrero doesn't do anything for me. I think Katsidis power is overrated at world level and who knows how Gurrero will take an extra five pounds. Maidana-Cayo is a thrilling match-up.

There have been rumors circulating that WBO titlist Timothy Bradley's promoter Gary Shaw has attempted to match his fighter up with Maidana, but nothing has come of it at late.

Any fight with Maidana is good, but a Khan-Maidana fight is the one that fans want. Another group of good fights though added to a packed autumn schedule.

Yusaf Mack: The BTBC Interview

 by Paul Magno


Yusaf Mack (28-2-2, 17 KOs) has traveled down the old-school road of professional boxing. From club to club, undercard to undercard, he's pulled himself to the upper ranks of the sport via hard work, dedication and a never say die attitude.

Now, he faces the defining fight of his career on February 5th against "The Road Warrior" Glen Johnson. The winner gets a shot at the IBF 175 lb. crown, the loser gets pushed back into the pile of contenders.

The Boxing Tribune: First, Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Your fight with Johnson was originally scheduled to be on the Shane Mosley-Andre Berto undercard. What went through your mind when you heard that the card was canceled?

Yusaf Mack: To be honest, I thought that they would just move our fight up to be the main event. The card had great depth with a number of great fights without the Shane fight, so HBO could have still had a good show with two fights worthy of main events, and since it was cancelled, it has created two TV shows with us as one main event and Daniel Ponce De Leon as the other.

BT: Your upcoming fight with Glen Johnson has Fight of the Year written all over it...care to give any previews of what to expect?

YM: Fireworks. Both of us know this fight can make or break our career. If Glen losses, he is done; If I lose, then I am back to square one where I was after the Andrade loss two years ago. We are both coming expecting a war. Glen always comes prepared and in great shape and I am in the best shape of my life. I am confident that I have the superior skill and will win the fight, but I know Glen is not going to give me the win, thats why I have worked so hard

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Sylvester Stops Brave Lyell, Magee Upsets Larsen in Denmark

In a relatively tentative bout, Sebastian Sylvester (33-3, 16 KO) successfully defended his IBF middleweight trinket for the first time with a tenth round technical knockout victory over late-replacement Billy Lyell (21-8, 4 KO) in a snowy place in Germany.

Sylvester decided to feel out the opening rounds, being out-worked by his American challenger. The difference is class was evident in the fifth, as Sylvester began to land heavily and frequently on Lyell’s face.

The German middleweight landed repeated straight right hands as Lyell struggled to stay up with the quicker pace of the fight in the middle rounds. His trainer, Jack Loew, had seen enough, and stopped the fight in the tenth round.

In my opinion, it was the perfect time to stop the fight. Lyell is a light hitting fighter that didn’t need to get taken out of there by a punch or sequence of punches. It would only derail him further on in his journeyman career. Some see it as premature, as he was still punching back and not particularly hurt, but his face did look busted up.

On the undercard, Robert Helenius (11-0, 7 KOs) was impressive in his breakdown of Lamon Brewster (35-6, 30 KO) by stopping the faded former titlist in the eighth round, after he was floored in the second following a body shot. It was actually entertaining, yes that’s right, heavyweight entertainment.

Kubrat Pulev (5-0, 3 KO) scored his most impressive victory to date with a stunning fourth round knockout victory over Matt Skelton (22-5, 19 KO). The Bulgarian looks like one for the future, but could well be another eastern European bum. Karo Murat (21-0, 13 KO) stayed busy with a second round knockout of Sean Corbin (13-2, 9 KO) in a light heavyweight contest.

Brian Magee (33-3-1, 23 KO) shocked local favourite Mads Larsen (51-3, 38 KO) to capture the Dane’s European super middleweight title by flooring the hometown hero four times in the fight.

Magee, who was stopped in a thrilling war by Carl Froch earlier on in his career, scored his career best win over the heavily-backed Larsen with a superb seventh round stoppage win.

To call it an upset is an understatement, as Magee really isn’t known for his power punching. Larsen is or used to be a decent technician, second-tier fighter that might be well past his prime by now. But Magee is no spring chicken at 34, is he!?

I’ve only seen glimpses of the fight here and there as the stream I found was poor and Danish. Magee fought a dirty fight, repeatedly low blowing Larsen in the third.

Magee floored Larsen in the fifth with a body shot and followed up with intense pressure that Larsen couldn’t handle. The Dane crumbled in the sixth, kissing the canvas twice and once more in the seventh as the referee waved away the contest.

Hats off to Brian Magee, I really didn’t expect him to bring back the belt from Denmark, take a bow son.

Friday Hangover

Erislandy Lara TKO 10 Grady Brewer

Our House Fighter series debuted with hot-prospect Erislandy Lara taking his record to (10-0, 6 KO) following a tenth round technical knockout victory over tough veteran Grady Brewer (26-12, 15 KO).

Lara dominated from the opening bell, losing only two rounds on my card as he cruised to a decision win. But Lara wasn’t satisfied, he craved the stoppage. Lara pounced on a tired Brewer and took him out with combination after combination knocking Brewer’s head back. Tony Weeks stepped in to save Brewer, and earned some brownie points in the process.

Impressive win for Lara, as our House Fighters are (1-0, 1 KO) after the month of January.

Beibut Shumenov SD 12 Gabriel Campillo

I hope the commission gave a tough time to Patricia Morse Jarman as she tried to defend the indefensible 117-111 card in favour of Shumenov. Revolting.

And coincidentally, which promoter is involved in another poorly scored contest? The Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya. Every bloody time the fight isn’t on HBO, unless it’s in a state known for bad scoring, Golden Boy fighters get swayed a couple of rounds here and there.

Campillo dominated from the middle rounds as Shumenov tired and swelled up like a beach ball. I scored it 117-111, Paul Magno scored it 117-111, a couple of guys on a stream scored it as far down as 114-114, nothing lower. Campillo was robbed. Cue John Ruiz with his expertly presented catchphrase.

Take nothing away from the fight, it started on a fast pace and gave us thrills and spills right until the very end. No praise for Shumenov, he’s just not good enough to be a titlist.

Peter Manfredo Jr. UD 10 Matt Vanda

In a fight that promised so much, Peter Manfredo (34-6, 18 KO) delivered an absolutely blinding performance as he eased to a shutout decision victory over Matt Vanda (42-10, 22 KO) to capture a vacant regional trinket.

The former “Contender” series campaigner won by scores of 100-89, 100-89 and 99-90 in an impressive high output performance against Vanda, who’s no more than a journeyman.

Manfredo isn’t world class, he’s a club fighter, but he thoroughly exceeded my expectations of him tonight. On paper, it looked like Manfredo would cruise to a victory. But Vanda is known to trouble the mentally challenged fighters, and I expected a back and forth battle.

Manfredo wins, gets higher up organization rankings, and faces an up and coming super middleweight and probably loses.

Matt Remillard RTD 3 Rafael Lora

Undefeated prospect Matt Remillard (21-0, 12 KO) stopped Rafael Lora (11-2, 5 KO) as he retired in his corner following three one-sided rounds.

The undefeated Remillard attacked the body early on which ultimately took its toll on Lora as he retired on his stool.

Jesse Brinkley UD 12 Curtis Stevens

I didn’t realise this was on British TV, but this was no ordinary Jesse Brinkley. It was a transformed fighter that utterly dominated a lacklustre Curtis Stevens (21-3, 15 KO) as he earned a title shot at IBF champion, Lucian Bute.

Still, I don’t give him any hope against Bute, who is scheduled to face Edison Miranda next in a busy April month. Brinkley (35-5, 23 KO) out-smarted Stevens from the get go, and in a relatively entertaining battle, one a lop-sided unanimous decision.

Brinkley, another “Contender” contestant, scored two knockdowns, one in the sixth and another in the twelfth, to cement his lead against wild swinging Stevens.

Lee McAllister UD 12 Sam Amoako

Not much to say, it was dull, boring, absolutely crap. I’d rather watch lowlights of John Ruiz’s career than that again. It was a lower talent and tactical level than Anthony Small’s most recent bout. Yes, it was a stinker.

Still, McAllister kept hold of his commonwealth lightweight belt. Congrats all round.

*          *          *

Heavyweight prospect Andrzej Wawrzyk (17-0, 10 KO) kept his unbeaten run going with a unanimous decision victory. Chris Avalos (15-0, 12 KO) scored a fourth round knockout win while Archie Ray Marquez (10-0, 7 KO) recorded an eight round unanimous verdict.

A War, A Bore, and A Robbery: A Day in the Life of Boxing

by Paul Magno

As Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley get closer to signing on the dotted line and Manny Pacquiao continues to sell thousands of tickets in Cowboys stadium, the actual business of boxing continues to chug along.

Last night was boxing being boxing, for better or worse, and it was about time business went on as usual.

* Jesse Brinkley was supposed to roll over and let promising slugger, Curtis Stevens, pad his resume en route to a title shot. Instead, a home town crowd went crazy and inspired Brinkley to the performance of his career by out-thinking, out-hustling and eventually even out-slugging Stevens in a one-sided unanimous decision.

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Javontae Starks: The BTBC Interview

 by Paul Magno

With an amateur record of 98-16 and a fast growing reputation as the hottest prospect in Minnesota and one of the elite prospects in all the United States, an 18 year old Javontae Starks faced his toughest battle when he was  shot during a conflict at a graduation party. 

The gunshot wound to his thigh, which nicked a major artery, nearly caused him to bleed to death and was seen by many as the death blow to his career. Doctors doubted whether Javontae would ever even have full use of his left leg again.

Fast forward to 2010 as a 20-year old Javontae prepares for his third professional fight and has put together an impressive record of 2-0 with 2 KOs. 

The story of Javontae Starks is a true-life Rocky story with his very existence among the professional ranks being a testament to the hard work and dedication of a young man truly determined to pursue his dream.

Javontae was gracious enough to take a few moments from training to talk with The Boxing Tribune:

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Erislandy Lara vs. Grady Brewer: The Prospect vs. "The Contender"

by Dafs117

If anybody asks you to name ‘The Next Generation’, just take a small peek at our House Fighter list. The fighters have been carefully picked by BTBC members who have voted for the most promising fighters possible to bring glory to the board.

And for the first time in the history of The BTBC, we will be heavily backing Erislandy Lara to defeat Grady Brewer at the Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas on Friday 29th. The fight will be broadcast on Fox Sports if any BTBC members or readers want to catch a glimpse of ‘The Next Generation’.

As we’ve already given a little profile on our house fighter, let’s first focus on the opponent, Grady Brewer (26-11, 15 KO). 

Ranked #8 by the IBF and #14 by the WBC, don’t be fooled by that unbalance and horrible looking record. If you don’t trust the alphabet mobs, Boxrec rank him #30, in front of Lara #53. On the right side of his record, Brewer holds an impressive split decision victory over Steve Forbes, an even better split decision verdict over Cornelious Bundrage (who faces Cory Spinks for the IBF junior middleweight title on March 6), and he’s currently on a seven match winning streak, his last fight an upset knockout victory over Canadian prospect Albert Onolunose. Yes, Brewer’s no joke.

If you look at his losses, they come from notable names that have either been hyped up to be future champions, have challenged to become a champion, or even succeeded and has qualified under the champion bracket; Kelly Pavlik TKO 2, Peter Manfredo Jr. UD 8, Jermain Taylor UD 8, Danny Perez UD 8, Jose Luis Zertuche KO 5, Sechew Powell SD 8 and Marco Antonio Rubio TKO 8. This list does qualify Brewer to come under the ‘stepping stone’ umbrella, but he does have enough experience to maybe overpower Lara’s youth.

Brewer is a good fighter. Good enough that if Lara looks past him, he could be in some trouble. This is not saying that Brewer is Roberto Duran, as he doesn’t qualify to be in the same sentence as the ‘Hands of Stone’, but he does have that desired stingray effect that all journeymen attempt to possess. He’s no spring chicken, at 39 he’s probably not at his physical peak. Standing at 5’10’’, he will hold an inch height advantage over Lara as they square up at the weigh-in.

Back to our boy wonder, Lara (9-0, 5 KO). Lara is another amateur standout from the communist nation Cuba, which has struggled to develop prospects onto the world stage. But Lara, like Gamboa and Rigondeaux, is an exception. He might not be the most charismatic of characters, but Lara has the tools to engineer a title challenge and even more. I’m sure if you threw him in the ring with Cory Spinks tomorrow, Lara would take the IBF light middleweight title home with him as extra luggage.

I think Lara is too fast, too strong, too dynamic, and too good for Brewer. This isn’t Onolunose, Anthony Thompson or Miguel Martin, three undefeated fighters that have felt the sting of the journeyman. This is one of the most promising young fighters in the sport today.

I’m quietly confident that Lara will show us why he’s one of the gems of our House Fighter crew. Hopefully, Lara start rolling the House Fighter project with a victory Friday night.

BTBC Exclusive: First Look at "The Fighter" Mickey Ward Bio Movie

  
by Charlie 21er

Being a hooligan, roustabout and all around never-do-well has its benefits.  Some people don't believe this, but you'd be surprised what a nose broken in the name of friendship can get you.  Somebody owed me a favor, and that somebody being low on cash did the next best thing for me: got me into movies.  Now, seeing movies for free is well and good, but really, EVERYONE gets to see Legion, or Sherlock Holmes.  At that rate it would take a long time to get square, but tonight, the BTBC's mole paid off and got me into the first test screening for The Fighter, the Micky Ward biopic starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams.

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The BTBC House Fighters (Cruiserweight, Super Middleweight, Middleweight, Jr. Middleweight, Welterweight)

The members of The Boxing Tribune Blue Corner (BTBC) decided to make 2010 personal by selecting a house fighter to follow in each weight class.

The BTBC House Fighter, as voted by the members of the community, is the fighter that most represents our community through either style, attitude or ability.

To avoid the label of front-runner, The BTBC has limited their choices for house fighter to only those who have yet to receive a world title shot.

Good luck to those fighters selected for this honor...the full support of boxing's pound for pound best fan forum is behind you every step of the way. Make us proud!

The votes were close, but have been tabulated for our next division winner and here are the winners:

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Gamboa and Lopez Raise Calls For Immediate Showdown

 by Dafs117

Yuriorkis Gamboa KO 2 Rogers Mtagwa
Juan Manuel Lopez TKO 7 Steven Luevano

Rogers Mtagwa looked little more than a journeyman last night as Yuriorkis Gamboa used him as a human punchbag by landing 50% of his wild punches in their co-feature at Madison Square Garden.

Gamboa was devastating as he knocked down his Tanzanian challenger three times before referee Steve Smoger had seen enough. Gamboa has always been a blitz of entertainment, but this was by far his best performance to date. The amateur prospect showed that he can step up in class, no bother.

It’s always been tough for Rogers Mtagwa, who loses no respect for being out of Gamboa’s league. Some may argue that Mtagwa overtrained as he weighed in at 122.5 pounds in Friday’s weigh-in, but he was simply beaten to the punch by the younger, classier opponent.

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