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| Matt "Too Smooth" Godfrey gives his take following a tough, and somewhat controversial, win over Derrick Brown. |
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| "Ice Man" John Scully |
| Joey Abell won a majority decision over the previously unbeaten Teke Oruh in their ten-round Heavyweight bout. The Main Event was broadcast live from the Island of St. Lucia on Showtime’s ShoBox Series and was promoted by Goosen-Tutor Promotions. In what was billed as a fight between two young prospects, the fight itself was less than entertaining. What it showcased were two fighters that have been fed “tomato-can” caliber fighters up until this fight. It really showed. Read the Full Story..... |
| Photos By: Tom Casino - Showtime |
| Abell Decisions Oruh Article By: Bill Calogero - TheDailySports.com |
| Hasim Rahman continued his comeback with a non-impressive win over Zuri Lawrence Thursday night. The fight was the Main Event of Top Rank Inc.’ s “Fight Night” and was broadcast live from the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania on the Versus Network. Lawrence was a very late sub for this fight. He was coming off a win only days earlier and hadn’t been in the gym. He was the one that controlled most of the fight, scoring with his jab and was able to land several hard rights. Read the Full Story..... |
| Rock Nothing Special Article By: Bill Calogero - TheDailySports.com |
| Here is what Vargas had to say during a near-75-minute open media workout Thursday: FERNANDO VARGAS: “I don’t like anything about Mayorga. He has a face only a mother gorilla would love. I’m going to beat the (poop) out of him. He’s a stupid fighter. He doesn’t get it. “Mayorga says that I’m going to run. I’m not going to run. He’s a stupid (butt). I'm going to knock him out. He’s going to Read the Full Story..... |
| OPEN MEDIA WORKOUT QUOTES TWO-TIME WORLD CHAMP FERNANDO VARGAS Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007, Big John McCarthy’s Ultimate Training Academy, Valencia, Calif. |
| A fit, trim and confident Fernando Vargas was mostly all business during an open media workout Thursday at Valencia, Calif. |
| Photos By: Jorge Garcia/For Showtime |
| “SEASON’S BEATINGS” DECEMBER 5TH AT THE HARD ROCK POWELL-CAUTHEN TITLE ELIMINATOR TO HEADLINE HOLLYWOOD, FL, November 16 – When December rolls around and holiday well- wishes are in the air, a select few world- class fighters will hold off on spreading cheer. Instead, on Wednesday, December 5th, they will be handing out season’s beatings to their opponents as Seminole Warriors Boxing and Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing finish out another stellar year of boxing events at the Seminole Hard Rock Live Arena in Hollywood Florida with a star-studded card featuring an IBF junior middleweight title elimination bout between Sechew Powell and Terrance Cauthen, and separate bouts featuring the return of former WBO world champion Juan Urango to Florida, and rising heavyweight star Kevin Johnson. Read the Full Story..... |
| Joan Guzman dominated Humberto Soto for most of the fight to retain his WBO Jr. Lightweight Title Saturday from the Borgata Resort & Casino in Atlantic City. The show was promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and was broadcasted live on HBO’s Boxing After Dark Series. Joan Guzman used his excellent counter-punching skills and took advantage of his much faster hand speed to control ten out of twelve rounds (on my scorecard) of this fight to keep his undefeated record in tact. Read the Full Story..... |
| Guzman Dominates Soto Article By: Bill Calogero - TheDailySports.com |
| AN INTERVIEW WITH LEONARD ELLERBE Interview By: John Martinez - BoxingRealm.com (19Nov07) Moments ago, I spoke with WBC welterweight king Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s adviser and co-trainer Mr. Leonard Ellerbe. During the Q&A, he was quick to dispel any thoughts that Ricky Hatton will still be standing for the twelfth and final round. In addition to this prediction, he had a message that Team Mayweather hopes to get out regarding the upcoming Presidential elections. JM: How do you answer critics that say this fight isn’t worthy of being telecast on HBO PPV due to Mayweather’s decisive edge in height, reach, and all around skill set? LE: Well first of all, a fight isn’t won on paper. That is why the two combatants have to go into the ring and prove themselves. Floyd is and has been the best fighter in the world for a number of years and December 8 will be no different. Read the Full Interview..... |
| Chapman Cracks Top 10! 24-year-old heavyweight prospect JD "The Natural" Chapman (28-0, 25 KOs) has officially cracked the top 10. The 6' 6" Arkansas-based power puncher has moved up to #10 in the WBO's most recent ratings, in addition to his #13 WBA and #14 WBC rankings. Manager Scott Hirsch says he's happy the world sanctioning bodies have been paying attention to his slugger's steady improvement. "JD has looked better in every successive outing and I'm very happy the world bodies recognized that." Hirsch says Chapman will be in a "significant step-up fight" against a fellow contender, early next year. "We're looking at dates in Vegas or Dubai," he explains. "JD has been bowling over everyone we put in front of him and we feel he's ready for prime time as of today." In his most recent outing, Chapman destroyed trialhorse Marcus Rhode in 1:20, dropping him three times with his electric right hand. |
| UNIFICATION! KLITSCHKO vs. IBRAGIMOV TO PUT HEAVYWEIGHT BELTS ON THE LINE ON FEB. 23 NEW YORK , NY , November 20 – For several years, fight fans have longed for the day when the heavyweight championship of the world would be unified and one man would reign atop the sport’s glamour division. On Saturday, February 23rd, at ‘The Mecca of Boxing’, New York City ’s Madison Square Garden , that day will be one step closer when IBF & IBO Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko and WBO Heavyweight Champion Sultan Ibragimov meet to unify their titles in a bout destined to bring clarity to the heavyweights once again. Read the Full Story..... |
| Boxing's Bad Boys, Fernando Vargas and Ricardo Mayorga, continued their vulgar, trash-talking assaults on each other during Monday's final press conference at STAPLES Center. Unlike their first press conference, there were no punches exchanged, but only because they were separated by a sheet of plexi-glass borrowed from the Los Angeles Kings hockey team. Read the Full Story..... |
| FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES FERNANDO VARGAS AND RICARDO MAYORGA |
| Photos: Jorge Garcia/ For Showtime PPV |
| Highly rated Cruiserweight Matt Godfrey takes on the biggest challenge of his young career when he squares off against Jeremy Williams on November 24th in Hartford, Connecticut. Godfrey comes in having scored two big wins in a row, besting Derrick Brown in his last fight and knocking out Felix Cora Jr. on ESPN prior to that. We spoke with world class trainer and former title contender "Ice Man" John Scully who has recently taken over as Godfrey's full-time trainer. Scully takes us through what Godfrey needs to do to be successful against Williams, his future at Cruiserweight, and whether or not Matt Godfrey has what it takes to become a world champion. Here is what the "Ice Man" had to say: Read the Full Interview..... |
| Undefeated Cruiserweight Matt "Too Smooth" Godfrey takes on Jeremy "Half Man Half Amazing" Williams Interview with Godfrey's Trainer "Ice Man" John Scully |
| Photo By: Barry Arpin - Overhandright.com |
| Interview By: Phil Santos - Overhandright.com |
| Kermit Cintron (28-1, 26 KOs), of Reading , Penn. , will make the second defense of his International Boxing Federation welterweight championship against Jesse Feliciano (15-5-3, 9 KOs), of Los Angeles, in one of the top fights this Friday at STAPLES Center on SHOWTIME PPV. Two time world champion Fernando Vargas (26-4, 22 KOs) and three-time world champion Ricardo Mayorga (27-6- 1, 22 KOs) fight in what promises to be a street brawl in the main event of a highly anticipated pay-per-view telecast that begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and is being distributed by SHOWTIME? PPV. Also on the stellar card, former IBF 154- pound champion Roman “Made in Hell” Karmazin (35-2-1, 22 KOs), of St. Petersburg, Russia, now fighting out of Los Angeles, will take on former two- time World Boxing Association super welterweight champion Alejandro “Terra” Read the Full Story..... |
| KERMIT CINTRON AND JESSE FELICIANO MEDIA ROUNDTABLE QUOTES Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2007, Sheraton Downtown, Los Angeles , Calif. |
| Mayorga Out Performs Vargas Article By: Bill Calogero - TheDailySports.com |
| “The Brawl” as it was billed, was yet another good fight for this very resurgent year in Professional Boxing. Both fighters showed a real dislike for each other for the very long promotional period. One of the reasons for the delay was that the fight was at a “catch-weight” of 166lbs. Ricardo Mayorga had to gain over twenty pounds. Fernando Vargas had to lose almost one hundred. Read the Full Story..... |
| SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING will present an extraordinary tripleheader as its season finale when IBO light heavyweight champion Antonio “Magic Man’’ Tarver defends against Danny Santiago, Vernon Forrest risks his WBA 154-pound crown against former IBF welterweight kingpin Michele Piccirillo and Nonito Donaire, fresh off his knockout victory over previously undefeated Vic Darchinyan in the Upset of the year, makes the initial defense of his IBF flyweight belt against mandatory challenger Luis Maldonado. Promoted by Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, the three scheduled 12-round fights will be televised live from Foxwoods Resort Casino, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast.) Tickets, priced at $250, $150, $125, $100 and $75, are on sale and can be purchased at www.foxwoods.com or by calling (800) 200-2882. QUESTION: Antonio, what are your thoughts on fighting on SHOWTIME December 1st? TARVER: I'm very excited to be back on SHOWTIME, the leader in boxing. And I'm thrilled to death that they're in the Antonio Tarver business. Read the Full Story..... |
| CONFERENCE CALL QUOTES ANTONIO TARVER, VERNON FORREST, DANNY SANTIAGO , MICHELE PICCIRILLO |
| HOLIDAY HAVOC IN THE BRONX DECEMBER 6 ***Andrey Tsurkan defends NABF TITLE vs. Yuri Foreman in"NYC Turf War" with Sergio Martinez vs. Ossie DuranIn the Co-Feature on VERSUS Televised Card At the Utopia Paradise Theater*** In the main event, it will be a 10 round Junior Middleweight battle of talented Eastern Europeans, as NABF CHAMPION and Ukraine born Andrey Tsurkan (25-2, 16 KO's) defends his title against undefeated Yuri Foreman (23-0, 8 KO's), born in Belarus in a 10 round Junior Middleweight bout. Star Boxing promoted Tsurkan, who now lives in the Bronx, will be defending his title in his second straight fight at the Paradise as he viciously knocked out Sammy Sparkman in the ninth round of a ten round bout in the Bronx on April 11, 2007. Foreman, who lives in Brooklyn, last fought on the undercard of Cotto/Judah at Madison Square Garden on June 9, 2007 where he won the biggest fight of his career; a 10 round decision over Anthony Thompson (23-2, 16 KO's). Read the Full Story..... |
| NEW YORK – Hard-hitting World Boxing Council (WBC) No. 11 154-pound contender James Kirkland (20-0, 17 KOs) hopes to continue his ascension to the top of the junior middleweight division when he takes on the dangerous Allen Conyers (11-2, nine KOs) Friday, Nov. 30, 2007, on ShoBox: The New Generation (live on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT delayed on the west coast). In the co-feature, undefeated prospect Alfredo Angulo (10-0, seven KOs) will battle Archak Ter Meliksetian (16-5, 13 KOs). Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, will present the doubleheader from Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, Read the Full Story..... |
| UNDEFEATED JAMES KIRKLAND LOOKS TO CONTINUE HIS SUCCESS ON SHOBOX: THE NEW GENERATION Knockout Artist Kirkland to Face Allen Conyers on Friday, November 30, 2007,Live on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT from Chumash Casino Resort, Santa Ynez, Calif. |
| Malignaggi punches back at critics |
| NEW YORK (November 26, 2007) – International Boxing Federation light welterweight champion Paulie “The Magic Man” Malignaggi, rated No. 2 by The Ring, believes stylish boxing skills like his are far less appreciated in today’ s knockout-crazed world of boxing than it's ever been. “Pure boxers today aren’t as highly valued as they should be,” the outspoken Brooklyn pugilist said from his Vero Beach (FL) training camp. “Even all-time great boxers like Willie Pep and Pernall Whitaker, if they were boxing today, wouldn’t be as appreciated. Floyd Mayweather is the best in the world, maybe ever, but critics complain because he’s so good that, he wins so easily and isn’t in wars. Now-a- days everybody wants to see punching, not boxing skills, and that’s a shame. Read the Full Story..... |
| 10,365 FANS ON THEIR FEET ROOTING FOR FELICIANO AT STAPLES CENTER !!! |
| Los Angeles, CA - Nov 26, 2007 - Coming into his fight against the IBF Welterweight Champion Kermit Cintron (29-1, 27KO's), Saturday night at the Staples' Center, Joe DeGuardia's Star Boxing promoted, Jesse "El Rayo" Feliciano (15-6-3, 9KO's) understood that many saw him not only as a huge underdog to take Cintron's title, but that he would be lucky to even last six minutes in the ring with the powerful Cintron. "I was a 20-1 underdog," said Feliciano. "No one expected me to even go the first two rounds with Cintron, but I proved everybody wrong." Read the Full Story..... |
| On December 1st, live from Foxwoods Resort and Casino, three champions put their titles on the line in the season finale of Showtime Championship Boxing. Two respected veterans of the fight game, Antonio Tarver and Vernon Forrest, scored impressive victories over tough yet ill-equipped opponents in Danny Santiago and Michele Piccirillo. Nonito Donaire overwhelmed Luis Maldanado in his first title defense since upsetting Vic Darchinyan. All three men entered the ring with something to prove. For Tarver and Forrest an inspiring win would keep them on track for bigger, more meaningful fights that would lead to big paydays, and help cement their status as two elite fighters of this generation. A successful defense for Donaire versus a tough challenger legitimized his win over Darchinyan and proved that “The Filipino Flash” wasn’t “The Filipino Flash” in the pan. Three Champions entered, prevailed, and proved their points with authority. Read the Full Ringside Report..... |
| Tarver, Forrest and Donaire destroy their opposition: All three Champions defend their titles winning by TKO |
| Ringside Report By: Phil Santos - Overhandright.com Photos By: Barry Arpin - Overhandright.com |
| Bobby Gunning for Tomasz Adamek! |
| First-ever Nigerian-born Heavyweight Champion bestowed with multiple awards, embraced by entire nation. WBC Interim Heavyweight Champion Samuel "The Nigerian Nightmare" Peter has been embraced by the people in his homeland of Nigeria as a national hero, and everywhere he has visited, crowds have gathered, parades have been held and honors bestowed. Read the Full Story..... |
| Samuel Peter a National Hero! |
| James Kirkland improves to 21-0 (18 KOs) with a first round KO over Allen Conyers in their scheduled ten-round Jr. Middleweight contest. It was the main event of ShowTime’s ShoBox series, which they broadcast live from the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California. Gary Shaw Productions promoted Friday night’s show. Both fighters attacked each other from the beginning of the first round wildly. After thirty seconds had past, Allen Conyers landed a crushing right to the head of Kirkland sending him to the canvas. He was up and ready to go by the count of eight. As soon as referee Ray Corona allowed the two combatants to continue, the war raged on. Conyers tried to finish Kirkland off by throwing wild punches from every angle, but James immediately turned the fight in his favor by landing solid right of his own sending Alien Conyers down. He was up and ready to continue, but still seemed to be in trouble. His legs were definitely not 100%. Read the Full Story..... |
| Two KO’s In Less Than Two Minutes |
| Article By: Bill Calogero - TheDailySports.com |
| Former IBA champion and world ranked Cruiserweight Bobby Gunn 18-3 {15 KO’ s} is hoping for a fight with former WBC Light Heavyweight and current IBO Cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek. Gunn was recently mentioned for a fight with Antonio Tarver, but was passed by for Danny Santiago. “I watched the fight of the Antonio Tarver and Elvir Muriqi again recently. Elvir showed me that he is a true warrior, and I believe Tarver didn’t like the pressure he applied. This is honestly why Tarver won’t fight Glen Johnson a third time. Tarver didn’t want to fight me because he would be pressured to death!” Read the Full Story..... |
| Felix “Tito” Trinidad and Roy Jones Jr. will face each other at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2008, and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View. |
| Roy Jones Jr. “Tito says it won’t last two rounds. I’m going to be nice and give him two more rounds and beat him in four. Felix Trinidad “Jones and I were suppose to fight during the peaks of our careers. I believed back then that I could beat him and the same holds true today. |
| Jones is an eight-time world champion, winning belts in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. Trinidad is a five-time world champion that has won titles in the welterweight, junior middleweight and middleweight classes. |
| Snapshot: 2007 The Year in Boxing By: Phil Santos – Overhandright.com |
| Photo By: Tom Casino - Showtime |
| Fistic fans had a hell of a good year in 2007. World Champions like JermainTaylor, Vic Darchinyan and Jean Marc Mormeck were overwhelmed and knocked out en route to losing their titles. There were multiple bouts worthy of mention for fight of the year, Vazquez vs. Marquez I & II, Diaz vs. Freitas, Pavlik vs. Taylor, Mosley vs. Cotto, just to name a few. We saw the emergence of new |
| champions, as well as potential stars of the sport, like Nonito Donaire, Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams and David Haye. Future Hall of Famers Manny Pacquiao, Joe Calzaghe, Bernard Hopkins and Floyd Mayweather Jr. continued their winning ways and further cemented their place amongst the greatest of all time. Now as boxing fans turn their attention to a new year of fights to come we’ll attempt to sum up the Best of the Sweet Science in 2007. Fighter of the Year: Kelly Pavlik The Youngstown, Ohio tough man proved his contender status was no fluke by battering, the heavy handed, Edison Miranda. Leading up to the Miranda fight Pavlik was considered a live underdog, who was expected to test but eventually be worn down by the tough Colombian. His impressive win over Miranda led to a showdown with undefeated Middleweight Champion Jermain Taylor. Unlike his fight with Miranda, Pavlik was thought to be a serious threat to Taylor. Taylor threw everything at Pavlik early landing “The Ghost” on the canvas in round 2. Pavlik beat the count, survived the round, and proceeded to take Taylor apart with the result being a 7th round knockout and a new Middleweight Champion of the world. By disposing of a top contender and the World Champion both by TKO Kelly Pavlik has the credentials and deserves to be the 2007 Fighter of the Year. Worth a mention: Miguel Cotto and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Cotto defeated Zab Judah and Shane Mosley Mayweather Jr. vanquished Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton Fight of the Year: Raphael Marquez vs. Israel Vazquez II 2007 has been a year loaded with great fights but the one that stands out to me is Marquez vs. Vazquez II. In a division (122 lb Limit) that doesn’t necessarily get the attention that the Welter and Middleweights do Marquez and Vazquez stand head and shoulders over their competition and are both recognized as top pound for pound fighters. We were lucky to witness them square off twice in 07’ with both fights ending with a Championship belt changing hands and a TKO. While the first fight had fireworks and a stoppage the second one stands out because Vazquez was able to finish the job in the ring, as opposed to the first fight, which lasted one round longer but had to be stopped due to Vazquez suffering a broken nose and his inability to breath. In the rematch Marquez and Vazquez exchanged violently swelling and opening a cut over the right eye of Marquez and leaving Vazquez with cuts over both eyes. They continued to swap leather, two powerfully precise punchers, until Vazquez landed a telling left hook that hurt Marquez and sent him to the mat. Marquez made it to his feet but Vazquez, smelled blood, and fired off a flurry that caused the fight to be stopped after 6 awesome, brutal rounds. A rubber match has been speculated for February and just the thought has boxing fans drooling. Worth a mention: Kelly Pavlik vs. Jermain Taylor Kelly Pavlik defeated Jermain Taylor to become Middleweight Champion. A great match-up in which both men hit the canvas had all the toe-to-toe action and hard hitting exchanges that any fan could hope for. Pavlik was stunned and dropped in the 2nd round and found himself doing all in his power just to survive. He battled back and scored a TKO in the 7th in an all action slugfest. Knockout of the Year: Nonito Donaire vs. Vic Darchinyan In a fight that nobody expected Darchinyan to lose Nonito Donaire devastated the champ with a one punch, left hook, knockout that Vic never saw coming. Darchinyan crumpled to the canvas, and though he tried to beat the count, he was so shaken that he nearly projected himself through the ropes in attempting to get to his feet. The brutal knockout of Darchinyan, a knockout artist himself, has put Donaire on the map and has made him a feared fighter at 112 lbs. Worth a mention: Darnell Wilson vs. Emmanuel Nwodo & Kermit Cintron vs. Walter Matthysse Darnell Wilson absolutely hammered Emmanuel Nwodo folding him up like a lawn chair in a knockout that was so vicious it bordered on scary. Kermit Cintron blasted Walter Matthysse, who was out on his feet, with a devastating combo that left Matthysse lying motionless. Upset of the Year: Ivan Calderon vs. Hugo Cazares The light hitting, slick boxing Ivan Calderon entered the fight as an undefeated underdog. Hugo Cazares was the bigger, stronger defending champ who was supposed to cut down Calderon and expose him as nothing more than a carefully matched paper champion. Calderon had found his stride as Minimum Weight boss by out boxing his limited competition and most thought the move to 108 lbs coupled with his lack of punching power (only 6 KO in 30 pro fights) would spell disaster. Calderon proved them all wrong by boxing beautifully, aside from getting caught and dropped in the 8th, and decisively beat the Jr. Flyweight champ by Split Decision scores of 111-116, 115-112 (2), to take the title. Worth a mention: Jose Santa Cruz vs. Joel Casamayor I had to include this travesty of a decision where Santa Cruz was completely robbed of the Lightweight Championship he so deservingly won in the ring. A Split Decision was awarded to Casamayor (114-113 (2), 113-114) who was knocked down in the 1st and did nothing more than back peddle and fail to land anything effective. The WBC has thankfully ordered a rematch and if it goes anything like the first fight Santa Cruz should be wearing the Championship strap he rightfully earned back in November. Prospect of the Year: Andre Berto Berto scored wins over Martinus Clay, Cosme Rivera and David Estrada in 2007. The fast rising prospect improved his perfect record to 20-0 (17) and his victories over Rivera and Estrada were his toughest tests to date. The learning process is different for every fighter and often times the true test is how they bounce back from a loss of handle adversity within a fight. Berto has not tasted the bitterness of defeat but he did suffer his first knockdown as a pro in his fight with Rivera. He was caught off balance and never appeared in danger, probably more surprised than actually hurt. He quickly bounced back winning an easy decision then destroyed the rugged David Estrada by TKO in 11 in his very next fight to claim the NABF Welterweight title. Berto came into the Estrada fight feeling he still had much to prove and showed he’d been working hard in preparation by looking sharper than ever against his toughest opponent. Worth a mention: James Kirkland Kirkland continued his assent through the ranks of the Jr. Middleweight division by winning all four of his fights in 07’, with three coming by way of knockout. He ran his record to 21-0 (18) by disposing of Billy Lyell, Ossie Duran, Mohammad Said and Allen Conyers. He continues to steadily step up in competition and appears ready for a big 2008. |