By Joseph Davey

For me and I’m sure many boxing fans, Saturday’s superfight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao brings with it equal parts excitement for the bout itself and disdain for it’s coverage. For years at a time, mainstream sports media avoids boxing as if it were a plague that could infect the  very image of America’s most “wholesome” sports. If baseball, basketball and the NFL were an all American backyard barbecue, boxing would be the drunk uncle everyone tries to forget is there. Sure he has some good stories, but they’re the same few you’ve heard a million times.  
When a super fight does come along that’s worthy of public consideration, the talking heads of sports TV respond by dredging up the “I remember whens” and inevitably talking about the same three fighters (Ali, Leonard and Tyson) and how they relate to the upcoming fight. For men and women  who can break down and analyze the 1983 Super Bowl and the 72 World Series like it happened yesterday  and possess a near encyclopedic knowledge of every stat ever collected, their lack of insight into boxing is almost cringe inducing.  It’s as if boxing is constantly happening in the past. The current crop of fighters just never seems to measure up to the greats of yesteryear.   
Even boxing’s own fan base is often guilty of focusing on how much better those bygone fighters are than our current ones. But like all things in life, the past has a way of smoothing out the rough edges and leaving us with a rosy and nostalgic memory of what once was. Case in point is the seemingly constant comparison between Floyd Mayweather and Sugar Ray Leonard that the media is so fond of making. 
 
A common refrain is “yeah Mayweather is good, maybe even great, but Leonard is a legend”. After such comments we hear things like “Leonard fought fighters in their prime!” and “Leonard always fought the best there was! He wan’t afraid to take risks!”  All of which are mostly true. But Leonard’s career, looked at objectively, suffers from the same criticisms now being leveled a Mayweather. Early in his career, Leonard did fight fighters in their prime. His wins over Wilfred Benitez, Roberto Duran and Tommy Hearns were all career defining wins over equally great fighters in their prime. And all of them were the best available fighters at the time Leonard fought them. But Mayweather had a very similar run early in his career with victories over Genaro Hernandez, Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo; all of whom were in their primes.  

No one criticizes Mayweather for this stretch of his career because like Leonard, these wins were over the best in the division and represented fighters who were at the peak of their careers. But after those wins, Mayweather has been criticized for hand picking opponents who are past their prime, making them come up in weight to fight him and in the case of the impending Pacquiao fight, waiting until Pacquiao looked vulnerable to make the fight. This is the point where most media members bring up Leonard as an anti-Mayweather example; a man who never took the easy route and only fought the best at the peak of their powers. But the passage of time has seemingly erased the reality that it was Leonard who championed the tactics employed by Floyd to gain an edge over his opponents. In his bid to win the light heavyweight title, Leonard made titleist  Don Lalonde weigh in at 168 for the bout;  7 pounds under the light heavy limit. The same 7 pounds Mayweather had Juan Manuel Marquez come up in weight to challenge him for the welterweight title. And as incomprehensible as it is, many writers and analysts use Leonard’s win over Marvin Hagler as THE example of Leonard going out of his comfort zone to fight the best.  

They all seem to forget that the Hagler fight was first proposed in 1982, a full 5 years before the two fought. Of the 8 fights Hagler had in those 5 years, one was a close decision win over Roberto Duran and two were legendarily brutal wars against Tommy Hearns and John Mugabi. It was only after Hagler took massive punishment against Mugabi and looked past his best that Leonard came out of retirement and signed to fight him.  

People cite ongoing eye issues as the reason Leonard took so long to make the fight, but it rings about as hollow as Floyd’s drug testing issues holding up the Pacquiao fight. It may have been an issue for a short time, but neither was the reason the bouts were held up for 5 years. Whether Leonard is a better fighter is certainly a legitimate debate, but the way in which people forget that Leonard employed many of the same tactics as Floyd has as much to do with nostalgia as it does with the personas of each fighter. Leonard was universally loved by the public at large and Mayweather is almost as universally reviled. 

 It’s another favorite topic of discussion among the mainstream sporting press: Mayweather the domestic abuser. On the surface it’s a just criticism. What Floyd does outside the ring is over the top, obnoxious and in the case of his domestic violence issues, down right abhorrent. He at times is almost equal parts villainous persona and actual villain. There are no excuses for anyone, let alone a major sports figure, to commit such horrible acts against women. Yet, the way in which these sportscasters talk of his crimes as if they were synonymous with the problems that plague boxing and only boxing is laughable.  

Floyd is an incredibly easy target for this because of his refusal, in many cases, to even answer questions about the abuse. When he does, it’s done with such lack of remorse that he paints the worst possible picture: a man who is the face of a violent sport and has no remorse for using his trade on defenseless women. It is at the least a fairly accurate portrayal. For a man whose job is to render trained men unconscious to put his hands on a woman is a display of the worst qualities in human beings. The conclusion that is often made though, is that boxing is the wild west. It tolerates the worst acts of man so long as the millions of dollars at stake aren’t put in jeopardy. And it’s true.  

Things like steroid use, criminal behavior and underhanded politics are the norm for boxing. With multiple belts in each weight division and “title fights” that take place between fighters no one, including  boxing fans have ever heard of, it’s easy for the average sports fan to sit back and agree that “man, boxing messed up.” Yet for all of it’s flaws (and there are many), boxing is the most honest sport out there. Don’t believe me? Look at the NFL. 

 Few people batted an eye when Ray Rice was suspended for a paltry 2 games following his “alleged” domestic abuse allegations. It was only after the disgusting video of him knocking his wife unconscious that the NFL took real action against him. Anyone who thinks Rice would have sat out more than his 2 game suspension had the video not leaked is dreaming. Players routinely fail drug tests and get into “altercations” outside of the NFL, yet next to nothing is done.  

Kobe Bryant, still revered in the U.S. as well as around the world, settled out of court on civil charges that he raped a 19 year old hotel employee. He then publicly apologized to the fans and the woman who accused him of rape; yet in the same breath contended he did not rape her. A year later, he signed a multi-year, $136 million dollar contract with the Lakers. His sponsors returned. People swept it under the rug and comedians joked about it on late night TV.  
In a way, Floyd Mayweather asking “where’s the video” in response to his domestic violence incidents is his way of saying “why do they get away with it and not me?” Because in the mainstream sports world, it seems all America wants is a half baked apology and promise not to do it again. Sports fans want to see their “heroes” back on the field. And by swallowing their righteous indignation in order to see players return to action, boxing serves as the perfect scapegoat to relieve the American conscience. “Yes, what (sports star) did was bad, but did you see Mayweather?!” He didn’t even apologize!”  The same holds true with money.  

College football fans are more than happy to watch every meaningless bowl game despite the fact that they’re nothing more than hyped up cash grabs. And cash grabs off of the backs of athletes that are literally earning nothing for their effort. Boxing’s multiple belts are such thinly veiled attempts to squeeze money out of the fighters that they stand as a reminder of the greed inherent in the sport.  But for some reason bowl games and the relentless sponsorship ads that run through every major sporting event are passed off by the general public as legitimate forms of sports revenue. The bottom line is all sports are about money. The difference between boxing and the mainstream sports is simply that of appearance.  

Major League Baseball and the NFL hide their greed in boardrooms and closed door meetings. Boxing simply removes the veil and lets the public see the truth. The squabbles between promoters and networks that has been at the forefront of the run up to Mayweather – Pacquiao is merely a peek into the sordid world that is professional sports. In boxing, the fighters, trainers and promoters have always worn their hearts on their sleeve. The sport has always represented the best and worst in human nature. For those of us who love it, the raw honesty of the fighters in and out of the ring is why we keep turning in after the bright lights of a super fight have gone dark. it’s why we buy premium cable packages and shell out 99.95 to watch our “Superbowl”. It’s life in microcosm without the pretense of false appearances. 

 Boxing is the good, bad and ugly of the sporting world. On Saturday, Floyd Mayweather will be fighting for money. More money than any athlete has ever earned in one night of sports. He’s totally unapologetic about his reprehensible actions outside the ring. And yes, he’s fighting for his place in sports history. The question we should all be asking is whether we value the sport over the man. To claim boxing is everything wrong with sports is to gloss over the more difficult issues at play every time an athlete doesn’t live up to the ideals society has expected of them. When the fake apologies are removed and the money is on the table for everyone to see, we should all be asking ourselves whether we care more about the larger issues or just want to see a contest played out at it’s highest level. On May 2nd, maybe we should be asking ourselves whether  sometimes, it may be worth our money to see if the bad guy gets what’s coming. At the very least, all sports fans should have boxing to thank for that.  

Curtis Stevens entered tonight’s middleweight bout against Saul Roman with the knowledge that a solid performance could assure him a big money title fight against Gennady Golovkin in his next appearance. His execution couldn’t have been better.

Early in round one, Stevens stunned Roman with a left hook and proceeded to unload shots, finally dropping him with a hard left hook. Roman was able to beat the count and was trying desperately to survive when a brutal counter left hook put him out cold.

So viscous was the KO that it all but put ink on the Golovkin-Stevens contract. Stevens does have legit power and assuming Golovkin-Stevens does get made, it’ll be fun while it lasts. Stevens improves to 25-3 (18KO’s) while Roman slides to 37-10 (31KO’s).

In what amounted to a stay busy fight, heavyweight Tomasz Adamek soundly outpointed the aging Dominick Guinn over 10 one-sided rounds. Adamek was initially scheduled to take on Tony Grano in a more significant fight, but a neck injury forced Grano to withdraw from the fight and Guinn took his place on short notice.

The fight between Adamek and Guinn, despite being a downgrade,turned out about as well as could be expected. Neither fighter was ever in any trouble, but Adamek was able to keep the crowd entertained by putting together 3, 4 and 5 punch combinations during each of the rounds.

Guinn, a once promising prospect who is now out of shape and in the twilight of his career, still possessed enough defense and power to keep Adamek from overwhelming him. Guinn has never been stopped and the punches he did land throughout the fight clearly kept Adamek honest.

A cut opened over Guinn’s eye in round three from an accidental headbutt but it had little effect on the fight. It was all Adamek throughout and the scores reflected it: 98-92 and 99-91 (twice) all in favor of Adamek.

Although the fight didn’t do much to raise his stock in the division, Adamek did get 10 solid rounds in and remains in place to mix it up with any of the current heavyweight contenders. His record now stands at 49-2 (29KO’s).

Guinn has become the consummate journeyman and still has enough pop in his shots to remain in the role for the foreseeable future. He drops to 34-10 (31KO’s).

If Eddie Chambers was hoping to excite people about his entrance into the cruiser weight division, his debut tonight against Thabiso Mchunu was a disaster on all counts. A lethargic Chambers seemed content to follow Mchunu around the ring, alternately posturing and flicking out the occasional jab. Mchunu did little to help, as his strategy was to counter and Chambers’lack of activity offered little to work with.

So for 30 minutes, the two circled around the ring and stared each other down. Nearly the only scoring blows were produced by Mchunu left hand counters. Each round was nearly a mirror image and few could blame Mchunu for pot-shotting his way to the biggest win of his career. Scores were 97-93 and 99-91 (twice).

Mchunu improves to 13-1 (9KO’s) and it remains to be seen how good he really is simply because Chambers looked so terrible. For Chambers, (now 36-4 18KO’s) it seems time to reassess whether or not he wants to continue to be a professional prize fighter; because his performance tonight was one of a man who has lost all interest in boxing.

Up and coming heavyweight Vyacheslav Glazkov displayed his power and annihilated journeyman Byron Polley in less than two rounds. Midway through round 1 Polley hit the canvas via a hard right hand from Glazkov. Polley rode out the 8 count on one knee but when he rose, was met from another flurry from Glazkov that put him on the canvas for the second time.

Polley survived the round but was overpowered seconds into round two. A left hook, right hand left hook combo from Glazkov dumped Polley to the seat of his pants and referee Harvey Dock waived off the fight without a count.Time of the stoppage was 30 seconds of round two. Glazkov remains unbeaten at 15-0-1 (11KO’s) while Polley slips to 25-16-1 (11KO’s).

Glazkov’s manager, Egis Klimas said after the fight that Glazkov was looking to fight Dereck Chisora in his next bout.

In a 6 round lightweight tilt, East Hartford native Joseph “Chip”Perez dropped a unanimous decision to Staten Island, NY’s Mike Brooks. Brooks opened with a strong body attack and stuck to his plan throughout the fight. Perez was busy but largely ineffective for the first 4 rounds. He picked up the pace in rounds 5 and 6, but was docked a point for an elbow in round 6 that effectively put the fight out of reach. Scores at the end were 57-56, 59-54 and 60-53 all in favor of Brooks; who now stands at 11-0 (2KO’s). Perez drops his second in a row and is now 10-3 (3KO’s).

In the opening bout of the evening undefeated junior middleweight Tony Harrison made short work of his opponent Gilbert Alex Sanchez, blitzing him out before the end of the second round. Harrison was mostly inactive during the first round and he allowed Sanchez to wing punches at his body and head with limited success.

Halfway through round 2, Harrison started sitting down on his punches and scored a delayed reaction knockdown with a jab right hand to Sanchez’s head. Sanchez was slow to rise but to his credit mounted spirited effort to get back into the fight before being dropped for good by a Harrison body shot. Referee Harvey Dock waived off the fight at 2:10 of round 2. Harrison improves to 14-0 (11KO’s) while Sancez drops to 2-3 (2KO’s).

Welterweights Jimmy Williams and Greg Jackson plodded through a 4 rounder in a fight in which neither fighter was willing to risk opening up in order to secure the win. Jackson tried counter punching for most of the fight but the strategy was ineffective because Williams was hesitant to display much more than a jab in each of the four rounds.

The result was an ugly split draw. One judge had it 39-37 for Williams but was overruled by the other two who had it even at 38-38. Both fighters remain undefeated: Williams at 4-0-1 (2KO’s) and Jackson at 3-0-1 (1KO).

The question coming into tonight’s middleweight championship fight between Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin and Matthew Macklin was a simple one: Can Golovkin really be THAT good? Before the first bell, Golovkin could alread lay claim to having the highest KO percentage among active world champions. He also had 7 title defenses, all of them by KO, to lend credibility to his glossy record. But Golovkin has looked so good and been so outstanding in all of his previous fights, that his fight tonight against Macklin took on a different importance. It was not simply about winning, but about winning with such overwhelming dominance that hype could finally be replaced with a true affirmation of talent. And Matthew Macklin provided the perfect measuring stick for just how much of Golovkin’s talent was truly hype, and how much reality. Although not many could be expected to pick Macklin to win, his fights again Felix Sturm and Sergio Martinez were enough to make even the most ardent Golovkin supporter feel that perhaps a bit of the “Triple G” mystique could be lost at the end of the night. Thankfully for those of us who love boxing, Golovkin’s performance against Macklin laid to rest any speculation that he’s merely another good fighter. Golovkin is truly unstoppable. He tore through Matthew Macklin with a serene ferocity that was truly remarkable to watch. Not for a moment did he ever look anything but calm; yet all the while he threw punches that were calculatedly brutal. It’s not often that someone watching a prize fight can visibly see fear in either fighter, but Macklin looked legitimately afraid after the first minute of the fight. Golovkin patiently stalked him and unleashed perfectly placed and perfectly leveraged shots to the body and head whenever he was in range. After less than one round, it was apparent the fight was over. Macklin was never truly in the fight and about a minute into the third, Golovkin put two hard shots upstairs then sunk a pinpoint left hook into Macklin’s liver. The shot doubled Macklin over and it would be a full two minutes before he got up off of the canvas. It was a shockingly definitive knockout of a very good fighter and exactly what Golovkin was looking for. He now stands at 27-0 (24 KOs) and should likely be considered the best middleweight in the world. Only a showdown with Sergio Martinez now stands between Golovkin and boxing stardom. For Macklin (now 29-5 20KOs), his career is still very much alive and well. He can still give any elite fighter (not named Gennady Golovkin) a real test and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him and Felix Sturm in a rematch in the near future. Macklin is truly a good fighter. But after tonight, Golovkin is truly great.

“My perfect position for that body shot,” Golovkin commented. “I want this fight (vs. Sergio Martinez). I felt great in the ring, he never hurt me. It was an easy fight for me. I want to fight against soon. Any top fighter, any champion, any belt holder….anywhere.”

“He’s the best I ever fought,” a game Macklin said. “He never really let me get started. It was a great shot he landed, the left hook to the body is personally one of my favorites. I tip my hat to him; he’s a great champion. He has clubbing, solid power and you can feel the weight of every punch he throws.”

In the HBO co-feature, up and coming super middleweight Thomas Oosthuizen got much more than he expected out of the unbeaten but unheralded Brandon Gonzalez. The fight started with Oosthuizen working his southpaw jab from the outside, but Gonzalez used his quicker feet to slip into position and connect with straight right hands. Gonzalez utilized this strategy to good effect through the first 5 rounds, but Oosthuizen began to find a home for his straight left in round 6. Gonzalez picked back up in round 7, landing some hard shots and gaining back a bit of momentum; but rounds 8-10 were all Oosthuizen. Gonzalez (who was in his first 10 round fight) was visibly tired throughout the last 3 rounds and was no longer able to slip into position to punch. He also had lost enough movement to catch some hard punches from Oosthuizen and had to empty his tank over the last round to stay in the fight. At the end, none of the judges agreed and handed in scores of 98-92 for Gonzalez, 96-94 for Oosthuizen and 95-95 a draw. The resulting split draw allowed both fighters to remain unbeaten: Gonzalez at 17-0-2 10KOs and Oosthuizen at 23-0-2 13KOs.

“I felt sluggish the first two rounds and then I found my rhythm. I thought I won the fight. I’d give him an immediate rematch if he wanted. I want to come back to fight in America soon and I want to fight Mikkel Kessler.”

“I feel good,” Gonzales remarked. “I absolutely won the fight. I landed the harder punches and out-boxed him. I did everything I had to do, unfortunately, the judges didn’t think so. We’ll go back to the drawing board and figure out where to go from there.”

The HBO opener between junior middleweights Willie Nelson and Luciano Cuello was a fight that should probably be shown to anyone new to boxing as an example of how a fight is scored. Nelson was able to win enough rounds to easily take the fight; but was beat up in almost every one of the rounds he lost. Rounds 3, 7 and 10 were rounds in which Cuello landed hard shots that had Nelson staggered on a number of occasions. Nelson won almost all of the others with a higher work rate and put enough rounds in the bank to be assured a victory despite a disastrous 10th round in which he was badly hurt by a Cuello uppercut. Nelson hung on to survive to the bell and took a unanimous decision by scores of 97-93 (twice) and 96-94. He improves to 21-1-1 12KOS while Cuello slips to 32-3 15KOs.

“I feel great,” Nelson said after making his HBO debut. “He’s tougher than I thought but I still think I won convincingly. The cuts (both eyes) bothered me but I fought through it. I want to fight all the top 154-pound fighters and this was another step in that direction.”

It was a mauling 12 round fight between featherweights Billy Dib and Evgeny Gradovich; ending with Gradovich taking a split verdict over the more well known Dib. Gradovich often was able to get the best of the exchanges; typified in round 5 which he stunned Dib with a hard left hook. Dib recovered and had his moments throughout the 12 rounds, but the tone of the fight was set. Despite Dib’s aggression, Gradovich was the one to consistently land the harder and cleaner shots. Gradovich was deducted a point in round 8 for holding but Dib was dealt the same; also losing a point in the same round for holding. Despite his best efforts, Dib was unable to break the pattern throughout the fight. Gradovich was simply the harder and cleaner puncher throughout and it earned him a split decision victory by scores of 114-112 (twice) to 112-114 for Dib. Both fighters gave their all and neither backed down so perhaps a rematch is in order. Gradovich improves to 16-0 (8kos) while Dib drops to 35-2 (21kos).

For junior middleweight Wille Nelson, only one round of the scheduled 10 was necessary for victory. Nelson blitzed foe Michael Medina in only 2 minutes, dropping him once with a counter right hand along the ropes and finishing with a right hand, left hook combo. It was a quick and brutal finish, and referee Arthur Mercante Jr. was wise to stop the bout at 2 minutes of round 1. Nelson improves his record to 20-1-1 (12kos) while Medina drops to 26-4-2 (19 kos.) Scores were 36-40 across the board.

Making his pro debut, light welterweight Luis Olivera blitzed through his opponent Rafael Munoz with ease. Olivera knocked Munoz down with a beautiful lead left hook early in round one and didn’t let up. After Munoz rose and was cleared to continue, Olivera jumped on him and stunned him with another lead left. As Munoz backpedaled toward the ropes, Olivera caught him for a third time with the left and finished with a flurry, dumping Munoz to the canvas and forcing referee Johnny Callas to call the fight. Time of the stoppage was 1:38 of round one. Olivera notches his first win and stands at 1-0 (1ko) while Munoz drops to 1-2.
Welterweight Jimmy Williams outworked Ray Younger over 4 rounds to earn himself a unanimous decision. Williams scored far more often with his jab and body attack and limited Younger to an ineffective defense of potshotting and moving. The fight played out mainly the same over the 4 rounds and Williams picked up an easy win, improving to 2-0 (1ko) while Younger dropped to 0-2.

If you haven’t heard of Sergey Kovalev you’re not alone. Until tonight not many have. But after an emphatic stoppage win over a top 5 opponent in Gabriel Campillo (on network TV no less!), it’s safe to say we’ll all be seeing more of Kovalev in the near future. So impressive was his destruction of Campillo that he may have actually made it hard for himself to get a big fight any time soon.

Campillo was legitimately world class and only recently lost a highly debatable decision to light heavyweight champ Tarvoris Cloud. Kovalev apparently didn’t get the memo as he steamrolled right though Campillo without a second thought. From the onset, Kovalev threw as if Campillo was merely a heavy bag that needed a good working over. Campillo seemed at a loss and was unable to keep Kovalev’s bombs from getting through his guard. About 30 seconds into round 3 Kovalev’s punches finally showed an effect on Campillo, who became trapped along the ropes and went down on all fours amid a flurry of punches. After beating the count, Campillo was again subjected to a flurry of Kovalev’s punches and wisely took a knee to compose himself. It didn’t help. When he finally did rise, he tried to back away from the onrushing Kovalev and ended up eating a hard right hand going backwards that dumped him on the seat of his pants. Referee Michael Ortega had seen enough and called of the fight at 1 minute 30 seconds of round three. Make no mistake, Kovalev (now 20-0-1 17kos)can certainly crack. It remains to be seen how good he truly is, but the way in which he dismantled Campillo makes me think it’ll be fun to find out. Campillo (21-5-1 7kos) on the other hand, simply can’t catch a break. After dropping a number of close fights and now being destroyed by Kovalev, Campillo’s risk/reward factor is off the charts. And not in a good way. It’s hard to imagine any top fighter who would want to fight him so it could be a long road back to the top for Campillo.

If you blinked, you might have missed the NBC Sports Net co-main event between middleweights Elvin Ayala and Curtis Stevens. Less than a minute into the first round, Stevens landed a picture perfect counter left hook that dumped Ayala to the canvas. Although he beat the count, Ayala was on shaky legs when he was allowed to continue and Stevens immediently took advantage; unleashing a flurry of punches that was punctuated by a left hook that laid Ayala out cold. Stevens(now 23-3 17kos) looked impressive taking care of Ayala so quickly and his stock will surely rise based solely on the severity of the knockout. Ayala (now 26-6-1 12kos) had been on the receiving end of a number of brutal knockouts and should probably being to start thinking about calling it a career.

In the opening bout of the evening, heavyweights Jarrell Miller and Joey Dawejko batteled to a 4 round draw. The fight was completely one sided with Miller throwing more and landing the harder, cleaner shots throughout. The fight was ruled a draw solely on the two points referee Johnny Callas took from Miller in round 3. Miller had pushed Dawejko to the canvas numerous time throughout the preceding 2 rounds, but it was unclear why the points were deducted as Dawejko was on his feet both times the points were taken. Whatever the reason, the 2 points were the reason all three judges scored the bout 37-37. Miller now stands at 4-0-1 (4kos). Dawejko adds his second draw and is now 7-1-2 (3kos).

A six round super featherweight bout between Joseph “Chip” Perez and Jason Sosa ended early courtesy of a Sosa right hand in round 4. The fight started poorly for Perez, who suffered a flash knockdown on a right hand to the midsection late in round 1. The knockdown happened as Perez was moving backward and though it did no damage, it did serve to animate Perez who fought back hard in rounds 2 and 3 to try and make up for the lost point. Sosa made the rounds close though by matching Perez punch for punch. Amid a heated exchange in the 4th, Sosa turned the fight with a lead right hand that caught Perez flush on the chin. Perez beat the count but was declared unfit to continue by referee Johnny Callas, who called the fight at 2 minutes 10 seconds. With the win, Sosa improved to 8-1-3 (4kos) while Perez dropped to 10-2 (3kos).

Super Middleweight Marcus Upshaw overcame some early troubles to knockdown and eventually knock out Vladine Biosse. Upshaw was being outworked over the first three rounds but started to pick up the pace in round 4. He began to land his right hand with regularity and in round 5, was able to floor Biosse with it after setting it up with a well timed jab. Biosse beat the count and was able to recover enough to make rounds 6 and 7 competitive. Upshaw was able to stop the momentum Biosse was building in round 8 when he again landed a perfect 1-2 that dropped Biosse to the canvas. Biosse rose but absorbed enough punishment over the course of 20 seconds to cause referee Tony Chiarantano to stop the fight. Upshaw runs his record to 15-8-1 (6kos) while Biosse slips to 14-2-1 (7kos). Time of the stoppage was 2:25 of round 8.

Lightweight Edwin Cotto (1-0 1Ko) made a successful pro debut by stopping Ian James (2-5-1 1Ko) within the scheduled 4 round distance. Cotto was never in any trouble and landed almost everything he threw. He dropped James in rounds 2 and 3 and ultimately stopped him in round 4; knocking him backward into referee Michael Ortega who wisely stopped the fight. Time of the stoppage was 18 seconds.

Welterweight Jimmy Williams got a little help from Curtis Stevens, whose 1st round KO of Elvin Ayala allowed his pro debut to be broadcast to millions on network TV. Williams didn’t shrink from the moment and batter his opponent, Noel Garcia, before stopping him impressively. Williams scored a knockdown in round 3 via a left hook, right hand, left hook combo. Garcia beat the count and survived the round, but probably wishes he hadn’t. In round 4 Williams landed a crushing right uppercut, left hook combo that knocked Garcia cold. It was about as good a way to make a pro debut as one could imagine. Williams is now 1-0 1Ko while Garcia drops to 2-16-2 1Ko. Time of the stoppage was 39 seconds of round 4.

Lightweight Hank Lundy survived a first round knockdown to take control and cruise to a 10 round unanimous decision over Dannie Williams. Lundy, of Philadelphia, PA got clipped late in round one by a left hook from Saint Louis, MO’s Dannie Williams and dropped to a knee. Lundy rose to survive the round and righted the ship in round two by keeping Williams at bay with jabs and right hands. Round 3 and 4 were a treat for the fans as Williams and Lundy went at it, winging wild shots with seemingly reckless abandon. Lundy was staggered in round 3 by a left hook from Williams but surged back to take round 4 with the more accurate shots. Perhaps learning a lesson from the previous rounds, Lundy took a more scientific approach to the fight and began boxing Williams from the outside in round 5. The shift in strategy seemed to work for Lundy who stacked up rounds behind his increasingly accurate jab and left hook. In the end, Lundy prevailed by scores of 97-92 (twice) and 98-91. Lundy runs his record to 22-1-1 (11Kos) while Williams slips to 21-2 (17kos.) It remains to be seen if Lundy can compete against the top fighters in his division. His only loss is to the mediocre John Molina and despite his trash talking, hasn’t really claimed big name victory to put him in the running for a title shot. Hopefully, Lundy will look to step up the competition in the near future and show us the kind of fighter he purports to be.

Elvin Ayala has always been a staple in the Connecticut fight scene. The local middleweight has always tried to make a good fight and in the past has been given a title opportunity for it. Despite coming up short in his biggest bouts, Ayala has always displayed a willingness to engage that has earned him the respect of fans and media alike. Tonight though, Ayala seemed to fight down to the level of his opponent, 42 year old Eric Mitchell of Vero Beach, FL. Ayala was in control of the bout throughout, but he repeatedly let himself be tied up by Mitchell and seemed content to pot shot his way to victory. Ayala finally came alive in the fourth, landing a stinging right hand halfway through the round that shook Mitchell up. Ayala closed strong in the eighth, landing numerous left hooks to the body and head of Mitchell but never doing any serious damage. Ayala easily won the unanimous decision by scores of 79-73 (twice) and 78-74 and improves to 25-5-1 (11Kos.) Mitchell drops his fourth fight in the last five to land at 23-9-1 (11Kos.) Though Ayala does still have something left, he needs to really strive to make a statement against C level opponents like Mitchell if he wants to earn another title shot. Tonight’s performance did him little justice and with any luck, his next fight will display some of the fire that garnered him so much fan support in CT.

In the ESPN Friday Night Fights main event, former U.S. Olympian Demetrius Andrade made short work of late sub Angel “Toro” Hernandez; knocking him down and then out inside of two rounds. Hernandez, who was woefully outclassed from the opening bell, took the fight on two days notice when Andrade’s original opponent Derek Ennis pulled out with the flu. Perhaps thinking his only chance lay in an early knockout, Hernandez came charging out of his corner straight into the fists of Andrade. Almost immediately, Hernandez was staggered by right hook and straight left hand counters from Andrade. Hernandez took a beating all throughout the first round and at the bell, walked back to his corner on shaky legs. About a minute into the second, a straight left hand from Andrade dropped Hernandez hard. Up at the count of two, Hernandez was clearly hurt. Had Hernandez not risen so quickly, the fight would most likely have been stopped. But referee Steve Smoger allowed it to continue and seconds later Hernandez caught another flush left hand on the chin, teetering momentarily before falling face forward to the canvas. No count was necessary as it was clear Hernandez was out. The fight was a classic example of a late sub facing an up and coming prospect and neither fighter strayed far out their assigned roles. With the win, Andrade improves to 16-0 with 11 Kos. Hernandez drops to 30-11 (17Kos.)

Junior welterweight Raymond “Tito” Serrano of Philadelphia, PA put on a surprisingly lackluster performance against Rochester, NY native Kenny Abril in the ESPN Friday Night Fights co-feature. Serrano started well and was backing Abril up with good hooks and body shots over the first two rounds, but his momentum came to a grinding halt when Abril caught him in the third with a right hand going backwards. Serrano hit the deck but was up quickly and was seemingly more off balance than hurt, yet his output following the knockdown wasn’t anywhere near that of the previous two rounds. The fight then diminished into a clinch fest, with Abril doing most of the holding and Serrano doing little to avoid it. For the most part Serrano had the higher output but Abril managed to keep the fight somewhat close with good showings in rounds 6 and 8. When the final bell rang, Serrano had done enough to get the win but not enough to gain any new fans. He took the unanimous decision by scores of 97-92 (twice) and 95-94. He improves to 18-0 (8Kos) while Abril drops to 11-2-4 (6Kos.)

Junior welterweight “Mighty” Mike Arnaoutis of Astoria, Queens, NY, scrapped his way to an entertaining 6 round unanimous decision over Norwalk, CT’s Shaka Moore. The two southpaws were evenly matched through three, with Moore putting in good bodywork and Arnaoutis landing well to the head. The fight turned in round 4 when Moore visibly began to tire mid round. Arnaoutis took advantage of the increasingly stationary Moore and began to land flush lead lefts that took the remaining fight out of Moore. Despite a few spirited flurries, Moore never regained the energy he showed over the first 3 rounds and ate flush shots for the remainder of the bout. In the end, Arnaoutis picked up a unanimous decision by scores of 60-54 (twice) and 59-55; improving to 23-7-2 (10Kos.) Moore drops to 11-17-3 (2Kos.)

In one of the most exciting fights of the night, local super featherweight Joseph “Chip” Perez (Hartford, CT) waged a 6 round war with Rochester, NY’s Jamell Tyson. Both fighters threw with reckless abandon from the opening bell, ignoring defense and simply letting their hands go. The fight was close until the 4th round when Perez, spurred on by the crowd, began to overpower the fading Tyson with his sheer volume of punches. At the end, Perez simply had a little more in the tank and managed to take the unanimous decision by scores of 59-55 and 58-56 (twice.) Perez now stands at 7-1 (2Kos) while Tyson falls to 2-5-1 (1KO.)
Super middleweight Charles Foster (2-0 1KO) overcame a first round knockdown to sneak by with a decision win over Borngod Washington (3-10 1KO.) Foster was dropped early by a right hand but fought hard over the remaining 3 rounds to remain unbeaten. Scores were 38-37 on all three scorecards.
Unbeaten super featherweight Emanuel Gonzalez kept his record intact with a 4 round unanimous decision over Jesus Bayron. Gonzalez had the more accurate punches throughout the bout and won by scores of 39-37 (twice) and 40-36. He remains perfect at 10-0 (7Kos) while Bayron slides to 5-4-1 (4Kos.)
In the opening bout of the evening, junior welterweight Jair Ramos (2-0 2Kos) of Waterbury, CT easily dispatched Philadelphia, PA native Miguel Rodriguez (0-2) in the second round of a scheduled four. Ramos felt out his opponent in the first round before unleashing a string of rights early into the second that sent Rodriguez to the ropes. Stunned, Rodriguez absorbed three more flush right hands and a window dressing uppercut before taking a knee. Although Rodriguez rose at the count of 9, referee Steve Smoger wisely stopped the fight at 53 seconds of round two and handed Ramos his second pro victory.

Though not rife with outstanding talent, Bulldog Cartel Promotions first installment of “The New Generation Boxing Series” was certainly a step in the right direction. The idea behind “The New Generation Boxing Series” is a simple one: take local fighters, put them in the ring at local venues, expose them to the public and hope the fighters perform well enough to start creating a buzz. On the whole, I believe the card succeeded in it’s task. It produced enough exciting fights to get people interested and it’s main event fighter, Javier Flores, certainly earned some fans with his TKO of the game Shakha Moore.

Flores, of Hartford, CT is a solid looking welterweight up and comer who has appears to have a following already despite having only a handful of fights. Moore, of Norwalk, CT was by far the best opponent Flores has yet faced and despite being TKO’d, was able to more than give the public their money’s worth. Flores opened up the scheduled 8 rounds guns blazing; strafing Moore with straight left hands and right hooks. By round 2, Flores began to dial in and really connect solidly on Moore’s chin. Much to the crowd’s appreciation, Moore attempted to answere every landed punch with one of his own. Though not as hard or numerous as Flores’s shots, Moore was able to get through with a number of punches and helped to keep the fight exciting. By round 6 Moore had eaten a ton of hooks and Flores began to unleash a nasty uppercut that spelled the beginning of the end for the game Moore. Late in round 7, Flores connected on a right hook, left hand, right hook combo that dumped Moore to the canvas. Though Moore rose, his corner had seen enough and threw in the towel. Time of the stoppage was 2:59 of round 7. Flores may have gained a few new fans and runs his record to 6-0 6Kos. Shakha Moore, who should be commended for his brave performance, falls to 11-16-3 2Kos.

In what can best be described as a glorified sparring session, cruiserweight Harvey Jolly cruised to a unanimous decision over fellow journeyman Joshua Harris. Both Jolly and Harris seemed uninspired and content to cruise though the 8 rounds. Jolly was the busier fighter by a wide margin but his punches lacked snap and appeared to do little damage. Harris’s punches on the other hand affected Holly when they landed, but were so few and far between that it was only when Jolly took a round off that Harris was able to pick one up. The fight plodded this way until the end when Jolly was announced the winner by scores of 77-75, 77-76 and 79-73. Jolly improves to 12-17-1 6Kos while Harris slides to 7-5-1 5Kos.

New Haven, CT native Luis Rosa Jr. just managed to keep his record unblemished in a sloppy 6 round junior featherweight bout against Lakewood, CA’s Shawn Nichol. The fight had little drama simply because both fighters, when not clinching, where swinging wildly and hitting little. Neither appeared able to land a solid shot though not for lack of trying. Both Rosa Jr. and Nichol threw plenty of punches; it just seemed that neither could dial in the accuracy. Nichol was credited with a knockdown in round 2 when a glancing right hand caught Rosa Jr. off balance and caused him to touch his left glove to the canvas. Despite this, Rosa Jr. seemed to be the slightly busier fighter throughout most of the rounds and when he did land, his shots appeared slightly heavier than those of Nichol. It was most likely these factors that caused two of the judges to give the fight to Rosa Jr. by scores of 58-55 and 58-56. The third judge had it a draw at 58-58. Rosa Jr. was lucky to have escaped with a close win and is now 7-0 5Kos. Nichol drops to 5-5 5Kos.

Junior welterweight Javier Calderon of San Juan, Puerto Rico, overcame a lackluster first round to stop his New Haven, CT opponent Christian Lao just 26 seconds into the second round. Lao, at least initially, appeared the vastly superior fighter. He utilized the entire ring and kept Calderon at bay behind a quick, crisp jab. Caldron simply followed and ate shots, looking lost and out of his depth. All that changed in the second round when Calderon suddenly cut off the ring and began to unload on Lao. Clearly shaken, Lao tried to dance away but was again caught on the ropes where Calderon unloaded close to 20 unanswered shots before referee Danny Schiavone jumped in and called a halt to the bout. It was a shocking turnaround for Calderon who remains unbeaten at 2-0 2Kos. Lao drops his first fight and is now 2-1 1KO.

Debuting New Haven, CT lightweight Oscar Bonilla used the strength of his left hook to cruise to a unanimous decision over Cleveland OH’s Corey White. The fight was largely unexciting as White took every opportunity he could to tie Bonilla up; creating frustration on the part of Bonilla as well as the audience. Bonilla showed poise though and despite his lack of experience made the most of every opening he had. He managed to find enough of them to pile up points and by the end of round 3, the outcome was all but assured. White did finally begin to open up at the end of round 4 but it wasn’t nearly enough to win him the round, never mind the fight. All three judges agreed it was a shutout, scoring it 40-36 across the board and handing Bonilla his first pro win. White drops his second fight and is now 1-2 (1KO.)

In perhaps the best fight of the night, debuting junior featherweights Josh Crespo (New Haven, CT) and Frankie Garriga (Bronx, NY) swapped hooks and knockdowns en route to a 4 round split draw. Crespo started the bout as the aggressor, working behind the jab and coming forward to good effect. Garriga didn’t have much success with countering and got outpunched in perhaps the only clear cut round of the fight. Changing up his strategy for round 2, Garriga came out swinging and had success early with left hooks, forcing Crepso to fight off the back foot. Toward the end of the round Crespo launched an assault of his own and managed to land enough hard shots to put the winner of the round in question. Round three began wildly as Crespo waded in and caught Garriga off balance with a right hand, causing his gloves to touch the canvas and give Crespo credit for a knockdown. Not to be outdone, Garriga surged forward with an assault of his own and dropped Crespo hard with a 1-2. Seemingly unfazed despite the nature of the knockdown, Crespo beat the count and immediately began firing back. Both men ignored defense and traded shots, only stopping when the bell sounded to end the round. Perhaps fatigued but the firefight in round 3, round 4 was subdued and the two fighters only occasionally traded shots; once again producing a tough round to score and leaving the outcome in question. When the scorecards were read, all three judges saw a different fight. One had it 40-37 for Crespo, another 39-37 for Garriga and the third had it a draw at 38-38. Though the audience seemed disappointed, the verdict was fair and left both fighters unblemished at 0-0-1.

In a four round super middleweight tilt, New Haven CT native Charles Foster picked up his first professional victory while at the same time handing his opponent, Worcester MA’s Ralph Johnson, his first pro defeat. Foster was the sharper, faster and more effective fighter throughout the bout and he repeatedly hammered Johnson with a hard straight left hand. Late in the first round Foster worked his way out of a clinch and sunk a left hand to Johnson’s midsection, causing him to double over and take a knee. The bell ending round one saved Johnson from being stopped but ultimately only prolonged the beating. Foster battered Johnson for the entirety of round 2 until Johnson trapped and helpless along the ropes, was finally saved by referee Michael Ortega at 2:36 of round two. Foster is now 1-0(1KO) while Johnson stands at 0-1.

In the opening bout of the evening, New Haven, CT junior welterweight Carlos Hernandez picked up his first win by outpointing Springfield, MA’s Barrington Douse in a 4 rounder. The fight was a wash. All three judges had it 40-36 for Hernandez who is now 1-2. Douse remains winless at 0-2.

Breidis Prescott’s new nickname “The Khanqueror,” ensures that every time he’s announced, fight fans are reminded that he was the man who beat Amir Khan. While Khan has recovered from the loss and gone on to bigger and better things, Prescott seems to have faded into the background and furthered the claim that he simply got lucky and caught Khan cold. Prescott’s fight tonight against the unheralded junior welterweight Bayan Jargal did little to convince anyone otherwise. If Prescott was looking make a case for a rematch with Khan based on this fight, perhaps those viewing it should only watch rounds one through five.

The bout took place at the Mohegan Sun Hotel and Resort in Ledyard, Connecticut

Admittedly Prescott did look good for the first half of the fight. He came out wild in round one, clearly trying to take Jargal’s head off. Although a bit sloppy, many of Prescott’s punches landed hard and a left hook near the end of round one wobbled Jargal a bit. Prescott settled down in round two and began to put his punches together; stringing left hooks and uppercuts in with straight right hands. Rounds 3 and 4 were more of the same as Prescott upped the intensity and landed some beautiful combos on the charging Jargal. Prescott also let loose a great jab that disrupted Jargal’s forward momentum time and again.

Perhaps frustrated he couldn’t take Jargal out Prescott went all out in a wild round 5, unleashing nearly 50 punches in a row in the center of the ring. Jargal ate a surprising number of the punches in the exchange but refused to go down. If one thing can be said of Jargal in this fight, it’s that his chin must be cast of pure granite. Had the fight stopped at the end of the 5th, perhaps Prescott could have generated some buzz about a potential Khan rematch. Instead, a tired Prescott set himself on cruise control and did little over the final 5 rounds. Although Prescott was clearly winning the rounds, he allowed himself to be trapped on the ropes far too often and looked exhausted over the final two rounds.
Jargal, for his part never stopped fighting and managed to win a few cheers from the crowd as he threw punches with reckless abandon. But heart is often not enough in boxing and scores at the end of the fight were 99-91, 99-90 and 100-90 all for Prescott (now 24-2 19KOs.) Jargal drops to 15-2-3 9KOs. Perhaps one day Prescott will get his rematch with Khan. But showings like tonight’s won’t make it a must on any fight fan’s list.

Junior Middleweight prospect Demetrius Andrade notched another easy win as he dispatched under-whelming opponent Omar Bell in less than two rounds. Andrade calmly worked his southpaw 1-2 throughout much of round one and landed easily on the 32 year old Bell; whose previous fight was over a year ago. A little over a minute into round two, as Bell ducked down and forward in anticipation of a punch, Andrade slipped in a chopping left hand that landed on Bell’s chin and put him on the canvas. Though the punch didn’t seem particularly powerful, it was enough to ensure that Bell stayed on one knee as referee Dick Flaherty tolled the ten count above him. The bout was over at 1:31 of round two. For all Andrade’s Olympic pedigree, it seems he’s being moved quite slowly and it’s questionable how much he can be learning from wins such as these. Regardless, he runs his unblemished record to 13-0 9KOs. Bell records his second loss and is now 8-2 5KOs.

In a 4 round junior middleweight bout, Kevin Rooney Jr. (son of famed trainer Kevin Rooney) made a successful pro debut by battering fellow newcomer David Navarro en-route to a wide unanimous decision victory. It looked as if Rooney would make an early night of things as he came out and dropped Navarro early with a sweeping left hook along the ropes; but Navarro rose and was able to survive the follow up from Rooney by covering up and retreating. In round two Navarro continued to cover up behind a high guard and a slightly frustrated Rooney began to look for counter punches instead of creating the openings. It paid off as Rooney dropped Navarro hard with a counter left hook along the ropes midway though the round. It looked like a fight ending shot but Navarro (who was also making his pro debut as well) acquitted himself well and rose to absorb more punishment. Navarro made it though round two but was easily out-punched over the final two rounds. Scores at the end of 4 read a unsurprising 40-34 on all three judges scorecards, giving Rooney his first pro win and Navarro his first pro loss.

Undefeated heavyweight Joe Hanks battered journeyman Terrell Nelson into submission over 4 one-sided rounds, forcing Nelson’s corner to stop the fight between rounds. Hanks bludgeoned the listless Nelson around the ring with left hooks and right hands, dodging what little Nelson threw in return. After seeing enough, Nelson’s corner pulled the plug before round 5 started, giving Hanks the TKO victory. Hanks improves to 16-0 11KOs while Nelson slips to 8-12 5KOs.

Making his professional debut, light heavyweight Kevin Cobbs destroyed the previously unbeaten Nicholas Lavin in under a round. Cobbs wobbled Lavin with a hard right hand in the corner and put him down with a follow up barrage of punches. Lavin managed to make it to his feet but was put down under another assault from Cobbs and referee Steve Smoger called off the fight at 1:30 of round one. Cobbs is now 1-0 1KO while Lavin drops to 2-1 2KOs.

MASHANTUCKET, CT (April 16, 2011) Forget what you know about Victor Ortiz. Forget what you know about Andre Berto. Nothing in either fighters past meant a damn thing tonight. The heart both men displayed and the way they fought has washed away any negative perceptions anyone could possibly hold about either fighter. Berto slugged instead of boxed, Ortiz over-came knockdowns and gutted out 12 hard rounds. Both fighters entertained and neither backed down. It’s what both needed and what they delivered.

Now the particulars. Round one set the tone for the entire fight, both men came out jabbing quickly, berto snaping off a few right hands. The felt each other out for a minute before Ortiz unleashed a left hand that glanced off of Berto’s should and head and put Berto down. Referee Michael Ortega did not rule it a knockdown but a few seconds later Betro was trapped in a corner went down amidst a barrage of Ortiz’s punches. Betro rose and the round ended but he was clearly shaken. Ortiz tried to exploit Betro’s shaky legs and charged him, swinging and landing. Betro survived and then leveled a perfect right hand counter that dropped Ortiz. Oritz rose and though not badly hurt, did mange to survive Berto’s follow up barrage. Rounds 3 and 4 had furious back and forth action between both fighters, with each giving as well as they were taking. Round 6 was the sure round of the year as Bertro dropped Ortiz hard with a counter right, only to be put down himself moments later from a perfectly time Ortiz left hand.

The fighters slowed a bit in rounds 7, 8 and 9 but there was still great two way action. The difference being that through those rounds, Ortiz appeared to be the slightly fresher, busier fighter. Ortiz was docked a point in round 10 for hitting behind the head but shook it off and closed out rounds 11 and 12 strong. It was truly a fight beyond words and both fighters gave it their all. When the scorecards were announced, Ortiz led on all three: 115-110, 115-112 and 114-111. Ortiz (29-2-2 22KOs) is now the WBC champ and appears to have handily overcome Maidana fight. Berto (27-1 21KOs) takes his first loss but will now hopefully be viewed as the truly exciting fighter he is.

Up and coming welterweight prospect Thomas Dulorme made a serious statement by notching a brutal 2nd round knockout over late replacement Harrison Cuello. Dulorme started quickly and had Cuello backpedaling for most of the first round, using hooks and straight right hands to keep Cuello off balance. Early in round 2, Cuello went down on an overhand right but was more off balance than hurt. Not long after he rose, Dulorme leveled a viscous right hand that instantly separated Cuello from his consciousness and dropped him straight backwards. Referee Johnny Callas didn’t bother to count and stretchers were immediately brought into the ring. Cuello (now 20-16-3 15KOs) was thankfully OK but there were a few tense minutes as medical staff attended to him. Dulorme, who improves to 11-0 10KOs with the knockout, has now certainly become a prospect to keep an eye on.

“Thomas Dulorme is one of the most devastating young punchers,” promoter Lou DiBella said. “He is the entire package. Within a year he will be challenging for a world title.”

Overcoming a 62 pound weight difference, the 223 pound female heavyweight Sonya Lamonakis claimed a hard fought unanimous decision over the 285 pound Gigi Jackson. Lamonakis initially looked a bit apprehensive as Jackson came forward and used her weight to push her around the ring, but by the second round, Lamonakis began to open up and score well with right hands. Through the next 2 rounds, Lamonakis was the busier fighter and pushed Jackson back behind strong right hands and left hooks. Ultimately it was work rate that caused the judges to give it to Lamonakis by scores of 40-36 and 39-37 (twice.) With the win, Lamonakis remains unbeaten at 5-0 1KO while Jackson falls to 2-2.

Deandre Latimore cruised to an unimpressive 8 round unanimous decision over Bayonne NJ’s Dennis Sharpe. Latimore was dominant in the early rounds and landed a number of good right uppercuts but seemed reluctant to follow up on any of his big punches. Each of the 8 rounds progressed in the same manner, with Latimore darting in and out and landing but refusing to open up and try for the stoppage. Sharpe did well to take Latimore’s hard shots but did little else throughout the 8 rounds. When the scorecards were announced, it was no surprise that all three read 80-72 in favor of the now 22-3 (17KOs) Latimore. Sharpe dropped is seventh in a row and stands at 17-7-3 4KOs

In an entertaining scrap between unbeaten bantamweights, New Haven, CT native Luis Rosa Jr. (6-0 5KOs) overcame the hard charging Joseliz Cepeda (4-1) of Neward, NJ and managed to pull out an impressive 5th round KO. The first three rounds of the fight were evenly contested as both fighters tee’d off on each other with near reckless abandon. The fight shifted in round 4 when Cepeda began to visibly slow. Rosa took advantage and pressed the action, putting in good work to the body. When the fifth began, Rosa began right where he left off and wisely went right back to Cepeda’s body. Less than a minute into the round, a left hook from Rosa dropped Cepeda to a knee and spelled the beginning of the end. Cepeda backpedaled to the ropes but was caught with another left hook to the liver and again took a knee; grimacing in pain as referee Dick Flaherty counted him out. Time of the stoppage was 1:12 of round 5.

Welterweight Joseph Elegele of Winter Haven, FL needed less than 2 rounds to blow out his out gunned opponent Angel Hernandez of Gary, IN. The talent disparity was quickly evident as Elegele dropped Hernandez early in round 1 with a counter right hook and proceed to tag him easily thoughout the rest of the round. Round 2 progressed in much the same fashion until Elegele landed a perfect left uppercut to Hernandez’s mid-section, causing him to crumple to the canvas. Referee Johnny Callas began a count but realized it wasn’t necessary and called the fight at 2:54 of round 2. Elegele remains undefeated and runs his record to 12-0 10KOs. Hernandez notches his tenth loss and is now 14-10 11KOs.

In the opening bout of the night, middleweight J’Leon Love of Dearborn MI, wiped out overmatched J.C. Peterson of Fort Myers, FL in less less than two rounds. Love dominated from the outset and rained punches on Peterson for the entirety of the fight. The end came as Peterson, trapped on the ropes, was stunned by a left hook and ate around 10 follow up punches en route to the canvas where referee Dick Flaherty waved it off. Time of the stoppage was 2:13 of round 2. Love is now 6-0 5KOs while Peterson stands at 1-11.

Post Fight Quotes

New World Boxing Council (“WBC”) Welterweight Champion “Vicious” Victor Ortiz addressed the media following his thrilling twelve round unanimous decision victory over Andre Berto on Saturday night.

Berto, who hurt his right hand in round and required medical attention, did not attend the press conference.

Here are post fight quotes from the participants:

Victor Ortiz, WBC Welterweight Champion: “Andre Berto – I know he’s not here – we both went through a great war; nothing but respect. It was a very exciting fight. He hits very hard. I have a head harder than a rock. I wonder what the headline will read: Victor doesn’t have….fill in the blank. It wasn’t a walk in the park but I got the goods.”

“I want to thank Manny Pacquiao for his words. We talked today and he said to stick to my plan, that I’m a very good fighter, and don’t take anybody’s negativity.”

“I saw Andre Berto as a champion. There’s no stopping Berto. I didn’t prepare to knockout Berto. I knew it would go the full distance. I pictured myself with two black eyes, but I would have the green belt.”

“There are a lot of great fighters at 147’; I’m completely done with 140. I’m going to take a vacation and then shoot for the big names. I don’t make a helluva lot. Why not shoot for the big ones?”

“Stuff happens. That was the past. Maidana still doesn’t have anything on me. That wasn’t my night. I fought with a broken wrist and the fight was stopped. They said I gave up, I didn’t give up. I didn’t fight Morales. He’s a great guy but past his time and I strongly believe he beat Maidana. He wouldn’t give me a rematch but I’m the guy with no courage, no heart, no balls. But I’m the guy with the belt.”

“I didn’t see it as close. I knew I pulled off a victory. You see the new WBC Welterweight Champion.”

“I wasn’t expecting an easy fight. I expected a war. I studied him and he’s no joke. He knocked out some good guys but I saw the Luis Collazo fight. He (Collazo) was the first to beat him (Berto). I tip my hat to you.”

“It goes back to when I was young. I didn’t have anything when I was young. I raised my brother. I thought this was my dream. I wasn’t going to stand for anything less. I was moving up to 147 but knew I carried my power. For three months, every day at the gym, I would say the new champ.”

Lou DiBella, promoter of the show and Berto: “Berto can’t attend the press conference. Dr. Schwartz said he has a possible break of his right hand and possible concussion. He went to the hospital. We have no issues. Very, very close. No problems from our team. Victor Ortiz answered all of the questions about his heart. You know Victor Ortiz is a welterweight.”

“There were no losers when you out on a fight like this. I’m very proud to promote this fight.”

“Yesterday would have been the 39th birthday of Arturo Gatti. Arturo Gatti would have been very pleased of the fight tonight.”

Richard Schaeffer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions and Ortiz’s promoter: “We’ve been waiting for a guy to bring excitement back to boxing and Victor Ortiz did that tonight.”

“We’re very proud of Victor Ortiz. He was attacked by some in the media. They questioned his heart and the will to go to war. He proved he has heart and the will to win, against an undefeated guy like Berto and gave him no chance.”

“You saw one of the best welterweight fights in years. Definitely all fight fans would to see it again. There are a lot of opportunities for Victor at 147 bit we’ll sit down and get this fight made again.”

Photo by Claudia Bocanegra

Sergio Martinez continued his domination of the middleweight division by scoring an impressive 8th round KO over Sergiy Dzinziruk. Martinez dominated from the outset as he scored well from the outside and easily moved away from the jab of Dzinziruk. By the fourth Martinez began to open up and score more easily. Mid round, a left hand in the midst of a 4 punch combo caused Dzinziruk to take a knee. Martinez continued his dominance and scored a knockdown on a jab left hand at the end of round 5. Dzinziruk had perhaps his best round in the 7th when he finally opened up and landed some good jabs and left hands, but Martinez stormed back in the 8th and scored an early knockdown on a counter left hand. Dzinziruk rose on shaky legs only to be knocked down by a second counter left hand. He gamely fought on but one more flurry from Martinez dumped Dzinziruk on the seat of his pants and referee Arthur Mercante Jr. called the fight at 1:43 of round 8. Martinez notches another big win and improves to 47-2-2 with 26KOs while Dzinziruk loses his 0 and drops to 37-1 23KOs.

Middleweight’s Andy Lee and Craig McEwan fought an exciting ten round scrap that ultimately saw Lee come from behind to score an impressive KO. Lee started well and landed some strong right hooks over the first two rounds, a few of which visibly bucked the legs of McEwan. But McEwan began to find his rhythm in round 3 and started timing Lee with straight left hands and right hooks. Rounds 4-6 saw McEwan land some good shots which appeared to sap Lee’s strength and put him in retreat. Lee rebounded in round 7 though and began to turn the tables, landing some good right hooks that helped close the gap in the scorecards. A jab right hand combo at the end of round 9 dropped McEwan hard and Lee did all he could to finish him off. He had to wait till round ten when he landed a sweeping overhand left to the McEwan’s chin who dropped hard to the canvas. Referee Steve Smoger called off the fight without a count at 56 seconds of round ten. Lee showed heart in his come from behind victory and runs his record to 25-1 with 19KOs. McEwan loses for the first time as a pro and falls to 19-1 10KOs.

Featheweight Javier Fotuna of LaRomana, Dominican Republic scored a highlight reel KO in the first of HBO’s televised fights, knocking out a truly game Derrick Wilson (Miami, FL) in the eighth round. Wilson came to win and threw punches with reckless abandon from the start of the fight. Fortuna had the superior skills though and was able to time Wilson and land a perfect counter right that dropped him in the 3rd. Wilson rose and continued to fight hard which allowed him to survive the round. He arguably won the fourth round as he tagged Fortuna repeatedly with right hands but was again knocked down in the 6th via a left hand, right hook, left hand combo. Wilson had a good round 7 but was dropped for the third time mid-way through the 8th on a straight left hand. Again he rose and fought back gamely but ultimately paid the price for his bravery as Fortuna landed a perfect straight left counter that put Wilson out cold. Referee John Callas called the fight without a count at 2:27 of round 8. Fortuna is now 14-0 with 11KOs while Wilson slips to 8-2 2KOs.

Welterweight Thomas Durlorme of Carolina, Puerto Rico needed only two rounds to dispatch his over matched opponent Guillermo Valdes of Miami, FL. It was obvious from the opening bell that Durlorme was going to earn himself a stoppage; the only intrigue in the fight was how long it would last. Valdes was knocked around the ring for all of the first round and continued to take a beating in round 2 until referee Dick Flaherty intervened 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the round and saved Valdes from further punishment. The stoppage was premature but Valdes (now 12-3 3KOs) clearly had no chance and should be thankful he didn’t have to fight on.. The win keeps Durlorme unbeaten at 10-0 9KOs.

In the lone female bout of the card, heavyweight’s Sonya Lamanokis of Turner Falls, MA earned a unanimous decision over the formerly unbeaten Tanzee Daniel of Brooklyn, NY. From the opening bell both fighters stood toe to toe and fired shots to the body and head. This trend continued for each of the six rounds and seemingly made for a difficult fight to score. When the scores were announced though, the judges were in agreement and gave the fight to Lamanokis by scores of 58-56 and 59-55 (twice.) Lamanokis keeps her 0 and runs her record to 4-0 2KOs while Daniel slips to 4-1 1KO.

Light heavyweight Seanie Monaghan of Long Beach, NY battered Jackson, Missippi’s Billy Cunningham over 4 one-sided rounds to earn himself a unanimous decision. Monaghan pressed the action throughout the fight and consistently landed good left hooks to the body. Despite his best efforts, Monaghan never had Cunningham in trouble but did more than enough to earn scores of 40-36 across the board. He improves to 6-0 4KOs while Cunningham drops to 5-9 4KOs.

In the opening bout of the evening, junior middleweight Abraham Lopez (2-1-1) of Oxnard, CA outworked his opponent Andrew Jones (0-4) of Buffalo, NY over 4 rounds to claim a unanimous decision. Lopez battered Jones all fight with strong lead right hands and almost put him away in rounds 3 and 4. Scores were 40-36 and 39-37 (twice.)

POST FIGHT PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES

Sergio Martinez: “I want no easy fights. They (Paul Williams and Dzinziruk) are two different fighters. Paul Williams and Dzinziruk have different tactics. Dzinziruk is a very smart fighter but I beat him at his own game – the jab. It was supposed to be a technical fight.”

“(He wasn’t hit with) nothing special. I wasn’t hurt. I felt one punch, behind my head, but that happens in fights.”

“There was no emergency (after he was cut). It was just the moment to finish.”

“(How low can he go to make a Manny Pacquiao fight) Probably 154.”

“(Head trainer filling in for his brother Gabriel) Pablo (Sarmiento) did a perfect job.”

“Cotto would be a good fight. I just want to fight the best. If Cotto is man enough, he will ask to fight Sergio Martinez.”

“I will not stop until I am recognized as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.”

Lou DiBella, promoter of Martinez and Lee: “McEwan put on one of the gutsiest performances. He was leading after eight rounds and Lee had to do something dramatic.”

“I’m proud of Andy Lee’s performance. I’ll talk next week with Manny (Stewart, Lee’s manager/trainer). It won’t be Sergio (for Andy) the next fight. This made Andy an HBO fighter – the best thing he can do.”

“It was a terrific show. It turns out Dzinziruk was the right fight. This proved that he (Sergio) is a Hall of Fame fighter. Dzinziruk is an excellent fighter but Sergio may be the best fighter in the world.”

“Pound-for-pound, (Sergio) he is the best fighter in the world. Tonight you saw why he’s going to the Hall of Fame. He is the best middleweight from Argentina since Carlos Monzon.”

“We want the biggest fight out there.”

“That’s not up to me (making a Martinez-Miguel Cotto fight). It’s up to Bob (Arum). Maybe Cotto will be man enough to ask Bob to fight Sergio? Arum’s been lining up bum after bum after bum to fight Manny Pacquiao and Cotto. People should be lining up to fight him (Sergio), the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.”

Gary Shaw, co-promoter of Dzinziruk: “Sergio Martinez not only is the best 160 pound fighter in the world but he may be the best fighter in the world. I’ve been in this business since 1961 and I’ve never seen anybody with more hand speed than Sergio Martinez. We still have the best 154-pound fighter in the world. There isn’t a 154-pound fighter in the world we wouldn’t fight.”

Artie Pellulo, co-promoter of Dzinziruk: “We have the best junior middleweight in the world; Lou has the best middleweight in the world and one of the best, if not the best fighter in the world. Dzinziruk got up and knew he was fighting the best in the world. The better man won tonight; he fought the best middleweight in the world.”

Andy Lee: “Overall, I wasn’t happy with my performance. I hurt him early in the fight and I think that worked against me. I loaded up too much. I got into that habit and it was tough to get out. In the middle rounds I thought I was losing the fight. It was a big opportunity so I said to myself if I’m going to lose he’s going to have to kill me.”

“Basically I was flat-footed until I switched it up. Eventually I caught him at the end. I was fortunate but I deserved it. I don’t know what round it was but something inside me said I was going to take it.”

“He boxed very good. It was hard; we’re friends. I respected him before the fight and more now.”

“Sergio has great speed. He’d be a tough challenge for me.”

“I won the ninth, 10-8, but knew I needed a big finish and not leave it to the judges. One, two – he was on the ground. It wasn’t my best performance but it was a great victory. It was a hard fought fight. I showed courage and heart. I will get better.”

Emerging super middleweight prospect Vladine Biosse of Providence, RI scored the biggest win of his fledgling career tonight at the Mohegan Sun Arena, knocking out former junior middleweight titlist Santiago Samaniego in the third round.

Samaniego, despite once holding a WBA title, was years removed from his best (he has only 1 win since 2002) but still represented a significant step up in class for the 28 year old Biosse. 30 of Samaniego’s 37 wins were by knockout, so at the very least he had a proverbial “punchers chance” coming into the bout. None of Samaniego’s achievements seemed to matter to Biosse though and from the opening bell, he stalked his opponent around the ring behind a southpaw jab; occasionally putting a straight left behind it for good measure. Biosse cut down the ring well and quickly had Samaniego along the ropes where he strafed him with two fisted combinations; firing them from different angles to keep Samaniego guessing. By the second round it was obvious that Samaniego had little chance against his younger opponent and despite his best efforts, Samaniego’s punches were simply too slow to come close to connecting with the ever-moving Biosse. Throughout the second round, Biosse continually utilized angles to turn Samaniego to the ropes where he would punish him with both hands. 25 seconds into the third, a flurry from Biosse dropped Samaniego along the ropes. Samaniego rose looking more tired than shaken and moved away from his pursuer to avoid more punishment. Biosse showed poise and didn’t go for broke on the follow up. He patiently waited for his moment, forced Biosse to the ropes and unleashed a left uppercut that dropped Samaniego to the canvas. Clearly out-classed and with no hope of winning, Samaniego took the full ten count while on one knee. Biosse has a lot to be proud of with the win and displayed that he is now ready to begin taking on the tougher challengers in the super middleweight division. The win improves his record to 10-0 5KOs. Samaniego, who looked about 10 pounds too heavy, ought to seriously consider his future as a professional fighter. His latest loss leaves him at 37-13-1 30KOs but with only 1 win in the last 9 years, his days as an effective fighter are clearly behind him.

Eight months after being KO’d in one round by rising middleweight prospect David Lemieux, New Haven CT’s Elvin Ayala got back into the win column with a 6 round unanimous decision over Indianapolis, IN’s Mustafah Johnson. Ayala controlled most of the bout from the outside, utilizing a crisp jab to keep Johnson at bay. Ayala also mixed in left hooks to good effect and was able to slip most of what Johnson threw back in return. The fight progressed in much the same way until the 4th round when Johnson was able to catch up to Ayala and force his back to the ropes. In response Ayala began fighting more and boxing less, opening up with stinging left hooks and using angles to spin Johnson onto the ropes. Johnson was game and continued to press the action, but Ayala proved too fast and accurate for Johnson to mount any significant offense. When the scorecards were read, it was no surprise all three favored Ayala by scores of 60-54. Although Johnson was a soft touch, Ayala deserved an easy win after the nature of his knockout loss to Lemieux. Ayala is now 21-5 9KOs. Johnson drops to 8-10-1.

Prior to the 4 round middleweight bout between New Haven CT’s Greg McCoy and Pawtucket, RI’s Thomas Falowo, the ring announcer warned the crowd: “Watch out. This fight just might steal the show.” The statement couldn’t have been more accurate. The 4 rounds between McCoy and Falowo had everything the crowd had paid to see: non-stop back and forth action, big punches and a definitive winner. At the opening bell, both fighters charged from their corners throwing (and landing) every punch in the book. Hooks, uppercuts, straight right hands; every punch either fighter threw landed and on multiple occasions both fighter looked to be on shaky legs. The crowd was on their feet at the end of the first and though the action in round 2 was no less impressive, Falowo began to out-land McCoy. As the round progressed, McCoy began to steadily tire and his punches had less and less effect on Falowo, who began to press the action and land hard right hands. By the 4th, McCoy was still fighting back valiantly but it was clear he was all but spent. Falowo backed him into the ropes and hurt him with an overhand right. Sensing the end was near, Falowo poured out everything he had and landed 10 plus unanswered punches before referee Dick Flaherty jumped in and stopped it at 1 minute 40 seconds of the fourth round. With an impressive display of stamina, Falowo picked up his second professional win and now stands at 2-0 2KOs. McCoy drops to 2-2-1 1KO but no doubt did well to secure a good pay day in his next fight with his incredible display of heart.

If there were an award for punch of the night, it would belong to Hartford, CT’s Javier Flores. Flores, who was matched against Rochester NY welterweight Marcus Hall, was being out-boxed though much of the first 2 of a scheduled 4 rounds when he began to launch left uppercuts that landed hard on the chin of Hall. As Hall was backing up to escape them, he became trapped against the ropes and ate another crunching lead left uppercut that dropped him to the floor. Referee Eddie Cotton didn’t bother with a count and called the fight at 2 minutes 5 seconds of the second round. With the impressive display of power, Flores bumped his record up to 5-0 5KOs. Hall, who fought well up until the stoppage, drops to 4-3-1 2KOs.

In an ugly bout, welterweight Sean Eklund of Lowell, MA was able to muscle his way to a 4 round unanimous decision over Springfield, MA’s Noel Garcia. From the opening bell both fighters appeared nervous and came at each other winging punches. Neither fighter was able to land anything of note, although Eklund settled in as the aggressor and began to press the action. Each round appeared to be a mirror image of the last, with Eklund pressing forward with wild abandon and Garcia flailing punches when Eklund came in close. With the amount of punches being thrown, it was surprising that very little was landing for either fighter. The difference in the fight was Eklund’s commitment to coming forward and no doubt was the deciding factor on the judges scorecards. At the end of 4, all three judges had it 39-37 in favor of Eklund, improving his record to 8-4 1KO. Garcia notches another loss and stands at 2-7-1 1KO.

Local junior welterweight favorite Edwin Soto (6-0-1 2KOs) of New Haven, CT, easily won a six round unanimous decision over his game opponent from Niagara Falls, NY James Ventry (7-13 4KOs.)
Soto began the fight moving and boxing well, getting in and out with two fisted combos to the body and head of Ventry. Ventry was consistently coming forward but did not utilize a jab and paid the price for not working his way inside; often taking 4 or 5 shots to land one. Soto began to slow in the 4th round and as a result, found himself with his back to the ropes and Ventry looking to tee off on him. Soto responded well though and countered Ventry successfully from the ropes with left hooks to the body and head. Ventry had his best round in the 6th when his shots finally began to find the chin of the tiring Soto. At that point though, it was too little too late and Soto had already secured his victory. Scores at the end gave little credit to Ventry as all three judges scored it a shutout at 60-54.

One of the unfortunate realities of the heavyweight division is that in comparison to every other division in boxing, the skill level of the average practitioner is markedly lower. As I watched heavyweight’s Theron Johnson of Chicago, IL and Billy Mofford of Randolph, MA fight for six rounds, there seemed little reason to question this. Mofford appeared out of shape and seemed to have no game plan outside of throwing single shot hay-makers and praying for a knockout. Johnson easily out-worked Mofford by throwing in combination, but won nearly all of the six rounds on the strength of his overhand right. One of his overhand rights in round two caught Mofford in the nose and caused him to bleed off and on for the rest of the fight. Mofford’s only moment came in the 5th when he managed to connect with a solid right hand that buzzed Johnson momentarily. Johnson shook it off and out-boxed Mofford through the rest of the fight. Scores at the end read 60-54 and 59-55 (twice) in favor of Johnson who improves his record to 5-3 1KO. Mofford slips to 9-2-2 4KOs.

Ledyard, CT middleweight Brian Macy returned from a two year layoff to lose a surprising 4 round split decision to Fort Myers Florida’s JC Peterson. Peterson, who was 0-8 going into the bout, started impressively by dropping an off balance Macy with a left jab to the face early in round one. Over the course of the next 3 rounds, both fighters stood shoulder to shoulder and traded punches to the body and head which made for difficult scoring. The close nature of the bout was reflected by the scorecards at the end: 38-37 for Macy and 38-37 (twice) for Peterson. With the win, Peterson picked up his first professional win and now stands at 1-9. Macy drops his second in a row and falls to 5-2 2KOs.

In the opening bout of the evening, New Haven, CT super bantamweight Luis Rosa (5-0 4KOs) dismantled Cape Coral, Florida’s Justin Goodall (1-2 1KO) in 3 lopsided rounds. Rosa dropped Goodall in the opening 15 seconds with a sweeping left hook, and Goodall appeared all but spent when he rose on shaky legs. He managed to survive Rosa’s follow up barrage and was able to make it through rounds one and two on his bicycle, offering little more than a keep away jab to discourage Rosa. By round 3 Goodall has lost his legs completely and coming out of one of the numerous clinches of the round, Rosa landed a sharp left hook that dropped Goodall flat on his back. Referee Eddie Cotton immediately waved off the fight, stopping it at 1:14 of Round 3 and giving Rosa his 3rd KO victory in a row.

With the upset win over Travis Kauffman still fresh in his mind and his single loss recently avenged, Tony Grano was undoubtedly looking towards bigger and better things for himself in a wide open heavyweight division. It seems as though his opponent, the 6’6 258 pound Nicolai Firtha was brought in as a test to get Grano ready for the big boys of the heavyweight upper echelon. If it was, Grano failed miserably.

At the start of the fight, Firtha wisely used his longer reach and kept Grano at the end of his jab. Frustrated, Grano swung wildly with left hooks and ate even more jabs as a result. Each jab Firtha landed had an audible thud and Grano seemed at a loss as to how he would get inside. Eventually, he did manage to find his way inside and in his best moment in the fight, unleashed a string of body shots followed by a left hook, right hand combo that momentarily buzzed Firtha. For a fleeting second it seemed as if Grano was going to gain control of the fight. That second quickly passed when Firtha landed a chopping right hand inside that shook Grano up and had him backpedaling. A follow up right hand dropped Grano at the end of the round and as he rose, the bell to end round one sounded.

Round two was even worse for Grano who again had trouble getting inside and began to eat jab, right hand combos from the increasingly confident Firtha. Even in close Firtha took command, shoving around the smaller Grano and landing good shots inside. Grano seemed completely out of his depth as round two wore on and Firtha kept banging away, dropping Grano for a second time via another flush right hand. When Grano rose it was clear that he was out of it as he retreated to the ropes where Firtha tee’s off, landing perhaps more than 10 flush, unanswered head shots. As referee Dick Flaherty jumped in to stop the fight, Grano was trying gamely to fire back which prompted those in the audience to boo the stoppage. Though it may have seemed a bad time to stop the fight, Grano nearly fell from his unsteady legs after the fight was over and most likely would have been seriously hurt had the fight not been called. Time of the stoppage was 2:15 of round two.

Perhaps it was overconfidence that caused Grano to put in such a poor performance against the taller and heavier Firtha but the fact remains that Grano has been dropped in 4 of his last 5 fights; all but one against sub-par opposition. His chin is shaky at best and in a division where every fighter has the ability to end things with one punch, Grano’s future as a contender is unclear. Regardless of Grano’s stance in the heavyweight picture, all credit should be given to Firtha who came in thinking upset and backed it up with his fists. Firtha is now 18-7-1 7KOs while Grano slips to 17-2-1 13KOs.

In the bizarre co-main event, Hartford CT’s Mike Oliver earned victory via an 8th round DQ against Miami FL’s Mauricio Pastrana. The fight started well for Oliver who was more aggressive than usual, throwing multiple punches in combination and forcing the physically stronger Pastrana against the ropes. Pastrana had little to offer in return and mostly covered up and tied up for the first three rounds. In the fourth, it started to become obvious that Pastrana was getting frustrated as he began to try and rough Oliver up on the inside. This included trying to spin Oliver when the fighters were in a clinch and as a result, Oliver also began to get frustrated. The two exchanged at close range as the seconds to the fourth round dwindled down and when the bell finally rang, neither fighter let up. Referee Michael Ortega had to physically separate both fighters as they continued to wing punches.

Oliver switched over to boxing in the fifth and tried to create distance between himself and Pastrana who was content to eat shots for a chance to get inside. When he did get there, Pastrana seemed at a loss for what to do and again tried to maul Oliver in the clinch. During the 6th round Pastrana actually threw Oliver to the canvas in a clinch, prompting referee Michael Ortega to dock him a point. The dirty tactics continued in the 7th when Pastrana was again deducted a point for an infraction that was unclear to those sitting at ringside. Oliver came out of a clinch clutching his arm before Ortega took a point from Pastrana and it’s likely that he twisted Oliver’s arm in an attempt to slow his offense. Ironically Pastrana had been doing well earlier in the round by landing flush right hands inside and it’s likely that the only round he picked up on the scorecards was nullified by the point deduction. At the start of the 8th and final round, it was clear that Pastrana was too far behind to win on the cards and perhaps desperate and out of options, Pastrana again threw Oliver to the canvas when the two were in a clinch. Referee Ortega had seen enough at that point and DQ’d Pastrana at 43 seconds of the 8th. Regardless of the outcome, Oliver looked good in his performance and has begun to get himself back on track for a title shot. His record is now 24-2 8KOs. Pastrana, who deserved the DQ, drops his 7th fight in the last 8 and is now 35-14-2 23KOs.

Junior welterweights Edwin Soto (New Haven, CT) and Bryan Abraham (Schenectady, NY) battled to a 4 round majority draw in a fight that was as close as it’s verdict. From the onset Soto tired to press the action behind a jab, right hand combo but mid-way through the first Abraham began to counter him with well timed counter rights. Every round was close and scoring them depended on whether you favored Abraham’s harder counter shots, or Soto’s aggressiveness. In the end two judges favored neither, scoring the fight an even 38-38. The third judge had it 39-37 Abraham. Both fighters notch a draw to their records with Soto now at 4-0-1 2KOs and Abraham at 2-3-2 2KOs.

Up and coming light heavyweight prospect Joe Smith Jr. of Long Island, NY notched another impressive KO win to run his undefeated record to 5-0 5KOs. Smith’s opponent Walter Foster Jr. (4-3-1 4KOs) of Berkeley, MO was outgunned from the start and was put to the canvas via a right hand in the opening ten seconds of the fight. Foster, who was more off balance than hurt, tried to land a few right hands after getting up but was kept constantly out of position by the jabs and hooks of Smith. Smith also began to drop left hooks to the liver of Foster and it seemed only a matter of time before Smith overwhelmed him. That moment came in the second when Smith landed a left hook to the top of Foster’s head that dropped him on all fours. Foster rose on shaky legs and a follow up flurry from Smith was enough to convince referee Dick Flaharety to stop the fight. Time of the stoppage was 1:39 of round 2. Smith is swiftly becoming a prospect to keep an eye on and seems to have a bright future ahead of him.

Though he shares a famous last name, super middleweight Rick Dawson doesn’t possess nearly the same skill-set as his brother. His 4 round unanimous decision over Toledo, OH’s Jeremiah Jones was punctuated by a distinct reluctance on the part of both fighters to engage one another. Dawson was the fighter coming forward but did little in the way of punching. His best moments were found when he utilized his lead right hooks, a few of which he was able to follow with straight left hands. Jones fought like a scared fighter for the majority of the bout and did even less punching than the cautious Dawson. The final scores read 40-36 and 39-37 (twice) all in favor of Dawson who is now 2-0 1KO. Jones dropped his third fight in a row and stands at 1-4-1.

Junior welterweight Frankie Trader (7-0 2KOs)of Philadelphia, PA pot-shotted his way to a dull 4 round unanimous decision against Springfield, MA native Noel Gracia (2-4-1 1KO.) Trader landed nearly every punch he threw but was so sparing in his output that it made a dominant performance tedious to watch. Garcia attempted to land wild right hands but missed consistently and was never in contention at any point during the fight. Scores at the end of the scheduled 4 rounds were 40-36 across the board.

Local featherweight Luis Rosa of New Haven, CT won every second of his 4 round bout en route to a last minute stoppage of Seldon, NY’s John Passantino. Rosa opened up with a two fisted body attack and didn’t let up at any point during the fight. Passantino did well to soak up the punishment but offered little in return and finally took a knee late into the fourth. After he rose, a final flurry from Rosa was enough to convince referee Danny Schiavone to end the one-sided affair. Rosa improves to 3-0 2KOs while Passantino loses his debut and stands at 0-1. Time of the stoppage was 1:15 of round 4.

In the opening bout of the evening pro debuting Jonathan Vasquez (Fall River, MA ) sparked out fellow junior welterweight Carlos Hernandez (Bridgeport, CT) in the first round of a scheduled 4 rounder. A counter left hook early in the round dropped Hernandez mid-punch. Hernandez rose and continued fighting only to eat another vicious counter left hook that laid him prostrate on the canvas and in need of medical attention. After the ring was cleared, the official time of 2 minutes 18 seconds was announced and Vasquez got hear himself declared the victor for the first time in his fledgling pro career. Hernandez lost his second bout in as many appearances and will hopefully recover from the truly brutal knockout he suffered.

Say what you want about Peter Manfredo Jr., but even his staunchest detractors have to admit he makes a good fight. Manfredo Jr. comes to fight every time out and though he may never be upper echelon, he certainly will always be fun to watch. His fight tonight at the Mohegan Sun Casino with fellow middleweight Angel Hernandez was perhaps Manfredo Jr.’s best pure action performance ever. Hernandez didn’t come to lay down and the result was 10 rounds of back and forth action.

The first round of the fight did not go well for Manfredo Jr. as he was pushed into the ropes by the onrushing Hernandez and ate a number of good shots as he struggled to take the fight to the center of the ring. This would be a constant struggle for him over the course of the fight as Hernan

The first fight between Tony Grano and Mark Brown back in 2008 reminded me that heavyweight fights can be entertaining. It featured big punches, multiple knockdowns and a thrilling come from behind conclusion. It was in short, everything right about heavyweight boxing. The rematch between Grano and Brown, sadly, featured everything that is wrong with heavyweight boxing: Clinching, inactivity and the lack of drama that seems to permeate every fight over 200 pounds.

Instead of letting it all hang out as he did in the first fight, Brown came into the fight thinking he was Muhammad Ali circa 1974. From the first bell he covered up and invited Grano to come in and wear himself out, hoping that Grano would punch himself into exhaustion and an easy KO. Problem was, Grano wasn’t having any of it. No amount of posturing and chest beating would get Grano to lay down more than the occasional flurry. Grano was content to stay on the outside and use the jab, piling up points and ensuring that he avenge the loss to Brown nearly two years prior. Ironically when Grano did come in to open up, Brown would bear hug and attempt to toss Grano around the ring. As the rounds progressed, Grano began to retaliate and the grappling and wrestling began in earnest. Referee Joey Lupino spent at least 20 seconds of each round admonishing both fighters for their unsportsmanlike tactics. Though Grano was winning rounds, he wasn’t making it look pretty.

His best moment came in the 7th when he managed to get Brown to the ropes and give himself enough space to tee off with rights and lefts to Browns chin. Brown was shaken but not so much as he couldn’t simply resort to clinching again. The sole moment of drama came in the 10th as Brown finally put forth an effort to punch, unleashing a full power overhand right that landed as Grano was moving back. Grano fell sideways into the ropes in dramatic fashion but the second he rose it was clear he was more off balance than hurt. Oddly, Brown didn’t even try to jump on Grano and did more posturing than punching over the final 2 minutes. The scores were no surprise: 98-91 and 97-92 (twice) all in favor of Grano. As bad as the fight was, it was a good win for Grano who at 17-1-1 13KOs can now start thinking of taking on someone ranked in the top ten. For Brown his 41 years of age and 15-3 7KOs record would, in any other division, warrant retirement. But in the heavyweight division, it’s still possible Brown can land himself a significant fight in the near future.

Former super bantamweight prospect Mike Oliver climbed one step closer toward once again being a player in the division by dispatching former minimumweight titlist Kermin Guardia in 3 rounds. Oliver kept Guardia at bay for much of the first 2 rounds with a fast jab and the occasional straight left hand. Midway through the second Oliver began to mix in right hooks which the complacent Guardia seemed unwilling or unable to avoid. In the third, a right hook caught Guardia moving backwards and deposited him on the canvas where referee Johnny Callas reached the count of 10. The knockout was Oliver’s first since 2006 and a good way to get him back into the divisional mix. With the win, he’s now 23-2 8KOs. Guardia falls to 37-12 21KOs.

Local up and coming middleweight David Bauza was given all he could handle from Erix Quintros in a close and entertaining 4 round scrap. Bauza was bombs away from the beginning and rocked Quintros with left and right hooks as he regularly switched between the southpaw and orthodox stance. For the first two rounds Quintros had little to offer in return but in the third, he began to fight back and put together combinations that drove Bauza to the ropes. Quintros had Bauza in some trouble near the end of the third as he landed a 4 punch combo that caused Bauza to clinch simply to keep his balance. At the end of the fourth one of the judges scored the fight even at 38-38 but was overruled by the other two who favored Bauza by scores of 39-37 and 40-36. Bauza remains unbeaten at 4-0 3KOs while Quintros drops his second fight in a row and slips to 2-5 1KO.

2008 U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali may not have frightening power but what he lacks in power he makes up for in speed. Welterweight Jose Duran got a taste of that speed for two and a half rounds before finally succumbing to it. The bout was all Ali from the start as he flashed combinations from different angles, peppering Duran with shots to the body and head. Duran was simply too slow to mount any offense and the rare punches he landed had little effect on Ali. Midway through the third Ali shot a blindingly fast left hook to the head of Duran which sent him crashing to the canvas. Duran (now 6-5-2 3KOs) struggled but was unable to beat the count of 10 giving Ali (now 6-0 3KOs) the knockout victory.

In the most entertaining bout of the night, super middleweights Manuel Lopes and Greg McCoy fought to a highly competitive majority draw over 4 rounds. The bout seemed like it would be one-sided at the onset as Lopes used the ring well and pot-shotted the onrushing and wild McCoy to good effect. The first two rounds were all Lopes who began to get increasingly bold as the minutes ticked away. He began dropping his hands and trying to trade with McCoy which almost proved to be his undoing. McCoy took full advantage of Lopes bravado and dished out a number of overhand rights that began to fall with regularity onto the chin of McCoy. By the fourth, McCoy had the confidence he needed to rush Lopes and launch a determined assault. McCoy backed Lopes into his own corner and uncorked yet another overhand right, this time stunning Lopes badly. McCoy tried to follow up and finish the fight but Lopes clung on till the bell and narrowly escaped defeat. Scores were 38-38 (twice) and 39-37 Lopes. McCoy, who has yet to win as a pro, now stands at 0-1-1 while Lopes clings to his unbeaten record of 5-0-2 1KO.

A mere 43 seconds was all light heavyweight Joe Smith Jr. needed to take the fight out of Carlos Adams. Smith dropped Adams with nearly the first left hook he threw and when Adams rose, Smith put an end to the fight with a single right hand. Referee Johnny Callas stopped his count at 7 when it was clear Adams wanted no part of the fight. Smith seems to have potential and will be an up an comer to look for in the future. He improves his record to 3-0 with 3KOs while Adams drops to 2-8.

The opening bout of the evening was a scheduled 4 rounder between junior welterweights Joey Ortega (2-17 1KO) and Edwin Soto (3-0 2KOs.) The fight was a mismatch from the beginning as Soto got right to work battering Ortega with 3, 4 and 5 punch combinations. The beating opened a cut on Ortega’s nose midway through the first and Ortega simply had no answer for the blows Soto rained down. Midway through the second Soto threw a right hand that caught Ortega flush and stunned him. The follow up barrage of 10+ unanswered punches prompted referee Dick Flaherty to call a halt to the bout. The stoppage was a bit premature but merciful to say the least. Time was 2:31 of round 2.

After an evening of uninspiring undercard bouts, the main event between Devon Alexander and Juan Urango delivered in a big way. Two 140 pound titles were at stake: the IBF held by Urango and the WBC held by Alexander. The fight was competitive from the start as Alexander worked behind a crisp jab while Urango, in usual fashion, steamed forward headfirst throwing punches. What was surprising was how often Urango was able to land his sweeping right hook on the chin of the slick Alexander. Equally surprising was how little effect any of Urango’s punches, which are know for their power, seemed to have on Alexander. There was hardly a pause from Alexander when one of Urango’s rights connected and despite the frequency with which Urango landed, Alexander seemed determined to follow his gameplan of boxing from the outside. Initially, this seemed to be a bad strategy as Urango was able to get the best of the exchanges but as the fight unfolded, Alexander’s composure proved to pay off. He began to land jab straight right hand combos that kept Urango off balance and by the sixth, Alexander was unleashing 3 and 4 punch combos on the chin of Urango. By the 8th, the fight was very close and it seemed like it was going to remain that way for the rest of the fight as neither fighter was able to fully impose his will on the other. All that changed when Alexander was able to catch Urango with a perfectly timed right upper cut that punctuated a 3 punch combination. The upper cut put Urango down hard but in a scene reminiscent of Urango-Bailey, Juan was able to make it to his feet and continue fighting. Unfortunately for Urango, Alexander was a much better finisher than Bailey and dropped him with another flurry. Urango struggled to regain his footing and was wisely deemed unfit to continue by referee Benjy Esteves. The time of the stoppage was 1:12 of round number 8. Alexander is the division’s only unified champion and now stands at an impressive 20-0 13KOs. Urango’s record is now 22-3-1 17KOs but despite the loss, will no doubt still be able to land significant fights in a division that is beginning to make a serious case as being the best in boxing.

In a stunning upset, former super featherweight world titlist Steve Forbes (now fighting at welterweight) dropped an 8 round decision to journeyman Harrison Cuello. Forbes was simply outworked over much of the bout and seemed content to try and potshot Cuello with little result. To his credit, Cuello was there to fight and repeatedly hammered Forbes with left hands to the body and head. Forbes managed to pick up a few rounds with some body work and the occasional lazy jab, but Cuello was the busier fighter and his punches carried more steam. Thankfully the judges got it right and awarded the ecstatic Cuello the well deserved majority decision by scores of 78-74, 77-75 and 76-76. Cuello ups his record to 19-12-3 14KOs while Forbes, who should start thinking about retirement, drops to 34-8 10KOs.

Heavyweight Derric Rossy won a solid yet unspectacular unanimous decision over journeyman Zack Page and picked up the WBC USNBC title in the process. Rossy easily controlled the fight behind his jab and Page, who has scored a number of upsets in the past, seemed reluctant to offer up any kind of resistance. The sole moment of drama came in the sixth when Rossy stunned Page with a right upper cut and put him down moments later with a straight right hand. It was a hard knockdown and Page showed real determination to simply get up. It was to little avail though as Rossy continued to dominate the rest of the fight, claiming victory by scores of 117-110, 120-107 and 118-109. Rossy is now 25-2 14KOs while Page adds another L to his record which stands at 20-28-2 7KOs.

Contender alum Ryan Coyne kept his unbeaten record as he scraped by fellow crusierweight Paul Jennette over 8 rounds. Jennette took the first two rounds on activity alone as Coyne seemed reluctant to throw. Early on, Jennette simply walked in and banged away as Coyne did little to deter him from getting in close. By round three though, Coyne seemed to sense that he needed to pick up the pace and he began mount his offense in earnest. Coyne began to find a home for his straight left hand and staggered Jennette a number of times with it throughout the fight. Jennette fought back bravely though and managed to do enough to keep the fight close. Ultimately, Coyne was more effective and took the unanimous decision by scores of 77-75 (twice) and 78-74. He runs his record to 14-0-1ND 4KOs while Jennette falls to 11-3 8KOs.

Junior welterweights Andres Navarro and James Hope put on one of the most entertaining bouts of the evening as they slugged their way through all four rounds. Although both fighters threw with abandon, Hope was the busier and more effective fighter throughout. He managed to land a number of good left hook, right hand combos that caught the eye of the judges and the crowd. A left hook, right hand, left hook combo in round four staggered Navarro badly and put an exclamation point on Hope’s performance. He wasn’t able to finish Navarro but when the scores were handed in, they read 40-36 across the board in favor of Hope. With the win, Hope improves to 5-4 4KOs while Navarro slips to 4-3-1 4KOs.

Former Cruiserweight titlist Wayne Braithwaite made short work of his opponent Adam Harris, blowing him out in under a round. Braithwaite started slowly but upped the intensity mid-round, strafing Harris with body shots along the ropes. He then brought his attack upstairs, stunning Harris with a straight left to the head. Just before the bell, Braithwaite shot a left uppercut that dumped Harris to the canvas where he was counted out at 2:59 of the first round. Braithwaite improves his record to 24-4 with 20KOs while Harris drops his third in a row, falling to 10-3 7KOs.

The opening bout of the evening was a four round welterweight scrap between Angelo Santana (3-0 3KOs) and Darien Ford (11-19-2NC 4KOs.) Santana dominated the fight from bell to bell, dropping Ford twice in the third round and a final time right before the bell to end the fourth. Ford, more displeased than hurt, sat on the ground after the final knockdown while referee Arthur Mercante Jr. counted over him. Ford began to rise at 9 but was counted out before he got to his feet. Time of the stoppage was 2:59 of round 4.

Post-Fight Ring Quotes

Devon Alexander: “My coach told me to stay focused when Urango started bleeding [from the nose in the third round]. My coach said, ‘Don’t stand there and get hit.’

“His [Urango’s] punches did not hurt at all. I was surprised by that. Speed kills everything and that’s what I have.

“We trained all camp throwing the right uppercut.” Kevin Cunningham [trainer and manager] to Devon Alexander: “Did you hear me yell to you to throw the uppercut?” Alexander: “Yeah, I heard you!” Cunningham: “I told Devon to throw the uppercut, and he heard me. It was the magic shot. We trained all camp to throw that punch. We used speed to set up the power.”

Alexander: “I can beat anyone: Zab, Timothy Bradley, you name it. I want to come back to St. Louis and sell out the Scottrade center. I’m coming back to good old St. Lou with two world titles. This is very sweet.”

Juan Urango: “I’m very happy and satisfied with my performance tonight. Devon is a great champion and he came out and did his job. I performed well but Devon won tonight.”

Derric Rossy: “Page is a crafty, veteran fighter that can take a punch, no doubt about it. He knew how to take away the space I need to land my best shots. I dropped a big right hand on him in the sixth round and had him down and almost out. I think I tried too hard for the knockout instead of just letting it come.

“I could have let my hands go more in the closing rounds, but, like I said, he’s a crafty guy.”

Zack Page: “I wasn’t as good as I wanted to be tonight. I wasn’t in my best condition. I know that now. Rossy is a good fighter. He deserved the win tonight.”

Ryan Coyne: “I had him [Paul Jennette] hurt and almost out four of five times. I wish I could have knocked him out, but my power is getting better. I’ve been working with a strength and conditioning coach and it’s starting to come. I’m undefeated with 14 wins, so I’m happy.

“He [Jennette] came to fight, had a good chin and was in condition, but so am I.”

While Peter Manfredo Jr. may never be among the elite of the division, he certainly looked impressive as he took apart fellow middleweight Matt Vanda over 10 rounds. Vanda (of St. Paul, MN) looked good during the early going as he sunk body shots to the midsection of Manfredo (Providence, RI.) But Manfredo quickly answered back with body shots of his own and in the second began to incorporate his most important punch of the fight; a short right uppercut aimed at the head of Vanda. This punch would begin to land with scary accuracy over the coming rounds and seemed to completely bewilder Vanda every time he attempted it. Manfredo also began working a double jab, right hand combo that was often the starting point for 4, 5 and 6 punch combos which were the norm during rounds 3-8. Despite his best efforts, Vanda never seemed to be in range to land his punches. He was either too far out and missing wildly or smothering himself on the inside while he ate uppercuts from Manfredo. In the sixth, Vanda charged in and was met with a perfectly placed left hook to the liver from Manfredo which put him on the canvas. Vanda rose and was battered around the ring for the remainder of the round. He survived on sheer heart and at times it seemed the fight was only mere seconds away from being stopped. Vanda knew just when to throw though and was able to keep the referee convinced that he was still in the fight. The seventh round was more of the same with Vanda doing just enough to keep himself from being stopped. Vanda had his greatest success in the 9th and 10th where he truly gave it his all, throwing every punch in his arsenal in an attempt to catch Manfredo. Unfortunately for Vanda, it was too little too late and when the final bell sounded, the outcome was never in question. People were heading for the exits when the scores were announced: 99-90 and 100-89 all for Manfredo who is now 34-6 18Kos. Vanda (42-10 22Kos) showed great heart throughout the fight but at this point should probably consider hanging up his gloves for good. Neither fighter was ever among the truly elite of their weight class but if tonight’s fight showed anything, it’s that Manfredo still has reason to believe he can be among he best, while Vanda should start taking a serious look at his reasons to continue fighting.

Local Featherweight prospect Matt Remillard of Manchester, CT needed one round less to dispatch outgunned Irvington, NJ native Rafael Lora in a rematch of their bout back in September of 09. Lora seemed intent to overturn his first loss to Remillard and came out working a stiff jab which seemed to have Remillard perplexed. Lora’s success ended after the first when Remillard began to open up with a jab of his own. .Remillard used the jab as a set up to push Lora to the ropes where he would unleash vicious shots to the body. During the third, Remillard began going both upstairs and downstairs with his left hook and was soon ripping of 3 and 4 punch combos on the wilting Lora. Right at the bell for round 3, Remillard got in two punishing body shots which had Lora limping back to his corner. He wisely decided to stay there instead of coming out for round 4, handing Remillard the TKO victory. Still unbeaten, Remillard runs his record to 21-0 12Kos while Lora, having lost his second fight to “The Sharpshooter” is now 11-2 5Kos.

A swing bout between welterweights Joseph Elegele of Melbourne, FL and Chris Russel of Shaddock OK was over a mere one minute and thirteen seconds after it began. Both fighters circled and felt each other out for the first minute before Elegele snuck in a left uppercut to the body of Russel which paralyzed Russel for the full ten count. Elegele improves to 3-0 2Kos while Russel slips to 1-1.

To a cascade of boos, lightweights Arash Usmanee of Alberta Canada and Jorge Ruiz of Miami, FL fought 4 and ½ rounds mired by incessant grappling and wild, inaccurate punches. Usmanee held a slight advantage in effective punching when, in a fitting end to such an ugly bout, the fighters heads came together and prompted referee Dick Flaherty to call a halt to the fight. Because 4 rounds had been competed, the scorecards were tallied and Usmanee came out on top; winning by scores of 48-47, 50-45 and 49-45. Usmanee remains unbeaten at 5-0 2 Kos while Ruiz drops to 7-11-2.

Welterweight fan favorite Adelita Irizarry (6-4 2KOs) of Hartford, CT was on the losing end of a split decision when she was out crafted over 6 rounds by Fayetteville, NC’s Rachel Clark (5-3-1 3KOs.) In her typical come forward style Irizarry started fast and began winging punches at the head of Clark, who initially was content to retreat and counter punch from her southpaw stance. Perhaps realizing that Irizarry was not going to stop moving forward, Clark began fighting back to good effect. She began to land a straight left hand that would halt Irizarry’s attacks long enough for her to move and reset. The defining moment in the fight came in the fourth when Irizarry, charging in as usual, walked into another straight left and was dropped to the Canvas. The knockdown proved to be pivotal as Clark narrowly took two of the judges scorecards 58-55 and 57-56 while Irizarry got the nod from only one 57-56.

In a four round lightweight bout, local up and comer Joseph Perez of Hartford, CT narrowly out pointed Luis Quezada of Caguas, Puerto Rico. Perez had a good opening round in which he scored with left hooks to the head of Quezada. The middle two rounds were highly competitive as the fighters took turns backing each other to the ropes and unleashing the best they had. Perez managed to steal the fight in the fourth as he backed Quezada along the ropes and scored well with both hands. Quezada had little to offer in return and let the fight slip away in the final minute and a half. When the scorecards were read, Perez snuck by with a majority decision: 38-38 and 39-37 twice. With the loss, Quezada fell to 1-2 which Perez improved to 3-0 1KO.

In the opening bout of the evening, Detroit MI super middleweight J’Leon Love made a successful pro debut by icing Philadelphia PA’s Vince Burkhalter in under two minutes. Wasting no time, Love went straight after Burkhalter from the bell. About a minute into the fight, Love dropped a left hook to the body and followed with a crisp right hand that dumped Burkhalter to the canvas. Burkhalter rose but was quickly pinned on the ropes and ate another right hand that dropped him face first to the canvas. Ten seconds later, the fight was over and Love had notched his first professional victory. Burkhalter dropped his third in a row and now stands at 0-3.