NEW YORK CITY -In many ways boxing is theater. The fighters – the actors; the ring – their stage.

But when a press conference for one of the most anticipated fights of 2011 takes place in an actual theater, the Hudson Theater just away from Times Square, boxing isn’t just theater anymore…it’s THEATER.

For the two-plus hours I occupied my seat on the first floor of the triple-tiered playhouse, I was aching for popcorn, dying for a large soda.

The kick-off press conference for September 17 Floyd Mayweather – Victor Ortiz welterweight title bout had all the bells and whistles of a Broadway show.

The theater was dark, spotted lights littered the walls and ceiling. The closed red curtain on stage was used as the backdrop for a giant projector looped both Mayweather and Ortiz’s greatest hits, as well as scenes from outer-space — keeping in theme with the “Star Power” label given to the their upcoming scrap.

At about noon, the two hundred or so fans that had formed a line hugging the exterior of the theater on 44th Street were let in. They filled the two upper balconies. With the fans came buzz; excitement. Some of them had been there since 8:45 am. Two others drove all the way to the Big Apple from Virginia just to be in the same room as the man they consider to be the greatest active fighter.

Immediately after entering the theater, fans with dueling interests began belting out support for their respective fighters. Chants of “Ortiz! Ortiz!” were quickly drowned with boos from the pro-Mayweather crowd. The next round of “Ortiz!” chants were countered with triumphant choruses of “Money! Money!” It was as if we were watching some sort of musical — the kind where the actors ask the audience to clap and sing along to each song.

Then, at about 12:45 pm or so, a deep voice came over the speaker system as the theater lights got even dimmer.

“Please take your seats, the press conference will begin shortly.”

I swore he was going to ask if we could please remain silent throughout the duration of the movie.

Anyway, after a mini-documentary of Victor Ortiz was shown, a spotlight revealed Ortiz to be in the back of the theater. With music blaring over the speakers, he slowly made his way to the stage, stopping to shake a few hands, pose for a few pictures, and blow kisses to the fans up top.

The same went on for Mayweather. A mini-documentary followed by a WWE-like walk to the stage.

Once on stage, both fighters faced-off. We’ll call it a draw. Nobody blinked; it seemed like it lasted forever.

The red curtain finally went up, revealing a giant promotional banner and a podium, and just like that, Act I was underway.

Aside from the spectacular setting of this particular press conference, the content was typical. Mayweather was sold as the greatest active fighter; Ortiz billed as a heavy-handed rising star. Both can be debated, I suppose, but both have earned those reputations.

The opening Act did have two moments that had me at the edge of my seat, however.

The first came from the mouth of Victor Ortiz, who riled up the Mexicans in the crowd when he said this:

“I hope not offending anyone, but July 7th 1985 — there’s going to be a repetition on September 17th. It was Mr. Roger Mayweather vs. Mr. Julio Cesar Chavez!”

Ortiz slapped both hands on the podium and briskly walked away from the microphone. Only feet way, Floyd Mayweather remained expressionless.

When it was Mayweather’s turn to speak, he only threw one jab Ortiz’s way, perhaps in response to the JCC-Roger Mayweather dig. Money May just casually mentioned that he’d “a ton of money for this fight,” while Ortiz would make some “good money.”

He did throw some bigger shots toward the media, however. And after delivering those blows, he followed up by offering some praise.

“To the media, and everyone’s entitled to write what they want to write, and I just want to let you guys know that my children are a lot older now and are able to go on the computer and read the stories that you guys write,” Mayweather said.

He continued, “You turn the tables…do you want me to write negative things about you just because I won’t give you guys a story, so let me write my own stories and make up stories? It’s not right.”

Moments later, praised the media for keeping him relevant even when he is out of the ring.

Both points noted. Although, to his second point, I would just argue that his actions keep him relevant — the media are just writing their reactions.

The press conference had a little this, a little that. It was an eventful first scene.

At times it was over-the-top, flashy, and flat-out dramatic. The fans seemed to enjoy that, though — which of course is great.

I thought it was an above-average opening Act myself. It did what it was supposed to do: lay the groundwork for the rest of the performance, set the scene.

They’ll be other Acts along the way — other stops here and there. But ultimately, we’ll all have to wait a few months — September, in fact — to see how this particular piece concludes. The setting will have changed by then, too; to the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. A fitting place for the final Act of “Star Power” to take place.

Kyle Kinder can be reached at Twitter.com/KyleKinder or KyleKinder1@gmail.com

Photo by Claudia Bocanegra

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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY — Boxing returned to downtown Newark once again, but this time not at the Prudential Center. Rather, Wednesday night’s fights were held in the cozy ballroom at the Robert Treat Hotel just down the street from The Rock.

Fans in attendance saw knockouts, a DQ, a fighter try to spit on his opponent, an entrance that had to be close to ten minutes, a fighter grab the microphone after his win and taunt the man he just defeated, among other things.

Wednesday night had a little bit of everything.

Ossie Duran vs. Latif Mundy — 10 rounds, middleweight

In the main event of the evening, Ossie Duran won a USBA regional middleweight title when he stopped a resilient Latif Mundy in the tenth and final round of their championship bout.

It was a fight that riled up the crowd, had them yelling, and ultimately brought them to their feet. To be quite honest, Duran fought a brilliant fight — a beautiful fight. Lundy, to his credit, fought a tough, rugged fight — a classic Philadelphia-style fight.

The Ghanaian Gladiator started off the fight whipping his jab in Mundy’s face — which was never too hard to find. It the same signature jab that marked up Matt Vanda’s face some months earlier in North Jersey. Duran opened strong, using his jab well, and finding success with his left hook.

The second round was really the only speed bump Duran hit on his road to victory. He came out flat, while Mundy scored clean shots to Duran’s head.

The fight was kept at distance and nobody was “in control” for the first half of the fight. But then the sixth round happened and Duran turned up the heat. He opened with three straight left hooks to the body of Mundy — the start of a conscious effort to attack Mundy’s body — to let the air out of his tires.

In the seventh, Duran continued to assert control, constantly walking forward and pressuring his counterpart. Throughout the mid-rounds, both fighter’s landed and ate their fare share of punches, but it was Duran’s punches having the most effect — especially his left hooks to the body.

By the eight round, Mundy was beginning to tire. After a break in action, Duran cornerman, Lenny DeJesus, got the attention of his fighter and shouts at him to throw an overhand right when action resumed.

Like a good student, Duran listened and the punch landed with a loud thud on Mundy’s head, drawing “oohs” and “aahs” from the crowd.

Duran continued to follow the blueprint from his corner — throw combinations, he isn’t hard to hit; but never forgetting to let some more air out of the tires along the way.

Finally, in the tenth round, Duran’s persistent approach paid off. An right hand rocked Mundy who immediately retreated. He quickly ran out of real estate and found himself with his back on the ropes. Duran took it from there — he began wailing away on Mundy. Left hook to the liver here, right hand to the face there. It was punch after punch, a ferocious flurry.

Mundy never left his feet, but his head almost left his neck. It bounced back and forth with each blow, prompting the referee to step in and end the punishment.

The time of stoppage was 2:29 of the tenth round.

With the win Paterson’s via Ghana’s Duran captures a USBA regional middleweight title and improves his record to 26-8-2, 10 KOs. Philadelphia’s Mundy falls to 10-3, 4 KOs.

Derrick Webster vs. Kentrell Clayborn — 4 Rounds, light heavyweight

Derrick Webster has all the tools to be great a fighter. He has size, he has pop, he has high ring IQ. Kentrell Clayborn, through no fault of his own, has neither the size or the pop. The ring IQ doesn’t matter at that point.

Clayborn couldn’t get inside and land much of anything against Webster. Webster continually punished Clayborn with his snapping jab for four straight rounds. Couple that with a left hook he landed at will and you have a Derrick Webster who improves to 9-0, 6 KO after winning this one via shutout on all three judges scorecards.

Clayborn of Cleburn, Texas’ record falls to 2-2.

Andy Mejias vs. Yasin Rashid — 6 Rounds, super middleweight

Yasin Rashid is a pretty good fighter. Andy Mejias is fortunate.

Coming into this fight, he was 7-2 with 2 knockouts. He has pop in both fists — he should have more than two knockouts, but he lacks natural instincts.

Twice there was blood in the water, but he couldn’t smell it.

In the second round, Rashid rocked Mejias with a short crisp right. Mejias legs gave out, looked like Jell-O, acting like it too.

Mejias clinched immediately — he has those instincts Rashid is missing. Instead of coming forward, pressing the action, blasting away at the body before coming back up top to head, Rashid just let Mejias recover.

Replay this scene in the 4th and give every other round to Mejias — who besides two scary moments had an alright night — and you have a Yasin Rashid who is wondering how he is now 7-3.

Judges scored the bout in favor of Mejias — 58-56 and 59-55, twice. He is now 10-0, 4 KO.

Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna vs. Yahudy Vargas — 4 Rounds, middleweights

Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna out-dueled a very game Yehudy Vargas to improve his professional record to 3-0, 2 KOs.

Not even a week removed from his high school graduation, the tall, lanky LaManna showed why many in the boxing know have high hopes for him. It’s likely that whoever LaManna faces at middleweight will be shorter than him — and LaManna takes advantage of that.

Credit him for trying for a full twelve minutes, but Vargas couldn’t figure out how to get to LaManna. Each time Vargas bull-rushed, he paid some sort of price. When Vargas lunged in and threw a punch, he was countered.

After four rounds of action, all three judges scored the bout in favor of “Cornflake.” One judge had it 39-36, while the two others agreed LaManna won 40-36.

Vargas drops to 1-3 with the loss.

Jon Bolden vs. Tyabb Beale — 4 Rounds, heavyweights

Newark’s Tyabb Beale bested New York’s Jon Bolden in a battle of the big men. Beale came into the at a full-bodied 238 pounds, while Bolden weighed ten less, at 228.

Both are big, strong, athletic men. Both throw bombs and lack defense. Both are a bit reckless and wild. And both men have a hell of a chin. Add to the similarities the fact that both wore black shoes, black shorts, and blue gloves — they were almost one in the same.

Somehow, someway, someone had to stand out. And Beale was that man.

They exchanged and threw punches for four straight rounds, both finding success. It was Beale who got the better of Bolden, however, he landed the cleaner blows.

Judges scorecards read 39-37 Bolden and 38-37 and 39-36 for Beale.

Newark’s Beale improves to 3-4, while New York’s Jon Bolden falls to .500 — 2-2, 2 KO.

John Thompson vs. Valdez Eason — 4 Rounds, middleweight

In his professional debut, Newark, New Jersey’s John Thompson did away with Cincinnati, Ohio’s Eason Valdez in less than a minute. By the way, I swear Joe Antonacci announced him as John Thompson as John Thompson IV — not sure if he was joking or he really is the fourth. Either way, I’ll assume he isn’t related to the Georgetown royalty.

Thompson dropped Valdez once after a flurry of punches were registered. Referee Sparkle Lee decided to rule it a slip, somehow, and it wasn’t counted.

Turned out to be irrelevant anyway as another Thompson flurry only moments later. Valdez beat the ten count but slowly got to his feet hunched over and wincing. Sparkle Lee stopped the bout at the :59 mark in the first round.

Thompson starts his career 1-0, 1 KO. Eason stays winless, now at 0-4.

John Lennox vs. Kareem Wilson — 4 Rounds, heavyweight

File this one away in the absurd folder.

First off, Kareen Wilson — from Washington, DC — looked like he made a pit stop for a half-smoke at U Street’s Ben’s Chili Bowl before heading north. He was soft, out of shape.

He entered the ring to some funk song with some good soulful base. But then things got out of hand.

John Lennox, who was 3-0 before entering the ring tonight — which would take him ten minutes to do — brought with him a legion of fans. Some wore John Lennox t-shirts. All were pumped up, all made sure Lennox knew they were there.

After Wilson entered the ring, the lights went out. Michael Buffer’s voice blared over the speakers — “Ladies & Gentleman…Let’s Get Ready To Rumbleeeeee!” Then came a weird remix of songs before the entrance music finally fixed on just one — “Headstrong”, possibly? I can’t exactly recall, but it was a familiar song from one of those bands that sound like Korn.

Eventually, Lennox emerged, the lights came back on, the crowd roared, and the fight began.

About thirty seconds into the opening round, referee Sparkle Lee went to separate the two fighters. On the break, Wilson nailed Lennox. He was issued a warning.

No matter, who follows rules nowadays anyway, right? The very next break, Wilson decided to throw one more Lennox’s way. Lee deducted a point from Wilson — who looked scared int he ring — like a cat, he pawed, didn’t punch.

The next break — with Lennox’s back against the ropes, Wilson thought it best to throw five punches — Sparkle Lee thought it best to disqualify the pathetic Wilson right then and there. All in attendance agreed.

Wilson went from pathetic to despicable when he tried to spit on Lennox before exiting the ring. Fortunately, his spit fell at the feet of Lennox. Wilson was immediately ushered out of the ballroom and hopefully out of the ring forever.

Also fortunate was that it only took Lennox about half the time to exit the ring as it did for him to enter. With the DQ victory, to his fans delight, he improves to 4-0, 1 KO, while Wilson remains winless after seven tries — hopefully his record will stay that way forever.

Eddie Edmonds vs. Yasin Abdul — 4 Rounds, middleweight

In the second bout of the evening, Newark’s own Eddie Edmonds fought to a majority draw against Atlantic City’s Yasin Abdul.

Edmonds would have won the fight if it were not for his constant lunging in — and in doing so, putting his chin on a platter. He does it too much, he bends at the waist when he throws pretty much everything. It was a fight he should have won.

One judge scored every round for Edmonds, in fact, 40-36. Two other judges had it even, however, 38-38 and 39-39, resulting in a majority draw.

The crowd booed, but no qualms here. For what it’s worth, I had it 38-38.

Edmonds is now 2-1-2, 1 KO, while Abdul’s record morphs to 0-1-1.

Vadim Gurau vs. Fitzgerald Johnson — 4 Rounds, middleweight

Admittedly, I only caught rounds three and four in this one. I live 15 minutes outside Newark and have spent more time there in the past year than ever before. I should have known to read the fine print — 50 Park PLACE, not 50 Park Avenue.

Anyway, I showed up eight minutes late — in time to catch the last two rounds in full. The best entertainment came after the fight anyway, so I lucked out.

Once the result were read — Fitzgerald John scored a UD victory, 40-36 and 39-37, twice — John took the microphone from ring announcer Joe Antonacci and talked proceeded to talk shit — telling Gurau to “go back to New York.” Then John tried to force the microphone into Gurau’s hands, who wanted no part of it. Like BHop trying to hand Pascal his belt back after he won it in Montreal, I came down with a case of secondhand embarrassment — this time for the defeated Gurau.

It was a classless move by Johnson. I’ll remember him more from that than his twelve (well, six that I saw) minutes in the ring.

With the win, Asheboro North Carolina’s Johnson improves to 2-5, while Gurau drops to 1-1.

It’s not often you have the elite professional prospects of an entire nation — correction — Commonwealth, all fighting at the same venue within a span of forty-eight hours, but that is precisely what took place at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City this past weekend about a dozen or so of Puerto Rico’s best prospects stepped inside the ring.

It has now become a New York City boxing staple that Puerto Rican fighters perform on the weekend of the famed Puerto Rican Day Parade. While it’s a tradition that is still in diapers, it has gained momentum over the last few years; and this year — the names of Miguel Cotto and Juan Manuel Lopez were replaced with lesser known names like Jose Pedraza or Louis Del Valle; prospects.

It’s quite remarkable how a tiny island of less than four million inhabitants continues to pump out world class fighters. Even more remarkable, is when the best young prospects from one of boxing’s hotbeds, fight in the same ring in succession over a span of two nights.

Of course, the top prospects were not squaring off against one another, but nonetheless their skills were on display for anyone who purchased a ticket, or who tuned-in to ESPN’s Friday Night Fights or Showtime’s Shobox.

On the first night, labeled “Boricia Invasion I”, there were two fighters I had a particular interest in watching. The first, Jose “Sniper” Pedraza, who is a twenty-two year old super-featherweight ex-Olympian who is co-promoted by Gary Shaw and Lou DiBella, or should I say Lou Di-Bella — okay, no more hyphens.

I had missed Pedraza’s second professional fight, the first in the United States, a few months earlier. I didn’t want to miss this one.

And it’s a good did thing I didn’t run and take a bathroom break, or even blink for that matter, because I would have certainly missed this one as well. It took only 2:22 for Pedraza to drop his opponent, Tomi Archambault, twice and end the fight. I wrote at the time, “His punches were quick and crisp, powerful and meaningful; and perhaps, most important, he was patient and intelligent.”

When Pedraza smelled blood in the water, he didn’t get overly excited. He didn’t start wailing away at his opponent’s face like so many other young fighters would have done. Instead, he showed the patience and poise of a veteran, when in fact, it was only his third professional bout. Pedraza’s record improved to 3-0 with his third consecutive first round knockout.

Although fans only got to see Pedraza in action for a little over two minutes, they got their money’s worth. For those in the minority who didn’t feel they way and were left with wanting to see a little more, they’ll have their chances…Pedraza is the real deal.

Thomas Dulorme was the other fighter I was eagerly awaiting to see Friday night. He was pitted against veteran gatekeeper, DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley in a classic pairing of a young up-and-comer against an aging vet.

Besides the obvious — great speed, good movement, quick hands that pack a punch — there were two wild cards that jumped out at and impressed me. The first, much like Pedraza, was Dulorme’s ring IQ.

Towards the end of the third round, both fighter’s let their hands go at the same time. Dulorme’s left hand reach its’ destination before Corley’s did and just like that, “Chop Chop” was staring at the ceiling. Dulorme didn’t get overly excited, however, and continued on his path to a wide-margined, unanimous decision victory.

It was his patience that led to the other thing that impressed me so much about Dulorme — the fact that he had never been into the fifth round of a fight and suddenly he was in the tenth with “Chop Chop” Corley, beating him around like it was still the first. Granted, it can be agreed upon that “Chop Chop” should exit the game and his best days are so far behind him they aren’t visible from the rearview, it was still an impressive accomplishment for the young Dulorme.

On Saturday night, “Boricua Invasion II”, I was looking forward to watching two more two Puerto Rican born prospects, the 13-0 with 13 KOs Jonathan Gonzalez, and the always exciting, Louis Del Valle.

I had never seen Gonzalez in person before, as he has never ventured up the East Coast prior to Saturday’s scrap, so I was curious to see what all the hype was about. He squared off against hard-hitting Colombian, Richard Gutierrez, in a bout scheduled for ten — though most in attendance never thought we’d actually see the ring card girl holding up double digits.

However, two things became obvious from the get-go. The first was that Gonzalez was a banger (as his record indicated). He hit Gutierrez with everything but the kitchen sink — which leads to the second thing — that Gutierrez has one hell of a chin.

Gonzalez was tested and worked hard for thirty minutes inside the ring. For the sake of his career, it’s probably the best thing for Gonzalez to have his knockout streak stopped so that he can experience what it’s like to fight twenty plus minutes into a bout. To his credit, his punches looked like carried the same force as they did in the early goings, but Gutierrez’s chin continued to live up to its reputation. Although no knockout, consider me among the ‘impressed’ by Gonzalez.

Finally, in the main event, and last fight of the weekend from the Roseland Ballroom, Louis Del Valle squared off against Dat “Be Dat” Nguyen. I’ve seen Del Valle before and was well aware of what he is capable of doing inside the ring against a lesser opponent. Nguyen, however, was not lesser competition — or so we thought heading into the bout.

Turns out, Del Valle continually beat Nguyen to the punch eat time the two engaged in ruthless exchanges. He knew he could take Nguyen’s punches — it’s what allowed him to continually step in harms way to fire off a few good shots of his own.

Del Valle methodically wore Nguyen down to the point where Nguyen spent most of the last three rounds with his back against the ropes, trying to catch a breather that would never be allowed.

It’s important that we remember that these four prospects, all on display within forty-eight hours, are still just that, prospects. None of these fighters are polished — everyone can improve multiple aspects of their fight game.

But all have tremendous upside, so much so that Barack Obama just went to Puerto Rico to discuss them becoming the 51st state. Logic being if they hurry the process along by the time these four are ready for a title shot, if they are successful, we’ll have another American champion….

That is why 44 went to the island, right?

Kyle Kinder can be reached at KyleKinder1@gmail.com or Twitter.com/KyleKinder

NEW YORK CITY — On the eve of the Puerto Rican Day parade in New York City, “Team Puerto Rico” took the stage on the second night of a two night all Latino extravaganza titled “Boricua Invasion.” Tonight’s fights featured some of Puerto Rico’s youngest and best talent. The co-feature and main event of the evening were televised live on Showtime.

Luis Del Valle vs. Dat Nguyen — 10 Rounds, Featherweight

In the main event of the evening Luis Del Valle squared off against the very tough Dat Nguyen. Del Valle has become a highly touted prospect, and Nguyen was once a nationally ranked amateur and hot prospect himself, before personal concerns kept him out of the ring for extended periods of his career.

The bout began as a barnburner, as each fighter threw powerful punches, hoping to make an early impact. Del Valle landed a powerful hook early, which backed Nguyen off. Each fighter landed hard blows, but Del Valle seemed more in control of the action. The second round saw similar action, and a hook briefly buckled Nguyen’s knees. By the third, both fighters seemed to settle into a rhythm and the pace slowed briefly. That was until Del Valle began utilizing a lead left hook counter that shook up Nguyen and seemed to have him rattled. Despite taking hard shots, Nguyen continued moving forward behind a strong lead right hand.

As the fight progressed, both fighters seemed to lose a little bit of the pop in their punches. Both fighters fell into an inside fighting strategy that could have been fought in a phone booth. In the sixth round, Del Valle was able to position his opponent into a corner and threw a quick barrage of punches that had Nguyen buckled over, but not down. Nguyen Raised his hands as if to say, “I’m not hurt,” but his lack of aggression throughout the rest of the round said otherwise.

By the eighth round, Del Valle was in complete control. A sharp left hook sent Nguyen back into the ropes, and Del Valle followed up with another flush left hook. All Nguyen could do in response was cover up. The bout continued all the way to the tenth round with Del Valle pressuring Nguyen into the ropes time and time again. The last round saw a more aggressive Nguyen, but it was too little too late.

When the final bell sounded, all three judges were in agreement that Del Valle had won the bout 99 to 91.

Del Valle improves his record to 13-0 with 10 knockouts, and Nguyen’s record drops to 17-2 with 6 knockouts.

“[Nguyen] is very strong and determined,” said Del Valle after the fight. “He has a good chin and more power than his record shows.”

“For my money, Del Valle stole the show,” said SHOWTIME analyst Steve Farhood. “Just an outstanding performance.”

As for what’s next for the 126-pound Del Valle: “He’s going to go down to 122, whether he wants to or not,” said co-promoter Lou DiBella. “He’s already got power now. At 122, forget it.”

– Arben Paloka

Jonathan Gonzalez vs. Richard Gutierrez — 10 Rounds, Welterweight

Co-Main Event

In the night’s co-feature, undefeated Puerto Rican prospect, Jonathan Gonzalez scored a unanimous decision victory over the iron-chinned Richard Gutierrez.

The opening round belonged to Gonzalez, who was able to press the action and score the better punches.

The second round saw the crowd at the Roseland Ballroom rise to it’s feet multiple times as it played host to vicious exchanges between the two prizefighters. Only seconds after the fighter’s got off their stools, Gonzalez had backed Gutierrez to the ropes, and proceeded to tee off his counterpart. Gonzalez, to the crowds delight, landed a huge head-twisting left hook, quickly followed up by a purposeful right hand.

Gonzalez stalked Gutierrez around the ring, firing off meaningful power punches throughout the second stanza. The crowd rose to it’s feet once again towards the end of the second round after Gonzalez scored a perfectly placed right hook right on the button. To his credit, Gutierrez took his foe’s punches well and was able to score with slick uppercuts and well-timed counterpunches.

In the middle rounds, Gutierrez seemed to do a bit better, in the sense that his head didn’t imitate that of a bobble-head doll. It was Gonzalez, no question, who continued to score the more significant punches.

Midway through the sixth round Gonzalez landed his second low blow of the bout, which immediately send Gutierrez down to a knee wincing in pain. Gonzalez was warned about punching below the belt, but not penalized.

The final three rounds played out similar to the mid-rounds in that Gonzalez scored the better punches, but Gutierrez, to his credit, continued to fire back, eating Gonzalez’s punches in order to fire off a few of his own.

In the end, Gutierrez was game, but heart wasn’t enough. Gonzalez cruised to a victory, although this bout marked the first one in Gonzalez’s career to reach the scorecards.

The final scores read 99-91, 98-92, and 98-92 for Jonathan Gonzalez, giving him a unanimous decision victory. His record improves to 14-0, 13 KOs, while Gutierrez’s drops to 26-7-1, 16 KOs.

– Kyle Kinder

Gabriel Bracero vs. Guillermo Valdes — 6 rounds, Welterweight

Gabriel Bracero entered the ring against Guillermo Valdes. In fifteen undefeated fights only sports one stoppage. Valdes came into the fight coming off of three stoppage losses in his last four outings. Bracero, whose popularity is rising rapidly, was keen to score a stoppage over his inferior foe. It didn’t take long for that to happen, as a jab followed by a right hand dropped Valdes flat on his back. Valdes had difficulty rising, and the referee waved the fight off at the :40 point in the opening round.

Bracer’s record improves to 16-0 with 2 knockouts while Valdes’ record drops to 12-4 with 3 knockouts. All four of Valdes’ losses came by way of knockout.

– Arben Paloka

Amanda Serrano vs. Jennifer Scott — 6 Rounds, Super Featherweights

The talented Amanda Serrano squared off against the less talented Jennifer Scott in a short bout. Scott began the fight aggressively, but that fell right into Serrano’s strengths. Serrano was able to counter Scott’s wild punches. A left hook rocked Scott back into the ropes, and Serrano went in for the kill. Another left hook sent Scott crashing to the canvas. Scott beat the count, but was met with dozens of flush shots from Serrano, forcing the referee to stop the bout at the 1:40 mark of the first round. Serrano was credited with a TKO victory.

Serrano’s record improves to 10-0-1 with 6 knockouts and Scotts record is now 2-4 with 2 knockouts.

– Arben Paloka

Raul Lopez vs. Victor Valenzuela — 6 rounds, Bantamweight

In a six round war, the Bronx, New York’s Raul Lopez scored __ over Passaic, New Jersey’s Victor Valenzuela.

The fight was riddled with constant engagement and solid action, but it was Raul Lopez who consistently scored with the better punches. Valenzuela, once an 8-0 prospect with reasonable upside, now sports a record of 8-3, with 2 KOs. Valenzuela doesn’t turn his punches over, he slaps. Lopez, conversely, throws with conviction — and his shots left lasting impressions in the judges’ minds. All three scored the bout in favor of Lopez, one judge seeing it a shutout, 60-54, while two other judges agreed Lopez won the bout 59-55.

With the win Lopez improves to 6-1, 3 KOs.

– Kyle Kinder

Jorge Maysonet Jr. vs. Adam Alvarez — 4 Rounds, Junior Welterweight

Well…that was quick. It took just :21 seconds into the evening’s first bout for Jorge Maysonet Jr. to drop an unworthy Adam Alvarez twice, forcing the referee to step in and prevent further punishment.

The first knockdown came courtesy of a Maysonet Jr. one-two that sent Alvarez to the mat. Maysonet’s first punch after the ten count was a perfectly placed left hook that dropped Alvarez once more and subsequently ending the bout.

With the win, Maysonet Jr. improves to 4-0, 3KO, while Alvarez drops to 0-2.

– Kyle Kinder

NEW YORK CITY — In keeping with recent tradition in New York City, boxing took center stage once again on the weekend of the Puerto Rican Day Parade as a lineup of Puerto Rican fighters were on display at the Roseland Ballroom, just steps from the bright lights of Times Square. The main event and co-feature of the card, which was billed as “Boricua Invasion I”, was broadcast live on ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights.”

Kenny Galarza vs. Irving Garcia, Welterweight — 10 Rounds

In the main event of the evening, Kenny Glaraza stole a split decision victory from veteran Irving Garcia — the theft, a Boricua on Boricua crime.

The bout opened up with both fighter’s being relatively cautious. Galarza exported more punches, and was the more aggressive of the two fighter’s but Garcia landing arguably the more convincing shots.

The fourth round began with Garcia landing a big overhand right to Garcia’s face, which began to swell up. The fifth round was all Garcia, who was becoming increasingly confident and began to land a snapping jab with regularity, which contributed to even greater swelling on Galarza’s face.

In the seventh round, Garcia continued to land sharp jabs through Galarza’s questionable defense. Galarza, it should be noted, didn’t look to have come into this bout in peak condition, as he was soft and a little flabby in the middle. To his credit, however, Galarza never stopped throwing punches or coming forward, a combination that evidently influenced the judges scorecards.

Perhaps the most vicious blow of the bout came late in the tenth and final round when Garcia laid a thudding left hand into Galarza’s soft stomach, momentarily wobbling his fellow Puerto Rican.

Unfortunately for Garcia, his efforts went for naught. One judge saw the bout in his favor 96-94, but was overruled by the other two judges who saw the bout in Galarza’s favor, one seeing it 96-94 and another seeing it 97-93.

With the win, Galarza improves his record to 15-1, 14 KO, while Garcia drops to 17-7, 3 KO.

Thomas Dulorme vs. DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley, Welterweight — 10 Rounds

In the opening round, both fighter’s were content with feeling one another out; a jab heavy round. The second round saw more action, with both fighter’s scoring with meaningful punches. Corley went to Dulorme’s body with a thudding left that drew cheers from the crowd, while Dulorme landed a flush right to Corley’s face later that round.

In the third round, Dulorme came out sluggin’ to Chop Chop’s aged body. Towards the end of round three, both fighter’s let their hands go at the same time, only it was Dulorme’s powerful left hand that arrived first. Corley was sent flying to the canvas flat on his back. Corley rose at the count of six and was able to survive the remaining thirty seconds or so of round three.

In the fourth round, Corley regained his legs and put out an admirable effort for a man who’d just been violently floored the previous round. While he Corley did have some bright spots in the fourth round, the ten points still belonged to Dulorme.

The middle rounds played host to a number of solid exchanges, but it was Dulorme who was landing the better shots. As the fight progressed, Dulorme continued to make Chop Chop fight his fight. The Puerto Rican prospect continually whipped a crisp left jab that fended off any would-be attack from Corley.

The final three stanzas all played out similar. Corley tried, but could not inflict damage, nor score meaningful punches against Dulorme.

In the end, all three judges scored the bout 99-90 for Dulorme, who improved his record to 12-0, 10 KOs. The loss for Corley marks his fifth in a row and seventh in his last eight bouts. His record now stands at 37-18, 22 KOs.

Steven Martinez vs. Brad Jackson, Welterweight — 6 Rounds

The Bronx’s Steven Martinez improved his unbeaten record to 10-0, 8 KOs after he stopped Denver, Colorado’s Brad Jackson inside two rounds. Martinez made quick work of his overmatched counterpart, dropping him violently in the first round. In the second round, Martinez sent Jackson back to the canvas. He would return to his feet, but referee Benjy Esteves deemed him unfit to continue.

With the loss, Jackson drops to 13-6-1, 7 KOs.

Alex Perez vs. Manuel Guzman

Newark, New Jersey’s Alex Perez stayed undefeated when he delivered a crippling left hook to Manuel Guzman’s liver twenty-two seconds into the second round. Guzman, who had only been stopped once prior in his eleven losses, immediately collapsed to a knee after Perez’s crushing body shot. He failed to beat the ten count, and when he did try to stand afterward, was forced right back down to the mat. Guzman’s record drops to 7-12-2, 3 KOs.

Jose Pedraza vs. Tomi Archambault, Welterweight — 4 Rounds

Puerto Rico’s Jose Pedraza made quick work against North Dakota’s Tomi Archambault as it took him just 2:21 seconds to grab his third professional victory. Although he was action less than a full round, Pedraza, who is co-promoted by Gary Shaw and Lou DiBella, looked sharp. His punches were quick and crisp, powerful and meaningful; and perhaps, most important, he was patient and intelligent.

Pedraza landed his punches at an alarmingly high rate during the two minutes plus spent in the ring with his counterpart. About a minute into the round, Archambault was forced to take a knee as Pedraza ripped a one-two to the body. Although clearly still hurt, Pedraza was patient and methodical in his approach — slowly stalking his prey, only throwing punches that served a purpose. With one hellish right hand to the gut, Pedraza dropped Archambault again, this time to the fetal position, where he remained until the referee stopped the bout.

With the win, Pedraza improves to 3-0, 3 KOs, while Archambault drops to 1-2, 1 KO.

Boyd Melson vs. Kelvin Kibler, Welterweight — 4 Rounds

West Point graduate Boyd Melson stayed undefeated with a third round stoppage win over South Carolina’s Kelvin Kibler, who stayed winless.

Melson looked sharp against his winless foe, making a conscious commitment to attack Kibler’s body. His onslaught paid off midway through the third stanza. Kibler travled from one end of the ring to another on wobbly legs — Melson had taken the air out Kibler’s tires.

One minutes and thirty seconds into the that round — the third, judge Benjy Esteves, Jr. decided to step in and stop the fight.

The win improves Melson’s record to 4-1, 2 KOs, while Kibler drops to an unenvious 0-7.

Emmanuel Gonzalez vs. Jason Rorie, Super Featherweight — 6 Rounds

In the evening’s opening bout, the Bronx’s Emmanuel Gonzalez earned a unanimous decision over North Carolina’s Jason Rorie. Gonzalez’s potential is evident in the way he unleashes his right uppercut and the way he throws his right cross, but he’s raw. He got too hit much against a professional opponent; and he also ran out of gas in the sixth round, throwing weak combinations as he backpedalled in circles.

Nonetheless, it was a fairly easy day at the office for Manny “The Bronx Bomber” Gonzalez. Judges Frank Lombardi and Luis Rivera scored the bout 60-54, while judge Robert Perez saw it 59-55. With the win Gonzalez improves to 9-0, 7 KOs, while Rorie drops to 6-12, 3 KOs.

(Marc Abrams Contributed to this report)

Showtime’s risk taking and creativity should be applauded.

Like all networks that are still around since the late 1970s, Showtime has had to be innovative and continually come up with fresh idea — mainly to compete with another premium cable station, HBO.

Well, the script hasn’t change much at all since the tail end of the ‘70s. The two premium cable giants are still one another’s chief competitor and they both air similar programming — movies, original dramas, and sports.

And it’s sports — specifically boxing — where for a while HBO was outmaneuvering Showtime regularly; the can’t miss fights were HBO PPV.

But then in 2009, Showtime announced that it had struck a deal to start the Super Six middleweight tournament. I still don’t know the inner workings of the deal, but credit those over at Showtime for being able to put a palatable deal on the table for all five promotors and the six fighters in the tournament.

Of course, when it began in October 2009, there was a lot of buzz, a lot of hype, as well there should be. People in and around boxing also fantasize about tournaments. Finally, there was one, and in one of boxing’s deepest division, with arguably six of the seven best fighters in the weight class.

After many bumps in the road, the finals will finally be set Saturday night after Carl Froch’s bout with Glen Johnson concludes in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The winner of that, of course, will take on Andre Ward, who cruised into the finals after twelve easy fought rounds against Arthur Abraham.

While the tournament lost much of it’s steam, the effort should be applauded. Nobody knew Arthur Abraham would all but end Jermain Taylor’s career in Germany. Nor did anybody know he would end Andre Dirrell’s tournament life in Detroit — which is a statement that is still not definitive. Further, it was foreign to almost everyone that Mikkel Kessler was fighting with an eye injury.

So the tournament had leaks…major leaks. But nothing a few patches, or a tarp, couldn’t fix. So in came Allan Green and Glen Johnson — and Sakio Bika, but only sort of.

The Road Warrior proved he was the consummate professional, heading back to 168 pounds and taking care of the overmatched Allan Green — who on the same night confirmed that he is not part of the cream that rises to the top.

But now as the tournament winds down, the ship has steadied. It’s clear the patch-work held up just fine. On Saturday night we’re going to get a great fight between Johnson and Froch — and then we’ll get one more when the winner takes on Ward.

Showtime also ran a smaller, one elimination Bantamweight tournament — once again being innovative, and once again they were rewarded with delays that helped dull the excitement for a moment. This time, it was Joseph Agbeko’s health concerns before the Championship fight against Abner Mares.

No worries, though, that will now take place in August.

But it’s Showtime’s creativity and willingness to think outside the box that should be applauded — even if things don’t always work out as smoothly as planned.

A tournament with four 118 pound fighters I’m sure doesn’t seem like the best idea to less than casual fan, or to a boardroom. Nonetheless, they are taking chances.

There is also the fact that their parent company, CBS, can provide a platform for boxing to reach millions upon millions of more homes. When Showtime inked Manny Pacquiao, it was agreed that episodes of Fight Camp 360 would appear on CBS, which it did. There is hopes that CBS will continue to work with Showtime to bring actual prizefights back to basic cable, not just the documentaries about them.

There is no telling what Showtime does next, but it is clear that there are serious brainstorm sessions taking place.

Showtime has continued to think out of the box and they should be commended for their visible effort to create boxing buzz, no matter how self-interested the motivations are.

Kyle Kinder can be reached via e-mail at KyleKinder1@gmail.com or Twitter.com/KyleKinder

Like most weeks in boxing, this one had it’s highs and lows. For one legend, his performance Saturday night was history making. For another, his performance on Saturday should mean his career is history.

After fighting to a draw the first time Bernard Hopkins squared off with Jean Pascal, the two ran it back, this time finding themselves in front of a rambunctious crowd at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec — home to the Montreal Canadiens.

The fifty or so minutes in between Hopkins’ walking to the ring to the tune of Artie Rabin’s customized version of Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ and him raising the WBC Light Heavyweight title were filled with a mix of genuine excitement and tons of foul play.

Like most B-Hop fights, the Executioner started slow and on my scorecard, after five rounds, Pascal was ahead four rounds to one.

But then it started to happen again…the teacher began schooling the student. The middle rounds belonged to the Future Hall of Famer.

To be completely honest, Pascal looked worse than he did the first fight. He seemed to make little adjustments to correct bad habits and to make matters worse, this time around, he seemed mentally on edge.

Two of Pascal’s biggest flaws were once again on display at the Bell Centre: he fought in spurts and he didn’t pace himself, forcing him to take entire rounds off — or minutes off of rounds he should have won.

If suddenly a closer in baseball had to start a game, I would imagine it would be similar to the way Jean Pascal conducts himself inside a boxing ring.

The closer would likely try to blow the lead-off batter away with a 98 mile an hour fastball, instead of trying to paint the black with a 94 mph heater. Or he would juice one up on an 0-2 count, rather than setting the hitter up with junk out of the strike zone.

In other words, when Pascal commits himself to an offensive attack, he goes all-out. He bull rushes you, and lets it all fly. Good if your a closer, bad if your goal is to give seven quality innings.

So by the mid-rounds, the crafty veteran Hopkins, began taking control of the fight.

After stalking Hopkins stalked Pascal back to his corner at the end of round six, Pascal whipped around and began barking back at Hopkins, who calmly strolled to the stool awaiting him across the ring.

A clearly agitated Pascal meant Hopkins had him right where he wanted him. Before the bell rang for round seven, Hopkins dropped to the ground and started doing push-ups in an effort to embarrass his counterpart.

It was once again the professor schooling the student, both inside the ropes, and inside his head.

Pascal clearly let Hopkins’ age old antics get to him, but credit the young champion for showing heart down the stretch. He didn’t make tactical adjustments, but he fought the last two rounds out of sheer desperation, proving that although he can’t fight with necessary urgency for thirty-six minutes, he very much cares and is aware of how a fight is progressing.

After the final bell sounded, my scorecard read 115-113, Hopkins. But much more important than my scorecard was that of the three ringside judges, who all saw the bout in favor of the Executioner.

When Mauricio Sulaiman handed Hopkins the infamous green belt, he handed it to Pascal. While there was a backstory to the gesture — Jim Lampley told us all about it — and while I do believe it was an honest gesture of good will, a friend of mine put it best when he said, “Wow, I just got second-hand embarrassment.”

Co-sign. Pascal visibly was embarrassed and the moment was awkward.

Nonetheless, what a performance by a legend. This certainly was boxing’s bright spot this weekend.

On the flip side, there was a dark cloud over the sport this weekend; specifically over Moscow, where Roy Jones, Jr. squared off with Denis Lebedev.

I think I can speak for everyone when I say that I hope Lebedev just authored the final chapter in RJJ’s Hall of Fame career.

It’s the legend’s third straight loss, and going back to 2004, it’s his seventh defeat in his last twelve bouts.

It goes without saying that there is simply too much risk involved in this sport to continue fighting when you are over the hill.

In golf, have at it. Hit the links until you’re fifty. And then guess what? Join the Senior PGA tour until you can no longer whack the ball 110 yards over the pond on the par 3.

In baseball, do what you can to stay relevant, reinvent yourself. Like current Mets pitcher, R.A. Dickey, if you lose your stuff, try throwing a knuckleball, it might by you more time. If you get injured or get sent down to AAA try using steroids to…okay, never-mind that.

But in all seriousness, boxing is not a sport where you can hang around too, winning some here, losing some there. It’s obvious when a fighter is done.

In baseball, former pitcher Ron Darling put it best when answering the question ‘When is it time for a pitcher to call it a career?’ His answer, “It’s simple, the hitters let you know.”

Golf and baseball are, generally speaking, low-risk sports, which is in stark contrast to the sport of boxing, which is perhaps the riskiest sport of all.

Similar to our nation’s past-time, the sweet science has hitters too. But unlike the hitters in baseball, the one’s in boxing aren’t using a bat to smack a ball over a fence four hundred feet away. Instead, the hitters in boxing are using their fists to rearrange your face, from only two feet away.

And Roy, these hitters are letting you know it’s time to hang the gloves up.

So, like most weeks in boxing, there were highs and lows. Bernard Hopkins raised his hands in front of a packed Bell Centre crowd, becoming the oldest champion in boxing history, while another legend, Roy Jones, Jr. crumbled to the ground in scary fashion during the 10th round courtesy of Denis Lebedev.

Ups and downs, highs and lows. The boxing beat goes on….

Kyle Kinder can be reached at Twitter.com/KyleKinder or KyleKinder1@gmail.com

There’s not much to write that hasn’t already been penned with regards to the thirty-six minutes Manny Pacquiao spent in the ring with an unworthy Shane Mosley last Saturday night.

To paraphrase ex-NFL head coach Denny Green, ‘Manny is who we thought he was. And Shane is who we thought he was.’ It’s as simple as that, no need to over analyze it.

Predictably, Pacquiao looked as sharp as he looked his last time out, and the time before that, and the time before that…etc.

Also predictable was Mosley’s performance. He looked as sharp — or dull — as his last time out, and the time before that, but unfortunately, not the time before that — his last victory.

Perhaps the most frustrating part of the fight, other than the fact that hard-working people had to shell out $60 bucks to watch it, was that for the last half hour of “action”, Mosley hardly took any risks.

As Bart Barry wrote on Monday, “The opening bell rang, and Shane Mosley played himself, too….His career has been a model of what risk-taking makes athletes immortals….And yet, if Saturday was the first time you watched boxing or Shane Mosley, on Sunday morning you woke up hating them both.”

In many ways Mosley was like an old Skipper, whose beloved vessel was on the verge of succumbing to the powers of the sea. His call of distress was never answered — well, because his fists never sent out the SOS. By the fifth round, it was clear the SS Mosley was taking on too much water, and the veteran Captain had already decided he would go down with his ship, he was spent.

While the parallels aren’t perfect, Mosley’s performance reminded me a lot of Arthur Abraham’s dismal display against Carl Froch last year.

While Abraham is certainly no Shane Mosley, he is — or was — a risk taker. He who proved his heart in his first fight with Colombian banger, Edison Miranda, when Abraham fought eight rounds with a broken jaw and blood-filled mouth. When he takes risks, there aren’t many more exciting athletes in the sport. But for what whatever reason, in his last fight, he didn’t.

Abraham doesn’t have much of a jab, and when he uses it, it’s largely ineffective, so he has to take risks to land his infamous wide power punches.

At middleweight, Abraham relied on a strategy that saw his opponents wear themselves out punching his defensive shell for the first half of the fight only to have Abraham flip the script in the second half and finish the fight strong, often times flooring his opponents in the process.

At 168, however, King Arthur is almost always the smaller fighter, with a reach disadvantage. He hasn’t figured out how to get inside his opponent’s reach to land his power punches.

Against Andre Ward, whose Super Six fight’s have almost exclusively featured inside fighting, Abraham might not have to figure out how to get inside, Ward might bring that fight to Abraham.

My guess is he won’t, though. The blueprint on how to beat Abraham couldn’t be clearer. Jab and move. Don’t stop throwing punches because Abraham can’t counter. As long as you are punching, Abraham won’t let his hands go.

So if Ward adopts the Dirrell-Froch blueprint, the only way Abraham will win is if he takes risks. He risked his career and livelihood when he fought eight rounds with a disgusting, dangling jaw against Miranda. He’s done it before, he can do it again.

So similar to the SS Mosley, Captain Abraham’s ship is taking on water. Having lost his previous two Super Six bouts, this is King Arthur’s last chance to assert his status as an “A-side” fighter. He won’t be able to give away the first three rounds like usual; he’s not knocking opponents out with regularity at 168.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. If the Armenian-born, German immigrant’s career is to stay afloat, he needs to advance in the Super Six. Expect fireworks from Abraham Saturday, flares for that matter, as his wailing punches send out the SOS.

If King Arthur acts like Mosley did on Saturday night and refuses to take any risks, expect his ship and career to head straight to Davy Jones’ locker and the gutter, respectively.

Kyle Kinder can be found on Twitter.com/KyleKinder or KyleKinder1@gmail.com

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

“Fool me once shame on you…you fool me, you can’t get fooled again.” — George W. Bush

While the brilliant quote above was provided by the forty-third president of the United States of America, a man whose eight years in office were spent responding to the chaos caused by Osama bin Laden, I wouldn’t dare try draw some sort analogy between the events of Sunday night and the sweet sport of boxing. I don’t want my words to mess with a good thing.

But what I do say to all documentary makers — which include HBO’s 24/7 and Showtime’s Fight Camp 360 — fool me once shame on you…well, you know the rest, ‘W’ put it best.

I’ve touched on this once before, so I’ll make it brief.

I am a sucker for documentaries, plain and simple. I own a documentary about a local mayoral race, an eerie one about people who jump off the Golden Gate Bridge, and one about crossword puzzles. It’s a sad reality that I’ll watch a documentary on pretty much everything.

So just imagine my excitement when my love of documentaries combines with my passion for boxing. Nothing better. I become mesmerized, absorbing every nugget of information like a sponge.

What’s that, Freddie? Manny seems distracted by his other obligations and this camp is slow to start? Hmm…

And Cotto…Margarito…Mosley…is having his most dedicated camp to date?

Thanks, but no thanks, I’ll still take the Filipino Congressman.

In 2009 I was convinced Miguel Cotto was going to handle Manny Pacquiao. After Cotto was obliterated by the quickness of Manny from round 5 on, I ate my words.

In retrospect, I realized it was because I allowed 24/7 to convince me that Pacquiao was distracted and that Cotto’s size advantage and strength would rule the day.

But before the series aired, I thought Manny’s speed would be too much for the Puerto Rican to handle. After the series, my mind had changed. And to be sure, my ability to be influenced by documentaries — and 24/7, in particular — stretches back way before the Cotto-Pacquiao incarnation. But it was the Cotto-Pacquiao series that would mark last time I ever let the smoke and mirrors of television influence my fistic inclinations.

So with that said, I do want to applaud Fight Camp 360 for not creating any false storylines. I also want to applaud them for going beyond the ring and behind the scenes to take a glimpse into the inner workings of the sweet science.

They have done this before with their airing of clips from the Super Six negotiations that took place in New York City. It gives fans a neat insight to the sport that they would otherwise never have.

With regards to the fight, Fight Camp 360 has not swayed my opinion one way or another. I’m casting my vote for the Congressman, along with the rest of you. It’s an easy decision, like Nixon in ’72 or Reagan in ’84.

And like those two far superior candidates, Pacquiao too will win in a landslide.

For one, Mosley’s defense is suspect. He gets hit enough as it is. Put in front him — or to the sides of him — Manny “Angles” Pacquiao, and you’re going to have a Shane Mosley whose face resembles that of Antonio Margarito’s on November 13, 2010.

Unlike Floyd Mayweather, who had his way with Mosley by throwing one punch at a time, Pacquiao throws punches in bunches and believe me, they’ll land.

For what would be the first time in his Hall of Fame career, I think Mosley gets stopped in the championship rounds.

The game-changer of course, is Mosley’s right hand. Will he be able to load up and land it? I doubt it. But he did rock Money May with it, so you never know.

So while I think this is smooth sailing once again for the Pacman, as ’43’ would warn likely warn his fellow politician, ‘Just don’t “misunderestimate” Mosley.’

Kyle Kinder can be found at Twitter.com/KyleKinder or KyleKinder1@gmail.com

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Victor Ortiz approached his title fight against Andre Berto with a ferociousness that, frankly, we’ve never seen in Ortiz, pre-fight.

The 147 pound Ortiz looked the same as the 140 pound Ortiz, but he talked a whole lot different. That much I knew. I wrote about that six weeks ago.

What I didn’t know, however, was that Ortiz’s “more vicious” approach to his April 16 championship showdown would translate into a “more vicious” performance in the ring — as dominant a performance one could have when being knocked down twice.

The dominance started almost immediately, as both fighters came out firing, with Ortiz striking first. Roughly ninety seconds into their WBC middleweight title bout Ortiz sent Berto the crashing to the mat — a knockdown which referee Mike Ortega would rule a push.

That didn’t matter, however, as Ortiz went right back to work, overwhelming Berto with punches in bunches. A right cross staggered the then-undefeated champion, forcing him to retreat to the corner, and ultimately, after absorbing a flurry of punches from the heavy-handed Ortiz, caused the champ took a knee.

Berto would never fully recover from being sent to the canvas twice in the first stanza, and credit Ortiz for never letting him do so. That hasn’t always been the case with Ortiz.

In the past, the young Mexican-American has let hurt opponents rejuvenate and regain their strength. The Marcos Maidana and Lamont Peterson bouts serve as exhibit’s A and B on that matter. But the “more vicious” Victor Ortiz kept his foot on the gas, not even letting Berto catch his breath when he was taunting him while against the ropes.

Even when he hit a speed-bump — a major speed bump — in round six in the form of becoming one with the canvas courtesy of a Berto right hand, he weathered the storm and returned the favor in the closing seconds of the round, sending Berto down with a short left hook.

He looked like a man possessed, as hungry as ever. He also looked like a true welterweight, his body no longer drained from the days of making the 140 pound junior welterweight limit.

But what was obvious to me at the kick-off press conference was ever-present throughout the fight. Ortiz wasn’t out to just win, he was out to make a statement — and that he did.

“It wasn’t until last fight…it was one of those things in the end I felt like a piece of gum on the bottom of somebody’s shoe,” Ortiz said at the press conference.

He continued, “I’m tired of this ‘Oh, he’s got no heart, he’s got no balls,’…the list [of criticism] goes on and on and on,” Ortiz said six weeks ago.

Ortiz was breathing fire, he was pissed, and possessed. Many thought Berto’s hands would . Not so. Not last Saturday.

Unless Ortiz lands a life-changing payday against Mayweather or Pacquiao, a rematch — likely PPV — would be the next most lucrative bout.

In the past, perhaps I’d question whether Ortiz would be able to bring that same fierceness, that same intensity to the ring twice. But not this time. If they do square up again, I’m taking Ortiz, no questions asked.

The Ortiz at 147 is ferocious. He knew exactly what he wanted and he found a way to get the job the done.

“They say Andre Berto is the best [at 147]. I disagree,” Ortiz said in late March. “Berto is no chump. He’s the champ for a reason. But April 16th, I’m changing that.”

Talking the talk and walking the walk. Bravo. A tip of the sombrero to you, the new…

Kyle Kinder can be reached at KyleKinder1@gmail.com or Twitter.com/KyleKinder

Photo by Claudia Bocanegra

Well, nobody saw that one coming.

Or should I say, nobody saw those TWO coming?

Or three or four…

It was a weekend of upsets and almost upsets, where a legend’s legend grew even in defeat and prospects were halted in their tracks by opponents who were supposed go quietly into the win column.

This past weekend also served as a reminder of why we all love boxing. Once a boxer steps into the squared circle, they literally all have a puncher’s chance.

In Las Vegas, future Hall-of-Famer Erik Morales lost a close decision to thunder-fisted Argentinian, Marcos Maidana, but once again won the respect of the boxing community. At the same site, just a few fight’s earlier, down went former undefeated phenom James Kirkland, thrice. And one night prior, in Montreal, before his home fans, up in flames went my 2010 Prospect of the Year, David Lemiuex.

Morales was supposed to be decapitated by the stone hands of Maidana, wasn’t he? At least I thought so. And I wasn’t alone.

But then on Friday ESPN’s Dan Rafael and Yahoo’s Kevin Iole were both reporting that many respected media members were giving Morales a real chance to win on Saturday night. Maybe they got information that day that nobody else had because prior to Friday I can’t recall one reporter — or fans not of Mexican descent — giving “El Terrible” a chance to win. In fact, the general consensus seemed to be that everyone loved the undercard of “Action Heroes,” but was turned off by the Morales-Maidana main event.

But after twelve rounds of action, El Terrible’s head remained attached to his neck and he stood waiting to hear the judge’s scorecards with a realistic chance that afterwards it would be his hand raised in victory. That wasn’t the case, however, and rightfully so, as Maidana earned himself a majority decision victory over the world-class veteran.

The fight was a pleasant surprise that concluded a card that was host to what will perhaps be the biggest surprise of the entire year — and could very well earn Upset of the Year honors some months down the road.

When Kevin Iole asked his twitter followers “Who do you like?” with regards to the James Kirkland-Nobuhiro Ishida bout, DiBella replied in all capital letters, “YOU’RE KIDDING, RIGHT?”

No way, no how, not in a million years was Nobuhiro Ishida going to beat James Kirkland. I thought so, Lou DiBella thought so, the whole boxing world thought so…except Nobuhiro Ishida himself.

And for the first twenty seconds, nobody’s thoughts changed. And then coinciding with the twenty-first second was Nobuhiro’s perfectly placed left cross that crashed through Kirkland’s jaw. His legs gave out and he methodically collapsed to the canvas for the first of three visits. The last visit, a violent knockdown that resulted in Kirkland’s entire body jolting upon impact, was enough for the firm, but fair Joe Cortez to call a halt to the bout.

Stunning.

And then there was the main event of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec where hometown hero David Lemieux took a step up in opposition when he faced the resilient veteran, Marco Antonio Rubio. Lemieux, my vote for 2010 Prospect of the Year, entered this fight with an unblemished record of 25-0, with 24 knockouts.

The heavy-handed Canadian unloaded his usual bombs on his opponent, but Rubio reacted much differently than the twenty-five that came before him. He withstood Lemieux’s blows, and by the sixth round Rubio had no problems at all trading with Lemieux — in fact, that’s just what he wanted to do.

Lemieux, against the advice of his corner, came out in the seventh and did what he knows how to do — and that was let his hands fly and look for the KO. It would come alright, but it would be Rubio who got the TKO victory.

With Lemieux hurting after hitting the canvas, chief second Russ Anber stepped up to the apron and called for a halt to the bout.

Even from watching on television, you can feel the air being sucked out of the Bell Centre. The hometown hero left humbled in defeat.

Stunning.

There were other upsets and other shocks over the weekend, but none as significant as these three. Together, they represent what we all love about boxing.

After Ishida’s TKO of Kirkland, DiBella, myself, and millions of fans around the globe collectively ate their words. But DiBella tweeted immediately after the bout, acknowledging that he and everyone else in the world didn’t see that coming. But it’s fights like these that keep people watching the sport, that keep fans on the edge of their seats.

“This kind of upset…shocker…part of the beauty of boxing,” DiBella tweeted.

And to that, I’ll simply add…this kind of weekend…embodied the beauty of boxing.

Kyle Kinder can be found on Twitter.com/KyleKinder or KyleKinder1@gmail.com

PART 2

MAIN EVENT — Joel “El Rey” Castillo sent a wave of electricity through the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn, New York Saturday night when he delivered a violent one punch knockout to Billy Cunningham just eighteen seconds into the fight!

The punch, a vicious left hook on the button, sent Cunningham crashing stiffly the canvas where he would remain until ringside physicians propped him up onto a stool for a medical examination.

Cunningham came out of the corner, circled Castillo, and walked right into a perfectly placed left hook. He immediately crumbled. His legs stiffened upon hitting the mat, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, Undertaker-style.

The crowd, who had been awaiting a knockdown of note got more than they bargained for in the main event. Not only was it a knockdown of note, it was a KNOCKOUT of note.

With one murderous left hook less than twenty seconds into the fight, the Bronx’s Castillo improved his record to 8-0, 5 KOs, while Cunningham, a native of Jackson, Mississippi’s, fell to 5-10, 4 KOs.

Mark Davis vs. Ramesis Gil — 6 Rounds, lightweight

In the night’s co-main event, Cincinnati, Ohio’s Mark Davis scored a TKO victory over the Dominican Republic’s Ramesis Gil when Gil was unable to answer the bell for round six.

It was clear from the onset that Davis’ superior hand-speed and overall athleticism was going to be a lot for Gil to handle, and it was. To make matters worse for the Dominican, his defense was average at best.

The speedy Davis first hurt his counterpart in the second round when he landed a textbook one-two to the face of Gil. He continued to find Gil with ease for the next two, including a huge right hand to the chin that wobbled Gil in round four. While Davis was unable to shut the door at that particular moment, he only needed one more round the finish the job.

In the fifth round, Davis started to attack Gil’s body. After an exhausted Gil recovered from a grazing low blow, Davis turned up the heat and began wailing away at Gil’s midsection. As he back him into the ropes, Davis delivered a bruising left hook to the liver of Gil, who immediately absorbed a flurry of more body shots courtesy of Davis before falling to the canvas.

When Gil returned to his corner after the round concluded, his corner stepped in and advised the referee to call a halt to the bout at the end of round five.

Davis improved his record to 15-0, 5 KOs with the win, while Gil loses his second fight and sees his record morph to read 6-2-4, 5 KOs.

Leon Moore vs. Felipe Almanza — 6 Rounds, bantamweight

Lean “Hurry Up” Moore cruised past Felipe Almanza

When watching this fight, I was trying to think of new nicknames for Moore. I only came up with two, and they are both sub-par, but here you go. Leon “Hurry Up And Get This Fight Over With” Moore? Leon “Hurry Up And” Snore?

Point is, Leon Moore is an extremely talented fighter, and his record shows it — 28-2, 23 KOs.

With that said, his style is not exactly crowd-pleasing.

The Guyanese-born Brooklynite works methodically behind his crisp jab, taking little risks to land punches that would offer large rewards. But in all fairness to Moore, he didn’t have to take unnecessary risks in this fight, and he didn’t.

The bout saw some fiery exchanges, but they were few and far between. Although the bout was pretty much out of Almanza’s reach by the fourth round, he was deducted a point by the referee for hitting after the break. That, if nothing else, sealed his fate.

In the end, Moore took home the unanimous decision victory. All three judges scored the bout 59-54 in his favor.

Ramadan Yasser vs. Mario Flores — 4 Rounds, heavyweight

In the night’s lone heavyweight bout of the evening, the Egyptian-born New Yorker, Ramadan Yasser scored a majority decision victory over Washington, D.C.’s Mario Flores.

Yasser, a flamboyant boxer, clubs more than he punches. His ‘punches’ are awkward and extremely wide, but he throws them from all angles, which created problems for the Chris Arreola (but fifty pounds lighter) look-a-like, Flores.

Throughout the fight, Yasser taunted Flores, doing all kinds of showboating over the course of twelve minutes. While it didn’t seem to phase Flores, I know if it was me, I would have been pissed. Flores, took it in stride, and continued to try walk down his opponent, who seemingly was treated this fight as some sort of comedy act.

Flores’ only round won on my scorecard was the second round, where he made a commitment to attack Yasser’s body. He got away from that however, and didn’t see much success elsewhere.

In the end, judge Julie Lederman scored the bout even 38-38, while the other two judges agreed that Yasser won the bout by a score of 39-37.

With the win, Yasser stays perfect as a professional, improving his record to 4-0, 3 KOs, while Flores drops his first professional fight, and falls to 1-1, 1 KO.

Frank Galarza vs. Noel Garcia — 4 Rounds, junior middleweight

Hometown favorite Frank Galarza easily outpointed the lesser talented Noel Garcia in a four round junior middleweight bout.

Garcia looked hesitant from the opening bell, as if he wasn’t sure he wanted to be in the ring that night. Conversely, Galarza looks like a boxer and he acts like one too.

Galarza controlled the pace and domination the action from bell to bell, stalking Garcia around the ring. The only knock on Galarza this bout is that when he had Garcia hurt, he showed no desire to follow-up quickly and try to stop his opponent. Instead, he chose to slowly stalk his prey, which worked as well, resulting in another ‘W’ in the young prospect’s win column.

With the win, Galarza runs his record to 3-0, 1 KO, while Springfield, Massachusetts’ Garcia falls to 2-8-1, 1 KO.

Tommy Rainone vs. Arthur Medina — 6 Rounds, welterweight

Arthur Medina’s trunks read “All Heart.” His tattoo that arched across his back said the same. After the fight ended, I didn’t doubt those words. Too bad he has “All Heart” and not much else, however.

His opponent, Tommy Rainone’s trunks, read “Razor” across the waist. And that too turned out to be an appropriate nickname as he continually sliced through Medina’s shoddy defense with a razor-like left hand.

I was convinced by the third round that if Rainone’s trunks said “Hammer” across the belt-line instead of “Razor”, his “Hammer” would have trumped Medina’s “All Heart” and this fight would have been over by the second round.

Rainone dominated this fight bell to bell, literally. No more than seconds into the fight Medina was sporting a cut on the cheekbone under his right eye. While the cut never became a factor in the fight, it certainly was an indicator of the now would go for Medina.

The Colorado native, Medina, was too easy to find for Brooklyn’s own Rainone. Time after time, Rainone shot his left hand through Medina’s hand-made uprights.

While Rainone never lost control of the bout, it was a dirty and chippy fight that saw the referee constantly getting in-between the southpaw, Rainone, and the orthodox, Medina.

In the third round, Rainone through a half straight left/half push that resulted in Medina falling to the canvas. Referee Sparkle Lee, incorrectly in my view, ruled it a knockdown.

Later in the fight, in the fifth round, however, Rainone scored a legitimate knockdown when a one-two sent Medina to the mat.

When it was all said and done, all three judges awarded Rainone the victory. Scores were 59-53 and 60-52, twice..

With the win, Rainone improves 14-4, 4 KOs, while Medina drops to 14-23, 5 KOs.

Jonathan Arias vs. Angel Cruz — 6 Rounds, super flyweight

While there was no doubt that Joel Castillo’s knockout of Billy Cunningham was the knockout of the night, there was also no doubt that Jonathan Arias versus Angel Cruz was the fight of the night.

The bout opened up with fireworks and the they were constant throughout, until the finale, which commenced at the sound of the bell to end round six. Arias, the crowd favorite and Dominican Republic native now resided in New York City exchanged blows with the Puerto Rican, Miami resident, Cruz from the opening ‘ding.’

In the second round, Cruz stumbled Castillo with a huge one-two which backed Castillo against the ropes. Cruz continued to attack, but Castillo weathered the storm and fired off a few crushing blows of his own.

The best action of the best fight came in round five when Arias hurt Cruz with an uppercut, forcing him to backpedal until he reached the ropes. Arias continued to wail away at Cruz, who was covering up and not firing back. After absorbing a few more blows, it was Cruz’s turn to fire back, and in doing so the crowd was on their feet, half the arena cheering for while Arias, while the Puerto Rican fans in attendance adopted Cruz to root for.

Although Arias gave it everything he had, Cruz was the more technical, less wild, and quicker boxer, with heavier hands. Ultimately, that carried him to victory.

Scores were 59-55 and 58-56, all in favor of Cruz.

At the end of the fight, HBO’s unofficial offical, Howard Lederman, who was sitting in the first row exclaimed, “Man that’s as good as it gets! Incredible!”

With the win, Cruz improves to 5-1, 4 KOs, while Arias drops to 11-7, 9 KOs.

DonYil Livingston vs. Greg Hackett — 6 Rounds, middleweight

In the evening’s first contest, Los Angeles, California’s DonYil Livingston scored a narrow unanimous decision victory the hard-nosed Greg Hackett of Philadelphia.

The underdog, Hackett, gave Livingston all he could handle in this fight and all three judges agreed he had one half the rounds. However, his downfall came in the sixth and final round when he delivered his third low blow to Livingston and was deducted a point.

That point proved vital as all three judges scored the bout in favor of Livingston, 57-56.

With the win, Livingston improves his record to 3-0, 2 KOs, while Hackett drops to 2-7.

It’s all fun and games until you accuse someone of steroids. Or other performance enhancing drugs, for that matter.

That is the saying, right?

No? Well, it should be.

You see, when promoting a fight, fighters can call each other names, get in each other’s face, push one another, and even throw an occasional punch without crossing the line. All of that is well and good. Pre-fight hype will translate into ticket sales, PPV purchases, and increase total viewership. It’s become an accepted norm in the theater that is boxing.

But on Monday in Montreal, Jean Pascal crossed the line when he repeatedly accused Bernard Hopkins of being a “cheater.”

“Take the test. Are you willing to take the test?” Pascal shouted into the podium microphone. “Take the test to the show the world.”

At that point, Hopkins and Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer attempted to excuse themselves from the press conference. Pascal went to put his arm around Hopkins as if they were ‘buddy-buddy’ while he was still screaming into the microphone.

Hopkins pushed him, Pascal threw one punch back, and the two were separated. Since it was the Montreal press conference and Pascal had the microphone, it was only fitting that he got the last word in. Unfortunately, he chose to repeat “You’re a cheater!” over and over again.

Pascal was channeling his inner Floyd Mayweather, making similar accusations toward Hopkins that Mayweather did towards Manny Pacquiao. Those accusations have led to a defamation lawsuit.

Fighter’s should keep their mouths shut with regards to trying to tarnish another fighter’s reputation unless they have substantial evidence to back their thesis. Mayweather doesn’t. Pascal doesn’t. End of story. If this trend continues, boxing is going to have to deal with their own version of the Salem Witch Trials.

But when Mayweather or Pascal make those accusations, they simultaneously pay their rivals a generous compliment, as Hopkins’ longtime trainer Naazim Richardson pointed out at yesterday’s New York press conference.

“Sometimes you don’t realize when you say something derogatory…you don’t realize you give the man the greatest complement in the world,” Richardson explained. “See if you were to say, ‘Naazim, you looked a certain kind of way and the way you beat that man…I would have thought you had a bat.’ That’s a compliment to me when I come out and know that I didn’t have a bat.”

He continued, “Because I looked at you, and you didn’t look like you had a bat in that last fight you had. I wasn’t that impressed with you to think that you did something illegal or something wrong.”

After Richardson spoke, Pascal’s trainer, Marc Ramsay, took to the mic to say a few words about the May 21 rematch. And after Ramsay, it was time for Hopkins to take the mic. It was time for Hopkins to fire back.

And that he did.

“When a guy like this [points to Pascal] says I’m eating some kind of candy bar or…I am doing something unusual because I showed what I have been showing for years — and he [Pascal] wasn’t even in boxing, he was in pampers when I was doing this — and now it becomes a shock, it’s unusual, it’s strange,” a visibly angry Hopkins said.

“He put allegations out there that I don’t want to deal with, but I think I’ll speak about it now. Don’t be surprised if he DIES in May,” Hopkins shouted into the microphone. “That’s how I feel. And I’m taking this anger — I mean that — this is no quote, this is no fucking press conference to hype it up. Don’t be surprised if I kill him.”

To say Hopkins was pissed would be an understatement. But he had every right to be furious. Tossing around allegations of performance enhancing drugs is a dangerous and out of line, unless there is proof, of course. And in this case, or the case of Pacquiao, there is no proof whatsoever.

While Floyd Mayweather may be a great example to follow inside the ring, his actions outside the ropes are anything but role model material. So Pascal should change course and stop accusing other athletes of “cheating.” He should quit all that nonsense while he still can.

But, then again, it already may be too late. The damage may have already been done. Like Hopkins said, “Don’t be surprised if I kill him.”

Kyle Kinder can be reached on Twitter at Twitter.com/KyleKinder or KyleKinder1@gmail.com

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — In the main event of the evening, Yuriorkis Gamboa sent Jorge Solis to the mat five times in four rounds to remain undefeated in front of a sold out crowd at the Adrian Phillips Ballroom at Boardwalk Hall.

The opening round saw little action as both fighter’s were content with feeling one another out. The second round was a different story, however, as Gamboa overwhelmed his counterpart, sending him crashing to the canvas on two separate occasions.

Gamboa’s first knockdown came courtesy of a crisp left hook. Solis beat the ten count, and quickly regained his legs, only to be met with a flurry of punches from Gamboa. Eventually, Gamboa dropped Solis again after a combination ending with a right hand, combined with little push, sent Solis down.

Gamboa cruised through the third round and with only ten seconds remaining he delivered a skull-crushing left hook that collapsed Solis to the mat for a third time. He was able to beat the ten count and walked backed to his corner between rounds on shaky legs.

In the fourth, it was more of the same, Gamboa landed a quick one-two flush that sent Solis flying on his back and to the mat for a fourth time. Solis, looking over at his corner while on a knee, waved to his corner to let the fight continue. That proved to be unwise because as soon as the fight continued Gamboa rushed to Solis and fired off a flurry of punches that would ultimately send Solis to the canvas for a fifth and final time.

Referee David Fields stepped in and called a halt to the bout at the 1:31 mark of round four.

“Of course, I knew that Solis had shown a great fight against Pacquiao”, said Gamboa after the fight. “And, of course, it was an extra motivation to beat him faster than Pacquiao did. I wanted to make a statement tonight. I always enter the ring to prove that I am the best fighter in the world. Whoever wants to prove me wrong should just come and fight me. I don’t care about my opponent’s names – I want the big fights to show the world that I am the best.”

Promoter Ahmet Oner was once more thrilled by Gamboa’s performance. “That was exactly the Yuriorkis Gamboa we all know and want to see”, said Oner. “He didn’t look as determined and explosive in some of his last fights. But today he showed the full package again: his extraordinary hand speed and overall movement plus his enormous power and accuracy. He is definitely one of the most exciting fighters in the world today. And I don’t see anybody he has to be afraid of. Gamboa is simply made for this sport. He’s a natural born boxer and winner.”

With the win, Gamboa remains undefeated and improves to 20-0, 16 KOs, while the veteran Solis drops to 40-3-2-1, 29 KOs.

In another championship bout featuring two undefeated fighters, Miguel Angel Garcia became the new NABF and NABO featherweight champion as he stopped the former unbeaten fighter, Matt Remillard.

The first round saw good action, with Oxnard, California’s Garcia ultimately getting the better of his counterpart. The best action came about two minutes in when Garcia hurt Remillard with a barrage of punches that hard a hurt Remillard covering up his face with his back against the ropes.

In the second round, Manchester Connecticut’s Remillard found success by applying constant pressure. His best punch came about midway through the round when he landed a straight right flush on the left side of Garcia’s face.

Garcia started break Remillard’s defense in round three as he continuously sent shots straight up the middle, Garcia’s fists always finding their target. At times in the third round, Remillard seemed a bit lost, his only answer to Garcia’s punches was to flick an ineffective left jab at him.

The middle rounds belonged to Garcia, as continued to breakdown the red-faced Remillard. Garcia fired straight shots up the middle, but when Remillard would sure up his guard there, Garcia would hook in punches around the gloves.

In the ninth round, Garcia dropped Remillard with a grazing left hook. Remillard beat the referee’s ten count but stood on shaky legs. Garcia quickly greeted the hurt champion with a barrage of punches that forced Remillard into retreat. Garcia then landed a crushing left hook right on the button that sent Remillard violently back to the canvas. He impressively beat the ten count once again and stood just in time to hear the bell concluded round nine.

In the tenth, Garcia picked up where he left off, continuing to punish the champion. Once again Remillard went down the canvas, this time courtesy of a Garcia right to the head.

In between rounds ten and eleven, Remillard’s trainer, Mike Skowronski stepped in to save his fighter and stop the bout.

As a result, Miguel Angel Garcia captures the NABF and NABO featherweight titles and improves his record to 25-0, 21 KOs, while Remillard suffers his first professional defeat and falls to 23-1, 13 KOs.

In an electrifying USBA super bantamweight title bout, Philadelphia’s Teon Kennedy successfully defended his title against a tough Jorge Diaz.

It was a battle of wills between the two undefeated prospects, a battle that would somehow go the distance even though each boxer was on the receiving end of some vicious blows.

The fight opened with Diaz acting as the aggressor. He constantly came forward, continuously finding a home for his right hand. Kennedy, who is an above average counterpuncher in his own right, seemed uneasy and awkward in the opening rounds in this fight.

In the second round, Diaz caught Kennedy flush with a left hook to the side of his face. It was quickly followed a by a straight right, a combination that momentarily hurt the champion. It also resulted in a cut to open over Kennedy’s right eye.

In the third round, Kennedy began to turn the tides. With his back nearing the ropes, Kennedy caught Diaz with a left hook high on Diaz’s head, forcing the challenger off-balance to the point where both his gloves touched the canvas, resulting in a knockdown. It was only after this knockdown did Kennedy come forward for the first time in the fight.

In the fourth round, the two continued to exchange blows. A divided crowd was more than alive by this point as chants of “Jorge! Jorge” were countered by chants of “Teon! Teon!” Late in round four Diaz seemingly hurt Kennedy with a straight right, but Kennedy recovered quickly.

In the sixth round Kennedy countered a Diaz right hand that sent him crashing to floor. Somehow Diaz was able to beat referee Steve Smoger’s ten count and continue the fight. The game Diaz stood on clumsy legs, wobbling back into the ropes as Kennedy tried to finish the fight. Four consecutive head shots were landed and any other referee other than Smoger probably would have stepped in and called a halt to the bout. He didn’t and no less than twenty seconds later did the resilient Diaz rattle off a three punch combination of his own. As the round concluded, Diaz — who was clearly still hurt — clutched Kennedy’s hip and dragged them both mat as the bell sounded.

When round seven opened up, Diaz clinched frequently, buying time for his legs to regain their strength. By this time, Diaz’

s eye was beginning to severely swell, to the point where he was having trouble opening it. Smoger kept looking in at Diaz’s face, but decided to let the bout continue.

The fight continued to electrify the crowd for the final three rounds, as each fighter was willing to eat a few punches to dish out a few of their own. Both fighter’s fought to keep their undefeated record until the final bell sounded.

When it did, the judges scored the bout a unanimous decision in favor of the champion, Kennedy. Judge Steve Weisfeld saw the bout 115-111. Judge Alan Rubenstein scored the fight 118-109 and judge John Poturaj had it 117-109, all for Kennedy.

With the win Kennedy retains his USBA championship and improves his record to 17-0-1, 7 KOs, while Diaz loses his first professional bout and drops to 15-1, 9 KOs.

Baltimore Ravens’ safety and former Notre Dame football captain, Tommy Zbikowski improved his professional boxing record to 3-0 with a win over former MMA fighter, Caleb Grummet.

Zbikowski, who trained under the tutelage of Emanuel Steward for this fight, showcased an impressive arsenal of weapons throughout the first two rounds of this bout, before fading heavily.

Zbikowski began the fight as a southpaw, making a visible commitment to attack his heavier opponent’s body. Grummet took the punches well and returned fire with a few successful body blows of his own.

The second round was all Zbikowski as he hurt Grummet early in the round. With Grummet dazed and agains the ropes, Zbikowski was able to land some devastating uppercuts, as well as a vicious three punch combination to Grummet’s body. Grummet was able to survive Zbikowski’s onslaught in the second round and came out firing on all cylinders in the third round.

Grummet came out aggressive in the third round, constantly walking forward, forcing Zbikowski to retreat. The former cage fighter continuously landed flush punches to a fatigued Zbikowski, but he was deducted a point for his third low blow of the round.

In the fourth round, Grummet continued to fight like it was his Super Bowl. Again he was relentless with pressure, forcing an absolutely exhausted Zbikowski against the ropes. Zbikowski absorbed three minutes worth of Grummet punches, and twice during the round, took his eyes off his firing opponent to check how much time was left in the bout.

In the end, the first two rounds coupled with the point Grummet lost due to low blows, was enough for Zbikowski to earn a unanimous decision and improve his record to 3-0, 2 KOs. Judges scores read as follows: 39-36, twice, and 38-37.

With the loss, Grand Rapid’s Michigan’s Caleb Grummet falls to 0-1-1.

Undefeated prospect and former Manny Pacqiuao sparring partner, Glen Tapia, scored a unanimous decision victory over the durable Eberto Medina.

The first opened up with good action, both fighters throwing a healthy mix of body and head punches. The highlight of the first round came midway through when Tapia landed a one-two that stunned Medina momentarily.

The second round began with Tapia bombarding his surprised counterpart, who immediately backed against the ropes where he was met with a head-snapped right hand. Medina, who was clearly hurt by that punch, went from corner to corner in retreat. Tapia continued to apply pressure, but Medina was able to weather the storm early in round two.

Medina started to find some success in round three as he continuously applied pressure and walked Tapia into corners. Tapia seemed comfortable fighting with his back near the ropes, as he successfully countered Medina time after time. Towards the end of round three, Tapia caught Medina with a left hook that sent him stumbling backwards until he took a seat on the canvas. He beat the referee’s ten count with ease, and continued on to hear the bell to conclude round three.

The fight continued to entertain as both fighters continued to engage one another. It was Tapia, however, who continued to land the cleaner, more devastating blows. Credit Medina for battling, however, as he continued to pressure Tapia in hopes of landing one big punch until the final bell sounded.

In the end, all three judges scored the bout in favor of Passaic, New Jersey’s Tapia. Scores read as follows: 59-54, 60-53, and 60-52.

With the win Tapia improves his already perfect record to 9-0, 5 KOs, while Newark, New Jersey’s Medina drops to 5-6, 1 KO.

Former National Golden Gloves Champion Miguel Cartejena probably didn’t anticipate his professional debut to be a brawl — and it wasn’t at first. But after a vicious wild-swinging exchange between he and Omar Gonzalez opened the third round, that’s what it became.

For the final six minutes the two fighters dug in and traded blows, with Cartejena consistently getting the better of the southpaw, Gonzalez.

It wasn’t an aesthetically pleasing bout, with both fighters colliding numerous times due to the orthodox-southpaw match up. It was a crowd pleaser, however, as the Cartejena fans — who were numerous and audible throughout the bout — cheered their fighter throughout.

Puerto Rico’s Camilo Perez needed exactly three minutes to dispose of his now 0-2 opponent, Desi Williams. It was clear from the onset that North Carolina’s Williams was in over his head. The crisper, more technically sound, and flat-out better fighter — Perez — first knocked Williams down against the ropes with a half punch/half push right hand. Shortly after, with Williams running across the ring in retreat, the stalking Perez landed a left hook to the side of William’s face that sent him down for the ten count.

With the win Perez improves his record to 2-0 with 2 knockouts.

Photos–Chris Farina / Top Rank

The Victor Ortiz that is about to debut at 147 pounds looks the same as the Victor Ortiz that fought at 140 pounds, but he sounds a whole lot different.

Last Wednesday during a press conference to promote his upcoming bout against WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto, the normally energetic and charming Ortiz continuously struck a different tone — a more vicious one.

“It wasn’t until last fight…it was one of those things in the end I felt like a piece of gum on the bottom of somebody’s shoe,” Ortiz said to a room full of dining media members.

Ortiz, of course, was referring the criticism he faced following his ten round majority draw with Lamont Peterson last December. It was a fight that saw Ortiz knock Peterson down on two separate occasions, and it was a fight that many, including myself, thought Ortiz deserved to win despite his ghostly act in the latter rounds.

Immediately following that fight, which was televised on HBO as the featured undercard bout for the Amir Khan-Marcos Maidana main event, Ortiz spoke to the media at the post fight press conference.

His opening remarks were, “First off, let me just say that I’m just blessed to be here. I had fun tonight.” He continued on, “The results weren’t quite what I was expecting and I disagree with them…Amir and Maidana had a great fight and it was close, but mine wasn’t as close, I don’t think. But hey I have nothing to say. I thought I pulled it off.”

Ortiz went on to talk a bit more about his fight, crack some jokes about Harry Potter, and he thoughtfully closed his portion of the press conference by wishing members of the media a Merry Christmas.

But that was then, and this is now.

It’s no secret that Ortiz has gone through some very public growing pains — specifically his loss to the aforementioned Maidana in March 2009. Combine the criticism he received after that fight with the equally harsh words that followed the draw with Peterson, and suddenly Ortiz is singing a different tune.

“I’m tired of this ‘Oh, he’s got no heart, he’s got no balls,’…the list [of criticism] goes on and on and on,” Ortiz said last Wednesday.

Minutes earlier, when speaking with 15rounds.com, Ortiz said, “I’ve gone through enough rough patches these last two years. I think it’s a very unfair thing how everyone just criticizes me and treats me. So as far as I’m concerned, I’m done playing that nice role, always trying to please everyone. It gets you nowhere.”

And to that point, I think Ortiz has an argument. Unfortunately in the boxing business The Golden Rule of treating others as you wish to be treated doesn’t apply.

When Ortiz spoke last Wednesday, in many cases he did so with his signature smile. However, it was evident that behind that smile hid frustration and disappointment towards his critics.

In many ways, the move up to 147 for Ortiz can serve as a fresh start — a start that if all goes according to plan would see him leave the MGM Grand at Foxwoods with the WBC welterweight title in tow. That would

“You know what, it’s kind of one of those things where if everyone at 140 is scared to fight you, why stick around? So I moved up to 147,” Ortiz said of his decision to climb one rung up the divisional ladder. “They say Andre Berto is the best [at 147]. I disagree.”

Unlike most of Berto’s previous fights, the outcome of this one is not predetermined, Perhaps that’s why it’s an intriguing bout. Although Berto is the clear favorite to retain his title, Ortiz has some pop in his hands. He put Maidana down three times in during scrap and more recently he floored Peterson twice. Couple Ortiz’s punching power with the relatively untested chin of Berto and we may get a memorable fight in just a few weeks time.

Even though Ortiz spoke in a different tone last week, one thing remained constant — and that was his confidence.

“Alright, hey, it’s my turn,” Ortiz said. “I know I’m against tough opposition. Andre Berto is no chump. He’s the champ for a reason. But April 16th, I’m changing that.”

All of us who love boxing look forward to watching him try.

Kyle Kinder can be found on Twitter.com/KyleKinder or KyleKinder1@gmail.com

Photo by Claudia Bocanegra

On Saturday night, the heavyweights waters will become less murky once the result of the WBC championship bout between Vitali Klitschko and Odlanier Solis is finalized.

In late January it was announced that Polish heavyweight Tomasz Adamek had inked a deal to fight one of the Klitschko brothers in September at one of two newly built soccer stadiums in Poland.

The deal was structured so that if all three fighters involved won their interim bouts, the Klitschko brothers would decide which one of them would take on Adamek in September. If one of the brothers lost their bout, either Vitali against Solis or Wladimir against Dereck Chisora, Adamek would square of with the brother who won. Lastly, the Adamek fight would be a no-go if both brother’s lost their upcoming bouts or if Adamek lost his April 9 fight against Kevin McBride.

As if that wasn’t complicated enough, Wladimir pulled out of his fight against Chisora for the second time, citing muscle injuries. In addition, resumed negotiations with he and David Haye went so well this time around that all that’s left to be done is to sign the dotted line.

Fans will get to watch all of these scenarios play out over the next few months act, starting in three nights. It’s almost like a television mini-drama, with the first episode airing Saturday night in Cologne, Germany.

However, it seems silly and like a waste of time to break down each fight when there is no guarantee of certain fights taking place.

With regards to Saturday’s fight — I think a 16 seed vs. a number one seed is an appropriate analogy this time of year. In theory, a 16 seed could upset a number one seed in the NCAA tournament, but it hasn’t happened to date and it might never.

In that same sense, Odlanier Solis could be Vitali Klitschko, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Since coming back from retirement, the elder of the two Ukrainian champions has performed like a machine. It can be argued that the thirty-nine year old hasn’t lost a round since his comeback in 2008. Credit the way he methodically breaks down his opponents with effective jab-work and heavy lead hooks for his recent string of success.

Conversely, while Vitali has defended his crown with relative ease over the past few years, Solis has endured some tough bouts of recent just to earn this opportunity.

Almost three months ago today, Solis squared off against Ray Austin to see who would continue their quest towards a title.

The fight ended with Austin being disqualified in the tenth round. If that wasn’t the case there’s a chance Solis wouldn’t even be in Germany on Saturday night.

Although Solis controlled the later rounds against Austin, at the time of the disqualification, one judge had the bout even, one had Austin winning, and the third had Solis up a few points.

Nothing was guaranteed.

After the bout Austin praised Solis saying (as quoted by 15Rounds.com’s Johnny Schulz), “Solis will beat Klitschko, he is accurate and has great defense, if there is any doubt it would be his chin.”

No offense to Austin, but he’s a far cry from Vitali Klitschko.

After Saturday night — when presumably Klitschko thoroughly handles his Cuban counterpart — things will become a bit clearer. It should put us one step closer to Vitali-Adamek and Wladimir-Haye.

If 2011 does indeed shake out to provide fight fans with both David Haye vs. Wladimir Klitschko and Tomasz Adamek vs. Vitali Klitschko, then regardless of the outcomes, we know we got the best possible fights in the division — aside from Klitschko vs. Klitschko.

But, with that said, it is March, and March means madness. It also means upsets. However, at least with regards to Saturday’s clash, I’m taking chalk. I’d be shocked if Cinderella’s glass slipper fits on Solis’ foot.

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Lastly, a brief write up by Gabriel Cordero on Fightnews.com brought to my attention the creation and launch of www.SalvadorSanchez.com. The site serves as a sort of e-museum that enables those who visit to learn more about the Mexican legend. Photos and videos of Sanchez of in the ring are accessible from the website, as well as personal photos of Sanchez outside of the ring. The site also has tons of Sanchez memorabilia to look at it from fight posters to ticket stubs. It’s a well-organized and fascinating tribute to the great Mexican featherweight. Check it out.

Kyle Kinder can be reached at Twitter.com/KyleKinder or KyleKinder1@gmail.com

On Saturday, March 5, at the AmeriHealth Pavillion at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, Brooklyn’s Zab Judah will clash with South Africa’s Kaizer Mabuza for Mabuza’s IBF junior welterweight title.

A final press conference was held midday Wednesday at the Brick City Bar & Grill in Newark, New Jersey, where Judah and Mabuza spoke their final thoughts before heading into this weekend’s bout.

“I appreciate everything this man has done,” Judah said, acknowledging Mabuza’s gritty road to a title. “But now is not his time, not on Saturday night.”

Over the years, whether it is deserved or not, Judah has gained a reputation of fading late in fights. This time, however, with legendary boxer Pernell “Sweat Pea” Whitaker in his corner, Judah says stamina won’t be an issue.

“I prepared myself for twelve rounds — I prepared myself 100%,” he said.

While Whitaker refused to comment on Team Judah’s game-plan for Saturday night, he did comment on his experience working with “Super” Judah.

“Everything I ask him to do, [he does it and] he does a little more,” Whitaker said. “[On fight night] If he does everything I ask him to do, he’ll win the fight.”

He went on, “Whatever Zab used to do in the past is in the past and now he has a new direction, a great direction. He’s one of boxing’s best so [on Saturday] I expect to see that.”

To that point, Judah agrees; “We prepared ourselves well for this opportunity. On Saturday night, you will see a 5-time champion of the world once again.”

While Team Judah is confident that Zab’s hand will be the one raised at the conclusion of the bout, Mabuza didn’t travel across the Atlantic to fork over his hard-earned gold to Judah.

In fact, the last time he made the trek overseas to New Jersey he demolished heavy-favorite, Kendall Holt, inside six rounds.

“I’m glad to be back in America,” Mabuza said. “It’s an honor for me to fight a person like Zab Judah.”

He continued, “I think he had his time, he’s a former world champion. I think it is my time because I’m still hungry for success. I promise him, when I take the ring I change — I become a new man. I’m hungry for success so you have to expect that there will be fireworks.”

The tough South African will be looking to extend his eight fight win streak and retain his titles on Saturday night, while Judah looks to re-claim the IBF junior welterweight title.

As they say, styles make fights, and all indications with regards to these two fighter’s is that Mabuza is right when he says that on Saturday night, “there will be fireworks.”

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The fight is being distributed by Integrated Sports PPV for a price of $29.95. It can also be purchased on UStream.tv for the same price.

The fight promoted by Main Events and Super Judah Promotions will take place on March 5th at Prudential Center’s AmeriHealth Pavillion in Newark, New Jersey. Doors open at 7:30pm. The first fight is at 8:00pm. Tickets are priced at $253, Ringside, $103 Reserved floor seating, $88 general admission in bleachers, and $53 general admission standing room only. Tickets are available at the Prudential Center Box Office by calling TicketMaster at 800-745-3000 or you can purchase them at www.PruCenter.com.

Although he made his professional debut last August, Shemuel Pagan will get to deposit his first prizefighting paycheck later this month.

The five-time NY Golden Gloves winner donated his entire first purse to the the Dr. Theodore A. Atlas Foundation, the non-profit charitable organization legendary trainer Teddy Atlas created in his father’s name.

“The reason why I am donating it is because I follow the Old Testament — I’m a religious person,” Pagan said at the time. “When God blesses you with anything, he commands that you give the first fruits to him. So when you give to the poor and needy, you are giving to God…I want to help God’s people.”

Now, almost six months later, after he dukes it out with Camden’s Marcos Garcia for a maximum of four rounds, Pagan will step back through the ropes and earn

After multiple fights had fallen through in which he would have fought in his hometown of Brooklyn, New York, Pagan will return to Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center as part of the Zab Judah-Kaizer Mabuza undercard this Saturday.

There was a brief moment last month where it looked like it was going to be deja vu ‘all over again’ for Pagan, as another scheduled opponent pulled out.

“They had me fighting against a fighter [Lonnie Jackson, Jr.] I lost to in the amateurs a few years back,” explained Pagan. “I actually lost to him by one point. I was looking forward to fighting him, but he pulled out.”

Luckily, matchmaker Russell Peltz was left with enough to find a replacement opponent, and scheduled Garcia to step in the ring with Pagan on March 5th.

While Garcia’s record reads 0-3, make no mistake — it’s a hard-fought 0-3. The 30 year-old from South Jersey has lost each of his fights via majority decision.

Although he would have preferred to avenge his amateur lost to Jackson, after almost half a year without fighting, Pagan’s ready to do battle with whoever stands before him.

The always smiling, always optimistic Pagan chooses to view the long layoff between fights in a positive light.

“It [the layoff] hasn’t effected me,” Pagan said. “I think it actually helped. It gave my body enough to time recuperate and replenish so I can go back in the ring with fury.”

Back in August, in his debut, Pagan also fought with fury when he easily navigated past Raul Rivera, earning him a clear-cut unanimous decision victory. Pagan floored Rivera twice during their twelve minute dual, but “Shem” was unable to stop his counterpart.

“The only weakness I had that night was that I didn’t knock him out,” Pagan said, reflecting on his debut. “That’s the only thing I wanted to do, but you can’t knockout everybody.”

Although he displayed an impressive arsenal of weapons, used superior foot-speed to create angles, and showcased his signature hand-speed, Pagan was a bit unsettled, and felt that he was trying too hard to get the knockout.

“My weakness was trying to go for the kill,” said Pagan. “I should have been a little more relaxed. I know to everyone else I looked relax, but deep down inside — personally — I wasn’t relaxed.”

During the months between bouts, “The Chosen One” has chosen to address that very issue while at the gym.

“[Relaxing] is a mental thing that starts with training in the gym,” said Pagan. “Usually when I’m training, I’m training with excitement and psyching myself up and training hard. I just go hard every round when I’m working out. I have to learn mental cruise-control when I’m working out, so when I’m fighting [in the ring] I can do the same.”

While Pagan is trying to take a more melodic approach to his craft, one thing he should stay psyched up about his earning his first paycheck via the fight game. After nine years-plus of honing his craft for no financial reward, the charitable Pagan will finally enjoy the fruits of his labor.

Kyle Kinder can be reached at Twitter.com/KyleKinder or KyleKinder1@gmail.com

CLICK TO ORDER FIGHT
Mariusz Wach vs. Jonathan Haggler — 10 Rounds, heavyweight

The bigger they are, the harder the fall. That theory checked out tonight when Mariusz “The Polish Giant” Wach kayoed North Carolina’s Jonathan Haggler in front of a passionate crowd at Essex County College in Newark, New Jersey.

In the first round, the 6’8” Wach, who is trained by former heavyweight champion, Michael Moorer, effectively established his jab and set the pace for the fight.

Haggler, for the duration of the bout, had trouble getting inside the reach of “The Polish Giant” and often threw his punches on-the-move, with little on them.

The breakthrough for the Krakow, Poland native came about one minute into the third round when he connected with left-right combination that staggered Haggler and sent him retreating to the ropes. Wach hunted down his opponent and started dropping bombs on his hurt counterpart.

After connecting with a straight right, Haggler bent over to avoid another one. Smartly, Wach greeted him an uppercut instead, which was followed by a left hook and another final flurry, which ultimately sent Haggler crashing to the canvas, where he failed to beat referee Sparkle Lee’s ten count.

The official time of the stoppage was 1:22 seconds into round three.

With the win Wach, 24-0, 12 KO is now the new WBC Baltic heavyweight champion, while Haggler’s record falls to 23-4, 18 KO.

Danny McDermott vs. Osnel Charles — 6 Rounds, lightweight

In a thrilling co-feature, Jersey City’s Danny McDermott was upset by Atlantic City’s Osnel Charles via unanimous decision.

This bout was action packed from the opening bell as both fighters made it clear they were willing to get hit to land a few shots of their own.

McDermott started strong, finding Charles more frequently than Charles found him. Although he clearly won the first round, McDermott’s timing seemed slightly off. Time and time again, McDermott tried to land a big straight right, but Charles consistently bent over backward–Matrix style–to avoid it every time.

In the second round, Charles rebounded nicely, snapping jabs and landing rights that whipped McDermott’s head back. After Charles lost his mouthpiece, there was a momentary break in the action to put it back in. After the break McDermott landed some good shots of his own, but it was not enough to carry the round.

McDermott scored well in the third and fourth rounds, eating some punches, but landing the more effective, more powerful punches.

The tide turned early in round five, however, when the two fighters were tied up in the center of the ring. McDermott clearly intentionally head-butted Charles, who crumpled to the canvas as a result of the blow. The referee saw this and rightfully took a point away from McDermott.

For the rest of the round, when he wasn’t on the receiving end of a Charles punch, McDermott was talking at the referee, expressing his displeasure with his decision to deduct a point. By the time the round concluded, McDermott was sporting a seemingly bad cut over his right eye.

The sixth round belonged to the Haitian import, Charles, who dominated from bell to bell. Charles pressed the action in this round more-so than any previous round, coming forward more frequently.

When it concluded, all three judges scored the bout in favor of Charles. One judge scored the bout 57-56, one saw it 59-54, and another 59-53.

With the win, Charles improves to 7-3, 1 KO, while McDermott drops to 8-3, 3 KO.

Wanzell Ellison vs. Jimmy Smalls — 4 Rounds, lightweight

In the night’s opening bout of the evening, Brick City’s own Wanzell Ellison spoiled Ohio’s Jimmy Smalls professional debut by stopping the Panamanian-born Smalls within two rounds.

In the second round, Ellison, who was finding his target with regularity, nailed Smalls with a huge right cross that momentarily wobbled his opponent and drew blood from his eye. About one minute later, with Smalls clearly reeling from punishment sustained earlier in the round, Ellison turned up the heat and thew his punches with murderous intentions.

Sensing his opponent was nearing the end, Ellison threw a flurry of punches that ultimately forced Smalls to drop to a knee. He would fail to get to his feet within ten seconds, and the bout was called to a halt.

With the win, Ellison improves to 4-0, 3 KO, while Smalls drops his professional debut and is now 0-1.

Rashad Bogar vs. Miguel Corcino — 4 Rounds, welterweight

In a bout that was about two minutes too long, Newark’s Rashad Bogar violently knocked out his previously undefeated opponent, Miguel Corcino, in the second round.

In the first round, Bogar stunned Corcino with a huge right hand that sent him to the canvas. After beating the referee’s ten count, Bogar rushed forward to immediately greet his opponent with a left hook that wobbled Corcino once again.

Bogar chose to spend the rest of the round stalking his prey, and took his off the gas pedal a little bit. Subsequently, Corcino was able to weather the storm and survive to hear the bell at the end of round one.

Most of the second round was unnecessary. Unfortunately for Corrino, neither the referee or his corner thought that.

Seconds into round two, Bogar stumbled Corcino again with a left hook, and followed up quickly with a straight right that sent Corcino crashing to the mat. After barely beating the ten count, when the action resumed, he was met with a crushing left hand that sent him into permanent retreat.

Bogar chased his opponent down and with a vicious one-two, knocked Corcino down in the corner, his body sent halfway through the ropes. Finally, at the 2:13 mark of the second round, the bout was called to a halt.

With the win, Bogar improves to 3-2, 2 KO, while Corcino tastes defeat for the time, falling to 2-1, 2 KO.

Eddie Edmonds vs. Charles White — 4 Rounds, junior middleweight

For the third straight fight, a Newark fighter stopped his opponent inside two rounds. This time it was Eddie Edmonds defeating North Carolina’s Charles White via second round TKO.

In the first round, Edmonds dropped White with a left hook to the body that forced White to drop to a knee in order to recover.

Edmonds caught White once more at the bell, with a left to the body, right to the head combination that sent White down. He beat the referee’s ten count and was able to continue.

In the second round, as the two were tied up, Edmonds threw a right cross that caught White clean and sent him down for the third time in the fight. After beating the ten count, White sent himself to the canvass after missing with a wild punch and his moment him sent himself down.

Eventually, one more right cross sent White crashing to the canvas for the final time. The bout was called to a halt by referee Benjy Esteves Jr., at the :57 mark of round two.

WIth the win, Edmonds improves to 2-1-1, 2 KO, while White falls to 0-2.

Scott Burrell vs. Antonio Parker — 4 Rounds, lightweight

It was evident from the opening bell that Antonio Parker was not a good boxer. He was awkward, his footwork was terrible, his balance was worse, he was hesitant, and he seemed scared.

All of those characteristics that Parker possessed made for an easy day at the office for Scott Burrell.

Burrell, with the help of an inept Parker, broke from the theme of the night and decided to stop his opponent in the first round, not the second.

Three separate times during the 1:39 second bout, Parker was sent to the ground by a combination of a Burrell punch/terrible balance. Parker actually sent himself to the ground during this fight as a result of him hitting only air with a wild punch that sent him off balance to the point of crashing to the canvas.

All things considered, given the level of opposition standing across from him, Burrell stayed composed and focused, letting the knockout ultimately come to him.

With the win, Burrell improves to 2-0, 2 KO, while Parker drops to 0-3.

Rafael Jastrzebski vs. Randy Campbell — 4 Rounds, super middleweight

Atlantic City by way of Bydgoszcz, Poland’s Rafael Jastrzebski easily outpoint Ohio’s Randy “The Rattlesnake” Campbell in a four round super middleweight bout.

Jastrzebski cruised to a unanimous decision victory behind a stiff left jab and well-placed right hands that followed. Campbell proved to be an easy target — especially for Jastrzebski’s jab — and finished the fight sporting a bright red, marked-up face.

All three judges scored the bout 40-36 for Jastrzebski.

With the win, Jastrzebski improves to 4-6-1, 1 KO, while Campbell drops to 3-4.

CLICK TO ORDER THE FIGHT

PART 2

PART 3

“I put a pair of gloves on, sparred a kid, knocked him down, and just been rolling ever since.”

Since that short time less than four years ago, Vinny O’Brien has stormed through New Jersey boxing’s amateur scene, his hard work ultimately paying off last year when he won the 2010 New Jersey Golden Gloves championship at 141 pounds.

Now the twenty-four year old from East Hanover, New Jersey is set to vacate his amateur status and earn his first boxing paycheck. He’s slated to debut against David Navarro (0-1) on March 5th at the AmeriHealth Pavillion at Prudential Center in Newark as part of the undercard for the Zab Judah-Kaizer Mabuza IBF junior welterweight title scrap.

“I’m anxious to get out there and show everyone what I can really do,” O’Brien said. “When I started [boxing], that’s what I really wanted to do…show the world what Vinny O’Brien can bring in the ring.”

While O’Brien is confident and ready for his professional launch, he is well aware of the differences between amateur and professional boxing.

“We had to change our game plan a little bit because the amateurs are a bit faster paced, a little bit more chasing, in a sense,” said O’Brien. “We’re slowing things down and getting good sparring. Everyone I go against [in sparring] are levels above me in experience right now and are great fighters. So right now they’re just building me up and getting me ready to where I have to be.”

O’Brien, who trains at Final Round Boxing and Fitness in Whippany, New Jersey, practices his trade under the watchful eye of former heavyweight Lou Esa, who will undoubtedly have his fighter ready to go for his first prizefight.

Esa, a New Jersey native who ultimately wound up in Miami fighting under the tutelage of Chris and Angelo Dundee, is exceedingly optimistic about his fighter’s future.

“I’m not patting myself on the back because I’m his trainer, but if you watch this kid and you see his work ethic in the gym…he’s off the hook,” said Esa. “He’s going to grab a belt soon,” he continued with a smile. “I don’t know about how soon, but it’s going to be soon.”

Nicknamed “The Lion”, O’Brien suggests he acts more like a chameleon in the ring — able to adapt to anything and everything thrown his way.

“I’m a stalker. I’m going to push the fight, be the aggressor,” said O’Brien. “I’m slick when I move, I’m all around. I can move, I can brawl…I’ll do whatever I need to do, but I will put out that ‘W’.”

When speaking with the 5’9” O’Brien, it was easy to see why people are excited about him. Setting aside his outstanding skills inside the ropes, outside the ring O’Brien is a well-dressed, well-spoken, clean-cut, twenty-four year old.

While talking at the Judah-Mabuza undercard press conference last week, O’Brien made it a point to speak his mind about the state of the game. Aside from capturing a world title, he stated that he wants “to bring class back [into boxing], and bring it back to the days where my mom would get excited about fights.”

While it remains to be seen whether his mother will get excited about fights again is yet to be determined, his appearance and presentation alone suggest that the sport just indeed got a little bit classier. On the day 15Rounds.com caught up with O’Brien he sported a crisp blue button down with a matching blue and white striped tie to accompany his slicked-back hair and neatly trimmed goatee.

At one point Esa even joked a bit about his boxer’s sharp appearance. “As you can see, he’s a good looking kid…for now,” the 6’6” Esa said jokingly, drawing a laugh from his fighter. “We’ll see what happens down the road.”

Well, in just over three weeks, they’ll embark on their journey down the road. O’Brien will be tasked with getting his first professional victory in front of countless fans from his neighborhood that are set to make the short drive over to Newark.

“There are some nerves,” O’Brien admitted. “But this is my moment. I can either let the moment take control of me, or I can take control of the moment.”

Given O’Brien’s track record, I think it’s safe the assume “The Lion” is going to grab the bull by its horns.

Kyle Kinder can be reached at Twitter.com/KyleKinder or KyleKinder1@gmail.com

Members of the undercard that will appear on March 5th undercard that will feature an IBF Jr. Welterweight title clash between Zab Judah and Kaizer Mabuza

PART 2

PART 3