A banner year for NorCal boxing in 2012

A banner year for NorCal boxing in 2012
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
January 3, 2013

After being dormant for many years, the boxing scene in Northern California turned the heat up in 2012 as over 20 different shows took place in the region with the area's biggest stars all scoring signature wins that could setup major fights as we begin a new calendar.

Oakland's Andre Ward only fought once in 2011, but he made the most of it, scoring a stoppage of light heavyweight king Chad Dawson at the Oracle Arena in early September in his first appearance as an HBO headliner. The bout was for Ward's bevy of titles at 168 pounds with Dawson moving down, and Ward dropped Dawson twice early in the bout before finishing him in the 10th.



Ward was supposed to begin 2013 quickly as he was set to defend his titles against Kelly Pavlik in Los Angeles this month, but Ward suffered an injury to his shoulder that required a cancellation. Ward likely won't be back until the midway point of the year at the earliest, which means he might be doomed to fight just once in a year for the second straight time.

Fellow pound-for-pound rated and Bay Area native Nonito Donaire of San Leandro had the opposite ordeal. Donaire was the only fighter of major importance to fight four times in 2012, which helped him earn Fighter of the Year honors from most major publications. Unfortunately for Northern California boxing fans, Top Rank seems to have no interest in showcasing him at home and he hasn't fought in the area since his 11th pro fight in San Jose.

Donaire moved into the 122-pound division, quickly establishing himself as the guy to beat with wins over stalwarts Jeffrey Mathebula and Toshiaki Nishioka as well as former titleholders Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. and Jorge Arce. Nishioka hadn't suffered a loss in a decade but found himself knocked out for the first time since his 2nd fight as a pro in 1995 when Donaire was 13 years old.

All four of Donaire's fights were aired by HBO and he is considered one of the sport's rising stars. If his 2013 includes fights with Guillermo Rigondeaux or Abner Mares, there is no telling where his career can go. Both guys possess great ability and could bring out the best in Donaire. If Top Rank and Mares' promoter Golden Boy Promotions can put their differences aside for this fight, it is perhaps the most desirable bout out there at the moment.

Donaire also made waves in being the first boxing star to declare himself available for testing 24/7/365 for performance enhancing drugs from the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association in a year where drug testing was one of the issues at the forefront of the sport. For a bout with Mares, Donaire is insisting on drug testing for both, and Mares has seemed willing to engage, meaning this fight could not solely just end boxing's Cold War, but could possibly put drug testing on the big stage.

Gilroy's Robert Guerrero also enjoyed his best year as a pro as he returned from a long layoff due to injury. His first fight saw him jump two weight divisions to 147 pounds and hand unbeaten Turk Selcuk Aydin his first loss. The fight took place at San Jose's HP Pavilion and Guerrero brought out a nice crowd despite not having fought there in three years.

Guerrero closed the year with a Fight of the Year candidate against Andre Berto in southern California on HBO. Guerrero dropped Berto once in each of the first two rounds while also badly shutting both of his eyes en route to a decision win.

Guerrero showed in both of his fights this year he could absorb a shot from a legitimate welterweight, and his banner year has put him on the short list of names in the running to fight Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas on Cinco de Mayo weekend in 2013.

A shot at Mayweather would earn Guerrero a life-altering purse after many years toiling as an underappreciated fighter. Guerrero could have reached this point a little sooner but found himself being underpromoted by Golden Boy for the last few years while also suffering some bad luck along the way. Getting the Mayweather fight would make that all water under the bridge.

Though Ward, Donaire, and Guerrero have all been in the mix for the last few years as top fighters, there are a couple names from Northern California beginning to make a case to join them.

San Francisco junior welterweight Karim Mayfield stands out most. At 32 years of age, Mayfield's career was hindered by inactivity and tough luck for much of his early days. It all came together for him in 2012 where he scored a YouTube quality knockout of Raymond Serrano in an ESPN2 Friday Night Fights main event in May and then followed it up with a decision win over a game Mauricio Herrera in his HBO-televised debut in late October.

With the 140 pound division being as talent rich as any in boxing, Mayfield will have his work cut out for him if he intends on making a splash with the weight's best. He's ranked highly in many of the sanctioning bodies and could be in line to face Khabib Allakhverdiev for the Russian's WBA belt.

One thing that has helped develop Northern California into the boxing hotbed it was in the 1950's was the building of a quality stable of fighters by Virgil Hunter, who until recently was known solely for his work as Ward's trainer since he was nine years old.

In 2012, Hunter took a number of other fighters under his wing. Mayfield, Bakersfield junior welterweight Mike Dallas Jr. and Sacramento lightweight Stan Martyniouk were the first to join forces with Hunter. After that, a number of outsiders began to follow suit.

Junior middleweight Alfredo Angulo fresh off a stint in an immigration detention center, junior welterweight Amir Khan off two straight losses, and middleweight Fernando Guerrero off a loss all found Hunter willing and able to fit them into his schedule. All three did nothing but win under Hunter, also managing to come to the Bay Area to train rather than force him to travel.

2013 will be an important year for Hunter. Dallas Jr. faces an uphill battle on Jan. 26 against Lucas Matthysse in a Showtime televised main event in Las Vegas. A few weeks later, Guerrero fights Peter Quillin in a similarly difficult trial. And if rumors are true, Angulo could be going up against boxing darling Saul Alvarez on Cinco de Mayo weekend as part of the Mayweather undercard.

Hunter hasn't been in the corner of an underdog since Ward wrestled away his first major title from the grasp of veteran Mikkel Kessler, so it'll be interesting to see how he adjusts.

One of the other major stories in NorCal boxing was that of the return of former WBA welterweight titleholder James Page, who emerged from a ten-and-a-half year prison sentence looking to return to in-ring action at 41 years of age.

With the belief in him from his team headed by manager Dee Miller, Page would miraculously get that wish, though it didn't come with the fairy tale ending that was desired. Page was stopped in two rounds by journeyman Rahman Yusubov, who Page nearly knocked out in the first 30 seconds.

Despite few of the sport's best cards taking place in NorCal over the past few years, the area has emerged as one of the strongest in terms of club shows, thanks in large part to the tireless effort of Hall of Famer Don Chargin and his team of apprentices, including Paco Damian, who helped Chargin put together all of his cards.

New promoter to the game OPP Presents also made an impact, with their two Sacramento area shows drawing considerably well, including the one headlined by Page's return.

Though it was maybe one of the better years in modern boxing history for the region, what it has done more than anything is set the table for 2013 being even bigger.

If things played out correctly, you could have four, five, maybe even six “world” champions who all call Northern California home when it comes time for training camp.

A few years ago, that would have seemed out of the question. Maybe now, some local fans are just feeling it is destiny.