Commentary: Calling Alvarado a ‘quitter’ is unfair

Commentary: Calling Alvarado a ‘quitter’ is unfair
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
October 21, 2013


When Tony Weeks went to the corner of Mike Alvarado at the completion of the 10th round during his WBO 140-pound title defense against Ruslan Provodnikov, the veteran referee gave Alvarado every opportunity to continue.

Alvarado's trainer Rudy Hernandez made it clear that he was intent on stopping the fight, though he gave Alvarado multiple opportunities to say he wanted to continue.

Alvarado stayed quiet. By definition, he quit.

However, for fans and critics to question Alvarado's manhood and heart afterwards is where a line should be drawn.

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Mosley-Mundine likely off

Mosley-Mundine likely off
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
October 21, 2013


A source close to the situation has indicated that the junior middleweight bout between Shane Mosley and Anthony Mundine, set to happen Wednesday in Australia, is likely off.

The source told RingTV.com on Monday afternoon that the promoter, in this case, Vlad Wharton, breached the contract and that Mosley would not be fighting.

The Daily Telegraph reported early Tuesday that the bout was in peril, claiming that Mosley wanted a sizable percentage of his purse to be paid up front, as there was concern the money wouldn't arrive otherwise.

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Shane Mosley Pulls Out of Mundine Fight

Shane Mosley Pulls Out of Mundine Fight
Mark E. Ortega
Aus-Boxing.com
October 21, 2013


Wednesday’s junior middleweight clad between Anthony Mundine and Shane Mosley is off after Mosley’s side demanded a sizable percentage of his guaranteed purse be paid up front.

The condition wasn’t met and Mosley flew out of Sydney airport at 11am this morning with his team.

Ticket sales hadn’t gone as well as they were expected to, with an estimated 2,000 seats or so being sold with just a few days left to go. Mosley didn’t turn up at the early press conference and has declined to speak with the media.

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Provodnikov wears down Alvarado to stoppage

Provodnikov wears down Alvarado to stoppage
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
October 19, 2013


BROOMFIELD, Colo. – When Mike Alvarado tasted the canvas twice in the eighth round Saturday night, a weight must have lifted from Artie Pelullo’s shoulders. Challenger Ruslan Provodnikov, whom Pelullo promotes, had opened up what was to that point a close fight on the scorecards.

Twice this year, Pelullo fighters wound up on the losing end of close decisions against fighters promoted by Top Rank. First, in March, Provodnikov lost a close decision to Timothy Bradley in a Fight of the Year candidate. Last month, Bryan Vera lost a highly disputed decision to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., in a fight that was unfair before the bell even rang.

Though all the officials for Saturday’s main event were from outside the state of Colorado, where Alvarado resides, each of the first seven rounds were extremely close and could have gone either way.

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Diaz rust-free in win over Santiago

Diaz rust-free in win over Santiago
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
October 19, 2013


BROOMFIELD, Colo. – Former unified lightweight champion Juan Diaz has fully shaken off the rust from a two-and-a-half year layoff that came to an end earlier this year.

In the third fight of his comeback in the co-feature to Mike Alvarado-Ruslan Provodnikov on Saturday night, Diaz met unheralded Juan Santiago (14-11-1, 8 KOs) of Del Norte, Colo., in a ten-round bout that took place at 136 pounds, just one pound north of where he achieved his greatest success, and came away with a clear unanimous-decision win.

From the opening bell, Diaz jumped on the much taller Santiago, utilizing the pressure style that made him a fan-friendly fighter during the peak of his powers.

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Diaz continues comeback on Alvarado-Provodnikov undercard

Diaz continues comeback on Alvarado-Provodnikov undercard
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
October 18, 2013


After a tough two-year stretch that saw him suffer losses in three out of four bouts, former unified lightweight titleholder Juan Diaz took a break from boxing in 2010 following a unanimous decision rematch loss to Juan Manuel Marquez.

A return to the ring the following year was nothing more than a false start as Diaz pulled out of a proposed ESPN2 fight, announcing his retirement from the ring instead.

Diaz, who turned 30 just a few weeks ago, fights on Saturday on the untelevised undercard of the much-anticipated junior welterweight title clash between Mike Alvarado and Ruslan Provodnikov. His opponent is the unheralded Juan Santiago.

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Frampton in search of bigger challenges

Frampton in search of bigger challenges
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
October 18, 2013


After an impressive 2012 campaign that included a sixth-round stoppage over former titleholder Steve Molitor, it appeared as though big things were right around the corner for RING #3 rated junior featherweight Carl Frampton.

Five months later, Frampton faced his stiffest test in capturing the European title from Kiko Martinez, ultimately pasting him to the canvas with a perfect right hand after a well-timed step back in the ninth round.

Yet it was Martinez who fought for a world title in August in Atlantic City, not Frampton. The tough Spaniard proceeded to break down the incumbent Jhonatan Romero on the way to a knockout win, becoming one of the sport’s unlikeliest of champions.

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Garcia clarifies Chavez Jr. arrangement

Garcia clarifies Chavez Jr. arrangement
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
October 17, 2013


It was just a few weeks ago that Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. had every conceivable advantage against Bryan Vera in an HBO-televised bout in Carson, Calif. Chavez Jr. needed the benefit of the doubt from the three ringside judges in order to earn a unanimous decision.

That's applying the loosest form of the definition of the word “earn.” Fight score collector Bobby Hunter tallied 59 media scores after the fight and found that none of them scored the fight for Chavez Jr. Six people scored the fight a draw while 53 found it in favor of Vera.

The poor performance by Chavez Jr. came in his first fight without Freddie Roach since the loss to Sergio Martinez last September on pay-per-view. He had his famous father helping in the corner on fight night, but it was clear that was just a quick fix as they likely anticipated a less game opponent than Vera turned out to be.

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Bits & Pieces: Provodnikov likely to go without Roach

Bits & Pieces: Provodnikov likely to go without Roach
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
October 17, 2013


At Ruslan Provodnikov's media day at Freddie Roach's Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood a few weeks ago, the esteemed trainer told RingTV.com that he'd be in the corner on fight night against Mike Alvarado. The fight takes place on Saturday night in Broomfield, Colorado, close to Alvarado's Denver home. HBO will televise.

“Manny [Pacquiao] has given me permission to go,” said Roach, referring to the fact he'd have to leave Pacquiao's camp in the Philippines in order to make it out to Denver for the fight.

“I'm going to be able to make the fight by a little bit and then I'll have to leave right away. I don't know exactly how that is going to play out yet.”

Reports since have indicated that Roach will in fact not be in the corner on fight night and that Provodnikov will instead have assistant Marvin Somodio working the corner on fight night.

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Vargas outpoints Narh, Magdaleno stops Hidalgo in three

Vargas outpoints Narh, Magdaleno stops Hidalgo in three
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
October 12, 2013


On the eve of tonight’s highly anticipated welterweight showdown between Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez, a free show was held at the same venue that fight will take place at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Earning a stay busy victory in the night's main event was welterweight Jessie Vargas, who won a hard fought ten round unanimous decision over Ray Narh.

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Boxing weekend in Roseville

Boxing weekend in Roseville
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
October 10, 2013


With Andre Ward, Nonito Donaire, and Robert Guerrero the established names on the Northern California boxing circuit, the region is in search of new young up and coming talent to climb the ranks.

Saturday night at the Placer County Fair and Events Center in Roseville, Calif., a number of talented young fighters from the area will showcase their talents in competitively matched four and six round bouts.

Headlining the card is standout junior welterweight prospect Aaron Coley of Hayward, who meets Mike Alexander of Antioch in a six-round bout.

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Weight won’t be a problem for Provodnikov, says Roach

Weight won’t be a problem for Provodnikov, says Roach
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
October 8, 2013


Freddie Roach has been busy the past few weeks and he will stay busy with charges Ruslan Provonikov and Manny Pacquiao. Last Saturday, Roach helped Miguel Cotto get an easy third-round TKO of Delvin Rodriguez. Next Saturday in Denver, Provodnikov will be a slight underdog when he meets Mike Alvarado in a 140-pound bout on HBO.

Provonikov is coming off a strong challenge against Timothy Bradley in March in what is currently one of the leading Fight of the Year candidates. Many fans have circled Alvarado-Provodnikov on their calendars as being another one of the year's best action fights. RingTV.com spoke to Roach last week about Provodnikov's preparation.

After successfully campaigning at 140 pounds, Provodnikov challenged Bradley at the 147-pound welterweight limit. Coming back down in weight can be an arduous task for some, but Roach made it clear he doesn't expect too much of a problem.

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Ward-Rodriguez bout set

Ward-Rodriguez bout set
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
October 6, 2013


It will have been fourteen months when undefeated super middleweight champion and Bay Area native Andre Ward steps into the ring again, but a date and opponent have finally been set.

Ward will meet unbeaten rising contender Edwin Rodriguez at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif., as part of an HBO telecast. Ward appeared in the squared circle last September when he stopped reigning light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson in Oakland at the Oracle Arena.

Ward is returning from a right shoulder injury that he had surgery on in the early part of the year. Initially, he was slated to face former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, but multiple delays lead to the eventual cancellation of the fight and a search for a new opponent.

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Lampley discusses Chavez-Vera, bad scoring

Lampley discusses Chavez-Vera, bad scoring
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
October 1, 2013


Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. earned a highly disputable 10-round unanimous decision over Bryan Vera on Saturday in Carson, Calif. The "victory" by scores of 96-94, 97-93 and 98-92 was seen on HBO in the U.S. and followed a circus in which Chavez Jr.’s side negotiated a new weight mid-fight week after showing up heavy.

Few were as close to the action on Saturday than HBO commentator Jim Lampley, who spoke with RingTV.com briefly about the result after the fight.

“I don't like to keep a score while calling a fight,” said Lampley shortly after wrapping up the broadcast.

“I thought (unofficial HBO judge) Steve Weisfeld's score of 96-94 was entirely justifiable. A draw wouldn't have surprised me. 98-92 is way off base. It just wasn't that kind of a fight; 97-93 doesn't seem right to me either.”

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