Love opens up about his suspension, setback

Love opens up about his suspension, setback
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
July 18, 2013


Wednesday afternoon in Las Vegas, middleweight contender J'Leon Love was in attendance at the Mayweather Boxing Club while his stablemates get ready for Friday's card at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

For the first time, Love discussed at length his suspension stemming from the diuretic he tested positive for following his close decision victory over Gabriel Rosado. The fight took place on the May pay-per-view undercard to promotional boss Floyd Mayweather's lopsided decision win over Robert Guerrero.

Prior to the fight, Love suffered a family tragedy, as his older brother Gerald was killed in a shooting in Love's native Detroit. The incident occurred less than two months before Love was set to make the biggest step up in his career.

"My brother was left with nine kids, and now, I've taken them up as though they were my own," shared Love. "I am the one in the family making the big money, so I'm going to make sure they are taken care of now."

Click here to read the rest...

Guerrero fails at bid to dethrone Mayweather

Guerrero fails at bid to dethrone Mayweather
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
May 7, 2013

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Saturday night, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Robert Guerrero’s long awaited dreams came true.

After many years of climbing the ladder and positioning himself among boxing’s premiere fighters, the Gilroy, Calif., native was awarded a shot at the sport’s premiere box office draw, Floyd Mayweather.

For two rounds, it looked as though Guerrero may have the necessary tools required to hand Mayweather his first loss in 44 professional contests. Guerrero was as effectively aggressive as any Mayweather opponent for six minutes, but things began to unravel for him in the third round as Mayweather began finding a home for his straight right hand.

Click here to read the rest...

Bits & Pieces: Tarver wants Hopkins rematch

Bits & Pieces: Tarver wants Hopkins rematch
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.cm
May 5, 2013


LAS VEGAS – On the eve of the Floyd Mayweather-Robert Guerrero pay-per-view event, a Fox Sports Net-televised ballroom boxing card took place at the Cosmopolitan, which featured Antonio Orozco, Anthony Dirrell, as well as 2012 U.S. Olympians Joseph Diaz Jr., Errol Spence, and Dominic Breazeale.

While RingTV.com editor Doug Fischer handled the deadline report, Mark E. Ortega gathered news and information from notable boxing folks who were in attendance.

Click here to read the rest...

Guerrero falls to Mayweather in 12 rounds

Guerrero falls to Mayweather in 12 rounds

Mark E. Ortega

Special to The Gilroy Dispatch

May 4, 2013

For two rounds, it looked as though Gilroy welterweight boxer Robert Guerrero’s prophecy would come true.

Saturday night, in front of 15,880 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Guerrero saw his long odds dream come true of fighting the sport’s biggest draw, Floyd Mayweather, in a pay-per-view main event.

Unfortunately for Guerrero, after two rounds of mild success, hardly anything went his way. Guerrero was able to survive an attempted assault via a thousand straight right hands but found himself on the losing end of a wide unanimous decision.

Click here to read the rest...

Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame kicks off

Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame kicks off
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
May 3, 2013


LAS VEGAS -- Thursday night, the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame kicked off their first official fan event during the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Robert Guerrero fight week, and it was a major success, thanks in large part to the hard work of CEO Rich Marotta and his team.

The event took place at Diego’s Mexican restaurant inside the MGM Grand, which was across the way from the press room for Mayweather-Guerrero. Christened, “A Night with Boxing Legends,” in attendance were many prominent names from the sport’s past and present.

A number of those who were part of the inaugural induction class showed their support, including Oscar De La Hoya, Mike McCallum, Freddie Roach, as well as Michelle Corrales, the wife of the late Diego Corrales, and Hall of Fame trainer Eddie Futch’s wife Eva. Also in attendance was referee Joe Cortez, who was honored alongside them, as well as former Nevada athletic commissioner Marc Ratner and commentator Al Bernstein.

Click here to read the rest...

Showtime beat HBO in April 27 boxing ratings

Showtime beat HBO in April 27 boxing ratings
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
May 2, 2013


Showtime had higher viewing numbers than HBO for last Saturday's boxing broadcasts, which went head to head, a Nielsen ratings source confirmed to RingTV.com.

Showtime's broadcast, which was headlined by 140-pound champ Danny Garcia's tough unanimous decision win over Zab Judah and opened with Peter Quillin's seventh-round stoppage of Fernando Guerrero, drew a 1.4 average rating during the broadcast. The peak point of their show drew a 2.1 rating. The live viewing drew 850,000 viewers and the two following broadcasts drew a combined 100,000 viewers, putting the number at 950,000.

"We knew that Garcia versus Judah and Quillin versus Guerrero were going to be two, compelling fights," said Stephen Espinoza, executive vice president and general manager of Showtime sports. "We're very happy that the audience agreed with us."

Click here to read the rest...

Rosado tells Love “careful what you wish for”

Rosado tells Love “careful what you wish for”
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
May 2, 2013


It isn't often that a fight between an unbeaten but largely untested fighter and an opponent who has six losses is looked at as perhaps the most compelling fight on a pay-per-view undercard.

But Gabriel Rosado's scheduled 10-round middleweight bout with prospect J'Leon Love on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather-Robert Guerrero is a crossroads bout that is anticipated by most hardcore fans. Rosado is coming off a hard-fought TKO loss to WBA titleholder Gennady Golovkin that was televised on HBO in January while Love is looking to cement himself as a bona-fide contender in the middleweight division.

This isn't new territory for Rosado. A tough luck fighter early in his career who was brought in as “the opponent” on more than a handful of occasions, Rosado has blossomed into an extremely mature 27 year old. While nobody likes to lose, Rosado has learned something from each of his six losses and he hopes to teach his undefeated 25-year-old opponent his first lesson.

Click here to read the rest...

Love, Rosado nearly come to blows

Love, Rosado nearly come to blows
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
May 1, 2013


LAS VEGAS – On Tuesday afternoon, fighters from Saturday's big pay-per-view at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas made their “grand arrivals” to the host hotel. For two undercard fighters, the spectacle of the event elevated their competitive spirit to animosity, as J'Leon Love and Gabriel Rosado nearly came to blows when the two met face to face.

Rosado, an experienced former title challenger, was brought on stage first and waited patiently as nearly the entire roster of Floyd Mayweather's promotional company were brought to the stage. Love, an undefeated prospect who fights Rosado on Saturday, made his way last, and as soon as the Michigan native got on stage he began jawing at Rosado.

Click here to read the rest...