Marquez and Alvarado looking to earn Pacquiao fight on Saturday

Marquez and Alvarado looking to earn Pacquiao fight on Saturday

Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
May 15, 2014


Saturday night, boxing returns to The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., as future first ballot Hall of Famer Juan Manuel Marquez squares off with Mike Alvarado in a welterweight bout that could very well determine the next opponent to Manny Pacquiao later this year.

Marquez got his start in the States at the old Forum, racking up victories as an obscure but talented technically sound Mexican fighter. It wasn’t until his controversial draw with Pacquiao a decade ago that Marquez began earning the respect of casual observers.

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A's win 5-4 over White Sox behind another strong Jesse Chavez outing

A's win 5-4 over White Sox behind another strong Jesse Chavez outing
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
May 13, 2014


OAKLAND–The Oakland Athletics extended their win streak to a season high five games on Monday evening behind another strong outing from emerging right-hander Jesse Chavez. The A’s won 5-4 as Josh Donaldson put Oakland ahead for good with a fifth inning two-run home run, Donaldson’s eighth of the season.

Aside from a second inning Dayan Viciedo solo home run, Chavez (3-1, 2.44 ERA) was dealing. Once the A’s gained control of the game following Donaldson’s blast in the fifth, Chavez retired every batter he faced until the last one. After retiring ten in a row, Chavez came out for the ninth inning for the first time in his career as a starting pitcher. On an 0-2 pitch, Jose Abreu hit his 14th home run of the season, spelling the end of Chavez’s night. His masterful performance would read 8+ IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO, with 2 solo HR allowed.

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A's lose heartbreaker, fall 5-4 in 12 innings to Angels

A's lose heartbreaker, fall 5-4 in 12 innings to Angels
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
April 17, 2014


ANAHEIM–The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim once again forced The Oakland Athletics into extra innings on Wednesday night when their bullpen was unable to hold a ninth-inning lead for the second straight game.

Unlike Tuesday night, when the A’s managed to prevail in 11 innings, the A’s were unable to turn the momentum back in their favor as they ultimately fell 5-4 on a 12th inning Chris Iannetta solo blast. The home run just barely escaped the grasp of center fielder Craig Gentry, tipping off the top of his out-reached glove and over the wall.

After taking a 4-1 lead on a fourth inning three-run home run from Brandon Moss, the A’s bats fell silent and the Angels slowly worked themselves back in the game.

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A's win see-saw battle in extras over Angels, 10-9

A's win see-saw battle in extras over Angels, 10-9
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
April 16, 2014


ANAHEIM–It was a seesaw battle between the Oakland Athletics and cross-state rival Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Tuesday night as the A’s eeked out an extra-innings win 10-9.

Oakland proved again that even when they’re not having their best day, you couldn’t count them out. The A’s overcame two leads and a game-tying home run from Mike Trout in the bottom of the 9th to win it in the 11th.

Dan Straily became the first A’s starter to allow more than three earned runs in 2014, getting tagged for six earned runs in just 3 2/3 innings pitched.

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A's postponed second time in four days

A's postponed second time in four days
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
April 4, 2014

OAKLAND–After playing twelve innings the previous night, the Oakland Athletics were postponed in their second of four games against the division rival Seattle Mariners on Friday night. This time, a delay was caused despite few drops of rain in the hours that preceded the projected start time.

Though the Apr. 1 game against the Cleveland Indians was postponed due to heavy rain, Friday’s game was postponed because the field wasn’t covered by a tarp on Thursday night. This marks the second postponement in four days at the Coliseum after going fifteen years without one.

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Karim Mayfield suffers first pro loss

Karim Mayfield suffers first pro loss
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
April 1, 2014


Saturday night, San Francisco junior welterweight Karim Mayfield suffered the first defeat of his professional boxing career. Mayfield dropped a unanimous decision to Thomas Dulorme in Atlantic City; the bout was televised by HBO.

It was a bizarre week for Mayfield, as Thursday evening saw news break that his de facto manager Marlon Sullivan was caught up in serious allegations as they related to Senator Leland Yee.

Yee, a one-time candidate for mayor of San Francisco in 2011, found himself right in the thick of charges such as accepting campaign contributions in order to carry out orders solicited from undercover agents. Such orders included gun running.

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Boxing news around the Bay Area

Boxing news around the Bay Area - Mar. 25
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
March 25, 2014

Former Oakland boxer James Buggs shockingly passed away last Tuesday at the early age of 43 from an apparent heart attack.

Over the course of a 10-year professional career that ended in 2009, Buggs was a win some, lose some type of fighter. He compiled a record that consisted of eight wins, ten losses, and three draws, often taking fights on short notice and under unfavorable circumstances against a number of up and comers.

It is within the confines of Oakland’s famed King’s Gym that Buggs’ absence will be felt the most in the boxing community. It is there that Buggs worked with the city’s youth, teaching them the basics of the sweet science while also becoming a reliable figure in the gym for anyone to bounce their problems off.

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Oakland starter Jarrod Parker out for season, needs second Tommy John surgery

Oakland starter Jarrod Parker out for season, needs second Tommy John surgery
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
March 18, 2014


Bad news struck the Oakland Athletics organization as projected Opening Day starter Jarrod Parker will miss the entire 2014 season due to the need of Tommy John surgery.

This will be the second time that Parker will undergo the reconstructive ulnar collateral ligament replacement, as he had the procedure done in 2009.

Despite the fact that the A’s have a ton of pitching depth, the loss is still a huge blow. Parker was a large reason the A’s won the American League West for the second straight year in 2013. Parker went 9-0 over 19 starts from May 22 to Sept. 16, the longest unbeaten run from an A’s starter since Lefty Grove went 21 straight without a loss in 1931.

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NorCal boxing in disarray in 2014

NorCal boxing in disarray in 2014
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
January 19, 2014

2004 Olympic gold medalist and undefeated super middleweight king Andre Ward of Oakland fought just one time, battling a myriad of injury woes and contractual issues with promoter Goossen-Tutor Promotions. Ward earned a lopsided unanimous decision over unbeaten Edwin Rodriguez, but enters 2014 with his promotional situation still unsettled as he battles his promoter in the courts.

Gilroy’s Robert Guerrero got the chance of a lifetime, fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr., in a Showtime pay-per-view televised event back in May at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Prior to the bout, Guerrero dealt with legal issues stemming from a gun charge he faced in New York. Guerrero was later soundly defeated by Mayweather in their welterweight contest and went dark for the remainder of the year. As 2014 opens, Guerrero is also trying to get out of his contract with his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions.

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Hanford Sentinel: Ramirez rookie of the year mention

Local glance: Ramirez rookie of the year

By Sentinel Sports Staff

December 20, 2013

My blog post where I named Avenal, Calif.'s Jose Ramirez my 2013 Rookie of the Year was oddly picked up by a nearby paper to Ramirez, the Hanford Sentinel. Pretty cool.

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Ward dominates Rodriguez in return

Ward dominates Rodriguez in return
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
November 19, 2013


ONTARIO, Calif. – Despite more than a year away from the ring, Oakland super middleweight champion Andre Ward returned to his dominant self, nearly shutting out the previously unbeaten Edwin Rodriguez over twelve lopsided rounds on Saturday night at the Citizens Business Bank Arena.

The bout was televised live by HBO and saw Ward (27-0, 14 knockouts) prove yet again why he is one of the two or three best fighters in the world.

When the first bell rang, Rodriguez (24-1, 16 KOs) charged hard at Ward in an attempt to catch him off guard. Rodriguez was aggressive throughout the contest, but Ward was always able to use that aggression against him as he landed clean counter punches on a regular basis.

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Andre Ward returns after layoff

Andre Ward returns after layoff
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
November 14, 2013


It’ll have been 14 months since Oakland’s Andre Ward (26-0, 14 knockouts) looked across the ring at an opponent looking to dethrone him from his position as the king of the super middleweight division when he meets Edwin Rodriguez (24-0, 16 KOs) on Saturday night in an HBO televised affair.

Oakland’s Ward, who also boasts being the last American boxer to win Olympic gold back in the 2004 Games, will meet a younger opponent for the first time in six years.

Rodriguez, a Dominican who hails from Worcester, Mass., is just a year younger than Ward but enters this weekend’s contest with less wear and tear than the favorite. Ward has faced the division’s top guys since first winning a 168-pound title four years ago, almost to the day. With that, Ward has accrued a number of injuries, including a recent shoulder injury that kept him sidelined all of 2013

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Donaire returns to the ring

Donaire returns to the ring
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
November 7, 2013


San Leandro, Calif., boxer Nonito Donaire returns to the ring on Saturday in a new weight division, but will look across the ring at a familiar foe while doing so.

Donaire (31-2, 20 knockouts) is coming off an April defeat to Guillermo Rigondeaux, his first loss in almost a decade. Donaire was dealing with a slew of personal matters, including his wife Rachel being pregnant with their first child, who was born a few months ago.

Now refocused, Donaire will face Vic Darchinyan (39-5-1, 28 KOs) in a 126-pound fight that will be part of a triple header televised by HBO. These two last met in July of 2007, where the five-to-one underdog Donaire knocked out Darchinyan in the fifth round with a wicked check hook. That victory launched Donaire, who won 13 straight across four weight divisions prior to the loss to Rigondeaux.

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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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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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Mayfield Ready For Top Rank Debut

Mayfield Ready For Top Rank Debut
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
September 26, 2013


It’s been a long and sometimes difficult road for San Francisco junior welterweight contender Karim Mayfield on his way up.

Boxing is a sport that, for many people, plays out as a real-life version of the old board game “Chutes and Ladders.” Just when you think you’re on the verge of taking that step into the big time, something sets you back.

For Mayfield, 31, it’s never been a professional loss that’s kept him from breaking through. In eighteen contests as a paid pugilist, the Bay Area native has never lost.

Instead, Mayfield, who grew up in San Francisco’s famed Fillmore district, has been hampered by inactivity and out of the ring issues ever since turning pro in June of 2006.

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Mayweather Jr. takes young Alvarez to school

Mayweather Jr. takes young Alvarez to school
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
September 17, 2013


LAS VEGAS – Floyd Mayweather Jr. was so dominant against Saul Alvarez on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena that he may have cost himself some money down the line.

Though the official verdict will be recorded as a majority decision, there’s no question that Mayweather (45-0, 26 knockouts) was masterful in his victory over Alvarez.

Billed as the biggest fight in a long time, Mayweather overcame the youthful Alvarez (42-1-1, 30 KOs) with much ease. That has erased a possible rematch from the immediate future, leaving a gaping question as to who will step up next when Mayweather elects to return, which could come as early as next May.

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Getting ready for Mayweather & Alvarez

Getting ready for Mayweather & Alvarez
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
September 12, 2013


LAS VEGAS – If Tuesday’s grand arrivals are any indication of what’s in store later in the week, Floyd Mayweather Jr. didn’t know what he was signing up for when he agreed to face 23-year old Mexican superstar Saul Alvarez this Saturday at the MGM Grand.

Mayweather and Alvarez’s fight takes place on the weekend of Mexican Independence Day. Mayweather has a long history of fighting Mexican fighters, usually around the time of either that holiday or Cinco de Mayo.

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Sanchez gets called up to the majors

Sanchez gets called up to the majors
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
September 1, 2013


When Luis Collazo first won a world title by beating Jose Antonio Rivera by unanimous decision in 2005, Fairfield’s Alan Sanchez wasn’t even old enough to drive, being just fourteen years old.

While Collazo had fought names like Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosley, and Andre Berto in fights all televised by HBO by 2009, Sanchez had yet to fight a professional bout.

It’ll be Collazo who Sanchez looks across the ring at on Monday night when the two fight in the ten-round main event of Fox Sports One’s new Monday night boxing program. The show emanates from San Antonio, Tex.

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Wilder takes another big step in boxing career

Wilder takes another big step in boxing career
Mark E. Ortega
Special to The Tuscaloosa News
August 11, 2013

INDIO, Calif. | Deontay Wilder, the 2008 Olympic heavyweight boxing bronze medalist, barely broke a sweat Friday night en route to dispatching Sergei Liakhovich in less than two minutes at the Fantasy Springs Resort and Casino.

The former WBO heavyweight champion was supposed to provide Wilder, a Tuscaloosa native, solid work in extending him past the fourth round for the first time. Instead, Liakhovich didn’t make it through the first round. Previously, no opponent had been able to get rid of the Scottsdale, Ariz., resident in less than nine rounds.

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