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Friday, December 11, 2009

“The Big O” suffers a devastating L


“The Big O” suffers a devastating L
Mark E. Ortega
FightFanNation.com
December 11, 2009

For the second time in two weeks, a veteran fighter on the verge of a nice payday was destroyed in a supposed tune-up bout at the hands of a much less regarded fighter as #2 WBC heavyweight Oleg Maskaev [36-7, 27 KOs] was dispatched 1:54 into the opening round at the hands of Newburgh, New York native Nagy Aguilera [15-2, 10 KOs] in front of a near capacity crowd at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, California, the adopted hometown of Maskaev. The loss will cause Maskaev, nicknamed “The Big O”, to miss out on a title eliminator in 2010 for the right to fight WBC champion Vitali Klitschko.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Maskaev, Aguilera weigh-in


Maskaev, Aguilera weigh-in
Mark E. Ortega
FightFanNation.com
December 10, 2009

Thursday afternoon at the Red Lion Hotel in Sacramento, California, Oleg Maskaev [36-6, 27 KOs], the adopted son of Sacramento weighed in at 243 pounds for his ten-round heavyweight bout against Nagy Aguilera [14-2, 9 KOs], 229, of Newburgh, New York. The bout headlines a six-fight card that will take place at Sacramento's Memorial Auditorium tomorrow. If Maskaev is victorious, he will likely move forward with a final WBC eliminator against Ray Austin, a fight that could take place in Sacramento if the crowd turnout for this fight is respectable.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Maskaev trying to relive the American dream


Maskaev trying to relive the American dream
Mark E. Ortega
FightFanNation.com
December 9, 2009

When Oleg Maskaev gets into the ring this coming Saturday night at the Memorial Auditorium in his adopted home of Sacramento, California, he will be doing so as the heavy favorite. For Maskaev [36-6, 27 KOs], this is something new to him, as throughout his personal life and professional career he has walked into things as the overwhelming underdog, which is something he will have to do again against Vitali Klitschko in a heavyweight title fight should he be victorious against the much younger Nagy Aguilera [14-2, 9 KOs] this weekend.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Julaton cruises to second world title


Julaton cruises to second world title
Mark E. Ortega
FightFanNation.com
December 4, 2009

Friday night, in front of 3,943 people at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, Daly City, California's Ana Julaton [6-1-1, KO] added the WBO female super bantamweight title to her IBA belt by thoroughly dominating Donna Biggers [19-9-1, 16 KOs] of Boiling Springs, Colorado over ten lopsided rounds. Julaton enjoyed her victory in front of an even bigger crowd than her previous fight at the Tank against Kelsey Jeffries on September 12th.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Green bashed Jones in one: a 1950's experience


Green bashes Roy in one! A 1950's experience
Mark E. Ortega
FightFanNation.com
December 2, 2009

It was like turning back the clock to the 1950's. To think that I stayed up until three in the morning Pacific time to listen to a live stream of Danny Green's IBO cruiserweight title defense against a 40-year old Roy Jones, Jr. proves either I need to enter a boxing rehabilitation clinic; or that even at the end of his illustrious career, Jones was able to remain relevant to the sport even though his place among today's top fighters prove otherwise. Danny Green virtually ended Jones' last moments as a relevant fighter by stopping Jones in the very first round of their much-anticipated clash, much of the damage being done on the first power shot he landed about a minute and a half into the round.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Brinkley-Stevens for ESPN!


Brinkley-Stevens for ESPN!
Mark E. Ortega
FightFanNation.com
November 24, 2009

Super middleweight Jesse Brinkley [34-5, IBF #6] of Yerington, Nevada will meet Curtis Stevens [21-2, IBF #10] January 29th in an important super middleweight battle that could position the winner for a future IBF title shot. The bout will be televised on ESPN's Friday Night Fights, possibly at the Grand Sierra Resort in nearby Reno, Nevada, where Brinkley will enjoy a homefield advantage.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Ward takes title home, puts Oakland back on the map


Ward takes title home, puts Oakland back on the map
Mark E. Ortega
FightFanNation.com
November 21, 2009

In front of just over 10,200 fans, Oakland, California's very own Olympic Gold medalist Andre Ward reached the goal he and trainer Virgil Hunter set out to conquer more than fifteen years ago, totally dismantled veteran warrior Mikkel Kessler at the Oracle Arena Saturday night via eleventh round technical decision, earning the WBA super middleweight title as well as securing great position for himself in Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic.

Ward completely dominated from the outset, utilizing his jab and superior handspeed to totally befuddle the reigning champion. In the first round, Ward pushed the jab out and followed it with right hands, and as he grew more comfortable he began to throw lead right hands and hooks as well. Ward opted to switch to southpaw midway through the round and landed the left jab with regularity out of that stance. Ward was surprisingly comfortable on the inside against a fighter many considered the stronger man.

Kessler had some success going to the body early on in the fight but that was the furthest he would get offensively. Kessler had perhaps his best round in the second, but Ward was successful with right hooks and boxed beautifully around the ring.

In the fourth round, Kessler landed a good clubbing right midway through the round, but Ward came right back with three punches of his own. The referee signaled that there was a cut caused by a punch, but in between rounds the referee seemingly changed his mind and ruled it due to a headbutt, and that the cut was opened further by a punch.

Kessler was fighting Ward evenly for much of the fifth, but Ward was landing the more impressive punches, causing Kessler's head to snap back numerous occasions with crisp jabs and right hands. Ward turned southpaw at the end of the round again.

Ward started widening the gap in the sixth, as Kessler seemed more and more hesitant to engage with him. Ward continued his dominance in the seventh, as he began to lead with right hands as well as mix in some left uppercuts. Ward's hand speed had Kessler in trouble all throughout the bout, and Kessler was unable to close the gap in hand speed.

Kessler looked like a beaten fighter by the ninth round, seemingly going through the motions as the younger and fresher Ward pressed forward with his attack. Ward began fighting like a guy who was anything but weary of Kessler's power, firing off quick one-twos and circling around Kessler in the center of the ring.

Ward continued his dominance into the championship rounds, outboxing Kessler while staying out of the range of Kessler's right hand. Midway into the eleventh round, Kessler was deemed unable to continue due to a cut caused by a headbutt, forcing the fight to go to the scorecards. The official scorecards read 97-93, and 98-92 twice for the newly-crowned WBA champion out of Oakland, California. Ward walked away from the bout nearly unscathed, with nothing more than a mouse appearing outside of his right eye. Kessler was much more worse for the wear, having secured more than a few cuts throughout the bout.

With the win, Ward positions himself in the Super Six tournament as a favorite to advance to the semi-finals considering his next two opponents, Jermain Taylor and Andre Dirrell, both lost their “Stage One” bouts and were seen as the weaker links in the monumental tournament.

“He didn't like the inside work, the body shots, sometimes he'd be grunting,” said an ecstatic Ward in the post-fight press conference. “We knew that going in, so part of what I wanted to do was make it rough. I got a little overanxious sometimes and he would counter me sometimes, but honestly he never buzzed me, he never hurt me.”

Ward is a fighter who has been criticized throughout his career for numerous things, but few can look at this fight and take something away from Ward who thoroughly dominated a guy that many pegged as the favorite to win the tournament.

“They had questions about my chin early on. I fought Miranda, and he's as hard a hitter as they come and I got hit more in that fight than I wanted to, and came right back and still didn't get credit,” Ward said.

“Then they said, 'Kessler, he's a big puncher...if he hits Ward, he's going to be in trouble.' Well I got hit a few times tonight, I felt that we showed ourselves strong, we came right back, and I just think over time people are going to have to give us our just due. I'm not going to demand it with my words, I'm just going to keep proving it in the ring.”

Ward's promoter, Dan Goossen, elaborated further. “Tonight, I think he won America over and I don't think there are going to be too many naysayers. I think he is a new star that people are going to believe in.”

It only took twenty-one professional fights and two world championships [one in Athens in 2004 and the super middleweight crown he lifted on Saturday], but Ward will assuredly be getting his proper credit after delivering a virtuoso performance over a tough opponent.

UNDERCARD RESULTS:
In a scheduled eight-round junior middleweight bout, Daly City, California's Karim “Hard Hitta” Mayfield [11-0-1, 7 KOs] started out slowly before laying a beating on Santa Barbara, California's Francisco Santana [11-2, 5 KOs] via fifth round technical knockout in a rematch of a March 2008 bout that Mayfield won by razor-thin split decision.

The first round saw both guys fight tentatively with Karim landing the only two meaningful punches of the round, two clubbing overhand rights. In the second round, Mayfield worked his jab and followed up with left hooks. Both fighters held a lot throughout the fight until they opened up in the fifth round. Mayfield started the action with a sweeping right hook that landed on the chin of Santana. Mayfield followed with a flurry against the ropes that featured hooks to the body and clubbing overhand rights that eventually dropped Santana. After his opponent returned to his feet, Mayfield went in for the kill and landed a wicked left hook to the body that setup another right hook and a follow-up overhand right that put Santana down a second time and prompted referee Dan Stell to wave off the fight at 2:27 of the fifth round.

In a four-round super middleweight bout, Oakland, California's Tony Hirsch [10-3-1, 5 KOs] notched the biggest win of his career in outgunning former #1 rated welterweight contender and Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. opponent Jose Celaya via a unanimous decision victory.

In an over-the-weight four-round lightweight affair, Antelope, California's Stan Martyniouk [8-0, KO] outboxed Anthony Martinez [21-33-3, 9 KOs] of Turrialba, Costa Rica. Martyniouk fought at a measured pace in the opening round, moving beautifully while mixing in varied punch combinations. Martyniouk stuck to his game plan in the second, moving around the ring before planting his feet and firing off left hook and left uppercuts at will.

Martinez had a few moments in the round where he trapped Stan in the corner and fired off a few good body shots. The third round saw Martyniouk fairly dominate the round behind his jab and superior handspeed. In the final round, Martyniouk trapped Martinez against the ropes and unleash a flurry of punches before Martinez postured against the ropes. All three judges scored the bout a shutout for Martyniouk, 40-36. UBR scored the bout 40-36 as well.

In the opening fight of the night, Mel Crossty [4-0-1, KO] of Cincinnati, Ohio scored an early knockdown in round one en route to a unanimous decision victory over the game but outmatched Carlos Herrera [2-3, KO] of Oxnard, California in a super featherweight attraction. Crossty's knockdown of Herrera in the opening round was more of a glancing blow that caused the glove of Herrera to touch the canvas, prompting the referee to issue a count. The two fighters opened up in the third with both guys landing vicious shots. Crossty boxed a little more in the final stanza but Herrera landed a big overhand right every so often. The official scores of the bout were 39-36 and 40-35 twice. UBR scored the bout 39-36 for Crossty.

Saturday night's card was promoted by Goossen-Tutor Promotions in association with Sauerland Event and Antonio Leonard Productions. The main event was televised on Showtime Championship Boxing as part of their Super Six World Boxing Classic as well as internationally.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Bay Area title tilt generating buzz


Bay Area title tilt generating buzz
Kessler, Ward weigh-in for tomorrow's Super Six bout
Mark E. Ortega
FightFanNation.com
November 20, 2009

When Oakland, California's Andre Ward vies for his first world title against WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler tomorrow night, it will mark the first major world title fight in the Bay Area in just over eight years. That November 10th, 2001 card that took place at San Francisco's Bill Graham Civic Auditorium featured two somewhat recognizable names in separate title fights both televised by HBO's Boxing After Dark.

Bay Area title tilt between Kessler, Ward generating buzz

Kessler, Ward weigh-in for tomorrow's Super Six bout
Mark Ortega
UltimateBoxingResults.com
November 20, 2009

When Oakland, California's Andre Ward vies for his first world title against WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler tomorrow night, it will mark the first major world title fight in the Bay Area in just over eight years. That November 10th, 2001 card that took place at San Francisco's Bill Graham Civic Auditorium featured two somewhat recognizable names in separate title fights both televised by HBO's Boxing After Dark.

That card featured Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Manny Pacquiao in separate title defenses, with Floyd defending a super featherweight crown for the eighth time and Pacquiao defending his recently gained super bantamweight title. To put into perspective how long ago that really was, it was only Pacquiao's second appearance in the United States and his second of what would come to be six* world titles in six different weight classes. Floyd was still defending the first of five world titles he would eventually win. Today, these two are the biggest names in the sport and stand to make the largest purses of all-time if they eventually step into the ring.

Kessler's defense against Ward marks the first world title fight in Oakland in twenty-five years, the last being when Carlos De Leon defended his cruiserweight title with a 12-round decision over Bash Ali in June of 1984.

“Oakland was a fight town in the '80's, and there hasn't been this much excitement in quite awhile,” remarked Ward, who is taking it in stride that he has an entire city strapped on his back. “I'm just thankful to be apart of it, and I feel that it's my time.”

Ward only previously fought in Oakland once, his May 16th bout with Edison Miranda earlier this year happening at the same location as tomorrow night's fight, Oakland's Oracle Arena. The fight drew exceptionally well and proved that there is a market for boxing in the Bay Area.

“You're proud of the city for getting behind him,” says Ward promoter Dan Goossen of Goossen-Tutor Promotions. “In this case, you have a fighter who is, in my eyes, a home team sport. He may not wear an A's hat or a Warriors jersey, but he is as much of a home team than any of those organizations.”

This will mark the second time a Goossen promoted fighter attempts to win the world title as an underdog in the past few months, with stablemate Chris Arreola failing to realize his goal of winning the heavyweight title against Vitali Klitschko back in September. Ward will enter the ring tomorrow night as about a two-to-one underdog, which both fighter and promoter have handled very well.

“It's like every one of our fighters, winning is everything. You only hope that the fighter brings everything he's got. There's no doubt he will do everything he can to have his hand raised tomorrow night, and that is all you can ask for,” said Goossen.

At the weigh-in, Kessler stepped onto the scales and came in at 167 pounds even, while the hometown favorite Ward scaled in at 166.5 pounds.

UNDERCARD NOTES:

Tomorrow night's main event will be televised by Showtime, but a four fight undercard will precede the televised action which is scheduled to take place at 7 PM Pacific.

In the bout directly before the main event, an interesting eight-round junior middleweight rematch will take place between Daly City, California's Karim “Hard Hitta” Mayfield [10-0-1, 6 KOs] and Santa Barbara, California's Francisco “Chia” Santana [11-1, 5 KOs]. The last time these two fought each other on an Andre Ward card back in March of last year, Mayfield walked away with a razor-thin split decision over Santana in a six-rounder. Mayfield was dropped in the fourth round of that fight and held on through the fifth before winning the sixth round big to earn the decision. Mayfield got some sparring with future Hall of Famer Shane Mosley in preparation for this bout. Neither guy has lost since they last met, and this fight promises to deliver fireworks. Mayfield weighed in at 151.5 pounds while Santana came in at 150.5.

In an intriguing super-middleweight bout, former rated contender Jose Celaya [31-5, 16 KOs] of Salinas, California takes on Oakland, California's own Tony Hirsch [9-3, 5 KOs] in a six-round affair. These two were previously set to meet on a card earlier this year at the Playboy Mansion, but Celaya pulled out at the last minute. After weighing in, both guys jawed at each other for an extended period of time before commission officials stepped in and separated the two. Celaya is not the fighter that was led to a #1 ranking at welterweight before being brutalized by Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., giving Hirsch the opportunity to add a good name to his ledger. Celaya weighed in at a flabby 166 pounds while Hirsch came in at a ripped 164 pounds.

Lightweight prospect Stan Martyniouk [7-0, KO] of Antelope, California will take on former super featherweight title challenger and current trial-horse Anthony Martinez [21-32-3, 9 KOs] of Turriabla, Costa Rica in a four-round over the weight lightweight bout. Martinez, 138.5, hasn't won a fight in over three years and has become the ultimate short-notice opponent. Martyniouk, 136, is a fighter who has fought mostly out of Sacramento and has been unable to secure an active schedule since turning professional at the end of 2007.

In the opening fight of the night, Cincinnati, Ohio's Mel Crossty [3-0, KO] takes on Carlos Herrera [2-2, KO] of Oxnard, California in a super featherweight bout. This will mark Crossty's second fight in Oakland as he searches for his first win at the Oracle Arena, with his fight with Jaime Rodriguez being judged a draw. Crossty weighed in at 130 pounds even while Herrera came in a half-pound heavier at 130.5.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Arreola not the man to beat the elder Klitschko


Arreola not the man to beat the elder Klitschko
Mark E. Ortega
FightFanNation.com
September 26, 2009

Saturday night in front of a packed crowd at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, Cristobal Arreola gave as good of an effort as any heavyweight in the last few years at dethroning a Klitschko brother of his world championship. Like most of the rest, it wasn't enough, as Klitschko was able to stop Arreola after dishing out a ten-round beating that caused trainer Henry Ramirez to call it off and live to fight another day. Arreola had his moments, but was unable to control many rounds. At the time of the stoppage, Arreola was given three rounds across all three scorecards.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Arreola has chance to make history


Arreola has chance to make history
Mark E. Ortega
FightFanNation.com
September 25, 2009

To be the first Mexican anything in boxing is impressive, and Cristobal Arreola has a chance to do that tomorrow night in front of a basically hometown crowd at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, one of the best places to see a fight bar none. Not to mention the fact that it is HBO's lone televised bout tomorrow night, and it is being featured with a replay of Floyd Mayweather, Jr.'s dismantling of Juan Manuel Marquez that met a reported one million pay-per-view buys last weekend. Arreola is going to receive the ultimate exposure, and if he is somehow able to pull off the upset [Arreola is at least a 4:1 underdog most places], he would become the first heavyweight of Mexican descent to claim a piece of the heavyweight championship of the world, which was at one point the most prestigious championship in all of sports.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Controversy surrounds Kauffman's first defeat



Controversy surrounds Kauffman's first defeat
Mark E. Ortega
Special to Reading Eagle
September 20, 2009

SANTA YNEZ, Calif. - Reading native and Exeter grad Travis Kauffman suffered the first loss of his professional career via fourth-round knockout at the hands of Tony Grano in an exciting heavyweight contest that featured lots of back and forth action Friday night at the Chumash Hotel and Casino.

Kauffman (18-1, 15 KOs) was controlling the fight up until there was about a minute left in the fourth when Grano (16-1-1, 13 KOs) was able to land a few serious overhand rights that stunned the previously undefeated fighter.

Once Kauffman was badly hurt, he elected to try and duck punches instead of holding on. Kauffman moved straight back while he was against the ropes and hit his head on the front of a camera that was being held on the apron.

On top of that, there were a few other controversial moments that may have helped Grano recover when he was badly hurt earlier in the round.

Click here to read the rest...

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Cruiserweight controversy in California!


Cruiserweight controversy in California!
Mark E. Ortega
Ultimateboxingresults.com
August 8, 2009

Last night at the Red Lion Hotel in Sacramento, California, fans that showed up to appreciate a night of boxing featuring some local talent got a two-for-one deal as they were able to witness a live circus following the bizarre ending to the night’s main event featuring Sacramento’s Michael Simms and Reno, Nevada’s Kelvin Davis in a cruiserweight fight that was scheduled for eight rounds by all accounts but managed to only go six before the fight was scored a draw. More on that later on.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Cruiserweight controversy in Sacramento as Simms-Davis ends in draw

Cruiserweight controversy in Sacramento as Simms-Davis ends in draw
Mark Ortega
UltimateBoxingResults.com
August 7, 2009


Last night at the Red Lion Hotel in Sacramento, California, fans that showed up to appreciate a night of boxing featuring some local talent got a two-for-one deal as they were able to witness a live circus following the bizarre ending to the night’s main event featuring Sacramento’s Michael Simms and Reno, Nevada’s Kelvin Davis in a cruiserweight fight that was scheduled for eight rounds by all accounts but managed to only go six before the fight was scored a draw. More on that later on.

At stake was a shot at Matt Godfrey and his NABF title at the Red Lion in September, a good-sized payday for both Simms and Davis at this stage of their career. Davis , by all accounts, was a shot fighter who many were just hoping would not be hurt badly coming off an abysmal performance against a 5-8-1 fighter by the name of Leo Bercier in January of this year at the same venue. In that fight, Davis looked like a spent fighter with no balance as he was dropped by the inexperienced Bercier en route to a unanimous decision loss. Davis and his brother Kelly, who is also his trainer and manager, mostly blame his recent work on the fact that all of his fights have generally been on short notice.

“Kelvin always gets fights on a two-day notice, three-day notice,” said Kelly. “He never gets sparring. He finally had time to prepare, five or six weeks to prepare for the fight. It was a great fight, he was working the body and he looked great.”

Davis did work the body very well to start the fight and took the first few rounds on his higher work rate. In the second round, Simms failed to throw a punch for a full minute to close the round while Davis tried to get inside his reach. The third round was much closer as Simms started to let his hands go a bit and they began to trade inside. Davis had a good fourth round and was taking Simms’ clubbing overhand rights with no problem and was not shaken by them at all.

Then, things changed in the fifth round. Simms began to pour it on a bit more to the confusion of Davis ’ corner. Davis and his team decided to try and weather the storm and get Simms out of there when he was tired. The sixth round saw Simms pretty much go for broke while Davis did his best to keep him off of himself and land some heavy shots of his own. At the end of the sixth round is where things got bizarre.

Nobody knew what was going on. The ring card girl began to get ready to carry a “7” around the ring. In the meantime, Simms was having his gloves cut off and at the same time Davis was getting prepped for the seventh round.. Then all hell broke loose as the ring announcer climbed into the ring with a confused look on his face and was then told by the commission that this was a six-round bout. The bout had been announced as an eight round main event just moments before the opening bell, the bout sheet had it listed as eight, by all accounts this was an eight round fight.

Instead, scores were read 58-56 for Simms, 58-56 for Davis , and 57-57 even, a draw. Davis and his team had no clue that this was a six round fight.

“At the end of the sixth round. I thought I had two more rounds,” said Kelvin Davis. “That’s what my contract said. We signed the contract for an eight round fight. We trained for eight and we expected eight. My contract says eight round fight. That’s we trained for. That’s what I was sparring twelve rounds for, running five miles for.”

When asked when he found out about the change, Michael Simms responded, “Probably about ten minutes before the fight. I signed a contract for eight rounds and back here I was getting ready and they told me at the last second, like ten minutes before, that it was a six-rounder. I trained for an eight-round fight.”

“They told him, but they didn’t tell us because he is the hometown favorite,” exclaimed Kelly Davis.. “They told him in the locker room, they didn’t say anything to us.”

When asked if he signed anything different since signing the original contract, Simms responded, “No. I signed the contract before and that was it..”

It is common knowledge that anytime a fight’s variables are changed from the original contract, a new contract must be issued and signed by both participants. Apparently, this didn’t happen on either side of things. The California State Athletic Commission is claiming that this fight was always a six-round fight. The card’s promoter, Nasser Niavaroni, is saying that the fight was changed the six when the commission voiced their concerns over Davis ’ health.

“They felt because of his age and he has had a lot of losses. The California State Commission was concerned with his ability to speak. I tried to explain to them that this guy may not be a great speaker, but he can still fight. So that was their concern and they said they would only do a six,” said Niavoroni.

“Simms has lost quite a few fights as well,” continued Niavaroni. “So I don’t think that was their concern. The match-up I thought it was good, so I wasn’t going to try and talk anybody into anything. I thought it was a good match-up and you saw a pretty good and fair fight. It wasn’t a one-way fight. That is the way I felt about it and I convinced them that was the way it was going to be and it turned out to be that way.”

If the fight were changed to six rounds as much as a few days before the fight, why wasn’t anyone made aware of this? No member of the press or anyone ringside seemed to have any clue except for Simms and his corner, and that is only because they were told moments before the fight. Obviously this changes how you may pace yourself over the course of a fight if one guy thinks its going six rounds and the other fighter thinks its going eight.

There was also speculation that the change was made at the weigh-in, to which Kelly Davis responded, “They didn’t say anything. You have to sign for that. We didn’t sign for that and we wouldn’t have agreed to that. That is a false lie.”

Kelly Davis was so heated over the situation that he wanted the contract that he supposedly signed that made this fight a six-rounder to be produced in front of his eyes. It took nearly twenty minutes before this was able to happen, with many members of the state athletic commission giving him the runaround while at the same time shielding themselves from any blame that may be cast upon them.

Once a contract was finally produced, things got even more interesting. With my own eyes I saw a contract that had “8” listed as the rounds. But there was a line drawn through the “8” and a “6” was written in next to it. There were no initials next to it nor was there a date signifying a change. Regardless, if the change were made a new contract would have to be drawn up.

“They have a contract where Kelvin signed for an eight-rounder,” says Kelly Davis. “Someone crossed out the eight and wrote a six in the corner. They wrote it in.”

“If they are going to do us like that, that is totally wrong,” continued Kelly. “The cards were going to be stacked against us and I told him that. But I thought at least the commission would keep it all fair. Damn everybody else against us, the promoter or the owner of the hotel, damn all that. At least the commission is supposed to be the guiding light to keep it all solid. I want the commission to take this fight completely off his record.”

No one can argue that Davis would have paced himself much differently if he knew it was a six round fight.

“I was going to change my strategy in the next round.. In the seventh round I was going to knock him out,” said Kelvin.. “I thought I’ve got to put everything I had into every punch, because he was boxing away. In the seventh and eighth round I was going to turn it on and they stopped it. If I would have known it was a sixth round fight his ass would have been on the ground.”

What is being overshadowed by all of this controversy is the fact that before this fight many had written off Davis as a shot fighter who needed to quit fighting. Even Davis ’ opponent was of that opinion.

“Otis Griffin and I watched his last fight and we both said that if we ever fought him we wouldn’t knock him out because he seemed punchy. It would be like we were taking advantage of a five-year-old kid or something. But when the punches start flying you have to look past that,” said Simms boldly.

Once the fight began Simms changed his tune. “He kind of zones out a little bit, but physically he is still strong. He’s got talent when he lets his hands go. When we stood toe-to-toe, I could still feel his power, but I take a good shot and I have got good defense.”

I believe that Kelvin Davis has earned the right to continue fighting these kinds of fights without any interference from a state commission or anybody else.

“I want to show that the California State Commission that this guy is still capable,” concluded Niavaroni. “They had him all washed up and they were going to stop him from fighting. Thank God they didn’t because he did a pretty good job, I thought.”

UNDERCARD RESULTS

In the co-featured bout, the undefeated James Parison [12-0, 3 KOs ] of San Diego , California won an easy unanimous decision over the game but outclassed Christian Cruz [ 12-10-1 , 10 KOs ] of Sacramento , California in a light heavyweight bout by scores of 60-54 courtesy of all three judges. Parison was just too quick and too smart for Cruz, who landed a big shot every now and then but was never able to stagger his opponent. Cruz was coming off of a long sixteen-month layoff. Parison was scheduled to fight undefeated Sacramento prospect Brandon Gonzales on this card on an earlier date but Gonzales pulled out with an injury. That bout was slated to be for the WBC USNBC title.

Vacaville welterweight prospect Geraldo Lopez [3-0, 2 KOs ] remained undefeated in knocking out Angel Martinez [0-1] in the first round with a perfect one-two combination that would drop Martinez . Martinez would try and get to his feet but would fall down again before the referee waved the bout off. Official time was 1:32 in the first round.

In a battle of two light heavyweight trial-horses, Sacramento native Ernesto Castaneda [ 11-7-1 , 4 KOs ] won an uneven six-round unanimous decision over Ayodeji Fadeyi [ 10-7-1 , 6 KOs ] by scores of 60-54 twice and 59-55 once. Castaneda outworked his opponent and was able to do a lot of early body work that would slow down his opponent on the way to the decision win.

In the opening bout of the night, Maximilliano Becerra [2-0-1, KO] remained undefeated by knocking out Victor Cortez [0-1] in the second round of a scheduled four-round lightweight bout. Becerra dropped an off-balance Cortez with seconds left in the first round with a good right hand. In the second, Becerra landed a right-left-right combination that finished his opponent. Official time of the stoppage was 2:19 in the second round.

The night’s action was promoted by Uppercut Promotions and held at the Red Lion Hotel. The next card at the Red Lion Hotel will take place September 12th and will seat 1,000 in the outdoor part of the hotel. The main event will be Matt Godfrey against Michael Simms for the NABF cruiserweight title.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Remembering Arturo Gatti

Remembering Arturo Gatti
Mark E. Ortega
Freelance
July 16, 2009

Arturo Gatti was more of a role model to me than any fighter out there. There may never be another fighter who will inspire me to “suck it up” when things get hard in my own life. Arturo taught me not to look for defeat, but to look for a way to overcome it, and that when we are down, that is when life is most precious.

It still has not fully hit me yet that Arturo Gatti is no longer with us. Sure, he had been out of the ring for almost exactly two years since suffering a shock knockout loss to Alfonso Gomez in July of 2007. But when you consider all that Arturo Gatti persevered through as a fighter, all the punishment he took in and out of the ring during a tumultuous sixteen year professional career that included world titles in two different weight classes as well as four Ring Magazine Fight of the Year awards and a Comeback of the Year Award, you figured if he was able to survive all of those things that he was going to be around for awhile after he hung up the gloves. Sadly for us, Arturo Gatti was taken way too soon and the circumstances surrounding his demise are as tragic as they can get.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Escobedo stops Kelley in two!


Escobedo stops Kelley in two!
Mark E. Ortega
Ultimateboxingresults.com
May 22, 2009

Vicente Escobedo claimed added another former world titleholder to his resume by scoring an impressive second-round knockout of veteran Kevin Kelley in the second round of their scheduled ten-round lightweight bout. Kelley edged the opening round that saw him land a few good body shots while Escobedo remained rather ineffective. That all changed in the opening seconds of the second round when Kelley was dropped by a dangerous right hand. Kelley made it to his feet before being battered by another series of heavy shots courtesy of the local prospect. Official time of the stoppage was 1:53 in the second round.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Ward dominates Miranda


Ward dominates Miranda
Mark E. Ortega
Ultimateboxingresults.com
May 16, 2009

Last night, in front of a crowd of 7,818, 2004 Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward [19-0, 12 KOs ] scored his most impressive win to date by earning a wide decision victory over former world title challenger Edison Miranda [32-4, 28 KOs ] in the televised main event of a special edition of ShoBox: The New Generation.

The win came in front of Ward’s Oakland, California hometown crowd at the Oracle Arena, marking the first time in his career that he has fought there. Ward won by scores of 119-109, 119-109, and a much too close 116-112 to silence the critics who thought Ward as being too soft and not having enough power to keep the heavy-handed Miranda off of him.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Ward, Miranda weigh 167.5


Ward, Miranda weigh in at 167.5!
Mark E. Ortega
Ultimateboxingresults.com
May 15, 2009

Tomorrow night, 2004 U.S. Olympic Gold medalist Andre Ward [18-0, 12 KOs ] will meet his toughest test as he takes on Edison Miranda [32-3, 28 KOs ] in the headlining bout of a special edition of ShoBox: The New Generation live from the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California . The six-bout card is promoted by Goossen-Tutor Promotions with help from Warriors Boxing and Antonio Leonard Promotions.

The bout marks the first time in Ward’s career that he will fight in Oakland, the star’s hometown. Ward has fought numerous times in the Bay Area, specifically San Jose, but has never had a bout actually take place in his hometown, and the reaction to tomorrow’s fight is that this has been a long time coming.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Corrales is spelled W-A-R-R-I-O-R

Corrales is spelled W-A-R-R-I-O-R
Mark E. Ortega
Freelance
May 7, 2009

“Brutality is what brings fans to the game. Savagery is what has made boxing great. It has elegant moments and it has savage moments. But it's still a great game. One on one it can be beautiful.” - Diego Corrales, 1977-2007

Four years ago today, everything for me changed.

I was at the tail-end of my four years of high school, just finishing up my junior year. You know, the last year in school you really have to try hard at before applying to colleges to attend following your graduation.

Needless to say, I was pretty much finished caring about school at that point of the year. Summer was only about five weeks away, so I had already floated off into my own world and began my summer early.

At the time, Showtime was offering a replay of the WBO 135-pound title clash between the undefeated Acelino Freitas of Brazil, who was 35-0 with 31 knockouts at the time and Diego Corrales, 38-2 with 32 knockouts of Sacramento, California. Corrales was moving up in weight after earning a split-decision victory over Joel Casamayor to claim the vacant WBO 130-pound title in a rematch of a fight won by Casamayor on cuts.

Freitas came out quickly against Corrales, piling up an early lead on the scorecards. But Corrales would overcome the initial surge by Freitas and then overwhelm him with well-timed power shots that would force Freitas to the canvas multiple times before also forcing him to give up and Corrales had earned a title in his second weight class. It was one of the most see-saw battles I had ever witnessed, and it got me excited for Corrales’ next fight, which would be a unification bout with WBC 135-pound champion and recognized world lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo.

I had never seen Castillo fight before to my knowledge, but I had quickly read that he was a fighter who may be an equal to Corrales in terms of will and one who possessed an iron chin, as he had never been down before in fifty-nine professional fights. It was a fight that was promised to provide a ton of action, and that was what I was seeking that weekend that would occur on the eve of my 17th birthday.

I must say that to this day, that bout is easily the best early birthday present I have ever received. Watching live on Showtime, I eagerly awaited the main event as Juan Manuel Marquez pounded out a one-sided decision victory over Victor Polo to defend his 126-pound title. The main event was finally about to be underway, and I couldn’t help but feel that something incredible was going to take place.

“This is a war of attrition. This is the final battle. I am here and I will die in that ring before I give up what I have,” Corrales would say in the pre-fight hype. He would soon find out exactly how far he would be willing to go exactly to hold onto his title.

From the opening bell, I knew that my gut instinct was a good one. Corrales and Castillo went right at each other, toe-to-toe, in the center of the ring. They would take turns firing off four or five punch combinations on the inside, which was where the fight was exclusively fought, with Castillo having the early moments and the Showtime team of Al Bernstein and Steve Albert questioning Corrales’ decision to fight on the inside with Castillo. Bernstein would quickly rescind his comments after Corrales stopped Castillo in his tracks with his own in-fighting. Neither guy had an obvious edge but both men had each other’s respect.

To this day, I have seen this fight at least two dozen fights and have scored it every way possible. After four rounds, I’ve had both guys ahead before, and I have more than often had the fight even. I wasn’t sure whether I could not find one fighter better than the other or whether I just did not care enough to remember; as what I was seeing would grasp my full attention. At so many different points in the fight, I have gotten goosebumps, even at the replay capacity. Whether it’s when Albert comments that “you could fit a sheet of paper between the two of them, and that’s it” or when Bernstein remarks that he can’t recall a better fight in the history of Showtime Championship Boxing, the commentators did their part to add to the mystique of the battle without over-diluting it with useless banter.

The fight had everything. It was brutal, yet tactical. Both guys were landing at a high percentage but you couldn’t say these were two guys who thought “defense” was a four-letter word, either. There was a lot on the line and both men were doing everything in their power to emerge victorious. It was the type of war that I had never had the privilege of seeing before, and I knew it was a moment in my life that I would recall forever.

In the tenth round it finally seemed that one fighter was going to pull away, as Castillo landed a picture-perfect left hook on a lunging Corrales just seconds into the round, depositing Corrales on the seat of his pants and seemingly out of the fight.

Corrales would remove his mouthpiece and get up before the count of ten, buying himself some additional seconds of recovery before Castillo would continue his assault and put Corrales in the very same predicament he had found himself in not half a minute beforehand. Corrales would again remove his mouthpiece, return to his feet, and be allowed to continue, but not before referee Tony Weeks would correctly take a point away from Corrales.

Joe Goossen, Corrales’ esteemed trainer, would utter the famed words “You gotta fucking get inside on him now!” to Corrales, and that would prove to be all he needed to get his wits about and try and survive the round.

If Castillo had read "The Art of War", he would know to "never corner a desperate man". With an obvious 10-6 round in Castillo's favor in a very close fight, it was obvious what Corrales would need to do in order to win this fight. At that point in time, you can imagine that Corrales was just trying to survive. But a fighter like Corrales is most dangerous in survival mode.

Castillo thought it was just a matter of time before this fight would be officially over, but Corrales would change that thought with a series of powerful shots that began with a right hook and wouldn’t end until a left hand would send Castillo’s eyes reeling into the back of his head as his body would bounce of the ropes like a rag-doll. “Weeks steps in and the fight…is…over!” Albert would exclaim as the referee would stop the fight earning Corrales the most emphatic victory of his career. It was a round that sent me jumping into the air full of an excitement or an adrenaline that I had never experienced before, and from that moment onward I knew that boxing was the sport that had everything I was looking for.

From that day forward, I caught any and all boxing-related programming that I possibly could. That included ESPN all the way to Telefutura’s Solo Boxeo even though I spoke high school Spanish at best. Through the many wonderful possibilities on the internet, I was able to see fights from twenty years prior on ABC or from that weekend that had occurred somewhere internationally at just the click of a button. At first it was almost too much to handle but I quickly became a student of the game.

------------------------------

Two years ago today, my life would change again. I woke up early in the morning headed to class my freshman year of college. I hadn’t completed all my work the night before and had planned on doing it early, but first I decided to check the headlines on ESPN to see if anything interesting had happened.

Unfortunately, something had happened as Diego Corrales was killed in a three-vehicle accident near his Las Vegas home as the boxing star was riding his motorcycle nearly three times the legal alcohol limit of .08. The headline would instantly take my mind off of my schoolwork and instead put my focus onto Corrales, who was hands-down my favorite fighter in the world.

Corrales died much the way he lived, recklessly. In the ring, that recklessness provided fans with unreachable levels of excitement and Corrales’ heart would constantly bail him out of those tough situations with Corrales coming out on top more often than not. That night, however, Corrales would meet his match and his recklessness had caught up to him.

It was as unbelievable of a day as I can recall. It had felt like a family member of mine had been lost. I skipped my initial class that morning and instead rewatched Corrales-Castillo and was given goosebumps. It was then that I would write about Corrales and what he had meant to me in somewhat of a personal ode to the fighter and his impact on me as a boxing fan.

It was the first thing I had written about sports since my senior year on the newspaper, but everything came naturally. I had written it in about twenty-five minutes, and, accompanied by a list of quotes of Diego’s I posted it on Facebook that morning.

Ironically, it would be off of the basis of that piece that I wrote that I would earn a job writing for Ultimate Boxing Results.

When Diego Corrales made me a boxing fan, that was one thing. But when his impact on me would give me one last push towards making this more than a hobby, it was entirely another. It would be an understatement to say that Diego Corrales had a tremendous effect on my life. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be doing this.

Every day since that first Corrales-Castillo fight, I have looked for someone to display that combination of heart, sheer guts and will, talent, and endurance that made him champion that night. I have yet to find it, but I will gladly continue looking.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

The Genesis of King Kong


The Genesis of King Kong
Mark E. Ortega
Ultimateboxingresults.com
May 3, 2009

When July 11th rolls around, a bantamweight title tilt is set to take place when Ghanaian Joseph King Kong Agbeko [26-1, 22 KOs] defends his IBF 118-pound belt against two-division champion moving up in weight Vic Darchinyan. The bout is a Showtime Championship Boxing headlining-bout that is sure to provide a ton of fireworks, just in case you were longing for more following the previous weekend’s display of pyrotechnics courtesy of the Fourth of July. Read about this fight anywhere else and you might think that Darchinyan, who is the widely-considered favorite, already has the belt around his waist even though it is Agbeko who is champion.

Agbeko, along with manager Vinny Scolpino (whom also manages fellow Ghanaian world champion, Joshua Clottey) do not seem too fazed by this reaction and seem to welcome it gladly.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Griffin ready for Left Hook Lacy


Griffin ready for Left Hook Lacy
Mark E. Ortega
Ultimateboxingresults.com
April 9, 2009

Tomorrow night Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy returns to the ring on the comeback trail against Sacramento, California native Otis Griffin, the winner of the Oscar De La Hoya boxing reality show “The Next Great Champ”. The fight is widely being considered a tune-up fight for Lacy, but Griffin and trainer/manager John Tandy welcome the challenge.

“I feel Lacy is overlooking me, and I am glad,” said Griffin . “I read in one of his interviews not long ago that he thought he was fighting Otis Grant, I love it.”

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Kirkland-Angulo: As hot as it is going to get?

Kirkland-Angulo: As hot as it is going to get?
Mark E. Ortega
Freelance
March 12, 2009


Also eight other matchups and whether they would come off better now or later

There are fights out there that quickly grasp the attention of the boxing public, sometimes a bit too early in time for it to be a realistic possibility based on where in their careers those two fighters are. That is one of the many things that make our sport intriguing, it is all in the timing. It isn’t like football or baseball, where they play basically the same set schedule with a few differences here and there. In boxing, you never can guess where you will be eight months from now; let alone two to five years from now.

With that said, in boxing, many times a fight will start building up heat and excitement even if it doesn’t make sense at that exact moment for that fight to come off. Promoters are always trying to build a fight up so much until both guys are at similar stages in their career, near their projected primes, so that it makes the most money. A lot of times, this has worked and many fights have come together that took years of build-up to produce. It seems that fights like Hagler-Hearns and Tyson-Holyfield, despite their numerous setbacks, were always meant to come together the way they did, and it served the winners in both of those fights much better based on the timing.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Kirkland takes Julio’s heart, title of biggest puncher at 154

Kirkland takes Julio’s heart, title of biggest puncher at 154
Mark E. Ortega
Freelance
March 8, 2009


In an exceptionally well-matched card on paper, Golden Boy Promotions presented three equally intriguing bouts featuring some of their hottest young stars and seemingly had a can’t miss card. Unfortunately, anything can happen in the sport of boxing, and that includes three high-profile bouts being less than expected for reasons that were uncontrollable. The HP Pavilion lured HBO into their town of San Jose, California with a mission to prove that the city is a fight fan city, and the hometown crowd was successful in that mission as 6,765 people were reported in attendance. On this night, however, quite a few instances occurred that took some of the air out of the tires that was the three televised bouts.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Tales from the Tape: Castillo-Casamayor and The Ring 135-pound title


Tales from the Tape: Castillo-Casamayor and The Ring 135-pound title
Mark E. Ortega
Ultimateboxingresults.com
February 25, 2009 

With this Saturday being the highly anticipated clash between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz for Marquez’ Ring Magazine 135-pound title (and now the WBA and WBO titles as well), I thought it would be an excellent chance to take a look back at a card featuring another fight for the 135-pound world title from a few years back between champion Jose Luis Castillo and Joel Casamayor. With Nate Campbell moving up to 140-pounds after failing to make weight a few weekends ago against Ali Funeka and Manny Pacquiao set to fight Ricky Hatton for the 140-pound world title, Marquez-Diaz has become a bout between the clearly two best fighters in the entire division. 

Similarly, when Floyd Mayweather, Jr. moved up from lightweight in 2004, it made Jose Luis Castillo’s bout with Juan Lazcano not only for the vacant WBC 135-pound title, but for the vacant Ring Magazine title as well as Castillo and Lazcano were recognized as the #1 and #2 fighters in the division. Castillo won a close decision in a memorable fight, making him the recognized #1 fighter in the division. At the same time, Diego Corrales and Joel Casamayor, fresh off their rematch that saw Corrales awarded with a split decision victory, were both making the move to 135-pounds instantly making it one of the hottest divisions in the sport. A string of title would go off one after another between the likes of Casamayor, Castillo, Corrales, Acelino Freitas, and Julio Diaz. Add to that the emergence of the young and exciting Juan Diaz and you had a lot of excitement being generated in one of the premiere weight classes.