Bits & Pieces: Gonzalez's and Golden Boy's future plans

Bits & Pieces: Gonzalez's and Golden Boy's future plans
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
August 26, 2013


One of boxing's young stars was dealt his first taste of defeat on Saturday, as Abner Mares was shockingly knocked out by veteran Jhonny Gonzalez in the first round at the Stub Hub Center in Carson, Calif. The bout headlined a Showtime telecast that also featured Leo Santa Cruz add another title to his name when he beat up Victor Terrazas before stopping him in the third.

After the fight, Gonzalez and Mares appeared at the post-fight press conference and showed their class. Here are some of the details from that as well as Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer discussing a few future points for his company.

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Fortuna and Franco fight to split draw on FNF

Fortuna and Franco fight to split draw on FNF
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
August 3, 2013

Bits & Pieces: Russell Jr.'s opponent named

Bits & Pieces: Russell Jr.'s opponent named
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
July 20, 2013


Golden Boy Promotions put on a fight card (in association with Mayweather Promotions) in Las Vegas this weekend, as John Molina stopped Mickey Bey in the final round of their 10-round main event. Mark E. Ortega gathered news and notes during the course of the evening.

Russell Jr.'s opponent named 

Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer announced that highly touted featherweight Gary Russell Jr. would return on the Aug. 9 undercard to Deontay Wilder-Sergei Lyakhovich. The card takes place at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, Calif.

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Russell shuts out Gusev on Abril-Bogere undercard

Russell shuts out Gusev on Abril-Bogere undercard
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
March 3, 2013


With the World Baseball Classic just getting underway and the major league season around the corner, saying that 2011 boxing Prospect of the Year Gary Russell Jr. is ready to make the jump from AAA to the majors is a fair assessment after he thoroughly outclassed Vyacheslav Gusev in a shutout in the Showtime televised co-featured bout to Saturday's Richard Abril-Sharif Bogere lightweight title bout.

Early against Gusev, Russell (22-0, 13 KOs) doubled and tripled his jab while also mixing in a wide array of shots to the body. Gusev (20-3, 5 KOs), of Prokopyevsk, Russia, stood in there and tried his best to get some work done, but was largely ineffective. At the sound of the sticks, indicating ten seconds remaining in the first round, Russell exploded with offense, landing a right hook that buckled Gusev. Russell followed up with a lightning fast combination that would have undoubtedly lead to a knockdown had it not come at the end of the round.

In the second, Russell and Gusev landed solid straight shots simultaneously, with Russell's more powerful punch producing the first knockdown of the fight. Despite his opponent being hurt, Russell didn't waste any punches when he returned to his feet, landing at very accurate rate, seemingly content to pick at his prey rather than finish him.

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Javier Fortuna Aces Cristobal Cruz Test

Javier Fortuna Aces Cristobal Cruz Test
Mark E. Ortega
Queensberry-Rules.com
July 6, 2012


In an intriguing doubleheader on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights from Las Vegas, we learned a couple of new things about a few young fighters that share the oversight of Sampson Lewkowicz, who manages both A-side fighters in each bout and is largely responsible for their rise.

In the main event, 22-year-old Javier Fortuna of the Dominican Republic gave himself a nine-day early birthday present, starching well-traveled Tijuana-based journeyman Cristobal Cruz inside of two rounds in their scheduled 10-round clash.

Fortuna (20-0, 15 KOs) bothered Cruz with his power early, dropping him with some wide-swining stuff inside of Cruz's slower unorthodox punches early in the round. Cruz used all the veteran tricks he could in order to remain on his feet, pulling Fortuna to the canvas a number of times and falling to the ground at least once on his own.

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Twenty-Five Favorites for the Future, Part II

Twenty-Five Favorites for the Future, Part II
Mark E. Ortega
Queensberry-Rules.com
January 5, 2012

(Continued from part I.)

Joe Hanks, heavyweight, 28, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.A. [18-0, 12 KOs] 
Though not as well known as American heavyweights of the future Seth Mitchell and Deontay Wilder, Hanks has quietly put together a respectable career in four years as an American heavyweight hopeful. Hanks scored an improbable one-sided win over then-unbeaten Golden Boy prospect Ashanti Jordan a few years ago and has stayed the course, though not with much fanfare. Hanks has yet to fight on television despite being one of the better kept secrets in American heavyweight boxing. With Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing backing him, Hanks should at least be able to break the barrier and make it on television moving forward. Despite being from the East Coast, Hanks established himself in the banquet halls and small houses in Southern California, fighting twelve times in all there. At one point, this writer recalls then-manager Prentiss Byrd offering to pay for Hanks’ spot on cards, yet he still had problems finding him fights. At 6’4” Hanks has good size and has good power that he has learned to utilize better recently; he’s scored six stoppages in eight fights since the opening of 2010. In a particularly shallow time in U.S. heavyweight boxing, Hanks is near the top of the class.

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