Ten Worst Boxing Moments of 2013

Ten Worst Boxing Moments of 2013
Mark E. Ortega
December 20, 2013

Although many consider 2013 to have been a banner year for boxing, it wasn't always smooth sailing. The sport suffered from its fair share of scandal and controversy, not to mention in a few cases just some poor judgment and bad taste. Here I count down the ten worst moments the sport dealt with in 2013.

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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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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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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Commentary: Chavez-Vera and the question of fighter safety

Chavez-Vera and the question of fighter safety
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
September 27, 2013

Mark E. Ortega

Saturday night, it is still expected that a boxing match will take place between former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and current WBO #1 middleweight contender Brian Vera.

Despite their current standings as 160 pounders, the fight was due to take place at the super middleweight limit of 168 pounds after being delayed and moved from earlier contract weights in the mid-160s.

Early in fight week, it became clear that Chavez Jr. was not going to make the contracted 168 pound limit. Though a serious infraction, promoter Bob Arum made a joke of it at Wednesday's press conference, saying it would be the first time a fight's weight wasn't decided until the fighters weighed in.

The fight has since been negotiated to a new weight of 173 pounds. Neither fighter has previously fought at the weight. Vera has fought at 168 pounds in the past, most notably during season two of The Contender. Vera was stopped in two rounds by Jaidon Codrington as part of the tournament.

Though the fight has been renegotiated and Vera has no doubt been financially compensated, there's still a concern of fighter safety at hand.

"My first concern is Brian's safety," said Vera's manager Dave Watson after Wednesday's press conference.

Watson believes that Chavez's lack of professionalism is beneficial to his own fighter.

"The best position we could be in is for him to be overlooking us," said Watson. 

"Chavez is the favorite, is already talking about fighting [Andre] Ward. Brian operates better when he is the underdog and has something to prove. This is gonna be the upset of the year."

Ronnie Shields, who trains Vera, confirmed to Boxingscene's Rick Reeno yesterday that the fight was renegotiated at 173 pounds.

When Shields spoke to RingTV after Wednesday's press conference, he expressed concern about the situation.

"It changes things a lot," said Shields. "You're talking about a kid's health. It's different fighting a guy that's supposed to be 168 pounds who could end up being 200 pounds."

It has been reported that there is no maximum weight stipulation on the day of the fight for Chavez Jr. When contacted by RingTV on Thursday afternoon, Vera's promoter Artie Pellulo wouldn't confirm.

"I can't share any of those details at the present time, you'll know at the weigh-in," Pellulo told RingTV.

If there is no maximum weight stipulation, the fight becomes even more dangerous. Vera could be outweighed by close to 30 pounds on Saturday night.

This circus surrounding the weight has a few similarities to last July's bout between Adrien Broner and Vicente Escobedo. 

Broner missed the 130 pound limit at the weigh-in and was supposed to weigh no more than ten pounds above that weight the day of the fight. He missed that target as well and the fight was in peril up until a few hours prior to the fight.

Escobedo took the fight after receiving an additional $300,000, more money than Escobedo had ever previously earned. The result was a foregone conclusion, Escobedo was mauled in an early stoppage. The emotional release from Escobedo in his post-fight interview that night showed a fighter that wasn't mentally prepared for a fight that night due to all the mess that came before it.

On Thursday afternoon, RingTV caught up with Escobedo's manager Rolando Arellano to talk about that situation last July.

When asked if he would go through with the fight if he could do it all over, Arellano said, "Absolutely."

"We got him more money than he was ever paid before and we saved face politically with all of the people involved," said Arellano. 

Since the defeat to Broner, Escobedo has fought twice in 2013. Against former title challenger Edner Cherry as well as unheralded Fernando Carcamo, Escobedo was stopped.

"Chente has been on a decline ever since but I don't think it is a direct result from the Broner fight."

Though Escobedo was paid handsomely to serve as a sacrificial lamb last Saturday, how much did it potentially cost him after the fact?

Like Vera, Broner was ranked #1 in the WBO before facing Broner. Once Broner moved up, Escobedo would have been in line to fight for the vacant title. Though there was no bigger payday available than what he got against Broner, the 130 pound division was thin at the time and Escobedo could have potentially won a belt and gotten a few defenses, extending his career. Now, it looks as though that career is nearing an end.

These are the kinds of questions Vera and his team must keep in mind as he prepares to go into the ring on Saturday. Surely, the deep pockets of Chavez Jr.'s handlers have rewarded him for the physical risks he will endure.

Vera's style of fighting has him absorb his opponent's best shots as he tries to wear them down. Trainer Shields told RingTV that they've focused on his defense and head movement for this fight, but it's hard for an old dog to learn new tricks at this stage.

Vera and his team have all said this is clearly the best camp he has ever had in preparing for a fight. One can only hope that it isn't all for nothing and that we avoid seeing a sad result on Saturday.

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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"No Doubt" in Trout

"No Doubt" in Trout

Mark E. Ortega

Leave-it-in-the-ring.com

June 9, 2011

If you asked even the most hardcore of boxing fan what important junior middleweight bout is happening in Mexico this weekend, the likely response would be “The Canelo fight is next weekend I thought?”

It's hard to blame any astute fight aficionado for getting it wrong; the WBA junior middleweight title tilt between the defending Austin “No Doubt” Trout [22-0, 13 KOs] of Albuquerque, New Mexico and hard-nosed David “The Destroyer” Lopez [40-12, 23 KOs] of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico has flown under the radar as it won't appear on American television until a week later, which coincides with the HBO broadcast of the WBC junior middleweight title fight between emerging Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Brit Ryan Rhodes in an expected packed house in Jalisco, Mexico.