Shafikov signs with Top Rank, makes U.S. debut Aug. 17

Shafikov signs with Top Rank, makes U.S. debut Aug. 17
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
July 24, 2013


Lightweight contender Denis Shafikov of Russia signed a deal with Las Vegas-based promotional giant Top Rank Boxing, RingTV.com learned on Wednesday.

Shafikov will make his Top Rank and American debut on the Aug. 17 card headlined by Juan Diaz-Adailton de Jesus, which takes place in Laredo, Tex.

The card will be televised by UniMas on Solo Boxeo, but no word yet whether or not Shafikov's fight will make air. Along with the Diaz bout, Olympian Jose Ramirez fights.

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Questionable Technical Knockout Remains Unchanged [UPDATE: Since Overturned]

Questionable Technical Knockout Remains Unchanged [UPDATE: Since Overturned]
Mark E. Ortega
Queensberry-Rules.com
July 6, 2012


On May 12 in Woodland, Calif., San Francisco's Denis Madriz and Fresno's Luis Villagomez were two fighters looking for their first professional victory off-TV on the Solo Boxeo undercard of Vicente Escobedo versus Juan Ruiz.

Their scheduled four-round featherweight bout was considered by many in attendance the best fight of the night. Unfortunately, the 4th round stoppage in favor of Madriz was incorrectly ruled as the cut that caused the stoppage came from a head butt and not from a punch and thus should have been ruled a no contest.

According to Frank Aleman, president of Aleman Boxing Fresno where Villagomez trains, he was told by California State Athletic Commission director Che Guevara that if they could obtain a copy of the fight that shows the headbutt clearly caused the cut, that they would change the decision to a no contest.

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Rico Ramos Beats Efrain Esquivias in Vicious Encounter

Rico Ramos Beats Efrain Esquivias in Vicious Encounter
Mark E. Ortega
Queensberry-Rules.com
June 24, 2012


Just a few miles down the way from a big time boxing show at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, former junior featherweight beltholder Rico Ramos of Pico Rivera, Calif. got back into the win column with a hard-fought eight-round majority decision win over previously unbeaten Gardena, Calif. resident Efrain Esquivias. It was an an entertaining main event at the Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City in front of a capacity crowd. The bout topped a bill promoted by Goossen-Tutor Promotions and was televised on Telefutura's Solo Boxeo.

The more intimate 1,000 seat venue housed a raucous crowd that was on their feet for nearly the duration of Ramos-Esquivias, which turned out to be a unanticpated barnburner. Though the majority agreed it was a well-matched fight, it was hard to gauge how action-packed the bout would be based on a combination Ramos' poor showing in January against Guillermo Rigondeaux as well as Esquivias' lack of name recognition.

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Goossen-Tutor Brings Boxing Back to Upper Middle Class

Goossen-Tutor Brings Boxing Back to Upper Middle Class
Mark E. Ortega
Queensberry-Rules.com
June 22, 2012


It has been nearly 15 years since a live boxing card took place at the Reseda Country Club in the San Fernando Valley.

At its peak during the late 80s to early 90s, Dan Goossen's promotional company used the country club as the proving grounds to a number of future world champions, namely Michael Nunn and the Ruelas brothers, Gabriel and Rafael.

Cards were often offered as a midweek special, with many Tuesday and Wednesday dates that you just don't see in American boxing today.

Saturday, Goossen-Tutor Promotions is attempting to recreate the atmosphere from those Reseda club shows when they utilize Studio City's Sportsmen's Lodge as former 122-pound beltholder Rico Ramos (20-1, 11 KOs) meets fellow southern Californian Efrain Esquivias (16-0, 9 KOs) in a very intriguing Solo Boxeo headlining bout.

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Vicente Escobedo Makes Quick Work of Lonnie Smith

Vicente Escobedo Makes Quick Work of Lonnie Smith
Mark E. Ortega
Queensberry-Rules.com
March 3, 2012

WOODLAND, Calif. -- Saturday night, from the Woodland Community Senior Center, 2004 U.S. Olympian Vicente Escobedo fought in his hometown for the first time in his 28-bout career, as he met Lonnie Smith of Las Vegas in the ten-round main event of TeleFutura's Solo Boxeo.

Escobedo made it a successful homecoming, dismantling Smith in the 1st round, dropping him three times before the fight was waved off.

Escobedo (24-3, 14 KOs) came into the fight at 129 pounds, which marks the lightest he had ever weighed for a fight in his run as a professional. It marked his second fight in a row in the junior lightweight division, where Escobedo hoped to bring new life to his career after previous failed attempts at breaking through at the world level in the lightweight division.

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Lonnie Smith: See You at the Crossroads

Lonnie Smith: See You at the Crossroads
Mark E. Ortega
Queensberry-Rules.com
March 2, 2012

On a weekend devoid of a marquee matchup, Lonnie Smith has an opportunity to steal the spotlight as he meets fellow junior lightweight and former U.S. Olympian Vicente Escobedo in a 10-round crossroads bout in the latter’s hometown of Woodland, Calif. The fight, scheduled for Saturday, (Smith's 25th birthday), will be aired on TeleFutura's Solo Boxeo.

 Though Wladimir Klitschko is slated to defend his two alphabet straps earlier that day against former cruiserweight champion Jean Marc Mormeck, the preservation of his titles seems predetermined; Mormeck, pushing 40, is five years senior to and nearly a foot shorter than the reigning heavyweight king.

 That the weekend's most competitive card – on paper, anyway – will air on Solo Boxeo is surprising. Since Golden Boy Promotions and Telefutura announced their partnership in April 2010, the matchmaking has been lukewarm at best.

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SoloBoxeo in Woodland

SoloBoxeo in Woodland
Mark E. Ortega
UndisputedFightMag.com
December 16, 2011


For the first time in history, live televised boxing will take place in Woodland, California as Telefutura’s SoloBoxeo comes to town. The card is topped by local attraction Alan Sanchez, who meets Alberto Herrera in an eight-round welterweight bout.

Sanchez [8-2-1, 3 KOs], of nearby Fairfield, California, is riding a three-bout winning streak. All three of those wins took place in Fairfield and were televised on SoloBoxeo. Herrera [8-3-1, 5 KOs], whose brother Mauricio will fight Pier Cote on Showtime in February, is coming off a dominant decision victory over unbeaten Marcus Robinson in October. Prior to that, Herrera lost three fights in a row to fighters with a combined ledger of 31-2-1.

Brinkley on the ropes

Brinkley on the ropes

Mark E. Ortega

Leave-it-in-the-ring.com

April 27, 2011

Friday night, Jesse Brinkley will be an underdog for the third straight bout as he takes on Golden Boy Promotions prospect Peter Quillin in the main event of Telefutura's Solo Boxeo. For the second time in as many years, Brinkley will be enjoying a home-field advantage against his favored opponent as he fights Quillin at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada on a card co-promoted by Golden Boy and Brinkley's Reno-based promoters Terry and Tommy Lane of Let's Get It On Promotions.

Perez dominates Rodriguez

Perez dominates Rodriguez!

Mark E. Ortega

Leave-it-in-the-ring.com

April 15, 2011

WBO #2 Salinas, Calif.-based super featherweight Eloy “The Prince” Perez [21-0-2, 5 KOs] continued his winning ways, outboxing Alejandro Rodriguez [12-2, 6 KOs] of Guadalajara, Mexico to a unanimous shutout over ten lopsided rounds in defense of his WBO NABO 130-pound title in the televised main event Friday night of Telefutura's Solo Boxeo from Longshoremen's Hall in San Francisco, California. The bout marked the second straight for Perez at the location as he awaits a world title opportunity that based on his recent performances should be around the corner.

Harris swan songed by Vargas

Harris swan songed by Vargas

Mark E. Ortega

Leave-it-in-the-ring.com

April 8, 2011

In the main event of Telefutura's Solo Boxeo Friday night at Buffalo Bill's Casino in Primm, Nevada, undefeated Jessie Vargas [15-0, 8 KOs] may have written the final chapter of former WBA junior welterweight champion Vivian Harris's once promising career, scoring a one-round stoppage when Harris decided he could not come out for the second round after taking a sustained beating over the full three minutes. Harris [29-6-1, 19 KOs], of Brooklyn, New York by way of Guyana, was buzzed more than a handful of times and a knockdown could have been ruled against him at the very end as his knee brushed the ground following a vicious flurry on the ropes. Referee Joe Cortez called off the bout at 3:00 of round one and Vargas, born and raised in Las Vegas, earns the biggest win of his young career.

Perez starches Escalante in one!

Perez starches Escalante in one!

Mark E. Ortega

Leave-it-in-the-ring.com

March 25, 2011

In a shocking upset, Alejandro Perez [15-2-1, 10 KOs] scored an emphatic one round knockout of former contender Antonio Escalante [24-4, 15 KOs], whose career is now in doubt following the starching.

It's not so much the result that was shocking, but the way the fight finished. Most people that pegged Perez as a danger to Escalante figured he would box his way to a victory over Escalante. Instead, with less than thirty seconds in the first round, Perez stuck a jab in the stomach of Escalante and followed it up with a huge overhand right that crushed the favorite and bounced his head off the canvas.

Escalante 130, Perez 130

Escalante 130, Perez 130

Mark E. Ortega

Leave-it-in-the-ring.com

March 25, 2011

Friday night, Solo Boxeo makes a return to Telefutura following a weekend off with a very competitive super featherweight main event between fringe contenders Antonio Escalante [24-3, 15 KOs] and Alejandro Perez [14-2-1, 9 KOs] in a ten round attraction at the Fairfield Sports Center in Fairfield, California.

The fight may not look like much on paper, but in comparison to the forgettable February the program had that saw numerous mismatches headlining the Friday weekly cards, it looks like a barnburner.

Antonio Escalante's return to familiarity

Escalante's return to familiarity

Mark Ortega

Leave-it-in-the-ring.com

March 22, 2011

This weekend's Telefutura Solo Boxeo main event will see a familiar face to its airwaves, as the always exciting Antonio Escalante [24-3, 15 KOs] returns to the network that helped build him to take on the tough Alejandro Perez [14-2-1, 9 KOs] in a bout scheduled for ten rounds.

Escalante, who last fought on Telefutura against veteran trial horse Edel Ruiz last August, will fight without the benefit of his fanbase in El Paso, Texas as he travels to the west coast and the now Solo Boxeo familiar Fairfield Sports Center in Fairfield, California.