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NT boxing fam, youtube that Katsidis/Earl bout. Classic.
2010 Official Boxing Thread: Soto/Antillon, 2010 Fight of the Year.
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by proshares,
- Start date
caponecartels
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Here's a break from modern fighters:
Welterweight Footage of SRR
Welterweight Footage of SRR
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He's collecting easy paychecks fighting these bum $$% heavyweights, and there alot of them to fight, so he's probably looking at it from that perspective.
Smed, am I wrong or are you from the UK? You think your fellow countrymen will tire of him if he doesnt step into the ring with one of the Klitchkos? You know he can sell out the O2 just have to wonder for how long.
He stands to make a good amount of cash from fighting Harrison but still. It's just that he talks all this crap, then pulls out with an injury, collects a belt, talks more nonsense, then Wlad comes out and calls him a $#*#* on Youtube, Vlad says he'll ruin his career and now all of a sudden he doesn't speak anymore only Adam Booth does? Can't respect some like that as a boxer.
Capone coming through with the footage as usual
Capone coming through with the footage as usual
caponecartels
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Glad you liked it.Originally Posted by Proshares
He stands to make a good amount of cash from fighting Harrison but still. It's just that he talks all this crap, then pulls out with an injury, collects a belt, talks more nonsense, then Wlad comes out and calls him a $#*#* on Youtube, Vlad says he'll ruin his career and now all of a sudden he doesn't speak anymore only Adam Booth does? Can't respect some like that as a boxer.
Capone coming through with the footage as usual
Many don't realize there is good amount of footage of Robinson in his prime weight.
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I heard footage of SRR welterweight fights were so rare.. Good job on finding this
caponecartels
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Not really .
There's a couple of entire fights of his.
I'll try to find some more.
[h4]
I'm a huge Linares fan, so I really hope he can rebound. Had high hopes for the kid a couple years ago.
[/h4][h4]Judah moving on down to jump start career[/h4]
ESPN.com
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John Iacono/SI/Icon SMIIt's been awhile since we've seen Zab Judah, right, campaign as a junior welterweight.
Zab Judah, the former two-time junior welterweight titlist and former undisputed welterweight champion, has been to the top.
He's also scraped bottom more than he probably cares to remember -- losing fights he was supposed to win (like to Carlos Baldomir), being badly knocked out (by Miguel Cotto) and having his license revoked for a year and being fined $250,000 (for his role in a melee that took place during his loss to Floyd Mayweather).
Judah has had more chapters in his career than a good book. He's hoping to start yet another one now that he's re-united with original promoter Main Events and returns to action July 16 after an eight-month layoff.
"At this part of my career, I have some say with what goes on and I want to finish my career off strong, like I started it," said the 32-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y., native.
Judah is going "just across the water, a hop, skip and a jump from New York," to headline "Friday Night Fights" (ESPN2) at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., where he'll face former interim lightweight titlist Jose Armando Santa Cruz at a maximum weight of 143 pounds.
Judah said his days at 147 are over and that his intention is to fight in the deep 140-pound junior welterweight division. Certainly, the addition of a name fighter like Judah to the talented crop of youngsters at 140, including titleholders Devon Alexander, Timothy Bradley and Amir Khan, would add even more interest to the division than there already is.
"At the 140 pounds, I want to let people know I am the best," Judah said. "My plan is to make 140. I can make it now."
Judah (38-6, 26 KOs) won't be at 140 to face Mexico's Santa Cruz (28-4, 17 KOs) because he said there is no reason.
"Why do it now? There's no title involved in this fight and those three extra pounds are a comfort, like a comfy pillow," he said. "But I'm campaigning at 140. That's my thing. I don't want to hear no questions about 147."
Judah had success at welterweight, beating Cory Spinks to become undisputed champ in 2005, but he said the move up in weight was only for money. He said he wants to fight men his own size now.
"I always felt that fights I was getting, guys were bigger than me," Judah said. "What if we went to my weight class and we were the same size, how would I do then? A lot of time when I fought, I would only go up to like 151, maybe 150, after I weighed in. I was giving away too much. Let me go back to where I'm comfortable."
Between the size aspect and potential riches at 140, Judah decided to move down.
"There are a lot of talented fighters at 140 pounds. That is one of the main reasons I am coming back to the division," he said. "Khan has good speed and power. Devon is a young little plant that is starting to sprout flowers. Bradley is a fast fighter with speed and power. You gotta give it up to him. That's why I want to be in this weight class."
Judah, of course, is also very confident.
"But compared to my skills, they're still green to me and I can go in there and steal from these little kids. I'm like a schoolyard bully," Judah said. "They're like little kids to me. I can go in there and take what's mine. I don't need to single them out and make one feel bigger than the other. Whichever one comes first, we'll figure out who will be the next victim."
Most assume he'll get past Santa Cruz, so Judah addressed the big three in division: Alexander, Bradley and Khan, all of whom are fighting on HBO, which has televised many Judah fights.
Alexander is from St. Louis, where Judah has a history; it's where he knocked out hometown fighter Spinks.
"Devon is a good fighter, but the fight with Devon isn't about Devon. It's about St. Louis and Zab," said Judah, who could have faced Alexander in August on HBO but didn't want to have to re-sign with Alexander promoter Don King to get the fight. "They get these fly-by-night champions in St. Louis. Like a Batman movie, they put out the signal and I go to St. Louis and clean up for them. He happens to be one of the guys holding a title at 140, so he can be next in line. I'm like a hungry wolf.
"I want to fight him in St. Louis. It's like my third home. I would love for it to be in St. Louis. They need to get that fly-by-night champion out of there."
Judah attended Khan's dominant 11th-round knockout of fellow New Yorker Paulie Malignaggi on May 15 and came away impressed with the Brit.
"I like the kid. He's a good fighter," Judah said. "He has a longer reach than I thought he did. I think it would be a good matchup for Zab Judah."
Judah was offered a July fight with Bradley, but didn't take it as he sorted out his promotional situation.
"I've seen him fight a couple of times. He's a smaller fighter," Judah said. "Every now and then he tries to be a bully. I think that would be another excellent fight for myself."
Eventually, Judah hopes to be back on HBO in one of those big fights.
"Me and HBO are cool. That's the Home Boy Network," he said. "It's a business. I understand what they want. They want exciting fights, we want big money. We gotta meet in the middle.
We'll be looking to sit down with those guys very shortly."
Main Events' Kathy Duva said she's already talked to HBO about Judah and that "they want to see him get into the ring and fight" and then they'll talk more specifically. She added that if Judah is successful next month, the plan is for Judah to fight again Oct. 2 in Newark.
[h4]Calderon by knockout?[/h4]
With Puerto Rican star Miguel Cotto defeating Yuri Foreman last week at Yankee Stadium, promoter Top Rank still wanted to have a Puerto Rican-themed fight card Saturday night, the eve of the annual National Puerto Rican Day parade in New York.
That's where junior flyweight champion Ivan "Iron Boy" Calderon (33-0-1, 6 KOs), the island's second-most popular active fighter, comes in. He'll defend his 108-pound title for the sixth time against Mexico's Jesus Iribe (17-6-4, 10 KOs) at the Madison Square Garden Theater on Saturday night on "Top Rank Live" (FSN/FS en Espanol, 10 ET).
Calderon, 17-0-1 in world title fights, is known for superb boxing skills but a severe lack of power. Nonetheless, the 35-year-old surprisingly predicted a knockout.
"You are going down and getting knocked out on Saturday night," Calderon told Iribe, who lost previous title fights to Brian Viloria and Edgar Sosa, during a media appearance.
Calderon, who hasn't had a knockout since stopping Miguel Tellez in the ninth round of a 2006 strawweight defense, later said, "I looked into his eyes and saw a troubled fighter. I'm always in tough title defenses. Nothing easy comes my way. When I looked at Iribe I saw something -- a twitch, a tremble, a weakness. So I told him straight up what will happen on Saturday night."
Iribe laughed off Calderon's prediction.
"I am fighting for the world title and I am expecting him to run from me," he said. "I'll catch up and beat him. I will be such a big hero in Mexico."
[h4]Funeka suspended[/h4]
ICON/SMIAli Funeka, right, will serve a nine-month suspension for testing positive for a diuretic.
South Africa's Ali Funeka (30-3-3, 25 KOs) was suspended this week by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for nine months, fined $35,000 of his $105,000 purse and ordered to pay back $15,625 to Joan Guzman for testing positive for a banned substance, according to executive director Keith Kizer.
Funeka tested positive for the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide following his split decision loss to Guzman on March 27 in Las Vegas. Guzman had paid the $15,625 to Funeka out of his purse as a punishment for showing up nine pounds over the 135-pound lightweight limit.
They were slated to fight for a vacant belt in a rematch of their 2009 draw, but only Funeka could win it because of Funeka's weight.
"It's unfortunate for Ali Funeka, as he was an innocent victim of circumstance. He's poor and can ill afford to give up this much out of his purse," Gary Shaw, Funeka's co-promoter, said. "However, he did break the rules of the Nevada commission and for that he must take his punishment, but he will be back to win a world title."
Before being reinstated, Kizer said Funeka has to supply a clean urine test.
[h4]QUICK HITS[/h4]
Khan
• Junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan won't fight July 31, as had been discussed, Golden Boy's Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com. Schaefer is in England this week and met with Khan to discuss a potential fight with Joel Casamayor or Michael Katsidis. It would have taken place in England and televised in the U.S. as part of the HBO PPV show headlined by the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz rematch. However, Khan will instead be in Las Vegas ringside for that fight. Schaefer said Khan won't fight mainly because Sky, the British network he was talking to about Khan, "feels that July and August are big holiday months and everyone is gone plus you have the World Cup, which is like religion there, so that's bad for pay-per-view." Schaefer said Khan would more likely return in November or December, possibly in the U.S. against Marquez if he beats Diaz.
Linares
• With Khan's slot now available on the pay-per-view, Schaefer said he's revisiting trying to make a fight between Casamayor and Robert Guerrero. Golden Boy matchmaker Eric Gomez told ESPN.com both sides have agreed to fight, but they're trying to work out money with Casamayor. If the fight happens, it would be at a maximum weight of 138 pounds, Gomez said. One fight that is on the July 31 undercard is between former two-division titlist Jorge Linares and Rocky Juarez, who will meet at 133 pounds. Both are in dire need of a high-profile victory. "I think to have Linares back [fighting in the U.S.] and fighting a credible opponent like Rocky, I think it's a big test for Linares, and it's high noon for Rocky. It's a very interesting matchup," Schaefer said.
Berto
• Welterweight titlist Andre Berto and promoter Lou DiBella talked about the possibility of Berto moving down to junior welterweight, where there are major fights brewing. However, Berto told ESPN.com that it's probably unlikely he would drop all the way down. "Nah, maybe a catch weight (between 140 and 147) if it makes sense for a huge fight," Berto said. "I wouldn't go all the way down for nothing less than a mega fight. I'm staying at 147. That's where all the action fights are, (where) the mega fights are." Berto has designs on fighting welterweight Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Froch
• The tentative date for the Arthur Abraham-Carl Froch Super Six fight is Sept. 18 in Europe and Showtime would pair it with another fight, perhaps one featuring Rafael Marquez or Vic Darchinyan, taking place in the U.S. However, the handlers for Abraham and Froch are still arguing over the venue. Froch says he won't fight in Germany because he doesn't believe he can get a fair shake and wants to fight in his hometown of Nottingham, England. Abraham's team wants the fight in Germany. Froch has suggested that he would be OK fighting on neutral turf in Montreal. However, that would minimize the revenue. "For me, he is just f---ing' scared," said Chris Meyer, general manager of Abraham promoter Sauerland Event. "Mikkel [Kessler] must have broken his pride. That's not the Froch anymore that went to the USA to fight [Jermain] Taylor." In his two fights in the tournament, Froch eked out a split decision against Andre Dirrell in Nottingham and then lost a unanimous decision to Kessler in Denmark, where he said he was the victim of a hometown call.
Huck
• German promoter Kalle Sauerland, whose Sauerland Event promotes two-thirds of the Super Six field in Kessler and Abraham, hopes to bring the round-robin tournament concept to other divisions. He's eyeing cruiserweight. The company promotes, Steve Cunningham, whom it recently signed and saw win a vacant belt last week, as well as titleholder Marco Huck. "After the tremendous success of the Super Six tournament, we will be trying to put together something similar in this exciting division. … I can promise fight fans all over the world that the best will be fighting the best at cruiserweight, too. We will try to sort out the details in the next couple of weeks." Huck (29-1, 22 KOs) will make the fourth defense of his belt Aug. 21 in Erfurt, Germany, against an opponent to be named.
Mora
• Former junior middleweight titlist Sergio Mora (22-1-1, 6 KOs), who stopped Calvin Green in the seventh round April 3 on the Bernard Hopkins-Roy Jones II undercard to end a 16-month layoff, returns July 23, manager Cameron Dunkin told ESPN.com. Mora, now a middleweight, headlines a Telefutura card in Temecula, Calif., against former junior middleweight title challenger J.C. Candelo (30-10-4, 20 KOs). "Sergio really wants a title fight after this," Dunkin said. He said ideally Mora would get a shot at the winner of the July 31 Daniel Jacobs-Dmitry Pirog vacant title bout. "If Jacobs wins, like most people think he will, then we would like to fight him. Hey, if the other guy wins, we would love to fight him too, although making a fight with Jacobs would be easier since we're both with Golden Boy. But Sergio definitely wants to fight for the title after this."
Luevano
• Former featherweight titlist Steven Luevano (37-2-1, 15 KOs), who lost his belt when Juan Manuel Lopez stopped him in the seventh round in January, is getting ready to return. "He's been training for two weeks," said Dunkin, Luevano's manager. "He wants to fight in July or August and he'd like to stay at 126. There are still good fights for him. Chris John would be a good fight for him. Celestino Caballero. Steven will fight anyone." Dunkin said Luevano's return probably would come on a "Top Rank Live" card.
Bika
• Golden Boy this week won a purse bid for the super middleweight title eliminator between Sakio Bika and Jean Paul Mendy. The winner will become the mandatory challenger after Jesse Brinkley gets his shot at titlist Lucian Bute in the fall. Golden Boy, the only bidder, won Bika-Mendy with a bid of $30,000. Bika gets 60 percent ($18,000) and Mendy 40 percent ($12,000). Mendy's side rejected an offer of $50,000 from Golden Boy to force the purse bid, which turned out to be a whopping error.
Molitor
• Junior featherweight titlist Steve Molitor (32-1, 12 KOs) hasn't fought outside of Canada, since 2007, but last time he did it was in England in November 2006, when he stopped Michael Hunter in the fifth round for a vacant belt. Molitor is 3-0 in England and looking to go 4-0 when he leaves the comfort of Rama, Ontario, for an optional defense against British and Commonwealth champion Jason Booth (35-5, 15 KOs) on July 23. Molitor, who will be making the first defense of his second reign, which began in March when he claimed a vacant belt, is familiar with the Booth family. In 2002 in England, Molitor outpointed Nicky Booth, Jason's younger brother. "He wants my belt, and some revenge for his brother," Molitor said. "But I'm not leaving anything to chance. That title is coming back to Canada." Said Booth, a recovering alcohol and drug addict: "I owe him for what he did to my brother and Nicky has already given me some tips. He said, 'You better train hard because he's good.' I know what to expect from him though. He's a class act and he's a good fighter."
Gamboa
• Top Rank and HBO are haggling over the money, but assuming they come an agreement, the July 24 "Boxing After Dark" card will feature Yuriorkis Gamboa in a featherweight unification bout with Orlando Salido and lightweights Anthony Peterson and Brandon Rios in a lightweight eliminator at The Palms in Las Vegas. … Heavyweight contender Tony Thompson suffered a shoulder injury training, forcing his fight against Friday Ahunanya to be called off. They were scheduled to meet June 19 on the Andre Ward-Allan Green undercard. … Welterweights Demetrius Hopkins (29-1-1, 11 KOs) and Mike Arnaoutis (22-5-2, 10 KOs) meet July 2 (ESPN2) in Ontario, Calif. … Showtime's July 16 "ShoBox" card headlined by middleweight Fernando Guerrero with junior welterweight Lanard Lane facing Mike Dallas underneath, has been expanded to a tripleheader to include junior middleweight Shawn Porter.
[h4]QUOTABLE[/h4]
Ward
"He's desperate to win it. I'm desperate to keep it. You got two desperate men in the ring." -- super middleweight titlist Andre Ward, on the importance of his title when he meets Allan Green on June 19 (Showtime) in the final Group Stage 3 bout of the Super Six World Boxing Classic
[h4]QUOTABLE[/h4]
Green
"Preparation is the key word. I know I have the power to knock Andre Ward out, but I'm not looking for a one-punch knockout with him. If he opens himself up for a knockout, I'm going to take it. He's a very clever fighter and a hard fighter to catch with a knockout punch. I'm going to fight a smart fight. My training and conditioning has prepared me to go 12 rounds if I have to go the distance." -- Green on next week's title shot
I'm a huge Linares fan, so I really hope he can rebound. Had high hopes for the kid a couple years ago.
caponecartels
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"It's unfortunate for Ali Funeka, as he was an innocent victim of circumstance. He's poor and can ill afford to give up this much out of his purse," Gary Shaw, Funeka's co-promoter, said
......Cause you're taking all his money you fat dirtbag mother $@%#@@
Edit:
Who said that about Haye?
WBC is trying to get Martinez to dump his 160 belt in order to sanction JCC Jr./Duddy as a title fight.
And I heard the funniest quote about David Haye today:
"I honestly think that if you had a 100 Meter race between Usain Bolt and David Haye, with the loser having to fight either bro Haye would leave Bolt in the dust."
And I heard the funniest quote about David Haye today:
"I honestly think that if you had a 100 Meter race between Usain Bolt and David Haye, with the loser having to fight either bro Haye would leave Bolt in the dust."
darealbigmeech
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darealbigmeech
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BTW , leave my dude margarito alone , unless he put handrwaps on his chin he sill got the best chin in boxing and he still throwin 900-1200 punches every fight i hate when people say "oh we dont want to REWARD him with that fight" GTFOHWTBS u know u dont want that
caponecartels
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Yep.
His chin might not be granite anymore....
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Ending my long vacation from this thread just to say...
A "LEGIT" comeback by Zab Judah? Since I'm the only one still hanging on like it's 2005...count me in.
Say what you want, but dude is a name in a deep Jr. Welterweight division...and re-signing with Main Events was a smart move on his part.
::Waits for the "Bum" Judah comments::
A "LEGIT" comeback by Zab Judah? Since I'm the only one still hanging on like it's 2005...count me in.
Say what you want, but dude is a name in a deep Jr. Welterweight division...and re-signing with Main Events was a smart move on his part.
::Waits for the "Bum" Judah comments::
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Les, I'm with you son. I don't know why, but I'm with you.
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Can't wait to see him back in the ring!
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Yeah i'm from the UK. And im pretty sure even his own mother would be disappointed if he keeps dodging the klitchkos.
I think it'l happen eventually though (If he keeps his title....) the guy thinks too much of himself to not put himself on the biggest stage.
[table][tr][th=""]Saturday at New York[/th][/tr][tr][td]Junior flyweight[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Calderon, 34-0-1, 6 KOs; Iribe, 17-7-4, 10 KOs
Ivan "Iron Boy" Calderon W12 Jesus Iribe
Retains world junior flyweight title
Scores: 118-109 (twice), 116-111
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Death, taxes and Calderon by decision. Write it down. It's about predictable as the sun rising each day. Although Calderon boldly predicted he would knock out Mexico's Iribe, come on. That had to be a joke. Calderon, who hadn't scored a knockout since a 2006 strawweight title defense, is as pure a boxer as the sport has seen. No pop, but he has the skills to compete with any little man in boxing history as he continued to add to his Hall of Fame résumé. At 35 (ancient for a 108-pounder), Calderon does appear to be slowing down a little bit, but he's still doing his thing and doing it well.
With Puerto Rican countryman (and good buddy) Miguel Cotto headlining the big show at Yankee Stadium on June 5 and stopping Yuri Foreman to win a junior middleweight title, that left a vacancy for a top Puerto Rican fighter to headline Top Rank's annual card on the eve of the National Puerto Rican Parade in New York. So Calderon got the call to headline a smaller show on "Top Rank Live" at the Madison Square Garden Theater, and he sent his fans home happy. Although Iribe dropped Calderon with a flush right hand in the second round, Calderon was not badly hurt. It was but a bump in the road of another Calderon boxing clinic. Afterward, Calderon said, "I got hit hard and went down in the second round, but I knew good movement would beat him." That's what Calderon always brings to the table -- good movement. Iribe, 25, pressed forward throughout the fight, but Calderon did his usual good job of making him miss and landing enough to win round after round as the consummate technician successfully defended his title for the sixth time. The win improved Calderon to 18-0-1 in world title fights, which includes a four-year stint as strawweight champion.
For Calderon, making it to the final bell was a nice change of pace compared to recent fights. His previous three bouts had ended in technical decisions because heads buts left him badly cut in two fights with Rodel Mayol and one with Hugo Cazares. This time, Calderon emerged unscathed as Iribe dropped to 0-3 in world title bouts. He previously dropped unanimous decisions to then-titleholders Edgar Sosa (2009) and Brian Viloria (200. It's not like there is a huge fight sitting out there for Calderon, but it would be nice to see him try to meet one of the other titleholders. A match with Giovani Segura would be an outstanding clash of styles and would seem makeable if the boxers are interested. Barring that, or a move to flyweight, Calderon could be back in action on Aug. 28 for a proposed fight with interim beltholder Jhonreil Casimero, who first defends his slice of the title against Ramon Garcia on July 3.
[/td][/tr][tr][td]Junior bantamweight[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Okada, 2-0-1, 1 KO; Arroyo, 2-1, 2 KOs
Takashi Okada W4 McWilliams Arroyo
Scores: 39-36, 38-37 (twice)
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Upset city! Puerto Rico's Arroyo was a 2008 Olympian -- he was selected to carry the flag for the island at the opening ceremonies -- won a 2009 world amateur championship and is half of the highly touted fighting Arroyo twins along with brother McJoe. In other words, Arroyo was not supposed to lose. Wasn't even supposed to come close. The 24-year-old was put on the card to showcase him to Puerto Rican fans in New York who had turned out to see the annual New York show on the eve of the annual Puerto Rican Day parade. But Japan's Okada, 26, who is based in Southern California, apparently didn't get the memo. In an excellent action fight, Okada got a little bit better of Arroyo, the big difference coming on a knockdown in the final seconds of the second round in which Arroyo appeared to get caught with a short left hand on the inside. In a four-round fight, overcoming a trip to the mat is hard to do and Arroyo couldn't do it, despite a hard-fought effort that left him with a small cut over his right eye. It was nice to see the judges get it right.
[/td][/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Saturday at Pueblo, Mexico[/th][/tr][tr][td]Flyweight[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Miranda, 32-5-1, 25 KOs; Mepranum, 22-2-1, 5 KOs
Julio Cesar Miranda TKO5 Richie Mepranum
Wins a vacant flyweight title.
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Guess the third time's the charm for Mexico's Miranda, who claimed a 112-pound belt in his third try. He had previously lost decisions to Thai great Pongsaklek Wonjongkam in an April 2009 interim title bout and to South Africa's Moruti Mthalane in November. This time, Miranda, 30, faced the Philippines' Mepranum, 23, for the belt recently vacated by longtime titlist Omar Narvaez, who dropped the belt to move in weight and win a vacant junior bantamweight title. Miranda made the most of his latest opportunity as he knocked Mepranum, a Manny Pacquiao protégé, down in the fourth round and finished him in the fifth. Although Mepranum beat the count, referee Russell Mora called it off.
[/td][/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Friday at Montreal[/th][/tr][tr][td]Middleweight[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Lemieux, 23-0, 22 KOs; Ayala, 20-5-1, 9 KOs).
David Lemieux TKO1 Elvin Ayala
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Canada's No. 1 prospect took a step up in class, did it with American television exposure in the main event of ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights," and looked spectacular. The 21-year-old from Montreal, a three-time Canadian amateur champion, was a virtual lock to make the 2008 Canadian Olympic team, but Lemieux elected to turn professional at age 18 in 2007 because he had always dreamed more of pro glory than of a gold medal. He looks like he is on his way. He's a terrific puncher, draws an excited crowd and had already defeated such decent opponents as Donny McCrary, Delray Raines, Jason Naugler and Walid Smichet when he stepped up to face Ayala, 29, of East Haven, Conn.
Although Ayala, who was fined for being a quarter-pound over the 160-pound limit in the regional title bout, came into the fight coming off a unanimous decision loss to Lajuan Simon in October, he still figured to pose a solid test for Lemieux. In October 2007, he held Sergio Mora, who would go on to win a junior middleweight belt, to a draw. And in March 2008, Ayala gave then-middleweight titlist Arthur Abraham a spirited fight before being suffering a knockout loss in the 12th round. Lemieux, however, ripped through him with ease. As soon as the bell rang, they were after each other and trading hard shots. But Lemieux was more accurate and quicker-fisted. He nailed Ayala with a left hook along the ropes and scored the first of three knockdowns. Ayala was down again moments later after another onslaught from Lemieux. When the fight resumed, another Lemieux left hook dropped Ayala for the third time and referee Gerry Bolen waived it off with 16 seconds left in the opening round. This was a tremendous performance from a possible future star.
[/td][/tr][tr][td]Super middleweight[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Vera, 17-4, 11 KOs; Demers, 31-3, 11 KOs
Brian Vera TKO3 Sebastien Demers
[/td][/tr][tr][td]
Rafael's remark: Vera, 28, of Austin, Texas, took the "Friday Night Fights" co-feature on short notice after the original opponent, James McGirt Jr., wound up not finalizing the bout with Demers. Vera made the most of his unexpected opportunity and pulled the upset over Demers, 30, of Quebec, who was the clear hometown favorite. Vera, a former star of the third season of "The Contender" reality series, had lost his previous three fights in a row (including a knockout loss to James Kirkland), but he knows something about upsets. In March 2008, he stopped heralded prospect Andy Lee in the seventh round in a major shocker. Here he was at it again, saying before the fight that it was a do or die situation against Demers, who was coming off a tough decision win against faded former middleweight titlist William Joppy in March and had failed in a 2007 middleweight title shot by getting knocked out by Arthur Abraham in the third round.
Vera-Demers was an entertaining and competitive fight through the first two rounds. Then it all changed in the third when Vera unloaded a clean left-right combination that dropped Demers in the center of the ring. Still unsteady after the knockdown, Vera floored him again with a pair of powerful right hands. Demers, who was now badly cut on his nose, continued but had very little left except his heart. He stayed on his feet while taking a shellacking until referee Marlon Wright finally stepped in at 1 minute, 57 seconds.
[/td][/tr][/table][table][tr][th=""]Friday at San Diego[/th][/tr][tr][td]Junior featherweight[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Martin, 18-0-2, 5 KOs; Landeros, 19-14-1, 9 KOs
Christopher Martin W8 Adolfo Landeros
Scores: 80-72 (twice), 79-73
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Rafael's remark: No surprises here as hometown fighter Martin, 23, took the clear decision against Mexican journeyman Landeros, 30. The main event on Telefutura's "Solo Boxeo Tecate" was a decent enough scrap, but Landeros had few answers for the younger, busier and better Martin, who had to work hard for the victory but won going away. Landeros, to his credit, never stopped trying and Martin was all too happy to engage. They finished with a flourish with an action-filled final round. Landeros, who was coming off a first-round knockout loss to heralded prospect Guillermo Rigondeaux, the two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist, in February, lost his fourth in a row and for the eighth time in his last 10 bouts.
[/td][/tr][tr][td]Welterweight[/td][/tr][tr][td]Records: Grajeda, 10-0, 7 KOs; Favela, 19-27-6, 10 KOs
Luis Grajeda W6 Cristian Favela
Scores: 60-54, 59-55, 58-56
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Rafael's remark: Golden Boy Promotions has high hopes for Grajeda, a two-time Mexican national champion in the amateurs. The 23-year-old, who turned pro in mid-2008, was fighting for the third time in the United States and easily outpointed his countryman Favela, whose record is terrible but who is known for giving young fighters the rounds they need. Favela has only been stopped once, so a unanimous decision for Grajeda should come as no surprise.
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Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.
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SMH @ Khan saying he wants to clean out the division and not agree to the tourney. In any event, I hope Timmy and Alexander don't face each other in the first round, because I really think they are top fighters in the division.
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wow... Juan Manuel !*!!+!!! Shame he's the oldest of the group. and SMH at Khan though.
edit: they actually censored "for the MF win"
