Unfortunately for boxing fans, 2010 is turning into the year of the postponement.
One of the better Friday Night Fights cards in recent memory was slated for March 26, with Steve Cunningham battling Matt Godfrey for the vacant IBF cruiserweight belt and Cory Spinks taking on Cornelius "K-9" Bundrage for Spinks' IBF junior middleweight strap underneath. Sadly, that card is now off, at least for the time being.
The culprit? It looks like Don King, as the AP piece says he could not agree on terms with ESPN. Not that it's a big shock, frankly, as King seems to be unable or unwilling to comprehend that he's not the promotional force he once was.
It doesn't appear that there will be any FNF broadcast on that date now, but the loss of this particular one stings for boxing fans. It's not often one can see even one title fight on basic cable these days, much less two.
Spinks also joins a growing list of boxers who have had fights postponed multiple times this year. Spinks-Bundrage was originally slated to be on March 6 on HBO's Devon Alexander-Juan Urango broadcast, then it was pushed back to ESPN2 on the 26th and now... maybe never, who knows?
Andre Ward is also in that club after having his fight with Allan Green moved from April 17 to 24, then postponed at least two more months due to a knee injury.
Posted by The Franchise
Showing posts with label friday night fights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friday night fights. Show all posts
26.2.10
Antonio Escalante vs. Miguel Roman: Friday Night Fights Round By Round
We're just about set for the FNF main event, pitting Antonio Escalante against childhood foe Miguel Roman. The Don Haskins Convention Center in El Paso is ready to see hometown boy Escalante do his thing.
Escalante is 22-2 with 14 KOs and is riding an eight-fight winning streak. Roman is 28-6, but only 3-4 over his last seven bouts.
The introductions are done and we're ready for a scheduled 10 rounds.
Round 1
Roman ducks low and tries the body as Escalante stands his ground. Antonio bounces and flurries. Good left hand and some in-fighting by Roman. Combination punching forces Roman to cover up. Micky keeps coming forward but is getting beaten to the punch. Now he lands a crunching left hook and both men trade in the final seconds.
Franchise: 10-9 Escalante
Round 2
Escalante tries to keep Roman at bay with some jabs. Both guys are just missing, but Roman manages to connect with a left hook. Tony stays on the outside, reaching with jabs and right hands. Roman walks into a right hand and a good scrap breaks out again just before the bell.
Franchise: 10-9 Escalante
Round 3
The ref has to step in during the early going of the third. Escalante is staying very busy but is eating some return fire. A battle in the corner sees both fighters score with some hard shots. Roman loops in some hooks to the body and head. Tony responds with a clean two-shot combo to the head. It will be interesting to see if either man wears down.
Franchise: 10-9 Escalante
Round 4
Roman keeps pressing forward but he is taking two for each one he lands right now. Escalante flashes the hand speed and gets caught with a left hand coming back. The fans respond to the action as the hometown boy scores with two or three in a row. Roman is relentless and just keeps coming. Teddy Atlas wonders aloud if Escalante can keep up the pace.
Franchise: 10-9 Escalante
Round 5
Escalante stumbles a bit froma left hook. Roman tries to press his advantage but it's fleeting. Escalante stays light on his feet and circles back. Roman lands an uppercut. There's another one as Escalante attempts to gather himself and fight back. Tony lets his hands go but not all of the punches land. Roman gives and takes in the corner to finish his best round so far.
Franchise: 10-9 Roman
Round 6
Escalante attempts to start quickly in the sixth. Roman tries to close the distance but his foe keeps popping him from a distance. Roman holds and hits with his right hand. Escalante unleashes some uppercuts as he backs up. More in-fighting keeps the referee busy. Tony literally turns Miguel around and just misses a big right hand.
Franchise: 10-9 Escalante
Round 7
Roman has to weather another early storm in the first 15 seconds. The fighters stand and trade in the corner until Escalante can pivot away. A flurry from Tony elicits no response. Finally Roman gets low and tries to dig to the body. The crowd chants to get Escalante going. Roman lands punches from close range and takes some counters as well. Neither man is giving an inch.
Franchise: 10-9 Escalante
Round 8
Escalante carries the early action until Roman connects with a nice right hand. Both men land as Tony tries to battle out of the corner. The ref pulls them apart as both men lean on each other a bit. Roman backs Escalante up, but Tony digs in and throws a vicious combo that plants Roman on the canvas. He beats the count and battles gamely for the remainder of the round.
Franchise: 10-8 Escalante
Round 9
It was a left hand that scored the knockdown for Escalante. Roman wants to turn it into a brawl right away. Escalante ties up. He is on his bike now, much to Roman's disgust. Miguel gets his way and both boxers swing away in the corner. Roman marches forward and shows a ton of heart. Punches land both ways, but Escalante's are cleaner. The announcers do think he's getting tired though.
Franchise: 10-9 Roman
Round 10
Because of Roman's pressure, this fight is actually closer than the scores are going to indicate. We'll see if there is any drama in the final three minutes. Roman shows quite a chin as Escalante drills him repeatedly in the opening minute. Roman mocks Escalante for backing up. Escalante batters Roman with wide punches but return punches are still coming. Tony fires more head shots; Roman comes right back. Ten seconds to go. The final bell rings and the fans show their appreciation for the serious heart and determination on display tonight.
Franchise: 10-9 Escalante
Franchise: 98-91 Escalante
The judges score it 97-92 and 96-93 twice, all for the winner by unanimous decision, Antonio Escalante.
Posted by The Franchise
Escalante is 22-2 with 14 KOs and is riding an eight-fight winning streak. Roman is 28-6, but only 3-4 over his last seven bouts.
The introductions are done and we're ready for a scheduled 10 rounds.
Round 1
Roman ducks low and tries the body as Escalante stands his ground. Antonio bounces and flurries. Good left hand and some in-fighting by Roman. Combination punching forces Roman to cover up. Micky keeps coming forward but is getting beaten to the punch. Now he lands a crunching left hook and both men trade in the final seconds.
Franchise: 10-9 Escalante
Round 2
Escalante tries to keep Roman at bay with some jabs. Both guys are just missing, but Roman manages to connect with a left hook. Tony stays on the outside, reaching with jabs and right hands. Roman walks into a right hand and a good scrap breaks out again just before the bell.
Franchise: 10-9 Escalante
Round 3
The ref has to step in during the early going of the third. Escalante is staying very busy but is eating some return fire. A battle in the corner sees both fighters score with some hard shots. Roman loops in some hooks to the body and head. Tony responds with a clean two-shot combo to the head. It will be interesting to see if either man wears down.
Franchise: 10-9 Escalante
Round 4
Roman keeps pressing forward but he is taking two for each one he lands right now. Escalante flashes the hand speed and gets caught with a left hand coming back. The fans respond to the action as the hometown boy scores with two or three in a row. Roman is relentless and just keeps coming. Teddy Atlas wonders aloud if Escalante can keep up the pace.
Franchise: 10-9 Escalante
Round 5
Escalante stumbles a bit froma left hook. Roman tries to press his advantage but it's fleeting. Escalante stays light on his feet and circles back. Roman lands an uppercut. There's another one as Escalante attempts to gather himself and fight back. Tony lets his hands go but not all of the punches land. Roman gives and takes in the corner to finish his best round so far.
Franchise: 10-9 Roman
Round 6
Escalante attempts to start quickly in the sixth. Roman tries to close the distance but his foe keeps popping him from a distance. Roman holds and hits with his right hand. Escalante unleashes some uppercuts as he backs up. More in-fighting keeps the referee busy. Tony literally turns Miguel around and just misses a big right hand.
Franchise: 10-9 Escalante
Round 7
Roman has to weather another early storm in the first 15 seconds. The fighters stand and trade in the corner until Escalante can pivot away. A flurry from Tony elicits no response. Finally Roman gets low and tries to dig to the body. The crowd chants to get Escalante going. Roman lands punches from close range and takes some counters as well. Neither man is giving an inch.
Franchise: 10-9 Escalante
Round 8
Escalante carries the early action until Roman connects with a nice right hand. Both men land as Tony tries to battle out of the corner. The ref pulls them apart as both men lean on each other a bit. Roman backs Escalante up, but Tony digs in and throws a vicious combo that plants Roman on the canvas. He beats the count and battles gamely for the remainder of the round.
Franchise: 10-8 Escalante
Round 9
It was a left hand that scored the knockdown for Escalante. Roman wants to turn it into a brawl right away. Escalante ties up. He is on his bike now, much to Roman's disgust. Miguel gets his way and both boxers swing away in the corner. Roman marches forward and shows a ton of heart. Punches land both ways, but Escalante's are cleaner. The announcers do think he's getting tired though.
Franchise: 10-9 Roman
Round 10
Because of Roman's pressure, this fight is actually closer than the scores are going to indicate. We'll see if there is any drama in the final three minutes. Roman shows quite a chin as Escalante drills him repeatedly in the opening minute. Roman mocks Escalante for backing up. Escalante batters Roman with wide punches but return punches are still coming. Tony fires more head shots; Roman comes right back. Ten seconds to go. The final bell rings and the fans show their appreciation for the serious heart and determination on display tonight.
Franchise: 10-9 Escalante
Franchise: 98-91 Escalante
The judges score it 97-92 and 96-93 twice, all for the winner by unanimous decision, Antonio Escalante.
Posted by The Franchise
Friday Night Fights Report - February 26, 2010
El Paso is the site for tonight's broadcast of Friday Night Fights, headlined by Antonio Escalante and Miguel Roman. Joe Tessitore lets Escalante talk a little bit about his story and his history with Roman growing up.
Teddy Atlas is also on hand, as usual. Escalante is 22-2, but he's won eight in a row, including five by KO. Atlas says that even though Roman is thought of as a power guy, he expects Escalante to flex his power tonight.
Andre Ward is in the studio with Brian Kenny. Ward acknowledges the thinking that Mikkel Kessler was the Super Six pre-tournament favorite, and though he was pleased with his victory, he doesn't consider it a coming-out party like many observers did.
The first fight is a 10-rounder between Ashley Theophane and 15-0 Philly product Danny Garcia. The 21-year old Garcia has been showcased a bit on pay-per-view undercards but he's yet to make it past eight rounds in any of his pro fights.
Theophane lands a few nice shots at the end of the first round. The fans aren't digging the action in the first two frames as Theophane is moving in and out a lot and Garcia is patiently stalking him.
Atlas wants to see more jabs from Garcia. Both men are scoring semi-regularly with hooks but no one has put together much sustained offense. Garcia finally comes to life in the second half of Round 4, landing a nice two-punch combo to the head and strafing Theophane with body shots.
Ward offers his two cents from the studio, saying that even though Garcia seems to be setting up Theophane for a KO in the later rounds, he still should be boxing more. Danny is warned for a low shot in the last minute of Round 6, but things are going his way now thanks to his success landing hard counter shots.
Escalante is interviewed between rounds. He says he needs to stay smart and throw punches in bunches. Antonio also discusses his personal feud with Roman and the pressure involved fighting in front of his home fans.
Garcia has landed more punches and at a higher percentage through six rounds. The seventh and eighth rounds are more of the same, and Teddy has given Danny every round since the third.
We'll see how Garcia does in his first trip into the late rounds. He does get deducted a point in the ninth round for another low blow, so that may play into the scoring if the judges have it close.
Both men stay pretty lively down the stretch, and we'll go to the scorecards. The judges have it 95-94 Theophane, 95-94 Garcia and 96-94 Garcia. The winner by split decision is Danny Garcia. That was a decent outing, but nothing spectacular by any means.
Back to the studio with BK and Ward. Andre talks about the slow build of his pro career and the thinking involved. He also discusses the success he had in the Olympics and the state of the U.S. program.
Naturally, the talk turns to the Super Six. Ward narrates highlights of his victory over Kessler.
Kenny brings up some recent quotes from Allan Green, who isn't short on confidence. Ward claims he was not surprised that Jermain Taylor withdrew, and he says that since he wasn't training yet, it wasn't a big deal to switch his focus to Green.
Posted by The Franchise
Teddy Atlas is also on hand, as usual. Escalante is 22-2, but he's won eight in a row, including five by KO. Atlas says that even though Roman is thought of as a power guy, he expects Escalante to flex his power tonight.
Andre Ward is in the studio with Brian Kenny. Ward acknowledges the thinking that Mikkel Kessler was the Super Six pre-tournament favorite, and though he was pleased with his victory, he doesn't consider it a coming-out party like many observers did.
The first fight is a 10-rounder between Ashley Theophane and 15-0 Philly product Danny Garcia. The 21-year old Garcia has been showcased a bit on pay-per-view undercards but he's yet to make it past eight rounds in any of his pro fights.
Theophane lands a few nice shots at the end of the first round. The fans aren't digging the action in the first two frames as Theophane is moving in and out a lot and Garcia is patiently stalking him.
Atlas wants to see more jabs from Garcia. Both men are scoring semi-regularly with hooks but no one has put together much sustained offense. Garcia finally comes to life in the second half of Round 4, landing a nice two-punch combo to the head and strafing Theophane with body shots.
Ward offers his two cents from the studio, saying that even though Garcia seems to be setting up Theophane for a KO in the later rounds, he still should be boxing more. Danny is warned for a low shot in the last minute of Round 6, but things are going his way now thanks to his success landing hard counter shots.
Escalante is interviewed between rounds. He says he needs to stay smart and throw punches in bunches. Antonio also discusses his personal feud with Roman and the pressure involved fighting in front of his home fans.
Garcia has landed more punches and at a higher percentage through six rounds. The seventh and eighth rounds are more of the same, and Teddy has given Danny every round since the third.
We'll see how Garcia does in his first trip into the late rounds. He does get deducted a point in the ninth round for another low blow, so that may play into the scoring if the judges have it close.
Both men stay pretty lively down the stretch, and we'll go to the scorecards. The judges have it 95-94 Theophane, 95-94 Garcia and 96-94 Garcia. The winner by split decision is Danny Garcia. That was a decent outing, but nothing spectacular by any means.
Back to the studio with BK and Ward. Andre talks about the slow build of his pro career and the thinking involved. He also discusses the success he had in the Olympics and the state of the U.S. program.
Naturally, the talk turns to the Super Six. Ward narrates highlights of his victory over Kessler.
Kenny brings up some recent quotes from Allan Green, who isn't short on confidence. Ward claims he was not surprised that Jermain Taylor withdrew, and he says that since he wasn't training yet, it wasn't a big deal to switch his focus to Green.
Posted by The Franchise
15.1.10
Friday Night Fights Report - January 15, 2010
Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas are back on the air for another year of Friday Night Fights on ESPN2. Laredo, Texas is the site, and tonight's card features undefeated former U.S. Olympian Demetrius Andrade, as well as featherweight Juan Carlos Burgos.
Brian Kenny and B.J. Flores are in the studio, and of course they start off quickly discussing the collapse of Mayweather-Pacquiao.
There's already some drama of the unwanted kind for tonight's main event, as Juan Carlos Martinez, who signed to fight Burgos on short notice, was unable to make weight. He'll go in at 129 pounds.
We're set for action as Demetrius Andrade takes on Bernardo Guereca. Hailing from Providence, Rhode Island, Andrade is 8-0 with six KOs thus far in his young pro career.
Guereca took this fight on just a week's notice and is much smaller than the southpaw Andrade. The first time Guereca gets hit by a right hook, he goes down and doesn't get back up. There isn't much, if anything, Andrade can take out of this one. Andrade wins by first-round KO.
Flores liked Andrade's quick hands and good spacing. Tough to believe there was even time to see those things.
Kenny talks Pacquiao-Clottey and whether or not Mayweather will actually stay on the March 13 date for a rival fight. Dan Rafael says there will be a press conference Tuesday for Pacquiao-Clottey, but there are no concrete plans for a Mayweather fight with Nate Campbell, Kermit Cintron or Paulie Malignaggi.
Could Floyd wait and fight the Shane Mosley-Andre Berto winner? Dan thinks there's a slight chance.
Flores puts more of the blame on Manny for the drug testing flap. They bring it Atlas, who feels like it's beating a dead horse, but he takes the diplomatic way out and blames both men equally for the fight falling apart.
BK says after considering the issue for a while, he backs Floyd. They move on to talk about the possibility of Mayweather fighting a smaller guy (like Campbell), and Flores thinks the media will rip him apart. Atlas wants Floyd to wait for the Mosley-Berto winner, saying even Timothy Bradley wouldn't be a satisfactory opponent.
A video segment takes a look back at Orlando Canizales, who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame last year.
Next up is Yaundale Evans and Gino Escamilla. Evans is 4-0 with 3 KOs, while Escamilla is a local attraction who resides in Laredo.
Evans is bigger and faster. Though he is a southpaw, he has a nasty right hook. Escamilla gets knocked down in the first, but gets up to finish the round.
Early in the second, Escamilla goes down hard for a second time. Though he was clearly hurt, Evans doesn't seem to have any notion on how to finish him, and he survives again.
Escamilla keeps battling and takes Evans past the fourth round for the first time in his career. He makes it all the way to the final bell, though he posed no real threat to Evans, so we'll go to the scorecards. The scores come in 60-52 twice and 59-53, and Evans takes it by unanimous decision.
Back in the studio, talk turns to Jermain Taylor's decision to drop out of the Super Six World Boxing Classic. Flores hints (but doesn't actually come out and say) that Taylor was pressured to drop out, though he feels the time off will be good for JT. As rumored, they say Sakio Bika and Allan Green will fight, with the winner taking over for Taylor.
The guys also talk Roy Jones-Bernard Hopkins II. Like me, Flores likes Hopkins in the rematch.
Technical problems prevented us from doing a live round by round post for the main event between Juan Carlos Burgos and Juan Carlos Martinez. Suffice it to say that Martinez hung in pretty well considering he drained himself so much to try to make weight.
In the 12th and final round, Burgos turned up the heat with some blistering combinations, forcing Martinez to take a knee. He got up and fought on, but another combo punctuated by a wicked straight right made the referee decide he had seen enough. Burgos earned a TKO win in Round 12, running his record to 24-0 with 17 KOs.
Friday Night Fights takes next week off before returning on January 29 at a special (read later) start time of 10 pm Eastern.
Posted by The Franchise
Brian Kenny and B.J. Flores are in the studio, and of course they start off quickly discussing the collapse of Mayweather-Pacquiao.
There's already some drama of the unwanted kind for tonight's main event, as Juan Carlos Martinez, who signed to fight Burgos on short notice, was unable to make weight. He'll go in at 129 pounds.
We're set for action as Demetrius Andrade takes on Bernardo Guereca. Hailing from Providence, Rhode Island, Andrade is 8-0 with six KOs thus far in his young pro career.
Guereca took this fight on just a week's notice and is much smaller than the southpaw Andrade. The first time Guereca gets hit by a right hook, he goes down and doesn't get back up. There isn't much, if anything, Andrade can take out of this one. Andrade wins by first-round KO.
Flores liked Andrade's quick hands and good spacing. Tough to believe there was even time to see those things.
Kenny talks Pacquiao-Clottey and whether or not Mayweather will actually stay on the March 13 date for a rival fight. Dan Rafael says there will be a press conference Tuesday for Pacquiao-Clottey, but there are no concrete plans for a Mayweather fight with Nate Campbell, Kermit Cintron or Paulie Malignaggi.
Could Floyd wait and fight the Shane Mosley-Andre Berto winner? Dan thinks there's a slight chance.
Flores puts more of the blame on Manny for the drug testing flap. They bring it Atlas, who feels like it's beating a dead horse, but he takes the diplomatic way out and blames both men equally for the fight falling apart.
BK says after considering the issue for a while, he backs Floyd. They move on to talk about the possibility of Mayweather fighting a smaller guy (like Campbell), and Flores thinks the media will rip him apart. Atlas wants Floyd to wait for the Mosley-Berto winner, saying even Timothy Bradley wouldn't be a satisfactory opponent.
A video segment takes a look back at Orlando Canizales, who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame last year.
Next up is Yaundale Evans and Gino Escamilla. Evans is 4-0 with 3 KOs, while Escamilla is a local attraction who resides in Laredo.
Evans is bigger and faster. Though he is a southpaw, he has a nasty right hook. Escamilla gets knocked down in the first, but gets up to finish the round.
Early in the second, Escamilla goes down hard for a second time. Though he was clearly hurt, Evans doesn't seem to have any notion on how to finish him, and he survives again.
Escamilla keeps battling and takes Evans past the fourth round for the first time in his career. He makes it all the way to the final bell, though he posed no real threat to Evans, so we'll go to the scorecards. The scores come in 60-52 twice and 59-53, and Evans takes it by unanimous decision.
Back in the studio, talk turns to Jermain Taylor's decision to drop out of the Super Six World Boxing Classic. Flores hints (but doesn't actually come out and say) that Taylor was pressured to drop out, though he feels the time off will be good for JT. As rumored, they say Sakio Bika and Allan Green will fight, with the winner taking over for Taylor.
The guys also talk Roy Jones-Bernard Hopkins II. Like me, Flores likes Hopkins in the rematch.
Technical problems prevented us from doing a live round by round post for the main event between Juan Carlos Burgos and Juan Carlos Martinez. Suffice it to say that Martinez hung in pretty well considering he drained himself so much to try to make weight.
In the 12th and final round, Burgos turned up the heat with some blistering combinations, forcing Martinez to take a knee. He got up and fought on, but another combo punctuated by a wicked straight right made the referee decide he had seen enough. Burgos earned a TKO win in Round 12, running his record to 24-0 with 17 KOs.
Friday Night Fights takes next week off before returning on January 29 at a special (read later) start time of 10 pm Eastern.
Posted by The Franchise
7.8.09
Alfredo Angulo vs. Gabriel Rosado: Friday Night Fights Round By Round
It's time for the main event from Buffalo Bill's in Primm, Nevada. Alfredo Angulo attempts to shake off his first career loss against upset-minded Gabriel Rosado in a ten-round junior middleweight fight.
Rosado hails from Philadelphia and is 12-3 with 7 KOs. His most recent win was a split decision victory over Kassim Ouma in April.
Angulo was undefeated and positioned for a breakthrough before stumbling and dropping a decision to Kermit Cintron in May. He is 15-1 with 12 KOs, and all you need to know about his straightforward style is that he racked up 11 straight knockouts before he took on Cintron.
Russell Mora is the referee. He gives his final instructions and we're ready to go.
Round 1
Rosado tries to get off early and bounce back out of range. Angulo presses forward as you'd expect. Nice right by Perro and Rosado tries to answer. Rosado is circling well to try to avoid being cornered. Alfredo walks in and tries some body shots. Rosado tries a quick combo but it's mostly blocked. Angulo lands a short left and takes a few shots back at the bell.
Franchise: 10-9 Angulo
Round 2
Rosado shows quick hands but doesn't seem to have the power to bother Angulo at this point. Nice left hook counter by Rosado. Angulo buckles down and drops Rosado with a short right hand to the head. He's up but looks discouraged. Angulo goes right after his foe and puts him back down with a combination. There's a minute to go, but Angulo lands a left hand, then follows up with punches that have Rosado crumpled in the corner. Rosado is upset because the first knockdown came after a clinch when he expected the ref to step in, but there's not much he can do after the ensuing assault.
The winner by TKO in Round 2, Alfredo "Perro" Angulo.
Posted by The Franchise
Rosado hails from Philadelphia and is 12-3 with 7 KOs. His most recent win was a split decision victory over Kassim Ouma in April.
Angulo was undefeated and positioned for a breakthrough before stumbling and dropping a decision to Kermit Cintron in May. He is 15-1 with 12 KOs, and all you need to know about his straightforward style is that he racked up 11 straight knockouts before he took on Cintron.
Russell Mora is the referee. He gives his final instructions and we're ready to go.
Round 1
Rosado tries to get off early and bounce back out of range. Angulo presses forward as you'd expect. Nice right by Perro and Rosado tries to answer. Rosado is circling well to try to avoid being cornered. Alfredo walks in and tries some body shots. Rosado tries a quick combo but it's mostly blocked. Angulo lands a short left and takes a few shots back at the bell.
Franchise: 10-9 Angulo
Round 2
Rosado shows quick hands but doesn't seem to have the power to bother Angulo at this point. Nice left hook counter by Rosado. Angulo buckles down and drops Rosado with a short right hand to the head. He's up but looks discouraged. Angulo goes right after his foe and puts him back down with a combination. There's a minute to go, but Angulo lands a left hand, then follows up with punches that have Rosado crumpled in the corner. Rosado is upset because the first knockdown came after a clinch when he expected the ref to step in, but there's not much he can do after the ensuing assault.
The winner by TKO in Round 2, Alfredo "Perro" Angulo.
Posted by The Franchise
Friday Night Fights Report: August 7, 2009
Alfredo Angulo is the headliner tonight as he attempts to shake off his first career loss. Undefeated Anthony Dirrell is also in action as Friday Night Fights comes to us live from Buffalo Bill's in Primm, Nevada.
Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas are on hand, and Pernell Whitaker and Mark Breland are tonight's studio guests with Brian Kenny. Atlas talks briefly about Angulo's TV-friendly style and Dirrell's attempt to come back from a bout with cancer.
First up is Sergei Ganjelashvili and Archie Ray Marquez in a four-round bout. The 20-year old Marquez is the attraction here.
Back in the studio, Kenny talks about the 25th anniversary of the great 1984 U.S. Olympic boxing team with Sweet Pea and Breland. Tessitore says seeing them makes him sad when he thinks about what Olympic boxing has become.
Ganjelashvili is certainly game, attacking with awkward looping punches. But Marquez does some serious damage to the body in Round 2 and he looks confident. He turns it on with power shots from both hands in the final minute of Round 3.
Both men make it to the final bell, and Marquez will go to a decision for the first time in his young pro career. The judges all turn in scores of 40-36, and Marquez wins by unanimous decision.
Kenny talks to the former Olympians in another studio segment. Breland tells a tale about his lone amateur loss, as he finished his amateur career with a 110-1 record.
Highlights are shown of Whitaker's semifinal and final bouts from the 1984 Games. Even back then Sweet Pea had ridiculous body and head movement. Whitaker says his gold medal meant more to him than anything he accomplished as a pro.
Now we see highlights of Breland's Olympic bouts. Brian and Mark discuss how there was some pressure on Breland before the Games, as he already had quite a reputation going in. He was just too tall and lanky for his opponents, plus he had skills and power to boot.
Andre Dirrell is in attendance to watch his younger brother, and we're set for that match. Anthony Dirrell takes on Alfredo Contreras, who took the fight on short notice.
Dirrell was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2006, and he talks a bit about overcoming the disease. He resumed fighting in late 2008, and is 5-0 since then and 17-0 (14 KOs) overall. This is scheduled for eight rounds at super middleweight.
Contreras tries to play the aggressor but Dirrell's hands are fast enough to land any time he sees an opening. Anthony can fight from either stance and tries both of them in the first round.
Andre is extremely vocal shouting out instructions and encouragement for his sibling. Anthony does a little showboating in the final minute of Round 2 after landing a nice combination in the corner.
Atlas doesn't like how Dirrell goes straight back with his hands down, but he's doing just about everything else right. Andre dons a headset and says he thinks Anthony is looking good. He does feel his brother could jab more and sit down on his punches as well.
Asked about the Super Six World Boxing Classic, Andre says he can't wait for it to start. He says he's faster and stronger than Carl Froch but knows The Cobra will bring everything he's got since he's a champion. Andre feels like he's training as hard as he can for the opportunity.
Dirrell smokes Contreras with a series of wicked body shots in the fifth round, then follows up with head shots from both hands. Contreras shows some heart by not wilting under fire.
About halfway through Round 7, Contreras catches Dirrell napping in the corner and actually lands a few nice shots. But Dirrell immediately comes back and starts teeing off with unanswered power shots, and though Contreras doesn't go down, the ref and his corner have seen enough. Dirrell wins by TKO at 2:32 of Round 7 and does a backflip to celebrate the win.
We get one more studio segment with BK, Sweet Pea and Breland. They examine highlights of Timothy Bradley-Nate Campbell and both fighters weigh in on the controversial ending. They also look at Devon Alexander-Junior Witter and Whitaker says he was glad the fight ended when it did.
The news recap includes Vitali Klitschko and Chris Arreola agreeing to fight in September, talks resuming for a Kelly Pavlik-Paul Williams fight in October and the possibility of Allan Green as a substitute for the World Boxing Classic should one be necessary.
Posted by The Franchise
Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas are on hand, and Pernell Whitaker and Mark Breland are tonight's studio guests with Brian Kenny. Atlas talks briefly about Angulo's TV-friendly style and Dirrell's attempt to come back from a bout with cancer.
First up is Sergei Ganjelashvili and Archie Ray Marquez in a four-round bout. The 20-year old Marquez is the attraction here.
Back in the studio, Kenny talks about the 25th anniversary of the great 1984 U.S. Olympic boxing team with Sweet Pea and Breland. Tessitore says seeing them makes him sad when he thinks about what Olympic boxing has become.
Ganjelashvili is certainly game, attacking with awkward looping punches. But Marquez does some serious damage to the body in Round 2 and he looks confident. He turns it on with power shots from both hands in the final minute of Round 3.
Both men make it to the final bell, and Marquez will go to a decision for the first time in his young pro career. The judges all turn in scores of 40-36, and Marquez wins by unanimous decision.
Kenny talks to the former Olympians in another studio segment. Breland tells a tale about his lone amateur loss, as he finished his amateur career with a 110-1 record.
Highlights are shown of Whitaker's semifinal and final bouts from the 1984 Games. Even back then Sweet Pea had ridiculous body and head movement. Whitaker says his gold medal meant more to him than anything he accomplished as a pro.
Now we see highlights of Breland's Olympic bouts. Brian and Mark discuss how there was some pressure on Breland before the Games, as he already had quite a reputation going in. He was just too tall and lanky for his opponents, plus he had skills and power to boot.
Andre Dirrell is in attendance to watch his younger brother, and we're set for that match. Anthony Dirrell takes on Alfredo Contreras, who took the fight on short notice.
Dirrell was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2006, and he talks a bit about overcoming the disease. He resumed fighting in late 2008, and is 5-0 since then and 17-0 (14 KOs) overall. This is scheduled for eight rounds at super middleweight.
Contreras tries to play the aggressor but Dirrell's hands are fast enough to land any time he sees an opening. Anthony can fight from either stance and tries both of them in the first round.
Andre is extremely vocal shouting out instructions and encouragement for his sibling. Anthony does a little showboating in the final minute of Round 2 after landing a nice combination in the corner.
Atlas doesn't like how Dirrell goes straight back with his hands down, but he's doing just about everything else right. Andre dons a headset and says he thinks Anthony is looking good. He does feel his brother could jab more and sit down on his punches as well.
Asked about the Super Six World Boxing Classic, Andre says he can't wait for it to start. He says he's faster and stronger than Carl Froch but knows The Cobra will bring everything he's got since he's a champion. Andre feels like he's training as hard as he can for the opportunity.
Dirrell smokes Contreras with a series of wicked body shots in the fifth round, then follows up with head shots from both hands. Contreras shows some heart by not wilting under fire.
About halfway through Round 7, Contreras catches Dirrell napping in the corner and actually lands a few nice shots. But Dirrell immediately comes back and starts teeing off with unanswered power shots, and though Contreras doesn't go down, the ref and his corner have seen enough. Dirrell wins by TKO at 2:32 of Round 7 and does a backflip to celebrate the win.
We get one more studio segment with BK, Sweet Pea and Breland. They examine highlights of Timothy Bradley-Nate Campbell and both fighters weigh in on the controversial ending. They also look at Devon Alexander-Junior Witter and Whitaker says he was glad the fight ended when it did.
The news recap includes Vitali Klitschko and Chris Arreola agreeing to fight in September, talks resuming for a Kelly Pavlik-Paul Williams fight in October and the possibility of Allan Green as a substitute for the World Boxing Classic should one be necessary.
Posted by The Franchise
31.7.09
Friday Night Fights Report - July 31, 2009
The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida is the site for tonight's edition of Friday Night Fights. Julio Diaz is in tonight's main event, trying to get past unbeaten Victor Cayo.
Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas discuss the youth versus experience angle of tonight's main event. Atlas says there are a lot of questions that will be answered, drawing an analogy to "Let's Make a Deal."
Brian Kenny is in the studio with "Fast" Eddie Chambers. The young heavyweight is 35-1 and seems comfortable as a guest analyst. Chambers has fought Derric Rossy, who will be in action tonight.
Our first fight is between Derric Rossy and Carl Davis Drumond at heavyweight. Rossy is 21-2 with 12 KOs, and he's a former Boston College defensive lineman. Drumond is 26-1 but has fought most of his career in Costa Rica. This is scheduled for 10 rounds.
The fight starts slowly and tentatively for both men. Rossy was a late replacement for Chazz Witherspoon, but he seemed anxious for the opportunity.
Rossy finally starts to land the right hand in Round 3. Atlas is pointing out Rossy's holes on defense, but Drumond is definitely not making him pay. Chambers likes what he's seen of Rossy's development, and it would not be a surprise if he's swept the first five rounds on the scorecards.
Drumond goes five rounds in a row landing only single digit punches, so unless something surprising happens, Rossy should cruise to a victory. Drumond shows some spark at the end of Round 8, but Rossy comes back and rocks him with an uppercut midway through the ninth.
Nothing dramatic happens down the stretch, and we go to the scorecards. The judges all score it 99-91, and Rossy wins by unanimous decision.
Back in the studio, BK goes over the latest on Arturo Gatti. Brazilian police have ruled Gatti's death a suicide and released his wife, but the boxer's family has exhumed his body and brought it back to Montreal for a second autopsy.
In other sad news, Kenny discusses the death of Vernon Forrest. The latest police info suggests that Forrest was shot in the back after confronting one of the men attempting to carjack him in Atlanta. They play back highlights of Forrest's big victories over Shane Mosley and his equally big losses to Ricardo Mayorga.
Chambers echoes the thoughts of many by saying that Forrest was a really nice guy and well-liked in his community. Atlas says Forrest had plenty of talent but was even more special because of his character.
Mosley joins the show by phone and says he was in disbelief about Vernon's death. Sugar Shane calls The Viper an all-around great guy and discusses what a tough competitor he was in the ring. In Florida, there is an in-ring moment of silence and ringing of the bell for Forrest and trainer Rudy Pena.
Posted by The Franchise
Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas discuss the youth versus experience angle of tonight's main event. Atlas says there are a lot of questions that will be answered, drawing an analogy to "Let's Make a Deal."
Brian Kenny is in the studio with "Fast" Eddie Chambers. The young heavyweight is 35-1 and seems comfortable as a guest analyst. Chambers has fought Derric Rossy, who will be in action tonight.
Our first fight is between Derric Rossy and Carl Davis Drumond at heavyweight. Rossy is 21-2 with 12 KOs, and he's a former Boston College defensive lineman. Drumond is 26-1 but has fought most of his career in Costa Rica. This is scheduled for 10 rounds.
The fight starts slowly and tentatively for both men. Rossy was a late replacement for Chazz Witherspoon, but he seemed anxious for the opportunity.
Rossy finally starts to land the right hand in Round 3. Atlas is pointing out Rossy's holes on defense, but Drumond is definitely not making him pay. Chambers likes what he's seen of Rossy's development, and it would not be a surprise if he's swept the first five rounds on the scorecards.
Drumond goes five rounds in a row landing only single digit punches, so unless something surprising happens, Rossy should cruise to a victory. Drumond shows some spark at the end of Round 8, but Rossy comes back and rocks him with an uppercut midway through the ninth.
Nothing dramatic happens down the stretch, and we go to the scorecards. The judges all score it 99-91, and Rossy wins by unanimous decision.
Back in the studio, BK goes over the latest on Arturo Gatti. Brazilian police have ruled Gatti's death a suicide and released his wife, but the boxer's family has exhumed his body and brought it back to Montreal for a second autopsy.
In other sad news, Kenny discusses the death of Vernon Forrest. The latest police info suggests that Forrest was shot in the back after confronting one of the men attempting to carjack him in Atlanta. They play back highlights of Forrest's big victories over Shane Mosley and his equally big losses to Ricardo Mayorga.
Chambers echoes the thoughts of many by saying that Forrest was a really nice guy and well-liked in his community. Atlas says Forrest had plenty of talent but was even more special because of his character.
Mosley joins the show by phone and says he was in disbelief about Vernon's death. Sugar Shane calls The Viper an all-around great guy and discusses what a tough competitor he was in the ring. In Florida, there is an in-ring moment of silence and ringing of the bell for Forrest and trainer Rudy Pena.
Posted by The Franchise
26.6.09
Quick Rundown of Friday Night Fights on ESPN2
Not enough hours in the day to give a complete post on Friday Night Fights or to do a round by round. I will post the outcomes of the major two fights and some truncated thoughts if anything interesting goes down.
Deontay Wilder wins by first round knockout. Atlas loved Wilder's trunks, and I must admit that they are awesome trunks. Bombs dropping with flames exploding. Quite cool.
David Haye was interviewed over the phone, and he was his usual brash and entertaining self. He did say he's ready at the end of July to fight either of the brothers Klitschko.
Oscar De La Hoya was ringside to be interviewed. He said Victor Ortiz is the figher he is most exicted about.
They asked him some questions about Sugar Shane Mosley. He said Shane-Manny is still realistic.
Oscar and Teddy Atlas broke down JMM-Floyd Mayweather. Teddy doesn't see it as a walk in the park for Money May. The layoff may place some pressure on Money May.
Oscar says Money May is a very proud fighter that wants to fight the best, and he gives Floyd credit for coming back against a tough fighter like JMM and not an easy one.
Onto the main event:
Daniel Jacobs vs. George Walton
A fight scheduled for 10 rounds.
They cut in to show footage of Paul Spadafora. You couldn't see Spartan in the crowd, but I assure you he was there. Very short footage, but some nice press for Spaddy as he makes his comeback.
Daniel Jacobs dominated from pillar to post, and looked great with another TKO victory. Jacobs had to overcome a cut and some bleeding in his eye, and totally outworked and out strengthed Walton throughout.
TKO 8th Round for Danny Jacobs
Methinks we will see young Jacobs on the come up to some BAD or Shobox type cards in the near future. Since he's with Golden Boy, more likely BAD or Versus.
Ringside interview:
Jacobs has an injury to the knuckles on his left hand, which is a chronic injury for him.
Did anything go on in his mind with the cut?
He had been cut once before in the amateurs. He wasn't scared here in the pros though, because he had that experience.
Teddy asked Jacobs if he has played Fight Night Round 4 yet, and he said that he had not.
That's it for me.
Posted by uatu
Deontay Wilder wins by first round knockout. Atlas loved Wilder's trunks, and I must admit that they are awesome trunks. Bombs dropping with flames exploding. Quite cool.
David Haye was interviewed over the phone, and he was his usual brash and entertaining self. He did say he's ready at the end of July to fight either of the brothers Klitschko.
Oscar De La Hoya was ringside to be interviewed. He said Victor Ortiz is the figher he is most exicted about.
They asked him some questions about Sugar Shane Mosley. He said Shane-Manny is still realistic.
Oscar and Teddy Atlas broke down JMM-Floyd Mayweather. Teddy doesn't see it as a walk in the park for Money May. The layoff may place some pressure on Money May.
Oscar says Money May is a very proud fighter that wants to fight the best, and he gives Floyd credit for coming back against a tough fighter like JMM and not an easy one.
Onto the main event:
Daniel Jacobs vs. George Walton
A fight scheduled for 10 rounds.
They cut in to show footage of Paul Spadafora. You couldn't see Spartan in the crowd, but I assure you he was there. Very short footage, but some nice press for Spaddy as he makes his comeback.
Daniel Jacobs dominated from pillar to post, and looked great with another TKO victory. Jacobs had to overcome a cut and some bleeding in his eye, and totally outworked and out strengthed Walton throughout.
TKO 8th Round for Danny Jacobs
Methinks we will see young Jacobs on the come up to some BAD or Shobox type cards in the near future. Since he's with Golden Boy, more likely BAD or Versus.
Ringside interview:
Jacobs has an injury to the knuckles on his left hand, which is a chronic injury for him.
Did anything go on in his mind with the cut?
He had been cut once before in the amateurs. He wasn't scared here in the pros though, because he had that experience.
Teddy asked Jacobs if he has played Fight Night Round 4 yet, and he said that he had not.
That's it for me.
Posted by uatu
5.6.09
Friday Night Fights on ESPN2: Danny Perez vs. Carlos Molina
It what might be the least detailed and least complete live post of all time, I will keep you in the loop on some aspects of Friday Night Fights on ESPN2. But I will do a live round by round of the main event if nothing else.
The main event is to be 12 rounds of Danny Perez vs. Carlos Molina.
Ira Terry vs. Leon Bobo
Winner by majority decision... Ira "Mr. Showtime" Terry.
Leon Bobo's shirt said "Obama Said Knock You Out," which Brian Kenny enjoyed.
Dan Rafael is reporting that Ruslan Chagaev is officially in against Wladimir Klitschko and it is officially off of HBO.
And the fans rejoice? Doubtful. Another Wladdy match to not get excited about. Not his fault, I guess.
Bert Sugar in the studio and is talking about the Belmont Stakes with Teddy Atlas. I missed Sugar's pick. Teddy goes with Charitable Man.
Main event time. I have no ill will toward either man, but I have things to do. Let's get this show on the road, and let's have ourselves a barnburner.
Danny Perez vs. Carlos Molina
Round 1
Both men are throwing a lot of punches. Molina is on only six days notice, so he may peter out towards the end. Both men attempting to work the body. I like what I see out of both men early. Molina looks to be going for it.
Uatu: Molina 10-9
Round 2
At this point, neither man has made his mark. Molina is attempting a lot of hooks. Perez boxing more but not running at all. Molina attempting to mug him inside. Molina staying active body and head and more hooks. Perez making him miss a bit. I guess I will go Molina again based on work rate and aggression. Both rounds were close though.
Uatu: Molina 10-9
Round 3
Molina doesn't have a lot of snap. He's like a poor man's Juan Diaz so far. Nice left hook counter from Molina. Both men landing some one-two's. Nice uppercut from Molina. Perez gets backed to the ropes and grabs. Perez trying the body too. Molina doing some nice in-fighting. Atlas doesn't think Perez is on his 'A' game mentally right now.
Uatu: Molina 10-9
Round 4
Perez jabbing heavily in this round and looking stronger early. He's staying behind the jab more and stalking. Teddy has it 3-0 molina as well at this point. This round is different from the others. Molina isn't as aggressive and Perez is keeping him away and in the middle of the ring. Some grabbing and mugging in the middle of the ring. Molina doing his thing a little now, throwing three, moving forward and getting inside to the point of grabbing. Molina may have gotten it late, but I will go Perez.
Uatu: Perez 10-9
Round 5
This fight was to be Carlos Quintana for those who don't remember, which is why Molina is in on six days notice. BK believes Molina is slowing down, and I have to agree. Perez controlling with his jab and straight two. Molina gets in a nice combo to the head coming forward. Good work there. It's hard to say who is doing more of the grabbing. Both men doing their fair share of in-fighting too. Molina throwing the uppercuts and hooks and Perez firing back. This round has been back and forth. BK likes Molina in this round. Close, but I will concur.
Uatu: Molina 10-9
Round 6
The scenes from the new Fight Night game look amazing. They showed Ali-Tyson. Atlas said he called them like they were actual fights. That's pretty cool. Perez backs Molina up. Molina being stalked but is undeterred. Molina gets in two and gets away. Perez almost had Molina trapped, but he fought out. Molina dodges a strong right. Molina not letting Perez get off or in a real rhythm.
Uatu: Molina 10-9
Round 7
More of the same so far. Perez got in one but lost the momentum immediately. Molina went back to work with the hooks and combos on the inside. Nice uppercut from Molina. Double jab moving in from Molina. He's doing a little grabbing but releases and throws, then re-grabs briefly and throws again with no ref stoppage. Excellent use of the non-clinch. Had to be a molina round.
Uatu: Molina 10-9
Round 8
Molina has outlanded Perez by 20 shots at this point. BK loved Molina's seventh round and says a case could be made for giving every round to Molina. Atlas has it 6-1 like I do. He also gave Perez Round 4 as I did. BK thought Perez won Round 1 as well. Molina getting in the business as Perez plays peek-a-boo in the middle of the ring. Perez tries to step up the power in the corner to no avail. Molina turns the tables and has Perez up against the ropes and in the corner. He is doing a mix of pushing, mugging and combos, and Perez doesn't answer.
Uatu: Molina 10-9
Round 9
Four jabs, a right and a jab from Molina. Nice right from Molina. Perez stalking again but gets grabbed. There's that uppercut again. And again. Perez trying to lean on Molina. There's two or three nice shots from Perez. He has gotten Molina's attention and mine as well. Best stuff from him all fight. Perez getting in some jabs. His punches look to have more effect than Molina's. Molina doing some grabbing and pushing. Nothing but wrestling from Molina to close the round.
Uatu: Perez 10-9
Round 10
There's a cut on Molina from a headbutt. Nothing to write home about. Perez takes the lead again. When Perez gets too close, he gets grabbed. Teddy has it 6-3 Molina. There's some of that old Molina action. Perez busier now and throwing as hard as when he started. Molina is not holding on for life but is certainly stalling, so to speak. Perez is all action now but not really landing too much. Molina falls in repeatedly to grab and hold. Molina throws a little now to keep it interesting.
Uatu: Perez 10-9
Round 11
Can Molina make it to the finish line? If he does, will he win? Despite my card, my guess is Perez sweeps 11 and 12 and gets the nod on the cards. A break in the action for loose tape on Molina's gloves. Will this buy him the rest he needs? Perhaps. Molina more active than last round. Nice right from Molina. Perez lead right. Molina getting back to his game. Close round that's tough to score. I thought Molina got it back.
Uatu: Molina 10-9
Round 12
I have it as Molina winning without a Perez KO, but I wouldn't be shocked if Perez was closer. The rounds were close and he's the featured fighter, so anything can happen. Atlas gave 11 to Molina too. Grabbing, punching, grabbing punching... the saga continues from Molina. Atlas has Molina up three rounds at this point as does BK. Molina taking the lead in round 12 too. Molina outworking perez again. Close 12th round to close. Could have gone either way.
Uatu: Molina 10-9
Uatu: 116-112 Molina
Atlas: 116-112 Molina
The judges score it 118-110 and 119-109 twice, all to the winner by unanimous decision, "King" Carlos Molina!
I was dead wrong. The judges got it right.
And I'm out.
Posted by uatu
The main event is to be 12 rounds of Danny Perez vs. Carlos Molina.
Ira Terry vs. Leon Bobo
Winner by majority decision... Ira "Mr. Showtime" Terry.
Leon Bobo's shirt said "Obama Said Knock You Out," which Brian Kenny enjoyed.
Dan Rafael is reporting that Ruslan Chagaev is officially in against Wladimir Klitschko and it is officially off of HBO.
And the fans rejoice? Doubtful. Another Wladdy match to not get excited about. Not his fault, I guess.
Bert Sugar in the studio and is talking about the Belmont Stakes with Teddy Atlas. I missed Sugar's pick. Teddy goes with Charitable Man.
Main event time. I have no ill will toward either man, but I have things to do. Let's get this show on the road, and let's have ourselves a barnburner.
Danny Perez vs. Carlos Molina
Round 1
Both men are throwing a lot of punches. Molina is on only six days notice, so he may peter out towards the end. Both men attempting to work the body. I like what I see out of both men early. Molina looks to be going for it.
Uatu: Molina 10-9
Round 2
At this point, neither man has made his mark. Molina is attempting a lot of hooks. Perez boxing more but not running at all. Molina attempting to mug him inside. Molina staying active body and head and more hooks. Perez making him miss a bit. I guess I will go Molina again based on work rate and aggression. Both rounds were close though.
Uatu: Molina 10-9
Round 3
Molina doesn't have a lot of snap. He's like a poor man's Juan Diaz so far. Nice left hook counter from Molina. Both men landing some one-two's. Nice uppercut from Molina. Perez gets backed to the ropes and grabs. Perez trying the body too. Molina doing some nice in-fighting. Atlas doesn't think Perez is on his 'A' game mentally right now.
Uatu: Molina 10-9
Round 4
Perez jabbing heavily in this round and looking stronger early. He's staying behind the jab more and stalking. Teddy has it 3-0 molina as well at this point. This round is different from the others. Molina isn't as aggressive and Perez is keeping him away and in the middle of the ring. Some grabbing and mugging in the middle of the ring. Molina doing his thing a little now, throwing three, moving forward and getting inside to the point of grabbing. Molina may have gotten it late, but I will go Perez.
Uatu: Perez 10-9
Round 5
This fight was to be Carlos Quintana for those who don't remember, which is why Molina is in on six days notice. BK believes Molina is slowing down, and I have to agree. Perez controlling with his jab and straight two. Molina gets in a nice combo to the head coming forward. Good work there. It's hard to say who is doing more of the grabbing. Both men doing their fair share of in-fighting too. Molina throwing the uppercuts and hooks and Perez firing back. This round has been back and forth. BK likes Molina in this round. Close, but I will concur.
Uatu: Molina 10-9
Round 6
The scenes from the new Fight Night game look amazing. They showed Ali-Tyson. Atlas said he called them like they were actual fights. That's pretty cool. Perez backs Molina up. Molina being stalked but is undeterred. Molina gets in two and gets away. Perez almost had Molina trapped, but he fought out. Molina dodges a strong right. Molina not letting Perez get off or in a real rhythm.
Uatu: Molina 10-9
Round 7
More of the same so far. Perez got in one but lost the momentum immediately. Molina went back to work with the hooks and combos on the inside. Nice uppercut from Molina. Double jab moving in from Molina. He's doing a little grabbing but releases and throws, then re-grabs briefly and throws again with no ref stoppage. Excellent use of the non-clinch. Had to be a molina round.
Uatu: Molina 10-9
Round 8
Molina has outlanded Perez by 20 shots at this point. BK loved Molina's seventh round and says a case could be made for giving every round to Molina. Atlas has it 6-1 like I do. He also gave Perez Round 4 as I did. BK thought Perez won Round 1 as well. Molina getting in the business as Perez plays peek-a-boo in the middle of the ring. Perez tries to step up the power in the corner to no avail. Molina turns the tables and has Perez up against the ropes and in the corner. He is doing a mix of pushing, mugging and combos, and Perez doesn't answer.
Uatu: Molina 10-9
Round 9
Four jabs, a right and a jab from Molina. Nice right from Molina. Perez stalking again but gets grabbed. There's that uppercut again. And again. Perez trying to lean on Molina. There's two or three nice shots from Perez. He has gotten Molina's attention and mine as well. Best stuff from him all fight. Perez getting in some jabs. His punches look to have more effect than Molina's. Molina doing some grabbing and pushing. Nothing but wrestling from Molina to close the round.
Uatu: Perez 10-9
Round 10
There's a cut on Molina from a headbutt. Nothing to write home about. Perez takes the lead again. When Perez gets too close, he gets grabbed. Teddy has it 6-3 Molina. There's some of that old Molina action. Perez busier now and throwing as hard as when he started. Molina is not holding on for life but is certainly stalling, so to speak. Perez is all action now but not really landing too much. Molina falls in repeatedly to grab and hold. Molina throws a little now to keep it interesting.
Uatu: Perez 10-9
Round 11
Can Molina make it to the finish line? If he does, will he win? Despite my card, my guess is Perez sweeps 11 and 12 and gets the nod on the cards. A break in the action for loose tape on Molina's gloves. Will this buy him the rest he needs? Perhaps. Molina more active than last round. Nice right from Molina. Perez lead right. Molina getting back to his game. Close round that's tough to score. I thought Molina got it back.
Uatu: Molina 10-9
Round 12
I have it as Molina winning without a Perez KO, but I wouldn't be shocked if Perez was closer. The rounds were close and he's the featured fighter, so anything can happen. Atlas gave 11 to Molina too. Grabbing, punching, grabbing punching... the saga continues from Molina. Atlas has Molina up three rounds at this point as does BK. Molina taking the lead in round 12 too. Molina outworking perez again. Close 12th round to close. Could have gone either way.
Uatu: Molina 10-9
Uatu: 116-112 Molina
Atlas: 116-112 Molina
The judges score it 118-110 and 119-109 twice, all to the winner by unanimous decision, "King" Carlos Molina!
I was dead wrong. The judges got it right.
And I'm out.
Posted by uatu
15.5.09
Friday Night Fights: Kevin Johnson vs. Devin Vargas
ESPN2 brings us a very interesting heavyweight fight between two undefeated gentlemen.
This fight is coming live from Harrah's in the marina of Atlantic City. This is an interesting location, at least to me, because for those who have not been to AC, the marina is not on the boardwalk, but is in the aforementioned marina. The marina is actually a short drive from the boardwalk, but much too far to walk.
The boardwalk is where the Hall is, as well as the Taj Mahal and Caesar's, where big fights of the past and present have been. The marina has only three casinos to the boardwalk's approximately 10-12, but it is where the "cool" people go. The most luxurious and popular casino is the Borgata, which is in the marina, and there have been some small cards from there, but to the best of my knowledge, this is the first televised fight from Harrah's recently.
This is a long-winded digression about the changing face of AC. Perhaps more televised or prevalent bouts will go to the marina, as opposed to the boardwalk.
Anyway, round by round scores of the main event will follow.
The fight is scheduled for 10 rounds.
Teddy Atlas's Fight Game pre-fight segment is amazing. I wish HBO did more of this: actually breaking down fight strategies and styles. Showtime does this with Al Bernstein.
Round 1
Uatu: Vargas 10-9
Vargas was aggressive in the beginning. He came forward. Both men kept a tight, high guard and blocked many of the shots. Vargas stayed a lot busier. no major punches landed.
Round 2
Uatu: Johnson 10-9
The fighters traded punches in the first minute. Both men were throwing hard and going for it. Kevin got a nice short hook in with the left. Most of Vargas' punches are getting blocked. Johnson does a good job of playing the ropes and staying out of trouble. Vargas tries quick lead hooks and uppercuts but they always get blocked.
Round 3
Uatu: Johnson 10-8
Vargas came out firing. Atlas mentioned the way Johnson uses the ropes to take steam off of the punches. I bet the the aggression looked good to the judges. Vargas stayed in Johnson's face up against the ropes. Decent counter right from Johnson. Four hooks from Johnson. Big right from Johnson - he may have stolen the round. Down goes Vargas at the bell!
Round 4
Uatu: Johnson 10-9
Punches exchanged. Johnson throwing his right more often and harder than I have ever seen from him. He has more snap than Vargas. Vargas keeps trying but Johnson knows how to cover up and dodge. Joe Tessitore announced that Vargas had been complaining of ear problems. Vargas stayed aggressive, but somewhat ineffectively. Some good and bad both ways, but I will go with Johnson again in this round.
Round 5
Uatu: Johnson 10-8
Nice lead hook from kevin. Atlas has it 2-2 with the 10-8 round giving Johnson the lead. Johnson did more of the stalking this round. Vargas has thrown a bunch of uppercuts but I swear not one has landed. Johnson pounded Vargas up against the ropes with a few hooks, and down he goes again! He spit out the mouthpiece and bought a few seconds. These knockdowns aren't from one-punch thunder shots like Manny-Hatton, Vargas just doesn't seem to know what to do after taking a few hard ones in succession.
Round 6
Uatu:
Vargas said between rounds that he can't hear out of his right ear. This round Johnson stayed in Vargas' face up against the ropes. Vargas lost the mouthpiece again, never a good sign. Vargas then pressed Johnson to the ropes, but Johnson looked to get the better of it. Then they switched positions again. With 44 seconds to go, Johnson wobbled Vargas nicely and he stumbled across the ring to the ropes. He managed to stay on his feet, took a couple more punches and the towel was thrown in by Vargas' corner!
Your winner by stoppage TKO in Round 6... Kevin "The Kingpin" Johnson!
Johnson looked much more like a sturdy pro fighter. Vargas moved and threw more in the amateur style, and Johnson took the fight over. Vargas looked very disappointed after the fight.
No post-fight interview in the ring, so that's it from me.
Posted by uatu
This fight is coming live from Harrah's in the marina of Atlantic City. This is an interesting location, at least to me, because for those who have not been to AC, the marina is not on the boardwalk, but is in the aforementioned marina. The marina is actually a short drive from the boardwalk, but much too far to walk.
The boardwalk is where the Hall is, as well as the Taj Mahal and Caesar's, where big fights of the past and present have been. The marina has only three casinos to the boardwalk's approximately 10-12, but it is where the "cool" people go. The most luxurious and popular casino is the Borgata, which is in the marina, and there have been some small cards from there, but to the best of my knowledge, this is the first televised fight from Harrah's recently.
This is a long-winded digression about the changing face of AC. Perhaps more televised or prevalent bouts will go to the marina, as opposed to the boardwalk.
Anyway, round by round scores of the main event will follow.
The fight is scheduled for 10 rounds.
Teddy Atlas's Fight Game pre-fight segment is amazing. I wish HBO did more of this: actually breaking down fight strategies and styles. Showtime does this with Al Bernstein.
Round 1
Uatu: Vargas 10-9
Vargas was aggressive in the beginning. He came forward. Both men kept a tight, high guard and blocked many of the shots. Vargas stayed a lot busier. no major punches landed.
Round 2
Uatu: Johnson 10-9
The fighters traded punches in the first minute. Both men were throwing hard and going for it. Kevin got a nice short hook in with the left. Most of Vargas' punches are getting blocked. Johnson does a good job of playing the ropes and staying out of trouble. Vargas tries quick lead hooks and uppercuts but they always get blocked.
Round 3
Uatu: Johnson 10-8
Vargas came out firing. Atlas mentioned the way Johnson uses the ropes to take steam off of the punches. I bet the the aggression looked good to the judges. Vargas stayed in Johnson's face up against the ropes. Decent counter right from Johnson. Four hooks from Johnson. Big right from Johnson - he may have stolen the round. Down goes Vargas at the bell!
Round 4
Uatu: Johnson 10-9
Punches exchanged. Johnson throwing his right more often and harder than I have ever seen from him. He has more snap than Vargas. Vargas keeps trying but Johnson knows how to cover up and dodge. Joe Tessitore announced that Vargas had been complaining of ear problems. Vargas stayed aggressive, but somewhat ineffectively. Some good and bad both ways, but I will go with Johnson again in this round.
Round 5
Uatu: Johnson 10-8
Nice lead hook from kevin. Atlas has it 2-2 with the 10-8 round giving Johnson the lead. Johnson did more of the stalking this round. Vargas has thrown a bunch of uppercuts but I swear not one has landed. Johnson pounded Vargas up against the ropes with a few hooks, and down he goes again! He spit out the mouthpiece and bought a few seconds. These knockdowns aren't from one-punch thunder shots like Manny-Hatton, Vargas just doesn't seem to know what to do after taking a few hard ones in succession.
Round 6
Uatu:
Vargas said between rounds that he can't hear out of his right ear. This round Johnson stayed in Vargas' face up against the ropes. Vargas lost the mouthpiece again, never a good sign. Vargas then pressed Johnson to the ropes, but Johnson looked to get the better of it. Then they switched positions again. With 44 seconds to go, Johnson wobbled Vargas nicely and he stumbled across the ring to the ropes. He managed to stay on his feet, took a couple more punches and the towel was thrown in by Vargas' corner!
Your winner by stoppage TKO in Round 6... Kevin "The Kingpin" Johnson!
Johnson looked much more like a sturdy pro fighter. Vargas moved and threw more in the amateur style, and Johnson took the fight over. Vargas looked very disappointed after the fight.
No post-fight interview in the ring, so that's it from me.
Posted by uatu
8.5.09
Friday Night Fights Report - May 8, 2009
I have some things to do tonight, but I will keep my eye on FNF in case anything interesting goes down.
Tonight's FNF brings us Brian Vera against Craig McEwen in the main event from Fort Worth, Texas.
Teddy Atlas made some opening remarks about the similarities between McEwen and Andy Lee.
Vera beat the at-the-time undefeated prospect Andy Lee on FNF, and Lee has not been very visible since. Lee actually knocked Vera down in Round 1 of that fight. Lee is 2-0 since that fight, but both fights have been back in Ireland, and as far as I know, not televised here. Lee is more than just your usual prospect, and is a very talented fighter. Vera will try to defeat McEwen as he did Lee.
Back in the studio, Brian Kenny reports that the Kelly Pavlik-Sergio Mora fight has been postponed due to staph infections.
Bernard Hopkins is in the studio. B-Hop was in the Ricky Hatton locker room following his fight with Manny Pacquiao. Ricky did not know a half-hour after the fight what he had been hit with and was asking Bernard about it.
On a side note, ESPN2 showed a Tecate commerical that was completely in Spanish. I thought that was interesting.
Adrian Broner vs. Fernando Quintero
An interesting fight between the 8-0 Broner and the 7-0 Quintero. The fight went the full eight rounds.
Teddy has it a draw.
Judges:
76-76
77-75
78-74
Adrian "The Problem" Broner wins by majority decision.
Back to the studio...
Bernard said Hatton never had a chance to change tactics. Manny was coming from all over the place. Hatton didn't know what to do.
Bernard said that hatton was overwhelmed after Round 1 and he never recovered. Bernard said he should have ducked, or put his hands up, or bought himself some time like a veteran.
Teddy said that Hatton shouldn't have gone straight into the propeller, he should have made Manny come to him.
They showed a number of photos of Ricky at the pool posing for pictures and hanging out with party-goers in Vegas, but interestingly the ESPN crew made zero reference to them. I thought maybe they were going to say that Hatton was unfocused or something, but they literally showed the pictures and never mentioned them.
Bernard said that JMM is no tune-up for Money Mayweather. Floyd has been off for a long time, and Bernard says the gym is not the same as fighting for real. He does think that Floyd will win at the end of the day.
Neither Teddy nor Bernard believes that the weight will be too much of an issue. But Teddy does think it is important that JMM's managers do not give up too much in negotiations as far as weight, ring size, gloves, etc.
Atlas believes it will be a tough fight but Mayweather will win. Teddy wonders if Money May is taking the fight for the wrong reason due to the IRS lien. Hopkins thinks that the money could actually be a motivation because of how much is on the line financially. Floyd may have the extra motivation that he needs.
Manny-Floyd? Bernard goes with Floyd. He has a lot to bring that Manny has never seen before.
Atlas is going with the Pac-Man.
Vera vs. McEwen - 10 Rounds
Round 1
Uatu: Vera 10-9
Vera landed some hard shots, McEwen stayed moving and worked in and out. A good first round and both men had their moments.
Round 2
Uatu: McEwen 10-9
Another good round. McEwen fights lefty, and he's looking like a slower poor man's version of Bute, who was a close version of Calzaghe. I liked the work that McEwen did, but he did catch a big right in the early goings.
Round 3
Uatu: McEwen 10-9
Both fighters have had moments that made me a little nervous. At times I thought either man could fall or get roughed up, but maybe they are just off-balance.
Round 4
Uatu: McEwen 10-9
In my opinion McEwen controlled the majority of this round.
Round 5
Uatu: McEwen 10-9
Teddy has it 4-0 McEwen. McEwen hasn't been hit with that Vera right in a few rounds.
Round 6
Uatu: McEwen 10-9
Marco Antonio Barrera is in some of those Tecate ads. Bernard has sparred with McEwen to prepare for Winky and JoeCal. A lot of grabbing, a lot of McEwen landing.
Round 7
Uatu: McEwen 10-9
Round 7 was a slugfest. Both men threw some serious haymakers. Vera managed to land the right again.
Round 8
Uatu: McEwen 10-9
Round 9
Uatu: McEwen 10-9
Round 10
Uatu: McEwen 10-9
I enjoyed this fight. Good spirited effort by both men.
Teddy:
99-91 McEwen
Judges:
97-93
97-93
97-93
Craig McEwen wins by unanimous decision.
Freddie Roach manages and trains McEwen so I imagine we will see him again. Tarver-Dawson II up next.
Signing off...
Posted by uatu
Tonight's FNF brings us Brian Vera against Craig McEwen in the main event from Fort Worth, Texas.
Teddy Atlas made some opening remarks about the similarities between McEwen and Andy Lee.
Vera beat the at-the-time undefeated prospect Andy Lee on FNF, and Lee has not been very visible since. Lee actually knocked Vera down in Round 1 of that fight. Lee is 2-0 since that fight, but both fights have been back in Ireland, and as far as I know, not televised here. Lee is more than just your usual prospect, and is a very talented fighter. Vera will try to defeat McEwen as he did Lee.
Back in the studio, Brian Kenny reports that the Kelly Pavlik-Sergio Mora fight has been postponed due to staph infections.
Bernard Hopkins is in the studio. B-Hop was in the Ricky Hatton locker room following his fight with Manny Pacquiao. Ricky did not know a half-hour after the fight what he had been hit with and was asking Bernard about it.
On a side note, ESPN2 showed a Tecate commerical that was completely in Spanish. I thought that was interesting.
Adrian Broner vs. Fernando Quintero
An interesting fight between the 8-0 Broner and the 7-0 Quintero. The fight went the full eight rounds.
Teddy has it a draw.
Judges:
76-76
77-75
78-74
Adrian "The Problem" Broner wins by majority decision.
Back to the studio...
Bernard said Hatton never had a chance to change tactics. Manny was coming from all over the place. Hatton didn't know what to do.
Bernard said that hatton was overwhelmed after Round 1 and he never recovered. Bernard said he should have ducked, or put his hands up, or bought himself some time like a veteran.
Teddy said that Hatton shouldn't have gone straight into the propeller, he should have made Manny come to him.
They showed a number of photos of Ricky at the pool posing for pictures and hanging out with party-goers in Vegas, but interestingly the ESPN crew made zero reference to them. I thought maybe they were going to say that Hatton was unfocused or something, but they literally showed the pictures and never mentioned them.
Bernard said that JMM is no tune-up for Money Mayweather. Floyd has been off for a long time, and Bernard says the gym is not the same as fighting for real. He does think that Floyd will win at the end of the day.
Neither Teddy nor Bernard believes that the weight will be too much of an issue. But Teddy does think it is important that JMM's managers do not give up too much in negotiations as far as weight, ring size, gloves, etc.
Atlas believes it will be a tough fight but Mayweather will win. Teddy wonders if Money May is taking the fight for the wrong reason due to the IRS lien. Hopkins thinks that the money could actually be a motivation because of how much is on the line financially. Floyd may have the extra motivation that he needs.
Manny-Floyd? Bernard goes with Floyd. He has a lot to bring that Manny has never seen before.
Atlas is going with the Pac-Man.
Vera vs. McEwen - 10 Rounds
Round 1
Uatu: Vera 10-9
Vera landed some hard shots, McEwen stayed moving and worked in and out. A good first round and both men had their moments.
Round 2
Uatu: McEwen 10-9
Another good round. McEwen fights lefty, and he's looking like a slower poor man's version of Bute, who was a close version of Calzaghe. I liked the work that McEwen did, but he did catch a big right in the early goings.
Round 3
Uatu: McEwen 10-9
Both fighters have had moments that made me a little nervous. At times I thought either man could fall or get roughed up, but maybe they are just off-balance.
Round 4
Uatu: McEwen 10-9
In my opinion McEwen controlled the majority of this round.
Round 5
Uatu: McEwen 10-9
Teddy has it 4-0 McEwen. McEwen hasn't been hit with that Vera right in a few rounds.
Round 6
Uatu: McEwen 10-9
Marco Antonio Barrera is in some of those Tecate ads. Bernard has sparred with McEwen to prepare for Winky and JoeCal. A lot of grabbing, a lot of McEwen landing.
Round 7
Uatu: McEwen 10-9
Round 7 was a slugfest. Both men threw some serious haymakers. Vera managed to land the right again.
Round 8
Uatu: McEwen 10-9
Round 9
Uatu: McEwen 10-9
Round 10
Uatu: McEwen 10-9
I enjoyed this fight. Good spirited effort by both men.
Teddy:
99-91 McEwen
Judges:
97-93
97-93
97-93
Craig McEwen wins by unanimous decision.
Freddie Roach manages and trains McEwen so I imagine we will see him again. Tarver-Dawson II up next.
Signing off...
Posted by uatu
3.4.09
Friday Night Fights: Figueroa vs. Bailey
ESPN2 is coming live outdoors from Memphis, Tennessee.
In the studio today, we have BJ Flores. Tecate on board as a new sponsor.
What type of shot does Flores give Haye?
He doesn't really answer.
He says that Haye is very elusive and he won't get hit with that jab all night.
First Fight:
Shawn Porter vs. Eloy Suarez in a 4 rounder.
Look, I get the point of bringing up fighters slowly. I get the point of wanting to get fighters exposure on TV. I get the point of not putting in certain fighters too tough before you know what you have. That being said, I get a little tired of these type of fights. As a viewer I don't learn a lot about the fighter in these type of fights. At least it is the opening fight on FNF and not on HBO or on a PPV undercard. There are only so many TV outlets, so, the fight makes sense in this context.
KO in round 1 for Porter.
Flores is picking Pacquiao.
In the studio they talk Holt-Bradley.
I love the custom Montreal Canadiens jerseys that Bradley and Holt got at the press conferences. Supporting the home sports team is always a great way for a pop like they do over in wrestling.
They show some footage and clips from the weigh-in. Holt is much taller than Bradley.
Mark Davis vs. Steve Gonzalez
Davis is 11-0.
only 4 ko's.
uh-oh, Gonzalez has taken the fight on 8 days notice. here we go again.
The fight is scheduled for 8 rounds.
already early props for Gonzalez. I was wrong about him, and he looks like he is here to fight.
Atlas agrees with me in a way. He says that fighters who have heavy amateur backgrounds don't need to be matched so softly on the way up. They already have that background to fall back on. Atlas is dead on with that point, and he would know better than I would.
Forgot to mention this fight is at 130 pounds. After two rounds the action is pretty decent.
Davis is looking sharp after 3. He is landing lots of power punches body and head.
On the crawl they are listing upcoming fights and I had forgotten that Williams-Wright is next week. There hasn't been a whole lot of hype around that fight among the boxing writers. Perhaps the schedule has been full enough to look elsewhere and the attention will begin on Monday. I, for one, am looking forward to the fight. I believe Williams will win, on volume, but Wright is so tough and crafty that he will make it hard for Williams or for anyone.
Gonzalez is hanging in there. He is getting hit with some powerful looking stuff. He hasn't won any rounds, but he is still trying. Atlas says Davis has no respect for Gonzalez's power. It would be hard to imagine a late KO from Gonzalez.
BJ believes that Atlas (and by extension, that I am) correct in the assessment that fighters with deep amateur backrounds need not be matched so softly on the way up.
There's discussion about that fact that Davis says he will fight Gamboa at anytime, any place immediately. I say, it's easy to call him out right now, because it's not going to happen. Maybe Davis could win, but there isn't enough money in it for Gamboa to do it I wouldn't think.
Fight's over, I think Davis pounded out an easy victory and won every round.
We are about ten minutes away from the main event.
I had the pleasure of watching Bailey in person at a Broadway Boxing card in August. Since there is no bad seat in B.B. King's, I got to watch the man go to work from mere feet in distance away. And I can say that this guy was hitting extremely hard. So Figueroa is going to have to be careful in there.
In studio they discuss Edwin Valero, BJ's last fight, and RJJ-Sheika.
They mention Kessler as a Jones opponent. I like Kessler in that one.
Now they turn their attention to mixed MMA cards. I like them both, I would watch them both at the same place and the same time. For some reason, the media seems very against the idea. I am not sure why. I think they have ulterior motives.
Clearly, with Lesnar's popularity, and now Lashley's, it cannot be denied that there is a the cross-over audience between wrestling and MMA. And I would bet my life's savings that if Anderson Silva fought Roy Jones tomorrow, people would buy the fight. And if Faber fought Mayweather, or GSP fought Mosley, people would be interested. Whatever. Either way, the discussion of MMA plus boxing or MMA versus boxing is getting old. Run them together, run them separately, who cares. And for people who argue it's like going to see two different sports at the same time, if the match up is good enough, I really would pay extra to see two different sports on the same night. If I could see the Final Four and the NFL playoffs for a combined ticket at the same venue at the same night, I would buy it. You don't think people would buy a ticket to see Cotto and the Yankees from Yankees Stadium?
Figueroa vs. Bailey
Round 1
Figueroa is a lefty. the fight is for 12 rounds. bailey is winging away early. figueroa is showing movement in and out. huge right from bailey and figueroa is down 45 seconds in! Frankie is up. big body shot from bailey. atlas says frankie cannot afford to go straight back. frankie seems to have his wits about him. it wasn't a flash knockdown but he isn't rocked. bailey is hitting with hard lefts hooks to the body. frankie gets his own left to the body. bailey tries the right again but misses.
Uatu: Bailey 10-8
Round 2
watching the replays, the right wasn't as huge as I had thought. Atlas says it really sort of glanced off the dome of frankie and wasn't perfectly flush. frankie almost went down from a shot to the back of the head. forgot to mention this was a fight at 140. frankie isn't in trouble per se, but it still looks like bailey could crack him at any second. and Figueroa turns the tide! Frankie scores a knockdown of his own! bailey gets up, but he is being forced to tie up. wow, very large and surprising momentum swing. frankie ducks down for lefts to the body. frankie is really the man coming forward now. he is measured though, they tie up if he gets too close.
Uatu: Figueroa 10-8
Round 3
the right hook began the fall, but atlas points out there was a left to the back of bailey's head that led to the knockdown. round 3 starts with some in-scrapping and grabbing. frankie trying the lead lefts and if he misses he ties up. bailey on his toes and jabbing. frankie getting a straight left in there. bailey catches frankie with a right, this is a close round. left from frankie. atlas gives us a great analogy about bad neighborhoods and what frankie needs to do to win.
Uatu: Figueroa 10-9
Round 4
headbutt stops the action early in the round. double jabs from frankie. randall got round 3 from atlas. nice exchange of punches. bailey not throwing a whole lot. left to the body from frankie. and there's the boom shot! Bailey clips figueroa! he is flat on his back and he is not getting up. that was some kind of shot. he is still down, and being tended to. atlas says bailey blinded figueroa with a throwaway jab and figueroa never saw the right coming. frankie is responding. now he is being helped up.
Figueroa is now sitting in his corner and being assessed.
and he is up.
the right hand went right through the guard. Atlas is spot on with his commentating. figueroa never saw it coming. you really have to see this replay to get the effect, but it was a left jab to no effect followed by the right, right down the pipe or pike. (I actually had to look it up, and apparently there is disagreement whether it is "down the pike" or "down the pipe." My guess is that it was pike and then people dumbed it down to pipe, similar to tough "road" to hoe when it should be "row.")
winner by KO4...Randall Bailey
anyway, it really was a great right hand and victory for Bailey. This fight was a title eliminator, for whatever that's worth in the current landscape of boxing politics, but I expect to see Bailey in again on TV someday in the future, and everyone should want to see him. He reminds me of Glen Johnson, in that I am not concerned with his age or amount of losses, he brings a credibility and excitement factor that makes me want to watch him again.
More fights on ESPN2, but not for me. Check us out tomorrow for Holt - Bradley.
In the studio today, we have BJ Flores. Tecate on board as a new sponsor.
What type of shot does Flores give Haye?
He doesn't really answer.
He says that Haye is very elusive and he won't get hit with that jab all night.
First Fight:
Shawn Porter vs. Eloy Suarez in a 4 rounder.
Look, I get the point of bringing up fighters slowly. I get the point of wanting to get fighters exposure on TV. I get the point of not putting in certain fighters too tough before you know what you have. That being said, I get a little tired of these type of fights. As a viewer I don't learn a lot about the fighter in these type of fights. At least it is the opening fight on FNF and not on HBO or on a PPV undercard. There are only so many TV outlets, so, the fight makes sense in this context.
KO in round 1 for Porter.
Flores is picking Pacquiao.
In the studio they talk Holt-Bradley.
I love the custom Montreal Canadiens jerseys that Bradley and Holt got at the press conferences. Supporting the home sports team is always a great way for a pop like they do over in wrestling.
They show some footage and clips from the weigh-in. Holt is much taller than Bradley.
Mark Davis vs. Steve Gonzalez
Davis is 11-0.
only 4 ko's.
uh-oh, Gonzalez has taken the fight on 8 days notice. here we go again.
The fight is scheduled for 8 rounds.
already early props for Gonzalez. I was wrong about him, and he looks like he is here to fight.
Atlas agrees with me in a way. He says that fighters who have heavy amateur backgrounds don't need to be matched so softly on the way up. They already have that background to fall back on. Atlas is dead on with that point, and he would know better than I would.
Forgot to mention this fight is at 130 pounds. After two rounds the action is pretty decent.
Davis is looking sharp after 3. He is landing lots of power punches body and head.
On the crawl they are listing upcoming fights and I had forgotten that Williams-Wright is next week. There hasn't been a whole lot of hype around that fight among the boxing writers. Perhaps the schedule has been full enough to look elsewhere and the attention will begin on Monday. I, for one, am looking forward to the fight. I believe Williams will win, on volume, but Wright is so tough and crafty that he will make it hard for Williams or for anyone.
Gonzalez is hanging in there. He is getting hit with some powerful looking stuff. He hasn't won any rounds, but he is still trying. Atlas says Davis has no respect for Gonzalez's power. It would be hard to imagine a late KO from Gonzalez.
BJ believes that Atlas (and by extension, that I am) correct in the assessment that fighters with deep amateur backrounds need not be matched so softly on the way up.
There's discussion about that fact that Davis says he will fight Gamboa at anytime, any place immediately. I say, it's easy to call him out right now, because it's not going to happen. Maybe Davis could win, but there isn't enough money in it for Gamboa to do it I wouldn't think.
Fight's over, I think Davis pounded out an easy victory and won every round.
We are about ten minutes away from the main event.
I had the pleasure of watching Bailey in person at a Broadway Boxing card in August. Since there is no bad seat in B.B. King's, I got to watch the man go to work from mere feet in distance away. And I can say that this guy was hitting extremely hard. So Figueroa is going to have to be careful in there.
In studio they discuss Edwin Valero, BJ's last fight, and RJJ-Sheika.
They mention Kessler as a Jones opponent. I like Kessler in that one.
Now they turn their attention to mixed MMA cards. I like them both, I would watch them both at the same place and the same time. For some reason, the media seems very against the idea. I am not sure why. I think they have ulterior motives.
Clearly, with Lesnar's popularity, and now Lashley's, it cannot be denied that there is a the cross-over audience between wrestling and MMA. And I would bet my life's savings that if Anderson Silva fought Roy Jones tomorrow, people would buy the fight. And if Faber fought Mayweather, or GSP fought Mosley, people would be interested. Whatever. Either way, the discussion of MMA plus boxing or MMA versus boxing is getting old. Run them together, run them separately, who cares. And for people who argue it's like going to see two different sports at the same time, if the match up is good enough, I really would pay extra to see two different sports on the same night. If I could see the Final Four and the NFL playoffs for a combined ticket at the same venue at the same night, I would buy it. You don't think people would buy a ticket to see Cotto and the Yankees from Yankees Stadium?
Figueroa vs. Bailey
Round 1
Figueroa is a lefty. the fight is for 12 rounds. bailey is winging away early. figueroa is showing movement in and out. huge right from bailey and figueroa is down 45 seconds in! Frankie is up. big body shot from bailey. atlas says frankie cannot afford to go straight back. frankie seems to have his wits about him. it wasn't a flash knockdown but he isn't rocked. bailey is hitting with hard lefts hooks to the body. frankie gets his own left to the body. bailey tries the right again but misses.
Uatu: Bailey 10-8
Round 2
watching the replays, the right wasn't as huge as I had thought. Atlas says it really sort of glanced off the dome of frankie and wasn't perfectly flush. frankie almost went down from a shot to the back of the head. forgot to mention this was a fight at 140. frankie isn't in trouble per se, but it still looks like bailey could crack him at any second. and Figueroa turns the tide! Frankie scores a knockdown of his own! bailey gets up, but he is being forced to tie up. wow, very large and surprising momentum swing. frankie ducks down for lefts to the body. frankie is really the man coming forward now. he is measured though, they tie up if he gets too close.
Uatu: Figueroa 10-8
Round 3
the right hook began the fall, but atlas points out there was a left to the back of bailey's head that led to the knockdown. round 3 starts with some in-scrapping and grabbing. frankie trying the lead lefts and if he misses he ties up. bailey on his toes and jabbing. frankie getting a straight left in there. bailey catches frankie with a right, this is a close round. left from frankie. atlas gives us a great analogy about bad neighborhoods and what frankie needs to do to win.
Uatu: Figueroa 10-9
Round 4
headbutt stops the action early in the round. double jabs from frankie. randall got round 3 from atlas. nice exchange of punches. bailey not throwing a whole lot. left to the body from frankie. and there's the boom shot! Bailey clips figueroa! he is flat on his back and he is not getting up. that was some kind of shot. he is still down, and being tended to. atlas says bailey blinded figueroa with a throwaway jab and figueroa never saw the right coming. frankie is responding. now he is being helped up.
Figueroa is now sitting in his corner and being assessed.
and he is up.
the right hand went right through the guard. Atlas is spot on with his commentating. figueroa never saw it coming. you really have to see this replay to get the effect, but it was a left jab to no effect followed by the right, right down the pipe or pike. (I actually had to look it up, and apparently there is disagreement whether it is "down the pike" or "down the pipe." My guess is that it was pike and then people dumbed it down to pipe, similar to tough "road" to hoe when it should be "row.")
winner by KO4...Randall Bailey
anyway, it really was a great right hand and victory for Bailey. This fight was a title eliminator, for whatever that's worth in the current landscape of boxing politics, but I expect to see Bailey in again on TV someday in the future, and everyone should want to see him. He reminds me of Glen Johnson, in that I am not concerned with his age or amount of losses, he brings a credibility and excitement factor that makes me want to watch him again.
More fights on ESPN2, but not for me. Check us out tomorrow for Holt - Bradley.
Posted by uatu
27.3.09
Samuel Peter vs. Eddie Chambers: Friday Night Fights Main Event Round By Round
The Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles is the setting for a significant heavyweight bout between former champion Samuel Peter and Philadelphia's Eddie Chambers. It's a ten-round contest that could be a big boost to the winner as far as positioning for shots at the titles held by the Klitschko brothers.
Peter is coming off a somewhat lackluster loss to Vitali Klitschko last October. He is 30-2 and has dangerous knockout power, but he enters the ring at the heaviest weight of his career tonight: 265 pounds. Chambers is 33-1 and has won three straight since dropping a decision to Alexander Povetkin in January 2008.
Dr. James Jen Kim is the referee in charge of the action. Jimmy Lennon Jr. does the fighter introductions and we are all set to go.
Round 1
Chambers bounces around as both men test some jabs. Teddy Atlas points out that Chambers isn't exactly looking trim himself. Neither man landing much of note, but Peter has been busier. Nice right hand upstairs by Chambers. Peter still stalks and looks for an opening. Peter backs up Chambers with a three-punch combo. Chambers is blocking a lot of punches with his arms. Short right by Chambers in close.
Franchise: 10-9 Peter
Uatu: 10-9 Chambers
Round 2
Chambers lands a few jabs, but Peter's jab snaps his foe's head back. Peter is still the aggressor and you wonder if and when he will tire. Peter is warned for a low left to the body. Chambers searches with multiple jabs. Eddie snaps off a right hand and several lefts to the face. Peter just misses a loaded right hand. Chambers peppers in some quick shots right before the bell.
Franchise: 10-9 Chambers
Uatu: 10-9 Chambers
Round 3
Peter backs Chambers into the corner but can't pin him down. Chambers has the faster hands but is still staying pretty cautious. He lands a few left hands and backs away. Good one-two upstairs by Eddie. Peter tries to rally with body shots. Peter attempts to cut off the ring but still can't land any flush shots.
Franchise: 10-9 Chambers
Uatu: 10-9 Chambers
Round 4
Chambers smiles as he gets whacked by a right hand. Peter comes charging forward and almost connects with a combo. Atlas would like Eddie to be busier. Both men connect in an exchange in the center of the ring. Peter is eating jabs in an attempt to close the distance. Chambers lands with both hands to the body. Eddie scores with a right and Sam tries to fire right back.
Franchise: 10-9 Chambers
Uatu: 10-9 Chambers
Round 5
Peter's corner was telling him to walk his man down. He's doing his best, but Chambers gets his legs under him and starts throwing back. Sam lands a right; Eddie throws counter lefts. Peter gets the best of a brief exchange. Peter partially lands a right hand before the bell. Have to give him that round.
Franchise: 10-9 Peter
Uatu: 10-9 Peter
Round 6
Incredibly, Atlas gave that last round to Chambers. He absolutely needs to throw more punches. Peter comes forward behind his jab. Chambers is winning a jabbing contest in this round. Peter goes to the body and is met with more jabs. Chambers switches southpaw for a minute and lands some quick shots. Peter attempts to lure his foe into a firefight in the closing seconds.
Franchise: 10-9 Chambers
Uatu: 10-9 Peter
Round 7
Chambers continues to land some potshots as he circles. Both men are jabbing but can't consistently get anything to go with them. Left uppercut by Peter. Eddie scores with a three-shot combo and picks off the return fire. Peter goes to the body. Chambers does nice work in close and dances away. Eddie snaps off a double jab with a right hand behind it.
Franchise: 10-9 Chambers
Uatu: 10-9 Chambers
Round 8
I think Chambers is winning on points but he can't feel too comfortable about it. Peter deserves credit for continuing to press the issue. Chambers lands about five jabs in a row. Both men try to get something done in the middle of the ring. Peter bulls forward but gets whacked with counter shots. Sam tries to load up the right hand. Atlas thinks Eddie may have blown that round, but I don't see it.
Franchise: 10-9 Chambers
Uatu: 10-9 Chambers
Round 9
Chambers' corner was imploring him to win the final two rounds. Peter is still throwing but he's backing up now. Chambers starts to pick up the pace as he lands with both hands. Peter goes to the body; Eddie counters with two jabs upstairs. Left-right combination by Eddie. And here comes another. Chambers has a little swelling around his left eye.
Franchise: 10-9 Chambers
Uatu: 10-9 Chambers
Round 10
We'll see who has anything left down the stretch. Peter opens up aggressively. Both men are swinging away but neither is landing flush. Chambers has found a home for the right hand off the jab, but Peter can shake them off. Wild swings along the ropes. One minute to go. Peter unleashes a combo that is mostly blocked. He backs Chambers against the topes and they tie up. Peter may have won the round on pure aggression, but it's probably too little, too late.
Franchise: 10-9 Peter
Uatu: 10-9 Peter
Franchise and Uatu score it 97-93 for Chambers. The judges score it 95-95, and 96-94 and 99-91 for Chambers. The winner by majority decision... "Fast" Eddie Chambers.
Posted by The Franchise
Peter is coming off a somewhat lackluster loss to Vitali Klitschko last October. He is 30-2 and has dangerous knockout power, but he enters the ring at the heaviest weight of his career tonight: 265 pounds. Chambers is 33-1 and has won three straight since dropping a decision to Alexander Povetkin in January 2008.
Dr. James Jen Kim is the referee in charge of the action. Jimmy Lennon Jr. does the fighter introductions and we are all set to go.
Round 1
Chambers bounces around as both men test some jabs. Teddy Atlas points out that Chambers isn't exactly looking trim himself. Neither man landing much of note, but Peter has been busier. Nice right hand upstairs by Chambers. Peter still stalks and looks for an opening. Peter backs up Chambers with a three-punch combo. Chambers is blocking a lot of punches with his arms. Short right by Chambers in close.
Franchise: 10-9 Peter
Uatu: 10-9 Chambers
Round 2
Chambers lands a few jabs, but Peter's jab snaps his foe's head back. Peter is still the aggressor and you wonder if and when he will tire. Peter is warned for a low left to the body. Chambers searches with multiple jabs. Eddie snaps off a right hand and several lefts to the face. Peter just misses a loaded right hand. Chambers peppers in some quick shots right before the bell.
Franchise: 10-9 Chambers
Uatu: 10-9 Chambers
Round 3
Peter backs Chambers into the corner but can't pin him down. Chambers has the faster hands but is still staying pretty cautious. He lands a few left hands and backs away. Good one-two upstairs by Eddie. Peter tries to rally with body shots. Peter attempts to cut off the ring but still can't land any flush shots.
Franchise: 10-9 Chambers
Uatu: 10-9 Chambers
Round 4
Chambers smiles as he gets whacked by a right hand. Peter comes charging forward and almost connects with a combo. Atlas would like Eddie to be busier. Both men connect in an exchange in the center of the ring. Peter is eating jabs in an attempt to close the distance. Chambers lands with both hands to the body. Eddie scores with a right and Sam tries to fire right back.
Franchise: 10-9 Chambers
Uatu: 10-9 Chambers
Round 5
Peter's corner was telling him to walk his man down. He's doing his best, but Chambers gets his legs under him and starts throwing back. Sam lands a right; Eddie throws counter lefts. Peter gets the best of a brief exchange. Peter partially lands a right hand before the bell. Have to give him that round.
Franchise: 10-9 Peter
Uatu: 10-9 Peter
Round 6
Incredibly, Atlas gave that last round to Chambers. He absolutely needs to throw more punches. Peter comes forward behind his jab. Chambers is winning a jabbing contest in this round. Peter goes to the body and is met with more jabs. Chambers switches southpaw for a minute and lands some quick shots. Peter attempts to lure his foe into a firefight in the closing seconds.
Franchise: 10-9 Chambers
Uatu: 10-9 Peter
Round 7
Chambers continues to land some potshots as he circles. Both men are jabbing but can't consistently get anything to go with them. Left uppercut by Peter. Eddie scores with a three-shot combo and picks off the return fire. Peter goes to the body. Chambers does nice work in close and dances away. Eddie snaps off a double jab with a right hand behind it.
Franchise: 10-9 Chambers
Uatu: 10-9 Chambers
Round 8
I think Chambers is winning on points but he can't feel too comfortable about it. Peter deserves credit for continuing to press the issue. Chambers lands about five jabs in a row. Both men try to get something done in the middle of the ring. Peter bulls forward but gets whacked with counter shots. Sam tries to load up the right hand. Atlas thinks Eddie may have blown that round, but I don't see it.
Franchise: 10-9 Chambers
Uatu: 10-9 Chambers
Round 9
Chambers' corner was imploring him to win the final two rounds. Peter is still throwing but he's backing up now. Chambers starts to pick up the pace as he lands with both hands. Peter goes to the body; Eddie counters with two jabs upstairs. Left-right combination by Eddie. And here comes another. Chambers has a little swelling around his left eye.
Franchise: 10-9 Chambers
Uatu: 10-9 Chambers
Round 10
We'll see who has anything left down the stretch. Peter opens up aggressively. Both men are swinging away but neither is landing flush. Chambers has found a home for the right hand off the jab, but Peter can shake them off. Wild swings along the ropes. One minute to go. Peter unleashes a combo that is mostly blocked. He backs Chambers against the topes and they tie up. Peter may have won the round on pure aggression, but it's probably too little, too late.
Franchise: 10-9 Peter
Uatu: 10-9 Peter
Franchise and Uatu score it 97-93 for Chambers. The judges score it 95-95, and 96-94 and 99-91 for Chambers. The winner by majority decision... "Fast" Eddie Chambers.
Posted by The Franchise
Friday Night Fights Report - March 27, 2009
It's a big night on Friday Night Fights, live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. The main event is a fairly important heavyweight fight between Eddie Chambers and Samuel Peter.
The Ring magazine currently has Peter ranked sixth, but Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas point out that he stands to plummet if he loses tonight. Chambers, on the other hand, can take a step up if he can find a way to get past the much larger Peter.
The first fight on the card showcases U.S. Olympian Shawn Estrada as he goes up against Ray Craig. Estrada is from East L.A. and is 2-0 with two KOs in his young pro career. This one is scheduled for four rounds.
A minute in, Craig stumbles forward and is hit while doing so. It's scored as a knockdown, and Estrada quickly scores another one with a right. A left hand puts Craig back on the canvas, and that's it. Estrada wins by TKO at 1:41 of Round 1. Atlas is pretty vocal with his opinion that the Olympic boxers don't get anything out of fights like this one.
Brian Kenny is in the studio to review last weekend's fights. He introduces highlights from Vitali Klitschko-Juan Carlos Gomez and Roy Jones Jr.-Omar Sheika. We get B.J. Flores and Chris Byrd highlights too.
Jaime Motta talks a little bit about the history of boxing in Los Angeles, dating back to cards at the Olympic Auditorium. This is the first live boxing card at the Nokia Theatre, but there are high hopes that it becomes a regular venue for the sport.
Next up is an eight-round fight featuring John Molina and Carlos Vinan Soto. The outspoken Molina is 15-0 with 11 KOs, while his opponent is 8-6-3 with eight previous fights against undefeated fighters.
This turns into a close-range slugfest right away, with Vinan coming right at Molina and swinging away along the ropes. Both men are getting tagged by some strong shots as they stumble to the mat late in the first round.
Blood is coming from Vinan Soto's nose as the second round. The stats show the guys combined to throw over 230 punches in the opening frame. Molina is able to work with slightly more distance in the second round, and the final minute sees him land a series of vicious right hands that finally force the ref to step in and call a stop to the action. John Molina wins by TKO at 2:40 of Round 2.
Back in the studio with BK, who discusses today's breaking news that the substance in Antonio Margarito's gloves before his fight with Shane Mosley was not just a plaster-like substance, but actual plaster. Other news includes the passing of former Mexican champion Raul Macias.
The next fight sees the professional debuts of Javier Molina and Jamie Cabrera. Molina is a decorated amateur turning pro at age 19, while Cabrera is fighting for the first time as a professional at 36. This is a welterweight bout scheduled for four rounds.
Cabrera is coming forward but getting caught on his way in. Molina shows good movement and mixes up his attack to the body and head in the first round.
Molina also likes to double up on his left hook to the body and head. About halfway through the second round, he sends Cabrera down with a body shot and a right upstairs. A left hook puts Cabrera back on the canvas, and that's all she wrote. Javier Molina wins by TKO at 1:50 of Round 2.
BK introduces highlights of Bernard Dunne and Ricardo Cordoba, a super featherweight fight that Dan Rafael is touting as a possible Fight of the Year candidate. We also see Arthur Abraham video as he retained his title against LaJuan Simon.
Posted by The Franchise
The Ring magazine currently has Peter ranked sixth, but Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas point out that he stands to plummet if he loses tonight. Chambers, on the other hand, can take a step up if he can find a way to get past the much larger Peter.
The first fight on the card showcases U.S. Olympian Shawn Estrada as he goes up against Ray Craig. Estrada is from East L.A. and is 2-0 with two KOs in his young pro career. This one is scheduled for four rounds.
A minute in, Craig stumbles forward and is hit while doing so. It's scored as a knockdown, and Estrada quickly scores another one with a right. A left hand puts Craig back on the canvas, and that's it. Estrada wins by TKO at 1:41 of Round 1. Atlas is pretty vocal with his opinion that the Olympic boxers don't get anything out of fights like this one.
Brian Kenny is in the studio to review last weekend's fights. He introduces highlights from Vitali Klitschko-Juan Carlos Gomez and Roy Jones Jr.-Omar Sheika. We get B.J. Flores and Chris Byrd highlights too.
Jaime Motta talks a little bit about the history of boxing in Los Angeles, dating back to cards at the Olympic Auditorium. This is the first live boxing card at the Nokia Theatre, but there are high hopes that it becomes a regular venue for the sport.
Next up is an eight-round fight featuring John Molina and Carlos Vinan Soto. The outspoken Molina is 15-0 with 11 KOs, while his opponent is 8-6-3 with eight previous fights against undefeated fighters.
This turns into a close-range slugfest right away, with Vinan coming right at Molina and swinging away along the ropes. Both men are getting tagged by some strong shots as they stumble to the mat late in the first round.
Blood is coming from Vinan Soto's nose as the second round. The stats show the guys combined to throw over 230 punches in the opening frame. Molina is able to work with slightly more distance in the second round, and the final minute sees him land a series of vicious right hands that finally force the ref to step in and call a stop to the action. John Molina wins by TKO at 2:40 of Round 2.
Back in the studio with BK, who discusses today's breaking news that the substance in Antonio Margarito's gloves before his fight with Shane Mosley was not just a plaster-like substance, but actual plaster. Other news includes the passing of former Mexican champion Raul Macias.
The next fight sees the professional debuts of Javier Molina and Jamie Cabrera. Molina is a decorated amateur turning pro at age 19, while Cabrera is fighting for the first time as a professional at 36. This is a welterweight bout scheduled for four rounds.
Cabrera is coming forward but getting caught on his way in. Molina shows good movement and mixes up his attack to the body and head in the first round.
Molina also likes to double up on his left hook to the body and head. About halfway through the second round, he sends Cabrera down with a body shot and a right upstairs. A left hook puts Cabrera back on the canvas, and that's all she wrote. Javier Molina wins by TKO at 1:50 of Round 2.
BK introduces highlights of Bernard Dunne and Ricardo Cordoba, a super featherweight fight that Dan Rafael is touting as a possible Fight of the Year candidate. We also see Arthur Abraham video as he retained his title against LaJuan Simon.
Posted by The Franchise
6.3.09
Delvin Rodriguez vs. Shamone Alvarez: Friday Night Fights Main Event Round By Round
The March 6 main event of Friday Night Fights pits welterweight Delvin Rodriguez against Shamone Alvarez. It's just Rodriguez's second fight since his fight last July sent Oscar Diaz to the hospital for emergency brain surgery.
There's a good video package that shows Rodriguez dealing with the effects of the Diaz fight. He's from Danbury, Connecticut, which is not too far from the site of tonight's card, the Mohegan Sun.
Mike Greenberg is the guest for Teddy Atlas' Fight Plan. The plan for Rodriguez is to land the right hand off the jab when Alvarez is bouncing. Atlas likes the right uppercut-left hook combination as a key for Alvarez.
Rodriguez is 23-2-2 and is coming off a draw in his last fight. Alvarez is 20-1 with 11 KOs.
Round One
Alvarez comes out very aggressively with rights to the body and lefts upstairs. He catches Rodriguez with a left and wobbles him. Rodriguez gathers his wits and tries his own left hands. Another left crashes home for Alvarez. Rodriguez tries to keep things at range. He scores with two right hands but takes a shot coming back. Alvarez misses and is whacked by two body shots.
Franchise: 10-9 Alvarez
Round Two
Rodriguez fires sharp right hands off the jab. Alvarez is warned for low shots. Alvarez is still trying to get inside. Rodriguez is controlling distance a little better, but Alvarez sneaks in a right hook. Right to the head and left to the body by Rodriguez. He lands another straight right and ducks out of trouble.
Franchise: 10-9 Rodriguez
Round Three
Good exchange in the opening seconds. Rodriguez lands to the body but takes a head shot in return. The ref warns Rodriguez for a low shot. Another good exchange ends with the two men tying up in the center. Rodriguez chases his foe to land a right. More warnings from the ref. Nice combination work from Rodriguez. Alvarez lands a stiff shot at the bell but it may not have won him the round.
Franchise: 10-9 Rodriguez
Round Four
One-two by Rodriguez. He lands a right coming in and ties up. He's finding a home for the right hand more often, and his footwork has been better. Alvarez jabs and chases. Counters to the body by Rodriguez. Nice left finally scores from Alvarez. He's landed a few very clean shots but is getting hit with a lot more quantity.
Franchise: 10-9 Rodriguez
Round Five
Alvarez retreats and is hit with a left hook. Rodriguez is avoiding a lot of the return fire in this round. Right-left combo from Rodriguez. Alvarez jabs his way in but catches rights to the body and head. Alvarez tries to rough his foe up on the inside. Good exchange before the bell and both men have their heads snap back.
Franchise: 10-9 Rodriguez
Round Six
Alvarez lands a few left hands as a bit of a brawl breaks out. Another left knocks Rodriguez back as he tries to rally. Rodriguez lands a jab but can't score with power shots right now. Both men hold and try to work inside. Good round for Alvarez.
Franchise: 10-9 Alvarez
Round Seven
Atlas doesn't like how straight Rodriguez stands when he's defending. He starts a little faster in this round. Alvarez smothers Rodriguez inside. Several body shots score for Rodriguez. A short right finds Alvarez's head too. Sneaky uppercuts from very close range by Alvarez. Both men throw some wild shots, with Rodriguez scoring with an uppercut to the body.
Franchise: 10-9 Rodriguez
Round Eight
Rodriguez pumps the jab and circles. Atlas has the fight even right now. Rodriguez goes body and is hit upstairs. Alvarez just misses a big left as they wrestle. Alvarez lands a sharp left hook and steps on the gas a bit. Rodriguez comes back firing with a huge right hand. Another big right smacks Alvarez in the face. Nice action in that round.
Franchise: 10-9 Rodriguez
Round Nine
Rodriguez tells his corner he may have broken his wrist. He seems to be favoring it a bit. Rodriguez gets some work done fighting with just his left hand. Alvarez forces Rodriguez back, but Delvin is doing an excellent job with just one hand. Alvarez connects with a left hand and they tie up. That was a close round despite the apparent injury.
Franchise: 10-9 Rodriguez
Round 10
The ringside doctor spends a lot of time in Rodriguez's corner. Alvarez bulls his way in and lands body shots with both hands. Rodriguez goes down but it was an obvious push and slip. Both men connect as they stand and trade. Another Alvarez body shot lands and their feet get tangled. More stumbling with some punches landing at close range. Rodriguez lands a late right hand but that was an ugly round that favored Alvarez.
Franchise: 10-9 Alvarez
Round 11
Alvarez comes charging out of the gate. Rodriguez shakes out his right hand after he connects. Nice combo by Rodriguez. Alvarez comes forward again with several lefts. Left and a right hook by Alvarez. Rodriguez scores with a right hand and Alvarez goes down! He's up quickly but Rodriguez tries to close the show. Good action in the center of the ring. Alvarez is game as they brawl to the bell.
Franchise: 10-8 Rodriguez
Round 12
Wild swings from Alvarez. Rodriguez is chasing him and landing shots. They trade along the ropes and Rodriguez is wobbled. Delvin is running a bit and looks shaky. Alvarez is looking for his opening with a minute to go. Rodriguez stands his ground and keeps throwing. The ref literally has to jump in as the final bell rings. Great, great entertainment in that last round.
Franchise: 10-9 Alvarez
Franchise scores it 116-111 for Rodriguez. The judges score it 115-112 and 114-113 twice, all to the winner by unanimous decision, Delvin Rodriguez.
Posted by The Franchise
There's a good video package that shows Rodriguez dealing with the effects of the Diaz fight. He's from Danbury, Connecticut, which is not too far from the site of tonight's card, the Mohegan Sun.
Mike Greenberg is the guest for Teddy Atlas' Fight Plan. The plan for Rodriguez is to land the right hand off the jab when Alvarez is bouncing. Atlas likes the right uppercut-left hook combination as a key for Alvarez.
Rodriguez is 23-2-2 and is coming off a draw in his last fight. Alvarez is 20-1 with 11 KOs.
Round One
Alvarez comes out very aggressively with rights to the body and lefts upstairs. He catches Rodriguez with a left and wobbles him. Rodriguez gathers his wits and tries his own left hands. Another left crashes home for Alvarez. Rodriguez tries to keep things at range. He scores with two right hands but takes a shot coming back. Alvarez misses and is whacked by two body shots.
Franchise: 10-9 Alvarez
Round Two
Rodriguez fires sharp right hands off the jab. Alvarez is warned for low shots. Alvarez is still trying to get inside. Rodriguez is controlling distance a little better, but Alvarez sneaks in a right hook. Right to the head and left to the body by Rodriguez. He lands another straight right and ducks out of trouble.
Franchise: 10-9 Rodriguez
Round Three
Good exchange in the opening seconds. Rodriguez lands to the body but takes a head shot in return. The ref warns Rodriguez for a low shot. Another good exchange ends with the two men tying up in the center. Rodriguez chases his foe to land a right. More warnings from the ref. Nice combination work from Rodriguez. Alvarez lands a stiff shot at the bell but it may not have won him the round.
Franchise: 10-9 Rodriguez
Round Four
One-two by Rodriguez. He lands a right coming in and ties up. He's finding a home for the right hand more often, and his footwork has been better. Alvarez jabs and chases. Counters to the body by Rodriguez. Nice left finally scores from Alvarez. He's landed a few very clean shots but is getting hit with a lot more quantity.
Franchise: 10-9 Rodriguez
Round Five
Alvarez retreats and is hit with a left hook. Rodriguez is avoiding a lot of the return fire in this round. Right-left combo from Rodriguez. Alvarez jabs his way in but catches rights to the body and head. Alvarez tries to rough his foe up on the inside. Good exchange before the bell and both men have their heads snap back.
Franchise: 10-9 Rodriguez
Round Six
Alvarez lands a few left hands as a bit of a brawl breaks out. Another left knocks Rodriguez back as he tries to rally. Rodriguez lands a jab but can't score with power shots right now. Both men hold and try to work inside. Good round for Alvarez.
Franchise: 10-9 Alvarez
Round Seven
Atlas doesn't like how straight Rodriguez stands when he's defending. He starts a little faster in this round. Alvarez smothers Rodriguez inside. Several body shots score for Rodriguez. A short right finds Alvarez's head too. Sneaky uppercuts from very close range by Alvarez. Both men throw some wild shots, with Rodriguez scoring with an uppercut to the body.
Franchise: 10-9 Rodriguez
Round Eight
Rodriguez pumps the jab and circles. Atlas has the fight even right now. Rodriguez goes body and is hit upstairs. Alvarez just misses a big left as they wrestle. Alvarez lands a sharp left hook and steps on the gas a bit. Rodriguez comes back firing with a huge right hand. Another big right smacks Alvarez in the face. Nice action in that round.
Franchise: 10-9 Rodriguez
Round Nine
Rodriguez tells his corner he may have broken his wrist. He seems to be favoring it a bit. Rodriguez gets some work done fighting with just his left hand. Alvarez forces Rodriguez back, but Delvin is doing an excellent job with just one hand. Alvarez connects with a left hand and they tie up. That was a close round despite the apparent injury.
Franchise: 10-9 Rodriguez
Round 10
The ringside doctor spends a lot of time in Rodriguez's corner. Alvarez bulls his way in and lands body shots with both hands. Rodriguez goes down but it was an obvious push and slip. Both men connect as they stand and trade. Another Alvarez body shot lands and their feet get tangled. More stumbling with some punches landing at close range. Rodriguez lands a late right hand but that was an ugly round that favored Alvarez.
Franchise: 10-9 Alvarez
Round 11
Alvarez comes charging out of the gate. Rodriguez shakes out his right hand after he connects. Nice combo by Rodriguez. Alvarez comes forward again with several lefts. Left and a right hook by Alvarez. Rodriguez scores with a right hand and Alvarez goes down! He's up quickly but Rodriguez tries to close the show. Good action in the center of the ring. Alvarez is game as they brawl to the bell.
Franchise: 10-8 Rodriguez
Round 12
Wild swings from Alvarez. Rodriguez is chasing him and landing shots. They trade along the ropes and Rodriguez is wobbled. Delvin is running a bit and looks shaky. Alvarez is looking for his opening with a minute to go. Rodriguez stands his ground and keeps throwing. The ref literally has to jump in as the final bell rings. Great, great entertainment in that last round.
Franchise: 10-9 Alvarez
Franchise scores it 116-111 for Rodriguez. The judges score it 115-112 and 114-113 twice, all to the winner by unanimous decision, Delvin Rodriguez.
Posted by The Franchise
Friday Night Fights Report - March 6, 2009
FNF starts a little late tonight thanks to high school basketball and will wrap up early on account of the WBC. Delvin Rodriguez is the headliner of the card from the Mohegan Sun, facing off against Shamone Alvarez.
Teddy Atlas talks to Rodriguez about getting back on TV for the first time since his fight with Oscar Diaz. He feels he is back in the correct mindset when he steps in the ring, putting the tragedy with Diaz behind him.
U.S. Olympian Demetrius Andrade is making his ESPN debut and Bernard Hopkins is in studio with Brian Kenny.
The Executioner confirms that he is looking to move up in weight and take on Tomasz Adamek at cruiserweight. He still has some small hopes that Joe Calzaghe will fight him again, but he's not counting on it.
The first televised fight pits Demetrius Andrade, the brightest prospect from a disappointing 2008 U.S. Olympic boxing squad, in a four-round junior middleweight fight against Tom Joseph. About halfway through the first round, Andrade starts letting loose with body shots and uppercuts, and Joseph is simply helpless against the onslaught. Andrade wins by KO at 1:56 of the first round.
Andrade moves to 3-0 with 3 KOs, and he'll actually be back on FNF in just two weeks. Hopkins thinks Andrade has all the tools but needs to step up his level of competition.
Kenny and Hopkins review the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz fight as well as the Chris John-Rocky Juarez bout. Hopkins thought John deserved to win the fight, and also supports the idea of a John-Juarez rematch.
Next up is a six-round welterweight fight between Raymond Serrano and Jay Krupp. Atlas thinks Serrano has been in pretty soft thus far, but also says Krupp has been in even softer.
Serrano's defense is not impressive but his punching power is. He scores an early knockdown but also gets tagged with some big shots.
Hopkins checks in from the studio and states that Serrano is making the fight too difficult for himself by chasing the home run shot and ignoring his fundamentals. There's also some pretty funny video of Mike Greenberg training with Atlas. Good stuff.
The fight actually goes all six rounds, with both men swinging wildly and connecting with a few bombs right at the end of the final frame. We'll see how the judges saw it.
The judges score it 58-55 and 60-53 twice, and Serrano wins by unanimous decision.
Back to the studio one more time, Kenny reviews the last few fights for Adamek. Hopkins seems to be serious about moving up and trying to make a fight happen. He does a pretty nice job selling Adamek as a threat due to moving up in weight. B-Hop would look to be about 185 pounds, where he feels he'd still have speed and power.
Hopkins says Golden Boy is working on Adamek and Calzaghe, though he thinks Joe-Cal will stay retired.
Posted by The Franchise
Teddy Atlas talks to Rodriguez about getting back on TV for the first time since his fight with Oscar Diaz. He feels he is back in the correct mindset when he steps in the ring, putting the tragedy with Diaz behind him.
U.S. Olympian Demetrius Andrade is making his ESPN debut and Bernard Hopkins is in studio with Brian Kenny.
The Executioner confirms that he is looking to move up in weight and take on Tomasz Adamek at cruiserweight. He still has some small hopes that Joe Calzaghe will fight him again, but he's not counting on it.
The first televised fight pits Demetrius Andrade, the brightest prospect from a disappointing 2008 U.S. Olympic boxing squad, in a four-round junior middleweight fight against Tom Joseph. About halfway through the first round, Andrade starts letting loose with body shots and uppercuts, and Joseph is simply helpless against the onslaught. Andrade wins by KO at 1:56 of the first round.
Andrade moves to 3-0 with 3 KOs, and he'll actually be back on FNF in just two weeks. Hopkins thinks Andrade has all the tools but needs to step up his level of competition.
Kenny and Hopkins review the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz fight as well as the Chris John-Rocky Juarez bout. Hopkins thought John deserved to win the fight, and also supports the idea of a John-Juarez rematch.
Next up is a six-round welterweight fight between Raymond Serrano and Jay Krupp. Atlas thinks Serrano has been in pretty soft thus far, but also says Krupp has been in even softer.
Serrano's defense is not impressive but his punching power is. He scores an early knockdown but also gets tagged with some big shots.
Hopkins checks in from the studio and states that Serrano is making the fight too difficult for himself by chasing the home run shot and ignoring his fundamentals. There's also some pretty funny video of Mike Greenberg training with Atlas. Good stuff.
The fight actually goes all six rounds, with both men swinging wildly and connecting with a few bombs right at the end of the final frame. We'll see how the judges saw it.
The judges score it 58-55 and 60-53 twice, and Serrano wins by unanimous decision.
Back to the studio one more time, Kenny reviews the last few fights for Adamek. Hopkins seems to be serious about moving up and trying to make a fight happen. He does a pretty nice job selling Adamek as a threat due to moving up in weight. B-Hop would look to be about 185 pounds, where he feels he'd still have speed and power.
Hopkins says Golden Boy is working on Adamek and Calzaghe, though he thinks Joe-Cal will stay retired.
Posted by The Franchise
27.2.09
Glen Johnson vs. Daniel Judah: Friday Night Fights Main Event Round By Round
Glen Johnson is the headliner for the Feb. 27 edition of Friday Night Fights from the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida. The former light heavyweight champion and 2004 Fighter of the Year takes on Daniel Judah, a man he fought to a somewhat questionable draw back in 2003.
The 40-year old Johnson is 48-12-2 and was 2-1 in 2008, with his loss coming to Chad Dawson. Judah is 23-3-3 and was 1-1 last year.
We're scheduled for 10 rounds in the light heavyweight division.
Round One
Judah is more active in the early going, with Johnson content to counter. Judah flicks the jab and throws the left to the body. Both men land head shots in an exchange. Johnson is picking off a lot of punches with his arms. Johnson lands a few counter shots as Judah covers up. A right hand comes crashing home for Johnson and Judah slumps into the ropes! He gets back up and probably only survives because it was close to the end of the round.
Franchise: 10-8 Johnson
Uatu: 10-8 Johnson
Round Two
Johnson wants the right hand again and is able to land it twice with a body shot or two mixed in. Teddy Atlas thinks Judah needs to increase the distance to have any chance. He lands a left but Johnson is firing right back. Glen goes to the body and covers up well when Judah responds. Another right to the head sets up a Johnson combination. Judah is coming forward but not landing anything too big.
Franchise: 10-9 Johnson
Uatu: 10-9 Johnson
Round Three
Nate Campbell and Jameel McCline are both in attendance. The fighters trade at very close range with nothing of consequence landing. Judah is staying busy but Johnson's punches look and sound harder. He backs Judah up with the jab. Johnson tries hooks to the head and body around Judah's tight guard. They trade again in the middle of the ring. Judah lands a nice right to the body and left to the head just before the bell.
Franchise: 10-9 Johnson
Uatu: 10-9 Johnson
Round Four
Judah is still moving well but his margin for error looks to be small. He boxes his way out of a tight spot along the ropes. Both men jab and work from very close range. Judah shakes his head as Johnson lands several shots to the arms or body. Johnson is looking for uppercuts and hooks but not landing as many flush right now. Judah scores with a right and appears to be gaining some confidence now.
Franchise: 10-9 Johnson
Uatu: 10-9 Johnson
Round Five
The announcers visit with Jermain Taylor during this round. Johnson forces Judah back with punches from both hands. Judah ducks and weaves and begins throwing back. Johnson tries more hooks as they hold their heads up against each other. Johnson ends a stalemate with rights to the head and body. Nothing too hugs is landing but Johnson is controlling the pace and distance.
Franchise: 10-9 Johnson
Uatu: 10-9 Johnson
Round Six
Judah opens this round with some energy, but as soon as the range closes, Johnson takes over with short, hard shots. His left hook to the body is possibly the only punch from either fighter that is scoring consistently at this point. Judah lowers his guard and invites Johnson in, and he's happy to oblige. Johnson continues his relentless body attack in the final 30 seconds.
Franchise: 10-9 Johnson
Uatu: 10-9 Johnson
Round Seven
Barring the unlikely possibility that Johnson runs out of gas late, I'm not sure what Judah can do to win this fight. Johnson works off the jab in the center of the ring. Left to the body for the umpteenth time. Judah ducks and counters but his punches don't have much on them. Another left to the body catches Judah's attention. Johnson lands a right and Judah lands a pretty nice counter, but that was still Johnson's round without a doubt.
Franchise: 10-9 Johnson
Uatu: 10-9 Johnson
Round Eight
Johnson turns it on early in this round. Judah may be trying to set a trap, but without the power to make Johnson pay, that's a risky ploy. Judah does some theatrics to show he's not hurt. He is still punching back, but without much effect. Both men try the body and Johnson remains much busier.
Franchise: 10-9 Johnson
Uatu: 10-9 Johnson
Round Nine
Judah forces Johnson to chase him a bit. Glen continues to keep the jab flowing as he stalks. Judah scores to the body and backs out. Johnson throws an uppercut and two hooks. He sits down behind a few head shots and lands a right hook. Judah paws with his left and keeps circling.
Franchise: 10-9 Johnson
Uatu: 10-9 Johnson
Round 10
I think we'll see more of the same instead of all-out fireworks in the final round. the ref pauses things for a second due to a clash of heads. Judah is milking it, but it did look like a pretty stiff headbutt. Glen charges in and they brawl along the ropes. Ninety seconds to go and Johnson is still throwing a high number of punches. Judah deserves credit as he is still giving it his all. Both men swinging wildly (and missing) as the fight wraps up.
Franchise: 10-9 Johnson
Uatu: 10-9 Johnson
Both Franchise and Uatu scored it 100-89 for Johnson. The judges score it 99-89 and 99-90 twice, all for the winner, Glen "The Road Warrior" Johnson.
Posted by The Franchise
The 40-year old Johnson is 48-12-2 and was 2-1 in 2008, with his loss coming to Chad Dawson. Judah is 23-3-3 and was 1-1 last year.
We're scheduled for 10 rounds in the light heavyweight division.
Round One
Judah is more active in the early going, with Johnson content to counter. Judah flicks the jab and throws the left to the body. Both men land head shots in an exchange. Johnson is picking off a lot of punches with his arms. Johnson lands a few counter shots as Judah covers up. A right hand comes crashing home for Johnson and Judah slumps into the ropes! He gets back up and probably only survives because it was close to the end of the round.
Franchise: 10-8 Johnson
Uatu: 10-8 Johnson
Round Two
Johnson wants the right hand again and is able to land it twice with a body shot or two mixed in. Teddy Atlas thinks Judah needs to increase the distance to have any chance. He lands a left but Johnson is firing right back. Glen goes to the body and covers up well when Judah responds. Another right to the head sets up a Johnson combination. Judah is coming forward but not landing anything too big.
Franchise: 10-9 Johnson
Uatu: 10-9 Johnson
Round Three
Nate Campbell and Jameel McCline are both in attendance. The fighters trade at very close range with nothing of consequence landing. Judah is staying busy but Johnson's punches look and sound harder. He backs Judah up with the jab. Johnson tries hooks to the head and body around Judah's tight guard. They trade again in the middle of the ring. Judah lands a nice right to the body and left to the head just before the bell.
Franchise: 10-9 Johnson
Uatu: 10-9 Johnson
Round Four
Judah is still moving well but his margin for error looks to be small. He boxes his way out of a tight spot along the ropes. Both men jab and work from very close range. Judah shakes his head as Johnson lands several shots to the arms or body. Johnson is looking for uppercuts and hooks but not landing as many flush right now. Judah scores with a right and appears to be gaining some confidence now.
Franchise: 10-9 Johnson
Uatu: 10-9 Johnson
Round Five
The announcers visit with Jermain Taylor during this round. Johnson forces Judah back with punches from both hands. Judah ducks and weaves and begins throwing back. Johnson tries more hooks as they hold their heads up against each other. Johnson ends a stalemate with rights to the head and body. Nothing too hugs is landing but Johnson is controlling the pace and distance.
Franchise: 10-9 Johnson
Uatu: 10-9 Johnson
Round Six
Judah opens this round with some energy, but as soon as the range closes, Johnson takes over with short, hard shots. His left hook to the body is possibly the only punch from either fighter that is scoring consistently at this point. Judah lowers his guard and invites Johnson in, and he's happy to oblige. Johnson continues his relentless body attack in the final 30 seconds.
Franchise: 10-9 Johnson
Uatu: 10-9 Johnson
Round Seven
Barring the unlikely possibility that Johnson runs out of gas late, I'm not sure what Judah can do to win this fight. Johnson works off the jab in the center of the ring. Left to the body for the umpteenth time. Judah ducks and counters but his punches don't have much on them. Another left to the body catches Judah's attention. Johnson lands a right and Judah lands a pretty nice counter, but that was still Johnson's round without a doubt.
Franchise: 10-9 Johnson
Uatu: 10-9 Johnson
Round Eight
Johnson turns it on early in this round. Judah may be trying to set a trap, but without the power to make Johnson pay, that's a risky ploy. Judah does some theatrics to show he's not hurt. He is still punching back, but without much effect. Both men try the body and Johnson remains much busier.
Franchise: 10-9 Johnson
Uatu: 10-9 Johnson
Round Nine
Judah forces Johnson to chase him a bit. Glen continues to keep the jab flowing as he stalks. Judah scores to the body and backs out. Johnson throws an uppercut and two hooks. He sits down behind a few head shots and lands a right hook. Judah paws with his left and keeps circling.
Franchise: 10-9 Johnson
Uatu: 10-9 Johnson
Round 10
I think we'll see more of the same instead of all-out fireworks in the final round. the ref pauses things for a second due to a clash of heads. Judah is milking it, but it did look like a pretty stiff headbutt. Glen charges in and they brawl along the ropes. Ninety seconds to go and Johnson is still throwing a high number of punches. Judah deserves credit as he is still giving it his all. Both men swinging wildly (and missing) as the fight wraps up.
Franchise: 10-9 Johnson
Uatu: 10-9 Johnson
Both Franchise and Uatu scored it 100-89 for Johnson. The judges score it 99-89 and 99-90 twice, all for the winner, Glen "The Road Warrior" Johnson.
Posted by The Franchise
Friday Night Fights Report - Feb. 27, 2009
The Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida is home to this week's broadcast of Friday Night Fights. Tonight's showcase fight features Glen Johnson versus Daniel Judah in a rematch of a fight from several years ago that ended in a controversial draw.
Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas are on hand as usual, with Brian Kenny and Bernardo Osuna in the studio. They will also talk ringside with Jermain Taylor later tonight.
Osuna shares his thoughts on Miguel Cotto following his convincing comeback win against Michael Jennings. He thinks Cotto found his boxing skills again and regained his confidence. As an aside, Kenny is rocking a bright pink shirt with matching tie.
Tonight's first fight is Danny O'Connor and Jamar Saunders in a four-rounder at 140 pounds. Tessitore says O'Connor learned to sew at a young age and makes his own boxing gear, to which Atlas deadpans, "You better be able to fight if you sew your own trunks."
O'Connor is a southpaw but has a nasty right hook that he's able to land a few times in the second round. He spends the second minute of the round mixing hooks to the head and body with some straight lefts, strafing Saunders repeatedly.
He also has some holes on defense, but Saunders isn't able to exploit them too often, and one thinks this will be a fairly easy decision for the judges. One judge surprisingly scores it 38-38, but the other two saw it 40-36, and O'Connor wins by majority decision.
Back in the studio, the guys talk Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz. They both weighed in just under 135, with JMM looking lean and the Baby Bull looking a little soft, though that's how he always looks.
Kenny points out that JMM is ten years older and naturally smaller but is a great fighter with a style that may be troublesome for Diaz. Osuna thinks that Marquez won't have trouble with Diaz's pressure, but he does wonder if and when age will catch up with him. On ESPN's poll, two-thirds of the fans think JMM will win.
There's also talk about the Chris John-Rocky Juarez fight. Juarez is mentioned as a boxer who has always been just a step below the top level at his weight, and Osuna thinks John's skills are apparent even though he has fought almost exclusively in Indonesia.
Next up is undefeated Norberto Gonzalez taking on Antwone Smith in an eight-round welterweight scrap. Gonzalez is 16-0 with 12 KOs and is making his first appearance in the United States, or anywhere outside his native Mexico for that matter.
Gonzalez is very efficient with his movement, backing away just enough to avoid punches while staying close enough to string together combinations. He's busy enough to win the first round.
Smith gets a little more active in the second round. Gonzalez stuns Smith with a right, but when he closes in to try to press his advantage, Smith catches him with a counter right and sends him down. Gonzalez pops right back up and is landing bombs again as an entertaining round comes to a close.
Blood starts to flow from the left eye of Gonzalez in the third round, and the next two frames are fought pretty evenly. Gonzalez is able to use his boxing skills and movement a little more obviously in the fifth, and Atlas has him up by a point.
The sixth round sees Smith land some flush shots that reopen the original cut and start a new one on the opposite side. But Gonzalez responds with a mean right-left combo, and it turns into an all-out slugfest that gets the fans into it in the final minute.
The pace slows just a bit in the seventh, setting up what could be a fun ending to a fight that could definitely be up for grabs. Nothing crazy happens in the last round, and though Smith goes down in the closing seconds, it's correctly ruled a slip. We'll go to the scorecards.
All three judges score it 78-74, all to the winner by unanimous decision, Antwone Smith.
Back to BK and Osuna for one more segment. They revisit the Cotto fight again with Osuna saying Joshua Clottey will likely be his next opponent on June 13.
They talk Pavlik-Rubio as well, and Osuna makes the interesting comment that Pavlik has a "Mexican" style the way he comes forward and works the body. He also says he's been told Arthur Abraham is not likely to come to the U.S. to fight Pavlik at this point.
A video package provides some more background on Glen Johnson, a true warrior who also comes across as a very real, down to earth human being.
Posted by The Franchise
Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas are on hand as usual, with Brian Kenny and Bernardo Osuna in the studio. They will also talk ringside with Jermain Taylor later tonight.
Osuna shares his thoughts on Miguel Cotto following his convincing comeback win against Michael Jennings. He thinks Cotto found his boxing skills again and regained his confidence. As an aside, Kenny is rocking a bright pink shirt with matching tie.
Tonight's first fight is Danny O'Connor and Jamar Saunders in a four-rounder at 140 pounds. Tessitore says O'Connor learned to sew at a young age and makes his own boxing gear, to which Atlas deadpans, "You better be able to fight if you sew your own trunks."
O'Connor is a southpaw but has a nasty right hook that he's able to land a few times in the second round. He spends the second minute of the round mixing hooks to the head and body with some straight lefts, strafing Saunders repeatedly.
He also has some holes on defense, but Saunders isn't able to exploit them too often, and one thinks this will be a fairly easy decision for the judges. One judge surprisingly scores it 38-38, but the other two saw it 40-36, and O'Connor wins by majority decision.
Back in the studio, the guys talk Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz. They both weighed in just under 135, with JMM looking lean and the Baby Bull looking a little soft, though that's how he always looks.
Kenny points out that JMM is ten years older and naturally smaller but is a great fighter with a style that may be troublesome for Diaz. Osuna thinks that Marquez won't have trouble with Diaz's pressure, but he does wonder if and when age will catch up with him. On ESPN's poll, two-thirds of the fans think JMM will win.
There's also talk about the Chris John-Rocky Juarez fight. Juarez is mentioned as a boxer who has always been just a step below the top level at his weight, and Osuna thinks John's skills are apparent even though he has fought almost exclusively in Indonesia.
Next up is undefeated Norberto Gonzalez taking on Antwone Smith in an eight-round welterweight scrap. Gonzalez is 16-0 with 12 KOs and is making his first appearance in the United States, or anywhere outside his native Mexico for that matter.
Gonzalez is very efficient with his movement, backing away just enough to avoid punches while staying close enough to string together combinations. He's busy enough to win the first round.
Smith gets a little more active in the second round. Gonzalez stuns Smith with a right, but when he closes in to try to press his advantage, Smith catches him with a counter right and sends him down. Gonzalez pops right back up and is landing bombs again as an entertaining round comes to a close.
Blood starts to flow from the left eye of Gonzalez in the third round, and the next two frames are fought pretty evenly. Gonzalez is able to use his boxing skills and movement a little more obviously in the fifth, and Atlas has him up by a point.
The sixth round sees Smith land some flush shots that reopen the original cut and start a new one on the opposite side. But Gonzalez responds with a mean right-left combo, and it turns into an all-out slugfest that gets the fans into it in the final minute.
The pace slows just a bit in the seventh, setting up what could be a fun ending to a fight that could definitely be up for grabs. Nothing crazy happens in the last round, and though Smith goes down in the closing seconds, it's correctly ruled a slip. We'll go to the scorecards.
All three judges score it 78-74, all to the winner by unanimous decision, Antwone Smith.
Back to BK and Osuna for one more segment. They revisit the Cotto fight again with Osuna saying Joshua Clottey will likely be his next opponent on June 13.
They talk Pavlik-Rubio as well, and Osuna makes the interesting comment that Pavlik has a "Mexican" style the way he comes forward and works the body. He also says he's been told Arthur Abraham is not likely to come to the U.S. to fight Pavlik at this point.
A video package provides some more background on Glen Johnson, a true warrior who also comes across as a very real, down to earth human being.
Posted by The Franchise
20.2.09
Breidis Prescott vs. Humberto Toledo - Friday Night Fights Round By Round
Undefeated Breidis Prescott moves up to the main event of Friday Night Fights to take on Ecuador's Humberto Toledo.
The 24-year old Prescott is 20-0 with 18 KOs. He put himself on the map with a thrilling first-round KO of Amir Khan last September. Toledo is 34-5-2 and is giving up quite a bit of height to the very tall Prescott.
We're set to go for a scheduled 10 rounds.
Round One
Prescott pumps away with the jab. Toledo comes charging forward but runs into some hooks. Prescott digs to the body and eats a left coming back. It's a super fast pace with both men swinging away. Prescott returns to the body along the ropes. He's just missing some big shots upstairs. A left hand knocks Toledo off balance for a moment. A nice right scores for Prescott right before the bell.
Franchise: 10-9 Prescott
Round Two
Prescott stays with his jab, and Toledo's only option so far has been to literally run at his opponent. Nice one-two to the head by Prescott. Toledo lands a right but Prescott goes back on the attack. Now a nice exchange breaks out in the middle of the ring. Toledo sneaks in a couple of right hands. Teddy Atlas wants to see more body punching from Prescott.
Franchise: 10-9 Prescott
Round Three
Toledo tries to rough things up on the inside but Prescott backs away. Prescott throws hooks with both hands. Toledo smirks a bit as he comes forward. Nice right hand by Prescott and he avoids the return fire. Both men swing away with about 45 seconds to go. Neither guy is getting cheated on his punches right now.
Franchise: 10-9 Prescott
Round Four
Toledo may be best served by turning this into a wild brawl, as Prescott seems willing to stand and trade. Prescott has a bit of a cut caused by a headbutt. Toledo charges forward and makes it ugly again. Prescott stands and throws a bunch of wide shots. The ref warns him for a low blow. Toledo slugs his way forward but misses most of his punches. Prescott's jab starts to flow again. Here comes Prescott, shrugging off a right hand and scoring with both of his own.
Franchise: 10-9 Prescott
Round Five
Toledo connects with a right hand and ducks some of Prescott's hooks. A right from Prescott knocks Toledo back a step and they circle around. Breidis is doing all he can to keep Toledo off of him. Both men missing a lot right now. Toledo turns southpaw trying to find something, as neither man landed anything too devastating in that frame.
Franchise: 10-9 Prescott
Round Six
Both men look to the body. Toledo throws with both hands to the head. Prescott jabs and tires a left hook. More jabs from Breidis. Toledo is still pushing the pace, he just is too inaccurate. Atlas thinks Prescott is getting a bit frustrated. His movement and height have really served him well though.
Franchise: 10-9 Prescott
Round Seven
Joel Casamayor is in the house. Toledo tries chasing again. Prescott dodges numerous shots along the ropes and whacks away with a hook. He's complaining about more headbutts. Toledo having a lot of trouble finding the target as Prescott stays elusive. Two nice left hooks hit Toledo, who needs the ropes to hold himself up and gets a standing eight from the ref.
Franchise: 10-8 Prescott
Round Eight
We'll see if Prescott can close the show, and he lands a hook and an uppercut. Toledo is still battling. Prescott steps back and fires the uppercut. Body shot by Prescott and more left hands. The counter left is there whenever he wants it. The ref takes a point away from Toledo for holding and hitting.
Franchise: 10-8 Prescott
Round Nine
Prescott is still bouncing around. Toledo bulls forward and hopes for one big shot. Several jabs by Breidis. Prescott touches Toledo upstairs and moves away. He's sticking and moving and not getting lured into a firefight. Toledo runs right over Prescott and the ref correctly says it's not a knockdown.
Franchise: 10-9 Prescott
Round Ten
Only a home run shot could save Toledo at this point. He lands a right hand but Prescott ties him up. More roughhousing breaks out and the ref disqualifies Toledo. It looks like he bit Prescott right on the base of the neck. Replays sure make it look like he was bitten, and the referee confirms that's why the fight was stopped.
The winner by disqualification at 1:58 of Round 10... Breidis Prescott.
The 24-year old Prescott is 20-0 with 18 KOs. He put himself on the map with a thrilling first-round KO of Amir Khan last September. Toledo is 34-5-2 and is giving up quite a bit of height to the very tall Prescott.
We're set to go for a scheduled 10 rounds.
Round One
Prescott pumps away with the jab. Toledo comes charging forward but runs into some hooks. Prescott digs to the body and eats a left coming back. It's a super fast pace with both men swinging away. Prescott returns to the body along the ropes. He's just missing some big shots upstairs. A left hand knocks Toledo off balance for a moment. A nice right scores for Prescott right before the bell.
Franchise: 10-9 Prescott
Round Two
Prescott stays with his jab, and Toledo's only option so far has been to literally run at his opponent. Nice one-two to the head by Prescott. Toledo lands a right but Prescott goes back on the attack. Now a nice exchange breaks out in the middle of the ring. Toledo sneaks in a couple of right hands. Teddy Atlas wants to see more body punching from Prescott.
Franchise: 10-9 Prescott
Round Three
Toledo tries to rough things up on the inside but Prescott backs away. Prescott throws hooks with both hands. Toledo smirks a bit as he comes forward. Nice right hand by Prescott and he avoids the return fire. Both men swing away with about 45 seconds to go. Neither guy is getting cheated on his punches right now.
Franchise: 10-9 Prescott
Round Four
Toledo may be best served by turning this into a wild brawl, as Prescott seems willing to stand and trade. Prescott has a bit of a cut caused by a headbutt. Toledo charges forward and makes it ugly again. Prescott stands and throws a bunch of wide shots. The ref warns him for a low blow. Toledo slugs his way forward but misses most of his punches. Prescott's jab starts to flow again. Here comes Prescott, shrugging off a right hand and scoring with both of his own.
Franchise: 10-9 Prescott
Round Five
Toledo connects with a right hand and ducks some of Prescott's hooks. A right from Prescott knocks Toledo back a step and they circle around. Breidis is doing all he can to keep Toledo off of him. Both men missing a lot right now. Toledo turns southpaw trying to find something, as neither man landed anything too devastating in that frame.
Franchise: 10-9 Prescott
Round Six
Both men look to the body. Toledo throws with both hands to the head. Prescott jabs and tires a left hook. More jabs from Breidis. Toledo is still pushing the pace, he just is too inaccurate. Atlas thinks Prescott is getting a bit frustrated. His movement and height have really served him well though.
Franchise: 10-9 Prescott
Round Seven
Joel Casamayor is in the house. Toledo tries chasing again. Prescott dodges numerous shots along the ropes and whacks away with a hook. He's complaining about more headbutts. Toledo having a lot of trouble finding the target as Prescott stays elusive. Two nice left hooks hit Toledo, who needs the ropes to hold himself up and gets a standing eight from the ref.
Franchise: 10-8 Prescott
Round Eight
We'll see if Prescott can close the show, and he lands a hook and an uppercut. Toledo is still battling. Prescott steps back and fires the uppercut. Body shot by Prescott and more left hands. The counter left is there whenever he wants it. The ref takes a point away from Toledo for holding and hitting.
Franchise: 10-8 Prescott
Round Nine
Prescott is still bouncing around. Toledo bulls forward and hopes for one big shot. Several jabs by Breidis. Prescott touches Toledo upstairs and moves away. He's sticking and moving and not getting lured into a firefight. Toledo runs right over Prescott and the ref correctly says it's not a knockdown.
Franchise: 10-9 Prescott
Round Ten
Only a home run shot could save Toledo at this point. He lands a right hand but Prescott ties him up. More roughhousing breaks out and the ref disqualifies Toledo. It looks like he bit Prescott right on the base of the neck. Replays sure make it look like he was bitten, and the referee confirms that's why the fight was stopped.
The winner by disqualification at 1:58 of Round 10... Breidis Prescott.
Friday Night Fights Report - Feb. 20, 2009
The start of tonight's Friday Night Fights card was delayed by the end of Illinois State and Niagara in college hoops, but we've finally made our way to Ft. Lauderdale. Undefeated Breidis Prescott is in the main event, and Yuriorkis Gamboa is also in action.
The planned main event between Richard Gutierrez and Jesus Gonzales has been scrapped as Gonzales could not make weight and informed all involved that he would not be taking the fight.
We get right to action with Keith Gross facing Cuban native Erislandry Lara, who's already been on FNF once in 2009. This will be four rounds.
A one-two from Lara lands right on the button about 30 seconds in and puts Gross on his back. Gross makes it up but is right back down after a left to the body and several more to the head. The ref calls a stop to it as Gross is doubled over on the ground. Lara wins by KO at 1:09 of the first round.
Lara moves to 4-0 as a professional. Replays of the first knockdown show just what a sweet left hand Lara threw.
Brian Kenny is in the studio and leads off by talking about the weigh-in for Miguel Cotto-Michael Jennings and Kelly Pavlik-Marco Antonio Rubio. Cotto says he is past his loss to Antonio Margarito mentally. Pavlik and Rubio have some complimentary things to say about each other.
Kenny throws it to Dan Rafael for some reaction. Dan states that Cotto is still very bothered by Bob Arum's vocal defense of Margarito but is taking the high road for the most part. He also says that a rematch with Shane Mosley would be most appetizing for Cotto, but that Top Rank doesn't seem interested in pursuing it, so Kermit Cintron or Joshua Clottey may end up next on Miguel's dance card.
Rafael also talked recently to Oscar De La Hoya, who told him that he is leaning toward retiring from boxing.The Golden Boy has been taking his loss to Manny Pacquiao pretty hard, staying out of the public eye whenever possible and playing a lot of golf.
Next on the schedule is electrifying junior lightweight Yuriorkis Gamboa going up against veteran Walter Estrada. The 27-year old Gamboa is 13-0 with 11 KOs, and he also appeared on FNF previously in 2009. The Cuban defector has a large following in South Florida and the fans are behind him again tonight.
Estrada has lost his last two fights by KO, which doesn't bode well for him. We're scheduled for eight rounds.
Gamboa wastes no time getting to work and sends Estrada to the mat with a right hand just 25 seconds in. Estrada is not getting up, and the former Olympic gold medalist adds another KO victim to his resume.
A left hook to the body set up Gamboa's right that ended the fight. Gamboa wins by KO at 0:35 of the first round.
We're getting extra studio time thanks to those quick knockouts. Kenny talks Paul Williams-Winky Wright and shows some entertaining clips from the Timothy Bradley-Kendall Holt press conference from Montreal.
Next up is a four-round heavyweight bout between Mike Sheppard and Ramon Garbey, yet another Cuban. Garbey has only 22 pro fights on his record but is 37 years old. He's been inactive for two and a half years, but he has been the distance with James Toney and Fres Oquendo years ago.
Garbey lands a pretty sharp right hand about halfway through the first and spends the rest of the round backing Sheppard into the corner and looking for the kill. He also lands a low shot right before the bell, though replay shows it was on the beltline.
The second round and most of the third go Garbey's way as he looks to set up a big right hand. He finally lands it off a counter shot with a little less than a minute left in the third, but Sheppard gets off the canvas and bravely battles to the end of the round.
The only drama left is seeing if Sheppard can make it the whole four rounds. Another counter right sends Sheppard down again with 30 seconds left, and then a third time right before the final bell.
The judges score it 40-33 three times. Garbey wins by unanimous decision.
Back to Kenny for one final segment. He shows Nate Campbell-Ali Funeka highlights and runs down the Ring Magazine lightweight rankings, which have Prescott in the top 10. Kenny also goes through Sergio Martinez-Kermit Cintron and Alfredo Angulo-Cosme Rivera highlights.
Rafael checks in and says he likes Campbell moving up in weight. He also thinks Funeka has earned another main event appearance.
The planned main event between Richard Gutierrez and Jesus Gonzales has been scrapped as Gonzales could not make weight and informed all involved that he would not be taking the fight.
We get right to action with Keith Gross facing Cuban native Erislandry Lara, who's already been on FNF once in 2009. This will be four rounds.
A one-two from Lara lands right on the button about 30 seconds in and puts Gross on his back. Gross makes it up but is right back down after a left to the body and several more to the head. The ref calls a stop to it as Gross is doubled over on the ground. Lara wins by KO at 1:09 of the first round.
Lara moves to 4-0 as a professional. Replays of the first knockdown show just what a sweet left hand Lara threw.
Brian Kenny is in the studio and leads off by talking about the weigh-in for Miguel Cotto-Michael Jennings and Kelly Pavlik-Marco Antonio Rubio. Cotto says he is past his loss to Antonio Margarito mentally. Pavlik and Rubio have some complimentary things to say about each other.
Kenny throws it to Dan Rafael for some reaction. Dan states that Cotto is still very bothered by Bob Arum's vocal defense of Margarito but is taking the high road for the most part. He also says that a rematch with Shane Mosley would be most appetizing for Cotto, but that Top Rank doesn't seem interested in pursuing it, so Kermit Cintron or Joshua Clottey may end up next on Miguel's dance card.
Rafael also talked recently to Oscar De La Hoya, who told him that he is leaning toward retiring from boxing.The Golden Boy has been taking his loss to Manny Pacquiao pretty hard, staying out of the public eye whenever possible and playing a lot of golf.
Next on the schedule is electrifying junior lightweight Yuriorkis Gamboa going up against veteran Walter Estrada. The 27-year old Gamboa is 13-0 with 11 KOs, and he also appeared on FNF previously in 2009. The Cuban defector has a large following in South Florida and the fans are behind him again tonight.
Estrada has lost his last two fights by KO, which doesn't bode well for him. We're scheduled for eight rounds.
Gamboa wastes no time getting to work and sends Estrada to the mat with a right hand just 25 seconds in. Estrada is not getting up, and the former Olympic gold medalist adds another KO victim to his resume.
A left hook to the body set up Gamboa's right that ended the fight. Gamboa wins by KO at 0:35 of the first round.
We're getting extra studio time thanks to those quick knockouts. Kenny talks Paul Williams-Winky Wright and shows some entertaining clips from the Timothy Bradley-Kendall Holt press conference from Montreal.
Next up is a four-round heavyweight bout between Mike Sheppard and Ramon Garbey, yet another Cuban. Garbey has only 22 pro fights on his record but is 37 years old. He's been inactive for two and a half years, but he has been the distance with James Toney and Fres Oquendo years ago.
Garbey lands a pretty sharp right hand about halfway through the first and spends the rest of the round backing Sheppard into the corner and looking for the kill. He also lands a low shot right before the bell, though replay shows it was on the beltline.
The second round and most of the third go Garbey's way as he looks to set up a big right hand. He finally lands it off a counter shot with a little less than a minute left in the third, but Sheppard gets off the canvas and bravely battles to the end of the round.
The only drama left is seeing if Sheppard can make it the whole four rounds. Another counter right sends Sheppard down again with 30 seconds left, and then a third time right before the final bell.
The judges score it 40-33 three times. Garbey wins by unanimous decision.
Back to Kenny for one final segment. He shows Nate Campbell-Ali Funeka highlights and runs down the Ring Magazine lightweight rankings, which have Prescott in the top 10. Kenny also goes through Sergio Martinez-Kermit Cintron and Alfredo Angulo-Cosme Rivera highlights.
Rafael checks in and says he likes Campbell moving up in weight. He also thinks Funeka has earned another main event appearance.
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