Garcia dethrones Salido

By Matt Richardson and John DiSanto at ringside
Photos: Rafael Soto/Zanfer (Garcia-Salido)
Photos: Joel Colon/PR Best (Golovkin-Rosado, Martinez-Burgos, Verdejo-Archambault)

Mikey Garcia (31-0, 26 KOs) showed he’s a force at featherweight, dethroning WBO featherweight champion Orlando “Siri” Salido (39-12-2, 27 KOs) via eight round technical decision on Saturday night at the Theatre in New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Mikey dropped Salido twice in round one and again in rounds three and four. The bout was stopped after Garica’s nose was broken by a headbutt in round eight, which was ruled accidental. Scores were 79-70, 79-69, 79-69 for Garcia.

Undefeated WBA/IBO middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (25-0, 22 KOs) punished “King” Gabriel Rosado (21-6, 13 KOs) for six-and-a-half and got a TKO at 2:46 of round seven. Golovkin cut Rosado over the left eye in round two, and pressured Rosado relentlessly. Rosado was a bloody mess by round six. Rosado’s corner throw in the towel in round seven to protect their super game fighter.

WBO junior lightweight champion Roman “Rocky” Martinez (26-1-2, 16 KOs) and #1 contender Juan Carlos “Mini” Burgos (30-1-1, 29 KOs) fought to a controversial twelve round draw. Burgos outworked Martinez and his body attack hurt Martinez repeatedly, but in the end the scores were 117-111 for Burgos, 116-112 for Martinez and 114-114. (more…)

Kovalev Stops Campillo in Three

Ringside Report by Scott Ploof
Photography by Emily Harney

In the main event of Saturday night’s NBC Sports Network “Fight Night” from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT, undefeated light heavyweight Sergey Kovalev (20-0-1, 17 KOs) knocked down former world champion Gabriel Campillo (21-5-1, 7 KO) three times in the third round, en route to a third round TKO victory. The first knockdown came from a straight right that sent Campillo to the canvas. He was able to recover but Kovalev jumped right on him and landed a nice body shot which sent his opponent to the mat for the second time. Once again Campillo was up at the count of eight, but Kovalev jumped right on him again. Kovalev landed a barrage of punches on Campillo and landed a straight left on the chin of Campillo, knocking him down for the third and final time. Referee Michael Ortega stopped the bout giving the newest star in the light heavyweight division, Sergey Kovalev another impressive TKO victory. The eight bout fight card was promoted by Main Events in association with CES Boxing.
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Middleweight Curtis Stevens (23-3, 17 KOs), from Brooklyn, NY, quickly stopped former world title challenger Elvin Ayala (26-6-1, 12 KOs) after just 1:10 of the very first round. Stevens landed a huge left hook on Ayala putting him to the canvas for the first time less than a minute into the fight. After Ayala got to his feet, Stevens immediately jumped on him and landed a barrage of punches which sent Ayala to the mat again, but this time referee Tony Chiarantano immediately stopped the fight. After fighting just one round since 2010, Curtis Stevens is the new NABF middleweight title holder.
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Welterweight Jimmy Williams (1-0, 1 KO) made his professional debut an explosive one as he defeated journeyman Noel Garcia (2-16-2, 1 KO) by fourth round knockout at just 39 seconds into the final round. Garcia was knocked down once in the third round but was able to gain his footing. From that point on in the fight, Garica kept charging in at Williams, which made it easy for Williams to counter the wild punches his opponent was throwing. This proved to be Garcia’s downfall as he charged at Wiliams at the beginning of round four, Williams landed two nice counters that backed Garcia into the corner. Williams then delivered a huge left hook that sent Garcia to the canvas for good as referee Chiarantano waived off the fight, which gave Williams his first professional knockout. (more…)

Kelly Pavlik retires

Former middleweight world champion Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik has decided to retire according to his hometown newspaper, the Youngstown Vindicator. Pavlik stated that drive isn’t there anymore and he is concerned about his long term health. He will leave the sport at 30 years of age with a record of 40-2, 34 KOs. Pavlik held the WBC and WBO middleweight titles from September 2007 through April 2010.

Ximenez defeats Nichol

By Jeff Zimmerman at Ringside
Photos of Ximenez-Nichol are by JA Escobar. All other photos are by Stacey Verbeek.

In a packed house at the Cendera Center in Fort Worth, Texas, Paulie Ayala Productions, led by 2-time World Champion Paulie Ayala, had a little bit of everything in their 2nd show of their new Friday Night Fight Series. There were big knockouts, a former UFC fighter on the card and a couple of local standouts looking to take their skills to the next level.

One of those fighters with big dreams was bantamweight Ray Ximenez (10-0, 3KOs), a former Dallas amateur sensation who has quietly built his record out of state in Florida. Ximenez homecoming, however, was no easy task against the baby faced Shawn “Bones” Nichol (7-13, 5KOs) from Denver, Colorado. Nichol was coming off a victory in his last fight against another 9-0 opponent, so fighting Ximenez in his backyard did not faze him. However, Ximenez did just enough to squeak out a majority decision, 60-54, 58-56 and 57-57. (more…)

Angulo upsets Bonani

Former world title challenger Fernando Angulo (25-9, 15 KOs) decisively beat Juan Manuel Bonanni (20-4-3, 7 KOs) of Argentina over 12 rounds in route to winning a split decision at the Club Ciclista Juninense in Junin, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The aggression of Angulo was just too much for Bonanni who was dropped in rounds 8 and 12. In the fourth round it appeard that Angulo had scored another knockdown of Bonanni but referee Jorge Basile did not count it as such. In the end the official scorecards were Jorge Millicay 118-110 for Angulo, Jose Asuncion 116-110 for Angulo, and Arturo Villegas 115-113 surprisingly for the local fighter Bonanni. Angulo based out of Venezuela by way of Ecuador, won the WBC interim Latino welterweight title with the victory. Angulo once unsuccessfully challenged Juan Diaz for a world title back in 2006. Promoter of the event was Mario Arano (Arano Box).

Boxing Buzz

“I never thought I would fight him so soon,” is what “King” Gabriel Rosado is saying about WBA Middleweight Champion Gennady Golovkin. “He’s a solid guy, fundamentally sound.” For more on Rosado, see the story at the Philadelphia Daily News site.

The Wall Street Journal ran a story on Mikey Garcia’s budding career in law enforcement (link). Garcia, of course, fights tonight against Orlando Salido at Madison Square Garden. The New York Daily News features a story on Garcia, as well.

Former heavyweight champion David Haye has been granted a British boxing license by the British Boxing Board of Control pending the completion of a physical. Haye fought his last fight with a Luxembourg Boxing Federation license after the BBBoC condemned his match against Dereck Chisora in London. Chisora is also trying to regain his British license after taking an anger management class.

Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum says it’s unlikely that Manny Pacquiao will make his comeback in April and it’s now looking like September before we see the Pacman back in the ring.

Arum eager for more boxing adventures

Report and photos by John DiSanto
Philly Boxing History (.com)

This weekend’s big championship boxing tripleheader is the first major show of the new year. With six world class fighters in the three HBO-televised title bouts, the event features a patchwork of various promotional forces coming together on this one night. At the helm of the effort is veteran promoter Bob Arum, the head of Top Rank Boxing. Moments before the weigh in for Saturday’s card began, we caught up with the Hall of Famer for a quick Q&A.

FIGHT NEWS: There is a lot of talk about how this is a “pick ‘em” card with three competitive title fights. Do you see any surprises happening?

BOB ARUM: Well it’s “pick ‘em”, so there won’t be any surprises! In other words, I wouldn’t be surprised with any combination of these guys winning. They are all very tough, competitive fights, and that’s the way boxing should be. I think it would be very difficult for anybody to pick winners in these three fights and be 100% correct. (more…)

Weights from Indiana

George Blades 183 vs. James Morrow 187
Keandre Leatherwood 156.3 vs. Michael Walker 168

Venue: Dupont Pavillion, Indiana State Fairgrounds, Indianapolis, Indiana
Promoter: RHB Promotions in association with Boxing360

Weights from Newark

By Kurt Wolfheimer at the scales

Michael Anderson 146 vs. Emmanuel Lartei Lartey 145.5
Derek Webster 164 vs. Darnell Boone 164.5
Ty Yab Beale 246.5 vs. Aaron Kinch 267
Peter Reyes 158 vs. Oscar Pagan 159
Shakir Aquel Dunn 147 vs. Tobias Molina 144
Anthony Jones 157 vs. Issa Coulibaly 161
Maurice Amaro 173 vs. Abdellah Smith 176

Venue: Robert Treat Hotel
Promoter: All Out Promotions
Matchmaker: Renee Aiken

Weights from Minneapolis

By Jesse Kelley

Caleb Truax 164 vs. Matt Vanda 164
Jon Schmidt 160 vs. Michael Faulk 160
Charles Meier 159 vs. Travis Perzynski 160
Mohammed Kayongo 145 vs. Gilbert Venegas 148
Tony Lee 143 vs. Leonard Overstreet 142
Jeremy McLaurin 134 vs. DeWayne Wisdom 132
Kenneth Glenn 158 vs. Damien Hill 156

Venue: Minneapolis Convention Center
Promoter: Omega Presents

Gavin still unbeaten

Unbeaten British welterweight beltholder Frankie Gavin (15-0, 11 KOs) scored a seventh round TKO over Jason Welborn (11-2, 5 KOs) on Friday night at Walsall Town Hall in Walsall, England. The classy former amateur star Gavin punished Welborn and finally floored him in the seventh. Gavin then poured it on until referee Ian John-Lewis waved it off at 2:35.

Complete Weights from Mohegan Sun

Photo: Rich Graessle/Main Events

Sergey Kovalev 175 vs. Gabriel Campillo 175
Curtis Stevens 159 vs. Elvin Ayala 159
Jarrell Miller 286 vs. Joey Dawejko 242.75
Vladine Biosse 167 vs. Marcus Upshaw 164
Joseph Perez 130.25 vs. Jason Sosa 130.75
Shelito Vincent 121.5 vs. Nydia Feliciano 121
Jimmy Williams 153 vs. Noel Garcia 158
Ian James 134 vs. Edwin Cotto 132.25

Venue: Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut
Promoter: Main Events
TV: NBC Sports Network

Weights from Tabasco

By Gabriel F. Cordero

Sergio “Yeyo” Thompson 129.8 vs Moises Castro ??
(WBC International super featherweight Silver title)
Robinson Castellanos 125.85 vs Édgar Ramirez 124.3
(WBC featherweight silver title)
Juan Pablo Sanchez 134.65 vs Giovanni Straffon 133.8
(WBC lightweight Mundo Hispano de America title)
Deontay Wilder 224.4 vs Matthew Greer 239.8
Ivan Morales 117.5 vs Patricio Camacho 116

Venue: Centro de Convenciones, Villa Hermosa, Tabasco
Promoter: Pepe Gomez and Golden Boy Promotions
TV: Televisa (Mexico) FOX Sports (delayed)
Photos…

At the scales in Ignacio, Colo.

At the scales for tomorrow night’s Prize Fight Promotions card at the Sky Ute Casino in Ignacio, Colorado:

Elco Garcia 156 vs. Rahman Yusubov 155.4
Tony Mack 164.4 vs. Joseph Hill 166.2
Joel Vargas 149 vs. Daniel Calazada 142
Angelo Leo 115 vs. Julio Gomez 114.2
Corey Richards 156.6 vs. Steve Victor 156.2
Hector Sanchez 131.8 vs. Omar Quevedo*
*Will weigh in late.
Henry Anaya III 167.8 vs. Samir Young 165.6

Weights from Guadalajara

By Gabriel F. Cordero

Mario “Yayo” Munoz 125.40 vs Cecilio Santos 123
Miguel “Mickey” Roman 129.80 vs Alejandro Barrera 129.80
Lucia Sanchez 121.70 vs Karina Gallegos 121.70
Hugo Trujillo 193.50 vs Jose Alberto Cabrera 206.80

Venue: Arena Jalisco, Guadalajara
Promoter: Promociones del Puebo
TV: Cadena 3 (Mexico)
Photos…

Arreola-Stiverne venue named

After multiple postponements, a press conference has been called to officially announce that the March 9th WBC heavyweight world championship elimination bout between WBC #1 rated Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola and WBC #2 Bermane “B-Ware” Stiverne will take place at the Orange County Fair & Event Center in “The Hangar” in Costa Mesa, California. The bout will be televised on HBO. Arreola-Stiverne bout is promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions in association with Don King Productions.

Yuri Foreman ready for return

Photos: DiBella Entertainment/Ed Diller

Earlier today former WBA junior middleweight champion, Yuri Foreman (28-2, 8KO’s) participated in an open media workout at the Modell’s Sporting Goods flagship store in Times Square. Foreman will be making his much anticipated comeback next Wednesday, January 23, on the DiBella Entertainment card at BB King Blues Club in NYC. Foreman, who will be in action for the first time in nearly two years, is part of a 10-bout card featuring a number of DBE’s top up-and-coming prospects. Foreman is scheduled to take on Brandon Baue (12-8, 10KO’s) in a six-round junior middleweight special attraction bout. (more…)

Weights from New York City

Photos: Chris Farina/Top Rank

Orlando Salido 126 vs. Mikey Garcia 125.6
(WBO featherweight championship)
Gennady Golovkin 160 vs. Gabriel Rosado 159
(WBA middleweight championship)
Roman Martinez 129.5 vs. Juan Carlos Burgos 129
(WBO super featherweight championship)

Felix Verdejo 130.5 vs. Tomi Archambault 129.5
Sean Monaghan 177.5 vs. Roger Cantrell 184.5
Glen Tapia 153.5 vs. Ayi Bruce 153.25
Isa Akberbayev 196.5 vs. Anthony Ferrante 196
Mikael Zewski 149.5 vs. Brandon Hoskins 146.5
Ronald Ellis 168.5 vs. Steven Tyner 170

Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York City
Promoter: Top Rank
TV: HBO
more photos

Jan 25 FNF undercard at Turning Stone

The non-televised undercard for the Friday, January 25 ESPN Friday Night Fights event at Turning Stone Resort Casino features local sensation, light heavyweight Ryon McKenzie, who calls Canastota, New York home. Originally from the Bahamas, McKenzie (12-0-0, 10 KOs) faces Rayshawn Myers (4-15-1) of Cleveland, Ohio.

Another highly-anticipated undercard bout pits undefeated light heavyweight Jackson Junior (13-0-0, 11 KOs) of Brazil, against veteran Dante Craig (20-14-1, 15 KOs) of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Plus, exciting middleweight Enrique Collazo is scheduled to make his professional debut. Collazo competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, representing Puerto Rico. (more…)

Q&A: Steve Cunningham

By Wolfgang Schiffbauer
Photo: John DiSanto Philly Boxing History (.com)

At age 36 and after a disappointing decision loss to IBF champ Yoan Pablo Hernandez, former two-time cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham decided to move up to the heavyweight division. After a clear cut win over Jason Gavern, he headed into a rematch against former light heavyweight and cruiserweight titleholder Tomasz Adamek, who had beaten Cunningham by split decision in 2008, knocking the American down three-times en route to winning the IBF belt from “USS.” Most people did not give Cunningham a shot in hell to beat Adamek in the rematch. But, as it often happens in boxing, the former Marine silenced his critics by mostly outboxing Adamek last December, two days before Christmas Eve. But Christmas came early for the Pole, who was awarded a split decision over Cunningham. FightNews sat down with Steve Cunningham last week to discuss the Adamek bout, his intentions at heavyweight and his career. (more…)

Soto-Alvarez for WBC Silver on Feb 9

By Gabriel F. Cordero

Former three-division world champion Humberto “Zorrita” Soto (59-8-2, 34 KOs) will face Ricardo Alvarez (19-2-3, 12 KOs) fo the vacant WBC silver lightweight belt on February 9 in the ITSON in Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico in an event presented by Promociones del Pueblo and broadcast on Televisa.

In the co-feature, sensational bantamweight prospect Julio Ceja (23-0, 21 KOs) will face Jesus Ruiz (28-5-5, 21 KOs). Also in action are Luis Ceja, Antonio Lozada and Jesus Lopez.