Boxing News

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As the saying goes, “one man's trash is another man's treasure”. However in this case, another man's misfortune became another man's blessing. Lightweight Rolando Reyes, 26-3-2 (16), has the opportunity of a lifetime; he has the chance to shock the world if he can only derail the thoroughbred we have all come to know as Jose Luis Castillo,

53-7-1 (47). The 27 year old native of Oxnard, California was chosen to replace Diego Corrales as Castillo's opponent when "Chico" went down with a severe rib injury while training. So this Saturday, another pugilist from manager Cameron Dunkin’s stable has a fighting chance of scoring a major upset if he can pull out a “W” in the hostile environment that is El Paso, Texas. Is it possible that Rolando Reyes could join his stable mate Zahir Raheem as a "career speed bump" down the road for another Mexican legend? Lets look at the intangibles…

Much to the dismay of the boxing public, fight fans were anticipating the rubber match between “Chico” Corrales and “El Temible” Castillo. However, now that fight has been postponed to a later date, Reyes will tell you that it is water under the bridge and that he's tired of being called a replacement opponent for Castillo. Reyes, who has won his last five fights in a row, struggled in his previous bout against Ivan Cabrera (WSD10), which was ironically on the undercard of Corrales-Castillo II. Isn't it amazing how life comes to a complete circle? More...

Last Saturday in front of a sold out crowd at the Theater in Madison Square Garden, former undisputed welterweight champion Zab "Super" Judah suffered a devastating collapse. Judah, of Brooklyn, New York, 34-3-1NC (25), dropped his WBC title by losing a unanimous decision to the rugged veteran of Argentina, Carlos Baldomir, 42-9-6 (12). Although the WBC title may have been the only strap on the line, Judah was still required to relinquish his WBA and IBF titles as a result of the loss. Where does Zab go from here?

It was just last year that Zab reemerged on the scene and vindicated himself with a performance of the ages, stopping undisputed welterweight champion Cory Spinks in nine rounds. The Zab Judah we saw perform the night of February 5th in St. Louis, Missouri, was the Zab Judah we all knew existed. From the bad outings against Rafael Pineda and DeMarcus "Chop-Chop" Corley to the bitter losses to Kostya Tszyu and Cory Spinks the first time around, it truly was a long hard fought battle back to the top. But everything that he had worked so hard for was lost instantaneously in one gigantic step. More...

In a sport that is recognized universally as the “sweet science”, all too often the end for most fighters is usually very bitter. In the case of “Fast” Freddie Cadena the ending for this prospect could simply be described as tragic. It isn’t unusual to hear of fighters going off the deep end. Most often, your favorite pugilist ends up filing for bankruptcy because he is deeply in debt or ends up committing a heinous crime because they have no idea how to be productive with their own free time. And if all else is fine then they wind up “punch drunk”. So with nothing else to fall back on it’s usually downhill once their careers inside of the ring are over. But that is the critical component once their career was over; Freddie hadn’t even distinguished himself inside of the ring. Nine out of ten times it usually takes something outrageous and drastic in the sport of boxing to make the mainstream headlines. When Freddie Cadena made the headlines, instead of eliciting a non-affective response from us, he triggered an empathetic reaction amongst fight fans and boxing pundits that would have reached out if they were aware of the problem. More...

Welterweight contender Christopher "The Mechanic" Smith steps into the squared circle tonight for the third time this year. The New Yorker faces the well experienced Tomas Barrientes of Mercedes, Texas for the interim NABA belt in the main co-feature from the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York. DiBella Entertainment promotes the evening's entertainment as part of

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their "Broadway Boxing" series.

Although Chris is coming off two consecutive losses, he remains confident in his abilities. The native of Queens feels that the disappointments have only made him hungrier and more determined to prove that he is one of the better fighters in the world today.

Tune in for this exclusive interview, in which Saddoboxing.com goes one on one with one of the more popular fighters to come out of the boxing hotbed that is New York City. Click the more link to hear everything that "The Mechanic" had to say. More...

Photos by Mark DeSisto and Edwin Gonzalez

With Honor and Humility it's Fight Night Live in Las Vegas!

At last the date of October 8th finally arrived on our "boxing calendar." My fight fans from all over the globe know what I am talking about. The rematch of arguably the greatest fight of all time was scheduled to pop off in the main event at the Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two best thoroughbreds in the lightweight division, Jose Luis Castillo and Diego Corrales, had their own agenda the second time around.

Corrales was looking to repeat as the victor and show once and for all that he is the man at 135. Castillo on the other hand wasn't looking for any championship belts; if he was he would have made weight. Castillo was fighting for pride. He had never been knocked out before, so it was imperative that he avenge his knockout loss. Everyone was asking whether or not Corrales and Castillo could not only duplicate, but surpass their fistic brilliance back on May 7th. At that time, I felt the question that should have been asked was which fight will be the fight of the year, the first one or the second one? Tune in for this exclusive ringside report from Las Vegas on the only place to be for all your breaking stories and inside scoops in the marvellous world of boxing, Saddoboxing.Com. More...

Former US Olympian Roberto Benitez won his second pro bout on the undercard of Friday's WBA Lightweight title eliminator between Lakva Sim and Ebo Elder in Duluth, Georgia.The 25 year old super bantam proved too much for his winless opponent as Benitez used good foot movement and raked Lucas with combinations. The end finally came after three one sided rounds when Benitez speared the hapless Atlanta man with a searing right hook to the body that Lucas could not recover from. Benitz improves to 2-0 (1) while Lucas falls to 0-3 (0).

On Saturday October 1st, Showtime is scheduled to air a very interesting and potentially exciting fight card. A card potent enough to even spoil Roy Jones' welcome back party. Ok, lets weigh our options; you have three potentially entertaining fights. Lets say for argument's sake that all three fights are boring, but you have three of the biggest stars in boxing fighting that night. Rafael Marquez? This guy has dynamite in his hands. Chris Byrd? Arguably the best heavyweight in boxing right now. If not the best heavyweight, then he is the best boxing heavyweight. And last but not least, we have "Lights Out" in the house on the night of the first. At 68-4-2-1, what more can you say about James Toney? By far one of the better boxers this generation has seen. The man is the total package; he can do it all. You want to box? He can box. You want to slug? He can slug. You want to counter punch? He can do that to. And oh, he has the defense too, plus a beard and a half. In 75 pro fights he has only been down twice, and they were just flash knockdowns. That speaks volumes considering that he's fought in five different weight divisions. Adding the fact that Byrd and Toney are fighting on the same night makes for some interesting television. The scenario of the two meeting in the squared circle is now much closer to materializing. More...

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In New York City, Labor Day signifies more than just the end of summer. It signifies the commencement of the celebration of West Indian culture. In the annual Labor Day Parade in Brooklyn, New York, every country in the West Indies has a float in the huge Caribbean festival. To say that these floats are big is an understatement. They are huge as well as colorful. Two of the more popular floats to cruise down Eastern Parkway are the Guyanese and Panamanian floats. New York has a large Guyanese population, especially in Brooklyn and in Queens. And who can forget about the large Latino population in New York City. It seems that people forget that Panamanians contribute to that statistic. Don't believe me, check the census bureau. With such irony surrounding this great weekend of pride, it's only fitting that the two biggest names in the cruiserweight division square off this Saturday. It seems to me that both the Guyanese and Panamanian 'floats' are about to collide head on. More...

As the summer winds down to an end, New York based promoter Lou DiBella wanted to end it on a "slamming" note. Matisyahu, the "Hasidic Reggae Sensation," rocked the house in truly stellar fashion. This Broadway Boxing card that featured four of the hottest prospects in New York City right now, (Edgar Santana,

Paulie Malignaggi, Sechew Powell, and Dmitriy Salita) was truly one to remember. As we kicked off international day at the Grand Ballroom in the Manhattan Center, we saw two featherweights engage in a lopsided bout. Ubaldo Olivencia of New York (5-9-2), was probably on his way to a loss against the unbeaten (9-0-1) native Philadelphia Rashiem Jefferson. When in the fourth round Olivencia spun out of a clinch and dropped to a knee. When he rose from the canvas his left shoulder was hanging from its socket. Truly a grotesque sight. Instead of advising the ringside physician, referee Danny Schiavone waved him forward to continue fighting. As the crowd screamed for the bout to be stopped, the Commission doctors leapt onto the ring apron and called the bout to a halt.

Check in for the rest of this ringside report exclusively from the Hammerstein Ballroom where SaddoBoxing's Edwin Gonzalez and Katrina Walters were on hand. More...

"Everyone said I had the wrong strategy going into the fight and I beat him. He (Castillo) believes that I am not ready to fight that type of fight for a second time. What better way to prove it, then to do it again? I am a gladiator. Bob (Arum) and Castillo can say whatever they want. I believe it's Castillo's team doing it and not Jose Luis. A mouthpiece didn't hit Castillo, I did. We in the Pain Business, Come October 8, there is going to be more Pain! "-Diego Corrales will not back down from another war with Castillo.

May 7th, 2005 was truly a historic night for our great sport. What we saw that night we may never see again, unless if there is a rematch of course. Ladies and Gentlemen have no fear the rematch is signed, sealed and delivered. Diego "Chico" Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo, the two best lightweights in the word are scheduled

to do it one more time. I guess you could say that Santa Claus is coming a little early this year. This surely is one heck of a treat, regardless if you have been good or bad. Tune in for this exclusive interview you will not see or hear anywhere else besides SaddoBoxing.com. Check out what "Chico" had to say about his health, his thoughts on his instant classic with Castillo, and his plans for the rematch in October as well as much, much more. No one brings you more up close and personal interviews with your favorite fighters than SaddoBoxing.com, the only place to be for boxing.

Do not miss this essential interview with the world’s number one lightweight fighter: Diego “Chico” Corrales. More...

Considering all the controversy surrounding the Hopkins-Taylor horror, here is a message to all my boxing fans all over the world: "we have to move on!" What's done is done and it's in the past. There isn't anything you and I could do to change the outcome. So as we fast forward into the future, we see that tonight's action takes us to the always peaceful and relaxing Tampa Bay, Florida. In a twelve round bout between Tampa's own Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy who will be making his professional debut in front of his hometown fans as well as making his third defense of his IBF super middleweight title. Lacy will be fighting for the fourth time in the past ten months. Each time he fights, he steps it up a notch in level of competition. Tonight is no different; he is facing the unknown Englishman Robin Reid. Although unknown to most here in America, Reid's track-record speaks for itself. He sports a record of 38-4-1 with 27 KOs and is the current IBO super middleweight champion. Tonight will mark his second defense of his title. Of Reid's four losses, one of them came to the current WBO super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe. He lost a controversial split decision to arguably the hardest puncher in the division. More...

It is only right that the next big star to come out of Puerto Rico seek for his revenge on the eve of the Puerto Rican day parade. On Saturday, June 11, the twenty-four-year-old native of Caguas makes his Madison Square Garden debut. For the first time in five years, Miguel Cotto will take on the last man to beat him in the squared circle. The man to accomplish that feat is none other than Mohamad Abdulaev. At the ripe age of twenty-six, the native of Uzbekistan disposed of Cotto, while on his way to winning the gold medal in the 2000 Olympics. A lot has changed since then. For starters, Miguel Cotto sports an undefeated record and has a championship belt to go along with it. Cotto earned his title by knocking out Kelson Pinto, who ironically beat him in the amateurs. So listen to me when I tell you to forget the past, let’s just deal with the present. More...

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“I'm thirty-five and fresh. I would destroy myself at twenty-five. That is how confident I am right now."-Kostya Tszyu.

The undisputed junior welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu, has nothing left to prove. His resume consists of a who’s who of boxing’s elite. He has beaten all of the junior welterweights considered at least be the heir to the throne. He knocked out the current undisputed welterweight champion Zab Judah in two rounds, back in 2001. He knocked out Sharmba Mitchell twice. Kostya’s second victory over Sharmba was even more impressive than the first one. Kostya had been out of the ring for almost two years, because of his torn rotator cuff. In what was the most dominant performance in the year 2004, Tzsyu annihilated Mitchell in three rounds. Oh, how can I forget, please excuse me as I take you on a trip to memory lane. He has a win over Roger Mayweather as well as over the Mexican living legend Julio Cesar Chavez. To say that Kostya Tszyu has had an illustrious career is an understatement. But, Tszyu says he still has something to prove to himself and his thirty-five-year-old body. "It's all about challenges,” he says, as his career begins to wind down.

SaddoBoxing’s Edwin Gonzalez was on hand for Kostya Tszyu’s International conference call. Read on for the thoughts of the IBF junior welterweight champion before his much-anticipated showdown with England’s Ricky Hatton. More...

I was way off with my prediction on the Trinidad-Wright fight. I did not think it was possible for “Winky” Wright to box so effectively for all twelve rounds, especially when matched up against such a devastating puncher like Felix “Tito” Trinidad. I figured that somewhere down the line, as the fight progressed into the later rounds Winky catch a big shot. However, what we witnessed was one of the most dominating performances we have seen in some time. Tell me, when was the last time you have seen a fighter win all twelve rounds on of his jab? Felix Trinidad was a no show at the post-fight news conference late Saturday night. No exact reason came for his absence, but you can surmise one of two things. Either he was suffering from the complications of a broken nose and went to the hospital, or his ego was simply shattered. And in all efforts to avoid all questions on why was he so easily dominated, he opted not to show up. But who knows? More...

TITO! TITO!! TITO!!! Once again, Felix Trinidad steps into the squared circle for what is his second fight in the "Back with a Vengeance" tour. As of right now, New York is buzzing and it is like the Puerto Rican day parade all over again. This Saturday we will see the classical cliche we have all grown accustomed to in our great sport.

We have a boxer versus a puncher. The boxer being Ronald "Winky" Wright, and the puncher being none other than Felix "Tito" Trinidad. Do we know that for sure? Only time will tell. I will explain.

Read on as our very own Edwin Gonzalez offers his big fight prediction before SaddoBoxing.com winds down its Trinidad-Wright build-up coverage and gets ready to bring you word on all of Saturday’s Vegas fight action. More...

On the day of the Kentucky derby, it is only fitting that two top thoroughbreds in the lightweight division go head to head. The unification bout between Jose Luis Castillo and Diego Corrales was everything we expected and then some. Diego Corrales survived two knockdowns in the tenth to TKO Jose Luis Castillo in the same round. With the knock out, “Chico” can now add the WBC title to his already large collection of championship belts. Both fighters stood toe-to-toe from the opening bell in an amazing slugfest. In an unusual chain of events, Corrales fought Castillo’s fight. Much to the surprise of everyone else, Diego was fighting on the inside and at times getting the better end of the exchanges. Jose Luis would eventually go back to his corner with a cut over his left eye after round four. Corrales started to take the initiative in round five, although both fighters continued to connect with huge punches, Castillo would somehow manage to come on strong enough to steal the sixth round. As the story continued to unfold, much to the surprise of everyone again, a left hook wobbled Castillo at the end of round seven. We have all come to know that Castillo has a chin of granite. In fifty-nine professional fights, Jose Luis has never been down. More...

Former WBO junior featherweight champion Agapito "El Ciclón" Sanchez will take on top contender and most recent IBF title challenger Artyom Simonyan. This will be the co-feature of a Banner Promotions event featuring an IBF title eliminator bout between junior middleweights Teddy Reid and the “Kassim Ouma victim” Verno Phillips, as announced earlier today. The bout will be televised live on May 24 on this year’s first special edition of ESPN2's Tuesday Night Fights. The fights will take place in Spokane, Washington in the Northern Quest Casino. Artyom Simonyan's USBA junior featherweight title will be up for grabs. Sanchez is coming off a very impressive TKO stoppage victory over the rugged Ivan Alvarez who had defeated former world champion Junior Jones, gone the distance with the WBC junior featherweight champion Oscar Larios as well as losing a split decision to the crafty veteran David Santos. More...

JAMES TONEY.

"Yes I knew I would see this day. I only had five weeks to prepare for this fight. If I had more, I would have knocked him out. I am the WBA champion and soon to be undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. John is an average fighter. I was hoping to jab and grab,

then give him an uppercut and give him a case of whiplash. He wasn't in that good of shape and I wasn't in my best shape. All injuries are out of my mind. I buckled down and workedthrough it. I did just what I said I would do. Get rid of him from the heavyweight division. Don King will throw him in the trash can where he belongs. He gave me the opportunity and I did what I had to do. I only had four and a half weeks to prepare for this fight. I do what I do. I didn't expect much from John because he is an average fighter. John Ruiz is stupid. He can't change his style. He only knows how to fight one way. I take my hat off to him for giving me the opportunity. I want Klitschko. I will fight anyone anywhere at anytime. I don't duck anyone." More...

As we finish up this last installment of “This Week in Boxing,” we pick up were we last left off. On Friday, April 8th, there is a ton of action, with some very interesting match ups. We make a quick stop in the lovely country of Thailand where former WBC super featherweight champion Sirimongkol

Singwangcha, who is coming off a six-round unanimous decision win over Donny Suratin, faces the well traveled journeyman Teofilo Tunacao. Singwangcha should be able to make quick work of the 25-30 Tunacao. From Thailand, we move over to the United States. Cedric Kushner Promotions are televising a show from Miami, Florida on ESPN. Headlining the card is none other than the undefeated, hard-punching super featherweight “Mighty” Mike Anchondo. “Mighty” Mike puts his undefeated record on the line against the highly skilled veteran Jorge Rodrigo Barrios. Unfortunately, Anchondo’s inability to make the contracted weight for the fight means that he automatically loses his WBO world title. Both fighters have excellent knockout ratios; this should make for an explosive match-up. Expect to see a lot of fireworks in this one. On the same card, Argentinean Carlos Wilfredo Vilches makes his fourth appearance in the United States as he takes on the undefeated Colombian welterweight prospect Joel Jair Julio. Joel is making his second appearance in the United States. With Vilches coming off a knockout win in March and Joel Julio getting ready to prove that he is the real deal, this one is a must see. More...