April saw the conclusion of the 81st Annual Daily News Golden Gloves, a tournament that began at the end of January. Each year the famed amateur tournament holds the finals at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, a highlight that many professionals never get the opportunity to experience.
Over the course of two nights the finals put on a total of 33 bouts in the various novice, open and women’s weight classes. In attendance were several past champions including: Jake LaMotta, Mark Breland, Iran Barkley, Emile Griffith, Junior Jones and Monte Barrett.
Also in attendance was two-time National and two-time New York City Golden Glove Champion, Sadam Ali who will be representing the United States in Beijing, China at the 2008 Olympics this August.
Mastic resident Joseph Smith of Veteran’s Memorial Gym made his way to the 178-pound novice finals via 3 knockouts, 1 decision and 1 bye to face Long Beach native Sean Monaghan of Freeport PAL who had a record of 3 decisions, 1 knockout and 1 bye. Both fighters threw hard power punches during the bout but it was Smith who was poised and relaxed as he used superior boxing skills and combinations to outpoint Monaghan by a unanimous 5-0 decision. More…
The ninth installment of Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing series “Punchin’ at the Paradise” could have been renamed “Knockouts at the Paradise” as Andrey Tsurkan stopped Jesse Feliciano inside the distance, a trend all the fighters on the ESPN Friday Night Fights telecast followed in the Bronx , NY on Friday night.
Tsurkan, 26-3 (17), put on a strong performance against Feliciano, 15-7-3 (9), dropping him in the first round and landing heavy blows through the rest of the fight. Tsurkan dominated every round utilizing his jab and landing accurate power punches at will.
The tough Feliciano absorbed the blows in stride but was never able to get the better of the exchanges. He seemed unable to get out the way of the crisp head shots being delivered at will by Tsurkan.
Although the fight was one-sided in the favor of Tsurkan, Feliciano was also able to land some good shots through the fight. More…
What better stage to highlight a New York rivalry than a live HBO telecast from Madison Square Garden? Dmitriy Salita, 28-0-1 (16), hopes to take his first step towards the boxing elite by facing cross town rival Edgar Santana, 24-5 (15), on the undercard of DiBella Entertainment’s Boxing After Dark on June 21.
“I received a call a few days ago about fighting Santana,” Salita told SaddoBoxing. “The offer was good and I accepted the fight; I really hope this fight happens for New York City and for the fans.”
According to Salita, his fight is being considered as part of a potential triple-header telecast headlined by Andre Berto, who will face Miguel Angel Rodriguez, and a heavyweight co-feature of Chazz Witherspoon against Chris Arreola. More…
Jed Weinstein Presents hosted the fourth annual Box-NYC charity event at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom. The star studded night was highlighted with live boxing televised on ESPN’s Wednesday Night Fights, fine-dining, a Texas Hold ‘Em poker tournament, model and celebrity appearances as well as live and silent auctions. Over the past three years Jed Weinstein has donated $100,000 to The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation through Box-NYC.
Local favorite Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin improved to 18-0 (14) by getting the best of veteran Antwun Echols 31-8-4 (27) over ten rounds. Quillin dropped Echols in the first round and dominated the fight which could have been stopped at anytime during the last three or four rounds.
The domination of Echols and the fact that he is 0-3-3 in his last six fights not winning since 2004 will hopefully indicate to him that it may be time to retire. During the last few rounds of the fight Echols bravely showed his fighter’s spirit by refusing to go down after being on the receiving end of many unnecessary blows, but it was clear that he was out on his feet. More…
Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City NJ the fans were treated to a showcase and a slugfest. Miguel Cotto 32-0 (26) proved to be on a different level than Alfonso Gomez 18-4 (8) while Antonio Margarito 36-5 (26) proved he is still an immovable force in the Welterweight division by knocking out Kermit Cintron 29-2 (27).
In the main event Cotto, the WBA Welterweight Champion showed why he is at the top of the division by out-boxing, out-landing and outclassing his game challenger, Gomez.
Cotto came out in the first round swinging, landing shots to the head and body of Gomez.
What was most evident was Cotto’s power, each shot that landed backed up Gomez every time he connected. Not to say that Cotto has ever come into a fight unconfident but his demeanor seemed different from past fights appearing relaxed and very confident as he boxed and landed combinations.
Toward the end of the first round Gomez fell to the canvas from a left hook from Cotto that missed, seemingly off balance as he ducked under the punch. Cotto ended the round comfortably switching between a southpaw and an orthodox stance while landing combination
During the next two rounds the face of Gomez was already showing signs of wear and tear from the Cotto onslaught who continued to land combinations accurately using every punch in his arsenal, straight rights, left hooks and uppercuts. More…
Yesterday at Sofrito Puerto Rican Cuisine in New York City, Top Rank hosted the final press conference for their World Welterweight Championship Double Header which will take place this Saturday, April 12 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ .
“Two World Championships…One Night” features WBA Welterweight Champion, Miguel Cotto, 31-0 (25), against Contender star, Alfonso Gomez, 18-3-2 (8). The co-feature will be the highly anticipated rematch featuring IBF Welterweight Champion, Kermit Cintron, 29-1 (27), who will look to avenge his only loss against former Welterweight Champion, Antonio Margarito, 35-5 (25).
The first time Cintron and Margarito met in the ring in April 2005, their roles were reversed; Margarito was the WBO Welterweight Champion and Cintron was the challenger. Margarito had literally broke down Cintron over five rounds, cutting him over the right eye in the third round and dropping him twice both in the fourth and fifth rounds before the fight was stopped.
Cintron looked like he may not recover from the devastating loss, but rebuilt his career with the help of trainer Emanuel Steward, winning all five fights since his loss to Margarito by KO and picking up the IBF strap in the process. More…
Friday night at the Miccosukee Resort in Miami, Florida, undefeated Super Middleweight James McGirt Jr 18-0 (9) will face Carlos De Leon Jr 19-2-2 (12) in his first scheduled ten round bout live on Showtime’s Shobox, the New Generation.
No pun intended but the “new generation” is just what James McGirt Jr has become. He is the son of former World Champion James “Buddy” McGirt and has already made his own claim rising up the ranks of the heavily talented Super Middleweight division.
Only in the professional ranks for the past four years McGirt Jr fought in both the Middleweight and Super Middleweight divisions deciding to compete specifically at the 168 pound weight class last year. He has been very active in his career fighting five times in 2007 and looking to stay just as busy in 2008.
Saddoboxing had the pleasure of speaking with McGirt Jr at his father’s gym in Florida in an exclusive phone interview as he wrapped up his training camp. More…
Final Forum in association with Top Rank headlined an exciting night of boxing entitled “Fists a Flying at the Aviator” a sports and recreation center in Brooklyn , New York this past Thursday.
In the main event, NABF Super Welterweight Champion Yuri Foreman improved to 25-0 (8), out-boxing Saul Roman, 24-5 (20), over ten rounds with scores of 97-93 and 98-92 twice.
Foreman came out from the opening bell boxing and moving well which continued throughout the entire fight. During the third round, Roman was cut by an accidental head-butt over the left eye. The cut streamed with blood in the fourth round and was examined by the ringside physician who allowed the bout to continue. More…
Yesterday at BB King’s Blues Club Restaurant in New York City, Top Rank held a press conference to announce the first title defense for WBC and WBO Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, 33-0 (29), who will face the #1 rated WBO Middleweight contender Gary Lockett, 30-1 (21).
Also on the card will be another title fight featuring WBO Super Bantamweight champion, Daniel Ponce De Leon, 34-1 (30), against Juan Manual Lopez, 21-0 (19). Both championships will take place on Saturday, June 7, 2008 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ .
Before introducing Lockett, Top Rank’s Bob Arum reminisced with the media about some of the great middleweights that have come out of England such as Alan Minter and Tony Sibson, “One thing about the English middleweights is when they’re good, they’re real good and they come to fight; they are brave warriors.” More…
Thursday night at the Manhattan Center’s Grand Ballroom in New York City, local fans were treated to what Star Boxing’s Joe DeGuardia called, “the rebirth of Mighty Mike” Arnaoutis as he put on a boxing exhibition to win the vacant USBA Junior Welterweight title.
Back in 2006, Arnaoutis was a rising star of the division, he was undefeated and fought for the vacant WBO Light Welterweight title in November against Ricardo Torres. Although Torres was down in the seventh round Arnaoutis lost the bout by split decision.
Returning to the ring in April 2007, Arnaoutis was given the opportunity to fight an eliminator match for the same WBO Light Welterweight title against Kendall Holt losing by a lopsided decision. More…
DiBella Entertainment’s Broadway Boxing series hosted their latest installment last week at the Manhattan Center in New York City. Gary Stark, Jr was looking for revenge in the main event in his rematch against journeymen Andres Ledemsa after he suffered a surprise knockout loss to him in May of 2007.
Stark’s ambition was clear, he was looking for a knockout. When they first met Stark was putting on what seemed to be a boxing exhibition when Ledemsa caught him with an unexpected punch in the fifth round sending him to the canvas for several minutes.
Since the loss to Ledemsa in May 2007 Stark has regrouped and came back to win two confidence building decisions against two opponents with a combined record of 21-30-4. More…
Saturday night in Cancun, Mexico, IBF, WBA and WBO Lightweight Champion Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz, 33-0 (17), will step into the ring for the first time in 2008 to face his mandatory IBF challenger Nate Campbell, 31-5-1 (25).
This morning as I thought I was finishing my write up on an interview I had done with Diaz, a boxing headline caught my eye, Don King Quits Juan Diaz. The premise of the release stated “Diaz’s attorney Fred Levin quit undefeated Lightweight Champion in February; promoter decides to follow suit by abandoning star boxer after Saturday’s match.”
SaddoBoxing had the pleasure of speaking to Juan Diaz in an exclusive phone interview earlier this week before he departed for Mexico and spoke about his promotional contract with Don King. Prior to King’s release, Diaz had already stated that this was his last fight under Don King and that his contract was set to expire on March 31, 2008. More…
Gotham Boxing and Bash Boxing hosted a night of action packed fights at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City on Thursday night under the moniker “The Russians Are Coming!” The Russians that they are speaking of are IBF Super Flyweight Champion Dimitri Kirilov and undefeated welterweight Dmitriy Salita, who fought in separate co-features.
In his first defense of the IBF title which he won last October, Kirilov, 29-3-1 (10), retained his belt in a majority draw against Mexico’s Cecilio Santos, 22-8-3 (12), by scores of 118-112 and 114-114 twice.
Both fighters exchanged power shots with neither of them backing down throughout the twelve round match. Santos appeared to pick up many of the early rounds while Kirilov finished strong. More…
Prize Fight Boxing will host their latest installment of “Fights at the Fitz” tonight at the Fitzgerald Casino and Hotel in Tunica, MI. Although the main event will feature a battle for the NABO Featherweight title between Rafael Valenzuela 9-1 (4) and Robbie Cannon 10-1 (6), many fans will be on hand to watch hot new middleweight prospect Fernando Guerrero 2-0 (2) in his third professional fight.
Guerrero is a native of the Dominican Republic and moved to the United States with his family when he was eight years old looking for a better life. After a few years in Buffalo, New York his parents settled in Salisbury, MD where he got his first experience with boxing at the Main Street Gym with Hal Chernoff.
“I was always an athlete and started boxing pretty quickly,” recalled Guerrero as he reminisced about following his two older brothers to the gym at age fourteen. “I had only been training for two weeks and had my first competition. I was always doing other sports in school so I was a fast learner.”
When asked how he did in that first bout with two weeks experience Guerrero laughed, “I lost but I didn’t do that bad.” In retrospect the early loss was probably the best way for him to begin his boxing experience. “I had a person that obviously had more experience than me and he knew a lot more than me but that’s not what really caught my attention. I lost and I didn’t like it and I never wanted to lose again.” More…
Monday in New York City, Top Rank held a press conference to announce “Two World Championships…One Night” which features WBA Welterweight Champion, Miguel Cotto, 31-0 (25), against Contender star, Alfonso Gomez, 18-3-2 (8). The co-feature will be the highly anticipated rematch between IBF Welterweight Champion, Kermit Cintron, 29-1 (27), who will look to avenge his only loss against Antonio Margarito, 35-5 (25). Both championships will take place on Saturday, April 12, 2008 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ .
Top Rank’s Bob Arum spoke highly of the fighters participating in the championship doubleheader, “It’s truly a privilege for me to be able to announce this outstanding card, I truly believe that the welterweight division is the best division in boxing,” he said. “Because the people in it come to fight, not pose, not hold out their arm and are afraid to get hit, not do a dance that they practice on ‘Dancing with the Stars’, but guys who come to fight.”
Arum also spoke for his fighter Antonio Margarito, who did not attend the press conference, “I represent the challenger, the former WBO Champion is never in a bad fight. He fought Kermit Cintron a number of years ago, won that fight and hopes to repeat on April 12. One thing about Tony is he is always in a good fight, he is the consummate warrior and he will give his best on April 12.”
Kermit Cintron is eager to erase the images of his 2005 loss to Margarito, “I’ve been waiting for this fight for the longest time finally getting my opportunity to avenge my loss,” he said. “I thank Bob Arum to have the balls to put Margarito in front of me on April 12th.” More…
Saturday night in New York City at Madison Square Garden, Wladimir Klitschko, 50-3 (44), unified the IBF, IBO and WBO Heavyweight titles by defeating formerly unbeaten Sultan Ibragimov, 22-1-1 (17), in front of a very vocal group of 14,011 fans by scores of 119-110, 118-110 and 117-111.
Boxing fans can be a fickle bunch. It could be the fans felt that all the fights should end in a knockout considering the undercard bouts scored four KOs out of the six bouts. More likely it was the lack of action that caused the fans to go from cheering to booing as the fight progressed through twelve rounds of non-action.
The Compubox final punchstats clearly showed the lack of action during the bout. Klitschko landed 148 of 348 punches, that averaged out to him landing 12 of 29 punches per round. More…
Boxing fans of the Heavyweight division are finally getting what they deserve with the first unification fight in nearly a decade. Saturday night at Madison Square Garden IBF and IBO Champion Wladimir Klitschko 49-3 (44) will face undefeated WBO Champion Sultan Ibragimov 22-0-1 (17).
Although Ibragimov did not have too much to say as he addressed the media his supporters had no problem making some noise for him. As he stepped towards the microphone to speak his entourage chanted, Sultan, Sultan, Sultan!” Ibragimov smiled and laughed saying, “These are my friends from Puerto Rico,” which made them chant his name even louder in their full “Sultan” attire.
After the chanting died down Ibragimov said, “We had a great camp in Florida, the best camp ever. It’s unification, it’s going to be great. I’m honored to fight at the Garden.” More…
Yesterday in New York City, the public was treated to an open workout to watch IBF/IBO Champion Wladimir Klitschko, 49-3 (44), and WBO Champion Sultan Ibragimov, 22-0-1 (17), in their final preparation for their “Heavyweight Unification” title match at Madison Square Garden this Saturday.
This highly anticipated match will be the first heavyweight unification championship in nearly a decade and will be the first step in identifying the true champion of the division.
Klitschko appeared to be in excellent condition as he moved around the ring, shadowboxing. His power was evident as he worked the hand pads with his trainer Emmanuel Steward.
The undefeated Ibragimov did some light shadow boxing and jumped rope for the crowd as many of his entourage yelled, “And new unified champion, Sultan Ibragimov.” More…
The Paradise Theater was filled with boxing action last night with a triple co-feature promoted by Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing. This marked the eighth installment of “Punchin’ at the Paradise” in the Bronx, NY.
Elvir “The Kosovo Kid” Muriqi 35-4 (22) executed the better of the hard-hitting action against the game Jemeel Wilson 13-12-3 (8) in four rounds, forcing Wilson’s corner to throw in the towel. Although Wilson was a late substitute he came in throwing hard punches but the more experienced Muriqi landed at a much higher rate and with devastating accuracy.
Wilson made a theatrical entrance to the ring dressed as Michael Myers from Halloween. Muriqi stepped through the ropes energized by the local crowd and was excited to be back in the ring after his majority decision loss to Antonio Tarver last June. Having the pleasure to have interviewed Muriqi earlier in the week he commented that he wanted not only to look impressive but to look spectacular in his performance and he delivered on both counts.
It seemed as if the “The Kosovo Kid” would end the fight with a knock out in nearly each of the rounds, hurting Wilson with a viscous body attack and following up with a variety of combinations. Wilson retaliated with hard punches most of which hit the arms and gloves of Muriqi who was able to remain patient while he measured his opponent and continued his onslaught. More…
“Punchin’ at the Paradise” which is promoted by Joe DeDuardia’s Star Boxing will continue its eighth installment on Thursday, January 31st at the Utopia Paradise Theatre in the Bronx, NY.
The card will host a rare triple co-feature; former world champion Lou Del Valle 35-5-1 (22) against Newton Kidd 6-6-1 (4), Elvir Muriqi 34-4 (21) will return to the ring to battle Willis Lockett 10-5-4 (4) and in the last co-feature Alicia Ashley 13-7 (1) will face Brooke Dierdorff 4-1 (3) for the vacant NABF Super-Bantamweight title.
For Muriqi also known as the “The Kosovo Kid” this fight will mark his first appearance in the ring after his lone fight in 2007 against Antonio Tarver, a fight which he feels he won. Saddoboxing had the pleasure to speak with Muriqi in an exclusive interview to discuss his upcoming fight and his thought on his fight with Tarver.
SaddoBoxing: I wanted to talk to you a little bit about your last fight; how did the fight with Tarver come about?
Elvir Muriqi: “Tarver was coming off his loss from Hopkins and they thought I was the right opponent to make him look good. They gave me the opportunity of my lifetime thanks to Tarver and my promoter Joe DeGuardia. They wanted somebody who would make them look good and thought they would get a knockout or something.” More…
