Boxing News

Ode's and Upsets At The Hammerstein Ballroom In NYC

Ode to a Mexican were the words that Edgar Santana and his team proclaimed after a hard fought fight at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC against Tomas Barrientes in the nights main events. Edgar and his team goes on to thank all their fans and friends for their continued support leading up to his victory. "We also appreciate all the messages of congratulations." We want to send our respect to Tomas Barrientes who came to NYC and fought a great fight and showed that Mexican fighters are made with the heart of warriors!! More...

In another installment of Broadway Boxing, DiBella Entertainment will host a night of exciting action in The Grand Ballroom at the Manhattan Center on Thursday, April 20, 2006. The show will feature Bantam weight Silence Mabuza as he squares off against Ricardo Vargas in an IBF twelve round eliminator. Also on the same card will feature knockout sensation Curtis "Showtime" Steven, in an eight round super middleweight bout. As one of the most exciting up and coming super middleweights, Curtis Stevens wows the crowd with every outing and looks to keep his 11-0 record with 10ko's blemish free. More...

The saying goes "what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger" and that saying is oh so true for heavyweight "Fast" Fres Oquendo. Oquendo has seem some rough days in his career as a professional fighter. His one main goal is to become heavyweight champion of the world. He has held the NABF title, but it's nothing like being recognized on a grand scale in the boxing world as a World Champion, but nevertheless, the big "O" has not let adversity stop him. His last fight came against the then heavyweight champ, John Ruiz back in April of 2004. This was one of the two opportunity's that Oquendo had to capture a world title. The other came against Chris Bryd in a very controversial lost that saw Oquendo starring down the face of defeat yet another time due to a premature stoppage by the referee. But that would not be the only obstacles that was to face the Puerto Rican heavyweight. More...

Why The Hammerstein Ballroom In NYC Will Be A Knockout Feb 16!

"Many are called but few are chosen" is a familiar and true saying and those who are familiar with this verse understands the depth of the meaning, so I choose not to use it lightly in comparing it to the art of having "one punch knockout power". You have many fighters known for there jab, or there defense. Some for there fancy foot work and hand speed. There are even a few that go toe to toe with their opponents in a brawling type fashion of fighting, but there is a rare breed that comes along once in a blue moon that posses a great gift, the gift of being able to knockout an opponent with a single blow.

In my day growing up, I can remember one boxer by the name of Mike Tyson that possessed this awesome gift. At any given moment in any round an opponent can be rendered lifeless due to this tremendous, compact power. More...

We all know what occurred on that faithful night at the Theater in Madison Square Garden. It’s nothing new to anyone anywhere. When you don't focus on the matter at hand, you are bound to overlook something. In Zab's case it was the hunger and determination of Carlos Baldomir. And so the story goes, he didn't take the guy as serious as he should have and ultimately lost the fight. Okay now what? As I stated before and I may be the only one that feels this way, I still believe that Zab Judah can beat Floyd Mayweather. Which leads me to the new topic of the day, not all the Zab bashing and the "I told you so's" that have been pestering "Super" Judah since his lost, but the fact of the matter is that they will be facing each other on April 8, 2006 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Zab Judah once again has the potential to redeem himself in a major way. In his rematch against Corey Spinks, Judah had to go into Spink's backyard to face his demons, not to mention a pre fight concert starring Spinks featuring Nelly!. Prior to that he had to face the ridicule of the media, and for good reason. Zab Judah's potential is unlimited, he's blessed with raw talent and when he sets his mind he can do anything. More...

Sechew Powell Makes his mark in 2006

As the 2006 boxing year begins to settle in, their has already been much to talk about. Personal triumphs with O'Neil Bell unifying the titles in the cruiserweight division, Manny Paquiao knocking out Eric Morales, and now Sechew Powell steps in the ring and up to plate as he places an x on the light middleweight division. With Winky Wright permanently fighting at 160, Powell can very well stake his claim in the division. At the age of 26, The Brooklyn native has been fighting pro for three years, and with his unblemished record of 18-0-11ko's, Powell is a force to be reckoned. The 5ft10in southpaw had a very busy fight season in 2005, staying in the eye of the public and fighting four times last year, with his most notable an exciting win over Cornelius Bundrage. Both fighters knocked each other down simultaneously in the opening round, both recovered and was up quickly but Powell took advantage of the opportunity and knocked Bundrage out in the same round. More...

Back on May 19, 2005, I spoke with O'Neil Bell just hours before his fight with Dale Brown for the vacant IBF cruiserweight title. Then, Bell felt as though he was the uncrowned champion of the division, he felt deep down inside that he was stronger and faster than all of the cruiserweights. He always felt that he could be the face of the cruiserweight division, and he knew he had what it took to become world champion.My conversation with O'Neil was interesting as well as prophetic. He proclaimed to be the "Uncrowned Champion" the spark that the lack luster division needed. On Jan 7, 2005 just eight months later, Bell received his crown and unified the titles. The first of SHOWTIME championship boxing trilogy, O'Neil Bell face "The MarksMan" Jean-Marc Mormeck in a co-main event that caused the Theater to erupt with excitement. More...

On a crisp, cold night in New York City, the last thing on a persons mind is going anywhere in this type of weather, but this in New York and nothing holds us back. That is why a few thousand screaming city dwellers packed the Theater at the Garden to see Zab Judah defend his titles against WBC mandatory challenger Carlos Baldomir. What was thought to be an easy defense turned out to be a complete shocker to all that were in attendance. The night started out with Judah hitting Baldomir on the thigh as the two stood in the middle of the ring getting instructions, the ref called both back to the center before the bell to retouch and scolded Zab on his un-sportsman like conduct.

The pace started out as usual with both fighters feeling each other out, and each taken chances with throwing jabs and body shots. Judah moved around avoiding most of the shots. More...

With “Winky” Wright solidifying the right to face Jermain Taylor, the stage is now set for two of the best jabbers in boxing, in my opinion, to face each other, and for “Winky” to become undisputed once more. Two Saturday nights ago at the Mohegan Sun Casino in CT, Wright earned that position with a win over the durable, if awkward, Sam Soliman. Wright seemed to be a bit off his game, but he was still able to pull out a win by unanimous decision. The iron clad defence that Wright is known for was there, but the Austrailian was able to get through and land some hard shots to the face and head every now and then. More...

It was a soggy, cold evening in the big apple but that didn't stop fight fans from coming to the Hammerstein Ballroom for the last installment of the Broadway Boxing Series of 2005. As I entered the Ballroom, Gary Starks was up and as usual, he controlled the pace from beginning to end, dominating his opponent from start to finish. He went on to pound out an unanimous, eight round decision win over Jose Hernandez. He improves to 13-0-6ko's. Also on the fight card was Edgar Santana who completely destroyed Jeremy Stiers.It took Santana just one round to stop the game but obviously overmatched Stiers. Santana jumped on his opponent from the opening bell and never let up. Several crushing body shots sent Stiers onto the canvas, and as the bell toll to end round one, Santana dropped Stiers for the third and final time. More...

With Jermain Taylor's safe but unanimous decision win over Bernard Hopkins this past weekend in Las Vegas, Winky Wright will have a chance to fight for the undisputed title against Jermain Taylor, that's if he get past Sam Soliman on Dec.10 at the Mohegan Sun Casino, in Uncasville, CT. Winky Wright is no stranger to boxing stardom and being undisputed in a weight class. He won the WBC, the WBA and the IBF titles from Shane Mosley on March 13, 2004. Now Wright has the opportunity to do what most haven't been able to do, and that's to become an undisputed champion in another weight class, provided that he gets past his opponent on Dec 10 and beat Jermain Taylor. More...

As Dmitriy "Star of David" Salita knuckles down and enters training camp for his December 15, 2005, bout at the Hammerstein Ballroom, he takes time out to speak about the intense regime of his training camp in the Poconos and his focus as he enters into his last match of the year. " It's focus time for me", Salita states, "I'll be isolated for three weeks of intense training. This pre fight camp is time that a lot of fighters dread but one that I've come to really embrace." It's no nonsense, no distraction, all day, train, box, train, box." Dmitriy's day begins at 6 a.m., he runs for 3-6 miles up the snowy slopes of the Pocono Mountains. In between runs he spars with the likes of Jorge Terron, Edgar Santana and Miguel Callist. More...

Before his unanimous win over Verno Phillips in June of this year, Ike Quartey was on hiatus for more than five years. But with a renewed confidence and determination, the veteran from Ghana is determined to earn a title shot and become world champion once again. Quartey is set to do battle against Carlos Bojorquez on the Taylor - Hopkins II undercard, televised live on HBO PPV from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino this December 3rd.

As focused and determined as ever, "Bazooka" Quartey is leaving no stone unturned while stationed in the Poconos for an intense training camp. Much is to be expected from the hard hitting African fighter against Bojorquez as he plans to make a statement to the middleweight division and the world that he means business and that this is "No Laughing Matter"! More...

In his last fight of the year, Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy ended 2005 with a phenomenal splash! Some would have thought that the matchup against the game and durable Scott "Sandman" Pemberton would have given Lacy some problems. There was the height and reach advantage for Pemberton, his jab...etc, but it was all to little or no effect. Lacy seemed to walk through the few jabs that Pemberton landed only to home in with his own signature left hooks and a couple of his neck snapping jabs. But the punch of the night came from Lacy's enormous overhand right, which sent Pemberton crashing to the canvas with six seconds left in the second round.

The fight was mercifully waved off after that against Pemberton's protest. Lacy punctuated the night when he asked "Overrated?" Before the fight, Pemberton's trainer John Scully mentioned that Lacy and his power were overrated. But this past weekend in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, "Left Hook" proved him and all his critics wrong. Again. More...

Click for larger image © Ben Mestman/SaddoBoxing.com

Cedric Kushner Promotions put on a stellar fight card last night from New York's elegant Hammerstein Ballroom and there was intense action from start to finish. In the headliner, dubbed "The Home Coming," middleweight "Irish" John Duddy improved his record to 13-0 (12) by stopping the game but outmatched Bryon Mackie in the fourth round. The fight started out fast paced until Duddy dropped Mackie once in the first, then in the third and twice in round four from a devastating body shot. After intense body and head work from both fighters, the fight was stopped in the fourth, after Mackie could not recover from a left hook to the body. The Canadian falls to 25-12 (8) with the loss. More...

Two Brawlers, One Ring And A Collision Headed for Stateline, Nevada

In the sport of boxing, fans and writers alike anticipate fights that will have us on the edge of our seats. We savor scheduled bouts that will have us looking forward to fight night. We keep an eye out for those ever elusive world championship title fights that keep us all guessing whether or not we will see a new divisional ruler at the end of the day. Personally, I believe that the scheduled November 5th matchup between IBF/IBO Super Middleweight

Champion Jeff Lacy and rugged contender Scott Pemberton has all the makings of a tremendous, action packed fight. More...

Showtime and DiBella Entertainment have teamed up to bring possibly the best ShoBox boxing card since the program's inception in 2001. The card will feature veteran light middleweight southpaw Sechew "Iron Horse" Powell as the headlining attraction and New York State Super Middleweight Champ Jaidon "The Don" Codrington in an exciting co-main event. Also on the bill is light heavyweight knockout artist Curtis "Showtime" Stevens.

The fighters are scheduled to appear on “The Next Generation" ShoBox program to be aired live on November 4, 2005, starting at 11pm at the Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Oklahoma. Powell, Codrington and Stevens are looked upon as this year's fastest rising stars in boxing, and although Powell is not considered new to the sport by any means, he's beginning to attract a lot of attention from the media and fans alike for his tremendous power and relentless fortitude in the ring. More...

All Eyes are on the Man to Beat at Light Heavyweight

After Antonio Tarver's convincing win last week over Roy Jones Jr. at Tampa, Florida's St. Pete Times Arena, is it safe to say he's the man to beat at light heavyweight? Well, of course, since he not only beat Jones in their first fight, knocked him out in the rematch and then put the proverbial cherry on top by winning a unanimous decision the third time around. And let’s not forget that Tarver exacted his revenge on hard hitting former world champion Glencoffe Johnson. So yes, it is safe to say that he sits on the light heavyweight throne and welcomes all that dare to enter his court.

The "Magic Man" has paid his dues in and out of the ring, overcoming obstacles that would have easily broken the hardest of champions; addiction, early parenthood and tough breaks from the amateurs to the pros. Tarver started his pro career during his late twenties, and more than a few didn't think that he would make it this far, but nonetheless Antonio has arrived and he's here to stay, deserving of all the attention that comes his way. More...

Tampa's Awesome Threesome

This past summer Tampa, Florida has been treated to some awesome boxing and not just from a few anonymous boxers in the fight game, but from their very own favorite sons. IBF/IBO Super Middleweight Champion Jeff Lacy and IBO Light Heavyweight Champion Antonio Tarver, just two of the area's three world champions, have come back home and lit a flame under Tampa Bay boxing. And if all goes to plan this December, middleweight kingpin Winky Wright will add to the tremendous amount of action Florida has already seen this year.

Lacy started things off on August 6th, defending his IBF title against IBO Champion Robin Reid. In forty-three professional fights, Reid, the "Grim Reaper" of Runcorn, England, had never been dropped. "Left Hook" Lacy quickly disposed of that record by flooring Reid four times and sending the more than 15,000 fans at the St. Pete Times Forum into a frenzy! On October 1st, in the same building, Antonio "The Magic Man" Tarver successfully defended his IBO title against Roy Jones, Jr. In front of 21,000 fans, he unanimously defeated the once invisible Jones and proved to the boxing world that he deserves to be recognized as the man to beat in the light heavyweight division. More...

For many years I've seen tremendous things that have occurred in boxing. Mike Tyson becoming the youngest heavyweight champion of the world, George Foreman becoming the oldest, Evander getting part of his ear bitten off, etc., etc., but nothing quite like what I'm experiencing at this present day. As a writer, I address my thoughts, feelings and opinions concerning the sport, but as a fan, I wonder what's Joe Calzaghe thinking?

I have just a few things on my mind that makes me wonder about the WBO champion. What were you thinking by fighting Evans Ashira, a 5ft7in middleweight? He was much smaller than you and really had no remote chance of beating you? What kind of tune-up fight was that? If you're prone to injury then why take a chance on injuring yourself before the biggest and most meaningful fight of your career? You would've had lots of hours of training and could have put in many rounds of sparring for the Lacy unification bout, and would have been well prepared. More...