El COVID-19 y el boxeo en Latinoamérica:
Una charla entre el presidente de la OMB Latino, Jorge Molina, el asesor legal de la OMB, licenciado Gustavo Olivieri, y el periodista José A. Sánchez Fournier.
Anthony Sims Jr will fight for his first pro title as he meets Roamer Alexis Angulo for the WBO Latino Super-Middleweight title on Thursday, January 30 at the Meridian in Island Gardens in Miami, live on DAZN in the US and on Sky Sports in the UK.
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Sims Jr (20-0 18 KOs) secured three wins in 2019 to further underline his credentials for landing major clashes in 2020, finishing the year with a stoppage win in Chicago in October after going the ten-round distance for the first time in April in California.
WBO #9 Angulo (25-1 22 KOs) represents a stiff test for Sims Jr’s aspirations with the Miami-based Colombian KO artist only having one blemish on his record, coming against Gilberto Ramirez when he challenged the Mexican for his WBO World title in June 2018.
“I’m delighted to be fighting for my first belt in Miami – I plan to make it the first of many,” said Sims Jr. “I’ve been ready for this step up for some time and I will prove that I am ready to mix it with the best with a devastating performance on January 30 – it’s time to bring the funk!”
“I am always well prepared when I step in the ring,” said Angulo. “On January 30, my opponent will be facing the most difficult test of his young career. I will do everything I can so that he fails. I hope many of my fans and fellow Colombians living in Miami will come out to see me give my all.”
Sims Jr and Angulo clash on an action-packed night of World championship boxing in Miami, topped by WBO World Middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade (28-0 17 KOs) defending his crown against Irish challenger Luke Keeler (17-2-1 5 KOs).
Tevin Farmer (30-4-1, 6 KOs) defends his IBF World Super Featherweight title against JoJo Diaz (30-1, 15 KOs), unified World Super Bantamweight champion Daniel Roman (27-2-1, 10 KOs) defending his titles against Murodjon Akhmadaliev (7-0, 6 KOs) and YouTube stars Jake Paul and AnEsonGib clashing on their pro debuts.
Thompson Boxing Matchmaker/General Manager Alex Camponovo Clarifies Edwin Rodriguez’s WBO Latino Title Situation
“Dear Paco,
I hope all is well, first of all, I wanted to apologize for the confusion created last Friday, August 23, when Saul Sanchez fought Edwin Rodriguez in Corona, CA.
It was reported that Rodriguez, the winner of the fight by spilt decision, was declared the new WBO latino champion, however, I’d like to clarify and confirm that we were never given authorization or sanction by your organization to stage the fight as a title match. The California bout agreement only reflected the 10-round match at 118 lbs. and all the other particulars and there were no mentions of a title match.
Moreover, the fight was not announced at any point as a title defense for champion Saul Sanchez, as we did not have the sanction letter or a WBO supervisor in attendance for the weigh in and the match. We never had a mandated rules meeting, glove selection or any other ceremonies necessary for a title match, simply because we did not have the sanction for it.
There were some mistakes by our ring announcer who made mentioned the fight incorrectly from the ring and was not corrected in due time, which falls on me.
I wanted to shed a little bit of light and I thank you for your patience and understanding on the matter, we did not want to create an adverse situation and we look forward in working with you in our next events.
Should you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours truly,
Alex Camponovo“
WBO Latino Flyweight Championship: McWILLIAMS ARROYO VS. CARLOS BUITRAGO IN CAGUAS
On Saturday, June 15, both gladiators will seek to approach another long-awaited world title opportunity when they battle for the World Boxing Organization Latino Belt during the stellar fight of the event named ‘Noche de Campeones DIRECTV’ at the Roger Mendoza Coliseum in the city of Caguas in a presentation of Miguel Cotto Promotions and H2 Entertainment.
“I’m preparing very well for this fight. It’s a good fighter and I know what it means. I have plans to be a champion again and this is a test that I have to go through, “said McWilliams Arroyo (18-4, 14 KOs), who made his debut under the Miguel Cotto Promotions banner with a victory over the Aztec Carlos Maldonado last February in Ponce.
“We have worked hard, sparring with different people, including Carlos Arrieta, as well as other local boxers. We’re going to be ready for this fight. ”
For his part, Buitrago (31-4 with 17 KO’s) has been a fairly consistent fighter, with good assimilation skills and his only defeats have been in world championship matches, including his most recent against the Puerto Rican knockout artist and WBO Jr. Flyweight World Champion Angel ‘Tito’ Acosta, who lasted 11 rounds before seeing the fight stopped in the twelfth episode during his brawl in the summer of 2018.
“He is a fighter of care, who endures and has a lot of experience. You have to come ready for everything with him, be it boxing or exchanging blows. It’s going to be a tough fight, “added Arroyo.
via Cotto Promotions
The last time WBO Latino Champion Daniel Lozano appeared in the ring, he produced arguably the most meaningful win of his career.
That moment came in the 2017 fall premiere of Boxeo Telemundo. This time around, he closes out the summer season of the series as the Bowling Green, Florida keeps it close to home in a 10-round showdown versus Mexico’s Ricardo Espinoza (20-2, 17KOs). The two collide this Friday at the Brian Glazer JCC Ballroom in Tampa, Florida, airing live on Telemundo (Friday, 11:35pm ET).
While the venue itself is new to the Telemundo circuit, Lozano himself is no stranger to the long-running series. The local favorite makes his 11th network appearance, all of which have been staged in Central Florida. Friday’s bout will be his first since last October, when he closed out a 2017 comeback tour with a 10-round decision over Ricardo ‘Meserito’ Rodriguez.
The victory was one of two on the year where he was able to avenge a prior loss. Three months earlier, he scored a stunning 2nd round knockout of 115-pound title challenger David Carmona,
Both Carmona and Rodriguez handed Lozano decision defeats in a disastrous 2015 ring campaign that saw the 28-year old lose three straight. He now looks to make it three victories in a row, although wins and losses have little to do with his being a series regular.
“It’s never a dull moment when ‘Alacran’ Lozano is in the ring,” Felix ‘Tutico’ Zabala, Jr. of All-Star Boxing told FightNights.com, speaking through an ear-to-ear grin in recalling his boxer’s past bouts. “He’s one of the most popular figures in the Boxeo Telemundo Ford series, because he always leaves it all in the ring, action-packed bouts from bell to bell regardless of the outcome.”
It also helps explain the Standing-Room Only status whenever Lozano (15-4, 11KOs) fights, usually at the nearby A La Carte Pavilion where he has appeared 11 times in his 19-fight career. The next adventure in his career comes at the Bryan Glazer Family JCC, a state-of-the-art 100,000-square foot facility which opened its doors to the public in December, 2016.
Lozano helps christen the locale in a boxing sense, while also welcoming Espinoza to his first career stateside appearance. The Tijuana, Mexico native has won 10 straight—including six straight knockouts—but fights out of his native Mexico for the first time as a pro.
THIS FRIDAY JULY 27, headline title matches in a show to be held at the Hotel El Prado in Barranquilla, Colombia.
The two-time Olympian Jeyvier Cintron (6-0, 4 KOs) will fight for the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) Youth Bantamweight championship when he takes on Venezuelan Gregory Vera (12-1, 6 KOs). The Puerto Rican boxer traveled with his team led by his trainer and former double world champion Ivan “Iron Boy” Calderón. This will be the fifth fight in 2018 for Cintron.
While, Luis ‘Popeyre’ Lebrón (11-0-1, 5 KOs), #12 ranked by the WBO in 126 pounds and trained by Raymond Bernard, will defend his WBO Latino Featherweight title against the Venezuelan Milner Marcano (14-4, 10 KOs) in a bout scheduled to 10 rounds. Lebrón won the belt in April when he beat Luis Ruiz in Colombia.
Undefeated Colombian José Soto (7-0, 3 KOs) battles fellow countryman José Jimenez (20-8-1, 9 KOs) for the vacant WBO Latino Flyweight belt in a 10-round clash.
Promoter: Pro Box del Caribe and Puerto Rico Best Boxing Promotions
Crawford vs. Horn and Pedraza vs. Antonio Moran to be aired on ESPN+ beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET
LAS VEGAS – Jose “Sniper” Pedraza is nearing a title shot. Pedraza will see action June 9 on the Terence Crawford vs. Jeff Horn world championship event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Pedraza (23-1, 12 KOs), from Cidra, Puerto Rico, will challenge Antonio Moran (22-2, 15 KOs) in a 10-rounder for the WBO Latino lightweight belt.
Tickets for Crawford vs. Horn, priced at $500, $300, $200, $100, and $50 (limited availability), are on sale now and can be purchased online through axs.com, charge by phone at 866-740-7711 or in person at any MGM Resorts box office.
Pedraza, a former super featherweight champion who made two successful title defenses, returned from a 14-month layoff on March 17 to score a shutout, eight-round decision over Jose Luis Rodriguez. Moran is riding a three-bout winning streak since a split decision defeat to Emanuel Lopez.
“I am excited because this will be my first fight in Las Vegas, which everyone knows is the fight capital of the world. I am determined to give a great performance,” Pedraza said. “I know Moran is a good fighter and coming to upset my plans, but I have worked very hard to make sure that does not happen. I expect to be victorious on June 9 and will continue to show I am a force at lightweight.”
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Info by Top Rank Press
El excampeón mundial peleará el 9 de junio en el MGM Grand de Las Vegas.
El excampeón mundial José “Sniper” Pedraza no tendrá que esperar mucho tiempo para regresar al ring. El púgil puertorriqueño tiene en agenda retar al mexicano Antonio “Toño” Morán por la faja Latina de la Organización Mundial de Boxeo (OMB), versión de las 135 libras.
El duelo será el 9 de junio y tendrá como escenario el MGM Grand de Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Nos llegó una comunicación de que José formará parte de la cartelera de Terence Crawford. Vamos a pelear por el cinturón Latino con la posibilidad de que sea una eliminatoria por el título mundial”, especificó Luis Espada, padrastro y entrenador de Pedraza.
Pedraza (23-1, 12 KO) regresó a la ruta ganadora el pasado marzo cuando venció por decisión unánime a José Luis Rodríguez en Nuevas York. Eso, junto a que firmó con la empresa Top Rank, coloca al boricua en una posición para aspirar a una faja mundial. Actualmente, Reymundo Beltrán es el monarca de la OMB en la división ligera.
“Si José le gana a Morán, esa pelea de título mundial podría llegar para el otoño. Definitivamente, antes de que termina el 2018 peleará por un campeonato”, dijo Espada. “Todo dependerá de cómo salga de la pelea contra Morán, pero estaríamos mirando para octubre o noviembre”.
Morán (23-2, 16 KO), conquistó el cinturón Latino de la OMB el pasado octubre cuando venció a Salvador Briseno por nocaut en el segundo asalto.
“Morán el alto y se ajuste bien al estilo de boxeo de Pedraza. Comenzamos a trabajar enseguida que salió de la pasada pelea porque sabíamos que existía la posibilidad de que volviera para mayo o junio. Pronto estaremos buscando a boxeadores altos que lo ayuden en los guanteos”, concluyó Espada.
http://www.primerahora.com/deportes/boxeo/nota/sniperpedrazabuscaraeltitulolatinodelaomb-1280863/
By Karl Freitag
Photos: Mikey Williams / Top Rank –
WBO junior lightweight world champion Rocky Martinez (29-2-2, 17 KOs) faced off with WBO featherweight world champion Vasyl Lomachenko (5-1, 3 KOs) in advance of their HBO-televised world title showdown on Saturday night in The Theatre at Madison Square Garden, New York City. In the HBO co-feature, WBO #2 rated lightweight champ Felix “El Diamante” Verdejo (21-0, 14 KOs) faces WBC #11 Juan Jose “Piquet” Martinez (25-2, 17 KOs) for the WBO Latino championship. Also, two-time Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming (7-1, 2 KOs) meets Jozsef Ajtai (15-2, 10 KOs) for the WBO international flyweight chmpionship.
Rocky Martinez: “If you want to beat me, than you have to kill me, but to kill me you have to prepared to be killed in the ring too.”
Vasyl Lomachenko: “I’m ready to put up $300,000 of my purse as long as Rocky Martinez will put up $300,000 if I win.”
Felix Verdejo: “In Muhammad Ali’s honor, I will give a great fight.”
JJ Martinez: “We will take that title to Mexico.”
Bob Arum: “We will probably have a bigger audience in China than all of the HBO fights for the last three years combined. We expect an audience of perhaps as many as 50 million homes will be watching the Chinese star Zou Shiming.”
www.fightnews.com/Boxing/martinez-lomachenko-clash-heats-up-341340
Felix Verdejo and Nonito Donaire took part a media workout on Tuesday ahead of their respective bouts on the Top Rank promoted card of the MetroPCS Friday Night Knockout card on TruTV from the Roberto Clemente Coliiseum this Friday night.
Verdejo (18-0, 13 KOs), from San Juan, will be making his homecoming a 10-round defense of his WBO Latino lightweight title against Josenilson Dos Santos (25-3, 15 KOs), of Sao Paulo, Brasil, and Donaire (35-3, 23 KOs), from General Santos City, Philippines, who is on the cusp of another world title shot, will be challenging WBO International junior featherweight champion and No. 1 world-rated contender Cesar Juarez (17-3, 13 KOs), of Mexico City, in a 12-round rumble.
The four boxers boast a combined record of 95-9 (64 KOs) — a winning ratio of 91%, with 2/3 of their total victories coming by way of knockout.
Below is what Donaire and Verdejo had to say during their workouts
NONITO DONAIRE
“When I was down on the canvas in the Walters fight I thought to myself, ’this is a blessing.’ It was a blessing because I had lost my way, not giving boxing the respect it deserves. I was searching for something. I was unsatisfied. I went home and re-dedicated myself to the sport. I worked harder in the gym. I got out bed early in the mornings and did my running. I went to a Tony Robbins seminar for motivation and then read the book, The Power of Habits.
“My opponent is a tough guy and he is hungry like a wolf. My job is to beat the wolf. He’s actually ranked higher than me. He is No. 1 and I am No. 2.
“I must win on Friday night. I am out of setbacks.
“I feel like I am 21 again. My speed has increased. I can feel my power is much stronger. My happiness is back. I had a great camp.
“But I know what must be done.
“I must win.”
FELIX VERDEJO
“It was Felix “Tito” Trinidad who inspired me when I was a very young fighter. He has given me a lot of advice. We are friends and I hope Tito comes to the fight on Friday night.
“I have no pain in my hand. I feel great. I like to feel 100 percent when I get into the ring, so I waited until my hand was completely healed for this fight.
“I feel comfortable at 135 pounds and do not have a problem making that weight. I can make 130 pounds if my promoter Top Rank asks.
“This is a big fight card and I am in the main event. I think of all the sacrifices me and our team made to get here. All of the hard work in the gym has paid off.”
http://www.secondsout.com/news/main-news/donaire-and-verdejo-media-workout-quotes
On Saturday, February 21, M/V Power Promotions and Fresh Boxing will be presenting the boxing event billed as ‘Rodriguez vs. Hinojosa’, which will take place at the Francisco ‘Pancho ‘Deida’ Coliseum of Hatillo , Puerto Rico starting at 7:00 pm.
In the featured bout, WBO Latino bantamweight title holder, Emmanuel Rodriguez ( 10-0, 6 KO’s ) of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, will defend his title against battle tested former world title contender, and current rated #10 by the World Boxing Association (WBA), Luis Hinojosa (26-8, 16 KO’s) of the Dominican Republic in a 10-round scheduled clash.
At the beginning of his professional boxing career, 28-year-old Hinojosa only had one win in eight bouts. His seventh loss was against current world champion, Juan Carlos Payano in 2010. Since then, the rejuvenated Hinojosa made a 25-fight winning streak. During that path, he was crowned as the WBA Fedecaribe champion and later on, he captured the WBA Fedelatin belt.
In August 2014, the Dominican veteran went to Venezuela for the biggest fight of his career against localist, Yonfrez Parejo for the interim WBA World bantamweight title. Parejo defeated Hinojosa by TKO in the eleventh round in a close and exciting fight.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel ‘The Sensational’ Rodríguez, rated #9 by the WBO, and current WBO Latino Champion, scored an impressive first round KO victory over the two-time US National Champion, Miguel ‘No Fear’ Cartagena last October, 2014. Another notable victory for Rodríguez was in December 2013, against the very tough former world title contender, David Quijano, who lost by a wide unanimous decision.
The co-featured bout will be a duel of unbeaten lightweights between Juvenal ‘Gringo’ Ramos (2-0, 2 KO’s) of Morovis, and Miguel Canino (4-0, 2 KO’s) of Dorado in a 6 round bout.
In what is expected to be another exciting fight, Jesus ‘Chiquito’ Soler (6-1, 3 KO’s) and Gustavo Ortiz (1-2) will face off for the third time to determine the winner of their trilogy. In their first brawl, Soler won by unanimous decision, but in the second one, Ortiz won by split decision in a war from beginning to end. Soler-Ortiz is scheduled for six rounds in the flyweight division.
The two-time National Champion, Miguel Alejandro Cruz ( 6-0, 5 KO’s ) from Aguada, Puerto Rico will be making his first appearance as a pro-boxer in front of his fans in Puerto Rico against William Lorenzo ( 3-18, 1 KO’s ) in a six round welterweight bout.
In four-round bouts, lightweight debutant, Nestor Bravo ( 0-0 ) vs. Nestor Ortiz (0-2), Adalberto ‘Adan’ Zorrilla (1-0, 1 KO) vs. Felix Perez ( 0-0 ) at the super bantaweight division. At junior welterweight, Emmanuel Class (2-1, 2 KO’s) vs. Leonel Hernandez ( 0-0 ) and Bryan Pino ( 0-0 ) vs. Luis Soto (0-3). Pedro Marquez ( 0-0 ) vs. Joseph Santos (0-8) at featherweights, Alexis Padin (4-1, 4 KO’s) vs. Luis Cuascut (0-10-2) at super featherweights.
By David Finger \ Photos: Joel Colon/WBO
The World Boxing Organization 27th Annual Convention kicked off in full force this morning at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas as members from around the world introduced themselves and we subsequently treated to a video presentation highlighting last year’s convention in Budapest. The first order of business for the executive committee was the Championship Committee report, which highlighted the strong position of the WBO in regards to participating in championship fights. In 2011-2012 the WBO made a strong statement to the boxing world as they had an impressive 38 championship fights. However, as that number dipped to 32 in 2012-2013, the WBO was keen on making a strong statement and to bounce back. The Championship Committee was happy to report that the WBO more than exceeded expectations here.
“This year we came back fierce and strong,” commented Luis Batista Salas, chairman of the Championship Committee. “We came back with 40 championship fights. We had more championship fights than the other organizations together.” Batista Salas also commented on the growth, and strength, of WBO Women’s boxing. “We have 25 champions in the female division, and we only began three years ago with female championship fights.”
Perhaps most noteworthy for the Championship Committee was the prominent role that mandatory defenses played in WBO championship fights. “Mandatory fights are something we take very seriously,” Batista Salas added, “(The WBO) had 32 mandatory fights! This is also a record. That is also something to be proud of.”
From there President Valcarcel announced that the President’s Report would be postponed until after lunch to allow him to speak at length about some issues, including his planned announcement for the second day of the convention, in which the WBO will petition Senator John McCain and the ABC to propose amendments to the Muhammad Ali Act, proposals that would strengthen the bill and impose harsher penalties for violations. He then took a jab at the other organizations, and in particular the recent summit of boxing organizations in Cancun, Mexico that was hosted by the WBC.
“I wasn’t there to waste time in Cancun for some public relations stunt where nothing gets done,” Valcarcel said to the Executive Committee, “there were two of them in the past and nothing got done. We didn’t intend to go and waste our time.”
Valcarcel indicated a desire to continue working with local commissions and the ABC to promote safety and proposed rule changes, noting that local laws will always trump the WBO rules, and therefore it was important to work closely with these commissions. He also added that he will be meeting with the chairman of the IBF tomorrow, as the chairman will be visiting with the WBO in Las Vegas.
The Grievance Committee report followed, and in what could considered a “short and sweet” summary, the Grievance Committee chairman Alberto Rodriguez was happy to announce that there were no complaints submitted to the committee in 2014. He then discussed the process for a party to submit to the grievance committee.
A short video followed featuring WBO women’s bantamweight champion Carolina Duer, followed by Ms. Duer thanking the WBO and expressing her appreciation for the WBO. “Since I’ve been a world champion I’ve always been only a WBO champion,” Duer said to the executive committee, “I am very proud to represent this organization.”
The next order of business was the regional vice presidents report, starting with Istvan “Koko” Kovacs and WBO Europe. Kovacs was pleased to report a very successful year for the WBO Europe. “We had the pleasure to organize the second WBO congress (in Budapest) in 2013 and according to the feedback and your comments, it was very successful. Already after the 2009 (WBO Congress) we saw an increase in the nonetheless already significant activities of WBO Europe. But I must admit that I did not expect to have such extraordinary accomplishments (in 2014).”
WBO Europe increased overall, and although WBO International saw a slight decrease, much of that was attributed to tighter restrictions and higher standards. “We tightened the requirements for the belt,” Kovacs said, “we had less fights but there is higher prestige to the belt.”
However, any drop in activity to WBO International was more than made up by the increase in activity from the WBO European titles. It went from 11 fights in 2013 to 27 in 2014. The number of WBO regional titles in Europe nearly doubled from 29 in 2013 to 53 in 2014, Kovacs then discussed the increase in activity across the board for the WBO in Europe, citing the increased number of fights from the WBO Youth (from 4 to 9) and WBO female championships (from 5 to 9). In 2014 there were also 10 WBO championship fights in Europe, which was the same number as in 2013.
Kovacs then discussed the overall history of the WBO European title since 2009, noting that they have had 92 championship fights, with 54 champions, of which 13 would go on to fight for the title, and of which 3 world champions would emerge. Kovacs then discussed the financial situation with WBO Europe, noting that since 2009 the WBO Europe brought in $95,600 for the WBO in 2014 alone, thus making it the most successful year ever for WBO Europe. Since 2009 WBO Europe has collected over $325,000 in sanctioning fees for the WBO. Kovacs then took a few moments to discuss the ways in which WBO Europe took part in the WBO Kids Drug Free program.
From there WBO Asia Pacific Vice President Leon Panoncillo took the floor to discuss both the state of boxing in Asia and in Africa.
“Asia Pacific has shown positive growth, with 17 sanctioned fights since last year’s convention,” Panoncillo said. He also added that WBO Asia Pacific brought in $28,011.57 in revenue since the last convention and that he expected to sanction five more fights before the end of the year.
He then discussed the WBO Oriental title, adding that since the last convention he sanctioned 30 Oriental Championship matches, collecting a total of $44,250 in revenue since the last convention. The impressive increase in activity marked a dramatic rise in activity for the WBO Oriental title, making 2014 one of the most successful years in the history of WBO Oriental and in striking range of being the most successful year ever for the title. Panoncillo then went on to discuss the WBO Africa, noting that WBO Africa has sanctioned 16 total championship fights since the last convention and that it has raised $21,400 in revenue. Panoncillo then closed out with a discussion of the state of affairs with WBO Asia Pacific Youth, noting that the WBO sanctioned three youth titles and subsequently raised $2,525 in revenue for the WBO since the last convention.
From there WBO first vice president John Duggan discussed the China Zone development, and his hopes to see the WBO continue to grow in the region.
After Duggan’s discussion of China the WBO handed out several awards, with Marco Huck being the most notable. Huck was recently named a WBO Super Champion, and although he did not have a Super Championship belt yet, he was awarded a plague commemorating his accomplishment.
“This is a very rare and great honor,” Huck said after receiving the award, “I am very proud to be named Super Champion after 13 title defenses.”Also given awards were Osvaldo Rivero, who was named Latin America promoter of the year by the WBO. Also given an award was Patrick Teixeira, who was awarded the OMB Latino Champion of the year.
From there Jorge Molina presented his report on WBO Latino, noting that he still embraced the philosophy that “the sky’s the limit” when considering the future of the organization. Since the last convention, Molina noted that the WBO has sanctioned 30 championship fights, an increase from 25 in 2013. Of those 30 fights, 10 were held in Argentina, 10 were held in Brazil, six were held in the United States, 3 were held in Mexico, and 1 was held in Puerto Rico. Five fights were in the welterweight division, five were in the junior bantamweight division, and four were in the junior middleweight division. Molina then discussed the proud history of the OMB Latino championship, noting that the WBO Latino held an astounding 526 title fights since 1996. Of those who fought for the WBO Latino title, 134 would go on to fight for the world title, while 41 would go on to win world championships. Molina then added that since the last convention three OMB Latino Champions have gone on to win world titles as well. Molina then closed out with a video presentation that highlighted some of the greatest moments of WBO Latino, highlighting some legendary champions like Michael Carbajal and Ener Julio.
The executive committee took a short recess for lunch, and upon returning from lunch, resumed with the treasurer’s report. WBO CPA Jaime Ceballero advised that the strength of the WBO financial situation, adding that the WBO had $1,242,724 in savings, an increase in revenue of 302%. The increase in revenue was the largest ever in the history of the WBO. He then added that the WBO accounts included nearly $2,000,000 when added with the accounts of all of the regional organizations. He then added that, if the WBO were to pay off all of their debts today, they would still hold in excess of a million dollars. The positive report prompted President Valcarcel to ask if the WBO could spend more money on the WBO Kids Drug Free program. Unfortunately there was one area where regional organization in which WBO didn’t have tremendous success initially in 2014: the NABO.
The NABO had recently changed leadership in February of 2014 after reporting substantial losses in 2013 and early 2014. New NABO Vice President Jose Izquierdo, however, had done much to turn that ship around since taking over. One area of strength was the increase in fights on “important” cards such as the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley PPV card, or the recent Floyd Mayweather-Marcos Maidana PPV in 2014. Since taking over the helm at NABO, Izquierdo has sanctioned 12 NABO title fights and 14 Inter-Continental title fights, helping fuel a dramatic turnaround for the NABO financially.
“There is a dramatic decrease in the amount owed,” Izquierdo said, “over 46% decrease. And a 790% increase for cash on hand.”
Izquierdo has taken a much more inclusive approach to spearhead the NABO’s sudden resurgence. “I’ve called local commissions to have them recommend fighters to be considered and become part of the rankings of the NABO,” Izquierdo said.
The positive changes in the direction of the NABO prompted vice president Luis Batista Salas to sing Izquierdo’s praises during his presentation. “He has changed the face of the NABO,” Batista Salas said of Izquierdo.
From there President Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel presented the WBO President’s Report, and as expected, he took time to again discuss a topic that has become his cause belle: the proliferation of titles in boxing. Valcarcel first commended Jose Izquierdo on scoring a knockout with WBO’s presence on social media like Facebook.com and Twitter. Noting how WBO’s Facebook page went from 7,000 followers to 334,996 followers in only one year, he commended Izquierdo for helping turn WBO boxing into one of the most popular boxing pages on the internet.
“It is the fastest way to get resolutions out and give the public an outlet (to communicate with us).” Valcarcel said.
Valcarcel then spoke time to speak about the WBO champions, noting that “the WBO is very lucky, because we have the money makers. We have the best champions around the world.”
He then took a jab at a rival organization, noting that former WBO middleweight champion Peter Quillin was making more money in his title defenses than a rival organizations champion who had become a regular fixture on television. He also noted that at the bantamweight weight class, the WBO recently received a $600,000 purse bid from a promoter for a title fight and that Marco Huck is highly successful in the cruiserweight division, earning tremendous paydays as a cruiserweight. Valcarcel then took another jab at the rival organizations and the proliferation of numerous “copper, platinum, silver, and aluminum” titles.
“We have the WBO (world) champion and that’s it! We call Klitschko a Super Champion and that’s it. We don’t have anyone (other champion) behind him. I want to be polite, but I have to speak the truth. Who cares about Alex Povetkin? The champion is Klitschko!”
Explaining the difference between the WBO and some of the other sanctioning organizations in how they recognize champions.
“We have regional titles, but others, they have 3, 4, 5 titles.” Valcarcel added. “We only have one Latino Champion…that means the WBO Latino title carries prestige. We want to keep it that way. We don’t want to have a bunch of titles.”
From there discussions turned to recent litigation involving the WBO, including a case in Puerto Rico that threatens the tax-exempt status of the WBO.
“Our financial success has attracted the attention of inland revenue in Puerto Rico,” WBOs legal counsel associated with the case told the commission, “due to new tax laws in Puerto Rico and the recession in Puerto Rico, and the degradation of Puerto Rican bonds. Puerto Rico has imposed further taxes to cover this.”
Although the WBO is a recognized non-profit according to the United States federal government, the government of Puerto Rico has refused to give full faith and credit to this designation, and their decision had initially been upheld by the Puerto Rican court of appeals. Although the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico initially refused to hear the case, the WBO remained confident that they still had a strong appeal.
Jose Izquierdo made a motion to give the President the authority to unilaterally name a committee to take on this issue at his discretion, a motion that was passed unanimously.
The second issue discussed was the issue of a trademark registration in Europe, and a fraudulent company that sent an unsolicited letter demanding payment to “register” the WBO trademark. This letter was disregarded when the WBO European Council assured the executive committee that the WBO trademarks are registered for the next several years.
Closing out the first day of the meeting, President Valcarcel again discussed the issue of the WBO’s refusal to take part in the joint summit of boxing sanctioning organizations held in Cancun earlier this year.
“We can work with other commissioners regarding safety,” Valcarcel said, “that doesn’t mean we have to meet up (with rival organizations) for it. I never heard of Coca-Cola and Pepsi having a meeting together. You have your own flavor, we don’t have to meet anyone, we don’t have to go anywhere because we are very busy. We are busy working with kids, enhancing the image of the sport. We had a meeting in 2011 and we talked about the same issues. We are doing much more than other organizations. Did you hear of other organizations doing as much for kids?”
WBO European member Markus Aslani then chimed in, “We stick to our rules and we don’t take part in the inflation of titles.”
“I think the main problem in boxing is that you have more than one champion in each division,” Valcarcel added.
“One organization that shall remain unnamed had 41 champions in 17 weight classes,” Jose Izquerdo added.
“We have the support of the most respected boxing writers of the world,” Valcarcel added, “I think in boxing, honesty is the best policy. If we are recognized as the honest organization, we are going to have success.”
From there President Valcarcel added that he will discuss proposals to Senator John McCain and Harry Reid in regards to amendments to the Muhammad Ali Act, and that the WBO would “not tolerate corruption in its ranks.”
Rounding off the opening day was a presentation on the still developing China Zone, which discussed its plans for 2015. The event closed off with a cocktail party that evening, and is set to resume tomorrow at 8:30 AM.
http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/giant-wbo-2014-convention-day-one-report-266381
The Summer Season for Boxeo Telemundo Ford will end just as it began. Once again the popular boxing rivalry between Mexican and Puerto Rico will take center stage. In the main event Edgar Ortega (14-1, 10 KOs) of Mexico will take on Daniel Rosado (8-0, 7 KOs) of Puerto Rico. The bout is scheduled for 10 rounds and the WBO Latino welterweight title is on the line.
Ortega, like Rosado will be fighting in a televised main event on Telemundo for the first time. He is looking to win the WBO Latino belt, which can propel him into the world rankings of the WBO. He will also be fighting at home with a lot of support behind him. Fightnews caught up with Ortega just a few short days away from the fight.
Do you feel pressure with this fight being in your hometown?
There can always be pressure fighting at home but at the end of the day it’s just you and your opponent in the ring. It’s up to you go out there and give yourself the best chance of winning the fight.
Have you seen your opponent fight before?
I have not. If there is video of him I haven’t seen any. My team and I have our strategy and I’m looking to carry out the gameplan.
You have gone the 10 round distance before and have nearly twice as many fights as your opponent. Is this something you feel will work in your favor come Friday?
In terms of the 10 round distance, I definitely think it will give me an edge should the fight go 10 complete rounds. It’s really a mental thing if you think about it. Knowing that I have already done it and won gives me that much more confidence.
Your opponent has knocked out all but one of his opponents. You yourself have 10 knockouts. Do you feel you are the more proven puncher with the level of opposition you have fought thus far?
Some might think that a lot of my knockouts have come against smaller weights and that I’m not the puncher he is. My thinking is that if you’rr a puncher, you’re a puncher. Plain and simple.
This will be your first time headlining a Telemundo main event. Do you feel the need to do something special come Friday?
There will be a large viewing audience and I definitely want them to want to see me fight again on the network after this fight. I have trained hard for this fight and the fans can expect me to do my part to make this an exciting fight.
http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/ortega-aims-to-impress-on-telemundo-debut-255668
Highly motivated and with the confidence of what he defines as the best preparation of his career, Argentinean and World Boxing Organization (WBO) Latino junior middleweight champion, former world title challenger Javier “La Bestia” Maciel, travelled to Sheffield, England, for his highly anticipated challenge against Englishman Brian “The Lion” Rose, in a WBO junior middleweight world title eliminator, that will take place on Saturday, October 26th., at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield, England, televised live by TyC Sports in Argentina and lots of parts of America, and Sky Sports in the United Kingdom.
After finishing his intense training camp in Las Vegas, where he stayed for three weeks with well known trainer Miguel Diaz, Maciel (27-2, 20 KOs), ranked WBO junior middleweight #5, and International Boxing Federation (IBF) #7, flew this Monday to Sheffield together with Diaz -who will be at his corner- for his fight against Rose (24-1-1, 7 KOs), current WBO intercontinental junior middleweight champion, ranked WBO junior middleweight #4 and World Boxing Council (WBC) #16. There he will join the rest of his team, headed by his manager and promoter, Mario Margossian, head of Argentina Boxing Promotions, his trainer Eduardo Molina, and his assistant Gustavo Garay Rezola, to participate in the promotional activities.
WBO Latino super flyweight champion “Mighty” Matthew Villanueva (10-0-1, 8 KOs) of Burbank, California looks to successfully defend his title against Tampa-based Daniel “Alacran” Lozano (11-0, 8 KOs) tonight. The bout is scheduled for twelve rounds. Tuto Zabala, Jr., All Star Boxing, Inc is presenting the show in association with Shea Bailey Promotions. Telemundo Network available in HD will televise starting at 11:35 PM.
This will mark just the second time that Villanueva of Puerto Rican descent will fight in another U.S. state other than California. Accompanying him are his management Union Boxing, his head trainer Shadid Saluki, and other members of his team. Lozano is of Mexican descent. Fightnews spoke with both fighters as the fight is now just hours away.
Daniel, have you watched much video of Villanueva?
Daniel Lozano: I have watched some video but I really leave that up to my team for the most part as I just look to follow the game plan they give me.
Matthew, have you seen much video of Lozano and if so what did you get from it?
Matthew Villanueva: I have watched video and from what I saw he likes to counterpunch and if he comes out that way we have something planned.
Daniel, What would you say is your preferred method of fighting?
Daniel Lozano: Honestly I like to go toe-to-toe but you have use intelligence as well and not just be careless in there.
Matthew Villanueva: I really hope he does go toe-to-toe with me because that suits me just fine. If he doesn’t that’s OK as I can box too.
Daniel, you’re the naturally smaller guy having fought at 112 for a while where Villanueva has fought at 115 for quite some time. Do you think your speed can be an advantage for you?
Daniel Lozano: I definitely think I’m faster. I have only fought maybe one guy professionally who was faster than me but you really can’t tell for sure until you get in the ring who is faster.
Matthew Villanueva: I don’t think Lozano is faster than me. I think it’s even at worse and I might even be faster.
Matthew, what do you see as your biggest advantage in this fight?
Matthew Villanueva: Level of competition. I think by far professionally I have fought much better competition than he has.
Daniel, do you feel fighting near home will be a big advantage for you?
Daniel Lozano: We shall see but I do give Matthew a lot of credit for traveling across country to fight me in my own area.
Matthew Villanueva: I actually have family nearby to Tampa so I will have some support as well.
Matthew, how much do you think your size advantage will play a role in this fight?
Matthew Viallanueva: I think overall my naturally bigger size will work favorably for me but I’m not totally depending on that. We have more than one game plan.
Daniel Lozano: We really wont know until we get in there as to who is the stronger puncher. I’m going to bring it and I know he is going to bring it as well. In fights like that usually the smarter fighter wins. May the best man win.
http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/lozano-villanueva-ready-for-telemundo-showdown-227905#more-227905
Story and photos by David Finger
The 26th Annual WBO Congress in Budapest, Hungary came to a conclusion yesterday with the ever popular final day event: the Championship and Ratings committee meetings.
The final day’s events kicked off as President Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel and the board entertained motions from the floor from various promoters in regards to their fighters. Although there was little movement in regards to the lighter weights President Valcarcel confirmed that mini-flyweight champion Merilito Sabillo of the Philippines is slated to fight #1 ranked Carlos Buitrago of Nicaragua in Dubai in November. At 108-pounds it was confirmed that junior flyweight champion Donnie Nietes of the Philippines is cut and will be sidelined for a short period of time. #1 ranked Moises Fuentes of Mexico is slated to fight for a International title, a move that will certainly position him for the mandatory slot when Nietes recovers from his cut. At flyweight President Valcarcel and the board confirmed that Mexican champion Juan Francisco Estrada will need to fight a mandatory defense in his next fight. Promoter Fernando Beltran requested that the winner of the November 7th matchup between #1 ranked Giovani Segura and #2 ranked Hernan Tyson Marquez, both of Mexico, declared the mandatory challenger for the champion. The board unanimously agreed.
At junior bantamweight champion Omar Narvaez of Argentina, who is coming off a split decision victory over #1 ranked Felipe Orucuta of Mexico is slated to fight in February. No word on if it will be a rematch of his war with Orucuta, who looks poised to remain at #1. Dean Powell pushed to have Paul Butler (the #13 ranked fighter) move into the top ten after his next fight on September 21st. Butler is slated to fight undefeated Miguel Gonzales for the vacant WBO Intercontinental title. The board seemed receptive to the idea of Butler moving into the top ten if he were to defeat Gonzales. At bantamweight President Valcarcel confirmed that new champion Tomoki Kameda would have six months to fight his mandatory defense as he only recently won his title.
At junior featherweight the discussion was in regards to champion Guillermo Rigondeaux and his first defense. Jesse Magdaleno (the #8 ranked NABO Youth champion) and the #1 contender Chris Avalos (the NABO champion) were both mentioned as Top Rank pushed to have their fighters positioned into a title fight. A big round of applause followed for former world champion Barry McGuigan, who was there to represent undefeated British prospect Carl Frampton (16-0). Frampton, who is ranked #14, now looks poised to enter the top ten.
At featherweight the big discussion was over the fight between #1 ranked Orlando Cruz and #3 ranked Orlando Salido. That fight, which is scheduled to take place on October 12th for the vacant world title. There was a push to introduce Oscar Gonzalez (23-2) into the world rankings based on his impressive win over Rico Ramos as well as a push for undefeated Filipino prospect Jun Doliguez (16-0) to move up the ranks. Doliguez is ranked #9. The next discussion was over a fighter who is quickly becoming the most talked about rookie in recent memory: debuting amateur standout Vasyl Lomachenko. Lomachenko, who is slated to fight tough Jonathan Oquendo in his first pro fight, now will be fighting Oquendo for the vacant WBO International title. Despite some concern over allowing a debuting fighter to fight for a WBO belt, the board was nearly unanimous in recognizing what a unique and special talent Lomachenko is.
“Thank God there was no Lomachenko in my division at the time,” former Olympic gold medalist Istvan “Koko” Kovacs said, “I never saw a fighter like him before.”
The board approved Lomachenko for the title fight, making his planned world title fight in his second professional fight a more realistic scenario assuming he can get past the seasoned Jonathan Oquendo. Representatives for #5 ranked Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo of Thailand asked to have their fighter move up the ranks after the planned clash between the # and #3 ranked contenders.
At junior lightweight the WBO confirmed it was issuing a letter to champion Roman Martinez of Puerto Rico, informing him that he now has 30 days to begin negotiations for a fight with #1 ranked Miguel Angel Garcia.
In the lightweight division it was confirmed that champion Ricky Burns would fight #6 ranked Raymundo Beltran on September 7th. From there the board confirmed that Burns would need to begin negotiations with Terrence Crawford, the #1 contender, by December. Undefeated Denis Shafikov of Russia looked poised to move up as well from the #3 slot. In a bit of a shocker, promoter Fernando Beltran told the board that #12 ranked junior welterweight Jose Zepada was now moving down in weight to campaign at lightweight.
In the junior welterweight division the board voted to approve allowing Juan Manuel Marquez to enter the ring against Tim Bradley as WBO champion on October 12th. Mike Alvarado would then be declared the full champion after October 12th. A request to move #3 Serhiy Fedchenko up also came from the floor.
In the welterweight division Dean Powell asked to have #8 ranked Frankie Gavin move up in the ranks as he is slated to fight on September 21st for the European title. In junior middleweight some controversy arose over the next fight of #4 ranked Brian Rose. Both Charlie Ota of Japan (who is ranked #11) and Javier Maciel of Argentina (who is ranked #5) appeared to have an fight against Rose at the same time. After a round of phone calls it was confirmed that Rose would be fighting Maciel and not Ota in his next fight. Fernando Beltran also asked to have Omar Chavez, son of Julio Cesar Chavez, enter the world rankings. Dean Powell asked to have Liam Smith, who is challenging for a British title, move into the world rankings as well.
At middleweight it was confirmed that #1 ranked Brian Vera (the NABO champion) was slated to fight #2 ranked Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on September 28th. Champion Peter Quillin is slated to fight on October 26th. Several promoters moved to have their fighters positioned for an elimination fight as the Vera-Chavez fight created an opening for other fighters looking to move up in the rankings. #4 ranked Lukas Konecny of the Czech Republic and #5 ranked Max Bursak of the Ukraine look poised to emerge as the frontrunners to take part in an elimination fight. #15 ranked Patrick Neilsen of Denmark looks poised to crack into the top ten as well.
At 168-pounds there was a push to move Paul Smith into the rankings. #4 ranked Arthur Abraham looks poised to move into the #1 slot off the basis of his win last week. WBO champion Robert Stieglitz is slated to fight in October, and may end up fighting a rubber match with Abraham after that. When asked is Stieglitz would be willing to fight Abraham in a mandatory, Hedi Taouab indicated he would be.
“It’s for the WBO to decide,” Taouab said, “we are ready to negotiate and talk.”
Arthur Abraham was subsequently voted into the #1 ranking by the board.
At light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev has 120 days to defend his title. #13 ranked Erik Skoglund of Sweeden is slatefd to gfight #14 ranked Dominic Boesel of Germany in a rare WBO youth unification fight. At cruiserweight Marco Huck is slated to fight #1 ranked Firat Arslan on September 14th. #7 ranked Mateusz Masternak of Poland is slated to fight #14 ranked Grigory Droz of Germany on October 5th and wants to move up in the rankings as well. At heavyweight the discussion was over WBO champion Wladimir Klitschko’s 27-month gap since he fought a WBO mandatory challenger. With Klitschko fighting Alex Povetkin on October 5th, there was an issue over the fact that, according to President Valcarcel, the top ranked contenders of the WBO didn’t meet the “criteria for a mandatory”. #1 ranked Denis Boytsov is now slated to fight #11 ranked Christian Hammer. With #2 ranked Bermane Stiverne now the WBC mandatory for Klitschko it did look likely that Boytsov’s long wait may be over and the WBO may award him the mandatory slot if he emerges victorious over Hammer. There was a push to have #5 ranked Deontay Wilder fight for the vacant NABO title as well, and a push to have #13 eanked Andy Ruiz move up into the top ten. Dean Powell also pushed to have #15 ranked Dereck Chisora move up into the top ten on the basis of his knockout win over undefeated Malik Scott.
“His losses have been only at the highest level,” Powell said, “and some are very controversial.”
WBO Vice President Leon Panoncillo pushed to have Alex Leapai versus Andy Ruiz for the WBO Asia Pacific and WBO Oriental championship in Macao in November as well.
From there several awards were handed out, with Liam Welch being awarded the European fighter of the year award, Tia Yi being awarded the matchmaker of the year for China, and the Sports Management Group being awarded the Promoter of the Year. The Japan Boxing Association presented a letter to the WBO and Mario Margossian was awarded a special recognition award. The location of the 2014 and 2015 conventions were decided as well, with Las Vegas, Nevada being the host to the 2014 convention, with Puerto Rico as the backup. In a bit of a surprise, the Philippines will be the location of the 2015 Convention , with Cebu and Manila as the most likely venues.
Rounding off the 26th annual convention was the gala dinner, held at the Udvarhaz restaurant. Hungarian President János Áder attended the event, speaking to the crowd about Hungary’s proud (and at times) tragic history of great boxers. Ader’s moving tribute to Lazlo Papp brought many of the attendees to their feet as they applauded the Hungarian head of state. Rounding off the evening were the remaining awards which were handed out. Frank Warren was awarded the European promoter of the year while Dominic Boesel was awarded the WBO Youth fighter of the year. Robert Stieglitz was awarded the Gordy Volkman Award for outstanding humanitarian qualities. Poriyakoon Ratauasuban was awarded the WBO Oriental Promoter of the year while Michael Aldesguer was awarded the WBO International Promoter of the year. Felix Zabala was awarded the WBO Latino promoter of the year while Ulf Steinforth was awarded the WBO European promoter of the year as well as the European female fighter promoter of the year. Dean Powell was named matchmaker fo the year while Eddie Hearn was awarded a WBO Intercontinental special recognition award. Wilfried Sauerland was awarded a special recognition award as well. Hungary’s three most noteworthy former champions: Istvan Kovacs, Zsolt Erdei, and Karoly Balzsay were each awarded special recognition awards while Don King was awarded a “Greatest Legend in Boxing History” award. Rounding off the ceremony, Wladimir Klitschko was named WBO fighter of the year.
http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/wbo-day-three-congress-report-222049?nggpage=2
Story and photos by David Finger
The 26th Annual WBO Congress officially kicked off Tuesday morning at the InterContinental Hotel in downtown Budapest as boxing insiders from around the world came to celebrate some of the exciting developments in the World Boxing Organization in 2013. The event kicked off with roll call, followed by an invocation. After approving the prior minutes from the 2012 Convention, the congress moved forward with the regional Vice President’s reports. Starting off was Vice President Mark Reels, who did reports from the NABO and the WBO Intercontinental. Although the NABO and the WBO Intercontinental both saw a slight drop in activity it still was a productive and profitable year for the regional organizations.
The NABO held an impressive 12 championship fights (with revenue of $46,760) while the Intercontinental held 20 championship fights (with a revenue of $68,560). Reels also discussed the success of the WBO in developing world class fighters. Reels discussed how the NABO has seen 54 of the 262 fighters who fought for the belt subsequently fight for the WBO title. Although Reels downplayed the statistic, expressing a desire to see that number rise, it nonetheless impressed many at the table, with President Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel calling it “impressive.”
“Our issue is with quality over quantity,” Reels said during his presentation, “we have criteria for a fighter who is able to fight for a title.” Reels, however, did want to see some leniency on the issue of fighters getting sanctioned for NABO and WBO InterContinental fights, noting some good fighters who technically fell short of the high standards set by the WBO in regards to qualifications. President Valcarcel expressed concern over the idea.
Still, with all 15 NABO championship fights since last year’s convention being televised by a major TV network, Reels had an impressive year by nearly any standard. “As far as activity levels go, it is low,” Reels added, “but we really are recognized the world over.” Reels then discussed the revenue of the Intercontinental, confirming that the WBO Intercontinental collected over $40,000 of the $68,560 income in 2013.
From there Vice President Istvan “Koko” Kovacs presented his report on the WBO Europe. Although he admitted it was a “quiet year” he still was happy to announce that it Iwas still a productive year for the European continent. There were 13 Intercontinental title fights, with 9 taking place in Europe. There were also 14 International title fights, with 9 taking place in Europe, as well as 11 WBO European title fights. There were 6 WBO Youth title fights, with 4 taking place in Europe, 21 female title fights, with 5 taking place in Europe, and 32 world title fights with 10 taking place in Europe. Overall the WBO had 29 fights in Europe, a drop from 38 the previous year. WBO Europe’s revenue in 2013 was $40,500. Kovacs also commented on the previous issue with the British Boxing Board, commenting on how the WBO no longer has any problems working with the BBB. The BBB refused to recognize the WBO in previous years.
Next was Vice President Jorge Molina’s report on the WBO Latino. Molina admitted it had been a “hard year” for the Latino, with “only 25 Latino title fights in 10 months.” Still, Molina was able to point to the WBO Latino’s proud tradition and was able to proudly say that the WBO Latino continued that tradition in 2013. “#7 WBO Latino Champions became world champions,” Molina said, “and four of our WBO Latino champions have become world title holders (this year).” The WBO Latino raised $26,000 in the 25 title fights since the last convention, with 13 planned title fights to round out the year.
From there a short video on the WBO’s widely successful WBO Kids Drug Free program was shown.
Next was Andrew Smalle’s WBO Africa regional report. Smalle admitted it was a slow year, with 7 WBO Africa fights since the last convention. From November of 2012 to December of 2012 there were three title fights, with revenue of $5,050. From January of 2013 to August of 2013 there were 4 WBO Africa title fights with revenue of $4,800. However, Smalle confirmed that additional income was expected as some sponsorship allocation was expected to kick in before the end of the year. Smalle also commented on the WBO’s commitment to high standards for the quality of the fighters who compete for the WBO African belt. Smalle’s commitment to the highest standards for WBO title fights has resulted in a lower number of championship fights, but also of a growing reputation in the continent.
“It’s been a challenge but I don’t see it as a negative at all,” Smalle admitted, “it can only go up from where it’s at now. We are a young organization, and one of our proudest moments was one of our fighters winning a championship earlier this year.” Smalle noted that despite the low activity, the WBO Africa’s high standard has resulted in it being the only regional African organization that has seen all of its champions ranked in the world rankings after winning a regional belt.
Next came Leon Panoncillo’s report from WBO Asia. Similar to the other organizations WBO Asia saw a slight decline in revenue, but it has continued its commitment to quality. Since the last convention the Asia-Pacific held 14 championship fights, raising $27,700. Panoncillo also anticipated holding 10 more fights before the end of the year. The WBO Oriental title had 5 fights, with 8 more planned for the end f other year. The WBO Asia Pacific Youth title had three title fights, raising $3,750. Although Panoncillo admitted that the Youth title has “not taken off” he was optimistic that a major Filipino television network was interested in partnering up with the WBO Asia-Pacific to award a youth belt to the winner of a “Contender” like reality series involving young prizefighters in the Philippines. Panoncillo’s biggest coup came with the exciting developments of his newest title: the WBO International championship. In just one year the WBO International title has become a highly prestigious belt, with Manny Pacquiao and Brandon Rios fighting for the vacant belt in Macao on November 24th. Panoncillo confirmed that the WBO has custom made a new belt for the winner of that fight.
The next report came from Zhang Tao on the China Zone. Although the WBO China Zone held only 7 fight shows, the WBO is still making headway into the world’s largest market, and Tao informed the board that he looked forward to hosting the WBO in China. Joe Hernandez then spoke of the Cuban boxing scene, and his desire that the situation in Cuba would soon open up. “When it (Cuba) does come free, the WBO will be at the forefront.”
Markus Aslani followed with his report on female boxing in the WBO. He proudly announced that the WBO had a good year, with an emphasis on quality in regards to female championship fights.
After lunch there was a brief discussion on ratings by Luis Perez, followed by a report by Luis Bautista Salas, which not only focused on “loyalty” but also discussed the successful year of the WBO, with 54 total championship fights (33 men’s championship fights and 21 female championship fights). There was a brief discussion on the growth of the WBO in the British boxing scene.
“We have good working relations and we want to see how we can continue this in the future,” President Valcarcel said.
A discussion from representatives from the Japan Boxing Commission followed, which was a clear sign of the WBO’s success in breaking into a new market. At the last congress in Budapest in 2009 there was a controversy over the WBO’s inability to operate in Japan. The growth in Japan since then was a clear victory for the WBO as it moved forward in Japan.
Next came the legal report, in which the WBO legal representatives discussed several pending legal issues. Several issues regarding trademark registration was discussed, with several brands extended into 2018. They then followed up with a discussion on the recent litigation in Puerto Rico. Some confusion emerged in 2012 in regards to the administrative level, with the Puerto Rican Department of treasury moving forward with legal action against the WBO in regards to its tax exempt status.
“It’s confusion over what we actually do,” one of the legal advisors for the WBO said, “It’s a lack of knowledge of the working issues of the organization.” Although the WBO is confident that they will prevail, several members understood that even if they do not prevail in litigation, it will have little major impact on the WBO. If there is an issue we will simply change the way we disperse funds,” one legal advisor of the WBO said.
Rounding off Day One, WBO President Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel gave a special shout out to WBO Asia Vice President Leon Panoncillo over the impressive developments in Macao and the Philippines.
“We control Asia from A to Z,” Valcarcel said, “everything that occurring Asia is very important to us.”
Rounding off the night, boxing insiders visited the Lázár Lovaspark, where they were delighted by a traditional Hungarian horseshow as well as a traditional Hungarian dinner.
http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/wbo-congress-day-one-report-221703
Charlie Serrano 125 vs. Aalan Martinez 131
Note: Martinez did not make the weight limit so only Serrano can win the World Boxing Organization Latin featherweight title.
Radivoje Kalajdzic 179 vs. Donta Woods 179
Joseph Fernandez 139 vs. Juan “Venenito” Ocura 139
Manny Woods 156 vs. Angel Martinez 158
Noemi Bosque 111 vs. Monica Flores 106
Alphonso Black 154 vs. Artie Bembury 154
Ricky Tomlinson 123 vs. Christian Freytes 123
Sullivan Barrera vs. TBA
Venue: A La Carte Event Pavillion, Tampa, FL
Promoter: All Star Boxing, Inc., “The New Generation” & Felix “Tuto” Zabala, Jr. in association with Shea Bailey Promotions
TV: Telemundo (main event live at 11:35PM ET
http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/weights-from-tampa-florida-2-212311
By Nicolas Samuilov –
Argentinean and World Boxing Organization (WBO) Latino junior middleweight champion, former world title challenger Javier “La Bestia” Maciel, will face Brazilian super middleweight monarch Everaldo Praxedes, in a 10-round non title bout in the middleweight category. The fight is the main event of an exciting night that will take place on Friday, May 24th, at the Club Social y Deportivo El Cruce, in Los Polvorines, Buenos Aires, Argentina, in a presentation promoted by Argentina Boxing Promotions, of Mario Margossian, televised live by TyC Sports in Argentina and parts of America, starting at 10 p.m.
Maciel (25-2, 18 KOs), ranked WBO #5 and International Boxing Federation (IBF) #11, will put on the line his position in the rankings, against challenger Praxedes (10-1-1, 5 KOs), the Brazilian super middleweight champ, who will go down in weight. Earlier this afternoon, both of the boxers weighed in before the Buenos Aires Boxing Commission. Maciel weighed 161.1 pounds. Praxedes came in 163.4 pounds.
Javier Maciel 161.1 lbs. vs. Everaldo Praxedes 163.4 lbs.
http://www.boxingscene.com/photos-weights-javier-maciel-vs-everaldo-praxedes–65854
El puertorriqueño Orlando (El Fenómeno) Cruz, el primer boxeador en el mundo en aceptar abiertamente que es homosexual, se prepara a todo vapor para defender su título Latino de la Organización Mundial de Boxeo el próximo 22 de marzo en Orlando, Florida.
Pero será Miguel Ángel (Mickey) García y Orlando (Siri) Salido quienes definirán con el resultado del choque entre ambos el próximo 19 de enero en el Madison Square Garden de Nueva York, el futuro del peleador boricua, quien marcha segundo en las clasificaciones de la OMB.
Salido defenderá su corona de las 126 libras ante García en el evento estelar de la velada en la que también estará activo el titular puertorriqueño Román (Rocky) Martínez.
Cruz actualmente entrena en Buffalo, Nueva York, de la mano de los preparadores Juan de León y Carlos (Sugar) de León.
‘El Fenómeno’ presenciará el combate de García y Salido, y dejará saber sus intenciones de convertirse en el rival del ganador.
“Orlando está pendiente para pelear en marzo, pero está más pendiente al ganador de la pelea entre Mickey García y Orlando Salido”, dijo Félix (Tutico) Zabala, promotor de Cruz.
“Nosotros estamos listos para defender el título Latino en una función en Orlando, Florida el 22 de marzo, pero es una prioridad para nosotros una pelea con el ganador de este combate”, añadió.
Cruz ganó el título Latino de la OMB a principios del 2012 y lo defendió con éxito ante el mejicano Jorge Pazos el pasado 19 de octubre, en la Florida, precisamente dos semanas después de revelar y sacudir al mundo del boxeo con la noticia de que se declaraba abiertamente homosexual.
Zabala dijo que Cruz está en su mejor momento y listo para rivalizar con el ganador del fogoso choque entre mexicanos. ‘Siri’ Salido viene de propinarle dos derrotas por la vía rápida a López, considerado uno de los mejores 126 libras en la actualidad. García va en ruta ascendente en la división y con marca invicta de 30-0 y 26 KOs.
“Creo que Orlando Cruz está listo para enfrentar a cualquiera de los dos. Tiene experiencia y mucha ‘hambre’. Tiene muchos años en el deporte. Está en su momento”, aseguró Zabala.
Cruz tiene marca de 19-2-1 y nueve nocauts.
Por Carlos Narvaez
El puertorriqueño Orlando “El Fenómeno” Cruz (19-2-1 y 9 nocauts) volverá a la acción el 22 de marzo en una función que se celebrará en el Civic Center de Kissimmee, Florida, por la empresa All Star Promotions y su presidente Félix “Tutico” Zabala.
Cruz es el segundo clasificado en las 126 libras en la Organización Mundial de Boxeo (OMB) y estará presente el 19 de enero en Nueva York para presenciar el pleito entre el campeón Orlando “Siri” Salido y el invicto pegador Mikey García, que es el primer retador.
Esa noche, Román “Rocky” Martínez expondrá su faja de las 130 libras de la OMB ante el azteca Juan Carlos Burgos mientras Félix Verdejo (1-0) hará su segunda pelea como profesional.
El zurdo del residencial Quintana ha ganado sus últimas tres reyertas y enderezó su prometedora carrera bajo la promoción de Zabala y el entrenamiento de Juan de León. De paso, Cruz se encuentra en la ciudad de Buffalo, Nueva York, desde diciembre preparándose para dicho pleito.
Por Rey Colon, The Sport Press
http://www.notifight.com/artman2/publish/Reporte_7/Orlando_Cruz_pelea_el_22_de_marzo_en_FL.php
Featherweight contender Orlando ‘The Phenomenon’ Cruz (19-2-1, 9 KO’s) will return to action on March 22 at a function being staged at the Civic Center in Kissimmee, Florida. The card is being put together by promoter Félix ‘Tutico ‘Zabala of All Star Promotions. Cruz is a top contender at 126 pounds under the World Boxing Organization and will be present on January 19 in New York to witness the HBO televised fight between champion Orlando “Siri” Salido and undefeated puncher Mikey Garcia, which is the WBO’s first ranked challenger.
Rey Colon
http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=61242#ixzz2HaPOYLPE
Boxeo de alta velocidad y picante definición se anticipa cuando el campeón latino mosca interino de la Organización Mundial de Boxeo (OMB), el ascendente tucumano Carlos “Bad Boy” Ruiz, se enfrente al cordobésAriel “Piquito” Alassia, ante quien expondrá por primera ocasión su corona, en lo que será el combate estelar de la velada que se desarrollará este sábado, 1 de diciembre, en el Club Social y Cultural El Cruce, sito en ruta 197 entre ruta 8 y Lourdes, Los Polvorines, partido de Malvinas Argentinas, provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina, en una nueva producción de Argentina Boxing Promotions, de Mario Margossian, que será transmitida en vivo a través deTyC Sports a partir de las 23, para Argentina y toda América.
En su quinta presentación del año, “Bad Boy” (12-2, 8 KOs), actual N° 10 del ranking mundial mosca de la OMB, que también fuera monarca latino minimosca de la OMB, tendrá una exigente prueba ante un “Piquito” (14-7-1-1 sd, 5 KOs) que se ha medido a lo más avezado del país dentro de la división, disputando cetros argentinos, sudamericanos y regionales, para no sólo defender por primera vez el cinturón que obtuvo el pasado 29 de septiembre sobre el bonaerense Carlos “Tortita” Farías, sino para seguir en su franco ascenso y demostrar que tiene con qué dar que hablar en los primeros planos a nivel mundial.
Dueño de una notable técnica y una potencia llamativa para las divisiones pequeñas, Ruiz entró en la escena grande nacional cuando el 10 de septiembre de 2011 silenciosamente viajó a Colonia 25 de Mayo, La Pampa, y liquidó en siete capítulos al local Adrián “Pulga” Mendoza, para adjudicarse el título latino minimosca OMB. Tras ello, su nombre trascendió el país. Tan es así que se presentó en dos ocasiones en tierras mexicanas. El pasado 21 de enero cumplió en Jilotepec, aunque cayó en un ajustado y controversial fallo ante el prospecto azteca Luis “Gallito” Ceja. Y el 3 de marzo, en Mazatlán, Sinaloa, exigió por diez asaltos al ex campeón mundial mexicano Samuel “Sammy Guty” Gutiérrez, en lo que para muchos también fue otra controversial decisión. Pero tras ello, dio una cabal muestra de su poderío el 30 de junio cuando liquidó en menos de tres minutos al bonaerense Emanuel Oroño, en Caseros.
Sin perder el tiempo, el nacido en San Miguel de Tucumán hace 26 años, luego de modificaciones en su esquina, que incluyeron radicarse en Caseros, Buenos Aires, donde entrena bajo las órdenes de Mario Tedesco, el 29 de septiembre dejó en el camino en fallo unánime al ex monarca latino bonaerense Carlos “Tortita” Farías, en Caseros, para así conquistar su corona. Ahora, mientras busca continuar sorteando desafíos, el “Bad Boy” está listo para brillar y desatar toda su potencia para así seguir escalando en los rankings de las principales entidades mundialistas, e ir en un futuro por una nueva oportunidad internacional.
The Brazilian Lt. heavyweight Jackson Jr., 26, yesterday knocked out in the 2nd round to Argentine Jose Alberto Clavero, 37, to defend his belt for the Latin World Boxing Organization (OMB) in combat done in the traditional Baby Barioni, the capital of São Paulo , Brazil.
With a defense more closed and quiet, Jackson (13-0-0, 11 KO’s) gave precise blows knocking Clavero (01/10/37, 17 KO’s) before his international businessman Arthur Pellullo, with his cigar, who made a career of Acelino “Popo” Freitas abroad and still maintains friendship with Mr Bahia.
//
O meio-pesado brasileiro Jackson Jr., 26, nocauteou ontem no 2º assalto o argentino José Alberto Clavero, 37, para defender seu cinturão latino da Organização Mundial de Boxe (OMB) em combate feito no tradicional Baby Barioni, na capital de São Paulo, Brasil.
Com uma defesa mais fechada e calmo, Jackson (13-0-0, 11 KO’s) soltou golpes precisos derrubando Clavero (37-10-1, 17 KO’s) diante de seu empresário internacional Arthur Pellullo, com seu charuto, que fez a carreira de Acelino “Popó” Freitas no exterior e ainda mantém amizade com o deputado baiano.
By Gabriel Leão
http://cornerdoleao.blogspot.com.br/2012/11/jackson-jr-acaba-com-clavero-no-2.html
Click the link above, to see ranking!!
El campeón argentino y latino superwelter de la Organización Mundial de Boxeo (OMB), el ex retador mundialista bonaerense Javier “La Bestia” Maciel, destruyó al ex monarca latino brasileño Anderson “Pantera” Clayton, por nocaut en el cuarto asalto, y así defendió por tercera ocasión su corona latina, en el combate estelar de la velada desarrollada en la noche del viernes en el Centro Deportivo Municipal (Ce.De.M.) Nº 2 de Caseros, provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Maciel, que ponía en juego no sólo su cinturón latino sino su condición de clasificado N° 7 del ranking mundial superwelter OMB, presionó de entrada con su jab zurdo al mentón. Tras buscar a un retador que apelaba a sus veloces desplazamientos de piernas para evitar el castigo, fue trabajando al cuerpo. Y luego de tomarle las distancias, lo encontraría en el cuarto. Tras tenerlo sentido contra una esquina, descargó un profundo cross diestro seguido de un contundente y fulminante gancho zurdo al hígado -ya característico en él-, con que lo mandó al suelo y liquidó así pleito.
Con su izquierda en punta salió el campeón a presionar a un retador de guardia cerrada, que no presentaba blanco fijo. Siempre tomando la iniciativa, en el segundo, Maciel buscó con su gancho zurdo a la zona hepática y soltó su derecha ascendente al mentón. En el tercero, volvió a presionar con su jab zurdo, pero le costó acortar las distancias para acertar su derecha ante un brasileño que salía con veloces pasos laterales y en retroceso. Recién antes de la campana lo encontró con su cross diestro al mentón de un retador que se fue sobre las cuerdas, antes de salir velozmente.
Luego de tomarse un tiempo al comienzo del cuarto, el bonaerense lo llevó contra una esquina donde combinó su izquierda en gancho al hígado y sus uppercuts diestros y zurdos que acusaron recibo en una “Pantera” que a pesar de estar algo conmovido, logró escapar apelando a rápidos desplazamientos. Pero sólo segundo después, “La Bestia” lo llevó contra las cuerdas donde hizo gala de su apodo, y tras conectar un profundo cross derecho al mentón, descargó un tan feroz como potente gancho zurdo al hígado con que envió a un ya derrotado Clayton a la lona, de donde nunca se levantaría, obligando al árbitro Néstor Burgos a decretar el fuera de combate.
De esta forma, Maciel, que pesó 69,850 kg., actual N° 7 del ranking mundial superwelter OMB, además monarca argentino de la división, que disputara el título mundial mediano OMB ante Dmitry Pirog en Rusia, retuvo el cetro que conquistó el 30 de julio de 2011, por nocaut técnico en menos de un round al brasileño Jonata De Oliveira, en Buenos Aires. Tras ello, lo defendió siempre en menos de un capítulo sobre el uruguayo Néstor Faccio y mendocino Wilfredo Vilches, además de un pleito no titular pero también definido en un episodio sobre el bonaerense Esteban Ponce. Suma su quinta definición categórica en sus últimas seis presentaciones -todas con gancho zurdo al hígado-, dado que venía de destronar en forma unánime al tigrense Mateo Verón para añadir el cinto argentino de la división. Así, aumenta su marca a 24 victorias (17 KOs) y 2 derrotas. En tanto Clayton, que registró 69,400 kg., ex monarca latino superwelter del Consejo Mundial de Boxeo (WBC), y que solo había sido detenido en dos oportunidades tras haber aguantado la distancia a adversarios como el canadiense Joachim Alcine, el invicto kazajo Vitaliy Demyanenko, y el imbatido polaco Damian Jonak, además de haberse medido al mexicano Carlos González, el checo Lukas Konecny, desmejora a 39 triunfos (34 KOs) y 8 reveses.
Por Nicolás Samuilov
http://www.notifight.com/artman2/publish/Resultado_2/Maciel_destruy_a_Clayton_en_Caseros_BA.php