Ricky Burns defeats Michael Katsidis by Unanimous Decision

When 2011 began, Timothy Bradley was primed to take his craft to the next level. The undefeated WBO light welterweight champion was set to face Devon Alexander for his WBC title with a plush HBO deal in place and the opportunity to prove his supremacy at 140lbs.

However, the fight with Alexander was far from the barnburner that fight fans wanted to see. Instead, Bradley walked away with an unsatisfying 10th round technical decision in a relatively inactive affair. Despite the win, Bradley wasn’t happy with his performance and even more dissatisfied with the prospects in front of him. In a bizarre sequence of moves, Bradley turned down a $1.4 million payday to face fellow titleholder Amir Khan on July 23rd, was stripped of his WBC title and was embroiled in a breach-of-contract lawsuit from his now former co-promoters Gary Shaw and Ken Thompson.

It was certainly a dark time for a fighter with such a bright career ahead of him.

But now Bradley (27-0, 11 KOs) is seeing greener pastures as he has inked a deal with Bob Arum and Top Rank promotions and will face Joel Casamayor on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao – Juan Manuel Marquez PPV card on November 12th. The opportunity for Bradley to pick up the momentum that he built before the Alexander fight is detrimental to his boxing career. He knows that more eyes than ever will be watching him on November 12th and he must perform.

“It is very important for me to put on a great show,” Bradley told FightNews. “I wasn’t happy with the performance against Devon Alexander. I couldn’t make that guy fight and sometimes that happens.” Bradley cites the one-sided affairs that Manny Pacquiao faced against Joshua Clottey and Shane Mosley as well as the recent snoozer when Nonito Donaire couldn’t get Omar Narvaez to come out of his shell. The fighter known as “Desert Storm” understands that a dynamic performance on a night where fireworks are sure to be set off between Pacquiao and Marquez will thrust him into bigger fights. However, he’s also aware that he’s never been much of a knockout artist. Bradley has only finished eleven of his opponents out of his 27 wins and hasn’t scored a TKO since April 2007 when he stopped Nasser Athumani in the fifth round. Against the crafty, yet much older, Casamayor, Bradley promises not to fight out of character.

“I can’t go out there and try to be something that I’m not – to go for the knockout and get myself knocked out,” the 28-year-old says flatly. “I am going to follow the game plan and look spectacular and that’s what it’s going to boil down to. It is in the back of my head that I have to put on a great show because this is a great opportunity and I know that I will because I have prepared myself very well for this fight.”

An impressive victory will place Bradley in talks to face stiffer competition which will certainly provide a bigger payday. The names Mayweather and Pacquiao roll off of Bradley’s tongue when discussing what’s next, but he has also considered the unfinished business he has with Amir Khan. He also doesn’t want people to get his shrugging off the bout with Khan as some sort of fear; rather, this was a business move. As a matter fact, Bradley is quick to point out that Khan originally ducked him back in 2009.

“Criticism doesn’t pay the bills,” Bradley says about his naysayers. “One day Amir Khan and I will get in the ring and settle it. I was actually supposed to fight Amir Khan after I fought Lamont Peterson then he went on to sign with Golden Boy and Golden Boy didn’t want any part of it.”

But for now the business at hand is against the 40-year-old Casamayor. Getting his career back on track is what is important. He knows he has the talent, and this brief speed bump has allowed him to refocus and pursue what he has always wanted to achieve: greatness. Whether it is dusting off the rest of the 140 pounders or bumping up to 147 to trade punches with Mayweather and Pacquiao (“For greater opportunities, I would move up to 147. 140 is getting kind of tight for me to make the weight.”) Bradley is ready to face all comers. He won’t promise knockouts, but he will promise that a much improved fighter will step into the ring on November 12th and grab everyone’s attention.

“We’ve been doing great things in camp and we see the results in the sparring sessions. My whole team sees the difference from all the hard work I have done over the last couple of months. You are going to see a different Tim Bradley in there on the 12th. I am going to be fast, explosive and punching hard.”

Story by Andreas Hale
Photos by “Big” Joe Miranda

http://www.fightnewsextra.com/cc/2011/11-bradley.htm

By Ryan Maquiñana

A Polish invasion has overwhelmed New Jersey in recent times, with Tomasz Adamek packing in Newark’s Prudential Center, and Garden State residents Pawel Wolak and Mariusz Wach beginning to make waves on the world stage.

Unbeaten middleweight prospect Patrick Majewski (17-0, 11 KOs) hopes to join them soon enough.  Originally from Radom, Poland, the 31-year-old nicknamed “The Machine” has a no-frills, wear-you-down style about him that has endeared him to rabid red-and-white clad fight aficionados in the Northeast.

Now residing in Atlantic City, the current NABO 160-pound champ will be fighting for the NABF version of the crown against tough Colombian Jose Miguel Torres (22-5, 19 KOs) this Saturday at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, on the undercard of Wach’s bout against Oliver McCall.

In probably one of the most candid interviews you’ll ever read, the former construction worker and physical education student tells BoxingScene about how his deep passion for the sport prompted his rise up the rankings despite a limited amateur career, what it’s like to have the Polish fanbase behind him, and the idea of a feeling so strong that no drug can compare to its magnitude.

ON HOW HE CAME TO AMERICA FROM POLAND:

“I came here in 2001 through a student exchange program with my five friends.  We started working here and saw it as a great opportunity.  We tried to extend our visas to stay in the United States.  We started in Salt Lake City, then two years in New York, then when I came down to New Jersey.”

ON HIS BEGINNINGS IN THE SPORT:

“I used to do Greco-Roman wrestling for seven years all the way through high school, so I thought about trying boxing.  In 2003, I started boxing, and I met a former fighter named James McCray.  He asked me to fight in the Philadelphia Golden Gloves, and he said ‘Come on, you can do it.’

“So he talked me into it, and I won.  After that, it was all about boxing.  My amateur record was 12-2.  Then I moved to Atlantic City.  Bill Johnson has been my trainer now for six years.  My team turned me pro, and so far, so good.”

ON PARALLELS BETWEEN BOXING AND GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING:

“I’ve had experience with making weight for sure.  It’s a combat sport, but it’s a totally different sport with boxing as far as using totally different power and strength.  It’s a similar sport but much different as well.

“It gave me good experience and good conditioning.  All my life, I loved to play sports, like wrestling volleyball, soccer, basketball.  I was studying in college for two years to be a physical education teacher, so I’ve always been active.”

ON WHAT HE LOVES ABOUT BOXING:

“I love to train every day, but most important for me, is that when they raise your hand after winning the fight.  I work so hard to see this.  I do everything to enjoy that moment, that couple seconds after the fight when they raise your hand up, and you win.  The more you think of it, nothing else gives you that great feeling.

“I always tell the kids that no drugs can give you that feeling.  It’s so real, and it lasts for a couple weeks to me.  It’s really motivating.  Boxing as a sport is great.   I love to come to the gym, see everybody, having fun with everybody.

“Last time me and Chuck Mussachio had great sparring for eight rounds.  He said after, ‘Sorry for my language,’ and after we were just laughing.  It was good work.  It’s just a great environment.  You can see all sportsmen, and all good fighters are so respectful.  I just love to be around fighters and the coaches and to be around boxing clubs.”

ON HIS INTERACTION WITH THE POLISH FANS:

“I had a chance to fight on the undercard of Tomasz Adamek in the Prudential Center two times.  They’re great and there’s so many of them.  What a great experience.  Even when I’m fighting I could hear the fans in the middle of the round cheering my name.  Ma-jew-ski!  Ma-jew-ski!  It was so loud I could hear it.  But I was focusing on my opponent.

“They also put our fights on Polish T.V., so it gives me extra motivation during the fight knowing all my family, all my friends back home see me.  It was compelling.  Polish fans are so great and so supportive.

“With this fight on November 5th with Mariusz Wach as the main event they’ve already sold like 5,000 tickets.  They’re working so hard to set a record over there.  It’s going to be a great evening.”

ON THE CHANGE IN OPPONENTS:

“It was supposed to be Dionisio Miranda.  He was the original opponent.  I think he got in trouble or something, so now I have a new opponent.  It’s throwing me off my rhythm a little bit because we were working hard on a gameplan to fight Dionisio, but no matter what, I’ve got to be ready for everything.  If I can knock him out, then I’ll go for it, but if I have to go war, then I have to be ready for that, put all my heart into the ring and into the fight.”

ON TRAINER BILL JOHNSON AND THE LEGACY OF HIS SON, IBF WORLD LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION LEAVANDER JOHNSON, WHO PASSED AWAY IN 2005 AFTER A FIGHT WITH JESUS CHAVEZ:

“[Bill] is like a grandfather to me.  Every day in the gym we’re having fun.  Back then, Leavander would see me and say, ‘Look at this guy.  He can punch!  He can punch!  He can fight!  He can fight!’  But back then, I was so green.  I was throwing wide punches, but I think Leavander was speaking about my heart.

“Back then I was a nobody, but Leavander would always find time to work with me and talk to me and telling me good things.  To be honest, I didn’t really know how good he was, and then one day I see him on HBO fighting, and I was like, ‘Wow.’

“After what happened to Leavander, everybody in the gym was sad.  It was—I don’t really know how to say—it was really hard for Bill.  That was his son, and he was right there with him.  Bill took a couple months off from the gym, but he knew Leavander wanted him to stay in the gym.  That’s why he came back to keep training me and training other fighters.

“We actually started talking often about Leavander, me and Bill, and I started thinking about whether I should talk about him to Bill.  But Leavander is all over our gym.  Wherever we go in A.C., there is always Leavander’s name.  Even the street’s name is Leavander Johnson Boulevard.  So we always talk about Leavander, as in who he was fighting, and what he was doing.  I think Leavander’s spirit lives on in the gym.”

ON HIS CAREER PROGRESSION TO THE NABO TITLE:

“When I was an amateur, my team, they say, ‘You’re ready for pro.’  I wasn’t sure, but I said ‘O.K.’  I won my first couple fights, but I knew I had a long way to go in a short amount of time.  I started training and training, and I had small dreams.  One day I see ‘Mighty’ Mike Arnaoutis training in our gym in Atlantic City.  When he won the NABO title, I thought, ‘Wow, maybe I hope one day I can win that title one day.

“That’s so great.  That’s such a big thing.  So I kept training harder and harder, getting better and better, and the next thing I see, I’m 16-0 and my next fight is for the NABO title.  My dream was coming true, so I beat [Marcus] Upshaw, and I got it.  And as soon as I accomplished this dream, this bigger dream is coming up.  I see a small light at the end of the tunnel where I could maybe beat those top guys and get a shot at the title, and I’ll do anything to do it.”

ON DEFEATING UPSHAW FOR THE NABO STRAP:

“With Upshaw, I really had to close the distance.  I had to put the pressure on him.  People think I’m a pressure fighter.  Yeah, for this fight, I had to be because he was 6-foot-3 and he has a big reach on me.  So when I stayed outside, he was popping me from the distance.  I had to get close to him so he won’t be able to do it.  So all 10 rounds I would just pressured and pressured him.  Then the fifth round came, and I dropped him.  Sixth round, I dropped him, too.

“But as far as my boxing skills, I’m a pressure fighter but I try to do everything.  I can box.  The more you are able to do in the ring is better for you.  You can fight forward, but what if someone is pushing you?  You need to know how to fight backward, use your jab and move around, too.  So I work on many things. I work with my balance and my defense.

“I try to see the whole picture in the ring.   I study boxing.  It’s like a science.  For many people, boxing is just punching and whipping each other and getting hit, but boxing is much more than this.”

ON HIS PROMOTIONAL SITUATION WITH GLOBAL BOXING:

“I’m with Global Boxing Promotions right now.  Because of Mariusz Kolodziej, I got a shot at the NABO and now the NABF title.  You know, I was working construction when I first started fighting, but I was working too many hours that I couldn’t really focus on boxing.  I was getting burned out.

“Mariusz saw me at one of my fights and said he liked me and offered me a contract.  He said, ‘Just try it out with us, and if you don’t like it, you can leave anytime.’  I’m happy I did.  Without Mariusz, I don’t know if I’m still fighting.”

ON LEARNING NUANCES OF THE SPORT FROM OBSERVING OTHER TOP FIGHTERS:

“Every top fighter is great.  Last night I was watching Sergio Martinez.  He’s so nice, relaxed, with accurate punching.  He’s moving, ice skating in the ring.  I like Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, [Manny] Pacquiao, [Floyd] Mayweather, [and] Andre’s Berto’s speed.  I look at them all.  How they could be so dynamic and relaxed, these champions and top fighters?  From each of them, you can pick up small things, and that’s good for any fighter.”

ON THE MENTAL ASPECT OF THE SPORT:

“Mentally, your head’s got to be straight for every fight.  I think I’m strong mentally, but I try to work on things.  Going to the fight, there is some stress like you’re afraid of something, so I try to control this and try to relax in the ring so I perform better.  Everything is mental.  My trainer says, ‘Don’t worry about the fans until after the fight.  You can celebrate after.  Now you have to focus on your opponent.’ “

ON CONTINUING TO IMPROVE:

“We always take it one fight at a time, so I do everything to be 100 percent ready for every fight.  Sometimes I see something one day in training, and I write it down so I can focus on it to get better in the next couple day.  Maybe it’s combinations.  Maybe I need better balance.  We see what is coming next.”

ON FIGHTING FOR THE NABF TITLE AND THE ROAD AHEAD:

“Every fight from here on this level is going to get tougher and tougher.  There is not many opponents to choose right now.  If I fight for the NABF title, I would be ranking in the top 15 in the world.  I see all these big names up there around my name, it’s motivating me so much and I better step up and be ready for those fights.

“I was never thinking I’d be a pro fighter.  Now here I am, and I must do my best or not try at all.  You can get hurt in boxing when you’re not ready for the fight, so I must work as hard as I can.”

ON HIS FAMILY AND THE VAST MAJORITY OF HIS FRIENDS BEING A WORLD AWAY:

“My entire family is back there in Poland.  I have a couple friends in the United States, but that’s it.  I don’t have a wife and kids.  I’m married to boxing right now.”

ON A MESSAGE TO THE FIGHT FANS:

“Keep following me and watching my fights.  I’ll keep giving exciting fights.  We fight for the fans.  If not for the fans, who else are we fighting fight for?  I’m working hard for the fans so they can see a great show on the 5th.”

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=45640

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao has never looked so motivated to trainer Freddie Roach as he has in training to fight Juan Manuel Marquez next week and silence the Mexican fighter’s taunts.

Pacquiao defends his World Boxing Organization welterweight crown against Marquez on November 12 at Las Vegas, the third fight in a trilogy that began with a 2004 draw and continued when “Pac-Man” won a 2008 split decision.

With one point on one judge’s scorecard all that has separated the fighters through 24 rounds, Marquez has long argued he beat Pacquiao twice, even wearing a shirt that said, “I beat Pacquiao twice” to a pre-fight appearance in Manila.

“He’s claiming he was robbed in the last two fights. This third fight will be the answer to all of that,” Pacquiao said Wednesday.

“I’m not saying I’m going to knock him out but I have trained very hard for this fight. Whatever comes will come now. I have put in the hard work. I’m ready for this fight.”

A photograph of Marquez adorns a wall behind the punching bag at the Los Angeles-area gymnasium where Pacquiao works out, a constant reminder and motivating force for the Philippines Congressman.

“I’ve never seen him as motivated as I have for this fight,” Roach said. “Marquez went to the Philippines and embarrassed him, said a few things. That has pushed him to work harder in training camp.

“Manny Pacquiao is on fire right now. He’s training very well. He has a little spark.”

Pacquiao, 53-3 with two drawn and 38 knockouts, has won 14 successive fights and seven in a row since his narrow decision over Marquez, the closest fight of his current run that has seen victories over Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Shane Mosley.

And the southpaw star expects this fight with Marquez to be more intense than the previous thrillers.

“I believe this fight will be a much more exciting fight,” Pacquiao said. “His style and mine are very similar. There is going to be a lot of boxing in the ring. I use my power better. He is improving. So it’s going to be better.”

“I never underestimate Marquez. I train hard for this fight. I feel strong. In the last four years I’ve changed a lot.”

Marquez, 53-5 with one drawn and 39 knockouts, is 5-1 since losing to Pacquiao, the only loss coming by unanimous decision to unbeaten US star Floyd Mayweather in 2009 in Marquez’s only prior welterweight outing before Pacquiao.

“He looks like he’s working hard. He’s bigger and stronger,” Roach said. “He has changed his style a little bit. He needs to because we’re working hard to beat him. Manny is ready. If he wants to come at him, we’ll be ready.”

Pacquiao has juggled his lawmaker responsibilities with singing, boxing and promotional appearances, but swears he has not been distracted from his goal of proving once and for all he is superior to Marquez.

“It’s a good example to boxers. I can balance it,” Pacquiao said. “I feel I can focus and concentrate hard for this fight. I have to sit outside all of the distractions.”

Roach has seen “Pac-Man” flip the switch when he straps on his gloves.

“Once he comes in the gym door, it’s nothing but work, work, work,” Roach said. “If he wants to go sing after that, I have no problem with that at all. That’s Manny Pacquiao.”

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gdEepoyEFwt6fKxXW_coDhePZ2sg?docId=CNG.26bc83977035bf2ff78eb8c05acb1811.5c1

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico- The World Boxing Organization (WBO), firm in its commitment with the puerto rican youth, held a ceremony to honor the four puerto rican boxing medalists the XVI Pan-American Games of Guadalajara, Mexico, that concluded this weekend.  The boxers that obtained medals in the Pan-American Games were the young Kiria Tapia (gold in the 60 kilograms), Jantony Ortiz (bronze in the 49 kilograms) Angel Suarez (bronze in the 60 kilograms) and Gerardo Bisbal (bronze in the more than 91 kilograms). Along with them were their coaches José “Chicky” Laureano and Víctor “Gray” Ortiz, as well as the president of the Puerto Rican Federation of Amateur Boxing (FPBA), José Luis Vellón.  Also, the president of the WBO, Francisco “Paco” Valcárcel and the president founder of the WBO, Luis Batista Salas.

“The WBO has always been involved with today’s youth, and as part of our program ‘Kids Drug Free’, we want to recognize these four young athletes that gave their all in order to win these medals in the Pan-American Games”, stated WBO President Francisco “Paco” Valcárcel in the ceremony which was held at El Zipperle Restaurant.  “Above all, the young woman Kiria Tapia, who won the gold medal  in her first ever Pan American Games.  We have to continue supporting and helping these young boxers so that they continue along the right path”.

Tapia’s journey to the gold began by defeating the American Qanitta Underwood in her first bout, finishing tied at 17-17 and winning by blows landed 48-41, later she defeated Argentina’s Adela Banks and in the gold medal bout she defeated Mexican Erika Cross by a score of 22-12.  “This is something huge, to win this gold medal.  It was hard work, but we achieved our goal.  I feel very proud of what I achieved and we thank to WBO for this recognition they have done for us”, Tapia said, who is from the residencial area of Monte Hatillo.

In turn, Ortiz won its first fight against the Argentine Junior Zárate by a score of 10-5, later defeated the Panamanian Gilberto Pedroza 17-6 , but then lost against the Cuban Yosbany Veitía 14-9.  “I am the youngest of the group, “the baby” as they call me, and I feel very emotional by this bronze medal.  I want to thank all the team, the coaches, the Puerto Rico Boxing Federation and the WBO for all the help they have given us”, said the seventeen year old Ortiz.

Meanwhile, Suarez won his first bout against the Colombian Cesar Villarraga by a score of 19-16, then defeated Ecuador’s Julio Cortez 26-13, but later was defeated by the Brazilian Robson Da Conceicao by a score of 27-8.  “We worked hard to win this medal and we did achieved it.  The team was always working as a unit, and thankfully we won these medals for Puerto Rico”, said Suarez, of Guaynabo.

The veteran of the group, Bisbal, won his first fight 20-11 against Clayton Laurent but lost by knockout against Ecuador’s Ytalo Perea.  “I am the veteran, the old one of the group, and I feel proud of everything that we achieved.  Thanks to all people that supported us along this journey”, said Bisbal, of Salinas. On behalf of the WBO, the boxers recieved a trophy of recognition for their great achievements, as well as a monetary compensation. Tapia was given $1.000, while Ortiz, Suarez and Bisbal received $500 each.

“It is not only about honoring and congratulating them, there is also the economic part and the WBO has always helped out (money-wise) these young athletes that, like always, represent Puerto Rico in the best way possible. Boxing has always represented Puerto Rico at the highest levels”, added Valcárcel.  The WBO works along with the Puerto Rico Federation of Amateur Boxing (FPBA), contributing different materials and articles of training for the boxers.

“We want to thank, as usual, the WBO for all the aid that they have offered us because we have been able to achieve many things thanks to them”, expressed Vellón.

Photos Courtesy of: WBO/José Pérez

A fight between Giovani Segura and Brian Viloria looks set to happen on Dec. 10 in Manilla, with Viloria’s WBO flyweight belt on the line.

Viloria (29-3-0, 16 KOs) held the WBC and IBF 108-pound titles before garnering a unanimous decision against Julio Cesar Miranda to win the WBO flyweight belt in July.

This will be the first title bout at 112 pounds for Segura (28-1-1, 24 KOs), who has previously held the WBA, WBO and RING titles at 108 pounds. He was installed as the No. 1 contender for the WBO flyweight belt after vacating his 108-pound title in April. He is currently ranked No. 9 on THE RING’s pound-for-pound list.

The two fighters are familiar foes, having faced each other as sparring partners multiple times in the past several years. Sources in Segura’s camp claim their guy has generally gotten the better of these sessions, even putting Viloria down on one occasion.

By: RingTV

http://ringtv.craveonline.com/rumors/articles/169913-viloria-vs-segura-on-dec-10

ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer says AJ “Bazooka” Banal (26-1-1, 19 KO’s) is being lined up for a possible WBO Interim bantamweight title fight against Thailand’s No.1 world ranked Pungluang Sor Singyu who has an impressive record of 38-1 with 26 knockouts, many of them against Filipinos.

The solidly built Thai stopped Marvin Tampus in six rounds, Paul Apolinario, Freddie Martinez and Elmar Francisco in two and Joel Rafols in the first round. Pungluang won the WBO Asia Pacific Interim title with a 2nd round TKO of Nathan Bolicio last October 11 and won the Youth title with a 1st round knockout of Jilo Merlin on October 31, 2009.

Aldeguer told the Manila Standard that during the recent WBO Convention in Puerto Rico he started to “open up discussions” with WBO president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel and Asia Pacific vice president Leon Panoncillo about a possible interim title fight, ”hopefully in March 2012.”

The interim title fight loomed after reigning WBO/WBC champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire announced he is moving up to campaign as a super bantamweight following his shutout win over two division champion Omar Andres Narvaez of Argentina last October 22 at the Theater in Madison Square Garden.

Although there are also possibilities of the talented southpaw Banal fighting for the No.1 mandatory spot in the IBF, Aldeguer said “for now, the focus is on the WBO not the IBF, but we will study the best option.”

Aldeguer informed us he would discuss the planned interim title fight with ABS-CBN vice president for Sports Peter Musngi before sending the WBO president a formal letter.

Aldeguer is in Los Angeles and plans on visiting the gym of Donaire’s trainer Robert Garcia who informed us that he would be ready to train Banal beginning next year since he is currently in Mexico working with Antonio Margarito.

Aldeguer who visited Garcia’s gym in the past said he would “still be passing by his gym to see the place again and prepare a place for Team Banal to stay when he starts training with Robert January of next year.” He added “definitely, whatever happens Banal will be training in the US next year. We feel that Robert is the right guy for Banal and maybe in the future for some of our other fighters.”

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

http://philboxing.com/news/story-62057.html

According to several media agencies, an agreement has been reached between K2 Promotions and Ulf Steinforth’s SES Boxing to arrange a fight between newly crowned WBO light middleweight champion Zaurbek Baysangurov (26-1, 20 KOs) and dangerous WBO #1 Czech opponent Lukas Konecny (47-3, 22 KOs).

The title affair will take place in February 2012 in Moscow, Grozny or Kiev and will be promoted by the Klitschko Brothers, who guide Zaurbek’s career. The winner should face former WBO king Sergey Dzinziruk (37-1, 23 KOs) in his first title defense. Dzinziruk has been stripped of the title recently for failing to defend it in over a year and a half since his drubbing of Australian Daniel Dawson.

Baysangurov, once a highly regarded boxer-puncher from Achkhoy-Martan in Chechnya, started his professional career in 2004, being just 19 years of age. In his fifteenth fight Baysangurov delivered probably the finest performance of his career so far, schooling Marco Antonio Rubio to almost a shutout decision. He then won European crown and defeated it twice. In December 2008, Baysangurov lost an upset TKO 5 to Cornelius Bundrage in the IBF eliminator. Bundrage went on to become a new holder of the red belt. Zaurbek bounced back with seven wins in a row (six by knockout). In July this year Baysangurov blitzed barely live Mike Miranda with a couple of shots to become the WBO interim champion. He was elevated to the full status later, after Dzinziruk had been stripped off.

Lukas Konecny, 33-year old perennial contender and possibly the greatest Czech boxer of all time, was close to dethroning Dzinziruk in March 2008 but was held to a very controversial split decision loss. He is 11-0, with 4 KOs, after that with two successful defenses of his European regalia.

By Dmitry Mikhalchuk and Alexey Sukachev

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=45539

Undefeated NABO middleweight champion Patrick “The Machine” Majewski, who was originally set to face Dionisio Miranda in his co-featured bout on Global Boxing Promotions’ “November Reign” on Saturday, November 5 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., will now face another Colombian knockout artist in Jose Miguel Torres after Miranda was denied entry to the United States due to visa issues.

The bout, which will support the WBC International heavyweight title match between Mariusz “The Viking” Wach (25-0, 13 KO) of North Bergen, N.J., by way of Krakow, Poland and former world heavyweight champ Oliver McCall (56-11, 37 KO), may wind up as a more dangerous proposition than the original booking.

Majewski, 17-0 (11 KO), of Atlantic City, N.J., by way of Radom, Poland has been hard at work with trainer Bill Johnson to prepare for his title defense, which will also be contested for the vacant NABF middleweight title. With a win, Majewski hopes to jump further in the middleweight rankings with the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and enter into the title picture with the International Boxing Federation (IBF).

Torres, 22-5 (19 KO), of Magangue, Colombia, has a higher knockout ratio than Majewski’s original opponent (70% for Torres, compared to Miranda’s 60%), and is already in shape, having defeated Jose Antonio Rodriguez by a unanimous decision just a month ago.

“We are very pleased that we were able to secure such a quality opponent on short notice,” said Mariusz Kolodziej, CEO of Global Boxing Promotions. “Majewski is ready for a step-up fight, and he wants to challenge the best. Fights like this will put him on the short-list of top middleweight contenders.”

“November Reign” is on course to be the Mohegan Sun’s first boxing sellout in nearly ten years, with full buses coming from around the Tri-state to usher in fans to see unbeaten heavyweight knockout artist Artur “Szpila” Szpilka (8-0, 6 KO) of Wieliczka, Poland and featherweight prospect Kamil Laszczyk (4-0, 3 KO) of North Bergen, N.J., by way of Wroclaw, Poland, plus many other local New England fighters in action.

Tickets are $40.00, $65.00 and $105.00 and can be purchased by calling CES at 401.724.2253/2254 or calling Ticketmaster at1.800.745.3000. Fans can also purchase tickets online at www.cesboxing.com, www.ticketmaster.com, at Global Boxing Gym in North Bergen, N.J. or at the Mohegan Sun Box Office.

http://www.boxingnews24.com/2011/10/patrick-majewski-vs-jose-miguel-cotto-on-november-5th/

By Ruslan Chikov

The WBO has approved Dmitry Suhotsky (18-1, 13KOs) for a mandatory shot at the full light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly (23-0, 11KOs). No orders were given regarding a negotiations period or a purse bid date, but the fight is being pushed by Suhotsky’s side for the first quarter of 2012. Suhotsky captured the vacant WBO Intercontinental light heavyweight title in October 2010 and made two defenses of the title.

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=45438

Undefeated Frankie Gavin has pulled of Friday’s WBO Intercontinental welterweight title clash with Frank Haroche Horta.

England’s first ever world amateur champion was scheduled to face the French champion at Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester.

However, Gavin, who left trainer Anthony Farnell to join father and son duo Jimmy and Mark Tibbs in July, has walked out of the BoxNation show without any explanation.

“He’s just gone,” promoter Frank Warren told boxingnewsonline.net. “I heard he went to Anthony Farnell’s house. I’m sick and tired of it.

“I wouldn’t even talk him into fighting because if I did and something happened it would be my fault.

“We’ve done all the publicity, he was on Bunce’s show on Monday night, Ron Lewis did the bit on him in The Times today.

“It’s total madness. Between him and Kevin Mitchell… I said to Jimmy Tibbs, what do you put in the water down there. It’s things like this where boxing really doesn’t help itself.”

Unbeaten Irishman Dean Byrne will now step in to face Horta, and is excited with his unexpected opportunity to top the card and show his potential.

“This is a fantastic opportunity that has been put my way to top the show and I’m looking forward to putting on a good performance for the fans,” he said.

“I’m based in the UK now and I want to build my fan base here as I progress towards the world title.

“Horta looks tough, he’s got a good record and he’s never been stopped in 39 fights so I’m looking to do a good job on him.

“He’s fit and ready to fight as he had Gavin lined up and I’m in top shape as I only boxed last week so it will be a good tough fight while it lasts.”

http://www.sportinglife.com/boxing/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=boxing/11/10/27/manual_155449.html&BID=543

By Ryan Maquiñana

Birthday No. 25 came and passed yesterday for unbeaten NABO junior lightweight beltholder Eloy “Prince” Perez, and aside from the usual gift-wrapped boxes and candle-laden cake, there was plenty to celebrate on the boxing front.

After only five of his first 23 pro bouts ended via stoppage, Perez (22-0-2, 6 KOs) scored a surprising second-round demolition of Daniel Jimenez eight weeks ago on TeleFutura in front of his hometown fans of Salinas, Calif.

The win garnered Perez some newfound attention by none other than his promoter Golden Boy, who then commenced arrangements to pit him against their other 130-pound prospect-turned-contender, Adrien Broner, for the newly vacated WBO crown.

Amid negotiations eventually falling through with some bad blood between the two beginning to boil, Perez has finally begun to turn a few heads in the boxing world, having been awarded NABO Fighter of the Year among other honors.

BoxingScene caught up with the rising contender, who along with assistant trainer Sam Garcia commented on negotiations with Broner, his recent power surge, and his upcoming TeleFutura “Solo Boxeo Tecate” headliner this Friday against Ira Terry (24-6, 14 KOs) in Salinas.

PEREZ ON HIS 25TH BIRTHDAY AND HIS RECENT ACCOLADES:

“It’s like I’m all over the place now.  I just won NABO Fighter of the Year.  I just saw myself in the Ring rankings.  It’s crazy.  To be honest, I just woke up, and I didn’t even know it was my birthday.  I’ve been so focused on camp.”

PEREZ ON HIS MINDSET DURING THE JIMENEZ KNOCKOUT:

“I was just happy to get through it.  Training camp was hard.  It wasn’t really about the fight as much as what I had to do to get there.  My trainers ran me hard.  It showed in the fight.  I couldn’t even sleep after the fight.  I pulled an all-nighter because I still had all this energy.  It didn’t even sink in until I got home.”

PEREZ ON WHETHER HE CAN SUSTAIN THIS POWER SURGE INTO FRIDAY:

“I think this time, I finally got a fighter who came to fight, and I showed what I could do when I’m given an opportunity to take advantage of it. I’m 25 years old and I’m still figuring everything out.  I’m getting stronger every day and becoming more confident in my power working with the Garcias and Dean Familton.”

SAM GARCIA ON PEREZ’S PERCEIVED LACK OF POWER:

“If you look at the previous fights, not too many people saw the Dannie Williams fight, and Dannie Williams was face-first on the canvas in the first round.  If you go back further, he stopped Juan Santiago.

“If you give Eloy a guy who comes to fight, Eloy will be able to show off his work better against somebody’s who’s willing to fight, willing to engage, and willing to put it on the line.  Daniel Jimenez came in to win, and not to pull a [Omar] Narvaez against [Nonito] Donaire or an Alejandro Rodriguez, who came to survive.  And when you have a situation like that, Eloy can use his speed and his power to hurt somebody, not just counterpunch.”

PEREZ ON MATCHING UP WITH TERRY:

“I’ve seen a couple of his fights on YouTube.  That’s my trainer’s job to come up with the gameplan, and mine is to be prepared.  I’ve seen some of fights of his, and I’m seeing how I can break him down.  I’m going to do what I usually do, and that’s counterpunch and be accurate.  I know he starts a little quick, and that’s it.  I’m just focused on what my team has planned.”

PEREZ ON TERRY HAVING BEEN KNOCKED OUT FOUR CONSECUTIVE TIMES LEADING UP TO THIS FIGHT:

“I really don’t care what he’s done in the past.  We’ll find out what he has in the ring and how hard he’s been able to prepare over the past few weeks.  If I see an opening, I’ll take it, and if not, I’ll keep looking to get my timing down.”

PEREZ ON STAGING HIS SECOND STRAIGHT FIGHT IN SALINAS:

“I think it’s awesome.  It’s always a positive thing for the city being able to have everyone be a part of it, and see what Garcia Boxing is all about.  I just want to represent Salinas as best I can.  We’ve had fighters like Chuy Rodriguez and Jose Celaya work with the Garcias, and now I just want to finish what they started.”

PEREZ ON FIGHTING ADRIEN BRONER:

“As far as Adrien Broner, I’m going to beat his ass when the time comes.  Today, tomorrow, next month, next year, whenever it’s time for us to meet in the ring.  When it comes to negotiations, Kathy Garcia my manager, my team, and Golden Boy Promotions—Oscar De La Hoya said they have bigger things for me—so that’s their job.  My job as a fighter is just to be ready.  I trust my promotional company and my team and my manager.

“And besides, why fight him now when it can be a bigger fight in the future when we both have titles?  It can be bigger than what it could have been.  We both have bigger fights ahead.  So to answer your question, I would love to fight Adrien Broner, but he also has to come fight me somewhere fair.  I’m not going to Cincinnati, and I know he doesn’t want to go to Salinas.”

GARCIA ON PEREZ’S ROAD AHEAD:

“I think we’re going to after the IBF.  It depends on what they say.  We love the WBO, and we’ve chased that prestigious title for a long time, but the way it’s working now, it’s going to be hard to work that out with Golden Boy having Adrien Broner in their stable and handing him the title.  It makes sense for us to go after the IBF title and Juan Carlos Salgado who makes great action fights.  I think that’s a fight that both of them could look good in, and I think Eloy would come in on top.

“Salgado’s got confidence in his power against boxer-types like Eloy.  I mean, he stopped Jorge Linares, so that looks like the most aesthetically pleasing fight.  The thing is, before we can get there, we need to get ranked higher than the top 25 in there.

“So we’re trying to get someone in the top 15 like Jason Litzau, Monty Meza-Clay, or Martin Honorio.  There’s been talk about Vicente Escobedo, but we’re talking with the promoters to see if he even wants that fight.  If we beat any of those guys, we’ll get a shot at Salgado down the line, then a unification megafight hopefully between Eloy and Broner in the summer or even the fall.”

PEREZ ON HIS TWO DEDICATIONS FOR FRIDAY’S FIGHT, ONE FOR BREAST CANCER AWARENESS AND ANOTHER FOR LIVER CANCER PATIENT SY SHERMAN:

“We have two dedications.  First, we’re fighting for all the people who have dealt with breast cancer.  Olaya Hernandez, who’s the sister of my trainer Max Garcia, and Malena Garcia, a family friend of ours, fought breast cancer and survived, so we will be fighting for them and all women who have dealt with it one way or another.

“About Sy, I read his story at lunch, and he’s a really tough kid who’s been through a lot.  He’s nine years old, and he’s already going through chemo[therapy] every few weeks.  For me, he’s a fighter, battling liver cancer, and having the courage to fight it. See this site for a good example.  He’s fighting for his life every day.  You don’t want anyone to go through what he’s doing, much less in childhood.  I’ll definitely be fighting for them.”

Ryan Maquiñana is the boxing correspondent at Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, and Ring Magazine’s Ratings Advisory Panel.  E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com, check out his blog at www.maqdown.com or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=45421

WINDHOEK – While Africa is blessed with a significant number of highly talented boxers – the continent is poorly represented in some of the high-profile global titles.

It’s a well-documented secret that a good chunk of African boxers are holed up in the less prestigious World Boxing Federation (WBF) and several other low-profile boxing umbrella bodies, but Namibian boxers have their eyes firmly fixed on the real McCoy.

Namibia’s World Boxing Organization (WBO) undisputed Africa bantamweight champion Paulus “The Rock” Ambunda, is one step away from a crack at the coveted world crown.

However, the quicksilver Namibian must first negotiate his way past the equally dangerous Bongani Mahlangu when Ambunda makes his 4th title defence against the South African in the main bout at the Windhoek Country Club on November 5.

Ambunda is unbeaten in 16 fights with 10 stoppages, while his opponent holds an impressive record of 15 wins and one defeat to his credit in 16 fights in the paid ranks.

Ambunda’s handler, Nestor “Sunshine” Tobias, is upbeat about his boxer’s prospects.
“What makes this fight very interesting is the fact that the current WBO bantamweight world champion, Nonito Deneiro, has given up his crown after he moved up a notch to the super bantamweight category,” says the world-acclaimed boxing guru.
“The title is vacant and is now there for the taking since the number one and second ranked challengers are both from Asia – victory for Ambunda, who is ranked number three in world rankings, could pave the way for a crack at the world title against one of the two Asian challengers,” adds Tobias boastfully.

Tobias also lashed out at the reluctance of corporate businesses to come on board as sponsors for major boxing events. Boxing is a very expensive exercise in terms of organization, purses, travelling, judges, referees and many other aspects attached to the high demands required in professional boxing.

“Apart from our regular sponsor Nampower, we have been gravely struggling to convince and lure potential sponsors to our shores despite the unsurpassed success of our boxers. Namibia has a very good chance of adding to the list of former world champions Harry Simon and Hitman Moses, but this dream can only be realized if all stakeholders put their shoulder to the wheel.”

The boxing bonanza will be preceded by two top-notch bouts involving Namibia’s WBO Africa current champions Wilberforce Shihepo and Bethuel “Tyson” Uushona.

The hard-punching force will defend his WBO Africa super middleweight belt against Johannes Pieterson from South Africa, while Uushona puts his belt at stake against south Ghanaian challenger Francis Gakpetor over eight rounds.

Entrance fee is N$10 000 per table of 10 for the VIP’s (finger meals included) while spectators on the grand stand are required to cough up N$100 per seat.

by Carlos Kambaekwa

http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=41340

HBO’s “Boxing After Dark” will air the Nov. 26 WBO junior lightweight world title match between Cincinnati native Adrien “The Problem” Broner and and his new opponent, Argentina’s Vicente Rodriguez at U.S. Bank Arena. The fight had been announced Sept. 6 as  a mandatory match with WBO junior lightweight title-holder Ricky Burns of Scotland. Burns has relinquished the title to step up to the lightweight division.

Broner will promote his quest for the vacant title at a 2 p.m. Tuesday press conference at the arena.

The RingTV sitesays Burns is stepping up to the the lightweight division and facing Australian Michael Katsidis at Wembley Arena, London, on Nov. 5. The site says: “Dismissing talk he relinquished his WBO junior lightweight title last month to avoid facing unbeaten American Adrien Boner (21-0, 17 knockouts) — rather than over the issue of making the 130-pound limit — Burns (32-2, 9 KOs) insists that taking on Katsidis (28-4, 23 KOs), for the WBO interim lightweight belt, is a considerably stiffer proposition.”

Our Sept. 6 story said Broner, 22, was coming off consecutive HBO appearances in which he outpointed former champion Daniel Ponce de Leon in March, and scored a first-round knockout of Jason Litzau in June. The title fight will be Cincinnati’s first since Pryor beat Akio Kameda on a sixth-round technical knockout on July 4, 1982.

“Home for the Holidays: Broner vs. Rodriguez” is a 12-round bout for the vacant WBO Junior Lightweight World Title which will take place Saturday, November 26 at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The evening of boxing is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and R&R Promotions in association with Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate and AT&T.

The “HBO Boxing After Dark” telecast will air live at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Tickets, priced at $128, $78, $53 and $28, go on sale Tuesday, October 25 at 10:00 a.m. ET and may be purchased at the U.S. Bank Arena Box Office, by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or online at Ticketmaster

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/tv/2011/10/24/hbo-to-air-us-bank-arena-boxing-match/

By Chris LaBate

WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao is still very interested in facing Floyd Mayweather Jr., who captured the WBC title with a fourth round knockout of Victor Ortiz in September. Pacquiao defends his belt against Juan Manuel Marquez on November 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

After defeating Ortiz, Mayweather told members of the media – “I don’t need Pacquiao. Every time I go out there I’m going to make $70 million. I don’t need Pacquiao. Pacquiao is famous because he is attached to my name. When they say Pacquiao, they say that’s the guy they are trying to get to fight Floyd Mayweather. When they say Floyd Mayweather – they say that’s an all-time great.”

Pacquiao, during a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, said he’d like to fight Mayweather, but he can’t force his rival’s hand to make a deal. Mayweather claims Pacquiao is not willing to agree to a pre-fight random drug testing protocol, which the Filipino boxer says he’s willing to accept. Pacquiao claims it’s Mayweather who doesn’t want to fight.

“Whoever I have to fight the rest of my career, I’m happy and satisfied with what I’ve done. I don’t need somebody else to be satisfied with what I’ve done. I don’t need to be looking for, or chasing, a fight. I want the fight, but I cannot force him to take it. He has to show he wants to fight me,” Pacquiao said.

http://www.boxingscene.com/pacquiao-i-t-force-mayweather-jr-fight-me–45266

Baden –  Wurttemberg, Germany (Sports Network) – Marco Huck knocked out Rogelio Omar Rossi in the sixth round to retain his WBO cruiserweight title on Saturday.

Germany’s Huck (34-1, 25 KO) knocked down Rossi (17-3, 11 KO) in the third round and sent him to the canvas twice more in the fifth.

At the beginning of the sixth, Huck pounded Rossi with a combination of punches. Rossi eventually went down cold and laid on the mat for several minutes. The ref called the fight as soon as Rossi hit the ground.

After getting up, Rossi was taken away on a stretcher.

NEW YORK (AP) — Nonito Donaire retained the WBO and WBC bantamweight titles, unanimously outpointing Omar Narvaez on Saturday night at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Donaire improved to 27-1, extending his nine-year winning streak to 26 fights, with winning scores of 120-108 from the judges. After Donaire knocked out nine of his last 10 opponents, the fight had most of the 4,425 fans booing the lack of action.

“I was bored,” Donaire said. “When I know that the guy wouldn’t open up, I kind of got bored because no matter what I opened my hands, I opened my face and the least you can do is hit me with a jab, hit me with something.”

Narvaez (35-1-2) lost for the first time in his 11-year professional career.

“He never hurt me,” Narvaez said. “I didn’t feel any of the punches. I didn’t think he was such a big deal.

Donaire won the title with an overwhelming second-round knockout of Fernando Montiel eight months ago, but this one was nowhere as easy as that left hook for the 28-year-old making his first New York appearance.

After judges awarded Donaire the first three rounds, he began to get into a groove in the fourth. Late in the round, Donaire began landing more punches and he had Narvaez against the ropes with a strong combination but that did lead to victory.

Narvaez was able to stay with him by using a defensive strategy most of the fight. He frequently kept his hands clenched near his head to avoid many strong punches and appeared content to let the bout go the distance. Narvaez also showed a reluctance to go on the offensive as he averaged 24 punches thrown per round, 36 fewer than the average.

“I expected him to wear me down, but that wasn’t the case,” Donaire said. “The moment that I hit him hard, he just didn’t want to take his chances.”

Narvaez’s technical approach had some in the crowd booing at times but they cheered wildly when Donaire began landing some uppercuts late in the 10th. The booing returned in the 11th as Donaire rarely landed any punches until the final seconds of the round.

In the 12th round, Donaire landed a strong combination but could not finish. Narvaez briefly had him against the ropes but Donaire escaped though in the final seconds he flailed against the ropes.

Earlier, Miguel Garcia (27-0, 23 KOs) remained unbeaten and successfully retained his NABF featherweight title with a fourth-round knockout of challenger Juan Carlos Martinez (17-13-1). Garcia won after knocking Martinez out three times before the fight was stopped with 14 seconds remaining in the fourth round.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ghSi2_PvE2e0s7Jsv_OfuQ1N_vdA?docId=07f8c0982b7c4a808040057df992cfc7

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

Filipino southpaw Czar Amonsot fights for the WBO Oriental welterweight title and the WBO African title against Samuel Colomban in Flemington, Victoria, Australia on November 18.

The 26 year old Amonsot who has a record of 22-3-1 with 12 knockouts last fought on September 23, 2010 when he scored a 2nd round knockout over Thailand’s Sirichai Ekchumpol for the vacant WBO Asia Pacific title in a bout where the THai fighter was given a standing eight count in the opening round.

The 26 year old Colomban who is from Cameroon and fights out of Melbourne, Australia is regarded as a tough opponent with a solid record of 20-3 with 10 knockouts.

Colomban won the vacant WBO Africa title on November 27, 2010 with a twelve round split decision over Steve Heremaia and won the WBO Oriental welterweight crown wit a 4th round TKO of Thai fighter Sapaptch Sor Sakaorat last April 8 in which he dropped Sakaorat twice in the 4th round.

Amonsot who suffered a slight bleed outside the brain following a bloody ring war with Australian Michael Katsidis in a WBO interim lightweight title fight in Las Vegas on July 21, 2007 used to fight for the ALA Gym.

Amonsot returned to the ring at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu where he won a unanimous ten round decision over Jesus Singwancha (Muzaka) from the Congo who was nicknamed “The Black Tiger.”

However, after a subsequent accident at his workplace ALA boxing patron Tony Aldeguer, concerned about Amonsot’s safety refused to allow him to fight again.

Amonsot decided to go to Australia and has been fighting there since then.

http://www.boxingscene.com/czar-amonsot-goes-wbo-regional-title-on-nov-18–45239

The 24th Annual WBO Convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico came to a conclusion yesterday with what many boxing insiders consider the most entertaining events of the week: the Championship and Ratings committee meetings and the award ceremony.

The proceedings kicked off in the Morning as president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel and the board entertained motions from the floor from numerous promoters and even fighters to move up the WBO workd rankings, and in some instances to enter the world rankings altogether. As always, colorful American promoter Gary Shaw stole the show with his frequent jokes, often at the expense of a fellow promoter , who had the misfortune of attending the event wearing a pink shirt and matching pink shoes.

“First of all, anyone wearing pink and pink sneakers should not be allowed at this microphone,” Shaw said jokingly, “he should only be allowed to argue for women’s fights.”

The first motion kicked off with Japanese promoter Ulysses G. Sato, who made a motion to see Japanese mini-flyweight Katsunari Takayama move into the top ten (he is currently ranked #12).

From there, Philippine promoter Mike Aldeguer of ALA Boxing told the board that his junior flyweight champion, Ramon Garcia, was tentatively looking to fight contender Tommy Seran on March 17 of 2012. A representative of Carlos Rueben Dario Ruiz, the #8 ranked contender and Latino champion, made no demands, but did make sure that the board was familiar with his accomplishments and desire to fight for a world title if the opportunity arose. It was a statement that brought a lighthearted response from President Valcarcel.

“If you talk to the Filipinos, they would love to fight you!” joked Valcarcel, “They love to fight the Argentines!”

Another argument from the floor to see Spanish veteran Rafael Lozano into the WBO rankings brought more lighthearted jabs from the President. Although Lozano possesses a 25-3 record, and won both a Bronze medal in the Olympics and the Spanish Junior Flyweight title in his last fight, many couldn’t help but notice his advanced age (he is 41-years old). When reminded of the Bronze medal, Valcarcel quipped “When?! In 1974?!”

From there the discussions moved to the Flyweight discussion where President Valcarcel noted that champion Brian Viloria would fight #1 contender Giovani Segura of Mexico in his next fight. A discussion of the 115-pound division talk about popular champion Omar Narvaez of Argentina, and an argument from Gary Shaw to move Cesar Seda Jr., the #2 ranked contender from Puerto Rico, into a title fight. Offering a box-off with #1 contender Isack Junior, Shaw was determined to see his young contender fighting for the world title before the next convention. Another argument from the Argentine delegation was entertained for #6 ranked contender Roberto Sosa, the unbeaten prospect from Argentina with a 21-0 record to move into the top five.

At Bantamweight the discussion was all around whether or not champion Nonito Donaire was going to move up in weight or not. Philippine promoter Mike Aldeguer argued for his fighter, Alex John Banal to fight in a title fight for a vacant title if that did occur (Banal is currently the #2 contender) while Gary Shaw argued for Vic Darchinyan.

At Junior Featherweight President Valcarcel announced that champion Jorge Arce had nine months to make his mandatory title defense. Top Rank’s Carl Moretti announced that it appeared that he would be fighting in Mexico in January against a ranked fighter for his first title defense. Gary Shaw argued along side Alex Camponovo for the winner of the Showtime fight between Chris Avalos (#4) and Jonathan Romero (#14) to move into the #1 slot. The fight is slated for December 2 on Showtime. Presedent Valcarcel was open to the idea, but wouldn’t commit to the jump just yet.

“We don’t’ have to decide now,” commented Vaslcarcel, “We need the committee to decide if the fighter moves to #1.”

At Featherweight there was a buzz over the fact that previous #1 contender Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo of Thailand won another organizations championship, thus opening up the top ten more movement. An argument was made for undefeated Aussie Joel Brunker to move into the top ten, before it was recognized that he had in fact moved into the #5 slot. Alex Camponovo wanted Abraham Lopez (16-0) to enter the rankings, as well as Colombian bomber Daluis Prescott (23-0), the brother of Breidis.

Despite Prescott’s impressive record, President Valcarcel did raise some concerns with the level of opposition. In Prescott’s last fight, he stopped Elkin Zavaleta, who had a less than stellar record of (3-22) and Valcarcel pointed out that he fought Victor Peralta twice (Peralta has a 1-28-2 record).

From there, many familiar names were offered to the board in an attempt to move up the rankings, including Ray Bautista from the Philippines.

Gary Shaw then introduced a young, undefeated prospect named Jose Pedraza (4-0), a Puerto Rican who Shaw promised would become very familiar to the world of boxing in the coming years. President Valcarcel suggested a fight with Pedraza for a Youth title, a suggestion that Pedraza warmly embraced.

“That’s what I want to do,” commented the young Puerto Rican fighter, “I would be very happy to hold that belt.”

Although the highest weight classes saw many familiar names discussed as they argued to move up, and in some instances remain in, the world rankings, there was little question that there would also be many newcomers entering the rankings. Although Gary Shaw had words with Argentine promoter Mario Margossian, the most interesting Shaw moment when he made a short, simple request for Chad Dawson to move up to the #1 spot at 175.

“The world saw what happened with Hopkins,” Shaw said, “Chad Dawson should be #1.”

At heavyweight the most noteworthy moment came when Chauncy Welliver, and his manager Roland Jankleson, stood before the podium and petitioned for a higher ranking. Welliver, the #10 ranked heavyweight, recently won the WBO China Zone championship, and with his growing popularity in China, pushed to see his ranking move up. Although Championship Committee Chairman Luis Batista Salas had a vigorous cross examination of Welliver and Jankleson, in which questions were raised about Welliver’s attempt to defend his WBO Asia-Pacific belt against Marcellus Brown (a fight that was not approved by the WBO), Welliver and Jankleson did seem to make the most of their opportunity to present their case to the board, citing the fact that Welliver is the most active fighter in the top ten, with over 50 wins and five fights in 2011 so far.

A strong argument from Markus Aslani followed, in which the German pushed to see Lebanese born prospect Manual Charr enter the top ten as well. Charr scored an impressive knockout over former contender Owen Beck in 2010 and former contender Danny Williams earlier this year. Also, Hedi Taouab pushed for undefeated Italian Francesco Pianeta and former world champion Ruslan Chagaev to enter the WBO rankings.

After the ranking the WBO proudly introduced their new webpage at www.wbo-int.com and announced that it would be unveiled to the world during the evening’s gala dinner. Finally, the grievance committee proposed a slight modification to Rule 13 (a)(2)(a), which referred to mandatory challenges.

The event concluded with the Gala dinner that evening in which the new web page was unveiled, and the annual awards were handed out. Golden Boy Promotions won three awards (NABO Promoter of the Year, and two Special Recognition Awards for Eric Gomez as matchmaker of the year and to Golden Boy Promotions from WBO Intercontinental), while Bob Arum and Top Rank won three as well (NABO Special Recognition Award, Executive of the Year award to Carfl Moretti , and Promoter of the Year for Bob Arum). Wladimir Klitschko won Fighter of the Year award, while Marco Huck won the Most Exciting Fighter of the Year Award. Mario Margossian won Latin Promoter of the Year, and Wilfred Sauerland won European Promoter of the Year. Yessica Bopp won Female Fighter of the Year, while Promoter Frank Warren received a Special Recognition Award, as well as Heavyweight Contender Chauncy Welliver.

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/wbo-convention-day-3-2-99916

Photos from: http://www.notifight.com/artman2/publish/Reporte_7/Baja_el_tel_n_de_la_24_Convenci_n.php

 By David Finger
Photos: WBO

The WBO 24th Annual Convention continued on Wednesday for its second day of events, highlighted by President Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel’s report and a guest speaker who provided a training seminar for various boxing officials: Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward.

The event kicked off in the morning with Mr. Jorge Molina’s report on WBO Latin America. Mr. Molina once again gave a informative and well researched presentation, which highlighted the WBO Latino’s history in developing future world Champions. Pointing out that since 1996 (when WBO Latino started), the regional organization has sanctioned over four hundred and thirty four fights, with 2011 being the biggest year ever with forty seven title fights since last year’s convention in Colombia.

Perhaps just as significant is Mr. Molina’s ability to spread out these championship fights all over two continents. Argentina has held the bulk of the fights in 2011 (with seventeen), but is quickly followed by Brazil (ten), Puerto Rico, the United States and Mexico. Most impressive for Mr. Molina, however, is the continued tradition of WBO Latino as a training ground for World Champions. Ninety-five WBO Latino champions have gone on to fight for a world title, including eleven in 2010, and thirty-two who would go on to win a world championship. For Mr. Molina, the secret to his success is in a plan that could rival Herman Cain’s “9-9-9″ in its simplicity: quality.

“The criteria for a Latino regional title is either of the two fighters is eligible to be ranked,” commented Mr. Molina, “Quality will be beyond quantity. That is why the Latino title has garnered such results.”

After Mr. Molina’s presentation, a video was shown highlighting 20-years of great WBO title fights, featuring such legends as Floyd Mayweather, Oscar De la Hoya, Evander Holyfield and Bernard Hopkins.

From there a President Valcarcel heard a discussion on the soon to be implemented changes to the WBO web page, which will soon have such additions as videos and executive blogs.

An early “happy birthday” was offered to Dr. Ramon Pina, who will be turning ninety years old in November, and Golden Boy Promotions and its representative Eric Gomez, was given a round of applace for its assistance in securing the golf course used earlier in the week (Oscar De la Hoya was a member of the club).

From there, discussions went to the recent challenges to the WBO trademark and name.

“We are perfectly protected,” commented WBO member Edoardo Ceccoli, “one by renovation and another for the transaction for being inscribe in the European registry.”

The legal discussions continued on the matter, in particular the problems with the EBU and British Boxing Board of Control.

From there President Valcarcel presented his report, and he started out by highlighting the achievements of noted Pilipino boxers.

“We have five champions, four men and one woman,” commented President Valcarcel, “We congratulate the Philippine (fighters) for the great achievements through our organization.”

From there President Valcarcel admitted that he was not yet satisfied with the amount of money going into charitable contributions and its “WBO Kids Drug Free” program.

“We are not happy with the money we are assigning for the youth,” admitted President Valcarcel, “We want at least 40-50% of money we make to go to educating youth through boxing, particularly in poorer countries. I spoke to the accountant and we will increase the donation budget this year.”

President Valcarcel also challenged WBO champions to continue to be role models for the World’s youth.

“Our WBO champs don’t only have to be good fighters, they also have to be great role models for the youth.”

President Valcarcel then invited attendees to visit the new WBO Offices tomorrow, as the WBO will have free tours provided. From there Luis Bautista Salas followed with a call for honor and dignity.

“We have to return dignity to boxing,” said Salas, “We have to be honorable in the process that we are going to move forward for the good of the sport. These principles have been upheld. I thank you all, and in particular to Francisco Valcarcel. He has brought it to the pinnacle. We are the greatest organization because we have the highest quality of people working with us.”

President Valcarcel then concluded with a quik summary of the finances of the WBO.

“The WBO is financially sound,” concluded Valcarcel, “We don’t’ owe anyone any money, we have money in the bank. The office is ours, the equipment is ours. We are financially number one, but more important we are morally number one.”

The Convention then moved into the awards ceremony, with such worldwide dignitaries such as promoters Nestor Tobias (from Namibia) and Sammy Gello-Ani (from the Philippines) receiving promoter of the year awards from their respective regions.

The convention then went to the floor for discussions on the location for the 25th Annual Convention. Three locations were nominated, Florida, Las Vegas, and Cleveland Ohio. Cleveland failed to make the final cut, and the board then voted overwhelmingly for the 2012 convention to be held in the State of Florida with Nevada being selected as an alternate location.

After lunch the convention continued with the seminars for referees, judges, and inspectors. Perhaps most noteworthy was the presence of Emanuel Steward, who gave a fascinating speech on the obligations of those officials. It was a powerful speech in which he challenged those in attendance to protect the integrity of the sport.

“Boxing is a billion dollar industry,” commented Steward, “and we can’t keep having these controversial decisions with a lot of the same people involved.”

Steward also discussed the impact one bad call could have not only on the sport but also on the fighters involved.

“Fighters are training hard,” Steward said, “but it all goes down the drain with one bad call.”

Steward then challenged commissions that overworked referees and judges on major cards, citing instances when referees and judges are working from the four round undercard all the way to the main event.

“They are already physically and mentally worn out.”

Steward, who also commented on the importance of nutrition, then made a strong argument for the implementation of an instant replay.

“It’s all about making proper decisions and the proper calls,” commented Steward, “we have time in a fight. We have all this airtime and we can’t take five minutes to review a call in a twelve round fight?!”

From there the referees held their seminar, reviewing several of the high profile fights which involved controversy on the part of the referees. Clips were played of the Mayweather-Ortiz fight, the Hopkins-Dawson fight and the Abner Mares Joseph Agbeko fight. With an open discussion of the performance of all three referees in those fights, many in attendance gained perhaps the most useful lesson from one of the referees whose performance had been widely criticized in one of the aforementioned fights: Russell Mora, who was in attendance.

“I made mistakes in that fight,” admitted Mora, “I was too close to the fighters for the last knockdown and as a result I missed it.”

It was a lesson in mechanics that proved valuable for many of the referee’s in attendance, all of them recognizing that Mora was a very good referee whose mistakes in that one fight proved to be a disaster for not only Joseph Agbeko, but also himself in 2011.

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/wbo-convention-day-2-2-99758 

Story and photos by David Finger

The 24th Annual WBO Convention kicked off Tuesday morning with exciting developments in the form of a new title, new developments with the regional titles, and major developments in what is proving to be one of the most exciting additions to the WBO in recent years in its female champions.

The event kicked off with roll call, followed by an invocation from second Vice President Jacinth Bryan Labega. After approving the prior minutes from the 2010 Convention in Cartagena, Colombia, the WBO adknowledged several of the notable fighters who came out to support the WBO. Female champions Yesica Bopp from Argentina (the reigning 108 pound champion) and 115 pound champion Carolina Duer (also from Argentina) received warm ovations, as did WBO Asia Pacific Heavyweight champion and #10 ranked WBO contender Chauncy Welliver. From there the president suggested a slight change in the agenda and moved President’s Luis Batista Salas Championship Committee Report to be done first.

A short video highlighting the accomplishments of the WBO’s “Kids Drug Free” program followed, showcasing the WBO’s commitment to continuing service to the community in places as diverse as Mexico and the Philippines.

However, Mr. Salas’ report did start off with a somewhat sobering reminder of the recent economic downturn suffered in Europe and the rest of the world.

“International boxing has become a victim of what the modern world is victim of,” commented Mr. Salas, “an economic monetary crisis.”

After Mr. Salas then thanked those members who came out to Puerto Rico he added some promising news that quickly lightened the mood. The WBO “had more championship fights than all other organizations,” MR. Salas proudly announced.

“Even though boxing is taking up a position of retreat, we have been able to remain firm because we have great champions and great promoters,” added Mr. Salas, “we held thirty nine championship fights so far this year. All the parts of the world have had participation with a lot of fights.”

Mr. Salas then commented on the integrity and openness of the WBO being a major reason for its success.

“In the past, sanctioning organizations were controlled by one promoter, or two or three at most. But this is a highly democratic organization, highly respected. Wherefore we have more than forty active promoters in the WBO. That is more active promoters than all the other organizations together.”

Mr. Salas then was able to add very promising news about one of the more recent decisions adopted by the WBO, the inclusion of female champions. When the WBO decided to sanction female championship fights in the 2008 Convention in Hungary, it was at times contentious and somewhat controversial with some boxing purist. But Mr. Salas was happy to announce the decision proved to be highly beneficial for not only the WBO, but for women’s boxing as well.

“Last year you approved championship bouts with women, and last year we had a very fruitful discussion. But women have been gaining ground and we have to respect the decision. I am of the opinion that women have done a service to this organization and I would like to that all of you for the bringing women into the professional championship world.”

Mr. Salas then offered some pleasantly surprising numbers that impressed many of the WBO attendees.

“Women only started last year, and (already) we had twenty six womens world championship bouts!”

Mr. Salas then acknowledged the boxing community in both Haiti and Argentina for their commitment and development of women’s boxing.

After Mr. Salas’ report, Mr. Adolfo Flores Monge presented the treasurers report. Despite the recent world wide recession that Mr. Salas referred to, Mr. Monge was happy to announce the the WBO’s revenue increased this year, and that over $115,000 was donated to the “Kids Drug Free” program, one of the largest charitable donations in boxing in recent years.

WBO attorney Andrew Horn then commented on the WBO continued commitment to not only it’s non-profit status, but also its commitment to combating poverty and service.

From there Juan Carlos Tapia presented an excellent video of the history of Puerto Rican fighters. The video was divided into three sections: fighters who were in the Hall of Fame, fighters who should be in the Hall of Fame, and fighters who will be in the Hall of Fame. The sheer volume of names on all three list was a testament to the vital and important role played by Puerto Rican fighters in shaping the history of boxing, and fans and attendees watched clips of such legends such as Carlos Ortiz, Wilfredo Gomez, Wilfred Benitez, Jose Torres, Edwin Rosario, Esteban De Jesus, Wilfredo Vasquez, and Felix Trinidad.

From there President Valcarcel moved to the regional vice presidents reports. But he was proud to announce the success of the newest WBO title: the WBO Youth Title. He then offered his congratulations to the success of the Cuban boxers and Joe Hernandez. However, President Valcarcel did offer his opinion that, in rare instances, the WBO had sanctioned fights that they should have reconsidered.

“We don’t approve fights with bums,” President Valcarcel said sternly, “sometimes we have a problem with fighters who become regional champions who are not qualified to be ranked.”

One of the major problems where this emerged was with fighters in Africa. President Valcarcel admitted that it was often hard to keep track of “real” records of some of the African fighters.

“Many African fighters don’t have a record,” commented President Valcarcel.

Vice President, and head of WBO Africa, Andrew Smale admitted that it was a problem in the past.

“Sometimes I have problems with fights in East Africa,” admitted Smale, “the problem is that we get the records from the commissions, which doesn’t have the same record as on Boxrec. The problem is to actually get these records verified you have to go back to journalistic records and video of the fights which is very difficult. It can be done but it is very difficult and time consuming.”

Despite the setback, President Valcarcel commended Vice President Smale for his amazing work in Africa and the strides made in developing boxing on the continent.

Despite the nature of the conversation, many attendees felt it was a sign of the transparency of the WBO that such a sensitive subject was being discussed in such an open manner.

The next report presented was NABO and WBO Intercontinental Executive Director Mark Reels.

The NABO did suffer a slight decline from the previous year, with twenty nine championship fights in 2010, and fifteen so far in 2011 it was looking like the NABO would come up slightly short of its previous totals from 2010. However, several unforeseen circumstances did seem to unduly lower the numbers. Several canceled fights and two vacant title fights resulting in uncrowned champions due to overweight fighters were cited. However, with a scheduled NABO title fight scheduled in Canada later in the year, it was looking as if the year would end strongly.

“As a former professional fighter myself I will not approve a fight with fighters of lesser quality,” added Mr. Reels.

The NABO, despite the slight drop from 2010, did have another profitable year with over $45,000 raised, and with six title fights scheduled before the end of the year, Reels was anticipating gross sales of over $61,000. Although Reels admitted it would be the lowest gross revenue the NABO collected since 2005, he was optimistic that the strong finish to the year, would lead to a strong recovery in 2012.

The WBO Intercontinental report followed, with exciting developments as the number of fights so far has increased from seventeen in 2010 to 27 so far in 2011. Much of the increase was due to Vice President Reels and member Edoardo Ceccoli’s exciting expansion of the WBO Intercontinental in the USA.

“In the previous year there were sixteen European Intercontinental title fights to only one in the United States,” commented Ceccoli, “This year there are 10 Intercontinental fights in the USA.”

After lunch Vice President Leon Panoncillo gave his Asia Pacific Report. Mr. Panoncillo’s success with the WBO Asia Pacific continued in 2011 with another banner year for the regional title.

Although there was a slight drop in revenue, in part due to the nature of the high profile David Tua title fight in 2010, Panoncillo was happy to announce the WBO was doing three times as many title fights as their competitors in the OPBF and PABA. With strong support from the Philippines, Thailand, and China, the WBO is continuing to grow in the region. Panoncillo commented on the success of not only the Asia Pacific championship (which held twenty seven fights in 2011) but also some of the other regional titles such as the Oriental title (which saw twenty one title fights in 2011) and the newest belt: the WBO Asia Pacific Youth championship, which saw ten championship fights in 2011. In all, Panoncillo and the Asia Pacific region saw over 59 championship fights in 2011, with revenue over $56,000. But Panoncillo also added that these fighters are seeing the fruits of their commitment to the WBO and vice versa. Many of the Asian fighters who recently were fighting for regional eblts now see themselves fighting, and winning, world titles.

Following Mr. Panoncillo’s report, Vice President Andrew Smale gave his report on WBO boxing. Once again Mr. Smale showed why he is quickly establishing himself as one of the WBO’s most valuable commodities, with further grown in the continent and what is looking very close to absolute WBO dominance of the boxing scene in Africa. Smale was proud to announce eighteen title fights in 2010. And so far in 2011, he has presided over seventeen with five future dates confirmed. It is rapidly expanding each year, and despite the difficulties promoters in Africa face, the WBO’s commitment to boxing in Africa is clearly paying huge dividends. Smale also commented in the increasing strength of boxing in Ghana, and the impressive nature of the numbers when compared with some of the rival organizations. The ABU (associated with the WBC) had only one fight in 2011, as did the WBC Intercontinental. The IBF Africa Championship has yet to do a fight in 2011. Smale closed by announcing that the WBO collected $21,400 in Africa so far this year, and he is optimistic that at least two African regional champions may get title fights in the coming year.

After Andrew Smale’s report,Vice President Istvan” Koko” Kovacs gave his report on the state of WBO Europe.

Although the WBO still is having problems with the actions of the European Boxing Union, the growth of the WBO Europe still remains impressive. In 2009 there were only two title fights. In 2010 it was up to twelve fights. So far in 2011 there have been eighteen fights, proving that 2011 will be a banner year for WBO Europe. Thus far, the WBO Europe has collected over $61,000 this year.

Next came Zhang Tao’s report on the state of the WBO China Region. With a successful debut in 2010 in a fight that hosted Mike Tyson as an ambassador, the boxing scene in China proved to be one of the most untapped and prosperous regions in the world for the sport. A televised fight featuring Heavyweight contender Chauncy Welliver in China (where he is affectionately nicknamed the Panda) was seen by over seventeen million people, making him one of the most recognizable fighters in the largest country in the world.

Markus Aslani followed with his report on female boxing in the WBO. He proudly announced the the WBO had over twenty six fights since the last convention, with over twenty this year alone. Aslani was also confident that 2012 would also see continued expansion.

John Duggan then gave a very brief report from the Grievance Committee, stating that 2011 was, thus far, “another good… problem free year.”

President Valcarcel did add that the problems with the EBU and the British Board of Boxing and Control may require more drastic action from the WBO in the form of litigation in the courtroom.

British member Dennis Gilmartin commented on the problems he had with the BBB when he was working on the promotional end of the sport.

“It’s a board issue,” commented Gilmartin, “they won’t recognize us . It’s not a promotion issue. I think it’s an issue between WBO and the British Boxing Board of control.”

President Valcarcel showed his growing frustration with the position of the EBU as well, addition that although they were working towards a resolution, litigation may be in the near future if nothing could be done.

“We are still working on that recognition. But sooner or later, I’m telling you, if we have to we will do something in Court. It is very expensive, but if we have to do it we will.”

Much of the dispute is around the alleged EBU position that the name “Euoropean Champion” remains their trademark, a position that Mr. Duggan (an attorney), finds offensive and preposterous.

“They can’t own the name ‘European champion’,” commented Duggan, “they don’t own that name. That name is owned by the people of Europe and the world. That’s why it is so arrogant that they take this position. It’s not their right to force a boxer to choose (between the WBO and EBU). It’s not there right to force a promoter to chose. It’s an offence to the law. It is very detrimental to the sport of boxing.”

WBO attorney Andrew Horn also commented on the legality of the alleged EBU position.

“What they are doing is an obstruction of free trade,” added Horn, “It amounts to anti-trust. They can’t restrict free enterprise. They own their name, the prefix. But not ‘European’. They have no honorable position. The WBO has been honorable not to take this to litigation, not to air this out in the courts, if we don’t get this worked out soon we have no choice but to work this out in the courts. I have recommended to the WBO that we file suit a long time ago. We never lost a case. I think most people are afraid to sue us. I think Paco has given it a tremendous run and done what he can to keep it out of court, but I think it has run its course”.

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/wbo-convention-day-one-99653

 By David Finger
Photos: OMB

The 24th Annual WBO Convention returned home this week to San Juan, Puerto Rico at the Ritz Carlton. Monday kicked off with arguably the most popular event of the week, the 14th Annual Golf Tournament. That evening, WBO President Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel briefly spoke during the Welcome cocktail reception, thanking the members from all over the world for once again coming out to join the WBO. Citing the recent economic downturn, he acknowledged the financial sacrifice may of the members made and thanked them for their dedication to the sport and to the WBO. Today’s events will include the General Assembly, the opening ceremony, and the regional vice presidents reports.

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/wbo-convention-kicks-off-2-99599 

Thanks you for joining us at the 24th WBO Convention, we sincerely appreciate your support and hope to see you again next year!

Thanks you for joining us at the 24th WBO Convention, we sincerely appreciate your support and hope to see you again next year!