Marquez and Vazquez End One Story; Perez and Mares Start Another

Los Angeles, CA- Fans in The Staples Center in LA witnessed the possible (some say hopeful) end of Israel Vazquez's (44-5, 33 KOs) long, accomplished career as heated rival, Rafael Marquez (39-5, 35 KOs), stopped him in three exciting rounds.

The bout was hardly dull, but it was a bit of a let-down as Vazquez seemed to be a step behind Marquez and appeared to be sporting fresh, barely-healed scar tissue above his left eye (which would be brutally ripped open in the first round).

After two relatively even rounds, Marquez put the pressure on in the third and dropped Vazquez, who was bleeding heavily from two cuts, one over each eye. Marquez put on the pressure and left the ref no option but to stop the fight halfway through the third.

After the bout, both fighters were eager to sign on for a fifth bout in their series, but Vazquez's manager, Frank Espinoza Jr., commented that this would be the last fight of his client's career.

In the televised opener, IBF Bantamweight champ, Yonnhy Perez (20-0-1, 14 KOs), fought to a majority draw with Abner Mares (20-0-1, 13 KOs) in a thrilling display of boxing professionalism.

Mares used his legs for the majority of the bout, opting to stick and move while Perez stalked him and tried to coax his younger rival into a back and forth ground war.

The beginning and end of the bout seemed to belong to Mares while the middle rounds were Perez's. The judges saw it 115-113 for Mares and 114-114 from the other two. The BTBC had it scored 116-112 for Mares.

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Talk is Cheap: Khan and Ortiz Dominate Malignaggi and Campbell

New York, NY- Paulie Malignaggi and Nate Campbell, two of boxing's best talkers, had the general public believing that they had a real chance of beating their younger, more naturally gifted rivals on Saturday night.

However, once the bell rang and the fights actually began, we saw that talk is indeed cheap.

In the HBO Boxing After Dark main event, Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KOs) made his UD debut and easily handled a game, but over matched Paulie Malignaggi (27-4, 5 KOs).

From the opening bell on, Khan proved to be too strong, too fast and too disciplined for his rival. Malignaggi was hit hard and often as he tried to box, but simply had no solution for Khan's hand speed and physical strength.

After ten and a half one-sided rounds, referee Steve Smoger stopped the contest after a particularly hard shot sent Malignaggi to the ropes.

Post-fight, Khan expressed an interest in fighting Marcos Maidana next and eventually unify the jr. welterweight division.

In the opening bout of the telecast, Victor Ortiz (27-2-1, 21 KOs) was also too big, strong and quick for his foe.

Nate Campbell (33-6-1, 25 KOs) spent most of the fight trying to chase a mobile Ortiz down while getting caught with sharp counters in return. "The Galaxxy Warrior" never could corner Ortiz and failed to apply the pressure that seemed to be part of his game plan. The only knockdown of the fight was against Campbell; a dubious flash knockdown in the first.

Ortiz cruised to a one-sided decision by the scores of 100-89, 100-89 and 99-90. The BTBC had it scored 100-89, also for Ortiz.

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Brilliance! Mayweather Dominates Mosley

Las Vegas, NV- After an uneventful first round, Shane Mosley (46-6, 39 KOs) connected with a straight right hand in the second that buckled the knees of the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. (41-0, 25 KOs); He followed it up seconds later with a right hook that nearly dropped the trash-talking welterweight from Las Vegas by way of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Floyd Mayweather learned early on that "Sugar" Shane Mosley was not a faded veteran and that, indeed, he would be forced to step it up to elite mode.

That was the last lesson learned by Mayweather because, from that point on, Mayweather became the professor and proceeded to put on a clinic.

The rest of the bout could be considered a modern day masterpiece, featuring a more aggressive than usual Mayweather mixing things up and utterly outclassing a top 3 or 4 pound for pound fighter in Shane Mosley.

Mayweather, for the last ten rounds of the fight was simply a step ahead and a class above a "Sugar" Shane who, for the first time in his career, looked to be doubting himself and questioning his presence in the fight.

Employing his usual fluid shoulder roll, followed by accurate potshots and controlled spacing, Mayweather turned rounds three to twelve into one long session, with Mosley trainer, Naazim Richardson, at one point hinting at stopping the fight between rounds.

The judges scorecards reflected the one-sided nature of the bout: 119-109, 119-109, 118-110. The BTBC scored it 118-110, also for Mayweather.

On the undercard, undefeated 19-year old Mexican phenom, Saul "El Canelo" Alvarez (33-0-1, 24 KOs) survived a near-knockdown in the first round to stop a game, but pudgy and over-matched Jose Miguel Cotto (31-2-1, 23 KOs) in the ninth.

Daniel Ponce de Leon (39-2, 32 KOs) put in an uncharacteristically calm, professional performance against Cornelius Lock (19-5-1, 12 KOs) en route to a unanimous 10 round decision.

In the pay per view opener, Said Ouali (27-3, 19 KOs) stopped power punching Hector Saldivia (31-2, 24 KOs) in the first in a wild bout that saw both fighters hit the canvas.

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Montiel Stops Hasegawa in Four

WBO Bantamweight champ, Fernando Montiel, got his career back on the fast track by scoring a TKO over reigning WBC champ, Hozumi Hasegawa in Hasegawa's hometown of Tokyo, Japan.

After a dead-even first round, Montiel came on to have a solid second, followed by a Hasegawa-controlled third.

The fourth round was mostly Hasegawa's until Montiel landed a pair of left hooks at the end of the round that shook the Japanese world champion. Hasegawa was stunned and essentially defenseless, with one hand draped over the ring rope and Montiel landing at will.

Referee Laurence Cole stepped in and waved off the bout with just a couple of seconds left in the round. The stoppage was quick for some tastes, but it was obvious that Hasegawa was in bad shape and Montiel could've inflicted some real damage.

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Saturday's Recap

Courtesy of Lee Payton and our friends at The Boxing Bulletin:

Boxing fans were treated to another fun Saturday night with 3 competitive match-ups involving some of the sport's most exciting fighters.

Showtime kicked things off with a delayed broadcast from Denmark where Mikkel Kessler silenced many of his critics, who called him finished and soft.  He and Great Britain's Carl Froch delivered easily the best fight of the Super Six tournament so far.

Then it was time to switch the channel to HBO. In the opener, a somewhat surprising effort from enigmatic part-time banger Joel Julio made things very interesting for hard man Alfredo Angulo and his backers.  The main-event featured a gutsy Chris Arreola in a tussle with the smaller, but better Tomasz Adamek. The lively crowd in California enhanced what was already the best heavyweight fight in quite some time.

Let's take a look at both shows starting with the battle from Denmark....

You can access the rest of The Boxing Bulletin's recap HERE

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Klitschko Hammers Chambers; Solis Makes Drummond Quit

Dusseldorf, Germany- In front of a packed soccer stadium, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion, Wladimir Klitschko (54-3, 48 KOs), did what he does best and gradually dismantled game challenger, Eddie Chambers (35-2, 18KOs).

Chambers came out with energy and a definite plan, but was kept at a distance for almost the entire fight by Klitschko's trademark long jab.

The first two rounds were close with Chambers using movement and some defiant roughhouse tactics to keep things close. In the first, Chambers lifted Klitschko in a clinch and in the second, he lifted and body slammed the defending champ to the canvas. Klitschko responded by connecting with a one-two combination that nearly dropped the challenger.

In the third, Klitschko firmly established the distance and pace of the bout and, from that point on, it never varied. Chambers did try to dig into Klitschko's body, the way he did to Alexander Dimitrenko, but he was never able to get close enough, long enough for the body attack to be effective.

Rounds four through eleven were nearly identical with Klitschko controlling the tempo and the distance while Chambers seemed to be just biding his time with survival on his mind. A tear in Chambers' glove gave the challenger a rest before the tenth and it seemed to energize him, but it was to no avail as the champ re-established the pace before the end of that round.

At the urging of Emanuel Steward, Klitschko came out for the twelfth with fire in his eyes and took the fight to a tired and dejected Chambers.

The end of the bout came via a lead left hook to the temple which immediately put out Chambers' lights in the corner. Referee Geno Rodriguez waved off the bout at the 2:55 mark of the twelfth.

On the undercard, Johnathan Banks (24-1, 17 KOs) continued his campaign at heavyweight with a sixth round TKO over Travis Walker (34-4-1, 28 KOs)

Also, Alexander Ustinov (20-0, 16 KOs) won via RTD 4 against journeyman Ed Mahone (24-10-2. 23 KOs)


Key West, Florida- Undefeated Cuban, Odlanier Solis (16-0, 12 KOs), was set to answer Wladimir Klitschko's impressive performance earlier with a gem of his own. Unfortunately, his opponent, Carl Davis Drummond (26-3, 20 KOs), never really came to fight and ended up turning the bout into a non-event.

Solis looked as impressive as possible, but Drummond plodded along and refused to engage. Drummond ended up quitting in his corner after the third.

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Pacquiao Has His Way With Clottey

Arlington, Texas- 51,000 attendees at Dallas Cowboys Stadium and those watching via pay per view almost had to check if there wasn't a chain hanging from behind Joshua Clottey's back as he played the role of heavy bag to Manny Pacquiao on Saturday in their bout for Pacquiao's WBO welterweight title.

The bout was pretty much fought at the same pace throughout with Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) darting in and throwing quick shots at a Joshua Clottey (35-4, 20 KOs) who seemed more than content to block those shots with hands held high while throwing nothing in return.

Most vexing about the fight was that, on the rare occasions where Clottey did let his hands go, he had success and seemed more than able to do some real damage to the Filipino. Unfortunately for Clottey and his fans, the fighter from Ghana never really chose to put in the work to take the welterweight crown from defending champion, Pacquiao.

Final scorecards correctly represented the one-sided nature of the bout: 120-108, 119-109, 119-109 all for Manny Pacquiao. The BTBC also had it scored 119-109.

On the undercard, Humberto Soto (51-7-2, 32KOs) displayed class and skill by outpointing David Diaz (35-3-1, 17 KOs) to take the WBC lightweight title via unanimous decision.

Humberto scored two knockdowns in the bout, one in the first and one in the twelfth to seal the deal.

Scores were 115-111, 117-109, 117-109. The BTBC had it scored 116-110, also for Soto.

Also, on the card, Alfonso Gomez (22-4-2, 11KOs) beat former champ, Jose Luis Castillo (60-10-1, 52 KOs) via RTD 5 as Castillo opted not to come out of his corner before the sixth round.

In the opening telecast of the ppv telecast, John Duddy (29-1, 18KOs) put in a workmanlike effort to beat a game, but slightly behind the curve, Michael Medina (22-2-2, 17KOs) via unanimous decision. Judges scores were: 96-93 all the way around.

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Devon Alexander Blasts Juan Urango; Darchinyan and Alvarez Brutalize Foes

Uncasville, CT - WBC Jr. Welterweight Champion, Devon Alexander (20-0, 13 KOs), added the IBF 140 lb. title last night with a surprisingly brutal eight round knockout of Colombian power puncher, reigning IBF titlist, Juan Urango (22-3-1, 17 KOs).

Alexander fought at an even pace throughout, mixing tempo and boxing on the outside with a swift jab while occasionally stepping in to throw a sharp counter at the aggressive Urango.

The end of the bout came in the eight as Alexander caught his opponent with a huge right hand uppercut that sent Urango to the canvas.

The IBF champ never recovered from that shot and was soon back on the canvas a few seconds later, forcing referee Benjy Esteves but to call an end to the bout.

After the fight, Zab Judah tried to interrupt Alexander's post fight interview, only to be silenced by Alexander's assertion that Judah was "past tense."

On the undercard, Steve Forbes (34-8, 10 KOs) was upset by journeyman, Harrison Cuello (19-12-3, 14 KOs) via Majority Decision in an eight rounder

Also, Heavyweight Derrick Rossy (25-2, 14 KOs) won a 12 round Unanimous Decision over Zack Page (20-28-2, 7 KOs)

Rancho Mirage, CA - WBA/WBC Super Flyweight champion, Vic Darchinyan (34-2-1, 27 KOs) put a major beating on game, but over matched, Rodrigo Guerrero (13-2-1, 9 KOs).

Guerrro tried to fight back at various parts of the bout, but reigning champ Darchinyan was just too much for the Mexican challenger and won via wide Unanimous Decision with scores of 120-108, 118-110, and 117-111.

Controversy clouded the undercard main support as Lenny Zappavigna (23-0, 15 KOs) won an unpopular Unanimous Decision over veteran Fernando Angulo (22-7, 14 KOs).

To most observers, Angulo seemed to be solidly ahead as he controlled most of the action from the fourth round on, but the judges thought differently with scores of 116-111, 116-111 and 114-113 for the undefeated Australian lightweight.

Chiapas, Mexico - Saul "El Canelo" Alvarez (31-0-1, 23 KOs) continued his climb in the welterweight ranks by beating sacrificial lamb, Brian Camechis (19-3, 8 KOs).

Camechis seemed hurt with every solid punch landed by Alvarez and was eventually taken out in the third.

After the bout, Alvarez somewhat confirmed that Matthew Hatton would be his next opponent, on the Mayweather-Mosley pay per view, May 1st.

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Sylvester Stops Brave Lyell, Magee Upsets Larsen in Denmark

In a relatively tentative bout, Sebastian Sylvester (33-3, 16 KO) successfully defended his IBF middleweight trinket for the first time with a tenth round technical knockout victory over late-replacement Billy Lyell (21-8, 4 KO) in a snowy place in Germany.

Sylvester decided to feel out the opening rounds, being out-worked by his American challenger. The difference is class was evident in the fifth, as Sylvester began to land heavily and frequently on Lyell’s face.

The German middleweight landed repeated straight right hands as Lyell struggled to stay up with the quicker pace of the fight in the middle rounds. His trainer, Jack Loew, had seen enough, and stopped the fight in the tenth round.

In my opinion, it was the perfect time to stop the fight. Lyell is a light hitting fighter that didn’t need to get taken out of there by a punch or sequence of punches. It would only derail him further on in his journeyman career. Some see it as premature, as he was still punching back and not particularly hurt, but his face did look busted up.

On the undercard, Robert Helenius (11-0, 7 KOs) was impressive in his breakdown of Lamon Brewster (35-6, 30 KO) by stopping the faded former titlist in the eighth round, after he was floored in the second following a body shot. It was actually entertaining, yes that’s right, heavyweight entertainment.

Kubrat Pulev (5-0, 3 KO) scored his most impressive victory to date with a stunning fourth round knockout victory over Matt Skelton (22-5, 19 KO). The Bulgarian looks like one for the future, but could well be another eastern European bum. Karo Murat (21-0, 13 KO) stayed busy with a second round knockout of Sean Corbin (13-2, 9 KO) in a light heavyweight contest.

Brian Magee (33-3-1, 23 KO) shocked local favourite Mads Larsen (51-3, 38 KO) to capture the Dane’s European super middleweight title by flooring the hometown hero four times in the fight.

Magee, who was stopped in a thrilling war by Carl Froch earlier on in his career, scored his career best win over the heavily-backed Larsen with a superb seventh round stoppage win.

To call it an upset is an understatement, as Magee really isn’t known for his power punching. Larsen is or used to be a decent technician, second-tier fighter that might be well past his prime by now. But Magee is no spring chicken at 34, is he!?

I’ve only seen glimpses of the fight here and there as the stream I found was poor and Danish. Magee fought a dirty fight, repeatedly low blowing Larsen in the third.

Magee floored Larsen in the fifth with a body shot and followed up with intense pressure that Larsen couldn’t handle. The Dane crumbled in the sixth, kissing the canvas twice and once more in the seventh as the referee waved away the contest.

Hats off to Brian Magee, I really didn’t expect him to bring back the belt from Denmark, take a bow son.

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The Best of the Rest: A Recap of Saturday's Other Action

Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico

Saul Alvarez UD 12 Lanardo Tyner

Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Joachim Alcine UD 12 Christophe Canclaux
Troy Ross KO1 Daniel Bispo

Arena, Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Marco Huck UD 12 Ola Afolabi (WBO Cruiserweight Title)
Alexander Povetkin KO 3 Leo Nolan

National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland

Matthew Macklin PTS 10 Rafael Sosa Pintos

Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States

Tony Thompson TKO 9 Chazz Witherspoon
Carlos Quintana TKO 3 Jesse Feliciano

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HBO BAD Recap: Golden Boy Strikes Back

The Toyota Center in Houston, Texas was the site of a big triple-header last night and it actually was playing out to be one of those rare, recent boxing events that didn't get bogged down in controversy...until the main event.

On the undercard, "The Golden Child" Daniel Jacobs beat Ishe Smith via UD in a bout that clearly highlighted Jacobs' rising stock against a solid second-tier fighter despite being stunned briefly in the fifth.

However, one got the feeling that had Smith been a little busier and more intent on consistantly causing harm instead of just looking like he wanted to cause harm, the 22-year old prospect may have struggled mightily. (scores: 96-93, 96-93, 100-89. The BTBC had it 97-92, also for Jacobs) Smith was penalized a point in the 9th round for hitting after the bell.

The second televised bout saw Fernando "The Ghost" Guerrero take South African Malcolm Klassen's title away via another UD.

With exactly 1,200 punches thrown over 12, Guerrero was way too busy for Klassen, who was highly effective whenever he actually threw punches...which wasn't too often.(scores: 117-111, 116-113, 116-112. The BTBC had it 117-111, also for Guerrero)

In the main event, Juan Diaz won a controversial UD over Paulie Malignaggi in a very close bout that could've gone either way.

Diaz came out strong, but eventually Malignaggi caught his rhythm and was winning the late rounds by boxing on the outside. Diaz suffered 2 cuts over his left eye and Malignaggi had a minor cut over his own left eye.

The controversy of the evening came as the scores were read: 116-112, 115-113 and 118-110 from Texas judge Gale Van Hoy. The BTBC had it 114-114.

After the bout, Malignaggi praised Diaz and the Houston crowd, but said that boxing "is full of sh*t...the only reason I do this is because it gives me a good payday."

Paulie may not have to worry about doing something he "cannot stand" for those paydays anymore...

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Bradley, Alexander Win in Controversial Night of Boxing

BY GEORGE WILLIS (NY Times)

At a time boxing needed something to lift its spirits, it got nothing but disappointment in Palm Springs Saturday night where two championship fights ended in unsatisfying controversies.

Devon Alexander captured the WBC super lightweight championship when Junior Witter of England failed to answer the bell for the ninth round. Witter quit on his stool despite trailing but just a couple of points on the scorecards. He later said he injured his elbow in the fourth round and it got progressively worse as the fight went on.

"I wasn't able to box the way I wanted to," Witter (37-3, 22 KOs) said. "We just decided it was time to let this one go. It's not that I wanted to quit. I wanted to win. I still had a chance to win the fight. I just wasn't able to."

Alexander, 22, didn't argue. The St. Louis native captured his first world title. "I trained hard every day, and I stayed dedicated," Alexander (19-0, 12 KOs) said. "Now I have the green belt. God is good."

In the main event, Timothy Bradley retained the WBO junior welterweight title when his fight with Nate Campbell was stopped after three rounds because of a cut over Campbell's left eye.

Bradley, fighting in his hometown, was declared the winner, but Campbell felt the cut was caused by a head butt and the bout should have been ruled a no contest. "I'm not mad at Timmy, but this is wrong," said Campbell, the former lightweight champion.

Replays clearly showed a clash of heads as the two exchanged punches. Campbell instantly retreated into a corner, pawed his eye and complained about the head butt to referee Dave Mendoza. But Bradley followed in pursuit unleashing a barrage of punches as Campbell covered up on the ropes.

When the round ended and Campbell, 37, went to his corner his eye was covered in blood and he complained he couldn't see. "I have spots in my eye," he told a ring side physician, who stopped the bout.

Campbell (33-6-1, 25 KOs) was angry Mendoza didn't rule the cut was caused by the butt. But Mendoza said the last thing he saw before blood was a punch. "They both were head-butting each other when they were fighting," Mendoza said. "I had to go by the last thing I saw which was a punch."

Bradley (25-0, 12 KOs) didn't apologize. "It didn't matter he was going to get beat anyway," Bradley said. "As the rounds went on he was getting older and older."

Campbell and Bradley had dedicated the bout to the memories of Arturo Gatti and Vernon Forrest, former champions who died in the month of July.

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The Weekend Hangover (July 17th,18th,19th)

Friday, July 17th

Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, Redondo Beach, California, USA

Lance Whitaker UD 12 Danny Batchelder

Civic Center, Kissimmee, Florida, USA

Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. KO 2 Cecilio Santos

Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Guillermo Rigondeaux Ko 1 Robert Guillen (Please...)

Erislandy Lara UD 6 Darnell Boone (Lara is for real...)

Miguel Vazquez SD 10 Breidis Prescott (Prescott is not for real...)

Saturday, July 18th

Centro de Convenciones , Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico

Omar Chavez TKO 4 Marco Nazareth (Nazareth slips into a coma)

Tomas Rojas TKO 9 Everardo Morales

(Interim WBC Super Flyweight Title)

M.E.N. Arena, Manchester, Lancashire, United Kingdom

Kell Brook TKO 3 Michael Lomax

Anthony Small TKO 8 Matthew Hall

Kevin Mitchell TKO 8 Rudy Incarnacion

Frankie Gavin TKO 2 Graham Fearn

Billie Joe Saunders TKO 2 Matt Scriven

James DeGale TKO 1 Ciaran Healy (A Gold Medal beating for Healy)

Denis Lebedev TKO 3 Enzo Maccarinelli (Buh-bye, Mac)

Amir Khan UD 12 Andreas Kotelnik (Fine race horse vs. Sturdy donkey)

(WBA Jr. Welterweight Title)

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The Weekend Hangover (July 10, 11, 12)

Friday, July 10th

Reno Events Center, Reno, Nevada, USA

Matt Remillard Ko 1 Tyler Ziolkowski

Jesse Brinkley UD 10 Mike Paschall

Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Chris Henry TKO 6 Shaun George (George started strong, but couldn't take Henry's pressure)

Matt Godfrey UD 10 Shawn Hawk (World Class fighters shouldn't carry club fighters a full 10)

Saturday, July 11th

Nuerburgring race track, Nuerburg, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

Sebastian Zbik UD 12 Domenico Spada

(Interim WBC Middleweight Title)

Felix Sturm UD 12 Khoren Gevor (Another pedestrian performance against questionable opposition for Sturm. Still, a very close win.)

(WBA Middleweight Title)

Palenque de Gallos, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico

Julio Cesar Miranda KO 1 Eric Ortiz

(IBF Flyweight Eliminator)

Cristobal Cruz UD 12 Jorge Solis (Sloppy, Sloppy, Sloppy. A total of 6 points deducted!)

(IBF Featherweight Title)

Emperor's Palace, Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa

Lovemore N'dou UD 12 Phillip N'dou

Besiktas Cola Turka Arena, Istanbul, Turkey

Selcuk Aydin KO 9 Jackson Bonsu (Impressive performance. Is Aydin the best Euro Welter since Lloyd Honeyghan or just the best of a mediocre bunch?)

BankAtlantic Center, Sunrise, Florida, USA

Antonio DeMarco KO 9 Anges Adjaho (After a slow start, DeMarco gets the win and Adjaho gets the Oscar for his "he hit me when I was down" performance)

Steve Cunningham UD 12 Wayne Braithwaite

Joseph Agbeko UD 12 Vic Darchinyan (Agbeko was never thrown by Darchinyan's awkward ugliness)

(IBF Bantamweight Title)

Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, United States

Curtis Stevens TKO 3 Piotr Wilczewski (The Polish fighter was 22-0, Stevens made him look 0-22. Easy night.)

Tomasz Adamek RTD 4 Bobby Gunn (Made Cotto-Gomez look like Gatti-Ward. Ugly, horrible, hideous...Shame on You IBF and Team Adamek)

(IBF Cruiserweight Title)

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Eddie Chambers Keeps Hope Alive

In a sterile German boxing arena, on The Fourth of July and with the total and complete indifference of his countrymen, Eddie Chambers was to be sacrificed to the next upcoming Eastern Block Heavyweight sensation, Alexander "Sasha" Dimitrenko in a WBO Title Eliminator.

It was to be a career-builder for the 27-year old Ukraine, 6'7", 253 lb. beast against a much smaller American who had come up short against Alexander Povetkin, the last time he fought an Eastern European prospect in Germany.

Unfortunately for Team Dimitrenko, somebody forgot to inform Chambers that he would be playing the role of cannon fodder.

The American underdog practically strutted to the ring with the look of someone who knew something the rest of the world would soon find out.

Chambers had obviously taken his training seriously, coming into the bout weighing 208 lbs, his lightest since 2003.

As the fight began, you could clearly notice the usual rolls around Chamber's mid-section were gone and he just looked lighter, quicker on his feet.

Dimitrenko took the first three or four rounds with black and white offense and sticking out a long jab a la Wladimir Klitschko.

Chambers, while not absorbing punishment, was obviously jockeying for position and working out a way to deal with the jab of a fighter six inches taller and 45 pounds heavier than him. He swatted hard at Dimitrenko's outstretched left arm and, in doing so, didn't allow Dimitrenko to use it as a way to keep distance.

Around the fifth round, Chambers found his rhythm and began working his way inside Dimitrenko's long reach and registering some major damage with solid body work and a wicked uppercut.

By the seventh, it was clear that Dimtrenko had bitten off a little more than he could chew and was being worn down by the American. Chambers was given credit for a knockdown in seventh, after a body blow that Dimitrenko insisted was a kidney shot.

The rest of the fight was a Chambers highlight reel with him picking the prospect apart and establishing his place among the Heavyweight elite.

Chambers scored another knockdown in the 10th with a wicked left/right combination that sent Dimitrenko's mouthpiece flying.

The last two round were characterized by Dimtrenko trying to rally with aggressive surges, but all of them ending with Chambers firing back and forcing the aggressor back into the ropes.

Two of the three judges were fair, 116-111, 117-109, with the other one, British judge Paul Thomas, scoring the fight a ridiculous 113-113 draw. The BTBC scored the bout 115-112 for Chambers.

With this victory comes the opportunity to fight Wladimir Klitschko for the WBO World Heavyweight Title and, also, the chance to finally bring a piece of the heavyweight title scene back to the United States.

It's just too bad that the American media, American boxing pundits and even the American fight fan couldn't be bothered to show the least bit of interest.

Sometimes it makes me wonder what disappeared first: The quality, American heavyweight boxer or the quality, American fight fan.

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Maidana Conquers Ortiz in Wild LA Brawl.

From Fightnews.com:

In an all out war filled with spectacular exchanges, Marcos Maidana (26-1, 25 KOs) of Universum Box-Promotion scored a brilliant sixth round KO over hometown favorite Victor Ortiz (24-2-1, 19 KOs) to claim the interim WBA super lightweight title on Saturday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Ortiz dropped Maidana during a wild exchange during round one, but was immediately floored in return by Maidana. Ortiz dropped Maidana twice at the end of round two. But Maidana hung in and turned the fight around with a huge round five, cutting Ortiz and continually rocking him with his right hand. Maidana went on the attack immediately in the sixth, flooring Ortiz again and the bout was stopped. Time was :46

*********

The source fails to mention the the ref's decision was preceeded by Ortiz practically turning his back on Maidana and indicating that he was done.

After the bout, the 22-year old Ortiz indicated that he may be considering retirement.

Maidana is now in line for a shot at the winner of the Khan-Kotelnik bout in July.

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Friday's Roundup: Molitor Bores, Jacobs Scores

Fighting with the urgency of old ladies at a Vegas buffet line, former IBF Jr. Featherweight Champ, Steve Molitor (29-1, 11 KOs) and Heriberto Ruiz (41-8-2, 23 KOs) simulated their way through 12 listless rounds of an IBF Super Bantamweight Title Eliminator.

Somehow, the judges were divided on the outcome as one judge scored it 116-112 for Ruiz and the other two had Molitor up by the same score. The BTBC had it scored firmly for Molitor, 118-110.

With the win, Molitor becomes the #2 contender for the IBF 122 lb. title that Celestino Caballero took from him last November and will face the #1 contender for either a shot at the title, or should Caballero vacate like many expect, for the title itself.

After the fight, Molitor's management said that their fighter will likely be fighting for the title by November of this year....Swell!

*********

Daniel Jacobs (17-0, 15 KOs) continued on his road to stardom by pummelling journeyman, George Walton (20-4, 12 KOs). Early on, the fight became little more than a sparring session for Jacobs who knocked Walton down in second and pretty much had his way throughout the bout.

The one-sided beating was waved off in the 8th by referee, Bobby Ferrara

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Pro Debut of George "Monk" Foreman III

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Cotto Beats Clottey in Thrilling Welterweight War!

Courtesy of the AP:

Miguel Cotto gave thousands of his fans exactly what they hoped for on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day parade.

Overcoming a cut from an accidental head butt in the third round and several brutal rounds with Joshua Clottey, Cotto fought to a narrow split decision Saturday night in a packed Madison Square Garden, retaining his World Boxing Organization welterweight title. With blood pouring down his face, Cotto, the pride of Caguas and the roughly 800,000 New Yorkers who trace their roots to Puerto Rico, threw his arms up at the end of a close bout that left the two battered.

Judge Don Trella scored the fight, 116-111, for Cotto. Judge John McKaie scored it, 115-112, also for Cotto. Judge Tom Miller scored it, 114-113, for Clottey.

The BTBC had the fight scored 114-113 in favor of Miguel Cotto.

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Fight Night Club Numero 1

by Charlie 21er

Today I had a rare day off, and decided to attend Golden Boy’s “Fight Night Club” at club Nokia, a nightclub venue located near the Staples Center. Tickets were $28, ticketmaster fees were around $10, parking was $5, and Budweiser was $8. So if you go to the next one, meet me in the parking lot for a pre-game.

Despite the unusual choice of venue, I was pleased to find that the place was small enough that there really wasn’t a bad seat (or spot, since the cheap tickets were standing room only), and when I found myself in a bad spot, I just moved a few feet over for a better view. The ring was located on the main stage, and the pit area is located a few steps lower than the surrounding floor, allowing us in the back to get a good view of the action. Security was tight, so I am not sure if the balcony seats are worth the $60, but I can’t imagine they were any worse than being on the ground floor. Overall, I was very satisfied with the view.

The turnout was also pretty good, and only got better as the night went on; considering there was a Lakers game going on simultaneously, I was surprised at how many people made it out, true fight fans. By the end of the night, the place was comfortably filled: plenty of people without feeling crowded.

Those of us who were there were treated to five fights, and a chance to see Bernard Hopkins in person (I left before he came out).

In the first bout, Ricky Lopez 4-0 (2) took on Rufino Serrano 1-1 in a decent four rounder. The first thing I noticed was that Lopez is SHORT, but it didn’t matter much. Lopez was quick to get on the inside behind an accurate right hand lead in the first two rounds, and landed good hooks when he was close enough to his man. Lopez slowed down a little in the third and was on the back foot for most of the round as Serrano came forward and fired away; nothing landed of note, really, from either guy, but I gave it to Serrano for the aggression. Round 4 was a recap of the first two rounds with Lopez countering Serrano’s looping punches. The judges scored it 40-36, all for Lopez. BTBC had it 39-37 for Lopez.

The second bout had Charles Huerta 11-0 (7) against Noe Lopez Jr. [until tonight, undefeated, but currently 4-1 (3)] in a featherweight scrap. Both fighters were cautious in the first round, with some good exchanges, but nothing of particular note landed. In round 2, Lopez went down and the referee ruled it a slip. From my position I couldn’t see a punch landed so it seemed a reasonable call, but after Lopez got up, he wasn’t the same. Huerta jumped on him and began landing the hard stuff until the bell ended the round. In the third, Huerta continued where he left off and landed a teeth-exploding right hand that resonated throughout the club (the crowd responded appropriately) and dropped Lopez. Lopez beat the count, but when the pressure was turned on again, he took a knee without being hit. After he got back up, Huerta jumped on him and knocked him down again, causing the referee to call an end to the fight at 1:03 of the third round.

Luis Ramos took it to Baudel Cardenas in a lightweight 6-rounder that didn’t go the distance. Ramos looked the best of all the fighters on the card with his smart, accurate, punching, and steady bodywork. In the first round, he nailed Cardenas with a straight left to the stomach that put him down. Cardenas gamely got to his feet, but his body was a consistent target throughout the fight. In the second, Cardenas 18-17-2 (6) showed his experience as he bullied his opponent and worked him on the inside. Ramos tied up when necessary and landed solid blows to Cardenas’ head, knocking grease into the audience. Cardenas took it rather well. This continued for the next two rounds: Cardenas doing solid work on the inside, Ramos getting his distance and rocking Cardenas’ brain and mixing it to the body. Round five looked like a repeat of the last three, until the last minute when Ramos backed Cardenas against the rope and fired a quick 1-2 upstairs that dropped Cardenas along the ropes to the canvas. Cardenas looked out of it as his mouthpiece fell out of his mouth and he crawled to all fours. The ref waved it off at 2:26 and Ramos advanced to 11-0 (6)

In the main event, another six rounder, David Rodela 13-1 (6) and Juan Garcia 14-3 (5) went at it for the coveted “Quakerstate Durability Championship Belt,” the same one you could get a picture taken with in the corner (along with two HOT-T-T ring card girls). Despite the belt on the line, the fight was pretty good. The first two rounds went to Rodela as he used his jab smartly and worked Garcia to the body. Round three went to Garcia as it seemed that Rodela abandoned his jab in favor of powerpunches. Garcia avoided a lot of them and found his range, staggering Rodela at the end of the round. Rodela decided not to hang on, and instead fired back until the bell. Good stuff. In round 4, Rodela hit Garcia with a bomb that caused him to bend over at the waist against the ropes. It looked like he was going down, and Rodela backed off…until Garcia decided that he wouldn’t go down and Rodela jumped on him again with uppercuts. It reminded me of Jack Dempsey hovering over Jess Willard, except in this version Willard comes back, and Garcia recovered, somehow, and continued to exchange until the end of the round. In the last two rounds, Rodela kept looking for a knockout and Garcia just got in close and countered the wild punches from Rodela. Rodela was awarded a split decision. BTBC had it a draw. Judges Ray Corona and Alejandro Mapula were on drugs with the ridiculous score of 59-55 for Rodela.

After the cameras turned off, we were treated to the last bout between Ramon Flores 3-5 (3) and Jose Roman 4-0 (3). Flores knocked Roman down in the first round, but Roman recovered quickly and boxed smart. Flores was clearly the cruder of the two, and frequently missed wide punches, hooks from the outside and Darchinyan uppercuts that weren’t accurate in the least. In round two, I wrote down “ZERTUCHE-PAVLIK!!! GOTZ-DAMN!” in my notebook, because Roman clocked Flores along the ropes and put him to sleep on his feet. Flores turned off like a robot and teetered forward for a second before Roman went to town and put a few hard uppercuts and hooks into his head for good measure. Flores was done-for, and lay on the canvas for a solid 5 minutes before they had him up on a stool. A stretcher was used to extricate him from the premises, and just as well, because that guy was on queer-street, and will probably be there for a few days still.

Overall, a good time. $28 is a solid price for the fun of watching a live card with excited fight fans. Apparently there was a $1000 bonus for the two fighters who put on the best fight, this may have influenced the fighters, because all 5 bouts were pretty action packed. There will be a “Fight Night Club” once a month for the next 3 months. Check it out, and drink in the parking lot.

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