BTBC House Fighter Update

It's time for a House Fighter update, as the best prospects in the game are getting busy turning into contenders and title challengers. Nate James (Heavyweight), Troy Ross (Cruiserweight) and Lamont Peterson (Junior Welterweight) have yet to fight under the House Fighter banner. Here's a track record of every fight involving a House Fighter so far.

Results

January 29 - Erislandy Lara TKO-10 Grady Brewer (Junior Middleweight)
February 13 - James DeGale TKO-2 Matthew Barr (Super Middleweight)
February 13 - Nathan Cleverly TKO-5 Antonio Brancalion (Light Heavyweight)
February 27 - Mike Jones UD-10 Henry Bruseles (Welterweight)
March 12 - Kell Brook TKO-5 Krzysztof Bienias (Welterweight)
March 27 - Daniel Jacobs RTD-1 Jose Miguel Rodriguez Berrio (Middleweight)

BTBC House Fighter Record: (6-0, 5 KO)

Schedule

April 2 - Erislandy Lara vs. Danny Perez (Junior Middleweight)
April 10 - Lamont Peterson vs. Damian Fuller (Junior Welterweight)
April 17 - Mike Jones vs. Hector Munoz (Welterweight)
May 1 - Daniel Jacobs vs. TBA (Middleweight)

Erislandy Lara fights Danny Perez on Showtime tonight, hoping to win for the second time under the BTBC banner. Keep checking the forum for more House Figher polls as we keep climbing down the weight classes.

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Maidana Crushes Cayo In Six

Las Vegas, Nevada - Marcos Maidana (28-1, 27 KO) knocked out Victor Manuel Cayo (24-1, 16 KO) with a sweet body shot in the sixth-round to end a very entertaining contest controlled largely by the Argentinean knockout machine.

Cayo started well, staying disciplined on the outside and winning the opening round, despite Harold Lederman giving it to Maidana. The second started off pretty much the same, until Maidana began to find his helpless target, who crumbled under a rocket right in the second.

Maidana could smell blood and stalked Cayo to every corner of the ring as he tried to end the fight there and then. Cayo however, landed the cleaner punches in the round, but Maidana's greater activity topped every bit of good work Cayo did in the third.

Cayo gave up fighting on the back-foot and joined Maidana in the center of the ring for a brawl that had an air of Arreola-Minto about it, but half the weight. Maidana, acting as the thinner Arreola, was catching Cayo, who played Minto pretty well, flush with nearly every single power punch thrown, but Cayo was game as he managed to weather the onslaught to survive the fourth and began to get back into the fight in the fifth.

Maidana calmed down at the beginning of the sixth, which sent Cayo negatively into retreat, which ultimately proved to be his downfall. Maidana only needed to land one crisp body shot, and that was it. Cayo's resilience had been broken by something relatively new to Maidana's various choice of weapons, as he's become a much improved body puncher. The scores at the time of the stoppage were 49-45, 49-45 and 47-47, which shows that Cayo was competitive in one judge's eye.

Maidana is primed for a title tilt against Amir Khan, but I highly doubt that Team Khan will want anything to do with Maidana after this performance, which I rank up there with Ortiz. Maidana is definitely a top 10 junior welterweight, maybe even top 5, so the future is bright for the Argentinean, who could face Devon Alexander if Khan backs out.

For Victor Cayo, he can return home with his head held high. He gave a credible performance, slugging it out for six rounds against a fierce puncher in Maidana, who's up there with Ediwn Valero and Arthur Abraham as the pound-4-pound biggest puncher in the sport. I wouldn't be surprised to see Cayo challenging for a title again, but I don't think it will be anytime soon.

BTBC House Fighter Daniel Jacobs (19-0, 16 KO) kept up his impressive run for our House Fighters as he destroyed overmatched and an overweight Jose Miguel Berrio (20-5, 12 KO) who quit on his stool after only one round of action. It was a stay busy fight for Jacobs, who'll be looking to make big strides in 2010.

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The BTBC House Fighters (Cruiserweight, Super Middleweight, Middleweight, Jr. Middleweight, Welterweight)

The members of The Boxing Tribune Blue Corner (BTBC) decided to make 2010 personal by selecting a house fighter to follow in each weight class.

The BTBC House Fighter, as voted by the members of the community, is the fighter that most represents our community through either style, attitude or ability.

To avoid the label of front-runner, The BTBC has limited their choices for house fighter to only those who have yet to receive a world title shot.

Good luck to those fighters selected for this honor...the full support of boxing's pound for pound best fan forum is behind you every step of the way. Make us proud!

The votes were close, but have been tabulated for our next division winner and here are the winners:

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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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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!

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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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