July 2006 Boxing recap

HBO Boxing After Dark

In the Main Event we witnessed the return of "Vicious" Vivian Harris and possibly the end of Stevie "Lil but Bad" Johnston. Vivian was in control for the majority of the contest but Stevie showed the heart of a champion by pulling himself off the deck three times and taking the fight right back to his younger, stronger foe. Even though he kept getting knocked on his butt, Stevie stayed cool and had spots where he was giving the youngster a bit of a boxing lesson. Harris power was just too much for the 5'5" Johnston who was constantly caught trying to squeeze his way inside. The fight ended in the 6th with both of Stevie's eyes swollen shut. the vision might have been gone but not the desire to fight although the referee had seen enough and called a halt to the contest. Vivian did look very sharp and had some pop in his gloves. I won't be surprised to see him in a major fight soon.

In the opener, Joshua Clottey and Richard Gutierrez ripped off vicious body shots at each other with lots of low blows and clinches mixed in. Points were deducted, Heads were butted, I was waiting for a manager to come running in with a steel chair when the ref wasn't looking. It was like an ECW style boxing match. Not to say it wasn't enjoyable at times but the next time I want to see two guys fight dirty it better be the Sandman vs. Sabu.

Roy Jones boxes the socks off of Prince Badi

I don't know if anyone actually bought this pay per view but all reports say the Roy Jones Jr. gave "The Boxing Prince" a serious lesson in Boise. This leads me to believe that Roy won't hang them up just yet.

ShoBox Super Middleweight Tournament

Showtime out together a tournament of eight unknown Super Middleweights hoping to find a diamond in the rough. The first half of the first round came off with mixed results. In the opener, Henry Buchanan beat Lucas Green Arias by unanimous decision. While it was a clear cut victory, the fighters left the ring to a parade of boo's because of the boring action. In the second fight, Jean-Paul Mendy smoked Dallas Vargas scoring a 1st round stoppage after landing a 8 punch flurry two minutes into the round. Vargas looked totally outclasses from the opening bell and Mendy applied the pressure all round. Next week the opening round comes to a conclusion as Sakio Bika takes on Jose Luis Herrera and Anthony Hanshaw goes head up with Estaban Camou. Hopefully the action will be more lively and competitive.

ESPN Friday Night Fights

I only caught bits and pieces of it and it looked to be a decent fight between Sultan Ibragimov and Ray Austin although it ended up in a draw. Sultan floored Austin in the first but couldn't seal the deal. The winner was supposed to be in the running for a shot at Wladimir Klitschko's IBF title. Now not only are the titles a mess, they can't even get the contender situation in order. I saw boxing needs to get rid of the draw, it sucks. If the cards are even at the end of a fight, bring both guys out for the 13th round. The fans would love it and I would think fighters would give it their all to pull out the victory.

Boxing debuts on OLN

The inaugural segment of OLN's "Fight Night" has come and gone and I have to say overall it was a solid show. The night started with Philly middleweight Anthony "The Messenger" Thompson taking on Mohammed Said. This fight was a real stinker for the first 6 rounds and was dangerously close to putting me to sleep. Something clicked in the 7th as both fighters turned into street brawlers. Thompson's finally let his hands fly and for once was impressive in the ring. He connected with about 20 straight shots. Said took them, backed Thompson into a corner and fired off a few of his own. The 8th round was more banging and Thompson's hand speed was evident. In the 9th, The Messenger landed a three punch combo to Said's chin putting him out for the count.

In the Main Event, NABF Middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik took on boxing fossil Bronco McKart. McKart looks like a real dirtball and is exactly the type of fight Pavlik needed. An old grinder that will bang it out with you for a little while. While the commentators tried to hype McKart up as a potential player, you had to know he was a hand picked opponent. This was a very exciting fight for the first four rounds. Pavlik would bang inside, McKart would fire back. McKart just seemed to give up after that. in the end he just dropped for no apparent reason, maybe exhaustion, maybe something else. Either way he hit the deck in the 6th and didn't return to his feet intil the post fight interview to kiss Pavlik's ass. Can we say McKart did the "job"?

Also on the card was Philly tough guy Omar Pittman who scored one of the best Knockouts of 2006 with a short left to Victor Paz jaw leaving him rolling around the ring unable to get to his feet.

Kid Diamond also punished some scrub for about 6 rounds.

ESPN Wednesday night fights

We finally get an exciting fight from an ESPN card! In the main event Eliseo Castillo seemed to be on his way to scoring a 1st round knockout over Johnathon Banks, putting the Kronk gym farmhand on his ass twice in the first minute and a half of opening frame. Banks held on (literally) for the remainder of the round and survived a final bum rush from Castillo. From the second round on, Banks boxed effectively keeping Castillo at a distance with the jab and was also able to land a few stiff right hands. In the fourth, Banks confidence was high and went in for the kill landing a flush left - right combo putting the more experienced Castillo on his back and out for the count. Banks raises his pro record to 11 - 0 (9) Give his trainer Emmanuel Steward a big assist on this win.

The opening bout saw knockout artist David Tua back in action against a hand picked tomato. The boo birds were out early as the Tua Man was shaking off some ring rust. Not much excitement in the second either until Tua cleaned the guys clock with his patented left hook. The outmatched Ed Gutierrez did manage to beat the count and lasted until the 4th when Tua pumped that same left hook into his liver knocking the opponent to the canvas and possibly causing a few internal organs to explode. The Tua Man bumps his record up to 45 - 3 - 1 (39 ko). There is definitely still some rust but we did see shades of the man who starched Michael Moorer in 19 seconds and made quick work of everyone's least favorite fighter John Ruiz.

We got our first taste of "Kid Chocolate" Peter Quillan and the New York native passed the test as he smoked Ohio's William Prieto (last seen winking at ring girls at the Blue Horizon a few weeks back) in 66 seconds.

Two females were on the card and they weren't terrible. Unbeaten Cindy Serrano was put to the test against the corn rowed Tawnyah Freeman and both fighters showed some skill in the ring. Serrano was the more polished on the two moving around and putting punches together but Freeman hung in there and threw a few chageups of her own making Serrano work. Serrano rightfully won by unanimous decision but the NY judges didn't show Freeman any love on the score cards where as I thought she took two rounds.

The card ended with a stinker as Jorge Teron won the rematch against journeyman Armando Cordoba. Teron moves to 11 - 0 - 1 (8ko)

The Contender episode 2

In the second episode, Philly's Aaron Torres was shown the door by Gary Balletto. it seemed to be a pretty good fight but then again they all do with the editing that goes on. Maybe ESPN should do that for more fights because they have been putting on some stinkers lately. It was a good episode with the usual fight build up. That Balletto has a nice family, I have to say.

It looks like my pick to win it all Grady Brewer will step into the ring next episode. Some in the house have been pretty much calling him a soft chump but I guess they haven't boxrec'd this guy or they would see he has brought the fight to the likes of Jermain Taylor, Sechew Powell, Kelly Pavlik, and Anthony Thompson among others. All of which would whoop anyone on that show. Kick some ass Grady!

Baldomir crushes Gatti

Carlos Baldomir once again pulled off the upset in his opponents backyard, this time dismantling the 8 - 5 favorite Arturo Gatti in front of a sellout crowd in Atlantic City NJ. Baldomir was up on all scorecards heading into the 9th round when he had Gatti on the ropes and scored with a big left hook during a fiery exchange to put the Atlantic City icon on his back. Gatti beat the 10 count but didn't have much left in the tank as Baldomir applied another beating putting Gatti out for the count and into possible retirement.

It was obvious from the beginning that Gatti just could not hurt Baldomir. Tata knew he was the stronger of the two and was willing to suck up punches in order to dish a few of his own out. The first few rounds has its share of exciting moments as Gatti would fire off big shots but Baldomir was also there to return the fire. With the win, Baldomir silenced all the whispers of being a fluke and has to be recognized as a legitimate champion in the sport. So what is next? Baldomir says he wants Floyd and that fight might just happen. other possibilities are Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto. Maybe this time Baldomir can defend the belt on his home turf and get a big fat paycheck in the process.

On the under card

Undefeated Philly heavyweight Malik Scott won an easy unanimous decision over Marcus McGee
Giovanni Lorenzo also stayed perfect scored a 6th round TKO over Byron Mackie


Mosley knocks out Vargas!

Sugar Shane left no room for speculation in the rematch as he dominated Fernando Vargas live on HBO pay-per-view. Throughout the fight Mosley was constantly quicker to the punch working inside and outside with a mix of rights and lefts to the head and body before landing a fierce left hook in the 6th to put the Mexican tough guy on his back rolling around the ring. Vargas did manage to beat the 10 count but Shane was on him like bad breath leaving the referee no choice to to put a halt to the contest. You can see the knockout right here in the video clip section.
It was a very impressive performance by Mosley, a fighter who many thought would lose in the rematch. Almost all ringside overseers scored every round in his favor. He says he is going to take some time off and move down in weight but when he returns, you best believe that it will be for big money against a big name opponent.

On the undercard....

Daniel Ponce De Leon starched Sod Looknongyangtoy in the 1st round with right hand that damn near killed the man. Sod laid unconscious for a full minute after the fight. See the fight in the video clip section. www.phillykeith.com
Juan Diaz handled Randy Suico and scored a 9th round TKO
Rock Allen continues to impress winning a very lopsided decision over Henry Mitchell.
Bennie Tackie scored a 9th round knockout over Wifredo Negron in a battle of grizzled ring veterans.

Litzau scores an impressive 1st round KO

In the latest segment of ESPN's Friday Night Fights, Minnesota prospect Jason Litzau starched his last second replacement opponent with a devastating right hand leaving this poor fella on his back in need of medical assistance. While the competition wasn't the best, Litzau still showed the makings of a future champion and on top of that, makes for fan friendly television.


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Cory Spinks wins the IBF Junior Middleweight Title!

Cory Spinks returned to the ring after a 17 month layoff and took the IBF Junior Middleweight Title from Roman Karmazin in a very good bout televised live on Showtime. Spinks was fresh off of an embarrassing loss to Zab Judah and returned to fight in his hometown to restore his status as an elite fighter in the game.

The loss didn't stop Spinks from usual antics entering the ring, this time he was accompanied by Hype Mike and danced his way down the aisle. Karamzin topped that by coming to the ring with AC / DC "Highway to Hell" blarring over the speakers. After the pre fight shenanigans both men stepped in the ring and were ready to do battle.

The southpaw Spinks was dominant in the early going throwing his right jab, following it with the straight left and using his renown footwork to elude the charging Karmazin. Through 5 rounds, it looked like Spinks would cruise his way to the title. But there was no quit in the Russian attacker. Karmazin finally was able to time his opponent and begin to land solid punches to Spinks head and body. Through 10 rounds what looked to be a blowout was becoming a very close fight. Even after an inspiring, ghetto love speech by his corner man Kevin, Spinks was gassed out down the stretch and in the 12th gave his best Winky Wright impression by running away from his foe thinking he had secured the win with the work put in early in the contest. Karmazin was on the attack in the 12 and tried to put Spinks away but was unable to finish the job.

As the final bell rang, the fight went to the scorecards. The results were a majority decision win for Spinks by two scored of 115 - 113 with the third judge scoring it dead even at 114 - 114. When the win was announced, Spinks put on possibly the funniest post fight win celebration ever by falling to his knees and crying tears of joy.

Jim Gray was in the ring for the post fight interview where Spinks pulled himself together to credit the rugged Russian and say he wants a fight against De La Hoya or Mosley. Gray blew it by not interviewing Spinks corner man Kevin who was very entertaining between rounds. Hey Kev, if you read this, I'd be honored to do an exclusive interview with you.

With the win, the middleweight division gets much more interesting. No one expected Spinks to jump back on the scene. The timing is excellent was well because many fight in the division are happening now and in a few months plenty of name fighters will be looking for opponents. Vargas, Ouma, Winky, Taylor, Mayweather, Margarito, just to name a few will be ready to fight again soon. Either way, we were reminded of just how good Cory Spinks can be.

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Blue Horizon results 07-07-06

Photos by Jay McGuigan

The Blue Horizon was open for hurt business once again, this time featuring young hopefuls on a card consisting of five – four rounders and a six round main event. Joey Abell was promoted to headliner and was ready to give hell again. This time found himself mixed up in a good ol’ fashioned rumble with Mark “Oaktree” Brown. Fight game newbies Jamie Morales and Chris Plebani went the distance in a 4 round barn burner that exemplified what the Blue Horizon is all about. Tel Aviv transplant Elad Shmouel has been cake walking through competition that is softer than 2 ply Charmin since he began fighting the in USA. No more in Philly is what PA boxing commish Greg Sirb told the Shmouel camp after his last fight, demanding that he step up the competition. Tonight he found himself opposite Marcus Luck whose style gave the Kosher Pit Bull trouble in the early going. Rounding out the night was Dave Peterson who tried to stay perfect coming into the night with three knockouts in three tries. Tim Witherspoon trainee Jesse Blunt was also on the card against Ohio native William Prieto who was looking to play spoiler. Here is the blow by blow report.

Heavyweight Action
Joey Abell ..........vs......Mark “Oaktree” Brown
Minneapolis, MN ........ Salem, NJ
6 – 0 (6) ........................7 – 0 (3)

The word is starting to spread about the power of Joey Abell. In his first fight at the Blue back in February, he broke a guy’s leg with a left hook to the jaw. In April, it only took him a minute to have medical personnel rushing to the aid of his opponent. The fans were buzzing during the intermission wanting to find out if he was for real. His opponent, Mark “Oaktree” Brown is no slouch. The Salem NJ native brought a perfect 7 – 0 record and is built as his moniker would suggest. While the fight didn’t last long, Oaktree did give Abell some trouble in the first. He took the fight right to the Minnesota strong man and won the first round with his mix of strength and punch volume. In the second round, Brown made the mistake of pissing Abell by landing a clean right to the face. The look of a stone cold killer was back in Joey’s eye and he became the bully of the fight, throwing Brown out of clinches and packing everything into those punches. Once Brown felt the power, you could see the fight was over. Brown made the mistake of back peddling into the corner and was caught by a straight right that put him on his back and under the ropes. Good night Mark Brown, Joey Abell raises his record to 7 – 0 with 7 kayos. While I love watching Joey Abell knock people silly, it is time for him to step it up. Hey Elbaum, put him in against Chazz Witherspoon or Eddie Chambers!!!!!

Joey Abell vs Mark Brown fight photos








Light Welterweight
Elad Schouel .......vs. ..... Marcus Luck
Tel Aviv, Israel .............Danville, VA
13 – 1 (8).........................6 – 10 (3)

It is without question that Elad Shmouel packs some pop in his mitts. With that being said, his 13 – 1 record has come against some suspect opponents. Marcus Luck can not be mistaken for a big name contender but to his credit he was a viable opponent. Luck was in control early, using his speed landing punches in spurs and dodging Elad as he came forward. Luck started to fade in the third and Elad’s pressure style began to pay off as he was able to land some hard punches. In the final frame, Elad was in control as Luck as visibly gassed out. The Pitbull was landing punches all over the ring and Luck almost went down from pure exhaustion. To Lucks credit he did try to fight back but was unable to land anything in the later rounds. Elad won by a majority decision with two judges seeing the fight 39 – 37 and 38 – 37. while the third scored the contest 38 – 38. I also scored the fight dead even at 38 – 38.

Elad Shmouel vs. Marcus Luck fight photos







Junior Welterweight
Jamie Morales .... vs..... Chris Plebani
Camden, NJ ...................Bristol, PA
2 – 1 (1).......................... 0 – 0

Not much was expected when Bristol PA’s Chris Plebani made his professional debut against Camden NJ native Jamie Morales, but when it was all said and done the two put on the type of fight that makes the Blue Horizon legendary and matchmakers famous. There is not a boxing fan on earth that wouldn’t have enjoyed this fight. It is one of those very rare occasions where I wish it ended in a draw. Four rounds of toe to toe back and forth slugging with a high connect percentage. No clowning, no showboating just straight fisticuffs. Both fighters had moments where they were on the verge of scoring a knockout and also dangerously close to being on the receiving end of one. Plebani is like a sparkplug in the ring, very explosive and seemed to fire off punches in bunches. Morales was a bit more disciplined, working both downstairs and upstairs, being patient and was willing to take a few punches so he could dish a few out. Morales experience paid off in the end as Plebani wore down a bit in the fourth as Morales was able to keep the pressure on high connecting with rights and lefts to the body and face. The fight went the distance and Morales got the duke by split decision with scores of 39 – 37 & 39 – 36 in his favor with the third judge seeing it 39 – 37 for Plebani.

Jamie Morales vs. Chris Plebani fight photos




Middleweight
Dave Peterson ........ vs..... Darius Hunter
Mounds View, MN .............Philadelphia, PA
3 – 0 (3)............................... 2 – 5

Minnesota native Dave Peterson cruised to a unanimous decision victory against the more experienced Hunter. Peterson showed the ability to put punches together and some agility in the ring. Hunter did give it his best but that just wasn’t enough to put the first blemish on the Minnesota native’s record. In the first both men tried to exchange with nothing landing clean. Peterson steps up the pressure as the round ends with combos to the body. The pace slows back down in the 2nd as Peterson picks and lands punches. Hunter took it to the streets later in the round firing off punches and escaping as Peterson tried to counter. A slow thrid round followed and in the final frame, Hunter tried to work the body early. Peterson responded with his own work downstairs forcing action to the ropes where a late flurry sealed the deal for his fourth win.

Dave Peterson vs. Darius Hunter fight photos








Jesse Blount .......vs......William Prieto
Philadelphia, PA ........... Ohio
2 – 0 (1) ..........................1 – 0

William Prieto came to the ring followed by the worst theme music ever played. His opponent Jesse Blount on the other hand came to the ring backed by former World Heavyweight champ Tim Witherspoon. Who do you think was favored in this one? Well things don’t always work out as expected in the great sport of boxing and this fight proved that theory true as Prieto outboxed Blount for four rounds en route to a rather easy unanimous decision victory. Prieto spent most of his time circling Blount and using his speed to his advantage. Blount didn’t throw much and when he did, he wasn’t landing. By the end of the fight Prieto was clowning around in the ring throwing slap punches and winking at the ring girls.

William Prieto vs. Jesse Blount fight photos







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Brock beats Ibragimov Quintana handles Julio

I have to give HBO credit for trying something new so I will let them slide for the boring segment of Boxing After Dark. Getting undefeated prospects to fight each other is virtually impossible these days and they managed to get two fights like this. In theory it was a very good idea because everyone loves a prospect and two of the fighters on the card were building some serious buzz in the business. Unfortunately in boxing when you get your hopes up you are usually disappointed. The fireworks that were sold turned out to be duds, there weren't any explosive moments in either fight and on top of that, we were forced to once again put up with Fran Charles and his horrible commentary.

The first fight of the night featured Joel Julio, the Columbian knockout artist who was recently plucked from the Showtime stable of fighters. ESPN's Dan Rafael pegged him as the 2005 prospect of the year, Jim Lampley was live on the air last week saying he was a fighter you just have to see. While the suits at HBO were praying that he impressed, he was handled rather easily by the lesser known Carlos Quintana who stays perfect at 23 - 0. There were no knockdowns and not many fiery exchanges, Quintana controlled the pace throughout and showed the ability to put punches together. Julio did show a few flashes but just couldn't handle an opponent who knew how to box. Quintana wasn't overly impressive but did do enough to earn another televised fight against a more established name opponent. I personally would like to see him fight Luis Collazo but a fight against Ricky Hatton isn't completely out of the question either. The Welterweight division is pretty open right now, Jodah is gone for a while, Mayweather is always moving in weight for the big money fight. The only constant at the moment is the Gatti - Baldomir fight set for July. so this is the perfect opportunity for an unknown fighter to make a name for himself, we will see if Quintana can do it.

The headliners were a couple of the hopefuls in a clustered Heavyweight division. "The Boxing Banker" Calvin Brock has beaten the best of the rest in the heavyweight in the division but has yet to get in there with a big name. On this night he was set to due battle against Timor Ibragimov, an undefeated Russian who earned 21 wins against very soft competition. Brock has been talked about for quite some time now and there were whispers that he could be the next challenger for Wladimir Klitschko and the IBF title. A big performance on his first nationally televised fight would have sealed the deal for a pay per view headline slot and lots of money. I think this match was a victim of the old saying styles make fights. While Brock clearly won this contest, it wasn't very entertaining. Ibragimov was like a big slug and couldn't force the action. Brock seems to be better when facing a quicker fighter who will let the hands fly.

While this wasn't Calvin's best performance, I still feel that he deserves a crack at a major title. I mean why not? Owen Beck got a shot at a belt last month and what the heck did he do to deserve it....... ever? If Brock can't seal the deal for a fight against Klitschko, he might not get his chance for quite some time. The WBC title is tied up for at least the next year with Rahman set to face Oleg Maskaev in April and the WBC has already named James Toney as the mandatory for the winner. The WBA champ Nikolay Valuev just had knee surgery and will be out of action for a little while. Besides that, he is promoted by Don King which means he will have every softy imaginable rolled out in front of him. Rumor has it that Monte "Two Guns" Barrett will be the next challenger for the WBA title. John Ruiz is still creeping around there too. The WBO belt might be a possibility, there is some Lamon Brewster has a rematch clause with Sergei Liakovich. Brewster is still recovering from a detached retina from their April thriller and probably will not be able to fight for another couple of months. There is talk of a fight against James Toney which will bring in a lot more cash then against Brock. My opinion, try to get the title shot but if that doesn't happen fight Sam Peter to find out who the real number one contender is in the division.


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