Keepin' it real
Philly 8 time cut man of the year Joey Eye takes a few minutes before the start of the fights to talk some boxing with Philly Keith!
Labels: Joey Eye Boxing, Philly Keith Video
posted by Philly Keith at
12:49 AM
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Eric "Outlaw" Hunter talks to me & Kurt Wolfheimer of Fight News to let us know what is going on in his career these days. At this time, Hunter is 9-1 featherweight after an amateur career that saw 180 wins to only 3 defeats. Hunter recently signed with the newly formed TKO Boxing Promotions.
Labels: Eric "Outlaw" Hunter, Philly Keith Video
posted by Philly Keith at
11:51 PM
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Philly Keith Sports Fight TV series interview with WBF Heavyweight champion Mark "Oaktree" Brown. Very entertaining.
Labels: Mark Oaktree Brown, Philly Keith Video
posted by Philly Keith at
11:45 PM
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Derek "Pooh" Ennis talks to Kurt Wolfheimer of Fight News immediately after his unanimous decision win over Clarence "Sonny Bono" Taylor.
Labels: Derek Ennis, Kurt Wolfheimer, Philly Keith Video
posted by Philly Keith at
11:40 PM
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photos by: Tony Gargano / www.pixgargano.com
For the first time in 2009, it was fight night in Philly. After almost 6 weeks of inactivity in this town, it was finally time to watch the pros throw down. The venue was the fabled fight hall on the corner of Swanson & Ritner, the one and only New Alhambra. But this particular event had a mysterious air about it for weeks. On a typical fight night here, fans would come to see a card by the Fairmount Hall of Fame boxing promoter, J. Russell Peltz. This time around, I knew that I wouldn't be greeted by a smiley lady with the cool hat or a witty comment contradicting a statement made on this site. That was a given. On this night, it was Greg Robinson and his newly formed Xtreme Productions running the show. That's cool, he is a known promoter in these parts, but people were asking, why him? why here? why now? Those were the burning questions asked by those who cough up their hard earned cash to pay the steep ticket fees. Something was up but nobody was talking. Omerta...Philly boxing style... Gotta love it.
Labels: Clarence "Sonny Bono" Taylor, Derek Ennis, Joel Rios, Kamarah Pasley, Lenny DiVictoria, Lou Rodriguez, Ray Ellis, Ronald Cruz, Ryan Belasco, The New Alhambra, Xtreme Productions
posted by Philly Keith at
3:52 PM
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Ken Hissner checks in with the "Sweet 16 of Philly Boxing Prospects. This features 16 of the young and hungry with less than 16 pro fights. There are some very notable names, decorated amateurs, a few surprises and a couple of omissions. Check out the complete list here. http://www.phillykeith.com/phillysweet16.htm
posted by Philly Keith at
11:15 PM
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Power Productions kicks off the 2009 Philly fight year on January 16th at The New Alhambra in South Philly. The undercard is still unsettled but the main event and co-feature are etched in stone. I have all four contestants giving their side of the story. In the main event, PA State Jr. Middleweight champ Derek "Pooh" Ennis (16-2, 12ko's) is scheduled to take on local veteran tough guy Clarence "Sonny Bono" Taylor (12-19, 6ko's) of Delaware for a scheduled 8 rounder. Things looked shaky at the start of the week as Bono's longtime trainer, Derrick Hoey, was tragically shot and killed over the weekend which could understandably call for Bono to reconsider taking this fight. But Bono told me personally that he plans to fight on despite the personal tragedy. It is official so the breakdown goes like this. In 2008 Ennis rebounded from a bad end in '07, where he was unexpectedly KO'd, to the tune of a 4-0 record and putting himself back in striking distance of a significant televised fight on the national level. Ennis last outing was icing on the cake as it was his most complete performance as a pro, boxing a 10 round masterpiece over the 20 win vet Troy Browning to claim the state title and a portion of the USBA title. It was a big step forward. While few will doubt his offensive skills, some still wonder if he has the beard to make it to the big time. His last loss came in this very building in the summer of '07 in a fight he was highly favored to win. If he can avoid the big punch, he has the skills to make a nice run in this sport. His opponent Bono on the other hand has lost 8 of his last 10 fights since winning a portion of the WBC title early in 2007. With that being said, Bono's bar room tough guy record only tells a part of the story. He will give you an honest effort and usually makes his opponent fight hard for the duration. Let's not get it twisted, Ennis is a HUGE favorite here, but this is Philly boxing and strange things always seem to happen. But hey, I only speak from the ring apron, click below to hear it from the guys who will be in there getting it on!
Sonny Bono
In a nice piece of matchmaking, the co-feature is said to have Delaware's Ryan Belasco (8-2-3, 2ko's) taking on Philly's Lenny DeVictoria (11-12-1, 3ko's) in a 6 rounder. Both fighters, at times, have been outstanding in the ring. There have also been a few occasions where both fighters have come in unprepared and laid a couple of duds. DeVictoria's record is a misleading as he has taken on some of the best young, undefeated prospects this sport has to offer. Most memorably, he knocked off the then highly regardless Elad Shmouel in Philly's 2007 fight of the year. Most recently, he fought to a draw against the rather ordinary Ricardo Media. Belasco on the other hand is cut from the cloth of his fellow Delaware fighters. Tough, has good fundamentals, and is willing to fight but no special skill that jumps out at you. Early in his career, problems of running out of gas attributed to draws and losses in fights he very well could have won. It looks like he has found a cure as he has gone deep into fights lately and looked fresh near the end, particularly against the boxing barber Victor Vasquez in one of the best of 2008. Both men had ample time to prepare for this fight so there should be no excuses. This is definitely an interesting contest, as these are two of the top guys locally fighting at 140 lbs. Expect some sparks to fly in this one as both men are usually happy to trade leather with an opponent.
Listen to both fighters tell it themselves
In Other Action...
Junior Welterweight Tyric "Too Sweet" Robinson (9-3, 3ko's) returns to the ring looking to erase memories of his latest outing against Jason Cintron which ended in a one sided loss. No opponent has been announced. Once Too Sweet ranked in the top 5 of the Philly Keith pound for pound list. Lets hope the real Too Sweet shows up for this one instead of the guy we saw last time.
Philly lightweight Ronald Cruz will make his pro debut against Joel Rios (1-4, 1ko) of Puerto Rico.
Heavyweights Kamarah Pasley (0-3)and John Carlisle (0-1) , both of Philly, will battle it out as both seek their first wins as a pro.
Lou Rodriguez of The Philly Rumblers Boxing Club is scheduled to make his awaited pro debut after a false start back in October when his opponent fell out last minute. He will take on Ray Ellis who is also making his pro debut.
A light welterweight scrap between two fighters with their only win coming by way of the dirt nap face off as Allentown's Eluid Torres (1-0-1, 1ko) takes on the challenge of Pleasantville, NJ's Omar Brito (1-0, 1ko) over 4 rounds of promising action.
Cleveland lightweight Miguel Gonzalez (1-0, 1ko) is not on the card due to being unable to find an opponent.
For tickets call 267-687-7560 or 267-809-0057
Labels: Clarence "Sonny Bono" Taylor, Derek Ennis, Joel Rios, Kamarah Pasley, Lenny DiVictoria, Lou Rodriguez, Philly Rumblers Boxing Club, Ray Ellis, Ronald Cruz, Ryan Belasco
posted by Philly Keith at
1:22 AM
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Once again, Mike Jones gave crowds their moneys worth as he continued his rise from local prospect to world rated contender. This year, Jones got soem real exposure as he headlined cards on major networks such as Telefutura and ESPN's Friday night fights, coming out on top every time. Late in the summer Jones added his first piece of hardware to the collection when he KO'd Brazil's Juliano Ramos to become the NABF Welterweight champion. To end the year, Jones scored a crushing KO on national TV when a nasty left hook made Luciano Perez do a 180 into the ropes then on his ass. Watch out for Jones in 2009 as he is getting very close to landing a significant fight, most likely against on of his undefeated peers in a loaded welterweight division.
After sitting out of the ring for almost a full year, "King" Gabriel Rosado returned with a vengance in the middle part of 2008. His first order of business was to redeem himself by making quick work of Joshua Onyango, a fighter who decisioned Rosado a year earlier. After a pit stop at The New Alhambra a few weeks later, Rosado went back out on the road, this time going to Brooklyn as a huge underdog to fight NYC resident James Moore on ESPN's Wednesday Night Fights. This night turned out to be Rosado's coming out party as he dropped, and eventually went on to beat the previously undefeated, ticket selling Irishman. Rosado finished 2008 as the chief sparring partner for Bernard Hopkins as B-Hop prepared for, and eventually demolished, Kelly Pavlik. It will be interesting to see how 2009 shapes up for Rosado.
Teon Kennedy followed up on a good first year with a solid progress in year two. Fighting four times in 2008, Kennedy started off the year by stepping up the competition and cruising through a decision win against Castulo Gonzalez. It was in fight two where Kennedy made his loudest statement when he blew out the previously undefeated Thomas Snow of Baltimore in less than two rounds. He capped off the year easily decisioning two more journeyman which put him within striking distance of a USBA title shot in the Super Bantamweight division.
Seriously, where did this guy come from in 2008? Though technically he didn't perform in Philly, what Lucian Gonzalez did in the outskirts of the city is definitely worth mentioning. Entering the year equipt only with a one way ticket to journeyman-ville, Gonzalez reeled off 5 straight wins and a questionable draw against Jules Blackwell in a fight many thought he won. His shining moment came in October as he accepted a fight on about 8 hours notice against Ireland's featherweight champion and convincingly beat him. Lucian capped the year with a solid win over durable vet Robert De Luz and now many people are hoping to see Gonzalez fight Teon Kennedy for the state title.Labels: "King" Gabriel Rosado, Lucian Gonzalez, Mike Jones, Teon Kennedy
posted by Philly Keith at
4:35 AM
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Philly boxing 2008... overall it was another good year but in the same breath it has to mentioned that there was a significant drop off in the amount of action as only 17 professionally sanctioned cards happened in this year. Most nights were solid though we did have a few duds and also a few memorable barn burners. Through my eyes, there was no clear cut fight of the year winner in 2008 so I will not designate one particular match. Instead, I will highlight some of the best performances of the year. As always, it is open to discussion, feel free to comment if you agree, disagree, omissions etc. At some point in 2009, www.phillyboxinghistory.com will give out the Briscoe Awards which will recognize one fight as the best of '08. Visit the site and cast a vote there if you wish.
This 10 round Super Middleweight fight capped off the most action packed boxing card in Philly for the year 2008. The state title was on the line and the then newly signed Rasheem Brown was thought to be put in prime position for a career push after recently returning from a lengthy layoff. Wilson on the other hand did not come to lay down. Brown started strong and it looked to be an easy night but Wilson came alive taking the middle rounds and both men went toe to toe down the stretch to cap off a non stop action bout. The only disappointment in this one came outside of the ring, as 3 blind judges scored only one round for Wilson on the offical cards while everyone in press row agreed that this fight was even money that could have gone either way. Regardless of the outcome, this fight proved once again that when you match two Philly fighters against each other, the fans are always in for a treat!
Coming into this fight, Delaware's Ryan Belasco was looking to erase the stink of three consecutive sub par performances and Philly's Victor Vasquez was taking his first real test against an area known fighter with a record above .500. While most thought it was a solid fight when it was announced, few expected to be treated to such an action packed rumble. It was give and take with Belasco carrying a slight lead as he was able to effectively box the non stop Vasquez. Belasco's non stop jabbing caused Vasquez left eye to swell like a ballon, leaving the referee no option but to stop the fight and the commision no choice but to order a 6 month medical suspension. Vasquez is back, medically cleared to fight and wants a rematch "sooner, rather than later". I have a feeling that Russell Peltz will be putting this together very soo
When this one was signed, you just knew it would be a close fight. At the time, Gee recently pulled out a few tight majority decision wins while Wilson was on the wrong end of a quite a few razor thin decisions. In this one, Gee put on a boxing clinic early, Wilson showed his grit in the middle and final rounds were tooth and nail. Fittingly, this fight could have gone either way and ended in a majority decision for Culmer who after the fight earned the designation of PA's #1 Super Middleweight contender slot by the state athletic commision. Click the link to watch this fight in its entirety on Go Fight Live. 
On a national level, recognition goes to Steve "USS" Cunningham, who may have lost his IBF Cruiserweight title, but in the same breath won over millions of fight fans for his show of heart against Tomasz Adamek live on Versus. Cunningham won a lions share of the rounds but was also knocked down 3 times in this non stop slugfest between two of the worlds best. A rematch just has to be in order. The TV demand and money will be there you can be assured of that. The only liability here is if Adamek decided to hide.
Last but certainly not least, recognition has to be given to Philly's main representative in the sport of boxing, Bernard Hopkins for his one sided spanking of Kelly Pavlik over 12 rounds in a fight where next to no one was giving him a shot in hell to win. Once again, people were saying he was too old or he was slowing down just as they did before his fight against Antonio Tarver and even before that in his fight against Felix Trinidad. On this night, B-Hop reminded the world that it is a terrible mistake to under estimate the Germantown native.Labels: Gee Culmer, Jameel Wilson, Mario Mina, Pedro Calla, Philly Boxing Awards, Rasheem Brown, Ryan Belasco, Victor Vasquez
posted by Philly Keith at
1:43 AM
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On January 4th, 2009 Wilkes Productions will host a "Salute to Philly Boxers" at Oshiever Hall at 3901 Market Street. This night is intended to serve as an award ceremony for the people in the boxing community as well as an opportunity for boxers and fans to get together for a good time. Start time is 6pm, tickets are $30. For more information call 215-222-7127. There will be a special honoring for the recently retired referee Frank Cappuccino who has served as the third man in the ring for over 50 years in a career that covered over 10,000 professional matches and 94 world championship bouts in North America, Europe and Asia. Bring a gift if you like.
posted by Philly Keith at
5:40 PM
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I write, I watch, I listen. 30 years young, born and raised in Fairmount.
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