LaJuan Simon to compete in an IBF eliminator in German on Saturday!

photo by Ed Mulholland / www.fightwireimages.com

Philly Middleweight contender Lajuan Simon (21-1-2, 12 KOs), once again heads out to Germany for an important fight in the divisional standings. This time he will square off against Sebastian Sylvester (30-3, 15 KOs), of Greifswald, Germany for a twelve round IBF middleweight eliminator at Max Schmeling Halle in Berlin, Germany. Simon, ranked #10 by the IBF, and Sylvester, ranked #5, will battle for the vacant #2-spot in the IBF rankings. The shot is a reward of sorts for Simon, who fought tooth and nail with IBF world champion Arthur Abraham in a title challenge last March, only to lose a lopsided decision. Many neutral observers felt that Simon deserved perhaps a draw. Sylvester dropped a decision to Felix Sturm in a WBA title challenge last November, but bounced back to win the IBF International title in his next bout. FightNews correspondent Rick Sharmberg stops in with an interview with the one they call "simply Marvelous" Read it here http://edmulholland.com/galleries/scharm_interview/simon_inter.html

Check back for a live internet stream. I will post it if it becomes available....

Talk about it on the forum here http://phillykeith.com/fightforum/index.php?topic=813.0

USS Cunningham eyes rematch with Adamek, faces Braithwaite on July 11th to get it!

Talk about it here on the forum http://phillykeith.com/fightforum/index.php?topic=706.0

For half a year now, former IBF Cruiserweight champion Steve "USS" Cunningham's boxing career has boiled down to just one word.....REMATCH!!!!

The fans want it, he wants it, his team wants it. It has been well documented that Cunningham lost his belt by split decision in a thriller against Tomas Adamek back in December. Since that controversial night when USS hit the deck three times but rose to his feet and seemingly out boxed his opponent every other round, he has been calling for a chance to avenge this loss. Adamek's camp high-tailed it out of Newark that night and have been deflecting all talk of another date with USS ever since, instead taking matches against much easier opponents.

While the sanctioning bodies have no ordered a rematch, they have given the Southwest Philly native and former naval officer the opportunity to get his rematch the old fashioned way, by winning an eliminator bout against another highly rated contender. So to get his gloves on the Polish sensation, Cunningham (21-2, 11ko's) must first get past Wayne "Big Truck" Braitwaite (23-3, 19ko's) on July 11th in Sunrise, Florida for a scheduled 12 rounder to determine who will officially become the IBF's #1 contender and mandatory challenger. This assignment is no easy one by any means as the 6 foot tall Ghana man has gone deep rounds with some of the divisions best, though never mustering up enough offense to come home with a W.

Like the old saying goes "you can run but you can't hide". If USS gets the win here like I think he will, Adamek will have lock horns with Cunningham or forfeit his belt. Let's hope these two follow up their initial fight which got strong 2008 Fight of the Year consideration. Time will tell but first we must stay focused on the topic at hand. Cunningham will have to overcome ring rust as he hasn't fought since that night in Newark. To formulate the proper game plan, word on the street is that Team USS has hired the very highly regarded Naazim Richardson to serve as his trainer.

Unfortunately, the big-wigs at Showtime will not air this fight on TV even thought it is on the undercard of a televised show. If any sort of internet stream becomes available, I will let you know.

Kaseem Wilson inks a big fight for July 11th in Newark, Jones vs Mosley rescheduled for Aug 8th

Rewind back to October 18, 2006.... On the corner of 25th & Brown in the Fairmount section of the city, it was announced that Hall of Fame promoter J. Russell Peltz made a move to replenish his aging stock of fighters. On this day he agreed to promotional deals with five area boxers, all but one had less than fifteen pro fights under their belt. Each fighter inked that day were serviceable but it was crystal clear that the crown jewels of this batch were a shifty 20 year old southpaw named Kaseem Wilson who was a former state amateur champion and a lanky 23 year old welterweight Mike Jones who was not a great amateur but captivated fans imaginations early in his pro career due to his exciting knockout power. Both young men's record stood somewhere around 5-0 at the time. Out of the two, most boxing insiders dubbed Wilson as the one who would be the better pro. Three years later, there is one one loss between the two but both careers are football fields apart.

Anyone who knows anything about the recent state of Philly boxing knows that Jones (17-0, 15ko's) has become the clear cut #1 active prospect in this city with his foot on the door step of being a certified contender in a deep Welterweight division.

Wilson sports a very good record himself at 12 -1 but that one loss was the result of an awful outing in 2007 "step-up" fight which led Wilson going on a year hiatus, in turn causing many to jump off the bandwagon. The man who goes by the ring name of "The Nightmare" quietly returned to the ring in December of '08 and has reeled off three consecutive wins, most recently an uncharacteristic one round starching of 21 win veteran Louis Lejia of Texas. The wins are adding up but the stink of his loss is still lingering in some peoples noses. But like the wise boxing man once said, "a fighter can learn more from one bad loss than they can from 10 easy wins".

On July 11th, Kaseem Wilson puts that statement to the test and show what he is all about when he challenges the highly regarded Henry Crawford (21-0, 11ko's) in Crawford's backyard of Newark, NJ. It's a must win for both Welterweights as Crawford is fighting for a world rating while Wilson has an opportunity to show that he is for real. Russell Peltz went on the record to say "This is a spot for Kaseem to step up to the plate and make some noise. He knows I'm his biggest critic but that's only because I want him to fight up to his potential. When he and Mike Jones turned pro in 2005, gym guys told me Kaseem was the better prospect. Things did not turn out that way but Kaseem is still young. He was getting by early on talent without putting in the time and his out-of-the-gym lifestyle left a lot to be desired. His performance against Russell Jordan was a disappointment--not that he lost but the way he lost. He's says he's changed. Crawford is not the biggest puncher in the world and I don't really care that the fight is in Newark, NJ. Good fighters don't let those things bother them. When the house lights go down and the ring lights go up and the ref says "seconds out" it will be simply Kaseem Wilson against Henry Crawford in that space. Wilson has the talent to win the win--now let's see if he has the grit and the drive and the mental strength to get the job done." It's definitely an interesting fight, stay tuned for more info on this one.

As for Jones, his continuously postponed match-up against Larry Mosley (15-3-2, 6ko's) of LA has found a new date, August 8th at Bally's casino in Atlantic City. This marks the third try to get this rumble on as Mosley has to pull out once due to a back injury and Jones had to pull in the latest try with a bicep injury. If it does go off as planned, Jones will look to improve his rank in three major sanctioning bodies and win over a new audience. This will mark Jones second defense of the NABA Welterweight title that he won in Philly back in November of 08. In his first defense, Jones blitzkrieg'd Columbia's Dario Esalas who lasted a mere 2 rounds at The Blue Horizon. Larry Mosley is well rounded fighter with a resume of good competition over this years but hasn't never been able to get over the hump as a pro. More info to come on this as well. For tickets to either event call 215-765-0922

Big changes for July 10th, ESPN now coming to The Arena!

Talk about it on the forum herehttp://phillykeith.com/fightforum/index.php?topic=840.msg6106#new

In a strange, sudden, yet welcome turn of events, ESPN2 Friday Night Fights will come to The Arena Philly on July 10th piggyback style as two big name promoters (Burchfield & DiBella) with a locked TV date held the contracts to two important fights but were suddenly without a place to call home. After considering options in remote places like West Virginia, they decided come to the best fight town on earth and partnered up with a virtually unknown outfit called Shalite Promotions who have never had their name hanging from the banner before. The newcomers are off to a good start and this is one of those situations where everyone wins.

Now, the fans can see 11 fights with the TV portion being the highly regarded Matt Godfrey who will take on the undefeated Shawn Hawk for the NABF Cruiserweight championship in the new 12 round main event. The co-feature will be a Light Heavyweight match between surging Shaun George and Chris Henry in a scheduled ten round affair. Though none of these guys have any local connections, both main event and co-feature are evenly matched with high stakes.

The fight this page cares about is the one between North East Philly undefeated Lt. Heavyweight Tony "Boom Boom" Ferrante (7-0, 4ko's) challenging California's Billy Bailey (8-3, 3ko's) for the WBC USNBC Light Heavyweight title on July 10th. ESPN should make this the swing bout because it is a good fight, especially compared to the crap they been putting on lately. Ferrante has the hometown following and climbed the ladder in these parts, slowly but surly improving his game. After some early career decision wins, Boom Boom has knocked out his last 3 opponents. On the other hand Bailey was thought to be easy pickings when he first came to this town earlier this year as the last second B side replacement in a fight with this minor title at a stake. Like a Fishtown burglar, he took the hardware in less than 5 minutes and got out of dodge fast, leaving many to believe he would never been seen or heard from again in this area. Now he is back to the scene of the crime, will this be a fatal mistake or will be able to escape with Ferrante's most prized possession, his 0!

Local Jr. Middleweight Derek Ennis (17-2-1, 12ko's) has also been added to the card. No opponent has been named and the list of possibilities don't seem to post much of a threat. It's time for Pooh and his team to make a move and knock off a known name instead of shutting out another journeyman!

In a six round Super Featherweight affair, Coy Evans (4-0-1) of Philadelphia will take Darrell Martin (4-9-1, 1ko) of Baltimore.

Jackie Davis, 1-0 (1ko), a protege of "Mighty" Ivan Robinson will take on Rachel Clark (2-1, 2 KO’s) of Colombia, South Carolina in a four round ladies only Welterweight bout.

The very Popular Olivia Fonseca (2-2-2, 1 KO) of Philadelphia returns after a ten month hiatus when she takes on the capable Lisa Bolin (2-2, 2 KO’s) of South Carolina in a four round Welterweight bout.

Middleweight Derrick Webster (1-0) of Glassboro, New Jersey looks to follow up on a good debut when he takes on Roger Locklear (1-2) of South Carolina in a four round bout.

In a battle of pro debuting Heavyweight, Kareem Harrison of Philadelphia takes on Winston Thorpe of North Carolina.

Also making his pro debut will be Angel Ocassio in a four round Lightweight bout.

Farah Ennis wins in Maryland!

On June 19, 2009 Germantown's Farah Ennis (11-0, 5ko's) went to Salisbury, Maryland to put his spotless pro record on the line and won an 8 round unanimous decision over the previously undefeated Bobby Jordan (6-1, 2ko's) of Virginia in what turned out to be the evenings most competitive two-way contest.

It pace was slow and steady in the beginning as both seemed to be conserving energy for the first 8 rounder of their career but after round 4 these two got at it. It was close down the stretch but Ennis clearly took the final two rounds, combating an aggressive Jordan with movement but also staying in the pocket when the time was right to land stiff combinations upstairs. Ennis also showed some chin as he was hit cleanly more than once but never appeared to be in trouble.

Ennis continues make his case as one of the best young fighters coming out of the city. You can judge for yourself by coughing up $5 and going to www.prizefighttv.com where you can watch this entire card.

Tony Ferrante to box Billy Bailey @ The Arena

Talk about it on the forum http://phillykeith.com/fightforum/index.php?topic=826.msg6083;boardseen#new

Word out of North East Philly is that undefeated Lt. Heavyweight Tony "Boom Boom" Ferrante (7-0, 4ko's) will get to challenge California's Billy Bailey (8-3, 3ko's) for the WBC USNB on July 10^th @ The Arena in South Philly. All indications point towards it being a go though I haven't gotten any confirmation from a promoter. If it does happen, it is an interesting match. Ferrante has the hometown following and climbed the ladder in these parts, slowly but surly improving his game. After some early career decision wins, Boom Boom has knocked out his last 3 opponents. On the other hand Bailey was thought to be easy pickings when he first came to this town earlier this year as the last second B side replacement in a fight with this minor title at a stake. Like a Fishtown burglar, he took the hardware in less than 5 minutes and got out of dodge fast, leaving many to believe he would never been seen or heard from again in this area. Now he is back to the scene of the crime, so will lightening strike twice? Stay tuned for more info.

Danny Garcia blows through Miranda in 2 rounds on ESPN!

Talk about it on the forum http://phillykeith.com/fightforum/index.php?topic=820.0

Some saw it as a step up but in the ring it was still a complete mismatch as Philly's "Young Swift" Danny Garcia barely broke a sweat in San Jose this Friday when he blew out Mexico's Pavel Miranda in 2 rounds in the opening bout of this weeks edition of ESPN2 Friday Night Fights. Miranda tried in the beginning but once he tasted the speed of the young Jr. welterweight prospect, he packed it in, especially after being floored by a perfectly times left - right combination to the face. Miranda got up but the pummeling got worse as Garcia scored another knockdown which left the referee no choice but to wave off the contest at the :52 mark of round 2. .

Nice showcase win for Garcia who improves to 13 - 0, 8ko's. Hopefully it won't be much longer until we see him locking them up with name opponents who can give him more of a test.

Miguel Cartagena strikes again,wins USA Nationals in Denver!

"Miguel did it again" says Javier Varella, head of the Philly Rumblers Boxing Club when he called to inform me that 16 year old amateur Miguel Cartagena won the USA Boxing nationals at 106 lbs with a 7-5 win over Hawaii's Garen Rabellizsa. on Juner 13, 2009

This marks the second national tournament that North Philly's Cartagena has won in the past month. He took the national Golden Gloves in May with an impressive showing in Salt Lake City Utah.

There is no stopping now because The Philly Rumblers are headed to Milan Italy to capture a world championship at the end of the summer.

Congrats to the Cartagena's, trainer Varella and the entire Philly Rumbler BC team down at B & Allegheny on putting together one of the most impressive amateur runs in recent memory.

Bernard Fernandez also gives Miguel a shout in the 6/18 issues of the Daily News http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/boxing/20090615_Philly_s_Cartagena_wins_national_title.html

Danny Garcia to co-feature on Friday Night Fights this week! Interview is in!

This week on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights, look for North Philly's rising welterweight prospect Danny "Swift" Garcia (12-0, 7ko's) to get his first taste of national exposure when he competes in the 8 round co-feature against Pavel Miranda (16-3, 8ko's) of Mexico.

Garcia, a former amateur standout and Olympic alternate trains out of the Harrowgate Gym with some sparring at Billy Briscoe's Oven mixed in. He career is guided by some of the industries heaviest hitters with the promotional end handled by Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, and management handled by Shelly Finkel who has quite a few world champions on his books.

Since turning pro in late 2007, Garcia has stayed very active in the ring and during this time slowly but surely increasing the level of competition. Many truly believe that is he keeps his head on straight, we have the makings of a star who can be within title contention as early as next year. If that is true, this is a fight he must win convincingly. Find out for yourself by tuning into the deuce at 9pm this Friday night!

Click the picture to hear the interview with Danny & father / trainer Angel.

Talk about it on the forum here http://phillykeith.com/fightforum/index.php?topic=820.0

The Technician disassembles Gonzalez over 8, Poore gets back in the money in AC!

Talk about it on the forum here http://phillykeith.com/fightforum/index.php?topic=774.0

photo by Chris Sembrot / http://www.chrissembrot.com/

Peltz Boxing returned to Atlantic City for the first time in years on June 6th and a standing room only crowd packed the Bally's ballroom to see Teon "The Technician" Kennedy (13-0, 5ko's) continue his rise with a strong 8 round decision win over Reading PA's Lucian Gonzalez in the evenings main event. It was a contest that many have called for over recent months and when this was all said and done, Kennedy left no doubt of who was the better fighter during this very solid contest that kept a good pace throughout.

It looked like it would be a war in the opening round as both fighters immediately met in the middle of the ring and trades short hard punches at close range. Gonzalez was very game but the tide began to turn in round three as Kennedy maintained a steady work load while Gonzalez started to slow down as try to use the ring. The Technicians ferocity would not let his opponent off the hook as he stalked and generally out landed his foe for the duration of the fight. It eventually went to the scorecard which read 80-72, 77-75 and a more accurate 78 - 74 in favor of Kennedy who inches his way closer to a crack at a 122 lb USBA super bantamweight title fight.

The co-feature pitted two undefeated Middleweights prospects against each other for 8 rounds and in the end Somers Point, NJ's Pat Majewski (11-0, 7ko's) won a unanimous decision over Philly's Latif Mundy in a fight that had moments of good two-way action. Majewski started off strong, walking straight in and continuously throwing punches as Mundy out-slicked himself, bobbing and weaving but not offering a whole lot in return. It got interesting in round 3 as Majewski scored a clean knockdown. Mundy got up and the fight continued though Majewski stayed in control until round six. Around that point, Mundy opened two cuts over his opponents face which leaked through the rest of the bout. Mundy finally stepped on the gas down the stretch, winning the final two rounds as Majewski started to fade but it was too little too late. The fight went to the score cards which all were in Majewski's favor by scores of 78-73, 77-74 only to be followed by a ridiculous 80-71 by judge Barbara Perez who should be immediately fitted for a pair of trifocals.

In Heavyweight "Big" John Poore of Upper Darby is back in the money as he grinded out a hard fought unanimous decision over Rochester's Jermell Barnes in their 6 rounder. Poore looked extremely rusty early but as the fight went on he picked up the pace and began to find his range on an opponent who looked to score a knockout. It was a very close contest and both fighters gave the fans their money worth. Say what you want about Poore, he is never in a bad fight- win or lose. Immediately after the fight Don Elbaum was vigorously campaigning for a John Poore - Joey Abell showdown, saying "it will be the biggest heavyweight fight of this century!!!!" The quote might have been coming from his rear end, but the fight itself is a very interesting possibility and one everyone at ringside agreed is a fight they would love to see. If it does happen, I will tip my cap to the matchmakers who put it together. Main event, state title (Abell qualifies in my eyes), Blue Horizon. LET'S DO IT!

It was West Philly vs. North Philly earlier in the night and West sides Garrett Wilson scored the knockout of the night with a fierce right hook on the ropes which left his opponent Louis Robinson down for the count. Until that point Robinson was game though Wilson was ferociously stalking and digging to the head and body with hooks through out. Good showing for Wilson let's see him again!

Philly welterweight Ardrick Butler continues to improve, scoring a knockdown and winning a unanimous decision over Rashad Boger who also had moments of his own. Butler looked a lot calmer than previous fights and stayed in his groove for longer stretches this time which was the deciding factor in this closely contested battle.

lightweight Osnel Charles, Atlantic City, NJ, won his pro debut by unanimous decision over Luquan Lewis, Wyandanch, NY, in a 4 rounder.

Jose Guzman, Bronx, NY, won a majority decision over Eliud Torres, Allentown, PA, in their 4 rounder

Photo Gallery by Chris Sembrot www/chrissembrot.com

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