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Alexander-Bailey Added To Oct. 20 Barclays Card

Published

12 years ago

September 20, 2012

Goldenboy DEVON ALEXANDER VS. RANDALL BAILEY IBF WELTERWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ADDED TO BROOKLYN BOXING EXTRAVAGANZA AT THE NEW BARCLAYS CENTER SATURDAY, OCT. 20; LIVE ON SHOWTIME

Fourth World Championship Bout Added To Historic Fight Card In The Boxing Rich Borough of Brooklyn

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK (September 19, 2012) – The IBF Welterweight World Championship bout between Devon Alexander and Randall Bailey has been added to boxing's debut event at Brooklyn, New York's Barclays Center on Saturday, October 20. An already star-studded fight card now features four compelling world championship bouts with titlists in the 140, 147 and 160-pound divisions defending their belts. An undercard featuring the most promising and talented New York fighters rounds out a historic night as world championship boxing returns to Brooklyn for the first time since 1931. Alexander vs. Bailey, a 12-round bout for Bailey's IBF Welterweight World Championship, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with The Great Promotions and DiBella Entertainment and will be part of an unprecedented four-title-fight telecast on SHOWTIME.

The fight was originally slated for Saturday, Sept. 8 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, but was postponed when Bailey suffered a back injury. “We are thrilled to not only be re-announcing this hard-hitting matchup, but also to be able to add it to the already powerful night of boxing planned for Barclays Center on October 20,” said Oscar De La Hoya, president of Golden Boy Promotions.

“With four world championship fights and a great undercard to kick off a new era of boxing in Brooklyn, this show is going to be like the Super Bowl of boxing and definitely will be a night to remember.” “I really didn't think the Barclays Center event could get any bigger, but that is exactly what has happened,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports®. “It's been our strategy at Showtime to increase the quality and the quantity of our boxing coverage. For this network to televise four title fights on one night, not on pay-per-view, demonstrates the commitment we've made to our subscribers and to boxing fans. Thanks to the promoters and to Devon and Randall for bringing this fourth fight to the table. What a special night this will be for these talented fighters, for Brooklyn and for the sport of boxing.”

“We are extremely excited to be apart of this boxing extravaganza,” said Kevin Cunningham, CEO of The Great Promotions. “Brooklyn has produced some of boxing's biggest stars, so it's an honor to get this opportunity.”

“Randall is the hardest puncher in boxing and he is a true champion,” said Lou DiBella, president of DiBella Entertainment. “If Devon Alexander wants his belt, he is going to have to take it and withstand the hardest right hand in the sport.”

“A night of this magnitude is made for Brooklyn,” said Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark. “Barclays Center is launching its first boxing event with an unprecedented four-title-fights in one night. Brooklyn has raised some of the greatest world championship fighters and it deserves an event of this caliber.” Devon Alexander “The Great” (23-1, 13 KO's), no stranger to facing and beating powerful knockout artists as evidenced by his last two wins coming against current World Champion Lucas Matthysse and former World Champion Marcos Maidana, has the skill and will to baffle any opponent he faces. An eight-year professional who held both the WBC Super Lightweight and IBF Junior Welterweight World Titles before losing them via a controversial and close technical decision to Timothy Bradley in 2011, the proud 25-year-old St. Louis native has since reinvented himself at 147 pounds. After his big wins over two of Argentina's best in Maidana (W10) and Matthysse (W 10), Alexander is looking forward to proving himself once again by beating Bailey and becoming a two-division world champion. “The opportunity to be a part of this piece of boxing history means a lot to me,” said Alexander. “Randall Bailey and I have some unfinished business and I plan on starting the night off right for all of the fans watching at the new Barclays Center and at home on SHOWTIME. I am going to walk away as the IBF Welterweight World Champion on October 20.” A veteran of more than 16 years in the professional game, Randall Bailey (43-7, 37 KO's) has not slowed down a bit at age 37. In fact, if his recent one-punch knockout of previously unbeaten Mike Jones in June is any indication, he may be more powerful than ever. The Miami resident has always had a gift for blasting out anyone who stood in his line of fire. Bailey utilized his trademark power to claim his first world title in 1999 when he knocked out Carlos Gonzalez for the WBO Junior Welterweight World Championship in just 41 seconds. In 2002, Bailey won a second title by knocking out Demetrio Ceballos, but his victory over Jones earlier this year for the IBF Welterweight crown, which extended his unbeaten streak to five in a row, may have been the sweetest win yet. Now, he looks to defend that title for the first time on October 20, in Brooklyn. “I am so happy to be able to get back in the gym and continue to train,” said Bailey. “At my age you can't take anything for granted and injuries are harder to overcome, but I am totally healed and ready to shock the world again by beating another young fighter like Devon Alexander. I said I would knock Devon Alexander out before and I am going to say it again. It's going to be a great fight.” In the evening's main event, unbeaten Danny “Swift” Garcia defends his WBA Super, WBC & Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Championships as he rematches with legendary Mexican warrior and future Hall of Famer Erik “El Terrible” Morales. In the evening's other co-featured bouts, also to be televised live on SHOWTIME, Brooklyn's own Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi puts his WBA Welterweight World Championship on the line against hard-hitting Pablo Cesar “El Demoledor” Cano and undefeated, number one rated WBO middleweight contender Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin of Manhattan takes on unbeaten Hassan N'Dam in a 12-round battle for N'Dam's WBO Middleweight World Championship. The undercard is stacked with a bevy of New York's best including Brooklyn's hot middleweight prospect Daniel “The Golden Child” Jacobs, former World Champion Luis Collazo, the Bronx's rising star Eddie Gomez, former world title contender Dmitriy Salita and Brooklyn prospect Boyd Melson. The fights will mark the first event of the previously announced deal between Barclays Center and Golden Boy Promotions under which at least 12 boxing events per year will be hosted at the new sports and entertainment venue. The inaugural night of fights at Barclays Center is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Box Latino and supported by Golden Boy Promotions sponsors Corona, DeWalt Tools and AT&T with N'Dam vs. Quillin being presented in association with Asventure Promotion and Alexander vs. Bailey being presented in association with The Great Promotions and DiBella Entertainment. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins live at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Preliminary fights will air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

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The Sweet Science

Articles

2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

8 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

The WBC World Super Featherweight title bout between Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura came on one of the biggest boxing stages of 2015, as the bout served as the HBO pay-per-view’s co-main event on November 21st, in support of Miguel Cotto vs Saul Alvarez.

Miura entered the fight with a (29-2-2) record and he was making the fifth defense of his world title, while Vargas entered the fight with an undefeated mark of (22-0-1) in what was his first world title fight. Both men had a reputation for all-out fighting, with Miura especially earning high praise for his title defense in Mexico where he defeated Sergio Thompson in a fiercely contested battle.

The fight started out hotly contested, and the intensity never let up. Vargas seemed to win the first two rounds, but by the fourth round, Miura seemed to pull ahead, scoring a knock-down and fighting with a lot of confidence. After brawling the first four rounds, Miura appeared to settle into a more technical approach. Rounds 5 and 6 saw the pendulum swing back towards Vargas, as he withstood Miura’s rush to open the fifth round and the sixth round saw both men exchanging hard punches.

The big swinging continued, and though Vargas likely edged Miura in rounds 5 and 6, Vargas’ face was cut in at least two spots and Miura started to assert himself again in rounds 7 and 8. Miura was beginning to grow in confidence while it appeared that Vargas was beginning to slow down, and Miura appeared to hurt Vargas at the end of the 8th round.

Vargas turned the tide again at the start of the ninth round, scoring a knock down with an uppercut and a straight right hand that took Miura’s legs and sent him to the canvas. Purely on instinct, Miura got back up and continued to fight, but Vargas was landing frequently and with force. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to stop the fight at the halfway point of round 9 as Miura was sustaining a barrage of punches.

Miura still had a minute and a half to survive if he was going to get out of the round, and it was clear that he was not going to stop fighting.

A back and forth battle of wills between two world championship level fighters, Takashi Miura versus “El Bandido” Vargas wins the 2015 Fight of the Year.

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Jan 9 in Germany – Feigenbutz and De Carolis To Settle Score

Published

8 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

This coming Saturday, January 9th, the stage is set at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany for a re-match between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni De Carolis. The highly anticipated re-match is set to air on SAT.1 in Germany, and Feigenbutz will once again be defending his GBU and interim WBA World titles at Super Middleweight.

The first meeting between the two was less than three months ago, on October 17th and that meeting saw Feigenbutz controversially edge De Carolis on the judge’s cards by scores of (115-113, 114-113 and 115-113). De Carolis scored a flash knock down in the opening round, and he appeared to outbox Feigenbutz in the early going, but the 20 year old German champion came on in the later rounds.

The first bout is described as one of the most crowd-pleasing bouts of the year in Germany, and De Carolis and many observers felt that the Italian had done enough to win.

De Carolis told German language website RAN.DE that he was more prepared for the re-match, and that due to the arrogance Feigenbutz displayed in the aftermath of the first fight, he was confident that he had won over some of the audience. Though De Carolis fell short of predicting victory, he promised a re-vamped strategy tailored to what he has learned about Feigenbutz, whom he termed immature and inexperienced.

The stage is set for Feigenbutz vs De Carolis 2, this Saturday January 9th in Offenburg, Germany. If you can get to the live event do it, if not you have SAT.1 in Germany airing the fights, and The Boxing Channel right back here for full results.

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Articles

2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

8 years ago

December 29, 2015

The Sweet Science

On May 9th of 2015, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez delivered a resonant knock-out of James Kirkland on HBO that wins the 2015 KO of the Year.

The knock-out itself came in the third round, after slightly more than two minutes of action. The end came when Alvarez delivered a single, big right hand that caught Kirkland on the jaw and left him flat on his back after spinning to the canvas.Alvarez was clearly the big star heading into the fight. The fight was telecast by HBO for free just one week after the controversial and disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, and Alvarez was under pressure to deliver the type of finish that people were going to talk about. Kirkland was happy to oblige Alvarez, taking it right to Alvarez from the start. Kirkland’s aggression saw him appear to land blows that troubled the young Mexican in the early going. Alvarez played good defense, and he floored Kirkland in the first round, displaying his power and his technique in knocking down an aggressive opponent.

However, Kirkland kept coming at Alvarez and the fight entered the third round with both men working hard and the feeling that the fight would not go the distance. Kirkland continued to move forward, keeping “Canelo” against the ropes and scoring points with a barrage of punches while looking for an opening.

At around the two minute mark, Alvarez landed an uppercut that sent Kirkland to the canvas again. Kirkland got up, but it was clear that he did not have his legs under him. Kirkland was going to try to survive the round, but Alvarez had an opportunity to close out the fight. The question was would he take it?

Alvarez closed in on Kirkland, putting his opponent’s back to the ropes. Kirkland was hurt, but he was still dangerous, pawing with punches and loading up for one big shot.

But it was the big shot “Canelo” threw that ended the night. Kirkland never saw it coming, as he was loading up with a huge right hand of his own. The right Alvarez threw cracked Kirkland in the jaw, and his eyes went blank. His big right hand whizzed harmlessly over the head of a ducking Alvarez, providing the momentum for the spin that left Kirkland prone on the canvas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez went on to defeat Miguel Cotto in his second fight of 2015 and he is clearly one of boxing’s biggest stars heading into 2016. On May 9th Alvarez added another reel to his highlight film when he knocked out James Kirkland with the 2015 “Knock Out of the Year”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

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