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Micky Ward Wins Boxing Writers Award For Integrity; Plus Tidbits
By a vote of the officers and board of directors of the Boxing Writers Association of America, the recipient of the 2010 James A. Farley award for “Honesty and Integrity in Boxing” is Micky Ward.
Ward, a tough junior welterweight from Lowell, Massachusetts, compiled a career record of 38-13 (27 KOs). He is best known to boxing fans for his legendary trilogy with Arturo Gatti, fights that were the final three of Ward’s career, the last being on June 7, 2003.
The movie “THE FIGHTER,” based on Ward’s career is a serious contender for Academy Awards honors. As a result, Ward has transcended his sport and is now known to the mainstream public. He has been a fan-friendly fighter both inside and outside the ring, going out of his way to accommodate the public.
Ward, 45, fought with integrity throughout his career. He never made excuses when he lost and never gloated after a victory. As brutal as his legendary battles with Gatti were, the sportsmanship both men displayed was exemplary. An unlikely friendship ensued and Gatti enlisted Ward’s services as his trainer for the final fight of his career.
Ward will be honored at this year’s BWAA dinner. The date and venue are to be announced.
SHUMENOV FIGHTS JOPPY AFTER BRAEHMER “RUNS” OUT OF TOWN
SHYMKENT, Kazakhstan (Jan. 7, 2011) – Despite the unannounced departure from Kazakhstan of WBO champion Juergen Braehmer, WBA/IBA Light Heavyweight Champion Beibut Shumenov decided not to allow the devastating news derail his homecoming as a World Champion when he defends his titles Saturday night against 3-time world champion William Joppy in the 12-round main event at the Ice Mansion in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.
Failing to notify the promoters and his refusal to be examined by the federation doctor in Shymkent, Braehmer returned home to Germany on Tuesday claiming a case of diarrhea prevented him from facing Shumenov in a Unification bout.
Shumenov (10-1, 6 KOs) will now put his titles on the line against 3-time world middleweight champion William Joppy (39-6-2, 30 KOs), who was in Kazakhstan and scheduled to fight Saturday evening against WBA No. 6 and Interim PABA light heavyweight champion Gayrat Ahmedov (15-0-1, 10 KOs).
Click the link for an interview with Shumenov’s head trainer, Kevin Barry, regarding Braehmer and Joppy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HetyFQzYtOw
“I trained too hard for Braehmer and will not disappoint my fans and many dignitaries, including the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, attending this sold-out show,” Shumenov explained. “I’m putting Braehmer in the rear view mirror and intend to get right back on track defending my titles against Joppy, who I applaud for accepting this fight, and focus on collecting the other world light heavyweight titles.”
“The Unification” is being presented by Goossen Tutor Promotions and KZ Event Productions. Shumenov owns and operates the Las Vegas-based KZ Event Productions along with his brother, Chingis, and is promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions.
Also fighting on Saturday night’s card are three boxers fighting under the KZ Event Productions banner: WBA No. 13 welterweight Ravshan Hudaynazarov (13-0, 11 KOs) vs. former Mexican welterweight champion Jose Luis “Chelin” Cruz (41-7-2, 33 KOs), WBA FEDALATIN Welterweight Championship; former Kazakhstan National amateur champion Alexandr Zhyuravskiy (9-0, 7 KOs) vs. Ruben “Modern Day Warrior” Galvan (27-14-4, 10 KOs), WBA International Championship; and Ahmedov (15-0-1, 10 KOs), vs. Dzhizak Abdullakimov (13-4, 3 KOs), Interim PABA and WBA International Championships.
For additional information about go online to www.goossentutor.com or www.KZEventProductions.com.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Jan. 6, 2011) — Fresh off a historic year in combat sports, Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc., is ready to kick off 2011 in style at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
Live professional boxing returns to Uncasville, Conn., on Friday, Feb. 4, 2011, as CES presents “Block Party” at the Mohegan Sun Arena. CES’ first show of 2011 features the best talent from various New England neighborhoods, headlined by Providence, R.I., super middleweight Vladine Biosse (9-0, 4 KOs) and also starring New Haven, Conn., super middleweight Elvin Ayala (20-5, 9 KOs) – CES’ newest acquisition – and Ledyard, Conn., light heavyweight Brian Macy (5-1, 2 KOs) in his long-awaited return.
“This is an exciting card from top to bottom,” CES president Jimmy Burchfield said. “There’s something for everybody, whether you’re a fan in Rhode Island, Connecticut or Massachusetts. The name ‘Block Party’ is a fitting title because this truly is a celebration of the continued success of New England boxing. On the top of the card, you’ve got Vladine Biosse, one of the top prospects in boxing, defending his New England super middleweight title against a dangerous opponent. Vladine won four fights in 2010, including a classic battle in front of 42 million homes on ESPN against ‘Irish’ Joey McCreedy, and continues to climb the ladder with each fight.
“With Elvin Ayala in the co-feature, you’ve got an established, ring-savvy veteran and a former world-title challenger who is willing to fight anyone at any given time, and Brian Macy, a University of Connecticut graduate and one of the most popular fighters in his state, is a wonderful story, having served his country for 10 months in Iraq as a member of the U.S. Army and now returning to the ring to resume his promising boxing career.
“This is a must-see event and we’re looking forward to filling every seat in the beautiful Mohegan Sun Arena.”
A former college football standout at the University of Rhode Island, Biosse will put his New England super middleweight title on the line against hard-punching veteran Samson Onyango (20-7, 13 KOs) in the eight-round main event. Onyango is originally from Nairobi, Kenya and now fights out of Brockton, Mass. Onyango’s most recent bout was a hard-fought, unanimous decision loss to undefeated Hungarian light heavyweight prospect Zsolt Erdei on Nov. 20 in Atlantic City, N.J.
The six-round co-feature pits Ayala against an opponent to be determined while Macy will fight for the first time in two years against Walter Foster (4-3-1, 4 KOs) of Berkeley, Mo., in a four-round middleweight bout. Macy returned home in September of 2010 following a 10-month stint in Baghdad.
The undercard of “Block Party” features: New Haven junior welterweight Edwin Soto (5-0-1, 2 KOs) in a six-round rematch against Bryan Abraham (2-4-2, 2 KOs) of Schenectady, N.Y. (the two fought to a draw on June 26, 2010 at Mohegan in one of the top regional fights of the year); New Haven super bantamweight Luis Rosa Jr. (4-0, 3 KOs) facing Vero Beach, Fla., native Aaron Chavez (2-2, 1 KO) in a four-round bout; and Randolph, Mass., heavyweight Billy Mofford (9-1-2, 4 KOs) battling Chicago’s Theron Johnson (4-3, 1 KO) in a six-round contest.
In a special, welterweight feature, Lowell, Mass., native Sean Eklund (7-4, 1 KO) — the nephew of former world title challenger “Irish” Micky Ward, whose incredible story is portrayed in the box-office sensation, “The Fighter” — will defend his Eastern Boxing Association (EBA) New England title against Noel Garcia (2-6-1, 1 KO) of Springfield, Mass. Ward will work Eklund’s corner, along with Ward’s half-brother Dicky Eklund, who is also portrayed in the film. Sean Eklund won the title last year on March 19 with a victory over previously-unbeaten Eddie Soto, who had defeated him in 2009.
Puerto Rican welterweight Javier Flores (4-0, 4 KOs) of Hartford will make his United States debut against tough veteran Marcus Hall (4-2-1, 2 KOs) of Rochester, N.Y., in a six-round bout (Flores’ first four professional fights — all knockout victories — were held in his native Puerto Rico), and Thomas Falowo (1-0, 1 KO) of Providence, R.I., who won his pro debut two months ago on Nov. 12, will battle the dangerous Greg McCoy (2-1-2, 1 KO) in an exciting, four-round interstate middleweight bout.
Tickets for “Block Party” are $40, $65 and $105 and can be purchased by calling CES at (401)724-2253/2254 or calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000. Fans can also purchase tickets online at www.cesboxing.com, www.ticketmaster.com, or at the Mohegan Sun box office. For more information on “Block Party,” visit www.cesboxing.com or www.mohegansun.com. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the first bout scheduled for 7:30.
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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura
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
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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2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland
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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