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Ramos Risks No. 1 Ranking Against Valdez

Published

13 years ago

February 7, 2011

NEW YORK (Feb. 3, 2011) – One of boxing’s best and brightest young prospects will get a chance to show if he’s worthy of a world title shot in 2011 when undefeated and World Boxing Association (WBA) No.-1 ranked super bantamweight Rico Ramos takes on former world title challenger Alejandro Valdez on Friday, Feb. 11, LIVE on ShoBox: the New Generation on SHOWTIME (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West coast).

In the co-feature, a pair of super middleweight prospects will tangle as unbeaten rising knockout artist Cornelius White (16-0, 15 KOs), of Houston, faces Chicago’s Don George (20-1-1, 17 KOs) in a 10-round affair from Bally’s Grand Ballroom in Atlantic City, N.J.

Ramos, of Los Angeles, will look to keep his perfect 18-0 (10 KOs) record in tact when he faces Valdez (24-4-2, 17 KOs), of Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, in a 10-round 122-pound main event. Both Ramos and White are both represented by the show’s promoter Goossen Tutor Promotions.

“This is it. This is my time to shine,” said Ramos, who hails from Pico Rivera, CA is currently training out of Hawthorne, Calif., under the guidance of head coach Darnell Walker. “This is going to be a real step up for me. I know Alejandro plans to bring it on Feb. 11 but there is no way he stands in my way of a world title shot.”

Added Walker: “The intensity is up, you can just feel it. I just think because Rico knows he’s so close to a world title shot the focus has changed. He wants to be the next superstar of boxing and knows he’s a main event guy now.”

Ramos has shown flashes of brilliance and dominance and displays flat-out raw power. In his last fight he recorded a knockout worthy of a “Best of 2010” clip with a second-round one-punch annihilation of Heriberto Ruiz on Nov. 8, 2010. “Yeah, people are still talking about that one,” Ramos said. “It’s been all over Facebook and Twitter. A lot of people were shocked by it. A lot of people had me losing that fight.”

Ramos began boxing when he was just 8 years old at South LA's Broadway Boxing Gym. A strong amateur (97-17), Ramos competed in the national Golden Gloves championships and won a Silver Glove and PAL title. In 2007 he was a runner-up at the U.S. National Championships, losing to U.S. Olympian Raynell Williams.

Ramos made his professional debut in March of 2008 by winning a four-round shutout decision over Sammy Yniguez in San Jose, Calif.

The southpaw Valdez, 27, has lost two title shots, one coming in 2008 and the other in 2009. He was knocked out in the second round by then-bantamweight titlist Hozumi Hasegawa in 2008 and suffered

an 11th-round knockout loss to Nehomar Cermeño in a 2009 interim title bout. Valdez owns a technical

draw against bantamweight titlist Fernando Montiel in a 2009 nontitle fight. The referee, despite video replays showing differently, ruled a cut to Montiel was caused by a head butt rather than a punch.

He won his last two fights in Mexico, the only two he had in 2010. “It is great to get this fight to get me back on the map,” Valdez said. “I have tasted what it’s like to fight on boxing’s biggest stage. That experience will lead me to victory.”

On his opponent, Valdez said Ramos has good speed but is somewhat untested. “We want to test his chin. We want to be the first to give him a loss,” Valdez said.

The co-feature will pit “Da Beast” (White) fighting “Da Bomb” George, who was upset in his last fight by technical decision to Francisco Sierra. Prior to that, ShoBox fans remember George winning a unanimous decision over Osumanu Adama.

White, 29, is a native of Houston, Texas, and has knocked out all but one opponent. Newly signed by Goossen Tutor and TNT Productions, White is currently training at trainer Bobby Benton’s Houston gym and sparring with ShoBox alum Marcus Johnson.

White is looking to continue his knockout streak of 13 straight. The only time he didn’t register a KO during his career is when he got the decision over Larry Pryor back in 2008 in just his third professional fight.

Besides his last fight in Oakland, White has only fought in Texas and Arkansas.

“Ever since I’ve been with Dan Goossen he’s come through and gotten me the fights,” White said. “Now I’m on SHOWTIME and I can show the world what I have. One year from now I will be ready to fight for a world title.”

On his knockout streak, White commented: “It’s not like I’m trying to knock out guys, it just works out that way. I know if I train hard and I work hard then the knockouts will come.

“The super middleweights get a lot of attention on SHOWTIME. I’m in no rush. The fans will see a lot of action. George is a strong guy, but I’m coming. I’m not coming to play or to hug. I’m coming with my hands up. One of us is going to get knocked out and it won’t be me.”

The 26-year-old George last appeared on ShoBox on April 30, 2010, in his hometown of Chicago, Ill.

George is hoping to display his patented back flip he does in the ring after every win. “I’m going to do whatever I can to get people to remember and recognize me,” he said. “Training has been great and I just feel really confident.”

George was the 2001, 2002 and 2003 Chicago Golden Gloves amateur champion at 147, 178 and 165 pounds, respectively. George suffered his first loss on July 30, 2010, when he lost to Sierra by decision after seven rounds.

George was inactive for one year and nine months from August, 2007 to May, 2009.

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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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Articles

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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