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Segura Happy He Will Fight Calderon In Mexico, His Territory

Published

14 years ago

March 17, 2011

The Sweet Science

Segura expects repeat performance vs. Calderon

‘La Revancha’ PPV Apr. 2

HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 17, 2011) – WBO and The Ring light flyweight champion Giovani “El Guerrero Azteca” Segura expects nothing less than a winning repeat performance April 2 in his much anticipated rematch against former 108-pound king Ivan “Iron Boy” Calderon, headlining the “La Revancha” Pay-Per-View event, live from Auditorio del Estado in Mexicali, Mexico.

“La Revancha: Segura-Calderon 2,” presented by Zanfer Promotions and PR Best Boxing, will be distributed in the United States by Integrated Sports Media for live viewing at 9 PM/ET – 6 PM/PT on both cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, DIRECTV, DISH Network and Avail-TVN, for a suggested retail price of only $39.95.

Segura (26-1-1, 22 KOs), fighting out of Bell, California by way of Mexico, captured the WBO, The Ring and WBA Super light flyweight titles last October, when he knocked-out the previously unbeaten champion Calderon (34-1-1, 6 KOs) in the eighth round in Puerto Rico. Segura was leading (69-64, 68-65, 67-66) on all three judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage.

“This time he’s coming off of a loss that I gave him,” Segura said. “And we won’t be fighting in his home, Puerto Rico, where he was used to fighting. I’m hoping he reacts differently fighting in Mexico. The only I real advantage I have fighting in Mexicali is the support of the people, but everything else will be the same for both of us – rules, referee, gloves and ring.

“Calderon’s plan will be to stay away from me. He’ll try running around the ring – that’s the way he fights – but the first moment he feels my punch his running will be behind him and I’ll stop him, hitting up and down. He already knows how hard I punch and he must be worried. He has to stay away to make sure I don’t beat him but I will stop him to win.”

The 28-year-old Segura, who will turn 29 the day before his fight against Calderon, also holds notable victories against Daniel Reyes KO1) and Carlos Tamara (DEC12). Giovanni has fought only once since defeating Calderon, last November in a non-title fight triumph against Manuel Vargas who retired after seven rounds.

“I see this fight going the same as the first one (one of the 2010 Fights of the Year),” added Segura, who has dedicated this fight to his son’s birth in July. “It’s going to be a war except it’ll be harder for Calderon because he knows my punching power. I’m working out in the gym as hard as I can. Another motivation factor for me is facing a Puerto Rican challenger. There’s always a rivalry between Mexican and Puerto Rican fighters. As a Mexican, I want to increase the number of Mexicans defeating Puerto Ricans. I’m been training real hard in Los Angeles, doing the same routine, running in parks, beaches and Mountains – all to beat Calderon! I had a Japanese sparring partner and right now there are three Latinos. We are at a strong time of preparation, almost ready but close enough to slowdown the rhythm.

“I will win. I don’t know how but I will look for a knockout, again in the eighth round. I’m not looking past this fight, but I’ll be looking for a fight against any of the 112-pound world champions. This is my last fight at 108 pounds. I’d like to make my first fight, as soon as possible, against WBO flyweight champion (Julio Cesar) ‘Pingo’ Miranda. I always go directly for what I want and had no doubts of my triumph in Puerto Rico. Nobody can make me doubt my abilities, I am a warrior.”

Prior to fighting Segura Calderon had been the WBO light flyweight champion for more than three years (six successful title defences) and WBO minimum weight titlist (11 successful title defences) from 2003 until he moved up to light flyweight in 2007. Ivan is currently rated No. 1 by The Ring and No. 3 by the WBO.

His boxing resume reads like a Who’s Who list of great 108 and 105 pound world champions and challengers, including victories against the likes of Rodel Mayol, Reyes, Higo Fidel Cazares (twice), Nelson Dieppa, Issac Bustos, Roberto Carlos Leyva, Ednar Cardenas, Alex Sanchez and Eduardo Ray Marquez.

The co-feature matches Mexican featherweight champion and three-time world title challenger, Ricardo “Piola” Castillo (39-9-2, 26 KOs), against former WBC Continental Americas super featherweight titlist Joksan “El Torito” Hernandez (21-3, 14 KOs) in a 10-round bout. Castillo is the younger brother of 2-time world lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo. All fights and fighters are subject to change.

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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

9 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

9 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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2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

9 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”.

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