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OLUSEGUN AJOSE & ALI CHEBAH MAKE U.S. DEBUTS

Published

12 years ago

September 21, 2011

The Sweet Science

OLUSEGUN AJOSE & ALI CHEBAH MAKE U.S. DEBUTS

IN WBC SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT ELIMINATOR

ON SHOBOX: THE NEW GENERATION

Unbeaten Colombian Prospect Darley Perez Battles Oscar Meza

In Co-Feature Live at 11 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 30, on SHOWTIME^®

NEW YORK (Sept. 20, 2011) – World Boxing Council (WBC) No. 1-ranked super lightweight contender Olusegun Ajose will face No. 6-ranked Ali Chebah in a WBC super lightweight eliminator on Friday, Sept. 30, in the main event on ShoBox: The New Generation LIVE on SHOWTIME^® at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) from Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, Calif.

The 12-round bout, which will be the United States debut for each fighter, will determine the No. 1 mandatory contender for the WBC 140-pound title currently held by Erik Morales.

The 12^th-ranked lightweight in the World Boxing Organization (WBO), Colombia’s exciting, hard-hitting Darley Perez (22-0, 17 KOs) will make his ShoBox debut against Oscar Meza (22-4, 18 KOs), of Mexico, in a 10-round lightweight co-feature.

The event, the second of five ShoBox telecasts in eight weeks and first of two within a one-week span, is promoted by Gary Shaw Productions in association with DiBella Entertainment.

Ajose (29-0, 14 KOs), of Nigeria, has fought his last 16 bouts in England, where the 5-foot-9, 31-year-old southpaw lived until recently relocating to New York City. His most impressive win was an eighth-round knockout over former contender Colin Lynes on April 3, 2010, which he followed up with a six-round decision over Arek Malek last Feb. 12 in his lone outing this year.

“This fight has been a stumbling block for me for about two years,” said Ajose, who is making just his third start since June 2009. “I was the No. 1 contender for so long but was bypassed many times. People heard I am a good boxer but they don't know how good I am and this is my chance to show them what I’ve got.”

Looking to make a name for himself in the U.S, Ajose believes ShoBox is the perfect vehicle to make a statement.

“There is the saying, ‘If you are more than people think you are, then the next step is to prove it,’” he said. “That is exactly what I will do – prove to the American fight fans that I am better than good.

“Watch me and don't blink.”

Chebah (33-1, 26 KOs), of France, will be making his 2011 debut. He’s riding an eight-fight win streak since his only loss on Sept. 27, 2009 against Reyes Sanchez in Mexico City. His most notable victories are a third-round knockout over Pipino Cuevas Jr. in 2008, a second-round knockout over Joel Juarez in 2009 and a fifth-round knockout over previously undefeated Fidel Monterrosa Munoz, also in 2009.

While he owns a better than 75 percent knockout ratio, the 5-foot-9, 25-year-old Chebah will be facing his toughest opponent to date in Ajose, a slick and speedy boxer with a world title shot on his mind.

“I fought a southpaw once, but I have an awkward style and I will adapt to anyone in front of me,” Chebah said. “I don’t care about southpaw, orthodox, pressure, defensive, mobile, anything.

“My style is pressure, pressure, pressure. You are going to see a Frenchman with Mexican style, slick and mentally tough.

Chebah won both his fights in 2010 by third-round TKO, the last coming over Laszlo Komjathi on Sept. 23 in Algeria.

In the co-featured bout, the 27-year-old Perez turned pro in February 2009 and fought 12 times that year. He is coming off two consecutive knockouts in June and July, but has mostly faced limited opposition since making his U.S. debut in December 2010 – a fourth-round knockout over Ramesis Gil in Kissimmee, Fla. He owns a victory over former WBO Latino lightweight champion and contender Jose Reyes on April 29, 2011.

Perez has watched patiently as his gym mate and fellow Colombian Yonnhy Perez, who is also trained by Danny Zamora in Santa Fe Springs, Calif., developed as a fighter on ShoBox and moved on to capture a world title.

“This is a great opportunity for Darley to be on ShoBox,” Zamora said. “He knows that that’s how Yonnhy started, on ShoBox, and from there to SHOWTIME, and he became a world champion.”

Perez, who registered a first-round knockout over Baudel Cardenas in his most recent fight last July 22 in Ontario, Calif., will face perhaps the toughest test of his career against Meza, a battle-tested veteran.

Meza fought current World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight champion Brandon Rios in 2009, losing via fifth-round TKO. Meza has won three consecutive fights since his last loss in June of 2010 against highly regarded Mercito Gesta. In his most recent outing, Meza scored a third-round TKO over Kelly Wright last June 11 in Chandler, Ariz.

“I feel that my preparation for this fight is the best I’ve had in the last three or four years,” Meza said. “I’m going to be well-prepared, and I’m going to give everything I’ve got on the day of the fight.

“This is a big fight for me and I need to take advantage of the opportunity.”

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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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