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Broner Fights Rodriguez In Cincy On Nov. 26

Published

13 years ago

October 25, 2011

Cincinnati, Ohio (October 25) – Boxing fans will be giving thanks for an explosive night of boxing on Thanksgiving weekend this year when Adrien “The Problem” Broner battles Argentina's Vicente Rodriguez for the vacant WBO Junior Lightweight World Title on Saturday, November 26 at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio in a fight that will be televised on HBO Boxing After Dark. For Broner, it will be the young undefeated hometown hero's first shot at a world title, and where better to have it take place than in his backyard with family, friends and hometown fans supporting him. For Rodriguez, it's the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of countrymen Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez and Marcos “Chino” Maidana and burst onto the world boxing stage by capturing his first world title under the bright HBO lights in his United States debut.

“I'm ready to put on a good performance for my city,” said Broner. “I'm treating this like it's just another day in the ring. I'm not going to let the world title affect me. Vicente has a tremendous record, but once I get in the ring, I'm going to do what I got to do to get the job done. It's time to put it on for my city…hook, right, good night!”

“Broner is a talented boxer with good speed and power,” said Rodriguez. “But I have the experience and determination to beat him and I can't wait to bring the title home to Argentina.”

“We are very excited to bring this special night of boxing to Cincinnati on Thanksgiving weekend,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “We know Broner has the talent and determination to reach his goal of winning a world championship and will not let his fans down on November 26. While he faces a tough customer in Rodriguez, I believe he will become a world champion that will reign over the junior lightweight division for many years to come.”

“We're excited to have Golden Boy Promotions and HBO come to Cincinnati for this great boxing event,” said Andrew Williams, CEO of R&R Promotions. “We look forward to Adrien winning his first world title at home on November 26.”

“Home for the Holidays: Broner vs. Rodriguez” is a 12-round bout for the vacant WBO Junior Lightweight World Title which will take place Saturday, November 26 at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. The evening of boxing is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and R&R Promotions in association with Canelo Promotions and is sponsored by Cerveza Tecate and AT&T. The HBO Boxing After Dark telecast will air at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT.

Tickets, priced at $128, $78, $53 and $28, go on sale Tuesday, October 25 at 10:00 a.m. ET and may be purchased at the U.S. Bank Arena Box Office, by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Nicknamed “The Problem,” Cincinnati's Adrien Broner (21-0, 17 KO's) has proven to be an impossible puzzle for opponents to figure out. The former amateur standout racked up numerous accolades before turning professional in 2008, including winning the prestigious Silver Gloves tournament in 2002 and 2003 and competing in the semifinals of the 2005 Junior Olympics. 22-year-old Broner is the owner of 10 first-round professional knockouts coming as a result of his mix of blazing speed and thudding power. In 2011, he has taken his career to the next level with a decision win over former World Champion Daniel Ponce De Leon in March and a first round stoppage over the always-tough Jason Litzau in June in a pair of HBO televised fights. Now it's time for the #1 rated WBO junior lightweight contender to attempt to cap off the year by winning his first world championship.

The WBO's #6 rated junior light weight contender, Vicente Martin Rodriguez (34-2-1, 18 KO's) of La Salada, Argentina has the power and durability to knock off any opponent who steps in the ring with him. A professional since 2005, the 26-year-old captured the WBO Latino Junior Lightweight belt with a win over Gaston Sellan in May of 2007. He successfully defended his title in December of 2007 against Diego Mora before losing the belt via a 10-round decision loss against unbeaten William Kickett in 2008. Since then, he is unbeaten in 14 fights, going 13-0-1 with nine knockouts. He now sets his sights on making a name for himself in the United States by capturing his first world title at the expense of hometown favorite Broner.

One of boxing's most revered fight towns, Cincinnati is the home of boxing Hall of Famers such as Aaron “The Hawk” Pryor and Ezzard “The Cincinnati Cobra” Charles as well as former world champions Tony “TNT” Tubbs and Tim “Cincinnati Kid” Austin. The city that was home to the first gloved boxing match in the United States may be best known for its robust amateur scene, one that has produced nine Olympians, including 2000 Silver Medalist Ricardo Williams Jr., 1992 Bronze Medalist Tim Austin and Raushee Warren, a current member of the 2012 United States Olympic squad who made history by also representing his country in the 2004 and 2008 Games. Adrien Broner will now look to add his name to the distinguished list of Queen City natives who have worn a world championship belt on his November 26 which marks Cincinnati's first world title fight since Tim Austin beat Steve Dotse on June 16, 2001.

A full undercard will be announced shortly.

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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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