Articles

Khan-Peterson Headlines HBO on Saturday

Published

12 years ago

December 7, 2011

The Sweet Science

HBO SPORTS HEADS TO WASHINGTON, D.C. FOR A

UNIFIED SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE SHOWDOWN WHEN

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING^®: AMIR KHAN VS. LAMONT PETERSON

AND SETH MITCHELL VS. TIMUR IBRAGIMOV

IS PRESENTED LIVE SATURDAY, DEC. 10 ON HBO

PLUS THE EXCLUSIVE REPLAY OF COTTO VS. MARGARITO II

HBO Sports serves up an intriguing unified super lightweight title bout when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: AMIR KHAN VS. LAMONT PETERSON AND SETH MITCHELL VS. TIMUR IBRAGIMOV is presented live SATURDAY, DEC. 10 (9:45 p.m. ET/6:45 p.m. PT) from Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., exclusively on HBO. Ringside for HBO Sports will be host and blow-by-blow announcer Jim Lampley joined by commentators Larry Merchant and Max Kellerman. The telecast will be closed-captioned for the hearing impaired, presented in HDTV and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

With regular analysts Emanuel Steward and Roy Jones Jr. unavailable due to previous fight commitments, HBO will pair veteran commentators Merchant and Kellerman with Lampley on what should be a entertaining and engaging night of boxing commentary and opinions. Merchant joined HBO in 1978, while Kellerman came on board in 2006.

A 2004 Olympic Silver Medalist, London’s Amir Khan (26-1, 18 KOs) faces the resourceful Lamont Peterson (29-1-1, 15 KOs) in a highly anticipated 12-round title match. Khan, who is enormously popular in Britain and turns 25 two days before the fight, has displayed a willingness to cross the pond to meet formidable opposition, and will be putting his 140-pound belts on the line in his fourth U.S. fight. Under the guidance of legendary trainer Freddie Roach, Khan has met every challenge, including a bout with Zab Judah last July.

Battle-tested Lamont Peterson has defied long odds to reach this point in his career. He and brother Anthony survived a turbulent childhood that included homelessness on the streets of D.C. Now the 27-year-old has a shot at the top in this highly competitive division.

The opening fight features Brandywine, Md. native Seth Mitchell (23-0-1, 17 KOs) in a ten-round heavyweight battle with Uzbekistan’s Timur Ibragimov (30-3-1, 16 KOs). A former linebacker at Michigan State who didn’t begin boxing until his 20s, Mitchell is making his HBO debut.

The doubleheader marks HBO’s first visit to the nation’s capital for boxing since 1993.

Prior to the live action, HBO will kick off the night of boxing programming with the exclusive replay of Cotto vs. Margarito II. The all-action fight took place on Dec. 3 at New York’s Madison Square Garden and featured Miguel Cotto scoring a 10th round TKO victory over Antonio Margarito.

All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.

Also, here is info on the undercard:

DC-AREA FAVORITES ANTHONY PETERSON AND

FERNANDO GUERRERO AND UNDEFEATED PROSPECT JAMIE KAVANAGH TO SEE ACTION ON “CAPITAL SHOWDOWN:

KHAN VS. PETERSON” UNDERCARD THIS SATURDAY NIGHT AT

THE WALTER E. WASHINGTON CONVENTION CENTER

WASHINGTON, DC (December 7) – “Capital Showdown: Khan vs. Peterson” fight week is in full swing and big-time boxing’s return to the District just got bigger as Golden Boy Promotions and Khan Promotions present an undercard jam-packed with compelling matchups in the lead-up to the WBA and IBF Super Lightweight World Title fight between champion Amir “King” Khan and challenger Lamont Peterson this Saturday, December 10 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.

Hometown favorite and lightweight contender Anthony Peterson, popular local standout Fernando Guerrero and unbeaten Irish prospect Jamie “The Nuisance” Kavanagh are ready for action as they prepare to show DC what they are made of on Saturday night.

The brother of main event challenger Lamont Peterson, lightweight Anthony Peterson (30-1, 20 KO’s) is forging his own path to a world title, and his bout on December 10 is a step in the right direction. A former NABF and NABO champion whose only pro loss came via disqualification to Brandon Rios in his last fight in September of 2010, the 26-year old Washington, DC native’s long-awaited return to the ring will come in his backyard against the always tough 34-year-old Ghana native Daniel Attah (26-8-1, 9 KO’s). Attah, a rugged warrior who has faced the best the game has to offer including former World Champions Acelino Freitas and Nate Campbell as well as current World Champion Antonio DeMarco, is always ready for battle and will look to spoil Peterson’s ring return on Saturday night.

Hailing from nearby Salisbury, Maryland, 25-year old Fernando Guerrero (21-1, 16 KO’s) is one of the east coast’s most popular fighters and for good reason considering his charisma outside of the ring and his action-packed style inside of it. Looking to bounce back from the lone loss of his pro career to Grady Brewer in June, Guerrero squares off with Minnesota’s Robert Kliewer (11-13-2, 5 KO’s) in an eight-round middleweight bout.

Unbeaten in eight pro fights, Ireland’s Jamie “The Nuisance” Kavanagh (8-0, 3 KO’s) has had a busy 2011, winning all four of his bouts this year without losing a round. Now fighting out of Hollywood, Calif., the 21-year-old Freddie Roach trained lightweight will take on San Juan, Puerto Rico’s Ramesis Gil (6-3-4, 5 KO’s) in a six-round contest.

Plus, Washington, DC fighters will take the stage on the biggest night of their pro careers to date when Fort Washington, Maryland light heavyweight Thomas Williams (5-0, 3 KO’s) faces Reynaldo Rodriguez (6-2-1, 3 KO’s) of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, welterweights Dusty Harrison (2-0) and Terrell Davis (0-4) face-off in an all-DC match-up, White Plains, Maryland lightweight Joshua Davis (1-0, 1 KO) takes on Chris Russell (2-7-1, 1 KO) of Shattuck, Oklahoma in a lightweight battle and White Plains lightweight Terron Grant (1-0) faces North Carolina’s Dashawn Autry (0-1). Each of these exciting bouts featuring hometown up-and-comers are scheduled for four rounds and are sure to start “Capital Showdown: Khan vs. Peterson” off right.

Post Views: 489

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.

Post Views: 4,562

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.

Post Views: 3,172

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

Post Views: 5,819