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Gary Shaw Rebuilding His Fighter Stable

Published

13 years ago

January 24, 2012

Gary Shaw Productions has a fantastic stable of undefeated fighters making their mark in the boxing world. Five made the cut on ESPN’s Super 25 prospect list, created by Dan Rafael. Shaw co-promotes some of his fighters with other top promoters like Lou DiBella, Javier Bustillo and Leon Margules. Below are Dan Rafael’s write up’s on Shaw’s rising stars. Click here to see the entire list on ESPN.com

Luis Orlando Del Valle (24, junior featherweight, Lou DiBella/Gary Shaw, 14-0, 11 KOs): Puerto Rico’s Del Valle, who lives in New York, lost his first amateur fight at age 14 but wound up going 112-14 and earning a National Golden Gloves title before turning pro in 2008. He has excellent hand speed and is efficient with his punches. He has a high knockout percentage but is more of a sharp puncher than a crushing puncher. He scores his knockouts with an accumulation of well-placed shots. In his most notable fight, which aired on “ShoBox” in June, he hammered credible Dat Nguyen in a lopsided 10-round decision with an excellent performance that stole the show.

Thomas Dulorme (21, welterweight, Lou DiBella/Gary Shaw/Javier Bustillo, 13-0, 10 KOs): Puerto Rico’s Dulorme is an ultra-exciting prospect with Felix Trinidad-like charisma. When Dulorme comes to the ring, he has a smile on his face and seems to thoroughly enjoy the combat. He is a very aggressive puncher with tremendous power. He turned pro in 2008 but initially didn’t fight very often. In 2011, he picked up the pace, winning five fights — including spectacular second-round knockouts of Guillermo Valdes and Harrison Cuello on major undercards. Dulorme followed those fights with quality decision wins against former junior welterweight titlist DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley on “Friday Night Fights” and former welterweight title challenger Charlie Navarro. The sky is the limit for this kid. He has the look of a future star who just needs more experience. Dulorme will open his 2012 schedule by headlining “ShoBox” on Feb. 17.

Thomas Dulorme will challenge Jose Reynoso for the NABF welterweight title.

Luis Franco (29, featherweight, Gary Shaw, 11-0, 7 KOs): The Miami-based Franco spent eight years on the powerhouse Cuban national team and was a 2004 Olympian. But he lost what would have been some prime professional years before defecting in mid-2009 and turning pro. After roughly 400 amateur fights (including wins against Yuriorkis Gamboa), Franco is adapting well to the pro game. He’s a volume puncher with quickness and, because of his amateur experience and advanced age, is on the fast track. He has already defeated solid pros such as Wilton Hilario, Eric Hunter and Leonilo Miranda. There was serious talk of Franco facing 2011 ESPN.com prospect of the year Gary Russell Jr. on HBO on two different cards, but no deal ever came to fruition, as Franco was in position for a title eliminator in one of the alphabet organizations. He figures to get a significant fight in 2012.

Jonathan Gonzalez (22, junior middleweight, Leon Margules/Gary Shaw/Lou DiBella, 14-0, 13 KOs): Gonzalez was a 2007 Pan-American Games silver medalist and 2008 Puerto Rican Olympian who went 132-18 as an amateur. He’s a strong volume puncher who loves to bull forward and look for knockouts. But he can also box and fights in a confident, relaxed manner. He picked up his most notable victory in June, when he broke down onetime contender Richard Gutierrez in impressive fashion to win a lopsided decision on Showtime’s “ShoBox” in New York on the eve of the annual Puerto Rican Day parade.

Jonathon Gonzalez returns to the ring as the co-main event on “ShoBox” Feb. 17, against Billy Lyell.

Jose Pedraza (22, lightweight, Lou DiBella/Gary Shaw/Javier Bustillo, 5-0, 4 KOs): Pedraza, a 2008 Olympian and 2009 silver medalist at the amateur world championships, is perhaps the most heralded Puerto Rican prospect since Miguel Cotto came out of the 2000 Olympics. Nicknamed “The Sniper,” Pedraza turned pro in February and has rolled through his first four (low-level) opponents. He has shown an educated jab and an excellent body attack, two elements that usually take time for a young fighter to develop. He has poise, is accurate with his punches and is very fluid. DiBella said Pedraza’s fighting style reminds him of a young Oscar De La Hoya.

With only a few fights under his belt, Pedraza was able to capture the WBC Youth title and will defend it on February 28th in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

New Jersey (January 24, 2012) – Gary Shaw Productions is proud to announce the signing of undefeated power-punching lightweight sensation, Alejandro “Charro” Luna (8-0, 6 KOs) of Whittier, California. Shaw and Luna agreed to a multi-year contract, and both sides are extremely happy. Luna is scheduled to return to the ring on March 16, 2012 at the Morongo Casino in Cabazon, CA, on ESPN Friday Night Fights.

A joyful Gary Shaw went on to say, “Alejandro Luna is a great kid with heavy hands and the fans love his approach. Every time he steps in the ring you know something exciting is about to happen. He’s got great skills and good team around him. I have big plans for him in 2012.”

Luna, a twenty year old prospect known for his crowd pleasing style stated, “I’m very excited that I signed with Gary Shaw because I know he’s one of the best promoters in boxing. He’s guided many world champions to the top and I plan to be his next big name. My goal is to say busy this year and continue my success as a prize fighter.”

Alejandro grew up as a “Charro” in a family of Mexican cowboys, who competed in “Charrería’s” around his local area. Deep rooted in his family’s life long tradition, Luna sated, “The definition of a “Charro” is a gentleman’s cowboy. I learned how to ride a horse at a very young age and started competing in local “Charrería’s”, which are rodeo competitions. All my family members from my dad to my uncles are involved in the sport of rodeos, “Charreadas” in Spanish. I juggled both sports growing up, and as an amateur boxer I compiled a record of 90-12. I love to compete and right now my focus is strictly on becoming a world champion in boxing.”

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel.

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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”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

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