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Hank Lundy-Dannie Williams Set For March 30

Published

12 years ago

February 7, 2012

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Feb. 7, 2012) – Both Elvin Ayala and “Hammerin’” Hank Lundy have reached the point in their careers where they can no longer hide behind past accomplishments without facing each test the sport of boxing has to offer.

On Friday, March 30^th, 2012 at Foxwoods Resort Casino’s MGM Grand Theater, Ayala and Lundy will put their belts – and reputations – on the line at “All In,” presented by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports and broadcasted live in front of a worldwide audience on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights.”

Ayala (24-5-1, 11 KOs), the New Haven, Conn., native currently ranked No. 16 in the World Boxing Council (WBC), will defend his WBC U.S. National Boxing Council (USNBC) middleweight title against Hector Camacho Jr. (53-4-1, 28 KOs), the son of former four-time world champion Hector “Macho” Camacho Sr., in the 10-round co-feature while Lundy (21-1-1, 11 KOs) – ranked No. 4 in the WBC – will defend his North American Boxing Federation (NABF) lightweight title against No. 11-ranked “Dangerous” Dannie Williams (21-1, 17 KOs), the NABF’s No. 1 contender, in the 10-round main event.

“‘All In’ is an appropriate title, because these two ring warriors are putting everything on the line and going all in on March 30^th at the beautiful MGM Grand Theater,” Burchfield said. “This is what boxing, and network television, needs – two title-holders with everything to lose willing to face anyone at any given time.

“Elvin Ayala and Hank Lundy are two of the sport’s brightest stars, both on the path to championship glory, but Hector Camacho Jr. and Dannie Williams are coming to fight, promising to make this the must-see boxing event of the year.”

Ayala is looking to make a big splash in his 2012 debut after finishing 4-0 in 2011, including a win over former “Contender” reality television star Derrick Findley on July 29^th to capture the WBC USNBC title. In addition to winning the belt, Ayala rose to No. 16 in the rankings, all just 12 months after suffering a first-round knockout loss to David Lemieux on national television.

Camacho Jr. is looking to derail Ayala’s path to a world-title bout. The San Juan, Puerto Rico native, who lives and trains in Orlando, Fla., bounced back from a 2010 loss to Lemieux – ironically by first-round knockout – by beating former title-contender Juan Astorga in February of 2011, but will be fighting for just the second time in 16 months when he faces Ayala in March.

Camacho Sr. won 79 bouts and four world titles in his remarkable 30-year career, which ended recently in June of 2010, just 10 days before his 48^th birthday. Among his most notable bouts are his thrilling, split-decision win over Edwin Rosario to capture the vacant WBC light welterweight in 1986 and his split-decision win over Greg Haugen in 1991 to recapture the World Boxing Organization (WBO) light welterweight title. Camacho Sr. also beat Providence’s Vinny Paz in a WBO title defense in 1990 and sent “Sugar” Ray Leonard, then 41, into permanent retirement via fifth-round knockout in 1997.

Camacho Jr. is carving a similar niche as a fighter with a heavy workload; the 33-year-old southpaw began his professional career at 18 and has fought 58 times in just 15 years. In a rare showcase six years ago, Camacho Jr. and his father fought on the same card in Tucson, Ariz., with Camacho Jr. defeating Francisco Barra and Camacho Sr. beating Raul Munoz by unanimous decision. Camacho Jr. also beat Hartford’s Israel “Pito” Cardona for the vacant WBC Caribbean Boxing Federation light middleweight title in 1990, earning him a brief stay among the Top 10 fighters in the world, and also won the United States Boxing Organization (USBO) welterweight title in 2002 with a win over Arturo Urena. He had won nine consecutive bouts – three by knockout – prior to his loss to Lemieux in 2010.

The main event of “All In” features a highly-anticipated showdown between two heated rivals in the lightweight division. Williams recently caught Lundy’s attention in December when he threatened to “hurt” the Philadelphia native if the two were to face one another.

“This has to stop,” Lundy said in December. “I’ve proven myself time and time again on the road. Now y’all have to come to me. I went out to Chicago and knocked out the former world champ [David Diaz on Aug. 9]. What more do I have to do to get respect? So, if y’all aren’t coming to Philadelphia, Rhode Island, or Connecticut to fight ‘Hammerin’’ Hank, then we don’t have a fight. I’m tired of going into people’s backyards. It is what it is.”

Lundy has won three consecutive bouts since his first and only loss to John Molina Jr. in 2010. Among the victims were former two-time Venezuelan Olympian Patrick Lopez, whom Lundy beat for the then-vacant NABF title at Foxwoods in April in front of a worldwide audience on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights,” and the former world champion Diaz, whom he knocked out in Chicago in the 2011 season finale of “Friday Night Fights.”

Since 2010, Lundy has won five of six overall during a stretch that includes trips to Chicago, Memphis, Boston, Rhode Island, Montreal and Connecticut. The combined record of his opponents during that stretch is a remarkable 120-9-3. The first bout of that stretch was a split-decision win over Richard Abril, the reigning World Boxing Association (WBA) world lightweight champion. March 30^th will be Lundy’s sixth consecutive bout on ESPN.

Williams has been equally active since the start of 2010, winning nine consecutive bouts, including a first-round knockout win over Manuel Leyva, who was 18-2 at the time, in May for the vacant WBC Continental Americas lightweight title, and a fourth-round knockout win in August over Antonio Cervantes on the undercard of ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights” telecast in St. Louis.

Tickets for “All In” are $40.00, $65.00, and $125.00 (VIP ringside) and can be purchased by calling CES at 401.724.2253/2254, or the Foxwoods box office at 800.200.2882, online at www.cesboxing.com or www.foxwoods.com. Doors open 6 p.m. with the first bout scheduled for 7. For more information on the undercard, stay tuned to www.cesboxing.com.

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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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