Articles

Biosse Beats Spina Via UD

Published

12 years ago

May 25, 2012

LINCOLN, R.I. (May 24, 2012) – Something about the bright lights and the big stage seems to bring out the best in Vladine Biosse.

Facing the toughest test of his career, Biosse (13-1-1) fought what might’ve been his best fight, out-slugging and out-working veteran Joey Spina (26-3-2) in a 78-74, 78-74, 79-73 unanimous decision win Thursday night in front of a sold-out crowd at Twin River Casino to retain his New England super middleweight title.

Nicknamed “Mr. Providence,” Biosse won the highly-anticipated intrastate showdown by landing the cleaner, harder punches and beating the “K.O. Kid” at his own game. Spina’s power – he entered the fight with 18 knockouts in 26 victories – was supposed to be the decided factor, but it was Biosse, arguably the more athletic of the two, who looked every bit like the knockout artist.

Biosse had gone 1-1-1 in his previous three bouts, including a knockout loss to Denis Grachev last May and a draw against John Mackey in October, but he looked as sharp as ever Thursday with a performance reminiscent of his unanimous-decision win over Joey McCreedy on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights” in July of 2010.

The former University of Rhode Island football star has quietly carved a niche as an elite, primetime performer; he’s 2-0 in nationally-televised bouts – both on ESPN – and now owns an impressive win over one of Providence’s most heralded fighters. For Spina, Thursday was his second consecutive loss, beginning with his split-decision loss to Jerson Ravelo in March in Atlantic City.

The biggest upset of the night occurred when previously-unbeaten middleweight Thomas Falowo (6-1) suffered the first loss of his career to Cedar Hill, Tex., Samuel Clarkson (5-0) by split decision, 7-56, 55-58, 57-56 despite the fact Falowo scored a knockdown in the opening round. Two of the three judges – Eddie Scungio and Glen Feldman – gave Clarkson four of the final five rounds in what was a hotly-contested fight from start to finish. Both fighters threw a high volume of punches throughout the fight, but the difference was Clarkson’s activity in the closing seconds of the later rounds, particularly in the fourth when he wobbled Falowo with a hard right hand, perhaps doing enough damage to steal the round.

The four-round special attraction featured veteran super middleweights Paul Gonsalves (4-2) of Harwich, Mass., and Providence’s Richard “Bobo The Bull” Starnino (9-8-2), with Gonsalves earning a 40-37, 39-37, 39-37 unanimous decision despite each fighter hitting the canvas in the third round.

Former reality television star Rich Gingras (11-3) of “The Contender” failed to get past the second round against Oklahoma City veteran Terrance Smith Jr. (8-13-2) in his CES debut, suffering a nasty cut above his left eye that forced the ringside physician to stop the fight between rounds. The Attleboro, Mass., native lost for the first time since 2009.

Former three-time Golden Gloves champion Zack Ramsey (1-0, 1 KO) of Springfield, Mass., dazzled the crowd in his pro debut with a third-round knockout win over Providence’s Alan Beeman (0-2). Mixing style with substance, Ramsey peppered Beeman over the first two rounds with an array of left hooks and quick, right jabs, dropping Beeman midway through the second. Ramsey finished his opponent for good just 37 seconds into the third round courtesy of two overhand rights that sent Beeman tumbling to the canvas.

Also on the undercard, Burlington, Vt., super middleweight Kevin Cobbs (4-0) kept his perfect record intact with a hard-fought, 39-37, 39-37, 39-37 unanimous-decision win over Cleburne, Tex., native Kentrell Claiborne (2-6) while Rincon, Puerto Rico native Julio Garcia (5-3), who trains in Boston with former world heavyweight champion John Ruiz, battered Joe Gardner (8-5) of Woonsocket, R.I., 40-34, 39-35, 39-35, dropping Gardner in both the third and fourth rounds. Fan-favorite Alex Amparo (4-0) of Providence kept his perfect record intact despite a game effort from Cranston, R.I., super middleweight Luis Felix, who agreed to the fight on Wednesday. Amparo won by unanimous decision, 40-36, 40-36, 39-37.

Fighting for the second time in two months, Providence female bantamweight Shelito Vincent (3-0) pieced together another dominant performance, defeating Fort Myers, Fla., native Carmen Cruz (0-1), 40-36, 40-36, 40-36, in Cruz’s pro debut. Vincent came within seconds of her first career knockout, pressuring Cruz against the ropes before the final bell sounded. Medford, Oreg., native Mike Wilson (6-0) won his New England debut, narrowly beating Atlanta’s Joseph Rabotte (11-21-1) by majority decision, 40-36, 39-37, 38-38.

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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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