Articles

Biosse, Ayala and Lundy To Headline CES Shows

Published

12 years ago

June 29, 2012

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (June 28^th, 2012) – July is shaping up to be another historic month for the hardest-working promotional firm in combat sports.

Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports is promoting three professional boxing shows in a span of eight days next month, starting Thursday, July 19^th at the Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, R.I., continuing Saturday, July 21^st at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and culminating with a nationally-televised event Friday, July 27^th at the Resorts Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, N.J., on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights.”

Each show features a major headliner, with super middleweight Vladine Biosse (13-1-1, 6 KOs) of Providence, R.I., starring in the eight-round main event at Twin River, followed by two title defenses from reigning World Boxing Council U.S. National Boxing Council (WBC USNBC) middleweight champion Elvin Ayala (25-5-1, 11 KOs) of New Haven, Conn., on July 21^st and current North American Boxing Federation (NABF) lightweight champion and No. 1-ranked “Hammerin’” Hank Lundy (22-1-1, 11 KOs) of Philadelphia on July 27^th.

“In boxing, it’s all about quality, not quantity, but we’ve achieved both with these three dynamic events in July,” Burchfield said. “Each show is its own entity.

“The summer kicks off on the 19^th when ‘Mr. Providence’ Vladine Biosse returns to the ring fresh off his historic win over Joey Spina in May. Our Thursday Night Fight Series at Twin River has been a tremendous success and a mid-week staple for fight fans in Rhode Island. Two nights later, we invade Connecticut with ‘The Lycan’ Elvin Ayala, another fan-favorite, defending his title in front of what will we be a packed house at the majestic Mohegan Sun Arena.

“Last, but not least, we’re honored to bring ESPN and ‘Hammerin’’ Hank Lundy to the beautiful Resorts Hotel & Casino on the 27^th. Hank is now the No. 1 lightweight in the world and the most sought-after fighter on national television. All three cards have something for everybody, and we’re thrilled to bring you into each of our homes as your No. 1 summer destination in July.”

Lundy’s 10-round title defense against dangerous Mexican warrior Raymundo Beltran (25-6, 17 KOs) of Phoenix, Ariz., is the nationally-televised main event at Resorts and the centerpiece of Burchfield’s “Title Wave” show, which also features area fighters from New Jersey and Pennsylvania on the undercard. Tickets for “Title Wave” are $40, $65, $75 and $125 and can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 401-724-2253/2254.

For Ayala, July 21^st could be his toughest test to date as he faces Jesus Gonzalez (27-2, 14 KOs) of Phoenix in the 10-round main event of “The Fire Within.” Both fighters have been hot of late, with Gonzalez having won nine of last 10 bouts and Ayala, now training under the guidance of Marshall Kauffman in his hometown of Reading, Pa., having won five consecutive fights since 2010, placing him at No. 20 in the WBC middleweight rankings. Tickets for “The Fire Within” are $40, $65 and $125 and can be purchased online at www.cesboxing.com or by calling 401-724-2253/2254.

Biosse is looking to keep the momentum going following his dominant performance against Spina on May 24^th. “Mr. Providence” won unanimously on all three scorecards, earning his first victory in four fights and earning bragging rights in Rhode Island’s highly-anticipated intrastate showdown. Biosse will star in the main event of “Built To Last,” the third installment of the 2012 Twin River Casino Thursday Night Fight Series. Tickets for “Built To Last” are $40, $75 and $125 and can be purchased by calling CES at 401.724.2253/2254, online at www.cesboxing.com or www.twinriver.com, at the Players Club booth at Twin River, or through any TicketMaster location.

The undercards on all three shows are stacked with local talent, including Long Island, N.Y., light heavyweight Joe Smith Jr. (10-1, 10 KOs), unbeaten light middleweight Thomas Lamanna (8-0, 5 KOs) of Millville, N.J., Philadelphia bantamweight Miguel Cartagena (5-0, 3 KOs) and Atlantic City welterweight Anthony Young (5-0, 2 KOs) at Resorts on the 27^th.

At Twin River on the 19^th, Biosse will be joined by former world-title contender Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey (20-3, 10 KOs), who will face Jesse Oltmanns (10-3, 7 KOs) of Bartonsville, Pa., in the six-round cruiserweight co-feature. Super middleweight Kevin Cobbs (4-0, 1 KO) of Burlington, Vt., will battle Donte Wiggins (1-0, 1 KO) of Queens, N.Y., in a four-round bout and Keith Kozlin (6-3-1, 4 KOs) of West Warwick, R.I., will face Woonsocket, R.I., super middleweight Reynaldo Rodriguez (6-4-1, 3 KOs) in six-round rematch of their draw from July of 2011. Middleweight Thomas Falowo (6-1, 4 KOs) of Pawtucket, R.I., lightweight Zack Ramsey (1-0, 1 KO) of Springfield, Mass., middleweight Benny Costantino (7-1, 4 KOs) of Warwick, R.I., and newcomer Jansy Rivera of Providence will also be featured on the undercard.

Joseph “Chip” Perez (8-1, 2 KOs) of East Hartford, Conn., will face Philadelphia’s Frankie Trader (8-1, 2 KOs) in the six-round super featherweight co-feature at “The Fire Within.” Unbeaten female bantamweight Shelito Vincent (3-0) of Providence will aim for her fourth consecutive win while super middleweight Tylon Burris (2-0, 2 KOs) of Hartford, Conn., faces Queens veteran Borngod Washington (3-11, 1 KO) in a four-round bout. Jair Ramos (2-0, 1 KO) of Waterbury, Conn., will take on Boston’s Gabriel Duluc (5-0, 1 KO) in a light welterweight battle of unbeaten and welterweights Antonio Marrero of Hartford and Saul Almeida of Framingham, Mass., will make their professional debuts against one another in a four-round bout. Lightweight Christian Lao (4-1, 2 KOs) of New Haven will also return to the ring and heavyweight Donnie Palmer of Boston will make his professional debut, both in separate four-round bouts.

For more information on all three shows in July, 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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