Articles

Gary Russell-Vyacheslav Gusev Tops Nov. 9 “Night of the Olympians”

Published

12 years ago

October 13, 2012

The Sweet Science

“NIGHT OF THE OLYMPIANS”

OLYMPIAN GARY RUSSELL JR. AND RUSSIA’S VYACHESLAV GUSEV TO SQUARE OFF IN SHOBOX MAIN EVENT

ON FRIDAY, NOV. 9 AT FANTASY SPRINGS RESORT CASINO

Plus, Five 2012 U.S. Olympians To Make Professional Debuts

Live on SHOWTIME^®

LOS ANGELES (October 12, 2012) – They proudly represented the United States at the 2012 Olympic Games in London this past summer and now it’s time for five of the finest American amateur boxers—Dominic Breazeale, Marcus Browne, Terrell Gausha, Errol Spencer and Rau’shee Warren—to begin their quest for gold as professionals. On Friday, Nov. 9, SHOWTIME will present a special edition of ShoBox: The Next Generation featuring their professional debuts from Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif.

In the evening’s main event, unbeaten featherweight contender and 2008 United States Olympian Gary Russell Jr. will battle Vyacheslav Gusev in a 10 round fight.

“Night Of The Olympians” is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. PT on fight night with the first at 5:30 p.m. PT. The ShoBox: The New Generation telecast will air live on SHOWTIME beginning at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Tickets, priced at $25, $35 and $45, are available for purchase at the Fantasy Springs Box Office, by calling (800) 827-2946 or online at www.fantasyspringsresort.com.

As a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, top featherweight contender Gary Russell Jr. (20-0, 12 KO’s) knows what it’s like to be in the shoes of the 2012 Olympians and he’s a shining example of what talent, desire and determination can achieve once you enter the professional game.Unbeaten and one of the premier 126-pound fighters in the game, the 24-year-old southpaw from Capitol Heights, Maryland was in top form in his last fight, a June stoppage of Christopher Perez. Now, he is closing in on a world title shot and looking to join the impressive fraternity of boxers, some 44 and counting, who have appeared on ShoBox and advanced to win world titles.

“The ShoBox series has introduced our audience to the new generation of world champions throughout its 10-year history,” said Gordon Hall, Executive Producer ShoBox and Vice President of Production, SHOWTIME Sports. “We are proud to showcase these young fighters as they begin their journey from prospects to contender.

“With an Olympian turned prospect and now moving toward contender status in Gary Russell, Jr.,” Hall continued. “these Olympians need look no further than the main event to see the path that they must take.”

Prokopyevsk, Russia’s Vyacheslav Gusev (20-2, 5 KO’s) is a nine year professional who has started to fulfill his world championship potential in the ring. A decorated competitor with several regional titles to his name, the 26-year-old began making his mark in 2010 as he began a four-fight winning streak that he will bring into the ring with him on November 9.In his most recent fight on April 30, he rose from the canvas to decision Padjai Yongyuthgym and he plans on handing Russell his first defeat this fall.

A former quarterback for the University of Northern Colorado, 27-year-old Dominic Breazeale only began boxing three and a half years ago, but the 6-foot-6 heavyweight made an immediate impact, winning a U.S. national championship and earning a spot on the 2012 Olympic team. Opting to stay with the sweet science instead of returning to football, Breazeale has the raw talent and determination to give the United States a serious heavyweight threat in the coming years.

Three-time New York Golden Gloves, 2012 national and 2010 PAL champion Marcus Browne is a versatile light heavyweight southpaw who learned his craft in Staten Island, New York under the tutelage of Gary Stark Sr. and Teddy Atlas. Able to box or bang, the affable 21-year-old has the skill and charisma to make plenty of noise in the 175-pound division.

Cleveland’s Terrell Gausha was a two-time U.S. national champion before earning his spot on Team U.S.A. at the London Games. Gausha defeated Armenia’s Andranik Hakobyan by referee stoppage in his first Olympic fight.Now taking his talents to the professional game, the 24-year-old middleweight is seen as one of the most promising young fighters to emerge from the 2012 games.

Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, 22-year-old Errol Spence began boxing at the age of 15, and he won three consecutive U.S. amateur championships before securing a spot in the London Olympics, where he won fights over boxers from Brazil and India before a quarterfinal loss to Russia’s entrant knocked him out of medal contention. Disappointed, but not discouraged, Spence is eager to begin his professional journey in the junior middleweight division on November 9.

The first American boxer to make three Olympic teams, Rau’shee Warren now looks to follow in the footsteps of fellow Cincinnati fighters such as Ezzard Charles, Aaron Pryor and Adrien Broner by earning a professional world championship belt. A 2007 world amateur champion, the 25-year-old Warren won his first fight at the age of eight and he hasn’t looked back, competing in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics. Now he’s ready to take the next step in his career as a professional bantamweight and make the great boxing city of Cincinnati proud.

Post Views: 460

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: 4,703

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: 3,313

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: 5,982