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Mares Predicts Tough Fight Vs. Moreno Saturday

Published

12 years ago

November 6, 2012

LOS ANGELES (Nov. 6, 2012) – Six of the talented and exciting fighters who will compete this Saturday live on SHOWTIME^® and SHOWTIME EXTREME^® from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Calif. participated in a public media workout Monday in MacArthur Park in Los Angeles.

On hand for the outdoor event were undefeated WBC Super Bantamweight World Champion Abner Mares (24-0-1, 13 KO’s), of Hawaiian Gardens, Calif., WBA Bantamweight Super World Champion Anselmo Moreno (33-1-1, 12 KO’s), of Panama City, Panama, unbeaten IBF Bantamweight World Champion Leo Santa Cruz (21-0-1, 12 KO’s), of Los Angeles, hard-hitting junior middleweight contender Alfred Angulo of Los Angeles by way of Mexicali, Mexico, the upset-minded junior middleweight contender Raul Casarez (19-2, 9 KO’s) of Edinburg, Texas and undefeated WBO Light Heavyweight World Champion Nathan Cleverly (24-0, 11 KO’s) of Cefn Fforest, Wales.

In a battle of world champions, Mares will risk his title against Moreno in the main event on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast). Santa Cruz will defend against Victor Zaleta (20-2-1, 10 KO’s) in the co-feature while Angulo and Casarez will clash in the telecast’s opening match.

Cleverly will put his unblemished record and world title belt on the line against Shawn Hawk (22-2-1, 16 KO’s), of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on SHOWTIME EXTREME (8 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast). Also featured on SHOWTIME EXTREME will be a junior welterweight scrap between promising unbeaten Antonio Orozco (15-0, 11 KO’s) of San Diego, Calif. and Danny Escobar (8-1, 5 KO’s) of Riverside, Calif.

Tickets priced at $200, $100, $50 and $25, not including applicable service charges and taxes, are on sale at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at (800) 745-3000 and at the STAPLES Center Box Office.

The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. PT and the first fight begins at 3:00 p.m.

What the fighters said Monday:

ABNER MARES

“You can expect a more mature, focused and ready Abner than you ever have seen before. I’m ready to fight. I’ve been through the most aggressive, best training camp ever. I feel great, I probably could have taken this whole week off and just concentrated on my weight.

“This will be a very good fight, a very tough one that will bring out the best in me and the best in both of us. This is the kind of fight the fans want, a pretty even fight you could say, between two world champions going at it from the opening bell.

“I think this could be a more mentally exhausting fight than a physically exhausting one for me. I know I have to be mentally sharp. With Moreno’s style, if you miss, you cannot become frustrated. You have to keep working and that is one of the biggest keys for me.”

ANSELMO “CHEMITO” MORENO

“My style is what it is. I’m an elusive fighter, the kind of fighter that hits and doesn’t get hit. My style is one that makes you watch at all times.

“I’ve fought the same way since I was younger. I learned that lesson when I was fighting in the streets when you need to stay smart all the time and not just brawl.”

LEO SANTA CRUZ

“I was pretty happy with my performance when I became the first to knock out Eric Morel, but I really didn’t think it was that big a deal. I was really surprised at how excited fans and the media were after watching it. I remember reading what they had to say about me and the fight.

“I guess I left a pretty good impression, but now I need to do it again. All the nice words only serve to give me more motivation. The Morel fight was a good start, but I want to do this for a long, long time.

“I know Zaleta is a really good pressure fighter who likes to come forward and punch. This is going to be a really good fight. I can’t wait.”

ALFREDO “PERRO’’ ANGULO

“No words can describe how excited I am to be able to fight again and to be able to do it in my hometown is even better.

“I always knew that one day I would be free to fight again, the question was always when.”

(On why he decided to grow his hair long for Locks Of Love)

“I’ve always believed that for every bad thing that happens in life, something good would come out of it. My hair was getting long anyway and one day I got on the internet and did some research and found out about Locks Of Love.

“I never planned to do anything for charity until I read about it. You need to donate at least 10 inches of your hair. I haven’t had a real haircut in a while and I still have a little ways to go, but once it is long enough, that’s where my hair is going.’’

RAUL CASAREZ

“I’m excited. This is as big as it gets for me. I’ve worked very hard for this opportunity and now that it’s here I have to take advantage of it.

“I most definitely feel they are making a mistake by fighting me. There are a lot of 154-pounders who were willing to take this fight, but they chose the wrong guy and they can’t change their minds now.

“I’m hungry like you wouldn’t believe. I want it like you wouldn’t believe. It’s Showtime! Angulo had his time, but now it’s my turn.”

NATHAN CLEVERLY

“I’m very excited for Saturday and fans can look forward to a good fight and a good performance by me.

“It’s fantastic to be fighting on SHOWTIME EXTREME and I thank everyone involved for making it happen.

“I’m definitely relieved that I finally have an opponent. Now, I can relax. The downside, if you want to call it that, is that I trained 10 weeks for a southpaw, but I’m just happy we have a fight.

“I’m sure my opponent is going to give it everything. He’s a colorful, a come-forward type of fighter who can bang. I expect it to be tough. He’ll be fighting me with nothing to lose.”

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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”.

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