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Manager Larry Army Signs Bomber Ivan Redkach

Published

11 years ago

July 29, 2013

WORCESTER, Mass. (July 29, 2013) – In a relatively short period of time, Massachusetts-based attorney Larry Army went from questioning whether he was out of boxing, into a potential up-and-coming power broker among the leading managers in the industry.

The newest manager on the block is parlaying the tremendous success he had with his first and now former boxing client, undefeated world-rated super middleweight Edwin Rodriguez.

Army also successfully convinced Peter Manfredo, Jr. to come out of retirement after losing to Sakio Biko and reinvented him as a middleweight. Army guided Manfredo to eight quality wins, ultimately leading to Manfredo’s world title shot against Julio Chavez, Jr.

When his management relationship with Rodriguez ended after this past July’s championship final of the Monaco Million Dollar Super 4 Tournament, Army really thought he might be all done with boxing. “To be able to put Edwin Rodriguez into a position to become a millionaire and the thought that the Monaco fight would be my last in the sport was tough,” Army admitted.

However, before he left Monaco, the 42-year-old Army had already laid the foundation to continue his managerial work, and today his Elite Management is formally announcing the signing of unbeaten Ukrainian lightweight prospect Ivan “Junito” Redkach (14-0, 12 KOs; pictured above, in photo courtesy DiBella Entertianment) to an exclusive, long-term managerial contract.

Because Army was the architect of an incredibly well-designed campaign for Rodriguez, other high-profile, world-class boxers have recently contacted him about representing them.

“When I had the opportunity to speak to Ivan and see what type of athlete he is,” Army explained, “I knew there was the potential to do even bigger and better things. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work with him. He has everything real boxing fans want to see in a fighter; an entertaining style featuring pure knockout power. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s on his way to becoming world champion.”

“Ivan regularly trains and spars in California with some of the top fighters from 135 pounds to 147 like (Miguel) Vasquez, (Michael) Katsidis, and (Daniel) Ponce De Leon. Standing 5′ 10″, he can fight effectively in any division from lightweight to welterweight. Unlike some other fighters, Ivan trains like a machine; he has dedicated his life to boxing and the pursuit to become the best boxer in the world. As a sample of his daily routine, Ivan runs 10 miles every morning, goes to the gym to work 12 rounds on the pads, and then finishes things off with a rigorous swim.”

Redkach, a southpaw now living in Los Angeles, is promoted by DiBella Entertainment and trained by Mario Morales, who has worked with world champions Brian Viloria and the late Edwin Valero. Rated No. 15 in the world by the World Boxing Council (WBC), the 27-year-old Redkach has knocked out 12 of his 14 professional opponents. The dangerous southpaw had a 260-40 amateur record and he was a 2008 Ukraine Olympic Team alternate.’

“I saw what Mr. Army did with Edwin Rodriguez and wanted him managing my career,” Redkach said. “He made Rodriguez a millionaire, built him to 24-0, and now he’s on the verge of a world title shot. I’m excited. One man’s loss is another man’s gain, I guess. I’m confident that Mr. Army will get me a shot at my dream of winning a world championship.”

“Ivan is the first of many significant signings Elite Management plans to make during the next six months,” Army concluded. “Elite Management guides the careers of blue-chip fighters to put them in position to be wealthy champions. We just don’t take a fighter’s money, we earn it.”

ABOUT ELITE MANAGEMENT:

Found in 2008 by Atty. Larry Army in Massachusetts, Elite Management is a full-service boxing management firm focused on branding professional boxers. Elite Management is a proven expert in responsibly reviewing contracts, developing talent through effective matchmaking, gaining positive press, and attracting sponsorship and endorsement opportunities for athletes. Mr. Army is highly respected for successfully building a fighter’s team: researching, interviewing and securing the right trainer, strength-and-nutrition coach, nutritionist and cut-man. He is also known for organizing training camps for high-profile fights, as well as obtaining paid sparring partners.

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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”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

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