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Peter Quillin To Face Gabriel Rosado; Wilder Also On Undercard

Published

7 years ago

October 1, 2013

WBO MIDDLEWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION PETER “KID CHOCOLATE” QUILLIN TO FACE “KING” GABRIEL ROSADO IN CO-MAIN EVENT OF HOPKINS VS. MURAT TRIPLEHEADER ON OCTOBER 26 AT BOARDWALK HALL IN ATLANTIC CITY

Plus! Undefeated WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Champion Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder vs. Nicolai “Stone Man” Firtha To Open

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING^®

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (October 1, 2013) – After scoring 10 knockdowns in his last two fights and soaring to the top of the 160-pound weight class, WBO Middleweight Champion Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin will make his second title defense on Saturday, Oct. 26 when he meets Philadelphia contender “King” Gabriel Rosado in the Bernard Hopkins vs. Karo Murat co-main event at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ, live on SHOWTIME^® (9 p.m. ET/PT).

Additionally, knockout artist WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Champion Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder, will open the telecast when he takes on Nicolai “Stone Man” Firtha in a 10-round showdown. In the main event, IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins will become the oldest fighter in history to make his initial title defense when he faces highest-rated light heavyweight challenger Karo Murat in a 12-round matchup.

“It’s great to be on the East Coast and back on SHOWTIME for my second world title defense,” said Quillin. “Rosado is a quality challenger who always comes to fight, and because of our competitive styles, the fans are going to get a great show on October 26.”

“I’ve never lost in New Jersey and I don’t plan on starting now,” said Rosado. “I’ve chased a world title for a long time and while I respect Quillin for giving me this new opportunity, but I’m going to have to take that belt and bring it back home to Philly.”

“Nicolai Firtha is a veteran who has gone the distance with a lot of tough fighters,” said Wilder. “But I’m more confidant and more ready than ever, so I’m expecting another knockout win, I want to make a statement with this fight.”

“Wilder hits hard, there’s no question about that, but we’ve never see what happens when he gets hit back,” said Firtha. “I’m going to hit him on Oct. 26 and I plan on taking his ‘0’ away.”

“We’ve returned to the East Coast with not just another history-making title defense by Bernard Hopkins against a hungry challenger in Karo Murat, but we have a guaranteed action with the undercard,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. The co-main event between the top American middleweight in the world, Peter Quillin and the always tough Gabriel Rosado as well as one of the most exciting young heavyweights out there, Deontay Wilder, against someone coming to score the upset in Nicolai Firtha. It’s going to be a great night for boxing once again.”

New York City’s Peter Quillin (29-0, 21 KO’s) was considered by many as one of the top rising stars in the sport, but when he beat Winky Wright in 2012, the stakes got higher for “Kid Chocolate,” who fulfilled his potential in October of last year with a six-knockdown win over Hassan N’Dam that earned him the WBO Middleweight Championship. In April of 2013, Quillin successfully defended his title for the first time, dropping Fernando Guerrero four times en route to a seventh-round technical knockout victory. On Oct. 26, the 30-year-old will look to showcase his championship skills against “King” Rosado.

A Philadelphia fighter through and through, 27-year-old Gabriel Rosado (21-6, 13 KO’s) is a fearless warrior willing to do whatever it takes in search of victory. Holder of wins over Jesus Soto Karass, Sechew Powell, Kassim Ouma and Charles Whittaker, Rosado has also been in the ring with Gennady Golovkin, Alfredo Angulo, and J’Leon Love and when the bell rings on Oct. 26, this “King” will do whatever it takes to win the middleweight crown.

With 29 wins, 29 knockouts and no defeats, 2008 U.S. Olympic Bronze medalist and WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder has the boxing world abuzz with his devastating power and championship potential. Hailing from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the 27-year-old is coming off of first round knockouts of former gold medalist Audley Harrison and former heavyweight champion Siarhei Liakhovich, making it clear that no one is safe from the wrath of the “Bronze Bomber.”

Akron, Ohio’s Nicolai “Stone Man” Firtha (21-10-1, 8 KO’s) was a decorated amateur who fought his way to the 2004 Olympic trials, but his true home was in the professional game, where he has won the USA Ohio State and NABA USA titles. He has also faced quality opposition like Alexander Povetkin, Tony Grano, Tyson Fury and Johnathan Banks, knocking out Grano and going the distance with Povetkin and Banks. Coming off a win over Robert Hawkins in July, the 34-year-old will leave it all in the ring in search of victory on Oct. 26.

Hopkins vs. Murat is a 12-round bout for Hopkins’ IBF Light Heavyweight World Championship, presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Caesars Atlantic City, Corona and AT&T. In the co-main event WBO Middleweight Champion Peter Quillin put his title on the line against Gabriel Rosado in a 12-round bout. Plus, opening the tripleheader, WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder will face Nicolai Firtha in a 10-round showdown. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING^® telecast begins live at 9 p.m. ET/PT and is available in Spanish on secondary audio programming (SAP).

Tickets priced at $300, $150, $75, $50 and $25, not including applicable service charges, are on sale now and can be purchased at the Boardwalk Hall Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling 800-736-1420 or at www.ticketmaster.com.

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The Sweet Science

Articles

2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

5 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

5 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

5 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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