Articles

Main Events' Sat. NBC Is ON; Quotes From Thurs. Presser

Published

10 years ago

November 15, 2013

The Sweet Science

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Brooks, Glazkov and Dargan

VERONA, NY – A press conference was held today at the Turning Stone Resort Casino to announce the reconfigured card for Saturday afternoon's NBC Fight Night in the Afternoon boxing show.

Vyascheslav “Czar” Glazkov will take on last minute sub Garrett Wilson of Philadelphia in the ten-round main event. Meanwhile, somebody's “0” has to go when Long Island's Mike Brooks faces Karl “Dynamite” Dargan in a battle of unbeaten lightweights which has been changed from an 8-rounder to a 10-round co-main event. That fight has now been sanctioned for the vacant USBA Atlantic Coast Regional Lightweight Championship.

The last minute changes became necessary when veteran Tomasz Adamek was felled by a nasty stomach virus yesterday. This morning he was not feeling any better and was forced to pull out of the fight.

The afternoon broadcast will begin at 2:30PM ET on NBC.

Kathy Duva: “Yesterday when we were on our way here (Turning Stone) we got calls informing us that Tomasz Adamek, who was scheduled to appear in the main event and who has fought 51 times in his career and never pulled out of a fight, has been stricken by the flu. He has a stomach flu of some kind and it is not going away. He was being advised by his doctor not to fight. He asked us for another day, that perhaps a little more rest and time would take care of it, but he called us this morning and said he isn't feeling better, he is feeling worse.

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STATEMENT FROM TOMASZ ADAMEK: “For the first time in my career I have had to pull out of a bout. I apologize to all of my fans, but the stomach flu has hit me so hard that it is impossible to go through with Saturday's bout.”

“I was hoping that against the odds I would recover sufficiently to compete. However, that has not happened. My doctor has told me that I should not fight and, very honestly, I feel awful. Therefore, I had to inform Main Events that I could not compete on Saturday.”

“Again, I apologize, but the circumstances are beyond my control.”

Kathy Duva: “So in a brilliant display of their matchmaking abilities, our matchmakers, most notably Jolene Mizzone who has been carrying the ball here, and Russell Peltz who had a hand in helping us find a replacement, went out and did what I would have considered impossible 24 hours ago.”

Kathy Duva “To his credit he (Czar), said I don't care who it is…he was fine with everybody (we suggested) and I just want everybody to remember what a great competitor he is, because that has been his attitude from day one.

Kathy Duva: “Just as 2 Philly fighters stepped into the ring and saved us back in January two years ago, another Philly fighter has decided to step up and take advantage of the opportunity of a lifetime to fight on broadcast television in front of millions of fans…and that is Garrett Wilson. Garrett is the quintessential Philly fighter. He is a guy who has stepped in at the last minute many times in his career because he is always in the gym. He works as a personal trainer, he's always in shape, he is always ready to go. He jumped at this opportunity, he didn't hesitate. He understands that if he is able to pull off an upset he will literally make his career. He has fought at the world level for a while, he is a great fighter, way better than his record might indicate…this is going to be a tremendous fight because Garrett is coming here and he is going to do everything in his power to take advantage of the opportunity.”

Kathy Duva: “Another thing we are going to do to make up for the change in the card is we have a tremendous co-feature between Mike Brooks and Karl “Dynamite” Dargan. Two undefeated lightweights who are really in a position to really take a step up and literally steal the show if they can do it. That fight is being promoted to a 10 rounder from an 8 (and has been sanctioned for the vacant USBA Atlantic Coast Region Lightweight Title).”

Joe Higgins, Brooks Trainer: “If you fight a four round fight you train for six rounds, if you have a six round fight you train for an eight round fight. We were training for an eight round fight so in essence we were training for a ten round fight. Mike is absolutely ready to do ten hard rounds if need be.”

Mike Brooks: “I am undefeated, I worked very hard to get here and I want to give a good show. I have full aspirations to go forward in this sport.”

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Brother Naazim Richardson, Dargan Trainer: “I didn't remember Mike when they gave me the name. My son reminded me and I remember him from the amateurs. Dynamite is a special young kid that I have had in the gym since he was seven years old. He has been involved in camp in every level of boxing. He has had conversations with legendary fighters who have told him how to seize these opportunities and I think he has the demeanor and mentality to take this to the next level in boxing and we are here to cultivate this young man.”

Karl “Dynamite” Dargan: “It's been a long successful camp. Much respect to Mike and his camp as well. You are going to see two fighters clash that are trying to keep their '0'.”

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Egis Klimas, Glazkov Manager: “We don't know the new opponent. What we do know is that Glazkov is not afraid of anyone. We know that he came to this fight very well prepared, and any opponent you put in front of him will be dealt with.”

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Czar Glazkov: “I was disappointed but there is nothing I can do now. I am just happy that an new opponent was found. It could have been that I was not going to fight at all, so I am grateful to Main Events and NBC for keeping the fight.”

Ticket Info: Tickets range from $25 to $70 and are on sale now at the Turning Stone box office, by calling (315) 361-7469, or Click Here to Purchase Tickets for Nov 16 Adamek vs Glazkov Fight at Turning Stone Resort & Casino.

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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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