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Celine Roman Wins Close Decision In Non-Title Fight Against Crystal Morales

Published

11 years ago

December 22, 2013

LOS ANGELES-No title was at stake but that didn’t stop Ontario’s Celine Roman from challenging IFBA lightweight champion Crystal Morales and winning a close fight by majority decision on Saturday.

Roman (3-1-1) entered the ring with her counter-punching style to meet world champion Morales (8-10-1) in a six-round lightweight fight. She was not surprised at the Oxnard boxer’s constant pressure in front of 1,000 fans at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in the downtown area.

“She was strong,” said Roman, 24, who had previously fought at a lighter weight but opted to fight at a heavier weight to keep her strength.

“She was very aggressive but I made her miss and I put together stronger, cleaner punches,” said Roman. “She was very strong.”

Morales wanted a fight to keep her sharp after winning the IFBA lightweight world title last August in Orange County. After six rounds the Oxnard female boxer known as “La Morenasa” was positive she had won the fight, but two of the judges did not.

“I definitely felt I won four of six rounds,” said Morales, 27.

For all six rounds Morales fired away at Roman’s body and was the busier fighter throughout the fight. But Roman found the mark for pinpoint left hooks and right uppercuts that must have impressed the judges, who ignored the overwhelming punch connects by Morales in favor of the single blows.

Morales kept busy with a relentless body attack especially when pinning Roman on the ropes. But once the fight moved into the center of the ring the taller Roman fired uppercuts and would land at least one flush uppercut or left hook.

In round four Morales was able to rip body shots and caught Roman with a perfect left hook to the head. Both fired big blows with Roman landing some hooks and uppercuts while Morales landed two left hooks to end the round.

Roman rallied in the fifth round with left hooks and more uppercuts. Though neither boxer was hurt by the punches it was the Ontario boxer’s round and set the stage for the crucial sixth and final round.

Both female boxers showed signs of weariness and the steam out of their punches seemed to be apparent. Morales was again the busier fighter as she was through most of the fight but at the end of the final round two judges favored Roman’s more conservative style. The scores were 57-57 and 58-56 twice for Roman.

“It means a lot to beat a champion,” said Roman, who hopes the win leads to a title fight.

Morales was visibly upset by the decision and looks forward to meeting Roman again.

“I landed a lot more punches and pressured her throughout the fight,” said Morales. “I definitely thought I did more. Yes, I want a rematch.”

Heather Gonzalez, manager for Roman, said that the win proved her fighter is capable of fighting at the elite level.

“It’s really difficult for women to be able to show their skills,” said Gonzalez. “Celine worked very hard to upset a world champion.”

Other bouts

Rancho Cucamonga’s Daniel Franco (6-0-2, 3 KOs) won by unanimous decision after six rounds against Alejandro Ochoa (3-7-2) in a lightweight match. Franco’s speed proved the difference in winning by unanimous decision against Bell Garden’s Ochoa.

L.A.’s Ray “Bad Boy” Chacon (5-6) upset Moreno Valley’s Anthony Villarreal (10-5, 5 Kos) after four rounds in a fight between super quick southpaws. Chacon knocked down Villarreal in round two and that proved critical in the decision win.

Neeco Macias (2-0) stopped Robert Duran (0-2) at 2;12 of round one of a junior welterweight bout.

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David A. Avila

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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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