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Undercard Specifics For Pacquiao-Algieri HERE

Published

10 years ago

September 18, 2014

The Sweet Science

INTERNATIONAL INTRIGUE!

TWO WORLD TITLE RUMBLES AND A WORLD TITLE ELIMINATION BATTLE

HIGHLIGHT PACQUIAO VS. ALGIERI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PAY-PER-VIEW CARD

Saturday, November 22 at The Venetian Macao Presented Live by HBO Pay-Per-View®

MACAO (September 18, 2014) — World champions VASYL LOMACHENKO and JESSIE VARGAS and China’s most iconic athlete, undefeated Top-Five contender ZOU SHIMING, will be featured in exciting battles on the MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO vs. CHRIS ALGIERI World Welterweight Championship pay-per-view undercard.Promoted by Top Rank® and Sands China Ltd., in association with MP Promotions, Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing, Banner Promotions and Tecate, the Pacquiao-Algieri world welterweight championship event will take place Saturday, November 22, at The Venetian® Macao’s Cotai Arena, and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®,beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.

Six different nations will be represented by the eight fighters on the live pay-per-view telecast.

Lomachenko, of Ukraine, will make the first defense of his WBO featherweight title against No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo of Thailand. Vargas, of Las Vegas, NV., will be defending his WBA super lightweight title against former world champion Antonio DeMarco, of Mexico. Top-five contenders Zou, of China, and Kwanpichit Onesongchaigym, of Thailand, will be battling in a 12-round WBO flyweight world title elimination bout. These six gladiators boast a combined record of 142-5-3 (79 KOs) — a winning percentage of 95% and a victory by knockout ratio of 56%.

“We are very proud to present these three significant international fights on the pay-per-view undercard. Boxing is a worldwide sport and this card reflects that,” said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum.

“I am very happy and excited to have become a world champion in my third professional fight,” said Lomachenko. “I just followed the plan for the world title fight against Gary Russell – work the body, make him fight as much as possible and then go to the head. Russell was very fast and I had to take my time. I felt I hurt him a few times and I did not feel his power at all. That was a big win for my country and I know that they enjoyed it very much.”

“My opponent, Antonio DeMarco, is a tough, rugged fighter who comes to fight,” said Vargas. “I know this will be a fight that fans throughout the world will enjoy. This is very exciting for our team to be part of an event of this magnitude. I plan on bringing my world title belt back to Las Vegas.”

“The goal to win another world championship and bring it back to Mexico are the reasons why I keep fighting and this title fight against Jessie Vargas is a great opportunity to do just that,” said DeMarco. “I am sure that Freddie Roach will have me ready to win the fight and because of our styles I am sure this fight with Vargas will be one that the fans will enjoy.”

“This will be my first time fighting in a bout that is scheduled for 12 rounds. It will be the toughest test of my skills as a professional,” said Zou. “As we all know, the boxing atmosphere in Thailand is awesome. I watched videos of my opponent’s fights, where he performed fiercely and bravely. It is no surprise that he is undefeated. I respect his strength and his skills . This fight is so important because so much is at stake — most of all the opportunity to fight for the world title with a victory on November 22. I will make this the best training camp I have ever had so I can give my best performance ever.”

The greatest amateur boxer of his era and arguably of all time, two-time Ukrainian Olympic gold medalist Lomachenko (2-1, 1 KO), of Odessa, captured the vacant WBO featherweight title on June 21, winning a scintillating majority decision over the previously unbeaten Gary Russell Jr. It was Lomachenko’s third professional bout, tying him with Thailand’s Saensak Muangsurin for fewest fights to win a world title. Muangsurin won a junior welterweight title in 1975, also in his third professional fight. Russell, a former U.S. Olympian, was totally blitzed by Lomachenko, battered around the ring throughout the fight. From the outset of his professional career, Lomachenko made it known that he was ready for the best in his division. He made his professional debut in 2013 knocking out the WBO’s No. 7-rated featherweight contender Jose Luis Ramirez (24-2-2, 15 KOs) in the fourth round of a bout that was scheduled for 10. Last March, in his second professional bout, he challenged WBO featherweight champion Orlando Salido, losing a split decision to the heavier defending champion whose title had been stripped because he could not make the weight limit. Lomachenko first gained international renown by winning gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Games as a featherweight and a lightweight, respectively.

Piriyapinyo (51-1, 33 KOs), made his pro debut in 2003 and captured the Asian featherweight title the following year in just his fifth professional bout. His only blemish is a world title decision loss to the legendary defending WBA featherweight champion Chris John in 2012. He enters his second world championship fight world-rated No. 1 and riding a two-year, eight-bout winning streak, including six victories by way of knockout.

Vargas (25-0, 9 KOs), of Las Vegas, NV., will be fighting outside the U.S. for the first time in his professional career. He captured the WBA super lightweight title on the April 12 Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley Jr world welterweight title rematch in Las Vegas, winning a unanimous decision over undefeated defending champion Khabib Allakhverdiev. It was a close and competitive fight that proved Vargas’ grit as he bit down hard during the championship rounds to pull away with the victory and the world championship belt. His impressive resume includes victories over former world champions Stevie Forbes and Vivian Harris and top contenders Josesito Lopez, Lucky Boy Omotoso, Ray Narh and Lanardo Tyner. In his last fight, on August 2, Vargas successfully defended his title against undefeated contender Anton Novikov via a unanimous decision.

DeMarco (31-3-1, 23 KOs), of Tijuana, Mexico, captured the WBC lightweight championship crown on his second try, winning the vacant title with an 11th-round stoppage of top-rated contender Jorge Linares in 2011. DeMarco successfully defended the title twice during his one-year reign — both by knockout — against Miguel Roman and John Molina. Since moving up in weight, he has won three straight fights, with two of those victories coming by way of knockout. In his last fight, on August 23, DeMarco won a 10-round unanimous decision over Landro Tyner.

Zou (5-0, 1 KO), from Guizhou, China, and trained by Hall of Famer Freddie Roach, returns to ring fresh from his most impressive professional victory — a 10-round unanimous decision victory over Top-10 contender Luis De La Rosa to capture the vacant WBO International flyweight title. Stepping up to his first 10-round bout, Zou vs. De La Rosa took place on July 19 at Cotai Arena and showed the world that Zou had developed into a world title contender. Zou is currently world-rated No. 4 by the WBA, No. 5 by the WBO and No. 6 by the WBA. He won his professional debut April 6, 2013 at Fists of Gold, via a dominant four-round unanimous decision over gritty Eleazar Valenzuela. He followed that up with six-round unanimous decision victories last year over Jesus Ortega and Juan Toscano July 27 at Fists of Gold II and November 24 at The Clash in Cotai, respectively, and celebrated his 2014 debut with his first professional knockout February 22 at Ring of Gold, stopping Yokthong Kokietgym in the seventh round. All of his professional bouts have taken place at the Cotai Arena. One of the most popular Olympic athletes in China, Zou was the world’s greatest amateur light flyweight, capturing gold medals in the World Amateur Championships in 2005, 2007 and 2011, along with gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympic Games. He also owns an Olympic bronze medal from the 2004 games, making him his nation’s first Olympic medallist in boxing as well as its first boxing gold medallist in the World Amateur Championships and the Olympics.

Onesongchaigym (27-0-2, 12 KOs), of Buriram, Thailand, made his professional debut in 2010 and captured the WBO Oriental junior bantamweight title the following year knocking out Fredirex Rodriguez in the seventh round. After one successful defense he moved down one division where he captured the WBO Oriental flyweight title in 2012, which he has held for the past two years. Six of his last 10 victories have been by knockout, including his last one, a seventh-round TKO of Oscar Raknafa on June 6, to retain his title. Onesongchaigym is currently world-rated No. 3 by the WBO.

**********************

Fighter of the Decade and Filipino icon Congressman MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO (56-4-3), boxing’s only eight-division world champion, defends his WBO welterweight title against New York’s undefeated WBO junior welterweight champion CHRIS ALGIERI (20-0), who has Bachelor of Science degree in Health Care Management, a Masters degree in Clinical Nutrition and a Ph.D. in Upsets Inside the Ring, in the main event of the four-bout pay-per-view telecast.

For fight updates go to www.toprank.com, or www.hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/trboxing, facebook.com/trboxeo, or facebook.com/hboboxing, and on Twitter at twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, or twitter.com/hboboxing. Use the Hashtag #PacAlgieri to join the conversation on Twitter.

— Photo Credit : Chris Farina – Top Rank

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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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