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Oct. 29 Brooklyn Brawl To Feature World-Rated Nikolay Potapov

Published

8 years ago

September 22, 2015

The Sweet Science

Oct. 29 Brooklyn Brawl To Feature World-Rated Nikolay Potapov, Rising NYC Prospects

Area pugilists to join Russian contender at Aviator Complex in South Brooklyn.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Sept. 22, 2015) – Coming off an electrifying evening of “Boxing At The Beach” on Aug. 25 in Coney Island, Dmitriy Salita will once again provide NYC with a night of pugilistic prowess as the world-renowned boxer-turned-promoterbrings his Brooklyn Brawl series back to Kings County on Thursday, Oct. 29. The Aviator Sports and Events Complex in South Brooklyn will serve as the next proving ground for many New York City-based rising stars – the exciting undercards building toward a main event showcasing the U.S.A. debut of unbeaten Russian and top-10 world-ranked bantamweight contender, Nikolay Potapov.

“The Brooklyn Brawl series had a great summer. Beginning an inaugural event at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater in partnership with Barclays Center and ending at MCU Park, home of the Brooklyn Cyclones. Both showcased world-class talent in some incredible fights, and fans showed great support at each event,” said Salita, the former IBF, WBA and NABA International Junior Welterweight Champion who fights out of Flatbush, Brooklyn, as a professional. “Similarly, our Oct. 29 show will feature some of the best fighters on the planet, such as world-rated Nikolay Potapov, and talented, accomplished NYC-based fighters in competitive matchups as they climb up the ranks. This will be another outstanding card for area boxing fans to enjoy.”

Doors open at 6 p.m. with the first bout scheduled for 6:30 p.m. as the Brooklyn Brawl looks to once again captivate New York City with fistic fury. Tickets begin at $20 and are available beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 22, by calling 1-844-890-2120. Online ticketing information will be announced shortly.

Potapov – currently ranked as the No. 14 bantamweight in the world by the WBO and now rated No. 10 globally by BoxRec – will put his undefeated 13-0 record (6 KOs) on the line as he makes his debut on U.S. soil. The fast-rising battler piled up more than 180 amateur tilts and amassed a number of national and international tournament victories, and now as a 25-year-old pro has climbed quickly to challenge himself with four 10-round bouts and a 12-rounder against top competition. In his last pro victory, Popatov earned the WBA Asian title by beating Jason Canoy, who is rated No. 14 in the WBC and No. 12 in the IBF.

Welterweight prospect “Trigger” Tresean Wiggins (7-1, 6 KOs) – fresh off a third-round knockout at the Aug. 25 Boxing At The Beach affair – will be back on the Brooklyn Brawl Aviator card. The fighting pride of Newburgh, N.Y., was impressive last month against Baltimore’s Kevin Womack Jr. and looks to add another stoppage victory to his burgeoning resume.

Undefeated junior lightweight contender Dimash Niyazov of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, will have his mettle tested once again at the Aviator Complex. The Brooklyn police officer, whose story was chronicled by the Wall Street Journal last month, improved to 8-0-3 (5 KOs) with a six-round Boxing At The Beach unanimous decision over local fighter Ariel “Fuego” Duran in a Brooklyn-Queens crosstown rivalry bout.

Detroit’s James Gordon Smith (8-0, 5 KOs) is another rising star putting his unblemished record to the test in Brooklyn. The eight-time Motor City Golden Gloves title-winner and former national amateur champion is intent on making a name for himself in the pro ranks.

A light welterweight and Olympian making his professional debut, Serdar Hudayberdiyev comes to the Brooklyn Brawl after an accomplished international amateur career. The pride of his native Turkmenistan on the West Coast of the Caspian Sea, he captured gold in the Asian games and was selected his country’s flag bearer in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Heavyweight Emilio Salas (3-1-1, 1 KO) of Puerto Rico – who opened up the Boxing At The Beach slate with a second round TKO at the expense of opponent Glenn Thomas – will add some thunder to the Oct. 29 card while welterweight Giorgi “Goga” Gelashvili (2-0, 2 KOs) of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, will provide the lightning. Gelashvili, a former three-time Georgian national champion, overwhelmed opponent DeLoren Gray-Jordon last August with a speedy salvo of blows in round two, leading to his second stoppage victory in as many fights and as many months.

Broadcast information will be announced at a later date. Interested corporate partners should contact Mark Fratto at mfratto@linacremedia.com.

For ticket information and updates on the Thursday, Oct. 29, Brooklyn Brawl please log on to SalitaPromotions.com and AviatorSports.com. Follow all the action via social media leading up to the event – and on fight night – at @BrooklynBrawlNY on Twitter and Instagram, or by accessing the hashtag #BrooklynBrawl.

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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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