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LUIS ORTIZ VS. MATIAS ARIEL VIDONDO Heavy Bout Added To 10/17 MSG Show
LUIS ORTIZ VS. MATIAS ARIEL VIDONDO AND TUREANO JOHNSON VS. EAMONN O’KANE
ADDED TO THE GOLOVKIN VS. LEMIEUX PAY-PER-VIEW UNDERCARD
LOS ANGELES (Sept. 22, 2015) – On Saturday, Oct. 17, the “Mecca of Boxing,” Madison Square Garden, will host two additional stellar world title matchups as undefeated Cuban heavyweight Luis “The Real King Kong” Ortiz (22-0, 19 KOs) takes on Matias Ariel “El Matador” Vidondo (20-1-1, 18 KOs) for the Interim WBA Heavyweight World Title and middleweight standout Tureano Johnson (18-1, 13 KOs) is set to face Eamonn “King Kane” O’Kane (14-1-1, 5 KOs) in an IBF Middleweight World Title Eliminator. Both bouts, scheduled for 12-rounds, will be featured on the televised undercard of the Middleweight World Championship Title Unification bout between WBC, IBO and WBC “Interim” Champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and IBF Middleweight Champion David Lemieux. The championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
The winner of the Johnson-O’Kane bout will become the mandatory challenger for the IBF Middleweight Championship being contested in the main event between Golovkin and Lemieux.
Previously announced, in the co-featured bout of the Pay-Per-View telecast, Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez will defend his WBC Flyweight Championship against two-time former world champion Brian Viloria.
“Luis Ortiz is the real deal – not only does he have tremendous power, but he moves extremely well for a man of his size,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “If he gets past Vidondo, and captures his first heavyweight title, fights against anyone in the division – including Wladimir Klitschko – will be on the table.”
“The only way to be the best is to beat the best and taking on Matias and fighting for the Interim WBA Heavyweight World Title is a big step to proving that I am the best,” said Luis Ortiz. “But I am more than ready, I am too fast and too strong for Vidondo and I will prove that on October 17. My dream has always been to become the heavyweight champion of the world and this fight is a big step closer to that dream.”
“Making my U.S. debut while fighting for the interim WBA Heavyweight World Title is a big opportunity for me,” said Matias Ariel Vidondo. “I will get to showcase my power in front of a national stage on HBO Pay-Per-View and on the undercard of one of the biggest nights in boxing this year. I promise my fans and Argentina that I will not let them down. I will be victorious on October 17 and bring home a title.”
“I am grateful for the opportunity that has been awarded to me, to be able to fight in the IBF Middleweight Title Eliminator,” said Tureano Johnson. “It was long awaited, I feel like I am halfway there on the path to accomplishing my goal to becoming a world champion and with Golden Boy Promotions at my side I know it’s inevitable. HBO Pay-Per-View is a major platform and I’m excited to have been chosen and featured as one of their televised fights. I know that the fans have high expectations and they will not be disappointed.”
“I am looking forward to proving I am the next great middleweight champion on October 17,” said Eamonn O’Kane. “I have been waiting for this opportunity my whole career and now that it is finally here I am glad it will be at the ‘Mecca of Boxing,’ Madison Square Garden.”
Fans in attendance will also see a trio of impressive non-televised undercard matchups featuring top prospects from around the globe. In a 10-round lightweight bout, Montreal’s Ghislain Maduma (17-1, 11 KOs) makes his United States debut against the undefeated Maurice Hooker (18-0-2, 14 KOs) of Dallas, TX. Another 135-pounder drawing rave reviews is Washington, D.C. native Lamont Roach Jr. (8-0, 3 KOs) who is scheduled for a six-round lightweight bout. Opening up the night, undefeated super lightweight fighter Ruslan Madiev (5-0, 3 KOs) will fight in a four-round fight. Opponents for Roach and Madiev will be announced shortly.
Tickets for GOLOVKIN vs. LEMIEUX are on sale now and are priced at $500, $300, $200, $100 and $50, tickets can purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008) and online at www.ticketmaster.com or www.thegarden.com.
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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura
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
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
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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