Hopkins Considers Retirement, While Mitchell Edges Up

Published

13 years ago

April 30, 2012

HopkinsDawson Hogan7 ATLANTIC CITY — The signs were there for anyone who took the time to notice the deeper meaning of what actually transpired in Boardwalk Hall Saturday night. Change again is in the wind for Golden Boy Promotions, with another iconic figure possibly leaving just as a hot new growth property, flawed but exciting, announced himself to the boxing world.

Thus has it ever been so, and probably always will be as long as fighters fight, fans watch, promoters promote and business deals are cut that affect all of the various principals.

Oh, sure, the most obvious beneficiary of a doubleheader televised by HBO World Championship Boxing was former light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (31-1, 17 KOs), who again rose to the top of everyone’s 175-pound ratings by wresting the WBC and The Ring championships from the 47-year-old icon, Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins (52-6-2, 32 KOs), who had held them. By defeating Hopkins via majority decision and possibly sending him into retirement, Dawson at least partially restored the damage done to his laid-back image when he lost to WBC title to Jean Pascal, who in turn surrendered it to B-Hop.

A long, lean southpaw from New Haven, Conn., Dawson, 29, might not be as loquacious as Hopkins or have as extensive a resume, but he reestablished himself as the top guy in the division, at least until further notice. Feel free to get tingly, or not, about his improved circumstances.

Asked if Dawson’s victory – he came out on top by 117-111 on the scorecards submitted by judges Richard Flaherty and Steve Weisfeld, but did no better than a 114-114 standoff on judge Luis Rivera’s card – had earned him enough fans to finally gain the superstar status he never quite has achieved, “Bad” Chad’s promoter, Gary Shaw, acknowledged that has yet to be determined.

“I can’t speak to that,” Shaw said in response to a question about whether his guy’s popularity had just gotten a major spike. “Look, Pernell Whitaker had tons of fans. But in today’s day and age, I don’t know if Pernell Whitaker could even get on TV. That doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate his skills. I think Chad Dawson is a very talented fighter. I do believe he picked up some fans tonight, and he’ll pick up more as he moves forward.”

Added Dawson, whose voice seldom betrays emotion: “I’ll fight anybody at 168 or 175. I would prefer not to come out of my comfort zone, which is 175, but I can make 168. I’m just looking for some big fights.”

Possibly the biggest moneymaking opportunity for Dawson now is against WBC/WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward, winner of the Super Six tournament that concluded in December 2011 and earned Ward Fighter of the Year honors from the Boxing Writers Association of America, The Ring and ESPN.com, among others. It’s not Mayweather-Pacquiao, but what is? Fight fans are used to accepting consolation prizes when the big jackpot proves unavailable, as is often the case.

It is reflective of how boxing works that Dawson, even at the moment of his professional redemption, finds himself a less compelling story than the possible end of the Bernard Hopkins saga, not to mention the beginning of a groundswell to anoint former Michigan State linebacker Seth Mitchell as the heavyweight hope America has been desperately searching for since Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe got old and faded away.

Golden Boy Promotions handles the careers of Hopkins and Mitchell, and the outcomes of their respective bouts – Mitchell (25-0-1, 19 KOs), after a shaky first round, hammered fringe contender Chazz “The Gentleman” Witherspoon (30-3, 22 KOs) thereafter to win via third-round stoppage – recalled other nights when one fighter took a long step toward stardom and a more-established stablemate was nudged toward the exit.

“The Klitschkos are willing to face the very best,” Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya said of the heavily muscled Mitchell, whose star appears to be in ascendance. “They have their eye on Seth Mitchell.

“We have a plan for Seth Mitchell. We have discussed future opponents. I’ll sit down with Eric Gomez (Golden Boy matchmaker) with Richard (Schaefer, CEO). I’ve thrown out a couple of names of guys we really like. One is Michael Grant, who’s 6’7” or 6’8” and is a big, solid heavyweight.”

Neither De La Hoya nor Schaefer mentioned whether they still have a plan for Hopkins, whose marketability might now be such that the seven-figure purses and pay-per-view dates have finally shriveled up. Schaefer had mentioned the possibility of a unification fight for Hopkins against WBO light heavyweight titlist Nathan Cleverly somewhere in the United Kingdom, but that likelihood probably has vanished now that B-Hop, history-maker that he is, no longer has those championship belts to use as bait. The reality could be that Hopkins no longer is the superstar he once was, but is still probably too dangerous for top fighters to consider.

Hopkins himself doesn’t appear certain of which side of the fence he’ll end up on. “If my swan song was sung tonight, I’ll say it was great, it was fun,” he said. “But I got to look at the whole landscape. I’ll talk to Oscar and to Richard, and then I’ll decide what I want to do. It all depends on the motivation. If the motivation is (IBF super middleweight champ Lucian) Bute or something significant, I’d have to consider that.”

When Hopkins joined Golden Boy in the autumn of 1994, shortly after he knocked out De La Hoya in the ninth round of their middleweight championship bout, he was named president of Golden Boy East, a subsidiary of Golden Boy Promotions. He liked the role of promoter, and in short order GBE had signed such fighters as Rock Allen, Karl Dargan and Demetrius Hopkins, B-Hop’s nephew. Monthly shows were staged at the Borgata in Atlantic City.

But Golden Boy East is now an empty vessel, or very nearly so. Rock Allen might never fight again after being involved in a serious automobile accident, and Demetrius Hopkins, who had a falling out with his uncle, is retired. Even newly crowned WBC junior welterweight champ Danny “Swift” Garcia, a Golden Boy fighter and one of Bernard Hopkins’ Philadelphia homeboys, has fought mostly out West and under the auspices of Golden Boy proper, not GBE.

So can Hopkins be expected to retain his executive position with the company if he decides he no longer is an active fighter? Other high-profile boxers who had similar positions with Golden Boy, Shane Mosley and Marco Antonio Barrera, have left, which suggests those functions were more figurehead than functional.

Should Hopkins be downgraded as one of Golden Boy’s primary assets, the result of advancing age, a low knockout rate and diminishing appeal to his fan base, it makes sense that someone else will have to step to the fore. That person could be Mitchell, who has transferred his dreams of an NFL career to a new vision, of becoming heavyweight champion.

Mitchell is raw, still very much an unfinished product, but he showed heart and resolve, not to mention major power, in overcoming a very shaky first round against Witherspoon. “He hit me hard with the right hand,” Mitchell said of the first-round hole in which he found himself. “It was an equilibrium shot. I did the stinky leg a little bit, but I was able to recover.

“I knew that Chazz could box, but I also knew that if he got into a firefight, he’d be open for a lot of shots. When I went back to my corner (after the second round), I was confident I’d finish him in the next round. I could see in his eyes that my power was really affecting him.”

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Bernard Fernandez

Ringside at the Fontainebleau where Mikaela Mayer Won her Rematch with Sandy Ryan

Published

3 days ago

March 30, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Ringside-at-the-Fontainebleau-where-Mikaela-Mayer-won-her-Rematch-with-Sandy-Ryan

LAS VEGAS, NV — The first meeting between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan last September at Madison Square Garden was punctuated with drama before the first punch was thrown. When the smoke cleared, Mayer had become a world-title-holder in a second weight class, taking away Ryan’s WBO welterweight belt via a majority decision in a fan-friendly fight.

The rematch tonight at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas was another fan-friendly fight. There were furious exchanges in several rounds and the crowd awarded both gladiators a standing ovation at the finish.

Mayer dominated the first half of the fight and held on to win by a unanimous decision. But Sandy Ryan came on strong beginning in round seven, and although Mayer was the deserving winner, the scores favoring her (98-92 and 97-93 twice) fail to reflect the competitiveness of the match-up. This is the best rivalry in women’s boxing aside from Taylor-Serrano.

Mayer, 34, improved to 21-2 (5). Up next, she hopes, in a unification fight with Lauren Price who outclassed Natasha Jonas earlier this month and currently holds the other meaningful pieces of the 147-pound puzzle. Sandy Ryan, 31, the pride of Derby, England, falls to 7-3-1.

Co-Feature

In his first defense of his WBO world welterweight title (acquired with a brutal knockout of Giovani Santillan after the title was vacated by Terence Crawford), Atlanta’s Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in the third round. A three-punch combination climaxed by a short left hook sent Cuevas staggering into a corner post. He got to his feet before referee Thomas Taylor started the count, but Taylor looked in Cuevas’s eyes and didn’t like what he saw and brought the bout to a halt.

The stoppage, which struck some as premature, came with one second remaining in the third stanza.

A second-generation prizefighter (his father was a fringe contender at super middleweight), the 24-year-old Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is currently boxing’s youngest male title-holder. It was only the second pro loss for Cuevas (27-2-1) whose lone previous defeat had come early in his career in a 6-rounder he lost by split decision.

Other Bouts

In a career-best performance, 27-year-old Brooklyn featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4) in the third round.

Carrington, who was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials despite being the lowest-seeded boxer in his weight class, decked Vivas with a right-left combination near the end of the second round. Vivas barely survived the round and was on a short leash when the third stanza began. After 53 seconds of round three, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough and waived it off. Vivas hadn’t previously been stopped.

Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda. Johnson assumed control in the fourth round and sent Castaneda to his knees twice with body punches in the next frame. The second knockdown terminated the match. The official time was 2:00 of round five.

Johnson advanced to 15-0 (7 KOs). Castenada declined to 21-9.

Las Vegas junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) blasted out Stockton, California’s Giovanni Gonzalez in the second round. Vargas brought the bout to a sudden conclusion with a sweeping left hook that knocked Gonzalez out cold. The end came at the 2:00 minute mark of round two.

Gonzalez brought a 20-7-2 record which was misleading as 18 of his fights were in Tijuana where fights are frequently prearranged. However, he wasn’t afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.

Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree – he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas – is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.

Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Chance, one of Top Rank’s newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Cal’s Miguel Guzman. Chance won all four rounds on all three cards, but this was no runaway. He left a lot of room for improvement.

There was a long intermission before the co-main and again before the main event, but the tedium was assuaged by a moving video tribute to George Foreman.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

Published

3 days ago

March 29, 2025

David A. Avila

William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

No surprise, once again William Zepeda eked out a win over the clever and resilient Tevin Farmer to remain undefeated and retain a regional lightweight title on Saturday.

There were no knockdowns in this rematch.

The Mexican punching machine Zepeda (33-0, 17 KOs) once more sought to overwhelm Farmer (33-8-1, 9 KOs) with a deluge of blows. This rematch by Golden Boy Promotions took place in the famous beach resort area of Cancun, Mexico.

It was a mere four months ago that both first clashed in Saudi Arabia with their vastly difference styles. This time the tropical setting served as the background which suited Zepeda and his lawnmower assaults. The Mexican fans were pleased.

Nothing changed in their second meeting.

Zepeda revved up the body assault and Farmer moved around casually to his right while fending off the Mexican fighter’s attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmer’s escape routes and targeted the body with punishing shots.

The blows came in bunches.

In the fifth round Zepeda blasted away at Farmer who looked frantic for an escape. The body assault continued with the Mexican fighter pouring it on and Farmer seeming to look ready to quit. When the round ended, he waved off his corner’s appeals to stop.

Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepeda’s body attacks and then began moving and hitting sporadically. It forced the Mexican fighter to pause and figure out the strategy.

Farmer, a Philadelphia fighter, showed resiliency especially when it was revealed he had suffered a hand injury.

During the last three rounds Farmer dug down deep and found ways to score and not get hit. It was Boxing 101 and the Philly fighter made it work.

But too many rounds had been put in the bank by Zepeda. Despite the late rally by Farmer one judge saw it 114-114, but two others scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Zepeda who retains his interim lightweight title and place at the top of the WBC rankings.

“I knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,” said Zepeda.

Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.

“But I dominated the last rounds,” said Farmer.

Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.

“I’m glad we both put on a great show,” said Zepeda.

Female Flyweight Battle

Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle edged past Texas fighter Marlen Esparza to win their showdown at flyweight by split decision after 10 rounds.

Valle moved up two weight divisions to meet Esparza who was slightly above the weight limit. Both showed off their contrasting styles and world class talent.

Esparza, a former unified flyweight world titlist, stayed in the pocket and was largely successful with well-placed jabs and left hooks. She repeatedly caught Valle in-between her flurries.

The current minimumweight world titlist changed tactics and found more success in the second half of the fight. She forced Esparza to make the first moves and that forced changes that benefited her style.

Neither fighter could take over the fight.

After 10 rounds one judge saw Esparza the winner 96-94, but two others saw Valle the winner 97-93 twice.

Will Valle move up and challenge the current undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora? That’s the question.

Valle currently holds the WBC minimumweight world title.

Puerto Rico vs Mexico

Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs), the WBO, WBA minimumweight titlist, knocked out Mexico’s Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a flurry of body shots at 1:12 of the fifth round.

Collazo dominated with a relentless body attack the Mexican fighter could not defend. It was the Puerto Rican fighter’s fifth consecutive title defense.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 319: Rematches in Las Vegas, Cancun and More

Published

4 days ago

March 28, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-319-Rematches-in-Las-Vegas-Cancun-and-More

Rematches are the bedrock for prizefighting.

Return battles between rival boxers always means their first encounter was riveting and successful at the box office.

Six months after their first brutal battle Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) and Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) will slug it out again for the WBO welterweight world title this time on Saturday, March 29, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.

ESPN will show the Top Rank card live.

“It’s important for women’s boxing to have these rivalries and this is definitely up there as one of the top ones,” Mayer told the BBC.

If you follow Mayer’s career you know that somehow drama follows. Whether its back-and-forth beefs with fellow American fighters or controversial judging due to nationalism in countries abroad. The Southern California native who now trains in Las Vegas knows how to create the drama.

For female fighters self-promotion is a necessity.

Most boxing promoters refuse to step out of the usual process set for male boxers, not for female boxers. Things remain the same and have been for the last 70 years. Social media has brought changes but that has made promoters do even less.

No longer are there press conferences, instead announcements are made on social media to be drowned among the billions of other posts. It is not killing but diluting interest in the sport.

Women innately present a different advantage that few if any promoters are recognizing. So far in the past 25 years I have only seen two or three promoters actually ignite interest in female fighters. They saw the advantages and properly boosted interest in the women.

The fight breakdown

Mayer has won world titles in the super featherweight and now the welterweight division. Those are two vastly different weight classes and prove her fighting abilities are based on skill not power or size.

Coaching Mayer since amateurs remains Al Mitchell and now Kofi Jantuah who replaced Kay Koroma the current trainer for Sandy Ryan.

That was the reason drama ignited during their first battle. Then came someone tossing paint at Ryan the day of their first fight.

More drama.

During their first fight both battled to control the initiative with Mayer out-punching the British fighter by a slender margin. It was a back-and-forth struggle with each absorbing blows and retaliating immediately.

New York City got its money’s worth.

Ryan had risen to the elite level rapidly since losing to Erica Farias three years ago. Though she was physically bigger and younger, she was out-maneuvered and defeated by the wily veteran from Argentina. In the rematch, however, Ryan made adjustments and won convincingly.

Can she make adjustments from her defeat to Mayer?

“I wanted the rematch straight away,” said Ryan on social media. “I’ve come to America again.”

Both fighters have size and reach. In their first clash it was evident that conditioning was not a concern as blows were fired nonstop in bunches. Mayer had the number of punches landed advantage and it unfolded with the judges giving her a majority decision win.

That was six months ago. Can she repeat the outcome?

Mayer has always had boiler-oven intensity. It’s not fake. Since her amateur days the slender Southern California blonde changes disposition all the way to red when lacing up the gloves. It’s something that can’t be taught.

Can she draw enough of that fire out again?

“I didn’t have to give her this rematch. I could have just sat it out, waited for Lauren Price to unify and fought for undisputed or faced someone else,” said Mayer to BBC. “That’s not the fighter I am though.”

Co-Main in Las Vegas

The co-main event pits Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) facing Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) in a contest for the WBO welterweight title.

Norman, 24, was last seen a year ago dissecting a very good welterweight in Giovani Santillan for a knockout win in San Diego. He showed speed, skill and power in defeating Santillan in his hometown.

Cuevas has beaten some solid veteran talent but this will be his big test against Norman and his first attempt at winning a world title.

Also on the Top Rank card will be Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington and Emiliano Vargas, the son of Fernando Vargas, in separate bouts.

Golden Boy in Cancun

A rematch between undefeated William “Camaron” Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) and ex-champ Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) headlines the lightweight match on Saturday March 29, at Cancun, Mexico.

In their first encounter Zepeda was knocked down in the fourth round but rallied to win a split-decision over Farmer. It showed the flaws in Zepeda’s tornado style.

DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also includes a clash between Yokasta Valle the WBC minimumweight world titlist who is moving up to flyweight to face former flyweight champion Marlen Esparza.

Both Valle and Esparza have fast hands.

Valle is excellent darting in and out while Esparza has learned how to fight inside. It’s a toss-up fight.

Fights to Watch

Fri. DAZN 12 p.m. Cameron Vuong (7-0) vs Jordan Flynn (11-0-1); Pat Brown (0-0) vs Federico Grandone (7-4-2).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. William Zepeda (32-0) vs Tevin Farmer (33-7-1); Yokasta Valle (32-3) vs Marlen Esparza (15-2).

Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Mikaela Mayer (20-2) vs Sandy Ryan (7-2-1); Brian Norman Jr. (26-0) vs Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1).

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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