RINGSIDE Bam Bam Rios Wins Fight of the Year; Donaire TKOs Nishioka

Published

12 years ago

October 14, 2012

Rios Alvarado 121013 001a Rios turned it around and gave fans what he said he wanted to give them, in concert with Alvarado. A rematch makes much sense to us in TSS Universe. (Chris Farina)

CARSON, CALIF.-One was the Fight of the Year and the other was Disappointment of the Year as Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios knocked out Mike Alvarado in a brutal battle between undefeated junior welterweights and Nonito Donaire cruised past Japan's Toshiaki Nishioka to win by knockout too on Saturday.

It's not often that the bigger guys out-fight the smaller guys but that's what happened at the Home Depot Center as Donaire (30-1, 19 KOs) won by technical knockout over Nishioka (39-5-3, 24 KOs) amid boos from those who saw Rios and Alvarado slug it out viciously.

Still, Donaire eliminated one more junior featherweight champion.

It was a slow first round with Donaire doing most of the leading. A few combinations by Donaire but the lead right scored a couple of times for the Filipino Flash.

Donaire opened up to another gear and began firing combinations, but not enough to please the fans who booed the lack of action. Nishioka discovered he could score with the right jab and connected several times. But Donaire's speed bothered him in round two.

Nishioka refused to mount any kind of offense against the speedy Donaire whose lightning reflexes and catlike movement seemed to intimidate the Japanese champion. Donaire pounced around firing combos but Nishioka could not seem to be inclined to take a chance.

Donaire carried the action in round four in a rerun of the previous three rounds. Donaire's speed caused pause after pause from the Japanese fighter who was strictly in counter punch mode.

The crowd couldn't tell but Nishioka finally mounted some kind of offense but was muted by Donaire's reflexes and legs. Still, Donaire won this round too easily. A low blow toward the end of the round by Nishioka stopped the action briefly.

After six rounds of relative inactivity, the Japanese boxer opened up with some big punches and that opened him up for a Donaire barrage of right hands and a left uppercut that dropped Nishioka. He beat the count and fired back. But after the knockdown there was no turning back for the Japanese fighter. Counter punching was not going to do the job.

After hitting the deck in the previous round, Nishioka returned to fighting more defensively and Donaire continued the outside assault that proved indefensible in round seven.

Nishioka attacked a little more and actually fired and connected with a three-punch combination. Both traded lefts with the Japanese landing but neither getting hurt. It was Nishioka's best round.

“I was just playing possum and I was timing that jab and that was it,” said Donaire.

The end for Nishioka came when he opened up with a three punch combination and several stiff jabs. Suddenly a Donaire counter right floored Nishioka and though he beat the count his corner saw Donaire jump on the Japanese fighter immediately. Referee Raul Caiz saw the corner asking to surrender and stopped the fight at 1:54 of round nine. Donaire was near flawless against Nishioka who was considered a dangerous opponent by most observers. The speed difference between the “Filipino Flash” and the “Speed King” was light years apart.

“Nishioka is a great fighter, we know he can end the punch with one punch,” Donaire said. “He made the mistake and I got him with the uppercut. But I hurt my hand so I had to go with my right.”

That single right hand ended the fight with Donaire sounding disappointed that there was not more of a struggle.

“When you do engage Nonito is a surgeon. I can pick them apart and knock people out,” Donaire said.

Final punch stats by Compubox had Donaire landing 134 to Nishioka's 49.

Fight of the Year?

More often than not, expected slugfests fail to materialize. But not this time between Rios (31-0-1, 22 KOs) and Alvarado (33-1, 23 KOs). Fans got what they expected in brutal fashion.

Let the slugfest begin as both Alvarado and Rios unleashed the big bombs in round one. Very few feeling out punches with these guys as they fired their best immediately.

Alvarado used his speed to fire off some jabs and combinations to win the first two minutes of the second round. But Rios rallied with his own bombs including two left hooks that rocked Alvarado a bit at the end of the round.

“He shook me up a little bit,” said Alvarado.

Body shots aplenty by Rios in the third round. But the Oxnard fighter ran into a right hand by Alvarado.

Alvarado decided to use more defense and slipped punches while delivering some hellish left uppercuts and left hooks to Rios' head in round four. He looked like he was beginning to warm up.

“I was still warming up in there,” Alvarado said.

Round five started with Alvarado pummeling Rios with jabs and a five punch combination. Then Rios erupted with his own salvo and both traded blows till the bell.

“I'm a warrior. I go forward. He got me a little stunned but I didn't show it and continued going on,” said Rios about receiving some of Alvarado's big blows.

The sixth round saw Alvarado splatter blood from Rios' mouth with a left uppercut but Rios rallied to win the round with a right hand that stunned Alvarado. It was a precursor of what was to come.

“I knew he had that style. It was hard to get him with my jab,” said Rios about working on the overhand right. “I practiced it over and over in the gym.”

Rios found Alvarado's weakness in round seven with several overhand rights that seemed to be out of the Colorado fighter's vision. After three rights snapped Alvarado's head another caught him on the jaw and sent him reeling along the ropes with his gloves down. Rios pursued with the referee looking closely and landed some more right hands that forced Alvarado to seek cover along the ropes. Suddenly, referee Pat Russell decided Alvarado had enough and stopped the fight at 1:57 of the round to give Rios the technical knockout win.

“I was ready for it. I thought it would go a little longer. I handled it,” said Rios. “It took a little longer to get him out of there. I have power. I carried it up.”

Alvarado was still slightly miffed at the stoppage.

“I was surprised about it,” said Alvarado about the stoppage though he never hit the canvas. “I'm still a warrior.”

Rios agreed and welcomes a second fight if the fans want it.

Other bouts

Highly touted Jose Benavidez (17-0, 13 KOs) survived a tumultuous last round to beat Mexico's Pavel Miranda (19-8-1, 10 KOs) by unanimous decision after eight rounds of a junior welterweight fight. For seven rounds Benavidez used his ramrod jab and precise combinations to rack up rounds against Tijuana's Miranda. Then, a left hook staggered Benavidez in the last round during an exchange and the Phoenix boxer held and clutched his opponent to survive the last round. All three judges scored it 79-73 for Benavidez.

Riverside's Saul “Kid Dynamite” Rodriguez (6-0-1, 5 KOs) was maybe 10 seconds from ending the night for Mexico's Cesar Garcia (6-12-2) who staggered back to his corner at the end of round two. But because of two severe cuts alongside both eyes of Garcia, the referee Pat Russell deemed both cuts came from accidental head butts. The fight was ruled a technical draw because the fight needed to go to four rounds before it could go to the judges' score cards according to California prizefighting rules.

A war between Southern California neighborhood gyms finally took place between Garden Grove's Jose “El Gato” Roman (14-0-1, 11 KOs) and Oxnard's Javier “Pelos” Garcia (8-2-2, 7 KOs). But the winner was not discovered when a cut suffered by Garcia in round three resulted in the referee stopping the fight after the second round. According to CA rules the fight must go four rounds to go to a decision. The fight ended in a technical decision draw.

The first two rounds saw brutal exchanges between the two warring boxers. Before the fight words and accusations flowed freely between the two camps. In the first round a double left hook to the body and head floored Roman. He beat the count. In the second round, a left hook staggered Garcia and that was followed by a pinpoint right cross through the gloves by Roman. Down went Garcia who held his opponent tightly to survive. Round three was not decisive for either fighter but Garcia's face bore blood streaming down from his left eye and the fight was stopped by referee Pat Russell.

Miami's Ronald Ellis (4-0, 3 KOs) out boxed Denver's Katrell Straus (2-3) after four rounds of a super middleweight bout. Ellis landed continually against the southpaw Straus but was unable to hurt the Denver fighter. All three judges scored it 40-36 for Ellis who trains under Oxnard's Robert Garcia.

Chicago's Trevor McCumby (7-0, 7 KOs) blew right by Mexico's Eliseo Durazo (4-4-1) in one round. A left hook sent Durazo flying across the ring and into the ropes for a knockdown. Then a couple of one-twos sent him through the ropes dangling and the referee ended the fight at 1:40 of the round for a knockout win for light heavyweight McCumby.

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David A. Avila

Results and Recaps from Madison Square Garden where Keyshawn Davis KOed Berinchyk

Published

5 hours ago

February 14, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Results-and-Recaps-from-Madison-Square-Garden-where-Keyshawn-Davis-KOed-Berinchyk

Top Rank was at the Theater at Madison Square Garden tonight. The main event of the 9-bout card was a battle between Olympic silver medalists Keyshawn Davis and Denys Berinchyk. A 36-year-old Ukrainian, Berinchyk was making the first defense of the WBO world lightweight title he won with an upset of Emanuel Navarrete.

Berinchyk, who turned pro at age 27, was undefeated heading in (19-0, 9 KOs), but Norfolk’s Davis, a stablemate of Terence Crawford, is big for the weight and was the younger man by 11 years and the oddsmakers anticipated that the title would change hands.

Berinchyk has an awkward style which lends itself to messy fights and this match was headed in that direction before Davis took charge in the third frame. He put the Ukrainian on the deck with a left to the body and finished the job in the next round with a wicked punch to the liver that sent Berincjyk to his knees, wincing in pain.

He wasn’t able to beat the count and Keyshawn Davis (13-0, 9 KOs, 1 NC) emerged the new champion. The official time was 1:45 of round four.

Co-Feature

Xander Zayas, ranked #1 at junior middleweight by the WBO, scored a ninth-round stoppage of hard-trying but out-classed Slawa Spomer (20-1). During the fight, Zayas (21-0, 13 KOs) worked the body effectively. Several of those punches strayed south of the border, but it was a legitimate body punch that spelled the end for Germany’s Spomer who was fighting for the first time with Roy Jones Jr in his corner. That punch, a left to the body, was followed by a barrage that led referee Charlie Fitch to step in and stop it. The official time was 2:01 of round nine.

Zayas, fighting for the seventh time at Madison Square Garden, moved one step closer to a title fight.

The first of three fights on the main ESPN platform was a well-matched middleweight contest between Vito Mielnicki Jr and Connor Coyle. In his debut at 160, Mielnicki, the pride of Roseland, New Jersey, seemingly did enough to edge it, but only one of the judges agreed (96-94) whereas the other two had it 95-95, producing a draw. The pro Mielnicki crowd booed the decision.

After the entertaining fourth round, Mielnicki was bleeding from his mouth and Coyle from a cut on the side of his left eye that would eventually bleed more profusely.

The 22-year-old Mielnicki, the younger man by 12 years, failed to win his 13^th straight. He’s now 20-1-1. The 34-year-old Coyle, from Pinellas Park, Florida by way of Derby, Northern Ireland, remains undefeated at 21-0-1 and will presumably retain his lofty ranking (#3) in the World Boxing Association.

The final fight of the ESPN+ livestream showcased the 19-year-old son of Puerto Rican crowd-pleaser Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez, a former two-division world title-holder. “Juanmita” Lopez De Jesus did his dad proud, needing only 59 seconds to put away Bryan Santiago in super flyweight contest slated for four rounds.

A second-generation Olympian, “Juanmita,” was stepping down in class after coming up short in his last start against two-time gold medalist Hasanboy Dusmatov in the 2024 Paris Games. He ended the contest with a short left hook that put Santiago (1-2-1) down hard, flat on his back.

Abdullah Mason, a 20-year-old, baby-faced assassin from Cleveland continued his rapid ascent up the lightweight ranks with a fourth-round blowout of Stockton, California’s Manuel Jaimes. It was the fifteenth win inside the distance in 17 starts for the undefeated Mason who has lightning-quick hands and appears destined for great things.

Jaimes (16-3-1) had lasted 10 rounds with perennial title challenger Rolly Romero in his last outing and hadn’t previously been stopped. He was on the canvas four times before referee David Fields waived it off at the 1:55 mark of round four.

Rising welterweight contender Rohan Polanco who represented the Dominican Republic in the Tokyo Olympiad, advanced to 15-0 (10 KOs) with a second-round stoppage of Puerto Rico’s Jean Carlos Torres (22-2). The official time was 1:48 of round two.

Polanco, who trains in Boston, decked Torres with a left-right combination in the opening frame and dropped him again in round two with a left hook. Torres was on his feet but on spaghetti legs when referee Eddie Claudio stepped in and stopped it.

Lanky welterweight Keon Davis, the youngest of the three fighting Davis brothers, improved to 2-0 with a second-round stoppage of Kansas City, Missouri plumber Ira Johnson (3-3). Davis had Johnson on the canvas twice before the bout was finished with Johnson showing no inclination to get up after the second knockdown.

Jared Anderson was expected to win as he pleased against unheralded Mario Kollias, but was extended the full 10-round distance by the Greek invader before prevailing on scores of 98-92 and 99-91 twice.

Despite the wide scorecards, Anderson looked very ordinary in a fight that was fought at a glacial pace. Coming off a humbling defeat to Martin Bakole who roughed-him-up and stopped him, the “Real Big Baby” needed a good showing to restore some of his lost luster but failed to deliver while advancing his record to 18-1 (15).

The only drama was whether Kollias (12-4-1) would moon the crowd on a St. Valentine’s Day as his shorts kept slipping down below the wide strap of his rubber groin protector. They never did fall completely down thanks to referee Fields who repeatedly stopped the action to pull them up.

In the lid-lifter, Chicago construction worker Juan Carlos Guerra (6-1-1) scored a split decision over Nico Ali Walsh (11-2-1). Two judges favored Guerra by 58-56 scores with the dissenter favoring Ali Walsh by the same margin.

Guerra was the aggressor and Ali Walsh, whose career has stalled, didn’t have enough steam in his jab to deter him.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 313: Global Cooperation — Golden Boy and Matchroom

Published

11 hours ago

February 14, 2025

David A. Avila

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Boxing always spreads the wealth globally.

This weekend, in particular, powerhouse promotions Golden Boy and Matchroom Boxing connect in a super lightweight main event with world title implications on Saturday, Feb. 15. First in Manchester, England, then moving on to Anaheim, California in the USA.

DAZN will stream both cards.

Saturday morning begins in England where native son Jack Catterall (30-1, 13 KOs) meets Southern California’s Arnold Barboza (31-0, 11 KOs) in a super lightweight eliminator to decide who meets champion Devin Haney later this year.

Yes, Haney still retained the super lightweight world titles though starched badly by Ryan Garcia last April in New York. PED results forced the titles to remain with Haney.

Catterall, 31, who fights for Matchroom Boxing, just recently fought and defeated Regis Prograis last October in Manchester. Both traded knockdowns with the clever southpaw from Lancashire emerging the victor.

Barboza, 33, who fights for Golden Boy, recently won convincingly against former world champion Jose Carlos Ramirez when they battled in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this past November.

Also, on the Matchroom Boxing card, will be an interesting super featherweight title match between Reece Bellotti (19-5. 14 KOs) and Michael Gomez Jr. (21-1, 6 KOs) for British titles.

SoCal

As soon as the British boxing card ends on DAZN, the Southern California portion begins with the main card featuring Oscar Duarte (28-2-1, 22 KOs) against late replacement Miguel Madueno (31-3, 28 KOs) in another super lightweight clash.

Oscar Duarte

The Golden Boy boxing card takes place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Doors open at 1 p.m. Pacific Time.

Duarte was supposed to fight Regis Prograis, but the former world champion was forced to withdraw due to injury. A week ago, Madueno was selected to take the place of Prograis. It’s now a battle between Mexican sluggers.

Madueno, 26, last fought and lost by decision against Keyshawn Davis. The Sinaloan also lost to Canada’s Steve Claggett. Audiences in Southern California are very familiar with Madueno who fought several times on Thompson Boxing shows in Ontario and Corona, Calif. He likes to bang.

“Duarte is a tough, aggressive fighter who comes forward with power, But I’m prepared for that style,” Madueno said. “This is going to be a battle of two Mexican warriors.”

Duarte, 29, has back-to-back wins over Jojo Diaz and Botirzhon Ahkmedov since losing by knockout to Ryan Garcia on December 2023. The late replacement appeals to Duarte because of his similar fighting style.

“I’m ready for this fight and for this war,” said Duarte at the press conference on Thursday. “He is going to stand in front of me.”

Oscar De La Hoya said that though they regret Prograis was unable to fight, the replacement Madueno offers a stylistic matchup that appeals to fans.

“He’s a very exciting fighter and a hard worker,” said De La Hoya of Duarte. “He is in a tough fight.”

Some of the other interesting fights include welterweight phenom Joel Iriarte, an undefeated fighter from Bakersfield, Calif. Also, super middleweight Darius Fulghum of Houston meets Winfred Harris Jr. of Detroit in the semi-main event. Twelve bouts are planned in Anaheim.

Mohegan Sun – Love and War

On Saturday, at the Mohegan Sun, a solid fight card by CES Boxing is led by Rashidi Ellis (25-1) meeting Jose Angulo (16-9) in a welterweight fight. Also, featherweights Carlos Gonzalez (14-0) fights Alexander Espinoza (23-6-2). DAZN will stream the fight card.

Ellis is based in nearby Massachusetts and has wins over So Cal’s Alex Acosta and New York’s Eddie Gomez. He is a stylish fighter who relies on technique, but can pop.

Felix Sturm

In Germany, former world champion Felix Sturm (44-6-3, 19 KOs) at 46 is fighting Benjamin Blindert (14-1-2, 10 KOs), who is 38 on Saturday at Bayern, Germany.

Yes, it’s the same Sturm who fought Oscar De La Hoya back in 2004. It brings back memories to see the German fighter’s name. I remember when he was first supposed to fight De La Hoya back around 2001 or so. The promoters staged a welcome home media day at the Santa Monica Airport. I remember that day vividly because I forgot to check my gas and barely made it to the airport parking lot. When I returned to the car it would not start. I was out of gas. It took me two hours to get the car started again.

That fight did not happen that year due to an injury by De La Hoya. They later fought in a quasi-middleweight world title tournament a couple of years later. De La Hoya won a squeaker in Las Vegas. Then he fought Bernard Hopkins to unify the middleweight division. Hopkins won.

Sturm was always a very solid fighter. Not a big puncher, but a strong fighter with technique. That’s what has kept him in the game.

Fights to Watch

Sat. DAZN 11 a.m. Jack Catterall (30-1) vs Arnold Barboza (31-0).

Sat. DAZN 4:30 p.m. Rashidi Ellis (25-1) vs Jose Angulo (16-9).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Oscar Duarte (28-2-1) vs Miguel Madueno (31-3).

Oscar Duarte photo credit: Al Applerose

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Vito Mielnicki Hopes to Steal the Show on Friday at Madison Square Garden

Published

2 days ago

February 12, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Vito-Mielnicki-Hopes-to-Steal-the-Show-on-Froday-at-Madison-Square-Garden

Vito Mielnicki Hopes to Steal the Show on Friday at Madison Square Garden

Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis headlines Top Rank’s St. Valentine’s Day card on Friday in the Theater at Madison Square Garden. Davis (12-0, 8 KOs) seeks to win his first world title as a pro at the expense of fellow unbeaten Denys Berinchyk (19-0, 9 KOs). An amateur teammate of Oleksandr Usyk and Vasiliy Lomachenko, Berinchyk, 36, became the latest boxer from Ukraine to capture a world title when he upset defending WBO lightweight champion Emanuel Navarrete in his last start.

Xander Zayas makes his seventh appearance at this venue in the co-feature, opposing Germany’s obscure Slawa Spomer. But although Zayas has built a following among Gotham’s substantial Boricua population, the boxer who will almost certainly draw the loudest ovation on his ring walk is Vito Mielnicki Jr. whose bout – his debut as a middleweight — will kick off the three-fight portion of the card that will air on ESPN’s main platform.

The 22-year-old Mielnicki, nicknamed White Magic, hails from the town of Roseland across the Hudson River in Northern New Jersey, a 35-minute drive from Madison Square Garden assuming optimal weather and traffic conditions. He’s been attracting eyeballs since he was seven (but reportedly eight) years old. A photo of him hitting a speed bag appeared in the July 10, 2010 issue of the Newark Star-Ledger. The accompanying story said he was having trouble finding sparring partners.

The photo was taken at an amateur boxing club in Newark where Vito trained under the watchful eye of his father. A former high school sports star, the elder Mielnicki would become a fixture on the local scene as an amateur boxing coach and eventually a co-manager and co-promoter at the professional level.

Vito Mielnicki Jr is a throwback to the days when Italian-American boxers were well-represented in the community of prizefighters and the Garden State produced more than its share. World title challengers Tippy Larkin (Antonio Pilliteri), Charlie Fusari, and the colorful Tony Galento all came to the fore within a few miles of each other in Northern New Jersey.

Mielnicki Jr brings a 20-1 (12 KOs) record into his bout with Connor Coyle. He’s won 12 straight since his “hiccup” in Los Angeles when he lost a close decision to James Martin. A rematch on July 31, 2021 in Newark fell out when Martin came in far over the contracted weight at the weigh-in.

Connor Coyle fights out of Pinellas Park, Florida, by way of Derby, Northern Ireland. A 34-year-old father of three who has a job remodeling kitchens when he’s back home in Derby, Coyle is ranked #3 at 160 pounds by the WBA whose champion is Erislandy Lara.

Although Coyle is undefeated (21-0, 9 KOs), his high ranking says more about the WBA than about him. However, on paper this is a good match-up, a bit of a step-up fight for Mielnicki who wasn’t particularly impressive in his last outing – his first at Madison Square Garden – although he won every round of the 10-round fight on one of the scorecards.

This is Connor Coyle’s first appearance at MSG as a pro. The Irishman won’t lack for rooters and although he lacks a big punch, he will assuredly bring his “A” game.

The tripleheader on ESPN starts at 9 pm ET / 6 pm PT.

Undercard

The gifted, baby-faced lightweight Abdullah Mason who has a very high ceiling will appear on the undercard as will former Olympians Rohan Polanco and Tiger Johnson in separate bouts. Nico Ali Walsh returns to the ring after avenging his lone defeat, gutting out a 6-round decision over Sona Akale in June of last year, a match in which Walsh fought the last two rounds with a dislocated shoulder. Per boxrec, the card will also mark the return of heavyweight Jared Anderson who meets a sacrificial lamb imported from Greece, but the most recent Top Rank press release does not indicate if this bout will be televised.

Undercard action streams on ESPN+ beginning at 5:15 ET / 2:15 PT.

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