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Abregu Beats Dulorme on HBO; Steward Is Honored

Abregu made Dulorme pay for his mistakes. Will the prospect regroup, or do you think he was exposed on this night? Weigh in, in our Forum.
Next!
First Juan Ma, and now the next next big Puerto Rican thing, Thomas Dulorme, got taken down a notch. Auditions will continue.
Carlos Abregu's right hand hit home, time and again, and ended the night at the Turning Stone Casino, in Verona, NY on Saturday night in round seven. Abregu scored a knockdown in the third, and then in round seven, a straight right over a jab, on the chin buzzed him. He didn't clinch hard enough to stop Abregu, and the winner threw a left hook that sent the loser down.
The end came at 2:35.
TKO winner Abregu went 121-362, to 54-269 for the loser.
Abregu after spoke to Max Kellerman. “We analyzed him with our team and we saw he was too young,” he said. “Maybe with time he could be a great fighter.” He said Dulorme messed with him going lefty. He said he'd like a rematch with Tim Bradley, because now his right hand is solid. Dulorme said after his corner stopped it, and he respects that. Was this too much, too soon, Kellerman asked? He said he was controlling Abregu.
The Argentine Abregu was 147 1/2 pounds, and was 33-1 entering. The Puerto Rican Dulorme was 147 pounds and 16-0 entering.
Abregu went down in the third, off a right. He fell, after being hurt again, with 35 seconds left. “Pay attention,” his corner said after the round. Dulorme went lefty in the fourth, and had some luck. He stayed lefty in the fifth. Harold Lederman had Abregu up 57-56 after six, for the record. The still-lefty Puerto Rican went righty in the seventh, and got stung again. Down he went, with 42 seconds left. The ref saw the corner saying no mas, and he ended things.
Bob Papa got to honoring Emanuel Steward right away on Saturday's Boxing After Dark program. “On behalf of the entire HBO team, I'd like to extend our deepest condolences to Emanuel's family,” he said. Papa then got into the first fight of the tripleheader, featuring Mexican Marvin Quintero vs. Mexican Miguel Vazquez. Don't think tears would be shed in many places if this fight wasn't part of the show, as it never got traction. After 12 rounds, the judges saw it 115-113 for Quintero, 116-112 Vazquez and 118-110 Vazquez, a split decision win for Vazquez. The judges booed; they should have cheered that it ended.
V went 189-587, to 159-643 for Q.
Vazquez was without trainer Javier Capetillo, who is still banned from working ringside for the Antonio Margarito handwraps incident. The IBF lightweight crown, held by Vazquez, was up for grabs. Quintero (25-3 entering, was stopped in all three of his losses) was ranked No. 1 coming in.
The 31-3 Vazquez said before he wants the winner of next month's Adrien Broner-Antonio Demarco scrap. Two of his losses came to Canelo Alvarez, in Canelo's first pro bout, in 2006, and then again in 2008. Quintero lost his lone stepup fight, to Daniel Attah, in 2010. Attah went 1-7 after that scrap.
Quintero went 0-for-17 in the first round, according to CompuBox. Vazquez employed movement to confound Quintero early on. As the rounds progressed, it could be argued he moved too much. Quintero's left hand landed cleanly after round two a few times a round. Lederman had it 86-85 Quintero through nine rounds. Vazquez pressed harder late, but the fight never achieved liftoff.
After the bout, HBO showed a segment on Steward. Manny talked about how he got into boxing, how he got involved in Kronk. Jim Lampley provided a voiceover. He talked about Manny's first transcendent client, Thomas Hearns. We were reminded that Manny trained Oliver McCall to beat Lennox Lewis, and then joined Team Lewis. He worked 11 years for HBO, Lampley said. He will be deeply missed by family, friends, and the sport. “Ringside will never be quite the same,” Lampley said in closing.
Mauricio Herrera (18-2 entering; from Cali) then took on Karim Mayfield (16-0 entering; from Frisco; No. 6 WBO and WBA) in the second televised bout, a junior welter tussle. Mayfield wanted to land his heavy right and Herrera mostly plowed forward, with a more varied arsenal. Herrera's chin was tested in round seven. The right hand found a home repeatedly. Herrera's best punch was his jab, still stiff in round eight. That wouldn't get him the win on the cards. He landed more (222 to 203) and threw more (683 to 569) but what he threw wasn't loved by the arbiters. Mayfield won, by scores of 98-92, 97-93, 96-94.
Here is the press release that went out after the show:
October 27, 2012 – Gary Shaw Productions in association with Greg Cohen Promotions, DiBella Entertainment, Thompson Boxing Promotions, Universal Promotions, Prize Fight, Joe Deguardia's Star Boxing, and Zanfer Promotions presented an amazing night of boxing at the Turning Stone Casino.
In the 10-round main-event, Argentine slugger, Luis Carlos Abregu (34-1, 28 KOs) defeated former undefeated Puerto Rican contender, Thomas Dulorme (16-1, 12 KOs) by way of seventh round TKO to capture the WBC International welterweight title.
Dulorme set the pace early as he boxed and used his jab to keep Abregu at bay. But in the third round, Abregu landed a powerful right hand and dropped the undefeated contender Dulrome. Thomas took the full 8-count and regained his composure for the time being. In the very next round, Dulorme started to use lateral movement and it gave Abregu problems. Just as it seemed Dulorme was starting to find a rhythm, Abregue landed a left hook and sent Thomas to the canvas once again. Abregu's right hands had found a home and Dulorme was still on wobbly legs and his corner stopped the fight.
“He was too young and maybe with time he'll become a better fighter,” said Abregu. “He couldn't get away from my right hand and I knew at some point he was going to get caught with it. As you can see he did and his corner stopped the fight.”
“I didn't want them to stop the fight but I respect their decision because they were looking out for me.” Dulorme stated. “I was controlling the fight but he caught me with a good punch but I came up and I was ok. I'll take this experience and learn from it.”
MAYFIELD RETAINS HIS NABO TITLE
The co-feature attraction showcased San Francisco's undefeated WBO/NABO Jr. Welterweight champion, Karim “Hard Hitta” Mayfield (16-0-1, 10 KOs) vs. Southern California's, Mauricio Herrera (18-2, 7 KOs). Mayfield's NABO title was on the line.
When the opening bell rang, both fighters started off slow. Mayfield was looking to land his signature overhand right, while Herrera was being the aggressor. The action started to heat up in the fourth round when Mayfield started to land some combinations. Herrera wasn't backing down and snuck in a couple of right hands himself.
In the middle rounds, Mayfield started to find a home for his left hook. Herrera continued to press the action but was finding it difficult to get off as Mayfield was smothering his punches. A few powerful punches landed for Mayfield as he started to get into a rhythm.
The fight was close as it entered the final rounds but Mayfield started to land some nice combinations. Herrera had his moments late but never landed anything special. Mayfield retained his title with a unanimous decision victory as the scorecards read 96-94, 98-92, 97-93.
“My conditioning was good and I neutralized his punch output with my smothering,” said Mayfield. “I didn't get hit with too many big shots and I'm happy with the win. Next time I step into the ring I'm going to pick up my punch count.”
“I felt I was landing the better shots on the inside,” Herrera said. “I felt I won the fight but the judges weren't scoring the body shots I was landing in the trenches. I'll be back.”
VASQUEZ REMAINS IBF CHAMPION
In the opening televised bout, Miguel Vazquez (32-3, 13 KOs) and No. 1 contender, Marvin Quintero (25-4, 21 KOs) went the distance in a 12-round bout for the IBF Lightweight title
Early on both fighters were felling each other out but the action started to pick up in the middle rounds. Quintero was doing his best to cut off the ring against Vasquez who was using his lateral movement to land his shots. He had success at times, landing some solid hooks to the head Vasquez, but Vasquez continued to back pedal. The same action continued through the middle and late rounds. Neither fighter was ever hurt and the fight went the full twelve rounds.
When it was all said and done, Vasquez won by split decision and retained his title. The scorecards read 115-113 for Quintero and 116-112, 118-110 for Vasquez.
UNDERCARD RESULTS
(8-round featherweight bout) Joel Brunker (24-0, 13 KOs) vs. Carlos Fulgencio (19-9-1, 12 KOs) – Australian born Joel Brunker scored a first round knockout when he landed a devastating left hook to the body of Fulgencio. After Fulgencio couldn't make the 10 count, the bout was halted at the 1:40 mark.
“I wanted to come out tonight and show everyone that I'm a real fighter,” said Brunker. “When I landed that left hook to the body, I knew he wasn't getting up. I want to thank Gary Shaw for believing in me and I promise to keep working hard in the gym.”
(8-round welterweight bout) Javier Flores (8-0, 7 KOs) vs. Alberto Herrera (8-8-1, 5 KOs) – Herrera came out the aggressor and won the early rounds as Flores was trying to find his range. Herrera kept coming forward Flores held his ground and the fight ended up in the trenches. Flores' punches were landing with more force, but Herrera's chin was holding and the fans were witnessing a great fight. Herrera was giving the undefeated Flores all he could handle and the middle rounds could have gone either way. In the final round both fighters went for broke and toe to toe action erupted. When the final bell rang both fighters were standing but it was Flores who squeaked out a majority decision. Scorecards read 76-76, 77-75 twice.
“I was satisfied with my performance and this was a tough fight for me but it was a fight that I needed to prepare me for the next level,” stated Flores. “I learned that I can go six rounds if need be, because not every fight will end in a KO. Hererra was a lot tougher than I expected but this experience gives me confidence moving forward.”
(6-round light-heavyweight bout) Ryon McKenzie (11-0, 10 KOs) Eric Watkins (7-3, 4 KOs) – In the early rounds both fighters were having their moments, but it was McKenzie who did the most damage. Watkins did his best to back up McKenzie and he had success at times but his punches never seemed to do any harm. As the fight progressed, McKenzie's heavier hands were landing but that didn't stop aggressive style the Watkins was displaying. McKenzie used his height, reach and superior boxing skills to win a majority of the rounds. McKenzie won by way of unanimous decision with the scorecards reading 58-56 and 59-55 twice.
“Watkins came to fight and I needed to go some rounds so I'm happy with the victory,” McKenzie said. “Going the distance for the first time is something new that I'm happy to embrace and I'm ready to move on to the next one.”
(6-round heavyweight bout) Eric Fields (21-1, 15 KOs) vs. Kevin Franklin (4-5, 1 KO) – In the first round Fields landed left hook to the head of Franklin and a mouse surfaced under his right eye. Fields continued to back up Franklin with his jab and the fight entered the later rounds. Fields was trying to close out the fight with a knockout, but Franklin was too slick and the fight went the distance. Fields dominated the fight and the scorecards read 60-54 twice and 59-55.
“This was another fight were I feel I learned something new,” said Fields. “It's time to get back in the gym and work on my craft.”
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Gabriela Fundora KOs Marilyn Badillo and Perez Upsets Conwell in Oceanside

It was just a numbers game for Gabriela Fundora and despite Mexico’s Marilyn Badillo’s elusive tactics it took the champion one punch to end the fight and retain her undisputed flyweight world title by knockout on Saturday.
Will it be her last flyweight defense?
Though Fundora (16-0, 8 KOs) fired dozens of misses, a single punch found Badillo (19-1-1, 3 KOs) and ended her undefeated career and first attempt at a world title at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California.
Fundora, however, proves unbeatable at flyweight.
The champion entered the arena as the headliner for the Golden Boy Promotion show and stepped through the ropes with every physical advantage possible, including power.
Mexico’s Badillo was a midget compared to Fundora but proved to be as elusive as a butterfly in a menagerie for the first six rounds. As the six-inch taller Fundora connected on one punch for every dozen thrown, that single punch was a deadly reminder.
Badillo tried ducking low and slipping to the left while countering with slashing uppercuts, she found little success. She did find the body a solid target but the blows proved to be useless. And when Badillo clinched, that proved more erroneous as Fundora belted her rapidly during the tie-ups.
“She was kind of doing her ducking thing,” said Fundora describing Badillo’s defensive tactics. “I just put the pressure on. It was just like a train. We didn’t give her that break.”
The Mexican fighter tried valiantly with various maneuvers. None proved even slightly successful. Fundora remained poised and under control as she stalked the challenger.
In the seventh round Badillo seemed to take a stand and try to slug it out with Fundora. She quickly was lit up by rapid left crosses and down she went at 1:44 of the seventh round. The Mexican fighter’s corner wisely waved off the fight and referee Rudy Barragan stopped the fight and held the dazed Badillo upright.
Once again Fundora remained champion by knockout. The only question now is will she move up to super flyweight or bantamweight to challenge the bigger girls.
Perez Beats Conwell.
Mexico’s Jorge “Chino” Perez (33-4, 26 KOs) upset Charles Conwell (21-1, 15 KOs) to win by split decision after 12 rounds in their super welterweight showdown.
It was a match that paired two hard-hitting fighters whose ledgers brimmed with knockouts, but neither was able to score a knockdown against each other.
Neither fighter moved backward. It was full steam ahead with Conwell proving successful to the body and head with left hooks and Perez connecting with rights to the head and body. It was difficult to differentiate the winner.
Though Conwell seemed to be the superior defensive fighter and more accurate, two judges preferred Perez’s busier style. They gave the fight to Perez by 115-113 scores with the dissenter favoring Conwell by the same margin.
It was Conwell’s first pro loss. Maybe it will open doors for more opportunities.
Other Bouts
Tristan Kalkreuth (15-1) managed to pass a serious heat check by unanimous decision against former contender Felix Valera (24-8) after a 10-round back-and-forth heavyweight fight.
It was very close.
Kalkreuth is one of those fighters that possess all the physical tools including youth and size but never seems to be able to show it. Once again he edged past another foe but at least this time he faced an experienced fighter in Valera.
Valera had his moments especially in the middle of the 10-round fight but slowed down during the last three rounds.
One major asset for Kalkreuth was his chin. He got caught but still motored past the clever Valera. After 10 rounds two judges saw it 99-91 and one other judge 97-93 all for Kalkreuth.
Highly-rated prospect Ruslan Abdullaev (2-0) blasted past dangerous Jino Rodrigo (13- 5-2) in an eight round super lightweight fight. He nearly stopped the very tough Rodrigo in the last two rounds and won by unanimous decision.
Abdullaev is trained by Joel and Antonio Diaz in Indio.
Bakersfield prospect Joel Iriarte (7-0, 7 KOs) needed only 1:44 to knock out Puerto Rico’s Marcos Jimenez (25-12) in a welterweight bout.
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‘Krusher’ Kovalev Exits on a Winning Note: TKOs Artur Mann in his ‘Farewell Fight’

At his peak, former three-time world light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev ranked high on everyone’s pound-for-pound list. Now 42 years old – he turned 42 earlier this month – Kovalev has been largely inactive in recent years, but last night he returned to the ring in his hometown of Chelyabinsk, Russia, and rose to the occasion in what was billed as his farewell fight, stopping Artur Mann in the seventh frame.
Kovalev hit his peak during his first run as a world title-holder. He was 30-0-1 (26 KOs) entering first match with Andre Ward, a mark that included a 9-0 mark in world title fights. The only blemish on his record was a draw that could have been ruled a no-contest (journeyman Grover Young was unfit to continue after Kovalev knocked down in the second round what with was deemed an illegal rabbit punch). Among those nine wins were two stoppages of dangerous Haitian-Canadian campaigner Jean Pascal and a 12-round shutout over Bernard Hopkins.
Kovalev’s stature was not diminished by his loss to the undefeated Ward. All three judges had it 114-113, but the general feeling among the ringside press was that Sergey nicked it.
The rematch was also somewhat controversial. Referee Tony Weeks, who halted the match in the eighth stanza with Kovalev sitting on the lower strand of ropes, was accused of letting Ward get away with a series of low blows, including the first punch of a three-punch series of body shots that culminated in the stoppage. Sergey was wobbled by a punch to the head earlier in the round and was showing signs of fatigue, but he was still in the fight. Respected judge Steve Weisfeld had him up by three points through the completed rounds.
Sergey Kovalev was never the same after his second loss to Andre Ward, albeit he recaptured a piece of the 175-pound title twice, demolishing Vyacheslav Shabranskyy for the vacant WBO belt after Ward announced his retirement and then avenging a loss to Eleider Alvarez (TKO by 7) with a comprehensive win on points in their rematch.
Kovalev’s days as a title-holder ended on Nov. 2, 2019 when Canelo Alvarez, moving up two weight classes to pursue a title in a fourth weight division, stopped him in the 11th round, terminating what had been a relatively even fight with a hellacious left-right combination that left Krusher so discombobulated that a count was superfluous.
That fight went head-to-head with a UFC fight in New York City. DAZN, to their everlasting discredit, opted to delay the start of Canelo-Kovalev until the main event of the UFC fight was finished. The delay lasted more than an hour and Kovalev would say that he lost his psychological edge during the wait.
Kovalev had two fights in the cruiserweight class between his setback to Canelo and last night’s presumptive swan song. He outpointed Tervel Pulev in Los Angeles and lost a 10-round decision to unheralded Robin Sirwan Safar in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Artur Mann, a former world title challenger – he was stopped in three rounds by Mairis Briedis in 2021 when Briedis was recognized as the top cruiserweight in the world – was unexceptional, but the 34-year-old German, born in Kazakhstan, wasn’t chopped liver either, and Kovalev’s stoppage of him will redound well to the Russian when he becomes eligible for the Boxing Hall of Fame.
Krusher almost ended the fight in the second round. He knocked Mann down hard with a short left hand and seemingly scored another knockdown before the round was over (but it was ruled a slip). Mann barely survived the round.
In the next round, a punch left Mann with a bad cut on his right eyelid, but the German came to fight and rounds three, four and five were competitive.
Kovalev had a good sixth round although there were indications that he was tiring. But in the seventh he got a second wind and unleashed a right-left combination that rolled back the clock to the days when he was one of the sport’s most feared punchers. Mann went down hard and as he staggered to his feet, his corner signaled that the fight should be stopped and the referee complied. The official time was 0:49 of round seven. It was the 30th KO for Kovalev who advanced his record to 36-5-1.
Addendum: History informs us that Farewell Fights have a habit of becoming redundant, by which we mean that boxers often get the itch to fight again after calling it quits. Have we seen the last of Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev? We woudn’t bet on it.
The complete Kovalev-Mann fight card was live-streamed on the Boxing News youtube channel.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 322: Super Welterweight Week in SoCal

Two below-the-radar super welterweight stars show off their skills this weekend from different parts of Southern California.
One in particular, Charles Conwell, co-headlines a show in Oceanside against a hard-hitting Mexican while another super welter star Sadriddin Akhmedov faces another Mexican hitter in Commerce.
Take your pick.
The super welterweight division is loaded with talent at the moment. If Terence Crawford remained in the division he would be at the top of the class, but he is moving up several weight divisions.
Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) faces Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs) a tall knockout puncher from Los Mochis at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, Calif. on Saturday April 19. DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also features undisputed flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora. We’ll get to her later.
Conwell might be the best super welterweight out there aside from the big dogs like Vergil Ortiz, Serhii Bohachuk and Sebastian Fundora.
If you are not familiar with Conwell he comes from Cleveland, Ohio and is one of those fighters that other fighters know about. He is good.
He has the James “Lights Out” Toney kind of in-your-face-style where he anchors down and slowly deciphers the opponent’s tools and then takes them away piece by piece. Usually it’s systematic destruction. The kind you see when a skyscraper goes down floor by floor until it’s smoking rubble.
During the Covid days Conwell fought two highly touted undefeated super welters in Wendy Toussaint and Madiyar Ashkeyev. He stopped them both and suddenly was the boogie man of the super welterweight division.
Conwell will be facing Mexico’s taller Garcia who likes to trade blows as most Mexican fighters prefer, especially those from Sinaloa. These guys will be firing H bombs early.
Fundora
Co-headlining the Golden Boy card is Gabriela Fundora (15-0, 7 KOs) the undisputed flyweight champion of the world. She has all the belts and Mexico’s Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1, 3 KOs) wants them.
Gabriela Fundora is the sister of Sebastian Fundora who holds the men’s WBC and WBO super welterweight world titles. Both are tall southpaws with power in each hand to protect the belts they accumulated.
Six months ago, Fundora met Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz in Las Vegas to determine the undisputed flyweight champion. The much shorter Alaniz tried valiantly to scrap with Fundora and ran into a couple of rocket left hands.
Mexico’s Badillo is an undefeated flyweight from Mexico City who has battled against fellow Mexicans for years. She has fought one world champion in Asley Gonzalez the current super flyweight world titlist. They met years ago with Badillo coming out on top.
Does Badillo have the skill to deal with the taller and hard-hitting Fundora?
When a fighter has a six-inch height advantage like Fundora, it is almost impossible to out-maneuver especially in two-minute rounds. Ask Alaniz who was nearly decapitated when she tried.
This will be Badillo’s first pro fight outside of Mexico.
Commerce Casino
Kazakhstan’s Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0, 13 KOs) is another dangerous punching super welterweight headlining a 360 Promotions card against Mexico’s Elias Espadas (23-6, 16 KOs) on Saturday at the Commerce Casino.
UFC Fight Pass will stream the 360 Promotions card of about eight bouts.
Akhmedov is another Kazakh puncher similar to the great Gennady “GGG” Golovkin who terrorized the middleweight division for a decade. He doesn’t have the same polish or dexterity but doesn’t lack pure punching power.
It’s another test for the super welterweight who is looking to move up the ladder in the very crowded 154-pound weight division. 360 Promotions already has a top contender in Ukraine’s Serhii Bohachuk who nearly defeated Vergil Ortiz a year ago.
Could Bohachuk and Akhmedov fight each other if nothing else materializes?
That’s a question for another day.
Fights to Watch
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Charles Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) vs. Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs); Gabriela Fundora (15-0) vs Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1).
Sat. UFC Fight Pass 6 p.m. Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0) vs Elias Espadas (23-6).
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