Pacquiao, Arum and Rios Do NYC: Manhattan Presser Report

Published

7 years ago

August 7, 2013

Bob Arum has yet to give a tagline to his next PPV on Nov. 23, headlined by Manny Pacquiao and Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios, taking place at The Venetian Macao in China. While it looks to be an excellent match-up between two all-action fighters, he appears less interested in the fight itself than what it represents.

“The world is changing,” Arum said from the dais on Tuesday afternoon at Jing Feng restaurant in Manhattan’s Chinatown for the first leg of the US press tour. He was referring to his company Top Rank opening the doors to China to big time prizefighting and developing Macao as a potential threat to standard-bearer Las Vegas. This has been made possible due to the enormous popularity his top earner, the Filipino Pacquiao, has enjoyed throughout Asia, among other continents, over the last decade. But an equally important player has been a new member of his stable, Zou Shiming, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and burgeoning pro at light flyweight who enjoys hysterical, Pacman-like fame in his native China. This in a country of 1.35 billion has Arum licking his chops, even if Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong banned the sport in 1959, which was only legalized in 2001 when China won the bid to host the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. (Committed to winning more Olympic medals than any other nation in 2008—for the symbolic import such an achievement denotes—China went after amateur boxing full-bore.)

At pressers such as this, Arum laps up the spotlight as much as any mega-star fighter. Regardless of what you think of him, the 81-year-old is a freak of nature, defying age every bit as much as Bernard Hopkins. He puts the late George Burns to shame. He acts his age only in the time it takes him to cross the room and whatever hair dye he insists on using. In other ways, he recalls the qualities of great veteran fighters; making every move count and wasting nothing, setting traps, thinking several moves ahead, with a couple hollow-points in the chamber.

An example of Arum’s verbal nimbleness occurred when he was twice interrupted while holding court by some loudly spoken Cantonese spoken over the restaurant’s PA system. Like a Borscht-belt comedian, he paused for a beat and then replied “I agree.” When it happened a second time ten minutes later, he said, “Hold the orders please,” using it as a segue-way to discuss other matters at hand. The only people present who didn’t chuckle or applaud were the two scantily-clad Tecate girls flanking him; like Madame Tussauds wax figures, their painted faces didn’t move a muscle and no plastic parts jiggled. He began to expound on the merits of the events big sponsor Tecate beer: “The fastest growing beer in America,” he reminded the crowd. He proposed a toast to all the “umbres”—then corrected himself and put more “H” into it, out of respect for all the Latinos who have made him a wealthy man—who would be imbibing the fine beverage during the fight.

Arum didn’t hold back from firing a few jabs at his rival Golden Boy Promotions, explaining how the Managing Editor of Time magazine whom he and Manny met with yesterday, said he was bored at Floyd Mayweather’s last fight at the MGM Grand. Arum explained to him that’s because other people in his business have “No pizzazz…. ‘That’s how some people do it, but not us. A Top Rank fight is a spectacular show. Between fights, dancers come in the ring! There are fire displays and great displays of lighting! A real show. People will be entertained.’” He likened his product to arguably the number one brand in sport, the NFL, who get the concept of putting on a good show.

After he was done with Golden Boy, he went after the boxing press, saying, “The bloggers don’t talk about [the show Top Rank puts on]. They don’t get it and don’t get what’s important for the future of the sport.”

“The world is changing but it is still the same,” Arum continued, steering his spiel back to where he first began today. He reminded us that the PPV will begin as they always have at 9pm EST, and will be distributed and broadcast by HBO, whom he called “the best in the business at PPV.” (Not long ago, the man who once famously said, “Yesterday I was lying but today I’m telling the truth,” spoke of “all the bullshit and phony events HBO is into these days”). As Macau is 12 hours ahead of US Eastern Standard Time, the televised portion of the card will begin at 9am that Sunday in China, which isn’t my idea of fun. Arum noted that all the marketing will remain the same, with a “Face Off” segment moderated by Max Kellerman and a juicy “24/7” series.

When Arum called the usually feral Rios ( on left, with Pacquiao, in photo courtesy Chris Farina-Top Rank) to the stage, a guy who could make a construction worker blush, it seemed a choir boy had possessed his soul. He was sweetly wide-eyed and epithet-free, offering only kind words towards his foe. “This”—referring to the whole tour—“is the first presser where no one talked smack,” Rios said. “Everyone has been respective.”

He admires Pacman’s achievements and can find nothing negative about him to latch on to. Three years ago, before Pacman fought Rios’ stable-mate Antonio Margarito, he joked about Freddie Roach’s well-documented Parkinson’s disease, which was caught on video. He has since apologized and, at the moment, there doesn’t appear to be a hint of discord between the two camps.

When Arum took to the stage once more and began introducing Pacquiao, he didn’t refer to him as a fighter. He spoke only of him as “a great congressman,” a veritable flower among weeds in the corrupt world of politics in that beleaguered Third World nation.

This was as telling as anything Arum had done all day. The octogenarian is all about the future. China is the future. “Bam Bam” Rios may be the future. Pacman the fighter? The 34-year-old was last seen planking on the canvas for a good ten minutes. The Bobfather is planting new seeds. The world keeps turning and pauses for no one, including Manny Pacquiao.

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The Sweet Science

Jermell Charlo Unifies Super Welterweights Via Solar Plexus Punch

Published

7 hours ago

September 26, 2020

David A. Avila

Jermell-Charlo-Unifies-Super-Welterweights-Via-Solar-Plexus-Punch

WBC super welterweight titlist Jermell Charlo knocked out IBF and WBA titlist Jeison Rosario with a knockout punch delivered to the solar plexus on Saturday to add two more belts to his collection.

“I’m definitely bringing home the straps,” said Charlo.

Shades of Bob Fitzsimmons.

Back in 1897, Fitzsimmons used the same solar plexus punch to dethrone Gentleman James Corbett for the heavyweight title in Carson City, Nevada.

In another casino city Charlo (34-1, 18 KOs) floored Dominican Republic’s Rosario (20-2-1, 14 KOs) three times at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn. He and his brother co-headlined a heavy duty pay-per-view card with no fans in attendance on the Premier Boxing Champions card.

Charlo jumped on Rosario quickly in the first round when he charged and clipped him with a left hook to the temple. Down went the two-belt champion for the count. But he got up seemingly unfazed.

For the next several rounds Rosario was the aggressor and put the pressure on Charlo who was content to allow the Dominican to fire away. Occasionally the Houston fighter jabbed but allowed Rosario to pound up and down with both fists.

After allowing Rosario to get comfortable with his attack, suddenly Charlo stopped moving and connected with a short crisp counter left hook and right cross in the sixth round. Down went Rosario again and he got up before the count of 10.

Charlo said it was part of the game plan.

“I’m growing and I realize that the knockout will just come,” he said.

Charlo was in control with a patient style and allowed Rosario to come forward. But the Dominican was more cautious in the seventh.

In the eighth round Charlo jabbed to the head and then jabbed hard to Rosario’s stomach. The Dominican fighter dropped down on his seat as if felled by a gun shot. He could not get up and convulsed while on the floor. The referee Harvey Dock counted him out at 21 seconds of round eight.

“That jab that got to him must have landed in a vital point,” said Charlo after the fight. “I hope he recovers and bounces back.”

Charlo now has three of the four major super welterweight world titles.

WBC Super Bantamweight Title

Luis Nery (31-0, 24 KOs) captured the WBC super bantamweight title by unanimous decision over fellow Mexican Aaron Alameda (25-1, 13 KOs) in a battle between southpaws. The war between border town fighters was intense.

Nery, a former bantamweight world titlist, moved up a weight division and found Alameda to be a slick southpaw with an outstanding jab. At first the Tijuana fighter was a little puzzled how to attack but found his groove in the fourth round.

But Alameda, who fights out of Nogales, Mexico, began using combinations and finding success. A crafty counter left uppercut caught Nery charging in a few times, but he managed to walk through them.

In the final two rounds Nery picked up the action and increased the pressure against the slick fighting Alameda, He forced the Nogales fighter to fight defensively and that proved enough to give the last two rounds for Nery and the victory by unanimous decision. The scores were 115-113, 116-112 and 118-110 for Nery who now holds the WBC super bantamweight world title. He formerly held the WBC bantamweight title.

Roman Wins

Danny “Baby-Faced Assassin” Roman (28-3-1, 10 KOs) managed to rally from behind and defeat Juan Carlos Payano (21-4, 9 KOs) in a battle between former world champions in a nontitle super bantamweight clash. It wasn’t easy.

Once again Roman fought a talented southpaw and in this fight Payano, a former bantamweight titlist, moved up in weight and kept Roman off balance for the first half of the fight. The jab and movement by the Dominican fighter seemed to keep Roman out of sync.

Roman, who fights out of Los Angeles, used a constant body attack to wear down the 35-year-old Payano and it paid off in the second half. Then the former unified world champion Roman began to pinpoint more blows to the body and head. With seconds left in the 12^th and final round, a left hook delivered Payano down and through the ropes. Sadly, the referee missed the knockdown. It didn’t matter as all three judges scored it identical at 116-112 for Roman after 12 rounds.

“I made some adjustments and picked up the pace and got the win,” said Roman who formerly held the WBA and IBF super bantamweight world titles.

Photo credit: Amanda Westcott / SHOWTIME

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Jermall Charlo UD 12 Derevyanchenko; Figueroa and Casimero Also Triumphant

Published

12 hours ago

September 26, 2020

Arne K. Lang

Jermall Charlo UD 12 Derevyanchenko; Figueroa and Casimero Also Triumphant

The Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, was the site of the first pay-per-view boxing event in the United States since the Fury-Wilder rematch on Feb. 22. There were six fights in all, five of which were title fights and the other a title-eliminator. They were divided into two tiers but bundled into a package that cost approximately a dollar a round with a facile intermission tossed in at no extra charge.

The headline attraction of the first “three-pack” – and the most anticipated fight of the evening – found WBC world middleweight champion Jermall Charlo defending his title against Sergiy Derevyanchenko. The Ukrainian gave Gennady Golovkin a hard tussle when they fought in November of last year at Madison Square Garden – GGG won a unanimous decision but the scores were tight and many thought Derevyanchenko deserved the decision – and the expectation was that tonight’s match would also be very competitive. But it really wasn’t although the rugged Derevyanchenko rarely took a backward step.

The fight went the distance and there were no knockdowns, but Charlo buckled his knees at the end of round three and Derevyanchenko ended the fight with cuts above both eyes. The judges had it 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

With Canelo Alvarez apparently headed to 168 and GGG showing his age at 38, one can make a strong case that the undefeated 30-year-old Jermall Charlo (31-0, 22 KOs) is now the top middleweight in the world. Derevyanchenko, who was 23-1 in the semi-pro World Series of Boxing before turning pro, saw his pro record decline to 13-3 with all three losses in middleweight title fights.

—

The middle fight of the first tier was a lusty encounter between Mexican-American super bantamweights Brandon Figueroa and Damien Vazquez. Figueroa, one of two fighting brothers from the Mexican border town of Weslaco, Texas, was a huge favorite over Vazquez, a Colorado native who moved to Las Vegas as a freshman in high school and had fought extensively in Mexico where he made his pro debut at age 16. But Vazquez, the nephew of former three-time world super bantamweight title-holder Israel Vazquez, came to fight and gave a good effort until the fight turned lopsidedly against him.

In the middle rounds, Figueroa’s high-pressure attack began to wear Vazquez down. Vazquez had a few good moments in rounds six and eight, but when his right eye began swelling from the cut above it, he was fighting an uphill battle. He took a lot of punishment before referee Gary Rosato halted it at the 1:18 mark of round 10.

Figueroa, 23, successfully defended his WBA 122-pound title while improving his record to 21-0-1 with his 16^th KO. Vazquez declined to 15-2-1.

—

The lid-lifter was a WBO bantamweight title defense by John Riel Casimero with Duke Micah in the opposite corner. Micah, from Accra, Ghana, came in undefeated at 24-0, but Casimero had faced a far stronger schedule and was a substantial favorite.

A Filipino who was been training in Las Vegas under Bones Adams, Casimero took Micah out in the third round. The Brooklyn-based Micah was somewhat busier in the opening frame, but the tide turned quickly in favor of the Filipino. Casimero hurt Micah with a left hook in round two and went for the kill. He wasn’t able to finish him, but Micah was on a short leash and referee Steve Willis was quick to step in when Casimero resumed his attack after the break. The official time was 0:54.

Casimero (30-4, 21 KOs) was defending the title he won last November with a third-round knockout of favored Zolani Tete in Birmingham, England. He was slated to fight this past April in Las Vegas against Naoya Inoue, but that fight evaporated as a result of the coronavirus. After the bout, Casimero called out Inoue (and others): “I’m the real monster,” he said. “Naoya Inoue is scared of me. You’re next. I would have knocked out anyone today. If Inoue doesn’t fight me, then I’ll fight Guillermo Rigondeaux, Luis Nery, or any of the top fighters.”

Check back shortly for David Avila’s summaries of the remaining fights.

Photo credit: Amanda Westcott / SHOWTIME

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Mairis Briedis and Josh Taylor Impress on a Busy Fight Day in Europe

Published

15 hours ago

September 26, 2020

Arne K. Lang

Mairis-Briedis-and-Josh-Taylor-Impress-on-a-Busy-Fight-Day-in-Europe

In the busiest weekend of boxing thus far in 2020, there were fights of note all over the map in Europe. The most compelling was held at the Plazamedia Broadcasting Center in Munich where the long-delayed WBSS cruiserweight final pit IBF world cruiserweight title-holder Yuniel Dorticos against Mairis Briedis. Both had only one loss on their ledger, that coming in a semifinal of Season One of the WBSS tourney.

Heading in, Briedis was recognized as the more well-rounder boxer. Dorticos had a style somewhat similar to Deontay Wilder, meaning that he was over-dependent on his big right hand. It figured that Briedis would fight with extreme caution, using his faster hands and superior footwork to keep out of harm’s way, but to the contrary he wasn’t afraid to trade with Dorticos and actually landed the harder punches. At the end, he captured the IBF belt and the more coveted Muhammad Ali Trophy with a majority decision. The judges had it 117-111, 117-111, and a confounding 114-114.

The first fighter from Latvia to win a world title, Briedis (27-1, 19 KOs) is now a two-time world cruiserweight champion. He previously held the WBO cruiserweight belt, but vacated it rather than adhere to the organization’s mandate that he give Krzysztof Glowacki a rematch. (Their first fight, a TKO 3 for Briedis, was very messy and he was fortunate that he wasn’t disqualified.) Dorticos, the Cuban defector, returns to his adopted home in Miami with a 24-2 record.

Briedis, 35, may own only one piece of the world cruiserweight title, but at the moment he is clearly the topmost fighter in the division.

York Hall, London

Apinun Khongsong’s first engagement outside the Orient didn’t go well for him. The 24-year-old Thai boxer with an Muay Thai background was out of his element against WBA/IBF champion Josh Taylor who dismissed him in a hurry with a “solar plexus punch” that would have made Bob Fitzsimmons proud. The punch from the left-handed Scotsman sent Khongsong to the canvas writhing in pain and he was down for several minutes before he was able to stand upright. The official time was 2:41 of the opening round.

Taylor, the Tartan Tornado, was making his first start since October of last year when he won a 12-round majority decision over Regis Prograis in a Fight of the Year candidate. His next fight may be a full unification of the 140-pound belt with Jose Carlos Ramirez in the opposite corner. Both he and Khangsong entered today’s fight with 16-0 records, but Taylor, who scored his 13^th knockout, was in a different league.

Undercard Bouts of Note

In a 10-round bantamweight contest, Charlie Edwards (16-1, 1 NC, 6 KOs) out-classed British countryman Kyle Williams (11-3). The referee awarded Edwards nine of the 10 rounds. Edwards, 27, previously held the WBC 112-pound title but was forced to relinquish it because he had trouble making the weight.

York Hall has been a jinx for David Oliver Joyce, the 33-year-old super bantamweight from Mullinger, Ireland, who is 0-2 in this building and 12-0 elsewhere. Joyce failed to last three rounds today in his match with Ionut Baluta. A Romanian who fights out of Bilbao, Spain, Baluta knocked Joyce down with a big left hook and then swarmed all over him when he arose, forcing the referee to intervene. The official time was 1:49 of round three.

It was the sixth straight win for Baluta (14-2, 3 KOs) and his third straight over a once-beaten opponent.

Riga, Latvia

Riga native Richard Bilotniks successfully defended his version of the European 175-pound title and advanced to the finals of the Golden Contract Light Heavyweight Tournament with a one-sided 10-round decision over Hosea Burton. A late bloomer who won only four of his first eight pro fights, Bilotnicks 30, won every round on one of the scorecards and eight rounds on the others to advance record to 17-5-1. Burton, who lost for the second time in 27 starts, let down his cousin Tyson Fury who flew to Latvia to cheer him on.

Struer, Denmark

At an arena in the city of Struer, hometown lass Dina Thorslund had a harder time than expected with Nina Radovanovic, but the Serb got no respect from the judges who didn’t see fit to award her a single round. Thorslund (15-0, 6 KOs) successfully defended her WBO world 122-pound title.

In the chief undercard bout, heavyweight Filip Hrgovic (11-0, 9 KOs) moved a step closer to a world title opportunity with a second-round blast-out of late sub Alexandre Kartozia. There was no need to count when Hrgovic leveled Kartozia with a big right hand.

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