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Feared Jr. Welters Mauricio Herrera & Hank Lundy To Battle at L.A. Sports Arena
![](https://cdn.ib.tv/thesweetscience/images/Herrera-Lundy-a78.jpg)
Mauricio “El Maestro” Herrera meets Hank Lundy in a junior welterweight showdown on Saturday night.
In recent years, Herrera has leaped from relatively anonymous stature to becoming one of the most feared 140-pounders today.
Herrera (21-5, 7 Kos) fights Lundy (25-4-1, 12 Kos) at the famous L.A. Sports Arena in the main event, and it will be the final boxing match ever held at the historic venue.
HBO Latino will televise the Golden Boy Promotions event that signifies the 57-year-old end of a glorious boxing arena.
So why is every highly ranked junior welterweight so afraid of Herrera?
“As far as I’m concerned Mauricio Herrera is the true junior welterweight champion,” said HBO’s Max Kellerman loudly after Herrera was robbed of another decision this past December in Las Vegas. “He just doesn’t have the belt.”
For the past seven years Herrera was a well-kept secret known mainly by boxing fans in the Riverside County area of Southern California. Because he started boxing professionally at the late age of 27, he was thrust into the vipers den.
How many prizefighters begin pro careers at 27?
On August 2007, he stepped in the ring against Indio’s Angel Osuna, a tough, rugged middleweight with height, power and a tremendous chin. It was also Osuna’s debut and nobody realized at the time that Herrera was really a junior welterweight. (Osuna, sadly, suffered a brain bleed almost two years ago during a fight he was winning with Hugo Centeno. He was hospitalized over a month and no longer boxes.) The fight ended in Herrera’s first win as a pro. It never got easier.
Despite the ring shock of learning on the job against solid talent, it was in 2009 that Herrera got his first good test, facing L.A. southpaw Cleotis “Mookie” Pendarvis, a speedy and clever fighter also trying to crack the contender ceiling. That night Herrera took a short while to figure out Pendarvis. But once he got going he kept the pressure on and was able to keep Pendarvis on defense. It was a classic showdown between two very skillful boxers. Herrera won by majority decision.
Next was former world champion Mighty Mike Anchondo, a schoolyard legend from La Puente. He was a great amateur and also one of the early signees with Golden Boy Promotions. He grabbed a WBO super featherweight title in July 2004 but lost against Argentina’s Jorge Barrios in 2005. In 2009, at the Chumash Casino, Anchondo was looking for another world title shot in the junior welterweight division. Though many felt Herrera won, two of the judges did not and Herrera suffered his first loss.
The Riverside fighter told his promoter at the time he wanted another high profile fight. Meanwhile he was fed Efren Hinojosa and Hector Alatorre, two credible opponents with very solid experience. He defeated both. Now he was ready for television again.
Provodnikov
Russia’s Ruslan Provodnikov was on every contender’s “avoid list” after he knocked out former world champion Javier Jauregui and Emanuel Augustus in back-to-back fights. Jauregui was embarrassed by the much stronger Provodnikov and was in survival mode after the third round. Augustus, arguably one of the finest boxers in his prime, was stopped in the ninth round. Nobody wanted anything to do with Provodnikov, except Herrera.
The year 2011 was barely a week old when Herrera and Provodnikov met at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas. It was a cold night and a good crowd was inside, many venturing from the Riverside area to see the Friday Night Fights with ESPN.
When the bell rang, a battle erupted with both barely feeling out each other. Herrera emerged with a large welt on the side of his head and he was bleeding. It didn’t look like the Riverside junior welterweight was going to be able to fight much longer. It was barely one round and it looked bleak for Herrera.
Provodnikov was strong and confident as he looked at Herrera coming forward in the second round. They fired again but this time Herrera’s punches were landing first and Provodnikov couldn’t seem to find the target for the finishing touch. He never did. Round after round Provodnikov tried to take Herrera from his senses. Instead, he began showing signs of withstanding blows as his face began to swell too from the many strikes. After 12 brutal, bloody and close rounds, all three judges gave the fight to Herrera. It was a remarkable turnaround and would wake up the rest of the country that saw it on television.
World title fights
Though blessed with remarkable reflexes, intelligence and tenacity, Herrera never had explosive power. Whenever he walks into a fight it’s always the other fighter that has a record of impressive knockouts on his ledger. Judges seem to look at the record and give fighters with more knockouts more credibility.
When Herrera was matched against Mike Alvarado, one judge gave the Riverside fighter only one round out of 10. When Herrera fought Karim Mayfield he was given only two rounds by one judge. Against Danny Garcia in a fight for the world title, the world felt Herrera won but he was denied. Even fans in Puerto Rico where the fight was held felt Herrera was robbed of the decision.
“I had lots of Puerto Ricans come up to me and tell me I won the fight,” said Herrera, adding that he was surprised and pleased by the response from fans in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. But he felt he should have walked out of the arena with the WBC title wrapped around his waist.
Last December, Herrera met undefeated Jose Benavidez for the interim WBA super lightweight title in Las Vegas. After 12 rounds that saw Benavidez against the ropes peeking through his gloves, all three judges scored it for Benavidez. Dozens of boxing writers were on hand and only one saw it for Benavidez. His own promotion company felt he lost. His own father thought he had lost. But three judges at the fight somehow felt Herrera did not do enough, though he was the one carrying the fight and landing most of the blows.
L.A.
Despite living a mere 60 miles from Los Angeles the Riverside fighter has never fought in the City of Angels. Herrera fought mainly in the Inland Empire, where a resurgence in boxing has taken place in the last 20 years.
History knows Los Angeles as a hotspot for boxing for more than a century. Fighters like Sam Langdon, Jimmy McClarnin, Joe Louis, Baby Arizmendi, Sugar Ray Robinson, Art Aragon, Ike Williams, Mando Ramos, Muhammad Ali and Oscar De La Hoya blazed their way into the record books of boxing history. One of L.A.’s famed boxing venues for the past 60 years has been the L.A. Sports Arena. Now it’s closing its doors after this final fight card by Golden Boy Promotions.
Facing Herrera will be Philadelphia’s “Hammerin” Lundy, a long-time contender and like Herrera, a boxer who doesn’t have a lot of pop but does have a lot of skill. He’s defeated several fringe contenders and lost a few too. But except for the knockout loss to John Molina Jr., one could argue the other losses can be disputed.
“We could both be undefeated,” said Herrera, during their opening press conference last month in Los Angeles.
Lundy expects to win in front of Herrera’s home crowd and promises to be a handful.
“This is going to be an a– whipping,” said Lundy. “I can’t say too much because I don’t want to scare you.”
Herrera barely blinked when he heard those words. But he knows one more win and he can get Lucas Matthysse or maybe even Timothy Bradley.
Who knows?
Lundy gave Herrera his props for his previous fights.
“That fight against Danny Garcia, you won that fight. And that’s coming from a guy from Philadelphia,” said Lundy to Herrera.
This will be the last fight ever held at the L.A. Sports Arena. Ironically, boxing was the first sporting event ever held there. Boxing will close it down for good. The venue is being targeted for demolition and will be replaced by a soccer stadium. It’s blocks away from where the U.S. women’s soccer team recently celebrated its World Cup victory in front of more than 10,000 fans earlier this week.
The historical factor is not lost on Herrera.
“We’re going to close it down,” said Herrera.
A fiesta is planned on Saturday and begins at 1 p.m. Music, a beer garden, autograph booths with many current and former boxing champions, including Paul Gonzalez, will be on hand. The doors open for the boxing card at 4 p.m. It should be a memorable event.
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Niyomtrong Proves a Bridge Too Far for Alex Winwood in Australia
![Niyomtrong-Proves-a-Bridge-Too-Far-for-Alex-Winwood-in-Australia](https://tss.ib.tv/boxing/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/knockout.png)
Today in Perth, Australia, Alex Winwood stepped up in class in his fifth pro fight with the aim of becoming the fastest world title-holder in Australian boxing history. But Winwood (4-0, 2 KOs heading in) wasn’t ready for WBA strawweight champion Thammanoon Niyomtrong, aka Knockout CP Freshmart, who by some accounts is the longest reigning champion in the sport.
Niyomtrong (25-0, 9 KOs) prevailed by a slim margin to retain his title. “At least the right guy won,” said prominent Australian boxing writer Anthony Cocks who thought the scores (114-112, 114-112, 113-113) gave the hometown fighter all the best of it.
Winwood, who represented Australia in the Tokyo Olympics, trained for the match in Thailand (as do many foreign boxers in his weight class). He is trained by Angelo Hyder who also worked with Danny Green and the Moloney twins. Had he prevailed, he would have broken the record of Australian boxing icon Jeff Fenech who won a world title in his seventh pro fight. A member of the Noongar tribe, Winwood, 27, also hoped to etch on his name on the list of notable Australian aboriginal boxers alongside Dave Sands, Lionel Rose and the Mundines, Tony and Anthony, father and son.
What Winwood, 27, hoped to capitalize on was Niyomtrong’s theoretical ring rust. The Thai was making his first start since July 20 of 2022 when he won a comfortable decision over Wanheng Menayothin in one of the most ballyhooed domestic showdowns in Thai boxing history. But the Noongar needed more edges than that to overcome the Thai who won his first major title in his ninth pro fight with a hard-fought decision over Nicaragua’s Carlos Buitrago who was 27-0-1 heading in.
A former Muai Thai champion, Niyomtrong/Freshmart turns 34 later this month, an advanced age for a boxer in the sport’s smallest weight class. Although he remains undefeated, he may have passed his prime. How good was he in his heyday? Prominent boxing historian Matt McGrain has written that he was the most accomplished strawweight in the world in the decade 2010-2019: “It is not close, it is not debatable, there is no argument.”
Against the intrepid Winwood, Niyomtrong started slowly. In round seven, he cranked up the juice, putting the local fighter down hard with a left hook. He added another knockdown in round nine. The game Winwood stayed the course, but was well-beaten at the finish, no matter that the scorecards suggested otherwise, creating the impression of a very close fight.
P.S. – Because boxrec refused to name this a title fight, it fell under the radar screen until the result was made known. In case you hadn’t noticed, boxrec is at loggerheads with the World Boxing Association and has decided to “de-certify” the oldest of the world sanctioning bodies. While this reporter would be happy to see the WBA disappear – it is clearly the most corrupt of the four major organizations – the view from here is that boxrec is being petty. Moreover, if this practice continues, it will be much harder for boxing historians of future generations to sort through the rubble.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 295: Callum Walsh, Pechanga Casino Fights and More
![Avila-Perspective-Chap-295-Callum-Walsh-Pechanga-Casino-Fights-and-More](https://tss.ib.tv/boxing/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/avila.png)
Super welterweight contender Callum Walsh worked out for reporters and videographers at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif. on Thursday,
The native of Ireland Walsh (11-0, 9 KOs) has a fight date against Poland’s Przemyslaw Runowski (22-2-1, 6 KOs) on Friday, Sept. 20 at the city of Dublin. It’s a homecoming for the undefeated southpaw from Cork. UFC Fight Pass will stream the 360 Promotions card.
Mark down the date.
Walsh is the latest prodigy of promoter Tom Loeffler who has a history of developing European boxers in America and propelling them forward on the global boxing scene. Think Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin and you know what I mean.
Golovkin was a middleweight monster for years.
From Kevin Kelley to Oba Carr to Vitaly Klitschko to Serhii Bohachuk and many more in-between, the trail of elite boxers promoted by Loeffler continues to grow. Will Walsh be the newest success?
Add to the mix Dana White, the maestro of UFC, who is also involved with Walsh and you get a clearer picture of what the Irish lad brings to the table.
Walsh has speed, power and a glint of meanness that champions need to navigate the prizefighting world. He also has one of the best trainers in the world in Freddie Roach who needs no further introduction.
Perhaps the final measure of Walsh will be when he’s been tested with the most important challenge of all:
Can he take a punch from a big hitter?
That’s the final challenge
It always comes down to the chin. It’s what separates the Golovkins from the rest of the pack. At the top of the food chain they all can hit, have incredible speed and skill, but the fighters with the rock hard chins are those that prevail.
So far, the chin test is the only examination remaining for Walsh.
“King’ Callum Walsh is ready for his Irish homecoming and promises some fireworks for the Irish fans. This will be an entertaining show for the fans and we are excited to bring world class boxing back to the 3Arena in Dublin,” said Loeffler.
Pechanga Fights
MarvNation Promotions presents a battle between welterweight contenders Jose “Chon” Zepeda (37-5, 28 KOs) and Ivan Redkach (24-7-1, 19 KOs) on Friday, Sept. 6, at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula. DAZN will stream the fight card.
Both have fought many of the best welterweights in the world and now face each other. It should be an interesting clash between the veterans.
Also on the card, featherweights Nathan Rodriguez (15-0) and Bryan Mercado (11-5-1) meet in an eight-round fight.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. First bout at 7 p.m.
Monster Inoue
Once again Japan’s Naoya Inoue dispatched another super bantamweight contender with ease as TJ Doheny was unable to continue in the seventh round after battered by a combination on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Inoue continues to brush away whoever is placed in front of him like a glint of dust.
Is the “Monster” the best fighter pound-for-pound on the planet or is it Terence Crawford? Both are dynamic punchers with skill, speed, power and great chins.
Munguia in Big Bear
Super middleweight contender Jaime Munguia is two weeks away from his match with Erik Bazinyan at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. ESPN will show the Top Rank card.
“Erik Bazinyan is a good fighter. He’s undefeated. He switches stances. We need to be careful with that. He’s taller and has a longer reach than me. He has a good jab. He can punch well on the inside. He’s a fighter who comes with all the desire to excel,” said Munguia.
Bazinyan has victories over Ronald Ellis and Alantez Fox.
In case you didn’t know, Munguia moved over to Top Rank but still has ties with Golden Boy Promotions and Zanfer Promotions. Bazinyan is promoted by Eye of the Tiger.
This is the Tijuana fighter’s first match with Top Rank since losing to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez last May in Las Vegas. He is back with trainer Erik Morales.
Callum Walsh photo credit: Lina Baker
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60 Years Ago This Month, the Curtain Fell on the Golden Era of TV Boxing
![60-Years-Ago-This-Month-the-Curtain-Fell-on-the-Golden-Era-of-TV-Boxing.jpg](https://tss.ib.tv/boxing/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TV.png)
The Sept. 11, 1964 fight between Dick Tiger and Don Fullmer marked the end of an era. The bout aired on ABC which had taken the reins from NBC four years earlier. This would be the final episode of the series informally known as the “Friday Night Fights” or the “Fight of the Week,” closing the door on a 20-year run. In the future, boxing on free home TV (non-cable) would be sporadic, airing mostly on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The days when boxing was a weekly staple on at least one major TV network were gone forever.
During the NBC years, the show ran on Friday in the 10:00-11-00 pm slot for viewers in the Eastern Time Zone and the “studio” was almost always Madison Square Garden. The sponsor from the very beginning was the Gillette razor company (during the ABC run, El Producto Cigars came on as a co-sponsor).
Gillette sponsored many sporting events – the Kentucky Derby, the World Series, the U.S. Open golf tournament and the Blue-Gray college football all-star game, to name just a few – all of which were bundled under the handle of the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports. Every sports fan in America could identify the catchphrase that the company used to promote their disposable “Blue Blades” – “Look Sharp, Feel Sharp, Be Sharp!” — and the melody of the Gillette jingle would become the most-played tune by marching bands at high school and college football halftime shows (the precursor, one might say, of the Kingsmen’s “Louie, Louie”).
The Sept. 11 curtain-closer wasn’t staged at Madison Square Garden but in Cleveland with the local area blacked out.
Dick Tiger, born and raised in Nigeria, was making his second start since losing his world middleweight title on a 15-round points decision to Joey Giardello. Don Fullmer would be attempting to restore the family honor. Dick Tiger was 2-0-1 vs. Gene Fullmer, Don’s more celebrated brother. Their third encounter, which proved to be Gene Fullmer’s final fight, was historic. It was staged in Ibadan, Nigeria, the first world title fight ever potted on the continent of Africa.
In New York, the epitaph of free TV boxing was written three weeks earlier when veteran Henry Hank fought up-and-comer Johnny Persol to a draw in a 10-round light heavyweight contest at the Garden. This was the final Gillette fight from the place where it all started.
Some historians trace the advent of TV boxing in the United States to Sept. 29, 1944, when a 20-year-old boxer from Connecticut, Willie Pep, followed his manager’s game plan to perfection, sticking and moving for 15 rounds to become the youngest featherweight champion in history, winning the New York version of the title from West Coast veteran Albert “Chalky” Wright.
There weren’t many TVs in use in those days. As had been true when the telephone was brand new, most were found in hospitals, commercial establishments, and in the homes of the very wealthy. But within a few years, with mass production and tumbling prices, the gizmo became a living room staple and the TV repairman, who made house calls like the family doctor, had a shop on every Main Street.
Boxing was ideally suited to the infant medium of television because the action was confined to a small area that required no refurbishment other than brighter illumination, keeping production costs low. The one-minute interval between rounds served as a natural commercial break. The main drawback was that a fight could end early, meaning fewer commercials for the sponsor who paid a flat rate.
At its zenith, boxing in some locales aired five nights a week. And it came to be generally seen that this oversaturation killed the golden goose. One by one, the small fight clubs dried up as fight fans stayed home to watch the fights on TV. In the big arenas, attendance fell off drastically. Note the difference between Pep vs. Wright, the 1944 originator, and Hank vs. Persol, also at Madison Square Garden:
Willie Pep vs. Chalky Wright Sept. 29, 1944 attendance 19,521
Henry Hank vs. Johnny Persol Aug. 21, 1964 attendance 5,219
(True, Pep vs. Wright was a far more alluring fight, but this fact alone doesn’t explain the wide gap. Published attendance counts aren’t always trustworthy. In the eyes of the UPI reporter who covered the Hank-Persol match, the crowd looked smaller. He estimated the attendance at 3,000.)
Hank vs. Persol was an entertaining bout between evenly-matched combatants. The Tiger-Fullmer bout, which played out before a sea of empty seats, was a snoozer. Don Fullmer, a late sub for Rocky Rivero who got homesick and returned to Argentina, was there just for the paycheck. A Pittsburgh reporter wrote that the match was as dull as a race between two turtles. Scoring off the “5-point-must” system, the judges awarded the match to Dick Tiger by margins of 6, 6, and 7 points.
And that was that. Some of the most sensational fights in the annals of boxing aired free on a major TV network, but the last big bang of the golden era was hardly a bang, merely a whimper.
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A recognized authority on the history of prizefighting and the history of American sports gambling, TSS editor-in-chief Arne K. Lang is the author of five books including “Prizefighting: An American History,” released by McFarland in 2008 and re-released in a paperback edition in 2020.
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The photo accompanying this article is from the 1962 fight at Madison Square Garden between Dick Tiger (on the right) and Henry Hank. To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
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