Cut Shuts Down Fight Early and Herrera Wins by Majority Decision

Published

6 years ago

July 12, 2015

LOS ANGELES-A junior welterweight showdown between Mauricio Herrera and Hank Lundy was stopped short by accidental head butts and cuts and went to the score cards with the Riverside fighter winning by technical majority decision on Saturday.

The crowd of 4,672 saw Golden Boy Promotions pull out all the stops at the L.A. Sports Arena and Herrera (22-5, 7 Kos) pull out a struggle against Philadelphia’s Lundy (25-5-1, 12 Kos) to win the NABF junior welterweight title. The shortened fight left some with an unfulfilled taste in mouth.

Lundy looked sharp and when the two engaged, Herrera emerged from the exchange with a welt and looked woozy as he kind of staggered around the ring in the first round. He immediately indicated that he was hit by Lundy’s head and referee Jack Reiss agreed.

“I kind of lost focus,” Herrera said. “I started finding my momentum and range later on.”

In the second round Lundy was able to connect with a couple of big shots as Herrera still seemed stunned from the initial clash of heads. He tried to fight his way out but Lundy was sharper and landed. Another exchange saw Herrera connect but he emerged with yet another cut alongside the left eye. Now both eyes were cut.

Lundy was hit with a double left hook but countered with a big left hand that snapped Herrera’s head back. The two exchanged again and Herrera began to bleed once more. The crispness in Herrera’s punches began to show.

“He couldn’t handle my speed, my power or my skills,” said Lundy.

In between rounds it looked like the fight might be stopped but it was allowed to proceed. Herrera’s jab began to connect and the combinations began to flow. The Riverside fighter began to look like his old self. Lundy was still in the fight but seemed a little puzzled.

Herrera moved inside and out and fired to the body and head. Lundy was on full defense but still dangerous. A body shot by Herrera landed flush and suddenly the referee stepped in and halted the action. He motioned to the doctor who looked at the cut closely and told referee Reiss to stop the fight at 2:09 of the fifth round. It went to the score cards where one judge ruled it 48-48 and the other two had it 48-47 for Herrera.

“I can’t see how deep the cut is but I physically feel fine,” Herrera said. “I can keep going. I feel like I was landing my body shots and wearing him down.”

Other bouts

South El Monte’s Jojo Diaz was smothered with blows and pressure from Nicaragua’s Rene Alvarado from the second round on. Diaz scored a knockdown in the first round and that proved the difference on one judge’s score card. Alvarado forced Diaz to fight on his heels and against the ropes. Though the Nicaraguan didn’t punch hard he never stopped firing. Diaz landed left uppercuts but kept giving up ground to Alvarado. After 10 rounds the featherweight fight ended in a wide range of scores 98-91, 96-93, 95-94 for Diaz. Fans booed the decision.

“I felt great. I knew Alvarado was going to bring it and we fought ten hard rounds. But, I landed the bigger shots, the harder shots, and that made the difference,” said Diaz.

Alvarado didn’t agree.

“I think it was an exciting fight, a fight for the people. I was his first big test and he did a good job. But, I feel that I dominated the fight and the win should have been mine,” said Nicaragua’s Alvarado. “This fight should have been for Nicaragua.” [Regarding the second round]: “It wasn’t a knockdown. I tripped. I wasn’t hurt. This fight should have been mine.”

New Jersey’s Mike Perez (23-1-2, 11 Kos) fought past the head butts and holding and scored a knockout at 1:20 of the sixth round over Mexico’s Luis Sanchez (17-4-1, 5 Kos). Perez was cut on the head at least three times and had blood streaming down his head for at least three rounds. A short, stiff left jab sent Sanchez to the ground and he couldn’t recover. Referee Raul Caiz counted him out. Overall it was not a fan pleasing fight as Sanchez continued to hold most of the fight.

Ireland’s Jason Quigley (7-0, 7 Kos) walked into the ring against Michigan’s Tom Howard (8-4, 4 Kos) with but a peep of fanfare. But after two knockdowns and a sizzling combination in the second round the crowd cheered wildly for the Irish middleweight’s knockout win.

Quigley walked forward at the sound of the opening bell with offense on his mind and quickly snapped Howard’s head back with a stiff jab. The Irish slugger moved in carefully with his guard up, not too high, and calmly picked apart Howard’s defense in the first round.

Quigley opened up the second round a little more aggressively as Howard seemed to try and gain respect with a few well intentioned punches. Quigley retaliated with an overhand right that turned Howard around and down to the floor. The force of the blow was fierce and when Howard rose up to his feet the crowd seemed a little surprised. Quigley moved in to attack and fired an overhand right, left and right that sent Howard tumbling down for the count again. He got up. Quigley moved in with a three-punch combination that turned Howard around and the referee stepped in a waved the fight over at 1:21 of the second round. Quigley won his seventh consecutive fight by knockout.

“I always prepare to go to the scorecard at every fight. But, once I see a weakness and opportunity, I have to take him out,” said Quigley of Donegal, Ireland. “Boxing is one of those sports where there are no second chances. No do-overs. You just gotta take that chance. And, it’s a good feeling to know that you can take that chance over the course of a fight with one shot.”

South Central L.A.’s Ivan Delgado (6-0-1, 2 Kos) and Puerto Rico’s Angel Albelo (4-8-3) put on a good show for the fans with their willingness to give and take. Delgado eventually found the range in the last four rounds and pulled away with more effectiveness.

Brooklyn’s Zach Ochoa (12-0, 5 Kos) walked into a West Coast arena for the first time in his pro career knowing he had the speed advantage but Oxnard’s David Rodela (17-11-4) showed his experience and ability in their eight round welterweight tumble. The match went the entire eight rounds with Ochoa speed proving the difference on all three score cards 79-73.

L.A. fighter Nick Arce (4-0, 4 Kos) poured on the punches against San Antonio’s Ricardo Alvarado (7-7, 6 KOs) in the second round. And when a left uppercut and two more blows connected, referee Wayne Hegdepeth stopped the fight at 1:20 to the surprise and anger of the crowd. Fans booed the early stoppage and cheered Alvarado.

“I was ready to fight. I had prepared for this moment but you got to respect the referee’s decision,” Arce said. “The guy wasn’t throwing back so the referee decided to stop the fight. He is the third man in the ring and you have to do what he tells you to keep this sport safe.”

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David A. Avila

Gerald Sinclair Watches Over the Mayweather Boxing Club, a Las Vegas Landmark

Published

7 hours ago

April 16, 2021

Arne K. Lang

Gerald-Sinclair-Watches-Over-the-Mayweather-Boxing-Club-A-Las-vegas-Landmark

It isn’t a stretch to say that the Mayweather Boxing Club is a Las Vegas landmark. Regardless of one’s feelings toward Floyd — and he certainly has his detractors – the man transcended his sport like no other boxer of recent vintage. According to Forbes, which publishes an annual list of the world’s highest-paid athletes, Floyd Mayweather Jr is one of only three athletes to surpass one billion dollars in career earnings, putting him on the same lofty pedestal as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods – this despite the fact that Floyd competed in what has been characterized as a dying sport while attracting comparatively little money in commercial endorsements.

The word landmark conveys the thought of an edifice that is architecturally impressive. The Mayweather Boxing Club certainly isn’t that. It sits in a one-story complex of small businesses that take up a full block in an older section of Chinatown which in Las Vegas isn’t a residential neighborhood but an ever-sprawling stretch of Spring Mountain Road that runs west of the Strip for roughly a mile, a string of Asian-owned businesses, predominantly restaurants and massage parlors. The Mayweather gym sits in the back of the complex facing away from the street.

It’s easy to miss it if one is heading there for the first time (it’s helpful to have a car equipped with a GPS locator) but yet tourists often find their way there and that is another defining feature of a landmark.

When entering the gym, it’s likely the first person that one will see is Gerald Sinclair. He co-manages the gym along with his brother John and Cornelius Boza-Edwards, the former world super featherweight champion who engaged in some of the most exciting fights of the 1980s.

Gerald Sinclair

The Mayweather Boxing Club opened in 2007. Sinclair, 56, was there from the beginning when the facility was roughly half its current size. He grew up in Hudson, New York, a city named for the river that borders the town on the east. Before moving to Las Vegas, he worked as a fork lift driver in a warehouse.

Sinclair was induced to come to Las Vegas by his sister. She is Floyd Mayweather’s mother. Floyd is Gerald’s nephew. It’s all about family at the Mayweather Gym. Floyd’s father of the same name and his uncle Jeff are fixtures there, as was their brother, the late Roger Mayweather, the best of the three fighting Mayweather brothers.

This reporter has never been in a boxing gym that didn’t have colorful posters of old fights tacked to the wall. The Mayweather gym is no exception but all of the oversized posters, all 15 of them, are of Mayweather’s fights. (Needless to say, he won them all.) His face appears on other insignia, including a large banner above a row of folding chairs. There are two regulation-size boxing rings, 11 punching bags of various descriptions clustered in a nook and some of the standard exercise equipment, all indicative of the fact that this is a place to work up a sweat, but the Mayweather Boxing Club is also a little museum of sorts, a paean to the splurgy proprietor who once sported the nickname “Pretty Boy.”

Some boxing gyms – Abel Sanchez’s compound in Big Bear comes quickly to mind – are off-limits to outsiders. The Mayweather Boxing Club is welcoming (which isn’t to say that a busload of fans would be welcome; it wouldn’t).

“When we opened the place,” says Gerald Sinclair, “Floyd came to us and said if fans want to come in and look around, go ahead and let them.”

While we were there the other day, an older man with a Spanish accent appeared in the doorway and sheepishly inquired if he and the people in his party could come inside and give it a quick look-see. “Be my guest,” said Sinclair, whereupon the visitor left and returned with his wife and another couple that he had left waiting in the car.

Sinclair says if the man hadn’t happened to mention that there were other people in his party, that he would have likely brought it up. “We have had guys who came by and left their wife and kids outside in the car and I told them to please invite them in. I know this place is a slice of history. We don’t exclude anyone.”

A tourist giving the gym a gander invariably takes a few selfies and then comes the million-dollar question: “Is he here?” A selfie with Floyd would be a prized souvenir.

No, he’s never there, or almost never there. On the rare occasions when he does pop in during normal business hours, he arrives unannounced, usually with a bodyguard. Floyd Mayweather Jr, who is known to hop in one of his private jets and fly halfway around the world on a whim, lives in a different universe than the denizens of the gym that bears his family name.

Although also rare, a visitor has a better shot of bumping into a celebrity. Eddie Murphy, Christine Aguilera, Maria Carey and P Daddy have walked in the door, as have many prominent athletes including Mike Tyson.

When Tyson appears, it’s old home week for Gerald Sinclair and his brother. During his amateur days and in his early days as a pro, Iron Mike resided in Catskill, living with his trainer Cus D’Amato in the large Victorian home that D’Amato shared with the sister of a sister-in-law. Catskill and Hudson are separated by only 12 miles. Sinclair remembers young Tyson turning up at some of his softball games. Mike made a big hit with the folks running the snack bar, covering the tab of kids hovering around him at the refreshment stand.

A number of boxers from overseas have worked out at the gym while visiting Las Vegas. For some novice boxers, a trip to the Mayweather Boxing Club is a rite of passage. (A stranger in town for a convention or trade show can also use the facility if it isn’t too crowded. There is a day rate for these situations, and the visitor must sign a waiver absolving the club of any liability should he get hurt.)

The Mayweather Boxing Club is now back at full steam after being closed to the general public for several months because of Covid-19. For a time, it was effectively the private gym of Gervonta “Tank” Davis and his team. Everyone who was there while Tank was preparing for his Oct. 31, 2020 date with Leo Santa Cruz, was required to get tested twice a week. There were no hiccups.

“As a boss, Floyd has been very generous to me,” says Sinclair. Thanks to Floyd, he got to see a part of the world that he never would have gotten to see. Floyd invited him along when he flew to Tokyo for his exhibition with Tenshin Nasukawa. Prior to this, Sinclair’s lone trip outside the United States was a trip to Tijuana.

Sinclair has picked up a new skill since leaving New York. He’s frequently the go-to guy when a boxer at the gym needs his hands wrapped. It’s not as simple as it looks, there’s an art to it, and Gerald learned at the feet of the master, Rafael Garcia Sr, who encouraged his interest. Garcia passed away in November of 2017 at age 88, leaving a hole in the hearts of the extended Mayweather family that burned wider when his fellow traveler Roger Mayweather joined him in the afterlife.

The United States has housed several iconic boxing gyms over the years. A short list would include Stillman’s Gym in mid-Manhattan, the Main Street Gym in downtown Los Angeles, the 5^th Street Gym in Miami Beach, and the Kronk Gym in Detroit. The Mayweather Boxing Club is destined to eventually join that hallowed roster.

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Avila Perspective, Chap.131: ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade, Carlos Gongora and More

Published

18 hours ago

April 16, 2021

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap.131: ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade, Carlos Gongora and More

Do not confuse skill with athleticism.

Fans and many journalists often erroneously label a fighter with lightning speed, power, and a good jab as a skilled fighter when they are really, simply physically gifted athletes.

A truly skilled fighter can fight nose to nose with another and you can’t touch him, but he can clobber you. That is skill. They don’t need to run around the boxing ring at full flight mode. They can fight you straight-up.

One fighter Demetrius Andrade seems to finally be proving his skill-level after years of relying on mere athletic prowess.

Andrade (29-0, 18 KOs) defends the WBO middleweight title against Great Britain’s Liam Williams (23-2-1, 18 KOs) on Saturday April 17, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. DAZN will stream the Matchroom Boxing card.

The undefeated southpaw from Providence, Rhode Island makes his fourth defense of the title he won in 2018. He formerly held the WBO super welterweight title too.

“You’re going to see the same you always see from me – a solid game plan, dominance, landing big shots, an all-around great performance and giving people what they have been missing, the sweet science,” said Andrade whose nickname is “Boo Boo.”

Because of his past reliance on athleticism, many possible foes simply avoided confrontations with Andrade in the prize ring. Who wants to step into a boxing ring and watch another fighter touch you with a jab and zip around the boxing ring? Fans don’t want to see it either. They want to see a fight, not a dance.

In his last defense Andrade was seen exhibiting inside fighting skills when he dispatched Luke Keeler by technical knockout in the ninth round in Miami. It was a display of straight-up fighting not often seen when the Rhode Island boxer performs.

Is this the new Andrade at age 33?

Williams, who hails from Wales, is nicknamed “the Machine” but lost twice to Liam Smith in two very close bouts. Those are his only defeats.

“I’m super confident and I don’t think there’s any way that he beats me. I think I can knock him out,” said Williams.

Andrade laughs at Williams’ comments.

“They call him ‘The Machine’, but when I am done with him, he’ll be ‘The Rust Bucket,” claims Andrade.

Williams feels its time to expose Andrade.

“I don’t think he has the same intensity as me,’ said Williams. “I wear my heart on my sleeve. I can punch harder than him. I have a better engine than him. I’m going to bring it all on the night and I don’t think he has the answers.”

Andrade expects the same results.

“Liam is not going to stop my train,” said Andrade. “I expect him to bring the fight because this is his opportunity, but at the end of the day he’ll be able to say, ‘I lost to Demetrius Andrade’.”

Gongora

IBO super middleweight titlist Carlos Gongora (19-0, 14 KOs) makes his first defense of his fringe world title against American Christopher Pearson (17-2, 12 KOs) in a battle between southpaws in the semi-main event at Seminole Hard Rock.

Ecuador’s Gongora was a last-minute replacement and upset Kazakhstan’s heavily favored Ali Akhmedov by knockout in the last round of their title fight last December. He also became his country’s first world title-holder.

Pearson enters the boxing ring after a similar feat. He was a late replacement when he met the favored Yamaguchi Falcao two years ago at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. He out-fought the Brazilian with a gutsy performance that convinced Golden Boy Promotions to sign him.

Gongora and Pearson both have much to prove.

Sunday

Thompson Boxing Promotions returns with one of its star prospects Ruben Torres (14-0, 10 KOs) who faces Diego Contreras (11-3, 5 KOs) in a super lightweight main event at Omega Products International in Corona, California. The fight card will be streamed on www.ThompsonBoxing.com and on its Facebook and YouTube.com pages.

Fights to Watch

Fri. 6 p.m. ESPN+ Miguel Vazquez (42-10) vs Isai Hernandez (10-1-1).

Sat. 11 a.m. ESPN+ Danny Dignum (13-0) vs Andrey Sirotkin (19-1).

Sat. 12 p.m. DAZN Demetrius Andrade (29-0) vs Liam Williams (23-2-1).

Sat. 5 p.m. FOX Tony Harrison (28-3) vs Bryant Perrella (17-3).

Sat. 6 p.m. TrillerFightClub.com (ppv) Regis Prograis (25-1) vs Ivan Redkach (23-5-1).

Sun. 2 p.m. ThompsonBoxing.com (free) Ruben Torres (14-0) vs Diego Contreras (11-3).

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Tank Davis and the Charlo Twins Featured on the Loaded Showtime/PBC Schedule

Published

1 day ago

April 15, 2021

TSS Press

Tank-Davis-and-the-Charo-Twins-Featured-on-the-Loaded-Showtime/PBC-Schedule

Tank Davis and the Charlo Twins Featured on the Loaded Showtime/PBC Schedule

PRESS RELEASE — SHOWTIME Sports and Premier Boxing Champions today unveiled a loaded five-month boxing schedule of nine high-stakes world championship events beginning Saturday, May 15, live on SHOWTIME. The schedule delivers two events per month through August. Thirteen matchups have been announced thus far with no less than seven world title fights, and 12 fighters defending undefeated records. The lineup features many of boxing’s best young fighters taking on career-defining challenges in their primes. All fights on the schedule will take place before a live audience, keeping with applicable local COVID-19 safety protocols.

The sizzling summer run features the dynamic Charlo twins as undefeated electrifying champion Jermall Charlo defends his WBC middleweight world title against Juan Macias Montiel in a special Juneteenth homecoming in Houston on Saturday, June 19, live on SHOWTIME.

The following Saturday, June 26, unbeaten Mayweather Promotions star Gervonta “Tank” Davis moves up two weight classes for a chance to become a three-division world champion when he takes on fellow undefeated champion Mario Barrios for his super lightweight world title in what will be Davis’ second pay-per-view showdown.

The next month, WBC, WBA and IBF 154-pound charismatic world champion Jermell Charlo looks to make boxing history when he takes on WBO junior middleweight world champion Brian Castaño in a mega-fight to crown the first four-belt 154-pound world champion.

The SHOWTIME boxing schedule features eight editions of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING and one premier SHOWTIME PPV event, all presented by Premier Boxing Champions:

MAY 15 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
- Luis Nery vs. Brandon Figueroa, WBC Super Bantamweight World Title Fight
- Danny Roman vs. Ricardo Espinoza Franco, Super Bantamweight Fight
- Xavier Martinez vs. Abraham Montoya, WBA Super Featherweight Fight
- MAY 29 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
  - Nordine Oubaali vs. Nonito Donaire, WBC Bantamweight World Title Fight
  - Subriel Matias vs. Batyrzhan Jukembayev, IBF Super Lightweight Title Eliminator
JUNE 19 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
- Jermall Charlo vs. Juan Macias Montiel, WBC Middleweight World Title Fight
JUNE 26 – SHOWTIME PPV
- Gervonta Davis vs. Mario Barrios, WBA Super Lightweight World Title Fight
- Erickson Lubin vs. Jeison Rosario, WBC Junior Middleweight Title Eliminator
- JULY 3 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
- Chris Colbert vs. Yuriorkis Gamboa, WBA Super Featherweight Interim Title Fight
JULY 17 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
- Jermell Charlo vs. Brian Castaño, Undisputed IBF, WBA, WBC & WBO Junior Middleweight World Title Unification Fight
AUGUST 14 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING

Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. John Riel Casimero, WBO Bantamweight World Title Fight

AUGUST 28 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING

- David Benavidez vs. Jose Uzcategui, WBC Super Middleweight Title Eliminator
SEPTEMBER 11 – SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
Stephen Fulton, Jr. vs. winner of Nery-Figueroa, Super Bantamweight World Title Unification Fight

“High-impact, meaningful fights amongst many of the biggest names and brightest stars in combat sports. That is what SHOWTIME promises and that is what we are delivering,” said Stephen Espinoza, President, SHOWTIME Sports. “With an opportunity to crown an undisputed world champion at 154 pounds, a highly anticipated super bantamweight title unification, a stacked pay-per-view showdown and more than a dozen fights between 118-168 pounds, SHOWTIME is presenting boxing’s best young fighters, all daring to be great by putting their world titles and undefeated records on the line.

Editor’s Note: This press release has been edited for brevity.

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