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The Avila Perspective, Chapter 9: In L.A., Three Fights in Four Days

Two Los Angeles-based promotion companies unfurl three fight cards in four days in both Hollywood and downtown L.A.
360 Promotions brings a bevy of prospects to the Avalon Theater on Vine Street on Wednesday Aug. 8, including prospects from New York City, nearby Rowland Heights and Kazakhstan. The boxing events will be streamed on Facebook on the 360 Promotions page or at www.360promotions.us
The actual boxing starts at 6 p.m.
Ali Akhmedov (11-0, 8 KOs) a light heavyweight from Kazakhstan has been training in Big Bear with Abel Sanchez. He’ll be facing San Diego’s Jorge Escalante (9-1-1, 6 KOs) in the co-main event at the Avalon.
360 Promotions prospect Brian Ceballo (3-0) out of New York makes his third appearance at the historic venue. He made his pro debut at the Avalon back in March and this will be his third fight at the theater that opened in January 1927. The theater has gone through a number of name changes including the Hollywood Playhouse, WPA Federal Theater, El Capitan, the Hollywood Palace and the Jerry Lewis Theater.
A large number of celebrities have graced its floors over the decades including Cyd Charisse, Jimmy Durante, Judy Garland, Groucho Marx, Ginger Rogers, Louis Armstrong and Bette Davis among many others.
On Wednesday, Ceballo (3-0) the boxer makes his third appearance when he faces Tavorus Teague (5-20-4) in a six round welterweight contest.
A female fight showcases Elvina White (2-0) versus Jasmine Clarkson (4-11) in a four round welterweight fight. White, 24, signed with 360 Promotions and has fought at super lightweight in the past. For this fight it will be in the welterweight division and against young veteran Clarkson who fights out of Dallas and has clashed with Katie Taylor and Selina Barrios. Too bad it’s only four rounds.
Friday
In downtown L.A., about eight miles east of Hollywood, a Golden Boy Promotions fight card takes place at the Belasco Theater on Hill Street and 11th on Friday Aug. 10. Two top prospects will be severely tested.
Pacoima’s Emilio Sanchez (15-1, 10 KOs) returns to the ring five months after losing by knockout at Fantasy Springs Casino. The featherweight will be facing the dangerous veteran Christopher Martin (30-10-3) who makes a habit out of derailing prospects including Daniel Franco, Chris Avalos and others. It’s a do-or-die fight for Sanchez who ran into a punch in his last fight back in March. Was it a fluke or lucky punch?
Sanchez, 24, changed trainers and is now in Indio, Calif. working with brothers Joel and Antonio Diaz. His own younger brother Saul Sanchez, 21, has been training there for a while. Now the two brothers will be working together again.
Also on the card will be San Antonio’s Hector Tanajara (14-0, 5 KOs) meeting Emmanuel Morales (7-2) in the co-main event set for eight rounds. Tanajara, 21, trains in Riverside with Robert Garcia and has shown an ability to adapt to different circumstances. After knocking out three out of his first four opponents, the knockouts have been few. But he’s only 21 and learning the art of boxing will serve him better than knocking everyone out.
The Golden Boy fight card will be televised on Estrella TV and streamed on RingTV.com and on Facebook. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Saturday
Boxing returns to the Avalon Theater in Hollywood on Saturday Aug. 11, with a Golden Boy Promotions and Miguel Cotto Promotions card. Doors open at 4 p.m.
A world title match between WBA featherweight titlist Jesus Rojas (26-1-2, 19 KOs) and challenger Jojo Diaz (26-1, 14 KOs) headlines the card that will be streamed live on Facebook. It’s a good one.
Puerto Rico’s Rojas, 31, grabbed the title with a vicious knockout win over former champion Claudio Marrero last year in Las Vegas. Speed means nothing to Rojas, a hard-boiled fighter who’s willing to take a punch to give a punch. Plus, Rojas has a heck of a chin and showed it when he battered Abraham Lopez a year ago to win by knockout.
“I’m ready to come back after almost a year off,” said Jesus Rojas. “I’ll defend my title for the first time on a very important Golden Boy card which will start a new association with Facebook. Diaz Jr. is tough, intelligent and fast, but I have the power and the experience to score a spectacular win against him.”
Now he faces another speedy southpaw in Diaz (shown working the pads) who lost a title bid against Gary Russell Jr. just two months ago.
“I think his style suits me better than Gary Russell. He (Rojas) is going to be coming for me and that fits right into my style,” said Diaz who trains in South El Monte, Calif. “This is my second shot at a world title and I’m not going to lose.”
Diaz, 25, is a former 2012 Olympian with plenty of speed and willing to mix it up. But against Rojas that will be a bad thing.
“Marrero tried to exchange with Rojas and got caught,” said Diaz, who eagerly accepted the opportunity to fight for the world title. “I know Rojas is a tough guy and I’m not underestimating him. He’s good.”
Also on the card will be a battle of undefeated super lightweights featuring Philadelphia’s Damon Allen (15-0-1, 5 KOs) versus East L.A.’s Jonathan Navarro (14-0, 7 KOs) in the semi-main event.
Philadelphia versus East L.A. can’t miss. Both towns are historically known for having aggressive styles.
“I like these kind of fights,” said Navarro who turns 22 today and trains in Riverside with Robert Garcia. “I’ve been preparing for these kind of fights. I get excited fighting good fighters. This is what it’s all about.”
Two weeks ago Navarro was in downtown Los Angeles watching his teammate Mikey Garcia defeat Robert Easter Jr. in a battle of undefeated lightweight world champions. It was inspiring.
“Mikey is like an older brother to all of us. We look up to him,” said Navarro. “He tells us how to act, how to save our money and how to be smart.”
The fight card will be streamed on Facebook on Golden Boy Fight Night page.
Old L.A.
Back in the 1980s, when the Olympic Auditorium and Inglewood Forum had regular fight cards, it was common to have dueling boxing cards every week. On one card would be Danny “Lil Red” Lopez and on another Bobby Chacon.
Today, boxing cards still compete but the audience area has become much wider. Next week a fight card in downtown L.A. competes with another in Studio City on the same day. As the population has expanded in recent years, the thirst for boxing has expanded too.
This weekend’s three boxing cards on three separate days serve as a reminder of how boxing used to be in the past.
Just a few blocks east, the Hollywood Legion Stadium building still stands. Now it’s a workout gym but from the 1920s to the 1960s boxing was a regular event there on Hollywood and Gower. Movies stars like George Raft and Ann Miller were regulars.
Boxing has a certain flair that attracts movie stars, musicians and never seems to extinguish. A number of celebrities will be present at one or all of the shows this week.
Photo credit: Tom Hogan / Hogan Photos / Golden Boy Promotions
Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel
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Ringside at the Fontainebleau where Mikaela Mayer Won her Rematch with Sandy Ryan

LAS VEGAS, NV — The first meeting between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan last September at Madison Square Garden was punctuated with drama before the first punch was thrown. When the smoke cleared, Mayer had become a world-title-holder in a second weight class, taking away Ryan’s WBO welterweight belt via a majority decision in a fan-friendly fight.
The rematch tonight at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas was another fan-friendly fight. There were furious exchanges in several rounds and the crowd awarded both gladiators a standing ovation at the finish.
Mayer dominated the first half of the fight and held on to win by a unanimous decision. But Sandy Ryan came on strong beginning in round seven, and although Mayer was the deserving winner, the scores favoring her (98-92 and 97-93 twice) fail to reflect the competitiveness of the match-up. This is the best rivalry in women’s boxing aside from Taylor-Serrano.
Mayer, 34, improved to 21-2 (5). Up next, she hopes, in a unification fight with Lauren Price who outclassed Natasha Jonas earlier this month and currently holds the other meaningful pieces of the 147-pound puzzle. Sandy Ryan, 31, the pride of Derby, England, falls to 7-3-1.
Co-Feature
In his first defense of his WBO world welterweight title (acquired with a brutal knockout of Giovani Santillan after the title was vacated by Terence Crawford), Atlanta’s Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in the third round. A three-punch combination climaxed by a short left hook sent Cuevas staggering into a corner post. He got to his feet before referee Thomas Taylor started the count, but Taylor looked in Cuevas’s eyes and didn’t like what he saw and brought the bout to a halt.
The stoppage, which struck some as premature, came with one second remaining in the third stanza.
A second-generation prizefighter (his father was a fringe contender at super middleweight), the 24-year-old Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is currently boxing’s youngest male title-holder. It was only the second pro loss for Cuevas (27-2-1) whose lone previous defeat had come early in his career in a 6-rounder he lost by split decision.
Other Bouts
In a career-best performance, 27-year-old Brooklyn featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4) in the third round.
Carrington, who was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials despite being the lowest-seeded boxer in his weight class, decked Vivas with a right-left combination near the end of the second round. Vivas barely survived the round and was on a short leash when the third stanza began. After 53 seconds of round three, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough and waived it off. Vivas hadn’t previously been stopped.
Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda. Johnson assumed control in the fourth round and sent Castaneda to his knees twice with body punches in the next frame. The second knockdown terminated the match. The official time was 2:00 of round five.
Johnson advanced to 15-0 (7 KOs). Castenada declined to 21-9.
Las Vegas junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) blasted out Stockton, California’s Giovanni Gonzalez in the second round. Vargas brought the bout to a sudden conclusion with a sweeping left hook that knocked Gonzalez out cold. The end came at the 2:00 minute mark of round two.
Gonzalez brought a 20-7-2 record which was misleading as 18 of his fights were in Tijuana where fights are frequently prearranged. However, he wasn’t afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.
Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree – he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas – is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.
Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Chance, one of Top Rank’s newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Cal’s Miguel Guzman. Chance won all four rounds on all three cards, but this was no runaway. He left a lot of room for improvement.
There was a long intermission before the co-main and again before the main event, but the tedium was assuaged by a moving video tribute to George Foreman.
Photos credit: Al Applerose
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William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0
No surprise, once again William Zepeda eked out a win over the clever and resilient Tevin Farmer to remain undefeated and retain a regional lightweight title on Saturday.
There were no knockdowns in this rematch.
The Mexican punching machine Zepeda (33-0, 17 KOs) once more sought to overwhelm Farmer (33-8-1, 9 KOs) with a deluge of blows. This rematch by Golden Boy Promotions took place in the famous beach resort area of Cancun, Mexico.
It was a mere four months ago that both first clashed in Saudi Arabia with their vastly difference styles. This time the tropical setting served as the background which suited Zepeda and his lawnmower assaults. The Mexican fans were pleased.
Nothing changed in their second meeting.
Zepeda revved up the body assault and Farmer moved around casually to his right while fending off the Mexican fighter’s attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmer’s escape routes and targeted the body with punishing shots.
The blows came in bunches.
In the fifth round Zepeda blasted away at Farmer who looked frantic for an escape. The body assault continued with the Mexican fighter pouring it on and Farmer seeming to look ready to quit. When the round ended, he waved off his corner’s appeals to stop.
Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepeda’s body attacks and then began moving and hitting sporadically. It forced the Mexican fighter to pause and figure out the strategy.
Farmer, a Philadelphia fighter, showed resiliency especially when it was revealed he had suffered a hand injury.
During the last three rounds Farmer dug down deep and found ways to score and not get hit. It was Boxing 101 and the Philly fighter made it work.
But too many rounds had been put in the bank by Zepeda. Despite the late rally by Farmer one judge saw it 114-114, but two others scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Zepeda who retains his interim lightweight title and place at the top of the WBC rankings.
“I knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,” said Zepeda.
Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.
“But I dominated the last rounds,” said Farmer.
Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.
“I’m glad we both put on a great show,” said Zepeda.
Female Flyweight Battle
Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle edged past Texas fighter Marlen Esparza to win their showdown at flyweight by split decision after 10 rounds.
Valle moved up two weight divisions to meet Esparza who was slightly above the weight limit. Both showed off their contrasting styles and world class talent.
Esparza, a former unified flyweight world titlist, stayed in the pocket and was largely successful with well-placed jabs and left hooks. She repeatedly caught Valle in-between her flurries.
The current minimumweight world titlist changed tactics and found more success in the second half of the fight. She forced Esparza to make the first moves and that forced changes that benefited her style.
Neither fighter could take over the fight.
After 10 rounds one judge saw Esparza the winner 96-94, but two others saw Valle the winner 97-93 twice.
Will Valle move up and challenge the current undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora? That’s the question.
Valle currently holds the WBC minimumweight world title.
Puerto Rico vs Mexico
Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs), the WBO, WBA minimumweight titlist, knocked out Mexico’s Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a flurry of body shots at 1:12 of the fifth round.
Collazo dominated with a relentless body attack the Mexican fighter could not defend. It was the Puerto Rican fighter’s fifth consecutive title defense.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 319: Rematches in Las Vegas, Cancun and More

Rematches are the bedrock for prizefighting.
Return battles between rival boxers always means their first encounter was riveting and successful at the box office.
Six months after their first brutal battle Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) and Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) will slug it out again for the WBO welterweight world title this time on Saturday, March 29, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.
ESPN will show the Top Rank card live.
“It’s important for women’s boxing to have these rivalries and this is definitely up there as one of the top ones,” Mayer told the BBC.
If you follow Mayer’s career you know that somehow drama follows. Whether its back-and-forth beefs with fellow American fighters or controversial judging due to nationalism in countries abroad. The Southern California native who now trains in Las Vegas knows how to create the drama.
For female fighters self-promotion is a necessity.
Most boxing promoters refuse to step out of the usual process set for male boxers, not for female boxers. Things remain the same and have been for the last 70 years. Social media has brought changes but that has made promoters do even less.
No longer are there press conferences, instead announcements are made on social media to be drowned among the billions of other posts. It is not killing but diluting interest in the sport.
Women innately present a different advantage that few if any promoters are recognizing. So far in the past 25 years I have only seen two or three promoters actually ignite interest in female fighters. They saw the advantages and properly boosted interest in the women.
The fight breakdown
Mayer has won world titles in the super featherweight and now the welterweight division. Those are two vastly different weight classes and prove her fighting abilities are based on skill not power or size.
Coaching Mayer since amateurs remains Al Mitchell and now Kofi Jantuah who replaced Kay Koroma the current trainer for Sandy Ryan.
That was the reason drama ignited during their first battle. Then came someone tossing paint at Ryan the day of their first fight.
More drama.
During their first fight both battled to control the initiative with Mayer out-punching the British fighter by a slender margin. It was a back-and-forth struggle with each absorbing blows and retaliating immediately.
New York City got its money’s worth.
Ryan had risen to the elite level rapidly since losing to Erica Farias three years ago. Though she was physically bigger and younger, she was out-maneuvered and defeated by the wily veteran from Argentina. In the rematch, however, Ryan made adjustments and won convincingly.
Can she make adjustments from her defeat to Mayer?
“I wanted the rematch straight away,” said Ryan on social media. “I’ve come to America again.”
Both fighters have size and reach. In their first clash it was evident that conditioning was not a concern as blows were fired nonstop in bunches. Mayer had the number of punches landed advantage and it unfolded with the judges giving her a majority decision win.
That was six months ago. Can she repeat the outcome?
Mayer has always had boiler-oven intensity. It’s not fake. Since her amateur days the slender Southern California blonde changes disposition all the way to red when lacing up the gloves. It’s something that can’t be taught.
Can she draw enough of that fire out again?
“I didn’t have to give her this rematch. I could have just sat it out, waited for Lauren Price to unify and fought for undisputed or faced someone else,” said Mayer to BBC. “That’s not the fighter I am though.”
Co-Main in Las Vegas
The co-main event pits Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) facing Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) in a contest for the WBO welterweight title.
Norman, 24, was last seen a year ago dissecting a very good welterweight in Giovani Santillan for a knockout win in San Diego. He showed speed, skill and power in defeating Santillan in his hometown.
Cuevas has beaten some solid veteran talent but this will be his big test against Norman and his first attempt at winning a world title.
Also on the Top Rank card will be Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington and Emiliano Vargas, the son of Fernando Vargas, in separate bouts.
Golden Boy in Cancun
A rematch between undefeated William “Camaron” Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) and ex-champ Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) headlines the lightweight match on Saturday March 29, at Cancun, Mexico.
In their first encounter Zepeda was knocked down in the fourth round but rallied to win a split-decision over Farmer. It showed the flaws in Zepeda’s tornado style.
DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also includes a clash between Yokasta Valle the WBC minimumweight world titlist who is moving up to flyweight to face former flyweight champion Marlen Esparza.
Both Valle and Esparza have fast hands.
Valle is excellent darting in and out while Esparza has learned how to fight inside. It’s a toss-up fight.
Fights to Watch
Fri. DAZN 12 p.m. Cameron Vuong (7-0) vs Jordan Flynn (11-0-1); Pat Brown (0-0) vs Federico Grandone (7-4-2).
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. William Zepeda (32-0) vs Tevin Farmer (33-7-1); Yokasta Valle (32-3) vs Marlen Esparza (15-2).
Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Mikaela Mayer (20-2) vs Sandy Ryan (7-2-1); Brian Norman Jr. (26-0) vs Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1).
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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