Middleweight Trainers and Other Fight Chatter

With Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. ready to fight fellow Mexican Marco Antonio Rubio for a portion of the middleweight title, it’s ironic and sad that two former boxing trainers with ties to the 160-pound weight division passed away this week.

Angelo Dundee, who guided Sugar Ray Leonard through the middleweight division among others, died at age 90. We spent many an hour talking about professional prizefighting and his outlook on the sport.

Dundee was an amazing man whose patience with boxing writers was nearly as legendary as his work with many of the greats of the sport.

The other legendary trainer Goody Petronelli passed away at 88 and guided the great Marvin Hagler, including during that fighter’s final professional match against Leonard back in 1987. Some things can’t be explained such as both Petronelli and Dundee taking their last breaths in the same week. A large portion of boxing history goes with them.

Dundee would never berate Chavez for claiming a portion of a title. He was far too much a gentleman. On those days we chatted he spoke only positively of any fighter or of the sport itself. He loved boxing.

Petronelli was behind one of the most ferocious middleweights in the history of the sport and a man who took no short cuts. I never knew Petronelli but I do know that his fighter would never sidestep the recognized middleweight champion Sergio Martinez. Not that Chavez chooses to avoid meeting Martinez but I can’t imagine Hagler allowing his promoter to do that either. He was the boogey-man of the middleweight division.

Farewell Angelo and Goody.

Other Fight chatter

Santa Ana’s undefeated junior featherweight Ronny Rios (16-0, 7 KOs) faces Jeremy McLaurin (9-2, 5 KOs) in a scheduled eight round bout. The Golden Boy Promotions fight card takes place at the Phoenix Club in Anaheim on Saturday Feb. 4.

UFC 143 features mixed martial arts contenders Nick Diaz (27-7-1) facing Carlos Condit (27-5) on Saturday Feb. 4 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. California’s Diaz and New Mexico’s Condit are fighting to see who meets UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.

Former middleweight world champion Kelly Pavlik is training at Oxnard under Robert Garcia. The Ohio resident has been working with Garcia for two weeks and seeks to return to the 160-pound division. “Kelly looks real good and is serious,” said Garcia. It’s the first time Pavlik has trained in California.

IBF cruiserweight titleholder Yoan Hernandez (25-1, 13 KOs) defends against former champion Steve Cunningham (24-3, 12 KOs). The title match takes place Friday Feb. 3 in Frankfurt, Germany. It’s a rematch of their first fight that took place in October. In that fight Hernandez suffered a cut by accidental head butt and won by technical decision.

IBF bantamweight titleholder Yazmin “The Little Russian” Rivas (23-7, 9 KOs) defends against Argentina’s Edith Matthysse (9-3-1) on Saturday Feb. 4. The world title match takes place in Tamaulipas, Mexico. It’s Rivas first title defense.

Scott Quigg (23-0, 16 KOs) meets Jamie Arthur (18-5, 4 KOs) in a super featherweight bout on Saturday Feb. 4. The duo will fight for the vacant BBB super featherweight title in Bolton, United Kingdom.

Undefeated heavyweight Joe Hanks (18-0, 12 KOs) faces Rafael Pedro (21-9-1, 15 KOs) on Saturday Feb. 4 at Times Union Center in Albany, New York. Star Boxing Promotions is staging the fight card.

Mexico’s Jackie Nava (26-4-3, 11 KOs) captured the WBA super bantamweight world title over Panama’s Chanttall Martinez (15-5, 6 KOs) on Saturday. It was the second time that Nava had defeated Martinez. Both took place in Mexico and ended by unanimous decision.

Zulina Munoz (33-1-2, 23 KOs) won by technical knockout over Paulina Cardona (19-11-4, 7 KOs) on Saturday. The fight was stopped at 1:40 of round three of their bantamweight fight in Mexico City.

Former world champion Cory Spinks (39-6) defeated Sechew Powell (26-4, 13 KOs) by unanimous decision on Saturday. The match took place in Springfield, Missouri. Also, BJ Flores (27-1-1, 17 KOs) won by technical knockout against Hugo Pineda (39-6-1, 28 KOs) in round six of a cruiserweight bout.

Ruslan Provodnikov (21-1, 14 KOs) stopped David Torres (21-3-2, 13 KOs) at 2:53 of round six. The junior welterweight match took place in the state of Washington. Provodnikov trains out of Hollywood, Ca.

Oklahoma City junior middleweight Grady Brewer (29-14, 16 KOs) snapped a two fight-losing streak by eight round decision over Brazil’s Edvan Dos Santos Barros (11-12-1). The fight took place in Oklahoma City.

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