Ringside Report: “Knockout” with Floyd Mayweather Sr. on NUVOtv

06/09/201406/07/2014 Bill Barner

Saturday’s fights opened with Baltimore’s Cory Cummings (17-6, 13 KOs) battling Haitian amateur standout Azea Augustama (17-1, 9 KOs). Azea left the casino victorious but exposed, having won a narrow decision (76-75 on all three judges’ scorecards) after being knocked down early for the first time in his professional career.

Next, knockout artist Ahmed “The Egyptian” Elbiali (5-0, 5 KOs) scored the knockout of the evening against Yuwshau Zadok (2-2-1, 2 KOs). Zadok was a tough opponent, and Elbiali was cut in the second round from an apparent head butt. Nonetheless, Elbiali wore down Zadok with constant pressure and thunderous body blows. Late in the fourth round, just moments before the fight would be sent to the judges, the Egyptian landed a hard left hook that left his resilient opponent on the canvas for closer to ten minutes than ten seconds.

Weigh-In: “Knockout” Reality Show Finals with Floyd Mayweather Sr.

06/07/201406/06/2014 Bill Barner

On June 6, 2014, boxers weighed in at Casino Miami Jai-Alai in anticipation of NUVOtv’s Saturday broadcast.
The fighters were professional and focused. There was no pushing or trash-talking, and very little posturing. Floyd Mayweather Sr. even refrained from reciting his poetry.

“Water, Pedialyte, and Gatorade is all you can drink,” shouted Jorge Curtiellas of the Florida Boxing Commission to the crowd of fighters, trainers and corner men. “Once you get to the ring, only water.”

“There’s all these drinks with God-knows-what in them,” Curtiellas said on the side. “Water, Pedialite, and Gatorade. We know what’s in those.”

Press Conference: “Knockout” Reality Show Finals with Floyd Mayweather Sr.

10/09/201406/04/2014 Bill Barner

NUVOtv’s “Knockout” will broadcast from Casino Miami Jai-Alai in Miami, Florida on Saturday June 7, 2014. “Knockout” is a tournament-style reality series wherein young boxers are trained by world-renowned trainers Floyd Mayweather, Sr., Ruben Guerrero and Yoel Judah.

Scheduled televised fights include:

Dennis Douglin (16-3, 10 KOs) vs. Charles Whittaker (40-15-2, 24 KOs) (10 Rounds)
Azea Augustama (16-1, 9 KOs) vs. Cory Cummings (17-5, 13 KOs) (8 Rounds)
Ahmed Elbiali (4-0) vs. Yuwshua Zadok (2-1-1) (4 Rounds)

Douglin, Augustama and Elbiali all made brief statements, as did Floyd Mayweather Sr.

Peace Through Fighting: The Humanity of Boxing

05/28/201405/28/2014 Bill Barner

“Boxing is a science that adds humanity to a peoples’ conduct & courage to their national character. With boxing, trifling quarrels do not produce assassination and revenge is never finished by murder.” Pierce Egan, 1820

“Boxing is egalitarian. In the ring, rank, age, colour and wealth are irrelevant.” Nelson Mandela

“Politics is comparable to boxing. The only thing is that in politics there are basically no rules. In boxing, you can get a black eye, but in politics you can get poison in your food or a bullet in the head.” Wladimir Klitchko

“In here were two guys killing each other. But I guess that’s better than million.” Sylvester Stallone, Rocky IV.

In The Ring With Ahmed “The Egyptian” Elbiali

05/20/2014 Bill Barner

In the segment In the Ring, boxing writer Bill Barner interviews fighters from inside the ring in an effort to gain more insight into their fighting styles. In May 2014, Barner interviewed Super Middleweight Ahmed “The Egyptian” Elbiali.

Born in Egypt, Elbiali immigrated to the United States at a young age. As an amateur, Elbiali dreamed of being an Olympic fighter, but those dreams were shattered and shelved during the famous Arab Spring.

ESPN Thursday Night Fights: A Ringside Report

05/02/201405/02/2014 Bill Barner

On May 1, Hialeah Park and Casino hosted ESPN Thursday Night Fights. Those in attendance included both current and former world champions such as Guillermo Rigondeaux, Riddick Bowe, Joel Casamayor, and Sergio Martinez.

NON TELEVISED BOUTS

The fighter who left the biggest impression in the opening bouts was Ahmed Elbiale, fighting out of Miami, FL by way of Cairo Egypt. He faced Steven Chadwick Jr. in a light heavyweight bout scheduled for four rounds. Neither the judges nor the ring card girls would be needed in this short, brutal bout.

The Weigh-In: ESPN Thursday Night Fights: A Preview Of May 1

05/01/2014 Bill Barner

On April 30, 2014, eighteen fighters ranging from Featherweight to Light Heavyweight took center stage at Hialeah Park and Casino to weigh in for ESPN’s Thursday Night Fights.

First to weigh in were Texan Roberto “La Amenaza” Garcia (34-3, 22 KOs) and his scheduled opponent, Dominican Victor “Mermelada” Cayo (32-4, 23 KOs). First, Roberto Garcia played to the crowd a bit, flexing and mugging for cameras. After taking a minute to remove all of his jewelry, he weighed in at 146.2 lbs., or 3.8 lbs. under their 150 lb. contract weight. However, things did not go as smoothly for Victor Cayo.

First, Cayo awkwardly approached the scale with his back to the audience and cameras. After being turned around twice, he weighed in a few ounces over the 150-lb. contracted weight at 150.6 lbs. . Pursuant to the rules that contemplate such a discrepancy, Cayo was given two hours to re-weigh. He left the stage and returned minutes later to re-weigh. This time, Cayo stood on the stage naked as the day he was born, but still weighed 150.2 lbs.

ESPN Thursday Night Fights: A Preview Of May 1

04/27/201404/27/2014 Bill Barner

ESPN will broadcast a special Thursday night edition of ESPN Friday Night Fights, appropriately billed “ESPN Thursday Night Fights,” on ESPN2 May 1, 2014 from Hialeah Park Casino in Hialeah, FL.

ABOUT THE FIGHTS

In the main event of an ESPN co-feature, Texan Roberto “La Amenaza” Garcia (34-3, 22 KOs) is scheduled to fight Dominican Victor “Mermelada” Cayo (32-4, 23 KOs) in a 10-round Jr. Middleweight bout.

Omar Figueroa Vs. Jerry Belmontes: Two Fighters With A History

04/25/201404/24/2014 Bill Barner

This Saturday, April 26, Jerry Belmontes will challenge fellow Texan Omar Figueroa for Figueroa’s WBC Lightweight Belt. Although this is their first professional bout against one another, the two fighters have fought several times as amateurs.

ABOUT THE FIGHTERS

Omar Figueroa became the WBC Lightweight Champion on July 27, 2013 after winning a unanimous decision against Japanese champion Nihito Arakawa in Figueroa’s home state of Texas. The bout was a 12-round, brutal but fan-friendly fight that resulted in both fighters taking the rest of 2013 off.

A hand injury suffered in his bout against Arakawa forced Figueroa to withdraw from his scheduled March title defense against Canelo Alvarez’s older brother, Ricardo Alvarez. This led to Figueroa scheduling an April 26, 2014 bout against former amateur boxing rival Jerry Belmontes.

Bernard Hopkins Vs. Beibut Shumenov: Preview And Prediction

04/17/201404/16/2014 Bill Barner

On March 9, 2013, Bernard Hopkins (54-6-2 with 32 KOs), then 48 years old, broke the world record for the oldest boxer to win a world title. Whose record did he break? His own.

On April 19, 2014, the self-proclaimed Alien will step into the ring to set yet another world record. Bernard Hopkins will fight to become the oldest boxer in history to unify two major world titles. His opponent is Kazakh lawyer-turned-pugilist Beibut Shumenov. In a sport filled with unique and inspiring backstories, Shumenov’s stands head and shoulders above the rest.

ABOUT THE FIGHTERS

As a child, Shumenov was inadvertently poisoned by his aunt. As his parents took their blue, shriveling child to the hospital, they were informed that their boy would not survive. Doctors managed to save the boy after running an IV through his skull. Subsequent to these life-saving measures, doctors told Shumenov’s parents that he would always be small and that he should avoid physically taxing activities. The 6’2” WBA Light Heavyweight Champion has spent a lifetime proving that those doctors were dead wrong. In his 30 years on this planet, Shumenov has gone from begging relatives for food to becoming a millionaire attorney and a champion fighter.