Nico Hernandez was a highly decorated amateur fighter with an impressive 94-5 record that culminated with him winning the 2016 Olympic junior flyweight bronze medal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This was America’s first boxing medal since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Hernandez earned a great amount of hardware throughout his stellar career: Silver Glove National Championship six consecutive times (the first time ever), Ringside World Championship eight years in a row, 2014 National Golden Gloves Champion, gold and silver medalist at the 2014 and 2013 U.S.A. Youth Men’s National Champion, and gold medal at the Junior Olympic National Championships in 2011 and 2012.
James Stillerman
Lemieux Scored a Devastating Third Round KO over Stevens
David Lemieux delivered an early candidate for knockout-of-the-year when he landed a perfectly timed powerful short left hook on Curtis “Cerebral Assassin” Stevens’ jaw that brutally knocked him out unconscious onto the canvas, which prompted referee Charlie Fitch to immediately stop the fight at 1:59 in the third round. Stevens remained motionless while flat on his back for several scary minutes until he was taken out of the arena while strapped to a stretcher, but by that time, he was conscious.
Matt Remillard is back in the Ring on April 1st after a Six-Year Absence
Matt “Sharp Shooter” Remillard was a highly accomplished amateur boxer whose professional career was off to a great start. He was an undefeated twenty-four year old that held two featherweight titles: the NABF and the NABO. Remillard was ranked third by the WBA, fourth by the WBO, and was quickly closing in on a world title. His promising boxing career; however, came a sudden halt on January 5, 2010, when he was charged with fracturing Jordan Evan’s skull with an aluminum baseball bat during an altercation.
Wilder KOs Washington in the Fifth Round, Retains his WBC Title
Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder scored a fifth-round technical knockout over Gerald Washington. Wilder landed a powerful short right hand followed by a left hook to Washington’s temple that sent him crumbling to the canvas. Washington beat the count, but was on very unsteady footing. Wilder quickly jumped all over him and landed several unanswered thunderous left and right hooks that badly staggered Washington and violently snapped his head back, which prompted referee Michael Griffin to stop the fight at 1 minute, 45 seconds in the round, to save Washington from taking anymore punishment.
Carl Frampton: Fighter-of-the-Year
The undefeated Carl “The Jackal” Frampton (23-0, 14 KOs) had an extremely successful year in which he elevated himself from a great world champion to one of the best fighters in the world. Frampton went on the road twice to defeat two previously unbeaten elite title holders, Scott Quigg and Leo Santa Cruz, to become a two-division world title holder, making him my 2016 Fighter-of-the-Year.
The IBF featherweight champion went to Manchester, England in February to take on Quigg, the unbeaten WBA champion, in a long awaited featherweight unification bout. Frampton displayed an outstanding jab and great counter punching that helped him outwork and out land Quigg, especially in the first half of the bout. Frampton’s aggressive fighting style and punching power helped him survive a late rally by Quigg and contributed to him breaking Quigg’s jaw. Frampton defeated Quigg by split decision, although the fight was not as close as the decision indicated.
Smith, Jr. Upsets Hopkins in his Farewell Fight
Joe Smith, Jr., landed five left and right hooks in the eighth round and then connected on a devastating left hook that knocked Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins out of the ring and caused him to land hard on his head and twist his right ankle. Hopkins was unable to get back into the ring before the twenty second count expired, which gave Smith, Jr. the unexpected technical knockout victory with 53 seconds left in the round. This was the last bout of Hopkins’ outstanding Hall of Fame career that began 28 years ago in 1988.
This fight took place at the Forum in Inglewood, California. It was broadcasted on HBO Champion Boxing.
Bantamweight Prospects: Tony Lopez, Jr. and Stephon Young Collide on September 30th
Tony Lopez, Jr. (11-1, 4 KOs) takes on undefeated Stephon “Showstopper” Young (14-0-3, 6 KOs) in the co-feature on “Knockout Night at the D” in a ten round bout for the vacant WBA-NABA bantamweight championship in a matchup between two young and extremely hungry up-and-coming fighters.
This fight will be televised live on CBS Sports Network and ESPN internationally from the outdoor arena at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center this Friday, September 30th. This boxing event is promoted by Roy Jones, Jr. (RJJ) Boxing Promotions.
Traietti vs. Lee on September 30th
Chris Traietti (21-3, 17 KOs) takes on undefeated Mike Lee (17-0, 10 KOs) in a ten round bout at the UIC Forum in Chicago, Illinois on September 30th for the vacant USBA light heavyweight title. This fight will be televised on the CBS Sports Network.
This is an extremely important bout for Traietti because with a victory, it will move him into the top fifteen of the IBF world ranking and help to facilitate a significant fight in the future. The thirty-one year old orthodox boxer from Quincy, Massachusetts has won eleven consecutive bouts, all by way of knockout since his last lost to former world title challenger Edwin Rodriguez.
Golovkin KOs Brook in the 5th Round – Is Saunders next?
Middleweight knockout sensation Gennady “GGG” Golovkin scored a fifth round technical knockout victory over “Special One” Kell Brook in an action-packed bout that was competitive for the first four rounds until GGG ended it in the next round when he connected on several powerful unanswered punches that led Brook’s corner to throw in the towel to prevent their boxer from taking any more punishment.
This fight took place at the sold-out O2 Arena in London, England with a crowd of 19,000, mostly pro-Brook fans. The bout was televised on HBO. Golovkin connected on 133 out of 301 shots for 44 per cent while Brook landed 85 out of 261 punches for 33 per cent.
Promising Las Vegas, Nevada Prospect: Jeremy Nichols
Jeremy “J Flash” Nichols (5-0, 2 KOs) looks to keep his undefeated record in tact when he steps into the ring on September 9th against unbeaten Steve Belmontes (2-0) in a four round bout at the downtown Las Vegas Event Center. This will be Nichols’ sixth fight within a year and his second consecutive bout against an undefeated fighter, as he looks to make a name for himself in the welterweight division.
“I am excited for my upcoming fight against Belmontes,” said Nichols. “I have had a really good training camp and I expect to end this bout via a knockout.”