Carl Frampton: Fighter-of-the-Year

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.

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Smith, Jr. Upsets Hopkins in his Farewell Fight

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.

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Bantamweight Prospects: Tony Lopez, Jr. and Stephon Young Collide on September 30th

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.

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Traietti vs. Lee on September 30th

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.

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Golovkin KOs Brook in the 5th Round – Is Saunders next?

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.

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Promising Las Vegas, Nevada Prospect: Jeremy Nichols

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.”

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Hykso is About to Revolutionize Boxing with their Wearable Sensor Technology

Hykso is About to Revolutionize Boxing with their Wearable Sensor Technology

The California based wearable tech company, Hykso wants to invent technology that creates the next generation of super humans in combat sports and with their newly released sensor, that is one of the most advanced training tools around, that might just happen.

Hykso’s small, lightweight, yet very durable and extremely powerful wearable sensor fits comfortably underneath a fighter’s hand wraps as it automatically tracks each punch thrown, calculates the speed, recognizes the specific punch type, determines the striking intensity (how many punches are thrown and hard each shot is), and the average time between attacks (average amount of time that elapses between each consecutive attack).

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Shelly Vincent: Shelito’s Way – Every Which Way Except Down

Shelly Vincent: Shelito’s Way - Every Which Way Except Down

Super bantamweight boxer Shelly “Shelito’s Way” Vincent (17-0, 1 KO ) looks to keep her undefeated record in tact as shefights for the third time this year on July 21st at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, against an opponent to be named at a later date. The UBF and WIBA titleholder from Providence, Rhode Island is poised to make women’s boxing more mainstream and take her career to the next level, starting with a potential bout against undefeated archrival, WBC super bantamweight, Heather “The Heat” Hardy (17-0, 4 KOs), hopefully at some point this year.

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James Perella: Highly Decorated Amateur Boxer and Aspiring Attorney

James Perella: Highly Decorated Amateur Boxer and Aspiring Attorney

James Perella is a highly successful amateur fighter who has amassed an impressive 120-20 record and is ranked the third best boxer in the U.S. for his weight class (152 pounds). He has won the U.S. Championship and the New England Golden Gloves four times (2012 to 2015) in three different weight classes (123, 141, and 152 pounds). Perella was named the Most Outstanding Boxer of the New England Golden Gloves in 2012, received a silver medal at the National Pal Tournament, and won the Region One Championship in 2014. He came close to qualifying for a spot on the 2016 Olympic Boxing Team until a combination of injuries and a pair of extremely close split decision losses put an end to his dream to represent his country.

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Shafikov Punished Herring En Route to a Tenth Round TKO Victory

Shafikov Punished Herring En Route to a Tenth Round TKO Victory

(Photo Credit: Nabeel Ahmad/Premier Boxing Champions) The scene was set for the 2012 U.S. Olympian and Team Captain Jamel “Semper Fi” Herring to take his career to the next level on this Fourth of July weekend but it wasn’t meant to be for the former U.S. Marine, who did two tours of duty in Iraq. The two-time world title challenger Denis Shafikov punished Herring before his corner stopped the one-sided bout 36 seconds into the tenth and final round after Shafikov crushed Herring with two consecutive powerful left hooks that badly staggered him.

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