Golovkin-Rubio “Mexican Style” Kick Off

On October 18th at the StubHub Center in Carson California, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin makes his west coast debut against rugged veteran Marco Antonio Rubio. The Mexican is a serious underdog, yet he rides the momentum of a six fight winning streak and should draw love from the southern California crowd. While Golovkin, the German based Kazakhstan native, is yet to taste defeat as a professional prize fighter. This afternoon the two fighters and their teams met in downtown Los Angeles to officially announce their promotion, which is being dubbed “Mexican Style”.

Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions emceed the event and was clearly excited to be bringing his star middleweight to the LA area. “We’ve had a great response for bringing Gennady Golovkin here”, said Loeffler, “the presale at the StubHub Center has been the biggest we’ve ever had.” Sampson Lewkowicz, who represents Rubio, was very complimentary of K2 and their ability to make the negotiation process drama free. “K2 is A to Z one of the best promoters and easy to work with”, said Lewkowicz. He also promised Golovkin that he’d have his hands full ‘Mexican style’ and that this would be his toughest fight to date.

Trout gets off the canvas and back into the win column

In the 2014 ESPN Friday Night Fights season finale, Austin Trout looked to get his career back on track at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California squaring off against Daniel Dawson. It was a mismatch on paper with 25:1 odds in Vegas. But in the sport of boxing, the only thing one should expect is the unexpected.

Former kickboxer and muay thai fighter Daniel Dawson traveled all the way from his native Australia for the biggest opportunity of his boxing career. New Mexico native Trout, a southpaw, was not only the stronger man, but the younger, fresher fighter as well. The 28 year old was in cruise control against his 36 year old opponent through the first two rounds. However things changed in a big way in the third as Dawson lured his man in and dropped him twice with two hard right hand counters.

Brook Upsets Porter to take home the title

There’s something about the atmosphere at the StubHub Center when the sun has fallen and it’s time for the main event! Over 7,000 fans came out to watch American Shawn Porter defend his welterweight title against England’s Kell Brook. The Brit made his way to the ring first, practically jogging his way through the crowd and between the ropes, looking eager to get it on. Porter’s ring walk was slow and calculated, making his opponent wait for him. Jimmy Lennon announced the fighters in his classy, unique way. Brook drew boos from the partisan crowd, yet had plenty of British supporters making their presence felt.

Porter came out with a lot of energy, trying to get inside on his taller opponent and work the body. Brook seemed content to hold and back up; while Porter looked like a pit bull in the early going. In the second round a clash of heads caused a small cut over Brook’s left eye, yet his cut man did a great job with it.

Figueroa stops Estrada in an exciting fight

Another great night of boxing at the StubHub Center in Carson, California! After an entertaining undercard featuring Deontay Wilder, Jorge Linares and other notables, the tripleheader broadcast kicked off with Texas native Omar Figueroa defending his lightweight title against Daniel Estrada of Mexico City. It was an exciting opening to another solid tripleheader from Showtime Boxing, which was criticized for the one-sided Al Haymon showcase in Brooklyn they broadcast last week (topped off with the Garcia-Salka fiasco).

Figueroa started cautiously in the early going, attempting to move his head and responsibly. It didn’t last long. By the end of the first round both men were exchanging blows on the ropes. Figueroa stalked forward and seemed to do the better work, yet Estrada stood his ground and made his presence felt. A low blow in the third round seemed to really bother Omar, as he took a long break at the suggestion of referee Raul Caiz to recover.

Dirrell wins rematch with Bika, takes home the belt

(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) The first time these two fought in Brooklyn last December, a rough and rugged contest ended in a controversial draw. Bika, of Australia by way of Cameroon, held onto his title but the sanctioning organization mandated a rematch take place. It’s clear to anyone who’s paid attention during the build up to this rematch that Bika and Dirrell don’t like each other, as they jawed back and forth at the presser and weigh-in earlier this week. But how would all that animosity translate into the ring? It didn’t take long to find out.

The first round of this boxing match looked more like a wrestling match, as the fighters took turns slamming each other into canvas. Referee Jack Reiss tried to establish control of the fight early and told the fighters to knock out the rough stuff or he’d take a point. Dirrell, the quicker, slicker boxer, attempted to confuse his opponent by switching between the southpaw and orthodox stance.

Showtime Tripleheader Preview & Weigh-In Results

Fans, media, fighters and their teams gathered at the StubHub Center in Carson, California this afternoon, as the official weigh-ins for tomorrow’s Showtime Boxing tripleheader took place.

Omar Figueroa 23-0-1 (17KO) vs. Daniel Estrada 32-2-1(24KO)
Lightweight title bout

Figueroa returns to the StubHub Center, where he narrowly escaped with a controversial split decision victory over Jerry Belmontes in April. For Estrada, this is his first bout outside of his native Mexico, and easily the biggest stage he’s ever fought on. Estrada hit the scales first, weighing in at 134.5 pounds; while Figueroa came in right at the lightweight limit of 135 pounds.

Top Rank and Bash Boxing put on another fun card from their “Fight Night” series tonight in Glendale, California; featuring ten 4-8 round bouts between up and coming prospects. The main event and co-feature were broadcast live on UniMás; with former super bantamweight champ Israel Vasquez doing guest commentary. Results below.

Joe Felix Jr. 26-1-1 (21KO) vs. Alejandro Rodriguez 21-14 (12KO)
Super Featherweights, 8 rounds

The UniMás main event between two Mexican natives was a bit of a let down after the great opener. Things started slowly as both fighters attempted to feel each other out while not taking any risks. Rodriguez moved forward and Felix Jr. tried to counter. In the third round Rodriguez was bleeding from his nose, no doubt the result from those counter shots. By the fourth round the nose was bleeding badly and appeared broken. No doubt Felix Jr. was the harder puncher, as his shots were doing more damage as the rounds progressed. Rodriguez continued to stalk but seemed late to the punch in every exchange. Felix Jr. always got off first, while moving his feet and remaining defensively responsible.

Canelo vs Lara: Post Fight Press Conference

Only minutes after thrilling a sellout crowd of 14.239 raucous fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Erislandy Lara and Saul Alvarez came to the media room to answer questions from the press and reflect on their highly competitive bout. Team Canelo showed up first, as Lara was getting his eye stitched up in the dressing room. Alvarez donned dark sunglasses to conceal the swelling around his own eyes, courtesy of the straight lefts Lara connected with throughout their fight.

“We knew it was going to be that type of fight (chasing Lara around the ring), I was going to be pressing him”, said Canelo. “But I didn’t think it was going to be that long of a marathon”. When asked about whether his corner ever told him he was behind at any point in the fight, he replied, “No they never told me that. They kept telling me to keep the pressure. I felt that I won, I pressured, I made the fight, I ran to him, I landed the combinations.”