The year was 1960, my desperate trainer uncle entered our 3rd floor South Bronx apartment without bothering to knock. With him was his Lightweight prospect, Pablo Lopez, then undefeated in 8 fights. They had to be at Madison Square Garden in less than two hours for the noon weigh-in, Pablo was scheduled to fight on the undercard that night. BUT… there was one problem, Pablo had suffered a slight cut on his right eyebrow earlier in the week, bad enough to cause a cancellation. My uncle pointed to the cut, Mom looked it over, placed a chair close to the window and said, “Sit down”. My older brother and I watched as my mother pulled out her “cut kit”, mix shades makeup and “go to work”. I had heard stories about Mom working “wonders” on black eyes, shiners and nicks in the past. I was hypnotized. And then she performed an unforgettable “magical” trick. She cut hairs from MY UNCLE’S bushy eyebrows and masterfully glued/pasted them to Pablo’s brow, completely covering any evidence of a cut!! The fighter thanked my Mom and said, “Ï owe you, Eva”, and as they headed out my brother asked my uncle, “Why don’t you just cancel the fight?” My uncle looked at him as if he was crazy and said, “Nobody pulls out of a fight in the Garden. Nobody!!” Well, Pablo lost a rather unpopular upset decision that night to journeyman Tommy Nethercott, whom he later defeated. But by not ‘pulling out’ out he earned another Garden opportunity, which he won. There would be more, SIX more to be exact.
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Dahou and Dodze set for Friday night fight in Accra
All is set for the epic clash for the WBC Youth Welterweight championship in Accra on Friday night after a successful weigh-in by Frank Dodze of Ghana and his Algerian opponent, Nasreddine Dahou Thursday morning at the Accra Sports Stadium.
The unbeaten Dahou has sworn to return home as the new WBC Youth champion but Dodze is equally adamant the title is staying right here in Ghana after Friday night, setting the stage for a thriller at the Will Power Boxing Gym after both boxers weighed exactly 147 lbs under the supervision of WBC Africa President, Houcine Houichi of Tunisia.
“Ghana is my country, they like me and they like my team. I personally love the (Ghana national soccer team) Black Stars and I’m very happy to fight here in Ghana. I thank my team, Box Office Promotions, Mr. Otoo and the GBA for bringing me this title fight. It’s my dream to win the WBC title and I promise to give you a good show with a good fight,” Dahou told the Ghana based website, www.sportsinghana.com after clearing his weight.
Labaran in SA ready for WBF Cruiserweight title fight Saturday
Ghana’s Ibrahim Labaran has arrived in South Africa full of confidence ahead of Saturday’s fight against local hotshot, Kevin Lerena at the Heartfelt Arena, Thaba Tshwane, Pretoria, Gauteng. At stake is the World Boxing Federation (WBF) Cruiserweight belt.
World title chasing Labaran has earmarked victory against Lerena as the platform to announce himself to an audience outside Ghana and consequently unto the international stage, why his camp have provided incessant training and preparatory rudiments sure to power him to victory on Saturday night.
“We’ve trained really well and the boxer is in the shape of his life. The world title is our ultimate target so this fight in South Africa is a test for the boxer and we are confident he will win to bring this title home.
Billy Joe Saunders Interview
Headlining is Billy Joe Saunders’ lip smacking second defence of his British and Commonwealth middleweight strap against fellow unbeaten southpaw John Ryder from Islington.
Tensions are sure to be high with both principals committed to attack and bringing large vocal followings, it can’t fail to be a humdinger. But who will depart with ‘bragging rights’?
Hall Flags at Half-Staff For Ken Norton
CANASTOTA, NY – SEPTEMBER 18, 2013 – The International Boxing Hall of Fame announced its flags will fly at half-staff in memory of heavyweight champion Ken Norton, who passed away today in Las Vegas. He was 70.
1992 Hall of Fame Inductee Ken Norton
“Ken Norton was one of the standouts of the talent-filled 1970s heavyweight division,” said Hall of Fame Executive Director Edward Brophy. “He was a great fighter in the ring and a great person outside of it. The Hall of Fame joins the worldwide boxing community in mourning his passing.”
Born August 9, 1943 in Jacksonville, Illinois, Norton was a gifted football, basketball and track star in high school. He began boxing while in the Marine Corps where he compiled a 24-2 record. After turning pro in 1967 Norton quickly became a key player in the heavyweight division. He engaged in a classic three-fight series with fellow Hall of Famer Muhammad Ali (W 12, L 12, L 12). Norton captured the NABF title twice (1973 and 1975) and held the WBC heavyweight championship (1978).
Record numbers in Mexico! “The One: Mayweather vs. Canelo” bout was the biggest boxing event ever on Mexican television
LOS ANGELES (Sept. 18) – Nearly 8-out-of-10 households in Mexico with a television set tuned into last Saturday’s “THE ONE: Mayweather vs. Canelo” mega-fight live on Televisa’s Channel 5. The 12-round majority decision fight, which Mayweather won, garnered a national rating of 41.1 points, which equates to a 77 percent share, 22.1 million viewers and 5.9 million television households, making it the highest-rated boxing program ever on television in Mexico. The telecast peaked with a National rating of 42 points (78.4 percent share/22.6 million viewers6 million television households) and the total program average from 8:00 p.m. CT to 12:30 a.m. CT was 30.1 points (16.2 million viewers/4.3 million television households).
“Boxing fans demanded “THE ONE” and when we gave it to them they responded with these record ratings,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “This proves that great fights with great fighters like Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez will always strike a chord with viewers and that Canelo is undisputed as the biggest star Mexican boxing has today.”
Shane Mosley vs Anthony Mundine Update
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (September 18, 2013)—On Wednesday night October 23rd, It will be an historic night of boxing at the Sydney Entertainment Center in Sydney, Australia when former three world champion Anthony Mundine (44-5, 26 KO’s) battles six-time world champion and future Hall of Famer “Sugar” Shane Mosley in a twelve round Jr. Middleweight bout for the WBA International championship.
The fight is promoted by Vlad Warton’s Millennium Events and Golden Boy Promotions.
Warton, who has promoted big fights all over the world, believes that this fight will be undoubtedly one of the biggest fights in the history of Australia.
Floyd Mayweather vs. Saul Alvarez – strategies and conclusions
The hype has been dispelled by harsh realizations, the euphoria (if any) has winded down and it may be time for some conclusions. Saul Alvarez and his team must have reached several revelations while Floyd Mayweather backed up braggadocio on Sept. 14.
Floyd Mayweather imposed his ‘blueprint” from the start and needed to make only small adjustments as the fight went on. He often anticipated his opponent’s actions taking advantage of the weaknesses he and his father mentioned before the fight. He used one small halfway-back movement on top of his usual routine to dampen Alvarez’s right hand. Floyd positioned himself as his opponents expected but he did not move in the direction his opponent expected. On top of that as an additional precaution he used this unobtrusive angle maneuver which seemed to hypnotize team Alvarez and they did not address that issue. FMJ’s game consisted of performing all the basics of boxing but performing them exceptionally well. His game reminded me of the Cuban amateur style, the same feet position and wide use of all defensive dimensions while throwing long-range scoring shots. Scoring shots favor speed and endurance while power punches consume a lot of fuel. His father’s instructions were “touch him to the body”, not “hit him”.
Hopkins vs Murat on October 26h
Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins’ historic IBF World Light-Heavyweight title defence against Karo Murat on Saturday 26th October from the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City will be LIVE and exclusive in the UK on the Channel Of Champions BoxNation (Sky Ch. 437/Virgin Ch. 546).
In an incredible 25 year career, record-breaking Hopkins is the longest reigning middleweight champion in boxing history and became the oldest ever world champion when he won the WBC World Light-Heavyweight title against Jean Pascal in 2011. He then broke his own record when he beat Tavoris Cloud in March this year to win the IBF World Light-Heavyweight title.
Now he aims to become the oldest fighter ever, at 48, to defend a world title if he beats the mandatory and number one ranked German challenger Murat who at 29 is almost twenty years younger than the American legend.
Martinez vs. Garcia / Martirosyan vs. Andrade / Donaire vs. Darchinyan: Saturday, Nov. 9 Live on HBO
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (September 18, 2013) — The Lone Star State will play host to an exciting triple-header featuring two world championship fights and a grudge rematch between former world champions that’s been building for over six years. Two-time World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior lightweight champion ROMAN “Rocky” MARTINEZ will defend his title against undefeated former WBO featherweight champion MIKEY GARCIA; 2012 Fighter of the Year NONITO “Filipino Flash” DONAIRE and former two-division world champion VIC “Raging Bull” DARCHINYAN will be looking to settle each other’s hash in a 10-round featherweight rumble and undefeated No. 1 and No. 2 contenders and one-time U.S. Olympians VANES “The Nightmare” MARTIROSYAN and DEMETRIUS “Boo Boo” ANDRADE will battle it out for the vacant WBO junior middleweight title This boxing extravaganza will take place Saturday, November 9, at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, TX. All three fights will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark®, beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT.