Hopkins dominates Shumenov; Porter destroys Malignaggi; Quillin wins

04/20/201404/19/2014 Jeff Sorby

49-year-old IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KO’s) completed the first part of his goal of unifying all of the 175lb titles by beating arguably the weakest link among the champions in beating WBA light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov (14-2, 9 KO’s) by a 12 round split decision tonight in their unification bout at the DC Armory in Washington, DC.

The judges scores were 116-111, 116-111 for Hopkins and 114-113 for Shumenov. The judge that scored it for Shumenov must have been focusing on his greater work rate and ignoring the cleaner landing shots from Hopkins. It seemed like a clear cut win for Hopkins tonight. He knocked Shumenov down with a right hand in the 11th, and continued to dominate him in the 12th. Shumenov didn’t have the hand speed or the defensive skills to compete with Hopkins, and he ended up getting badly out-boxed in this fight.

continue

Quigg destroys Munyai in 2 to retain Super Bantamweight title ; Crolla stops Murray in 10 in action packed battle

04/20/201404/19/2014 Marc Abrams

Scott Quigg retained the WBA Super Bantamweight title with a 2nd round stoppage over late replacement Tshifiwa Munyai. The Bout highlighted a 4-hour card that was televised live on AWE and originated from the Phones 4U Arena in Manchester, England.

“This was a great night of boxing,” said AWE President Charles Herring.

“Scott Quigg has been introduced to the American boxing fans on our network and he has established himself as one of the great 122 pound fighters in the world. The Crolla – Murray matchup was as advertised. We enjoy giving the boxing fans the most bang for their buck with these great shows and we look forward to continuing to provide the best boxing content out there.”

continue

Anthony Crolla stops John Murray in 10th-round of a war

04/20/201404/19/2014 James Slater

In The Battle of Manchester, Anthony Crolla eventually proved to be too much for lightweight rival John Murray. The two men gave their all in a terrific fight that met, even surpassed expectations, but in the end the younger, fresher man pulled out the victory. Dropping Murray with a left hand that landed behind the ear, Crolla then finished his man with a brutal follow-up barrage that prompted the ref to dive in. The time was two-minutes and 20-seconds of the 10th. Murray, who finished the war with a badly swollen and bloodied right eye, is now 33-3(20). Crolla, the younger many by two years at age 27, improved to 28-4-1(11).

From the outset Murray came out hard and fast as expected and Crolla had to dig deep so as not to be overwhelmed. The pace was a hot one straight away and Murray’s vicious and relentless body work was proving effective. Crolla countered well, though, and he landed the cleaner work upstairs. Crolla did look like he was perhaps tiring by the 4th and 5th-round but Murray’s right eye was swelling noticeably.

continue

Quigg stops Munyai

04/20/201404/19/2014 James Slater

Tonight in Manchester defending WBA super-bantamweight ruler Scott Quigg put on one of his most devastating and impressive showing thus far in his career as he annihilated South African danger man Tshifhiwa Munyai in two sizzling rounds.

Dropping “The Atomic Spider” with a cracking left hook to the jaw towards the end of the opening round, Quigg looked to have the fight all won. Munyai, a late replacement challenger, showed real heart in beating the count and seeing the round out. The end was not far away however. A thudding right hand to the head put the taller man down in the 2nd, and the follow-up barrage gave referee Howard Foster no option but to dive in and wave the fight off. The time was one-minute and 56-seconds.

continue

Mike Reed Crushes Canales; Signing Nears

04/19/2014 Paul Jones

By Justin Jones – Fort Washington, DC — Mike “Indeed” Reed hasn’t been as fortunate as some of his peers when it comes to getting signed by a major or even local promotional outfit upon turning pro, but that hasn’t stopped the standout DMV prospect from obtaining his piece of the “attention pie.”

Reed, a Waldorf, MD native, is similar to a small town star who is trying to catch the eye of his big time college coach for a walk-on opportunity, or a free agent trying to secure a new lucrative and long-term contract with a new team. Some would call Reed’s workman-like approach of fighting every couple of months against the likes of other unbeaten competition, or at the very least fighters with the same or more fights under their belt –unlike some of the built up fighters you see today– the “hard way.”

continue

Mike “Yes Indeed” Reed Hammers Regino Canales in 4th Rd TKO

04/20/201404/19/2014 Brandi Miller

Mike Reed (photo by Justin Jones / ESB) improved his undefeated record to 9-0 (6 KOs) when he took on game opponent Regino Canales in the main event at Rosecroft Raceway Friday Night Fights. The contest was halted by the referee at the end of the fourth when ringside physicians decided it was unsafe for Canales to answer the bell for the fifth round. Shortly after the bout was stopped Regino collapsed in the ring and seemed to have seizure like symptoms. He was taken out the ring on a stretcher and evaluated at Prince Georges County Hospital. I am glad to report that he was treated and released this morning.

Mike stayed behind his high guard and worked his way in with the jab. He was throwing bombs from both hands that connected to the head and body of Canales. Mike dropped Canales in the third round from a combination of punches ending with a right hook. Mike’s defense was on display as well as he made Canales fall to the canvas from missing a wild right hand.

continue

Rod Salka Wins Unanimous Decision Victory Over Alexei Collado In ShoBox Main Event

04/19/201404/19/2014 Showtime Boxing

MONROEVILLE, Pa. (April 19, 2014) – Rod Salka put on a boxing clinic for Alexei Collado in Friday’s ShoBox: The New Generation main event. And then he stated his case for a world title shot. Salka was the more intelligent and effective fighter from the opening bell, pounding the body and utilizing his superior movement in an impressive 10-round unanimous decision victory (96-94, 96-93, 96-93) over the previously undefeated Collado at the Monroeville Convention Center in Monroeville, Pa., just down the road from his hometown of Bunola, Pa.

The naturally bigger fighter, Salka scored a third-round knockdown and essentially kept Collado at bay, limiting him to looping, clubbing right hands that rarely landed.

continue

Pacquiao is back as he beats Bradley

04/16/201404/15/2014 James Stillerman

Many boxing fans were calling for Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao to retire since he was 35 years old and coming off two losses in his last three bouts, yet he proved a great deal of them wrong as he demonstrated that he`s still one of the best fighters in the world in defeating, top ten pound for pound boxer, Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley, en route to a twelve round unanimous decision. His speed, power and aggressiveness was too much for Bradley, especially in the last six rounds of this matchup.

Thankfully, this time the judges correctly score the bout for Pacquiao, giving him two scorecards of 116-112 and one scorecard 118-110, as opposed to their first encounter, where the Pac Man destroyed Bradley, yet ended up on the wrong end of the one of the worst decisions boxing has seen in a long time.

continue

Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Pacquiao vs Bradley, Canelo vs Lara, and Bob Arum!!

04/14/2014 Vivek Wallace

Carter C. (Northridge, CA): I think Pacquiao’s performance proves how good he truly is. I would like to know how you assessed his performance and what would you like to see next from him?

Vivek W. (ESB): Going into the bout, my official prediction was a Pacquaio stoppage down the home stretch, possibly as late as the 12th round. What I predicted and what we saw were two vastly different things, but in the end, the results carried the same weight. I just truly felt that his work-rate and the power it embodies alone would be able earn him a victory in this fight. Bradley has shown us great evolution, but there are a few major flaws within his game that I seriously doubt can be corrected at this stage of his career. It’s one thing to work on a particular set during camp; but in the heat of the battle, a veteran will revert to those tendencies that are deeply rooted and engrained in the brain every single time.

continue

Baltimore Battles at Patapsco Arena Doesn’t Disappoint

04/14/201404/13/2014 Brandi Miller

photo by hardworkpromotions.com – Saturday night was truly a great night for boxing fans hailing from the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. Hardwork promoter and main event fighter Venroy July put on another exciting card to bring fans drama and knockouts. The venue was packed with people enjoying food, drinks, and the DJ.

Around 7:30 pm the first bout was started as we welcomed Baltimore’s own Travis Reeves back home to take on Santos Martinez. Travis came out pumping the jab and placing good shots to the body and head. Then Travis landed a crisp right hand that sent Martinez crashing to the canvas. Martinez made the count but was unfit to continue in the fight. This was one of the many knockouts of night. Larry Recio from Landover, Maryland scored a first round knockout over Jose Felix in the first round. Edwin Reyes also scored a first round TKO over Chris Haney.

continue