Rosado stops Whittaker in 10, issues challenge to Canelo

By Joseph Herron – Last night at the Sands Resort & Casino in Bethlehem, PA, Junior Middleweight contender “King” Gabriel Rosado (21-5, 13 KOs) knocked out crafty, 19 year fight veteran Charles Whittaker (38-13-2, 23 KOs) in ten entertaining rounds.

After having some stylistic problems early with Whittaker’s lateral movement and hard left hook, Rosado was forced to display his ability to adapt and overcome. Gabriel’s initial strategy of fighting from the outside wasn’t terribly effective against the wily old hand, so the Junior Middleweight prospect was forced to tighten up his defense and fight Whittaker on the inside.

Rosado showed his technical skills in getting the better of the more experienced fighter; setting up short, compact hooks underneath Whittaker’s defense and continuously landing the right hook over the top.

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Romero, Morales Triumphant on ShoBox

Romero, Morales Triumphant on ShoBoxUnbeaten world-ranked super bantamweight Jonathan Romero (22-0, 12 KOs), of Cali, Colombia, dominated Efrain Esquivias Jr. (16-2, 9 KOs), of Gardena, Calif., en route to a near-shutout 12-round decision in the main event Friday on ShoBox: The New Generation live on SHOWTIME®.

Romero, in command from the outset, was victorious in an elimination fight for the No. 2 ranking in the IBF by the scores of 120-107 and 119-108 twice. There were no knockdowns. Romero entered the ring ranked fifth in the IBF and WBO and ninth in the WBA.

In a collision of undefeated super bantamweights in the co-feature at Chumash Casino Resort, Roman Morales (13-0, 6 KOs), of San Ardo, Calif., registered a hard-fought eight-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Jonathan Arellano (13-1-1, 3 KOs), of Ontario, Calif.

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Marcos Maidana Stops A Game Jesus Soto Karass In Drama-Filled Slugfest – “El Chino” Back To His Entertaining Best!

Marcos Maidana Stops A Game Jesus Soto Karass In Drama-Filled Slugfest - “El Chino” Back To His Entertaining Best!(Photo: Tom Casino/SHOWTIME) By James Slater – Who doesn’t love Argentine banger and all-round warrior Marcos Maidana? Well, aside from the passionate, in-the-mood-to-celebrate Mexican fans who roared on their countryman Jesus Soto Karass inside a half-full MGM Grand last night, almost every fight fan loves “El Chino.”

Excitement personified, the 29-year-old did it again in halting a game Karass via 8th-round TKO. Last night’s win, which improved Maidana to 32-3(29), was actually a must-win fight for the slugger from Carlos Monzon country, as Maidana had looked quite poor last time out, in losing a wide decision to the slick Devon Alexander in a fight that saw the former WBA 140-pound champ make the move up to welter. But that loss came against a classy boxer/mover – Maidana’s worst nightmare. Put “El Chino” in with a man who will stand and go to war with him, however, and Maidana has a shot of both winning and thrilling the crowd.

It’s not clear how long Maidana – who was last night somewhat dwarfed and pushed around as a result of his size disadvantage – can hang with the elite at 147 (can he still make 140?), but one thing is sure: it will be value for money all the way for as long as Maidana continues to rumble. Last night’s performance was typical Maidana: he fought hard, he fought dirty and he fought like a man obsessed with scoring the KO. Chucking bombs from the get-go, Maidana showed he does have power at 147. The right hand a formidable weapon against the determined Karass, Maidana’s left hand was also effective.

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“Please Stand By” Sergio Wins but With Technical Difficulties!

"Please Stand By" Sergio Wins but With Technical Difficulties!by Paul Strauss: What a night for boxing fans. Between Showtime and HBO, there were more fights than you could shake a stick at. The big record setting one was of course at the Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV. It was a grudge match pitting Sergio Gabriel “Maravilla” Martinez against the young title usurper with the bloodlines named Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.

Simply put, Martinez felt he was unfairly stripped of his middleweight title, and to make matters worse, it was given to this undeserving upstart who happened to be the son of a great fighter. Sergio was uncharacteristically vocal about what he thought was an injustice, and he was determined to set things right. Most of the experts and the odds makers agreed he was likely to be successful. On the other hand, JCC, Jr. was hurt and insulted by Sergio’s comments and determined to make him pay. Both promised knockouts.

Even with hall of fame trainer Freddie Roach’s help, it was thought to be unlikely that JCC, Jr. had the necessary skill and experience to pull off the upset, despite his father having done the seemingly impossible years ago against Meldrick Taylor. That was so long ago (1990), it seemed like a dream.
Critics of Sergio, including JCC, Sr. and Freddie Roach and other boxing purists don’t particularly care for Sergio’s style. When it comes to boxing technique, they feel he lacks fundamentals; although, they begrudgingly agree he is a superior athlete. Consequently, they believed he could be “gotten to” and that JCC, Jr. would be able to do so Saturday night.

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Macklin holds Alcine at ‘Knife’point

Macklin holds Alcine at ‘Knife’pointPadraig Ivory – Matthew Macklin deployed a controlled explosion at the Thomas and Mack on Saturday night and when the smoke settled former champ Joachim Alcine had taken shelter under the arm of referee Jay Nady. The left temple of the Haitian native duly played the role of the detonator as an invigorated Macklin claimed his 20th stoppage in sensational style.

The 30 year old Tipperary hurling fanatic, who was controversially denied world title honours against Felix Sturm in 2011, emphatically reinstated his status as the major threat to the middleweight crown. The first class surroundings of the new MGM gym may have aptly provided Buddy McGirt’s charge with the script to premiere an action packed Blockbuster in front of an energetic Las Vegas crowd.

‘Mack the Knife’ executed an overpowering assault on the former champ who twice came face to face with the heavily advertised canvas. Macklin was unrelenting and forged iron from leather as he cleverly switched attack between body and head. Alcine offered little in the way of return fire forcing the experienced referee to call a halt to the explosive action with only 2.26 registered on the clock.

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Alvarez stops Lopez; Maidana TKOs Soto-Karass; De Leon defeats Gonzalez

Alvarez stops Lopez; Maidana TKOs Soto-Karass; De Leon defeats Gonzalez(Photos: Tom Casino/SHOWTIME) By Rob Smith: In a positively sick mismatch that should have never been made in the first place, WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (41-0-1, 30 KO’s) absolutely annihilated welterweight Josesito Lopez (30-5, 18 KO’s) by a 5th round TKO on Saturday night in one of Alvarez’s easier title defenses at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Alvarez knocked Lopez down three times, once in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th rounds from body and head shots. Lopez, who looked soft in the midsection, had problems with Alvarez’s body shots. Alvarez obviously spotted the the coat of fat that Lopez had put on around his waist in moving up from welterweight in three months.

In the 5th, Alvarez finished off the hapless Lopez and referee Joe Cortez stepped in to halt the slaughter at 2:55 of the round.

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Martinez dominates Chavez Jr; Rigondeaux decisions Marroquin; Macklin crushes Alcine

Martinez dominates Chavez Jr; Rigondeaux decisions Marroquin; Macklin crushes AlcineBy Dwight Chittenden: With the exception of the 12th round, Sergio Martinez (50-2-2, 28 KO’s) completely dominated a badly over-matched WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-1-1, 32 KO’s) tonight in beating him by a 12 round unanimous decision at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Martinez, 37, had to climb off the deck in the 12th round to survive after getting hurt and knocked by a desperate Chavez Jr. However, Chavez Jr. was too slow and inaccurate to finish off Martinez when he had him where he wanted him. The final judges’ scores were 118-109, 118-109 and 117-110, all for Martinez.

Chavez Jr. couldn’t get into the fight in the first 11 rounds, as he was too slow and unable to get his shots off. With Martinez constantly moving, Chavez Jr. looked completely clueless with what to do. His past opponents had always been stationary for him to use his body attack on them while they stood against the ropes for him. But Martinez was going to play Chavez Jr’s game and stayed on the move the entire fight.

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Ward-Dawson: Andre Ward cements his place as a modern great

Ward-Dawson: Andre Ward cements his place as a modern greatBy Peter Wells: Maybe it’s about time we stopped the Mayweather, Pacquiao, who’s the best in the world argument. Andre Ward may just have trumped them both with another completely dominate display. Ward has already cleared out the Super Middleweight division, and Chad Dawson the best Light Heavyweight in the world, and a top 10 pound-for-pound fighter himself didn’t even come close to ending Ward’s unbeaten run that’s stretches back to when he was 12. When you look at Mayweather’s and Manny’s fights the last few years, they haven’t won each fight as clearly as Ward has. Andre has fought the best in his division and the best fighter in the division above, Mayweather and Pacquiao haven’t fought one another meaning they haven’t fought the best in their division.

Enough of that, this isn’t an article to argue who is the best in the world. Last night was Ward’s night as he was simply awesome in dominating the ultra talented WBC Light Heavyweight champion. In the build up many worried if Dawson could make the weight well, but looked good at the weigh in and weighed almost 10lbs heavier than Ward on fight night. Dawson enjoys fighting at his own pace, using his jab to control rounds. ‘S.O.G’ took away Dawson’s jab from the very start and after a slow first upped the pace to suit himself.

Ward’s footwork is something to admire. Any youngster starting boxing should definitely watch the way Ward uses his feet to set himself up to land shots and avoid shots coming back. Ward is also a great thinker and may well have won this fight using his brain, seeing shots that others wouldn’t notice if they stood their for 5 minutes let alone in a split second.

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