Rios’ KO of Alvarado – Awesome Display of Ferocity

09/14/201610/14/2012 ESB

Rios' KO of Alvarado - Awesome Display of Ferocity By Paul Strauss: It’s almost unfair. Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios not only is heavy handed, he’s also iron jawed. Mike “Mile HIgh” Alvarado hit him bunches of times with shots that would have put lesser fighters in la la land. Yet each time Rios got nailed, he would hardly take a step back, and instead would jump right back in Mike’s face. Alvarado tried to mimic him, and to many, including unofficial score keeper Harold Lederman, Mile High was being successful at the Home Depot Center, Carson, CA.

As the battle unfolded, it looked to be shaded in favor of Alvarado. He boxed well, making good use of his size advantage, his good mobility and his jab. He changed angles of his punches, managing to get around Rios’ tight guard, or split it up the middle. But, Mike’s swollen face told a different story. It revealed the power of Bam Bam’s short shots, which were not showy but devastating. Often times Rios’ unique style causes one to believe he’s back on his heels. His posture just doesn’t seem to be quite right, but the truth is he gets all of his body behind his pulverizing inside work, and he loves it. After a particularly brutal early round, he trekked back to his corner with a big smile on his face, telling trainer Robert Garcia, “I love this @#!%!”

It’s impossible to give a blow by blow description of the fight. It was more like a gang attack. On the one hand it was bam bam by Rios, and on the other it was rat ta tat tat by Alvarado. Both men had automatic weapons. There was no single shot firing by these two combat veterans. These guys were equipped with high caliber, rapid fire arsenals.

Donaire stops Nishioka in 9th round; Rios defeats Alvarado in 7th round TKO

09/14/201610/13/2012 ESB

By Rob Smith: In a really disappointing match, IBF/WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (30-1, 19 KO’s) easily defeated 36-year-old WAY best his best Toshiaki Nishioka (39-5-3, 24 KO’s) by a 9th round TKO on Saturday night at the Home Depot Center, in Carson, California, USA. Donaire knocked the reluctant Nishioka down twice in the fight, once in the 6th and finished him off with a right to the head in the 9th. Nishioka’s corner threw in the towel after the knockdown.

It was yet another one of Donaire’s disappointing fights because he had tried to sell the aging Nishioka as the best fighter in the super bantamweight division for weeks to boxing fans, saying he’s better than the top fighters. It was painfully obvious tonight that the fading Nishioka wasn’t what Donaire had said he was, and it’s just disappointing that Donaire won’t take on the best guys in the division like Abner Mares and Guillermo Rigondeaux instead of guys like Nishioka and Jeffrey Mathebula.

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In a toe-to-toe war, former WBA lightweight champion Brandon Rios (31-0-1, 23 KO’s) defeated previously unbeaten Mike Alvarado (33-1, 23 KO’s) by a 7th round TKO on Saturday night to claim the vacant WBO Latino light welterweight title in their WBO light welterweight title eliminator bout.

DeGale struggles to beat Mohoumadi in a war

09/14/201610/13/2012 ESB

By Michael Collins: In another poor performance from EBU super middleweight champion James DeGale (13-1, 9 KO’s), he went life and death tonight in defeating little known Frenchman Hadillah Mohoumadi (13-3-1, 9 kO’s) by 12 round unanimous decision at the Glow, Bluewater, Greenhithe, Kent, United Kingdom. DeGale took an awful lot of punishment in this fight and spent most of the fight against the ropes soaking up punishment.

The final judges’ scores were 119-109, 117-111 and 116-112. The scores were something of a joke because the fight was a lot closer than the scores would have you believe. 116-112 is a lot closer to reality, but even that was far off the mark. The judge that scored it 119-109 for DeGale appeared to be watching a different fight altogether because DeGale took a real beating in this fight and no way did he deserve to win the fight by that kind of score.

DeGale’s face was badly swollen on the left side of around his eyes from Mohoumadi’s hard right hands.

Price destroys Harrison in 1st round KO; Skelton stops Gospic

09/14/201610/13/2012 ESB

By Michael Collins: Unbeaten British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion David Price (14-0, 12 KO’s) not surprisingly destroyed a well past his prime 40-year-old Audley Harrison (28-6, 21 KOs’) in the 1st round tonight at the Echo Arena, Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom. Price hurt Harrison with a straight right hand that didn’t look like it was thrown with a lot of power or speed.

It was more like a jab than anything. However, Harrison had his head turned sideways for some reason and the shot hurt him. Harrison then foolishly backed up to the ropes and just stood there while Price unloaded on him with everything but the kitchen sink. After getting hit with one especially hard right hand, Harrison fell down just as the referee jumped in to stop the slaughter.

After the fight the British media seemed to be making a big fuss out of Price’s victory, pouring the compliments over his head endlessly without thinking about who Price just beat. This was Audley Harrison who had already been exposed by the likes of David Haye and Martin Rogan among many others, and it wasn’t much of a victory. The question is why is a 29-year-old former Olympic bronze medalist like Price still being matched the likes of Harrison? Does Price’s promoter know something about his chin that other fans don’t? If his chin is okay then Price should have been WAY past guys like Harrison years ago. Price is wasting too much time in his career facing fodder opposition instead of quality.

Adonis “Superman” Stevenson stops Don “Da Bomb” George in 12

09/14/201610/13/2012 ESB

By Joseph Herron: In a fight dedicated to legendary trainer Emanuel Steward, Super Middleweight contender Adonis “Superman” Stevenson (19-1, 16 KOs) went eleven plus rounds with the always rugged Don “Da Bomb” George (23-3-1, 20 KOs) before putting him away with only 1:57 left in the fight.

Known for being one of the hardest punchers in the division, the new IBF mandatory challenger to Carl Froch’s Super Middleweight title showed off his much improved technical skills that he’s been cultivating at the world renowned Kronk Gym in Detroit, Michigan with Steward and chief second Javan “Sugar” Hill.

In what started out as a tactical fight, the 35 year old Canadian resident controlled the action with sporadic right jabs to the body and head of the hard-nosed Chicago resident. Although George staggered the hometown favorite in the third round with a big right hand bomb, it was Stevenson who was regularly getting the better of the exchanges and throwing the wider variety of punches throughout the majority of the bout.

Nonito Donaire vs. Toshiaki Nishioka & Brandon Rios vs. Mike Alvarado: Weigh-in report

09/14/201610/13/2012 ESB

By Joseph Herron: Earlier today from the Marriott Manhattan Beach on the southern California coastline, all four marquee fighters participating in tomorrow night’s HBO Boxing After Dark double header, Donaire vs. Nishioka and Rios vs. Alvarado, stepped on the official California State Athletic Commission scale to gain their respective division eligibility.

If the crowd in attendance anticipated some heated moments throughout the media event, they were ultimately disappointed. All four combatants were professional and courteous to their respective foes during the entire Top Rank special presentation.

The big question going into the official weigh-in was whether or not Brandon Rios was finally going to make the division weight limit to become eligible to compete for the WBO Latino Junior Welterweight title tomorrow night.

Before his previous two bouts, “Bam Bam” twice failed to make the Lightweight division limit of 135 pounds and wasn’t permitted to compete for the WBA lightweight Championship, although ultimately being cleared to fight.

Before the event, trainer Robert Garcia insisted that Brandon would be able to make 140 pounds comfortably.

Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios vs. Mike Alvarado: Expert trainer analysis

09/14/201610/13/2012 ESB

By Joseph Herron: In the co-main event of the greatly anticipated doubleheader on October 13th, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA, undefeated former WBO Lightweight Champion Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios (30-0-1, 22 KOs) will be competing in the talent enriched Junior Welterweight division for the first time against the dangerous and unbeaten Mike “Mile High” Alvarado (33-0, 23 KOs) from Denver, Colorado.

“The Pugilist KOrner’s” expert boxing strategist, James Gogue, believes the ten round special event has the makings of a potential “Fight of the Year” candidate.

“This is a fight fan’s dream match-up that has become a stark reality this Saturday,” claims the 29 year experienced trainer. “I know a lot of praise always goes to the promoter and matchmaker whenever a beautifully brutal style match-up like this one is made, but the true credit goes to the fighters who are willing to enter the ring and face the toughest opponents in their respective weight class.”

“These are two undefeated fighters who have a history of imposing their will onto every opponent they’ve faced up to this point; two fighters who don’t like to take a back step to their adversary. Who will eventually get their way in the ring on October 13th? This is a real 50/50 fight in which I can’t really picture either man conceding to defeat.”

Where does Juan Manuel Marquez rank in the history of Mexican boxing?

09/14/201610/12/2012 ESB

By Emilio Camacho, Esq. Mexico has an impressive imprint in boxing history. The current most dominant Mexican boxer is Juan Manuel Marquez. Several of you have emailed me asking where does Marquez stand in history.

Experts will argue that Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. and Salvador Sanchez rank above Marquez. This is not hard to justify. In addition, I believe that Ricardo “Finito” Lopez should be ranked above Marquez. Lopez was the most dominant force in Mexican boxing and retired undefeated. However, Chavez and Sanchez arguably had the better opposition.

What is important to think about is not how Marquez ranks in all-time Mexican boxing history but rather how he ranks in his own era. This is because there are two other fighters, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, who dominated that era for a long time, and actually overshadowed Marquez for many years while all three had active boxing careers. This is significant because it is rare to have great talent at the same time, though it has certainly happened before (Ali, Frazier, Foreman as well as Leonard, Duran, and Hagler are some examples).

Chris Byrd Interview: The Former Two-Time Heavyweight Champ Talks About “The Byrd’s Eye View”

10/13/201210/12/2012 ESB

By James Slater — Former WBO and IBF heavyweight champ Chris Byrd, a slick stylist who recently hung up the gloves on an illustrious yet at times unappreciated career, feels he and many of his fellow fighters have a pretty tough time of it when it comes to getting a fair shake from today’s boxing commentators.

“Rapid Fire,” now aged 42 and leaving the game with a 41-5-1(22) record in early 2009, wants to give the fans and the sport a new-look boxing show. Set to be unleashed on the web (as well as on You Tube and a number of other internet outlets) this month, “The Byrd’s Eye View” promises to pull no punches. Tired of the often negative attitude a number of the current well known crop of T.V commentators have, and as weary of their on-air criticism (often from people who, as Chris points out, have never ever boxed; HBO legend Larry Merchant being at the top of his hit list!), the southpaw is looking forward to letting people more qualified to call a fight do the talking.

Along with his own, in-the-firing-line-acquired knowledge of the fight game, Byrd will have a number of fellow pros, both active and retired, assisting him to give it real to the fans. Byrd’s show will consist of pre-recorded shows and, later on, live shows that take in big fights – with shows planned for Las Vegas and, next year, London.

Mikey Garcia: “A fight with Yuriorkis Gamboa is ultimately the bout that I want”

09/14/201610/11/2012 ESB

By Joseph Herron: With an HBO date already scheduled for November 10th, and a big title fight with WBO Featherweight Champion Orlando Salido on the 2013 horizon, 126 pound contender Mikey Garcia (29-0, 25 KOs) is ready to make his mark in boxing.

The undefeated 24 year old fighter is slated to face tough Argentine Jonathan Victor Barros (34-3-1, 18 KOs) in the main event of a brilliant double header on HBO Boxing After Dark next month. His original assignment was supposed to be a title opportunity against the hard punching WBO champ, but Salido was sidelined after inadvertently slamming his index finger in a car door.

While some boxing pundits have questioned the decision of Top Rank and manager Cameron Dunkin to fulfill the November HBO date rather than wait for the championship opening, Mikey feels confident in his team and his abilities in the ring.

“Because we’ve already committed to fighting on November 10th, and we don’t know when Salido is going to be ready to get back in the ring, we decided to go ahead and fight Jonathan Victor Barros. I’m not too concerned with whether or not it’s a good or bad idea to take an interim fight with a title opportunity on hold; my primary concern is winning the fight on November 10th and getting a decisive victory.”