After well over a decade, boxing returns to the historic Fabulous Forum in Inglewood, California. This afternoon Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez (55-7-1) and American Mike Alvarado (34-2-0) stepped onto the scales for their last formality before Saturday’s crossroads bout. This wasn’t your typical weigh in full of trash talk and posturing, but rather respect and compliments. There was a procedural and professional demeanor from the fighters, seemingly focused on the must win situation that lie ahead.
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Another View of Marquez-Alvarado: It’s Magnificent, But It Isn’t War
“C’est magnifique mais c’est pas la guerre.” (It’s magnificent, but it isn’t war).
~Marshal Pierre Bosquet in 1854, as he watched English cavalry charge toward their doom in a brave but ill-advised attack upon a deeply entrenched Russian artillery battery during the Battle of Balaclava.~
Although Tennyson’s poem remains the most famous piece of writing about the Charge of the Light Brigade, Bosquet’s quote may well be the most succinct, and appropriate description of what took place that day. You really can’t hope to do much better in terms of trying to express the mixture of admiration and incredulity that one would feel when watching an event like this take place before your eyes. And, that’s the reason why this author has decided to begin the article with these words; because he has a feeling that they’ll be uttered by more than one boxing fan as they watch an entirely different sort of battle take place at the Inglewood Forum this Saturday.
OPEN MIC: Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin Discusses Golovkin, Mayweather Jr., Stevens,and More!
Photo © Paul “Paparazzi” Jones – Washington, DC —In April,WBO Middleweight Champion Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (31-0, 22 KOs) dominated Lukáš Konečný (50-5, 23 KOs) over 12 rounds at the DC Armory. When the final results were read, Kid Chocolate led on all three scorecards (119-109 [twice], 120-108) in a virtual shutout. After the fight, Quillin wasted little time in calling out the Miguel Cotto(38-4, 31 KOs)/Sergio Martínez(51-2-2, 28 KOs) winner and fellow New Yorker, Daniel Jacobs(27-1, 24 KOs).
Before his victory, Quillin sat down with Eastsideboxing’s Paul “Paparazzi” Jones for an exclusive interview. Kid Chocolate discussed his upbringing, potential opponents, his connection to International Boxing Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, and more.
Eastsideboxing.com: Can you talk a little bit about growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and discuss some of the hardships that you’ve faced along the way?
Peter Quillin (PQ):“Well, I was homeless in New York City. That’s away from family. While I was with family, it still was a struggle. My mom was raising four boys alone. My dad went to prison at an early age; me and my brother had to learn a lot of life lessons in the streets.”
Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain: The Trainer of Champions on the three best fighters he has trained
74-year-old Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain is one of the finest boxing trainers in the sport’s long history. Almost certainly THE finest boxing trainer to have come out of the great fighting country of Mexico, Beristain has trained, at one time or another, no less than 24 world champions; from minimum-weight king Ricardo Lopez to multi-weight ruler Oscar De La Hoya.
One of the most deserving inductees in The Hall of Fame, Nacho still has more goals to achieve; most notably guiding Juan Manuel Marquez to success in “Dinamita’s” final ring appearances (starting this Saturday when Marquez will face thrill-a-minute slugger Mike Alvarado).
Stiverne-Arreola II – post fight presser and analysis
Bermane Stiverne stopped Chris Arreola at 2:02 of the sixth round Saturday night to become the first heavyweight titlist of Haitian heritage. ESPN picked up the anticipated rematch and aired it live on the main network rather than ESPN2, which is the home of their popular “Friday Night Fights” series. Here’s a look back at a great event.
The Atmosphere:
It was a unique setting for a heavyweight world title bout, with the card taking place on the University of Southern California campus in Los Angeles. By contrast, the first Stiverne-Arreola match last April was held in front of a larger audience at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California.
Bermane Stiverne proves he’s for real, and now everybody wants to fight him!
If Haitian-born heavyweight puncher Bermane Stiverne didn’t prove he was for real in his last fight, when he out-pointed Chris Arreola over 12-rounds, he sure proved it last night in stopping Arreola in the 6th-round. Stiverne, a powerful counter-puncher, was losing the fight last night, yet he sensationally made the score-cards null and void courtesy of his right hand.
Almost instantly, the talk turned to who the brand new WBC king will fight next (or who his promoter Don King – who, with last night’s big win, made a comeback to the top of the heavyweight division – will allow Stiverne to fight next). King spoke of Stiverne’s right to box a voluntary defence, making it a real possibility that Stiverne will not face WBC mandatory and unbeaten KO artist Deontay Wilder next. King also spoke of taking Stiverne on a “world tour.”
Stiverne stops Arreola in classic heavyweight battle
(Photo credit: Tiffany Lam) Tonight millions of boxing fans tuned into a heavyweight title fight live on primetime ESPN. A raucous crowd got their money’s worth at the Galen Center on the University of Southern California campus, just a couple miles south of downtown Los Angeles. Haiti native Bermane “B WARE” Stiverne, who now trains out of Las Vegas, squared off against Mexican-American Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola in a rematch for the vacant WBC title. Stiverne won their first bout last April via decision, but not before shattering Arreola’s nose at the end of the third round. As intense and bloody as the first contest was, fans eagerly anticipated the rematch.
The USC marching band played the national anthem in the ring, and then Chris Arreola made his ring walk, inciting a wild eruption from the partisan LA crowd. Next to the ring was Bermane Stiverne, who was serious as always as he shrugged off boos from Arreola supporters. Michael Buffer introduced the fighters and got the crowd pumped. The atmosphere was electric in anticipation for the opening bell.
Stiverne-Arreola II fight week coverage – Weigh In
Weigh-ins for the WBC heavyweight title bout between Bermane Stiverne and Chris Arreola took place this afternoon at the Radisson Midtown near the USC campus in Los Angeles, where the action will take place tomorrow night. Both men came in lighter than they weighed for their first bout last April, showing just how serious the fighters are taking this rematch.
Arreola stepped onto the scale first, weighing in at 239, his trimmest physique in years. By comparison, “The Nightmare” came into the first match with Stiverne at 248, and tipped the scale for his most recent bout (a quick destruction of American Seth Mitchell last year) at 242 pounds.
Stiverne hit the scale next, measuring 239.5 pounds. By comparison, “B WARE” was 247 for the first fight with Arreola last April, and came in at 243 against journeyman Willie Herring in his only bout of 2012. Against former title challenger Ray Austin in June of 2011, Stiverne weighed in at 239 pounds.
Adrien Broner: Scapegoat Racist
Adrien Broner was recently used as a scapegoat of racism in a time where racial insensitivity is a hot topic. This is due to the recent incident with Clippers owner, Donald Sterling and his hate towards black people, not wanting black people at his basketball games, and his history of racism. Although what Broner said this past Saturday night after his victory over Carlos Molina was racially and culturally insensitive, disrespectful, arrogant, lacked humility, and ignorant, I would not say that it was racist. A racist position would be someone who said something of someone from a different race with language and a tone of hate and power over another racial group. As a black man, Adrien Broner is not in a position of power, but more so in a position to disrespect an entire community as a result of his dominant performance over Carlos Molina (who is Mexican and Argentinian).
Adrien Broner: Future Pound-for-Pounder?
First of all, I need to make it abundantly clear that I despise the way that Adrien Broner conducts himself outside the ring, but I do think he’s a talented fighter… and many casual boxing observers seem to allow their hatred to cloud their judgement and underestimate his overall ability and potential.
I also feel that the Carlos Molina bout was arranged by the promoters to specifically showcase Broner’s talents, which was essentially a glorified sparring session and a confidence builder.
Anyway, after watching the Molina fight for the second time, I did see some improvement in Broner, though subtle, he does appear to be going in the right direction. Here are my thoughts…