OPEN MIC: Curtis “Showtime” Stevens Discusses Johnson, Quillin, Kirkland, Mayweather Jr., and More!

04/01/2014 Paul Jones

By Paul “Paparazzi” Jones, Photo © Paul “Paparazzi” Jones

Atlantic City, NJ — This Friday, NBCSN’s Fight Night series travels to the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia (PA) and features a heavyweight clash between Steve “USS” Cunningham (26-6, 12 KOs) and Amir “Hardcore” Mansour (20-0, 15 KOs) for the USBA Heavyweight Championship. However, the co-feature of this Main Events promoted card, pitting Curtis “Showtime” Stevens (26-4, 19 KOs) against undefeated prospect Tureano Johnson (14-0, 10 KOs), has “Fight of the Night” written all over it.

A product of Brownsville, Brooklyn, the 29-year-old Stevens has experienced his share of ups and downs since turning pro in 2004. From his early success as one-half of the “Chin Checkers,” to lackluster performances against Andre Dirrell (21-1, 14 KOs) and Jesse Brinkley (35-7, 22 KOs), Stevens has shown two qualities that often endear a fighter to his or her fan base: (1) resilience and (2) a desire to compete against boxing’s elite.

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Chatman Defeats Brewer

03/31/201403/31/2014 James Stillerman

Photo courtesy of Chris Chatman — Chris Chatman dedicated his middleweight fight against Grady “Bad Boy” Brewer to his grandmother and late manager, Mark Dion, who both died this week and he did them both proud as he beat Brewer in a nonstop action packed bout, as he took over the fight after the fourth round, en route to a eight round unanimous decision victory with three scorecards, 79-73, 80-72 and 79- 73.

“My last fight against Jarrett Hurd was a robbery, so I wanted to come out and dominate this bout, which I did and to make sure that I didn`t have another bad loss, especially in my Classic Entertainment and Sports (CES) debut,” said Chatman. “Brewer is an extremely tricky fighter, so I didn`t press for a knockout, which I wanted, because he has couple of victories with late knockouts.”

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Kovalev Grinds Down Agnew; Warns Light Heavyweight Division to “Stay in Shape!”

03/30/201403/30/2014 Paul Jones

By Justin Jones & Paul “Paparazzi” Jones-, Photo © Paul “Paparazzi” Jones — Atlantic City, NJ — Russian WBO Light Heavyweight Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (24-0-1, 22 KOs) continued his winning ways on Saturday night at the Boardwalk Hall (Atlantic City) by punishing previously unbeaten Cedric “L.O.W.” Agnew (26-1, 13 KOs) over seven rounds. A devastating left hook to Agnew’s gut sealed the deal in the seventh round, dropping the challenger to his knees as he winced in pain. Shortly thereafter, the referee stopped the bout when Agnew failed to beat the count.

“I hit him and hurt him with the same shot in the fourth or fifth round, so I knew he felt my punch,” said Kovalev. “I knew once I landed the left hand to the liver (in the seventh round) that he was done.”

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Kovalev vs. Agnew & Dulorme vs. Mayfield: The Return of the Crusher and bigger fights await the winner of the co-feature matchup

03/28/201403/28/2014 Chris Carlson

Photo by Rich Graessle/Main Events – This Saturday night’s HBO Doubleheader marks the return of knockout artist Sergey Kovalev, who crushed his way to the top of the light heavyweight division in 2013. His opponent is Cedric Agnew, a fighter who is both undefeated and untested.

The co-feature pits a fighter who recently reached contender status, Karim Mayfield against Thomas Dulorme, a former prospect to be reckoned with now trying to find his way back to the big leagues after his T.K.O. loss to Carlos Abregu.

Cedric Agnew and his sterling record of 26-0 with 13 KO’s, certainly looks the part to a person who just happens to be at home, channel surfing right around the time the ring announcer is giving introductions.

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Froch vs. Groves II: The Controversial Stoppage and Rematch Prediction

03/27/201403/27/2014 Enlightened-One

We won’t have to wait too long before we witness the rematch between Carl Froch and George Groves, May 31st to be exact, which is being staged at a sold-out 80,000 capacity Wembley Stadium. So I thought I’d provide my own view of the controversial ending of their first encounter and also express an opinion on the likely outcome of the rematch itself.

Just to be clear, when reviewing the first fight, I believe that George Groves had a comfortable lead on the scorecards, despite whatever the official scorecards claimed, and also thought that the ref’s stoppage was premature. However, I’m convinced that this was a classic case of one punch too soon or one punch too late. I feel that Groves put the referee in a difficult situation by not defending himself effectively when he was on the receiving end of Froch’s relentless onslaught.

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Marvelous? Marvin Hagler is not so sure about Floyd Mayweather and his legacy if he doesn’t face Pacquiao, Khan

03/26/201403/26/2014 James Slater

As great and as talented as he is, with many achievements having glorified him during his unbeaten career, has Floyd Mayweather Junior really fought the best opposition he could have faced throughout his time at the top? One man who argues that he himself did just that, in former long reigning middleweight king Marvellous Marvin Hagler, also suggest that Mayweather has not taken on all comers.

In an interview with Mail Online, 59-year-old Hagler, who was part of a golden era that also featured greats Thomas Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard, said people will question Mayweather’s willingness to have taken on the best opposition he could have done if he walks away having not fought Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan.

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Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Bradley vs Pacquiao “Face-Off”, Why Golovkin Chose Chavez, Not Andre Ward, and Maidana Fight Strategy!!!

03/24/2014 Vivek Wallace

Steve N. (Reseda, CA): Bradley vs Pacquiao’s “Face-Off” on HBO seemed very intense. Who did you give the mental edge too (based on what we saw)? And who do you think has more to prove given the way things turned out before?

Vivek W. (ESB): I found this particular episode of “Face-Off” to be easily the most compelling of all. I think the episode gave us a strong indication of the pure mindset hidden deep within the dome of both competitors. I thought it was very raw, very intense, and for lack of better words, very unscripted. One thing for sure, there will be no questions remaining in the end this time around, as neither man seems to be willing to give an inch, yet both appear ready to step forward and forcibly take a yard, so to speak! With a few notes in hand and a mind full of contrasting thoughts, my best analysis on what we witnessed would go a little something like this:

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Trainer Joe Goossen examines Vanes Martirosyan’s performance on FNF

03/23/201403/22/2014 Joseph Herron

Last night at the Morongo Resort and Casino in Cabazon, California, Junior Middleweight contender Vanes Martirosyan (34-1-1, 21 KOs) took home the WBO Intercontinental title after winning a wide unanimous decision over tough fringe contender Mario Lozano (28-5, 22 KOs).

After ten rounds of action dominated by the speed and accurate punching of the Armenian born fighter, the judges rendered three shut-out score cards that read 100-90 across the board.

Despite the seemingly effortless performance against the hard punching and granite chinned Mexican fighter, veteran trainer Joe Goossen assessed his new pupil’s first fight competing under the Goossen Tutor promotional banner, which was broadcast in the main event of ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights”.

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Deontay Wilder: “Malik wasn’t fighting his friend, he was fighting the Bronze Bomber”

03/20/201403/20/2014 Joseph Herron

In what was supposed to be his toughest test to date according to most boxing pundits and fight experts, WBC Heavyweight title challenger Deontay Wilder destroyed 13 year fight veteran Malik Scott in just 96 seconds this past Saturday night in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

The “Bronze Bomber” took care of business with a cracking left hook/straight right hand combination that suddenly floored his 33 year old opponent midway through the opening stanza of the scheduled twelve round contest. Although the experienced boxer/puncher attempted to reach his feet before the referee’s final count, Scott failed to show signs of an ability to continue and was counted out by the third man in the ring.

But as quickly as the Tuscaloosa, Alabama native finished the job, fight fans and boxing scribes everywhere began to tarnish his dominant KO performance with sentiments of corruption, regurgitating the idea that the proud Philadelphia born pugilist and fringe contender “took a dive”.

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Boxing 411: “Mayweather vs. Maidana” analysis with Jesse James Leija

03/19/201403/18/2014 Joseph Herron

Last week, Boxing 411 caught up with two time world champion and talented young fight promoter Jesse James Leija to analyze the upcoming super fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Marcos Maidana, which is slated to be broadcast on Showtime PPV on May3rd, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The knowledgeable fight trainer and former world champion recognizes the gifts that both fighters will bring to the ring and examines the tumultuous fight style of “El Chino” Maidana versus the seemingly impervious defensive technique of “Money” Mayweather.

“I expect to see a great, great fight on May 3rd and a tough, tough fight for both fighters,” observes the budding young boxing promoter. “Mayweather brings intelligence, speed, and experience to the ring, and Maidana is so brutally tough that he’ll give you everything you can handle on fight night.”

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