Fast rising prospect Jerry “The King’s Son “Odom took time to give an exclusive interview to Fightnews. The 20 year old from Bowie, Maryland has had five fights since his pro debut in October 2012. In a manner reminiscent of young Mike Tyson’s early rise all five have ended within the first round. Total ring time in five fights being 6 minutes 23 seconds. Odom has risen from a troubled youth in the Paradise projects of Washington D.C. to a Golden Gloves champion. At 14, he stood in a D.C. courtroom in front of a judge he knew was tired of seeing him. It was Jerry’s third time there. . The youngster was looking at serious time. His uncle proposed a last-ditch solution: He would take Jerry. Ken Williams, a home builder, asked the judge to let Jerry live with him and his parents in Bowie. It is in this environment that Jerry received the opportunity to turn his life around. He has fully grasped this opportunity. The super middleweight has drawn a lot of attention from community for his natural knockout punching power. He has recently signed with GH3 Promotions and is scheduled to fight September 13th at Newark’s Robert Treat Hotel in his first bout outside of the D.C. area.
Keith “One Time” Thurman: Tale of the “Light-Skinned” Dark Horse
Only a few weeks ago, welterweight Keith Thurman stepped into the ring against a contender who few had heard of, and even fewer had actually seen. Those hardcore fight fans in the game knew that it could be an interesting night, as the scouting report on underdog Diego Gabriel Chaves was that he’s under the radar, but above the rim. Although Chaves entered the night as the relative unknown commodity, to some, Thurman wasn’t exactly popular, himself. Sitting in front of a flat screen TV in a house filled with fight fans ready for some action, I can recall hearing one young lady ask “who’s the light-skinned guy with the long hair”?
A few rounds, several power shots, and a bloody nose later, she made a conscious effort to remember his name, as Thurman gutted his way to an effort she would make a conscious effort to remember. Stepping in the shoes of that young lady for a moment, we ponder the question out loud: “WHO IS KEITH THURMAN”? In the world of Boxing you have pretenders and contenders. In many ways he has shown enough ability to escape the “pretender” tag. But has he truly established himself as a “contender” in one of the sports deeper divisions? What makes the Thurman project such an interesting one is that he appears to have all the tools to do so. 19KO’s in 21 fights is an indelible print left in the minds of both fans and future opponents. Trouble is, practically all of those KO’s came against unproven talents.
Has HBO’s The Fight Game with Jim Lampley been more hype than fight?
May 12, 2012 was the day HBO Sports debut The Fight Game with Jim Lampley. Many fans, including myself were excited for boxing to have a show with detail that would help exploit issues, and could also keep mainstream fans informed on the world of boxing, a sport that can confuse even the most hardcore follower. Has the fight game live up to its potential or was it just words made to sound good in a press release?
Let’s start with the HBO press release that made the show seem like the perfect medicine for a sport that is in bad health on many levels.
Emmanuel Tagoe set to rumble against Robles Friday night
The countdown is over and tonight at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, Cabazon, California, United States, Emmanuel Tagoe puts his world title credentials under the spotlight against American, Gerardo Robles in a fight for the IBF International Junior Lightweight belt.
For Tagoe who will be fighting in the United Stated for the first time, the clash against Robles entails more than the title at stake with victory setting him up for a potential crack at the IBF world title by the end of the year.
It’s also a stage for the Ghanaian showmaster to answer his critics and prove that he can take on the big boys of world boxing even in the US.
The Story Of The Non-Boxing Fan
In San Antonio two weeks ago a fight that resonated across the boxing landscape took place. Undefeated Omar Figueroa and highly ranked Nihito Arakawa basically beat the tar out of each other for 12 rounds in a lightweight bout with the Japanese fighter taking the brunt of the damage. Now this has all been covered by the boxing media ad nauseum but, what has not been covered, because honestly it is almost impossible to cover, is the impact the fight had on your average sports fan and your standard UFC loving boxing hater.
Ruslan Provodnikov arrives in LA to begin training camp to take on Mike Alvarado
The bout will be live on HBO’s Championship boxing and is promoted by Top Rank and Banner Promotions.
Provodnikov will be training at the Wild Card Gym under the watchful eye of Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach.
Provodnikov of Beryozovo, Russia has a record of 22-2 with fifteen knockouts and has become 2013’s breakout star. He won his first seventeen bouts with wins over Emanuel Augustus and former world champion Javier Juaragui. Since suffering his first pro defeat, Provodnikov went on terrific run of five straight wins over the likes of undefeated Ivan Popoca, former world champion DeMarcus Corley, David Torres and Jose Reynoso before his memorable March 16, 2013 clash with undefeated WBO Welterweight champion Timothy Bradley.
Danny Garcia & Angel Garcia Media Workout Quotes & Photos
Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Danny “Swift” Garcia and his father/trainer Angel Garcia opened their Philadelphia training camp for the media on Wednesday as they prepare for their upcoming showdown against power-punching Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse.
Garcia (26-0, 20 KO’s) will defend his WBC, WBA Super and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Titles against WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Champion Matthysse (34-2, 32 KO’s) in the 12-round co-featured bout of “THE ONE” MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO” on Saturday, Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The fight will be produced and televised live on SHOWTIME PPV®.
Vince Cleverly: “Nathan will KO Kovalev 100%”
Cleverly Snr and Kovalev’s trainer, John David Jackson, discussed their fighters’ preparations last night on a conference call ahead of the massive showdown at the Cardiff Motorpoint Arena on Saturday 17th August, live and exclusive in the UK on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 437/Virgin Ch. 546).
Cleverly defends his WBO World Light-Heavyweight title for the sixth and most dangerous defence yet against the undefeated Kovalev who’s knocked out 19 of his 22 opponents with 18 coming inside three rounds.
But Cleverly is adamant that his son will retain his title and will even knock out the fearsome Russian.
Casino Miami Jai-Alai “Summer Slugfest”
This afternoon at Casino Miami Jai-Alai the final press conference for Saturday night’s boxing “ Summer Slugfest “ show was held.
2010 Florida Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee (Trainer/Manager) and former (since 1977, handshake agreement) Don King Promotions trainer, manager, matchmaker and talent scout Al Bonanni-Tiburon Promotions was hosting the press conference announcing his third recent show at Casino Miami Jai-Alai.
Argenis Mendez headlines Aug. 23rd ESPN FNF on Iron Mike Productions card
DEERFIELD, Fla. (August 7, 2013) – International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior lightweight champion Argenis “La Tormenta” Mendez (21-2, 11 KOs) has been training in England for his first world title defense on August 23, airing live on ESPN Friday Night Fights, against challenger Arash Usmanee (20-1, 10 KOs), from Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.
Mendez vs. Usmanee represents the main event on the intitial event promoted by Iron Mike Productions, “Tyson Is Back!”, a scheduled 12-round war between the 2004 Dominican Republic Olympian (Mendez) and Afghanistan-native (Usmanee) who lives in Montreal.
Acquinity Sports, under CEO Garry Jonas, partnered with Hall of Famer Mike Tyson to form Iron Mike Productions, which is presenting “Tyson Is Back!” in association with Greg Cohen Promotions.
Mendez, rated No. 2 in the world by The Ring Magazine, fights for the first time since he captured his IBF belt this past March, dismantling defending champion Juan Carlos Salgado (26-1-1) in a rematch that ended with a sensational knockout in the fourth round.