Vanes Martirosyan vs. Erislandy Lara: “It’s time to put up or shut up!”

Vanes Martirosyan vs. Erislandy Lara: “It’s time to put up or shut up!” By Joseph Herron:, photo by Adrian Hernandez — On Saturday, November 10th, from the Wynn Las Vegas, top ranked Junior Middleweight contenders Erislandy Lara and Vanes Martirosyan will finally get it on in a highly anticipated WBC title eliminator contest.

While both men have finished their respective camps and are currently in Las Vegas, Nevada, Erislandy’s world renowned trainer, Ronnie Shields, feels positive about his fighter’s chances on Saturday night.

“We just finished up a great training camp and Erislandy knows exactly what he has to do. We know it’s going to be a great fight and we’re expecting to see the best version of Vanes Martirosyan on November 10th. To win this fight, Lara simply has to be Lara; display his talents and come out victorious. He’s ready to go.”

Though no one can question the level of talent possessed by the Cuban exile, skeptics and fight critics have publicly commented on the possibility of another questionable decision while fighting on the opposing fighter’s promotional bout sheet.

During his previous appearance on a rival promoter’s fight card, Erislandy took on former Welterweight Champion Paul “The Punisher” Williams in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the main event of a Goossen/Tutor Promotion on July 9th, 2011.

The return of Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo: Will the dog bark once again on November 10th?

By Joseph Herron – On November 5th, 2011, the boxing world witnessed one of the best rounds of action in recent memory when Alfredo Angulo and James Kirkland battered each other for all three minutes of the opening stanza during their WBC semi-final eliminator in Cancun, Mexico.

Although both men were ostensibly hurt badly throughout The Ring’s “Round of the Year” for 2011, it was the Mexicali warrior who caught the brunt of the more meaningful exchanges on that fateful evening.

But “El Perro” was not only handed his second loss as a professional fighter. Most fight fans and boxing writers described the dramatic bout as one of the most brutal beatings of this era, and further labeled the destruction as potentially career-altering.

After almost a full calendar year of inactivity, Angulo will be stepping back into the ring this Saturday night, alongside heralded trainer Virgil Hunter, to try and repair some of “El Perro’s” dented mystique and checkered persona.

His November 10th assignment will be against Junior Middleweight prospect Raul “El Tigre” Casarez of the Texas/Rio Grande Valley. Though most boxing pundits give Angulo the clear advantage going into this “comeback” effort, is Casarez the right fighter for a rehabilitative outing?

Ashie vs Tagoe weigh-in Friday

By Prince Dornu-Leiku – Despite the tragic death of his mum in a ghastly motor accident barely four days before fight night, Asamoah Gyan’s debut as boxing promoter will still come off Saturday night at the Accra Sports Stadium, with the newly appointed Ghana national soccer team captain expected in the country to supervise the ‘Clash of Kings’ bill.

Former IBF Intercontinental and WBO Africa champion at Junior Lightweight, Emmanuel Tagoe (18-1, 8 KOs) and reigning Commonwealth Junior Lightweight champion George Ashie (23-3-1, 16 KOs) clash for the WBA International Lightweight belt in the main event of the 6-bout bill of Gyan’s BabyJet Promotions.
An electric atmosphere is expected beginning with Friday morning’s weigh-in and press conference which will set the stage for the real thing the next day. With both boxers boasting a vociferous fan base, Saturday night’s fight extravaganza at the nation’s number one sports centre could also possibly be the biggest boxing event ever staged in the history of the West African country famous for producing world champions.
Some of Asamoah Gyan’s footballer and musician friends are also expected in tow to lend their full support to the part-time musician with their presence and performances in-between fights.

Is Nonito Donaire the best fighter at 122?

By Stanley Owens: It is quite likely that if you asked a casual boxing fan who they think is the best fighter at 122 they would answer with two words: Nonito Donaire. After all, Donaire is currently ranked at #5 pound for pound in the world by the Ring, not to mention his well-earned reputation as a devastating counterpuncher.

But is he really the best at 122?

His 2007 knockout victory over the notorious Australian slugger Vic Darchinyan catapaulted Donaire to stardom. But that victory occured at flyweight five years ago and while it was an impressive (and brutal) knockout, it doesnt answer any questions about his standing at 122.

Following the Darchinyan fight, Donaire became a household name in the lower weight divisions and continued to win impressively at super flyweight and bantamweight, culminating in a second round knockout victory over bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel in 2011.

Montiel had been a slight underdog leading up to the fight, yet no one could have predicted the sweet left hook that felled him in the second round and left a visible dent in his forehead. Donaire had reminded the world once again why he was ranked pound for pound.

Cruiserweight “Fast” Eddie Chambers: “Marco Huck should worry about defending his title…not Wladimir Klitschko”

By Joseph Herron: This past week, WBO Cruiserweight title holder Marco Huck publicly announced his $5 Million proposal to universally recognized Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko before stepping in the ring with 42 year old title challenger Firat Arslan on Saturday, November 3rd, in Nordhein-Westfalen, Germany.

But moments after getting past the experienced former title holder uncomfortably, former Heavyweight title challenger and newly proclaimed Cruiserweight contender “Fast” Eddie Chambers from Philadelphia, PA, USA, had several comments regarding the reigning WBO Champ’s recent activity.

“First of all, struggling with an experienced former title holder really doesn’t incriminate or diminish Marco Huck as a Cruiserweight Champion,” insists the 30 year old American hopeful. “Anyone can give you fits on any given night at this level.”

The Legacy of Emanuel Steward Part 2: Perspective from Iceman John Scully

“I mean in 1981 as a kid I was reading about Emanuel in a magazine and watching that big fight, and then years later whatever it was, here he was working my corner in the gym”—Iceman John Scully

Exclusive Interview by Geoffrey Ciani: – This is Part Two of an ongoing series dedicated to the memory and legacy of one extraordinary individual, Emanuel Steward, whose contributions to the sport he loved are simply immense. In this installment, trainer Iceman John Scully provided his perspective and shared some of his experiences with the legendary Hall of Fame trainer. Here is a complete transcript from my discussion with Iceman Scully:

GEOFFREY CIANI: John, a week and a half ago was a very sad day for the boxing world, and we lost a remarkable individual when Emanuel Steward passed away. As a trainer, a commentator, and an overall ambassador for the sport of boxing, when you think of Emanuel Steward what do you think of his impact on the sport and his legacy?

JOHN SCULLY: I mean I’ll tell you when I first started boxing, when I first started getting involved in boxing as a fan as a kid, he was one of the premiere trainers at the time. It was the late 70s and in the early 80s. So he had Hilmer Kenty and Tommy Hearns at that time, and the Hearns-Leonard fight was a huge part of my youth in boxing. So I’ve obviously been very, very aware of Emanuel since that time, and what’s funny is it just dawned on me the other day. After he passed away and I read one of his obituaries, it dawned on me one of his amazing feats is that when Leonard and Hearns fought the first time, Emanuel was only in like his mid 30s at the time as his trainer. He was training the beast that was Tommy Hearns in that huge fight, the trainer was only I think 37 or whatever he was at the time. I think he was 37. So putting that in perspective, I mean that’s pretty amazing in itself what he was able to accomplish at such a young age.

Klitschko vs. Wach this Saturday

By Rob Smith, photo: michaelsterlingeaton.com – IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (58-3, 50 KO’s) will be defending his titles this Saturday night against the huge and lumbering Mariusz Wach (27-0, 15 KO’s) at the O2 World Arena in Hamburg, Germany. Wladimir says he’s taking this fight against the inexperienced Wach because none of the other top heavyweights want to fight him.

It’s hard to imagine that being true when there are arguably at least 20 heavyweights that Wladimir could pool from that would give him a tougher test than the 32-year-old Wach. Perhaps the more likely reason that Wladimir selected Wach, besides him being an easy mark, is because of the large Polish fan base that Wach has.

Setting up a fight with Wach is a good money bout compared to some of the other more dangerous options. This is why Wladimir will likely take on another Polish heavyweight in Tomasz Adamek next year in what shapes to be about as bad a mismatch as Wladiimr’s fight against Wach.

Huck vs. Klitschko will be a tough sale now in Germany

By Dwight Chittenden: If IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko does turn and decide on fighting WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck, he may not get the kind of attention that previously may have been available before last night. In yet another fight involving Huck, he defeated 42-year-old contender Firat Arslan by a hugely controversial decision in Germany and the fight result of the fight wasn’t agreeable with the German public that watched the fight live at the Gerry Weber Stadium, Halle, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

Huck is becoming a regular to controversial decisions and for the most part they seem to favor him. But this kind of thing is starting to wear thin, and he didn’t help himself any getting a decision given to him that boxing as a whole didn’t agree with. But even you ignore the controversial decision, which is impossible to do, you can’t can’t around how poorly Huck fought against Arslan. Huck’s shots were picked off all night on the gloves of Arslan, and Huck just looked weak and inept.

If Wladimir wants to fight Huck after this it could be the equivalent of a stink bomb wherever the fight takes place. If Wladimir wants to fight a cruiserweight then he should be fighting Arslan, not Huck. That sends the wrong message when you fight a guy that appeared to lose in the minds of many boxing fans.

Grachev: I only lost three or four rounds against Bute

By Michael Collins: Former NABF light heavyweight champion Denis Grachev (12-1-1, 8 KO’s) was having a hard time coming to terms with his 12 round unanimous decision loss to former IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (31-1, 24 KO’s) last Saturday night at the Bell Centre, in Montreal, Candada. Grachev, 30, felt that he lost no more than four rounds at the most despite the fact that he was getting hit with the better shots and not doing enough against the defensive-minded Bute to win.

Grachev said after the fight as quoted by the Montrealgazette.com “The judges were unfair. Maybe I lost three or four rounds.”

I had Grachev winning three to four rounds, but I couldn’t give him 8 or 9 rounds without ignoring all the jabs and left uppercuts that Bute was nailing him with all throughout the fight. If you ignore Bute’s nice shots then you can give Grachev 9 rounds easy. However, that’s not how boxing is. It’s natural that Grachev isn’t happy about losing the fight, but he needs to sit down and watch the fight again to see how he failed to do the things he needed to do in order to win.

Froch sees Bute’s win against Grachev as a so-so performance

By Michael Collins: Carl Froch thinks that Lucian Bute didn’t look great in beating Denis Grachev by a 12 round unanimous decision last night in Bute’s win in Montreal, Canada. But Froch believes that it was a situation where Bute needed any kind of win to get over the hump of his knockout loss to Froch last May.

Froch said to Sky Sports News: “Let’s be honest, it wasn’t the most impressive performance from Lucian Bute that I’ve ever seen. Bute didn’t really impress, but it was a comeback fight from a devastating defeat against myself, so what did people expect? He needed to find his feet again, find his confidence. I’m sure he’s done that. I think mentally he needed to get that fight in the bag.”

Bute actually didn’t look that bad. What was missing from the performance was of course a knockout for Bute. However, he was fighting a guy in Grachev that even Froch likely wouldn’t be able to KO. Grachev has a great chin and he doesn’t stand in one place and let you punch on him. He moves around and he’s a solid guy.