By Justin Jones & Paul “Paparazzi” Jones: Fort Washington, MD – Mike “Yes Indeed” Reed (8-0, 5 KOs) of Waldorf, MD has built a loyal fan base in the DC-Maryland-Virginia metro area. However, his goal is to establish a national audience. After dominating the previously unbeaten “Rebellious” Bilal Mahasin (4-1, 0 KOs) on Friday night at Rosecroft Raceway, people across the country are beginning to take notice.
“Toe to Toe”: Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo vs Saul “Canelo” Alvarez – Keys to Victory, Four to Explore, & Official Prediction
(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) Every warrior in life is met with a moment that questions his character and outweighs his optimism. What separates those who “are” from those who “were” is the sheer ability to rise when the only other option is to fall. Comes as no surprise that the hottest attraction in the sport this weekend plays host to the Las Vegas desert. And it should also come as no surprise that at the center of it all are two proud Mexican warriors that never say die! As we get closer to this “Fight of the Year” candidate, we hone in on “Keys to Victory”, “Four to Explore”, and an “Official Prediction”:
SAUL ALVAREZ – KEYS TO VICTORY
For Canelo, keys to victory all hinge on conditioning, a solid jab, and a sharpened ring intelligence to regulate each. Erislandy Lara is arguably the most physically gifted fighter at 154lbs not named Floyd Mayweather. What made Angulo effective against him was realizing that in order to be out-boxed, you have to attempt to box. Intelligently, he opted not to fall into that trap, instead choosing to smother and outwork him. Although Lara had his moments, the knockdowns cemented Angulo’s efforts and placed him ahead on the cards late.
Rustam Nugaev and Roman Morales Victorious on ESPN Friday Night Fights
PALA, CA (March 7, 2014) – Tonight Gary Shaw Productions in association with Greg Cohen Promotions, Antonio Leonard Promotions and All In Entertainment presented ESPN “Friday Night Fights” to a lively crowd at the Pala Casino Spa and Resort. Every fight was sensational as all fighters went to war with eachother.
In the 10-round main event, Rustam Nugaev (27-6-1, 17 KOs) and Marvin Quintero (25-5, 21 KOs) provided the fans with a rugged night of action. Quintero was using his hand speed and lateral movement to get off his punches while Nugaev was establishing a ferocious body attack. Both fighters were landing power shots, but it seemed that Nugaev was landing the harder blows. It was a close fight after four rounds but Quintero hurt his hand in the final seconds of the round. Once the doctor deemed Quintero couldn’t continue the fight was ruled a TKO in Nugaev’s favor.
Weights: Canelo 155, Angulo 154.5
The weight limit was increased to 155 lbs due to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s team asking for the weight increase. Canelo paid Angulo $100,000 for being a pound over, according to Fightnews. Canelo looked totally drained at 155. With that said, Alfredo Angulo also game in over the limit at 154.5. Canelo needs to think seriously about moving up to middleweight, because draining down to 154 to fight mostly welterweights isn’t going to work too much longer. With Canelo rehydrating to the low 170s, he’s definitely someone that should be fighting in the middleweight division. He should have made the move last year, but by hanging around at 154, Canelo got the fight against Floyd Mayweather last September.
It’s also allowed him to look better than he might actually be by having welterweights – Matthew Hatton, Kermit Cintron, Alfonso Gomez, Shane Mosley and Josesito Lopez – move up to 154 to fight him instead of Canelo fighting actual junior middleweights like Erislandy Lara.
Deontay Wilder vs. Malik Scott: The road to the heavyweight title
By B.J. Garnett: The March 15th WBC heavyweight eliminator bout between Deontay Wilder and Malik Scott is one of the more exciting fights to be made in the last few years. It is considered a step up fight for Wilder and a last chance of sorts for Malik Scott. While Scott more experienced and one of the best pure boxers in the division, his lack of pop is truly a evident and as it was nearly impossible to keep these 250lb guys off you when you can’t get their respect.
With Wilder, pop isn’t a problem. Thirty knock outs in thirty fights will leave no question about the pop but people want to know if he is a one trick pony or will he be able to keep this up against the top competition in the division.
Stiverne vs. Arreola: Finally a change in the heavyweight scene!
So after many many years, we will finally crown a world heavyweight champion not named Klitschko! Vitali, who’s been the WBC title holder since 2008, has stepped down to pursue his politics aspirations (not sure if he’s still happy with his decisions considering what is happening right now in Ukraine but I won’t dive in that subject). We will now get to see Bermane ¨B-Ware¨ Stiverne and Chris ¨The Nightmare¨ Arreola battle it out for the now vacant belt.
Hunter confident Khan will get Mayweather fight in the near future
Amir Khan may have struck out in trying to land a big money fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. this time, but his trainer Virgil Hunter still sees Khan getting the fight with Mayweather in the near future. Hunter has been told by his contacts that Khan will be getting the fight against Mayweather at some point.
That’s probably true, especially if Khan faces Luis Collazo in his next fight on the undercard of Mayweather’s May 3rd fight against Marcos Maidana at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Collazo has been mentioned all week long as the guy Khan will be fighting next, and not Adrien Broner.
Hopkins vs. Shumenov on April 19th on Showtime at DC Armory in Washington, D.C
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 7, 2014) – Washington, D.C. is known as a city where history is made. On Saturday, April 19, another historic event will take place in the nation’s capital when IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Bernard Hopkins faces WBA World Champion Beibut Shumenov in an attempt, at 49-years-old, to become the oldest fighter in boxing history to unify world titles. The DC Armory, the site of several championship boxing matches in the last year, will host the return of the future Hall of Famer to the capital for the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® main event (9 p.m. ET/PT delayed on the West Coast).
In the co-main event, popular undefeated WBO Middleweight World Champion Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin defends his title for the third time when he meets WBO European titleholder and former interim WBO Junior Middleweight Champion Lukas Konecny.
Collazo wants Khan on Mayweather-Maidana undercard
Luiz Collazo (35-5, 18 KO’s) is a veteran that has had his share of big fights. He was a top contender in the welterweight division and gave Andre Berto and Ricky Hatton tough fights when they were in their prime. Time has passed and Collazo went under the radar because he wasn’t given the benefit of the doubt in those fights that some even say he won.