Joseph Rios upsets Miguel Diaz to win WBC USNBC Flyweight title

By Joseph Herron – On Friday, September 21st, at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California, rugged fight veteran Joseph Rios (12-7, 4 KOs) upset previously undefeated Flyweight prospect Miguel Diaz (9-1, 4 KOs) in the main event of an entertaining five bout fight card, presented by Thompson Boxing Promotions.

Both fighters were coming into the eight round featured bout with two big respective wins on their resumes.

Diaz originally won the vacant WBC minor Flyweight title by beating formerly undefeated Mexican prospect Austreberto Juarez (10-1, 2 KOs) in March of this year, and Joseph Rios bested previously unbeaten Joel Garcia (5-1, 1 KO) on June 23rd in a gritty, six round slugfest.

Rosado stops Whittaker in 10, issues challenge to Canelo

By Joseph Herron – Last night at the Sands Resort & Casino in Bethlehem, PA, Junior Middleweight contender “King” Gabriel Rosado (21-5, 13 KOs) knocked out crafty, 19 year fight veteran Charles Whittaker (38-13-2, 23 KOs) in ten entertaining rounds.

After having some stylistic problems early with Whittaker’s lateral movement and hard left hook, Rosado was forced to display his ability to adapt and overcome. Gabriel’s initial strategy of fighting from the outside wasn’t terribly effective against the wily old hand, so the Junior Middleweight prospect was forced to tighten up his defense and fight Whittaker on the inside.

Rosado showed his technical skills in getting the better of the more experienced fighter; setting up short, compact hooks underneath Whittaker’s defense and continuously landing the right hook over the top.

Pacquiao vs. Marquez IV – “It has to happen…really?”

By Marc Livitz – Change is good…Complacency kills.

Neither of these well known socially accepted proverbs holds any weight if each of them is universally governed by the words of the great P.T. Barnum.

Oceans worth of fans still feel jilted from the fallout which resulted from the past three fights between a certain Emmanuel D. Pacquiao and a noteworthy Juan Manuel Marquez Mendez. To their credit, there is enough evidence however much it may be clouded by opinion and anger on each side to support their respective arguments.

Throughout the thirty six rounds contested between the two, we have been constantly reminded afterwards just how microscopic the differences have been in terms of how the scoring has played itself out. The knockdowns have made the difference, at least they have (or did) in the first and second contests, which took place in May 2005 and March 2008, respectively.

A show of hands, please. Who really wants to see a fourth meeting between the two?

Take into consideration for just a moment how age is certainly going to factor into the bout once the bell rings to commence round thirty seven on December 8 of this year. Manny Pacquiao will be closing in on his 34th birthday, while Marquez has already settled into the final year of his thirties.

Win?…pissed off at the result. Lose?…pissed off at the result. Draw?… pissed off at the result.

All-Time Great Roy Jones Junior To Face Kevin Ferguson, AKA Kimbo Slice …..In An Exhibition Bout

By James Slater – Whether your opinion will be, “how the mighty have fallen,” or a more in-the-spirit of the event, “this will be a fun night,” chances are you WILL have an opinion when you read how faded legend and all-time great/future Hall of Famer Roy Jones Junior will face former street fighter/You Tube phenomenon-turned pro boxer Kevin Ferguson, AKA Kimbo Slice in December.

The bout, actually an exhibition, will go down in Montego Bay in beautiful Jamiaca in December, as confirmed by website Jamaica Observer, who reported on the bout being announced as official this past Thursday. The fight has been dubbed “The Beauty And The Beast.”

No Gethin, but still a great show

By Peter Wells: It was meant to be all about local fighter Martin Gethin last night (Friday 21 September), but after his sponsors pulled out on Tuesday, Frank Warren came in to save the fight.

Romero, Morales Triumphant on ShoBox

Romero, Morales Triumphant on ShoBox Unbeaten world-ranked super bantamweight Jonathan Romero (22-0, 12 KOs), of Cali, Colombia, dominated Efrain Esquivias Jr. (16-2, 9 KOs), of Gardena, Calif., en route to a near-shutout 12-round decision in the main event Friday on ShoBox: The New Generation live on SHOWTIME®.

Romero, in command from the outset, was victorious in an elimination fight for the No. 2 ranking in the IBF by the scores of 120-107 and 119-108 twice. There were no knockdowns. Romero entered the ring ranked fifth in the IBF and WBO and ninth in the WBA.

In a collision of undefeated super bantamweights in the co-feature at Chumash Casino Resort, Roman Morales (13-0, 6 KOs), of San Ardo, Calif., registered a hard-fought eight-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Jonathan Arellano (13-1-1, 3 KOs), of Ontario, Calif.

Pacquiao Agrees to 55-45 Split to Fight Mayweather

By John G. Thompson: Filipino Congressman, eight division champion, and pound-for-pound great Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KO’s) appeared on ESPN2’s “First Take” this past Thursday and announced something which could help make the long anticipated fight between him and fellow pound-for-pound great and five division champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. (43-0, 26 KO’s) actually materialize.

Pacquiao publicly announced that he is willing to cede the majority of revenue the fight would generate to Mayweather, who has been unwilling to fight under the normal 50-50 split. Though an even split is customary for two champions, Mayweather argued that his fights generate more revenue, and based on the numbers he is correct. Pacquiao stated that he would be willing to take a 55-45 split, possibly easing the barriers preventing a showdown between boxing’s two top stars.

Another point of contention from Mayweather has been Pacquiao’s refusal to accept random drug tests. Just to put this issue to rest as well, Pacquiao reiterated in the interview that he would be willing to submit himself for random drug testing. It seems that many fans are not up to date with this issue, so just for a little background: Mayweather and Pacquiao have attempted negotiations for this fight numerous times over the past few years. Mayweather accused Pacquiao of taking performance enhancing substances and demanded random drug testing from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

By Paul Strauss: Three and not out, and four might not settle the score. Maybe being unresolved is good enough. Shocking as it might sound, I don’t care. I like and admire both of these great fighters. Admit it, failure to produce a clear cut winner and final resolution to their four match-ups might not be such a bad thing. Constructive debate would continue and that is good for boxing.

It’s not difficult to envision future sportscasters bubbling over about the good old days when Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez fought four times in one of the best rivalries ever! They will describe with great enthusiasm the fact neither fighter could gain the clear cut upper hand over the other, providing unmatched excitement, not giving an inch.

So, even if there isn’t the so called finisher, it will be okay. Fans of each will keep their hero, and experts will be allowed to conduct lively arguments from now until doomsday about who in their opinion was the best.

To borrow a little something from Van Halen, “If we could have the best of both worlds, (then we’d) have heaven right here on earth.” Maybe lack of a definitive fight is not what some consider “heaven”, but it will at least allow the debate to continue, and for both combatants to then go on for a little while longer, knocking the blocks off remaining competition.

ESB Exclusive Interview with middleweight contender Peter ‘Kid Chocolate’ Quillin

“A lot of guys get ready for me, and they get ready for the wrong ‘Kid Chocolate’ because I got many ways to my game that I can fight. I can bang, I can jab, I can use my speed, I can use my head, I can work with my defense—I can do it all!” – Peter Quillin

Exclusive Interview by Geoffrey Ciani – Last night I was afforded the opportunity to speak with middleweight contender Peter ‘Kid Chocolate’ Quillin (27-0, 20 KOs), who will be challenging WBO champion Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (27-0, 17 KOs) on October 20 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Quillin spoke about his career, including his most recent victory against Winky Wright, his preparations for his first title shot, and what he feels he needs to do to be successful and capture his first world championship. He also provided his views on a variety of recent contests that have occurred in and around his weight class, including: Sergio Martinez’s victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Junior, Gennady Golovkin’s impressive knockout against Grzegorz Proksa, Daniel Geale’s upset win in his unification bout with Felix Sturm, and Andre Ward’s one-sided showcase against ‘Bad’ Chad Dawson. Here is a complete transcript of what Quillin had to say.

Audio:

GEOFFREY CIANI: Hello boxing fans. This is Geoffrey Ciani from East Side Boxing and I am joined by undefeated middleweight contender Peter ‘Kid Chocolate’ Quillin. How’s everything going today, Pete?

PETER QUILLIN: I am super blessed taking everything one day at a time. How are you doing?

CIANI: I’m doing very well. Thank you, Pete. You have a big fight coming up October 20 for the WBO middleweight title. You’ll be taking on Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam. How do you feel about your preparations and training for this fight?

QUILLIN: I’ve been here already two and a half months, almost three months now, so I’m feeling in shape. I feel good. Sparring has been bringing the best out of me. So this opportunity coming my way, I’m going to be more than ready to knock down that bridge, and to go ahead and let everybody know once I rebuild the bridge, that it’s going to be a better looking bridge. It’s going to be a better champion that owns this belt.

Alexander Povetkin: Kostya Tszyu doesn’t want a new fighter!

The fight for the WBA World Heavyweight Championship is getting closer. On September 29, defending champion Alexander Povetkin (24-0, 16 KOs) and mandatory challenger Hasim Rahman (50-7-2, 41 KOs) will battle it out at the Sporthalle Hamburg, Germany. Since his last bout against Marco Huck, a lot has changed for team Povetkin. With ring legend Kostya Tszyu he has someone in his corner, who will help him to exploit his full potential. In the following interview Povetkin talks about his new training and his next opponent Hasim Rahman.

Alexander Povetkin, your last fight against Marco Huck was seven months ago. A lot has been said since then. Now that you had time to reflect, what are your thoughts on that topic?

Alexander Povetkin: It was a hard and tough battle, and both of us had to go to the limits of our capacity. However, in the end I beat Marco as I landed the more precise punches than him.

What lessons did you learn from this extremely close fight?

Alexander Povetkin: Of course, I learned a lot from that fight. My team and I know what we have to do to prepare myself in order to be better than last time. For example, we have worked a lot on my stamina during my current preparations.