Hey fight fans take note local boxing is back in the Miami area. Al Bonanni’s-Tiburon Promotions presented it’s third local show at Casino Miami Jai-Alai. 1,500 fight fans turned out to support their local fighters on the card, the most popular being Jessy Cruz, Azea Augustama, and Ahmed Elbiali.
There were only 5 fights on the card prepared by matchmaker Rick Fisler. A good thing as fans did’nt get bored with too many fights and a feeling of a long never ending show, that sometimes happens when you put 7-9 fights on a card.
New Zealand based heavyweight David Tua (52-4-2) will make a call on his injured calf. That call is expected today and will be aided by an expert medical assessment that will determine whether his August 31st bout with Alexander Ustinov (28-1-0) goes ahead.
In somewhat of an odd move, heavyweight Tyson Fury (21-0, 15 KO’s) will be using 37-year-old Steve Cunningham as one of his sparring partners to help him get ready for his September 28th fight against David Haye (26-2, 24 KO’s) at the Manchester Arena.
American Heavyweight prospect Deontay Wilder took a step up in class last night in Indio, California in a single round destruction of fading heavyweight contender Siarhei Liakovich. In the aftermath of the impressive victory boxing media blew up with the question “Who should Wilder fight next,” and also where does Wilder rank among American heavyweights. In examing the current batch of American heavys I ,in no particular order, made a list of 5 fighters that Wilder could fight and also guys that are around him in the rankings of American Heavyweights.
Which fighter has the best chance of bringing at least a slice of the heavyweight title back to America, the country that once all but owned the belts for decade after decade?
In the 10-round main event, Russian sluger Rustam Nugaev continued to impress the boxing world with a spectacular performance against a game Jose Hernandez. Both fighters had their moments in the early rounds. Hernandez would land combinations in spurts as did Nugaev, but it was the Russian who did the most damage in the exchanges. In the fifth round, Rustam landed a solid temple shot, followed by a vicious body blow that put Hernandez down and out. Nugaev never backed up during the fight and the pressure was too much for Hernandez who gave a valiant effort in defeat. With the KO victory, Nugaev moves to (27-4, 15 KOs) as Hernandez drops to (14-7-1, 6 KOs). The bout was stopped the 1:38 mark of round 5.
Ghanaian, Emmanuel Tagoe silenced his critics with a round 9 technical knockout win over Gerardo Robles on Friday night to claim the IBF International Junior Lightweight belt and edge closer to a bid for world championship glory.