Mr. Gary Russell Jr: “2013 is going to be a tremendous year”

Mr. Gary Russell Jr: “2013 is going to be a tremendous year” By Joseph Herron – After beginning his professional fight career with a perfect 20-0 record including 12 knock-outs, former Olympian Gary Russell Jr. feels that his ceiling for success in the sport of boxing is unlimited.

Despite stopping his last two opponents on HBO and Showtime respectively in dramatic and impressive fashion, the talented 24 year old fighter believes that his best effort has yet to be seen.

“My team is definitely planning on having a tremendous 2013,” claims the talented Mr. Russell. “Although our expectations are high, we don’t overlook any fighter and we go into each and every fight with the realistic view that any fighter can defeat anyone on any given night.”

Tonight on a special “Olympic Edition” of ShoBox: The Next Generation, the hard punching southpaw will take on Robert Castaneda (20-2-1, 15 KOs) at the Fantasy Springs Resort & Casino in Indio, California in the ten round main event of the evening.

While most boxing pundits will view this bout as a “stay busy” fight for the highly touted Featherweight, Gary claims that his humble approach going into each and every contest is one of the many reasons for his success in the ring thus far.

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Q & A Interview with Millville New Jersey’s light middleweight prospect Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna

By Lou McLaughlin: Millville New Jersey’s streaking light middle weight prospect Thomas “Cornflake” Lamanna takes his unbeaten record 9 (KO 5) to fight for the first time in his hometown of Millville, N.J. on November 10th taking on Erick Hernandez Perez at the New Jersey Motorsports Park, Millville, New Jersey. LaManna had hoped to fight at his old high school but for reasons unknown to him the school board decided not to move forward with fight. This was an enormous disappointment to LaManna. Fortunately, the New Jersey Motorsports Park of Millville stepped forward as a venue and rescued the fight card. Thomas’s opponent Perez‘s last fight in September was a draw against an 18 fight veteran Daniel Garcia. LaManna began his pro career February 11, 2011 and in the 21 months since has racked up 9 impressive wins fighting every 2-3 months. Thomas has fast tracked his way through 6 four round fights in 2011. Beginning 2012 he entered 6 round competitions and was finishing with energy to spare. He generously took time from his training and pre-fight activities for an interview with me.

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Charles “The Hatchet” Brewer Speaks On His Career: “Joe Calzaghe Had Ridiculous Combinations!”

By James Slater – Philly warrior Charles Brewer, a man who captured the IBF super-middleweight crown in June of ‘97 and held on to it until dropping a controversial points loss to Sven Ottke in October of the following year, fought two greats from these shores – in Herol Graham and Joe Calzaghe – and “The Hatchet” rates both Brits very highly. The 168-pounder from Joe Frazier country was blessed with fine boxing skills, yet he was quite often involved in slugfests; his classic with Calzaghe a notable example.

Having retired in 2005, with a somewhat deceptive 40-11(28) ledger, Brewer has some exciting career to look back on. Here he does so for ESB:

On his best-ever performance in the ring:

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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