News: O’Connor splits glove in win; Kennedy-Villalobos on March 6; Melinda Cooper

Legends are made from incidents like 2008 U.S. Olympic first alternate Danny O’Connor experienced last weekend in Canada, when his glove split after he pounded pro-debuting Greg Jimenez’s body with monster-like hooks en route to a win by 4-round decision off-television on ESPN Friday Night Fights show, headlined by the IBF light welterweight title fight between Juan Urango and Herman Ngoudjo at the Bell Centre in Montreal..

The 23-year-old O’Connor (3-0, 1 KO) turned in the best performance of his young pro carer, but what fans there will remember is seeing Danny hit his opponent so hard that his glove literally split. “I don’t know what happened and nobody there had seen anything like it,” O’Connor explained. “I hit him with a clean body shot and the stuffing and padding started coming out. They had to stop the fight, cut-off my gloves, and put on a new pair. It had to be a 7-minute ordeal.”

“Danny had been hitting him with some really effective body shots and after one good shot in the third round,” O’Connor’s head trainer and co-manager David Keefe added, “his glove split open and the fight had to be stopped. He had the kid hurt but never put him away because of the long break.”

O’Connor won on all three judges’ scorecards – 40-36, 40-36, 40-34 – and his impressive performance locked-up his first ESPN Friday Night Fights appearance in the opening bout February 27.

“I had a great time in Canada,” Danny remarked. “It was a very well run show in a great atmosphere. Everybody was nice to me. It was my best performance as a pro. Each fight is a learning experience for me. I fought real well and was relaxed during the entire fight. I felt so good I could have easily fought six rounds.

“Fighting on ESPN means a lot to me, not just because it’s national television, but so many of my fans haven’t been able to watch me fight. Now, they won’t have to wait until they read about my fight the next day. They can watch with their own eyes. I’m very excited to showcase my tools on ESPN to a lot of people who’ve never seen me fight before.”

O’Connor, fighting out of Framingham (MA), won last year’s US Future Stars National Championship, in which he was named Most Outstanding Boxer, as well as the 2008 National Golden Gloves Tournament. Danny, who signed a promotional contract with Seminole Warriors Boxing, defeated 2008 Olympic Gold medalist Felix Diaz, of the Dominican Republic, last May as an amateur in a USA-Dominican Republic dual meet.

“We’re all very excited about Danny fighting on ESPN,” Keefe commented. “When (co-manager) Rob (Valle) and I wanted to go with a promoter, one of the keys was signing with a promoter who could get Danny exposure like this and had a plan that we can work with. (Seminole Warriors Boxing executive director) Leon (Margules) has that plan and getting Danny on ESPN in only his fourth pro fight is another step towards getting Danny to the top. It’s a great marketing tool for a good, young boxer. Fighting in Montreal on that card was a great experience for all of us because we were around Team Urango and saw first-hand what it’s like and takes to win a world championship.”

UNBEATEN TEON KENNEDY BOXES PAULINO VILLALOBOS MARCH 6 IN SEMFINAL AT BLUE HORIZON

PHILADELPHIA, PA—Unbeaten super bantamweight Teon Kennedy, of North Philadelphia, will face his most experienced opponent as a pro when he boxes crowd-pleasing southpaw Paulino Villalobos, of Veracruz, Mexico, in an eight-round contest Friday evening, March 6, at the Legendary Blue Horizon, 1314 North Broad Street. First fight set for 7.30 pm.

Topping the seven-fight card will be Mike Jones’ first defense of his North American Boxing Association (NABA) welterweight title in a 10-round match with Larry Mosley, of Los Angeles, CA.

Kennedy, 22, won the 2004 National Golden Gloves flyweight championship. As a pro, he is 11-0, 5 K0s, with his biggest wins coming over Castulo Gonzalez, of Lowell, MA, by decision, and over Thomas Snow, of Washington, DC, by knockout.

In his last fight Nov. 14 at the New Alhambra in South Philadelphia, Kennedy pounded out a one-sided, six-round decision over Felipe Almanza, of Lorica, Colombia.

Villalobos, 37, is 27-39-2, 16 K0s, and he has fought some of the best. His list of foes is a virtual Who’s Who of flyweights and bantamweights: Antonio Escalante, Cruz Carbajal, Mike Oliver, Oscar Andrade, Nonito Donaire, Al Seeger, Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson and Melchor Cob Castro.

In his last fight July 18 in Tucson, AZ, Villalobos upset previously unbeaten (12-0-2) Jesus Ruiz, of Nogales, Mexico, scoring an eight-round decision.

Villalobos does well against unbeaten prospects. He is the only man to beat Puerto Rican prospect (5-0) Jonas Hernandez, earning a six-round decision on Jan. 26, 2007, in Cicero, IL. A p ro since 1989, Villalobos has been stopped just six times in 68 fights.

The March 6 card represents a return to the Blue Horizon after eight years for Hall-of-Fame promoter J Russell Peltz, who began his career there as a 22-year-old in 1969. He is promoting this card with Joe Hand Promotions, Inc.

Tickets for the March 6 card are priced at $45 and $60. They are on sale at the offices of Peltz Boxing Promotions, Inc. (215-765-0922) and at the offices of Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. (215-364-9000). They also can be purchased online at www.peltzboxing.com

Cooper Begins 2009 in the Hunt for a World Title!!!

Climbing through the ropes for the time in 2009, former world champion, Melinda Cooper (19-0 w/ 11 KOs) is determined to make this trip to the ring count more than ever before. Cooper will not just be getting something she has so desperately wished for and diligently worked towards for more than six years, but she will also be facing a tough hurdle in Monica Lovato (12-1 w/ 4 KOs) when they square off for the IFBA Bantamweight World Title.

The 10 round championship bout is being billed Rock in the Box and will be staged at The Theater at Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas on Saturday, March 21st. This site was formerly the Aladdin Hotel and Casino and was, coincidentally, the location where Cooper made her professional debut against Annalisa Middleton on March 23rd, 2002. This should be quite the homecoming for Cooper.

Lovato is currently the NABF and IBA Super Flyweight Champion and also holds the IBA Bantamweight title. Cooper, on the other hand, is finally getting the title shot she has been waiting for, so this match-up is destined to be an all-out war for the coveted belt. Lovato has proven to be wildly popular with New Mexico boxing fans and will bring a wealth of experience, a legion of supporters and unwavering determination with her when she hits the Vegas strip.

The bout will be one of many featured in a night full of exciting boxing action promoted by Roy Englebrecht Promotions. Englebrecht and his team have gained widespread recognition and praise as California’s third largest boxing promotions company and hold the distinction as having one of the longest running and most successful club shows in the country. Englebrecht’s Battle in the Ballroom shows, hosted at the Irvine Marriott Hotel are in their 22nd consecutive year.

The Cooper versus Lovato match up has all of the makings of a sensational fight. It consists of two talented boxers who are determined to give boxing fans their monies worth every time out. Neither fighter is afraid to go toe-to-toe and give it their all for every single round of nonstop action. Only one will emerge a champion, but both will have earned the right to say “I’m a professional fighter.”