Hard Hitting Brooklyn native Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin has his sights set on a Spring showdown with world champion Sergio Martinez, but if a veteran counterpuncher from Las Vegas by the name of Ishe Smith has anything to say about it, Quillin will be on the rebound trail by that time.
Smith and his camp have spoken with Quillin’s promotional outfit about a possible meeting this fall, and Smith is making his interest no secret.
“I like Quillin, He’s a throwback fighter, and if he wants to truly test himself I think he would get in there with me. I’d love to mix it up with him this fall” Smith noted on the prospective middleweight match up.
Quillin has notified various media outlets that he may be back in action this October on the undercard of Bernard Hopkins’ title defense against Chad Dawson. “Kid Chocolate” is coming off of a stoppage victory in July over Jason Lehoullier.
Smith turned in an impressive 2010, giving then undefeated Fernando Guerrero all he could handle in a controversial decision loss, and picking up a 2nd round knockout of Alexander Quiroz. 2011 has been quiet thus far for Smith, who has stayed sharp through a steady training routine.
Ishe Smith turned professional in 2000, and has captured NABO, WBC Continental, and USBA welterweight titles. Becoming a household name by participating in NBC’s The Contender in 2005, Smith has since appeared on national television numerous times.
Along with holding several marquee victories Smith has also shared the ring with Floyd Mayweather, Fernando Vargas, Shane Mosley, and Oscar De La Hoya as a sparring partner. Smith is based out of boxing’s capital city of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Stars Begin to Shine at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Men’s Boxing in Mobile, Alabama
(MOBILE, ALA.) – Several outstanding performances highlighted the afternoon session on Monday afternoon at the Mobile Civic Center in Mobile, Ala. The light welterweight and middleweight divisions both saw upsets while the heavyweight class featured a bout nearly a year in the making. A new young face announced his arrival on the scene with a convincing upset over a two-time national champion.
Both light welterweight winners bracket contests went down to the wire with two of the top four boxers from the recent USA Boxing National Championships dropping razor close decisions. 2010 National Champion Pedro Sosa (Bronx, N.Y.) overcame a first round eight count to win a 20-18 decision over 2011 USA Boxing National Champion Semajay Thomas (Chicago, Ill.) and move on to the winners bracket finals. Sosa could have faced a third showdown with 2011 National Golden Gloves champion Michael Reed (Waldorf, Md.), but 2011 Armed Forces champion Jamel Herring (Camp Lejeune, N.C./Coram, N.Y.) thwarted that plan. Herring won a 19-18 decision over Reed to join Sosa in the winners bracket championship bout on Wednesday.
In middleweight action, Antoine Douglas (Burke, Va.) recorded his second straight impressive victory in his bout with 2010 National Champion Luis Arias (Milwaukee, Wis.). Douglas threw heavy shots from bell to bell, recording a 27-12 win over Arias to punch his ticket for the winners bracket final. One half of the first-ever brother sister duo to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Boxing, Douglas will face Jesse Hart (Philadelphia, Pa.) on Wednesday. Hart claimed a 20-8 victory over D’Mitrius Ballard (Temple Hills, Md.) to advance.
The highly anticipated heavyweight showdown between 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials super heavyweight champion Michael Hunter (Las Vegas, Nev.) and 2010 USA Boxing Athlete of the Year Steve Geffrard (Boca Raton, Fla.) finally took place on Monday afternoon. The two felt each other out in the first with the opening round ending in a 4-4 tie, but Hunter took control in the second. He moved out to a 14-9 lead after the second round and extended his advantage in the third to win a 19-12 final decision. Hunter will face two-time national champion Jordan Shimmell (Hudsonville, Mich.) in the winners bracket final on Wednesday.
Three-time national champion Louie Byrd (Denver, Colo.) moved on to the winners bracket final as well, where he will battle Last Chance Qualifier titlist Eros Correa (San Jose Calif.). In the bantamweight division, two-time national champion Joseph Diaz, Jr. (El Monte, Calif.) moved on with a 14-10 win over Luis Feliciano (Milwaukee, Wis.). Diaz and O’Shanique Foster (Orange, Texas) will face off in the winners bracket championship bout.
Monday Afternoon Results
108 lbs/challengers bracket: David Carlton, Cincinnati, Ohio, dec. Norberto Torres, Orlando, Fla., 20-18
108 lbs/challengers bracket: Santos Vasquez, Sparks, Nev., dec. Michael Benedosso, Fort Carson, Colo., 31-16
108 lbs/winners bracket: Erros Correa, San Jose, Calif., dec. Marco Rangel, Scottsdale, Ariz.., 18-6
108 lbs/winners bracket: Louie Byrd, Denver, Colo., dec. Gregory Outlaw, Glendarden, Md., 21-12
123 lbs/challengers bracket: Joe Perez, Fountain, Colo., dec. Isaac Torres, Mission, Texas, 16-11
123 lbs/challengers bracket: Joet Gonzalez, Glendora, Calif., dec. Antonio Nieves, Cleveland, Ohio, 17-13
123 lbs/winners bracket: Joseph Diaz Jr., El Monte, Calif., dec. Luis Feliciano, Milwaukee, Wis., 14-10
123 lbs/winners bracket: O’Shanique Foster, Orange, Texas, dec. Tramaine Williams, New Haven, Conn., 19-17
141 lbs/challengers bracket: George Rincon, Carrollton, Texas, wins on disqualification over Gary Allen Russell III, Capitol Heights, Md., DQ
141 lbs/challengers bracket: Duran Caferro, Helena, Mont., dec. Thomas Duquette, Waltham, Mass., 21-20
141 lbs/winners bracket: Pedro Sosa, Bronx, N.Y., dec. Semajay Thomas, Chicago, Ill., 20-18
141 lbs/winners bracket: Jamel Herring, Camp Lejeune, N.C./Coram. N.Y., dec. Michael Reed, Waldorf, Md., 19-18
165 lbs/challengers bracket: Chris Pearson, Trotwood, Ohio, dec. Martez Jackson, Valdosta, Ga., 15-11
165 lbs/challengers bracket: Edgar Alvarado Jr., San Bernadino, Calif., dec. Demarius Russell, Camp Lejeune, N.C., 17-14
165 lbs/winners bracket: Jesse Hart, Philadelphia, Pa., dec. D’Mitrius Ballard, Temple Hills, Md., 20-8
165 lbs/winners bracket: Antoine Douglas, Burke, Va., dec. Luis Arias, Milwaukee, Wis., 27-12
201 lbs/challengers bracket: Robert Jekabson, Chicago, Ill., stopped Charles Blackwell, Tucson, Ariz., RCS-1 (2:30)
201 lbs/challengers bracket: Andrew Tabiti, Las Vegas, Nev., dec. James Shorter, Elkhart, Ind., 16-14
201 lbs/winners bracket: Michael Hunter, Las Vegas, Nev., dec. Steve Geffrard, Boca Raton, Fla., 19-12
201 lbs/winners bracket: Jordan Shimmell, Hudsonville, Mich., dec. Joseph Williams, Bronx, N.Y., 12-1
Athlete Quotes
Joseph Diaz
“I felt it was a good fight, Luis Feliciano is a very good fighter. I came to win and I got the victory thank God. I kept the pressure on him he was beginning to fatigue as the fight kept going.”
“To keep winning, I have to stay focused, stay humble, and keep praying to God.”
Pedro Sosa
“Being calm while being aggressive at times, throwing combinations and power punches allowed me to win. It was a competitive fight. He was in there throwing a lot of punches.”
“I would grade my performance a B+. I can do way better. This was my first, first round I got a walk over.”
“In order to improve, I can throw more combinations and not stay on the ropes so long.”
Robert Jekabson
“I think I made a statement today. In amateur boxing, stoppages are rare.”
“It felt really good to get an early stoppage because I had a lot of pressure to win. If I lost, I would have been out of the tournament.”
“It felt really good to get back to winning. I felt really off in yesterday’s loss, but today was real good and I know I’ll be even better tomorrow.”
“I had him hurt and I didn’t go crazy, but I picked my shots and the next thing I knew he was down.”
Antoine Douglas
“I was able to win so convincingly because I was up every round. It came down to conditioning; the hardest part about boxing is training.”
“In order to continue to prepare for the rest of the winners bracket, I have to try to execute the game plan.”
“I feel like it’s my time, hard work pays off.”
USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).
Menard vs. Laryea For UBO World Lightweight Title
Mason Menard (16-1, 12 KOs) will take on former World Boxing Organization (WBO) world title challenger Joseph Laryea (14-5, 11 KOs) of Ghana for the vacant Universal Boxing Organization™ (UBO) World Lightweight title on August 19 at the Cypress Bayou Casino in Charenton, Louisiana.
Billed as “Friday Night Fury”, the show will be promoted by Boxncar Promotions, and will also feature up-and-coming talents such as Bobby Bryant (11-0, 8 KOs), Bailey Bobbit (4-1, 2 KOs), Quantis Graves (3-0, 1 KO) and Josh Joseph (2-0, 1 KO).
22-year-old “Rock Hard Mighty” Mason Menard is the current UBO All-America Champion, and is on a fourteen fight winning streak since his sole setback in his third professional fight. He won the All-America title by stopping Robbie Cannon in July of last year, and has since defended it by unanimous decision against Florida-based Kenyan Anthony Napunyi this past March.
Joseph “Mandingo” Laryea (26) competitively challenged Scotland’s Ricky Burns for the WBO World Super Featherweight title in his latest outing, but came up short when he retired on his stool before the eighth round due to a hand injury. Three months earlier the Ghanaian had dominated another Scotsman, Paul Appleby, to lift the WBO Inter-Continental crown and set up the Burns-fight.
On August 19 Laryea will get a second chance to win a world title, this time at Lightweight, in what will be his first fight in the United States. Mason Menard is aiming to make the most of his first world title opportunity, and it shapes up to be an interesting bout that could go either way.
Boxncar Promotions presents “Friday Night Fury”, Mason Menard vs. Joseph Laryea for the UBO World Lightweight title. Tickets are $ 25,00 and are on sale now at Cypress Bayou Casino – www.cypressbayou.com and Ticketmaster – www.ticketmaster.com. Must be 21 years old to attend! Show starts at 7.30 PM.
https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2/buy.asp?EventID=69823&SponsorID=3891
More info on: www.uboboxing.com
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