Top Junior-Welterweight contenders Ruslan Provodnikov (21-1, 14 KOs) and Jose “El Nino” Reynoso (16-2-1,3 KOs) will meet June 29 in the 10-round main event on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra from Corona Calif. Friday’s card, presented by Banner Promotions, will air at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2 HD, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN3.
Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas will be ringside for ESPN2 HD and ESPN3 at the Omega Products Outdoor Arena describing the action, while studio host Bernardo Osuna will present all the latest boxing news and highlights. Alex Pombo and Delvin Rodriguez will call the fights for ESPN Deportes’ Viernes de Combates (Friday Night Fights), with Leopoldo Gonzalez and Pablo Viruega in the studio.
Both shows will include interviews with Josesito Lopez, who upset Victor Ortiz last Saturday for the vacant WBC Silver Welterweight title. ESPN Deportes will also include a report on the latest condition of Victor Ortiz.
Main Event:
Russia’s Provodnikov is trained by International Boxing Hall of Fame 2012 inductee Freddie Roach and was the primary sparring partner for Manny Pacquiao for his fight against Timothy Bradley Jr.
Provodnikov has won his last four fights, including his most recent, a sixth-round TKO win over David Torres. After that fight ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael wrote, “He totally outgunned the smaller, slower Torres, who showed a big heart but simply could not deal with the physicality of Provodnikov. He cut Torres under his right eye in the fifth-round and in the sixth-round he dropped the bleeding Torres with a hard overhand right. Provodnikov was all over him and finally smashed him with a three-punch combination that floored him again and [the] referee called it off at 2 minutes, 53 seconds.”
California’s Reynoso has won his last five fights, including a seventh-round TKO win over James Hope.
“We know Provodnikov is a slugger and he comes forward but I think I can outbox the guy,” said Reynoso. “We know he (Providnikov) comes out very strong, but I trust my boxing skills. A lot of people tell me I’m hard to hit, I’m awkward. I’ll use that to my advantage, instead of staying there and taking shots. I’ll make him fight my fight.”
Co-Feature:
Friday’s co-feature will pit Junior Featherweights “Marvelous” Chris Martin (23-2-3, 6 KOs) against Roberto “Azabache” Castaneda (20-1-1, 15 KOs). California’s Martin will look to rebound after a 10-round decision loss to Luis Del Valle, while Castaneda of Mexico is coming off a first-round knockout win over Daniel Gonzalez.
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Why is Canelo Alvarez overlooking Gabriel Rosado?
Bad calls happen! Get over it!
There are so many things going on within boxing right now but there are a couple of topics that I would like to review. There are bad calls in every sport. In 1998, the Chicago Bulls were playing the Utah Jazz for the NBA championship. The Bulls were down by one point with 5.2 seconds left and Michael Jordan made a jump shot to win the game for Chicago. The replay showed Jordan pushed off Jazz defender Bryon Russell, which should have made the shot illegal. The play was never overturned and Jordan still has his sixth championship ring.
In every sport the referees, umpires and judges make bad calls; they are human! However, saying that the sport is fixed is outrageous to me. Let me see a fighter get knocked out cold and still get awarded the fight and I will believe the fight was fixed. People need to stop complaining about the judging; there have been bad decisions throughout history.
Joe Louis, who was the heavyweight champion, faced the 10-1 underdog Jersey Joe Walcott on Dec. 5, 1947, at Madison Square Garden. Walcott knocked Louis down in the first and the fourth rounds and gave him a boxing lesson for the rest of the fight, yet the judges awarded Louis a split-decision win.
Last summer at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ, junior middleweight Erislandy Lara was robbed by the three judges scoring his fight with southpaw Paul Williams (left). Lara appeared to have won most of the rounds without question. All three judges were suspended.
Take a look at the 1987 middleweight title fight between Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvelous Marvin Hagler. This split decision in Leonard’s favor was one of the most controversial in history. Hagler retired afterward. He felt betrayed by losing the decision when he believed he won the fight. However there were so many close rounds that no matter how questionable the decision was, the decision was set and there were no penalties to the judges.
Bad decisions are one reason why fighters should never ‘coast’ in a fight he thinks he is winning. Fighters should look to prove themselves until the final bell. Sports are never just black and white; there is always a grey area.
Who Will Saul Alvarez Fight Next?
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, the popular WBC junior middleweight champ from Mexico, says he wants to fight the ‘best of the best’ on Sept. 15 and he is looking at Austin Trout, Carlos Molina, Erislandy Lara and Cornelius Bundrage, completely overlooking Gabriel Rosado.
Why?
Let’s look at the options and see who is best for Canelo.
Trout, the WBA champ, defeated Delvin Rodriguez earlier this month in a dull contest, yet TV execs seem to like undefeated fighters such as Trout, who is 24-0, 14 K0s. Trout is a southpaw and he makes for boring fights and will not look to trade with Canelo. Also, it is rumored he will want random drug testing, which could cause an issue.
Molina, who is tailor-made for Canelo, has an impressive resume. He has fought Julio Chavez Jr., Alexis Camacho, Lara, Kermit Cintron and James Kirkland. Canelo vs. Molina makes sense for Canelo if he is looking for an easy night without many challenges. Though Molina is a good fighter, styles make fights and Canelo should be able to walk through him.
Lara is a Cuban southpaw best known for losing that horrible decision to Williams. He also drew with Molina and knocked out Ronald Hearns. Lara is a smart fighter with a good chin. He is scheduled to fight this weekend against Freddy Hernandez, who was K0d in one round by Andre Berto. Lara has zero fan base in the United States.
Bundrage, the IBF champ, turned pro in 1995 when Alvarez was 5 years old and he is old enough to be Canelo’s father. Bundrage is not a boxer; he likes to out-muscle his opponent. Muscle against muscle makes for an interesting fight. Let’s not forget Canelo is in his prime and Bundrage is past his. Bundrage fought Sechew Powell, Cory Spinks, Yuri Foreman, Kassim Ouma, Joel Julio and Steve Forbes, yet he has no fan base, either. Though he may deserve a shot at Alvarez, we still have to see if he can defeat Cory Spinks this weekend. Look what happened last weekend to Victor Ortiz!
So what about Rosado?
The ages match, the styles match and you have Mexico vs. Puerto Rico. Rosado has faced, Fernando Guerrero, Alfredo Angulo, Derek Ennis, Jesus Soto-Karass, Ouma and Powell. He’s hungry and he wants the fight and he has the style to make the fight a war like the recent battle between Kirkland and Angulo. Rosado has the ability to pick and choose his shots and counter his opponent but he enjoys the excitement that comes with going to war.
People claim Rosado (right) is not ready because they get hung up over his K0 loss a few years ago to Angulo. That was a different Rosado! By the way, Kirkland was blitzed in one round by Nobuhiro Ishida and still got an opportunity to come back and beat Angulo.
I would like to see Rosado get the chance. If not, any of the top 154-pounders will do. Sooner or later, they will have to deal with him.
The author is a Temple University graduate who is now a part of Peltz Boxing. Follow us on twitter @Peltzboxing and our intern @bamonboxing
8 COUNT PRODUCTIONS PARTNERS WITH 100 CLUB FOR JULY 13TH ESPN FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS Card
CHICAGO, IL (June 27, 2012) Chicago based 8 Count Productions and Round 3 are proud to announce that they have partnered with the 100 Club of Chicago for their “ESPN FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS/ CROSSROADS” professional boxing event set for Friday, July 13th at Chicago’s UIC Pavilion.
With a huge crowd expected, 8 Count Productions and Round 3 will be making a donation from the ticket proceeds to the 100 Club of Chicago, on behalf of families of Cook County’s fallen law enforcement officers, firefighters and paramedics who lose their lives in the line of duty.
Said Dominic Pesoli of 8 Count Productions, “The 100 Club of Chicago does an excellent job in providing for families of those who have lost their lives in the service of others in Cook County and my partner Frank Mugnolo of Round 3 and I are honored to work with them on our upcoming event.”
“As Chicago natives, Frank and I are both very aware of the assistance they provide to families in need.”
Stated Joe Ahern, Executive Director of the 100 Club of Chicago, “We are grateful for this opportunity to partner with Dominic Pesoli of 8 Count Productions and Frank Mugnolo and Round 3 for their “ESPN FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS/CROSSROADS” event to bring awareness of the 100 Club to all of the many boxing fans in the Chicagoland area. Our organization, founded in 1966, provides for the surviving spouses and dependents of law enforcement officers, firefighters and paramedics stationed in Cook County who lose their lives in the line of duty.”
“To date we have served 244 families with more than $8.6 million, of which $4 million was devoted to educational assistance for the dependents. There are 41 children of these fallen first responders who will be eligible for assistance as they reach college age, so it is extremely important for our organization to continue to grow our membership and increase financial support.”
For more information on the 100 Club of Chicago, please visit their website at www.100ClubChicago.org. To purchase tickets through the 100 Club of Chicago, please contact the 8 Count Productions Office at 312-226-5800.
Presented by 8 Count Productions, Warriors Boxing, Round 3 and Blue Wave Boxing, “ESPN FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS /CROSSROADS”, is headlined by a ten round light heavyweight clash between former Chicago’s popular world ranked contender, “The Polish Prince”, Andrzej Fonfara and former world champion Glen “The Road Warrior” Johnson.
The co-main event will feature a ten round welterweight battle between legendary two-time former world champion Jose Luis “EL Terrible” Castillo and longtime Chicago fan favorite Ivan “EL Marro” Popoca.
The UIC Pavilion is located at 525 S. Harrison, at the corner of Harrison and Racine on the campus of University of Illinois-Chicago. Doors on the night of the event will open at 7pm with the first bell at 7:45pm.
ABOUT 8 COUNT PRODUCTIONS
8 Count Productions, HOME OF THE BEST IN CHICAGO BOXING, was started by Dominic Pesoli in 1998 and has consistently presented the highest quality professional boxing events in Chicagoland.
Fighters currently under the 8 Count Productions banner include; super middleweight contender Donovan George, world ranked light heavyweight Andrzej Fonfara, former world title challenger Edner Cherry, middleweight prospect Viktor Polyakov, junior welterweight prospects Ivan Popoca and Adrian Granados along with welterweights Achour Esho and Jaime Herrera.
For more information on 8 Count Productions please visit their new website, www.8countproductions.com. Follow them on Twitter at 8_Count and Facebook at “8 Count Productions”.