31
May
‘nightmare’ on vine street
After a lengthy five-year grooming period, Vanes “Nightmare” Martirosyan has officially been unleashed from the Wild Card Gym . . . |more|
After a lengthy five-year grooming period, Vanes “Nightmare” Martirosyan has officially been unleashed from the Wild Card Gym . . . |more|
On the newstands now: Click here
Two Fightnews photographers made the line-up at this year’s Boxing Writers Association of America photo “Barney’s.” Ed Mulholland placed third in the feature category for a photo of Lucian Bute leaping in celebration while Chris Cozzone won an honorable mention for a shot of Manny Pacquiao. Cozzone also won an honorable mention in writing.
. . . .
Cozzone and his company, WriteShot, were also featured in today’s L.A. Times blog for his non-boxing work.
Full photo gallery from last night’s Vazquez-Marquez IV card at the Staples Center, Los Angeles . . . |more|
May 22, 2010, Staples Center @ Los Angeles: One of boxing’s greatest rivalries ended, when Rafael Marquez evened the score at 2-2 with Israel Vazquez, stopping him in round three. The fight was disappointing – short-lived and dominated by Marquez – who had little problem slicing open Vazquez’s heaping mass of scar tissue over his eyes. While the fourth – and final, for the promoters and networks expressed no interest in a fifth bout, thank God – lacked the back-and-forth brutality of the first three bouts, last night’s co-main event more than made up for it.
While one rivalry ended, another began . . . . undefeateds Abner Mares and IBF bantam champ Yonnhy Perez left it all in the ring, resulting in a majority draw decision that demands a rematch.
May 21, 2010, Staples Center, Los Angeles: A boring fight is a mathematical impossibility when it comes to warriors Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez. Their trilogy will go down in boxing history as one of the greatest. Question is: What do these guys have left? We’re going to find out tomorrow night.
Among reporters, a fourth fight was one nobody wanted to see. At the same time, No. 4 was one no one wanted to miss.
Another question: If the fourth is as good as I, II and III – as brutal, as dramatic, as classic – will there be a fifth? Call it a slip, a miscount or an omen, Marquez (pictured below) seems to think so.
For more photos from today’s weigh-in: click here
May 20, 2010, Los Angeles: It’s been called one of the boxing’s all-time greatest trilogies. Question is, what will No. 4 add to the mix? My guess? Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez do now know how to make a boring fight – especially when they are in there against each other. Look for another classic Saturday night at the Staples Center.
Vazquez-Marquez I, II, III revisited:
Vazquez – Marquez III, 2008 @ Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif.
Vazquez – Marquez II, 2007 @ Dodge Area, Hidalgo, Texas
Vazquez – Marquez I, 2007 @ Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif.
Boxing News’ ‘Shot of the Week’ last month
May 14, 2010, Primm, Nev.: The former champ, Julio “The Kidd” Diaz, assumed chinless, broken china, last night, proved otherwise, with a revitalizing win over tough Herman Ngoudjo, last night at Buffalo Bill’s Star Arena, home to the scariest logo on the planet. For more photos and a ringside recap by Andreas Hale, click here.
Entering the Boxing Writers Association of America annual writing contest (a.k.a. the “Barneys) for the first time, Fightnews/NewMexicoBoxing received an honorable mention. In event coverage, writer/photographer Chris Cozzone picked up the honors with “Run, Rabbit, Run” – coverage of Holly Holm vs. Victoria Cisneros, held at Isleta in Albuquerque, N.M. (Click here)
Veteran Associated Press writer Tim Dahlberg took top honors; he was the only winner of two first places as well as the only person to place among the top three in three of the six categories.
Read more
5.11.10, Albuquerque, N.M.: One fighter may be coming off a cream-puff win over a former sparring partner; the other, a narrow escape and win over an opponent with an overwhelmingly crappy record. In this rematch, none of that matters. Sure, both, five-time world champ Johnny Tapia and former contender Frankie Archuleta, have seen better days. But when they get in the ring, June 12 at the Ohkay Casino in Espanola, N.M. – home to lowriders, bad drivers, heroin overdoses and the best damn tacos on the planet – a boring, uneventful fight is an impossibility.
The two have met before. In 2003, fighting in front of his hometown of Las Vegas (N.M.), Archuleta scored one of the decade’s biggest upsets (for N.M., anyway) when he decisioned Tapia. One year later, the two rematched, in front of one of the biggest crowds to see a fight in N.M. This time, Tapia took home the win.
The third time? Flip a coin. In one corner, you’ll have 43-year-old Tapia, fresh off an easy win over Jorge Reyes, and a hard-fought win over the New Mexico Dept. of Corrections, under whose roof the parole violating-pug was a guest for over half a year. In the other corner will be Archuleta, who was able to springboard into top ten contention with his ’03 win over Tapia.
This time around, a win over the other will do little for their current rankings – but what it will do, is give local boxing fans a fight to remember. “We will both leave the ring with a black eye and a pay check,” says Tapia.
5.7.2010, Albuquerque, N.M.: Heavyweights Seth Mitchell (l) and Johnnie White (r) land simultaneously in the co-main heavyweight bout on an ESPN2-televised card at Isleta Casino near Albuquerque, N.M. For more photos, click here.
Alderete “Mad” dog, not underdog: “Mad” Mike Alderete says you can forget about “Mad” Max Heyman’s 25-fight and seven-year advantage in experience Friday night . . . |more|
Max is “Mad” as hell: Fighting a guy like “Mad” Mike Alderete, says “Mad” Max Heyman, equates to taking a tune-up. At least, that was until the mad-dogging and smack talk elevated – or lowered – the bout into one of the nastiest grudge matches Albuquerque has seen in years . . . |more|
Las Vegas Boxing Examiner, by Chris Robinson: During the hectic nature of any big fight week in boxing the professionals involved in the sport have no choice but to keep pace. Whether you are a fighter, trainer, media member or anything in between there are many obligations and requirements that must be fulfilled and it can be a tiring process for all parties involved . . . |more|
5.1.10, MGM @ Las Vegas: Weathering a rough second round, Floyd “Money” Mayweather just might’ve earned himself boxing’s pound-for-pound crown with last night’s shellacking of “Sugar” Shane Mosley. Dominating Mosley, from the third to the finish, Mayweather toyed, rocked and neutralized any – and everything – Mosley had to offer. Last night, that wasn’t much. After hurting Mayweather in the second, Mosley fell apart, aging two or three years every round. Only one fight left to solidify Mayweather’s greatness: Manny Pacquiao.
4.30.2010, Tropicana in Las Vegas: Appetizer card at the Trop headlines Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, who chases down unwilling opponent Roberto Arrieta before scoring a finish in the eighth. Spooked by the comebacking Guerrero, Arrieta ran a dizzying, backward race, occasionally hitting the canvas before the finish. The highlight of the night? Chubsy-ubsy Alvaro Morales. Looking like a midget Weeble next to 6’7″ Deontay Wilder, but outweighing the undefeated Olympian, 291 to 218, Morales showed some fast hands and fancy footwork against the giant, and the crowd was none-too-happy when Wilder spilled him onto the canvas with a WWF-type push in the third. Morales hit the floor hard enough for his corner to stop the fight.
