By: William Holmes
The following is the boxinginsider notebook for the week of June 18th to June 25th, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing.
Rico Ramos Bounces Back Against Esquivias
Rico Ramos (21-1) was able to defeat Efrain Esquivias (16-1) in the junior featherweight division with scores of 78-74, 78-74, and 76-76. It was a solid come back fight for Ramos, who got obliterated by Guillermo Rigondeaux in January. John Molina Jr. (24-1) picked up a victory over Miguel Angel Munguia (25-24-1) in the lightweight division. It wasn’t a real competitive fight as Molina won by scores of 80-69 on all three score cards.
Grano KO’s Williamson
Tony Grano (20-2-1) knocked out DaVarryl Williamson (27-7) in the heavyweight division on Saturday night at the Hard Rock Resort in Hollywood, Florida. The end came at 2:27 of the fourth round with a right hand from Grano.
Ioka Unifies Straw-weight Titles
Kazuto Ioka (10-0) defeated Akira Yaegashi (15-3) by scores of 115-114, 115-113, and 115-113 on Wednesday in Osaka Japan. This was the first time Japan had ever seen two of their fighters meet in a unification bout.
Bundrage, Spinks, Russell Jr., Lara Ti Hope Open Workout on June 27th
IBF Junior Middleweight Champion Cornelius Bundrage, Cory Spinks, Gary Russell Jr., Christopher Perez, Erislandy Lara, and Freddy Hernandez will be holding a media workout on Wednesday June 27th at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino Events Center. The work outs will begin at 12pm and will be open to the public.
Juan Carlos Burgos vs. Cesar Vazquez Announced for July 20th
On July 20th Juan Carlos Burgos (29-1) will be fighting Cesar Vazquez (25-0) in a ten round Super Featherweight bout. It will be broadcast on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights, and the event will be held at The Edgwater Casino in Laughlin, Nevada.
Reynoso Ready for Provodnikov
Russian born Ruslan Provodnikov (21-1) and Jose Reynoso (16-3-1) will be fighting on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights on June 29th. Provodnikov has the better record, but Reynoso has not lost in seven years. The bout will be held at Omega Products International in Corona, California. Tickets can be purchased by calling 714-935-0900.
Peltz Boxing Adds Prospects Harvell and Charles to July 7th Card
Two of Atlantic City’s top ring prospects, light-heavyweight Lavarn Harvell and lightweight Osnel Charles have been added to Peltz Boxing’s next card on July 7th in the Grand Ballroom of Bally’s Atlantic City. The main event will be for the vacant NABF middleweight title between Patrick Majewski and Chris Fitzpatrick. Jesse Hart, who fought on the Pacquiao undercard, will be making his east coast debut. He is a two-time national golden gloves champion.
Tarver Tests Positive, Gary Shaw Responds
Antonio Tarver joined the long list of boxers who have tested positive for steroids this week. Gary Shaw, the promoter for Lateef Kayode, responded.
“It’s very worrisome where our sport is heading these days with the recent array of fighters testing positive for banned substances,” Shaw said. “With all these fights being canceled its killing the sport and I hope the networks are not going to lose interest. As promoters, we do our best to make sure everyone is abiding by the rules. I’m happy that the commissions are stepping up their stance on catching fighters cheating because the safety of the fighter should always come first.
“It’s unfortunate that in Lateef Kayode’s first major opportunity, he had to fight on what appears to be an unlevel playing field. I have a lot of respect for Antonio Tarver and would be very disappointed to find out that he knowingly took performance enhancing drugs. It is my hope that Tarver requests that the B sample will be tested and will show that Tarver was clean. However if the sample comes back dirty, then the commission should take appropriate action. It was a very close fight as it was ruled a split draw, but now that we have been informed by the California State Athletic Commission about the alleged drug use, I’ll have to talk to Lateef and his management team to see what we’ll do to resolve this matter.
Boxing Scoring Game Released for Mobile Phones
A boxing scoring game for mobile phones called Split Decision has been released. Test your skills against all players and see how you stack up. Each player’s pre-fight predictions and live scoring will be judged against the official decision and the round-by-round scores. Earn points with correct predictions and scorecards that match that of the officials at ringside. To play you have to log on to sd.sho.com from your iphone or android, create your account in a few simple steps and make your predictions.
2004 US Olympian Jason Estrada Returns June 29th to Providence
On June 29th 2004 U.S. Olympian Jason “Big Six” Estrada will be headlining the “Takeover” card at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, Rhode Island. Estrada (18-4) will be fighting 1992 Puerto Rican Olympian Alex Gonzales (20-6) in the eight round main event. Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-401-241-3490 or by going online at www.bigsixentertainment.com
Randall Bailey Calls Out Floyd Mayweather
Newly crowned IBF Welterweight World Champion Randall “The Knockout King” Bailey is finally in position of leverage with his third world title belt and a recent “Knockout of the Year” performance against previously unbeaten Mike Jones. Bailey has stated that he would love to welcome Floyd “Money” Mayweather when he gets out of jail.
“I’ve been avoided forever,” Bailey said, “but now I’m coming off a world title fight win that ended with a punch people are going to be talking about for a long time. If I had a choice, I’d fight Mayweather next. I like the way Floyd’s fighting. He’s not running around so much to try to win on points. He’s giving guys an opportunity to hit him and that’s my type of fight.
Thomas “Cornflake” Lamanna and Moses Molina To See Action July 27th
On Friday night July 27th at Resorts in Atlantic City, undefeated Jr. Middleweight Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna will return to the ring in a six round bout. Also scheduled to appear on the ESPN-2 Televised card will be undefeated Lightweight Moses Molina. In the main event, top Lightweight contender “Hammerin” Hank Lundy will take on Reymundo Beltran. Tickets can be purchased by contacting [email protected] or by calling 856-899-7372.
Stephen Reynolds To Make Pro Debut at 39
Turning 39 most boxers have long since hung up their mitts and settled for a life of reminiscing on sepia-coloured past glories. However, former Irish international amateur star turned boxing coach, Stephen Reynolds, isn’t most boxers and is set to make his debut in the paid ranks on July 21 in Belfast.
A decade ago ‘Block’ Reynolds ranked amongst Europe’s top amateur boxers, chalking up five Irish National titles at Super-heavyweight and Heavyweight between 1997 and 2001 and a Four Nations gold in 2001, beating England’s David Dolan in the final. He also competed at the World Championships in 1999 and 2001 where he prepared alongside eventual silver medal winner David Haye.
Tickets are available in Sligo from Barton Smith Sports, the Adelaide Casino and Ballinacarrow Boxing Club or in Belfast at Manny’s at 241 Antrim Road. Alternatively call 087 858 9369 or in the north call 075 35 267 641.
