By: William Holmes
The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of March 12th to March 19th, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.
McCreedy and Adama Win in Lowell, Massachusetts
“Irish” Joey McCreedy (14-6-2) won an eight round majority decision over Michael Walchuck (9-9) in the CFC Fight Night main event at the Tsongas Center at UMass, Lowell. McCreedy hurt Walcuck in the first round with an overhand right, but he suffered a cut over his right eye in the second round. He captured the vacant UBF US-Northeast light heavyweight title. In the co-main event, Osumanu Adama (21-3) defeated veteran Grady “Bad Boy” Brewer (30-15) in the middleweight division. Adama is now rated No. 11 by the IBF. Vicious Vivian Harris (30-9-2) also fought and won an eight round decision over Shakha Moore (11-19-3).
Marroquin Knocks Out Escalante
Robert Marroquin (23-2) knocked out Antonio Escalante (28-6) on Saturday night in Thackerville, Oklahoma in a junior lightweight bout. Marroquin scored a knockdown in the second round, before finishing the fight in the third round with two hard right hands. The finish came at 0:49 of the third round.
Periban, Guevara, and Linares Victorious in Mexico
Marco Antonio Periban (20-0) knocked out Samuel Miller (25-7) in the second round of their super middleweight bout in Cancun, Mexico. Miller was dropped once in the second round before rising back to his feet and being struck with a left hook to the body that send him back down again. The ending came at 2:46 of the second round.
Alberto Guevera (17-1) fought on the same card and decisioned an overmatched Jose Alfredo Tirado (27-13) in the junior featherweight division. Lightweight Jorge Linares (33-3) also fought on the same card and he stopped David Rodela (16-8-4) in the 8th round. Rodela was knocked down once in the eigth round before the ending came when he was hit with several unanswered punches at 2:51.
Mandredo Decisions Fellow Contender Alum Walter Wright
Two former “The Contender” contestants went to battle on Friday night in Lincoln, Rhode Island in the super middleweight division. Peter Manfredo Jr. (39-7) and Walter Wright (14-4) went ten rounds and it was a bout that Manfredo controlled from the beginning to the end. Manfredo won the decision with scores of 100-90, 98-93, and 97-93.
Acevedo Ready for Littleton Test
Puerto Rican prospect Roberto Acevedo (7-0) takes on Chicago’s undefeated Paul Littleton (6-0-1) on Friday march 22nd, 2013 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. They both fight in the super middleweight division and will fight on the undercard of ESPN Friday Night Fights. The main event is between Donavan George (24-3-1) and David Lopez (41-13) of Mexico.
Acevedo seems primed for this matchup, and when asked what would a victory mean to him he responded, “When I win this fight, I will be a step more in my career. I will prove to everyone that there is a new face taking over in the super middleweight division and that face has a name: Roberto Acevedo!”
Banner Promotions Congratulates Ruslan Provodnikov
Provodnikov was congratulated by his promoter, Banner Promotions, for his fight on Saturday night and they released the following statement:
“Ruslan became a big star on Saturday night”, said Arthur Pelullo, CEO of Banner Promotions. There were a lot of critics when this fight was made. That it was a mismatch and Ruslan didn’t belong in the ring with Bradley. I told everybody that they had no idea what this kid is made of. Yet HBO, to their credit, held steadfast and went forward with the fight. We thank them for that.”
“When Bob Arum saw Ruslan in the gym as the chief sparring partner of Manny Pacquiao for the Pacquiao-Bradley fight, he called me to tell me that this kid is something special. He knew that Ruslan had a future on HBO.”
“Ruslan established himself as one of the major players in both the Jr. Welterweight and Welterweight divisions. I started receiving calls and text messages as early as the 2nd round and all the major networks have already called with projected fights for Ruslan”.
“Ruslan has many options for future big fights. We will be able to map out what he will do with his team led by his manager Vadim Kornilov in the near future”.
“Once again, we want to thank Ruslan for such a great performance and continuing to give boxing fans a thrilling show every time he enters the ring.”
Helenius vs. Sprott On March 23rd
Highly touted heavyweight Robert Helenius (18-0) returns on March 23rd to take on Britain’s Michael Sprott (37-19) at the GETEC-Arena in Madeburg, Germany. They will fight on the undercard of the main event rematch between Arthur Abraham (36-3) and Robert Stieglitz (43-3) for the WBO Super Middleweight belt.
Sprott is coming off of a decision over Helenius’ Team Sauerland stable mate Edmund Gaber who was at the time the IBF’s number five ranked boxer. Helenius stated the following, “I was present in Nuremberg when he beat Gerber. Sprott is technically gifted, so I will make use of my height and reah advantage. My jab could make the difference.”
May Day: Mayweather vs. Guerrero Live on BoxNation
Floyd “Money” Mayweather returns to the Channel of Champions BoxNation which has secured the LIVE U.K. rights to his WBC Welterweight World Championship clash against Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev. on Saturday May 4th.
For the second time in a row, Mayweather’s fight will be featured on BoxNation, the U.K.’s number one fight subscription channel. The first televised was Mayweather’s amazing win over Miguel Cotto to claim the WBA Super Welterweight World Championship last May.
Bute vs. Pascal Confirmed for May 25th
Interbox and the Group Yvon Michel (GYM) have officially confirmed that the much anticipated fight between Lucian Bute (31-1) and Jean Pascal (27-2-1) will be held on Saturday, May 25th. The venue for the event, as well as confirmation of an American network, will soon be determined.
Remaining details are expected to be finalized in the next few days. The date of the first face-to-face between Bute and Pascal and ticket sales information will soon be announced.
James DeGale vs. Alexander Brand Postponed
Hennessy Sports has announced that the upcoming WBC Silver title fight between James DeGale and Alexander Brand on March 23rd at Glow, Bluewater in Kent has been postponed.
Hennessy Sports and James DeGale will be issuing a statement in the coming days regarding the rescheduled date and the situation regarding tickets for this exciting encounter between these two world class fighters.
Arreola vs. Stiverne on HBO
Riverside’s Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola (35-2) will fight Bermane Stiverne (22-1) of Las Vegas on Saturday, April 27th at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Contario California. The winner will be guaranteed to fight for the WBC Heavyweight World Championship and they will face each other in Boxing Before Dark 12 round main event.
“I’m glad we were able to reschedule this terrific heavyweight matchup so the boxing fans can look forward to an exciting night of action on HBO® with the heavyweight showdown between Cristobal Arreola and Bermane Stiverne,” said Kery Davis, Senior Vice President of Programming, HBO® Sports.
“The illness that forced me to pull out of the fight was unfortunate but I am very happy to once again be healthy and thankful to my promoter Goossen Tutor and HBO for rescheduling my fight,” stated Arreola. “Being less than 100% against an opponent like Stiverne and in a fight of this magnitude would not have been the best decision for my career. I’m back in training camp, completely healthy and fully motivated for April 27.”
