Boxing Insider Notebook: Bute, Bey, PBC, Williams, Foreman, Charlo, Webster, Andrade, and more
By: William Holmes
The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of May 24th to May 31st, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.
Lucian Bute’s Anti-Doping Statement
Lucian Bute was informed of the results of the anti-doping test done after his World Boxing Council (WBC) world title fight against Badou Jack, April 30, in Washington, D.C.
As reported in a statement sent by the WBC, the Washington D.C. Boxing and Wrestling Commission informed them that Bute tested positive for Ostarine, in an A sample analysis, after the bout.
”I am surprised and sorry about this. I don’t understand what led to this positive result, Bute said. “I have always passed every anti-doping test that I was asked to take since I won a world title. More recently for my fight against James DeGale, in Quebec City, last November, I was tested eight times from before my training camp until after my fight. I have never taken any illegal products. I have a complete trust in my team. There will be an analysis of the B sample and I am sure that this result will be negative.”
”GYM has always been strongly in favor of a strict anti-doping policy to keep the sport of boxing clean,” GYM president Yvon Michel remarked. “We are really surprised by this first result and we now hope that the B sample proves that the first result was wrong. Until then, we support Lucian Bute.”
There will be no further comments on this subject until the publication of Bute’s B sample result.
PBC to Have a Heavy Slate of Fights for the Month of June
The following bouts are scheduled to take place during the month of June under the PBC Banner.
Friday, June 3 -Rances Barthelemy vs. Mickey Bey (Lightweight World Championship); Emmanuel Rodriguez vs. Alberto Guevara from Hollywood, Fla., on Spike (9 p.m. ET/PT).
Saturday, June 4 -Artur Beterbiev vs. Ezequiel Maderna; Bryant Perrella vs. David Grayton from Montreal, Canada on ESPN (11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT).
Saturday, June 11 -John Molina, Jr. vs. Ruslan Provodnikov from Verona, NY on SHOWTIME (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).
Sunday, June 12 -Phil Lo Greco vs. Joseph Elegele; Steve Lovett vs. Craig Baker from Lakeland, Fla., on Bounce TV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).
Saturday, June 18 -Andrzej Fonfara vs. Joe Smith, Jr.; Juan Carlos Payano vs. Rau’shee Warren; Erickson Lubin vs. Daniel Sandoval from Chicago on NBC (8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT).
Saturday, June 25 -Keith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter; Jesus Cuellar vs. Abner Mares from Barclays Center in Brooklyn on CBS (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).
Saturday, June 25 – Justin DeLoach vs. Junior Castillo; Ryan Karl vs. Luis Solis in San Antonio on NBCSN (11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT).
Tuesday, June 28 – Edner Cherry-Lydell Rhodes; Omar Douglas-Alexei Collado from Bethlehem, PA on FS1 and FOX Deportes (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).
Julian Williams Ready for Jermall Charlo
On May 21, three of the four world championships in the hot junior middleweight division were contested as Erislandy Lara defended his WBA title with a unanimous decision over Vanes Martirosyan; Jermall Charlo defended his IBF title with a unanimous decision over former champion Austin Trout and Jermell Charlo scored a come-from-behind stoppage over John Jackson to capture the WBC belt.
Sitting ringside was IBF number-one ranked contender, undefeated Julian “J Rock”Williams. Williams was a very interested observer and was interviewed on the SHOWTIME ® broadcast with his thoughts on the happenings of the evening.
“Jermell did his thing. I thought he was losing but Jermell has a clutch gene. He comes through in close fights. He knows what it’s like to be in tough. He’s doing well under Derrick James. He looked better on TV than he did live at the fight. He was losing but he was walking Jackson down. The sand was running out of the hour glass for Jackson. Jermell can punch better than his record indicates. And that style would be better for him because people always called him boring but it was nothing boring about the KO,” said Williams.
“Lara did what he always does. He boxed and moved and he won.”
” I honestly didn’t think Trout would last with Jermall. I was surprised at how competitive that fight was. Jermall has every advantage over Trout on paper but fights aren’t won on paper. Trout proved something. I was actually going to congratulate him but I heard him say to Jermall “smack J Rock for me”. I don’t know what’s up with these guys. He had a chance to fight me for a whole year and he asked another man to smack me. But that’s old news Trout is out of the picture.”
With that being, said the undefeated fighter from Philadelphia is focused in bring back the hardware back to the “City of Brotherly Love.”
“My focus is on Jermall Charlo. It’s going to be a great fight. I think he’s a heck of a fighter. This is legacy defining. This is a real number-one contender against a real champion. This is a real mandatory. This is like Bernard Hopkins having to defend against Jermain Taylor. Or Jermain Taylor having to defend against Kelly Pavlik. Or Felix Trinidad having to fight Oba Carr. This is a real fight and I’m excited. I’m excited to test my skills against one of the best young fighters in the game.
Even though, Williams was ringside, he just wanted to observe and take mental notes of the perspective future opponents.
“I didn’t get in the ring like Charles Hatley did because that’s not my style. Hatley is a talented fighter. I remember him from the amateurs but to each his own. Jermall and Jermell deserve respect and most importantly I know the difference between the two brothers. Hatley got in the ring with Jermall who has to fight me, instead of Jermell who has to fight him. That was Jermall’s moment to shine he had just won a tough fight. Everybody knows he has to fight me. There would be no need for me to get in the ring.”
Even though Williams has been avoided, the powers that be in boxing can not keep Williams from realizing his dreams, and that opportunity will be coming sooner rather than later.
“From my understanding we have to come to an agreement in June. I believe in the IBF. They seem to enforce their mandatory bouts. The IBF did not rank me number-one, not to have me fight for their belt. Jermall said making weight wasn’t that bad. He hired a chef. I know he’s prideful. He’s a champion. He feels he’s better than me, I feel I’m better than him. There is only one way to prove it. Let’s fight.”
I can’t get into details but I believe the fight will be in September as the co- main to a BIG card. I’m super excited to finally get this opportunity.
Richar Abril and Yuri Foreman to Headline In Separate Bouts for Upcoming Broadway Boxing Card
On Friday, June 3, Broadway Boxing returns to the beautiful Resorts World Casino New York City in Queens, NY, featuring former world champions Richar Abril (19-3-1, 8KO’s) and Yuri Foreman (33-2, 9KO’s) headlining in separate bouts. With 70,000 square feet of event space Resorts’ World’s Central Park frequently features up-and-coming musical artists, trade shows and matches with acts from around the world!
The exciting 10-bout card is presented by DiBella Entertainment and New Legend Boxing and sponsored by Nissan of Queens. Abril is set to take on the always-tough, former world title challenger and now resurgent contender Jerry Belmontes (21-8, 6KO’s) in a 10-round super lightweight showdown, while Foreman squares off against Jason Davis in an eight-round junior middleweight matchup.
Team Bone: We Were Robbed Shamelessly
The manager of junior welterweight contender Erick Bone feels that his fighter was not given a fair shake this past Saturday night against former IBF Lightweight champion Miguel Vazquez in San Antonio.
The bout headlined a Premier Boxing Champions card on FS1, was scored in favor of Vazquez by tallies of 99-91, 97-93 and 96-94.
Bone did well when countering and when he decided to force the action, landed the harder shots.
Bone was very effective with the right hand showed good foot work and landed some good body shots.
“Erick won that fight on Saturday night,” said Bone’s manager Eli Mackay.
“It was unimaginable that Vazquez won that fight and for one judge to only give Erick only one round just shows that the judges had their mind made up on what they wanted to see. The only problem is that Vazquez did not do what they wanted to see and it is a shame that a fighter like Erick, who has fought three world champions in his last three bouts (two on short notice) gets deprived of a breakthrough win that could help set up his career.”
“Erick clearly beat Vazquez to the punch all night and he fought a good fight Vasquez barely did anything. These type of out comes even on main event fights hurt the sport”
Bone of Manabi, Ecuador has a record of 16-4 with eight knockouts.
Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade Fighting Way Back to the Top
Undefeated super welterweight Demetrious “Boo Boo” Andrade is in a good place as he prepares for his June 11 showdown versus Willie “The Great” Nelson on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® live on SHOWTIME® (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) from Turning Stone Casino in Verona, N.Y.
Approaching the peak of his professional boxing career, the 28-year-old Andrade (22-0, 15 KOs) has moved past a frustrating three-year stretch that, after he won a 12-round decision over Vanes Masrtirosyan for the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) 154-pound world title, found him fighting only twice. One was his only title defense, in which he won impressively by way of a seventh-round stoppage of then WBO No. 1 mandatory title challenger Brian Rose. But, due to promotional issues, Andrade was later stripped by the WBO for inactivity. His last fight was this past October when he recorded a second-round knockout of Dario Fabian Pucheta for the WBO International belt.
Now, Andrade has a new three-year promotional contract that gives his company, A Team Promotions, 50 percent of his promotional rights to go along with 25 percent each for Banner Promotions and Star Boxing.
“I’ve always been in a good place, mentally, because I have confidence in myself,” said Andrade on what he went through during his long stretch outside of the ring. “I continued training hard. The politics of boxing, well, I’m not 100 percent there yet. Not until I’m actually in the ring and fighting will I actually know if that’s worked out for me.
“I’m satisfied in my future, showcasing myself in the ring. I own 50 percent of myself and that – being a promoter – is a big factor. I know everything now, including all the real numbers, and I’ve learned about the ins and outs of this business. I’m also meeting the right network of people to help my career.”
Andrade is thrilled to be fighting on SHOWTIME for the second time during his career, the first back in 2013 on ShoBox: The New Generation against Freddy Hernandez. “The top 154-pounders are with SHOWTIME. I’d like to thank SHOWTIME for giving me this amazing opportunity.”
Derrick Webster to Headline D and D Promotions Presents Rumble at the Rink on June 4th
On Saturday night June 4th, a brand new boxing series will be launched as D and D Promotions presents its inaugural “Rumble at the Rink” Boxing series that will take place at The Grundy Arena in Bristol, Pa.
Scheduled to appear in the six-round main event will be super middleweight Derrick Webster.
Webster of Glassboro, New Jersey has a record of 19-1 with 10 knockouts and will be looking to get back in the win column after an eleven-month layoff.
Webster won his first nineteen bouts, which was highlighted by a 22-second knockout over 23-1 Obodai Sai. He is coming off his first professional blemish when he was stopped by undefeated Arif Magomedov on July 17, 2015.
Also scheduled to appear will be super welterweight Elijah Vines (1-0, 1 KO) of Philadelphia; super bantamweight Vidal Rivera (3-0, 3 KO’s) of Camden, New Jersey and two-time National Golden Gloves champion Mike Hilton (1-0, 1 KO) of Philadelphia.
All four will have their opponents announced shortly plus six High-Level amateur bouts will be part of a special night of boxing.
Rances Barthelemy and Mickey Bey Discuss their Upcoming Fight on June 3rd
Rances Barthelemy and Mickey Bey are scheduled to face each other on a PBC on Spike card on Friday, June 3rd. They recently discussed their upcoming bout.
What advantages do you believe you have because of your training team?
Rances Barthelemy: “To me, Ismael is the best trainer in the world. He was the lead trainer of the Cuban National Team at the time that Cuban amateur boxing was having its most success. He is truly underrated and I do not know why.
“Having gone through different trainers throughout my career, I am glad that I found Salas. We clicked right off the bat, and him being a Cuban and having a successful background both in the Cuban amateur system and in the pros, he’s been able to incorporate the best from both worlds in his training methods. He has also been able to bring out abilities in me that others were not able to and it has made me a completely different fighter.”
Mickey Bey: “Floyd Sr. has been my trainer for about 12 years. We’ve been together since I was a teenager and before I turned pro. He is an old school trainer and he knows the science of boxing.
“Being around the other Mayweather Promotions fighters provides a lot of energy to training because everybody is striving to be the best they can be. Whenever that’s the case it’s always a positive thing because the trainers know that’s what you’re after. Floyd Sr. and Floyd are the reason I moved to Las Vegas. It’s been a blessing to be able to train with him for so long. We gelled from the beginning and I have definitely grown a lot as a fighter.”
What does fighting for this belt mean to you?
RB: “I don’t really focus on this being another title defense. I just focus on it being another fight that I must win impressively so that I can get to the big fights. There is no added pressure from it being a title defense. I just want everyone to see the boxing ability that I have so that I can get the big fights that I want and deserve.”
MB: “Winning back this belt is really important to me. I still feel like it’s mine. He’s just been keeping it warm for me. I had to deal with the injuries but now I don’t have to worry about babying my hand or anything like that.”
What do you think this fight will be like stylistically?
RB: “I plan on this being a great fight between two great boxers. He has a great amateur and pro background, as do I, and hopefully that makes for a great show.”
MB: “You never really know until you’re in the ring but it’s going to be a fight between two skilled boxers. I have seen some footage but not too much because I don’t really watch much tape. I saw him fight for my vacant belt but I can’t get caught up in that because I’m different than anybody he’s ever fought. I’m a lot more difficult than he probably thinks.”
What skill advantages do you believe you have over your opponent?
RB: “I feel I am the better all-around fighter. I have the reach, height and power over him. I feel he has shown in the past that he can’t take a good punch, so we will see if he can take mine.”
MB: “I bring it all. I can do everything that can be done in the ring. Every single department, period. I do think he’s a good fighter, I give him his props, he’s a two-time world champion, but I don’t think he can
Why do you believe you’ll be victorious on June 3?
RB: “I feel I am levels above Mickey Bey in all aspects of the game. I am comfortable with my training and I plan on returning to Miami with my second world title. The adrenaline of fighting in front of my Cuban people will add fuel to my fire and propel me to victory. I am on a mission to be great and leave an imprint in the sport and Mickey Bey is in the way.”
MB: “I’m a better fighter. It’s that simple.”