By: William Holmes
The following is the boxinginsider.com notebook for the week of November 26th to December 3rd, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.
Guzman Falls to Allakhverdiev
Joan Guzman (33-1) and Khabib Allakhverdiev (18-0) did battle in the junior welterweight division on Friday night in Sunrise, Florida. Their fight was the first boxing event on Bounce TV. Guzman suffered a broken right hand and a break in his left knee during the fight and it likely affected his performance in the ring. Allakhveriev was apparently in control for most of the fight and scored a knockdown in the third round. The fight ended when Guzman slipped in the 8th round and injured his leg and was unable to continue. The final scores when the bout went to the scorecards were 76-75 for Guzman, and 76-75 twice for Allakhverdiev.
Manfredo Decisions Saunders
Peter Manfredo Jr. (38-7) made a successful return to boxing with a victory over Rayco Saunders (22-19-2) in the light heavyweight division on Thursday night in Lincoln, R.I. Manfredo had no problems defeating his overmatched opponent with scores of 100-90, 100-90, and 99-91.
Brain-Pad, Inc. and FTC Reach Final Settlement
Brain-Pad and the Federal Trade Commission announced the final approval of an agreed upon consent order concerning the company’s products claims. Brain-Pad has altered its packaging and advertising claims to reflect the parties’ agreement. As Brain-Pad made clear to the FTC, Brain-Pad does not claim, nor can anyone claim that their protective devices prevent concussions. Experts agree that concussions occur under a varied set of circumstances and conditions. Brain-Pad is, however, confident that the claims that it does make about its products are true, where many of its business competitors have no science and no technology behind their claims.
Keandre Leatherwood Returns December 8th
Keandre Leatherwood (11-1-1) will be fighting Marcus Primera (20-26-2) at the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on December 8th in the light middleweight division.
“I want to close out this year with a tremendous performance,” said Leatherwood. “I’ve come a long way since I rededicated myself to boxing. All I want to do is keep improving and get the experience I’ll need to compete at the next level. Boxing 360 has been a tremendous blessing to my career and I’m going to give Yagobi everything I got when I step in the ring.”
Kid Galahad to Fight WBC Latino Featherweight Champion Ivan Ruiz Morote
Kid Galahad (12-0) will be fighting WBC Latino Featherweight Champion Ivan Ruiz Morote(15-2) this Saturday at the Sports Arena, Hull. The main event of the same card will be the WBC Silver title contest between James DeGale and Fulgencio Zuniga. Middleweight Chris Eubank Jr. will also be on the card. More information can be found at www.hennessysports.com
Golden Boy Brings Boxing Back to Network TV
Golden Boy Promotions was able to beat Main Events Promotions by one week by showing a boxing card on network television on December 15th on CBS. The card will take place at the Los Angeles Sports Arena and will feature a main event of IBF Bantamweight World Champion Leo Santa Cruz and Alberto Guevera on CBS. Amir Khan and Carlos Molina will follow with a fight on Showtime on the same day. Showtime Boxing on CBS starts at 4:30 P.M. ET. Joseph Diaz Jr. will also make his professional debut on the opening bout of the CBS broadcast.
Danny Garcia vs. Zab Judah Set for February 9th
Danny Garcia and Zab Judah will clash for the unified Super Lightweight World Championship on February 9th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. The bout will be aired on Showtime.
“Zab’s a great fighter, one of the best of his era, but it’s my era now and I’m going to prove it on February 9,” said Garcia, who will be making his third title defense. “The crowd in Brooklyn was great for my last fight, and I can’t wait to put on another show for them. I plan on ending this one the way I did my last fight at Barclays Center…by knockout.”
“I’d like to thank Danny Garcia, Golden Boy and Barclays Center for this opportunity,” said Judah. “I’m blessed to be able to come back home to Brooklyn, perform for my fans, and win another world championship. Danny is a talented fighter, but I have tricks he’s never seen before. This will be the defining fight of my career, and I can’t wait.”
Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com
Mike Tyson Speaks about the Mike Tyson Cares Foundation
Brian Reynolds spoke with former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson at his Pinkberry City Center fundraising event in support of the Mike Tyson Cares Foundation. Their mission is to “give kids a fighting chance” by building centers dedicated to assisting underprivileged youth in healthcare, shelter, school assistance, mentoring and job placement.
Tyson stated, “I am very proud to launch the Mike Tyson Cares Foundation. I want my legacy to be about charity and helping children. This is my start.”
You can support the Mike Tyson Cares Foundation by sending your donations at www.miketysoncares.org
Golden Boy Promotions Announce First BB&T Center Boxing Series Event
Golden Boy Promotions and SSE announce the first BB&T Center Boxing Series Event set for January 12th with Johan Perez (15-1-1) against Steve Forbes (35-11) in the junior welterweight division on Fox Sports Networks and Fox Deportes. A special guest appearance by former Heavyweight World Champion Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield is also expected for the 12th. Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com
Eric Hunter Ready for NBC Sports Network Card on December 8th
Eric Hunter (16-2) hopes to impress by upsetting Jerry Belmontes (17-0) on NBC Sports Network Card on December 8th at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Eric Hunter is a replacement for Teon Kennedy who injured his knee last month and had to withdraw. This bout will serve as the co-feature to the main event which features Bryant Jennings against Bowie Tupou.
Hunter stated, “I want to show now that I’m busy and that I want to go to the top. I figure I’m one of the best fighters in Philly. You got a lot of great fighters out there. You got Mike Jones, Teon Kennedy, Danny Garcia, Hank Lundy, Karl Dargan. You got a lot of guys who came up with me and I should be right there (with them). So I’m back to the drawing board.” Tickets can be purchased at www.comcastTix.com
Gerber Ready for Sprott
The Austrian Boxing Federation let Michael Sprott (26-19) fight against Edmund Gerber (22-0) by reducing his ban. The fight will occur on December 15th as part of the undercard to the WBO Super Middleweight World Championship between Arthur Abraham (35-3) and Mehdi Bouadla (26-4). Sprott previously lost to Gerber on September 15th but greatly protested the decision. He wound up pushing the referee and was suspended for three months. His suspension was lifted in order for the rematch to happen. Tickets for this fight in Nuremberg can be purchased at www.eventim.com
Glenn Porras vs. Jose Nieves for WBO Intercontinental Bantamweight Title on December 7th
Gary Shaw Productions bantamweight contender, Glenn Porras (28-3) will fight Jose Nieves (20-2-3) for the WBO Intercontinental Bantamweight title. The bout will take place at the Civic Center in Kissimmee, Florida on December 7th.
“Porras is on fire of late going undefeated since 2008,” said Gary Shaw. “He’s been fighting at an incredible level over the last four years and he’s ready to make a statement against Nieves. I expect a great performance from him on December 7th.”
Times Union Card Rescheduled to February 2nd
The professional boxing card originally set for Friday, December 14th at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York has been postponed to Saturday, February 2nd, 2013.
“We had a terrific card planned but the main event featuring undefeated world ranked heavyweight Joe “The Future” Hanks against undefeated Fred Allen will not happen. Unfortunately Fred Allen pulled out of the fight. This was an excellent matchup featuring two, young undefeated heavyweights from the United States, but the promoter of the event – Star Boxing has secured an even better heavyweight challenger, which will give our fans something more exciting on February 2,” said Bob Belber, General Manager of the Times Union Center.
Fans may use the December 14th tickets for the February 2nd date.
Snooki-backed Patrick Hyland Plans to Make Irish Boxing Histroy on December 8th
Dublin-native Hyland (27-0, 12 KOs) plans to continue making Irish boxing history on December 8, when he fights fellow undefeated challenger Javier “El Abejon” Fortuna for the interim World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight title, fighting on the HBO Pay-Per-View event headlined by Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marguez 4, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The 29-year-old Hyland, who is promoted by Final Round Promotions and Team Snooki Boxing, made a major commitment to boxing a year ago, moving from Ireland to Marlboro, New York in order to be trained by two-time two-division world champion Tracy Harris Patterson. Rated No. 6 by the WBA, Hyland already holds the Republic of Ireland boxing record for most consecutive wins to start a professional career (27), and he’ll become the first Ireland-born world featherweight champion with a win Dec. 8.
Hamer vs. Glazkov Added to December 22nd NBC Sports Show
Tor Hamer (19-1) takes on the Ukraine’s Vyacheslav Glazkov (13-0) in the co-feature bout on Saturday, December 22nd when boxing returns to network TV in a special afternoon edition of NBC’s Fight Night Boxing Series. The broadcast begins at 4PM ET from the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, PA. The main event will be a rematch between Tomasz Adamek (47-2) and Steve Cunningham (25-4) for the #2 position in the IBF rankings.