By: William Holmes
The following is the boxinginsider.com notebook for the week of November 5th to November 12th, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.
Humberto Soto Defeats Lopez
Humberto Soto (59-8-2) moved up to the welterweight division on Saturday night to face Jose Lopez in Acatepec, Mexico. Lopez put up a good fight and made it a more difficult bout than Soto expected. Lopez was deducted two points in the sixth round and that sealed the decision victory for Soto. Soto won with scores of 115-112, 115-111, and 114-112.
Thomas Oosthuizen Defeats Zuniga
Thomas Oosthuizen (21-0-1) fought in front of his countrymen at Kempton Park, South Africa on Saturday night. He easily defeated Fulgencio Zuniga (25-6-1) with scores of 120-108, 119-109, and 119-109 in the super middleweight division. If Oosthuizen keeps on winning, he may be lined up for a future title shot.
Chris John Retains Title
Chris John (48-0) has been a world champion since 2003 and is undefeated, but he does not get the praise or press that he deserves. He fought on Friday in Singapore against Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo (44-1) in the featherweight division. He clearly won the decision with scores of 119-109, 119-109, and 117-111.
2004 U.S. Olympian Jason Estrada Wins Fourth in a Row
On Saturday night 2004 U.S. Olympian Jason “Big Six” Estrada (20-4) won his fourth straight fight with a fifth round knockout over Galen Brown (38-21-1) in the heavyweight division at the Rhode Island Convention Center. Brown was dropped once in the fifth before the referee halted the fight. Light welterweight Diego “Lobo” Pereira (8-0-1) remained unbeaten with a knockout over Bryan Abraham (6-15-2) on the same card.
Broner vs. DeMarco Fight Week Schedule
Adrian Broner and Antontio DeMarco fight on Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. On Wednesday, November 14th at 3:30 P.M. Adrien Broner
and Seth Mitchell will visit the Atlantic City Boys & Girls Club to assist in the clean up after Hurricane Sandy’s damage to the club’s facilities.
On Thursday, November 15th at 3:00 P.M. Antonio DeMarco and Johnathan Banks will meet with Caesars Atlantic City Employees to boost morale and express support for the employees and their families in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. On Friday, November 16th at 3:30 P.M. the official weigh-in will be open to the public and occur in Caesars Atlantic City at the Circus Maximus Theater.
Masternak Has Europeans Glory in Sight
Mateusz Masternak (28-0) is a cruiserweight prospect who has the chance to crown himself the Champion of Europe on December 15th. He will be stepping into the ring with Juho Haapoja (18-2-1) of Finland for the vacant European Cruiserweight title. The main event of this card will be between WBO Super Middleweight Champion Arthur Abraham (35-3) and Mehdi Bouadla (26-3). This card will take place in Nuremberg and tickets can be purchased at www.eventim.de.
Vinny Maddalone Headlines December 8th Card
Vinny Maddalone headlines a boxing card on December 8th at the Resorts World Casino New York City in Queens, NY. Maddalone holds a record of 35-8 and his opponent has not been announced yet. Frank Galarza (7-0-1) will see action in an eight round co-feature junior middleweight bout, as well as super bantamweight Juan Dominguez (11-0). Tickets can be purchased at 718-487-4474.
Locked N’ Loaded Card Set for November 16th
On Friday November 16th at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California Thompson Boxing Promotions will close 2012 with a boxing card entitled “Locked N’ Loaded”. Christopher Martin (24-2-3), Artemio Reyes Jr. (17-2), and Javier Torres (4-0) will all see action on this card. Tickets can be purchased by calling 714-935-0900.
Showtime All Access: Cotto vs. Trout Premiers November 16th
Showtime Sports will take viewers behind the scenes and into the lives of Miguel Cotto and Austin Trout with their All Access series on Friday, November 16th, at 10:30 P.M. After the December 1st fight, the All Access episode entitled “Epilogue” will peel back the curtain and take viewers inside the fight week build-up and offers a rare glimpse into the raw emotion and drama during the fight. “Epilogue” will premiere on Saturday, December 15th at 10:00 PM.
Sharif Bogere Sidelined from November 24th World Title Bout with Richard Abril
A partial tear of the left Achilles tendon to unbeaten lightweight contender Sharif “The Lion” Bogere has forced him out of his scheduled November 24th fight against Richard Abril for the vacant WBA Lightweight World Title at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California. Recovery is expected to last for approximately four-to-six weeks, and the fight is expected to be rescheduled.
Quotes from Broad Street Boxing Press Conference: Jennings vs. Tupou, Kennedy vs. Belmontes
A press conference was held to officially announce the next installment of the NBC Sports Network Fight Night Boxing series. On December 8th, a Philly-centric fight card will take place at Temple University’s Pearson/McGonigle Hall on Broad Street in North Philadelphia. The following are some notable quotes from the press conference.
J. Russell Peltz: “This building opened in 1969 and I’ve been a (Temple Basketball) season ticket holder ever since. But I never thought I’d be promoting a fight here, certainly not on national television. “Fight Night” is probably the most successful boxing series going right now on television because the fights are actually competitive. You don’t know who’s going to win or lose.”
Teon Kennedy: “I’m glad to be fighting in Philly again. I haven’t fought here in two or three years. So I’m happy to be on this card right in my backyard. I live right around the corner.”
Bryant Jennings: “This is an opportunity that I’ve been waiting for. Every fight I dream of, and the outcome is to have a win. I don’t care how it comes, knockout, unanimous decision, split decision. As long as I win.”
Barthelemy vs. Usmanee Headline January 4th ESPN Card
On Friday, January 4th 2013 Warrios Boxing and Bad Dog Productions will present a boxing card at the Magic City Casino for ESPN’s Friday Night Fights series. The super featherweight main event will feature Rances “Kid Blast” Barthelemy (17-0) against Arash Usmanee (20-0), and the co-featured televised bout will be Jonathan Gonzalez (15-0) and Derek Ennis (23-3-1) in the junior middleweight division. Tickets can be purchased by going to www.magiccitycasino.com.
U.S. Olympian Jose Ramirez Signs with Top Rank
U.S. Olympian Jose Ramirez has signed with Top Rank Promotions and will be making his pro debut on the Pacquiao-Marquez undercard December 8th in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“I feel very blessed to have the team that I have around me and that Top Rank will make my team even stronger,” said Ramírez. “I feel I’m in great hands with Top Rank and they care about their fighters.”
“We are ecstatic to sign Jose Ramírez to a promotional contract,” said Arum, Top Rank’s founder and CEO. “We considered Jose to be the leading prospect among the fighters comprising the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team.”
Seth Mitchell Workout Quotes
“It would mean a lot to become heavyweight world champion. It remains to be seen, but I am definitely working hard toward that goal. I’m not trying to underestimate anybody, but I am just trying to stay focused and have tunnel vision toward that goal.”
“A lot of people don’t believe me that the day I decided to box, I knew I was going to be successful in this sport. I believe in myself. I believe that athletics is my gift. The only thing that has surprised me during my career is how quickly I signed with Golden Boy Promotions.”
“I never watch my opponents’ film. My trainer Andre Hunter does that and then we train based on what he learns from the footage.”
“Every fight from here on out is a really big fight for me. I truly believe in the latter part of 2013, I will be ready for my opportunity to fight for the heavyweight world title.”
Eddie Chambers Signs with Main Events
Philadelphia heavyweight Eddie Chambers has signed with Main Events Promotions and plans on dropping down to the cruiserweight division.
“The cruiserweight division is better because I’ll be fighting guys my size,” Chambers said. “I may have had some advantages at heavyweight, but imagine me at cruiser, fighting against someone my own size.”
Chambers hasn’t weighed over 210 pounds for a fight in more than three years, and feels that the move down to the 200-pound cruiserweight limit will make him more competitive and offer greater opportunity for him to become champion.
“I want to be a world champion,” Chambers said. “That’s what you set out to do when you start boxing. That’s what I want to be, and I’ve worked my entire boxing career, and most of my life, at that. I want to achieve it. I see that title (belt) wrapped around my waist.”
New Opponent for Omar Henry
Omar Henry (12-0) will be competing on November 16th on ShoBox: The New Generation’s main event at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Henry will be moving up to the middleweight division and he will be fighting Juan Ubaldo Cabrera (20-0) in a battle of unbeatens. The co-feature main event will be Angelo Santana (13-0) against Juan Garcia (13-0) in the lightweight division.