By: William Holmes
The following is the Boxinginsider.com notebook for the week of July 16th to July 23rd, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing.
Elvin Aya Earns Stoppage
Elvin Ayala (26-5-1) worked with his new trainer Marshall Kauffman and earned a knockout victory over John Mackey (13-8-3) in the ninth round of their scheduled 10 round main event at the Mohegan Sun Casino. Unbeaten female bantamweight Shelito Vincent (4-0) scored a unanimous-decision victory over Ivana Coleman (0-1) with scores of 40-36 across the board.
Paez Defeats Chavez, Vazquez Remains Undefeated
Jorge Paez Jr. (32-4-1) defeated Omar Chavez (28-2-1) in the welterweight division on Saturday night in Tijuana, Mexico. The scores were 96-94, 96-94, and 96-94. Omar is also the son of Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. and younger brother of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Reports indicate that it was a close bout, with Chavez putting up a good fight; unfortunately for him, his family’s legacy did not help him on the scorecards. Bryan Vazquez (25-0) fought on the undercard and was able to knock out journeyman Jorge Lacierva (41-9-6) in the junior lightweight division. The stoppage came at 1:45 of the first round.
Cano Decisions Perez
Pablo Cesar Cano (25-1-1) defeated junior welterweight Johan Perez (15-1-1) by technical decision in the seventh round with scores of 68-65, 68-65, and 67-67. An accidental head butt in the seventh round caused a cut over the right eye of Cano and the fight was stopped and sent to the scorecards.
Mendez and Guzman Win on Solo Boxeo Tecate
Argenis Mendez improved to (20-2) with a decision victory over Martin Honorio (32-8-1) on Saturday in Hollywood, Florida. A victory for Mendez moves him in contention for a possible rematch with Juan Carlos Salgado. Joan Guzman (33-0-1) quickly demolished the overmatched Jorge Pimentel (25-16) on the same card at 2:04 of the first round.
Ali to be Honored at 2012 Liberty Medal Ceremony
Muhammad Ali will be honored at the 2012 Liberty Medal ceremony on Thursday, September 13, 2012 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, PA. It will take place rain or shine and will be broadcast live on WPVI-TV/6abc. The 2012 Liberty Medal recognizes Muhammad Ali as a champion of freedom and a living embodiment of the Constitution who exemplifies everything the award was established to honor: individuals of courage and conviction who strive to secure the blessings of liberty to people around the globe. Tickets can be ordered on ticketmaster starting on Tuesday, August 14, 2012.
Stevenson vs. George to be Shown on Showtime
Adonis “Superman” Stevenson (18-1) will be fighting Donovan “Da Bomb” George (22-2-1) on Showtime on August 11th, 2012. The winner of this bout will get a shot at the IBF champion Carl Froch. This bout will serve as one of the main fights on the undercard for Tavoris Cloud (24-0) and Jean Pascal (26-2-1) for the IBF Light Heavyweight Championship.
WBU Lightweight Championship Fight September 20th
The WBU World Lightweight Championship Title Fight will be held at 7:00 p.m. at the Cox Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Noah Zuhdi (15-1) will be fighting German Jurado (12-2) for the vacant WBU Lightweight Championship. The fight will be a part of the Tecate Boxing Series and tickets can be purchased at www.ticketstorm.com.
50 Cent to Become a Boxing Promoter
Businessinsider.com reported over the weekend that 50-Cent is now a licensed boxing promoter in the state of New York. Rumors abound that 50 Cent may be signing Yurkokis Gamboa and Andre Dirrell to contracts soon. It’s still not known how or if Floyd Mayweather Jr. will be involved with 50 Cent’s promotion. More information can be found here.
Adamek vs. Walker Set for September 8th
Tomasz Adamek returns to Prudential Center in Newark, NJ on the afternoon of Saturday, September 8th when he takes on Travis Walker of Houston, the #12 contender, for the IBF’s North American Heavyweight Title. This bout will be televised in Poland via PPV, and arrangements to have the fight shown in the US have not been made yet.
Broadway Boxing Returns on August 2nd
On Thursday, August 2, DiBella Entertainment (DBE) returns to the Roseland ballroom in midtown Manhattan for another installment of the Broadway Boxing series. Headlining the nine-bout card will be DBE’s red-hot undefeated super middleweight contender Thomas “Tommy Gun” Oosthuizen (19-0-1, 13 KO’s) squaring off against Florida’s Rowland Bryant (16-1, 11KO’s) in a 12-round clash for Oosthuizen’s International Boxing Organization (IBO) title. In the co-featured bout, DBE’s newly crowned WBC Continental Americas light heavyweight champion, “Irish” Seanie Monaghan (14-0, 9 KO’s), will look to keep his perfect record intact when he takes on George Armenta (14-9, 11 KO’s) in a 10-round light heavyweight matchup. Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com.
Conference Quotes for Rodriguez vs. Del Valle
EDWIN RODRIGUEZ: This is an important fight in my career. I’m fighting a young, up-and-coming prospect who has power in both hands and a strong will to win. I’m ready. I’ve been in camp for about three weeks. Prior to that, I was working with Andy Lee to help him get ready for the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight. I’m excited to get back on HBO on September 29, which is actually the day that my twins were born. It was a good day and a bad day for me at the same time because my kids were born premature at 23 weeks and five days. I’m working extremely hard with Ronnie Shields to keep getting better and improving my game. I’m looking forward to fighting in Connecticut, which is about an hour and a half from my hometown, so I’ll have a lot of people supporting me. Jason’s going to have a lot of fans there as well, and it’s going to be a war.
LUIS ORLANDO DEL VALLE: I want to be the best and to be the best, you have to beat the best. We’re going to prove to the world that we belong with the big boys on September 29. We’ve already started training camp and we have no doubt that we’re going to come out with the win. We’ll keep moving forward to our goal to capture on of the title belts. I can’t wait. September 29 is a big day for me and is a big day for boxing because everyone will know who ‘Orlandito’ Del Valle is.
Maidana vs. Soto Karass Added to September 15th Knockout Kings
The September 15t “Knockout Kings” card just added a welterweight bout between Marcos Maidana and Jesus Soto Karass. Knockout Kings is headlined by Canelo Alvarez and Josesito Lopez for the WBC Super Welterweight World Championship.
Shawn Porter vs. Alfonso Gomez Set for July 28th on Showtime
Undefeated prospect Shawn Porter will be fighting the veteran Alfonso Gomez on Showtime on July 28th from the HP Pavilion at San Jose, California. The main event on Showtime will be between Robert Guerrero and Selcuk Aydin for the vacant WBC Interim Welterweight World Championship.
