RSSJunior Middleweight
Thursday, May 17, 2007
James Kirkland, Timothy Bradley In Featured Bouts June 1
NEW YORK – Two of boxing’s most-talented, world-ranked, unbeaten prospects look to elevate there status to legitimate world title contenders when James “Mandingo Warrior” Kirkland (18-0, 16 KOs) and Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley (19-0, 11 KOs) co-headline in separate bouts Friday, June 1, on “ShoBox: The New Generation” (Showtime, 11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast).
Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, will present the doubleheader from Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, Calif.
Kirkland, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) No. 13 junior middleweight contender, will face Ossie Duran (23-5-1, nine KOs) in the 10-round main event. Duran has never been knocked out.
“This is the right test for Kirkland,” said “ShoBox” announcer Nick Charles. “We saw in his last fight on ‘ShoBox’ that he couldn’t blow out Billy Lyell, so he just pounded away until Lyell split apart at the seams. That’s plan ‘B’ for a puncher.”
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Thursday, April 19, 2007
Cory Spinks Clears 30-Day WBC Weigh-In
International Boxing Federation junior middleweight champion Cory “The Next Generation” Spinks cleared a World Boxing Council “30-day weigh in” at 168 ¾ pounds today at the Don King Productions headquarters in Deerfield Beach, Fla.
Spinks is moving up to middleweight to challenge WBC and World Boxing Organization champion Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn., on May 19 in a match televised on HBO’s World Championship Boxing at 10:15 p.m. ET/7:15 p.m. PT.
WBC rules require all fighters to be within 10 percent of the contracted weight 30 days prior to championship matches, in this case up to 16 pounds over the 160-pound middleweight limit.
“I feel good,” Spinks said. “I’m right where I need to be and I’m really looking forward to this fight.”
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Friday, March 09, 2007
De La Hoya-Mayweather Media Tour Ends
Last week “The Golden Boy” Oscar de la Hoya and the “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather completed an 11-city media tour—which included stops in New York, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Chicago, Detroit, Miami, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Los Angeles—to promote their May 5 “The World Awaits” super fight at the MGM in Las Vegas and live on HBO Pay-Per-View. The nine-day tour brought out a horde of worldwide media outlets and thousands of sports fans in every city.
“I have never seen anything like it,” said Richard Schaefer, Chief Executive Officer of Golden Boy Promotions, the promotional company which is spearheading the historic bout. “Every city was packed with fans and covered by the media, giving us a true indication of the magnitude and significance of this fight.”
Cumulative results include more than 150 television cameras, 200 still photographers, more than 200 print writers, radio and web-based outlets. In addition, tour stops attracted over 20,000 animated fans, including extremely large turnouts in Washington, DC, Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles.
Opening the tour to the public, each leg attracted droves of excited fans, as well as local sports stars and dignitaries, enthusiastically caught up in being part of the action. Engulfed in the warm receptions from each city, both fighters worked at feverish paces to greet their fans, take photos, and sign autographs, often times taking nearly an hour out of the fast paced tour to complete each request.
“The turnout was tremendous and a good indication that big time boxing is still alive and people are excited about May 5,” said the Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya. “It was hard not to take the time to meet and greet the fans who, from what I understand, began arriving hours before we got there to be a part of this historic tour.”
“It was great to see so many fans and members of the media come out to see us in each city and cover each event,” said Mayweather. “They have a lot to look forward to on May 5 and they will not be disappointed.”
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Wednesday, February 28, 2007
EEC - February 28, 2007
The last EEC of the month! Ahhhh!
News, Notes, and Rumors:
- Apparently Floyd Mayweather Sr. will now be helping his son train for his fight against Oscar De La Hoya on May 5th. We all knew it was coming…
- Alex Arthur has withdrawn from his fight against Alexander Hrulev on March 10th due to an arm injury.
- Audley Harrison released the following statement concerning his recent loss to Michael Sprott:
Firstly, I would like to say congratulations to Michael (Sprott) for his victory. To my fans, and anyone who cares for my well being, although I am disappointed to have lost, I am physically and mentally OK. As fighters, we aim to inflict maximum damage on our opponents, but at the end of the day it is a sport with a winner and a loser.
The punch (of which I obviously didn’t see!) was a great shot, landed flush and it was sweet goodnight. But as Michael’s expressions showed, it was not in tune with the fight till then and it can be argued it was a lucky shot to some degree.
But that is boxing and no excuses; I ignored the cardinal rule of boxing, and paid the ultimate price (hands up at all times, or at least when in range).
After knocking him down and having such a good first round, I lost focus and went forward rather than sticking to the game plan. I dropped my hands to open him up, hoping to land a clean shot that would send him home. I was sinking in body shots to help soften him up and although he rushed me a bit in the 2nd round I felt it was just a matter of time before I landed a telling blow. (I broke the other rule of boxing here – don’t look for the knockout as it won’t come.)
That is pretty much it, plain and simple. I could mention many things that went wrong in camp or how I was feeling after the high of the Williams win, but it’s irrelevant as I got in there and was good enough to win.
Once again, the papers and critics are out in force, which is understandable and I almost can see their point that my career appears over. But we are talking about ME here and maybe I am delusional or just plain crazy, but I feel determined (maybe more so now) to rectify this loss and move on in my career.
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Saturday, February 17, 2007
Oliver, Conyers Triumph
In a hard-fought battle of undefeated junior featherweights, Mike Oliver lands a right hand en route to retaining his USBA title with a controversial 12-round decision over Gary Stark Jr. Photo: Tom Casino/Showtime
MIAMI, Okla. – Despite near-frigid conditions outside, the action was scorching, sizzling and sweltering inside as undefeated southpaw Mike “Machine Gun” Oliver (18-0, seven KOs) retained his United States Boxing Association (USBA) junior featherweight title with an unpopular, hotly disputed 12-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Gary “Kid” Stark Jr. (18-1, eight KOs) in the main event Friday on “ShoBox: The New Generation.”
In the co-feature, Allen “The Dream Shatterer” Conyers (11-2, nine KOs) registered a scintillating second-round TKO over previously undefeated Derek “Pooh” Ennis (10-1-1, seven KOs) in a scheduled eight-round junior middleweight bout.
DiBella Entertainment promoted the terrific doubleheader from the Buffalo Run Casino. It aired on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).
In a match most figured would be the toughest for each boxer, Oliver exited with a controversial decision by the scores of 116-112 twice and 115-113. There were no knockdowns in a hard-fought affair in which many of the rounds were close and seemingly difficult to score.
Still, there were many who felt the wrong guy’s hand was raised, most notably Stark.
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Friday, February 16, 2007
Oliver-Ennis-Conyers Quotes
Looking for a real fight? “ShoBox: The New Generation” will present yet another terrific showdown when Mike “Machine Gun” Oliver (17-0, seven KOs) defends his United States Boxing Association (USBA) junior featherweight title against Gary “Kid” Stark Jr. (18-0, eight KOs) in the main event Friday, Feb. 16, on Showtime (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast).
The co-feature will pit unbeaten Derek “Pooh” Ennis (10-0-1, seven KOs) against Allen “The Dream Shatterer” Conyers (10-2, eight KOs) in an eight-round junior middleweight scrap. The excellent DiBella Entertainment doubleheader will originate from the Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Okla.
NOTE: (Due to the less-than-ideal weather conditions, Stark did not arrive into Miami until late Thursday night. The weigh-in has not concluded so Official Weights will be distributed Friday morning.
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Monday, February 12, 2007
EEC - February 12, 2007
Not a lot on the whole news front today but there’s still some interesting notes…
News, Notes, and Rumors:
- One of Shane Mosley’s next opponents may very well be Miguel Cotto. Cotto’s scheduled June bout against Antonio Margarito is now all but officially cancelled since Margarito signed a contract to face WBO mandatory challenger Paul Williams.
- It seems that Bernard Hopkins is picking his fellow Golden Boy Promotions associate, Oscar De La Hoya to defeat Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May…
“Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather will be the first time in history that a fighter’s name gets changed after the fight, from Pretty Boy to Ugly Boy. I’m just telling you how I feel. The opposite of pretty is ugly. There ain’t no in-between. I’m just telling what’s going to happen,” Hopkins said.
- Hasim Rahman has pledged to donate a percentage of the rest of his career earnings to the family of an injured Baltimore detective who was struck by a vehicle driven by Rahman’s brother Karim during a chase from police in which Karim also robbed a convenience store.
Some Good Reads:
The Sweet Science: This Day in History (February 12, 1974)
MaxBoxing: Still Sweet
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Friday, February 09, 2007
Oliver to Defend Title Against Undefeated Stark Jr.
Looking for a real fight? ShoBox: The New Generation will present yet another showdown when Mike “Machine Gun’’ Oliver (17-0, 7 KOs) defends his United States Boxing Association (USBA) junior featherweight title against Gary “Kid” Stark Jr. (18-0, 8 KOs) in the main event Friday, Feb. 16, on Showtime (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast).
The co-feature will pit unbeaten Derek “Pooh’’ Ennis (10-0-1, 7 KOs ) against Allen “The Dream Shatterer’’ Conyers (10-2, 8 KOs ) in an eight-round junior middleweight scrap. The excellent DiBella Entertainment doubleheader will originate from the Buffalo Run Casino in Miami , Okla.
“Oliver against Stark Jr. is exactly the type of fight that has given ‘ShoBox’ its reputation.” said “ShoBox” color commentator Steve Farhood. “The fighters have a lot of similarities; unbeaten records, strong amateur backgrounds and excellent boxing skills. Also, both are junior featherweights hailing from the Northeast, which means moving them has been extremely difficult. In that sense, they’re perfect for each other. This is the right fight at the right time for both Oliver and Stark Jr.
“Stark Jr. is a boxer who doesn’t need much convincing to become a brawler. He has faced better opposition than Oliver, but Oliver’s hand speed is superior. Then again, if you haven’t seen Oliver, trust me on this one: his hand speed is superior to just about any fighter you can name.
“This should be a fast-paced 12-rounder, competitive throughout. The winner is likely to emerge as a top-15 contender.”
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