Argentina’s Maidana stuns Victor Ortiz

By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Victor Ortiz’s left eye was nearly swollen shut, and his right eye was ringed by a deep cut. Bruises and abrasions covered much of the rest of his face.

Nope, the Golden Boy’s telegenic protege isn’t quite ready for prime time.

Argentina’s Marcos Maidana stopped Ortiz early in the sixth round of an action-packed fight Saturday night, leaving one of the sport’s top prospects pulverized and chastened.

The 140-pound bout featured five knockdowns and several wild momentum swings that both thrilled and stunned a Staples Center crowd of 8,600 expecting to witness another step in the evolution of the 22-year-old Ortiz, a charismatic slugger ticketed for stardom by promoter Oscar De La Hoya.

Instead, the fans marveled at a remarkably resilient U.S. debut by Maidana (26-1, 25 KOs) a heavy-handed 140-pounder largely unknown outside his native land and Germany, where he has fought six times in the last two years.

Maidana was knocked down three times in the opening two rounds, yet rallied with a devastating right hand that turned Ortiz’s face into a mess. After Ortiz stumbled to the canvas early in the sixth, the ringside doctor stopped the fight.

“I knew I was fighting against the local guy, and I had to knock him out,” said Maidana, whose only previous loss was a contentious split decision to Andreas Kotelnik earlier this year. “I went down, but I got up because I have a big heart. I saw that Victor felt my punches, and I said, ‘I know I can win this.”’

Ortiz (24-2-1), who held a comically large bag of ice to his swollen face afterward, acknowledged he entered the ring thinking about the bright lights, the chanting fans and the pressure—everything but Maidana, who also knocked him flat in the first round and then eagerly accepted Ortiz’s invitation to brawl.

“It didn’t hit me until I was on my way to the ring,” Ortiz said. “I was like, ‘Whoa.’ It just really messed with me, and I didn’t perform. … I just fought a dumb fight. I didn’t listen to my corner.”

Although De La Hoya insisted Ortiz still is a budding champion, the Kansas native took too many big shots while fighting with no discernible strategy. Ortiz connected on 42 percent of his 177 punches, but Maidana was much busier with 293 punches, connecting with 23 percent.

“Yeah, he went down,” De La Hoya said. “But he’ll get right back up and fulfill his dream.”

Both fighters moved forward furiously from the opening bell, and Ortiz knocked down Maidana for the first time on a big right hand with about 1:15 left. With the crowd standing and cheering for Ortiz, Maidana landed a right hand that put Ortiz flat on his back.

The crowd was as stunned as Ortiz. The second round was even more electric, with the boxers trading shots until Ortiz knocked down Maidana with a right hook with about 30 seconds left—and then did it again with a shorter version of the same punch right before the bell.

But Maidana landed several big shots in the next three rounds, rocking Ortiz with two powerful right hands in the final seconds of the fifth. Ortiz also developed that big cut, which gaped open when the fight ended 46 seconds into the sixth.

“I came to look to finish him, and that’s what happened,” Maidana said. “He hits very hard, but he doesn’t have a good chin. Definitely he didn’t adjust to my rhythm.”

Chris John, the Indonesian featherweight champion who backed out of his co-main event rematch with Rocky Juarez this week because of an illness, appeared in the ring before the final bout. He waved to several hundred flag-waving Indonesian fans who bought tickets thinking they would see John’s second fight in this country.

The undercard fighters entered the ring to the strains of remixed Michael Jackson songs, and Ortiz made his ring walk to a “Beat It” and “Thriller” mash-up. A ceremonial 10-count was rung in honor of the pop star who died Thursday in Holmby Hills, about 12 miles from Staples Center. Jackson spent many nights rehearsing at the arena during the past two months for his 50 scheduled summer appearances in London.

Abraham retains IBF middleweight title over Oral

BERLIN (AP)—Undefeated Arthur Abraham successfully defended his IBF middleweight title with a technical knockout of fellow German Mahir Oral in the 10th round on Saturday.

Abraham improved his record to 30-0 with his 10th consecutive defense, though none have been against top-level challengers since he won the title in December 2005.

Armenian-born Abraham knocked down Oral in the fourth, sixth and 10th rounds, the last forcing the referee to call the fight.

The defeat was Oral’s first in 19 bouts since his only previous loss, to Malik Dziarra in 2004.

Molitor beats Ruiz in super bantamweight bout

RAMA, Ont. (AP)—Steve Molitor outpointed Mexico’s Heriberto Ruiz on Friday night to win the IBF super bantamweight title eliminator.

Molitor, former world champion, beat Ruiz (41-8-2, 8 KO) at Casino Rama to move into the vacant number two spot for the IBF crown.

Harry Davis scored the fight 116-112 in favor of Ruiz, Kelly Zolnierczyk had it 116-112 for Molitor, and Benoit Roussel scored it 116-112 for Molitor.

Ranked fourth in the world by the IBF coming into the fight, the boxer known as “The Canadian Kid” rebounded from a loss to Panamanian Celestino Caballero in a unified title fight last November.

Molitor, of Sarnia, Ontario, lost the IBF super bantamweight title and Caballero’s WBA belt, but with his victory against Ruiz he’ll have a chance to win his title back in September.

Molitor and Ruiz got off to a slow start with few punches thrown in the first and second rounds. The fighters were sparked by loud booing from the crowd, and the fight finally picked up at the end of the second.

Ruiz cut Molitor’s forehead in the seventh to little effect. Ruiz began swinging wild punches, missing the target as Molitor advanced.

Blood dripping off Molitor’s left brow seemed to temporarily slow the pace of the fight to open up the ninth round. Ruiz did not take advantage.

In the 10th round, both men rested for the first two minutes but ended the round slugging away.

Molitor opened the 11th by landing four straight punches that forced Ruiz back to the ropes. Ruiz responded in the 12th round with several body shots on Molitor, who survived to earn the split decision.

Mayweather-Marquez rescheduled for Sept. 19

By DAVE SKRETTA, AP Sports Writer

Floyd Mayweather’s return to boxing is back on, although the new date won’t make things any easier for him against hard-hitting Juan Manuel Marquez.

The former pound-for-pound king, who was slated to fight Marquez next month at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, issued a statement Friday that said he’s been cleared by doctors following a rib injury and the fight will go off Sept. 19— the weekend after Mexican Independence Day.

“I am relieved to be cleared to fight,” Mayweather said. “Trust me, September 19 is a great weekend for boxing, and all of my fans—of which there are many Mexicans too—can certainly hold on to their hats and sombreros when I get back in to the ring.”

Mayweather, who is coming out of a brief retirement, damaged cartilage in his ribs during training two weeks ago. He was committed to rescheduling the fight, even though more lucrative opponents like Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao became available.

Ticket sales reportedly had been slow for the pay-per-view event, but they should get a significant boost because of the new date. Mexican Independence Day is Sept. 16, and the bout will follow that Saturday—a weekend that had long belonged to Oscar De La Hoya.

The “Golden Boy,” whose promotional company handles Marquez, retired earlier this year.

“This particular fight did extremely well on ticket sales. Several price categories sold out,” Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer told The Associated Press. “When the fight was announced to be postponed, we were over $5.6 million in ticket sales and it was shaping up to be one of the largest non-heavyweight fights in the history of Las Vegas, not involving Oscar.

“We were ahead of what Pacquiao and (Ricky) Hatton did with the same amount of time to promote.”

Schaefer, who was busy with this weekend’s 140-pound title fight between Victor Ortiz and Marcos Maidana, said he was initially concerned Mayweather might be out longer.

“We were hoping it would be OK to be medically cleared for September, because it’s the biggest day every year for pay-per-view in the United States,” Schaefer said. “Almost like the Super Bowl weekend—you just knew that in September there’s a big fight.”

Mayweather, the former five-division champ, hasn’t fought since knocking out Hatton in December 2007, when he was still reveling in his breakthrough victory over De La Hoya. His unexpected retirement last year came in a statement issued by his publicist, just as he was gaining mainstream attention with appearances on “Dancing with the Stars” and at WrestleMania.

His aura seemed to have dimmed over the past year, though, and there have been reports that Mayweather (39-0, 25 KOs) has been having financial hardships. On top of that, Pacquiao has risen to become boxing’s best all-around fighter and most compelling attraction.

That alone may have been enough to lure “Money” Mayweather back into the ring.

His handlers began fielding offers for fights several months ago—few believed that Mayweather would stay retired—and he eventually settled on Marquez, who’s ranked highly on most pound-for-pound lists but is a relative unknown among mainstream sports fans.

Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KOs), who has fought to a draw and close split-decision loss against Pacquiao, is coming off riveting knockouts of Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz, which earned him the vacant WBO lightweight title in February.

He’ll be moving up to fight Mayweather at a catch weight of 143 pounds, eight more than Marquez has ever fought and the lightest Mayweather has been since 2005.

“I am happy that Mayweather has been cleared to fight and we can get down to business,” Marquez said. “This weekend is not just an important weekend for boxing, but even more so for all of the Mexican and Mexican-American people I will be fighting for.

“(They) will have a great reason to celebrate my win over Mayweather, which will be for all of the people and for the entire country of Mexico that night.”

Holyfield’s real deal: Home back on auction block

By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP Sports Writer

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. (AP)—Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield is facing foreclosure again on his sprawling estate in suburban Atlanta.

But Holyfield told The Associated Press on Thursday that a settlement would be reached before the 54,000-square-foot home was auctioned.

“It will be worked out,” boxing’s first four-time heavyweight champion said when reached on his cell phone. He declined further comment.

A year after the 235-acre estate was first put on the auction block, a legal notice placed last week in the Fayette Daily News said Holyfield was back in default on his $10 million loan. An auction was scheduled for July 7 on the courthouse steps.

The home—located south of Atlanta on Evander Holyfield Highway—has 109 rooms, including 17 bathrooms, three kitchens and a bowling alley.

Holyfield faced foreclosure on the home in June 2008, but a financial settlement was reached with Washington Mutual Bank before a scheduled auction.

This time, he also faces foreclosure on a second Fayette County property, having defaulted on a $216,000 loan to Commonwealth United Mortgage Company.

Holyfield has earned more than $200 million in the ring—including a reported $34 million for his second bout with Mike Tyson in 1997, the infamous “Bite Fight” that ended with Tyson being disqualified for gnawing off a chunk of Holyfield’s ear.

But the 46-year-old Holyfield hasn’t had a huge payday in more than five years and has run into serious financial problems, facing lawsuits over missed child support payments (he reportedly has 11 children) and claims that he failed to repay a more than half-million-dollar loan that went for landscaping his home.

He last fought in December, receiving a reported $600,000 for his challenge against WBA champion Nikolai Valuev in Switzerland. Holyfield lost a disputed majority decision to the 7-foot Russian, missing a chance to become the oldest heavyweight champion.

Former IBF champion Spadafora wins on TKO

PITTSBURGH (AP)—Paul Spadafora, a former IBF lightweight champion fighting for the first time in 14 months, knocked out Ivan Bustos on Wednesday night.

Bustos’ corner threw in the towel 2 minutes, 26 seconds into the sixth round of the scheduled eight-round welterweight fight.

Spadafora, who hadn’t fought in his Pittsburgh hometown since 2004 because of legal problems, improved his career record to 42-0-1.

The bout was the 33-year-old Spadafora’s first with Hall of Fame boxer Pernell Whitaker as his trainer.

Bustos, a counterpuncher from Argentina who had trouble landing blows against Spadafora, is 25-13-3.

RUMBLE AT THE HILTON RYE TOWN

On July 16th Star Boxing's former light heavyweight title challenger, David Telesco (29-6-1, 24KO) will once again step inside the squared circle under the Star Boxing banner, when he takes on New Jersey's own William Gil in an eight round light heavyweight affair. Telesco v. Gil will be the main event bout of the evening. The card is being held at the beautiful Hilton Rye Town hotel, located in the New York City suburb of Rye, NY, and is ten minutes east of White Plains, NY in Westchester County. Situated on 45 beautifully landscaped acres of lush woodlands, the Hilton Rye Town hotel is Westchester County, New York's premier hotel, combining the relaxed setting of a resort with the flexibility of a full-service business hotel.

For the fan favorite Telesco, who lives in nearby Portchester, NY, it will be somewhat of a homecoming, as it will be the first time Telesco has fought in the Westchester County area since 2001. Telesco, who has been in- active since 2005, is excited to be returning to the ring especially in front of his hometown fans.

"David's had some great moments in his boxing career. He has always been a dangerous puncher and was a top light heavyweight some years ago," stated Joe DeGuardia CEO of Star Boxing. "David has been itching for a comeback and has always wanted to be back in front of his fans, so the Hilton Rye Town makes perfect sense. The Hilton Rye Town is a beautiful hotel where fans can experience a great night of Boxing in the Ballroom. We are looking to put some of the top prospects in the New York City area, as well as some of our top prospects on the Star Boxing roster on the card. We expect a great night of fights come July 16th."

The official undercard will be announced shortly. Tickets can be purchased through the Star Boxing office by calling (718) 823-2000 or by visiting the Star Boxing website (http://www.starboxing.com/) Tickets are priced at Gold Ringside - $100, Silver Ringside - $60 and reserved seating for $40. The Hilton Rye Town hotel is located at 699 Westchester Avenue, Rye Brook, New York, 10573.

Lopez headlining Top Rank card on Boardwalk

By DAVE SKRETTA, AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP)—Juan Manuel Lopez watched countryman Miguel Cotto fill Madison Square Garden on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day parade and marveled at how thousands of people gravitated toward the welterweight champion.

The young super bantamweight champ imagines himself in the same role one day.

“I know I’m getting to the level I can headline,” said Lopez, who will defend his title against little-known Olivier Lontchi on Saturday night in Atlantic City. “But I do look forward to a year, two years down the line, being the headline on that night.

“That’s the dream. That’s every Puerto Rican’s dream.”

Lopez won his title on the boardwalk last year by knocking out Daniel Ponce De Leon in the first round, ending his three-year title reign.

He’s been busy ever since.

The hard-hitting Lopez (25-0, 23 KOs) has already defended his title three times, all by knockout, and aced arguably the most difficult test of his burgeoning career in April, when he dismantled Gerry Penalosa on the way to a 10th-round stoppage. It was the 13th straight fight Lopez has ended early.

“At 122 (pounds),” promoter Bob Arum said, “he’s beginning to run out of opponents.”

That’s why Arum intends to build a worthy challenger over course of the next 18 months, or at the very least a worthwhile test. Few believe that Lontchi (18-0-2, 8 KOs) stands much of a chance, so Arum has already requested the theater at Madison Square Garden for Sept. 26, when he hopes Lopez and exciting Cuban knockout artist Yuriorkis Gamboa will be on the same card in separate fights.

Then, down the road, the two would ultimately face each other.

“They don’t know who Gamboa is and they don’t know who this kid is, but that’s my job in the next year, to make that a must-see fight they put on pay-per-view,” Arum said. “I don’t know if I can do it, but that’s what I’m going to try to do.”

Arum knows better than anyone that things can change quickly in boxing.

Just look at how the card Saturday night came together.

It was originally headlined by middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik defending against Sergio Mora, but that fight was scrapped months ago. A bout involving Paul Malignaggi and unbeaten Mike Alvarado was scratched when Alvarado was hurt sparring, and a bantamweight title bout between Fernando Montiel and Eric Morel was postponed when Montiel hurt his hand.

Top Rank wound up turning the event into one of its “Latin Fury” cards, which are designed to showcase some of its top fighters from Mexico and Puerto Rico.

The co-main event is a super flyweight fight between Jorge Arce (51-5-1, 39 KOs), who was convincingly stopped by Vic Darchinyan in a February title fight, against Filipino challenger Fernando Lumacad (19-1-2, 7 KOs).

“I will fight again for the title,” said Arce, who once held an interim super flyweight title. “Maybe next year, I will fight (Darchinyan) again.”

Also on the card, Vanes Martirosyan (24-0, 15 KOs) takes on Andrey Tsurkan (26-4, 17 KOs) in a junior middleweight fight, and Yuri Foreman (27-0, 8 KOs) takes on Cornelius Bundrage (29-4, 17 KOs) in an IBF junior middleweight eliminator.

Foreman may be the most unique story on the card, in that while he’s training to be a world champion he’s also training to be a rabbi. The 28-year-old Belarussian is about 18 months from earning a degree in rabbinical studies.

“Foreman is a real great story, and it will capture everyone’s imagination,” Arum said. “If you tell the story and people are following the story, then people will look for the plus side of what he’s doing in the ring, the skilled boxer he is.

“He can’t punch hard,” Arum added. “But he tells me, ‘I don’t punch hard, I don’t hurt anybody, because it’d be wrong for a rabbi to do that.”

NEW OPPONENT FOR FRES OQUENDO IN CHICAGO, WEDNESDAY PUBLIC PRESS CONFERENCE AT 7PM

CHICAGO, IL (June 23, 2009) Two time heavyweight world title challenger Fres Oquendo of Chicago, will now face New Jersey native Mark Brown for the WBC Latino Heavyweight Title this Friday night, June 26th, in the ten round main event at the seven bout “WINDY CITY FIGHT NIGHT 3” at Chicago’s UIC Pavilion, it was announced today by Dominic Pesoli, President of 8 Count Productions.

Said Pesoli, “There was an issue with his original opponent, Gonzalo Omar Basile getting into the United States from Argentina . Brown is a very tough, heavy handed, heavyweight from New Jersey . He’s won eight in a row and had three knockouts in 2008. He’s coming to fight and I know Fres wants to put on a great performance for the fans so it should be a very good battle.”

Advance tickets for “WINDY CITY FIGHT NIGHT 3”, starting at $31, can be purchased through the 8 Count Productions office at 312-226-5800 and through Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or http://www.ticketmaster.com/. Tickets will also be available at the door starting at 7pm on the night of the event.

A public press conference for “WINDY CITY FIGHT NIGHT 3” will be held at the UIC Pavilion on Wednesday night, June 24th at 7pm. The open to the public weigh-in will be held on Thursday night at 7pm at the Union Park Lounge, 228 S. Racine Ave. in Chicago, just three blocks north of the UIC Pavilion. Fans are encouraged to join their favorite fighters at both events.

Recently signed to Simmons Entertainment Marketing LLC, headed by NBA Star Bobby Simmons, Oquendo is looking towards another run at a world championship bout in the near future. The bout against Brown, for the WBC Latino Heavyweight Title, is Oquendo’s first hometown bout in nine years.

Oquendo, 29-5-0 (18KO’s) is coming off a highly controversial split decision loss to former world champion James Toney on December 13th. The bout, broadcast from Cabazon, California on VERSUS, was thought to be amongst the worst decisions of 2008.

Brown, 15-1-0 (7KO’s) is coming off a unanimous decision win over Willie Perryman on April 24th. Prior to that bout, Brown knocked out previously unbeaten Tony Grano on September 27th in Bridgeport , CT for the WBF All-Americas Heavyweight Title.

Co-headlining “WINDY CITY FIGHT NIGHT 3” is an outstanding eight round junior welterweight showdown between undefeated Chicago fan favorite, Ivan Popoca, 10-0-1 (7KO’s) and Tulare, California’s Hector Alatorre, 15-7-0 (5KO’s)

An additional eight round bout at “WINDY CITY FIGHT NIGHT 3” is a super middleweight title fight between Chicago’s Andrzej “THE POLISH PRINCE” Fonfara, 12-2-0 (3KO’s) and Rockford, Illinois’ Skyler Thompson, 11-3-0 (9KO’s) for the WBF All-Americas Super Middleweight Title.

In a special feature attraction, Chicago fan favorite Rita “LA GUERA” Figueroa, 10-0-1 (3KO’s) and Lynnwood , Washington native Tammie “THE TASMANIAN DEVIL” Johnson, 3-2-2, will square off once again in an eight round rematch of their draw on March 27th at the inaugural “WINDY CITY FIGHT NIGHT”.

The undercard features three Chicago natives; featherweight Juan Bailon, 4-1-0 (1KO) taking on Denver, Colorado’s Tommy Atencio, 3-1-0 (2KO’s) in a six round bout.

Ryan Smedick, 2-0-1 (1KO) will face Gabriel Morris, 1-1-1 of Toledo, Ohio and Chicago’s Achour Esho, 2-0-0 91KO) will face Maryland’s Dontre King, 1-4-1, both welterweight bouts scheduled for four rounds.

Doors on the evening of the event will open at 7pm with the first bell at 8pm. The UIC Pavilion is located at 525 S. Racine , just one block south of the Eisenhower Expressway. For further information, please visit their website at www.uicpavilion.com

8 Count Productions, HOME OF THE BEST IN CHICAGO BOXING, was started by Dominic Pesoli in 1998 and has consistently presented the highest quality professional boxing events in Chicagoland. In 2003, Pesoli along with former featherweight contender Mike Garcia, opened JABB Boxing Gym, a 6,000 square foot venue dedicated to the finest Chicagoland boxers of all talent levels.

For more information on 8 Count Productions and JABB Boxing Gym, please visit http://www.8countproductions.com/ and http://www.jabbboxing.com/

Chris John falls ill, fight with Juarez scrapped

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Featherweight champion Chris John’s rematch with Rocky Juarez has been canceled after John fell ill during training.

John (42-0-2, 22 KOs), an Indonesian fighter who beat Juan Manuel Marquez three years ago, was due to fight Juarez at Staples Center on Saturday night as the co-main event with Victor Ortiz’s bout against Marcos Maidana.

Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, said John collapsed during a sparring session Saturday. John’s handlers believe the fighter has a blood illness, Schaefer said.

John, who has been training in Los Angeles, was hoping to fight in this country for just the second time in his career. John and Juarez fought to a draw Feb. 28 in Houston.

Fields stops Firtha in sixth round

EDMONTON (AP)—Tye Fields knocked out Nicolai Firtha early in the sixth round of their heavyweight fight Saturday night at the River Cree Resort and Casino.

Fields, a 6-foot-8, 264-pound southpaw, ended it with a straight left to the head that put Firtha on his back with 43 seconds gone in the round.

Fields (42-2, 38 KOs) was coming off a loss to Monte Barrett, but was by far the stronger of the two. He dominated from the start and dropped Firtha with a left late in the fifth round.

Fields won the first five rounds on all three judges’ scorecards.

The 6-foot-5 Firtha of Akron, Ohio, dropped to 16-6-1.

Klitschko beats Chagaev in front of 61,000

By PATRICK McGROARTY, Associated Press Writer

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany (AP)—Wladimir Klitschko again proved his dominance of the heavyweight division, stopping Ruslan Chagaev in a hastily put together title fight Saturday night before 61,000 fans at a German soccer stadium.

The IBF and WBO champion added the Ring Magazine belt to his haul, knocking Chagaev down in the second round and opening a cut over the Uzbekistan-born fighter’s left eye in the eighth.

Referee Eddie Cotton stopped the fight before the 10th round.

“You can’t underestimate Chagaev,” said Klitschko, who stands with his brother Vitali as clearly the best in the division. “He did everything today, but I was better.”

Chagaev, who is the WBA’s “champion in recess,” raised a deep bruise under Klitschko’s right eye, but was done in by the Ukrainian’s height advantage and superior power. With his strong left jab and hard straight rights, Klitschko (53-3, 47 KOs) bloodied Chagaev and never appeared in danger.

The sellout crowd was the biggest boxing audience in Germany since Max Schmeling knocked out Adolf Heuser in front of 70,000 people in Stuttgart in 1939.

“Throughout the fight, I searched for the keys to unlock a win, but I just couldn’t find them,” said Chagaev, whose win over Carl Davis Drummond in February was stopped by a similar cut above his left eye.

The matchup at the Schalke soccer club’s Veltins Arena was originally billed as a showdown between Klitschko and former cruiserweight champ David Haye, and the two had gone on a worldwide press tour in which the outspoken Haye flaunted T-shirts showing him standing in the ring with the decapitated heads of the Klitschko brothers.

But the British fighter, whose only victory since moving to heavyweight was a knockout of Monte Barrett in November, pulled out earlier this month citing a back injury. He asked to reschedule the fight for July, but Klitschko wanted to keep the date and sellout crowd.

He found a replacement in Chagaev (25-1-1), who was supposed to fight Nikolai Valuev for the WBA title last month in Helsinki. That bout was called off after the weigh-in when doctors found Hepatitis-B antigens in Chagaev’s blood.

Because the rules are different in Germany, Chagaev managed to pass a medical exam and was allowed to fight Klitschko, even though several organizations protested, including the American Association of Professional Ringside Physicians.

ANDRADE SPECTACULAR ONCE AGAIN

Boxing's hottest young star, 2007 amateur world champion, and 2008 U.S. Olympian Demetrius "Boo Boo" Andrade improved his record to a perfect 5-0, 4KO with an impressive four round decision win over Tony Hirsch (8-2-1, 4KO) on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights". It was Andrade's third showing on FNF this year, and just as in the previous two he looked spectacular.

DEMETRIUS ANDRADE

The 21-year-old Providence, RI native Andrade, who is co-promoted by Joe DeGuardia's Star Boxing and Banner Promotions, used his speed and height advantage to out work and out box Hirsch.

Hirsch was game but was simply not on the same level of the highly touted Andrade.

Look for Andrade to be back in action very soon.


Photo by Star Boxing photographer Mart Rosengarten.

Pascal claims light heavyweight belt

MONTREAL (AP)—Jean Pascal won a unanimous decision over Adrian Diaconu on Friday night, claiming the WBC light heavyweight title before 13,659 fans at the Bell Centre who seemed split in their support of the two Montreal fighters.

Diaconu (26-1), who was knocked down in the fifth, lost in his first title defense, while Pascal won in his first fight since moving up to the light heavyweight.

Judge Maximo de Luca scored it 115-112, while John Keane had it 116-112 and Jack Woodburn had it 116-111.

Their contrasting styles were evident from the outset, as Diaconu came straight ahead looking for a brawl while the quicker, taller Pascal stayed on the outside.

The crowd roared during a thrilling fifth, when Pascal knocked Diaconu down with a left and, after he got up, tried to finish him with a flurry of blows. The Romanian-born Diaconu managed to withstand the attack and ended the round with a flurry of his own.

In the 11thk, Diaconu landed a right to the jaw and the two fighters went toe-to-toe while fans in the arena came to their feet. The 12th featured another long exchange, but the swollen and bloody Diaconu couldn’t put Pascal down.

Diaconu won the interim WBC title in April 2008, when he beat Chris Henry in Bucharest, and was given the full title when champion Chad Dawson gave it up in order to fight Antonio Tarver for the IBF belt.

Two scheduled defenses against Silvio Blanco of Italy were canceled, so Diaconu’s only bout in the past 14 months was an eight-round decision in a tune-up against David Whittom.

Pascal was in his second title fight in just over six months, having lost a bid for the WBC super-middleweight belt to Carl Froch on Dec. 6 in England.

It was the first time rival promoters InterBox, which handles Diaconu, and Groupe Yvon Michel, which has Pascal, had their fighters face each other in the ring.

Klitschko to fight at 60,000-seat sellout venue

By PATRICK McGROARTY, Associated Press Writer

BERLIN (AP)—When Wladimir Klitschko steps into the ring against Ruslan Chagaev, it will be in front of the largest boxing audience in Germany since Max Schmeling fought in the 1930s.

Action inside the ropes Saturday at Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, however, might not live up to the hype.

Klitschko, the IBF and WBO heavyweight champion, was supposed to be fighting David Haye to settle a running verbal feud. But Haye bowed out earlier this month, saying he had injured his back.

Haye asked to reschedule the fight in July, but Klitschko wanted to keep the date and the 60,000-seat sellout—the biggest boxing crowd in Germany since Schmeling fought Adolf Heuser in front of 70,000 people in Stuttgart on June 2, 1939.

“It’s a chance that’s coming around for the first time in my entire sporting career,” the 33-year-old Ukrainian said. “I’m incredibly excited about the 60,000 fans.”

Chagaev weighed in Friday at 225 pounds, and Klitschko weighed in at 240 pounds.

The 30-year-old Chagaev was named the WBA’s “champion in recess” in 2008 after withdrawing from two fights against Nikolai Valuev. After a third bout between the two scheduled for last month in Helsinki was canceled due to Hepatitis-B antigens being found in Chagaev’s blood, the WBA announced Valuev as the rightful champion and put Chagaev’s honorary title “under review.”

As of Friday, the WBA had not clarified whether Klitschko (52-3) will fight for a piece of that title on top of defending his belts.

Michael Ehnert, the medical doctor for Universum, which is promoting Saturday’s fight, said Chagaev is fit to fight in Germany.

“Since getting Hepatitis B many years ago, Ruslan is simply a carrier of Hepatitis-B antigens. This has not led to an infection,” Ehnert said.

Klitschko has said he has been immunized against Hepatitis B and is not worried about the fight.

In February, Chagaev (25-0 with one draw) won a technical decision over Carl Davis Drumond in Rostock, Germany. It was the Uzbekistan-born boxer’s first fight in more than a year.