Hunter Jr.’s disqualification overturned

By PAT GRAHAM, AP Sports Writer

DENVER (AP)—Michael Hunter Jr. fought his way back into the USA boxing national championships in a room, not a ring.

Hunter, who was disqualified from his bout the day before for using too much gauze on his hands, hired a lawyer to plead his case to an arbitration panel Thursday.

After nearly five hours, the arbitrators ruled in his favor, restoring the super heavyweight into the semifinals of the championships.

Due to the delay, the super heavyweight bouts were moved to Friday night. Hunter will face J’Von Wallace, while Javier Torres takes on Trevor Bryan.

The dispute started soon after Hunter beat Lenroy Thompson 8-7 in a quarterfinal match Wednesday, earning the decisive final point on a punch with 2 seconds remaining in the last round.

However, a protest was filed over how much gauze Hunter used to wrap his hands.

The grievance committee rendered a verdict to disqualify Hunter, giving his spot to Thompson.

But on Thursday, the ruling was overturned.

“It was a long process and I think each party had a good point of view,” Hunter said. “But I think the right thing happened.”

So does USA Boxing CEO Jim Millman.

“Our philosophy as an organization is to get it right and part of the getting it right is to go through a process like today,” Millman said. “We are satisfied with the decision and we wish Michael all the best going forward.”

Hunter won the national championship title in 2007 and followed that up by earning a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team. He missed out on going to Beijing, though, after falling in international qualifying.

Hunter said the controversy centered on the length of his gauze. Under the rules, no more than 15 yards are allowed per hand. Hunter said his gauze measured 19 yards, although he pointed out that it got stretched from removal.

The reversal surprised him.

“To me, it wasn’t looking too good in there,” he said of the discussions in the room. “I thought they had more points. … But it went in my favor.”

Hunter said he briefly spoke to Thompson after the decision.

“He told me congratulations,” Hunter said. “I’ve got to crush him (Wallace) tomorrow.”

Warren upset in semis at national championships

By PAT GRAHAM, AP Sports Writer

DENVER (AP)—Rau’shee Warren stormed out of the ring, leaping over a barrier and flying through a row of seats.

He wasn’t really sure where he was going, just allowing his fury to guide him.

The two-time Olympian was agitated and dispirited over a loss in a tiebreaker to Jesus Magdaleno during a semifinal bantamweight bout Thursday night at the USA boxing national championships.

Warren thought he’d landed enough punches to earn the win after the fight ended tied at 19.

But the judges gave the 17-year-old Magdaleno the victory by a one-blow difference.

“If you get the tape and look at it and see how many punches I threw—I won the fight fair and square,” Warren said. “Ain’t no way he threw more punches than me.”

Trailing 19-14 in the third and final round, Magdaleno landed a series of combinations and tied the match up with seconds remaining.

When the referee held up his hand in the ring, Magdaleno was stunned. He didn’t know how to react as the crowd chanted his name.

“It’s a little nerve-racking” going against Warren, said Magdaleno, who’s from Las Vegas. “I give a lot of props to him, he’s a wonderful fighter. Tonight was the night that somebody else had to step in and steal the spotlight.”

Magdaleno’s win was a complete shocker to Luis Rosa, who won his bantamweight bout in the adjacent ring. Rosa has been training with Warren in mind.

This changes everything.

“I was hoping to fight him,” Rosa said. “He’s an Olympian and has plenty of experience. But he lost so I’ve got to take the next person.”

A letdown?

“Not really,” said Rosa, who’s never fought Magdaleno. “I’m so pumped I don’t have any words for it.”

Warren didn’t mince his words after the bout.

“I’m ready to be done with USA boxing,” Warren said. “All I did for USA boxing, this is what they do to me?”

The three-time national champion is respected in this setting. He’s found peace on the amateur level.

That’s one of the reasons he passed on several lukewarm professional prospects soon after the 2008 Beijing Summer Games. He still enjoys hanging out at these big amateur bouts, watching the up-and-comers.

This, though, clouds his perception.

“I can’t go through this no more,” Warren said. “I can’t deal with it no more.”

He said events like this could change his mind on attempting to qualify for the 2012 Summer Games in London.

“The way stuff is going right now, it’s going to be a lot of these kids going pro,” he said.

Including him?

He just shrugged, not wanting his emotion to get in the way of his decision.

“I was up five, ain’t no way that he scored five points in a minute!” Warren said, exasperated.

Magdaleno knew he was in dire need of points late in the bout, and just started throwing punches.

“I used my speed, used what I knew I could get him with—more aggression,” he explained. “He wasn’t expecting it. He’s not a back-up fighter. I put a lot of pressure on him.”

This loss conjures up memories of his defeat at the Olympics.

Believing he was up a point in his first-round match in Beijing, Warren danced around and didn’t pounce in the waning seconds. He even raised his glove in victory after the bell.

Warren was stunned by the 9-8 loss to South Korea’s Lee Ok-sung. He broke into tears after the bout.

But the loss no longer eats at him.

“That’s the past. I think about the future,” Warren said.

Still, it opened his eyes to what he needed to do next.

Warren has been working on packing more power into his punches. He ramped up his use of weights and plyometrics to increase his strength.

He now feels speedy and strong, displaying that Thursday as he jumped out to a big lead against Magdaleno, landing a flurry of body shots.

But Warren couldn’t hold it.

“He’s a good fighter, he’s strong,” Warren said of Magdaleno. “He ain’t beat me—that’s how I see it. He caught me with a couple of good shots in the third round, that I knew he hit me with. Come one, I was up five points. I was up, and in the end, 19-19? He did not score that many points on me.”

Calderon fighting for respect for little guys

By DAVE SKRETTA, AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP)—Ivan Calderon is accustomed to being overlooked. It’s easy, after all, when you stand just 5 feet tall. But the little Puerto Rican package of dynamite just might be the best pure boxer in the world.

He moves effortlessly between Spanish and English, dresses in dapper dark gray suits, and is so engaging that he commands attention like a circus ringmaster. And between the ropes he’s virtually impossible to hit, winning all 32 of his fights and putting on such a tactical display that he’s stopped an opponent only six times.

About the only fight Calderon hasn’t won is acceptance for the little guys.

He’ll fight on the undercard Saturday night when Miguel Cotto defends his welterweight title against Joshua Clottey at Madison Square Garden. But unless you’re inside the sold-out arena, you won’t see the 108-pound champ take on top contender Rodel Mayol.

The premium cable network is showing “The Dark Knight” before the main event.

“I want to show HBO that small people need an opportunity,” said Calderon, who’ll make his 17th title defense. “At least the HBO people will be there to show them what I have, and keep on putting me in their eyes.”

That’d be a good start, because his last two fights have been in Puerto Rico, and before that New Mexico—not exactly a boxing hotbed. He’s fought everywhere from Oklahoma to Arizona to Las Vegas, taking whatever he can get, which usually isn’t much.

Smaller fighters seem to get a proportional amount of respect, and a proportional payday, compared to their larger counterparts. Most top fighters in Calderon’s weight class get less than $40,000 a fight, and although he’ll clear closer to $100,000 on Saturday night, that’s a far cry from the $1 million that middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik often commands.

“I know what’s happening,” Calderon said. “They don’t pay us the same way they pay the big guys, and I always do better fights. I always get more action.”

For years, fans didn’t believe that was the case.

Heavyweight icons like Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and George Foreman—all the way back to Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano—were big fighters who threw big punches, making for dramatic fights and bone-rattling knockouts.

But the current heavyweight division is a mess, with champions in recess and a slew of other ridiculous titles. The Klitschko brothers, considered the only notable champs, will never fight each other. Other hefty classes offer few worthwhile fights—175-pound king Bernard Hopkins might go the entire year without stepping into the ring.

That void is being filled by smaller fighters.

It started years ago with Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather, and has morphed into the Pacmania that surrounds pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao. But even he, despite starting his career at 106 pounds, didn’t become a blockbuster attraction until he moved up in weight.

“It’s a little less giving,” said HBO sports president Ross Greenburg, noting that Calderon has often appeared on pay-per-view. “It takes a certain kind of mix to get on HBO at that weight.”

For one thing, it takes a big-name opponent, and there aren’t many available.

Nonito Donaire has some name recognition at 112 pounds, a weight at which Calderon might be able to fight. Vic Darchinyan has broken through at 115 pounds, fighting Joseph Agbeko on Showtime next month, but that would be a stretch for the man nicknamed “Iron Boy.”

“He obviously has name recognition and is on most peoples’ pound-for-pound list,” Greenburg said of Calderon. “He needs the guy across the ring.”

Calderon holds up his end of the bargain, though, exuding charm and charisma. He once fought Cotto when he was 17 and the current 147-pound champion was several years younger. They both weighed about 100 pounds and Calderon proudly proclaims he won.

Too bad Calderon had already stopped growing.

“He’s probably the best boxer in the world today,” said Bob Arum of promoter Top Rank. “He’s relentless and he’s always in a tremendous fight.”

Cotto keeps focus on Clottey as Pacquiao comes calling

NEW YORK (AFP) - Manny Pacquiao will be sitting at ringside to watch Miguel Cotto defend his welterweight crown Saturday against Ghana's Joshua Clottey, the Filipino superstar sizing up his potential next opponent.

Puerto Rican star Cotto, 33-1 with 27 knockouts, will face Clottey, 35-2 with 20 knockouts, on the eve of the annual Puerto Rican Day parade in New York - a date that has become a fight tradition for Cotto at Madison Square Garden.

Pacquiao is considered boxing's pound-for-pound champion after knocking out Britain's Ricky Hatton in the second round last month at Las Vegas.

"It was very good and a very strong moment for Pacquiao in that fight," Cotto said.

While fight fans hunger for a Pacquiao showdown against unbeaten US star Floyd Mayweather Jnr, who ends his retirement next month against Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez, it might be Cotto who climbs into the ring with "Pac-man" next.

"I can?t tell you about anything the rest of the year or next year because I'm preparing for Clottey," Cotto said. "The only person I have on my mind right now is Joshua Clottey."

Pacquiao and Cotto each have Bob Arum as promoter while Mayweather has often worked with Oscar de la Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, which can offer veteran US fighter Shane Mosley as a possible next opponent if Pacquiao-Mayweather does not materialize quickly.

Clottey is a major obstacle in Cotto's path, however.

Cotto suffered his first loss last July to Mexico's Antonio Margarito but bounced back to win the lightly regarded World Boxing Organization crown, the one he risks Saturday, from Britain's Michael Jennings in February.

"It was good coming off my first loss," Cotto said. "After that fight I felt pretty good to be ready for this fight now. This fight is important.

"No matter what Joshua brings to the ring, I will be fine. If he wants to move, I am ready for him. If he wants to face me in the middle of the ring, I am ready for that, too.

"I don't know what's going to happen. The only thing I know is I am going to be the winner."

Clottey knows the crowd will be with Cotto.

"When I come to the ring I'm a very deaf guy. I see people but I don't hear what they're talking about," Clottey said. "I don't know how tough he's going to be, but anybody who chooses me to be the winner, they will win, because that's what I'm going to do. I will win the fight."

Clottey won the International Boxing Federation welterweight crown by beating US veteran Zab Judah last August but was stripped of the title in April for refusing to fight South African mandatory challenger Isaac Hlatshwayo in favor of Cotto.

Now Clottey figures if he defeats Cotto, he will have a place in the conversation about whom Pacquiao fights next.

"Cotto is going to fight Pacquiao if he wins - that?s what I?ve been hearing," Clottey said. "Cotto is going to get his. Even if he wins it is not going to be easy at all. He?s not going to be able to fight somebody else."

CELEBRITY GUEST LIST – Hall of Fame Induction Weekend 2009

INDUCTEES
1. Lennox Lewis -------- Undisputed Heavyweight Champion

2. Orlando Canizales -------- Bantam Weight Champion

3. Brian Mitchell -------- Jr. Lightweight Champion

4. Bobby Goodman -------- Publicist/Matchmaker/Promoter

5. Akihiko Honda -------- Promoter

6. Hugh McIlvanney -------- Journalist

7. Larry Merchant -------- Broadcaster/Journalist



HALL OF FAME ALUMNI
8. Carmen Basilio -------- Welterweight and Middleweight Champion

9. Carlos Ortiz -------- Jr. Welterweight and Lightweight Champion

10. Emile Griffith -------- Welterweight and Middleweight Champion

11. Ruben Olivares -------- Bantam and Featherweight Champion

12. Marvelous Marvin Hagler -------- Middleweight Champion

13. Aaron Pryor -------- Jr. Welterweight Champion

14. Michael Carbajal -------- Jr. Flyweight Champion

15. Lou Duva -------- Hall of Fame Trainer/Manager

16. Bert Sugar -------- Hall of Fame Writer/Historian

17. Angelo Dundee -------- Hall of Fame Trainer

18. Emanuel Steward -------- Hall of Fame Trainer



SPECIAL GUESTS
19. Christy Martin -------- Female Champion

20. George Chuvalo -------- Canadian Heavyweight Champion

21. Livingstone Bramble -------- Lightweight Champion

22. Marlon Starling -------- Welterweight Champion

23. Leon Spinks -------- Heavyweight Champion

24. Micky Ward -------- Jr. Welterweight Star

25. Greg Haugen -------- Lightweight Champion

26. Ray Mercer -------- Heavyweight Champion

27. Mark Breland -------- Welterweight Champion

28. Junior Jones -------- Bantamweight Champion

29. John H. Stracey -------- Welterweight Champion

30. Billy Backus -------- Welterweight Champion



RISING STARS

31. Paul Williams -------- Two-Time World Champion

32. Deontay Wilder -------- 2008 Heavyweight Bronze Medalists

33. Andre Berto -------- Welterweight Champion

34. Lucian Bute -------- Super Middleweight Champion



PARADE GRAND MARSHAL
35. Federico Casteluccio -------- HBO’s Sopranos (Furio)

36. Burt Young -------- Rocky Movies (Paulie)

added 5/30

FRES OQUENDO ADDED IN TITLE FIGHT ON JUNE 26TH IN CHICAGO

ADVANCE TICKETS NOW ON SALE

CHICAGO, IL (June 10, 2009) Two time heavyweight world title challenger Fres Oquendo will face Gonzalo Omar Basile in the new ten round main event at “WINDY CITY FIGHT NIGHT 3” on Friday, June 26th at the UIC Pavilion, it was announced today by Dominic Pelosi’s 8 Count Productions, HOME OF THE BEST IN CHICAGO BOXING.

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

Tickets for “WINDY CITY FIGHT NIGHT 3”, starting at $31, are on sale now through the 8 Count Productions office at 312-226-5800 and through Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or http://www.ticketmaster.com/.

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.

Basile, a native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, brings a record of 41-4-0 (19KO’s) into the battle with Oquendo, having won his last nine bouts, five by stoppage. He won the WBO Latino Heavyweight Title on February 14, 2009 by stopping Daniel Frank in the third round in Buenos Aires .

Said Pesoli, “An already excellent card just got a great deal better. Fres hasn’t fought in Chicago in a long time and I know he and the Chicago fight fans will be looking toward a great performance from him on June 26th. Fres was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Chicago so he has legions of fans all across the city.”

Already announced for “WINDY CITY FIGHT NIGHT 3” is an outstanding eight round junior welterweight showdown between undefeated Chicago fan favorite, Ivan Popoca and Tulare, California’s Hector Alatorre.

An additional eight round bout is a super middleweight title fight between Chicago ’s Andrzej “THE POLISH PRINCE” Fonfara and Rockford, Illinois’ Skyler Thompson for the WBF All-Americas Super Middleweight Title..

In a special feature attraction, Chicago fan favorite Rita “LA GUERA” Figueroa and Lynnwood, Washington native Tammie “THE TASMANIAN DEVIL” Johnson will square off once again in a rematch of their draw on March 27th at the inaugural “WINDY CITY FIGHT NIGHT”.

The undercard features Chicago natives; highly touted junior welterweight prospect Ramiro Carrillo, featherweight Juan Bailon along with welterweights Ryan Smedick and Achour Esho in separate bouts.

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 http://www.uicpavilion.com/

Additional information on this card will be announced shortly.

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/

Clottey prepared to face Cotto—and crowd

By DAVE SKRETTA, AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP)—Joshua Clottey will walk into sold-out Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, just a few miles from where the Ghana native now makes his home in the Bronx, and almost certainly face a wall of vocal opposition.

It’ll be the eve of the annual Puerto Rican Day parade, and thousands of flag-carrying fans will have turned out to see charismatic welterweight champion Miguel Cotto defend his title.

Clottey, himself a former champion, insists he won’t hear any of it.

“Trust me, when I come to the ring I’m a very, very deaf guy,” Clottey said. “The only thing I do is I see people, but I don’t hear what they’re talking about. This is business, we’re in the ring. He’s hitting my body, he’s hitting my head—I don’t have time for that.”

Cotto certainly brings the name recognition to the WBO title fight, and he’s the big reason that even the cheap seats will be gone at the Garden. HBO is expecting a huge television audience, and even New York sports stars like Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran are trying to secure tickets.

“I keep hearing boxing is dead, boxing is dying—I’ve always been incredulous, because I don’t know what anybody is talking about,” Top Rank boss Bob Arum said. “Just look at this.”

Promotional company Top Rank has turned the Puerto Rican Day weekend into Cotto’s showcase, and the popular fighter has embraced it every bit as much as his fans.

His first fight in boxing’s so-called Mecca, when Cotto (33-1, 27 KOs) was just beginning to build his reputation, was a knockout of Mohamad Abdulaev. He’s gone on to beat Brooklyn-based fighters Paul Malignaggi and Zab Judah before delirious crowds that show up to the Garden en masse to see their hero sometimes just once a year.

He’s never before failed them, his only loss a controversial one to Antonio Margarito nearly a year ago in Las Vegas, and doesn’t plan to against another hard-punching challenger.

“Joshua Clottey? I’ve prepared myself for anything he can bring that night,” Cotto said Wednesday, at the final pre-fight news conference. “The question is, is he prepared for the kind of Miguel Cotto that’s going to climb into the ring?”

While the Puerto Rican star is well known, Clottey is very nearly an enigma.

A native of Accra, the capital and most populous city of the west African nation of Ghana, Clottey began fighting in small shows in Africa. He caught the eye of promoter Panos Eliades, who also promoted Lennox Lewis, and Clottey wound up fighting in Europe for several years.

He eventually made his way to New York, where he settled in the Bronx.

Considered large for a welterweight, it didn’t take long for Clottey (35-2, 20 KOs) to step into the ring with Margarito. He was leading that title fight in December 2006 until he broke his hand in the fourth round, and while Clottey gamely pressed on, Margarito handed him his first loss in nearly seven years.

It took several months for the hand to heal, but Clottey returned to beat former lightweight champ Diego Corrales, beginning yet another impressive string of victories: Felix Flores, previously unbeaten Shamone Alvarez, Jose Luis Cruz and Judah.

His bout against the tough Brooklyn fighter last August was a back-and-forth slugfest, which was stopped by referee Robert Byrd because of a nasty cut over Judah’s right eye. By the slimmest of margins—one point on two scorecards— Clottey was given the technical decision.

His bout against Cotto was supposed to be a unification fight, Clottey having won the IBF title, but politics and sanctioning bodies got in the way.

Rather than fight a string of undeserving challengers, Clottey simply vacated the belt to take the much larger and more lucrative fight against Cotto — on easily the biggest day of the year for Puerto Rican fight fans in New York.

“Even if I lose, I’ll make a good account of myself, and they’ll ask for me. The people that are picking me to win the fight, they’re making a very good decision,” Clottey said.

“I don’t know how tough he’s going to be, but anybody who chooses me to be the winner, they’ll win, because that’s what I’m going to do. I’ll win the fight.”

NFL star Jacobs taking swing at boxing biz

By DAVE SKRETTA, AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP)—Brandon Jacobs isn’t waiting until his NFL playing days are over before deciding what he wants to do next.

The New York Giants star is breaking into professional boxing—but not as a promoter or fighter, although the 6-foot-4, 260-pounder might make a bruising heavyweight. Instead, Jacobs wants to be a manager, the behind-the-scenes guy who signs and molds young fighters, just maybe taking one or two of them to the top.

“I do have my day job, but this is something I look at and take very seriously, because it’s another guy’s livelihood in the palm of my hand,” Jacobs told The Associated Press on Wednesday at a news conference ahead of Miguel Cotto’s welterweight title fight against Joshua Clottey.

“I’ve been wanting to get into this business after I was done playing.”

The average career of an NFL player is 3 1/2 seasons, according to the NFL Players Association. Even stars like Jacobs, who ran for 1,089 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Giants last season, are usually finished by their early 30s.

Some open restaurants and sports bars, some begin working in financial services, others end up in the broadcast booth. But the 26-year-old Jacobs has always had an interest in the “sweet science,” and put together an impressive amateur career growing up in Louisiana. He lost only twice in more than 30 fights.

When Jacobs began considering colleges, he could only find a few that even had boxing clubs. He wound up at Southern Illinois, hung up the gloves and dedicated himself to football, and a few years later helped lead the Giants to the Super Bowl.

“I’ve been into boxing a long time, boxing is something that has driven me very much,” said Jacobs, who still tries to spar in the gym once in a while.

“I’ve been wanting to get into the business after I was done playing. If I didn’t fight, I wanted to get into the promotion business, but I hear from people that’s a lot of headache, so I wanted to do something that was more personable with the fighters.”

Jacobs has known former junior welterweight champion Kendall Holt for years, and when Holt had a falling out with his management team, he asked Jacobs to fill in. Next thing he knew, Jacobs was signing papers that made him a pro manager.

While admittedly a novice when it comes to the intricacies of contracts, securing venues, marketing and promotions, Jacobs has found plenty of support from the boxing community.

Top Rank, one of the biggest promotional companies in the sport, has lent some guidance, and Jacobs is teaming with longtime manager Pat Lynch, who helped guide the career of former champ and popular brawler Arturo Gatti.

“We’re looking to sign some young fighters. We’ve got one on the radar screen we’ll try to have under contract next week,” Lynch said of their newfound partnership. “Brandon is a very knowledgeable guy in the boxing business. He knows a lot.”

Jacobs plans to be ringside for the Cotto-Clottey fight Saturday night, and he’s bringing more than a dozen of his Giants teammates with him.

His constant discussion of the sport has turned many of them into boxing fans as well.

“It’s early for me, so I’m just trying to get my feet wet,” Jacobs said. “And we’re just trying to get things set in stone and just trying to get my next career going right now.”

Big Plans Interview With Robert The Ghost Guerrero

By John Pullman ~
DoghouseBoxing.com

Out of all places one can choose to get away from distractions, Los Angeles California does not exactly come to mind. But that is exactly where Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero has set up camp for preparation for his upcoming bout on June 12th in San Jose CA, set to be televised on ESPN 2. Guerrero and his trainer/father Ruben, have been splitting their time between Gio's Brooklyn Boxing Club in Burbank, where he works on technique and Glendale Fight Club, where he's been getting quality sparring.

Ruben speaks to me as Robert pounds the heavy bag with straight lefts; "Robert is Sharp. We are getting a lot of good sparring over there at Glendale Fight Club, a lot of tough guys ..."

"The Ghost put it on 'the ghost' yesterday!" A talkative Robert Guerrero yells out, as he dances around the heavy bag.

An excited trainer/father; Ruben fills me in on the details. Apparently Robert sent one of his sparring partners to the hospital yesterday, who happened to have a similar nickname. Continue Reading..

DANNY "SWIFT" GARCIA PREPPING FOR HIS APPEARANCE ON "FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS" JUNE 12, 2009 AT 2009 AT HP PAVILION

INTERVIEW WITH BOXING PROSPECT DANNY GARCIA
By Jake Emen ~ AssociatedContent.com

Junior welterweight prospect Danny Garcia is getting ready to step back into the ring once again. His next fight, scheduled for June 12, will be shown on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights. He'll be appearing on the undercard of a show headlined by former featherweight champion Robert Guerrero.

Your next fight is right around the corner on June 12, and you'll be appearing on ESPN2 for Friday Night Fights. How has your preparation been going?

DG: It's been going real good, I'm sparring 8 rounds, 10 rounds. I feel good, everything's going good. Now it's just time to get mentally focused for the fight.

You're fighting Pavel Miranda, he has a decent record at 16-3 and he's a young guy but he's lost 2 of his last 3 fights, both to undefeated prospects. What do you know about Miranda?

DG: What I know is what you just told me! (Laughs) He's lost two of his last three, he's 16-3, from what I'm told he held a Youth WBC title before. I know he's 5'11" and he's from Mexico and I know he'll be coming hard.

Are you expecting a tough fight from him or what do you think the fight will be like?

DG: We'll see what he brings to the table for the first couple of rounds. It depends what he brings to the table. I'm expecting a tough fight and hopefully I can make it easy and knock him out, or if it goes all 8 I'm in great shape. Whatever comes to the table I'll be ready. Continue reading...

BROTHERS IN ARMS

By Benny Henderson Jr. ~ doghouseboxing.com

Brothers Carlos Ivan Velasquez 10-0 (9) and Juan Carlos Velasquez 9-0 (5) are on a mission to seek and destroy all competition that comes their way. Along with both fighters sharing the same birthday, they also share the same hunger for stardom, and the two share undefeated records thus far in their early careers.

As amateurs, they combined 290 amateur wins, and Carlos was a 2004 Olympian for Puerto Rico. As pros they have together tallied up 19 wins, 14 knockouts, and 7 first round victories.

Although they share a lot of the same qualities out of the ring, they differ in styles inside the square circle, and in this exclusive interview conducted by Doghouse Boxing both brothers talk about their similarities as well as differences. "Twin Dream" also touch on this Friday's fights where the two will once again bang away on the same card. See what the brothers had to say on their careers, enjoy.

Benny Henderson: It's been some time now that you both have fought on the same card. June 12th you guys get back in the ring when you battle opponents TBA at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. What are your thoughts on fighting together again? Continue reading..

Tyson marries in Vegas 2 weeks after child’s death

By OSKAR GARCIA, Associated Press Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP)—Boxer Mike Tyson has married for a third time, two weeks after his 4-year-old daughter died in a tragic treadmill accident.

The owner of the La Bella Wedding Chapel at the Las Vegas Hilton hotel-casino told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the former heavyweight champion and his bride, Lakiha Spicer, exchanged vows Saturday in a short, private ceremony.

Chapel owner Shawn Absher says the couple wed about 10 p.m. after arriving at the hotel from the Clark County marriage bureau in a chapel-owned limousine.

County marriage records in Las Vegas show the 42-year-old Tyson and 32-year-old Spicer got a marriage license about 30 minutes before their ceremony.

Tyson’s daughter Exodus died in May. The girl suffocated after she either slipped or put her head in the loop of a cord hanging under a treadmill’s console in her Phoenix home. Tyson’s agent, Harlan Werner, told the AP that Spicer is not Exodus’ mother.

Tyson and Spicer, a resident of suburban Henderson, asked for a simple ceremony with nothing special, Absher said.

“They just wanted to say the vows and be married,” he said. “It was very sincere.”

Tyson was previously married to actress Robin Givens in 1988 and Monica Turner in 1997.

His first marriage ended after one year after Givens filed for divorce and said in a nationally televised interview that she was afraid of Tyson. His marriage to Turner lasted five years.

Tyson and Spicer seemed very in love, Absher said.

“They were very heartwarming, and I think they really do love each other. “He seemed happy—and his life’s been up and down.”

Tyson last boxed competitively in 2005.

Starks’ leg on mend after being hit by bullet

By PAT GRAHAM, AP Sports Writer
DENVER (AP)—Javontae Starks bounded around the ring, barely even favoring his left leg.

Still, the welterweight was frustrated with his footwork after his first-round win Monday night at the USA boxing national championships.

“Not moving as swift as I used to,” Starks said. “My front leg doesn’t allow me to move as fast as I used to.”

Yet the leg is better than it was, better than anyone ever imagined.

Starks took a stray bullet in the upper left thigh nearly two years ago when an argument led to gunfire at a graduation party in Minneapolis. The doctors feared he would never regain feeling in his left foot due to nerve damage, putting his boxing career in jeopardy.

Steadily, though, the 20-year-old is regaining full strength in the leg.

“I was very, very lucky,” said Starks, who was just a bystander at the party that was thrown, in part, in his honor.

He knows the incident could’ve been worse—way worse.

Starks was hanging out with friends and family when gunfire erupted. He ran away, not even realizing he’d been hit.

Once inside a friend’s car, he felt blood dripping down his leg and began to black out. The bullet had nicked a major artery.

Instead of waiting for an ambulance, his friend sped him to a nearby hospital, a decision that may have saved his life.

“The doctors said if we would’ve waited a little longer, I would’ve bled to death,” Starks said.

The bullet entered his left thigh and exited above his buttocks on the right side, leaving a hole the size of a hamburger bun.

However, he’s more thankful for what the bullet dodged.

“Something had to be guiding that bullet because it missed my hip and pelvis by inches, and my sciatic nerve and my spine,” he said.

Starks said he was one of three hit by the gunfire on Aug. 11, 2007, and that the shooter has never been caught. But he doesn’t give it a moment’s thought.

He’s motivated by recovery, not revenge.

“I have too much going on in my life to handle anybody else’s nonsense or to get myself involved in something that’s going to knock me off track,” said Starks, who trains in Minneapolis with his older brother, Jamal James, at his father’s gym. “I’ve got goals that I’m definitely looking forward to (achieving) by any means necessary.”

The bullet didn’t derail his career for long. By March 2008, Starks was back in the ring, eventually winning the U.S. future stars national championships.

“My philosophy is something’s only hard if you don’t want it,” said Starks, who’s been boxing since 11. “Right now, my lead leg isn’t fast enough, I have to keep working on it. I’m a top name in the game right now, but I have a lot of flaws in my game.”

Starks dissected his win over Manuel Marquez on Monday in detail. He didn’t like his movement, feeling he was back on his heels too much. Starks prefers to be the aggressor, taking the action right at the other fighter.

“I’d give that performance maybe a 4” on a scale of 1 to 10, he said. “He shouldn’t have even stood there with me. If that was Demetrius Andrade, he would’ve cut (Marquez) off, stepped into him.”

Andrade is a boxer Starks holds in high regard, admiring his mental game and movement around the ring.

“He’s slick and fast, hits you with combinations from everywhere,” Starks said of Andrade, a member of the 2008 Olympic squad.

So, does he pattern his style after Andrade?

“I like my own style—a boxer punching,” Starks said, grinning.

The ever-affable Starks currently has a film crew trailing him and his brother around, capturing images for an upcoming documentary.

“It’s about two Minneapolis kids getting out of some of the badder neighborhoods, doing something with their life, traveling around the world, trying to give some other fighters, some other kids, aspirations to do things,” Starks explained. “It’s going to be a good movie.”

He’s hoping to give the film crew good footage this weekend.

Now if he can only get the leg to cooperate.

That tiny little hitch in his left leg is still detectable—at least to him, especially in practice.

Starks goes through a strenuous series of stretching exercises to loosen up the leg before stepping into the ring, and has the hip adjusted by a chiropractor from time to time.

However, once the bout begins, he’s all business—never giving the leg a second thought.

“My leg is 80 percent,” Starks said. “But I’m beating a lot of these guys with 80 percent of my game right now.”

Welterweight champ Miguel Cotto returns to MSG

By ADAM GOLDMAN, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP)—In a corner of the South Bronx, WBO welterweight champion Miguel Angel Cotto stepped into an outdoor ring before hundreds of fans and a wave of adulation washed over him.

He stripped off his shirt and women swooned. He went through his drills— stretching, jumping rope and punching padded gloves—and onlookers shouted: “Pound for pound, baby!”

“He’s just an awesome fighter,” said 23-year-old Jose Centeno, whose dad is from Puerto Rico and who waited under a hot sun to get a photo of Cotto. “He’s our pride.”

This is Cotto Country. New York is a city where nearly 800,000 residents have Puerto Rican roots, and the hard-hitting Cotto (33-1, 27 KOs) is much beloved here.

“We all want a champ,” said Alfredo Pimentel, who lives in Spanish Harlem near La Fonda Boricua, a restaurant Cotto frequents that is well known for serving authentic Puerto Rican food.

“We love him here. It’s one way for Puerto Ricans to express we have champions. We’re a small country but we got them. Everybody has natural resources but we have champions.”

The 28-year-old Cotto, one of the world’s top boxers, has not let them down. He’s never lost in five fights at Madison Square Garden. On Saturday, he’ll tangle at the Garden with 32-year-old Joshua Clottey of New York, a tough fighter who was born in Ghana and loves to come forward like Cotto.

Clottey is Cotto’s first real test since a questionable loss last year in a bloody slugfest to Mexican Antonio Margarito, who was found to have a plaster-like substance on his hand wraps before a subsequent defeat to Shane Mosley.

Cotto dismantled Michael Jennings in February at the Garden but that was a mismatch—Jennings never had a chance.

The Clottey bout takes place on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day Parade and will lure many Cotto fans. Three of his previous five victories at the Garden have landed on the weekend of the parade, establishing him as genuine attraction, a sure ticket seller.

“There’s a natural hook between the area and his culture,” said Top Rank President Todd duBoef, Cotto’s promoter. Another Puerto Rican fighter, WBO junior flyweight Ivan Calderon (32-0, 6 KOs) of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico is also on the undercard. Cotto is from Caguas, which is about 20 miles south of San Juan.

Cotto’s previous fights at the Garden have drawn a total of nearly 52,000 people. Cotto has sold more tickets overall at the Garden than any other fighter in the last decade. He’s already sold more than 15,000 seats for the upcoming bout against Clottey (35-2, 20 KOs).

“I am a big fan of Puerto Rican weekend there in New York and to be a part of that would mean a lot for any person,” Cotto said in a conference call with reporters. “Now in my career it is like a tradition. Every year fighting in front of thousands of Puerto Rican people at Madison Square Garden means a lot to me.”

Nuyoricans, as they are known, always embrace their best fighters and in particular welterweights—including Wilfredo Gomez, Felix Trinidad, Hector Camacho and Jose “Chegui” Torres. All of them fought at the Garden. All of them were loved.

Cotto is the latest to stake his claim here, solidifying his popularity by doing what all boxing fans relish: winning in style and becoming a champ. It doesn’t hurt that he’s a had key victories in New York—taking out Mosley, a former pound-for-pound king at the Garden in 2007—and two Brooklyn fighters, Zab Judah and Paul Malignaggi.

At the exhibition last Saturday, Cotto didn’t just come to Bronx for a few minutes.

As a disk jockey played a mix of traditional Puerto Rican songs and pop music, he put on a lengthy show that didn’t cost his supporters a dime—an important gesture in a low-income neighborhood where not everybody can afford to see a fight at the Garden or on HBO.

“First, he’s Puerto Rican and we wears it with a badge of honor,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., who was shaking hands with potential voters, piggy backing on Cotto’s popularity. “We love the fact that Cotto is here. They get to see him for free. Because of that, we respect him and love him.”

After arriving, the humble Cotto went about securing his fan base, endearing himself to many. He autographed pictures, speed bags and head gear. His handlers threw out Cotto headbands.

The Cotto crazies clamored for him.

In between workouts, Cotto smothered his children and wife with kisses. He winked and smiled.

Why wouldn’t Cotto be happy?

He was practically home.

Foreman III stops Weaver in pro debut

KINDER, La. (AP)—George Foreman III won in his professional debut, stopping Clyde Weaver at 1:16 of the first round Saturday night at Coushatta Casino Resort.

Foreman, the 26-year-old son of two-time world heavyweight champion George Foreman, floored Weaver with a left hook to the chin. Earlier, the 6-foot-5, 236-pound Foreman knocked Weaver (0-2) down with a left hook to the body.

“It feels good to know all the torture my father put me through paid off,” Forman said.

The elder Foreman, who is his son’s manager and trainer, didn’t watch the fight, choosing to let his hand-picked corner team guide his son. After the fight was stopped, the father went into the arena to see his son.

“You never know. This guy surprised me. A guy can train in the gym and look real good. But then they get in the ring and is a flop,” the elder Foreman said. “Now I know he’s a fighter.”

When the opening bell rang, Foreman ran straight ahead to meet Weaver and began to throw jabs and hooks. Less than 30 seconds into the fight, Foreman threw a left hook that landed on Weaver’s chin, forcing him to the canvas.

Weaver got up, but landed back on the mat again when Foreman hit him with a left hook to the body.

“I’m happy to make my debut. The goal was to have my first fight,” Foreman said. “The hardest thing going into the fight was waiting for the undercard to end.”