It’s the day of the Oscar De La Hoya vs. Steve Forbes extravaganza (?!) at The Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. I’ll be in press row to cover the action and let you know what’s up ASAP. Frankly, I’m more interested in welterweight Philly slugger, Danny Garcia, than the Goldie/Forbes fight. The 5-0 (5) Garcia faces Julio Gamboa (26-12-2, 16 KOs) who is there to get knocked out, of course, but an astute observer can still learn some things about a fighter in these types of fights.
Danny may be the future of the division. The GoldenBoy? Not so much.
August 1982. In the city of Santiago Tianguistenco, Mexico, over 20,000 of its citizens, nearly half of its population, gathered for the funeral of one of their own.
Don King had a dilemma. His rising featherweight star, Salvador Sanchez, forced the world to take notice with his detonation of Wilfredo Gomez on August 21, 1981. Gomez was 32-0-1 with all of his victories by knockout when he and Sanchez clashed. Sanchez took Wilfredo’s best shots then separated him from his senses in the eighth round with a straight right hand. But now, with a fight scheduled at Madison Square Garden for July 21, just two weeks away, Sanchez had no opponent.
Mario Miranda, the tough Colombian contender who was supposed to fight Sanchez had injured his ear in a fight on June 20. King had approached Juan LaPorte, Ruben Castillo and Rocky Lockridge, but with little time to prepare, all three turned down the offer. King then turned to Azumah Nelson.
Nelson was a little spark plug of a fighter from Ghana, Africa about whom little was known. He had a record of 13-0 with 10 KOs, only one fight in the US, and there was just a single, short piece of film that Sanchez could study, But Nelson was willing to fight. Problem solved.
Like most boxers, it was 23-year-old Salvador Sanchez’s dream to fight at “the Mecca of boxing,” Madison Square Garden. Joe Louis had fought there. The first two Ali/Frazier fights were there. Roberto Duran’s punches had echoed throughout the famous arena. Now, for the first time, Salvador Sanchez would fight at “The Garden.”
Sanchez, the WBC featherweight champion, climbed through the ropes with a record of 43-1-1 (30). He glared across the ring at his inexperienced opponent. All the hopes of Ghana, Africa glared back.
Round one: Nelson scores with a leaping left hook. Sanchez bounces on the outside firing jabs. Nelson has his gloves high and tight. Both fighters trade one-twos. Sanchez fires a right, Nelson backs off and does an Ali shuffle. Nelson drives Sanchez to the ropes with a hard combination to the body and head.
Round two: Sanchez misses a left-right and Nelson shuffles again. Nelson counters with an angry left-right over Sanchez’s jab. Nelson whips a left hook to Sanchez’s jaw. The fighters exchange vicious shots in the middle of the ring. Nelson wins the exchange. Sanchez starts to box as Nelson continues to stalk.
Round three: A wild exchange to open the round backs Sanchez up. The fighters trade hard body shots. Sanchez doubles a left hook to the body and head. Nelson is smiling. The pace slows slightly as Sanchez ties to create distance.
Round four: Sanchez shoots several jabs to Nelson’s body. Nelson backs Sanchez to the ropes then cranks a left-right-left to Sanchez’s body. Sanchez presses forward with hard combinations as Nelson bobs and weaves wildly around the ring to avoid punishment. Both fighters cut loose with bombs in the middle of the ring. Nelson closes the round with a thudding left hook to Sanchez’s body.
Round five: Nelson’s guard has opened up on top. Nelson rips a combination to the champion’s body. Sanchez jabs, Nelson counters off ropes. The fighters lean on one another, forehead to forehead, trading shot after shot. They exchange uppercuts. Sanchez hurls body shots to Nelson’s ribs.
Round six: Nelson is stalking. Sanchez is on his toes, jabbing, shifting directions and throwing long one-two combinations. Nelson follows Sanchez around the ring. Sanchez pops Nelson on the thighs while the referee, Tony Perez, is behind Nelson. Nelson keeps coming.
Round seven: Nelson throws a right and Sanchez spins Nelson’s head with a hybrid left hook/uppercut that drops the challenger. Nelson beats the count then continues to stalk Sanchez. Sanchez stays on the outside and boxes patiently even though Nelson is standing straight up with his gloves wide.
Wilfredo Gomez walked to the grave, knelt down and grabbed a handful of dirt. Weeping, he massaged the soil that interred his former adversary into the knuckles of each hand. When asked why he did that, he replied, “So that I may have some of his strength.”
Round eight: Nelson throws a right and Sanchez counters with a left hook that staggers the challenger once again. Nelson responds by punching his way out of danger. Sanchez uncorks a stinging one-two. Nelson tries to feint Sanchez. The pace slows. Sanchez boxes to end of round. In his corner, a nearly imperceptible smile creases the champion’s lips.
Round nine: The fighters exchange furiously in the middle of the ring. Sanchez twists Nelson with a left hook. Nelson somehow stays on his feet. Nelson bangs Sanchez to the ropes and unleashes blow after blow to the champion’s body and head. Sanchez lands hard shots to Nelson’s thighs. Nelson bangs Sanchez to the ropes. The challenger, bleeding from the mouth, walks to Sanchez’s corner after the bell. The champion points Nelson to the correct corner. Sanchez wasn’t smiling anymore.
Round ten: Sanchez is circling and jabbing. The champion rips a right to the body then hurls a left hook to Nelson’s head. Nelson is stalking but Sanchez is getting off first.
Round eleven: Nelson wings two left hooks. Sanchez connects with a stiff one-two. The fighters are forehead to forehead as Sanchez torques crippling shots to Nelson’s ribs and the challenger answers to Sanchez’s head. Nelson uncoils a left hook to the head. Sanchez sags momentarily then instantly regains his senses. Sanchez bobs and weaves to survive the round.
Round twelve: Nelson is more energetic and attacks Sanchez from the bell. Nelson slings wild, hard shots. Sanchez is more frugal and more accurate. Sanchez slips on water in his own corner and Nelson cracks him in the jaw with a straight right as Sanchez is on his way up. Sanchez gets on his toes and boxes to complete the round.
Round thirteen: Sanchez comes out boxing. Nelson comes out bombing. Sanchez stops and catches the challenger with an uppercut. Nelson connects with a right. Nelson lands an uppercut. The fighters exchange a whirlwind of punches near the ropes. Nelson staggers Sanchez with a wide right. The fighters trade shots in the middle of the ring. Nelson throws several hard, looping rights to the head. Sanchez staggers Nelson with a hybrid hook/uppercut at the bell. Nelson’s right eye is swelling badly.
Round fourteen: Sanchez is jabbing and throwing hard one-twos. Nelson plods ahead, bobbing and weaving to avoid incoming fire. Nelson is missing wildly and staggering around the ring like a newborn deer. The fighters trade fire after the bell. Nelson’s right eye is nearly closed.
Azumah Nelson also knelt by the grave. Crying bitterly, he prayed for a while then clutched the earth. After rubbing the freshly overturned soil into his own hands, he quietly stood and walked away.
Round fifteen: Nelson drives Sanchez to the ropes with a succession of hard shots. Sanchez doubles Nelson over with a left hook. The challenger’s right cheek immediately swells. There is a wild exchange in the center of the ring. Sanchez cracks Nelson with a left hook. Nelson flaps around like a flag in the wind but miraculously stays on his feet. Sanchez unleashes a vicious left-right-left that sends the challenger staggering then tumbling into his corner. Nelson jumps up to beat the count and staggers toward the champion. Sanchez shoots a right and three left hooks to the defenseless Nelson’s head. The referee jumps in at 1:59 of the round.
Sanchez, elated, jumps onto the ropes and raises his arms in victory.
Before sunrise on the morning of August 13, 1982, WBC world featherweight champion Salvador Sanchez was driving his new, white Porsche on a lonely stretch of Mexican road when he collided with a heavily laden truck. Sanchez died instantly.
Salvador Sanchez
January 26, 1959 - August 13, 1982
GOLDENBOY PROMOTIONS RISING STAR
DANNY GARCIA
PHILADELPHIA’S NEWEST BOXING SENSATION
cozzon2
Philadelphia, PA - April 29, 2008
Photo By Chris Cozzone
FightwireImages.com
Philadelphia’s newest boxing sensation and Goldenboy Promotions rising star, Danny Garcia (5-0, 5 KO’s) is ready for the big stage as he’s scheduled to fight Manuel Bocanegra (7-8-1, 5 KO’s), Saturday May 3, 2008 on the Oscar De La Hoya vs Steve Forbes card.
Garcia, who possesses immense punching power in both hands, has put together a string of scintillating knock out victories, none of which have entered the third round. “I’m here to entertain everyone who comes to see me fight.” said Garcia. “I really love being a professional prize fighter opposed to being in the amateurs. With no head gear, I really feel my power comes to life. Although, if I have to go the distance, I’ll be well prepared.”
Bocanegra who hails from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico will be Garcia’s toughest test being that he has a credible win against Daniel Attah (24-4-1 8 KO’s) who went the distance with former world champion Acelino Freitas.
The 27,000-seat soccer stadium at The Home Depot Center will be bursting with energy as Oscar De La Hoya battles Steve Forbes in showdown for the ages. The bout will also mark De La Hoya’s return home to fight for the first time in Los Angeles since 2000 as well as his return to HBO’s World Championship Boxing for the first time since 2001. The match up will be televised live by HBO’s World Championship Boxing beginning at 10pm ET / 7pm PT. Tickets may be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 213-480-3232 or by visiting ticketsmaster.com. Group tickets, VIP packages and Hospitality packages are available by calling 1-877-AEG-TICKETS (1-877-234-8425) or by visiting www.aegtickets.com.
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WHAT THE EXPERTS ARE SAYING ABOUT DANNY GARCIA
“Philadelphia’s Garcia, a 19-year-old U.S. Olympic trials finalist and one of the sport’s most exciting young prospects, continued his once-a-month schedule by blowing away Cortez. So far there is nothing not to be impressed by when it comes to young Garcia. In fact, he reminds me a little of a young Miguel Cotto, and that’s a good thing.”
~Dan Rafael ESPN.com boxing writer
“I think he is one of the most highly touted American boxers if not the most highly touted boxer with less than five fights”
~Doug Fischer HBO PPV commentator and Maxboxing.com founder
“I know Doug we are both anxious to see Danny Garcia fight. I’m really looking forward to seeing more of Danny Garcia”
~Rich Marotta HBO PPV commentator and host of the Neutral Corner radio show.
“AMERICAN CHAMPION”
THE SEARCH FOR THE NEXT GREAT
HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION BEGINS
HOLLYWOOD, CA - April 24, 2008 - Mention the names Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Mike Tyson, or Rocky Marciano to anyone from 18 to 80, and you will immediately garner a reaction, a positive acknowledgement of athletes that held what was once seen as the most prestigious title in all of sports - the world heavyweight championship.
But today, ask someone who the heavyweight champion is, and you will receive either a blank stare or multiple answers, thanks to both boxing politics and the fact that those who hold this title have become faceless. Why, because talented and charismatic athletes over 200 pounds have turned to greener pastures on football gridirons across America.
This year, in a groundbreaking TV series that will set the standard in reality sports programming, boxing will look to those gridirons to find an “American Champion” to once again bring attention and prestige to the world heavyweight championship.
American Champion producers have approached several networks regarding the first American Champion show that would air in late fall of 2008.
The series will be produced by Motor Entertainment of Hollywood, CA, led by award winning producers Greg McClatchy and Jason Williams, in partnership with successful boxing promoter Roy Englebrecht.
“We already know they can hit,” said Englebrecht, owner of Roy Englebrecht Promotions and Roy Englebrecht Events who’s fight promotions company is the largest in California in terms of shows promoted. “Let’s identify those huge guys who have the heart to take their skill on the football field and move it into the square ring. They’re coming from one discipline - football - at 24 years old, in shape, fine tuned, right into our boxing training program.”
“American Champion” will begin its search with 75 elite athletes from college football programs from around the country. These are athletes who have been team captains, All-America candidates, and award winners who have fallen through the cracks when it came to being drafted into the NFL. Normally, not receiving a phone call on draft day would mark the end of their athletic journey. But their size, talent, intelligence and desire has given them another chance at pro sports in the boxing ring, and under the tutelage of some of America’s top boxing trainers including the likes of renowned trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr., they will learn the art of the sweet science from one of its finest teachers.
“You look at football, it’s just like boxing.” said Mayweather, who has been in the corner of fighters from his son, Floyd Jr. to the “Golden Boy”, Oscar De La Hoya. “It’s a sport where you make contact. And these guys know what pain is all about. That’s a good thing.”
“American Champion” is not a reality series…it’s reality. There will be no ‘challenges’ or other hijinks that have no correlation to learning how to become a world champion. The initial 75 athletes will be narrowed down to 30 after a series of intense mental and physical tests, and from that group, six athletes will be chosen to live and train together full-time at the American Champion sports facility.
There, a camera crew will film the drama, the pain, and the physical action that will test the will of each new prizefighter. The six men will become like brothers while training, pushing each other to perform when the bell rings, and they will not fight each other. Instead, the athletes will be developed into true professional boxers, and cameras will follow them as they make their way across the country to various fight venues, giving viewers an unprecedented look into the life on the road, in hotels, and behind the scenes that all potential champions experience.
“College football players and elite athletes who train properly, who are managed properly, and who are matched properly, can be successful in the heavyweight division,” said Englebrecht, one of the premier promoters in the fight game today. “They can bring new life to the heavyweight division, as they brought life to the athletic field. It can be done, it will be done.”
In the end, “American Champion” plans to give the heavyweight division the shot in the arm it needs while developing a star outside of the ring, as well as inside of it, a key element in bringing boxing back to the masses, as the boxers that have the skill and charisma that people can relate to - like Ali or De La Hoya - are the ones who transcend the sport.
“Just like American Idol needs people with real talent, so does heavyweight boxing,” said American Champion producer Jason Williams. “Heavyweight boxing needs big, fast, smart, quick, dedicated strong willed guys and American Champion is going to bring that star talent to the ring and the whole world of boxing.”
Who is the next great heavyweight? “American Champion” will provide the answer to that question.
All former or current college or pro football players and elite athletes interested in attending an American Champion Tryout Camp, can register at www.theamericanchampion.com or contact Roy Englebrecht at 949-760-3131 or by email at boxing77@aol.com.
Joe Calzaghe is still undefeated (45-0, 32 KOs) after twelve herky-jerky rounds with Bernard Hopkins (48-5, 32 KOs) at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hopkins’ best moment of the fight came in round one when he caught Calzaghe coming in and landed a short, straight right that put the Welshman on his butt. Calzaghe fought the next few rounds cautiously, but by the middle of the fight he seemed comfortable landing flurries, getting caught with a single counter, then being held on the inside. By the championship rounds, Calzaghe seemed the more energetic fighter.
“I guess I’m the legend killer,” said Calzaghe after the fight. “Maybe I’ll fight Roy Jones.”
Of course, Hopkins saw a different fight. “The people are the judges,” he said. “I made him fight my fight for half the fight.”
It’s the other half that was the problem.
The scores were 115-112 and 116-111 for Calzaghe and 114-113 for Hopkins. FightTube’s score was 117-111 Calzaghe.
The card has started in Vegas and I still haven’t made a prediction. Probably because it’s pick’em fight and I’m still a little gun shy after picking Alfonso Gomez to beat Miguel Cotto last weekend. (Yeah, I know).
On to the main event. I expect Hopkins to do what he does and let Calzaghe win the first few rounds on shear punch volume then once he gets inside the Welshman’s rhythm, he’ll play his usual punch-and-grab games and end up with a seven rounds to five victory.
Bernard’s style dictates a close fight since he uses the early rounds to go to school on his opponents. I don’t think Calzaghe has enough pop to intimidate Hopkins either, which he’ll need if he intends to beat the tough 43-year-old.
Antonio Margarito took Kermit Cintron’s IBF welterweight title with a left hook to Cintron’s liver. The fight, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, ended at 1:57 of round six.
Margarito came out fast and won every round but the first, which Cintron won with cleaner shots.
WBC Light Heavyweight Champion, Chad Dawson won a unanimous decision over Glen Johnson. All three judges scored the fight 116-112 for Dawson. FightTube scored the fight 115-114 for Dawson. Dawson’s ability to stay outside, circle, and box made the difference in the fight.
Johnson hurt Dawson with right hands in the third and tenth rounds, although he was unable to put dawson down. Dawson’s record rises to 26-0 (17) while the 39-year-old Johnson left the ring at 47-12-2 (32).
Carlos Quintana will give Paul Williams a rematch on June 7 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticutt. Quintana took the WBO welterweight title from Williams on February 9 of this year. In the co-feature, Vernon Forrest risks his WBC junior welterweight title against Sergio Mora.
Showtime Championship Boxing will televise the card beginning at 7pm ET/PT.
Antonio Tarver is answering a question from the media during a conference call. His tone is even and controlled while he deals with the immediate query–Does he (Tarver) see improvement in April 12 opponent, Clinton Woods, over Woods’ last few fights? Suddenly seeming uncomfortable complimenting a future opponent, Tarver’s speech accelerates and his volume rises in keeping with an increasingly self-centered response.
Boxing promotions are full of such things and usually this writer tunes out these rants and instead relies on his ubiquitous micro/digital recorder to collect these tirades for later dissection, should a useful quote be found in them.
There are, essentially, two types of pre-fight commentary from professional boxers. The first goes something like this: “I am the greatest fighter in; history, the division, at the moment, pound for pound, etc., and any losses on my record are the result of; managerial distraction, injury, taking the fight on short notice, a bad night, a lack of motivation, etc.”
The second is more simple: “I have trained as hard as possible and am confident that I will win.”
This last one is less quotable, since it lacks chest-thumping flair, but it places the fight where it belongs–in the ring. Also, these quotes are from fighters whom the writer typically respects the most.
Two of the more physically gifted fighters of the last decade are Tarver and Zab Judah. Both possess speed, power, and reflexes that most pugs can only dream of, and each has largely squandered his talent. Sure they have had world titles and, yes, they have fought the best, but neither has earned what fighters want the most. Respect.
Because they have gotten by on talent and have lacked the humility to be disciplined, Tarver and Judah find themselves deep into what could have been Hall of Fame careers, still trying to be who they always knew they were capable of being, but now they struggle with the added burden of diminishing physical gifts. One can hear the frustration in their voices.
The truth is, these aren’t the kind of men (Tarver and Judah) the writer wants his two young sons to emulate. Boxers, after all, are simple human beings with an extraordinary occupation. Their humanity, and its requisite humility, should come first. Tarver and Judah possess a level of talent for boxing that most folks, no matter the sport or vocation, cannot approach, but one cannot draw a direct correlation from a given degree of talent, to its equal degree of success.
A humility that drives preparation and discipline opens doors of success to all. Therefore, it is the Micky Wards and Israel Vazquez’s of the boxing world that should be set before children as, not simply fighters, but people, that they should emulate.
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