From AP Reports:

LAS VEGAS -- Oscar De La Hoya will end a long layoff with a fight against WBC super welterweight champion Ricardo Mayorga on May 6 at the MGM Grand.

It's De La Hoya's first fight since he was stopped by Bernard Hopkins in the ninth round on Sept. 18, 2004.

A six-time champion, De La Hoya said Friday that he intends to fight twice before retiring, and hopes to wind up his career with a bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The 33-year-old De La Hoya is the WBC's top-ranked challenger in the 154-pound division.

He is 37-4, with 29 knockouts. The 32-year-old Mayorga is 28-5-1, with 23 KOs. De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions is promoting the bout.

"Mayorga, the reason I wanted that fight is because it really is a dangerous fight," De La Hoya said. "He'll be right in my face, he has a chin, we're fighting at 154 and not 160. He can punch.

"Obviously that's what I need to be motivated in order to get to a bigger fight, and that's September, which will be my last fight, guaranteed, against the best pound-for-pound fighter out there, that I'm hoping I can get in the ring."

De La Hoya, who is trained by Floyd Mayweather Sr., said he believes he "has a foot in the door" for a fight against Mayweather Jr.

Mayweather is 35-0 with 24 knockouts and will try to earn his fourth title in different weight classes when he fights IBF welterweight champion Zab Judah on April 8 in Las Vegas.

De La Hoya said he believes a fight against Mayweather would be the "best way for me to go out in the sport, and hopefully as a winner. It doesn't get any better than that."

"Ever since I've been training with Floyd Sr., people are constantly asking me, `Hey, you ever going to fight Floyd Jr.?' I started thinking about it and I think that's the best fight out there for me to retire."

Asked if Mayweather Sr. would continue to train him if that bout happens, De La Hoya said, "Certainly."

He added that a fight against Mayweather "would have to be at my weight (154), for my title, if I win in May."

Taken From AP Reports:

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Heavyweight Joe Mesi's first fight in two years since his medical suspension was lifted will be a tuneup against 41-year-old Ron Bellamy on April 1 in Puerto Rico.

The Puerto Rican Boxing Commission granted Mesi a license last week after he submitted his doctors' records and passed the organization's medical exams.

"I've got a great euphoric feeling, like a dream come true," Mesi said Friday. "There were many days that I thought I was not going to fight ever again. So this is incredible. ... I'll be ready."

The 32-year-old Mesi sustained at least two subdural hematomas -- brain bleeds -- in a unanimous decision over Vassiliy Jirov in Las Vegas in March 2004.

The injury led to Mesi's indefinite suspension by the Nevada Athletic Commission. Mesi had the suspension overturned in December. A Nevada state judge ruled then the boxer's medical suspension expired when his Nevada boxing license expired at the end of 2004. While suspended, Mesi was barred from fighting anywhere in the United States.

A native of suburban Buffalo, Mesi (29-0) was the WBC's top-ranked contender but has since fallen off the charts.

Bellamy has a 14-4-4 record with nine knockouts since turning pro in 2002. He lost his last three fights, including a unanimous decision Feb. 18 to Earl Ladson.

Nevada boxing officials expressed fears that Mesi risks further and possible permanent injury if he resumes fighting. Mesi maintains he is fully recovered and has numerous times presented expert medical testimony in arguing he faced no increased risk of another brain injury.

"I feel wonderful. I can't believe how good I feel after so long off," he said. "I haven't lost a step and may even feel and look better than I did before. The rest certainly did help."

Mesi was relatively inactive during his suspension. His goal for the bout outside San Juan is to fight at 240 pounds, 13 above what he weighed in against Jirov. Bellamy, 6-foot-4, weighed 251½ against Ladson.

"I know he's a big, imposing scary-looking fellow," Mesi said. "But I trust my team that he's a good tuneup for me."

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dorin Spivey's proposed opponent for this past Saturday's pay per view in Las Vegas, Wilfredo "El Flaco Explosivo" Negron, failed his pre-fight physical.  During the physical it was discovered that Negron had a previously undiagnosed hernia.  Spivey did not know that he wasn't fighting until about 5PM the day of the fight.  "I was really disappointed", said Spivey.  "I sized that guy up, and I knew he didn't have anything for me.  I don't want to talk bad about anybody, but I was confident, and I felt so good.  I just know I would have taken it to him!"  Look for the Humble Warrior on a Main Events promoted card in the near future. 

NEW YORK (February 24, 2006) – It is official! Diego “Chico’’ Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo are signed, sealed and ready to deliver once again LIVE on SHOWTIME Saturday, June 3, 2006 (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast). The world’s most talented and courageous lightweights will collide in their eagerly awaited rubber match for Corrales’ World Boxing Council (WBC) title at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.. The 12-round world title bout will be co-promoted by Top Rank, Inc., and Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, in association with Caesars Palace and Wynn Las Vegas.

Let the questions begin.

Can Castillo make 135 pounds? Can Corrales bounce back after getting knocked out in their last meeting? Did Castillo have an unfair advantage in the rematch? Is Corrales completely healed from a rib injury that caused their Feb. 4 fight to be postponed? Can Castillo perform with more intensity than he did in his most recent outing? How much does Corrales have left? Can the third chapter end with a clear winner and without controversy?

Most importantly, who is the most talented lightweight boxer in the world?

Stay tuned to America’s No. 1 Boxing Network. All of your questions will be answered when the 20th anniversary celebration of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING continues on June 3.

Simply, it doesn’t get any better.

"I fully expect this fight to be a rerun of the original in both action and result," said Gary Shaw. "This will not just be Chico's coronation, but Castillo's retirement. Corrales-Castillo 3 will successfully defend its title as fight of the year!"

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum added: "This is a real fight, an exciting world title fight between two great champions who have explosive knockout power. Fight fans throughout the world will be anxious to see this showdown of big punchers.”

Corrales (40-3, 33 KOs) won the historic first bout against Castillo – and the near-unanimous 2005 Fight of the Year -- when he dramatically rallied from the brink of defeat to register a memorable 10th-round TKO to unify the title and capture the WBC lightweight belt on May 7, 2005.

Castillo (54-7-1, 47 KOs) won the brief, but brutal sequel on Oct. 8, also at Thomas & Mack, with an impressive and sudden fourth-round knockout. Despite losing the rematch, Corrales came away with both his world title belts because Castillo failed to make the 135-pound limit and one of his camp members was caught trying to tamper with the scale at the weigh-in.

“I feel fine. My rib is fine,” Corrales said. “I would be lying if I said I was not thinking about Castillo and whether he can make 135 pounds, but I have to prepare as if he will make the weight easily and be at full strength.

“What has happened in the past is history. We have each won once. Now, it comes down to who wins on June 3. I respect Castillo and I think he respects me, but it is time to get down to business one more time. This is what boxing is all about. I cannot wait for June 3.’’

Said Castillo: “I said after our last fight that if they wanted to make this like the ‘Rocky’ movie series, I did not care. I will fight Corrales five or six times. I am not worried about the weight, or making the weight. It won’t be easy, but I will do it.

“Corrales comes forward and wants to fight. I love his style. On June 3, we will give the fans another great fight.’’

Corrales, of Sacramento, Calif., captured the World Boxing Organization (WBO) 135-pound crown with a 10th-round TKO over defending champion Acelino Freitas Aug. 7, 2004, on SHOWTIME. A two-time world champion at 130 pounds, Corrales won the vacant WBO belt with a 12-round split decision over Joel Casamayor March 6, 2004, on SHOWTIME. Corrales won his first world title with a seventh-round TKO over defending IBF champion Robert Garcia Oct. 23, 1999, on SHOWTIME.

Castillo, of Sonora, Mexico, won the WBC 135-pound belt the first time with a 12-round majority decision over Steve Johnston on June 17, 2000. Following three successful defenses, he lost the title and a subsequent rematch to unbeaten Floyd Mayweather in April and December of 2002. Castillo regained the WBC belt with a 12-round unanimous decision over Juan Lazcano on June 5, 2004. Castillo is coming off an easy 12-round unanimous decision over Rolando Reyes, who replaced Corrales, on Feb 4.

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING’s Steve Albert and Al Bernstein will call the action from ringside with Jim Gray serving as roving reporter and Karyn Bryant as special commentator. The executive producer of the SHOWTIME telecast will be David Dinkins, Jr., with Bob Dunphy directing.

Tickets are $500, $300, $200, $100 and $50 and will soon be available at the Thomas and Mack Box Office, on-line www.unlvtickets.com, or by calling 702-739-FANS.

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING celebrates 20 years of hard-hitting, explosive programming in 2006. In March 1986, SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING was born when “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler defeated John “The Beast” Mugabi in a spectacular and unforgettable 11th-round knockout in Las Vegas. Since that time, the network has aired some of the most historic and significant events in the sport including both Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson bouts.

Always at the forefront of boxing, SHOWTIME has set itself apart by telecasting “great fights, no rights” on the first Saturday of every month. SHOWTIME is the first network to regularly deliver live boxing in High Definition. In addition, SHOWTIME continues to be a pioneer in sports television with a number of interactive features across multiple platforms making SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecasts the most enjoyable, immersive viewing experience for the boxing audience.

For information on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING and “ShoBox: The New Generation” telecasts, including complete fighter bios and records, related stories and more, please go the SHOWTIME website at http://www.sho.com/boxing.

The Vargas Mosley fight turned out to be much better than I anticipated.  I predicted Mosley by TKO, and as it turned out, that was the offical result.  However, it was not the TKO I envisioned.  I thought Mosley would do to Vargas what De La Hoya and Trinidad did, put him away in a convincing fashion.  The fight was stopped in the 10th after Mosley landed a looping right hand to Vargas' increasingly swollen left eye.  That eye was approaching Hasim Rahmanesque proportions, it was ugly!  I'm not sure the commission and the referee had any other choice but to stop it.  The eye was completely closed, and let's face it, it just looked so bad.  I'm not saying it was a cheap TKO win for Mosley, he has to get some credit because the eye just didn't get that way on its own.  At the time of the stoppage the fight was extremely close.  Yours truly had it even, 86-86 at that point.  Vargas fought better than I thought, and after a slow start (I gave the first three rounds to Mosley) he really turned it around.  They showed Vargas in his corner at the end of the second.  The eye looked to be in pretty bad shape then and I knew it would be a problem for him as the fight went on.  Vargas claimed it was a head butt in the post fight interview, but I didn't see it that way.  Vargas also said he will be a man of his word and pay Shane the $100,000 side bet they had.  He ought to, he was the one that initiated the bet.

 

Mark Johnson seemed flat against Jhonny Gonzalez.  There was a point in that fight, I think it was the 5th, where Johnson did the Jersey Joe Walcott shuffle and was boxing masterfully.  Gonzalez seemed confused.  However, that was about the only round that Johnson won as Gonzalez took the rest of the fight rather easily and scored a TKO victory over Johnson.

 

Calvin Brock and Zuri Lawrence ended in devastating and scary fashion.  Lawrence got caught with the most dangerous punch in boxing, the left hook!   He was out cold before he hit the canvas.  Then he hit the canvas with a terrible thud!  It was like he got hit again!  He was out for a good five minutes.  Larry Merchant made a comment about Lawrence when he finally came around.  He tried to make a joke when the camera zoomed in on the revived Lawrence and said, "When does the fight start?"  Not funny at all, in fact, quite tasteless.  I expect more from someone who has followed the game for as long as Merchant has.  Brock, despite the wins, doesn't really appear to be anything more than an average heavyweight, not too much to him.

 

Dorin Spivey was supposed to fight Wilfredo Negron.  I tuned in to see the Portsmouth, VA product and former participant on one of my shows, in action.  It was not to be as Negron suffered an injury either the day of the fight, or one day prior to the fight, and the fight was cancelled.  I feel for Dorin.  To go all the way out there to Vegas, spend 5 days there, expect to fight, and then don't fight!  That's got to be a terrible feeling.  Hang in there Dorin!

About a week ago, I wrote an article entitled, "February Is Going To Be A Huge Month For Virginia's Big 3!"  Big 3 being David "The Champ" Chappell, Dorin "The Humble Warrior" Spivey, and "Tough" Tony Pope.  February turned out to be a whole lot of nothing because none of those guys fought!  Pope was a no show against Adam Seal.  David Chappell got screwed out of a signed contract to fight a young prospect on ESPN2.  Dorin Spivey was to have been the show opener of a nationally televised pay per view from Las Vegas against a respected veteran.  The fight never took place because his opponent suffered some type of injury either the day of the fight, or perhaps the day before the fight!  Un-friggin-believable!  In boxing everything is right side up, or upside down, or something like that!  Convential ways of thinking don't apply, plain and simple!  Sometimes fighters are legitimately injured prior to a fight, and they can't compete.  Sometimes fighters pull out of a fight because they get cold feet.  Sometimes fighters are ready, willing, and able to fight and have a contract to prove it, and the fight doesn't take place.  Sometimes fighters get more money to fight someplace else, and they take it.  There are all kinds of reasons why fights are supposed to take place, and they fall apart.  I was in a locker room in New York a few months ago with a boxer I was managing at the time.  Most boxing commissions require two seperate locker rooms, one for the red corner, one for the blue corner.  We were in the red corner locker room and I noticed this heavyweight boxer who was fighting that night.  It looked like he was going to have a nervous breakdown.  The guy was literally seconds away from weeping like a baby.  Then his trainer came in and told the heavyweight to warm up, his fight was on in about 20 minutes.  I'm telling you the guy got up, started shadow boxing for about a minute and then tells his trainer, "I just pulled my groin!"  "What?", the trainer says.  "I just pulled my groin!"  The trainer replied, "What's a groin?"  The boxer pointed to his groin area and he says he can't fight.  The trainer says, "Oh, okay.  I see now.  You've got no balls!"  And that was that, the heavyweight didn't fight that night.  That's a true story!  A month ago, The PowerShack Gym in Portsmouth, VA was buzzing with electricity and excitement!  Pope was going to be fighting a tough man making his pro debut!  Champ was going to fight on ESPN2!  Spivey was supposed to fight the very next night on Pay Per View!  Are you kidding me?  Is this real?  No, it's not real.  It turned out to be a whole lot of nothing.  Welcome to the Twilight Zone of Sports, Welcome to the world of professional boxing!

Dorin Spivey was to have been the televised show opener on tonight's pay per view.  Dorni's scheduled opponent, Wilfredo Negron, suffered an as yet undisclosed injury which prevented the fight from taking place.  Maybe he slipped and fell in the shower, I don't know.  I have not yet confirmed when the injury occurred.  I feel badly for Dorin, because a good performance against a respected fighter like Negron would have openend a lot of doors for him.  Things should be okay though.  I noticed that Pernell Whitaker, Spivey's trainer,  was sitting directly beside Main Event's Promoter and CEO, Kathy Duva.  Apparently, Sweet Pea has her ear.  Look for a fairly high profile Spivey fight a few months down the road. 

Contracts in the sport of boxing.  They ought to mean something, but I guess they don't.  The fight between David Chappell and Mike Marrone was made over a month ago.  Prior to the fight, it was being built around the 20 year old Marrone making his television debut. If the fight had gone through as it was contractually supposed to, the headlines would have read like this after the fight: The New George Foreman!  45 Year Old David Chappell Dominates 20 Year Old Mike Marrone on National TV!  I don't want to sound arrogant or overconfident but I know what David Chappell can do.  Now I know what Marrone can do (or should I say, can't do).  David would have shone so brightly on national television last night that the whole boxing world would have been a buzz about him.  Who is this guy?  Where did he come from?  That guy is how old?  Based on what I saw in the fight last night there are two likely scenarios if David Chappell would have been in there with Marrone.  The first is that Chappell would have won by first round KO, just like he did with Jason Waller.  It was obvious Marrone was tight and nervous in the first round last night.  Zack  Page is a crusierweight with 3 KO's in his 10 wins and Marrone was scared of him.  Page got his attention too, with a sweeping left hook.  Marrone didn't like it at all.  If that would have been David, there would have been about 4 punches behind that left hook and that would have been that.  David isn't afraid of anyone!  You could put King Kong, Godzilla, and Bigfoot in the other corner and David would come out cool, calm, and collected.  David would have taken advantage of this and put the kid away early in the first round.  The second scenario is that Marrone's soft flesh would have been busted up pretty badly by the end of the second round.  If he came out for the 3rd, David would have put him away for sure!  That dress Marrone was wearing last night would have been up around his ears when Marrone was flat on his back!  It wouldn't have been a competitive fight at all for Chappell, but it would have been a real showcase for him!  Now we know that Marrone really isn't much at all, nothing special really.  Zack Page exposed him.  I feel for Page because if he had a month to get ready for Marrone like David did, Page would have knocked him out too.  But they stole Chappell's limelight, his time to shine on ESPN2!  We had a contract for the fight, and they just backed out of it like it didn't exist!  I'm going to put this behind us, and focus on the fight with Shannon Miller on March 17th.  Now that's a real fight.  I know that Miller brings it each and every time he steps in the ring.  David just has to show 'em what he's got, and everything will take care of itself.  See you at the fights!

My good friend, and ring announcer for all of my previous fights Henry "Discombobulating" Jones returns to a TV screen near you tonight!  Henry will be the ring announcer for the ESPN2 Friday Night Fights.  It's been quite a few years since Jones has appeared on television, but his appearances are noteworthy: ESPN, HBO, and several Pay Per View events.  I think he is the best ring announcer in the business and he will be ring announcer for all of my future shows (as long as I can afford him).  Congratulations Henry!  Show 'em what you got!  By the way, he is also celebrating a birthday in the next few days.  And it's a big one.  Let's wish Discombobulating a Happy Big 5-OH! 

Bob Arum has confirmed that should Floyd Mayweather defeat Zab Judah, as most feel he will, next up for Pretty Boy Floyd is Antonio Margarito!  WOW!  Yours truly feels that Margarito has the style, skill, and determination (not to mention he's the bigger man, a natural welterweight) to give Floyd all types of problems.  In my opinion, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is the best pound for pound fighter in the world today.  Do I think Margarito will beat him?  It would definitely be considered an upset.  I feel that Margarito's style is similar to Jose Luis Castillo who fought Floyd twice, with most ringside observers 

giving Castillo the nod in their first fight.   Throw in the fact that Margarito is 5'11" tall, throws a ton of punches, and is the natural welterweight, and he has one terriffic chance to score the upset!  I'll have to get back to you later on my pick.  The fight should take place in July.  Stay tuned!

February 24th, 1996 - Don King Productions came to the capital city Richmond, VA and put on a show at The Richmond Coliseum.  It's hard to believe it's been ten years.  The main event saw World Champion Terry Norris defend his title over Baltimore's Vincent Pettway with an 8 round knockout.  I remember that Pettway was hanging tough, and he had a couple of moments of his own, but at that time Terry Norris was at or near the top of his game and he was just too much for the determined Pettway.  The televised opener, the fights were nationally televised on FOX, saw Martinsvile, VA's Oliver McCall knock out Oleg Maskaev in the first round.  As I recall, McCall took the Russian out with a terrific left hook to the body and overhand right to the head and that was that!  This was McCall's first fight after he lost the WBC Heavyweight Title to Frank Bruno.  Other results from the Don King promoted show in Richmond ten years ago today:

 

Carl Daniels TKO6 over Tim Dendy

Terron MillettTKO3 over Clifford Hicks

Tim Austin KO1 over Miguel Espinoza

Orlin Norris 10 round SD over Tony Tucker

William Guthrie TKO2 over Jerome Hill

Ysaias Zmudio KO7 Armando Diaz

David Kamau TKO2 Tomas Valdez

Sam Hampton (From VA Beach) KO2 over Mark Johnson

Darrin Allen TKO10 over Franklin Edmonson

Clem Tucker TKO2 over Tim Scott

Christy Martin TKO1 over Del Pettis

 

Some of my memories of the show:  Don King set up a gym in the large tent area of the Sheraton Richmond Hotel on West Broad Street a few weeks before the fight.  I would go over there and watch the fighters train, spar, and work out.  This was the first time that I had ever witnessed first hand how professionals spar and train.  Terry Norris' sparring partner was accomplished welterweight Pat "The Cat" Coleman.  I remember seeing Coleman fight Buddy McGirt to a very close decision loss on national TV about a year prior to this time.  I was amazed at how hard Norris and Coleman went at it in sparring!  People were actually clapping between rounds!  The most incredible part to me was that this was the week of the fight, and these guys are throwing down!  I'm thinking to myself, what if Norris gets a bad cut, that's going to kill the fight.  What about if he gets knocked out, he would be damaged goods going in to the ring.  Then it happened, KABOOM! - I remember Coleman catching Norris with a hard overhand right and Terry Norris was stepping in post holes for a couple of seconds!  I really couldn't believe what I was seeing!  Terry Norris' Dad stopped the sparring session for a short period of time and Pat Coleman took a water break.  In two minutes tops they were back at again like Norris hadn't been hurt at all.  Norris seemed completely fine as they sparred for at least another 4 rounds.  Once again, this was either Tuesday or Wednesday, and the fight was Saturday!  I remember thinking, if Coleman can hurt Norris with big gloves and headgear, Vincent Pettway will knock him out!  Boy, was I wrong. 

 

Pettway would work out in the evenings and by the time I would get there, he was usually shadowboxing in the ring.  I don't know if he was sparring the week of the fight or not.  I spoke with his trainer, the Godfather of Baltimore Trainers, Mack Lewis, on a couple of occassions.  The venerable Lewis was such a nice and gracious man, I really enjoyed talking to him.  I remember Lewis telling Pettway, the left hook is the key to the fight, perhaps remembering Pettway's crushing left hook stoppage of former world champion Simon Brown the previous year.  Pettway was a real gentleman, and I wished him luck in the fight.  Alas, fightnight would not be kind to Vincent, as a prime Norris took The Ambassador out in 8.

 

Oleg Maskaev looked like a million bucks when he was jumping rope and hitting the bags in the gym.  I never did see him spar.  I had never seen him fight at this point and I remember thinking, "Man, this big guy is really agile and looks like he's got some skills."  Then he gets in the ring with McCall and he looks like he's got two left feet, I couldn't believe it was the same guy.  Of course, Maskaev did prove that he is indeed a talented fighter in future years.  Just ask Hasim Rahman whom Maskaev defeated by devastating knockout a little further down the line.  A guy like Maskaev is a perfect style for a guy like McCall, he's going to be right there and he has a suspect chin.  Conversely, McCall may have had (and may still have) the sturdiest chin in the history of boxing.  I think you could hit him with a baseball bat and not hurt him.  He also packs one hell of a punch.  Maskaev has proven to be a good puncher, but looking back on it, there was no way he could have hurt Oliver McCall.  Of course you know the outcome, McCall knocked Maskaev out in the first round.

 

Tony Tucker sparred with a few guys I wasn't familiar with.  The former heavyweight champ looked good.  He moved well and had a great jab.  I remember that Greg Page was training Tucker.  Page was retired at the time, and he didn't fight a professional fight from 1993-1996.  It was good to see the former heavyweight champ giving the training thing a go.  I also remember that Page's speech pattern appeared to be a little impaired.  Of course, Page came back in '96 and he continued to fight on after that.  We all know about the tragedy that befell him 5 years ago in a boxing ring in Kentucky.  Did you know that the official time of that stoppage was 2:56 of the 10th and final round?  Greg Page is still with us, although I just found out today that he is reportedly in critical condition at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. Page, 47, is suffering from acute respiratory failure, sepsis, hypothermia and seizures.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to this warrior.

 

Orlin Norris defeated Tony Tucker by a 10 round split decision.  Officially the fight was a split decision, but what the one judge who scored it for Tucker was watching, I don't know!  The fight wasn't even close at all with Norris winning at least 9 out of 10 rounds.  I recall the score going something like 99-91 and 100-90 for Norris, and 96-94 for Tucker.  Oh well, at least the right guy got the decision.  Hopefully, the judge who scored the fight for Tucker isn't in the game anymore. 

 

Christy Martin would spar with a guy that I didn't recognize.  I saw her work him over on a couple of occassions!  I remember thinking, "This girl has some real snap in her punches, she can really hit!"   I was amazed that a woman could take it to a man like that.  On fight night, she took out her opponent in under a minute's time.

 

There was also a Canadian fighter that I met at the boxing gym that was set up in the Sheraton.  His name was Donovan Boucher.  He was a very nice and likeable fellow.  He didn't fight on the show but he was there as a sparring partner.  He told me that he had just defeated Dezi Ford and that things were looking bright for him.  I remember getting the sense that he seemed lonely because when I would get there (I went there probably 5 times or so), he would come over immediately and sit down to talk.  Perhaps he was lonely. Richmond, VA is a long way from Toronoto, and he probably just needed someone to talk to.  I had forgotten all about him until I started writing this article.  I just looked him up on Boxrec.com and I found out that the fight with Ford was the last fight of his career.  He finished with a career record of 30-5 (18KO's).  He even fought for the world title, losing by 10 round TKO to Cristano Espana (who defeated Meldrick Taylor for the title).  He also fought Eammon Loughran, Kirkland Lang, and Glennwood Brown in his stellar career.  I hope he's doing well.  He seemed to be a real good guy.

 

Future light heavyweight Champion William "Kid Chocolate" Guthrie fought on the Richmond show.  At the time, he was 19-0, with 17 KO's.  He took his overmatched opponent out in two rounds.  I met Guthrie again a few years ago at the David Tua-Michael Moorer fight in Atlantic City.  He sat right beside my wife Kim and myself.  I said, "Hey Champ, how's it going?"  He shook my hand and we would converse back and forth as the fights were taking place.  I also noticed that the fight game had taken it's toll on him over the years.  He just didn't seem like the same person I had met in Richmond.  It reminded me that boxing is the hardest game there is.  Each and every fighter that steps between those ropes is worthy of respect, I hope you will always remember that.

 

When Don King entered the Coliseum, he had his own entrance music!  It was a James Brown song, I think it was Super Bad.  "I got soul, and I'm Super Bad!"  I remember thinking, "What an ego on this guy, the fights should be about the boxers, not the promoter!"  In retrospect, he is a very recognizable figure, and it added some flavor to the show.  The major problem I have with Don King is that fighter after fighter throughout the years has claimed that King has ripped them off.  In my opinion, this claim has been asserted so many times by so many different fighters, there may be some validity to it.  When you steal money from a fighter, and that fighter is putting so much on the line to perform in the ring, it just doesn't get much lower than that.   

 

Other notable fighters on that show were Tim Austin, Carl Daniels, David Kamau, Terron Millett, and Sam Hampton.  Austin would go on to win a world title as did Millett.  Daniels was a former world champion by the time he fought in Richmond and possessed one of the all time great nicknames Carl "The Squirrel" Daniels!  I chuckle just saying that!  David Kamau had previously fought Julio Ceasar Chavez and would go on to fight Oscar De La Hoya for the title.  De La Hoya stopped him but I thought he beat Chavez!  Hard punching Native American, Sam Hampton won by KO2 over Mark Johnson.  Sam, who hasn't fought in about 5 years, is making a comeback.  He is currently in training and is a frequent sparring partner for David "The Champ" Chappell at The PowerShack Gym in Portsmouth, VA.

 

The weeks leading up to the show, and the show itself, were quite an event for me.  Of course I admit it, I am a boxing junkie!  If you're reading this, you probably are too!  The fights themselves weren't anything special, and knowing what I know now about promoting, and what costs what, Don King may have taken a huge bath on the show.  That's probably why he hasn't been back to town since.  Hey, this is my town, I'm the only one that can lose money here!  However, TV was involved and I'm sure King got a handsome figure from FOX to televise the show.  Knowing King, the show was probably paid for before the first ticket was sold.  Throw in some creative accounting and voila! cha ching!  Money, money, money, money, monnnnnnney! (Hey, that should have been King's entrance music!  You know, the old O-jays song!)  I would say that there were about 3,000 people in the Coliseum on that Saturday night and I have heard that a good number of those tickets were comped.  I enjoyed myself, and if you were there that night 10 years ago, you probably enjoyed yourself too.  Thanks for going down memory lane with me.  I enjoyed it.  I hope you did too.  I'll see you at the fights! - Joe Hensley

Please click here to visit Gary "Digital" Williams fine website www.boxingalongthebeltway.blogspot.com for a full report on Promoter Jake "The Snake" Smith's show last night in Woodlawn, MD.

Weights for 2/24/06 Pay-Per-View Card from The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida.

Glen Johnson 172 lbs—Richard Hall 175 lbs
Joel Casamayor 137 ¼ lbs –Antonio Ramirez 134 lbs
Stacy Frazier (will weigh in later)—Billy Zumbrun 225 ½*
Ricky Quiles 141 ½ lbs—Jeremy Yelton 143 lbs

*Stacy "Big Foot" Frazier is a late sub for Timor Ibragimov.  If you've never seen Frazier, he is a big man with a huge punch!  He owns a first round KO over Duncan Dokiwari and dropped highly regarded Donnell Holmes in their fight in September 2005.  Holmes, who lives in Chesapeake, VA and has sparred with David "The Champ" Chappell, Tony Pope, Sam Hampton, and others in The PowerShack Gym in Portsmouth, stated that Frazier hit him harder than anyone has ever hit him in his life!  Prediction, Stacy Frazier KO2 over Billy "The Kid" Zumbrun!

Our good friend, Promoter Jake "The Snake" Smith is at it again with another great card just outside of Baltimore.  Fightnews.com's and Boxing Along The Beltway's Gary "Digital" Williams reports the weights for this great show.  Tickets can be purchased by calling (410) 375-9175.  For more information please visit www.baltimoreboxing.com

 

Tarver, Hopkins agree to terms for June 10th Bout. Anwar Richardson of the Tampa Tribune is reporting that a June 10th bout between Antonio Tarver and Bernard Hopkins has been contractually agreed to.

Tarver quoted in the Tampa Tribune says, "Bernard is coming off two controversial losses, but we aren't taking him lightly. We're up to the challenge. It will be one of the best fights of the year."

HBO Pay-Per-view will televise.

 

For more recent national and international boxing news, please click links on right of webpage.

The next man in line to face Adam "The Real Deal" Seal appears to be tough veteran Ken Carey from Cape May, NJ.  You remember Carey for his draw with "Tough" Tony Pope on our show in December.  Most ringside observers felt that Carey deserved the decision.  Yours truly spoke with Carey today and he definitely wants the fight with Seal.  An April show date appears to be likely.  I'll keep you posted.  As stated in previous posts, Adam Seal really opened a lot of eyes with his excellent performance against a very game Jason Waller.  If Seal can fight in front of the hometown crowd every two to three months, he would be on the fastrack to an exciting professional career!

In an electrifying and fast paced bout, Adam Seal, 183, Caroline, VA scored a hard fought 4 round Unanimous Decision over tough veteran, Jason Waller, 200, Front Royal, VA.  Seal set the pace very early on attacking and hurting Waller with strong right hooks to the head and body.  Waller, who took the fight on very short notice (as in about 2:30 the day of the fight; Tony Pope was the original scheduled opponent for Seal) hung tough as Seal battered his opponent on the ropes.  Seal scored a knockdown in the first round with a wild right hook.  In the second round it was mostly Seal, although Waller started the shake the effects of Adam's first round barrage.  The referee inexplicably took a point from Waller when Seal caught Waller with a right hook, and Waller's mouthpiece fell out.  The third saw Waller shake Seal with hard body shots and straight right hands.  This was his best chance to win the fight, and he tried valiantly to take advantage of it.  To his credit, Seal held tough, took some big shots, and weathered the storm.  The fourth round was more back and forth action as a tired Seal completed his first professional contest.  I was very surprised that a relatively green Seal, with only tough man fighting experience, could hang in there a defeat a true warrior like Jason Waller.  The kid deserves a lot of respect for garnering this well deserved decision over such a tough fighter.  Yours truly had the pleasure of working Jason Waller's corner.  Jason is a true class act and one of the nicest men you will ever meet.  As stated earlier, the fight was made that same day and Waller drove over 150 miles from his home in Front Royal to the Showplace in Richmond.  He arrived at about 6:30 and fought his heart out in front of a standing room only crowd of about 1,200.  After the fight as a disheartened Waller sat in his dressing room, at least 50 people came by to congratulate him on such a brave performance.  One guy said, "You're the real life Rocky."  Another fellow said, "I thought it should have been a draw."  Yours truly scored the fight the exact same way all three judges had it, 38-36 for Seal.  Seal won that fight and deservedly got the decision.  In rounds that is 2 rounds a piece for both fighters.  You take a point away from Waller because Seal knocked him down in the first.  Also, you take a point away from Waller because of that travesty of a ruling by the referee charging Waller with a one point deduction for a mouthpiece violation.  Waller wants Seal again and he said after the fight, "Seal was a lot better than I thought he would be and he definitely won the fight.  If I have at least two weeks to train for him, I know I can beat him.  I would like a rematch!"  I also congratulated Seal for the hard fought victory, he took some big shots from a bigger and more experienced man.  He never went down and he kept firing back.  He may have a bright future ahead of him.  Richmond boxing fans, let's push for a rematch!  In my opinion it was one of the best and most electifying matches seen in this area in quite a while. 

Tony Pope is definitely out of tonight's match up with Adam Seal.  Taking Pope's place on extremely short notice is veteran Jason Waller.  I confirmed the fight with Jake Smith, Waller's representative and Fred Corritone, Seal's representative.  The fight is on!  It should be interesting!

February 18th

"Tough" Tony Pope

vs.

Adam "The Real Deal" Seal

The Showplace Richmond, VA

 

February 24th

David "The Champ" Chappell

vs.

Mike Marrone

The Turning Stone Casino Verona, NY. 

Shown live on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights.

 

February 25th

Dorin Spivey

vs.

Wilfredo Negron

Mandalay Bay Las Vegas, NV. 

Shown live on Pay Per View.