Archive for the ‘Boxing’ Category

Bakers Dozen (Thirteen things I know that you should know too)

Posted: April 21, 2015 in Boxing, Cavaliers, College football, Football
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1. Now that the NBA playoffs have started I’ll make my prediction. Those that know me personally can vouch I’ve said this well before the playoffs even started but now I’ll put it down on my column. The Cleveland Cavaliers will win the NBA Finals, ending the city’s 50 years Championship drought, and Kyrie Irving will be named the Finals MVP.

2. Speaking of the NBA playoffs, assuming the Chicago Bulls get by the Milwaukee Bucks, they’ll be next for the Cavaliers. Here’s to hoping D-Rose stays healthy. I, for one, believe the Bulls are a better team WITHOUT Rose. Give me more Rose and less Jimmy Butler. It Just makes the series that much easier for my Cavaliers.

3. Speaking of the Bulls, the series with the Cavs should be fun. We all know how Joakim Noah feels about the City of Cleveland, but do you know what he thinks of LeBron? Well, see for yourself.

 

4. The mega fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao is less than two weeks away. Boxers usually walk to the ring with a hype song to get them fired up, however, Pacquiao is going to extreme measures with his ring entrance song. He actually recorded his own song to enter to. Chances are you’ve never heard of it, but lucky for you, I’ve got your back. Check it.

Not my idea of a hype song to say the least. If I was advising Pacquiao, I’d have him enter to something a bit more up-tempo. Something like this.

At least there’s an Ivan Drago reference in my pick.

5. Speaking of the fight, Mayweather is rumored to be making north of $100 million for this fight! ‘Money May’ is already the highest paid athlete in the world and when you have that much money and can have pretty much anything you want, you start purchasing silly things. Case in point. Mayweather has a $25,000 mouthpiece that has actual $100 bills sealed on the inside. Crazy, right? Here’s a look at a few of them.

mouthpiece

6. Recently I was home during the week in the middle of the day and did what any normal American would do when at home during normal business hours. “What’s that, you ask?” Watch The Price is Right of course. Now I have immense pride in Cleveland, the city I was born in, but even I had to question this. Either Cleveland is truly blowing up, or The Price is Right is on the decline. Get this. One of the prizes on the ‘Showcase Showdown’ was a trip to Cleveland with tickets for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! I’m not making this up just to get a laugh either, and yes, you read that correctly. I’ll repeat. One of the prizes on the ‘Showcase Showdown’ was a trip to Cleveland with tickets for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! I’m not talking about one of the prizes that everyone bids on beforehand, now. I’m talking about one of the grand prizes at the end of the show! My jaw is still dropped from that moment lol. I love my city, but even I know that a trip to my hometown shouldn’t be a prize worthy enough for a ‘Showcase Showdown.’ Or am I missing the boat on this one? Cleveland family, feel free to share your thoughts.

7. Got a case of the Monday blues? I’ve got just the answer to wake you up and get you ready to accomplish damn near anything after a party filled weekend. Listen to ‘Pitbull.’ Here’s one such song that should fill your Monday with a little joy.

 

8. I love Spring, mostly because that means winter is over, but I also love spring because of what it brings. No, I’m not talking about the rain or the flowers that begin to bloom. I’m talking about the Aut-O-Rama drive-in movie theatre and the Dog n Suds drive-in restaurant. I’m a sucker for history and how simple things used to be.

dog and suds

9. One of my favorite shows growing up was the Dukes of Hazzard so I was saddened by the passing of Roscoe P. Coltrane. How can you not be entertained by this sheriff.

 

10. If you haven’t seen ‘The Gambler’ starring Mark Wahlberg, don’t even waste your time.

Yes, the trailer makes this movie look good, but just believe me. It’s not.

11. If you’re anything like me, you miss the sound of real Hip-Hop. Today’s version of the genre is horrid, so I was beyond excited to learn that De La Soul was coming out with a new album.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1519102394/de-la-souls-new-album/widget/video.html

12. The College football season is just 135 days away!

13. I picked up a new pair of shoes recently. Here is the latest addition to my addiction.

adidas-supercolor-26

17 former Champions highlight 2015 Cleveland Area Golden Gloves tournament

Posted: April 6, 2015 in Boxing
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gg

The 87th annual Cleveland Area Golden Gloves tournament gets underway this weekend at the Brook Park Recreation Center, 17400 Holland Rd in Brook Park. The preliminary bouts will begin Friday, April 10th at 7PM with the quarterfinals taking place on Saturday at 6PM.

 

Among the storylines for this year’s tournament are the number of former Cleveland Golden Glove Champions that will be in action.

The 132, 178, and 201 pound Open Division all will have three former champions each competing to add more hardware to their trophy case along with being a part of the Cleveland team that will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada in May for the right to become a National Champion.

At 132 pounds, Zi Stalnaker, who trains at Terminator Boxing Club in Akron should be familiar to those who attended last year’s tournament as he was the Novice (between 1-9 bouts of experience) Division champion in 2014 and has now moved up to the Open (10+ bout of experience) Division. He’ll be joined by a couple of former Sub Novice (No experience) champions in Frank Brown from the Westside Boxing Club in Cleveland, who won in 2012 and Elhan Nevzadi from Bob Davis Boxing Club in Cleveland, who won in 2010 at 125 pounds.

The 178 pound Open Division will be highlighted by the defending champion, Octavius Webb. Other former champions at 178 pounds are two-time champion Ronnie Pratt from Empire Boxing Club/Zelma George Rec Center in Cleveland, who is looking to add the Open Division title to his resume after being crowned the 2013 Sub Novice Division Champion at 165 pounds and the 178 pound Novice Division Champion last year in this weight class. Matt Brown from Terminator Boxing Club in Akron was the 2009 Novice Champion at 165 pounds.

The 201 pound Open Division will feature 2012 Novice Division Champion Kato Montgomery from Bob Davis Boxing Club, 2013 Novice Division Champion Roney Hines, also from Bob Davis Boxing Club, and 2013 Sub Novice 178 pound Champion Darion Peterson from Old School Boxing Club/StrongStyle Fight Team in Independence.

Both fighters competing for the 141 pound Open Division title are former champions. Marty Adams from Iron Fist Boxing in Cleveland is the defending Novice Division Champion, while William Flenoy from Cleveland PAL/Thurgood Marshall Rec Center is a two-time champion, winning the 125 Open Division in 2008 and the 132 pound Open Division in 2011.

Isaiah Steen has been crowned the best at 152 pounds in the Open Division the last two years. Daywaun Roseberry from Iron Fist Boxing was the 2012 Novice Division Champion and will look to add an Open Division Title of his own.

The 165 pound Open Division will feature former Champions Fred Wilson Jr from Cleveland Inner City Boxing Academy, the 2012 and 2014 Open Division Champion as well as Levi Patterson from Empire Boxing Club/Zelma George Rec Center, who was the 2011 Open Division champion at 152 pounds.

Two former champions will add 2015 champions after their name as they will be uncontested in this year’s tournament. Aurel Love from Bob Davis Boxing Club is the defending 114 pound Open Division Champion and Alante Green from Empire Boxing Club/Zelma George Rec Center was the 2012 Sub Novice and 2014 Open Division champion at 201+ pounds.

 

Bakers Dozen (Thirteen things I know that you should know to)

Posted: April 1, 2015 in Boxing, Browns, Cavaliers, College football, Football, Indians, Vikings
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1. The Cleveland Indians were featured on one of the regional covers of the Sports Illustrated MLB preview edition. Naturally, Cleveland fans panicked and brought up the dreaded SI cover jinx. Relax folks. There have been plenty of examples that defunct that so called jinx. Here’s one such example.

russell-wilson-sports-illustrated-cover

 

2. Speaking of the Tribe, they’ve announced their starting rotation. Taking the mound for the home opener next Friday will be Zach McAlister, who earned the number 4 spot. So far this Spring McAlister has a 3.32 ERA in 19 innings pitched with 24 strikeouts and just four walks. While McAlister had a 5.23 ERA in 2014, he did finish strong, posting just a 2.84 ERA in 19 innings in the month of September.

3. The best marketing department among the Cleveland professional sports teams easily belongs to the Indians. Their latest “Mean Tweets” video is priceless. If you haven’t seen it by now, check it out!

 

4. We are down to the Final four in college hoops. The baseball season is about to start. The two month long NBA playoff season is about to start. But you know what I’m really excited about? The start of college football season! Yes, I’m aware we’re still about five months away but I get the privilege to work on the “Bible” of college football. Of course I’m talking about Phil Steele’s College Football Preview. The official “on sale” date is July 1st, but there is a way to get it three weeks sooner! How, you ask? We are accepting pre-orders right now by clicking the link below.

https://www.philsteele.com/store/

5. Speaking of College Football, spring practices are underway. Want to get a heads up on the season? Well we at the lovely offices of Phil Steele have put together our annual Spring Preview and it’s available for free.

http://philsteele.com/Pdf/SpringGuide/2015/2015_Spring_Guide1.pdf

6. Time to recognize some Cleveland hoop stars doing big things. Former Shaker Heights High standout & current Louisville Cardinals point guard Terry Rozier has announced his decision to turn pro after two seasons in the college game. The 6-1 Rozier led the Cardinals in scoring, averaging 17.1 points/game. He is projected as a late first round/early second round pick. Hmmm. I know of a particular pro team that plays its home games at Quicken Loans arena in Cleveland that could use a backup point guard.

Louisville may not have to look that far for a replacement as former Garfield Heights High star and current Cleveland State Viking guard Trey Lewis is exploring his options as a graduate transfer and the Cardinals, among many others, have shown interest according to his high school coach and former Ohio Mr. Basketball winner Sonny Johnson.

Lewis set the Viking single season three point record with 93 while averaging a team high 16.3 points/game en route to being named to the Horizon League first team. He played two seasons at CSU after transferring from Penn State after his freshman year following a coaching change there. He will be eligible to play right away because he will have graduated already. To clear up any confusion, it’s the exact same thing Russell Wilson did when he transferred to Wisconsin from NC State for his final year of college eligibility. I have no issue with Lewis transferring at all. I wish him the best. If you never went down to the Wolstein Center to see him play, shame on you.

7. Speaking of amateur hoops, anyone catch the McDonalds All American skills challenge on ESPN? Note to girls that think they belong in a dunk contest with a bunch of dudes. Stop it. Just stop it. I may sound like a chauvinist here, but so what. These are my thoughts and I’m surely not alone in thinking this. This girl for some reason thought it was a good idea to enter the dunk contest and proceeded to miss EVERY SINGLE one of her attempts. I can’t make this up. Every time I see girls on the basketball court I think of this greatly thought about video game concept.

 

8. Those of you who know me or even those of you who don’t but are among the privileged to be among my Facebook friends (I’m being sarcastic here folks, relax, I really don’t take myself that seriously) are aware of my dislike for one Lebron James AKA ‘LeQuit’. That being said, there is no doubt whatsoever that he is the MVP this season. He won’t win it, which is a disgrace, but can you name another player in the NBA that can make his team among the elite in the game, leave and the aforementioned team sucks so bad that they win the draft lottery THREE times while failing to make the playoffs for four straight years, then come back to make the same team among the elite once again? No you cannot. Also remember, the MVP is a regular season award, so you can bet come crunch time in the playoffs or NBA finals, something will come up with LeQuit that will cost the Cavaliers a championship. Mark it down. It WILL happen.

lebron-james-carried-off-court-leg-cramp-nba-finals

9. The Browns were of course in the news again this week but the news wasn’t that bad for fans of the team. The NFL handed down its punishment from the result of GM Ray Farmer sending text messages to coaches during games. The team wasn’t docked any draft picks, but Farmer will be suspended for the first four games of the season and the team was hit with a $250K fine. The punishment was fair. They shouldn’t have lost any draft picks. What Farmer did had absolutely no bearing on the outcome of any games. Now let’s hope the team can get some solid contributors in the draft. Here’s a hint. GO INTERIOR DL WITH YOUR FIRST PICK!

10. Boxing is once again on Free network TV this weekend! This time it will be on CBS. Like the March 7th NBC telecast that featured some of the top fighters in the world, this weekend will be no different. The Light Heavyweight division will be the focal point as the main event features the lineal Light Heavyweight Champion of the World, Adonis Stevenson against Sakio Bika. The opening bout will be between a battle of legit top 10 contenders in the same division as Ring Magazine #9 ranked Gabriel Campillo takes on #10 ranked Artur Beterbiev. Don’t miss it as there will surly be fireworks. The broadcast starts at 3PM ET.

 

11. Speaking of boxing, Cleveland’s Mickey Bey, the IBF World Lightweight titlist, is making the first defense of his title on April 30th in Las Vegas against Denis Shafikov in a fight that will be televised on ESPN2. Bey is a former US Olympian and is a slick boxer with great footwork and defense to go along with excellent hand speed. He is rated as the #4 Lightweight in the world by The Ring and is a member of Floyd Mayweather’s famed TMT.
***Update 4/3. The fight is now off as the two promoters, Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank couldn’t compromise. Instead the fight will be promoted by the highest bidder. Stay tuned for more details.

12. Okay enough about sports. When I do find time to relax and watch something on TV non sports related, it usually consists of something comedy related. I’ll admit, I am a bit of a sitcom guy. Right now there are two shows that I am extremely enjoying. Broad City and Fresh off the Boat. If you enjoy laughing and want to take the edge off, I suggest these two silly shows. Below is the trailer for one of the shows.

 

13. And finally I’m a bit of a sneaker head. Don’t judge me. Picked up a fresh pair of Kyrie 1’s last week. If you want to be cool like me go cop yourself a pair as well.

My new Kyrie's

My new Kyrie’s

Antonio Nieves returns from New York still undefeated!

Posted: March 30, 2015 in Boxing
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(photo: George Jimenez/ GeoImagez)

(photo: George Jimenez/ GeoImagez)

Undefeated Cleveland Super Bantamweight contender Antonio “Carita” Nieves (11-0, 5 KO’s) scored an eight round unanimous decision victory over Saul Tejada (5-4-2, 1KO) in the main event at the Resorts World Casino in Queens, New York on Saturday night. All three judges were in agreement, with each of their score cards showing the same 79-72 score in favor of Nieves. The event was promoted by New Legend Boxing.

Fighting not only for the first time as the main event, but also for the first time in the Big Apple was quite the experience for the 27 year old Nieves.

“The atmosphere for the fight was great,” Nieves said excitedly. “You could feel the intensity of the crowd as I walked up into the ring!”

Nieves was never in any trouble during the fight and was able to score a knockdown in the sixth round after a left hook to the chin of Tejada.

“I threw a 1-2-3 combination,” Nieves explained of the knockdown. “I was able to hurt him several times but he stayed up making it only one knockdown.”

Heading into the seventh round was uncharted territory for Nieves, who had never been past six rounds. His conditioning paid off as he was well prepared to go the distance.

“Entering the seventh round I felt good,” said Nieves. “Conditioning was no issue for us.”

Nieves also knew at this point with a big lead on the scorecards, Tejada would have to go for the knockout. What exactly did his corner tell him heading into the eighth and final round?

“My corner was telling me to continue to box,” Nieves said. “They told me to be smart and not to ‘Mickey Bey’ it.”

Mickey Bey is another Cleveland fighter that had seemingly won every second of the first nine rounds of his fight against John Molina Jr in 2013 and for some ungodly reason his trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr, told him to go for the knockout in the final round. Low and behold, Bey was caught by a wild, free swinging Molina and got stopped in the last round when all he needed to do was continue to outbox his foe.

Nieves’ trainers, Joe Delguyd and Francis Figueroa of Old School Boxing Club, obviously knew better and gave their star pupil sound advice.

“My opponent was throwing wild shots so I had to make sure that my hands stayed up and to stay sharp on defense,” Nieves said of the final round.

Working on his jab during training for the fight, Nieves felt It was a weapon that was underutilized in previous fights.

“The best punch and combination that was affective in this fight was my jab,” Nieves stated. “After my jab, I was able to land any combination I threw.”

There’s no rest for the hungry contender, who will be right back in the gym Tuesday as he begins preparation for his next fight in Puerto Rico on April 11th. Despite going eight rounds, Nieves still feels great.

“We are still planning to fight in Puerto Rico because I really didn’t take any damage,” Nieves explained.

While an opponent is still being finalized for his next match, Nieves will continue to train away, hoping to bring a World Championship to Cleveland.

 

Antonio ‘Carita’ Nieves to headline in New York City

Posted: March 23, 2015 in Boxing
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Nieves with trainers Joe Delguyd (L) and Francis Figueroa (R)

Nieves with trainers Joe Delguyd (L) and Francis Figueroa (R)

Undefeated Cleveland Super Bantamweight contender Antonio “Carita” Nieves (10-0, 5 KO’s) returns to the ring for the first time in 2015 this Saturday, March 28th at the Resorts World Casino in Queens, New York. Nieves is headlining the card as the Main Event against Saul Tejada (5-3-2, 1 KO) of Spain.

Nieves made his mark in Cleveland as amateur. He was a five-time Cleveland Golden Gloves champion while also being ranked in the top 10 by USA Boxing.

The eight round main event will be a first for Nieves, whose last four bouts have been scheduled for 6 rounds. If the fight does go the distance, Nieves is sure there won’t be any concern regarding fatigue.

“I have no worries at all,” said Nieves. “We have done everything that we had to do to ensure that conditioning is not an issue.”

This will also be Nieves’ first fight in New York, but taking a road trip will be nothing new for the 27 year old.  He’s already fought in Puerto Rico, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia in addition to his Ohio fights. Nieves knows the lights will be shining bright in the Big Apple.

“To have my first main event fight in New York is a big opportunity and I will take full advantage of it and shine. Being the main event fighter is exciting. I’m ready to put on a show and showcase my talent,” proclaimed the confident Nieves.

Coming off a busy 2014 that saw him fight five times, Nieves won three of those by knockout. In his last fight against DeWayne Wisdom, he scored four knockdowns en route to a fifth round stoppage at Wheeling Island Casino in West Virginia on December 20th.

With a three month layoff between fights, Nieves has been able to work on improving his already solid technique. He trains under the tutelage of Francis Figueroa and Joe Delguyd at the Old School Boxing Club located inside Strongstyle Mixed Martial Arts and Fitness Center.

“Since my last fight we’ve been focusing on a couple of things. We’ve been focusing on establishing my jab more, defense, and using more angles. I have a great jab but tend to under use it at times,” Nieves confessed.

Nieves wrapped up his heavy training for the fight over the weekend and is now just doing light work to stay on weight, which is contracted at the Super Bantamweight limit of 122 pounds.

“This training camp went really great,” said Nieves. “We did everything that we had to do to be in the best shape. I’ve been sparring three days a week anywhere from 6-10 rounds.”

This will be the first fight in America for the lesser known Tejada, whose previous fights have all come in Europe, including all but one in Spain.

“I don’t know much about him. I’ve seen some tape on him, but that’s about it,” stated Nieves.

Tejada is unbeaten in three of his last four fights including his last two. He’s coming off a four round unanimous decision victory in his last bout on February 21st.

Nieves will waste little time after this bout as he’s already scheduled to fight in Puerto Rico on the undercard of the Orlando Salido vs Roman Martinez Super Featherweight title fight on April 11th.

Cleveland’s Alicea looking to knockout the New Year

Posted: January 9, 2014 in Boxing
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Cleveland's Eduardo Alicea & Robert Garcia take a break from training

Cleveland’s Eduardo Alicea & Robert Garcia take a break from training


Cleveland middle-weight prospect Eduardo Alicea (4-0, 3 KO’s) is wasting no time getting into the ring in 2014, taking on Killeen, Tx’s Jas Phipps (4-1, 1 KO) this Friday, January 10th from the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington.

The event is being televised live on ESPN2 as a part of the “Friday Night Fights” boxing series. Alicea’s bout, while not the main event of the attraction has a chance to make it on TV, provided the scheduled TV matches end early.

Alicea is a former United States Junior Olympic National amateur boxing champion that represented America in the Cadet games in Azerbaijan in 2007. He had a reported amateur record of 143-16!
Training in Oxnard, California under the tutelage of one of the fight games best trainers, Robert Garcia, should help the 23 year old advance up the professional rankings.

Alicea was sharp in his last bout, in November, scoring a second round KO over Jake Constant in Missouri. While his previous four opponents entered with a combined record of 1-4-1, Phipps will enter as a much needed step up in completion to see where he stands as a professional.

The combined record’s of Phipps five opponents when he faced them was a well respected 16-1. He’s faced three undefeated fighters, only losing once, that was his last time out when he was stopped in the fifth round last July against Ronald Gavril, who is currently 7-0.

Despite Phipps entering the bout with not only the same amount of wins, but better quality wins, Alicea doesn’t seem fazed by his opponent.

“He’s a southpaw, that’s all I really know,” Alicea said.

Southpaw (left-handed) fighters often present problems because they tend to do everything opposite from
what you’re used to seeing in the gym. With Alicea’s vast amateur experience, there shouldn’t be anything that Phipps brings into the ring, that Alicea hasn’t seen before.

With this being just his fifth professional fight, despite turning pro nearly two years ago, Alicea knows he has to start advancing his career in order to become a bonafide contender.

“My goal is to be at least 12-0 by the end of the year,” stated Alicea.

Based on his skill set, there’s no reason to not believe that the Cleveland based prospect can achieve that goal.

This day in history is historical for boxing and Cleveland

Posted: February 22, 2013 in Boxing
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Feb 22, 1913 was the day that Cleveland’s own Johnny Kilbane won the World Featherweight Championship and held it for 11 years, the longest reigning Featherweight Champion and 2nd longest reigning World Champion regardless of weight class in boxing history!!!

Kilbane is the greatest boxer in Cleveland history and one of the greatest boxers of all time. He is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame!!

He is 2nd only to Joe Louis as far as the longest reigning world champions go.

Trinidad vs Whitaker

Posted: February 20, 2013 in Boxing
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14 years ago tonight, Felix “Tito” Trinidad handed Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker his 1st career surefire loss. Sure, Whitaker had suffered decision losses to Jose Ramirez and Oscar De La Hoya beforehand, but those were decisions were suspect to say the least. Enjoy!

Cotto battles Trout in a matchup of top 10 contenders!

Posted: December 1, 2012 in Boxing
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Credit: Tom Casino, Showtime

Credit: Tom Casino, Showtime

Two of the top ten Jr Middleweights (154 lbs) in the world will square off at the Madison Square Garden in New York City tonight. Miguel “Junito” Cotto (37-3, 30 ko’s), ranked #2 by Ring Magazine, takes on undefeated Austin “No Doubt” Trout (25-0, 14 ko’s,) ranked #9 by Ring Magazine. The fight will be shown on Showtime and they will battle for a world title belt that shall remain nameless, as I don’t give credence to any of the corrupt sanctioning organizations.

Credit: Tom Casino, Showtime

Credit: Tom Casino, Showtime

While Trout is known in the boxing community, he is not well-known to the general public. The fact is he is an excellent boxer-puncher, a southpaw, and is a live dog tonight. Fighting in Cotto’s home away from home will not pose any kind of threat either. Trout has fought in hostile territory before, going on the road to Panama and Mexico and winning decisions. To win decisions in an opponents home country should tell you what kind of boxing lesson he had to display.

If Trout goes on to win the fight, it will be by decision yet again. Only once has “No Doubt” scored a knockout in his last eight fights, a span of over three years.

Cotto will bring the experience edge into this fight and has clearly fought much tougher opposition. Even though “Junito” has taken much more punishment over his career, he is still incredibly sharp, evidenced by his last fight when he gave Floyd Mayweather a much tougher fight than expected in a 12 round decision loss. While Cotto comes into the fight with three losses, his losses are to Pacquiao, Mayweather, and Margarito (most likey with loaded gloves). Trout is not in the same hemisphere as those guys. Not yet at least. Also Cotto has done well against southpaws. “Chop Chop” Corley, Carlos Quintana, and Zab Judah are a few of the notable names that he has not only defeated, but knocked out.

If Cotto wins tonight, it will most likely be by knockout. In his last 6 wins covering over 4 years, 5 have come inside the distance. Joshua Clottey, who has never been ko’d in 40 career fights was the only boxer to go the distance in that time frame.

The winner of this fight would be in prime condition to take on Floyd Mayweather for what would likely be the true Jr Middleweight Championship of the World. That likely won’t happen as Mayweather appears headed for a Welterweight showdown with Robert Guerrero however. Cotto meanwhile has been linked for a showdown with #3 rated Jr Middleweight contender Saul Alvarez. Another fighter that could emerge for the winner is #4 rated contender Erislandy Lara.

I feel Cotto is just too strong and experienced for Trout in this one. I do like that Trout will travel wherever he needs to get a fight, a characteristic that doesn’t go unnoticed. Trout has never faced the caliber of opponent that he’ll see in Cotto. The early rounds may be split, but Cotto’s power shots will eventually wear down Trout as I see Cotto getting another knockout. Cotto KO 9.

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Willie Nelson to be showcased on Showtime

Posted: February 25, 2011 in Boxing
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Cleveland welterweight prospect Willie “Quiet Storm” Nelson (16-0-1, 10 KO’s) is scheduled to take on Vincent Arroyo (10-1, 7 KO’s) in the opening TV bout on Showtime’s “Shobox” boxing series on Friday, April 8th in Laredo, Texas. 

Nelson is coming off a first round TKO over Quinton Whitaker last November in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  This will be the first time that Nelson will be featured on national TV.

Arroyo will try to make it back to back wins over undefeated boxers as he is coming off an 8th round KO over the previously unbeaten Jeremy Bryan last April in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  His lone loss was a unanimous decision loss to Mike Dallas Jr., who was also undefeated at the time of their fight.

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