Posts Tagged ‘Cleveland’

It’s Showtime for Cleveland’s Nieves

Posted: June 30, 2016 in Boxing
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(photo: George Jimenez/ GeoImagez)

(photo: George Jimenez/ GeoImagez)

Newly crowned WBO NABO bantamweight champion Antonio “Carita” Nieves (16-0-1, 10 KO’s) will return to the ring on Friday, August 19th when he takes on the also undefeated, Nikolay Potapov (14-0-1, 6 KO’s) from Rhinos Stadium in Rochester, New York in a 10-round bantamweight bout.

The co-featured match is part of a tripleheader that will be live on Showtime as part of their “ShoBox: The New Generation” series that focuses on up-and-coming prospects in the boxing game.

Nieves is coming off his first 10 round bout, a unanimous decision over then once-beaten Oscar Mojica on June 18th in Washington, Pa., when he won the WBO NABO crown.

Potapov is coming off a 10 round majority draw against Stefon Young on April 15 that was also televised by Showtime for their “ShoBox” series.

Ironically, the only blemish on Nieves’ record is the draw that he also had with the aforementioned and fellow undefeated Young last June.

On paper this appears to be Nieves’ toughest fight. Potapov was a former amateur standout in Russia with over 200 wins and is ranked in the top 15 by the WBO (No. 7), IBF (No. 13), & WBA (No. 14). He’s also already had seven bouts that have gone ten rounds including one which went 12.

The event is promoted by Salita Promotions and tickets go on sale this Friday at Noon ET at www.rhinosoccer.com and www.etix.com.

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Previewing the Opening night of the Cleveland Area Golden Gloves

Posted: April 19, 2016 in Boxing
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The 88th annual Cleveland Area Golden Gloves boxing tournament begins this Friday and Saturday, April 22nd and 23rd from the Brook Park Recreation Center (17400 Holland Rd).

Friday’s preliminary bouts feature 12 matchups in six weight classes, including four in the 152 pound Novice Division and three in the 165 pound Open Division.

Half of the bouts on the opening night will be filled by Open Division boxers. Of those six bouts, three will feature former Cleveland Area Golden Glove champions.

The opening bout of the competition is in the 123 pound Open Division and promises to set the stage for what the night has in store. 2014 Novice Division champion Uriel Huerta, from Cal Crowell Boxing, will look to become an Open Division champion this year. It won’t be easy as standing in his way will be the 2015 Lake Erie Association Jr Olympic champion, Jibreel Hawkins, from ABA Boxing.

Two former 165 pound champions will compete in separate bouts.

For those that attended last year’s tournament, Tyrel Ross, from MLK Premier, should be a familiar name as he was crowned the 165 pound Novice Division Champion. Ross will be taking on Mardell Halas, from Salem Boxing Club.

Levi Patterson, from Empire Boxing Club, won the 2011 Open Division championship at 152 pounds. He will be taking on Jose Rodriguez, from Rodriguez Boxing Club in what should be an entertaining scrap in the 165 pound Open Division.

The remaining Open Division bouts taking place on opening night will be Elmer Dennis against Henry Gaston at 141 pounds, Kevin Cole against Solomon Howell at 165 pounds, and Rashad Chisolm against Keith Fairchild at 178 pounds.

Six Novice Division bouts are also on tap, with the four aforementioned 152 pound matches, along with one apiece at 165 pounds and Super Heavyweight (201+), which will conclude the opening night festivities.

 

13 Former Champions highlight the 2016 Cleveland Area Golden Gloves Tournament

Posted: April 11, 2016 in Boxing
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It’s April in Cleveland and along with the start of the Major League baseball season, comes the Cleveland Area Golden Gloves tournament. 2016 marks the 88th edition of the annual tournament, which will again be held at the Brook Park Recreation Center, 17400 Holland Rd in Brook Park. The preliminary bouts will begin Friday, April 22nd at 7PM, the quarterfinals will be Saturday, April 23rd at 7PM, with the semi-finals & finals taking place the following Friday and Saturday respectively.

There will be a total of 13 former Cleveland Golden Glove Champions competing in the Open Division (10+ bouts of experience) in this year’s tournament, highlighted by Aurel Love from Bob Davis Boxing Club, who will be attempting to become a five time champion!

The Open Division winners will be able to represent Cleveland in the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in Salt Lake City, Utah, which starts on May 16th.

Love was the 2010, 2013, 2014, and 2015 Open Division champion at 114 pounds, but will be moving up to the 123 pound weight class this year. Attempting to dethrone Love will be another former champion in Uriel Huerta, from Cal Crowell Boxing, who was the 2014 Novice (between 1-9 bouts of experience) Division champion. Also in the mix is Jibreel Hawkins of ABA Boxing, who will be making his first appearance in the Golden Gloves. While Hawkins is a newcomer here, he has vast experience in the ring and was the 2015 Lake Erie Association Jr Olympic Champion in the 125 pound weight class.

Both the 132 and 141 pound Open Division will have three former champions each competing to add more hardware to their trophy case.

Eric Miller, from Blue Steel Boxing Academy, was the 123 pound Open Division Champion in 2014 and will move up to 132 pounds this year. Among those standing in his way will be Ryizeemmion Ford, from Common Ground, who was the 2013 Novice Division Champion and Frank Brown, from the Westside Boxing Club, who was the Sub-Novice (no experience) champion in 2012.

At 141 pounds, Armond Richard, who trains at Empire Boxing club, should be familiar to those who attended last year’s tournament as he was the Novice Division Champion in 2015 and has now moved up to the Open Division. He’ll be joined by two-time former Champion William Flenoy from Thurgood Marshall, who is attempting to win his third championship in three weight classes after winning the 2008 Open Division Champion at 125 pounds as well as the 2011 Open Division Champion at 132 pounds. Zi Stalnaker, from Terminator Boxing Club in Akron was the Novice Division Champion in 2014 at 132 pounds and will also look to become a multiple time Cleveland Champion.

The 165 pound Open Division features a pair of former champions in Tyrel Ross, from MLK Premier, the Novice Division Champion at 165 pounds last year as well as Levi Patterson from Empire Boxing Club, who was the Open Division Champion at 152 pounds in 2011.

At 178 pounds, Kato Montgomery, from Bob Davis Boxing Club, will be looking for his third Cleveland Golden Glove Championship, but first in this weight class. Montgomery is the defending Open Division Champion at 201 pounds, and was also the Novice Division Champion in 2012 in the 201 pound weight class. Among those looking to knock him off will be Matthew Brown, who was the Novice Division Champion at 165 pounds in 2009.

In the Super Heavyweight division (201+ pounds) Alante Green will look to become a four time Cleveland Golden Glove champion as he is the defending back-to-back Open Division champion and also was the 2012 Sub-Novice division champion.

For a full listing of the boxers in this year’s tournament as well as the brackets, visit www.clevelandareagoldengloves.com.

17 former Champions highlight 2015 Cleveland Area Golden Gloves tournament

Posted: April 6, 2015 in Boxing
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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.

 

Mark Jackson is the right choice for Cleveland

Posted: June 16, 2014 in Cavaliers
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AP

AP


The Cleveland Cavaliers search for a head coach is still ongoing as the NBA draft is quickly approaching on June 26th. Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert prefers a defensive minded head coach, while general manager Chris Grant prefers one that focuses more attention on the offensive side of the ball.

The perfect solution would be former Golden State Warriors head coach and current ESPN analyst Mark Jackson. Jackson’s primary focus is on the defense, but it’s a type of defense that leads to fast break scoring opportunities on the offensive end of the floor.

Jackson was let go by the Warriors this year despite leading them to 51 wins in a tough Western Conference, which was their most wins since the 1991-’92 season. They won 47 games last year and you have to go back all the way to the mid seventies to find a Warriors team that had won at least 47 games in back to back seasons!

Prior to the so called “Chosen One” being drafted, the last time the Cavaliers had at least that many wins in back to back years was the early nineties.

Jackson’s Warrior teams improved on a number of offensive categories each season he was at the helm including field goals made and attempted, FG%, offensive rebounds, assists, and most importantly points.

You have to go all the way back to the 1992-’93 season to find a Cavaliers team that averaged more than the 104.3 points/gm that the Warriors averaged this past season.

Defensively, the Warriors’ improved their defensive rebounds, opponents field goals made, FG%, assists, and points/gm each year under Jackson. The 99.5 ppg allowed this season was the best for the Warriors since the 2003-’04 season.

The last time the Cavaliers defense allowed less than 100 ppg was 2009-’10.
Jackson would give the Cavaliers a young coach the players would respect, while also commanding a physical type of play that a blue collar town and fan base in Cleveland would appreciate.

The trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and David Lee flourished under the tutelage of Jackson and I’d love to see how Irving, Waiters, Bennett and the 2014 number one overall pick would develop.

It’s clear that Irving and Waiters need to learn how to complement one another. If they gel, I can see them playing like the tandem of John Wall and Bradley Beale in Washington.

Get Mark Jackson here. He’s a proven winner as a player and a coach, and he is the perfect fit on both sides of the floor that the Cavaliers desperately need.

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.

The journey to Atlanta starts tonight for Ohio State & Cleveland State

Posted: November 9, 2012 in Buckeyes, Vikings
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The Final Four will be in Atlanta this college basketball season and both the Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland State Vikings quests begin tonight.

Despite the Buckeyes losing two starters, including first round draft choice Jared Sullinger, they return two pre-season All-Amercians in forward Deshaun Thomas (1st team) and point guard Aaron Craft (3rd Team).

Tonights game will be played outdoors on the USS Yorktown in Charleston, SC against Marquette. NBC sports channel will televise.

Uniforms Ohio State will wear tonight

Uniforms Ohio State will wear tonight. Photo courtesy of Ohio State

The Vikings lost four starters from last seasons NIT tournament squad and this season may be a struggle at times. The constant for the Vikings is the fact that they still have the best coach in the Horizon League in Gary Waters. Tim Kamczyc is the lone returning starter, while sophomore forward Anton Grady is easily the most talented player on the team and is expected to improve on his 8.5 ppg and 6.4 rpg averages this season.

The Vikings tip off with Grambling State tonight in the annual John McLendon game.