Tag: Jared Anderson

Richard Commey bounces back with KO of Jackson Marinez

Richard Commey bounced back from his knockout loss to Teofimo Lopez by stopping Jackson Marinez on Saturday.

Richard Commey is back.

The hard-punching Ghanaian, coming off a second-round knockout loss to Teofimo Lopez that cost him his 135-pound title in December 2019, took out his frustration on Jackson Marinez on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Commey broke Marinez down, put him on the canvas with a right hand and then ended the show with another, more-brutal right 2:35 into Round 6 of a scheduled 10-round lightweight bout.

“When I first started,” Commey said, “I started very slow because I’ve been away for more than a year, so I had to take my time a little bit just to get my rhythm.

“My corner was telling me to do something. They saw that punch that took him down.”

Commey (30-3, 27 KOs) was devastated by the loss to Lopez, which put an instantaneous stop to momentum that had built over years.

However, he didn’t fight like a man who was gun shy. He started firing off his vaunted right hand from the beginning of the fight.

Marinez, a good boxer who was coming off a disputed loss to Rolando Romero, coped fairly well for five-plus rounds. He used his jab, movement and slick defense to avoid taking a shot that could hurt him and landed enough of his own punches to keep it close.

Commey led on two cards after five rounds (48-47 and 49-46) while Marinez led on the third (48-47). Boxing Junkie had Commey leading 48-47.

All that became moot in Round 6, when Marinez (19-2, 7 KOs) seem to begin wilting under Commey’s pressure and power.

The Dominican went down the first time with around 45 seconds remaining in the round. He was able to get up and continue. However, moments later, Commey darted across the ring and landed a second vicious right hand that sent Marinez crashing into the ropes and down, prompting referee Kenny Bayless to end the fight.

One of the happiest onlookers was Lopez, who was standing near the ring at the time of the knockout. The two apparently became friends during their promotion and the aftermath.

Commey said he fed off the undisputed lightweight champion’s presence.

“After our fight, I saw him in the lobby and we chatted and hugged,” Commey said. “He always liked me, and it’s pure love. For him to come down to my corner, it was motivating. It showed tremendous love, and that’s how it’s supposed to be.

“We gotta love each other, regardless of where you’re from or who you are. I appreciated [his support].”

Commey’s goal is earn an opportunity to fight for another title. He took a significant step in that direction with a vintage performance on Saturday.

In other fights, 21-year-old heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson (8-0, 8 KOs) turned in a knockout-of-the-year candidate.

The gifted 6-foot-4, 249-pounder was in the process of dominating Kingsley Ibeh when he landed a monstrous left hook that knocked Ibeh (5-2-1, 4 KOs) flat on his back and out at 2:19 of the sixth and final round.

Anderson won the first five rounds on all three cards.

“We worked day and night for this,” said an excited Anderson, who is barely old enough to be in the MGM Grand casino. “While they sleep, we’re working. We will keep fighting prospects and people who say they can’t be beat. I am here to fight the best. Since everyone wants it, why not give it to them?

“I wanted the Ibeh fight because I saw him push many prospects. The knockout came, and I made a statement.”

And, in a 10-round featherweight fight, prospect Adam Lopez (15-2, 6 KOs) defeated Jason Sanchez (15-3, 8 KOs) by a majority decision.

Heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson KOs Rodney Hernandez

Jared Anderson stopped overmatched Rodney Hernandez at 2:22 of the fourth round of a scheduled six-round bout Saturday in Las Vegas.

Jared Anderson stopped overmatched Rodney Hernandez at 2:22 of the fourth round of a scheduled six-round bout on the Jamel Herring-Jonathan Oquendo card Saturday in Las Vegas.

Anderson (6-0, 6 KOs) wanted to get in some rounds and demonstrate that he is a good boxer. Mission accomplished on both counts.

The Toledo, Ohio product used his beautiful left jab effectively, making it difficult for the aggressive Hernandez (13-10-2, 4 KOs) to get anything done. And Anderson demonstrated an ability to move that is unusual for a man his size, 6-foot-4 and around 250 pounds.

However, in the end, it was Anderson’s power punches that wore down Hernandez and ultimately stopped him. Hernandez collapsed under a barrage of punishing blows and the referee waved off the fight.

“It was about getting in those rounds and showing that I can box, that I’m not just a puncher,” Hernandez said. “I know how to box, I know how to stay on my back foot.”

And he knows how to punch hard.

 

Heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson KOs Rodney Hernandez

Jared Anderson stopped overmatched Rodney Hernandez at 2:22 of the fourth round of a scheduled six-round bout Saturday in Las Vegas.

Jared Anderson stopped overmatched Rodney Hernandez at 2:22 of the fourth round of a scheduled six-round bout on the Jamel Herring-Jonathan Oquendo card Saturday in Las Vegas.

Anderson (6-0, 6 KOs) wanted to get in some rounds and demonstrate that he is a good boxer. Mission accomplished on both counts.

The Toledo, Ohio product used his beautiful left jab effectively, making it difficult for the aggressive Hernandez (13-10-2, 4 KOs) to get anything done. And Anderson demonstrated an ability to move that is unusual for a man his size, 6-foot-4 and around 250 pounds.

However, in the end, it was Anderson’s power punches that wore down Hernandez and ultimately stopped him. Hernandez collapsed under a barrage of punishing blows and the referee waved off the fight.

“It was about getting in those rounds and showing that I can box, that I’m not just a puncher,” Hernandez said. “I know how to box, I know how to stay on my back foot.”

And he knows how to punch hard.

 

Felix Verdejo makes strong statement with first-round knockout

Felix Verdejo needed less than a full round to stop Will Madera on Thursday inside the MGM Grand bubble in Las Vegas.

Felix Verdejo was once thought to be the heir apparent to Miguel Cotto as Puerto Rico’s brightest star. He certainly shined on Thursday night.

Verdejo needed less than a full round to blow away capable Will Madera inside the MGM Grand bubble in Las Vegas, thereby demonstrating that he might yet realize his potential and threaten the best 135-pounders.

“I took my time,” Verdejo said through a translator. “I came out here and settled. I wanted to measure  what he came out with, how hard he hit. Once I figured that out I let my hands go … and the knockout came.”

Verdejo (27-1, 17 KOs) was one of the hottest prospects in boxing in the mid-2010s, having fought in the 2012 Olympics and started his career with a string of impressive victories. And then he stalled.

The San Juan product suffered head trauma in a motorcycle accident in August 2016, which cost him a a possible shot at then-lightweight titleholder Terry Flanagan’s belt. And in March 2018 he was stopped in 10 rounds by Mexican Antonio Lozada Torres, leaving his future in doubt.

It seemed at that point that he might never realize his apparent potential.

Now it appears something might’ve clicked. He hired Cuban master Ismael Salas as his trainer before his previous fight, went to work and seems to have emerged with a new lease on his career at 27 years old.

At least that’s how it looked against the previously unbeaten Madera (15-1-3, 8 KOs) on Thursday night.

The fight was competitive for 2½ minutes, as both boxers were able to land punches here and there in what was largely a feel-out round. Then, in the final 30 seconds, Verdejo landed a shot that hurt Madera, trapped him in a corner and unloaded with the ferocity of a star.

A right uppercut, followed by another right hurt him again and a left-right put him flat on his back, bending his right knee awkwardly in the process. Referee Robert Hoyle could see Madera was in no condition to continue and stopped the fight with one second remaining in the round.

That performance certainly got the attention of those who reside in the deep lightweight division, including Vasiliy Lomachenko, who knocked Verdejo out of the Olympics in the quarterfinals.

This version of Verdejo, who is ranked by three of the four major sanctioning bodies, might be able to give any of the top 135-pounders trouble. He was asked afterward what message he sent to his lightweight rivals.

“Stay ready because Felix Verdejo is back and ready to fight against the best,” he said. “That’s my message for everyone of them. Be ready.”

Who in particular does he want?

“The top guy at 135 is Lomachenko,” he said. “He’s the best in the division. More important, we have some unfished business. I want to get the rematch for what happened in the Olympics.”

Verdejo suddenly seems adept at taking care of unfinished business.

In preliminaries, heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson of Toledo, Ohio, stopped Hector Perez 1:45 into their scheduled four-round fight.

Anderson (5-0, 5 KOs) punctuated a flurry of hard shots with an overhand right to the side of the head that knocked Perez (7-3, 3 KOs) to his hands and knees. He was too injured to continue, prompting referee Russell Mora to stop the fight.

It was Anderson’s fourth first-round knockout.

“That was too quick!” Anderson said. “I got him out of there and implemented what I’ve been working on in the gym. I want to return as soon as possible. I leave that in the hands of my promoter, but when they give me a date, I’ll be ready.

“It doesn’t matter who they put in front of me. Any of these guys who have fought in the ‘Bubble,’ I’ll fight them.”

Featherweight prospect Martino Jules of Allentown, Penn., survived a spirited effort from Aleem Jumakhanov of Tajikistan to win an eight-round junior lightweight bout by a majority decision.

Jules (10-0, 2 KOs) did particularly well when he boxed with the less-athletic Jumakhanov (8-3-2, 4 KOs) but Jumakhanov forced his way inside on numerous occasions, which allowed him to land punches and do damage on his terms.

In the end, Jules was able to outwork Jumakhanov to win 76-76, 78-74 and 78-74.

And, in a competitive four-round lightweight bout, Kenny Davis Jr. of Reno, Nevada, defeated Eduardo Sanchez of Corcoran, Calif., by a majority decision.

Davis (3-2-1, 0 KOs) put Sanchez (2-3, 0 KOs) down with a left to the body in the final seconds of Round 3 but lost a point in Round 4 when he lost his mouthpiece a second time. The scores were 37-37, 38-36 and 38-36.

Davis was fortunate he wasn’t disqualified. He landed a hard shot when Sanchez was on one knee after the knockdown.

 

Heavyweights galore: Top Rank in talks with Jarrell Miller, Tony Yoka

Bob Arum’s Top Rank is close to signing Jarrell Miller and Tony Yoka, according to various reports.

Top Rank’s burgeoning heavyweight stable could get a little more crowded.

The Las Vegas-based promotional company headed by Bob Arum is in talks with highly regarded heavyweights Jarrell Miller and Tony Yoka on multifight deals, according to various reports. The fighters would join a heavyweight roster headed by Tyson Fury, who will challenge titleholder Deontay Wilder on Feb. 22 in Las Vegas.

Miller (23-0-1, 20 KOs), a 31-year-old New Yorker, is one of the top heavyweight contenders. He came under fire last summer after he tested positive for multiple banned substances ahead of a scheduled fight against British titleholder Anthony Joshua, who ended up losing to Andy Ruiz Jr. in a historic upset in June. Miller is co-promoted by Dmitry Salita and Greg Cohen. (Cohen was recently sentenced to six months in federal prison for wire fraud unrelated to boxing).

Yoka (7-0, 6 KOs), a 27-year-old native of Paris, won the super heavyweight gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He was promoted in the past by Richard Schaefer. Like Miller, Yoka saw his career stymied for reasons related to PEDs. In 2018, French officials suspended him for one year for allegedly missing three scheduled doping tests. Yoka returned to the ring in July 2019 with a knockout win over Alexander Dimitrenko. He followed up that with a stoppage victory over Michael Wallisch in September.

Arum was in France recently to meet with Yoka. Arum told the French news outlet RMC that negotiations were headed in the right direction.

“All the parties are in agreement, even if we haven’t signed anything yet,” he said. “The reason we’re here is to discuss the terms of the contract. Tony is a unbelievable young man, very intelligent, and we hope to see him fight in the United States in the spring under the Top Rank banner.”

After years of relative neglect when it came to boxing’s so-called glamour division, Top Rank has spent the past couple of years stockpiling heavyweights. It signed veterans Kubrat Pulev and Agit Kabayel. It has also scoured for big men on the grassroots level, scooping up prospects Sonny Conto, Guido Vianello and Jared Anderson.

Both Miller and Yoka are managed by James Prince, who also handlesTop-Rank promoted featherweight Shakur Stevenson and heavyweight Bryant Jennings.

Tyson Fury reveals sparring partners … where’s Anthony Joshua?

Tyson Fury revealed his sparring partners for his rematch with Deontay Wilder on Feb. 22. Anthony Joshua isn’t among them.

Tyson Fury’s sparring partners for his rematch with Deontay Wilder on Feb. 22 have been revealed. And none is named Anthony Joshua.

Joshua, who holds three of the four major heavyweight titles, offered to spar with Fury ahead of the Wilder fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas – and Fury accepted – but it appears that unusual arrangement won’t become reality.

Fury will spar with newbies George Fox (3-0, 0 KOs), David Adeleye (1-0, 1 KO) and Jared Anderson (2-0, 2 KOs), according to talkSPORT. Adeleye and Anderson are both listed at 6-foot-4 on Boxrec.com, three inches shorter than Wilder. Fox’s height wasn’t listed but he appears to be as tall at the 6-9 Fury in a photo.

Joshua reiterated that the offer to spar with his British rival was genuine … sort of.

“You know when I look back at some of the s— I say, I think, ‘Why did I say that?’” Joshua told talkSPORT. “So now we’re going to talk about it and give more publicized things to talk about. Fury is a world-class fighter and I’m a world-class fighter that is still trying to improve so I can become like an elite-level fighter.

“Sparring Fury is only going to do me good, in my opinion. So I’m never too big for my boots where I can’t learn anymore. So that opportunity, for me to spar Fury, is for my own benefit as well.”

Joshua also reiterated that he hopes Fury beats Wilder to set up an all-U.K. title fight, which was another reason to help him in camp.

Said Joshua: “And the reason why I thought about it and the reason why it came to fruition for me is because I feel like, if Fury was to win that fight [against Wilder], I think he would be more inclined to fight me next and quicker than Wilder would.”

Of course, as talkSPORT pointed out, Joshua could still show up unannounced at the gym.