Tag: Jesse Hart

Fight Week: Back-to-back shows on FS1 featuring prospects

Fight Week: Back-to-back shows on FS1 featuring prospects.

FIGHT WEEK

PROSPECTS JOSE VALENZUELA AND MALIEK MONTGOMERY ARE THE FEATURED FIGHTERS IN BACK-TO-BACK FIGHT CARDS SATURDAY AND SUNDAY ON FOX SPORTS 1.

***

JOSE VALENZUELA (9-0, 6 KOs) VS. DEINER BERRIO (22-3-1, 13 KOs)

  • When: Saturday, Sept. 18
  • Where: Mechanics Bank Arena, Bakersfield, Calif.
  • TV/Stream: Fox Sports 1
  • Division: Lightweight
  • At stake: No titles
  • Pound-for-pound ranking: None
  • Odds: NA
  • Also on the card: Rajon Chance vs. Elon de Jesus, featherweights
  • Prediction: Valenzuela UD 10
  • Background: Valenzuela is a 22-year-old native of Mexico who trains alongside David Benavidez in Seattle. The boxer-puncher has been more of a puncher lately, having stopped his last five opponents in four rounds or less. He last fought on Aug. 21, when he stopped Donte Strayhorn in the fourth round of a scheduled eight-rounder. The fight on Saturday will be his first scheduled 10-rounder. Berrio, 30, is no pushover. the Los Angeles-based Colombian has experience fighting prospects, having lost decisions to then-unbeaten Pavel Malikov, Zaur Abdullaev and Juan Pablo Romero (on April 22). That accounts for all of Berrio’s losses, meaning he has never been stopped. Will Valenzuela be the first to knock him out?

***

MALIEK MONTGOMERY (10-0, 10 KOs)
VS. ALEEM JUMAKHONOV (9-3-2, 5 KOs)

  • When: Sunday, Sept. 19
  • Where: Mechanics Bank Arena, Bakersfield, Calif.
  • TV/Stream: Fox Sports 1
  • Division: Junior lightweights
  • At stake: No titles
  • Pound-for-pound ranking: None
  • Odds: NA
  • Also on the card: Omar Juarez vs. Jairo Lopez, junior welterweights
  • Prediction: Montgomery UD 10
  • Background: Montgomery honed his boxing skills during an impressive amateur career but has made a splash as a puncher in the pro ranks, as he has stopped all 10 of his opponents. And none have gotten out of the fourth round. His most recent victim was Weusi Johnson, who was stopped in Round 4 on April 3. Montgomery, 25, defeated Edgar Berlanga, Keeshawn Williams and Joseph Adorno, among others, as an amateur but lost to Teofimo Lopez in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. He is trained by Kenny Porter, Shawn Porter’s father. The product of Macon, Georgia, will be making his 10-round debut. Jumakhonov is from Tajikistan but fights out of Los Angeles. He’s coming off a third-round knockout of Jorge Ramos in September of last year. He also has never taken part in a scheduled 10-rounder. Also on the card, Omar Juarez (11-1, 5 KOs) will be trying to bounce back from his majority-decision loss to All Rivera on June 27. He will face Jairo Lopez (27-13, 17 KOs) in a scheduled eight round junior welterweight matchup.

***

Also fighting this weekend: Jesse Hart (26-3, 21 KOs) will face Mike Guy (12-6-1, 5 KOs) in a super middleweight fight Friday in Philadelphia (BXNGTV); and Ali Akhmedov (16-1, 12 KOs) will face David Zegarra (34-5, 21 KOs) in a super middleweight bout Thursday in Montebello, Calif. (UFC Fight Pass).

Fight Week: Back-to-back shows on FS1 featuring prospects

Fight Week: Back-to-back shows on FS1 featuring prospects.

FIGHT WEEK

PROSPECTS JOSE VALENZUELA AND MALIEK MONTGOMERY ARE THE FEATURED FIGHTERS IN BACK-TO-BACK FIGHT CARDS SATURDAY AND SUNDAY ON FOX SPORTS 1.

***

JOSE VALENZUELA (9-0, 6 KOs) VS. DEINER BERRIO (22-3-1, 13 KOs)

  • When: Saturday, Sept. 18
  • Where: Mechanics Bank Arena, Bakersfield, Calif.
  • TV/Stream: Fox Sports 1
  • Division: Lightweight
  • At stake: No titles
  • Pound-for-pound ranking: None
  • Odds: NA
  • Also on the card: Rajon Chance vs. Elon de Jesus, featherweights
  • Prediction: Valenzuela UD 10
  • Background: Valenzuela is a 22-year-old native of Mexico who trains alongside David Benavidez in Seattle. The boxer-puncher has been more of a puncher lately, having stopped his last five opponents in four rounds or less. He last fought on Aug. 21, when he stopped Donte Strayhorn in the fourth round of a scheduled eight-rounder. The fight on Saturday will be his first scheduled 10-rounder. Berrio, 30, is no pushover. the Los Angeles-based Colombian has experience fighting prospects, having lost decisions to then-unbeaten Pavel Malikov, Zaur Abdullaev and Juan Pablo Romero (on April 22). That accounts for all of Berrio’s losses, meaning he has never been stopped. Will Valenzuela be the first to knock him out?

***

MALIEK MONTGOMERY (10-0, 10 KOs)
VS. ALEEM JUMAKHONOV (9-3-2, 5 KOs)

  • When: Sunday, Sept. 19
  • Where: Mechanics Bank Arena, Bakersfield, Calif.
  • TV/Stream: Fox Sports 1
  • Division: Junior lightweights
  • At stake: No titles
  • Pound-for-pound ranking: None
  • Odds: NA
  • Also on the card: Omar Juarez vs. Jairo Lopez, junior welterweights
  • Prediction: Montgomery UD 10
  • Background: Montgomery honed his boxing skills during an impressive amateur career but has made a splash as a puncher in the pro ranks, as he has stopped all 10 of his opponents. And none have gotten out of the fourth round. His most recent victim was Weusi Johnson, who was stopped in Round 4 on April 3. Montgomery, 25, defeated Edgar Berlanga, Keeshawn Williams and Joseph Adorno, among others, as an amateur but lost to Teofimo Lopez in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. He is trained by Kenny Porter, Shawn Porter’s father. The product of Macon, Georgia, will be making his 10-round debut. Jumakhonov is from Tajikistan but fights out of Los Angeles. He’s coming off a third-round knockout of Jorge Ramos in September of last year. He also has never taken part in a scheduled 10-rounder. Also on the card, Omar Juarez (11-1, 5 KOs) will be trying to bounce back from his majority-decision loss to All Rivera on June 27. He will face Jairo Lopez (27-13, 17 KOs) in a scheduled eight round junior welterweight matchup.

***

Also fighting this weekend: Jesse Hart (26-3, 21 KOs) will face Mike Guy (12-6-1, 5 KOs) in a super middleweight fight Friday in Philadelphia (BXNGTV); and Ali Akhmedov (16-1, 12 KOs) will face David Zegarra (34-5, 21 KOs) in a super middleweight bout Thursday in Montebello, Calif. (UFC Fight Pass).

Joe Smith Jr. outboxes, then lowers boom on Eleider Alvarez

Joe Smith Jr. stopped Eleider Alvarez 26 seconds in the ninth round Saturday in Las Vegas.

Joe Smith Jr. worked on his technique in preparation for his meeting with Eleider Alvarez on Saturday night in the MGM Grand “bubble” in Las Vegas. And he took his time in the fight, focusing on volume punching to wear Alvarez down.

However, in the end, it was the one quality most associated with Smith that ended matters: power.

Smith dropped a weary Alvarez with a brutal straight right hand, followed by a left, early in the ninth round of a scheduled 12-round bout and the former 175-pound titleholder was unable to get up. Referee Tony Weeks stopped the fight 26 seconds into the round.

With the victory, Smith is expected to face the winner of the Maxim Vlasov-Umar Salamov fight for the vacant WBO light heavyweight title.

“I feel this one is a big one,” Smith said of the victory. “I really needed it. I wanted to prove I’m not just a knockout guy. I proved my boxing ability, too, and I showed that tonight.”

Eleider Alvarez wasn’t able to get up from a brutal knockdown in the ninth round. Mikey Williams / Top Rank

Smith (26-3, 21 KOs) more or less chopped down the 36-year-old Alvarez (25-2, 13 KOs), who couldn’t keep pace with his fresher, 30-year-old opponent.

Alvarez had his moments, including a few solid right hands that got Smith’s attention in the eighth round. However, by the ninth, Smith had pounded most of the fight out of the former champion. He was ripe for a knockout.

Smith then did what he does best, deliver a decisive blow.

“Coming into this camp, I knew I had to work on my boxing,” Smith said. “I wanted to be sharp, throw a lot of straight punches. I watched his fight with [Sergey] Kovalev, and Kovalev kind of set the way to beat him. So we watched that and worked off of it.

“I knew coming in today I had to box a little more because he’s got that great right hand. He caught me with it a couple times, but I can take a punch, too. Every time he hit me, I wanted to come and stop him in his tracks, and I did that. I stuck to my game plan, and it was a great fight.”

Smith made a name for himself in 2016, when he knocked out Andrzej Fonfara and Bernard Hopkins in succession. He had a bad stretch after that – losing to Sullivan Barrera and Dmitry Bivol for a title in a span of three fights – but he has now beaten Jesse Hart and Alvarez back to back.

As a result, the union worker from Long Island, New York, is once again in thick of the title picture.

In preliminarys, Rob Brant (26-2, 18 KOs) stopped Vitaliy Kopylenko (28-3, 16 KOs) in the fifth round of a scheduled 10-round middleweight fight.

Junior welterweight prospect Julian Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) knocked out Anthony Laureano (13-1, 4 KOs) only 2:50 into their scheduled 10-round bout.

And the popular Clay Collard (9-2-3, 4 KOs) continued his winning streak, stopping Maurice Williams (7-2, 3 KOs) at 1:54 of the second round of a scheduled eight-round middleweight fight.

 

Joe Smith Jr. outboxes, then lowers boom on Eleider Alvarez

Joe Smith Jr. stopped Eleider Alvarez 26 seconds in the ninth round Saturday in Las Vegas.

Joe Smith Jr. worked on his technique in preparation for his meeting with Eleider Alvarez on Saturday night in the MGM Grand “bubble” in Las Vegas. And he took his time in the fight, focusing on volume punching to wear Alvarez down.

However, in the end, it was the one quality most associated with Smith that ended matters: power.

Smith dropped a weary Alvarez with a brutal straight right hand, followed by a left, early in the ninth round of a scheduled 12-round bout and the former 175-pound titleholder was unable to get up. Referee Tony Weeks stopped the fight 26 seconds into the round.

With the victory, Smith is expected to face the winner of the Maxim Vlasov-Umar Salamov fight for the vacant WBO light heavyweight title.

“I feel this one is a big one,” Smith said of the victory. “I really needed it. I wanted to prove I’m not just a knockout guy. I proved my boxing ability, too, and I showed that tonight.”

Eleider Alvarez wasn’t able to get up from a brutal knockdown in the ninth round. Mikey Williams / Top Rank

Smith (26-3, 21 KOs) more or less chopped down the 36-year-old Alvarez (25-2, 13 KOs), who couldn’t keep pace with his fresher, 30-year-old opponent.

Alvarez had his moments, including a few solid right hands that got Smith’s attention in the eighth round. However, by the ninth, Smith had pounded most of the fight out of the former champion. He was ripe for a knockout.

Smith then did what he does best, deliver a decisive blow.

“Coming into this camp, I knew I had to work on my boxing,” Smith said. “I wanted to be sharp, throw a lot of straight punches. I watched his fight with [Sergey] Kovalev, and Kovalev kind of set the way to beat him. So we watched that and worked off of it.

“I knew coming in today I had to box a little more because he’s got that great right hand. He caught me with it a couple times, but I can take a punch, too. Every time he hit me, I wanted to come and stop him in his tracks, and I did that. I stuck to my game plan, and it was a great fight.”

Smith made a name for himself in 2016, when he knocked out Andrzej Fonfara and Bernard Hopkins in succession. He had a bad stretch after that – losing to Sullivan Barrera and Dmitry Bivol for a title in a span of three fights – but he has now beaten Jesse Hart and Alvarez back to back.

As a result, the union worker from Long Island, New York, is once again in thick of the title picture.

In preliminarys, Rob Brant (26-2, 18 KOs) stopped Vitaliy Kopylenko (28-3, 16 KOs) in the fifth round of a scheduled 10-round middleweight fight.

Junior welterweight prospect Julian Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) knocked out Anthony Laureano (13-1, 4 KOs) only 2:50 into their scheduled 10-round bout.

And the popular Clay Collard (9-2-3, 4 KOs) continued his winning streak, stopping Maurice Williams (7-2, 3 KOs) at 1:54 of the second round of a scheduled eight-round middleweight fight.

 

Eleider Alvarez, Joe Smith Jr. to face off in crucial fight for both

Eleider Alvarez and Joe Smith Jr. are determined to get another shot at a title. They’ll have to go through the other to get there.

Eleider Alvarez and Joe Smith Jr. are determined to get another shot at a major light heavyweight title. They’ll have to go through the other to get there.

Alvarez and Smith are scheduled to fight in a title eliminator Saturday night in the MGM Grand “bubble” in Las Vegas. The winner will take a significant step forward, the loser possibly a step into oblivion.

“This fight is critical for both of our careers,” Alvarez said. “I respect Joe Smith, who has proven to be an elite fighter. However, I have all the tools to beat him, and that’s what I intend to do. My goal is to become a two-time light heavyweight world champion.”

Alvarez (25-1, 13 KOs) peaked in 2017 and 2018, when he beat in succession Lucian Bute, Jean Pascal and Sergey Kovalev. The Montreal-based Colombian stopped Kovalev in seven rounds to win a major title in August 2018.

Eleider Alvarez (left) and Joe Smith Jr. get one last good look at one another before they fight Saturday. Mikey Williams / Top Rank

Six months later Kovalev outpointed Alvarez to regain the title and he’s fought only once since, stopping Michael Seals with a single right hand in January.

Smith (25-3, 20 KOs) made a splash in 2016, when the relative unknown from Long Island, N.Y., stopped favored Andrzej Fonfara in the first round and then knocked Bernard Hopkins out of the ring to end his Hall of Fame career.

The 30-year-old union worker went to challenge Dmitry Bivol for one of the titles but lost a wide decision in March of last year, his only title shot. He bounced back to outpoint capable Jesse Hart in January to earn the fight with Alvarez.

Neither fighter can afford another setback.

“This fight means everything to me,” Smith said. “It’s my path to a world title fight, and I know this is my second chance to turn my dream into reality. Alvarez is a former world champion, and in my mind, I am treating this as a world title fight. To get there, I have to, and will win this fight.”

The card, which also features a middleweight fight between Rob Brant (25-2, 17 KOs) and Vitalii Kopylenko (28-2, 16 KOs), will be streamed on ESPN+.

[lawrence-related id=11551,5287,5004]

Eleider Alvarez, Joe Smith Jr. to face off in crucial fight for both

Eleider Alvarez and Joe Smith Jr. are determined to get another shot at a title. They’ll have to go through the other to get there.

Eleider Alvarez and Joe Smith Jr. are determined to get another shot at a major light heavyweight title. They’ll have to go through the other to get there.

Alvarez and Smith are scheduled to fight in a title eliminator Saturday night in the MGM Grand “bubble” in Las Vegas. The winner will take a significant step forward, the loser possibly a step into oblivion.

“This fight is critical for both of our careers,” Alvarez said. “I respect Joe Smith, who has proven to be an elite fighter. However, I have all the tools to beat him, and that’s what I intend to do. My goal is to become a two-time light heavyweight world champion.”

Alvarez (25-1, 13 KOs) peaked in 2017 and 2018, when he beat in succession Lucian Bute, Jean Pascal and Sergey Kovalev. The Montreal-based Colombian stopped Kovalev in seven rounds to win a major title in August 2018.

Eleider Alvarez (left) and Joe Smith Jr. get one last good look at one another before they fight Saturday. Mikey Williams / Top Rank

Six months later Kovalev outpointed Alvarez to regain the title and he’s fought only once since, stopping Michael Seals with a single right hand in January.

Smith (25-3, 20 KOs) made a splash in 2016, when the relative unknown from Long Island, N.Y., stopped favored Andrzej Fonfara in the first round and then knocked Bernard Hopkins out of the ring to end his Hall of Fame career.

The 30-year-old union worker went to challenge Dmitry Bivol for one of the titles but lost a wide decision in March of last year, his only title shot. He bounced back to outpoint capable Jesse Hart in January to earn the fight with Alvarez.

Neither fighter can afford another setback.

“This fight means everything to me,” Smith said. “It’s my path to a world title fight, and I know this is my second chance to turn my dream into reality. Alvarez is a former world champion, and in my mind, I am treating this as a world title fight. To get there, I have to, and will win this fight.”

The card, which also features a middleweight fight between Rob Brant (25-2, 17 KOs) and Vitalii Kopylenko (28-2, 16 KOs), will be streamed on ESPN+.

[lawrence-related id=11551,5287,5004]

Eleider Alvarez vs. Joe Smith Jr. rescheduled for next month: report

Light heavyweight contenders Eleider Alvarez and Joe Smith Jr. reportedly will fight late next month.

Light heavyweight contenders Eleider Alvarez and Joe Smith Jr. reportedly will fight late next month.

They were scheduled to meet on July 16 in the MGM Grand bubble in Las Vegas but Alvarez pulled out with an injury to his right shoulder. Yvon Michel, Alvarez’s promoter, told ESPN that his fighter has recovered and he’ll be ready to fight soon.

“I sent a medical report on Alvarez’s situation early last week confirming that the inflammation is gone after treatment, the pain is minimum,” Michel said. “He’s going to start sparring next week, everything is under control. He’s fit and ready to fight by mid-August.

“So the message I got from Top Rank is that the fight will be rescheduled for some time between Aug. 20 and Aug. 22, depending on the schedule.”

Smith and his handlers evidently are willing to fight regardless of the date.

“It’s not ideal, it’s not what we wanted,” Smith promoter Joe DeGuardia told ESPN. “We think it’s unfortunate it got pushed back in the first place. However, we’re realists. I just want this fight to take place, and we’re going to do what we have to do to get Joe ready and have this fight.”

Alvarez (25-1, 13 KOs) last fought on Jan. 18, when he stopped Michael Seals in seven rounds. The Montreal-based Colombian lost his 175-pound belt to Sergey Kovalev in February of last year.

Smith (25-3, 20 KOs) defeated Jesse Hart by a split decision in his most-recent fight, on Jan. 11.

Sergey Kovalev-Sullivan Barrera card on April 25 canceled

The show featuring Sergey Kovalev vs. Sullivan Barrera, set for April 25 in Indio, California, has been canceled because of coronavirus.

Another card is officially off.

The show featuring Sergey Kovalev vs. Sullivan Barrera, scheduled for April 25 at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California, has been canceled because of the coronavirus threat.

Promoter Golden Boy Promotions made the announcement in a news release.

“Whether it’s in Riverside County or Los Angeles County, it is clear that we must take every precaution to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19,” said Oscar De La Hoya, chairman and CEO of Golden Boy. “We lament the hardship this has caused for our fighters, partners, employees and state officials, and we look forward to providing better news in the coming weeks.

Said Paul Ryan, General Manager of Fantasy Springs: “The health of our guests and Golden Boy’s athletes is our top priority. This week we’ve seen professional sports leagues err on the side of caution, from the NBA and college basketball to the PGA and Major League Baseball, and we’re doing the same. It’s the right thing to do, and we look forward to having another stellar Golden Boy card here in the future.”

The news release said Golden Boy plans to return to the casino. “A new date for Golden Boy Boxing at Fantasy Springs will be announced as soon as is reasonably possible,” it read.

Kovalev (34-4-1, 29 KOs) is coming off an 11th-round knockout loss against Canelo Alvarez that cost him his light heavyweight title in November.

Barrera (22-3, 14 KOs) lost a 10-round decision to Jesse Hart in June.

Sergey Kovalev vs. Sullivan Barrera reportedly set for April 25

Sergey Kovalev reportedly will return to the ring against Sullivan Barrera on April 25 in Indio, California on DAZN.

Sergey Kovalev evidently isn’t finished.

“Krusher” is scheduled to return to the ring against light heavyweight contender Sullivan Barrera on April 25 at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California on DAZN, according to multiple reports.

The 12-round bout reportedly will be contested at a catch weight of 180 pounds, five more than the light heavyweight limit. Kovalev will be 37 at the time of the fight, Barrera 38.

Kovalev (34-4-1, 29 KOs) is coming off an 11th-round knockout loss to Canelo Alvarez that earned him a fortune but cost him his 175-pound title on Nov. 2. The fight was close on the cards at the time of the stoppage.

The Russian was arrested and charged for driving under the influence last month. He also faces possible jail time for allegedly assaulting a woman in Big Bear, California in December 2018. That case has yet to be adjudicated.

Barrera (22-3, 14 KOs) has lost two of his last three fights, a decision to Jesse Hart in June and an 11th-round stoppage against Dmitry Bivol last March. The Cuban outpointed less-accomplished Sean Monaghan between those fights.

Andrew Cancio makes move to Top Rank official

Former junior lightweight titleholder Andrew Cancio, who left Golden Boy under difficult circumstances, signed with Top Rank on Thursday.

It was a blue-collar promise from a blue-collar boxer.

Andrew Cancio, a former junior lightweight champion who works for the gas company when he isn’t in the ring, said he’d be back after Golden Boy fired him three days before Thanksgiving, just a few days after he lost his title and ripped the promotional company.

Cancio is back, fulfilling a promise the way he completes a job.

Top Rank signed him Thursday.

In announcing the multi-fight deal, Top Rank, miraculously, didn’t mention Golden Boy.

“He was a free agent, miraculously, and we didn’t hesitate to make a deal with him and his team,” Top Rank’s Bob Arum said in a statement.

Miracles happen. So, too, does some subtle trash talk.

There’s nothing subtle about Cancio’s power or his working-man appeal. He is the West Coast’s version of Joe Smith Jr., a Long Island, New York laborer when he isn’t knocking Bernard Hopkins out of the ring or beating Jesse Hart.

Cancio (21-5-2, 16 KOs), who is from the Colorado River town of Blythe, California, stunned Alberto Machado last February, knocking him out in four rounds for a 130-pound belt. In a rematch four months later, he needed only three rounds to stop Machado.

On November 23, however, Cancio’s championship run came to an abrupt end. Rene Alvarado of Nicaragua knocked him out in seven rounds. He had knocked out Alvarado in December 2015

“I’m very grateful to begin the next chapter of my career with Bob Arum and the entire Top Rank team,” said Cancio, who criticized Golden Boy in a Los Angeles Times’ story for not promoting his blue-collar roots with appearances on bigger cards. “I look forward to returning to the ring in front of my army of supporters and am fully prepared to fight my way towards becoming a world champion again.’’

Cancio is expected to make his first appearance for Top Rank in April on ESPN. He provides another matchmaking possibility for Top Rank’s other junior lightweights, including Miguel Berchelt (honorable mention pound-for-pound), Jamel Herring, Oscar Valdez Jr., Carl Frampton and Masayuki Ito.

Andrew Cancio to sign with Top Rank: report