Mikkel LesPierre – Syndication Server

Jose Pedraza vs. Javier Molina set for Sept. 19 at MGM Grand

Jose Pedraza will face Javier Molina in a battle of 140-pound hopefuls on Sept. 19 in Las Vegas.

Jose Pedraza gave one of the strongest performances yet in the MGM Grand “bubble” during the coronavirus pandemic. Now he’s coming back for more.

The former two-division titleholder will face 2008 U.S. Olympian Javier Molina in a 10-round junior welterweight fight on Sept. 19 at Las Vegas hotel. The card will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Pedraza (27-3, 13 KOs) lost unanimous decisions to Vasiliy Lomachenko and Jose Zepeda in 2018 and last year, raising questions about his future as an elite fighter.

Then, on July 2, the 31-year-old Puerto Rican turned what was supposed to be a competitive fight against Mikkel LesPierre into his own showcase. Pedraza, looking to be in peak form, put LesPierre down twice and generally outclassed him to win by a near-shutout decision.

Just like that, Pedraza was back in the 140-pound conversation. The next step: beat Molina, who he was supposed to have fought on May 9 before COVID-19 stepped in.

Javier Molina’s victory over Amir Imam (left) in February was an important step in his career. Mikey Williams / Top Rank

“I’ve been looking for a fight against Javier Molina for a long time,” Pedraza said. “I also had him on my radar because we were supposed to fight earlier this year, but the whole situation with the pandemic changed those plans and the fight was postponed. I kept training hard to keep improving and I ended up fighting against another opponent and had a great performance.

“This fight will bring me even closer to a world title opportunity. My goal is to become a three-division world champion, and Javier Molina will not stop me from achieving my dream.”

Molina (22-2, 9 KOs) also pumped life back into his career recently.

The Los Angeles-area fighter was once a hot prospect but never seemed to take off. He suffered his first loss to Artemio Reyes by decision in 2011, rebounded with a winning streak but then lost a wide decision when he stepped up in class to face Jamal James in 2016.

Molina fought once in the next three-plus years, which left him off everyone’s radar. He seemed to be finished.

Then, determined not to squander his potential, he signed a contract with Top Rank early in 2019 and has won four consecutive fights, including a break-through decision over Amir Iman on the Tyson Fury-Deontay card in February.

Molina, 30, was back.

“Going into this year, I had big expectations for myself,” Molina said. “I know what I’m capable of, and I’m here to make a statement against Pedraza. I haven’t received the respect or recognition I feel I deserve but getting a win over Pedraza will put my name out there.

“It’s a huge opportunity, and I plan on taking advantage of it.”

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Jose Pedraza vs. Javier Molina set for Sept. 19 at MGM Grand

Jose Pedraza will face Javier Molina in a battle of 140-pound hopefuls on Sept. 19 in Las Vegas.

Jose Pedraza gave one of the strongest performances yet in the MGM Grand “bubble” during the coronavirus pandemic. Now he’s coming back for more.

The former two-division titleholder will face 2008 U.S. Olympian Javier Molina in a 10-round junior welterweight fight on Sept. 19 at Las Vegas hotel. The card will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Pedraza (27-3, 13 KOs) lost unanimous decisions to Vasiliy Lomachenko and Jose Zepeda in 2018 and last year, raising questions about his future as an elite fighter.

Just like that, Pedraza was back in the 140-pound conversation. The next step: beat Molina, who he was supposed to have fought on May 9 before COVID-19 stepped in.

“This fight will bring me even closer to a world title opportunity. My goal is to become a three-division world champion, and Javier Molina will not stop me from achieving my dream.”

Molina (22-2, 9 KOs) also pumped life back into his career recently.

Molina fought once in the next three-plus years, which left him off everyone’s radar. He seemed to be finished.

Molina, 30, was back.

“It’s a huge opportunity, and I plan on taking advantage of it.”

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Kenny Bayless, NSAC goofed by stopping fight for review

Referee Kenny Bayless and Nevada officials should be embarrassed by the decision to stop the Top Rank main event for a review Tuesday.

I have the utmost respect for the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which is one of the finest oversight bodies in the world. And Kenny Bayless, the veteran referee, is one of the best in the business.

Those are among the reasons I was so flabbergasted by what I witnessed Thursday night on ESPN.

Jose Pedraza was in the process of dominating Mikkel LesPierre in the bubble at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas when the talented Puerto Rican went down from a punch to the stomach at 1:50 of Round 5 and Bayless began his count.

After the round, Bayless was alerted to the fact that the apparent knockdown might’ve been the result of a trip. Thus, a moment after the bell sounded to begin Round 6, Bayless called a timeout, left the ring and conferred with his fellow officials to determine whether it was a knock down or a trip.

After watching replays, they finally decided that it was the latter and the fight resumed.

Here’s the problem: The process took 2 minutes, 10 seconds, which is an eternity in boxing. I understand that Nevada rules allow a break in the action to make such a determination but it’s a horrible, short-sighted idea for a number of reasons.

In no particular order …

Pedraza put LesPierre down and hurt him later in Round 5. I believe LesPierre recovered sufficiently before the end of the round. Still, any advantage Pedraza had was lost in that 2:10.
The break in the action spoiled the flow of the fight. As ESPN broadcaster Joe Tessitore pointed out on the air, a bout is composed of three-minute rounds with one-minute of rest between them. “You have to withstand that and endure that,” he said. Right. That’s boxing. Timeouts generally are justified only to protect the fighters.
Three minutes-plus (including the minute before the review period) is long enough for a boxer to grow cold. Thus, when the fight resumed after the break, Pedraza and LesPierre had to transition from cool idle to hot fight mode in an instant. That’s not easy.
And the break in the action sucked the life out of the fight. It’s also difficult for fans to get re-engaged after such a long – and bizarre – break.

Beyond all that, the timeout wasn’t necessary. Bayless could’ve told LesPierre and his cornerman after Round 5 that the knockdown might’ve been a trip and was under review. Then a replay official could’ve made the determination during Round 6 and informed the corner before Round 7.

In other words, was it really imperative for LesPierre to know whether it was a knockdown or a trip at that moment? I know it changed the scoring of Round 5. Still, it didn’t warrant stopping the fight for two minutes.

And, on top of everything else, Bayless and Co. got the call wrong. In my opinion, it WAS a knockdown. Yes, Pedraza tripped over LesPierre’s foot but it was a clean punch that started the process. That’s an obvious knockdown in my book.

I don’t want to be too hard on the NSAC, which I believe constantly evolves in an effort to better serve the boxers and everyone else in the sport. All oversight organizations should be as diligent as this one.

That said, what happened on Tuesday was both ridiculous and alarming. If NSAC officials are a sharp as I think that are, something like this will never happen again.

Jose Pedraza schools Mikkel LesPierre, resurrects career

Jose Pedraza put Mikkel LesPierre down twice and defeated him by a wide decision Tuesday night in Las Vegas.

For Jose Pedraza, it was worth the wait.

Pedraza, at a crossroads in his career, was supposed to have fought slick Mikkel LesPierre on June 18 in Las Vegas but the fight was canceled because LesPierre’s manager tested positive for COVID-19. The fight was rescheduled for Tuesday. And Pedraza made the most of it.

The Puerto Rican put LesPierre down twice and otherwise outclassed him en route to a near-shut decision in the MGM Grand bubble in Las Vegas.

In the process, the 31-year-old from Cidra, who had lost two of his previous three fights, put the top 140-pounders on notice that he has plenty more to give.

“I had it all coming together for me,” Pedraza said through a translator. “In boxing you can’t have an off night. [On Tuesday] I was physically fit, mentally fit and spiritually fit. And no matter what happened [in the past] … I put it all together this evening because I couldn’t afford not to.

“That’s the kind of performance you get from me when I’m 100-percent focused.”

Pedraza (27-3, 13 KOs) took control of what was expected to be a competitive fight from the beginning, simply outboxing the Brooklyn-based Trinidad and Tobago native and consistently landing a variety of punches while taking few in return.

Pedraza landed 168 of 406 punches (41%), LesPierre 69 of 443 (only 16%), according to CompuBox. That tells the story.

LesPierre (22-2-1, 10 KOs) was hurt by a body shot in the second round but, after taking a flurry of punches as he covered up for dear life against the ropes, he survived.

Round 5 and the period before Round 6 were bizarre. Pedraza went down from a punch to the body about halfway through the stanza but it was later ruled that he tripped. He reciprocated about 30 seconds later by landing a multi-punch combination that put LesPierre down and hurt him.

Between rounds, referee Kenny Bayless, alerted to the trip, stopped the action, climbed through the ropes and conferred with his Nevada State Athletic Commission colleagues about whether to reverse the knockdown call. He did.

However, more than two minutes passed during the discussion, which allowed LesPierre time to recover fully from the punches he took in Round 5 and sucked some of the life out of the fight.

Pedraza cruised over the next few rounds before putting LesPierre down again in the 10^th and final round. He followed with a flurry that staggered LesPierre and seemed close to scoring a knockout but LesPierre, brave if little else, survived to the final bell.

The scores: 100-88, 99-89 and 99-89. As TV analyst Tim Bradley put it at the end, “Vintage Pedraza.”

Indeed, the former junior lightweight and lightweight titleholder went from potential has-been to a viable contender with a single impressive victory. His goal is to win a junior welterweight title, thus becoming a three-division champion.

The 140-pound weight class is deep but he has his eye on either Jose Ramirez or Josh Taylor, both of whom hold two major title belts.

“I’ll take on any of the champions,” he said. “There are only two in the weight class that are … quality fighters. I just hope they accept my challenge?

In preliminaries, Albert Bell, a 6-foot 130-pounder from Toledo, Ohio, outclassed an overmatched Mark Bernaldez of the Philippines for 10 solid rounds to win a shutout decision.

Bell (17-0, 5 KOs) pumped his jab most of the fight, landed more than enough power shots to win rounds and used his feet to prevent the much shorter Bernaldez (20-4, 14 KOs) from cutting off the ring. In short, Bernaldez landed a minuscule percentage of the punches he threw.

Thus, all three judges scored the fight 100-90 in Bell’s favor.

Bell injured his right hand when he landed a hard punch in the final seconds of Round 9. In the 10^th, trying to protect the hand, he jabbed his way to the final bell. He was seen with his hand immersed in ice afterward.

Also, junior welterweight prospect Elvis Rodriguez (7-0-1, 7 KOs) of the Dominican Republic remained unbeaten, stopping Danny Murray (5-4, 0 KOs) at 2:13 of the opening round of a scheduled six-rounder.

Rodriguez, who is trained by Hall of Famer Freddie Roach, put Murray down and hurt him badly with a short, stiff jab to the left eye. The Lanoka Harbor, N.J., fighter, whose orbital bone might’ve been damaged, was unable to continue.

And, in a six-round heavyweight bout, Nigeria-born Kingsley Ibeh (5-1, 4 KOs) of Phoenix defeated Kiwi Patrick Mailata (4-1, 2 KOs) by a majority decision. The scores were 57-57, 58-56 and 58-56.

Robeisy Ramirez dominates Adan Gonzales, gets his revenge

Two-time Olympic champion Robeisy Ramirez avenged an earlier loss to Adan Gonzales by winning a shutout decision Tuesday in Las Vegas.

Robesiy Ramirez got it right the second time around.

The two-time Olympic champion from Cuba was stunned by unknown Adan Gonzales in Ramirez’s professional debut last August, going down in the first round and losing a split decision in a four-round bout.

The rematch took place on the Jose Pedraza-Mikkel LesPierre card Tuesday in Las Vegas. And it wasn’t close.

Ramirez, true to his pedigree, outclassed Gonzales in every way to win a shutout decision in a six-round featherweight bout. All three judges scored it 60-54, meaning it wasn’t much of a fight at all.

“The biggest difference from the last time is I was dropped in the first round,” Ramirez said through a translator. “That threw me off my game plan. Instead of boxing like I did tonight, I tired to land one big punch to get back in the fight.

“Everything was different tonight.”

Robeisy Ramirez (right) fought with the swagger of a fighter in charge. Mikey Williams / Top Rank

Indeed, it was.

Ramirez (4-1, 3 KOs) never really hurt Gonzales but he controlled the fight with his special skill set and quickness, sticking, connecting consistently and moving as Gonzales tried mostly in vain to find ways to inflict damage.

And even when they engaged one another in close, the Cuban, who had as many as 400 amateur bouts, got the better of the exchanges.

Gonzales (5-3-2, 2 KOs) didn’t embarrass himself, perhaps proving that he belongs in the ring with an elite talent, but he simply didn’t have the tools to cope with a talent like Ramirez.

The product of Denver was also up against Ramirez’s fellow Cuban ex-patriot and veteran trainer Ismael Salas, who Ramirez brought into his camp after the earlier setback. A little time to reflect and a good hire certainly made a difference.

“I wanted to put our first fight behind me, and I did that,” Ramirez said. “Ever since our first fight, I wanted the rematch. I am glad this chapter of my career is behind me now.”

Jose Pedraza vs. Mikkel LesPierre ready for takeoff again

The delayed fight between Jose Pedraza and Mikkel LesPierre is scheduled to take place Thursday in Las Vegas.

Jose Pedraza vs. Mikkel LesPierre, Take 2.

The fight was scheduled to take place on June 18 inside the bubble at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas but it was canceled after LesPierre’s manager tested positive for COVID-19, leaving both fighters disappointed.

The boxers quickly agreed to reschedule for Thursday (July 2). The fight will be the main event on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.

“Mikkel and Jose deserve this opportunity, and I commend both camps for agreeing to reschedule this fight on short notice,” promoter Bob Arum said when the fight was rescheduled.

Pedraza on Wednesday weighed in at 143.9 pounds, Les Pierre 143.5.

Jose Pedraza (left) and Mikkel LesPierre will do battle on Thursday in Las Vegas. Mikey Williams / Top Rank

Pedraza (26-3, 13 KOs) is a former two-division titleholder. He outpointed Ray Beltran to win a lightweight title in August 2018 but lost it to Vasiliy Lomachenko by a wide decision in his first defense.

The 31-year-old Puerto Rican is coming off a unanimous-decision loss to Jose Zepeda in September.

LesPierre (22-1-1, 10 KOs) lost a one-sided decision to then-junior welterweight champ Maurice Hooker in March of last year, his only title shot. He bounced back to outpoint Roody Pierre Paul in December.
LesPierre is from Trinidad and Tobago but lives in Brooklyn.

In the co-feature, a six-round featherweight bout, Robeisy Ramirez (3-1, 3 KOs), the two-time Olympic champion from Cuba, will seek to avenge his stunning split-decision loss to Adan Gonzalez (5-2-2, 2 KOs) in Ramirez’s pro debut.

Ramirez weighed 125.1, Gonzalez 125.4.

The weights of the other fighters are: Albert Bell (133) vs. Mark Bernaldez (132), 10 rounds; Carlos Jackson (125.1) vs. Jose Vivas (125.9), 10 rounds; Elvis Rodriguez (140.2) vs. Dan Murray (139.2), six rounds; and Patrick Mailata (284) vs. Kingsley Ibeh (284.1), six rounds.

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Jose Pedraza vs. Mikkel LesPierre rescheduled for next Thursday

Jose Pedraza vs. Mikkel LesPierre has been rescheduled for next Thursday (July 2).

The fight was set to take place on June 18 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas but it was removed from the card after LesPierre’s manager tested positive for COVID-19, leaving both fighters disappointed.

Pedraza-LesPierre will be the main event on the show, which will be televised on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.

“Mikkel and Jose deserve this opportunity, and I commend both camps for agreeing to reschedule this fight on short notice,” promoter Bob Arum said.

The 31-year-old Puerto Rican is coming off a unanimous-decision loss to Jose Zepeda in September.

LesPierre is from Trinidad and Tobago but lives in Brooklyn.

Tonight, in the next installment of the summer series, Jason Moloney (20-1, 17 KOs) faces Leonardo Baez (18-2, 9 KOs) in a 10-round bantamweight bout at the MGM Grand.

Gabriel Flores Jr. makes most of main event opportunity, wins shutout decision

Gabriel Flores Jr. made the most of his opportunity to fight in a main event on national TV, defeating Josec Ruiz by a shutout decision.

A door was opened for Gabriel Flores Jr. when the scheduled main event Thursday in Las Vegas was pulled off the card. And Flores walked through like a champ.

The talented 20-year-old from Stockton, California gave a mature boxing performance against willing, but overmatched Josec Ruiz, winning by a shutout decision in a tightly controlled MGM Grand ballroom on national television.

One could complain that Flores didn’t take the risks necessary to punctuate his performance with a knockout but, hey, that’s quibbling. The young man dominated from beginning to end. And, for the record, he said afterward that he entered the ring with a lower back injury.

All in all, it was an excellent performance, especially considering it was Flores’ first 10-rounder.

“He was a tough guy, but he was not on my level,” Flores said in the ring afterward. “Going 10 rounds for the first time in my career was a valuable learning experience.”

Gabriel Flores Jr. celebrates a good night’s work. Mikey Williams / Top Rank

The pattern of the fight was evident moments after the opening bell, with the athletic Flores sticking and moving and landing more than enough power shots to control round after round while using his quick feet to stay out of Ruiz’s range.

The fight could’ve ended in Round 2, when Flores hurt Ruiz with a left hook and then put him down with a straight right about two minutes into the stanza. However, Ruiz, whose durability was his greatest quality on Thursday, survived and was never seriously hurt again.

Meanwhile, Ruiz (21-3-3, 14 KOs) had moments here and there. Round 4 stands out. Trying to push the action, he landed a few eye-catching power shots but they were the exception, not the rule. Flores was largely untouchable.

Flores’ father/trainer, Gabriel Flores Sr., pushed his son to stand his ground in the second half of the fight to give himself a chance to score that KO but the younger Flores – perhaps suffering to some degree because of the back injury – was content to cruise to an easy victory.

All three judges scored it 100-89, 10 rounds to none.

Flores (18-0, 6 KOs) is gearing up for what seems to be an inevitable shot at world title even at his young age. He and his father recently moved from Stockton to Las Vegas, a center of boxing from where he feels he can take the next step in his promising career.

“I see a world title in the next 12 months,” he said. “That’s my goal. But we have to see what’s out there first. I’m training in Vegas now, and the sparring and training out here has helped elevate my game.”

Jose Pedraza and Mikkel LesPierre were scheduled to fight in the main event Thursday but the fight was postponed after LesPierre’s manager tested positive for COVID-19.

Clay Collard (right) rearranged the face of David Kaminsky on the undercard. Mikey Williams / Top Rank

In preliminaries, Clay Collard (7-2-3, 2 KOs) of Cache Valley, Utah spoiled the perfect record of another prospect, defeating David Kaminsky (6-1, 3 KOs) of Israel by a split decision in a six-round super middleweight bout.

Collard, a former mixed martial artist with an amateur boxing background, has an awkward style, throws a lot of punches and is durable, a combination of qualities with which his 19-year-old opponent couldn’t cope. Two judges scored it for Collard 58-56. One, Patricia Morse Jarman, somehow had it for Kaminsky.

The teenager suffered a gash above his left eye in the opening round and left the ring with a face so bruised and swollen that it looked as if he had been in a tough 12-rounder. He was taken to a hospital by ambulance as a precaution.

Collard has spoiled the plans of a number of young prospects. He has taken down four unbeaten opponents.

“I honestly thought he would hit harder,” Collard said. “But once I felt his power, I pressed the action. I didn’t know if the cut came from a punch or a head butt at first, but I knew being aggressive would be the key to victory.

“I was nervous when the cards were being read, but I felt I’d done more than enough to earn the decision.”

Adrian Servin (right) didn’t last two full rounds with Robert Rodriguez. Mikey Williams / Top Rank

In a scheduled six-round bantamweight bout, Robert Rodriguez (8-0-1, 4 KOs) of Riverside, California stopped Adrian Servin (9-1-1, 3 KOs) of Phoenix at 2:48 of Round 2.

Rodriguez and Servin were fighting on roughly even terms when the former landed a short right that forced the latter to take a knee in the second round, which was the beginning of the end. Rodriguez followed with a series of heavy blows that prompted referee Robert Hoyle to stop the fight at 2:48 of the round.

Rodriguez weighed in at 120¼, 2¼ over the bantamweight limit. Servin weighed 118.

Frevian Gonzalez (3-0, 1 KO) of Puerto Rico outboxed Jose Martinez (2-1, 1 KO) of Los Angeles in a four-round junior lightweight bout, winning a unanimous decision by scores of 40-36, 39-37 and 39-37. And Victor Rodriguez (3-0, 1 1 KO) of Stanton, California outclassed Justin Horsley (0-2) of Las Vegas in a four-round junior welterweight bout, winning a shutout decision (40-36 on all three cards).

Top Rank trying to reschedule Jose Pedraza-Mikkel LesPierre bout on July 14

Top Rank is trying to reschedule the canceled Jose Pedraza-Mikkel LesPierre fight for July 14.

The featured fights pulled from Top Rank cards because of the coronavirus could take place on July 14.

The main event between Jose Pedraza and Mikkel LesPierre scheduled for tonight (Thursday) in a ball room at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas was canceled after LesPierre’s manager – with whom the fighter had come in contact within a controlled bubble — tested positive for COVID-19 after Wednesday’s weigh-in.

Top Rank is targeting July 14 as the new date for that fight, BoxingScene.com is reporting. Mikaela Mayer, whose June 9 fight with Helen Joseph was canceled after Mayer tested positive, would face Joseph on the new card.

“We’re looking to reschedule the fight for July 14th,” Carl Moretti, Top Rank’s vice president of operations, told BoxingScene.com. “If both camps agree to that date, that’s when we’ll do the fight.”

The positive test of Josie Tavares, LesPierre’s manager, was returned Thursday morning. That’s when the fighter learned he was off the card.

“I am devastated,” LesPierre said in a statement released by Top Rank. “This was my opportunity to showcase my talent to the world, but everything happens for a reason. This is just another roadblock in my story. I apologize to Jose and his team for any inconvenience this caused. He is a great boxer, and I hope we can reschedule the fight as soon as possible.”

Tavares was apologetic.

“I apologize for the inconvenience this caused,” he said. “I am not exhibiting any symptoms. I am looking forward to hopefully rescheduling this fight as soon as possible. I am devastated for Mikkel.”

The co-feature between Gabriel Flores Jr. (17-0, 6 KOs) and Josec Ruiz (21-2-3, 14 KOs) will be elevated to the main event tonight. The card will be televised on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.

Jose Pedraza-Mikkel LesPierre bout canceled after manager tests positive for COVID-19

The Jose Pedraza-Mikkel LesPierre fight scheduled for tonight in Las Vegas is off.

The Jose Pedraza-Mikkel LesPierre fight scheduled for tonight (Thursday) in Las Vegas is off.

The manager of LesPierre tested positive Wednesday for COVID-19, forcing the Nevada State Athletic Commission to cancel the fight as per its coronavirus protocol.

Jose Tavers, the manager, reportedly tested negative when he entered the MGM Grand bubble on June 14. However, he tested positive after the official weigh-in Wednesday. The result was returned Thursday morning.

The Pedraza-LesPierre fight reportedly will be rescheduled. Meanwhile, the co-feature between Gabriel Flores and Josec Ruiz has been elevated to the main event tonight.

“We had no choice in the matter because this is the commission’s protocol via the contact tracing,” Top Rank COO Brad Jacobs told Yahoo Sports.

This is the second featured fight to be canceled in the Top Rank-ESPN post-lock down series. The bout between Mikaela Mayer and Helen Joseph set for June 9 was canceled after Mayer tested positive.

Flores (17-0, 6 KOs), a prospect from Stockton, California, will be fighting in his first scheduled 10-round bout. Ruiz (21-2-3, 14 KOs) is from Honduras but has fought in the U.S. beginning early last year.

Photos: Jose Pedraza vs. Mikkel LesPierre Top Rank weigh-in