Latimore targets Williams for summer showdown & predicts KO victory

ST. LOUIS (April 20, 2011) – Fresh off of his dominant victory by eight-round decision against veteran Dennis Sharpe last Saturday night on the Victor Ortiz-Andre Berto card at MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods, International Boxing Federation #6-rated junior middleweight Deandre “The Bull” Latimore (22-3, 17 KOs) has targeted Paul “The Punisher” Williams for a summer showdown, predicting a career-defining win by knockout for himself.

 Williams (39-2, 27 KOs), once known as the most avoided man in boxing, reportedly  needs a solid opponent for his July 9 return on HBO, in which he will attempt  to rebound from his devastating Knockout of the Year loss last November to Sergio Martinez. Latimore is more than up to filling that slot if Williams is truly serious.

 “I will knockout Paul Williams,” Latimore confidently forecasted. “I take nothing away from him. He’s still one of the best fighters in the world but I’m near my prime and still getting better every day. It’s time for me to break through and beating Williams on HBO is the way to do that. I think me and Williams makes for a great TV fight, one that fans want to see, and it should be easy to make, too. I’m looking for a big opportunity on one of the major networks to showcase the new, complete Deadre Latimore. Williams says he is the most avoided fighter in boxing. Well, I’m not avoiding him, and he needs to put up or shut up. Let’s do it!”

 St. Louis-bred Latimore, who now lives in Las Vegas, stopped Sechew Powell (23-1) for his signature victory to date, nearly three years ago by seventh-round technical knockout, setting the stage for an All-St. Louis title fight April 24, 2009 between Latimore and Cory Spinks for the vacant IBF strap. Spinks (36-5) won a controversial 12-round split decision (115-112, 113-114, 112-115) and two fights later in a rematch, Latimore dropped a 12-round majority decision to Powell in an IBF title eliminator. Powell, as the No. 1 contender, is now set to challenge IBF champion Cornelius “K9” Bundrage on June 25, ironically, right in Latimore’s hometown of St. Louis. 

Latimore is co-promoted by Rumble Time Promotions and DiBella Entertainment.

 “We know we have a finished Deandre Latimore,” Rumble Time Promotions President and CEO Steven Smith noted. “He went through a lot of trials and errors, but he’s with the right trainer now, Ray Franklin, who was Kenny Adams’ assistant when he trained Latimore. When Deandre turned pro, he had that big punch, but not a lot of movement. Now, he does it all using jabs, angles and defense with a lot of movement and, as the boxing world knows, he can flat-out punch. He’s also in the best cardio shape of his life because of Ray. When Deandre knocked down Spinks in the first round, he faded in the later rounds, but he doesn’t have that problem anymore. Ray absorbed everything when he worked with Adams and strength and conditioning has always been his major strength.

 “Power and movement is why Deandre will beat Paul Williams. It is the same combination that Sergio Martinez used to knockout Williams. I think we’ll do the same thing with the same result. Paul Williams wasn’t just knocked out in his last fight, he was demolished, and we think he’s mentally done. A fighter never gets over something like that. As soon as he feel’s Deandre’s power, he will fold-up again. If Williams fails to accept our challenge, we’ll fight Erislandy Lara any place, anytime.”    

The 25-year-old Latimore pitched a complete shutout against the battle-tested Sharpe, winning each of the eight rounds on all three judges’ scorecards by identical scores of 80-72. From start to finish, the stylish southpaw repeatedly displayed his full arsenal of punishing punches landing on Sharpe’s head and body, ranging from left upper cuts to right hooks and everything in between.  Before entering the ring to fight Latimore, Sharpe had fought some of the top, young 154-pounders in the world such as Andy Lee, Pawel Wolak, Giovanni Lorenzo and Peter Quillin.

 “I give myself an A+ grade for my last fight,” Latimore added. “I did everything we had worked on in training camp. I wanted to show HBO and everybody else what I can do; not only can I knockout people, I can box, move, not get hit and still be punishing. Paul Williams will find that out for himself if he fights me July 9th.”

 Go online to www.RumbleTimePromotions.com for more information about Latimore or any of his Rumble Time Promotions stable-mates.

 

 

 

 

 

WILLIE PEP CLASSIC IN HARTFORD FEATURES GRANO

 

Willie Pep: Born Gugloermo Papaleo in 1922 in Middletown, CT. He was a 2-time world champion who retired in 1966 after a 26 year professional career with an amazing 229-11-1 (65 KOs) record. In 1990, Pep was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York. He died November 23, 2006 at the age of 84.

Go to fullsize image

 

Grano in crossroads fight Apr. 9 in Hartford

“The Willie Pep Boxing Classic’ at Conn. Convention Center

 

HARTFORD (March 31, 2011) – Popular Connecticut heavyweight Tony “TNT” Grano will be in a crossroads fight April 9 when he headlines “The Willie Pep Boxing Classic,” presented by Hard Hittin’ Promotions (“HHP”), at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.

 

Grano (17-2-1, 13 KOs), fighting out of nearby Hebron, faces veteran “Diamond” Dominque Alexander in the 8-round main event. Grano, the WBF All-Americas heavyweight champion and 2005 U.S. Nationals winner, is coming off his second career loss, the first by stoppage, last June to Nicolai Firtha in June. Grano hopes to get back where he was in 2009, when he knocked out previously unbeaten Travis Kauffman (18-0) on ShoBox.

 

“I feel real good and have been training hard,” Grano reported. “I’ve been getting good work in the gym, hitting the roads running, and I’ve been working with good sparring partners. I feel sharp and I’m excited about getting back into the ring. I felt that I got a bad shake in my last fight where there was an early stoppage. I was in great condition, physically, but not mentally. I wasn’t focused and didn’t have a good game plan, Not being focused killed me.

 

“He rocked me in the first round and I was hit when down. That through me out of what game plan I had and I went toe-to-toe with a big guy – punch-for-punch – and you can’t do that in this division. I was totally shocked when the referee stopped the fight. I was throwing back and had just hit him with a three-punch combination.”

 

Alexander has fought WBO heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs and current WBO cruiserweight titlist Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, in addition to world heavyweight title challengers Kali Meehan and Fres Oquendo, and Odlanier Solis.

 

“I know Alexander is experienced with over 30 fights against guys like Briggs and Solis. I do know that every time he’s stepped up he’s been stopped. I don’t take anybody lightly but, personally, I don’t think he can last more than four rounds with me. Not the way I feel right now. I’m very confident and in great shape. This is a good guy for me to get back in the ring with.

 

“I’m ready to make a serious statement. I’m going to show everybody on April 9th that I’m ready to make the next step up. After this fight I want to stay busy and get back in the ring in May or June.”

 

The undercard showcases some of the best young fighters in New England, including Meriden (CT) by way of Mexico bantamweight Danny Aquino (5-1, 1 KO) vs. James Owens (4-2, 2 KOs), Puerto Rican junior welterweight prospect – training in New Haven – Javier “El Chino” Flores (5-0, 4 KOs) vs. game Norwalk (CT) veteran Shakha Moore (10-15-3, 2 KOs), and promising New Haven featherweight and former amateur standout, Luis Rosa (5-0, 2 KOs) vs. Tommy Attencio (4-6, 2 KOs), all in 6-round bouts. Undefeated East Hartford Joseph “Chip” Perez (5-0, 2 KOs) faces Charles Vanderveer (1-1, 1 KO) in a 4-rounder.

 

Also scheduled to fight on the undercard are a pair of Middletown (CT) favorites, light heavyweight Doug Cartelli (1-0) and pro-debuting junior middleweight Willie Picard. They’ll be facing the Williams brothers, respectively, Jaquan (pro debut) and Charles (0-1), from North Carolina. All fights and fighters are subject to change.

 

Tickets are priced at $100.00 (ringside), $80.00 (preferred seating), $60.00 (reserved) and $40.00 (general admission) and are available to purchase by calling 860.402.4838 or The Lions Den at 860.613.2394.

-30-

 

 

 

 

 

DONAIRE STOPS MONTIEL IN STYLE

 

04/20/2011

The "Filipino Flash" Nonito Donaire (26-1, 18 KO's) scored a scintillating 2nd round, one-punch knockout versus Fernando Montiel (44-3-2, 34 KO's), capturing the WBC & WBO Bantamweight titles. Donaire, 28, gave Montiel, 31, problems with his high-caliber speed and agility, landing a crisp left hook over Montiel's right cross that misfired early in round one. The same sequence would repeat itself later in round two with disastrous effects for Montiel. He displayed a great deal of trouble getting close to the lightning-quick Donaire, who found his range by utilizing feints and employing superior lateral movement.



In round two, Montiel missed with a right cross again before Donaire landed a powerful counter-left hook to his head, only this time it was more precise and damaging. After Montiel was struck, he dropped instantly to the canvas, his legs twitching rapidly as he lay flat on his back. Miraculously, Montiel got back up ahead of the ten count, however, he was clearly out on his feet. Yet, referee Russell Mora gave Montiel a chance, although Donaire vigorously charged forward, connecting with a clean left hook - straight right combination to Montiel's chin, prompting the bout to be halted. Official time of the stoppage was 2:25.

Donaire continues to put on his best performances in his biggest fights. Since 2007, Donaire has stopped nine of his last ten opponents, including a fifth-round TKO win over a previously unbeaten Vic Darchinyan, a victory that might be Donaire's second career best when compared to tonight's showing. Rafael Concepcion, who lost a twelve-round unanimous decision to Donaire in 2009, was the only fighter to the last the distance with him in that time span. Undoubtedly, Donaire has now proven that he belongs among the discussion of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world with another stellar appearance.

Jones Defeats Soto-Karass Again

For the second time, Philadelphia's Mike Jones (24-0, 18 KO's) defeated an extremely durable Jose Soto-Karass (24-6-3, 16 KO's) via twelve-round unanimous decision in a rigorous welterweight bout. Official scores were 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113. With the victory, Jones retained his NABA, WBO-NABO and WBC Continental Americas welterweight titles.

Soto-Karass controlled the pace of round one, as Jones readily backpedaled to avoid his constant pressure.

In round two, Soto-Karass scored with a right uppercut to Jones' body, but Jones started dictating the flow of the round with his methodical left jab and slick counter punching ability.

Soto-Karass suffered a wide cut on the corner of his left eye in round three, resulting from an accidental clash of heads. However, referee Kenny Bayless, who is unable to see HBO's instant replay, ruled the cut was caused by a punch. Later, Jones connected with some sharp right uppercuts. Soto-Karass also received a minor cut on the corner of his right eye. Soto-Karass relentlessly pressured Jones again, landing solid rights to his body and head during round four.

Jones answered in the fifth round, scoring with distinct left hook - right uppercut combinations.

Jones was controlling the action in round six when Soto-Karass hurt him with a sound right to the face. As a result, Jones received an abrasion on his left cheek slightly under his eye. Although Soto-Karass successfully landed that punch, he was starting to fatigue and appeared one-dimensional.

Soto-Karass' punch output significantly dropped by round eight, enabling Jones to circle to his left easily, and land a series of right and left uppercuts.

Jones slowed Soto-Karass' body attack in round nine, repeatedly striking the 28-year-old Mexican warrior in the body with hard right-hand shots. After that, Soto-Karass and Jones' foreheads collided fiercely, but neither man endured a cut.

The ringside doctor looked carefully at Soto-Karass' eye in round ten, but allowed him to continue fighting. By this point, Soto-Karass was absorbing enormous punishment from Jones, who landed clean, sharp punches at will.

Soto-Karass, bloodied and exhausted in round eleven, was sent into the ropes after Jones hurt him with a definitive right uppercut to the face.

Jones calmly boxed in the twelfth round, as a gassed Soto-Karass courageously brought steady pressure until the final bell.

--
Posted By Welcome to the BOXING LEDGER! to BOXING LEDGER | LATEST BOXING BLOGS | BOXING ARTICLES | BOXING BLOG FIGHT at 2/20/2011 10:06:00 AM

 

 

NYC BROADWAY BOXING RESULTS

140lb Gabriel Bracero (14-0, 1 KO) was victorious again Wednesday night, taking an eight-round unanimous decision over Chris Fernandez (19-12-1, 11 KO's) in the main event at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill. Official scores were 79-72, and 80-71 twice. 

Bracero, 29, had difficulty with Fernandez' constant pressure in round one. Fernandez pressed the action, and did not let Bracero get his punches off. 
In round two, Fernandez' punch output dropped, and Bracero started to find his groove, using superior lateral movement and unleashing quick combinations. From that point, Bracero took full control of the fight in front of a boisterous crowd cheering for him.

In round four, Bracero found his range and Fernandez began following him around the ring. 

Although Bracero lacks knockout power, he is able to overwhelm his opponents with his swift hand speed and large volume punching. In round five, he hurt Fernandez with a rapid right cross - left hook combination to the head. Fernandez backed into the ropes, but Bracero could not finish him.
 
By round six, Fernandez lost the steam on his punches. However, Fernandez got a second-wind in rounds seven and eight, closing the distance between them. Yet, Bracero used his first-class boxing skills to move in and out smoothly en route to another win.
 
Mark Tucker (15-0, 7 KO's) remained unbeaten, scoring a six-round unanimous decision over Ray Smith (9-5, 3 KO's) in a light heavyweight bout. Official scores were 59-55 on all three judges' scorecards, however, the bout was closer than the scores indicate. 
Tucker, 23, dazed Smith with a right hook in the first round. In round two, Smith pushed Tucker back, scoring with a right to the body. Smith connected with a five-punch combination early in round three, as Tucker lay against the ropes. Tucker, a southpaw, displayed a solid chin after taking a flush right hand from Smith in round four. 
 
In the final two rounds, both fighters shared some dazzling moments, connecting with clean, but not overwhelmingly effective blows.
 
Light heavyweight Seanie Monaghan (5-0, 4 KO's) scored a third-round stoppage versus Angel Gonzalez (2-4, 2 KO's). The ringside doctor stopped the bout at the end of round three. Gonzalez vehemently protested the doctor's ruling.
 
Gonzalez showed a ton of heart, but was getting nailed repeatedly with a series of clean left hooks and right hands to the head from Monaghan. He gave Gonzalez a bloody nose in the third round after striking him with a devastating right. Monaghan thoroughly assaulted Gonzalez' body too, although he was tiring just before the stoppage was announced. Monaghan's next appearance will be March 12th on the undercard of Martinez - Dzinziruk.
 
Junior middleweight Boyd Melson (2-0) improved his record with a controversial, four-round majority decision against Marquise Bruce (0-1-1). Official scores were 38-38, and 39-37 twice. Bruce caught Melson with a sharp left uppercut in round two. Next, Bruce tagged Melson with a left hook that left him slightly dazed. Bruce's steady pressure dictated the pace in the first two rounds.
Melson came on strong in round three, connecting with a punishing straight left to Bruce's face.

Bruce got his punches off before Melson for most of round four. Melson exchanged blow-for-blow with him. In the final seconds, Bruce landed a big right hand.
 
Keisher McLeod-Wells (4-1, 1 KO) captured a six-round unanimous decision win over Melissa McMorrow (4-2-3) in a highly-contested flyweight battle. Official scores were 58-55, and 57-56 twice. McMorrow brought a tremendous amount of pressure in rounds one and two, hammering away at McLeod-Wells relentlessly. McLeod-Wells worked behind a steady left jab, but lacked the power to significantly hurt McMorrow. However, McLeod-Wells scored a knockdown in round six when she landed a right, resulting in McMorrow's right glove touching the canvas.
 
Junior lightweight Ryan Kielczewski (9-0, 2 KO) won 60-54 on all scorecards versus Wilshaun Boxley (6-8-1). Kielczewski controlled the contest by utilizing a stinging left jab. As each round passed, Kielczewski increased his punch output, and inflicted damaging blows to Boxley's head and body. In the closing seconds of the fight, Kielczewski attacked Boxley ferociously to the body with a series of left hooks, followed by a powerful right to the face that sent him staggering into the ropes. Kielczewski's next bout will be on the undercard of Martinez - Dzinziruk on March 12th.
 
Sidell Blocker (1-3-1) upset Deano Burrell (1-1, 1 KO) in a four-round lightweight bout. Official scores were 37-36, and 38-37 twice. 
 
In the first round, Burrell sustained a cut right eye, resulting from an accidental clash of heads. After that, Blocker landed a lighting-quick right that dropped Burrell.
 
Again, Blocker scored a knockdown in round two after peppering Burrell, a southpaw, with a barrage of punches. When Burrell got back up, he answered with some wide right hooks. Then, he started to land straight lefts to Blocker's face. 
 
In round three, Burrell was winging right hooks, but started to show fatigue. 
 
Both guys battled in close quarters in the final round, although it was a little too late for Burrell to make an impact on the judges' scorecards.
 
Steven Martinez (8-0, 7 KO's) scored a sensational first-round stoppage at 1:11 against Ishwar Amador (11-9, 7 KO's). Martinez, 20, stunned Amador with a fierce left hook to the head. From there, Martinez dropped him with a firm right to the face. Moments later, Martinez connected with a solid left hook to Amador's body, and followed it with a sequence of right hand shots until referee Earl Brown halted the action.
 
Featherweight Joseliz Cepeda (3-1) scored a four-round unanimous decision victory over Allan Benitez, who was making his professional debut. Official scores were 40-36, and 39-37 twice. 

Benitez gave up an enormous reach advantage to Cepeda, and had a great deal of trouble closing the distance the entire fight. As a result, Cepeda was able to swarm him with a large volume of punches en route to victory. 

Posted By Welcome to the BOXING LEDGER! to BOXING LEDGER | LATEST BOXING BLOGS | BOXING ARTICLES | BOXING BLOG FIGHT at 2/10/2011 08:13:00 AM

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Around The Ring”

Adamek Stops Maddalone

By Bobby Breen

 

            Dec. 11th, 2010. Tomasz Adamek looked impressive Thursday night against Vinny Maddalone at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. Stopping the always determined Maddalone at 2:17 of round five, Adamek continues his climb to heavyweight legitimacy. Adamek used his quicker hands and snapping combinations to put Maddalone on the defensive from the start. There were a few clinches and mix-ups forced by Maddalone, who tried in vain to launch an offense. Maddalone landed a few hard right hands, but not enough to gain momentum. Some of his skills just weren’t there on this night. Adamek at 216 ½  handled the bigger Maddalone who came in at 230 lbs.  In rounds one and two it was Adamek forcing the action landing multiple combinations to the body of Maddalone. In rounds three and four Adamek started the climb upstairs puffing up the eyes of Maddalone. In round four Adamek landed some big shots but Maddalone keep coming and on his feet. Round five it was all Adamek who landed hard on Vinny knocking him down at the midpoint of the round (1:30). Maddalone was barely up on his feet before being peppered again from Adamek who knocked Maddalone down for the second and last time with about forth three seconds remaining in the round.

               

Adamek floors Vinny Maddalone in round five.

 

As referee Steve Smoger moved in for the eight count, Maddalone’s trainer mounted the ring apron calling for a stop to the fight. The bout ended at 2:17 of round five and was recorded as a TKO. Maddalone, never a quitter was visably was upset with his corner. Adamek steps up in bigger heavier contention in the heavyweight division hoping for shot at one of the major sanctioning body titles. Adamek retained his IBF International Heavyweight and NABO Heavyweight Championship belts.

 

Undercard: Patrick Majewski was a crowd favorite stopping Eddie Caminero at 1:20 in the last of their scheduled eight rounder. Majewski, from Atlantic City, NJ via Poland (as Adamek) improves to 15 (10)-0-0 as a light heavyweight. Brooklyn’s Sadam Ali, the former 2008 Olympian, improved to 11 (6)-0-0 with a unanimous decision over Manual Guzman in their eight round welterweight bout. Angel Concepcion remained undefeated at 4-0-0 with a unanimous decision in a scheduled four rounder in the light heavyweight division. The Newark native won over a very awkward style from Lekan Byfield of Yonkers, NY.

 

 

              
Credit Photo Chris Brooks. Newark, NJ native Angel Concepcion (L) lands a hard left hook on the chin of Lekan Byfield (R) of Yonkers, NY in their light heavyweight bout at the Prudential Center, Newark, NJ Dec. 9th, 2010.

 

Philadelphia’s Garbriel Rosado won by unanimous decision over Jose Medina in an eight round light middleweight match-up. Rosado looked impressive improving to 15(8)-5-0. Look for these young rising local stars on future Main Events cards.

 

         The complete results of the Thurs. December 9th pro- boxing card at the Prudential Center Newark, NJ;

 

1.       Tomasz Adamek (43(28)-1-0) TKO 2:17 Rnd. 5 Vinny Maddalone (33(24)-7-0) heavyweights

 

2.       Patrick Majewski (15(10)-0-0 TKO 1:20 Rnd. 8 Eddie Caminero (7(7)-4-0 super-middleweights

 

3.       Gabriel Rosado (15(8)-5-0 U-Dec. 8 Rnds. Jose Medina (12(5)-9-0 light-middleweights

 

4.       Sadam Ali (11(6)-0-0) U-Dec. 8 Rnds. Manuel Guzman (7(3)-10-2 welterweights

 

5.       Tavis Simms (26(11)-1-1 U-Dec. 6 Rnds. Willis Lockett (12(5)-11-5 middleweights

 

6.       Bryant Jennings (5(2)-0-0 TKO 2:18 Rnd. 2 Randy Smith 0-1-0       heavyweights

 

7.       Angel Concepcion (4-0-0) U-Dec. 4 Rnds. Lekan Byfield  0-1-0     light-heavyweights