Luis Collazo knocks out Victor Ortiz in the second round in Brooklyn

Victor Ortiz of Ventura had not been in the ring since June 2012, when his jaw was broken by Josesito Lopez in the ninth round at Staples Center. His return was not a happy one.

Southpaw Luis Collazo on Thursday night caught Ortiz with a clean right hook near the end of the second round, and knocked out Ortiz officially at 2:59 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Ortiz took a couple of more minor punches on the way down, went to both knees and never came close to rising.

Collazo, 32, of Brooklyn, is a former welterweight champion. He is now 35-5 with 18 knockouts. Ortiz, 27 on Friday, is also a former welterweight champion. He is now 29-5-2 and has lost three consecutive bouts.

Twitter Facebook Pinterest Reddit Tumblr Email Snailmail

Super lightweight champ Danny Garcia to defend against Mauricio Herrera in March

Super lightweight champion Danny Garcia of Philadelphia will defend his two championship belts March 15 against Mauricio Herrera of Riverside at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez in Bayamon, Puerto Rico (on Showtime), Golden Boy Promotions announced.

Garcia was born and raised in Philadelphia, and is of Puerto Rican descent.

“I’m a proud Puerto Rican and even though Herrera is a tough challenger, there is no way I’m losing in Puerto Rico,” said Garcia, 25; he is 27-0 with 16 knockouts.

Herrera, 33, is 20-3 with just seven knockouts. But he does have a January 2011 victory over current world champion Ruslan Provodnikov.

“I’ve waited a long time for a fight like this, and while I know Garcia is the favorite, I won’t be underestimated,” Herrera said. “I love the underdog role and I’m going to shock the world on March 15.”

 

Twitter Facebook Pinterest Reddit Tumblr Email Snailmail

Report: Argenis Mendez, knocked out after bell, gets his title back

The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry on Thursday ruled that the Jan. 3 fight between super featherweight champion Argenis Mendez of the Dominican Republic and Rances Barthelemy of Cuba held at Target Center in Minneapolis be changed to a no-decision result, ESPN.com reported.

Barthelemy was originally given credit for a second-round knockout when he kept throwing after the second-round bell and knocked out Mendez. Even though Barthelemy was clearly guilty of a foul, referee Pete Podgorski did not rule as such and instead counted out Mendez.

The ruling also means Mendez will get his title belt back from Barthelemy, though the report indicated the IBF will likely order a rematch.

 

 

 

Twitter Facebook Pinterest Reddit Tumblr Email Snailmail

Floyd Mayweather Jr. named Fighter of the Year by boxing writers

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been named Fighter of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America for the second time.

Mayweather, 36, fought twice in 2013, thoroughly dominating both of his opponents. Mayweather won a wide decision over Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero in May at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Four months later, in September at the same venue, Mayweather won a majority decision over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, taking Alvarez’s junior middleweight title along the way. That was the fight in which judge C.J. Ross unbelievably scored the fight a draw; she took an enormous amount of heat and consequently walked away from the sport. In reality, it was another one-sided victory by Mayweather.

Mayweather, 45-0 with 26 knockouts, is expected to soon announce the identity of his next opponent.

Twitter Facebook Pinterest Reddit Tumblr Email Snailmail

Freddie Roach named Trainer of the Year for sixth time by boxing writers

Freddie Roach has been named Trainer of the Year for the sixth time by the Boxing Writers Association of America. Roach, who most notably trains Manny Pacquiao, trains fighters out of his Wild Card gym in Hollywood.

“It’s good to be back,” said Roach, who also won the award in 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010. :”We had one year off when it seemed like nothing was going our way. But last year it all came together again. I’d like to thank the BWAA for this honor and even though I may be the recipient, I represent the collective efforts of the most talented and hardest-working fighters and assistant trainers in the world, and I thank them all from the bottom of my heart.”

Twitter Facebook Pinterest Reddit Tumblr Email Snailmail

Vanes Martirosyan of Glendale signs with Goossen Tutor Promotions

Vanes Martirosyan, a world-class junior middleweight from Glendale, has signed a promotional contract with Goossen Tutor Promotions after fighting the first eight years of his pro career with Top Rank Inc.

“I’m really excited about signing with Goossen Tutor Promotions,” said the 27-year-old Martirosyan, a 2004 U.S. Olympian. “I see a very bright future ahead of us.”

Martirosyan in November had his first shot at a world title but was defeated by Demetrius Andrade via split-decision.

“Having tasted defeat for the first time really woke me up and I never want that bitter taste in my mouth again,” said Martirosyan, 33-1-1 with 21 knockouts.

Promoter Dan Goossen is stoked to have acquired Martirosyan.

“This is a very exciting signing for our company,” he said. “What we look for in our fighters is talent and the desire and willingness to overcome every obstacle, and we know Vanes has all the tools to do just that.”
Martirosyan is slated to make his Goossen Tutor Promotions debut on a March 21 card at Morongo Resort & Casino in Cabazon (on ESPN2). His opponent is to be determined.
Twitter Facebook Pinterest Reddit Tumblr Email Snailmail

Mikey Garcia, Lamont Peterson get Saturday night victories in N.Y. and D.C.

Rivals Top Rank Inc. and Golden Boy Promotions on Saturday once again went up against each other with nationally televised shows on the same night.

Over at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Mikey Garcia of Oxnard retained his super featherweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Juan Carlos Burgos of Mexico. Garcia (34-0, 28 KOs) won by scores of 118-110, 118-110 and 119-109. Burgos is 30-2-2.

In the semi-main event, heavyweight contender Bryant Jennings (18-0, 10 KOs) of Philadelphia stopped Artur Szpilka (16-1) of Poland in the 10th round.

That Top Rank card was televised by HBO.

Over at DC Armory in Washington D.C., Lamont Peterson of Washington D.C. defended his super lightweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Dierry Jean of Canada. Peterson (32-2-1) won by scores of 115-13, 116-112 and 118-111. Jean is 25-1.

In the semi-main event, junior middleweight Jermell Charlo of Houston remained undefeated with a 10-round unanimous decision over tough Gabriel Rosado (21-8) of Philadelphia. Charlo (23-0) won by scores of 97-93, 99-91 and 100-90.

That Golden Boy Promotions card was televised by Showtime.

Twitter Facebook Pinterest Reddit Tumblr Email Snailmail

A lot goes into selecting Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s next opponent

We should find out soon who Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s next opponent will be, but it was interesting to find out this week about the way he thinks as he is going through the process of making that choice.

According to Richard Schaefer, a lot more goes into it than just selecting the fighter.

“Floyd is the kind of fighter who fights anyone,” said Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, which helps Mayweather promote his fights. “He is obviously ultimately deciding who he’s going to fight. But at the same time, he is frankly more interested in the marketing and creating the entire atmosphere and positioning of his fight week and fight night to basically make this, as it has been the past few years, without any question the event to be at. Like the Super Bowl of boxing.
“He just likes to create these big nights where you have cards which are top-to-bottom loaded, and he gets very much invovled in that.”

Mayweather, 36, is 45-0 with 26 knockouts. In his most recent bout, he won a majority decision over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Sept. 14 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. That was the fight where judge C.J. Ross scored the fight even, making hers one of the worst scorecards of the past 50 years, or since yours truly began watching boxing as a kid.

 

Twitter Facebook Pinterest Reddit Tumblr Email Snailmail

Golden Boy Promotions card one of three to be televised on Friday night

If you are a real boxing fan, you are going to love Friday night because three different cards will be televised on three different networks.

Closest to home, Antonio Orozco (18-0, 14 KOs) of San Diego will take on Miguel Angel Huerta (27-11-1, 18 KOs) of Mexico in the junior welterweight main event on a Golden Boy Promotions card at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio (on Fox Sports 1). Julian Ramirez (9-0, 6 KOs) of Pasadena will take on Derrick Wilson (10-5-2, 3 KOs) of Fort Myers, Fla. in the featherweight semi-main event.

Over in Shelton, Wash., Thomas Williams (15-0, 10 KOs) of Fort Washington, Md. and Cornelius White (21-2, 16 KOs) of Houston will square off in the light heavyweight main event from Little Creek Casino Resort (on ESPN2).

Also, Curtis Stevens (25-4, 18 KOs) of Brooklyn and Patrick Majewski (21-2, 13 KOs) of Atlantic City via Poland will fight in the middleweight main event from Resorts International in Atlantic City (on NBC Sports Network).

Twitter Facebook Pinterest Reddit Tumblr Email Snailmail