Riverside’s Mauricio Herrera realizes what he’s up against with Danny Garcia

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Robert Morales

Mauricio Herrera of Riverside will have quite a task in front of him when he challenges Danny Garcia of Philadelphia for his two super lightweight belts on March 15 at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez in Bayamon, Puerto Rico (on Showtime). And he knows it.

“I know this is a huge opportunity, and I’m going to take full advantage of it,” said Herrera, 33. “To have a shot at Danny’s belts has been a dream of mine for a long time.

“Danny Garcia is an intelligent and tough fighter, but so am I. I’m coming to Puerto Rico and I know there is a lot of pressure. But, hopefully they will support me, too.”

Herrera (20-3, 7 KOs) , who has never fought for a major title, is Mexican-American. Garcia (27-0, 16 KOs) is Puerto Rican-American, so he figures to have the bulk of the fans that night.

Danny Garcia says all the right things at news conference in Puerto Rico

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Robert Morales

Super lightweight champion Danny Garcia is an outstanding fighter. He’s also smart enough to say all the right things at the right time.

Garcia, born and raised in Philadelphia, is of Puerto Rican descent. On Tuesday, he helped play host to a news conference in Puerto Rico promoting his March 15 title defense there against Mauricio Herrera of Riverside (on Showtime).

Garcia apparently wanted locals to know where his heart is, so he came with all kinds of good stuff.

“I am a Puerto Rican,” he said. “I could have been born on the moon, but I’m still a Puerto Rican.”

That’s not all.

“I think that Puerto Rico is going to accept me as its own after I win on March 15,” he said. “Philadelphia might be my birthplace, but Puerto Rico is my blood.”

Garcia, just 25, is 27-0 with 16 knockouts. Herrera, 33, is 20-3 with seven knockouts. The two will tangle at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez in Bayamon.

Check out this Showtime video featuring the network’s best fights of 2013

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Robert Morales

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

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Robert Morales

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.”

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

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Robert Morales

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.

Check out this Showtime video of Dierry Jean and Lamont Peterson, who tangle Saturday

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Robert Morales

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

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Robert Morales

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.

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez says loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. was difficult to take

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Robert Morales

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez really thought he was going to be the one to hand Floyd Mayweather Jr. his first loss. Instead, Mayweather gave Alvarez his first setback this past September at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Alvarez, along with fellow Mexican Alfredo Angulo, on Tuesday first played host to a conference call, then to a news conference in Los Angeles formally announcing their fight for March 8 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (on Showtime pay-per-view).

One reporter asked Alvarez how difficult it was to overcome his initial defeat. To his credit, the 23-year-old was very candid about it.

“It was hard, and it hurt my honor,” said Alvarez, who lost his junior middleweight title to Mayweather. “It’s very tough. Nobody ever wants to lose.”

But you know what they say, it’s not whether one loses, it’s how one responds to it. From the sound of it, Alvarez is responding well.

“But I don’t see it as a loss, I see it as a learning experience,” he said, “and I’m going to take the best out of it.”

Alvarez is 42-1-1 with 30 knockouts. Angulo, 31, is 22-3 with 18 knockouts.

‘Canelo’ Alvarez, ‘Perro’ Angulo play host to L.A. news conference; public invited

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Robert Morales

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez of Mexico and countryman Alfredo “Perro” Angulo on Tuesday at 1 p.m. will play host to a news conference formally announcing their junior middleweight fight slated for March 8 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (on Showtime pay-per-view).

The proceedings will take place outdoors near the Cafe Pinot Restaurant by the Los Angeles Central Public Library in downtown Los Angeles.

Former champion Alvarez, just 23, is 42-1-1 with 30 knockouts. Angulo, 31, is 22-3 with 18 knockouts.

‘Canelo’ Alvarez, ‘Perro’ Angulo looking forward to their March 8 clash at MGM Grand

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Robert Morales

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez of Mexico and countryman Alfredo “Perro” Angulo recently signed to fight each other March 8 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (on Showtime pay-per-view).

Alvarez (42-1-1, 30 KOs) is coming off his first setback, a majority-decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September, and it sounds like he’s really aching to lace up the gloves again.

“This is a great fight for me and for the fans and I can’t wait to get back in the ring on March 8,” said Alvarez, a former junior middleweight champion who lost his title to Mayweather. “Angulo is a true warrior and I have to be alert every second of every round when I fight him. I expect that we will put on a fight no one will ever forget.”

Angulo, 22-3 with 18 knockouts, is never in a dull fight.

“‘Canelo’ is a great young fighter who has earned his way to the top,” Angulo said. “That being said, I know I’m hungrier than he is right now and I will take him to places he’s never been. Our fans in Mexico and around the world will see what we’re all about when we fight.”

A total of four fights will make up the pay-per-view portion of this Golden Boy Promotions card. The other big one will see Leo Santa Cruz (27-0-1, 15 KOs) of Lincoln Heights defending his super bantamweight belt against Cristian Mijares (49-7-2, 24 KOs) of Mexico.

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