Lynwood’s Dominic Coca had no answer for Gabino Saenz and was stopped by Saenz at 2:27 of the first round on the undercard of the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Bryan Vera fight on Saturday at StubHub Center.
Coca is 8-4. Saenz, of Indio, is 11-0-1.
Diego Magdaleno of Las Vegas is now 24-1 after winning a unanimous decision over Edgar Riovalle (35-16-2) of Mexico City in a 10-round lightweight bout on the undercard of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Bryan Vera on Saturday at StubHub Center. Scores were 100-90 three times.
Chavez-Vera will be televised by HBO.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. weighed in at 172.4 pounds Friday, just under the 173-pound limit to which he agreed to fight Bryan Vera on Saturday at StubHub Center in Carson (on HBO).
Chavez, a former middleweight champion, told his promoter (Bob Arum) this week he was not going to be able to make the 168-pound super middleweight limit – the agreed upon weight that originally was 163 and then 165.
Arum and Vera’s promoter, Artie Pelullo, came up with the new 173-pouind limit Wednesday.
Vera, 31, of Austin, Texas, weighed 171.2 pounds. He is 23-6 with 14 knockouts. Chavez, 27, of Mexico, is 46-1-1 with 32 knockouts.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Bryan Vera were originally supposed to fight at a catch-weight of 163 pounds Saturday at StubHub Center. Then it was moved to 165, then to 168 and now to 173 as Chavez has had difficulty holding up his end of the weight bargain.
Bob Arum, who promotes former middleweight champion Chavez, on Tuesday told reporters he would sit down with Vera’s promoter, Artie Pelullo, to discuss a new weight above 168. At Wednesday’s final news conference, Arum said we would all have to “Wait for the weight,” at Friday’s weigh-in.
However, late Wednesday night, Ronnie Shields – Vera’s trainer – told BoxingScene.com that a new agreement for 173 pounds was reached, and that Vera would be financially compensated for basically putting up with what has turned out to be a ridiculous scenario, even by boxing’s standards. The bout – which will be televised by HBO – also has been reduced from 12 rounds to 10.
Chavez (46-1-1, 32 KOs), still just 27, had trouble making the middleweight limit of 160, and now he can’t even make 168.
According to Shields, the 31-year-old Vera (23-6, 14 KOs), of Austin, Texas, weighed 167 on Wednesday, one under the limit at which he thought he was going to fight Chavez.
Longtime promoter Bob Arum, 81, has made no bones about being an advocate for marijuana. He was in rare form Tuesday when he played host to a conference call for Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., who Saturday will take on Bryan Vera in the super middleweight main event at StubHub Center in Carson (on HBO).
Chavez tested positive for marijuana after his middleweight title fight against Sergio Martinez (who defeated Chavez) on Sept. 15, 2012, at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Chavez was initially fined $900,000 and suspended nine months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which later reduced the fine to $100,000.
During the conference call, a reporter asked Chavez to talk about the marijuana consumption. After Chavez said things like, “Everyone makes mistakes,” and, “We are all human,” Arum chimed in, and strongly.
“I want to go on record as saying there is nothing wrong with smoking pot,” Arum said. “Any suspension for an athlete having smoked marijuana other than when he was actually performing in the ring, is unconscionable. Even WADA has said the same thing.
“Let’s be real about it. There is nothing wrong with pot and pot can actually be beneficial. … I don’t think he did anything wrong by smoking pot weeks before the fight.”
WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency, recently raised the levels of marijuana an athlete would have to have in his/her system before being in violation. The new levels needed for a dirty test were raised from 15 nanograms per milliliter to 150. That means an athlete would have to smoke pot not long before an event in order to get nabbed.
In a story published in July on a website named Medical Daily, Allen St. Pierre – executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws – said that with the new standard, an athlete would have to be a “pretty dedicated cannabis consumer.” Basically, what WADA is saying, out of competition use of marijuana is no longer a concern.
Remaining tickets for Saturday’s card are priced at $20, $50, $100 and $200. They can be purchased online at www.axs.com or by calling 888-604-8777
Welterweight Sadam Ali of Brooklyn of Brooklyn will put his undefeated record on the line next Monday when he takes on Jay Krupp of Catskill, N.Y., in the main event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Golden Boy Promotions card will be televised live on Fox Sports 1.
Ali, 24, is 16-0 with 10 knockouts. He has stopped seven of his past nine opponents inside the distance. This will be the first bout under the Golden Boy banner for Ali, who has not fought in 11 months.
Krupp, 30, is 17-5 with eight knockouts.
The epilogue for All Access: Mayweather vs. Alvarez will be televised Wednesday night on Showtime at 10 p.m. It is Showtime’s final piece of coverage for the Sept. 14 junior middleweight championship bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, won by Mayweather at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The show will take viewers behind the scenes for a look at all the drama of fight week as well as fight night
Former heavyweight champion David Haye was cut over his left eye during sparring and his showdown with fellow Brit Tyson Fury slated for next Saturday in Manchester, England has been postponed, ESPN.com reported.
The bout was to be televised on HBO. No new date has been established.
This past Saturday’s junior middleweight title fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez won by Mayweather at MGM Grand in Las Vegas set a record for pay-per-view revenue, Showtime announced Thursday.
The previous record of $136 million was set by Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya for their 2007 fight won by Mayweather. Showtime reported that Mayweather-Alvarez, which came at a higher cost of $64.95 and even more for high definition, did about $150 million in revenue, and that could increase when all is said and done.
It is still not known if the record of actual buys was broken. That was 2.48 million for De La Hoya-Mayweather. Showtime said that so far it has tracked a projected 2.2 million buys for Mayweather-Alvarez.
The fight will be replayed on Showtime on Saturday night.
HBO’s 24/7: Bradley-Marquez will debut Sept. 28 ahead of the Oct. 12 welterweight title fight between Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas (on HBO pay-per-view).
Bradley, of Palm Springs, will be looking to make the second successful defense of his title. Bradley, 30, is 30-0 with 12 knockouts.
Marquez, 40, is an all-time great from Mexico. He is 55-6-1 with 40 knockouts.
The second episode is slated for Oct. 5.