Yuriorkis Gamboa-Jorge Solis: The Pre-Report Card
It might be a B.A.D. fight but it’s not going to be a bad fight. The question heading into Saturday’s big contest for two alphabet titles at 126 lbs. is this:
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Cliff Rold
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3,425 stories on BoxingScene are published under the Cliff Rold byline.
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Articles by Cliff Rold: page 243
Lara Comes Down To Earth After Majority Draw Result
The so far charmed career of 27-year old former Cuban amateur star Erislandy Lara (15-0-1, 10 KO) got its first brush with curse on Friday night at the Cosmopolitan Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, as Lara, of Miami, Florida, was held to a draw in a spirited effort from 27-year old Carlos Molina (17-4-2, 5 KO) over ten rounds.
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Alejandro Perez Steps Up: Upset from East of Eden
In a mild upset and entertaining surprise, 24-year old Jr. Featherweight Alejandro Perez (15-2-1, 10 KO) roared out of Steinbeck Country, Salinas, California, to turn out recently serious Featherweight contender Antonio Escalante (24-4, 15 KO) in a single round at the Sports Center in Fairfield, California, on Friday night.
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Dmitry Pirog Oughta’ Be The Contender
By Cliff Rold - It’s been one of the best boxing stories in recent memory. A child of poverty from the rough streets of Argentina doesn’t even pick up a boxing glove until he’s already a young man. Over the course of some 13 years as a pro, he learns his craft, takes his lumps, travels the world, and finally arrives on the big stage. First he faces the ‘most feared fighter on the planet,’ trading knockdowns, landing the harder stuff most of the night, and settling for a narrow loss. The boxing world is fairly split on a winner and he parlays the sentiment into a crack at the lineal Middleweight Champion of the World. Coming off the floor and from behind on the cards, he busts the champ to pieces down the stretch, all three judges giving him the nod on the cards. Then, one more time, it’s ‘most feared.’ Only now, the new champ, he’s not afraid of anything. At least it seems that way. He blows through fear with a single shot in the second round, earning worldly recognition as boxing’s equivalent of MVP, Fighter of the Year. All great performances need an encore. The champ provides one, decimating arguably the finest Jr. Middleweight in the world with a multi-knockdown thumping. Jr. Middleweight? Yeah, that used to just be a smaller Middleweight. The win was further validation.
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BoxingScene.com's Television Picks of the Week
The wait for a good Heavyweight fight continues.
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The Art of Showing Up: Weekend Review, Ratings Update
by Cliff Rold - It was, in the end, a joke. The desire to see a compelling Heavyweight fight was, remains, strong. The hope that a fighter with the tools and talent of an Odlanier Solis could embrace those things and get himself into real condition was strong as well. It was wasted hope. Solis is what he is and he is an overweight Heavyweight. When he stepped on the scale a few under 250 lbs. on Friday, some hailed that he was lighter than normal, that he’d taken a fight with Vitali Klitschko seriously. It turned out he was just in better shape so far as being less fat, not to be confused with his best shape. In this corner, a bold prediction was made. In the pre-fight report card, Solis was picked to win…
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Super Seventh: Bute Clears the Way for Kessler
by Cliff Rold - Making his third straight start at the electric Bell Centre in the town he call home, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 31-year old Romanian IBF Super Middleweight titlist Lucian Bute (28-0, 23 KO), scored his fifth consecutive stoppage and seventh successful defense, overcoming an intense challenge from 35-year old Brian Magee (34-4-1, 24 KO) of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Bute scored three knockdowns on the night, along with an uncredited fourth, ultimately finishing matters in the tenth round. Both men weighed in below the division’s 168 lb. limit, Bute at 167 ¾ and Magee at 167 ½. A measured pace carried the opening frame after an early frantic burst from both men. Bute, relaxed in front of his typically ecstatic crowd, controlled much of the space of the round with his southpaw right jab. Magee, also a southpaw, landed a hard left cross late to get Bute’s attention. In the second, the action went often to close quarters. Magee used the chances in the clinches to thump in body blows. Bute struggled to find a home for his right hook. It was a game of right hands in the early going of the third. Magee landed a hook first. Moments later Bute answered and took the immediate counter before ripping Magee underneath to slow the Irishman’s charge.
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Solomon Shows More Fire, Continues To Climb at 147
By Cliff Rold - Extending his unbeaten to ledger to seventeen contests, 27-year old Brad Solomon (17-0, 7 KO) of Lafayette, Louisiana, used an awkward attack, strong infighting, and obvious desire to score a decisive ten-round unanimous decision over the 30-year old nephew of the great Bernard Hopkins, Demetrius Hopkins (30-2-1, 11 KO) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Friday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Café in Hollywood, Florida. Hopkins initially missed the Welterweight limit for the fight before scaling at 147. Solomon came in under the limit at a cut 145 ½. The referee was Tommy Kimmons. Hopkins began the first illustrating his greater professional experience, focused and steady where Solomon fought on edge, tense. Those nerves meant Solomon was leading, his left jab snaking and a wide right catching Hopkins at mid-ring just inside the halfway mark. Hopkins just missed with a couple of one-twos in the closing seconds.
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M-Cubed: BoxingScene’s Pound for Pound Top Ten
The top two slots in the BoxingScene pound-for-pound ratings, for now, remain secure. The next three slots are all up for grabs. The only thing that can be certain is that each man’s last name begins with the letter “M.”
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Klitschko, Bute Put It On the Line: Weekend Report Card
by Cliff Rold - They might be the best fighters in their respective divisions. Neither has yet had a chance to prove it. One of them might be on the verge. The other sees time slipping away. Lucian Bute is a tremendous package of talent, fire, and is long into a belted run in the deep Super Middleweight division. Unfortunately, as could be prognosticated, the Super Six tournament in that class has mean big fights for just about everyone but Bute. This weekend, he takes the latest stay busy fight…or should it be said stay fresh? While his peers beat each other up, every victory brings him closer to the day when he can stand across from the Super Six winner ready to prove his place. Challenger Brian Magee will look to upend those hopes. Does he have a shot?
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