will show how the two boxing fighters prepare for their fight on June 9, 2012.

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The Mexican-American boxer, Brandon Rios has gained considerable popularity in his career for his fighting style. There is just so much fieriness in him whenever he boxes and that kind of passion has helped him grow a good following in the sport, so that in a previous article I referred to him as Mr.Excitement, which I'm sure many would agree. He throws punches enthused and has an almost equal eagerness to take some hits himself with a capability to sustain the action with a rock hard chin. Coming into this fight he issued a statement that he had trained hard enough for war and there is no reason to doubt it.

When the bell sounded off to signal a battle had formally begun, Brandon Rios trotted his way into a ring against an opponent he could barely hit. Richard Abril didn't look as powerful as he, nor does he seem to have the kind of physique that can keep up with Rios if he opted to set himself up in a toe-to-toe style of fighting. But in Boxing, the science of it makes it so that the stronger, bigger man doesn't always win. Rios clearly looked so much more solid out there and even the heavier of the two especially after missing the weight requirement by two pounds during the weigh in and should now be a full-fledged Junior Welterweight.

Richard Abril didn't  have to think hard on how to tackle his foe, nor hope or pray to the gods for a physical quality he doesn't have. He simply used his height and long reach advantage to protect his lanky frame and worked the hardest behind his jab. It was the right approach to an opponent like Rios who consistently presses for action, and perhaps his only sound option of getting things done under the circumstances, otherwise he would most likely succumb to the relentless pressure just as the slick Miguel Acosta before him. If this was war as Rios had said he had trained for, then he would be out marching under the piercing rays of the sun in an open field, fighting fiercely on the ground against an enemy firing comfortably from the sky. 

Many would say that Brandon Rios looked gaunt up close & that he was not himself in the ring. But had he been in good form that night of the fight my guess is that he would still have lost against the slithering Abril on the grounds of the efficacy of the latter's tactic. He was so out boxed in that fight that sometimes I forget he had actually won it in a strongly contested Split Decision. 

Rios kept walking in to his opposition's jab that snapped his head back from time to time. It wasn't so much that Abril's jab was very precise but it's apparently due to his lack of head movement and stiff posture. He didn't move side to side nor time Abril's long arm coming in so he could slip in to the side and plant that bomb to the body. Head movement makes an opponent miss a lot of jabs and follow up punches and gives you split second opportunities to come in. And the offensive side of his game was not so bright either. Instead of throwing jabs as his corner encouraged him, Rios just kept barging in only to be met with uppercuts and shots to the head and body by an opponent that has already snaked out of harm's away. Rios wasn't too quick to cut his opponent's movement in the ring. Sometimes it looked like he was just walking, flat footed, and sometimes following in on Abril's wake around the ring. Most of his punches landed whenever their bodies were locked against each other, arms tangled. But in those exchanges, Richard Abril threw some of his own, too. The latter would double up and pawned his jabs and followed it up with a swooshing right overhand punch and move away, fading into the distance beautifully as a sunset. 

It was a fight Richard Abril deserved to win.  He controlled the fight right from the very start of the war cry to the very end. He had the right style topped with clean and effective punches, clearly outboxing his opponent but still got the wrong decision. It throws away all the time he had spent training, putting on some honest work to make a living, which many sports fans declare a robbery. It was a waste of time and money for the fans who watched the fight, too. 

Brandon Rios didn't have to fight at 135 pounds but forced himself into it to win back his title.  He said he was never the same without that World Title and that he wanted it so badly.

Now I wonder what a win like this makes him.

Mark F. Villanueva

Follow Mark on Twitter.com/MarkFVillanueva

Not quite where we left off however, here's how the conference call progressed earlier this afternoon and was taken care of by Kelly Swanson PR. It started off with Richard Schaefer thanking Gary Shaw and reminded everyone that the tickets for the event at Atlantic Citywere priced from $25 for April 28 and that the opening bout will be Seth Mitchell vs. Chazz Witherspoon for the vacant NABO Heavyweight title.

Chad Dawson took control after that and thanked the media in participating and promised to give the fans a fight they want to see. He said, "I was the aggressor I was trying to get Bernard Hopkins to fight, I plan to use my speed and my youth to win. I admire everything Hopkinshas done in the sport over the years and you can't take that away from him. I want to de-throne him.”

So at this point we could hear that Dawson was expressing that at this very time Hopkinsis King and that he is ready for the final battle to take over this kingdom i.e the current title. With this in mind he continued to say, "The way the last fight ended, on my behalf I could take it as a confidence builder. I don't believe he was hurt. I want to pick up where we left off. I guess it's about the legacy. I wouldn't want to go out like that. I'm not going to say he's scared." He talked in high esteem and in great belief in himself and said, "Knocking out Bernard Hopkins would be quite a statement, I can't say I'm going to look for it, but it would be great."

Schaefer started talking about the necessities of what Hopkinscould have done. He said, "Bernard has more belts than other people have to hold up their pants. He could have taken a handful of fights and could have had a TV date whether he fought Chad Dawson or not. He wasn't obliged to take it."  Thus proving the point that he is his own man within all his rights a celebrity as well as a legendary boxer and will have pulling power regardless of who his opponent will or could have been. He said, "If you look at the kind of fighters Bernard has fought and won against, that is what's built the legendary status he has."

There was some humor in this call as Schaefer thought it was amusing to hear from Dawson's team that Hopkins was "having" to take this fight and Schaefer still went on about Hopkins’ career talking about that he will always have doubters.

Hopkinswas introduced and he commenced by saying, "I took this fight because I'm a legend." Well this was a grand statement and he went to say, "Right now I want to beat Chad Dawson in one of the greatest places I've fought, It ain't up to me where I go when I win, he's another person who will wind up on a list of so many young fighters I've beat, no one else is ruling boxing the way I do. Not Floyd Mayweather, not Manny Pacquiao, not Amir Khan it's Bernard Hopkins."  It's like the more he spoke the more awe he brought into the conference call. He clearly thinks he's the best in the game. He went to say, "The rules are different for Bernard Hopkins. I made them that way. Winning doesn't mean you might see me fight again. I know what I'm dealing with, so let’s play the game and let's see who plays it the best."

Maybe Hopkins will play the best or maybe Dawson will unleash something that we have not witnessed before. Whatever does happen this time around during this rematch must be put into perspective for the fans sakes. There was alot of disappointment previously. During the first fight we could not tell who was playing and who was serious. However through the course of the investigation, it was proved that Hopkins did have an injury and to be fair, the ruling was that Hopkinsretains his belt which leads us to this rematch on April 28 for the Ring/WBC Light Heavyweight Title. On this HBO fight card in Atlantic City Seth Mitchell will be taking on Chazz Witherspoon for the NABO Heavyweight Title. We will see who does what "Once And For All."

Samaarah Choubak

Prior to the Pacquiao fight, Mosley was seen being dominated over 12 rounds by all-time great Floyd Mayweather subsequent to looking like crap against Contender winner Sergio Mora in a fight that ended in a draw. Mosley has not won a fight since he looked fantastic stopping a prime Antonio Margarito three years ago at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, regaining the welterweight title in the process. It will take that Mosley in order to be victorious over the young, strong Alvarez who despite his tender age has already fought 40 times as a professional. Canelo is coming off a 5^th round TKO victory over former IBF Welterweight Champion Kermit Cintron last November and appears to be improving with each and every fight. He is a thudding puncher who is very durable and physically strong. Mosley and Alvarez are around the same height (5’9), with Mosley having the edge in reach which he often gives up due to fighting square.

For anyone looking to lay money on Mosley, the problem is that from a physical standpoint not only does he appear to only be about 60% of the fighter he was in his prime 10 years ago, but mentally he does not appear to be the warrior he was even 4 ½ years ago against Cotto. Boxing is about 75% mental, and if a fighter has lost his appetite for battle in conjunction with the diminishment of his skills that is a recipe for disaster. There is a possibility that the old boxing adage “styles make fights” could be apropos vis-à-vis Mosley’s last few shoddy ring performances, but how many excuses can be made for a fighter who hasn’t looked good in ages? It’s hard to root against a classy guy like Mosley. He has given us so many great fights and with the exception of his most recent ones, he has come to win and come to go to war.

As stated earlier, in order for him to win this war, Mosley will have to turn the clock back to 2009 when he put on arguably his best career performance against another Mexican Antonio Margarito, stopping him in the 9^th round in a huge upset. In that fight, Mosley intelligently went to the body early and hurt Margarito with a body shot in the first round. In addition, he intelligently smothered Antonio on the inside the way that Cotto did in his rematch with the Tijuana Tornado. Alvarez is more skilled than Margarito and although he far from lightning fast, has faster hands as well. Mosley in his prime had blazingly fast hands, but is probably only about 70% as fast as he was back then. The good news for Shane is that not only is power the last thing to go but he has retained enough of his hand speed in order to be able to land a hard punch against Alvarez. The bad news is Mosley has never really looked good at 154 even in his prime, so the chances of him being able to hurt a much younger, strong, and naturally bigger guy at the age of 40 is very slim.

If Mosley can’t hurt Alvarez, is not able to box the way he could four or five years ago, and has lost his warrior mentality how the hell is he going to win? Mosley has a rock solid chin and has never lost to a Mexican, so if Alvarez were able to stop him he would be killing two birds with one stone. I could be wrong, but I see this being a sad sight to behold. This will most likely be yet another aging warrior either taking a beating or running away from a potential beating and leaving fans clamoring for his retirement from the sport. Who knows, maybe Mosley will shock the world and turn back the clock. Stranger things have happened in boxing.

Darrell La Montre

Kudos to the person(s) who composed the music for these 24/7s ---it’s fantastic! The first episode started off with Floyd talking to the main producer of 24/7 and being asked by her what he would do if he were the producer of the series. It came as no surprise that Floyd stated that he would only allot ten minutes to Cotto and the rest of the time to himself and “The Money Team”. Talking into the camera, Floyd tells the boxing fans watching that if there is a 24/7 that does not involve him to turn it off because it’s not worth watching. It’s hard to argue with him in that regard. The ones involving him are tremendously more entertaining than the ones that don’t. There’s no question that not only is Floyd the bigger star in regards to PPV revenue generation but he is by far the star of the promotion. This is largely due to the same reasons why he is the bigger PPV star: his outrageous, polarizing personality.

In this episode, footage was shown of the first two fights between Cotto and Margarito. One interesting note is that both Cotto and Margarito were sans tattoos during their first fight, and both elected to hit the tattoo parlor after suffering major defeats (Cotto’s first loss as a pro to Margarito and Margarito’s beat down at the hands of Manny Pacquiao). I guess getting your ass kicked in a boxing ring induces a craving for ink. Cotto, his wife and his trainer Pedro Diaz spoke about how much it meant to Miguel to be able to avenge the defeat to Margarito and how it helped him to “enjoy the rest of his life”. Footage of Cotto training on sand in Cocoa Beach, Florida doing various exercises such as climbing a rope, hitting a tire with an aluminum bat and doing pushups utilizing the perfect pushup (or a knockoff version) were shown.

His trainer spoke briefly about what Cotto brings to the fight. Miguel was also shown spending time with his family in Orlando. Yawn. Getting back to the Mayweather camp, the usual cast of characters made an appearance. Longtime Mayweather advisor and sycophant Leonard Ellerbe spoke about Mayweather’s plea deal that will send him to jail for a maximum sentence of 90 days. Ellerbe stated that Floyd elected to plea in order to “protect his family." Ironically it appears that the only person his family needs protection from is Floyd himself. Fifty Cent who has become a staple on 24/7s involving Mayweather, was featured speaking about the effects that incarceration might have on Floyd and how it will be interesting to see if Floyd’s outlook on life changes subsequent to serving time. Floyd himself doesn’t seem too concerned about serving the time beginning June 1^st and stated that he doesn’t even think about it. I find that hard to believe. Normally, the more a person talks about not caring about something, the more obvious it is that they care a great deal.

Footage of Mayweather’s last fight against Victor Ortiz including the blatant head butt by Ortiz and the subsequent two punch knockout that followed while Ortiz was attempting to hug Mayweather for the umpteenth time was shown. Also shown was the instant classic exchange between legendary 80 year old HBO boxing analyst Larry Merchant and Mayweather in which Merchant after being told by Floyd that he “wasn’t shit” and that “HBO should fire your ass” retorted “If I were 50 years younger I would kick your ass!”

In this episode we learned another moniker that Floyd has incorporated into his lexicon: The Doghouse. Floyd refers to the ring in his gym when he trains as being “the doghouse”. One new boxer at the gym is shown and Floyd implores his team to “put the motherfu*ker in the doghouse!” Mayweather was asked briefly about the weight that the fight will be contested at (154 lbs) which is a weight he only fought at once (when he defeated Oscar De La Hoya for the WBC Junior Middleweight title back in 2007). Floyd stated “I can care less about the weight. I’m there to fu*k you up." This is one thing I actually believe Floyd doesn’t care about. He truly doesn’t care about weight in regards to his opponents. Not only has he not asked his opponents to fight him at a catch weight thus far, but he often comes in at or near the same weight he is comfortable at, as he did when he fought Oscar and weighed in at 147 and it was subsequently altered to “150 lbs” officially. If Floyd had the same apathetic attitude that he has regarding weight when it came to who he fights and when he fights them, he would have fought Cotto five years ago, along with Tszyu, Paul Williams, Margarito and Pacquiao. When it comes to fighting Pacquiao, it is more about “wait” than “weight." 

Last, but not least Floyd Mayweather Sr. made an appearance in the first episode at the Mayweather gym. This was his first time setting foot in the gym since the ugly incident that occurred and was featured on a 24/7 leading up to the Ortiz fight. Of course, footage of that incident was shown again which no doubt garnered record ratings when it was initially aired. Floyd Junior was asked by a member of his team if his father could come in and little Floyd gave the green light. Seeing them interact exclusively via body language was both fascinating and sad at the same time. The amount of pain between the two of them is palpable. It will be interesting to see how the saga of their relationship develops throughout the rest of the series and in future ones.  Episode two airs this Saturday on HBO at 10pm EST/7pm PST.

Darrell La Montre

There is no bigger fan of Brandon Rios than this author, but last night was not his night. Beginning on Friday with the second consecutive time in which he failed to make weight and was forced to pay a hefty fine, up until the first round of the fight last night, Rios was hardly in top form. Of course, Abril had a lot to do with the events that occurred yesterday. Richard fought a masterful fight, nullifying Rios’ attack behind a Mayweather-like defense involving the use of his shoulder and geometry to transform himself into quite an elusive target. The frustration began to kick in late in the fight and was clearly evident when Rios began to implore Abril to fight his fight and basically stop being cute and effective. Abril was too smart to take the bait. I scored the fight 9 rounds to 3 for Abril.

Much has been said about American fighters getting jobbed in other countries namely in Europe, but there have also been a plethora of foreign boxers who have suffered an equal amount of injustice here on American soil. Let’s not forget Lennox Lewis getting screwed against Holyfield in their first fight and Ike Quartey’s robbery against the late Vernon Forrest. These judges sicken me and MUST be held accountable for their actions! They are ruining not only the sport of boxing, but the careers of these warriors who train for weeks on end and sacrifice greatly in order to be ready for battle and to entertain us in the process.

The big question is whether anyone will really care about this injustice. Hardcore fans have dreamt of Rios facing Marquez for a while now, and the fight could still conceivably happen as soon as July in Dallas. Of course, the right thing to do would be to grant Abril an immediate rematch. He’s certainly earned that. This is the third time that Abril has lost a split decision in his opponent’s home country. It would be unjust to not grant him the opportunity to fight under fair circumstances. Unfortunately, things don’t always go the way they ought to go. There just might be more politics in boxing than there is in politics. Let’s hope that for once righting a wrong trumps making a buck. 

Darrell La Montre

DL:  Kelly, congratulations on your quick knockout victory over Aaron Jaco. You hurt him initially with the left hook in the first round. Have you been working on the left hook a lot in the gym?

KP: Thank you, yes everyone looks for the right hand and Robert and I worked on the left hand in training camp. Over and over again we worked on the jab, left hook (both to the head and body). When we would do five or six rounds on the mitts, a lot of them were with the left hand. My left hook is very fast and very quick.

DL: You are left handed away from boxing, but fight orthodox ala Oscar De La Hoya. You should have a lot of power in the left, but you are known for your right hand.

KP: I played baseball and swing both left handed and right handed, but when I went for a home run I would bat as a righty. I write and eat with my left hand but I do a lot of other stuff with my right hand. I do see better with my left eye. I’m basically ambidextrous.

DL: How different is working with Robert Garcia and living in southern California during training as opposed to working with Jack Loew and living in Youngstown, Ohio?

KP: Robert is more repetitious and works on the small things that matter. He is more detail oriented than Jack was. Jack was a great trainer and I am not meaning to be critical of him. Robert is the type of guy that will make you work on something over and over again. He is an all around good trainer and covers every aspect of fighting. He will break down everything I am doing wrong and go over it with me.  As far as living in Oxnard, California versus Youngstown is concerned, I have fewer distractions in Oxnard. Everything is boxing, boxing, boxing and I like it. Before I looked at going to the gym as a job and now I look at it as fun.

DL: How many more tune-up fights are you looking to have before facing the elite again?

KP: I’m hoping the next one on June 8^th against Scott Sigmon will be the last one. I’m being told that the one after that in September will be a big fight. I don’t know if it will be for a world title or not. I doubt it because it would be kind of quick, but that would be great.

DL: What did you think of Sergio Martinez’s recent performance and how badly to you want to face him again? You knocked him down and were doing very well against him.

KP: Yes, I was doing really well against him. I think me at 80% would have beaten him and maybe stopped him. I think he looked horrible in his last fight and I think Macklin was not as good of a fighter as everyone built him up to be. But, you can’t really knock Martinez because after he beat me he has been beating everyone by knockout and doing what he is supposed to do as the Middleweight Champion. I’m not knocking the kid. I would love to fight him again, but I don’t know if I can make 160. We could fight at a catch weight fight of say 163. The problem is that I’m a big guy. I don’t have small bones like Paul Williams for example. That’s why it’s really hard for me to make 160 now. If I were to let myself go and not work out I would walk around at about 195. Right now since I’m running a little bit I weigh about 180.

DL:  What other middleweights or super middleweights would you like to face in the near future? I think you versus Andre Ward and even Bute, Froch and Kessler would all be great fights.

KP: Yes, Andre Ward is a great fighter and he proved it with what he did in the tournament. I’m not calling him out I’m just saying I would love to fight him because he is the top dog. I would love to also fight Froch, Bute and Kessler. Also, Chavez Jr. is having a hard time making 160, how about having us fight at a catch weight of 165? I’ll fight him there. He has nothing to lose. If I beat him he can move back to 160. I moved up to fight Taylor at 166 for the rematch and all the way up to 170 to fight Hopkins. After the Hopkins fight I moved back down. He could do the same thing if he lost.

DL: Do you have any interest in fighting Jermain Taylor again? He has embarked on a comeback as well.

KP: No, I have no interest in fighting Taylor again. I wish him the best and hope that he wins another world title. I’m not being selfish, but I already beat him twice. I have nothing to gain. I love Jermain ---he’s a great person but I just think another fight against him would be pointless. I wish him the best and God bless him.

DL:  Have you ever used creative visualization techniques and the Law of Attraction in order to be successful in the ring?

KP: I go into a fight and stick to a game plan. I will go through a fight a little bit in my head, but the day of the fight I just look to execute the game plan. With Garcia there is a Plan A and a Plan B, with Jack there was only a Plan A. Luckily for me I’ve been a smart enough fighter from having good amateur and professional experience that I have been able to take over myself when I was with Jack, but now with Robert I don’t have to do that as much .

DL: What was it like growing up in Youngstown and how did you get interested in boxing?

KP: I had a great childhood and had great parents. My dad worked his butt off and did everything possible. My mom was a hard worker too. I played baseball and football along with boxing when I was a kid. Youngstown was a tough area to grow up. It was very blue collar and we have some of the most loyal sports fans. At the same time you have people that will bring you down in a heartbeat. I don’t mean to knock it. It’s a place with only about 75,000 people and there can be a lot of negativity when you are a big fish in a small pond. Really it’s more the media that is negative than the people. The local newspaper and media station in Youngstown are the most negative part of living in Youngstown. For example, the recent incident I had when I hit a lamp post with an ATV made headline news there.  There were three murders and they had finally indicted a kid that shot his pregnant mom and the breaking news was me hitting a lamp post with an ATV.  

DL: I noticed that most of the biggest punchers below heavyweight are lanky guys like you. Do you feel like even to this day your opponents underestimate your power based on your appearance and build regardless of how many previous opponents you have knocked out?

KP: I think some still might. That’s a very good question. What I think makes lanky fighters such big punchers is the snap. In boxing every knockout in boxing is the whiplash motion of the neck. That’s why football players wear helmets. They do that to prevent concussions.

DL: Do you think you generate more pounds per square inch than most fighters your size? If there was a machine like in Rocky 4 that measured pounds per square inch would you be among the highest for your weight class?

KP: No, not at all. If you had the average Joe Blow on the street hit a heavy bag he would generate more power than me. He’s going to wind up and hit it harder. You have to remember that my punches are about speed and snap and the twist of the wrist at the end. It’s about catching up and getting his neck to whip around.

DL: That’s interesting. Along with being able to generate knockouts are you physically strong for your weight as well?

KP:  Yes, I’m a very physically strong person. You saw that against Miranda and Taylor.

DL: Did you realize early on that you had exceptional power?

KP: Actually when I started off I was a very good boxer. I was beating everybody by out-boxing them and when I turned 16 during my last year and a half of the amateurs I went to the Olympic trials and I was knocking everyone out. The power just came and it was almost a maturity thing.

DL: When I interviewed Emanuel Steward and asked him about power he mentioned that he felt he could turn anyone into a big puncher and said that a lot of it has to do with squeezing your fist right before the impact of the punch and that many boxers grow accustomed to only closing their glove 75% of the time because they are used to throwing punches in the gym with the big training gloves that don’t fully close. What are your thoughts on that?

KP: No disrespect to Emanuel Steward, but I think that’s absolutely untrue. If you look at baseball, you can’t turn any batter into a homerun hitter. It’s a natural swing in baseball. There are guys that can lift weights and practice their swing all they want and never become a homerun hitter. You either have it or you don’t. That goes for generating knockouts in boxing or homeruns in baseball. A lot of it is how you turn your hips and how you turn your wrist over. Look at pitchers in baseball --- you have guys who can throw a pitch at 99 miles per hour and others who can only throw 78 miles per hour. Emanuel Steward is saying that you can take that guy who is throwing 78 and turn him into that guy who is pitching 99? That would be a huge jump! You’re either born with that ability or you’re not. 

DL: Right, and a lot of those guys that can throw 99 miles per hour are very tall and lanky just like the boxers who can generate lot of knockouts.

KP: Exactly.

DL: Do you feel almost like an endangered species in that you are an elite white American boxer in the 21^st century and all the other elite white boxers are from Europe and other parts of the world?

KP: Kind of, yes a little bit. There aren’t too many white American boxers at the elite level nowadays.

DL: Do you feel that you had to work twice as hard as a minority in order to earn the same respect given the fact that white boxers are generally looked at more as opponents than as real threats?

KP: Yes I do. It took me seven years to get a title shot. When I fought Jose Luis Zertuche it was supposed to be a WBC eliminator bout. After I knocked him out they said ‘no, that’s not your WBC eliminator you have to fight Edison Miranda’. I thought ‘fu*k, now I have to go from one monster to another!’ After I beat him (Miranda) I finally got my title shot. Many other fighters get world title shots in four years or less and I had to wait seven years. I got a little upset about that. If I wasn’t considered a Midwestern white fighter it would have been different. I also don’t think I have gotten enough credit for what I have accomplished. I’m not crying the blues about it, but it is what it is. Paul Spadafora back in 1999 may not have had any power but he was a really good boxer and I believe he could have beaten Shane Mosley and anyone else in the lightweight division. He was fast and slick but I don’t think people took him seriously because of his race.

DL: Your big breakthrough fight was the Edison Miranda fight. That was an exciting fight and you stopped him in the 7^th round. Do you feel the same way now as you did going into that fight in regards to your level of hunger to become champ and to be on top again? The eye of the tiger if you will.

KP: I think so, making the move to California and working now with Robert Garcia I have a new life. When I’m in the gym it is fun and I look forward to training and fighting. I’ll work out at two in the morning sometimes and it’s fun. The hunger is back and I’m excited about it.

DL: When you faced Jermain Taylor for the Middleweight title you were involved in one of the best Middleweight title fights ever. You showed a tremendous amount of heart after being dropped and hurt badly early in the fight. Talk about that fight please.

KP: Referee Steve Smoger made the right call by not stopping it in the second round when I went down. He told me before the fight in the locker room that as long as I can show him that I am trying to hold on and I'm able to throw a punch back that he would not stop the fight. 

DL: Where did your heart come from? Is it innate or did you go through some really rough times growing up as a kid?

KP: That’s a very good question. I can’t say my upbringing has to do with it because I had great parents. I did grow up in a rough area, but I had everything I needed growing up. I think people are born with it. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don’t have heart you won’t become a champion. When you get in the ring and get hit on the chin that’s a heart check. Fortunately I was born with a big heart in every aspect. I have a big heart in the ring, with people and my family. A lot of other boxer who have a big heart in the ring are also all around nice people. Look at Arturo Gatti, Sugar Ray Leonard, Mickey Ward. They had huge hearts in the ring and outside the ring.

DL: That’s very true. Thanks very much for your time Kelly.

KP:  No problem, I really enjoyed the interview. 

Darrell La Montre

Other attributes that a boxer needs to beat a guy like Floyd is decent hand speed, great timing, good defense, patience, excellent stamina, heart, a high boxing IQ, good defense, a good corner, and comparable ability to make adjustments. Cotto does possess most of these attributes, but is slightly lacking in the defense, stamina and comparable ability to make adjustments categories. This doesn’t mean he has no chance of winning the fight, but I must admit that I don’t see it happening. In order for him to have the best chance of winning, I think Cotto should abandon any thought of winning a technical boxing match against Mayweather and should close the distance behind a sharp, quick jab and try his best to make it a war. He really has no choice but to get inside because he has the much shorter arms and overall reach. Mayweather has a 26 inch arm length and Cotto's arm measures 23.5. This author is not a fan of the old school method of measuring reach from fingertip to fingertip across the chest because the last time I checked a fighter made a fist when he threw a punch and the length of his fingers were hardly relevant. There really should be two sets of reach, one for the jab and one for the straight/overhand right (or left if the boxer is a southpaw). The HBO measurement from the armpit to the end of the fist is most accurate for measuring the jab hand, and if they measured across the shoulders from fist to fist that would take care of the straight/overhand right or left. At any rate, regardless of how it is measured, I would bet the farm that Floyd has a significant advantage in the reach department.

Another area that Floyd has a significant advantage in is the speed and quickness department. Miguel must nullify Floyd's speed advantage and close to the distance. I don’t expect that to be as difficult of a task as it would have been a few years ago when Floyd was a lot more mobile in the ring. Nowadays he is more stationary and is not utilizing nearly as much lateral movement as he did in the past. He is still equally effective defensively and now sits down on his punches more which has resulted in generating more power.  Once Cotto is inside he needs to smother Floyd on the inside and fire hooks to the body and uppercuts. He needs to do his very best to keep Floyd on the ropes and away from the center of the ring where he will pick Cotto apart and block 90% of the punches coming at him while countering brilliantly as he always does. He needs to frustrate and discourage Floyd and it wouldn’t hurt to land some hard body punches that will pay dividends in the later rounds down the stretch. Floyd is not the type of fighter that gets tired and he trains like an animal so in order to zap some of his late fight energy, Cotto will need to be very accurate and effective during the first half of the fight. Having stated all of this, do I think Cotto will execute this game plan and prevail on Cinco de Mayor? Absolutely not! I would not bet a dime against Mayweather at this stage of his career. One last thing to keep in mind, Mayweather has a genius ring IQ and if he thought he would have a hard time defeating Cotto at this stage of Miguel’s career he would have done what he did with Pacquiao recently and in the past with a younger Cotto, Paul Williams, Margarito, and Tszyu: either fought someone else, priced himself out of the fight, retired or taken a convenient vacation. Mayweather wins the fight either via late round TKO or via decision by winning at least 8 rounds.

Darrell LaMontre

In the new main event, Kevin Hoskins, of Los Angeles,  was handed his first defeat, at the hands of Ramon Valardez, also Los Angeles. The two men went at each other from the opening bell. Hoskins was dropped early in the first round, with a volley of hooks and right hands, and rocked often, thereafter. However, he battled his way back in the second round. Valardez was staggered against the ropes in round 2, but remained on his feet, and had regained control by round's end. Valardez managed to hurt Hoskins again in round 3, and true to the stereotype of California referees, the bout was waved off way too soon. Although Hoskins was against the ropes and hurt, it had only been a few seconds, and he was punching back well, when referee Thomas Taylor felt the need to call it to a halt. The junior lightweights move to 11-1-6 KO's for Valardez, and 6-1-4 KO's for Hoskins.

The only other KO of the night also occurred at the quick hands of referee Thomas taylor, although this a bit less controversial. Heavyweight Alexander Flores, of Pomona moved to 8-0-6 KO's with a second round stoppage of "The Giant Killer" Gio Sarran, of Palmdale. Despite his height advantage of nearly 7 inches, Flores does not have much of a jab, and elected to fight inside, where his power difference quickly showed. Sarran showed toughness, but was rocked against the ropes and staggered badly. Although he tried to counter off the ropes, he was caught flush numerous times, until referee Taylor decided to end it. Sarran drops to 3-4.

In an action packed opening bout, "Danny Boy" Martinez and Ricardo Garcia fought to a four round draw in the night's opener. The two featherweights butted heads often, which resulted in a point deduction for Garcia., and a bad cut for Martinez. Garcia dropped Martinez in the first round, with an overhand right, but Martinez rallied to capture the last two rounds and pull even in the fight. 37-37 on all cards. Martinez goes to 2-2-1-2 KO's, while Garcia moves to 3-2-2.

Hometown super middleweight Steffan Lugo, of Costa Mesa, won a majority decision over previously unbeaten Jose Alvarez. Lugo overcame a slow first round to take control with his jab. Lugo was tentative until his right hand began landing, and Alvarez had no answer for it. Judge David Mendoza scored it even at 38-38, while judges Marty Denkin and Jack Reiss scored it 39-37. Lugo is now 2-1-1 KO, while Alvarez, of Fresno, falls to 1-1.

In 136lb MMA action, German Baltazar pulled off a surprisingly easy upset win over the OC's Mario Navarro. In a contest that took place almost entirely at striking distance, Navarro was simply outworked. Baltazar was even able to stay on his feet through all but 2 attempted take downs. Navarro never got on track with either his grappling or striking efforts, and all three judges scored it 30-27. Navarro drops to 3-2, while Baltazr improves to 2-1.

Chris Strait

DL:  What was it like growing up in the Desert and how did you get started in boxing? Do you come from a boxing family?

TB: Growing up in the part of the desert where I was from was difficult. I’m from a tough neighborhood. It was hard as a young kid seeing things that a kid shouldn’t have seen. There were people hanging out on the block selling dope and gangbanging. I saw needles on the floor in the street and when you are a kid you’re not supposed to see those things. You quickly become street smart and I got into things as kid that I should never have gotten involved with. It was a typical urban area.  A lot of people think Palm Springs is all glitz and glam but there area that I grew up in wasn’t like that. I got into boxing through a friend of mine at the end of 5^th grade and the beginning of 6^th grade. A friend of mine was doing it and we used to always slap box at school. I begged my dad for a couple months to let me box and at first he wouldn’t let me do it and told me that boxing was a hard sport. Finally he took me to the gym. I started boxing when I was 10. The only person in my family who boxed was my cousin. He used to fight in prison and he was pretty good. He made it to the Olympic trials. He fought at 125 or 132 pounds. He never turned pro because the street life consumed him.

DL: Who gave you the cool nickname “Desert Storm”?

TB: Actually I gave it to myself. I wanted something that I believed it that would stick with me. I came up with it when I was in my car driving on the freeway at the age of 20 or 21 and listening to a Fabulous CD and in the background of the song was ‘desert storm’ and I said to myself  ‘that’s it, that’s perfect’.

DL: Did you always know you would become a professional boxer? Did any certain event happen that gave you the confidence that you would be a world champion one day?

TB: From the first time I set foot in the gym I knew I would be champion and go far in boxing. Most kids don’t tell their parents that they want to fight for a living. My dad didn’t get me into it, I got myself into it. My dad supported me in whatever decision I made. The rule in our house was that if you were a Bradley you don’t quit. If you start something you have to go all the way.

DL: In addition to being an excellent boxer with speed, you are known for being super tough. Where do you think that toughness comes from? What is the derivation? Is it innate or is it related to how you grew up?

TB: It’s a combination of the two. It’s something that is in you. I have always been very competitive because I am always athletic. Growing up in the streets you had to be tough otherwise you will get bullied. I was always the small guy so you can call it a Napoleon complex or whatever but I always had to fight and I was a badass. Also, my dad made us earn everything we got. He pushed us to the limit. Training with my dad, he was never in the military but he could have fooled me! He knew how dangerous the sport of boxing was so he said ‘let’s build a shell to protect you from the punches’. I started lifting weights at eight years old. That’s why I’m so cut up.

DL: Ok, let’s get into the Pacquiao fight. When did you begin training for the fight and how are things going?

TB: I started training three weeks ago, but not full time ---every other day. I start training camp next week which will be six days a week.

DL: When will you begin sparring and do you know who you will be sparring with to prepare for Manny?

TB: I will start next week. I don’t know who I will be sparring with. I just show up and whoever my manager and trainer have there for me I will spar with. I’m sure I’ll have some undefeated fighters who are going to be looking to prove their worth, so there will be some really good talent to work with. I’ll be ready for whatever Pacquiao brings. He’s a great fighter, but he has never seen anything like me before.

DL: How hard is it to prepare for a guy like Pacquiao who is such a unique boxer with amazing speed and quickness?

TB: You won’t find anyone who emulates Pacquiao. You just have to develop a good game plan and execute it. If you prepare for a southpaw you should be able to land against any southpaw. That is how I train. If I am fighting a short guy I’ll still spar with a tall guy because it’s a lot more difficult to get inside on a taller fighter who knows how to use his reach. I just do what I normally do.

DL: Is it true that before training camp you fast for 5 days and that you are on a vegan diet throughout training camp? How long have you been doing that and how hard is it for you to remain disciplined?

TB: Yes, that’s correct. I have been doing it for about four years. I did it for the Junior Witter fight and I felt phenomenal and said to myself ‘this is for me.' Ever since I started doing it I have always had more energy than most people in the ring. I can feel them fade and it gives me more energy and I can outwork them. During the fasting I get a supplement and drink just liquids and a couple bars and some fruit and that’s tough. After that I eat strictly vegan and everywhere you go there is meat and in the house everyone eats meat so it’s hard but you get used to it. I eat a big steak all the way up to the last day before fasting just to enjoy one last day of eating meat. It’s hard, but it’s a lot easier when they are paying you whole lot of money (laughs).

DL: (laughs) I bet that makes it a little easier. I’m sure if you were getting 10 dollars an hour it would be slightly tougher. Do you utilize the law of attraction and creative visualization techniques before fights?

TB: All the time. I hear Michael Buffer’s voice saying ‘and the newwww and still undefeated’.

DL: I think what makes this fight interesting is the fact that neither one of you guys have faced an opponent like each other. Of all the guys he has faced, I don’t recall him facing a young, undefeated fast fighter like you who is also very tough and is an excellent boxer. Have you thought about that?

TB: Yes, I agree with you. He has never been in the ring with someone like me and what I bring. I’ve only been down officially down, but really once and I finished the fight and came out on top. A lot of people are going to be really shocked once they see what I will do. I’m quick, I can fight on the inside, and I’m a very smart fighter. I don’t care what other people are saying or what the odds are. I don’t care what Freddie Roach or Ariza are saying. They are counting on an early knockout victory for Pacquiao. They are banking on an early knockout with Pacquiao coming out fast and putting me to sleep early and that’s not going to happen! I’ve never been destroyed in the ring and I’ve faces thousands of fighters from when I was a kid and that has never happened. 

DL: Is there anything that you saw Marquez do against Manny that you will try to emulate?

TB: Of course, Marquez was landing that right hand all night and was counterpunching great which is what I also do very well. I’m great at timing and that’s why many of my opponents have been afraid to throw punches. I’m so great at countering them and it’s going to be the same with Pacquiao. All the things that he has been doing with his previous opponents like throwing 18 punch combinations is not going to happen against me. I’m too smart for that.

DL: I always say that whenever a volume puncher faces a great counter puncher he never throws as many punches as normal.

TB: That’s right, and he won’t. I’m telling you as soon as he gets in there and tastes my power he is going to respect it. He’s not going to walk right through me. He’s not stronger than me and he can’t bully me around ---there’s no way!. He doesn’t really know how to fight on the inside. He knows how to move well and find angles and I can do that too. If you stand right in front of him you are going to be chopped liver. When you face fighters who can only fight coming forward and are as slow as molasses of course you are going to look spectacular, but you get a guy like Marquez in there who is a great counterpuncher who moves and is a very disciplined fighter you see the result. I can be a high volume puncher too. Most of the guys I face can’t keep up with my pace and they want to hold me. On top of that I am countering the shit out of them and they can’t stop me. I’m a man on a mission and this is a dream of mine and I’m not taking this sh*t lightly. I’m determined!

DL: How nervous do you get before a fight and do you think you will be any extra nervous before a fight of this magnitude?

TB:  I get pretty nervous before a fight. I’ll be nervous for this fight as well, but I think the difference is that I have waited for this opportunity for a long time and now it’s finally here. I’ve dreamt of this and now I have the opportunity. Right now I’m not even nervous, but as soon as we get closer to the fight I will be more nervous, but that’s what keep you sharp. It never gets to where I can’t eat or nothing like that. Nervousness only lasts as soon as I step foot in the ring and look across at my opponent.

DL: If you win the fight, is there a rematch clause in the contract?

TB: No there isn’t. On paper he is supposed to demolish me. Business is business so the fact that there is no rematch clause doesn’t mean we can’t fight again. I’m not even thinking about a rematch, I’m just thinking about seeking and destroying.

DL: Thanks very much for your time Timothy.

TB:  Ok man, take care. 

Darrell La Montre

Five-time Trainer of the Year Freddie Roach predicts the jab of World Boxing Association ("WBA") Welterweight Champion Vyacheslav Senchenko will be the difference in hisApril 29 world title defense against challenger Paulie "Magic Man" Malignaggi, airing live on pay per viewfrom Donboss Arena in Donetsk, Ukraine.

Undefeated Senchenko (32-0, 21 KOs), rated No. 5 in the world by The Ring Magazine, has been training at Roach's famed Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, California. The 2000 Ukraine Olympian captured the WBA title in 2009, winning a 12-round decision from previously undefeated Yuriy Nuzhnenko, and Vyacheslav has successfully defended his world title belt three times: Motoki Sasaki (DEC12), Charlie Jose Navarro (DEC12) and more recently Marco Antonio Avendano (TKO6) last August in his last fight.

"Senchenko is a very, very good boxer with good technique," Roach recently said from the Wild Card Gym. "He has good height and a good punch. He had a great amateur background. The Ukraine has the No. 1 program in the world this year. It has a very good program and Senchenko is very well schooled. His jab is his best weapon and I think that will be the difference in this fight. He has a faster jab than Malignaggi and it should control the fight.

"I think Senchenko's boxing ability will enable him to out-score Paulie to win a decision. Paulie is very game. He'll bring the fight and make it exciting. Going to the Ukraine is not like going into hostile territory. The promoter (Yuri Ruban, Union Boxing) over there is very fair. One time I had a fighter from there - I thought he won - but he lost a decision at home. There will be neutral judges and the winner will be the real winner."

Senchenko & Roach training at Wild Card Gym

(Photo by Miguel Salazar)

Senchenko vs. Malignaggi," presented by Union Boxing Promotion, is being distributed in the United States by Integrated Sports Media for live viewing at 1:00 PM/ET - 10:00 AM/PT on both cable andsatellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, DIRECTV, DISH Network and Avail-TVNfor a suggested retail price of only $29.95.

The brash Malignaggi (30-4, 6 KOs)a former International Boxing Federation ("IBF") junior welterweight champion, is unbeaten since moving up to welterweight with impressive wins against Michael Lozada (TKO6), Jose Miguel Cotto (DEC10) and Orlando Lora (DEC10).

"Paulie has a lot of heart," Roach noted. "He always tries to win and gives 100 percent. He came to my gym after he lost to Amir Khan - my fighter - but I didn't have time to work with him. One of my best trainers, Eric Brown, is training Paulie. It wouldn't have been fair for me to watch Paulie train here to a fight a guy I train. A decision was made by all of is that it would be better if Paulie didn't train here. Paulie's getting ready for this fight at home (New York City but he recently shifted training camp to Milan, Italy). There were no bad words or feelings. Paulie's a nice kid. He speaks his mind and I like people like that."

Training a fighter for an opponent trained by one of his assistant trainers, like it is for Roach against the Browned-trained Malignaggi, is something that just happens every once in a while. "It's a little unusual but it does happen," Freddie concluded. "I may have a similar situation of (Julio Cesar) Chavez (Jr.) fights Vanes (Martirosyan). I train and like both of them. It's not fair.....maybe I'll stay at home. There's been talk of Amir fighting Manny (Pacquiao) someday. I don't think it'll happen; they respect each other so much, but business is business."

Go online to www.integratedsportsnet.com for additional information. Follow Integrated Sports Media on Twitter @IntegratedPPV.

Abril and Fedchenko will undoubtedly have trained like never before for the biggest fights of their lives, and although Marquez and Rios will state that they have trained extremely hard, given the fact that the sport is disproportionally more mental than physical, even if they did train as hard as normal for their fight, it would take a special fighter to be as mentally prepared for these tune-up fights as he would be for a super fight. Floyd Mayweather comes to mind when I think about this. Mayweather appears to be both mentally and physically prepared for each and every one of his opponents regardless of whether they are a future Hall of Famer or Henry Bruseles. That, in addition to his prodigious talent, skills and accomplishments is precisely the reason why in this author’s opinion he is the number one pound for pound boxer on the planet and has been for years.

The mental and psychological aspect of boxing is the most underrated part of the game in my opinion. So much emphasis is placed on the physical attributes of a fighter when it has been proven time and time again that no matter how physically gifted a fighter is, if he either isn’t as mentally tough and/or focused as his less gifted opponent, he will frequently be in for a long night. I don’t mean to insinuate that physical attributes do not play a role in a fight because they do, but what separates the “very goods” from the” greats” is what they have on the inside.  The mind dictates everything, and all the greats I can think of had a special mind both in terms of boxing IQ as well as toughness and discipline. Some had more than others, but all had special mental qualities.

Neither Abril nor Fedchenko have a high knockout percentage, so barring a fluke punch that lands at the precise moment and in the precise sweet spot, their best chance of upsetting the applecart would be to outwork their opponents over 12 rounds and hope that they have the superior gas tank going down the stretch. It’s conceivable that such a scenario could present itself if Rios and/or Marquez go into the fight in sub-par condition. Of course, the job of a trainer is to do everything in his power to ensure that his fighter is as physically and mentally prepared as possible regardless of the opponent. Fortunately for us, Marquez and Rios both have excellent trainers who will almost certainly have done just that over the last 8 weeks. If not, this will prove to be one mighty expensive tune-up. 

Darrell La Montre

Chris Carlson  

Chris Carlson

Friday night will be bitter sweet for WBC Latino welterweight champion Artemio "King" Reyes Jr. (15-1, 12 KOs) when he faces Alan Sanchez (9-2-1, 3 KOs) as the opening bout of ESPN's "Friday Night Fights" live from the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.  His father, Artemio Reyes Sr., was in a coma since 2008 and was laid to rest on Tuesday, April 10, in Colton, CA.  

People in the boxing community first heard of Reyes when he fought on national television for the first time and defeated Olympian and formerly undefeated Javier Molina. Some scribes were made aware of the incredible struggle and effort that Reyes went through on a daily basis as he took care of his mother and sisters, cared for his ailing father single-handedly, attended and graduated from California State University San Bernardino, managed the family owned restaurant and found time to train as a prize fighter. 

His effort continues as he will honor the man who first took him to a boxing gym and would have liked to see his son move through the boxing ranks and become a force in the welterweight division. 

Watch Thompson Boxing stable mates Jose Reynoso, Jonathan Arellano, Daniel Hernandez, Darley Perez and Mauricio Herrera, support their friend during this tough time and wish him luck on his upcoming fight.   

Click on the video below! 

DL: Brandon, how did training camp go and what is your weight right now?

BR: Training camp went very well. My weight is excellent and I am just relaxing now. I weigh 137 right now so I will not have a problem making weight. My new nutritionist is doing a great job and I feel really good.

DL: How much tape have you and Robert Garcia watched on Abril and do you have any concerns?

BR: Robert is the one who has watched most of the tape on him. I have been going off of what he has been telling me and we’ll be ready 100%. He is a long, tall awkward guy.

DL: He is 5’11, will he be the tallest opponent you have faced?

BR: No, actually I fought a guy from New York named Jorge Teron who was 6’1. It doesn’t make a difference how tall they are, I just follow the instructions that Robert gives me and I’ll be ready 100%. The taller they are the harder they fall (laughs).

DL: He has two losses by split decision over non- descript opposition and the rest are wins over equally non- descript opposition. This is the biggest fight of his life. Are you surprised he isn’t showing you more respect? Is it all hype for the fight or do you really think he lacks respect for you?

BR: I think he thinks I’m lazy and easy to beat. I don’t really care what he thinks --- whether he respects me or he doesn’t respect me. My job is to punish him and to do what I do and make sure I come out victorious. Hopefully he will be ready too because if he’s not he will have one hell of a storm coming.

DL: Yeah, April showers, right? It’s April and his last name means “April” in Spanish so it’s perfect (laughs)

BR: (laughs) You’re right, it is perfect!

DL: How hard is it to concentrate on a tune up opponent when a potential super fight with Marquez is looming this summer?

BR: It’s not a done deal between me and Marquez. He has an opponent that he needs to get past and I have one that I need to get past and then my manager and his manager will sit down and negotiate. Right now my main focus is on my opponent on April 14^th and to give the fans one hell of a show. It’s an honor that they have mentioned my name as a potential opponent for Marquez, but first of all we need to deal with this guy (Abril) on Saturday.

DL: He has never been dropped or stopped to my knowledge. Is your goal to be the first one to do that or do you just want the W?

BR: I don’t really care, I have 12 rounds to play with and I never look for a knockout because I could get knocked down or knocked out myself. If I hurt him and have a chance to finish him I’ll finish him. He has never faced an opponent like me who hits hard, can take a punch and will come forward the whole fight.

DL: Anything you want to tell the fans in closing?

BR: I just want to tell the fans who have been following me, thank you guys I love you guys and I always put on exciting fights for you and I’ll be doing that until I retire. To all my haters who keep talking sh*t about me keep doing it, I love you guys too.

DL: Thanks for your time Brandon and good luck on Saturday.

BR: No problem, thank you.

Darrell La Montre

Also scheduled for televised appearances that night will be Cuban super featherweight prospect Rances "Kid Blast" Barthelemy (15-0, 11 KOs), who will face Mexico's Aalan Martinez (12-1-1, 8 KOs) in the eight-round televised opener, plus an eight-round super middleweight battle between Colombia's undefeated Alexander Brand (17-0, 15 KOs) and Sweden's undefeated Badou Jack "The Ripper" (10-0, 8 KOs).

Cuban 2004 Olympic silver medalist Yudel Jhonson has had a successful pro career thus far. The 30-year-old southpaw won the vacant WBC FECARBOX light middleweight title in March of last year via TKO 7 over the normally durable Richard Gutierrez and has already successfully defended it once against contender Jose Miguel Torres (UD 10). Jhonson now makes his home in Miami, Florida.

33-year-old Mexico City native Freddy Hernandez has scored victories over several former world champions and top contenders, including Ben Tackie, DeMarcus Corley, Mike Anchondo and, most recently, Luis Collazo. He has lost only once in the last seven years and that to formidable world champion Andre Berto.

Undefeated super middleweight Badou Jack didn't start boxing until his late teens, but the Swedish/Gambian fought his way to the 2008 Olympics and was a six-time Swedish National Champion who went 122-28 as an amateur. Tall for a super middleweight, 28-year-old Jack works the body with gusto and has shown excellent punching power. Jack was recently named to ESPN Columnist Dan Rafael's Super 25 list of the best prospects of 2011.

Undefeated 35-year-old Bogota, Colombian, native Alexander Brand comes into the fight with Jack as something of an unknown commodity outside of Columbia, where he had an outstanding amateur career. He has left his native Colombia twice in his professional career that began in 2009, and fought only once in the United States. With an 88% knockout percentage, Brand has also shown excellent punching power.

As the saying goes, someone's 0 must go in this matchup.

Cuban power-punching sensation Rances "Kid Blast" Barthelemy is coming off the biggest victory of his young career. Last February, in front of a national television audience, Barthelemy took on fellow undefeated fighter Hylon Williams Jr. and jumped into the mix as a world contender by dominating Williams via eight-round unanimous decision. As has been the case with all his opponents, Barthelemy was too big and strong for Williams. 25-year-old Barthelemy stands an amazing 5' 11" for his 130-lb weight class, and towers over his opponents.

28-year-old Aalan Martinez is a native of Michoacán de Ocampo, Mexico. Durable and fearless, the southpaw slugger has beaten all but one of his opponents, coming up short in an excellent, competitive matchup against highly touted Evgeny Gradovich last April.

Popular Las Vegas prospect Jesus Gutierrez (3-0, 1 KO) will appear on the undercard in a four-rounder against an opponent that is TBA.

The rest of the night's undercard will be announced shortly.

"The last show we did, here at Texas Station, was a tremendous success, so we're coming back with an even bigger event this time," said Warriors Boxing President, Leon Margules. "The people here are terrific to work with and the crowd was appreciative and knowledgeable. We're extremely happy to be returning with a world-class event of this caliber."

Tickets for "Shootout at Texas Station" will be available soon, priced at $27 and $52 and are available at Ticketmaster, any Texas Station rewards center or at SCLV.COM/CONCERTS. A few VIP seats are available at a price of $102 can be purchased by calling (954) 985-1155.

On fight night, doors open at 6:30 and the action starts at 7:00 pm.

Station Bucks may be used to purchase tickets. All ages welcome. Under 21 must be accompanied by an adult 21 or over. Show subject to change without notice. Management reserves all rights. Digital Photography and video prohibited. Tickets can be purchased at any Station Casinos Boarding Pass Rewards Center, The Fiesta's, by logging onto stationcasinos.com/concerts or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

Texas Station Gambling Hall & Hotel is located at 2101 Texas Star Lane in North Las Vegas. Telephone: (702) 631-1000 or (800) 654-8888.

Williams dropped Lundy in the opening round with a left hook to the temple, but that turned out to be the start of a humbling evening for Dannie, who got away from his game plan and instead of boxing, he unsuccessfully forced punches going for a one-punch knockout.

Lundy peppered Williams with a stiff jab for most of the night and Dannie was never able to really check Hank's chin. In his first nationally televised main event, Williams ended-up having problems from the aforementioned first-round knockdown until the final bell, never committing to his punches despite pressing a lot of the action.

Since their fight, Lundy has moved-up from No. 4 to No. 2 in the World Boxing Council ("WBC") rankings, positioning him for a world title shot, while Williams dropped from No. 9 to No. 15 in the most recent WBC ratings.

Rumble Time Promotions and DiBella Entertainment co-promote Williams, the 27-year-old from St. Louis who now lives and trains in Youngstown, Ohio.

"Dannie showed a lot of heart fighting the best Hank Lundy, I think, the boxing world has ever seen," Rumble Time Promotions president Steve Smith said. "Dannie knocked down Lundy early but, unfortunately, he didn't finish him off. Dannie jumped out of his game plan after the first-round knockdown. I think Lundy will become world champion. I take off my hat to him for his well-deserved victory. I know these two will fight again on an even bigger stage.

"There is no question in my mind, or Lou DiBella's, that someday Dannie Williams will be world champion. We're getting him right back in the ring for a tune-up fight and then back on ESPN in July. Doug Loughrey has awarded us with another opportunity for Dannie to fight on ESPN Friday Night Fights, the most watched show in boxing. We want to thank him for giving Dannie another chance."

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

At any rate, throughout the episode Floyd did more smiling, adjusting his chair, and elevating Cotto to the public rather than his customary trash talk. Mayweather stated that he still considers Cotto to be “undefeated” because Margarito was subsequently found to be a cheater after their initial encounter and Pacquiao asked Miguel to fight him at a catch weight that was two pounds below the welterweight limit, thus causing Cotto to be ”weight drained." Of course, boxing fans in the know are aware of the fact that Cotto weighed 146 pounds for the fight prior to the Pacquiao fight so I highly doubt the extra pound killed him. Floyd also mentioned that Cotto is a future Hall of Famer which is accurate and referred to him as a “quiet killer” which is also true. Given the fact that Cotto is not the kind of guy that will ordinarily talk trash unless he feels that you cheated to beat him and could have permanently injured him, one would think that Floyd would have taken it upon himself to get under Cotto’s skin and make the episode a more colorful one. The fact that he didn’t begs the questions: Has Floyd lost his edge? At 35, is Floyd softening up a little? Does Floyd see something in Miguel that leads him to believe that his customary *hit talking would be futile?

This author does find it odd that Floyd chose the kinder, gentler route. This time, he gave us more “honey” than “money." It will be interesting to see how he behaves throughout the 24/7 episodes which will begin airing on HBO this Saturday. If Floyd Sr. isn’t at the gym to be called a fag**t by his son, and if Mayweather continues to treat Cotto with the utmost respect, it could be an uncharacteristically drab series. Given the fact that Cotto (like Mosley) can’t be counted on to be nearly as entertaining outside the ropes as he has been on the inside, the pressure will be on Floyd to run his mouth like never before or risk lulling the public to sleep like he did during the recent face-off episode. If he has lost his edge that is precisely what will happen. Let’s hope that Floyd just had a bad day at the office and will be back to his usual irreverent, ignorant self in the coming days and weeks. 

Darrell La Montre

World Boxing Organization (WBO) Bantamweight Champion, Kaliesha “Wild Wild” West (Moreno Valley, California, 14-1-3, 4 KOs) will defend her title against Claudia Andrea “La Chica 10” Lopez (Trelew, Chubut, Argentina, 18-5-0, 4 KOs) at the Ernesto Ruffo Appel Municipal Gymnasium, located in Rosarito B.C. Mexico. West’s 10-round, WBO title defense will be featured on the Mexican television network, Televisa, as part of their weekly boxing series “Sabados de Corona.” The fight card is presented by Box Latino, led by Mexican boxing legend and seven-time world champion, Erik “El Terrible” Morales.

Kaliesha West began her pro career in 2006, when she was just eighteen years old. On September 18, 2010, at age twenty-two, she won the vacant Women’s WBO Bantamweight title on the under card of the Mosley-Mora Golden Boy Promotions PPV by defeating Angel Gladney via a seventh-round knockout. The fight took place at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and was held during the Mexican Bicentennial Celebration.

West, now twenty-four, makes her third WBO title defense on the April 14 Box Latino fight card. West last fought on August 20, 2011, when she defeated Jessica Villafranca by unanimous decision in Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico.

“Thank you to Box Latino for offering me such a great, televised, title defense opportunity,” West said. “I’m honored and looking forward to being showcased as the main event. Mexico has some of the best fans. It’s a great feeling to box in front of people that enjoy watching women’s boxing. Lopez is a credible veteran who has fought mostly in Argentina. I’m sure she will come with a good game plan, but I’m prepared for whatever she might bring to the fight.”

Coach Juan West, Kaliesha’s trainer, manager and father shared his thoughts. “I want to thank the Morales brothers for the warm welcome to fight on their card. We are very excited to be the main event and fight on Televisa. We have fought a few times in Mexico and we feel at home there. Claudia Andrea Lopez is on a four-fight win streak and has won six of her last seven bouts. She’s also the current WBC Latino Super Bantamweight Champion, but her title won’t be on the line.”

Coach West also mentioned, “I’ve done my research and Lopez is the type of fighter that managers avoid. She’s strong, left-handed, has a solid chin and she’s a champion. She’s had some close losses to highly rated fighters. This is an opportunity for Kaliesha to make a statement and take her game to another level. She is on a mission to gain the respect of the boxing community and to build a broader fan base by grabbing the attention of casual sports fans.”

Team West is grateful for all the support they have received from boxing fans all over the world. Kaliesha said, “I don’t fight for just my team and myself. I fight for all the supporters of women participating in sports, especially those who have been supportive of me and have remained advocates of women’s boxing. I’m looking forward to doing my best on April 14.”

Juan West added, “I want to thank all the people who make me and my daughter feel that we have made them proud and that we are doing something great. There are a lot people out there that are encouraged by all the hard work we have put into our sport. We want to continue to make our supporters proud. I also want to give a very special thanks to the other coaches who are a big part of Team West, Sam Jackson and Ulysses West.”

Similarly to her father, Kaliesha West was born in South Haven, Michigan. Her family relocated to Moreno Valley, California, where she began boxing at the age of ten. In Southern California, she was a decorated amateur boxing star. She competed as a member of the USA Boxing Program, winning 98 amateur bouts, and several championships, including the 2003 National Golden Gloves. West opted to turn pro when she received the news that women’s boxing was not going to be showcased during the 2008 Olympic Games.

This year, women’s boxing made a major breakthrough, as three weight classes of boxers will be showcased during the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.

Tickets for Kaliesha’s fight on April 14 will be available at the Ernesto Ruffo Appel Municipal Gymnasium box office in Mexico. Tickets can also be purchased by calling the offices of Bobby D. Presents at +1 (619) 420 8866. On fight night, the doors will open at 5pm, with the first fight starting at 6pm. 

For the latest updates on Kaliesha West, “like” her official fan page on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/OfficialKalieshaWest.

Follow Kaliesha West on twitter @kwildwildwest or http://www.twitter.com/kwildwildwest.

For media inquiries or any further information, contact Lorin Chvotkin of Team West by e-mail at Lbchoyas@yahoo.com or by phone at +1 (240) 498 1478.

Note: pictures are courtesy of Team West

Chambers fought younger brother Wladimir in March of 2010 in Wlad’s home turf of Germany and was knocked out with seconds to go in the final round in a fight that he was losing in boring fashion. One might ask: 'Why would two former Klitschko knockout victims facing each other be worth watching?' The answer is simple and cliché: because styles make fights. Both Adamek and Chambers are around 6’1 with a 75 inch reach and their average weight for the past five fights has been roughly between 215 and 220 pounds. They each bring decent speed and quickness to go along with tremendous heart and toughness. Anyone who questions either man’s heart is worthy of being admitted into an insane asylum! Both guys have consistently stepped into the ring with men that outweighed them by 20 to 40 plus pounds, not to mention several inches in height and reach. If that doesn’t take nuts and guts I don’t know what does.

To add what was stated earlier, both men will be looking to climb back up the ladder and position themselves for another title shot against one of the great Klitschkos. A loss will lead to falling a couple more rungs further down the ladder, so the stakes are very high. This, of course, almost always leads to an intense battle because as we all know boxing is more mental than physical. Neither fighter possesses prodigious power,  so barring something unusual or unfortunate (such as a head butt or bad cut for example) the fight will almost certainly go some rounds.

Adamek rebounded from his loss to Vitali with a unanimous decision victory over journeyman Nagy Aguillera last month. Chambers rebounded from his loss to Wladimir with an easy unanimous decision over someone named Derric Rossy. So, they both bounced back with unanimous decision wins, but there is one small detail to consider: By the time they fight in June, Chambers’ victory will have occurred 1 ½ years ago and Adamek’s will have occurred only three months ago. There is an old saying in boxing: “To rest is to rust." Chambers has been doing a lot of resting lately. Eddie has only fought four times in the last three years while Tomasz has fought ten times during that stretch. Ironically, the younger fighter (Eddie, at 30 years of age) has been the inactive one while the older fighter (Tomasz who is 35) has been the one who has been fighting very frequently. This could play a major factor in the fight, especially going down the stretch. Few boxers in history have been able to overcome long layoffs at the elite level, with all time greats Sugar Ray Leonard and Floyd Mayweather coming to mind. Neither Chambers nor Adamek are even in the same zip code as Floyd or Ray as far as talent and greatness is concerned.

As far as a prediction is concerned, it would be a little easier if Chambers had not been so damn inactive lately. On paper he appears to be the more skilled fighter, although Adamek has underrated skills to go along with amazing toughness and a rock solid chin. In Chambers’ other loss he was beaten rather easily by Alexander Povetkin who is around the same size and only slightly more skilled than Adamek. Tomasz’s other loss was at light heavyweight to Chad Dawson who is more skilled than any of these men in my opinion. I realize that styles make fights, so one cannot always compare fighters’ past opponents to one another, but there are some things to consider when doing so. Putting all of that into account, I am going to go with Adamek via either very late round TKO or decision in a very entertaining battle of former Klitschko victims. 

Darrell La Montre

DL: Steve, where did you grow up and how did you get involved in boxing?

SS: I was born in Norfolk, Virginia. My dad took a second hitch in the Navy and I was born in Norfolk where he was stationed at the time. We then moved to Atlantic City, New Jersey where my parents were in the hotel and restaurant business. It was a wonderful place to grow up with the beach a half a block away and the boardwalk. The summer months were spent on the beach and we had our little league baseball. I am a lifelong resident of the Jersey Shore. Fighters were always the heroes in my home. I’m an only child and I had a very strong relationship with my parents. My dad would allow me to stay up on Friday nights to watch what was then called the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports.

I ran track at Atlantic City High School. At 5’6 135 pounds I was too small for football and too short for basketball, so I ran track. I was told early on that the key element to boxing on any level is conditioning so I got into the amateur program at the YMCA in Atlantic City and I boxed on the amateur level and really enjoyed the sport. I didn’t enjoy wrestling because they squeezed my head too much (laughs). I was able to maneuver in the ring ---it was recreational. I also boxed amateur at Penn State University. I went on to George Washington Law School and stayed in shape by going to a local gym. Through staying in shape I met certain people in the amateur boxing program where I trained from 1974 to 1982. I became affiliated with the Atlantic City Athletic League where I met Frankie Polo who was the local head of the amateur boxing program.  I met him and told him I was very interested in participating in the sport of boxing.

DL: You are also a Municipal Court Judge in Atlantic City as well as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force Reserves, is that correct?

SS: That’s correct. I am retired from both. As my career progressed the kids and locals called me a “triple threat” because I was a licensed boxing referee, a Municipal Court Judge in Atlantic County, New Jersey, and also a Lieutenant Colonel Staff Judge Advocate for the New Jersey Air National Guard. When I graduated law school it was the tail end of Vietnam and I was permitted to seek equivalent service and I was lucky enough to get into the National Guard. Mills Lane and I spent some time together in the late 80’s and early 90’s and we would often say that we were in the “club of two”. We were the only two sworn judicial officers (Mills in the Superior Court and me in the Municipal Court) while also being dually licensed boxing referees. There has never been any other person in any country to hold those licenses simultaneously. We would appear at different conventions at the WBA and IBF predominantly and I always looked up to him. We were the club of two.

DL: Did you ever judge fights or were you always a referee?

SS: I was always a referee; I never acted as a boxing judge.

DL: What is the most difficult aspect of being a boxing referee?

SS: The art of refereeing is judgment and movement. The most difficult part is to know when to say when. You have to be able to discern when the fighter is unable to protect himself to the degree that there could be a problem. I look for the signature shot when the fighter has given me everything they can and I’ve got to get in and stop it in a timely and safe fashion. My philosophy is that if the fighter has enough energy to complain to the referee about a stoppage that means that the referee stopped the fight prematurely. My goal is (if at all possible) to allow the fighters to determine the outcome of their fight.

DL: Is there any mistake that you feel you made while refereeing fights in the past that haunts you?

SS: Nothing I’ve done haunts me. A year ago I refereed the fight between top rated cruiserweight Denis Lebedev and the aging wonder Roy Jones. At the very end of the tenth round Roy got hit with a big shot. In retrospect I could have stopped it a second earlier than I did. I was unduly influenced by the ten second signal in conjunction with the fact that Roy was a legend who I felt deserved to finish on his feet.  In addition, I felt that it was possible that Roy being such a clever boxer might have been playing a little possum. It was a chance I was willing to take and one that I knew could potentially be controversial but I did it nonetheless.

DL: What changes can be made in your opinion to improve officiating and the sport of boxing in general?

SS: As far as referees are concerned, I think they need to focus and pay more attention during seminars. While in the ring, they need to execute and utilize more common sense, judgment and movement. As far as improvements that can be made vis-à-vis the sport of boxing in general, we need to utilize modern technology for the better of the sport. The whole focus of a recent New York State Athletic Commission Referee seminar that we had the first week of March was to discuss the implementation of instant replay for cuts versus butts, knockdowns versus slips, and low blows versus  clean blows. Earl Brown who is a fine referee is the Chairman, Arthur Mercante Jr, Benjy Esteves and myself are all on the committee. After the seminar, Earl called me the next day and said that he thinks he has a way to implement this in a world title fight by giving each corner two challenges. They must make that challenge in the first 10 seconds of the round ending. If the referee rules it a punch and they say it was a butt, within ten seconds they call time out and one corner man says “I challenge." There would be a Deputy Commissioner with a headset and a monitor who is already assigned who would sit down next to the time keeper and his job would be to handle challenges and have 20 to 30 seconds to review the television replay footage. The goal would be to accomplish this without interrupting the flow of the fight.

DL: That’s great! I have been saying for years that boxing needs to catch up to other major sports and implement modern technology because a referee is human and the outcome of a fight and potentially a fighter’s career can be severely affected by an erroneous call by the referee regarding a knockdown and/or a cut. What do you think about modifying the number of rounds from an even number to an odd number in order to help preclude a draw? The fans hate draws.

SS: I am not a fan of draws either, but they are a part of the fight game. The WBA has implemented some nine and eleven round fights in the past but it never took off. A four rounder is tailor made for a draw. I think at the lower level scheduling fights for five rounds would be a good idea. I would have five round fights and maintain the current six, eight, ten, and twelve round scheduled fights.

DL: Are referees paid by the promoter or the state commission?

SS: We are paid by the commission but the promoter makes the deposit. The pay for all working officials including judges, inspectors and doctors are filtered through the commission. The check I receive comes from the state athletic commission and not the promoter.

DL: You are known as a referee that lets fights go longer than most other referees would and many of the fans (myself included) love you for it. Do you research the fighters’ past fights and determine what kind of punishment they are capable of enduring? Also, do you treat championship fights differently than non championship fights?

SS: Thank you. Yes, I research every aspect of a fighter and his past fights and it was never more evident than during the Pavlik/Taylor fight. I had known what Kelly was capable of enduring from refereeing his fight with Edison Miranda who was a huge puncher and had 24 knockouts out of 28 wins. In round four of that fight, Kelly absorbed two powerful overhand rights that didn’t faze him. He hurt Miranda desperately in round 6 and in the next round he stopped him. I had the knowledge of what Kelly has done. In August of that year I attended one of the best seminars I have ever attended with reference to the effects of equilibrium shots to a fighter high on the temple or behind the ear. The summation was the there is a quick reaction where the fighter goes down, but an equally quick recovery. The doctor said not to pull the trigger too quickly. He said that if they flounder it doesn’t look good, but within 10 seconds they may be able to regain their senses.

So, I had the actual experience with Kelly (against Miranda), the seminar at the Mohegan Sun and then I get the Pavlik/Taylor fight in September of 2007. Pavlik was hit with a massive right hand behind the ear in round two. He wobbled and went down. He managed to get up and steady himself. He was one shot away from a stoppage but it never came. Jermain allowed him to tie him up and by the end of round two Kelly had regained his balance and was actually coming forward. He ended up winning round three, did well in round four and by round seven he was center ring and put Taylor in his own corner and stopped him.

DL: If I remember correctly you didn’t even administer a count when Taylor slumped down in the corner.

SS: That’s correct. People have asked me in seminars 'Ref, what was the difference between the knockdown in round two and stoppage in round 7?' The difference was night and day! In round two, Kelly was severely hurt but when I issued the count his eyes were very clear, he was verbalizing fine he was just unsteady. I said 'Look I can always go in, but this is for a major world title. I’m not waving this thing off because he may have wiggled.' Of course, a fighter’s safety is paramount, but I do put into account the fact that it’s for a world title. I was never close to stopping it. Once I saw his reaction I knew he was ok. When a fighter can’t continue I call it a “loss of presence." The head snaps back, the eyes go, and the hands go down. It’s over at that point. Kelly didn’t do that when he went down but when Jermain  got hit he was out the minute the punch landed. He was out before he hit the canvas.

DL: Have you ever had a situation while refereeing a fight where you are so entertained by what is going on in the ring that you almost forget that you are the referee?

SS: Yes, the one that really did it was the 2001 fight of the year between Mickey Ward and Emanuel Augustus. It was so entertaining! I only touched them once the whole fight. I don’t inhibit a fighter’s style --- I’m there stricly to enforce the rules. Emanuel didn’t break any rules. He’ll do certain things like punch you with both hands which is perfectly legal. Mickey is Mickey and the late knockdown he scored was the difference in the fight. I was also in awe recently with Margarito against Cotto. There is Margarito with that severely repaired eye and he didn’t take one step back!

DL: You refereed the first Mosley/Forrest fight. What are your memories of that fight and were you surprised that Mosley was able to last the full 12?

SS: Yes, Mosley was severely hurt.  A lesser conditioned athlete would not have been able to last the distance. His ability to get up from devastating shots and go the full 12 rounds was impressive but I believe that he never fully recovered from the punches he absorbed in the 2^nd round. He fought the remainder of the fight purely on instinct. As far as the unintentional head butt that occurred before the knockdown in the second round is concerned, I didn’t see any ill effects from it and I do not believe it played a role in the outcome of the fight.

DL: Another fight that you refereed was the historic Hopkins/Trinidad fight shortly after 9/11 in Madison Square Garden. Given the timing and magnitude of the fight, this must have been a magical evening that I’m sure you must have been proud to be a part of. Tell us about that.

SS: You are correct. It was the most emotional event that I have been involved in during the 30 years that I have been the third man. It occurred on September 29^th and it was touch and go because of the devastation of 9/11. I was told by the New York State Commission to be on standby. Don King did an outstanding job in the promotion of the fight. He invited the survivors of 9/11 to sit in a special section. Don felt that this was the first step in the healing process. You could just feel the emotion in the air! Don dedicated a fire engine to the first company in lower Manhattan worth $125,000 to replace the one that was damaged on 9/11. There were family members there and it was a packed, emotional garden. When I was standing center ring I thought to myself 'My God, I can’t believe I’m here.'

As for the fight, it was one of the most technically proficient performances I’ve ever seen. Bernard systematically broke down Tito. Lesser men would have fallen earlier. I recall an instance in the middle rounds where Tito caught Bernard with his famous overhand right and Bernard just grunted and I could see the discouraged expression on Tito’s face.  In the 12 round when Tito went down, I was moving in and his dad (who was his trainer) saw something earlier than I did and that’s when he elected to stop him. Tito gave a good account of himself nonetheless. I feel that he was one of the finest boxers of our era. I was with him during a very difficult time (the Hopkins fight) and also had the privilege three years later to be the referee and witness him take apart Ricardo Mayorga in the very same ring. In that fight, Mayorga gave Tito a free shot on his chin in round two of their fight and I thought to myself 'He will pay for that later.' You don’t give a brutal puncher like Trinidad a free shot at your chin and not suffer the consequences. No matter how tough you are, the cranium can only take so much.

DL: Have you ever gone against the doctor’s orders and let a fight continue?

SS: I can’t do that. If the doctor gives a directive to stop the fight, even if the rules state that only the referee can stop the fight, the doctor has a different perspective and must protect the fighter’s safety and you must stop the fight. All I can do is converse with the doctor and let him know in a respectful and deferential manner that I will watch him closely and ask him if I can let the fighter come out for another round. If he allows it to continue, I then let the fighter know 'Ok, you heard the doctor' and often the fighter subsequently fights with a sense of urgency.

DL: One other fight you refereed was the Toney/Jirov fight. That was one of Toney’s last great performances. Jirov was undefeated at the time and one tough son of a bitch. What are your memories of that great fight?

SS: It was a terrific fight. I had a history with James. I worked his fights when he was a middleweight, when he was a cruiserweight and as a heavyweight when he fought Ruiz. He always treated me with respect. Against Jirov he was at his technical best. It was very exciting and there was a lot of give and take. I thought that even in losing, Jirov gave an excellent account of himself against Toney. To come from a junior middleweight/middleweight all the way up to heavyweight Toney proved he had one of the greatest chins in boxing history.

DL: Other than yourself, which other referees do you think do a great job?

SS: I admire the work of Mills Lane and I admire the work of Frank Cappuccino. The way that Cappucino refereed the first Gatti/Ward fight is exactly the way I would have. Another referee I admired was Mitch Halpern. I had the pleasure of meeting Mitch Halpern once. He would have broken every record possible in regards to working the greatest number of title fights. He worked 89 title fights in only 10 years. He had fine tutelage under Richard Steele. He was on his way to becoming a legendary referee. He moved very well and did a fine job of refereeing. The sport of boxing took a huge loss when he passed away.

DL: Do most referees have a second job or do they referee full time?

SS: Unless we are retired, we all have a second job. You need a vocation because the pay level is such that you can’t support a family and/or pay a mortgage. Every referee I know who isn’t retired works a full time job in another field. Now, having said that, you must treat the job of a referee as a full time job as far as conditioning is concerned in order to do the job on a high level.

DL: Thanks very much for your time Steve.

SS: You’re very welcome Darrell. 

Darrell La Montre

The stakes are very high for this fight due to the fact that the winner will be in line for a big money fight and the loser will fall to the back of the pack. If Ortiz wins again as he did via unanimous decision in their donnybrook last year, it will be difficult but not impossible to sell a rematch to the public between him and Floyd Mayweather (42-0 with 26 KOs) should he win as expected next month against Miguel Cotto (37-2 with 30 KOs). The controversial ending to their fight last year would of course be the selling point. Should Berto emerge victorious, a fight against Mayweather would be a possibility sometime either at the end of this year or sometime in 2013. Of course, there is always the possibility that if the second fight is on par with the first fight in regards to excitement and action, a rubber match could be in order in the event that Berto won.

It will be interesting to see if Ortiz is able to match and duplicate the level of intensity that he displayed in their first encounter. At that time, Ortiz was a man on a mission to prove that he was not a quitter after displaying the antithesis in his fight with Marcos Maidana. In his fight with Mayweather, in this author’s opinion Ortiz quit by deliberately head butting Floyd in an effort to get out of a fight that he was losing against an opponent that was more difficult to hit than the lottery. Victor is a talented but somewhat chinny boxer who has a quitter’s mentality and serious mental issues in a sport that is at least 75% mental. Berto is a flawed but talented fighter with a suspect chin as well who relies on athleticism, superb reflexes, power, and a strong offense that acts as his defense. 

This is one of those fights that is very hard to predict because there are many intangibles and variables. Will Ortiz be able to reclaim the eye of the tiger, overcome adversity if asked to do so and find a way to once again prevail? Will Berto exact revenge and prove that he took Ortiz lightly the first time? We shall see in a little over three months. One thing’s for certain: Angelinos won’t have to wait until July 4^th to witness some major fireworks. 

Darrell La Montre

Lopez’s rematch with the world champion Salido was stopped by Ramirez in the 10th round after Lopez was dropped to the canvas and unable to defend himself when he beat the count. Ramirez’s son was the referee who stopped the first fight between the two boxers when Salido beat Lopez for the title several months earlier. Both bouts were held in Puerto Rico.

Lopez was being interviewed in the ring by Jim Gray of the American television network Showtime after the March 10 fight and said Ramirez stopped the contest because he had a gambling issue. He said the referee stopped the fight too early and his son did the same thing in the first fight. While an argument could be made for a premature stoppage in their first bout, most boxing experts agreed with Ramirez’s decision to stop the second fight when he did.

Lopez apologized publicly twice for his comments in the ring and said he didn’t really remember making them until watching the replay of the fight the next day. His promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, said the suspension is ridiculous and will be appealed. Arum said Lopez was obviously disoriented when he made the comments due to the punishment he’d received in the ring just seconds earlier.

Arum said it makes no sense to punish somebody for making stupid comments after they’ve just been concussed and the boxing commission shouldn’t have let him be interviewed in the physical state he was in. Arum added that Lopez can’t really be held responsible for what he said. He admitted if Lopez had made those statements the following day after he had recovered then he should be held responsible, but pointed out the boxer apologized profusely for his words.

The 28-year-old Lopez, who has a record of 31-2 with 28 KOs, previously said if he was suspended by the commission then he might have to consider retiring, but has decided to appeal within the 20 days allowed to launch one. Arum said he's afraid that if he doesn’t win the appeal he won’t be able to fight in the U.S. while suspended because the America states will recognize and uphold the ban.

Most boxing experts and websites have sided with Arum on this issue and feel Lopez should be given the benefit of the doubt due to the condition he was in when making the statements. A year-long suspension seems quite harsh considering the circumstances. It’s possible that the pressure put on the Puerto Rican commission from the boxing world will see the ban overturned during the appeal.

Ian Palmer

Senchenko vs. Malignaggi," presented by Union Boxing Promotion, is being distributed in the United States by Integrated Sports Media for live viewing at 1:00 PM/ET - 10:00 AM/PT on both cable and satellite pay-per-view via IN Demand, DIRECTV, DISH Network and Avail-TVN for a suggested retail price of only $29.95.

"I want to give American fight fans what they like by being aggressive and attacking Malignaggi," Senchenko said from the Wild Card Gym. "They won't be disappointed by my style. I hope that, after this fight, American television people will see my boxing skills and offer me big fights.

"I want to showcase my talents in America, which is known as one of the best places in the world to box. Not boxing there would be a disappointment. I want to have a couple of fights in the US, not just one, but any fight has to be the right fight for me. My promoter, Yuri Raban (Union Boxing), will decide who my next opponent will be and where. It's important for any boxer to be on US television. Every boxer has that dream. Even thought this fight is happening in the Ukraine, I am very happy that Integrated Sports Media will be broadcasting this fight live so people in the US will be able to watch me fight."

The outspoken Malignaggi (30-4, 6 KOs) is unbeaten since moving up to welterweight with victories against Michael Lozada (TKO6),Jose Miguel Cotto (DEC10) and Orlando Lora (DEC10).

"Malignaggi is nothing special," Senchenko commented. "I know how to fight him. I plan to expose his weaknesses during the fight. I'm going to make sure that Malignaggi remembers my name for a long time. What he says does not bother me at all. I smile when I hear most of the stuff he says. I'm not a talker. I am a boxer and I'll show my skills in the ring. I am very calm and focused on my fight on April 29th.

"Paulie is already talking about defending his title in Brooklyn, but I am still the champion. He needs to take the title from me. He should start thinking about retiring, not defending the title, after he fights me."

Rated No. 5 in the world by The Ring Magazine, Senchenkowon the WBA title in 2009 by way of a 12-round decision against previously undefeated Yuriy Nuzhnenko. Vyacheslav has successfully defended his world title belt three times against Motoki Sasaki (DEC12),Charlie Jose Navarro (DEC12) and more recently Marco Antonio Avendano (TKO6) last August in his last fight.

Senchenko has been training under the guidance of multiple Trainer of the Year Freddie Roach in Hollywood, California. "Training is going very well," 2000 Ukraine Olympian Senchenko concluded. "I enjoy working with Freddie; he is the best trainer in the world. I learn something new from him every day. I like the Wild Card Gym a lot. I feel good when I am there and now it's like my home gym."

Go online to www.integratedsportsnet.com for additional information. Follow Integrated Sports Media on Twitter @IntegratedPPV.

Julio has improved greatly over the past couple years. In his last fight two months ago against highly ranked Marco Antonio Rubio, Chavez Jr. put those cultivated skills on display winning a unanimous decision over a man who had won ten straight fights including a stoppage victory over David Lemieux who was an undefeated hot young prospect at the time. Chavez Jr is a lot more polished than he was two to three years ago and has been fed a good diet of challengers who have enabled him to improve in multiple areas including the ever important psychological department.

He will need the added confidence in order to pass his biggest test to date: Andy Lee. Andy who is trained by legendary Hall of Fame trainer/manager and owner of Kronk Gym Emanuel Steward, has won 13 consecutive fights since being stopped back in March of 2008 by Brian Vera, a loss that has since been avenged. Lee himself is fighting with a lot of confidence these days and has improved a lot since the first Vera fight. He has learned to pace himself and has become a more intelligent boxer. His defense has improved, but can still use a little more work.

One thing that Andy doesn’t need any work on is his power. Lee has rare one punch fight altering/ending power. The fact that he fights southpaw and possesses frightening power spells double trouble for his opponents. It’s bad enough to have to worry about getting caught by a huge bomb, but to have those bombs coming from antithetical angles to what you are accustomed to only exacerbates the situation. This is exactly what Chavez Jr. will have to deal with. In addition, although Julio is 6’1 himself, Lee is 6’2, fights tall like most Europeans and has developed a very good sense of distance under the tutelage of Steward. This should be a very competitive affair that could go either way. If Chavez Jr. gets past Lee, he will almost certainly be looking forward to a super fight with Ring Magazine Middleweight/ Linear Champion Sergio Martinez (49-2-2 with 28 KOs). In addition to what he will have to face from a physical standpoint, it will be very hard for Julio not to overlook Lee and towards a big fight against Martinez. If he indeed overlooks Andy Lee, he will find himself seeing stars and not dollar signs. 

Darrell La Montre

Recently, Mayweather released footage of him sparring for his upcoming fight which is something that he never allowed the public to be privy to in the past ever since an out of shape Floyd was seen years ago sparring with Paul Spadafora and looking less than his usual sharp self. In the recent sparring footage, Mayweather looked much sharper while sparring with undefeated junior middleweight/middleweight contender Omar Henry. As most of you know, sparring is not the same as fighting and although at times some sparring sessions turn into gym wars, most of them are conducted at 50% or so of the fighters’ capacity.  At any rate, it can give one the idea of how serious a fighter is taking his opponent, how sharp he is at a certain stage of his training camp, and what kind of condition his is in.

Upon mulling over this fight and hearing what is being muttered, I am convinced that in order for Floyd to really impress his critics, he will need to win in explosive fashion. Too many critics and boxing fans (both haters as well as true fans of Floyd) are viewing this fight as an easy win for Floyd. If Mayweather were able to become the first boxer to knock Cotto out sans controversy, it would be viewed as an impressive performance and would add to his legacy.

The only fighter thus far who was able to stop Cotto was Antonio Margarito, but subsequent to that fight Antonio was caught by trainer Nazim Richardson with loaded gloves while being taped for the Mosley fight. Ever since then, his win over Cotto has a huge asterisk next to it and rightly so. Say what you want about Floyd, but he is a relatively clean fighter and that includes his last victory over Victor Ortiz which had one of the most bizarre endings to a prize fight in history. Hitting Ortiz while Victor was in the middle of attempting to embrace Floyd yet again may have been a di*k move, but it was a legal di*k move.

These days, Floyd has been moving a lot less in the ring and sitting down more on his punches. He also appears to have improved his physical strength immensely over the past few years. I don’t expect him to fight Cotto much differently than he fought Ortiz or Mosley before him. I see Cotto getting in a few decent shots, but Floyd will be Floyd and block many of them and counter brilliantly. If the molasses like Margarito was able to land some punches on Cotto down the stretch, imagine what the cat quick Mayweather will be able to do. I’d like to see Mayweather load up on his punches and make a valiant effort to stop the pride of Puerto Rico. Before he hits the slammer and knocks out his brief jail sentence, it would behoove him to knock out his opponent first. If he doesn’t, it will be business as usual as far as his critics are concerned. 

Darrell La Montre

In the middleweight main event, Donyil Livingston suffered the first defeat of his career at the hands of Miami's Elie Augastama.  The taller Augustama dropped the Palmdale native with a right hand at the end of round one, yet it was a difficult affair to score thereafter. Augustama often gave up his height to fight on the inside, and each fighter had their moments.  The fight went to the scorecards after 6, where Augustama pulled off the upset by scores of 58-55 on 2 scorecards, while Livingston was up 58-55 on the third. Livingston falls to 8-1-1-4KO's, while Augustama improves to 6-4-1-3Ko's.

In the super middleweight co-main event, Tyrell Hendrix, of West Los Angeles, overcame a slow start to break down and stop Woonsocket, Rhode Island's Reynaldo Rodriguez in 4 rounds. Rodriguez appeared to win the first right, but as Hendrix began to find his distance with right hands to the body, and left hooks up top, he eventually wore down his opponent, prompting a stoppage at 2:09 of the fourth, when Rodriguez sank to a knee and did not beat the count. Hendrix moves to 8-1-2-3KO's, while Rodriguez (originally from Puerto Rico),  falls to 6-4-1-3KO'S.

"Kid Yamaka" Zachary Wohlman got the first stoppage win of his career, albeit in bizarre fashion. The L.A. native was declared the winner when his opponent, Clifford McPherson injured his right thumb and could not continue. At the time of the stoppage, McPherson was looking better than his now 2-9 mark would suggest .  The Cleveland fighter caught Wolhman with an overhand right early on, and staggered the unbeaten prospect. Wolhman appeared to have righted the ship, and was beginning to outbox McPherson when a badly blocked punch resulted in the injury. Welterweight Wolhman, moves to 3-0-1KO.

In the only female bout of the night, Celine Roman suffered her first defeat, as she fell to 2-1 in a 4-round majority decision to Claudia Gutierrez, in a featherweight 4-rounder.  Gutierrez, of Sacramento boxed well from the outside, and it took Roman, of Zacatecas, Mexico almost the duration of the fight, before she began finding her with overhand rights.  Scores were 38-38, 39-37, and 40-36.  Gutierrez improves to 2-1.

Another unbeaten fighter lost his "0", as Oscar Diaz of the Oxnard Robert Garcia stable dropped a 4-round decision to Oscar Santana, of Chino, CA. Santana often gave up his height against his southpaw opponent, but dropped Diaz with a hook/right hand combination in round 1. Diaz battled back to make it a close fight, by tagging his taller rival with straight lefts, but Santana still prevailed by close decision, due largely to his superior work-rate. Santana improves to 2-1. while Diaz drops to 2-1.

Oxnard, CA's Herbert Acevedo became the first fighter of the night to both enter and leave with his unbeaten record, as he improved to 7-0-4KO's with a 2nd round KO over Laredo, TX's Eddie Ramirez.  Ramirez was game early, but was dropped hard with a right hand early in round two. Although he gamely punched back, Ramirez was dropped again moments later, and seemed to be having balance issues.  After a follow-up barrage, referee Jack Reiss called a halt.  The lightweight match-up sees Ramirez drop to 6-11-1-4KO's. "Hurricane" Acevedo, like Brandon Rios and Victor Ortiz, is a Garden City, KS native who has made his way to Oxnard.

Lightweight Neil Arrellano made his professional debut a successful one with a four round decision over Shawn Gary.  Gary, of Lancaster, CA was also debuting, but was unable to make good work for his height, as he was outhustled by Arrellano in most moments. Arrellano, of San Fernando, who was coming off a 5-year layoff between his amateur and pro careers, was able to maintain a good work rate, yet Gary seemed to do enough to win the final round. 

In the night's opener, Daniel Roman improved to 2-1-1KO with a four round TKO over Jesus Adame. In an action-packed war, Romans' superior footing and technique made all the difference, and Roman's shots were far sharper.   Roman eventually wobbled Adame badly against the ropes in round 4, and the referee stopped the bout. Adame, of San Bernardino, drops to 2-1.

Chris Strait