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Arizona Boxing News & Notes With Don Smith: Benavidez vs. Paez, What?s next for Floyd & More


PhilBoxing.com




Boxing Fans, Jose Benavidez Jr (22-0 w/ 15 knockouts) will defend his interim WBA Super Lightweight Title against hard hitting Jorge ?Maromerito? Paez Jr. (38-5-2 w/23 knockouts) on Friday May 15 at US Airways in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. Ironically, his first title defense falls on the day of his birthday and Team Benavidez hopes to celebrate with a B-day victory over the son of boxing legend Jorge Paez Sr. In the other corner, Paez wants to spoil the party with a victory over the hometown favorite.

TruTV will present the 12 round title contest as a feature of ?The Metropcs Friday Night Knockout? series on their budding network which began its? fight series on Friday May 1. TruTV is capitalizing on America?s renewed interest in watching live sports; boxing is just one of the many sports entertainment components presented by the Network.

The boxing arm of the network programming was launched after Top Rank INC. and TruTV announced a multiyear deal agreement with TruTV at the end of March of 2015. The series will have eight cards this year in association with Turner Sports and HBO Sports. It is a business marriage that has worked well so far and the network did well, in my opinion, to hire Boxing legend Ray ?Boom -Boom? Mancini as the on air boxing analyst.
The rest of the on air personnel for the May 15 broadcast include veteran splay by play by play announcer Kevin Kugler, former world boxing champion Timothy Bradley and insightful reporter Crystina Poncher who is bilingual In addition to reporting for Top Rank, Crystina is a correspondent for NFL Network and NFL.com. The fight telecast will also provide closed captioning in Spanish.

The network?s presentation will feature the continued use of ?Spidercam? technology, the first of its kind for a live domestic telecast, proving dynamic coverage during the TruTV boxing series.

TruTV will broadcast the championship bout and a 10 round super lightweight bout between unbeaten Antonio ?Relentless? Orozco (21-0 w/ 15 knockouts and tough Emmanuel ??The Tranzforma Taylor (18-3-0 w/ 12 knockouts). Fans at the venue will enjoy six other fights on tap and here is the latest updated news on the Metro PCS Friday Night TruTV undercard: 8 round light heavyweight contest-Trevor McCumby (Glendale Arizona) 18-0 w/14 knockouts vs. Marcus de Oliveira (Sao Paulo Brazil) 22-2-1 w/20 knockouts.-6 round super bantamweight bout- Victor Serrano (Mexico) 4-8-1 vs. Carlos Castro (Phoenix) 7-0- 6 Rounds Welterweight-Angel Martinez (Mexico) vs. Abel Ramos (Casa Grande, Arizona) 11-0-2 w/6 knockouts-6 Rounds Super Bantamweight contest-Francisco C. de Vaca (Phoenix, Arizona) 10-0 w/4 knockouts vs. TBA-6 Rounds Light Heavyweight-David Benavidez (Phoenix, Arizona) 8-0 w/7 knockouts vs. Ricardo Campillo (Mexico) 8-6-1 w/ 6 knockouts-4 Rounds Super Bantamweight-Emilio Garcia (Phoenix, Arizona) 9-1 w/2 knockouts vs. TBA

Floyd Thoughts: Sorry to hear Floyd Mayweather thrashing Manny Pacquiao and proclaiming himself as the greatest fighter whoever put on a pair of boxing gloves. According to published reports, he has one more fight on his contract and the money man will then retire. Before he goes, I hope he considers fighting one of the following boxers: Keith Thurman, Terrance Crawford, Miguel Cotto, Danny Garcia or a vastly improved Saul Alvarez whom he narrowly defeated in the fall of 2013?. Some of my readers suggested GGG, but he is too big and Amir Khan can?t fight Money Man in September because of a religious holiday that occurs during that month. Mayweather says he will fight who he wants to fight for his swan song, but maybe he will decide to fight the best and toughest opponent available; we can only hope! It should be noted that Floyd beat Cotto in 2012, but Niguel is a better fighter today than he was 3 years ago.

US Airway Fight Notes: Jorge Paez Jr. told a source, through a Spanish interpreter, that he wasn?t afraid of fighting Jose Benavidez Jr. in his backyard of Phoenix don May 15. Paez is a scrappy battler who has the reputation of getting off the canvas, if necessary, and willing himself to victory??Antonio Orozco (21-0) is a Golden Boy prot?g? and there are unsubstantiated rumors that Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya may attend the official press conference at Tempe Marketplace (Dave & Busters) at 2 PM on Wednesday , May 13. The weigh-in will be held at the same venue on Thursday, May 14 at 2 pm. The Arizona Boxing Commission is cracking down on tardiness, so fighters beware. One unsuspecting young boxer was late for his recent bout at the Celebrity Theater and left the venue with a lighter wallet?..Expect at least five former world boxing champions to attend either the press conference, weigh-in or fight on May 15 at US Airways?.ticket prices start at $24.75 (tax included) at the US Airways box-office and remember, the venue is being re-configured to seat a capacity of 5,000, doors open at 4 pm on fight night and first bell chimes at 5 pm. If money is tight, buy your tickets at the box-office and save enough to buy a cup of suds or popcorn; you get my thrifty way of sending a message.

First Step to Olympics: USA Boxing has announced open registration for the ?Pathway to the Podium Olympic Trial Qualifier 1? for both men and women to be held in Colorado Springs, CO. from June 20-June 27. Citizenship is required of all boxing participants in the tournament. A copy or photo of athlete?s U.S. Birth Certificate or a U.S. Government Passport is required in order to compete. This tournament will be held with headgear; for more details, email: jakem49@cableone.net. Permanent residency is no longer sufficient.

Parting Shots: Arizona Boxing Trainer Tom Garcia and his brother Joe bade farewell to their beloved mother in a ceremony (5/12) attended by numerous members of the Arizona Boxing Community. Our prayers go out to the Garcia family?. The golf tournament on May in Buckeye Arizona 9 to benefit Olympic hopeful Ariel Arismendez was called off?.the Cinco de Mayo boxing Festival 5-2-3 produced ted following winners: Team Trophy (Broadway Boxing), Outstanding Boxer Armando Chavez (15-16) Guadalupe Boxing, Outstanding Boxer Micky Scala (13-14) Broadway Boxing, Outstanding Boxer Rosalinda Harvey (8-12) Chinle Boxing; congratulations to all the kids who competed?..Good to hear boxing promoter Steve Ayala is recovering from his cancer experience. His next show is on June 4 at the Phoenician Hotel in Phoenix. Heavyweight Dennis Acuna is reportedly making his professional debut on the card. It is a private show. Fight Hard Promotions is returning to the Renaissance Hotel for a show on June 13, but no confirmed details to print?.Roy Jones Promotions is looking for a venue to put on a show, but efforts to reach matchmaker and talk about the card were futile?.. Canadian Middleweight Champion (9-1-1 w/9 knockouts) was very impressive sparring with Saul Alvarez in California, but the 30 year Irish Canadian can?t buy a fight because of his reputation of a knockout puncher or so says his management team? Until Next Time!


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Don Smith.


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