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Arizona Boxing News & Notes with Don Smith: Keenan Carbajal Wins Mexican Featherweight Title, Farewell Teddy, Silver Glove Results & Much More By Don Smith PhilBoxing.com Wed, 20 Dec 2017  Keenan Carbajal. Boxing Fans, On Saturday, December 16, Arizona featherweight Keenan ?Bedo? Carbajal (14-2-2) scored a 5th round knockout over Miguel ?Zurdo? Ponce (11-1-2) to capture the vacant WBF Mexican Featherweight title at the Gimnasio Municipal Stadium in Agua Prieta, Mexico. The victory secures the first professional boxing title for the 26 year old Carbajal who allegedly took to the social media airwaves to tout himself as a world champion; regional champion yes, but not a world champion. Before the fight, Carbajal was ranked 133/1,474 globally and 20/152 in the USA featherweight ranks while Ponce aka Misael Isai Ponce Galaz holds a global ranking of 373/1,474 and 59/269 in Mexico according to BoxRec. As for the quality of their ring opposition, K Carbajal foes possessed a combined record of 140 wins/161 losses after facing the Phoenix fighter. Mr. Ponce record is also suspect; his foes racked up 71 wins while dropping 106 contests. Both resumes seem a little thin to be fighting for any title. According to an inside source, Carbajal fought in Agua Prieta last year and his record doesn?t show the draw he earned; so ABNN thought it is only fair to correct the record. In case readers are unaware; there are two WBF Organizations; the World Boxing Federation and the World Boxing Foundation. When a source sent an email to our office informing our desk that ?Bedo? was fighting Miguel Ponce for a title; I immediately interrupted my nap and sprang into action and started combing the internet to find out information about both organizations. My email to the World Boxing Foundation brought an interesting response from Paul Saunders JP, Senior Vice President of the original WBF and current VP with World Boxing Foundation. Mr. Smith, Thank you for your recent enquiry regarding a boxer by the name of Keenan Carbajal. I believe you may have sent your enquiry in error. You may want to contact an organization that illegally uses our acronym, WBF. They are called the World Boxing Federation (WBF). We are the original WBF that was established in 1988 in the United States and underwent a name change from World Boxing Federation to the Boxing Foundation in 2003. The obscure organization that calls itself the World Boxing Federation popped up approximately 6 years ago and may be the organization that you are asking your question of? Thank you again for your enquiry and all the very best for the holiday season to you and your family?.Respectfully, Paul Saunders, World Boxing Foundation; headquartered in Victoria, Australia. In a subsequent email, Mr. Sunders suggested that both fighters (Carbajal and Ponce) would qualify to fight for a World Boxing Federation regional title. I thank the gentleman for his correspondence. In fairness, I tried without success to reach Howard Goldberg, President of the ?New? World Boxing Federation to no avail. I did scan their site and found the organization has a dozen title vacancies and the World Boxing Foundation has 14 title vacancies to fill. Whatever criteria both organizations are using to fill those vacancies isn?t working. I like the idea of title opportunities for fighters but some of the pugilists occupying these less known titles are either unknown or in some cases well past their prime. There are four boxing organizations that are recognized as quality presenters of world titles and they?re: WBA, WBC, WBO and the IBF. Two others, IBO & IBA are also considered reputable boxing organizations. And if any organization is selling useless title belts they need to be penalized and barred from operation. ABNN would like to congratulate Keenan Carbajal and we hope he will quit fighting tomato cans and prove that he has the skills to be a champion. Sorry, nothing personal! Farewell Teddy: According to published reports, ESPN boxing commentator Teddy Atlas has been kicked to the curb for his candid on air comments. Prime example was his criticism of the Horn victory decision over boxing legend Manny Pacquiao in Brisbane, Australia. I was there covering the fight and I thought the Australian won; but, Teddy Atlas always calls it the way he sees it and I appreciate his candor and passion. I missed him at the Lomachenko fight even though he was allowed to conduct an in studio interview with WBO super featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko. The interview lacked the intensity of previous efforts and I knew from watching the session that Atlas was told by the network to chill and so we got a watered down version of the talented commentator. He has 2-3 years left on his contract and Atlas has confirmed that he will no longer call ESPN fights and his removal makes me and fans all over the world very sad; thanks Teddy for your years of fine work I hope you find a network that will let you be you. Boxing News: Dragonfly Picture Studios, in Scottsdale, has released ?On the Ropes? a documentary spotlighting the hard and charitable work done at Strong Enough Boxing Gym in Mesa. Andrew Mendez, head coach, is one of boxing?s unsung heroes?..Bob Bennett, Executive Director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, is the subject of two articles written by Sean Cunningham are interesting reads and approved by the Executive Director; check the two stories out??Bob Arum, Top Rank CEO, was named promoter of the year. He also celebrated his 86th birthday in the Big Apple and reminisced about his youth in New York when as a kid he watched the Rovers Hockey team for 10 cents. His prediction for 2018: boxing will have a banner career and he doesn?t care if Dana White starts promoting Boxing; so he says..?..Roberto Vargas was asked about rumors that he was going to fold his Iron Boy Boxing/MMA operation and move on. Here is his take on the persistent rumors: ?It?s okay, it doesn?t bother me, just have to focus on my things & keep moving forward-nothing is easy & nothing is ever handed to anybody. I don?t like to say much, you know me but we haven?t even scratched any surface, long way to go, and happy holidays.? Iron Boy 43 is scheduled for the Celebrity Theatre on 2/24 and rumor has it that Iron Boy is about to land television coverage for future shows. If, that?s the case, I may have to shave before heading to the Celebrity There?..ABNN will celebrate Christmas on assignment in Las Vegas, January we will be in Chicago and Corpus Christi 2/3 to watch Gilberto Ramirez defend his title; if you can?t travel to Texas, stay at home and watch it on ESPN? ?surprised to hear that David Lemieux was beaten soundly by Billy Joe Saunders in his hometown of Montreal?.Groves vs. Eubanks should be a good one shown from the UK on ITV PPV; 2/17- check your television provider?..Former amateur boxer Anthony Mendez (Mendez Boxing) has given up boxing to dedicate his future to a career in nursing?Harvey Prezant teased me about calling him Harry once again?Roc Nation is starting to rebuild their boxing program after losing Cotto, Ward and the realization that Rigondeaux is no longer a superstar?. 14 year old Amateur Elijah Garcia (Hammer Boxing) won his weight class (154 lbs.) in Utah at the Nationals?..Arizona Welterweight Abel Ramos (18-2-2-13 knockouts)) is set to square off with Cesar Berumen(28-36-117 knockouts) in Park City Kansas on 2/10??Arizona Middleweight still rehabbing after being tripped in his fight in Tacoma, Washington??Super Middleweight Champion David Benavidez is scheduled to meet Ronald Gavril n their rematch on 2/17; but the 21 year old is still waiting for a venue and city. Team Benavidez believe the bout will be in Vegas. Silver Gloves Tourney: Sonny?s Boxing Gym in Goodyear Arizona hosted the Arizona State Silver Gloves and we proudly print the names of the winners that were forwarded to us; unfortunately some of the names were handwritten and illegible. We thank Richard Soto, Duane Mitry and Seferino Rodriguez for their help in obtaining the names we have. Rodriguez Gym produced 3 winners with Angel Urieta winning best boxer, Juan Ramirez winning a 1st place belt and Joel Marquez winning second place acknowledgement. Sebastian Mitry & Esteban Inzunza ( F-1 Boxing )won their divisions and advanced to the upcoming Regionals. From Sonny?s Gym, Zeus Pinder and Markos Camacho were automatic champions. Mariah Martinez (KO Boxing) and Reina Ruiz (Campeones Boxing) were also Automatic champions. Kevin Castaneda (Martillo?s Boxing) and Adam Lopez (unattached) also were crowned champions. The remaining winners included: John Hernandez (Knockout Boxing), Ronald Plata (unattached), David Vera (Busted Knuckle), Erick Mungia (Scottsdale BC), Nikeon Carrianza (Martillo?s), Juan Gomez (Martillo?s) and Thomas Valerio (unattached). We regret our inability to determine the winner of 4 bouts. Three to Watch: Please keep an eye on rising stars Teofimo Lopez (7-0), Mikaela Mayer (3-0) and Christopher Diaz 22-0) in 2018. Diaz is a current junior lightweight NABO champion and Bob Arum has promised Mayer a title shot in 2018. Lopez is angry over being cheated out of a berth on the 2016 USA Olympic team and his skills are something to watch. Diaz is a delight to talk to and he told me he liked to fight Mexicans because he said it is always a war when a Puerto Rican and a Mexican square off. He mentioned Cotto vs. Margarito and Sanchez vs. Gomez from years past. Diaz was supposed to fight Casey Ramos at Madison Square Garden on the Lomachenko Card but Ramos cancelled due to a family emergency so the 23 year old fought substitute New Yorker Bryant Cruz (18-3) and Diaz knocked Cruz out and says he is ready for a world lightweight title shot within a year. All three fighters, Mayer, Lopez and Diaz have the makings of future champions. Mail Bag: Arizona boxing fan Geoff Ronning, a frequent reader of our column, was asked to submit his 2018 New Year?s resolutions for boxing. He granted our request and actually exceeded the quota we discussed; however, ABNN decided to print his entire list because of his stature in the Arizona boxing community. Mr. Ronning is an avid boxing fan and Masters Heavyweight division boxer. His dedication to the sport is so fierce that I look upon him as the fourth man in the ring when he attends boxing contests in Arizona and elsewhere. He isn?t always right with his declarations; but his love for the sport is unquestionable. Here is his unedited and well thought out list of hopes and wishes for boxing 2018: (1) Deontay Wilder fights only top 10 ranked opponents (2) Matchroom Sports and Zuffa Boxing start promoting fights in the U.S.A. (3) Arizona seeks to support and attract boxing promoters shows in Arizona (4) Arizona?s Carlos Castro takes on some high rated competitors (5) Assuming more bouts, Floyd Mayweather fights only top 10 world ranked fighters (6) Heavyweight Luis Ortiz fights for a title (7) Local boxing promoters offer a season ticket so fans may pre-pay for their seat for multiple shows at one time to support their promoters efforts, improve their cash flow and insure a good seat (8) Local promoters allow some quality seats to be sold online as opposed to giving all those seats to local boxers to sell which makes it difficult for fans to purchase and may mean those tickets do not get sold/used (9) Regis Prograis beats Adrian Broner (10) Lomachenko fights Mikey Garcia (11) Jay Z and/or Roc Nation steps up to do something helpful for their boxer Daniel Twitch Franco who was severely injured and still suffering from injuries occurred during a boxing match in June, 2017. So far Roc Nation has done nothing. Not so much as send a link to his funding page:https://www.gofundme.com/DanielTwitchFranco Editors Note: Arizona Boxing News & Notes would like to add our two cents worth of 2018 New Year?s resolutions with 5 simple suggestions for the Arizona Boxing/MMA Commission: (1) listen to the Arizona boxing community and set up a reasonable avenue to submit complains and ideas to improve the state of boxing (2) Schedule quality frequent training sessions for referees, judges, inspectors and commissioners. (3) Institute a serious program to detect and treat brain trauma with awareness training and available medical insurance (4) Work closer with members of the boxing media by sending weekly updates on scheduled events and an advance notice of agenda items to be addressed at monthly commission meetings. (5) Speed up process for promoter and event approval. The current process doesn?t allow enough time to promote events properly and above all, protect the fighters. Happy New Year! Short Shot: retired local boxing figure Peter McKinn told Arizona Boxing News & Notes that all Arizona Boxing Commission Executive Director Juan Estrada needs to become an efficient administrator is experience. It sounds like a compliment; but don?t expect the two men to have lunch together soon and if they do?. don?t expect Mr. McKinn to pick up the check. Peter?s remarks at the last commission meeting made quite a long lasting impression on everyone present including Capitol security..?? Click here to view a list of other articles written by Don Smith.  |
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