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Arizona Boxing News & Notes With Don Smith: Trotter, Granados Score Upsets: Ryskeldiev Wins By Don Smith PhilBoxing.com Sat, 04 Jul 2015 Boxing Fans, Last time I stepped foot in Las Vegas was prior to billionaire Casino owner Steve Wynn opening his first Vegas gambling establishment (Wynn Las Vegas) on April 28, 2005. On Saturday, June 27 I returned to the 24-7 gambling city that never sleeps to cover BKB 3 a new style of boxing that may be difficult for some boxing purists to accept or even talk about. As mentioned in my previous column, a BKB fight doesn?t use a ring or ropes. Fighters battle in a small pit surrounded by a wall. Each undercard bout is scheduled for 5- 2 minute rounds and championship bouts are scheduled for 7 rounds. The virtual reality format is supposed to produce more knockouts, but the KO number depends on the power of the punch and the quality of the fighter. On 6/27 the KO total for the evening reached two and middleweight Shane Mosley Jr. earned an extra ten thousand dollars (Big Knockout of the Night) for his ending the night of Jason Kelly at 51 seconds of the first stanza. After his explosive victory young Mosley walked the top of the wall in jubilation, his father (Sr.) was all smiles. I was invited by Direct TV (Indirectly) to watch and cover the event and I was also asked to double up and execute the role of a news stringer and report the results to a fellow reporter who couldn?t make the trip due to a personal emergency. I arrived on the day of the event at 2:30 PM and was asked beforehand to report to one of the fighter?s representatives to conduct a brief interview at 4 PM after collecting my press credential (Media Bar) near the Mandalay Bay Event Center; unfortunately members of the press weren?t allowed to pick-up credentials until 5 PM and the ringmaster of the press pass operation stuck to his orders as if he would be executed if he didn?t adhere to his directive from the BKB hierarchy; so I was forced to miss the interview. I was lucky to stumble onto a new storyline wrinkle in my coverage that turned out to be a godsend. By the way, Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas share something in common; extreme heat. It was 113 degrees when I arrived at the entrance of the Luxor Hotel; identical to the temperature setting in Phoenix. Thanks for asking, my provided room was comfortable. While waiting for my media pass; so I could work, I met four male boxing fans from Chicago and one of men (Ron Budd) recognized me from a photo of me formatted above my Arizona Boxing News & Notes column carried on the Fight Kings website that no longer runs my work on a regular basis. His friends included Calvin Goode, Dwayne Morrison who claimed to be related to Marion Morrison, aka John ?The Duke? Wayne and Phil David who teased Dwayne when he suggested that John Wayne was a closet homosexual. All of the men were characters. Calvin asked if I knew anything about math and I said yes I was a math tutor between writing gigs after college and he replied ?did you know that pie are round and cake are square.? Yes, not everything should leave Vegas. After a round of unforgettable low brow humor, the men and I struck up a conversation about who I liked in the fights and they asked if I could recommend 2-3 fights to place bets on and I told them I personally refused to pull a Pete Rose and bet on a fighter, but I volunteered my personal opinion of three fights worthy of considering a wager; however, I cautioned them to reconsider plunking down hard earned dollars on any wager they would regret. They asked my track record on predicting winners and I told them I didn?t have a winner to show since betting on Cassius Clay to defeat Sonny Liston on 2/25/1964. I was pulling their proverbial leg, but I did wager $10.00 on the victorious Ali at 10-1 odds. I told them the safest bet was to wager on Californian Shane Mosley Jr. (4-1) vs. Jason Kelly (1-3-1) from Boston because I didn?t see Kelly as a challenge and several of my journalistic colleagues agreed the Bostonian looked like an easy knockout prey for young Mosley and a predictable windfall for wagers. Kelly?s record was also listed as 3-1 in another set of record books. Picking two upset winners isn?t easy. My second choice was Irish Canadian Janks Trotter (9-1-1) out of Calgary Alberta who was taking on veteran junior middleweight Ed Paredes (35-5-1). Trotter was listed as a 2 ? -1 underdog and those odds appealed to the boys wallets and they liked the fact that the Irishman would be coming out of the black corner wearing black. Trotter overcame two separate official knockdowns in the third round to win a unanimous decision over the more experienced Paredes. Trotter roared back and won the fourth round and scored two standing 8 counts over his stunned opponent in the fifth and final round. Trotter had the cheering support of actor Vince Vaughn who was in the audience and is coincidentally married to a Canadian woman born in the same province (Alberta) as boxer/concrete worker Janks Trotter who used to work in oil fields until a big layoff in Canada earlier this spring. Vaughn wasn?t the only celebrity in the house; here is a partial list in attendance: Television host and actor Mario, Lopez, Actor Michael B. Jordan, Comedian Steve Byme, Television Personality Steelo Brim and actor Matt Laura. My third betting choice from the boxing menu was young Adrian Granados (13-4-2) out of Chicago and fighting under the Journeyman boxing banner, the same team that signed young prospects Abel Ramos and Nathaniel Gallimore. Team manager, Andrew Zack was in attendance. The fact that he (Granados) went the distance (10 rounds) with Brad Solomon and Felix Diaz in his last two bouts was the clincher for me. His opponent in the black corner was the well-respected veteran Jesus Soto Karass (38-10-3) fighting out of North Hollywood via way of Mexico. He is very cagey and relies on power hooks and uppercuts from either hand; Granados has quicker hands and he overworked Karass in route to a split decision victory. The men thanked me for my words of insightful but cautious wisdom and we bid farewell and I wished them a safe trip home. It was 11 minutes until 5 when I tried once again to obtain my pass, no cigar. At one minute and 45 second before 5 PM, I went to another customer representative who was more accommodating and without an attitude handed me my pass. My named was spelled correct and that was all that mattered. After the press conference, one of the public relations reps looked at my badge and said ?didn?t you call me and say you weren?t coming.? He had made a mistake. Once in the press room, members of the small press brigade were promised a press meal that allegedly wasn?t ready but I discovered it was mistakenly delivered to an adjoining room, so the dwindling number of writers and journalists still waiting to eat walked 20 paces and chowed down on a 7 course scrumptious Mexican styled buffet with beverage. I became very popular after resolving the issue of where is the food? After my last swig of iced tea (not Long Island) it was time for a little BKB action. 7 - 5 rounds fights and 1- 7 round BKB championship bout: The first two bouts of the evening were of the were garden variety counter punching battles prevalent in club boxing: Chris Spang, an MMA fighter was making his boxing debut against Samuel Horowitz (no mention of piano in his resume) from Chicago in a battle of light heavyweights. It was busy fight with Spang throwing more punches and showing better condition; Spang, from Las Vegas, god the nod with a unanimous decision. Unfortunately, few people watched the first three fights. And the intermission between the second and third fight was long enough to take a shower in a neighboring hotel. In the second bout, Junior middleweight Anthony Castellon lost to Antonio Johnson by a unanimous decision in a fight that both men worked hard, but weren?t able to excite the majority of the crowd; another club fight. At the end of each fight, the moderator would talk to the winner which was time consuming and less than thrilling. I did think the video intro for each pugilist was effective and well produced and hiring renowned announcer Michael Buffer added a touch of class to the event. Robert Byrd and Kenny Bayless were on hand to referee. There was a Third working referee, but I didn?t catch his name. Another marketing coup for the Direct TV sponsored brand of boxing was to arm the ring girls with small circular signs to emphasize that BKB is boxing in a circle and there are no ropes so the shapely women didn?t have carry oversized signs and try to navigate through the ropes with 9 inch heels. Free of such liability, the women were able to move freer and gyrate to the music easier. According to one announcer, in the beginning, boxing matches were performed in a circle. That piece of trivia was mentioned several times and the designated color of the corners was Black and Silver and all of the fighters wore either Silver or Black trunks. If only the late Oakland Raider team Owner Al Davis could have been there. More BKB 3: Arturo Quintero scored the first of two knockouts of the evening in the 4th round over Anthony Castellon from Florida. It was more of a war of attrition than a page from the sweet science of boxing, but they left it all in the ring. The best fight performance of the night belonged to Jr. middleweight Urmat Ryskeldiev from Kyrgyzstan (10-3-1) versus Marcus Willis (14-4?2) from Ft. Myers Florida. Urmat worked well off his jab and exhibited overall good footwork and head movement. Willis, a very good fighter, was unable to draw the boxing import into making major mistakes and Urmat left the circular pit with a unanimous decision. After watching Ryskeldiev, it was hardtop imagine him losing three previous bouts. Good fight and the match stimulated the crowd and made the rest of the evening became more entertaining. Trotter vs. Paredes was a wild slugfest. Trotter, a very competent boxer, surprised me by unleashing an all-out assault against the bigger Ed Paredes and it forced Paredes to rely on bombs which didn?t deter the wiry Canadian who could have thrown in the towel at the end of round 3, but wasn?t about to admit he was hurt and his corner backed him up. Instead, he came out firing like a loose cannon in the last two rounds and the effort had the fans on their feet cheering for both fighters. Paredes tried to land bombs, but the arms had become very weary. I met up with Trotter and members of his corner in one of the casinos, after the bout, and he said his stumbling in the 3rd round was more attributable to his trying to stay in the pit than the power of Paredes, whom he praised as an opponent. I was informed that BKB would like to bring Trotter back; possibly in September. Adrian Granados (13-4-2) earned his victory over the much heralded Jesus Soto Karass (28-10-3) by out working him and beating Karass to the punch. Karass tried to rally in the latter two rounds, but Granados had already sealed the deal and left with a split decision victory; a very good fight. The headline fight with Heavyweights Julian Pollard (6-0) and Rodney Hernandez (7-2-1) was a good fight, but it had the misfortune of following the previous three thrilling fights. At stake, the BKB heavyweight championship and Pollard has a nice left jab, but he wasn?t able to double up on his right hand and be effective. Hernandez took the fight on two days? notice and he spent too much time trying to sell Pollard ?wolf cookies?, Pollard wouldn?t bite. The post-fight press conference appeared to be a crowning for Mr. Mosley Jr. the only other fighter present was Granados who was coaxed into joining Mosley and his famous father on stage. Mosley was reluctant to talk about his lopsided loss in Phoenix and preferred to talk about his performance against a relative nobody (no offense) and a possible match between his father and long of tooth Oscar de La Hoya. Mosley Sr. glared at me when I brought up the Phoenix loss and you could hear a pin drop after the subject was submitted. Mr. Granados was more subdued on stage and admitted he could work on his defense and he said the pit format didn?t worry him because he always focused on preparation and nothing would sidetrack him from his mission to fight his best. Adrian is very humble and gracious young man who signed with Journeyman Promotions and his manager Andrew Zack was present at the press conference. Post Action: After the conference, I headed out to grab a bite to eat and ran into two of the Chicago men (Calvin & Ron) that I had met while waiting for my credentials. Both men asked me to join their party table for a complimentary meal and drink. I ordered a burger, fries and iced tea even though my hosts wanted me to try something a bit more exotic. Calvin, without prompting, brought up the subject of a skin abrasion on his chin. He said he had tackled his friend Phil and his chin touched the concrete sidewalk during the incident. Phil corrected the story and told me Calvin was drunk when he tripped and fell into the back of Phil?s legs, breaking the fall and saving Calvin from something more severe than a scraped chin; both men laughed the incident off. I was glad to hear that the boys and their friends who had joined them at the restaurant had won a substantial amount of money on the BK 3 event and the Bradley fight and their total winnings added up into thousands of dollars and one of the celebrants (Dennis Lindstrom) won a thousand dollars at the Black Jack Table. As a result, I felt okay about accepting their generosity; on the record and they agreed to let me include them in my story, if I held back (off the record) a secret or two, fair enough! Also on the record, the capacity of the venue was 4,500 and before the evening was over, I would estimate 3,700 passed through the turnstiles. I had a good time and I think eventually BKB is a good idea that will get better and better with bigger name competition. Thank you to everyone who made my stay very enjoyable; especially Ron & Calvin. Boxing News: Local welterweight favorite Jose Marrufo (7-3-2) held his own against Cameron Dunkin prot?g?e Ed Brown (6-0) in the first round but Brown unleashed his vaunted power in the second stanza and the bout was stopped at 1:48. They fought on the Bradley Vargas card with Bradley winning?..Iron Boy CEO Roberto Vargas was seen dropping off fight posters (Iron Boy XXIII) to local gyms. Jose Maruffo is on the poster, but his Ko loss to Ed Brown (on the Bradley/Vargas card) earned him a suspension, so he will have to sit July 25 out?..The Desert Heat boxing show at the Clarion Hotel in Tucson on 6/26 presented 5 fights and highly regarded Jose ?Raging Bull? Pena won his debut bout. Local favorites Rashawn McCain and Francisco Muro didn?t fare well as both men suffered knockout losses; hands down, man down-lesson learned. Carlos Castillo was victorious and upped his record to 2-0. Next Wild West Boxing Promotions show is tentatively scheduled for late August at the same venue; attendance was guesstimated at 325. More News: Arizona Boxing match maker Mike Sanchez watched the Bradley/Vargas battle and came away very impressed with prospect Oscar Valdez. Mr. Sanchez, avid sports memorabilia collector left the Stub Hub venue with an autograph from GGG ?.Roy Jones Jr. Promotions is trying to partner with a local promotion company in conjunction with their proposed August 15 show at We KO PA Resort and Conference Center in Fountain Hills Arizona. Rose vs. Hernandez is the headliner and young Jose Herrera (2-0) is expected on the undercard? I should find out more about the total card at the Monday July 13, monthly Arizona Boxing & MMA meeting?..Fight Hard Promotions is working on collaborating with a national boxing entity, but nothing is official and their next show is tentatively scheduled for some time in late August at the Renaissance Hotel in Glendale, Arizona?..Heavyweight Bernardo Marquez has signed with Iron Boy Promotions and will fight on the Iron Boy XXIII card at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix on 7/25?.. Nathaniel Gallimore (6-0) bumped into me (not literally) in Vegas and I asked him why he didn?t take time to answer my questions when he fought in Glendale (Fight Hard Card) recently and he said he was in a tizzy because she thought he lost his favorite Jamaican shirt, but he later found it. Nate was in Vegas to support fellow Chicago fighter and friend Adrian Granados who won on the BKB 3 card?.keep an eye of super bantamweight Jafar Mohammad, fighting out of Keep Punching Boxing in Scottsdale, Arizona. Jafar, a Detroit native, has quietly raised his record to 9-1 w/ 9 knockouts and no local promoter has taken note; Jafar is for real. Iron Boy XXIII: Good cast of local fighters are set for the Iron Boy XXIII Celebrity Theatre headed by Joey Ruelas (9-1-1), Victor Castro (15-0), 125 lb. Francisco C. de Vaca (11-0, )Carlos Castro (10-0), Emilio Garcia (9-1-1), Edgar Brito (3-1-1), Danny Montoya (1-0) model/boxer Mikayla Nebel Kristen Montano, Paul Romero (4-0-1), new Iron Boy signed heavyweight Bernardo Marquez (2-0-1), middleweight Ruben Rivera (5-3-1) vs. Stephen McCray and prized prospect Bekman Soylybayev (5-0) from Kazakhstan in a special 10 round bout. Tickets are now on sale at the Celebrity Theatre and online through Iron Boy Promotions?.Southpaw hits the big screen on July 24, nationwide?Until Next Time! Click here to view a list of other articles written by Don Smith.  |
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