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Arizona Boxing News & Notes With Don Smith: Cold Night in Montreal, Butler Serves Knockout & More By Don Smith PhilBoxing.com Fri, 28 Oct 2016  Fans, A reported 5,026 spectators braved inclimate weather, hard rain and swirling wind, to watch former IBF middleweight champion David Lemieux (36-3-32 knockouts) defeat wily veteran Cristian Fabian Rios (21-8-3-6 knockouts) at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec Canada on Saturday, October 22. Judges ruled the contest in favor of the 27 year old Lemieux with comfortable margins: 100-90 x 2 and 99-91. It was a good performance; but, not one that will cost current middleweight champions Golovkin, Saunders and Alvarez sleepless nights. GGG knocked out the French/Armenian Canadian in 2015 to take Lemieux?s IBF crown. In his post-fight press conference, Lemieux admitted that he wasn?t 100% satisfied with his performance. Most of the working scribes at the venue predicted that Lemieux would go home early; but, Rios kept adapting his style throughout the 10 round broadcasted bout (Videotron) and Lemieux admitted the frequent style tweaks by Rios helped the 33 year old Argentine stay upright. At the conference, trainer Marc Ramsay told reporters that his fighter would have stopped Rios, if he had 2 more rounds; would have, could have, perhaps! It was my first trip to Montreal where speaking French gives local reporters a leg up when facing two French speaking hometown pugilists (Lemieux & Steven ?Bang - Bang? Butler) at a post-fight press conference arranged by Eye of The Tiger Management. I can?t imagine or write enough superlatives in praising Eye of the Tiger for their presentation of events leading to fight night on Saturday night. I missed the under card press conference on Tuesday (10/18) but I was in Montreal for the Red carpeted 10/20 Main Event Presser and official weigh-in held at the Historical St. James Theatre in Montreal. It was quite a welcome set up by MVP, a Montreal based sports Management Company. Invited guests were able to mingle with a diverse group of sports figures while munching on scrumptious finger food. Reviews on the buffet were good; I witnessed the table attendant doing some frequent sampling. Butler Wins: The 21 year old Butler, a rising star with an impressive 18-0-1 record, knocked out gritty Calgarian Janks Trotter (10-4-1) at the 2:30 mark of the first stanza in the co-main event. Although short lived, the contest was the most dramatic battle of the night. Trotter came out throwing bombs and the cool and calm Butler countered with a vicious upper cut and followed with a thunderous right to the temple that spent Trotter sprawling against the ropes for the second time, prompting the referee to stop the bout. Soft spoken Butler called out fellow Canadian middleweight Brandon Cook in a press conference shootout. He said Cook was afraid of him in a tone that didn?t sound very intimidating. Steven is a mild mannered gentleman who was eager to leave the late night press conference and head home to spend time with his wife and newborn child (2 weeks old). Trotter could have possibly survived the round by taking a knee; but that isn?t his style. Before the contest, we heard rumors that a loss could end his career; we wish him the best. In winning, Butler captured the vacant North American IBF super welterweight title. The cerebral young fighter told me the win is just another step in the process of eventually winning a world title and his fans and team believe the Canadian is every close to challenging for a world title; right now he will settle for Brandon Cook! Under Card Results: D?mitrius Ballard was the lone American on the card. The Maryland born boxer (15-0-11 knockouts) overpowered Hungarian Gergo Horvath ((9-2-1-5 knockouts) from the opening bell and after scoring 3 knockdowns in the second round, the party was over. The other obvious mismatch was between popular local heavyweight Simon Kean (6-0-6 knockouts) and Mexico?s David Torres Garcia. (10-4-9 knockouts) Kean hit the out of shape Garcia at will and the referee graciously stopped the bout at 1:28 into the second frame. Kean has power and a very strong fan base and I loved his entrance music. Mian Hussain, another popular local pugilist, was literally blinded in the right eye after Mexico?s Silverio Ortiz (35-18-16 knockouts) landed his first punch. Hussain tried to continue; but, his corner and the ring officials decide to halt the contest after the end of the 3rd round due to health concerns. Husain?s record now stands at 16-1-6 knockouts after the stop. Jose Emilio Perea (22-8-14 knockouts) had too much experience for David Theroux (11-2-8) who spent the first 3 rounds fighting from an ill-advised crouch. Perea picked him apart and earned a Majority Decision; I had him winning by a wider margin? entertaining fight! Filipino boxer Ricky Sismundo (lives in in Japan) schooled Canadian Ghislain ?Mani? Maduma (18-3-11 knockouts) for 1o0 rounds to win a well-earned unanimous decision. Maduma was never able to adjust to the stick and move counterpunching style of Sismundo (31-9?3- 13 knockouts) who sealed the deal with a late round knockdown over a tired Maduma. I was very impressed with Batyr Jukembayev who upped his record to 6-0-6 knockouts with an eye opening 5th round TKO victory over skilled Mexican fighter Yvan Pereyra whose record dropped to 20-8-14. Jukembayev aka ?777? possesses speed, power and confidence. A veteran of more than 200 amateur fights, the 25 year old 142 lb. fighter has two no contests in his boxing resume and a mention of past injuries (knee) in his brief bio. If he stays healthy, watch out. One local scribe described him as a smaller version of GGG; not yet! Mathieu ?G Time? Germain (8-0-5 knockouts) scored a unanimous decision over Manuel Mares (16-10-14 knockouts) in a lively contest. Both fighters seemed to be pressing; but, the effort was there. In the first swing bout, Ablaikhan Khussainov (2-0-2 knockouts) swung often and hard to score a 2nd round TKO over Attila Cserekyle whose record slipped to 6-3 with 4 knockouts. I would like to thank Eye of The Tiger Management for the invite and they couldn?t have been more professional in presenting the event. Boxing News: Former light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal told me, in Montreal, that he wants to fight 4-5 more years. The Haitian born fighter turns 34 on October 28 and he took a battering in his last fight with Sergey Kovalev which led to speculation that he might retire. Instead, he is busy promoting the career of super lightweight Joel Diaz Jr. (22-0-18 knockouts) and staying ready for his next bout when the phone rings?..Amateurs Fernando and Gabriel Martinez (Mendoza (Boxing) won their bouts at the Copper Gloves Tournament (Arizona State Fair) on Wednesday, October 19. And Daniel Ybarra (Sonny?s Boxing) won his bout. On Thursday Adrian Rodriguez (unattached) won the lone bout staged on final night of tourney. Copper Gloves Chairman Kelly Fenn was disappointed at the result of her event; but, a fair official called and told me the traditional event will return next year; very good news for the boxing fans and fair goers. ... ?..Glendale, Arizona light heavyweight contender Trevor McCumby (Busted Knuckle Boxing) returns to ring action against veteran Donovan George (25-6-2) on Saturday, November 26 in Los Vegas. George has fallen on hard times in the ring recently; but, the veteran warrior is still dangerous and should be a good test for young McCumby who has the opportunity to prove he is ready for a title shot?.The Masters boxing tournament is set for 11/4-5 at Sonny?s Gym in Goodyear, dial 623-806-2421 for more details. I wonder if Ben Gay is an official sponsor! Boxing Benefit: On Saturday, October 29, boxing fans are encouraged to travel to Tolleson, Arizona and watch Amateur and Professional boxing at Tolleson?s Veterans Park. The event, ?Tolleson?s Ring of Heroes ? is the brainchild of a number of community and business leaders who are reaching out to help fund the dream of local VFW Post 6310 in their quest to secure land to build a meeting venue on. The amateur matches, sanctioned by USA Boxing Arizona, begin at noon and Sonny?s Gym in Goodyear is the official sponsor of the bouts expected to total 15. Iron Boy Promotions of Arizona will present 8-10 professional bouts highlighted by a NABF featherweight championship bout pitting local favorite Carlos Castro (16-0-7 knockouts) vs. veteran German Meraz (55-38-32 knockouts). Also booked on the 7 fight the card is: lightweight Hector Lopez 3-0 vs. David Courtney 1-3. And former Olympic hopeful Adrian Servin (1-0) is prepared to take on Eduardo Villa (debut) in a 112 lb. battle. Late additions to the show include: Ortiz vs. Yasber Romero-Yulian Tembolov vs. Roberto Ramirez and Nate Gallimore 14-1-1 vs. Miguel Angel Munguia 33-34-1. The first professional tiff starts 6 p.m. at the park located at 8601 W. Van Buren in Tolleson. General admission tickets are free and available at the venue. Fans who want to watch the show closer to ringside need to purchase VIP seating for $50.00 or $75.00. We Support this event and thank Iron Boy Promotions, City of Tolleson and everyone involved in helping VFW Post 6310 achieve their admirable goal. All bouts are subject to change and matchmaker Mike Sanchez turned cartwheels to put this card together. We needed a calculator to keep track of the changes. PBC Shows: PBC may not be on life support as speculated by some critics! The promotional company has announced 5 additional shows to be aired on Showtime: Saturday December 10-Abner Mares vs. Jesus Cuellar & Jermall Charlo vs. Julian Williams, Saturday January 14-Badou Jack vs. James DeGale, Saturday January 28-Carl Frampton vs. Leo Santa Cruz & Mikey Garcia vs. Dejan Ziaticanin, Saturday February 11-Adrien Broner vs. Adrian Granados, Saturday March 4- Keith Thurman vs. Danny Garcia. More Bolxing News: from boxing to baseball-South Mountain Boxing Coach Jun Varela is on the road covering the World Series games between the Indians & Cubs. He was in Cleveland when we spoke after the Indians spanked the Cubbies 6-0 in the first game of the best of 7 series. Varela has hooked up with a broadcast entity and it was raining Wednesday afternoon; but, the weather cleared and Chicago won game 2 to tie the series at 1-1. ?..Our heartfelt condolences go out to boxer Ariel Arismendez as she and her mother (Carmen) grieve over the tragic loss of two loved ones Good to hear the boxing community came forward to help the family..??.. Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson dropped by Central Boxing recently to take pictures; apparently he has taken up photography?. Arizona welterweight Abel Ramos (17-1-2) is packed and headed to California to work several weeks with super lightweight Sergey Lipinets (10-0) in preparation of Sergey?s battle with Leonardo Zappavigna in California on December 10???Phoenix fighters Edgar Brito (3-2-1) and Andrew ?Hurricane? Hernandez (14-4-1) are fighting on the Casey Ramos vs. Andy Vences card at Treasure Island Casino & Resort in Las Vegas on Friday, November 4. Both Arizona fighters are listed as underdogs; however, they predict upset victories, of course! Hernandez is fighting Top Rank Prot?g? Jesse Hart (20-0) while Brito tries to reignite his career with a victory over prospect Jose Gonzalez (5-0). The show is telecast by UniMas and Arizona Boxing News & Notes hopes to be in attendance??.According to inside sources, Pacquiao vs. Vargas PPV is attracting paid viewers at a profitable pace although some sports bars have decided not to show it in the Phoenix area?.. Gene Lewis Tournament in Mesa, Arizona on November 10-12, Call Josh Benjamin at 480-834-1216 for details??Column reader Adrian Montez asks who we like in the November 19 battle between Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev and after careful deliberation and a shot or two of Jack Daniels; our pick is Kovalev by knockout 8-10 rounds??Until Next Time! Click here to view a list of other articles written by Don Smith.  |
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