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Philippines, 23 Nov 2024 |
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Arizona Boxing News & Notes with Don Smith: Castro/Santiago vie for Title, Showdown in Texas By Don Smith PhilBoxing.com Mon, 08 Jan 2018 Boxing Fans, Iron Boy Promotions has finalized arrangements to present Arizona bantamweights Alexis ?Beaver? Santiago (21-5-1-8 knockouts) vs. Carlos Castro (19-0-8 knockouts) on Saturday 2/24 at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix. At stake is the vacant USNBC WBC Bantamweight title. In addition to the televised 10 round title bout (BeIN Sports), Iron Boy 43 will offer 8-10 additional bouts on the evening with the first bout starting at 6 p.m. Matchmaker Mike Sanchez is currently tweaking the card after adding the main event to the Celebrity Theatre show. The announcement of the title match hit Facebook within minutes after word leaked out and the popularity of both pugilists should motivate fans to secure tickets early at the box-office and through Ticketmaster. There is common ground between the two bantamweights. Both fighters reside in Phoenix and Phoenix Trainer Andrew Soto has worked with both and Soto is currently listed as Castro?s Trainer. Carlos left Soto to train under Jose Benavidez Sr. for a few months but returned to Soto when Benavidez moved to the west coast. Santiago left Phoenix and signed with Mayweather Promotions where he remains under contract. According to Box Rec, Santiago and Castro share two ring experiences; both men met and defeated German Meraz and John Herrera. Carlos is 4 years younger at 23 and their height measures 5? 7? with the younger man holding a3-4? reach advantage and a more proficient knockout ratio 40% to 30%. Where Santiago has the advantage is in the experience category 27 fights to 19 and the veteran has fought tougher opponents. Castro has never fought professionally outside of Phoenix; but, Santiago learned his craft in Phoenix and he has fought professionally 17 times in his hometown; so both men can claim home field advantage. It should be a fight to remember and a career stepping stone for the winner. Performers on the under card include a cast of local boxers familiar to most Arizona boxing fans. The following list is subject to change but appears slated for Celebrity Theatre action on 2/24: Flex Hernandez 17-4-10 knockouts, Luis Espinoza 8-0-3 knockouts, Adrian Servin 5-0-1-2 knockouts, Jesus Ibarra 3-0-2 knockouts, Mark Garcia 1-0, Waldo Cortez 1-1-1 knockout, Edgar Ortiz 5-1-1-3 knockouts, Adam Stewart 4-0-1-2 knockouts, Chris Scala 1-0 and newcomer Chris Sullivan (Ramos Boxing). Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased at the box-office or online; dial 602-267-1600 for more details. Showdown in Texas: Super Middleweight Jesse Hart has been added to the 2/3 ESPN televised card at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi. Hart will face Thomas Awimbono (25-7-1) in a 10 round bout on a card that is very explosive. Headline bout pits WBO Super Middleweight Champion Gilberto Ramirez (36-0-24 knockouts) versus Habib Ahmed (22-0-17 knockouts) in a 12 round defense of Ramirez?s title. The challenger from Ghana promises to come to America and take the champ?s title...maybe he means the title to Ramirez?s car. Ahmed can punch but he has never been on a main stage with a big dog like Ramirez. Top Rank has invited Arizona Boxing News & Notes to cover the event and plane will leave Phoenix on 1/31/18 and return to the Valley of the Sun on 2/4. The venue is the spacious Bank Center and the card is stacked. In a second title fight, Jerwin Ancajas (28-1-19 knockouts) will defend his IBF Junior Bantamweight title against Israel Gonzales (21-1-8 knockouts). In a lightweight contest expected to generate electricity, Brooklyn native Teofimo Lopez (7-0-6) hopes to continue his string of wins when he meets John Delperdang (10-4) in an 8 round contest Teofimo is trained by his father (SR) and the father and son have stuck together through thick & thin. Rarely do I meet a boxing team as dedicated as the Lopez family. They have moved to Florida; but, it?s hard to remove the New York state of mind from a native born New Yorker. The card also marks the return of Jose Benavidez Jr. (25-0-16 knockouts). The former Interim world champion takes on veteran Matthew Stroder (24-5-9 knockouts) in an 8 round welterweight bout watched by everyone who hopes he still has the Benavidez magic. What he went through is incredible. In a word, everyone who knows his story will be watching with fingers crossed. In other bouts, Gabriel Flores Jr. (5-0-4 knockouts) meets Alex Salorio (4-2), Rohan Murdock (21-1-15) squares off against Frankie Fillippone (24-6-1) and David Kaminsky 0-0 vs. De Angelo Alcorn 0 -1. It should be a good night of boxing in Texas! Dear Boxing Clubs: I am not one to preach, despite what you hear! Every year I hear that boxing clubs and gyms struggle to find money for equipment and to pay for travel. If you think I have deep pockets, you have been talking to the wrong people. My point is there are better methods of raising money than hitting up relatives or washing cars. Those two simple methods are limited and usually fall short of their goal. Here is a suggestion, take a sheet of paper and pen and sit down by yourself and brain storm. If your need is equipment, contact sports stores and send them a request for what you need. Be imaginative and run an ad, sweet to the point, asking for a donation and tell the donors who you are serving. I hear about too many boxing organizations that sty at home because they don?t have a clu on how to raise money. Some organizations hire someone for a small percentage. However you decide to go; think it out and be productive. Mail Bag: Tony Valenzuela wants to know if I have any comical or bizarre boxing antidotes that I can share with our readers. Answer: Maybe not bizarre or comical but there are a couple of amusing incidents that readily come to mind. 2-3 years ago, a boxer (name withheld) told me that he wouldn?t be able to fight on a particular card because he tore his ACL and would have to refrain from competition for an estimated year due to the injury. I wished him well and suggested he update me on his condition. The next day he was reported jogging by two credible sources. I contacted two medical specialists who told me it wasn?t possible for him to jog one day after tearing his ACL. It was logical for me to assume that he didn?t want to face his scheduled opponent whom, at the time, possessed a 9-0 record with 9 knockouts. Also, one Phoenix boxer (name kept from lock & key) caused a disturbance at a local night club a few years back and he thought I misrepresented the facts of the incident even though I printed verbatim details from the police arrest report. He said he would like to tell his side of the story and I said okay. We exchanged numbers and I called him several times only to hear him deny that it was him on the phone; finally I gave up and stopped calling him. He has since stepped away from boxing but the brawler still likes his ale. More Mail: A few weeks back, I got my tidy whites in a wringer by publishing an opinion sent to me by the World Boxing Foundation that was less than unkind toward one of its? boxing competitors, World Boxing Federation. In the same column, I corrected newly crowned World Boxing Federation Regional Mexican Featherweight Champion Keenan Carbajal of Phoenix, Arizona when he claimed he won a world title, a big lie. WBF President Howard Goldberg took me to task for not offering him rebuttal time over allegations made by the other WBF; so, in fairness, I printed his objections and informed my readers that previous attempts to contact the World Boxing Federation had failed. His scathing attack on me and the column had a temporary negative effect on our reputation and prompted some of our distributors to suspend publishing ABNN for at least one issue. As a result, I sent Mr. Goldberg a communiqu? to Germany (WBF HDQ) l suggesting he overreacted to the article and should reread my column and give some consideration to accepted concept of unbridled democracy and freedom of press, principles I value with the utmost respect and practice as a citizen of the world and working journalist. He hasn?t apologized, nor do I expect him to, however, Mr. Goldberg, to his credit, has put us on his mailing list and recently sent a copy of his organization?s latest newsletter to our assignment desk. Included in the WBF fight report is news that Mpho Seforo (7-0-1) captured the vacant WBF All African Light Flyweight title on Saturday, December 16 at the Kagiso Memorial & Recreational Center in Kagiso South Africa. We are happy for his success and without hesitation, ABNN forwards the WBF website link to our readers around the world: www.worldboxingfederation.net It should be added that we don?t apologize for the contents of that particular column effort; however, we are sorry that Mr. Goldberg interpreted it as he did, most unfortunate! Boxing News: Tucson Southwest Boxing is hosting a smoker on 2/3 at their facility in Tucson. Call Pete at 520-271-4322. Pete is a great mentor of kids and a role model for boxing to follow. Unfortunately, ABNN will be in Corpus Christi to cover the Gilbert Ramirez WBO super middleweight title bout and will miss the event; but, we hope fans will make the trek to Tucson and support amateur boxing in Arizona....Former amateur boxer Gabriel Herrera, mentored under Jacob Magallanez, invites the Arizona boxing community to travel to Prescott for the symbolic Grand Opening of his Bullpen Boxing & Sports Club LLC .on Saturday, 1/20. The facility will officially open for business on Monday 1/22; dial 928-369-8887........Outstanding Arizona amateur boxer Fernando Martinez and his coach (Juan Mendoza) received special certificates of achievement from USA boxing and ABNN is proud to acknowledge their meritorious service.....The next monthly Arizona Boxing/MMA Commission meeting will be held on Wednesday 1/24 at 10:00 a.m. for further information, call Norma at 602-364-1721.....inactive, not officially retired, boxer Diamond Baier celebrates his 42st birthday 1/16. Southpaw Diamond would like to fight one more time ala 40 year old Fidel Hernandez; and if Iron Boy is listening...maybe it will happen...The Regional Silver Glove tournament was held in Compton, California 1/5-7; unfortunately our volunteer stringers weren?t able to deliver the results...next issue. ..Former world champion Zab Judah, now 40 years old, is scheduled on Box Rec to fight in Calgary, Alberta on 1/29; expect the date to be moved to April, same venue. and yours truly is invited; Middleweight Janks Trotter is thought to be on the under card....I spoke to welterweight Jeremy ?Flash? Nichols 8-1-1 recently in Las Vegas recently and ABNN will share part of the conversation in an upcoming issue. We haven?t printed our Q & A session with David Benavidez because the answers to our questions were never returned. We suspect David?s promoter (Sampson) may have put the brakes on the interview; sorry to report, we hope we are wrong but boxing is fickle sometimes! ....Until Next Time! Click here to view a list of other articles written by Don Smith.  |
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