Q&A with Timothy Bradley: Khan ducked me first!

Undefeated WBO junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley addressed the media today via international conference call in promotion of his upcoming WBO title defense against former lightweight champion Joel Casamayor on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fight, scheduled for November 12th on Pay Per View. Bradley recently signed with Top Rank and was joined on the call by his promoter Bob Arum as well as by his trainer Joel Diaz and manager Cameron Dunkin. Bradley sounded upbeat about his new career direction and about his upcoming fight against Casamayor - whom Bradley says he must "destroy" before he can think about any other opponents. "I respect every fighter but nothing about Casamayor concerns me and he's not gonna beat me. No way."

Bradley discussed his future at junior welterweight by reminding the boxing media that he's still the champion at 140, but says he would love to move up to welterweight. "140 is getting tight to make the weight, I'll be more comfortable at 147 and based on the opportunities available. But if there's a big fight at 140, I'll squeeze down. Everybody knows I want face the pound for pound best out there and that's Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao."

KO Digest then asked Timothy Bradley for his thoughts on the roughhouse tactics of Joel Casamayor, performance based bonuses in boxing, critics who say he ducked Amir Khan, his ranking in RING Magazine and finally about his thoughts on the upcoming Manny Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Marquez fight which Bradley fights on the undercard of, in what promoter Bob Arum called the "semi-wind up fight."



Bradley on the roughhouse tactics of Joel Casamayor: "I'm rough in there too! He can get rough all he wants, I've got my tricks of the trade as well and we're gonna talk to the referee before the fight about his dirty tactics. I'm prepared for all that, we trained for it. He's not gonna sneak me with anything."

Bradley on critics who say he ducked or avoided fellow 140 pound champion Amir Khan in order to take a safer path to a fight with Manny Pacquiao: "It doesn't bother me. Criticism doesn't pay the bills. One day, me and Khan will get it on in the ring and we can settle it then but I was supposed to fight Khan way before - in fact I was supposed to fight him after I fought Lamont Peterson but then Khan went on to sign with Golden Boy and Golden Boy didn't want no part of it. He ducked me first! We tried to make the deal, we kept calling but they never picked up. When the time is right, me and Khan will settle our differences, and we're gonna get it on."

Criticism doesn't pay the bills! Big fights do!

Bradley on being rated #8 P4P by RING but below Amir Khan in their divisional rankings at junior welterweight: "Doesn't bother me at all. I'm #8 pound for pound, he's not even in the pound for pound ratings. Amir Khan, at 140, he can't move without me. He needs me, I don't need him. I'm just gonna fight my fight - fight by fight- and that's it."

Bradley's prediction on who wins the main event on November 12th, Pacquiao or Marquez: "Manny. I say he's gonna stop Marquez in the late rounds, say 8 or 9, he's gonna take him out."

Bradley on 'performance bonuses' in boxing: "Heck ya! It's beneficial, fans want to see a good fight, a good show, so why not? I'm definitely on board with that."

Promoter Bob Arum then chimed in to add his thoughts on the idea of performance based bonuses in boxing, "Sometimes we see some fighters too anxious to quit the fight. We saw that with Josh Clottey against Manny. We saw that with Mosley against Manny and we saw it with an undefeated Argentinian, Omar Narvaez, against Donaire. This is prizefighting, that's what it's called, prizefighting. To induce fighters where the cause doesn't look so promising to get in there and try to pull it out by becoming aggressive - we feel this gives them an incentive to do that, and that we would get better performances and better fights. Top Rank President Todd deBoef announced this to Kevin Iole and I agree with it."

Hit play below to here the whole conference call.

10/21 SHOBOX Octoberfist Results: Rodriguez W10 Rosinsky

Edwin Rodriquez W10 Will Rosinsky 
(super middleweights) In a fight that was better and somewhat more competitive than the scoring would indicate, Edwin "La Bomba" Rodriquez won a ten round unanimous decision over the never-say-die Will "Power" Rosinsky in this SHOBOX main event. Boxing behind an effective jab and going to the body with regularity, Rodriquez won on all three judge's cards by scores of 100-90. Rosinsky was pesky to say the least and he occasionally exploited the still porous defense of Rodriguez with good shots of his own. Easily the best and most entertaining fight of the night. KO Digest scored the fight 98-93, giving Rosinsky the 3rd and 9th with the 7th even. Rodriquez stays undefeated and improves to 20-0 w/ 14 KOs while Rosinsky goes to 14-1 w/ 8 KOs.

A melee broke out in the crowd after the fight between drunken fans unhappy about the decision.
Hit play below to hear what both fighters had to say about the fight and the scoring at the post-fight presser.



Gabriel Bracero W10  Daniel Sostre (junior welterweights) In what at times looked more like a glorified sparring session than a co-main event, Gabriel Bracero stayed busier and more accurate than Daniel Sostre over ten rounds to win the vacant NABF junior welterweight title by unanimous decision. No knockdowns in the fight, and neither fighter was ever really hurt. Bracero stays undefeated and goes to 18-0 w/ 3 KO's while Sostre's record goes to 11-5-1 w/ 4 KOs. Scores: 100-90, 100-90, and 99-91.    

Ryan Kielczewski W6 Willie Villanueva (junior lightweights) The popular Quincy, MA native Ryan "The Polish Price" Kielczewski won an easy six round unanimous decision over Willie Villanueva. Despite the strong crowd support and a particularly strong 4th round, Kielczewski could not seriously hurt his durable but outclassed opponent. The Prince stays undefeated and goes to 12-0 w/ 2 KOs while Villanueva goes to 10-4 w/ 2 KOs. Score in favor of Kielczewski: 60-54 on all three judge's cards.

The Polish Prince batters his opponent in the corner.

Dyah "Ali" Davis W6 Darnell Boone (super middleweights) In a sloppy slugfest, Dyah "Ali" Davis did enough to outpoint and outwork Darnell Boone over six. When it wasn't a slugfest, it was a hugfest. Davis improves to 20-2-1 w/ 9 KOs while Boone falls to 19-18-3 w/ 8 KOs. Scores in favor of Davis: 59-56, 59-55, and 58-56.   

Danny O'Connor W6 Bryan Abraham (junior welterweights) Crowd favorite Danny O'Connor used his southpaw jab and straight lefts to control the pace against opponent Byran Abraham, winning a unanimous six round decision. O'Connor, from Framingham, MA and trained by Ronnie Shields improves to 16-1 w/ 4 KOs while Abraham goes to 5-8-2 w/ 5 KOs. Abraham was down in the first, O'Connor was down in the fifth but in the case of O'Connor, it really looked more like a slip as their legs tangled. O'Connor finished strong, rocking his opponent with a flush left to the face in the closing minute of the final round. Scores in favor of O'Connor: 60-54, 59-54, and 58-54

Danny O'Connor lands his money punch!

Frank Galarza W4 Daniel Lugo (junior middleweights)  In a competitive and entertaining scrap, Frank Galarza won a unanimous four round decision over Daniel Lugo. Galarza improves to 4-0 w/ 1 KO while Lugo slips to 1-2. Scores: 39-37 across the board.

Badou Jack KO6 Eddie Caminero (super middleweights)  Vegas native Badou "The Ripper" Jack used his superior power and boxing skills to defeat Eddie Caminero by TKO in the 6th round. A well placed body blow sent  Caminero down and though he beat the count, he was ruled unfit to continue by the referee. Jack improves to 8-0 w/ 7 KOs while Caminero falls to 7-6 w/ 7 KOs. Time of the KO: 1:47.

Luis Rosa W6 Harvey Murray (bantamweights) This fight was fought after the main event in front a nearly empty crowd, only the die-hards sticking around to watch these two fight it out. Rosa wins to stay undefeated and he goes to 9-0 w/ 5 KOs while his opponent falls to 4-3-2 w/ 1 KO. Score in favor of Rosa: 60-54 on all three cards.

Delen Parsley W6 Jevon Boisseau (junior middleweights) In the evening opener, Brooklyn native Delen "Sniper" Parsley pounded out a unanimous decision over the game but outgunned Jevon Boisseau. Parsley improved to 6-0 w/ 2 KOs while Boisseau goes to 3-6-1. Scores: 60-54 across the board.

Donaire invokes MSG boxing greats - looks to join them!

The Filipino Flash slays Vic Darchinyan

Bantamweight Champion Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire took a break from his training today to address the media via international conference call in promotion for his upcoming fight against the undefeated Omar Narvaez, scheduled for Oct 22 at Madison Square Garden. Donaire was joined on the call by his promoter Bob Arum, as well as by his trainer Robert Garcia and his manager Cameron Dunkin. Donaire assured reporters that he is by no means taking this upcoming fight against Narvaez lightly, "Our opponent has two hands and the ability to train. We're not taking anything away from him. But I believe my power is enough to change a fight. The most satisfying victory is a knockout victory and I look for that."

"No prediction on the fight but I want to get him as early as I can and not get hit."

Donaire seemed genuinely excited about the opportunity to fight at Madison Square Garden. He invoked the names of legendary fighters who've fought there in the past and he clearly looks forward to joining them. "To fight at Madison Square Garden, it's a historical place with a long list of fighters, it's an honor to fight there and to prove like Jack Dempsey and those old school Irish and Jewish fighters, that I have some old school in me too. Looking at the old time fights, names like Sugar Ray Robinson, Carmen Basilio. Those guys were incredible, they fought with everything, they fought with no fear, they fought their opponents over and over again regardless, they just showed incredible heart and a great history of boxing and that is something I want to bring out there. We're gonna put an energy there like Dempsey and Tyson did. That's how I am as a fighter."

Promoter Bob Arum talked about the history of boxing at Madison Square Garden and his connection to that history through Top Rank, "Forty years ago, Top Rank did it's first fight at Madison Square Garden and it was Muhammad Ali vs Oscar Bonavena. Back in those days, the fight scene was centered on the East Coast where the fighters tended to be higher weights and in the West the fighters were primarily lighter weights. All that's changed. It's a different world, it doesn't matter the size of the fighters now. The idea that a bantamweight fight would be at Madison Square Garden in the 60's and 70's was unheard of but it's different now. The last 40 years have really flown by but it's so great for me personally to be back at the Garden with Nonito Donaire and of course we're back again at the Garden on December 3rd for Cotto against Margarito."     

"We're looking forward to unveiling Nonito Donaire and his talents. There's nothing like Madison Square Garden."

When asked, Donaire analyzed the punch sequence which resulted in his devastating second round KO of Fernando Montiel last February, "Most of the punches I see coming. I didn't expect him to throw a looping right. I was expecting a hook and I just sat on it and when he threw it looping straight - that was his mistake because I was set with the hook. We predicted the fight would end like that and it did." Promoter Bob Arum was a bit more blunt about the punch, "Nonito caved in Montiel's face, and it was as scary as shit!"

Scary as shit KO!

Asked about the hardest punch he has ever been hit with in the ring, Donaire talked about a punch he took from an opponent early in his career, "It was in my 6th or 7th pro fight. I knocked the guy out in the second round but he buckled my knees. I didn't fall, I stood my ground and I knocked the guy out right after that." Asked if the size difference between he and Narvaez will make a difference in the fight, Donaire said, "It's not always about size. If you're the better fighter, you can beat anybody." Donaire of course is a hard punching powerful bantamweight who has been struggling of late to make the bantamweight weight limit of 118 pounds.

Boxing fans anticipate a move up to junior featherweight and featherweight for Donaire, where high profile matches against fighters like Toshiaki Nishioka and Yuriorkis Gamboa await him. 

Nonito Donaire fights Omar Narvaez at Madison Square Garden on October 22nd. The fight will air live on HBO Boxing After Dark. Hit play below to hear all of what Nonito Donaire, Bob Arum, and Robert Garcia had to say.

Rhode Warriors Boxing Results!

Burchfield Sr, Vinny Paz, Hank Lundy

KO Digest was ringside on Friday night at the Twin River Casino in Lincoln, RI for what promised to be an entertaining evening of professional boxing. The card, billed as "Rhode Warriors" and promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports, featured a number of local fighters as well as two separate but highly anticipated fights involving Rhode Island natives Richard "Bobo The Bull" Starnino and Vladine "Mr Providence" Biosse.

As noted, the card featured many local fighters and the fans were very supportive of the fighters they came to see. The fights proved to be generally competitive and there were even some surprises along the way.

Former world champion and Rhode Island boxing legend Vinny Pazienza was in the crowd and he briefly took the mike and spoke to the fans about his career after a video was shown featuring some of his greatest hits.

Vladine Biosse D8 John Mackey (super middleweights) In the main event, Mr. Providence Vladine Biosse appeared to have outlasted and outfought the slick John Mackey to win a decision but instead had to settle for a majority draw. Fighting behind the jab, Biosse found it difficult to put together truly effective combinations on the inside against an opponent who showed excellent reflexes and defensive abilities. Mackey made it interesting by clearly winning the fifth and sixth round but he lacked the energy and punching power to close the gap and truly challenge for the win. Scores: 77-75 Biosse and 76-76 & 76-76 even.  Knockout Digest scored the fight 78-75 for Biosse who goes to 11-1-1 w/ 6 KOs. Mackey goes to 13-6-3 w/ 6 KOs. Asked what he thought of the decision, Biosse said after the fight, "This is my house and I thought I won the fight. I pulled a muscle in my left shoulder in the first round but no excuses, he came to fight."  

Reynaldo Rodriquez TKO4 Richard Starnino (super middleweights) Coming to the ring to the sounds of "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster The People, the wildly popular Providence native "Bobo the Bull" Starnino was all Bull for the first three rounds as Reynaldo Rodriquez played the role of Matador, gradually setting up his charge for the finish. In the fourth round of this co-main event, the matador finally put the bull away, dropping him with a sweet left hook to the chin of an onrushing Starnino, who beat the count but was ruled unfit to continue by the referee. Starnino falls to 9-6-2 w/ 2 KOs while Rodriquez improves to 6-2-1 w/ 3 KOs. Time of the stoppage: 1:07

Chris Chatman TKO5 Rahman Yusubov (junior middleweights) In a grueling affair, the heavy handed Chris "The Psycho Crusher" Chatman pounded the durable Rahman Yusubov from pillar to post, busting up his face and earning a TKO win after five rounds had been completed. Chatman goes to 10-1 w/ 5 KOs while Yusubov falls to 11-5 w/ 9 KOs. Chatman has good power but lacks speed and needs to tighten up his defense.

Benny Costantino W4 Odais Dumezil (super middleweights) After a slow start from the local favorite Benny Costantino, things heated up in the second and third as Costantino started going to the body of Odais Dumezil. In the fourth, Dumezil used his superior boxing skills against the tiring Costantino and landed several sharp left hooks to win the round. Costantino hangs on to win a unanimous decision by scores of 39-37 on all three judge's cards. Knockout Digest scored the fight a draw, 38-38. Costantino goes to 7-0 w/ 4 KOs while Dumezil falls to 3-7 w/ 1 KO.  
 
Alex Amparo W4 Nicholas Lavin (light heavyweights) In an entertaining give and take battle, Providence native Alex Amparo won a majority decision over the game but outgunned Nicholas Lavin. Amparo almost got Lavin out of there in the second, Lavin came back well in the third, and the fourth was a a toe-to-toe war, with Amparo getting the best of it. Amparo goes to 2-0 w/ 1 KO while Lavin falls to 2-2 w/ 2 KOs. Scores: 38-38 even, 38-37 & 39-37 for Amparo.

Amparo & Lavin do battle in the fight of the night. 

Bryan Abraham TKO3 Johnathan Vazquez (welterweights) In a mild upset, the undefeated Johnathan Vazquez was stopped in the third round of what had been up to that point a pretty good fight. Vazquez was knocked down three times in the third round, and the fight was stopped when he hit the canvas for the third time. Vazquez falls to 4-1-1 w/ 3 KOs while Abraham improves to 5-7 w/ 5 KOs. Time of the TKO 2:55. 

Kevin Cobbs W4 Steven Chadwick (light heavyweights) Vermont native Kevin Cobbs pounded out a majority decision win over Florida native Steven Chadwick. Chadwick, who somewhat resembles MMA legend Chuck Lidell, was cut in the forehead in the forth round. Cobbs improves to 2-0 w/ 1 KO while Chadwick falls to 0-2.  Scores: 38-38 even and two scores of 39-37 for Cobbs.   

Shelito Vincent W4 Karen Dulin (female bantamweights)  Crowd favorite Shelito Vincent made a successful pro debut and won a unanimous four round decision over her opponent Karen Dulin. Scores: 40-36, 39-37, and 39-37. Vincent starts her career 1-0 while Dulin falls to 2-10 w/ 1 KO.  

Thomas Falowo W4 Borngod Washington (middleweights) In this crowd pleasing fight, local Rhode Island prospect Thomas Falowo won a four round unanimous decision over the game but outclassed Borngod Washington. Falowo won the first two rounds by staying busier and more accurate to the head and body. The third was a slugfest and Falowo was close to stopping his opponent with rights to the head. Falowo goes to 5-0 w 4 KO's while his Washington slips to 2-9-1. All three judges score 40-36. 

Augustine Mauras TKO2 Christian Rivera (lightweights)  In the evening opener, Augustine Mauras pounded the head and body of MMA fighter Christian Rivera who was making his pro boxing debut. A vicious left to the liver sent Rivera to the canvas in his own corner where the referee ruled the fight over without a count. Time of the TKO 2:34 of the second. Maurus improves to 2-1-1 w/ 2 KOs while Rivera starts his career 0-1.

Ring Posts III

Money Shot

Welcome to the third installment of my monthly boxing column, Ring Posts! The Big Money Mayweather fight is history, and as far as my prediction, Norris vs Leonard is certainly wasn't!

This month's column will be devoted exclusively to my thoughts on what came to known as Mayweather KO4 Ortiz: Protect Yourself At All Times!     

After the fight was over, many people were calling what Floyd Mayweather did a cheap shot. It wasn't. There was nothing cheap about it, in fact it was pure Money! It would have been a cheap shot if Mayweather had punched Victor when Ortiz was approaching him in the corner to kiss and hug him immediately after the headbutt. That would have been a cheap shot! All Floyd did was mitigate the risk to himself against an unpredictable opponent who was melting down mentally and needed to be stopped before he injured himself or others.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. did the right thing by knocking out Victor Ortiz like he did, and he did exactly what needed to be done to protect HIMSELF at all times! While Ortiz wasn't, Mayweather was!

Victor Ortiz should have very well known that Floyd Mayweather is not to be trifled with, kissed, or excessively apologized to for anything in the ring. Mayweather did the same thing to Arturo Gatti, and then again to Sugar Shane Mosley, though neither of those two were dumb enough to kiss Floyd Mayweather! Ortiz was either a fool for letting that happen, or he was fooled into letting it happen. Either way, Ortiz should have known better and if he didn't then he definitely got what was coming to him after landing his best combination of a the night, a flying headbutt followed by a kiss to the cheek!

Boxing Rule #1: No kissing. Ever. Really!

Also in Mayweather's defense, something really needed to be done about all the recent buddy-buddy stuff in the ring, all the excessive apologizing and glove tapping. The answer is a good swift punch in the face, so kudos to Mayweather for that. In the ring, it's a fight not a night out with friends. If only Manny Pacquiao had slipped one of Shane Mosley's 42 friendly glove taps and punched him in the face! Imagine the possibilities, a fight might have broken out!

Fouls are part of boxing and fighters commit them for a reason, usually to get an advantage of some kind. But if you're gonna do it dirty, do it well, and stand behind it! Instead of apologizing for it, a dirty fighter should crack the crooked smile of a man who wants his opponent to think he just might do it again. Victor Ortiz really screwed up the biggest night of his young career but after the fact he showed far more class than Floyd Mayweather, who followed up his big win with a disgraceful tirade against the 80 year old Larry Merchant. And for anyone who says that Larry Merchant is biased or unfair and had THAT coming to him from Floyd, I'll remind you of the fact that when Marvin Hagler was upset with Larry Merchant in the 80's for not giving him the perceived proper credit, The Marvelous One never cursed or verbally assaulted him. Hagler simply went into the ring and did what it took to earn the man's respect. Period.

Hagler earns RESPECT!

 And for the young and/or forgetful fans who thought there had never been anything in boxing history quite like what happened between Mayweather and Ortiz, I give you Donald Curry vs Tony Montgomery from 1987. The lunging headbutts from Montgomery were just as flagrant as Ortiz's, if not more so and the fight even ends with a heck of a "sucker punch" too, from Curry, who was normally a pretty mellow guy in the ring! Being intentionally headbutted can bring out the animal in even the most sportsmanlike of fighters and if you follow the sport of boxing long enough, there's an historical precedence for just about anything that could possibly happen in a ring. 



Bottom line: Victor Ortiz called himself Vicious but in the end it was Floyd Mayweather who proved to be truly vicious in the ring when it mattered most. It was as if the two fighters should have switched nicknames going into the fight because on fight night Mayweather was Vicious and Victor Ortiz fought and acted like he was really just there for the Money!

See ya next month!