(Erik Killin @ Ringside) - Former heavyweight champion, Oleg Maskaev (36-7, 27 KOs), returned to the ring Friday night in his adopted hometown at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, California. In front of a good Russian crowd, the former champ took on Nagy Aguilera (15-2, 10 KOs) of Newburgh NY. With a victory, Maskaev was set to face Ray Austin for a WBC Heavyweight Elimination bout sometime next year.
Maskaev came out looking a bit dry. As the bell rang to start the fight, Maskaev still had his back to his young hungry opponent. Aguilera came out with a few jabs backing up the “Big O.” Maskaev pawed a bit with his own jab but was soon caught with a combination that dropped him. Maskaev beat the count but rose on rubber legs. Aguilera pounced on Maskaev, nailing him with a left hook that sent Oleg down slumping into the corner. Referee Lou Moret waived off the bout at 1:54 of the very first round.
This was a huge victory for the 23 year old Aguilera. He is managed by former heavyweight contender Lou Savarese, who was on hand to witness the upset. Retirement may be next for the 40 year old Maskaev.
In the co-feature, undefeated light heavyweight Denis Grachev, (8-0-1, 5 KOs) of San Diego , CA, battled local journeyman Ernesto Castaneda, (11-8-2, 4 KOs) to a six-round majority draw.’
Grachev started well fighting at a distance using his jab , but was eventually lured into Ernesto’s fight. The two stayed at close quarters throwing back and forth. Castaneda fought well on the inside and negated Grachev’s reach and jab. As the fight progressed, Castaneda moved to the ropes and kept the fight at his distance. The scores where 58-56, and 57-57 twice in a crowd pleasing bout.
In a rematch this time at super middlweight, Geraldo Lopez (4-0, 2 KOs) of Vacaville, California took on Kyle Dundas (0-1) of Rocklin, California in a four rounder. Lopez looking out of shape and flabby came out using his reach and superior skills to land on the former MMA fighter. Lopez ended the opening round with a good left hook. The two fighters clashed heads in round two, opening cuts on both fighters. Lopez was cut on his eye and Dunda was cut high on his head. The cuts did not seem to bother either guy in round three as Lopez used his speed to potshot his shorter opponent. Dundas was able to close the round with some nice left hooks. Round four slowed even more and appeared to be turning into a sparring session. At about the half way point, Lopez stepped on the gas pedal and dropped Dundas with a right hand opening another cut near Dunda’s eye. Referee Lou Moret had seen enough and stopped the bout at 2:36 of round four.
Geraldo Lopez moves to (5-0, 3 KOs) while Kyle Dundas drops to (0-2).
In a pairing of two local fighters making their pro debuts, Mike Guy of Sacramento stopped Ayo Olorunsola of Oakland, California in the first round of their scheduled four-round super middleweight fight. Guy came out guns blazing throwing sloppy hooks with both hands. Olorunsola picked off some of the shots and attempted to jab and slow down the pace. Guy started to connect and landed a big right hook to drop Olorunsola. Olorunsola was up but in bad shape when Ref Lou Moret stopped the bout at 1:32 of round one.
Max Becerra, (3-0, 2 KOs) and Thomas Herrera, (2-4-1, 0 KOs) battled it out in a four round lightweight bout. Herrera seemed to drop the over confident Becerra with a straight right in round one. Max was stunned but up. Becerra came back strong in round two using his hand speed to land the jab and left hook to body. Max again was wide open for the right leaving his left hand low and paid on a few more occasions in round two. Becerra outworked Herrera in round three closing out the round with some nice left hooks to the body. Round four started with some good exchanges. Becerra was the more accurate puncher getting the better of these flurries to close the fight. Scores where 40-36 for Becerra by all three judges.
In the opener, amateur star Richard Hargraves (pro debut) of San Francisco, California outclassed the winless John “The Baptist” Dunham, (0-5-1). Hargraves used his reach to jab and land a few combos on Dunham. Around a minute in ,Hargraves dropped Dunham with a right hand. Dunham got up but was once again dropped by a right hand. Referee Ray Balewicz had seen enough and called a halt to the bout at 1:50 of round one.
Local fighters on hand where former champs Tony “The Tiger” Lopez, Loreto Garza, Juan Lazcano , Michael Simms, Stan Martyniouk. , Karim “Hard Hitta” Mayfield, Hector Martinez, and Eric Regan.
(By Erik Killin @ Ringside) – In front of an international crowd of 10,277 fans at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (21-1, 13 KOs) dismantled Mikkel “The Viking Warrior” Kessler (42-2, 31 KOs) Saturday night. The hometown hero became the only American to win in the opening stage of Showtime’s Super Six Super Middleweight Tournament.
Ward used combinations and great defense to win a stunning, relatively easy, technical decision. The bout was stopped from one of three cuts suffered by the Viking Warrior. The cut which prompted the referee to call an end to the bout in round eleven was the result of a headbutt suffered in the middle rounds.
Ward attempted to establish the jab early on in round one and successfully switched to southpaw and scored well. After the feeling out process, Kessler landed a partially blocked left hook. Ward ended the opening stanza with good movement and body shots.
Round two was a better round for Kessler. The champ backed up Ward a bit more but Ward’s defense frustrated Kessler. Ward landed a right hand to punctuate the round.
Ward came out firing the jab in round three and just slightly missed a big right hand. Ward picked up the pace and was able to land well with both hands. Kessler’s face began showing signs of Ward’s offense.
Round four was the best round early on with both men landing solid shots. Kessler landed his best punch of the fight via a left hook which Ward absorbed well. Moments later Ward landed a big right that stunned the champ.
Round five was a bit slower paced. Kessler tried to slow down Ward by going to the body more consistently.
Ward peppered Kessler with jabs in round six. Ward backed up Kessler in the final minute with nice combos and landed a big right to finish the round.
Round seven was a rougher round fought at close quarters. This didn’t help the Viking Warrior though as Ward still held the edge. Ward also bounced a beautiful left hand off the champ’s head.
In round eight, a clash of heads opened a nasty cut over the champ’s left eye. Kessler began clinching a bit and appeared to be wearing down. Ward landed some nice body shots while in the clinch.
Kessler picked up the pace in round nine attempting to salvage his title. This was a decent round for the champ.
Another headbutt occurred in round ten as the cuts worsened for Kessler. Ward landed jabs throughout the round and backed up the champ with combinations.
Needing a knockout to win, Kessler pressed forward. Ward landed some big rights mid-round as the cuts worsened. The doctor stepped in to examine the cut and called a halt to the bout at 1:42 of round eleven.
Judges Stanley Christodoulou and Steve Morrow had it 98-92, and Michael Hook scored the bout 97-93, all in favor of Ward. Boxingfanatics.com scored the bout 98-92, for Ward.
Ward is now scheduled to face Jermain Taylor in 2010 in stage two of the Super Six tournament.
The undercard wasn’t as strong as the main event.
In a four round junior middleweight bout. Tony Hirsch, (10-3-1, 5 KOs) won an uneventful unanimous decision over Jose Celaya, (31-6, 16 KOs). All three judges scored the bout 40-36.
Local Jr middleweight prospects Karim “Hard Hitta” Mayfield, (11-0-1, 7 KOs), and Francisco Santana, (11-2, 5 KOs) battled it out in a highly anticipated rematch. After two very slow rounds the two picked it up in round three. Santana landed a couple of solid left hooks that didn’t seem to faze Mayfield.
In round four, both fighters continued to trade with Mayfield seeming to get the better of the exchanges. Mayfield dropped Santana in round five after landing several big right hands. Mayfield went to the wrong corner giving Santana some extra time to recover. It was academic as Mayfield ended the fight with a flurry at 2:27 of round five.
Local prospect Stan Martyniouk, (8-0, 1 KO), won an easy four round decision against late sub Anthony Martinez, (21-33-3, 9 KOs). Martyniouk used his superior handspeed to land combos and left hooks to the body in round one.
Stan continued the offense in round two landing one-two combos.
In round three Martyniouk used the jab to control the round while doubling up on the left hook to the body. Martinez seemed ready to go early in round four but came back strong in the second half. Martyniouk attacked the body while Martinez taunted and sat on the ropes.
Final scores all read 40-36 in favor of Martyniouk.
In the opener, junior lightweight Mel Crossty, (4-0-1, 1 KO), won a four round unanimous decision over Carlos Herrera, (2-3, 1 KO). Crossty dropped Herrera in round one. The southpaw then went on to use a slick defense to dominate the remainder of the fight. Official scores read 39-36, 40-35, and 40-35.
(By Erik Killin @ Ringside) – Matt Godfrey survived a first round knockdown to narrowly defeat hometown favorite Michael Simms via majority decision. Scores were 96-93, 95-93, and 94-94. Simms dropped Godfrey with a short right in round one. Godfrey came back in round two mostly due to Simms’ inactivity. Godfrey doubled up on his jab and outworked Simms in the middle rounds. Had Simms picked up the pace late, he may have gotten a majority draw. I scored it 96-93 for Godfrey. With the victory, Godfrey improves to 20-1.
On the undercard, Undefeated lightweight Stan “The Man” Martyniouk improved to (7-0) beating previously undefeated Jorge Marquez (3-1) via unanimous decision. Martyniouk started out the fight boxing and showing his technical advantage over the tough Marquez. Marquez came back in round two, evening the fight with a solid inside game. Stan won rounds three and four with his punching accuracy. Martyniouk was the faster fighter, landing some good counters and combos in round five. Marquez came on strong in round six taking the fight to Stan staying on him until the final bell. I scored it 58-56, Martyniouk.
Local light heavyweights Otis Griffin and Ernesto Castaneda squared off in a crowd pleasing six round bout. Griffin was busy in round one throwing good combos and left hooks to the body. Castaneda came back winning round two with his aggression. Castaneda appeared to win rounds three and four with his work rate. Griffin stayed inside fighting Castaneda’s fight. Griffin, who seemingly appeared to be fighting the wrong fight, dropped Castaneda with a combo in the final round to score a come from behind knockout at 1:02 of round number six. Griffin improves to 20-6-2 while Castaneda drops to 11-8-1.
In the opener, undefeated welterweight Geraldo Lopez of Vaccaville moved his record to 4-0 beating Whittier’s Ivan Diaz (1-3) via majority decision. Lopez survived a late surge by Diaz in round four to take the close fight.
The Red Lion hotel showcased its new outdoor multipurpose resort and entertainment venue Saturday. Announced crowd was 810.
Blues artist Otis Taylor held two concerts inside at JB’s lounge.
(Ringside by Erik Killin) - In Friday night’s main event at the Red Lion Hotel in Sacramento, California, Sacramento’s Michael Simms (20-11-2, 13 KOs) battled former IBF Cruiserweight Champ, Kelvin Davis (24-10-3, 17 KOs), to a six round draw. The bout was previously announced as an eight rounder but then was allegedly changed to a six rounder before the fight started. The only people that seemed to know about the change were the Simms corner. Going into the sixth round, the referee did not instruct the two fighters to touch gloves, and after the sixth Davis went back and sat on his stool. After a heated debate it was confirmed that the California Commission would not approve Davis for anything over six rounds. Scores where 58-56 Simms , 58-56 Davis and 57-57. Despite the draw Simms will still fight Matt Godfrey at the Red Lion Hotel on September 12th.
Simms started the fight well using his reach and jab. In round two Davis came backs staying inside and controlled the round outworking Simms. In round three Simms bounced back finally sitting down on some of his punches. Davis landed some of the best punches of the fight in round four. Connecting with some nice right hands, Davis picked the pace back up. In rounds five and six Simms went back to using the jab and boxing on the outside. I scored the fight 58-56 for Simms.
A headbutt caused a cut under the eye of Simms, but should not affect the September 12 fight with world ranked Matt Godfrey.
Undefeated light heavyweight, James Parison, of San Diego moved his record to 12-0 by winning a unanimous decision over local favorite Christian Cruz (12-10-1). After a competitive round one, Parison picked up the pace and used his superior hand speed and footwork to easily outbox the slower Cruz. In round two, Parison landed his jab at will. In rounds three and four Parison started landing his right hand over Cruz’s slow jab doing some damage to Cruz’s face. Cruz seemed tired and on the verge of going down in round six but made it out of the round. Scores where 60-54 on all three cards. Parison is hoping to return to the Red Lion in September as well.
Undefeated welterweight Geraldo Lopez (3-0) of Vacaville knocked out Angel Martinez (0-1) at 1:32 of round number one.
Sacramento’s Ernesto Castaneda (11-7-1) won a workman like unanimous decision over Ayodeji Fadeyi (10-7-1) of Denver in a six round super middleweight bout. The two fighters could have fought the fight inside a phone booth. Castaneda spent the entire fight on the inside negating Fadeyi’s reach and jab. Castaneda was the busier fighter winning a unanimous decision. Scores where 60-54, 59-55 and 59-55.
In the opener lightweight Max Becerra (2-0-1) of Vacaville stopped Victor Cortez (0-1). Becerra dominated the action scoring a second round KO. Time was 2:19 of round two.
(Ringside by Erik Killin) - In a special edition of ShoBox: The Next Generation, boxing returned to Oakland Saturday night for the first time in three years. 7,818 fans watched hometown hero, 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist, Andre ‘S.O.G.’ Ward (19-0, 12 KOs), successfully defend his NABO & NABF Super Middleweight titles against hard-punching Colombian, Edison ‘Pantera’ Miranda (32-4, 28 KOs).
In a grueling twelve round fight, Ward came away with a unanimous decision via scores of 119-109 (twice), and 116-112.
For Ward, the fight would turn out to be much tougher than the final scorecards would indicate.
Ward was cut over his left eye from an accidental headbutt in the very first round and any pending questions regarding his chin and heart were answered on this evening.
Throughout the bout, Ward scored to the body consistently and smoothly switched from the southpaw to conventional stance to keep Miranda guessing. Ward’s speed ultimately proved to be too much for Miranda to handle as he got off first for the majority of the fight. Unexpectedly, Ward was also able to ”out-macho” Miranda by taking his best shots, many of them which landed cleanly.
Jacob Duran, Ward’s cutman, played a key role in the fight as he was able to close Ward’s cut and make it a non-factor after the first round.
At the post-fight press conference, Ward and trainer Virgil Hunter stated they were satisfied with the victory but felt Ward took too many unnecessary punches.
Undercard
In the televised co-feature, Goosen prospect John Molina (17-0, 13 KOs) took on veteran Frankie Archuleta (25-7-1, 14 KOs). In an evenly matched first round, Archuleta gave Molina problems early with a few lead rights. However, in round two, Molina stepped it up and dropped Archuleta with a nice right hand. Archuleta rose from the knockdown and although he seemed a bit hurt, he appeared ready to continue as he flashed a few smiles at the crowd. The referee felt differently, as he ruled Archuleta had seen enough, and stopped the bout at 2:06 of round two, much to the discontent of the 7,000 plus on hand.
San Francisco junior middleweight prospect, Karim ‘Hard Hitta’ Mayfield (9-0-1, 6 KOs) easily dispatched of late sub Roberto Valenzuela (49-47-2, 40 KOs). Mayfield totally outclassed Valenzuela and stopped him with a barrage of punches in the corner at 1:12 of round two.
In another mismatch, super bantamweight Rico Ramos (10-0, 6 KOs), easily took care of Mexico’s Trinidad Mendoza (24-21-2, 19 KOs). Ramos won every round until the referee stepped in at 1:43 of round three.
In a four round junior lightweight bout, undefeated Mel Crossty (3-0-1, 1 KO), battled Jaime Rodriguez (4-4-3, 2 KOs) to a majority draw. After an even first round, Crossty went to the body and took control of the fight. Rodriguez seemed to have very little experience fighting southpaws and struggled the rest of the way. It appeared Crossty did enough to get the win, but two of the judges scored it a draw, while the third scored the bout 39-37, in favor of Crossty.
In the opener, 2008 U.S. Olympian Shawn Estrada (6-0, 6 KOs) destroyed late sub Cory Jones (5-6, 1 KO) in one round. Estrada, the much bigger man, put Jones down with a right hand and finished him off with a flurry shortly thereafter leading to a referee stoppage at 1:31 of the first round.
Overall, it was a good night of boxing in Oakland, California. Boxing notables in attendance included heavyweight contender, Chris ‘Nightmare’ Arreola, IBF Flyweight Champion, Nonito ‘The Filipino Flash’ Donaire, and 2008 Olympian, Javier Molina. Other notable celebrities present to enjoy live boxing action were Oakland Raiders quarterback, JaMarcus Russell, Golden State Warriors guard, Monta Ellis, and Major League Baseball legend, Ricky Henderson.
