Ashie versus Tagoe: All set for Clash of Kings in Ghana

By Prince Dornu-Leiku – All is set for the expected biggest fight night in Ghanaian boxing history Saturday evening at the Accra Sports Stadium when the curtain is finally drawn on the much trumpeted ‘Clash of Kings’ maiden promotion by Ghana national soccer team skipper Asamoah Gyan’s BabyJet Promotions.

A tense weigh-in session invaded by fans galore pledging varying allegiance to either Emmanuel Tagoe or George Ashie who clash in the headliner and a much anticipated showdown which has two of the finest trainers this country can boast also in the respective corners. Legend Azumah Nelson pits his technical aptitude up against Godwin Djanie Alloway, arguably Ghana’s most outstanding boxing coach, the same man who trains Joshua Clottey.

Mares-Moreno: The ideal Boxer against puncher contest

Mares-Moreno: The ideal Boxer against puncher contest By Corey Quincy – This Saturday live on Showtime’s World Championship Boxing series we will see Anselmo ” Chemito ” Moreno ( 33-1-1 ) face off against Mexican brawler and WBC World Champion Abner Mares ( 24-0-1 ) in a key match up for total Bantamweight supremacy. And I believe it could turn out to be very interesting.

The fight is making many regular boxing viewers highly enthusiastic as it features a strong contrast of that Boxer against brawler style that often leads to highly entertaining fights.

Mares is the WBC World Bantamweight champion and is well known for retaining his title by out-brawling his opponents in fan-friendly battles. His shots are often ” telegraphed ” and his style is pretty basic but his youthful stamina and relentlessness rarely gives even his top opponents times to act on his flaws. Moreno will have to disregard these difficult patterns and not allow Mares to trap him and set his shots off like he manages to do often with other opponents.

The Legacy of Emanuel Steward Part 3: Perspective from Naazim Richardson

“I’m proud to say I knew the man. I’m honored to say I had a personal communication and I’m fortunate to be able to say that I got to see him work.”—Naazim Richardson

Exclusive Interview by Geoffrey Ciani – This is Part Three of an ongoing series dedicated to the memory and legacy of a remarkable individual, Emanuel Steward, whose extraordinary contributions to the boxing world spanned sixty years. In this installment, trainer Naazim Richardson provided his perspective and shared some of his experiences with the legendary Hall of Fame trainer. Here is a complete transcript from my discussion with Naazim:

GEOFFREY CIANI: Naazim, it was a sad day for boxing and we lost one of our greatest ambassadors in the sport when Emanuel Steward passed away nearly two weeks ago. I’m wondering if you could share your personal views on the impact that Emanuel had on boxing?

NAAZIM RICHARDSON: Well like you said, Emanuel was a great ambassador for the sport and a very intricate part of the sport as we know it in the last few years, and he touched on all facets of it in that he was, you know a commentator, trainer, manager, promoter. He was just in every detail of the sport, and like I’ve said, it’s a great loss but it’s one of those situations where we lose, but in a sense there’s a piece of Emanuel that’s going to exist forever in the sport from when he sat down and what he let the world share from the Kronk’s Gym on to when he was analyzing the fights as a commentator. So he’ll be with us as long as the sport is around.

CIANI: One of the things I remember that Emanuel said about you once, it was when he was still training Chad Dawson and he was looking forward to the challenge of going up against you, and Bernard, and all of the great boxing minds from your corner. He actually said it reminded him of when he was training Evander Holyfield and he had to go up against the old school corner led by Eddie Futch. One of the things Naazim, you’re known as a great preparer of your fighters, and I’m wondering if you could tell the fans out there how you gauge Emanuel when it came to preparing his fighters to give them their best chance at victory?

Mikey Garcia is ready for the world

By Joseph Herron: Since turning pro at age 18, Oxnard, California based fighter Miguel “Mikey” Garcia (29-0, 25 KOs) has been cultivating his pugilistic skills for the single crowning achievement of becoming the Featherweight Champion of the World.

From the time Mr. Garcia made the fateful decision to become a prizefighter, the 24 year old boxer/puncher has been perfect; racking up an impressive record of 29 victories, no losses, and 25 wins coming by way of knock-out.

This Saturday night, at the Wynn Las Vegas, the talented young fighter will be gracing the airwaves of HBO once again in the co-main event of the evening, as he takes on tough Argentine Featherweight Jonathan Victor Barros (34-3-1, 18 KOs).

Although Mikey is currently fighting in an era in which network dates have become a more scarce and coveted commodity than any sanctioning body’s world title strap, the top ranked Featherweight claims that his ultimate goal will perpetually be to win a universally recognized world title.

Jason Estrada Squares Off Against Galen Brown On November 10th

James Stillerman – Jason “Big Six” Estrada (19-4, 5KOs) faces off against Galen “Bad Boy” Brown (38-20-1, 23KOs) in an eight round heavyweight main event bout, presented by Big Six Promotions, on the “Big Things” on November 10th at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, Rhode Island.

“Training has been really good for this fight. I took three days off after my last fight with Gonzales and then I got right back in the gym and have not left since,” said 31 year old, Estrada. I`m ready for this fight and I hope to knock him out by the second or third round.”

Mr. Gary Russell Jr: “2013 is going to be a tremendous year”

By Joseph Herron – After beginning his professional fight career with a perfect 20-0 record including 12 knock-outs, former Olympian Gary Russell Jr. feels that his ceiling for success in the sport of boxing is unlimited.

Despite stopping his last two opponents on HBO and Showtime respectively in dramatic and impressive fashion, the talented 24 year old fighter believes that his best effort has yet to be seen.

“My team is definitely planning on having a tremendous 2013,” claims the talented Mr. Russell. “Although our expectations are high, we don’t overlook any fighter and we go into each and every fight with the realistic view that any fighter can defeat anyone on any given night.”

Tonight on a special “Olympic Edition” of ShoBox: The Next Generation, the hard punching southpaw will take on Robert Castaneda (20-2-1, 15 KOs) at the Fantasy Springs Resort & Casino in Indio, California in the ten round main event of the evening.

While most boxing pundits will view this bout as a “stay busy” fight for the highly touted Featherweight, Gary claims that his humble approach going into each and every contest is one of the many reasons for his success in the ring thus far.

Q & A Interview with Millville New Jersey’s light middleweight prospect Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna

By Lou McLaughlin: Millville New Jersey’s streaking light middle weight prospect Thomas “Cornflake” Lamanna takes his unbeaten record 9 (KO 5) to fight for the first time in his hometown of Millville, N.J. on November 10th taking on Erick Hernandez Perez at the New Jersey Motorsports Park, Millville, New Jersey. LaManna had hoped to fight at his old high school but for reasons unknown to him the school board decided not to move forward with fight. This was an enormous disappointment to LaManna. Fortunately, the New Jersey Motorsports Park of Millville stepped forward as a venue and rescued the fight card. Thomas’s opponent Perez‘s last fight in September was a draw against an 18 fight veteran Daniel Garcia. LaManna began his pro career February 11, 2011 and in the 21 months since has racked up 9 impressive wins fighting every 2-3 months. Thomas has fast tracked his way through 6 four round fights in 2011. Beginning 2012 he entered 6 round competitions and was finishing with energy to spare. He generously took time from his training and pre-fight activities for an interview with me.

Charles “The Hatchet” Brewer Speaks On His Career: “Joe Calzaghe Had Ridiculous Combinations!”

By James Slater – Philly warrior Charles Brewer, a man who captured the IBF super-middleweight crown in June of ‘97 and held on to it until dropping a controversial points loss to Sven Ottke in October of the following year, fought two greats from these shores – in Herol Graham and Joe Calzaghe – and “The Hatchet” rates both Brits very highly. The 168-pounder from Joe Frazier country was blessed with fine boxing skills, yet he was quite often involved in slugfests; his classic with Calzaghe a notable example.

Having retired in 2005, with a somewhat deceptive 40-11(28) ledger, Brewer has some exciting career to look back on. Here he does so for ESB:

On his best-ever performance in the ring:

Vanes Martirosyan vs. Erislandy Lara: “It’s time to put up or shut up!”

By Joseph Herron:, photo by Adrian Hernandez — On Saturday, November 10th, from the Wynn Las Vegas, top ranked Junior Middleweight contenders Erislandy Lara and Vanes Martirosyan will finally get it on in a highly anticipated WBC title eliminator contest.

While both men have finished their respective camps and are currently in Las Vegas, Nevada, Erislandy’s world renowned trainer, Ronnie Shields, feels positive about his fighter’s chances on Saturday night.

“We just finished up a great training camp and Erislandy knows exactly what he has to do. We know it’s going to be a great fight and we’re expecting to see the best version of Vanes Martirosyan on November 10th. To win this fight, Lara simply has to be Lara; display his talents and come out victorious. He’s ready to go.”

Though no one can question the level of talent possessed by the Cuban exile, skeptics and fight critics have publicly commented on the possibility of another questionable decision while fighting on the opposing fighter’s promotional bout sheet.

During his previous appearance on a rival promoter’s fight card, Erislandy took on former Welterweight Champion Paul “The Punisher” Williams in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the main event of a Goossen/Tutor Promotion on July 9th, 2011.

The return of Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo: Will the dog bark once again on November 10th?

By Joseph Herron – On November 5th, 2011, the boxing world witnessed one of the best rounds of action in recent memory when Alfredo Angulo and James Kirkland battered each other for all three minutes of the opening stanza during their WBC semi-final eliminator in Cancun, Mexico.

Although both men were ostensibly hurt badly throughout The Ring’s “Round of the Year” for 2011, it was the Mexicali warrior who caught the brunt of the more meaningful exchanges on that fateful evening.

But “El Perro” was not only handed his second loss as a professional fighter. Most fight fans and boxing writers described the dramatic bout as one of the most brutal beatings of this era, and further labeled the destruction as potentially career-altering.

After almost a full calendar year of inactivity, Angulo will be stepping back into the ring this Saturday night, alongside heralded trainer Virgil Hunter, to try and repair some of “El Perro’s” dented mystique and checkered persona.

His November 10th assignment will be against Junior Middleweight prospect Raul “El Tigre” Casarez of the Texas/Rio Grande Valley. Though most boxing pundits give Angulo the clear advantage going into this “comeback” effort, is Casarez the right fighter for a rehabilitative outing?