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Monday, February 27, 2012

Barry Groenteman vs. Robert van Nimwegen

October 3, 2011
Theater Carré
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6


Groenteman: silver trunks, black beltline
van Nimwegen: silver trunks

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Groenteman to Fight in March

Junior welterweight Barry Groenteman (7-4-1, two KOs), from Holland, will be back in the ring on March 17 at the Wellness Profi Center in Purmerend, Holland. The Amsterdam native has won four consecutive fights since September 2011. He last fought in late January, a unanimous decision victory.

Groenteman will face his toughest opponent to date, Belgium's Andrea Carbonello (7-1, one KO) in a scheduled six rounder. Neither man has much power and both have battled limited opposition thus far in their careers.

The 25-year old Groenteman, who uses a good jab to set up his shoe-shine combinations, is looking to work his way through the ranks gradually after a slow start to his career. He told Jose Stephen, "Together with my trainer Michel van Halderen, we decided to take it slowly. First, we would like to work on my record in Holland and Belgium and, after that, we would like to go to the UK, Italy, or Germany where the big money is."

To do so, he will have to get by the 22-year old Carbonello, who is from Liege.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Senchenko a Possible Opponent for Salita?

Dmitriy Salita's possible bout with Ismael El Massoudi still has not materialized. Salita (33-1-1, 17 KOs), a welterweight, told Ian Aldous that the entire process with El Massoudi has been "frustrating."

Salita explained, "I signed a contract to fight him after scheduling several dates at MSG and thinking that the fight would happen, he has not committed and it does not look like that fight will take place."

Instead, Salita said he would like to fight the WBA titist Vyacheslav Senchenko (32-0, 21 KOs). Senchenko has had problems securing a fight with Paulie Malignaggi.

So Salita sees a fight with Senchenko has a way to solve both of their problems. He also asserted that he's willing to travel to Ukraine for the potential bout. Senchenko lives in Ukraine and Salita was born there.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Melson to Face Parsley

Junior middleweight Boyd "Rainmaker" Melson (8-0, 4 KOs) is scheduled to face Delen "Sniper" Parsley (6-0, 2 KOs) on Saturday, March 7 at the BB King Blues Club in New York, New York.

This will be the toughest fight in the young careers of both men. Melson and Parsley have mostly fought men without winning records thus far. They have a common opponent in Andrew Jones. Both beat the winless Jones by unanimous decision in 2010.

Melson is a strong, slick 5'10" fighter. He can box on the outside but would prefer to overwhelm his opponent with aggressive in-fighting. Parsley is a lean 6'2" 24 year old. Delen is taller and younger than the 30-year Melson.

Melson said, "This is going to be a strong test for me and it’s also my first eight rounder, so I have to look to what beats inside my chest."

The Rainmaker has donated his boxing purses to support stem cell research for spinal cord injuries. This time, he will donate his earning to his former West Point classmate, whose three year old son is battling brain cancer.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

A Look Back: Abe Hollandersky

In an effort to link the past with the present, The Jewish Boxing Blog will present monthly a short biography of notable former Jewish boxers.

Abe "Newsboy" Hollandersky never ran from a fight. It didn't matter if he was facing the toughest man in his weight division, someone well above it, or even an animal, Hollandersky was ready to fight.

Abraham Hollandersky was born in Berznick, Russia on December 3, 1888. When Abe was a small boy, his father was a pants presser who moved to America in hopes of sending for his family. Sadly, his father became blind before his family join him in the U.S. Abe, his brother, and his mother moved to Manchester, England where Abe began hocking newspapers.

Eventually, the family moved to New London, Connecticut where Abe continued to sell papers instead of going to school. He made his pro debut in 1905. He stood 5'4" and usually fought as a welterweight. The following year, as legend goes, he met President Theodore Roosevelt while selling newspapers near the naval base in New London. Evidently, Roosevelt grabbed him by the ears and said, "A Jew won't fight." Hollandersky lightly popped the prez in the stomach, much to Roosevelt's approval.

When Abe was 19 years old, he won  the world welterweight wrestling championship. Later in his career, he fought a jujitsu master. He once took on a bear (a real one) in a wrestling match, a bout that ended when The Newsboy started illegally punching the bear. He also squared off against a boxing kangaroo (Abe, not the bear). Hollandersky was knocked clear out of the ring when the kangaroo unethically smacked him with his tail.

On May 5, 1910, he fought two guys in one night. On May 30, 1913, Hollandersky battled Jack Ortega for the Panama heavyweight championship. Abe weighed 145 pounds while Ortega weighed 190. Abe won when Ortega disqualified himself to avoid the humiliation of being knocked out. In the rematch two and a half months later, the same result occurred.

Hollandersky was a tiny, but incredibly strong brawler who didn't worry about the finer intricacies of the sport of boxing. He was legendarily tough as well. Hollandersky fought light heavyweight Kid Norfolk on January 18, 1914 in Panama in a grueling 25 round loss.

Abe believed he fought in over 1,000 contests of all different varieties, his last coming in 1932. His true record will likely never be known. After his fighting career, Hollandersky found some bit parts in the movies. He is reported to have died in 1966.

Bibliography
Blady, Ken. The Jewish Boxers Hall of Fame. 1988.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Isaac Chilemba vs. Maxim Vlasov

February 25, 2011
Million Dollar Elm Casino
Tulsa, Oklahoma



Chilemba: gold trunks, red trim
Vlasov: purple trunks

Monday, February 6, 2012

Isaac Chilemba vs. Edison Miranda

February 3, 2012
Texas Station Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada

 

Chilemba: turquoise trunks, black trim
Miranda: black trunks, Puerto Rican flag

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Chilemba Beats Miranda

Isaac Chilemba, from Malawi, defeated Edison Miranda by unanimous decision on Friday night in the Texas Station Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Chilemba took the bout with scores of 97-91 and 96-92 (x2). The battle was shown on ESPN 2's Friday Night Fights.

The fight changed in the third round when an accidental headbutt induced an unsightly gash on the corner of Miranda's left eye. Blood flowed, streamed, and sprayed from the cut throughout the rest of the fight. In the fifth round, referee Robert Byrd simultaneously took a point away from both fighters for excessive rabbit punching.

In the seventh round, Chilemba took control of the contest. The power-punching Miranda had been coming forward the entire time, but was unable to mount an effective attack to complement his aggression. Meanwhile, the taller Chilemba alternated between leading with the jab and countering the veteran Columbian's punches. That seventh round is when the South African resident's strategy swung the fight for the "Golden Boy."

By the end of the fight, Chilemba's hair had been dyed red with Miranda's blood. The left side of his body and his trunks, including the Star of David on his left leg, were covered in red. Miranda, whose will is sometimes questioned, never gave up despite the unfortunate cut. But Chilemba showed a ton of grit and skill in notching this victory, the most significant of his career.

Chilemba advances his record to 19-1-1 with 9 KOs. Miranda falls to 35-7 with 30 KOs.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Cletus Seldin Interview

This interview with Cletus Seldin was conducted by Mike Natalino for Mike's Night at the Fights after Seldin's bout with Rashad Bogar in November.




 And here's an interview with Seldin's manager Edward Gersh.