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Thursday, December 17, 2015

Milch is 9-0

Light middleweight Tony Milch won his ninth straight fight to open his career. The 34 year old defeated Kevin McCauley on points at the Camden Centre in London, England on December 4.

Milch weighed 156 pounds for the fight while McCauley was a pound and half heavier. McCauley is a 36 year old who has participated in over hundred more fights than Milch, but his 11-110-7 record puts him somewhere behind the late great Bob Foster on the all time pound for pound list. McCauley last won 67 fights ago. Despite all of those losses, he has only been stopped ten times.

Milch went six rounds for the second time in his career. Referee Lee Cook scored the bout 58-56, deducting a point from Milch in the fourth for rabbit punching.

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Yuri Foreman Wins Comeback Fight

Rabbi Yuri Foreman won his comeback fight against Lenwood Dozier at Barclays Arena in Brooklyn, New York. Foreman won by unanimous decision.

Denwood landed a big blow in the first, but Foreman withstood the shot. It was his first fight in over two years and Foreman was rusty. He boxed his way to a close point victory the rest of the way. All three judges scored the fight 77-75.

Foreman improves his record to 33-2 with 9 KOs while Dozierfalls to 9-10-1 with 4 KOs.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Eleider Alvarez Takes Close Fight over Chilemba

Light heavyweight Isaac Chilemba lost a majority decision to Eleider Alvarez at Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Canada on Saturday night. It was widely regarded as a very close fight that could have gone either way.

Alvarez, a Colombian native who lives in Canada, started strong. Both men jabbed well early, but Alvarez managed to land the sharper power punches in the first two rounds. Alvarez's punches had more conviction than did Chilemba's during the early rounds.

Chilemba grabbed momentum in the fourth round. He took control of center ring and began walking down Alvarez. Alvarez continued to counter punch effectively, though. In the sixth, Alvarez countered Chilemba's jab with precision.

Halfway through the fight, Alvarez was rightfully ahead on the scorecards. But in the seventh, Chilemba landed a looping right that momentarily wobbled Alvarez early in the round. Alvarez went into a shell for much of the rest of the period.

Alvarez recovered well in the eighth, but continued to fade in the ninth. He looked exhausted and wasn't able to use the nimble footwork that had helped him elude Chilemba's shots during the early rounds and enabled Alvarez to counter.

In the tenth, Chilemba landed an assortment of punches: a check left hook early as Alvarez clumsily came in, an uppercut, and a lead right. Chilemba used the latter with more regularity as the fight wore on. It was a shrewd change of pace from the jab.

Alvarez summoned some unexpected grit to start the eleventh round, but Isaac dominated the second half of the round. Overall, Alvarez was the harder puncher and won the first portion of the fight. Chilemba upped his workrate as Alvarez faded in the second portion of the bout.

The fight was extremely close. According to ShoStats, Chilemba landed 151 punches while Alvarez landed 147. Both men landed noticeably more punches than the other in only two rounds. Alvarez controlled the first and second rounds, while Chilemba carried the punch count in the ninth and eleventh rounds.

The judges scored the bout 118-110, 115-113, and 114-114. All three judges gave Alvarez the twelfth round. Had Chilemba won it, the fight would have been a split draw.

This fight could reasonably have been scored seven rounds to five in either direction because there were so many tight rounds. Alvarez had a couple of advantages with the judges: the fight took place in his adopted country of Canada and he is managed by the omnipotent Al Haymon. Peter Hary is the judge who gave the fight to Alvarez 10 rounds to two. This was an inexcusable card and not the first score he's had that was very different from his fellow judges'.

After the decision was announced, Chilemba was sobbing in the corner out of disappointment. Jodi Solomon, Isaac's manager, covered him with her jacket as she consoled him. Isaac's record is now 22-3-2 with 10 KOs and Alvarez moves to 19-0 with 10 KOs.

Alvarez has become the mandatory challenger for one of the belts owned by light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson. But this fight was so close, it cries out for a rematch to determine the true mandatory challenger.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Horowitz KOs Another Opponent

Light heavyweight Samuel Horowitz stopped Ronez McGrady in the second round last night at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana. Horowitz won despite spending time in the hospital last week.

Horowitz knocked McGrady down in the second and jumped on the 37 year old to earn the TKO victory a minute 54 seconds into the round.

Horowitz is now 5-1 with 4 KOs. McGrady falls to 0-3.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Rabbi Foreman to Come Out of Retirement

Junior middleweight Rabbi Yuri Foreman is scheduled to step into the ring for the first time in two years on December 5. Foreman's recent absence from boxing was largely due to issues with his management. In May of 2014, Foreman announced his retirement.

"Unknowingly I signed a very harmful contract regarding my boxing [career]. I tried all possible ways to free myself from it, but nothing else I can do, [except] announce my retirement from boxing," Foreman wrote on Facebook a year and a half ago.

On his return, Foreman explained, "I realized that I needed a little rest, I love boxing. It is something that I’ve loved since I was a kid and I feel like I wanted to do it more."

Foreman doesn't have an opponent yet for the fight. The scheduled eight rounder will be held in Foreman's hometown of Brooklyn, New York in the Barclays Center. His fight is slated to be on the undercard of the Showtime-televised Danny Jacobs-Peter Quillin middleweight clash.

Monday, November 23, 2015

Isaac Chilemba to Face Undefeated Alvarez

Light heavyweight contender Isaac Chilemba faces undefeated contender Eleider Alvarez on Saturday at Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Canada. Thgis fight will be shown on Showtime in the United States and is on the undercard of the James DeGale-Lucian Bute supermiddleweight fight.

Chilemba (24-2-2, 10 KOs) is on a four fight win streak, including an impressive victory over previously undefeated Vasily Lepikhin. In that fight, Chilemba, who is rated 8th in the light heavyweight division according to the Transnational Boxing Rankings, was a defensive wizard as usual. He also jabbed well from the outside early. He then used pot shots from the outside before adding combination power punches.

In his two 2013 fights against Tony Bellew, a disputed draw and an equally disputed loss, Chilemba was a defensive master, but didn't throw enough. He has rectified that fault in recent fights. He not only became more active against Lepikin, but also against the dangerous Denis Grachev in 2014. He won virtually every round during his recent win streaks.

While Alvarez is the bigger name, Chilemba is taller, younger, and has fought the tougher competition. The undefeated Canadian of Colombian birth, Alvarez has defeated three undefeated fighters. In his last bout, Alvarez, who is the 7th ranked light heavyweight in the Transnational Boxing Rankings, tightened up his punches and improved his skill. But the awkward Isidro Prieto was able to land overhand rights and even hurt Alvarez in the middle rounds before losing a decision.

Aside from the Prieto bout, Alvarez has been known to be in boring fights, which could be a problem against Chilemba. A high work rate is the best way to neutralize Chilemba's calculated boxing. If Chilemba is allowed to jab from the outside, he'll pick apart the 6' 31 year old.

Alvarez represents the seventh time Chilemba has fought an opponent with an undefeated record and at least 10 wins; Isaac hasn't lost yet.

The bout is scheduled for 12 rounds. The winner will be the mandatory challenger to Adonis Stevenson, the recognized light heavyweight champion.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Horowitz Back in the Ring this Month

Light heavyweight Sam Horowitz is scheduled to be back in the ring on Wednesday, November 25 at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana. His opponent is slated to be Ronez McGrady.

Horowitz (4-1, 3 KOs) has won his last two fights, including a decision victory in August over Israel Echevarria, who had a winning record at the time. Horowitz had shown power in his previous three wins, but the victory over Echevarria exhibited his boxing skills.

McGrady is a 37 year old who hasn't won a professional fight in his two chances. He was stopped in his last fight which took place on the same card that Horowitz defeated Echevarria. McGrady, who is from Indianapolis, also has experience fighting in mixed martial arts.

This will be the sixth time Horowitz has fought at the Horseshoe Casino. The bout is scheduled for four rounds.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Fleischer Notches Two More Victories

Welterweight Dustin Fleischer scored two Knockout victories int he past two months. On September 26, Fleischer stopped Ira Frank in the first round at Veteran's Memorial Park in Beach Haven, New Jersey. Less than a month later, Fleischer won by second round TKO over Oscar Diaz at the Marina Bay SportsComplex in Quincy, Massachusetts. That fight took place on October 17.

Fleischer is now 5-0 with 5 KOs. While he has shown fast hands, good power, and impressive talent, Frank was his first opponent with a winning record; the 35 year old Frank was 1-0 at the time. Diaz was 0-8.

Fleischer is scheduled to fight in a four round bout on December 11 at the Parsippany PAL in Parsippany, New Jersey.

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Horowitz Wins By Decision

For the first time in his professional boxing career, Samuel Horowitz heard the final bell. In his first four fights, three of them were first round KO victories and the other was a second round stoppage loss. Horowitz defeated Israel Echevarria by unanimous decision last night at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana.

Horowitz won with three scores of 39-37. Horowitz is now 4-1 with 3 KOs. Echevarria falls to 3-3 with 2 KOs.

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Fleischer off Tonight's AC Card

Undefeated welterweight Dustin Fleischer was excited to fight close to his hometown tonight. He was scheduled to get into the ring in Atlantic City, New Jersey, but his opponent came in 15 pounds overweight according to Fleischer. Thus, the fight was canceled.

Fleischer is 3-0 with 3 KOs.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Horowitz to Fight Echevarria

Light heavyweight Sam Horowitz is scheduled to face Israel Echevarria on August 22 at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana. Both fighters earned victories on the same card on May 16.

The May 16 unanimous decision win over William Chouloute was Echevarria's first fight since 2002. Echevarria will be turning 45 years old in September. Echevarria is 3-2 with 2 KOs.

Horowitz has earned first round stoppages in each of his three wins. This will be Horowitz's third fight on 2015.

The bout is scheduled for four rounds.

Monday, August 10, 2015

Fleischer Has an Opponent

On Saturday, Dustin "The White Tiger" Fleischer is scheduled to face David Ratliff in The Playground in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This will mark Fleischer's fourth professional fight.

Fleischer is the heavy favorite. His opponent, Ratliff, has a career record of 0-1. But Ratliff will enter the ring has the bigger man. He weighed in 165.5 pounds for his debut against Charles Dallas, a first round TKO loss on June 20 in Georgia. Fleischer hasn't been above 145 pounds for any of his three pro fights. Ratliff had an eight pound weight advantage over Dallas.

Fleischer-Ratliff is slated for four rounds.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Fleischer to Return to the Ring This Month

Undefeated welterweight Dustin "The White Tiger" Fleischer announced that he is scheduled to fight again on Saturday, August 15 at The Playground in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He wrote on Facebook, "I have always wanted to fight in Atlantic City... near my hometown."

Fleischer is 3-0, all by KO, with two wins coming in June. He has shown good power in the right hand, quick hands, and athleticism so far in his career. No opponent has yet been named.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Dustin Fleischer vs. Stacey Anderson

June 26, 2015
Robert Treat Hotel
Newark, New Jersey


Fleischer: white striped trunks
Anderson: black and red trunks

Monday, July 27, 2015

Dustin Fleischer is 3-0 with 3 KOs

Welterweight Dustin Fleischer is 3-0 with 3 KOs. In his second fight on Jun 6 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Fleischer stopped Kareem Millner in the first round. He earned a third round TKO over Stacey Anderson on June 25 at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark, New Jersey.

Against Millner, Fleischer (coming off of a five-month layoff due to injury) controlled center ring. Millner attempted to trade as he moved around the perimeter. Fleischer soon trapped Millner against the ropes and used the overhand right to break down Millner. Referee Earl Brown quickly noticed that Millner had stopped defending himself and stopped the fight.

If most first rounds exhibit all the timidity of a first date, the opening round against Anderson was something akin to an episode of Married At First Sight. Fleischer almost exclusively launched power punches. Anderson had an aggressive mindset early, but Fleischer quickly forced him to reconsider with right hands.

Anderson is athletic, but he didn't know how to use his assets. He sported uniquely muscular thighs and yet only threw arm punches. He switched to southpaw in the second and third rounds and was equally ineffective in either stance.

Fleischer pounded Anderson in each round, primarily with rights. In the second round, he landed a vicious overhand right that blasted the mouthpiece out of Anderson's mouth. Anderson was badly hurt, but was granted a brief reprieve when referee David Fields halted the fight to reinsert the mouthpiece.

Anderson survived until the third round for two reasons: his style was awkward and he showed extreme toughness. He ate a number of flush punches and yet stayed up. Not until the final blow did Anderson go down. And even then- as he fell victim to another right- he grabbed the ropes to keep himself off the canvas.

Fleischer showed impressive discipline against an awkward opponent. His right hand has cringe-inducing power and is devastatingly accurate. He also has an effective left hook to the body. His next step is to utilize his jab and tighten up his left hook.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Chilemba Off Kovalev Card

Isaac Chilemba was scheduled to fight on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, a qualified opponent could not be found and Chilemba has been taken off the card according to ESPN's Dan Rafael.

Chilemba (24-2-2, 10 KOs) is coming off an impressive victory over previously undefeated prospect Vasily Lepikhin in March. Isaac hopes to fight light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Milch Stays Undefeated

Junior middleweight Tony Milch remained undefeated with a points victory over Ali Wyatt yesterday at York Hall in London, England.

At 34 years old, Milch had a four year age advantage over Wyatt. Wyatt was the far more experienced fighter: 120 more rounds and eight more years as a pro.

Though Milch controlled the action, he was dropped by a left in the fourth and final round. Milch improves his record to 8-0 with one KO. Wyatt falls to 4-25 with three KOs.

Friday, July 17, 2015

Melson Defeats Ruiz in Ten Round Bout

Junior middleweight Boyd Melson defeated Mike Ruiz by wide unanimous decision on May 8 at the Hilton Westchester in Rye Brook, New York. After a sloppy start, southpaw Melson took control of the fight with his left hand.

Both Melson and Ruiz hadn't been in the ring in over a year and it showed early. Ruiz implemented his plan of rushing Melson for the first half of the first round, but then seeming fell asleep for the next several minutes. Melson fired punches, but they initially looked awkward and poorly timed.

Melson slowly started to gain a rhythm by the end of the second round. He waved his right jab in order to distract Ruiz and land the left hand. The plan worked well in the third round as well. Ruiz was more active in the third, but his punches were clumsy.

Ruiz's best punch was his left hook and he landed a few stunning ones in the fourth round. After four, The Jewish Boxing Blog had the fight even. Melson slowly found his timing by the fifth round. In the sixth, a left uppercut put Ruiz down. It was a flash knockdown, but even for a 10-8 round. It also changed the momentum of the fight.

Melson dominated the seventh round. He landed crunching straight lefts. After the fight, Melson claimed that he had hurt his left hand in the second round. Melson also added the right hook. When he uses the right hook, Melson becomes a dangerous fighter. The layoff seemed to limit that punch's effectiveness against Ruiz, but it did land in the seventh.

Melson had never gone past eight rounds in his career and it showed. He moved more in the last three rounds of the fight. His defense was tad sloppier. Ruiz seemed to take two of the final three rounds.

The fight was also defined by headbutts, which often happen when a southpaw faces an orthodox fighter. After one nasty collision in the third, Melson asked Ruiz, "You ok?" with genuine concern. He also complimented Ruiz after a particularly stiff jab in the seventh round.

Melson won the fight was scores of 100-89, 99-90, 98-91. Ruiz grimaced in disbelief when he heard the scores. Even Melson was surprised at the 100-89 score. "I felt it was a lot closer," Boyd told boxing announcer Steve Farhood after the fight. The Jewish Boxing Blog scored the fight 96-93 for Melson.

Melson improved his record to 15-1-1 with 4 KOs. Ruiz fell to 17-9 with 9 KOs.

Some side notes:
Prior to referee Pete Santiago's pre-fight instructions, ring announcer David Diamonte accidentally put the microphone under a bewildered Mike Ruiz's armpit. Santiago laughed as he called Diamonte over.

Melson weighed in at the lightest he's been in four years. He dropped over 15 pounds in a week before the bout.

Ruiz wore socks to promote autism awareness.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Seldin Wins By Stoppage

On June 19, Cletus Seldin scored his fourteenth knockout by stopping veteran Ranee Ganoy in the fourth round. The bout took place in Seldin's home arena, the Paramount Theatre in Huntington, New York.

Seldin was coming off the best win of his career, a fifth round stoppage of Johnny Garcia on national television in February. Ganoy marked the most experienced opponent of Seldin's career.

Seldin had the height advantage and is seven years younger than the Filipino boxer. The loss to Seldin marked Ganoy's second straight loss. But Ganoy had won 19 out of 20 fight against mostly solid competition before dropping the last two.

Seldin's record moves to 17-0. Ganoy is now 36-13-2 with 32 KOs.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Horowitz Comes Back with a KO

Light Heavyweight Sam Horowitz earned his third career knockout on May 16 at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indian. Horowitz stopped Ramira Thomas a minute and sixteen seconds into the fight.

Horowitz was coming off of his first career loss, a second round stoppage to Simon Buettner in March. Horowitz improved his record to 3-1.

Sam also took part in a Big Knockout Boxing event, which follows different rules than a sanctioned boxing match. Horowtiz lost a disputed  five round decision, but scored a knockdown in the fight. He is scheduled to get back in the boxing ring on August 22 at the Horseshoe Casino.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Horowitz to Return in May

Samuel Horowitz is wasting no time getting back into the ring after his first career loss. He's slated to fight at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana in a four round bout on May 16.

Horowitz is 2-1 with all three fights ending in stoppages. Sam has fought a total of five and half minutes in his three fights. He scored two first round KOs before falling to Simon Edward Buettner (7-1) in the second round on March 28.

Horowitz is now scheduled to enter the ring just a month and half after that stoppage. No opponent has yet been announced for the light heavyweight

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Melson to Face Ruiz

Boyd Melson is scheduled to face Mike Ruiz on May 8 at the Hilton Westchester in Rye Brook, New York. This will be Melson's first fight in 15 months.

Melson (14-1-1, 4 KOs) suffered a couple of injuries in 2014. During a victory over Donald Ward in the historic Roseland Ballroom's last ever boxing match on February 12, Melson injured his right arm. He healed and was scheduled to take on the toughest opponent of his career, Glen Tapia, in July. But Melson tore his left rotator cuff in training.

Melson admitted that he thought his career was over after the rotator cuff injury. But in December, he acknowledged that he "still had some stuff in the basement" and wanted to continue his career.

Melson was originally scheduled to face Mike Ruiz (17-8, 9 KOs) in the Roseland Ballroom's last fight, but Ruiz had to pull out. Ruiz is a quality journeyman from New York. He's 2-3 in his last five, but all three losses have been to good opponents: Tapia, Martin Wright, and Charlie Ota.

This bout is scheduled for ten rounds.

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Horowitz Stopped in the Second

Light heavyweight Sam Horowitz suffered his first loss on Saturday at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana. Simon Buettner stopped Horowitz in the second round.

An accidental headbutt opened a cut over Horowitz's eye in the first round. Buettner landed a right in the second that hurt Horowitz. Buettner seized his advantage and jumped on Horowitz as he fired punches. Referee Kurt Spivey didn't wait to see if Sam could fight his way out of the predicament. The bout was stopped at the 1:21 mark.

Horowitz falls to 2-1 with two KOs. Buettner rises to 7-1 with 4 KOs.

Friday, March 27, 2015

Milch Wins His Seventh Fight

Tony Milch kept his undefeated record spotless on March 7 at Camden Centre in London, England. Milch defeated Daniel Borisov on points.

Milch was outweighed by three pounds, but won the bout 59-55. Bosiov (5-12) has now lost four straight bouts and eight of his last nine. All eight opponents had winning records and five were undefeated. Milch, a 33 year old, has won all seven of his fights since turning pro in 2013. He has one KO.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Chilemba Gives the Professor a Boxing Lesson

Light heavyweight contender Isaac "Golden Boy" Chilemba thoroughly dominated undefeated prospect Vasily "The Professor" Lepikhin on March 14 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. Chilemba boxed his way to a comfortable unanimous decision.

Lepikhin, a 29 year old from Russia, commenced the fight on the attack. Whenever the taller man fired, Chilemba countered, often to the body, from the outside. Chilemba, who wore a red Star of David on the back of his right leg, fired down the middle between Lepikhin's guard and won the opening round by sheer activity.

Over the next four rounds, Chilemba increasingly molded the fight into an exhibition of his boxing skill. Each round Lepikhin came out of the starter's blocks roaring, but rapidly petered out.  Chilemba's straight shots were complemented by looping blows to the body once Vasily's guard closed. After each combination, Lepikhin attempted to counter, but Chilemba had already moved on.

Chilemba's defense was exquisite. Sometimes, he used a shoulder roll. Other times, he ducked his opponent's shots. He constantly shifted to the side and changed angles. Chilemba's defense frustrated Lepikhin and convinced Vasily that mounting an offensive attack would be futile. In the third round, the undefeated Russian kept his hands down in hopes of changing the tenor of the fight. He surmised that Chilemba might open up, thereby providing Lepikhin more opportunity to land. Chilemba noticed the trap and actually threw fewer punches until Lepikhin put his guard back up.

By the end of the fourth, Chilemba had landed nearly twice as many punches as Lepikhin. After the fifth, Lepikhin's father, who is also his trainer, asked if he should stop the fight. The question eradicated the remaining sliver of fighting spirit Vasily possessed. Chilemba cautiously controlled the action the rest of the way. He landed right uppercuts, stunning lead rights, and kept jabbing. Isaac realized that the tactic of showing the left to land the right worked virtually every time.

In the seventh, Lepikhin tried a new approach. Though he hadn't thrown much in the fight, he kept coming forward, but in the seventh he backed to the ropes. Chilemba was wary and didn't press his advantage too much. Lepikhin would return often to the ropes over the next few rounds. It turned out to be a method of running out the clock, rather than a way to win the fight.

One criticism pundits may have of Isaac's masterful performance was his inability to stop a fighter who had the will taken from him. At heart, Chilemba is disciplined and not willing to risk all that he's achieved in order to produce a knockout. He's expert at throwing combos and then moving. It's not in his nature to stand in the pocket for an extended period of time; he becomes antsy and nervous when too close to his opponent for too long.

One judge scored the bout 100-90. Two others had it 99-91. When it was all over, Isaac had landed three times as many punches as his opponent. Chilemba improves to 24-2-2 with 10 KOs and has set himself up for a big fight in the light heavyweight division. Lepikhin falls to 17-1 with 9 KOs.

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Wohman to Return in March

Zachary "Kid Yamaka" Wohlman is scheduled to return to the ring on March 6 at the Civic Auditorium in Glendale, California. Wohlman (8-2-1, 1 KO) is coming off of a decision loss against Paul Velarde last August, which snapped a four-fight win streak.

Wohlman's fight is scheduled for six rounds. No opponent has yet been named.

Friday, February 27, 2015

Seldin Defeats Garcia by TKO

Cletus Seldin maintained his undefeated record with a fifth round stoppage of Johnny Garcia at the Paramount Theater in Huntington, New York. Seldin rebounded from a slow start to notch the victory.

Seldin came out less aggressive than usual; the first wasn't exactly a feel out round though. Garcia pushed Seldin backwards and landed a right causing Seldin's knee to drop. Referee Tony Chiarantano ruled it a push and no knockdown was scored.

Garcia continued to use subtle defensive moves- rolling his left shoulder and moving his head- to avoid Seldin's dangerous overhand rights. He did leave his left hand low too often, which would eventually be a recipe for disaster. Since Seldin's overhand rights weren't yet working, he tried uppercuts with mixed success. Garcia peppered Seldin with lefts and appeared to win the first two rounds.

In the third, Garcia kept up his defense, but his offense was absent. Seldin's relentless pressure and brawling style seemed to tire Garcia. Seldin occasionally landed with an unintentional elbow or his head as he rushed forward.

By the fourth round, the Hebrew Hammer needed to try something new. The overhand right was becoming increasingly ineffective. His jab landed, but he couldn't land off of it. Then came a left hook that changed the fight. Garcia stumbled around the ring bravely remaining on his feet. Seldin chased and though he dominated the round and turned the fight in his favor, he couldn't put Garcia down.

Garcia was tired and battered in the fifth and couldn't rely on his subtle defense any longer. His left hand dropped low and he was unable to avoid the overhand rights that came crashing down on his face. Seldin landed another one and then another. Garcia wobbled around the ring like a drunk zombie. Devastating overhand rights continued to come.

Referee Tony Chiarantano is developing a reputation for letting fights last too long and this one was no different. Garcia had been unable to defend himself even before a few more overhand rights connected. The fight was mercifully stopped when Chiarantano finally stepped in and waved things off.

Seldin's showed improvement by finding another weapon- in this case the left hook in the fourth round- when the overhand right stopped landing against his toughest opponent to date. He was more patient and jabbed more than in the past. But the end proved that Seldin's best asset is still the overhand right.

Seldin moves to 16-0 with 13 KOs and his stock continues to soar. Garcia falls to 19-3-1 with 11 KOs after a game effort.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Seldin-Garcia Preview

Junior welterweight Cletus Seldin is scheduled to face Johnny Garcia tomorrow night at the Paramount Theater in Seldin's hometown of Huntington, New York. The fight will be the main event on ESPN 2's Friday Night Fights.

Seldin (15-0, 12 KOs) is an aggressive fighter who looks to floor his opponent with overhand rights. He has spent his career honing his ability to set up the devastating punch. His defense is gradually improving, but he's most reckless- and thus vulnerable- early in fights.

Garcia (19-2-1), who is the toughest opponent of Seldin's career, will need to take control of the fight from the outset to have success tomorrow night. Seldin won't allow him time for a feel out round. Against Angelo Santana, Garcia started off trading effectively with the hard-punching southpaw in their 2012 fight, but once Santana hurt him, Garcia's punches lost all technique. Garcia was stopped in the fifth round.

Garcia made a name for himself when he upset undefeated hot prospect Yordenis Ugas in 2012. Ugas was 11-0 at the time. Garcia had also defeated another young undefeated fighter, William Jackson, in 2011. But he hasn't had the same success since the Santana loss. Garcia is 0-1-1 in his last two fights. Garcia lost to John Williams last June. Williams was coming off of a loss to Ugas; Williams had also lost to a 7-31-2 fighter.

In his last fight, Garcia came away with a majority draw against an unheralded Nicaraguan, Moises Solis, in Garcia's hometown of Holland, Michigan. One judge had Garcia losing. All three judges were from Michigan and often oversee fights in Holland. Seldin is coming off of the best win of his career, a ninth round stoppage over veteran Bayan Jargal.

Seldin weighed in at 139.4 pounds, which is very close to the lightest of his career. Garcia weighed in at 139.3, which is the lightest he's been since the Santana fight. The bout is scheduled for ten rounds.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Dustin Fleischer vs. Frank Jordan

January 9, 2015
Madison Square Garden Theater
New York, New York


Fleischer: black and white stripe trunks
Jordan: blue trunks, white trim

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Fleischer Wins Debut

Dustin "White Tiger" Fleischer won his professional debut against Frank Jordan by second round TKO in the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York, New York earlier this month. Fleischer, a noted amateur and descendant of Holocaust survivors, showed fast hands in notching his first victory.

Jordan, a winless fighter who was outweighed by five pounds, tried to be aggressive early. Fleischer effectively landed counter overhand rights and counter straight rights, which quickly forced Jordan to bottle up his offense. In fact, when it was all said and done, Fleischer had landed more punches (38) than Jordan had thrown (35) during the bout.

Fleischer loaded up on virtually every punch and let out a bark each time he ripped Jordan with a shot. Dustin moved well in the pocket and added mean-spirited body punches in the second round to his offensive arsenal. After a left hook to the body a minute into that round, Jordan finally began backing up. Jordan's retreat signaled the end of his chances to survive. Thirty seconds later, referee Shada Murdaugh stopped the fight after a series of Tiger body punches.

Fleischer, a New Jersey resident who weighed in at 142.4 pounds for the contest, is now 1-0 with one knockout. Jordan falls to 0-3 and was stopped for the third time in his career.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Chilemba Could Fight Beterbiev

Light heavyweight contender has been calling out prospect Artur Beterbiev on Twitter over the past few weeks. BoxingNews24.com reports that the matchup is in the works and could take place on March 14 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada on the undercard of Sergey Kovalev-Jean Pascal.

Beterbiev was an amateur star who has frightening power. He's posted seven KOs in seven professional fights. One of those knockout victims was former beltholder Tavoris Cloud, the Russia-native's most impressive win to date. But Beterbiev's style is a bit crude at this stage of his career. He punches wide and needs an opponent to come at him to land punches. He abandons the jab too quickly. If an opponent is brave enough, Beterbiev is there to be hit.

Chilemba (23-2-2, 10 KOs) could be a matchup nightmare for the highly touted Beterbiev. Isaac is a slippery defensive master who can use subtle movement in the pocket or box from the outside. The main criticism of Chilemba is he isn't always busy enough offensively to convince the judges.

With Beterbiev's inability set up his power punches unless the opponent is right in front of him and Chilemba's economical offense, it could make for a slow fight. In addition, that the bout would be located in Beterbiev's adopted hometown of Montreal could call the scoring into question.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Seldin to be Featured on Friday Night Fights

Cletus "Hebrew Hammer" Seldin is scheduled to face the toughest opponent of his career, Johnny Garcia, on February 27 at the Paramount Theatre in Huntington, New York. The fight is slated to be shown on ESPN 2 in the United States.

Seldin (15-0, 12 KOs) fought four times in 2014. He scored three knockouts and was ahead against Bayan Jargal in July when the fight was stopped at the start of the third round and ruled a No Contest. Seldin closed out 2014 with a ninth round TKO of Jargal, the best fighter he has faced thus far in his career.

Garcia (19-2-1, 11 KOs) had a six fight winning streak snapped in June of last year when he lost a majority decision to John Williams. He then drew with Moises Solis in December. Garcia has defeated two undefeated fighters during his career. He decisioned William Jackson, who was 11-0 at the time, in 2011. The next year, he beat hot Cuban prospect Yordenis Ugas by split decision. Garcia lost his first bout two fights later when another undefeated Cuban prospect, Angelo Santana, hurt him int he second round and knocked him out in the fifth.

Seldin, who is 10-0 in the Paramount Theatre, had fought his entire career as a welterweight until he weighed in at 139.25 pounds against Jargal in the rematch. Garcia's weight has fluctuated wildly. Against Santana, a southpaw, Johnny was the lightest of his career, 133.75 pounds. Garcia weighted over 154 pounds for a 2013 fight. He was a junior welterweight for the Williams fight and 148 pounds against Solis.

This bout is scheduled to take place in the junior welterweight division with a maximum of ten rounds.

Monday, January 5, 2015

Brooks Will Battle Elio Rojas

Mike "Lefty" Brooks is scheduled to take on former world champion Elio Rojas on January 29 at the BB King Blues Club in New York, New York. Rojas is in the midst of a comeback after losing a title challenge in 2012.

Brooks (10-2-1, 2 KOs) is the underdog in this fight. The southpaw stepped up the competition in his last two bouts and lost them both. He was outclassed by undefeated prospect Karl Dargan in November of 2013 and stopped by hard punching Jason Sosa last April.

Rojas (24-2, 14 KOs) has fought only once in nearly two years. After winning a featherweight strap in 2009 when he went to Japan and defeated Takahiro Ao, the belt was taken from him outside the ring. He attempted to get it back, but lost to Jhonny Gonzalez in 2012 by unanimous decision. In the Gonzalez fight, Rojas reacted badly to headbutts and other perceived fouls. His mindset hurt him that fight.

Rojas has faced the much tougher competition and has a lot more experience than Brooks. But Brooks has some advantages. He's five years younger than the 32 year old native of the Dominican Republic. Lefty has fought nearly his entire career at lightweight; Rojas had been a career featherweight until he began his comeback last August. Mike's southpaw stance could also be an advantage.

This bout, which is being promoted by Lou DiBella, is set for eight rounds.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Horowitz Faces a Tough Test

Light heavyweight Samuel Horowitz is scheduled to face Simon Edward Buettner on February 7 at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana. Buettner marks Horowitz's toughest opponent to date.

Horowitz (2-0, 2 KOs) has two first round KOs in his career. His last one came when a thunderous right hand knocked Eli Smith out cold in November. Nicknamed the "Bear Jew," Horowitz has been in soft thus far, but Buettner represents a significant step up in competition.

Buettner (6-1, 3 KOs) has a sterling record, but there's more than meets the eye. All of Buettner's knockouts came against winless opponents. His six wins came at the hands of fighters with losing records. He's faced one opponent with a winning record and he lost.

The bout is scheduled for four rounds.

Friday, January 2, 2015

Wohlman Returns to the Ring

Zachary "Kid Yamaka" Wohlman is scheduled to be back in the ring on January 17 at the Oceanview Pavilion in Port Hueneme, California. Wohlman is coming off of a decision loss to Paul Velarde in August.

Wohlman (8-2-1, one KO) was the lightest of his career- 141.25 pounds- against Velarde. That fight was the first time Wohlman boxed as many as six rounds. Zac is a slick and skilled boxer who can hurt opponents, but doesn't possess knockout power. He's had issues with stamina and injuries during his career.

Wohlman's opponent will be Vicente Guzman (2-4-1), a surging welterweight from California. Vincente's record and moniker are both misleading. Nicknamed "Manos de Cemento," Guzman has no knockouts, but he has won his last two fights. All four of his losses came against undefeated fighters. He won a six-round split decision against Manuel Alejandro Reyes in November. Wohlman will be the most experienced opponent of Guzman's career.

This bout is slated for six rounds.