Vazquez Jr. KO's Sonsona, Wins WBO Super Bantamweight Title

Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (18-0-1, 15 KO's) captured the WBO super bantamweight title by defeating Marvin Sonsona (14-1-1, 12 KO's) via fourth round knockout. The 25-year-old Vazquez improved in each round, landing sharp, accurate left hooks and right hands. Sonsona, 19, who moved up two weight classes, could not stop Vazquez from imposing his will on him.

"I knew he had a good punch, but I had experience. This is my night, and now I'm anxious to scale the heights of this division," said Vazquez.

Sonsona was much more fluid with his punches than Vazquez in a slow paced round one. Vazquez seemed hesitant to let his hands go. Maybe Vazquez was just being patient? In round two, Vazquez used his feints to create openings and started to push Sonsona back with hard right hands and left hooks.

Vazquez continued to press the action in round three, where he trapped Sonsona against the ropes. Vazquez landed a left hook to the body, but Sonsona, a southpaw, countered with a quick left uppercut. Then, Vazquez fired a right to Sonsona's head.

Vazquez displayed a lot of patience before placing his punches, but sensed he could take the younger Sonsona out. In round four with Sonsona's back against the ropes again, Vazquez landed a left hook to the body and followed it with a straight right that snapped Sonsona's head back. Next, Vazquez unleashed a left hook to the body that floored Sonsona, who went down after a delayed reaction to the punch. Sonsona could not beat the referee's ten count.

Vazquez is unbeaten, but more importantly, he established himself as one of the sport's most elite fighters. On the other hand, Sonsona discovered that jumping two weight classes at the very young age of nineteen proved costly. Then again, Sonsona faced a great reward with a victory.

Undercard Bouts

In his professional debut, McJoe Arroyo stopped Giovanni Rivera in the second round of a bantamweight bout. Arroyo, a southpaw, floored Rivera in the first round with a flush, straight left to the face. Then, Arroyo landed a questionable low blow, which resulted in Rivera receiving extra time to recover from the referee. However, Arroyo closed the show in round two when he landed a solid left to Rivera's head. The devastating punch sent Rivera back into the ropes before he hit the canvas face first.

In a cruiserweight bout, 6' 6" Carlos Negron scored a first round knockout over an overmatched Roy Ashworth. After flooring Ashworth earlier in the round, Negron connected with a sharp left hook to the head that put Ashworth down for the ten count. It was Negron's fifth 1st round knockout as he improved his record to 8-0, 6 KO's.

McWilliams Arroyo, twin brother of McJoe Arroyo, scored a destructive, first round knockout over Eliecer Sanchez. Arroyo connected with a hard right hand that stunned Sanchez. Then, Arroyo landed a right uppercut in close range. As Sanchez pulled back, Arroyo let go a crushing, straight right, which landed perfectly on Sanchez's chin. For approximately two minutes, Sanchez lay motionless on the canvas. However, Sanchez was helped to his stool and appeared okay. Both men were making their professional debut in the flyweight division.

Luis Ramos: The Next Great Lightweight

 

As an eight-year-old boy, Luis Ramos was on his way to church when he came across a building with bright, shining lights. After entering the building, Ramos realized it was a gym that offered a variety of sports such as soccer, basketball and boxing. Having a mother from Guatemala and a father from Mexico, Ramos' early passion was soccer. However, a new infatuation quickly developed after a lady told him the gym offered boxing.                    

"I didn't know they had boxing in there. No one ever boxed in my family," said Ramos. 

Ramos immediately fell in love with the sport once he saw kids hitting the punching bags. This moment marked the beginning to a career as a professional prizefighter.

Hector Lopez, who currently trains Ramos, noticed Ramos repeatedly coming to the gym and shadow boxing. After Lopez started training him, a close relationship evolved. Later, they won national tournaments together. Ramos, who fights southpaw and is naturally left handed, fought in 126 amateur bouts. Today, Ramos credits much of his success in the ring to Lopez.

"My trainer is my biggest strength in the ring," stated Ramos. "He puts in the hard work with me. Hector helps with my power, speed and angle movement. We work on mistakes and correct them."

Lopez also inspired the 21-year-old fighter outside the ring.

"Hector has been like a second dad to me; He taught me the value of real life," said Ramos.

Since turning professional in 2007, Ramos has compiled a record of 13-0, 7 KO's. He displays exceptional balance, and demonstrates a tremendous amount of patience when placing his punches. His maturity is exhibited by the way he sits down on his punches, which is something he constantly works on in the gym.

On February 25th, Ramos will be back in the ring at Club Nokia, Los Angeles, California, to face Walter Estrada in a six round bout. He started preparing for this fight in January. Ramos believes a fighter's most important element is training.

"Training is 100% everything," said Ramos. "If you are putting all your time into studying, running and sparring, you should not have any problems. It has made me a greater fighter in life."

In his last bout, Ramos executed a perfect game plan, scoring a one-sided, six round unanimous decision over Cristian Favela. Ramos worked behind his jab in the first two rounds. Next, he opened up his arsenal with an aggressive body attack.

Ramos acknowledged, "I study my opponents in the first round. Some people think I start slow, but I always take my time. It helps me adapt to different styles. After that, I look for openings or gaps to break my opponents down. Then, we make adjustments in between rounds."

"When I shoot the jab, my left hand kicks in fast," stated Ramos. "Knowing where to hit comes naturally for me. As I am fighting, I am thinking at the same time. Hector taught me how to land perfect combinations to the body. I hit him with very hard shots. He was tough and wouldn't go down. I tried to do different things every round. If the body was open, I would work downstairs and finish upstairs. I listened to my corner and everything went well. They have made me successful in life."

Ramos fought four times in 2009, and hopes to be just as active in 2010. His goals for 2010 are well defined.

"I want to keep doing what I am doing," said Ramos. "I am focused on competing and staying undefeated."

The lightweight division has many talented fighters including Edwin Valero, Juan Manuel Marquez, Rolando Reyes, Humberto Soto, Ali Funeka, Michael Katsidis and Joan Guzman. While it would be an accomplishment to face a top ten lightweight, Ramos is not looking that far ahead. He is taking things one step at a time.

"It would be great to fight for a minor title this year, but I don't want to look too far down the road yet," stated Ramos. 

Although he also admits, "I want to prove myself and compete at an elite level like Michael Jordan in basketball."

Luis Ramos is managed by Frank Espinoza, and is one of several talented boxers representing the Espinoza Boxing Club. His stablemates include Israel Vazquez, Abner Mares, Abraham Lopez, Ronny Rios, Manny "Suavecito" Roman, Jesus "Pollo" Hernandez and Carlos Molina, who Ramos fought as an amateur.

“How Do You McNugget?”

 

(Photo taken from Friday's Event in Los Angeles)

This event – one of three that happened at McDonald’s locations across the country – served as the kickoff for the “How Do You McNugget?” Sweepstakes, an online sweepstakes that will give one grand prize winner a chance to have their own golden moment: a trip for two to the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

Customers can log online to www.mcdonalds.com/howdoyoumcnugget and must correctly identify how Olympians and athletes at these local events “McNugget.” They can find the answers by watching Olympian videos online at www.mcdonalds.com/mcnuggets and following the #HowDoYouMcNugget? hashtag feed and event updates on Twitter. In the photo, Oscar De La Hoya is showing consumers how he "punches it and crunches it" for his McNuggets.

Ji-Hoon Kim Defeats Tyrone Harris TKO 5, Provodnikov Remains Unbeaten

In the main event, 23-year-old lightweight Ji-Hoon Kim (20-5, 17 KO's) stopped Tyrone Harris (24-6, 16 KO's) at 1:52 in round five. Harris jumped on Kim early in the first and second rounds, landing a series of straight lefts and right hooks. However, Kim weathered the storm, and hit Harris with clean, consecutive rights to the head in round four. Harris suffered swelling and a cut above his right eye. In the fifth round, Kim continued his assault on Harris, nailing the southpaw with a right uppercut and overhand right to the head. Then, Kim landed a left hook to the body that sent Harris to the canvas. Harris got back to his feet, but was met with a barrage of punches from Kim, while his back was against the ropes. Kim has now won his last twelve fights, eleven by knockout.

 Pictured: Ji-Hoon Kim

Ruslan Provodnikov improved to (15-0, 10 KO's) after scoring an eighth round stoppage over Javier Jauregui (53-17-2, 36 KO's). Provodnikov started strong, landing punishing body shots in the opening round. Both fighters exchanged blow-for-blow in an action packed bout, but Jauregui could not match the pace of the 26-year-old Russian. Provodnikov was relentless in his punch output, and kept charging Jauregui until he wore down. Jauregui, 36, was able to hit Provodnikov with some counter left hooks and right uppercuts, although Provodnikov absorbed the punches. Provodnikov displayed enormous strength for a light welterweight, and would be a handful for any future opponent.

In a light heavyweight bout, Maxim Vlasov (16-0, 7 KO's) scored a first round knockout over Julius Fogle (15-2, 10 KO's). Fogle could not beat the ten count after being struck with a hard, overhand right.

"Brick City" Brawl: Adamek Defeats Estrada

(Photo by Ed Mulholland - Main Events)

In front of a noisy crowd just over 10,100 people, Tomasz Adamek defeated Jason Estrada in close, tough battle at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.  All three official ringside judges scored the fight for Adamek. Steven Weisfeld scored the bout 115-113, while Joseph Pasquale scored it 116-112. On the other hand, judge Lawrence Layton scored the fight 118-110, which was truly an undeserved score. 

At the post fight press conference, Estrada voiced his frustration with the judges' scoring. "I can't go into people's hometown's anymore. Why do you have to knock him out? It's called boxing," Estrada said. Estrada also stated, "Everything he did, I let him do it."

Estrada fought very well in the first three rounds. He landed his right hand shots, and jabbed Adamek effectively. Adamek had trouble getting his punches off first, and suffered swelling under his right eye in round three. Estrada caught Adamek with numerous counter rights and left hooks. Estrada was clearly controlling the action.

However, Adamek stepped up the pace in the fourth round, landing a series of well-timed combinations. Estrada took the punches well, but his punch output dropped slightly. Adamek got hit with another counter left hook, although he landed the cleaner shots in the round. Adamek was not worried about taking shots from Estrada. "He doesn't have one knockout punch, so I was not too afraid about getting hit," Adamek stated.

In round five, Adamek landed a sharp left hook to Estrada's body. Adamek was throwing a lot of punches, but Estrada was slipping them and countering with left hooks. Toward the end of the round, Adamek landed consecutive overhand rights. After the fight, Adamek stated, "It was tough to hit Estrada in the head cleanly."

In the sixth and seventh rounds, Adamek connected with hard body shots.

As the fight moved into the later rounds, Estrada sustained an abrasion on his left cheek after being peppered with flush punches in round eight. Adamek continued to beat Estrada to the punch in round ten, connecting with a monstrous right hand.

Both men struck each other with solid body shots in the eleventh round. Adamek missed with a right, but landed a left hook to Estrada's head. 

In the twelfth round, Estrada backed Adamek into the corner when he nailed him with a left hook to the head. Adamek countered by unleashing a flurry of punches. Again, Estrada connected with a counter left hook. After that, Adamek used lateral movement until the final bell sounded. 

Many ringside observers thought the fight was extremely close. Adamek felt he won by a wide margin. "I thought I won this fight by maybe four or five points," Adamek said.

With the victory, Adamek improves to 40-1, 27 KO's, while Estrada falls to 16-3, 4 KO's.

Quillin Wins Again, Gets Past A Cautious Zuniga

In the co-main event, super middleweight Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin (21-0, 15 KO's) won a one-sided, ten round unanimous decision over Fernando Zuniga (28-10, 20 KO's) to remain unbeaten. Official scores were 98-92 and 100-90 twice. 

Quillin opened the first round landing a sharp, lead right hand. It was obvious Zuniga could not match his hand speed, and was hesitant to fire punches all fight. In the middle rounds, he tied up Quillin frequently. Quillin responded by ripping damaging shots in close range. In round six, Quillin nailed Zuniga with a brutal left hook to the body, and followed it with a blistering left hook to the head. At times, Zuniga caught Quillin with an occasional right hand. Although, Zuniga seemed content on fighting to survive rather than fighting to win. In the ninth round, Quillin connected with a solid right behind his jab. Later in the round, Quillin sent Zuniga back into the corner when he landed a lunging, right uppercut.

Quillin was forced to take the initiative more than in his previous fights because Zuniga failed to engage with him. As a result, Quillin had a difficult time finding his rhythm. Nevertheless, it was clear victory for Quillin, who had not fought since defeating Sam Hill (TKO 10) on September 17, 2008. 

Douglin Dominates Hunter

It was supposed to be a junior middleweight bout, but when Denis Douglin's opponent pulled out, he found himself fighting in a super middleweight clash against Eddie Hunter. The weight was not a factor, as Douglin dished out a volume of rock-solid punches throughout the entire fight to capture a six round unanimous decision. Official scores were 59-55 and 60-54 twice. 

Douglin started the first round by landing a straight, counter left. Hunter caught Douglin with some counter rights, but Douglin was unrelenting in his work rate. Douglin struck Hunter with a straight left and followed it with a solid right to the body.

In round two, Douglin sent Hunter into the corner when he connected with a flush left hand. Hunter started to fatigue because he could not keep up with Douglin's persistent pressure. Douglin hurt Hunter in round three when he landed a vicious right hook to the body. 

In the fourth round, Douglin stunned Hunter when he connected with a straight left. He landed precise counter punches, and was timing Hunter efficiently. Hunter's punches had lost their steam by the sixth round, and Douglin was still attacking at a fast pace. While Hunter was against the ropes, Douglin struck him in the body with a hard right hook. 

Douglin showed a sound, natural balance and great awareness in the ring. He walked through Hunter's shots, and landed crisp combinations the entire fight. If Douglin can absorb punches at super middleweight, imagine how impressive he will look when he squares off against opponents his own size again at 154 lbs.?

Denis Douglin improved to 7-0, 3 KO's., while Eddie Hunter falls to 3-2-1, 1 KO.

Majewski Overwhelms Pietrantonio

In a middleweight bout, Przemyslaw Majewski (12-0, 7 KO's) captured a six round unanimous decision over Anthony Pietrantonio (6-4, 5 KO's). All three official judges scored the bout 60-54.

Majewski displayed a stiff, left jab the entire bout. Pietrantonio had trouble matching the 30-year-old's power. As each round passed, Pietrantonio was absorbing lots of punishing blows. Pietrantonio slipped many shots, but lacked the power to be competitive in this fight. Rather than putting his punches together behind his jab, Majewski would jab and look to counter the slower Pietrantonio. Pietrantonio landed some clean punches, although Majewski was never hurt. On the other hand, Majewski hurt Pietrantonio several times with left hooks and right hands to the head. Majewski also slowed Pietrantonio to a great extent by inflicting a ferocious body attack.

Farrell Wins Action-Packed Battle

Jersey City's Patrick Farrell (5-0, 3 KO's) won his fifth consecutive bout Saturday night, defeating Jon Schneider (7-5-1, 5 KO's) by a four round unanimous decision. Official scores in the cruiserweight bout were 40-33 and 40-34 twice.

Farrell dropped Schneider with a flush right in the first round. After the knockdown, both men continued to slug it out, but Farrell was able to land the cleaner punches. Farrell timed Schneider with numerous right hands, and kept striking him with precise, counter left hooks. 

Farrell dropped Schneider again with a right hand in the third round. Schneider returned to his feet, and landed a hard, straight left to Farrell's head. From there, they exchanged blow-for-blow at a fast pace. In the fourth round, Farrell was in the corner as Schneider charged him. Then, Farrell hammered Schneider with more punishing shots to the face. Just as the bell rang to end the fight, Farrell landed another right hand to Schneider's head.

Ismayl Sillakh Crushes Larry Pryor

Ismayl Sillakh (10-0, 9 KO's) scored an exciting fourth round technical knockout over Larry Pryor (6-6, 4 KO's) in a light heavyweight bout. 

From the opening bell, Sillakh imposed his will on the lesser skilled, but courageous Pryor. Sillakh worked his jab, and fired blistering combinations that rarely missed. In round two, Pryor connected with a flush, counter left hook. However, Sillakh was still dictating the pace. After striking Pryor with a left hook, Sillakh sent him down with an overhand right to the head. Then, Sillakh swarmed Pryor with a combination. After that, Sillakh floored him again with a sharp right hand. Finally, Sillakh landed a devastating right hand - left hook combination that forced Pryor to take a knee. Referee Steve Smoger stopped the action at :47 seconds of round four.

Ali Thrashes Thompson

In a welterweight bout, highly talented Sadam Ali (5-0, 2 KO's) defeated a durable Jason Thompson (5-5-1, 4 KO's) by a four round unanimous decision. All three official judges scored the fight 40-36. 

Ali displayed tremendous coordination and ring generalship. Thompson pressed the action, but Ali fired numerous combinations behind his jab. Thompson could not sustain a consistent attack because of Ali's superior hand and foot speed. On occasion, Thompson caught Ali flush, but Ali showed a solid chin and dazzled the crowd with his blazing hand speed. Ali placed his punches perfectly. Thompson displayed incredible resilience, but ultimately did not have the skills to compete with the 21-year-old from Brooklyn, New York.

Weights From Prudential Center

Jason Estrada (237 lbs.), Tomasz Adamek (220.5 lbs.)

 

Peter Quillin (163.5 lbs.), Fernando Zuniga (164 lbs.)

 

Sadam Ali (145 lbs.), Jason Thompson (146 lbs.)

Denis Douglin (162 lbs.), Eddie Hunter (167 lbs.)

Patrick Farrell (202 lbs.), Jon Schneider (192 lbs.)

Przemyslaw Majewski (165 lbs. ), Anthony Pietrantonio (164 lbs.) 

Ismayl Sillakh (185.5 lbs.), Larry Pryor (188.5 lbs.)

Final Press Conference: Adamek vs. Estrada

It was a cold and snowy morning in New Jersey, but emotions were sizzling at Hudson Bread in North Bergen, where heavyweights Tomasz Adamek (39-1, 27 KO's) and Jason Estrada (16-2, 4 KO's) came face-to-face before their showdown February 6th at the Prudential Center.

Estrada, 29, has won nine of his last ten bouts and has never been knocked out. He compiled a tremendous amateur record of 261-14, and became the first boxer to win both the U.S. Nationals and U.S. Challenge three years (2001-2003) in a row. On the other hand, Adamek, 33, has won eight straight, and has never suffered a loss above the light heavyweight limit of 175 lbs.

Jason Estrada is promoted by Jimmy Burchfield's Classic Entertainment and Sports, and his father, Dr. Roland Estrada, manages and trains him.

"Estrada is fighting for the U.S.A., his classmates from the 2004 Olympics and future, past and present Olympians. No CES fighter comes to a fight as an opponent," Burchfield stated.

Estrada understands how important this fight is to his career.

Estrada said, "I have been fighting my whole life. This is the hardest I ever worked for any fight. You will have a new IBF champion."

Adamek appeared in great shape and wants to make a strong impression Saturday night.

"After this fight, everyone will know how good I can be," Adamek declared.

IBF advisor Larry Hazzard was also in attendance. Hazzard said, "These fights with Adamek are not only good for Newark, but for the entire state of New Jersey. I will be surprised if he does not become heavyweight champ in the near future."

In the co-main event, Brooklyn's undefeated super-middleweight (20-0, 15 KO's) Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin takes on Ecuador's Fernando Zuniga (28-9, 20 KO's). Quillin has not fought since stopping Sam Hill in 10 rounds on September 17th, 2008. He is eager to get back into the ring.

"This was one of the best training camps I've had. I got that extra push from Johnny Perez, who works with Floyd Mayweather Jr.," Quillin said.

What makes Quillin improve with each fight?

Quillin stated, "My mind set is more focused on what I want to do. I want the best out of my training.  Everybody is trying to beat me and I cannot give someone that opportunity."

Quillin's trainer, Colin Morgan, assessed training camp: "It was good. We got some sparring in away from New York. We already started training before we went to camp. Sometimes, I just want to settle him down a bit."

Quillin's manager, John Seip, discussed Peter's career status: "We definitely have some things on the burner. Some cable networks are definitely interested in getting a new face, and Peter's mentioned in those areas. We're looking at another fight in the Spring, late March or early April. It could be overseas, but leaning toward New York. Then, we'll take another step up. In the summer, maybe we could face a top three opponent."

"I don't like to get ahead of it. He's coming off a year and a half layoff. We like to go one fight at a time. If everything works out the way we anticipate, this could be a very big year for Peter. He's ready, mature and understands the magnitude of the overall big picture. You have to be mentally ready, as well as physically. It's a matter of adjustment. 'Team Chocolate' is excited about where we are right now. He's 26-years-old, but a young 26-year-old as far as boxing is concerned. He hasn't been through any real wars yet. He's had some injuries, but that's been pain to his hands. Unfortunately, he had an appendectomy before his last fight. He's had a rash of injuries that are part of an athlete's life. We weathered it, and we're coming out stronger. He's looking better than before the injuries. It's all good things."

John Seip's assessment on Quillin improving with each fight: "Maturity and experience. Training changes as his level gets higher. The landscape changes. You can't step back on the ladder. You have to keep going forward. We have a strategy and a game plan. We're in no rush. We're going to put him in there with very competitive fighters and see what happens."

Undercard

In a middleweight bout, Denis Douglin (6-0, 3 KO's) faces Eddie Hunter (3-1-1, 1 KO). After having problems at school, Denis started boxing at eight years old with his uncle training him. At 12 years old, his mom started to train him in their house. After moving to New Jersey, he could not find a coach, so his mom continued to train him. He's had over 90 amateur fights. Douglin has won his last two fights by unanimous decision.

Douglin stated, "I've been working real hard. I have been training for this fight since October. I had three fighters cancel on me. This is all just polishing up and staying in shape. We had a twelve week camp, so I'm motivated. The fight is at 160 lbs., but I wanted it at 154 lbs. I was 157 lbs., but I've been eating to get my weight back up. I've been fighting guys a lot bigger than me and it's affecting my knockout percentage. I want to stay at 154 lbs. for now."

In a four round cruiserweight bout, Patrick Farrell (4-0, 3 KO's), New Jersey, battles Jon Schneider (7-4-1, 5 KO's), New York. Farrell only had 12 amateur fights, but is quickly making his mark as a professional.

Farrell acknowledged, "Training camp went good. After seven weeks, I feel great. I'm looking forward to putting on a good show. Jon has a lot of experience, and is the first southpaw I am facing as a pro. I sparred about 45 rounds with light heavyweight Yathomas Riley (7-0, 5 KO's). I'm very prepared."

Also on the card: Ismayl Sillakh (9-0, 8 KO's), Ukraine, takes on Larry Pryor (6-5, 4 KO's) Houston, Texas, in a six round light heavyweight bout.

Przemyslaw Majewski (11-0, 7 KO's), Poland, faces Anthony Pietrantonio (6-3, 5 KO's), Ohio, in a six round super middleweight clash.

Sadam Ali (4-0, 2 KO's), New York,  squares off against Jason Thompson (5-4-1, 4 KO's), New York, in a four round junior welterweight match up.