Sunday, October 8, 2017

RIP Terry Downes

Former World Middleweight Champion, Terry Downes, died on Friday, October 6th in London, England. Britain's oldest living world champion was 81 years old and died peacefully in his sleep. Downes, who was known as the "Paddington Express", was born in Paddington, London on May 9, 1936.

Downes fought the top middleweights of his day including Dick Tiger (1957), John McCormack (1959), Joey Giardello (1960), Paul Pender (1961 x2, 1962), and Sugar Ray Robinson (1962). He captured the World Middleweight Title on July 11, 1961 with a victory over Paul Pender at Wembley in London. Downes retired from boxing following his November 30, 1964 defeat to Willie Pastrano.

Following his retirement from boxing, Downes acted in several films between 1965 and 1990. His biggest role was in Roman Polanski's 1967 film, The Fearless Vampire Killers.

RIP Terry Downes. 

Terry Downes' BoxRec Page 




Friday, October 6, 2017

A New Division in Boxing?

Miguel Rivera of BoxingScene.com reported this morning that the WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman is exploring the idea of creating a new and 18th boxing division, by splitting the current heavyweight division into a heavyweight and super heavyweight division. This is the latest in a series of announcements that have come out of the sanctioning body's 55th annual convention (9/28-10/7) in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Rivera wrote in his article:

Sulaiman explained that the new weight class would be created above the cruiserweight limit of 200-pounds, but where it would end and where the super heavyweight limit would begin is still very far away from being determined.

What do YOU think about the possibility of a new division in boxing? Will a new super heavyweight division open the door for some of the "bigger boys" of boxing to capture glory in a division where smaller heavyweights have found much success? Share your thoughts with us on the blog and Facebook!

On a side note, as I wrote this post, all I could think about was Eric "Butterbean" Esch (77-10-4, 58 KOs) knocking out Johnny Knoxville (0-1... J/K!) in the first Jackass movie...




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Retired Professional Boxer Escapes Drowning Thanks to Good Samaritan

Former professional boxer, Dustin "The White Tiger" Fleischer, recently avoided a watery death off of Long Branch, NJ thanks to the actions of a good Samaritan.

The Asbury Park Press, a Jersey Shore based newspaper, reported that the retired, undefeated junior welterweight was body surfing on Friday, September 22nd when he found himself about 30 yards out from shore and caught in a rip current. The exhausted 28-year-old, who was swimming near Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park, attempted to swim parallel with the shore for 15 minutes. His efforts to get back to shore began to become futile just before he was rescued by an unidentified man. Fleischer hopes to track the man down to formally offer his thanks for saving his life.

Fleischer, a Monmouth Beach native, was a talented amateur boxer, who fought professionally from 2015 to 2016. Over the course of his professional career, he compiled an impressive record of six wins and zero defeats, with five of these wins coming by way of knockout. His final fight was a unanimous decision victory over Lionel Jimenez (3-19-1, 3 KOs) on January 16, 2016. I had the opportunity to watch Fleischer knockout Ira Frank (2-1, 2 KOs) at Veteran's Memorial Park in Beach Haven, NJ on September 26, 2015. Fleischer officially announced his retirement from boxing in May of this year on his Facebook fan page.

For more information on Fleischer and the good Samaritan, please check out the recent Asbury Park Press article.


MW

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Thursday, October 5, 2017

Wilder vs. Stiverne II

A replacement opponent for Deontay Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs) has been announced by Showtime... Haitian Canadian boxer, Bermane Stiverne (25-2-1, 21 KOs), will challenge Wilder for his WBC World Heavyweight Title on November 4th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Stiverne replaces Cuban heavyweight, Luis Ortiz (27-0, 23 KOs), who recently failed his third drug test. This will be the second time that Wilder and Stiverne meet in the ring as professionals. The first matchup took place on January 17, 2015 in Las Vegas, a bout that Wilder won by unanimous decision. Stiverne was Wilder's first opponent to date who he was unable to defeat by knockout.

Stay tuned to The Weigh-In Boxing Blog and Podcast for more information on this world heavyweight title fight!




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WBC Orders Mikey Garcia vs. Jorge Linares Title Fight

The WBC has been busy at their annual conference in Baku, Azerbaijan!

The sanctioning body recently ordered Mikey Garcia (37-0, 30 KOs) to defend his WBC World Lightweight Title against Jorge Linares (43-3, 27 KOs), who currently holds the WBC Diamond Lightweight Champion. Garcia most recently defeated Adrien Broner (33-3, 24 KOs) by unanimous decision in Brooklyn in July. Linares is coming off of a September 23rd split decision victory over Luke Campbell (17-2, 14 KOs) for the WBA World Lightweight Title in Inglewood, CA.

The two men will meet in the ring in a yet to be determined date in 2018.

Stay tuned to The Weigh-In Boxing Blog and Podcast for more information on this lightweight title fight!



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Wednesday, October 4, 2017

WBC Orders GGG vs. Canelo Rematch

The WBC ordered a Gennady "GGG" Golovkin (37-0-1, 33 KOs), the WBC World Middleweight Champion, and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs) rematch on Monday. This announcement was made during the sanctioning body's 55th annual convention (9/28-10/7) in Baku, Azerbaijan. The announcement came within weeks after the two men fought to a controversial split decision draw at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on September 16th. Prior to the WBC's recent announcement, both camps had already been in discussion for a rematch of the "Fight of the Year" candidate matchup. Both camps are considering a potential Cinco de Mayo rematch in 2018, a fight that seems bound to be part two of a trilogy between the two middleweights.

Stay tuned to The Weigh-In Boxing Blog and Podcast for more information on this mega-fight rematch.



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Joe Louis and Arlington National Cemetery

Recently, I had to the opportunity to visit Arlington National Cemetery while visiting our nation's capital for work. Arlington is the final resting place for thousands of military veterans ranging from the American Civil War to modern times. The cemetery is also the final resting place to one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all-time and veteran, Joe Louis.

While many of you are aware of Joe's legendary boxing career, some of you may not be aware that Joe served our nation during World War II in the United States Army. Louis, held the World Heavyweight Title from 1937 to 1949, served in the Army from 1942 to 1945. While in the Army, Joe primarily fought exhibition bouts to raise the morale of his fellow troops. As a member of the Special Services Division, Louis entertained troops in the United States and Europe. He was promoted to Technical Sergeant prior to leaving the service, and was awarded the Legion of Merit, an award reserved for meritorious military service, for his contributions to increasing the morale of troops during the war effort.

Following his military service, Louis returned to the ring to fight and defeat Billy Conn, Tom Mauriello, and Jersey Joe Walcott (twice). During this time, Louis found himself significantly in debt to the IRS. His retirement from the ring in 1949, was reversed a little over a year later when he was forced to return to the ring to pay off growing tax debt and penalties. He then fought a series of opponents including Ezzard Charles, Lee Savold, Jimmy Bivins, and Rocky Marciano. Louis suffered defeats to both Charles and Marciano before hanging up the gloves for good in 1951, following his TKO loss to Marciano.

Louis continued to suffer from financial problems following his retirement from boxing, which would haunt him until his death. The man who had been so generous with his money and time was forced to work a series of odd jobs, which included appearances on television shows, professional wrestling, and work as a greeter in a Las Vegas hotel. Louis also received financial support from his past rival for the World Heavyweight Title, Max Schmeling, and mobster, Frank Lucas.

Louis died of cardiac arrest on April 12, 1981 in Paradise, Nevada. President Ronald Reagan waived the eligibility rules for burial to allow him to be interned at Arlington National Cemetery. Supporters and friends of the Hall of Fame fighter, including Max Schmeling, paid for his funeral expenses. There he was buried with full military honors on April 21st.

If you visit Arlington, you can find the grave of the great, Joe Louis at section 7A, grave 177 in the cemetery.








MW

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

John DiSanto of the Briscoe Awards and Philly Boxing History.com Interview Part II

In the second installment of my interview with John DiSanto of the Briscoe Awards and Philly Boxing History.com, we discussed this year's Briscoe Award recipients.  

The Briscoe Awards is an annual award ceremony that honors the best of Philadelphia boxing from the previous year. "The Briscoe Awards are named in honor of legendary Philly middleweight Bennie Briscoe and the trophies given away – the Briscoe Statue and the Briscoe Medal – all bear the deceased icon’s likeness.  The event brings together the local boxing community, including the award winners, their families, past and present boxers, fight fans, other boxing people, and general sports fans."

The Briscoe Awards will be held on October 15, 2017 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM at XFINITY Live in Philadelphia.

Check out Part II of our Bonus Round interview on both SoundCloud and iTunes:



For more information on this year's Briscoe Awards, check out our recent posts on the event:



You can also contact John DiSanto at 609-377-6413 for tickets and more information on how to support this great event!

For more information on John DiSanto and Philly Boxing History.com, check out the following links:


Philly Boxing History.com Twitter - @phillyboxing

John DiSanto Twitter - @johndisanto 






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Monday, October 2, 2017

Dustin's Corner: Jon “Bones” Jones Popped Hot and the World has Lost All Meaning

Do you hear me knocking? Well, let me in! Finally! The People’s Red Head has come back to The Weigh-In!

We are breaking news people! Jon Jones failed a drug test after defeating Daniel Cormier at UFC 214. This news has shocked the MMA world. Reactions to Jones failed test results are all over the map. No one knows what to believe anymore. The next thing we will be told is that Lance Armstrong was juicing during his Tour de France domination. To think Jon “Bones” Jones would cheat is like finding out Hulk Hogan was juicing, brother. I refuse to even discuss whether “Sly” Stallone was on something during the Rocky era.

For those living under a rock, Mr. Jones has been a dominant force in the UFC. He was arguably the pound-for-pound, scariest man on the planet. However, the tests results following his performance at UFC 214 tested positive for some sort of banned substance. It was confirmed that cocaine was not in his system, but in the words of Matthew McConaughey, it would be a lot cooler if it was. Cocaine is something we could wrap our heads around. Mr. Jones has constantly denied steroid use during the course of his career.

Due to Jon’s history of substance abuse, the result of his recent drug test could lead to a suspension of four years. He is in his prime, and a four-year suspension would essentially be a career ender. His options would be limited to fighting somewhere overseas where the testing is less than current. This is a polite way of saying he would be reduced to fighting in the wild west of combat sports where competitors enter the ring with syringes dangling from their buttocks.

As a huge fan of Mr. Jones I feel it is critical to remind everyone that not all the facts are in. All we know is that Jon had an A and B failed sample that I believe was taken prior to UFC 214. Mr. Jones has failed in the past due to some sort of tainted supplement and I am hopeful that this is the issue in this matter. Has anyone ever seen the list of banned substance out on the USADA website? The list can be found at:  https://www.usada.org/substances/prohibited-list/athlete-guide-2017-prohibited-list/. The last list I saw of this magnitude was everything my ex wanted me to change about myself... Trust me, that list had USADA beat!

The Jones' camp has been very quiet. Everyone believes this is because he is guilty, but it is most likely due to the fact that the investigation is ongoing. It is important to remember that not all of the facts are in. I am pulling for Mr. Jones. I could not imagine MMA without Mr. Jones. Outside of Conor, Jones is the biggest name in the sport.

Another important factor that has gone mostly unreported is the impact this result has had on Daniel Cormier. Cormier has been a consummate professional and ambassador of MMA. Cormier dominates the sport with the exception of fighting against Jones. Fans continue to boo Cormier who may very well be the best example of a role model in all of combat sports. It is a true shame. Cormier is an inspiration to us all.

As the Jones' results continue to unfold, it will be more than interesting. Here at The Weigh-In Boxing Blog and Podcast, we will keep you posted as the information becomes available. Our thoughts go out to Mr. Jones and we wish Daniel Cormier continued success.

People’s Red Head Out!

*Special thanks to USADA.org and the great one, Chael Sonnen, for the some of the information contained within this article.



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Sunday, October 1, 2017

Boxing Scribe, Luis Cortes on the State of the Game

Boxing writer, Luis Cortes, recently joined me for a Bonus Round interview at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. Luis and I discussed a number of current topics in the world of boxing, including the recent Saul "Canelo" Alvarez vs. Gennady "GGG" Golovkin pay-per-view fight.

Check out our Bonus Round interview on both SoundCloud and iTunes:

Bonus Round - Boxing Scribe Luis Cortes on the State of the Game on SoundCloud

Boxing Scribe, Luis Cortes on the State of the Game on iTunes

You can check out Luis's boxing articles on the following websites:

The Sweet Science

Undisputed Champion Network


MW

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