Featherweight

Making his long overdue ring return, 2008 Olympian and elite featherweight contender Gary Russell Jr. scored a spectacular third round knockout over Roberto Castaneda. Fighting for only the second time in 2012, Russell will certainly be looking to move quickly after ending a frustrating spell of inactivity with this emphatic win.

Russell (21-0, 13 KO) was all business from the outset as he refused to touch gloves when Castaneda (20-3-1, 15 KO) extended his fist after the opening bell. Fighting with his feet firmly planted, Russell's speed and counter-punching ability were evident early. 

A Russell left hook knocked Castaneda off-balance in Round 1, and Russell punctuated his efforts with a four-punch combination to close the stanza. Round 2 produced a workman-like effort from Russell as he landed his southpaw jab at will, following the shot with well-placed straight left hands.

The sickening end came in Round 3 when Russell stalled Castaneda's advance with a left hand to the body. In the ensuing exchange, Russell landed an absolutely devastating right hook between Castaneda's wide shots.

Russell's punch separated Castaneda from his senses, and he fell backwards and remained on the canvas for an extended period. The way Castaneda's head snapped back was grotesque, and given the punch's spectacular nature, the KO will likely get Russell some honorable mention love for Knockout of the Year.

Possessing sublime talent, Russell's next fight, which will presumably be in early 2013, will surely involve a significant jump in class. Russell is on the cusp of challenging for a world title, and he appears ready for current featherweight champions Orlando Salido (WBO), Billy Dib (IBF), Chris John (WBA) and Daniel Ponce De Leon (WBC).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhLIYt1XXZo

This is not to say that Russell would necessarily dominate or even win all of these fights (John and Salido would be the toughest tests). Perhaps he will opt to fight a top contender or two before securing a title shot, but it is abundantly clear that Russell is ready for the big stage. 

On the undercard, five members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic boxing team made their pro debuts. Despite not winning a medal in the men's competition at the London Games, Showtime analyst Steve Farhood made it clear why following the professional progress of America's top amateur fighters is worthwhile: since 1976, 41% of U.S. Olympic boxers have become world champions.

Rau'shee Warren (1-0), who in 2012 became the first ever three-time U.S. Olympian, won a unanimous decision over Luis Rivera (1-3) in his quasi-professional debut (Warren had eight bouts in the semi-pro World Series of Boxing). Warren won via scores of 40-36, and 38-37 (twice).

Had it not been for an erroneously ruled knockdown against Warren in the final round, all the scores could have been shout-outs. Naturally, Warren was extremely poised, and he scored well with his southpaw right hook to both the head and body. In fact, Warren was able to land combinations at will, and he dictated the fight's tempo with genuine class.

Warren impressively worked Rivera's body in Round 3 and later hurt him with a series of unanswered, guard-splitting uppercuts. As a tremendously confident counter-puncher who possesses a fundamentally sound, professional style, Warren should progress quickly.

Dominic Breazeale (1-0, 1 KO), who represented the U.S. at super heavyweight, successfully continued his transition from college football quarterback to professional prizefighter. Breazeale scored a thudding first round knockout over Curtis Tate (4-4, 4 KO).

Breazeale scored early with a right to the body, and he was able to pressure the retreating Tate with an effective left jab. Measuring distance with his jab, Breazeale connected with a straight right hand that floored Tate. Complaining that he couldn't see, Tate seemingly prompted referee Pat Russell to stop the fight.

Ultimately, the contest did continue, but it only took another brief exchange for Breazeale to end the fight with another right hand. Expect Breazeale to be brought along slowly due to his inexperience; he remains an interesting heavyweight project.

New York-native Marcus Browne (1-0, 1 KO), who was America's Olympic entrant at light heavyweight, scored a third round TKO over Codale Ford (2-1). In a somewhat scrappy fight, Browne overcame Ford's awkward style, which included tackling Browne to the canvas in Round 2.

Overall, Browne is excellent looking prospect. At nearly 6'3", he has tremendous height for a light heavyweight, and he displayed solid fundamentals by working behind his southpaw jab and straight left hand. Browne consistently had Ford on his back foot and against the ropes.

Body punching ended up being the deciding factor as Browne scored well with both left and right hooks. A left to the body dropped Ford for the first time, though he rose after a count of eight. Browne immediately smothered Ford, crippling him with more body work as the referee intervened. Browne is an exciting prospect to follow.

Errol Spence Jr. (1-0, 1 KO), who by making it to the third round of the Olympic boxing tournament had the deepest run of any American, steadily gathered momentum during his debut and eventually scored a third round TKO over Jonathan Garcia (3-4, 1 KO).

Garcia expended a ton of energy early in Round 1 and had some success hitting Spence with right hands. That said, Spence was still getting the better of almost all the exchanges, opening up with combinations and body punching.

The night's theme to this point was body punching, and Spence consistently scored with brutal hooks to Garcia's midsection. Having hurt Garcia in Round 2, Spence continued to work well as the third stanza began. After backing up an exhausted Garcia, Spence connected with three consecutive uppercuts before scoring a knockdown with his right hand.

Spence, who is also a southpaw, followed up with another assault that had Garcia stumbling to the ropes where he covered up. As Spence unleashed another barrage, the referee promptly stopped the encounter. Spence is polished, keeps a tight guard and appears to have quality power; keep tabs on him.

Terrell Gausha (1-0, 1 KO), who also competed in the semi-pro World Series of Boxing and represented the U.S. at middleweight during the Olympics, scored a dominant second round TKO over Dustin Caplinger (2-4, 1 KO). Fighting over the middleweight limit, Gausha figures to carry his power down to 160 pounds for the first act of his professional career.

Caplinger seemed in survival mode from the outset and attempted to maul and wrestle Gausha throughout the fight. Gausha was eventually able to find his range, and, in keeping with the night's trend, scored heavy body shots.

Gausha dropped Caplinger in Round 1 with his right hand, which he followed up in Round 2 by scoring two additional knockdowns. The first one came via short right hand after leveling Caplinger with a brutal body assault, and the third knockdown—which prompted the ring-side doctor to stop the fight—came from a barrage of punches. Expect Gausha to be extremely explosive at middleweight.

Overall, all five Olympians made successful professional debuts, and their careers appear worth following with interest and excitement. To find out more about Warren, Breazeale, Browne, Spence and Gausha, check out this series of interviews by Lem Satterfield on RingTV.com. 

In a little over six weeks, Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez will face each other for the fourth time. The fight will be shown on HBO pay-per-view in the U.S. and will come with a price tag of $54.95 for the regular broadcast and $64.95 for HD. 

Many fans will complain that those are steep prices to pay for a fight that they have already seen three times, but that’s just the cost of PPV these days. 

I will be tuning in not so much for the main event—although I do believe it will be just as good as the previous matchups—but more for the undercard. 

While the undercard has yet to be announced by Top Rank, the word around boxing circles is that featherweight phenom Javier Fortuna will make his pay-per-view debut against Patrick Hyland for the vacant WBA interim featherweight title. 

Fortuna is not a known commodity outside of boxing circles, but all that will change on Dec. 8. 

Pablo Sarmiento, who is best known for his work with middleweight kingpin Sergio Martinez, trains the Dominican fighter who is now residing in Oxnard, Calif. 

In addition to be trained by Sarmiento, Fortuna is being advised by Sampson Lewkowicz, the man credited with bringing Pacquiao to the U.S., as well as a host of other foreign-born fighters, like Martinez and fellow Argentine Lucas Matthysse. 

The southpaw fighter packs devastating power in both fists, and although he tends to get a little wild when he has his opponent hurt, he is quite the accomplished boxer.  As an amateur, Fortuna won 397 of his 415 fights and numerous medals along the way. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bwtd31euF8

Since turning pro in early 2009, the former amateur standout has destroyed virtually every fighter put in front of him. Thus far, he has run up a record of 20-0 with 15 knockouts. 

In his first fight of 2012, Fortuna faced stiff competition in previously undefeated prospect Yuandale Evans (16-1, 12 KOs), who he beat by a vicious knockout in one round on ESPN Friday Night Fights in April. 

In July, Fortuna was once again seemingly matched against stiff competition when he faced former title challenger Cristobal Cruz (39-14-3, 23 KOs). However, Fortuna easily blasted out Cruz in two rounds. 

I have a feeling that Fortuna will once again score a spectacular knockout on Dec. 8 when he faces what should be, yet again, his toughest competition to date.

Even though the fight between Jhonny Gonzalez and Daniel Ponce De Leon is an undercard bout, it has the potential to be one of the better fights of the year.

The main event at the MGM Grand on Saturday is a showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Josesito Lopez. Considering Canelo is undefeated and recently beat legendary boxer Shane Mosley, the hype is understandable.

However, Gonzalez-De Leon should also bring plenty of excitement on this stacked night of boxing.

Where: MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV

When: September 15, 9 p.m. ET

Watch: SHOWTIME

Live Stream: Showtime Anytime (with Showtime subscription)

Jhonny Gonzalez's Keys to Victory

Gonzalez has been on a dominant streak of late, mostly due to his ability to get after his opponent hard and early.

The WBC featherweight champion has won 12 straight fights dating back to 2009, and 11 of them were decided by knockout. More impressively, seven of those knockouts came in the second round or earlier. 

He must keep the same strategy to keep the momentum going against his Mexican compatriot. This fight is scheduled to go 12 rounds, but Gonzalez has no reason to let it get that far. If he stays aggressive and lands some good punches early, he should be able to retain his title.

Daniel Ponce De Leon's Keys to Victory

Leading up to the fight, Ponce De Leon told Showtime (via ESPN): "Gonzalez is a very good fighter, but I have the experience and ability to beat him and take his title from him."

While the veteran has the advantage of added experience in most fights, Gonzalez has been a professional for five years longer and has competed in 14 more bouts. Therefore, he will need to use more than his craftiness to get through this match.

What makes things worse is that he is coming off two consecutive losses to Adrien Broner and Yuriorkis Gamboa. 

In order for Ponce De Leon to win this contest, he will need to stay within himself and use his strength and power punch that has worked so well in the past. The boxer has 34 career knockouts in his 41 wins. He will likely need to land a couple of big shots to knock down and eventually knock out the champ. 

What They're Saying

Jhonny Gonzalez has high hopes for this fight, and thinks the fans will not be disappointed.

He told Ryan Burton of Boxing Scene:

I think it will be a 'Fight of the Year' candidate. We are both very experienced fighters and have faced great fighters. I think it will be a great battle and I think it will for sure be the fight of the night.

While every boxer thinks highly of himself, fans should take notice of the respect he shows for his opponent. This certainly raises expectations, but the fight could definitely reach that lofty goal.

Prediction

Daniel Ponce De Leon is not as bad as he has been over the past couple of fights, but his luck is unlikely to turn around against Jhonny Gonzalez. Boxers usually do not lose two straight and then end up with a title of any kind.

Gonzalez has simply been on too good of a streak, and he can match Ponce De Leon's experience. He should be able to emerge victorious and retain his title.

Gonzalez wins via TKO in sixth round

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Juan Manuel Lopez was in charge and rambling, and no one was going to stop him. Not his trainer. Not his manager. Not his promoter. Not even boxing gotcha interviewer Jim Gray. Just minutes ago, Orlando Salido delivered a knockout blow that stopped Lopez in the 10th round of their March 10th rematch in defense of Salido’s WBO featherweight title.

An incoherent, babbling Lopez blamed referee Roberto Ramirez Sr. for the loss, telling Gray that Ramirez, and his son, Roberto Ramirez Jr. who officiated the Salido’s first TKO victory over Lopez in April 2011, had somehow delivered the telling blows that sent him crashing to the canvas.

Actually, “JuanMa” was not in charge of anything. Lopez accusations that Ramirez Sr. had gambling issues, and that was the real reason why he lost, could be attributed more to the dazed, hazy mind of a concussed fighter than anything else.

But the Lopez postfight interview is another glaring example that a concussed fighter, especially someone that suffered the kind of punishment Salido meted out against Lopez, should not be interviewed at all after a fight.

“I was dominating the fight, it was a tough fight,” a foggy Lopez told Gray through an interpreter. “The referee stopped the fight because had gambling problems. I was very conscious about the referee was
saying, and I was still able to continue. He hit me hard, but I was able to still continue. I was conscious and still able to fight.”

Gray, to his credit, gave Lopez a chance to rescind his comments.

He didn’t.

“I’m sorry for the fans the way this ended, but I still think the referee had other issues,” Lopez said.

Lopez’s reaction to the loss was reminiscent of Andre Dirrell’s response after his fight with Arthur Abraham during Showtime’s super middleweight “Super Six World Boxing Classic” tournament. And Dirrell won—getting the nod by disqualification over Abraham. But a sulking, disoriented Dirrell—during the postfight interview—didn’t realize he won. Abraham had nailed him with a shot to the chin while Dirrell was down on one knee, getting up from a slip.

So here is a simple unsolicited solution to the major networks that deal with fighters who suffer terrible knockout losses-Don’t interview them! Let them leave the ring and receive proper medical attention. It really is that simple.

Lopez was already in a netherworld by the time Gray climbed through the ropes and reached him.

What purpose does it serve to get that stupefied soundbite? You, the fight fan, will you miss it? Do you care that the concusses Lopez had to embarrass himself with the flimsy allegation the Ramirez family held ulterior motives for his loss? He made no sense and with damning allegations like that, which only created a possible bigger problem for himself with legal ramifications aimed back at him. Who needs that? Not the fighters.

The bottom line is these fighters need to be saved from themselves. Why not erase the issue with some homespun commonsense and the let kayoed fighter leave with his dignity intact?

It’s just a thought.

Joseph Santoliquito is a Contributor for Bleacher Report.

Reigning WBC bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire is set to face Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. of Puerto Rico in San Antonio, Texas on February 4.

Donaire is fresh from his victory over Omar Narvaez of Argentina last October 22 at the Madison Square Garden in New York, retaining his WBC and WBO bantamweight belts.

The Donaire vs. Vasquez fight will be in the undercard of the Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Vanes Martirosyan main event at the Alamodome.

According to ESPN's DanRafael, Donaire is leaving the bantamweight division to face Vazquez for the vacant featherweight title.

Vasquez is the son of of former world champion Wilfredo Vázquez. Vázquez debuted as a professional in 2006, against Octavious Davis in a fight that he won by knockout

The Puerto Rican slugger made a name for himself after he defeated Marvin Sonsona of the Philippines to win the WBO super bantamweight title in February last year.

Later in May, Vazquez lost to Mexico's Jorge Arce via knockout in the 12th round. Arce has since vacated the title and moved down to bantamweight.

The weekend boxing event is being staged by Top Rank Promotions with TV coverage by HBO Sports.

If there's any fighter that deserves the right to talk trash to Manny Pacquiao, it's Juan Manuel Marquez. While he hasn't knocked off Pacquiao in the duo's first two fights, he's fought Pac-Man in 24 rounds that couldn't possibly be any closer.

Pacquiao might be 1-0-1 in the two fights, but as far as I'm concerned, neither boxer has proven to be better than the other.

With that being said, don't expect another split decision in the third bout of this trilogy. Both boxers have too much determination and too much to prove for that to happen. 

Manny Pacquiao is working on his status of "Greatest Boxer of All Time." If he fails to knock down a 38-year-old Juan Manuel Marquez for a third straight time, do you really think he has a chance of earning that esteemed title?

No chance.

Now that's some motivation. With "Greatest Ever" on the line for Pac-Man, he's going to come out with a flurry that no man could counter.

He can't afford not to.

On the other side of the ring, Marquez has plenty to prove as well. No one thinks Dinamita has any chance in this fight. He's 38. He hasn't beaten Pacquiao in the first two fights, so what will be different this time? He's since lost to Floyd Mayweather.

There's no doubt Marquez will be listening to all the criticisms and using them as a way to motivate. Still, though, this is Manny Pacquiao. Both fighters are going to be extremely motivated for this bout, but Pac-Man strictly has too much on the line to risk letting the judges decide this one.

Pacquiao will finally shut Marquez up with a mid-round knockout. 

Manny Pacquiao is certain this is the last time he is going to fight Juan Manuel Marquez, because he will knock him out.

All of the talk from Marquez in this prefight hype has been about how he was robbed of victories and, true or not, Manny Pacquiao is taking the chatter personally.

While its usually a bad idea to take the talk before a fight personally, this is extra fuel for Pacman’s fire, and this will be the straw that ensures Manny KOs Marquez.

Pacquiao’s strength trainer Alex Ariza told USA Today:

I don't think I've seen him more focused, and I think it's because it's personal, for sure. When something is personal, it's a lot different. He knows that he has to make a statement in this one. With everyone having questions about the first two, he has to make sure in this one that there's no doubt. … We're going through sparring partners like you change underwear. I'm surprised that these guys are still coming back.

Manny Pacquiao has been accused of going too hard in his training for this fight, but that is nothing compared to how hard he will attack Marquez during their November 12 fight.

There were legitimate questions about the first two fights in the Marquez-Pacquiao feud, and Manny wants to end this fight via KO to show the world that there is no question that he is the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

The hope from the Pacman camp is that Marquez comes out aggressive and leaves himself open for some big hits from the quick hands of the Philippine star and ends up out cold on the mat.

Check back for more on the Boxing world as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s Boxing Page to get your fill of Boxing.

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During a promotion of the Yuriorkis Gamboa vs Daniel Ponce de Leon fight scheduled for September 10 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Arum talked about Gamboa's future fights.

Mentioning such talk about super fights as Lopez-Gamboa and even the speculated Donaire-Gamboa, Arum had this to say according to Boxing Scene:

"As far as I’m concerned, big, big fights for Gamboa down the road are the winner of Juan Manuel Lopez and Salido. I would hope to make that fight by early next year. And then, probably the biggest fight in the featherweight division would be with the up and coming bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire, who will be coming up to featherweight next year and that would be a big, big match."

While "Juanma" Lopez (30-1, 27 knockouts) has been a longtime Puerto Rican rival to Cuba's pride and joy Gamboa (20-0, 16 knockouts), this is the first Arum has officially stated of a potential matchup between Gamboa and Nonito Donaire (26-1, 18 knockouts).

Though Donaire is currently a bantamweight (118 lbs) and Gamboa is a featherweight (126 lbs), Arum seems confident Donaire can make the weight some time next year.

Arum also seems to hope he can cash in on the Lopez-Gamboa rivalry that started when both fighters were undefeated and has fizzled a bit since this past April when Lopez was knocked out by Orlando Salido (35-11-2, 23 knockouts).

A rematch between Salido and Lopez is in the works for early next year.

Meanwhile Gamboa must win his fight with the dangerous Ponce de Leon (41-3, 34 knockouts) and Donaire must win his October 22 fight against undefeated Omar Narvaez (35-0-2, 19 knockouts) to keep the hype for a superfight alive.

Former IBF and WBA Super Bantamweight Champion Celestino Caballero (34-4, 23 KO) dropped his second loss in a row after losing a close and controversial split decision to WBA World Featherweight Champion Jonathan Victor Barros (33-1-1, 18 KO) in Mendoza, Argentina on Saturday.

Caballero came out fast and knocked Barros down with a right hand halfway through Round 1.

It was an early type of lead that could or could not have hurt Caballero going through the rest of the fight. He began to throw fewer and fewer punches throughout the bout but still kept a steady pace, using his height and reach advantage.

Both boxers exchanged frequently throughout the first four rounds. Several warnings were given to Barros for using rough tactics whenever he clinched with his opponent. Both were hitting each other behind the head for the majority of the bout.

Caballero used his superior defense and head movement to avoid getting hit clean by the high volume of punches being thrown by Barros. He didn’t throw many in return, which may have swayed some of the rounds in Barros’ favor.

Caballero began to pick up the pace at the end of Round 8 and dropped Barros again in Round 9 with a hard right hand.

The final three rounds were close with lots of clinching and holding. Caballero, who is 5'11" tried to work from the clinch but had trouble landing effectively with his long arms. Barros bloodied his mouth in Round 11 and finished the fight with both boxers raising their hands.

In the end, one scorecard read 115-112 for Caballero while the other two read 114-112 and 116-110 for Barros. Barros' only career defeat is to WBA Super Featherweight Champion Yuriorkis Gamboa.

Some have been saying it was a hometown decision for Barros, and it appeared that way with the lopsided 116-110 scorecard.

A fight with two knockdowns shouldn’t be that far apart. That means they gave him every other round except the two rounds that he was knocked down in.

It will be interesting to see where Caballero goes from here. Not too long ago, he was being regarded as one of the best pound for pound boxers in the world.

Barros continues to make his claim as one of the best featherweights in the world with the victory over a highly touted opponent.

I had the fight scored 114-112 for Caballero. The Argentinian commentators had the fight scored 115-112 for Caballero.

The fight is available to watch on Youtube here.

While many are likely discussing the Carl Froch victory over Glen Johnson or the comeback of Mikkel Kessler, one of the incredible events over the weekend that will likely go unnoticed was the blazing performance from featherweight (126 lbs) contender Mikey Garcia (26-0, 22 KO's)

Garcia knocked out 25-year-old Rafael Guzman (28-3, 20 KO's) in four rounds.

This past March, Garcia gave Matt Remillard (23-1, 13 KO's) his first loss when his corner quit after 10 rounds in which Remillard was put down three times.

This begs the question: Is Garcia ready to do the same to undefeated Cuban phenomenon Yuriorkis Gamboa (20-0, 16 KO's)?

Gamboa headlined the fight card Garcia fought Remillard on and for good reason. Gamboa destroyed Jorge Solis, a former foe of pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao. Gamboa showed he was fast, powerful and as flashy as any boxer could be.

Garcia is a bit more technical, but he gets the job done just the same.

The Featherweight division needs a superfight between two undefeated fighters following the recent first loss of former Gamboa rival Juan Manuel Lopez (30-1, 27 KO's).

Lopez and Gamboa were constantly being pitted against one another in hypothetical fight conversation.

Top Rank Promotions handled both fighters, yet kept them apart in order to build up their respective fan bases to make their eventual coming together that much bigger.

Well, that plan died when Lopez lost to Orlando Salido (35-11-2, 23 KO's) in arguably the biggest upset of the year this past April.

The hole left from that loss, leaves a vacancy Garcia can fill. Salido was beaten thoroughly by Gamboa last fall.

Chris John (45-0-2, 22 KO's) is the only other undefeated great featherweight champion, but he is currently content to just fight stagnant competition in his homeland of Indonesia until he retires.

Garcia has applied himself well to the discipline of boxing. His trainer, brother Robert Garcia believes he is ready for Gamboa.

Robert Garcia trains WBA world lightweight (135 lbs) champion Brandon Rios (27-0-1, 20 KO's) and WBC and WBO world bantamweight (118 lbs) champion Nonito Donaire (26-1, 18 KO's).

Here is what Garcia had to say about his younger brother Mikey to examiner.com:

"Gamboa, without a doubt, is the best fighter in the featherweight division. That's why Mikey wants to fight him. Because he wants to prove that he is better than Gamboa, that he is the best out there. People might not think that he will be ready for Gamboa, because Gamboa is fast and strong and he's flashy. With his style, I know that he's not going to rush Mikey the way he's going to rush his other opponents. Because Mikey's going to sit back and catch him coming in."

If Garcia continues his winning ways, he could get the very wish he desires: a fight with Gamboa.