The Truth: Errol Spence Jr.'s quest for Olympic glory

Errol "The Truth" Spence Jr.'s nickname was the result of the American boxer's winning a lot of fights in and out of the ring. Errol Spence Jr. started boxing at the age of 15 after figuring in brawls in his home state of Texas. Errol Spence, Jr. has won three straight U.S. amateur welterweight championships in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

And Errol Spence Jr. has a dream of being an Olympic champion. He wants that gold medal around his neck when the Games of the XXX Olympiad in London, England are over. In a recent Fox News interview, Errol Spence Jr. candidly admitted that "one of my dreams is getting the gold medal."

But Errol Spence Jr. also knows that the road to the podium is not easy. If experience is the best teacher, then his painful loss to bemedalled veteran Serik Sapiyev of Kazakhstan in the 2011 World Championships quarterfinals in Azerbaijan is a grim reminder of the hard work and sacrifices that he has to make if he wants to realize his golden dream.

That is why Errol Spence Jr. has trained and prepared hard for his chance of a lifetime in London. That is why prior to his trip to the Olympics he underwent an unorthodox regimen in his training that includes running the hot and humid streets of Texas at night, that usually led to him staying up as late or early as 1 a.m. just to get his workout.

Surely, at this stage of his career, the 22-year old Errol Spence Jr. is still a work in progress and whether he belongs in the elite circle of world amateur welterweights remains to be seen.

Errol Spence Jr.'s 16-10 victory over Ribeiro De Carvalho of Brazil in Day 2 of Olympic competition is nothing to what awaits him as he goes deeper into the competition wherein the likes of world champion Taras Shelestyuk of Ukraine, Egidijus Kavaliauskas of Lithuania and his erstwhile tormentor Serik Sapiyev are lurking.

Yes, whether Errol Spence Jr.'s preparation and determination for the biggest stage of his life is enough will be first put to the test in the round of 16 wherein his competition will be a lot tougher and meaner. And this time around the next roadblock to an Olympic gold is 2011 World Amateur bronze medalist Krishan Vikas of India.

And if he gets by the Indian fighter, it's still a mystery who he will meet in the next round. The road may be hard but if Errol Spence Jr. wants to have a shot at achieving his dream he needs to tough it up and fight the way that he is capable of fighting -- like a fearless gladiator in the lion's den.


Note: This article was previously published on Detroit Fight Sports Examiner

Olympic Boxing: Damien Hooper bombs and sinks Marcus Browne

Light heavyweight hopeful Marcus Browne was billed as one of the most talented and explosive fighters on the U.S. Olympic boxing team. Even celebrated boxing trainer Teddy Atlas, who works as a color commentator and analyst with NBC in the London Games, has high regard and is sold in Marcus Browne's skills and talent. Teddy Atlas knows Marcus Browne first-hand, as the young fighter is a constant fixture in one of the gyms that his foundation runs in Brooklyn, NY.

photo credit: Scott Heavey/Getty Images

Teddy Atlas, however, pointed out that Marcus Browne's inexperience and ambivalence inside the ring can become a hindrance in a close fight as he cautioned that the American boxer will need to be mentally prepared and focused if he wants to get by Damien Hooper of Australia, a veteran campaigner.

In his young boxing career, Marcus Browne has been exposed to have a Jekyll and Hyde personality inside the ring. Marcus Browne has shown that he can be very explosive at one moment, but disappear like a puff of smoke in the next. Marcus Browne has shown that he can be very aggressive like a bull but be passive later on. And for his first fight, Teddy Atlas wants the aggressive and explosive Marcus Browne to show up if he wants to advance to the next round.

Going into his fight with controversial Australian Damien Hooper, who has Aborigine roots (and caused a stir in London and at home after he entered the arena wearing a T-shirt bearing the colors of the Aboriginal flag which some people pointed out to be a 'political statement' that is a no-no since the Olympics is supposed to be apolitical), Marcus Browne was beaming with confidence.

The first round, which Marcus Browne won 3-2, was slow and lacking in action. Both fighters spent the round sizing up and feeling out each other's strengths and weaknesses. Both fighters threw more misses than hits.

The action in the second round picked up a little, with both fighters having their moments. Marcus Browne began using his footwork, circling and moving away from the action while Damien Hooper commenced to roughhouse the young American.

In the course of the fight, both fighters slipped and fell to the canvas as a result of trying to wrestle and outpower each other. But Damien Hooper's right hand was beginning to find its mark, while Marcus Browne was tentative and contented in trying to time and counter his opponent. The round ended in 3-3 score.

Marcus Damien was ahead a point 6-5, going into the fateful third and final round. However, Damien Hooper drew first blood by landing a huge right, but Marcus Browne countered with his own shots. The American began to dig into his opponent's body but the Australian took them well and started to use his experience and began to bully the young American that eventually took its toll.

Damien Hooper imposed his will on Marcus Browne as he bombed his way into the young American's porous defense. Hooper's attacks were so successful that Browne was given a mandatory 8 count by the referee at one point in the fight. Damien Hooper's dominance of the final canto gave him an 8-5 edge and won the match 13-11.

The story of the fight: Damien Hooper brought the highly-regarded, talented and 'unsinkable' Marcus Browne to deep waters and sank him with his tenacity. Thus, Damien Hooper will live on to fight another day while Marcus Hooper will go home and ponder his future while having the ignominious distinction as the first U.S. boxer to fall on the wayside in the XXX Olympiad.

In an interview after the fight, Marcus Browne has this to say about his downfall: "I didn't listen to my corner in the last round and I paid for it" while at the same time reiterating the lesson that he learned in the bout, which is to always "finish strong."

Note: This article was previously published on Detroit Fight Sports Examiner

ShoBox: Art Hovhannisyan edges Miguel Acosta via split decision to remain undefeated

Highly-regarded prospect Art Hovhannisyan (15-0-2, 8 KO) won via split decision (95-93, 95-93, 92-96) over former WBA lightweight titleholder Miguel Acosta (29-6-2, 23 KO) in ShoBox's lightweight bout held Friday night at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, CA.

The fight started with Art Hovhannisyan taking the fight to Miguel Acosta. The Armenian began unleashing his dreaded bombs but kept missing, while Miguel Acosta was circling and throwing counters but hitting nothing but air. Then with just less than 10 seconds left in the round, Hovhannisyan caught Acosta with a thunderous overhand right and dropped him like a log. Miguel Acosta, visibly dazed and on wobbly knees, managed to survive to fight another round and beyond.

The first round knockdown looked to be so devastating that many in the audience thought it would be a short night for Miguel Acosta, but the Venezuelan embarked on an escape and evasion mission and spent the entire three minutes of the second round trying to clear the cobwebs in his head, refusing to engage Art Hovhannisyan in a fight, but the Armenian fighter let him be.

In the next round or two, the audience saw Art Hovhannisyan's confident but ineffective swagger along with Miguel Acosta employing the pedal, as the former champion, wary of his opponent's power, began riding the bike, while the Armenian with the right hand at cocked and loaded, tried to unload the one haymaker that would matter, but to no avail.

The fight then went on into a lot of movements, albeit lacking in action: Miguel Acosta bobbing and weaving, throwing feints but not landing shots on Art Hovhannisyan, who seemed to be confused by the circling and head movements of his opponent, and eventually forgetting to take his own shots. There were a lot of posturings but no hard contacts.

But in the fifth round, Miguel Acosta snuck a right hand that buckled Art Hovhannisyan's knees, causing his right glove to touch the canvas. It was a flush knockdown with Hovhannisyan more embarrassed than hurt, as the referee gave him the mandatory count. The result was the rejuvenation of Miguel Acosta as he became more active and threw his jabs more frequently from then on.

The next round was the story of the right hands, with both fighters causing damage to each other, but Miguel Acosta had the edge, landing a chopping right hand on Art Hovhannisyan in one of the exchanges.
By the seventh round, Miguel Acosta was getting more confident with his ability to penetrate Art Hovhannisyan's defenses. The Venezuelan was quicker and landing punches, while Hovhannisyan was getting frustrated and one-dimensional, relying mostly on his right hand.

The 8th and 9th rounds showed Miguel Acosta evading Art Hovhannisyan's bombs while potshotting him with jabs and counters. His smarts frustrated Art Hovhannisyan as he brought the fight to the center of the ring, began to dart in and out, sniping him then getting out of range, and making himself an elusive target of his opponent's counters, visibly frustrating Art Hovhannisyan.

The 10th and final round saw both fighters engaging each other in a tit-for-tat, see-saw battle trying to make the last impressions on the judges' scorecards. The fight was good while it lasted and showed how Miguel Acosta was able to withstand his opponent's power and perform under constant pressure, while Art Hovhannisyan was ushered into a rude awakening that if he wanted to be a force to reckon with in the division, he needs to work and improve more on his skill set.

Miguel Acosta had the edge in jabs (60 of 401, 15% vs. 28 of 204, 14%) and total punches landed (124 of 594, 21% against 104 of 407, 26%) but lost in the power punches department. Art Hovhannisyan landed 76 of 203 (37%) power punches compared to Miguel Acosta's 64 out of 193 (33%), which in the eyes of the judges proved to be the difference in the fight.

The story behind the crossroads fight between a 30-year-old Armenian prospect and a former champion from Venezuela showed a battle between a one-dimensional fighter with tremendous power in his right hand and a wily and skillful veteran with average firepower in his fists.

The two fighters fought an intriguing but entertaining fight that could have made a case for either fighter winning the fight. In the end though, two of the three judges gave more weight on punching power than the pitty-pats to help Art Hovhannisyan keep his undefeated run in his quest for a world championship belt.

Miguel Acosta: "I was very sure I won. Although he caught me in the first round I landed more punches throughout the fight. I knew my conditioning was good and it would carry me though the fight. I felt I was robbed.''

Art Hovhannisyan: "I knew it was a little close, but I definitely thought I won. After I dropped him, I kept trying for the spectacular knockout. My corner was telling me between rounds to calm down, but I thought I had him for sure. He was lucky the bell rang when it did."

"I'm very happy to get the win. Acosta can still fight. I think my conditioning played a great role in my performance, but at this level you need to be good in all facets. This fight was definitely a great learning experience for me.''

Note: This article was previously published on Detroit Fight Sports Examiner
photo credit: Tom Casino/SHOWTIME

ShoBox: Gary Russel, Jr. destroys Christopher Perez in three rounds, remains undefeated

Christopher Perez, in his first fight outside of his native Mexico, succumbed to the speed and power of Gary Russell, Jr. in a 10 round featherweight bout in Saturday night's ShoBox: The New Generation at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, CA.

The Mexican has the heart and determination but lacks the talent and skills to match up with the American fighter who, after a feel-out first round, simply stepped on the gas and annihilated Perez in three rounds.

The carnage started with less than a minute left in the second round when Garry Russell, Jr. dropped Christopher Perez with a right counter to the chin. Perez, despite being dazed, beat the count. Russell then moved in for the kill but Perez survived the round.

But Gary Russell, Jr. would not be denied as he immediately jumped on Christopher Perez's right after the bell in round three. The American unleashed several power shots in succession: a straight left followed by a left-right combination to the kisser, then another left to the chin that sent Perez to the ropes.

Christopher Perez showed his will and determination as he was able to get up and tried to hold his own against Gary Russell, Jr. but to no avail, as he was on the receiving end of more lightning and powerful combinations and found himself on the seat of his pants once again with time down to 2:14 in the round.

Still, Christopher Perez was able to beat the count. The Mexican is surely a brave fighter but he is not in Gary Russell, Jr's class, and with 1:19 remaining, Perez was caught with another vicious right that dropped him to the canvas as the referee waived the fight off.

Christopher Perez (23-3, 14 KOs) has a big heart but he was simply outclassed by a technically superior fighter. Gary Russell, Jr's record improves and stays undefeated in 20 professional fights with 12 knockouts.

The short fight statistics showed that Gary Russell, Jr. dominated his opponent by landing 38 of 60 power shots for a 55% clip, while Christopher Perez just managed to land 16 of his 45 shots for a mediocre 36% rate.

Another short night and an impressive performance from the promising American fighter. So, we asked ourselves: What's next for Gary Russell, Jr.?

How about a step up in competition like a championship bout with IBF featherweight champion Billy Dib of Australia perhaps?


*photo credit: Tom Casino/SHOWTIME

The Cuban Crisis: Who's afraid of Erislandy Lara?

The talented light middleweight contender Erislandy Lara was an outstanding amateur fighter and a welterweight gold medalist at the 2005 World Amateur Championships who defected from Cuba in 2008 to seek the proverbial greener pasture as a prizefighter. In just a few years, he has amassed a solid record of 17-1-1 with 11 knockouts in 19 professional fights.

But despite being a gifted and very skilled boxer, Lara's boxing career has been on a rollercoaster ride. He remains outside of the equation when it comes to high-prized, high-stakes fights.

But Erislandy Lara has high hopes for his future and one of his aspirations is to land the potentially lucrative Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez fight.

To the fighters that he has faced, Erislandy Lara was a tough puzzle to break. To many boxing observers, Erislandy Lara remains an enigma. They lament the fact that consistency is not one of the Cuban fighter's strongest suits. In many instances, Lara seems contented to just get by with a so-so effort in a fight and then show up as the technical wizard that he is in the next one. But he can also be spectacular at times.

Let us just look back at his last three fights before his stay-active bout with Freddy Hernandez on ShoBox last Saturday night at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, CA.

Erislandy Lara got lucky to eke out a draw with Carlos Molina in a fight that he should have lost, and was unlucky to lose via majority decision in a fight that he should have won against Paul Williams after literally and figuratively punishing The Punisher for 12 rounds. (As a sidenote: The judges Don Givens, Hilton Whitaker II and Al Bennett who worked that night were eventually suspended by the New Jersey State Athletic Commission.)

After a lay-off of nine months, Lara got back on track with a first round demolition of Detroit's Ronald Hearns. It took Lara just 1 minute and 34 seconds to send the son of the legendary Motor City Cobra and recent Hall of Fame inductee Tommy 'Hitman' Hearns into the abyss of mediocrity.

In last Saturday's 10-round unanimous decision over Freddy Hernandez, Erislandy Lara proved once again why many marquee fighters fear him and promoters would not let their 'prized' fighters face him. He conducted a master class and simply outclassed the tough and durable veteran Freddy Hernandez with ease.
Erislandy Lara was very accurate and methodical with his punches, on numerous times he would land several combos punctuated by his power lefts on Fernandez, and when the Mexican fighter tried to retaliate, he found the Cuban an elusive target to hit.

Erislanday Lara gave Freddy Hernandez a lot of angles; he would dart in and out of the kill zone to Freddy Hernandez's consternation. The Mexican fighter was reduced to firing mostly  blanks and insignificant shots which leads more to his frustrations.

Erislandy Lara was on a different class and was in cruise control throughout the fight. He showed a full arsenal of punches and some defensive gems against a game fighter but with a very limited firepower.

Even when Erislandy Lara was deducted a point in round seven for a headbutt (yes, there were numerous headbutts and low blows from both fighters that the referee failed to call or deliberately ignored), there is no doubt that he was way ahead in the cards.

Erislandy Lara exhibited good ring generalship; he made Freddy Hernandez miss a lot of his shots while potshotting him with great success in return. Lara knows when to engage and disengage to his advantage. Even when Freddy Hernandez continued to pursue his elusive prey, Erislandy Lara was a picture of a confident and very relaxed fighter down the stretch. Freddy Hernandez was game but ineffective and on the receiving end of Lara's counters. The wide talent and skills disparity was on display with Lara being the stronger and more accurate puncher.

If Erislandy Lara was a painter, we can safely say that he made Freddy Hernandez's face his canvas. The post fight picture of the two fighters was a study in contrast; Lara's face was unmarked while Hernandez's face looked like a bad replica of a Picasso abstract.

Thus, it could be said that Erislandy Lara cruised to another victory to pad his resume last Saturday night. Freddy Hernandez gave the fight his all, but his all was not good enough. He was simply outfought, outhustled and outgunned by a superior fighter.

The decision was unanimous with Erislandy Lara winning by a wide margin on two judges' scorecards, 99-90 and 98-91. The other judge, David Denkin though needs to see his eye doctor as soon as possible as he scored the one-sided fight with a questionable 95-94 score.

Punch Statistics showed Erislandy Lara outlanding his foe by a huge margin. Lara landed 44% of his total punches (246 of 561) to Hernandez' woeful 18% (128 of 710). The power punches were in Lara's favor as well as he landed 64% (217 of 339) of his bombs compared to an anemic 23% (115 of 493) of Hernandez.

Another night, another fight in the life of the young Cuban fighter, but by pitching a shutout against a rugged veteran, we asked ourselves whether Erislandy Lara just shot himself in the foot by eliminating himself from the Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez sweepstakes.

If Oscar de la Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions are true to their pronouncements that they will give the fans the great fights that they crave, then a showdown between Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez and Erislandy Lara is a no-brainer.

But if after this fight, Erislandy Lara returns to toil under the radar and continue to fight nondescript fighters, then we can now say that Erislandy Lara's ring exploits act as both a blessing and a curse for his boxing career. Yes, Erislandy Lara is a prisoner of his talent and skills.

Free Erislandy Lara.


*photo credit: Tom Casino/SHOWTIME
*Note: This article was previously published on Detroit Fight Sports Examiner

Shobox: Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage spanks Spinks anew, barks at Canelo

Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage, Detroit's 39-year old IBF junior middleweight champion, retained his crown last Saturday night against familiar foe, Cory Spinks, the same fighter he dethroned via 5th round TKO about two years ago in St. Louis, MO.

This time around, the so-called rematch between the two old protagonists at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, CA airing via Showtime's ShoBox: The Next Generation franchise followed almost the same script as the last time these two fighters met in St. Louis, albeit this time Cory Spinks lasted two more rounds longer than their first fight.

Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage's magical night began with less than a minute to go in the first round when he suddenly unleashed a powerful overhand right to the face of Cory Spinks, sending the game challenger crashing to the canvas.

But Cory Spinks was able to get up, and desperately grabbed Bundrage for survival, an act that led to both fighters falling to the ground. It was an omen of things to come as the two fighters turned their championship duel into a rough and tumble, one with neither fighter giving an inch or so it seems.

The fight was both beautiful and ugly as both fighters began to grab and hold, clinching and sneaking punches in close quarters, trying to impose their will on each other. Spinks, the bigger guy, was keen on roughing up the smaller Bundrage, but the Detroit fighter was game enough to play the game that his opponent was playing as he began to sneak an uppercut or two in between hugs and clinches.

By the third round, Cory Spinks' right eye began to swell, a recurrent target of Bundrage's active left jabs while Spinks tried to take his fight to Bundrage's body. Still, Cornelius' right bombs were landing on target, with Spinks looking helpless in evading them.

The fight went on its usual phase with Cory Spinks hugging, holding and even wrestling Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage for control, but the Kronk fighter also gave his opponent a dose of his own medicine. 

As the fight wore on, the fighters' conditioning was being tested; both fighters are showing signs of exhaustion, breathing heavily through their mouths while throwing blows few and far between, until Bundrage suddenly connected with a chopping right to the face that again buckled Spinks' legs in round 6. Despite Cory Spinks' desperate attempt to counter his impending doom by trying to dig deep into Bundrage's body, from that time on, the outcome was slowly but surely in Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage's favor.

The seventh round proved to be Cory Spinks' downfall as another powerful right hand sent him to the canvas. Showing his heart, the fighter from St. Louis got up and desperately tried to grab his opponent once more, but he ate another powerful right that sent him on the seat of his pants again with time down to 1:54.

It was like a fast-paced action movie from then on as Cory Spinks tried several evasive maneuvers to delay the inevitable -- slips, holds, backtracks and grabs -- but Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage would have none of it as he continued to move and unleashed a barrage of punches (got away with a few low blows) at his hapless opponent.

And with 27 seconds left in the round, Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage finally caught Cory Spinks with his patented right hand bomb that finally crumbled not only Spinks' body, but also his will to fight. Down on all fours, the referee counted Cory Spinks out as Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage went down on his knees, barked and celebrated his victory, improving his record to 32-4-0-1 with 19 knockouts.

Fight statistics showed that en route to the seventh round knockout,  Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage outlanded Cory Spinks 32% (97 0f 301) to 30% (75 of 247) of total punches. While Spinks has a negligible margin in jabs 27% (35 of 132) to 19% (31 of 160), Bundrage connected more power punches 47% (66 of 141) to 35% (40 of 115) which was really the story of the championship fight.

There is no question in many boxing observers' mind that Cory Spinks (39-7, 11 KOs), after a long career, should call it a day. But like many fighters before him who refused to accept the call of father time, he was in denial: "I'm not goin' to stop my career, I'm better than that and I know that, it's just his night tonight, I take my hat off to him."

Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage proved that despite his age and the long lay-off, he is still capable of giving us a good fight on any given night. Bundrage is a rugged, aggressive, scrappy and unorthodox fighter who barks his way around the ring. He will always be a handful to any fighter out there, Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez included.

In the post-fight interview, IBF junior middleweight champion Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage barks at WBC light middleweight champion Saul 'Canelo Alvarez to take notice: "The dog is coming, arf arf!"

But only if Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage's handlers will not put his boxing career on the cold cage again.

Note: This article was previously published on Detroit Fight Sporst Examiner.