Ward, Green Talk up Title Fight
On June 19th at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, Andre Ward will defend his WBA Super Middleweight title for the first time against longtime contender Allan Green as part of Group Stage 2 of the Super Six World Boxing Classic. Ward and Green, a replacement in the Showtime-televised tournament for the departed Jermain Taylor, discussed their upcoming fight at a press conference held in Oakland on May 10th.
Green (29-1, 20 KOs) of Tulsa, Oklahoma decided against making the cross country trip from Fort Lauderdale, Florida where he is training to Oakland for the presser, but appeared on screen via a live stream. The normally self-aggrandizing Green was a bit more subdued than was expected, but he still exuded confidence in regards to the June bout. “Andre Ward is a good young fighter. Very skilled, very talented and I do respect his skills. But against a fighter like myself, he is going to have to bring a lot more to the table than he did against Mikkel Kessler,” said Green referring to Ward’s title-winning effort. “I did admire what he did to Kessler; no disrespect there, but at the same time, come June 19th I will be WBA Super Middleweight Champion.”
Ward (21-0, 13 KOs) of Oakland refused to talk down Green in anyway, and if anything built up the Tulsa native. “In my opinion, Allan Green is a beast,” said Ward. “That’s what I am preparing for. That’s what I am eating, sleeping and drinking. I’m getting ready to fight a monster, that’s how I am looking at it.”
Fighting in Oakland for the third time in a row, which accounts for all of the fights he has had in his hometown, Ward sounded eager to get back in front of his supportive fan base. “We have a date, June 19th. When you have a date and you got a dancing partner, there not much else that needs to be said. We have that, and I look forward to putting on another tremendous performance for the fans and, believe it or not, I am going for three points in this fight,” said Ward in reference to the points a knockout victory would earn him in the tournament.
Ward’s reserved, but well stated trainer Virgil Hunter was a bit more tongue-in-cheek in his assessment of the June 19th fight. “We understand what we have to do,” claimed Hunter. “It didn’t take much to go back to the drawing board because, basically, you are getting ready to fight a guy that specializes in knocking out people that have been knocked out before several times. So you have to ask yourself that when you are making your preparation. How do you prepare for a guy that specializes in knocking out people who have been knocked out? So it gets pretty simple after that.”
Tickets for the event, promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions, Antonio Leonard Productions and DiBella Entertainment, are available online at Ticketmaster.com.
Schlienz Out; Nave Lines up New Opponent for Friday
Paul Nave, three fights into his return to boxing, was tabbed to rematch journeyman Daniel Schlienz this Friday, June 4th at the Marin Center Exhibit Hall in San Rafael, California. Nave defeated Schlienz by decision back in November, and had hoped to improve upon that outing by taking the rematch in more decisive fashion. However, Schlienz was ruled out after suffering a stoppage defeat last month, which left Nave and his matchmakers looking for a new opponent to fill the slot.
Two weeks and three days before the fight, Nave received a phone call from Assistant Chief Athletic Inspector Che Guevara informing him that his opponent would not be approved by the California State Athletic Commission. Nave was especially frustrated with the ruling coming so close to fight date, and because he disagreed with the commission’s decision.
“Their job is whether, in their eyes, the fight is safe or not,” said Nave (18-8-2, 7 KOs) of San Anselmo, California. “Is it a mismatch or a blow out, or is it safe. I already fought the guy. There was no knockdowns and it went all six rounds. He is not suspended and I had a competitive fight with him, it was no blow out.”
At the time of our interview, local journeyman Dario Castillo (5-10-1) of Pittsburg, California was tabbed to replace Schlienz in the main event. Should Castillo be the guy, Nave will have some adjustments to make. “He is left handed I hear now, and I have probably not fought a left hander in twenty years and now I will be fighting a left handed kid,” said Nave about the southpaw Castillo. “My preparation is going pretty good, but it is just frustrating that I am not sure who I am fighting now.”
Nave is not only preparing for a fight, in which his company Liberty Boxing Enterprises is the promoter, but he is the co-producer and subject of the reality television series Paul Nave: Goin’ The Distance which airs on Sunday nights on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. The series has followed his family life and documented all the preparation it takes to promote and get ready for a fight. For many, this would be an impossible workload and balancing act. “It is a lot of work, and it is not easy,” admits Nave.
In the co-feature Friday night, Jaime Rodriguez (5-6-3, 2 KOs) of Reno, Nevada will fight Jose Alfredo Lugo (9-13-1, 5 KOs) of Richmond, California by way of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico in a six-round lightweight rematch. They originally met in a highly entertaining bout on the November undercard, with Rodriguez taking a contested six-round unanimous decision.
All-action super bantamweight Jonathan Alcantara (4-1-1) of Novato, California will take on Danny Pantoja (0-3-2) of Fairfield, California in a four-round bout. Alcantara is coming in off of an upset unanimous decision over former amateur standout David Clark on April 1st. Pantoja, who has been matched quite tough in his career, comes in off a decision loss to former National Golden Gloves Champion Efrain Esquivas on April 23rd.
Ending an eight-year layoff, Ulyses Caballero (4-0-1, 3 KOs) of San Pablo, California will take on former amateur standout Jason Montgomery (1-0-1) of San Leandro, California in a four-round light middleweight fight.
Also slated for the card is debuting Herman Bacho of Santa Rosa, California who will take on John Dunham (0-5-1) of Stockton, California in a four-round welterweight fight.
Tickets for the event, promoted by Liberty Boxing Enterprises, are available online at Ticketmaster.com.
Julaton Takes on Villalobos June 30th
Looking to rebound from a decision loss to Lisa Brown in March, Ana Julaton will return to the site of that recent defeat, the Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario, Canada to take on Maria Elena Villalobos on June 30th. Their fight, for the vacant WBO Super Bantamweight title, will be shown live nationwide in Canada on TSN.
Julaton (6-2-1, 1 KO) of Daly City, California is not only returning to the Casino Rama, but the June bout will mark the return of Freddie Roach to her corner. Julaton had been trained by either Nonito Donaire Sr. or Rick Noble before her past three fights. At a recent press conference Julaton sounded excited to return to Rama and rejoin Roach. “I am hoping to provide amazing boxing,” said Julaton. “I feel that is what the fans want. On June 30th that is what I provide, especially with Freddie back in the corner. He is the first guy I started out with for my first six professional fights. Just to be reunited with him. The chemistry is not only there, it is a lot stronger.”
Villalobos (6-3, 3 KOs) of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico is coming off of a failed attempt at the WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Marcela Acuna in Argentina in April. In that fight Villalobos went the full ten round distance, but lost a unanimous decision to perhaps the top fighter in the division.
Tickets for the event, promoted by Orion Sports Management, are available online at Ticketmaster.com.
Two Strong Showings at 2010 National Golden Gloves
Northern California was represented by two boxers at the 2010 National Golden Gloves in Little Rock, Arkansas last month. Eros Correa, a 108-pounder out of San Jose, California, and Eric Altamirano, a 132-pounder out of Concord, California, both advanced to the quarterfinals at the national tournament.
Correa, who fights out of the San Jose PAL Sports Center, notched a decision victory over David Carlton of Cincinnati, Ohio in the preliminary round. In the quarterfinals, Correa was defeated by Santos Vasquez of Sun Valley, Nevada by decision.
Altamirano, who trains at the Community Youth Center in Concord, scored two victories en route to the quarterfinals. In his first bout, Altamirano scored a decision win over Ryan Martin of Knoxville, Tennessee. The following day Altamirano scored a first round stoppage of Christopher Singleton of Gonzales, Louisiana. In the quarterfinals, Altamirano lost a decision to Duran Caferro of Helena, Montana.
Photo by Jan Sanders/Goossen Tutor Promotions
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com.
