Chris Robinson goes behind the scenes with junior middleweight prospects Glen Tapia and Abie Han before and after their thrilling war at the Texas Station in Las Vegas, Nevada. Check out the video for an all-access look at Tapia’s big victory that boosted him to 19-0 with 11 knockouts
Chris Robinson catches up with former four-division world champion Nonito Donaire at the Texas Station Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada as he speaks on possibly training with Robert Garcia in Oxnard, Calif. for his rematch with Vic Darchinyan while also calling out Abner Mares for a big fight in 2014
Chris Avalos, right, and Drian Francisco going to war in Las Vegas (Photo: Naoki Fukuda)
Ringside photos courtesy of Naoki Fukuda
On Friday night, July 12, junior featherweight prospect Chris Avalos picked up a crucial win for his career as he overcame a spirited effort from former interim title challenger Drian Francisco inside of the Texas Station Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
After ten rounds of action, two 97-93 scorecards and a 96-94 tally favored the 23-year old Avalos, who sees his record improve to 22-2 with 16 knockouts. Francisco falls to 24-2-1 with 19 stoppages.
Avalos admitted after his victory that he started slower than he would have liked, but he built momentum from the third round on and appeared to edge several of the late rounds. The action was brisk, but Avalos appeared to do more damage and he had success going to Francisco’s body.
With his only two losses being split-decision verdicts to San Diego’s Chris Martin and current IBF champion Jonathan Romero, Avalos is again upbeat about his career and claims to be ready for a title shot of his own.
In this latest ‘Camp Life’, we take a look at upcoming welterweight prospect Juan Heraldez (5-0,4 KO’s) as he discusses his foray into the sport of boxing ahead of his July 12th return to the ring at the Texas Station
Miguel Cotto, left, and Tim Bradley (Photos: Naoki Fukuda)
By Chris Robinson
On Saturday afternoon, former three-division world champion Miguel Cotto confirmed what had already been speculated, as the Puerto Rican star announced via his personal Twitter that he will be returning to HBO’s airwaves on October 5th.
Cotto also revealed that he will be working with Top Rank, his original promoter dating back to his pro debut, while trainer Freddie Roach will serve as a new face in his corner.
Definitely some big changes for Cotto, who saw his previous two contests, decision losses to Floyd Mayweather and Austin Trout, be co-promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, with the former being televised by Showtime.
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Miguel Cotto training in Big Bear, Calif. for his December 2012 clash with Austin Trout (Photo: Chris Robinson – www.HustleBoss.com
By Chris Robinson
Moments ago, three-division world champion Miguel Cotto (37-4, 30 KO’s) took to his personal Twitter account to inform his followers that he will indeed be making a return to HBO, the network that showcased his talents for several years. Cotto also anncouned that he will be back working with Top Rank, the promoter that led him to stardom, while trainer Freddie Roach will oversee his regimen.
Cotto had worked under savvy Cuban coach Pedro Diaz for the past three fights.
Cotto’s past two fights, decision losses to Floyd Mayweather and Austin Trout in 2012, had been co-promoted by Golden Boy Promotions. No official word on who Cotto will face but it seems likely that he will be squaring off with Chicago’s Carlos Molina (21-5-2, 6 KO’s).
I will be back in the ring on Oct 5th on @hboboxing with @trboxing and @freddieroach in my corner…
— Miguel A. Cotto (@RealMiguelCotto) July 6, 2013
By Chris Robinson
There has been a lot going on in the lives of former world title challenger Diego Magdaleno and former titlist Nonito Donaire.
On April 13th, Donaire would drop a unanimous decision to Cuban stylist Guillermo Rigondeaux inside of the Radio City Music Hall in New York. Despite a 10th round knockdown, Donaire had tremendous difficulty with Rigondeaux’s excellent defense and sharp counter-punching from his southpaw stance as he failed to get into an offensive rhythm.
Following his defeat, Donaire (31-2, 20 KO’s), would undergo surgery on his right shoulder and is focusing much of his attention on the upcoming birth of his first child with his wife Rachel.
Magdaleno (23-1, 9 KO’s) was last seen inside of the ropes on April 6th in Macau, China, as he dropped a hotly-contested 12-round split-decision loss to Puerto Rico’s Ramon ‘Rocky’ Martinez in his bid for the WBO junior lightweight championship. Magdaleno was dropped in the fourth round yet gave a solid account of himself.
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Go behind the scenes with junior featherweight prospect Jesse Magdaleno (14-0, 10 KO’s) as he trains inside of Barry’s Boxing in Las Vegas ahead of his June 8th clash with Henry Maldondado at the nearby Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Chris Robinson catches up with lightweight prospect Terence Crawford (19-0, 15 KO’s) inside of the Top Rank Gym in Las Vegas, Nevada as he trains for his clash with Breidis Prescott on the Brandon Rios-Mike Alvarado II undercard at the Mandalay Bay…
Chris Robinson catches up with Top Rank president Todd duBoef, as he discusses the future of WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley, looks at the ongoing feud between Top Rank and Golden Boy, and speaks on how the boxing landscape is always changing
Tim Bradley training in Indio, Calif. for his March 16th duel with Ruslan Provodnikov (Photo – Chris Farina / Top Rank)
By Chris Robinson
In late April of last year, I was able to spend a few days with one of the sport’s top prizefighters, Tim Bradley, as he prepared for his huge showdown with Manny Pacquiao.
Bradley’s camp in Indio, California offered up an intimate look at a man full of confidence and focus as he meticulously prepared the daunting challenge that awaited him.
Having always been a fighter who loves to impose his mental and physical will in the trenches, I was quick to notice just how much of an emphasis Tim was putting on his footwork, speed, and angles for that particular camp.
With the Pacquiao fight now behind him, as Bradley (29-1, 12 KO’s) would end up pulling out a controversial split-decision on June 9th inside of the MGM Grand, the man nicknamed ‘Desert Storm’ is now eyeing a match with Russia’s Ruslan Provodnikov (22-1, 15 KO’s).
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Junior featherweight champion Nonito Donaire (Photo: Naoki Fukuda)
By Chris Robinson
It had been a little while since I had touched base with longtime HBO analyst Larry Merchant to discuss the sweet science in depth.
No longer announcing fights for HBO and having recently celebrated his 82nd birthday, Merchant has been enjoying his newfound free time very well it seems. As one would guess, Merchant still has great enthusiasm for the boxing game and is always open to discussing anything related to the sport.
Calling up Merchant recently, we discussed some recent storylines, including WBC lightweight champion Adrien Broner’s bout with Gavin Rees tonight in Atlantic City, his thoughts on junior welterweight brute Lucas Matthysse, the issues with performance-enhancing drugs in the sport of boxing, and why he would have preferred to see junior featherweight titlist Nonito Donaire face Abner Mares instead of Guillermo Rigondeaux.
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Bob Arum in Las Vegas on Tuesday afternoon with his latest signee, Zou Shiming (Photo: Chris Robinson / HustleBoss.com)
By Chris Robinson
On Tuesday afternoon, I caught up with Top Rank CEO Bob Arum inside of the main lobby of the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
While Arum was anticipating the grand arrival of his latest signee, former two-time gold medalist Zou Shiming from China, he took a few moments to address the latest developments with another one of his star fighters, Nonito Donaire.
Donaire is presently eyeing an April return to the ring, with reports having either a clash with WBA junior featherweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux or a rematch with former titlist Vic Darchinyan on tap.
There has been plenty of confusion taking place in the camp of Rigondeaux, from his issues with Miami-based Caribe Promotions to the Cuban bringing in the services of trainer Pedro Diaz at the expense of his former coach Jorge Rubio.
“That will be decided by the end of the week,” Arum said when discussing the situation. “We have made an offer to Rigondeaux and we’re waiting to see if he accepts.”
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