ShoBox: Do not hate on J'Leon Love

In the main event of Friday night’s ShoBox: The New Generation at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York, Inkster’s J’Leon Love (17-0-1, 10 KOs) stopped the overmatched but pesky Vladine Biosse (16-2-2, 7 KOs) in the final round of the 10-round super middleweight bout.

Vladine Biosse, who played football for the University of Rhode Island in college, was never in the fight, as the talented and skillful J’Leon Love kept him at bay with his stiff jabs, good footwork and well-timed combinations for most of the night.

The only significant thing that Biosse did to Love was when he was able to inflict a cut above the latter’s left eye courtesy of a headbutt in the fourth round. Otherwise, it was a one-sided affair in which the outcome was never in doubt. Another win, another successful outing for the young fighter being groomed for bigger things by The Money Team.

Love cut, bloodied and punished his opponent all night with shots coming from all angles, and the game Biosse took them all. It was a picture of contradiction as Love had all the talent and skill but Biosse had all the heart and determination. Biosse ate all the leather that Love could give, but still did not quit. Biosse withstood Love’s onslaught for 9 full rounds and even up to those fateful last minutes of the 10th, or so we thought.

That is why when the referee Benjy Esteves finally decided to end the fight with more or less a minute and a half remaining in the 10th and final round to give J’Leon Love the TKO victory, many fans were dismayed, since although Vladine Biosse was cowering and cornered on the ropes and J’Leon Love was teeing-off, the shots were not landing solidly and were in fact deflected by Vladine Biosse’s glove and movements.

As one of my friends put it, “C’mon, give the man a break. He lasted this long; let him finish the fight on his feet.”

“They just want to put a TKO on his record,” added another. Sometimes this writer found it amusing when people would throw in the ‘conspiracy angle’ on things that did not suit their tastes or beliefs.

The ShoStats showed J’Leon Love’s overwhelming dominance over the hapless Vladine Biosse by outlanding him 263 to 99 in total punches, with a 224 to 85 edge in power punches.

In pummeling Vladine Biosse in lopsided fashion, J’Leon Love showed us why he is considered to be a future world champion and highly regarded by no less than the great Floyd Mayweather, Jr., as shown by the pre-fight brotherly hug and whispers that the pound-for-pound king gave his fellow Michigander.

Still, to some boxing observers, J’Leon Love’s victory left something to be desired. Yes, he was dominant and showed a lot of weapons in his arsenal, yet people were left wondering that there was something missing in his performance. Yes, all the essential things were there -- movement, accuracy, hand speed and good defense -- but

people want to see in J’Leon Love the spark, the fire and the ability to destroy an opponent, especially if that opponent is a fighter like Vladine Biosse who is not in his league.

Vladine Biosse, in their eyes, had no business to trade gloves with J’Leon Love in the first place, and him lasting that long in the ring was an indictment on Love’s ability as a fighter rather than his opponent’s durability.

As for me, J’Leon Love’s inability to finish off Vladine Biosse early was the only element that was missing in a rather impressive performance in my book. And this writer can live with that small bump at this point of J’Leon Love’s career.

But if J’Leon Love wants to be a bankable star in the future, he needs to elevate his game more. He needs to start fighting and destroying more credible opponents rather than feasting on journeymen and patsies.

How about a rematch with Gabriel Rosado for a start?

Note: This article was first 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 Russell, 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 published on Detroit Fight Sports Examiner

Detroit's Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage back in action versus Cory Spinks tonight

After toiling under the radar for years, Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage (31-4-0-1, 18 KO) proved the old adage, "every dog has his day" when he seized the IBF light middleweight diadem via fifth round TKO of erstwhile champion Cory Spinks (39-6, 11 KO) on August 7, 2010 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO.

With the belt in hand, Bundrage was hoping to become a factor in the light middleweight division, which would then lead into a fight with the big boxing names out there and the corresponding big purses that go with them for the Detroit native.

But alas, for whatever reasons and circumstances beyond his control, the unthinkable happened. Instead of unleashing the beast, the dog was eventually caged and Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage's career was put in the freezer. If you ask me, this is no way to treat a champion who earned his belt the hard and honest way.

For months, Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage barked and barked but it seemed nobody was listening among the so-called marquee names around and within his weight class. They avoided Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage like a plague. In the minds of these so-called marquee fighters and their handlers, Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage is a high-risk, low-reward opponent. Thus, the champion from Detroit was left with no other choice but to bide his time and wait for another opportunity to show his wares inside the ring.

Last year and just like the year before, Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage went and emerged victorious in St. Louis, MO. He fought and battled his old nemesis Sechew Powell (26-5, 15 KO) via a 12- round unanimous decision win, thus ending Powell's title aspirations as well as finally settling the score with the fighter who dealt Bundrage an embarassing first round TKO loss in his second professional fight in 2005, in what many boxing observers dubbed as the "double-knockdown in Connecticut."

Tonight's IBF light middleweight championship fight on ShoBox marks only the second time that the champion, Cornelius "K9" Bundrage, will enter the ring since winning the title on August 7, 2010. It is really sad and unthinkable that a champion eager to fight and stake his claim on the crown is hardpressed to find any willing opponent who will try to test his mettle.

Was it really that hard to find an opponent for Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage or were his handlers and promoters just remiss on their job and failed to sell his brand to the powers that be? But it is what it is, and the harsh reality of what the state of boxing has become through the years when a fighter's career is left at the mercy of a few people .

It will be full circle for Cornelius "K9" Bundrage when he climbs into the ring tonight at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, CA in a rematch with Cory Spinks, the erstwhile champion he dethroned in St. Louis more than a year ago.

The championship fight will give Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage another chance to show the boxing world what he is really made of. The championship fight will also give him another chance to prove that his mastery of Cory Spinks was no fluke. And the championship fight will also give Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage another chance to prove that his bite is more lethal than his bark.

ShoBox: The New Generation live on SHOWTIME® (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast)
*This article was originally published in Detroit Fight Sport Examiner
*Photo Credit: Tom Casino/ SHOWTIME