Keeping with the recent run of photos of lovely women in boxing gear, there’s silent film star Clara Bow. Trust me, for that era, that picture’s nearly as scandalous as the one in the blog entry below this one. I mean, just LOOK at all that ankle! (via, h/t Jim)
- Demetrius Andrade-Grady Brewer/Hank Lundy-David Diaz, Friday, ESPN2/ESPN Deportes/ESPN3, Hammond Ind. Quite recently, we were all disappointed that a pretty excellent Friday Night Fights season wasn’t going to end with a rematch of the junior welterweight clash that began the season, Maurico Herrera-Ruslan Provodnikov. But when that fight was canceled, we ended up with a likewise excellent season finale. On physical talent and pedigree, Andrade has it over Brewer in spades. But the 2008 Olympian has had a rough start, rarely impressing anyone and eventually dumping his trainer-father. Last time out, the junior middleweight prospect looked a bit better under new trainer Rob Valle, although Mr. Valle doesn’t have much of a track record as a trainer that I can discern. What is totally unknown — and unlikely — is whether anyone Andrade has fought as a pro can prepare him for a gritty, savvy veteran like the 40-year-old Brewer, who in his last fight scalped a young prospect in Fernando Guerrero who had fought far superior competition in the pros to Andrade’s. This is such a drastic move for a prospect who has disappointed so far, and I really don’t understand why it’s happening, but it most definitely arouses a “I gotta see what happens with THIS” instinct. On the undercard is a supporting bout that could have headlined a weak week, with the always-entertaining but erratic lightweight Lundy taking on the always-entertaining but shopworn Diaz, who’s returning to the ring after a break from the sport.
- Fernando Montiel-Alvaro Perez, Saturday, Fox Deportes, Ensenada Mexico. Montiel’s not getting too risky in his second fight at junior featherweight, after a bold and successful debut against Nehomar Cermeno, but he’s not taking a total patsy, either. Perez owns a 2008 win over current Ring Magazine #10 bantamweight Christian Esquivel, but the next year he got stopped by Hozumi Hasegawa then lost by stoppage once more this year. Montiel wants the winner of Toshiaki Nishioka-Rafael Marquez, but there’s a line forming. And by the way, Nishioka-Marquez will air on Top Rank Live in as good a fight as Fox Deportes has ever broadcast. After a strong start last year, Top Rank Live’s matchmaking has rarely risen to much more than “passable,” and often has featured stay-busy fights like Montiel-Perez. But Nishioka-Marquez is a very nice fight on Oct. 1.
- Alfredo Angulo-Joseph Gomez, Saturday, ESPN Deportes/ESPN3, Mexicali Mexico. Out of the ring for more than a year, Angulo is taking less than a chance with his opponent, a total non-entity. But that this fight is airing anywhere shows what kind of fan interest Angulo generates. Like fellow junior middleweight James Kirkland, Angulo figured as a long-tenured action star whose style was completely riveting, but he derailed his career with some stupid shit. Unlike Kirkland, he didn’t get thrown in jail, but he did get thrown in the equivalent of boxing jail when he ran into some immigration and promotional snafus. Now he’s with Golden Boy and they want to keep him busy south of the border while they try to make it so Angulo can get back in the United States.
- The Rest. Lightweight prospect Mike Perez headlines Solo Boxeo Tecate on TeleFutura Friday, and he was in a widely-acclaimed brawl with Jose Hernandez last year, but doesn’t figure to be in too tough this weekend… Junior bantamweight Tomas Rojas goes to Thailand Friday to fight Suriyan Sor Rungvisai, the renamed cat who nearly upset flyweight champ Pongsaklek Wonjongkam last year between in-ring bouts of vomiting… On Saturday, super middleweight prospect Edwin Rodriguez debuts with new trainer Ronnie Shields, and New England boxing expert/friend of the site Peter Czymbor said word is that Rodriguez looks better in camp already… Matthew Hatton returns to welterweight Friday.
