Dre. day master piece
(Photo from jenniferloring.com)
SAN JOSE -- Andre Ward had been here before, facing an older, more experienced fighter in a bout that represented a significant step up the ladder in his boxing career.
As he did four years ago at the Athens Olympics, Ward met the challenge Thursday night, scoring a seventh-round technical knockout against Rubin "Mr. Hollywood" Williams in their super middleweight main event before 4,588 fans at Fight Night at the Tank.
The fight was stopped with 5.4 seconds left in the seventh round as the corner of Williams' left eye continued to bleed and the fighter offered little resistance to the 24-year-old Oakland native. more
3-23-08
Ward Ready for the Challenge
By
Raymond Markarian
The final press conference for the Andre Ward vs. Ruben Williams fight on Thursday, in San Jose, Ca, took place in the Kings Boxing Gym on Monday afternoon. Although the press conference was one sided, since Ward’s opponent was not there, the Olympic Gold Medalist was a gracious host, and spoke with candor about how he feels going into the fight. More
3-18-08
Dre. Day March 20th
Olympic boxing gold medalist Andre Ward of Oakland will put his unbeaten record on the line against former world super middleweight title challenger Rubin "Mr. Hollywood" Williams in a March 20 bout in San Jose.
The Ward-Williams fight will be the main event kicking off the fourth season of the "Fight Night at the Tank" series at HP Pavilion. The scheduled 10-round super middleweight contest will be televised at a later date on FSN's "Best Damn Sports Show Period."
Ward (14-0, 9 KOs), who turned 24 last week, will be making his fourth appearance as a pro at the HP Pavilion. Ward will be facing his "most formidable opponent to date" in Williams (29-3-1, 16 KO), according to Ward's trainer, Virgil Hunter.
"He's tough on paper and he's tough in person," Ward said of the 31-year old Williams, a Detroit native who lost to Jeff Lacy in his title challenge.
Super middleweight Francisco Santana (8-0, 4 KOs) of Santa Barbara will face Karim 'Hard Hitta' Mayfield (5-0-1, 5 KOs) of San Francisco on the undercard of the Ward-Williams fight.
3-7-08
Boxing Vs. MMA
A norcalboxing.com Exclusive!
By Raymond Markarian
There is an on-going trend in the fighting world today. The MMA and boxing are in the midst of a ratings war. March 1st will mark the third time in the same amount of months that a live MMA show is being held on the same date as a major boxing event. Here is a recap.
- January 19th Trinidad/Jones was shown at the same time as UFC 80
- Feburary 16, boxing has the Taylor/Pavlik II fight on the same day as the Elite XC event showcasing Kimbo Slice vs. Tank Abbott.
- March 1st Boxing has Marquez/Vazquez III on at the same time as UFC 82. More
2-19-08
Boxing in Sunnyvale
Organizers of the after-school boxing program at Columbia Middle School recently found out they will have a new home by April or May in the gym at the nearby Columbia Neighborhood Center.
Until now, they feared they would have to hang up their gloves when renovations at the school force them to vacate the multipurpose room, but Angela Chan, Sunnyvale youth and family resources manager, recently extended an offer.
"We have always kind of kept the boxing program in our heads ... because we have always recognized the positive impact they have on the community," she said.
Organizers have not pinned down how the boxers, including about 30 students and young people from the largely low-income and Latino neighborhood, will share the large gym with existing after-school sports programs, but said they will make it work.
They will have a workout space about 10 feet out from the wall along one side of the gym. They will hang punching bags on the wall and store them when they are not in use.
"We're probably going to keep serving the same kids we have now," said Mark Richardson, a volunteer coach for the program, which is organized by Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety detective Jose Ramirez.
"That's an area in Sunnyvale that's less affluent. There are kids there who could be more likely to be hanging out and doing something wrong instead of something healthy."
2-13-08
Hernandez fighting in 08
National Championships
Rodney Hernandez 19yrs 249Lbs. (Bad to the Bonz Boxing Club) Modesto, Ca. won a 4 round unanimous Decision over Harry Gopaul 235Lbs. (JL Boxing Club) Fairfield, Ca.
Hernandez (Modesto) will now represent Northern California (Region 11) at the 2008 USA Boxing Nationals March 9-15 in Colorado Springs, Colorado in the super heavyweight division.
2-10-08
Woodland's Alvarez Wins Glove Title
After entering and winning three qualifying tournaments including State Silver Gloves Championships, two brothers boxing out of the Woodland Boxing Club, Eduardo and Brian Alvarez, traveled to Independence Missouri this week for the National Silver Gloves Championships. 11 year old Eduardo, in the Junior 10-11 yr olds bracket at 80lbs, was eliminated in his semi-final match on Friday. Older brother Brian, however, boxed in the Championship on Saturday for the Intermediate 13-14year old 132lbs Championship. Brian defeated Dillon Mason of St. Cloud , Minnesota and was awarded the National Silver Gloves Championship Belt.
2-8-08
Got dispute?
If you get a call from Mike Gouvea with directions on how to reach a boxing gym, you'd do well to ask why. It may be that neighbor whose yard you parked on has been holding a grudge, and he may now be challenging you to a boxing match to settle the rift. Gouvea, owner of the GameTime video game store in San Lorenzo, has a new idea for settling disputes. He calls it "GrudgeMatch," something he hopes to turn into a TV show. The first-ever "GrudgeMatch" boxing bout was held Saturday at King's Boxing Gym in Oakland. More
2-8-08
Cage career for Alatorre
Tulare's Hector Alatorre, a former professional boxer, has signed a three-bout deal to step into the cage for the first time in his fighting career Alatorre, who has a 15-3 record as a profesional boxer, is scheduled to face Hesperia's Steve Torrez (2-1) in a 140-pound bout on the undercard of a show headlined by Scott Lighty in Visalia, Ca.
1-29-08
Ghostly Group
As Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero bobbed and weaved around the ring at Main Street Kickboxing in Hollister last Saturday, a group of children stood mesmerized.
With eyes wide, they each took turns whispering back and forth until one boy finally asked the question many of them were wondering."Is that real gold," asked 10 year-old Hollister native Tyler Rodriguez. For a brief moment, the prizefighter, who roughly 100 people had come to see work out in preparation for his Feb. 29 title defense, was taking a back seat to his own trophies. Lying on the edge of the ring were two sparkling, gold-plated IBF Featherweight title belts. When Rodriguez' younger brother and sister, Tristan and Summer, were asked if they would wear the belts, assuming they owned a pair, the discussion turned serious. "I wouldn't," said 6-year-old Tristan. "It would get all dirty." Summer, 8, wasn't so sure. More
1-28-08
On the record with Andre Ward
Andre Ward is not only first U.S. Boxing Olympic Gold Medalist since 1996; he is also one of the hottest young fighters in the sport today. This was my first chance to meet with the Oakland, Ca native.
He speaks with confidence and feels like he is ready for the next level. The guy is a boxing junkie. For Andre, boxing is not just a game it is a way of life.
Raymond Markarian: Tell me about how you began boxing. More
1-22-07
Sackto Update
Sacramento's first fight card of 2008, at the refurbished Red Lion Hotel (formerly the Sacramento Inn), has been rescheduled from Jan. 17 to Feb. 7. Sacramento heavyweight Michael Simms (19-7-1, 13 KOs) will face Damian Norris (10-5, 7 KOs) of Las Vegas.Included among five bouts, promoted by Nasser Niavaroni, are former amateur standouts Stan Martyniouk and Brandon Gonzales. Tickets are available through Tickets.com, Kickboxing Inc. in Roseville and the Red Lion Hotel.
1-9-08
Chavez Jr. up next for Celaya (or the other way around)
 
Jose Celaya (31-3, 16 KOs) has asked Sam Garcia, of Garcia Boxing, who work his corner Feb. 9 when he fights Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (34-0-1, 27 KOs) in a 10-round bout The 22-year-old Garcia says he expects to leave with Celaya to train at Shane Mosley's gym in Big Bear Lake on Jan. 4.
"My job, I think, will be a little bit about strategy, and a lot about getting Jose mentally ready to fight Chavez," said Garcia, son of Max Garcia, who trains all boxers in the Garcia Boxing stable. "I think it's going to be important for him to have a familiar person in his corner — somebody from the days when he was a great fighter. Beyond that, I'm not sure what's expected, but I plan to go with the flow and put my two cents-worth in, whether anybody likes it or not. I'll be there to do what's best for the fighter."
1-3-08
Monterey pro boxing put on endangered list
Promoter Jerry Hoffman said this week that he'll stage one more version of The Riot this coming July at the Monterey Conference Center, then he'll take a long look at the future of the popular, twice-a-year professional boxing show that has served as a launching pad for many of the sport's well-known fighters. All of Hoffman's shows in Monterey (and previously Santa Cruz) have been sell-outs or nearly sold to capacity since 1992, introducing Central California boxing fans to future world champions like "Sugar" Shane Mosley, Stevie Johnson, James Page, Nonito Donaire, Carina Moreno, Robert "The Ghost" Guerreroand Gina "Boom Boom" Guidi, and others who made a splash, such as Jose Celaya, Jesus "Chuy" Rodriguez, Alejandro Perez, Eloy Perez, Jesus Vega and Danny Lujan Jr. More
1-2-08
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