South Philly’s Hammerin’ Hank (18-0-1, 10ko’s) strikes again – this time putting the first blemish on the record of Georgia’s Tyrese Hendrix (18-1, 7ko’s) by way of a one sided 10 round unanimous decision live on ESPN to win the NABO lightweight title.
The fight took place in Memphis TN and Lundy had his man singing the blues from the start. Lundy came out at a frantic pace from a southpaw stance – a position that gave fellow southpaw Hendrix fits. Lundy floored his opponent three times in the fight – two of which came in the first round. The first knockdown of the evening was one of the sports rarities – a double knockdown courtesy of two perfectly times hooks upstairs.
The pace slowed a bit in the middle rounds with Lundy turning orthodox – setting the pace with jabs, body work and hard overhand rights. There were times where Hendrix stepped to the middle of the ring and pressed the action which led to some very good two-way exchanges.
While Hendrix was getting the worst of these exchanges – he does deserve his credit as he fought very hard and overcame trying circumstances to end the fight on his feet.
Again – Hank Lundy puts on a show when the lights were brightest. Again he takes on a defeated a fellow undefeated prospect in his division. Now he adds he NABO title to his arsenal which will get his foot in the door shall he defend it successfully. Keep an eye out – because Lundy just made a strong case for being considered the top prospect coming out of Philadelphia…
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Talk about it on the forum
http://phillykeith.com/fightforum/index.php?topic=1226.0
Expect ESPN TV ratings to be through the roof on April 16th because on this night South Philly’s Hammerin’ Hank (17-0-1, 10ko’s) returns to Friday Night Fights for a showdown against yet another undefeated fighter. This time the opponent in Tyrese Hendrix (18-0, 7ko’s) of Gainesville, GA and this time we won’t get short changed as it is scheduled for 10 rounds. The fight take place in Memphis TN.
Once again Lundy shows he is more than willing to battle anyone. Time after time he has taken on an undefeated fighter / fellow prospect and has come out on top. Sooner or later he will get a crack at a big name in the division. When that happens – no one will be able to discredit it because he is doing it the old school way – by knocking off his peers!
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“Champ again in 2010″ will have to wait a bit longer to come to life for Team Cunningham as this fight scheduled for March 26 was scrapped at the last minute due to a dispute between promoter Don King and ESPN. His Hairness says ESPN wanted rights and options for rematches or the winners next fight. The network says King tried to change the terms of ESPN standard agreements involving money, sponsorship and more. Typical he said – she said BS and the fans are out of a card that was supposed to broadcast two world title fights…
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“Champ again in 2010″ is the new year motto of Team Cunningham. They get a chance to fulfill this quest in front of a live national audience as ESPN will air the IBF Cruiserweight title fight between Steve “USS’ Cunningham (22-2, 1ko’s) and Matt Godfrey (20-1, 10ko’s). This Friday Night Fights main event bout will take place at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise Florida on March 26th.
A title fight has been a long time coming for Team Cunningham as they were dipped, dodged and flat out avoided by former champ Tomasz Adamek, who relinquished the belt rather than grant a rematch of their tight encounter from December 2008.
Since that fight USS has only boxed once – a 12 round unanimous decision win over sturdy veteran Wayne Braithwaite in Florida. Perseverance has prevailed and Cunningham is now in the drivers seat with an opportunity to be champion with recognition as the top Cruiserweight in the world.
Godfrey has been groomed to be a champ since the beginning. He was a top amateur and then moved carefully through the ranks since turning pro in 2004. There have been a few speed bumps along the way but he was able to stay in position to land a fight of this magnitude. You may be familiar with Godfrey as he fought in this town last year winning a 12 round snooze against Shawn Hawk.
It will be interesting to see how this fight plays out in the ring as both are more traditional boxers instead of action initiating sluggers. If anything – Cunningham has more experience in the pro ranks against the higher echelon of competition. Word around the ring is that he has been training in Big Bear California with Nazeem Richardson to prepare for this fight. Good luck to Team USS – More on this fight to come soon!
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Big shout out goes to “Young Swift” Danny Garcia who was sternly tested on national television and came out on top despite not having his best stuff on this particular evening. The Golden Boy Promotions prospect was matched against experienced fringe contender Ashley Theophane of England and the Brit gave everything he had in effort to take Garcia’s 0.
We didn’t see a slick boxing amateur in this fight, instead Garcia showed the look of a guy who can take a good punch, won’t lose his composure and also wasn’t afraid to impose his will immediately after badly losing a round. It was a little too close for comfort as the end result was a split decision win for the young Philadelphian.
With all of this said, there is still some sharpening up to do at the gym but overall – to beat this caliber fight at this stage of Garcia’s career is an accomplishment to be proud of. A few more fights and he should be ready for the top of the class in the 140 lb division.
West Philly’s Yusaf Mack will be on ESPN Friday Night Fights this week in a very important IBF Light Heavyweight title eliminator against war hungry veteran Glen Johnson. In a nut shell, it is do-or-die for the career of both fighters! This always makes for some great TV action. Mack has been considered amongst the best in Philly for years now. He has been on the cusp of a title shot a few times to no avail. Now, he has a new team, new division and seemingly new dedication, evident by his current 4 fight winning streak.
Johnson, the Ring Magazine fighter of the Year in 2004 has been around the block and then some. He left a prime Roy Jones flat on his back and also holds a clean win over a prime Antonio Tarver. But that was then. At 41 years old he must prove he can still compete with the young lions of the sport. He also knows he must win or retire. The steaks are high as the man who gets his arm raised in victory on February 5th will be the mandatory challenger for IBF champ Tavoris Cloud. Cheers to ESPN for picking this one up!
North Philly Welterweight Raymond “Tito” Serrano stays undefeated (12-0, 6ko’s) as he cruised to an 8 round decision victory over Ronnie Warrior Jr. (13-3-1, 4ko’s) of Oklahoma in opening fight of the Jan 29, 2010 edition of ESPN Friday Night Fights. Scores were 79 – 73 across the board.
At times it looked like the 20 year old former amateur star was working a heavy bag as Warrior refused to throw or engage to make it a competitive fight in the early going. Serrano boxed smart, throwing three and four punch combos as Warrior laid in a defensive shell, then he got out of dodge before anything could be returned.
Warrior got a little more aggressive near the end which led to a couple of decent exchanges which produced the only real two way action of the bout. Overall it was a good learning experience as Tito completed his first career 8 rounder with stamina to spare.
With that said, we have yet to see Serrano matched with someone who can give us a real glimpse of the potential he holds. Hopefully the bosses at Star Boxing have taken notice! - photo by Marty Rosengarten.
Friday Night Fights is back into the swing of things and the Jan 29, 2010 edition starts off with North Philly Welterweight Raymond “Tito” Serrano (11-0, 6ko’s) taking on Ronnie Warrior Jr. (13-2-1, 4ko’s) of Oklahoma for a scheduled 10 rounder in Reno, Nevada. In his two years ago a pro “Tito” has taken a calculated yet steady path with Warrior serving as his best opponent to date. This fight will mark the second time that Serrano has fought on the ESPN airwaves – the first was a one sided unanimous decision win over Jay Krupp. Many believe that the sky is the limit for Serrano. They say all he needs is the experience. Serrano has never gone past 6 rounds so this 10 rounder is a nice step up against a durable veteran.
Warrior competes mostly out of the Midwest but is best known for an 8 round decision loss to Harry Yorgey back in 2006 on ESPN. Serrano is a 20 year old former amateur champ, promoted by Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing in New York, and trained by his father Ramon Serrano along with Philly’s Danny Davis. Tito is said to have gotten top notch sparring while preparing for this fight at Joe Hand’s Gym, most notably working with Mike Jones and Hank Lundy.
Serrano definitely comes in as the favorite but it will be interesting to see how he does against a guy who is dubbed as a defensive fighter who has never been KO’d before. A good looking win here will definitely lead to more TV opportunities, all the best to Team Serrano!
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Danny Garcia’s team wasn’t swift enough to find a suitable opponent for his 8/14/09 co-feature bout so work coming from ESPN head quarters is that his fight has been canceled.
Garcia’s management has made a habit of waiting until the last minute for an opponent. This time it cost a valuable TV date just as ESPN FNF gets ready to wrap up it’s season . With that said, Young Swift has a powerhouse team behind him so you will end up seeing him somewhere soon.
“King” Gabriel Rosado looked very sharp for the first 4.5 minutes of the bout but one punch changed it all as Alfredo Angulo landed a stunning right midway through the 2nd round which changed the course of the fight. Rosado would go down three times before the referee stopped it as amazingly Rosado seemed able to continue.
Tough loss but expect to see Rosado back in the mix soon taking on another contender or prospect in the 154 lb division.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions you can email Philly Keith at keith@phillykeith.com
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