R.I.P. Francisco Rodriguez

Talk about it here http://phillykeith.com/fightforum/index.php?topic=1039.msg8001#msg8001

photo from www.8countproductions.com

It is my unfortunate duty to report that Francisco Rodriguez of Chicago passed away Sunday night from injuries sustained in his USBA title bout against Teon Kennedy at The Blue Horizon. Many in the Philly boxing community have expressed their condolences to all affected by the passing of this great warrior. From the bottom of our hearts, R.I.P.

PLEASE MAKE DONATIONS PAYABLE TO:
The Francisco Rodriguez Fund
C/O National Republic Bank of Chicago
1201 W. Harrison St,
Chicago, IL 60607
312-738-4900

For a full write up of the action on Peltz Boxing card, check out Marc Abrams recap here courtesy of 15rounds.com

Teon Kennedy fights for the USBA title @ The Blue!

Talk about it here http://phillykeith.com/fightforum/index.php?topic=1039.msg8001#msg8001

Quick preview of the fights 11/20/09 @ The Blue Horizon Teon Kennedy (10-0-1, 5ko’s) gets his first shot at gold this weekend when he faces Francisco Rodriguez (14-2, 8ko’s) of Chicago for the vacant USBA Super Bantamweight title. Kennedy is considered by some to be one of the better fighters at his weight on the east coast. He slipped a bit in his last fight and ended up with a draw in Atlantic City to an anonymous journeyman. If there is ever a time for him to make a statement, it is now. His opponent Rodriguez has won 3 in a row since being knocked out by Andre Wilson, a fighter Kennedy beat in a close one earlier this year. This winner of this fight is assured a top 15 rating in the IBF.

Jamaal “Da Truth” Davis takes on Joshua Onyango in a 6 round JR. Middleweight bout. Expect Davis to be too strong and too fresh legged for Onyango, a tough guy who has seen better days.

Dennis Hasson is back in the mix after some time off. He will compete in a 6 rounder. 

John Poore is 6 round heavyweight bout, another win or two for the big guy could set up a nice pay day against a name fighter.

Ardrick Butler & Ryan Carson are other A-Sides filling out the card.

Teon Kennedy vs. Addy ends in a 10 draw, Flores loses by decision, Wilson wins a decision this Saturday in AC!

photo by Mike greenhill / www.fightnews.com

According to multiple sources, the Philly fighters had it rough this Saturday in Atlantic City. In a surprise, Teon Kennedy was held to a draw by journeyman Lante Addy in their 10 round super bantamweight bout. Victor Valenzuela pulled a minor upset by winning a unanimous decision over Anthony Flores. Flores is said to possibly have fractured a bone in his face after an early head butt that could require surgery. Garrett Wilson won a unanimous decision over Alfred Kinsey in a battle of bombers.

For a full story of the night, check Kurt Wolfheimer & Rick Sharmberg’s recap http://www.fightnews.com/?p=23735#more-23735

You can also read Ken Hissner’s take on the night’s action here http://doghouseboxing.com/Ken/Hissner092109.htm

Talk about it and See what they are saying on the forum http://phillykeith.com/fightforum/index.php?topic=943.0.

The Technician disassembles Gonzalez over 8, Poore gets back in the money in AC!

Talk about it on the forum

http://phillykeith.com/fightforum/index.php?topic=774.0

photo by Chris Sembrot- www.chrissembrot.com

Peltz Boxing returned to Atlantic City for the first time in years on June 6th and a standing room only crowd packed the Bally’s ballroom to see Teon “The Technician” Kennedy (13-0, 5ko’s) continue his rise with a strong 8 round decision win over Reading PA’s Lucian Gonzalez in the evenings main event. It was a contest that many have called for over recent months and when this was all said and done, Kennedy left no doubt of who was the better fighter during this very solid contest that kept a good pace throughout.

It looked like it would be a war in the opening round as both fighters immediately met in the middle of the ring and trades short hard punches at close range. Gonzalez was very game but the tide began to turn in round three as Kennedy maintained a steady work load while Gonzalez started to slow down as try to use the ring. The Technicians ferocity would not let his opponent off the hook as he stalked and generally out landed his foe for the duration of the fight. It eventually went to the scorecard which read 80-72, 77-75 and a more accurate 78 – 74 in favor of Kennedy who inches his way closer to a crack at a 122 lb USBA super bantamweight title fight.

Peltz Boxing comes to Atlantic City on June 6th!

Talk about it on the forum here http://phillykeith.com/fightforum/index.php?topic=774.0

Peltz Boxing will come to Bally’s in Atlantic City on June 6th with a card that promises fireworks. On top of the bill Mike Jones (18-0, 16ko’s) will make his long awaited NABA welterweight title defense against LA’s Larry Mosley in a 12 round main event. This is a re-take of their originally scheduled February 1st match which was canceled at the last minute due to a back injury sustained to Mosely while training.

Jones has been knocking them silly since turning pro but Mosley his most decorated opponent to date as the LA native has an extensive amateur career and has fought and occasionally beaten fringe contenders.

The co-feature is looking good too as Teon Kennedy is scheduled to take on Lucien Gonzalez of Reading in a fight many have wanted to see for some time now. This will be an 8 round super bantamweight contest.

It doesn’t stop there because undefeated Philly Jr. Middleweight Latif Mundy will take on undefeated Atlantic City Jr. Middleweight Pat Majewski for an 8 rounder that could produce a lot of shrapnel.

Heavyweight “Big” John Poore is threatening Ric Flair’s record for most career comebacks and on this night he rumored to be preparing for a 6 rounder against an opponent TBA.

Garrett Wilson, Philadelphia, PA, vs. Louis Robinson, Philadelphia, PA, 4, light-heavyweights;

Eliud Torres, Allentown, PA, vs. Gerald Smith, Philadelphia, PA, 4, lightweights;

Osnel Charles, Atlantic City, NJ, vs. Luquan Lewis, Wyandanch, NY, 4, lightweights;

Rashad Bogar, Newark, NJ, vs. Ardrick Butler, Philadelphia, PA, 4, welterweights.

More info to come as it is made available. Get tickets by calling 215-765-0922

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions you can email Philly Keith at keith@phillykeith.com

Go to www.phillykeith.com for up to the minute info on the Philly boxing scene

April 2009 Philly Top 10 Pound for Pound Lists!

Discuss at http://phillykeith.com/fightforum/index.php?topic=729.0

photo by Mike “Teek” McGuigan

It has been a while since I put together a Philly top 10 list and in that time it is still pretty obvious who is #1 in the town, that would be B-Hop. But in the past year there has been a lot of activity amongst the rank and file who made moves to get to the top. Some succeeded, some failed, some have rebounded and others are on their way.

This time around I give you two lists. First is a national Philly top 10 pound for pound which gives my ranking to those from this area who are either champions, within title contention or TV fighters. These guys are all over the world and are known industry names.

The next list is themed “21 & Under” ranking the Philly pros with 21 pro fights or less. These fights can take place anywhere in the world. This list tracks the activity of the young pros who seem to be on their way to making big moves in the boxing circuit within the next few years. These rankings are based on pro performance and potential, not solely on amateur career.

This was done as a replacement for the local top 10 list that ranked boxers competing within city limits. There was just not enough activity to compile one. Take a look and feel free to send any feedback to me via email.

http://phillykeith.com/nationaltop10April09.htm

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions you can email Philly Keith at keith@phillykeith.com

Go to www.phillykeith.com for up to the minute info on the Philly boxing scene

Mike Jones destroys Dario Esalas in 2, Teon Kennedy gets off the deck to win at The Blue!

Photo by Chris Sembrot / www.chrissembrot.com
On March 6, 2009 Peltz Boxing Promotions returned to the Legendary Blue Horizon with a bang, putting on a card that didn’t have one stiff on the line up which resulted in good fights from A- Z. After an 8 year absence, the Philly fight fans were excited about the return and came out in high volumes to see an evenly matched 7 fight card highlighted by the towns hottest prospect Mike Jones who is rated in all major sanctioning body rankings. Jones was originally set to take on former amateur standout Larry Mosley of LA but at the last minute Mosley called out with a back injury so in comes Dario Eslas, a well traveled veteran with knockout power and a light bulb chin. The over under on this one was 3 rounds.

The co-feature was an interesting one as another highly touted, undefeated Peltz boxing prospect Teon Kennedy took on the world rated Andre Wilson on Missouri in an 8 round Super Bantamweight showdown. This one got interesting as Wilson showed he is no fluffed up mid westerner but Kennedy showed the heart of a fighter as he had to deal with a lot of elements he hasn’t come across before inthe ring. There was a lot on the line for both as Wilson was hungry for better pay days and respect as he wanted to shed the “opponent” label. Kennedy was one win shy of qualifying for his teams goal of getting a crack at the USBA title.

Peltz Boxing returns to The Blue Horizon 3-6-09

They said it would never happen in a million years…but to the surprise of many it was recently announced that J. Russell Peltz struck a 6 fight deal which will bring his promotional outfit back to the building he made famous, The Legendary Blue Horizon. The talk of the boxing town starts with a potential lights out card on March 6th which will see the world rated and current NABA Welterweight champion Mike Jones make his first title defense against LA’s Larry Mosley (15-3-2, 6ko’s) in the 10 round main event. Jones is a hot name right now and was even pegged by the well respected Steven Kim of www.maxboxing.com as the sports prospect of the year in 2008.

2008 Philly Fighters of the Year

Mike Jones

Once again, Mike Jones gave crowds their moneys worth as he continued his rise from local prospect to world rated contender. This year, Jones got soem real exposure as he headlined cards on major networks such as Telefutura and ESPN’s Friday night fights, coming out on top every time. Late in the summer Jones added his first piece of hardware to the collection when he KO’d Brazil’s Juliano Ramos to become the NABF Welterweight champion. To end the year, Jones scored a crushing KO on national TV when a nasty left hook made Luciano Perez do a 180 into the ropes then on his ass. Watch out for Jones in 2009 as he is getting very close to landing a significant fight, most likely against on of his undefeated peers in a loaded welterweight division.

“King” Gabriel Rosado

After sitting out of the ring for almost a full year, “King” Gabriel Rosado returned with a vengance in the middle part of 2008. His first order of business was to redeem himself by making quick work of Joshua Onyango, a fighter who decisioned Rosado a year earlier. After a pit stop at The New Alhambra a few weeks later, Rosado went back out on the road, this time going to Brooklyn as a huge underdog to fight NYC resident James Moore on ESPN’s Wednesday Night Fights. This night turned out to be Rosado’s coming out party as he dropped, and eventually went on to beat the previously undefeated, ticket selling Irishman. Rosado finished 2008 as the chief sparring partner for Bernard Hopkins as B-Hop prepared for, and eventually demolished, Kelly Pavlik. It will be interesting to see how 2009 shapes up for Rosado.

Teon Kennedy

Teon Kennedy followed up on a good first year with a solid progress in year two. Fighting four times in 2008, Kennedy started off the year by stepping up the competition and cruising through a decision win against Castulo Gonzalez. It was in fight two where Kennedy made his loudest statement when he blew out the previously undefeated Thomas Snow of Baltimore in less than two rounds. He capped off the year easily decisioning two more journeyman which put him within striking distance of a USBA title shot in the Super Bantamweight division.

Lucian Gonzalez

Seriously, where did this guy come from in 2008? Though technically he didn’t perform in Philly, what Lucian Gonzalez did in the outskirts of the city is definitely worth mentioning. Entering the year equipt only with a one way ticket to journeyman-ville, Gonzalez reeled off 5 straight wins and a questionable draw against Jules Blackwell in a fight many thought he won. His shining moment came in October as he accepted a fight on about 8 hours notice against Ireland’s featherweight champion and convincingly beat him. Lucian capped the year with a solid win over durable vet Robert De Luz and now many people are hoping to see Gonzalez fight Teon Kennedy for the state title.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions you can email Philly Keith at keith@phillykeith.com

Go to www.phillykeith.com for up to the minute info on the Philly boxing scene

Raul Martinez wins the NABF title, Victor Vasquez returns with a bang, Kennedy, Flores & Hasson stay unbeaten at The New Alhambra

photos by Mike “Teek” McGuigan

The streets of Philly were soggy on November 14th, but that didn’t stop the fight fans from once again packing into the New Alhambra for a J. Russell Peltz / Top Rank boxing collaboration which was carried live by the soon to be defunct Solo Boxeo series. The main event pitted two undefeated outsiders who traveled east for their big chance in a division where the well of opportunity is bone dry. The co-feature gave us a glimpse of a prospect on the rebound and the under card showcased the skills of quite a few young hopefuls from our area who are making their way through the local ranks. Some are still in the early stages of their career while others or on the cusp on making the leap to the next level. There were a lot of knockouts on a night where a new NABF super flyweight champion was crowned, a boxing barber quickly faded out a competitor and a young prospect inches his way closer to a world ranking. All this and more from the South Philly fight hall, scroll down to see how it all went down.