Boxing Blog – TSS Tidbits

Jorge Arce overpowers Hawk Makepula in Texas

In defense of his WBC International super flyweight title, Jorge “Travieso� Arce (45-3-1, 35 KOs) stopped former WBO 108-pound champion Hawk Makepula (28-4, 18 KOs) at 1:00 of the fourth round Saturday night at the Dodge Arena in Hidalgo, Texas.

It was the eighth straight KO for the slugger Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, who hasn’t lost a fight in seven years

“I wanted to show everyone how strong and fast I am,” Arce said at the bout’s conclusion. “I promised I’d win within six and I delivered. I feel I’m the best at 115 lbs. and I’m ready to take on all comers. Just tell me who and when.

“I’m willing to put rocks in my pockets, in order to fight the big names, you name them, tell me where and how much.â€?

When asked about fighting IBF flyweight titlist, Vic Darchynian, Arce replied, “Where is he? Let’s do it right now.â€?

In undercard action, welterweight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. moved his unbeaten streak to 28 fights (22) without a loss with an expected stoppage of Shad Howard (12-9-3), who failed to answer the bell for round four in a scheduled 10-rounder. At the fight’s conclusion, an exuberant Chavez called out “Ray Sanchez in his hometown or Dmitriy Salita in New York.”

Also on the undercard, super welter James De la Rosa ran his record up to 8-0 (6) with his stoppage Carlos De la Cruz (6-5, 6 KOs), at the 2:35 mark of round number three.

The main event was broadcast in HBO’s Boxing After Dark.

Emanuel Steward’s got a right to sing the blues

Emanuel Steward is suffering. He ‘sat down on the couch, hunched over and covered his face with his hands – the same hands that made him an amateur champion as a young man and later helped him tutor some of the greatest fighters who ever stepped in the ring,’ reports the AP.

“I haven’t decided what I’m going to do yet,” he said. “I don’t know.”

The Kronk, located in inner city Detroit, has been Steward’s home away from home for as long as anyone can remember, and is the ‘dingy, overheated basement gym that has produced world champions like Thomas Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard and Lennox Lewis.’

It is also a world-famous institution that is about to close and has the 62-year-old hall of fame trainer in a quandary.

Detroit, aka Motown, aka the Motor City, is suffering from the same manner of downsizing that most other major American cities are suffering these days, where what gets downsized most are the very things that need to get downsized least, namely the support systems that help those least able to help themselves get on with their lives.

In keeping with those skewed political/financial/racial priorities, Detroit shut down the recreation center that houses Kronk because of a major budget shortfall, which left Steward no choice but to reach into his own pocket to keep the gym up and running during the last eight months.

The city gave Steward the go-ahead to keep the gym open, under the condition that he continues to run it and submits a monthly fee to cover utilities.

But all that changed last weekend. Police say thieves broke into the building and made off with the copper pipes in the basement boiler room, cutting off the gym’s water supply. The value of copper has skyrocketed in recent years and is now one of the more fence-able hot metals on the market.

Steward checked with some plumbing specialists this week and was given the bad news that it will cost $20,000 to $40,000 to fix the damage to the gym, to which Steward replied, somewhat disingenuously, “I don’t have that kind of money.”

Manny has to either pony up the bucks to get things back up to scratch or start soliciting donations, otherwise he’ll have no choice but to open a new Kronk somewhere else, maybe somewhere a little less subject to crime, poverty, and indifference.

“What’s going to stop them from breaking in again?â€? asked Steward, weighing and balancing his options aloud. “That’s my biggest concern.”

It looks like the future of Kronk, much like the futures of Motown and boxing, appears to be in jeopardy.

Three days and counting without a verdict

At the murder trial of the man accused of murdering Julian Letterlough, Senior Judge Albert A. Stallone on Thursday asked a Berks County jury to resume deliberations in the case of accused shooter Kenneth Blunt.

The jury has deliberated for three days without reaching a verdict.

Blunt, 25, is accused of killing Julian Letterlough on July 8, 2005, outside a tavern at 12th and Cotton streets. Letterlough, 35, died of multiple gunshot wounds.

Blunt is also accused of firing shots at Letterlough’s friend, Donald F. Moore Jr., and pointing a gun at Reading policeman Roger Lehman.

Lehman testified he saw Blunt fire shots at Moore before pointing a gun at him. Lehman said that he fired three shots at Blunt, hitting him in the left shoulder.

ADA Kevin F. Howard said eight shell casings found near Lettermough’s body were from a .40-caliber handgun with Blunt’s DNA on the trigger.

But there was no testimony linking the bullets inside Letterlough’s body to the handgun with Blunt’s DNA on it.

Blunt’s lawyer, Robert A. Berry, argued that the state did not prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Blunt fired the fatal shots.

Former light heavyweight contender Letterlough’s record was 21-5-3, including 20 KOs, at the time of his killing.

Joe Calzaghe rubs salt in Jeff Lacy’s wound

Undefeated Welsh super middleweight sensation Joe Calzaghe, with his body healed and his confidence soaring, is in training to defend his IBF/WBO titles against Sakio Bika on Saturday, October 14, at the M.E.N Arena in Manchester, England.

On the other side of the pond, Jeff “Left Hook� Lacy is preparing for his first outing (on the undercard of Winky Wright vs. Ike Quartey) since the drubbing he suffered at the hands of Calzaghe in December.

Should both fighters get by their next opponents, Lacy, after he’s had a few more fights, said he wants another shot at Joe Calzaghe.

When Joe heard that Jeff wants a rematch of their title fight, he responded cheekily: “Is this guy crazy or is he still concussed?

“I can give Lacy a thousand and six good reasons why he should not get a rematch against me, because that’s the number of times I landed with punches on the night, and I can count the number of times he caught me on one hand – four.”

“Lacy will never be the same fighter again after the one-sided beating I gave him. And how can he call for a rematch when the first fight wasn’t even close or controversial? The only controversy is why his corner didn’t pull him out of the fight sooner.

“If Lacy gets in the ring with me again I’m scared I will get arrested for aggravated assault!”

Calzaghe has every right to crow, he’s boxed his way to the top of the world. He not only showed up Lacy that night, he showed up us Yanks who naively thought Calzaghe was DOA. But Joe already made his statement. He has bigger fish to fry than Lacy, bigger fish to fry than Sakio Bika.

“It’s his buddies in Florida that I’m gunning for. Winky Wright and Antonio Tarver, who are both on the run from me,â€? said Calzaghe. “The only way I’ll get them in the ring is if a bounty hunter manages to catch ‘em!”

I think that cheeky Welshman Joe Calzaghe may be right.

HBO’s Boxing After Dark will televise Calzaghe’s title defense against Bika at 11 P.M. ET/PT. The bout will be broadcast live in the UK on ITV1.