Have news relating to Jewish boxers? Email the editor here!

Friday, December 20, 2019

Gloves and Doves to Host Amateur Boxers from Israel

Tony Milch's Gloves and Doves project is set to host a team of amateur boxers of different faiths from Israel. The fights will take place on April 2, 2020 at 229 The Venue in London, England.

Milch recently retired as a professional boxer with a 14-2 record. His last fight was just about a year ago, a points victory over Danny Little in a rematch in which Milch avenged only his second career loss.

You can read more about Milch's Gloves and Doves initiative in an article written by the editor of The JBB for SecondsOut.com.

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Chilemba Wins by Decison

Isaac Chilemba defeated Alexander Kubich by unanimous decision last Friday at PAOK Sports Arena in Thessaloniki, Greece. Chilemba outboxed the 33 year old Russian.

Earlier in the year, Chilemba announced that he has been battling depression and substance abuse which has affected his boxing career over the past five years. Chilemba's is a courageous admission. Too often substance abuse and depression are misunderstood and stigmatized. Chilemba, whose mother passed when he was a teenager, was subsequently responsible for taking care of his younger siblings in his home country of Malawi.

The judges scored the bout 79-73, 78-74, and 77-75. Chilemba's record improves to 26-7-2 with 10 KOs after winning the eight-round affair. Kubich falls to 10-6-1 with 6 KOs.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Duer and Ramirez Fight to an Ugly Split Draw

Carolina Duer fought Marianela Ramirez to a split draw Friday night at Estadio Polideportivo in Villa de Mayo, Argentina. It was a night to forget for the three people in the ring.

Duer started the fight moving and boxing effectively. She switched stances and caught Ramirez on the end of her punches. Halfway through the opening round, Duer held and Ramirez landed a right to the stomach after referee Carlos Gomez had called for the action to cease. Duer turned away in pain and was given some time to recover.

Whether it was due to her age of 41, the grueling fight with Mariana Juarez in Mexico last month, or that cheap shot by Ramirez, Duer fought a very negative fight the rest of the way. It was a shame because her class was clearly several levels above that of Ramirez, a crude come-forward slugger who threw looping lefts and rights without much of a game plan.

Duer landed straight shots as Ramirez lumbered forward and then held as if Ramirez was her mother day on Carolina's first day of kindergarten. As the fight went on, Ramirez would go limp when held and shoot referee Gomez a pleading look. At one point in the seventh round, Gomez blamed Ramirez for the holding, claiming she was hooking Duer's arm. It was a ridiculous assertion; Duer not only initiated virtually all of the holding, she wouldn't let go when Gomez ordered her to. Gomez had to physically peel Duer off of Ramirez.

Ramirez wasn't clean either. She hit on the break and led with her head. Gomez took a point in the sixth round for a rabbit punch. Though Gomez clearly favored Duer in his admonitions, Ramirez paid too much attention to him. Gomez did finally take a point from Duer in the seventh for holding to the delight of the crowd.

Ramirez landed a hard right to the ear in the eighth which obviously hurt Duer. Duer showed her mettle and fought back instead of quitting. Carolina didn't do much in the ninth but came back to land a couple of hard rights in the final round. One right nearly sent Ramirez through the ropes. The other led Ramirez to clinch for the first time in the fight. Gomez tried to separate them by jamming his forearm into Duer's throat which caused the former champ to yell at him.

The judges scored the bout 95-93, 94-94, and (curiously) 95-96. The JBB scored the fight 96-92 in Duer's favor. She held far too often, but it is the referee's job to punish the fighter, not the judges'. Ramirez marched forward, but she barely landed anything while Duer did virtually all of the clean punching before falling into clinches.

Duer is now 19-6-1 with 6 KOs and Ramirez is 6-6-1 with one KO.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Duer to Quickly Return to the Ring

Carolina Duer is scheduled to fight in a tune-up bout fewer than two months after her loss to Mariana Juarez in a grueling affair. Duer's opponent is slated to be Marianela Ramirez, and the match will take place tomorrow at Estadio Polideportivo in Villa de Mayo, Argentina, just outside Buenos Aires.

Duer (19-6-1, 6 KOs) has lost her last three fights, all in title bouts. Duer lost via split decision to Maria Cecilia Roman in 2017 and suffered the same fate in the rematch one year later. On October 12 this year, Duer lost by unanimous decision to Mariana Juarez in a rough fight in Juarez's hometown.

Ramirez, a 25 year old from Argentina, is 6-6 with one KO. She does have a few advantages however. She is 16 years younger than Duer and is the naturally bigger fighter. Duer has only weighed in as much as 122 pounds once while Ramriez has weighed in at 126 twice. Ramirez has also been far more active; she's had 11 fights since Duer's first loss to Roman.

This bout is scheduled to take place at super bantamweight and for ten rounds.

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Basin Wins Third Fight

Light heavyweight Nikita Basin, a 33 year old from Israel, had his hand raised in victory after his contest with Andrii Chamaidar in Myrhorod, Ukraine.

After two minutes and forty seconds of the first round, referee Shlomo Niyazov stopped the contest. Basin won by technical knockout. Basin had a significant weight advantage weighing in at 178.5 pounds to Chamaidar's 172.

Basin is now 3-0 with three KOs while Chamaidar, a 21 year old Ukrainian, is 1-9 and has been stopped nine times.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Nikita Basin to Fight in Ukraine

Nikita Basin, a light heavyweight from Israel, will take part in his third professional boxing match on Sunday against Andrii Chamaidar in Myrhorod, Ukraine.

The fight will take place one day after Basin's 33rd birthday. Basin won his debut in July when his opponent, Yuriy Tkachenko, couldn't come out for the second round. Basin won by TKO last month against the debuting Vladyslav Dynnyk. Both fights took place in Ukraine against Ukrainian fighters.

Both cards featured another Israeli boxer, Nur Rabia, a 23 year old super middleweight. So far, Rabia has forced both of his opponents to surrender after the second round in each of his two bouts. The opponents had a combined 1-11-1 record at the time Rabia fought them. While their records were poor, they did have far more pro experience than did Rabia and both had significant weight advantages.

Basin's opponent, Chamaidar, is a 21 year old from Kharkiv, Ukraine. He is 1-8 with all eight of his losses coming by knockout. On paper, he has the look of a soft touch, but Chamaidar did win his last fight by first round KO.

This bout is scheduled for four rounds.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Kaminsky Wins by KO

David Kaminsky knocked out Travis Jerig in the second round at Chukchansi Park in Fresno, California tonight. The southpaw landed hard combinations to the body to set up the straight left up top.

Jerig was tentative with his jab from the outset. Kaminsky feinted his way into punching range before throwing rib-breaking body shots with both hands. He stayed in the pocket too long after one combination to the body, and Jerig returned fire. Otherwise, Kaminsky was impressive. Jerig walked back to the corner after the first round with red splotches all over his body, evidence of Kaminsky's assault to the Ohio native's body.

The second round didn't last long. Kaminsky landed a couple of straight lefts that snapped back Jerig's head. After the final straight left, referee Gerard White stopped the contest 26 seconds into the round.

Kaminsky is now 6-0 with 3 KOs. Jerig falls to 3-4-1. This was the first time Jerig has been stopped.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Kaminsky to Fight Jerig Tomorrow

David Kaminsky is scheduled to face Travis Jerig in a super middleweight affair at Chukchansi Park in Fresno, California tomorrow evening. The bout is scheduled to take place on the undercard of Jamel Herring vs. Lamont Roach.

Kaminsky (5-0, 2 KOs) is a southpaw who lands eye-catching shots from the outside and doesn't ignore the body. The 19 year old weighed in at 162.3 pounds for this fight, the fourth time he's been over the middleweight limit and the heaviest of his career.

Jerig (3-3-1) is a 23 year old from Zanesville, Ohio who just welcomed a son to the world. All of his fights have been in either Ohio or West Virginia, and they all have gone the distance. Jerig weighed in at 162, the third time in four fights he has come in just over the middleweight limit.

This will be Kaminsky's first scheduled six rounder. Jerig has gone six round once, a close unanimous decision loss to Jamie Walker over a year ago. The fight will be televised on ESPN+.

Friday, November 1, 2019

Four Jewish Boxers Fight in Boxing Event to Help Kids with Special Needs

Four Jewish boxers were featured on a four-fight card at the Jewish Cultural Center Beit Grand in Odessa, Ukraine last Sunday. Igor Lazarev, Miroslav Kapuler, Yotham Shalom, and Aki Azrael Mishaev competed in separate bouts for a charity event. The night raised funds to help kids with special needs. To make a donation to this worthy cause, please follow this link.

British Jewish boxer Tony Milch, who was originally scheduled to fight on the card, but suffered a cut in training, opened the night with an in-ring introduction, and he worked Shalom's corner. In addition to this event, Milch is working on another positive project. He founded Gloves and Doves, which is focused on contributing to peace through boxing in the Middle East.
--

In the main event, Igor Lazarev outworked Dmytro Kostenko to win by unanimous decision. Igor, a 33 year old lightweight from Israel, is fun to watch. He constantly throws punches and is aggressive from the opening bell or, in this case, gong (the timekeeper had a gong with Chinese kanji on it). In the past, the Ashdod resident had been too wild while pressuring, but he displayed impressive control while mounting his offense in this one.  Lazarev is a ferocious body puncher with either hand and showed it in this bout.

Kostenko is a 41 year old from Ukraine who sports a poor record- only two wins in 19 previous fights. However, 17 of his 20 fights have taken place in the past two years, and he's never been stopped. He fought like a man with that track record. Dmytro was a competent counterpuncher who amazingly withstood Lazarev's sustained body assault.

Kostenko landed some nice left hooks to the head in the second round. He connected with some straight rights in the fourth. He was feeling so good, he taunted Lazarev in the fifth. Lazarev didn't take kindly to the taunts, and after taking some more body shots Kostenko soon spit out the mouthpiece to buy some time. The Ukrainian lost his mouthpiece twice more, in the sixth and in the eighth, and both times he absorbed body blows. Referee Vadym Lavrenets probably should have been more proactive in curtaining Kostenko's mouthpiece spitting.

Make no mistake though, Lazarev wont he first five rounds handily with pressure, body punches, and a sprinkle of counters for good measure. This was the first time Lazarev has seen the seventh round in his career and he did get touched more in the sixth and seventh, but he finished strong. He may well have been the first fighter to stop Kostenko had the veteran not intentionally lost his mouthpiece those three times.

Lazarev improves to 5-0 with two KOs after the judges scored the bout 80-72, 79-73, and 79-74 in his favor. Kostenko is 2-17-1 with all of his fights going the distance.
--

Miroslav Kapuler, a 22 year old Israeli junior middleweight made his debut on the card. He defeated another debuting fighter, Stanislav Davydenko a 23 year old from Ukraine. Kapuler, a southpaw, took control of center ring from the outset. Davydenko was defensive-minded even though the fight started slowly. Midway through the round, Kapuler landed some hard lefts to the body. A bit later, he landed a perfect straight left to the body. Davydenko folded and stayed down for the ten count.

Kapuler is now 1-0 with one KO and Davydenko is 0-1.
--

Yotham Shalom controlled the action against Piotr Ghilas with his speed and his hit-and-don't-get-hit style to win a unanimous decision. In the first two rounds, Ghilas, a 29 year old from Moldova, looked like an angry pedestrian chasing a speeding car that just swiped him. He hopelessly followed Shalom, who landed head-snapping shots from the outside with impressive speed and got out of harm's way just as fast.

Shalom, who hadn't fought in a professional boxing match in nearly two years, slowed a bit in the third. He was still too fast for Ghilas who only managed to touch Shalom's gloves on occasion. Shalom switched to southpaw for a bit in the stanza and landed eye-catching lead lefts from range.

Shalom attacked to start the fourth but quickly reverted to his typical style of stick-and-moving. Ghilas, who was badly outclassed in the first three rounds, did have moments of true success in the final round, but he paid the price. Shalom had landed countless punches that staggered Ghilas all fight and in the last period, the Moldovan's was hit cleanly so many times, he looked like a bobblehead doll.

Shalom's speed and boxing ability were impressive, but he could have followed up his stagger-inducing shots and perhaps earned a knockout. He always chose to box instead. He also circled to his left, directly into an orthodox fighter's strong hand. Against this particular opponent, it didn't matter, but it might be a different story against a better foe.

Notably, Shalom weighed in as a featherweight while Ghilas was a lightweight. Shalom rightly swept the three judges' scorecards, 40-36 to advance to 2-0-1 with one KO. Ghilas is now 0-2 and has yet to win a round in his professional career.
--

In the opening bout of the evening, Aki Azrael Mishaev defeated Gheorghi Croitor by unanimous decision. Mishaev, a 33 year old junior middleweight from Israel, entered with a menacing camouflage headscarf. Both fighters jabbed, moved, and bounced in the first round. Mishaev landed several heavy rights to the body and a left hook up top during the round. Croitor, a 22-year old from Moldova, retaliated by throwing left hooks to the body.

In the second, Croitor decided to pressure, abandoning the jab. It didn't work and Mishaev threw a double jab-right uppercut combination that was the best rally of the round. He potshotted and used his slick yet awkward movement to avoid Croitor's attempts.

Mishaev felt more confident in the third and began walking down the game Moldovan. The Israeli even switched to southpaw briefly. Mishaev went for the knockout in the final round, throwing huge power shots while grunting loudly. Some landed, but none put Croitor in any real danger. Croitor did seem tired by the time the final gong rang.

Mishaev, whose first name is listed as Arkadi on BoxRec, won with scores of 40-36, 40-37, 39-37. He is now 1-0. Croiter is 0-3, but exhibited far more skill than his record suggests. The problem for the Moldovan was Mishaev seemed to have a game plan whereas Croitor didn't.

The fights can be watched here.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Jewish Boxers to Fight in Ukraine on Sunday for Worthy Cause

Both Igor Lazarev and Yotham Shalom are scheduled to take part in separate bouts on Sunday, October 27 in Odessa, Ukraine. The event is designed to help children with special needs. For more about that program and for an opportunity to contribute, you can click on this link.

Lazarev (4-0, 2 KOs) won a split decision victory over Leandro Xhelili less than a month ago. He is slated to participate in an eight round bout with Dmytro Kostenko, a 41 year old from Ukraine. Kostenko has fought in eight different countries but hasn't won in many of them. His record is an uninspiring 2-16-1. However, Kostenko defeated a 9-1 British fighter last year for one of his two victories, and the Ukrainian lightweight has never been stopped.

Shalom (1-0-1, one KO) is a featherweight who has fought twice in France including his last one on December 2, 2017. His opponent is scheduled to be Piotr Ghilas (0-1), a 29 year old from Moldova. This bout is scheduled for four rounds.

Tony Milch had been preparing to box in an exhibition match on the card, but he sustained a cut under his right eye in sparring last week. Nevertheless, Milch will be in Odessa helping out. He also has an update on his Gloves and Doves program, which you can read more about here.

Milch is raising funds for a boxing card that would bring a boxing team from London, England to Israel to face a team of Jews and Arabs. To learn more and contribute, you can click here.

Newcomers Miroslav Kapuler and Aki Azrael Mishaev are also penciled in to be on the card. Kapuler faces Artur Davydenko (1-4), a 19 year old welterweight from Ukraine.

Mishaev battles Gheorghi Croitor (0-2), a 22 year old lightweight from Moldova. Croitor was stopped in the third round by Lazarev last December. Both fights are scheduled for four rounds.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Sinakin is 5-0

Benjamin "Jewish Bulldog" Sinakin, a 22 year old light heavyweight from Philadelphia, defeated Ferris Golden at the Met in his hometown last Saturday night.

Sinakin earned a third round technical knockout against the 27 year old from Ohio. Sinakin is now 5-0 with three KOs. Golden is now 1-1.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Duer Falls to Juarez

Carolina Duer lost via unanimous decision to Mariana Juarez last Saturday night at the Convention Center in Fresnillo, Mexico. Though the decision ultimately went to the right woman, the bout was plagued with irregularities and pro-Juarez bias.

The 41 year old Duer turned back the clock fifteen years in the first three rounds and thoroughly outboxed the 39 year old Juarez. She threw educated combinations that often finished with an overhand right or a left hook to the body. Juarez tried to counter with her right and landed occasionally. Both fighters spent moments as southpaws, but Duer's switches seemed to be strategic, while Mariana's move to southpaw was reactionary. There were several butts during the first three rounds, and Juarez seemed to get the worse of them.

Juarez countered more effectively in the fourth round and was able to slip Carolina's charges in the fifth. Duer abandoned her boxing and traded with Juarez more as the fight progressed. That was the case in the sixth as Duer's punching form became sloppier. Juarez managed to pin Duer in a corner in the 7th.

Referee Donovan Boucher of Canada thought the ten-second clap was the bell, so the seventh round lasted only a minute and 50 seconds. Boucher's role became more dubious from that point forward. Juarez increasingly complained about Duer's periodic holding and the intermittent butts. Boucher continuously acquiesced to Juarez's complaints. He took a point for holding in the eighth and ended that round ten seconds early as well.

The ninth ended 50 seconds early, which made for a penultimate round of only a minute and ten seconds. This faux pas seemed to be the responsibility of the timekeeper as the bell rang at 1:10.

Duer returned to boxing in the final round as Juarez sat on her lead. She knew she was ahead because the WBC has open-scoring for non-U.S. bouts. Despite competing in 66 previous bouts, Juarez had a bad habit of throwing her hands up and shrugging whenever Carolina landed a clean punch, allowing everyone to know Duer had scored. Juarez shrugged more in the tenth than she had in the previous few rounds.

The judges scored the fight 98-91 (twice), and 97-94 for Juarez/ The JBB scored the fight 96-93 for Juarez. The Mexico City native moves to 54-9-4 with 18 KOs while Duer is now 19-6-1 with 6 KOs.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Duer to Fight Juarez for a Strap

Carolina Duer returns to the ring after fourteenth months to face Mariana Juarez on October 12 at the Convention Center in Fresnillo, Mexico. The bout is for an alphabet bantamweight title.

Duer (19-5-1, 6 KOs) is a 41 year old from Buenos Aires. This will be her first time fighting outside of her native Argentina as a professional boxer. She's held world championship belts at two different weight classes and was on an 18-fight undefeated streak before losing two split decisions to Maria Cecilia Roman. Duer has only fought once a year recently, so her last victory was over three years ago.

Juarez (53-9-4, 18 KOs) resides in Mexico City and possesses some advantages over Duer. She's two years younger and has won world title belts from Flyweight up through bantamweight. Nicknamed Barby, Juarez has much more experience. She has almost as many knockouts as Duer has wins and Juarez isn't noted for her power. She fought fewer than four months ago and has battled four opponents since Duer's last fight, all unanimous decision victories.

Experience can be looked at another way, however. Juarez has 495 rounds in the ring while Duer has only 167. Juarez has been stopped three times while Duer has never been stopped. So Duer has a lot less mileage and, though she's experienced her share of tough battles, Carolina has received less damage in the ring.

The fight is scheduled for ten two-minute rounds.

Friday, October 4, 2019

Lazarev Goes 4-0

Igor Lazarev, a lightweight from Israel, defeated Leandro Xhelili last Saturday night at Asllan Rusi Sports Palace in Tirana, Albania.

Lazarev pressured effectively in the first three rounds punishing the body. Xhelili was content to counter, but he threw his two-punch counters more frequently in the third. Xhelili actually had Lazarev backing up in the fourth round and landed enough clean shots in the fifth. Lazarev seemed tired, but he came back in the sixth and final round by coming forward and dipping his left shoulder to set up an overhand right.

Lazarev won by split decision.The judges' scores were 58-56, 57-56, and 56-58. Xhelili didn't deserve to win four rounds. Lazarev, 33 year old, is 4-0. Xhelili, an 18 year old from Tirana with a two inch height advantage, is now 1-4.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Igor Lazarev Back in Action

Lightweight Igor Lazarev is scheduled to fight Leandro Xhelili at the Asslan Rusi Sports Palace in Tirana, Albania this Saturday.

Lazarev, a 33 year old, is an aggressive body puncher who has scored knockouts in each of his last two fights. He is 3-0 overall and has fought in Moldova and Ukraine. Xhelili, an 18 year old, has fought in his hometown of Tirana twice before. He has also fought in Italy.

Xhelili is 1-3. All of his fights thus far have been against debuting fighters and have gone the distance. His last two bouts were six round losses on points. Lazarev has never been scheduled for more the four. This one is set for four rounds.

Sunday, August 11, 2019

Milch Moving to Israel to Promote Peace through Boxing

British boxer Tony Milch is putting his own career on hold and moving to the Middle East. “My main goal is to help develop the sport in Israel,” Milch tells The Jewish Boxing Blog. The 38-year-old from Edgware hopes to achieve this goal through an initiative he is founding called Gloves and Doves.

Read the entire article by the editor of The JBB here at SecondsOut.com

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Chilemba Falls to Vlasov in Grueling Rematch

Isaac Chilemba lost by way of unanimous decision to Maksim Vlasov Saturday night. The light heavyweight bout took place in the open air of Gelendzhik's windy Central Square in Vlasov's home country of Russia and was a rematch of a 2011 contest in which Chilemba won on all three judges' scorecards in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Chilemba showed his defensive mastery throughout the fight, but his offense started slowly. Chilemba blocked, slipped, and used the shoulder roll technique to avoid much of Vlasov's early aggressiveness. Isaac mostly jabbed in the first three rounds though, and thus an observer would have difficulty giving him any of those opening three stanzas. His timing was off and his hands looked as if they were stuck in the mud.

Vlasov used herky-jerky movement at times to prevent Chilemba from landing his trademark right leads from distance. On occasion, Vlasov kept his hands stretched out to keep Chilemba at bay. At other times, the Russian kept his gloves down trying to goad the Malawi-native into a firefight. But Chilemba is a cerebral fighter and didn't fall for the trap. Instead, by the fourth round Isaac started landing the lead right. He had found his timing and the usual quickness in his punches.

Beginning to press the action for the first time, Chilemba, trained by legend Roy Jones Jr., kept landing pot shots from distance in the fifth. He also dug the body with the right and kept the momentum two minutes and thirty seconds into round six. But Vlasov turned the fight back in his favor at the end of the sixth with a couple of crisp jabs late and clean head shots from both hands with about thirty seconds left .

In the seventh, Vlasov landed the best punch of the fight, a leaping left hook that buckled Isaac's knees. Isaac was defensive for the rest of the round  and had a bloody nose to for his trouble but showed resilience by coming back in the eighth with his usual arsenal of overhand rights and rights to the body. He was also willing to exchange with Vlasov and got the better of it.

Vlasov finished the fight strong. He landed several clean left hooks. He had switched to southpaw for a few moments here and there earlier in the fight, but he did so more often in the final four rounds. Vlasov didn't land much as a lefty, but the move served to neutralize Chilemba's offense. The Russian veteran landed some hard right uppercuts in the tenth.

The eleventh round saw Chilemba suddenly fail to keep  the mouthpiece clenched between his teeth. Referee Yuri Koptsev, a countryman of Vlasov, did a fair job in the fight despite taking a point away from Chilemba for losing his mouthpiece three times in the penultimate round. Even an alternate mouthpiece wouldn't stay in. The loss of a point was a bit harsh because Isaac gained no advantage from the guard repeatedly slipping out.

As it turned out, the point deduction became irrelevant when the judges tallied their scores. Chilemba came out firing in the twelfth, but it wasn't enough. Vlasov won with scores of 117-110, 116-111 twice. His record improves to 44-3 with 26 KOs. Chilemba is now 25-7-2 with 10 KOs. Isaac has lost five of his last six fights, but four of them have been to the four best fighters in the division.

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Igor Lazarev Stays Undefeated

Igor Lazarev scored a knockout in his third professional boxing match. Lazarev beat Aliaksei Pashkouski, a 23 year old from Belarus, by way of second round stoppage at Ministerium in Odessa, Ukraine on Sunday.

The 33 year old lightweight thwacked the body early and often in the first. Lazarev's body attack forced Pashkouski's gloves to stay at home for much of the opening round. A left squeezed through the gloves and busted the Minsk native's nose in the second. That was enough to convince referee Shlomo Niyazov and Pashkouski's corner that the fight should be stopped. Lazarev is now 3-0 with two KOs while Pashkouski is 0-9-1 and had been stopped five times.

Lazarev was born in Russia and fights out of Ashdod, Israel. His first two fights took place in Moldova. He beat Mihai Hachi, who was 2-0 at the time, on May 25, 2018. Seven months later, he stopped Gheorgi Croiter in the third round by pressuring, switching stances, and punching constantly. A left hook to the body all but sealed the deal in that fight.

Tony Milch, a fellow Jewish boxer out of England, works with Lazarev and was in Ukraine for the fight.

Saturday, June 29, 2019

Kaminsky Wins by Decision

Southpaw David Kaminsky defeated Osbaldo Gonzales at the Pechango Resort and Casino in Temecula, California last night. Kaminsky won every round to earn a unanimous decision victory.

The 18 year old Kaminsky came out throwing hard shots from the opening bell. Gonzales seemed overwhelmed and kept his gloves at home until the second round. He held a lot. Kaminsky a California resident who came in at 162 pounds for the fight, landed a lot of left leads to the head and right hooks and straight lefts to the body. In the third round, Gonzalez's nose started bleeding. A hard left pushed him back and he was tough to stay on his feet and last the distance.

Kaminsky loaded up with every shots aiming for a knockout that never came. He only jabbed sparingly and almost never threw combinations. He head-hunted from the outset and only went to the body regularly later in the contest. But he thoroughly dominated the fight.

All three judges scored the fight 40-36. Kaminsky is now 5-0 with two KOs. Gonzales is not 6-5 with four KOs. He has only been stopped once.

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Chilemba to face Vlasov in Rematch

Light heavyweight Isaac Chilemba is scheduled to face Maksim Vlasov on July 20 at the Korston Club in Moscow, Russia. The bout is a rematch of a memorable 2011 affair.

On February 24, 2011 in Tulsa, Oklahoma Chilemba was knocked down twice in the eighth round thanks to a couple of shots from Vlasov's right hand. Chilemba recovered and ultimately won a close unanimous decision: 96-92 on two cards, 95-94 on the third.

Since the loss to Chilemba, the first of his career, Vlasov has fought as heavy as 201 pounds and as light as 165. He's weighed in over 188 pounds in 12 of his last 13 fights. The 32 year old  Russian has a 43-3 record with 26 KOs.

In 2015, Vlasov lost to Gilberto Ramirez, who has since become one of the best super middleweights in the world before he moved up to light heavyweight for his last fight. Last November, Vlasov lost in the quarterfinals of the World Boxing Super Series to Krzysztof Glowacki, who was involved in an incredibly bizarre fight with Mairis Briedis  last week. Unlike Chilemba, both Ramirez and Glowacki are southpaws.

After the win over Vlasov, Chilemba fought Tony Bellew twice in 2013. Controversial judging in Bellew's home country left Chilemba with a 0-1-1 record in those bouts. In recent years, Chilemba has been a gatekeeper of sorts in the light heavyweight division. The 32 year old has lost four out of his last five fights, but all of his losses have been to the elite at 175.

In 2015, Chilemba lost a disputed decision to Eleider Alvarez near the latter's adopted hometown of Montreal, Canada. The following year Chilemba lost a decision to Sergey Kovalev in Russia.  At the time, only Chilemba and Bernard Hopkins had maanged to go more than eight rounds with the Krusher.

Four months after the Kovalev fight, Chilemba broke his hand against the current lineal light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk, which forced the fight to conclude following the eighth round. After decisioning Blake Caparello last year, Chilemba lost on points to Dmitry Bivol. Artur Beterbiev is the only top five light heavyweight Chilemba hasn't fought and it isn't for lack of trying. Chilemba has taken to Twitter i nthe past to coax the power punching Beterbiev into the ring.

Isaac (25-6-2, 10 KOs) is a slick boxer who is defensively responsible.He has a good jab, but more often than not, prefers to pot-shot. Vlasov has a good right hand. Against Glowacki, he fought in spurts. Chilemba has also experienced offensive lulls within recent fights. Whereas the fight eight years ago featured fireworks, this time around it might be more of a strategic battle.

The rematch is scheduled for twelve rounds.

Saturday, June 8, 2019

Seldin Stops Judah

Cletus Seldin defeated Zab Judah by technical knockout in the eleventh round of their bout at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, New York. Seldin was busier the entire fight and pounded the veteran ex-champion.

Judah couldn't let his hands go all night due to a combination of Seldin's relentless pressure and Zab's 41 years. The 22-year pro had enough guile to avoid getting hit cleanly too often, but he took a beating nonetheless. He came in an impressive 138.3 pounds- same as Seldin- for the junior welterweight clash, but the ring doesn't lie. Judah doesn't have it anymore.

Seldin spent a significant portion of the fight as a southpaw, a new wrinkle in his game. Judah landed some lead lefts early in the fight and had a strong eighth by landing right hooks and uppercuts. Seldin wobbled Judah at the end of the third with a straight right. Two rights hurt Judah in the fifth. He went to the body effectively in every round. In the eleventh, Judah was gassed, and Cletus continued to press forward. Seldin landed several clean rights when referee Charlie Fitch jumped in to stop the fight.

Seldin improves his record to 24-1 and earned his twentieth KO. Judah falls to 44-10 with 30 KOs. This was the fourth time he's been stopped. Seldin joins the likes of Kostya Tszyu, Miguel Cotto, and Amir Khan in halting Super Judah.

Monday, May 27, 2019

Kaminsky Scheduled to Return June 28

Middleweight David Kaminsky (4-0, 2 KOs) is scheduled to face Osbaldo Gonzales on June 28 at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California. This will be Kaminsky's first fight since winning a unanimous decision over Estevan Payan in March.

Gonzales (6-4, 4 KOs) moved to Oklahoma as a boy and is a welder by trade. He started his career 5-0 with all five fights taking place in his home state. Nicknamed Rocky, he knocked out his first four opponents, but they were all winless when Gonzales fought them. He had an outrageous eight-pound weight advantage over two of those foes.The Tulsa-resident eked out a split decision victory against Alfred Walker, who sported a losing record and then promptly lost the rematch by unanimous decision.

Gonzales then pulled off the best victory of his career, beating Jarvis Williams, 8-0 at the time, in Williams's hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. Gonzales, who fought as heavy as super middleweight, has lost his last three fights, all to prospects.

Gonzales throws a lot of arm punches and paws with the jab, but he can land a solid right when the opponent has his hands down in the pocket. Both Daquan Pauldo, whose former surname was Arnett, and Quilisto Madera allowed Gonzales to land the right on occasion. Osbaldo doesn't have much defense, instead relying on an iron chin. He doesn't shoot a lot of punches either. Against Madera, a unanimous shutout loss three weeks ago, Gonzales did more taunting than throwing.

Alex Rincon, a southpaw and undefeated prospect, overwhelmed Gonzales with hand speed in their clash last September. Unlike Pauldo and Madera, Rincon attacked the body, which softened up the very tough Gonzales. It's no coincidence that Rincon is the only man to stop Gonzales.

Kaminsky-Gonzales is slated for four rounds on the Richard Commey-Raymond Beltran undercard and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Saturday, April 27, 2019

Sinakin Rises from the Canvas to Win

Light heavyweight Benny "The Jewish Bulldog" Sinakin was knocked down in the second round of his bout at The Met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania last night. His veteran opponent, Patrick Pierre, threw a hard right hand to score the knockdown.

Sinakin survived the adversity and won the next two rounds.  He had taken the opening three minutes as well. Two judges even gave him an extra point despite not scoring a knockdown. Those two scored the fight 38-36 in Benny's favor and the third had it 38-37 for the Bulldog.

With this unanimous decision victory, Sinakin, who was outweighed by nearly three pounds, improves his record to 4-0 with two KOs. Pierre falls to 3-7 with one KO. he had won his last fight, but now has lost five out of his last six.

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Seldin to Face Zab Judah in June

Cletus Seldin is scheduled to face Zab Judah in an intriguing welterweight matchup at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, New York on June 7. This crossroads fight is an excellent litmus test for the Hebrew Hammer.

Seldin (23-1, 19 KOs) struggled against a boxer-mover in Yves Ulysse in his only career loss on December 16, 2017. Judah (44-9, 30 KOs) is a boxer-mover and a southpaw, which theoretically will pose problems for Cletus. But Judah, a 22-year veteran, is 41 years old. The question remains whether Judah can move well enough to cause Seldin issues.

Nicknamed "Super," Judah has fought a who's who in the 140 and 147 pound divisions over the past twenty years. He's faced the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Kostya Tyszu, Amir Khan, and Danny Garcia just to name a few. But Judah has come up short in his biggest fights. Blessed with tremendous talent, Judah never lived up to his potential despite winning some world title straps.

Seldin has been far busier than Judah in recent years. Judah has stepped in between the ropes only twice since a decision loss to Paulie Malignaggi on December 7, 2013. Seldin's fought twice since Judah's last bout in January of 2018. But Seldin's two fights amounted to only a little over a minute in the ring. "The Hamma" tends to bum rush his opponents while firing overhand rights, and as a result, he's scored two first round knockouts since his lone loss to Ulysse.

Seldin is fairly unique for a puncher. Most punchers wait around and load up until they see an opening for their money punch. Seldin is aggressive and busy, intending to force an opening. His best chance in this fight is to get to the inside and maul the veteran in order to neutralize Zab's five inch reach advantage. Seldin can be rough on the inside, and when he was much younger, Judah was known to lose his cool easily, so it behooves Cletus to try to frustrate the lefty. Judah may no longer have the reflexes to keep the younger, stronger man off of him, allowing Seldin an opportunity to dictate the contest.

Judah will look to take a page from Ulysse and be a slick boxer. If he sticks and moves, Seldin may not be able to catch him. But it remains to be seen if the man with the nine year age disadvantage can keep it up for the scheduled ten rounds.

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Benny Sinakin to Face Pierre on April 26

Benjamin "The Jewish Bulldog" Sinakin is scheduled to fight Patrick Pierre at The Met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 26. The light heavyweight contest is slated for four rounds.

Sinakin (3-0, 2 KOs) is coming off of a first round stoppage over the winless Ronald Lawrence at The Met in February. Pierre (3-6, one KO), a native of Brooklyn, is a 36 year old of Haitian heritage. Pierre moved to New Orleans in 2014 for his boxing career according to Peter Finney Jr.

Nicknamed "Concrete," Pierre debuted as a professional in 2017 and has been busy in the ring since. He's had five fights since last summer. Against Manjaro Hills on August 11, Pierre jabbed well and went to the body, but he kept his guard too low, which allowed Hills to land potshots and one-twos over the top. That's good news for Sinakin, who landed an overhand right and a left hook over the top to score the knockout in his last fight. But Pierre was game against Hills. He never showed signs of being hurt. During the sixth and final round, Hills attempted to get in Patrick's head when he asked, "You tired?" Pierre responded, "No," and took the round; the only one he won.

Most of Pierre's fight have been in Louisiana which- with all due respect to Regis Prograis- is not known as a boxing hotbed. Pierre started his career 2-2, but then dropped his next four fights in a row. He was stopped in two of them. He defeated Rashad Jones, a fighter with a losing record, by fourth round TKO in his last fight in January to stop his losing streak. Pierre has fought as low as super middleweight and as heavy as 183 pounds.

Though Pierre has a one-inch height advantage, Sinakin has a fifteen year age advantage. All of Sinakin's bouts have been in the respected fight town of Philadelphia. This will be Benny's second match at The Met.

Saturday, March 23, 2019

Kaminsky Wins By Decision

David Kaminsky defeated Estevan Payan in a fight that was originally scheduled for February 8. This bout took place tonight at The Hangar in Costa Mesa, California. Kaminsky won with three scores of 40-36.

Kaminsky controlled the middleweight swing bout throughout. The southpaw showed impressive hand speed, a good jab, strong lead lefts, and a dangerous check right hook. His foot movement befuddled the tough Payan. In the second round, Kaminsky's movement made Payan miss badly. In the third, Kaminsky landed three lead straight lefts and two right hooks that shook up Payan.

Payan's best chance was to get to the inside. On the rare occasion when Payan managed to get close, Kaminsky was defensively responsible. His guard was up as Payan tried to maul him with arm punches. In addition to lunging too much, Payan was also too square and too slow for the younger fighter. Kaminsky kept his right hand low at range the entire fight. It didn't hurt him at all in this one, but could be a liability against a better boxer in the future.

In addition, to wearing trunks with red on one side and white with gold stripes and a Star of David on the other, Kaminsky bit down on a comically over-sized mouthpiece. Otherwise, Kaminsky looked splendid in the fight. The 18 year old moves to 4-0 with two KOs. Payan falls to 1-7-1 with one KO.

Monday, February 25, 2019

Sinakin Wins, Israeli Draws, and Kaminsky's Fight Cancelled

Both Benjamin Sinakin and Tamar Israeli were featured on last Saturday's card at the Met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. David Kaminsky was originally scheduled to fight February 8, then the 16th, and now maybe in March.

Sinakin, a light heavyweight, only stayed in the ring for two minutes and forty two seconds before earning a KO victory over the winless Ronald Lawrence. Sinakin landed an overhand right left hook combo that put Lawrence down for the count. This is the third straight fight Lawrence has been knocked out in the first round; a streak that dates back to 2012. He was knocked down by Todd Unthank May in his debut before going the distance. Lawrence is now 0-4. This opponent posed less of a challenge than Sinakin's first two. The Jewish Bulldog, who came in at 173.3 lbs- the same as his opponent- is now 3-0 with two KOs.

Tamar Israeli won her fight on one judge's card, three rounds to one. But the other two judges saw things differently and Israeli's fight against Karen Dulin was deemed a majority draw. Dulin, a 43 year old from Rhode Island, weighed in nearly two pounds lighter than Israeli for their featherweight affair. She is now 3-16-1 with one KO. Israeli moves to 2-0-1 with one KO.

Initially, junior middleweight David Kaminsky was scheduled to fight at Sportsman Lodge in Los Angeles, California on February 8. A kitchen fire forced a postponement and a relocation. The card was moved to February 16 at Florentine Gardens in Hollywood, California. At some point, Kaminsky fell off the card. BoxRec current has Kaminsky slated to fight on March 23 with no other details attached. There is an event in Costa Mesa, California on that date.

Sunday, February 3, 2019

Kaminsky-Payan Rescheduled to February 16

David Kaminsky (3-0, 2 KOs) was originally scheduled to fight Estevan Payan (1-6-1, 1 KO)on February 8 at the Sportsman Lodge in Los Angeles, California. However, a kitchen fire forced the entire card to be postponed and moved to another location.

Kaminsky is now scheduled to fight Payan on February 16 at Florentine Gardens in Hollywood, California. More about the Israel native and his opponent here.

Monday, January 28, 2019

Sinakin and Israeli to Fight on February 23

Light heavyweight Benjamin "The Jewish Bulldog" Sinakin and super featherweight Tamar "Princess" Israeli are both scheduled to fight on February 23 at The Met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The card will be promoted by Hard Hitting Promotions.

Sinakin (2-0, one KO) scored a first round stoppage over Darren Gibbs on November 16. He won his debut a month and ten days earlier.

Israeli's next fight will mark a year and nine month hiatus from the ring. In her previous contest Tamar (2-0, 2 KOs) stopped Lashanda Tabron on May 20, 2017. Her debut was a first round KO victory three months earlier.

Both Sinakin's and Israeli's bouts are slated for four rounds. Neither has an opponent as of yet.

Sunday, January 27, 2019

Seldin Scores Another First Round KO

Cletus Seldin, sporting purple trunks and purple hair, predictably ran over his journeyman opponent, Adam Mate, at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut last night. Seldin was the aggressor from the opening bell. He landed two right hands 23 seconds into the fight that put Mate down to the canvas. Mate rose, but Cletus kept coming. The Hungarian tried to jab in hopes of stymieing Seldin's pressure but to no avail. Seldin landed a huge overhand right that put Mate down again and the fight was then immediately stopped.

This bout lasted only 44 seconds, a quick wash of the hands longer than his previous contest. In his two fights since his lone career defeat, Seldin has only been in the ring for a total of a minute and ten seconds, or slightly less time than it takes to microwave a bowl of instant oatmeal.

These last two first round knockouts came against veterans with winning records, but the Hebrew Hammer has had more impressive victories in his career, including over- but not limited to- Johnny Garcia in 2015 and Roberto Ortiz in 2017. The 32 year old from New York can dominate competition better than Nelson Lara and Mate. But Seldin's victory over the latter was impressive in that he stopped Mate over a round quicker than did Robert Guerrero last month.

Seldin, who weighed in at 145.5 pounds, improves his record to 23-1 with 19 KOs. Mate, who came in at the welterweight limit of 147, was stopped for the eleventh time in his career. The man nicknamed "Bad Boy" falls to 28-14 with 21 KOs.

Sunday, January 20, 2019

Kaminsky to Face Payan in February

Junior middleweight David Kaminsky (3-0, 2 KOs) is scheduled to be back in the ring on February 8 at Sportsman Lodge in Los Angeles, California. Estevan Payan is the 18 year old's scheduled opponent.

Kaminsky will continue his tradition of fighting every four months. He's coming off of a stoppage victory over Noah LaCoste in October. Kaminsky's previous two opponents were a combined 3-0. This next opponent has a losing record but much more experience.

While Payan (1-6-1, one KO) hasn't had much success in a boxing ring, he makes up for it with a love of fighting. In his lone victory over the debuting Jesus Garcia in 2017, Payan wore a maniacal smile throughout the contest. "I'm violent," Payan said in an interview last year. "I bring violence to a fight. I come to hurt you."

Against Garcia, Payan pressured. He showed a good jab, but he swung his power punches wildly rather then firing them with precision. Nevertheless, he landed cleanly enough to earn a TKO in the fourth round and convince Garcia to choose another profession. Payan has lost his last four fights since.

In his next fight, against a 3-0 southpaw- not unlike Kaminsky- named Jonathan Esquivel, Payan tried to pressure, but was dissuaded by Esquivel's superior hand speed and accuracy. Payan lasted until the third round before referee Jack Reiss stopped the fight. There were two unanimous decision losses before Payan was stopped a minute and thirteen seconds into his last fight against Vardes Vardanyan in September.

Payan has more experience in MMA, where he has a winning record. The 36 year old from Glendale, Arizona is 15-12 in that sport. He won his last fight in April.

The fight between Kaminsky and Payan is scheduled for four rounds.