Boyd Melson defeated Edgar Perez by unanimous decision at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Melson won with two scores of 60-53 and another of 59-54.
Melson, wearing his customary black and yellow trunks, hurt Perez's body in the second round and commanded the rest of the bout with his southpaw jab. In the fifth, Melson dropped Perez by landing a left cross. Boyd weighed 160.6 pounds for the bout, the heaviest he's ever been for a fight, while Perez was 161.4.
Melson moves his record to 11-1-1 with 4 KOs. After experiencing his fourth straight loss, Perez plummets to 5-4 with three KOs.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Melson has a New Opponent
Troy Lowry has been replaced as junior middleweight Boyd Melson's opponent for his April 27 fight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. In his stead, Edgar Perez, a 34 years-old who fights out of Chicago, Illinois by way of Puerto Rico, gets the call.
Perez (5-3, 3 KOs) has lost his last three bouts and has been stopped in his last two. The three men were a combined 23-1 when Perez faced them and include Jermall Charlo, a well-regarded prospect. Perez has fought as light as 144 pounds and as heavy as 163.75 pounds.
Melson (10-1-1, 4 KOs), who was recently profiled on HBO's Real Sports, is coming off of a disputed draw against Jason Thompson last October. This marks the longest layoff of Melson's career.
The bout is scheduled for six rounds.
Perez (5-3, 3 KOs) has lost his last three bouts and has been stopped in his last two. The three men were a combined 23-1 when Perez faced them and include Jermall Charlo, a well-regarded prospect. Perez has fought as light as 144 pounds and as heavy as 163.75 pounds.
Melson (10-1-1, 4 KOs), who was recently profiled on HBO's Real Sports, is coming off of a disputed draw against Jason Thompson last October. This marks the longest layoff of Melson's career.
The bout is scheduled for six rounds.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Salita May Retire from the Ring
Dmitriy Salita has endured a number of aggravating incidences involving his boxing career in recent years. He hinted that he may leave the sport as a result.
Salita told Raphael Geller of Haaretz, "I had some real challenges landing a significant fight. I was supposed to have a good breakout fight against Hector Camacho Jr. on February 9, then the whole show got postponed to April 27, and for some reason my match got cancelled, just like that. I found out about the cancellation by reading an article about it on ESPN.com. I put in four months of hard work and the fight got cancelled."
Salita continued, "This situation is one of many disappointments in the past several years. This one has just been more public. "
Before the catastrophe with Camacho, Salita had hoped to fight Ismael El-Massoudi, but, after Matthew Hatton unsuccessfully tried to usurp a fight against El Massoudi from Salita, the fight fell through despite a contract being signed by both Salita's and El Massoudi's camps.
Salita's frustration is palpable and understandable. He asserted, "I also feel that I am blackballed; the seldom good opportunities that come my way, as this one, somehow evaporate."
Because of Salita's lack of opportunities, he might find a new profession. Salita concluded, "Physically, I feel great, but the business and inconsistency of the sport has me seriously thinking about doing something else. I have dedicated my life to the sport of boxing, and have dedicated all my energy to be the best athlete I can be and to stay true to my beliefs as a religious Jew while pursuing my goals in boxing. I have a family to support and can't afford such things to happen."
Dmitriy turned professional in 2001 and won his first 24 fights. He remained undefeated until he faced Amir Khan for a light welterweight championship belt in 2009. The usually fluid and talented Salita was nowhere to be seen on that December night as Dmitiry was stopped a little over a minute into the first round. Recovering from the disappointment of his only opportunity to reach stardom in the sport, Salita has won his last five fights. But none have come against the level of opposition he has hoped to fight.
Whether this is the end of a noteworthy career or just a momentary spurt of frustration remains to be seen. If this is the end, Salita's boxing career will be viewed as one of dreams unfulfilled, a skilled boxer who regrettably only had one all-too-brief opportunity to try and show his impressive ability.
Salita told Raphael Geller of Haaretz, "I had some real challenges landing a significant fight. I was supposed to have a good breakout fight against Hector Camacho Jr. on February 9, then the whole show got postponed to April 27, and for some reason my match got cancelled, just like that. I found out about the cancellation by reading an article about it on ESPN.com. I put in four months of hard work and the fight got cancelled."
Salita continued, "This situation is one of many disappointments in the past several years. This one has just been more public. "
Before the catastrophe with Camacho, Salita had hoped to fight Ismael El-Massoudi, but, after Matthew Hatton unsuccessfully tried to usurp a fight against El Massoudi from Salita, the fight fell through despite a contract being signed by both Salita's and El Massoudi's camps.
Salita's frustration is palpable and understandable. He asserted, "I also feel that I am blackballed; the seldom good opportunities that come my way, as this one, somehow evaporate."
Because of Salita's lack of opportunities, he might find a new profession. Salita concluded, "Physically, I feel great, but the business and inconsistency of the sport has me seriously thinking about doing something else. I have dedicated my life to the sport of boxing, and have dedicated all my energy to be the best athlete I can be and to stay true to my beliefs as a religious Jew while pursuing my goals in boxing. I have a family to support and can't afford such things to happen."
Dmitriy turned professional in 2001 and won his first 24 fights. He remained undefeated until he faced Amir Khan for a light welterweight championship belt in 2009. The usually fluid and talented Salita was nowhere to be seen on that December night as Dmitiry was stopped a little over a minute into the first round. Recovering from the disappointment of his only opportunity to reach stardom in the sport, Salita has won his last five fights. But none have come against the level of opposition he has hoped to fight.
Whether this is the end of a noteworthy career or just a momentary spurt of frustration remains to be seen. If this is the end, Salita's boxing career will be viewed as one of dreams unfulfilled, a skilled boxer who regrettably only had one all-too-brief opportunity to try and show his impressive ability.
Monday, April 22, 2013
A Look Back: Sauveur Benamou
In an effort to link the past with the present, The Jewish Boxing Blog will offer monthly a short biography of notable former Jewish boxers.
Sauveur Benamou was a boxer from Algeria who became the French lightweight champion during his brief career. Not much is known about his life out of the ring, however.
Sauveur Benamou was born on October 11, 1933 in Oran, Algeria. Lying on the Mediterranean Sea in the northwest section the country, Oran was resettled as a Jewish town in the late eighteenth century, two years after a devastating earthquake. One of the city's landmarks is the Great Synagogue, located in western Oran, where construction began in 1880. After Jews left Algeria, the synagogue remained a House of God, being used as a mosque since 1975.
The French occupied the city in 1831 and would maintain control over it until Algeria gained its independence in 1962. As a result of colonization and its relatively close proximity to Spain, Oran inhabited one of the largest European populations in all of North Africa. It currently is a modern city, boasting aesthetically-pleasing white buildings and palm trees.
Benamou began his boxing career in 1956 in his early 20s. He went 13-0-3 in his first 16 fights which took place from 1956 to 1958. These bouts mostly took place in Paris, France at the Salle Wagram, an establishment built in 1812 and still in operation after undergoing restoration.
Benamou sported a wide flat nose with relatively narrow cheeks. A handsome man, his torso could have been constructed by an ancient Greek sculptor. He typically wore dark trunks with white trim and sported a large white Star of David over his left thigh.
In 1959, Benamou caught a well-regarded French fighter named Edouard Ptak at the tail end of his career and stopped him in the second round. Benamou then drew and subsequently lost to Frank Garcia in Spain during two bouts in April of 1959.
Sauveur took six and half months off before losing to experienced French lightweight champion Fernand Nollet. Benamou's best win came a month later against the same Nollet. This time, the bout was fought in Benamou's hometown of Oran. The date was December 6, 1959. Benamou received a decision victory after fifteen rounds and won the French lightweight championship.
Benamou was known as a puncher and displayed the patient manner of a man looking for a single knockout blow. On February 23, 1960, that style hurt Sauveur against his British opponent, Dave Charnley.
Charnley was a Commonwealth lightweight champion and coming off of a sixth round stoppage loss in a world title challenge against Joe Brown two and half months earlier. Charnley would challenge Brown for the title again the next year in The Ring Magazine's Fight of the Year for 1961, and win the British and European lightweight titles during his career.
At the Empire pool in London, England, Charnley easily outboxed Benamou, who waited too long to land one concussive blow. Benamou was supposed to get a rematch the following January, but had to pull out of the fight five days before the fight due to an injury. He never fought again.
We can estimate Benamou's ring record at 17-3-4 with at least five KOs by combining what we know from The Ring and BoxRec. In 1962, Jews from Oran left their hometown and settled in the Paris region when Algeria gained independence after a bloody war with their colonizer, France. In 1993, he participated in a meeting of the Association of Jews from Oran in France, but little else is known about Benamou after his ring career.
Bibliography
"Charnley Scores Easy Victory." The Age. February 24, 1960.
"Charnley Cops Gresham Win." Pittsburgh Press. January 18, 1961.
Sauveur Benamou was a boxer from Algeria who became the French lightweight champion during his brief career. Not much is known about his life out of the ring, however.
Sauveur Benamou was born on October 11, 1933 in Oran, Algeria. Lying on the Mediterranean Sea in the northwest section the country, Oran was resettled as a Jewish town in the late eighteenth century, two years after a devastating earthquake. One of the city's landmarks is the Great Synagogue, located in western Oran, where construction began in 1880. After Jews left Algeria, the synagogue remained a House of God, being used as a mosque since 1975.
The French occupied the city in 1831 and would maintain control over it until Algeria gained its independence in 1962. As a result of colonization and its relatively close proximity to Spain, Oran inhabited one of the largest European populations in all of North Africa. It currently is a modern city, boasting aesthetically-pleasing white buildings and palm trees.
Benamou began his boxing career in 1956 in his early 20s. He went 13-0-3 in his first 16 fights which took place from 1956 to 1958. These bouts mostly took place in Paris, France at the Salle Wagram, an establishment built in 1812 and still in operation after undergoing restoration.
Benamou sported a wide flat nose with relatively narrow cheeks. A handsome man, his torso could have been constructed by an ancient Greek sculptor. He typically wore dark trunks with white trim and sported a large white Star of David over his left thigh.
In 1959, Benamou caught a well-regarded French fighter named Edouard Ptak at the tail end of his career and stopped him in the second round. Benamou then drew and subsequently lost to Frank Garcia in Spain during two bouts in April of 1959.
Sauveur took six and half months off before losing to experienced French lightweight champion Fernand Nollet. Benamou's best win came a month later against the same Nollet. This time, the bout was fought in Benamou's hometown of Oran. The date was December 6, 1959. Benamou received a decision victory after fifteen rounds and won the French lightweight championship.
Benamou was known as a puncher and displayed the patient manner of a man looking for a single knockout blow. On February 23, 1960, that style hurt Sauveur against his British opponent, Dave Charnley.
Charnley was a Commonwealth lightweight champion and coming off of a sixth round stoppage loss in a world title challenge against Joe Brown two and half months earlier. Charnley would challenge Brown for the title again the next year in The Ring Magazine's Fight of the Year for 1961, and win the British and European lightweight titles during his career.
At the Empire pool in London, England, Charnley easily outboxed Benamou, who waited too long to land one concussive blow. Benamou was supposed to get a rematch the following January, but had to pull out of the fight five days before the fight due to an injury. He never fought again.
We can estimate Benamou's ring record at 17-3-4 with at least five KOs by combining what we know from The Ring and BoxRec. In 1962, Jews from Oran left their hometown and settled in the Paris region when Algeria gained independence after a bloody war with their colonizer, France. In 1993, he participated in a meeting of the Association of Jews from Oran in France, but little else is known about Benamou after his ring career.
Bibliography
"Charnley Scores Easy Victory." The Age. February 24, 1960.
"Charnley Cops Gresham Win." Pittsburgh Press. January 18, 1961.
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