Dr. Stefi Cohen to Face Leanne Calderon on Thursday

Dr. Stefanie Cohen is scheduled to face Leanne Calderon Smith on Thursday, February 23 at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California, USA. Calderon Smith will pose a tough test for Cohen.

Cohen (2-1-1, one KO) is a world record-breaking powerlifter, entrepreneur, and social media star. The 30 year old native of Venezuela earned a PhD and has been a professional boxer for just under two years. She's only had four fights because of bad luck. Quite a few of her scheduled bouts have fallen through. Most recently, two potential fights with Kedra Bradley were cancelled. The latest one, scheduled for late last month, was scrapped because of a bizarre weight issue.

As a result of the cancellations, Cohen last fought eight and half months ago when she lost a unanimous decision to Devany Cuevas Torres.

Calderon Smith (1-2-1) is a 35 year old from Texas. On paper she doesn't look like much of a match for Cohen, but Calderon Smith's lone win came over Cuevas Torres, the woman responsible for Cohen's lone loss. Calderon is 1-1 against Cuevas, and both fights resulted in majority decisions last summer. Calderon drew with an experienced fighter with an even record in her debut and lost her last fight to Shurretta Metcalf, a solid boxer with a winning record. Leanne also has amateur MMA experience.

BoxRec lists Cohen and Calderon as an inch apart in height, but in reality, Calderon will enjoy a wider advantage. Cuevas towered over Cohen while Calderon wasn't that much shorter than their common opponent. Calderon has a good jab, pretty quick hands, and solid fundamentals. She has no knockouts, so Cohen will want to jab her way inside and then use her strength. Cohen has improved tremendously in a short period of time, but perhaps she tries to box too much instead of finding her way in close and mauling her opponents.

This bout is scheduled for four two-minute rounds. The event will be shown on DAZN.

Sarembock and Villa Fight to a Draw

Shawn Michael Sarembock and Jesus Emmanuel "Morgan" Villa fought to a draw tonight at the Grand Hotel in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Both fighters had their moments in a close fight.

Sarembock, a 32 year old from Arizona, focused on defense in the opening round. He spent most of the first three minutes figuring out proper distance. Villa, a 29 year old from Mexico City, didn't do much more offensively, but enough to take the round.

In the second, Sarembock discovered two important tactics. He began targeting Villa's body and he made sure to keep his right up to block Villa's dangerous left hook. But Villa continuously landed a sneaky counter jab and found success with his own body work.

Shawn, who one announcer repeatedly called "Michael Sarenbrook," came out for the third far more aggressively. He landed picturesque left hooks to the body and then to the head. He trapped Villa in the corner and unloaded on the Mexican warrior. Midway through the round, Villa came back and connected with his best combination of the night. Sarembock stumbled back but stayed on his feet. Villa's left hook did the damage.

With the seconds ticking down in the third, Shawn cracked Villa's body with a right, which served two purposes. It hurt Villa, but it also set up a beautiful right uppercut that snapped back Morgan's head. With that final combination, Sarembock had snatched back the round. He continued the body work in the fourth, a round that saw Villa mostly retreating.

Sarembock, with a mouse growing under each eye, stalked his prey in the fifth, but didn't let his hands go until the round was half over. In the meantime, Villa jabbed and landed enough body work to put him ahead. With the round almost complete, Shawn corralled Villa into the corner and unleashed a round-winning combination that brought audible gasps from the ringside commentators.

Shawn was like a bull in the sixth and final round. He charged after Villa, eating some punches for his trouble, but cornering Villa and battering his body enough to win the round. Both men let their hands go in an exciting final ten seconds of the fight.

The Jewish Boxing Blog scored the bout 58-56 for Sarembock. The judges, however called it a majority draw. Ivan Velasco agreed with The JBB, but the other two judges had the fight even at 57 apiece.

Sarembock is now 8-0-1 with 8 KOs. Though the result was likely disappointing, he put up a good fight and it was a great learning experience in the ring. Villa (5-8-3, one KO) picked up his third straight draw against an undefeated opponent. He is now 2-0-3 in his last five fight against opponents with a combined record of 32-1-3 and once again proved that he is a very tough opponent.

Shawn Sarembock and Jesus Emmanuel Villa Weigh In

Shawn Sarembock and Jesus Emmanuel Villa weighed in ahead of their bout tomorrow at the Grand Hotel in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. This fight is a scheduled six-rounder.

Sarembock (8-0, 8 KOs) weighed in at 151 pounds, comfortably below the junior middleweight limit. His range has been between 145.5 and 152.3 pounds. This is the sixth time Shawn has weighed in between 150 and 152.3 pounds. At the weigh-in, he wore a necklace with the Star of David dangling from it. During the stare down, Shawn glared intensely at Villa. He was all business.

Villa (5-8-2, one KO) came in at 154.8 pounds, which is over the junior middleweight limit and the second heaviest of his career. Villa's lightest weight was 139 which came back in 2017. His heaviest was 158.5 pounds, which he weighed for his upset victory over Brian Landeros Juarez last May. Villa has appeared to miss weight twice before. In 2016, he was 0.8 pounds over the welterweight limit while his opponent came in under the 147 limit. In 2018, Villa held a four pound advantage over one opponent; Villa and the opponent again straddled the welterweight limit.

After the stare down, the two men acted professionally. They shook hands and gave each other a bro hug. Showing good sportsmanship, Villa then came over to Shawn's dad and trainer, Neil, and they shook each hands and nodded respectfully to each other.

Sarembock has a KO streak to uphold while Villa has greatly improved in recent fights. Check out The Jewish Boxing Blog's preview of the fight. 

Shawn Sarembock to Face Jesus Villa Friday

Junior middleweight Shawn Michael Sarembock is scheduled to face Jesus Emmanuel Villa on Friday at the Grand Hotel in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Villa is a tough experienced opponent.

Sarembock, a 32 year old from Arizona, boasts a record of 8-0 with 8 KOs. A poised and patient fighter, Shawn has fought all of his bouts in Tijuana. He earns most of his knockouts with precise punch placement and timing. He last fought this past March scoring a fourth round TKO against Miguel Reyes.

Villa (5-8-2, one KO) is much better than his record suggests. The 29 year old from Mexico City started his career 1-4 but has greatly improved since. He is 2-0-2 in his last four fights against opponents with a combined record of 24-1-3. Villa is three years younger, but has more pro experience than Sarembock, has been more active, and has faced the better opposition.

A man of many names, Jesus often fights under the name of Emmanuel Villa. He had gone by the nickname "Jaguar" when he landed a stunning knockout with a left hook during an exchange in the third round of his debut against Brian Perez in 2013. Incidentally, Perez won his next eight fights. Villa, however, lost his next four.

The low point likely came against Isaac Rivas in 2017. Villa never got into the fight against the 2-6 Rivas and ate combinations until the fight was stopped a minute and half after it began. Villa complained about the stoppage, but he had performed poorly.

Villa then beat a 3-0 guy and a 1-0 foe before dropping a decision in Canada to Montreal's Hamza Khabbaz. In the second round of Villa's next fight, Diego Carmona landed a picture perfect uppercut that momentarily froze the "Jaguar" before he fell backwards to the canvas for a spectacular knockout.

Villa, who now uses the less terrifying nickname "Morgan," came back to give Albert "Suavecito" Paredes and Luis "Cotto" Vidales two competitive fights. Morgan Villa's left hook continued to be his best punch. His hands were active if not always purposeful. A headhunter, Villa throws away several punches just to land the right. Paredes and Vidales both thrived when they forced Villa to fight off the backfoot. Those fights were eight and ten rounds respectively, so both Paredes and Vidales slowed in the middle rounds allowing for Villa to come forward and successfully bang.

Dariniel Sanchez, 8-1 at the time, tried to box "Morgan" in their November, 2021 fight. That strategy played right into Villa's hands as he controlled center ring and threw power shots while Sanchez mostly jabbed. Though Villa was the underdog, the judges in Mexico rewarded his activity. Villa's last three fights were all against undefeated opponents and have all taken place since Sarembock last fought.

Defensively, Sarembock is far superior. Villa is quite hittable, but while his chin is not quite made of granite, it's likely made of some slightly less indestructible rock, something along the lines of basalt. He'll rely on that basalt chin because he doesn't concern himself much with blocking or slipping incoming fire. Villa's height has never been listed, but he's always the shorter man, so Shawn will have the height and reach advantage. Sarembock also possesses the better skills, technique, and ring IQ.

Sarembock-Villa is scheduled for six rounds.

2023 Israeli Amateur Championships

Several pro boxers took part in the Israeli national amateur championships last week. Pros have been allowed to take part in amateur boxing tournaments for several years now. Some weight classes in Israel have enough fighters to have a quarterfinal round while other divisions have fewer competitors.

David Alaverdian (7-0-1, 6 KOs) won the bantamweight (119-pound) title when his opponent didn't come out for the third round. There aren't many Israeli bantamweights, so David only needed one win to capture the title. He had announced his retirement from amateur boxing last May after a head-scratching decision went against him in the European championships. David has a pro fight scheduled for April 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Miroslav Kapuler (3-0, one KO) won the junior middleweight (156.5-pound) title. He advanced on a walkover in the quarterfinals and then beat his next two opponents 5-0 on points. Kapuler last fought as a pro in September 2021. The 25 year old is a skilled southpaw.

Alex Karchevski dropped a decision to David Bazov in the light heavyweight (176.4-pound) final. Karchevski won his pro debut yesterday. He beat his semifinal opponent 3-2 on February 3, lost to Bazov 5-0 on the 4th, and won his pro debut on the 9th, a truly old school schedule. Bazov was scheduled to go pro last fall but his transition to prizefighting has since been delayed.