Brick City Boxing

On the “The Brick City Boxing Series” in Newark, New Jersey at the Prudential Arena (July 16, ESPN 2, 9pm)

By: Les Dowgier

Boxing is not for the timid or faint of heart. It is a tough, gritty world filled with men exuding the same characteristics. It is not a sport doctors “play” at the club on weekends. You don’t “do” or “play” boxing. In boxing, it is a fight. Perhaps for that reason, so many boxers have backgrounds that required them to fight one way or another for so much of their life. Though there are exceptions, you’ll rarely find sons of doctors, lawyers or stockbrokers from affluent backgrounds in the ring. Few other sports have stories like boxing, and Alex “The Brick City Bullet” Perez is one such story. His is a story of triumph and tribulation, of great highs and great lows and most importantly, a story of friendship and loyalty. Perez will be fighting in his biggest fight to date, as the co-feature on July 16 in Main Event’s “Brick City Boxing Series” at the Prudential Arena in Newark, New Jersey which will air on ESPN2 at 9pm.

This is the type of story fit for Hollywood and can certainly be written like a dramatic screen play. Setting: It's the middle of yet another muggy, humid summer night at the Baxter Terrace Projects, Newark, New Jersey. It is uncharacteristically still and quiet, however, the Perez family is one of the last remaining families in the hulking red brick projects before they were to be condemned. Suddenly, the family is startled by a loud thumping on the door followed by a loud voice, “Newark Police! Open the door!” This sounds like it's closer to the end of the story rather than the beginning, so in order to get the full story we must rewind a few years.

Alex Perez grew up on the streets of Newark, New Jersey. Running the streets of Newark, he encountered his fair share of trouble. However, unlike his peers, Alex had a special talent, he could box and perhaps as importantly, his talent was noticed by local boxing trainer, Jose Rosario who became like a stepfather to the young fighter. Rosario did all he could to focus the young fighter’s energy towards boxing and did an admirable job, helping Alex amass an impressive 56-3 amateur record. However, as a coach and stepfather, there is only so much that one can do, and Alex himself admits that if it wasn’t for his continued running around on the street of the Brick City, his amateur exploits would’ve been even more impressive.

In December of 2004, Alex first showcased his great potential and talent in the professional ranks, winning by an impressive first round knockout. It seemed like Alex was taking his first steps toward his dream and was leaving the street behind. Only 6 short weeks later, that perception was shattered by two bullets which also shattered Alex’s ribs around his chest and stomach. The streets had caught up with Alex and threatened to derail his professional career only 8 short weeks after it began. But, true to the grit and toughness which exemplifies the sport, Alex was back in the ring a mere 6 months later, achieving another 1st round knockout.

Finally, it appeared as is Perez’s career was back on track and heading in the right direction. Over the following two years, the talented southpaw compiled a record of 9-0 with 5 Kos and was coined “The Brick City Bullet” by his friend from the gym, Danny Serratelli. However, true to any Hollywood drama, the protagonist must face more challenges, and Alex did just that. After finally righting his path, Alex’s career was hit with another unexpected obstacle; his long-time trainer learned that his wife was suffering with cancer. Between his daytime job, working for Essex County, and taking care of his ailing wife, Rosario found it difficult to devote time to the career of his young charge. Perez would remain out of the ring for 15 months. Though other promoters and managers came calling on the promising young fighter, when asked why he didn’t accept these offers and leave Rosario, Alex simply answered, “I’ve got loyalty.” Perez, takes loyalty very seriously and has a very small and very close knit team who back each other up. Unlike so often in life, Alex's loyalty would be returned …in spades.

After this 15 month layoff, Rosario arranged to get Perez back in the ring. Fighting in Puerto Rico, Alex fought for the WBC Caribbean Boxing Federation welterweight title in the first 10 rounder of his career. Despite the rust and the new difficult circumstances, Alex increased his win total to 10 via unanimous decision. Once again, true to any good dramatic story, each small triumph must be met with a challenge; and this brings us back to that summer night at the Baxter Terrace Projects.

Brick City Bullet Team, Hernando Alvarado, Danny Serratelli, , Alex Perez, Jerome Irving and Michael Perez

“Newark Police! Open the door!” Alex, still half asleep walks over to the door to find two Newark Police officers standing in the door way. What was to follow was like a nightmare. Suddenly, Alex is being taken out of his apartment, handcuffed and informed that he’s under arrest for armed robbery. Still not fully awake, Alex is in disbelief. When he gets to the police station he immediately calls Rosario to help make sense of this situation. Rosario then made the phone call that would turn out to not only salvage Alex’s career, but also save his life. Rosario called former pupil and current attorney and friend Danny Serratelli.

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Brick City Boxing Readers receive a free week trial membership at Signature Fitness in Belleville, NJ
http://www.signaturefitness.net/boxing-sessions

Free Demo Class- Thursday, May 20th at 7:15 pm @ Signature Fitness in Belleville

Signature Fitness and Brick City Boxing are happy to be expanding their boxing program and opening it up to all skill levels and ages for both males and females. Whether you are trying to lose weight, look your best for the summer or compete; we will design a program specifically for you and help you reach your goals. This is a great opportunity for people with any level of experience or no experience.

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Closes the Show to Capture the Middleweight Championship

By: Danny Serratelli, ringside

Very rarely, and as time goes on it seems to become less and less, boxing fans get spoiled. For many years New Jersey boxing fans were spoiled when they made the trip to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The city, the crowd, the night life, the atmosphere and the fights were better than ever. By the time the fans heard ACDC’s “Thunderstruck” starting up, the arena was packed and most fans could already feel chills going down their spine. Fortunately, Top Rank, Di Bella, and HBO are still doing business at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City and trying to put on good shows for the fans. While Atlantic City boxing will never be the same, and the atmosphere was not the same, the fans were treated to a good fight in the main event on Saturday night highlighted by an exceptional performance, not by favorite Kelly Pavlik, but from middleweight challenger and recent surprise, Sergio Martinez.

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By: Saul Lelchuk

To say it’s been a long time coming would be an understatement.

All along, most people just said it would never happen at all.

Perez and Rosario

Not after his wild youth on the streets of Newark’s worst projects.

Not after he was rushed to the hospital with gunshot wounds just a week after finally turning pro.

Not when the police banged on his door in the middle of the night and arrested him on charges that carried 30 years in prison.

But for two unwavering people in his inner circle – trainer, manager, and pseudo-father Jose Rosario and friend, co-trainer, and attorney Danny Serratelli – Alex Perez’s rise in boxing hasn’t been a question of if, but when.

So that now – less than a month before Perez’s next bout, when he is slated to fight on the undercard of the Chris Arreola -Tomasz Adamek bout in Ontario, California – to say they are excited would be, again, an understatement.

But to say they were surprised? Not so much.

Perez and Serratelli

“With all that stuff behind him, I can see the real Alex Perez again,” says Serratelli. “I am totally confident in his ability, toughness, and work ethic, and I know firsthand from working with him and many other top fighters in the gym over the years that he should eventually be competing on the highest level and fighting the best in his division. Alex is the whole package – he can box, he can punch, he can take it, and he’s huge for a welterweight.”

Rosario seconds this. “He’s very hungry right now, very anxious to get in the ring and show people what he can do. He’s looking forward to the fight. He’s already close to [the 147-pound welterweight limit] weight now, a month before the fight. But he’s big enough, powerful enough, that we have to bring in bigger guys, middleweights, super-middleweights, for him to spar with.”

Although Perez is almost completely unknown to the average boxing fan, his record thus far bears out this optimism. In a relatively brief amateur career (just under 60 fights) he picked up multiple New Jersey Diamond Glove and Golden Glove championships and competed internationally, before turning pro at 22 years old. Although he has only 11 professional fights under his belt, he is currently undefeated, with six knockouts and one no-contest. A powerful, hard-hitting, 6’1” southpaw, he has sparred with some of boxing’s best, including fellow Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto, Sergio Martinez, Felix Sturm, and Joel Julio.

Working with those fighters has naturally improved him on a technical level, but where it really helps, Perez says, is mentally. “I was the chief sparring partner for some of those guys, and there were times when I was wearing them out,” he remembers. It is a comment not intended as bravado, as he goes on to explain. “So when you’re holding your own with these champions – guys at the top of their divisions – it gives you so much confidence. Because you think, if I’m doing that with the best in the sport, imagine what I’m gonna do to my opponent.”
“The Brick City Bullet” Perez.

It is a statement that displays not only confidence, but also an unmistakable surety that belies his age and ring experience. But to hear this self-belief is not surprising. Not when you know Alex Perez. Not when you know what he has been through.

Rewind six years.

Perez had just won his first professional fight with a first-round knockout, but it was not only the victory that left him elated. For Perez, just stepping into the ring as a professional boxer was a true victory in itself. The win was a confidence-builder, a reassurance, a finite return on the grueling hours he had put in at the gym. It was good to see the ‘0’ in the left-hand column of his record change to a ‘1’ on what he hoped would be a steady and uninterrupted march up through the numerical scale.

But the feeling of turning pro? The knowledge that, whatever happened, he had a chance – a chance in the widest, wildest sense of the word. That was immeasurable, uncontainable. “No more of this street s—t,” he told himself after the fight. “No more of this bulls—t. This – boxing – is what’s for me. This is what I’m gonna do.”

Like so many before him, he was not just fighting for himself, but also – predominantly – for his family. Every punch he threw had an explicit, explosive reason behind it. My children. My mother. My sister. My grandmother. My niece. Sure, each punch brought him one step closer to his goals. But his blows did something infinitely more important, more tangible. They brought his family one step further away from the impoverished, crumbling projects where he had grown up: Newark’s notorious, now-defunct Baxter Terrace housing blocks. A neighborhood that steadily produced drugs, gangs, and violent crime the way the Big Ten churns out pro athletes.

He was young. Strong. Hungry. Things were looking good.

Then, just days later, a petty quarrel on a street-corner changed everything.

Words were exchanged, a gun was pulled, shots were fired, people screamed. The all-too-familiar urban sequence, so glossily stylized, glamorized, in a never-ending stream of movies, hip-hop songs, TV shows. Only then the scene was over, and no one yelled cut; the track didn’t end, the chorus never kicked in.

Instead Perez was rushed to the hospital with gunshot wounds to his chest and ribs.

But even the impact of two bullets didn’t banish boxing from his thoughts. If anything, the shooting gave him even more focus. Throughout the two weeks in intensive care, through the month in the hospital, through the long, painful process of recuperation and rehabilitation, he repeated the same mantra he had first voiced to himself after that first fight.
This is for me. Not that street s—t. Not going back to that.

He’d be the first to tell you how lucky he was. He recuperated quickly and completely, and just six months later he was back in the ring, fighting with heightened determination and renewed purpose.

This time, he needed less than a minute to TKO his opponent. Ultimately, the shooting had affected his boxing career in only one lasting way: he was now Alex
But outside of the ring, the incident had a more profound effect on the wild Newark youth. Coupled with the triumph of his pro debut, it helped open his eyes; helped him see that there were two ways he could go. “Either go all-out in the streets,” he told himself, “or go all-out to leave them. Can’t do both.”

He began to settle down, to focus. Fought four times in 2006, three more in 2007. Not the ceaseless activity of some young prospects, but enough to stay active, keep advancing, keep learning. And he kept winning.

But circumstances hit harder than an opponent’s punches could ever land. And so several years ago, when Jose Rosario’s wife was stricken with a cancer that would ultimately prove fatal, Perez found himself once again distracted by events outside of his control. With Rosario – who, in addition to co-running the gym where Perez trains, works full-time for New Jersey’s Essex County – occupied by his wife’s sickness, Perez’s career slowed, stalled. A year passed with no fights. Some of boxing’s biggest promoters and managers expressed interest in signing him (his younger brother, Mikey, is promoted by Golden Boy), but Perez repeatedly refused their advances. “I got loyalty,” he stated simply, when I asked why this was. “He’s basically my stepfather. There’s no way I’d ever leave him.”

Rosario had shown him loyalty. Not just training him, steering his career, but most of all raising him – embodying the paternal role to an eight-year-old kid. Loyalty. Perez had resolved that he would show the same, and stand by his mentor, even if that meant the detriment of his career.

They say it never rains but it pours. Perez might agree. Home with his family one night, asleep in bed, he was awakened by a pounding on the door. Still half-asleep, he found himself confronted by police saying that he had been identified by two men who claimed he had robbed them at gunpoint, shot at them, earlier that day. He told the police he couldn’t have had anything to do with it, had no idea what they meant. He waived his rights, invited them to search his apartment, his car, all to no avail. He was arrested, taken into custody, and charged.

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Deontay Wilder wants big time Heavyweight Boxing back in America

Brickcityboxing Exclusive Interview by: Rob Tierney,

On March 20th, approximately 51,000 people piled into the ESPRIT Arena in Duesseldorf, Germany to witness Wladimir Klitschko's latest destruction of an American contender. It was an enormous night for European fight fans and boxing enthusiasts around the globe who were fortunate enough to see Klitschko's championship defense. Still, unlike European fans who were provided an opportunity to view Klitschko's 12th round derailment of US contender Eddie Chambers, American fans were abandoned.
In the States, the fight went virtually unnoticed due to the fact that HBO, Showtime, ESPN and virtually every other US network decided to neglect coverage. As a result, some US fans watched on the internet for $14.99 while others waited for numerous websites to post the results. However, one US citizen was motivated to make a difference.
If American fans felt disenfranchised by the lack of US coverage, they weren't alone. United States 2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist Deontay Wilder also felt the sting. However, unlike his fellow American fans who continue to feel a sense of hopelessness about the state of Heavyweight Boxing in America, Wilder is in a position to do something about it. After interviewing Deontay on March 25th, I learned of his plan of action to bring big time Heavyweight boxing back to America one impressive victory at a time and it starts this upcoming weekend on Showtime.

RT: Good Afternoon Deontay, how has preparation been coming along for your upcoming fight on April 2nd?

DW: Training's been great. Everything has been coming along just fine. My training has been much more focused now that I know who I am fighting.

RT: Do you know who you will be fighting yet?

DW: Yes, right now it looks like a fighter named Tye Cobb. He is 7 & 1.

RT: Do you have any tapes of him?

DW: No, we tried but we couldn't find anything. However, I am not a guy who usually studies tapes. I just know that if I go hard everyday in training that I will be able to adapt to anything that he could bring my way.

RT: It looks like you could be getting some airtime on cable tv. How does knowing that you could possibly be aired on Showtime next weekend affect your mindset for this fight?

DW: It feels great. This would be my Showtime debut and I know that first impressions are everything. I'm looking forward to it.

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By: Danny Serratelli, ringside

Main Events Tomasz Adamek, 40-1, 27 KO's defeated a legitimate heavyweight this evening when he captured a 12-round unanimous decision over Jason Estrada, 16-3, 4 KO's. The scores were 115-113 (Steven Weisfeld), 116-112 (Joseph Pasquale) and 118-110 (Laurence Layton). The Doghoueboxing/Brickcityboxing card also read 116-112 when the final bell sounded. Adamek captured the IBF Heavyweight International Championship with the victory. The plan now is for Adamek to fight Chris Arreola in April. Arreola will be by far Adamek's biggest test at heavyweight to date.

There were a lot of strong mixed opinions regarding the scoring of the fight. Despite the disparity a closer look at the scores would reveal consistency as well as the fact that there were many close rounds in the fight. All three judges and the Doghouse/Brickcity card had the 8th and 9th rounds for Estrada. The Doghouse/Brickcity card and 2 of the official judges also gave Estrada the 1st and 6th rounds. Estrada was very upset at the post fight press conference about the scoring, particularly of judge Layton's 118-110, however, outside of the 2 rounds everyone scored for Estrada, the remaining rounds that could have went to Estrada were very close.

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PART I

Freddie Roach and Floyd Mayweather Sr.

I recently had the opportunity to interview one of the best trainers in boxing, Mr. Floyd Joy Mayweather, Sr. Here is PART I of the interview….

Chip Mitchell: Mr. Mayweather, let’s jump right into it. One of the sanctioning bodies may soon introduce a rule to banish fathers from working their son’s corners in boxing. Let’s hypothesize that your brother Roger has to do prison time. This rule could prevent you from training or co-training your own son in the biggest fights of his career. Do you think some shenanigans are going down to freeze you out? If so, should we refer to this as the Mayweather, Sr. rule?

Floyd Mayweather: That’s probably what it is, you know, because anything that Floyd learned he learned from me anyway. I fought like that, Roger didn’t fight like that. I’m the only one that fought and blocked shots with my shoulder and countered back. Roger never fought that way. Maybe that’s what they are trying to do. If they do I think it’s a bad thing. But everything happens for a reason. Me and my son broke up for a reason. It’s a lot of things you don’t see. That’s when the problems come in. When you hear people say his dad didn’t train him or didn’t do this or his dad didn’t do that…. All lies! Total lies! My son could fight when he got here. Things happen and things come between you. I didn’t treat him that way. Ain’t no way in the world he could beat those kinds of fighters that he is now if his daddy had not been there to show him the ropes. No way!

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Brick City's...Word on the Street

By: Danny Serratelli

Manny Pacquiao padded his legacy last night be soundly defeating a true welterweight and champion in Miguel Cotto. It was a brilliant performance to follow brilliant performances against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, however this was the most impressive of those three considering all other factors. Pacquiao has continued to improve his game through out his career, and trainer Freddie Roach has also earned his paycheck along the way. Pacquiao's ability to both take a punch and hurt people at welterweight, after turning professional at 106 pounds, and making his name in the lighter weight divisions is mind blowing to anyone who has been in the ring or knows boxing.

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Glen Johnson Gears up for Chad Dawson
By: Rob Tierney

Throughout his entire career, Glen Johnson has been upsetting Boxing's balance of power. Whether he's upending a promoter's plans for a megafight between more marketable opponents or painting blemishes on a rising upstarts career, the "Road Warrior" is notorious for playing the role of the spoiler. On November 7th, Johnson faces judgement day once more in front of what he hopes will be an unbiased jury in Hartford, CT.

On October 14th, I was afforded an opportunity to pick Glen's brain about next month's return bout with Chad Dawson. Here is what the former IBF champion had to say about his upcoming fight.

RT: Good Afternoon Glen. How have things been?

GJ: Very Good! Thank you.

RT: Your rematch with Chad Dawson is less than one month away. How has your preparation been coming along for this fight?

GJ: The prep has been great. I feel good. Training for the fight is just about complete and we are ready to cruise into Connecticut.

RT: How do you feel physically? For instance, how would you compare your current condition to your physical state prior to previous fights?

GJ: Mostly I feel great. In fact, I probably feel better now than I have before any of my previous fights. I'm thankful for the opportunity and I am looking forward to next month.

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By: Christopher Roche

The Floyd Mayweather vs. Juan Manuel Marquez bout pitted two counter-punchers matching up for a big payday, on their way to retirement. On paper, this was a boring fight, and it certainly lived up to expectations.

While both men received a nice bump in their respective 401(k)’s, it was Mayweather who would not go gently into that good night (apologies to Dylan Thomas).

Mayweather was expected to defeat Marquez, but his total dominance was breathtaking. Marquez was frustrated, cut, knocked down and out pointed at every turn. When Marquez connected against Mayweather, there was no effect.

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By: Christian Cruz

When former P4P numero uno and welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather, Jr (39-0-0) announced his sudden retirement after his last fight in 2007, it was met with criticism, and was seen as an eventual escape from facing real competition in a division littered with quality oppositions. His overall career, was actually widely criticized, even though it bannered a flawless record of no losses and world championship belts in three different classes. For someone blessed with abundant talent, great boxing skills, and good pedigree, Mayweather, Jr. was perceived to have been only looking for easy money fights instead of fighting the best available opposition, especially during his stint at the welterweight division. Potential big fights with Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, and even Paul Williams were on the horizon after his victory versus Junior Welterweight champ Ricky Hatton, but as what happened, he retired prematurely.

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By: Christopher Cruz

Never say never, as they say. With the on—again off—again nature of negotiations of the Manny Pacquiao—Miguel Cotto war tentatively set on November 14, 2009 (MGM Grand in Las Vegas), nearly everyone must be reeling from all the contradicting headlines of major boxing and news websites in the past few weeks.

This hellacious turn of events began innocently enough. After initial demands were laid out by both camps, lone promoter Top Rank head Bob Arum went on a holiday with the probable plan to let the camps stew a bit and make some of the blatantly unrealistic demands go away naturally. A major sticking point cropped up and both parties stuck to their guns: The Catch-Weight. Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach insisted on 142-143 lbs. citing his ward’s last fight where he weighed in at only 138lbs. while Cotto’s doctor declared 145 lbs. as the lowest Miguel could go without getting severely dehydrated beyond safe levels.

At this point, Arum issued a virtual non-negotiable clause of the proposed fight by decreeing the fight will be at 145 lbs. and adding that both camps had already agreed to it. This move, depending on whether the fight gets made or not, will turn out to be either a stroke of genius or one of the biggest blunders a big-time promoter has ever made in the history of boxing.

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By: Christian Cruz
www.Brickcityboxing.com

The recent news that Joan Guzman, (29-0, 17 KOs), from the Dominican Republic has just signed with Golden Boy Promotions should bring added excitement to a loaded division already filled up with promising upstarts, decent veterans, and an elite champion.

Boasting a perfect record of 29 wins out of 29 fights, and having won titles in the junior featherweight, featherweight, and junior lightweight divisions, Guzman is considered as one of the best fighters in the lower weight divisions. His athleticism, coupled with his fast hands and reflexes, makes him an elusive target for most of his opponents. His superior boxing skills allow him to dictate the pace of the fight and can box either from the outside or inside from time to time. Another strength is his chin, which so far, at this point, has proven it can take the best shots from any punchers Guzman has faced. Ironically, his vaunted power from either hand, which gave him the moniker “Little Tyson” during his stay at 122, seems to have left him since he moved up to higher divisions.

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Commentary

By: Christopher Roche

Nate Campbell’s biggest win of his career came in large part because his opponent was viciously cut, but Juan Diaz did not quit in that memorable bout in Mexico. Diaz fought like a true warrior, and under the strain of his breakup with Don King, the Baby Bull left everything in the ring, including his title belts.

Tonight, on Showtime Championship Boxing, the tables were turned on Campbell, and he was the one faced with a bad cut. Campbell, unlike Diaz, quickly opted out, as he pleaded with his corner that he could not see.

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By: Chip Mitchell

I recently had the opportunity to interview one of the hottest east coast prospects in James “Keep’em Sleepin” Stevenson (9-0, 8 KO’s). Stevenson prepares to battle Ken Dunham on Saturday July 25 in Baltimore, MD.

CM: James, thanks for granting us this opportunity to interview you before your fight. How has training gone for you?
JS: Pretty good, man. Excellent, excellent.

CM: Last time out versus Manuel Guzman, you weren’t able to record a knockout for the first time in your professional career. How disappointed were you?

JS: I wasn’t really disappointed man, I just wanted to show everybody I could go 8 rounds… a tough 8 rounds. So it let everybody know I could get the win. I got a chin as everybody saw so it was a good fight.

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By: Christopher Roche

July 2009 is proving to be one of the worst months in terms of athletes violently passing away. Former welterweight and junior-middleweight title holder Vernon Forrest is now reportedly part of that ominous list, which includes Steve McNair, Alexis Arguello and Arturo Gatti.

ESPN.com is reporting this morning that Forrest was putting air in the tires of his Jaguar at an Atlanta gas station, when two armed men confronted him, in an attempted carjacking. Forrest, who was also armed, chased the men, only to be shot dead. Forrest, whose girlfriend's young son was also in the car, was only 38 years old.

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Note-There will be another mass and friends and fans of Arturo “Thunder” Gatti are invited to attend a memorial Mass that will be held in his honor on Thursday evening, July 30th at 7 p.m. St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic in Jersey City.

A memorial mass was held today for Arturo Gatti in Jersey City at St. Nick’s Church. It was a very intimate farewell to Jersey City's favorite son. When the mass concluded several people spoke about Arturo, mostly about how he was all heart both inside and outside of the ring. His 3-year old daughter Sophia showed that she inherited some of papa's determination as she sung the alphabet song while her mother Erica, was recalling some fond memories of her time with Arturo. Sophia didn't get through the first couple times, but made sure she had the opportunity to do the entire alaphabet and song. She made her papa proud becasue she insisted on finishing which brought many in the church to tears. She answered her mother that her papa was in the clouds and she wanted to sing with him.

Several people spoke at the conclusion of mass including, Jersey City Mayor Jerimiah Healy and Councilman Bill Gauhan who is a big boxing fan. Mario Costa, the owner of the Ringside read a letter from Mike Tyson about Arturo and also shared some personal stories. Arturo's big brother Joe thanked everyone for coming. A speaker of note was photographer/friend Tommy Casino. He remembered that no one could touch Arturo early in his pro career. He was a very slick boxer when he wanted to be and Tom recalled asking him why he would bang so much as his career progressed. Arturo told him that he fought for the people and that is what they come to see. People always speak of Arturo as a warrior with a heart as big as you can have one, but Casino was correct in pointing out how good of a boxer Arturo was.

New Jersey Hall of Fame president Henry Hascup also spoke about Arturo and all of amazing accomplishments. He explained that no fighter ever won "NJ Fighter of the Year" honors more than twice, Arturo won it 6 times. The award will now bear Arturo's name and Arturo will be inducted into the NJ Hall of Fame in November. Like many of the speakers said, there are no words that can do justice to how much Arturo meant to his family, friends, and fans.

By: Christopher Roche

Maidana upsets Ortiz

Tonight looked to be a disappointing HBO B.A.D. show, because of the cancellation of the Rocky Juaraz vs. Chris John, but in the world of boxing, one never knows what is going to happen.

To my surprise, a modern day classic was hatched in the L.A. evening, and the Golden Boy/HBO hyped Victor Ortiz did not leave the ring as the star. Argentinean Marcos Maidana surprised the boxing world, in his U.S. debut, as he rose from the canvas three times to stop the much heralded Ortiz.

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Captures a Split Decision Victory Over Joshua Clottey
By: Danny Serratelli
By: Danny Serratelli, ringside

WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, 33-1, 27 KO’s won a 12- round split decision over Joshua Clottey, 35-2, 21 KO’s at Madison Square Garden tonight. The Doghouseboxing/Brickcityboxing scorecard read 115-112 at the final bell, the same score as Judge John McKaie. Judge Tom Miller scored the bout for Clottey 114-113 and Judge Don Truella scored the bout 116-111 for Miguel Cotto. With many close rounds, and different styles, all of these scores were fair. Miguel Cotto overcame a very bad cut from an accidental head butt in round number 3 and showed the ring generalship and tenacity necessary to win this fight. Clottey had to overcome the whole arena backing Cotto up, and he did a good job. However, Clottey is a respected adversary, not only by his opponents, but also by the fans. He did not receive cheers, but he also did not get booed.

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Ticketmaster: http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/020042BD9E375CE8?artistid=1329521&majorcatid=10004&minorcatid=33

By: Danny Serratelli

Tomasz “Goral” Adamek, 37-1, 25 KO’s of Jersey City will defend his IBF World Cruiserweight title against Hackensack’s New Jersey’s Bobby Gunn, 21-3-1, 15 KO’s on Saturday, July 11th at the Prudential Center in the Brick City, Newark, New Jersey. This will surely be a great event as Main Events and arena known as “The Rock” will be teaming up for their 4th show and 3rd featuring the crowd pleasing Adamek.

Serratelli, Adamek and Bok

The event will be sponsored by Hudson Bread, it will be moved to a more fan friendly, Saturday night and it will feature a “Fan Fest” that will begin at 5 pm and will feature food, drinks, bands and fun.

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Interview by: Rob Tierney

He finally made it or so it seemed. On May 16th in Las Vegas last year, Shaun George dropped former Heavyweight Champion Chris Byrd in the ninth round of a non title fight enroute to winning a stunning technical knockout. Substantial offers were bound to start falling on the table. Still, one year after defeating Chris Byrd in front of a televised audience on ESPN, the Light Heavyweight division continues to shun Shaun George. I caught up with the Brooklyn native on Memorial Day to hear his thoughts on why he is struggling to gain recognition and respect in his division. Here is what he had to say.

RT: Good Afternoon Shaun, what have you been up to these days?

SG: Not too much! I'm just working out, keeping in shape and taking care of my newborn son and family.

RT: Did you catch the Dawson vs Tarver fight a few weeks ago?

SG: Yes I Did

RT: What did you think of the fight?

SG: I thought it was a good fight. Antonio Tarver fought hard but came up short. However, I must say that I was not impressed with some of the things I was hearing from the commentators.

RT: What do you mean?

SG: I really didn't like how the commentators were cutting down the sport and as well as my division by claiming that there is no competition at Light Heavyweight when I am out here canvassing for a fight. They keep talking about Chad Dawson and how talented he is and how there is no one at his level in the division. Yet, there is a lot of talent in the division. Look at me!

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By: Christopher Roche

In what continues to be one of the oddest sports weekends of the year, the much hyped Ricky Hatton vs. Manny Pacquiao superfight turned into a massive blowout.

Pacquiao blasted Hatton twice in the first, and he ended the fight with a devastating left hand at the end of round two. On a weekend where a 50-1 shot won the Kentucky Derby, Manny Pacquiao destroys Ricky Hatton.

With such a sad undercard in this fight, I can truly say that I just flushed $49.95 down the perverbial drain.

Did Abregu vs. Garcia upstage the blockbuster?

By: Christopher Roche

Ricky Hatton and Manny Pacquiao take to the ring tonight in the aftermath of what could very well be the fight of the year. Last night’s Carlos Abregu vs. Irving Garcia Showbox main event was an absolute barnburner. I hope that that bout will serve as a harbinger of great things to come tonight.

Tonight’s Hatton vs. Pacquiao bout also takes place on a weekend where many odd storylines are shaping the news. For example, today’s Kentucky Derby favorite, “I Want Revenge”, was a late scratch from the field. On top of that, the New York Yankees actually showed some heart last night and hit the ball with runners in scoring position, on their way to overcoming a five run deficit to defeat the Angels.

In addition to those two stories, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., will likely announce his intention to return to the ring against Juan Manuel Marquez in July. Finally, the fact that the fight of the year may have taken place last night, adds to the circus-like weekend in sports.

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The Brick City Bullet, moments before winning the belt in Puerto Rico

Alex “The Brick City Bullet” Perez, 10-0, 6 KO’s captured the WBC’s Caribbean Federation Welterweight title on March 14th. He came off of a 15 month layoff before that fight, not by any fault of his own, but because every time he was scheduled to fight there were problems with opponents falling out and promoters not making sure there was an opponent for him to fight come fight night. Perez was in the gym training for fights that weren’t to be the entire 15 months, and the time has made him more and more eager to fight as often as possible.

He will be returning to the ring on May 9th in Atlantic City, on the undercard of Hector Macho Camacho vs. Yory Boy Campas, just two months after picking up the WBC’s Carribean belt. Manager, Jose Rosario and his team plan to keep him busy the rest of the way in 09, because Perez is a hungry fighter. Alex has been at it 100% for a long time. He was 53-3 as an amateur where he was a 3 time Golden Gloves Champion and a 3 time Diamond Gloves Champ. He also captured the State Championship once before turning pro in late 2004.

Perez was born and raised in The Brick City, Newark New Jersey where he has lived his whole life in the Baxter Terrace projects. He is active in the community, always making himself available to lend a helping hand to kids who need a positive role model, guidance and good advice. Boxing has saved Perez and he makes sure he is always there for the kids and his friends in need in the gym. Keep an eye on the Brick City Bullet now, because he is a shooting star who is on the verge of big things in the near future!

By: Christopher Roche

Jermain Taylor had Carl Froch dead to rights tonight, at the MGM Grand Foxwoods, but he could not put the Englishman away.

Taylor opened the bout with vicious right hands that landed at will, and Froch looked out-quicked and overmatched. In the third round, Taylor dropped Froch for the first time in his career, and it looked like an early flight back to Little Rock was going to be had for Taylor.

Froch, who is the WBC champ at 168, often looked off-balance and short on skill. The Champion flailed at Taylor, and he missed while eating hard counters, but Taylor could not put Froch away. Memories of Taylor vs. Pavlik I began creeping into everyone's head, and it seemed like Taylor was haunted by that bout.

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By: Rob Tierney

Carl Froch is coming to America. In fact, he’s planning on bringing his “V12 Cylinders” with him when he arrives in Connecticut. However, Jermain Taylor shouldn’t be worried. It doesn’t seem that the Champion is referring to any of Antonio Margarito’s foul methods of play. Instead, Carl Froch plans on bringing power and brute force so he can show the world that he is the true Super Middleweight Champion in a division with multiple title claimants. In Jermain Taylor, he faces a man carrying his own bad intentions.

The fight, which will be aired courtesy of SHOWTIME Championship Boxing on April 25th, is pitting the current WBC Super Middleweight Champion against a former Undisputed Middleweight Champion in Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor. The 168 lbs WBC title will be at stake and fireworks are expected to fly at the Foxwoods Casino & Resort when the fighters square off in Mashantucket, CT.

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BRICK CITY BOXING GYM TO HOST SEMI-FINALS OF THE GOLDEN GLOVES

By: Michael "Micky" Gawler

Bilal and Malikah Crosby run Gladiators Boxing Gym as a non-profit, community-based organization. They are well known for improving the quality of life for all that walk through their doors. Through their unique methods of training, Gladiators provides the tools necessary to become a champion in and out of the ring.

Members are given a safe environment to learn life skills as well as receive boxing training. This gym is friendly to all ages and offers programs for not only serious fighters but also youth, and those seeking fitness as well. Youth programs teach children how to interact with others in a positive way while learning self-defense in the process. Serious fighters will have the chance to work with top trainers to achieve their goals. Men and women can also get in top shape while having fun working with personal fitness trainers. When training at Gladiators, all members develop self-esteem and confidence as they learn the sweet science.

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By: Christopher Roche

Lucian Bute is wildly popular in his hometown of Montreal, and his sparkling record has him ranked as the number one super middleweight in the Boxrec compilations. According to Boxrec, Bute is ranked ahead of Jermain Taylor, Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler.

Despite the high praise, many casual boxing fans have never seen Bute fight, and after he was nearly flattened in the twelfth round against Liberado Andrade back in October, mainstream observers questioned whether Bute was worthy of the accolades he receives.

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Brickcityboxing has been informed that Brick City Boxing Team member and former heavyweight contender, Leo "The Italain Lionsheart" Loiacono will be hitting the big screen in a matter of weeks. Loiacono, who retired with a professional record of 16-4, 13 KO's new film will premiere on March 27 in the fighting city of Philidelphia.

The highly anticipated boxing film, "The Nail", The story of Joey Nardone, in which Leo is featured alongside Tony Danza, William Forsythe and many other top notch actors is a film that has captured the hearts and imagination of many who have seen it already.

Leo was very excited to have the opportunity to with another former professional boxer, who used to be known as "Tough" Tony Danza, 9-3, 9 KO's. Stay tuned to Brickcityboxing.com for further information on the film as it becomes available. Leo acknowledged, "I'd like to thank my agent , Danny Serratelli and my team www.Brickcityboxing.com and I'd like to thank Doghouseboxing.com and all my fans who have stuck with me through thick and thin for their continued support as well."

Danza in his fighting days

For Further information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1225698/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/THE-NAIL-THE-STORY-OF-JOEY-NARDONE/43930073159

For inquirees regarding sponsorships, endorsements, or special appearances, please contact 973-425-7979, The Law Offices of Dan Serratelli or thefightlawyer@gmail.com

Shooting To Puerto Rico for a Welterweight Title Showdown

Alex “The Brick City Bullet” Perez is the consummate professional fighter. Fighting out of Newark, New Jersey since his child hood days both in the ring and on the street, “The Brick City Bullet” has acquired a reputation that has helped him on the street, but seems to have hindered him as a professional prizefighter. Despite the fact that Perez lives in the gym and never out of shape, he has not fought in over a year due to the fact that people do not want to fight him. It is easy to see why due to the facts…Perez is a crafty southpaw who hits hard with both hands, can box, has a big heart and is a big welterweight.

Perez and manager Jose Rosario are not selective when it comes to opponents. However it is unfortunate that the same can not be said for the opponents that promoters have found the last few times Perez was scheduled to fight. Perez trains hard with passion and is always ready for whatever. He is always around his fighting weight of 147, and he has learned that since he has turned professional that regardless of who the opponent is and despite all the behind the scenes business, he must be always be ready to go. For his last few scheduled bouts, Perez has had many opponents scheduled to fight and then pull out, possibly after they did some homework. Manager, Rosario is a highly respected man with integrity in boxing, he does his job, but unlike most managers for undefeated prospects he doesn’t want Perez fighting stiffs. Rosario knows Perez can handle himself and he is confident in abilities and always glad to have Alex turn it up a notch as a professional.

In his next fight, on Saturday March 14, 2009, Perez will be fighting for his first title for the WBC-CABOFE Championship belt. Perez is excited for the opportunity and has been ready and patiently waiting since his last fight, a war with Corey Peterson who was 7-1, 4 KO’s at the time, in Newark back in December of 2007. That fight was a war that Perez won in convincing fashion despite a fight that broke out in the crowd and continued for at least a round or two. Perez will be fighting Laureano Laracuente, 5-1-1, 2 KO’s for the WBC-CABOFE belt, which is the WBC’s Caribbean Boxing Federation belt which is the Champion of 19 countries in the Caribbean. The fight will take place in Coliseo Luis Aymat Cardona in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico. It will be promoted by Montalvo’s Promotions.

Serratelli and Perez at the Fights

Danny Serratelli: Alex, lets get straight to the point, what’s going on with your career, I know you are coming off a little layoff.

Alex and manager Jose Rosario

Alex Perez: People do not want to fight me. I am ready to fight the best out there, and my manager Jose Rosario and me are on the same page. There are a lot of promoters who want me on their show, because I move a lot of tickets, I make good fights and they know I am all heart and soul and come with 100% in top shape every time out, but the opponents do not want to fight me. I have had a lot of fights where the promoter went through numerous opponents, but in the end they don’t want to fight. I am ready for whoever, whenever, wherever.

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