Special Edition Arizona Boxing News & Notes With Don Smith: Servin loses, but Advances, Salido/ Martinez a Vegas Hit & More
By Don Smith
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 14 Sep 2015
Boxing FANS, The Arizona boxing community was saddened to hear that 18 year old Phoenix flyweight Adrian Servin lost to 26 year old Leroy Davilla from New Jersey by a score of 3-0 in the Olympic Qualifier 2 final held in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday September 12. Despite the loss, the Sierra Linda High School graduate and honor roll student will advance to the final USA Olympic box-offs held in December as a result of his second place finish. The site and date of the Olympic Team box-offs will be determined by a designated planning committee, within weeks! Ironically, history reflects that Servin has avenged every defeat in a return match. Ringside observers told me the bout was close and a spokesperson for Team Servin said the Arizona fighter can beat Davilla in a return match; confidence is important.
Adrian and his trainer/Dad Mike were scheduled to arrive at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Sunday, September 13 at 11:15 am on American Airlines flight 1951. Friends and family members were hastily putting together a meet and greet for Adrian at the airport just hours before the Arizona Cardinal home opener.
Celebrity brings Attention: Phoenix Channel 12 (NBC Affiliate) Sports Director Bruce Cooper, a reader of my column, called and is planning to tape an interview Arian on September 24 and feature the segment on September 26 when NBC Network airs the Heavyweight title match showdown between Champion Deontay ?The Bronze Bomber ?Wilder and challenger Johann ?Reptile? Duhaupas live from Legacy Arena in Birmingham Alabama.
The Servin family was ecstatic upon hearin the news. Cooper will also interview Arizona?s female Olympic hopeful Ariel Arismendez who was defeated in the second round of her qualifier in Baltimore Maryland. Mr. Cooper went on to add that he will ask five time world champion Michael Carbajal, an Arizona Native, to appear on the September 26th broadcast. No word on whether Mr. Carbajal will accept the award winning broadcaster?s offer.
Mayweather Farewell: Andre Berto (18-1 underdog) can brag that he went the distance with ?Money? Mayweather in the Michigan Native?s final fight, but it wasn?t a pretty performance by either man. I saw the fight at Twin Peaks, on Camelback in Phoenix, and the comfort food and iced Peach Tea (not Long Island) eased my huge disappointment a bit. The few Mayweather Fans gathered at the popular night spot cheered their man?s victory, but it should have been with reluctance. I have seen better fly swatting contests.
The real cheers were directed to the co-main event warriors and deservedly so. I can?t use enough superlatives to describe the 12 rounds of non-stop action between defending Puerto Rico?s WBO World Super Featherweight Titlist Roman ?Rocky? Martinez (30-2-2)and Mexico?s challenger Orlando Salido (42-14-2). At the end of the Battle Royale, the judges saw the contest as a draw which caused me to raise my eyebrows and prompted fans at Twin Peaks to boo loudly. They agreed with me that Salido had his obvious victory stolen by three judges. Martinez offered a rematch after retaining his belt and it sounds like a done deal; no word on when the third round of their war will take place, but expect their performance on 9/12 to receive some votes as the fight of the year.
In other under card action, Badou Jack (20-1-1) retained his Super Middleweight belt with a spirited victory over Union Jack patriot George Groves (21-2). Junior lightweight Jonathan Oquendo (25-5) won a majority decision over former titleholder Jhonny Gonzales in a very competitive encounter. . Perhaps the second best fight of the night belonged to middleweights Chris Pearson (13-0) vs. Janks Trotter (9-2-1) in a classic brawl. Both men were bleeding profusely as southpaw Pearson ended the slugfest with a knockout in the 7th round of their scheduled for ten round bout.
Boxing Briefs: The much talked about celebrity charity boxing match between Phoenix boxing personality Ralph Velez Jr. and a Valley of the Sun Dentist is off the calendar for unknown reasons?.Rising Arizona Super Middleweight David Benavidez is headed to the Virgin Islands to train with veteran Julian Jackson. David, a mere 18 years old, holds a record of 11-0 w/ 10 knockouts. The youth titleholder appears to be on a fast track to a world title. He is managed by Fight Hard Promotions. Until Next Time!
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Don Smith.
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