By Anthony Ivey
Edner Cherry has worked long and hard for an opportunity to fight for a world title. Cherry started his career by going 3-2-2 in as many fights. Since then Cherry has won numerous regional titles, was voted ESPN fighter of the year in 2006 and in his most recent start scored an impressive knockout over former world champion Stevie Johnston.
All of those accomplishments will culminate on Sept. 13 in Biloxi, Miss., where Cherry will attempt to take the WBC junior welterweight title from undefeated Timothy Bradley.
"It will be a tough fight, but whatever it takes to win I'll do it," says Cherry, 24-5-2 with 12 KOs. "I watched some of Bradley's last fight. He's very aggressive, but our plan is to keep him off balance."
While this will be the first meeting between the two fighters, Cherry feels he's already familiar with Bradley's style.
"He reminds me of Monty Meza Clay," explains Cherry. "He was a guy who came straight ahead to fight. That will be Tim, right in my face from the start."
Cherry will be moving up a weight class to challenge for the title, but is unconcerned regarding the added weight.
"It won't affect anything. I usually spar with bigger guys anyway," says Cherry. "I just want to bring the world title back to Florida and make my family proud."
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Starfight Productions
Starfight Productions has congratulated Edner Cherry for his work in reaching his first world title fight, which will take place Sept. 13 against Timothy Bradley.
"All the hard work and dedication that Edner has put in is paying off," said Shea Bailey of Starfight Productions. "This will be Starfight's second world title fight this year, and that is a wonderful accomplishment for this young company. Aaron Jacobs, Pete Fernandez and myself are very proud of what Edner has been able to accomplish, and we fully believe that he will put on a great performance for everyone watching. We would also like to thank Don King Promotions and Gary Shaw Productions for working with us to make this happen. I hope everyone is ready for a great blue-collar brawl because that is exactly what Bradley vs. Cherry will be."
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Starfight Productions
WBC super lightweight challenger Edner "Cherry Bomb" Cherry (24-5-2, 12 KOs) completed his mandated 30-day weight check in Tampa, in preparation for his championship fight against Timothy Bradley on Sept. 13 in Biloxi, Miss. Cherry weighed in well below the limit of 144 pounds.
"This is my first world title fight, and I am preparing as good as ever," Cherry said. "I think this will be the best fight of the night. Both of us come forward, and that is what the fans want to see. I have a lot of respect for Bradley and I know he will be in great shape, so I hope Showtime is ready for a war."
The main event of the world championship doubleheader features IBF/WBO/WBA lightweight champion Nate Campbell against Joan Guzman.
The Bradley-Cherry fight is being presented by Gary Shaw Productions, Thompson Boxing Promotions and Starfight Productions. The main event is being promoted by Don King Productions.
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By Anthony Ivey
Starfight Productions offered another evening of exciting boxing on Aug. 15 at the A La Carte Pavilion in Tampa.
In the evening's main event, New Port Richey featherweight Carlos Rivera wore down Puerto Rico's Juan Cruz en route to a seventh-round stoppage.
Cruz took the first two rounds by outhustling Rivera, but Rivera took control from the third round on and never looked back. He systemically broke Cruz down with hard hooks to the head and body. Rivera finally put an end to the affair midway through the seventh, as a right hook downstairs knocked the wind from Cruz. Cruz sank to the canvas from the blow, but got up to receive more punishment until the referee stopped the contest.
"I promised my corner after the second round I wouldn't lose another round," explained Rivera. "I knew from the noise he was making from that body shot I landed that it was going to be over soon."
With the victory Rivera raises his mark to 14-3-2 with five KOs, while Cruz tumbles to 5-4.
2008 Olympic trials silver medalist Keith Thurman continued his first-round knockout streak by stopping fellow undefeated prospect Omar Bell. Bell attempted to use his advantages in height and reach, but it was to no avail as Thurman connected with a brutal leaping left hook that collapsed Bell to a seated position between the bottom two ropes. The referee quickly ended the fight as an unconscious Bell was attended to by a ringside physician for several minutes.
"When I land a shot like that, that's it. When he went down, he was done," stated Thurman, now 7-0 with seven KOs.
In the evening's opening contest, welterweight Ricardo Cepeda made the most of his professional debut by dispatching Brandon Reid in 40 seconds of the first round. The end came after the second of two knockdowns produced by wicked left hooks to the body prompted the referee to halt the contest.
"He is only 18 years old and has a lot more to show," stated Pete Fernandez, Cepeda's trainer.
Junior-middleweight action took center stage next as St. Pete's Laquel Flemming took on Manny Cortessis of Tarpon Springs. Through four rounds of action it was Cortessis landing at a higher rate, while Fleming was able to connect more with power shots. In the end, the judges could not decide on a winner as scores read 39-37 Cortessis and 38-38 (twice).
"He didn't want to fight," stated Flemming, now 1-1-2. "He started grabbing and backpedaling once he felt my power."
Undefeated Tampa heavyweight Nick Ianuzzi kept his streak alive with a one-round blowout of Ohio's Troy Griffin. A hard left uppercut produced the first knockdown for Ianuzzi. Griffin beat the referee's count, but was soon met with a sizzling straight right hand that dropped him face first to the canvas and ended the fight.
"I was trying to use my jab, but he was pretty elusive," explained Ianuzzi, now 8-0 with five KOs. "So I shortened up my power shots and they landed."
Fight-of-the-night honors went to St. Pete middleweights Ahsandi Gibbs and Marvin Blair. In a fight that saw both combatants hit the deck, Gibbs was able to come out with a hard-fought victory via triple scores of 57-55 after six rounds of action.
The first knockdown came at the end of round one, with Blair connecting on a long right hand to the chin of Gibbs. Gibbs got up shaken, but banged his gloves together in frustration as the bell sounded to end the round. Gibbs battled back in a tough second round and took control with overhand rights in the third. Gibbs swarmed all over Blair in the fourth, but Blair did manage to connect with a hard right uppercut near the end of the round. Gibbs pressed the action in the fifth, while a tiring Blair attempted to stick and move. Both fighters pushed hard in the sixth, but it was Gibbs who made the final statement by flooring Blair with a solid left hook to take the victory.
"His perseverance surprised me," said Gibbs, now 9-0 with three KOs. "This was the toughest fight I've had so far, but it was also a career-defining performance."
With the loss, Blair's record now reads 2-1-1.
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By Anthony Ivey
Opponents change all the time in boxing. The change can happen a month before, or even a couple of days before fight night. Since this is a trend that is likely to stay in place as long as boxing is around, it's up to the fighter to have the right attitude in place when this occurs.
"I was pretty upset at first, but hey this is boxing and fights fall through all the time. You just go with it," explains Carlos Rivera.
Rivera's original opponent on Aug. 15 was supposed to be two-time Freddie Norwood conqueror Johnnie Edwards, but Edwards suffered a broken hand in training and had to pull out two weeks prior to fight night.
"My opponent now is from Colombia; he has about 30 wins on his record," says Rivera, 13-3-2 with 4 KOs.
As far as post-fight plans, Rivera might slow down a little from his hectic fight schedule.
"I have been fighting almost every month since January. I'd like to take a little rest after this, spend some time with my family," he says.
And after the rest?
"This should be my last eight-rounder," he adds. "I should also see offers for regional titles after this fight."
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By Anthony Ivey
Undefeated middleweight Ahsandi Gibbs normally has a laid-back type of demeanor. When he speaks about his upcoming fights, Gibbs doesn't talk trash about his opponent or brag about his own in-ring abilities. Most of the time, whomever Gibbs is fighting is irrelevant to him.
But on Aug. 15 at the A La Carte Pavilion, the man who will be across the ring from him has gotten Gibbs' attention.
"I want to beat on his ass for a while," states a serious Gibbs. "I take him calling me out for this fight as a sign of disrespect."
The fighter in question is fellow local undefeated boxer Marvin Blair. Blair, 2-0-1, and Gibbs, 8-0 with 3 KOs, have sparred with each other on numerous occasions. According to Gibbs, he has gotten the better of the encounters.
"It went extremely well for me," explains Gibbs. "They know what I am capable of doing with him. Do they think I am regressing or something?"
While Blair has campaigned primarily in the heavier super middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, Gibbs' trainer, Jim McLoughlin, doesn't foresee that to be a difference maker.
"Marvin has skills, but once the bell rings he'll know he's in the ring with Ahsandi," McLoughlin says. "Everything else won't matter."
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By Anthony Ivey
When an undefeated fighter is in the early stages of his boxing career, it's almost unheard of for him to risk fighting an undefeated opponent. On Aug. 15 at the A La Carte Pavilion in Tampa, Keith Thurman will do just that.
On that Friday evening, Thurman (6-0, 6 KOs) will take on Omar Bell (6-0, 4 KOs) in a scheduled six-round welterweight battle.
"A fighter is a fighter. Just because he hasn't been beat yet, doesn't mean he's gonna beat me," explains Thurman, when asked about taking on his first undefeated professional opponent.
Bell, the younger brother of former cruiserweight champ O'Neil Bell, shares a common opponent with Thurman. Both fighters have done battle with the durable Jessie Davis. Bell was floored on his way to scoring a fourth-round technical knockout over Davis, while Thurman made sure Davis didn't see round two in their encounter.
"I train hard, I punch hard, so I can fight hard," states Thurman, in reference to his ongoing streak of taking out every opponent he has faced in the first round.
While Thurman has been putting in a full effort to prepare for Bell, one piece of the training puzzle is still not quite in place.
"Getting steady sparring for Keith is still a challenge," explains his trainer, Ben Getty. "However, we would like to thank Derrick Samuels out of 4th Street Gym in St. Pete for helping us to get prepared for this upcoming fight by sparring with Keith."
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