The Boxing Weekend
By Geno McGahee
ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights
This Friday, ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights will feature former Contender star and top 10 super middleweight, Jesse Brinkley, 34-5, 22 KO’s, taking on Curtis Stevens, 21-2, 15 KO’s, in a twelve round showdown with the WBC USNBC Title hanging in the balance. Brinkley made a name for himself on the reality show the Contender, coming up short in contests with Sergio Mora, the winner of the show, and Alfonso Gomez. His career basically seemed dead from 2004-2007 with a record of 1-4, but to his credit, he rebounded and has put together eight straight wins and worked his way into the rankings.
In one of his recent outings, Brinkley dominated fellow Contender, Joey Gilbert, en route to a wide twelve round decision. Curtis Stevens, the opponent this Friday night, avenged his first loss to Marcos Primera, leaving a ten round unanimous decision loss to Super Six participant, Andre Dirrell on his record. He has put together four straight wins since the loss, three of which were by knockout.
Brinkley and Stevens are evenly matched, evenly qualified, and eager to be noticed in the crowded super middleweight division.
The supporting bout features welterweight Raymond Serrano, 11-0, 6 KO’s, taking on Ronnie Warrior, JR., 13-2-1, 4 KO’s, in a ten round showdown. Also featured is undefeated super middleweight, Brandon Gonzales, 9-0, 8 KO’s, taking on Dumont Welliver, 18-19-1, 6 KO’s, in an eight round contest.
SHOBOX
Showtime’s hit boxing series SHOBOX will feature a double header Friday night with bantamweight prospect, Chris Avalos, 14-0, 11 KO’s, taking on Jose Nieves, 17-1-3, 8 KO’s, in a ten round event. Avalos will be facing his toughest challenge in his career, facing a guy in Nieves that has gone 12 rounds, and has climbed off the canvas several times to continue fighting. He has a lot of heart and may need it against Avalos, a boxer that was named “prospect to watch in 2010” by various publications.
In the supporting bout, undefeated super featherweight prospect, Archie Ray Marquez, 9-0, 7 KO’s, takes on Derrick Campos, 20-7, 11 KO’s, in an eight round contest.
FOX Sports
On Saturday, former Flyweight Champion, Jorge Arce, 52-6-1, 40 KO’s, will vie for the WBO Super Flyweight Title against Angky Angkota, 23-4, 14 KO’s. Arce was a superstar in boxing in 2005 when he destroyed Hussein Hussein in ten rounds with a crimson mask. The black cowboy hat, heart, and reckless style made him a fan favorite, and he continued to win. At only 112 pounds, he packed a punch and had a lot of marquee matchup possibilities. In 2007, he got a crack at the WBC Super Flyweight Title, losing a wide decision to defending champion, Cristian Mijares.
In 2009, he landed a high profile bout against defending WBC, WBA, and IBF Super Flyweight Champion, Vic Darchinyan, losing badly and being TKO’d in 11 rounds. He has lost two of his three last bouts, but he still has this opportunity Saturday night against Angkota, a relative unknown from Indonesia. Most of his fights have taken place in his home country and most of the opponents, if not all, are unremarkable. This is a huge step up for Angkota.