Air Bubbles

Troy Marriott
Troy, MI

Fight to Educate: Demetrius Andrade schools and blasts Alexis Hloros in two

Middleweight boxer Alexis "Hurricane" Hloros (16-5-2, 12 KOs) of Mt. Clemens, a prime attraction at Michigan's famed Royal Oak Music Theatre wherein he made a career of plastering patsies to pad his records, was himself plastered Thursday night by undefeated contender and 2008 Olympian Demetrius "Boo Boo" Andrade (18-0, 13 KOs) inside two rounds at the 11th annual Fight To Educate Pro-Am card held at the Wireless Verizon Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Demetrius Andrade neutralized the Hurricane early and did not commit any boo-boos as he schooled the Michigan native in the finer aspects of the sweet science, eventually stopping him in the second round of the 10-round bout.

On paper, Alexis Hloros' record might be good, but a closer examination will reveal that most of his wins were against fighters with losing and atrocious records, and the only other time that he stepped up in opposition was against James Kirkland in 2011 wherein he also got blasted within two rounds.

Fight To Educate is a "charity event that combines a love of sports with the vision of assisting children and seniors in need, who with fundraisers like this could be 'down for the count.' During the past 10 years, Fight To Educate has raised more than $500,000 in donations benefitting local New Hampshire non-profit organizations."

The organizers revealed that "proceeds from the 11th annual Fight To Educate will benefit SEE Science Center (www.see-sciencecenter.org), The Bobby Stephens Fund for Education (www.stepheneducationfund.com), and New Horizons for New Hampshire."

The Mackinac Bridge

The Mackinac Bridge: the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere, connecting the two peninsulas of Michigan.

Press Release: “KRONK: THE NEW GENERATION” AT JOE LOUIS ARENA AUGUST 25

KRONK BOXING RETURNS TO DETROIT WITH
“KRONK: THE NEW GENERATION” AT JOE LOUIS ARENA AUGUST 25

Tickets Go On Sale Friday, August 3 at 10 a.m.!

(DETROIT– August 1, 2012) — Kronk Boxing, Detroit's fifth professional sports team, returns to downtown Detroit on Saturday, August 25 at Joe Louis Arena for “Kronk: The New Generation” at 7:30 p.m.  Headlining the scheduled eight bout event is Detroit's own Tony Harrison, undefeated at 9-0 with 8 knockouts, versus Calvin Odom from Inglewood, California, 15-12 with 11 knockouts.
Tickets ($20, $35 and $100)  go on sale Friday, August 3 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at OlympiaEntertainment.com,  The Fox Theatre and Joe Louis Arena box offices, Hockeytown Authentics in Troy (without service charge) at all Ticketmaster locations and Ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets by phone, call (800) 745-3000.  For additional information, call (313) 471-6611.

The undercard will be announced at a later date and all bouts are subject to change.

Shobox: Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage spanks Spinks anew, barks at Canelo

Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage, Detroit's 39-year old IBF junior middleweight champion, retained his crown last Saturday night against familiar foe, Cory Spinks, the same fighter he dethroned via 5th round TKO about two years ago in St. Louis, MO.

This time around, the so-called rematch between the two old protagonists at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, CA airing via Showtime's ShoBox: The Next Generation franchise followed almost the same script as the last time these two fighters met in St. Louis, albeit this time Cory Spinks lasted two more rounds longer than their first fight.

Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage's magical night began with less than a minute to go in the first round when he suddenly unleashed a powerful overhand right to the face of Cory Spinks, sending the game challenger crashing to the canvas.

But Cory Spinks was able to get up, and desperately grabbed Bundrage for survival, an act that led to both fighters falling to the ground. It was an omen of things to come as the two fighters turned their championship duel into a rough and tumble, one with neither fighter giving an inch or so it seems.

The fight was both beautiful and ugly as both fighters began to grab and hold, clinching and sneaking punches in close quarters, trying to impose their will on each other. Spinks, the bigger guy, was keen on roughing up the smaller Bundrage, but the Detroit fighter was game enough to play the game that his opponent was playing as he began to sneak an uppercut or two in between hugs and clinches.

By the third round, Cory Spinks' right eye began to swell, a recurrent target of Bundrage's active left jabs while Spinks tried to take his fight to Bundrage's body. Still, Cornelius' right bombs were landing on target, with Spinks looking helpless in evading them.

The fight went on its usual phase with Cory Spinks hugging, holding and even wrestling Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage for control, but the Kronk fighter also gave his opponent a dose of his own medicine. 

As the fight wore on, the fighters' conditioning was being tested; both fighters are showing signs of exhaustion, breathing heavily through their mouths while throwing blows few and far between, until Bundrage suddenly connected with a chopping right to the face that again buckled Spinks' legs in round 6. Despite Cory Spinks' desperate attempt to counter his impending doom by trying to dig deep into Bundrage's body, from that time on, the outcome was slowly but surely in Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage's favor.

The seventh round proved to be Cory Spinks' downfall as another powerful right hand sent him to the canvas. Showing his heart, the fighter from St. Louis got up and desperately tried to grab his opponent once more, but he ate another powerful right that sent him on the seat of his pants again with time down to 1:54.

It was like a fast-paced action movie from then on as Cory Spinks tried several evasive maneuvers to delay the inevitable -- slips, holds, backtracks and grabs -- but Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage would have none of it as he continued to move and unleashed a barrage of punches (got away with a few low blows) at his hapless opponent.

And with 27 seconds left in the round, Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage finally caught Cory Spinks with his patented right hand bomb that finally crumbled not only Spinks' body, but also his will to fight. Down on all fours, the referee counted Cory Spinks out as Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage went down on his knees, barked and celebrated his victory, improving his record to 32-4-0-1 with 19 knockouts.

Fight statistics showed that en route to the seventh round knockout,  Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage outlanded Cory Spinks 32% (97 0f 301) to 30% (75 of 247) of total punches. While Spinks has a negligible margin in jabs 27% (35 of 132) to 19% (31 of 160), Bundrage connected more power punches 47% (66 of 141) to 35% (40 of 115) which was really the story of the championship fight.

There is no question in many boxing observers' mind that Cory Spinks (39-7, 11 KOs), after a long career, should call it a day. But like many fighters before him who refused to accept the call of father time, he was in denial: "I'm not goin' to stop my career, I'm better than that and I know that, it's just his night tonight, I take my hat off to him."

Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage proved that despite his age and the long lay-off, he is still capable of giving us a good fight on any given night. Bundrage is a rugged, aggressive, scrappy and unorthodox fighter who barks his way around the ring. He will always be a handful to any fighter out there, Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez included.

In the post-fight interview, IBF junior middleweight champion Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage barks at WBC light middleweight champion Saul 'Canelo Alvarez to take notice: "The dog is coming, arf arf!"

But only if Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage's handlers will not put his boxing career on the cold cage again.

Note: This article was previously published on Detroit Fight Sporst Examiner.

Detroit's Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage back in action versus Cory Spinks tonight

After toiling under the radar for years, Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage (31-4-0-1, 18 KO) proved the old adage, "every dog has his day" when he seized the IBF light middleweight diadem via fifth round TKO of erstwhile champion Cory Spinks (39-6, 11 KO) on August 7, 2010 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO.

With the belt in hand, Bundrage was hoping to become a factor in the light middleweight division, which would then lead into a fight with the big boxing names out there and the corresponding big purses that go with them for the Detroit native.

But alas, for whatever reasons and circumstances beyond his control, the unthinkable happened. Instead of unleashing the beast, the dog was eventually caged and Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage's career was put in the freezer. If you ask me, this is no way to treat a champion who earned his belt the hard and honest way.

For months, Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage barked and barked but it seemed nobody was listening among the so-called marquee names around and within his weight class. They avoided Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage like a plague. In the minds of these so-called marquee fighters and their handlers, Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage is a high-risk, low-reward opponent. Thus, the champion from Detroit was left with no other choice but to bide his time and wait for another opportunity to show his wares inside the ring.

Last year and just like the year before, Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage went and emerged victorious in St. Louis, MO. He fought and battled his old nemesis Sechew Powell (26-5, 15 KO) via a 12- round unanimous decision win, thus ending Powell's title aspirations as well as finally settling the score with the fighter who dealt Bundrage an embarassing first round TKO loss in his second professional fight in 2005, in what many boxing observers dubbed as the "double-knockdown in Connecticut."

Tonight's IBF light middleweight championship fight on ShoBox marks only the second time that the champion, Cornelius "K9" Bundrage, will enter the ring since winning the title on August 7, 2010. It is really sad and unthinkable that a champion eager to fight and stake his claim on the crown is hardpressed to find any willing opponent who will try to test his mettle.

Was it really that hard to find an opponent for Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage or were his handlers and promoters just remiss on their job and failed to sell his brand to the powers that be? But it is what it is, and the harsh reality of what the state of boxing has become through the years when a fighter's career is left at the mercy of a few people .

It will be full circle for Cornelius "K9" Bundrage when he climbs into the ring tonight at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, CA in a rematch with Cory Spinks, the erstwhile champion he dethroned in St. Louis more than a year ago.

The championship fight will give Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage another chance to show the boxing world what he is really made of. The championship fight will also give him another chance to prove that his mastery of Cory Spinks was no fluke. And the championship fight will also give Cornelius 'K9' Bundrage another chance to prove that his bite is more lethal than his bark.

ShoBox: The New Generation live on SHOWTIME® (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast)

*This article was originally published in Detroit Fight Sports Examiner
*photo credit: Tom Casino/ SHOWTIME

Greenfield Village: Robert Frost's home

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."

Taylor Invasion: Interview with TXC president and CEO Joseph J. Battaglia

On this coming Saturday night (May 12), Triple X Cagefighting (TXC), one of the leading Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) outfits in Michigan, will present Taylor Invasion, a fight card with 15 fights (and 4 TXC championship belts on the line) advertised to be action-packed, at the Taylor Sportsplex on Telegraph Road in Taylor, MI.

The Detroit Fight Sports Examiner reached out to Joseph J. Battaglia, the president and CEO of TXC for some information about Saturday's fight card as well as his thoughts on some issues concerning Michigan's MMA scene.

By the way, Mr. Joe Battaglia, a regular fixture in the state's fight circle, is also a professional kickboxer and MMA fighter in his own right; he holds a 4th degree black belt in American Karate, is an Internationally certified Karate instructor, and is the Great Lakes Grappling Championship heavyweight gold medal winner in 2010, among his accomplishments.

To read the transcript of the Q&A's we had with Mr. Joseph Battaglia click HERE

LEONARDO Live

...drove 30+ miles, from Southgate to Livonia's AMC 20 Theatre for this, a one-night-only showcase (in Michigan and other parts of the US) of Leonardo da Vinci's works, live from London's The National Gallery.





"the greatest geniuses sometimes accomplish more by working less"- Leonardo da Vinci on why he would go on for days without working on 'The Last Supper'