Please lock.

This fight really reminded me of Floyd vs. Maidana 1.. Porter was being extremely aggressive like Maidana but for the most part was ineffective and didn't really didn't hit Brook with any clean shots. I think Porter will bounce back and become a better boxer because of this L
 
I honestly wasn't impressed with Porter at all last night. He was eating punches trying to get inside all night.

Brook definitely had the cleaner shots.
And looked like the better boxer the whole night. 116-112 seems about right IMO.
 
nyknicks207 said:
This fight really reminded me of Floyd vs. Maidana 1.. Porter was being extremely aggressive like Maidana but for the most part was ineffective and didn't really didn't hit Brook with any clean shots. I think Porter will bounce back and become a better boxer because of this L
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Was thinking the same thing


JAYFIEND said:
I honestly wasn't impressed with Porter at all last night. He was eating punches trying to get inside all night.

Brook definitely had the cleaner shots.
And looked like the better boxer the whole night. 116-112 seems about right IMO.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Besides him getting caught coming in I was unimpressed w the fact that he never changed up his game plan even when he knew his strategy wasn't effective. He tried to change up his stance but that didn't do **** with some discipline porter can be a beast. Maybe a new trainer?
 
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onlyjs said:
Paulie should've stuck to the gameplan, but for some reason he decided to slug it out with porter knowing damn well he doesn't have power! I think he saw porter came to overwhelm him and tried to scare or back him off and well we know what happened after
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Brook normally throws more. He couldn't against Porter because he smothered him for 12 rounds
 
doublemesh96 said:
Porter tried to just overwhelm brook like he did paulie. Obviously that won't work on a bigger guy seems like porter had no plan b. I see khan beating brook on speed plus he throws more.
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We're agreeing :lol: that's his plan A-Z and if that doesn't work he doesn't have a clue of what to do next.

With Khan, you know what it is. If he gets hit with one of those uppercuts or left hooks, he's finished. I think Brook has the talent and pop to keep Khan on his heels. Negate the speed factor a little.
 
Most of the power punches Brook threw were short and compact because Porter was good at closing distance. If he threw with more thrust and leverage he would've dropped Porter.
 
Weekend wrap up:

A roundup of the past week's notable boxing results from around the world:

Saturday at Carson, Calif.
Kell Brook W12 Shawn Porter
Wins a welterweight title
Scores: 117-111, 116-112, 114-114
Records: Brook (33-0, 22 KOs); Porter (24-1-1, 15 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Porter, 26, of Akron, Ohio, looked so good in his unanimous decision title-winning effort against Devon Alexander in December and his one-sided fourth-round knockout of Paulie Malignaggi in his first defense in April, that he looked one of the rising stars of boxing. Some even thought that a win over Brook would put him in the conversation for a shot at pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the not-too-distant future.

So what happened against his mandatory challenger Brook, 28, of England? Porter looked nothing like the fight he had recently. He was sloppy, did a lot of holding and grabbing and could not land many clean punches. As usual, Porter was aggressive but just not effective with his aggressiveness.

Brook, meanwhile, had been waiting for this shot for almost two years. Three times he was supposed to challenge Alexander in 2013 but the fight was continually postponed due to injuries to both fighters and then canceled. Brook finally got the shot and answered the call in a solid performance in his second fight in the United States.

He suffered a cut over his left eye in the second round from an accidental head butt and it bled regularly for the rest of the fight. Brook did a good job dealing with Porter's physical style by slipping many punches or catching his shots off his gloves or getting out of the way enough as to not take the full force of the blows.

An accidental head but opened a cut over Porter's right eye late in the sixth round and Brook wobbled Porter with a right uppercut in the seventh round. While the first half of the fight was pretty even, Brook seemed to close much stronger. He was in more of a rhythm and was outboxing and outlanding Porter. Brook made hay with a basic jab-straight right hand combination that often found the target.

Brook had a big 11th round as he rocked Porter at least twice, with a left hook and with a right hand. In the end, the judges got it right (at least two of them) even though Porter said he thought he won and said he wanted a rematch (which is highly unlikely).

According to CompuBox statistics, Brook landed 158 of 441 punches (36 percent) and Porter connected on 154 of 626 blows (25 percent). After the fight, Brook said he was interested in fighting contender Keith Thurman (who was ringside) and Mayweather. As for the possibility of an all-British showdown with Amir Khan, a fight many in England have wanted to see, Brook said Khan should "get in queue now."

Anthony Dirrell W12 Sakio Bika
Wins a super middleweight title
Scores: 117-110, 116-111, 114-113
Records: Dirrell (27-0-1, 22 KOs); Bika (32-6-3, 21 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In December, Bika, 35, a native of Cameroon living in Australia, made his first title defense against Dirrell, 29, of Flint, Michigan, and they battled to a split draw in a rough slugfest that saw Bika get knocked down in the fifth round and lose a point a point for a low blow in the 11th round, a point that cost him the victory.

As soon as the fight was over there was immediate talk of a rematch since it was a good fight and both fighters thought they deserved to win. It took nine months to get it on again, but they met again and this time there was a far more conclusive result as Dirrell claimed the fight and became what is believed to be the second cancer survivor to win a world title. He was out of action in 2007 and most of 2008 while battling non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Dirrell's good pal, middleweight Daniel Jacobs, who was ringside calling the fight as part of Showtime's crew, became the first cancer survivor to win a title one week earlier when he claimed a vacant secondary belt.

The rematch began in very ugly fashion and it stayed that way for the most of the fight. Referee Jack Reiss was issuing warnings for rough and dirty tactics just seconds into the fight. It was a foul-filled fight with head butts, rabbit punches, pushing and low blows. This was not for the faint of heart and often was a complete mess that resembled more of a wrestling match than a boxing match.

But Dirrell, with his straighter punches, better technique and quicker hands, was the boss for most of the fight. Bika did a lot of fouling, grabbing and threw way too many looping punches to be effective. While Bika was swinging wildly, Dirrell landed some nice combinations, right hands and a stiff jab. His intent was to box more than he had in the first fight and he was successful.

In the eighth round, Bika landed a hard left hand below the belt. Reiss called timeout, gave Dirrell time to recover and docked a point from Bika, who had previously been warned for fouling.

In the ninth round, Bika threw Dirrell down to the canvas and when his knee was on the mat, he hit him with a right hand with 30 seconds left in the round. Reiss could have taken another point, but he correctly ruled that the punch while Dirrell was down was not intentional as it happened almost simultaneously as Dirrell went down.

Bika probably won the final couple of rounds but he was too far behind at that point and Dirrell got the nod, moving him to tears because of what he had overcome. It's a good story even if it was a sloppy and frustrating fight to watch.

Omar Figueroa TKO9 Daniel Estrada
Retains a lightweight title
Records: Figueroa (24-0-1, 18 KOs); Estrada (32-3-1, 24 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Making the second defense of his 135-pound world title, the always entertaining Figueroa, 24, of Weslaco, Texas, hooked up with mandatory challenger Estrada, 29, of Mexico, who was fighting in the United States for the first time, and they put on a good show.

In his first defense on April 26, Figueroa struggled to a split decision victory against amateur nemesis Jerry Belmontes and was lucky to keep his belt. He had no such worried as he ended Estrada's nine-fight winning streak. As expected, they swapped a lot of punches. Figueroa was getting the better of the action when they were brawling and Estrada, who was fighting less than three weeks after the tragic death of his younger sister and niece in a car crash on their way home from a family vacation, did well when he kept the fight in center of the ring boxed. But Figueroa's constant pressure forced Estrada out of his game plan. He gave him a bloody nose in the fifth round. Referee Raul Caiz issued Estrada a firm warning for a low blow in the sixth round.

Estrada had Figueroa in some trouble in the eighth round, but Figueroa rallied later in the round as they engaged in an exciting exchange. Figueroa wound up with a blood nose and a terrible cut over his left eye in the round courtesy of an accidental head butt.

There was some drama between the eighth and ninth rounds as the fight was nearly called off with the doctor taking a good look at Estrada, who had taken punishment in the eighth, as well as Figueroa because of the nasty gash. The fight, however, did continue but was soon over as Figueroa crushed Estrada with a clean overhand right to the jaw to drop him. Although Estrada beat the count and continued, Figueroa was all over him, rocking him repeatedly, including with a left hook that turned his body limp along the ropes as Caiz stepped in to call off the fight at 1 minute. Figueroa was ahead on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage, 80-72, 79-73 and 79-73.

After the fight, Figueroa, who said that his fragile hands were sore and swollen, but they came through OK. He also said that because he has so much trouble make weight that he probably will move up to the 140-pound junior welterweight division for his next fight and vacate his title, which means he likely won't face Jorge Linares, the next mandatory, who won his fight on the undercard.

Deontay Wilder TKO4 Jason Gavern
Heavyweight
Records: Wilder (32-0, 32 KOs); Gavern (25-17-4, 11 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Wilder, 28, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was a 2008 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist -- the last American man to medal in boxing -- and has emerged as America's No. 1 heavyweight hope. He has awesome power, great size but after 32 pro fights nobody really knows what he has because he has never been remotely tested as he has fought one poor opponent after another and never been past four rounds.

Yet even with such an empty resume, Wilder was installed as the mandatory challenger for world titleholder Bermane Stiverne and that fight is expected to take place before the end of the year. But with Stiverne nursing a hand injury and the exact timeframe for the fight unclear -- perhaps November -- Wilder wanted to stay active and get in some work before the title shot. So although he took a fight and put his mandatory status at stake, Wilder really was not taking a big gamble because he was only facing Gavern, 37, of Kissimmee, Florida, a club-level fighter, who has now been knocked out eight times.

Gavern, who accepted the fight on six days' notice, came to fight but Wilder's size, speed and power were way too much. While Wilder did not blast him out like has done to most opponents, he had his way. In the third round, he dropped Gavern with a right to head, although Gavern complained that it was behind his head -- but it was Gavern who leaned into the punch. Late in the fourth round, Wilder dropped Gavern again with a right hand. He got up quickly, but he was done and quit on his stool after the fourth round.

According to CompuBox punch statistics, Wilder landed 57 of 141 blows (40 percent) and Gavern mustered only 16 connects of his 88 blows (18 percent ). Gavern actually lasted a little longer than many expected him to, but the result was entirely expected - a Wilder knockout victory as he moves on to a world title shot without every having faced anyone worth a damn.

Jorge Linares KO2 Ira Terry
Lightweight
Records: Linares (36-3, 23 KOs); Terry (26-11, 16 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: As expected, this was ultra-easy work for Linares, 28, of Venezuela. The former junior lightweight and featherweight titlist is sitting in a mandatory position to fight the winner of the Omar Figueroa Jr.-Daniel Estrada title bout on the same card, so he was not about to risk anything. So he was matched with 27-year-old Memphis, Tennessee, club fight Terry, who dropped to 2-10 with a no contest in his past 13 fights (with eight of the losses coming by knockout).

Linares, whose offensive game is second to none, had no problems with Terry, easily winning the first round and the pounding him out in the second round. Linares was doing as he pleased when he launched a fierce right hand that drilled Terry, dropping him face first to the canvas. Referee Raul Caiz Jr. did not even bother to count, instead immediately waving off the fight at 1 minute, 21 seconds as Linares notched his sixth consecutive victory since suffering back-to-back knockout losses to Antonio DeMarco (for a vacant lightweight title) in 2011 followed by a second-round knockout loss to Sergio Thompson in a lightweight title eliminator in 2012. With the win in the bank, however, it's now on to another title opportunity for Linares.

Also on the undercard, 2012 U.S. Olympic heavyweight Dominick Breazeale (12-0, 11 KOs), 28, of Anaheim, California, dropped journeyman Billy Zumbrun (27-14-1, 16 KOs) twice in the second round for the knockout at 2 minutes, 5 seconds.

Luke Campbell (7-0, 5 KOs), 26, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist from England, scored two knockdowns in the second round in a one-sided second-round knockout of Steve Trumble (13-31, 8 KOs), 38, of Baton Rouge, who dropped to 1-11 in his last 12 fights, lost his fifth in a row (three by knockout) and should not have even been approved as a Campbell opponent by the California State Athletic Commission. What a disgraceful mismatch.

British super middleweight prospect Callum Smith (13-0, 10 KOs), 24, smashed Abraham Hernandez (5-1, 3 KOs) of Mexico, knocking him out with a right hand that nearly knocked him out of the ring with one second left in the first round of their scheduled six-round bout.

And welterweight Fabian Maidana (2-0, 1 KO) of Argentina -- the 22-year-old younger brother of former welterweight and junior welterweight titlist Marcos Maidana -- knocked out Phillip Soriano (0-5), 35, of Philadelphia, Mississippi, in the first round.

Saturday at Las Vegas
Gabriel Rosado TKO6 Bryan Vera
Big Knockout Boxing
Wins vacant BKB middleweight title
Records: Rosado (1-0 BKB, 1 KO); Vera (0-1 BKB)
Rafael's remarks: This isn't your father's boxing, that's for sure. It's BKB -- Big Knockout Boxing, which its owners at DirecTV created as a way to inject more toe-to-toe action into a fight, and that is pretty much what Rosado, 28, of Philadelphia, and Vera, 32, of Austin, Texas, delivered in the pay-per-view main event at Mandalay Bay in the promotion's first card under its new format and since it was licensed in Nevada.

BKB used to stand for "Bare Knuckle Boxing" and the company put on a pair of shows in New Hampshire using smaller gloves with the knuckles exposed. To get licensed in Nevada, it moved to standard boxing gloves. It also uses the usual boxing rules, including the scoring system and medical standards, but with some important differences (including the name change). The fights are shorter (five rounds for regular fights, seven rounds for title fights) and the rounds are also shorter (two minutes instead of the traditional three). More importantly, fights do not take place in a 20-by-20-foot ring with ropes and corners. They take place in a "pit" that is 17 feet in diameter, much smaller than a traditional boxing ring, and it has a padded "safety zone" that gradually rises around the pit. The idea is that with fights taking place in a smaller area with nowhere to hide -- if you purposely step out of the pit it counts as a knockdown -- they will produce greater action and, very possibly, big knockouts.

Rosado and Vera (23-8, 14 KOs) were ideal choices for the first show since their boxing styles have always been fan friendly with an emphasis on slugging rather than boxing. Both also needed to kick start their careers since Rosado was 0-3 with a no decision in his last four fights and Vera was coming off back-to-back losses to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

The fight began with good action, as expected, and the first round ended with Rosado hammering Vera with a series of powerful shots. Vera bloodied Rosado's nose in the second round, but it was Rosado who landed the better punches. In the third round, Vera knocked Rosado out of the pit and into the safety zone with a right hand for a knockdown but got dropped with a powerful right hand later in the round. They continued to brawl in the fourth round, but Rosado got the better of the action as he continued to land his right hand almost at will. In the sixth round, Rosado hammered Vera with a clean right hand to the chin and Vera went down face first. He popped up quickly, but was staggering badly and referee Kenny Bayless waved it off at 1 minute, 59 seconds. It was one of the best performances of Rosado's career and it was an exciting fight that perhaps announced the arrival of BKB as a serious player in the combat sports marketplace. Plans are in the works for another card in October.

Saturday at Caguas, Puerto Rico
Felix Verdejo W8 Oscar Bravo
Lightweight
Scores: 80-72 (three times)
Records: Verdejo (14-0, 10 KOs); Bravo (21-6, 9 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Verdejo is one of the most significant and best prospects in boxing, a 21-year-old 2012 Puerto Rican Olympian, who already is a popular draw. Promoter Top Rank envisions him as a future pay-per-view star and the next great fighter from Puerto Rico. He is being moved exceptionally well but the one thing he needs is rounds. Bravo, 26, who is from Chile and based in Las Vegas, had never been stopped, so Top Rank hoped he would extend give Verdejo, who had knocked out three of his past four opponents in the first round. That is exactly what Bravo did as Verdejo was also taking a step up in his level of opposition in his first scheduled eight-round contest. Bravo has a lot of experience and was coming off an eight-round decision loss to former junior lightweight world title challenger Diego Magdaleno. He had also taken Australian contender Will Tomlinson the 12-round distance in a loss.

The fight was just what the doctor ordered as Bravo pushed Verdejo the distance, albeit in a totally one-sided fight. Verdejo won by shutout and was never challenged, but now he -- and Top Rank - know he can go deeper into a fight.

The rest of Verdejo's year is already plotted. He is expected to headline another UniMas card on Oct. 4 in Orlando, Florida, where there is a large and supportive Puerto Rican community, and then finish his year on Dec. 13 on Miguel Cotto's undercard at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Jose Lopez W8 Roberto Castaneda
Heavyweight
Scores: 74-72 (twice), 73-73
Records: Lopez (15-0, 11 KOs); Castaneda (21-7-1, 15 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Wow! Fighting in the "Solo Boxeo" opener on Unimas, viewers got an incredible and unexpected treat as Lopez, 20, of Puerto Rico, and Castaneda, 23, of Mexico, waged an epic fight of the year kind of all-out slugfest. They traded big shots and were repeatedly wobbled like drunken sailors in an old fashioned shootout that featured seven knockdowns (hey, could have lost count! in the first three rounds. And even though nobody hit the deck in rounds 4 through 8, they still threw nothing but power shots in a tremendous display of courage from both men.

Referee Roberto Ramirez was a busy man counting for a ridiculous five knockdowns in the first round, which is obviously a round of the year candidate. Lopez, known as "Wonder Boy," scored the first knockdown, dropping Castaneda 90 seconds into the fight with left hook to the jaw, but then was down four times after that in the round. Castadeda's left hook did most of the damage as he floored Lopez twice with hooks and then again with a flurry. As the round was coming to a close, it was shocking that Lopez was still fighting back when another hook leveled him at the bell. He barely survived and in a wild scene, Ramirez issued the eight count while Lopez was on his stool, and the fight was allowed to continue.

Lopez caught Castaneda with a right hand and dropped him in the second round. In the third round, Lopez rocked Castaneda and dropped him for the third time with a right hand early in the frame. Ramirez also docked a point from Castaneda in the round for hitting Lopez behind the head. This was simply a surreal, toe-to-toe brawl.

Saturday at Erfurt, Germany
Yoan Pablo Hernandez W12 Firat Arslan
Retains a cruiserweight title
Scores: 16-113, 115-113 Hernandez, 115-113 Arslan
Records: Hernandez (29-1, 14 KOs); Arslan (34-8-2, 21 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In one of his toughest fights, Hernandez, 29, a Cuban defector living in Germany, retained his title for fourth time as he escaped with a split decision against Arslan, the 43-year-old former titleholder from Germany, who has now lost three of his last five fights, including two world title fights to Germany's Marco Huck. Even though Arslan, who was in incredible physical condition, fought very well, it might be tough for him to get yet another title opportunity, especially at his age. He gave Hernandez everything he could handle. Hernandez, a southpaw, was coming off a nine-month layoff after dealing with a hand injury and a bout of gastritis (a stomach lining infection) that caused him to cancel a March defense. He looked rusty as Arslan came to him and landed more punches than the normally defensive-minded Hernandez usually takes. To many, Arslan, by far the more aggressive fighter, won the fight but Hernandez landed a lot of body shots and was more precise with his punches. Whomever you thought won, it was not a very crowd-pleasing fight.

Friday at Santa Ynez, Calif.
Denis Shafikov TKO9 Rustam Nugaev
Lightweight
Title eliminator Records: Shafikov (34-1-1, 18 KOs); Nugaev (27-7-1, 17 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: In February, Shafikov, 29, of Russia, traveled to Macau for a mandatory title shot against lightweight titlist Miguel Vazquez of Mexico and lost a somewhat competitive unanimous decision.

In his return to the ring, Shafikov got an opportunity to fight in a title eliminator against fellow Russian Nugaev, 31, in the "Friday Night Fights" main event. At stake? A mandatory shot against the winner of the Sept. 13 fight between Vazquez and challenger Mickey Bey.

Nugaev, an all-action fighter, came into the bout riding a six-fight winning streak, including a fourth-round knockout of Marvin Quintero in his previous fight in March. But Shafikov showed he was a better class of fighter as he dominated Nugaev and did so in surprisingly easy fashion in a fight that many expected to be highly competitive.

Shafikov, a southpaw, outboxed Nugaev and also laid a bad beating on him. By the time the fight was stopped, Nugaev's face was all busted up. His nose was bloody, his face was swollen and black and blue and it looked like he might have a broken left cheek or orbit bone. He was a mess.

Rudy Hernandez, Nugaev's trainer, nearly stopped the fight after the eighth round, when referee Jack Reiss and the ringside doctor took a good look at Nugaev. They let the fight go but it did not go much longer. Shafikov was on the attack and when he nailed Nugaev with a right hand to the body, Nugaev went back to the ropes and Shafikov unloaded and Reiss finally stepped in to call it off at 1 minute, 16 seconds. It was not a moment too soon. Nugaev, who has had a lot of tough fights, took the kind of shellacking where you wonder if he will ever be the same.

Jose Pedraza TKO6 Juan Carlos Martinez
Lightweight
Records: Pedraza (18-0, 12 KOs); Martinez (19-15-1, 6 KOs)
Rafael's remarks: Known as the "Sniper," the 25-year-old Pedraza was a decorated amateur, including a berth on the 2008 Puerto Rican Olympic team. Slowly but surely, Pedraza is gaining experience and working his way toward a major fight. This one against Martinez, 32, a naïve of Mexico living in Indio, California, however, was a mismatch from the outset.

Pedraza looked very good, but he was in very soft as Martinez, who took the fight on 10 days' notice, lost his third fight in his last four outings. Pedraza laid a bit of a beating on Martinez, whom he softened up throughout the fight before laying it on him in the sixth round, when he rocked him with multiple combinations. When the round was over, Martinez's trainer, Joel Diaz, told referee Lou Moret he was stopping the fight.
 
Hey, he says he wants it and Thurman just got healthy...I could see it for a January card...would LOVE to see that.
 
Roc Nation hires David Itskowitch.

Roc Nation Sports, the agency founded by music superstar Jay Z in April 2013, quickly made its mark in athlete representation and now plans to bring its muscle to boxing as a promoter.

"There's no question the sport of boxing needs a new player, someone who can do something different," Michael Yormark, the president and chief of branding and strategy for parent company Roc Nation, told ESPN.com on Sunday night. "We're energized, and we're going to make a difference. This is a huge priority to us. This is a highly serious business to us."

Roc Nation Sports made a splash when it powered its way into the rough business of representing athletes, making headlines by signing stars such as Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Seattle Mariners star Robinson Cano, New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia, New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith, New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz and Indianapolis Colts receiver Hakeem Nicks, among others, and negotiated contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

While Roc Nation Sports has yet to sign any boxers, the company made a big move by hiring David Itskowitch to serve as the chief operating officer of its boxing division.

Itskowitch, who said Roc Nation Sports has already secured a promoters license in New York and Washington, D.C., is a highly respected and experienced executive with 18 years in the boxing business.

"This is a serious business for us moving forward, and Dave has one of the great reputations in the boxing industry," Yormark said, adding that Jay Z and Roc Nation Sports president Juan Perez are big boxing fans. "Hiring him should be a loud and clear statement this is serious for us and that we will do this the right way. We have one of the most respected individuals in the sport leading the charge for us.

"We didn't wake up yesterday and decide we wanted to get into the boxing business, but our first significant move was to bring Dave into the organization. This is an opportunity for us to change the game. It's been in the works for the last six or eight months, and now we are making our move. Jay Z has an incredible passion for boxing. We want to take the platform we've created and bring that to the boxing industry. We want to bring more money and visibility to the sport and give the boxers opportunities outside the ring."

From 1996 to 2000, Itskowitch, 39, of New York, worked for former HBO Sports senior vice president Lou DiBella, who was responsible for programming the network's fights. When DiBella left HBO to found his own promotional company, Itskowitch went with him and worked as his right-hand man from 2000 to 2006.

Itskowitch then joined powerhouse Golden Boy Promotions as its chief operating officer, working for Oscar De La Hoya's company from 2007 until resigning last summer to take some time off. During his time there, Itskowitch got to know Yormark, the former president and CEO of the NHL's Florida Panthers (before leaving the team to join Jay Z's company), when Golden Boy had a deal to promote several cards at the BB&T Center, the Panthers' home arena.

"We're going to promote our first event by the end of the year, and we're currently strategizing on which fighters we will seek to sign," Itskowitch told ESPN.com.

"We're looking to make an immediate and dramatic impact on the sport. We feel we can do that, and we plan to build Roc Nation Sports into a boxing brand by leveraging Roc Nation's current marketing, public relations and branding infrastructure. We're going to brand Roc Nation Sports fighters, and we're confident that branding will lead to financial opportunities both in and out of the ring that will be available nowhere else."

Itskowitch said Roc Nation Sports is willing to work with any promoter, manager or television network, something uncommon in boxing.

"We're starting with a clean slate," he said. "One of boxing's biggest problems is that the audience is getting older, but we have an infrastructure that can reach younger fans. We believe that is something we can do based on what we already have in place."

Yormark said the goal is not only to put on quality boxing events but also to do for the fighters it will eventually sign what it tries to do with the other athletes it represents.

"There's no question Roc Nation Sports can create celebrity status for boxers and align them with corporate America," Yormark said. "Look at the success we've had with our athletes and [recording] artists [represented by parent company Roc Nation]. That is what we do, and we do that better than anyone. We will be able to build brands for these boxers and build their careers outside of the ring. That's the difference that Roc Nation will bring to this sport."

Said Itskowitch, "We will be a promoter, but our job won't end once a guy fights on a particular Saturday night. We will promote him 365 days a year."

Roc Nation Sports wins purse bid.

Roc Nation Sports, the 16-month-old sports agency founded by music mogul Jay Z, wasted no time announcing its arrival on the scene as a boxing promoter to be reckoned with.

In a stunner, Roc Nation Sports won a purse bid on Monday at WBO headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to secure the promotional rights to a mandatory fight between middleweight titleholder Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin and Matt Korobov, even though it does not promote either fighter. Roc Nation Sports bid a whopping $1,904,840 and handily defeated two other bidders.

Golden Boy Promotions, which represents Quillin, bid $1.2 million, and Korobov promoter Top Rank offered $515,000. The minimum bid was $200,000. The purse bid took place because Golden Boy and Top Rank declined to negotiate the fight with each other.

Roc Nation's tentative plan is to put the fight on Nov. 8 in New York or Washington, D.C., the two places it has obtained a license to promote boxing. It still has to negotiate a television deal.

It is unusual for a promoter to bid on a fight in which it has no ties. But Roc Nation Sports, which on Sunday unveiled to ESPN.com its plans to get involved in boxing promotion, wanted to make a splash. In announcing its intent to become involved in boxing, David Itskowitch, the newly hired chief operating officer for Roc Nation Sports' boxing division, said, "We're looking to make an immediate and dramatic impact on the sport."

That is what Roc Nation Sports, which represents athletes such as Kevin Durant, Robinson Cano, CC Sabathia and Victor Cruz, did Monday: It made a statement by winning the auction with an exorbitant bid.

Itskowitch, who spent six years as Golden Boy's COO before he resigned last summer to take some time off, flew to Puerto Rico for the purse bid and surprised Ramiro Gonzalez of Golden Boy and Carl Moretti of Top Rank. He also surprised WBO president Francisco "Paco" Valcarcel.

"I'm definitely surprised by their participation," Valcarcel said. "On behalf of the WBO, I welcome Jay Z and his company, Roc Nation (Sports), and wish them nothing but success in their quest to put on quality boxing events and represent well the fighters they eventually sign. We are honored that they have chosen a WBO world championship contest to mark their entrance to the sport as boxing promoters and look forward to working with them."

Reaction from Golden Boy and Top Rank was swift and positive. Their fighters will each take home their biggest career payday. As the titleholder, Quillin is entitled to 75 percent of the winning bid ($1,428,630), and Korobov will receive the remaining 25 percent ($476,210).

"I'm surprised by the offer but glad someone like Jay Z and his team realize the value and opportunities in boxing," Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya told ESPN.com.

Moretti added: "Congrats to Roc Nation and their team on winning the bid. Top Rank and Matt Korobov will fully cooperate with the terms and any promotional requirements they may ask of us. Jay Z may have '99 Problems,' but apparently purse bids aren't one of them. Welcome to the business of boxing. Plus, I'd rather lose the bid and win the fight any day of the week."

Roc Nation has no fighters under contract yet but plans to build a stable. While it does that, picking up rights to fights at purse bids is one way to secure fights around which cards can be built.

Quillin (31-0, 22 KOs), 31, of New York, has defended his 160-pound belt three times, most recently by near-shutout decision against Lukas Konecny on April 19 in Washington, D.C.

Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs), a 31-year-old Russian southpaw and 2008 Olympian, scored a pair of seventh-round knockdowns against Jose Uzcategui en route to a 10-round decision victory on June 28 in Omaha, Nebraska.
 
Proshares said:
Roc Nation hires David Itskowitch.

Roc Nation Sports, the agency founded by music superstar Jay Z in April 2013, quickly made its mark in athlete representation and now plans to bring its muscle to boxing as a promoter.

"There's no question the sport of boxing needs a new player, someone who can do something different," Michael Yormark, the president and chief of branding and strategy for parent company Roc Nation, told ESPN.com on Sunday night. "We're energized, and we're going to make a difference. This is a huge priority to us. This is a highly serious business to us."

Roc Nation Sports made a splash when it powered its way into the rough business of representing athletes, making headlines by signing stars such as Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Seattle Mariners star Robinson Cano, New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia, New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith, New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz and Indianapolis Colts receiver Hakeem Nicks, among others, and negotiated contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

While Roc Nation Sports has yet to sign any boxers, the company made a big move by hiring David Itskowitch to serve as the chief operating officer of its boxing division.

Itskowitch, who said Roc Nation Sports has already secured a promoters license in New York and Washington, D.C., is a highly respected and experienced executive with 18 years in the boxing business.

"This is a serious business for us moving forward, and Dave has one of the great reputations in the boxing industry," Yormark said, adding that Jay Z and Roc Nation Sports president Juan Perez are big boxing fans. "Hiring him should be a loud and clear statement this is serious for us and that we will do this the right way. We have one of the most respected individuals in the sport leading the charge for us.

"We didn't wake up yesterday and decide we wanted to get into the boxing business, but our first significant move was to bring Dave into the organization. This is an opportunity for us to change the game. It's been in the works for the last six or eight months, and now we are making our move. Jay Z has an incredible passion for boxing. We want to take the platform we've created and bring that to the boxing industry. We want to bring more money and visibility to the sport and give the boxers opportunities outside the ring."

From 1996 to 2000, Itskowitch, 39, of New York, worked for former HBO Sports senior vice president Lou DiBella, who was responsible for programming the network's fights. When DiBella left HBO to found his own promotional company, Itskowitch went with him and worked as his right-hand man from 2000 to 2006.

Itskowitch then joined powerhouse Golden Boy Promotions as its chief operating officer, working for Oscar De La Hoya's company from 2007 until resigning last summer to take some time off. During his time there, Itskowitch got to know Yormark, the former president and CEO of the NHL's Florida Panthers (before leaving the team to join Jay Z's company), when Golden Boy had a deal to promote several cards at the BB&T Center, the Panthers' home arena.

"We're going to promote our first event by the end of the year, and we're currently strategizing on which fighters we will seek to sign," Itskowitch told ESPN.com.

"We're looking to make an immediate and dramatic impact on the sport. We feel we can do that, and we plan to build Roc Nation Sports into a boxing brand by leveraging Roc Nation's current marketing, public relations and branding infrastructure. We're going to brand Roc Nation Sports fighters, and we're confident that branding will lead to financial opportunities both in and out of the ring that will be available nowhere else."

Itskowitch said Roc Nation Sports is willing to work with any promoter, manager or television network, something uncommon in boxing.

"We're starting with a clean slate," he said. "One of boxing's biggest problems is that the audience is getting older, but we have an infrastructure that can reach younger fans. We believe that is something we can do based on what we already have in place."

Yormark said the goal is not only to put on quality boxing events but also to do for the fighters it will eventually sign what it tries to do with the other athletes it represents.

"There's no question Roc Nation Sports can create celebrity status for boxers and align them with corporate America," Yormark said. "Look at the success we've had with our athletes and [recording] artists [represented by parent company Roc Nation]. That is what we do, and we do that better than anyone. We will be able to build brands for these boxers and build their careers outside of the ring. That's the difference that Roc Nation will bring to this sport."

Said Itskowitch, "We will be a promoter, but our job won't end once a guy fights on a particular Saturday night. We will promote him 365 days a year."

Roc Nation Sports wins purse bid.

Roc Nation Sports, the 16-month-old sports agency founded by music mogul Jay Z, wasted no time announcing its arrival on the scene as a boxing promoter to be reckoned with.

In a stunner, Roc Nation Sports won a purse bid on Monday at WBO headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to secure the promotional rights to a mandatory fight between middleweight titleholder Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin and Matt Korobov, even though it does not promote either fighter. Roc Nation Sports bid a whopping $1,904,840 and handily defeated two other bidders.

Golden Boy Promotions, which represents Quillin, bid $1.2 million, and Korobov promoter Top Rank offered $515,000. The minimum bid was $200,000. The purse bid took place because Golden Boy and Top Rank declined to negotiate the fight with each other.

Roc Nation's tentative plan is to put the fight on Nov. 8 in New York or Washington, D.C., the two places it has obtained a license to promote boxing. It still has to negotiate a television deal.

It is unusual for a promoter to bid on a fight in which it has no ties. But Roc Nation Sports, which on Sunday unveiled to ESPN.com its plans to get involved in boxing promotion, wanted to make a splash. In announcing its intent to become involved in boxing, David Itskowitch, the newly hired chief operating officer for Roc Nation Sports' boxing division, said, "We're looking to make an immediate and dramatic impact on the sport."

That is what Roc Nation Sports, which represents athletes such as Kevin Durant, Robinson Cano, CC Sabathia and Victor Cruz, did Monday: It made a statement by winning the auction with an exorbitant bid.

Itskowitch, who spent six years as Golden Boy's COO before he resigned last summer to take some time off, flew to Puerto Rico for the purse bid and surprised Ramiro Gonzalez of Golden Boy and Carl Moretti of Top Rank. He also surprised WBO president Francisco "Paco" Valcarcel.

"I'm definitely surprised by their participation," Valcarcel said. "On behalf of the WBO, I welcome Jay Z and his company, Roc Nation (Sports), and wish them nothing but success in their quest to put on quality boxing events and represent well the fighters they eventually sign. We are honored that they have chosen a WBO world championship contest to mark their entrance to the sport as boxing promoters and look forward to working with them."

Reaction from Golden Boy and Top Rank was swift and positive. Their fighters will each take home their biggest career payday. As the titleholder, Quillin is entitled to 75 percent of the winning bid ($1,428,630), and Korobov will receive the remaining 25 percent ($476,210).

"I'm surprised by the offer but glad someone like Jay Z and his team realize the value and opportunities in boxing," Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya told ESPN.com.

Moretti added: "Congrats to Roc Nation and their team on winning the bid. Top Rank and Matt Korobov will fully cooperate with the terms and any promotional requirements they may ask of us. Jay Z may have '99 Problems,' but apparently purse bids aren't one of them. Welcome to the business of boxing. Plus, I'd rather lose the bid and win the fight any day of the week."

Roc Nation has no fighters under contract yet but plans to build a stable. While it does that, picking up rights to fights at purse bids is one way to secure fights around which cards can be built.

Quillin (31-0, 22 KOs), 31, of New York, has defended his 160-pound belt three times, most recently by near-shutout decision against Lukas Konecny on April 19 in Washington, D.C.

Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs), a 31-year-old Russian southpaw and 2008 Olympian, scored a pair of seventh-round knockdowns against Jose Uzcategui en route to a 10-round decision victory on June 28 in Omaha, Nebraska.
Click to expand...

Nice.
Jay is killing it.
Lol @making 50 look worse.
What really happened between May and 50 anyway, why that crush end?
 
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