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Monday, March 31, 2014

Lefty Brooks in Tough Again

Mike "Lefty " Brooks will face a well-regarded opponent yet again. On April 12, Brooks is scheduled to face Jason Sosa at Bally's Event Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey in a junior lightweight bout.

Brooks (10-1-1, 2 KOs) is coming off of a spirited defeat against an undefeated hot prospect, Karl Dargan, last November. In August, Brooks defeated Chip Perez, who possessed an impressive 10-2 record at the time of their clash.

Sosa (11-1-3, 7 KOs) has also defeated Chip Perez. Their fight took place in January of 2013 and Sosa was able to floor Perez with a short right that punctuated a combination at the end of the opening round. Sosa, a 26 year old from Camden, New Jersey, likes to stalk his opponent, which could make for an exciting fight with Brooks, who can box, but is often a come-forward guy.

Sosa has won his last seven fights and has KOed his last six opponents. Sosa's only loss came against Treysean Wiggins in 2010. Sosa was knocked down three times and stopped in the fight round by Wiggins, a tall southpaw.

While Brooks and Sosa are the same age, the Long Island native has a one and half inch advantage over Sosa. Mike's bigger advantage might be his southpaw stance. The Wiggins fight was the only time Sosa has faced a southpaw during his professional career.

This bout is scheduled for 10 rounds.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Groenteman Avenges 2013 Loss

Barry Groenteman defeated Vango Tsirimokos by unanimous decision last night at Theater aan de Parade in Den Bosch, Netherlands. With the win, Groenteman avenged a close unanimous decision loss last October.

Groenteman snapped a two-fight losing streak by winning this six rounder. Tsirimokos has now lost three straight fights. Groenteman advances his record to 10-7-2 with two KOs. Tsirimokos falls to 6-5 with one KO.

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Chilemba is Golden Against Grachev

Light heavyweight Isaac "Golden Boy" Chilemba dominated highly-regarded power puncher Denis Grachev at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethleham, Pennsylvania. Chilemba's defensive skills kept Grachev's dangerous overhand right at bay throughout the bout.

Chilemba (22-2-2, 9 KOs), wearing gold trunks and weighing just under the 175 pound light heavyweight limit, grabbed control of the fight from the outset by dictating pace with his jab. Grachev (13-3-1, 8 KOs), who was just over the limit, touched Isaac early, but Chilemba repeatedly snapped his jab in Grachev's face.

In the second round, Chilemba became more aggressive and added an array of power punches to his arsenal. He never initiated a body assault, but with his reach advantage and defense, he didn't need to. Chilemba used subtle upper and lower body movement in order to avoid Grachev's punches and remain in position to land thudding counters. Whenever Grachev was ready to throw one of his bombs, Chilemba had already moved out of the way and was in position to attack.

Chilemba looked extremely impressive the whole night. In the sixth and eighth rounds, he decided to fight on the inside and trade with Grachev. Isaac came away with a bloody nose in the sixth, but his hand speed helped him win those exchanges anyway. In the ninth, Chilemba was cut on the right side of his head because an apparent head clash. Grachev's left eye was bleeding and swollen for much of the bout because of Chilemba's lead rights.

The judges rewarded Chilemba for his dominance. Isaac, who landed about 200 more punches than did Grachev, won with scores of 100-90 and 99-91 (twice).

Chilemba's masterful performance puts him in the discussion for a title shot. Grachev's style was tailor made for Chilemba, but Isaac has the defensive skills and ability to counter to challenge the best in the division.