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Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Dustin Fleischer vs. Stacey Anderson

June 26, 2015
Robert Treat Hotel
Newark, New Jersey


Fleischer: white striped trunks
Anderson: black and red trunks

Monday, July 27, 2015

Dustin Fleischer is 3-0 with 3 KOs

Welterweight Dustin Fleischer is 3-0 with 3 KOs. In his second fight on Jun 6 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Fleischer stopped Kareem Millner in the first round. He earned a third round TKO over Stacey Anderson on June 25 at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark, New Jersey.

Against Millner, Fleischer (coming off of a five-month layoff due to injury) controlled center ring. Millner attempted to trade as he moved around the perimeter. Fleischer soon trapped Millner against the ropes and used the overhand right to break down Millner. Referee Earl Brown quickly noticed that Millner had stopped defending himself and stopped the fight.

If most first rounds exhibit all the timidity of a first date, the opening round against Anderson was something akin to an episode of Married At First Sight. Fleischer almost exclusively launched power punches. Anderson had an aggressive mindset early, but Fleischer quickly forced him to reconsider with right hands.

Anderson is athletic, but he didn't know how to use his assets. He sported uniquely muscular thighs and yet only threw arm punches. He switched to southpaw in the second and third rounds and was equally ineffective in either stance.

Fleischer pounded Anderson in each round, primarily with rights. In the second round, he landed a vicious overhand right that blasted the mouthpiece out of Anderson's mouth. Anderson was badly hurt, but was granted a brief reprieve when referee David Fields halted the fight to reinsert the mouthpiece.

Anderson survived until the third round for two reasons: his style was awkward and he showed extreme toughness. He ate a number of flush punches and yet stayed up. Not until the final blow did Anderson go down. And even then- as he fell victim to another right- he grabbed the ropes to keep himself off the canvas.

Fleischer showed impressive discipline against an awkward opponent. His right hand has cringe-inducing power and is devastatingly accurate. He also has an effective left hook to the body. His next step is to utilize his jab and tighten up his left hook.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Chilemba Off Kovalev Card

Isaac Chilemba was scheduled to fight on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, a qualified opponent could not be found and Chilemba has been taken off the card according to ESPN's Dan Rafael.

Chilemba (24-2-2, 10 KOs) is coming off an impressive victory over previously undefeated prospect Vasily Lepikhin in March. Isaac hopes to fight light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Milch Stays Undefeated

Junior middleweight Tony Milch remained undefeated with a points victory over Ali Wyatt yesterday at York Hall in London, England.

At 34 years old, Milch had a four year age advantage over Wyatt. Wyatt was the far more experienced fighter: 120 more rounds and eight more years as a pro.

Though Milch controlled the action, he was dropped by a left in the fourth and final round. Milch improves his record to 8-0 with one KO. Wyatt falls to 4-25 with three KOs.

Friday, July 17, 2015

Melson Defeats Ruiz in Ten Round Bout

Junior middleweight Boyd Melson defeated Mike Ruiz by wide unanimous decision on May 8 at the Hilton Westchester in Rye Brook, New York. After a sloppy start, southpaw Melson took control of the fight with his left hand.

Both Melson and Ruiz hadn't been in the ring in over a year and it showed early. Ruiz implemented his plan of rushing Melson for the first half of the first round, but then seeming fell asleep for the next several minutes. Melson fired punches, but they initially looked awkward and poorly timed.

Melson slowly started to gain a rhythm by the end of the second round. He waved his right jab in order to distract Ruiz and land the left hand. The plan worked well in the third round as well. Ruiz was more active in the third, but his punches were clumsy.

Ruiz's best punch was his left hook and he landed a few stunning ones in the fourth round. After four, The Jewish Boxing Blog had the fight even. Melson slowly found his timing by the fifth round. In the sixth, a left uppercut put Ruiz down. It was a flash knockdown, but even for a 10-8 round. It also changed the momentum of the fight.

Melson dominated the seventh round. He landed crunching straight lefts. After the fight, Melson claimed that he had hurt his left hand in the second round. Melson also added the right hook. When he uses the right hook, Melson becomes a dangerous fighter. The layoff seemed to limit that punch's effectiveness against Ruiz, but it did land in the seventh.

Melson had never gone past eight rounds in his career and it showed. He moved more in the last three rounds of the fight. His defense was tad sloppier. Ruiz seemed to take two of the final three rounds.

The fight was also defined by headbutts, which often happen when a southpaw faces an orthodox fighter. After one nasty collision in the third, Melson asked Ruiz, "You ok?" with genuine concern. He also complimented Ruiz after a particularly stiff jab in the seventh round.

Melson won the fight was scores of 100-89, 99-90, 98-91. Ruiz grimaced in disbelief when he heard the scores. Even Melson was surprised at the 100-89 score. "I felt it was a lot closer," Boyd told boxing announcer Steve Farhood after the fight. The Jewish Boxing Blog scored the fight 96-93 for Melson.

Melson improved his record to 15-1-1 with 4 KOs. Ruiz fell to 17-9 with 9 KOs.

Some side notes:
Prior to referee Pete Santiago's pre-fight instructions, ring announcer David Diamonte accidentally put the microphone under a bewildered Mike Ruiz's armpit. Santiago laughed as he called Diamonte over.

Melson weighed in at the lightest he's been in four years. He dropped over 15 pounds in a week before the bout.

Ruiz wore socks to promote autism awareness.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Seldin Wins By Stoppage

On June 19, Cletus Seldin scored his fourteenth knockout by stopping veteran Ranee Ganoy in the fourth round. The bout took place in Seldin's home arena, the Paramount Theatre in Huntington, New York.

Seldin was coming off the best win of his career, a fifth round stoppage of Johnny Garcia on national television in February. Ganoy marked the most experienced opponent of Seldin's career.

Seldin had the height advantage and is seven years younger than the Filipino boxer. The loss to Seldin marked Ganoy's second straight loss. But Ganoy had won 19 out of 20 fight against mostly solid competition before dropping the last two.

Seldin's record moves to 17-0. Ganoy is now 36-13-2 with 32 KOs.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Horowitz Comes Back with a KO

Light Heavyweight Sam Horowitz earned his third career knockout on May 16 at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indian. Horowitz stopped Ramira Thomas a minute and sixteen seconds into the fight.

Horowitz was coming off of his first career loss, a second round stoppage to Simon Buettner in March. Horowitz improved his record to 3-1.

Sam also took part in a Big Knockout Boxing event, which follows different rules than a sanctioned boxing match. Horowtiz lost a disputed  five round decision, but scored a knockdown in the fight. He is scheduled to get back in the boxing ring on August 22 at the Horseshoe Casino.