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Friday, December 20, 2019

Gloves and Doves to Host Amateur Boxers from Israel

Tony Milch's Gloves and Doves project is set to host a team of amateur boxers of different faiths from Israel. The fights will take place on April 2, 2020 at 229 The Venue in London, England.

Milch recently retired as a professional boxer with a 14-2 record. His last fight was just about a year ago, a points victory over Danny Little in a rematch in which Milch avenged only his second career loss.

You can read more about Milch's Gloves and Doves initiative in an article written by the editor of The JBB for SecondsOut.com.

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Chilemba Wins by Decison

Isaac Chilemba defeated Alexander Kubich by unanimous decision last Friday at PAOK Sports Arena in Thessaloniki, Greece. Chilemba outboxed the 33 year old Russian.

Earlier in the year, Chilemba announced that he has been battling depression and substance abuse which has affected his boxing career over the past five years. Chilemba's is a courageous admission. Too often substance abuse and depression are misunderstood and stigmatized. Chilemba, whose mother passed when he was a teenager, was subsequently responsible for taking care of his younger siblings in his home country of Malawi.

The judges scored the bout 79-73, 78-74, and 77-75. Chilemba's record improves to 26-7-2 with 10 KOs after winning the eight-round affair. Kubich falls to 10-6-1 with 6 KOs.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Duer and Ramirez Fight to an Ugly Split Draw

Carolina Duer fought Marianela Ramirez to a split draw Friday night at Estadio Polideportivo in Villa de Mayo, Argentina. It was a night to forget for the three people in the ring.

Duer started the fight moving and boxing effectively. She switched stances and caught Ramirez on the end of her punches. Halfway through the opening round, Duer held and Ramirez landed a right to the stomach after referee Carlos Gomez had called for the action to cease. Duer turned away in pain and was given some time to recover.

Whether it was due to her age of 41, the grueling fight with Mariana Juarez in Mexico last month, or that cheap shot by Ramirez, Duer fought a very negative fight the rest of the way. It was a shame because her class was clearly several levels above that of Ramirez, a crude come-forward slugger who threw looping lefts and rights without much of a game plan.

Duer landed straight shots as Ramirez lumbered forward and then held as if Ramirez was her mother day on Carolina's first day of kindergarten. As the fight went on, Ramirez would go limp when held and shoot referee Gomez a pleading look. At one point in the seventh round, Gomez blamed Ramirez for the holding, claiming she was hooking Duer's arm. It was a ridiculous assertion; Duer not only initiated virtually all of the holding, she wouldn't let go when Gomez ordered her to. Gomez had to physically peel Duer off of Ramirez.

Ramirez wasn't clean either. She hit on the break and led with her head. Gomez took a point in the sixth round for a rabbit punch. Though Gomez clearly favored Duer in his admonitions, Ramirez paid too much attention to him. Gomez did finally take a point from Duer in the seventh for holding to the delight of the crowd.

Ramirez landed a hard right to the ear in the eighth which obviously hurt Duer. Duer showed her mettle and fought back instead of quitting. Carolina didn't do much in the ninth but came back to land a couple of hard rights in the final round. One right nearly sent Ramirez through the ropes. The other led Ramirez to clinch for the first time in the fight. Gomez tried to separate them by jamming his forearm into Duer's throat which caused the former champ to yell at him.

The judges scored the bout 95-93, 94-94, and (curiously) 95-96. The JBB scored the fight 96-92 in Duer's favor. She held far too often, but it is the referee's job to punish the fighter, not the judges'. Ramirez marched forward, but she barely landed anything while Duer did virtually all of the clean punching before falling into clinches.

Duer is now 19-6-1 with 6 KOs and Ramirez is 6-6-1 with one KO.