Robinson: Modern Times

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Ruelas Position

California’s Dan Goossen has come out in protest at what he deems another poor boxing decision.

"Rafael is currently the mandatory challenger for IBF lightweight champion Fred Pendleton and WBC king Miguel Angel Gonzalez.

Since February we've tried to get both into the ring, and to be told by the IBF we have one more fight before a title shot is unacceptable."

Asked if that rules out a Robinson-Ruelas fight he replied,

"I didn't say that, but Rafael obviously has waited a long time for a title shot, so that's our number one priority."

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Gainford Talks

Trainer to the latest boxing sensation, George Gainford granted his first interview and here's what he had to say.


Robinson

"Kid's got everything. All he needs is experience. I'll like him to get a few more fights in, a few more styles, just so he can say he's seen them - then he's unbeatable."


Robinson-Ruelas

"Robinson knows that Ruelas biggest purse been $50,000 so if he wants to fight Robinson, we'll know from what he asks for."


If Robinson-Ruelas Doesn't Work Out

"Robinson already talked to the champions, Lopez is going to rematch Dingaan Thobela in June and Lopez only wants soft touches.

I'd like Robinson to meet Sharmba Mitchell, he's a southpaw - I think it'd be great for Robinson, Levander Johnson too. American opponents.

Clear out the division."


Dream Opponent

"De La Hoya. Why? Because he'll never get in the ring with Robinson.

Now Robinson's up at 135, watch De La Hoya either trim the weight or put it on."


What's next

"Not Ruelas despite what the papers are saying.

I like Robinson to keep busy, nothing worse than when a fighter goes stale.

Robinson is going to keep up fight-a-month schedule until he becomes champion, and when he does we might fight every other month."

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Nelson - Robinson




Breaking news from Don King Promotions.

Azumah Nelson and Ray Robinson have signed to face one another.

More to follow.

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Nelson - Robinson Official




Promoter Don King held a marathon press conference as he unveiled that WBC Super Featherweight champion Azumah Nelson has signed to face unbeaten Olympic gold medalist Ray Robinson on the Chavez-Whitaker undercard on September 10th.

Using his trademark hyperbole King described the two as "hunters, lion-tamers, greats and future greats"

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Robinson Making Moves




With the news of his September 10th contest against Azumah Nelson now commonplace Ray Robinson has made waves among the boxing community.

Expected by many to go the IBF route for a shot at the lightweight title, he has sprung a real surprise by agreeing to step into the ring with the 130-pound king, we caught up with him to find out why.

Azumah Nelson in September?
"That's right. It really wasn't on my mind but Mr. King made me a huge offer, a million-dollars, so it became something I started to think about it.

Azumah is the best around my weight that I could realistically be matched against. He's a two-weight champion, a bon-a-fide great."

What was the contract you signed?
"I'm taking a guaranteed fee, one-million, and there's a rematch clause for both sides."

September is still 5 months away. Will you sit out?
"Nope I'll still be active. The little cut I picked up has healed so I've got one this month [May] booked and we're in negotiations with Ruelas people for June or July."

A fight this month?
"That's right. Mauro Gutierrez on the 22nd."

And next month?
"Well that depends... I'll either fight Ruelas or it'll be Sharmba Mitchell or Levander Johnson - George is keen on those two."

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Ray Robinson KO 1 Mauro Gutierrez




Washington, District of Columbia - It looked little more than a glorified exhibition, but it wasn't supposed to be.

Gutierrez has gone 1-1 with Rafael Ruelas, ended the career of aging Eusebio Pedroza and shown himself to be a very durable opponent against world level operators.

None of it helped him against Robinson.

Guiterrez only saw 2:57 of action. In that short amount of time Robinson had dropped his man and landed over 50 punches but not received a single blow in return.

Robinson, 18-years-old and fast learning the promoting business thanked the crowd after the fight and told them he hoped they'd be at his next fight:

"June 26th. Atlantic City, New Jersey. Carl Griffith."

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Summary - May


HEAVYWEIGHTS

Riddick Bowe KO 2 Jesse Ferguson (Retains WBA & IBF Titles)
Lennox Lewis W 12 Tony Tucker (Retains WBC Title)
Larry Holmes KO 6 Paul Poirier
Jeremy Williams KO 2 Danell Nicholson
Danell Nicholson KO 3 Tim Morrison

CRUISERWEIGHTS

Orlin Norris W 10 Richard Mason

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS

Montell Griffin W 6 Donny Penelton

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS

Michael Nunn KO 6 Crawford Ashley (Retains WBA Title)

MIDDLEWEIGHTS

Roy Jones W 12 Bernard Hopkins (Wins Vacant IBF Title)
Gerald McClellan KO 5 Julian Jackson (Wins WBC Title)
Reggie Johnson W 12 Wayne Harris (Retains WBA Title)

JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHTS

Julio Cesar Vasquez W 12 Francisco Castillejo (Retains WBA Title)

WELTERWEIGHTS

Crisanto Espana W 12 Rodolfo Aguilar (Retains WBA Title)
Hector Camacho KO 5 Eric Podolak
Meldrick Taylor KO 2 Henry Hughes

JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHTS

Charles Murray W 12 Rodney Moore (Wins Vacant IBF Title)
Juan Coggi KO 7 Jose Rivera (Retains WBA Title)
Julio Cesar Chavez KO 6 Terrence Alii (Retains WBC Title)
Julio Cesar Chavez KO 3 Silvio Rojas
Joey Gamache KO 2 Rocky Berg
Pepe Reilly KO 1 Jimmy Fimbers

LIGHTWEIGHTS

Freddie Pendleton KO 2 Cruz Saldana
Ray Robinson KO 1 Mauro Gutierrez
Oscar De La Hoya KO 4 Frank Avelar
Sharmba Mitchell KO 1 Kenny Baysmore
Jorge Paez W 10 Jesse Torres

FEATHERWEIGHTS

Goyo Vargas KO 7 Paul Hodkinson (Wins WBC Title)
Francisco Segura W 12 Tony Green

JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHTS

Kennedy McKinney W 12 Richard Duran (Retains IBF Title)

BANTAMWEIGHTS

Eliecer Julio KO 8 Francisco Alvarez (Retains WBA Title)
Tim Austin KO 1 Hector Lopez

JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHTS

Marco Antonio Barerra KO 4 Facundo Rodriguez

FLYWEIGHTS

Eric Griffin W 10 Armando Diaz

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Ray Robinson KO 10 Carl Griffith




Atlantic City, New Jersey - The bad news for those ringside was that at no point over the ten rounds was this fight competitive. The good news, they got to witness arguably the hottest prospect in the sport strut his stuff for ten rounds.

Carl Griffith on paper seemed like a worthy opponent, he is the current USBA lightweight champion, he's ranked highly with the WBC (13th) and the IBF (10th) and what's more he's been undefeated for his last 13 fights.

But on paper and in reality is two completely different worlds when fighters with the ability of Robinson are in the ring. Even if you wanted to, you would of struggled to give Griffith a single round.

Robinson was too fast, too powerful and too clever for his opponent. Giving the sense he could of stopped it at any point after the sixth had he turned the burners on, Robinson waited until the last round to do so.

The result, three knockdowns, with the last keeping Griffith down for the count.


"I started fast to sap his legs, then I settled down a bit to box."

Said Robinson, now 14-0 with 13 knockouts.

"I'm not too sure on when my next fight is, so wanted to go some and get the cobwebs off."

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Summary - June


HEAVYWEIGHTS

Tommy Morrison W 12 George Foreman
Larry Donald W 6 Dan Dacuta
Larry Donald KO 4 William Hinton

CRUISERWEIGHTS

Johnny Nelson KO 11 Dave Russell

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS

Montell Griffin W 6 Donny Penelton

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS

James Toney W 10 Glenn Thomas
Chris Eubank D 12 Ray Close

WELTERWEIGHTS

Felix Trinidad KO 1 Terry Acker

JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHTS

Kostya Tszyu KO 1 Larry LaCoursiere
Frankie Randall KO 4 Sergio Zambrano
Pepe Reilly KO 2 Margarito Gonzalez

LIGHTWEIGHTS

Jean-Baptiste Mendy KO 8 Carl Crook
Ray Robinson KO 10 Carl Griffith
Wilfrido Rocha KO 2 Felix Jose Rodriguez

JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHTS

John-John Molina KO 3 Tony Duran
Calvin Grove KO 7 Jeff Fenech
Oscar De La Hoya KO 1 Troy Dorsey
Manuel Medina KO 8 Panchito Valdez
Eugene Speed W 10 Bobby Brewer

FEATHERWEIGHTS

Kevin Kelley KO 6 Jesus Poll
Hector Lizarraga KO 8 Abe Gomez

JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHTS

Sergio Reyes W 4 Oscar Lopez

BANTAMWEIGHTS

Jung II Byun W 12 Josefino Suarez (Retains WBC Title)

JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHTS

Katsuya Onizuka W 12 Kotaro Hayashi (Retains WBA Title)
Julio Borboa W 12 Joel Luna Zarate (Retains IBF Title)
Marco Antonio Barrera W 12 Noe Santillana

STRAWWEIGHTS

Chana Porpaoin W 12 Carlos Murillo (Retains WBA Title)

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The Ring Ratings

For Period Ended June 28, 1993


LIGHTWEIGHTS
Weight limit: 135 pounds

1. MIGUEL ANGEL GONZALEZ
Mexico 28-0 (WBC Champ)
2. FREDDIE PENDLETON
Miami, FL 34-17-4 (IBF Champ)
3. TONY LOPEZ
Sacramento, CA 42-3- J (WBA Champ)
4. RAFAEL RUELAS
Arleta, CA 36-1
5. SHARMBA MITCHELL
Takoma Park, MD 29-0
6. TRACY SPANN
Plainfield, NJ 27-2-1
7. JOEY GAMACHE
Lewiston, ME 30-1
8. JEAN-BAPTISTE MENDY
France 44-4-2
9. LEAVANDER JOHNSON
Atlantic City, NJ 18-0-1
10 RAY ROBINSON
New York 14-0


JR. LIGHTWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 130 pounds

1. AZUMAH NELSON
Ghana 36-2-1 (WBC Champ)
2. GENARO HERNANDEZ
Los Angeles, CA 27 0-1 (WBA Champ)
3. JOHN-JOHN MOLINA
Puerto Rico 29-3 (IBF Champ)
4. CALVIN GROW
Coatesville, PA 43-5
5. GABE RUELAS
Arleta, CA 33-2
6. OSCAR DE LA HOYA
Montebello, CA 8-0
7. REGILIO TUUR
Whitestone, NY 32-2-1
8. MANUEL MEDINA
Mexico 47-4
9. VICTOR HUGO PAZ
Argentina 34-1-1
10. RENATO CORNETT
Australia 23-1-1

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Robinson - Ruelas Signed




Both fighters, rated #1 and #2 by the IBF have signed off on the contract to face each.

The bout will take place on the undercard of IBF champion Freddie Pendleton July 17th defense against Jorge Paez at Caesars Palace.

The winner of the Robinson-Ruelas fight will be guaranteed the next shot at the IBF champion.

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Ray Robinson KO 1 Rafael Ruelas




Las Vegas, Nevada - Ray Robinson took 121 seconds to dispose of the WBC & IBF number one contender Rafael Ruelas last night.

"I could see that my first punch hurt Rafael, so I decided to go for it."

Robinson came out slugging, immediately landing some savage left hooks and right crosses.

Ruelas unable to change his style of fighting right in front of his opponent, took a terrible amount of damage for such a short period.

An easy target throughout Ruelas went down from one of Robinson's numerous body shots and was unable to beat the count.

"I didn't get a good enough look at him to give an opinion, but I'm sure if it'd gone some I'd have found out."

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Pendleton Wins




After successfully defending his IBF lightweight title for the first time, champion Freddie Pendleton said it was the biggest moment in his career.

"Winning the title is great, but to benefit from it I need to keep defending it.

My confidence is so high. I feel that I can't be beaten."

With such an impressive showing earlier in the night, the topic of Ray Robinson was brought up.

"I don't feel he has anything that stands out. Well, if anything, he has two things, a name and money to the table."

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Thobela New Champion




Delayed news from South Africa.

Dingaan Thobela has beaten Tony Lopez over 12 rounds to claim the WBA lightweight title.

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Summary - July


HEAVYWEIGHTS

Evander Holyfield W 12 Alex Stewart
Michael Moorer KO 3 James Pritchard
Montell Griffin KO 3 Ron Stringer
Montell Griffin KO 2 Randy McGaugh
Donnell Nicholson KO 1 Nick Kendricks

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS

Prince Charles Williams KO 7 Art Baylis
Graciano Rocchigiani W 8 Lester Yarbrough

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS

Nigel Benn KO 4 Lou Gent (Retains WBC Title)
Roberto Duran W 10 Jacques LeBlanc
Chris Byrd KO 1 Mike Sullivan

MIDDLEWEIGHTS

Vinny Pazienza KO 10 Lloyd Honeyghan
Julio Cesar Green KO 5 Ricky Thomas
Steve Collins KO 7 Gerhard Botes

JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHTS

Terry Norris KO 3 Troy Waters (Retains WBC Title)

WELTERWEIGHTS

Felix Trinidad KO 2 Maurice Blocker (Wins IFB Title)
Maurice Blocker KO 2 Steven Langley
Hector Camacho KO 7 Tom Alexander
Ike Quartey W 10 Moise Rivera

JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHTS

Juan Coggi KO 5 Hiroyuki Yoshino (Retains WBA Title)
Kostya Tszyu KO 1 Robert Rivera
Roger Mayweather W 10 Carl Griffith
Joey Gamache KO 5 Bobby Amsler
Darryll Tyson D 10 Livingstone Bramble

LIGHTWEIGHTS

Dingaan Thobela W 12 Tony Lopez (Wins WBA Title)
Ray Robinson KO 1 Rafael Ruelas
David Sample W 10 Nigel Wenton
Eduardo Molina KO 3 Yiris Chamorro
Eugene Speed KO 1 Dominic McGuigan
Juan Negron KO 8 Peter Nieves
Ivan Robinson KO 5 Richard DeJesus

JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHTS

John-John Molina W 12 Manuel Medina (Retains IBF Title)
Genaro Hernandez KO 8 Raul Perez (Retains WBA Title)

FEATHERWEIGHTS

Kevin Kelley KO 2 Adolpho Castillo
Hector Lizarraga KO 9 Francisco Valdez
Steve Robinson KO 9 Sean Murphy

JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHTS

Wilfredo Vasquez KO 10 Thierry Jacob (Retains WBA Title)

BANTAMWEIGHTS

Orlando Canizales No Dec. 3 Derrick Whiteboy (Retains IBF Title)
Junior Jones KO 2 Francisco Gomez

JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHTS

Sung Kil Moon W 12 Carlos Salazar (Retains WBC Title)

FLYWEIGHTS

David Griman KO 8 Hiroki Ioka (Retains WBA Title)

STRAWWEIGHTS

Ricardo Lopez KO 2 Saman Sorjaturong (Retains WBC Title)
Ratanapol Sor Vorapin KO 7 Ala Villamor (Retains IBF Title)

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Hoya Injured




Highly touted Olympic gold medalist Oscar De La Hoya had to pull out his scheduled contest with Narciso Valenzuela after aggravating a tendon injury to his left hand.

His managers admit this will delay his timetable in challenging for a title at 130 pounds.

De La Hoya is widely expected to meet either Genaro Hernandez or John John Molina early next year.

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The Ring Ratings

For Period Ended July 27, 1993


LIGHTWEIGHTS
Weight limit: 135 pounds

1. MIGUEL ANGEL GONZALEZ
Mexico 28-0 (WBC Champ)
2. FREDDIE PENDLETON
Miami, FL 34-17-4 (IBF Champ)
3. RAY ROBINSON
New York 15-0
4. DINGAAN THOBELA
South Africa 29-1-1 (WBA Champ)
5. SHARMBA MITCHELL
Takoma Park, MD 29-0
6. TONY LOPEZ
Sacramento, CA 42-4-1
7. RAFAEL RUELAS
Arleta, CA 36-2
8. JEAN-BAPTISTE MENDY
France 44-4-2
9. LEAVANDER JOHNSON
Atlantic City, NJ 18-0-1
10 JOEY GAMACHE
Lewiston, ME 31-1


JR. LIGHTWEIGHTS
Weight Limit: 130 pounds

1. AZUMAH NELSON
Ghana 36-2-1 (WBC Champ)
2. GENARO HERNANDEZ
Los Angeles, CA 28-0-1 (WBA Champ)
3. JOHN-JOHN MOLINA
Puerto Rico 32-3 (IBF Champ)
4. CALVIN GROVE
Coatesville, PA 43-5
5. GABE RUELAS
Arleta, CA 33-2
6. OSCAR DE LA HOYA
Montebello, CA 8-0
7. VICTOR HUGO PAZ
Argentina 34-1-1
8. RENATO CORNETT
Australia 23-1-1
9. REGILIO TUUR
Whitestone, NY 32-3-1
10. MANUEL MEDINA
Mexico 47-5

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Robinson Ranked Highly




As his big fight against Azumah Nelson on the undercard of "The Fight" draws nearer Ray Robinson opened his never-ending training camp to the press.

Recently released rankings by the WBC and IBF have him as the #1 contender, whilst the WBA put him at #4.

Though he will challenge long-standing Nelson at 130 pounds for reasons which Robinson had no problem explaining.

"Azumah is the champion. If I wanted to fight him I had to go down. I can make weight with only a little effort, so it's not a problem."

Does he have plans to continue on after the fight at 130?

"No I would vacant the title immediately."

George Gainford, trainer of Robinson, was happy to fill in any silences.

"We're ready. Probably even take a few days off after the Diaz fight."

Diaz fight? Robinson shot Gainford a quick look before responding.

"7th at the Resorts International in Atlantic City."

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Ray Robinson KO 3 Ismael Diaz




Atlantic City, New Jersey - Ray Robinson, arguably the world's best lightweight, won by a technical knockout over novice Ismael Diaz tonight in the third round of a scheduled ten.

Referee Jack Reiss stopped the bout with Diaz having made it to his feet after being dropped from a left hook.

Robinson had things all his own way throughout the one-sided bout.

After allowing Diaz an opportunity to take the lead in the first, Robinson toyed with the Mexican in the second before deciding that he was ready to finish his night's work in the third.

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Chavez Trains Hard




"This is the most important fight of my life.

Don King has promised me a Rolls Royce if I beat Pernell and I've already told him I want a white one with a soft top."

Chavez told the listening media that his training camp was the hardest he'd done in years.

Chavez who faces Pernell Whitaker on September 10th in the biggest fight in sport was very serious, especially when pressed on the pound-for-pound matter.

"I don't think there is any such thing as the best fighter in the world."