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One night before the light heavyweight world championship
doubleheader in on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, ShoBox:
The New Generation showcased four legitimate prospects in
two close and thrilling match-ups.
In the main event, a determined Edgar Santana escaped with a
close majority decision over fellow hard-hitting prospect
Josesito Lopez in a 10-round junior welterweight bout scored
94-94, 95-93 twice.
In an excellent co-feature that pitted the sons of two former
world champions against each other, Carlos De Leon, Jr.,
caught James McGirt, Jr., with a left hook, followed by a
brutal left uppercut, earning him a TKO at 1:20 of the seventh
round.
DiBella Entertainment and All
Star Boxing, Inc. presented the doubleheader from the
Miccosukee Casino in Miami, Fla.
Santana and Lopez started out
slow, but turned up the heat in Miami with non-stop action
from the fifth stanza until the final bell. In the eighth,
Lopez (22-3, 1 ND, 13 KOs), of Riverside, Calif., surprised
Santana with two brutal body shots that sent the New York
native to the canvas twice.
Santana (24-2, 15 KOs) fought to
save the match, and possibly his career, dominating the ninth
and tenth round and hurting his opponent with numerous right
and left hooks en route to the majority decision victory.
“He caught me with two good shots to the body,” said the
29-year-old Santana. “He didn’t hit the body all night, so I
wasn’t expecting it. But I’m a true champion and I came back.
That’s what it is all about.
“This guy is tough. They say you haven’t fought a tough fight
until you face a real good Mexican. And for me, he was the
one.”
Lopez acknowledged the majority decision and handled the loss
with poise and class.
“It’s a close decision. It could have gone either way,” said
the 23-year-old Lopez. “I caught him with two clean body
shots, but he’s a tough guy and he pulled out of it.
“He is tough and we expected him to be tough. We prepared to
fight a great athlete, and that’s what I faced in the ring.”
De Leon,
(20-2-2, 13 KOs), the son of
former four-time WBC cruiserweight world champion Carlos
“Sugar” De Leon, proved that he had the power and speed to
come out victorious in a close-fought battle over Santana, the
son of former IBF junior welterweight and WBC welterweight
world champion Buddy McGirt. The fight was non-stop
give-and-take action, with both fighters landing powerful
combinations that hurt their opponent.
De Leon, of Puerto Rico, came out swinging in seventh, landing
a brutal shot that sent McGirt ( 18-1,
9 KOs) to the canvas, his mouthpiece into the audience and
blood from his nose. The Bay Shore, New York native was
quick to
get up, but it was evident that he was hurt. De Leon kept
with the ambush and ended things with a quick left hook
followed a devastating uppercut that sent McGirt down again.
“He hit me a few times, but it didn’t faze me,” the
28-year-old De Leon said. “I had it in my heart and in my
fists. I was ready for war.
“It was hard to go inside because I am a lefty, but when I
did, I got him good. It was a good fight. I am thankful that
SHOWTIME gave me this opportunity. I want to go to the next
level, and one day fight for a championship.”
McGirt, disappointed in his first career loss, knew exactly
where the fight went wrong.
“I had him, but he came back and caught me with a good shot,”
said the 25-year-old McGirt. “I give him a lot of credit. I
had him where I wanted, but he got me good with that left
hook.”
His father, no stranger to the fight game, was quick to
agree.
“He hit him with a solid left hook and he got caught,” said
the former world champion. “I told him to keep his hands up.
He went forward to attack, but he got caught. All training
camp I told him you have to keep your hands up.”
Popular play-by-play
announcer Nick Charles and expert analyst/boxing historian
Steve Farhood called the action from ringside. The executive
producer of ShoBox is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan
producing and Rick
Phillips directing.
Friday’s bouts will re-air this week as follows:
DAY
CHANNEL
Saturday, April 12 at 3 a.m. ET/PT SHO TOO
Monday, April 14 at 11 p.m. ET/PT SHO
EXTREME
Tuesday, April 15 at Midnight ET/PT
SHO EXTREME
Thursday, April 17 at 10 p.m. ET/PT SHO TOO
Available On Demand starting Monday, April 14.
Also coming up on SHOWTIME….
SHOWTIME will thrill boxing fans with an explosive light
heavyweight championship doubleheader when International
Boxing Organization (IBO) 175-pound champion and former
undisputed light heavyweight kingpin Antonio Tarver faces
International Boxing Federation (IBF) world titleholder
Clinton Woods at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla.
Tonight, Saturday, April, 12 live on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP
BOXING beginning at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).
Before Tarver and Woods exchange leather, fans will enjoy the
highly anticipated light heavyweight championship fight
between World Boxing Council (WBC) titleholder Chad Dawson and
former world champion Glen Johnson, making April 12 the most
compelling and significant night for the division in years.
ShoBox returns Friday, May 2 at Chumash Casino Resort
in Santa Ynez, Calif. In a match-up of top 168-pound
prospects, the unbeaten Andre Dirrell (14-0, nine KOs), of
Flint, Mich., will take on the once-beaten Anthony Hanshaw
(21-1-1, 14 KOs), of Warren, Ohio, in a 10-round super
middleweight bout.
Just one week later on Saturday, May 10 SHOWTIME
will bring fight fans a special edition of ShoBox with
the WBC super lightweight championship between Junior Witter
and Timothy Bradley and a WBC super middleweight title
eliminator pitting Carl Froch vs. Dennis Inkin.
Witter (36-1-2, 21 KOs), of Bradford, England,
will attempt to make it three consecutive successful defenses
when he takes on the undefeated and championship-ready Timothy
Bradley (21-0, 11 KOs), of Palm Springs, Calif. The bouts
will originate from Nottingham Arena in Nottingham, England.
In the co-feature, the undefeated Froch, the WBC
No. 1 super middleweight contender, will battle Inkin, the No.
2 contender in a much-hyped, WBC 168-pound title eliminator.
The winner potentially will secure a world title fight against
reigning WBC 168-pound champion and future Hall of Famer Joe
Calzaghe.
Froch (22-0, 18 KOs), of Nottingham, England, is a
big-time boxer with tremendous punching ability. Five of his
last six fights have ended via knockout. Inkin (32-0, 24 KOs),
of Hamburg, Germany, has won three out of his last four
outings by knockout.
The combined record of the four boxers is a
remarkable 111-1-2 with 74 knockouts.
For
more information on SHOWTIME Sports, including exclusive
video, photos and news links on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
and EliteXC mixed martial arts telecasts, please go to
www.SHO.com/sports..
4-11-2008
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